URS-ch08 |
URS-ch08 |
1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 c6 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2
Tucson Open 07 (5) |
This game was played in the last round and I needed a win against a very creative player. I chose a line that is less explored in opening books, hoping to get into positional game where Pawn Structures play the dominant role. This game ends in an interesting " Zugzwang" with related positional concepts such as " Blockade", " Good Knight"," Bad Bishop" and " Double Pawns".
This is a variation of a "Modern Defence" aimed at fiancettoing the dark bishop, and at the same time leaving lots of other options available in the center.
White has some options but nothing else gives much of an edge.
4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nxc6 (6. e3 Nf6 7. Be2 d5=)
(6. Nc2 Bxc3+!? Daring but solid. Black gives up a great bishop to break white's queen side pawns. The resulting positions provide chances for both sides, however I would prefer to be black here. 7. bxc3 Here is one possible example. 7... Nf6 8. f3 Qa5 9. Bd2 b6 10. e4 Ba6 11. Be2 Ne5 12. Ne3 Rc8
Black looks a bit better.Diagram #)
6... bxc6 7. g3 Rb8=
An interesting but risky option. Black king side and e6 square get weakened. As you can probably guess, I was planning to take the Knight c3, but a better way of doing it could be taking it immediately to prevent white from defending it with his next move.
5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 f5! Might be a stronger option.
6. g3?!
The first mistake. White should take into consideration black's plan and simultaniously stop it and prepare for e4 push.
6. Qc2! Here is a possible line. 6... Nf6 7. Bg5
6... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Nf6 8. Bg2 Qa5 9. Bb2?
2nd mistake and this time an important one. White could probably evensacrifice the c3 pawn and be OK ! Now white's only advantage- the dark bishop gets "imprisoned behindhisownpawns"
9.
The 3rd mistake. White should have realized that Black is planning playing either for an outpost on e5 or the queen side with a possible Nb6-Na4. White's only move here was 10 a4!
10. a4! Nb6 (10... Ne5 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. d6) 11. Nd2 White seems to hold the balance.
10... Ne5!
ccsacsa
11.
11. e4?? Nd3+
Black wins a piece.
11... Bd7
Trying to control the important a4 square, develop, get ready for a Queen-side Castle and later possibly pressuring the c4 pawn.
12. a4
Stopping it.
12. e4!?
12... g5!
Diagram # Now black can react to white's idea of breaking in the center and block the position. Remember the old rule " Knights are better in closed positions and Bishops are better in Open positions"? Black would like to keep the position closed.
13. e4
The 4th Mistake. White should have played for f4 push and maybe prepare it with 13 h3
Trying to find something to attack.
14... Qb6
Very position al, but maybe too positional. Going for Checkmate might have been easier.For example:
14...
15. Qxb6
White chooses a bad endgame over a bad middlegame.
Black has only 2 small troubles to worry about: How to deal with white's pressure on b6 and a push of a4-a5? With careful play and the fact every black piece now looks better than white counterparts, black should overcome these temporary problems.
18. Nb3 Ra6 19. a5 (19. Nd2 Rfa8 Wins for black without problems.) 19... Nxc4!
Pinning white and developing the last piece.
20. Bf1?
The last mistake.
20. Rxb6 A try to untangle, but the "Blockade" black had put up in the center as well as the " Horrible " Ba1 insure black's long-term victory. 20... Rxb6 21. axb6 Rxa1+ 22. Bxa1 Ba4! 23. f3 Bc2! 24. Bf1 Nfd7 25. Bb2 Nxb6 26. Kf2 Bd3 27. Ba1 Bxf1 28. Kxf1 Nbxc4 29. Nxc4 Nxc4 30. Ke2 b5 With an easy win. This approximate line shows black's dominance against weak pawns and blockaded pieces.
20. gxf4 gxf4 21. f3 Opening a breathing space for white King and protecting central pawns offers the best chance for survival.
20... f3!
Now nothing can move for white. His next try only leads to a very unique endgame where white has nothing to move.
22... Ng4 Wins the f2 pawn and the game, but I did not want to pass the chance for a unique endgame.
23. Rxb6 Rxb6 24. axb6 Nxf1 25. Kxf1
Opposite bishops- does that always mean a Draw?
25. Rxf1 Nd3 26. Bc1 Nxc1 27. Rxc1 Rxa3 Wins a piece.
25... Bh3+ 26. Kg1 Nd3 27. Nc2
27. Nb1 Rxa1 28. Bxa1 Nc1 29. Nd2 Ne2+ 30. Kh1 Bg2# Interesting checkmate with only 2 pieces involved.
Stopping g4
28... Nc1 29. Bb2 Ne2+ 30. Kh1 g4 31. Ne1 Kf7 32. Ba1 Kf6 33. Bb2 Ke5 34. Ba1 Ke4 35. Bb2 h5 36. Ba1 And unfortunately black king cannot get in. Black still has few ways to win, but it is much easier if white knight is deprived of the e1 square.
29. Ne3
What else is there for white ?
29... Nc1 30. Bb2 Ne2+ 31. Kh1 g4
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A very unique ending. Both sides have 7 pawns each but white cannot push a single pawn, while black does not want to push his "e" or " h" pawns. White bishop has only a1-b2-a3 route and back, King cannot move and if the Knight e3 moves- then Bg2 checkmate follows immediately.White resigned. The possible follow up could be:
32. Ba1 Kf7 33. Bb2 Kf6 34. Ba1 Ke5 35. Bb2 Ke4 36. Ba1 Kd3 37. Bb2 Kd2 38. Ba1 Ke1 39. Bb2 Kxf2 40. Ba1 Bg2+ 41. Nxg2 fxg2# 0-1 [ m.]
World Championship 32th-KK2 (16) |
The Sicilian Defense, favoured by Kasparov throughout his whole chess career.
