Magazines Games 2008-2018 2015

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 Unusual but whether Leonard knows much about it or just played it to avoid Alphaeus's "book" I don't know.  5.Nf3 d6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 O-O 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.b4 e5 11.d5 (  Maintaining the tension with 11.e3 may have been slightly better but Black can be happy with his opening choices. ) 11...Nd4 12.e4 (12.Rd1 ) 12...Bg4 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Qd3 c6 (14...a5!? attempts to take advantage of Black's development advantage. The same idea was also playable two moves earlier. ) 15.f3 cxd5 16.cxd5 Bd7 17.Rd1 Ba4 18.Rd2 Rac8 19.Qxd4 Rc1+ 20.Kf2 Qxd4+ 21.Rxd4 Rfc8 22.Rd2 Ra1 A major transformat ion. The black rooks are very active and his bishop is better. White sort of hasn't got out of his opening yet! So the missing black pawn matters little.  23.Rg1 Rcc1 24.f4 Kf8 25.e5 Ke7 26.g3 a6 27.Rb2 Bb5 28.Bxb5 Rxg1 29.Be2 Rgb1 30.Rd2 Rxa3 31.Rc2 Rxb4 32.Rc7+ Kd8 33.Rxf7

33...Re4 (33...dxe5 34.fxe5 Re4 was better when the white central pawn duo is falling. ) 34.Bg4 With the pawn still on f4 this is possible and White suddenly has genuine counterplay and Black can no longer just coast to a win.  34...dxe5 (34...Rc4!? ) 35.d6! There are several tempting rook moves on the 7th rank but the text move is the only one to hold!  35...exf4 Absolutely the only move to hold!  36.Rf8+ Re8 37.Rf7 Ra2+ 38.Kf1 h5 39.Bh3 Rxh2 40.Rd7+ Kc8 41.Re7+ Rxh3?? (41...Kd8 42.Rd7+ with repetition was how the game might have been expected to end. ) 42.d7+ 1-0

1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 c5 3.d4 cxd4 4.c3 dxc3 5.Nxc3 Bg7 6.Bc4 d6 7.O-O (7.Qb3 e6 8.Bf4 Nc6 9.Rd1 gives White a huge lead in development. ) 7...Nf6 8.Qe2? (8.e5!? +/- ) 8...O-O 9.Rd1 Qa5 (9...Nc6!? 10.e5 Ng4 11.exd6 exd6 12.Nb5 Re8 and White regains his pawn but Black can complete his development okay. ) 10.e5 dxe5 11.Nxe5 e6 (11...Nc6 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Qxe7 and Black has enough play to compensate for his weakened pawn structure. ) 12.Nb5 Nd5

(12...a6 13.b4! Qxb4 14.Ba3 Qa5 15.Bxf8 Bxf8 16.Nd6 Bxd6 (forced in view of the weak f7-pawn)  17.Rxd6 Nc6 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Rad1 with a long-lasting initiative for White. ) 13.Nxf7! Rxf7 14.Rxd5 exd5 15.Bxd5 Qd8 (15...Bd7 16.Bxf7+ Kxf7 17.Qc4+ Be6 18.Qc7+ Qxc7 19.Nxc7 b6 20.Nxa8 Be5 21.Bg5 Bxb2 (21...Bd5 22.Re1 ) 22.Re1 Na6 23.Bd8 and the knight will escape. ) 16.Qc4 (16.Bxf7+ Kxf7 17.Bg5! with a powerful attack. ) 16...Kf8 Right idea, but the king really needed to go to h8 so as to be able to maintain control of the g8-square with the queen.  17.Bg5 Bf6 18.Bh6+ Bg7 ( After 18...Rg7 the simple  19.Nc7 looks best. ) 19.Bxf7 ( The computer rather likes the crazy-looking 19.Qc3 leaving pieces en pris all over the place. ) 19...Bxh6 20.Re1 (20.Bg8!? ) 20...Kg7 21.Be8? ( The materialistic 21.Nc7 was the way to go, though the game is by no means over. ) 21...Na6 22.Qf7+ Kh8 23.Bc6

