Magazines Games 2008-2018 2012

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 The Marshall gambit is very much in Steadman's style. Of course at the Wellington Chess Club Ross has developed a reputation as a dedicated pawn grabber, so he's happy too. An intriguing clash of styles...  4...dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2

The main posi tion of the Marshall Gambit, White's development advantage, bishop pair and Black's weakened dark squares amount to fair compensation in a devilishly complicated and unbalanced situation. A fascinating article in a recent "Chess" magazine about British Chess in the fifties discusses this position at length. This position was a favourite battleground for an amusing cast of Machievellian characters who apparently didn't like each other very much. Baruch H. Wood, the prickly founding editor of Chess, was very much annoyed at the praise Taimonov received in 1953 for introducing the innovation 9.Bd6! (after 8...Na6) at elite level. Wood liked to point out that he had discovered and deeply analysed this move himself before revealing it in domestic competition against a certain Mr Swinnerton-Dyer in 1949!  8...Nd7 (  Taking another pawn with 8...Qxg2 is not for the faint hearted and is generally frowned upon but may be better than it's reputation ) (8...Na6 is still the main move ) 9.Qd6 Qh4 10.Bc3 Qe7 11.Qg3 f6 12.Nf3 Nh6 13.O-O-O O-O 14.Rhe1 Nc5! Threatening ...Ne4, a rather annoying move  15.Bf1 Na4 16.Bd2 Nf5 17.Qh3 e5

Now Bc8 is making the white queen uncomfortable. Black is pushing White around a little, not really something a gambiteer could be happy about  18.g4 Nd6 19.b3

19...Nc5 (  The computer immediately suggests the brilliancy 19...Ne4! offering a e two different ways, but actually leading to a material and positional advantage for black after  20.bxa4 Nxf2 21.Qg3 Nxd1 22.Rxd1 Qa3+ ) 20.Qg2 Nde4 21.Kc2

Clearly things have gone wrong for white. As well as a healthy extra pawn, black now has the initiative which is so important after opposite sides castling  21...Nxd2 22.Rxd2 Qf7 (22...a5 targetting the "hook" on b3 is natural and strong ) 23.g5 Qg6+ 24.Kb2 e4 25.Nd4 f5 26.h4 Ne6 27.Qg3 f4 28.Qc3 Nc5 29.Nc2 Bf5 30.Nd4 Bg4 31.Nc2 Rad8 32.Kc1

32...Rxd2 ( The computer can calculate that 32...e3! is a winning breakthrough, but it's a deep calculation. Ross prefers to keep his powerful phalanx intact for now. ) 33.Qxd2 Qe6 34.b4 Nd7 35.Qd4 Bf3 36.Qxa7 Qe5

Black has lost control of the position in the complications. Ross tried to bail out here with a draw offer but Mike understandably declined. Neutral observers probably expected the rest of the game to complete a familiar scenario; The plucky weaker player gets a good position, but subsequently succumbs in the face of time trouble, critical complications and prolonged resourceful resistance from a skilful and more confident competitor. Will this game follow that familiar path? (Hint: no it won't)  37.Qxb7 Qd6 38.Qa7 c5! Cutting off White's queen from the centre and opening lines. Black starts to take over again, permanently this time  39.Qa3 cxb4 40.Qxb4 Nc5!

For the fourth time the knight returns to this square. Each time it has been a good move. Material has rarely been level in this game. Now White has an extra pawn, but throughout the game Black's initiative has been a more important factor than the material balance. In fact the pawns White has recently won have also created open lines leading directly towards the already shaky White king.  41.Qc3 Ra8 (  Again the computer suggests a deep tactical solution 41...Rd8! is decisive. Black threatens a queen sac on d1 followed by a knight fork on a4 ) 42.a3 Rb8 43.Nb4 Na4 44.Qd2 Qb6 45.Bh3 Nc5! A fifth time, and again, the right move!  46.Kc2 Nd3 47.Rb1

47...Nxf2! It's not just a pawn, the pawn duo on e4 and f4 are now unrestrained monsters  48.Qd5+ Kh8 49.c5 Qb5 50.Bf1 Qa4+ 51.Qb3 Qe8 52.Qc3

