Magazines Games 2008-2018 2018

This game was played in first round of the 92/93 NZ Championship which was held in the Hall at Queen Margaret's College in Wellington. This was my first congress and the first time I had seen many of the top NZ players in person including Ortvin Sarapu, Paul Garbett, Peter Stuart etc. These names were only known to me from reading the NZ Chess magazine. Back then the Championship was an exclusive 12 player round robin, then there was Reserve Championship with another 12 players, then a third tier of competition the Major Open, which was where I was playing. I was keen to follow the Championship games and in the first round there was an upset when Vernon Small, considered one of the favorites, was quickly defeated by Peter Stuart.  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 Peter plays a Grunfeld which can lead to many long complicated variations. The only insight I can offer on Peter's opening preparation comes a few years later when I shared a motel room with Peter during a congress. I remember Peter turning up in his car, then starting to unload boxes and boxes from his car boot. I can't recall how many boxes, but it seemed a surprising number to me at the time. Each box was packed full with (+)Chess Informant[+] books, each book with a brown paper book cover to keep in mint condition.  4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Ne2 c5 9.O-O Nc6 10.Be3 Bg4 11.f3 Na5

12.Bxf7+ The Karpov variation, played by Karpov four times in his 1987 match against Kasparov.  12...Rxf7 13.fxg4 Rxf1+ 14.Kxf1 Qd6 15.e5 Qd5 16.Bf2 Rf8 17.Kg1 Nc4 N Probably a novelty and at least a deviation from a Karpov-Kasparov game. Kasparov had played 17...Bh6 here instead.  18.g5 Vernon stamps out Bh6 altogether  18...Qf7 19.Bg3 Ne3

Here Vernon blunders and I think I can understand the thought process. The first reaction is to move the Queen to c1, hitting to knight while keeping f1 sufficiently protected. But Black immediate regains the pawn with 20...Nxg2 and White is forced to go into an endgame after 21.Qf1 (which my chess engine gives as roughly equal). Vernon Small was understandably unhappy with this course of events and finds a subtle idea of provoking c4 first to stabilize Whites central pawn chain before dropping the Queen back...  20.Qb3?? c4 Whoops... the intended 21.Qb1 is met by 21...Qd5 game over.  21.e6 Qf1+ 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 I am sure that if you predicted 10 years ago that everyone from the world champion down would be playing this in 10 years time you'd have been scorned in serious chess circles.  2...e6 3.e3 c5 4.Nf3 d5 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.c3 cxd4 7.exd4 Nh5 8.Bg3 g6 9.Bd3 f6 Black's last two subtle and grandmasterly moves (targetting the e5 square) are already enough to see the engine prefer Black (by the tiniest margin)  10.Qc2 Bg7 11.O-O-O O-O 12.Nf1 a6 13.h3

13...e5! According to the theory that even in opposite sides castling situations centre play trumps wing play unless the centre is static  14.dxe5 fxe5 15.Be4 Be6 16.Bh4 Bh6+ 17.Kb1 Qa5

Is Black just winning a piece?  18.Bxg6! No  18...e4 19.Bg5 (19.Bxh5 d4! is a pretty solution that also favours Black ) 19...hxg6? Letting White back in the game (19...Bg7! retains a big advantage, eg if  20.Bxh5 exf3 threatens ...Bf5 and heralds a winning attack ) 20.Bxh6 d4 Not quite as effective without the dark squared Bishop, but still a nice (and positionally necessary)move  21.Nxd4

21...Nb4?! Flashy but imprecise, this move could have cost Black dearly (21...Qxa2+ 22.Kc1 Rfd8 and Black has the initiative and a safe position since  23.Qxe4?? is now impossible due to  23...Bf5 ) 22.Qxe4 Bxa2+ 23.Kc1 Rxf2 Black threatens to move the Bishop, then play Qa1+ followed by (after Qb1) Na2 mate, but this is a little slow when Black's king is so weak.  24.Be3 (24.Qxg6+! Kh8 25.Be3 and White wins ) 24...Rf6 Black takes time out for a little D and gives White the opportunity to go wrong. Only a very narrow path will be sufficient  25.g4? Tactically flawed. Strangely enough maintaining White's advantage requires playing very risky looking moves. Quiet defensive moves to strengthen White's position are strangely hard to find - mainly because putting a rook or knight on d2 takes away an important escape square for the King. (25.cxb4! is now actually possible with the Queen no longer in the firing line on c2 ) (25.Qxb7 winning more material, tempoing on the Ra8 and preventing it joining the attack is also good ) 25...Bd5! 26.Qb1 Bxh1 27.gxh5 Qxh5 28.cxb4

28...Qxd1+!! A brilliant coup to cap a great game (  Note that Black is going to be more than just an exchange up since after 28...Qxd1+ 29.Kxd1 Rxf1+ 30.Kc2 there is  30...Be4+ and White doesn't get to recapture the Rook on b1 ) 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 d6 8.Be2 O-O 9.f3 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bd7 11.O-O a5 12.Qd2 Bc6 13.Rac1 Nd7 14.Be3 Nc5 15.Rfd1 Be5 16.b3 b6 17.Kh1

The first new move according to my database. Subtle manoevring is the order of the day in these Maroczy positions.   17...Rc8 18.Nd5 e6 19.Nf4 Qh4 20.Nh3 Qe7 21.Nf2 Rfd8 22.Ng4 Bg7 23.Bg5 f6 24.Bh4 g5

25.Bg3? f5! Winning material, both possible retreats invite ...f4 trapping the Bishop or forking Bishop and Knight, so...  26.Bxd6 Rxd6 27.Qxd6 Qxd6 28.Rxd6 fxg4 29.Rcd1 Bf6 30.Kg1 Kf7 31.fxg4 Nxe4 Black has a material advantage (the normal rule is you need 2 pawns not 1 to compensate for Rook versus two minor pieces), and he has three excellent minor pieces compared to one very sad Bishop for White. Conclusion: Black is winning.  32.R6d3 Nc3 33.R1d2 Nxe2+ 34.Rxe2 Be7 35.Rh3 Bc5+ 36.Kf1 Rd8

