Magazines Games 2008-2018 2011

As Bill Forster suggested in "NZ Chess", before this game I was still having nightmares about not finishing off (and even losing) a completely won position against Anthony in the New Zealand Championships - a game that cost me the title. This time I was determined to a) play actively and b) follow through if I did reach a winning position. Credit to Bill again for his description on the tournament website of the return match as "sweet utu".  1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 a6 7.a4 b6 8.e5 Nfd7 9.e6 fxe6 10.h4 Nf6 11.h5 Nxh5 12.Bd3

My book ended here, with the view that "white has good attacking chances". Maybe the infernal machine wouldn't agree, but thankfully this was a game between two humans!  12...Nc6?! Black goes wrong immediately. The idea was to eliminate the white bishop with ...Nb4, but this is too slow. Better (12...Nf6 or ) (12...Nf4 ) 13.Ng5! Attack! Nxh7 and Rxh5 are two threats.  13...Nf4 14.Bxf4 Rxf4 15.g3! Deflection.  15...Rxd4? It was necessary to stay on the f-file and give up an exchange by e.g. (15...Rf5 ) 16.Qf3! With virtually unstoppable threats of Qxc6 or Qf7+, followed by Rxh7#.  16...Qe8 17.Rxh7 Black has no real answer to Qh1, followed by Rh8+, Qh7+ and Qxh8#.  17...Rd5 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.Qh1 e6 Unlike our NZ Championship game, I had plenty of time here, and spent 10 or 15 minutes calculating and checking the winning line. ([Bill Forster] Whilst converting this from .pdf to .pgn I am going to take the opportunity to confirm this with an anecdote - I happened to arrive at the club to spectate whilst Bob was contemplating this position - suddenly I started worrying that I'd not closed the garage door - so I drove home, found that it was closed (naturally) and drove back - Bob was still looking at the same position)  20.Rh8+! Bxh8 21.Qh7+ Kf8 22.Qxh8+ Ke7 23.Qg7+ Kd8 24.Nf7+! Kd7 25.Ne5+ Kd8 26.Bxg6 Black's 'best' is (26.Bxg6 Nxe5 27.Bxe8 Kxe8 28.O-O-O! with mate not far away. ) 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 g6 10.Bb2 Nf4 11.Qe4 Ne6 12.Be2 Rb8 13.O-O Bg7 14.f4 f5 15.Qe3 Rb7 16.Bf3 Qc5 17.Qxc5 Nxc5 18.Bd4 Ne6 19.Be3 Bf8 20.Nc3 Bc5 21.Bxc5 Nxc5 22.Rad1 Ke7 23.Rd2 Rb4 24.Rfd1 Bc8 25.Ne2 a5 26.Nd4 Rb6 27.Nc2 Ne6 28.g3 c5 29.Bd5 h5 30.Bxe6 dxe6 31.Ne1 a4 32.Rd3 axb3 33.axb3 Re8 34.Nf3 c6 35.Ng5 Rb7 36.Rd6 Bd7 37.Nh7 Ra8 38.Nf6 Raa7

39.Kg2 Black is so bound up that white's king can just walk up the board and force the win.  39...Rc7 40.Kh3 Bc8 41.Rd8 Bd7 42.Rh8 Rab7 43.Kh4 Ra7 44.Kg5 Bc8 45.Rh7+ 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.g3 d6 6.exd6 Bxd6 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 O-O

11.Bxd5 exd5 12.Qxd5 Qe7+ 13.Be3 Bd7 14.O-O Bc6 15.Qd3 Rad8 16.Qe2 Bc5 17.Re1 Rfe8 18.Qf1 Qe4 19.f3 Bxe3+ 20.Rxe3 Qxe3+ 21.Kg2 Qe2+ 22.Qf2 Bxf3+ 0-1

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 c6 5.h3 Nbd7 6.f4 b5 7.a3 a6 8.Nf3 Bg7 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Bd3 Nb6

11.O-O Bb7 12.f5 Rc8 13.Bh6 c5 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Qf4 cxd4 16.Nxd4 Nbd7 17.Kh1 Qb6 18.Nce2 Nc5 19.fxg6 fxg6 20.e5 dxe5 21.Qxe5 Rf7 22.Nf4 Nxd3 23.cxd3 Kg8 24.Nfe6 Nd7 25.Qg5 Qd6 26.Rxf7 Kxf7 27.Re1 Nf6 28.Qe3 Ke8 29.b4 Rc3 30.Nc5 Bd5 31.Nxa6 Bxg2+ 32.Kxg2 Nd5 33.Qe5 Nf4+ 34.Kh1 Qxe5 35.Rxe5 Rxa3 36.Nc5 Nxd3 37.Nxd3 Rxd3 38.Nxb5 Rxh3+ 39.Kg2 Rb3 40.Re4 Kd7 41.Rc4 e5 42.Nc3 Ke6 43.b5 h5 44.Rc6+ Kd7 45.Kf3 Rxb5 46.Rxg6 1/2-1/2