52...e3!! Finally Ross unleashes the hounds, with decisive effect. The rest of the game is slaughter.  53.Re1 Qa4+ 54.Kc1 Ne4 55.Qb2 Nxc5 A sixth time!  56.Bc4

56...Bd5! The computer actually disapproves of this move because it allows white to prolong things pointlessly by Bxd5 giving up the queen to Nd3+. I am giving it an exclam for the same reason (i.e. if that's the best White can do it's a good simplifying combination).  57.Bf1 Nb3+ 58.Kb1 Nd2+ The only slightly inaccurate move in an otherwise brutal finishing sequence. Throwing in a harmless repitition to gain clock time and taunt the opponent with illusory hopes of a draw was pioneered by the Soviet school. Perhaps Ross was just torturing his opponent old school Russian style.  59.Ka1 Nb3+ 60.Kb1

60...Rxb4! A simple but very attractive final blow. (60...Rxb4 61.axb4 Be4+ 62.Qc2 Qa1# ) 0-1

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Be7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 O-O 9.h3 Nc6 10.O-O Qb6 11.Re1 h6 12.Bf4 Qxb2 13.Nb5 a6 14.Re2 Qxa1 15.Qxa1 axb5 16.Bxb5 Be6 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.Ne5 Rfc8 19.Qe1 c5 20.Ng6 fxg6 21.Rxe6 Bf8 22.dxc5 Rxc5 23.Bxh6

23...Rxa2 White concludes with a nice tactic  24.Rxf6! Black can't prevent white pinning and winning the bishop 1-0

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bf4 Bg7 8.h3 O-O 9.e3 a6 10.a4 Bf5 11.Nd2 Re8 12.Nc4 Bf8 13.Be2 Qc7

14.O-O White has set a cunning trap. What is black's only natural move?  14...Nbd7?? 15.g4! Whoops 1-0

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 a6 5.Nf3 b5 6.e5 dxe5 7.fxe5 e6 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Ne4 Nd7 10.O-O h6 11.c3 Ne7 12.Qe1 Nd5 13.a4 Bc6 14.b3 bxa4 15.bxa4 a5 16.Ba3 Bf8 17.Bxf8 Kxf8 18.Nh4 Kg7 19.Qg3 Rg8 20.Nxg6 fxg6 21.Nf6 N7xf6 22.Qxg6+ Kf8 23.Qxh6+ Ke7 24.exf6+ Kd7 25.f7

25...Rf8 White has sacrificed a piece but has three pawns and an overwhelming attack  26.Rae1 Qe7 27.Rxe6! Qxe6 28.Bf5 Qxf5 29.Rxf5 Rab8 30.Rf1 Rb2 31.Qxf8 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 Qxc6 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.Bd3 O-O 9.O-O Ng6 10.Be3 Ne5 11.Qe2 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 a6 13.Nd5 Re8 14.Qg3 Kh8 15.f4 Nc4 16.f5 Ne5 17.f6 g6 18.Qg5 Qc5+ 19.Kh1 b5 20.Rf4 Ra7 21.Rh4 Qf8 22.Ne7 d6 23.h3 c5 24.Rf1 Raxe7 25.fxe7 Qxe7 26.Qh6 f5 27.exf5 Nxd3 28.f6 Qf7 29.cxd3 Bb7 30.Rhf4

30...Re5 A nice finish to a well conducted attack  31.Qg7+ 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.dxc5 Qxc5 7.h3 Bf5 8.Na3 a6 9.Be3 Qc7 10.g4 Be4 11.g5 Nfd7 12.Bg2 e6 13.Qd4 Nc5 14.Rd1 Nc6 15.Qc4 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Ne5 17.Qe2 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Na4 19.Bf4 Qc8 20.Nc2 Be7 21.O-O O-O 22.Rd4 Nb6 23.Bc1 Nd5 24.Re1 Bc5 25.Rh4