2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 d5
The famous "Kasparov Gambit" that was refuted shortly after this game by Karpov himself against a Dutch Grandmaster Van der Wiel in 1986. Unfortunately for Karpov and fortunately for the rest of us, that refutation did not accur to the minds of the Karpov team before this game and we were rewarded one of the very unique and best games on the chess history. It is very noteworthy how Kasparov mixes activity, attack and pressure with preventing Karpov from freeing himself and trading pieces. Keep in mind that Karpov in 1985 was an unsurpassed master of "prevention and squeeze" and he could not do anything against his own personal style of chess game.
9. cxd5 exd5 10. exd5 Nb4 11. Be2 Bc5 12.
12. Be3! Bxe3 13. Qa4+! Bd7 14. Qxb4 With an advantage to white- became the refutation of this wonderful concept as played by Karpov in the aforementioned game in 1986.
12...
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This was the idea of Kasparov when he was sacrificing the pawn on d5. Lots of activity, open files and possibilities mixed with the fact that white has a bad knight on a3 and a weak pawn on d5. In the first game that occured between the same players few rounds earlier Karpov, shocked by the novelty, did not hold on to the pawn and a quick draw followed. In this game he felt that he is "ready" to win a pawn and hold it.
13. Bf3
It would be a great training for a reader to guess how black makes active moves from this point on that also stops everything that white tries to accomplish.
13... Bf5!
Activity and at the same time preventing white from the important freeing Nc2 move. Did you guess this move ?
Once again, activity goes together with preventing white from another freeing move- Ne4, which will trade pieces and simplify white's life.How about this one- did you guess it correctly?
15. Qd2
15... b5
Another prevention- No Nc4 for white ever again.
16. Rad1
White is trying to coordinate the heavy pieces and push the "D" pawn.
16... Nd3!
Diagram # One of the most unique things about this game is the Black Knight on d3 that completely paralizes white and even though it is right in the heart of white army, it cannot be dislodged !Along the way black threatens to win a pieces with a b5-b4 push.
17. Nab1
The 17...h6 made white choose where to put the bishop, gave more flexibility to black's King Side while his last move sends the Nc3 to even a worse spot on a4. Notice how a small move such as 17...h6 preventd white from moving the knight to a much better spot on e2.
19. Na4
Dr.Tarrasch , who was famous for his statement " a Knight on a rim is grim" would be horrified seeing white knights conditions !
19. Ne2? g5 20. Bg3 g4 Wins a piece
19... Bd6!
Bishop can now safely switch diagonals and directly attack white king side.
20. Bg3
White tries to survive by trading pieces
20... Rc8!
It is important to have a possibility to move the Rook to c2 in some lines later on.
21. b3
desperately trying to trade knights by playing Nb2.
21... g5!
Can you spot how this move prevents white from going Nb2 and trading knights?
22. Bxd6
22. Nb2? Nxb2 23. Qxb2 g4! 24. Be2 Rc2!
White decides to open space for the Bishop and again hope for a Nb2 freeing move.
23... Nd7!!
Probably the hardest and prettiest move of the game! How does that prevent Nb2? Can you spot it?
24. Bg2
24. Nb2 Qf6! 25. Nxd3 Bxd3 26. Qxd3 Ne5!!
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. One of the most unique positions I have ever seen. The board seems free for white queen to move around, yet it has no place to go to without losing it! You can try it yourself to see if you can find a safe spot for the white queen.
24... Qf6!
Directly preventing Nb2
25. a3 a5! 26. axb4 axb4 27. Qa2
What else to do?. White hopes to play Nd2 to free himself up a bit. Can you spot how black prevents that one too?
28. Nd2 Re2! f2 pawn all of a sudden is a big target- the idea behind the mysterious bg6 move.
28... g4!
Squeeze and control of the important f3 square !
White is desperate! But this move weakens the diagonal a7-g1 as well as the King side in general. The way Kasparov uses those weaknesses is ingenius.
30... Qxd6!
gets rid of the dangerous d6 pawn.
31. fxg4
What did this move weaken and how can black use it ?
31... Qd4+
gets the most important diagonal and centralizes the queen.
Correctly noticing the fact that since white is missing the "F" pawn, black can get to e4 with his knight.
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Notice the difference between how poorly white pieces coordinate and how wonderfully black pieces work together against white's king.
34. Qxd3
White sacrifices the queen out of sheer desperation !
34... Nf2+ 35. Rxf2 Bxd3 36. Rfd2 Qe3!
Black has other ways to win the game, but this tactical one is the shortest and the most logical.
The extra queens can also be sacrificed for the greater good!
38. Nb2
38. Rxe3 Rxd1+ 39. Bf1 Rxe3 40. Kg2 Rxb1
38... Qf2! 39. Nd2 Rxd1+ 40. Nxd1 Re1+
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If we count the material, white is actually up a point or two, yet the coordination of the pieces is what counts. White immediately resigned.
Beautiful game!
0-1 [ m.]
Initiative Unbalanced Material (5) |
I chose the Scotch because I had done some serious preparation on it leading into the tournament.
Diagram #
5. Nxc6 This is the main line Classical Variation and the line I choose most often; however, as I mentioned above, I have done some work lately and I am in love with the new line I employed in this game.
Here it is! The Blumenfeld variation of the Scotch. Unfortunately, this not a page on opening theory so I will not be going too deeply into the line, but I will say that this interesting 6th move by white is a "hot topic" right now in high level chess.
6... Bxe3
The only move really...
The safest move and the move that most people seem to play who don't know the theory of the variation.
8. N1a3!?
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Up until this moment my oppenent played fast and tried to pretend that he was on top of my preparation. After the game I found out that the extent of my oppenent's knowledge on this line was little to none. In fact, the only thing he knew was that his younger brother (the young American prodigy: Grand Master Hikaru Nakamura) had recently crushed a very strong player with the line I employed here.