The Bishops are rampant and the White Rooks are amazingly clumsy, basically they seem like liabilities that are just trying to avoid falling off.   37.Rg3 This passive move is actually the logical consequence of the more natural line (37.Rxh7+ Kg6 38.Rc7 Rd1+ 39.Re1 Bxg2+! So rather than using his Rook actively White puts it on a horrible square to defend g2! ) 37...Kf6 38.Ke1 Bb4+ 39.Kf2 Rd1

Game over, the threat of ...Bc5 wins decisive material  40.Ke3 A cute way of resigning (presumably)  40...Bc5# 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Qd3 Qc7 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 O-O 10.f3 d5 11.cxd5 Qxc3+ 12.bxc3 exd5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.c4 Nc7 ( Antal (2562) - Izsak (2436), Hungary HUN 2015, 1/2-1/2 in 79 moves 14...Ne7 15.Rb1 Nbc6 16.Nxc6 Nxc6 17.Kf2 Nd8 18.Bd3 Bd7 19.Re1 Bc6 20.Bf5 Re8 21.Rxe8+ Bxe8 22.Bg5 Bc6 23.Re1 h6 24.Bf4 Ne6 25.Bxe6 fxe6 26.Rxe6 Rd8 27.Bd6 Re8 28.Rg6 Bd7 29.Rg3 Bf5 30.f4 Kf7 31.Be5 g6 32.Rb3 Be4 33.g4 h5 34.Re3 Bc2 35.Rh3 Bd1 36.gxh5 Bxh5 37.Rb3 Re7 38.Rb6 Ke8 39.h4 Rd7 40.Ke3 Kd8 41.c5 Rd5 42.Bd4 Kc7 43.Ke4 Rd8 44.Ke3 Rd5 45.a4 Rd8 46.a5 Rd5 47.Ke4 Rd7 48.Be5+ Kd8 49.Ke3 Rd5 50.c6 bxc6 51.Rxa6 Kc8 52.Rxc6+ Kb7 53.Rb6+ Ka7 54.Bd4 Rxa5 55.Rxg6+ Kb7 56.Rh6 Kc8 57.Bc3 Rb5 58.Be5 Bg4 59.Rg6 Bf5 60.Rg5 Bb1 61.h5 Kd7 62.Kf3 Ke6 63.Kg4 Bd3 64.h6 Rb1 65.Kf3 Rh1 66.Bg7 Bf5 67.Rg3 Kf7 68.Kf2 Rh4 69.Ke3 Rh3 70.Rxh3 Bxh3 71.Ke4 Kg6 72.Ke5 Bg4 73.Kd6 Kf7 74.Kd5 Bf5 75.Ke5 Bh7 76.f5 Bg8 77.Bf6 Bh7 78.Bg5 Bg8 79.Be3 ) 15.Rb1 Nd7 16.Bf4 Ne6 17.Nxe6

17...Re8! A nice little refinement. Over the next few moves Black plays resourcefully to gradually unwind and neutralise White  18.Kf2 Rxe6 19.Be2 Nc5 20.Be3 (20.Rhd1! Keeps the pressure on, Black can't develop smoothly since after  20...Bd7 21.Bd6 is very awkward to deal with ) 20...Rc6! A resourceful way of parrying the threats and holding things together.  21.Bxc5 Rxc5 22.Rhd1 Kf8 23.Rd8+ Ke7 24.Rg8 g6 25.g4 Ra7 Ra8-a7 is always one of my favourite moves - unfortunately for Black he is not going to get a chance to thematically activate the Rook along the second rank, but this is still a cunning way of unpinning the Bishop.  26.Ke3 ( Now that the Bishop isn't pinned Black can get counterplay if required with ...b5 eg 26.Rh8 b5 27.cxb5 axb5 28.Rxb5 Rc3 since now  29.Re5+ can be met by  29...Be6 - if the B ishop was pinned the Re5 would be heading to the eighth rank too with a paralysing effect ) 26...Re5+ 27.Kd3 Be6 28.Rb6

28...Bxc4+! Now Black is actually for choice  29.Kxc4 Rxe2 30.a4 Ra2 31.Kb4 a5+ 32.Kb5 Rxh2 33.Rb8 Rb2+ 34.Kc5 Rxb6 35.Kxb6 Ra6+ 36.Kb5 Rf6 (  Black can retain some advantage with 36...Kf6 37.Rxb7 Ra8 Although given both White's pieces are very active and for the moment at least Black's Rook is grovelling you'd expect the GM to hold the draw. ) 37.Rxb7+ Now the game burns out to a forced draw in short order.  37...Ke6 38.Rb6+ Ke7 39.Rxf6 Kxf6 40.Kxa5 h5 41.gxh5 gxh5 42.Kb6 h4 43.a5 h3 44.a6 h2 45.a7 h1=Q 46.a8=Q 1/2-1/2

1.Nf3 f5 2.d3 Nf6 3.e4 This is a fun line  3...d6 The most common move (3...fxe4 4.dxe4 Nxe4 5.Bd3 Nf6 Is a kind of reversed From's Gambit (1.f4 e5 2. fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6) with an extra tempo (of course) for White. A particularly insane example was Nigalidze (2542) - Takyrbashev (2229), Tromso NOR 2014  6.g4?! White throws everything he has at Black throughout, without counting material  6...d6 7.g5 Nfd7 8.g6 h6 9.Bc4 e6 10.Bxe6 Qe7 11.Qe2 Nc6 12.Bf7+ Kd8 13.Be3 Nde5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Bd5 c6 16.Bg2 Bg4 17.f3 Bf5 18.Na3 Nxg6 19.O-O Nf4 20.Qd2 Nxg2 21.Kxg2 Qd7 22.Rfe1 d5 23.c4 Bh3+ 24.Kg1 Be6 25.Rad1 Bd6 26.cxd5 Bxd5 27.Nb5 Re8?

