A Little Bit of News and a Game

The Wednesday session at the AACC saw nice turnout. Better than a half dozen players played skittles while Dean Howard and Peter Henner contended for the Club Championship title. After reaching the late middle game a pawn down and in danger of losing the game, Dean Howard once more demonstrated his prowess at speed chess. He found a tactical resource in the time scramble and won the game with just over 20 seconds on his clock. This victory won the Albany Area Chess Club title for Mr. Howard for the second year in a row. It was a decisive victory in the match over Mr. Henner 2 - 0. The game will be the subject of my next post.

This result ends this year’s round of local club title events. Jonathan Feinberg took the Saratoga title, John Phillips won going away in Schenectady, and Dean Howard is the Albany Champion. Kudos and congratulations to these very worthy Champions!

From last week: In the Consolation Tourney at the SCC Dilip Aaron started off with a series wins. As the highest rated entrant this was not surprising. His loss to Isaiah Glessner a round or two ago changed a runaway victory into a possibly closer contest. I anticipated this game with Caravaty being a test for Dilip. Today’s game with its errors indicates both players saw it as critical contest also.

(384) Aaron, Dilip - Caravaty, Chris [C02]
SCC Consolation Tourney Schenectady, NY, 08.03.2012

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Bb5?,..

Too casual! This is a fundamental oversight. If Black is attentive, he will find 6..., Nxe5!; winning a vital center pawn. White then faces a long and thankless task trying to create counter-play when there few opportunities available.

6..., Qb6?

And, Black returns the favor. Puzzling, it is.

7.Bxc6 bxc6

In the typical French Black usually thinks carefully about weakening his pawn formation. This game has become an unusual French. Here the open b-file and having two pawns on the c-file with which to challenge the d4-pawn is no bad thing.

Finding master games for this way of treating the French Advanced variation is difficult. Here is the only one that turned up in the Rybka database:

(761213) Urban, Andrey (2347) - Boricsev, Oleg (2330) [C02]
Alushta, 05.2003
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Bb5 e6 6.Nf3 Bd7 7.Be2 cxd4 8.cxd4 Nge7 9.Na3 Nf5 10.Nc2 Nb4 11.0–0 Nxc2 12.Qxc2 Qb6 13.Qd1 Bb5 14.Bxb5+ Qxb5 15.b3 Rc8 16.g4 Ne7 17.Ba3 h5 18.h3 Ng6 19.Bxf8 Kxf8 20.Qd2 hxg4 21.hxg4 Ke7 22.Rfc1 Qb6 23.Kg2 Kd7 24.Kg3 f6 25.Rxc8 Rxc8 26.Rc1 Rh8 27.Qc2 Ne7 28.Qd3 f5 29.g5 Nc6 30.Rc5 a6 31.Rc1 Qd8 32.Qc3 Qf8 33.Kg2 f4 34.Rh1 Rxh1 35.Kxh1 Qf5 36.Kg2 Ne7 37.b4 Qe4 38.Kh3 Qe2 39.Kg2 Nf5 40.Kg1 Qxa2 41.Qc5 Qb1+ 42.Kh2 Qe4 43.Qb6 Qxf3 44.Qxb7+ Ke8 45.Qc8+ Kf7 46.Qd7+ Kg6 47.Qxe6+ Kxg5 48.Qxa6 Qxf2+ 49.Kh3 Qg3# 0–1

Every once in a while a place name for a tournament is obscure. This is once such, so I investigated. Alusta is a port on the Black Sea coast on the Crimea Peninsula not far from the city of Sevastopol, the sight of the Charge of the Light Brigade. This is just a note for the geographically curious out there.

From a chess point of view, in the cited game notice the retreat on move 7 by White to avoid the potential loss of a pawn. The move order used by Dilip would have been superior to Urban’s if he had just stopped the Bishop on e2 instead of going all the way to b5.

8.0–0 Ne7 9.dxc5 Qxc5

The game now has taken on an interesting form. White has his usual K-side space advantage in the French. Absent the light squared Bishop, creating a serious attack is not easy for White. On the other side of the issue; Black can carry out the standard idea of using his c-pawn against d4. As is frequent in the French, the position says Black plays on the Q-side and White on the K-side. Finding attacking moves for White on the K-side defeated both me and Rybka. Given there is no good way forward on the K-side for White, one has to conclude Black has the better game.

10.b4 Qb5 11.Be3 Nf5 12.Nd4 Nxe3?!

As natural as this move appears to be, it is not quite right. Better 12..., Nxd4 13 Qxd4 a5 14 a3 Be7; giving Black frontal pressure on the White Q-side pawns and equality. The game move heralds a plan of diagonal pressure on the White King by the Black Bishop pair and the Queen. This is an interesting concept with a flaw; the transactions used to implement the idea allow White to attack just where the position says he must; the K-side.

13.fxe3 Qb7 14.Qf3 Bc8

Black has been forced to undeveloped this Bishop. That is not a good sign for his plan. White now has the f-file on which to operate against the Black King. In the likely event of the short castling by Black, the f-file is also a pathway for a White Rook to the g-file increasing pressure on the Black King’s abode. The time used to contemplate the position and his body language suggested to me Mr. Caravaty had not fully appreciated the dangers coming after the capture on e3.

15.Nd2?!,..

More prudent is 15 Nb3. It effectively prevents the c5 break because the threat to f7 is strong. The Black Queen has a full time job guarding f7 and she will not be able to work with the Bf8 to enforce .., c6-c5. When you fully understand that piece of information, the problems for Black become clearer. The Bf8 lacks squares on the a3-f8 diagonal. Black will have to make a couple more moves before he castles. His Queen, Bc8 and the Ra8 have trouble untangling. In sum; while he has just enough resources to prevent and immediate breakthrough, Black is not well placed for routine development.