8. Qd5 This is the move more commonly played here by white and I recently tried it against local International Master Rogelio Barcenilla at the March 13th Master Trek. The game continued: 8... Kd8 only move.(8... Qxb2 9. Bc4! (9. Nxc7+ This move is slightly worse for white because of 9... Kd8 10. Nxa8 Qxa1 11. Qb3 Qf6 and after black retreats the queen it is not clear how white will continue to gain an edge.)
9... Kd8 (9... Qxa1 10. Qxf7+ Kd8 11. Qf8#)
10. 
)
12. Qxf7?? (12. Qxd4 Qxd4 13. exd4 f6)
12... Nh6!)
11... Qxa1 (11... Nf6 12. Qg5 Re8 13. Qxg7 Nh5 14. Qxh7)
12. Qxf7 Nh6 (12... Nge7 13. Qf8+ Rxf8 14. Rxf8#)
13. Qxg7 Re8 14. Qf6+ Ne7 15. Qxh6)
11. N1c3 Qb2 12. Qxf7 Nh6 13. Qxg7 Re8 14. Qxh6)
9. Qxf7 Nh6 10. Qf4 Re8 11. N1c3 a6 12. Qxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 b5 14. h3 Bb7 15.
8... a6?
Black needed to play Kd8 in order to defend the c7-pawn. Because my opponent wasn't sure what to do here, he opted for the only forced line he could see (8. ..a6?). Unfortunately for him, this line is bad and he quickly finds himself in a very ugly position.
8... Kd8 9. Nc3 followed by Nc4 with a slightly better position for white.
9. Nc4! Qxb5 10. Nd6+ cxd6 11. Bxb5 axb5 12. Qxd6
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Generally, the most important thing in "unbalanced material situations" (an unbalanced material situation is one where the points of the material are equal, for example two pieces vs. a rook and a pawn both equal six or three pieces vs. a queen both equal nine, but the two pieces play completely different than the rook and pawn, as does the queen play differently than the three pieces) is to keep the initiative. In chess the person who has the initiative is the person who is on the attack, creating threats, improving his position, etc. In this game, I was able to keep the initiative as white. I never allowed his three pieces to get coordinated which enabled me to target his weak king position as well as his weak pawns.
12... Nf6
12... Nge7!? 13. )
15. h5 h6 16. Rf3 and white will continue his attack on the black king with moves like Rg3 and Raf1.
12... Ra6 13.
13.
This was a very good move because white recognized that the most important thing in this position was not to keep the pawn on e4butkeeptheinitiative!
13... Nxe4 14. Qf4 Nf6 15. Qg5
We now see the point of white's combination started by castling. I have prevented black from castling for good, which will also keep the black rook on h8 out of the game indefinitely.
15... Kf8
Only move.
16. e4!
Once again white is keeping the threats coming. I can not stress the importance of this idea, or mindset if you will, enough. White is threatening to kick the knight from f6 by moving his pawn to e5. Taking the pawn on e4 for black would be suicide as you can see in the variations given below:
16. Rxf6 this was the other move that I strongly considered. However, I chose against this line because I could not see a way to continue the attack after: 16... gxf6 17. Qxf6 Rg8 18. Rf1 Rg7 19. h4! h5! and black will bring his rook on a8 over to g4 where it is now white who will have to defend. It situations where you have an attack it is very important to see a clear win or at least a sizeable advantage before you sacrifice more material, which is exactly why I didn't play 16.Rxf6.(19... Ra4 20. h5 Rag4 21. h6 Rxg2+ 22. Kh1)
16. Rf3
16... d6
16... Nxe4 17. Qf4 Nf6 18. Rae1 d5 (18... Rxa2 19. Qd6+ Kg8 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Re8+ Kg7 22. Qg3+ Kh6 23. Rxh8)
19. Qd6+ Kg8 20. Rxf6 gxf6 21. Re8+ Kg7 22. Qg3+ Kh6 23. Rxh8
17. Rad1
Once again white is bringing his pieces into the game with threats... Every single one of his last few developing moves have been strong threats. White now threatens to capture on d6 with his rook.
17... Be6
Black must continue developing and he has done a good job of that thus far. White now realizes that black has succesfully defended the threats against his king. So, white finds a way to keep threats going and take advantage of black's other problem in the position: his out-of-play rook on h8.
17... Nxe4 18. Qd5 f5 (18... Nf6 19. Qxd6+ Kg8 20. Qd8+) 19. Qxe4
18. Qxb5
Notice that white never grabbed this weak pawn earlier because it wasn't going anywhere. It was more important that white achieve the things he did, like preventing black from castling. Now black has a big problem because his bishop, although undeveloped on c8, was defending b7. If white is able to win the b7-pawn and start marching down his queenside pawns, black will not have enough pieces on the queenside to defend. (Notice that black is having this problem because of his stuck rook on h8.)
18... Ke7!
This was black's hardest to find and best move of the game. Asuka realized that even if he is putting his king right back in the fire, he had to get his rook on h8 in the game.
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Here I faced my first critical choice of the game. Black had defended his much worse position very well and he was ready to get his rooks into the game via. Rhb8 and Rxa2 where white would start having problems. However, black's king position is still very weak, and I was able to find another target to attack: the d6-pawn. Here I had a couple of choices of how to continue the attack of the king and the d6-pawn:
20. Rxf6!
This is the move I played in the game. The other way to continue the attack was 20. Qc7 immiedately. Please see the variation below.
20. Qc7 Ne8! attacks the queen and defends d6. However, white has the shot 21. Rxf7+ but this move wasn't enough for me after 21... Kxf7 22. Qxd7+ Ne7 23. Rf1+ Nf6 24. Qxd6 Rhd8 25. Qc7 where although white has a queen and three passed pawns for the two rooks and a knight, I didn't see anyway to keep my initiative aftter black plays 25... Ke8! now the e4 and the a2 pawn are hangning, and it is white who will have to pary black's threats.
