[Event "British CF-64 Championship"]
[Site "Brighton/ East Sussex"]
[Date "1977.08.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Short, Nigel D"]
[Black "Cummings, David H"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "1977.08.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "GBR"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 {[#] Nigel has since gone on record
saying that the Morra is garbage.} Nf6 {Black declines...} ({Karpov accepted
in their simul game later that week} 3... dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6
7. a3 b5 8. Ba2 b4 9. axb4 Bxb4 10. O-O $15 {(0-1, 59) Short,N-Karpov,A (2690)
London (Lloyds Bank simul), 1977.}) 4. e5 Nd5 5. Bc4 Qc7 6. Qe2 Nb6 7. Bd3 Nc6
8. Nf3 g6 {[#]} 9. O-O (9. cxd4 $4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxc1+ $19) 9... dxc3 $6 (9...
Bg7 $1 10. cxd4 d6 $11) 10. Nxc3 Bg7 11. Nb5 {But White insists on sac'ing.} (
11. a4 $142 $1 a5 (11... Nxe5 $2 12. a5 $18) 12. Bf4 O-O 13. Rfd1 $16 {with
very good Morra Gambit compensation in central pressure and with Black having
a difficult time finding a place for the Q.}) 11... Qd8 12. Nd6+ $5 {[#]} exd6
13. Bg5 $5 (13. exd6+ Kf8 14. Re1 h6 $44) 13... Nd4 $8 {[#]} 14. Nxd4 $2 (14.
Qd2 $1 Nxf3+ $2 (14... f6 $1 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Nxd4 Bxg5 $13) 15. gxf3 f6 (
15... Qc7 $2 16. exd6 Qxd6 17. Rfe1+ Kf8 18. Be7+ $18) 16. exf6 Bxf6 17. Rfe1+
Kf7 18. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 19. Re4 $18 g5 (19... Nd5 $2 20. Bc4 $18) 20. Rae1 $18 {
White is down a piece, but Black is playing without the Rc8 and Bc8, and White
can play to open more files around the Black K with f4 and/or h4.}) 14... Qxg5
15. exd6+ Kf8 $1 16. Nb5 Bf6 $1 {makes a space on g7 for the K.} 17. f4 Qc5+
18. Kh1 Nd5 $1 19. Qe4 {[#]} a6 $1 {If the d6 pawn drops then Black's Bc8 will
get in the game and White will have nothing for the piece sac.} 20. Rac1 Qe3 $1
21. Qxd5 axb5 22. Qxb5 Kg7 23. Bc4 {[#]} Rf8 $1 {A good no-nonsense move to
suck the air out of White's remaining hopes.} 24. Bd5 Qd4 25. b4 Ra6 $1 26.
Rfd1 Rb6 27. Qe2 Qxb4 28. f5 Rxd6 29. fxg6 hxg6 0-1

[Event "Karpov clock sim v ENG U17"]
[Site "London (Lloyds Bank)"]
[Date "1977.08.14"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Cummings, David H"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A14"]
[BlackElo "2690"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1977.08.14"]
[EventType "simul"]
[EventRounds "1"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 {It's worth pointing out that Karpov played both
Black and White in this simul.} 2. c4 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 e6 5. O-O Be7 6. b3
O-O 7. Bb2 d5 8. e3 c5 9. Nc3 {[#]} Nc6 ({The previous year, English GM
Michael Stean held Karpov to a quick draw with} 9... Nbd7 10. Qe2 Ne4 11. d3
Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Bf6 13. Qb2 Qc7 {½-½ Stean,M-Karpov,A (2695) Montilla, 1976.})
({Nowadays} 9... dxc4 $1 {is reckoned to be Black's most direct route to
equality.}) 10. cxd5 exd5 ({Black can avoid the hanging pawns with} 10... Nxd5
11. Nxd5 Qxd5 {But hasn't scored so well after} 12. d4 {When the threat of Ne5
gets White either the B pair or a better pawn structure after the DSBs are
exchanged on f6.}) 11. d4 Ne4 12. dxc5 Nxc3 13. Bxc3 bxc5 {[#]Black has
hanging pawns, and White follows the usual prescription: use minor pieces and
Rs in front to restrain them.} 14. Qd2 ({In the following game, Kramnik plays
an exchange sac to win one of Black's hanging pawns:} 14. Qe2 Re8 15. Rfd1 Bf8
16. Qb5 Qb6 17. Qxb6 axb6 18. Rxd5 $1 Nd4 19. Nxd4 Bxd5 20. Bxd5 cxd4 21. Bxd4
Ra5 22. e4 $16 {For the exchange, White has two pawns and the B-pair. White
won by avoiding the DSB exchange, creating a passed b-pawn and supporting it
with his Bs and K.  1-0 (49) Kramnik,V (2795)-Jones,G (2644) London, 2012.})
14... Qd6 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Qb2 Bf8 17. Rac1 Rac8 18. Qb1 h6 19. Rd2 Qe6 20.
Rcd1 Ba8 {[#] White's pieces are just about perfectly placed to restrain
Black's pawns, but Black has a bit more space and is supporting the center
with no problem. The usual recipee here would be to stab at the center with a
pawn break (b3-b4 or e3-e4, neither of which work yet) or trade some pieces.
White goes for the latter.} 21. Bb2 ({Here are two tries, neither of which
accomplish much:} 21. Ne1 d4 22. exd4 cxd4 23. Ba1 Bb4 $11) (21. Qa1 Rd7 22.
Ne5 Nxe5 23. Bxe5 d4 $5 24. exd4 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Rcd8 $11) 21... a5 22. Nh4 Nb4
23. a3 (23. Be4 $5 {threatening to skewer from f5} g6 24. Bf3 {softens Black's
kingside a bit.}) 23... Na6 24. Bc3 a4 $1 25. bxa4 Bc6 {[#]Black has played a
temporary pawn sac to create a passer on c5. White can hold the a-pawn (for
now), but it's never going anywhere, and Black can pile up on it with ...Ra8
etc.} 26. Qf5 (26. Qc2 Ra8 $44) (26. a5 Nc7 27. Qc2 Qe8 $44) 26... Bxa4 27. Rb1
Nc7 28. Ba5 Bc6 29. Rb6 Qxf5 30. Nxf5 Ba8 31. Bh3 Ne6 32. Ra6 Bb7 33. Bxd8 Bxa6
34. Be7 $6 d4 (34... Rb8 $1) 35. Bxf8 Kxf8 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position The
position David mentioned in the interview which Karpov singled out for comment.
} 36. Bf1 $4 {Trying to stop Black's pawn(s).} ({Not surprisingly, Karpov was
right: after} 36. exd4 $142 cxd4 37. f4 {White is still in the game, since the
one isolated pawn is easier to stop than the pawn pair.}) 36... d3 $1 {Which
now can't be stopped at less than the cost of an exchange: ...c4 is too strong
a threat, and the game line shows that the d-pawn isn't hanging.} 37. Bxd3 Rd8
{Black collects the exchange and goes on to win the game.} 38. Bxa6 Rxd2 39. a4
Nc7 40. Bc4 Rc2 41. Nd6 Ne8 $1 {Simple, when you know how.} 42. Nxe8 Rxc4 0-1

[Event "Reykjavik Open"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2018.03.11"]
[Round "6.14"]
[White "Cummings, David H"]
[Black "Hjartarson, Johann"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A10"]
[WhiteElo "2322"]
[BlackElo "2513"]
[Annotator "David Cummings"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2018.03.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {My opponent was a top player in the 1980s and early 90s,
winning a Candidates match against Korchnoi in 1988. He has returned to
tournament play in recent years, maintaining a 2500+ level.} 1. c4 g6 2. e4 {
An anti-Grunfeld move order.} e5 {Black in turn avoids a standard King's
Indian or Modern Defence, but enters a line that has its own unique character
and theory.} 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nf3 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 6. Qxd4 {[#]} Nc5 $6 {After
lengthy thought, my opponent came up with an improvised move (and a novelty)
which, however, doesn't work out well for him.} (6... Bb4+ {is the main line,
but this can get very sharp, especially after} 7. Kd1 $5 {which came to
prominence through the 2016 game Potkin-Wei Yi, which I analyzed in my book.
editor - it continued:} f5 8. exf6 Nxf6 9. Qh4 d5 10. Bg5 Be7 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12.
Bc4 $1 {with a wild position where, incredibly, Black has no good discovered
checks with the centralized Nd5!} Nc6 13. Bxd5 $2 (13. Nbd2 $16) 13... Be6 $2
14. Bxe7 Nxe7 15. Re1 Bxd5 $2 16. Kc2 $1 Qd7 17. Nc3 $18 Qf5+ 18. Kc1 O-O-O 19.
Rxe7 Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qxf3 21. Qg3 Qc6 22. Kc2 Rd6 23. Rae1 Rhd8 24. R1e2 a5 25.
Qe5 {1-0 Potkin,V (2585)-Wei,Y (2714) Moscow, 2016.}) 7. Bg5 Ne6 8. Bxd8 Nxd4
9. Bf6 Nxf3+ {This is forced, since after} (9... Nc2+ 10. Kd1 Nxa1 11. Bxh8 {
White will pick up the a1-knight sooner or later.}) 10. gxf3 Bb4+ {[#]} 11. Nc3
{The engine prefers} (11. Nd2 {with a big advantage for White, but I thought
that opening lines was more important than getting a second pair of doubled
pawns.}) 11... O-O 12. O-O-O ({editor -} 12. Kd2 {looks like a way to keep the
pawns solid, but Black has} d5 $1 {and White's exposed K will hurt more than
the doubled c-pawns.}) 12... Bxc3 13. bxc3 Na6 {[#] At first sight, it looks
like Black is hopelessely behind in development, but in fact he can unravel
fairly quickly (at the cost of a pawn) starting with ...d7-d6.} 14. h4 h5 15.
Rg1 Re8 16. f4 {White tries to open the position for his rooks and bishops
before Black can consolidate.} d6 17. exd6 cxd6 18. Rxd6 Bg4 {[#] Black now
threatens to generate significant counterplay, with his e8-rook entering
White's position, and ...Na6-c5 in the air.} 19. f3 $1 {The most difficult
move in the game. By this point I had more than caught up with my opponent on
the clock, and in fact got into time trouble before move 30.} ({If White plays
routinely with for example} 19. Bg2 Nc5 20. f5 Re2 {then Black starts to
generate threats.}) 19... Bxf3 20. Bd4 $1 {[#] This was my idea. By defending
the g1-rook and dominating the a6-knight, White manages to coordinate his
forces.} Re1+ {If instead} (20... Rad8 21. Rxd8 Rxd8 22. f5 {the position
opens up and White's bishops will take over.}) 21. Kb2 {This felt more natural
to me, although} (21. Kd2 {may be even stronger, for example} Ra1 22. c5 Rxa2+
23. Ke3 Bg4 24. Bc4 Re8+ 25. Be5 {followed by 26.Rxg6+ wins.}) 21... Bg4 22.
Bg2 Re2+ 23. Ka3 Nc7 24. Bxb7 Rb8 25. Bd5 Ne6 {[#]} 26. c5 {The centralized
bishops and dangerous passed c-pawn give White a close to winning position.} (
26. Be5 $1 Rbb2 27. c5 $18) 26... Nxf4 27. Rb1 {Wresting the b-file from
Black's control.} Rbe8 (27... Rxb1 $4 {loses to} 28. Rd8+ Kh7 29. Rh8#) {[#]}
28. Bxf7+ $6 {A shame. With only a few minutes left to move 40, I went for the
clarity of a superior rook and opposite coloured bishop endgame, but this
throws away a large part of White's advantage.} (28. Bc4 {is tremendous for
White. A sample line is} R2e7 29. c6 Be6 30. Ba6 Bc8 31. Rb8 Bxa6 32. Rdd8 {
and White makes decisive material gains.}) 28... Kxf7 29. Rf6+ Kg8 30. Rxf4 Be6
31. Rf2 Bd5 32. Rb2 R2e6 33. Rb4 Re2 34. Rxe2 Rxe2 35. c4 Bc6 36. Rb8+ Kf7 37.
Rc8 Re6 38. Rc7+ Ke8 {[#]} 39. Rxa7 {The last big chance was} (39. Kb4 $1 {
when White retains good winning chances. editor - The Kb4 defends the c-pawns
and now White threatens both Rxa7 and Be5-d6.}) 39... Re4 40. Bf6 Rxc4 41. Re7+
Kf8 42. Re5 Re4 {Forcing the rooks off when the draw becomes clear.} 43. Rxe4
Bxe4 44. Kb4 Ke8 45. a4 Kd7 46. a5 Bd3 47. Kc3 1/2-1/2

[Event "50+ World Senior Team Championship"]
[Site "Dresden"]
[Date "2018.07.14"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Cummings, David H"]
[Black "Fritsche, Lutz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2336"]
[BlackElo "2303"]
[Annotator "David Cummings"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Canada"]
[BlackTeam "Germany"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "CAN"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GER"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {This game was played in Canada's 3-1 win against Germany 2 who
had a similar average rating to our team. This was probably our best match
result in Dresden, and set up the final round clash with eventual champions
USA.} 1. d4 {Although I opened with 1 d4, the game transposed into the KID
line I recommended in my 1.c4 repertoire.} Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O
5. e4 d6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. d5 {[#] Here 8.Be3 is White's most
fashionable choice these days. 8 d5 is a slightly older line that I analyzed
and adopted because it has a similar feel to the Petrosian Variation (6....e5
7 d5).} Nc5 9. Qc2 a5 10. Bg5 Bd7 {Already a slight inaccuracy. Black should
push the bishop back with} (10... h6 11. Be3 {and now} b6 {is the main move})
11. Nd2 Qe8 12. b3 {[#]} Kh8 $6 {Black is making typical King's Indian moves,
but they are a bit out of context and he isn't generating counterplay quickly
enough to combat White's queenside expansion.} ({editor - Leela and Stockfish
both opt for} 12... Nh5 $5 {, and rate White as having a small advantage...
which diminishes the further they analyze!?}) 13. a3 Ng8 14. b4 Na6 {If Black
goes for the typical sequence} (14... axb4 15. axb4 Na4 $2 {then} 16. Nb5 $1 {
is crushing as White wins the c-pawn after} Bxb5 17. cxb5 Nb6 18. Qxc7 {etc.})
15. Qb2 {A slightly unsual placement of the queen, but I figured that my
opponent wanted to trade the dark squared bishops. In that case the queen is
well placed with an x-ray to Black's king along the a1-h8 diagonal.} f5 16. f3
{[#]} Bf6 {I was out of book well before this point, but an older game instead
saw} (16... f4 17. c5 $1 {a typical idea we will see in the game} axb4 18. axb4
dxc5 19. Bxa6 cxb4 20. Bxb7 bxc3 21. Qxc3 Rxa1 22. Rxa1 {and White had an
overwhelming advantage thanks to his queenside penetration, Khusenkhojaev,M 
(2377)-Daulyte,D (2222) St Petersburg 2007 (1-0, 36).}) 17. Be3 Qe7 18. c5 $1 {
[#] One of White's typical ideas in Petrosian-like setups with Black's knight
stuck on the a6-square. White offers a temporary pawn sac, and his queenside
play moves very quickly.} Bg5 {Grabbing the pawn doesn't help, since after} (
18... dxc5 19. b5 Nb8 20. Nc4 {Black's pieces are hopelessely uncoordinated.} {
editor - e.g.} b6 21. d6 $1 cxd6 22. Nd5 $18) 19. Bxg5 Qxg5 20. Nc4 axb4 21.
axb4 Qe7 22. c6 $1 {The thematic follow up to 18 c5.} bxc6 23. dxc6 Bxc6 24. b5
Rfb8 {[#] Black uses the pin on the b5-pawn to avoid losing a piece to the
fork, but I had calculated that I was still winning material.} 25. Qd2 Bxb5 26.
Nxb5 Rxb5 27. Ne3 {This is the point. Black either loses the a6-knight or has
to drop an exchange.} c6 (27... Rb6 28. Nd5 {followed by Nxb6.}) 28. Bxb5 cxb5
29. exf5 Qc7 30. fxg6 hxg6 31. Nd5 {[#] White has an extra exchange for a pawn
but his position is winning since he has more active pieces and Black's king
is exposed. I managed to wrap up the game from here.} Qb7 32. Rfd1 Nc5 33. Rxa8
Qxa8 34. Nb6 Qa3 35. Qxd6 Qe3+ 36. Kf1 Nb3 37. Nd7 e4 38. Qe5+ Kh7 39. Nf8+ Kh6
40. Qh8+ Kg5 41. Rd5+ 1-0

[Event "Chess to Remember"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2018.09.23"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Cummings, David H"]
[Black "Bykhovsky, Avigdor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2314"]
[BlackElo "2563"]
[Annotator "David Cummings"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {My opponent is a Russian GM, currently living in Israel. He
has visited Toronto to play in the Armenian Genocide Memorial Rapid tournament
a couple of times, winning the event in 2017.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6
4. e3 {The line of the English that I cover in my book.} d6 5. d4 Bg4 $6 {
My opponent appeared to be surprised by the opening and chose an offbeat
response.} 6. d5 Ne7 7. Be2 Nd7 8. e4 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position
KID-style with ...g6 or something else?} g6 $6 {Black soon ends up in a King's
Indian setup where he is missing the key light-squared bishop. Looking at
Bykhovsky's games in the database, he doesn't appear to be a KID player, so no
doubt was not comfortable with the way things went.} 9. h4 {Not a bad idea,
but White missed the tactical solution} (9. Nxe5 $1 {which wins a pawn since}
Bxe2 10. Nxd7 Bxd1 $4 11. Nf6# {takes advantage of the move 8...g6}) ({editor
- and Black doesn't recover the pawn with} 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Bxg4 Nxc4 $2 {
because of} 11. Qa4+ $18) 9... Bg7 10. Ng5 ({editor - looking at the game
score it might seem that} 10. Nd2 {would be a more efficient way to exchange
the LSBs; but that would give Black the option of trading on e2 and then
playing ...Bh6, trading the DSB before it gets burried. Instead, Ng5 stops ...
f5 (since Ne6 would win) and so "encourages" Black to weaken his kingside
light squares with ...h6, after which h4-h5 is a more serious positional
threat.}) 10... Bxe2 11. Qxe2 h6 12. Nf3 O-O 13. h5 {[#] White is not
expecting to generate a kingside attack here, but is aiming to lock up the
kingside so that he will get a free hand for a queenside attack.} g5 14. g4 {
As a bonus, the f5-square is now a juicy target for White's knights. If Black
still had his light-squared bishop, this would be much less serious for him.}
f6 {editor - computers rate this as a terrible move (-1), either because it
takes away a square from Black's already cramped minor pieces or weakens the
light squares further. If anything, Black should welcome a sac on g5.} 15. Be3
Rf7 16. Nd2 c5 {[#] It is hard to suggest a constructive plan for Black, so he
digs in and aims to defend against White's queenside expansion. I felt that
White's strategic advantages should be enough to secure an eventual
breakthrough.} 17. O-O a6 18. a3 Nc8 19. b4 b6 20. Rfb1 Ra7 21. Nf1 {There is
less for this knight to do on the queenside, so it relocates to target the
f5-outpost.} Rc7 22. Ng3 Ne7 {[#]} 23. bxc5 {Taking the opportunity to open
the b-file in a moment when Black is forced to recapture with the pawn.} bxc5 (
23... Nxc5 {drops the b-pawn to} 24. Rxb6) 24. Qc2 Ra7 25. Qa4 Nb6 26. Qa5 Nec8
27. Na4 Rfb7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position Black's position is very passive
but it looks like he is holding on. Using piece play, White has racheted up
the pressure as much as he can, so has to look at sacrifices in order to break
through.} 28. Bxc5 $1 {The sacrifice on c5 is a theme you should know when
playing White against KID. I don't recall where I first saw this, probably in
the famous Zurich 1953 book. As this was a Rapid game, I didn't have time to
calculate everything, but was confident that White had enough resources to
make it work in this particular situation.} dxc5 29. Nxc5 Rb8 30. Ne6 Qe8 31.
c5 {The pawns start rolling and it gets very grim for Black.} Nd7 32. Rxb8 Nxb8
33. Rb1 Nd7 34. Nf5 {[#] Finally the other knight enters the fray.} Bf8 35. c6
{Winning back some material while not slowing down White's initiative} Ndb6 36.
Rxb6 Nxb6 37. Qxb6 Ra8 38. Nc7 Rb8 39. Nxe8 Rxb6 40. c7 Rb1+ 41. Kg2 Rc1 42. d6
{In order to stop the pawns, Black has to give up both the rook and the bishop}
1-0

[Event "4NCL"]
[Site "England"]
[Date "2015.05.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Cummings, David H"]
[Black "Lyell, Mark"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A80"]
[WhiteElo "2337"]
[BlackElo "2312"]
[Annotator "David Cummings"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2015.05.02"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.03"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2015.03.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2015.08.29"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "South Wales Dragons"]
[BlackTeam "Hackney"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "ENG"]
[BlackTeamCountry "ENG"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5 4. f3 c5 5. e4 {Diagram [#] After
only 5 moves we have a fairly rare and sharp position, which only gets more
crazy in the next few moves..} cxd4 (5... Nc6 {is an alternative.}) 6. Qxd4 Nc6
7. Bb5 Kf7 $2 {Black tries to make things "interesting" but it is hard to
believe this can be a good move.} (7... dxe4 {was preferable, when after} 8.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. fxe4 fxe4 10. O-O-O+ {White has good play for the pawn.}) 8. Qa4
d4 ({Black continues with his plan to build a pawn centre, but} 8... dxe4 {
was again better.}) 9. O-O-O e5 {Diagram [#] Already a critical point of the
game. Here I came up with a piece sacrifice based largely on intuition.} 10.
Bc4+ $5 (10. f4 $1 {was best here, blasting open the position to expose
Black's King.}) 10... Kg6 ({Black could play} 10... Ke8 {though unless Black
saw that he is losing by force, it would be hard to admit that the whole 7...
Kf7 concept was a mistake.}) 11. exf5+ $6 ({Proceeding with the piece sac,
though objectively} 11. h4) ({or} 11. f4 {were better.}) {[#]} 11... Bxf5 {
This move, and Black's next, are natural, but lead to a lost position. Instead,
Black should grab the offered piece with:} (11... Kxg5 {and after} 12. h4+ Kh6
13. g4 {he has the counter-intuitive} Bxf5 $1 {when White needs to find} 14.
Nh3 ({the main point being that after} 14. gxf5 $4 {Black has the astonishing
resource} Qa5 $1 {which simply wins for Black}) 14... Be7 {and in a game
between two humans, anything could happen. The computer gives this position as
dynamically equal, a sample line being} ({If now} 14... Qa5 {White has the
counterblow} 15. g5+ Kg6 16. Qb3) 15. g5+ Kg6 16. gxf6 gxf6 17. Rdg1+ Kh6 18.
Ne4 Na5 19. Ng3 Bd7 20. Bb5 Be6 {though I'd still prefer to be White here.})
12. g4 Bd7 $2 {[%mdl 64]} ({The real losing move, although after} 12... Kxg5 {
White has the extra resource} 13. f4+ {with a strong attack. Now White has two
pieces hanging, but...}) {Diagram [#] Critical Position White to play and win.}
13. Qb3 $1 {Creates unstoppable threats on the a2-g8 and b1-h7 diagonals.} Qe8
{Black simply can't defend against both threats of 14.Bf7+ and 14.Bd3+. My
opponent sportingly plays the resulting king-hunt out until checkmate is on
the board.} 14. h4 ({editor -} 14. Bd3+ {also wins} e4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Nh3
$18) 14... Na5 15. Bf7+ Qxf7 16. h5+ Kxg5 17. Nh3+ {Diagram [#]} Kh4 (17... Kh6
18. g5+ Kxh5 19. Qxf7+ {also mates quickly.}) 18. Nf2+ Kg3 {Now everything
wins of course, but White has a nice mate in 3 with:} 19. Ne2+ Kg2 20. Rdg1+
Kxf2 21. Rh2# {One of my earliest chess books was The King-Hunt by W.H.Cozens.
It was nice to get to play one in 19th century style!} 1-0

[Event "Reykjavik Open"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "2017.04.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Saptarshi, Roy Chowdhury"]
[Black "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2425"]
[BlackElo "2289"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] This game was played in round 9 of the Reykjavik Open, and I had
secured an IM norm, regardless of the result of this game. I was able to play
without pressure, and in this state, I was able to play a pretty good game.} 1.
e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. O-O-O
Be7 9. f3 {[#] White opts for the English attack against the Taimanov.} b5 10.
g4 (10. Kb1 {can lead to interesting complications as can be seen from the
following game} Bb7 11. Bf4 e5 12. Nf5 exf4 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Nb4 15. c4
Bd6 16. a3 Be5 17. Qxb4 d6 18. cxb5 O-O 19. g3 axb5 20. Bxb5 $13 Rfb8 $2 21.
gxf4 Bc8 22. Nh6+ $8 $18 gxh6 23. fxe5 $4 (23. Rhg1+ $1 Bg7 24. Rxg7+ $1 $18)
23... Bf5+ $8 24. Ka1 Ra5 25. Rhg1+ Bg6 26. Qxd6 Qxd6 27. exd6 Raxb5 28. b4 Rd8
$17 29. Kb2 Rxd6 30. Kc3 Rbxd5 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 32. Kc4 Rh5 33. b5 $11 Rxh2 34. b6
Kf8 35. Rd1 Ke7 36. Kb5 Rb2+ 37. Kc6 Rc2+ 38. Kb5 Rb2+ 39. Kc6 Rc2+ 40. Kb5
Rb2+ 41. Kc6 {(1/2-1/2, 41) Anand,V (2785)-Movsesian,S (2672) Dubai rapid,
2014.}) 10... Nxd4 11. Qxd4 (11. Bxd4 {is the main line.} Bb7 12. g5 Nh5 13.
Be5 {is critical}) 11... Bb7 12. g5 Nh5 13. Ne2 Rc8 {[#]} 14. Qd2 $6 {This
position now resembles the 11. Bxd4 line, with the Bishop returning to e3, as
opposed to the critical line where it goes to e5.} (14. Rd2 Bc5 15. Qd3 Bxe3
16. Qxe3 Qc5 $11) 14... d5 15. f4 $6 (15. e5 Qxe5 (15... d4 $5) 16. f4 Qc7 17.
Nd4 $13) (15. exd5 Bxd5 $19 {Xa2 and Xf3.}) 15... d4 $5 16. Nxd4 Bxe4 17. Rg1
O-O {[#]} 18. Kb1 (18. Bg2 {was necessary.} Bxg2 (18... Bg6 $6 19. Nc6 $1) 19.
Rxg2 Bc5 20. Rf2 Rfd8 $15) 18... Bc5 19. Bd3 Bxd3 20. cxd3 Bxd4 21. Bxd4 Qxf4 {
[#] Black is up a pawn, and White does not really have any compensation.} 22.
Be3 Qf3 23. Rdf1 Qd5 24. Rg4 Rfd8 25. Rd4 Qb7 {Covering the f7 pawn.} (25...
Qe5 $2 26. Qf2) 26. Qf2 e5 27. Rh4 g6 $1 {[#]} 28. d4 (28. Rxh5 gxh5 29. Qf6 {
Here if it were White's move, White could play g6, and it looks like I could
get mated on the dark squares, but I have the strong 29.. . Qd5 creating
threats of my own.} Qd5 $1 $19) 28... Ng7 $1 {Since White's king is so weak,
it makes more sense to play for activity as opposed to trying to maintain the
material advantage.} 29. dxe5 Nf5 30. Rf4 Qd5 31. Bc1 Qd3+ 32. Ka1 Rc2 33. Qb6
$2 Rdc8 34. Qg1 {[#]} Qd5 ({Here the computer suggests bringing in the last
piece, the Knight, in a strange fashion.} 34... Nd4 35. Be3 (35. Rxd4 Qxd4 36.
Qxd4 Rxc1+ {and mate.}) 35... Ne2 36. Qf2 Nc1 $1 (36... Nxf4 37. Qxf4 $19) 37.
Qg1 Rxb2 $1 38. Rxc1 Rcc2 $1 39. Rxc2 Qxc2 $19) 35. e6 fxe6 36. a3 a5 {Opening
up the files near the White king.} 37. Kb1 Qd3 38. Ka2 b4 39. a4 Qd5+ {[#]
Repeating to reach time control.} 40. Kb1 (40. Ka1 R8c5 (40... Qc5 41. Qxc5
R8xc5 $19) 41. Qxc5 Qxc5 $19) 40... Qd3 41. Ka2 R8c3 $1 42. Ka1 (42. R1f3 Ra3+
43. Kb1 Rxc1+ 44. Kxc1 Ra1#) (42. Qg3 $5 Nxg3 (42... Ra3+ 43. Kb1 Rxc1+ $1 44.
Kxc1 Ra1#) 43. Rf8+ Kg7 44. R1f7#) 42... Ra3+ {With Qc3+-b3+-a2 mate to follow
on 43. bxa3.} 0-1

