Magazines Games 2008-2018 2016

1.d4 I was in combative mood and had spent the morning preparing the Modern. It was a bit of a surprise when he opened with the d-pawn but I decided to stick to my guns.  1...g6 2.e4 Back into it!  2...Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.a4 This came as a surprise but he told me afterwards he'd prepared this for Mike Steadman the previous day.  5...Nc6!? I was feeling creative and wanted to avoid simply transposing back into the Pirc with 5...Nf6.  6.h3 (6.d5 would try and refute my last move but now the a-pawns have moved Black can play   6...Nb4 As long as the knight doesn't get trapped Black is doing pretty well:  7.a5 (7.Nce2 a5 8.c3 Na6 ) 7...e6 = ) 6...e5

7.d5 (7.Nf3 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nf6 would reach some sort of Philidor structure. The pawn moves on the a-file favour Black as it is now very dangerous for White to castle queenside. Black has a simple plan of putting pressure on the e4-pawn. Often White would defend with f2-f3 but that's not really compatible with h2-h3 as g3 would become very weak. ) (  In the post-mortem Matthieu said he recalled the engine preferred 7.dxe5 but during the game he wasn't convinced.  7...Nxe5 (7...Bxe5 8.Nf3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 looked interesting but rather double-edged. ) 8.f4 Nc6 White is in danger of over-extending. Black's ...Nb8-c6xe5-c6 is one tempo slower than the normal ....e7-e5xd4 but White doesn't really want to have played either h2-h3 or a2-a4. (8...Qh4+ looks tempting but  9.Kd2 Nc6 ( or 9...Ng4 10.hxg4! Qxh1 11.Nd5 ) 10.Nf3 both give White the initiative. Developing with tempo is probably more important than the misplaced king. ) ) 7...Nce7 (7...Nd4 was the alternative but I felt the knight exchange favoured White.  8.Nge2 Nxe2 9.Bxe2 f5 10.exf5 gxf5 (10...Bxf5 My engine thinks recapturing with the bishop is close to equal but Black would really be suffering here with his lousy g7-bishop and White's wonderful outpost on e4. ) 11.Bh5+ Kf8 with a very complicated position. ) 8.g4?!

This isn't an aggressive move. Instead Matthieu wants to block up the kingside before attacking on the queenside. This is quite a usual plan in the King's Indian but doesn't quite work here as Black is very flexible. (8.Nf3 f5 9.Ng5 was what I was expecting. However after  9...Nf6 my engine prefers Black. Apparently White can't utilise the scary knight jump here. (9...fxe4 10.g4 (10.Ncxe4 Nf5 ) ) ) 8...f5 9.f3 (9.gxf5 gxf5 10.Qh5+ Kf8 You can compare this position with the line after 7.Nf3 and 8...Qh4+. The check doesn't seem to achieve very much and now I would be able to gain time on the queen. ) 9...c5! I think this was a good move. I need to play this before he's ready to capture en-passant and put pressure on the d6-pawn. Now I have more control of the centre and can fight back on the queenside. (9...Bh6 10.f4!? worried me. ) 10.a5 The pawn now becomes a target but otherwise I don't know what plan he should adopt. White's main problem is that he has nowhere safe for his king. Black's king, on the other hand, is perfectly safe on the kingside. ( Perhaps White should have changed the nature of the position with  10.dxc6 bxc6 Black's centre looks formidable but with  11.Bc4 Bb7 12.Qe2 d5 13.O-O-O Black's position looks very impressive but at least White has some active piece play and a safer king. ) 10...Nf6 Putting pressure on e4 and so preventing Na4-b6 ideas. ( In these structures Black's g7-bishop is blocked in by its own pawns. Therefore I considered 10...Bh6 but after  11.g5 Bg7?! feels very slow. It's not clear how I ever develop my g8-knight. This would actually be a dream scenario for White as he can successfully keep the kingside closed. ( I wanted to get 11...f4!? to work but here White can play  12.Bxc5 ) ) 11.Qd2

Surprisingly after this logical developing move White's position feels almost strategically lost. (In the post-mortem we came to the conclusion that White has to try 11.Bc4 O-O 12.Qd3 Now White is threatening to play Na4 as the e4-pawn is defended. (12.Bxc5? isn't as scary if he hasn't yet moved his queen as now it'll take him longer to castle.  12...dxc5 13.d6+ Kh8 14.dxe7 Qxe7 15.g5 Nh5 16.Qd2 Nf4 -/+ ) 12...Kh8 (12...Bd7 is also fine as  13.Bxc5?! dxc5 14.d6+ Kh8 15.dxe7 Qxe7 still isn't very convincing. I can meet  16.O-O-O with  16...Bb5! -/+ ) 13.Na4?! This was the tactic I was desperately trying to avoid, while Matthieu was frantically analysing at every opportunity. The idea is that after  13...Qxa5+ 14.b4! My queen will be trapped whichever way I take the pawn. However my engine pours cold water on the entire line as  14...Qd8 15.bxc5 dxc5 16.Nxc5 b6! is very good for Black. White's pieces are actually really clumsy, in particular the c4-bisop is close to being trapped. ) 11...O-O 12.Bc4 Kh8 Getting out of the way of Bxc5 ideas.  13.Nge2 Bd7 My plan is to put a piece on b5, either my bishop or f6-knight via ...Ne8-c7-b5.  14.g5?! Taking pressure off the e4-pawn but the price is too high. (14.Bg5 was a better plan, although it's still not clear how White ever manages to get his knight into b6. ) (14.O-O h5 looks extremely scary for White. Black has a fantastic version of a normal King's Indian; his kingside play is in full swing while White hasn't really started his queenside counterplay. ) 14...Nh5

Look at that fantastic outpost on f4.  15.Na4? This was the point of the previous move but White had overlooked a tactic.  15...Nc8 Stopping the knight and threatening ...f5-f4 picking up the g5-pawn.  16.exf5 Rxf5 17.Rf1 So the g5-pawn is safe.  17...Bxa4! My other threat.  18.Rxa4

18...b5 19.axb6 Nxb6 White drops the exchange.  20.Bb3 Nxa4 21.Bxa4 Nf4 Disgusted White threw in the towel. He's the exchange down and Black also has the initiative. 0-1

I had looked at Thorben's games and he really just seemed to sneak up on players to me. Just perfect for a Leningrad Dutch to be played, he would need to do something quickly, if not then Black would get on top.  1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 g6 I had seen his games and he a tendency to play Korchnoi's line and this has been refuted by Black switching plans. The time he was taking I got the feeling he does not face this too often at the level he plays at.  5.c3 Bg7 6.Qb3 e6 7.Bg5 This has a good reputation with only a small number of games, but I just like to get the 2 Bishops and get on with it. I had a plan :-).  7...h6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Nbd2 d5

So here is the idea, I have reverted to the Stonewall and there is a key difference. The black squared Bishop has been swapped for a knight. This means White has the e5 square as usual, but Black can pick the best moment to give the Bishop up for this knight. We are on our own as I can't find anything like this played before.  10.Ne5 O-O 11.Ndf3 a5 12.a4 Ra6

