[Event "WYCC U16g"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.04"]
[Round "10.5"]
[White "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Black "Aakanksha, Hagawane"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C12"]
[WhiteElo "2328"]
[BlackElo "2061"]
[Annotator "Gergely Szabo"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bh4 $5 {Diagram [#] A line
which has more venom in it than it seems at first glance. When Qiyu showed me
this for the first time, I thought something like "great, another semi-correct
line in which we strive for complications..." But I soon changed my mind, upon
seeing some recent games.} (6. Bd2) ({or} 6. Be3 {are the established lines.})
6... g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 8. Nge2 {Black is at a crossroad here:} f5 (8... h5 9. f3
Nxg3 {Diagram [#]} 10. hxg3 (10. Nxg3 c5 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Qd2 Nc6
14. Rb1 $6 (14. h4 $5) 14... Qxa3 15. Bd3 {but} h4 $1 (15... cxd4 16. cxd4 Nxd4
17. O-O Qe7 18. Qc3 Nc6 19. Bb5 d4 $4 20. Bxc6+ Kf8 21. Qc4 {gave White a
quick victory in Karpatchev,A (2472)-Wichmann,C (2363) Bad Woerishofen, 2015.})
16. O-O $5 c4 17. Ra1 Qe7 $17 {casts serious doubt on the correctness of
White's concept.}) 10... Bd7 11. Qd2 Be7 12. g4 (12. f4 $5 {was our pre-game
preparation, considering that Black's bishop pair is currently held at bay by
White's space advantage and the closed center.}) 12... h4 13. g3 c5 14. gxh4
Nc6 15. Qe3 Qb8 16. O-O-O cxd4 17. Nxd4 Qxe5 18. Qxe5 Nxe5 $15 {was better for
Black in Stukopin,A (2572)-Nakamura,H (2816) Las Vegas, 2015 (0-1, 34).}) (8...
c5 9. a3 Bxc3+ 10. Nxc3 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Qa5 (10... Nxc3 11. bxc3 Qa5 12.
Qd2 Nc6 (12... b6 13. h4 Rg8 14. hxg5 (14. dxc5 $5 {is a possible improvement
here, as suggested by the engine.}) 14... hxg5 15. c4 Qxd2+ 16. Kxd2 cxd4 17.
cxd5 exd5 18. a4 Ba6 19. Bb5+ Bxb5 20. axb5 Nd7 21. Rh6 Ke7 {was played with
mutual chances in Kovchan,A (2576)-Adla,D (2451) La Roda, 2015 (½-½, 67).})
13. dxc5 Qxc5 14. h4 Rg8 15. hxg5 hxg5 16. c4 dxc4 17. Rd1 Qxa3 18. Bxc4 (18.
Be2 $5) 18... Qb4 19. Qxb4 Nxb4 20. Bb5+ Ke7 21. f4 a6 22. Be2 Bd7 23. fxg5
Nxc2+ 24. Kf2 Bc6 $132 {looked like a mess in Kovchan,A (2576)-Arun Prasad,S 
(2502) Cappelle la Grande, 2015 (½-½, 101).}) 11. dxc5 Nxc3 (11... Nc6 12.
Bb5 Nxc3 13. Bxc6+ bxc6 14. Qd2 Qxc5 15. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Rb8 17. h4 Rg8 18.
Kd2 Rb6 19. hxg5 hxg5 20. f3 $14 {is slightly more pleasant for White, as in
Novoselski,Z (2365)-Antic,D (2457) Kragujevac SRB, 2015 (0-1, 46)}) 12. Qd2 Nc6
13. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 14. bxc3 Bd7 15. h4 O-O-O 16. f3 d4 17. cxd4 Nxd4 18. O-O-O Nf5
19. Bf2 $16 {definitely didn't appeal to Black, although he managed to draw in
Popov,I (2651)-Demidov,M (2498) Loo RUS, 2014 (½-½, 43).}) 9. f3 Nxc3 (9...
Nxg3 10. hxg3 {Analysis Diagram [#]} h5 (10... Bd7 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. Nxc3 Nc6
13. f4 g4 14. Qd2 Qe7 15. Nd1 O-O-O 16. Ne3 h5 17. O-O-O $14 {This looks like
a long and painful defence for Black, who couldn't resist in Onischuk,V (2614)
-Volkov,S (2599) Al-Ain UAE 2014, (1-0, 37).}) (10... c5 $6 11. a3 Bxc3+ 12.
Nxc3 Bd7 13. dxc5 Qc7 14. f4 Qxc5 15. Qh5+ Kd8 16. O-O-O $40 {looked very
scary in Bartel,M (2619)-Piorun,K (2529) Chorzow, 2013 (1-0, 29).}) 11. g4 fxg4
12. fxg4 h4 13. Qd3 Qe7 14. a3 (14. O-O-O Bd7 15. a3 Ba5 16. Ng3 Nc6 17. Nh5
$36 {creates some extra trouble for Black, though.}) 14... Ba5 15. Ng1 Rg8 16.
b4 Bb6 17. Nd1 a5 $132 {was nothing special for White in Mikalsen,E (2161)
-Agdestein,S (2620) Fagernes NOR, 2015 (1-0, 40).}) 10. Nxc3 c5 11. a3 Bxc3+
12. bxc3 Qa5 13. Qd2 Nc6 14. dxc5 Qxc5 {Diagram [#]} 15. h4 $1 {Qiyu uses the
dynamics of the position skillfully; she needs to hurry, since her queenside
pawns are wrecked.} Rg8 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. Rh7 (17. Bf2 $5 Qa5 18. c4 Qxd2+ 19.
Kxd2 dxc4 20. Bxc4 Bd7 21. Rae1 $14 {is the silicon monster's suggestion - but
would you play this as White, if you want to win?}) 17... Bd7 18. f4 O-O-O 19.
fxg5 d4 20. c4 {Diagram [#]} Nxe5 $6 {This is a first step into a wrong
direction.} (20... Be8 21. Bf4 Bg6 22. Rh3 Rg7 {would have led to an exciting
fight - with Qiyu's usual 30 seconds on the clock...}) 21. Qb4 $1 Qxb4+ $2 (
21... Qc7 22. O-O-O Rxg5 {is Black's only chance to fight back, having some
compensation for the exchange after, let's say} 23. Bh4 Nc6 24. Qb5 Rg4 25.
Bxd8 Qxd8) 22. axb4 Ng6 {Diagram [#]} 23. Bd6 $1 {Maybe it doesn't look that
bad, but Black is lost. She has no chance to escape from the beautiful mating
net White's pieces are weaving.} a6 24. c5 Rde8 25. b5 (25. Rxa6 bxa6 26. Bxa6+
Kd8 27. c6 $1 {wins as well}) 25... Rh8 26. bxa6 bxa6 27. Bxa6+ Kd8 28. c6 Reg8
29. Rxd7+ Ke8 30. Bf1 {A great game played by the former Girls U-14 World
Champion!} 1-0

[Event "WYCC U16"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.29"]
[Round "5.18"]
[White "Zapata Charles, Santiago"]
[Black "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2246"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "Gergely Szabo"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bf5 $5 {Diagram [#] A
relatively new line, but one which has produced decent results for Black.} 6.
Be2 (6. Be3 {and}) (6. Na3 {are White's other tries.}) 6... cxd4 7. cxd4 Bxb1
8. Rxb1 e6 (8... Qxa2 $6 {is too risky, e.g.} 9. O-O $146 Qxb1 $2 (9... e6 10.
Ne5 $36) 10. d5 Qe4 11. dxc6 bxc6 (11... Qxc6 12. Ne5 $18) 12. Bd3 $40 {
gives White a raging attack.}) 9. a3 Nf6 10. O-O Bd6 11. Be3 O-O 12. Qd3 Rad8 {
Diagram [#] Black has equalized comfortably, but it's not so easy to break
through. One of the advantages of playing with an IQP is that even if you fail
with your attack (here, White failed with it right before it started), you
still have good defensive chances.} 13. Nd2 Bb8 14. Nb3 b6 $5 {Razvan thought
for around 30 minutes here, trying to create something out of thin air.} (14...
e5 15. Rfd1 exd4 (15... e4 16. Qb5) 16. Bxd4 Qe6 17. Qc4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 {
is just equal}) 15. Rfd1 {Diagram [#]} Ne5 $1 16. Qb5 ({editor -} 16. dxe5 Qxe5
17. f4 Rxd3 18. fxe5 Rxe3 19. exf6 Rxe2 $17 {White has no comp for the pawn
minus.}) 16... Neg4 17. g3 Nxe3 18. fxe3 Qe4 19. Qd3 Qd5 20. Nd2 Qg5 21. Ne4 $6
{Gives Black unnecessary chances.} ({Better is} 21. Nf3) 21... Nxe4 22. Qxe4 f5
{Diagram [#]} 23. Qxe6+ $2 {A bad mistake.} ({After} 23. Qf3 {Black has a more
pleasant position, and could try to press on by means of} h5 {[%cal Gh5h4]} 24.
Bc4 Rf6 {followed up by h5-h4, but it's far from winning.}) 23... Kh8 24. Kf2
Rde8 25. Qb3 f4 $1 {Razvan doesn't need a second invitation; Black's pieces
crash through White's defences with ease.} 26. exf4 Bxf4 (26... Qh6 {also wins.
}) 27. Bf3 Be3+ 28. Kg2 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} Rxf3 $8 29. Kxf3 Qf5+ (
29... Rf8+ 30. Ke2 Qg4+ 31. Kd3 Qxd4+ 32. Ke2 Rf2+ 33. Ke1 Bd2+ {is quicker,
but here, every road leads to Rome.}) 30. Kg2 Qe4+ 31. Kh3 Re6 32. Qxe6 Qxe6+
33. Kg2 Qe4+ {Diagram [#]} 34. Kh3 Bxd4 35. Rf1 h5 36. Rbe1 Qg4+ 37. Kg2 Bxb2
38. Rf4 Qg6 39. a4 Qc6+ 40. Rfe4 Bf6 {Diagram [#] White could safely resign
here, after reaching the time control.} 41. h4 b5 42. axb5 Qxb5 43. Kh3 a5 44.
g4 hxg4+ 45. Kxg4 a4 46. R1e3 a3 47. Re8+ Kh7 48. Ra8 a2 49. Rxa2 Qc4+ 0-1

[Event "WYCC U12"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.01"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Wang, Wesley"]
[Black "Hua, Eugene"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B40"]
[WhiteElo "2032"]
[BlackElo "1996"]
[Annotator "Gergely Szabo"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 Qc7 (4... d5 {is more common here.}) 5. Bg2
g6 $6 {Diagram [#]} 6. O-O $6 (6. d4 $1 cxd4 7. Nxd4 {is why Black is usually
avoiding this setup.}) 6... Bg7 7. c3 e5 $6 (7... Nge7 $142) 8. Nbd2 $6 (8. d4
$1 cxd4 9. cxd4 exd4 10. Na3 {gives White good play again.}) 8... Nge7 9. a4
O-O 10. Nc4 d6 11. Be3 h6 12. Qd2 Kh7 {Diagram [#] Now things are back on
track again; the eventual extra tempo White has is not extremely important
here.} 13. b4 cxb4 14. cxb4 d5 $1 {Eugene senses the right moment to strike
back in the center. Waiting wouldn't really have done the trick.} (14... Be6
15. Rac1 Qd7 16. b5 Nd4 17. Bxd4 exd4 18. Rfe1 $14 {gives White a durable plus.
}) 15. exd5 Nxd5 {Diagram [#]} 16. Bc5 $6 {This helps Black coordinate his
forces.} (16. b5 Nxe3 17. Nxe3 Na5 18. Rac1 Qd8 {holds, but it looks a better
try for White.}) 16... Rd8 17. Rab1 b6 18. Be3 e4 $1 {Diagram [#] A bit
paradoxically, Black opens the center while he has two undeveloped pieces. The
bad coordination of the White pieces makes it possible for him to grab the
initiative.} 19. Ne1 Be6 (19... exd3 $1 20. Rc1 Ndxb4 {looks a bit scary, but
it's objectively stronger than the move played in the game.}) 20. b5 Nd4 21.
Bxd4 Bxd4 22. Rc1 exd3 23. Nxd3 Bc3 {Diagram [#]} 24. Bxd5 $4 {White is
panicking, although he could have saved the game.} (24. Qa2 Rac8 ({or} 24...
Bg7 25. Bxd5 Bxd5 26. Nf4 Qb7 27. Nxd5 Qxd5 28. Qa3 $13) 25. Bxd5 Bxd5 26. Rxc3
Bxc4 27. Qa3 $11) 24... Bxd2 25. Nxd2 Qd6 $6 (25... Qxc1 $1 26. Nxc1 Rxd5 27.
Ne4 Rd4 {is simpler.}) 26. Ne4 Qe7 27. Bxa8 Rxa8 28. Rfe1 Bf5 29. Ne5 Qb4 {
Diagram [#]} 30. Nc3 $6 (30. Nc6 {is more stubborn.}) 30... Re8 $1 31. Re3 Qb2
32. Rce1 Rxe5 33. Rxe5 Qxc3 34. Re7 Kg7 35. Rd1 Qf3 0-1

[Event "WYCC U14"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Lobanov, Sergei"]
[Black "Xu, Jeffrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C17"]
[WhiteElo "2394"]
[BlackElo "1930"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{Jeffrey's opponent scored 5.5/6 to lead the tournament, before losing to each
of the three medal-winners, to finish with 7.5 and 10th overall.} 1. e4 e6 2.
d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. Bd2 {Diagram [#] A side-line that gets no respect
by authors of books on the French defence. In my opinion, for amateurs the
small theoretical advantage it may give up over the extremely theoretical 5.a3
is more than made up by the prep time saved that might well leave White better
prepared than Black for this sideline.} Nc6 ({All the top players continue
like this} 5... Ne7 6. Nb5 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 O-O {Analysis Diagram [#] and White
and Black score about 50% on all the main moves:} 8. f4 (8. c3 b6 {slow.} 9. f4
Ba6 10. Nf3 Qd7 11. a4 $14 Nbc6 12. b4 $1 cxb4 13. cxb4 Bb7 14. Nd6 f5 $6 15.
a5 Nc8 16. Nxb7 Qxb7 17. a6 Qf7 18. Bb5 $18 {White already has a winning bind,
and won by tripling on the c-file. (1-0, 31) Alekhine,A-Nimzowitsch,A San Remo,
1930.}) (8. dxc5 Nd7 9. Nf3 Nxc5 10. Bd3 Qb6 11. Rb1 Nxd3+ 12. Qxd3 Bd7 13. Nc3
Rac8 14. O-O Rc4 15. Ne2 Ng6 $15 16. Ned4 $4 Nf4 17. Qe3 Rxd4 18. g3 (18. Nxd4
Qxd4 19. Qxd4 Ne2+ $19) 18... Re4 19. Qxb6 Ne2+ {0-1 Landa,K (2644)-Naiditsch,
A (2710) Haguenau, 2013.}) 8... a6 9. Nd6 cxd4 10. Nf3 Nbc6 11. Bd3 f6 12. O-O
Bd7 $13 {(½-½, 36) Hector,J (2584)-Brynell,S (2495) Lund, 2010.}) 6. Nb5
Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 Nxd4 8. Nxd4 (8. Nd6+ $6 Kf8 9. O-O-O Nh6 10. Nf3 Nhf5 $15) 8...
cxd4 {Diagram [#]} 9. f4 (9. Qxd4 Ne7 10. Nf3 Nc6 {White has a small but safe
plus in a typical French ending.} 11. Qe3 $1 $14 (11. Qg4 $143 O-O 12. Bd3 f5
13. Qf4 Qb6 14. O-O-O Qxf2 15. Rdf1 Qc5 $15 {(½-½, 60) Gusev,N (2109)
-Sambuev,B (2528) Guelph, 2008.}) 11... d4 $5 {Risky, since it's hard to
defend, but it's a standard French sacrifce to activate the light-square B
before it gets burried.} 12. Qa3 Qe7 13. Qxe7+ Kxe7 14. O-O-O Bd7 15. Bd3 $14 {
and White eventually surrounded and won the d4-pawn in: Macieja,B (2588)
-Ivanov,S (2556) Glogow, 2001 (1-0, 35).}) 9... Qb6 (9... Ne7 10. Nf3 Nc6 11.
O-O-O Bd7 12. h4 a6 13. h5 Qe7 14. h6 g6 15. Kb1 O-O 16. g3 b5 17. Nxd4 (17.
Nh2 $5 {going to g4 then f6 or e5.}) 17... Nxd4 18. Qxd4 b4 19. Bd3 (19. f5 $5)
19... Bb5 20. Rhe1 Rfc8 21. g4 Rab8 22. f5 Bxd3 23. cxd3 b3 $13 {(0-1, 52)
Recuero Guerra,D (2424)-Belov,V (2578) Cappelle-la-Grande, 2008.}) 10. O-O-O (
10. b4 Nh6 11. Nf3 Nf5 12. Bd3 Ne3 13. Kf2 Bd7 14. a4 a6 15. Rhc1 Rc8 16. Kg1
Rc3 17. a5 Qa7 18. Kh1 h6 19. Re1 Nc4 20. Qf2 Ne3 21. Qd2 Nc4 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 23.
Red1 O-O 24. Nxd4 f6 25. c3 fxe5 26. fxe5 Qb8 27. Re1 $11 {(0-1, 84) Hector,J 
(2515)-Hansen,L (2545) Vejle, 1994.}) 10... Ne7 11. Nf3 Nc6 12. g4 Bd7 13. h4
O-O-O 14. h5 Kb8 15. Kb1 f6 $5 (15... h6 {might be safer, but this kingside
structure still slightly favours White, who can create a passer in any KP
ending with f5 and g5.}) 16. h6 fxe5 {Diagram [#]} 17. Nxe5 (17. hxg7 Rhg8 18.
Rxh7 d3 $1 (18... e4 19. Nxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Qxd4 21. Rxd4 Bc8 (21... Bc6 $2 22.
f5 $18) 22. c4 $1 $16) 19. cxd3 exf4 20. Qxf4+ $14) 17... Nxe5 18. fxe5 gxh6
19. Rxh6 Rdg8 20. Qf4 {Diagram [#]} Qd8 (20... Be8 $1 21. Bd3 Bg6 22. Bxg6 Rxg6
23. Rxg6 hxg6 24. Qf6 $14 {White gets the pawn back and will have a slightly
better structure.}) 21. Rf6 $1 {Now all of Black's pieces are defending pawn
weaknesses.} h6 22. Be2 Rf8 23. Rh1 {It's worth noting that White has played
the entire middlegame without bothering to recapture the pawn on d4.} Rxf6 $6
24. exf6+ $18 Qc7 25. Qxc7+ Kxc7 26. g5 $1 Rf8 27. Rxh6 Kd6 {Diagram [#]} 28.
b4 $1 {Eliminates the back-rank mate and so sets up the following tactic.} a6
29. g6 $1 Rxf6 30. g7 Rxh6 31. g8=Q Rh3 32. Qb8+ Kc6 33. a4 Re3 34. Bd3 1-0

[Event "WYCC U14g"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wang, Constance"]
[Black "Wang, Annie"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1650"]
[BlackElo "2087"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 e6 {A maneuvering game where both sides stay prepared for their
opponent's pawn breaks, but don't make any of their own until just before the
time control.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 c4 {Diagram [#]
This isn't the sexy modern ...Nh6 line, as recommended in Watson's Play the
French books. But it's strategically complex, and has been played by Kortchnoi,
Petrosian and Bareev, and it is recommended by Moskalenko in his books on the
French.   Black's idea is to gain queenside space and then overprotect the
light squares with moves like ...Na5 and ...Nge7-c8-b6 and even ...Bd7-a4.
This will guarantee that White cannot break on the queenside without giving
Black's pieces control and use of the light squares, especially c4. Since it
would be foolish for White to break on the queenside, Black will castle long
and all the pawn play will be on the kingside. White has more space on the
kingside, but will castle that way too, and any pawn breaks (f4-f5 or ..f6)
might open lines for Black to attack.} 7. g3 Na5 8. Nbd2 Bd7 9. h4 {Diagram [#]
} Ne7 {Black follows the Moskalenko regrouping described above, but there's
another more combative option:} (9... O-O-O 10. Bh3 f5 11. exf6 gxf6 12. O-O
Nh6 13. Re1 Nf5 $15 (13... Rg8 $15) 14. Rb1 Bd6 15. Nf1 Rdg8 16. Ne3 $2 Nxg3 $1
17. fxg3 Rxg3+ 18. Bg2 Rhg8 19. Rf1 Be8 $1 $19 {(½-½, 38) Svidler,P (2727)
-Fedoseev,V (2659) Berlin (rapid), 2015.}) 10. Bh3 {Diagram [#] White knows
what she's doing: h2-h4 gains space and creates the possiblity of further pawn
breaks with h4-h5-h6, and the B is more active here than on e2 or g2.} Qc7 (
10... h6 11. h5 Nc8 12. O-O Qc7 13. Ne1 Nb6 14. Qe2 O-O-O 15. Ng2 Be7 16. Rb1
Rdg8 17. f4 g6 {Is a typical example of both side's setups; Svidler,P (2749)
-Andreikin,D (2715) Moscow, 2012 (0-1, 43).}) 11. O-O Nc8 12. Ne1 Nb6 13. f4
Be7 14. Qf3 g6 15. Ng2 O-O-O 16. Rb1 h6 17. Qf2 {Diagram [#]} Nb3 (17... Ba4 {
hoping come out on the other side of the pawn chain through c2,} 18. Nf3 Kb8
$13) 18. Bg4 (18. Nxb3 cxb3 19. Bg4 (19. g4 Bb5 $15) 19... Bb5 $11) 18... Nxd2
19. Bxd2 Rdg8 20. Qe2 Rg7 21. Kh2 Kb8 22. Rf2 {Diagram [#]It's the same pawn
structure as the previous diagram, as both players are well set to react to
the only reasonable pawn breaks in tohe position on the f g and h-files.} Rgh7
$5 {Black may have decided to make this her Nimzovich tribute game.} 23. Rbf1
a6 (23... h5 {seems to leave Black with a well-clogged kingside and some
opportunities on the queenside.}) 24. Bh3 (24. h5 Rg8 $13) 24... Be8 25. Bg4 g5
26. f5 $6 (26. h5 $142 gxf4 27. gxf4 $14) {[#]Diagram} 26... gxh4 $2 (26... h5
$142 $1 27. f6 hxg4 28. fxe7 gxh4 29. Nxh4 f5 $1 $40 30. exf6 $140 $4 Rxh4+ $19
) 27. Nxh4 exf5 28. Bxf5 Rg7 29. Bf4 Ka7 30. Bh3 {Diagram [#]} Bxh4 $2 {
This would be a good trade if Black's B was on e6, since then White's DSB
would be blocked out of the game. But here White's e5 pawn can move, which
opens up the DSB, and Black will miss her DSB.} (30... Bg5 $142) 31. gxh4 Qd8 {
Diagram [#]} 32. h5 $2 $11 {saves the pawn, but both players must have missed
e5-e6, a winning clearance sacrfice which makes White's dark-square B a game
winner.} (32. e6 $1 $18 fxe6 (32... Qxh4 $2 33. Qe5 $18) 33. Be5 $18) ({Or} 32.
Rg2 Rxg2+ 33. Qxg2 Qxh4 34. e6 $8 fxe6 $140 35. Be5 $18) 32... Qh4 $11 33. Rg2
Rhg8 $2 (33... Rxg2+ $142 $11 34. Qxg2 Bd7 $11) 34. Rxg7 Rxg7 {Diagram [#]} 35.
Qf3 $2 (35. e6 $1 {again, the clearance sacrifice, this time with the threat
of Qe5.}) (35. Qf2 Qxh5 36. Qf3 $11) 35... Bd7 36. Rc1 $4 (36. Bd2 $13) (36.
Rd1 $4 Bg4 $19) 36... Bxh3 $19 {winning a piece.} 37. Qxh3 Qf2+ (37... Qxf4+
$19 {gets the B and the Rc1.}) 38. Kh1 Qxf4 0-1