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.e3 Be7 6.Nge2 O-O 7.O-O a6 8.d4 cxd4 9.exd4 d6 10.b3 Rb8

11.Bb2 Qc7 12.Rc1 Bd7 13.Nf4 Rfc8 14.Re1 Qd8 15.d5 exd5 16.Ncxd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bf8 18.Be4 Ne7 19.Bxg7 Nxd5 20.Bxf8 Qxf8 21.Bxd5 Bc6 22.Re4 Bxd5 23.Qxd5 Rc5 24.Qd4 f6 25.Re6 Re5 26.Rxd6 Rbe8 27.Kg2 Kg7 28.Rc3 R8e7 29.Rf3 R7e6 30.Qg4+ Kf7 31.Rd7+ Re7 32.Rfd3 Rxd7 33.Rxd7+ Re7 34.Qf5 Kg7 35.Qd5 b5 36.c5 Kg6 37.c6 Re5 38.Qd3+ Kh6 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.O-O b5 8.a3 Bb7 9.Be3 Nf6 10.Qd2 Na5

11.f3 Be7 12.Rad1 O-O 13.Bd3 Nc4 14.Bxc4 bxc4 15.Kh1 Rfd8 16.Bf4 d6 17.Bg3 Rab8 18.Rfe1 Ba8 19.Rb1 Qa5 20.Qe3 g6 21.f4 Rbc8 22.h3 d5 23.f5 Nxe4 24.fxe6 f6 25.Nxe4 dxe4 26.c3 Kg7 27.Rf1 Qc5 28.Bf4 Rxd4 29.Bh6+ Kg8 30.cxd4 Qd5 31.Rf2 Qxe6 32.Rbf1 Bd5 33.Bf4 Rc6 34.Bg3 Rb6 35.Rc1 Kg7 36.Rc3 g5 37.h4 h6 38.hxg5 hxg5 39.Bh2 Qg4 40.Qe2 Qxe2 41.Rxe2 f5 42.Be5+ Bf6 43.Rg3 Kg6 44.Bxf6 Rxf6 45.Rge3 Rb6 46.Kg1 Re6 47.Rh3 Re8 48.g3 e3 49.Reh2 f4 50.g4 Bf7 51.Rh6+ Kg7 52.Rh7+ Kf6 53.R2h6+ Bg6 54.Kf1 f3 55.Ke1 e2 56.Rxg6+ Kxg6 57.Rh2 Kf6 58.Rh1 Re4 0-1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Nfd7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Bd3 a6 8.f4 c5 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.Qd2 b5 12.Ne2 Nb6 13.b3 Bd7 14.c3 a5 15.Ned4 b4 16.Rc1 Na7 17.cxb4 Qxb4 18.O-O O-O 19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.Ng5+ Kg8 21.Qd3 Rfe8 22.a3 Qxa3 23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.f5 (24.Qh8+ Ke7 25.Qxg7 Rf8 26.Qf6+ Ke8 ) 24...exf5 25.Qh8+ Ke7 26.Qxg7 Rf8 27.Qf6+ Ke8 28.Qxb6 Qb4 29.Qxb4 axb4 30.Nxf5 Nb5 31.Nh7 Bxf5 32.Rxf5 Nd4 33.Rf2 Rh8 34.Nf6+ Ke7 35.Nxd5+ Ke6 36.Nc7+ Kxe5 37.Nxa8 Rxa8 38.Re1+ Kd5 39.Rxf7 Nxb3 40.Rb7 Kc4 41.Re4+ Nd4 42.Rd7 Ra1+ 43.Kf2 Rd1 44.Ke3 Rd3+ 45.Kf4 Kc3 46.Rc7+ Kb3 47.Ke5 Nb5 48.Rcc4 Nc3 49.Rxb4+ Ka3 50.Rg4 Rd2 51.Rb6

51...Re2+ rest of the moves illegible 1-0

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O a6 7.Rb1 e5 8.d3 h6 9.b4 Nh5 10.a4 a5

11.bxa5 Rxa5 12.Nd2 e4 13.Bb2 exd3 14.exd3 Nd7 15.Nb3 Ra6 16.Qd2 c6 17.Ne4 Ndf6 18.Nxf6+ Nxf6 19.a5 Be6 20.Bc3 Qd7 21.Nd4 Qc7 22.Nxe6 fxe6 23.d4 Kf7 24.Rfe1 Re8 25.Bf1 Ra7 26.Bd3 Rg8 27.Qe3 Bf8 28.d5 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 Nc6 5.e4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e5 Ng8 8.Be3 Nge7 9.a3 Ba5 10.b4 Bb6 11.Bb5 O-O 12.Bf2 Nf5 13.Nge2?

