did i get to 1500?

i played in a four rounder at London today. me and kirk drove down, rented a very nice Matrix. i'm a fan. in any case, i scored 1/4 against dramatically higher competition. we'll see if it was enough...i need to get to 1500 so i can play the U2000 section at the Canadian Open. i scored 0/3 with 1.Nc3 as white


C - NN(1615)
London Open London, ON (1), 29.04.2006
B07 - Pirc Defense : Byrne variation

Playing in the first round of the London open. I was hoping to gain 16 points so I could get up to 1500 and be able to play in the U2000 at the Canadian Open. The first round was against a kid who said he hadn't played a tournament game in a couple of years, thus 1615 didn't mean very much to me. 1.Nc3?! My new idea for this tournament. I was hoping to transpose back to most of the 1.e4 openings while avoiding a bunch of the stuff I don't like (Winawer, Scandinavian). The negatives of course are that they don't have to transpose back to a 1.e4 opening (see my next two white games) and of course I avoid the mainline of the Alekhine and I'm forced to play the 3.Nc3 line v. the Caro 1...Nf6 2.d4 d6 I was terribly happy with this 3.e4 g6 Okay so here I am I decided to play 4.Bg5 the Byrne variation, which I had dabbled with before but didn't really decide beforehand what to play. I will have to decide before the Canadian Open. Probably just the [mainline 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be3 and go for it] 4...Bg7 5.Qd2 Nbd7 6.Nf3?! [Theory doesn't show this at all. Better is 6.0-0-0 or; 6.f4] 6...0-0 7.Bd3 [I was stuck for a plan here. Probably best was 7.0-0-0 but I was worried about him coming with the queenside pawns; I also thought about playing 7.Bc4 hoping for 7...Nb6 8.Bb3 avoiding the pawn storm on the queenside and allowing me to castle safely on the queenside; 7.Bh6 c5 8.Bxg7 Kxg7 9.0-0-0 was also a possibility] 7...c5 8.e5? [Too ambitious. I should have probably solidified the center with 8.d5 a6 9.a4; Even 8.0-0 cxd4 9.Nxd4 may have been okay as well] 8...cxd4! I missed this in my calculations. Well didn't really miss it, I miscounted in my calculation that they captured a pawn here [Something like 8...dxe5 9.dxe5 Ng4 was okay for me] 9.exf6 dxc3 10.Qxc3 [Now I'm just down a pawn. 10.bxc3 gave me double isolated pawns and being down material.] 10...Nxf6 11.Qb3 Forced because of the discovered attack 11...b6 12.0-0-0 [I had decided to do a kingside attack but practically 12.0-0 may have been better] 12...Be6 13.Qa4 Qc7 14.h4 [Maybe strengthening the center instead of going for his king was better. But I fear that something like 14.Rhe1 was more the slow kill as well] 14...Ng4 15.Rdf1 [I wanted to make 15.h5 work but I thought it just loses a whack of material because after 15...Nxf2 16.hxg6 I thought that Black can just take back the pawn, whereas after something like 16...fxg6 (16...hxg6 17.Qh4 Nxd3+ 18.Rxd3 Rfc8) 17.Qh4 Nxh1 (17...Nxd1 18.Qxh7+ Kf7 19.Bxg6#) 18.Rxh1 h5 But I'm okay here 19.Bxg6 ] 15...h5 16.Nd2 [I wonder if closing off the long diagonal with 16.c3 may have been a better try; or even 16.Kb1 ] 16...Ne5 17.Kb1 Nxd3 18.cxd3 b5! A strong move by him 19.Qa6 [19.Qxb5 Rab8 wins for Black; 19.Qb4 a5 20.Qe4 looks strong for him as well] 19...Bf5 20.Rc1 [I don't know why I didn't look at 20.Qa3 sure it would have put the capture on d3 off a move. Looking back, the Nd2 hurt me more than it should have] 20...Bxd3+ 21.Ka1 Qd7 22.Rhd1 [I think I mentally blocked the move 22.Qa3 because I wanted to keep the a-pawn backward and eventually try to pick off the b-pawn to even the material. As a result though I got a passive, terrible position] 22...Bf5 23.Nb3 Rac8 24.f3 Qe6 25.Rxc8 [At this point I was able to grab the b-pawn 25.Qxb5 Rxc1+ 26.Rxc1 Rc8 27.Rxc8+ Qxc8 28.Qe2] 25...Rxc8 26.Qxb5 Rc2 27.Bc1 Qc8 28.Qf1 Be6 [Fritz found a mate 28...Qc3 29.bxc3 (29.Qb5 Rxc1+ 30.Nxc1 Qc2 31.Qe8+ Kh7 32.Qh8+ Bxh8 33.Nd3 Qxd1+ 34.Nc1 Qxc1#) 29...Bxc3+ 30.Bb2 Bxb2+ 31.Kb1 Re2+ 32.Rd3 Bxd3#] 29.Kb1 Bf5 30.Ka1 Qa8 Again Hans, this was because I offered a draw in his time trouble, not because I thought it was even 31.Rd2= a5 32.Rxc2 Bxc2 33.Qc4 Bf5 34.Qa4 Qd5 35.Qxa5 Qd3 36.Nd2 Bh6 37.Qc3 and I eventually lost in a bishop v. knight ending 0-1

NN (1701) - C
London Open London, ON (2), 29.04.2006
A03 - Bird's Opening

1.f4 A bit of a surprise, but a pleasant one. I used to play this as White and was comfortable with the reversed-Dutch positions. Also I wasn't sure if I was going to play a Sicilian or something else v. 1.e4 1...d5 2.e3 [2.Nf3 is more common, but the text transposes] 2...Nf6 3.Nf3 g6 [As someone who has played this as White at a lowly level I wanted to avoid playing 3...c5 ;
or 3...Nc6 as it allows him to develop his bishop easier] 4.Be2 [4.b3 is another way to kill a tempo to try and develop his bishop to c4 or b5] 4...Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.d3 c5 I'm very happy with my position here, a reversed Dutch 7.Nc3 [7.Qe1 like in the Ilyin-Genevsky Dutch is the mainline.] 7...d4!? I'm not sure whether this was good or not, but my reasoning was this. I was developed enough to make a second pawn move that would force his knight to move eventually. He will have trouble developing his bishop, and this will potentially open up the diagonal for my darksquared bishop. In addition, he was a little bit older than me and looked like he was banging out his moves like he'd played them a million times. I figured an aggressive move like ...d4 would make him think a little bit 8.exd4 [The text is exactly what I was hoping for but after 8.Ne4 Qb6 would not have worked as well because there is no pin(8...Nc6 9.Nxc5 dxe3 10.Bxe3 Nd5; 8...Nxe4 9.dxe4 Nc6) ] 8...cxd4 9.Ne4 Nc6 10.Qe1 [I wonder if 10.Nxf6+ may have been better. I would have been happy with this position as well. His development is going to be tough, probably best being b3 and Bb2, and if he plays c3 or c4, he ends up with the isolated pawn 10...Bxf6 ] 10...Qb6 11.Qh4?? Terrible and a "pawn tactic" actually wins it for me, ironically enough ;) 11...Nxe4 12.dxe4 d3+ 13.Kh1 dxe2 14.Re1 Bf6 15.Qg3 Nd4 16.Nxd4 Qxd4 17.Rxe2 Qd1+ 18.Re1 Qg4 19.Qf2 Bd7 20.e5 Bh4 21.g3 Bc6+ 22.Kg1 e6 23.Be3 Be7 24.Bxa7 Rxa7 25.Qxa7 Qf3 26.Rf1 [I was honestly hoping for 26.Re2 Qxe2 27.Qf2 Bc5!] 26...Qg2# 0-1

C - NN (2053)
London Open London, ON (3), 29.04.2006
D01 - Richter-Veresov Attack

1.Nc3 I was paired up against an expert. He really blitzed me this game and I tried to slow down but I found it tough 1...d5 2.d4 Bf5! Realizing that I was playing for either e4 or a terribly passive position 3.Nf3 [Chessgames said I should've stuck to my goal of e4 in one move and played 3.f3 ] 3...Nf6 4.Bg5 e6 Now he has a good position 5.e3 [I wonder if I should've played for the bishop pair, as in similar lines in the Caro-Kann advance and the Slav with 5.Nh4 ] 5...c6 6.Bd3 Bb4 7.Bxf5 exf5 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Ne2 I was happy enough with my position. Obviously I won't be able to break with f3 but I can come up the queenside (hopefully) 9...h6 10.Bxf6 [In my game I won the bishops dominated and in the games I lost the bishops dominated. I've already realized that I undervalue the bishop pair but it was dramatically shown this tournament 10.Bf4 g5 11.Be5 is okay] 10...Nxf6 11.c3 [A little slow maybe. If I was going to play c4 I should've played it in one move 11.c4 particularly because the bishop is doing nothing on b4] 11...Bd6 12.Rc1 ["You should have played 12.g3 and opportunities to play for many moves more. Instead you played h3. If you understood that concept you should not have lost that game. Also you played the queenside pawn attack but never followed through (planning). " (HJ)