[Event "WYCC U12"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Rodrigue Lemieux, Shawn"]
[Black "Ognean, Mihnea Ionut"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B34"]
[WhiteElo "1753"]
[BlackElo "2195"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 {SRL outplays his higher-rated opponent from an equal middlegame, and
turns a better minor piece and control of the only open file into an extra
piece.  But one bad mood can spoil your whole afternoon...} c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3
Bg7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Be2 (7. Bc4 {is the critical and
theory-heavy line.}) 7... O-O {Diagram [#]} 8. O-O {This is considered
harmless, and Black scores about 57% after his next move, though with no elo
gain.} ({White can discourage ...d5 with} 8. Nb3 {or,}) (8. f4 d5 $6 9. e5 Ne8
10. Bf3 {with a space advantage - Kasparov. In either case, Black is OK after
8...d6.}) 8... d5 $1 $11 9. exd5 Nb4 10. Nb3 Nbxd5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Bd4 {
Diagram [#]} Nf4 (12... e5 $1 13. Bc5 Re8 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Bxd7 Qxd7 16. c4 Nf6
{with a decent Sicilian endgame that Black went on to win in: Ding,Y (2315)
-Hou,Y (2570) China, 2010.}) 13. Bf3 (13. Bxg7 {was barely a game at all after}
Qxd1 14. Rfxd1 Nxe2+ 15. Kf1 Kxg7 16. Kxe2 Bf5 17. c3 Rad8 {(½-½, 17) Tolush,
A-Petrosian,T Bucharest, 1953.}) 13... Qc7 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qd4+ f6 16. Rfe1
e5 17. Qc5 {Diagram [#]} Qf7 {Not clearly bad, and keeping the Qs on suggest
the higher-rated player as Black thought he had better chances with more
pieces on, or that he wasn't confident about his chances in a Sicilian endgame.
} (17... Qxc5 18. Nxc5 Ne6 19. Nxe6+ Bxe6 20. b3 $11) (17... Rf7 $1 {defends
the Q and the 7th, making it easier to develop the Bc8.}) 18. Rad1 Be6 19. Qb5
Rab8 20. Nc5 {Diagram [#]White has some positional threats, and Black has to
be clever.} a6 $6 (20... Bf5 $11) (20... Bc4 21. Qa4 b5 22. Qa5 {and Black has
to find a way to defend against Rd7.}) 21. Qb6 {A doubly useful square for the
Q: attacking d8 and along the sixth rank.} Rfc8 22. Nxe6+ Nxe6 (22... Qxe6 $2
23. Rd6 $18) 23. Bd5 $1 Re8 24. Bb3 $1 Qe7 25. Rd6 $1 $16 {Diagram [#]If
Black's N was on c6, where it is stable and would help fight for the d-file,
then the position would be only a little better for White. But here White has
a big advantage: control over the only open file, an exposed K to target, a
much better minor piece.} Nf4 $2 (25... Nd4 $4 26. Rxd4 $18) (25... Nf8 26.
Red1 Rec8 27. h4 $16) (25... Ng5 $5 {leads to some neat crosspins:} 26. Red1
Nf7 27. Rd7 Rbd8 $1 28. Qxb7 Rxd7 29. Rxd7 Rd8 30. Be6 $1 $16) (25... Nd8 $5
26. Red1 Nf7 {and White can keep building with Re6, but can't immediately win
a pawn with} 27. Bxf7 Qxf7 28. Rd7 Re7 29. Qc7 Rbe8 $16 30. Qxb7 $4 Rd8 $19)
26. Red1 $18 Ne2+ (26... Kh8 27. Rd7 Qf8 28. Rf7 $18) 27. Kh1 {White is in
total control either way, but} (27. Kf1 $1 {ends all back-rank worries.}) 27...
Nd4 28. c3 {Diagram [#] N moves allow Rd7, so Black gives up the piece.} Rbd8
29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. cxd4 exd4 31. Qe6 Qc7 32. h3 d3 33. Qc4 (33. Bd5 $142 Qc2 34.
Qe7+ Kh6 35. Bf3 $18) 33... Qd7 34. Rd2 Qf5 35. Qc7+ Rd7 36. Qc8 a5 37. Qg8+
Kh6 38. Qe6 Qb5 39. Qc4 Qe5 40. Rxd3 Rc7 41. Qd4 {Diagram [#]} Rc1+ 42. Rd1 $4
{One bad move and it's over.} (42. Bd1 Qe1+ 43. Kh2 $18 {and everything is
defended.}) 42... Qxd4 $19 43. Rxc1 Qxb2 44. Rc2 Qb1+ 45. Kh2 b5 46. Rc5 Qd3
47. Rc6 a4 48. Bg8 Qd4 49. f3 b4 50. Rc4 Qd6+ 51. Kh1 Kg7 52. Rc8 Qd1+ {
Nudging the K up so that checks on the diagonal will attack the dark squares.}
53. Kh2 Qd7 54. Ra8 Qc6 $1 {There are no safe squares for the R, so the Bg8 is
lost.} 0-1

[Event "WYCC U16"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Winiarski, Mikolaj"]
[Black "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A64"]
[WhiteElo "2113"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3
O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 a6 11. a4 Nbd7 {Diagram [#]} 12. Nc4 {Although it's
been played a few times by Karpov and Marin, this might be inaccurate.} ({
Avrukh's repertoire books recommend:} 12. h3 $5 Rb8 13. Nc4 Ne5 14. Na3 Nh5 15.
e4 Rf8 (15... Bd7 $13 {0-1 (41) Sasikiran,K (2689)-Anand,V (2817) Bastia 2011})
16. Kh2 (16. g4 $6 Qh4 17. gxh5 Bxh3 18. h6 Bh8 19. Qe2 f5 $40 {Timman}) 16...
f5 $2 {Kasparov} 17. f4 b5 $1 18. axb5 $1 axb5 19. Naxb5 $16 fxe4 20. Bxe4 $1
Bd7 {was the start of the Olympiad showdown between Kortschnoi,V -Kasparov,G
Luzern, 1982 (0-1, 36).}) (12. a5 $5 b5 13. axb6 Nxb6 14. Nb3 Bf5 15. Na5 Ne4 {
(1-0, 41) Topalov,V (2771)-Karjakin,S (2786) Zug, 2013.}) 12... Ne5 13. Na3 (
13. Nxe5 Rxe5 $11 {the piece exchange greatly relieves Black's cramped game.}
14. h3 Rb8 15. Bf4 Re8 16. Qd3 Nh5 17. Bd2 f5 18. Rfb1 Bd7 19. b4 b5 20. axb5
cxb4 21. Rxb4 Bxb5 $15 22. Rxb5 axb5 23. Rb1 b4 24. Nb5 $2 Nxg3 $1 $19 {
Karpov,A (2619)-Naiditsch,A (2710) Kiev rapid, 2013 (0-1, 46).}) 13... Nh5 14.
h3 f5 {Diagram [#]} 15. f4 $6 (15. Kh2 $2 f4 $1 $40 16. Bxf4 $140 $2 (16. gxf4
Qh4 17. e3 Bg4 $1 $19 {is almost identical to the game.}) 16... Nxf4 17. gxf4
Qh4 $1 18. e3 (18. fxe5 $2 Qf4+ 19. Kg1 Bxe5 20. Re1 Bxh3 $19) 18... Bg4 19. f3
Nxf3+ $1 20. Rxf3 Rxe3 $1 21. Rxe3 Bxd1 22. Nxd1 Qxf4+ $19 {(0-1, 38) Gonzalez
Perez,A (2490)-Aroshidze,L (2539) Barbera del Valles, 2011.}) 15... Nf7 {
Diagram [#]} (15... Nxg3 $5 {is playable, but Black doesn't need to burn his
bridges.}) 16. Qd3 $6 {Too optimistic: defending g3 and trying to discourage ..
.b5.} (16. Qe1 {would have been safer, though after} Bd7 {any Benoni player
would be very happy with Black's position.}) (16. Kh2 b5 $1 $17 17. axb5 $2
axb5 18. Ncxb5 Ba6 19. Rb1 Qd7 20. Nc3 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Bxe2 $19 {(0-1, 28)
Tuhrim,R (2163)-Can,E (2498) Rethymnon, 2011.}) 16... b5 $1 17. axb5 axb5 18.
Ncxb5 Ba6 {Diagram [#]This is why Black is happy to play ...b5 as a pawn sac.
Just compare the piece activity:  >it is hard to identify a White piece which
is well-placed or even has decent prospects if he manages to untangle.  >OTOH
Black's Nf7 (which defends d6) and his Q (which threatens to go to b6) are his
only pieces which aren't currently attacking White's position.} 19. g4 (19. Rb1
{unpins the Na3, but Benoni tricks keep on coming:} c4 $1 20. Qxc4 Nxg3 21. Re1
Rb8 $19 {and there's no good defence to ...Qb6+ winning the Nb5.}) 19... Bxb5
20. Qxb5 (20. Nxb5 {is the computer's preference,} Rxa1 21. gxh5 Qb6 22. Kh2
Qa6 $1 $19 {the Qs will come off, then Black's Rs will rule while White's
B-pair is blocked by his own pawns.}) 20... fxg4 21. hxg4 Bd4+ {Diagram [#]
Once again, Black delivers death on the dark squares in a Benoni.} 22. e3 Rxe3
$1 23. Bxe3 $6 (23. Nc2 {is another computer improvement, which shouldn't
affect the result:} Rb3+ 24. Nxd4 Rxb5 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 26. Nxb5 Nf6 $19) 23...
Bxe3+ 24. Rf2 Bxf2+ ({or} 24... Nxf4) 25. Kxf2 Qh4+ {Diagram [#] A diagram to
reinforce how well the ...b5 sac worked: 85% of White's forces are AWOL on the
a and b-files while Black's pieces are tearing the kingside apart.} 0-1

[Event "WYCC U16"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Thorgeirsson, Jon Kristinn"]
[Black "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2282"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 c5 {Diagram [#]} 6. dxc5 (6. d5 {
is what White plays when trying for more than equality; e.g.} exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7
8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O (9. Ng5 $6 $146 Ne3 $3 (9... Nb4 $4 10. Qf5 $18) 10. Bxe3
Bxg2 11. f3 {leads to an interesting mess, where computers prefer Black.}) 9...
Nc6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Qa4 Nf6 12. Nh4 O-O $44 {with quite a few top-level games.}
13. Nf5 (13. Nc3 g6 14. Bg5 Rb8 {(1-0, 83) Aronian,L (2786)-Nakamura,H (2790)
Moscow, 2016.}) 13... d5 14. Nc3 Nd4 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Qxd4 Bc5 $11 {(½-½,
36) Radjabov,T (2726)-Harikrishna,P (2763) Shamkir, 2016.}) 6... Bxc5 (6...
bxc5 {is unbalanced and playable, but the pawn pressure on d4 doesn't seem to
quite compensate for the less active DSB after ...d6, and Black might not like
the hanging pawns after an eventual ...d5.}) 7. Bg2 Nc6 8. a3 Bb7 9. O-O O-O {
Diagram [#]} 10. Bg5 (10. b4 Be7 11. Bb2 Rc8 12. Nc3 a5 13. b5 Nb8 14. Qd3 Qc7
15. Nd2 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 d6 17. Rac1 Rfd8 {(1-0, 51) Bachtiar,A (2360)-Ribli,Z 
(2590) Surakarta, 1982.}) 10... Be7 11. e4 $5 Nxe4 12. Bxe7 Nxe7 13. Ng5 Nxg5
14. Bxb7 Rb8 15. Bg2 {Diagram [#]} h6 (15... f5 $5 {controls some light
squares and lets the Ng4 go to f7.}) 16. Rd1 Qc7 17. Nc3 Qxc4 18. Rxd7 {
Diagram [#]Black has a choice of ways to equalize, though that might not have
been his goal against a player he outrated by almost 200 points.} Nc8 $6 {
This defends the Pa7, but Black has difficulty activating it later. Black can
give up the a7-pawn to finish developing, but with no real hope of advantage.}
(18... Nc6 19. Rad1 (19. Bxc6 $4 Qxc6 20. Rxa7 Nh3+ $19) (19. Rc7 Rbc8 $15)
19... Ne5 20. Rxa7 Ngf3+ $11) (18... Nd5 19. h4 Nxc3 20. Qxc3 Qxc3 21. bxc3 Nh7
22. Rxa7 Rfc8 $11) 19. Rad1 Nh7 20. R1d4 Qc5 21. b4 Qe5 22. Ne4 g5 $2 (22...
Ne7 $4 23. f4 $18) (22... Rb7 $1 $14 {looks like it has to lose, but it's
actually the best defence.}) 23. Qc3 {Diagram [#] Critical Position} (23. f4 $3
gxf4 24. gxf4 Qxf4 25. Qc3 {and there's no good defence to Rd3-f3/g3.}) 23...
b5 $4 (23... Nf6 24. Nxf6+ Qxf6 25. Qc7 Ne7 $11 {and the loose Rd4 gives Black
time to save his N and R.}) 24. Rxf7 $1 $18 {On either caputure on f7, the Rd4
moves with check and a discovered attack on the Qe5.} Nb6 25. Rxa7 Rbc8 26. Qd3
Rc1+ 27. Bf1 Qf5 28. g4 $1 Qg6 (28... Qxg4+ 29. Ng3 {and Black is haning on h7
and g4.}) 29. Nf6+ 1-0

[Event "WYCC U14g"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sliwicka, Alicja"]
[Black "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A31"]
[WhiteElo "2129"]
[BlackElo "2005"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{MJO's opponent, a Polish WFM, finished clear second with 8.5/11.} 1. e4 c5 2.
Nf3 e6 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Be2 Be7 (5... e5 {loses a tempo over ...e7-e5,
but in such a closed position it's not a big deal.}) 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 a6 8.
Be3 Qc7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qd2 Nbd7 11. Rac1 b6 12. Rfd1 Bb7 13. f3 Rac8 14. Bf1
Rfe8 {Diagram [#]Through a slightly unusual move order the players have
reached a standard Hedgehog position.  Kasparov called the Hedgehog "Virtually
the greatest `hit' of the 1970s" ("Revolution in the 70s", Chapter 1).  Black
concedes space but has no weaknesses and is ready to strike at White's center
with ...b5 or ...d5. When that works -- as it does in this game -- White can
get torn apart on the over-extended kingside. It's nice to see a young player
handling this flexible counter-attcking system so well as Black.  For more on
this opening and its middlegames, see either of the two excellent volumes of
"The Complete Hedgehog" by Sergei Shipov (Mongoose, 2009 and 2011).} 15. Qf2 (
15. Kh1 Qb8 16. Qf2 Bd8 17. Nb3 Bc7 18. Qg1 Kh8 $1 {Analysis Diagram [#]
Playing Fischer's maneuver from Garcia Soruco-Fischer (Havana Olympiad, 1966)
and repeaded with colours reversed in his 1970 training game vs Ulf Andersson.
In both games Fischer had a won position after 21 moves playing the Hedgehog.}
19. Rc2 Rg8 $1 20. Rcd2 g5 $1 21. Bd4 Rg6 $1 22. Nc1 Rcg8 $1 23. Nd3 Qf8 24.
Re1 $6 g4 $1 25. fxg4 e5 $5 26. Be3 Nxg4 27. Nd5 Bd8 $1 $17 {(0-1, 42)
Taimanov,M-Yusupov,A Kislovodsk, 1982.}) 15... Qb8 16. a3 (16. -- {White is a
tempo up on Azmaiparashvili,Z (2655)-Kasparov,G (2805) (London, 1993) where
White played 2.c2-c3 then 7.c3-c4. That game showed another common maneuver in
the Hedgehog: ...Bd8-c7 then ...d5:} Bd8 17. Rc2 Bc7 18. g3 Bd8 19. b3 h6 20.
g4 Ne5 21. h3 Ng6 22. Bc1 Nd7 23. Bg2 b5 $13 24. cxb5 axb5 25. Ndxb5 d5 26. Be3
(26. exd5 Bb6 27. Be3 Bxe3 28. Qxe3 Ba6 $13) 26... Bh4 27. Qf1 Ba6 28. a4 $8
$15 Nf6 29. Rdc1 Nf4 30. Ba7 Qe5 31. Bd4 Qg5 32. exd5 exd5 $17 33. Kh1 Rc6 34.
Rd1 Rce6 $40 35. Rcc1 Bg3 $1 36. Bf2 Qh4 37. Rc2 h5 $1 $19 38. Kg1 hxg4 39.
fxg4 Nxg4 {0-1 Azmaiparashvili,Z (2655)-Kasparov,G (2805) London, 1993.}) 16...
Bd8 17. b4 Bc7 (17... Ne5 18. Na4 (18. Nb3 d5 $1 $13) 18... d5 $1 19. cxd5 Neg4
$3 20. fxg4 Nxg4 21. Qg3 (21. Qf4 Bg5 $1 $17) 21... Qxg3 22. hxg3 Nxe3 $11) 18.
g4 h6 19. Nde2 $6 {Diagram [#]} (19. b5 $5) (19. Nb3 d5 $1 20. cxd5 exd5 21.
Nxd5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Bxh2+ $11 (22... Ne5 $5)) 19... d5 $1 $11 (19... Ne5 $1) 20.
cxd5 exd5 21. h3 $6 (21. Nxd5 $11) 21... dxe4 {Diagram [#]} 22. f4 $1 {
Concedes a pawn, but denies Black's pieces use of the square e4 and the
diagonals running across it.} (22. Nxe4 $2 Nxe4 ({or} 22... Bxe4 23. fxe4 Nxe4
$17) 23. fxe4 Nf6 $17) 22... Rcd8 23. Ng3 Nf8 24. Rxd8 Rxd8 25. b5 a5 26. Bg2
$6 (26. Nf5 {/\g4-g5}) 26... Ng6 27. Nge2 {Diagram [#]} Re8 (27... Rd3 $1 {
/\Xe3.}) 28. Rd1 Bd6 29. a4 Nd7 30. Nd5 (30. Bxb6 Nxb6 31. Qxb6 Bc7 32. Qe3
Nxf4 {/\...Re6 and ...Bb6; White won't last long enough to make the protected
passed b-pawn count.}) 30... Nc5 $1 31. f5 {Diagram [#]} Bxd5 (31... Ne5 {
threatens both ...Nce3 (when the Nd5 hangs) and the possibility of ...Nf3+
with a huge attack.} 32. Nxb6 Nf3+ 33. Bxf3 exf3 34. Nc3 Bg3 35. Qd2 Rxe3 36.
Qxe3 Bh4) 32. Rxd5 (32. fxg6 $1 Be6 33. gxf7+ Bxf7 {Black is still up a pawn
and White's Kingside is Swiss cheese.}) 32... Ne7 33. Rd1 Nd3 $19 34. Qf1 Nd5
35. Bd4 Bc5 36. Bxe4 Bxd4+ 37. Nxd4 Qg3+ 38. Bg2 {Diagram [#]} Ne3 {Wins an
exchange and simplifies to an easily winning ending. Black also wins with the
attacking} (38... N5f4 $1 {and there's no good defence to ...Nxh3 then ...
Ndf2+.}) 39. Rxd3 Nxf1 40. Rxg3 Nxg3 41. Bc6 Rd8 42. Nf3 {Diagram [#]White has
avoided mate, but has a dead lost ending, which Black converts smoothly.} Ne2+
$1 43. Kf2 Nd4 44. Ke3 Nxf3 $1 45. Bxf3 Kf8 46. h4 f6 $1 {Now the B is useless.
} 47. Be2 Ke7 48. Bf3 Kd6 49. Kd4 Re8 50. Be4 Re5 51. Ke3 Kc5 52. Kf4 Kd4 53.
Bf3 Re3 54. Bd1 Rh3 55. Bf3 Rh2 56. Kg3 Ra2 57. g5 hxg5 58. hxg5 Rxa4 59. Kh4
Ke5+ 60. Kh5 Kxf5 61. g6 Ra3 0-1

