Magazines Games 2008-2018 2018

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

Some interesting opening play now unfolds, but it has been seen before recently in this very magazine. So I have the luxury of simply copying my notes from Gao-Hague NZ Champs 2018 in the January issue verbatim for the next several moves. Copying BEGINs>  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 tr ansposed 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...Be6 10...Bg4 This reasonable looking move is a near novelty. ......Be6 instead has been played literally hundreds of times. 11.Nd5 Nb4 (11...Bxd5 is much more popular, but if I leave my computer to think for a while it prefers ...Nb4, which has been played a couple of times by Sveshnikov. I suspect Ben does hishomework ) 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.c3 Nc6 15.Bg3 d5 16.Qb3 b6 17.e5 Bg5 18.Qa4 Rc8 19.Qg4 Rf5 20.d4 cxd4 21.cxd4

21...Qd7 (21...Nb4! Is very strong according to the computer - the knight is getting very mischievous and might be going to d3 or e3 (via c2) or even picking up a pawn on the weird route a2-c1-e2 ) 22.Nxg5 Rxg5 23.Qd1 Black might be slightly better with a better minor piece, but the position quickly burns out tonothing  23...Ne7 24.Bh4 Rf5 25.Bxe7 Rxf1+ 26.Qxf1 Qxe7 27.Rc1 Rxc1 28.Qxc1 Qb4 29.Qc8+ Kh7 30.Qc2+ Kg8 31.Qc8+ Kh7 32.Qc2+ Kg8 33.Qc8+ 1/2-1/2

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.Bd3?! (5.e5 is the normal move here ) 5...Nb4! The database approves of this response. Black seems to be at least equal after only 5 moves.  6.O-O Nxd3 7.cxd3 Be7 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nb3 b6 10.Bg5 Bb7 11.e5 Nd7 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Rc1 Rac8 14.Re2 c5 15.Rec2 Ba6 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.d4 c4

To my admittedly uneducated eye it looks like White is struggling somewhat simply because he is stuck passively trying to contain Black on Black's 'side' of the board, without any chance to get something going on White's side of the board. Additionally, endgames tend to favour Black because his pawn structure is more compact and the base of his pawn chain is not exposed as White's 'd' pawn is.  18.Nbd2 Rb8 19.b3 Nb6 20.bxc4 Bxc4 21.Nxc4 Nxc4 22.Nd2 Nxd2 23.Qxd2 Qb4 24.Qf4 Qa4 25.h4 h6 26.Kh2 Rb1

27.Qd2? White has two good moves (27.Rc8 Rxc1 28.Rxf8+ Kxf8 29.Qxc1 and Black can't grab material without allowing a perpetual ) (27.Rxb1 Qxc2 28.Rb3 Qxa2 29.Rg3 with rather scary compensation for the pawn ) 27...Rb4 Winning a 'clean pawn' as Mike would say. He demonstrates some nice technique from here. As is usually the case in rook endings, getting both King and Rook active is the key to success.  28.Rd1 Rxd4 29.Qxd4 Qxc2 30.Rd2 Qc7 31.f4 Rc8 32.f5 Qc3 33.fxe6 fxe6 34.Qxc3 Rxc3 35.Re2 Kf7 36.h5 Ke7 37.Rb2 Kd7 38.Rb7+ Rc7 39.Rb3 a5 40.Rb5 a4 41.Ra5 Rc4 42.Ra7+ Kc6 43.Ra6+ (43.Rxg7? Rh4+ 44.Kg3 Rxh5 ) 43...Kc5 44.Rxe6 Re4 45.Re7 d4 46.Rxg7 Rxe5 47.Rc7+ Kb4 48.Rd7 Kc3 49.Rc7+ Kd2 50.Rc4 d3 51.Rxa4 Ke1 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Garry Kasparov seemed to make this appear as a forced win for White back in the 1980s  4...c6 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Qc2 O-O 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nbd7 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bf4 Nh5 12.Be3 Qc7 13.Qd2 f5 14.Ng3 Nhf6 15.O-O Bd6

16.b4! This is actually a pawn sacrifice, White gets a promising attack that eventually carries the day  16...f4 17.c5 fxe3 18.cxd6 exf2+ 19.Rxf2 Qxd6 20.Re1 Nd5 21.Ne5 Bb7 22.Bg6 N7f6

White now wins by single-mindedly targetting mate on h7  23.Bb1 Rac8 24.Qd3 Qc7 25.Ref1 c5 26.Nh5 cxd4 27.Qg6

27...Qxe5 (27...Kh8 is necessary to allow gxf6 defending h7 with the queen, otherwise White will take both knights on f6 and give mate. Then the computer has clever follow ups to justify a +4 score for White, but at least these follow ups are not as obvious as the move that now appears on theboard ) 28.Qxg7# 1-0

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bb5 Nd4 6.Bc4 e6 7.e5 d6 8.O-O Ne7

9.Nxd4?! This looks dubious but Bob makes it work (eventually)  9...cxd4 10.Ne4 dxe5 11.fxe5 Bxe5 12.d3 Qc7 (  The sacrifice has been seen before Pavlov (2220) - Martirosyan, Teteven 1991 12...Nf5 13.Bg5 Qc7 14.Nf6+ Kf8 15.Ng4 Ne3 16.Qf3 Nxf1 17.Rxf1 f5 18.Nxe5 Qxe5 19.Bf4 Qa5 20.Qg3 Kf7 21.Bc7 Qc5 22.Bd6 Qc6 23.Be5 Rg8

White finishes this off very nicely  24.Qh4 h5 25.Re1 b5 26.Qf6+ Ke8 27.Bd6 Qxd6 28.Bxb5+ Bd7 29.Rxe6+ Qxe6 30.Qxe6+ Kf8 31.Bxd7 1-0 ) 13.Bb5+ Bd7 14.Bxd7+ Qxd7 15.Qf3 Nd5 16.Bh6 f6 17.Rae1

Black's centre looks strong, and his King should be okay on the Queenside. Verdict: White is struggling to prove compensation  17...O-O-O 18.c4 Ne3 19.Rf2 Qc7 20.Qh3 Nf5 21.b4 Rhe8 22.Bd2 h5 23.g3 Kb8 24.a4 Qe7 25.a5 Rf8 26.Nc5 Rde8 27.Qg2 Qc7 28.a6 b6 29.Nb3

29...Nxg3? Losing patience, a shame because the policy of focusing everything on the centre despite the opposite side Kings had been working pretty well.  30.hxg3 Bxg3 31.Ref1 Bxf2+ 32.Rxf2 e5

33.b5 (33.Nxd4! exd4?? 34.Bf4 ) 33...f5 34.Bb4 Rf6 35.c5! Finally getting in an effective break  35...Kc8? A sudden collapse (35...e4! countering in kind and the board is on fire but Black is holding his own ) 36.cxb6 Qxb6 37.Qa8+ Kd7 38.Qd5+ Kc8 39.Rc2+ Kb8 40.Ba5 Rd8 41.Qxe5+ Qd6

42.Bc7+ 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 c5 6.a3 Ba5 7.Bd2 O-O 8.e3 Ba6 9.Be2 d5 10.cxd5 Bxe2 11.Nxe2 Bxd2+ 12.Nxd2 exd5 13.O-O c4 14.Qc2 Nc6 15.b3 b5 16.e4 dxe4 17.bxc4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Qxd4 19.cxb5 Rac8 20.Qa2 Rfd8 21.Nb3 Qa4 22.Rac1 Qxb5 23.Nd4 Qb6 24.Nf5

24...Rxc1 25.Rxc1 Qc5 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.f4 Bg7 6.Nf3 d6 7.O-O e6 8.d3 Nge7 9.Be3 Nd4 10.Qd2 O-O 11.Rae1 Rb8 12.g4 d5 13.Bf2 b5 14.e5 b4 15.Ne2 Nxe2+ 16.Rxe2 d4 17.Ng5 Bb7 18.Ne4 Qc7 19.Nf6+ Kh8 20.Bg3 Bxg2 21.Rxg2 Qc6 22.Bh4 Nd5

23.Rf3? (23.Rg3! This way there is no en-prise rook on f3 after the Knight on d5 moves ) 23...Bxf6 24.exf6 Ne3 25.Rgg3 c4 26.Rxe3 c3 27.Qg2 Qxg2+ 28.Kxg2 dxe3 29.b3 a5 30.Rxe3 Ra8 31.Re4 Rfb8 32.Bg3 a4 33.f5 axb3 34.axb3 exf5 35.gxf5 gxf5 36.Re7 Rf8 37.Bf4 Ra2 38.Bh6

38...Rxc2+ 39.Kh3 Rd8 40.Rxf7 Rxd3+ 41.Kh4 Rxh2+ 42.Kg5 Rd8 43.Rc7 f4 44.f7 Rxh6 45.Kxh6 Rd6+ 46.Kg5 Kg7 47.Kxf4 Rf6+ 48.Ke5 Rxf7 49.Rc4 Rb7