20... gxf6 21. Qc7 Rhd8 22. Qxd6+ Ke8 23. a3!
White is much better here. I have managed to create three passed pawns and still keep black's king in the center. Note that it would have been a huge mistake to grab the pawn on f6 immediately because black pieces would have been able to come to life after Rxa2.
23... Rac8 24. Qxf6 Be6 25. Rxd8+ Nxd8!
Capturing on d8 with the knight allows black's rook to attack the c2-pawn.
Black has managed to win one of his pawns back as well as slow down and blockade white's passed pawns. How should white continue? Well, when one advantage is not enough, create two! Principal of Two Weaknesses is something I have been preaching in my Strategy Sessions since their creation. Here I used that principal to its full strength by creating a second passed pawn on the kingside. Covering both sides of the board proved to be too much for black and he was quicly lost after:
28. h4! Rxa3 29. h5 Ra1+ 30. Kh2 Re1 31. Qh8+ Ke7 32. h6
32. Qxh7 This move was also possible but I didn't was to give black the entrance into g4 with his knight after Nc6-e5.
32... Rxe4
32... Nc6 would be silly now because of 33. b5 and the queen still has her eye on the e5 square.
White is starting to shift his focus again to the other side of the board.
34... Rg6 35. Qh8 f6 36. h7 Nf7 37. Qg8!
The game should have been quickly over after:
37... Rh6+ 38. Kg1 Bf5 39. b6 Bxh7 40. Qg4!
40. Qxf7+!? Kxf7 41. b7 and white is winning.
40... Bd3
40... Nd6 41. Qg7+! Nf7 42. b7
41. b7 Rh8 42. Qb4+ Ke6 43. b8=Q Rxb8 44. Qxb8
And the rest should have been an easy matter of technique for white, but...
44... Ne5 45. Qb6+ Kf5 46. Qd4 Bc4
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47. g4+??
My only bad move of the entire game comes at a time when I can least afford it!! All I had to do was show a little more patience and activate my king first. I rushed this move because I figured the pawn on g4 was uncapturable due the the hanging bishop on c4. But, as you will see in the game, black is saved by a lucky tactic.
47... Kg5
I now realized that my king can not come forward without allowing the knight to capture on g4 and retreat to e5.
48. Kg2
49. Qxc4 Ne3+ and it is now black who wins.
Now, I just want to make it clear that white is still completely winning in this position, but I made my second mistake of the game: I lost my head! I should have remained calm and figured out exactly what I would have to do in order to force the win of the f6 pawn (note that winning the f6-pawn would be white's only way to break this fortress that black has setup). But, I played too fast and wasted too many moves before I spent the time to figure it out. Then when I finally did reach a winning position, he was able to claim the 50-move draw rule.
52. Qh8 followed by the transfrering of the white king to e7.
52... Bc4 53. Qf5+ Kg7 54. Kd4
Please excuse the fact that I do not have much more analysis for the next 50 moves of the game. I do mention a few times where white had his chances to win and I hope that is enough...
54... Bf7 55. Qe4 Be6 56. Kc5 Bf7 57. Kd6 Bc4 58. Ke7 Ng6+ 59. Ke8 Bf7+ 60. Kd8 Ne5 61. Qg2+ Kf8 62. Qb7 Kg7
Diagram #
62... Kg8 63. Qa7 Be6 64. Qb7 Bc4
63. Ke7
63. c4 Nxc4 64. Ke7 Ne5 65. Qg2+ Bg6
63. Qb6! Bc4 64. Qc7+ Bf7 65. Qb7! Kf8 66. c4! Nxc4 67. Qf3 Kg7 68. Ke7
64. Kd8! Ne5 65. Qb6 Bc4 66. Qc7+ Bf7 67. Qb7 Kf8 (67... Kg8)
68. c4!
64... Ne5 65. Qg2+ Kf8 66. Qg1 Nc4+ 67. Kd7 Ne5+ 68. Kd8 Nc6+ 69. Kd7 Ne5+ 70. Kd6 Nc4+ 71. Kc5?
The next 15 moves were a total waste. White must keep his king behind the pawn and manouver his queen to b7 as mentioned in the lines above.
71... Ne5 72. Qg3 Bg8 73. Kd4 Be6 74. Ke4 Kf7 75. Qg1 Bc4 76. Kf5 Be6+ 77. Kf4 Bc4 78. Qh1 Kg7 79. Qg2+ Kf7 80. Qh3 Kg7 81. Qf5 Bf7 82. Qc8 Bc4 83. Kf5 Bd3+ 84. Ke6 Bc4+ 85. Ke7 Ng6+ 86. Ke8 Bf7+ 87. Kd8 Ne5 88. Qh3 Nc6+ 89. Kd7 Ne5+ 90. Ke7 Ng6+ 91. Kd8 Ne5 92. Qh1 Bc4 93. Qg1+
93. Qb7+ this would have been my last chance before he reaches 50 moves. Although my opponent blundered with Kf7, he was still able to draw because of the claim. 93... Bf7 94. c4
93... Kf7?
This move allows white to force the king away from the pawn.
93... Kf8
94... Kf8 95. Qe7+ Kg8 96. Qxf6
95. Ke8 Bf7+ 96. Kf8 Bc4 97. Qg1+ Kf5
If you had given me two more moves to play Kg7 and Qf2+ I would have been able to win the f6 pawn. But... I ran out of moves...
1/2-1/2 [Rensch D.]
