Magazines Games 2008-2018 2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 O-O 5.Nge2 d6 6.Ng3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Nbd7 10.O-O a6 11.a4 h5 12.f4 h4 13.Nh1 Rb8 14.Nf2 Qc7 15.Qb3 Re8 16.Bd2 Nf8 17.Qc2 Bd7 18.Rae1 b5 19.e5 Bf5 20.Bd3 Bxd3 21.Nxd3 Nh5 22.axb5 c4 23.Nf2 dxe5 24.f5 axb5 25.fxg6 Nxg6 26.Nce4 Nhf4 27.Ng4 Qd8?

(27...Nxd5 defends the fork threat and leaves it hard to see White addressing his two-pawn material deficit any time soon. The move played, however, allows White more than a life-line . . . ) 28.Ne3? (  . . . but he doesn't grab it: 28.Bxf4 Nxf4 (28...exf4 29.Nef6+ is even worse ) 29.Rxf4! exf4 30.Nef6+ Qxf6 (The only try but Black does not get enough for the queen.)  31.Rxe8+ Rxe8 32.Nxf6+ Bxf6 33.Qf5 and White is well on top ) 28...Nd3 [Now Black is cruising again.]  29.Ra1 Ngf4 30.Ba5 Qd7 31.d6 f5 32.Nc3 e4 ( Perhaps Stephen rejected 32...Qxd6 because of  33.Nxb5 but Black simply wins two minor pieces for a rook after  33...Qc5! (33...Rxb5 34.Qxc4+ Rd5 35.Nxd5 Qxd5 36.Qxd5+ Nxd5 ) 34.Qxc4+ Qxc4 35.Nxc4 Rxb5 etc. But the text move is fine, too. ) 33.Kh1 Rf8 34.Bc7 Rbe8 35.b3 b4 (35...Bd4! ) 36.Ncd5 Bxa1 37.Rxa1 Qg7 (37...c3!? ) 38.Rf1 Nxd5 39.Qxc4 Kh8 40.Qxd5 f4? ( It's true that White has some counterplay for the lost exchange but this last move before the time control is, sadly for Black, not a very good one. Better was 40...Re5 41.Qd4 (41.Qb7 hamstrings the d-pawn ) 41...Rc5 and the queens come off leaving a fairly simple win ) 41.d7 Ra8 (  Or 41...fxe3 42.dxe8=Q Nf2+ 43.Kg1 Nh3+ 44.Kh1 = ) 42.d8=Q Raxd8 43.Bxd8 fxe3 44.Rxf8+ Qxf8 45.Qh5+ Kg7 46.Qg5+ Kf7 47.Qd5+ Ke8 48.Qxe4+ Kxd8 49.Qxd3+ Kc8 50.Qxe3 Qf1+ 51.Qg1 Qd3 52.Qc5+ Kd7 53.Qa7+ Ke6 54.Qb6+ Kd7 55.Qb7+ Ke6 56.Qc8+ Ke7 57.Qc7+ Ke6 58.Qc8+ Ke7 1/2-1/2

1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.O-O Nf6 6.c4 dxc4 7.Qa4 O-O 8.Qxc4 Bb6 9.Nc3 Be6 10.Qh4 Bf5 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Qxf6 gxf6 14.Nd5 Kg7 15.Nh4 Bg4 16.Nxb6 axb6 17.f3 Be6 18.f4! Rxa2 (18...Nd4 ) 19.Rxa2 Bxa2 20.Nf5+ Kh8 (20...Kh7 21.Be4 ) 21.Nxh6 Be6 22.f5 (22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.f5 Bd7 24.Ng4 Kg7 25.h4 += ) 22...Bd7 23.Ng4 Kg7 24.Be4 Ne7?!