25...f6 Speculative sacrifices are not really part of Anthony's style, so what follows is most likely a miscalculation  26.Rxh7?! Kxh7 27.Qh5+ Kg8 28.g6 Re8 29.c4 Black now has an opportunity to decisively refute the attack  29...Bxf2+! 30.Kxf2 Qxc4 31.Qh7+ Kf8 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Qxg7+ Kd6 34.Ne3 Qh4+ 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.a3 Nc6 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.O-O d4 13.Qc2 h6 14.e4 Bg4 15.Nd2 Rc8 16.Nc4 Na5 17.Rac1 Be6 18.Qa4 Nxc4 19.Bxc4 Bxc4 20.Rxc4 Qe7 21.f3 Qf6 22.Bc1 Qe6 23.Rxc8 Rxc8

24.Qd1 The strong IQP supports a decisive black invasion  24...Rc2 25.Kh1 Qc4 26.b4 Qa2 27.Bf4 Rxg2 28.a4 Rg6 29.Bg3 a6 30.b5 axb5 31.axb5 Qc4 32.Qb1 Qe2 33.Rf2 Qe3 34.Qf1 d3 35.Ra2 d2 36.Ra1 h5 0-1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.O-O e5 7.d3 Nc6 8.Rb1 a5 9.a3 Nd4 10.b4 axb4 11.axb4 c6 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nd2 Bg7 15.e3 Ne6 16.Qc2 Qc7 17.Nb3 Bd7 18.Na5 h5 19.h4 Kh8 20.Nb3 f5 21.Ra1 Rxa1 22.Rxa1 Qb6 23.Rb1 Qd8 24.b5 g5 25.bxc6 bxc6 26.Qe2 g4 27.Qd2 Qf6 28.Na5 Rc8 29.Rb6 e4 30.d4 Nc5 31.Ne2 Nd3 32.Nc1 Qd8 33.Ra6 Nxc1 34.Qxc1 Ra8 35.Nb7 Qb8 36.Rxa8 Qxa8 37.Nxd6 Bf8 38.c5 Be6 39.Bf1 Qb8

40.Bc4 An exciting time scramble finish, Mat King sets me up nicely and completes a nice turnaround  40...Bxd6! Best  41.Bxe6 Blissfully unaware of black's intentions, I assumed I was winning a second pawn with an easy win in sight...  41...Bxg3! Whoops! I never saw that  42.fxg3? Now I have to walk a tightrope to survive, but I somehow imagined I still had winning chances  42...Qxg3+ 43.Kf1 Qf3+ 44.Ke1? g3? (44...Qh1+ followed by a queen swap and the pawn promotes ) 45.d5? (45.Qa3! And white escapes with a perpetual, now black still has the queen swap idea, and this time he sees it ) 45...Qf2+ 46.Kd1 Qf1+ 47.Kd2 Qxc1+ 48.Kxc1 g2 49.dxc6 g1=Q+ 50.Kd2 Qh2+ 51.Kc3 Qe5+ 0-1

1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.Nc3 Be6 5.d3 f5 6.b4 Qd7 7.b5 Nd8 8.e4 Nf6 9.exf5 Bxf5 10.Nge2 Bh3 11.O-O h5 12.Bg5 h4 13.Bxf6 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 hxg3 15.h4 gxf6 16.Nd5 Rh6 17.fxg3 Bg7 18.Qd2

18...Ne6 Opportunity knocks  19.Qxh6! 1-0

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 d5 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.d3 e6 6.Nd2 Be7 7.Ngf3 O-O 8.O-O Qc7 9.e4 Rd8 10.e5 Nd7 11.Re1 Rb8 12.c3 b5 13.Qe2 Qb6 14.h4 a5 15.a3 Nf8 16.d4 Ba6 17.Bf1 Ra8 18.Qe3 cxd4 19.cxd4 b4 20.a4 Bxf1 21.Nxf1 Qa6 22.Rac1 Rac8 23.Rc2 Na7 24.Rec1 Rxc2 25.Rxc2 Rc8 26.Rxc8 Qxc8 27.Qd3 Bd8 28.h5 h6 29.Ne3 Bb6 30.Ng2 Qc7 31.Nf4 Nc6 32.Nh3 Qa7 33.Kg2 Nb8 34.g4 Qa6 35.Qd2 Bd8 36.g5 hxg5 37.Nhxg5 Qb7 38.Qf4 f6 39.Nh3 Nc6 40.Qc1 Qd7 41.Nf4 fxe5 42.dxe5 Be7 43.Bd4 Bd8 44.Bc5 Bc7 45.Bxf8 Kxf8 46.Ng6+