Confusion was definitely showing on his face when I am playing moves like this. But seemed to me the knight and Bishop are doing a good job where they are currently.  13.h4 (13.Nh4 g5 14.Nhg6 Rd8 15.O-O-O Nd7 This is what the machine is suggesting, just shows it has no idea of these kinds of positions. ) 13...Rb6 14.Qc2 Bd7

This Bishop will do its best work on e8 and will free up the Queen which currently has to guard g6.  15.Nd2 (15.c4 c6 16.h5 g5 17.e3 Rc8 18.c5 Ra6 19.Qb3 Rc7 20.O-O-O b5 21.cxb6 Rb7 22.Qc3 Raxb6 Again, the computer does not understand.  23.Nd3 Bf8 ) 15...Rd6 16.Nb3 This showed me, he also did not understand. Black intends Be8, Rd8, b6, Rc8, Qc7, Na6 and c5. This knight dancing is planless and just getting me to play moves that I need to. White needs to be playing c4.  16...b6 17.Nc1 c5 18.Ncd3 Be8 19.f4 Na6 20.e3 Qd8 21.b3 Qc7 22.Qd2 Rd8 23.Qb2 Rc8

So Black has completed his plan and White has shuffled like a possum in the headlights. I think Black is just better here. (Ed: The editor does not quite understand the utility of Black's Ra8-a6-b6-d6-d8-c8 plan I must admit).  24.O-O g5 Maybe a tad early, but he was in bad time trouble now, just the best time to slip the bomb.  25.hxg5 hxg5 26.fxg5 Bxe5 27.Nxe5 Qg7 28.Qe2 Nb8 29.c4 cxd4 30.exd4 dxc4 31.bxc4 Qxg5 32.d5 Qxg3 33.dxe6 Rf6 34.Rf3 Qg5

35.Qf2? This is just time pressure. White has to get active or will lose. (35.Raf1 Nc6 (35...f4 36.Qe4 Nc6 37.Nd7 Bxd7 38.exd7 Rcf8 39.Rd1 ) 36.Nd7 Rg6 37.Rxf5 Nd4 38.Rf8+ Kg7 39.Qf2 Qg4 40.Rf6 Rg5 41.Re1 Nf5 Couple of out there variations, but with him down near 30 seconds per move, tough to find. Things start to go wrong now.) ) 35...f4 36.Nd3 Rxc4 one pawn up for the good guys, time to harvest.  37.Re1 Nc6 38.e7 Rxa4 I Couldn't see how to improve my position, so just took a second pawn.  39.Kh2? And here was the gift from heaven, mistakes follow mistakes. Third pawn for the good guys.  39...Nxe7 40.Bh3 (40.Rxe7 Rh6+ 41.Rh3 Rxh3+ 42.Bxh3 Qxe7 43.Nxf4 Black will win with ease. ) 40...Kf8 41.Re5 Qh6 42.Qe2 Qh7 43.Re6 Qf7

44.Qe5 Another slip, but I think this is driven by depression that this 2200 mug had done the business on him.  44...Rxe6 45.Bxe6 Qh5+ 46.Qxh5 Bxh5 47.Rxf4+ Rxf4 48.Nxf4 Endgames may not be my forte, but even I could win this.  48...Bf7 49.Bd7 Nd5 50.Ne2 Ke7 51.Bb5 Kd6 52.Kg3 Kc5 53.Bd7 b5 54.Kf2 Nb6

55.Bxb5 Desperation, but there is no way he can get both pawns and force me to show I could mate with the 2 pieces (I sure I could have worked it out :-))  55...Kxb5 56.Ke3 Kb4 57.Kd2 Nc4+ 58.Kc1 Bg6 The key move, locks the King out of b1, white could calmly resign.  59.Nf4 Be4 0-1

This was the key game, needed to win, so played my d4. I saw that she played Anthony's d6 and Bg4 line. This is not too threatening, so I thought I'd take it on.  1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 OK, so prep gone, I assumed a King's Indian and I would just give it a go.  3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bf5!? I have never seen this move and am now completely on my own. It just looked bad to me. I like to play g4 type lines against the castled Black King, so my next move is explained.  5.h3 h5 (5...Bg7 6.g4 Bd7 7.e4 O-O 8.Be3 Na6 9.Be2 c5 10.d5 If this is the plan, it just looks like a bad Benoni to me. ) 6.Ng5 I was confused by h5, maybe I should have just gone Bf4 and e3 etc. But putting a Knight out on g5 in the hole just created, seemed OK.  6...Bh6 7.f3 Bd7 8.h4 e5 9.e3 Nc6 10.Be2 Ne7 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.e4 Nc6 13.Be3

Whit e has to be a little better here, Black has to come up with a plan.  13...Ng8? 14.Qd5 Qe7 (14...Qf6 15.Nb5 O-O-O 16.Nxa7+ Nxa7 17.Qa5 Bxg5 18.hxg5 Qa6 19.Qxa6 bxa6 20.Bxa7 White is a pawn up and has the 2 Bishops on an open board - easy win ) 15.Bc5 Qf6 16.Rd1 O-O-O 17.Qd3!? (17.Qd2 I had seen this move, but I thought that by saccing the pawn I would drag the Queen away and get a huge attack.  17...b6 18.Nd5 Qg7 19.Be3 f6 ) 17...Bxg5 18.hxg5 Qxg5 19.Nd5 f5 20.b4 fxe4 21.fxe4 b6 22.Bf2 h4 23.c5

This is the kind of position I had seen, I thought it had to worth a pawn.  23...Kb8 24.cxb6 axb6 25.b5 Nd4 26.Bxd4!? (26.Qc3 Rc8 27.Rxd4 exd4 28.Qxd4 Be6 29.Nxc7 Kxc7 30.Qxb6+ Kd7 31.Qd4+ Ke8 32.Qxh8 Rc1+ Did not look like enough to me. ) 26...exd4 27.Qxd4 Ne7

28.Qf6? Qg3+? (28...Qxg2 I had just forgotten dshe could take this pawn first, White is in trouble now.  29.Qf3 Qxf3 30.Bxf3 Nxd5 31.Rxd5 Rdf8 32.Ke2 Be6 33.Rg5 Bxa2 34.Rxg6 Bc4+ 35.Ke3 Bxb5 ) 29.Qf2 Nxd5 30.Qxg3 hxg3 31.Rxh8 Rxh8 32.Rxd5 Be6 33.Rg5 Rh1+