[Event "Copenhagen Chess Challenge 2017"]
[Site "Ballerup"]
[Date "2017.05.14"]
[Round "9.10"]
[White "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Black "Bjerre, Jonas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2335"]
[BlackElo "2338"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.05.10"]
[EventCountry "DEN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] This game was played in the last round of the Copenhagen Chess
Challenge. I was paired against a young and strong kid from Denmark. While
looking over his games before the round, I was happy to see that his main
opening against 1. e4 was the Taimanov since I am familiar with many of the
arising positions, being a Taimanov player myself. I decided to annotate this
game mainly because it was a lot of fun to play as there were many interesting
variations to calculate.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7
6. Be2 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 (8... Bb4 {keeps the game in a more
traditional Taimanov feel.}) 9. f4 d6 {[#] In general, it seems to me that
these Schevinnigen structures, especially when the b8 knight is already
committed to c6, are quite pleasant for White, as White often gets an easy
attack with very simple play, while Black needs to defend precisely to
maintain the balance.} 10. Kh1 O-O 11. Qe1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. a3 Bb7 14. Qg3
{[#]} Bc6 ({Wei Yi won a beautiful game after 14. .. Rad8, which I have
included here for your enjoyment.} 14... Rad8 15. Rae1 Rd7 16. Bd3 Qd8 17. Qh3
g6 18. f5 e5 19. Be3 Re8 20. fxg6 hxg6 21. Nd5 Nxd5 {[%mdl 64] Analysis
Diagram [#] Critical Position} 22. Rxf7 $8 $18 {ed. - The beginning of a
by-now-famous kinghunt.} Kxf7 23. Qh7+ Ke6 24. exd5+ Kxd5 (24... Bxd5 25. Bxg6
$18) 25. Be4+ $8 Kxe4 26. Qf7 (26. c4 $3) 26... Bf6 27. Bd2+ Kd4 28. Be3+ Ke4
29. Qb3 $8 Kf5 30. Rf1+ Kg4 31. Qd3 $8 Bxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Qa8+ 33. Kg1 Bg5 34. Qe2+
$8 Kh4 35. Bf2+ Kh3 36. Be1 $1 {there's no good defence to checks on the third
rank; 1-0 Wei,Y (2724) -Bruzon Batista,L (2669) Danzhou, 2015.}) 15. Bd3 Qb7
16. b4 {With the direct point of stopping Black's counterplay of ...b4.} (16.
Rae1 b4 17. axb4 Qxb4 18. Ne2 Qb7 19. e5 Nh5 20. Qh3 g6 21. Ng3 {is the more
common continuation, but the direct b4 made more sense to me over the board.})
16... a5 17. Rae1 axb4 18. axb4 {[#]} g6 {This is a useful prophylactic move,
as White was planning Qh3 and e4-e5.} ({editor - Stockfish and Leela rate ...
g6 as an error, inviting an immediate f4-f5, and both recommend} 18... Ra3 $5)
19. Qh3 Ra3 20. Re3 h5 21. Rg3 {[#]} h4 $2 {Here Black had an only defense,
which is aimed at preventing White's play with f5.} (21... Nxe4 $6 22. Nxe4
Bxe4 23. Qxh5 e5 (23... Bxg2+ 24. Kg1 $8 $18) 24. fxe5 Bxg2+ 25. Kg1 $1 {
was what my opponent mentioned that he overlooked when he played 20... h5.}) ({
If Black plays a normal move such as} 21... Rfa8 $2 {White continues with f5
and the attack is overwhelming. The following is a sample line.} 22. f5 e5 23.
fxg6 exd4 24. gxf7+ Kf8 25. Qxh5 Nxh5 26. Rg8#) (21... Qd7 $1 {was Black's
only move} 22. f5 $6 e5 {and now Black will be able to trade queens and
protect his king.}) 22. Qxh4 e5 23. fxe5 ({Both my opponent and I missed the
important} 23. Qh6 $1 {which wins on the spot. I think we were both focussed
on the continuation that occurred in the game.} exd4 24. f5 Be8 25. Nd5 {
and the attack is overwhelming as Rh3 is a massive threat once the knight on
f6 is taken or moves. For instance} Nxd5 26. Rh3 $18) 23... Nxe4 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Critical Position} 24. Qxe4 $5 {It's not every game where you can sacrifice a
queen for two pieces, and for the sacrifice to be sound. In this game, while
interesting, it was unnecessary, as 24.Qh6 won immediately.} ({editor - Qh6
does win, but it gives up two exchanges, so you have to see through a series
of back-field sacs:} 24. Qh6 $1 {threatens to take on e4 and crack with e6}
Nxg3+ 25. hxg3 Bxg2+ 26. Kg1 Bxf1 {Black is up RR for N and threatens mate on
g2, but...} 27. Be4 {stops the mate and gains a tempo on the Q; Black has no
good defence to e6.}) 24... Bxe4 25. Bxe4 {[#]} Qa6 $2 ({Necessary was} 25...
Qd7 {Here White has a array of options, but in each case, with precise defense,
Black is holding} 26. e6 (26. exd6 Qxd6 $1 (26... Bxd6 $2 27. Rh3 $18) 27. Nxb5
Qxb4 28. Rxa3 Qxb5 $11) (26. Rh3 {with the idea of moving the e-pawn and
mating on h8} dxe5 27. Bxe5 f6 $1 $19) 26... Qxe6 27. Bd5 (27. Rh3 Bf6 $1 {
and Black is taking advantage of White's back rank.} 28. Bxf6 Qxf6 29. Rxf6
Ra1+ $19) 27... Rxc3 28. Bxe6 Rxg3 29. Rxf7 Rxf7 30. hxg3 Kf8 31. Bxf7 Kxf7 $11
) 26. Nd5 Bd8 27. Rxa3 Qxa3 28. Ra1 {[#] and the queen is trapped on a3.} Qxa1+
29. Bxa1 $18 {White will win the b5 pawn, and the minor pieces coordinate well.
} dxe5 30. Bd3 e4 31. Bxb5 f5 32. g3 Bg5 33. Bc6 Bd2 34. Kg2 Kf7 35. h4 Ke6 {
[#]} 36. Bd4 (36. b5 Kd6 37. Bd4 {transposes to the game, and would have been
the more technical way of converting the game.}) 36... Kd6 ({Immediately after
I played 36. Bd4 I noticed that Black could play} 36... Rd8 37. c4 Bxb4 $5 {
but fortunately, White can still play} 38. Bb6 $1 Rb8 (38... Rc8 39. Nxb4 $18)
39. Ba7 $18 ({or} 39. Bc7 $18)) 37. b5 Rc8 38. c4 Bc1 39. c5+ Ke6 40. Nf4+ Kf7
41. Bd5+ Ke8 42. b6 Ba3 43. b7 Rd8 44. Be5 1-0

[Event "Salento Open 2017"]
[Site "Salento"]
[Date "2017.05.24"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Black "Horvath, Csaba"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B08"]
[WhiteElo "2335"]
[BlackElo "2503"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "276"]
[EventDate "2017.05.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]

{This game was the longest game of my life, lasting 138 moves, amounting to
over 6 and a half hours of play.} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. h3
O-O 6. Be3 c6 7. a4 Nbd7 8. Be2 {I like to play this flexible system against
the modern/pirc, because it gives White a comfortable position, and also has
the added advantage that you can play this way against any move order that
Black chooses.} (8. a5 {is a move that Artemiev is playing with a lot of
success.}) 8... Qc7 9. Qd2 b6 10. O-O Bb7 11. Bh6 a6 12. Qe3 {Preparing to
play e5 myself.} e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Bc4 b5 15. Ba2 b4 16. Ne2 {Offerring a
pawn sacrifice.} Qb6 (16... Bxh6 17. Qxh6 Nxe4 18. Ng3 Nef6 (18... Nxg3 19.
fxg3 $18) 19. Rad1 $16 {with a serious attack}) 17. Qxb6 Nxb6 18. Bxg7 (18. Be3
Nbd7 19. Rfd1 a5 20. Nd2 c5 21. f3) 18... Kxg7 19. Nxe5 a5 20. f3 Ba6 21. Rfe1
c5 22. c4 Rfd8 (22... Nxa4 23. Bb3 (23. Kh1) 23... Nxb2 24. Rxa5) 23. Nf4 Nxa4
(23... Nfd7 24. Nc6 $16) 24. Nfd3 Nd7 25. Nc6 Ndb6 26. Nxd8 Rxd8 27. Red1 Nxc4
28. Bxc4 Bxc4 29. Rxa4 Bb3 30. Rxa5 (30. Raa1 {was another option, perhaps
objectively better, but the resulting position looked fairly unclear in time
trouble, and even when looking back at the position in analysis, still looks
unclear.} Bxd1 31. Rxd1 c4 32. Nf2 Ra8 $13) 30... Bxd1 31. Nxc5 b3 32. Rb5 Rd2
33. Nxb3 Rxb2 34. Nd4 Rd2 35. Rd5 Rb2 36. h4 h5 37. Rd6 Ba4 (37... Kf8 38. Kh2)
38. Kh2 Kf8 39. Kg3 Ke7 40. Ra6 Bd7 41. Ra7 Ke8 42. Ra3 Rd2 43. Nb3 Rd3 44.
Ra8+ Ke7 45. Rb8 Be6 46. Nc5 Rc3 47. Na4 Rc2 48. Rb2 Rc4 49. Nb6 Rc1 50. Rd2
Rc6 51. Na4 Bb3 52. Nb2 Bc2 53. Kf4 Kf6 54. Rd4 Bb3 55. Ke3 Rc1 56. Rb4 Be6 57.
Nd3 Rh1 58. Kf2 Rd1 (58... Rxh4 59. Kg1) 59. Nf4 Rd6 60. Kg3 Ra6 61. Rd4 Rc6
62. Ne2 Rc2 63. Nf4 Ke7 64. Ra4 Bc4 65. Ra7+ Kd6 66. Ra8 Bf1 67. Ra7 Bc4 68.
Rb7 Ra2 69. Nh3 Ke6 70. Rc7 Bb3 71. Rc3 Ba4 72. Nf4+ Kf6 73. Rc5 Bb3 74. Rb5
Bc4 75. Rb4 Bf1 76. Rb7 Bc4 77. Rc7 Ra4 78. Rc5 Kg7 79. Rc6 Bb5 80. Rc7 Bc4 81.
e5 {I had to move a pawn as the 50 move rule was nearing.} Kf8 82. Nh3 Bb3 83.
Ng5 Ra5 84. Kf4 Ra4+ 85. Kg3 Ra5 86. Rc3 Ba2 87. Re3 Ke7 88. Kf4 Bd5 89. Rd3
Ra4+ 90. Kg3 Ra5 91. Rd4 Be6 92. Kf4 Ra2 93. g3 Ra3 94. Ne4 Bd7 95. Rc4 Be6 96.
Rc7+ Kf8 97. Rc3 Ra5 98. Nc5 Ke7 99. Ne4 ({editor -} 99. Kg5 $5 {aiming for
Kg7and Nd6.}) 99... Kf8 100. Rc5 Ra3 101. Nc3 Kg7 102. Rc7 Ra5 103. Rc6 Ra3
104. Rc5 Ra1 105. Ne2 Rd1 106. Rc3 Rd5 107. Ra3 Bd7 108. Ke4 Bc6 109. Kf4 f6 $2
{This position looks scary for Black, because one can envision White's Knight
arriving at f6, but this move loses directly.} (109... Bd7 110. Ra7 Kg8 111.
Rc7 $16) 110. exf6+ Kxf6 111. Ra6 Rd6 112. Nc3 Re6 113. Ne4+ Kg7 114. Ng5 Rf6+
115. Ke3 Bd5 (115... Kg8 116. Kd4 Kg7 117. Kc5 Bxf3 118. Rxf6 Kxf6 119. Nxf3
Kf5 120. Kd4 Kg4 121. Ne5+ Kxg3 122. Nxg6 $18) 116. Ra7+ (116. Rxf6 $1 $18 Kxf6
117. Kf4 $18 {[%cal Gg5e4,Gf4g5,Gf3f4,Gf4f5] This is winning for White because
White can dislodge the king from f6 with Ne4+, place his king on g5, trade the
f-pawn for Black's g pawn, and then pick up the pawn on h5.} Bc6 {For instance}
118. Ne4+ Kg7 119. Kg5 Bd5 120. Nd2 Be6 121. f4 Bd7 122. Nf1 Bc6 123. Ne3 Bf3
124. f5 gxf5 125. Nxf5+ Kh7 126. Nd4 Bg4 127. Nb3 Bd1 128. Nd2 Bg4 129. Ne4 {
Unfortunately, I missed this critical moment, only noticing the winning plan
should the rooks be traded a couple of moves later, when I was unable to do so.
}) 116... Kg8 117. Rc7 Rf8 118. Rd7 Bb3 119. Ke4 Re8+ 120. Kf4 Rf8+ 121. Ke5
Rf5+ 122. Kd6 Rd5+ 123. Ke7 Rf5 124. Rd3 Bc4 125. Rc3 Bf7 126. Re3 Kg7 127. Re4
Bb3 128. Rb4 Re5+ 129. Kd6 Rd5+ 130. Kc6 Rd3 131. Rf4 Bd5+ 132. Kc5 Bg8 133.
Kb4 Bd5 134. Kc5 Bg8 135. Ne4 Bd5 136. Nf2 Rd2 137. Ne4 Rd3 138. Ng5 Bg8 {
My opponent wrote down the move and claimed a threefold repetition.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Barcelona Sants Open"]
[Site "Barcelona"]
[Date "2017.08.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Blomqvist, Eric"]
[Black "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2340"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2017.08.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] My opponent is a very well prepared player, who also plays the
Taimanov (my main opening) as Black himself, so I figured I would have better
chances if I could surprise him in the opening. I had looked at the Caro Kann
before the tournament, and figured it would be a good time to try it.} 1. e4 c6
2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 a6 {[#] Interestingly, I faced this move in Riga the week
before as White when I played Ilja Schneider (2519), and had a lot of problems
finding a plan. The purpose of ...a6 is a bit subtle, but prevents Bb5+ in
some lines, thus allowing the light square bishop to develop to g4, followed
by developing a very solid structure with ...e6. editor - Both ...Bg4 and ....
dxe4 are much more common, with lots of examples.} 4. d4 ({Preventing the
bishop's development to the g4 square with the direct} 4. h3 {allows} d4 $5 5.
Ne2 c5 6. b4 Nc6 7. bxc5 e5 8. Ng3 Be6 {(1/2-1/2, 45) Mastrovasilis,D (2606)
-Tomczak,J (2588) Lublin, 2016.}) 4... Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. Bd3 e6 {[#]} 7. e5 {
This move is a bit premature - it would make a lot more sense once Black plays
...Nf6.} (7. a3 Be7 $146 (7... Nf6 8. e5 Nfd7 9. g4 Bg6 10. Bxg6 hxg6 11. Ne2
c5 12. c3 Nc6 13. Kf1 Be7 14. Kg2 $14 {(1-0, 31) Berelowitsch,A (2565)-Abel,D 
(2437) Germany, 2013.}) 8. Bf4 Nf6 {Once the bishop goes to f4, ...Nf6 seems
makes more sense, as Black is not as worried about allowing e5 with tempo.})
7... c5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Bxg6 hxg6 10. Ne2 $146 (10. Be3 Nd7 11. Qe2 Ne7 12. O-O-O
cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxe5 $13 {(0-1, 53) Vucinic,G (2150)-Ratkovic,M (2176) Donji
Milanovac, 2012.}) 10... cxd4 {[#] This move is important. If White is able to
play c3, we would basically transpose to Short-Khalifman (2001), where Short
won a very nice game by putting his king on g2, knight to f4, and advanced the
h-pawn.} 11. Nexd4 Nc6 ({Developing the other knight to c6 via} 11... Ne7 12.
Kf1 Nec6 13. c3 Nd7 14. Nxc6 bxc6 {is probably even stronger for Black}) 12. c3
Nge7 13. Kf1 Qc7 14. Kg2 Rc8 15. Be3 Nxd4 {[#]} 16. Bxd4 (16. Qxd4 Nc6 17. Qf4
{When we discussed the game afterwards, my opponent mentioned that he did not
like this move because he figured his queen would be awkwardly placed, and
that I might have ...f6 at some point. While this is true, he can develop
pressure on the kingside, and it would make my play more difficult than it was
during the game.}) (16. cxd4 Qc2 17. Rc1 Qxd1 18. Rxc8+ Nxc8 19. Rxd1 Ne7 $15 {
[%cal Ge7c6] followed by ...Nc6.}) 16... Nc6 17. Qe2 Nxd4 18. cxd4 Be7 {[#]}
19. Qe3 (19. Qd2 {might have been better as now the c2 square is covered.
However this allows an interesting queen vs two rook ending.} Qc2 $5 20. Rac1
Qxd2 21. Rxc8+ Kd7 22. Rxh8 Qxb2 $13) 19... Qb6 20. Rab1 (20. Rac1 Rxc1 21.
Rxc1 Qxb2 {transposes to the line analyzed instead of 23. a4.}) 20... Rc2 21.
Qd3 Qc7 22. Qe3 Qb6 {[#]} 23. a4 $2 {White was not really in a position to
deny the repetition, and should have continued with 23. Qd3.} (23. Rhc1 Rxb2
24. Rxb2 Qxb2 25. Rc8+ Bd8 26. Ng5 O-O 27. Qf4 Bxg5 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Qxg5 Qb6
$17) (23. Rbc1 Rxc1 24. Qxc1 Kd7 25. Qf4 (25. b3 g5) 25... Qxb2 26. Qxf7 $2 Rf8
27. Qxg6 Qe2 $19) (23. Qd3 Qc7 $11 ({Black can continue the game with} 23...
Qc6)) 23... Kd7 24. b3 Rhc8 25. Qf4 {[#]} Qb4 (25... g5 $1 {would have
basically won on the spot.} 26. Qxf7 (26. Qe3 $2 R8c3 $19 {followed by rook
taking on f3 or b3.}) 26... Rf8 27. Qg6 Rc3 $1 {Somehow, I didn't consider
this move as I wanted to keep the rook on the second rank. I played ...Qb4 so
that ...Qc3 would be possible after 26. Qxf7.} 28. Nxg5 Rxf2+ 29. Kxf2 Qxd4+
30. Kg2 Qd2+ {and the white king will soon be mated.}) 26. h4 Re2 {[%mdl 64] 
[#]Critical Position} 27. Qxf7 $4 (27. Rhe1 $1 {is necessary, so that ...Re4
is not possible. Play might continue} Rxe1 28. Nxe1 Ke8 (28... Bxh4 $2 29. g5
$16) 29. Nd3 Qb6 $15) 27... Rf8 28. Qxg6 Rxf2+ {editor - Only move to win, and
what White must have missed.} 29. Kxf2 Qd2+ 0-1

[Event "Barcelona Sants Open"]
[Site "Barcelona"]
[Date "2017.08.24"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Black "Brunner, Nicolas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2340"]
[BlackElo "2472"]
[Annotator "Michael Kleinman"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2017.08.18"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {This game was played in round 8, and I was in the fortunate
position that a win would secure me the IM norm and would push my live rating
above 2400, whereas a draw would have likely been enough to secure the IM norm,
but would have left me a few points below 2400.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ ({
In the past, I have almost exclusively opted for the sideline of 4. Qxd4
against 2... d6,} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 {but, while the positions are comfortable
for White, it is nowadays very difficult to fight for an opening advantage
there against a well-prepared Black player.}) 3... Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 {
[#] Carlsen played this against Svidler in 2013, and this position has become
the tabiya of 3. Bb5+ Nd7. White's idea is to develop a strong center after
c3-Bc2-d4.} Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 (6... b5 7. c4 g5 $5 {is another interesting
variation.}) 7. c4 {This was played by Shanglei Lu against Wei Yi a few weeks
before my game, and I wanted to try it out. The point is to aim for a hedgehog
after Nc3, Bf1, and d4.} (7. c3 {is by far the main move, but Black has been
doing well after} b5 8. Bc2 c4 $1 {hindering the d4 advance.}) 7... Ne5 8. Bf1
Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. d4 $5 (10. d3 {seemed a bit slow to me.} Rb8 11. Bf4 (11. h3
b5) 11... Ng6 12. Bg3 e5 {and the bishop would be misplaced on g3.}) 10...
Nxf3+ 11. gxf3 cxd4 12. Qxd4 {[#] This is quite a unique hedgehog with double
f-pawns, but it is difficult for Black to take advantage of them. Ideally,
Black would want to take advantage of the weakened king by placing the knight
on an active square such as f4, or on g4 if White is to advance the pawn from
f3. In contrast to a typical hedgehog, White has the advantage of having a
pawn along the g1-a7 diagonal which makes the king quite a bit safer, and
potentially mobile f and e pawns, as well as options to activate the light
square bishop via g2, which usually stays on f1 in a normal hedgehog.} Qa5 (
12... e5 13. Qd3 Be6 14. f4 {and we can see the advantage of having double
f-pawns.}) 13. Bg2 Bd7 (13... b5 14. cxb5 axb5 15. b4 $14) ({Rerouting the
queen to h5 is very dangerous for Black as the queen has very few squares, as
can be seen from the following lines.} 13... Qh5 14. e5 dxe5 15. Rxe5 Qg6 16.
Rg5 Qh6 17. Rg3 ({White has the option of repeating} 17. Re5 Qg6 18. Rg5) 17...
Qh5 18. Ne4 (18. Bg5 $1 {is the computer's suggestion, and also a very natural
move}) 18... Kh8 (18... Rd8 19. Qxf6 $18) 19. Rg5 Qh4 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical
Position Analysis Diagram} 20. Rxg7 $3 {editor - this is the computer's
preposterously complicated top line:} Rd8 $1 (20... Kxg7 21. Bg5 Qh5 22. Bxf6+
Bxf6 23. Qxf6+ (23. Nxf6 $4 Qg5 $13) 23... Kg8 24. Qc3 $1 $18 {clearing f6 for
the N.}) (20... Nxe4 21. Rxf7+ Bf6 22. Rxf8+ Kg7 23. Rxf6 $1 $18 {the Ne4 is
pinned to the Q, so White ends up a piece ahead.}) 21. Nxf6 $8 Bxf6 (21... Rxd4
$4 22. Rg8#) (21... Qxf6 22. Qxf6 Bxf6 23. Rxf7 $8 $18) 22. Qxh4 Rd1+ $1 23.
Bf1 Bxh4 24. Rxf7 {(making the R safe and threatening Rf8+ then Bh6+)} Bd7 $1
25. Kg2 (25. Rxd7 $4 Rg8+ {mates.}) (25. Bf4 $6 Rxa1 26. Be5+ Kg8 27. Rg7+ Kf8
$44 {and takes on d7 or h7.}) 25... Rg8+ 26. Kh3 Bxf2 27. Bf4 $1 {unpinning
the Bc1 by threatening mate} e5+ $8 {preventing mate via discovered check} 28.
Rxd7 Rxd7 $8 29. Bxe5+ Rgg7 $16 {White emerges with two extra pawns in an
opposite B ending.}) 14. Bd2 Qc5 (14... Qh5 15. e5 {is similar to 13... Qh5}) (
14... Qc7 {might be the best square for the queen, but it is difficult to play
such a move after already playing ...Qa5.}) (14... e5 15. Qd3 ({The immediate} 
15. Nd5 {does not quite work.} Nxd5 (15... Qxd5 16. exd5 exd4 17. Rxe7 $11) 16.
Bxa5 exd4 $11) 15... Nh5 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. Ba5 Qxa5 18. Nxe7+ Kh8 19. Qxd6 Be6
20. Nd5 $14) 15. Qxc5 dxc5 {[#]} 16. Bg5 {Objectively, this move is inaccurate,
but I wanted to exchance off my dark square bishop before advancing my pawns
to e5 and f4.} ({The logical} 16. e5 Ne8 (16... Nh5 17. f4 Rab8 18. Bf3 $14)
17. f4 Rb8 {led to a position that I had mis-evaluated during the game. I
thought Black would continue with ...g6, and ...Ng7, thereby solving all of
his problems, but Black does not have time for this as the Bishop on d7 does
not have many squares.} 18. Rad1 g6 19. Be3 $16 Bc8 (19... Bc6 {leads to a
horrible structure} 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. b3 $18) 20. Na4 b6 21. b4 {and White is
crashing through on queenside, while Black is underdeveloped.}) 16... h6 17.
Bxf6 Bxf6 (17... gxf6 $5 {is also possible.}) 18. e5 Be7 19. Rad1 ({The
immediate} 19. f4 {would give Black the extra option of} Rfb8 20. Rad1 Be8)
19... Rfd8 20. f4 Rab8 21. Re2 b5 ({The slow} 21... b6 {is met by} 22. Red2 Be8
23. Rxd8 Bxd8 24. Bb7 a5 {and Black's queenside is weakened.}) 22. Red2 Be8 23.
Rxd8 Bxd8 {[#]} 24. Ne4 (24. Bb7 {was my original idea, but Black is probably
better after the precise} bxc4 (24... Rxb7 $2 25. Rxd8 Kf8 26. Ne4 Re7 (26...
Ke7 27. Rxe8+ $18) 27. Nd6 {and Black is in zugzwang.}) 25. Bxa6 Ba5 $1) 24...
Be7 (24... bxc4 $1 {was necessary} 25. Nxc5 (25. Nd6 $2 Ba4 $1 26. Rd2 Ba5 27.
Re2 Bd1 $18) 25... Be7 26. Nb7 $13) 25. Nd6 Bxd6 $2 {editor - White's 27th
shows why this is probably the losing move.} (25... Rd8 26. b4 $1 cxb4 27. c5
$16) (25... Kf8 26. b4 $5 $13) (25... bxc4 {is probably still necessary.} 26.
Nxc4 Bb5 27. Nd6) 26. exd6 Bd7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} 27. b4 $1 {
editor - without the previous capture on d6 this would support the N, but not
create a deadly pair of passed pawns.} Rc8 (27... cxb4 28. c5 Rc8 29. c6 Bxc6
30. Bxc6 Rxc6 31. d7 $18) (27... bxc4 28. bxc5 c3 29. Rc1 (29. c6 $4 c2 30. Rc1
Rb1 31. cxd7 Rxc1+ 32. Bf1 Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 c1=Q+ $19 {and Black can stop the
pawns.}) 29... c2 30. Be4 $1 $18) 28. Bb7 Rb8 29. Bg2 {Repeating to get closer
to time control.} Rc8 30. Bb7 Rb8 31. Bxa6 bxc4 (31... cxb4 32. c5 {followed
by Rd4-xb4 should win.} (32. Bxb5 $2 Bxb5 33. cxb5 Kf8 {might be OK for Black.}
)) 32. bxc5 c3 33. Rc1 Bc6 {[#]} 34. Bd3 (34. Rxc3 Rb1+ 35. Bf1 Bb5 {is
Black's point. Even here, White actually still wins wins with 36. Rb3, but
there is really no point to allow this.}) 34... Ra8 35. f3 $1 {This move
dislodges the Bishop from its ideal square on c6 by preparing Be4, and also
makes space for the king.} Bxf3 (35... Kf8 36. Be4 Bxe4 37. fxe4 $18) (35... f5
36. Bc4 $18) 36. Bb5 Rxa2 37. d7 Rd2 38. Rxc3 Be4 39. Bd3 1-0