[Event "WYCC U10"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Praggnanandhaa, R."]
[Black "Issani, Nameer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2077"]
[BlackElo "1776"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{White is an FM from India who won the U10 section with 9/11 on tie-break over
Makoveev from Russia.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Bb3
O-O {Diagram [#]} 7. Bg5 {Much less common than you might expect, especially
since creating an annoying pin is strategically sensible and leads to an
easy-to-understand middlegame:  if Black doesn't break the pin then White
sends his Nb1 to h5 and plays for mate; if Black's pawns chase the Bg5 White
will break against the extended kingside pawns. This game is a good example of
that second plan.} ({More common is:} 7. O-O a6 8. h3 Ba7 {tucking away the B
and stabilizing the Nc6 so there are no "free" tempos to worry about when all
the pieces are fighting for the center.} 9. Re1 h6 10. Nbd2 Re8 (10... Nh5) (
10... Be6) 11. Nf1 Be6 {with hundreds of games.}) 7... Be6 (7... h6 8. Bh4 g5
9. Bg3 Bg4 (9... Nh5 10. Nbd2 Qf6 $13 {(0-1, 50) Shaposhnikov,E (2545)-Smirnov,
A (2414) Kaluga, 2012.}) 10. h3 Bh5 11. h4 g4 12. Nh2 Ne7 13. Nd2 Ng6 14. Nc4
Kh8 15. Qd2 Kh7 16. O-O-O b5 17. Ne3 Bxe3 18. Qxe3 (18. fxe3 $1 {to attack
along the f-file.}) 18... a5 {and White eventually crashed through Black's
kingside in Agdestein,S (2625)-Hammer,J (2647) Oslo (rapid), 2014.}) 8. O-O (8.
Nbd2 a6 9. h3 Ba7 10. Bh4 Kh8 11. g4 $6 Ne7 12. Bxf6 gxf6 13. Nh4 Ng6 14. Ng2
c6 15. Qf3 d5 16. Nf1 a5 17. Ng3 {heading for h5} Bc5 $15 {getting back to
support the kingside. Black's B-pair and center gave him a plus in Kasparov,G 
(2851)-Timman,J (2650) Rotterdam, 1999 (0-1, 59).}) 8... Re8 9. Nbd2 h6 10. Bh4
g5 11. Bg3 Kh7 12. Bc2 Kh8 13. b4 Bb6 {Diagram [#]} 14. b5 (14. Bb3 Bxb3 15.
Qxb3 $14 (15. axb3 $14)) 14... Ne7 (14... Na5 $5 {the Na5 looks like it might
get sidelined for a long time, but Black can pry it out with ...a6 and ...c6.}
15. d4 Nh5 16. d5) 15. d4 exd4 {Diagram [#]} 16. Nxd4 $1 {Getting rid of the
Be6 and preparing f2-f4 to attack Black's extended kingside is better than the
more obvious cxd4.} (16. cxd4 Ng6 $14 {/\...g4.}) 16... Ng6 17. Nxe6 Rxe6 18.
Bb3 Re7 19. Kh1 Qe8 20. f4 $1 $16 {Diagram [#] Weakening Black's pawns and
opening the f-file.} Be3 (20... Nxe4 $2 21. Nxe4 Rxe4 22. fxg5 $18 {and
Black's kingside collapses.}) (20... g4 {keeps the f-file closed, but still
loses:} 21. e5 Nh5 22. Qxg4 Nxg3+ 23. Qxg3 dxe5 24. f5 $1 $18 {and f5-f6 wins.}
) 21. e5 (21. fxg5 Bxg5 22. Rf5 {the Nf6 is pinned to f7, so White just piles
up on the f-file.}) 21... dxe5 $8 (21... Nd7 22. exd6 cxd6 23. fxg5 Bxg5 (23...
hxg5 24. Bxd6 $18) 24. Nc4 $18) 22. fxe5 Nd7 (22... Ng8 $16 {is sad but more
tenacious.}) 23. Qh5 Kg7 24. Ne4 Bf4 {Diagram [#]} 25. Bxf4 gxf4 (25... Nxf4
26. Rxf4 $8 $18 gxf4 27. Nf6 $1 {threatening the Qe8 and a fork with Qg4+, and
even just Rf1xf4 with a crushing attack.} Qh8 (27... Nxf6 28. exf6+ Kxf6 29.
Qxh6+ {leads to mate.}) 28. Qg4+ Kf8 29. Nxd7+ $18) 26. Nf6 Nxf6 27. exf6+ Kxf6
28. Qxh6 Re4 29. Bd5 Ra4 30. Bb3 Re4 31. Bc2 Qe5 32. Bxe4 Qxe4 33. Qh3 Rh8 34.
Rae1 {Diagram [#]} Qc4 ({Black can't save the endgame after} 34... Rxh3 35.
Rxe4 Rxc3 36. Ra4 Rc5 37. Rb1 $1 $18) 35. Qe3 Rd8 36. Qe4 Qxb5 37. Rd1 (37.
Rxf4+ Nxf4 38. Qe7+ {is faster, but White wins either way.}) 37... Re8 38. Qd4+
Re5 39. Rfe1 f3 40. gxf3 Qc6 41. Kg2 Qe6 42. Rxe5 Nxe5 43. Re1 c5 44. Qf4+ Qf5
45. Qxf5+ Kxf5 46. Rb1 b6 47. Kg3 Nd3 48. h4 Nf4 49. Rh1 Nh5+ 50. Kf2 Kf4 51.
Re1 1-0

[Event "WYCC U16g"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Buiza Prieto, Eihartze"]
[Black "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C96"]
[WhiteElo "2057"]
[BlackElo "2328"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 {Diagram [#]} 11. d3 (11. d4 {is 25x more common, but
the text has been played by Keres, Nisipeanu, and MVL (in a blitz game).})
11... Nc6 12. Nbd2 h6 13. a4 Be6 14. Nf1 Re8 (14... Qc7 15. Ng3 Rab8 16. axb5
axb5 $11 {Hamdouchi,H (2613)-Degraeve,J (2563) Nancy, 2013.}) 15. Ng3 Bf8 {
Diagram [#]} 16. Nh2 $146 (16. d4 cxd4 17. cxd4 exd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Qxd4 Rc8
20. Qd1 (20. Bd3 Nd7 21. axb5 Nc5 22. bxa6 Nb3 23. Qa4 Nxa1 24. Qxa1 $14 {
(0-1, 59) Smirin,I (2615)-Nikolic,P (2625) Wijk aan Zee, 1994.}) 20... Qc7 21.
Bd3 Bc4 22. axb5 axb5 23. Bf4 Bxd3 24. Qxd3 Qc2 25. Qxb5 Rb8 $11 {(½-½, 43)
Smirin,I (2644)-Sargissian,G (2676) Yerevan, 2014.}) 16... d5 17. exd5 Bxd5 18.
Ng4 Nxg4 19. Qxg4 {Diagram [#]} Be6 $11 20. Qe4 Bd5 21. Qg4 g6 {Playing to
avoid the draw with ...Be6.} 22. h4 Qc8 23. Qe2 h5 24. Bg5 Qe6 25. Qd2 (25. Ne4
Be7 26. Bxe7 Qxe7 27. Qe3 $16) 25... f6 26. Bh6 {Diagram [#]} Qg4 $2 27. Bxf8 (
{Trading some pieces leaves vulnerable squares behind Black's pawns which
White can exploit; e.g.} 27. axb5 $1 axb5 28. Rxa8 Rxa8 29. Bxf8 Rxf8 30. Qe3
c4 31. dxc4 Bxc4 32. Qc5 $16 {with threats on Nc6, Pg6, and b2-b3 Xb5.}) 27...
Rxf8 28. Qe3 Qxh4 29. Qxc5 Rad8 30. axb5 axb5 31. Qxb5 Ne7 32. Bb3 Bf7 {
Diagram [#]} 33. Bxf7+ (33. Ra7 $1 $18) 33... Rxf7 34. Ra7 Kf8 35. Ne4 Qf4 36.
Rd7 Rxd7 37. Qxd7 Nf5 38. Qd8+ Kg7 39. b4 {Reasonable, as the passed b and
c-pawns will win any endgame, but White can play to win by attacking the Black
K with} (39. Ra1 $1) 39... h4 40. Qd5 h3 41. b5 {Diagram [#]} Qg4 $2 ({Black
has enough play against White's K to force a draw, and a more prudent player
would take it:} 41... hxg2 $1 42. Nc5 (42. Nd6 Nxd6 43. Qxd6 Qh4 44. Kxg2 Qg4+
{and Black can force a draw.}) 42... Re7 43. Kxg2 e4 44. Rxe4 Nh4+ 45. Kf1 Qc1+
46. Ke2 Qc2+ 47. Ke3 Qc1+ 48. Kd4 Nf3+ 49. Kc4 Nd2+ 50. Kd4 Nf3+ $11) 42. Nd2 (
42. Nc5 $142 $1 $18 {defends g2, supports b6-b7, and creates tactics with Ne6+.
}) 42... e4 $3 {Best chance. White has to play perfectly to have a chance at
winning.} (42... Nh4 $2 43. g3 $18) (42... hxg2 43. Qxg2 $16) 43. Qxe4 $8 Qg5
$8 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 44. Qf3 $2 (44. f4 $2 h2+ 45. Kxh2 Qg3+ 46.
Kg1 Re7 47. Qxe7+ $8 $15) (44. Rd1 $8 Re7 45. Qf3 hxg2 46. Qxg2 Qh5 $1 47. Qf3
$1 (47. f3 $2 Ne3 48. Qe2 Qg5+ $19) (47. Nf3 $2 Nh4 $19) 47... Qg5+ 48. Kf1 (
48. Kh1 Qh6+ 49. Kg1 Qg5+) (48. Kh2 $4 Re8 $19) 48... Nh4 49. Qg3 Qxb5 $1 50.
Qxh4 Qxd3+ 51. Kg2 $1 Re5 52. Nf3 $8 Qxd1 53. Nxe5 fxe5 54. Qe7+ Kh6 55. Qxe5 {
The 7-piece Lomonosov tablebases tell us that White mates in 55.}) 44... Qxd2
45. Rb1 Qc2 46. Qd1 Qxc3 47. b6 Qc6 48. Qf3 Qxf3 49. gxf3 Rb7 50. Kh2 Ne7 51.
Kxh3 Nc8 {Diagram [#] Black grabs the pawns and the game is over.} 52. Kg3 Rxb6
53. Rc1 Ne7 54. Rc7 Kf7 55. Kf4 Rb4+ 56. Ke3 Ke6 57. Ra7 Nd5+ 58. Kd2 Rb2+ 0-1

[Event "WYCC U16"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.29"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Graif, William"]
[Black "Lopez Mulet, Inigo"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "1917"]
[BlackElo "2333"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 {Diagram [#]} 6. c4 {
Black's congested queenside makes it look reasonable to try to blow open the
center, but White's development is no better than Black's --arguably White
would be better off if his Nd2 was back on b1 -- and so leading Tarrasch
players like Adams and Smirin never play this way, but stabilize the center
with c2-c3.} (6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 Nc6 8. O-O {would transpose to a standard
Tarrasch French, where Black has done fine with the solid 8...cxd4 and 9...a5,
and also with the unbalancing 8...g5.}) 6... c5 $1 7. Nb3 (7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3
Nc6 9. O-O cxd4 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Nb3 Nxb3 12. Qxb3 O-O $11 {Speelman,J (2645)
-Lputian,S (2540) Rotterdam, 1988 (0-1, 40).}) 7... Nc6 8. Nxc5 Nxc5 9. dxc5
Bxc5 10. Be2 h6 11. a3 a5 12. b3 Qc7 $5 {Diagram [#]} 13. Bb2 ({White can grab
the pawn, but Black's development advantage lets him get it back:} 13. cxd5
exd5 (13... Nxe5 14. Bb5+ Bd7 15. Bxd7+ Nxd7 16. dxe6 $14) 14. Qxd5 Qe7 15. Qe4
Be6 16. O-O (16. Bc4 Bxc4 17. bxc4 Rd8 $44) (16. Qb1 $6 O-O $32) 16... Bxb3 17.
Rb1 Be6 18. Rd1 $14) 13... dxc4 14. Bxc4 a4 15. O-O axb3 16. Bxb3 b6 $15 {
Diagram [#]White has more space, but the e5-pawn is more of a liability than
an asset, and Black's Bs are on more effective diagonals and on more stable
squares.} 17. Nd4 $6 (17. Qc2 $142) (17. Re1 $142) 17... O-O $6 (17... Ba6 $142
$17 {and White has no good moves:} 18. Nxc6 (18. Re1 $2 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 O-O-O {
and Black wins a piece:} 20. Re4 Bb7 21. Rg4 h5 $19) (18. Nxe6 {is no good:}
fxe6 19. Qh5+ Qf7 $19) 18... Bxf1 $17) 18. Nxc6 $2 (18. Qg4 Qxe5 $1 $17) (18.
Nb5 $1 {and White's development makes sense.}) 18... Qxc6 19. Qg4 Bb7 20. a4
Rfd8 21. Rfd1 {Diagram [#]} b5 $1 (21... h5 $1 22. Qg5 Be7 23. Qg3 Qe4 $17) 22.
axb5 Qxb5 23. Rxa8 Rxa8 24. Qg3 Qe2 $19 25. Bc3 Ra3 $1 {Diagram [#]Material is
equal, but the weak back-rank and loose Bs make the tactics work for Black.}
26. Rd8+ Kh7 27. Bd1 Qe4 $1 (27... Ra1 28. Qd3+ $8 $17) 28. Bf3 Ra1+ (28... Qc4
$142 29. Bxb7 $140 Ra1+ $1 {#2.}) 29. Rd1 $8 (29. Bd1 $2 Bd5 $19) (29. Bxa1 $4
Qe1#) 29... Rxd1+ 30. Bxd1 Qb1 31. Qg4 {Diagram [#]} Bd5 $2 {This error lets
White save the game with some accurate Q moves.} (31... Qd3 $1 32. Bb2 (32. Be1
Ba6 $19) 32... Ba6 $1 {and the Black Q gets to f1.}) 32. Qa4 $1 Be4 33. Qa1 $1
Qd3 34. Qc1 $1 g6 35. Qd2 $1 $15 Qb1 36. Qd7 Kg7 37. Qd2 {Diagram [#]} Ba3 $6 (
37... Qb7 $1 $17 38. g3 $140 Bh1 $19) 38. f3 $15 Bd3 39. h3 Bc1 40. Qe1 Bf4 41.
Bd2 g5 42. h4 Qa1 43. hxg5 hxg5 44. Bc3 Qc1 45. Kf2 Bc2 46. g3 Bxd1 47. gxf4
Qc2+ 48. Qd2 1/2-1/2

[Event "WYCC U10"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.10.31"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Issani, Nameer"]
[Black "Yingrui, Lin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E44"]
[WhiteElo "1776"]
[BlackElo "1915"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 Bb7 6. a3 Be7 7. d5 $1 {Diagram
[#] This natural move is the best-scoring. Black has to stay in "Nimzo-Indian
mode" and create piece play against White's big center or he will get crushed.}
O-O 8. g3 (8. e4 Re8 $1 9. Ng3 Bd6 10. Be2 Be5 $132 {when ...Bxc3 would go
back into Nimzo-Indian territory.}) (8. Ng3 Re8 9. Be2 Bf8 10. e4 d6 11. O-O
Nbd7 12. Be3 c6 13. Qd2 (13. dxc6 Bxc6 {with a transpostion to a Hedgehog
structure.}) 13... Rc8 14. dxe6 fxe6 15. f4 Qe7 16. Rad1 Rcd8 17. Kh1 Qf7 18.
Qc2 $14 {Kasparov,G (2838)-Kramnik,V (2802) Moscow (rapid), 2001 (0-1, 52).})
8... b5 $1 9. b3 exd5 $6 (9... bxc4 $142 {keeps White scrambling to hold his
center together.} 10. bxc4 Na6 11. Bg2 Nc5 12. e4 (12. a4 $142 Ba6 $140 13. Nb5
$13) 12... Ba6 $1 13. O-O (13. e5 Ng4 14. d6 $2 cxd6 15. exd6 Bf6 16. Bxa8 Qxa8
{Black's Bs cut White apart.}) 13... Bxc4 14. e5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Bxd5
Bxd5 17. Qxd5 c6 18. Qc4 $15 {(½-½, 23) Popov,I (2568)-Andreikin,D (2625)
Dagomys, 2009.}) 10. cxd5 a5 11. Bg2 b4 12. axb4 axb4 13. Rxa8 Bxa8 14. Na4 c5
$1 15. O-O d6 {Diagram [#]And now we have an old-Indian (Benoni) structure.}
16. e4 (16. Nb2 {heading for c4 is a waste of time after} Nbd7 17. Nc4 Nb6)
16... Nfd7 17. Bb2 Bf6 18. f4 Bxb2 19. Nxb2 f5 20. Nc4 fxe4 21. Nxd6 Nf6 22.
Nxe4 {Diagram [#]} Nxd5 $2 (22... Nxe4 23. Bxe4 Nd7 $14) 23. Nxc5 $16 (23. Ng5
$1 {can lead to some fun tactics:} Qd7 (23... Ne3 24. Qb1 $18) 24. Qc2 Qf5 $5
25. Be4 Qxg5 $1 26. Bxh7+ (26. fxg5 $2 Rxf1+ 27. Kxf1 Ne3+ $11) 26... Kh8 27.
fxg5 Rxf1+ 28. Kxf1 Ne3+ 29. Kf2 Nxc2 30. Bxc2 $18) 23... Ne3 24. Qxd8 Rxd8 25.
Bxa8 Nxf1 26. Kxf1 $18 Na6 27. Nxa6 Rxa8 28. Nxb4 Rb8 29. Nd3 Rxb3 {Diagram [#]
White is winning, but has to be alert to Black's many stalemate tricks.} 30.
Ne5 h5 31. Kf2 Kh7 32. h3 g6 33. Nd4 Rb2+ 34. Kf3 Kh6 (34... Ra2 35. g4 Ra3+
36. Kg2 Kg7 37. g5 {and White's Ns win g6.}) 35. g4 h4 $5 36. g5+ (36. Ne6 {
wins without the "risk" of stalemates, since Black can't even hope for
counterplay with:} Rb3+ 37. Ke4 Rxh3 38. Nf7+ {and forks the R.}) 36... Kh5 {
Diagram [#]} 37. f5 $8 {Black was threatening ...Rf2 perpetual/stalemate.} gxf5
$6 (37... Kxg5 $1 {forces White to play more accurately:} 38. Nxg6 $1 (38. fxg6
$2 Kf6 39. Nd3 Rh2 40. Nf4 (40. Kg4 $2 Rd2 $11) 40... Rxh3+ 41. Nxh3 Kxg6 {
this is a tablebase win (#44), but who is going to win this?}) 38... Rb4 39.
Ke4 Rxd4+ 40. Kxd4 Kxf5 41. Nxh4+ Kf4 42. Ng2+ $8 Kg3 43. h4 $18) 38. Kf4 Rf2+
39. Ndf3 Rf1 {Diagram [#]White's pieces are too well-coordinated now.} 40. g6
$1 {Frees the stalemate trap and the rest is easy.} (40. Kxf5 $4 Rxf3+ 41. Nxf3
$11 {Stalemate.}) 40... Kh6 41. Kxf5 Kg7 42. Kg5 Ra1 43. Nxh4 Rh1 44. Nf5+ Kg8
45. Ng4 Rg1 (45... Rxh3 46. Nf6+ Kf8 47. g7+ Kf7 48. g8=Q#) 46. h4 Kh8 47. h5
Kg8 48. h6 Kh8 49. g7+ Kh7 50. Kh5 Rh1+ 51. Kg5 Rg1 52. Ne7 Rxg4+ 53. Kxg4 Kxh6
54. g8=R $1 (54. g8=Q $4 $11 {is the last stalemate trap.}) 1-0

