[Event "New Zealand Major Open 2010"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.08"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Wu, Shirley"]
[Black "Ansell, Alan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B19"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. h5 Bh7 8. Nf3
Nd7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Ngf6 11. Bf4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. c4 e6 14. Rc1 {
?!  A questionable move- white gives up the opportunity to castle queenside,
where he(/she) usually castles in this variation.} Bd6 15. Ne4 Be7 {!?  I retur
n my valuable black bisop to e7, hoping that white will capture on f6, when I
may recapture with the bishop and castle Queenside with play against whites d4
pawn.} 16. Ng3 {?!} O-O 17. Bc3 Rad8 {Preparing to declare war against the d4
pawn with a move like ...c5 or maybe even ...e5} 18. Qc2 Rfe8 19. Ne5 {
White foregoes her last chance to safeguard her king by castling. However,
this means sacrificing the h-pawn: 19.0-0 Bd6 20.Ne4 Nxh5. Still, I believe it
is a better option, as whites king turns out to be very exposed.} c5 20. Qe2 {
(20.Nxd7 is perhaps slightly better)} cxd4 21. Bxd4 Bb4+ {The white king is
knocked out of position (22.Bc3 Bxc3+ 23.Rxc3 Qxe5 wins a piece)} 22. Kf1 Bd6
23. Nxd7 Nxd7 24. Qg4 Ne5 25. Qe2 Nc6 {
Diagram # Black wins a pawn and shatters whites king protection.} 26. Be3 Bxg3
27. fxg3 Qxg3 28. Rh3 Qe5 {
With the plan of Nc6-d4-f5, where the knight is excellently posted.} 29. Qg4
Nd4 {h6 is taboo- 30.Bxh6 Qf6+ picks up the Bishop} 30. Bf2 Nf5 {From here the
knight controls important squares and completely blocks any attack that white
might cobble together in desperation.} 31. Qe2 Qf4 32. Re1 Rd2 {
Black has acheived complete domination. Now he comes in for the kill...} 33.
Rf3 Qg5 34. Qe4 Red8 35. Rf4 R2d4 {!} 36. Rg4 {?  White blunders a rook under
terrible time pressure. The best response would have been to sacrifice the
exchange with 36. Rxf5 exf5 37. Qxd4 Rxd4 38. Bxd4, even though black gets two
more pawns after 38... Qf4+ 39. Bf2 Qxc4+ 40. Kg1 Qxa2} Qxg4 {White resigns 0-1
} 0-1

[Event "WYCC 2009"]
[Site "Antalya"]
[Date "2009.11.16"]
[Round "6.25"]
[White "Alan Ansell"]
[Black "Bardia Sheykhhasani"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A47"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. Nbd2 c5 7. b3 O-O 8. Bb2
d6 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. c4 Rc8 11. Rfe1 Re8 12. Rad1 Qc7 13. Bb1 a6 14. e4 e5 15.
dxe5 {Another option is 15. d5} dxe5 16. Nf1 {
I slowly manauver my pieces into better positions.} Rcd8 17. Ne3 {
I dare black to capture the e4 pawn and open lines for my bishops.} Bf8 {
Black is not a masochist, and denies the offer.} 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. cxd5 b5 20.
Nd2 {With the dual purpose of moving the knight toward the queenside where the
action will be and uncovering the f pawn, introducing the possibility of
breaking with f4} Bd6 21. a4 {Probing at the insecure b5 pawn} Rb8 22. axb5 {
I exchange because a smell domination on the a-file.} axb5 23. Bd3 Qb6 24. Ra1
Rec8 25. Ra2 Ne8 26. Rea1 {The a-file is mine!} Nc7 27. Bc3 c4 {!?  Black makes
a sensible desicion and sacrifices a pawn for a strong passer and some piece
activity.} 28. bxc4 b4 29. Bb2 Nc5 30. g3 {I start preparing to play f4} Re8 {
?!  Black plays passively by preparing to meet f4. Instead he should play
actively and continue his queenside initiative.} 31. Kg2 f6 {?!} 32. Nf1 {
I improve a piece.} N7a6 {Black is planning ...b3 followed up with ...Nb4 when
his position will become very strong due to more space on the queenside, his
advanced passed pawn and more active pieces. I can not allow him to do this!}
33. Ra5 Rec8 {Black fiddles about with no clear aim in mind.} 34. Rb5 Qc7 35.
Ne3 Nxd3 {With this exchange, black may be hoping to weaken my central pawns
by removing their best defender.} 36. Qxd3 Nc5 37. Qb1 Rxb5 38. cxb5 Nb3 39.