46...Kg8 Opportunity knocks, part 2  47.Qxc6 1-0

1.d4 d6 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.Nf3 c6 4.c3 Bg4 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.e3 e5 7.Bg3 e4 8.Be2 exf3 9.Bxf3 Bxf3 10.Nxf3 Be7 11.O-O O-O 12.Re1 Nh5 13.Qd2 Nxg3 14.fxg3 Nf6 15.Kh1 Ne4 16.Qc2 f5 17.c4 Qc7 18.c5 dxc5 19.dxc5 Bxc5 20.Rad1 Bb6 21.Nh4 Qe5 22.Rf1 Bc7 23.Qc4+ Kh8 24.Rf4

24...Qxb2 Opportunity knocks, part 3  25.Ng6+ 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Nf6 11.e5 Nd5 12.Be4 Nxc3 13.Bxc6 Nxe2 14.Bxb7 Rb8 15.Be4 Nd4 16.Be3 Nf5 17.Bxf5 exf5 18.O-O-O h5 19.Rd5 Rh6 20.Rhd1 Rb7 21.Bc5 Bxc5 22.Rxc5 Kd8 23.Rcd5 Rc6 24.a3 Ke7 25.c3 g6 26.Rd6 Rbc7 27.g3 Ke8 28.Kc2 Rxd6 29.Rxd6 Rc6

30.Kd3 Scott Wastney has been conducting a positional masterclass. Black has avoided material loss, but has run out of moves  30...Rc4 31.Rxa6 Re4 32.Rb6 Re1 33.Rxb5 Rh1 34.a4 Rxh2 35.a5 Rh1 36.Rb8+ Ke7 37.Kc4 1-0

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Nf3 Bb4 8.Qc2 O-O 9.Bd3 g6 10.a3 Be7 11.Bh6 Re8 12.h4 Bf6 13.h5 e5 14.Kf1 Nxc3 15.bxc3 exd4 16.hxg6

16...fxg6 Anthony's attack radar has been serviced and returns to its normal operational efficiency  17.Bxg6 Re7 18.Bg5 Bxg5 19.Bxh7+ Kf8 20.Nxg5 Rg7 21.Nf3 Nc6 22.cxd4 Bg4 23.Be4 Rc8 24.Qb3 Ne7 25.Ne5 Rc7 26.Nxg4 1-0

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Qc7 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.Nbd2 e6 9.g4 Bg6 10.Bxg6 hxg6 11.Qe2 O-O-O 12.Nb3 Bd6 13.Be3 Kb8 14.O-O-O Nf6 15.Kb1 Rc8 16.Ne1 Rh7 17.Nd3 Ne4 18.Ndc5 Ka8 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.d5 exd5 21.Rxd5 Rch8 22.Qd1 Rd8 23.Bc5 Be7 24.Bxe7 Qxe7 25.Rxd8+ Nxd8 26.Qd5 e3 27.fxe3 a6 28.e4 Ne6 29.Qd3 Ng5 30.Nd2 Rh8 31.Nb3 Qxe4 32.Qxe4 Nxe4 33.h4 f5 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Nd4 f4 36.Re1 Nf6 37.Nf3 Re8 38.Rxe8+ Nxe8 39.Kc2 Kb8 40.Kd3 Nd6 41.Kd4 Kc7 42.b3 Nb5+ 43.Kd3 Kd7 44.Ke4 Nxc3+ 45.Kxf4 Nxa2 46.Kf5 Ke7 47.Kg6 Kf8 48.Nd4 Nc1 49.Ne6+ Kg8 50.Nxg7 Nxb3 51.h5 a5