I absolutely agree. I can't recall why I decided against it] 12...0-0 13.c4 Re8 [13...dxc4 14.Rxc4 may have been better for me, because it would have been more difficult for a patzer like me to do a queenside attack] 14.c5 Bc7 15.h3? [Obviously once i have c5 in 15.g3 is good as he literally has no squares for his bishop. As sad as this is, I trusted his expert opinion in that if it was good he wouldn't allow it.] 15...Ne4 16.b4 a6 [I thought 16...a5 was good] 17.Nd2 I didn't want to be reactive, but I figured this gave me the option of f3 as well 17...Qf6 18.Nxe4 fxe4 19.Qd2 Re7 20.a4 Rae8 21.Nc3 I was happy about this move, because later on I threaten Nxd5 21...Qh4 22.b5 axb5 23.axb5 I'm happy now that I have a bit of a threat now. 23...Re6 24.f4?! [24.b6 Bb8 25.Ra1 and now I am really threatening coming through on the queenside] 24...exf3 25.Rxf3 Rg6 26.Qf2= [As you said I should have tried 26.b6 Bg3 (26...Bb8 27.Rcf1) 27.Rcf1] 26...Bg3 Honestly I missed this move 27.Qc2 Rge6 28.Qd3 Qg5 [28...Rxe3 29.Rxe3 Bf2+!] 29.Nd1 Very passive 29...Bc7 30.Kf2? My opponent called this move "suicidal" after the game. My play should have been on the queenside [30.Ra1] 30...Rg6 31.g4 [31.Qf1 may have been better] 31...h5 32.Qf5 Qh4+ 33.Kg2? [I didn't want to play 33.Ke2 because of the potential pin but this was much better as he can't really win a pawn here 33...hxg4 (33...Qe7 34.Qxh5 and I'm at least as good) 34.Qxf7+ Kh7 35.hxg4] 33...hxg4 34.Qxf7+ Kh7 35.Qxe8?? I missed Black's next 35...gxf3+ 36.Kxf3 Qh5+ [I only saw 36...Qxh3+ which is bad as well. I lost the flow of the game with Kf2 and then i was just out of it moving my king into the field of attack instead of away from it.] 0-1

C - NN (1845)
London Open London, ON (4), 29.04.2006
D01 - Richter-Veresov attack

Once again... 1.Nc3 Nf6 2.d4 d5 3.Bg5 c6 [I was hoping for 3...e6 4.e4 going into a French. This line doesn't transpose into the Caro quite as nicely] 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e4?! [5.e3 may be better] 5...dxe4 6.Nxe4 Be7 7.Nf3 0-0 8.Be2 Bf5 9.Ng3 Be6 [If 9...Bg6 I may have tried 10.h4 h6 11.h5 Bh7 12.Bd3 similar to the mainline of the Caro] 10.0-0 Nd7 11.c3 Nb6 12.b3?! [Missing that he was going to d5 not to c4. Maybe 12.Re1 Nd5 13.Qc2 Nf4 14.Nf5 Nxe2+ 15.Rxe2 Re8] 12...Nd5 13.Qd2 Qc7 14.c4 [Again not necessary because I think that he was happy going to f4 regardless. I liked the idea of the big pawn center and trying to push through 14.Bd3 Qa5 15.c4 Qxd2 16.Nxd2 Nf4 17.Bf5] 14...Nf4 15.Bd1 [I didn't want to give up the bishops altogether, but activity trumps bishop pairs. 15.Bd3 ;
15.Rfe1 Nxe2+ 16.Rxe2 Rfe8 17.Rae1] 15...Rfd8 16.Bc2 g6 17.h3 [17.Rfe1 may have been better. Again I was playing too quickly and didn't have a plan and was playing reactively. Luft is generally good, but I wonder if the rook move, then 17...-- 18.Ne2 Nxe2+ 19.Rxe2 same idea as before 19...-- 20.Rae1] 17...a5! Strong move. Paralyzing most of my pawns 18.Rad1 Bf8 19.Ne2 [19.Ne4 may have been better. Luck favours the aggressor 19...f5 (19...Kg7) 20.Neg5 Bc8 21.g3 Nh5 (21...Ne6 22.Nxe6 Bxe6) ] 19...Bh6 [19...Nxe2+ 20.Qxe2] 20.Nxf4 Bxf4 21.Qc3 Hoping to pick off the f-pawn eventually 21...Bd6 22.Qb2 [Fritz wanted me to try 22.c5 but I was worried about the backward d-pawn. Unfairly? Can you comment on this please?] 22...a4 23.d5 Bd7 24.Qxf6 Grabbing my pawn. At the end of a long day, my goal was just to grab a pawn, offer a draw and go home. 24...cxd5 25.Rxd5 Bc6 26.Rdd1= There's my draw offer 26...Be7 27.Qc3 Qf4 28.Qe3 Hoping to go into a pawn up endgame 28...Qxe3 29.fxe3 Bc5 30.Nd4 axb3 31.Bxb3? [I have no idea what I was thinking 31.axb3 seemed better with hindsight. My excuse (for what it's worth) was that I was a little upset that he didn't respect me enough to accept my draw offer (of course the 400 rating point differential and the fact my opponent had a tough tournament had nothing to do with it) and also that 8 hours is a lot of chess for a day 31...Ra2 32.Rf2] 31...Ba4 32.Kf2 Bxb3 33.Nxb3? [Again 33.axb3 was better here as well.] 33...Rxa2+ 34.Kf3 Rc8 35.Nxc5? [35.Rd7 was stronger 35...Bf8 36.Rxb7 Rxc4 37.Nd4] 35...Rxc5 36.g4 [36.Rd4 held onto things as you mentioned previously 36...Rc2 (36...Ra4 37.Rb1 Rcxc4 38.Rxc4 Rxc4 39.Rxb7) 37.Rb1 R5xc4 38.Rxc4 Rxc4 39.Rxb7] 36...Rxc4 37.Rd7 Hoping to double the rooks and get a draw. Despite the fact I went from a double rook ending a pawn up into a double rook ending a pawn down, my sense of danger had disappeared. 37...Rb2 38.Rfd1 [38.Kg3! was also recommended by you. It's unclear why I missed this. My plan was much slower. I should've took a deep breath and went for a walk between the middlegame and the endgame. I have no chance of doubling the rooks with the text move] 38...Rcc2 39.Re7 Rf2+ 40.Ke4 Rb4+ 41.Ke5 [My only chance was 41.Rd4 and if 41...Rxd4+ (41...Rb1 42.Rdd7 and go for the b-pawn?) 42.Kxd4] 41...Rf3 42.Kd6 [42.e4 was better. 42...Rxh3 (42...Kf8 43.Rdd7) 43.Rf1 Re3 44.Kd5] 42...Rb3 43.Re1 b5 The game is pretty much over here 44.Kc5 Rb2 45.Rd1 b4 46.Rb7 b3 47.Kb4 [47.Rd3 Rxh3 48.Rdxb3 Rxb3 49.Rxb3 Rg3 and I'm still worse as 3 beats 1] 47...Rh2 48.Kxb3 Rxe3+ 49.Kc4 Rhxh3 50.Rf1 Rhf3 I could safely resign here. 51.Rg1 Kg7 52.Kd4 Ra3 53.Ke4 Rfb3 54.Rb1 Rxb1 55.Rxb1 g5 56.Rb5 h6 57.Kf5 Rf3+ 58.Ke4 Rf4+ I was outmatched in the open section but I think I'm heading in the right direction 0-1

1-3

C - K
April Match (4), 18.04.2006
C25 - Vienna gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 Bc5 5.d4 Bb6 6.Na4 Nf6 7.Nxb6 axb6 8.Bd3 d6 9.Bxf4 Bg4 10.c3 0-0 11.0-0 Re8 12.Re1 Ne7 13.e5 Nfd5 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.Bd2 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Kxh7 17.c4 dxe5 18.cxd5 [18.dxe5 c5 19.Qxf7 Nc7 20.Bg5 Qd4+ 21.Kh1] 18...Qxd5 19.Qh3+ [19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Qxe5] 19...Kg8 20.Rad1 [20.Rxe5 Qxd4+ 21.Qe3 Nf5 22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.Qxd4 Nxd4] 20...Qxd4+ 21.Kh1 Qxb2 22.Bc3 Qa3 23.Rxe5 Ng6 24.Rxe8+ Rxe8 25.Qd7 Re7 26.Qd8+ [26.Qd4 f6 27.Qd5+ Rf7 28.Qxb7] 26...Kh7 27.Qd4 f6 28.Qd3 [28.Bb4 Qxa2 29.Bxe7 Nxe7] 28...b5 29.Qh3+ [29.Qf5 Qxc3 30.Qh5+ Kg8 31.Rd8+ Nf8 32.Qd5+ Kh7 33.Qh5+] 29...Kg8 30.Qc8+ Kf7 31.Ba1 Qxa2 32.Qxb7 Qe2 33.Qd5+ Re6 34.h3 Nf4 35.Qf3 Qxf3 36.gxf3 Nxh3 White resigns 0-1

game

K - C
April Match (3), 17.04.2006
E68 - King's Indian: fianchetto, classical variation, 8.e4