Ra6 Qc5 40. Nf5 {?!  40. Qd1 is better.} Bf8 41. Qd1 {
?!  A better move is 41. Rc6} Qxb5 42. Ra7 Qb6 {Diagram #} 43. Qg4 {!!} Qxa7
44. Nh6+ Kh8 45. Qxc8 Qc5 {
45...Qe7 is met with the brutal 46.d6! when the Queens predicament is terminal.
} 46. Nf7+ {!} Kg8 47. Qe6 {!} h6 48. Nxe5+ Kh7 49. Nd7 Qe7 50. Qf5+ {
?!  50. d6! instead is a crushing blow: 50... Qd8 (50...Qxe6 51.Nxf8+ wins
back the Queen with a piece as interest) 51. Nxf8+ Qxf8 52. Qxb3 wins a piece.}
Kg8 51. Nxf8 Kxf8 52. e5 Kf7 53. Qh5+ {Black is busted. The d and e pawns are
going to march forwards and black has no chance of stopping them without his
knight which is stranded on b3 doing nothing.} g6 54. Qxh6 Qf8 55. e6+ Kg8 56.
Qxg6+ {Black resigns. 1-0} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.01.02"]
[Round "1.10"]
[White "Nyberg, Michael"]
[Black "Shen, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. b4 Bb6 7. a4 a6 8. h3 O-O
9. O-O Be6 10. Nbd2 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Ne4 h6 13. Qb3 f5 {Diagram #} 14. Neg5
hxg5 15. Nxg5 Bf7 16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. Bxd5+ Kg6 18. a5 Ba7 19. b5 axb5 20. Qxb5
Qd7 21. Ba3 Rfd8 22. Bxc6 bxc6 23. Qxe5 Qxd3 24. Qe6+ Kh7 25. Qxc6 Qe2 26. Qa4
g5 27. Qb3 Kg6 28. Qb7 g4 29. Qc6+ Kh5 30. Qf6 Qe4 31. Qf7+ {Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.01.03"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Davis, Justin"]
[Black "Garbett, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. g3 d6 6. exd6 Bxd6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O
Nc6 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qc7 12. Nd2 Bd7 13. Ne4 Be5 14. Qc5 Qb8
15. f4 Bc7 16. Kh1 Bb6 17. Qa3 Bb5 18. Re1 Qc7 19. Qd6 Rad8 20. Qxc7 Nxc7 21.
a4 {Diagram #} f5 22. axb5 fxe4 23. Bxe4 Nd5 24. c4 Nb4 25. Be3 Nd3 26. Bxd3
Rxd3 27. Bxb6 axb6 28. Rxe6 h5 29. Rxb6 Re8 30. Kg2 Re2+ 31. Kh3 Rdd2 32. Rh1
Re7 33. Kh4 Rxb2 34. Kxh5 Rc2 35. Kg6 Rxc4 36. Ra1 Rc8 37. Ra7 Rb8 38. f5 Kf8
39. g4 Ke8 40. h4 Kd8 41. g5 Kc7 42. Re6 Rbe8 43. b6+ Kb8 44. Rxe7 Rxe7 45. Ra4
{Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.01.03"]
[Round "2.3"]
[White "Steadman, Michael"]
[Black "Thornton, Gino"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C14"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 a6 7. Qg4 g6 8. Nf3 c5
9. dxc5 Nc6 10. Qf4 h6 11. Bxh6 d4 12. Ne4 Qa5+ 13. Kd1 Nxc5 14. Bd3 Nxd3 15.
cxd3 Qb5 16. Ke2 Nb4 17. Rhd1 Bd7 18. Nxd4 Nxd3 19. Rxd3 Qxb2+ 20. Rd2 Qxa1 {
Diagram #} 21. Bg5 O-O-O 22. Bxe7 Bb5+ 23. Nxb5 Rxd2+ 24. Qxd2 axb5 25. Bd6 b6
26. g3 Kb7 27. Nc3 Rc8 28. Nxb5 Qb1 {(=)} 29. Nc3 Qf5 30. Qd3 Qg4+ 31. Ke3 Rc6
32. Qe4 Qh3 33. Ne2 Qf1 34. Qf3 Qd1 35. Qxf7+ Ka6 36. Qxg6 b5 37. Qd3 Qa1 38.
a3 Rc4 39. f4 Qb2 40. h5 Qa1 41. h6 Qh1 42. h7 Kb7 43. a4 Kb6 44. axb5 Rc8 45.
