Magazines Games 2008-2018 2017

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Kb1 h5 11.Nf5 Bxf5 12.exf5 Bh6 13.f4 Rc8 14.g3 Ne5 15.Nd5 Nc4 16.Bxc4 bxc4 17.Rhe1 c3 18.Nxc3 O-O 19.Nd5 Re8 20.Qe2 Kf8 21.Qxh5 Bg7 22.Qf3 e6 23.Ne3 Qb6 24.Re2 Rb8 25.b3 d5 26.h4 d4 27.Nc4 Qc5 28.Qd3 e5 29.Rf1 e4 30.Rxe4 Rxe4 31.Qxe4 Qxc4 32.Rd1 Qb5 33.Qxd4 Kg8 34.g4 Qe2 35.Rg1 Rc8 36.Qd1 Qh2

37.g5 Rxc2 38.gxf6 Rb2+ 39.Kc1 Rc2+ 40.Kb1 Rb2+ 41.Kc1 Rc2+ 42.Kb1 1/2-1/2

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7 8.O-O Nxd4 9.Nbd2 Bc5 10.b4 Nxf3+ 11.Nxf3 Qxb4 12.Rb1 Qa4 ( Black prevailed from here in Kislinsky (2472) - Volovikov (2314), Alushta UKR 2010, but White's bind persisted a long time and was of decisive proportions for a while in that game too (a rather interesting one) 12...Qa5 13.Rxb7 Bb6 14.Bd2 Qxa2 15.Ng5 Nh6 16.Qe2 Rd8 17.h3 Qa4 18.Rc1 Qh4 19.Nf3 Qe7 20.Bg5 Qa3 21.Rxd7 Rxd7 22.Rc8+ Bd8 23.Bb5

White's pins remind me of Morphy v the Duke, but actually in this game Black is already over the worst of it  23...O-O 24.Bxh6 Rc7 25.Rxc7 Bxc7 26.Bg5 Rb8 27.Bd3 Rb2 28.Bc2 Qc3 29.Qa6 Bxe5 30.Qxa7 Rxc2 31.Nxe5 0-1 ) 13.Qxa4 Bxa4 14.Rxb7 Bb6 15.Ng5 Nh6 16.Ba3

Even without Queens it's still very much a middlegame and with his King stuck in the centre and White's active pieces Black is bound to suffer here. White has got great value for his sacrificed pawn.  16...Bd8 (16...O-O-O?? 17.Ba6! ) 17.Nf3 Bc6

The trouble with this move is that it doesn't even threaten to take the Rook  18.Rc1 Ba4 (18...Bxb7?? 19.Bb5+ ) 19.Nd4 a6 20.f4 Bd7 21.Bc2 Be7 22.Bxe7 Kxe7 23.Ba4 Rhd8 24.Rcc7

A real rout 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 b5 6.h4 Bb7 7.f3 h6 8.O-O-O Nd7 9.Nh3 Rc8 10.h5 g5 11.f4 gxf4 12.Nxf4 c5 13.dxc5 Nxc5 14.Bxc5 Rxc5 15.Ncd5 Nf6 16.Bd3 Nd7 17.Rh3 e6

Black's "Tiger's Modern" is working to perfection and the raking Bishops, c-file pressure, Queenside space and compact central pawns constitute a nice positional plus for Black. White's best hope is to quietly withdraw the attacked Knight but he prefers to maintain the illusion of a White attack by creating some more weaknesses.  18.b4 Rc8 19.Rg3 Be5 20.Rf1 exd5 21.exd5 Qc7

There's enough material on the board to attempt to create confusion, especially as Black's king has to reside in the centre indefinitely. Instead White makes an empty attacking gesture and collapses.  22.Bg6 Qc4 23.Bxf7+ Kxf7 24.Ne6+ Qxf1+ 0-1

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.g3 Bxf3 4.exf3 Nf6 5.Bg2 e6 6.f4 d5 7.O-O Be7 8.c4 c6 9.b3 O-O 10.Qd3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Rd8 12.c5 b6 13.b4 Qb7 14.Rb1 Nbd7 15.f5 e5 16.Re1 exd4 17.Nxd5 cxd5 18.Rxe7 Nxc5 19.Rxb7 Nxd3 20.Bg5 Rd6 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Rd1 Nxb4 23.Rxd4 a5 24.a3 Nc2 25.Rxd5 Rad8 26.Rxd6 Rxd6 27.a4 Nd4 28.Be4 Nb3 29.Rc7 Rd4 30.Bf3 Nc5 31.Bh5 Rd7 32.Rxd7 Nxd7 33.Kg2 Kf8 34.Bd1 Ke7 35.f4 Nc5 36.g4 Ne4 37.Kf3 Nc3 38.Bc2 Kd6 39.h4 b5 40.axb5 Nxb5 41.Ke3 Nc3 42.Kd4 Nd5 43.Bb3 Nxf4 44.Bxf7 Ng2