23...bxc6? Black has to get his c8-bishop out of the way (off the back rank) with gain of tempo and two engines I've had access to disagree on whether 23...Be6! or 23...Bd7! is best. Either move seems to give Black some chances to hold.  24.Re8+ It's all over now.  24...Qxe8 25.Qxe8+ Kg7 26.Qxc6 Rb8 27.Nd6 Rb6 28.Qc3+ Kg8 29.Qc4+ Kg7 30.Nxc8 Rf6 31.Ne7 Rf7 32.Nd5 Nb8 33.Qc3+ Kg8 34.Nf6+ Kf8 35.Qb4+ 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.Qc2 bxc4 5.e4 d6 6.Bxc4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.h3 Ba6 10.Bf4? Bxc4 11.Qxc4 Nh5 12.Bc1 Nd7 13.Nc3 Rb8 14.g4 Nhf6 15.Re1 h5 16.g5 Ne8 17.Qe2 Qa5 18.Qc2 Ne5 19.Nd2 (19.Nxe5 Bxe5 was the lesser evil. ) 19...c4 20.Kg2 Nd3 21.Rf1 Qa6 22.Nf3 Nc7 23.Ne1 Nxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Nb5 25.Be3 Rfc8 26.a4 Nxc3 27.bxc3 Rb3 28.Bd4 (28.Bd2 is ugly but necessary. ) 28...Bxd4 29.cxd4 Qb6

White has so many weaknesses you need a calculator to count them.  30.Red1 ( Slightly better, but still dire, was 30.Rab1 Rxb1 31.Qxb1 Qxd4 32.Qb7 Qc5 33.Qxe7 c3 -+ ) 30...c3 31.e5? dxe5 32.Re1 Rb2 33.Qe4 Qxd4 34.Qxd4 exd4 35.Rxe7 Rd8 36.Rae1 c2 37.d6 Rbb8 38.Rc7 Rb1 39.d7 Rxe1 40.Rc8 c1=Q 41.Rxd8+ Kh7 42.Rh8+ Kxh8 43.d8=Q+ Kh7 44.Qf6 Qc7 45.Qxd4 Qe5 46.Qxa7 Qe4+ 47.f3 Re2+ 48.Qf2 Rxf2+ 49.Kxf2 and according to my computer Black is about 26 pawns up so we won't bother with the rest of the moves,  49...Qc2+ 50.Ke3 Qxa4 51.f4 Qb3+ 52.Ke4 Qxh3 53.Ke5 Qf5+ 54.Kd6 Qxf4+ 55.Ke7 Kg7 56.Ke8 h4 57.Ke7 h3 58.Ke8 h2 59.Ke7 h1=R 60.Ke8 Qe5+ 61.Kd7 Rd1+ 62.Kc8 Qc3+ 63.Kb8 Rb1+ 64.Ka8 Qa1# 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.f4 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Nf3 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Qc2 (10.e5 is normal. ) 10...Nxe4 11.Nxe4 Bf5 12.Nfg5 (12.Nfd2 looks better, avoiding the looming threat of ...h6, e.g.  12...Qe7 13.Bf3 Bxe4 14.Nxe4 f5 15.O-O fxe4 16.Re1 and White has chances to regain the pawn. ) 12...Qe7 13.Bf3 h6 14.g4 (14.Qe2 may limit the damage a bit. ) 14...hxg5 (14...Bxg4 is also good. ) 15.gxf5 gxf5 16.fxg5 fxe4 17.Be2 e3 18.Qf5 Qe5 19.Rf1 Qxf5 20.Rxf5 Nd7

21.Bh5 (21.a4 was worth considering, to develop the rook via a3. ) 21...Re7 22.Ke2 Rf8 23.Rb1 Bd4 24.b3? (24.b4 was the last chance to try generating activity but Black remains well on top. ) 24...Kg7! 25.Rf3 Rh8 26.Rh3 Nb6 27.Bg4 Rxh3 28.Bxh3 Nxd5 29.Kf3 Nc3 30.Ra1 Nd1 31.Rb1 e2 32.Bd2 e1=Q 33.Bxe1 Rxe1 34.Bc8 Re3+ 35.Kg2 Nc3 36.Rf1 Re2+ 37.Kg3 b6 38.h4 Ne4+ 39.Kg4 Nd2 40.Rf5 Re5 41.h5 Rxf5 42.Kxf5 Nf3 43.Bb7 Ne5 44.Ke4 f6 45.g6 Ng4 46.Kd5 Be5 47.Ke6 Nh6 48.Bf3 f5 49.Bc6 f4 50.Bf3 b5 51.Bc6 c4 52.Bxb5 c3 53.Bd3 f3 54.Kd5 f2 55.Kc4 c2 0-1

