Magazines Games 2008-2018 2017

© New Zealand Chess Federation Inc 2022

Download games as PGN here

Watharow, Sean - Ker, Anthony F

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 c6 5.a4 Bg7 6.Qd2 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.h3 Nf6 10.Nf3 Nbd7 11.Bc4 c5 12.a5 Qc7 13.Nb5 Qb8 14.e5 dxe5 15.dxe5 Nxe5 16.O-O-O









Moves are clickable

(16.Bg3 Ne4 17.Nxe5 Nxd2 18.Bxf7+ Kf8 19.Nxg6+ Kxf7 20.Nxh8+ Bxh8 21.Bxb8 ) 16...O-O 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 18.Bg3 Qe4 19.Bd3 Qa4 20.Na3 Bd7 21.Rhe1 b5 22.axb6 axb6 23.Qe2 Nd5 24.Bxg6 Bxb2+ 0-1

Rains, Edward - Dive, Russell J

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.O-O Nc6 7.c3 Nh6 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nbd2 Qc7 10.Nf1 Rd8 11.Ng3 Bd7 12.Bd2 Ng4 13.h3 Nf6 14.Qc1 Be8 15.Bf4 Qb6 16.Rb1 Rdc8 17.Qe3 Qa5 18.a3 b5 19.Ne5 e6 20.Bh6 Bh8 21.Qg5 Qb6 22.h4 Rab8 23.h5 Nxe5 24.dxe5 Nd7 25.hxg6 hxg6 26.Nh5 d4 27.Nf4 Nf8 28.Qe7 Nh7 29.cxd4 Qxd4 30.Rbd1 Qc5









Moves are clickable

31.Nxg6!! fxg6 32.Qxe6+ Bf7 33.Qg4 Bg7 By now Edward was falling into time trouble as well and Russell thought he was regaining control of the game but now came a powerful concluding sequence  34.Rc1! Qf8 35.e6 Bxh6 36.exf7+ Kh8 37.Qxg6









 

37...Qg7 38.Re8+ Rxe8 39.fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 40.Qxe8+ 1-0

Yee, Stanley - Green, Ewen M

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 b5 6.a3 Nd7 7.Bd3 Ngf6 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 c5 10.Nf3 Qb6 11.dxc5 Qxc5 12.O-O Bb7 13.Rfe1 Qxf2+ 14.Kh1 Qc5 15.Re2 Qh5 16.Qf4 O-O 17.Rf1 Rac8 18.h3 Rc5 19.Qh2









Moves are clickable

Black has previously banked a free pawn with a nice little trick, and now sacrifices and exchange to create Queenside targets  19...Rxc3 20.bxc3 Qc5 21.Qg1 Qxc3 22.Ra1 Nh5 23.Kh2 Ne5 24.Rf1 Nxf3+ This exchange increase Black's dark square domination  25.Rxf3 Qe5+ 26.g3 Bc8 27.Qg2 Be6 28.Ref2 Rc8 29.Kg1 Rc3 30.g4 Nf6 31.Re2 Rxa3 32.Rf1 h5 33.g5 Nd7 34.Ree1 Nc5 35.Rf3 a5 36.Rg3 b4 37.h4 a4 38.Rge3 Ra1 39.Rxa1 Qxa1+ 40.Kh2 Qe5+ 41.Kg1 Qd4 42.Qf2 a3 43.Rg3 Qxf2+ 44.Kxf2 a2 45.Rg1









 

45...Nxd3+ The Bishop has been a miserable piece forever, it's finally put out of its misery only because the reward is a whole extra Queen 0-1

Pakenham, John - Molina Barrera, Gustavo

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Nf3 O-O 5.g3 d6 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.O-O e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.e4 Nd7 10.Ne1 a5 11.f4 f5 12.Qc2 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5 14.b3 fxe4 15.Bxe4 Bh3 16.Bg2 Bxg2 17.Nxg2 Nf5 18.Rad1 Ng4 19.Ne2 Re8 20.Qd2 Bf6 21.h3 Ne5 22.g4 Nh4 23.Nd4 Nxg2 24.Kxg2 c5 25.Ne6 Qd7 26.Bh6 Bh8 27.a4 Nf7 28.Be3 Nd8 29.Ng5 h6 30.Nf3 g5 31.Qd3 Bg7 32.Bxg5 hxg5 33.Nxg5 Nf7 34.Rxf7 Qxf7 35.Nxf7 Kxf7 36.Rf1+ Kg8 37.Qf5 Re5 38.Qg6 Re7 39.Qxd6 Rae8 40.Qxc5 Re3 41.d6 Rd3 42.Qf5 Ree3 43.Qf7+ Kh8 44.Rf3 Rxf3 45.Qxf3 Rxf3 46.Kxf3 Kg8 47.Ke4 Kf7 48.Kd5 Bf6 49.Kc5 Ke6 50.Kb6 Kxd6 White already has three pawns for the Bishop and now captures a fourth. There are two juicy looking options but one of them is poisoned  51.Kxa5?? Oh no ( After 51.Kxb7 Black will be gradually overwhelmed, for example  51...Kc5 52.Kc7 Kb4 53.Kd7 Bh4 54.Ke6 Bd8 55.Kf5 Kxb3 56.g5 Bxg5 57.Kxg5 Kxa4 58.h4 and White's new Queen controls a1 just in time ) 51...Kc5









Moves are clickable

A remarkable position, White is a victim of his own success, his extra material seals him in a grave  52.b4+ Kc6 53.b5+ Kc5 54.b6 Bc3# 0-1

Ker, Anthony F - James, Jack

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.O-O-O Be6 10.Kb1 Bf6 11.h4 Bg4 12.Be2 Re8 13.Rde1 Qd7 (=)  14.Ng5 Bxe2 15.Rxe2 Qf5 16.Rhe1 Rxe2 17.Rxe2 h6 18.Nf3 Kf8 19.Qe3 Qd7 20.Kc1 Re8 21.Qxe8+ Qxe8 22.Rxe8+ Kxe8 23.h5 Kd7 24.Kd2 Ke6 25.g4 Ne5 26.Bxe5 Bxe5 27.Nh4 Bf6 28.Ng2 Ke5 29.Ke3 d5 (=)  30.f4+ Kd6 31.Kd3 c5 32.b3 b5 33.c4 dxc4+ 34.bxc4 b4 35.Ne3 g6 36.Ke4 a5 37.hxg6 fxg6 38.f5 g5 39.Nd5 Bd4 40.Nb6 Kc7 41.Nd5+ Kd6 42.f6 Ke6 43.Ne7 Bxf6 44.Nf5 Bh8 45.Nxh6 Bg7 46.Nf5 Bf6 47.Ng3 a4 48.Ne2 Bb2 49.Ng1 Bd4 50.Nf3 Bf6 51.Ne1