[Event "WYCC U10"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.02"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Issani, Nameer"]
[Black "Sosovicka, Jakub"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "1776"]
[BlackElo "1933"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 {Black plays a sharp variation, and almost immediately goes seriously
wrong. White doesn't play the most accurate moves, but keeps an extra pawn
into a four-N endgame, which he converts smoothly.} d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4.
Bf4 Nf6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e3 Bf5 {The Ubilava Variation. Black posts his B on
its best diagonal. Doing so requires a pawn sac, but analysis shows that the
pawn sac is temporary, and can lead to a forced repetition (see:
Moiseenko-Shomoev below). Kasparov and his team analyzed this both before and
during his matches with Karpov, and concluded that White has no advantage.} 7.
Qb3 {Attacking d5 and b7 is the standard way to counter the early development
of Black's DSB in d4/d5 openings.} Nc6 $1 {Diagram [#]} (7... Qc8 8. Nxd5 Nxd5
9. Qxd5 Bb4+ 10. Kd1 $14) 8. Qxb7 {This is the obvious threat behind Qb3, but
it might not be White's best way to play for a win.} (8. a3 $5 {preventing
counterplay from ...Nb4 is slow but interesting as now Black has to go into
contortions defending b7:} Na5 (8... Rb8 {misplacing the R to argue that the
Qb3 is misplaced,} 9. Nf3 O-O 10. Be2 $14 {Spraggett,K (2585)-Jussupow,A (2610)
Hastings, 1989 (½-½, 46).}) 9. Qa2 c6 10. Nf3 O-O 11. Be2 b5 12. O-O h6 13.
h3 Rc8 14. Rac1 (14. b3 $5) 14... Nc4 15. a4 b4 16. Nb1 Na5 17. Nbd2 Qb6 18.
Nb3 Nxb3 19. Qxb3 a5 {and Black eventually played ...c5, taking on an IQP, but
his control over e4 was sufficient compensation in Peralta,F (2556)-Fridman,D 
(2637) Rabat, 2015 (½-½, 56).}) (8. g4 $5 Nxg4 (8... Bxg4 $2 9. Qxb7 Nb4 10.
Rc1 $1 $14 {deflecting the B to g4 leaves the Nb4 with no safe squares, and
White doesn't need to play Bb5+, but can combine threats to trap the Nb4 with
an attack on the c-file.}) 9. Qxd5 (9. Nxd5 $2 O-O 10. Bg2 Bh4 11. Bg3 Be6 $17
{(0-1, 39) Topalov,V (2725)-Kasparov,G (2795) Linares 1997}) 9... Qc8 {
Kasparov "=".} 10. Qg2 O-O $13 {Analysis Diagram [#] It looks like White will
get a strong center and possibly an attack along the g-file, but Black is
ahead in development and has very fast counterplay against White's center; e.g.
} 11. O-O-O (11. e4 Bxe4 $6 12. Nxe4 Bb4+ 13. Nc3 Qf5 14. Be2 $1 Rfe8 15. Kf1
Nf6 16. Bh6 $16 {(1-0, 39) Aronian,L (2808)-Kramnik,V (2785) Monte Carlo 
(blindfold rapid), 2011.}) 11... Nf6 12. f3 Bg6 13. e4 Rd8 14. Nge2 (14. Be3
Nb4 15. a3 c5 $1 $132) 14... b5 $1 $132 {(½-½, 103) Fridman,D (2670)
-Prusikin,M (2545) Bad Wiessee, 2012.}) 8... Nb4 9. Bb5+ {Diagram [#]} Bd7 $4 {
This allows White to develop and untangle quickly while keeping his extra pawn.
} (9... Kf8 $8 $13 {Is the point of ...Bf5: Black threatens ...Nc2+ as well as
perpetuals against the White Q.} 10. Kd2 (10. Rd1 $5 a6 11. Ba4 Rb8 (11... Nd3+
12. Rxd3 $1 Bxd3 13. Bxc7 Qc8 14. Qb6 Bb5 15. Bb3 $14 {White has two pawns for
the exchange and Black's Rs will have trouble finding open files; Gofshtein,
L-Ubilava,E (2435) Tbilisi, 1983.}) 12. Qxc7 Qxc7 13. Bxc7 Rb7 14. Ba5 Nd3+ 15.
Rxd3 Bxd3 16. b3 {It's hard to shake the feeling that White isn't better, with
two pawns for the exchange and no useful open lines for Black's Rs. But it's
also hard to find any way to improve after something simple like} (16. Bb3 $2
Bc4 $15) 16... Bb5 $11) (10. Rc1 a6 11. Be2 Ne8 12. a3 Rb8 13. Qa7 Ra8 14. Qb7
Rb8 15. Qa7 Ra8 {½-½ Moiseenko,A (2627)-Shomoev,A (2556) Moscow, 2007.})
10... Ne4+ 11. Nxe4 Bxe4 12. f3 Rb8 13. Qxc7 Qxc7 14. Bxc7 Rxb5 15. fxe4 dxe4
16. b3 Nd5 $11 {Black is down a pawn, but the strong Nd5 and pressure on e3
gives equality; see: Gutov,A (2445)-Stockmann,M (2255) Aix les Bains, 2011 
(0-1, 26).}) 10. Bxd7+ Nxd7 11. O-O-O $2 {Natural, but now capturing the Pc7
gives Black tactics against the white K.} (11. Ke2 $1 {or Kd2} O-O 12. a3 Rb8
13. Qxc7 Na6 14. Qxd8 Rxb2+ 15. Kf3 (15. Kd3 $4 Nac5+ $1 $17) 15... Rxd8 16.
Nxd5 $18 {White's up two pawns for nothing.}) 11... Rb8 12. Qxc7 {Diagram [#]}
Nxa2+ $1 13. Kc2 (13. Nxa2 $4 Rc8 $19) (13. Kb1 $4 Qxc7 14. Bxc7 Nxc3+ $19)
13... Nb4+ 14. Kd2 $1 (14. Kb1 $6 Qxc7 15. Bxc7 Rb7 16. Bg3 Nb6 $132) 14...
Qxc7 15. Bxc7 Rc8 16. Bg3 $16 Nf6 17. f3 O-O 18. Nge2 Nh5 19. Bf2 Rfe8 20. Ra1
Rc7 21. Rhc1 Rec8 {Diagram [#]} 22. g4 $1 Nf6 23. Bg3 $18 {winning a second
pawn and the game.} Rc6 (23... Rb7 24. Nxd5 $18) 24. Rxa7 $18 Bd6 25. Bxd6 Rxd6
26. Nb5 (26. Nxd5 $1 Rxc1 27. Nxf6+ gxf6 28. Nxc1 Rc6 29. Nd3 $18) 26... Rdd8
27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Nec3 Rd8 29. Nc7 h6 30. Ra8 Rxa8 31. Nxa8 Kf8 {Diagram [#]
White's up two pawns and Black has a weakness on d5. White first prevents the
Black Ns from jumping into his back field, then uses his K and Ns to advance
the b-pawn.} 32. Nb5 Ke7 33. Nb6 Ke6 34. Na4 $1 Nc6 35. Nc5+ Ke7 36. Kc3 g6 37.
b4 Kd8 38. Na3 Kc7 39. b5 Ne7 40. Kb4 Kb6 41. Na4+ Kb7 42. Ka5 Nd7 43. Nc5+ Kc7
44. Nxd7 Kxd7 45. Ka6 Kc8 46. Ka7 1-0

[Event "WYCC U16g"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.02"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Black "Avramidou, Anastasia"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E43"]
[WhiteElo "2328"]
[BlackElo "2249"]
[Annotator "Qiyu Zhou"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{This game was a turning point in the tournament for me, as everything went
downhill after this round.} 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 b6 3. e3 ({Better was} 3. e4 {
(just to gain more space)} Bb7 4. Bd3 c5 (4... Nf6 5. Qe2 {with a generally
nice position overall.}) 5. c3 cxd4 6. cxd4 Nf6 7. Qe2 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 d5 9. e5 Ne4
10. O-O Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3 12. Rb1 (12. Ba3 $2 Bxa1 13. Bb5+ Bc6 $19) 12... Nc6
(12... O-O $2 13. Bxh7+ $18) 13. Ba3 $16 (13. Bg5 Qd7 14. Rfc1 Ba5 $13 {
(0-1, 71) Karlik,J (2300)-Snorek,M (2195) Czechia, 2000.})) 3... Bb7 4. Bd3 f5
5. c4 ({Just to avoid the entire pin situation,} 5. O-O {was also possible.})
5... Bb4+ {Diagram [#]} 6. Nc3 {Purposefully putting the knight under the pin
was unnecessary.} (6. Bd2 {Black has a couple of choices now:} Be7 (6... Bd6 7.
Nc3 Nf6 8. O-O O-O) (6... Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. b4) 7. O-O Nf6 8.
Nc3 O-O 9. Re1 Ne4 10. d5 $5) 6... Nf6 7. a3 {Unnecessary, since Black will
take on c3 in most cases anyway.} (7. O-O Bxc3 8. bxc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 O-O {and we
have the game with an extra tempo.}) 7... Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Ne4 9. Qc2 O-O 10. O-O
{Diagram [#]} d6 ({I was slightly worried about Black attempting an attack on
the kingside. However, this fear was likely unfounded.} 10... Rf6 11. Ne1 Rh6 {
The correct continuation would have been:} 12. g3 $1 ({During the game I was
calculating} 12. f3 {however after} Qh4 {White faces some problems. The
computer gives} 13. g4 $1 {as the only move with equality.} (13. g3 $2 Nxg3 14.
hxg3 Qh1+ $19) (13. h3 Ng5 $17)) 12... Ng5 (12... Qg5 $2 13. f3 Nxg3 14. Qg2
$16) 13. f3) 11. Nd2 ({The other possibility was} 11. Ne1 Qh4 12. f3 Nf6 13. e4
(13. g3 Qh5) 13... fxe4 14. fxe4 Nxe4 $4 ({editor -} 14... Bxe4 $142 $1 $15)
15. Rxf8+ Kxf8 16. Nf3 Qg4 17. h3 Qg6 18. Ng5 $18 d5 19. cxd5 exd5 20. c4 $18)
11... Qh4 12. f3 Nxd2 13. Bxd2 c5 14. d5 (14. e4 f4 15. a4 (15. d5 e5 16. a4
Nd7 {and black is very solid.}) 15... Nd7 16. a5 {This might have also offered
some chances.}) 14... Nd7 15. f4 Qe7 16. e4 fxe4 17. Bxe4 Nf6 18. Rae1 {
Diagram [#]} Qd8 ({Black could have also considered} 18... Nxe4 19. Qxe4 (19.
Rxe4 Bc8 (19... Rf6 20. f5) 20. dxe6 (20. Rfe1 e5 $13) 20... Bxe6 21. Rfe1 {
but Black has this trick} Bf5 $1 22. Rxe7 Bxc2 23. Kf2 Bd3 24. Rd7 Bf5 (24...
Bxc4 25. Ree7 Rf7 $11) 25. Rxd6 Rfd8 {most likely heading into a draw}) 19...
e5 20. fxe5 Rxf1+ 21. Kxf1 Rf8+ 22. Kg1 Qf7 23. Be3 dxe5 24. Qxe5 {white is up
a pawn, but the position is still fairly unclear.}) 19. Bf3 (19. dxe6 $5 {
this exchange sacrifice would have been very interesting. Unfortunately I only
had about 20 minutes at this point, and I decided to not calculate the line
and try to play it safe.} Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Nxe4 21. Qxe4 {Analysis Diagram [#]}
Qf6 (21... Qe7 22. f5 Rae8 (22... h6 $4 23. f6 gxf6 (23... Rxf6 24. Qxa8+ $18)
24. Bxh6 $18) 23. Be1 Qg5 24. Bh4 Qh6 $18 {black is paralyzed.}) {depending on
my mood, I may have considered} 22. g4 $5 (22. f5 {also very logical}) 22...
Qh4 23. f5 $13 {with an interesting game at least.}) 19... exd5 20. cxd5 c4 {
After this move I thought my d5 pawn was dropping for sure.} 21. Qf5 Kh8 22.
Bc1 Qc7 23. Qg5 {Diagram [#]} Rae8 ({Not sure why my opponent did not try to
capture the pawn.} 23... h6 24. Qh4 Bxd5 (24... Nxd5 $6 25. f5 Rae8 26. Bxh6
gxh6 27. Rxe8 Rxe8 28. Qxh6+ Qh7 29. Qxd6 Qf7 $14 {with lots of play for white.
}) 25. Bxd5 Qc5+ 26. Be3 Qxd5 27. Bd4 Kg8 28. Re7 Rf7 29. Rxf7 Qxf7 $15) 24.
Rd1 h6 ({editor -} 24... Qc5+ $1 25. Kh1 Qa5 {going after White's queenside
pawns.}) 25. Qh4 Qc5+ 26. Qf2 Qxf2+ 27. Rxf2 Re7 28. a4 Rfe8 29. Ba3 Rd8 30.
Rd4 Re3 31. Bb2 Kg8 32. Rfd2 Ba6 33. Re2 Rde8 34. Kf1 Kf7 35. Kf2 Rxe2+ 36.
Bxe2 {Diagram [#]} Rc8 $2 ({The engine simply suggests} 36... Ne4+ 37. Kf3 Nc5
38. Bxc4 Bxc4 39. Rxc4 Re1 40. Ba3 {likely due to the fact white's rook is not
accomplishing much on c4.} Rf1+ 41. Ke2 Rg1 42. Bxc5 bxc5 43. Kf2 Rd1 $11 {
and the d-pawn also drops.}) 37. Ba3 $1 Ke7 38. g4 Rf8 39. Kg3 {Diagram [#]}
Re8 $2 {My opponent sort of self-destructed with this move. Nevertheless,
white's position was looking pretty good.} (39... g5 {just to stop g5 by white,
is still much better for me.} 40. h4 gxh4+ 41. Kxh4 Kd7 42. Bxc4 Bxc4 43. Rxc4
$18) 40. g5 $1 {White is winning, and I was really disappointed with myself
for not being able to win this endgame.} hxg5 41. fxg5 Nh7 42. h4 Kd8 43. Kf3 (
{editor -} 43. Bg4 $1 {giving up the Pc3 to activate the B and threatening
both d6 and Rf4-f7.}) 43... Rf8+ 44. Kg2 {Playing to keep the Black R out, but
in the long run my king would have done better closer to the opponent's camp.}
(44. Kg4 $1 {If} Bc8+ 45. Kg3 Ba6 46. Bxd6 {I could consider simply taking
this pawn.} Re8 47. Kf2 Bb7 $18) 44... Re8 {Diagram [#]} 45. Bxc4 $6 {In
hindsight, exchanging pieces was not the best idea, because the minor piece
endgame provided some trouble. editor - ?? Black's minors were both bad while
White had the B-pair on an open board with pawns on both sides and a potential
passed pawn on the h-file. So, although it wins a pawn, Stockfish rates this
capture as reducing White's advantage by 1.6 pawns.} ({A possibility was} 45.
Bh5 Re3 46. Bxd6 Rxc3 47. Bg6 (47. Rf4 Kd7 48. Be5 $18) 47... Kd7 48. Be5 Nf8
49. Bf5+ $18) 45... Bxc4 46. Rxc4 Re5 47. Rc6 Rxd5 48. Rxd6+ Rxd6 49. Bxd6 Kd7
50. Ba3 Ke6 51. Kf3 Kf5 {Diagram [#]} 52. c4 {I was running low on time again
around here.} (52. Bb4 g6 (52... Ke5 53. Kg4 g6 54. h5 Nxg5 55. Kxg5 $2 ({
editor -} 55. hxg6 $1 Ne6 56. Kh5 $18) 55... gxh5 56. Kxh5 Kd5 57. Kg4 Kc4 $11
{followed by a5 and the c-pawn drops}) 53. Kg3 Ke5 54. Kg4 Ke4 55. h5 gxh5+ 56.
Kxh5 Kf5 57. Be7 $18) 52... g6 53. Bb4 (53. c5 bxc5 54. Bxc5 a6 {Analysis
Diagram [#] editor - Black's N is stuck on the edge of the board and White's B
can lose tempi by moving along the a3-f8 diagonal, which strongly suggest that
White is winning. If Black's K backs up then White wins by bringing his K
across the board to attack the a-pawn, and playing h4-h5 to create a passed
pawn (supported by White's B) which Black's N cannot stop.  Black's saving
trick is to sac the N for the g and h-pawns and run his K to c8 (and then to
a8) to stop White's a-pawn.} {editor -} 55. Bb4 (55. Ke2 $2 Nxg5 $11) (55. Kg3
$2 Nxg5 (55... Ke5 56. Kg4 Ke4 57. h5 gxh5+ 58. Kxh5 Nxg5 59. Kxg5 Kd5 $11 {
due to the light squared promotion square.}) 56. hxg5 Kxg5 57. Kf3 Kf5 $11) (
55. Ke3 $2 Kg4 $1 $11 56. Be7 Kxh4 57. Kf4 Kh5 58. a5 Kh4 59. Kf3 Nxg5+ 60. Kf4
Kh5 61. Bxg5 $11 {stalemate.}) 55... Nxg5+ {This is the critical try, but it
doesn't work now: the White K and B can win the Black a-pawn and prevent
Black's K from getting to a8:} (55... Ke5 56. Ke3 Kf5 (56... Kd5 57. Kf4 $18 {
and h5 will come when ...gxh5 isn't a check.}) 57. Kd4 Kg4 58. Be1 $18 (58. Be7
$18)) 56. hxg5 Kxg5 57. Ke4 Kf6 58. Kd5 (58. Be1 {is another way to
demonstrate how White cuts off the Black K:} Ke6 59. Bg3 $8 Kd7 60. Kd5 $8 Kc8
61. Kc6 $8 a5 62. Bc7 g5 63. Be5 g4 64. Bc7 $22 $18) 58... g5 59. Kc6 Ke6 60.
a5 g4 61. Kb7 Kd7 62. Be1 Kd8 63. Kxa6 Kc8 64. Bg3 $18) 53... Ke5 54. Bc3+ Ke6
({Going for the c-pawn does not work:} 54... Kd6 55. Ke4 Kc5 56. Ke5 Kxc4 57.
Ba1 {Analysis Diagram [#]} Kd3 (57... Kb4 58. Ke6 Kxa4 59. Kf7 Kb3 60. Kxg6
Nf8+ 61. Kf7 Nd7 62. g6 $18) (57... Nf8 58. Kd6 Kb4 59. Ke7 $18) 58. Bb2 Nf8 (
58... Ke3 59. h5 Nxg5 60. hxg6 $18) 59. Kf6 Ke3 60. Kf7 Kf4 61. Kxf8 Kg4 62.
Kg7 $18) 55. Bg7 (55. Bd4 $142 Kf5 (55... Nf8 {does not work either} 56. c5 $1
Nd7 (56... bxc5 57. Bxc5 {forks Pa7 and Nf8.}) (56... Kd5 57. cxb6 $18) 57. c6
$18) 56. Bg7 (56. c5 bxc5 57. Bxc5 a6 58. Ba3 {A breakthrough in this position
would be difficult.}) 56... Ke6 (56... a6 57. Ke3 Kg4 58. a5 $3 $18) 57. Ke4 a6
58. Kf4 Kd6 59. Bb2 Kc5 (59... Ke6 60. Ba3 $18 {and black gets in zugzwang.}) (
59... Kc6 60. Ba3 Kd7 61. Ke5 $18) 60. h5 Nxg5 61. hxg6 $1 $18) 55... Kf5 56.
Bh6 Ke5 57. Kg4 Ke4 (57... Kd4 58. Kf4 Kxc4 59. Ke5 $18 Kb4 60. h5 Nxg5 61.
hxg6) 58. Bg7 a5 59. Bf6 Nf8 {Diagram [#]} 60. Be7 $4 ({I cannot remember why
I did not play this obvious move} 60. Bd8 $1 $18 Nd7 (60... Ne6 61. Bxb6 Kd3 (
61... Ng7 62. Bxa5 $18) 62. c5 $18) 61. h5 Ne5+ (61... gxh5+ 62. Kxh5) 62. Kh4
Nf3+ 63. Kg3 gxh5 64. g6 Nd4 65. Kh4 Ne6 66. Bxb6 Kf5 67. Bxa5 Kxg6 68. Bb6 $18
) 60... Ne6 61. h5 gxh5+ 62. Kxh5 Nxg5 63. Bd8 Kd4 64. Bxb6+ Kxc4 65. Bxa5 Kb3
{I was extremely upset after this game, and the following round I lost to the
bronze medallist. I never quite managed to recover, and ended the tournament
three rounds later with 7/11.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WYCC U14"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.02"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Chen, Richard"]
[Black "Shevchenko, Kirill"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2117"]
[BlackElo "2359"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{Richard's opponent is an FM from Ukraine. He finished 6th overall, losing
only two games: one to Sergei Lobanov (who we saw in the previous game) and
this one.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 {
Diagram [#] White has given up the B pair in return for a lead in development,
and has options about how to develop, but Black seems to be fine on all lines.}
7. Nc3 (7. Bg5 $5 {stops ...e5, but} h6 8. Bh4 Qa5+ 9. Nc3 e5 {has scored well
for Black; e.g.} 10. Qd3 g5 11. Bg3 $13 {(0-1, 39) Sutovsky,E (2666)-Papa,S 
(2399) Geneve, 2004; and (0-1, 48) Guliev,L (2412)-Korobov,A (2705) Baku, 2012.
}) (7. c4 $5 {aims for a Maroczy type bind where White has traded his "bad"
light-squared B before it gets stuck behind pawns on c4 and e4; but Black can
break the bind before it gets started with:} e5 (7... Nf6 8. Bg5 e6 9. Nc3 Be7
10. O-O Bc6 11. Qd3 O-O 12. Nd4 Rc8 13. b3 {White's space advantage looks like
it ought to be worth something, but Black held in Carlsen,M (2870)-Anand,V 
(2775) WCh g10, Chennai, 2013 (½-½, 65).}) 8. Qd3 b5 $1 9. Nc3 bxc4 10. Qxc4
Be6 $11 {(½-½, 59) Carlsen,M (2868)-Anand,V (2783) Stavanger, 2013.}) 7...
Rc8 8. O-O e5 {Diagram [#]} 9. Qb4 $5 (9. Qd3 h6 10. Be3 Nf6 11. a4 (11. Nd2 $5
) 11... Be7 12. a5 Be6 13. Rfd1 O-O {by 1930s standards, White's control over
d5 and pressure on d6 would be deemed nearly winning; but decades of Najdorf
experience show that it is acually White (who has no simple way to improve the
position) is actually in danger here, and Black -- with the B pair and play on
the c-file -- is the one who can be optimistic about this middlegame; e.g. 
(0-1, 48) Spasov,V (2621)-Volokitin,A (2661) Baile Herculane, 2010.}) 9... Bc6
10. Be3 Be7 11. Rfd1 Qc7 12. Nd5 $146 (12. Bb6 Qd7 13. Qb3 Qe6 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15.
exd5 Qd7 $11 {(½-½, 94) Hendriks,W (2407)-Baklan,V (2634) Germany, 2014.})
12... Bxd5 13. exd5 Nf6 14. Rac1 b5 15. c4 $1 {Diagram [#]} Qb7 (15... bxc4 16.
Qa4+ Qd7 17. Rxc4 {might give White some queenside play.}) 16. Bg5 O-O 17. Bxf6
Bxf6 18. b3 Qd7 19. h3 h6 20. cxb5 axb5 21. Rc6 Rxc6 22. dxc6 Qxc6 23. Qxd6 Qc2
{Diagram [#]} 24. Qd2 Qc7 {Black was 200+ points higher rated, and may have
figured that keeping the pieces on was his best chance.} 25. Rc1 Qb7 26. Qe2
$11 e4 27. Nd2 Re8 {Diagram [#]Critical Position This position is equal:
Black's b and e-pawns are possible targets, but the B is better than the N
which has no useful squares supported by pawns. White now goes after the Pb5,
trying to get it to advance and concede the c4 square.} 28. Rc5 $2 (28. Nf1
$142 $11) 28... Bd4 $2 (28... e3 $3 $15 {This pseudo-pawn sac turns the game
around.} 29. Nf3 $1 (29. Rxb5 $4 exf2+ 30. Kf1 (30. Qxf2 {drops the Rb5.})
30... Rxe2 31. Rxb7 Rxd2 $19) (29. fxe3 $2 Bd4 $1 $19 {this is the main
tactical point of ...e3. It's easy to find... if you already know that ...e3
is a good move.} 30. Rxb5 Rxe3 $8 31. Qc4 Re2+ 32. Qxd4 Qxg2#) 29... exf2+ 30.
Qxf2 b4 $15 {with the better minor piece, pawn structure, and king safety.})
29. Rxb5 $16 (29. Qxb5 $2 Qxb5 30. Rxb5 e3 $1 $19 31. Nf3 (31. Nf1 e2 $19) (31.
fxe3 Bxe3+ 32. Kf1 Bxd2 $19) 31... e2 32. Ne1 Bc3 $19) 29... Qc6 (29... Qa6 30.
Nf1 $16 {and Black can't exploit the pin on the Rb5 without taking a tempo to
avoid Rb8+.}) 30. Nf1 $8 Re6 31. Rb4 Qd6 32. Rc4 Qe5 33. Ne3 {Diagram [#]} Bc5
$2 ({The general rule is not to trade pieces when you're down pawns, but here
the trade would give Black very good drawing chances based on the exposed
White K in a 4 major piece ending.} 33... Bxe3 $1 34. fxe3 (34. Qxe3 Qa1+ 35.
Kh2 Qxa2 $14 {is probably White's best try.}) 34... Qa1+ 35. Kh2 (35. Qf1 Qxa2
36. Rc8+ Kh7 37. Qxf7 Qxb3 {White is nominally better, but only Carlsen would
win this.}) 35... Qe5+ 36. g3 Rf6 $11 {with enough activity to draw.}) 34. b4
Bd6 35. g3 h5 36. Rc8+ Bf8 37. Qc4 h4 38. Qc5 $1 {Diagram [#]The Q exchange
leaves Black with no chance.} Qxc5 39. bxc5 hxg3 40. fxg3 Ra6 41. c6 g6 42. c7
Rc6 43. Nd5 Kg7 44. Rd8 1-0