28.Qa5+ Kc8 29.Rxd5! cxb5 30.Rc1+ Kb8 31.Bf4 Re6 32.Rxd6 Rxd6

33.Qb4 good enough to elicit resignation, but still a shame ( as 33.Qxb5 would have been really pretty ) ) 4.exf5 Bxf5 5.d4 e6 6.Bd3 Qd7 ( In this obs cure position Mamedyarov (2479) - Dovliatov (2360), Baku 2001, 1-0 in 48 moves was a nice game by the future superstar 6...Be7 7.O-O Qd7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nc6 11.c3 O-O 12.Qe2 e5 13.d5 Nd8 14.c4 Nf7 15.Nc3 Rae8 16.Be3 g6 17.Rad1 a6 18.Bc2 Rb8 19.b4 Nh5 20.Qg4 Qd8 21.c5 Bg5 22.Ne4 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Nf6 24.Nxf6+ Qxf6 25.Rf1 Qg5 26.Qxg5 Nxg5 27.h4 Nf7 28.Ba4 Nh6 29.Rxf8+ Rxf8 30.Bd7 Nf5 31.Rd3 Ng3 32.Ra3 Kf7 33.c6 Ke7 34.b5 bxc6 35.Bxc6 axb5 36.Bxb5 Rb8 37.Bc6 Nf5 38.Ra7 Rb1+ 39.Kh2 Nxe3 40.Rxc7+ Kf6 41.Rd7 Rb2 42.Rxd6+ Kf5 43.Rd8 Nxg2 44.Kg3 Kf6 45.d6 Nf4 46.Rf8+ Kg7 47.d7 Ne6 48.Re8 ) 7.O-O Be7 8.Bxf5 exf5 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Re1 Na6 11.d5 Nc5 12.Bg5 Rae8 Black has equalised steadily, and over the next few moves he outplays his opponent and grabs an advantage  13.Be3 Nce4 14.Bd4 c5 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Qd3

16...c4! 17.Qxc4 Rc8 18.Qb5 Qxb5 19.Nxb5 Rxc2 20.Rab1 a6 21.Nbd4 Bxd4 22.Nxd4 Rd2 23.Ne6 Rc8 24.f3 Nf6 25.Red1 Rcc2 26.Rxd2 Rxd2 27.Rc1 Nxd5

Black has an extra pawn and the initiative, he should win from here  28.Rc8+ Kf7 29.Ng5+ Kg6 30.h4 Ne3 31.Rc7 One King is safe and the other exposed  31...Rxb2 32.Ne6 Rxg2+ 33.Kh1 Kf6 34.Nf4 Rb2 35.Nh5+ Ke5 36.Rxg7 b5 37.Rxh7 Rxa2

Black is now two healthy pawns up. The conversion process involves a steady advance on the queenside combined with neutralising White's passed h-pawn. Mike achieves this neatly and scores a nice scalp.  38.Re7+ Kd4 39.Rb7 Kc5 40.Nf4 Nd5 41.Ne6+ Kc4 42.h5 Re2 43.Ng5 Re7 44.Rb8 Rg7 45.Rc8+ Kb3 46.Ne6 Rh7 47.Nd4+ Ka4 48.Rc6 Rxh5+ 49.Kg1 a5 50.Rc1 Kb4 51.Rb1+ Kc5 52.Nxb5 Rh4 53.Na3 Ra4 54.Rc1+ Kb4 55.Nc2+ Kb3 56.Ne1 Nc3 57.Kf2 f4 58.Ng2 Rd4 59.Rh1 a4 60.Rh8 a3 61.Rb8+ Rb4 62.Ra8 a2 63.Ne1

63...Na4 ( No doubt White was hoping for 63...Kb2? 64.Nd3+ But even here Black wins  64...Kb3 65.Nxb4 Kxb4 66.Ke1 Na4 67.Rb8+ Ka3 ) 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.c3 Be7 6.Nbd2 cxd4 7.exd4 b6 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.h3 O-O 10.O-O d6 11.Qe2 Re8 12.Bg3 g6 13.Rfe1 Qd7 14.a4 Bf8 15.Nc4 Rad8 16.Bh4 Be7 17.Bg3 Bf8 18.Rad1 Nb8 19.a5 b5

The new and revised version of Anthony Ker (the version that plays Sicilians and Nimzos rather than Pircs and 1...d6 anti Queens Pawn systems) often heads to these Hippo type setups.  20.Nce5?! Enterprising play, White will get material back, but not necessarily a whole piece  20...dxe5 21.Bxb5 Bc6 (  The computer recommends 21...Bxf3 22.gxf3 Qb7 ( Not 22...Nc6? 23.dxe5 Nd5 24.c4 ) 23.Bxe8 Rxe8 24.Qxe5 Qxf3 and Black has a small material advantage ) 22.Nxe5 Qb7 23.Bxc6 Nxc6 24.Qf3 Nd5 25.c4 Ndb4

Is Black clinging on to his material?  26.a6 Qc7 27.Ng4! No. Presumably White saw that he had this when he played his 20th move. That is GM level calculation in a nutshell  27...Bd6 28.Bxd6 Qxd6 29.Nh6+ Kg7 30.Nxf7 Rf8 31.Nxd6 Rxf3 32.Nb7 Rff8

White now has enough pawns for the piece, and presumably is about to win the exchange as well  33.Nc5! A nice move, postponing picking up material, but since Nxe6 forks three pieces, Black can't get everything out of the way in juat one move.  33...Rfe8 34.Nxe6+ Rxe6 35.Rxe6 Nxd4 36.Re7+ Kf6 37.Rde1 Nd3 38.R1e3 Nxb2 39.Rxa7 Nxc4 40.Re1 h5

A rook and two pawns for two knights is a classic endgame material advantage, and the advanced passer on a6 is more than just icing on the cake  41.Rb7 Ne5 42.a7 Ra8 43.Ra1 Nec6 44.Ra6 Kf5 45.Rf7+ Ke6 46.Rg7 Kf6 47.Rc7 Kf5 48.h4 Ne2+ 49.Kh2 Ned4 50.f3