( Allowing a little tactic which wins nothing but gives White a bit ofinitiative;  24...Nd4 25.e3 Nb3 ) 25.Nxe5 Bxf5 26.Bxf5 fxe5 27.Be4 c6 28.g4 Ra8 29.e3 Ra2 30.Rf2 f6 31.Kg2 Nc8 32.Bf5 Nd6 33.Be6 Ra6 34.Rf1 Ra4 35.Kg3 c5 36.Rc1 Rb4 37.b3 Rb5 ( Wrong piece; after the better 37...Nb5 38.Bd5 Nc7 39.Bxb7 Rxb3 Black has little to fear. After the text, White's niggly little initiative continues. ) 38.h4 Ra5 39.Kf3 Ra3 40.Rc2 Ra1? [The last move before the time control. Black hopes to generate counterplay with a more active rook but White has a startling reply which would not have been possible after a waiting move such as 40...Kg6 as the white d-pawn would come under fire.]  41.b4! e4+ ( The position was critical, not a nice situation for the first move after the time control. The obvious 41...cxb4 seems inadequate, e.g.  42.Rc7+ Kh8 43.Rd7 Nb5 44.Rxb7 Nc3 45.Rxb6 Rh1 46.Rxb4 Rxh4 47.Rb3 Nd1 48.d4 and the passed pawn should decide ) (41...Rf1+ is more interesting, but also insufficient:  42.Ke2 Rh1 43.bxc5! Rh2+ (43...bxc5 44.Rxc5 Rxh4 45.Rd5 Ne8 46.Rd8 Kf8 47.Rd7 b5 48.Rf7+ Kg8 49.Rxf6+ +- ) 44.Kf3! (44.Kd1 Rxc2 45.Kxc2 bxc5 and White may as well agree the draw ) 44...Rxc2 45.cxd6 Rd2 (45...Kf8 46.g5 fxg5 47.hxg5 Rc6 48.d7 Ke7 49.Bf5 Rc1 50.g6 +- ) 46.d7 Rxd3 47.Ke4 Rd6 48.h5! b5 49.g5 fxg5 50.Kxe5 and Black has to give up his rook for the d-pawn ) (  The best try was undoing his previous move by 41...Ra3! , e.g.  42.bxc5 (42.Ke2 is another try ) 42...bxc5 43.Rxc5 (43.Ke2 b6 = ) 43...Rxd3 44.Rc7+ Kh6 45.Ke2 and Black is not out of the woods yet ) 42.dxe4 Ra4 43.e5 (43.Rd2 Nb5 44.Rd7+ Kf8 45.g5 fxg5 46.hxg5 was quicker - the queenside is now irrelevant ) 43...fxe5 44.bxc5 bxc5 45.Rxc5 Kf6 46.Bd7 Ra1 47.g5+ Ke7 48.Bh3 e4+ 49.Kf4 b5 50.Rc7+ Kf8 51.Ke5 Ra6 52.Be6 Rb6 53.g6 Ne8 54.Rf7+ Kg8 55.Rb7+ Rxe6+ 56.Kxe6 Kf8 57.Rb8 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 b5 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O e6 7.c3 Ne7 8.Na3 a6 9.Rb1 c5 10.Re1 Qc7 11.Bf4 h6 12.h4 Nd7 13.Qd2 f6 14.d4 e5 15.Be3 cxd4 16.cxd4 Bxe4 17.dxe5 fxe5 18.Nxe5 Bxg2 19.Nxg6 Qb7 20.Qxd6 Nxg6 21.Qxg6+ Kf8

