C 2½-1½ K

C - K
A16 - English Defense
Match Owen Sound, ON (3), 11.05.2008

Game 3. I had to start playing better 1.c4 [I wanted to play the QGD Exchange again but went for the English move order instead of 1.d4 because I was worried about tranposing to the Slav. ] 1...d5?! [I expected 1...e6 ;
If 1...c6 I can just play 2.e4 and tranpose into a Panov] 2.cxd5 [Kirk said after that he was hoping for 2.d4 ] 2...Nf6 3.Nc3 [3.e4 was probably better as 3...Nxe4 4.Qa4+ loses] 3...Nxd5 This tranposes to a line i play as Black. 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.e4 [Hoping to tranpose to a Grünfeld. 4.g3 is playable as well] 4...Nb4 [I thought he'd go for 4...Nxc3 5.bxc3 g6 6.d4 and get a Grünfeld] 5.d4? [5.Nf3 was better. I was worried about him playing Nd3+] 5...e5? [Shit 5...Qxd4 6.Qxd4 Nc2+ and he's better] 6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Bc5 Now I'm better 8.a3 N4c6 9.f4 [9.Nd5 Kd7 10.f4 was better] 9...0-0 10.Nf3 [I could've pulled the trigger with 10.Nd5 as well 10...Rd8 11.Kc2] 10...Bg4 11.Be2 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Nd4 13.Be3 c6 [I thought that 13...Nbc6 was better but after 14.Nd5 Kirk may have been right to stop my knight from getting to d5] 14.Na4 Rd8 15.Nxc5 Nb3+ 16.Kc2 Nxa1+ 17.Rxa1 b6 18.Nb7 Rd7 19.Nd6 c5



20.Nxf7!? [20.e6 Rxd6 21.e5 Rxe6 22.Bxa8] 20...Rxf7 21.e6 Re7? [21...Rc7 I thought that 22.e7 was good but (22.Rd1 Nc6 23.Rd7 Rxd7 24.exd7 Rd8 25.e5 and now I have a won endgame but it is hard to prove 25...Nb8 26.e6 looks good) 22...Nc6! makes it almost even 23.e5 Kf7 24.Rd1] 22.e5 Nc6 23.Bxc6 he thought that he would be able to pick off the e-pawn and hopefully make a game of it but since i'm attacking his rook 23...Rd8 24.Bd7 and defending the e-pawn he resigned 1-0

K - C
E97 - King's Indian : Bayonet Attack
Match Owen Sound, ON (4), 11.05.2008

In between games I asked him if he wanted to take a break (sometimes we do that) he said no, so I thought I'd use my bit of "prep" (Bayonet attack) and try and wipe him off the board as he fell apart at the beginning of the last game 1.e4 g6 He thought quite a long time 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.c4 Nf6 [I was trying to make ...f5 work but I couldn't 4...Bg4 ;
or 4...c5 would be playable, but of course I was aiming for the King's Indian] 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 [9...a5 is the other main line] 10.Re1 f5 [There were three lines I was looking at before the game...the text 10...a5 ;
and 10...Nf4 the mainline going 11.Bf1 f5 (or 11...a5 I couldn't remember the theory and this was the mainline) 12.g3 Nh5] 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.Ne6?! [The mainline is 12.f3 c6 13.Be3 and then i can play (13.b5 c5 14.a4) 13...Bh6 because if 14.h4 (14.Ne6 Bxe3+) 14...cxd5 taking away the threat of b5 (14...f4 15.Bf2 Bg7) 15.cxd5 Bd7;
or 12.Bf3 and I think I can play 12...c6 here too. The idea being that he should guard the e-pawn before he plunks his d-pawn on e6] 12...Bxe6 13.dxe6 Nxe4 [Maybe I should've played 13...fxe4 ] 14.Nxe4 fxe4 15.Bg4 Nf5 [I wanted to play 15...Nc6 aiming to d4, but after 16.Qd5 Qe7 (Of course I missed 16...Qh4! 17.e7+ Rf7 18.Qd1) ] 16.Qd5 c6 17.Qxe4 [17.e7+ cxd5 18.exd8Q Raxd8 19.cxd5 and so on] 17...Qe7 [17...d5 18.cxd5 cxd5 was okay too. I wanted to keep the d-pawn protected by a pawn though so I could eventually play Qe7] 18.Rb1 Nd4?! [Not sure why I didn't just play 18...Qxe6 ] 19.b5 Rab8?! [19...Rad8 was better in every way...took the tactics off the b-file and also protected the d-pawn with something besides the queen] 20.Ba3? [20.bxc6 bxc6 21.Be3 (or even the same idea as the text with 21.Rxb8 Rxb8 22.Ba3 was better. The text falls to tactics) ] 20...Rf4 21.Qe3 Rxg4 22.bxc6 Qxe6?! [I could've removed what little drama was left with 22...Nxc6! and I'm just up a piece] 23.Rxb7 Nxc6 [I could've also tried 23...Rf8 ] 24.Rxb8+ Nxb8 25.Qxa7 Nd7 [Of course 25...Nc6 26.Qa8+ Bf8 27.Qxc6] 26.Rd1 Rd4? [Missing the tactic of 26...Rxg2+ 27.Kxg2 Qg4+;
He's playing for tricks. I could've just played 26...Rxc4 and he couln't have done anything because of back rank tricks] 27.Qa8+ Bf8 28.Re1 Qxc4 29.Rc1 Qa4 funnily seeing the double attack on d1 but not the mate in 2.

Kirk didn't play that well but I played better. Will have to think how I will play the last 2 games[29...Qxc1+ 30.Bxc1 Rd1# Man I wasn't very sharp] 0-1