North American Open (U2200) (2) |
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Nb8 9. c4 Be7 10. Be2 a6 11. Nc3
14... Bf6 15. Qc2 exf4 16. Bxf4 Ne5 17. Be3
16... Rb8 17. Qd2 exf4 18. Bxf4 Ne5 19. Be3 Bd7
18... fxg4 19. Bxg4 exf4 20. Bxf4
19. gxf5 gxf5 20. fxe5 Bxe5 21. Rxf5 Rg8 22. Rcf1 Rc8 23. Rh5 Qe7 24. Bd3 Rg7 25. Bh6 Rcg8
25... Rf7
27... Nf6 28. Rxf6 Bxf6 29. Bf5+ Kg8 30. Qe4 Be5
28. Rxh7+
Resign
1-0 [Shacter J.]
Casino (2) |
1. Nf3
This was certainly one of the highlights from the tournament that just has ended with a very convincing victory of one of the most talented chess players in the USA- Nakamura.
Krasenkow is a Russian/Polish Grandmaster and is known for his solid style.He tries to implement it in this game by playing and combining two of the most solid openings known for White- The Reti Opening and the Catalan System.
2... e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5.
I have myself have had this position many times as white in chess tournaments and blitz games and it is always a tough choice for white- Reti opening ( b3-Bb2-d3-Nd2 set-up type) or Catalan Opening ( D4-Nd2-Qc2-e4 set-up type)
6. b3
Reti!
6... a5!?
An interesting idea for Black- if possible push a5-a4 and pressure or break White's Queen side
7. Nc3!
Best move for White
7... c6!
Other moves do not cause white any problems.
7... d4 8. Nb5 c5 9. e3 Nc6 10. exd4 cxd4 11. Re1
8. d4
Now we get into the Catalan!
8. Bb2 d4!? Now White Knight looks akward as the b5 square is no longer available for that Knight.
White's plan is to break in the center with e2-e4, while black tries to attack White's slightly overextended pawns in the center.
In view of the complications that arose in this game, White may be better off trying a simple development.
10. Bb2 This line makes sense for White and it seems safer than what happened in the game. 10... Ba6 11. Rfd1 dxc4 12. Ne5!
10... Ba6!
Black does not bother with any central pawn exchanges and instead concentrates on using the opened up diagonal a6-f1.
10... dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Bb7 13. Ne5
11. Nd2
11. Qe2?! Bb4! and the e4 pawn will be lost
11... c5!?
Nakamura never shies away from complications and this is where things start getting really complicated and interesting.
12. exd5
12. dxc5?! d4! 13. Na4 bxc5 14. e5 Nxe5! 15. Bxa8 Qxa8
Despite Black being slightly down in material, he stands much better, due to weakened position of the White King.
13. dxe6? The capturing little game in the following line leaves Black with an advantage- the pawn c5 makes a nice jump to c1 square through c5-d4-c3-d2-c1 route! 13... dxc3 14. Bxa8 cxd2 15. exd7 dxc1=Q 16. Raxc1 Qxa8
13... exd5
13... Bxb5?! 14. dxe6! Rc8 15. exd7 Bxd7 16. Qd3 Bc5 17. Bb2 Bg4 18. Rfe1
The Rook gets out of the h1-a8 dangerous diagonal, defends the c6 square from White Knight jumps, attacks the c4 pawn and pins the white Queen. What else can we ask from 1 move !
15. Re1!
White also make a a very good Rook move that gets out of the a6-f1 diagonal, attacks the Be7 and controls the e5 and e4 squares.
15... b5!
Using the idea of a Pin.
Up to here both sides play some very good, strong and logical moves. However, somewhere here white goes slightly wrong. That is enough advantage for Nakamura to win the game, even though he will have to play about a dozen moves without his Queen, calculate many complicated lines in onder to clinch the win!
17. Qd1?!
17. Nf5!?
17... bxc4 18. bxc4 Qb6! 19. Rb1 dxc4!?
19... Bc5!? This is another interesting line Black culd have possibly explore. The Nd4 and through it ( Xray attack ) the f2 pawn looks very weak. 20. Ba3 Rxe1+ 21. Qxe1 Qc7 22. Bxc5 Qxc5 Black looks a bit better due to active pieces and c4 and Kd4 being attacked, even though White can probably find a line to trade pieces and get to the safety of a Draw.
20. Nc6!?
A great idea unfortunately meeting even a greater defense!
Take a moment and consider Black's defensive ideas as well as any chance for an unexpected counterattack. What would be your next move as Black?Is White winning? The Qb6, the Rc6 and the Be7 hang, not to mention the fact that the Re8 is Pinned and white might threaten moves like Qg4 with a double attack on g7 and d7.
21... Qxf2+!!
Thunder and Fire!
22. Kxf2
Did you think Black can sacrifice a whole Queen for 1 pawn?
22... Bc5+!
I wonder if White missed this move and only counted on 22... RXf6?
22... Rxf6+?? 23. Kg1 Bc5+ 24. Kh1
23. Kf3
23. Kf1 c3+ 24. Re2 Rxf6+ (24... c2!! This move is found by Fritz 9 Computer and leads to the quickest win for Black. 25. Qxc2 Bxe2+ 26. Ke1 Bd3+ 27. Kd1 Bf2!! 28. Nc4 Bxc2+ 29. Kxc2 Rxc4+)
25. Nf3 Rd6 26. Ng1 Rxd1+
White has no Defense anymore.
25. Kh4 Rh6+ 26. Kg5 Rg6+ 27. Kh5 Bc8 28. Rb8 f6 29. Bd5+ Kf8 30. Kh4 Rh6+ 31. Qh5 Ng6#
25. Rxe5 Bc8+! (25... Rxe5?? 26. Rb8+ Bf8 27. Nf3 Re4+ 28. Kh3)
26. Kh4 Rxe5
26. Kf4 Nd3+! 27. Kf3 Rf6+ 28. Kg4 Bc8+ 29. Kg5 Rxe1 30. Qxe1 Rg6+ 31. Kh5 Rh6+ 32. Kg5 f6#
26... f6!