22.Kh2? ( White should have taken the draw by 22.Qf5+ Nf6 (22...Kg8 23.Qe6+ Kh7 24.Qf5+ Kg8 = ) 23.Bc5+ Kg8 24.Qe6+ Kh7 25.Qf5+ Kg8 = ) 22...Bd5? (22...Be4 23.Qd6+ Kg8 24.Rbc1 Ne5 -+ ) 23.Bf4? (23.Rbc1 or 23.Rbd1 were better; Black's chances would probably still be preferable but things are rather murky. ) 23...Bf7? (23...Nf6! might look too dangerous because of  24.Bd6+ Kg8 25.Re7 but after  25...Qxe7! 26.Bxe7 Be4 Black is just winning. After the move played White is back in the game. ) 24.Qd6+ Kg8 25.Re7 Rd8 26.Rd1 Qf3 27.Qd2 (27.Rxd7! Rxd7 28.Qxd7 Qxf2+ 29.Kh1 Qxb2 30.Rd6! Qa1+ 31.Kg2 Qxa2+ 32.Kh3 and White has enough threats to maintain the balance; the rook on d6 controls the f6 and g6 squares where Black might otherwise stick bishops to block queen checks ) 27...Re8 28.Rxf7 Kxf7 29.Qxd7+ Re7 30.Qf5+ Bf6 31.Rd2? (31.Qc2 allows  31...Bxh4 winning a pa wn, though White still has some compensation for the exchange in his extra pawn and initiative after  32.Rd3 Qh5 33.Kg2 Bf6 34.Rd6 ) 31...Re1! 32.Qd5+ Qxd5 33.Rxd5 Re2 34.Rd2 [White has had it after this but reasonable alternatives are hard to find.]  34...Rxd2 35.Bxd2 Bxb2 36.Nc2 Rc8 37.Ne3 Kg6 38.f4 h5 39.Kg2 Bc1 40.f5+ Kf7 41.Bxc1 Rxc1 42.g4 Rc3 43.Nd5 Rc5 44.Ne3 Rc3 45.Nd5 Rc2+ 46.Kg3 hxg4 47.Kxg4 Rxa2 48.h5 b4 49.h6 b3 50.f6 Rh2 51.Kg5 b2 52.Nc3 Rh3 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Be7 4.e3 b6 5.Be2 Bb7 6.c4 O-O 7.O-O d5 8.Nc3 a6 9.Rc1 c5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bg3 Qe7 13.Qc2 Nxc3 14.Qxc3 Nd7 15.a3 Rac8 16.Rfd1 a5 17.Nd4 Nf6 18.Bh4 h6 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Nf3 Qg6 21.Qe5 Rcd8

22.Rxd8 (22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Qc7 Rd2! (The only move - and it gives Black the advantage!)  24.Qxb7 Rxe2 and the threat of Bxe3 wins Black a pawn ) 1-0

1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 Nxd5 4.Nxd5 Qxd5 5.Qf3 Qxf3 6.Nxf3 Nc6 7.d4 Nb4 8.Kd1 Bf5 9.Bd2 e6 10.a3 Nd5 11.Nh4 Bg4+ 12.f3 Bh5 13.g4 Bg6 14.Nxg6 hxg6 15.h3 O-O-O 16.c3 Be7 17.f4 c5 18.dxc5 Bxc5 19.Ke2 Bd6 20.Kf3 Nb6 21.Be3 Bc7 22.Rc1 Nd5 23.Bc4 Nxe3 24.Kxe3 Bb6+ 25.Ke2 Rh4 26.b3 (26.Kf3 Rd2 27.b3 Rh8 28.a4 and White is passive but solid ) 26...Rdh8

27.f5 gxf5 28.gxf5 Re4+! [It is likely that White overlooked this when considering his 26th.]  29.Kd3 exf5 30.Rce1 Rxe1 31.Rxe1 Rxh3+ 32.Kd2 Rh2+ 33.Re2 Rxe2+ 34.Kxe2 Bc5 35.Bxf7 Kd7 36.a4 a5 37.Kd3 g5 38.Kc4 Kd6 39.b4 axb4 40.cxb4 Bg1 41.a5 Ba7 42.b5 b6 43.a6 Ke5 44.Kd3 g4 45.Ke3 Bb8 46.Kf2 f4 47.Bc4?! ( Of the seve n possible bishop moves (leaving aside putting it en pris), six draw easily. Unfortunately, Andy's choice was the seventh but it is still a draw, though not quite so easy. 47.Bh5 is perhaps the simplest way to the draw - White would like the pawn to move to g3 when Kf3 will be dead drawn:  47...Kf5 48.Be8 f3 49.Ke3 (The only move; the black king cannot be allowed on the f4 square.)  49...Kg5 50.Bc6 Kh4 and now there are many drawing moves but the nicest is  51.Bxf3 ) 47...Ke4 [Now we see why c4 should be avoided by the bishop - the black king cannot be checked away from e4 so that Kf2-f3 will no longer be available after g4-g3+. But as already mentioned, it is not yet the end of the world.]  48.Be6? ( It is after this, though. White could still have survived by giving up his surplus queenside pawn, e.g. 48.a7! g3+ 49.Kg2 f3+ (49...Bxa7 50.Be2 = ) 50.Kh3! (the only move)  50...Bxa7 51.Kxg3 = Ke3 52.Bd5 Bb8+ 53.Kg4 f2 54.Bc4 and everything is clear ) 48...g3+ 49.Kg2 f3+ 50.Kf1 (50.Kh3 g2 -+ ) (50.Kg1 Ke3 51.Bh3 Ke2 52.a7 Bxa7 53.Bf1+ Ke1 54.Bc4 g2 55.Bd3 Bb8 56.Bc4 Bg3 and mate in 3 ) 50...Ke3 51.Bd5 g2+ 52.Kg1 Bg3 53.Bxf3 Kxf3 54.a7 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.h4 h6 7.O-O d6 8.c3 e5 9.a3 Bg4 10.b4