[Event "WYCC U12"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.02"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Keymer, Vincent"]
[Black "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2347"]
[BlackElo "2046"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 {Vincent Keymer is the current top-hope for the next generation of
German chess fans, and has been featured on the ChessBase website, showing
photos of him studying with Kasparov.} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2 {
The principled move against the Bogo-Indian: aiming to get the B-pair without
making any structural concessions, or falling behind in development as in the
Qc2 Nimzo-Indian.} O-O 5. a3 {Diagram [#]} Bxd2+ (5... Be7 6. e4 {with about
1000 games in the database this is far more common. Black has a choice about
contesting the center with the sharp ...d5 or the clogging ...d6:} d5 (6... d6
7. Bd3 c5 8. d5 Nbd7 9. O-O e5 10. b4 a5 11. bxa5 Rxa5 12. Nb3 Ra6 13. a4 Nh5
14. g3 g6 15. Ne1 Ng7 16. Ng2 {with something resembling a bayonette attack
against an Old Indian -- a KID with Be7 rather than Bg7; see (0-1, 34) Vachier
Lagrave,M (2789)-Carlsen,M (2855) Leuven (blitz), 2016.}) 7. e5 (7. cxd5 exd5
8. e5 Nfd7 9. Bd3 c5 10. O-O Nc6 11. Re1 $13 {(½-½, 43) Nyzhnyk,I (2535)
-Bluvshtein,M (2587) Groningen, 2010.}) 7... Nfd7 8. Bd3 c5 9. Qc2 (9. h4 $5
$40 cxd4 $2 10. Bxh7+ $1 $18 {(1-0, 31) Navara,D (2700)-Dzagnidze,N (2546)
Yerevan, 2014.}) 9... h6 10. O-O Nc6 $13 {was played twice in the knock-out
match between Vachier Lagrave,M (2744)-Tomashevsky,E (2758) Baku, 2015.}) 6.
Qxd2 (6. Bxd2 {is also possble; e.g.} b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 {but developing the B to
b2 ensures Black can't trade it off for one of his Ns.}) 6... d6 7. e3 Nbd7 {
Diagram [#]} 8. b4 (8. Be2 e5 9. Qc2 Qe7 10. O-O Re8 11. b4 e4 12. Nd2 Nf8 13.
d5 Bg4 $5 14. Nb3 (14. Bxg4 Nxg4 15. h3 Nf6 16. Bb2 N8d7 $14 {with more space
and an eventual queenside break.}) 14... Ng6 15. Nd4 Bxe2 16. Qxe2 Qe5 (16...
Nd7 $1 {[%cal Gd7e5]} 17. Bb2 Nh4 18. Qg4 Ne5 19. Qxe4 Nef3+ 20. gxf3 Qg5+ 21.
Qg4 Nxf3+) 17. Kh1 b5 $2 18. cxb5 Qxd5 19. Bb2 {and White had strong queenside
pressure in Shankland,S (2632)-Yam,A (2299) Edmonton, 2014 (1-0, 41).}) 8... e5
9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Bb2 {Diagram [#]} e4 (10... Qe7 11. Be2 b6 12. Qc3 Re8 13. Rd1
(13. O-O c5 14. Nd2 Bb7 15. f3 a5 16. b5 Nf8 17. Rfd1 $14 {(1-0, 32) Kozul,Z 
(2610)-Winants,L (2524) Dresden, 2007.}) 13... Bb7 14. O-O Rad8 15. Nd2 Nf8 16.
f3 N6d7 17. Bd3 f6 18. Qc2 c5 19. Bc3 h6 20. Ne4 f5 21. Ng3 g6 22. Qb2 (22.
Bxf5 $1 gxf5 23. Nxf5 $36) 22... h5 {(1-0, 37) Keymer,V (2342)-Fuellgrabe,T 
(2244) Saarbrücken, 2015.}) 11. Nd4 Ne5 12. h3 $1 {Stopping the B trade that
happenend in Shankland-Yam.} (12. Be2 $6 Bg4 $1) 12... Qe7 13. Qc3 Re8 14. Rd1
$14 Bd7 15. Be2 (15. Nb5 $14) 15... c5 $1 {Diagram [#]} 16. bxc5 Qxc5 17. O-O
Rac8 18. Rc1 Qe7 $6 (18... Ng6 $142 $1 {lets Black keep the Qs on, which makes
the e4-pawn a useful attacking asset; e.g.} 19. Qb4 $140 (19. Nb5 $6 Nh4 $1 $36
) 19... Qg5 $132) 19. Qb4 $1 {Diagram [#]A queen trade eliminates a Black
defender of the dark squares, making White's unopposed B stronger.} Nd3 $5 {
A tough decision, sacing the pawn to get rid of the B pair. White is going to
be better either way: in the middlegame with even material but extra space and
the Bs, or in the endgame with an extra pawn but with opposite Bs.  White
proves he's up to the task in the endgame.} (19... Qxb4 20. axb4 $16 {White
has the B pair and might be able to target the queenside pawns with b4-b5, Nb3
and Bd4.}) (19... b6 20. Rfd1 {and Black is struggling to find any good moves;
e.g.} h6 21. Qxe7 Rxe7 22. Nb5 Bxb5 23. cxb5 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Ne8 $16 (24... Nd3
25. Bxd3 exd3 26. Rd1 Rd7 27. Bd4 {and White wins the pawn anyway.})) 20. Bxd3
exd3 21. Qxe7 Rxe7 22. Rfd1 Ne4 23. Rxd3 Nc5 24. Rdd1 a6 {Diagram [#]White is
up a pawn for free. White's purposeful play through the rest of the game
"makes a strong impression", as the Soviet analysis used to say.} 25. g4 g6 (
25... Ba4 26. Nf5 $1 $16) 26. Ne2 Ba4 27. Rd6 Rd7 28. Rxd7 Nxd7 29. Bd4 b6 (
29... Bb3 30. c5 Bd5 31. Nc3 Bc6 {is another way to try to hold.}) 30. Rc3 Kf8
31. f3 Bc6 32. Kf2 Bb7 33. Nf4 {Diagram [#]} b5 $6 (33... a5 $5 34. Ke2 Ba6 35.
Kd3 $16) 34. c5 Ke7 35. e4 a5 36. h4 Bc6 37. Ke3 Bb7 (37... h6 {stops White
from opening the h-file, but it leaves the h6-pawn weak and concedes the f5
square after} 38. h5 $1) 38. g5 Bc6 39. Nd3 {Diagram [#]Black has almost no
moves. White has his minors on their best squares and now can activate his R.}
Bb7 40. Rc1 Ke6 41. h5 Ba8 42. Rh1 Ke7 43. hxg6 hxg6 44. Rh7 Bb7 45. f4 Rg8 46.
Bc3 $1 a4 {Diagram [#]} 47. Bf6+ $1 Ke8 (47... Nxf6 48. gxf6+ Kxf6 49. Ne5 {
and there's no good way to defend f7.}) 48. Rh2 {White wins with either Rb2 or
Rd2. A smooth perfomance by White against steady defence by Black.} 1-0

[Event "WYCC U12"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.04"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Black "Liang, Awonder"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B60"]
[WhiteElo "2046"]
[BlackElo "2365"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "220"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 c5 {A marathon. Black gets an endgame plus, but White sets up a fortress.
Black pressess and pressess and presses and over-presses and... is eventually
rewarded, because this isn't a fairytale.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.
Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Qb6 {Diagram [#]} 8. Bxf6 (8. O-O-O Qxd4 9. Qxd4 Nxd4
10. Rxd4 a6 11. f3 Bd7 12. Na4 Bc6 13. Nb6 Rd8 14. Nc4 Be7 15. Na5 $14 {
(1-0, 37) Kasparov,G (2838)-Mchedlishvili,M (2551) Bled, 2002.}) 8... gxf6 9.
Nb3 Bd7 10. O-O-O O-O-O 11. f4 Kb8 12. Kb1 Na5 13. Be2 h5 14. Rhf1 {Diagram [#]
} Nxb3 (14... Be7 15. Rf3 Nxb3 16. axb3 Qc5 17. Rh3 h4 18. Bg4 Bc6 19. Rd3 Rhg8
20. h3 a6 21. Qe1 $14 {(½-½, 52) Jakovenko,D (2732)-Romanov,E (2624)
Taganrog, 2011.}) 15. axb3 Be7 16. Bf3 $146 (16. Rf3 {transposes to
Jakovenko-Romanov (above).}) 16... h4 {Diagram [#]} 17. Rde1 {It feels like
White starts to drift here. One idea is Bg4 and f4-f5 to pressure e6 and fight
for d5; e.g.} (17. f5 Rc8 18. Bg4 Rc5 19. Qd3 {planning either Qh3 or fxe6
then Nd5.}) 17... Qa5 18. Qd3 Rc8 19. Qd4 Qc5 20. Qxc5 Rxc5 21. Be2 Rcc8 22.
Bf3 Rcg8 {Diagram [#]} 23. Rh1 {A strange-looking move, but clearly White
wanted to move his g-pawn and was preparing to fight for the h-file. I don't
know why he wants to move his g-pawn: the Bf3 keeps both Black rooks from
doing anything on the kingside files, so doubling on the d-file or preparing
f4-f5 with h3 and Bg4 might have been better.} Bd8 24. Ne2 Bb6 25. g4 hxg3 26.
hxg3 Bc6 {Diagram [#]} 27. g4 $2 (27. Ref1 $142 {protecting the B and
unpinning the e4-pawn.}) 27... Kc7 $6 (27... f5 $1 {may win a pawn:} 28. gxf5
exf5 29. Nc3 Ba5 $1 $17) 28. f5 $1 Kd7 29. Rxh8 Rxh8 30. Rh1 Rxh1+ 31. Bxh1 {
Diagram [#] Black has the B pair and the better B in an ending with pawns on
both sides of the board. The only things that keep White in the game are that
his bad B protects all his weak pawns, and there are too many pawns in the
center for Black's Bs to be able to attack both sides of the board.} Ke7 32. c4
Bc5 33. Kc2 a5 34. Kd3 Bf2 35. Nd4 Bxd4 36. Kxd4 b6 {Diagram [#]It's a double
fortress: neither side can create a double-attack or even a zugzwang, and so
should be drawn.} 37. Bf3 Kf8 38. Ke3 Kg7 39. Kf4 Kh6 40. Be2 e5+ 41. Kf3 Kg5
42. Bd3 Kh4 43. Bf1 Bd7 44. Bd3 Be8 45. Bf1 Bc6 46. Be2 Kh3 47. Bd3 Kh2 48. Kf2
Bb7 49. Bc2 {Diagram [#]Black tries the kingside....} Ba6 50. Bd3 Bc8 51. Bb1
Bd7 52. Bd3 Bc6 53. Kf3 Kh3 54. Bf1+ Kh4 55. Bd3 Bd7 56. Be2 Bc8 57. Bd1 Kh3
58. Be2 Bb7 59. Bf1+ Kh4 60. Be2 Kg5 61. Bd3 Bc6 {Diagram [#]} 62. Be2 (62. Kg3
{Looks like the simplest way to hold, since Black can't get his B going on the
queenside; e.g.} a4 $2 63. b4 $16) 62... Kh6 63. Bd3 Bb7 64. Kg3 Kg5 65. Kf3
Bc6 66. Be2 Ba8 67. Bd3 Bb7 68. Be2 Kh6 69. Bd3 Kg7 70. Kg3 Kf8 71. Kf3 Ke7 72.
Ke3 Kd7 73. Kd2 Kc6 74. Kc2 Kc5 75. Kc3 {Diagram [#]Black tries the queenside..
. Black can try to triple attack c4 (with ...b5 and ...Ba6) but it seems to me
that White has more than one way to defend against it, including just giving
up the c and b pawns for Black's b-pawn! (see the note to move 84)} Bc8 (75...
Bc6 76. Bb1 b5 77. Bc2 $1 (77. Bd3 $4 b4+ 78. Kd2 Kd4 $19) 77... Bb7 (77... a4
78. cxb5 axb3 $8 $11) 78. Bb1 Bc8 {Black is trying to zug White so that on ...
Ba6 there is no Ba2.} (78... Ba6 79. Ba2 $1) 79. cxb5 $1 (79. Bc2 $2 Ba6 80.
cxb5 Bxb5 81. Bd1 Bf1 82. Bf3 Ba6 {(so that on b4 axb4, Kxb4 there will be no
tempo on the B)} 83. Bd1 d5 $1 84. exd5 Kxd5 $19) 79... Kxb5 80. Bc2 Kc5 {
Analysis Diagram [#]} 81. b4+ $3 {a blockading sacrifice so the black K can't
step on b4.} (81. Kd3 Kb4 82. Ke3 Bb7 83. Kd3 d5 84. exd5 Bxd5 85. Bd1 e4+ $1
$19) (81. Bb1 Ba6 82. Bc2 (82. Bd3 $2 Bxd3 83. Kxd3 d5 $19) 82... Be2 $19)
81... axb4+ 82. Kd3 Ba6+ 83. Ke3 {Black can press, but I don't see a way in.})
76. Be2 Bd7 77. Bd3 Bc6 78. Bb1 Bb7 79. Bd3 Ba6 80. Bf1 b5 81. Be2 $8 Bb7 82.
Bf3 $8 Bc6 83. Bg2 Ba8 {Diagram [#]} 84. Bh1 (84. Bf3 Bb7 85. Bg2 Ba6 86. Bf1
b4+ $1 87. Kd3 a4 $1 88. Be2 (88. Ke3 $2 a3 $19) 88... axb3 (88... a3 $2 89.
bxa3 bxa3 90. Kc3 a2 91. b4+ {and White is the one who will wrack his brains
looking for a win.}) 89. Ke3 Bxc4 90. Bd1 {computers say Black is winning ,
but I don't see a way to make progress.}) 84... Bb7 85. Bf3 Bc6 86. Bg2 Bd7 87.
Bh1 Be8 88. Bf3 b4+ 89. Kd3 Kc6 90. Be2 Kd7 91. Ke3 Ke7 92. Bd1 Kf8 93. Kf3 Kg7
94. Kg3 Kh6 95. Kh4 Bd7 96. Bc2 Bc6 97. Kh3 Kg5 98. Kg3 Bd7 99. Bd1 Be8 100.
Kf3 Kh4 101. Bc2 Kh3 102. Bd1 Kh2 103. Bc2 {Diagram [#]Back to the kingside...}
Kg1 $6 {The black K can't get past f1, so this is either a bluff or Black has
decided on a bad pawn break.} 104. Bd3 Bc6 105. Kg3 a4 $4 106. bxa4 Bxa4 {
Diagram [#] Critical Position Black's K is trapped, but I suppose he hoped he
could play ...Bd1 and zugzwang White into allowing ...Be2 or ...Kf1 or ...Kf2,
when he would be winning. White could avoid that zugzwang by simply
oscillating his B on the f1-a6 diagonal... all he has to make the diagonal
longer to do so:} 107. Kh4 $4 (107. g5 $2 $11 fxg5 108. f6 (108. c5 $2 dxc5
109. f6 Bb3 $19) 108... Bb3 (108... Bd7 $4 109. c5 $1 dxc5 110. Bc4 $18) 109.
Be2 (109. Kg4 $4 Kf2 110. Kxg5 Ke3 111. Bf1 Kxe4 112. Kh6 d5 $19) 109... Ba2 (
109... Bc2 $2 110. Bh5 $18) 110. Kf3 g4+ 111. Kg3 $8 Bb3 (111... Bb1 $2 112.
Bxg4 Ba2 (112... Bxe4 113. Bh5 $18) 113. Be6 $1 $18) 112. Bd3 $11) (107. c5 $3
{Not only does this create the drawing mechanism mentioned above, it actually
wins! The hard point to see is that White's f5-pawn is a promotion threat.}
dxc5 108. Bc4 {After g4-g5 and Bxf7 Black will have to give up his B to stop
the f-pawn, and White's B prevents Black from trading the game-winning white
b-pawn:} Bc6 (108... Bc2 109. g5 $1 fxg5 (109... Bxe4 110. gxf6 $18) 110. Bxf7
Bxe4 111. f6 $18) (108... Be8 109. g5 fxg5 110. f6 $8 $18 {and the white K
wins the g and e-pawns.}) 109. g5 $1 Bxe4 110. gxf6 Bxf5 111. Bxf7 $18) 107...
Kf2 108. g5 fxg5+ 109. Kxg5 Ke3 $19 110. Bb1 Bc6 (110... Bc6 111. Kf6 Bxe4 112.
Kxf7 Bxb1 113. f6 Ba2 $8 $19) 0-1

[Event "WYCC U18"]
[Site "Porto Carras"]
[Date "2015.11.05"]
[Round "11.18"]
[White "Garriga Cazorla, Pere"]
[Black "Dorrance, Adam"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2422"]
[BlackElo "2131"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2015.10.26"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GRE"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]
[WhiteClock "1:23:52"]
[BlackClock "0:16:25"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/704  This week, I chose to analyse one of Adam
Dorrance's game from the 2015 WYCC. Adam put in a strong performance and
gainied around 150 FIDE rating points. I decided to annotate his last round
game against a higher-rated player. Adam played quite solidly, and even
outplayed his opponent with the Black pieces and gained some winning chances.
Enjoy!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 {Diagram [#] White usually chooses this
move order to avoid the Sveshnikov.} e5 {This is probably the most principled
response. At first, it looks a bit weakening to create the hole on d5, but
whenever White tries placing a Knight there, it will be exchanged.} 4. Bc4 Be7
5. d3 d6 6. Nd2 {White is trying to bring his other Knight to e3 to plop a
Knight on d5. If he is able to do this he will stand clearly better.} Nf6 7.
Nf1 Bg4 8. f3 Be6 9. Ne3 O-O 10. O-O {Diagram [#] White may be slightly better
here, but the position is very close to equal.} Nd4 (10... Rb8 {is how many
previous games continued. Adam's decision of activating the Knight to d4 was
extremely logical as well.} 11. a4 Nb4 12. Ncd5 Nbxd5 13. exd5 Bd7 14. f4 e4 {
(1-0, 39) Naiditsch,A (2571)-Mamedyarov,S (2657) Antalya, 2004.}) 11. a4 (11.
f4 {seems logical to me} exf4 12. Rxf4 Bxc4 13. dxc4 $14 (13. Nxc4 d5 $11))
11... Rb8 12. Ncd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Bg5 {Getting rid of Black's bad bishop.} 14.
c3 Bxc1 15. Rxc1 Nc6 16. Ne3 a6 {Diagram [#]} 17. g3 (17. Bd5 Ne7 18. Bxe6 (18.
Qb3 $5) 18... fxe6 19. d4 cxd4 20. cxd4 Qb6 $1 $13) 17... b5 18. axb5 axb5 19.
Bd5 Ne7 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. f4 exf4 22. gxf4 {Diagram [#] Black has played very
logically, and now stands a little better.} Ng6 (22... d5 $15) 23. Qg4 Qf6 24.
Ng2 b4 25. f5 Ne5 26. Qg3 exf5 27. Rxf5 Qh6 28. Rcf1 Rxf5 29. exf5 bxc3 30.
bxc3 {Diagram [#]} Qf6 {This is the safer choice, but Black could have played
the enterprising ...Qd2!} (30... Qd2 {was possible to attack the d3 pawn. It
does look a bit dangerous to abandon the Black king though.} 31. f6 g6 32. Qh3
Qxc3 33. Qe6+ Nf7 34. Re1 Qd4+ 35. Kh1 h5 $15) 31. Ne3 Nf7 32. Nd5 Qg5 $11 33.
f6 Qxg3+ 34. hxg3 gxf6 35. Nxf6+ Kg7 36. Nh5+ Kg8 {Diagram [#]} 37. d4 cxd4 38.
cxd4 Ng5 39. Rf5 Ne6 40. d5 Nd4 41. Rf6 Rb1+ 42. Kg2 Nb5 43. Kh3 Rd1 44. Nf4
Kg7 45. Nh5+ Kg8 46. Re6 Rxd5 47. Kg4 Re5 48. Nf6+ Kg7 49. Rxe5 dxe5 50. Nxh7
Kxh7 51. Kf5 Kh6 1/2-1/2