This is an interesting position. Why can't Black just sit here? Obviously White can liquidate to R+3 v R+2 starting with Rxc6, but presumably he wants much more than that. Why does the engine evaluate the position as +3.7? I think the problem for Black is that he can't just sit (Zugwang). Moving the King allows White to capture twice on c6 with either a check or an attack on the unprotected g6 pawn. Black has to make concessions and White can break him down.  50...Ne5 51.Rc5 Ne6 52.g4+ hxg4 53.fxg4+ Kf6 54.Kg3 Nd7 55.Rcc6 Nf8 56.Rcb6 Ke7 57.Rb8 Nc7 58.Rb7 Kd7 59.Rf6 Ke7 60.Rxf8 Rxf8 61.Rxc7+ Ke6 62.Rc6+ Kf7 63.Ra6 Ra8 64.Kf4 1-0

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 h6 6.O-O Nd7 7.c3 Bh7 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.b4 a5 10.a4 Ng6 11.Qb3 axb4 ( Karjakin (2772) - Eljanov (2702), Tromso NOR 2013, 1-0 in 56 moves was an impressive elite level squeeze 11...Nf4 12.Bd1 axb4 13.cxb4 Be7 14.g3 Nh3+ 15.Kg2 Ng5 16.Nxg5 Bxg5 17.a5 O-O 18.Qc3 Nb8 19.Nb3 Be7 20.Be2 Na6 21.Nc5 Bxc5 22.bxc5 Nc7 23.Bd2 Qd7 24.Rfe1 Nb5 25.Qb2 f6 26.Bxb5 cxb5 27.Ra3 fxe5 28.Rxe5 Rf6 29.f3 Raf8 30.Bb4 Qc6 31.Qe2 Re8 32.Rae3 Bg6 33.Bd2 Qd7 34.Rb3 Ref8 35.Bb4 Qc6 36.Rbe3

36...Re8 37.h4 Bf5 38.h5 Bh7 39.g4 Kh8 40.Be1 Bg8 41.Rb3 Ref8 42.Bh4 Rf4 43.Qd2 Bh7 44.Bg3 R4f6 45.Ree3 Qa6 46.Be5 R6f7 47.g5 hxg5 48.h6 Kg8 49.hxg7 Ra8 50.Ra3 b4 51.Qxb4 g4 52.f4 Be4+ 53.Kf2 Rf5

54.Qb6 Qc4 55.Qxe6+ Rf7 56.Rxe4 ) 12.cxb4 Be7 13.Ba3 O-O 14.Rfe1 f6 15.exf6 Rxf6 16.Bd3 Qc7 17.Rac1 Bd6

18.Rc3 This turns out to be something of a wasted tempo (18.b5! immediately is well timed ) 18...Re8 Now ...e5 is definitely coming  19.b5 Bxa3 20.Qxa3 e5!

Black has equalised (at least)  21.Bxg6 Bxg6 22.bxc6 bxc6 23.dxe5 Nxe5 24.Rec1 Nxf3+ 25.Nxf3 Be4 26.Nd4

26...Bxg2! A shot  27.Kxg2? ( White can reduce Black's attacking potential and maintain the balance by delaying this capture 27.Rxc6! Qf4 28.Rxf6 Qxf6 29.Kxg2 Qxd4 ) 27...Qf4 28.Nf3 Qg4+ 29.Kh1 Rg6 Resignation seems a bit premature (29...Rg6 30.Ng5 (30.Rg1? Re1! is a classic pattern ) 30...Rxg5 31.Rg3 Qe4+ and Black is obviously well on top but still has plenty of work still to do ) 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6

A very standard position in the modern Queens Indian  8.O-O (  White normally plays 8.Bc3 to improve the Bishop that was cruelly displaced earlier in the game, although of course one of the points of the Bb4+ Bd2 Be7 pattern is that even then the White bishop is inconveniently taking the best square for the Nb1 ) 8...d5 9.Ne5 Nfd7! This move reveals the innacuracy of White's most recent moves - White doesn't have a good way of supporting the Knight so Black has completely equalised and now starts to improve his position harmoniously while White's pieces get in each others way.  10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Nc3 Rc8 13.Rc1 O-O 14.Re1 Nf6 15.Rc2 b5 16.Nb1 Qb6 17.e3 b4

See previous comment. White now tries to exchange his way out of trouble  18.Bf1 Bxf1 19.Rxf1 Qa6 20.Qc1

20...h5! White is c ramped and uncoordinated, so Black can take time out to grab more space. and wait for more concessions. I suspect this move wouldn't occur to most amateurs (it certainly wouldn't occur to me) but interestingly the computer loves it, along with the similar (20...g5! ) 21.f3 A decent move preparing Be1, Rf2 and sometimes g4 (in response to ...h4) as defensive manoevres, but actually Black is already winning by force.  21...Rxc2 22.Qxc2 Rc8 23.Qb2 Qe2 24.Rf2 Qd1+ This wins material but (24...Qd3! (now that Rc1 isn't possible  25.Be1 Qd1 26.Re2 Rc1 wins more material ) 25.Rf1 Rc2 26.Rxd1 Rxb2 27.Be1 Rxa2

Black to go with his extra pawn retains the positional advantages he has enjoyed all game. White tries hard to wriggle and gain some counterplay, even at the cost of more material. Probably the most practical approach, but Black manages to eat heartily *and* retain complete control.  28.Nd2 Ne8 29.Rc1 Nd6 30.Rc7 Bg5 31.f4 Bf6 32.Nf3 a5 33.Ra7 Ra3 34.Ne5 Bxe5 35.dxe5 Ne4 Black has been humilating the dark squared White bishop since move 5, sad to see it being completely dominated by a super-knight on e4.  36.Kg2 g5 37.fxg5 Nxg5 38.g4 hxg4 39.Kg3 Nf3 40.Bf2 Nxe5 41.Kh4 Kg7 42.e4 Kg6 43.Bg3 Nf3+ 44.Kxg4 dxe4 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O O-O