10...g5 [Can't get much more provocative than that!]  11.Qa4 Bf6 12.bxc5 gxh4 13.Nh2? ( In this irrational position Fritz comes up with 13.d4 as its first choice. ) 13...Be2 14.Re1 hxg3 (14...Bxd3! 15.Rd1 (15.c4 dxc5 16.Rd1 Qd4 17.Ra2 hxg3 -+ ) 15...dxc5 leaves White two pawns down without any obvious way to take advantage of the pin on the d3-bishop ) 15.fxg3 Bxd3 16.Be3 Bg5 17.Qd1 dxc5 18.Bxc5 Qa5 19.Bf2 O-O-O 20.Qb3 Qb5 21.Qxf7 Nge7 (21...Bc4!? ) 22.a4 Qa5 23.Qb3 Rhf8 24.Ra2 Rd6 25.Na3 Rdf6 26.Ng4 Rxf2? ( Exasperation, perhaps?! Black's initiative has evaporated but this just seems to give away an exchange for very little. After 26...Rg6 the chances are about equal. ) 27.Nxf2 Qc5 28.Bh3+ Kb8 29.Kg2 Ba6 30.Nb5 Na5 31.Qb4 Qxb4 32.cxb4 Nac6 33.Rb2 Bxb5 34.axb5 Nd4 35.Nd3 Ng6 36.Rf2 Rd8 37.Nc5 Nxb5 38.Bf5 Nf8 39.Ne6 (39.Bg4! with the threat Rxf8 was pretty much decisive. After 39.Ne6 Black definitely has at least some compensation with practical chances. ) 39...Nxe6 40.Bxe6 Nc3 41.Bf5 Bd2 42.Ra1 a6 43.Bg6 Rd6 44.Bh7 Kc7 45.Rf7+ Kc6 46.Re7 Nb5 47.Rxe5 Bxb4 48.Rc1+ Kb6 49.Bg8 Nc7 50.Rb1 a5 51.Kf3 Nb5 52.Kg4?? [There will, of course, be no comebacks from this sad blunder.] ( There will, of course, be no comebacks from this sad blunder. After something like 52.Bd5 Black still has work to do to achieve the draw - which, I think, would have been a fair result for this chaotic affair. ) 52...Rg6+ 53.Kf5 Rxg8 54.Re6+ Ka7 55.Rxh6 Nd6+ 0-1

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.c4 Nf6 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.a3 a5 9.c5 Bc7 10.Ra2 Nbd7 11.b4 Ne4 12.Ne1 e5 13.e3 Qe8 14.f4 exd4 15.exd4 Qh5 16.b5 Rf6 17.b6 Bd8 18.a4 Be7 19.Nd3 Qe8 20.Nd2 h5 21.Nf3 Rh6 22.Ng5 h4 23.g4 h3 24.Nxh3 fxg4 25.Ng5 Ndf6 26.Ne5 Bf5 27.Qb3 Qh5 28.Bxe4 Nxe4 29.Nxe4 Bxe4 30.f5 Rh7 31.Qg3 Bf6 32.Be3 Qh3 33.Nxg4 Qxg3+ 34.hxg3 Rh3 35.Nxf6+ gxf6 36.Rh2 Rxg3+ 37.Kf2 Rf3+ 38.Ke2 Rxf1 39.Kxf1 Bxf5 40.Kf2 Bc2 41.Kf3 (41.Rg2+ Kf7 42.Rh2 Bg6 43.Bd2 and I don't see how Black can make any progress with his weak pawns on a5 and b7 ) ( White can even play 41.Bd2 straight away since  41...Bxa4 42.Rg2+ Kf7 43.Bh6 more or less forces Black to swap rooks if he wishes to continue playing, e.g.  43...Rg8 (43...Rb8? 44.Rg7+ Ke6 45.Bf4 +- ) 44.Rxg8 Kxg8 45.Bd2 with an easy draw ) 41...Bd1+