Heather was in bad time trouble now, she is close to drawing, but moving the Rook from the back rank helps White with mating options. (33...Bxa2 34.Kd2 Re8 35.Bd3 Rg8 36.Rxg3 ) 34.Kd2 Bf7 35.Rxg3 Ra1 36.Rf3 Rxa2+ 37.Ke1 Be6 38.Rf6 Bd7 39.Rxg6 Ra4 40.Rg7 (40.Rg8+ Kb7 41.Rd8 Bc8 42.Bf3 c5 43.bxc6+ Kc7 44.Rg8 Ra5 45.Re8 b5 46.e5 b4 47.Kd2 Ra2+ 48.Kd3 Ba6+ 49.Kd4 b3 50.Re7+ Kb6 51.Kc3 b2 52.Be4 Other option type line, but I saw no reason to free up her pawns. ) 40...Be6 41.Bf3

41...Rb4? (41...Kc8 42.e5 Kd8 43.Bc6 Rf4 44.Rg5 Rc4 45.Rg6 Ke7 46.Rg7+ Kd8 47.Kd2 Rc5 ) 42.Re7 Bc8 43.Re8 Rxb5 44.Bg4 Rb1+ 45.Kf2 Black can calmly resign now, she will lose a piece and the e pawn will Queen.  45...Rb2+ 46.Kg3 c5 47.Rxc8+ Kb7 48.Rf8 c4 49.Rf3 Kc6 50.e5 b5 51.Re3 c3 52.Rxc3+ Kd5 53.e6 Kd6 54.Rd3+ Ke7 55.Rd7+ Kf6 56.e7 Rb3+ 57.Kf2 Rb2+ 58.Ke3 Rb3+ 59.Kd2 Rb2+ 60.Kc3 A game that could have swung either way, but the time pressure saved me. 1-0

41.Qf3 (41.Kxe1 Qh4+ or ) (41.Rxe1 Qh4 both lose the h-pawn, so he tries to create a fortress. ) 41...Bg3 42.Kg2 Rxh3 Sadly for his king the fortress is made of sand and collapses at the first touch. (42...Rxh3 43.Kxh3 Qh4+ 44.Kg2 Bxg4 45.Qf1 Qh2# ) 0-1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nc7 7.O-O e5 8.a3

8...Be7 (8...Rb8 9.d3 (9.Rb1 f6 10.d3 Be7 11.Be3 O-O = ) 9...Be7 10.Rb1 O-O 11.Be3 Be6 ) (8...f6 9.e3 Be7 10.d4 cxd4 11.exd4 exd4 12.Ne2 Ne6 13.b4 d3 14.Nf4 Nxf4 15.Bxf4 O-O 16.Qb3+ Kh8 17.b5 Nd4 18.Qxd3 Ne6 ) 9.b4 f6 10.bxc5 Bxc5 11.Qa4 Bd7 12.Qc4 Be7 13.Rb1 Na5 14.Qa2 Be6 15.Qc2 O-O 16.d4!

16...Rc8! (16...exd4? 17.Rd1 d3 18.Rxd3 ) 17.Qd3 (17.dxe5 fxe5 18.Nxe5 Bf6 19.Qe4 (19.Qa4 b6 20.Rd1 Qe8 21.Qxe8 Nxe8 22.Bd5 Bxd5 23.Nxd5 Rxc1 24.Nxf6+ gxf6 25.Rbxc1 fxe5 26.Rd7 Nb3 27.Rc8 Nd4 ) 19...Qe7 20.Bf4 Qxa3 21.Qd3 Rfd8 ) 17...Bc4

18.Qe4?! (18.Qd1 Rasmussen said, after the game, that he should have played this and it seems best here.  18...exd4 19.Nxd4 ) 18...Nd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Qg4

Black is now better, but now I went wrong.  20...Bxf3? (20...f5! The move I intended. The GM was now down to less than a minute on the clock but for some reason I started for fear he might have an attack with Ng5. I had never played a grandmaster in standard chess so I was quite nervous, although I had found the right moves up to now, more or less. And now after f5 Black has a winning position in theory. Rasmussen said after the game he might have had to give up a piece somewhere here.  21.Qh5 e4 22.Ng5 h6 23.Nh3 Qd7 24.Nf4 Ba2 (24...Bf7? 25.Ng6 Qd6 26.Qxf5 ) 25.Rb2 Bf7 26.Qh3 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Bxa3 28.Rbb1 Bxc1 29.Rxc1 Nb3 30.Rb1 Nd2 31.Re1 b5 32.g4 Qxd4 33.gxf5 b4 and Black should win. ) 21.Qe6+! Of course. Missed this. Now it all falls apart although Rasmussen still was very short of time but now he gains time via the increments. (21.Bxf3?! f5 22.Qh3 e4 23.Bg2 Qd5 ) 21...Kh8 22.Bxf3 exd4 23.Rd1 Here it is still equal except that my opponent was about 4 times the Danish Champion and a GM so....  23...b6?! (23...f5 24.Bd2 b6 25.Bxa5 bxa5 26.e3 Bxa3 ) 24.e3 d3?! (24...Qd6 ) 25.Be4 f5? Trying to set a trap I start to lose.  26.Rxd3 Qc7 27.Bxf5 Bf6 28.Rd1 Rce8 29.Qa2 Qe5 30.Rd5 Qc3 31.Bd2 Qc4 32.Qxc4 Nxc4 33.Bb4 Rf7 34.Rc1 Ne5 35.f4 Ng6 36.Rd7 Rxd7 37.Bxd7 Rd8 38.Bf5 a5 39.Be1?! (39.Bc3 ) 39...Ne7 (39...Bb2 40.Rb1 ) 40.Be4 Nd5? (40...Bb2 41.Rb1 Bxa3 42.Rxb6 Bc5 43.Ra6 Bxe3+ 44.Kf1 a4 45.Rxa4 ) 41.Kf2 g6 42.Rc6 Kg7 43.a4 g5 44.Ke2 gxf4 45.gxf4 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.a4 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Be2 O-O 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nd5 Bg5 13.c3 Ne7 14.Bc4 Kh8 15.Qd3 f5 16.Nxe7 Qxe7 17.Bxe6 Qxe6 18.Rd1 fxe4 19.Qxe4 Qb3 20.Qc2 Qe6 21.O-O Rf4 22.g3

In this position I played  22...Rf6 Instead of (22...Raf8! when Hans said after the game (which he won in good style after my move) that he would have bailed out with  23.gxf4 Then it is of course perpetual check but I think White can afford not to take the rook. After some time Komodo finds that White can defend the position. ) 23.Qe4 Raf8 24.Nc4 Qe7 25.f4 Bxf4 26.gxf4 Rxf4 27.Rxf4 Rxf4 28.Qd5 Qh4 29.Nxd6 Qf2+ 30.Kh1 h5 31.Qg2 1-0

