Magazines Games 2008-2018 2009

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 transposing into the so called Universal System.  5...Nfd7 6.c3 Be7 7.Bd3 b6 David chooses a system with a solid reputation. I've had this position myself a few times before. The last couple of games went: I decided to deviate and came up with  8.h4 over the board. I decided not to worry about Black's plan of swapping off light squared bishops and instead start proceedings on the other wing. The move also had the advantage of deviating from any preparation David might have done before the game. (8.Qe2 a5 9.O-O Ba6 10.c4 Nc6 11.cxd5 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Nb4 ( A later opponent tried 12...exd5 13.Re1 O-O 14.Qf5 cxd4 15.Nb3 Nc5 16.Nbxd4 0-1 Jones,G-Grigorya n,A/Yerevan 2007 (60) and White is slightly better although I overpressed and went on to lose ) 13.Qe4 exd5 14.Qg4 O-O 15.Rd1 Kh8 16.Nf1 Nc2 17.Rb1 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Qxd4 Bc5 20.Qxd5 Nxe5 21.Be3 Qxd5 22.Rxd5 Bxe3 23.Nxe3 f6 24.f4 1-0 Jones,G-Hou Yifan/Liverpool ENG 2007 (57) and I was left in a very favourable ending due to more active pieces and the weakness of black's queenside pawns. ) 8...Ba6 9.Bxa6 Nxa6 10.a3 cutting out Nb4 ideas for Black which would target the c2 and d3 squares. (  The only previous game in this line ran: 10.h5 b5 11.h6 g6 12.Nf1 b4 13.Ne3 O-O 14.O-O Nb6 Parligras,M-Rakhmanov,A/Athens GRE 2008 (1-0 in 43) which looked rather unclear but White went on to win ) 10...Qc8 Maybe this plan is a little slow. Black's idea is to drop the knight back and then play Qa6 to activate the queen but maybe this is a little slow. (10...O-O is the compute r's recommendation but it looks risky with White's attack already started. However with light squared bishops traded the attack will not be as strong and I think Black should probably go into this. My plan was to still play  11.Ng5 as after  11...Bxg5 12.hxg5 Qxg5 13.Nf3 White has good compensation for the pawn  ) 11.Ng5 h6 12.Nh3 It might look illogical to move the knight ofrom f3 to h3 but now the queen is free to come out to g4, the other knight can move to f3 if necessary and from h3 the knight can go to f4 and then perhaps to h5. Black has also created a weakness with h6 on his kingside.  12...Nab8 13.Qg4 Bf8 14.Nf4

I was very happy with this position. White has more space and a developmental advantage but Black's position is solid and he will get counterplay on the queenside. However he also has to look out for knight sacrifices on e6  14...cxd4 I don't much like this move and was happy to see it played. I think he should keep the tension with (14...Nc6 15.Ne2 (15.Nf3 cxd4 and White has been forced to play Nf3. ) 15...Qa6 ) 15.cxd4 Nc6 16.Ne2 And this is an odd looking move. I have now moved my g1 knight five times! Black's b8 knight though has moved three times and I did not want to play Now I have the idea to play f4,f5 breaking up his pawn structure and exposing his king. (16.Nf3 as this leaves the queenside a little vulnerable while White's plan is not so clear. ) 16...Qa6 17.Rh3!? An unusual way of developing my rook but my king is fairly safe on e1 and now my rook defends the d3 square and is ready to shift across the third rank to either c3,f3 or g3.  17...Rc8 18.Rb1 Black now has to come up with a plan. His main problem is that he cannot move the f8 bishop and so is playing without his rook and with his king stuck in the centre. Perhaps he should try h5 and g6 but this leaves the g5 square as a nice outpost and Black's king will never be totally safe. (18.f4 Nb4 is awkward to deal with so instead I just take time out to stop the threat. ) 18...Na5 19.h5 Nc4 20.f4 The f pawn starts its march!  20...Nxd2 21.Bxd2 Black's last few moves have not achieved much, he has simply swapped one of his few active pieces while helping White complete his development.  21...Qa4 22.Rc1! Swapping off another of Black's active pieces which exacerbates the problem of Black's kingside pieces. (22.f5 Nxe5! is Black's idea exploiting the queen being undefended. ) 22...Rxc1+ 23.Bxc1 b5 24.Rc3 Kd8 Not a move Black wants to play but (24...Nb6 25.f5 is hardly appealing either ) 25.f5! b4 (25...Nxe5 26.Qf4 allows White's queen into Black's position e.g.  26...Nd7 27.Qc7+ Ke8 28.fxe6 fxe6 29.Qc8+ Ke7 30.Rc7 b4 31.b3 Qb5 32.a4 +- ) 26.Rg3 Black's centre is collapsing; his king is vulnerable and he still has to develop his kingside. (26.axb4 exf5 27.Qxf5 Bxb4 28.Qxf7 should also be winning and is probably more accurate. ) 26...Qc6 27.Bd2 Qc2 28.fxe6 fxe6 29.Qxe6 Nb6 30.axb4?! However White's position should still be winning without too much difficulty. David plays well though to create some problems. (30.Bxb4 swapping dark squared bishops is more accurate but I'd got so used to the bishop on f8 I didn't want to let it develop and let him have even a sniff of counterplay but then his position would be basically resignable after  30...Bxb4+ 31.axb4 Qb1+ 32.Kf2 Rf8+ 33.Rf3 +- ) 30...Qb1+ 31.Kf2 Qxb2 32.Bc3 Qb3 33.Qf5 (33.Qf7 Bxb4 34.Rxg7 Rf8 35.Rg8 +- ) 33...Bxb4 34.Nf4 (34.Bxb4 Qxb4 35.Rxg7 Rf8 36.Rf7 Rxf7 37.Qxf7 Is winning for White but I was afraid of allowing any counterplay with Black's a pawn. ) 34...Re8!