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 O-O 8.O-O c5 9.d4 Qa5 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Qb3 Qa6 12.e3 Be6 13.d5 ( Sacrificing a pawn, for which I doubt that White gets adequate compensation. probably best was 13.Qb2 with an equal position. ) 13...c4 14.Qc2 Bxd5 15.e4 Be6 16.Ng5 Bd7 17.f4 Bg4 18.Rae1 h6 19.h3 Bd7 20.Nf3 e6 21.g4 Qa5 22.e5 Ne7 23.Nd4 Bc6 24.Nxc6 Nxc6 Now the bishop pair does give White meaningful compensation for the missing pawn.  25.Be3 Rac8 26.Rd1 Rfd8 27.Be4 Kh8 28.Kh1 Qc7 29.h4 Qe7 30.Qf2 b6 31.Rxd8+ Qxd8 32.Kg2 Qc7 33.Qf3 Ne7 34.Rd1 Rd8 35.Bd4 Qd7 36.Qe2 Nd5 37.Rf1 Qc7 38.Qf3 b5

Now the fun starts:  39.f5!? Bxe5? (39...b4!? ) 40.Bxd5 (40.fxe6!! Bxd4 41.cxd4 fxe6 42.Bxd5 exd5 43.Qf6+ Kh7 44.Re1 +- ) 40...exd5 41.fxg6 fxg6? (41...Bxd4 42.cxd4 Qe7 (Qf6+ has to be prevented)  43.Re1 Qxh4 and after another only move Black even has counterplay and there's no win for White. ) 42.Qf4! Re8 43.Qxh6+ Qh7 44.Rf8+ Rxf8 45.Qxf8+ Qg8 46.Bxe5+ Kh7 47.Qe7+ Kh6 48.Bf4+ 1-0

1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 d5 4.b4 Nxb4 5.Nd4 Nf6 6.Be2 g6 7.fxg6 hxg6 8.c3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Kf7 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.d4 Bf5 12.Bd3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Qd6 14.Ba3 Qe6+ 15.Qe2 Bh6 16.Qxe6+ Kxe6 17.O-O Rh7 18.Re1+ Kd7 19.Bc1 Bxc1 20.Rxc1 Rah8 21.h3 g5 22.f3 g4 23.fxg4 Nxg4 24.Nd2 Ne3 25.Nf1 Nf5 26.Rc2 Rg8

27.Re1? Blundering a pawn, after which saving chances are pretty much absent. 27.Kh2 and 27.Rfg2 are two possibilities for an equal endgame where White has the better pawn structure, Black the greater activity.  27...Rxh3 28.Ree2 Nd6 29.Re3 Rxe3 30.Nxe3 Rg3 31.Nf1 Rd3 32.Nh2 Ne4 33.Nf3 Rxc3 34.Rb2 c5 35.Kh2 cxd4 36.Nxd4 e5 37.Nf3 Kd6 38.Rb7 d4 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.Ndb5 (8.O-O is by far the main move but knight moves are not unknown. ) 8...Qb8 9.Bf4 Ne5 10.Bxe5? Giving up the bishop pair can't be right. True, White has the better pawn majority but the endgame is a way off yet and White's remaining bishop lacks any scope while the black ones have some nice diagonals available.  10...dxe5 11.Qd3 a6 12.Na3 b5 13.Ne2 Qc7 14.O-O b4 15.Nc4 Bb5 16.b3 Rd8 17.Qf3 Bxc4 18.bxc4 Qxc4 19.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Bc5 Taking the c2-pawn is probably safe enough but completing development before exercising greed makes sense.  21.Qd3 Qxd3 22.cxd3 The endgame brings no relief for White - the Black initiative rolls on.  22...Ng4 23.Rf1 Ke7 24.h3

24...Nxf2 25.Rxf2 Rc8 26.d4 exd4 27.Nf4 d3 28.Nxd3 Bxf2+ 29.Kxf2 Rc2+ 30.Kf3 a5 31.Bf1 Rxa2 32.Be2 b3 33.Bd1 Rd2 34.Be2 b2 35.Nxb2 Rxb2 36.Ke3 Rxe2+ 37.Kxe2 Kd6 38.Kd3 Ke5 39.Kc4 Kxe4 40.Kb5 e5 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.Be3 c6 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Nd2 Qe7 11.a3 Nc5 12.Bxc5 Qxc5 13.b4 Qe7 14.Qc2 Be6 15.Rad1 Rfd8 16.c5 a5