[Event "2017 CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitational"]
[Site "Charlottesville"]
[Date "2017.03.30"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Black "Vigorito, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E57"]
[WhiteElo "2289"]
[BlackElo "2370"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 {A Caro-Kann Panov-Botvinnik attack turns into a standard
IQP position where White gets a very strong, and very thematic, sacrificial
attack on the light squares.} c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 {
[#]} 6. Bg5 {White's most combative move.} (6. Nf3 Bg4 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qb3 {
is the start of the well-worn "Endgame Variaiton", which continues} Bxf3 9.
gxf3 e6 10. Qxb7 Nxd4 11. Bb5+ Nxb5 12. Qc6+ Ke7 {[#] analysis diagram; Where
Black is reckoned to be OK.} {... though here's a crazy recent result to
remind White players to stay alert:} 13. Qc5+ Ke8 14. Qxb5+ Qd7 15. Nxd5 exd5
16. Qb3 Bd6 17. O-O Rb8 18. Qe3+ Kf8 19. Rd1 $4 Qh3 {White resigned, since f4
is the only move to prevent mate, but loses the R to ...Qg4+; 0-1 Riazantsev,A
(2671)-Jakovenko,D (2709) Sharjah, 2017.}) 6... dxc4 7. Bxc4 (7. d5 Ne5 8. Qd4
h6 $1 $13) 7... h6 $1 ({It's risky to take the d-pawn} 7... Qxd4 8. Qxd4 Nxd4
9. O-O-O e5 10. f4 Bg4 11. Nf3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 $13 {When White has a significant
lead in development; e.g. Mamedyarov,S (2736)-Sethuraman,S (2640) Baku, 2015 
(1-0, 41).}) 8. Bh4 (8. Be3 {is a much less dynamic way of using the IQP,} e6
9. Nf3 Bd6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qd2 Ne7 $1 12. Rad1 a6 13. Bd3 Nf5 14. Bf4 $11 {
(½-½, 30) Kamsky,G (2740)-Eljanov,P (2678) Moscow, 2013.}) 8... e6 {Safer
than ...Qxd4, as at move 7.} 9. Nf3 Be7 10. O-O O-O {[#]} 11. a3 $1 (11. Rc1 b6
12. Bd3 Bb7 13. Bb1 Rc8 14. Re1 Re8 15. a3 Nh5 16. Qc2 Bxh4 17. Qh7+ $2 (17. d5
$142 $1) 17... Kf8 18. d5 Bg5 $4 (18... Nd4 $1 19. Nxd4 Bxf2+ 20. Kxf2 Qh4+ $19
) 19. Rcd1 Qf6 20. d6 g6 21. Nxg5 Rcd8 (21... hxg5 22. Ne4 $18) 22. Nxe6+ $1
$18 {1-0 Naiditsch,A (2674)-Eljanov,P (2761) Sibenik, 2010.}) 11... b6 12. Qd3
Bb7 13. Rfe1 {[#] A nearly standard IQP position, which can also arise out of
an e3-Nimzo. ...h6 (rather than ...g6 to defend a battery along the b1-h7
diagonal) weakens Black's kingside light squares, which White exploits nicely.}
Rc8 (13... Nh5 14. Bg3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Bf6 16. d5 exd5 17. Nxd5 Bxb2 $6 (17...
Kh8 {1-0 (82) Kobalia,M (2666)-Riazantsev,A (2689) Moscow, 2011.}) 18. Rad1 Na5
$2 19. Ne7+ $1 Kh8 20. Qf5 $8 $18 Qxd1 (20... Qc7 21. Ng5 $1 $18) 21. Rxd1 Bxf3
22. Bd3 {1-0 Gulko,B (2533)-Krush,I (2489) Rockville, 2013.}) 14. Bb3 Nh5 $1
15. Bg3 (15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. g3 (16. Rad1 $2 Nf4 17. Qe3 Nxg2 $1 18. Kxg2 Nf5 19.
Qf4 Nh4+ $19 (19... g5 $19)) 16... Nf6 {Black is well-placed to play against
the IQP.}) 15... Bf6 16. Bc2 g6 {[#]} 17. Rxe6 $1 $13 {[%mdl 128]} Nxg3 (17...
fxe6 $4 18. Qxg6+ Ng7 19. Ne5 $1 $18 Bxe5 $140 20. Qh7+ Kf7 21. Bg6+ Ke7 22.
dxe5 $18 {threatening Qxg7 and Bh4+.}) (17... Nxd4 $1 {is playable and unclear:
} 18. Nxd4 (18. Rxf6 $6 Nxc2 $8 19. Rd6 $1 (19. Rxg6+ {looks tempting, but
Black is better after} fxg6 20. Qxg6+ Ng7 21. Qxc2 Bxf3 $17) 19... Nxa1 $8 20.
Rxd8 Rfxd8 $13) (18. Rd6 Nxf3+ 19. gxf3 Qe8 $1 $13) 18... Qxd4 19. Qxd4 Bxd4
20. Re7 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Rxc3 22. Bxg6 $11) 18. hxg3 Bg7 19. Re4 Ne7 20. Rf4 {
Stopping ...Nf5, which would lose to Rxf5.} Qc7 21. Re1 {[#]} Rcd8 $6 (21...
Nd5 $142 22. Nxd5 Qxc2 23. Ne7+ (23. Nf6+ $13) 23... Kh7 $13) 22. Ne5 {[#] A
tense position: Black has the IQP blockaded and targeted, but White has a lot
of pieces pointed at the black K.} (22. Nb5 $1 Qd7 23. Ne5 Bxe5 (23... Qe6 24.
Bb3 $18) 24. Rxe5 $16) 22... Nc6 $2 (22... Nd5 $142 {forking c3 and f4,} 23.
Rh4 Nxc3 $14 (23... a6 24. Bb3 $14)) (22... Bxe5 23. Rxe5 Qxe5 24. dxe5 Rxd3
25. Bxd3 $16 {and White is up a safe pawn.}) 23. Qc4 $16 {Pinning c6 and f7 is
good, but not nearly the best.} (23. Nxf7 $3 $18 {this second strike on the
light squares would end the game:} Rxf7 (23... Rxd4 24. Qxg6 $18 {is mating.})
24. Bb3 Ne5 25. Rxe5 Bxe5 26. Qxg6+ $18 {with total ownership of the light
squares.}) 23... Qe7 {Pinning the N to e1} 24. Bxg6 $1 Bxe5 (24... Nxe5 25.
dxe5 Rc8 26. Qb3 Rc5 27. Bb1 Rxe5 28. Rxe5 Qxe5 29. Qc2 Rd8 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31.
Ba2 $18 {White is up a pawn with Black's kinside broken.}) 25. dxe5 Nxe5 {
[%mdl 64] [#]  Critical Position} 26. Rxe5 $4 {Giving away most of White's
advantage.} (26. Bxf7+ $1 Kh8 (26... Qxf7 27. Rxe5 Qxc4 28. Rxc4 {and White is
up two pawns with a much safer K.}) 27. Qe2 Rxf7 28. Rxf7 Qxf7 29. Qxe5+ $18 {
also with an extra two pawns and huge initiative.}) (26. Rxf7 $3 {putting yet
a third piece en prise to the N would have been a worthy finish:} Nxc4 (26...
Rxf7 27. Rxe5 $8 $18) 27. Rexe7 Rfe8 (27... Rxf7 28. Bxf7+ Kf8 29. Rxb7 $18)
28. Rg7+ Kh8 29. Rh7+ Kg8 30. Reg7+ Kf8 31. Rxb7 $18) 26... Qxe5 27. Rxf7 Bd5
$8 28. Nxd5 {[#]} Qxd5 $4 (28... Rxf7 $8 29. Bxf7+ Kxf7 $14 {and there are no
particularly useful discovered checks.}) 29. Qc7 $8 $18 Rfe8 (29... Rxf7 30.
Bxf7+ Qxf7 31. Qxd8+ $18) 30. Rg7+ Kf8 31. Rh7 1-0

[Event "Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.06.28"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Lesiege, Alexandre"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A05"]
[WhiteElo "2525"]
[BlackElo "2473"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2017.06.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {This early meeting between two of the top seeds was both
critical and fascinating.} 1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 b5 $5 {This is only
Black's 10th most frequently played move here, but it scores better than all
the others (62%) and a huge Elo advantage! It stops White from going for
Catalan or reversed-Benoni play with ...c4, and gains space on the queenside.}
4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 Bb7 {[#]} 6. Nbd2 (6. c4 {looks like the principled way to
play: trying to turn the early ...b5 into queenside weaknesses.} a6 (6... dxc4
7. dxc4 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 bxc4 9. Ne5 {gives White a clear long-term advantage with
play on the c-file.}) 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. a4 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. axb5 Nxc3 11. bxc3
axb5 12. Rxa8 Bxa8 13. Qb3 {Black's best move would be ...b5-b6, but...
something about something not moving backwards.} Bc6 14. Be3 Nd7 15. Ra1 Qc8
16. Ra7 Qb8 17. Qa2 b4 18. cxb4 Bxb4 19. Nd4 (19. Qc2 $1 Nb6 (19... Bb7 $2 20.
Ne5 $1 $18) 20. Ra1 $16) 19... Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Bc5 21. Nc6 Qb6 22. Ne7+ Kh8 23.
Bxc5 Qxc5 24. Qa3 Qb6 25. Qa5 Qxa5 26. Rxa5 $14 {White has a better structure
and more centralized K, but couldn't turn it into a win in Short,N (2670)-Hou,
Y (2649) Hoogeveen (m) 2016, (½-½, 57).}) 6... Be7 7. e4 c5 8. Re1 ({The
following game has a surprising pseudo-sac on move 10:} 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Ne5 Qc7
10. Nxf7 $5 {I wasn't expecting that!} O-O $1 (10... Kxf7 11. Qf3+ Kg8 12. c4
$14 {White gets the material back and the Rh8 is hard to play.}) 11. c4 Rxf7 (
11... Nb6 12. Bxb7 Qxb7 13. Ne5 $16) 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Nf3 Nc6 14. Bg5 Raf8 15.
Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Rc1 {½-½ Nisipeanu,L (2671)-Moroni,L (2530) Zuerich, 2017.})
8... Nc6 {[#]} 9. exd5 (9. e5 Nd7 {transposes into typical King's Indian
Attack, but where Black may be a little better off than usual since he's
already gained more queenside space with ...b5 (rather than ...b6), and has
not yet castled, which allows plans with ...g5!?}) 9... Nxd5 (9... exd5 10. d4
$1 $14 {leaves Black's queenside minors misplaced, though that might be only a
temporary inconvenience; e.g.} c4 11. Nf1 O-O 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. c3
Qd6 15. Ne3 Rab8 16. Qd2 Qd7 17. h4 h5 18. Kh2 g6 19. Bh3 Qd6 {Despite
conceding several tempi with his Q, Black is still OK.} 20. Ng2 Bc8 21. Qf4
Qxf4 22. Nxf4 Bxh3 23. Kxh3 Rfd8 24. Rad1 a5 $2 (24... b4 $13) 25. Nxg6 $1 fxg6
26. Re6 Nxd4 27. Nxd4 Kf7 28. Ra6 b4 $4 29. Nc6 bxc3 30. bxc3 {1-0 Danielsen,H
(2498)-Rusev,K (2525) Odense, 2012.}) 10. a3 O-O 11. Ne4 Qb6 12. Bd2 {[#]} (12.
Bg5 $5) 12... c4 $5 {Not a move the computers like (...Rad8, ...a5), but a
combative move, ensuring an unbalanced pawn structure.} 13. dxc4 bxc4 14. Rb1
Rad8 15. Qc1 (15. Qe2 Ba6 16. Nc3 $11 (16. Bf1 $5)) 15... e5 16. Nc3 Bc5 17.
Ne4 Rfe8 $5 {Conceding the B pair.} (17... Be7 {threatening ...f5 would have
been most player's automatic choice.}) 18. Nxc5 Qxc5 19. b4 {[#]} Qd6 $6 (19...
cxb3 $6 20. cxb3 {and the B-pair and queenside majority ought to be better for
White in the long run.}) (19... Qb5 $142 {stops White's next, although it's
hard to believe Black's position might be worse after the ensuing trade on d4.}
) 20. b5 $1 Nd4 21. Nxd4 exd4 {[#]} 22. Ba5 $1 Rc8 23. Qd2 $6 (23. a4 $142 {
simply saving the a-pawn.}) 23... Qxa3 24. Red1 (24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. Re1 Rc8 26.
b6 $5 {is a computer-line that might occur to Kramnik.} (26. Re5 $13) 26... c3
$6 {shows the point of the sac} 27. Qxd4 Qxa5 28. bxa7 {White has only one
pawn for the piece, but Rb1 is difficult for Black; for example:} Ra8 29. Rb1 {
taking the a7-pawn loses a piece due to back-rank tactics, but after} Qc7 30.
Rb5 $16 {Black has to give back the N to eliminate the a7-pawn.}) 24... d3 25.
Ra1 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position} Qb2 $2 {Making the Q safe and forking c2
and b5 is obviously a candidate move, but it's not the best.} (25... Qc5 {
hitting f2 and so threatening ...Re2.} 26. cxd3 c3 $8 27. Qc2 Qxb5 $15 (27...
h5 $5 {to soften up White's kingside when there can be tactics with ...Ne3.}))
26. cxd3 $2 (26. Bxd5 $8 $16 Re2 $1 {leads to a forcing line where White's
scattered pieces can somehow look out for each other and stop Black's passers:}
(26... Bxd5 $2 27. Bc3 $8 Qxb5 28. Ra5 Qc6 29. Qg5 {threatening mate on g7 and
the Bd5.}) 27. Bxb7 (27. Qg5 {leads to a whole course in tactics:} Qd4 $1 {
forking f2 and d5.} 28. Bxf7+ {Desperado.} Kxf7 29. Qh5+ $8 {Fork.} Kg8 30.
Qxe2 {using the pin to the undefended Qd4,} Qd5 $8 {in-between move, defending
the Q with a mate threat} 31. f3 $8 dxe2 32. Rxd5 Bxd5 33. Kf2 $14 {White is
nominally better in the R and opposite B ending.}) 27... Rxd2 28. Bxd2 {
looks nightmarish for White, but there's no way to make those passers go:} dxc2
(28... Rb8 29. Bc6 Qxc2 30. Be3 c3 31. Be4 $1 Rd8 32. b6 $1 $18) 29. Bxc8
cxd1=Q+ 30. Rxd1 Qxb5 $16 (30... Qc2 31. Bg4 $18)) 26... c3 $8 {[#]} 27. Qxb2 (
27. Bxc3 Qxc3 28. Qxc3 Nxc3 29. Bxb7 Nxd1 {This woud be excellent for White,
but the obvious} 30. Bxc8 {loses an exchange to} Re1+ 31. Kg2 Ne3+ $19) 27...
cxb2 28. Rab1 Rc2 {It's over: Black has a protected passed pawn on the 2nd and
his Rs have the only open files.} 29. Bf1 Rec8 $19 30. Bh3 R8c5 31. Re1 g6 32.
Bd7 Nc3 33. Bxc3 R5xc3 34. Bc6 Rc1 $1 {Bonus exclam for style.} 0-1

[Event "Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.06.28"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C09"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2473"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2017.06.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. d4 e6 $5 {An interesting choice, given that Bator has years
of experience playing the French.} 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. exd5 exd5
6. Bb5 Qe7+ $5 {"This check is equivalent to a tacit draw offer by 7.Qe2 Qxe2+
etc." - Keres, "Paul Keres: The Road to the Top".} (6... Bd6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 {
is the way Kortchnoi played this as Black, winning a few and almost never
losing, even against Karpov.}) 7. Be2 {[#]} Qc7 $1 ({Here's a classic game
where Keres turns positional pressure on the queenside into an attack on the K.
} 7... cxd4 8. O-O Qc7 9. Nb3 Bd6 $6 (9... Nf6 $142 10. Nbxd4 Be7 $14) 10.
Nbxd4 a6 11. b3 (11. c4 $1 dxc4 12. Bxc4 $32 {Keres}) 11... Nge7 12. Bb2 O-O
13. Nxc6 $1 {Helps Black defend d5, but White can target a6 and c6.} bxc6 14.
c4 Be6 15. Qc2 dxc4 16. Bxc4 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 $16 Rfb8 18. h3 Rb5 19. Rac1 Rc8 20.
Rfd1 Ng6 21. Nd4 Rb6 {[#]Analysis Diagram} 22. Ne6 $1 Qb8 $1 23. Ng5 $16 (23.
Nxg7 $5 Be5 $1 {with complications Keres could not fathom over the board, but
which Kasparov analyzes to a clear advantage for White.}) 23... Rb7 24. Qg4 Bf4
25. Rc4 Rb5 $2 26. Nxf7 $1 (26. Rxf4 $1 Nxf4 27. Nxf7 $8 $18) 26... Re8 $1 (
26... Kxf7 27. Rd7+ {#3}) 27. g3 Qc8 28. Rxf4 Qxg4 29. Rxg4 Kxf7 30. Rd7+ Re7
31. Rxe7+ Kxe7 32. Bxg7 $18 Ra5 33. a4 Rc5 34. Rb4 Ke6 35. Kg2 h5 36. Rc4 Rxc4
37. bxc4 Kd6 38. f4 {1-0, Keres,P-Capablanca,J Netherlands, 1938.}) ({To show
just how much chess has changed in the 60+ years, since the previous game,
player have discovered that Black can try this:} 7... g5 $5 {scoring a slight
Elo minus.} 8. h3 g4 9. hxg4 Bxg4 10. dxc5 O-O-O 11. Kf1 (11. Nb3 Bxf3 12. gxf3
Bg7 13. Qd3 Qf6 14. f4 Nge7 15. c3 d4 16. Bd2 dxc3 17. Qxc3 Qg6 18. Qh3+ Kb8
19. O-O-O Nd5 $11 {(½-½, 27) Psakhis,L (2555)-Weinzettl,E (2285) Hartberg,
1991.}) 11... Nf6 12. Nb3 Ne4 13. c3 (13. Nfd4 $14) 13... Re8 (13... h5 $132)
14. Nfd4 Bxe2+ 15. Qxe2 $14 {(1-0, 25) Howell,D (2657)-Firman,N (2458) Germany,
2014.}) 8. O-O Nf6 9. c4 $5 (9. dxc5 {and}) (9. Re1 {are more common.}) 9...
Be7 {[#] The center is at maximum tension and the main question is whether
exchanges bring the opponent's minors to more active or tactically vulnerable
squares.} 10. dxc5 (10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. dxc5 Bf5 $5 {angling for ...000!?}) 10...
O-O (10... dxc4 11. Nxc4 Bxc5 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Nd6+ $13) 11. a3 (11. cxd5 Nxd5
12. Ne4 Nf4 13. Bxf4 Qxf4 14. Nd6 (14. Qa4 $5 $14) 14... Rd8 $11 (14... Be6 $5)
) 11... Rd8 12. b4 a5 13. Bb2 axb4 14. axb4 Rxa1 15. Qxa1 Nxb4 $11 16. Nb3 Bg4
17. cxd5 {[#]} Rxd5 $2 {This is hard to understand, especially since the more
natural move} (17... Nbxd5 $1 $11 {is perfectly OK. Possibly Black thought he
was already better, and activating the R was the way to prove it, or maybe he
just missed the strength of White's next.}) 18. Qa4 $1 {Attacking the two
minors along the 4th rank. This is a theme of a lot of the variations which
follow.} Qf4 $8 {Best.} (18... Nc6 $2 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 (19... Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Bxf6
21. Bxd5 $18) 20. Qxg4 $18 {wins the B.}) (18... Bxc5 19. Nxc5 Qxc5 20. Ba3
Bxf3 21. Bxf3 Rd4 22. Rb1 $18 {also wins a piece.}) (18... Rh5 {is the
trickiest line} 19. h3 $8 Bxf3 (19... Bxh3 20. Bxf6 {simplest.} Bg4 21. Bxe7
Bxf3 $2 22. Qe8#) 20. Bxf3 Rh4 21. Qa8+ Bf8 (21... Qd8 22. Qxb7 {the c-pawn is
a monster.}) 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Re1 Kg7 24. Re8 Bxc5 25. Nxc5 Qxc5 26. Rg8+ Kh6
27. Rg3 $1 {and there's no good defence to Qg8.}) {[#]} 19. Qa8+ $2 (19. Re1 $8
{This quiet move is the only one that gives White big advantage, but it is
really hard to choose when there are so many possible tactics.} Nd3 $1 (19...
Bxc5 20. Nxc5 Rxc5 {the B and R guard c8, so Qa8+ isn't mate.} 21. Rd1 $1 {
With an obvious threat, but hard to see when considering Rf1-e1.} Rc8 22. Rd4
$18 {with a fork on the 4th.}) 20. Qxf4 Nxf4 21. Bc4 $1 {double-attack on d5
and e7.} Bxf3 (21... Rd7 22. Bb5 Rc7 23. Be5 $18) 22. Bxd5 $1 Bxd5 23. Rxe7
Bxb3 24. Rxb7 {threatening mate and the B.} Ba4 25. Rb4 $18 {again, winning
the loose piece on the 4th rank.}) 19... Rd8 20. Qxb7 Qe4 $1 21. Qxe4 Nxe4 22.
Bd4 Be6 {[#]} 23. Rb1 (23. Na5 $11) 23... Nc6 24. Bb5 (24. Be3 $4 Nc3 $19)
24... Nxd4 25. Nbxd4 (25. Nfxd4 $4 Nc3 $19) 25... Nc3 26. Rc1 (26. Rb2 $142 $1
Bxc5 27. Nxe6 Rd1+ 28. Bf1 fxe6 29. g3 $11) 26... Nxb5 27. Nxb5 Bxc5 $15 {
[#]Two Bs vs two Ns, but all the pawns are on the same side, so White should
be able to hold... after surviving some torture.} 28. Ng5 Bc8 29. h4 Bf8 30.
Nc3 h6 31. Nf3 Bb7 32. Rd1 Rc8 33. Nd5 Rc4 34. Kh2 Bd6+ {[#]} 35. Kg1 $4 (35.
Kh1 $8 Bxd5 (35... Bc5 $1 36. Kg1 Rg4 $1 $15) 36. Rxd5 Rc1+ 37. Ng1 $11 {
is the point of keeping g1 free.}) 35... Bxd5 {Threre's a back-rank mate, so
White loses a whole N.} 0-1

[Event "Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.06.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Oussedik, Elias"]
[Black "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E16"]
[WhiteElo "2163"]
[BlackElo "2471"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2017.06.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7.
Re1 O-O {[#]} 8. Ne5 {A Novelty.} (8. Bf4 $5) 8... Bxg2 9. Kxg2 d5 10. Qc2 c5
11. dxc5 bxc5 12. Nd2 Qb6 13. Ndf3 Nfd7 14. Nxd7 Nxd7 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Rd1 Qb7
17. Bf4 Rfe8 18. Rac1 Rac8 19. b3 h6 20. Qd3 $6 g5 21. Bd2 {[#]} d4 (21... Re4
$1 {supports ...c4, blocks the Q, and sets up long diagonal tactics with ...g4
and ...d4; e.g.} 22. Bc3 $2 d4 23. Ba1 g4 $19) 22. Kg1 Rc6 23. h3 Rce6 24. Re1
Qd5 25. b4 cxb4 26. Bxb4 h5 27. Qc4 Qxc4 28. Rxc4 g4 29. hxg4 hxg4 {[#]
Critical Position White has played cautiously but carefully enough to reach an
endgame with material equallity but where his pieces are a little
uncoordinated.  Can White now play Nxd4?} 30. Nxd4 $1 {[%mdl 64] Yes, but the
tactics are very tricky.} (30. Nh2 $2 Rxe2 31. Rxe2 Rxe2 32. Nxg4 d3 $17) 30...
Re4 $1 {Pinning the Nd4 to the R is the only move to pose any difficulties for
White.} 31. e3 $8 {Defending the N but weakening f3.} (31. Rd1 $2 Nb6 $1 $19
32. f3 $5 {the trickiest} gxf3 $8 33. exf3 Nxc4 34. fxe4 Rd8 $8 {Incredibly,
White can't escape the d-file pin for less than an exchange!} 35. Bc5 (35. Bc3
Na3 $1 {and N goes to c2 or b5.}) 35... Rd7 {defending a7 and threatening ...
Nb2-a4 to remove the B guarding the Nd4.} (35... Nb6 {also works by
threatening ...Na4 and ...Rd7.}) 36. Kf2 (36. Rc1 Bxd4+ {with check!} 37. Bxd4
Rxd4 {and the R defends the N.}) 36... Nb2 37. Rd2 Na4 38. Bxa7 Rxa7 $19) 31...
Ne5 {[#] Hitting the R and setting up forks on f3 and d3.} 32. Rcc1 $4 (32. Rc7
$2 Nd3 $1 33. Rb1 Bxd4 $1 34. exd4 Rb8 35. a3 a5 36. Rd1 axb4 $8 37. Rxd3 Re1+
$1 {controlling the promotion rank with tempo} 38. Kg2 b3 $19) (32. Rc3 $2 Nf3+
$1 33. Nxf3 Rxb4 {and White is hanging on c3 and f3, and} 34. Nd4 {fails to
either capture on d4, exploiting the pin on the e-file.}) (32. Rc2 $8 Rxd4 (
32... Nd3 33. Rb1 $8 Rb8 34. a3 $8 Bxd4 (34... a5 $2 35. Nc6 $14) 35. exd4 a5
36. Rd1 $8 $11) 33. exd4 Nf3+ 34. Kf1 Nxe1 35. Bxe1 Bxd4 $11) 32... Nd3 {
Wins a whole piece.} 33. Bc3 Nxe1 34. Bxe1 (34. Rxe1 Bxd4 35. Bxd4 Rxd4 $19 {
is the same winning tactic as the game.}) 34... Bxd4 0-1