Qd4+ Kxb5 46. Qd3+ Ka5 47. Qa3+ Kb6 48. Qb3+ Ka5 49. Qxe6 {Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.01.03"]
[Round "2.14"]
[White "Milligan, Helen"]
[Black "Marner, Gavin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Nxd4 cxd4 5. c3 a6 6. Bc4 Qc7 7. d3 dxc3 8.
Nxc3 e6 9. Be3 b5 10. Bb3 Nf6 11. Rc1 Qb8 12. O-O Be7 13. f4 d6 14. Kh1 h5 15.
f5 b4 16. Na4 Ng4 17. Bg1 Bg5 18. Rxc8+ Qxc8 19. Nb6 Qb7 20. fxe6 f6 {Diagram #
} 21. Bd5 Qa7 22. Qa4+ Ke7 23. Bxa8 Be3 24. Nd5+ Kxe6 25. Nxe3 {Black resigns}
1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.04"]
[Round "3.4"]
[White "Hart, Ralph"]
[Black "Watson, Bruce"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. h4 h6 8. h5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bf4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qc7 13. O-O-O Ngf6 14. Ne4
O-O-O 15. Kb1 Nxe4 16. Qxe4 Bd6 17. Qe2 Rhe8 18. g3 Kb8 19. Rh4 f6 20. Re4 Nf8
21. Bc1 Qf7 22. Nd2 Bc7 23. f4 Rd5 24. c4 Rxh5 25. Nf3 Qg6 {Diagram #} 26. f5
Qxg3 27. fxe6 f5 28. Re3 f4 29. Re4 Rh3 30. Rd3 g5 31. Ne5 Qh2 32. Qxh2 Rxh2
33. d5 Bxe5 34. Rxe5 Kc8 35. b3 c5 36. a4 a5 37. Rf5 Nxe6 38. dxe6 Rxe6 39.
Rxc5+ Kb8 40. Rd8+ Ka7 41. Rxa5+ Kb6 42. b4 Kc7 43. Rad5 Re1 44. a5 Rhh1 45. b5
Rxc1+ 46. Kb2 Rb1+ 47. Ka3 Rxb5 48. R8d7+ {Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.05"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Hart, Ralph"]
[Black "Croad, Nicholas"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2276"]
[BlackElo "2332"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 b6 6. Qd2 Bb7 7. f4 g5 8. g3
gxf4 9. e5 Qg7 10. Bg2 Nc6 11. gxf4 {Diagram #} Rg8 12. d5 Qxg2 13. Qxg2 Rxg2
14. dxc6 Bxc6 15. Nge2 Bc5 16. O-O-O O-O-O 17. Nd4 Bxd4 18. Rxd4 Rdg8 19. Rf1
Rxh2 20. Rd2 Rgg2 21. Rxg2 Rxg2 22. b4 a6 23. a4 b5 24. axb5 axb5 25. Nd1 h5
26. Nf2 h4 27. Nh3 Rg3 28. Ng5 h3 29. Rf2 Bg2 {White resigns} 0-1

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.06"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Thornton, Gino"]
[Black "Depasquale, Chris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A50"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "2274"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. d5 Ne7 5. g3 Ng6 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. Rb1 d6 8. Qc2
O-O 9. e3 a5 10. Nge2 Bd7 11. O-O Qc8 12. Na4 Ba7 13. Nec3 Bh3 14. Qe2 e4 15.
Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Bxf1 17. Qxf1 Qg4 18. Bg2 b5 19. Nc3 Qxc4 20. Nxb5 Qxa2 21.