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 I thought he was really trying to win here since he played 2.Nf3 which he knows I have a tough time against. 2...g6 I decided not to play a Grunny and go for a KID. To digress for a second, this kind of thing happens to me *all* the time. I play something OTB that I've never actually played before. I've started working with a FM and I hope he points me in the right direction opening wise. 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.c4 d6 [5...d5;
or 5...c6 will transpose to a Grünfeld] 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 c6 9.Bg5 [9.h3 is the mainline 9...Qb6 is the mainline. I'm not sure I like this position] 9...Qc7 10.Qd2 exd4 11.Nxd4 Ne5 12.b3 c5? [12...c5 I only saw 13.Nf3 after which 13...Bh3 with the threat of 14.Bxh3 (But unfortunately (for me) it falls to 14.Nxe5 Bxg2 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Ng4 Bxf1 17.Nxf6+ Kg7 18.Nfd5) 14...Nxf3+] 13.Ndb5 Qb6 [13...Qd7 14.Qxd6 Qxd6 15.Nxd6 Neg4] 14.f4 Nc6 15.Nxd6 Rd8 16.e5 Ne8 17.Nd5 Kirk got greedy 17...Rxd6 18.exd6 [I really wanted to give up the exchange 18.Nxb6 Rxd2 19.Nxa8 Rxg2+ (19...h6 20.Bh4 g5 21.fxg5 Bxe5) 20.Kxg2 b6] 18...Qa6 19.Rae1 Bd4+ 20.Kh1 [Kirk missed the winning 20.Qxd4!! but of course the finish is not easy Be6 (20...cxd4 21.Rxe8+ Kg7 22.Bf6+ Kh6 23.Rg8 Kh5 24.Bf3+ Bg4 25.Bg5 Rxg8 26.Nf6#; 20...Nxd4 21.Rxe8+ Kg7 22.Nf6 Ne2+ 23.Kf2 Bh3 24.Rxa8 Bc8 25.Rxc8 Qxd6 26.Rg8#) 21.Nf6+] 20...Bd7 21.Rxe8+ Rxe8 22.Nf6+? [22.Nc7 Qb6 23.Nxe8 Bxe8 was winning] 22...Bxf6 23.Bxf6 Re6 Kirk said he missed this move 24.Qc3 Nd4= I offered a draw here, for some reason mentally I thought the queen was on d3 so that after 25.Bxd4 cxd4 [I could pin the queen with 25...Rxd6 ] 26.Qxd4 Rxd6 27.Qb2 Qa5 28.Bxb7 [28.Qe5 Qa6 29.Kg1] 28...Rd2 29.Qf6 Qxa2 I didn't see a mate for him so I wanted to make him prove it 30.Bd5? Rxh2+? [30...Rxd5 31.cxd5 Bh3 32.Rg1;
Anything else won 30...Be6 31.Bc6 Bh3 32.Re1 Rxh2+ 33.Kg1 Qf2#] 31.Kg1 Be6 32.f5 Again I saw no mate 32...Bxd5 33.Qd8+ Kg7 34.f6+ Kh6 35.Qxd5 Qe2 36.Qa8 Kg5 37.Qd5+ Kh6 38.Qb7 Rh5 39.Rf2 Qe3 40.Qxf7 Qxg3+? [40...Qe1+ 41.Rf1 (41.Kg2 Qh1#) 41...Qxg3#] 41.Kf1 Qd3+ 42.Kg1 Qg3+ 43.Kf1 Rh1+ 44.Ke2 Qe5+ 45.Kd2 Qe1+ [45...Qd4+ 46.Ke2 Qd1+ 47.Ke3 Rh3+ 48.Rf3 Rxf3+ 49.Ke4 Qd3+] 46.Kd3 Rh3+ White resigns I fought back but he was better for quite a bit. I missed quite a few things defensively (and a bit offensively) but i guess so did he 0-1

what a mess

C - K
April Match (2), 08.04.2006
C29 - Vienna Gambit

This was a funny game. I'm sure Fritz will jump all over it. 1.e4 [I decided to play 1.Nc3 , but I suspected that Kirk wouldn't transpose into something proper, so I decided to invite 1.e4 e5 and play the Vienna] 1...e5 2.Nc3!? Nf6 3.f4 The Vienna Gambit 3...d5! The strongest move at this point. I had thought about this previously and I decided to play it as a "bad" Falkbeer with Nc3 and Nf6 thrown in 4.exd5? [4.fxe5 Nxe4 5.Nf3 is the mainline and is better than what happened;
4.d3 is also playable] 4...Bc5? [4...Nxd5;
4...exf4;
4...e4 were all better I think. Chessgames.com didn't have ...Bc5 listed] 5.Bb5+!? following Tchigorin's example, but it threw a real wrench into the proceedings [5.fxe5 Nxd5 6.Nf3 may have been okay] 5...c6 6.dxc6 bxc6 7.fxe5 and Fritz agreed with me. let's see what happens 7...Ng4 8.Ne4? [I had thought about 8.Qf3! , but I couldn't makee it work as I still thought that 8...Nf2 was good for Black but I guess after 9.Bxc6+ Nxc6 10.Qxc6+ Bd7 11.Qxc5 Nxh1 I'm better. That's disappointing] 8...Bxg1 and Now I'm down a piece 9.Nd6+ Ke7? [9...Kf8 was much better. Avoiding the check when I take with the knight] 10.Qf3? [10.Rxg1 was much better as the bishop could not be taken 10...cxb5 11.Qf3] 10...Nxe5 I thought I was screwed but luckily 11.Nxc8+ was there getting the queen off the d-file 11...Qxc8 12.Qa3+ Ke8 13.Rxg1 cxb5 14.d4 Nc4 I missed this move 15.Qf3 Qe6+ 16.Kd1 [16.Kf2 Qf6 and he's better] 16...Nc6?? [16...Qc6 would have been better. I was worse the whole game but missed a lot of tactics] 17.Re1= and I offered a draw but he resigned. We both missed quite a lot. I think it's good that we played an open game like this. It really showed me what I need to work on 1-0

April Game One

K - C
April Match Internet Chess Club (1), 02.04.2006
E43 - Nimzo-Indian : Fischer variation

I was looking to get back into my winning ways. 1.d4 This was a bit of a surprise. Kirk hadn't played anything but [1.e4 for quite a while. It probably worked out better for him though because I had the unpleasant (for him) 1...c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 planned which he doesn't like] 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 Fischer Variation. He said after the game that if he remembered that I played this he would have played 4.Qb3 or something. I wonder what he was expecting 5.Bd3 Bb7 [I was thinking about 5...Ba6 but for some reason that would be a novelty in the Chessgames database. It doesn't look terrible to me] 6.f3 when I saw him play this I thought maybe I should've played ...Ba6 6...d5 [I forgot that he had already played e3, so i could play 6...0-0 successfully as if he really wanted to play 7.e4 it wouldn't be so good as he took way too long to get it accomplished 7...d5 8.e5 dxc4 9.exf6 cxd3 10.fxg7 Kxg7 11.Qxd3] 7.Nge2 [7.cxd5 is a little more regular] 7...0-0 8.0-0 c5 I didn't really want to end up with this pawn formation but after 9.a3 I saw that I might be able to give him an IQP which would work out. Recently I've been hoping to try the pawn center of ...e6, ...d6, ...c5, ...b6 but it was tough when he played f3 and I was worried about the big pawn center. 9...cxd4! Thank you David Bronstein 10.exd4 [10.axb4 dxc3 11.bxc3 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Qc7 is okay] 10...dxc4 I was happy with this move as now 11.Bxc4 [11.axb4 cxd3 12.Qxd3 is much better for Black, so the IQP is forced] 11...Be7 12.Bf4 I missed that he was threatening a few things here, so I quickly played 12...Nc6 13.d5?! I was worried about ...Na5 14.d6 Nxc4 15.dxe7 Qxe7 16.Bd6 but then saw that Nxd6 was better. But what about 16.b3 for instance? 13...Na5! 14.d6 [I had only thought about 14.Ba2 but then I just win the pawn] 14...Nxc4 15.dxe7 Qxe7 16.Qb3 [16.b3 Rfd8 Made it work(16...e5 was a little more complicated, but worked as well) ] 16...Ba6 17.Rfd1 [17.Qa4 I thought about 17...Na5 and if (but 17...Qc5+ 18.Kh1 Bb7 works just as well; or 17...Qb7 ) 18.b4 Bxe2 19.Nxe2 Nc4] 17...Rfd8 18.Bg5?? [18.Bg5?? White resigns before I could play 18...Qc5+ , which is frankly a bad idea at mine and Kirk's level. I could have missed the free bishop and, sad to say, we shouldn't resign at Canadian Open until the material is off the board. Kirk got into a position where he couldn't find a clear plan, he was frustrated that he dropped a pawn and overlooked a tactic.] 0-1

out like a lamb

C - K
March Match Internet Chess Club (5), 31.03.2006
D17 - Slav : Czech Variation


I wasn't really into the mood to play, but I needed to be. It reminds me of the quote from Geller - "When a player is not in a good mood and loses it means his technique is not on a high level". i fancy that my technique is at a passable level, but this game shows otherwise 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4!?