17.Na4? ( Black was already a bit better but this probably concedes a winning advantage. Better was 17.Nf3 and the fight goes on. ) 17...axb4 18.axb4 Rd4 19.Nb6?! ( Either 19.Ra1 Rxb4 20.Rfb1 Rd4 ) ( or 19.Nc4 Rxc4 20.Bxc4 Bxc4 21.Qxc4 Rxa4 were at least a bit more resistant. ) 19...Ra2 It's all over now.  20.Qc3 Raxd2 21.Rxd2 Nxe4 22.Qe3 Nxd2 23.Ra1 h6 24.Ra8+ Kh7 25.h3 Qg5 26.Qa3 Rd8 27.Rxd8 Qxd8 28.Qa7 Qd4 29.Qxb7 Qxb4 30.Qxc6 Ne4 31.Na4 Qe1+ 32.Kh2 Qxe2 33.Qb7 Nxf2 34.Qf3 Qc2 35.Kg1 e4 36.Qxf2 Qxa4 37.Kh1 Bd4 38.Qf4 Qa1+ 39.Kh2 Be5 40.Qxe5 Qxe5+ 41.Kg1 e3 42.Kf1 Bc4+ 43.Kg1 e2 44.g3 e1=Q+ 45.Kh2 Q5e2# 0-1

1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 f5 6.Bf4 d6 7.e3 Qa5 8.Qc2 Nf6 9.Bd3 Nbd7 10.Ne2 Ne5 11.O-O Bd7 12.f3 Qa4 13.Qxa4 Bxa4 14.Nc1 O-O 15.Re1 Nfd7 16.Bxe5 dxe5 17.Rb1 b6 18.e4 f4 19.Rb2 Kg7 20.Bc2 Bxc2 21.Rxc2 g5 22.Nd3 h5 23.Nf2 Nf6 24.Nd3 Nd7 25.Nf2 Rf6 26.Kf1 Nf8 27.Ke2 Ng6 28.Rb2 Nh8 29.Nd3 Nf7 30.Reb1 g4 31.a4 gxf3+ 32.gxf3 Rg6 33.Kf2 Kh7 34.Rg1 Rag8 35.Rxg6 Rxg6 36.h4 a5 37.Rb1 Kg7 38.Rf1 Kf6 39.Rb1 Kg7 40.Rf1 Kf8 41.Rg1 Rxg1 42.Kxg1 Kg7 43.Kg2 Kf6 44.Kh3 Nd6 45.Nb2 Kf7 46.Kg2 Ke8 47.Kf2 Kd7 48.Kf1 e6 49.dxe6+ Kxe6 50.Kf2 Nc8 51.Ke2 Ne7 52.Kf2 Ng6 53.Nd3 Nxh4 54.Ne1 Kf6 55.Nd3 Ng6 56.Kg2 Nh8 57.Kh3 Nf7 58.Kg2 Ng5 59.Ne1 h4 60.Kf2 h3 61.Kg1 Kg6 62.Kf2 Kh5 63.Kg1 Kh6 64.Kh1 Kg6 65.Kg1 Kf6 66.Kh2 Ke6 67.Kg1 Kd6 68.Kh2 Kc7 69.Kg1 Kd7 70.Kh2 Kd6 71.Kg1

In this blocked position even the knights can't do anything much. If the black king comes to h4 then the white king must be able to reply with Kh2. Alexei takes his last chance to play for a win by sacrificing a pawn on the queenside to open a route for his knight to infiltrate:  71...b5 72.cxb5 c4 73.Kh1 Ne6 74.Nc2 Ng5 (74...Nc5 doesn't work:  75.Na3 Nxa4 76.Nxc4+ Kc5 77.Nxa5 Kxb5 78.Nb7 Kc4 = ) 75.Ne1 Kc5

76.Kh2? ( The black king is heading for b6 so that after ...Ne6-c5xa4 it can capture the b5-pawn and protect the a-pawn. White needs to be able to play his king to h2 (attacking the h-pawn) when the black king goes to b6. After the text move (and Black's reply) White will be in zugzwang. So correct was 76.Kg1 Kb6 77.Kh2 Ne6 78.Kxh3 Nc5 79.Kg4 Nxa4 80.Kf5 Kxb5 81.Kxe5 Nxc3 82.Nc2 with a draw. ) 76...Kb6 77.Kh1 Kb7? (  Now the black knight CAN sneak inside the white position via c5, e.g. 77...Ne6! 78.Nc2 (78.Kh2 Nc5 79.Kxh3 Nxa4 80.Kg4 Nxc3 81.Kf5 Nxb5 82.Kxe5 Kc5 and the black pawns cannot be stopped. ) 78...Nc5 79.Na3 Nxa4 80.Nxc4+ Kxb5 81.Nxe5 and the a-pawn should be decisive. I imagine time was a factor by now. ) 78.Kh2?