White has done well to make a game of it, but two good extra passed pawns and no more complexity signals the end  50.Kd6 h5 51.Kc6 Rb8 52.Kc7 Rh8 53.Rxb4 h4 54.Rg4+ Kf6 55.b4 h3 56.Rg1 h2 57.Rh1 Kf5 58.b5 Kg4 0-1

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 O-O 6.h3 e5 7.d5 Nbd7 8.Be3 a5 9.Bd3 Nc5 10.Bc2 Nh5 11.g3 Bd7 12.Qe2 (  Scekic (2430) - Tratar (2420), Ljubljana 1998 was hugely entertaining 12.Na4 Bxa4 13.Bxa4 Nxe4 14.Bc2 Nc5 15.Qd2 Qe8 16.O-O-O Nf6 17.Bxc5 dxc5 18.Rde1 Nd7 19.Ba4 f6 20.Qe3 Rf7 21.h4 Qf8 22.Qe2 Nb6 23.Bc2 Re7 24.h5 f5 25.g4 e4 26.g5 Ree8 27.Nh4 Qd6 28.Bd1 a4 29.a3 Nd7 30.Qd2 Ne5 31.Be2 Red8 32.Ng2 Nc6 33.Qf4 Nd4 34.Bd1 Qxf4+ 35.Nxf4 Rd6 36.f3 Be5 37.Nh3 Rb6 38.fxe4 f4 39.Nf2 Nb3+ 40.Bxb3 Rxb3 41.Ng4 Bxb2+ 42.Kc2 Rg3 43.Nh6+ Kg7 44.Kxb2 Rxg5 45.hxg6 hxg6 46.e5 Ra6 47.e6 Rb6+ 48.Kc1 Rg2 49.e7 Rbb2 50.Re6 Rbc2+ 51.Kd1 Rcd2+ 52.Ke1 Ra2

53.Rxg6+ Rxg6 54.e8=Q Ra1+ 55.Kf2 Rxh1 56.Qg8+ Kxh6 57.Qh8+ Kg5 58.Qxh1 Rb6 59.Qh8 ) 12...Qc8 13.Ng1 Qe8 14.O-O-O b6 15.g4 Nf4 I think I am learning something by annotating these games. Black plays b6 to make Be3xc5 undesirable because it opens a file towards the King. Conversely...  16.Bxf4? ...tends to be a positional blunder in the Kings Indian because it liberates a monster on g7  16...exf4 17.Qf3 b5 18.Qxf4 bxc4 19.Nge2 Ba4 20.Bxa4 Nxa4 21.Rd2 Rb8 22.e5 Nxc3 23.Nxc3 Bxe5 24.Qf3 a4 25.Re1

25...Bxc3! The monster gives its life, but Black gains decisive material  26.Rxe8 Bxd2+ 27.Kxd2 Rfxe8 28.Kc2 Rb5 Two rooks tend to be better than a Queen particularly if the Queen doesn't have many checks and the Rooks can pick off weak pawns which can't be defended twice.  29.h4 Reb8 30.Qf6 Rxd5 31.f4 Rdb5 32.f5 Rxb2+ 33.Kc3 Rg2 34.h5 Rg3+ 35.Kc2 a3 36.Kc1 Rg1+ 37.Kd2

Black gets there first  37...c3+ 38.Ke2 Re8+ 39.Kf2 Rxg4 40.fxg6 fxg6 41.hxg6 Rxg6 42.Qxc3 c5 43.Qxa3 Rf6+ 44.Kg2 Re5 45.Qb3+ Kg7 46.Qb7+ Kh6 47.a4 Rg5+ 48.Kh2 Rfg6 49.a5 Rh5# 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.Nd2 Nc6 5.Ngf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 dxe4 7.Nxe4 cxd4 8.Nxf6+ gxf6 ( obviously if 8...Qxf6?? 9.Bg5 ) 9.cxd4 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Bb4 11.a3 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2

12...Qd5 (12...Qxd2+ might be a little boring, but it seems sensible in this situation ) 13.Rc1 Bd7 14.Qf4 Ke7 15.O-O Qd6 16.Qh4 h6 17.Rfe1

See previous comment. Now Anthony has been allowed a dream c3 Sicilian position  17...b6 18.d5 Qxd5 19.Be4 Qb5 20.Bxc6 Bxc6 21.Nd4 Game over  21...Qxb2 22.Nxc6+ Kf8 23.Rb1 Qxa3 24.Qxf6 Rh7 25.Rxe6 Rc8 26.Rbe1 1-0

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 e6 5.e5 d5 6.exd6 Qxd6 7.Nf3 b5 8.Ne4 Qe7 9.Bd3 Nf6 10.O-O Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Bb7 12.Re1 O-O 13.c3 Nd7 14.Bg5 f6 15.Bf4 Nb6 16.Qb3 Qd7 17.Rad1 Rfe8 18.Bc1 a5 19.Nd2 a4 20.Qc2 Nc4 21.Nxc4 bxc4 22.Qe2 Ba6 23.Qf3 Rac8 24.h4 f5 25.Bc2 Bb5 26.h5 Qe7 27.Qg3 Kf7 28.Bf4 Bf6 29.b3 axb3 30.axb3 Ra8

There follows an interesting little dance, which is a prelude to White cementing a complete grip  31.Bd6 Bh4 32.Qe5 Bf6 33.hxg6+ hxg6 34.Qh2 Qd8 35.Qh7+ Bg7 36.Be5 Rg8 37.bxc4 Bxc4 38.Rb1 Ba6 39.f4

See previous comment, White's grip translates to falling pawns during the transition to the ending  39...Qf8 40.Re3 Rh8 41.Qxg7+ Qxg7 42.Bxg7 Kxg7 43.Rxe6 One pawn  43...Rhc8 44.Rb6 Bb5 45.Rb7+ Kh6 46.Bxf5 Two  46...Rg8 47.g4 Rg7 48.g5+ Kh7 49.Bxg6+ Three, that should be enough. A nice game by Paul.  49...Kh8 50.Rxg7 Kxg7 51.f5 Ra1+ 52.Kg2 Rc1 53.Re7+ Kf8 54.f6 c5 55.Rh7 Bc6+ 56.Kf2 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bd3 Na6 7.O-O c5 8.d5 Rb8 9.f5!? This sideline looks a little weird, but it is very direct and it scores well in the database  9...Bd7 10.fxg6 hxg6 11.Qe1 Nb4 12.Qh4 c4 13.Ng5

13...Re8 ( The computer holds the balance by refining this idea with 13...Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Rfc8 providing flight for the King *and* defending c4 ) 14.Bxc4 Nxc2 15.e5 Nxa1 (  Trying to defend in a straightforward manner doesn't help either, eg 15...dxe5 16.d6 e6 17.Rxf6 Qxf6 18.Nce4 Qd8 19.Qh7+ Kf8 20.Nxf7 Kxf7 21.Bh6 Rg8 22.Rf1+ Ke8 23.Qxg6# ) 16.exf6 exf6 17.Qh7+ Kf8 18.Nge4 (  The computer improves with the even more devastating 18.Ne6+!! eg  18...fxe6 19.Bh6 Bxh6 20.Qxh6+ Kf7 21.Qh7+ Kf8 22.Qxg6 and the end is nigh ) 18...g5

Trying to keep the Bishop out of h6 (18...Bf5 is most resilient  19.Bh6 Bxh6 20.Qxh6+ Ke7 21.Rxf5 gxf5 22.Qxf6+ and the attack continues and ultimately prevails, if White is calm. It is striking how easily the blows rain down, White's pieces just cooperate well and the defenders are all exchanged off ) 19.Nxf6 Bxf6 20.Bxg5! The final touch  20...Re1 (20...Bxg5 21.Qxf7# ) 21.Bh6+ Ke7 22.Rxe1+ Be6 23.Rxe6+ 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Ba6 5.Qc2 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Rc1 Nbd7 10.Qa4 Bb7 11.e3 c5 12.Ba6 Bxa6 13.Qxa6 c4 14.O-O h6 15.Bh4 Qc8 16.Qxc8 Rfxc8 17.Ne5 g5 18.Bg3 Nxe5 19.Bxe5 Nd7 20.e4 Nxe5 21.dxe5 c3 22.bxc3 dxe4 23.Nxe4 Bxa3 24.Rb1 Kg7 25.Rb3 Be7 26.h4 Rc4 27.f3 a5 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.Nd6 Rc6 30.Rd1 a4 31.Ra3 Kf8 32.g3 b5 33.Rd5 Rb8 34.Ra2 Rxc3 35.Nxb5 Rc5 36.Rxc5 Bxc5+ 37.Kg2 Rxb5 38.Rxa4 Rb4 39.Ra8+ Ke7 40.Rg8 Be3 41.Ra8 Rc4 42.Kh3 Rc5 43.Kg4 Rxe5 44.Ra6 f5+ 45.Kh5 Re6 46.Ra5 Kf6 47.g4 fxg4 48.fxg4 Kg7