(41...Bxa4 42.Rg2+ Kh7 43.Rh2+ Kg6 44.Rg2+ Kf5 45.Rg7 Bd1+ 46.Kg3! ( Not 46.Kf2? Rb8 and White does not have Bf4 now ) 46...Ke4 (46...Re8 47.Bc1 Re4 48.Rxb7 Rxd4 49.Rc7 Rc4 50.Rxc6! Rb4 51.Rc7 d4 52.b7 Ba4 53.Bd2 ( the obvious 53.c6 may be okay, too, but it allows Black to enjoy a torture session after  53...Bxc6 54.Rxc6 Rxb7 55.Rc5+ Ke4 56.Rxa5 Rb3+ ) 53...Rb3+ 54.Kf2 Rb2 and either side should be able to sacrifice his bishop for the two enemy pawns if necessary ) 47.Re7+ Kd3 48.Kf2 and White has sufficient counterplay, e.g.   48...Bg4 ( or 48...a4 49.Rxb7 Re8 50.Bf4 Re2+ 51.Kg3 Rb2 52.Ra7 with a fine case of dynamic equilibrium ) 49.Rxb7 Bc8 50.Rc7! a4 51.Bc1 (51.b7? Bxb7 52.Rxb7 a3 -+ ) 51...Kxd4 52.Rxc6 ( Again 52.b7? Bxb7 53.Rxb7 a3 is hopeless ) 52...Ba6 53.Rc7 Kc4 54.c6 Kb5 and simplest now is  55.b7 Bxb7 56.cxb7 Rb8 with an easy draw ) 42.Kf4 Re8 (42...Bxa4 43.Rg2+ (43.Kf5 ) 43...Kf7 44.Rh2 Ke6 45.Bd2! and White will win either the a-pawn or the b-pawn ( but not 45.Rh7 Rb8 46.Bd2 Bc2 47.Rg7 a4 48.Bc1 Bd3 49.Ke3 Ba6 and the black rook will enter the fray decisively ) ) 43.Rg2+? (43.Bd2 Re4+ 44.Kf5 Rxd4 45.Kxf6 Rxa4 46.Rg2+ Bg4 47.Kg5 Bf3 48.Rg3 Be2 49.Kf6+ and Black is getting nowhere, other than a draw that is. ) 43...Kf7 [And suddenly White has no defence due to the threat to his bishop which costs a tempo.]  44.Bg1 Re4+ 45.Kf5 Rh4 46.Rf2 Rxd4 47.Rg2 Rc4 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Rb8 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Bh6 Bxh6 13.Qxh6 e5 14.Nde2 b5 15.h4 b4 16.Nd5 Nxb3+ 17.axb3 Nxd5 18.Rxd5 Rb6 19.h5 Because of the bad results, 19. Rhd1 has been tried.  19...g5 Nowadays the chess theory is so far developed that in this position I still found 18 more games in my database. The result is overwhelming for black: 11 wins for black; 3 draws and only 5 wins for white. The results in 2008, including the present one, are still more astonishing: 5 wins for black and only one draw. Still, the last word is not written.  20.f4 This violent blow is of course a delight for the public!  20...Bg4