Moves are clickable

51...Bd4? (51...Be7! = ) 52.Nd3! Threatening Nxb4. The problem for Black now is that on this track the Bishop cannot defend both c5 and g5. The conservative and quiet retreat beats the more optically impressive advance  52...Bg1 53.Nb2 a3? (53...b3! Gives White nothing more than an anaemic extra pawn. White would no doubt continue probing, but more mistakes will be required for him to win from there. ) 54.Nd3 Now Black is in Zugzwang and has to yield  54...Kd6 55.Ne5 Ke6 56.Nf3 Bf2 57.Nxg5+ Kf6 58.Nh3 Bd4 59.g5+ Kg7 60.Nf4 Kh8 61.Ne6 Bf2 62.Kd5 1-0

Gong, Daniel Hanwen - Kulkarni, Yogesh

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 Be4? This is an unfortunate novelty and for the rest of the game White has a lot of fun  6.Nxe4 dxe4 7.Bg2 f6 8.exf6 Nxf6 9.g5 Nd5 10.Bxe4 g6 11.c4 Bb4+ 12.Bd2 Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Ne7 14.Nf3 Nd7 15.O-O-O O-O 16.h4 Nb6 17.Ne5 Nf5 18.h5 Nxd4 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Qxd4 Qxg5+ 21.Kb1 c5 22.Qxc5 Nxc4

Moves are clickable

23.Rh8+ Kg7 24.Qc7+ 1-0

Gong, Daniel Hanwen - Ker, Anthony F

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 Bxb5 9.exf7+ Kd7 10.Nxb5 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Nc6 14.Qc4 Qb6 15.Qe2 h5 16.h3 Nh6 17.Bd2 Nf5 18.O-O-O

Moves are clickable

Anthony has been offered this exchange sac many times before. I see from the Wellington Club database I've done it three times myself, managing one draw due to a repetition since Anthony could see something for White that wasn't apparent to me! I remember Anthony telling me in one of the post-mortems that he first started accepting this sac in the 1980s! With a few hours of preparation it is possible to convince yourself you can get a White position that the computer will love from here. The problem is that the computer will only love it because there is a precise tactical path to follow. The positions are not easy to play and you cannot slowly build up, Anthony will consolidate and beat you back if you so much as allow him to draw breath. Which is exactly what happens here..  18...Ng3 19.Qd3 Nxh1 20.Qxg6 Raf8 21.Rxh1 Nd8 22.Qf5+ e6 23.Qf6 Qa5 24.Re1 Qf5 25.Qd4 Nc6 26.Qa4 Once Black can grab the f7 pawn without punishment, his problems are over  26...Rxf7 27.Ne4 Kc7 28.Qb3 Re7 29.Kb1 Rg8 30.g3 Rge8 31.Bb4 Rd8 32.Ba3 h4 33.Ng5 hxg3 34.Qxg3 e5 35.Qg4

 

35...Qxg4! This is not just an obvious liquidation, there is a nice concealed trick...  36.hxg4 exf4 37.Rxe7+ Nxe7 ...is White getting his exchange back with this fork?...  38.Ne6+ Kd7 39.Nxf4 ( ...no 39.Nxd8?? f3 and the pawn strolls home untouched ) 39...Rf8 Nominally Black's material advantage of Rook for Bishop and Pawn might seem small, but the Rook can now run rampant in the wide open spaces. In this particular position in fact White has terminal back rank issues.  40.Nd3 Rf1+ 41.Nc1 Nd5 42.c3 b5 43.Bb4 Nxb4 44.cxb4 Ke6 45.Kc2 Rf4 46.a3 Rxg4 47.Nb3 Kd5 48.Na5 Rg2+ 49.Kc3 Ke4 50.Nb7 Ke5 51.Nd8 Kd5 52.Nb7 Rg7 53.Na5 Ke4 54.Nb3 Rg3+ 55.Kc2 Rxb3 0-1

Croad, Nicholas - Reilly, Tim

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 d6 2.c4 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.Qc2 g6 6.h4 h6 7.Bxf6 Nxf6 8.Nh3 e5 9.O-O-O Qe7 10.g3 Bg7 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.e4 O-O 13.Bd3 fxe4 14.Nxe4 Bg4 15.Rde1 Bf3 16.Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.Bxg6 Bxh1 18.Rxh1 Rad8 19.Bh7+ Kh8 20.Be4 Rd4 21.Kb1 Rfd8

Moves are clickable

A rather depressing position for White  22.Bd5? e4! Now the White bishop can't move without allowing Rd1+ and mate on b2  23.Ng5 R8xd5! 24.cxd5 Rb4 0-1

Nijman, Brian - Lukey, Stephen G

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

Maybe, nice finish  1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Qc2 c5 7.d3 Nc6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Nc3 d4 10.Nd1 h6

Moves are clickable

11.a3 Be6 12.Bd2 Rc8 13.Rc1 b5 14.Ne1 Qb6 15.h3 Rfd8 16.Kh2 c4 17.Qb1 Na5 18.Bxa5 Qxa5 19.e3 cxd3 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 21.Qxd3 b4 22.Qd2 dxe3 23.Qxe3 Bc5 24.axb4 Bxb4 25.Nd3 Bd2 26.Qc5 Ba6 27.Qxa5 Bxa5 0-1