45.h5? An interesting mistake. After this White's pawns are fixed on pawns of the wrong colour and his majority is crippled. Black is effectively a pawn up with a good knight v bad bishop advantage to boot. Of course the rule that a Bishop is better than a Knight when pawns are on both sides of the board doesn't apply if only the Knight's side has such pawns! In fact in that case the other rule, the one that says a Knight is better than a Bishop when pawns are on one side of the board, applies instead. White could have left the pawn on h4 because if Black takes it, his knight is sidelined and could be pursued indefinitely to force a draw. (45.Bb3 Nxh4 46.Ke4 Kc5 47.Kf4 Ng2+ 48.Kf3 Ne1+ 49.Ke2 Ng2 Draw ) 45...h6 46.Be8 Ne1 47.Ba4 Nf3+ 48.Ke4 Ne5 49.Bd1 Nd7 50.Kd4 Nb6 51.Bb3 a4 52.Ba2 Nd7 53.Ke4 Ne5

54.g5 White will have to try this at some stage, but the circumstances are hardly propititious as the late, great Fred Dagg/John Clarke might have said. (54.Kf4 Nd3+ 55.Ke4 Nb4 will win the Bishop for the a-pawn ) 54...fxg5 55.f6 Nd7 56.f7 Ke7 57.Kf5 Nf8 58.Bc4 a3 59.Bb3 Nd7 60.Bc4 Kf8 61.Bd5 Kg7 62.Bc4

62...Nf6! White is forced to accept this knight sacrifice, he can't afford to sit and allow Black to grab the h-pawn as well.  63.Ke6 Sensibly, Black sets a (very optimistic) trap - the King can't catch the g-pawn anyway ( if 63.f8=Q+ immediately  63...Kxf8 64.Kxf6 and  64...g4 now is still in time to win the race ) 63...g4 (  At least Black had the chance to go wrong with 63...Nxh5?? 64.Ke7 and wins  ) 64.f8=Q+ ( Importantly if 64.Ke7 Black has the square  64...Nh7 ) 64...Kxf8 65.Kxf6 g3

It's a bit cheeky to continue the game, but what can you say. Aussies.  66.Bd5 a2 67.Bxa2 g2 68.Bf7 g1=Q 69.Bg6 Qb6+ 70.Kf5 Ke7 71.Ke5 Qc5+ 72.Ke4 Kf6 73.Kd3 Ke5 74.Kd2 Kd4 75.Ke2 Qc3 76.Kf2 Qe3+ 77.Kg2 Ke5 78.Kf1 Kf4 79.Kg2 Qd2+ 0-1

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 O-O 7.a3 a5 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.Bf4 Ra6 10.Rb1 d4 11.Na2 c5 12.Qc2 Nh5 13.Bd2 b6 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 Qc7 16.e3 e5 17.Rfe1 Bd6 18.Nc1 f5 19.Ne2 Ndf6 20.exd4 cxd4 21.c5 bxc5 22.bxc5 Kh8 23.Rbc1 Be7 24.Nexd4 exd4 25.Nxd4 Qd7 26.Qb2 Rd8 27.Rc4 Ng8 28.c6 Qd6 29.Bb4 Qf6 30.Bc3 Qg6 31.c7 Rf8 32.Nf3 f4 33.Ne5 Qb6 34.Qxb6 Rxb6 35.Bc6 fxg3 36.hxg3 Nhf6 37.d4 Bd6 38.d5 Ra6 39.Bb4 Bxb4 40.Rxb4 Ne7 41.Rd1

Many moves earlier White sac'ed a piece for two pawns and enduring pressure. Black is just about holding on but....  41...Nxc6? 42.dxc6! It was tempting to avoid the doubled pawns but it is more important to open the d-file, now Rd8 is a decisive threat  42...Ra7 43.Rd8 Kg8 44.Nd7 Nxd7 45.cxd7

45...Bxd7 46.Rbb8 Bc8 47.Rbxc8 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Be3 e6 A sideline 6...Nf6 is normally played  7.Nbd2 cxd4

8.Bc4 Plausible enough, but....  8...dxe3!! 9.Bxd5 exd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O-O And Black wins a third piece for the Queen and went on to win a dominant game.  11.O-O Rxd5 12.Qf4 Bd6 13.Qg5 Bg6 14.Qc1 Rh5 15.h3 Nf6 16.b4 Be4 17.Ng5 Bg6 18.Nf3 h6 19.Rd1 Bc7 20.a3 Ne5 21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.c4 Be4 23.Ra2 Rg5 24.g3 Rh5 25.h4 Rf5 26.Qe3 Kb8 27.Rd4 Bf3 28.c5 Bd5 29.Re2 Bf3 30.Ra2 Ng4 31.Qe1 Ne5 32.Qc3 Bd5

33.Rxd5 Desperation as otherwise the Knight is going to spot vacated by the Bishop on f3, while the other Bishop will come to the spot vacated by the Knight on e5! But now Black just has a decisive material advantage  33...exd5 34.f4 d4 35.Qb3 Nc6 36.Re2 Rd8 37.Qd3 Rfd5 38.Rb2 Re8 39.b5 Na5 40.b6 axb6 41.cxb6 Bd6 42.Rb5 Rxb5 43.Qxb5 Nc6 44.a4 Rd8 45.Kf1 Bb4 46.Ke2