7.Ng5! Playing this here is a rather neat transpositional trick, that has been played by So, Nakamura and others. It's much more common to play the move when Black has played ...d6 rather than ...O-O on their last move. Then it comes with tempo against f7 allowing time for f4 ahead of ...h6 (which is the goal - White wants to play f2-f4 over the top of the Knight on f3 but unfortunately the rules don't allow that in one move).  7...h6 8.f4! The trick is that White has time for this even in this move order  8...exf4 (8...hxg5? 9.fxg5 sees Black getting destroyed on the Kingside. The details are left as an exercise for the reader ) 9.Nf3 d6 10.Bxf4 We have transposed to, for example Kramnik-Leko Linares 2003 which reached the same position by a more conventional route after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 d6 5.d3 Be7 6. O-O Nf6 7.Ng5 O-O 8.f4 exf4 9.Bxf4 h6 10.Nf3  10...Bg4 This reasonable looking move is a near novelty. ...Be6 instead has been played literally hundreds of times.  11.Qd2 Kh7 12.Kh1 Qd7 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 Bf6 15.c3 Be6 Maybe 10...Be6 really would have been more logical, but really the game is level anyway.  16.Qe1 Rae8 17.Qg3 Bxd5 18.exd5

18...Ne5 (  The computer also likes 18...Ne7 as  19.Bxd6? is not good for White after the forcing sequence  19...Nf5 20.Qg4 Qxd6 21.Qxf5+ g6 22.Qg4 Qxd5 ) 19.Nd2 g5!? Rather bravely looking to sharpen the game at the cost of incurring a significant weakness.  20.Ne4 Bg7 21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.Nf6+ Bxf6 23.Rxf6 Kg7 24.Raf1 Qe7 25.d4 cxd4 26.cxd4 Rxd5 (26...Re3 is also possible  27.Qxd6 Qxd6 28.Rxd6 and  28...Re2 is in time for Black to be more than fine ) 27.Qf2 Rb5 (27...Ra5 is slightly better  28.b4 Ra4 and Black is more succesfully making a nuisance of himself than in the game ) 28.h4! a6 29.a4 Rd5 30.b4 b6

Black's Rd5 has run dangerously out of squares  31.Kh2! Black is r educed to waiting and White has time to improve his position and look for an opportunity to play the extremely dangerous Qf3-h5  31...Qd7 32.g3 Qe7 33.g4? Missing his chance (33.Qf3!! is very strong here  33...Rxd4 34.Qh5 is actually winning as Black runs out of checks if he tries to counterattack (very computer-ey I know - it's tough criticising human players for this sort of thing)  34...Rd2+? (34...Qxf6 is necessary but it leads to a very bad ending ) 35.Kh3 Qd7+ (35...Qxf6 is now completely impossible because the Rook is on a more exposed square and drops off  36.Rxf6 Kxf6 37.Qxh6+ etc ) 36.g4 Rd3+ 37.Kh2 Rd2+ 38.Kg1 and mate is inevitable, eg  38...Rd5 39.Qxh6+ Kg8 40.Rg6+ ) 33...gxh4 Black now activates his pieces and the game burns out to a draw after some accurate play from both players  34.Qxh4 Qe3 35.R6f4 Rg5 36.Rf6 Rg6 37.Rxg6+ Kxg6 38.Qf6+ Kh7 39.Qxd6 Qe2+ 40.Kg3 Qxf1 41.Qxf8 Qd3+ 1/2-1/2

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O Nf6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.e4 O-O 10.Be3 Ng4 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Qd2 Nxe3 13.Qxe3 Qa5 14.a3 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Rab8 16.Rfb1 Qxa3

White gets a rude shock. Black's queen cannot be taken because of ...Rb1+ and ...Bh3.  17.Bf1 Rxb1 18.Rxb1 c5 19.Rb7 Rd8 20.Rc7 Qa5 21.Rb7 Qa6 22.Rb3 Be6 23.Rb5 Qa1 24.Qd3 Bh3 25.Rb1 Bxf1 26.Rxf1 Qa5 27.Rb1 Qc7 28.Qd5 Rb8 29.Rb5 e6 30.Rxb8+ Qxb8 31.Qc6 Qb6 32.Qa8+ Kg7 33.Kg2 a5 34.h3 Qb1 35.e5 dxe5 36.Qxa5 Qe4+ 37.Kh2 Qxc4 38.h4 h5 39.Qa1 Qd5 40.Qe1 c4 41.Qe3 e4 42.Kg2 e5 43.Kh3 Qd3 44.Qe1 Kf6 45.Kh2 Ke6 46.Kg2 f5 47.Qc1 f4 48.gxf4 Qf3+ 49.Kg1 exf4

Black is two pawns ahead, and looking like a clear winner. But White defends admirably.  50.Qa3 Qd1+ 51.Kh2 Qd6 52.Qa4 f3+ 53.Kg1 Kf7 54.Qxc4+ Qe6 55.Qc7+ Ke8 56.Qb8+ Kd7 57.Qb7+ Kd6 58.Qb8+ Kc6 59.Qa8+ Kc7 60.Qa7+ Kd8 61.Qb8+ Ke7 62.Qc7+ Kf8 63.Qd8+ Kf7 64.Qc7+ Qe7 65.Qf4+ Kg7 66.c4 Qe6 67.Qc7+ Kf6 68.Qf4+ Ke7 69.Qc7+ Ke8 70.Qb8+ Kd7 71.Qb7+ Kd6 72.Qb6+ Ke5 73.Qc5+ Kf6 74.Qf8+ Ke5 75.Qc5+ Kf6 76.Qf8+ Ke5 1/2-1/2

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.O-O d6 7.Be3 Be7 8.c4 O-O 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.a3 Ne5 12.Rac1 Nxd3 13.Qxd3 b6 14.Rfd1 Ng4 15.h3 Nxe3 16.Qxe3 Bb7 17.f4 h6 18.g4 Rad8 19.g5 hxg5 20.fxg5 Qc5 21.h4 f5 22.Nd5

An interesting sacrifice. Is there enough compensation for the piece?   22...exd5 23.cxd5 Qa5 24.Nxf5 Rd7 25.h5 b5 26.h6 Qd8 27.hxg7 Rxf5 Giving material back, but breaking up White's attack.  28.exf5 Bxg5 29.Qe6+ Kxg7 30.Kh1 Bxc1 31.Rg1+ Kh8 32.Qg6 Qh4+ 33.Kg2 Rg7 34.Rh1 Bxd5+ 0-1