Bd2 Bb6 22. f4 Qb3 23. Nc3 Rfe8 24. Qd3 Nf8 25. Bf3 Nd7 26. Bd1 Qb4 27. Bc2 Nf6
28. Ra1 Qxb2 29. Ra2 Qb4 30. Ra4 Qc5 31. Rd4 c6 32. g4 {Diagram #} cxd5 33. g5
Re4 34. gxf6 gxf6 35. Rxd5 {Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.07"]
[Round "6.3"]
[White "Garbett, Paul"]
[Black "Watson, Bruce"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2350"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. dxc5 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Nbd2 e6 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Nxf3
Bxc5 9. Bd3 Nge7 10. O-O Ng6 11. Qe2 O-O 12. c3 f6 13. b4 Bb6 14. exf6 Qxf6 15.
Bg5 Nf4 16. Bxf4 Qxf4 17. Qxe6+ Kh8 18. Qxd5 Qh6 19. Rae1 Rad8 20. Qe4 Rf4 21.
Qe2 Rdf8 22. b5 Nd8 23. Be4 Ne6 24. Bxb7 R4f6 25. Bc6 Nf4 26. Qe7 {Diagram #}
Nxh3+ 27. gxh3 Qxh3 28. Qxf6 gxf6 {White resigns} 0-1

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.08"]
[Round "7.5"]
[White "Hart, Ralph"]
[Black "Shen, Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C85"]
[WhiteElo "2276"]
[BlackElo "2221"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qe1 Nd7 8.
b3 O-O 9. Bb2 Bf6 10. d3 Re8 11. Nbd2 b5 12. Qe3 c5 13. a4 {
See note at end of game} c6 14. Rfd1 Qe7 15. Ba3 Bb7 16. h3 g6 17. Rab1 Bg7 18.
Nf1 Rad8 19. Ng3 b4 20. Bb2 Nf8 21. Rf1 Qd6 22. Nh2 Ne6 23. Ng4 Nd4 24. Qd2 Bc8
25. Nh6+ Kf8 26. Rbc1 a5 27. Ng4 f5 28. Bxd4 cxd4 29. f4 {Diagram #} exf4 30.
exf5 fxg3 31. f6 Bxg4 32. fxg7+ Kxg7 33. hxg4 Qe7 34. g5 Qe3+ 35. Qxe3 Rxe3 36.
Rf4 Rd5 37. Rg4 c5 38. Rf1 Rf5 39. Re4 Rxg5 40. Rxe3 dxe3 41. Rf3 Re5 42. Kf1
Rf5 43. Ke2 Rxf3 44. Kxf3 Kf6 {White resigns. ---- White switched off his
cellphone on move 13 - however it beeped while he was doing so. The game was
ruled a win for Black, but White disputed the meaning of the rule. The game
was continued on the basis there being a small chance that White could win his
appeal. White lost anyway, so there was no point in any appeal.} 0-1

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.11"]
[Round "10.3"]
[White "Steadman, Michael"]
[Black "Watson, Bruce"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2337"]
[BlackElo "2297"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Ne2 Nc6 5. c3 e6 6. Be3 Nge7 7. Ng3 Qb6 8. Qd2
cxd4 9. cxd4 Bd7 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. Be2 Na5 12. O-O Nc4 13. Bxc4 Rxc4 14. Rfd1 h5
15. h4 Kd8 16. Rac1 Kc8 17. Nce4 Rxc1 18. Rxc1+ Nc6 19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. Rxc5 Kb8
21. a3 a5 22. Qc2 g6 23. Ne2 Rc8 24. Qd2 a4 25. Bg5 Qb3 26. f3 Na7 27. Nc1 Qb6
28. Be7 Bb5 29. Na2 Bc4 30. Nc3 Bb3 31. Bd6+ Ka8 32. Qf4 Qd8 {Diagram #} 33.
Qxf7 Qxh4 34. Rxc8+ Nxc8 35. Qxe6 Qxd4+ 36. Kh2 Qh4+ 37. Qh3 Qxh3+ 38. Kxh3
Nxd6 39. exd6 Kb8 40. Kh4 d4 41. Nb5 Kc8 42. Nxd4 Bc4 43. Kg5 Bd3 44. Ne6 Bf1
45. g3 Bg2 46. f4 Kd7 47. Nf8+ Kxd6 48. Nxg6 Bf3 49. f5 Be4 50. f6 Bd5 51. Kxh5
{Black resigns} 1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "Auckland"]
[Date "2010.01.11"]
[Round "10.6"]
[White "Garbett, Paul"]
[Black "Depasquale, Chris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2350"]
[BlackElo "2274"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2010.01.02"]
[EventRounds "11"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 Nc6 3. Bb5 Na5 4. c3 a6 5. Ba4 b5 6. Bc2 Bb7 7. O-O e6 8. Re1
Qc7 9. e5 h6 10. Qe2 Ne7 11. Be4 c4 12. Bxb7 Nxb7 13. d4 cxd3 14. Qxd3 Nd5 15.