I had missed this move when I played my previous. I sunk into deep thought here trying to find a forced win. A few lines I looked at: I eventually came to my senses and realised I still had a clear advantage and it wasn't necessary to go for broke. (34...Bxc3 35.Ne6+ Ke8 36.Qg6+ Ke7 37.Qxg7+ Kxe6 38.Qf6+ Kd7 39.Rg7+ Kc8 40.Qc6+ Kd8 41.Qc7+ Ke8 42.Qe7# was the line which inspired me to play 34.Nf4 ) 35.Bxb4 (35.Rxg7 Qxc3 36.Ne6+ Rxe6 37.Qxe6 Qxd4+ when Black will have at least a draw ) (35.Ne6+ Rxe6 36.Qxe6 (36.Bxb4 Qxb4 37.Qxe6 Qxd4+ doesn't look clear to me ) 36...Bxc3 37.Qg8+ Kc7 38.Qxg7+ (38.Rxg7+ Nd7 ) 38...Kb8 ) 35...Qxb4 36.Qd3 Qb2+ 37.Kf3 Qc1 (37...Re7 38.Rxg7 Rxg7 39.Ne6+ +- ) 38.Rxg7 Rf8 39.g3 My position is back under control. I have to watch out for perpetual checks involving a rook sacrifice on f4 but it's winning for White.  39...Nc4 (39...Rxf4+ 40.gxf4 Qh1+ 41.Kg4 Qg2+ 42.Qg3 Qe2+ 43.Kh4 +- ) (39...Qh1+ 40.Kg4 Rxf4+ 41.gxf4 +- ) 40.Rxa7 Nd2+ (40...Rxf4+ 41.gxf4 Qh1+ 42.Kg4 and again the king escapes the checks. ) (40...Qh1+ 41.Kg4 Rxf4+ 42.gxf4 Qg2+ 43.Kf5 ) 41.Kg2 Rxf4 42.Ra8+ Ke7 43.Qh7+ and mate in a few moves. 1-0