21.Nd4 This attractive and somehow logic move has been played six times: +1; = 3; -2, including the present one. But what about 21. fxe5? This move was played twice, both with wins for white! The first one, in 1975, was a very nice victory of actual African champion Robert Gwaze - yes, the same who couldn't come to our tournament! - over English IM Paul Littlewood. As an organizer and chess kibitzer, I would have loved to see a game Gwaze-Zhao in São Paulo and learn where black could have improved.  21...gxf4 22.g3 fxg3 23.Rg1 23. Nf5 was tried in the game Shaw-Tan, England 2005, but black had a comfortable win.  23...Qh4 24.Kb1 In the game K. Haznedaroglu-Filippas, Athens 2007, the Turkish IM managed to escape with a miraculous draw with 24. Qe3  24...f6 25.Ne6 This is maybe the final mistake. Still 25. Qe3 offers better chances.  25...Rf7 I don't really see why Zhao couldn't take on e6 directly. Anyhow the remaining moves were just a demonstration of neat technique.  26.Rd3 Qxh5 27.Qd2 Bxe6 28.Rdxg3+ Kf8 29.Rg8+ Ke7 30.Qe1 d5 31.exd5 Bd7 32.Qf2 Kd6 33.Ra8 Qf5 34.Qe2 Bb5 35.Qe1 Qf4 36.Qd1 Rbb7 37.Rag8 a5 38.R8g4 Qf2 39.R4g2 Qa7 40.Rd2 a4 41.Qg4 Bd7 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Rb8 11.Bb3 Na5 12.Bh6 Bxh6 13.Qxh6 b5 14.h4 e5 15.Nde2 b4 16.Nd5 Nxb3+ 17.axb3 Nxd5 18.Rxd5 Rb6 19.h5 g5 20.f4 Bg4 21.fxe5 Bxe2 22.exd6 Rb5 23.Re1 Re8 24.d7 Re5 25.Qc6 Rbxd5 26.exd5 Re7

( After a slightly different move order, in the game Haldane-Snape, England 2007, black tried 26...Bb5 and after  27.Rxe5 Bxc6 28.dxc6 Kf8 29.Kd2 lost the endgame. ) 27.Rxe2 Rxd7 28.g4 h6 29.c4 bxc3 30.bxc3 Kg7 31.c4 Rd6 32.Qe8 Qb6 33.Qe3 Qb4 34.Kb2 Rf6 35.Qc3 Qc5 36.b4 Qg1 37.d6 Qxg4 38.Rf2 1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 Qb6 8.a3 a5 9.Ne2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Be7 11.f5

11...O-O This was an overconfident Zhao  12.Nf4 Kh8 13.Be2 a4 14.fxe6 fxe6 15.h4 Na5 16.Qd3 Nb3 17.Ng5 Rf5 18.g4 Nxd4 19.gxf5 Nxe5 20.Qc3 Bf6 21.Be3 Nc2+ 22.Qxc2 Qxe3 23.fxe6 g6 24.Qd2 Qg3+ 25.Kf1 Ng4 26.Bxg4 Qxg4 27.Re1 b6 28.Kf2 Be7 29.Nxg6+ 1-0

1.f4 d5 2.b3 Nf6 3.e3 g6 4.Bb2 Bg7 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Be2 c5 7.O-O Nc6 8.Ne5 h5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bf3 O-O 11.d3 Qb6 12.Nc3 c4 13.d4 Ng4 14.Bxg4 hxg4 15.h3 gxh3 16.g4 Bd7 17.Na4 Qd8 18.Nc5 Qc8 19.Nxd7 Qxd7 20.Qf3 f5 21.g5 cxb3 22.axb3 Kf7 23.Rf2 Rh8 24.Rh2 Qe6 25.Ra6 Rh4 26.Kf2 Qc8 27.Ra1 Qc7 28.Rah1 Qa5 29.Ra1 Qc7 30.Rxh3 Rxh3 31.Qxh3 c5 32.Qf3 e6 33.c4 Rh8

34.cxd5 Rh2+ 35.Kg3 Rxb2 36.dxe6+ Ke7 37.Qa8 Rxb3 38.Rxa7 Rxe3+ 39.Kf2 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 d6 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.Qxe3 Nf6 10.N1d2 Nc6 11.O-O b5 12.a4 Rb8 13.axb5 axb5 14.Nf3 O-O 15.Nfd4 Nb4 16.Qd2 Nxd3 17.cxd3 Qb6 18.Rfc1 Bd7 19.Qa5 Qxa5 20.Nxa5 Rfc8