1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.d4 g4 6.Ng5 f5 7.d5?! This is not best. The main move runs (7.e4 h6 8.e5 Be7 9.Nh3 (9.Nf7 this seems better for White. ) 9...gxh3 10.Qh5+ Kf8 11.Bc4 Rh7 And results are mixed. I am not sure what other theory there is on the From Gambit but I thought it would be an exiting game.) ) 7...Nf6?! I had thought that White couldn't play the Ng5 line so hadn't thought about it much and here I needed to play h6. 7. ... Nf6? loses my chance! (7...h6 embarrasses the knight eg  8.Ne6 Bxe6 9.dxe6 Qh4+ ) 8.Nc3 h6 9.Ne6 Bxe6 10.dxe6 c6? Now Shenyue takes over. I thought I was winning! O.k., that's not old age, I have thought that in many positions since I started chess 2000 years ago. (10...Qe7 11.Nb5 Be5 12.e4 Qxe6 13.Nd4 Bxd4 14.Qxd4 Nc6 15.Bb5 Qxe4+ ) 11.e4 Qc7 12.exf5 Bxh2 13.Be3 Bg3+ 14.Kd2

14...Na6 (14...Bf4 15.Qe2 Na6 16.Re1 Qe5 17.Kc1 Bxe3+ 18.Qxe3 Qxe3+ 19.Rxe3 Nc7 20.g3 Rd8 21.Ne4 Ke7 22.Nxf6 Kxf6 23.Rh5 Nd5 ) 15.Bxa6 bxa6 16.Qe2 O-O-O+ 17.Kc1 Nd5 18.Nxd5 Rxd5 19.Qxa6+ Kb8

20.f6 (20.Rf1 Bd6 21.Qc4 Rf8 22.f6 ) 20...Qe5?? Busily calculating combinations I forgot to check up on my own King! But my "advantage" now is illusory. (20...Bf4 21.Qa3 Ka8 22.Re1 Rhd8 23.e7 ) (20...Re5 21.Bd4 Rxe6 22.Qc4 Qf4+ 23.Kb1 Re4 24.Qb3+ Ka8 25.Qc3 Rxd4 26.Qxc6+ ) 21.Bxa7+! W-w-w-what was that?!! Ooops!! Well, Shenyue now mops up in style and soon goes home. She also beat poor Bob Smith who has had some tough times in chess recently. But even to beat Bob at all is a sign of some ability for sure.  21...Kc7 22.Qb6+ Kd6 23.Bb8+ Rxb8 24.Qxb8+ Kxe6 25.Qxe5+ Kxe5 (25...Rxe5 26.a4 ) 26.Rh5+ Kxf6 27.Rxd5 cxd5 28.a4 h5 29.a5 Bf2 30.a6 Ba7 31.Kd2 h4 32.Rh1 Kg5 33.Ke2 d4 34.Rf1 g3 35.Kf3 Bc5 36.b4 Bb6 37.Ra1 Ba7 38.b5 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.O-O b5 9.a3 Bb7 10.f3 Be7 11.Qd2 O-O 12.g4 b4 13.axb4 Bxb4 14.g5 Ne8 15.Kh1 Ne5 16.Bf4 d6

Here I thought I was in difficulty. I had pushed Karl's N back not to attack the K-side but to split his rooks and I hoped somehow to attack the R pawn. Now 17. Ra4 and doubling rooks to attack the 'a' pawn seems best according to my machine. But in the game I felt I was losing ground. So I found one of my "combinations". I knew that it would have surprise value, but I also judged it to be better for me. I had overlooked some defences, but overall I thought at the time could win. As it happens there are a lot of complexities and I got a winning position (both players missed 20....Bd7! which is probably a bit better for Black, but it is critical Black finds that), this was a line that required judgement and calculation and overall my brain didn't let me down.  17.Ncb5!? Enterprising but not sound. Better according to the machine is 17. Ra4. However what I played had a psychological impact and was all but winning.  17...Bxd2 18.Nxc7 Bxf4 19.Nxa8 Bxa8 20.Rxa6

20...Nc7? Better is the move we both missed (20...Bb7! 21.Ra7 Bc8 ) 21.Ra7 Rc8 22.Rfa1 Now there is a terrible threat of mate looming! So...  22...g6 23.Nb5

23...Bc6? (23...Bxe4 24.Nxd6 Nb5 25.Nxc8 Nxf3 26.Bd3 Nxg5+ 27.Bxe4 Nxa7 28.Rxa7 Nxe4 ) 24.Nxc7?! (24.Rxc7! ) 24...d5 25.exd5 exd5 26.R1a3 Bxg5 27.c3 Be7 28.R3a6? Bc5! 29.Kg2 Bxa7 30.Rxa7 Draw agreed. 1/2-1/2

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.O-O Nc6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.Qf3 O-O 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 Qc7 12.h3 b5 13.f4 d6 14.Kh1 Bb7 15.Rae1 Nb4 16.Rc1 Nxd3 17.cxd3 Qd8 18.Nd4 Qb6 19.Nce2 Nd7 20.Qg3 Rac8 21.f5 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 e5 23.f6 Nxf6 24.Nf5 g6 25.Ne7+ Kg7 26.Nf5+ Kh8 27.Qh4 d5 28.Qh6 Rg8 29.Ne7 Re8 30.Nxd5 Nxd5 31.exd5 Bxd5 32.Nc3 Bb7 33.Rf1 Qe6 34.Qe3 Kg7 35.Kg1 Qc6 36.Qf2 f5 37.a3 Rd8 38.Qe2 Qc5+ 39.Kh2 Qd6 40.Re1 e4+ 41.Kh1 Qxd3 42.Qf2 Qd2 43.Re2 Qd4 44.Qh4

My last move 44. Qh4 is at least fighting (in a few other games in the tournament I failed to do this, and gave up too easily in difficulty) but here I was looking for any way to escape. But Black only has to play 44. /\ Qf6 ( there are other moves) and he is easily winning, in fact I should resign. But, and it is no reflection on my opponent who played well, while I had played a lot of the game quite badly, now my doggedness paid off as now Leo played the natural  44...Qd6?? when I took my chance, and after checking that I wasn't on another planet, played  45.Rd2! This forced  45...Qxd2 and after  46.Qe7+ I escaped with a perpetual check. 45.Rd2 is one of those problem like moves such as the cross pin that perhaps for those who are winning should be banned. They are beautiful to the observer and the perpetrator but tragic for the player on the receiving end. 1/2-1/2

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 b6 5.e4 c5!