(13.Bxc6 ) 13...Ncxd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Bd3 Qg5 16.Bg3 Qe3+ 17.Ne2 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.Qd2 Rfe8 20.f4 Qxd2+ 21.Kxd2 Ne3 22.Bf2 Nc4+ 23.Ke1 f6 24.exf6 gxf6 25.Ra2 d4 26.Kd1 d3 27.Nc3 Rad8 28.Re1 Rxe1+ 29.Bxe1 Ne3+ 30.Kc1 Nf1 31.Ne4 Be3+ 32.Kd1 Bxf4 33.Nxf6+ Kf7 34.Nh5 d2 35.Bf2 Be3 36.Bg3 Bg1 37.Bf4 Kg6 38.Ng3 Bxh2 39.Nxf1 Bxf4 40.Rc2 Re8 0-1

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.exd6 exd6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Be3 a5 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.Nge2 a4 10.O-O Nb4

11.d5 Nd7 12.Nd4 Nxd3 13.Qxd3 Ne5 14.Qe2 O-O 15.h3 Re8 16.b3 axb3 17.axb3 Rxa1 18.Rxa1 Bf6 19.Ra8 Nd7 20.Qa2 h6 21.Ncb5 Nb6 22.Rb8 Kh7 23.Qb1+ g6 24.Na7 Bxd4 25.Bxd4 Qh4 26.Qa1 Bd7 27.Bh8 f6 28.Bxf6 Qe4 29.Rxb7 Na8 30.Nb5 Bxb5 31.Rxb5 Nb6 32.Bd4 Nd7 33.Rb7 Rc8 34.Qd1 h5 35.Ba1 Nc5 36.Ra7 Nd3 37.Qd2 Ne1 38.f3 Qb1 39.Kh2 Nc2 40.Bc3 Qxb3 41.c5 dxc5 42.d6 Qb6 43.Rxc7+ Rxc7 44.d7 Rxd7 45.Qxd7+ Kh6 46.Qd2+ 1-0

GM Hansen wasn't having the best of tournaments and had a bad Doeberl as well, so was keen to get into him just in case I could get one over him while he wasn't on song.  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3

4...c5 Surprise for me, he had previously played the d5 lines capturing back on d5 with the Knight, guess these are drawish and he wanted to mix it up against the underrated FM - I was OK with that.  5.d5 O-O 6.e4 Re8 7.Ne2 d6 8.Bd2 I didn't think this correct, but couldn't remember the exact lines, I just remembered I had to be careful of sacrifices on the e4 pawn and checks on h4 to follow, this move takes care of that and I may castle Queenside if I get carried away :-).  8...a6 9.Ng3 b5 I was completely on my own, and the amount time he was spending I was sure he was making it up also. This looked very Blumenfeld Gambitish to me, but I had the useful e4 move in and thought that I could stop his central pawn rollers. I decided I would take anything on offer and get him to prove it if I couldn't see a direct win.  10.dxe6 Bxe6 11.cxb5 d5 12.bxa6 c4 13.exd5 Was getting a bit edgy here, I have 3 pawns, but a couple of them could go back easily and my King is stuck in the centre, but I was down this track now, had to continue eating anything that could mate me.  13...Bh3+? This move I had seen at move 10 when I entered this pawn grabbing line and I thought it was a mistake because of my reply, I was more worried about just taking back the d pawn and watching my King squirm. (13...Nxd5 14.Be2 Bc5 15.Nce4 Nxa6 16.Bxc4 Qb6 17.Qe2 I have 2 pawns, but my King is a long way from being safe, very tricky to unravel and get to an endgame where the 2 pawns will count. ) 14.Nce4 Nxd5 15.Bxb4 Nxb4 16.gxh3 Qa5 17.Kf2 N8c6 OK, so a piece and 2 pawns up, but still the King is not completely comfortable, I decided to whip off the c pawn which nails down d3 for his Knights - maybe getting too greedy now.  18.Bxc4 Ne5 19.Qb3? This move was played because I had seen the final position, looking at it now the calm retreat of the Bishop was a more certain win. (19.Be2 Rad8 20.Qb3 Ned3+ 21.Kf1 Nf4 22.Bc4 Re7 23.a3 Nxa6 24.Qc3 This is obviously best and easiest line for White, piece and 2 pawns up and Black's pieces have now been pushed back - would be an easy win. ) 19...Nxc4 20.Qxc4 Rac8 21.Qb3 Rc2+ 22.Ne2 I was getting a lot of crowd viewing going on here, this line wasn't the most accurate for me, but I had seen the trick that would finish the game off and I just felt certain that he would play into it - not good chess, but worked.  22...Rxb2 23.Qe3 Nc2?? This is the move I "knew/hoped" he would play - it is a losing blunder, just felt certain he would play it. (23...Nd5 24.Qd4 Qb5 25.Rhe1 Nf4 26.Qe3 Nd3+ 27.Kg1 Nxe1 28.Rxe1 Kh8 29.a7 Still winning, but a lot more work to do than the Be2 line. ) (23...Kf8 was the move being suggested by all in the analysis room, however White's reply kills it off very nicely.  24.Rhb1 Qxa6 25.Kf1 Nd3 26.Rxb2 Nxb2 27.a4 f5 28.Qc5+ Kg8 29.Qxf5 ) 24.Nf6+ 1-0