Dale, Ari - Rains, Edward

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

Quite nice  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh6

Moves are clickable

11.c5 g4 12.Nh4 Nc6 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Bc4+ Kh8 16.O-O Qxd1 17.Raxd1 Nd4 18.f4 Rd8 19.Nb5 Be6 20.Rxd4 Rxd4 21.Bxe6 Rb4 22.Nd6 Rxb2 23.fxe5 fxe5 24.Nhf5 Nxf5 25.exf5 Bf6 26.Ne4 Kg7 27.Nxf6 Kxf6 28.Bh4+ Kg7 29.f6+ Kf8 30.Bg5 Rb6 31.Bd5 Ke8 32.Bh6 Kd7 33.Bg7 Rd8 34.Bb3 a5 35.f7 a4 36.Bxa4+ 1-0

Fan, Allen Chi Zhou - Smith, Robert W

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

Nice finish  1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.O-O g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.e3 Qc8 8.b3 O-O 9.Bb2 d5 10.Nxd5 Nxd5

Moves are clickable

11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.cxd5 Bxd5 13.d4 Qb7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Nh4 Bxg2 16.Nxg2 Nd7 17.Qe2 a5 18.Rfd1 a4 19.bxa4 Rxa4 20.Rab1 Qc6 21.Nf4 Nf6 22.Qc2 Rfa8 23.Rb2 Qf3 24.Rd2 Ne4 25.Rd7 R4a7 26.Rxa7 Rxa7 27.Nd3 Rd7 28.Rb1 Rxd3 29.Qxd3 Qxf2+ 30.Kh1 Qf3+ 31.Kg1 Qf2+ 32.Kh1 Qf3+ 33.Kg1 Nf2 34.Qc3+ f6 35.h4 Qxg3+ 36.Kf1 Qf3 37.Ke1 Ne4 38.Qd3 c4 39.Qxc4 Qf2+ 40.Kd1 Qd2# 0-1

Cunningham, Patrick D - Forster, William

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 c5 2.e3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bd3 b6 5.O-O Bb7 6.c3 d5 7.Bb5 Bd6 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.Ne5 a6 10.Nxc6 Nxc6 11.Ba4 Qc7 12.Nf3 O-O-O 13.Bd2 g5 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.b4 g4 16.bxc5 Bxc5 17.Bxc6 Bxc6 18.Nd4 Bb7 19.Qxg4 h5 20.Qh3 Rdg8 21.Rab1 Rh7

Moves are clickable

22.Nxe6 Qd7 23.Nf4 Qxh3 24.Nxh3 Rhg7 25.Nf4 d4 26.g3 dxe3 27.Bxe3 Bxe3 28.fxe3 h4 29.Nh5 Rg5 30.Rxf7 Bd5 31.Ra7 Rxh5 32.c4 Be4 33.Rb6 hxg3 34.hxg3 Rf8 0-1

Austin, Tama - Yee, Stanley

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 Be7 4.e3 Nh5 5.Bg3 Nxg3 6.hxg3 b6 7.Bd3 g6 8.c4 Bb7 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Qc2 Nc6 11.a3 d5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Rh2 a6 14.O-O-O Kg7 15.Rdh1 Rh8 16.Nh4 b5 17.Ne2 b4 18.a4 b3 19.Qb1 Bxh4 20.Rxh4 Nb4 21.Nf4 Qd6 22.Nh3 c5 23.Ng5 h5 24.Rf4 f5 25.Bxf5 cxd4 26.Be6 Rhf8

Moves are clickable

27.Rxh5! Rxf4 28.gxf4?? How often is a routine capture the fatal error? (28.Rh7+ Kf8 (28...Kf6 29.Rf7+ Kxg5 30.exf4+ Kh6 31.Kd2 forces mate ) 29.gxf4 with a winning attack ) 28...Qc5+ 29.Kd1 Qc2+ 30.Qxc2 bxc2+ 31.Kc1 gxh5 32.exd4 Re8 33.f5 Bc8 34.f4 Bxe6 35.fxe6 Rc8 0-1

Ker, Anthony F - Dale, Ari

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Be3 Be7 7.dxc5 Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1 O-O 9.Nbd2 Ng4 10.b4 a5 11.Bc4 b6 ( Van de Oudeweetering (2369) - Pavlovic (2545), Amsterdam NED 2004, 1-0 in 36 moves 11...axb4 12.cxb4 Nc6 13.b5 Nb4 14.Ne4 Nxe3+ 15.fxe3 Ra3 16.Re1 Rd8+ 17.Kc1 f5 18.Ned2 Rc3+ 19.Kb2 Bf6 20.Nd4 Rxe3 21.Rxe3 Rxd4 22.Kb3 Rxd2 23.Rc1 Rb2+ 24.Ka4 Nc2 25.Bxe6+ Kf8 26.Re2 Rxa2+ 27.Bxa2 Nd4 28.Rd2 Bd7 29.Bc4 Be8 30.Rcd1 Bh5 31.Rxd4 g6 32.Rd7 Ke8 33.Rxb7 Bxd1+ 34.Ka5 Bc3+ 35.Kb6 Be5 36.Rxh7 ) 12.cxb6 Nxe3+ 13.fxe3 axb4 14.cxb4 Nd7 15.b5 Nxb6 16.Bb3 Bd7 17.Nd4 Bf6 18.Rb1 Bxd4 19.exd4 Bxb5 20.Kc2 Bc6 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Rxb6 Rxa2+ 23.Rb2 Rxb2+ 24.Kxb2 Rf2 25.Kc3 Bxg2 26.Re1 Bd5 27.Nf1 h5 28.Kd3 Kf7 29.Rc1 g5 30.Ke3 Rf3+ 31.Ke2 Rh3 32.Rc2 Kf6 33.Kf2 Rd3 34.Rd2 Rxd2+ 35.Nxd2 Kf5 36.Kg3 h4+ 37.Kf2 Kf4 38.Ke2 g4 39.Kf2 Bf3 40.Nb3 g3+? Premature  41.hxg3+ hxg3+ 42.Kg1 Ke3 43.Nc5 Bd5

Moves are clickable

44.Kf1! The g-pawn alone will never be enough with White's king unable to be driven from the dark square g1. So Black needs to capture the e pawn, and only the King can do that. But White has a saving trick to cover that possibility  44...Kf3 (44...Kxd4 45.Nxe6+! Bxe6 46.Kg2 = ) 45.Kg1 Kf4 46.Kf1 Kf5 47.Kg1 Kf6 48.Nd3 Be4 49.Nc5 Bf3 50.Nd3 Bd5 51.Nc5 Ke7 52.Nd3 Kd6 53.Nf4 Bf3 1/2-1/2