6.e5 cxd4 7.a3 It would be a blunder to continue (7.exf6?? dxc3 8.bxc3 (8.fxg7 cxb2+ -+ ) 8...Qxf6 -+ ) 7...Bxc3+ 8.bxc3

8...Ng8! It seems tempting to use an intermediate move to keep White's pawns doubled with (8...d3? 9.Qxd3 Ng8 but after  10.Qg3! White has a strong initiative. ) 9.cxd4 Also tempting is (9.Qe4!? Vallejo Pons gives the variation  9...Nc6 10.cxd4 Now Vallejo Pons suggests (10.cxd4 d5! 11.Qg4 (11.exd6 Qxd6 = ) ( or 11.cxd5 f5! 12.exf6 (12.Qe3 Qxd5 = ) 12...Nxf6 13.Qe3 Qxd5 = ) 11...Kf8!? with the idea of Nge7 and Ba6. Also interesting is ) 10...Bb7!?

as played by Kanan Izzat, the game continued  11.Nf3 (11.Qg4 Nge7 12.Qxg7? Rg8 13.Qxh7 Nxd4 -/+ ) 11...Nge7 12.Qg4 Nf5 13.Bd3 h5 14.Qf4 Nce7 15.d5 Ng6 16.Qd2

Playing around with variations here with Stockfish7 I can't demonstrate anything concrete for White, although in my eyes it does look quite scary for the Black side. For example (16.Qe4!? Nfe7 17.Qd4 exd5 18.cxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxg6 fxg6 20.Bg5 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Rc8 22.e6 dxe6 23.Qxg7 Rf8 24.O-O = Black is never in danger, apparently. The actual game continued (After 16.Qd2) ) 16...Nfh4 17.Nxh4 Qxh4 18.Bxg6?! After this the weakness of the pawn on c4 tells  18...fxg6 =+ I will give the rest of the game because it is impressive play by Izzat  19.O-O O-O 20.f4 Ba6 21.dxe6 dxe6 22.Qc2 Qg4 23.Rf3 Rac8 24.Rg3 Rxc4 25.Rxg4 Rxc2 26.Rxg6 Rfc8 27.Be3 Re2 28.Rd1 Rxe3 29.Rd7 Re1+ 30.Kf2 Rf1+ 31.Ke3 Kh8 32.Rdxg7 Rc3+ 33.Kd2 Rd3+ 34.Kc2 Rf2+ 35.Kc1 Rc3+ 36.Kd1 Rc8 37.Rxa7 Rd8+ 38.Kc1 Bd3 39.Rh6+ Kg8 40.Rc7 Bf5 41.Rxh5 Rf1+ 0-1 Li,Zuhao Luke (2332) - Izzat,Kanan Azar (2456) Australian Masters GM Melbourne (7), 18.12. 2015 ) 9...Bb7!

10.h4 Vallejo Pons also considers two other lines here: ( (A) 10.Nf3 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Nc6 12.Be3 Nge7 with counter play.  13.Bd3 This position arose in a recent game  13...Rc8 14.Rg1 Ng6 (14...g6=/+ according to Stockfish7) White went onto win, though not as a result of the opening, in Hawkins,Jo (2569) - Roberson,P (2407) London Classic Open 2015 London ENG (4.9) , 06.12.2015 ) ( (B) 10.Qc3 Ne7 11.Nf3 Nbc6 12.Be2 Rc8 with counter play. But he doesn't consider: ) ( (C) 10.a4!? soon gave White a decisive advantage after  10...Nc6?! Black sets his pieces up following Vallejo Pons prescription to target the c4 pawn, but it just doesn't seem to work here with White having a timely rook lift Ra3 to c3. Maybe Black should play against White's centre in a different way with (10...f6!? This needs some testing but here is a sample line:  11.f4 fxe5 12.dxe5 Na6 13.Ba3 (13.Bd3?? Nb4 -+ ) 13...Nh6 14.Bd3 Nc5 15.Bxc5 bxc5 and I like is position for Black even though Stockfish7 sticks with it's favourite evaluation of 0.00. If White tries to be too greedy with  16.Bxh7? then  16...Rxh7 17.Qxh7 Qa5+ 18.Kf1 Qd2 -/+ and Black has more than enough compensation for the exchange sacrifice. Back to the game (after 10...Nc6)... ) 11.Nf3 Rc8 12.Be2 Nge7 13.O-O Na5 14.Ra3 Nf5 15.Rd1 O-O 16.Rc3 d6 17.Ba3 +/- (17.d5! dxe5 18.Nxe5 +- Clearly this is not the sort of position Black is aiming for Ponkratov,Pavel (2604) - Morozevich,Alexander (2711) Wch Blitz Berlin (14), 14.10.2015. But blitz being blitz and Morozevich being Morozevich Black still went on to win. } ) ) ( (D) 10.Ne2 Nc6 11.Bb2 Rc8 12.Ng3 Na5 13.Rc1 Qh4 14.f3 f5 15.Qf2 Ne7 16.Be2 Ba6 =+ with the usual pressure against White's centre when things are going well for Black, Arnaudov,Petar G (2445) - Volokitin,Andrei (2639) FRM-chT 23rd Struga (3.2), 16.07.2014 ) 10...Ne7 11.Bb2 Nbc6 12.Nf3 Rc8 13.Nd2 (13.Be2 Na5 -/+ 14.h5? Nxc4 15.Bxc4 Bxf3 16.gxf3 b5 -+ ) 13...Nf5 14.d5 Nce7 15.d6 Ng6 (  The computer engine prefers 15...Nc6 ) 16.h5 Nf4 17.Rh2 (17.Ne4! += Stockfish7 ) 17...Qg5 18.g3 Nxh5 19.Be2 Nhxg3 20.fxg3 Qxg3+ 21.Rf2 Ne3 22.Qc3 Ng2+ 23.Kf1 Ne3+ 24.Ke1 Ng2+ 25.Kf1 Ne3+ 1/2-1/2

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 b6 5.e4 c5 6.d5 Qe7!

A key move  7.Be2 Considered best. Alternatives are: (7.e5? exd5 -/+ ) (7.f3? exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 =+ ) (7.Bd3? exd5 8.cxd5 Ba6! =+ ) (7.dxe6 Qxe6 8.f3 Nc6 with attack. ) (7.Ne2 exd5 8.exd5 O-O 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 d6 11.O-O-O Re8 12.h3 Nbd7 13.a3 Ba5 14.f4 Ba6 =+ 0-1 (36) Martinovic,S (2526)-Postny,E (2670) Zadar 16.12.2015 ) 7...exd5 Vallejo Pons gives the line: (7...d6 8.Nf3 O-O 9.-- ( and now: (A) 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3 exd5 (10...e5 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 Bg4 is unclear ) 11.exd5 Bg4 with counter play. Also (11...Bf5!? 12.Qxf5 Qxe2 13.Bf4? (13.Bh6! Qe4! = ) ( or 13.Qf4?! although the following line could do with some further checking, though it really does seem that it is too dangerous for White to go down this path  13...Nbd7 14.Re1 Qc2 15.Bd2 Rae8 16.Qxd6 Rxe1+ 17.Rxe1 Qxa2 18.Re7 Qxc4 19.Rxd7 Nxd7 20.Qxd7 a5 21.d6 a4 22.Qe7 (22.Qa7 Qe4 -/+ ) 22...Qe6 -/+ ) 13...Qxc4 14.Bxd6 Re8 15.Rad1 Nbd7 16.Bg3 Qxc3 -/+ Siva,Mahadevan (2370) - Kobo,Ori (2437) 15th Marienbad GM 2016 Marianske Lazne CZE (1.1), 16.01.2016 ) ) ( (B) 9.Be3!? Gustafsson considers this is more precise than the immediate castles.  9...Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 exd5 11.exd5 Bg4 12.O-O Nbd7 and White has avoided the option of Black putting his Bishop on f5. After  13.Rae1 Rae8 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Ne5 16.Be2 Qd8 Gustafsson expresses the opinion that White is better with ideas of f4, Bd3, Bd2 or c1 then some future expansion on the Kingside. There is also the option of a4 threatening a5 or tempting Black to play a5 himself. There aren't any practical examples yet, but I guess someone will try this idea one day. Stockfish7 is happy enough to call this position dead equal. ) ) 8.exd5 O-O (8...Qe4?! 9.Qd2! Qxg2 10.Bf3 Qg6 11.Nge2 with compensation for the pawn. ) 9.a3 (9.Nf3 d6 10.O-O Bxc3 11.bxc3 Bg4 seems to transpose to Vallejo Pons line. ) 9...Qe4!?