A very quite but a deadly move! Black is threatening a calm checkmate with Rh6 and despite white being up a whole queen and being a 2650+ player, he cannot find a defense.
White resigned. The only try for defense fails miserably and no self-respecting 2600 player wants to get into ChessBase files as a player who got checkmated!
30... Rh5#
0-1 [ m.]
US Amateur Team West (3) |
1. Nf3
Being somewhat surprised by the my opponent's opening choice, I decided to repeat a line that I played against IM Altounian at the Tucson Open last month.
1... Nf6 2. g3 b6 3. Bg2 Bb7 4.
6. d4 This is how my game with Altounian went.
Now the game has transposed to a Queen's Indian Defense. I just happened to have been working on the opening prior to the tournament, so I felt pretty confident.
An unusual move. The main line begins with
8. Qc2
Not the most accurate response.
9... d6 is better without the exchange on d5 because it doesn't allow white to undouble his c-pawns.
A good square for the knight. It eyes f5 and c6 from this post.
11... Bf6
This bishop gives White much grief on this diagonal, notice how the White knight now cannot move without losing the c3-pawn.
12. Rb1?!
Visually this looks like a good square for the rook, but in reality the rook doesn't attack anything and is suseptible to future attacks, especially on the b1-h7 diagonal.
Sensibly guarding the c3-pawn.
White's pos ition looks good right? He has lots of space and his pieces are active! Unfortunately the reality is White cannot create any sort of initiative whereas Black can take advantage on White's weaknesses (light-squares, c3-pawn, a2-pawn, etc) to sieze the initiative.
14... Qd7
The queen is very useful on this square.
15. Ba3?!
A poor square for the bishop. Is White really going to trade his good-bishop for the Black knight? If not, then what is it doing on a3?
15... Ba6
Siezing the weak diagonal.
16. Rfd1
...Bd3 was threatened.
16... Qa4
A strong idea, though it may be better implemented a little later.
16... Rfe8 Is slightly better, White can't really improve his position.
The queen trade has shown what a weakness the c3-pawn really is.
Increasing the pressure.
Now here White wants to play Bf1 to release the pressure, which explains my rash decision.
20... Bxa2?!
20... b5 21. Bf1 a6 refusing to release the bind, if 22. Bxc4 bxc4 followed by ...Rab8 and Black is fine.
21. Rxa2 Nxc3 22. Rad2 Nxd1 23. Rxd1 Bxd4+
Forced as Black cannot allow the knight to blockade the passed pawns with something like Nc6.
A critical position, if White can blockade the passed pawns he will have winning chances (Two bishops are better than a rook).
26. Bb4?!
After this move White loses any chance at an advantage.
26. Rb4 Rab8 27. Kf2 Rb6 28. Bd3
Now White is losing. The rest is simple.
27. Bxb5 Reb8 28. Bc6 Rxb4 29. Rxb4 axb4 30. Bxa8
27... Reb8 28. Bc1 b4 29. Rc4 b3 30. Ba3 b2
A very tense game, that helped our team beat "The Dream Team".
0-1 [Marmont B.]
WCL |
As part of being 2008 Arizona State Champion, I was invited to take part in "Champions of State Champions 2008 " competition relayed on the WorldChessNetwork.com. It was great playing so many State Champions in 1 tournament ! Only top 2 spots advanced into Play-offs. Unfortunately ( or maybe fortunately, as I would probably be unable to participate in the play-offs anyways the week after ) I got 3rd place. This is one of the most entertaining games I had in that tournament against the Southern California State Champion ( currently rated over 2600 USCF ) Enrico Sevillano.
1. Nf3
I decided to play my old system instead of the usual 1 e4.
1... c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 e5 4.
Not sure why I decided to play this side line ( which looks like a reversed caro-Cann or later on more like a reversed Alehine's Defense ) but probably some " creativity bug" had gotten into me. Either way the line is not bad but now we both are in uncharted territory.
5. c4 d5! 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nc3 Nc7 8. d3 Be7
5... e4!?
Black takes up the challenge. The normal move would be 5... d5
5... d5 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 e4 8. Ne5 And we arrive to a line that one of my students, the 2008 National High School Champion, Expert Vaishnav Aradhuyla ( many of you know him very well ) had successfully employed in some of his games past years. Unfortunately, the 2600 Californian plays in more interestingly, by grabbing as much space as possible and forcing the white knight to the back row.
6. Ne1
6. Ng5!? d5 7. d3 h6 8. Nh3 Be7 9. dxe4 Nxe4 10. Nf4 Would be a sharper way to play this for White, but I was not interested in making it so comlicated so fast against a very fierce attacker.
White has to break the center, as to not suffocate.
7. c4 d4 8. d3 e3! 9. fxe3 Ng4 10. e4 h5! With huge complicated I fear do not favor White in the long run.
7... Be7
7... exd3 Would be a very natural but boring alternative
8. Bg5!
8. dxe4 Nxe4 9. c4 Be6 It looked interesting but not sufficient for White.
8. c4 exd3 9. cxd5 dxe2 10. Qxe2 Nxd5 Not good either
8... Bf5
Black is holding on to his outpost while White is doing everything possible to break it and attack some other weaknesses, since Black is generally overextended.
9. Qb3!?
During the game I could not decide if this is better than simply trading in the center ( or adding Bxf6) along the lines somewhere, so decided since I don't know, he probably will not be sure either.
9. dxe4!? dxe4 10. Qxd8+ Rxd8 11. Nc2 h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Ne3! Bg6 14. Na3
9. Bxf6!? Bxf6 10. dxe4 dxe4 11. Qa4! Qd5 (11... Qe7 12. Nd2 e3 13. Bxc6+) 12. Nc2 Bg6 13. Ne3 Qe6 14. Nd2 This looks d, but during the game I was not sure and didn't choose this interesting line. Oh well.
9...