[Event "FIDE World 50+"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.11.17"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Cummings, David"]
[Black "Furman, Boris"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2307"]
[BlackElo "2218"]
[Annotator "David Cummings"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Bb4 {Diagram [#] A slightly
unusual line, a kind of hybrid between the Nimzo-Indian and Queen's Gambit
Declined.} 6. e3 (6. Nf3 {would transpose into the Ragozin system, but with
Furman's move-order White has the flexibility to develop his g1-knight to e2})
6... h6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Bg3 Ne4 9. Nge2 h5 {Diagram [#] When preparing for this
game, I noticed that my opponent played this rare line, and had achieved a
decent position against GM Sturua (2014 World 50+ and 2015 European 50+
Champion). So before the game, I looked at this line briefly with the engine,
time well spent as it turns out.} 10. h4 Nxg3 11. Nxg3 gxh4 12. Nxh5 {Diagram 
[#]} Qg5 $6 {In the light of White's next move, I thought my opponent may have
played} (12... c6 {when I had prepared} 13. a3 (13. Qf3 Qg5 14. Be2 Be6 15.
O-O-O Nd7 16. g3 {draw agreed, was played in Moranda,W (2591)-Rosenthal,D 
(2401) Germany 2013 ½-½ (16)}) 13... Bd6 {and now White can try the tricky}
14. g3 $5 hxg3 15. Qf3 $5 gxf2+ 16. Kd2 {with good attacking chances for White.
Instead, my opponent continued to follow his game against Sturua, and so
allowed my next move.}) 13. Qa4+ $1 {A big improvement over} (13. Nf4 c6 14.
Bd3 Bd6 {when Black got an acceptable position in Sturua,Z (2525)-Furman,B 
(2225) Porto 2014; White only won after a long struggle (1-0, 63).}) 13... Nc6
{Black blocks awkwardly with the knight. Instead} (13... c6 14. Qxb4 Rxh5 {or}
(14... Qxh5 15. e4 {when Black's king is exposed}) 15. O-O-O {is also good for
White who has a big lead in development}) 14. Nf4 (14. Bb5 $4 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3
Rxh5 {was played in an old game Calvo Minguez,R-Ghitescu,T (2450) Havana 1966
½-½ (28), but Black could have won on the spot with} (15... Qxh5 16. Bxc6+
bxc6 17. Qxc6+ Ke7 {and if} 18. Qxa8 Ba6 {Black wins the queen because of the
threat of mate on e2})) {[#]Diagram} 14... Bg4 $2 {Preventing White from
castling but allowing a big tactic} (14... Bd7 {is more natural and what I was
expecting} 15. Qb5 $1 {This slightly unusual move is more or less all I could
remember from the computer analysis. The point is to attack both the b-pawn
and the d-pawn.} (15. O-O-O Bxc3 16. bxc3 O-O-O {would be roughly equal}) 15...
Nxd4 (15... O-O-O 16. Nfxd5 $1 {wins a pawn for White since Black can't
continue} Nxd4 $2 {because of the deadly discovered check} 17. Nb6+ axb6 18.
Qxg5 {winning the queen}) 16. Qxb7 {and now} Bc6 (16... Rd8 17. O-O-O {and
White will win the d-pawn at least}) 17. Bb5 $3 {is a nice blow. White is much
better after} O-O 18. Bxc6 Rab8 19. Qxc7 Rfc8 20. Qd7 {and White will emerge
from the complications with extra material}) 15. Ba6 $1 {I was happy to spot
this over the board.} Bd7 16. Bxb7 {[#]} Nxd4 {If Black tries} (16... Bxc3+ 17.
bxc3 Nd8 {White wins after} 18. Qb3 $1 (18. Qa6 $6 {can be met by} Rh6) 18...
Rb8 19. Qxd5 {escaping from the pin with a crucial tempo on Black's queen}) 17.
Qd1 $1 {This retreating move is the key to the position. In fact it is the
only winning move. If} (17. Qa6 $2 Bb5 $1 {and Black is back in the game.} 18.
Bc6+ Bxc6 19. O-O-O {is very unclear}) 17... Nb5 (17... Rb8 18. Qxd4 {hits the
h8-rook and so wins after} Bxc3+ 19. Qxc3 $18) 18. Bxa8 {Diagram [#] White has
a decisive material advantage} Nxc3 (18... d4 {looks a bit scary at first
sight but White can consolidate with either} 19. a3 {or the simple} (19. Kf1
dxc3 20. bxc3 {is also good enough}) 19... dxc3 20. axb4 cxb2 21. Rb1 Nc3 22.
Qd4 {winning easily}) 19. bxc3 Bxc3+ 20. Kf1 h3 {or} (20... Bxa1 21. Qxa1 O-O
22. Bxd5 Rb8 23. Kg1 Bf5 24. Kh2 {with a safe extra piece}) 21. Nxh3 Qe5 22.
Rb1 c6 {Diagram [#]} 23. Qa4 O-O (23... Rh6 {then simply} 24. Kg1 {unpins the
h3-knight}) 24. Bxc6 Bf5 25. Rd1 Be4 26. Bxd5 {ending all resistance} Bxd5 27.
Qg4+ (27. Qg4+ Qg7 28. Qxg7+ Kxg7 29. Rxd5 {and even I should win this one :)})
1-0

[Event "FIDE World 50+"]
[Site "Acqui Terme"]
[Date "2015.11.21"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Sorm, Daniel"]
[Black "McLaren, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2353"]
[BlackElo "2167"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2015.11.10"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bb4 6. e3 b5 7. Bd2 a5 8. axb5
Bxc3 9. Bxc3 cxb5 10. b3 Bb7 11. bxc4 b4 12. Bb2 Nf6 {[#]} 13. Bd3 (13. c5 O-O
14. Bb5 Bc6 15. Ba4 Bxa4 16. Qxa4 Qd5 17. O-O Nc6 $11 {with both sides having
strong blockades; Cheng,B (2509)-Southam,D (2231) Toronto 2014; see Chess
Canada 2014.05.}) 13... Nbd7 14. O-O O-O {[#] "the point in the game that
might be called the starting position for the main line Noteboom" - Scherbakov,
The Triangle System (Everyman, 2012).} 15. Nd2 Re8 (15... Qc7 16. Bc2 Rfe8 (
16... e5 {was So,W (2705)-Porper,E (2423) Calgary 2013, (½-½, 32); see Chess
Canada, July 2013.}) 17. Ba4) (15... e5 16. d5 $5 Re8 {is similar to the game,
but without as many open lines for White on the kingside.}) 16. Bc2 e5 (16...
Qc7 17. f4 Nb6 $13) 17. Ba4 exd4 ({Scherbakov recommends} 17... Qc7 {though
his continuation 18.dxe5 Rxe5 19.Bxe5 Nxe5 with no eval might be a cause for
concern.}) 18. exd4 Re7 19. d5 {[#]Both of White's Bs are better than Black's
Bb7, and Black's Ns will have a hard time finding safe and useful squares.
Before Black can even dream of advancing his queenside passers White uses his
extra kingside space and center control to start a winning attack.} Ne5 20. Qb3
Nfd7 21. Qg3 Ra6 22. Bc2 f6 23. Rfe1 Qe8 24. Ba4 Ng6 25. Nf3 (25. f4 $18 {
is strong too.}) 25... Qd8 26. Nd4 Nc5 27. Bb5 Ra8 28. Nf5 $18 Rxe1+ 29. Rxe1
Qf8 (29... Bc8 30. Re8+) 30. h4 a4 31. h5 a3 (31... Ne5 32. f4 (32. h6 {
also wins, since} g6 33. Rxe5 $1 {owns the diagonal.}) 32... Ned7 33. Ne7+ Kf7
(33... Kh8 34. Ng6+ $18) 34. Ng6 hxg6 35. hxg6+ Kg8 36. Qh3 $18 {and just look
how useless Black's three minors are.}) 32. Bd4 b3 33. hxg6 h6 34. Qc7 1-0

[Event "Battle of Alberta 2015"]
[Site "Red Deer"]
[Date "2015.09.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Banerjee, Bitan"]
[Black "Ng, Gary"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2312"]
[BlackElo "2301"]
[Annotator "Alex Yam"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2015.09.12"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 d5 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O
c5 9. Rd1 Nc6 10. Qa4 $5 {Diagram [#] Although contemporary opening analysis
overturned most of the classical advice, there is still some truth to "avoid
making too many queen moves in the opening".} Qc8 11. dxc5 dxc4 12. b4 b5 13.
Qa3 $15 {Diagram [#]} {Black should better exploit the fact that White can't
defend his b pawn with the a pawn with 13...Bb7! and then 14...a5, undermining
the b4-c5 pawn chain.} Nd5 14. Ne1 $2 ({White can't hold on to his b-pawn:} 14.
Rb1 Ndxb4 15. Rxb4 Bxc5 $19) (14. Ne4 {This move fits more with the spirit of
his position. A retreating move is rarely a good idea in a double-edged
position.}) 14... Ndxb4 $2 (14... Bf6 15. Ne4 $1 ({editor -} 15. Rb1 $142)
15... Bxa1 16. Nd6 Qd7 17. Qxa6 Ncxb4 18. Qa3 $13 {editor -} a5 $17) (14...
Ncxb4 $1 {Black was probably afraid of the move} 15. e4 {but Black wins with:}
(15. Bb2 Qxc5 $19) 15... Bxc5 16. exd5 $2 (16. Qf3 Nb6 $19) 16... Nd3 17. Qc3
Nxf2 $19) 15. Ne4 Nd5 {Now Black had to waste time moving his knight back and
forth, allowing counterplay.} 16. Bf4 Nxf4 {Diagram [#] I am not a big fan of
this move as it opens the long diagonal and the d-file but White is
threatening to play Bd6.} 17. gxf4 b4 18. Qa4 $2 {Much stronger is 18.Qe3 or
18.Qf3.} Rb8 $8 19. Nd6 Bxd6 20. cxd6 Bb5 21. Qc2 {Diagram [#]} c3 $2 {Now
Black's queenside lost some of its dynamic. Better try is either ...Rd8
dealing with the strong d6 pawn or activate his passer with ...b3.} 22. Nf3 Qa6
23. Ng5 g6 24. Qe4 {Diagram [#] With Black's pieces stuck on the queenside,
it's logical for White to play on the kingside.} Bxe2 $2 {Black should not
tolerate the knight on g5, generating attacking chances against e6, f7 and h7.
Ideally, White's knight belongs on the e4 square. This was the perfect
opportunity to drive it back out of play on h3 or block the bishop on f3.
Having said that, I totally understand why Gary didn't want to weaken his
kingside pawn structure with ...h6.} (24... h6 25. Nxe6 Rbe8 26. Bh3 Nd8 27. f5
fxe6 28. fxe6 Nxe6 $1 29. Bxe6+ Kh7 30. Qd5 Bxe2 31. Re1 Qb5 32. Qxb5 Bxb5 33.
Rad1 Rd8 $15 {editor - Black is almost winning here -- after ...Rfe8 and
bringing the K to f6 White's d-pawn can't survive.}) 25. Re1 {This position
illustrates some ideas behind playing position with material imbalance that is
worthy of a diagram: Diagram [#]} Bb5 $2 {Such a natural move to make. Gary
probably played this move without much thought.} ({To be fair to Gary, this is
a move that even most GMs can miss.} 25... Bc4 $3 {This move accomplishes so
many things at the same time:  1) safeguard the a2-g8 diagonal  2) completely
killing off White's attacking ambition  3) eliminating the dangerous d6 pawn 
4) threatening to play ...Bd5  5) going into the endgame with 3-1 queenside
majority while laughing at white's broken kingside pawns.  This is a bargain
in a position with two pawns for a piece!} 26. Qxc6 Qxc6 27. Bxc6 Rb6 28. Ba4
Rxd6 $17 {White would have a long defensive task ahead of him with little
counterplay and pawn break.}) 26. f5 $1 exf5 $8 27. Qh4 h5 28. Bd5 $13 Nd8 $2 {
28...Kg7 or 28...Rb7 was a better try to defend the second rank or keep the
queen out of the f6 square.} (28... Kg7 29. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 30. Bxf7 Kxf7 31. Re7+
Nxe7 32. Qxe7+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ Kh7 34. Qe7+ Kg8 35. Qe6+ $11) 29. Nxf7 {Diagram 
[#]Critical Position} Nxf7 $4 {The losing mistake. When defending against
attack on one's king, it is very important to take your time and carefully
think over each alternative because you never know when one bad move can
completely destroy your position, as in this case.} ({Black could seek
salvation with this move, although the variation is almost impossible to find
over the board.} 29... Rxf7 $8 30. Qf6 (30. Qe7 $4 Bc4 $19) 30... Be2 $8 {
preventing Re7.} 31. Qxg6+ Kf8 32. Kh1 $8 Qd3 33. Qh6+ Kg8 ({editor -} 33...
Ke8 $142 $11) 34. Qg6+ ({editor -} 34. Rg1+ $142 Bg4 35. Bb3 $36) 34... Kf8 $11
) 30. Qf6 Rb6 31. Re7 Be8 32. Rxe8 {White played lots of positionally suspect
moves during the game and yet won the game by constantly posing his opponent
problems to solve and set as many obstacles as possible for White to convert
his advantage. Overall, Bitan still played pretty well in this game.} 1-0

[Event "Battle of Alberta 2015"]
[Site "Red Deer"]
[Date "2015.09.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Matras-Clement, Agnieszka"]
[Black "Haessel, Dale"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2246"]
[BlackElo "2294"]
[Annotator "Alex Yam"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.09.12"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Qe2 {4. d3 is a much more common move.} Bc5
5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 {Diagram [#]} 7. h3 {My database indicates that
higher-rated players prefer either 7.Rd1 or 7.d3. I am not a strong advocate
for 7.h3 because 7... Bg4 is not a real threat and it seems an unncessary
waste of time and weakening of the kingside.} (7. Rd1 Re8 8. d3 a6 9. Bxc6 bxc6
10. Nbd2 a5 11. Nc4 h6 12. Nxa5 Rxa5 13. b4 Bxb4 14. cxb4 Ra4 15. a3 Bd7 16.
Nd2 Qa8 17. Bb2 Qa7 18. Rdc1 Rb8 19. Rc2 Bg4 20. Qe1 Nh5 21. g3 Bd7 22. Qe2 Nf6
$11 {(0-1, 52) Milos,G (2574)-Kasparov,G (2838) Prague, 2002.}) 7... Bb6 8. d3
({Considering that White never got anything going during the game, White
should start some queenside operation with this move.} 8. a4 a6 9. Bxc6 bxc6
10. a5 Ba7) 8... Ne7 9. Be3 Ng6 10. Nbd2 c6 11. Ba4 Nh5 {Diagram [#] White
developed as in the variations without Qe2. Mixing different opening systems
together is usually not a good idea. Black already stood better with better
pieces cordination.} 12. Rfe1 Nhf4 13. Qf1 f5 14. Bb3+ Kh8 {Diagram [#]} 15.
Kh2 $2 {For better or for worse, White should play 15.Bxb6. What ended up
happening in the game was that Black traded off one of his knights for White's
important dark-square bishop with a mini-combination. Kh2 just put the king
into the firing line of Black's pieces.} Bc7 16. Ng1 Nxg2 17. Qxg2 f4 18. Ndf3
fxe3 19. fxe3 Qe7 {Diagram [#]} 20. Ng5 $2 {A further waste of time. The idea
is to weaken the defense of the g6 knight. White should play Rf1 and either
plan to trade off rooks or add an attacker to the f7 square.} h6 21. N5f3 Rf6
22. Ne2 Bd7 23. Ng3 $2 {The a1 rook is collecting dust. White should play Rg1
and put the other rook to f1 rather than improving the e2 knight.} Raf8 24. Rf1
d5 {Diagram [#]} 25. exd5 $4 {I understand the need to undouble her e-pawn.
However, she paid dearly for it. As a general rule, defenders do not want to
open up lines. Now the b8-h2 diagonal and the e-file are open. Every black
piece is better than its counterpart. The end is near for White. Much better
is 25.Kh1, stepping out of the potential influence of the c7 bishop.} e4 26.
dxe4 Qxe4 27. Bc2 Qxe3 $2 ({Black had a immediate win with:} 27... Qxf3 $1 28.
Rxf3 Rxf3 29. Bxg6 (29. Rg1 Nh4 $19) 29... Rxg3 30. Qxg3 Rf2+ 31. Kh1 Bxg3 $19)
28. Rae1 Qc5 29. Nd4 Nf4 30. Qe4 g6 {Diagram [#]} 31. Ne6 {I have to give
credit to Clement's fighting spirit. However, it was hard to suggest a move
for her. Lost positions breed bad moves.} Bxe6 32. dxe6 Rxe6 33. Qd4+ Qxd4 34.
cxd4 Rxe1 35. Rxe1 Nh5 {The opening phase is the most important aspect of
chess in the modern era. It is very easy to drift into a passive, defensive
position and playing without a plan with a few early innocent-looking moves,
as illustrated by this game.} 0-1

[Event "Battle of Alberta 2015"]
[Site "Red Deer"]
[Date "2015.09.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Pechenkin, Vladimir"]
[Black "Yam, Alex"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A24"]
[WhiteElo "2379"]
[BlackElo "2386"]
[Annotator "Alex Yam"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2015.09.12"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. d3 e5 6. e4 d6 7. Nge2 Be6 {
Diagram [#] We have entered into Penchenkin's favourite Botvinnik system. The
resulting position is, in my opinion, relatively dry. It calls for slow
strategic maneouvering. This partially explains my mistake on move 13, when I
tried to stir things up with unnecessary complications.} 8. h3 {Delayed
castling system. The usual move is 0-0. I guessed White didn't like the look
of ...Qd7 followed by ...Bh3.} Qd7 9. Be3 Na6 10. Qd2 c6 11. f4 h5 {Diagram [#]
It's either this move or ...Ne8 and then ...f5. Since White still had the
option of queenside castling, I thought the ...f5 break with the potential
opening of the g-file would be very risky for Black.} 12. Rd1 Rfe8 {Better is
12...Nc7. The peudo-active moves like ...Nb4 or ...Nc5 can always be driven
away by white pawns.} 13. b3 b5 $2 {Diagram [#]} 14. cxb5 ({With the potential
exchange sacrifice in mind:} 14. cxb5 cxb5 15. f5 gxf5 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Bxa8
Rxa8 {With the good bishop and a pawn, pressure against d3 and h3, I thought I
would have good compensation and I didn't look further. Of course, computers
always love to prove how wrong my evaluation of the position. With:} 18. Bh6 $1
{White emphasizes how weak just my kingside is.}) 14... cxb5 15. d4 Qb7 $2 ({
Much better is} 15... b4 $1 {Analysis Diagram [#] I saw this obvious move
during the game and I saw three possible replies to it: 1) d5, 2) Qd3 and 3)
Na4.  For 1), I didn't want to trade my LSB for knight because my LSB
currently prevents White from castling. I didn't even bother analysing the
other two replies, so I saved more energy for calculation later.  My engine
like Black's chances after:} 16. Na4 (16. d5 $2 bxc3 17. Qxc3 Bxd5 18. exd5
exf4 19. Bxf4 g5 $1 20. Qc4 ({editor - the point of ...g5 is} 20. Bxg5 Ne4 21.
Qc1 Nxg3 $19) 20... gxf4 21. Qxa6 fxg3 $19) (16. Qd3 exd4 $1 17. Bxd4 bxc3 18.
Qxa6 c2 19. Rc1 Rac8 20. Qd3 d5 $1 {trying to get the f5 square for my bishop,}
21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rxc2 dxe4 23. Qxd7 Bxd7 24. Rxc8 Bxc8 $15) 16... Qb7 {
is much stronger than in the game because not only does Black threaten to take
on e4 but also to open up the the e-file through multiple pawn exchanges.} 17.
dxe5 Nxe4 18. g4 dxe5 19. Qd3 f5 20. fxe5 hxg4 21. hxg4 Bxe5 22. gxf5 Bxf5 23.
Qc4+ Qf7 $1 24. Qxa6 Bg3+ 25. Nxg3 Nxg3 26. Bxa8 Rxe3+ 27. Kf2 Bc8+ 28. Kxe3
Qe8+ 29. Kf3 Bxa6 30. Bd5+ Kg7 31. Kxg3 Qe5+ 32. Kg2 Qe2+ 33. Kg3 $11) 16. fxe5
dxe5 17. d5 $2 {Diagram [#] It looks visually appealing to create a protected
passed pawn with gain of tempo. However, as it turns out the e5 pawn is taking
away diagonal and squares from the e2 knight and g2 bishop. Much better is
dxe5!. At the cost of slight weakening of White's pawn structure, White
released all the energy from its minor pieces.} Bd7 18. O-O b4 19. Na4 {
White must accept the weakening of its queenside. The plan Nb1 with the
eventual idea of reaching for the c4 square is way too slow.} Bxa4 20. bxa4 {
Diagram [#]} Rac8 ({Here I had to debate which rook to the c-file. I thought
that once Black committed the e rook, pushing the d pawn would be a good plan
for White. I decided on moving the a-rook just so that the other rook can
block the d pawn in case of d6.} 20... Rec8 21. a3 Rab8 22. axb4 Nxb4 23. Rc1
a5 $14 {I saw something like this in the game and I rejected it because with
each exchange the protected d-passer becomes stronger and stronger.}) 21. Rb1
Qd7 22. Rfc1 Qxa4 23. Bxa7 Bf8 24. Be3 {Diagram [#]} Bd6 $2 ({Black could have
equalized right away with:} 24... Bc5 25. Bxc5 Nxc5 26. Rxb4 Ncxe4 $1) 25. Kh2
Nd7 26. Rb2 Rxc1 27. Nxc1 Rc8 28. Nb3 {Diagram [#]} Rc7 {Here I offered a draw
and my opponent immediately accepted. I assessed this position as slightly
worse for Black because I just didn't see how I could either improve the
position of my pieces further or break into White's position. At the same time,
I still had to deal with the d passer and white's bishop pair. Overall, I was
glad to draw in this game. As you can read from the above analysis, at no
point in the game was Black actually better; Black actually had to play a few
accurate moves just to keep the balance. Psychologically, this was not a good
feeling which partially explained my loss in the next round.} ({Stronger is} 
28... Rc3 29. Rc2 Nac5 30. Rxc3 bxc3 31. Qxc3 Nxe4 32. Qc8+ Nf8 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "World Under 16 Chess Olympiad 2015"]
[Site "Ulaan Bataar"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Vokhidov, Shamsiddin"]
[Black "Yu, Zong Yang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B75"]
[WhiteElo "2367"]
[BlackElo "2230"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2015.08.20"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "MGL"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]
[WhiteTeam "Uzbekistan"]
[BlackTeam "Canada"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "UZB"]
[BlackTeamCountry "CAN"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/653  This week I chose to annotate a game
played at the recently concluded U16 Olympiad. It features Zong Yang Yu,
Canada's first board, playing a higher-rated opponent with the black pieces.
He chooses a positional sub-variation of the Dragon and proceeds to outplay
his opponent quite convincly, constantly putting his pieces on better squares
than his opponent. Enjoy.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6
6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 a6 {Diagram [#] Black opts for a 'Dragadorf' setup which
allows for more flexibility than the concrete dragon variations.} 8. Qd2 (8.
Bc4 Nbd7 9. Qd2 b5 10. Bb3 Bb7 11. Bh6 (11. O-O-O Nc5 12. Bh6) 11... Bxh6 12.
Qxh6 Qb6 13. O-O-O) 8... Nbd7 {Note that in all standard Dragon variations,
the Knight goes to c6 instead of d7.} 9. Bh6 (9. O-O-O b5 10. g4 Bb7 11. a3 Nb6
12. Bh6 Bxh6 13. Qxh6 Qc7 14. h4) 9... Bxh6 10. Qxh6 b5 {Diagram [#]
Personally, I like developping the f1 bishop to b3 against this Dragadorf
setup because it protects the king against potential exchange sacrifices on c3
and always hits the f7 square.} 11. O-O-O Bb7 12. Kb1 Rc8 13. h4 Rxc3 14. bxc3
{Diagram [#] This exchange sacrifice is extremely typical in Dragons as it
offers lasting compensation due to the double isolated pawns and the weakened
White king.} Qc7 15. h5 Rg8 16. hxg6 hxg6 {Diagram [#]} 17. c4 (17. Qe3 {
keeping the pawn makes more sense} d5 18. e5 Qxe5 (18... Nxe5 19. Re1 Nc4 20.
Bxc4 dxc4 $14) 19. Qxe5 Nxe5 $14) 17... bxc4 18. c3 e5 19. Nc2 g5 $1 {Cutting
off the White queen} 20. Ka1 Qa5 {Diagram [#]} 21. Rxd6 $4 (21. Kb2 $8 Ke7 22.
Bxc4 Rc8 23. Na3 Rxc4 24. Nxc4 Qb5+ 25. Ka1 Qxc4 $15) 21... Qxc3+ 22. Kb1 Ke7
$1 {Now the Black rook will swing to b8. White's king is just too weak.} 23.
Rxd7+ Nxd7 24. Kc1 Rg6 $1 25. Qh5 Nc5 26. Be2 Nd3+ 27. Kd1 Nf4 0-1