(9...Bxc3+ 10.Qxc3! Presumably the point of a3 is to make the Bishop take on c3 while White can recapture with the Queen. (it makes no sense to play (10.bxc3 d6 11.Nf3 Re8 -/+ and the tempo lost with a3 leaves White struggling to develop due to the pin on the e-file ) 10...Re8 and it is still a little awkward for White to develop. ) 10.Qxe4 Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Nxe4 The White pawns end up doubled after-all.  12.Bd3 (12.Bf4!? Nxc3 13.Rc1 Nxe2 14.Nxe2 with compensation for the pawn. ) 12...Re8 13.Ne2

13...Nxc3 (13...Ba6! 14.O-O (14.Bf4 Nxc3 15.Kd2 Nxe2 16.Bxe2 Rxe2+ 17.Kxe2 Bxc4+ -/+ ) 14...Nd6 =+ ) 14.Kd2 Nxe2 15.Re1 d6 16.Rxe2 Rxe2+ 17.Kxe2 Nd7 18.f4 Bb7 19.a4 Re8+ 20.Kf2 a5 21.Bb2 Ba6 22.Rb1 h5 23.g3 Rb8 24.Re1 Kf8 25.Re3 Nf6 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Be2 Re8 28.Rxe8+ Kxe8 29.Ke3 Kf8 30.Kd3 h4 31.g4 f5 32.g5 f6 33.gxf6 Kf7 34.h3 Kxf6 35.Bd1 Bc8 36.Kc3 Bd7 37.Kd3 1/2-1/2

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 b6 5.e4 c5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Bb7 8.Bd3 () 8...b5!

This move was first played by Slovenian grandmaster Albin Planinc in 1976, but then not repeated until 2013. The idea is () 9.Qb1 The original Planinc game went 9.Rb1. My guess is that after the Planinc game it was realised that 9.Qb1 was a stronger move and therefore the move 8...b5 was discarded for the next forty-odd years. In fact, an older video by Jan Gustafsson's recommended this move 9.Qb1 but in light of the Vallejo Pons video he commented that (+)My last video was kind of crap[+] (his words!) and in part 2 of this article we have already seen Gustafsson's new suggestion. We will soon see the answer to 9.Qb1, but first a recent game with () 9...cxd4! The antidote. Black plans to sacrifice his Rook on a8 and then try and trap the Queen. It is important to throw this exchange in first otherwise ( With any other move White will be worse. The computer tells me the second best White attempt is a delayed Ra2 idea. 9...e5?! ) 10.cxd4 bxc4 11.Qxb7 cxd3 12.Qxa8 Qb6

And here we have it - Black is preparing to castle then Nc6 will trap the Queen.  13.Nf3? (13.Ra2! is a computer draw pointed out by Vallejo Pons. ) (13.Ra2 Qb1 14.Ra1 Qb6 15.Ra2 and the crowd cheer! Also possible is ) (13.Ra2 O-O 14.Rb2 d2+! 15.Kxd2 Qxd4+ 16.Ke1 Qc3+ 17.Kd1 Qd4+ 18.Ke1 = but also with no more than a repetition. ) 13...O-O

14.Be3 The young American star Jeffrey Xiong, as White, lost here in a recent gamewith  (14.O-O Nc6 15.Qxf8+ Kxf8 16.d5 exd5 17.exd5 Nxd5 -+ 0-1 (44) Xiong,J (2544)-Moradiabadi,E (2587) ICC INT 2015 ) 14...Na6 (14...Nc6! -/+ is definitely the computer engine preference. I trust Morozevich would have studied this position beforehand (he wouldn't play into this line with 8...b5 without knowing about the idea of sacrificing his rook). The move  15.d5 is simply met with  15...Qb2 so it's hard to understand why he preferred Na6. ) 15.Qxf8+ Kxf8 16.O-O Nxe4 17.Ne5 Qd6 18.Nxd3 Nc3

Black has a Queen and Pawn for two Rooks, which you could argue is material equality, but the Rooks are hard to both activate and coordinate.  19.Kh1 Preparing Rc1. How else to activate the rooks?  19...f6 20.Rfc1 Nd5 21.a4 g5 22.a5 h5 23.Rc4 g4 24.Bh6+ Kf7 25.Rc8 Nab4 26.Nc5 h4 27.Re1 Nc6 28.Rh8 Nxd4 29.Nxd7 h3 30.Nf8 hxg2+ 31.Kxg2 Qc6 0-1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.a3 d6 8.Rb1 a5

In this position I followed up my Russell Dive inspired 8.Rb1 with  9.d4? and found myself in a lot of trouble after  9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 Bf5! 12.Qd1?! I didn't like the look of (12.Ra1 Ne4 so I decided it was probably better if I just gave him the exchange in the hope I could fight back. I managed to outplay him, but it was only good enough for a draw. Jacopo Romano went on to have a great tournament and a performance rating of 2222 ) 12...Bxb1 13.Nxb1 Rc8 14.b3 a4 15.b4 Rxc4 16.Bxb7 Qb6 17.Bf3 Rfc8 18.Be3 Qb5 19.Qd3 Qd7 20.Bc5 R4xc5 21.bxc5 Rxc5 22.Nc3 Ng4 23.Ne4 Rc8 24.Qa6 Ne5 25.Bg2 1/2-1/2

1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 e6 5.O-O Ne7 6.Re1 a6 7.a4 b6 8.Nbd2 h6 9.c3 Bb7 10.Bb3 Nd7 11.Nf1 c5 12.Ng3 Qc7 13.Qe2 O-O 14.h4 e5 15.h5 (15.dxe5 dxe5 16.h5 Kh7 17.Kh2 g5 18.Bxg5 hxg5 19.Nxg5+ Kh8 ) 15...Kh7 16.Kh2 cxd4

I reached quite a nice position. Here I played  17.Rh1 I was fairly excited to force the issue instead of simply recapturing then playing Rh1 afterwards. I followed up with a speculative sac, and things got exciting.  17...g5 18.Bxg5 hxg5 19.Nxg5+ Kh8 20.h6 Bf6 21.Nxf7+ Rxf7 22.Bxf7 Rf8 23.Ba2 d5 24.Kg1 dxc3 25.Rc1 d4 26.Qg4