Once Black has made his position bullet-proof, he can quietly promote the d-pawn.  46...d3+ 47.Kd1 Re8 48.h5 Re1# Or something even more decisive might happen. 0-1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.a4 Bf8 14.Bd3 c6 15.Qc2 g6 16.b3 Rc8 17.Bb2 Nh5 18.Bf1 exd4 19.cxd4 d5 20.e5 b4 21.Qd1 c5 22.dxc5 Bxc5 23.a5 Nf4 24.Nh2 Qh4 25.Ng4 Qg3

Black's attack looks very scary and ...Nxh3+ is threatened  26.Kh1! The only move, White escapes both pins and plans some tactics of his own  26...Bxf2 27.Ne4 dxe4 28.Qxd7 Bc6 29.Nf6+

29...Kg7?! Bravely swinging for the fences (29...Kf8 leads to a repetition according to the computer ) 30.Nxe8+ Kh6 31.Qxc8 e3

32.Qxc6 White has two moves that avoid a quick mate. This one is good enough to force Black into a repetition (32.Qg4! Breaks the Black attack and wins. ) 32...Bg1! Investing even more material to escape with his life  33.Kxg1 Nxh3+ 34.Kh1 Nf2+ 35.Kg1 Ng4 A final attempt to avoid the draw  36.Bxa6 White's saving moves are any of the Bishop moves *except* Be2  36...Qf2+ 37.Kh1 Qh4+ 38.Kg1 Qf2+ 39.Kh1 Qh4+ 40.Kg1 Qf2+ 1/2-1/2

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb5 a6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.O-O d4 8.Ne2 Nf6 9.Ng3 Qc7 10.d3 Be7 11.Ne5 Nd7 12.Nc4 Nb6 13.Qg4 g6 14.Nxb6 Qxb6 15.f5 e5 16.Rb1 Bd7 17.Bd2 f6 18.b3 O-O-O 19.Qe2 Rdg8 20.a3 h5 21.b4 h4 22.bxc5 Qa7 23.Nh1 gxf5 24.exf5 Bxc5 25.Qe4 Be8 26.Nf2 Qd7 27.Bb4 Bf7

Black wants to play Bd5  28.Qf3 White wants to play Ne4  28...Bh5 29.Qe4 Bf7 30.Qf3 Bh5 31.Qe4 Bxb4?! Courageous but objectively bad. (31...Ba7 Controlling b8 is a better way to avoid the draw. ) 32.Rxb4 Qd5 33.Rfb1 Bf3

34.c4? The key moment in the game - White decides not to go all in. The top players can calculate these things, but at lower levels we tend to have to rely on unreliable things like intuition and judgement. (  White can win by 34.Rb8+ Kc7 35.R1b7+ Kd6 36.Rxg8 Rxg8 and now  37.Qxh4! and f6 can't be defended. White does allow  37...Rxg2+ but the damage isn't fatal and Black must try to scramble back as White's Queen and Rook run rampant. ) 34...Bxe4 35.Nxe4! A clever resource, but Black still obtains a winning ending. Kirill wraps up nicely.  35...Qxe4 36.dxe4 Kc7 37.Kf2 Rb8 38.Kf3 Rxb4 39.Rxb4 Kd6 40.g3 hxg3 41.hxg3 Kc5 42.Ra4 a5 43.Rxa5+ Kxc4 44.Ra6 Rc8 45.Ke2 Kc3 46.g4 d3+ 47.Kd1 c5 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 a6 6.Ba4 e6 7.O-O Be7 8.Bc2 O-O 9.a4 b6 10.d4 Bb7

It's interesting to see how this balanced looking position quickly transforms into a trainwreck for White  11.Ng5 h6 12.Nh3 cxd4 13.cxd4 e5 14.Na3 b5!

White's Knights are sidelined for the moment by Black's pawn stabs  15.d5 bxa4 16.f3 Nc5 17.Be3 Nfd7 18.g4 a5 19.Qd1 Ba6 20.Rf2 Rb8 21.Ra2 Nb3 22.Nb1 Ndc5 Black's powerful centralisation contrasts dramatically with White's withdrawl to the corners  23.Bxc5 Nxc5 24.Bxa4 Qb6 25.Ra3 Bh4 26.Bc2 Rfc8 27.Rg2 Nd3+ 28.Kh1

28...Nxb2 The first material reward  29.Qc1 The Queen actually has no good square and soon goes to the bad boy's corner like all the other White pieces  29...Qb4 30.Qg1 Qe1 31.Qxe1 Bxe1 32.Bb3 Nd3 33.Ba2 Bb4