49.Ra6! Nice try  49...Bb6 ( Not 49...Rxa6?? stalemate ) 50.Ra8 Be3 51.Ra6 Kf6 52.Ra5 Re5 53.Ra6+ Ke7 54.Rc6 Bf4 55.Ra6 Re2 56.Rb6 Re6 57.Rb5 Kd6 58.Rb6+ Kd5 59.Rb5+ Ke4

60.Rb6 Re8?? (60...Re5! Ironically since the previous diagram Leonard has improved his King position and so now he can firmly lose control of h6 and g6 forever and put the stalemate trick behind him ) 61.Re6+ Rxe6 1/2-1/2

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 Nc6 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.e4 Ba6 8.Bd3 Na5 9.Qe2 Nb3 10.Rb1 Nxc1 11.Rxc1 Nh5 12.g3 Qg5 13.f4 Qa5 14.Nh3 g6 15.O-O O-O-O 16.c5 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Nf6 18.e5 Nd5 19.c4 Ne7 20.Ng5 Rdf8 21.Ne4

A very nice Samisch Nimzo Indian position for White  21...f5? 22.Nf6? (22.exf6 Ng8 23.Qf3 and the possibility of mate on a8 gives White time to either support the pawn on f6 or get a winning lead in the race to open lines against the enemy king. In the game Black finally gets some air, and holds his own in the race ) 22...Ng8 23.Nxg8 Rfxg8 24.Rb1 g5 25.fxg5 Rxg5 26.Qf3 c6 27.cxb6 axb6 28.Rb4 Kc7 29.Rfb1 Rb8 30.c5 b5 31.a4 Rg4 32.axb5 Rxb5 33.Rxb5 cxb5

Black is better because he has an immediate threat, a more active rook, a passed pawn, a more secure main pawn chain, and a less exposed King  34.d5 Looking to break up Black's pawns too ( Or 34.Qd3 Holding d4 and threatening b5  34...Re4 menacing the White king  35.Qxb5 Qxb5 36.Rxb5 Rxd4 leads to a winning rook and pawn ending for Black ) 34...Re4 35.dxe6 Re1+ 36.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 37.Kg2 Qd2+ 38.Kg1 dxe6 39.Qa3 Kc6 40.Qa6+ Kxc5 41.Qc8+ Kd4 42.Qxe6 Qe1+ 43.Kg2 Qxe5 44.Qb6+ Qc5 45.Qf6+ Kc4 46.Kh3 b4 47.Qf7+ Kc3 48.Qxh7

Material is nominally level, but in Queen endings an advanced passed pawn is a huge advantage  48...b3 49.Qh8+ Kc2 50.Qe8 b2 51.Qe2+ Kb3 52.Qd3+ Ka2 53.Qa6+ Qa3 54.Qc4+ Ka1 55.Qd4 Qf3 56.Qa7+ Kb1 57.Qg1+ Kc2 58.Qc5+ Kd1 59.Qd4+ Kc1 60.Qg1+ Kc2 61.Qc5+ Kb3 62.Qb6+ Ka2 63.Qa7+ Qa3 64.Qf7+ Ka1 65.Qf6 Qd3 66.Kg2 Kb1 67.Kh3

67...Qf1+ 68.Kh4 Qc4+ 69.Kh3 Ka2 And finally White can neither check nor pin the advanced pawn  70.Qxf5 b1=Q 71.Qa5+ Kb2 72.Qb6+ Kc2 73.Qf2+ Kc3 74.Qe3+ Qbd3 75.Qe5+ Kd2 76.Qb2+ Qcc2 77.Qb4+ Ke2 78.Qg4+ Kf2 79.Qf4+ Kg1 80.Qa4 Qf1+ 81.Kg4 Qxa4+ 82.Kh5 Qf5+ 83.Kh6 Qad7 84.g4 Qdh7# 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Be2 e6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Na3 cxd4 9.Nb5 Rc8 10.Nbxd4

10...Bg4? After this Anthony gets a chance to continually annoy his opponent with threats, exactly the sort of thing he's looking for with his c3 Sicilian. The computer recommends rushing to catch up with development with 10...Be7 (  In the only game I have with this position Black played 10...Bc5 Milner Barry-Fazekas Bath 1963, 1/2-1/2 in 30 ) 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Be3 Bc5 13.Qxd5 cxd5 14.Ba6 Rc7 15.Bf4 Re7

A very unhappy rook, White is not to be denied, he is going to collect the exchange  16.Ne5 Nh5 (  Anthony shared some of his tactical ideas with me on the ride to the airport 16...O-O 17.b4 Bd6 (17...Bb6 18.Nxg4 Nxg4 19.Bd6 A winning skewer ) 18.Ng6!!

A very unusual fork ) 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Bg5 h5 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Bb5+ Kf8 21.Nd7+ Rxd7 22.Bxd7 Rg8 23.Kh1 h4 24.h3 Be2 25.Rfe1 Bd3 26.Red1 Be4 27.f3 Bf5 28.Bb5 Ke7 29.Bd3 Bxd3 30.Rxd3 a5 31.Re1 Rd8 32.f4 Bf2 33.Red1 f5 34.b4 Rb8 35.a3 Kd6 36.Rf3 Bg3 37.Kg1 Kc6 38.Kf1 Kb5 39.Ke2 Rc8 40.bxa5 Ra8 41.Rb1+ Kxa5 42.Kd3 Rc8 43.Rff1 f6 44.Rb7 Rc6 45.Rb4 e5 46.fxe5 Bxe5 47.c4 dxc4+ 48.Rxc4 Rd6+ 49.Ke2 Rb6 50.Rd1 Rb2+ 51.Rd2 Rb3 52.Rd5+ Ka6 53.Ra4+ Kb6 54.Rb4+ Kc6 DIagram #  55.Rxe5 A nice liquidation to finishh  55...Rxb4 56.Re6+ Kd5 57.axb4 Kxe6 58.Kf3 Kd5 1-0

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.g4!?

I knew about the concept of this sort of thing in the Slav, but sorely lacked specific knowledge and experience. Oh well, you just have to try your best Isuppose  7...Nxg4 8.Rg1 Nxh2 9.Nxh2 Bxh2 10.Rxg7 Qf6 11.Rxh7 Nf8 12.Rxh8 Qxh8 13.Bd2 Qh4

14.e4! It seems opening the position further favours White  14...Bd7 (  Oms Pallise (2415) - Flores Escuin (2170), Zaragoza 1998, 1-0 in 26 moves 14...dxe4 15.Nxe4 Bf4 16.Bg2 Bd7 17.O-O-O b6 18.Rh1 Bxd2+ 19.Qxd2 Qe7 20.c5 Ng6 21.Rh7 Kd8 22.Nd6 Be8 23.Bxc6 Nf8 24.Rxf7 Bxf7 25.Bxa8 Bg6 26.Be4 ) 15.cxd5 exd5 16.exd5 cxd5 17.Be3 Ne6 18.O-O-O Rc8 19.Qb3 Bg1? Losing the thread entirely  20.Qxb7 Bxf2 21.Bxf2 Qxf2 22.Bb5 Qf4+ 23.Kb1

White threatens Qxc8. It turns out I am quite lost here, and Alphaeus wraps things upnicely  23...Qc7 24.Qxd5 Bxb5 25.Qxb5+ Qd7 26.d5 Qxb5 27.Nxb5 Rd8 28.Re1 a6 29.Nc3 1-0

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qb3 Be7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O dxc4 9.Bxc4 b5 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Qxe6+ Kh8 12.Qxc6 Rb8 13.Ng5 Rb6 14.Qf3 h6 15.Nh3 b4 16.Na4 Ra6 17.b3 Nb6 18.Nf4 Qe8 19.Nxb6 Rxb6 20.Qd1 Ba6 21.Re1 Bd6 22.f3 Bxf4 23.exf4 Re6 24.Re5 Qd7 25.Bb2 Nd5 26.g3

26...Nxf4! 27.gxf4 Rg6+ 28.Kf2 Qh3 29.Qh1 Qh4+ (29...Qh4+ 30.Ke3 Qxf4+ 31.Kf2 Qd2+ 32.Re2 Qxe2# ) 0-1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Rb1 d6 8.a3 Bf5 9.d3 Qd7 10.Re1 Bh3 11.Bh1 h6 12.b4 Ng4 13.Nd5 g5 14.Bb2 e6 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Nc3 cxb4 17.axb4 f5 18.Qd2 Qe7 19.Qb2 Kg8 20.e3 Nce5 21.Qe2 f4 22.exf4 gxf4 23.d4 Nxf3+ 24.Bxf3 fxg3 25.hxg3 Rxf3 26.Qxf3 Rf8 27.Qe4 Rxf2