[Event "Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.06.28"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kleinman, Michael"]
[Black "Sohal, Tanraj"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B40"]
[WhiteElo "2366"]
[BlackElo "2319"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2017.06.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 Nc6 4. Bb2 a6 5. c4 d6 6. d4 cxd4 7.
Nxd4 Qc7 8. Be2 Nf6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Rc1 O-O 11. O-O Ne5 12. f4 Ng6 13. Kh1 Re8
14. Qd2 {[#] By an unsual move-order (3.b3) the players have reached a
hedgehog middlegame with the Ng6 unusually placed: inviting f4-f5 but also
supporting ...e5. The notes to the next five moves are dense, but they do
reflect the tactical and strategic complexity of these middlegames.} e5 15.
fxe5 $6 (15. Nf5 $1 Bxf5 (15... Nxf4 $2 16. Rxf4 $3 exf4 17. Nd5 (17. Nxg7 $1)
17... Nxd5 18. cxd5 Qd8 19. Nxg7 $18) 16. exf5 Nxf4 17. Bf3 {g2-g3 threatens
to trap the N, so Black has to break.} d5 $1 18. cxd5 (18. g3 $2 e4 $1 $13 19.
Rcd1) 18... Qa5 19. Rfd1 {unpinning the Nc3 and threatening both g3 and d6.} (
19. g3 N4xd5 20. Bxd5 Rad8 $13)) 15... dxe5 16. Nf5 Bb4 $6 {[%mdl 64] pinning
the N and threatening ...Nxe4. White has several decent moves here;
surprisingly, two of them are sacrifices.} (16... Bxf5 {Giving up the Bs to
chop the dangerous Nf5.} 17. Nd5 $3 Nxd5 (17... Qd8 18. Rxf5 $16) 18. cxd5 Qd7
19. Rxf5 {with the Bs, passed pawn, and better structure.}) {[#]} 17. Qe3 $6 (
17. Nd5 {is a move both sides have to calculate every turn.} Bxd2 (17... Nxd5
18. cxd5 $8 Qa5 19. Bc3 $11) 18. Nxc7 Bxc1 19. Bxc1 Nxe4 $1 (19... Be6 20. Nd6
$16) 20. Nh6+ $1 (20. Nxg7 Rd8 21. Nxa8 Kxg7 22. Nc7 $11) (20. Nxa8 Bxf5 21.
Rxf5 Rxa8 $17) 20... gxh6 21. Nxe8 $14) ({A N on f5 is always a threat to
sacrifice, and here there are two ways to try it:} 17. Nh6+ $5 Kh8 $1 (17...
gxh6 $2 18. Rxf6 $16) (17... Kf8 $2 18. Qg5 $16) 18. Qe3 Bxc3 (18... Bc5 19.
Qf3 $16) (18... Qc5) 19. Bxc3 Be6 20. Rxf6 $5 gxf6 21. Rf1 Qe7 22. h4 $36) ({
SF10 initially rates} 17. Nxg7 $5 {as winning, but changes its eval after 23
ply:} Kxg7 (17... Nxe4 $4 18. Nxe8 $18) 18. Rxf6 Bxc3 $8 (18... Kxf6 19. Nd5+
$18) 19. Bxc3 Kxf6 20. Qh6 $8 Qb6 $1 $15 {stopping Bb4. White is down a R for
a pawn, but Stockfish rates this as only a little bit better for Black.} (20...
Ke7 $4 21. Bb4+ $18)) 17... Bxf5 18. exf5 (18. Rxf5 $5 {is reasonable too.})
18... Bc5 $2 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position} (18... Nf4 $1 $15) 19. Qg3 $2 (
19. Nd5 $3 {is very strong here, but after the forced sequence} Nxd5 (19... Qc6
$2 20. Nxf6+ gxf6 21. Qg3 $18 {White will be up a piece.}) 20. cxd5 {the
alternatives become difficult to calculate:} Bxe3 (20... b6 $2 21. fxg6) (20...
Rac8 21. Rxc5 (21. Qg3 $1 {is even better.}) 21... Qxc5 22. Qxc5 Rxc5 23. fxg6
$18 {and Black can't execute the fork on c2 because of the one on f7.}) 21.
Rxc7 Nf4 $8 22. Bc4 $1 (22. Bf3 e4 $15) (22. Rf3 Nxe2 23. Rxe3 Nf4 $11) 22...
b5 $1 23. g3 $8 Nh5 (23... bxc4 $2 24. gxf4 {and no matter what Black plays,
White's pawns are much more dangerous.}) 24. Be2 $16) 19... Nf4 20. Rfe1 $2 (
20. Bf3 $142) 20... Rad8 $1 $17 21. Rc2 $2 (21. Bf1 $17) 21... Qd7 $1 {[#]
Hitting f5 and dominating the only open file.} 22. Nd5 Ne4 $1 $19 {Black's N's
jump all over White.} (22... Qxf5 $1 23. Nxf6+ Qxf6 $19) 23. Qf3 Nf2+ 24. Kg1
N2d3+ 25. Kf1 Nxe1 26. Kxe1 Qxf5 $18 27. Rc1 Qg5 28. Kf1 Nxd5 29. cxd5 Bd4 30.
h4 Qxh4 31. Bxd4 exd4 32. Rc7 Re7 33. d6 Rxc7 34. dxc7 Rc8 35. Qxb7 Qf4+ 36.
Kg1 Qxc7 37. Qxa6 Qc1+ 38. Kh2 Qf4+ 39. g3 Qh6+ 40. Qxh6 gxh6 41. Kg2 Rc2 42.
Kf3 Rxa2 43. Bc4 Kf8 44. g4 Ke7 45. Ke4 Rd2 46. b4 Kd6 47. Bxf7 Rb2 48. Kxd4
Rxb4+ 49. Bc4 Ra4 50. Kc3 Ke5 51. Be2 Rd4 52. Kc2 Kf4 53. Kc1 Kg3 54. Kc2 Rxg4
55. Bxg4 Kxg4 56. Kd2 0-1

[Event "Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.07.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Oussedik, Elias"]
[Black "Itkin, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A65"]
[WhiteElo "2163"]
[BlackElo "2181"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2017.06.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5
e6 8. Nf3 exd5 9. cxd5 Re8 10. Bd3 c4 11. Bc2 b5 12. a3 Nbd7 13. O-O h6 14. Be3
Ne5 15. Nxe5 Rxe5 16. Re1 (16. f4 $16) 16... Re8 17. Bd4 a6 18. e5 (18. f4 $1)
18... dxe5 $11 19. Bxe5 Bb7 20. Qd4 {[#]} Rxe5 $3 $13 {Nice! Even without the
center pawns, Benoni dark-square play is worth a lot.} 21. Qxe5 Nxd5 22. Qg3
Nxc3 23. bxc3 Qd2 24. Rac1 Rc8 $1 {[#] Preventing Qc7. Not just a good move,
but good judgment: Black played a positional exchange sac, and his comp won't
go away if he plays slowly.} 25. Bb1 $13 {Since Bxg6 is a key tactic, it makes
sense to look for ways to economize on B moves; e.g.} (25. h4 $5 Qxc3 26. Qxc3
Bxc3 27. Bf5 $1 gxf5 $1 (27... Bxe1 28. Bxc8 Bxf2+ 29. Kxf2 Bxc8 30. Rd1 $13)
28. Rxc3 Bd5 $15 {feels like a two-result game, but harder to win than draw
without the B pair.}) 25... Qb2 26. h4 h5 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position A
reluctant Benoni has turned into a positionally and materially unbalanced mess:
Black is collecting on the queenside, but White has serious threats on the
kingside.} 27. Qg5 {Defending the Rc1 and preparing Re7.} (27. Bxg6 $5 fxg6 28.
Qxg6 Rf8 {threatening f2.} 29. Rc2 $8 Qxa3 $8 $13 {preventing Re7, with an
exciting mess. For instance, White's most obvious try} 30. Rce2 $2 {actually
loses to} Qc5 $1 {attacking f2 and going to f5 to save the K.} 31. Re7 Qxf2+ $8
32. Kh2 Qxh4+ 33. Kg1 Qf2+ 34. Kh2 Qxg2+ $1 $19 {forcing off the Qs for a
winning endgame.} (34... Qh4+ {draws, or gains time on the increment.})) 27...
Qxa3 $2 (27... Rf8 $1 {indirectly guards against Bxg6 since ...fxg6 will
create a double attack on f2.}) 28. Re7 $4 {Wins against every defence....} (
28. Bxg6 $1 fxg6 29. Re7 $18 Ba8 (29... Qd6 30. Rxb7 $18) (29... Bc6 30. Rce1
$8 Qxc3 31. Qxg6 $18) (29... Bh6 {doesn't work here because with the f7 pawn
gone} 30. Qxg6+ {is possible and winning.}) 30. Rce1 $18 (30. Rd1 $18)) {
... except one:} 28... Bh6 $8 $19 {Not just the only move to win, but the only
move that doesn't lose. The Q can't protect both Rs.} 29. Qxh6 (29. Qg3 $4 {
is much worse} Qxc1+ 30. Kh2 Bf4 $19) 29... Qxe7 30. Kf1 Re8 {[#] Threatening .
..Qxh4 winning a pawn with mate on h1.} 31. Kg1 (31. Bxg6 fxg6 32. Qxg6+ Kf8
33. Qh6+ Qg7 $19) 31... Qe6 {The price to sac on g6 just went up.} (31... Qxh4
$4 32. Bxg6 $11) 32. Qf4 Qe5 33. Qh6 Qd5 34. f3 Re2 35. Kf1 Qd2 36. Qxd2 Rxd2
37. Bc2 Kf8 38. Ke1 Rxg2 0-1

[Event "Canadian Zonal"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.07.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "2471"]
[BlackElo "2513"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2017.06.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 {[#] Aman has
been playing the London System a lot online, and may also have chosen this
super-solid setup as a way to provoke Black, who had to win this game to tie
for first.} d6 {A good move: blocking the Bf4 and fighting for e5. Both ...Be7
and ...c5 are more common.} 6. O-O h6 $146 {Preparing to chase the Bf4 without
allowing Bg5.} 7. Nbd2 (7. h3 g5 8. Bh2 g4 $5 {If this works I could write
that Black has shown the folly of h2-h3. And if it doesn't work, I could write
about the folly of attacking when behind in development. In either case,
quoting Chernev's Logical Chess: Move by Move.}) 7... Nh5 8. Be4 $5 {More
provocation!?} c6 (8... d5 9. Bd3 {would put Black up a tempo in a more usual
London System formation, but with much more work to do to stir up imbalances
and winning chances.}) 9. Bd3 g5 10. Bg3 Nd7 11. e4 Nxg3 12. hxg3 h5 $5 {
[#]Black provokes back?  This is actually Stockfish's top choice. Being
provocative is a bonus.} 13. d5 $4 {... and it works! (Did White just overlook
Black's 16th move? Or was he provoked into overlooking it?)} (13. Re1 $142)
13... cxd5 14. exd5 Bxd5 15. Be4 Bxe4 (15... Nf6 $2 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Ne4 g4
18. c4 $14) 16. Nxe4 {With a double attack on d6 and g5...} g4 $8 {... which
White has no time to execute.} 17. Nd4 (17. Nxd6+ $2 Bxd6 18. Qxd6 gxf3 $19 {
is obviously hopeless.}) 17... d5 18. Nc3 Bg7 {[#] White has more development,
but Black has an extra pawn and more control in the center and a safe K.
Black's central pawns resemble a French, which both Bator and Aman played for
years as their main defence to 1.e4.} 19. Re1 Ne5 20. Nce2 h4 21. Nf4 hxg3 22.
fxg3 Qd6 {[#]} 23. c3 (23. c4 {is White's only pawn break, and it gives Black
chances to blunder, but not if he's careful:} dxc4 $4 (23... Nxc4 $2 24. Nfxe6
Be5 $8) (23... Qc5 $1 $19) (23... O-O-O $19) 24. Ndxe6 $18 Qxd1 25. Nxg7+ Kf8
26. Raxd1 Kxg7 27. Rxe5 $18) 23... Rc8 (23... O-O-O $1) (23... O-O {is not so
good, because it allows} 24. Nh5 $13 {the N on the rim to grin.}) 24. Qe2 Rc4
25. Rad1 Qc5 $2 (25... Kf8 $142 $1 {a safety-first move the computers rate as
best, though it does seem to leave the Rh8 condemned to very long-term
defensive duties.}) (25... O-O $2 26. Nh5 $13) 26. Qf2 b5 $2 {[%mdl 64] [#]
This is the right plan -- a minority attack to pry open the c-file and
undermine the Nd4 -- but the wrong time. With Black's K in the center with two
half-open files there are dangerous tactics and the Q and b5-pawn will be
targets.  Interestingly, if White had an e5-pawn, and Black's N was on c6 then
the Black K would be safer than it is in the game, and the minority attack
would be a good continuation.} (26... Qd6 $142 {keeps an eye on all the
sensitive center squares.}) 27. a3 $2 {White misses his chance.} (27. Re3 $3 {
breaks the pin to the Q on f2 and so threatens to take twice on e6.} Rh6 $1 {
defends e6.} (27... b4 $4 28. Ndxe6 fxe6 29. Nxe6 Qe7 30. Nxg7+ Qxg7 31. Rxd5
$18) (27... Ke7 28. Qe2 $1 {and White has winning tactics on the d- and
e-files.}) 28. Qe2 {doubling up on the Ne5.} Nc6 (28... Qc7 {gives the b-pawn
instead of the d-pawn.} 29. Nxb5 $13) (28... Ng6 29. Nfxe6 $18) (28... Qd6 29.
Nxb5 Qb8 30. b3 $13) 29. Nb3 $1 {and takes on d5.} (29. Nf5 $5 $13 Re4 30. Nd6+
$1 $13)) 27... Rh6 $1 (27... O-O $2 28. Nh5 $1 Ng6 29. Nxg7 Kxg7 30. Rxe6 $1
$16) 28. Re3 a6 {Black's last two moves have nullified the tactics in the
previous note.} 29. Rd2 Qf8 $1 {Heading for the only open file.} 30. Qe2 Qh8
31. Kf2 Rh1 {[#]} 32. Ndxe6 {White goes for broke.} (32. Rd1 {Is the computer
suggestion, accepting that there will be no killer central breakthrough, and
hoping to suvive a worse position a pawn down.} Rxd1 33. Qxd1 Bh6 (33... Kd7 $1
) 34. Qe2 Bxf4 35. gxf4 Qh4+ 36. g3 (36. Kg1 $2 g3 $8 $19) 36... Qh2+ 37. Kf1
Qxe2+ 38. Kxe2 Nc6 $17 (38... Nd7 $17)) 32... fxe6 33. Nxe6 Kf7 $1 {steps away
so there is no R takes with check.} (33... Kd7 {also wins} 34. Nxg7 Qf8+ $1 $19
) 34. Nd4 (34. Ng5+ Kg6 $19 {threatens the N and ...Qf8+.}) (34. Nxg7 {does
not win material, since} Qxg7 35. Rxe5 Qf6+ $8 $19 {wins the R and forces mate
sooner rather than later.}) 34... Qh2 (34... Qh6 $142 $1 {threatens ...Qf6+
when White has to throw away some pieces to clear an escape for the K.}) 35.
Rd1 Rxd1 $8 36. Qxd1 Qh5 37. Ne2 Ng6 38. Rd3 {[#]} d4 $5 39. cxd4 Bf8 40. Nc3
Rc6 41. Re3 Rf6+ 42. Kg1 Kg7 43. Re4 Bd6 44. Qxg4 Qxg4 45. Rxg4 Rf5 46. Ne4 Bb8
47. Nd2 Kf6 48. Nf3 Rh5 49. a4 (49. Nh4 Rg5 $19) 49... Kf5 50. Nh2 Rxh2 $1 51.
Rxg6 Kxg6 0-1

[Event "CAN Zonal playoff blitz"]
[Site "Montreal"]
[Date "2017.07.01"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Noritsyn, Nikolay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "2513"]
[BlackElo "2473"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "127"]
[EventDate "2017.07.01"]
[EventType "match (blitz)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] After White won all four games in the rapid part of the play-off
, the title was determined by a single blitz game. I've given detailed notes
because the game -- around move 11-13 but especially the endgame from moves
37-50 -- is fascinating, and could make excellent challenging analysis
material.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 c6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7.
e3 Be7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Qc2 {[#]A standard QGD exchange position.
Black usually continues ...Nf8 and ...g6 to exchange the LSB (see Bruzon -
Sulskis, below). White often plays for a minority attack (b2-b4-b5), which
Black discourages with his next move.} a5 (10... h6 11. Bf4 Nf8 12. Ne5 Nh5 13.
Bg3 Nxg3 14. hxg3 Bf6 15. f4 Bxe5 $6 16. fxe5 Bg4 17. Rf4 Qd7 18. Raf1 Re7 19.
b4 Be6 20. R4f2 $11 {(1-0, 41) Marshall,F-Spielmann,R Moscow, 1925.}) ({
10...a5 stops this} 10... Nf8 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. b4 {though Black has scored
very well after} Bg4 13. Nd2 Rc8 ({or this} 13... Be7) 14. Bf5 Bxf5 15. Qxf5
Qd7 (15... g6 $1) 16. Qxd7 Nxd7 17. a4 $14 {(1-0, 71) Kortschnoj,V (2665)
-Karpov,A (2725) WCh, Baguio City, 1978.}) 11. Ne5 {Black having spent a tempo
to slow a minority attack, White goes for a Pillsbury-style kingside attack
instead.} (11. Rae1 g6 12. Bf4 Nf8 13. h3 Ne6 14. Bh2 Ng7 15. Ne5 Bf5 16. f3
Bxd3 17. Nxd3 $11 {Bruzon Batista,L (2648)-Sulskis,S (2518) Calvia, 2006 (1-0,
60).}) 11... Nf8 (11... Nxe5 $1 {looks like a surpisingly good temporary pawn
sac} 12. dxe5 Ng4 $1 (12... Ne4 $2 13. Bxe4 dxe4 14. Rad1 Qb6 (14... Qc7 $2 15.
Nd5 $1 $18) 15. Bxe7 Rxe7 16. Qxe4 $16) 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. Bf4 Bf8 $11 (14...
Bh4 $5)) 12. f4 N6d7 (12... Ng4 $5) 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rf3 f6 $6 (14... Nb6 {
threatens to trap the Ne5 with ...f6.} 15. f5 $1 Nfd7 16. Ng4 Qg5 17. h3 $14)
15. Nxd7 $14 Bxd7 {[#]} 16. h3 (16. f5 $14 {is the typical space-gaining push
in these structures, aiming to follow with e4.}) 16... g6 17. g4 Qd6 18. Qf2 (
18. f5 gxf5 19. gxf5 $1 $16 {[%csl Rd7,Rf8][%cal Gc2h2,Gg1h1,Ga1g1] White's
pieces can get to the kingside faster than Black's.}) 18... Ne6 19. Kh1 c5 20.
Rg1 cxd4 21. exd4 {[#]} Nf8 $2 {Defends the light squares against h4-h5, but
has no future after f4-f5.} (21... Nd8 $14) 22. h4 Re7 (22... h6 23. h5 $16)
23. f5 $1 g5 24. hxg5 fxg5 {[#] White has a huge advantage: the protected
passer on f5 dominates Black's minors, and Black's h- and g-pawns can be
targeted.} 25. f6 $2 {This secures connected passed pawns, but allows Black's
N and B good squares which blockade the passers. Stockfish rates this as
equivalent to a two-pawn error.} (25. Kg2 $16 {[%cal Gg1h1,Gg1e1] prepares
Rh1-h5 tying Black to the defence of the g- and h-pawns.}) 25... Rf7 26. Qe3
Ne6 $1 27. Qe5 Qxe5 $1 28. dxe5 Bc6 29. Kh2 Re8 30. Rf5 {[#]} h6 (30... Nc5 $3
$13 {a fantastic pawn sac} 31. Rxg5+ Kf8 32. Bb5 (32. Bc2 d4 $13) 32... Nd7 $1
33. Re1 h6 $1 34. Rf5 (34. Rh5 $2 Nxf6 $17) 34... Nxf6 $13) 31. Ne2 $2 (31. Nb5
$1 $16 {heading for d6, and} Bxb5 32. Bxb5 Rd8 33. Kg3 $1 {preparing Rh1 (and
Bd3 if ...Kh7).}) 31... Nc5 32. Nd4 {[#]} Bd7 (32... Nxd3 33. e6 Nf4 34. exf7+
Kxf7 $13 {White has an exchange for a pawn, but how does he free his Rf5?}) 33.
Bb5 $8 $16 Bxb5 34. Nxb5 Nd3 35. Nd6 Rxe5 36. Nxf7 Kxf7 {[#]} 37. Rd1 $2 (37.
Rgf1 $1 Rxf5 ({Grabbing pawns but leaving White with two Rs loses:} 37... Re2+
38. Kg3 Rxb2 39. Rxd5 Nf4 40. Rd6 $18 {and brings the R to the e-file.}) 38.
Rxf5 Nf4 39. Kg3 $18 {Black will run out of moves, and have to allow the R out
by moving his N or d5 pawn.}) 37... Rxf5 $8 38. gxf5 Nf4 {[%mdl 4096] [#] To
me, White looks totally busted; but Stockfish and Leela rate this position as
equal because White has a very nice way to activate his R and pawns...} 39. Rc1
$6 (39. a4 $1 Kxf6 40. b4 $1 b6 (40... axb4 $4 41. Rd4 $18) 41. Rc1 Kxf5 42.
Rc6 $8 d4 43. Rxb6 Nd5 $1 44. Rb5 (44. bxa5 Nxb6 45. axb6 d3 46. b7 $11) 44...
Ke4 45. bxa5 d3 46. a6 d2 47. Rxd5 $8 Kxd5 48. a7 $11) 39... Kxf6 40. Rc7 $2 (
40. b4 $142) 40... d4 41. Rxb7 d3 $19 42. Rd7 (42. b4 $5 axb4 $8 (42... d2 43.
Rd7 $18) 43. Rxb4 Kxf5 44. a4 Ke5 $19) 42... Kxf5 $19 43. Kg3 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Critical Position Pretend this is an endgame study and find Black's most
elegant win.} Ke4 {Good enough, but} (43... Ke6 $3 {is both pretty and
immediately decisive. Leaving the d-file allows ...d2 and promotion, but} 44.
Rd8 Ke7 $1 $19 {and the R runs out of safe squares on the d-file!}) 44. Kf2 h5
45. a4 h4 46. b4 {White's only try. Black is winning, but it's difficult. And
at blitz time control, and after 9 rounds in the Zonal followed by 4 rounds of
rapid, it would be nearly superhuman. The game degenerates into a series of
blunders.} axb4 $4 (46... g4 $8 $19 47. bxa5 g3+ $8 48. Ke1 (48. Kg1 {allows a
Ne2+ controlling the promotion square.}) 48... h3 49. a6 h2 $19) 47. a5 $11 {
[#]} h3 $4 (47... b3 $8 $11 48. a6 b2 49. a7 Nh3+ $8 50. Kg2 Nf4+ $8 51. Kh2
b1=Q 52. a8=Q+ Ke3 53. Re7+ $8 Kf2 54. Qa7+ $8 Kf3 55. Re3+ Kg4 $8 56. Qd7+ Kh5
57. Qh7+ Kg4 58. Qd7+ $11) 48. a6 $18 h2 49. Rh7 $4 (49. a7 $18 Nd5 50. a8=Q
h1=Q 51. Qxd5+ {skewers the new Q.}) 49... d2 $8 $11 50. a7 {[#]} d1=R {
Of course, this is not the move Black intended. He couldn't find a spare Q,
and put an upside-down R on the board. The Arbiter stopped the game, explained
that an upside-down R is still a R, and the game continued...} (50... d1=Q $11)
51. a8=Q+ Nd5 52. Rxh2 Rd2+ 53. Kg3 Rd3+ 54. Kg4 Kd4 55. Qa7+ Kc4 56. Qa6+ Kd4
57. Qa1+ Nc3 58. Rh8 Kc4 59. Qb2 Rd4+ 60. Kxg5 Rd5+ 61. Kg6 Rd6+ 62. Kf7 Rd7+
63. Ke6 Rc7 64. Rh4+ 1-0