[Event "Montreal op"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "3.3"]
[White "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier-Kenta"]
[Black "Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E16"]
[WhiteElo "2369"]
[BlackElo "2466"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2015.09.12"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/663  Olivier-Kenta has made big gains in his
chess recently, and he tied for second at this year's Montreal Open this past
weekend behind GM Sambuev. A key game on his way to 4/5 was his nice third
round win again GM Roussel-Roozmon. After an offbeat opening that resembled a
Queen's Indian, he sacrificed a pawn for positional compensation and managed
to take home the full point. Have a look!} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 b6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. g3
Bb4+ (4... Nf6 {leads us back to the main lines of the Queen's Indian.}) 5. Bd2
{Diagram [#]} Bxd2+ (5... Bxf3 6. exf3 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 (7. Nxd2 Ne7) 7... d5 {
The position is unbalanced, but Black should be doing well.}) 6. Qxd2 f5 $5 (
6... Nf6 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O) 7. Bg2 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 {Diagram [#]} Ne4 {
GM Roozmon probably wanted to avoid complications after:} (9... Qe7 10. d5 $1)
10. Qc2 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 Be4 (11... d6 12. Rfd1 Nd7 {heading for f6 to control e4,
but White has other plans} 13. Ng5 Qxg5 14. Bxb7 Rad8 $11) 12. Rfd1 Qf6 (12...
d6 13. Ne1 Bxg2 14. Nxg2 $11) 13. Rac1 d6 {Diagram [#]} 14. c5 $1 Qe7 ({
White ends up slightly better in the following} 14... dxc5 15. dxc5 Qxc3 16.
Rxc3 Na6 17. Ne5 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Rad8 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. cxb6 (20. Ra3 Nxc5 21.
Rxa7 $14) 20... axb6 21. Rc6) 15. cxd6 cxd6 16. d5 $5 (16. Nd2 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 {
because of White's dominance on the c-file, he has a clear advantage.}) 16...
exd5 ({It was probably better to decline the pawn sac:} 16... e5 17. Bh3 Bxf3
18. Qxf3 e4 19. Qc3 Na6) {Diagram[#]} 17. Nd4 {The next few moves were well
played by both sides.} (17. Bh3 $16 {maybe even better, to be keep the Bishops
on board with the idea of putting the Knight on d4 quickly. The Black Bishop
could even get into trouble as f2-f3 will become a threat.} f4 18. Nd4 fxg3 19.
hxg3 Na6 20. f3 Bg6 21. Be6+ Kh8 (21... Bf7 $2 22. Nf5 $18) 22. Bxd5 $16) 17...
Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nd7 19. Qc7 f4 20. Qb7 fxg3 21. Qxd5+ Qf7 22. Qxf7+ Rxf7 23. hxg3
{Diagram [#]} Nf6 (23... Re8 {and Black has a long road ahead of him to get a
draw, but it should be possible.}) 24. Rc6 $6 (24. f3 {keeping the Knight out
of g4 and e4. The hole on e3 won't be so serious} Nd5 25. Rd3) 24... d5 (24...
Ng4 $1 25. Nf3 Re8 26. Rc2 (26. e3 $4 Rxf3 $19) 26... Rfe7 {Black is fighting
on.}) 25. Rdc1 Rd7 26. f3 h5 27. a4 Kf7 28. f4 $2 (28. b4 {looks like a good
alternative; f4 was very committal.}) 28... Re8 29. Kf3 {Diagram [#]} g6 (29...
Re4 $142 $1 $11 30. e3 $140 Ng4 31. Nf5 Rb4 $132) 30. Rc7 $1 Rde7 $2 {The
reason this is a mistake is because White gets an extra tempo in getting his
Knight to e5.} (30... Ree7 $142 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. Rc8 $14 {and White has ideas
like Nc6-e5.}) 31. Rxe7+ Rxe7 32. Nc6 Re4 33. Ne5+ {Diagram [#]} Kg8 (33... Ke8
34. Rc8+ Ke7 35. Rc7+ Ke8 36. Rxa7 Ng4 37. Nxg4 hxg4+ 38. Kf2 $1 $16 (38. Kxg4
Rxe2 39. Rb7 Re6 {Black should be able to draw with best play in this rook
endgame.}) 38... Rb4 39. Rg7 Rxb2 40. Rxg6 d4 41. Ke1 $1 $18) 34. Rc8+ Kg7 35.
Rc7+ Kg8 36. Nxg6 (36. Rxa7 Rb4 37. Rb7 $16) 36... Rxa4 37. f5 Rb4 (37... a5
38. Rc6 Ng4 39. Rxb6 $16) 38. Rxa7 {Diagram [#]} Rxb2 $2 {There weren't many
good choices, but this looks like it loses by force.} 39. Kf4 $1 Rxe2 (39...
Ne4 40. Ne7+ Kf8 41. e3 $18) 40. Kg5 $18 Ng4 (40... Ne4+ 41. Kh6 {and Rg7#.})
41. f6 Nxf6 42. Kxf6 Rf2+ 43. Kg5 Rf7 (43... Re2 44. Kh6 {mate next.}) 44. Rxf7
Kxf7 45. Kxh5 {By getting in front of one pawn the White N can stop them both.}
1-0

[Event "Montreal op"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2015.09.13"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Milicevic, Goran"]
[Black "Robichaud, Louis"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2390"]
[BlackElo "2117"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2015.09.12"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/689  This year's Montreal Open drew out a
number of inactive players, including FM Goran Milicevic. I chose to annotate
his last round game against a strong expert of the Montreal chess scene, Louis
Robichaud. The game is interesting in that it shows FM Milicevic going for the
quick kill with an early Kingside pawn storm but having his attack parried and
then almost getting into trouble late in the game. There is a lot to learn -
especially from the psychological side (due to the rating difference between
players) - from the following game.    In a final round game where the White
player has a significant rating advantage, you know he's playing for the win.
It's interesting to see how Louis neutralizes White's advantage and then has
his own chances to win.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6.
Be2 {Diagram [#]} b6 (6... c5 {is Black's most frequent continuation; e.g.} 7.
Ne5 (7. dxc5 Qa5 8. Nd2 Qxc5 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. a4 {(0-1, 68) Krishna,C (2367)
-Jones,G (2615) London, 2015.}) 7... Nc6 8. O-O {(0-1, 36) Wang,R (2365)-So,W 
(2744) Edmonton, 2014.}) 7. h4 $5 {The standard plan. It looks very aggressive
at first sight, however.} (7. Ne5 Bb7 8. h4 {is another move order.}) 7... h6 {
typically not necessary} 8. Ne5 Bb7 {Diagram [#]} 9. f3 {I'm not so sure about
this move. I don't think that White needs to prevent the Black Knight from
jumping to e4.} ({I might have prefered:} 9. g4 Nfd7) ({editor - the computer
rates White as having a near-winning attack after:} 9. h5 $1 g5 $1 10. Bxg5 $1
hxg5 11. h6 Bh8 12. h7+ Kg7 13. f4 $1 $146 (13. Bd3 $16 {(1-0, 26) Hebden,M 
(2510)-Birnboim,N (2395) Rishon Le Ziyyon, 1992.})) 9... Nbd7 10. Qd2 Nxe5 11.
Bxe5 Nd7 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. h5 (13. O-O-O $5 Nf6 14. Kb1 $14) 13... g5 {Diagram
[#]} 14. f4 $5 {White is playing aggressively, as he should, with the Black
King somewhat open.} e6 (14... gxf4 15. exf4 Nf6 16. O-O-O Rg8 17. g4 Ne4 18.
Nxe4 dxe4 19. Rhg1 $14) 15. O-O-O Nf6 $6 {Heading for e4, but prevents ...Qxg5.
Instead, ...c5 or ...Rc8 starting queenside counterplay would be safer.} 16.
Bd3 $6 {This move does not eliminate ...Ne4. There were several better options.
} (16. fxg5 $1 hxg5 17. h6+ {leads to a sizeable advantage for the White
player.} Kh8 18. Kb1 $16 (18. Qe1 $5)) (16. Rdf1 $16 {not as good as fxg5, but
still active and good.}) 16... Ne4 {Black's gamble pays off. He gets his
Knight to e4 without shattering his Kingside.} 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Rhf1 f6 {
Diagram [#]} 19. f5 $2 {Likely the start of a bad plan.} (19. fxg5 hxg5 (19...
fxg5 $2 20. d5 $1 {would be major trouble for the Black player.})) (19. g4 {
giving the Queen options on the second rank.}) 19... Qe7 20. fxe6 Qxe6 {
Diagram [#]} 21. d5 {Black gets to place his Queen on its ideal square, and
any miniscule advantage White held fizzles out over the next few moves.} (21.
Kb1 {may well be the best move. He needs to slow-play this position to hope
for something down the line.}) 21... Qe5 22. g4 $1 {Prevents Black from
gaining space and supporting his e4 pawn with ...f5.} Rad8 23. Qg2 {Diagram [#]
} Bc8 (23... Bxd5 $4 24. Rf5 $18) (23... c6 $1 $11 24. dxc6 Bxc6 25. Rxd8 Rxd8
26. a3) 24. Rd4 f5 25. Rfd1 (25. gxf5 Bxf5 26. Rc4 Rf6 $14 {and Black should
be holding this position.}) 25... fxg4 26. Rxe4 Qf6 27. Qg3 Rf7 28. Rc4 Qd6 $11
29. Qxd6 cxd6 30. Ne4 Bf5 31. Ng3 Bc8 32. Rg1 {Diagram [#] White reveals he is
playing for the win, as opposed to the move repetition which could have
occurred had he gone back to e4 with his Knight.} Bb7 33. e4 Bc8 34. a4 Kf8 35.
b4 Bd7 {Diagram [#]} 36. b5 (36. Rc7 {leads to a draw if Black finds the
following line:} Rc8 (36... Bxa4 37. Rxf7+ Kxf7 38. Nf5 $11) 37. Rxa7 Rf2 38.
Rxd7 Rcxc2+ 39. Kd1 Rfd2+ 40. Ke1 Rh2 41. Kd1 Rhd2+ $11) 36... Rc8 37. Rxc8+ (
37. Rc6 $1 {a risky plan, but probably the best way to play for the win;} Bxc6
38. bxc6 Rf6 39. Nf5 Re8 40. Rxg4 Re5 $11 {Black could sack his rook for the
Knight, but after 41.c4 the position is almost a fortress (for both sides) as
it is.}) 37... Bxc8 {Black is now in the driver's seat.} 38. Kd2 Ke7 39. Ke3
Rf3+ 40. Kd4 Ra3 41. c4 {Diagram [#]} Rxa4 (41... Kf6 42. Rf1+ Kg7 43. Rg1 Kf6
44. Rf1+ $11) 42. e5 dxe5+ 43. Kxe5 Rxc4 44. Ra1 {A neat trick.} Rf4 (44... Rc7
$4 45. d6+ $18) 45. Rxa7+ Bd7 46. d6+ Kd8 47. Ra8+ Bc8 48. Ra7 Rf3 {Diagram [#]
} 49. Rh7 $2 ({editor -} 49. Rg7 $3 {is a very surprising way to bring the R
to stop Black's g-pawn:} Bd7 (49... Ke8 50. Rg8+ Kd7 51. Rg7+ $11) 50. Rg8+ $8
Be8 51. Nf5 $8 g3 $140 52. Nxh6 $8 g2 53. Rxg5 Rf2 $11) 49... Rxg3 $2 ({
This was Black's chance to play for the win.} 49... Bd7 $1 {Here's a sample
line:} 50. Ne4 g3 51. Nxg3 Rxg3 52. Rxh6 Bxb5 53. Rh8+ Be8 54. h6 g4 55. Kf4
Rg1 56. Rh7 (56. h7 Rh1 57. Kxg4 b5 $19) 56... g3 57. Rb7 g2 58. Rb8+ Kd7 59.
Kf3 Bg6 60. Kf2 Rb1 61. Kxg2 Kxd6 $19) 50. Rh8+ Kd7 51. Rh7+ Ke8 52. Rh8+ Kf7 (
52... Kd7 53. Rh7+ $8 $11) 53. Rxc8 Rd3 54. Rc7+ Ke8 55. Ke6 Re3+ 56. Kf5 g3
57. Rc2 Kd7 {Diagram [#]} 58. Kg4 ({editor - ?? After this I think Black is
winning.} 58. Rd2 $142 $15) 58... Kxd6 (58... Rb3 $5) 59. Rc6+ {Diagram [#]
Critical Position} Kd5 ({editor - ??} 59... Ke5 $1 $19 60. Kh3 (60. Rxb6 g2 $19
) (60. Rc2 Rb3 $19) 60... g4+ $8 61. Kg2 Kf4 $8 62. Rxh6 (62. Rc2 Kg5 $19)
62... Re2+ 63. Kg1 Kg5 $8 64. Rxb6 Kh4 $1 $19 {and the white umbrella shields
the Black K.} (64... Kxh5 $4 65. Rb8 $11)) 60. Kh3 Re6 61. Rc8 Re3 62. Rc6 Re6
63. Rc8 Re3 64. Rc6 Re6 {There are a couple of lessons to take from this game.
The first is that one should not panic when under a major attack on his or her
king. I would have likely been quite afraid of the position after the first 10
moves, but Mr. Robichaud kept his cool and didn't succumb to the opening
pressure. The second lesson is that the higher-rated player must be careful
about playing for the win at all cost. Here, FM Milicevic could have been in
big trouble had Mr. Robichaud found 49...Bd7 (editor - or 59...Ke5).} (64...
g2+ 65. Kxg2 Re6 66. Rc2 $11) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Aurora"]
[Site "Aurora"]
[Date "2015.10.03"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Black "Yu, Wenlu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B41"]
[WhiteElo "2276"]
[BlackElo "2051"]
[Annotator "Felix Dumont"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2015.10.03"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/686  This week's game is incredibly tactical
and fun to watch. No one could have predicted the outcome of the game!} 1. e4
c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bd3 {Diagram [#]We
have reached a common position from the e6 Sicilian where White has a Maroczy
bind setup.} Bxc3+ $5 {This move does weaken White's pawn structure, but also
releases some pressure and opens the b-file, so it's not clear it's Black's
best option.} (7... Nc6 {Is the most common move} 8. Nxc6 dxc6) 8. bxc3 Qa5 {
While it may seem like Black's queen is better on a5 than on d8, it no longer
protects the d6 pawn and Black has one less tempo. So, playing ...d6 right
away was probably better.} (8... d6 {Is a much more solid option for Black.})
9. Qb3 d6 10. Ba3 Ke7 $2 {There is no way it can be good for Black to play ...
Ke7 in this position, especially when White has the e5 break.} (10... e5 $142)
11. Bb4 Qh5 {Diagram [#]} 12. Qa3 {Missing a much better move} (12. f4 $1 {
It's risky, but it works!} e5 (12... Rd8 13. e5 $18) 13. fxe5 Qxe5 14. O-O $1
$18) 12... Rd8 13. c5 (13. Rd1 {would be a simple way for White to put more
pressure on d6.}) 13... a5 $2 ({As ugly as it may seem} 13... Kf8 {may be
Black's best option,} 14. cxd6 Nbd7 $16) 14. cxd6+ Ke8 {Diagram [#]} 15. Nb5 $1
{editor - This gets an exchange, but White had a simpler win:} (15. d7+ $1
Nbxd7 (15... Bxd7 16. Bf8 Ng8 17. Bxg7 $18) 16. Be7 $18 {in return for his
d6-pawn, White picks up the exchange on d8 instead of a8, which both
eliminates the active R and and keeps the white Q more centralized, all while
still keeping the black K in the center .}) 15... axb4 16. Qxa8 Nc6 17. O-O {
Well, White is still clearly winning. So why is this the game of the week?
Because Black has not given up!} Ne5 $1 {Diagram [#] An exclamation mark for
the perseverance, but White is still clearly winning.} 18. Nc7+ (18. Rfd1 {
is a simple and effective way to protect the Bishop while maintaining the
pressure. editor - White might have been worried about Black counterplay after:
} Nxd3 19. Rxd3 Qe2 20. Rad1 Nxe4 {but it was nothing to worry about so long
as White had already seen the spectacular win:} 21. Qxc8 $3 {since} Rxc8 22.
d7+ Kd8 23. dxc8=Q+ Kxc8 24. Rd8#) 18... Kf8 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 19.
Bb5 $2 {White doesn't seem to realize that Black could soon have a strong
attack. White should have kept some pieces to protect his king.} ({editor -} 
19. Rfd1 $142 Neg4 20. h3 Qc5 $1 21. hxg4 Nxg4 22. Rd2 bxc3 23. Rc2 Qxd6 $16 {
and Black still has decent swindling chances.}) ({editor -} 19. d7 $142 {
gives up the pawn for a tempo to regroup,} Nexd7 20. Rad1 $16) 19... Nfg4 $1
$11 (19... Nf3+ 20. gxf3 Ng4 $11) 20. h3 Nf3+ $8 21. Kh1 {Diagram [#]} (21.
gxf3 Qxh3 22. fxg4 Qxg4+ {and Black has a perpetual.}) 21... Ng5 $2 {Missing
an opportunity to get a draw!} (21... Qe5 $8 22. g3 Ne3 $1 (22... Nxf2+ $2 23.
Kg2 $16) 23. fxe3 (23. Rfc1 $2 Qh5 $19) 23... Qxg3 24. Rxf3 Qxf3+ $11 {with
another perpetual.}) 22. f3 $4 {White went from a winning position to an equal
position, and now he is losing!} ({editor -} 22. Qa5 $8 $18 Qh4 {defending the
Rd8.} (22... Nxh3 $2 23. Nxe6+ $8 {and Black's house collapses first.}) (22...
Rxd6 23. Qxb4 $18) 23. Kg1 Ne5 (23... Nxh3+ 24. gxh3 Kg8 {getting out of the
check from Nxe6.} (24... Qxh3 25. Nxe6+ $8 $18 {again.}) 25. Kg2 $18 {and
White is up a R.}) 24. d7 $1 Nef3+ 25. Kh1 $8 Nxh3 26. g3 $1 Nxf2+ 27. Kg2 {
it looks crazy, but White is winning, since (again) if} Qxe4 28. Nxe6+ $1 $18)
22... Nxh3 $1 23. fxg4 Nf2+ 24. Kg1 Nxg4 25. Rfd1 Qh2+ {Diagram [#] There is
nowhere to hide.} 26. Kf1 Qh1+ 27. Ke2 Qxg2+ 28. Kd3 Ne5+ 29. Ke3 Qf3+ 30. Kd2
Rxd6+ 31. Nd5 Qxc3+ 32. Ke2 exd5 33. Rac1 Qf3+ 34. Kd2 Qg2+ 35. Be2 Nc4+ 36.
Ke1 Qg1+ 37. Bf1 Qg3+ 38. Ke2 Qe3# {A nice finish to this incredible game.} 0-1