(78.Kg1! is the only move. ) 78...Kc7? (78...Kb6 79.Kh1 Ne6 -+ ) 79.Kh1 Ne6 ( Black could try 79...Kb7 again as White might play  80.Kh2? again! ) 80.Nc2 Nc5 (80...Ng5 81.Ne1 Kb7 again gives White the chance to go wrong. ) 81.Na3 Nxa4 82.Nxc4 Nxc3 83.b6+ (83.Nxa5 is also okay. ) 83...Kb7 84.Nxa5+ Kxb6 85.Nc4+ Kc5 86.Nxe5 Kd4 87.Ng4 Nxe4 1/2-1/2

1.c4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nge2 Nbd7 6.Ng3 c6 7.Be2 a6 8.Be3 h5 9.f3 b5 10.c5 dxc5 11.dxc5 Qc7 12.O-O h4 13.Nh1 Nh5 14.Qd2 e5 15.Nf2 Nf8 16.a4 b4

17.Nd5 cxd5 18.exd5 f5 19.d6 Qc6

20.Bb5 axb5 21.axb5 Qxb5 22.Rxa8 Qc6 23.Rfa1 f4

24.R1a7 Nd7 25.Rxc8+ Qxc8 26.Qd5 fxe3 27.Qe6+ Kf8

Although White allows the Nf2 to be captured with check, a pedant might argue this is really an exchange rather than a sacrifice...  28.Rxd7 exf2+ 29.Kf1 Qe8 30.Rf7+ Qxf7 31.Qc8+ Qe8 32.d7 Kf7 33.dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 34.Qb7+ Re7

...But White makes up for that by sacrificing his Queen twice, the offer is refused the first time...   35.c6 e4 36.c7 e3 37.Qd5+ Kf6 38.Qd6+ Kf7 39.Qd5+ Kf6 40.Qd6+ Kf7 ...but not the second time  41.Qxe7+ Kxe7 42.c8=Q Bh6 43.Qc5+ Ke8 44.Qb5+ Kd8 45.Qb6+ Kd7 46.Qxg6 e2+ 47.Kxf2 Be3+ 48.Ke1 1-0

Sunday is Red Socks day at the Waikato and you need to win both games if you want to win this event. Ben had been pretty solid against my French, so I decided to try a Sicilian line that Spassky used to play, maybe that would give me more chances.  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Bd3 (6.Be3 Nf6 7.f3 Bb4 8.Qd2 d5 9.Nde2 dxe4 10.a3 Ba5 11.b4 exf3 12.bxa5 fxe2 13.Bxe2 Qxa5 ) 6...Nf6 7.O-O d6 8.f4 b5 9.Kh1 Bb7 10.Qe1 #Diagran First surprise, the main move if there is one is Qe2. I think that on e2 the Queen does a bit more (guards g4 and c2), but I guess Qe1 allows a Knight to return to e2.  10...Nbd7 11.Nb3 Be7 12.a4 b4 13.Nb1 I was pretty pleased with the game so far, Black gets in d5 and the rule is normally Black is trending to better if he can play d5 safely.  13...d5 14.e5 Ne4 This is the point, Black is OK with White taking the Knight, the c2 pawn becomes hard to defend and one day the b7 Bishop will come to haunt White, Black is ever so slightly better.  15.N1d2 Nec5 16.Qg3 g6 This might look ugly, but leaves Black the option of castling either side and the Bishop can defend the dark squares.  17.Nd4 O-O-O This was a risk, but I thought my King would be safe enough and I needed to attack Ben, he doesn't like it.  18.N2f3 h6 19.Bd2 Ne4 20.Qe1 Nxd2 21.Qxd2 Kb8

This was the kind of position I saw when I played 0-0-0, I thought it would be all on. I was only really concerned about the two pieces for a rook sac, but I figured Ben likes to attack, so I gambled.  22.c3 (22.Bxg6 fxg6 23.Nxe6 Qa5 24.Nxd8 Qxd8 25.a5 Wasn't sure about this, but felt the two Bishops have to come into their own at some stage.  ) 22...bxc3 23.bxc3 g5 24.Rfb1 Ka8 25.Qe2 Nc5 26.f5

26...g4 This was a key move, I had to get that knight away from being able to jump to d4 after any knight sacrifices.  27.Nd2 Rc8!? (27...h5 28.fxe6 fxe6 29.N2b3 Nxd3 30.Qxd3 Rc8 ) 28.f6 I thought this was the key mistake, it seemed to me the best chances were with taking and leaving permanent pressure on e6. (28.fxe6 fxe6 29.Nxe6 Nxe6 30.Bxa6 Bc6 31.Qxg4 Rce8 32.Qxe6 Bg5 33.Qg6 Bxd2 Just the kind of mess Ben likes, thank goodness he missed 29...Bc5 below :-) ) 28...Nxd3 29.Qxd3 Bc5 30.N2b3 Bb6 31.Nd2 Ba7