After losing to Kevin Goh in a won position my IM norm chance had gone, I was determined to attack whoever I was playing in the next round, I had the NSW player Samar, a regular at the SIO. He played the Slav which made me groan internally, but I remembered looking at a gambit line with Caleb Wright, so decided I would play it off the cuff. Worked a treat, was busting him as he played too meekly, I then rushed the position and ruined my game, he recovered and my position was busted, but I saw a trick and set it up, the move Bg4 was a great idea and would have won if it hadn't been for my Rd5 which was possible because of my Qa4 pinning his c6 pawn. He was a bit shell-shocked by this change of events and when I attacked again and under-promoted a pawn to a Knight with check, he miscalculated and missed the right King move, I may have gotten away with a draw, but would have been lucky as it was, all other squares were mined and lost to various mating patterns with the Queen and Rook.   1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Bd6 6.Qc2 Nbd7

7.g4 This was it, I had seen Caleb Wright use this to destroy Antonio Krstev at our weekender and we had looked at it afterwards, was just the kind of thing I would enjoy having lost a winning game the round before, nothing cures depression like getting stuck into your next opponent.  7...h6 8.Rg1 e5 I had absolutely no idea what the theory was here, but felt the spirit of the opening was for White to just get stuck in and ignore pawns etc.  9.h4 e4 10.Nd2 g5 11.hxg5 hxg5 12.f3 exf3 13.Nxf3 dxc4 14.e4 I felt White just needed to get on with it, the c pawn is not of much consequence at the moment, my King plans to go to the Queenside but Black's will take some time to get safe, just what I was looking for in this game.  14...Bf4? This has to be bad, Black is developing White's Queenside with tempos and ignoring his King's position. (14...c5 15.e5 cxd4 16.exd6 dxc3 17.Qxc3 Qb6 18.Bxg5 Qxd6 19.Qe3+ Qe6 20.Qxe6+ fxe6 21.Bxc4 This would have been a disappointment to lose the attacking chance, but White is much better here, still ahead in development and the 2 Bishops should ensure an endgame win. ) 15.Bxf4 gxf4 16.g5 Nh5 17.O-O-O Ng3 18.d5? Was getting carried away now, ruining my good game. (18.Qd2 Qc7 19.d5 Nxf1 20.Rgxf1 Nf8 21.d6 Qd8 22.e5 Be6 23.Ne4 Qb6 24.Nf6+ I missed his response, this Qd2 would have forced the passive Queen and White retains a big plus. ) 18...Qb6 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.Bxc4? Now I was losing the thread, bad moves follow bad moves. (20.Kb1 Nxf1 21.Rgxf1 Nc5 22.Rh1 Rg8 23.e5 Bg4 24.Qh7 ) 20...Qe3+ 21.Nd2 Ne5 22.Qa4 Bd7 23.Rge1 Qc5 Black is better here and I was pretty annoyed, this was when I had seen the saving resource. The moves he plays look great, but I have a saving trick.  24.Ba6 Rh2 25.Nf1 Nxf1 26.Bxf1 Bg4!? This move still wins, but allows me to make it look spooky and he had chances to go wrong. (26...Rb8 27.Re2 Rxe2 28.Bxe2 f3 29.Bf1 Qe3+ 30.Rd2 Rxb2 31.Kxb2 Qxd2+ Black is winning. ) 27.Rd5 Qf2 28.Rxe5+ Kf8 29.Qb4+ Kg8? 30.Ne2 Rh1 31.g6 Rxf1 32.gxf7+ Kh7 33.f8=N+ Rxf8?? (33...Kh8 34.Ng6+ Kg7 35.Qe7+ (35.Re7+ Kh6 36.Ngxf4 Rxe1+ 37.Kc2 Rxe2+ 38.Nxe2 Qxe2+ 39.Qd2+ Qxd2+ 40.Kxd2 ) 35...Kg8 36.Ngxf4 Rxe1+ 37.Kd2 Rxe2+ 38.Nxe2 Qxe2+ 39.Kc3 Black is a piece up, but mate threats loom, a perpetual seems likely. ) 34.Qe7+ Mate cannot be prevented, great start, bad middle, lucky finish - typical Steadman chess :-) 1-0