[Event "100th BC Closed"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.11"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Cao, Jason"]
[Black "Pechisker, Alfred"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "2402"]
[BlackElo "2258"]
[Annotator "Felix Dumont"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2015.10.09"]
[EventRounds "1"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/694  This game is extremely tactical and
instructive. Both players played a fair number of good moves, but also quite a
lot of mistakes (but that is to be expected in such positions!). I am
convinced everybody will love going through it as much as I did. The game is
from the 100th BC Championship, which FM Jason Cao won recently.} 1. e4 c5 2.
Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Diagram [#] Black opts for the
Najdorf variation of the Sicilian Defense, which should already hint us that
the game is going to be interesting!} 6. Be3 {White had three other popular
options:} (6. Bg5) (6. Bc4) (6. Be2) 6... Nc6 $5 {It is not the first time
this move has been played, but it is often considered somewhat inferior to the
main lines where the knight instead goes in d7. However, Black may have wanted
to surprise his opponent.} 7. f3 Qc7 8. Qd2 e6 9. g4 {Diagram [#] So far the
position is quite typical for a Sicilian, although one may still argue that
the knight could be better in d7.} h6 $6 {This move is quite weakening.
Black's plan at this point is probably to keep the king in the center, or even
to castle queenside, but h6 seems hardly justified.} (9... Be7 10. O-O-O b5 11.
g5 Nd7 12. h4 {Would be the most typical continuation.}) 10. O-O-O Ne5 11. h4 {
White has the advantage of having a very easy plan, whereas Black will have to
play very carefully.} Nfd7 {It's really not clear what is Black's objective
now...} ({It's time for Black to start his own attack:} 11... b5) 12. Kb1 b5 {
Diagram [#]} 13. Be2 {While this move may not seem bad at first, it loses some
momentum for White} (13. g5 hxg5 14. Bxg5 Nc4 15. Bxc4 bxc4 16. h5 {seems like
a very interesting way for White to continue the game.}) 13... Nb6 14. f4 $2 {
If White's plan was to chase the e5 knight, why do it now that the c4 square
is supported by another knight?} Nec4 15. Bxc4 Nxc4 16. Qd3 {Diagram [#]} b4
17. Nce2 {Black is suddenly doing much better than a few moves ago. Obviously,
the position is extremely sharp and no one could predict the outcome of the
game, but any improvement is good to take!} Nxe3 18. Qxe3 {Diagram [#]} Bb7 $2
{Missing a nice move} (18... e5 $1 $15 {A thematic move in Sicilians: it opens
another line for the Bs while taking away the only good central squares for
White's Ns. It looks so anti-positional to concede d5 that many players
wouldn't consider it, but the white Ns are poorly-placed to exploit d5.} 19.
Nf5 g6 20. Nfg3 Bxg4 $15) 19. Ng3 Be7 (19... Rc8 {would have been best,
indirectly protecting e6 by attacking c2.}) {[#]} 20. f5 $5 {This only works
if White has seen the complicated lines that follow} (20. Qb3 $1 {And White is
starting to have a lot of pressure on the center.}) 20... e5 21. Nb3 $2 {
The whole point of f5 was that White could gain a nice advantage with a
positional pawn sac:} (21. f6 $1 exd4 $1 (21... Bxf6 22. Ndf5 $14 Rd8 $140 $2
23. Nh5 $1 $18) 22. fxg7 Rg8 23. Qxh6 Rc8 $1 $13) 21... f6 {Stopping the f5-f6
pawn sac.} (21... a5 $1 {aeems very strong for Black.}) 22. Nd2 ({editor -} 22.
Nh5 $5) 22... d5 23. exd5 Bxd5 24. Nde4 O-O-O 25. Rd2 {Diagram [#]} Kb7 (25...
Qa5 $1 26. b3 Bc5 27. Qf3 {and Black may be better, although both players have
to be extremely careful.}) 26. Rhd1 Bc4 27. g5 $2 (27. Nc5+ $142 Bxc5 28. Qe4+
Ka7 29. Qxc4 {and the position is pretty much equal... which might not have
suited the much higher-rated player with White.}) 27... hxg5 28. hxg5 {Diagram
[#]} fxg5 (28... Rxd2 29. Nxd2 Rd8 {And again Black has quite a lot of
pressure.}) 29. Nxg5 Rxd2 30. Rxd2 Bxg5 31. Qxg5 e4 (31... Bb5 {And the
position is unbalanced, both roughly equal.}) 32. b3 Bb5 33. Qe3 Bc6 34. Rd4 {
Diagram [#]} a5 $2 {It only took a few moves for Black to get into serious
trouble. This is a common problem when you have a good position for the moment,
but long-term challenges like an exposed king.} ({editor - The computer finds} 
34... Qb6 $1 {when a piece exchange should reduce the problems with Black's
exposed K.} 35. Nxe4 Rh4 36. Qd3 (36. Nd6+ $140 Kb8 $1) 36... Ka7 $16) 35. Nxe4
$18 Kb8 ({editor - Black might have thought this was impossible because of the
pin on the e-file, but} 35... Re8 36. Nc5+ Ka7 37. Ne6 $18 {shows that the
"pin" is no problem.}) 36. Nc5 Bb5 37. Rd7 Qc6 (37... Bxd7 $4 38. Na6+ $18) 38.
Qe5+ Ka8 {Diagram [#]} 39. Qxg7 (39. Rd6 $142 $1 Qh1+ 40. Kb2 Qf3 41. Ne4 {
and it's time to resign.}) 39... Qh1+ 40. Kb2 Bxd7 41. Qxd7 {Although White
didn't manage to convert the advantage as easily at he should have, Black
should still be lost.} Qf3 42. Na4 Qb7 43. Qd4 Re8 44. Nb6+ Kb8 {Diagram [#]}
45. Nc4 $2 (45. f6 $8 Qc7 46. Nd7+ $1 Kc8 47. f7 $18) 45... Qc7 $2 (45... Qa7
$1 46. Qh4 Qc5 {and it's not so easy for White to find a winning continuation.}
) 46. a3 Rd8 47. Qf6 Ka7 $2 (47... bxa3+ 48. Nxa3 Qd6 $11) 48. axb4 axb4 49.
Qe6 Qc5 50. f6 {Diagram [#]} Rd1 $4 (50... Kb8 $1 {and there's nothing White
can do to win the game anymore.}) ({editor -} 50... Qd4+ 51. Ka2 Ra8 $5 {
should hold too.}) 51. Qe7+ $8 $18 Qxe7 52. fxe7 Re1 53. Nd6 1-0

[Event "100th BC Closed"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.12"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Moore, Harry"]
[Black "Cao, Jason"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B26"]
[WhiteElo "2204"]
[BlackElo "2402"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "2015.10.12"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 {A very interesting game. White plays in old-fashioned
Canadian style -- a KID vs the Sicilian -- but plays the middle-game like a
young man: finding a strong pawn sac for central pressure and what could have
been a big upset.} Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 {Diagram [#]} e6 (
6... e5 {also scores decently, but ...e6 is more ambitious, not conceding any
central square to White.}) (6... Rb8 {preserves both e-pawn options.}) 7. Qd2
Rb8 8. Nge2 Nd4 9. O-O b5 10. Nc1 {Looks odd, but White wants to prevent piece
exchanges with the idea that an eventual c2-c3 and d3-d4 will leave Black
congested.} Ne7 11. Nd1 b4 {Diagram [#]} 12. c3 ({Spassky played these Closed
Sicilian lines regularly; here is one of his later games:} 12. a3 a5 13. axb4
axb4 14. c3 bxc3 15. bxc3 Ndc6 16. Bh6 O-O 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Ne3 d5 19. Qc2 {
Black's kingside looks a bit porus, but after...} d4 $1 20. Nc4 e5 21. Nb3 dxc3
22. Qxc3 Nd4 23. Nxd4 cxd4 24. Qa3 f6 {White wasn't able to exploit it in
Spassky,B (2615)-Portisch,L (2655) Mexico candidates, 1980 (½-½, 50).}) 12...
bxc3 13. bxc3 Ndc6 14. Bh6 O-O 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Ne3 {Diagram [#] "White's
central control and kingside chances grant him a small advantage in this
position which has been reached several times." - Richard Palliser, Starting
Out: The Closed Sicilian (Everyman, 2006)} Ba6 ({The following game clearly
shows White's ideal attack: f2-f4-f5, open a file on the kingside and mate.} 
16... e5 17. Nb3 Ba6 18. f4 f6 19. Rf2 Qb6 20. Raf1 Na5 21. Nxa5 Qxa5 22. Bh3
Qb5 23. c4 Qb7 24. Be6 exf4 25. gxf4 Qb4 26. Qc1 Bc8 27. f5 $1 gxf5 (27... g5
28. Ng4 h5 29. Nxf6 Kxf6 30. Qa1+ $18) 28. Rg2+ Kh8 29. Nd5 Qb7 30. Qh6 Ng8 31.
Bxg8 Rxg8 32. Qxf6+ {1-0 Biyiasas,P-Mednis,E Norristown, 1973.}) (16... Qb6 17.
Nb3 a5 18. Qc2 Ba6 19. Rab1 Ne5 20. c4 N5c6 21. f4 f6 (21... a4 $13) 22. Qc3
Qb4 23. Qa1 $1 $14 {Narciso Dublan,M (2505)-Aroshidze,L (2565) Figueres, 2013 
(1-0, 45).}) 17. Ne2 (17. f4 $1 f5 {Analysis Diagram [#]} (17... Qb6 18. Rf2
$14 {blocking the diagonal and defending b2.}) 18. Rf2 (18. exf5 exf5 (18...
gxf5 $14) 19. Nb3 Qd7 20. Rfe1 Rbe8 21. Re2 (21. d4 $1 $16 c4 $140 22. d5 $1)
21... Ng8 22. Rae1 Nf6 23. c4 h6 24. Nd5 Rxe2 25. Rxe2 Nxd5 26. Bxd5 Re8 27.
Kf2 Rxe2+ 28. Qxe2 Nb4 $11 {Stukopin,A (2380)-Naroditsky,D (2335) Kirishi,
2009 (1-0, 62).}) 18... Qd7 19. Nb3 Bb7 20. g4 a5 $1 21. gxf5 exf5 22. Nd5 Ba8
23. c4 a4 24. Qc3+ Kg8 25. Nd2 Nd4 26. Re1 Rf7 27. Nf1 Nxd5 28. cxd5 Rbf8 29.
e5 dxe5 30. Rxe5 {½-½ Garcia Castro,P (2390)-Peralta,F (2574) Barbera del
Valles, 2009.}) 17... Ne5 18. f4 $1 $146 {An enterprising pawn sac. In all
five other games, White played c3-c4, and Black was OK with a piece on d4.}
Nxd3 19. c4 Nb4 20. f5 $36 {Diagram [#]} Ng8 21. fxe6 (21. Rad1 $5 Qe7 22. a3
$1 Nc6 23. Qxd6 $14 Nd4 $140 $2 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. f6+ $18) 21... fxe6 22. Rxf8
Qxf8 23. e5 $5 d5 (23... dxe5 $2 24. a3 {wins the N for a couple of pawns.})
24. Nf4 {Diagram [#]} Re8 $6 (24... Qe7 $142 {Black gets more counterplay with
the threat of ....Qxe5.} 25. a3 $1 (25. cxd5 exd5 26. a3 (26. Nexd5 Qxe5 $11)
26... Qxe5 $13 (26... d4 27. axb4 dxe3 28. Qxe3 Bc4 29. bxc5 $18) 27. Re1 Nc6
$13) 25... Nc6 26. cxd5 exd5 27. e6 $14 (27. Ng4 $5)) 25. cxd5 exd5 26. Nexd5
Rxe5 $2 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 27. Qc3 $2 $16 (27. Qb2 $142 $18 {
doesn't lose a tempo after Nxb4 cxb4, and this gives White time to eliminate a
defender of the Re5.} Qd6 (27... Nc6 $2 28. Ne6+ $18) 28. Nxb4 $8 cxb4 29. Re1
Kf6 30. Nd5+ $1 Ke6 (30... Kf5 $2 31. Bh3+) 31. Qxe5+ $1 Qxe5 32. Nc7+ $8 $18)
27... Qd6 28. Re1 (28. Nxb4 $4 cxb4 29. Qb2 Nf6 $17) 28... Nc6 29. Nc7 Nd4 30.
Rxe5 Qxe5 31. Nxa6 g5 32. Nxc5 {Diagram [#]} gxf4 (32... Nf3+ $5 {is the
computer's choice, but this leads to a queenless endgame which would be harder
for Black to hold.} 33. Qxf3 Qxc5+ 34. Qf2 Qxf2+ 35. Kxf2 gxf4 36. gxf4 $16)
33. Ne6+ $1 Qxe6 34. Qxd4+ Qf6 35. Qxa7+ Kh8 36. gxf4 Qxf4 {Diagram [#]} 37.
Qf2 (37. h3 $5 Qc1+ 38. Kh2 Qf4+ 39. Kh1 Qc1+ 40. Qg1 Qc3 {stopping checks on
the long diagonal} 41. Qf2 Qa1+ 42. Kh2 Qe5+ 43. Qg3 Qa5 44. a4 $16 {and White
starts to make progress.}) 37... Qc1+ 38. Bf1 Qg5+ 39. Qg2 Qe3+ 40. Kh1 Nf6 41.
Qa8+ Kg7 42. Qb7+ Kh8 43. Qb8+ Ne8 44. Qb2+ Ng7 45. Qb8+ Ne8 46. Qb2+ Ng7 47.
h3 h5 48. Qe2 Qf4 49. Qg2 Nf5 $11 50. Qa8+ Kg7 51. Qb7+ Kf6 52. Qc6+ Ke7 53.
Qc5+ Kf6 54. Qf8+ Kg5 55. Qd8+ Kg6 1/2-1/2

[Event "2015 Maritime Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.10.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Oussedik, Elias"]
[Black "Saunders, Stephen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B96"]
[WhiteElo "2367"]
[BlackElo "2135"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/718  One Maritime chess player making large
strides in his chess is my good friend, Elias Oussedik. Here is a game he won
in the penultimate round at the recently concluded Maritime Open, in which he
tied for first with another rising player, Adam Dorrance. All Open Sicilian
players will definitely want to have a look at this one!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 {One of the critical tests of the Najdorf.
} e6 7. f4 {Diagram [#] The correct follow-up. There are some other moves (Qd2
or Qf3) played less successfully.} Nc6 8. Nxc6 (8. Qd2 Qb6 9. O-O-O Qxd4 {
allows Black to trade a lot of pieces - certainly not something Mr. Oussedik
wanted to do} 10. Qxd4 Nxd4 11. Rxd4 Be7) 8... bxc6 9. Qf3 (9. e5 {leads to
forced play. When playing weaker opponents, it is often good to avoid those
types of moves. The main line continues:} h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. fxg5 Nd5 12. Ne4
Qb6 $13 {It's hard to tell what's going on here, but I can say that this is
the type of position to enter only with strong preparation.}) 9... Qb6 (9...
Be7 10. O-O-O {scores very well for White - and for good reason. White's
pieces are on excellent squares} Qc7 11. e5 dxe5 12. fxe5 Nd5 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14.
Ne4 {Analysis Diagram [#] Black has some lasting weaknesses (a6, c6) as well
as more immediate problems on d6 and a weak kingside after ...0-0 c4.} O-O 15.
c4 $16 {editor - here's a Spraggett game where his much lower-rated opponent
tried a very worthwhile piece sac which should have paid off when Spraggett
mysteriously weakend his king with a2-a3.} Rb8 $5 (15... Nc7 16. Nf6+ $1 Kh8
17. Bd3 $18) 16. cxd5 exd5 17. Nd2 a5 18. a3 $2 (18. Qc3 $1 $16) 18... g6 (
18... Be6 $142 $44 {and Black doubles Rs on the b-file. If you take just a
quick look at the position it might seem absurd that this could be enough comp
for Black... but just try to defend it as White.}) 19. Qc3 d4 $4 {Either Black
was feeling much too generous, or he had already written off this game as lost.
} 20. Qxd4 Rd8 21. Qc3 Bf5 22. Bc4 $18 {(1-0, 26) Spraggett,K (2581)-Borondo
Garcia,R (2054) Seville, 2006.}) {[#]} 10. Bc4 $5 {A good practical choice
which dares Black to take on b2.} (10. O-O-O Rb8 11. b3 d5 {is theory, but
White's dark squares around his King start to look a bit shaky.} ({There was a
nice White win in the following game, however:} 11... Nd7 12. Kb1 h6 13. Bh4 g5
14. Bg3 Qa5 15. Be1 Qa3 16. g3 a5 17. Bd2 Bg7 18. Bc1 Qc5 19. Bb2 O-O $2 20. h4
$40 Nf6 21. hxg5 hxg5 22. e5 $1 g4 23. exf6 $3 {1-0 Solodovnichenko,Y (2558)
-Lagarde,M (2414) Paris, 2010.})) 10... Be7 (10... Qxb2 {a sample line runs}
11. O-O Qb6+ 12. Kh1 Nd7 $1 $11 {White has full compensation for the pawn, and
he clearly has the initiative. Perhaps} 13. Qh3 Nc5 14. f5 $1) ({I feel like} 
10... d5 11. Bb3 {plays into White's hands by opening lines.}) 11. O-O-O Rb8 ({
editor -} 11... O-O {is the computer's first choice, but one can see why a
human might want to avoid it:} 12. e5 $5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Nd5 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15.
Ne4 {and White has a risk-free advantage in development and dark-square contol.
}) 12. Bb3 {Here we see the big difference between 10.0-0-0 versus 11.0-0-0
after 10.Bc4} h6 {Diagram [#]} 13. Bh4 (13. Bxf6 $6 {Looks tempting since
Black may need to double his pawns, but on closer inspection, we see that he
can actually sacrifice his d6 pawn for strong compensation} Bxf6 (13... gxf6
14. f5 $14 {thematic}) 14. Rxd6 Be7 15. Rd2 O-O {and ...c5 with the threat of .
..c4 comes quickly. Black also has the two bishops, so he has nothing to worry
about here.}) 13... Bd7 $2 {First real mistake of the game} (13... g5 $2 {
A thematic idea, but it doesn't work here (due to tactical and positional
reasons)} 14. fxg5 Nd7 {controlling the e5 square, but it fails tactically to}
15. g6 $18 (15. Bg3 {even this would be good enough for a large advantage})
15... Bxh4 (15... Ne5 16. gxf7+ {with an extra pawn and terribly exposed Black
K.}) 16. Qxf7+ Kd8 17. g7 $18) 14. Rhe1 {A natural move, but it gives Black
some resources} (14. e5 $16 dxe5 15. fxe5 Nd5 16. Bxe7 Kxe7 17. Kb1 {To avoid .
..Qe3+ (which now drops the Q to Nxd5+) and preparing Rhf1.} Ne3) {[#]} 14...
Qb7 $2 {From this point on, Black has no real chance.} (14... c5 $1 15. e5 Bc6
(15... c4 $2 16. Bf2 Qb4 17. a3 Qb7 18. Qxb7 Rxb7 19. Bxc4 $18) 16. Qh3 dxe5
17. fxe5 Ng8 $1 {and Black is holding on} (17... Nd5 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Bxe7
Kxe7 20. c4 $16) 18. Bf2 $16) 15. e5 $1 {Breaking through.} Nd5 16. Bxe7 Kxe7
17. Ne4 Qb4 18. Nxd6 {Diagram [#]} f5 ({Notice that} 18... Qxf4+ {loses to} 19.
Qxf4 Nxf4 20. Rf1 g5 21. g3 $18) (18... Kf8 {perhaps the best move, but it
should make no difference.} 19. Re4 {and Black is playing without his Rh8 and
almost without the Bd7.}) 19. c4 Nxf4 (19... Nc7 20. g4 $18 {tears away at the
K's loose cover.}) 20. Qxf4 a5 21. Qd2 (21. Nxf5+ exf5 22. e6 {is a pretty
finish, but there was no need to be fancy.}) 21... a4 $2 22. Nxf5+ exf5 23.
Qxd7+ Kf8 24. Qxf5+ {with mate in 4.} 1-0

[Event "Varennes op"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.11.08"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier-Kenta"]
[Black "Zhu, Hong Rui"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2386"]
[BlackElo "2286"]
[Annotator "Felix Dumont"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "2015.11.07"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada - Ketchup 1"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.23"]

{http://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/722  It was not my intention to use two of
Olivier's games for the GOTW, but this one could not be overlooked. It's not
every day a strong national master loses in 18 moves! Part of it was clearly
thanks to Olivier's preparation, but the result could have been quite
different if Black had been just a little bit more careful.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 $5 {Diagram [#] The (other) Marshall Gambit Both players have
played each other countless times, so there is little doubt Olivier-Kenta
wanted to surprise his opponent.} (4. Nf3 Nf6 {would lead to a Semi-Slav
defense, a much more common opening.}) 4... dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 {
Did White just lose a central pawn? Yes, but White hopes to have some serious
play on the dark squares in exchange. White is clearly prepared for this line,
but the question is whether Black also is.} 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 (8. Ne2 $5 {
Avoids losing a pawn, but at the cost of less coordinated pieces. Still, the
position can still be surprisingly dangerous for both players!} Na6 9. Bf8 $1
Ne7 (9... Kxf8 10. Qd8#) 10. Bxg7 Rg8 {With an unclear position.}) 8... Na6 {
Diagram [#]} 9. Bd6 {A somewhat odd looking move. Yet, it makes a lot of sense
as by protecting the h2 pawn, White threatens to trap Black's queen if she
captures the h1 rook.} ({Another option was:} 9. Ba5 b6 10. Qd6 Bd7 11. Bc3 f6
12. Nf3 {with quite a few GM games.}) ({editor - Another is the crazy-looking:
} 9. Bf8 $5 Ne7 (9... Kxf8 $4 10. Qd8#) 10. Bxg7 Qxg2 $2 (10... Rg8 $8 $13) 11.
Bf6 $8 $18 Bd7 (11... Qxh1 12. Qd6 $18) 12. Bf3 Qg8 13. Qd6 Nf5 14. Qe5 Qg6 15.
Bxh8 Nb4 16. Rd1 O-O-O 17. Bf6 Rg8 18. Be4 {1-0 Gunina,V (2528)-Alieva,A (1994)
Sochi, 2015.}) 9... Qxg2 10. Qd2 Nf6 (10... Qxh1 $4 11. O-O-O Nf6 (11... Qe4
12. Bg3 $18) 12. Bf3 $18) 11. Bf3 Qg6 12. O-O-O {Diagram [#] The position is
now very hard to evaluate. Black is up two pawns, but has a king in the center
and poorly coordinated pieces.} e5 $1 13. Bxe5 O-O $2 {A seemingly innocent
move. While it now seems Black is out of his theory, White probably had
anticipated this move.} (13... Be6 $1 14. Ne2 Qf5 {And it would be fair to say
that both players have equal chances in this position, although anything can
happen.}) 14. Ne2 {Diagram [#]Critical Position What's better: ...Re8 or ...
Qf5?} Re8 $2 (14... Qf5 $1 {And we now get into an extremely complicated line:}
15. Qe3 Nb4 16. Nd4 {(forced)} Nxa2+ 17. Kd2 Rd8 18. Ke2 {Analysis Diagram [#]}
Qg6 (18... Qd7 19. Rhg1 $18) (18... Qxe5 19. Qxe5 Re8 20. Qxe8+ Nxe8 21. Nxc6
bxc6 22. Rd8 {1-0 Braun,A (2536)-Van der Werf,M (2389) Wijk aan Zee, 2008.}) (
18... Rxd4 $2 19. Bxf6 $1 $18 (19. Rxd4 $143 $2 Be6 20. Rg1 $36 {(1-0, 34)
Kuljasevic,D (2464)-Robson,R (2368) Richardson, 2007.})) 19. Rhg1 Bg4 20. Bxf6
Qxf6 21. Rxg4 {and it's really hard to tell where the game is going, although
White's extra piece may be decisive.}) 15. Rhg1 $1 {And the game is arguably
already over!} Qf5 $2 (15... Rxe5 $8 16. Rxg6 hxg6 {Is Black's best chance,
but holding this would not be easy.}) 16. Rxg7+ $3 Kxg7 17. Rg1+ Kh8 18. Qh6
1-0