At this point I was really dreaming of pushing the pawn to h7 and playing Qg8 and wins. But unfortunately that's not what happened  26...Qc6? 27.h7? I missed my big opportunity to win and then quickly lost the thread.. (27.Nh5! wins  27...Qxe4 28.Qg7+ Bxg7 29.hxg7+ Kh7 30.gxf8=N+ Nxf8 31.Nf6+ Kg7 32.Nxe4 Bxe4 33.bxc3 d3 +- ) 27...Bg7 28.Nh5? Qh6! 29.Rf1 Nf6 30.Qe6 Nxh5 31.Qxe7 Bxe4 32.bxc3 dxc3 33.Bf7 Bg6 34.Bxg6 Qxg6 35.Qc7 c2 36.g3

36...Nxg3! 0-1

1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.a3 Bb7 4.Nc3 f5 5.d5 Na6 6.g3 Qf6 7.Bg2 O-O-O 8.Nf3 h6 9.Bf4 Bd6 10.Bxd6 cxd6 11.O-O Kb8 12.a4 Ne7 13.a5 Nc8 14.Nd4 e5

15.Nc6+! dxc6 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.Bxc6 d5 18.Bxd5 Nc7 19.axb6 axb6 20.Qa4 h5 21.Nb5!

21...Rxd5 22.cxd5 h4 23.Nxc7 hxg3 24.Qa8+ Kxc7 25.Rfc1+ Kd7 26.Qb7+ 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 Nb4 9.Ne5 c5 10.Nxc4 cxd4 11.exd4 Nfd5 12.Re1 Bd7 13.Ne5 Rc8 14.Bd2 Bc6 15.Nxc6 Rxc6 16.Qb3 Rc7 17.Rad1 Rd7 18.h4 Bf6 19.Bc1 Nc6 20.Nxd5 exd5

21.Bh3!? Initiating a certain amount of tactical excitement...  21...Nxd4 22.Qd3 Re7 23.Bg2 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Qa5 25.Bd2 Qxa2 26.Bc3

The game now seems destined to burn out to a draw  26...Qc4 27.Qxc4 dxc4 28.Bxb7 Nc2 29.Re4 Bxc3 30.bxc3 Na3 31.Re7 Nb5 32.Ba6 Nxc3 33.Rxa7 h5 34.Bxc4 Ne4 35.Kg2 g6 36.Rd7 Kg7 37.f3 Nf6 38.Ra7 Ne8 39.g4 Nd6 40.Ba2 hxg4 41.fxg4 Rc8 42.Kf3 Rc2 43.Kf4 1/2-1/2

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 I did not know much about my opponent. I had looked at this and lost the only game I had played on the board before with it. Seemed like a perfectly sensible line to play to me then :-)  4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 a6 6.g3 b5 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.O-O Nbd7 9.Bf4 Qb6

This is supposedly the idea now, hide the Queen here and get the King sorted and Black is OK. Things are never that simple...  10.a4! b4 11.a5 Qa7 12.Na4 Nd5 13.Bc1!? Not sure about this move, Bd2 looks logical and good. The problem for Black is he needs 3 moves to get the King to g8, White sacrifices a pawn and makes this impossible and his game looks very ropey.  13...e6 14.c4 bxc3 15.bxc3 Be7 16.c4 N5f6 17.d5 exd5

18.Qe2!? This is not the best, as Re8 will look at the Queen in some lines. (18.Re1! Kf8 19.Nh4 Re8 20.Nf5 h5 21.Nxe7 Rxe7 22.Ba3 c5 23.Rxe7 Kxe7 24.cxd5 White is just winning, 2 Bishops, black King out in the open - horrendous. ) 18...Kf8 19.Nh4 Re8 20.Qd2? White is losing the thread now, Black just needs to be careful... (20.Be3 Qa8 21.Nf5 dxc4 22.Bxb7 Qxb7 23.Nxe7 Qe4 24.Rac1 Qxe7 25.Qxc4 White is still better, but Black is still fighting ) 20...dxc4 21.Nf5 Bxg2

22.Nxg7? White has miscalculated. There is no mate, so Black just keeps taking.  22...Bxf1 23.Qh6 Rb8 24.Be3 Qb7 25.Rxf1

25...Ne5? This gives it all away, I saw the error as soon as I moved, luckily my opponent was in time trouble and missed her last chance. (25...Ng8 26.Ne6+ Ke8 27.Ng7+ Kd8 28.Qf4 Ngf6 White can calmly resign a whole rook down ) 26.Nc5? (26.Nh5+! Ke8 27.Nxf6+ Kd8 28.Rd1+ Nd3 29.Qg7 Rf8 30.Nxh7 ) 26...Qc6 27.Rd1 Rg8 28.Nge6+ Ke8 29.Ng7+ Rxg7 30.Qxg7 Nf3+ 31.Kf1 Nxh2+ 32.Kg1

32...Nhg4? Black does it again, a simple win is to be had. (32...Nf3+! 33.Kf1 Bf8 34.Qh8 Ne5 35.Kg1 Ng6 ) 33.Qh8+ Bf8 34.Re1 Ne4 35.Nxe4 Qxe4

36.Bd2? A time trouble rush of blood, she had missed the winning resource. White had a save. (36.Qxf8+ Kxf8 37.Bc5+ Kg8 38.Rxe4 Nf6 39.Rxc4 Rb5 40.Bd4 Nd5 41.Be5 Rxa5 42.Bxc7 Nxc7 43.Rxc7 If she knew what she was doing, she may have drawn this. No more chances. ) 36...Rb1 37.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 38.Kg2 Qe4+ 39.Kf1 Nh2+ 0-1

1.c4 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Nf3 e6 6.e4 Nge7 7.d3 O-O 8.Be3

White is playing the Botvinnik system, but Ben has a nice easy game and he proceeds to outplay Daniel.  8...Nd4 9.O-O d6 10.Qd2 Nec6 11.Bh6 Nxf3+ 12.Bxf3 Nd4 13.Bg2 Rb8 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.h4

This is crazy, the threat of h5 does not do anything, White has just loosened his position for no return.  15...e5 16.h5 gxh5 I think this came as a surprise, it looks ugly, but h4 will come and Black is just on his way to winning now.  17.f4 Bg4 18.f5 f6 19.Nd5 Rg8 20.Ne3 Kh8 21.Nxg4 Rxg4