Apparently, having to deal with some many threats on his pawns ( b7, d5, e4 pawns are weak ), combined with other problems such as not being castled, Black chooses to sacrifice a pawn and get a play on White's Queen.
10. dxe4
10. Qxb7 Na5 11. Qa6 Bc8 12. Qb5 Bd7 13. Qa6 Bc8 DRAW. However I was trying to win.
10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Qxb7 Na5 12. Qb5 Rb8 13. Qxc5 Rxb2 14. dxe4 Bxe4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Qxa7 Rxe2 With good compensation for the pawn- I didn't like this either.
10... Nxe4
10... dxe4? 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. Qxb7 Na5 13. Qb5 Rb8 14. Qxc5 Rxb2 15. Qxf5 White won a Piece. That was the idea of delaying the b7 capture and taking on e4 first.
11... Qxe7 12. Qxd5 Bg6 13. Qb3
12. Qxb7
I assumed I should be better here, even though the problems with the queen Side development will be a near term problem. It never occured to me at this pieceful point that in few moves he will be starting a huge King side attack on me!
12... Qd6
12... Rb8 13. Qxa7 Rxb2 14. Nd3 Rxe2 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 16. Qxc5 With good chances for a win
I thought things are finally nice for me. I am up a pawn, and slowly will untangle myself.
What else? Ra6 is very unpleasant, but now my Queen side gets weakened.
15... Qh6
Where is he going?
This idea had not occured to me. Now White King starts looking very uncomfortable. However, my general desire to have extra safety net in every position serves me well here. White will start a central counterattack while black will demolish the King Side. the resulting positions will be impossible to calculate and therefore it will be up for the players intuition to choose between many logical and good-looking moves.
18. h4
18. Qf4 Bh3 Somehow didn't appeal to me, but it is probably not bad either
18... f6!
Black got no other choice but to go on with his plan!
19. Qf4!
19. c4 d4 20. e3 Bg4 This didn't look good to me either.
What a concentration of Black pieces on White's King!
21. Rd1
Counterattack!
Capture, Pin and ideas of attacking the Black king too!
22. Qb7! Rd8 23. Rxd5 I missed this line.
22... hxg3
22... h3 23. Bh1 (23. Bf1?? h2+ 24. Kh1 Nxf2+ 25. Kg2 h1=Q+) 23... h2+ 24. Kf1 Qh3+ 25. Ke1 Somehow I escape and Black is now in real trouble.
After all th ese complications, I had a feeling that I am standing better. However, having very little time, I did not choose the best lines for White.
24. Rd8+
Was not sure what else is there, so trading a piece to expose Black's King looked logical.
24... Rxd8 25. Qxd8+ Kg7 26. Qe7+
26. Qc7+! I saw this as soon as I played Qe7. from c7 it will be protecting a vital pawn on g3.
26... Nf7
Black prefers to keep Queens.
28. Kf2! Rg6 29. Qxc5 Nxe2 30. Rh1 Qg4 31. Bh3 Qg3+ 32. Kxe2 Bxh3 33. Rg1 I had no time to calculate this interesting line, but here it looks about even too.
28... Be4!
I completely missed this move. Now the e2 pawn is no longer protected by the White Queen.
29. Nd6
29... Nxe2+ 30. Kf2 Bxf3 31. Qxf7+?!
31. Rh1! Qg6 32. Ne8+ Kg8 33. Bxf3 Rxh1 34. Bxh1 Nxc3 35. Nxf6+ Kg7 36. Ne8+ Kg8 37. Nf6+ DRAW
31... Qxf7 32. Nxf7 Kxf7 33. Bxf3
Now it is Black who has the chances to win the game.
34... Rh2+! 35. Ke3 (35. Kg3? Ne2+)
35... Nxa2 36. Rxc5 a6
35. Rxc5 Rh2+ 36. Kg3 Rb2 37. Rc7+ Kg6 38. Rxa7
At this point I was going for trades and a draw, but I had an interesting " cheap trick"
38. Kf4 Rxb3 39. Be4+ Kh5 40. Rxh7#
39... Rxb3+!! 40. Bxb3 Nxb3 And Black retains small winning chances
40. Rb7!
Pin again
40... Kg5 41. Rxb3 Rxb3+ 42. Bxb3 h5 43. Bc2 h4+ 44. Kh3 f5 45. Bxf5 Kxf5 46. Kxh4
Now even Kaspa rov cannot play on. A very enjoyable but unfortunately a game with some mistakes by both sides.
1/2-1/2 [ m.]
CCA International (9) |
(This was a big game for me in that I had started off the tournament very well and was on pace for a GM norm after 6 rounds, before going for the win in a risky position against GM Pavel Blatny, and losing the game, and another loss in round 8. I was nervous going into the round knowing a win would secure an IM norm)
(I dont play the Caro-Kann very often, though I played it extensively until I was in 8th grade. I noticed earlier in the tournament that my opponent struggled versus the hanging pawn formation, so I decided to give this a try).
(this is called the Panov Attack; the idea is to generate quick development; black plays against the isolated pawn, generally)
(this is now very popular line to play)
7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 Nc6 9. Bd3 Be7 10. a3
10.
10...
12. Qe2 (This is better - Be3 gets in the way of the e-file, and makes it impossible to play Qe2, Qe4)
12... Nxc3
(this gives white hanging pawns, which is typically leads to unbalanced positions)
13. bxc3
(notice how a3 is weak - which makes taking on c3 more appealing)
13... b6 14. Bf4 Bb7 15. Qe2 Rc8 16. Rac1
16. Qe4 g6 17. Bh6 Bg7 18. Bxg7 Kxg7=
16... Qd5!