Black is just winning now, just watch for tricks from Ben and collect the point.  32.Rb3 Qxe5 33.Rab1 Rc7 34.Qf1 Here it is, now is the time to be weary, Ben has set a little trap. The rule here is, we are winning, just control the chaos, improve your worst piece.  34...Rhc8 (34...Bxd4?? 35.Rxb7 Rxb7 36.Qxa6+ Always watch for tricks through to the end! ) 35.Rb4 Qe3 36.N2b3 Qxc3 37.Na5

37...Qxb4 Resigning time, the weak back rank proves too much for White and he would lose too much booty. Rxb4 Rc1, Kg1 e5 and the knight drops off. (37...Qxb4 38.Rxb4 Rc1 39.Kg1 e5 Winning the knight. After say  40.Nxb7 exd4 41.Qxc1 Rxc1+ 42.Kf2 d3+ Black makes a new Queen ) 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Bg7 6.Nc3 d6 7.Be3 Bg4 8.Be2 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 Qb6 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.O-O Nf6 12.Nc3 O-O 13.Qd2 Nd7 14.Be2

14...f5!? A twentienth century position, and now a twentieth century move  15.exf5 gxf5 16.f4 Qe8 17.d5 Nd8 18.Nb5 Qf7 19.Nxa7 Nf6 20.Bf3 Qe8 21.a4 Kh8 22.Nb5 Qg6 23.Nc3 Nf7 24.Bd4 Rg8 25.Nb5 Ne4 26.Bxe4 fxe4 27.Nc7 Rac8 28.Ne6 So far Black's attempts to counterpunch have rebounded, but undeterred he continues to seekactivity  28...e3 29.Qxe3 Bxd4 30.Qxd4+

30...Ne5 The knight is activated in an unusual way  31.Rf2 Rc4 32.Qd2 Ng4 33.Re2 Qh5 34.h3 Nf6 35.b3 Rcc8 36.Rd1 h6 37.Re3 Rg6 38.Re2 Nxd5 The computer finds a nice sacrificial drawing line (38...Rc3 39.f5 Rxh3!! 40.fxg6 Rh1+ 41.Kf2 Qh4+ 42.Kf3 Qg4+ = ) 39.Rf2 Nf6 40.f5 Rg3 41.Rc1 Rcg8 42.Nf4 Qxf5

Black's attempts to conjure a worthwhile attack are finally bearing fruit  43.Ne2? Qxf2+! Leading to a pawn up ending  44.Kxf2 Ne4+ 45.Ke1 Nxd2 46.Nxg3 Nxb3 47.Rc3 Nc5 48.Ra3 Ra8 49.Nf5 Rxa4 50.Rxa4 Nxa4 51.Nxe7 Kg7 52.Nf5+ Kf6 53.Nxd6 Nc5 54.Kf2 Ke6 55.Nb5 Kd5 56.Kg3 Na4 57.Kh4 Kc5 58.Nc7 Kc6 59.Ne6 Kd6 60.Nd4 Nc3 61.Kh5 Kd5 62.Nf5 Ne2 63.Kxh6 Nf4 64.g4 Nxh3 65.g5 White has played the ending better and Black's advantage is nothing but a memory now. It was time to give up the Knight for White's last pawn and shake hands. Delmar's attempt to keep the game going is suicidal  65...Nf2?? 66.g6 Ne4 67.g7 Nf6 68.Kg6 Ke6 69.Nd4+ Ke7 70.Nb5 Ng8 71.Kh7 Nf6+ 72.Kg6 Ng8 73.Nc3 Ke6 74.Ne4 b5 75.Nc5+ Ke7 76.Kh7 Kf7 77.Ne4 Ne7 78.Nd6+ Ke6

79.Nc8! Nxc8 80.g8=Q+ and 1-0 in 97 moves source: NY Sun, 19 JUN 1893, p. 6; NY Recorder, 21 JUL 1893  1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Ne2 c6 6.Bd2 d5 7.a3 Bd6 8.Ng3 Re8 9.Qc2 e5 10.dxe5 Bxe5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Bb5