[Event "2017 CYCC - U18"]
[Site "Sault Ste. Marie"]
[Date "2017.07.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Petersen, Caleb"]
[Black "Doknjas, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A65"]
[WhiteElo "2281"]
[BlackElo "2107"]
[Annotator "John Doknjas"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2016.07.11"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] This year, the Canadian Youth Chess Championship was held in
Sault St. Marie. The city is located in the south of Ontario geographically,
but it is north of the province's major cities (Ottawa, Toronto, etc). The
weather was constantly humid, due to the combination of the heat and being
located between three of the Great Lakes. Despite this, the playing hall was
cool, due to the abundance of air conditioning in the Sault College. At this
point in the tournament, I was sitting at a score of 2.5 pts./4 games. The
current leader (Joey Zhong) had a perfect 4/4, and was leading the tournament
confidently. My opponent in this game, Caleb Petersen, had improved very
impressively over the last two years (having gained around 300 rating points).
Last year he won the U16 CYCC, and I'm sure he will become a National Master
in the near future. I spent virtually all my time before this game preparing
for 1. e4, since that's what Caleb almost always played....} 1. d4 {So much
for that. A surprise!} Nf6 2. c4 c5 {I thought for a little bit before
choosing to play this move. I figured my opponent must have prepared something
against my usual Benoni - it wouldn't make much sense for him to have played 1.
d4. I considered playing the Nimzo Indian, taking the chance that he would not
know much theory in that line. However, my knowledge wasn't too great either
in that opening. In the end I stuck to my normal opening - I knew it better,
and I believe it was the principled choice.} 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 {
At this point I still did not know which line my opponent was preparing. If
White pushes the e-pawn here, there's a good chance he had prepared something
sharp. If White does something else, such as developing the Knight, then I
knew the game would be calmer.} 6. e4 g6 {[#]} 7. Nge2 $5 {Going for an
interesting setup. After the game, Caleb told me that he saw a game I played
in Reykjavik in this line (coincidentially, that was one of the games I
annotated for this newsletter).} (7. f4 {The sharpest alternative.}) (7. h3 {
The Modern Variation.}) 7... Bg7 8. Ng3 O-O {An important moment. In my
Reykjavik game I had played 8...h5, mainly in hopes of just having an
interesting game. I knew my opponent had likely prepared something based on
that game, and so I refrained from pushing the h-pawn. Little did I know my
opponent had prepared some deep lines in this variation too...} 9. Be2 Re8 {
A useful move, putting pressure on White's e-pawn. This prevents either of his
Knights from moving, at the moment.} 10. h4 $5 {A bold move! During the game I
thought this move to be dubious, believing it would just weaken White and
discourage Kingside castling. However, my opponent had some interesting ideas
in mind.} h5 {Of course - White cannot be allowed to push his pawn to h5.} 11.
Bg5 {[#] A correct move, and a necessary one. White must prevent me from
attacking and capturing his h-pawn. Castling immediately would be a mistake:} (
11. O-O $2 Nh7 {and the h-pawn falls, followed by a strong Kingside attack by
the black pieces.}) 11... Nbd7 {Going for the standard Benoni piece setup. I
considered 11...Na6, but this move has its ups and downs. The upside is that I
can prepare the ...b5 push sooner (the most important pawn thrust in the
Benoni). The downside is that I do not defend the center as much, which could
allow White to smash through uninvited. A sample line:} (11... Na6 $6 12. O-O
Nc7 13. f4 Rb8 14. e5 $1 dxe5 15. f5 $1 {An important idea! White played 14.
e5 in order to free up the square on e4 for the Knights, and to leave Black
with a useless pawn on e5. In this position White is much better - the Black
Knight on f6 feels very uncomfortable. Black's Kingside is especially
vulnerable due to my h-pawn having been provoked forward by h4.}) 12. O-O a6 {
This move controls the b5 square "with tempo", since White has to spend some
time preventing me from pushing ...b5.} 13. a4 {[#]} Qc7 $5 {The Queen often
belongs on this square in the Benoni, but here its location is quite
precarious. The Queen could easily fall victim to a certain White Rook on the
c-file. However, the Queen has a very important role on this square. It will
support the c-pawn's advance to c4, which will open up the c5-square for Nd7.
This will allow Black's counterplay to roll out quickly on the Queenside.} (
13... Qa5 $1 {Another option, with the idea of luring Bg5 back to d2. This
move may have been stronger than what I played.} 14. Qd2 (14. Bd2 Qd8 {Now the
h4-pawn begins to feel uncomfortable. White is more of less forced to bring
the Bishop back to g5.} 15. Bg5 {Draw?}) 14... Rb8 15. f4 Qb4 $13 {Both sides
are ready to make their respective pawn advances (e5 for White, and ...b5 for
Black). The game is dynamically balanced.}) 14. Qd2 (14. Rc1 {15. b4 is now a
very serious threat.} c4 {There is no other good way to deal with the b4
threat.} 15. b3 Ne5 $13 {And Black appears to be holding the balance.} 16. f4
$4 Neg4 17. bxc4 Ne3 $17) ({editor - White can go for the sealer-sweeper
maneuver shown in the note to move 11:} 14. f4 $1 c4 (14... Nh7 15. e5 dxe5 (
15... Nxg5 16. hxg5 $16) 16. d6 $1 $16) 15. e5 dxe5 16. f5 $16) 14... c4 {
What else? Preparing the ...b5 push will take far too long.} 15. Bh6 $5 {
[#] An interesting move. White frees up the g5-square for the Queen, while
threatening to exchnage off Black's "Benoni Bishop".} Bh8 (15... Bxh6 $2 {
I considered this move for a while, but in the end rejected it. I need my
Bishop to exert pressure on the h8-a1 diagonal for my counterplay to be
effective. In addition, my King is far too vulnerable without the piece
protecting it.} 16. Qxh6 {f4-f5 is coming.} Ne5 17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. exf5 $40) 16.
Rae1 $2 {White had played a good game up to this point, but now he makes a
mistake. Delaying with Rae1 allows me to move my d7-Knight to e5 - once that
happens, Black's counterplay disrupts White's plans.} (16. Qg5 $1 {A strong
move that I think we looked at after the game. It is very hard to meet over
the board, despite what the engine says about this position. This move
demonstrates some of the ideas behind White's early h4 push, which provoked ...
h5. Black's Kingside is noticeably weaker, and is vulnerable to a f4-f5 push.})
16... Ne5 $1 {[#] Seizing the opportunity.} 17. Be3 {The Bishop cannot stay on
h6, since it will just be a target there.} Nfg4 $1 {Threatening the Bishop, as
well as planning to move the Queen to the d8-h4 diagonal. The drawback of the
early h4 push finally shows itself. It is important that I do not pause in my
attack - any delay would allow White to repel my Knights.} 18. Bd4 $1 {The
best reply. White accepts the fact that h4 is lost, and plans on exchanging
off Black's h8-Bishop. This will make the Black King uncomfortable.} Qe7 {[#]}
19. Bxg4 ({editor - it seems White can save the h-pawn with} 19. f3 $1 {
since the Ng3 can't be taken after} Qxh4 $2 (19... Nf6 $142 20. Nh1 $14) 20.
fxg4 Qxg3 $4 (20... Bxg4 21. Nh1 $1 {Black has two pawns for the piece and
some attacking chances, but they won't be enough.}) 21. Bf2 $18 {traps the Q.})
19... Nxg4 $1 {The correct decision.} (19... hxg4 $2 20. h5 $40) (19... Bxg4 $6
{Allowing White a dangerous attack.} 20. f4 Nd3 21. Bxh8 Kxh8 22. f5 $5 (22.
Re3 $6 {Objectively the best move, but it offers White little practical
chances to win.}) 22... Nxe1 {In the game this position seemed pretty
dangerous to me. Black is definitely better, but White has too many chances.})
{[#]} 20. f3 $1 {A good idea - White uses Black's Knight to push his f-pawn
with tempo.} (20. Bxh8 $4 Qxh4 {followed by mate in 1.}) 20... Ne5 (20... Qxh4
$4 21. fxg4 Qxg3 22. Bxh8 Kxh8 23. gxh5 $16) 21. f4 Ng4 (21... Nd3 {I
considered this move, but rejected it since the Knight on d3 is not stable.
The c4-pawn can be easily undermined with b3:} 22. Bxh8 Kxh8 (22... Nxe1 $2 23.
Qd4 $16) 23. Re3 Qxh4 24. b3 {Black is better, but White has chances.}) 22.
Bxh8 Qxh4 $1 {An important intermezzo. This move allows Black to start his
attack first.} (22... Kxh8 $2 23. Qd4+ {And White starts making threats before
Black can.} ({editor - SF says White has to hold the kingside first, with 23.
Nh1 or 23.Rf3 (allowing Nf1) when it's anybody's game; e.g.} 23. Nh1 Qxh4 24.
g3 $8)) 23. Rf3 {[#] Necessary: ...Qh2# was threatened.} Qh2+ {Pushing the
King to the more vulnerable square of f1, before taking back on h8. During the
game I remember thinking a while on whether or not I should play ...Qh2+. In
retrospect, it seems odd that I didn't immediately choose this move. Likely,
the effects of time trouble were starting to seep into the game.} 24. Kf1 Kxh8
25. Qd4+ $1 {A good move, centralizing the Queen with tempo. From d4 it can
defend the White King, while being in a position to attack the Black King.} Kg8
26. Qxc4 $2 {Putting the Queen on a worse square, and giving Black time to
execute a tactical combination.} (26. e5 $1 {White has serious counterplay,
especially when the position is considered in time trouble.}) 26... h4 {
Pushing the g3-Knight away so ...Qh1+ can be played.} 27. Nge2 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Critical Position} h3 $3 {A startling move! I found this idea by seeing two
tactical themes, and then just needing a way to use them together. The two
tactical ideas are:  1) ...Ne3+, forking the King and Queen. If only Rf3
wasn't there...  2) The second idea is shown in the following variation, where
I can win the exchnage but my Queen gets trapped:} (27... Qh1+ $2 28. Ng1 Nh2+
29. Kf2 Nxf3 30. Nxf3 {I have won the exchange, but my Queen is trapped.}) 28.
gxh3 {The only move - 28...hxg2+ was threatened, and White cannot take on h3
with the Rook.} (28. Rxh3 $2 {Now the first tactical idea comes into play:}
Qxh3 $1 29. gxh3 Ne3+ 30. Kf2 Nxc4 $19 {White is down a Rook for a pawn.})
28... Qh1+ ({editor - Black's move is both winning and human, but the computer
finds an even stronger, though way more complex, way to win:} 28... Nf2 $3 29.
Rc1 (29. Rxf2 $2 Bxh3+ {mates.}) 29... Bxh3+ 30. Ke1 Nxe4 31. Nxe4 Qh1+ 32. Kf2
(32. Kd2 Qxf3 33. Nf6+ Kf8 34. Nxe8 Rxe8 35. Rc3 $19 {Black is up only a pawn,
but computers rate it as +4.5.}) 32... Qg2+ 33. Ke3 Bf5 34. Rg1 (34. N2c3 Bxe4
35. Nxe4 f5 $19) 34... Qh2 35. Rf2 Qh3+ 36. Rf3 Qh4 37. N2c3 Rxe4+ 38. Nxe4 Re8
$19 {Pro Tip: If your opponent plays like this, call the arbiter and bring a
metal detector.}) 29. Ng1 Nh2+ {[#]} 30. Kf2 {Obviously better than 30.Ke2:} (
30. Ke2 Nxf3 31. Nxf3 Qg2+ $19) 30... Nxf3 31. Nxf3 Qxh3 {The point of playing
27...h3 - the Queen is able to escape.} 32. Rg1 {A good move, trying to get
counterplay against the Black King.} ({editor -} 32. f5 {might be better, with
the same idea as Rg1, but stopping Black's next.}) 32... Bg4 {Not
relinquishing my attack. It would have been a mistake to release my pressure
and just be content with the extra exchange - White still has dangerous
attacking ideas.} 33. Rg3 Qh5 {[#] The Queen is safe on this square, and it
prepares to invade White's camp after the f3-Knight is captured.} 34. Qc7 $2 {
Going for counterplay, but this move allows Black to end things quickly.} (34.
Qf1 {Defending the White King, and preparing to start counterplay on the
Kingside against Black's King.}) 34... Bxf3 35. Rxf3 Qh2+ {b2 will fall, and
White's King lacks a proper defence.} 36. Ke3 Qxb2 37. Rf2 Qb4 {Threatening 38.
..Rac8. If White's Knight moves from c3, then e4 drops and it is over.} 38. Ne2
Qxe4+ 39. Kd2 Rac8 {editor - FM John Doknjas will be publishing his second
opening book with Everyman: Opening Repertoire: The Modern Benoni (announced
for Dec 2019).} 0-1

[Event "2017 CYCC - U18"]
[Site "Sault Ste. Marie"]
[Date "2017.07.09"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Zhong, Joey"]
[Black "Doknjas, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A61"]
[WhiteElo "2156"]
[BlackElo "2281"]
[Annotator "John Doknjas"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2016.07.11"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768] Before this game I had 3.5 pts./5 games, while my opponent had 4.
5 pts./5 games (having drawn his first game in the previous round). I knew
that I had to win this game if I wanted a shot at First Place - drawing would
leave me a full point behind. After winning my last game, I now had a very
real chance to come first in the tournament. Before this game I spent some
time reviewing 1.e4 and English lines. And once again I was surprised early on.
..} 1. d4 {Didn't I just face this?} Nf6 2. c4 c5 {Unlike my previous game
with Caleb Petersen, this time I didn't think much before playing this move.
While 1. d4 is not Joey's main opening, he has played it in the past. If I
tried some defence other than the Benoni, he would probably know it better
than me (considering I had not prepared much for 1. d4 before the game).} 3. d5
e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 {Signifying that he intends to play some
solid line, avoiding sharp variations. My opponent's decision could have been
due to his one point lead in the tournament at this point. However, danger has
a way of seeping into all types of Benoni positions - this game was no
exception.} g6 7. Bf4 {[#] An interesting line that has gained some popularity
recently. White plans to move his e-pawn to e3, in order to prevent Black from
having a clear target in the center. White will also play h3, in order to give
the f4 Bishop a safe home on h2. From this square, it will bear down on the
backward d6-pawn.} Bg7 $5 {Objectively, this is not the best move. I was
taking a chance on the fact that my opponent had mainly prepared for 7...a6,
which I have played in the past. Judging by his fairly long think, my risk
paid off.} (7... a6 {The main move.} 8. a4 Bg7 9. h3 O-O 10. e3 Qe7 11. Be2
Nbd7 12. O-O Ne8 {With a playable position - both White and Black can play on
all sides of the board.}) 8. h3 $6 {White cannot treat this 7...Bg7 line the
same way he would treat 7...a6. The drawback of excluding ...a6 must be taken
advantage of:} (8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qb3 Qc7 10. e4 {With a sharp, unbalanced game.
This kind of position would provide both sides with winning chances -
something that would be good for me and not my opponent (given our current
standings in the tournament).}) 8... O-O 9. e3 Na6 $1 {The advantage of
excluding not playing .. .a6! Black is now able to prepare the ...b5 push
quickly. It is important to note that Black can get away with playing ...Na6,
since White is not being aggressive yet in the center.} (9... a6 10. a4 {
Transposing into the 7...a6 line.}) 10. Be2 Nc7 11. O-O {[#]} Re8 {A
prophylactic move - I do not want White pushing his pawn to e4 and then to e5.}
(11... Rb8 $6 12. e4 $1 b5 $2 13. e5 $36) 12. Bh2 {Prophylaxis in return! It
is not often this type of play is seen by both sides in the Benoni.} a6 {
Following the plan of pushing ...b5} (12... b6 $5 {Another idea, with the plan
of playing 13...Bb7 and trying to win the isolated d5 pawn. In the game I was
hoping to push ...b5 and play ...Bb7, but in retrospect it was foolish to hope
for this.} 13. Qb3 Bb7 14. Rad1 Ne4 $36) 13. a4 Rb8 $2 (13... b6 $1 {Playing
this move was better, in order to stop White from playing 14. a5. In the game
I was afraid of Qb3 ideas, and figured I needed to play ...b5 as soon as
possible. It is obvious now that my fears were just ghosts, likely created by
me spending far too much time thinking.} 14. Qb3 Rb8 {Black is very
comfortable - White lacks a constructive plan.}) 14. a5 {[#]} b5 $5 {Now both
sides get play on the Queenside.} (14... Bf5 {Perhaps this sort of development
was more sensible. I was so wrapped up in the ...b5 plan that I didn't spend
much time considering other moves.}) ({editor - trading a pair of minors with} 
14... Ne4 {is sensible too.}) 15. axb6 Rxb6 16. Nd2 $1 {Immediately taking
advantage of Black's somewhat premature burst of activity.} Bf8 {Now White has
a strong initiative.} (16... Rxb2 $5 17. Nc4 Rxe2 {I missed this idea during
the game.} 18. Qxe2 Nfxd5 19. Nxd5 Nxd5 20. Nxd6 Re6 21. Rad1 Rxd6 $13 22. Bxd6
Qxd6 23. Qf3 $16 {But White is better nonetheless.}) 17. Nc4 Rb4 $6 {A move
without a plan. The Rook is just a target on b4, and it ruins ideas I have
with playing ...Nb5.} 18. b3 $1 {A strong defensive move, solidifying
operations on the Queenside.} Rb8 {[#] Better late than never...} 19. Bf3 $2 {
This allows me counterplay.} (19. Na5 $1 {This would have given White a near
decisive advantage.} Bd7 20. Nc6 Bxc6 21. dxc6 Rb6 22. Bf3 $16 {Two Bishops, a
protected passed pawn on c6, and better piece coordination. White's advantage
is obvious.}) 19... Nb5 $1 20. Na4 $2 {Missing the Na5 idea once again:} (20.
Nxb5 $1 axb5 21. Na5 Qc7 22. Nc6 $16) 20... Bf5 {[#] Black's cramped position
begins to finally unravel - now both sides have equal chances. Psychologically,
this change in events gave me a mental boost. On the other hand, these changes
were probably affecting my opponent in the opposite way. Mental states are one
of the most important factors in time pressure (we were both approaching low
time). The quality of how well you think can decide the game with only a few
minutes left.} 21. Nab2 $6 {Buckling a bit under the pressure, and allowing
Nb5 to jump to c3.} (21. Qd2 {This standard developing move was better, when
the game should be roughly equal. Sometimes it is hard to just play quiet
moves in a position like this.}) 21... Nc3 22. Qe1 Rxb3 $36 23. Rxa6 (23. Na5
$5 {Another option, which values having activity over a pawn. In the time
scramble, this may have been the better practical choice.} Rxb2 24. Qxc3 Rc2
25. Qa3 $44 {26. Nc6 is coming, and it is unclear how Black should answer it.})
{[#]} 23... Nb5 $6 {Throwing away my advantage.} (23... Nfxd5 $1 {I didn't
play this during the game because I was worried about my d6-pawn falling.} 24.
Bxd5 Nxd5 25. Qd1 Nb4 $3 $15 {I missed this clever idea during the game. The
attacked Nd5 is moved to safety, and Ra6 is kicked from the 6th rank.}) 24. Bd1
$2 {White should have immediately dealt with his Knights, which are in peril.}
(24. Qc1 $1 {Protecting both Knights, and keeping the game in balance.}) ({
editor - or} 24. Qd2) 24... Rb4 {Now the Knights are paralyzed, due to each
other.} 25. Ba4 $1 {Going for counterplay - the correct choice in a time
scramble. At this point my opponent was much lower than me on time - I think
he only had a couple minutes left.} (25. Bf3 $6 Be4 {Now White will lose the
d5 pawn and have little counterplay.}) 25... Nxd5 26. Bxb5 {Diverting the Rook
from its post on b4, where it keeps the White Knights in stasis.} Rxb5 {[#]}
27. Nxd6 $5 {Going for broke - if White did not do this then he would be down
a pawn and have a worse position.} (27. Qd2 $6 {Objectively better, but too
passive.} Nb6 $17) 27... Rxb2 28. Nxe8 Bd3 $5 {My opponent was playing purely
on 30 second increment at this point, and so I decided to take a risk with
this move. I guessed that he would not have time to find 29. Qa5, which causes
me some problems. A move like 28...Bd3 causes a player to spend valuable time
reassessing the position - it is extremely difficult to find the best move
with the remaining seconds.} (28... Qxe8 {Safer, but leading to a position
which I thought could be difficult to win. In retrospect, the position doesn't
look too difficult to win, but I was not thinking clearly in the time scramble.
}) 29. Qa1 $2 {Curiously, after this move all of White's attacked pieces are
captured.} (29. Qa5 $1 Qxe8 30. Ra8 {In my calculations I didn't really like
this position - after all, it seemed like a worse version of the 28...Qxe8
line. However, I knew this position would probably be winning after some hard
work.}) 29... Bxa6 30. Qxb2 Bxf1 31. Kxf1 Qxe8 {A very tense game, right down
to the end! This was the penultimate round, and winning put me in the lead
with Joey and Diwen Shi. I ended up winning my last game, while Joey and Diwen
drew playing each other. I've played in the CYCC every year since 2007 when it
was in Ottawa. Winning the National Championship was a nice way to finish off
my last Canadian Youth Chess Championship.} 0-1

[Event "CYCC U08 w"]
[Site "Sault Ste-Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ma, Lily"]
[Black "Gao, Lucy"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "820"]
[BlackElo "1167"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2017.07.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 {
[#]The sharpest, but possibly not objectively sound. Both Bd2 and Nbd2 are
reasonable.} Nxe4 (7... d5 $6 {was the start of one of the most famous games
in chess history:} 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. O-O Be6 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Bxd5 Bxd5 12. Nxd5
Qxd5 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Re1 f6 15. Qe2 Qd7 16. Rac1 c6 $2 {[#]Analysis Diagram:
The remainder is a great example of power play and excellent calculation:} (
16... Kf7 $142) 17. d5 $1 {clearance sac} cxd5 18. Nd4 Kf7 19. Ne6 Rhc8 20. Qg4
g6 21. Ng5+ Ke8 22. Rxe7+ Kf8 23. Rf7+ Kg8 24. Rg7+ Kh8 25. Rxh7+ {and Black
left the tournament hall rather than resign or let the spectators enjoy this:}
(25. Rxh7+ {1-0 Steinitz,W-Von Bardeleben,C Hastings, 1895.}) 25... Kg8 26.
Rg7+ Kh8 (26... Kf8 27. Nh7+ Kxg7 28. Qxd7+ $18) 27. Qh4+ Kxg7 28. Qh7+ Kf8 29.
Qh8+ Ke7 30. Qg7+ Ke8 31. Qg8+ Ke7 32. Qf7+ Kd8 33. Qf8+ Qe8 34. Nf7+ Kd7 35.
Qd6#) 8. O-O {[#]} Bxc3 ({No Italian game analysis is complete without at
least one classic example of "Black gets greedy":} 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc3 (9...
d5 $142) 10. Qb3 (10. Ba3 $1) 10... Bxa1 $2 (10... d5 $1 $16) 11. Bxf7+ $18 Kf8
12. Bg5 $1 Ne7 (12... Nxd4 13. Qa3+ $18) 13. Ne5 (13. Re1 $1) 13... Bxd4 14.
Bg6 $1 d5 15. Qf3+ $8 Bf5 16. Bxf5 Bxe5 17. Be6+ Bf6 18. Bxf6 Ke8 19. Bxg7 {
1-0 Greco,G-NN Rome, 1620.}) 9. d5 {The Møller Attack} Ne5 (9... Bf6 {also
scores well for Black.}) 10. bxc3 Nxc4 11. Qd4 {[#]} Ncd6 ({Bologan's Black
Weapons in the Open Games (NiC, 2014) continues:} 11... O-O $1 12. Qxe4 Nd6 13.
Qf4 Ne8 14. Re1 (14. d6 Nxd6 15. Ba3 b6 16. Rad1 Ba6 17. Rfe1 Re8 18. Bxd6 cxd6
19. Rxe8+ Qxe8 $17 {(0-1, 51) Leygue,D (2242)-Flear,G (2503) France, 2003.})
14... d6 15. Qg3 Qd7 16. h3 Qf5 {when White still has something to prove.}) (
11... f5 $5 {is the neural nets' first choice, and is also the line
recommended in Fred Reinfeld's "Complete Chess Course"!?} 12. Qxc4 (12. Bg5 $4
Nxg5 $19 13. Qxg7 Rf8 $8 14. Nxg5 Qf6 $8 15. Rfe1+ Kd8 $8 16. Qxf6+ Rxf6 17.
Re2 h6 $19 {(0-1, 22) Schlechter,C-Lasker,E London International, 1899.}) 12...
d6 13. Nd4 (13. Qb5+ $2 Qd7 $17 14. Qd3 O-O 15. Re1 Qf7 16. c4 Bd7 17. Bb2 Rae8
18. h4 h6 19. Rab1 Re7 20. Qd4 b6 21. Re2 Rfe8 {with a position that resembles
a Budapest Gambit, but where White is down a pawn and does not have the B-pair;
Black is winning, but (½-½, 49) after mutual blunders in Estrin,Y-Ravinsky,G
Moscow Ch., 1953.}) 13... O-O 14. f3 Nc5 15. Ba3 b6 16. Bxc5 $8 $15 {Black is
a bit better after either recapture.}) 12. Qxg7 Qf6 {[#]} 13. Bh6 $4 {After
this it's over.} ({Despite being a piece down, Black's exposed K and weak dark
squares leave White with full comp after trading Qs:} 13. Qxf6 $8 $14 Nxf6 14.
Re1+ {King moves are objectively bad, but they force White to find the win:}
Kd8 $2 (14... Nfe4 $1 {best, but obviously returns the piece:} 15. Nd2 f5 16.
f3 $14) (14... Kf8 $2 15. Bh6+ $8 $18 Kg8 16. Re5 $18 Nfe4 (16... Nde4 17. Nd2
$1 d6 18. Nxe4 dxe5 19. Nxf6#) 17. Re1 f5 18. Re7 $1 b6 19. Nh4 {simplest!} Bb7
20. Rg7+ Kf8 21. Rxh7+ Kg8 22. Rg7+ {1-0 Hou,Q (2284)-Kislik,E (2347) Budapest,
2011.}) 15. Bg5 $8 $18 Nde8 16. Rxe8+ $3 (16. Ne5 $1 Rf8 17. Ng4 $18) 16...
Kxe8 17. Re1+ Kf8 18. Bh6+ Kg8 19. Re5 {and Rg5# or Re8#, 1-0 Greco,G-NN Rome,
1620.}) 13... Qxg7 14. Bxg7 Rg8 {[#]} 15. Be5 f6 $1 {Forces the B to move and
makes a safe square on f7. Black is winning, and doesn't make any mistake.} 16.
Bxd6 Nxd6 17. Rfe1+ Kf7 18. Re2 b6 19. Rae1 Re8 20. h4 Rxe2 21. Rxe2 Ba6 22.
Rd2 Ne4 23. Rc2 Bc4 24. g4 Bxd5 25. g5 fxg5 26. hxg5 d6 27. c4 Bb7 28. Kh2 Kg6
29. Kh3 Nxg5+ 30. Nxg5 Kxg5 31. Kg3 Rf8 32. Re2 Rf3+ $1 33. Kh2 Kf6 {No play
for you!} 34. Kg1 h5 35. Re8 Kf7 36. Rh8 Rh3 37. Kf1 Kg7 38. Re8 Bf3 $1 39.
Re7+ Kf6 40. Ke1 Kxe7 41. Kd2 h4 42. a4 Rh1 43. Ke3 Rg1 {The h-pawn pormotes
whether or not Black saves the B, and allowing White to take it might be a
good practical choice, as there would be one fewer attcking piece to cause a
stalemate.} 44. a5 h3 45. c5 h2 {Not even getting distraced by free pawns.} 46.
Kd4 dxc5+ 47. Ke5 h1=Q 48. Kf4 Rg4+ 49. Ke3 Qe1+ 50. Kd3 Rd4+ 51. Kc2 Qd1+ 52.
Kb2 Qd2+ 53. Kb3 Rb4+ 54. Ka3 Qb2# 0-1

[Event "CYCC U16U18 w"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.06"]
[Round "2.24"]
[White "Tao, Ellen"]
[Black "Botez, Andrea"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "1490"]
[BlackElo "1887"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2017.07.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "hb 2017"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nd2 Bg7 4. Ngf3 e5 {A rare move. More often Black
transposes to a Pirc with ...Nf6.} 5. c3 {[#] There are very few games in the
dB from this position; in them White scores the usual 54%, but Elo +190.} Nc6
6. d5 $6 {This can't be best. White closes the center and allows Black to
transpose into a KID with a very easy and fast ...f5.} (6. Bd3 $5 {and the
d-pawn doesn't hang due to Qa4+.}) (6. Bb5 $5) 6... Nce7 7. c4 a5 (7... f5) 8.
Qc2 (8. c5 $5) 8... f5 9. Bd3 Nf6 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 {Not as good a diagonal
as it might seem, as Black's e5 pawn now makes both Bs bad. FWIW: teleporting
White's Nd2 to c3 would help White's position a lot, making it closer to equal.
} Bd7 {[#]} 12. a4 $6 {...a4 wasn't a threat, since White could go b4 and
prepare c4-c5. But now White can't support c4-c5 with a pawn, and Black could
immediately clamp the queenside with 12 ...b6 before deciding what to do on
the kingside.} Bh6 13. h3 Rc8 14. Ba3 Nh5 $1 15. g3 {Stops ...Nf4 but weakens
the Nf3 and h3-pawn.} (15. O-O Nf4 $15) 15... Nf6 {[#]} 16. Qb2 (16. exf5 gxf5
17. g4 $1 $132) 16... fxe4 17. Nxe4 Nfxd5 $1 18. Nxe5 $1 Bg7 $1 $17 19. Qa2
Bxe5 20. cxd5 $8 {[#]} Bxa1 $2 {This "wins" the exchange, but at the cost of
handing White a strong and easy-to-play initiative against the kingside dark
squares.} (20... Bf5 $142 21. Rd1 Nxd5 22. b4 c6 $8 $19) 21. Qxa1 $13 Nf5 (
21... Nxd5 {guards f6, but steps into a pin after} 22. Bc4 c6 23. Qd4 {with
the initiative and a choice about when to take on d6.}) 22. Bb2 {[#]} Rf7 $6 (
22... c5 $1 $13 {aims to block the long diagonal with ...Nd4, even at the cost
of a center pawn.} 23. Nf6+ (23. dxc6 Bxc6 {and Black can eliminate one dark
square attacker with ...Bxe4.}) 23... Rxf6 $1 24. Bxf6 Qe8+ 25. Kd2 (25. Kf1 $2
Nxg3+ $1 26. fxg3 Qe3 $19) 25... Qf7 $15 {After missing this chance (...c5)
Black gets a long and (hopefully) memorable lesson in the power of an
uncontested B on a diagonal pointed at the K.  I suppose White might also be
getting a lesson in the same thing, although we don't usually say that about
the player who is moving the pieces; but her exchange "sac" wasn't exactly
voluntary, so both players may have walked into a position where neither one
knew that White had very good comp for the exchange, but White just happened
to be on the happy side.}) 23. O-O Ng7 24. Nf6+ Kh8 $2 ({Black hadn't
reconciled herself to how bad her position was becoming, otherwise she might
have bailed with} 24... Rxf6 $16) 25. Re1 c6 {[#]} 26. Re4 $5 (26. h4 $1 $18 {
cracking the light squares is thematic and strong, and even stops Black from
winning the h-pawn with ...Bxh3.}) 26... g5 $6 {stops Rh4, but weakens the
b1-h7 diagonal.} (26... Bf5 27. Rh4 g5 28. Bxf5 gxh4 29. Bxc8 Qxc8 30. g4 $8
$18) 27. Re1 (27. Nh5 $1 Qf8 (27... Bf5 28. Nxg7 Bxe4 29. Ne6+ $18) 28. Bxg7+
Rxg7 29. Nxg7 Qxg7 30. Qxg7+ Kxg7 31. Re7+ $18) (27. Re2) 27... Qb6 28. Bxh7 $1
Bxh3 29. Bg6 $1 {[#] Black's next look like panicky time-trouble moves, but
even with an hour on the clock there is no saving the game.} Rff8 30. Re3 Rxf6
31. Bxf6 Kg8 (31... Rg8 32. Bxg7+ Rxg7 33. Re8#) 32. Bxg7 cxd5 33. Bd4 Qc6 34.
Rc3 Qd7 35. Rxc8+ Qxc8 36. Qe1 Be6 37. Qd1 g4 38. Qd2 Kf8 39. Qh6+ Ke7 40. Qg7+
1-0