But the reason I decided to play (and avoid the Slav Exchange) was this move here. I saw this move in Onischuk-Shirov and thought that it would be a nice try v. the Slav 6...e6 [The strongest theoretical move was 6...Bd7! but I didn't think that (never having seen this before) Kirk would play a retreating move like that. In Kirk's favor, SHirov also played ...e6] 7.Nxf5 exf5 8.e3 Bb4 9.Bxc4 0-0 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Qb3?! [The Onischuk-Shirov game continued 11.Qc2 g6 12.f3 Rc8 13.Rd1 Qe7 14.e4 fxe4 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.fxe4 and a plan like this with f3 and trying to get e4 in would have been better for me 16...c5 17.d5 Qd6 18.a5 a6 19.Rf1 Rce8 20.Bh6 Ne5 21.g3 f6 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.Rf4 Kg7 24.Kh1 Rf7 25.b3 Qd8 26.Be2 h5 27.Qc1 Bxa5 28.Qxc5 Bc7 29.Rc1 Bd6 30.Qe3 a5 31.Rff1 b6 32.Rfd1 Ba3 33.Rc6 Nxc6 34.dxc6 Qc7 35.Bb5 Qe5 36.Bc4 Re7 37.Qf4 Rc7 38.Bb5 Kf7 39.Rd5 Qxf4 40.gxf4 Ke6 41.f5+ gxf5 42.Rxf5 Bb2 43.Rxh5 Be5 44.Rh8 Kd6 45.Rd8+ Kc5 46.Rd5+ Kb4 47.Ba4 Rh7 48.Kg2 Rxh2+ 49.Kf3 Ka3 50.Rd7 b5 51.Bxb5 Kxb3 52.Rb7 Rh3+ 53.Kg4 Rc3 54.Kf5 a4 55.c7 Rxc7 56.Rxc7 Bxc7 57.Bxa4+ Kxa4 58.Kxf6 ½-½ Even though he got a worse position in the opening/middlegame Shirov's strength showed] 11...a5 12.Ne2?! [Not the best plan. Kirk's idea with ...a5 was to lock up my dark squared bishop. I could have either tried something like 12.Na2 Bd6 13.Qxb7 etc.;
or 12.Qc2 attacking the f-pawn 12...g6 13.b3 (or 13.Bd2 ) ] 12...Nb6 13.Bd3 Ne4 14.Ng3 [One of Fritz's recommendations was 14.f3 Nd6 15.Qc2 Re8 16.e4 but i'm not so sure about it. I guess it's good enough. His bishop is just a big pawn over there] 14...Nxg3 15.hxg3 Now I wanted to come up the h-file and try and checkmate him 15...f4! A creative move allowing *him* to come in and attack me on the kingside and also mobilize his pawns 16.gxf4 I had to take 16...Qh4 17.Qd1 [I was hoping for something like 17.g3 -- 18.Kg2 -- 19.Rh1 but of course 17.g3 is answered by 17. ...Qh3. so i had to work around that] 17...f5! He blocks the diagonal to h7, threatens to double up on the h-file and mate me, and my pieces are still out of play. I was worried about falling into a losing position really quick here. So I decided to try and exchange queens and make my extra pawn count 18.Qf3 Rae8 19.Qg3?! [Fritz preferred 19.Qh3 Qxh3 20.gxh3 I guess my king is good on h2 and I can use the g-file to attack. My move gave equality] 19...Qxg3 20.fxg3 Nd5 21.Bc4 [21.Kf2 was another option. ] 21...Kh8 22.Bxd5? Giving up the bishop pair with no compensation. Actually I did have some compensation...getting rid of his queenside majority and giving him an isolated pawn. I doubt it was worth it though. 22...cxd5 23.Kf2 Rc8 [23...Re4 24.-- Rfe8 may have ben better] 24.b3? Should have been losing. My prior idea of playing b3, Ba3 Bxa3, Rxa3 may have been workable 10 moves ago but not now. This gave his rooks dominance 24...Rc2+ 25.Kf3 Rfc8 26.Ba3 Bxa3? [26...Bd2! and then get a rook to the third rank and it's impossibly tough for me. I know I wouldn' thave been able to defend] 27.Rxa3 Rb2 [27...Re8 working on the e-pawn may have been better. In any case my a3-rook is the worst piece on the board bar none] 28.Rf2 Rcc2 29.Rxc2 Rxc2 30.b4!



I was very happy with this move (hence the diagram), it actually gave me winning chances. He cannot make a passed pawn while I can. Also if he doesn't want to give back the pawns *he* will be the one with the passive rook. 30...axb4 31.Rb3 Rc4 32.g4 g6 33.gxf5 gxf5 34.g4 and the game should take care of itself from here on in. 34...Kg7 35.g5? [I have no idea what I was thinking 35.gxf5 Kf6 36.Kg4 and I'm much better. He will be in zugzwang eventually] 35...b6 36.Kg3 [I wonder if trying to go on the queenside was better. 36.Ke2 ] 36...Kg6 37.Kh4 h6 38.gxh6 Kxh6 39.Rb2 Kg6 40.Kg3 Kh5 41.Rh2+= Kg6 42.Rb2 Game drawn by mutual agreement Not the greatest game by me (my technique needs some work) but I was creatively happy with it, and I got a chance to unleash my opening idea I've been sitting on for two weeks, which for someone with ADD like me, seems like forever ;) March final score - Craig 3½ - Kirk 1½ ½-½

don't call it a comeback

K - C
March match (4) 03/26/2006
E91 - King's Indian, 6.Be2

1.e4 g6 Kirk may think this is new for me, but actually the record will show that this was the first opening I ever played in a CFC rated game. 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 This is what I was hoping for. I was secretly trying to backdoor into a Benoni while avoiding the Taimanov attack. 3...d6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 c5 [6...e5 is the King's Indian proper. Not only did I want to play the Benoni, I firmly believe that blocking the long diagonal (after a d5 by White) is not strongest for a player at my level, what do I know though?] 7.dxc5 [Kirk claims this is his "refutation to the ...c5 line". 7.d5 of course leads to a benoni.] 7...Qa5!? [I know this works in other lines, but probably 7...dxc5 and trading off the queens was better here. Kirk mentioned that he liked 8.0-0 Qxd1 (but I wonder if 8...Qb6 was better) 9.Rxd1 . I think my line was too slow as I am already down in development] 8.0-0 Qxc5 9.Be3 Qc7 [I missed Kirk's next move. If I would've thought about it I may have tried 9...Qa5 ;
the only one I half-calculated was 9...Qb4 but that wasn't going to be pretty] 10.Nd5?! I knew there was stronger than this [The stereotyped plan of 10.Qd2 -- 11.Bh6 was probably good here, but would have allowed me to catch up in development. Kirk's idea was more dynamic if not as strong] 10...Nxd5 11.cxd5 Bxb2 12.Rb1 Bg7 13.Nd4 e5? [I missed Kirk's next move. After 13...Nd7 14.Nb5 is not as good because of (14.Rc1 Nc5 works good as well) 14...Qa5] 14.Rc1 Qe7 15.Nb5 Nd7? [15...Na6! was much better as 16.Nxa7 Nc5 blocks up the position again and minimizes losses. ] 16.Nxa7? [16.Nc7 Rb8 17.Bxa7 wins immediately] 16...Nf6 [16...Nc5 was better. I get on with it] 17.f3 Bd7 [17...Nh5 trying to create some counterplay may have been better.] 18.Qb3 Rfb8 19.Rc7 Bh6? I thought this was genius and freed everything. 20.Bxh6 Rxa7 21.Bg5! but i missed this. The game is pretty much over here 21...Kg7 22.Bb5 Rd8 23.f4 Too much pressure, I'm busted at this point 23...Qe8 24.fxe5 Nxe4 25.Bxd8 Nd2 26.Bf6+ Kg8 27.Bxd7 Qxd7 28.Rxd7 Nxb3 I figured I'd let him checkmate me 29.Rd8# Black checkmated Much better play by Kirk. Again I was overoptimistic and ignored any threats, like I do in most of my losses. 1-0

March match (3)

C-K
C02 - French : Advance variation

1.e4 e6! [A nice choice from Kirk. I was hoping for 1...e5 and playing a Ruy Lopez] 2.d4 d5 3.e5 [I had a feeling that Kirk was hoping for 3.Nc3 Bb4 but I still don' thave a good line] 3...c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 c4 7.Nbd2 Nge7?



8.Bxc4! The only trap I know in the French 8...dxc4 9.Nxc4 Qa6 [Kirk claimed after the game that he was lost at move 8 but I disagree. I liked his ...Qa6 better than 9...Qc7 ] 10.Nd6+ Kd7 11.Nxf7 Rg8 12.Qb3 [Sveshnikov-Milos went 12.Qc2 h6] 12...Nf5 [The subtle 12...Qd3 was an interesting try, but it was counterintuitive after all the tempi i gained] 13.d5!? I figured that forcing play would have been better. I may have been wrong 13...Na5 14.dxe6+?! [14.Qa4+ was better] 14...Ke8 [Believe it or not ,because of the way the pieces are set up 14...Kc7! is safer for Black] 15.Qa4+ Nc6 16.Qxa6 bxa6 17.g4 Again I wanted to be forcing and keep the threat of Nd6+ available [17.Bf4 protecting e5 may be better] 17...Nh6 18.Nxh6 [Protecting g4 was probably better, but I am down a piece after all and I was hoping to open lines. Kirk was blitzing moves at this point and had almost given up 18.h3 ] 18...gxh6 19.g5? Bxe6 20.gxh6? [20.Rg1 was better but even still... ] 20...Bg4? [Kirk missed 20...Bd5! after which 21.Rg1 Rxg1+ 22.Nxg1 Nxe5 he is just better] 21.Rg1 Kf7? 22.Ng5+ Black resigns I wonder if Kirk didn't really want to play. There is still some play left. 1-0

2-1 for Kirk

[Event "G/60"]
[Date "2006.03.19"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Jung, Hans (FM)"]
[Black "K"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C49"]
[WhiteElo "2229"]
[BlackElo "1398"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2006.03.19"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. Nxe5 Re8 9. Nf3 d5 10. e5 Nd7 11. Bf4 Nf8 12. h3 d4 13. Ne4 Bf5 14. Ned2 Ng6 15. Bg3 Be7 16. Nb3 c5 17. Qd2 Qd5 18. Kh2 c6 19. a4 Bd8 20. Na5 Bc7 21. Nc4 Re6 22. a5 Rae8 23. Rfe1 Bb8 24. Re2 f6 25. Rae1 fxe5 26. b3 e4 27. Bxb8 exf3 28. Rxe6 Rxe6 29. g4 Rxe1 30. Qxe1 Be6 31. Bxa7 Nf4 32. Qe5 1-0