1.e4 Stephen is one of those players who has the ability to play 300 points above or below his rating at any given moment! My last game with Stephen was especially tough, and I was lucky to scrape a draw in the end.  1...e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 The Two-Knights French was a favourite of GM Ian Rogers, which led to a wave of followers in Australia, including myself.  3...Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.d4 c5 6.dxc5 Nc6 7.Bf4 Bxc5 This variation leads to more open, free-flowing positions, than the alternative 7...Nxc5.  8.Bd3 f6 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.Qe2 O-O 11.O-O-O A new idea in these positions. 11.0-0 leads to a more positional struggle, centred around the crucial e5-square. With his last move, white instead plays for a direct kingside attack - with the down-side being that his own king is more vulnerable.  11...Qa5 12.Kb1 a6 13.Ne5 Nd4!? The symmetry of these two knights continues: both now occupy dominating positions and both will be instrumental in the opposing-wing attacks that follow.  14.Qd2 b5?! ( I was more concerned about 14...Bb4 after which I planned  15.a3 ( not 15.Bxh7+? Kxh7 16.Qxd4 Bxc3! ) 15...Bxc3 16.Qxc3 Qxc3 17.bxc3 Nb5 18.Kb2 Now despite white's ugly pawn structure, the two bishops and the powerful e5 knight give white a slight edge. Still, I think this was black's best option. ) 15.h4 b4 16.Ne2 Nb5 (16...Nxe2 falls into a nice trick after  17.Qxe2 Ne4 18.Bxe4 Rxf4 19.Rxd5! ) 17.h5 Qb6 18.h6! Based on a neat idea  18...g6

(18...Nc3+ 19.Nxc3! bxc3 20.Qxc3 is nothing special ) 19.Bxg6!! A rude shock.  19...Ra7 It was a shame I didn't get to play out the main idea, which was (19...hxg6 20.h7+!! Nxh7 21.Rxh7! Kxh7 22.Qd3 Rf5 23.Qg3 and black is mated! ) 20.Bg5 Offering the piece a second time; I was in the mood for blood.  20...Na3+ There are some nice variations after (20...hxg6 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.h7+ (  The obvious 22.Qg5 is messier, for instance  22...Na3+ 23.Kc1 Rxf2 24.Qxg6+ Kh8 25.Rdf1

25...b3!! 26.axb3 (26.cxb3! ) 26...Be3+ 27.Kd1 Nc4! 28.bxc4 Qa5! and it's white who must force a draw. ) 22...Rxh7 (22...Kh8 23.Qg5 Be7 24.Nf4 is curtains ) 23.Rxh7 Na3+ (23...Kxh7 24.Rh1+ Kg8 25.Qh6 Na3+ 26.Kc1 ) 24.Kc1 Rxf2 25.Rh3 and black's position is hopeless ) 21.Ka1 Bd6 Black's best was probably (21...hxg6 22.bxa3 Ne4 but after  23.Qd3! bxa3 24.Rb1 Qd6 25.f4 white keeps all his trumps, while the black attack has faded away. ) 22.Bxf6 Rxf6 23.Bd3 Kh8 24.Qg5 Rxf2 25.Rhf1 Re7

26.Ng4? (  Missing the mating 26.Nf4! , as pointed out after the game by Dr Nokes ) 26...Rxf1 27.Rxf1 Rb7 28.Bxh7 Qc7 29.Qg8# 1-0

1.e4 The last time I played Dimitri was in 2002 at the world junior championships in Goa, India. We were both long-haired teenagers back then, and that was reflected in a crazy game starting with 1.Nc3!? and culminating in a chaotic middlegame where I had two queens to his one!  1...c5 2.c3 A more mature (sober?) opening than our last encounter.  2...Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 More usual is 7...Nc6, leading to a complex middlegame in which I have played many games (see for example Smerdon-Jakovenko and Smerdon-McShane, both from the aforementioned 2002 world junior championship in Goa). Dimitri's move leads to an interesting variation that he has a lot of experience in - black hopes to reach a favourable endgame after the simplifying 8.Bb3 dxe5.  8.Bd3 Nc6 9.O-O Nb4 10.Be2! Part of my preparation and, I believe, the best move. White moves his bishop for the third time in the opening...but black's made five knight moves in his first nine, so he's still ahead on opening-principle violations!  10...dxe5 11.Nxe5 Be7 12.Nc3 O-O 13.a3 N4d5 13...Nc6 has also been played, with the idea that simplifying will ease black's defence. Well, this may be true, but it also negates black's slight pawn-structural advantage, so it's not an easy decision to make. The text is more aggressive, but naturally, riskier.  14.Bd3 Bd7 15.Ne4! Preventing further exchanges - white keeps pieces on and starts directing them towards the black king, abandoned by his defensive steeds.  15...Rc8 16.Re1 Ba4!? Interesting. Black provokes a weakening of white's queenside, as the natural 17.Qh5?! is met by 17...Bc2!. However, it's not so clear that black can exploit the newly weakened c3 square after the text.  17.b3 Be8 18.Qf3!? Very aggressive, and practically strong, but possibly not best.  18...f6

Pretty much forced. With so many pieces aimed at the black kingside, Black has to take drastic measures.  19.Qh3!? The first point  19...f5 (  Dmitri plays it safe, as we both thought white had fantastic compensation after  19...fxe5 20.Ng5 h6 (20...Bxg5 21.Qxh7+ Kf7 22.Bg6+ Ke7 23.Bxg5+ Nf6 24.Qxg7+ +- ) 21.Nxe6 Bd7!? 22.Bxh6!?