I knew Greg played the King's Indian, I decided to play the line that worked against Gawain, the database showed he played the Bd3 line the same way.  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bd3 O-O 6.Nge2 e5 7.O-O

7...c6 Greg thought for quite a while over this move, he usually played the main line Nc6. I wasn't too concerned, this type of King's Indian does not have the same kingside attack threats that Black normally gets and White gets good play in the centre and on the Queenside.  8.h3 Na6 9.d5 Nc5 10.Bc2 a5 11.Be3 cxd5 12.cxd5 Nfd7!? (12...Bd7 13.Rc1 a4 14.Qd2 Qa5 15.a3 Rfc8 16.Ng3 Qb6 17.Rb1 ) 13.a3 f5 14.exf5 gxf5 15.f4 This is the idea, White stops Black's Kingside ambitions and prepares to operate on the Queenside on the back of the cramping d5 pawn.  15...Qe7 16.Ng3 e4 17.Bd4 Nf6 18.Qd2 Bd7 19.b4 axb4 20.axb4 Na6 21.Na4? Nc7 (21...e3 22.Bxe3 Nxb4 23.Bb3 Nfxd5 24.Bd4 Bxd4+ 25.Qxd4 Bxa4 26.Bxd5+ Nxd5 27.Qxd5+ Qf7 28.Qxd6 b5 ) 22.Nb6 Rxa1 I was tossing up and was leaning to Bishop takes, but flipped at the last minute, missed his line completely.  23.Rxa1? (23.Bxa1 Qf7 24.Bb3 Qg6 25.Qe3 Bb5 26.Rc1 Rf7 27.Kh2 This position is pretty even, difficult to assess for us mere FMs. ) 23...Nb5 24.Bb2 Nh5 25.Nxd7 Bxb2 (25...Qxd7 26.Nxh5 Bxb2 27.Ra2 Bc3 28.Qd1 Qc7 ) 26.Nxf8 Bxa1 27.Nxh5? (27.Nxf5 Qxf8 28.Bxe4 Nf6 29.Bd3 Nd4 Black is going to win here, but White can squirm for a while. ) 27...Kxf8? (27...e3 28.Qc1 e2 29.Ne6 Bc3 30.Bd3 e1=Q+ 31.Qxe1 Bxe1 32.Bxb5 Black is winning easily. The Gods were smiling. ) 28.Ng3 Qf6 29.Ba4 Nd4?? 30.Qc1 Bc3 31.Kf1 b5 32.Qxc3 bxa4 33.Ne2 Greg resigned here, very tough loss for him, another IM norm got away from him.  1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7

This is Luke's standard line in the Classical French  5.Bxf6 (5.e5 is the most common move here, this line is a do or die attack line by White. But Luke is naturally greedy, so not sure this was the best choice. ) 5...Bxf6 6.Nf3 O-O 7.Qd2 b6 8.O-O-O dxe4 9.Nxe4 This is definitely not the main line, the question is whether Black's compact position can hold against the attack that is coming.  9...Bb7 10.Bd3 Nd7 11.Qf4 White is making it up here, the "normal plan" is to play h4 and Ng5, prepared to sacrifice the knight to open the h file.  11...Be7 12.h4 Nf6 13.Nfg5 h6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bh7+ Kh8 16.Be4 Bxg5 17.hxg5 Bxe4 18.gxh6 Bg6 19.hxg7+ Kxg7 20.Rh3? White miscalcula ted here and did not appreciate Black's defensive chances, he should have taken the draw. (20.Qh6+ Kf6 21.Qh4+ Kg7 22.Qh6+ ) 20...Qf6 21.Qh6+ Kg8 22.Rdh1 Rfd8 23.c3 Rac8 24.g4 Qg7 25.Qe3 c5 26.dxc5 Rd3 27.Rh8+ Qxh8 28.Rxh8+ Kxh8 29.Qe5+ Kg8 30.cxb6 The smoke has cleared and Black is easily winning, the 3 pawns don't make up for the pieces.  30...Rcd8 31.Qe1 axb6 32.a4 Kf8 33.b3 Rc8 34.c4 Rxb3 35.Qe5 Rxc4+ 36.Kd1 Rb1+ 37.Kd2 Rc2+ Once White spurned the draw, Luke was ruthless, a good win. 0-1