1-0

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 c6 3.e3 e6 4.Nbd2 Nf6 5.Bd3 Nbd7 6.Qe2 Be7 7.O-O b6 8.Ne5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 Nd7 10.f4 Nc5 11.Qg4 g6 12.Be2 a5 13.Rd1 b5 14.Nb3 Na4 15.Qh3 Qc7 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.e4 dxe4 18.b3 Nb6 19.c4 bxc4 20.bxc4 c5 21.Nb3 O-O 22.Qe3 a4 23.Nd2 f5 24.Ba3 Bc8 25.h4 Ba6 26.Rac1 Rfd8 27.h5 Kf7 28.g4 Rd4 29.Bb2

Bitter regrets about his handling of this position had Mike Steadman periodically sadly shaking his head and looking miserable for the rest of the weekend. Black's position is obviously good and he has a wide choice here. White has just played Bb2, but is he really going to take that Rook ? Black doesn't even need to reinforce d4 yet as taking twice on d4 isn't possible due to ...Bc5 winning the Queen. Back in the day computers wouldn't understand a position like this, but I notice that Stockfish doesn't feature the move Bb2xd4 in any of its top suggested lines, none of which involve Black withdrawing the Rook.  29...Rd7?? An unbelievably passive and horrible move for a player of Mike's class, he knew right away that he'd made an awful mistake. White takes over very quickly.  30.hxg6+ hxg6 31.gxf5 exf5? Recapturing the other way was more obstinate. Now the transformation of the Bb2 from bystander to world beater is enabled. Jack wraps up powerfully  32.e6+ Kxe6

33.Nxe4!! The Knight remains immune for the rest of the game, as opening the h3-c8 diagonal is a recipe for a quick mate.  33...Rxd1+ 34.Rxd1 Kf7 35.Qh3 Rf8 36.Qh7+ Ke8 37.Nf6+

(37.Nf6+ Rxf6 38.Bxf6 and Black will have to give up a lot more material to postpone mate ) 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Bg5

As Yermo likes to say this is 'his variation' but it is really a hybrid of the Makagonov System. It combines aspects that one finds in the Averbakh and Petrosians system of the Classical King's Indian with others you find in the Saemisch. It is also a system that is somewhat less studied than most of the others, something attracted Yermo (and myself) to playing it.  6...h6 (6...c6 was what Allen preferred at the North Shore Open in 2016. It may be playable but Black went down pretty fast.  7.Qd2 e5 8.d5 Qa5 9.a3 c5? (9...cxd5 is probably better but what is Black's queen doing on a5? ) 10.Bd3 Na6 11.Nge2 Nc7 12.O-O Re8 13.b4 and Allen's Queen became a target that soon cost him a piece and the game. ) (6...Na6 7.Bd3 Qe8 8.Qd2 e5 9.d5 Nh5 was an interesting try by Hilton Bennett when we player in the George Trundle Qualifiers in 2016 and in part explains my early g4 against Allen in the main game. ) (6...c5 7.d5 gives Benoni and Benko type structures that suit fully fledged KID players too but Allen tends to like plans with e5 against almost all of white's systems and so proceeded on that basis. ) (6...Nbd7 7.Bd3 c5 8.d5 Ne5 9.Nf3 transposes to a interesting battle between Alexander Beliavsky and Ilya Smirin (Belgrade 1998) where white was somewhat better after Smirin captured the B on d3 but Black managed to win in the end. Smirin's wonderful book King's Indian Warfare is a must read for all players who wander into this KID world and it is great fun too. ) 7.Be3 6...h6 is generally considered quite bad. Yermo repeats a mantra on his ICC video about 'his variation' here that one 'must not play h6'....'must not play h6'...'must not play h6' as the Kh7 ends up being too exposed as this game suggests. Against the Petrosian system with Bg5 of course h6 is a move but White rarely restreats to e3 in that line (though it is interesting). With h3 already played however things are quite different here.  7...e5 8.d5 a5 9.Qd2 Kh7 10.Bd3 Na6 11.g4

Burning bridges as I go but chosen for two reasons. In the first instance it makes it less likely that Black will get his normal king-side play going and in the second instance I now have to mobilize my own energies to whatever their 'maximum' might now be. Yermo and I are both 58 and if you are much younger than that you probably do not yet understand how important a bit of excitement/desperation is to focus an older mind...  11...Ne8 (11...Ng8 12.Nge2 (12.Nf3 may be an idea too with the plan of played Qe2, Nd2 as needed. ) 12...Kh8 was another way to go for Black but in that case too my g4 seems justified. ) 12.O-O-O Bd7 13.Nge2 a4 14.Rdg1 Nc5 15.Bc2 Qb8

Here Kb1 was probably the correct way to play as it gets out of any fork tricks on b3 and makes room for a Nc1 or later play on the c-file with Rc1.  16.h4 c6 (16...b5 17.Nxb5 Bxb5 18.cxb5 Qxb5 19.Nc3 Qb4 20.h5 g5 ) 17.h5 g5 18.f4