So far White has developed his pieces a little slowly, and has left Black with an isolated d-pawn, but not one where this is well blockaded.  12...d4 13.Nd1? (  White should have preferred 13.Bxe8 dxc3 14.Bxf7+ Kxf7 15.Bxc3 Bxc3+ 16.Qxc3 Be6 += after which he has a slightly favourable material balance (Rook and two pawns against two minor pieces) without serious middle game problems to follow. ) ( Following 13.Nce4 dxe3 White must accept an isolated pawn on e3  14.fxe3 ( Not 14.Bxe3 Qa5+ -+ winning the bishop on b5. ) 14...Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Bd7 =+ ) (  Black is also winning after 13.exd4 Bxg3+ 14.Bxe8 Qxe8+ 15.Kf1 Bd6 -+ with two pieces against only a rook and pawn. ) 13...Bd7 14.Bxd7 Nbxd7 15.O-O

15...Ng4?! This is the beginning of a speculative piece sacrifice.  ( I wanted to play the stronger move 15...Rc8 16.Qf5 g6 17.Qg5 but decided that this didn't cause serious problems for White. Though I did consider the positionafter  17...Bxg3 18.hxg3 ( Not 18.Qxg3? Ne4 -+ winning the bishop on d2. ) 18...Rc5 19.Qf4 Re4 20.Qf3 I didn't notice Black is close to winning now.  20...Ne5 21.Qe2 Rc2 -+ ) 16.Qf5 (  The knight can't be kicked away by 16.h3 due to  16...Nxf2 17.Kxf2 Qh4 -+ ) 16...Qh4 17.h3 Ndf6 18.hxg4 Now I played the move  18...g6!? preventing White from bailing out into an endgame. ( After 18...Nxg4 White has the bailout  19.Qh5 (19.Re1 Bxg3 20.fxg3 Qh2+ 21.Kf1 Qh1+ 22.Ke2 Qxg2+ 23.Kd3 Ne5+ 24.Kc2 Nf3 -+ ) 19...Bxg3 20.Qxh4 Bxh4 and I thought Black had lost a lot of the advantage after white now recaptures on d4. Looking at the following variation, where the computer maintains a large advantage to Black, this appears to be optimism on the computers part.  21.exd4 Rad8 22.Re1 Rxe1+ 23.Bxe1 Bf6 24.Ne3 h5 25.Nxg4 hxg4 26.Bc3 Bxd4 27.Bxd4 Rxd4 28.Rc1 Rd7 -/+ Black's extra pawn is going to be very difficult to realise now. ) 19.Qf3 Nxg4 20.Re1 h5

Black needs to complete a couple of moves to make a decisive mating threat, including both h5 and d3. Then the mating sequence is . ..Qh2+, . ..Kf1, ...Bxg3, and ...Qh1# (20...d3 21.Nf1 Bh2+ 22.Kh1 Bg3+ 23.Kg1 = ) 21.e4? (  Here or on the next move White should aim for a forced draw with 21.Nf1 Bh2+ 22.Kh1 Bg3+ 23.Kg1 Bh2+ = , its quite dangerous for White to carry on however and following  24.Nxh2 Qxh2+ 25.Kf1 Qh1+ 26.Ke2 Qh4 -/+ Black has a threat of d3+ and Ne5+ winning the White queen. ) 21...d3? (  The more accurate move order was 21...Qh2+ 22.Kf1 Preventing Nf1.  22...d3 and now if White decides to block the bishop capture on g3 with  23.Bf4 then Black sets up the same trick with tempo,  23...Qh4 (Threatening Nh2+)  24.Kg1 Nh2 -+ with the same idea as the game. ) 22.Bf4? ( After the best 22.Nf1 Black should take the perpetual check as there are insufficient pieces to continue the attack.  22...Bh2+ 23.Kh1 Bg3+ 24.Kg1 = ) 22...Nh2 23.Qxd3 Bxf4 24.Nc3 Ng4 25.Nce2 Rad8 26.Qf3 Bc7!

Re-deploying the bishop onto the a7-g1 diagonal which is too difficult to defend.  27.Nc3 Bb6 28.Re2 Ne5 and the White queen is trapped. 0-1

This was the key game, Russell and I were in the lead by half a point to a whole bunch. My thoughts were they are all pussies and they would all draw. (Ed: It's always fun editing Mike's material, even when you're making judgement calls on whether to blunt his words - The game commentary here reminds me of a combination of the Chess for Tigers chapters on playing time trouble addicts and heffalumps [animals who are stronger than tigers]. When I play Russell it's inevitably me who collapses in time trouble so I have difficulty relating to Mike's narrative). So I had a draw in hand if Russell decided to offer it, I wasn't going to. So worst case (Ed: assuming Russell doesn't actually win!) first equal, but I thought Russell believed he needed to beat me, I am the mug. But he has shown a weakness for the clock and this plus 30 seconds would be my friend again if he tried to squeeze me.  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 First surprise, I had wanted to try something against his Nimzo, maybe next time. He has played this a6 Slav before, but I couldn't remember any of it.  3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 a6 5.Bd3 (5.Qc2 b5 6.b3 Bg4 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nf4 Bg6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Be2 This seems to be the way all the big guns are diffusing this line. Just slowly slowly and the two Bishops should count for something in the long run. ) 5...dxc4 6.Bxc4 b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Nf3 e6 9.O-O c5