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Ngf6 11.Bd2 Qc7 12.O-O-O O-O-O 13.Kb1 e6 14.Qe2 Bd6 15.Ne4 Nxe4

16.Qxe4 This is pretty much all theory, and now I'd expect . ...Nf6 and ...c5, in some order. Ari's plan to get the king out of the way and the rooks across to the c-file is also fine.  16...Kb8 17.c4 c5 18.Qc2 Rc8 19.b3 Ka8 20.Bc3 Nf6 21.dxc5 White could also consider (21.d5 exd5 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Rxd5 intending to play against the weak pawns, but I was a bit dubious about leaving him with that dark-squared bishop, with all the holes around my king. ) 21...Qxc5 22.Bd4 Qc7 23.Qb2 Qe7 24.Ne5 Ba3 25.Qe2 Bc5 26.g4 a6 27.f3 All standard ideas against this variation of the Caro-Kann, where the black kingside pawns are not healthy in an endgame.  27...Rhd8 28.Bxc5 Rxd1+ 29.Rxd1 Rxc5 30.Qe3 Rc8 31.Qb6 White has made good progress. The knight is happy on e5, the pawns are secure, the d file is under control and the queen is making aggressive noises on b6. Not enough to win, admittedly, but enough to worry my young opponent, who now tried (unwisely) to break out.  31...g6? 32.hxg6 fxg6 33.Rd6 (33.Nxg6? Qh7 is probably what he was hoping for. ) 33...g5 34.Rxe6 Qh7+ 35.Kb2 Nd7 36.Nxd7 Qxd7 White is considerably better here but needs to be careful. The result of a major-piece ending often depends on the relative safety of the kings. My king is rather vulnerable to perpetual check. It's necessary to keep the black pieces away from my king, while trying to demonstrate that Black's king is in trouble. Snatching pawns just isn't going to work.  37.Qd6 Qg7+ 38.Qe5 Qd7 39.Rd6 Qf7 40.Qf6 Qe8 41.Qe6 Qh8+ 42.Ka3 Re8 43.Qd5 Now my king looks secure, the weak f-pawn is covered, and there are some serious threats against the black king.  43...Qf8 44.c5 Ka7 45.Rd7 Rb8 46.Rf7 Qh8 47.c6 Qc3 48.cxb7 Qc1+ 49.Ka4 Qe3 50.b4 Qb6 51.Qc5 Qxc5 52.bxc5 Rxb7 53.Rxb7+ Kxb7 54.Kb4 Kc6 55.Kc4 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Rc1 Ng6 14.c5

14...a6 This is the first parting from conventional theory. The opening is the Kings Indian Defence. Usually white's plan here is to advance his queenside pawns and rip open lines for his pieces there, and hopefully create a passed pawn, while black tries to play a massive attack on the kingside against white's king. Usually white's queenside advance is faster, but it's all very well for him to queen a pawn there, but it's no use to him if he's getting mated on the kingside.  15.c6?! Nf6 16.cxb7 Bxb7 17.b4 h5 18.a4 Bc8 19.b5 g4 The battle lines are drawn - white can now create a passed pawn on the queenside, while meanwhile black is forging ahead on the kingside.  20.bxa6 g3!? Black sacs a pawn on the kingside to hasten his progress. He doesn't want to recapture on a6 and allow white to exchange his bad light squared bishop with blacks excellent one and follow up with Nb5, at which point black's position seems to be on the brink of collapse.  21.hxg3 fxg3 22.Bxg3 Bh6 23.Rb1 Be3+ At the time this seemed like a fairly harmless move. But that's because I hadn't seen...  24.Bf2 Ng4!! A wonderful idea!  25.fxg4 I had to capture the knight, because after (25.Nd3 Nxf2 26.Nxf2 Qg5! is crushing. ) 25...Rxf2! The idea behind ...Ng4. In the resulting position, white is a rook and two pawns to the good, but black's dark squared bishop is an invincible monster and all white's pieces end up defending the pinned f2 rook.  26.Rxf2 Qh4 27.Nd3 Bxa6 28.Qe1 This move was a key decision. Black threatened ...Bxd3, eliminating the defender of the f2 rook. White has four reasonable responses: 28. Nb5, 28. Rb2, 28. Qf1 or the move I chose, 28. Qe1. According to my engine, they all draw except 28. Qf1, which hands black the advantage.  28...Bxd3 29.Bxd3 Qg3! 30.Nd1?! After this inaccuracy, white is struggling to keep afloat. Probably best is (30.Ne2 which allows black to regain his material after  30...Bxf2+ 31.Qxf2 Qxd3 with a likely draw. ) 30...Bd4?! Black misses his chance to pounce on white's jugular with (30...Bxf2+! 31.Nxf2 Nh4 32.Kf1 Rf8 when black has a sizeable advantage with a complementary king hunt. ) 31.Rb3! This makes life a bit trickier for black, who is now threatened with having his queen evicted.  31...Nf4 With the threat of ...Qxg2#  32.Qf1? (32.Kf1! is probably the only move for white to survive here, but it is hard finding moves that don't lose time after time. ) 32...Rf8? Black returns the favour.  33.Kh1? The losing mistake. (33.Bc4 offers good drawing chances ) 33...Qh4+ 34.Kg1 hxg4 Crushing.  35.g3 Qxg3+ 36.Kh1 Rf6 37.Rh2 Nh3 38.Rb8+ Kg7 White is still a rook up, but his position is not to be envied.  39.Rg2 Rxf1+ 40.Bxf1 Qh4 41.Rh2 Qe1 A gruesome end. 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.d3 Nc6 5.g3 Qc7 6.Bg2 g6 7.a4 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.Na3 a6 10.Bd2 Rb8 11.b4