[Event "CYCC U12"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.08"]
[Round "5.54"]
[White "Huang, Patrick"]
[Black "Rusonik, Max"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[WhiteElo "2003"]
[BlackElo "1846"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2017.07.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8.
Nc3 {[#]} Qa5 {The mainline. ..Qh5 and ...Qd8 are both played regularly, and ..
.Qd7!? is rare but recommended in Ntirlis's "Playing 1.e4 e5" (Quality Chess,
2017). To give an idea of how much today's players have learned from the past,
here is a simul game that goes off the rails very quickly, despite between
played by the then-reigning World Champion against a soon-to-be great:} (8...
Qd8 9. Nxe4 (9. Rxe4+ $142) 9... Be6 $6 (9... Be7 $142 $15) 10. c3 $6 (10. Nfg5
$14) 10... dxc3 $1 11. Qb3 $5 Bb4 $2 (11... Qd7 $142 $15) 12. Neg5 $1 cxb2 $2
13. Nxe6 $4 (13. Bxb2 $8 Bxe1 14. Rxe1 Qd7 15. Nxf7 $1 $40 O-O $8 16. Nh6+ $1
$13) 13... bxa1=Q $19 14. Nxd8+ Bxe1 $8 15. Nxc6 Qxc1 {and here, 16.Qe3+ would
win for White, if it weren't for 16...Qxe3. 0-1 Reti,R-Lasker,E (simul) Vienna,
1908.}) 9. Nxe4 Be6 10. Neg5 O-O-O 11. Nxe6 fxe6 12. Rxe6 {[#] There are still
over 1100 games in the Megabase from here, and Black scores over 50% with a
slight Elo minus and with about 1/3 of the games being drawn, which suggests
that White players go for this as a drawing line against higher-rated
opponents, though that couldn't be the case here, as White was clearly much
higher rated.} Be7 $5 {A rare move, recommended in Openings for Amateurs by
Pete Tamburro (Mongoose, 2017).} ({Bologan's repertorie continues:} 12... h6
13. Qe2 g5 14. Qe4 Qd5 15. Bd2 Bg7 16. Qxd5 Rxd5 17. Rg6 Rh7 $1 18. h4 gxh4 19.
Re1 Rc5 (19... Kd7 20. Re4 h3 {(0-1, 41) Kett,T (2238)-Borisek,J (2575) Novi
Sad 2009}) 20. Rc1 Rb5 {Bologan}) 13. Qe2 (13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Rxe7 Rd7 (14...
Rhe8 15. Bd2 (15. Rxe8 Rxe8 $11 {Tamburro}) 15... Qb6 16. Rxe8 Rxe8 17. Qh5 Qg6
18. Qxg6 Nxg6 19. Kf1 c5 {½-½ Leiner,R (2379)-Ghyssens,D (2397) ICCF email,
2012.}) 15. Rxd7 Nxd7 16. Bf4 Re8 17. h3 Qf5 $6 18. Bg3 Qe4 19. Qd2 b6 20. b4
Nf6 21. Rd1 Kb7 22. a4 Qe2 23. Qxd4 Qxc2 24. a5 (24. Qa1 $1 $16) 24... Re4 25.
Qa1 Qe2 26. Rc1 Rc4 27. axb6 $4 (27. a6+ $18 Kc8 28. Re1 Qh5 (28... Qd2 29. Qe5
$18) 29. Re7 $18) 27... axb6 28. b5 Kb8 $4 (28... Rxc1+ 29. Qxc1 Qe7 $14) 29.
Re1 Qc2 30. Qa6 Re4 31. Ra1 {1-0 Tartakower,S-Tarrasch,S Gothenburg, 1920.})
13... Bf6 {This is the end of Tamburro's analysis.} 14. Bd2 {[#]} Qh5 (14... d3
$5 {Leela} 15. cxd3 Qb5 16. Bc3 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Qxd3 {Black's structure is
better.}) 15. Re1 d3 16. cxd3 Qd5 17. b4 Qxd3 18. b5 Qxe2 19. R6xe2 Nd4 {
[#] Trading the minors produces a drawn rook ending.} 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 21. Bf4
Rhf8 22. g3 Rf7 23. Bg5 Bf6 24. Bxf6 Rxf6 25. Re7 Rd7 $8 26. f4 a6 27. a4 axb5
28. axb5 Rb6 29. Re8+ Rd8 30. R8e7 Rd7 31. Re8+ Rd8 32. R8e7 Rd7 33. R7e5 Rd2
34. f5 g6 35. g4 gxf5 36. gxf5 Rh6 37. Re7 Rhxh2 38. Rg7 {[#]It's still equal,
but it's so unbalanced that it's easier to blunder than to find the only move
to save the game.} Rhe2 $4 (38... Rhf2 $4 39. Re8+ $18 {Wins the Rf2.}) (38...
b6 $2 39. f6 Kb7 40. f7 Rhf2 41. Rf1 $18) (38... Rh6 $8 39. Ree7 Rb6 40. Rxh7
Rxb5 $11) 39. Rxe2 $1 $18 Rxe2 40. f6 {The passer can't be stopped.} Kd8 41.
Rg8+ Re8 42. f7 1-0

[Event "CYCC U14"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.08"]
[Round "5.35"]
[White "Vettese, Nicholas"]
[Black "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2234"]
[BlackElo "2265"]
[Annotator "Fritz17 auto"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2017.07.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "hb 2017"]

{[%evp 22,82,58,62,67,61,69,63,98,94,101,87,100,97,103,90,98,68,76,-30,-5,-4,4,
1,5,1,3,0,3,0,28,24,27,23,18,1,7,3,11,-39,-26,-28,-25,-46,-40,-51,-37,-72,-51,
-78,-18,-14,-9,-14,4,-35,-33,-31,-27,-29,-1,-4,-4] The following is a
well-played game between two of the top finishers. As always, I ran it through
the Fritz UI "blundercheck" feature, and... it didn't find anything worth
mentioning: no significant errors. Rather than leave it out, or turn it into
an Opening Survey, I decided to let Fritz do all the analysis, using its "Full
Analysis" feature. This, for better or worse, is what you get with (almost)
zero "expert" human input...  B76: Sicilian Dragon: Yugoslav Attack, 9 g4 and
9 0-0-0} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3
O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. g4 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5 Qc7 13. h4 Rac8
14. Rh2 $1 e5 {White is slightly better.} 15. dxe6 $1 fxe6 {[#]} 16. O-O-O $1
Nd5 17. Bxg7 Qxg7 18. h5 (18. Re2 Qf7 19. Re4 Rc6 20. Bb5 Rb6 21. Ba4 Nf4 22.
Bb3 d5 23. Rd4 Rc6 24. Kb1 b5 25. a4 a6 26. Rb4 Qf6 27. h5 gxh5 28. gxh5 Kh8
29. Rh1 Rb6 30. h6 e5 31. Re1 d4 32. c3 bxa4 {Oll,L (2595)-Georgiev,K (2660)
Biel 1993 CBM 037 [Georgiev,Ki] 0-1 (40)}) (18. Kb1 Rc6 19. c4 Nf4 20. Qe3 a6
21. Rhd2 Qc7 22. g5 d5 23. Qe1 Qb6 24. Rd4 Qc7 25. cxd5 exd5 26. Qd2 Qe5 27.
Re1 Qf5+ 28. Bd3 Nxd3 29. Qxd3 Qxf3 30. Qxf3 Rxf3 31. Rxd5 Rc7 32. Red1 Rf4 {
Kirchei,V (1869)-Borisova,E (2117) Moscow 2018 0-1 (53)}) 18... g5 19. h6 Qf6
20. Qd4 $146 (20. Kb1 $16 Rc6 21. c4 Nf4 22. Qd4 a6 23. Qxf6 Rxf6 24. b3 d5 25.
Kb2 {1/2-1/2 (25) Mobarhani,N (1871)-Asgharzadeh,M (1986) Arak 2017}) 20...
Qxd4 (20... Rc5 {with more complications.} 21. Be2 Qxd4 22. Rxd4 Rf4 23. Rd3
Kf7) 21. Rxd4 Rxf3 22. Bc4 Rf4 {[#]} 23. Bxd5 $1 {[%mdl 512]} exd5 24. Rxd5
Rxg4 25. Rxd6 $11 {[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRR-KRR} Rg1+ 26. Kd2 $1 g4 27. Rd7 Kh8
28. Rf2 {Intending Rff7 and mate.} Rh1 $1 29. Rg2 Rg8 30. Rxb7 Rxh6 31. Rxa7 g3
{And now ...Rh2 would win.} 32. Ra4 Rh1 {[%mdl 1024] Black has compensation.}
33. Ra6 $1 Rh3 34. Rf6 h5 35. Ke2 h4 ({Better is} 35... Re8+ $17 36. Kf3 h4)
36. Rf1 $1 Kh7 37. a4 Rb8 38. b3 Kg6 39. a5 Kg5 40. Ra1 $1 Re8+ 41. Kf3 Rf8+ {
Accuracy: White = 69%, Black = 80%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "CYCC U16"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.07"]
[Round "3.14"]
[White "Chen, Richard"]
[Black "Liang, Hairan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2330"]
[BlackElo "2185"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2017.07.06"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "hb 2017"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Re1 {[#]} Nf6 $5 (5... e5 $1 {
is the move Carlsen plays when facing the Bb5 anti-Sveshnikov. It is analyzed
in the Chessable opening training program "Fight Like Magnus" by the diligent
and reliable IM Christof Sielecki.}) 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nc3 Nc7 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Ne4
Ne6 10. d3 {[#]} O-O (10... h6 $5 {is a way to try to prevent the exchange of
DSBs that occurs in the game. After} 11. Be3 b6 12. Qd2 {Black can't castle,
but the center is clogged up enough that this shouldn't be a big problem.} g5
$5 {is a provocative way to go, e.g.} (12... Nd4 13. Bxd4 cxd4 14. Qf4 {
threatening Nxd4} c5 15. Nf6+ Kf8 $13) 13. h3 Rg8 $5 14. Ng3 Bh8 15. b4 cxb4
16. Qxb4 Rg6 17. a4 c5 18. Qe4 Rb8 19. a5 Bb7 $13 {(0-1, 45) Delgado Ramirez,N
(2574)-Martinez Duany,L (2507) Ciego de Avila, 2010.}) 11. Be3 b6 12. Qd2 {[#]}
Nd4 {Richard Palliser awarded this a ?! in his 2007 book on the Bb5
Anti-Sicilian. and recommended 12... f5 instead.} ({However, after} 12... f5
13. exf6 $8 exf6 $8 {White is still better and has a choice of continuations:}
14. Bh6 $14 (14. h4 $14)) 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Bh6 {[#]} Bf5 (14... c5 15. h4 (15.
Re2 $1 {preparing to double on the e-file to increase the cramping effect of
the e5-pawn (since any ...f6/f5 will hand White the open e-file). Once Black
is tied down like this, White can continue with kinside space gaining pawn
moves.}) 15... Qd5 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Ng3 Bb7 18. f3 Qe6 19. b3 {½-½ Bacrot,E
(2714)-Moiseenko,A (2699) Tromsoe, 2013.}) 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Ng3 Qd7 {[#] The
next part of the game is what I liked best. Black's kingside dark squares are
a bit weak, and White exploits this by bringing all his pieces to the kingside.
Then, when Black is completely tied down (move 32), White's Q makes threats
against undefended pawns in the center and queenside. Black defence against
those Q threats leaves him unprepared for White's Q return to the kingside.}
17. Qf4 (17. Qg5 Be6 (17... h6 $2 18. Nxf5+ Qxf5 19. Qxe7 $18) 18. Re4 $14 {
or Nh5+-f4.} (18. h4)) 17... c5 18. h4 Qe6 $6 {Takes away a retreat from the B.
} (18... Be6 $142) 19. f3 Rfd8 20. Qg5 $2 (20. b3 $5) (20. h5 $5) 20... Kh8 $2
{Black misses his only chance:} (20... h6 $1 21. Nxf5+ Qxf5 22. Qxe7 Rd7 $11 {
and Black gets the e-pawn back and all of White's attacking pieces are gone.})
21. Ne2 {Threatening g4, trapping the B.} Qd7 22. Nf4 {[#] A very nice square
for the N. Note that f4 is not technically an "outpost" -- an advanced square
which cannot be attacked by an opponent's pawn -- since Black's g or e-pawns
might conceivably attack the Nf4. White's next moves eliminate those
possibilties, and the N stays on f4 until Black, unable to stop Nf4-g6+-,
resigns.} Be6 23. h5 gxh5 24. Qxh5 Rg8 25. Kf2 Rg7 26. Rh1 Bf5 27. g4 Bg6 28.
Qh6 c4 29. e6 Qe8 30. Rh2 (30. dxc4 $1) 30... cxd3 31. Rah1 Qg8 32. cxd3 Rf8 {
[#] Black has "compact" development. White has everything else.} 33. Qh4 Re8
34. Qg5 Bxd3 35. Qe5 f6 36. Qxd4 Rd8 37. Qc3 Bb5 {[#]} 38. Qc2 (38. Nh5 $142
Rg6 (38... Rg5 39. Nxf6 $18) 39. Qb4 $18 {forking b5 and e7.}) 38... Rd4 39.
Kg3 Ba6 40. Qf5 Bb7 41. Rh6 Rd2 42. Qh5 $1 {[#] There's no good defence to
Ng6+, overloading the defenders. Compare with the diagram at move 32: White's
pieces have returned to their kingside attacking positions, while two of
Black's pieces are MIA.} 1-0

[Event "CAN-op"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Preotu, Razvan"]
[Black "Itkin, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2633"]
[BlackElo "2357"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 {[#]The Short
System. White lets Black have a French with the "bad" c8-Bishop developed on
f5, and tries to show that the Bf5 is a either a liability (as it can be
attacked by g4 or Nh4) or no asset (if White can play around it to make its
pressure on the h7-b1 diagonal irrelevant).} c5 (5... Nd7 {is the second most
popular move, when Black continutes with ...Ne7 or ...h6, making sure Black
has minor pieces ready before breaking with ...c5.}) 6. Be3 {[#]} cxd4 (6...
Qb6 {leads to poisoned-pawn complications after} 7. Nc3 Qxb2 $5 (7... Nc6 $14)
8. Nb5 (8. Qb1 $5) 8... c4 $5 (8... Na6 9. dxc5 $16) 9. Rb1 Qxa2 10. Nc7+ Kd8
11. Nxa8 Bxc2 12. Rxb7 $5 Bxd1 13. Rxb8+ Kd7 14. Bxd1 Ne7 15. O-O h6 16. Bd2 $1
{(½-½, 44) Areshchenko,A (2702)-Jobava,B (2734) Burgas, 2012.}) 7. Nxd4 Ne7
8. c4 Nbc6 9. Nc3 Nxd4 10. Bxd4 dxc4 {[#]} 11. Bxc4 (11. Qa4+ $5 Nc6 12. O-O-O
$5 {is very provocative but may be worth investigating, since the game line
leads to a small but very comfortable plus for Black.}) 11... Nc6 12. Bb5 Be7
13. O-O O-O {Joe Gallagher says that here "Black probably has an edge as he
has the more effective minor pieces". (Starting Out: The Caro-Kann, Everyman
2011). Today's computers agree, rating it =/+ after White's next:} 14. Bxc6
bxc6 {[#]Structurally, Black is worse, with an isolated pawn on a half-open
file; but White doesn't have time to blockade and attack it before it moves to
c4 where it can support his B on d3 and put pressure on White's b2-pawn.
Meanwhile, White's problems (his DSB and e5-pawn are doing double-duty, and he
has no LSB) are long-term. Here are four tries for White, none of which change
that evaluation.} 15. f4 (15. Qa4 $6 c5 16. Be3 Qb8 $1 17. Qd7 Re8 18. Nd5 $6
Bf8 $1 19. Rad1 (19. Nc7 $4 Re7 $19) 19... exd5 20. Qxf5 d4 21. Bc1 Qxe5 $17 {
(0-1, 52) Naiditsch,A (2697)-Anand,V (2788) Mainz (rapid), 2009.}) (15. Rc1 Qb8
16. Ne2 c5 17. Bc3 Rd8 18. Qa4 Bd3 19. Rfe1 Qb5 20. Qxb5 Bxb5 21. Ba5 Rdc8 22.
Nc3 Bd3 23. Ne4 c4 24. Re3 Rcb8 25. Bc3 a5 26. g3 a4 $15 {(½- ½ , 41)
MacKinnon,K (2140)-Gerzhoy,L (2471) Canadian Open, Toronto, 2010.}) (15. Na4
$146 {looks natural, hoping for Bc5 and a trade of the DSBs, but Black keeps a
plus after:} Qa5 16. b3 Rfd8 17. Bc3 Rxd1 (17... Qa6 $5) 18. Bxa5 Rd5 19. Bc3
Rad8 20. Rac1 Ba3 $15) 15... c5 16. Be3 Qb8 (16... Rb8) 17. Qe2 c4 $1 {[#]
Black would be happy to trade the c-file iso for the N-supporting b2-pawn, and
if White doesn't take on c4, it will keep the b2-pawn under pressure (as in
the Gerzhoy game quoted above).} 18. Rfe1 Rd8 19. Rad1 Qb4 20. Rxd8+ Bxd8 {
[#] Black is better: he has the B-pair, pressure on the c-file, and can
support this c4-iso with Bd3.} 21. Rd1 Bd3 22. Qf3 Rc8 23. Rd2 Qb8 24. Qd1 Ba5
25. Qa4 Bb6 26. Bf2 Bxf2+ 27. Rxf2 Qb6 28. Qd7 Rf8 {I don't understand this
move: f7 doesn't need defending, and both ...Rd8 and ...Rb8 make more sense.
Maybe it was a transcription error?} 29. g3 Rd8 30. Qe7 Bf5 31. Kg2 Qc6+ 32.
Kg1 Qb6 33. Kg2 {[#] White indicates that he might be OK with a draw...} h6 $1
{...and Black declines!} 34. h3 Rd3 35. Re2 (35. Qe8+ Kh7 36. Qxf7 Bxh3+ $1 $19
) 35... Qc6+ 36. Kh2 Qf3 37. Rg2 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Black's
pieces surround White's K, all he needs is a move that makes the house of
cards collapse.} Kh7 $3 {Spending a tempo (and seemingly giving up a pawn) to
prevent a back-rank check and so depriving White of his only defence!} (37...
Bxh3 $2 {doesn't win when the White Q can get back to h4:} 38. Kxh3 g5 $1 (
38... Qh5+ $4 39. Qh4 $18 {a variation which shows why the white Q has to be
able to move to h4.}) 39. Kh2 Qh5+ 40. Kg1 Rd1+ {and Black can force a
perpetual.}) (37... Rxc3 $2 {doesn't work where there's a back rank check:} 38.
bxc3 Be4 39. Qd8+ Kh7 40. Qd2 $16 {Exchanges on g2 leave White's K in charge
in a winning KP ending. This variation shows that the white Q has to be able
to get back to defend g2/h1. Seeing that the white Q has two jobs explains why
...Kh7 is such a good move.}) 38. g4 (38. Qxf7 Rxc3 39. bxc3 Be4 $19 {and
there's no stopping mate on g2 or h1.}) (38. Qxa7 Bxh3 $1 $19) 38... Qxf4+ 39.
Kg1 Be4 {David Itkin scores the big upset of round 1 at the 2017 Canadian Open.
} 0-1

[Event "CAN-op"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.10"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Yang, Kaiqi"]
[Black "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2415"]
[BlackElo "2585"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. exd5 exd5 {An exchange French.
White is equal, and Black will have difficulty creating imbalances sufficient
to trouble a competent opponent.} 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Bg4 7. c3 c6 {[#]} 8. Qb3
({Although these symmetrical positions can be a strategic snooze-fest, there's
always the chance for a tactical surprise:} 8. Qc2 Bh5 9. Ne5 Bg6 10. O-O Nbd7
11. Re1 O-O (11... Bxd3) 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. Bg5 Qc7 15. Re2 Rfe8 16.
Rae1 Rxe2 17. Rxe2 Re8 18. g3 Rxe2 19. Qxe2 Kf8 20. Bd2 {[#] Analysis Diagram}
Qa5 $4 {Black's first semi-ambitious move, and it turns out to be a blunder
because it leaves the Bd6 undefended!} 21. a3 (21. Bxg6 $3 fxg6 22. Qe6 {
gaining a tempo on the B to bring the N in for mate; e.g.} Qc7 (22... Be7 23.
Ng5 $18) 23. Nh4 $18) 21... Qb6 22. Bc1 (22. Ng5 $142 $1 Qxb2 23. Bxg6 $16)
22... Qc7 23. Ng5 $1 c5 24. Bxg6 $1 cxd4 25. Bxf7 d3 26. Qxd3 Ne5 27. Qf5 Qc6
28. Bh5 Qa6 29. Bf4 Nc4 30. Qe6 {(1-0, 30) Bojkovic,N (2400)-Matveeva,S (2496)
Elista, 2004.}) 8... Qc7 9. Ne5 Bh5 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 c5 {Black plays to
break the symmetry.} 12. Qa4 Nc6 13. Nf1 Bd6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16.
Bf4 Qb6 17. Qc2 a5 18. Be3 Bg6 19. Bxg6 {[#]} fxg6 $5 {Activating the R but
exposing the K a little more -- Black keeps trying to unbalance.} 20. f3 a4 21.
Bxc5 Qxc5+ 22. Kh1 (22. Qf2 Qxf2+ 23. Kxf2 a3 24. b3 Ne4+ $15) 22... a3 23. b3
Rae8 24. Qd2 Qb5 25. Ne3 Re5 26. Nc2 Rfe8 27. Rxe5 Rxe5 28. Re1 h6 29. h3 (29.
Rxe5 $4 Qf1#) 29... Rxe1+ 30. Qxe1 {[#]} c5 (30... Qd3 31. Nxa3 Kh7 $11) (30...
Qa5 31. Qe6+ Kh7 32. Qxc6 d4 $8 33. Nxd4 Qg5 34. Qc7 Qc1+ 35. Kh2 Nd5 $11) 31.
Nxa3 Qa6 32. Qc1 Qe2 33. b4 cxb4 34. cxb4 Qxa2 (34... Nh5 $5 {leaves White
with two passed pawns, but Black has sufficient play against the loose
kingside.}) 35. b5 Qb3 36. Qc5 Kh7 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Material is
equal. Both sides have passed pawns, but White's is further advanced but
Black's Q is well-placed behind it and Na3 is not well placed. Finally,
Black's earlier ...fxg6 capture has left his K better protected from Q checks
than White's K.} 37. Qd6 $2 {This makes sense on general principles -- it gets
ready to advance the b-pawn while defending the N and staying behind Black's
passer -- but it loses to the very precise sequence which Black plays.} (37.
Kh2 $142) (37. b6 $6 {isn't as losing as it looks} Nd7 38. Qb5 $8 Qxb5 39. Nxb5
Nxb6 40. f4 $1 $15) 37... d4 $1 $19 38. b6 Nd5 $1 39. Kh2 d3 $1 40. Nc4 Qxc4
41. b7 {White is going to promote (first), but Black aims at a more important
target.} Ne3 $1 42. b8=Q Qc2 $8 {[#]White has to give up a Q to stop the mate
on g2, after which the d-pawn should win.} 43. Qxg6+ $1 (43. Kg3 Nf5+ $19) (43.
Qg3 Nf1+ $19) 43... Kxg6 44. Qe8+ Kf6 45. Qf8+ Ke6 (45... Ke5 46. Qxg7+ Kd5 $19
) 46. Qe8+ Kd6 47. Qd8+ (47. Qxe3 d2 48. Qb6+ Ke7 $19 {Black zigzags back to
h7 when there will be no perpetual because the black Q defends the diagonal.})
47... Kc5 48. Qe7+ Kc4 49. Qe4+ Kb3 50. Qxe3 Qc7+ 51. Kg1 Kc2 52. Qe4 Qc3 53.
Kf1 {[#] Black has shown great resourcefulness to create imbalances and
accuracy to turn them into a winning position... but now he starts to drift.
No doubt time trouble was a factor.} g5 {Unnecessary.} (53... Kc1 $1) 54. h4 $1
Kb2 55. hxg5 hxg5 56. Qd5 Kc2 (56... Qc1+ $142 57. Kf2 Qc2+ 58. Kg3 d2 $19) (
56... d2 $142 57. Ke2 Kc1 $19) 57. Qf5 Qc4 (57... Kc1 58. Qxg5+ d2 59. Kf2 Qd4+
60. Ke2 Qc4+ 61. Kf2 Kd1 $19) 58. Ke1 Qc3+ 59. Kf1 Kd1 $6 60. Qe4 $1 {[#]} d2
$4 61. Qb1+ Qc1 62. Qa2 $1 $11 {Black will have to move his Q, and White will
repeat with a check on the first rank.... but somehow this game ended as a win
for White? It must have been a flag.  ... and that's why nobody plays the
French (if you listen to the guys on chess.com).} 1-0