28.Qg6+? ( I was planning 28.Nd5! which is actually a winning move, the idea is to bring the Knight to f4 to shore everything up and even win the Bishop on h3. But at the last moment I saw the apparently brilliant reply  28...exd5!? and I get mated if I take the queen. It's a shame I saw this as if we had gone down this route the winning counter queen sacrifice becomes pretty obvious  29.Qxg4+! (29.Qxe7? Rg2+ 30.Kh1 (30.Kf1 Nh2# is very pretty ) 30...Nf2# ) 29...Bxg4 30.Rxe7 and White emerges with a winning ending ) 28...Qg7? (  As I waited for a reply I did worry about simply 28...Kh8 and I have no checks. I turns out that the simple answer is that I am hopelessly lost, Black's mating threats are still there but no I have no good counter eg  29.Re2 Qf8 winning on f1 ) 29.Qxg7+ Kxg7 30.Re2 and the game continued  30...Rf3 31.Ne4 d5 32.cxd5 exd5 33.Nd2 Rxg3+ 34.Kh1 Rd3 35.Rc1 Nf6 36.Rc7+ Kg6 37.Rxb7 Rxd4 38.Nf3 Rd1+ 39.Re1 Rxe1+ 40.Nxe1 a6 41.Ra7 Bf1 42.Nf3 Bb5 43.Nd4 Bc4 44.Nc6 Kf5 45.Kg1 Ke4 46.Nb8 d4 47.Kf2 Nd5 48.Nxa6 d3 49.Nc5+ Kd4 50.Nxd3 Bxd3 51.Rd7 h5 52.Kg3 Bf5 53.Rb7 Kc4 54.Kh4 Bg4 55.Rg7 Ne3 56.Rg5 Ng2+ 57.Kg3 Ne3 58.Kh4 Ng2+ 59.Kg3 Ne3 1/2-1/2

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 e5 Vishal had broken his laptop the day he arrived, so his score was very impressive with no computer aid. He reverts to sidelines and uses his years of experience to get him through.  4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O O-O 7.Ng5 Hague borrows a this line from Daniel - he gets a chance to see how it feels.  7...h6 8.f4 This is just how Daniel plays it, note the Knight can't be taken...  8...exf4 (8...hxg5 9.fxg5 Bg4 10.Qe1 Ne8 11.Rxf7 Rxf7 12.g6 Kf8 13.Qg3 Rf6 14.Qxg4 Nc7 15.Bg5 Ke8 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Rf1 Nc6 No win, but heaps of compensation for the piece - not easy for Black to unwind.) ) 9.Nf3 Be6 (9...g5 10.h4 Nh7 11.Nd5 Nc6 12.b3 Bg4 13.hxg5 hxg5 14.Qd2 Bxf3 15.Rxf3 Bf6 16.c3 Ne5 17.Rh3 Sample computer line, but White looks to have enough for the pawn. ) 10.Nd5 (10.Bxf4 Nc6 11.Nd5 a6 12.Bb3 b5 13.c3 Re8 About equal... ) 10...Bxd5 11.exd5 Nbd7 12.Bb3 Nh5 13.d4 Bf6 14.c3 g6 15.Kh1 Rc8 16.dxc5 Nxc5 17.Bc2 Re8 18.Nd4

18...Be5? (18...Bxd4 19.Qxd4 Re2 20.Bd1 Qh4 21.Kg1 (21.Bxe2?? Ng3+ 22.Kg1 Nxe2+ 23.Kh1 Nxd4 ) 21...Rce8 22.Bxe2 Rxe2 23.Bxf4 Re4 24.g3 Rxd4 25.gxh4 Rxf4 26.Rxf4 Nxf4 And Black should win. ) 19.Qf3 Qf6? (19...Qh4 20.Kg1 Nf6 21.Bd2 Qh5 22.Qxh5 Nxh5 Black is just a cold pawn up and now Queens are gone can go about winning the game. ) 20.Nf5 Kh7 21.Nxd6 Bxd6 22.Qxh5 Ne4 23.Qf3 Ng5 24.Qg4 Kg7 25.Bxf4 Rc4 26.g3 Bxf4 27.gxf4 Qd6 28.Rad1 Ne4 29.Qg2 Nf6 30.Qf3 Nh5 31.f5 Rh4 32.Rf2 g5 33.f6+ Nxf6 34.Qd3 Ne4 (34...Re5 35.c4 Ree4 36.b3 Ng4 37.Qc3+ f6 38.Qd2 Rd4 39.Qe2 Nxf2+ 40.Qxf2 Qf4 ) 35.Rg2 Rf4 36.Qd4+ Nf6 37.Qxa7 Ng4 38.Bb3 Ne3 (38...b6! 39.Rxg4 Rxg4 40.Rf1 Qf6 41.Rxf6 Re1+ 42.Rf1 Rxf1# ) 39.Re1 Nxg2 40.Rxe8 Rh4 (40...Qf6 41.Bc4 Rxc4 42.Qg1 Nh4 and wins ) 41.Qb8 A sad loss for Vishal, Ben needed all of lady luck to turn this one around. 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.dxe5 Nxe4 Alex specialised in these off beat lines in this event, I think he was having too much fun with his friend Vishal being here to really prepare.  5.Qd5 Nc5 6.Bg5 Qd7 7.exd6 Bxd6 8.Nc3 This opening just looks better for White, very classical placing of the bits and the Q on d7 looks weird and will need to move again to unravel. Don't think I'll be recommending this line any time soon...  8...O-O 9.O-O-O

9...Qg4 (9...Nc6 10.Be3 Ne7 11.Qd2 b6 12.Bxc5 bxc5 13.Nb5 Ng6 14.Nxd6 cxd6 15.Qxd6 Shows how easy this position is for White, black needs to perform some magic to get back into this game... ) 10.h3 Qb4 11.Nd4 (11.a3 Qa5 12.Nb5 Be6 13.Qd2 Qxd2+ 14.Nxd2 Nc6 15.Nxd6 cxd6 16.b4 Na4 17.Ne4 d5 18.Nd6 This was easier, the 2 Bishops and the weak d pawn give white an easy press with no chance of losing... ) 11...Nc6 12.Be3 Ne7 13.Qh5 Na4 14.Nxa4 Qxa4 15.Kb1 a6 (15...c6 16.Nb3 Nf5 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bd2 Be6 Black has unravelled and is finally not too bad. ) 16.Bd3

16...f5? Position was tough, but Black can't hold it together after this. (16...g6 17.Qf3 Be5 18.Rhe1 Re8 19.c3 c6 20.g4 Qa5 21.Nb3 Qc7 22.Bc4 Be6 23.Bxe6 fxe6 White is still better and has an easy attack...) ) 17.g4 g6 18.Qh6 f4 19.b3 Qa5 20.Bc4+ Nd5

21.Nf5! Bxf5 22.Bxd5+ (22.Rxd5 Qc3 23.gxf5 Rf7 24.Rxd6 cxd6 25.fxg6 Black resigns...you'd hope. ) 22...Qxd5 23.Rxd5 Be4 24.Bd4 Rf7 25.Rg5 Bf8 26.Qh4 c5 27.Re1 Bxc2+ 28.Kxc2 cxd4 29.Rd5 Rc8+ 30.Kb1 Let's shelve that opening as not offering enough... 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Bxf6 gxf6 This is all part of the new Alexei, worked well for him up to this loss...  4.c4 (4.e3 c5 5.dxc5 e6 6.c4 dxc4 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Bxc4 Bxc5 9.Nc3 Ke7 Still seems to be slightly better for Black with the 2 Bishops. ) 4...dxc4 5.e3 c5 Ben will always play the most active lines ...  6.Bxc4 cxd4 7.exd4 Bg7 (7...Rg8 8.Qh5 e6 9.d5 Rg5 10.Qxh7 exd5 11.Bb5+ Nc6 This is a different game, but the open position tends to favour the Bishops. ) 8.Nc3 O-O 9.Nge2 Nc6 10.O-O Bg4 (10...f5 11.d5 Ne5 12.Bb3 Qd6 13.Nd4 Ng4 14.Nf3 This is a better variant than the game for White as the black Bishop is stuck behind the pawns. ) 11.d5 Ne5 12.Bb3 Rc8 13.f3 Bd7 14.Ng3 b5 15.Bc2 (15.Kh1 b4 16.Nce2 Nc4 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.Nd4 Re8 19.Qd2 Position is about even, Knights have good central squares to combat the 2 Bishops. ) 15...b4 16.Nce2 e6 17.Nh5 Bb5 18.f4 Qb6+