11...cxb4 I wasn't overly impressed with White's opening, which seemed passive. It was here that I hit upon an idea...  12.cxb4 Nxe4 Rybka hates this of course and thinks White is winning. That's probably true, but White has to play a bit of chess to prove it.  13.dxe4 Bxa1 14.Qxa1 f6 15.Rc1 Qd8 16.Nd4 (16.Qa2+ Kg7 17.Qd5 Bg4 18.Nc4 or ) (16.b5 axb5 17.Qa2+ Kg7 18.Nxb5 were better according to Rybka. My opponent seemed to want to exchange pieces...surely this is better for the side with the Rook, in this case Black. ) 16...Nxd4 17.Qxd4 Be6 18.Bf1 Rc8 19.Bc4 Bxc4 20.Rxc4 Rybka still likes White but I was feeling more comfortable. With the exchange of Rooks White's checkmating potential goes down considerably.  20...Qd7 21.Kg2 (21.Bh6 Rfd8 22.Qd5+ was surely better. ) 21...Kg7 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Nc4 White presses but Black has no real weaknesses, I was feeling Ok here.  23...Qe6 24.Nb6 Rc6 25.Nd5 Kf7 (25...Rc2 ) 26.b5 axb5 27.axb5 Rc2 28.Qd3 Rc8 (28...Qc8 ) 29.b6 Rc6 30.Bc3 h5 I played this move feeling confident that I couldn't lose this game, and as a way of telling my opponent that. He seemed to sense this, as now he blunders, losing the epawn when, for the first time in the game, Black is the only one playing to win.  31.Qf3 Rc4 32.e5 (32.Qd1 or ) (32.Nc7 where his last hope ) 32...dxe5 33.Qd3 Oh dear, this loses of course. White plays on, out of inertia perhaps.  33...Qc6 34.f3 e6 35.Qxg6+ Kxg6 36.Ne7+ Kf7 37.Nxc6 Rxc6 38.Ba5 Rc5 39.Be1 Rb5 40.Bf2 Rb2 41.h4 Kg6 42.g4 Rb4 43.gxh5+ Kxh5 44.Kh3 Rb3 45.Kg2 f5 0-1

1.d4 e5 The Englund Gambit. A rather crude if ambitious attempt by Black to blow White out of the water if he is unfamiliar.  2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7

4.e3!? George keeps it safe and now William is on his own.  4...Nxe5 5.Be2 Nxf3+ 6.Bxf3 d6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.O-O George has kept things relatively simple but he is still better because black is behind in development as a result of Qe7. It will take a few more moves for William to untangle his pieces after his opening plans went astray. Playing slowly and repositioning pieces is not in William's vocabulary and his impatience to strike out, particularly after Plan A failed, leads to further disaster.  8...Be6? 9.Bxb7 Rb8 10.Bc6+ Kd8 11.Bf3 retreating his piece to a safe square. White is a pawn up for nothing, the Black King is stuck in the centre and Black's pieces are all at sea.  11...Rb4 Falling back to Plan C, make something up in the hope it leads somewhere, William tries to generate a Kingside attack.  12.Bd2 h5 Naturally.  13.Ne2 Ng4 William tries to offer his knight in a last ditch attempt to open the h file.  14.g3? Perhaps George felt his position was safer if his light squared bishop was fianchettoed. The move nearly throws away his advantage as now Black can play h4 with a chance to open some attacking lines.  14...Ne5 15.Nd4! Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 The queen enters the game without loss of time. Black's rook's premature advance is about to be punished.  16...Bg4 17.Qa8+! Kd7 18.Bxb4 c5?? 19.Qc6+ Kd8 20.Ba5+ George can force mate with (20.Ba5+ Qc7 21.Qxc7+ Ke8 22.Qd8# A fine game. ) 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6