Lukey, Stephen G - Smith, Robert W

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 3.d5 Ne4 4.h4 Qb6 5.Nd2 Nxd2 6.Bxd2 Qxb2 7.e4 g6 8.Rb1 Qe5 9.Bd3 c4 10.Nf3 Qc7 11.Be2 Bg7 12.Rb4 b5 13.Rxb5 Ba6 14.Rb1 O-O 15.h5 d6 16.hxg6 hxg6 17.Qc1 Nd7 18.Bh6 Bc3+ 19.Bd2 Qa5 20.Kf1 Rfb8 21.Rxb8+ Rxb8 22.Be1 Bxe1 23.Nxe1 Qc3 24.Rh3 Qg7 25.Ra3 Nc5 26.c3 Bc8 27.f3 f5 28.exf5 Bxf5 29.Bxc4 Qe5

Moves are clickable

30.Rxa7? Rb1 31.Qd2 Bd3+ White wins a piece by (unusually) forking Bishop and King  32.Kf2 Bxc4 33.Ra8+ Kf7 0-1

Timergazi, Layla - Dive, Russell J

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 c5 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bg2 Qe7 7.O-O Bxc3 8.bxc3 d6 9.Re1 Nc6 10.e4 e5 11.d5 Na5 12.Qd3 b6 13.Nh4 Ba6 14.Nf5 Qd8 15.Bg5

Moves are clickable

15...h6 ( if 15...Bxc4 16.Qf3 threatening Nh6+ and Ng4 is very strong ) 16.Bh4 Kh7 17.g4 g5 18.Bxg5 hxg5 19.Qh3+ Kg8 20.Nh6+ Kg7 21.Nf5+ and perpetual check 1/2-1/2

Forster, William - Croad, Nicholas

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d6 7.e3 a5 8.b3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 b6 10.Ne2 Bb7 11.f3 c5 12.O-O Rc8 13.Rd1 Qe7 14.Ra2 d5 15.Qe1 cxd4 16.Nxd4 Ne5 17.cxd5

Moves are clickable

17...Rxc1 0-1

Nicholls, Leighton - Fuatai, Fuatai

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 e6 5.Nf3 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Nc3 a6 10.Bxd7+ N6xd7 11.O-O Nc6 12.Re1 d5 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.a3 b5 16.Rc1 Rc8 17.Re2 O-O 18.Rec2 Na7 19.Ne1 Rc4 20.b3 Rcc8 21.Nd3 Qh4 22.f4 Rb8

Moves are clickable

23.Nxd5 Nc8 24.g3 Qd8 25.Rxc8 1-0

Smith, Robert W - Ker, Anthony F

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

Anthony has been giving endgame lessons but here he receives one  1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Qd3 Qxc5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.e5 dxe5 10.Qb5+ Qxb5 11.Bxb5+ Bd7 12.Nxe5 O-O 13.Nxd7 Nbxd7 14.O-O-O Rfd8 15.Be2

Moves are clickable

This is a completely different approach to attempting to punish Ker's Pirc addiction in general and his narrow choice of lines in particular. Gong-Ker is (one of) the rip his head off methods, this is (one of) the slow torture methods. On this occasion at least, the slow approach works out better.   15...Ne8 16.Ne4 b6 17.Rd3 Ndf6 18.Nxf6+ Bxf6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 Rxd1+ 21.Bxd1 Nd6 22.Be2 Nf5 23.Bf2 e5 24.fxe5 Bxe5 25.g3 Kf8 26.c3 Ke7 27.a4 Kd6 28.Kc2 Ne7 29.a5 bxa5 30.Bxa7 Nc6 31.Bb6 h5 32.Bc4 f5 33.Bf7 f4 34.gxf4 Bxf4 35.Bxg6 Bxh2 36.Bxh5 Bf4 37.Be2 Bg5 38.Kb3 Bc1 39.Bb5

 

The loss of a second pawn signals the beginning of the end. The rest is just a steady advance. Black plays on until the bitter end, hoping no doubt for a chance to exchange his knight for the dark squared Bishop or some other trick  39...Ne5 40.Kc2 Bg5 41.Bxa5 Kc5 42.Be2 Nc6 43.Bc7 Bf6 44.Bg3 Ne5 45.Bf2+ Kd5 46.b3 Be7 47.Bf1 Kc6 48.Bd4 Bd6 49.c4 Kd7 50.Bh3+ Kd8 51.Bg2 Nd7 52.Kc3 Bg3 53.b4 Be1+ 54.Kb3 Kc7 55.c5 Bg3 56.b5 Nf8 57.Bd5 Ng6 58.Be4 Ne5 59.b6+ Kd7 60.Ka4 Kc8 61.Kb5 Nf7 62.Bd5 Ne5 63.Be4 Nf7 64.Bf6 Kb8 65.Be7 Bf4 66.Bd5 Nh8 67.Kc6 Ng6 68.Bd6+ Bxd6 69.Kxd6 1-0

Dale, Ari - Reilly, Tim

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 f5 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 c6 8.d5 e5 9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.b3 Na6 11.Bb2 Qe7 12.Qc2 Kh8 13.Rad1 Rad8 14.e3 Nc5 15.Nd4 Bg8 16.Rfe1 Nce4 17.f3 Nxc3 18.Qxc3 c5 19.Ne2 d5 20.cxd5 Nxd5 21.Qxg7+ Qxg7 22.Bxg7+ Kxg7 23.e4 fxe4 24.fxe4 Ne3 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Nf4 Nxg2 27.Kxg2 Rd2+ 28.Kh3 g5 29.Nh5+ Kg6 30.g4 Rxa2 31.Rd1 Bxb3 32.Rd7 Be6 33.Rg7+ Kh6 34.Re7 Ra6 35.e5 c4 36.Rxb7 Ra3+ 37.Ng3 Kg6 38.Re7 Bd5 39.Rd7 Be4 40.e6 Kf6

Moves are clickable

White is tied up and Black's passers are dangerous  41.Rf7+ A good try  41...Kxe6? (41...Kg6 42.Rf8 Re3 43.e7 Bc6 44.Rc8 Bb5 and Black should win without too much difficulty ) 42.Re7+! Kxe7 1/2-1/2