How often is it that 'grand strategy' hinges on tactics. In many ways this entire position is about which 'bad' bishop can become 'good'. Will it be the Bc2 or Bg7? In this precise position the position of the other pieces gives the white 'bad' bishop a big advantage as they can clear lines much better than the more passive Black pieces can.  18...gxf4 19.Nxf4 the point of f4 -by destroying the stability of the e5 pawn without releasing the full potential of the Bg7 it is the Bc2 that wins the battle of the bad bishops.  19...b5 (19...exf4 Black probably was best to take the offered Knight and hope for the best. White has a big attack in the most plausible lines here.  20.e5+ Kg8 (20...Kh8 21.Bxf4 (21.Bxc5 dxc5 22.Qd3 f5 23.exf6 Nxf6 24.g5 ) 21...dxe5 22.Bxh6 Qd6 23.Bxg7+ Kxg7 24.Qg5+ (24.g5 Rg8 +1.50/12 ) ) 21.Bxc5 dxc5 22.Qd3 f5 23.e6 Bc8 24.g5 (24.gxf5 Qc7 ) ) 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.cxb5 Bxb5 22.Nfd5 Bc4 23.Bxc5 dxc5 24.g5 f6 25.gxf6 Nxf6

26.Rxg7+ Even bad bishops can defend weak kings.  26...Kxg7 27.Rg1+ Kf7 28.Qxh6 Qd6 29.Qg6+ Ke6 30.Qf5+ Kf7 31.Nxf6 Qxf6 32.Qd7+ Qe7 33.Rg7+ Kxg7 34.Qxe7+

White gathers up all of Black's pawns and has a huge material advantage in any case. Allen did not need to see more and resigned. 1-0

The games with Piket and Braga show some Benoni-Benko type ideas  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Bg5 a6 7.Bd3 c5 8.d5 b5 9.Nf3 bxc4 10.Bxc4 Nbd7 11.O-O Rb8 12.b3 Ne8 13.Rc1 Nc7 14.Qe2 Nb6 15.Rfd1 Nxc4 16.bxc4 Bd7 17.Bh4 f6 18.Rb1 Na8 19.Rxb8 Qxb8 20.Rb1 Qc7 21.Qb2

21...Qa5 22.Qb7 Bc8 23.Qxe7 Nb6 24.Bg3 Nxc4 25.Rb8 Qd8 26.Qxd8 Rxd8 27.Na4 Re8 28.Nb6 Nxb6 29.Rxb6 Rxe4 30.Bxd6 c4 31.Bb4 f5 32.Rc6 Re8 33.Rxc4 Rd8 34.Rc7 Bf6 35.Be7 Bxe7 36.Rxe7 a5 37.d6 Kf8 38.Rxh7 Be6 39.Ne5 Rxd6 40.Nxg6+ Kg8 41.Ra7 Bxa2 42.Rxa5 1-0

The games with Piket and Braga show some Benoni-Benko type ideas  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Bg5 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Bd3 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Nf3 c4 11.Bc2 b5 12.a3 a6 13.O-O Nbd7 14.Re1 Bb7 15.Qd2 Qb6 16.Be3 Qc7 17.Rad1 Nc5 18.Bd4 Rad8 19.Nh2 Rd7 20.Ng4 Qd8 21.Nh6+ Kf8 22.e5

22...Nxd5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.exd6 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Nd3 26.Bxd3 cxd3 27.Qf4 Be6 28.Rxe6 d2 29.Qxd2 fxe6 30.Qf4+ Ke8 31.Bxg7 Rxg7 32.Qe5 Qc8 33.Kh2 Qc4 1-0

The games with Kasimdzhanov and Manion shows a Black response that is perhaps among the most solid ways to respond  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Bg5 Na6 7.Bd3 e5 8.d5 c6 9.Nge2 Nc5 10.Bc2 a5 11.O-O cxd5 12.cxd5 Bd7 13.a3 a4 14.Nc1 h6 15.Be3 Qa5 16.Rb1 Rfc8 17.Qd2 h5 18.N1a2 Ne8 19.Nb4 Nc7 20.f4

20...exf4 21.Bxf4 Nb5 22.Rf2 Nxc3 23.bxc3 Qc7 24.e5 dxe5 25.d6 Qa5 26.Bh6 Be6 27.Nd5 Bxd5 28.Bxg7 Kxg7 29.Qxd5 Ne6 30.Rxf7+ Kxf7 31.Rf1+ Kg7 32.Qxe6 e4 33.Bxe4 Qg5 34.h4 Qg3 35.Rf7+ Kh6 36.Bxg6 Qxg6 37.Qe3+ 1-0

The games with Kasimdzhanov and Manion shows a Black response that is perhaps among the most solid ways to respond  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Bg5 Na6 7.Bd3 e5 8.d5 c6 9.Nge2 cxd5 10.cxd5 Nc5 11.Bc2 a5 12.O-O Bd7 13.a3 a4 14.Qd2 Qb6 15.Rab1 Rfc8 16.Kh1 Be8 17.Ng3 Nfd7 18.Bh6 Qd8 19.Bg5 Qb6 20.Bh6 Qd8 21.Bg5 Bf6 22.Be3 Nb6 23.Qe2 Bg5 24.Nd1 Bf4 25.Re1 Qh4 26.Nf1 Bxe3 27.Qxe3 Nc4 28.Qe2 Na5 29.Nd2 Rab8 30.Nc3 Bd7 31.Rf1 b5 32.Na2 Rc7 33.Nb4 Rbc8 34.Kg1 Qg5 35.Qe3 Qxe3 36.fxe3 Na6 37.Bd3 Nxb4 38.axb4 Nc4 39.Bxc4 bxc4 40.Rfc1