White has nothing here, Black has to be slightly better, but no great shakes. My hope was this is the kind of position that Russell would use up a lot of time squeezing the advantage. I just needed to keep only slightly worse.  10.Qe2 Nbd7 11.Rd1 cxd4 12.Nxd4!? I thought the normal move was probably exd4, but this would make Russell's job easier, he then had a plan and would snuffle about tweaking against the isolated pawn. With this, he was still better, but plans took a bit more thought. (12.exd4 Be7 13.Bg5 O-O 14.a3 Nb6 15.Ne5 Rc8 16.Rac1 Nbd5 17.Ne4 ) 12...Qb6 13.Bc2 Rd8 14.a3 Bd6 15.h3 O-O 16.e4 Ne5 Black is slightly better, White has trouble getting his pieces coordinated, but nothing is hanging, so all good for Russell to dwell on how to win.  17.Nf3 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Be5 19.Re1 Rc8 20.Bf4 I just want to swap pieces and alleviate the annoying pressure, White's game clings on and Russell dwells...  20...Bd4 21.Rac1 a5 (21...e5 22.Bg5 h6 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Qxf6 gxf6 25.Bb3 Kg7 This is a better option for Black, he could torture me with the two Bishops for ages, I would not be happy and put big dollars on Russell squeezing me in this kind of position every time. ) 22.Be3 Bxe3 23.Rxe3

Black has made some progress here, he just needs to keep thinking and find the best plan.  23...b4 24.Ne2 Rfd8 (24...Qd6 25.Rd3 Qe5 26.Rd4 Rfd8 27.Qg3 Qxg3 28.Rxd8+ Rxd8 29.Nxg3 Rc8 30.axb4 axb4 31.Rd1 Ugly, but White hangs on due to the back rank mate. ) 25.axb4 axb4 26.Bd3 Rxc1+ 27.Nxc1 Qa5 28.Re1 Qe5 29.Qe2 Annoyingly for Black, White is holding on and the pieces are OK now, Black is now only slightly better.  29...Ra8 This is not great. Russell is down to 30 second increments only and he is still clinging to the notion of winning when a draw offer is now required. (29...h6 30.Nb3 Nh5 31.Qc2 Nf4 32.Bf1 f5 33.Qc5 No chance of seeing this in 30 second increments, but White is still OK ) 30.Qd2 Qc5 31.Nb3 Qb6 32.e5 Nd5 33.Re4 Played just to scare him while short of time with a rook to the Kingside etc.  33...Ba6 34.Bc2 Qb5 35.Kh2 Rc8 36.Rd4 Qb8 37.f4 Rc4?

And here is the mistake, now Black loses a pawn and the key thing is I was sure the shock will cause more errors.  38.Qd3 Qc8 39.Qxh7+ Kf8 40.Qh8+ Ke7 41.Qxc8 Maybe not the best, but I was down to five minutes, and I thought this would win due to depression, the fight would have gone and mistakes would follow. (41.Qh4+ Ke8 42.Bd1 Rxd4 43.Nxd4 Kd7 (43...Qc5 44.Ba4+ ) 44.f5 This was great for White, but no need as I was sure the other line would win. ) 41...Rxc8 42.Be4 Bc4!? (42...Nxf4 43.Rxb4 Bd3 44.Bb7 Rc4 45.Na5 Rxb4 46.Nc6+ Kd7 47.Nxb4 This would be very hard to win, but time was against Russell and mistakes follow mistakes ) 43.Nd2 Ne3 44.b3 Bd5 45.Rxb4

That's two pawns, even I can win this.  45...Rc3 46.Bxd5 exd5 47.Rb7+ Ke6? 48.Nf3 Kf5 49.Rxf7+ Ke4 50.e6 Simple chess, just Queen the pawn and win something when he has to take it. There are now dangers to White's King.  50...Rc2 51.Ne1 Re2 52.e7 The point, my Knight for a Queen is always a good trade, Black can resign...  52...Kd4 53.e8=Q Nf1+ 54.Kg1 A piece and 2 pawns up, game over. The lesson here, Russell is the better player, but he can't play 30 second increments no matter what he thinks. 1-0