, with huge complications. But it turns out that 20...h5! holds for black in all variations, as my computer was quick to scream out after the game. ) 20.Nc5! The second, and more subtle, point. White sacrifices his isolated queen's pawn for...positional compensation! In return, white gets the two bishops, an important outpost on e5 and constant, long term pressure against the weak e6 pawn and the weakened black kingside. Moreover, all of white's pieces easily find nice lines, particularly the dominant queen's bishop, while their black counterparts are smothered in defence.  20...Bxc5 21.dxc5 Rxc5 22.Bb2 Qg5 23.Nf3 Qg6 Black would of course like to trade queens, but he has to be careful that he doesn't lose a pawn in the process, as the grim outlook for the rest of the black pieces doesn't improve much in most endgames. For instance, 23...Qg4 24. Qxg4 fg 25.Ne5 is extremely pleasant for White.  24.Qh4! Restricting the d5-knight further.  24...Rc7 25.Rad1 h6 So white has all the pressure he needs, but how to break through? Finally, I found the right idea...   26.Be5 Rc8 27.Bd6 Rf6 28.Be5 Rf8 29.Nd4 Bd7 30.h3! Wasting time? No! White's pressure is so great, he can afford a slow build-up to the inevitable attack. My idea is to carefully play Kh2, Rg1 and eventually g4, finally crashing through. Remarkably, with almost his entire army on the board, Black is helpless to defend.  30...Qg5 Logical, but the resulting black pawn-structure will be too unstable to support without loss.  31.Qxg5 hxg5 32.Nf3 g4 33.hxg4 fxg4 34.Ng5 Nf4

Allowing a nice finish, but Black is in trouble in any case.  35.Bh7+ Kh8 36.Re4 Nh5 37.Rxg4 Black is totally tied up and cannot meet white's threatened Rh4 without jettisoning material. 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bd6 6.d4 exd4 7.Qxd4 f6 8.b3 Ne7 9.h3 (9.Ba3 Bg4 10.Bxd6 Bxf3 ) 9...Ng6 10.Ba3 Nh4 11.Qe3 (  White must avoid 11.Nxh4 Bh2+ ) ( and 11.Qc3 Nxg2 12.Kxg2 Bxh3+ 13.Kxh3 Qd7+ 14.Kh4 g5+ 15.Nxg5 fxg5+ ) 11...Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 O-O 13.Rd1 Qe7 14.Bxd6 cxd6 Trading advantages - black no longer has the advantage of two bishops or the disadvantage of a crippled queenside majority - but a new disadvantage, a weak pawn on a half open file has appeared.  15.Qd3 Rd8 16.c4 Be6 17.Nc3 b5 18.Ne2 bxc4 (18...d5 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Nd4 dxe4 21.Qxe4 wins for white ) 19.bxc4 Qf7 20.Rac1 c5 21.Nf4 ( not 21.f4 f5 ) 21...Rab8 22.Qc3 Rb4 23.Nd5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 Qb7 25.Qd3 Rb8 Black prefers to seek counterplay rather than be tied up defending the weakness   26.Rxd6 Rb1 27.Rf1 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Qb1+ 29.Qxb1 Rxb1+ 30.Ke2 Rc1 (  Better would be 30...Rb2+ 31.Rd2 Rb4 32.Kd3 Kf7 33.Kc3 Ra4 34.Kb3 ) 31.Rxa6

White's outside passer is now proves too strong  31...Rxc4 32.Ke3 Rc2 33.a4 Rc3+ 34.Kd2 Ra3 35.a5 h5 36.f4 Ra4 37.Kd3 Ra3+ 38.Kc4 Ra4+ 39.Kxc5 Rxe4 40.Rc6 Rxf4 41.a6 Ra4 42.Kb6 Kh7 43.a7 Kg6 44.Rc5 1-0