40...Rb7 41.Rxc4 Rxc4 42.Nxc4 Rxb4 43.Rc1 f6 44.Rc2 Kf8 45.Nxd6 Ke7 46.Nc4 Bb5 47.Nd2 f5 48.exf5 gxf5 49.g4 fxg4 50.hxg4 Rxg4+ 51.Kf2 Rb4 52.e4 Kd6 53.Ke3 h5 54.Nf3 Bd7 55.Nd2 Bb5 56.Nf3 Be8 57.Nd2 Ke7 58.Nc4 Bg6 59.d6+ Kd8 60.Rc3 h4 61.Kf3 h3 62.Kg3 Bxe4 63.Kxh3 Kd7 64.Kg3 Ke6 65.d7 Kxd7 66.Nxe5+ Kd6 67.Rc4 Rxc4 68.Nxc4+ Kc5 69.Nd2 Kd4 70.Kf2 Bc2 1/2-1/2

1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.c4 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.d3 f5 I played this system on a whim against Allen Fan at Congress. Basically all I knew about it was that David Evans had demolished my English at the Major Open a few years back by getting in an early ...f5 like this without an obstructing Knight on f6, saving the tempo normally needed to move the knight away. There is absolutely no mention of this idea in Donaldson's "Strategic Opening Repertoire" book that I was following at the time. This was one of the reasons I abandoned this opening from the White point of view. I remember an unpleasant feeling of helplessness against what seemed an automatic Black attack, but I am insufficiently well organised to be able to dig up the game and borrow David's complete plan! Instead I've now played the Black side twice without really knowing anything. Sometimes just putting words onto the screen is very embarrassing.  7.O-O Nf6 8.Rb1

My opponent plays the standard plan for the much more common position where Black has played ...O-O but not ...f5. Afterwards he admitted not knowing anything about Black's system. Later I mentioned the setup to Gawain and Richard Palliser and they immediately identified this sideline's place in Opening theory and started talking about the players who employ it and the various plans and options that apply. Like most things in chess ultimately White is ever so slightly better. The knowledge level of the GMs is extraordinary.  8...O-O 9.Bd2 h6 Against Allen I decided I needed to get in ...f4 and prepared it with ...Nh5. This is deeply illogical because if that was the right path Black could just have easily played Nf6, Nh5 and then f5 - you're not gaining anything from the tempo you've 'saved'. During that game I did notice that Tim Reilly was playing exactly the same position against Russell Dive. Why hadn't I waited to see what Tim would do? Is that cheating? Well at least now in Wijk I did know what Tim had done - yes play f4 but prepare it with h6 and g5.  10.b4 g5 11.e3 Ne7 12.c5 Ng6 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.Qb3+ Kh7

I remember being happy at the time and looking at it with fresh eyes Black's position does look menacing. But can I turn it to something tangible?  15.Rfc1 f4 16.Ne1 Ng4 Eyeing the f2 weakness  17.Nd5 Be6 18.Be4

18...Bg8 Basically just putting my Bishop on a protected square, for reasons that will become apparent.  ( The computer insists that Black is around +3 here with 18...fxg3! but it is very inhuman stuff. For example  19.fxg3 Nf2 20.Bxg6+ Kxg6 21.Ng2 Nh3+ 22.Kh1 Bxd5 23.Qxd5 Nf2+ 24.Kg1 Qd7 25.Rf1 Nh3+ 26.Kh1 Rf2 27.Qe4+ Kh5 28.g4+ Qxg4 29.Qxg4+ Kxg4 30.Rxf2 Nxf2+ 31.Kg1 Nh3+ 32.Kh1 Kf3 and now although Stockfish is edging up to +4, Black's advantage is a dominant king position in an ending not the extra points of material I like to get from a winning line ) 19.exf4 gxf4 20.Nf3 fxg3 21.hxg3 Nf6 With the Bishop on a protected square, the pinned Knight is an issue and White will have to make concessions by exchanging his best pieces  22.Nxf6+ ( Not 22.Bxg6+ Kxg6 and the Nd5 falls off ) 22...Rxf6 23.Qd1 d5 24.Bxg6+ Rxg6 25.Qe2

I loved my position here, with the Bishops and the strong central phalanx, especially when I found a nice littlecombination  25...e4! 26.dxe4? Falling into line with my cunning plan  26...dxe4 27.Ne1 (27.Qxe4?? Bd5 28.Qe2 Bxf3 29.Qxf3 Qxd2 ) 27...Bxa2 And Black wins the exchange  28.Bxh6?! A desperate plan that pays dividends  28...Bxb1 29.Bf4