Be3 Nxe3 16. Qxe3 Bc5 17. Qe2 O-O 18. Nbd2 d5 19. Nb3 Rfc8 20. Rac1 Bf8 21.
Red1 Qb6 22. Nfd4 Rc4 23. a3 Rac8 24. h3 R4c7 25. Qe3 a5 26. Nc2 Nc5 27. Nxc5
Bxc5 28. Qf4 Be7 29. Qd4 Qb8 30. Ra1 Rc4 31. Qe3 {Diagram #} Re4 32. Qd3 Qxe5
33. Nd4 b4 34. axb4 axb4 35. Qa6 Qc7 36. Nb5 Qc5 37. cxb4 Rxb4 38. Na7 Rc7 39.
Rdc1 Qxc1+ 40. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 41. Kh2 Rxb2 42. Nc8 Bf6 43. f4 Rcc2 44. Kg3 Rb3+ {
White resigns} 0-1

[Event "New Zealand Championship"]
[Site "Wellington"]
[Date "2010.01.09"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Croad, Nicholas"]
[Black "Han, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D44"]
[Annotator ",Person"]
[PlyCount "133"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NZL"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5
9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Qb6 12. exf6 Bb7 13. Bg2 c5 14. d5 O-O-O 15.
O-O b4 16. Rb1 {I knew of this piece sacrifice. The idea is to expose the
bishop on b7 which is an important piece. It is not wise to accept the
sacrifice immediately.} Qa6 17. b3 $6 ({The main-line goes} 17. dxe6 {
with complications which remain unresolved for over a decade. I was looking
for a way to get away from here at this point as I had not prepared this
opening for this game. My opponent was playing quickly enough here that I
thought he knew where he was going and I actually thought that the speculative
piece sacrifice I now essay might be a variation at this point.}) 17... bxc3
18. bxc4 Nb6 ({I don't want to go into details here but} 18... exd5 {
was an alternative}) 19. Qg4 {Diagram #} Qxc4 $2 (19... c2 $5 {is exactly the
sort of move disruptive which should be considered when the opponent is
relying on a highly forcing main-line, but here after} 20. dxe6 fxe6 (20...
cxb1=Q 21. e7+ Nd7 ({Neither is} 21... Kc7 22. Bf4+ Rd6 23. e8=Q $18 {
very interesting to Black despite the multiple queen's because White's king is
quite safe.}) 22. Rxb1 {Black has trouble with his bishop because of} Bxg2 (
22... Bxe7 23. Bxb7+ Qxb7 24. Rxb7 Kxb7 25. fxe7 $18) 23. Rb8+ Kxb8 24. exd8=Q+
$18 {and White wins.}) 21. Qxe6+ Kb8 22. Rb2 {and White has lots of
compensation for the sacrificed piece, though Black has some counterplay here,}
Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Qb7+ 24. Kg1 $13) (19... Bd6 {was probably the best defence,} 20.
dxe6 Bxg2 21. e7+ Rd7 22. Kxg2 Qxc4 23. Qxc4 Nxc4 {again the position is quite
unclear, but I won't go into further detail at this point either.}) 20. Qxc4
Nxc4 21. Rxb7 Kxb7 ({Much better was the interesting alternative} 21... exd5 $6
22. Rxa7 d4 23. Re1 $1 $16 {and White creates threats against the Black king
which are to great. Though in practise this would have been a good
continuation to choose as this last position is still un-fathomable for a
human.}) 22. dxe6+ Kc8 (22... Kc7 23. e7 Re8 24. Rc1 $14 {
is similar to the game in many ways.}) 23. e7 {Diagram # Black had earlier
decided to go into this position where he is presently ahead in material, but
I felt that White was already much better here. Basically the pawn on e7 is
worth the exchange which Black keeps for a while and appart from this the
black queenside pawns will drop off. White will eventually transpose into an
ending then with an extra pawn.} Bxe7 (23... Re8 24. Bc6 Nd6 25. Bxe8 Nxe8 26.