19.Nd4? White has lost the thread, and this is a bad move that just loses. (19.Kh1 Ng4 20.Rf3 Nf2+ 21.Rxf2 Qxf2 22.Nd4 f5 23.Nxg7 Rc4 24.Ngxf5 exf5 25.Nxf5 Rxf4 Still probably losing long term, but the d pawn gives hope. ) 19...Rc4 20.Nxg7 Rxd4 21.Qh5 Ng6 22.Qh6 Bxf1 23.Kh1 Bxg2+ 24.Kxg2 Rd2+ 25.Kh1 Qd4 26.Re1 Rxc2 Think the early c4 needs work for Alexei, maybe the e3 version is the line? 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be7 11.a3 Nf6 12.O-O!? (12.e5 Nd5 13.Be4 b4 14.axb4 Bxb4 15.Nxd5 Bxd2+ 16.Qxd2 exd5 17.Bf3 Qb6 18.O-O-O O-O 19.Bxd5 Bxd5 20.Qxd5 Rab8 21.b3 Rfc8 For a pawn, Black has everything he wants, if you don't enjoy this type of position, don't play the Sicilian. ) 12...d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ne4 (14.f5 This was Lane vs Aagaard which Gary won - maybe he'd forgotten his own line...  14...O-O 15.fxe6 fxe6 16.Ne4 Nf6 17.Ng5 e5 18.c4 e4 19.Bb1 h6 20.Ba2 Qb6+?? 21.c5+ ) 14...O-O 15.Kh1 g6 16.Rac1 Rac8 17.c4 bxc4 18.Bxc4 Qb6 19.b4 Rfd8 20.Ng5 Bf6 21.Nf3 Bb2 22.Bxd5 exd5 (22...Bxd5 23.Be3 Bxf3 24.Qxf3 Qb8 25.Rxc8 Qxc8 26.Bb6 Rd5 About equal ) 23.Rb1 Bg7 24.f5 Re8 25.Qd3 Qb5 26.Qb3 Re2 27.Bg5 gxf5 28.Nh4 Rc3 29.Qd1 d4 30.Rxf5?

30...Qxf5 31.Nxf5 Rxg2 0-1

1.b3 A la Nakamura maybe ... think this is best reserved for rapid. If you pick up the b pawn, it should go to b4 :-)  1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.g3 OK, so Alex is transposing to a Hippo as White - again think it was more because he was enjoying the sightseeing than anything else...  4...d5 5.Bg2 Bg4 6.Ne2 Qd7 7.h3 Be6 8.d3 O-O-O 9.Nd2 d4 10.e4 Ne8 11.a3 g6 12.b4 Could have gone here on move 1 :-)  12...h5 13.f4 f6 14.Nf3 Bh6 15.b5 Ne7 16.a4 Bg7 17.Ba3 Nd6 18.Qb1 Kb8 19.a5 Nec8 20.b6 cxb6 21.fxe5 fxe5 22.axb6 a6 23.Ng5 Rhf8 24.Bc5 Qe7 25.Nf3 g5 26.Ra5 g4 27.hxg4 Bxg4

White has lost the thread, Black is taking over.  28.Neg1 Rf7 29.Ba3 Rdf8 30.Ke2 Qg5 31.Qc1 Bxf3+ Possibly cashing in too early, White is all tied up...no need to rush. (31...Qg6 32.Qe1 Nxb6 33.Rh4 Rc8 34.Rc5 Rxc5 35.Bxc5 Na4 36.Bb4 Nc3+ 37.Bxc3 dxc3 38.Qxc3 Nb5 Not all forced, but an example showing White is at Black's mercy. ) 32.Nxf3 Qxg3 33.Qf1 Qg6 34.Rh4 Bf6 35.Rh3 Rg8 36.Bh1 Nb5 37.Rxb5 axb5 Still, a cold Exchange and a pawn up, White is doomed.  38.Qb1 Qg4 39.Rh2 Be7 40.Bxe7 Nxe7 41.Qa2 Qf4 42.Qa7+ Kc8 43.Qa8+ Kd7 44.Qxb7+ Ke6 45.Rf2 Qe3+ 46.Kf1 Qc1+ 47.Ke2 Qxc2+ 48.Kf1 Qd1+ 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nb3 Not the favourite move at the top level - by 3:1 it is taking the Knight (7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Bc5 11.O-O-O Ne7 12.a3 O-O 13.h4 f5 14.h5 d5 15.exf5 exf5 16.h6 g6 I think White has something to work with here ) 7...d6 (7...b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Be3 d6 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.Qh3 Na5 This is the way to play these days, pretty equal ) 8.Bd3 Nf6 9.Qf3 Be7 10.Be3 O-O 11.g4 d5 12.e5 Nd7 13.O-O-O Nb4 14.Kb1 b5 15.Qf2 f6 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Ne2 Bb7 18.Rhg1

18...e5? This must be wrong, the position looks more like a French and you need to prepare it first - improve the worst piece and then strike in the middle... (18...Rae8 19.Bd2 Nxd3 20.cxd3 e5 21.f5 Bd8 22.Ba5 Qd6 23.Bxd8 Rxd8 ) 19.Bf5 Now the key White squared Bishop gets to live and will win the game  19...g6 20.Be6+ Kh8 21.c3 d4 22.cxb4 dxe3 23.Qxe3 Nb6 24.Nc5 exf4 25.Nxf4

T he position has changed completely, White is a pawn up and dominating the board...  25...Bc6? This just loses, again the Rook needs to be brought to the middle (25...Rae8 White is still better, but in the game Black is just lost. ) 26.g5 Be5 (26...Bxb2 27.Rd7 Bxd7 28.Nxg6+ Kg7 29.Qh3 ) 27.Nxg6+ hxg6 28.Rd7! Rf3 29.Qe1 Bg3 30.hxg3 Nxd7 31.Rh1+ Kg7 32.Rh7+ Kf8 33.Bxd7 Kg8 34.Be6+ A nice win by Sareen. 1-0

1.e4 g6 A new opening for Alphaeus, it should be a lot more testing than his Qd6 Scandinavian stuff.  2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 Nf6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e5 dxe5 7.fxe5 Nd5 8.Bc4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 c5 10.O-O Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nc6

A long line of theory, all the most popular stuff at GM level, they start to get on their own soon...  13.Bxf7+ Kh8 14.e6 (14.Bb2 cxd4 15.cxd4 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Qb6+ 17.Kh1 Qxb2 18.Rab1 Qxe5 19.Rxb7 This is the other obvious type of line - all very balanced. ) 14...cxd4 15.Rb1 dxc3 16.Rxb7 Qc8 17.Rd7 White is committed to this Exchange sacrifice, it holds the balance, but it's easier to play as Black and White needs to be wary of the weak black squares, Daniel forgets and gets punished.  17...Ne5 18.Qd5 Nxd7 19.exd7 Qc7

20.Ba3? White does not see the risk and moves the Bishop away from the key diagonal by his King. It's amazing to think he resigns in 6 moves... (20.Re1 Rad8 21.Rxe7 Bf6 22.Be3 Rb8 23.Re8 Kg7 24.Rxf8 Rb1+ 25.Kf2 Bh4+ 26.Kf3 Qg3+ 27.Ke4 Qxg2+ 28.Kd4 Rd1+ 29.Kc5 Qxd5+ 30.Bxd5 Kxf8 ) 20...Rad8 21.Rd1 Qf4 22.Be6 Be5 23.g3 Qxg3+ 24.Qg2 Qe3+ 25.Kh1 Rf2 26.Bc1 Qb6 0-1

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 dxe5 5.Nxe5 c6 6.Bc4 Nd7 7.O-O Nxe5 8.dxe5 Be6 This is not the popular move, it seems to be more obvious to shove the Bishop to the outside of the pawn chain, play e6 and develop the dark squared Bishop to e7 (8...Bf5 9.Nd2 e6 10.Bb3 Be7 Black has easy equality ) 9.Nd2 Qc7 (9...g6 Surely this had to be the follow-up to the Be6 idea...  10.Nf3 Nc7 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.Be3 Qc7 13.c3 Bg7 Black is in a better space than in the game. ) 10.Re1 Bf5 11.Nf3 e6 12.Nd4 Bg6 13.Qg4 Bc5 14.c3 O-O-O 15.Bg5 Rd7 16.Rad1 Qb6 17.Bb3

The position is equal, but White's game looks easier to play, he has more space and can slowly work up a Queenside attack.  17...Re8 18.Rd2 Qc7 19.Bh4 Kb8 20.Red1 Ka8 21.c4 Nb6 22.Nf3 Be7? (22...Rxd2 23.Rxd2 Nd7 24.Bg3 h5 25.Qg5 Bb4 26.Rd1 Nc5 Black is much more comfortable here and there is everything to play for ) 23.Rxd7 Nxd7 24.Bxe7 Rxe7 25.Qd4 Nb8 26.Qd8 Bh5 27.Qf8 Rd7 28.Rd6 White is better now, all Black's pieces look pretty miserable.  28...f6 29.Rxd7 Qxd7 30.exf6 Qd3 31.h3 gxf6 32.Qxf6 Bxf3 33.Qxf3 Qb1+ 34.Kh2 Qxb2 35.g3 c5 36.Kg2 Qe5? A tough position to play, but now the re routing of the White squared Bishop will be too much for Black to defend. (36...a5 37.h4 Qb1 38.Qe3 Nc6 39.Qxc5 Qe4+ Black is still worse, but at least the immediate danger has passed and the White Bishop is passive. ) 37.Bc2 a5 38.Bxh7 Nd7 39.Be4 Qc7 40.h4