Fan, Allen Chi Zhou - Wastney, Scott

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.e3 Nc6 4.d3 g6 5.exd4 Nxd4 6.Nxd4 Qxd4 7.Nc3 c6 8.Be3 Qd8 9.Be2 Nh6 10.d4 Nf5 11.Qd2 Bg7 12.O-O-O O-O 13.g4 Nxe3 14.fxe3 b5 15.h4 Qa5 16.h5 e5 17.cxb5 exd4 18.exd4 cxb5 19.Bf3

Moves are clickable

19...Be6! Black invests an exchange to to clear the 'c' file quickly.  20.Bxa8 Rxa8 21.hxg6 hxg6 White's position is joyless and Black breaks through with a few powerful strokes  22.a3 Bb3 23.Rde1 b4 24.Qg2 Rc8 25.Qb7

 

25...Rxc3+! 26.bxc3 Qxa3+ 27.Kd2 Qb2+ 28.Ke3 Qxc3+ 29.Kf4 Qxd4+ 30.Kg3 Be5+ 31.Rxe5 Qxe5+ 32.Kh4 g5+ 33.Kh5 Bd5 34.Qc8+ Kg7 35.Rh3 Be4

 

0-1

List, Robert - Timergazi, Layla

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 Nc6 5.Bb5 e6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.b4 Ne7 8.c3 Nf5 9.Nf3 Ba6 10.a4 Rb8 11.g4 Nh4

Moves are clickable

12.Nbd2?? No doubt this move has many fine positional characteristics, but there is a slight technical drawback to the idea which is left as an exercise for the reader 0-1

Winter, Ryan - Gold, Hamish R

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.e4 Nxe5 5.f4 Ng6 6.Nf3 Bc5 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.a3 a5 9.Qd3 Ra6 10.Be2 Nh4 11.Ng5 Nd4 12.Na4 Ba7 13.c5 Nxe2 14.Qxe2 O-O 15.O-O d5 16.e5 Nf5 17.g4 Nd4 18.Qd3 Rh6 19.Qxd4 Bxg4 20.f5 Rh4 21.h3 h6 22.hxg4 hxg5 23.Be3 f6 24.e6 c6 25.Kg2 Qc7 26.Rh1 Bb8 27.Bf2 Rh2+ 28.Rxh2 Qxh2+ 29.Kf3 Be5 30.Qd1 Qf4+ 31.Kg2 Qe4+ 32.Kg1 Kh7 33.Nc3 Qf4 34.Qe2 g6 35.fxg6+ Kxg6 36.Qd3+ Kg7 37.Qf5 Qh2+ 38.Kf1 Qh1+ 39.Bg1 Rh8 40.Ke2 Rh3 41.Rd1 Qg2+ 42.Ke1 Qxg1+ 43.Kd2 Qe3+ 44.Kc2 Bxc3 45.e7 Rh2+ 46.Kb3 Rxb2+ 47.Ka4 b5+ 48.cxb6 Qxe7 49.Rh1 Qe4+ 50.Qxe4 dxe4 51.Rc1 Bd4 52.Rc4 Bxb6 53.Rxe4

Moves are clickable

53...c5? 54.Re7+ Kg6 55.Rg7+! Kh6 56.Rh7+ 1/2-1/2

Reilly, Tim - Gong, Daniel Hanwen

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.d5 Ne5 9.Ng3 h5 10.Be2 h4 11.Nf1 e6 12.f4

Moves are clickable

12...Nxc4! This is theory I suppose  13.Bxc4 b5 14.Nxb5 Now Black gets on top (  The super GM clash Svidler-Grischuk London 2013 continued in maximally chaotic fashion with 14.Bxb5 exd5 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Bg4 17.exf6 Bxd1 18.fxg7 Kxg7 19.Bxc5 h3 20.Rxd1 hxg2 21.Rg1 gxf1=Q+ 22.Kxf1 and Black managed to eventually draw with Queen against three very active pieces ) 14...exd5 15.exd5 Re8 16.h3 Ne4 17.Rb1 Ng3? (17...Qa5+! pushes White beyond breaking point ) 18.Nxg3 hxg3 19.Qd2 Bf5 20.Rd1 a6 21.Nxd6! necessary, White can't allow Black to play ...Bd4 unmolested  21...Qxd6 22.O-O Bxb2 23.Rf3 Bf6 24.Rxg3 Rab8 25.Kh1

 

25...Rb4 ( The simple 25...Rb2! followed by ...Bh4 and ...Be4 targetting g2 wins for Black ) 26.Bd3 Rb2 27.Qc1 Bxd3 28.Bxc5 Qxd5 29.Rdxd3 Qxa2 30.Rd1 Rc2 31.Qa3 Qc4 32.Bd6 Qe2 33.Qd3 White finally manages to force the Queens off and the game burns out to a draw  33...Qxd3 34.Rdxd3 Re1+ 35.Kh2 Rcc1 36.Rge3 Rxe3 37.Rxe3 a5 38.Re8+ Kh7 39.Ra8 Ra1 40.Ra7 Kg7 41.Be5 Bxe5 42.fxe5 Kg8 1/2-1/2

Goodhue, Nathan - Dive, Russell J

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nge2 Nge7 7.d3 O-O 8.O-O f5 9.exf5 Nxf5 10.Nd5 Nfd4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.Ne3 c6 13.Nc2 Ne6 14.Be3 c5 15.Qd2 (=)  15...a5 16.Rab1 Rb8 17.a4 Bd7 18.b3 Bc6 19.Bh6 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Nf4+ 21.Bxf4 exf4 22.f3 d5 23.Qf2 Qb6 24.b4 axb4 25.Rxb4 Qc6 26.Rb5 b6 27.Rfb1 dxc4 28.dxc4 Bc3 29.gxf4 Rxf4 30.Rxc5 Qxa4 31.Rd5 Rbf8 32.Ne3