[Event "G/60"]
[Date "2006.03.19"]
[Round "2"]
[White "K"]
[Black "NN"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "1398"]
[BlackElo "1382"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2006.03.19"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 h6 6. O-O Bb4 7. c3 Ba5 8. Be3 Ne7 9. Nh4 O-O 10. Nxf5 Nxf5 11. Bd3 Nd7 12. Bxf5 exf5 13. Qh5 Re8 14. Nd2 Re6 15. Qxf5 c5 16. dxc5 Rxe5 17. Qh3 Qe7 18. Rae1 Nxc5 19. Bxc5 Qxc5 20. Rxe5 Bc7 21. Qe3 Qd6 22. Nf3 Rf8 23. Rd1 Bb6 24. Qd3 Qc5 25. Nd4 f6 26. Re3 Qc8 27. Nf5 Kh8 28. Re7 Qc5 29. Qg3 g5 30. Rd4 Qc8 31. Qh3 1-0

[Event "G/60"]
[Date "2006.03.19"]
[Round "3"]
[White "NN"]
[Black "K"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1679"]
[BlackElo "1398"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2006.03.19"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. c4 c6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Rc1 O-O 8. Be2 Nbd7 9. O-O Rc8 10. Nh4 Bg6 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. a3 Be7 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Bd3 a6 15. h3 Nh5 16. Bh2 Nb6 17. Qe2 Bd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Rfd1 Rc6 20. e4 Nf4 21. Qe3 Nxd3 22. Qxd3 Nc4 23. Qe2 Rfc8 24. exd5 exd5 25. Qc2 Nxa3 26. Qb3 Nb5 27. Nxb5 axb5 28. Ra1 b4 29. Ra7 Qb8 30. Ra4 Qd6 31. Rxb4 Rc1 32. Rxb7 Qf4 33. Rf1 R8c2 34. Qe3 Rxf1+ 35. Kxf1 Qh2 0-1

Sunday Afternoon G/60

NN - C.
Sunday Afternoon G/60 (1), 19.03.2006
D94 - Grünfeld, 5.e3

We threw a three-round tournament on the weekend. We had 17(!) people show up so it was a little crowded at the Farmer's Market. I shouldn't have gone into such a sharp position but I decided to regardless. We played this game between the first and second rounds because I had a bye the first game and his mother said they had to leave at 12:30 so we tried to get a game in between. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 [Hoping for a Slav or something. Not sure why I didn't just play 2...b6 ] 3.e3 g6 4.c4 Transposing to a quiet Grünfeld 4...Bg7 [Another option is 4...c6 ] 5.Nc3 0-0 [I could've played 5...c6 here as well, but I wanted to get ...c5 in one move (thank you Jonathon Rowson)] 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.e4?! [So I'm in an exchange Grünfeld (which doesn't exactly make me feel warm and fuzzy) but a tempo up. 7.Bc4 may be better ] 7...Nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Be3 Bg4 11.e5 I've always wondered about pushing this pawn instead of the d-pawn in the Grünfeld. 11...cxd4[11...Qa5 was also playable, but after 12.Bd2 ah of course (Stronger is probably 12.0-0 Qxc3 13.Rc1 Qa3) 12...Rad8 , trying to take advantage of the fact he hasn't castled.] 12.cxd4 Rc8 13.0-0 b6? The beginning of a bad plan. I should have either tried to lever his pawn chain with [13...f6;
or allowed the rooks to be connected 13...Qd7 . My idea was that I wanted to get my knight to d5 for some reason] 14.h3 Bxf3? [Giving up the bishop pair. 14...Be6 was stronger, but I'm dogmatic and i don't like having my bishop in front of my pawns. I know, I know, if I'm dogmatic why am I playing the Grünfeld?] 15.Bxf3 e6 To allow my knight to get to d5 via e7 16.Qa4 This seemed strong to me 16...Na5? [16...b5! was a strong rejoinder because of 17.Qxb5 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Qxd4 19.Rad1 Qxe5 20.Qxe5 Bxe5 and I'm up a clean pawn;
16...Qd7 was okay too] 17.Rfc1 Qe7 Not immediately losing, but setting up a tactic 18.Bd2 Rxc1+? [18...Qh4 may have been better, then i'm actually threatening something] 19.Rxc1 Rd8 20.Bb4 Qg5 21.Qa3 Rxd4? [I probably shouldn't have gone after the pawn and played 21...Bf8 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 instead, but my opinion is that if I can't see the immediate loss i'm taking the pawn so...] 22.Be7! Qxe5 23.Rc8+ Bf8 24.Rxf8+ [24.Bxf8! was better] 24...Kg7 25.Qe3? [25.Qe3? and I resigned even though 25...Qxe3 26.fxe3 Rd7 is playable, i do have 2 pawns for the piece and the e-pawn is hanging. Not a very good game by me.] 1-0

C - NN
Sunday Afternoon G/60 (2), 19.03.2006
E24 - Nimzo-Indian : Samisch Variation

1.d4 I had planned on playing 1.e4 before this tournament, but last time we had a tournament my opponent had this "how-to" openings book and it recommended a bad line against my f3 Nimzo, so I figured I'd try it against him. 1...d5!? A surprise already 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4!? Theoretically this is not as good as other moves because it transposes into a bad Samisch variation (as what I play). I realize that it was even played by Vallejo in Linares this year but I don't care for it 4.a3 [4.Nf3 would transpose to the Ragozin variation instead] 4...Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 Nf6 6.cxd5 [The Bacrot-Vallejo game continued 6.e3 0-0 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 c5 9.Ne2 Bg4 10.f3 Bh5 11.Nf4 Bg6 12.Be2 Nc6 13.h4 h5 14.0-0 Ne7 15.dxc5 Qa5 16.Nxg6 fxg6 17.Rb1 Qxc5 18.c4 dxc4 = ½-½, but I found e3 to be a difficult development of the bishop, particularly with the pawn on a3. In my line I get the bishop pair and get rid of the doubled pawns;
6.f3 would transpose to my f3 line] 6...exd5 [6...Nxd5 7.Qc2 f5 looks interesting] 7.Bg5 [7.e3 again is playable] 7...0-0 [7...c5 was Botwinnik-Kotov in which Kotov had a nice finish 8.f3 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.e3 0-0 11.Ne2 Re8 12.Kf2 Qe7 13.Qd2 Nd7 14.Nf4 Nf6 15.Bd3 Bd7 16.h3 Qd6 17.Rhb1 b6 18.Bf1 Re7 19.a4 Rae8 20.Re1 c4 21.g4 g5 22.Ne2 Rxe3 23.Ng3 Qxg3+ 24.Kxg3 Ne4+ 0-1. I decide to go on a mad hunt for a pawn which I probably should have been punished for] 8.e3 Bf5 9.Qb3 Trying to exploit the undefended b-pawn and the underdefended d-pawn. 9...b6 [9...Nbd7 10.Qxb7 c5 may be better, trying to take advantage of my lack of development] 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 [This loses a pawn but I wonder if 10...gxf6 was better? I doubt i] 11.Qxd5 So now I'm up a pawn but he is almost fully developed. If Fritz played Fritz it would probably be a draw, at club level pawn grabbing can pay off (I didn't learn my lesson from last game) 11...Nc6 [I wonder if kicking the queen with 11...c6 was better] 12.Bb5 Ne7! Gaining tempo on the queen 13.Qb3 a6 [Takign up space with 13...c5 may have been better] 14.Be2 Qg5 15.Bf3 This is still gonna be awkward development for me. 15...Bg4? [An unsound exchange sack. I wonder if tempoing my queen (again) with 15...Be6 16.Qc2 Rad8 would have been better] 16.Bxa8 Rxa8 17.Nf3! I was happy with this move 17...Qd5? [Terrible, down material and wanting to trade off queens. Better was 17...Bxf3 18.gxf3 Qh5 and I could've either tried 19.Ke2 (or 19.f4 . Being down material he has to try to keep as much wood on the board as possible) ] 18.Qxd5 Nxd5 19.Ne5 Bf5 I wouldn't figure out a way to get e4 in 20.c4 [20.g4 was something else I was thinking about, and as dangerous as his pieces got after c4, this was probably the better choice] 20...Nc3 21.Kd2 Ne4+ 22.Ke2 Nc3+ 23.Kf3?! Not as strong as going back to the back rank, but the idea of Kd2 in the first place was to unite my rooks...plus i'm up material ;) 23...Be4+ 24.Kg3 f5? I think he pushed the f-pawn one square too far, my knight is the best piece on the board easily. 25.f3 Rf8? [It's hard to suggest good moves here. 25...Bb7 may have been better, but I can understand why he didn't want to play passively] 26.fxe4 Nxe4+ 27.Kf3 g5 28.h3 [28.g4! was better] 28...h5 29.g4 h4 30.gxf5 Ng3 31.Kg4 Sure I'm running out of squres, but I'm up a whole rook so I can sack back the exchange and grab his pawn. 31...Rxf5 32.Ng6 [Too transparent a threat. Maybe 32.Rhg1 was better] 32...Kg7 33.Ne5 Kf6 34.Rhg1 Ne4 Now he's actually threatening something 35.Nd3 Nd2 36.c5 Kg6 37.Rad1 Nf3 38.Ne5+ Stopping the mating net. It's just mop up from here 38...Nxe5+ 39.dxe5 Rxe5 40.cxb6 cxb6 41.Rd6+ Kf7 42.Rxb6 Rxe3 43.Rxa6 Kg8 44.Rb1 Re7 45.Kxg5 Kh8 46.Rbb6 Rg7+ 47.Kxh4 Kg8 48.Rg6 So I ended up 1-1. Lost some points. Kirk scored 2/3 with his only loss v. FM Hans Jung so he was pretty satisfied. 1-0