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 g6 5.c4 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.Qc2 Nc6 8.a3 e5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Rd1 Qe8 11.e3 Bd7 12.Nc3 e4 13.Nd4 Ne5 14.Bf1 c6 15.Kg2 g5 16.Be2 Qg6 17.Rh1 Bh6 18.f4 exf3+ 19.Nxf3 Rae8 20.Nd1 Ne4 21.Nxe5 Rxe5 22.Bf3 f4

White may hold off the attack with g4, but plays instead  23.exf4 gxf4 24.Nf2 fxg3 25.Bxe4 Rxf2+ 26.Qxf2 Qxe4+ 27.Qf3 Bh3+ 28.Kxh3 Qxf3 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4 g5 Oliver chooses a rare line in the Budapest gambit, but Leon was happy with the challenge.  5.Bg3 Bg7 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.h4 Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.hxg5 ( Alternatively 9.Nc3 h6 10.Qc2 g4 11.e3 d6 12.Be2 O-O 13.O-O-O gives an exciting, open game, with approximately equal chances. ) 9...Nxc4 10.Nc3 d6

Black blunders a piece. (10...c6 was necessary, when the position is sharp. The game might have gone something like  11.e4 Nxb2 12.Qd2 d5 13.exd5 Qe7+ 14.Be2 Nc4 15.Qd3 Bg4 16.Rc1 Bxc3+ 17.Rxc3 Bxe2 18.Qxe2 Qxe2+ 19.Kxe2 cxd5 20.Rd3 O-O-O with equal chances. Instead ) 11.Qa4+ c6 12.Qxc4 d5 13.Qd3 Be6 14.Rxh7 Rxh7 15.Qxh7 Kf8 16.e3 c5 17.Be2 d4 18.Ne4 d3 19.Bd6+ Ke8 20.Bxd3 c4 21.Qxg7 Qa5+ 22.b4 cxb3+ 23.Kf1 Kd7 24.axb3 Qd5 25.Nf6+ 1-0

1.f4 e5 2.fxe5 d6 3.exd6 Bxd6 4.Nf3 g5 5.e4 I choose a less common line in the From's gambit. The usual moves are g3 or d4.   5...g4 6.Bb5+ c6 7.Bc4 gxf3 8.Qxf3 Be6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Qh5+ Kd7 11.O-O Qe8 12.Rf7+ Ne7 13.d4 h6 14.Qf3 Na6 15.e5 Bc7 16.Qf6

A crucial mistake. White wastes a tempo, and Black takes the initiative from here on. 16. c3 would have been better, when both sides have chances.  16...Rf8 17.Rxf8 Qxf8 18.Qxf8 Rxf8 19.Bxh6 Rh8 20.Bd2 c5 21.c3 cxd4 22.cxd4 Nf5 23.Bc3 Bb6 24.Na3 Ke7 25.Nc2 Nc7 26.g4 Nh6 27.h3 Nf7 28.Kg2 Nd5 29.Bd2 Kf8 30.Kg3 Kg7 31.h4 Bd8 32.Rh1 Ng5 33.Bc1 Be7 34.Rh2 Ne4+ 35.Kf3 Bg5 36.Bxg5 Nxg5+ 37.Kg3 Nf7 38.g5 Kg6

White is holding, and the kingside pawns are strong. But I blunder:  39.Kg4 Nxg5 40.h5+ Kh6 41.Rf2 Rg8 42.Kh4 Ne4 43.Rf7 Ng3 44.Rxb7

(Ed: A cute finish ensues)  44...Nf5+ 45.Kh3 Nf4+ 46.Kh2 Rg2+ 47.Kh1 Ng3# 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 d5 4.Nbd2 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.e3 Bd6 7.Ne5 O-O 8.Bd3 Ne7 9.g4 Ne8 10.Qf3 f6 11.Qh3 g6 12.Nef3 Bxf4 13.exf4 cxd4 14.cxd4 Nd6 15.Rg1 Bd7 16.Qh6 Bb5 17.Bxb5 Nxb5 18.h4 Kh8 19.f5

White must attack but pushing the g or h pawns endangers his Queen. Therefore he tries the f pawn, but this loses a pawn and the initiative.  19...exf5 20.gxf5 Nxf5 21.Qf4 Qe7+ 22.Kf1 Rae8 23.h5 Qe2+ 24.Kg2 Ne3+ 25.Kh1 g5 26.Qh2 Nf5 27.Rae1 Qd3 28.Rd1 Nbxd4 29.Nxd4 Qxd4 30.Qh3 Qh4 31.Qxh4 Nxh4 32.Rg3 Re2 33.Kg1 Rfe8 34.Kf1 Kg7 35.Nb3 Rxb2 36.Rc1 Ree2 37.Rc7+ Kh6 38.Rf7 Rxf2+ 39.Kg1 Nf3+ 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.Nge2 d6 4.g3 b5 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O Nd7 7.d3 e6 8.f4 Qc7 9.Be3 Be7 10.f5 exf5 11.Rxf5 Ngf6 12.Qd2 h6 13.h3 Rd8 14.Raf1 Ne5 15.Nf4 b4 16.Ncd5 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 Bf6

White decides to sacrifice to open up the board.  19.Rxf6 gxf6 20.Bxh6 Rg8 21.g4 Qe7 22.c3 bxc3 23.bxc3 c4 24.d4 Nd3 25.Kh2 Rb8 26.Qd1 Kd8 27.Qa4 Qe2 28.Qxa6 Rb2

29.Qxd6+ A fine effort by young Ryan, who finished in 3= place on 6.5 points. (  Ed: A nice game and a good result, but I would be derelict in my duty as editor if I didn't note that [the computer informs me that :-] White can win the game with the elegant and not too difficultmanoeuvre 29.Qxd6+ Ke8 30.Qc6+ Kd8 31.d6! Qe6 32.Qc7+ Ke8 33.Kh1 and White's attack is stronger, his King safer, and he is about to collect more material ) 1/2-1/2