Rd1 $18 {is pretty straight forward for White to win.}) 24. fxe7 Rd6 {
preparing to gather the pawn on e7, but now the tactics start.} 25. Bh3+ $1 {
First I prevent the king from approaching the e7-pawn and take control of the
e6 square.} Kb7 ({Using the trick} 25... Rxh3 $4 26. e8=Q+ $18) 26. Rc1 {
Now I will calmly collect one or both c-pawns before figuring out how to win
back the exchange.} f6 ({Probably a more testing defence was} 26... Re8 27.
Rxc3 Nb6 28. Bg2+ Ka6 29. Bf1+ c4 30. Rxc4 $1 Nxc4 31. Bxc4+ Kb7 32. Bxf7 Rxe7
33. Bxe7 Rd7 34. Bg5 Rxf7 $18 {which leads to a winning endgame, however Black
still has some practical chances here because of the unbalanced material.}) 27.
Bh6 $1 {The second bishop places itself under attack on the h-file, and
threatens to go to f8 forcing a pawn promotion.} Re8 28. Bf8 Ne5 29. Bf5 Nc6 (
29... Nd7 30. Bg6 Rxf8 31. exf8=Q Nxf8 32. Be4+ Kb6 33. Rxc3 $16 {
with a similar endgame to the game.}) 30. Bg6 Rxe7 31. Bxe7 Nxe7 32. Be4+ Kb6
33. Rxc3 f5 {Diagram #} 34. Rb3+ {I decided to carry on in the same vein,
though maybe I should have simply retreated my bishop to f3 instead here,} Ka5
35. Rb7 fxe4 36. Rxa7+ Kb4 37. Rxe7 Rd4 {When I first saw this position I
thought this would be an easy win, advance the kingside pawns and when the
c-pawn becomes threatening sacrifice the rook for the pawn, however this plan
doesn't work out quite so easily as I anticipated.} 38. Rb7+ {I gave this
check to force the Black king in front of it's pawn, it basically gains a
tempo.} Kc3 39. h4 c4 40. h5 Kd3 ({After the game my opponent suggested} 40...
Kd2 {might be an improvement,} 41. h6 c3 42. h7 Rd8 43. Rd7+ {
again White must go in for this sort of thing,} Rxd7 44. h8=Q c2 45. Qb2 Kd1
46. Kf1 $3 {similar to the game.} Rd2 47. Qb3 Rd3 48. Qa4 {
Found by Anthony Ker later that evening,} Kd2 49. Qb4+ Rc3 50. Qb2 e3 51. fxe3
Rxe3 52. Kf2 Re2+ 53. Kf3 Re3+ 54. Kf4 Re1 55. a4 {
and White is winning after all.} Kd1 (55... Kd3 56. Qb3+ Kd2 57. Qb4+ Ke2 58.
Qe4+ Kd2 59. Qd4+ Ke2 60. Qe3+ Kd1 61. Qd3+ Kc1 62. a5 $18) 56. Qd4+ Ke2 57.
Qe3+ Kd1 58. Qd3+ Kc1 59. a5 $18) 41. h6 c3 42. h7 Rd8 {Diagram # When I
envisaged this position I thought that I would win by sacrificing my rook for
the c-pawn and getting the white pawn to g6 on the next move, however this
plan has a serious flaw.} 43. Rd7+ $1 {Deflecting the rook from it's duty of
covering the queening square on h8, but this is not the final sentance of the
game.} (43. g4 $2 c2 44. Rc7 Rh8 45. g5 Rxh7 {
and White is certainly not winning any more.}) 43... Rxd7 44. h8=Q c2 45. Qh6 {
I had seen this move quite a long time in advance but only when I realised
that the transposition into a rook against pawn endgame didn't work did I take
it seriously because black has lots of counterplay here.} Kc3 ({
I found the hardest side variation to discover here was} 45... Ke2 46. Qe3+ Kd1
47. Kf1 $3 c1=Q (47... c1=N 48. Qxe4 $18) 48. Qe2#) 46. Qc6+ Kb2 47. Qxd7 c1=Q+
48. Kg2 Qc4 {and I had thought this would now be a straight forward win and
not worth playing on but the two pawns extra are quite difficult to convert. I
took quite a long time before moving now.} (48... Kxa2 49. Qa4+ Kb2 50. Qxe4
$18 {will not be difficult to win.}) 49. Qd2+ Ka3 50. Kg1 Qd3 {Diagram #} 51.