Black's game just plays itself. Look at the poor white Bishop vs that Knight on d4. Black is also a pawn up...  22.Kf2 Qg8 23.Qh6 Qg5 24.Qxg5 Rxg5 25.Bf3 Rbg8 26.Rg1 h4 27.g4 h5 28.Rh1 Nxf3 29.Kxf3 Rxg4 30.Rh2 Rg3+ 31.Kf2 R8g4 32.Rah1 Rxd3 33.Rxh4 Rxh4 34.Rxh4 Rd2+ 35.Ke3 Rxb2 36.Rxh5+ Kg7 Not all Rook endgames are drawn, White could calmly resign, but the juniors these days don't do that. Watch Ben wrap up the point with ease.  37.Rh1 Rxa2 38.Rg1+ Kf7 39.Rh1 Ra3+ 40.Kd2 Rb3 41.Rh7+ Kf8 42.Rd7 Rb6 43.Rd8+ Ke7 44.Ra8 a6 45.Rh8 a5 46.Rh7+ Kf8 47.Rh8+ Kg7 48.Ra8 Ra6 49.Rc8 a4 50.Rc7+ Kh6 51.Kc2 a3 52.Kb1 a2+ 53.Ka1 Kg5 54.Rxb7 Kf4 55.Rf7 Kxe4 56.Rxf6 Kd4 57.Rh6 Kxc4 58.f6 Ra7 59.f7 Rxf7 60.Rxd6 Ra7 61.Rd1 e4 62.Rc1+ Kd4 63.Rd1+ Ke3 64.Rd5 Ra5 65.Rd8 Ke2 66.Re8 e3 67.Re7 Kf2 68.Rf7+ Ke1 69.Re7 e2 70.Re8 Ra4 71.Rb8 Kd1 72.Rb3 e1=Q 73.Rb2 Rc4 0-1

1.e4 Nc6 2.d3 This is just anti-junior stuff. Watch Alphaeus find the wrong plan.  2...d6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 Bg4 This is the move Alphaeus is prone to making, just heads out there and swaps itself. He will learn what Bishops can do today.  6.c3 e5 7.Qb3

7...Bxf3 A sad move to have to make, but defending b7 did not work due to the loose Bg4 allowing a Ng5 tactic (7...Rb8 8.Ng5 Be6 9.Nxe6 fxe6 10.Qxe6+ ) 8.Bxf3 Na5 9.Qa4+ Nc6 10.O-O Qd7 11.Be3 Nge7 12.Nd2 Nd8 This just shows that Alphaeus does not appreciate how bad this position is. Queens on the board are his only chance (although nothing is attackable in this position). This endgame is lost, he will get a demonstration.  13.Qxd7+ Kxd7 14.fxe5 Bxe5 15.Bg4+ Ke8 16.Rae1

16...h5 17.Bd1 This is a good trick to remember, the white squared Bishop looked bad, but it is the key piece, out on b3 it rules supreme and f7 will fall once the doubled Rooks hit down the f file.  17...a5 18.a4 Nec6 19.Bb3 Bg7 20.Nf3 Ne5 21.d4 Nxf3+ 22.Rxf3 c6 23.Bg5

The real point of two Bishops against a Bishop and Knight is that the Bishop can swap when the time is right. In this case White will take the d8 Knight and crash through and win f7.  23...Rf8 24.Ref1 Ne6 25.Bxe6 fxe6 26.Rxf8+ Bxf8 27.Rf6 Wins a pawn and the game - simple chess. Just watch for tricks and collect the point.  27...b5 28.axb5 cxb5 29.Rxg6 Kd7 30.Rg8 b4 31.cxb4 axb4 32.Kf2 (32.Bh6?? Always watch out for tricks!  32...Ra1+ 33.Kf2 Bxh6 Black wins the piece and the game. ) 32...Rc8 33.Kg3 d5 34.e5 b3 35.Kh4 Bb4 36.Rxc8 Game over, but the kids don't resign :-(  36...Kxc8 37.Bc1 Be1+ 38.Kxh5 Bf2 39.Kg6 Bxd4 40.Kf6 Kd7 41.g4 Bb6 42.g5 Bd8+ 43.Kf7 Bc7 44.g6 Bxe5 45.g7 Bxg7 46.Kxg7 e5 47.h4 d4 48.h5 e4 49.h6 e3 50.h7 e2 51.Bd2 d3 52.h8=Q e1=Q 53.Bxe1 d2 54.Bxd2 Ke6 55.Qg8+ Kf5 56.Qxb3 Ke5 57.Qe3+ Kf5 58.Qf4+ Ke6 59.Qg5 Kd6 60.Kf6 Kd7 61.Qc5 Ke8 62.Qe7# 1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Qd2 O-O 9.dxc5 Nxc5 10.O-O-O a6 11.Qf2 Nd7 This is the main move. (11...b6 12.h4 Qc7 13.Kb1 f6 14.Qg3 fxe5 15.fxe5 b5 ) 12.Qg3 f5 13.Qh3 Nc5 14.g4 Ne4 15.gxf5 Nxc3 16.bxc3

16...Qa5?? Wrong order, it's never a good idea to mix up the moves. (16...Ba3+ 17.Kb1 (17.Kd2 exf5 18.Rg1 Be7 19.Qh6 Rf7 20.Rb1 Kh8 21.Qh5 Kg8 22.Nd4 g6 23.Bd3 Rg7 ) 17...Qa5 18.Bc1 Bxc1 19.Kxc1 Qa3+ 20.Kb1 Qxc3 21.f6 Qb4+ 22.Ka1 Qc3+ 23.Kb1 with a draw ) 17.f6 Black is completely lost now - oops.  17...gxf6 18.Rg1+

Black resigned. All over, Black can scramble, but he is well lost, for example (18.Rg1+ Kh8 19.Qg4 Ba3+ 20.Kd2 Qc7 21.exf6 ) 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e5 8.O-O Ne8 9.Ne1 f5 10.f3 Nc7 11.Nd3 a5 12.Bd2 Bd7 13.b3 Nba6 14.a3 b5 15.cxb5 Nxb5 16.Nxb5 Bxb5 17.Nb2 Bxe2 18.Qxe2 Nc7 19.a4 Na6 20.Nc4 Nb4 21.Bc3 Ra7 22.Rad1 Raf7 23.exf5 Rxf5 24.Bxb4 axb4 25.Nd2 e4 26.fxe4 Bd4+ 27.Kh1 Rf2 28.Rxf2 Rxf2 29.Qg4 Qf8 30.Nf3 Bc3 31.h4 Kh8 32.h5 g5 33.Nxg5 Rf1+ 34.Rxf1 Qxf1+ 35.Kh2 Be5+ 36.g3

36...Qf2+ 37.Kh3 Qf1+ 38.Kh4 Qh1+ 39.Qh3 Qxh3+ 40.Kxh3 c4

41.Nf3! cxb3 42.Nd2 b2 43.a5 Bc3 44.Nb1 Kg7 45.Kg4 Kf6 46.a6 Bd4 47.Kf4 Bg1 48.g4 Bh2+ 49.Ke3 Bg1+ 50.Kd3 h6 51.Nd2 b3 52.Kc3 Be3 53.Kxb2 Kg5 54.Nc4 Bd4+ 55.Kxb3 Kxg4 56.Nxd6 Kxh5 57.Nf5 Bb6 58.Kc4 Kg5 59.Kb5 Bf2 60.Kc6 h5 61.d6 h4 62.Nxh4 1-0