March (2)

K - C
March Match (2) 3/7/2006
C55 - Two Knights Defense - Modern Bishops Opening

1.e4 e5 I wanted to try the same Tchigorin line as Kirk played last week against him, but he didn't want a theoretical battle. 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 grrr. I *knew* there was a reason I don't play 1.e4 e5 ;) 3...Nf6 [Playing over Morphy games have made me refuse to play 3...Bc5 because of 4.b4! I do a meaner NN impersonation than a Morphy impersonation] 4.d3 h6 [4...Be7;
and 4...Bc5 are also tried here. I figure I'll try and make it a little tougher for him to develop his bishop] 5.0-0 Bc5?! [Stronger is 5...d6 and my position has no weaknesses to attack. I was more ambitious though] 6.Be3 [6.Nc3;
or the immediate 6.c3 were more popular in the 1800s] 6...Bb6 not wanting to allow him to open the f-file but [6...Bxe3 7.fxe3 d6 wasn't so bad either] 7.Nbd2 [wanting to play c3, but i wonder if 7.Nc3 overprotecting d5 might be better] 7...0-0 8.c3 d5 I was happy enough with this move. I calculated that it didn't immediately lose and i figured i could get away with it, as it allowed me to play ...Bg4 (because of the lack of h3), which allows me to put more pressure on the center. 9.Bb3 [I think he should have simplified in the center and went after my e-pawn 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Bxb6 axb6 11.Re1 for instance] 9...Bg4 10.Qc2 Re8 [10...d4 immediately was better. I was worried about dropping the e-pawn thogh] 11.Rfe1 d4! 12.cxd4 exd4 13.Nxd4?? [13.Bf4 was better. I missed this in my calculations as i missed that the e-pawn had already captured on d4] 13...Bxd4 I was happy with this, allowing Nd5 on the next move 14.Qc4 Be6 Even though I won, I was uncomfortable with my position and I think if Kirk would've took some pieces off and slowly crept at me, I would've suffered quite a bit (Bxb6 for instance). In any case... 0-1

standing on the shoulders of giants

this humorous quote, attributed to Sir Isaac Newton was partially about how he saw further because he was "standing" on the knowledge passed on by past generations, and partially a slight to his short-statured rival Robert Hooke. our game i titled standing on the shoulders of giants as we both blitzed out about 13 moves of ruy lopez theory

C - K
March match (1) 3/3/2006
C99 - Ruy Lopez : Tchigorin variation, 12. ...cxd4

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 [I haven't found an antidote for the Falkbeer yet (still playing 2.f4 d5 3.Nf3 unsuccessfully online) so I decided to see what he had in store for the Ruy Lopez.] 2...Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3! [The exclam was for bravery. I have been diligently working on tactics for the past couple of weeks so felt comfortable allowing the Marshall. If I go back to an Anti-Marshall it will probably be 8.a4 ;
as i haven't figured out the weakpoints of 8.h3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 Nf6 compared to the mainline] 8...d6 9.h3 Na5! This was a surprise. Kirk probably expected me to vary earlier, but I have never seen him play the Tchigorin before. [Kirk said afterwards he couldn't remember the line that "the Russians used against Fischer" so he decided to play the Tchigorin. I assume he meant 9...Nd7 as in Fischer-Tal ] 10.Bc2 c5 As I got this position, as so many times before, instead of the usual Ng3 and go at the king, I was gonna try and play Nbd2-Nf1-e3 and dominate the weak d5-square 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nf1? [The mainline is 14.Nb3 ;
14.a3 is also played to take squares away from the knight.] 14...Nb4?! [Much stronger is 14...exd4 and White can't play 15.Nxd4 because of 15...Nxd4 16.Qxd4 Qxc2;
14...exd4 there are lots of moves for White but I think Black has better play. I may try this as Black from now on 15.Bb1 (15.Bf4; 15.Bg5; 15.Bb3) ] 15.Bb3 a5 16.a3 Na6 17.Bg5 trying to work on e5 and d5 17...h6 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Ne3 keeping with my plan 19...Be6 20.Bd5? Giving him a tempo to mobilize his pieces [I should've just played 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.d5 right away] 20...Rac8 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.d5 [22.dxe5 dxe5 23.Rc1 was another try] 22...Nc5 23.Rc1 [I liked this move but 23.dxe6 Nxe6 24.Qd5 Qd7 25.Rad1 was another attempt] 23...Qd7 24.dxe6 Nxe6 [24...Qxe6 25.Nd5 would've been okay as far as i was concerned too] 25.Nd5 Rxc1 26.Qxc1 Rc8 27.Qd2? [I had Kirk's tactic that didn't work 3 moves later 27.Qxh6 . I should've been looking for things like this.] 27...Bg5? I wonder if Kirk just slowly felt himself get smothered and wanted to force something [27...Qd8 28.Nxf6+ gxf6 29.Qxh6 was still good for me though. HIs position was falling apart] 28.Nxg5 Nxg5 29.Nb6 Qxh3 An interesting try that almost worked 30.Qd5+ Black resigns 1-0

Black to move and win. This is the position I had after I played 10.g3?? at the tournament. Note the glass knight on c3...when i crossed over to Cerner in Kansas a couple of months ago, I brought my chess tube with me and it opened up during the ride (or crossing the border) and when i opened my suitcase all my pieces were all over...and i was missing a knight :( now that's the one i always sack in blitz ;)

February Round 2

K - C
February (2) 02-26-2006
B41 - Sicilian : Kan Variation

Okay this was the second (and final) game of February 2006. Kirk had moved to Walkerton earlier in the month and his internet didn't get hooked up until Friday. I wanted to play two games this weekend but unfortunately I went into work at 2:30am on Friday night/Saturday morning so I was in no shape to play. 1.e4 This was to be expected 1...c5 I'm still not sure what my "main" 1.e4 weapon is. I got smucked horribly in blitz last night v. my own weapon (the Grand Prix) where I tried to castle queenside and he rebuffed that idea. Kirk had mentioned in the past that he does not have a good line v. the Kan, so in a "must-win" game (match tied, last game) I decided to play the Kan v. him 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Be3!? Of course I have not played the Kan for months and months so could not remember what to play v. this (if anything). I think the problem is that it leaves the e-pawn unprotected, so probably ...Nf6 was the best, but I just wanted to get into a comfortable situation where he couldn't really attack me with his usual Be2, f4, O-O line. e.g. get comfortable, get him out of his comfort zone 5...Nc6 [5...Nf6] 6.Bd3 Nge7 [Again 6...Nf6 probably was better here. Again, like so many times before, I had decided in my mind what I was going to play regardless (or irregardless) of what my opponent did (see any of my Caro-Kann Advances historically)] 7.0-0 Nxd4 8.Bxd4 Nc6 this is the idea. It wastes a tempo for White. A similar idea is possible when the bishop is *not* on e3, except I tempo the queen. 9.c3?! [9.Be3 is better;
9.Bc3 has also been played, trying to stay on the long diagonal, but i imagine his pieces would be falling over top of each other trying to get his knight developed] 9...Nxd4 10.cxd4 d5? [10...Qb6 wins a pawn, but I thought with symmetrical pawn structures (both open c-file) i had equality] 11.e5 [I think he wanted to avoid the isolated pawn after 11.exd5 Qxd5 but that may have been best. The advantage to his move is that he wants to limit the scope of my bishops. The disadvantage is that with the blocked center he can't take advantage of his advantage in development. ] 11...Be7 [Again Qb6 wins a pawn here again 11...Qb6] 12.Nd2 0-0 [I could've finally tried 12...Qb6 13.Nb3 but I figured I should probably castle eventually. Although I could've took my time with the blocked center. I think he should've took a little longer here and tried to get an attacking plan.] 13.Rc1 f5! I don't know if this was an exclam, but at this point, I'm thinking two things. One, get my pieces into play. Two, about the only threat he has is Bxh7+ so why not try and solve both. He chooses to give up Bxh7+ 14.f4 [I wonder if uniting his rooks with 14.Qe2 was any better. Rashid Ziatdinov must be rolling in his grave about our patzer development ;);
or even 14.Nf3 guarding his d-pawn] 14...Qa5! I was happy with this move, trying to get him to play a3, because his d-pawn and b-pawn are still hanging and without the a-pawn guarding b3, Nb3 is not so strong 15.a3? [Falling into my plan 15.Qc2 may have been better, doubling up on h7 after an eventual g4 and stopping 15...Qxa2?? because of 16.Ra1;
Another idea was 15.Bb1 which looks funny but may be good as it guards a2 and takes one piece off the d-file.] 15...Bd7 [Maybe I screwed up the move order 15...Qb6 16.Nb3 Bd7 was forced, whereas he didn' thave to play 16.Nb3 in this line] 16.Nb3 [16.Qe2 Qb6 17.Nf3;
or even 16.Nf3 may have been better. ] 16...Qb6 17.Kh1? [Maybe the immediate overprotection by 17.Rc3 was better, but my position is better here and i'm getting some material] 17...Ba4 18.Bc2 Rac8


White to move

19.Rf2? [This loses material but what was better. I liked 19.Nc5 Bxc2 (Fritz found 19. ..Bb5 winning a pawn) 20.Qxc2 Bxc5 (20...Qb5!) 21.dxc5 Qc6] 19...Bxb3 20.Bxb3 Rxc1 [Perhaps 20...Qxb3! would have been more in the style of Morphy] 21.Qxc1 Qxb3 Not a great start by Kirk, but I was happy enough to win. I built up the pressure and finished it. 0-1