52.h6 An upset from round 5. Any knight move (except Na1) allows Black to defend successfully  52...a4? That's not a knight move  53.h7+ Kh8 Now any knight move (except Nh5) is mate in three since Black can't defend f7 in time  54.Nf5 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e5 Nfd7 7.Bc4 c5 8.e6 Nb6 9.exf7+ Kh8 10.Bd3 Bg4 11.d5 N8d7 12.Be2 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Rxf7 14.Ne4 h6 15.h4 Nf6 16.h5 gxh5 17.Bxh5 Rf8 18.Ng5 Qd7 19.Bf3 Qa4 20.Ne6 Qc4 21.b3 Qc3+ 22.Bd2 Qb2 23.Rb1 Qa3 24.c4 Rf7 25.Qc2 Nbd7 26.Bc3 Kg8 27.g4 Ne8 28.Qg6 Nf8 29.Nxf8 Kxf8 30.Bxg7+ Rxg7 31.Qc2 Qb4+ 32.Ke2 Nf6 33.Rxh6 Ke8 34.g5 Ng8 35.Re6 Kd7 36.Rh1 Rf8 37.Ke3 b5 38.Be2 Rgf7 39.Re4 bxc4 40.Rxc4 Qb7 41.Qe4 Kd8 42.Qe6 Qa6 43.Bg4 Qb7 44.Rhc1 Rg7

Our German guest played some nice attacking games. Here is another attractive finish, from the final round  45.Rb4! There are other ways but this is most elegant (45.Rb4 Qc7 46.Rb8+ Qxb8 47.Qd7# ) 1-0

The recent European Individual Championship was a mighty strong tournament with over 100 players ranked over 2600 competing. A frequent visitor to our shores, British grandmaster Gawain Jones, had a breakthrough performance scoring 71/2 /11. He led for the much of the tournament and only a loss in the penultimate round kept him off the podium. Even so he can be well pleased with his final result. Here is one of his typically combative games.  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 Gawain has quite a broad range of openings but the Dragon Sicilian is one of his favourites. It suits his combative style as I can confirm after suffering badly on the white side in a Canterbury Open a couple of years ago.  6.Be3 Of all the white responses to the Dragon the Yugoslav Attack stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of the depth of theory. The variation is ultra sharp, extensively analysed, and particularly dangerous for Black. It used to be said that a 2300 player could beat a grandmaster with the Yugoslav because it took only one mistake or lost tempo by Black and the end could come very quickly. Despite the Yugoslav's fearsome reputation the Dragon has made something of a comeback in recent years. Gawain is one of the grandmasters responsible for this revival although the fact that the world's number one player, Magnus Carlsen, also successfully employs it will have added to the opening's revived fortunes. Who is going to argue with the world number one if he says the opening is playable?  6...Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O (9.Bc4 is perhaps the most critical line and certainly the most analysed. The chosen variation seems to offer an edge to White without having the same dynamic attacking chances. ) 9...d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 (12.Nxd5 cxd5 13.Qxd5 is rather more forcing, but it does not tend to be the preferred option. The move played is intended to blunt the power of the Dragon bishop, either by exchanging it or inviting Black to block it through the e5 advance, thus leaving White will a persistent edge due to Black's weaker pawn structure on the queenside. ) 12...Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Qb6 14.Na4 (14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Qxd5 Be6 16.Qe5 Rfc8 leaves Black with good compensation for the pawn deficit with his open lines on the queenside. ) 14...Qc7 15.Bc4 Taking stock, the position feels very comfortable for White. Black lags in development, and he has to be continually concerned about dropping a pawn in less favourable circumstances than in the last note. White has firm control of the c5 square and without the Dragon bishop Black's queenside chances seem somewhat diminished. White still has the standard h4- h5xg6 plan available to prise open the Black king which stands without its traditional defender on g7. Even so Black is not without chances. Once he can stablise the centre he has a half open b file on which to start operations.  15...Rb8 16.g3 ( White cannot win a pawn because of 16.Bxd5?! cxd5 17.Qxd5? Qf4+ so Black immediately takes control of the b file. ) 16...Nb6 17.Bb3 Nxa4 18.Qxa4 c5 the c pawn takes a big step. For a few moves this pawn has been a weakness but with this advance the pawn becomes an important attacking weapon. If both the black a and c pawns could be restrained the white bishop on b3 would nullify any attacking attempts on the b file, but the c pawn will threaten to advance to c4 destablising the bishop and activating the heavy pieces on the b file.  19.c3 Qb6 20.Rhe1?! (20.Rd2 is rather mor e circumspect as it relieves the bishop from its duties of protecting b2, and after  20...Be6 21.Bc4 Bxc4 22.Qxc4 Rfd8 23.Rhd1 White still seems to be a little better because of his superior pawn structure.  ) 20...Be6!