1.c4 c6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 d6 4.d3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.Bg5 dxc4 7.e4 b5 8.e5 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Nxg5 hxg5 11.Bxg5 Nbd7 12.exf6 Bb7 13.g3 c5 14.d5 Nb6 The first non-theoretical move  15.dxe6 Qxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Bxh1 17.e7 a6 18.h4 Bh6 19.f4 b4 20.Rd6 Rb8 21.Nd1 Bxg5 22.fxg5

White has only 3 pawns for a Rook, but the it's not clear how the Rook on h8 can ever join the game - in fact White is probably just winning  22...Nd5 23.Bxc4 The players wimped out now which is a shame (23.Bxc4 Nxe7 24.fxe7 Kxe7 25.Rf6 and White has rough material equality and dominates the board ) 1/2-1/2

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.a4 The first non-theoretical move (12.g3 c5 13.d5 is typical Bot play ) 12...Bb4 13.Qf3

13...Qa5? My first poor move, b6 is usually the best square ( Lee (2243) - Shulman (2616), Las Vegas 2007 featured Black building a massive central presence 13...Qb6 14.Be2 c5 15.d5 exd5 16.O-O d4 17.Nd5 Qd6 18.Qe4+ Ne5 19.f4 Bxd5 20.Qxe5+ Qxe5 21.fxe5 bxa4 22.h4 Kd7 23.Bg4+ Kc6 24.Bd1 a3 25.Ba4+ Kc7 26.bxa3 Bc3 27.Rab1 d3 28.e6 Bd4+ 29.Kh1 fxe6 30.f7 c3

31.Be8 c2 32.Rbc1 Raxe8 33.fxe8=Q Rxe8 34.Rf7+ Kc6 0-1 ) 14.Bd2 O-O-O 15.Qd1 Bxc3? (15...Qb6 is again the right move, with advantage ) 16.bxc3 Qb6 17.axb5 cxb5 18.Be3 Rhe8 19.Be2 a6 20.Bf3 Ne5 21.Bxb7+ Qxb7 22.O-O Rg8 23.f3 Nd3 24.Qe2 Qc6 25.Ra2 Kb7 26.Rfa1 Ra8 27.h4 e5 28.dxe5 Nxe5 29.Bg5 Rge8 30.Qf2 Nd3 31.Qg3 Qb6+ 32.Kh2 a5 33.Qg4 Qc7+ 34.f4

Both sides are advancing pawns in front of their King  34...b4? I take it too far, losing a second pawn and worse heading into an ending which is lost  35.Qf3+ Qc6 36.Qxc6+ Kxc6 37.cxb4 Nxb4 38.Rxa5 Rad8 39.Rc1 Re4 40.Ra7 Nd3 41.Rc2 Rd7 42.Rxd7 Kxd7 43.f5 Kd6

44.h5? Suddenly I am okay, I can claim my strong central control was always giving me fighting chances  44...Ke5 45.h6 Kxf5 46.h7 Re8 47.Bh4 Ne5 48.Rf2+ Kg6 49.Re2 Kxh7 50.Kg3 Kg6 51.Rc2 Rc8 52.Rc3 Nd7 53.Kf4 Rc6 54.Rg3+ Kh6 55.Bg5+ Kh7 56.Rh3+ Kg8 57.Rg3 Kh7 58.Rc3 Nxf6 59.Kf5 Ng8 60.Rh3+ Kg7 61.Bd2 Rc5+ 62.Kf4 f6 63.Bc3 Rc6 64.g4 Kg6 65.Re3 Kf7 66.Re1 Ne7 67.Rd1 Ke6 68.Ke4 f5+ 69.gxf5+ Nxf5 70.Rg1 Nd6+ 71.Ke3 Nb5 72.Rg6+ Kd7 73.Rxc6 Kxc6 74.Bg7 1/2-1/2

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.exf6? This can't be good, Black gets all the his normal Bot benefits, but White doesn't get his extra pawn or a kingside pawn mass.  8...hxg5 9.fxg7 Bxg7 10.a4 b4 11.Ne4 Ba6 12.Nexg5 Qa5 13.Qd2 Nd7 14.Ne4 Ke7 15.Qg5+ Qxg5 16.Nfxg5 Bxd4 17.O-O-O c5 18.b3 Ne5 19.f4 Nd3+

20.Bxd3 cxd3 21.Nf3 Be3+ 22.Kb2 c4 23.bxc4 Bxc4 24.Ned2 Bd5 25.Ne5 Bd4+ 26.Kb1 Rac8 27.Nxd3 b3 28.Nb4 Rh5 29.Nxd5+ Rxd5 30.Nxb3 Rb8 31.Ka2 Rb4 32.Nxd4 Rxa4+ 33.Kb3 Raxd4 34.Rxd4 Rxd4 35.g3 Rd2 36.h4 Kf6 37.Kc3 Rg2 38.Rh3 Kf5 39.Kd4 Kg4 I bungled my huge earlier advantage and win on time when only slightly better 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.exf6 Another early deviation which hands the advantage to Black  9...gxh4 10.Ne4 Bb4+ 11.Nfd2 Nd7 12.a3 Ba5 13.Nd6+ Kf8 14.Nxc8 Rxc8 15.Be2 Qxf6 16.O-O Rg8 17.b4 Bc7 18.Nf3 Qg7

19.g3 hxg3 20.fxg3 Bxg3 21.hxg3 Qxg3+ 22.Kh1 Qg2# 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Qb6 12.Be2 Bb7 13.Bf3 O-O-O This is a no rmal Bot position except that White normally plays g3 and Bg2 rather than Be2-f3  14.Rc1 Bd6 15.h3 Rdg8 16.Be3 Nxf6