Weekend tourney Round 3

NN - C
B02 - Alekhine's Defense, Maroczy Variation

I forgot to mention in my other game that the time control was the unusual G/110+30 seconds. My opponent was a 40-ish gentleman who was rated lower than me, just what I was hoping for. Originally I was paired with a guy who was rated 1900 who was having a crappy tournament. I picked up a King's Gambit book from Chuck's bookstore and also let Kirk in on my little opening secret for this game so I was fired up to play. 1.e4 Nf6! The exclam is not for the quality of the move (I'm sure there are better) but for me actually playing it. I told myself, partially as a tribute to Kirk's excellent site, that I was going to play the Alekhine's at least in my life OTB. 2.d3 I knew it. [This or 2.Nc3 were inevitable] 2...d6? [The question mark is for going against my preparation. I had a miniscule debate with Eric Schiller about the merits of this move on Chessgames.com and he was happy enough with 2.d3 because 2. ...e5 allowed a reversed Philidor. Considering I had just gotten smacked around in 10 moves against the Philidor a couple hours previously you can understand my reasoning against playing 2...e5 . I'm sure it was stronger though] 3.Nf3 g6 4.h3 [Slow, probably 4.g3 was better] 4...c5 Now we have transposed into a Closed Sicilian. I have played positions like this quite often so I was relatively comfortable with it. 5.Be3 Bg7 [Fritz preferred 5...Qb6 making him either weaken his queenside, return his bishop, move his queen or sacrifice a pawn. ] 6.Nbd2 [He had to move either the pawn or the knight as after something like 6.Be2 Nxe4 7.dxe4 Bxb2 8.Nbd2 Bxa1 9.Qxa1 I felt better. Whether that was true or not, I'm not sure] 6...0-0 7.c3 Nc6 8.d4! I underestimated this move, however obvious it was 8...cxd4 9.cxd4 He has the easier position here, as it's tough to find a good square for my bishop and if he gets d5 in where does the knight go. I did some calculatin' and decided to play 9...d5 myself 10.e5 This was the line I was calculating. [Of course 10.exd5 Nxd5 is fine for Black] 10...Ne4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Ng5 [This move did not come into my calculations, surprisingly. I had only looked at 12.Nd2 Nxd4 with a better position] 12...f5? [Of course 12...Qd5 is better. I don't know what I was thinking. Actually that's not true. I know exactly what happened. Mentally I had resigned myself to the fact that (because of the d3-pawn) he could only play Be2.] 13.Bc4+ Kh8 [13...e6 14.Bxe6+ Bxe6 15.Nxe6 Qa5+ looks like it might almost work but after 16.Bd2 what do i do?] 14.Nf7+ Rxf7 15.Bxf7 e6! This move totally saves my bacon. He now has to work to get his bishop out. 16.d5? [Trying to attack my precarious position 16.h4 Qe7 17.Bxg6 hxg6 was better, particularly with his rook still on h1] 16...Nxe5 The only thing I had was his precarious king position. This is the only try at getting an advantage for Black 17.dxe6 Qa5+ 18.Qd2 [18.Kf1 Bxe6 19.Bxe6 Qa6+;
18.Bd2 Nd3+ 19.Kf1 Qa6] 18...Nd3+ 19.Ke2 [19.Kd1 Nxb2+ 20.Ke1 Nd3+ 21.Kd1 Qxd2+ 22.Kxd2 f4 (22...Bxa1 23.e7 Bd7 24.Rxa1 Kg7 25.Bd5 Re8 26.Bxa7 Rxe7) ] 19...Qa6 20.Kf1 Bxe6!? [20...f4 was better, but i thought i had that move whenever I wanted] 21.Bxe6 Qxe6 22.g3 Trying to give room for his king. 22...Nxb2 23.Rb1 Nc4? [I should've grabbed the pawn. But just like 20. ...f4 I thought I could always grab the a-pawn whenever. 23...Qxa2 ] 24.Qe2 Nxe3+ 25.fxe3 [Only imagining that 25.Qxe3 Qxa2 was forced. I made some strange decisions in this game.] 25...b6 26.Rc1 g5!? I realized it was time to get one of my majorities rolling. Maybe it was premature, who knows 27.Qc4 wanting to trade queens off. UNderstandable. I missed the second part of his move though 27...Qe5 28.Qa6 An interesting idea. Threatening checkmate. 28...h5 [Maybe better was 28...Rf8 ;
28...Qxg3 29.Rc8+ Bf8 30.Rxa8 Qf3+ with perpetual] 29.Rc8+ Rxc8 30.Qxc8+ Kh7 31.Ke2



Black to play and lose

31...Qxg3?? Horrible. Obviously better was [31...Qb2+ as i can capture the a-pawn with check, as because of the e-pawn, he can't make any progress with his king and he can't leave the rook 32.Kf1 Qa1+ 33.Kg2 Qxa2+ 34.Kg1 Qa5 looks pretty good to me.] 32.Qxf5+! This was the (obvious) move i missed 32...Kh6? Allowing him to capture the e-pawn with check. Better was [32...Kh8] 33.Qe6+ Kh7 34.Qxe4+ Kh6 35.h4 g4? [35...gxh4 36.Rxh4 (36.Qxh4 Qg2+ 37.Kd1 Qf3+= allows perpetual) 36...Be5 is playable. I'm still up a pawn. I was mentally defeated and I really thought that h4 was a strong move. Now I'm just screwed] 36.Qe6+ Kh7 37.Qf5+ Kh6 38.Qg5+ Kh7 39.Qxh5+ Kg8 40.Qe8+ Kh7 41.Qe4+ Kg8 42.h5 Qe5 43.Qxe5 Bxe5 44.e4 Kh7 45.Rg1 g3= and I offered a draw because I only saw... 46.Kf3 Kh6 but i missed 47.Kg4! [47.Rxg3 and I thought maybe I could sneak out a draw but it looks losing 47...Bxg3 48.Kxg3 Kxh5 49.Kf4 Kg6 50.Ke5 Kf7 51.Kd6 Ke8 52.Kc7 Ke7 53.Kb7 Ke6 54.Kxa7 Ke5 55.Kxb6 Kxe4 56.a4 Kd5 57.a5 Kd6 58.a6] 47...a5 48.Kf5 Bd6 49.e5 and I resigned. That was an interesting game, but I needed to relax after making the blunder. Relaxation is important. I was much too stressed about this tournament. I will try to change that in the future.

I'm probably dropped below 1500 after this tournament. My main problem is that since I've beaten experts I expect to play at that level all the time, which just isn't true. I need to be more consistent, nothing more nothing less. 1-0

Weekend tourney Round 2

C - NN
C41 - Philidor Defense : Nimzowitsch Variation

This is the first I've touched a chessboard (Tuesday) since the tournament (Saturday). It was a very unpleasant tournament for me and I'm not sure what caused it. Too much quickplay no doubt. I forgot to bring my clock that should have been a warning. I had decided beforehand to play 1.e4, the Alekhine and the Nimzo/QGD. I had White the first game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 As everytime Black avoids the Ruy, I wonder why I didn't just push my f-pawn on the second move 3.d4 Nf6 Interesting move order. Regular is [3...exd4;
and of course every White player v. the Philidor is looking for 3...Bg4 ;) ] 4.Bg5?! [I had to protect the pawn. Kirk recommended 4.dxe5 but after 4...Nxe4 i wonder if i would've found 5.Qd5!;
The mainline is 4.Nc3 and after 4...Nbd7 it is the Hanham Variation] 4...h6 [Schwartz-Paulsen continued 4...exd4 but I like the idea of him putting the question to my bishop. 5.Nxd4 Be7 6.Bd3 0-0 7.Nc3 c6 and eventually White won. I think I would play 4.Bg5 again though] 5.Bxf6? [Better was 5.Bh4 but I couldn't see what to play after 5...g5 6.dxe5 (not 6.Bg3? Nxe4) 6...Nxe4 7.Bd3 and it's messy but i doubt he wants his pawn on h4;
Even better was the immediate 5.dxe5 hxg5 6.exf6 g4 7.Nd4 Qxf6 I thought about it, but I realized why complicate things unnecessarily and just gave up the bishop pair, which I was loath to do before the game started.] 5...Qxf6 6.Nc3 c6 7.d5!? [I probably should have got on with it 7.Qd2 or;
7.Be2 but I thought that with all his pawn moves, I could try one too. In addition, this indirectly stopped him from playing ...b5] 7...Be7?



White to play and win

8.Qd2? [I missed that the bishop on e7 stopped the queen from coming back to d8 and stopping the fork 8.dxc6! bxc6 (8...Nxc6 9.Nd5 Qg6 10.Nc7+ is pretty obvious) 9.Nd5 Qg6 (9...cxd5 10.Qxd5 and wins the rook) 10.Nc7+] 8...0-0 9.0-0-0[9.dxc6 bxc6 (9...Nxc6 10.Nd5) 10.Nd5 cxd5 11.Qxd5 still worked, but if I missed it the first time, i was sure to miss it again. Of course it's not as strong this time because in the other line 11...Nc6 12.Qxc6 was check] 9...Nd7



White to play and lose horribly

10.g3?? Believe it or not there was some thought behind this move. [I wanted to put my knight on h4 and get to f5 but of course I couldn't do it immediately because of Qxh4, so I played 10.g3 losing the knight immediately. 10...-- 11.Nh4;
Of course something like 10.Be2 was better.

] 10...Qxf3

Why did I miss that the knight was defended only by the g-pawn? I wanted to play g3 while I could because I didn't want him to be able to pin. Kirk gave a more realistic excuse...not being used to playing with "real pieces". I had too much time to think, so I was making these deep knight inflitration ideas instead of looking at the board like I would in a blitz or active game. My opponent felt terrible and even apologized after the game.