In my fourth visit to New Zealand I didn't play as well as I wished. No inspiration and a lot of struggling. The original and sharp play of my opponent forced me finally to play a decent game!  1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7 (  Short favours this move trying an early ... c5. Here 7...b6 is very popular and I had faced it a couple of times. ) 8.Bc4 c6 (8...c5 9.O-O O-O 10.Re1 Nb6 11.Bf1 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Kh8 13.c3 e5 14.Qh5 introduced a brilliant win of Shirov over Short (Las Vegas 1999). This doesn't prove anything however as Nigel is probably Alexei's biggest client and almost anything does it for Alexei... ) 9.Qe2 f5

This move is a novelty in the position. More 'normal' would be (9...Qc7 10.O-O-O b6 transposing to well known lines. But in my preparation I had already found out that Goldsmith is an original thinker. Some of his repertoire lines may be dubious but he plays them with clear strategic ideas. ) 10.Ned2 Rg8 11.g3 Nf6 12.c3 b5 Another surprise. My opponent clearly shows that he'll play with his king on f8 and try to get counterplay attacking white's center.  13.Bd3 Bb7 14.O-O-O Qc7 15.Rhe1 Rd8 16.Kb1 Kf8 There it i s. Black is ready to play on the queen side. I wasn't feeling comfortable at all.  17.h3 Hoping for Ne5 and g4 at some moment.  17...h5 (  An unexpected move as so many already before. But I think that 17...Kg7 is better. ) 18.Ne5 I took much longer than usual for this move and had already decided what to do against black's obvious reaction but (18.Qe3 Kg7 19.Nb3 Nd5 20.Qe5+ Qxe5 21.Nxe5 was much safer. ) 18...c5 19.Nxf7 (  In my thoughts somehow this sacrifice was forced. I was afraid of blows on e4 but long after the game I came to the conclusionthat 19.dxc5 is best. After  19...Be4 20.Bxe4 Qxe5 21.Bc6 is probably better for white. ) 19...Kxf7 20.Qxe6+ Kf8 21.Qxf5 Rg7?! ( Post-mortem analysis showed that 21...cxd4 would give black a slight edge.  22.cxd4 Rxd4 23.Nf3 Bxf3 24.Qxf3 is not clear at all. ) 22.dxc5 Rd5 23.Qf3 Rf7 24.Qe3 Qxc5 25.Qh6+ Kg8 26.Bc2 ( As the bishop is indirectly defended 26.g4 flashed through my mind but with not too much time left I decided to play for the b3 square. ) 26...Re5 ( Sacking the exchange with 26...Qxf2 27.Bb3 is a reasonable option but I was confident in my chances after  27...Qf5+ 28.Ka1 Bf8 29.Qe3 but I confess that it should be much harder than I had imagined. ) 27.Nb3 Qc7 28.Nd4 Bd5 29.Nf5 Rxe1? (29...Bf8 30.Qg6+ Kh8 looks much e resistent. I hadn't decided yet if I would follow with 31 f4 or with 31 Nh6. Best is probably  31.Nh6 Bxh6 32.Qxh6+ Kg8 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Rxe5 Qxe5 35.f4 Qe6 (35...Qe7 36.Rxd5 Nxd5 37.Qxh5+ Rh7!? gives black practical chances. ) 36.Ka1 and white has good chances to book the whole point. ) 30.Rxe1 Bf8 31.Qg6+ Kh8 32.Nh6 Bxh6 33.Qxh6+ Kg8 34.Qg5+ Kf8 ( I was more worried about 34...Kh8 35.Re5 Qc6 36.Qh6+ Nh7 37.Qxh5 Be6 but  38.Ka1 Qh1+ 39.Bb1 Qxh3 40.Qg6 looks very awful for black ) 35.Re5 Qc6 36.Qh6+ Rg7

37.Rf5! (37.Rxd5 Qxd5 38.Qxf6+ is also winning but less effective far uglier!  ) 37...Kf7 (37...Bf7 38.Rxf6 Qh1+ 39.Qc1 this is of course the point that makes white's 35th move work. ) 38.Rxd5 (38.Rxd5 Qxd5 39.Bb3 +- ) 1-0