I still had 5 minutes or so, plus 30 second increments and the looming oasis of 30 extra minutes at move 40. I couldn't see a threat for White and decided I was just a Rook up.  29...Bd3?? ( In the post-mortem it only took me milliseconds to see 29...Qh4!! preventing Qh5+ and meeting the threat to my Bishop with a counter-threat to his Bishop  30.Ng2 Bd3 31.Nxh4 Bxe2 32.Nxg6 Kxg6 and okay, I am not a Rook up any more - but a whole piece in a simplified position with two bishops and mating threats on h1. I don't know why I can play in post-mortems but not ingames ) 30.Qh5+ Bh6 I was still happily composing my victory speech. I have had c7 covered the whole game and didn't notice the point of Bf4 until my opponent played (instantaneously)  31.Rc7+

What's the word for bugger in Dutch?  31...Qxc7 32.Bxc7 Oh well two Rooks for the Queen, the game continues. But my earlier kingside pawn advances leave me dangerously exposed in this phase.  32...Rf8 33.Ng2 Rg5 34.Qh4 e3 Hoping to get the Bishop to f3 and co-ordinate my forces  35.Nxe3 Be2 36.Qe4+ Kh8 37.Be5+ Bg7 38.Qh4+ Rh5 39.Bxg7+ Kxg7 40.Qd4+ Kg8 41.g4 Rh7 42.Nf5

This looks good for White but with the time control met, I worked out a way to liquidate to a pawn down king and pawn ending that I had time to analyse to a draw.  42...Rxf5! 43.gxf5 Rg7+ 44.Kh2 Rh7+ 45.Kg3 Rg7+ 46.Kh4 White has to allow this or his King can never escape the corner  46...Rg4+ 47.Qxg4+ Bxg4 48.Kxg4 a6 49.Kf4 Kf7 50.Ke5 b6 51.Kd5 Kf6 Here my opponent offered a draw. I really wanted to play on for a couple of moves but I supposed that hoping for (51...Kf6 52.Kc6 a5 53.b5?? and Black wins was a little disrespectful. My opponent's mates, who were kibitzing, immediately fell into this after the handshake - but my opponent schooled them before I could ) 1/2-1/2

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 White concentrates less on swift mobilisation of his pieces than on creating a strong centre. This plan became popular in the early 1960s when Tal, among others, adopted it.  5...c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 White could instead develop the other knight with () 7...Qb6 Black has tried several moves here, including 7... Qa5, 7... Be2 and even 7... c4, but only the text seems to give reasonable prospects. He must try to develop tactical chances while he is ahead in development, and before White can take advantage of his greater command of space to steamroller him on the kingside.  8.g3 White would prefer to play the more direct 8. Bd3, but this would lose the d4 pawn.  8...cxd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ Taking advantage of White's inability to interpose with Bd2 to force the reply, after which the pin of the d-pawn will allow Black to generate counterplay.  10.Kf2

10...g5 As far as I know, this move first appeared around 1983, after alternatives such as 10... f6 and 10... f5 had proved to be inadequate. The idea is to chip away at the centre and open lines against the White king. It also threatens ... g4, driving the knight away and removing the protection of the d4 pawn.  11.Be3 Not the only reasonable reply. Both 11. fxg5, allowing 11... Ndxe5, and 11. h3, preventing 11... g4, have been played here, leading in either case to complications. 11. Nxg5 and 11. a3 are also possible, though neither seems to create serious problems for Black.  11...f6 Black ratchets up the tension a notch in pursuit of his aim to complicate. 11... g4 is less attractive now that the d-pawn has additional protection, and opening the g-file by 11... gxf4 12. gxf4 achieves little while Black's pieces are unable to reach the kingside quickly.  12.Bh3 12. Bd3 seems less good, as it reduces the protection of the d-pawn: 12... g4 is a good reply. And () 12...fxe5 13.fxe5 O-O

This position gives some idea of the depth of preparation required to play correspondence chess seriously. In preparing for the tournament I analysed this system as thoroughly as I could. I was aware this position had arisen before. At Brighton 1984 Murray Chandler hadplayed () 14.Bxe6+?! Kh8 15.Kg2 Hurrying to unpin the f3 knight, but leaving the e3 bishop unprotected.  15...g4?! I'd seen this move in Kosten's analysis, and believed that luring the bishop to g4 would create additional tactical chances. Now, I can't for the life of me understand why I thought so. On the contrary, in many lines it allows White to generate an attack by opening the h-file after h3 and hxg4. And to make things worse, Black could have got a perfectly respectable position by playing () 16.Ng5 Accepting the second pawn by () 16...Ndxe5?!