21.Re2 Bxb3 22.axb3 Rb7 23.Qc4 e6 24.Re5 Rc7 25.h4 the balance is delicate. White has activated his major pieces. blockaded the c pawn, albeit with his queen, and taken control of the open d file. Logically he now begins his own active operations against the opponent's king with the h4 thrust, although with the minor pieces gone this is less effective than is normally the case.  25...Rb8 26.Kc2 a5 27.h5 a4 Black is prepar ed to sacrifice material to break open the route to b2. First the a pawn advances to deflect the queen and then the c pawn moves forward. White is now under some pressure and the dynamic equilibrium has swung in Black's favour. 2  28.Qxa4 c4 29.Rd4?! ( not quite accurate 29.b4 Qf2+ 30.Rd2 Qxf3 31.Qa6 Rcc8 leaves Black with a very small edge according to the hardware by my side.  ) 29...cxb3+ 30.Kd2 Look at this position for a while. It feels like one of those critical points in a game where there are a number of tempting continuations for Black. But which one is correct? Try analysing 30..Ra7, 30.. Rxc3 and 30..Rc5 and see which you think is best for Black.  30...Rc5?! ( Instead 30...Ra7! 31.Qc4 Ra2 32.Kc1 Ra1+ 33.Kd2 Rb1 seems very strong for Black.  ) 31.Rxc5 Qxc5 32.hxg6 hxg6 33.Ke2 Qg5 34.g4

Despite the reduced material this position is very tricky to play. Both sides have weaknesses, but the exposed white king and pawns are the prime features of the position, and Black actively exploits them.  34...Qe5+ 35.Kd3 Qh2 36.Qa7 Rf8 37.Qa3 e5 38.Rd5 Qf4 39.Qxb3 Qxf3+ 40.Kc2 Qe2+ 41.Kb1 Qe4+ 42.Kc1 Ra8 Finally the rook re-enters the fray with devastating effect.  43.Qb7 Ra1+ 44.Kd2 Qg2+ 45.Kd3 Qf1+ 46.Kc2 Qb1+ 47.Kd2 Qd1+ 48.Ke3 Qxg4 49.Kd3 Qf3+ 50.Kc4 Qf4+ 51.Kb5 e4 52.b4 e3 53.Rd8+ Kg7 54.Qe7 Qf5+ 55.Kc4 Qe6+ A nice finish, blocking the e file with an extra pawn that prevents White's rook from getting behind the passed pawn. A powerful middlegame display by Gawain. 0-1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 6.e5 Be7 7.Qg4 O-O 8.Bd3 f5 9.Qh3 c5 10.dxc5 Nd7

11.f4 Nxc5 12.O-O-O b5! 13.Bxb5 Rb8 14.Nf3 a6 15.Bd3 Qb6 16.b3 Qb4 17.Kb2 Qa3+!! 18.Kxa3 Nxd3+ 19.b4 Rxb4 20.Rxd3 Rb1+ 21.Ka4 Bd7+ 22.Ka5 Bd8+ 23.Kxa6 Bc8+ 24.Ka7 Bb6+ 25.Ka8 Ba6#! 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.f4 Ng4 6.f5 Qh4+ 7.g3 Qh5 8.h3 Bxg1 9.Qxg4 Qxg4 10.hxg4 Bb6

11.g5 Nc6 12.g6 fxg6 13.fxg6 h6 14.Rxh6! Rxh6 (14...gxh6 15.g7 Rf8 16.Bxh6 ) 15.Bxh6 Ne7 (15...gxh6 16.g7 Ne7 17.Nd5 Be6 18.Nxb6 ) 16.Bf7+ Kf8 17.Bg5 Bg4 18.Kd2 Bh5 19.Rf1 c6 20.g4 (20.g4 Bxg4 21.Be6+ ) 1-0

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4 Bf5 7.e3 e6 8.Bb5 Nd7 9.Qa4 Qb6 10.Nh4 Bg4