Qa5+ (51. Qxd3+ $4 exd3 52. Kf1 Kb2 $19 {would be a rather rude reversal.})
51... Kb2 52. a4 {with the other pawns doing such a good job of protecting the
king I simply want to advance my a-pawn. Once it is far enough advanced I can
leave my queen on e3 protecting the king from checks and it will be straight
forward from there.} Qd1+ $6 (52... e3 53. Qb6+ $18 {
and after a capture on e3 it will be straight forward enough.}) (52... Kb3 53.
Qb5+ Ka3 {it is still quite difficult for White to make progress.}) 53. Kh2 {
I needed to see that h5 was guarded here or Black has a perpetual check.} Qf3
54. Qb4+ (54. Qc5 {was the simplest solution here, protecting f2 and
controlling h5. This idea even works with the Black king on d2 as the
transposition into a pawn endgame after a capture on f2 loses.}) 54... Kc2 55.
Qc4+ Kd2 56. Qa2+ Ke1 57. Kg1 {
It is not necessary to allow counter-play here so I didn't however} ({
Also possible was the transposition into the pawn endgame with} 57. a5 Qxf2+
58. Qxf2+ Kxf2 59. a6 e3 60. a7 e2 61. a8=Q e1=Q 62. Qf8+ Ke2 63. Qe8+ Kf2 64.
Qxe1+ Kxe1 65. g4 $18) 57... Qd3 58. Qa1+ Kd2 59. a5 e3 60. Qb2+ Kd1 61. fxe3
Qxe3+ (61... Qf1+ {is cute but insufficient as well} 62. Kh2 $18 (62. Kxf1 $4 {
is stalemate})) 62. Qf2 {preventing Black from giving any more checks.} Qe6 63.
a6 $1 Qg8 (63... Qxa6 64. Qf1+ Qxf1+ 65. Kxf1 $18 {
and the Black king is outside the square of the only remaining pawn.}) 64. a7
Kc1 65. Qf1+ Kb2 66. Qg2+ Kb1 67. a8=Q {Black finally stopped resisting here.}
1-0

[Event "NZ Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2010.01.02"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Ker, Anthony"]
[Black "Nijman, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[PlyCount "121"]
[EventDate "2010.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Qb6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. a3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb5 8. Bxb5+
Qxb5 9. Nc3 Qa6 10. Be3 Nd7 11. Qe2 {Diagram #} Rc8 12. Qxa6 bxa6 13. Na4 Nh6
14. Ke2 Be7 15. Rhc1 O-O 16. b4 {Diagram #} Nb8 17. Nc5 Nf5 18. g4 Bxc5 19.
Rxc5 Ne7 20. Rac1 Rc6 21. Bg5 Rxc5 22. bxc5 f6 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Bf4 Nec6 25.
Bd6 Rf7 26. Rb1 Nd7 27. Rb7 Nf8 28. Rb1 Ng6 29. h4 e5 30. h5 e4 31. hxg6 exf3+
32. Kxf3 hxg6 33. Ke3 Kg7 34. Kd3 Rd7 35. Kc3 Kf7 36. Rh1 Kg7 37. f4 Rb7 38.
Re1 Kf7 39. Rh1 Kg7 40. Re1 Kf7 41. g5 f5 42. Rh1 Kg8 43. Rh6 Kg7 44. Be5+ Nxe5
45. dxe5 Rb1 46. Rh2 Kf7 47. Rh7+ Ke6 48. Rxa7 d4+ 49. Kxd4 Rd1+ 50. Ke3 Re1+
51. Kf3 Rf1+ 52. Kg3 Kd5 53. Rxa6 Rc1 54. Rxg6 Rxc5 55. Rf6 Ke4 56. g6 Rc3+ 57.
Kh4 Kxf4 58. g7 Rc1 59. Kh5 Rg1 60. Kh6 Kxe5 61. Rf8 1-0