The wrong knight. I had planned this capture many moves earlier, but I overlooked or underestimated (I can't now remember which) the possibility mentioned in the note to move 19. The counter-intuitive (16...Ncxe5 would have enabled Black to answer  17.Qc2 by  17...Nf6 when 18. h3 is defeated by 18... Bxe6, and Black can stay on at least equal terms after say  18.Rf1 Nc4 19.Bc1 Bxe6 20.Rxf6 Qc7! 21.Rxf8+ (not, of course, (21.Nxe6?? Ne3+ and ) 21...Rxf8 ) 17.Qc2 Ng6 Forced in view of the mate threat.  18.h3 Be7 Not (18...Bxe6 19.hxg4! threatening both 20. Rxh7+ and 20. Qxg6, and after  19...Kg8 20.Rxh7! or (20.Nxe6 Black is in trouble. ) ) 19.Nf7+?! The move I missed/underrated was (19.Nxh7! after which Black has to walk a very fine line to avoid losing quickly. A possible line is  19...Bxe6 20.Nxf8 Rxf8 21.hxg4+ Nh4+ 22.gxh4 Bxg4 23.Rf1 Rg8 24.Bg5 Nxd4 and Black may just have enough counterplay for the sacrificed material, but the variations bristle with complications and Black cannot afford a false step. At all events, this looks better for White than the move he chose. ) 19...Kg8 20.Nh6+ Kg7? More evidence of over-optimism: I was under the delusion that I had the better position, and I expected that if I played 20... Kh8 White would simply repeat moves. In fact, that is what I should have played: White has no more than equality and a draw would have been the likely result. Now, however, ( after 20...Kg7 the correct move is  21.Bxc8 and if  21...Raxc8 22.hxg4 followed by 23. Nf5+ (this shows up the problem with 20... Kg7, as the check effectively gives White a free move) and Black finishes a pawn down without adequate compensation. (21...Nb4 22.Nf5+ Kg8 23.Qe2 Raxc8 24.hxg4 is no improvement. How, I hear you ask, did I miss something so simple and obvious? I haven't a clue. } ) ) 21.Bxg4?! Nge5 22.Nf3 Osbun suggested (22.Rf1 which looks dangerous after  22...Nc4 23.Bc1 Nxd4 but White is probably OK. 22. b3, to prevent Black's next move, looks better. ) 22...Nc4 23.Bc1

23...Rxf3 I'm still not sure if this is the best move, but the alternatives looked unpromising, and with this move there seemed to be more chances for White to go wrong...  24.Bxf3 Nxd4 25.Qc3? ...which he promptly does. The pin looks tempting, but (25.Qf2! Be6 26.Bg4 would have left Black precious little for the sacrificed exchange. Perhaps he was afraid of a possible ... Bc5 followed by a discovered attack on the queen, but there is nothing to fear. Now the tables are turned immediately: White can no longer transfer his queen to the f-file, and Black not only wins material but should also win the game. ) 25...Bb4 26.Qd3 Ne5 27.Qd1 Nexf3 28.Rf1 (28.Be3 doesn't work:  28...Bc5 29.b4 Qe6 ) 28...Qe6 Black hands back material in order to maintain his initiative. This was good enough to win (if correctly followed up), but (28...Bxh3+! would have been even better. After  29.Kxh3 Qe6+ 30.Kg2 Rc8! 31.Rf2 Qe4 White gets mated e.g.  32.Kf1 Nd2+ 33.Kg1 N4f3+ 34.Kg2 Ng5+ 35.Kh2 Ndf3+ 36.Kh1 Nh4+ 37.Kh2 Ngf3+ 38.Kh1 Rc2! 39.Rxc2 Nd2+ ) 29.Rxf3 Qxh3+ 30.Kg1 Nxf3+ 31.Qxf3 Be6 32.Qe3 Be7 33.Bd2

33...d4? Osbun gave this an exclamation mark, but in reality it's a serious mistake and should have cost me half a point. (33...Rc8 was the move:  34.Qd4+ Bf6 35.Qf2 Kg6 36.Rf1 Rf8 37.Bf4 Bd8! 38.Qc2+ Bf5 39.Nxf5 Rxf5 and Black is winning, as there is no good defence to the threat of 40... Bb6. White can vary from this line, but there is no saving move. ) 34.Qe5+ Bf6 35.Qc7+ Kg6 36.Rf1 Rf8 37.Rf2? White throws away the draw which he could have had after (37.Qc2+ Kg7 38.Qc7+ Kh8 39.Rf3! and everything is defended. Despite his two bishops and extra pawn, I can find no win for Black. Perhaps White was seduced by the threat of 38. Rh2 (and of course 37... Qxg3+?? is catastrophic). Now his position is lost once more. ) 37...Bd5

38.Qc2+ He could have resisted longer with (38.Rh2 when Black would have had to find   38...Qf1+! 39.Kxf1 Be5+ 40.Qf7+ (best)  40...Bxf7 41.Nxf7 Rxf7+ with a won ending, though the winning might have taken some time. ) 38...Kg7 39.Nf5+ Again, longer resistance would have resulted from (39.Qc7+ Rf7 40.Nf5+ Kg6 41.Nh4+ Kh5 42.Rf5+ Qxf5 43.Qxf7+ Bxf7 44.Nxf5 although the ending is still lost. ) 39...Kh8 40.Rh2 Qg4 41.Bf4 (41.Bh6 would have lost after  41...Rg8 42.Qd3 Be6 43.Nd6 Qxg3+ Black is two pawns ahead and the win is not hard to find. Now White loses a piece and it's all over. ) 41...d3 42.Qxd3 Qxf5 0-1