(an excellent move that sets up 2 ideas; hit c4 square and also to hit the f3 knight - see the game)
17. Rfd1 Na5 18. c4 Qh5 19. Ne5 Qxe2 20. Bxe2 Rfd8 21. Rc3 Ba6
(now white will lose a pawn)
22. h3 Bxe5 23. Bxe5 f6 24. Bg3 Bxc4 25. Bg4 Bd5 26. Re3 Kf7 27. Rde1 Re8 28. Bh5+ g6 29. Be2 Bc4
(the rest is a matter of technique)
30. Bf3 Rcd8 31. Rd1 Rd7 32. Be2 Bxe2 33. Rxe2 Nb3 34. f4 Nxd4 35. Ree1 Ne2+ 36. Kh2 Rxd1 37. Rxd1 Nxg3 38. Kxg3 Ke7 39. Rd3 Rd8 40. Rc3 Kd7 41. Rd3+ Kc7 42. Rc3+ Kb7 43. Re3 Rd6 44. h4 b5 45. h5 a5 46. hxg6 hxg6 47. Kf3 Kb6 48. Ke4 e5 49. fxe5 Re6 50. Kd4 Rxe5 51. Rf3 Re6 52. Kc3 f5 53. Rg3 Kc5 54. Rg5 Kd5 55. Kd3 Ke5 56. Rg3 Kf4 57. Rf3+ Kg4 58. Kd2 f4 59. Rb3 Re5 60. Kd1 g5 61. Kd2 a4 62. Rb2 Kg3 63. Kd3 Re3+ 64. Kd4 Rb3
(this win got me my first IM norm!)
0-1 [Adamson]
Foothills Open- How to analyze |
1. d4
This game was played between 2 young and promising 1300 players from a recent Tucson tournament.
1... d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7?!
Not the best.
4... e6
4... dxc4
5. Bf4?!
5. cxd5! cxd5 6. Bf4 e6 7. e3 And Knight on d7 seems a bit silly and misplaced.
5... Qb6!?
5... dxc4! 6. a4 Nd5 7. Bg3 Qa5 8. Qd2 N7b6 It is not easy for white to regain his lost pawn.
6. Rb1 e6 7. e3 Be7 8. Be2
Too fast. Bb7 would give black a slightly worse but normal position. Now we are entering the subject of today's lesson. "What to look for in better positions and how to devise a plan" to not only " look good " but actually give results and deal with opponent's hidden resources.The position looks very good for white, but there is no immediate way to exploit the fact that black center looks loose and black pieces are under-developed. In order to find the best move in the position and not miss a defense by opponent, I would suggest following these simple but very effective steps. Step 1- Look for targets. Targets usually include the King, Pieces, Pawns and Weak Squares. That narrows down the field and makes it easier to calculate for you. For example- in this position I see few targets that white can go for. Ra8, c5 and d5 pawns, c7 and c6 squares.I'll keep those in mind and ork with them! Step 2- Find possible moves that can work by themselves or as a unit with some other move or a plan. In descending order-from most important to least important- look for Checkmates, Check, Captures, Threats, Aggressive moves, Developing moves, Quiet moves and only then Defensive moves. I do not see a Checkmate or Check ideas here, so next comes "Captures". We have 6 legal captures, from which only 3 make any sense - c4xd5, d4xc5, b4xc5. Step 3- lets find Aggressive moves. I see only 3 that make sense- Qc6, Nb5 and Ne5. From developing moves the only one that looks good to me is Rfd1- eyeing the black queen and the d5 pawn. Now we have all of the moves ready so lets calculate!
12. cxd5!
Turns out the c4xd5 is the best. However, to come to that conclusion, we need to check out all the other possibilities.
12. Qc6? The most straightforward line- attacking the Rook a8. That is what happened in the actual game. Unfortunately for white,black has a good defense based on the fact that white queen can be attacked too on c6. Lesson- all tempting move are good to calculate but not all tempting moves are good to play by themselves! Most of the times- a very tempting move will work best with a less "flashy" or " intermediate" move or a plan. That is why in such complex positions, good players spend long time thinking, to make sure they miss nothing, while amateurs are more prone to the faulty idea of " looks good, lets do it and see what happens!" concept. 12... Ba6 13. b5? (13. Bd6 That is wha t was played in the actual game and after further complications white ended up down a pawn and barely drew. 13... cxd4 14. cxd5 dxc3 15. Bxa6 Bxd6 16. Qxd6 Nxd5) (13. bxc5 Still keeps a tiny edge for white) 13... Rc8 Opps! White loses the queen
12. bxc5!? bxc5 13. Qc6 Seems so good! Now no Ba6 can happen and black must be losing his rook! 13... Nb6 14. Rxb6 Looks crashing, doesn't it? 14... Bd7 Opps again... white loses an exchange without any compensation.(14... Qxb6 15. Qxa8 Bb7 Getting his queen trapped like this was not part of white's plan !)
12. dxc5?! Another tempting move 12... bxc5 13. Qc6 Nb6 14. bxc5 Bd7! 15. Qb7 Bxc5 Nothing exciting for white there either!
12. Nb5 Another tempting idea. 12... a6 13. Nc7 Ra7 The knight looks strange on that spot.
12. Ne5!? Nxe5 (12... cxd4 13. Nc6 Qe8 14. Nb5 Bb7 15. Nxe7+! Qxe7 16. Bd6) 13. dxe5 Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Qc6 Rb8 16. Rfd1 Bb7 As tempting as it looks, white only retains a slight edge after black's correct defense.
12... exd5
12... cxb4 13. d6 bxc3 14. dxe7 Qxe7 15. Qc6!
12... cxd4 13. Nxd4 exd5 14. Qc6
14. Qxa8 bxc3 15. Qxa7 Good too
Winning the Exchange and most likely the game. Conclusion: The final line for white after black's move 11 is very short and effective, yet only by looking for all the possibilities and moves as well as defenses and tactics, could we come to the winning line. Moral of the game- never make moves just because they look good. Many times they arenotthebest!
1/2-1/2 [ m.]
Botvinnik M.
Game(s) in PGN