[Event "CAN-op"]
[Site "Sault Ste Marie CAN"]
[Date "2017.07.13"]
[Round "6.2"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Vovk, Andrey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B70"]
[WhiteElo "2522"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]
[SourceTitle "ChessCanada"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2020.02.14"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. e4 c5 2. Ne2 {This Chameleon-like move was often played by
Paul Keres. White keeps options of playing an open Sicilian with d4 or closed
with d3, and so can choose which Sicilian lines to avoid.} Nc6 3. Nbc3 Nf6 4.
g3 {White's decided there will be no Najdorf or Sveshnikov.} d6 5. Bg2 g6 6.
O-O Bg7 {[#]} 7. d4 $5 {Were you expecting a Closed with d2-d3? If so, you
haven't been watching Canadian chess since the 1980s.  True, this IS a
Canadian playing White in the Canadian Open; but Aman is one of the many
Candians in the post-Suttles and post-Day era who play the Open Sicilian as
White.} cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bd7 (8... Bg4 9. Nde2 Qc8 10. f3 Bh3 11. Bxh3 Qxh3 12. Bg5
O-O 13. Qd2 h6 14. Be3 Kh7 15. Rac1 Qd7 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Ne5 18. b3 b5 19.
Bd4 $14 Rac8 20. f4 Ng4 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Nd4 Nf6 23. c4 bxc4 24. bxc4 e6 25.
dxe6 fxe6 26. Rfe1 Rfe8 27. Nb3 a6 28. Qd4 Rc6 29. Red1 e5 $1 $11 30. fxe5 Rxe5
31. Qxe5 dxe5 32. Rxd7+ Nxd7 33. Rd1 Nf6 34. c5 Kf7 35. Rc1 Nd7 36. Kf2 Ke6 37.
Ke3 Kd5 38. Rd1+ Ke6 39. Rc1 Kd5 {(½-½, 39) Spassky,B-Fischer,R Belgrade,
1992.}) 9. Nde2 O-O 10. h3 Ne5 11. a4 Qa5 12. b3 b5 $6 13. Be3 $1 {Defending
the Ra1, and so threatening axb5+-.} bxa4 14. Nxa4 Qc7 {[#]} 15. c4 {This
gives Black a target on b3, but it's still good.} (15. Qd2 $2 {steps into a
fork on f3} Bxh3 $1 $17 {but you still have to see the rest:} 16. f4 Bxg2 17.
fxe5 Nxe4 $8 $19) (15. f4 $5 {aiming to dislodge the Ns with an eventual
g3-g4-g5 also deserves consideration.}) 15... Rfb8 16. Ra3 Nc6 17. Nac3 a6 18.
Qd2 Qc8 19. Kh2 Rb7 20. f4 Rab8 {[#]} 21. Qd1 {I think this is an
interestingly provocative way of defending the b3-pawn. In part because it
uncoordinates White's pieces a little (the Be3 is undefended) but also because
it sends a message to Black that White may be perfectly happy playing this
position VERY SLOWLY.} (21. Qc2 {would be the most natural way to defend b3.
My hunch is that White prefered Qd1 since the Qc2 could be attacked after some
sequence involving ...e5 and ...Nd4.}) (21. Nc1 {would be even more
provocative, but not necessarily bad.}) (21. Rb1 {is a natural way to defend
b3, but Black gets active after} Nb4 22. Nd4 e5 $5 $13) 21... Bg4 $1 {[#]Black
responds like a GM! Clever and strong. It doesn't actually threaten anything,
but it annoys by tying White down.} 22. f5 (22. hxg4 $4 Nxg4+ 23. Kg1 Nxe3 $19)
(22. Rf2 e5 $1 $13 {a typical Dragon counter strike in the center, giving
Black lots of play.} 23. fxe5 (23. Qxd6 $4 {gets the Q trapped after} Rd7 24.
Qc5 Bf8 $19) (23. f5 $6 Nd4 $15 {and White can't take on d4 because after} 24.
Bxd4 $2 exd4 25. Qxd4 Bxe2 $19 {White can't recapture on e2 without losing his
Q to ...Ng4+.}) 23... Nxe5 24. Qxd6 Be6 {threatening both ...Nfg4+ and ...Rxb3.
}) 22... Bxe2 23. Nxe2 Nd7 24. fxg6 hxg6 $15 {[#] By trading his f-pawn for
Black's h-pawn, White has conceded the e5 square to Black, which gives him a
comfortable Dragon-type structure.} 25. e5 $1 {Clearing the diagonal to
activate the Bg2.} (25. Rxa6 $4 {doesn't work yet, since} Rxb3 $19 {threatens
the Ra6 and Be3.}) 25... Ndxe5 (25... Bxe5 $6 26. Rxa6 $14 {with a tempo on
the Nc6.}) 26. Nf4 $2 (26. Nc3 $142 $15) 26... a5 27. Nd5 a4 $1 $17 {Just a
minority attack, but now Black's Rooks are very strong.} 28. Rxa4 Rxb3 29. Bg5
{[#]} Bf8 (29... Rb1 $1 {is probably winning for Black} 30. Qxb1 {is the
obvious reply, but it doesn't work since after} (30. Qe2 R8b2 $19) (30. Bc1 $1
{is the computer's choice:} Bh6 31. Nf4 R8b4 32. Rxb4 Nxb4 $19 {Black is up a
pawn and his pieces are swarming into the weak squares behind the squares
White's pawns used to protect.}) 30... Rxb1 31. Rxb1 Qf5 $19 {Black's Q forks
g5 and b1.} 32. Rb8+ {hoping to deflect the Nc6 and fork Black on e7} Kh7 $8 {
and White is hanging on b8 and g5,} 33. Nxe7 {forking g5 and c6,} (33. Bxe7
Nxb8 $19) (33. Bf4) 33... Nxe7 34. Bxe7 Qd7 $19 {forking e7 and a4.}) 30. c5 $5
{trying to make the most of the Ra4.} dxc5 $2 (30... Rb1 $142 $1) 31. Rh4 {
[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position What happens after 31...Rb1?} Rd3 (31... Rb1 {
doesn't win for Black anymore, but the refutation is not at all obvious:} 32.
Bf6 $8 {threatening mate on h8} (32. Qa4 $2 Rxf1 33. Bxf1 Nf3+ $19) 32... Bg7
$8 (32... Rxd1 $4 33. Rh8#) (32... exf6 $4 33. Nxf6+ Kg7 34. Rh7#) 33. Bxg7
Rxd1 34. Nf6+ $8 Kxg7 $8 (34... exf6 35. Bxf6 {and there's no defence to Rh8#.}
) 35. Rh7+ Kf8 36. Rh8+ Kg7 37. Rh7+ $8 $11) 32. Qc1 (32. Bf6 {draws, as in
the variations above after 31...Rb1.}) 32... Nd7 $2 (32... Rd4 $1 {to trade
the Rh4 while also defending the 4th rank and keeping the Ne5 where it defends
f7.}) 33. Qf4 $1 $18 Nce5 {[#]} 34. Nxe7+ $2 {Another mistake in a
head-spinning position.} (34. Bxe7 $5 Rxd5 $1 35. Bxd5 $16) (34. Bf6 $8 $18 {
this wins, but only if you see the follow up} Nxf6 35. Qxf6 $8 {would be a
wonderful move to play against anyone, but especially so against a 2600+ GM}
Bg7 36. Nxe7+ Kf8 37. Nxg6+ (37. Rh8+ {also forces mate.}) 37... Kg8 (37...
Nxg6 38. Qxf7#) 38. Rh8+ $1 Bxh8 39. Qxh8#) 34... Bxe7 35. Bxe7 Rb2 $2 {
This creates some terrific threats for Black, but if White can walk a
tightrope of only moves he'll end up with a winning position.} (35... Rd4 $1
$15) 36. Qh6 $8 $18 {From here on, White plays perfectly.} Rxg2+ {[#]} 37. Kh1
$8 (37. Kxg2 $2 Qa8+ $8 38. Kh2 Qa2+ $8 39. Kh1 Qd5+ $8 40. Kh2 Rd2+ $19) 37...
Rg1+ 38. Kxg1 $8 (38. Rxg1 $2 Qb7+ 39. Kh2 Nf3+ $19) 38... Rxg3+ 39. Kh2 Rxh3+
40. Kxh3 $8 (40. Rxh3 $4 Ng4+ $19) 40... Nf6+ 41. Kg2 Nh5 42. Bf6 $1 (42. Rxh5
$4 Qg4+ $11) 42... Qc6+ 43. Kg1 $1 Nf3+ 44. Rxf3 $8 {With this win, Aman moved
to a 3-way tie for second with IM Kaiqi Yang and GM Aryan Chopra, 1/2 a point
behind the tournament leader, GM Razvan Preotu.} 1-0

[Event "Hourly Blitz Arena"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2019.06.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Bhongaler"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A10"]
[WhiteElo "2041"]
[BlackElo "1983"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {The following game and inserts are online blitz from lichess
and chess.com. The quality of the games is low, but gives a good idea of the
range of "non-book" responses you'll get online at levels below 1900.} 1. c4 d5
$6 {This is a surprisingly common response in lower levels online. I suspect
it's because 1... d5 is a (nearly) universal first move -- except against 1.c4
-- and inexperienced players don't prep for 1.c4.} 2. cxd5 {[#]} Nf6 (2... Qxd5
3. Nc3 Qd8 (3... Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd2 Bg4 6. f3 $5 Bh5 7. e4 e6 $2 8. Nd5 $1
$18 {there's no way to save the Qa5 and stop the Nxc7 fork. (1-0, 22) John
Upper-mrsamo (1337) Chess.com, 2019.}) (3... Qc6 4. d4 Nf6 5. e4 e6 6. Bb5 Qxb5
7. Nxb5 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bd6 9. e5 Ne4 10. exd6 {1-0 JKU-Anonymous Lichess unrated
blitz, 2017.}) 4. Nf3 Nc6 $6 5. d4 Nf6 6. e4 Bg4 (6... e5 7. d5 $1) 7. Be3 (7.
d5 $142 Ne5 8. Nxe5 $1 Bxd1 9. Bb5+ $18 {Black ends up down a piece.}) 7... e6
8. Bb5 Be7 9. h3 (9. d5 $143 exd5 10. exd5 a6 $8 $14) 9... Bh5 10. Qa4 Qd7 $2
11. Ne5 $18 (11. d5 $18 {also wins.}) 11... Qd6 12. Nxc6 a6 13. Nxe7+ Kxe7 14.
e5 Qd5 {1-0 Upper,J-cr2016 (1542) lichess.org, 2017.}) 3. e4 $5 ({DC REP
recommends} 3. Nc3 Nxd5 4. Nf3 {transposing into either} g6 {the anti-Grunfeld
with} ({mainlines with} 4... c5 5. e3 {see Upper - Huang below.}) 5. h4 $5 {[#]
} ({Black wants a regular Grunfeld, and White can oblige with...} 5. d4 Bg7 6.
e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5) 5... h5 {This is one of six moves discussed in DC REP; the
others are: Nf6, Bg7, Nc6, h6, and Nxc3.} (5... Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qxd1+ 8.
Kxd1 $14 {when Black would rather have his DSB on a different diagonal. This
is one point of going for h2-h4 before e2-e4. The DC REP covers three Black
development schemes from here.}) 6. Qb3 $5 $14 {I used to play the Russian
System against the Grunfeld, so I switched to something like it here. I didn't
know it at the time, but Leela engines clearly favour this as the best move.} (
6. e4 {is the DC Rep move, which continues:} Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 Bg4 9.
Kc2 Nd7 10. Ng5 f6 11. f3 fxg5 12. fxg4 hxg4 13. Bxg5 {when Black's kingside
pawns might be weak, but it seems to me that after} Bh6 $1 14. Be2 Ne5 {
Black's Ne5 wil be the best minor piece, and it looks awfully close to equal.})
6... c6 $6 (6... Nb6 7. d4 $14 {looks like an improved version of the Russian
System for White... but to know this you'd need to have studied that line.} (7.
Ng5 $5 e6 $14)) 7. e4 Nf4 $2 8. d4 $16 {Finishing development with a threat...}
Bg7 $4 {... which Black doesn't see, until...} 9. Bxf4 {it's time to resign.
Which he did! 1-0 Upper,J (2054)-PainKiller2017 (2154) lichess.org, 2019.  
The short summary: White won because Black blundered just out of the opening.
How much of that is due to the DC REP? I don't have enough info to say; but I
have never beaten any 2000+ Grunfeld player -- who have to be booked up -- so
quickly. 1-0 (9) Upper,J (2054)-PainKiller2017 (2154) lichess.org, 2019.}) 3...
Bd7 (3... Nxe4 $4 {yes, this happens.} 4. Qa4+ {1-0 Upper,J-Murad91 (1547)
lichess.org, 2019.} Bd7 5. Qxe4 {(1-0, 14) Upper,J -Keko-shell (1703) lichess.
org, 2017.}) (3... c6 $142 4. dxc6 Nxc6 5. Nc3 e5 {Black is playing a Morra
Reversed, but White has committed to e4 early, so somewhere between +/= and +/
-, though there are lots of ways for White to self-destruct.}) 4. Nc3 (4. Qb3
$1) 4... c6 5. dxc6 Nxc6 6. d4 e6 7. a3 $6 $16 {[#] Safety first? White should
continue with normal development like Nf3.} Be7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Be2 Qb6 10. O-O
Rfd8 11. Be3 Qxb2 $4 12. Na4 $19 {Trapping the Q.} Qxa1 13. Qxa1 Nxd4 14. Nxd4
(14. Qxd4 $142 Bb5 15. Bxb5 Rxd4 16. Nxd4 {with two extra pieces.}) 14... Bxa4
15. Qb1 $18 {White is up a Q for a RP, and kept a winning advantage... until
losing on time at move 42.} b6 16. f3 Rac8 17. Nb5 a6 18. Na7 Rc2 19. Bxa6 Rc3
20. Qxb6 h6 21. Rc1 Rb3 22. Qa5 Rxe3 23. Qxa4 Rxa3 24. Qc6 Rd2 25. Nc8 Bf8 26.
Bf1 Raa2 27. Qc7 Rd7 28. Qc4 Rdd2 29. Nb6 Ba3 30. Qc8+ Kh7 31. Rb1 Rac2 32. Qb7
Bc5+ 33. Kh1 Rb2 34. Rxb2 Rxb2 35. Qxf7 $4 $138 (35. e5 Rb1 36. Qa6 Rxb6 37.
Qc4 $18) 35... Bxb6 $4 (35... Rb1 $13) 36. g4 Rf2 37. Bg2 Be3 38. h4 Nxe4 39.
Qxe6 Ng3+ 40. Kh2 Nf1+ 41. Kh3 Bd2 42. Qe4+ Kg8 $138 0-1

[Event "Casual Blitz game"]
[Site "lichess.org"]
[Date "2019.05.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "PainKiller2017"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "2054"]
[BlackElo "2154"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. Nf3 g6 5. h4 $5 {[#]} ({
Black wants a Grunfeld, and White can oblige with...} 5. d4 Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7.
bxc3 c5) 5... h5 {This is one of six moves discussed in DC REP; the others are:
Nf6, Bg7, Nc6, h6, and Nxc3.} (5... Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 $14 {
when Black would rather have his DSB on a different diagonal. This is one
point of going for h2-h4 before e2-e4. The DC REP covers three Black
development schemes from here.}) 6. Qb3 $5 $14 {I used to play the Russian
System against the Grunfeld, so I switched to something like it here. I didn't
know it at the time, but Leela engines clearly favour this as the best move.} (
6. e4 {is the DC Rep move, which continues:} Nxc3 7. dxc3 Qxd1+ 8. Kxd1 Bg4 9.
Kc2 Nd7 10. Ng5 f6 11. f3 fxg5 12. fxg4 {but here instead of ...gxh4 in DC,
after} hxg4 $146 13. Bxg5 Bh6 $1 {I don't see an advantage for White: the
Bishop pair won't last, and Black's Ne5 wil be the best minor piece.}) 6... c6
$6 (6... Nb6 7. d4 $14 {looks like an improved version of the Russian System
for White... but to know this you'd need to have studied that line.} (7. Ng5 $5
e6 $14)) 7. e4 Nf4 $2 8. d4 $16 {Finishing development with a threat...} Bg7 $4
{... which Black doesn't see, until...} 9. Bxf4 {it's time to resign.  The
short summary: White won because Black blundered just out of the opening. How
much of that is due to the DC REP? I don't have enough info to say; but I have
never beaten any 2000+ Grunfeld player -- who have to be booked up -- so
quickly.} 1-0

[Event "RACC Sunday Rapid"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2018.08.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Beckwith, Paul H"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "1966"]
[BlackElo "2113"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 Be7 5. b3 O-O 6. Bb2 c6 {
[#] Not in DC REP, which covers ...c5, ...b6, and ...dxc4. The game move
doesn't score as well as those alternatives, which is probably why it is not
mentioned, but now I'm on my own. I remembered that the DC REP covers the
triangle system (e6-d5-c6), but in lines where Black doesn't commit to Be7,
but can play the more active ...Bd6, which allows both ...e5 and ...Qe7. I
figured that that is not a huge difference, but enough to give White a bit
less to worry about.} 7. Qc2 dxc4 $6 $146 {Now there are no games in the
MegaBase from here, so we're both on our own. Black seems to be trying to play
a Meran, but conceding the fight for e4 without even gaining a tempo from
Bf1-d3-xc4 can't be best. That's not something I know from studying the DC REP,
but from a previous stuggle to find something aginst the Meran when I played 1.
d4.} (7... b6 8. Rg1 $5 Bb7 9. g4 c5 10. g5 $13 {(1-0, 31) Jakubowski,K (2526)
-Tokranovs,D (2348) Katowice (blitz), 2017.}) (7... Nbd7 {transposes back to
the DC REP, which continues:} 8. Be2 b6 9. Rg1 Bb7 10. g4 $5) 8. Bxc4 b5 9. Be2
$14 Nbd7 10. O-O Nb6 $6 11. a4 {Taking on a4 leaves Black with two queenside
isos to one.} b4 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Qd5 14. Qg4 $1 {[#]With a mate threat
and potential tempi against the Qd5.} f6 (14... g6 15. Qf4 (15. Qd4 Qxd4 16.
Nxd4 Bd7 $14) 15... Nd7 16. Bc4 (16. Qh6) 16... Qf5 (16... Qd6 17. Qh6 Bf6 18.
Ng5 $18) 17. Qc7 $16) (14... e5 15. Qg3 Qxb3 16. Bxe5 $18) 15. a5 $8 $18 Qxb3 (
15... Nd7 16. Bc4 $18) 16. axb6 Qxb2 17. b7 $1 Bxb7 18. Qxe6+ {Black resigned.}
(18. Qxe6+ Rf7 {and White can choose the move I saw} 19. Bc4 {winning a piece.}
({or the fancy} 19. Ra2 {trapping the Q.}) 19... Raf8 20. Qxe7 $18) 1-0

[Event "RACC Ch"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2019.02.21"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "De Kerpel, Stijn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2201"]
[BlackElo "2129"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 a6 $5 {[#]} 5. d4 {I had a long think now.
I remembered that the main idea here is to aim for IQP or hanging pawn
positions with b3 and central pawn trades, but at the board I worried about
Black counterplay with ...Bb4.} ({DC REP continues:} 5. b3 c5 (5... Bd6 6. Bb2
O-O 7. g4 $5 Nxg4 8. Rg1 f5 9. cxd5 e5 10. h3 Nf6 11. Ng5 $13 {(1-0, 37)
Nepomniachtchi,I (2729)-Anand,V (2782) London, 2017.}) 6. cxd5 (6. Bb2 Nc6 (
6... d4 $6 {Going for a reversed-Benoni is an equalizer against some Reti
lines, but the d2 pawn makes a big difference here.} 7. exd4 cxd4 8. Ne2 {
and Black will lose the d-pawn, either on d4 next, or} d3 9. Nf4 $16 {Note
that if White had played d2-d3, then Black could get an advantage by
supporting the d4 pawn with 8...e5, which would be tactically supported by
Qa5+.}) 7. cxd5 exd5 8. d4 Bg4 9. Be2 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 cxd4 11. exd4 {White has
to be a bit better with the Bs, but it's not so much with the center
stabilized. (1-0, 54) Kovalyov,A (2629)-Vera Gonzalez Quevedo,R (2434)
Montreal, 2018.}) 6... exd5 7. d4 {[#]Here are the lines with ...Bb4 I was
worried about.... and which I should have checked at home when first studying
the REP.} Nc6 (7... cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bb4 $5 9. Bb2 (9. Bd2 Nc6 {I thought this was
prostpectless for White}) 9... Ne4 10. Qc2 Qa5 11. Bd3 $5 (11. Rc1 Qxa2 $13)
11... Bxc3+ (11... Nxc3 $6 12. a3 $16) 12. Bxc3 Nxc3 13. Qd2 $13 {White is
temporarily down a piece for some tempi, but the Nc3 can't be held.}) 8. Bb2
cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bb4 $5 (9... Bd6 {is the usual place for the B.} 10. Be2 O-O 11.
O-O {with an approximately equal game. Here is a recent, crazy game, from the
current Canadian Champion:} Re8 12. Bf3 Ne5 13. Bxd5 $1 Neg4 14. Nf3 Nxh2 $2
15. Nxh2 $1 $146 Bxh2+ 16. Kxh2 Ng4+ 17. Kg3 $1 Qd6+ 18. Kf3 $1 (18. f4 $2 Qg6
$44) 18... Qh6 19. Qd4 $1 Qh5 20. Rh1 {1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I (2774)-Bareev,E 
(2643) Amsterdam, 2019.}) 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bd3 d4 $2 {looks like a clean
equalizer, but it's bad for a very pretty reason:} 12. exd4 Qxd4 {And now a
Stockfish move I almost certainly would not have considered OTB:} 13. O-O $3
Bxc3 14. Qe1+ $8 $16 {with a better structure and either the B-pair or big
lead in development no matter what Black does.}) 5... Be7 (5... dxc4 6. Bxc4 b5
7. Be2 Bb7 8. O-O Nbd7 9. b3 c5 10. Bb2 Be7 11. Rc1 O-O $11 {(0-1, 59)
Mamedyarov,S (2817)-Carlsen,M (2835) St Petersburg (blitz) 2018.}) 6. b3 O-O 7.
Bb2 Ne4 $146 8. Bd3 f5 9. cxd5 {[#]} exd5 $4 {Not remembering my opening is
more than made up for by my opponent missing a basic tactic.} (9... Nxc3 $14)
10. Nxd5 $18 {The Nd5 is saved by Bc4 pin.} Bd6 11. Qc2 c6 12. Nc3 Ng5 13. h4
$5 {I had been reading Paul Keres's two volumes of his collected games, and I
suspect I was under the influence here.} Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 Qe7 15. Na4 Be6 16. Nc5
Bc8 17. O-O-O b5 18. Rdg1 Nd7 {[%mdl 64] [#] Critical Position White is up a
pawn, with better development and pressure on the g-file. Who could ask for
more...?} 19. f4 {So that on ...Nxc5 dxc5 Black can't oppose the DSB with ...
Be5. Positionally sensible, but} ({there was a killer shot:} 19. Ne6 $3 {
did not cross my mind! If Black doesn't take it the N goes to g5, with hits on
f7 and f5, and another piece ready for a kingside sac. But if White takes it}
Qxe6 20. d5 $1 $18 {opens the attack on g7 with tempo on the Q.}) 19... Nf6 20.
Rg5 Nd5 21. Rhg1 Rf7 22. Kb1 Qf8 23. Be2 Raa7 24. Nd3 Rac7 25. Bh5 Rfe7 26. Bf3
Be6 27. Nc5 Bc8 28. a3 Rf7 29. b4 $6 $16 {White has managed not to blunder the
pawn back, but is the Bb2 any better than the Bc8?} Be7 30. Bh5 Bxg5 31. Bxf7+
Qxf7 32. hxg5 (32. Rxg5 h6 33. Rg2 Qh5 $132) 32... Qh5 33. Nd3 Qe8 34. Ne5 Qe6
35. Bc1 Qd6 36. Bd2 Qe6 37. Qc5 Ne7 38. Kb2 Qd5 {[#] Either recaputure on c5
gives White's DSB some play.} 39. Rc1 Qxc5 $6 (39... Be6 $1 {and see how White
tries to break through.}) 40. bxc5 Be6 41. Ba5 Rc8 42. Kc3 Nd5+ 43. Kd3 g6 44.
Ra1 Kg7 45. Bd2 (45. f3 $142 $1) 45... h5 46. gxh6+ Kxh6 47. Rg1 Ne7 48. f3 {
If I'd played this at move 45 then Be1 (going to h4) would be a faster
regrouping.} Kg7 49. Rh1 Ra8 50. Be1 Rc8 51. Bh4 Nd5 (51... Rh8 $2 52. Bf6+ $18
) 52. Bg5 {defends f4 -- making e3-e4 a threat, and threatening Rh6} b4 $1 53.
e4 bxa3 {A decent try in time trouble and a bad position, and one that should
have swindled the 1/2 point.} 54. exd5 Bxd5 55. Ra1 a2 56. Nc4 Rb8 {[#]} 57.
Kc3 {Black had been playing on increment for a long time here, and had finally
had enough....} (57. Kc3 $4 {... luckily for White, because here} Rb1 $1 {
draws.} 58. Rxa2 Rc1+ $11 {Needless to say, we both missed this.}) (57. Nb6
$142 $8 Bb3 (57... Bxf3 58. Rxa2 $18) 58. d5 $1 cxd5 59. Kc3 $18) 1-0

[Event "*** Titled Tuesday Blitz"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2019.06.04"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "soolking67, Ali Nassr (Alg)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E14"]
[WhiteElo "2092"]
[BlackElo "2531"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]
[WhiteClock "0:01:14"]
[BlackClock "0:00:49"]

{The following game was against Algerian IM Ali Nassr in a chess.com Titled
Tuesday blitz tournament.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. b3 O-O 6.
Bb2 b6 {[#]} 7. d4 {This is perfectly playable, and can transpose, but it's
not the DC REP move, but} (7. cxd5 exd5 8. d4 {"...is my repertoire choice,
entering the Zukertort system (often reached via a Queen's Indian with 4.e3)
but one where Black has committed his bishop to the e7-square rather than the
generally preferable d6-square. White's typical plan here is to plant a knight
on the e5-square, supported by a pawn on f4, and play for central control and/
or a kingside attack."  - DC} Bb7 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O {with four moves
analyzed:} Ne4 (10... c5) (10... a6) (10... Re8)) 7... Bb7 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. bxc4
c5 10. O-O a6 11. Rc1 h6 12. Qe2 Nbd7 13. Rfd1 Qc7 $6 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical
Position What happens on 14.d5!?} (13... cxd4 $11) 14. Ne5 $6 {Allows Black
some favourable trades.} (14. d5 $1 {This is obviously the critical move, but
after} exd5 15. Nxd5 Nxd5 16. cxd5 Bxd5 {I didn't see the comp for the pawn
sac.} 17. Bc2 $1 {Here it is! A surprisingly potent move: attacking the Bd5
and preparing to use the QB batteries to poke holes in the Black kingside.} Bc6
$1 (17... Bxf3 18. Qd3 $1 Nf6 $8 19. Bxf6 g6 $8 20. Bb3 $3 Bxf6 21. Qxg6+ Bg7
22. gxf3 $14) 18. Qd3 g6 19. Bb3 {(X Qxg6+)} Kh7 20. Qc3 Bf6 21. Rxd7 Bxc3 22.
Rxc7 Bxb2 23. Rc2 Bxf3 24. Rxb2 c4 $8 (24... Be4 $4 25. Bxf7 $18) 25. Bxc4 (25.
gxf3 cxb3 26. Rxb3 b5 $11) 25... Rac8 $8 26. Rxc8 Rxc8 27. gxf3 Rxc4 28. Rxb6
Ra4 29. Rb2 {White is nominally better, but Black should draw.}) 14... cxd4 15.
exd4 Nxe5 $15 16. dxe5 Nd7 17. f4 (17. Nd5 $5) 17... Nc5 18. Bb1 Rad8 19. Rxd8
Rxd8 20. Ba3 $4 (20. Rd1 $17) 20... Nb3 $1 21. axb3 Bxa3 22. Rd1 Rxd1+ 23. Qxd1
Bc5+ 24. Kf1 f5 $1 {So White can't block on e4.} 25. Qh5 $2 Qc6 26. Qe2 b5 27.
cxb5 axb5 28. Bd3 Bb6 29. Nd1 Qc1 30. Bxb5 Qxf4+ 31. Nf2 Qxh2 0-1

[Event "Quebec Open"]
[Site "Longueuil"]
[Date "2018.07.28"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Huang, Qiuyu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A17"]
[WhiteElo "2206"]
[BlackElo "2253"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2018.07.28"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {This was the final round of the Quebec Open. My opponent was a
young FM, who had beaten GM Sambuev in round 4. This round started early, and
Black was 26 min late.} 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6.
Bc4 {[#]My opponent spent some time here.} Nb6 {The N gains a tempo off the
Bc4, but is not well-placed on b6. This move is not in DC REP, which has} (6...
Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 cxd4 9. exd4 {with a standard IQP position after} Nc6 ({
or hanging pawns after} 9... Nxc3)) 7. Be2 Nc6 8. d4 Bd7 $6 {Trying to prevent
a Q exchange if dxc5?} 9. O-O a6 $6 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position} 10. dxc5
$1 $16 {Maybe unexpected by my opponent. The possibility of using Ns to chase
the B-pair is an idea I remembered from some QGA lines, and it worked here.
White allows the Bf8 to develop in one move, but to a vulnerable square.} Bxc5
11. Ne4 $1 Qe7 (11... Be7 12. Nd6+ Bxd6 13. Qxd6 $16 {with at least the B-pair
and an open center.}) 12. a3 $16 (12. Nxc5 $142 Qxc5 13. e4 $16 {Threatening
to skewer with Be3; but I didn't see this idea until after Black's next.})
12... f5 13. Nxc5 Qxc5 {[#]} 14. e4 $1 {Stockfish 11 and Leelenstein 13 both
rate this position as more than +2.} Nc8 (14... fxe4 15. Be3 Qe7 16. Ng5 Nd5
17. Nxe4 Nxe3 18. fxe3 $18) 15. Be3 Qe7 16. exf5 (16. Rc1 {developing and
supporting Bc5.} fxe4 17. Ng5 $18 (17. Bg5 $2 exf3 $1 $14) 17... O-O 18. Nxe4
$18 {Black's pawn structure is worse and White's minors dominate the central
dark squares.}) 16... exf5 $6 {[#] This should simply lose to e-file tactics;
but it seems the effort to find one incisive move (14.e4) has exhausted White,
who now drifts with a series of generically "good" moves, each of which helps
fritter away a winning advantage.} 17. Rc1 (17. Bc4 $142 Be6 (17... Qd6 18. Re1
$18) 18. Bg5 $18) 17... Qf6 18. Qd2 $6 (18. Re1 $142) (18. Bg5 $142) 18... N8e7
19. Rfd1 $6 (19. Bg5 $1 {not sure I considered this here}) 19... Be6 {[#]
White has many attractive ways to finish, but lazily trades some of Black's
loose pieces.} (19... O-O-O $2 20. Bb6 $18) 20. Bc4 $2 (20. Rxc6 $142 $5 Nxc6
21. Bg5 $8 Qf7 (21... Rd8 22. Bd3 $8 $18) 22. Qd6 $1 {threatening Ne5, and
even Bxa6.}) (20. Bg5 $142 Qf7 21. Qd6 (21. Rxc6 {as above}) 21... Rd8 22. Rxc6
$3 Rxd6 23. Rcxd6 O-O 24. Ne5 Qe8 $8 25. Rxe6 $18) 20... Rd8 $1 21. Qe2 Rxd1+
$6 22. Rxd1 Bxc4 23. Qxc4 Qf7 24. Qxf7+ $2 {Trading an exposed Q for an active
one?} (24. Qe2 $142 O-O 25. Bc5 $18 {with a material-winning bind.}) 24... Kxf7
{[#]White has squandered a position with an winning development advantage and
central domination against an uncastled K, and reached a slightly favourable
endgame. Apparently, I play like Ulf Anderson when I should play like Paul
Keres.   Luckily for me, Ulf Anderson wins these kind of positions :)} 25. Bb6
$14 {Controlling the open file, when tactics would have let me block in the
Rh8. This isn't bad, but better was} (25. Ng5+ $1 Kg6 $2 (25... Ke8 $1 $16 {
and Black is still without the R.}) (25... Kf6 26. Rd6+ Ke5 27. Nf7+ $18) 26.
Rd6+ Kh5 27. Ne6 $18) 25... Ke6 $2 26. Ng5+ $1 Kf6 27. f4 Nc8 {[#]} 28. Re1 $1
{Now that most of the pieces are gone I start to see the tactics.} Kg6 $1 (
28... g6 29. Re6+ Kg7 30. Rxc6 $1 bxc6 31. Bd4+ Kg8 32. Bxh8 Kxh8 33. Ne6 $16)
29. Bc5 Rd8 30. Re6+ $1 Kh5 31. Nxh7 Rd5 32. b4 a5 33. h3 $1 axb4 34. axb4 Nd4
35. Re8 $8 Nd6 36. Rd8 $1 N4b5 37. Ng5 (37. Rd7 $142) 37... Rd2 {[#]} 38. Nf3 (
38. Rh8+ $5 Kg6 39. h4 $18 {[%csl Rg7][%cal Gh4h5,Gh8f8,Gf8f7,Rf7g7] threatens
h5+, followed by Rf8-f7-(pin)-xg7.}) 38... Rd1+ 39. Kh2 Kg6 40. Ne5+ Kf6 41.
Rd7 (41. Nc4 $1 {would transpose to a winning Kp ending. Either I was too lazy
to calculate this to the win, or I was enjoying tormenting my time-trouble
plagued opponent. Either way: not flattering.}) 41... Rd2 42. Be3 $6 {The c5
square really is perfect for the B.} Rc2 43. Bb6 g6 44. Bd8+ Ke6 45. Rg7 Kd5
46. Rxg6 Ke4 47. Kg3 $6 Rc3+ 48. Nf3 Kd5 49. Be7 Ne4+ 50. Kh4 Rc7 (50... Rc8
51. Kh5 $18 (51. g4 $4 Rh8+)) 51. Bf8 $1 Rf7 52. Bg7 $1 Nbd6 53. Ng5 $1 Re7 {
[#]White's up two pawns and has a choice of ways to force off the pieces:} 54.
Be5 (54. Nxe4 fxe4 55. Rxd6+ $1 Kxd6 56. Bf8 $18) (54. Bf8 Rc7 55. Re6 $18)
54... b5 55. g4 Nc4 56. gxf5 Nxe5 (56... Nxg5 57. Kxg5 Nxe5 58. fxe5 Rxe5 59.
Re6 $18 {forces off the Rs.}) 57. fxe5 Kxe5 58. Nxe4 Kxf5 (58... Kxe4 59. Re6+
$18) 59. Rg4 1-0