Moves are clickable

32...Rxf3 33.Qxf3 Qa2+ 34.Kg1 Rxf3 0-1

Gold, Hamish R - Pakenham, John

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4 Bf5 6.Nc3 h6 7.g4 Bh7 8.Nf3 e6 9.Be3 Be7 10.Qd2 N8d7 11.O-O-O d5 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 exd5 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Nb6 16.f5 Qd7 17.Bf4 O-O-O 18.Rhe1 Nc4

Moves are clickable

19.e6 fxe6 20.Rxe6 Bf6 21.h4 g5 22.Be5 Bxe5 23.Nxe5 Nxe5 24.Rxe5 Rde8 25.h5 Kd8 26.Rde1 Rhf8 27.Qa3 a6 28.Qc5 c6 29.Qb6+ Kc8 30.Kd2 Rg8 31.Kd3 Rgf8 32.Qa7 Kc7 33.a4 Qc8 34.a5 Kd7 35.Qc5 Qd8 36.Re6 Kc8 37.R1e5 Rh8 38.Rg6 Qc7

 

39.Rxh6 Qg7 40.Rxh8 Qxh8 41.Qd6 Rd8 42.Qe6+ Kc7 43.Qf7+ Rd7 44.Re7 Qd8 45.Rxd7+ 1-0

Zhao, Aiden Tyler - He, Caleb

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 a6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Ba7 7.O-O h6 8.Nc3 d6 9.Qd3 Nf6 10.Re1 b5 11.Bb3 Be6 12.d5 Nb4 13.Qd2 Bg4 14.Qe2 O-O 15.a3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 a5 17.axb4 axb4 18.Na2 Qd7 19.Be3 c6 20.dxc6 Qxc6 21.Bxa7 Rxa7 22.Nxb4 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 Qxe4 24.Qxe4 Nxe4 25.Bd5 Nc5 26.h3 Ne6 27.Rd1 Rd8 28.Bc6 Kf8 29.Rd5 Nc7 30.Rd3 Ke7 31.Re3+ Kf6 32.Nd5+ Nxd5 33.Bxd5 g5 34.Rf3+ Ke5 35.Bc6 b4 36.Rxf7 d5 37.Kf1 Kd4 38.Bb5 Rb8 39.Bc6 Kc4 40.Rf5 Rd8 41.g3 Kb3 42.Bxd5+ Kxb2 43.Bc6 Ka2 44.Rd5 Rxd5 45.Bxd5+ Kb2 46.Ke2 Kc3 47.Kf3 Kd4 48.Bg8 Ke5 49.Kg4 Kf6 50.Kh5 Kg7 51.Bb3 Kh7 52.h4 gxh4 53.gxh4 Kg7 54.f4 Kh8 55.Bc4 Kh7 56.Bd3+ Kg7 57.Kg4 Kf6 58.Bc4 Kg7 59.Kf5 Kh7 60.Kf6 Kh8 61.h5 Kh7 62.Kf7 Kh8 63.f5 Kh7 64.f6 Kh8 65.Kf8 Kh7 66.f7 b3 67.Bxb3 Kh8 68.Ke7 Kh7

Moves are clickable

69.f8=Q 1/2-1/2

Dale, Ari - Smith, Robert W

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 b6 9.a3 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Nbd7 11.Re1 Bb7 12.Bd3 Ne4 13.Bb2 f5 14.c4 Qf6 15.Qc2 Qh6 16.a4 a5 17.Rad1 Ng5 18.Nxg5 Qxg5 19.Bf1 Bf3 20.Rd2 Rad8 21.Kh1 Be4 22.Qd1 Nf6

Moves are clickable

23.f3 Bc6 24.d5 exd5 25.cxd5 Bd7 26.Qb3 Qh4 27.Ra1 Rb8 28.Be5 Rbe8 29.Bd6 Rf7 30.Qxb6 Rxe3 31.Qxa5 c4 32.Bg3 Qh6 33.Bxc4 Kh8 34.Rd4 Nh5 35.Bf2 Re8 36.Qd2 Qd6 37.a5 f4 38.a6 Bf5 39.Bb5 Rb8 40.a7 Rxa7 41.Rxa7 Rxb5 42.Ra8+ Rb8 43.Rxb8+ Qxb8 44.Rb4 Qd6 45.Rb6 1-0

Croad, Nicholas - Ker, Anthony F

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 3.d5 Be7 4.Nc3 Bg5 5.e3 f5 6.Nf3 Bh6 7.h4 a5 8.c5 e4 9.Ng5 Bxg5 10.hxg5 dxc5 11.b3 Qxg5 12.Nb5 Na6 13.d6 Nh6 14.dxc7 Nf7 15.Bb2 Be6 16.Nd6+ Nxd6 17.Qxd6 Qe7 18.Bb5+ Kf7 19.Qg3 Rag8 20.Bxa6 bxa6 21.Rd1 h6 22.Rd8 Rh7 23.Rb8 Rc8 24.Rxc8 Bxc8 25.O-O Qd7 26.Rc1 g5 27.Rxc5 Qd1+ 28.Kh2 Qh5+ 29.Qh3 Qxh3+ 30.gxh3 Ke6 31.Rc2 Rd7 32.Bd4 Rd5 33.Bg7 h5 34.Bh6 g4 35.Bf4

Moves are clickable

A strategically hopeless position for Black  35...Kd7 36.Kg3 Bb7 37.Kh4 gxh3 38.Kxh3 Bc8 39.Kh4 Rd1 40.Kxh5 Rd5 41.Kg6 Bb7 42.Kf6 Bc8 43.Be5 Bb7 44.Kxf5 Kc8 45.Ke6 Rd7 46.Bg3 Bd5+ 47.Ke5 Bb7 48.Kf6 Bd5 49.Rc5 a4 50.bxa4 Rf7+ 51.Kg6 Rd7 52.a3 Bf7+ 53.Kf6 Bd5 54.Rc1 Rf7+ 55.Kg6 Rf8 56.Rb1 Bb7 57.Kg7 Re8 58.Kf7 Rh8 59.Be5 Rh7+ 60.Kg6 Re7 61.Kf6 Re8 62.Rd1 Bc6 63.a5 Bb7 64.Bf4 Bc6 65.Kf7 Rh8 66.Rd4 Rh7+ 67.Ke6 Rh8 68.Kd6 Bb7 69.Kc5 Rg8 70.Kb6 Ba8 71.Ka7 Bc6 72.Rd6 Bb5 73.Rb6 Kd7