21.Ndc6 Rxc6 22.Nxc6 Rb6 23.Ra8+ Ne8 24.Nb8 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 Nc6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 e6 6.O-O Nge7 7.d3 Bg7 8.Qe1 a6 9.a4 Na5 10.Ba2 Nac6

11.Kh1 h5 12.Qh4 Rb8 13.f5 gxf5 14.Bg5 Qd7 15.Rae1 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Ng6 17.Qg3 Nce7 18.exf5 Nxf5 19.Qh3 Nge7 20.g4 Ng7 21.Bf6 Ng6 22.Bxg7 hxg4 23.Qxg4 Rxh2+ 24.Kxh2 Qc7 25.Ng5 d5+ 26.Qg3 Qxg3+ 27.Kxg3 Bd7 28.Bxd5 Bxa4 29.Nxe6 Bxc2 30.Nxc5+ Kd8 31.Rxf7 Nf8 32.Bf6+ 1-0

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 g6 3.Bb2 Bg7 4.c4 d6 5.d4 O-O 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.e4 c5 8.e5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 cxd4 10.Bxd4 Nxe5 11.Bxe5

11...Qa5 12.f4 Rd8 13.a3 Ne4 14.b4 Qb6 15.c5 Qc6 16.Ra2 Bxe5 17.fxe5 Nc3 18.Qc2 Nxa2 19.Qxa2 Be6 20.Qb2 Qd5 21.h4 Rd7 22.Rh2 Rad8 23.g3 Qd4 24.Qxd4 Rxd4 25.Rf2 a5 26.b5 R4d5 27.c6 Rxe5+ 28.Re2 Rxe2+ 29.Bxe2 bxc6 30.bxc6 Bd5 31.Nc4 Bxc6 32.Nxa5 Bd5 33.Bc4 Ra8 0-1

Bruce is a good one to play against, you can count on the same Sicilian line. Anyway, I had found a line a while ago, and had waited some time for another White against Bruce.  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7

6.Ndb5 Solo had played this against Bruce ealrier in the event, but we had different ideas on how to play this line.  6...Qb8 7.a4 Nf6 8.Bd3 b6!? This is not in my database and I think it might have come from his game with Solo. In that game Bruce played a6 and Solo planted a Bishop on b6. Checking this game with the machine, it doesn't like b6 either - Be7 and Bc5 are the normal moves.  9.f4 d6 10.O-O Bb7 11.Qe2 a6 12.Na3 Be7 13.Be3 Qc7 14.Nc4 Nd7 So opening over and I was happy with my position, however I had this idea in my head from my prep and carried on with it, it was time to get going, f5 should be played.  15.Rae1? This is an unfortunate spot for the rook, later ideas of Nxc2 now forks the Bishop and Rook. (15.f5 O-O 16.fxe6 fxe6 17.Qg4 Nd8 18.Rxf8+ Bxf8 19.Rf1 Ne5 20.Qf4 Ndf7 21.Bxb6 Not forced, but shows you that Black has taken too much time and should have been punished. ) 15...O-O 16.Rf3 Nb4 17.Rh3 g6? (17...Nxd3 18.cxd3 d5 19.exd5 exd5 20.Ne5 Rae8 21.Qh5 ) 18.f5 Rfe8 19.fxe6 fxe6 20.Qg4 Bf6 21.Qf4? I was start ing to lose the thread now, luckily Bruce was off his game, or this one could have got away.  21...e5? (21...Nxc2 22.Bxc2 Qxc4 23.Qxd6 Rad8 24.Bd3 Qb3 25.Qc7 Qxb2 26.Ne2 ) 22.Qf2 Rf8 23.Bxb6 Qc6 24.a5 Bd8 25.Qe3 Bxb6 26.axb6 Nxc2 27.Qh6 Rf7 28.Rd1 Nb4? (28...Raf8! Black is now better, how did I let it all go to mush :-( ) 29.Be2 Nxb6 30.Rxd6 Qc5+ 31.Qe3 Qxe3+ 32.Rxe3 Nc8 33.Rd8+ Rf8 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 35.Nxe5 Nd6 36.Nd7+ Ke7 37.Nc5 a5?? The position was bad, but this is a time trouble error that hastens the end.  38.e5 Nf5 39.Rh3 Bc8 40.Rxh7+ Kf8 41.Bc4 Nc6 42.Nd7+ Ke8 43.Nf6+ Kd8 44.Ncd5 Black resigns, mate in 2 can't be stopped. 1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.Bd2 Stephen nearly always plays the French and a few years ago in an Australian Masters I prepared an a3, Nf3 line against him which went well. I thought he may have prepared that deeply this time and I have been studying the Bd2 line recently so thought I would try it.  5...Ne7 I thought he would play the ...Nh6 line because everyone is recommending it but of course I had something cooked up for that!  6.Nb5 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 O-O 8.f4 I spent 10 minutes trying to remember my theory here and was glad when he played what I recalled after that!  8...a6 9.Nd6 cxd4 10.Nf3 Nbc6 11.Bd3 White sacs a Pawn and goes for a K-side attack  11...f6 12.O-O fxe5 13.fxe5 Rxf3!? Theoreticians would say all this is well known theory, well, if you have read a book or an article or two! This used to be considered a refutation of this line, now it is a forced draw ... we shall see!  14.Rxf3 Nxe5 15.Qf4! Nxf3+ 16.gxf3