White is just gathering the point now, Black can squirm, but it is over.  40...Ne5 41.Qf4 Qg7 42.h5 Ng4 43.Qd6 Qb2 44.Qxc5 a4 45.Bf3 Ne5 46.h6 a3 47.h7 Ng6 48.Be4 Nh8 49.Kh3 Kb8 50.f4 Qe2 51.Qd6+ Ka7 52.Qxa3+ Kb8 53.Qd6+ Ka7 54.Qc5+ Kb8 55.Qe5+ Ka7 56.Bg2 Qd1 57.Qb5 b6 58.a4 e5 59.Qe8 b5 60.Qa8+ Kb6 61.Qc6+ 1-0

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.d4 e4 6.Nh3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 We have transposed to a reversed c3 Sicilian, it pays to know your openings. Alex does well to convert this game.  8...Ne7 9.Nf4 O-O 10.Nc3 Nbc6 11.Rc1 Re8 12.h4 Bg4 13.f3 exf3 14.exf3

14...Bd7!? (14...Be6 15.Nxe6 Nf5 16.O-O Rxe6 It was probably the intermediate Nf5 that Gary missed. He was really off his game in this event ) 15.Kf2 Nf5 16.Ncxd5 Nfxd4 17.Rhe1 Be6 18.Rc4 Bxd5 19.Rxe8+ Qxe8 20.Nxd5 Ne6 21.f4 White is slightly better now, and difficult for Black to sit and do nothing.  21...Rd8 22.Qe3

22...Nf8 The endgames are not good, Black should have resisted this. (22...Qd7 23.Qc3 f5 24.Ne3 Ne7 25.Qe5 Qd2+ 26.Kg1 Qe1+ 27.Kh2 Kf7 Black has much better prospects of holding ) 23.Qxe8 Rxe8 24.Nc7 Rd8 25.Bxc6 bxc6 26.Ke3 The c pawn will fall and White should win - Alex shows good skill and adds to Gary's miserable event.  26...Rb8 27.b4 Rc8 28.Rxc6 Ne6 29.Nd5 Rd8 30.Ke4 g6 31.Rc8 Kf8 32.Rxd8+ Nxd8 33.Ke5 Nb7 34.a4 h5 35.a5 Ke8 36.a6 Nd8 37.Kd6 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 a6 (5...c6 6.Bh6 Bxh6 7.Qxh6 e5 8.O-O-O Qe7 9.h3 b5 10.dxe5 dxe5 This is preferred to the a6 plans at the high level. ) 6.Bh6 O-O 7.O-O-O (7.Bxg7 Kxg7 8.h4 h5 9.f3 b5 ) 7...b5 8.f3 Nbd7 9.h4 c5 (9...e5 10.d5 b4 11.Nce2 a5 This is the way, in boots and all in the King hunt race ) 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.h5 (11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.h5 Nxh5 (12...Qa5 13.Nge2 Bb7 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Qh6+ Kf7 16.Nf4 Ncd7 17.Kb1 Rfc8 18.Nh3 Kg8 19.Ng5 Nf8 ) 13.g4 b4 14.Nd5 Nxe4 15.fxe4 Bxg4 16.Be2 ) 11...Qa5 12.Kb1 b4 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Bxg7 Nc3+ 15.bxc3 Be6 16.c4 Kxg7 17.hxg6 fxg6 18.Qh6+ Kf7 19.Qxh7+ Ke8 20.Qxg6+ Kd7 21.Qg5 Rg8 22.Qe3

Although 2 pawns up, the key point is White's King is exposed and very lonely. Black is winning (or 22.Qe5 Kc6 23.Qf4 Na4 24.Re1 Nc3+ 25.Kc1 Nxa2+ 26.Kd1 Nc3+ 27.Kd2 b3 28.Ke3 bxc2 ) 22...Na4 23.Re1 Nc3+ 24.Kc1 Qxa2 Wrong way, Black tries to cash in, see a check and play it is often the right way. (24...Nxa2+ 25.Kd1 b3 26.cxb3 Nc3+ 27.Kc2 Qa2+ 28.Kxc3 Rgb8 29.b4 Rxb4 30.Kxb4 Rb8+ 31.Kc3 Qb2+ 32.Kd3 Rb3# ) 25.g4 Rac8 26.e5 d5? Black has lost the thread and all his advantage, he continues downhill from here and loses. (26...Bxc4 27.Bxc4 Rxc4 28.exd6 Nd5 29.Qe6+ Kc6 30.dxe7+ Kc5 31.Rh2 b3 Black crashes through, Black's King is perfectly safe while White is getting mated.) ) 27.Rh7 Rge8 28.Qb6 Qa3+ 29.Kd2

29...Na4?? A terrible blunder, he had forgotten the point of the Rook on h7. (29...Rc6 30.Qd4 Kc8 31.c5 Qa5 White is better, but Black is still alive ) 30.Qd6# 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6.Qe4 d5 7.exd6+ Be6 8.Ba6 Qxd6 9.Bxb7 Qb4+ 10.Qxb4 Nxb4 11.Bxa8 Nxc2+ 12.Ke2 Nxa1 13.h3 Bc4+ 14.Kf3 Ne5+ 15.Kg3 Bd6 16.f4 Nd3 17.Bc6+ Kd8 18.Nf3 Bxa2 19.Nc3 Bc4 20.Bb5 Bxb5 21.Nxb5 Nb3 22.Nxd6 cxd6 23.Be3 Kc7 24.Bxa7 Ra8 25.Bd4 Nxd4 26.Nxd4 Nxb2 27.Rc1+ Kd7 28.Nb5 Rb8 29.Nd4 Na4 (29...Rb4 30.Ne2 d5 This is easy, the pawn starts to roll... ) 30.Re1 Nc5 31.Nf5 Ne6 (31...g6 32.Nd4 d5 Again, the pawn starts to roll - no problems. ) 32.Rd1 Rb6 33.Ra1 Rb3+ 34.Kh2

34...Nxf4? (34...g6 35.Ra7+ Nc7 36.Nh6 f5 37.g4 Rf3 38.gxf5 gxf5 39.Nxf5 Rxf4 40.Ne3 Rf7 41.Kg3 Ke6 Again, easy, time control reached, force the Knight to sac on the d pawn, win the h Pawn and finally the game. White could struggle but would lose. Gary makes a horrible mess of this and actually loses... ) 35.Ra7+ Ke6?? 36.Nd4+ What a horrible way to lose, Gary lost a few hours of sleep, losing to one of Kirill's nonsense openings after he was completely winning 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Na6 8.Be3 c6 9.d5 Ng4 10.Bg5 f6 11.Bc1 (11.Bd2 f5 12.Ne1 (12.Ng5 Nf6 13.exf5 gxf5 14.f4 e4 15.Be3 c5 ) 12...Nf6 13.f3 f4 14.Nd3 c5 15.a3 Nh5 This is the kind of thing Daniel likes, just send the pieces and pawns over to the King ) 11...c5 12.a3 f5 13.Ng5 Nh6 14.b4 (14.exf5 gxf5 15.Qc2 Qf6 16.h4 Nc7 17.Bh5 b6 18.Re1 Ba6 19.b3 b5 20.Nxh7 Qxh4 21.Nxf8 Qxh5 22.Bxh6 Qxh6 23.cxb5 Bb7 24.Nd7 Rd8 25.Nxc5 dxc5 26.Qxf5 Long line, but White is better and no kingside attacks to worry about. The Nxh7 line is not even necessary if the final position is not to the liking. ) 14...f4 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Nc7 17.Nb5 Nxe6 18.Nxd6 b6