White has his own difficulties, but he does seem to have some initiative. For White; this small initiative does not yield immediate opportunities. To get the most from his position White has to play very well mixing patience with guile. The most likely path for Black is giving up the idea of castling at all and developing the K-side with 15..., g6. Then play might continue; 16 Qf6 Rg8 17 Qf4 Qc7 18 N1d2 g5 19 Qd4 Bg7 20 Nf3 Bh8 21 Qg4 Bxe5 22 Qh5 Rg7 23 Nbd4, and for the pawn lost White has made a position full of tension. For example; if Black plays the natural 23..., c5?; White obtains the advantage with 24 Nb5 Qb8 25 bxc5, and the complex tactical operations that ensue all favor White. Playing through the lines unfolds a series of positions that are more like studies and problems than normal chess positions; the oddly broken White center pawns, the un-castled Black King, etc. After 15 Nb3, both sides would have a tough time finding the best moves.

15..., c5 16.bxc5?!,..

This move allows Black to get the position he wants with diagonal pressure on the White King’s home. Better I think is 16 Nc2, continuing to deny the Black dark squared Bishop access to the a3-f8 diagonal. Note Black really can’t capture on b4 with the pawn and then the Bishop because of the weakness of f7.

16..., Bxc5 17.N4b3 Bb6 18.c4 dxc4?

Reasonable is 18..., 0-0; ending much of the danger to f7 and any opening of the center has to favor the Bishop pair. After the text, White has chances to get his Knights to active posts.

19.Nxc4 0–0 20.Qf4 Qc6 21.Rf3 Bb7 22.Nd6 Qd7 23.Rg3 f6?

Strategically the Bishops look dangerous. Tactically the White heavy pieces and Knight on the sixth are dangerous. The text must result from not fully appreciating how well Knights and Queens work together. The move converts a tension filled but even game into a lost cause immediately.

24.exf6 Rxf6?

Even the somewhat better move, 24..., Rad8; is no more than a marginal improvement. At the end of any transaction where Black captures the Nd6, the White Rook on g3 captures on g7 with check and then takes off the Bb7.

25.Qxf6 Bxe3+ 26.Kh1 Rf8 27.Qc3,..

While watching the game I thought this an error. My preferred line was 27 Rxg7+ Qxg7 28 Qxg7+ Kxg7 29 Nxb7, leaving White up a piece for a pawn. Since the Bishop pair is gone in this line of play my judgment was it is the simplest way to take the point. Actually the game move is superior properly followed up.

27..., Bf4

This is the resource upon which Black is counting. There is nothing much better.

28.Rd3?,..

White in his turn fails to find the correct rejoinder. The right move is; 28 Nc5!, and then 28..., Qc7 29 Ncxb7 the Black Queen moves and White saves the Rg3 staying a full Rook ahead. After the game move Black alertly sees there is a way out of the pin on the d-file. Not only does he keep the material deficit to the minimum of an Exchange for a pawn, the pair of Bishops combined with the great activity of the Black Queen and Rook working together give better than decent winning chances. That is a quite a swing in fortunes in a single move.

28..., Bxd6 29.Rad1 Qf7

Mate on the back rank and threats to mate at g2 restrict White’s choices over the next few moves.

30.Qe1 Qg6 31.Qg1 Bc7 32.R3d2 Bb6 33.Qe1 Ba6 34.Qe5 Qf7 35.Qe1 Qg6 36.Qh4 Qf5 37.h3!?,..

White, disappointed in the outcome of the complications, still wants to win. Possibly safer is 37 Qe1, but such passive defense allows Black to continue improving placement of the Bishops and who knows where that would end. The text ends the mate threat. Black now has to find the best way forward. That seems to be 37..., Bc7; renewing the mate threat. Then 38 Qe1 Bb7; with a very tense situation on the board and any outcome possible.

37..., Qf1+?

Impatience I guess, or a miscalculation.

38.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 39.Kh2 Bc7+ 40.g3 Bb7

Black may have thought this was a winner when he sacrificed the Queen. Chris made that decision in time trouble. He was down to just six minutes to finish the game. It took him a minute to find the “sac” and without a reserve of time he did not check the details as thoroughly as such a decision required. Again, 40..., Bc7; is much better. The mate threat would have made White pull in his horns.

41.Rd8+,..

Either this move, or 41 Rg2, ends any realistic chance for Black to hold the game.

41..., Kf7 42.Qh5+ Ke7 43.Qe8+ Kf6 44.Qf8+ 1-0

As active as two Bishops can be, holding out against a Queen and Knight is not possible unless circumstances are exceptional. Here for example; 44..., Kg6 45 Qxf1 Bxd8 46 Qd3+, ends the life of the Bishop pair. There is nothing exceptional in the position, and Black correctly resigns.

Both sides made forthright efforts to win, and both failed in their calculations and assessments at various points in the game. That is not to condemn their efforts. Lessons are there to be learned particularly about digging to understand the position. Mr. Caravaty spent a great deal of time on his moves and got to a time problem. My observation is he calculated a lot but did not search for the truth of the position enough. Mr. Aaron played quickly, a trait I admire, but did not calculate widely enough. He’d find a move that looked OK, calculate some to avoid immediate loss and play the move. The game ended as the pre-game ratings predicted, and these two improving players did well to come up with interesting and challenging ideas. Improvement for both guys lies in greater attention to details of the each position as it comes up.

More soon.