16...Bd7?? Played after a 40 minute think. Stephen said after the game that as soon as he played the move he remembered the right line was (16. ... Nc6 17. Qf7+ Kh8 18. Qh5 g6 19. Bxg6 Qg8 20. Nf7+ Kg7 21. Qh6+ Kf6 22. Qg5+ Kg7) and White has nothing better than perpetual check! This is true, but White has some other tries including 18. Kh1!?  17.Qf7+ Kh8 18.Qh5 g6 19.Bxg6 Qg8 20.Nf7+ Kg7 21.Qh6+ Kf6 22.Qg5+ Kg7 23.Nh6? I saw that after 23. Qxe7 Qe8 wins the piece back but I didn't look far enough. Then after 24. Qg5 hxg6 25. Ne5 Black is under a bind and can't stop Kh1 and Rg1 winning. That is probably the only way to win this very attractive position amazingly! If instead here 24. Qxe8 Bxe8 25. Ng5 Kxg6 26. Nxe6 d3! 27. cxd3 is just a small advantage for White. I thought after the text move I could at least repeat the position anyway after 23... Qd8 24. Nf7, but then he has the option of going to f8: Qf8 25. Qh6+ Kf6 26. Qh4+! Kxg6 27. Ne5+ Kg7 28. Nxd7 Qf7 29. Qxd4+ is again a small edge. If here 27 ... Kf5? 28. Qh5+ wins.  23...Qf8!

The best move, but as he was playing it Stephen uttered in his very surprised voice "Oh! It's not check!!" This was pretty funny, but I didn't know exactly what he was thinking and thought it might be one of my possibilities in reply. After the game he said he thought his Queen was his King, and that only when he picked it up did he realize it was his Queen!! He was surprised by my Nh6 and thought it had been check! (Tech Ed: Stephen's mental lapses at the George Trundle give hope to us lesser mortals; Against Steadman he made the classic mistake of playing the second move of a two move sequence first, gifting the surprised Steadman a free queen).  24.Be8+ Ng6 25.Bxd7 Qd8 Winning the piece back, and a nice echo variation of the earlier 23.. .Qe8 move winning the piece back in the other variation!  26.h4 Qxd7 27.Re1 Qd8? White has lost all his advantage after (27. ... Rf8! 28. h5 Qe7 29. Qxe7+ Nxe7 30. Rxe6 Rxf3 31. Rxe7+ Kxh6 32. Rxb7 d3!) - Johansen  28.Rxe6 Qxg5+ 29.hxg5 Rc8? The final mistake. Again 29 ... Rf8 was best and the position might be tenable.   30.Nf5+ Kf8 31.Rf6+ Ke8 32.Nd6+ Kd7 33.Nxc8 Kxc8 34.f4 1-0