 

The logical consequence of the previous diagram  74.Rxb5 axb5 75.Kb7 1-0

Dive, Russell J - Reilly, Tim

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 e5 4.O-O Nc6 5.c4 d6 6.Nc3 f5 7.d3 Nf6 8.Rb1 O-O 9.b4 h6 10.b5 Ne7 11.c5 Be6 12.Ba3 g5 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.Qa4 f4 15.Nd2 d5 16.Qb3 Rf7 17.Nde4 dxe4 18.Qxe6 f3 19.exf3 Qxd3 20.Bxe7 exf3

Moves are clickable

21.Bxf6 (21.Rfd1! wins  21...Qxc3 22.Rbc1 Qb2 23.Bxf6 and both White rooks are going to the seventh rank ) 21...fxg2 22.Rfe1 Bxf6 23.Nd5 ( And now 23.Ne4! heading to d6 wins the exchange ) 23...Bg7 24.Ne7+ Kf8 25.Ng6+ Kg8 26.Ne7+ 1/2-1/2

James, Jack - Wastney, Scott

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Nd5 9.h4 Nf4 10.Bf1 h6 11.Ne4 Ne6 12.g3 Be7 13.Bg2 O-O 14.d3 f5 15.Nec3 Bb7 16.Nd2 Rb8 17.O-O c5 18.Nf3 Nc6 19.b3 Bf6 20.Bb2 Ncd4 21.Ne1 g5 22.hxg5 hxg5 23.Bxb7 Rxb7 24.f3 Rh7 25.Ne2 Kg7 26.c3 Nc6 27.Ng2 c4 28.Ne3 cxd3 29.Nxf5+ Kg6 30.Ned4 exd4 31.Qxd3 Kf7 32.Ba3 Rfh8 33.Nd6+ Kg7 34.Nf5+ Kg8 35.Qc4 Qd7 36.Rad1 Ne5 37.Qb4

Moves are clickable

37...Rh1+ 38.Kf2 R8h2+ 39.Ke1 Nxf3# 0-1

Milligan, Helen - Lukey, Stephen G

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Bxc5 Nxc5 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.a3 Qb6 13.Rd1 O-O 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Qd4 f6 16.exf6 Rxf6 17.Be2 Raf8 18.g3 Bb7 19.O-O Qc7 20.Bd3 Qc6 21.Rde1 h6 22.Nd1 e5 23.Rxe5 Ne6 24.Qe3 d4 25.Qe4 Qb6 26.Qe2 Ng5 27.h4 Nf7 28.Re7 Nd6 29.Nf2 Kh8 30.Re1 Nf5 31.Bxf5 Rxf5 32.Qe6 Qxe6 33.R1xe6 Bd5 34.Rxa6 Rc8 35.Raa7 Rxc2 36.Rxg7 Rc1+ 37.Kh2 Rf1 38.Rh7+ Kg8

Moves are clickable

39.Rhg7+? The wrong Rook (  White can draw by keeping Black busy with the threat of lawnmower mate 39.Rag7+ Kf8 40.Rc7 Rxf2+ 41.Kg1 Rg2+ 42.Kf1 Kg8 43.Rcg7+ Kf8 44.Rc7 ) 39...Kf8 40.Rh7 Rxf2+ 41.Kh3 Rf7 42.Raxf7+ Bxf7 43.Rxh6 d3 44.Rd6 d2 0-1

Green, Ewen M - Rains, Edward

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O a6 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 c5 10.Qc2 b5 11.cxb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Qb6 13.Nc3 Bf5 14.e4 Bc8 15.b3 Ba6 16.Re1 Ng4 17.Nf3 c4 18.b4 Qxb4 19.Bd2 Qc5 20.Rf1

Moves are clickable

20...Nb3! 21.axb3 cxb3 22.Qxb3 Bxf1 23.Rxf1 Ra3 0-1

Brockway, Andrew - Oka, Hikaru

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.f4 Nc6 5.Nf3 g6 6.O-O Bg7 7.d3 a6 8.Qe1 b5 9.Bb3 Nd7 10.Ng5 O-O 11.Qh4 h6 12.Nf3 e6 13.Qh3 Nb6 14.Qg3 Nd4 15.Nxd4 Bxd4+ 16.Kh1 d5 17.Ne2 Bg7 18.c3 c4 19.Bc2 Bb7 20.f5 cxd3 21.Bxd3 dxe4 22.Bc2 exf5 23.Bf4 Nd5 24.Rad1 Qb6 25.Bc1 Rfd8 26.Bb3 Qc7

Moves are clickable

27.Rxd5! Qxg3 28.Rxd8+ Rxd8 29.hxg3 Kf8 30.Kg1 Ke7 31.Kf2 g5 32.Be3 Be5 33.Bc5+ Kf6 34.Rd1 Rxd1 35.Bxd1 Bd5 36.Bb3 Bxb3 37.axb3 f4 38.gxf4 gxf4 39.Bd4 Kf5 40.Bxe5 Kxe5 41.Nd4 f5 42.Nc6+ Kf6 43.Nb4 h5 44.Nxa6 h4 45.Nb4 f3 46.Nd5+ Kg5 47.gxf3 h3 48.fxe4 fxe4 49.Kg3 Kf5 50.Ne3+ Ke5 51.Ng4+ Kd5 52.Kxh3 b4 53.Kg3 bxc3 54.bxc3 Kd6 55.Kf4 1-0

Rains, Edward - Gong, Daniel Hanwen

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.g3 b5 4.d3 Bb7 5.Bg2 e6 6.f4 d5 7.Qe2 Nf6 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Nh3 Nc6 10.O-O g6 11.Nd1 Be7 12.c3 a5 13.Ndf2 Qc7 14.Bd2 b4 15.a3 bxc3 16.bxc3 a4 17.Ng4 h5 18.Ne3 Na5 19.Rae1 Nb6 20.f5 gxf5