11.h3 Bh5 12.g4 Be7 13.Bg3 Bxh4 14.Bxh4 Bg6 15.f4 h6 16.f5 Bh7 17.Qa3 Nf6 18.O-O Qc7 19.Kg2 Qe7 20.Qxe7+ Kxe7 21.e4 dxe4 22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.Nxe4 Rhf8 24.Rac1 Rac8 25.Rc5 exf5 26.Re5+ Kd7 27.Nc5+ Kc7 28.Bg3 f4 29.Bxf4 Kd8 30.Bd2 Nd5 31.Ba5+ Nb6 32.Rfe1 Rc7 33.Na6 Rd7 34.Nb8 Rc7 35.Bb4 Rg8 36.Bd6 Rc8 37.Re7 Nd5 38.Rd7# 1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.e5 Nd7 6.Be2 f6 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.Nf1 Bd6 9.Bg5 Qf7 10.Ne3 O-O

11.Bh4 Ne7 12.Bg3 Bf4 13.Qd3 c5 14.c3 Ng6 15.O-O b6 16.Rfe1 Bb7 17.Bxf4 Nxf4 18.Qd2 Rae8 19.Bb5 e5 20.Ng4 Nxg2 21.Nfxe5 Nxe1 22.Rxe1 Nxe5 23.Nxe5 (23.Rxe5 Rc8 ) 23...Rxe5 24.Rxe5 Qg6+ 25.Rg5 Qb1+ 26.Kg2 Qe4+ 27.Kg1 cxd4 28.Qxd4 Qxd4 29.cxd4 Rf4 30.Re5 Kf7 31.Re8 Ba6 32.Bc6 Rg4+ 33.Kh1 Rxd4 34.Ra8 Be2 35.Rxa7+ Kf6 36.Ra3 Bf1 37.h3 Ke5 38.Rb3 Kd6 39.Bb5 Bxb5 40.Rxb5 Kc6 41.Rb3 Kc5 42.Kg2 b5 43.Kf3 Ra4 44.a3 Rc4 45.Ke3 Rc2 46.Rb4 g5 47.f4 gxf4+ 48.Kxf4 Rc4+ 49.Ke3 Rxb4 50.axb4+ Kc4 51.h4 h5 52.Kf4 Kxb4 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb5 dxe5 9.Nxe5 Bd7 10.Nxd7 Qxd7

11.Nc3 e6 12.O-O Be7 13.Qg4 O-O 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Bh6 Bf6 16.Rfd1 Kh8 17.Ne4 Qe7 18.Bf4 Rfd8 19.Nxf6 Qxf6 20.Be5 Qg6 21.Qe2 Rd7 22.Rac1 Rc8 23.Rc3 f6 24.Bg3 Qf5 25.Re3 Re8 26.h3 Kg8 27.Rc3 Rc8 28.Rc5 Rd5 29.Rdc1 Re8 30.Qa6 Re7 31.Rxc6 Ra5 32.Qe2 Rxa2 33.Bd6 Re8 34.Ba3 Qd5 35.Rc7 Qg5 36.h4 Qxh4 37.Qb5 Rd8 38.Qb3 Rxa3 39.Qxe6+ Kh8 40.bxa3 Qxd4 41.Rxa7 h6 42.Qe3 Qg4 43.Qxb6 Rd1+ 44.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 45.Kh2 Qh5+ 46.Kg3 Qg5+ 47.Kf3 Qf5+ 48.Ke3 Qe5+ 49.Kd3 Qd5+ 50.Qd4 Qb3+ 51.Ke2 Qc2+ 52.Kf3 Qf5+ 53.Kg3 Qg5+ 54.Kh2 1-0

1.d4 c5 2.Nf3 cxd4 3.Nxd4 d5 4.g3 e5 5.Nb3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Be6 7.O-O Qd7 8.Nc3 Rd8 9.e4 d4 10.Nd5 Bd6