So what's the solution? I want to play at the Canadian Open but I' m not real good at losing. Should I go back to playing things like the Caro? Should I give up chess? Should I analyze with a real board? I have given up correspondence. I'm thinking about just playing chess as a social activity, but I think I need a break. I may go to play more passive things as Black and just play 1.f4 as White and actually go through GM-RAM and endings books and sit at a board instead of this idiot box. We'll see 0-1

analyze this

AB - C
Grey Bruce Chess Club 2006
B09 - Pirc : Austrian Attack

1.e4 d6!? not something i'm gonna play next weekend but i wanted to try something different and move the struggle to the middlegame. also it's poor to get your opening busted by a stronger player before you go to a tournament. so i play something that i will never actually play OTB 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be3 c6? [I haven't played this system very much before, but better than the "Rat" was 6...Nc6 ;
or the double-fianchetto 6...b6 i fell in love with the idea though of 6. ...c6 7.Bc4? Nxe4! ] 7.Qd2 Bg4 [7...Ng4 was another option] 8.Be2 b5 Trying to make him think twice about queenside castling 9.h3 Bxf3 [9...b4! 10.hxg4 bxc3 11.Qxc3 Nxe4 12.Qd3 was a more interesting try] 10.Bxf3 a5 11.0-0?! My threats worked. I think it would have been a better plan for him to push g4 etc. instead of castling kingside, but what do i know? ;) 11...Qc7? [11...d5 To stop the threat of e5] 12.Nxb5? [12.e5! b4 13.Nb5 won immediately] 12...cxb5 13.e5 Nc6 14.exf6 Bxf6 Now I feel I'm better with the c- for e-pawn trade 15.Rac1 [Maybe 15.c3 ] 15...Rac8 16.c4 b4 17.c5 dxc5 18.Rxc5 Qd6 19.d5? [Asking for too much out of the position. Maybe 19.Rd5 was better] 19...Nd4 20.Rxc8 [20.Rxa5 Rc2 21.Qd3 Nxf3+ 22.Rxf3 Rxb2] 20...Nxf3+ 21.Rxf3 Rxc8 22.Bf2 Rd8 23.Rd3 e6 I win a pawn by unbearably shoddy technique does me in. if you can believe it, i actually lose this game 24.a3 exd5 25.axb4 Qxb4 26.Qxb4 axb4 27.Bd4



Bxd4+? [What a silly mistake by me. I realized that only his king would be able to help him, but missed that his king would be closer to my pawn. 27...Be7 was decided to be best afterwards.] 28.Rxd4 Kg7 29.Kf2 Kf6 [29...b3 may have been better 30.Rb4 d4 31.Ke2 Re8+ 32.Kd3 Re3+ 33.Kxd4 Rg3] 30.Rxb4 d4?? [Probably the losing move 30...h5 was much better allowing my king to stay near my pawn. Why did I make such terrible blunders? I was mentally defeated after the 27. ...Bxd4. i needed to take a breath and think. THIS GAME WAS NOT LOST AT THIS POINT] 31.Ke2 h5 [31...Re8+ 32.Kd3 Re3+ 33.Kxd4 Rg3] 32.Kd3 Kf5 33.Rxd4 Rb8 34.b4 Rb7 35.g3 Ke6 36.Rc4 Kd5= 37.Rc5+ Kd6 38.Kc4 f5 39.b5 Rb6 40.Kd4 and I stopped recording and eventually lost. It was good to play some strong opposition but I made some strange moves in the middlegame. 1-0

there were some good things to take from that. i won a pawn and had an excellent middlegame v. a relatively strong player. that is the level of player i will play in kitchener. the problem is that when he put a bit of pressure on me i crumbled. i need to focus more. Kirk, if you wouldn't mind doing a bit of analysis on this, i'd appreciate it ;)

February Round 1

C - K
February Match(1) Internet Chess Club (1), 06.02.2006
QGD: Tarrasch, Prague variation, 9.Bg5

First new game of February. Kirk has just moved to a new place and was "borrowing" a wireless connection from a neighbour so there were long periods with no connection. Finally, after about 15 moves I got frustrated and just offered a draw. 1.c4 Something new for me in my quest to avoid the Queen's Gambit and still allow the Nimzo ;) Of course Black can play stuff like [1.c4 e5 (and 1...c5 but it will give me a chance to think over the board since these positions are all new to me.) ] 1...c5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 e6 [I was hoping for something like 3...Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d4!] 4.g3 [I could've tried 4.d4 here;
but I was thinking about 4.e4 and a Mikenas-Carls. The problem with trying to get a Nimzo out of 1.c4 is that I can't play the Mikenas-Carls.] 4...d5 5.cxd5 exd5 [The text allows me to transpose into the Tarrasch Defense. If he would've tried 5...Nxd5 I don't think I would've been quite so comfortable going into a Semi-Tarrasch 6.d4] 6.d4 Nc6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Bg5 Be6



And after some to-ing and fro-ing we actually made it to the mainline of the Tarrasch Defense. A Queen's Gambit, which I was hoping to avoid with 1.c4, but the Tarrasch, at our patzer level, is easier to play as White. [The mainline is 9...cxd4 10.Nxd4 h6 11.Be3 Re8] 10.Rc1 [10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Nxd5 Qxb2 13.Nc7 was another interesting choice] 10...Nd7?! [No mention of 10. ...Nd7 in any book on the Tarrasch I have, but it seems an interesting choice. Similar to the idea of 10...Ne4 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 with the knight guarding the c5-pawn, but i think the knight may be more influential on e4 than d7.] 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.dxc5 Qxc5 13.Ng5! d4 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Bxc6? Throwing away advantage by looking for tricks [15.e3! was much better, with the idea of attacking the queen with tempo before exchanging the bishop 15...Rad8 16.Ne2 Qb6 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.Qxd4] 15...bxc6 16.Ne4 [16.e3 Ne5 17.exd4 Qxd4 18.Qxd4 Nf3+ may have been better.] 16...Qe5= Again i offered a draw because i was fed up with the connection[I had only thought about 16...Qd5 17.Qc2 . I threw away a White, but there's lots more opportunity. Plus maybe I have a future option as White with 1.c4 :)] ½-½

yet another one bites the dust

bye bye art of attack

hello SOVIET CHESS - 1917-1991

i actually learned something from the last book...i feel stronger

return of the caro

K-C
January Match Internet Chess Club (8), 24.01.2006
B12 - Caro-Kann : Advanced Variation

We decided to have a midweek game. 1.e4 c6 I wanted to move the battle to the late middlegame/endgame. Over the board there won't be as many miniatures for and against I hope 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5!? [I tried something different today. Normally I play the Karpov-esque 5...Ne7 6.-- Nd7 and only then 7.-- c5 and 8.-- Nc6 . ] 6.0-0 Nc6 7.c3 Nge7 [The main line is 7...cxd4 8.cxd4 then 8...Nge7 but I didn't want to open any lines for him. I can't understand why someone would play this way v. the old Karpov Knights way. Development is awkward at best and painful at worst.] 8.Bg5!? [The mainline is 8.dxc5! Ng6 9.b4 Ngxe5 . I wa happy with his move because it allowed me to develop a little bit] 8...Qb6 9.Qb3?! giving himself doubled isolated pawns [9.Qd2 may have been better] 9...Qxb3 10.axb3 Bxb1 11.Rfxb1 cxd4 12.cxd4 Nf5



Whether I'm better or worse here I'm happy with my position. I missed Kirk's next move, but I wanted just to trade off the bishops and my two queenside pawns are better than his. 13.Bb5! Be7 14.Rd1 Bxg5 15.Nxg5 h6 [I wanted to play 15...Ke7 to break the pin, but after an eventual 16.Nf3 -- and 17.g4 the knight is out of play] 16.Nf3 0-0 [Now 16...Ke7 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.g4 loses] 17.Bxc6 bxc6 Now it comes down to whether the backwards c-pawn is weaker than the doubled isolated b-pawns. 18.g4 Ne7 19.Rdc1 [Fritz liked 19.Ra3 and I think that's okay as well. Easier for him to get at the a-pawn, since my knight is guarding the c-pawn. ] 19...Rfc8 20.Ne1 Ng6?! [Fritz wanted me to go after the b-pawn, but my idea was to play 20...Rc7 defending the a-pawn 21.-- Rac8 and freelance with my knight. With this setup of rooks if he decided to go after my a-pawn, i can always play 22.-- Ra8] 21.Ra6? [I think 21.Nd3! was better, limiting my knight.] 21...c5! 22.Nd3? [22.Rxc5 Rxc5 23.dxc5 Nxe5 24.h3;
or 22.dxc5 Nxe5 23.h3 was better] 22...cxd4 23.Rxc8+ Rxc8 24.Rxa7 Rc2 25.f4 Rd2 26.f5 Rxd3 [Fritz said that 26...exf5 was stronger but I thought my line was winning as well] 27.fxg6 fxg6 28.Rb7 Re3 29.b4? [29.Rb4 may have been a bit better, but it's a win now] 29...d3 30.Kf2 Re2+? [a blunder by me 30...d2! was instantly winning] 31.Kf1 Rxb2 32.b5 Rxh2? [Again not paying attention. I got lazy 32...Rb1+ 33.Kf2 d2] 33.Ke1 Rb2 34.b6 h5 Trying to make a second weakness 35.gxh5 gxh5 36.Rb8+ Kh7 37.b7 h4 38.Kd1 h3 39.Kc1 Rb3 40.Kd2 h2 White resigns 0-1