19.Qd5? (19.Nb5 Nf7 20.Rb1 Nd4 21.bxc5 bxc5 22.Nxd4 cxd4 23.a4 Position is equal, now White goes downhill. ) 19...Qe7 20.bxc5 bxc5? (20...Rad8 21.Rb1 Nf7 22.cxb6 Rxd6 23.Qa5 axb6 24.Rxb6 Nd4 White is a cold piece down and losing, the pawns will drop. ) 21.Rb1? White had to get the piece out. (21.Nb5 Rad8 22.Qc6 Nd4 23.Nxd4 exd4 24.Rb1 (24.Bd3? Ng4 25.Qa4 Nxh2 26.Kxh2 Qh4+ 27.Kg1 f3 28.gxf3 Rxf3 ) 24...d3 25.Bf3 d2 26.Bb2 Bxb2 27.Rxb2 Nf7 28.Rd1 Ne5 Black is better, but White is in the game ) 21...Rfd8 22.Rd1 Nf7? (22...Bf8 23.Qc6 Nd4 24.Rxd4 cxd4 25.c5 Rab8 This will win much quicker than the game. ) 23.Bg4 Neg5 24.h4 Qxd6 25.hxg5 Qxd5 26.Rxd5 (26.exd5 Nxg5 27.Rb7 h5 28.Be2 Rdb8 29.Rc7 Rc8 30.d6 Bf6 A pawn down, but the d pawn makes life difficult for Black ) 26...Nxg5 27.f3 h5 28.Bd7 Rab8 29.Rb2 Nf7 30.Rbd2!? Giving away the b file is not a good plan, things start going wrong for White now.  30...Rb1 31.Rd1 Kf8 32.Ba4 Rxd5 33.cxd5 Ke7 34.Bc2 Rb8 35.a4 Kd7 36.Rd3 Bf8 37.Rc3 Bd6 38.Ba3 c4 39.a5 Bxa3 40.Rxa3 Nd6 41.Ra2 g5 42.Kf2 g4 43.g3 Rf8 44.Bd1 fxg3+ 45.Kxg3 Rf4 46.Rh2 gxf3 47.Bxf3 h4+ 48.Rxh4 Rxh4 49.Kxh4 c3 50.Bd1 Nc4 51.Kg3 Na3 52.Kf2 c2 53.Bxc2 Nxc2 54.Ke2 Nd4+ 55.Kd3 Nb3 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.f3 O-O 6.Nge2 Not the most popular move, but is hot move with all the top players.  6...c5 7.d5 Nbd7 8.Ng3 Rb8 (8...Ne5 9.Be2 h5 10.f4 Neg4 11.h3 Nh6 12.O-O e6 13.dxe6 fxe6 14.Be3 Nf7 15.Qd2 Bd7 16.Bd3 Bc6 This is how to play this kind of line, the Queenside play is too slow and not very successful at the top level. ) 9.Be2 a6 10.a4 Ne8 11.f4 e6 12.O-O exd5 13.cxd5 Nc7 14.Be3 b5 15.Qd2 So we are basically in a full blown Benoni. The rule with this opening is Black must play actively at every opportunity. Trying to defend e5 is not possible, you must point White's eyes to the queenside.  15...Re8 (15...bxa4 16.Rxa4 Nb5 17.Ra2 Nb6 18.Bd3 Re8 This gives Black a lot more breathing room than the immediate Re8. ) 16.e5 dxe5 17.f5 b4 (17...bxa4 18.d6 Nb5 19.Nce4 Rf8 20.Bh6 (20.Nxc5 Nd4 21.Nxa4 Nb3 ) 20...f6 21.Rxa4 Nd4 Again Black is well in the game. Daniel does not appreciate the dynamics of the opening and his position goes bad fast. ) 18.Nce4 Nb6 19.d6 Ncd5 20.Bh6? (20.Bg5 f6 21.a5 fxg5 22.axb6 Nf4 23.fxg6 hxg6 24.Bxa6 Qxb6 25.Bc4+ The pawn deficit means nothing, it's the pawn on d6 that is key. Daniel gets a chance to recover. ) 20...Nf4 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.f6+ Kg8

23.Rxf4! Back on track again, masters look for these type of Exchange sacrifices.  23...exf4 24.Qxf4 Re6 (24...Nd5 25.Qg5 Rxe4 26.Nxe4 Bf5 27.Ng3 Be6 28.Bxa6 Qxf6 29.Qxf6 Nxf6 White is still better, it's the a4 pawn that is the key now. ) 25.Rf1? Not the best, White needs to get on with it. (25.Nf5 Rxe4 (25...Nd5 26.Qh6 Qf8 27.Ne7+ Nxe7 28.Qxf8+ Kxf8 29.dxe7+ Ke8 30.Rd1 Bd7 31.Bg4 Rxe7 32.Nd6+ Kf8 33.fxe7+ Kxe7 34.Bxd7 Kxd7 ) 26.Ne7+ Kf8 27.Qxe4 Qxd6 28.Rd1 Qxf6 29.Rd8+ Kg7 30.Rg8+ Kh6 31.Rxg6+ fxg6 32.Ng8+ ) 25...Qf8? (25...Bb7 26.Ng5 Rxe2 27.Nxe2 Nd5 28.Qh4 h5 Note how in each of the lines, Black getting back into the game meant sacrificing the Exchange back. The White pieces were too dominant and Black had to reduce the pressure. ) 26.Nxc5 Nd5 27.Nxe6 Nxf4 28.Nxf8 Nxe2+ 29.Nxe2 Kxf8 There was no salvation in this endgame, Black is just a cold pawn down in a worse position - Sareen calmly takes the point.  30.Rc1 Bd7 31.a5 Rd8 32.Ng3 Bb5 33.Ne4 Ke8 34.Rc7 Rd7 35.Rc8+ Rd8 36.Rxd8+ Kxd8 37.Nc5 h6 38.h4 h5 39.Kf2 Kc8 40.g3 Kd8 41.Ke3 Ke8 42.Kd4 Kd8 43.Kd5 Kc8 44.Ne4 Kd8 45.Ng5 Be8 46.Nf3 Bb5 47.Ne5 Ke8 48.b3 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bc4 This is too slow and Black gets what he wants, Kirill needs to take advantage of Blacks time wasting (4.h4 h6 5.h5 g5 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bg7 8.Be3 Now this is a better position for White to play. ) 4...Bg7 5.d3 h6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.h3 d6 8.a3 Nd7

This is not what you want against an experienced titled player, White has no play, his pieces are all on good squares, but he will start getting pushed back and lose - do not play like this.  9.O-O Nd4 10.Nb5 Nxb5 11.Bxb5 c6 12.Bc4 O-O 13.Nh2 Kh7 14.f4 exf4 15.Bxf4 Nb6 16.Rb1 d5 17.exd5 Nxd5

Compare this position to move 8, Black is in control.  18.Bd2 Be6 19.Qf3 Qh4 20.Ng4 f5 21.Nh2 b5 22.Bb3 Bxb2 A small combination wins a pawn, it happens against these guys...  23.Rxb2 Qd4+ 24.Qf2 Qxb2 25.Re1 Qf6 26.Qc5 Bg8 27.Nf3 Rfe8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.Kh1 g5 30.Nd4 f4 31.Nxc6 f3 32.Qxa7+ Kg6 33.Qf2 fxg2+ 34.Qxg2 Qxc6 35.c4 Ne7 36.Qxc6+ Nxc6 37.cxb5 Bxb3 38.bxc6 Rook up should be enough to win 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.O-O O-O 7.Ng5 h6 8.f4 Ed: The same idea as in Hague-Sareen in round 1, and the identical position to Gong-Hague in the Trustsreport  8...exf4 9.Nf3 d6 10.Bxf4 Be6 11.Nd5 Nb4 12.Nxb4 Ed: The first deviation from Gong-Hague at the Trusts  12...cxb4 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Qd2 Only one game in my database here and 14...e5 was played.  14...a5 (14...e5 15.Bg3 a5 16.Nh4 Nxe4?? (16...Nh5 17.Rxf8+ Qxf8 18.Rf1 Qd8 19.Nf5 Nxg3 20.Nxg3 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Rf8 Position is dead even, White can't get to the d6 pawn. ) 17.Rxf8+ Kxf8 18.dxe4 Bxh4 19.Bxh4 Qxh4 20.Qd5 Re8 21.Rf1+ Ke7 22.Rf7+ Kd8 23.Qxd6+ 1-0 Kovalev-Sveshnikov Latvia 2014 ) 15.Kh1 Rc8 16.e5 Nd5

17.Bxh6 This got Ben thinking, I think originally he thought it was not possible due to taking and playing Nf4, but White can just kick it with g3... 1  17...gxh6 18.Qxh6 Qe8 19.Ng5 Bxg5 20.Qxg5+ Kh7 21.Qh4+ (21.exd6 Qg6 22.Qh4+ Qh6 23.Qe4+ Kg7 24.Rae1 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 Rf8 26.Qe5+ Kg8 The position is equal - Black's King can't get safe ) 21...Kg7 22.Rxf8 Qxf8 23.Qg4+ Kh8 24.Qh3+ Kg7 25.Qxe6 Nf4 26.Qd7+ Kh8 27.Rf1 dxe5 28.g3 Rxc2 29.gxf4 Qh6 30.Qe8+