6.Bc4 To be honest the Candidates Tournament quarter and semifinal matches were fairly lacklustre from a spectator point of view. For example the Queen's Gambits yielded just two decisive games and the other openings were not much better. However in this, the third game of the Gelfand-Mamedyarov match, the Azeri was keen for a sharp confrontation and chose the Sozin, a favourite of Fischer amongst others.   6...e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.O-O Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.Qg3 O-O 11.Bh6 Ne8 On purely develop mental grounds one would have to say that White has already left the opening and and entered the middlegame while Black lags far behind in the placement of his pieces. But these considerations can be deceptive. While White has mobilised his pieces rapidly he is still some way from executing his natural f4-f5 break, attempting to weaken the a2-g8 diagonal, and Black retains considerable flexibility in how he wishes to deploy his forces.  12.Rad1 Bd7 13.f4 Nc6 14.f5?! This advance seems premature. The exchange on d4 not only relieves the pressure on e6 but leaves White's rook awkwardly placed on d4. A more cautious approach would be (14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.a3 the active (15.f5 Kh8 16.Be3 b4 17.Na4 doesn't seem to lead anywhere ) 15...Bf6 16.f5 Qe7 17.Bd2 Be5 18.Qh3 seems to leave White with some initiative but Black's control of the key f6 and e5 squares keeps any disadvantage to a minimum. ) 14...Nxd4 15.Rxd4 Kh8? Black doesn't sense the danger brewing on f6. He needs to take control of this square immediately with (15...Bf6 16.Rd3 b4 17.fxe6 fxe6 18.Nd1 where there are chances for both sides. ) 16.Be3 Another strong possibility is (16.f6!? Bxf6 17.Rxf6 Qc5 18.Ne2 e5 19.Rxd6 exd4 20.Rxd7 gxh6 21.Rd5 Qb6 22.Nxd4 where White has good compensation for the exchange and an edge. ) 16...Nf6 17.Qh3?! This move seems to encourage Black's natural break in the centre and leaves the queen off duty. (17.a3 a5 18.Rfd1 e5 19.R4d3 Bc6 is a better alternative. ) 17...d5 18.e5 White fuels the fire in an attempt to keep his withering kingside initiative alive. Not much better is (18.exd5 exf5 when Black's position suddenly springs to life. His bishops have good prospects and his knight has access to both the g4 and e4 squares. While White's passed d pawn is a long term asset in this position it only serves to obstruct his own pieces that yearn for access to d5.) ) 18...Qxe5 19.Rh4 Rfc8 (19...Rac8!? 20.g4 Rxc3 21.bxc3 exf5 22.gxf5 (22.g5? f4 23.Bxf4 Bc5+ ) 22...Qxc3 leads to a position somewhat similar to the actual game. In both cases Black is on top. ) 20.Kh1?! Perhaps White wasn't interested in a half point but it was his best option. He should continue (20.Bg5! h6 21.Rxh6+ gxh6 22.Qxh6+ Kg8 23.fxe6 fxe6 24.Qg6+ Kh8 25.Bxf6+ Bxf6 26.Qh6+ Kg8 27.Rxf6 Rf8 28.Qg6+ is a perpetual check. ) 20...Rxc3! As is so often the case in the Sicilian, if Black can execute this sacrifice with immunity and gather up another pawn into the bargain, White's initiative dissipates and his attacking forces on the kingside suddenly looked misplaced.  21.bxc3 Qxc3 22.Rd4? White's initiative has gone but White doesn't recognise it. A more pragmatic solution was (22.Bd4 Qxh3 23.Rxh3 where Black is clearly better but by no means winning. But now Black overwhelms White on the queenside and there really is no counterplay to speak of. ) 22...a5 23.Rd3 Qc6 24.c3 a4 25.Bc2 e5 26.Bg5 b4 27.Qh4 bxc3 28.Rh3 Kg8 29.Re1 e4 30.g4 What else? The thematic (30.Bxf6 Bxf6 31.Qxh7+ Kf8 32.Rhe3 Re8 33.Qh8+ Ke7 34.Qh5 Rb8 35.Qd1 Rb2 really leads nowhere for White. ) 30...Kf8 31.Be3 Qc4 32.g5 Bxf5! A wonderful move that completely snuffs out White's chances. Black is a full rook down for 5 pawns, but look at the pawns!  33.gxf6 Bxf6 34.Qh5 Bg6 35.Qg4 Qxa2 Six pawns!  36.Bb1 Qc4 37.Qg2 a3 38.Ba2 Qc6 39.Rg3 Rb8 A great tussle and one in which Gelfand always seemed to have a better understanding of the position than his opponent. 0-1