Moves are clickable

21.Nxf5 exf5 22.Rxf5 Bc8 23.Rxh5 (23.Rf6 Bxf6 24.exf6+ Be6 White is a whole rook down but Stockfish is sanguine and wants White to continue building up starting with  25.c4!? ) 23...Rxh5 24.Qxh5 Be6 25.c4 Nb3 26.cxd5 Nxd5 27.Qh8+ Bf8 28.Bg5 c4 29.dxc4 Qxc4 30.Nf4 Nxf4 31.gxf4 Rc8 32.Bh6 Qc5+ 33.Kh1 Qxa3 34.Rf1 Rc1 35.Bxf8 Qxf8 36.Qh4 Rxf1+ 37.Bxf1 Bd5+ 38.Bg2 Qc5 39.Qh8+ Kd7 40.e6+ Bxe6 41.Bf3 Bd5 42.Bxd5 Qxd5+ 43.Kg1 Qd4+ 0-1

Forster, William - Timergazi, Layla

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Bg5 Nc6 7.d5 Nb4 8.a3 Na6 9.b4 e6 10.Rc1 Re8 11.Bd3 h6 12.Be3 exd5 13.cxd5 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 f5 15.Ng3 f4 16.Bxg6 Re5 17.Nf3 fxe3 18.O-O Rg5 19.Nxg5 Qxg5

Moves are clickable

My personal favourite moment of the tournament. Black is an exchange down but is (kind of) forking Bishop and Knight. White would love to recapture on f2 with the Rook, but that seems to lose one of the pieces (Qd3 is impossible in these lines as it leaves Rc1 en-prise). I spent 15 minutes and eventually hit on a complete solution (Stockfish takes about 1.5 milliseconds - even on my slow laptop).  20.Bb1! e2 This leaves White with extra material and a safe position but the point is that if (20...exf2+ 21.Rxf2 Qxg3 White has  22.Qc2 and the mate threat on h7 decides ) 21.Qxe2 Bd7 22.Qd3 Re8 23.Rfe1 Be5 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Qxd7 1-0

Yee, Stanley - Rossiter, Philip E

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Qe2 a6 8.O-O-O c4 9.g3 b5 10.a3 Qa5 11.Kd2 b4 12.axb4 Qxb4 13.Rb1 Nb6 14.Kc1 Bd7 15.Bd2 Qa5 16.Kd1 Bb4 17.Ke1 Rb8 18.Qd1 Na4 19.Nxa4 Qxa4 20.c3 Qxd1+ 21.Kxd1 Be7 22.Bc1 a5 23.Nd2 a4 24.Ra1 Na5 25.Be2 O-O 26.Ke1 Nb3 27.Nxb3 (=)  27...cxb3 28.Rb1 Bb5 29.Bxb5 Rxb5 30.Ke2 Ra8 31.Rd1 h6 32.f4 g6 33.Kd3 Rab8 34.Rf1 a3 35.bxa3 b2 36.Bd2 Bxa3 37.g4 R5b6 38.f5 Kg7 39.f6+ Kh7 40.Rf3 Bf8 41.Rh3 Rb3 42.Kc2 R3b5 (=)  43.Bxh6 Bxh6 44.g5 R8b7 45.Rxh6+ Kg8 46.Rh3 Rb3 47.Rg3 R3b5 48.h4 Rb3 49.Rh3 Kh7 50.Rhh1 R3b5 51.Rh2 Rb3 52.Kd3 Rc7 53.Rc2 Rcb7 54.Kd2 Kg8 55.Ke3 Rc7 56.Rbxb2 Rcxc3+ 57.Rxc3 Rxc3+ 58.Kf4 Rh3 59.Kg4 Re3 60.Rb8+ Kh7

Moves are clickable

White is winning  61.Rf8? (61.h5! Re4+ 62.Kf3 gxh5 63.Rf8 Kg6 64.Rg8+ Kh7 65.Rg7+ ) 61...Re4+ 62.Kg3 Rxd4? Now White is winning again ( If Phil had been paying attention to the way this tournament was going he would have drawn immediately with 62...Re3+! 63.Kf2 Re2+!! and stalemate ) 63.Rxf7+ Kg8 64.Re7 Re4 65.h5 Rxe5 66.Rg7+ Kh8 67.Rxg6 Rf5 68.h6 d4 69.Rg7 d3 70.f7 d2 71.Rg8+ ( The right idea is 71.g6! threatening Rh7 mate  71...Rg5+ 72.Kf4 Rg4+! good try  73.Ke5 Rg5+ 74.Kf6 Rf5+ 75.Ke7 and wins ) 71...Kh7 72.Rd8? Throwing away the win once and for all, White could have checked twice and got back on track as per the previous note  72...Rxg5+ 73.Kh4 Rf5 74.Rxd2 Rxf7 75.Kg5 Rf5+ 76.Kg4 Kxh6 77.Re2 Rg5+ 1/2-1/2

Dive, Russell J - Croad, Nicholas

New Zealand Open Championship 2017

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 c6 7.Nbd2 b6 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.e4 Na6 10.a3 c5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.e5 Nd7 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Nb3 Rc8 15.Bd2 Bc6 16.Nc1 Nb6 17.Nd3 d4 18.Nf4 Qc7 19.Qf5 g6 20.Qh3 Nc4 21.Bc1 Nxe5 22.Nxe5 Qxe5 23.Bd2 Bf6 24.Rfe1 Qd6 25.Rac1 Rfe8 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.b4

Moves are clickable

27...Bxg2 (27...Bd7! 28.Qh6 cxb4 29.axb4 Nxb4 Leaves Black a safe two pawns up ) 28.Qxg2 cxb4? This doesn't seem wise, the computer finds play for the piece, but it requires computer like precision  29.Rc6 Qb8 (29...Qd7 apparently is better ) 30.axb4 (30.Rxf6! meeting  30...b3 with  31.Nd3 b2 32.Nxb2 Qxb2 33.Qd5! wins ) 30...Be7 ( now 30...Nxb4! 31.Rxf6 Qe5 maintains the balance ) 31.Rxa6 Now White's attack is just as dangerous as Black's and he has a safe extra piece  31...Bxb4 32.Bxb4 Qxb4 33.Qd5 Qb1+ 34.Kg2 Re1 35.Rxa7 Rg1+ 36.Kh3 Kg7 37.Qxf7+ Kh6 38.Qxh7+ Kg5 39.Qe7+ 1-0