11.f4 Bg4 12.Qe1 f6 13.fxe5 Bxe5 14.Nc5 Qc8 15.Nd3 Nge7 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe7 Kxe7 18.Qb4+ Kf7 19.Bf4 Rhe8 20.Qb3+ Be6 21.Qa4 Kg8 22.Rad1 Qc5 23.Kh1 b5 24.Qa6 Bc4 25.Rfe1 b4 26.Qa4 Re6 27.c3 bxc3 28.bxc3 Ng4 29.cxd4 Rxd4 30.Rxd4 Qxd4 31.h3 Nf2+ 32.Kh2 Nd3 33.Be3 Qc3 34.Rb1 h5 35.h4 Kh7 36.Qxa7 Ra6 37.Qd7 Be6 38.Qe8 Qc7 39.Qxh5+ Kg8 40.Qe8+ Kh7 41.Rb8 Bg4 42.Qh8+ Kg6 43.Rg8 Rc6 44.Qh6+ Kf7 45.Qxg7+ 1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Bxf6 gxf6 7.Qd2 Qg5 8.f4 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Qd5 10.Nf3 b6

11.Bd3 Bb7 12.O-O Nd7 13.a4 a5 14.Rae1 f5 15.c4 Qd6 16.Bxf5 O-O-O 17.Be4 Bxe4 18.Rxe4 Qc6 19.Qe2 Qxa4 20.c5 Nf6 21.cxb6 Nxe4 22.bxc7 Rxd4 23.Qa6+ Kd7 24.Qb7 Kd6 25.c8=Q Rxc8 26.Qxc8 Ke7 27.Ne5 Rd2 28.Qc7+ Ke8 29.Qxf7+ Kd8 30.Qf8+ Qe8 31.Qa3 Qb5 32.Qf8+ Kc7 33.Qe7+ Kb8 34.Qf8+ Kb7 35.Qf7+ Ka8 36.Qg8+ Ka7 37.Qxh7+ Kb8 38.Qxe4 Qc5+ 39.Kh1 Qf2 40.Rb1+ 1-0

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nf3 e6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.d5 exd5

11.cxd5 Nb4 12.Nd4 Bd7 13.e6 fxe6 14.dxe6 Bc6 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.a3 Qxd1+ 17.Kxd1 O-O-O+ 18.Kc1 Nd3+ 19.Kc2 Nc4 20.Bxa7 Ndxb2 21.Ne4 Rd5 22.Be2 Kb7 23.Bf2 Rf8 24.Rhf1 Rf4 25.Bf3 Nd3 26.Nc3 Rd6 27.Rfb1+ Ka6 28.Bg1 Nde5 29.Ne4 Rxe6 30.Rb3 g5 31.h3 g4 32.hxg4 Nxg4 33.Nc5+ Bxc5 34.Bxc5 Nge5 35.Rd1 Nxf3 36.gxf3 Re2+ 37.Kc1 Ne5?? 38.Rd8 1-0

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O e5 6.Nc3 Nge7 7.Ne1 O-O 8.Nc2 d6 9.a3 a5 10.Ne3 Rb8

11.Rb1 f5 12.d3 f4 13.Ned5 g5 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 Nxb4 16.Nxb4 cxb4 17.Rxb4 Kh8 18.Ba3 b6 19.Qb3 Nf5 20.Rb1 Nd4 21.Qd1 g4 22.Nd5 f3 23.Bf1 b5 24.e3 Ne6 25.Rxb5 Rxb5 26.Rxb5 Nc7 27.Nxc7 Qxc7 28.Qb3 Re8 29.Rb6 Bf8 30.Qb5 Rd8 31.Rc6 Qd7 32.Qb6 d5 33.Bxf8 Rxf8 34.Qc5 Rd8 35.Rc7 Qf5 36.Qe7 Rg8 37.cxd5 Ba6 38.e4 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 g6 4.Nd2 Nf6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Be2 d6 7.Ngf3 Nbd7 8.O-O O-O 9.Re1 c5 10.e5 Nh5

11.Bg5 dxe5 12.dxe5 Bh8 13.a4 Ng7 14.Nc4 Ne6 15.Bh4 h6 16.a5 g5 17.Bg3 Re8 18.c3 Ndf8 19.Qc2 Bd7 20.Ne3 Bc6 21.Nf5 Bg7 22.h4 Ng6 23.Nxg7 Kxg7 24.hxg5 hxg5 25.Qf5 Qd5 26.Bd3 Nef4 27.Be4 Qc4 28.Bxf4 gxf4 29.Ng5 Rf8 30.e6 Bxe4 31.Rxe4 Qd3 32.exf7 Nh4 33.Ne6+ 1-0