I am sure I was very happy with the Black position  17.d5 Oh look a free pawn  17...Nxd5?? 18.Bxb6 Whoops. Oh well Black's position still looks beautiful, and in a 5 minute game you play on. A Bishop is almost a match for a Queen right? (being able to move like a rook too can't be that important surely)  18...axb6 19.Nxd5 cxd5 20.Kf1 Rg5 21.b3 Rhg8 22.Rg1 Bc5 23.bxc4 bxc4 24.a4 Ba6 25.Qe2 Kb7

My opponent has been drifting, expecting the game to win itself, but now he spots a tactic  26.Rxc4?! Ka7! Suddenly Black is right back in the game, and even for choice ( Of course not  26...Bxc4? 27.Qxc4 ) 27.Ke1 Bxc4 28.Qd2 Re5+ 29.Kd1 Bb3+ 30.Kc1 Bxa4 31.Bd1 Rc8 32.Kb1 Bxd1 33.Rxd1 Re4 34.Qa2+ Kb7 35.f3 Rb4+ 36.Ka1 Bd4+

(36...Bd4+ 37.Rxd4 Rc1+ and Black is a rook up ) 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Another anaemic option, Black just has a nice position and an extra pawn  9...Nd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Be2 Bb4+ 12.Kf1 Nd7 13.a3 Bf8 14.b3 Nb6 15.Qc2 Ba6 16.h4 Bg7 17.hxg5 O-O-O 18.b4 hxg5 19.Rxh8 Rxh8 20.Kg1 f6 21.Rd1 g4 22.Nh2 f5

White has missed some tactical opportunities, but now the underlying positional merits of Black's positionemerge  23.f3 Bh6 24.fxg4 Be3+ 25.Kf1 f4 26.Bf3

26...fxg3! It's always fun to sacrifice the Queen. White collapses quickly, but this is totally winning anyway  27.Bxd5 gxh2 28.Ke2 (  or 28.Bxe6+ Kb8 29.Ke2 Bg1 ) 28...Nxd5 29.Rh1 Bxd4 30.Qg6 Nf4+ 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.g3 Qb6 12.exf6 Bb7 13.Bg2 O-O-O 14.O-O

14...Ne5? The problem with this move is that White can just take the knight, a very thematic Bot sacrifice. White has Rook, Knight and Pawn plus positional domination for the Queen (14...c5! is the thematic Bot move ) 15.Be3? Nd3 16.d5 c5 17.dxe6 Bxg2

18.Kxg2? (18.e7! is essential - a very typical Bot pattern ) 18...Qxe6 Now White is in trouble   19.Qf3? (19.h4 or ) (19.Rh1 are forced ) 19...Qh3+ and mate 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 Nd5

This is the Alatortsez variation, which Cox labels dubious. He provides complicated tactics to pick up the exchange and hold onto it (see next game).  10.Qh5? But of course I hadn't memorized too many details. This way Black gets two pieces for the rook instead of one  10...hxg5 11.Qxh8 gxh4 12.Be2 Qa5 13.O-O Nxc3 14.bxc3 Nd7 15.f4 Bb7 16.Qxh4 Be7 17.Qh8+ Nf8 18.Bh5 O-O-O 19.Bxf7

Black is still winning but after the reasonable looking  19...Nd7? 20.Qh3! The computer eval swings over to winning for White. The e and f pawns are going to be very strong  20...Qxc3?? 21.Qxc3 Another point of Qh3 was that it defended that pawn!  21...Bb4 22.Qh3 Be1 23.Rfxe1 Nxe5 24.dxe5 Rd7 25.Bxe6 Kb8 26.Bxd7 Bc8 27.Bxc8 b4 28.Qd7 b3 29.Qb7# 1-0

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 Nd5

The Alatortsev again  10.Nxf7! This time I spot the right tactic  10...Qxh4 11.Nxh8 Bb4 12.Qf3? Sadly this doesn't work ( The more conservative 12.Rc1 is the book move ) 12...Qxd4 13.Qh5+ My Queen and Knight don't co-ordinate effectively  13...Kd8 14.Nf7+ Ke7 (14...Kc7 is better demonstrating that all I am doing is chasing him to safety ) 15.Rd1! This should have forced a draw  15...Qe4+? Now White is seriously better again (15...Bxc3+ 16.bxc3 Qxc3+ 17.Rd2 Qc1+ 18.Rd1 Qc3+ ) 16.Be2 Nd7 17.O-O Qf5 18.Nxd5+ cxd5 19.Nxh6? (19.Qxf5! ) 19...Qxh5 20.Bxh5 Nxe5 21.a3 Bd6 22.Rfe1 Bd7 23.f4 Bc5+ 24.Kh1 Nd3

But I've bungled it and the coordination between Black's centralised minor pieces and his advanced pawn mass we've seen often in Botvinnikpositions is again the decisive factor.  25.Nf5+ Kd8 26.Re2 exf5 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.g3 Qb6 12.exf6 c5 (12...Bb7 13.Bg2 O-O-O 14.O-O Ne5 15.dxe5! Is the standard Queen sac discussed below ) 13.Bg2 Bb7

14.Bxb7? This is horrible (14.d5! is a very important move in this and similar positions ) 14...Qxb7 15.O-O O-O-O 16.a4 b4 17.Nb5 Ne5

18.dxe5! Reading Cox's book had at least made me aware of the idea of this Queen sac, even though it is nowhere near as good here as in the normal situation above, it's still a decent try  18...Rxd1 19.Rfxd1 a6 20.Nd6+ Bxd6 21.Rxd6 Rd8 22.Rxd8+ Kxd8 23.Rd1+ Kc7 24.Be3 Qb6 25.h4 Qa5 26.h5 Qxa4 27.Rc1 c3 28.bxc3 bxc3? 29.Bxc5? Qc4 30.Be3 Kc6? 31.h6 Kd5? 32.h7 Qc8 33.Rxc3 Qh8 34.Rc5+ Ke4

35.Kg2?? Oh no - I could have won with the not too difficult (35.Rc4+ Kxe5 36.Rc5+ Ke4 37.Rh5 a5 38.Bc5 a4 39.Bf8 ) 35...Qxh7 36.Rc4+ Kd5 37.Rd4+ Kxe5 38.Ra4 Qc2 39.Kf3 Qc6+ 0-1