Again the position is equal and the active Black Rook ensures Ben stays in the game. I suspect Daniel thought he was winning and keeps trying.  30...Kh7 31.Qf7+ Kh8 32.Qe8+ Kh7 33.Qe7+ Kh8? (33...Qg7 34.Qxg7+ Kxg7 35.Rg1+ Kf6 36.fxe5+ Kxe5 37.Rg5+ Kf4 38.Rxa5 Rxb2 39.Rb5 Rxa2 40.Rxb4+ Kf3 41.Rb1 Rd2 The active Black King saves Black. ) 34.Qxe5+ Kh7 35.Qe4+ Kh8 36.Rf2

36...Qh3?? 37.Rg2 (37.Qd4+ Kh7 38.Rxc2 Qf3+ 39.Rg2 Qd1+ 40.Qg1 Game over ) 37...Rxg2 38.Qxg2 Qxd3 39.Qf2 Qd5+ 40.Kg1 Qxa2 41.Qd4+ Kh7 42.Qd7+ Kh6 43.Qd6+ Kg7 44.Qe5+ Kh7 45.Kg2 Qb3 46.Qc7+ Kh8 47.Qe5+ Kh7 48.f5 Qc2+ 49.Kg3 Qb3+ 50.Kf4 Qc4+ 51.Ke3 a4 52.f6 Kg6 53.Qe8+ (53.h4 Qc1+ 54.Kf2 Qc2+ 55.Ke3 Qc1+ Draw - White is mesmerised thinking it's still winning ) 53...Kxf6 54.Qxa4 Qc1+ 55.Ke4 Qxb2 56.Qa5 Qe2+ 57.Kd4 Qb2+ 58.Ke4 Qc2+ 59.Kd4 Qc3+ 60.Ke4 Qc4+ 61.Ke3 b3 62.Qd8+ Kg6 63.Qd6+ Kh5 64.Qe5+ Kg6 65.Qd6+ Kg7 66.Qe7+ Qf7 67.Qg5+ Kf8 68.Qc5+

68...Qe7+ 69.Kd4 A horrendous blunder, Daniel had lost the thread - he was deceived into continuing to try and when the draw should have been accepted.  69...Qxc5+ Great fighting spirit by Ben, had his luck, but still a well-deserved win and his 2nd IM norm. 0-1 0-1

1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.b4!? Big bad Mike likes sacrificing material and running over the top of people himself, so this gambit could well be a shrewd psychological approach.  4...cxb4 5.a3 Nc6 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Be7 8.d4 a6 9.Bd3 Rb8 10.h4 h5 11.Ng5 g6 12.Qf3 Bxg5 13.Bxg5 Nce7 14.Rh3 Qc7 15.Nd2 Bd7 16.c4

16...dxc4? Mike wants to activate his bishop, but pays too high a price.  17.Nxc4 Bc6 18.Qg3 Nf5 19.Bxf5 gxf5 20.Nd6+ Kf8 21.Qa3! Ne7 22.Rg3 Rh7 23.Bf6 Rd8 24.Rc1 Rd7 25.f4

A picturesque position. The threat of d5 and then Nxf5 if e6xd5 is too strong, so 1-0

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Be2 To avoid the Portuguese Gambit 3. d4 Bg4  3...Qxd5 4.Nc3? A rather dubious gambit  4...Qxg2 5.Bf3 Qg6 6.Nge2 Qf5 Fritz gives 6...Nc6 -1.32  7.Bg2 e5 8.d4 Bd6 Preparing to castle queenside is safer as the h1-a8 diagonal is less dangerous for black than the g-file  9.Be3 So white has the g-file and a slight lead in development for the pawn but objectively it's not enough  9...Nc6 10.Qd2 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 exd4 12.Bxd4 O-O 13.O-O-O Be6 (13...Bf4 swapping off one of white's attacking pieces is better ) 14.Kb1 Bb4 15.Rhg1 c5?

(15...g6 Fritz ) 16.Bh3! Qxh3 (16...cxd4 17.Bxf5 dxc3 18.Qg5 wins ) 17.Rxg7+ Kh8

(17...Kxg7 18.Qg5+ ) 18.Rg8+! Rxg8 (18...Kxg8 19.Qg5+ ) 19.Bxf6+ Rg7 20.Qd8+ 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 The Open Spanish is not particularly popular at the top level these days but it is still one of the great classical chess openings, and it will be played as long as people continue to enjoy our game.  6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5

8.Nc3! The exclam is a tip of the hat to Herman. I don't think he'd claim it is actually the strongest move in the position, but it has certainly served him well as a pet sideline - 'The Van Riemsdijk Variation' has scored +16 =3 -3 for Herman in his own game collection, and scores well in the wider database as well. I think this move is a very practical one to employ. Black can (of course) hold the balance, but he has to play precisely in (presumably) unfamiliar positions. ( Tal - Korchnoi, Riga 1955, is one of many clashes between all time greats we could use to illustrate more conventional play, which starts with 8.dxe5 which is overwhelmingly the most popular move  8...Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Qe2 Nxd2 12.Bxd2 Na5 13.Bc2 c5 14.Qd3 g6 15.Bh6 Re8 16.Qd2 Nc4

The clash of styles - Tal loves to give material to pursue the attack, Korchnoi loves to grab that material and cling to it. This was the first decisive game these chess giants played together and set the tone for the rest - Korchnoi 'had the wood' on Tal.  17.Qf4 Nxb2 18.Bg5 d4 19.cxd4 cxd4 20.Be4 Bd5 21.Bxd5 Qxd5 22.Bxe7 Rxe7 23.Qh4 Rae8 24.Ng5 h5

White's attack flags, he grabs a little material back (or does Korchnoi give it to him?) but Black's mighty 'd' pawn wins theday  25.Ne4 Qxe5 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Nxe8+ Rxe8 28.f4 Qf6 29.Qf2 d3 30.Rfe1 Rd8 31.Qd2 Qd4+ 32.Kf1 Nc4 33.Qd1 d2 0-1 From Korchnoi's autobiography - "Ten years ago I drew up the following circle: Tal beats Portisch, Portisch beats Keres, Keres beats me, I beat Tal, Tal beats Portisch etc. ". ) 8...Nxc3 9.bxc3 e4 10.Ng5

White's plan is clear, open lines and attack the King!  10...Be6 (  White threatens Nxf7 so clearly 10...h6?? is a terrible error  11.Nxf7 Kxf7 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Qxd5+ and wins ) ( Herman points out that even 10...Be7? doesn't defend at all  11.Nxf7 Kxf7 12.Qh5+ Ke6 13.Re1 and Black is not going to make it ) ( The computer likes 10...Bf5 but it has n't seen Van Riemsdijk (2350) - Hegeler (2240), Dieren 1989 in which Herman pursued the same plan as the game and prevailed even faster  11.f3 e3 12.f4 Be7? (12...Na5 ) 13.Qf3 e2 14.Re1 Be6 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Qxe2 Qd7 17.Qxe6 O-O-O 18.Bxd5 ) 11.f3 e3 (11...exf3 has been seen more often, Rocha (2419) - Magnusson (2245), Dos Hermanas 2003 is another nice White win,  12.Qxf3 Qd7 13.a4 b4 14.a5 Nd8 15.c4 c6 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Ba4 Nc6 19.Bxc6 Qxc6 20.Qf7+ Kd8 21.Bg5+ Kc8 22.c3 bxc3 23.Rab1 Rb8

24.Qxf8+ Rxf8 25.Rxf8+ Kd7 26.Rfxb8 c2 27.R1b7+ Kd6 28.Rd8+ Qd7 29.Rdxd7+ Kc6 30.Rdc7+ 1-0 ) 12.f4! The e pawn can be picked up later and White wants to get the Queen into the game quickly  12...Ne7 13.Qf3 c6 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Qxe3 Qd7 16.f5! More line opening  16...exf5 17.a4 You know it  17...Rc8 You know White is winning when the best the computer can come up with is (17...O-O-O castling long just as the a-file is being opened ) 18.axb5 axb5 19.Ba3! The Bishop never wanted to capture on e3  19...Kf7 20.Bc5 Rc7 21.Qe5!

Dominating the position, menacing f5, and threatening yet another line opening break, 22.g4  21...Rg8 To counter g4 with g6  22.Bd6 Rb7 23.Ra6! Attacking and winning c6, which will in turn bring the Bishop on b3 to life, which will win the game forWhite  23...g6 24.Bxe7 Bxe7? (24...Qxe7 25.Rxc6 Qxe5 26.dxe5 the d pawn falls and Black has to grovel into the corner, but this is actually the best Black can do ) 25.Rxc6

And Black's position collapses entirely  25...Rd8 26.Ra6 Kg8 27.Ra8! Herman:The final blow!  27...Bf6 Herman: Black resigned not waiting for (27...Bf6 28.Rxd8+ Qxd8 (28...Bxd8 29.Bxd5+ Kf8 30.Bxb7 Qxb7 31.Qh8+ ) 29.Qxd5+ Qxd5 30.Bxd5+ Rf7 31.Rb1 ) 1-0