[Event "RACC RR"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2017.04.13"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A27"]
[WhiteElo "2142"]
[BlackElo "2331"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{The following game, and the one in the notes, were played in Ottawa against
two former Canadian Champions. Qiyu won the 2106 Canadian Women's Zonal; she's
now a WGM in her second year at the UofT.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. e3 Bc5 {
This is more common -- and probably better -- against g3 English lines. Here
it's exposed and White can chase it down or push it out of play. I had faced
this many times in online games, and remembered (more or less) what to do.} 4.
Nf3 d6 5. d4 exd4 6. exd4 Bb6 7. b4 {[#]} a5 ({Also in DC} 7... a6 8. c5 Ba7 9.
b5 axb5 10. Bxb5 $14 Bd7 11. O-O Nge7 12. d5 Ne5 (12... Nb4) 13. Nxe5 dxe5 14.
Be3 $14 {"better for White as the a7 Bishop is out of play" - DC}) ({Obviously
not} 7... Nxb4 $4 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. d5 $18) 8. b5 Nce7 9. Na4 Ba7 {[#]} 10. Bb2 $6
$146 {The long diagonal looks like the natural place for the B, but it
concedes f4 to Black. In fact, the Bc1 is already developed where it stands.
The deviates from DC, and not in a good way. I remembered there was a pawn sac
like this in the repertoire, but I didn't check it or remember it well enough
to try during the game.} ({DC REP} 10. Bd3 $146 Bg4 11. b6 Bxb6 (11... cxb6 $5
{is what I was worried about during the game, though White is a bit better
here too after something like} 12. Nc3 d5 13. cxd5 Nf6) 12. Nxb6 cxb6 13. O-O {
"with an advantage for White" - DC REP White has sac'ed a pawn for the B pair
and play against Black's ragged structure. The neural nets rate this position
as +/=/+/-, SF11 a bit less.}) 10... Nf6 11. Bd3 O-O 12. h3 Ng6 13. O-O Nf4 {
[#]Taking advantage of the misplaced Bb2.} 14. Qd2 (14. Re1 Bxh3 $2 {not good,
but I knew my opponent would be tempted} 15. gxh3 Nxh3+ 16. Kf1 $8 Ng4 17. Bf5
$1 Nhxf2 18. Qd2 {Black has three pawns for the B, but her attack is over and
her own kingside will come under pressure soon, not to mention the
still-out-of-play Ba7.}) 14... N6h5 15. Rfe1 Qf6 $11 16. Be4 {[#] 26 minutes
on this move. It took me at least 10 min to see that Black threatened ...Nxh3+,
which did not bode well for the coming complications.} (16. Re3 Nxd3 17. Qxd3
Nf4 18. Qe4 $1 $11) 16... Bf5 (16... Re8 $5 {invites tactics, all of which
seem to be good for Black, and which White should decline with 17.Qc2.} 17.
Bxh7+ $4 (17. d5 {freeing the Ba7 is strategically bad, but it might be worth
it if White wins material. In fact, White wins a lot of material here... but
loses!} Qh6 $1 18. Bxh7+ Kxh7 19. Rxe8 Bxh3 $3 20. Rxa8 Ng3 $8 $19 {
threatening both ...Bxg2 and ...Nge2.}) (17. Qc2 $1 g6 $14) 17... Kxh7 18. Rxe8
Qg6 $8 (18... Nxg2 $4 {19.Nh4 -2.14} 19. Ng5+ $8 $18) 19. Nh4 $8 (19. Ne1 $2
Nxg2 $19 20. Nxg2 Bxh3 $19) 19... Qg5 $19 20. Qc2+ g6 21. d5 Bf5 $1 {stopping
mate on h8 and attacking the Q.} 22. Rxa8 f6 $8 $19) 17. Bxf5 $6 (17. d5 $4 Qg6
$8 $19 18. Nh4 Qg5 $1 19. Bxf5 Nxh3+ $19 {wins the Q.}) (17. Kh2 Bxe4 18. Rxe4
Nxh3 $2 19. Kxh3 $1 Qf5+ 20. Rg4 Nf6 21. Qg5 Qxg4+ 22. Qxg4 Nxg4 23. Kxg4 $16)
17... Qxf5 18. Re3 Qg6 19. Ne1 {[#]} d5 $2 {Black can't expect White to take
this, and now White's queenside pawns become useful.} (19... Rae8 $15) 20. c5 (
20. cxd5 Nxd5 21. Rf3 $11 {White's R and N look reversed, but arguably all six
minor pieces are misplaced except the Nd5.}) 20... Qg5 {Threatening ...Nxh3.} (
20... c6 $5 21. b6 Bb8 {concedes the a5 pawn to White, but Black is all in on
the kingside anyway.}) 21. Rd1 {Defends the Q, though the weird-looking Bc1!
would do the same with a threat, and bring the B back to a better diagonal.} f5
$6 {[#] Black would like to play ...Rf6-g6, but doesn't get the chance.} 22. b6
$1 $14 cxb6 {This trade opens the a3-f8 diagonal, but Black didn't have a
choice:} (22... Bb8 $2 23. c6 $1 $18 bxc6 24. b7 Ra7 25. Ba3 $1 $18) 23. cxb6
Bb8 24. Ba3 Rc8 25. Nc5 Qg6 26. Qb2 (26. Nd7 $142 $1 {is a better way to keep
the b6-pawn, as it also improves the Ba3, e.g.} a4 27. Bc5) 26... Rc6 27. Nd7 (
27. Qb5 $5 {After} Rxb6 $4 {I saw this} (27... Bd6 {is better.}) 28. Qe8+ ({
My opponent saw} 28. Re8+ Kf7 29. Qd7+ Kf6 30. Qe7#) 28... Qxe8 29. Rxe8+ Kf7
30. Rxb8 Rxb8 31. Nd7 $18) 27... Bd6 28. Rb1 $1 Rac8 (28... Re8 29. Rxe8+ $1
Qxe8 30. Bxd6 Rxd6 31. Ne5 $16) (28... Qg5 29. Bxd6 Rxd6 30. Ne5 $16) 29. Bxd6
Rxd6 30. Nc5 $5 {[#]} ({I wanted to keep the e-file open and threaten b7, but} 
30. Ne5 $16 {is more natural, safer, and probably better.}) 30... Qg5 $2 {
threatening ...Nxg2 then ...Rg6, but weakening e8 lets White's threats come
first. Blocking b5-e8 with a R was better.} (30... Rcc6 31. Qa3 $16 (31. Qb5 $1
$16) 31... Rc8 32. Re7 Rxb6 33. Rxb6 Qxb6 34. Qe3 Qd6 35. Nxb7 Qf6 36. g3 Kf8
37. Re5 Nxh3+ 38. Kg2 f4 39. Qf3 fxg3 40. fxg3 Qxf3+ 41. Nxf3 N3f4+ 42. gxf4
Rc2+ 43. Kf1 Nf6 44. Re2 Rc1+ 45. Ne1 Nh5 46. Re5) (30... Rdc6 31. Ncd3 $5 (31.
Qb5 h6 32. Kh2 $14 {White's better, but it's still tense.}) 31... Rc2 32. Qb5
$16) 31. Qb5 $1 $18 h6 32. Kh2 (32. Re8+ Rxe8 33. Qxe8+ Kh7 34. Nd7 $2 {
the only move I looked at here, which I didn't like after} Rxd7 $1 35. Qxd7
Nxh3+ (35... Nxg2 $4 36. Nf3 $8 Qg6 37. Kh2 $18) 36. Kf1 Nxf2 $11 (36... Nf6
$11)) (32. Nxb7 $142 $1 {looks like Kortchnoi-level greed -- and it is,
because White has defensive tactics to escape in all lines.} Rg6 33. Nd6 $3 (
33. Qd7 Nxg2 34. Qxc8+ Kh7 35. Qd8 $8 $18 {when any discovered check allows a
Q exchange, and} Nf6 {preserves the Qs but loses everything else after} 36. Rg3
$18) (33. Qf1 $16 {is the safest, but not best.}) 33... Nxg2 (33... Rxd6 34. b7
$18) 34. Qxd5+ Kh7 35. Qxg2 Qf6 36. Nxc8 $8 $18) 32... Rg6 {[%mdl 64] [#]
Critical Position} 33. g3 $4 {Not threatening the N (because of ....Qg1#), but
blocking the attack on g2.} (33. Qd7 $142 $1 Rd8 (33... Rf8 34. Qxb7 Nxg2 $2
35. Qxd5+ $18) (33... Nxg2 34. Qxc8+ Kh7 35. Ne6 Rxe6 36. Qxe6 Nxe1 37. Rbxe1
Nf4 {threatening mate and the Q, but} 38. Rg1 $18) 34. Qe7 $18) (33. Re8+ $142
Rxe8 34. Qxe8+ Kh7 35. Nd7 $1 $18 {I completely missed the N fork on f8.})
33... Kh7 $2 {Eliminates some of White's tactics, but not all.} (33... Nxh3 $8
$11 {I don't think I analyzed this at all. Based on her later moves, Black saw
it too late.} 34. Kxh3 $6 {shows Black's point} (34. Nf3 $11 Qg4 $8 35. Re8+ (
35. Ne5 Nxf2 $8 36. Qd7 $1 $13 Qh3+ 37. Kg1 Rxg3+ 38. Rxg3 Qxg3+ 39. Kf1 Qh3+ {
and Black should be able to force a draw.}) 35... Kh7 $8 (35... Rxe8 $4 36.
Qxe8+ Kh7 37. Ne5 $18 ({or} 37. Nd7 $18)) 36. Ne5 $8 Qxd4 $8 37. Rf1 (37. Ncd3
Nxf2 38. Nxg6 $11 {with a crazy-looking mess the computer shows is equal:} Ng4+
39. Kh3 Rc2 $1 40. Nf8+ Kg8 41. Ng6+ Kh7 42. Nf8+ $11)) 34... Qg4+ $1 (34... f4
$2 35. Qd7 $8 $11) 35. Kg2 $8 (35. Kh2 $2 f4 $8 {with a winning attack.}) 35...
f4 $40) 34. Nf3 $1 {Now the Q has to run and so the Nf4 is hanging.} Qd8 35.
Ne5 (35. gxf4 {also wins.}) 35... Nxh3 36. Nxg6 (36. Kxh3 $142 {was both much
simpler and objectively better.}) 36... Nxf2 {[#]We were both in time pressure
here, and both blundered.} 37. Ne5 $4 {Makes the N safe and stops the fork on
g4, but allows Black into the game.} (37. Rf1 $4 Ng4+ $19) (37. Re8 $2 Qxe8 38.
Qxe8 Rxe8 39. Ne5 Re7 $13) (37. Rf3 $142 $18) (37. Kg2 $142 Ng4 38. Re6 $18)
37... Qg5 $4 (37... f4 $8 $11 {Black is down a R but gets it all back after}
38. gxf4 (38. Rg1 fxe3 39. Qb1+ $1 Kg8 40. Qf5 $13) (38. Qd7 $11 {bails out.})
38... Qh4+ 39. Kg1 Nxf4 $13) 38. Qe2 $1 $18 f4 39. Qxf2 (39. gxf4 Qxf4+ (39...
Qh4+ 40. Kg1 $8 $18) 40. Kg2 Qxd4 41. Qxh5 $1 Qxe3 42. Qf5+ $18 {and takes on
c8 with check on this or the next move.}) 39... fxe3 40. Qg2 Rf8 41. Ne6 {
SUMMARY: White had an advantage out of the opening, and would have had a safer
advantage had I not deviated from the DC REP. Both players made game changing
mistakes in a complicated middlegame in time pressure.} 1-0

[Event "RA December Open"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2018.12.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A25"]
[WhiteElo "2212"]
[BlackElo "2569"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. e3 g6 {"Black wants to play a kind of
Closed Sicilian with colours reversed." - DC} 4. Nf3 (4. d4 d6 {Bator played:}
5. d5 (5. Nf3 {is the DC move order, but it transposes.}) 5... Nce7 6. h4 $14
f5 7. e4 {Black's KID kingside steamroller has nothing to target when White
hasn't castled into it.} Bh6 8. Bg5 $1 Bxg5 $2 9. hxg5 h5 10. Be2 (10. f4 $1)
10... fxe4 11. g4 h4 12. Nxe4 Bd7 13. f4 $1 exf4 14. Qd4 Rh7 15. Nh3 Nc8 16.
Nf6+ Nxf6 17. gxf6 Rf7 18. g5 $18 {(1-0, 24) Sambuev,B (2562)-Kraiouchkine,N 
(2265) Trois-Rivieres, 2011.}) 4... Bg7 5. d4 d6 {[#]} 6. dxe5 $6 {I don't
recall having made a decision to meekly play for boring equality, but it sure
looks like that playing through this now.  Wating until after ...Nf6 restricts
Black's recaptures on e5, as recc in DC.} (6. Be2 {DC REP} Nf6 (6... f5 7. O-O
e4 8. Nd2 Nf6 9. b4 $1 $14 {This is in DC, and since I used to play the French,
going into this "KIA-reversed" is something I'd be more than OK with.}) 7. dxe5
Nxe5 8. Nxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. b3 $14 {"with reasonable chances for White,
for example" - DC} c6 11. Ba3 Bf5 12. O-O-O+ Kc8 13. h3 h5 14. g4 $1 {A nice
pawn sac, opening the h-file when the Ra8 can't join the fight.} hxg4 15. hxg4
Bxg4 16. Rxh8+ Bxh8 17. Be7 Bd7 $8 18. Rh1 Bg7 19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Ne4 Bd8 $8 21.
Rh7 $14 {and White threatens to simply win the f-pawn with a more active R;
which Black delayed by} Be8 22. Bg4+ $1 Kc7 (22... f5 $4 23. Nd6+ Kb8 24. Rxb7#
) 23. Be6 $1 Be7 24. Bxf7 $16 {(1-0, 63) Seirawan,Y (2555)-Sosonko,G (2595)
Bad Kissingen, 1981.}) 6... Nxe5 7. Nxe5 Bxe5 8. Bd2 Ne7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O (
10. h4 $5 {would be more gumptiony.}) 10... Nf5 (10... d5 $11) 11. Rc1 c6 (
11... h5 $6 12. f4 Bg7 13. e4 Nd4 14. f5 $36) 12. b3 Re8 13. g3 h5 14. Bf3 h4 {
[#]Black is struggling manfully for complications, while White is blithely
coasting within sight of equality. This may or may not be a recommendation for
White's opening.} 15. Ne2 $11 (15. g4 $1 {would have shown some gumption,} Ng7
16. h3 f5 17. Bg2 $14) 15... hxg3 16. hxg3 Ng7 17. Nf4 (17. Kg2 $142 {
preparing to use the h-file, here or on any of the next few moves...}) 17...
Ne6 18. Nxe6 Bxe6 19. Bc3 $6 Qf6 20. Bxe5 $6 dxe5 21. Qe2 a5 22. Rfd1 Kg7 23.
Bg4 $2 Rh8 $1 $17 {[#]} 24. Kg2 $4 {Worse late rather than never.} (24. Bxe6
Qxe6 25. e4 Qh3 26. Qf3 g5 27. Qg2 Qg4 28. f3 Qe6 $17 {ready to double on the
h-file;} 29. Kf2 a4 $17) 24... Bxg4 25. Qxg4 Rh2+ $8 $19 26. Kxh2 Qxf2+ 27. Kh3
Rh8+ 28. Qh4 Rxh4+ 29. gxh4 Qxe3+ {Unrecognizably bad play from me. Whatever
was going through my head during this game wass more like ear worms and
amyloid plaques than chess ideas.} 0-1

[Event "Ontario Open"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2017.05.21"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Donev, Danail"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2181"]
[BlackElo "1956"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2017.05.21"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bb5 Nxc3
7. bxc3 Bd7 (7... Bd6 {is the main move. One interesting continuation is} 8. d4
e4 9. Nd2 Qg5 10. Bf1 {continuing with g2-g3, Bg2 and eventual central
expansion. DC summarizes: "White has traded his early initiative (which
started with 6 Bb5) for a longer term structural advantage.".}) 8. d4 {[#]}
exd4 {More transpositions.} (8... Bd6 {is the only move in the DC REP.} 9. O-O
O-O 10. Be2 (10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. dxe5 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Bxe5 13. Ba3 c5 $5 14. Bxc5
Bxh2+ 15. Kxh2 $5 Qc7+ 16. Kg1 Qxc5 17. Qxb7 $11 {(½-½. 55) Shariyazdanov,A 
(2572)-Khismatullin,D (2674) Khanty-Mansiysk, 2013.}) 10... Re8 11. d5 Na5 (
11... Ne7 12. e4 h6 13. c4 b6 14. Ne1 $14) 12. e4 c6 $146 {to me, this looks
fine for Black.}) 9. cxd4 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Rb1 a6 12. Bd3 Rb8 13. Bd2 (13.
e4 $6 Bg4 14. d5 Nd4 $132) 13... Be6 14. Qc2 g6 15. Rfc1 Ba3 16. Rd1 Qd6 17.
Ng5 $1 Bd5 {[#]} 18. e4 $4 {A lot of moves leave White with a clear advantage,
including Ne4, Bc4, h4; and even f3 is better than the game line. I'm not sure
what I missed here -- maybe the tactic at move 22 -- but Black holds together
despite all his loose pieces.} Nxd4 19. Qc3 Bxa2 $1 20. Ra1 $6 (20. e5 $142
Qxe5 21. Qxa3 Bxb1 22. Rxb1 $13) 20... Bb3 $8 $15 21. Rdb1 $2 (21. Re1 $13)
21... Bc5 $1 (21... Qc5 $2 22. Rxa3 $18) 22. e5 (22. Rxb3 {this would be good
for White, but} Nxb3 23. Qxb3 Rbd8 $8 $19 {wins one of the Bs.}) 22... Qd5 23.
Ne4 $4 {Abysmal.} Qxe4 $1 24. Bxe4 Ne2+ 25. Kf1 Nxc3 26. Bxc3 Bc4+ 27. Ke1 c6
28. Ba5 Bb5 29. Rd1 b6 30. Rac1 Ba3 0-1

[Event "RACC Pickup 1"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2017.06.22"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Simic, Dusan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2102"]
[BlackElo "2162"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bb5 {
[#] This was a very common position for me in online games. "White plays in
the style of the Taimanov Sicilian with colours reversed" - DC.} Qd6 $5 {
I hadn't seen this before, but SF11 ranks it as Black's second-best, a bit
worse than the main line with ...Nxc3, and it's covered in DB REP, which says:}
(6... Qd6 {can be answered by} 7. O-O Be7 8. d4 {and Black will probably have
to play} Nxc3 {in any case. - DC}) 7. d4 $6 Nxc3 (7... exd4 $1 8. Qxd4 (8. exd4
Bg4 $11) 8... Nxc3 9. Qxc3 Bd7 $11 {(1-0, 45) Isajevsky,A (2403)-Baraeva,M 
(2208) Kazan, 2016.}) 8. bxc3 Bd7 $6 (8... exd4 9. exd4 $14) 9. d5 $2 (9. O-O
$142 exd4 10. cxd4 Be7 11. Bb2 $16 {and White's center is ready to roll.}) 9...
Nb8 10. Bxd7+ $6 (10. Qb3 $142 Bxb5 11. Qxb5+ Nd7 12. Qxb7 (12. O-O $14) 12...
Rb8 13. Qc6 $14) 10... Nxd7 $11 11. e4 Qg6 12. O-O $5 {[#]A gambit, which
Black declines.} Bd6 $6 (12... Qxe4 $1 13. Re1 Qf5 14. Nd4 (14. Qa4 Bd6 $15)
14... Qf6 15. Qa4 (15. f4 $2 O-O-O $1) 15... Bd6 $15 {d6 which computers say
is =/+, but it's within the margin for personal preference: you don't want to
be Black here unless you are comfortable defending... and ...Qd6-g6 are not
the moves of a natural defender.}) 13. Qa4 $1 {So Black can't castle for free.}
Rd8 14. Nh4 $1 Qf6 15. Nf5 Bc5 $6 (15... O-O 16. h4 $1 (16. Nxd6 Nc5 17. Qxa7
Qxd6) 16... h6 17. Qd1 $1 $14 {followed by switching to a kingside attack.
This is a computer-recommended continuation which never would have occurred to
me in any game.... until now.}) 16. Rb1 $1 Bb6 $4 (16... g6 17. Nh6 $16) 17.
Ba3 $18 {It's over: Black's K is stuck.} g6 (17... c5 {doesn't help Black's
position, though it might end his suffering more elegantly:} 18. dxc6 bxc6 19.
Qxc6 $1 Qxc6 20. Nxg7#) 18. Be7 Qxe7 19. Nxe7 Kxe7 $18 {Black is down a Q for
two pieces and has no threats or weaknesses to aim at... but clearly had no
other plans for a Thursday night he played on.} 20. Kh1 $1 g5 21. Qd1 Nf6 22.
Qf3 Rhg8 23. Qf5 Nd7 24. Qxh7 Rg6 25. Qh3 Rdg8 26. Qg4 Rf6 27. Qe2 Rh6 28. c4 {
[%csl Gg3][%cal Gb1b3,Gb3g3,Yg3h3]} Rh4 29. g3 $1 Rh3 30. Kg2 $1 g4 31. f3 Rgh8
32. Rh1 gxf3+ 33. Qxf3 R3h6 34. Rbf1 1-0

[Event "RACC Rapid Ch"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2019.05.03"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Yang, Fan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[WhiteElo "2127"]
[BlackElo "1913"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "2019.05.03"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bb5 {
long think for Black here} Nxc3 7. bxc3 e4 {[#]} 8. Nd4 ({DC REP} 8. Ne5 $142
Bd7 9. Nxd7 Qxd7 10. f3 $1 $16 {White is going to get the whole center. Here
is a very convincing example:} a6 11. Ba4 $1 Qe6 12. O-O Bd6 13. Bc2 $1 Qh6 14.
h3 exf3 15. Rxf3 $5 O-O 16. d4 Rad8 17. e4 Qh4 18. Be3 Na5 19. e5 $1 {
Positionally and tactically strong.} Be7 (19... Bxe5 20. Bf2 Qh6 21. Rf5 {
skewering the minors on the 5th, or if Black saves them with} f6 {then} 22. Rh5
$1 Qf4 23. g3 $18 {traps the Q.}) 20. Qd3 g6 21. Rf4 Qh5 22. Raf1 {All five of
White's pieces are pointed at the Black K.} Bg5 23. Rg4 Bxe3+ 24. Qxe3 Nc4 25.
Qf4 h6 26. Qg3 Kh7 27. Rh4 Qe2 28. Rxf7+ $1 {1-0 Agdestein,S (2630)-Al Qudaimi,
B (2396) Tromsoe Ol, 2014.}) 8... Bd7 {I had a long think here, and didn't see
anything convincing.} (8... Qg5 $6 9. Qa4 $8 $16 Qxg2 10. Rf1 Bd6 (10... Bh3 $2
11. Bxc6+ Kd8 12. Bb5 $8 $18) 11. Nxc6 $16) 9. O-O {But at least my move was
better than Nigel's...} (9. Nxc6 $6 Bxc6 $6 (9... bxc6 $142 $13) 10. Bxc6+ bxc6
11. Qa4 Qd5 12. Rb1 Bc5 13. c4 Qd6 $14 {(1-0, 57) Short,N (2707)-Leibenguth,P 
(1638) Bastia, 2012.}) 9... Bd6 10. d3 $1 Nxd4 $2 11. Bxd7+ Qxd7 12. exd4 $1
exd3 13. Re1+ $1 Be7 $4 (13... Kf8 14. Qxd3 $16) 14. Ba3 1-0

[Event "RACC Sunday Rapid"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2017.07.23"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Cummings, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768]} {This game was played at the RA Sunday Rapid tournament, with a
TC of 10m + 5s.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5 {
Before the game I told David I was going to play his repertoire against him...
[#]} 7. O-O {I changed my mind.} ({I knew that David's book gave the Petrosian
variation against the KID, but I chose not to play it this time because after} 
7. d5 {the DC REP covers six replies for Black, and that was more freedom than
I wanted to allow a player with more experience than me.}) 7... Na6 ({On} 7...
Nc6 {I would have continued with the Mar del Plata variation, which was recc
in Kaufman's repertoire book which I had been playing before the DC Rep.} 8. d5
Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Be3 f5 11. f3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. Rc1 {This line is a lot of
fun, but unless you are extremely well-versed in it I think it is not a good
choice against lower-rated opponents as White or Black for two reasons: first,
the play is very stereotyped, which means neither player has to make any
difficult strategic decisions; second, no matter what the rating, Black
players always have a puncher's chance with any one of several piece sacs on
the light squares in time trouble.  Conversely, I think it's a good choice
against higher-rated opponents, who will not have a chance to safely
strategically outplay me, but at some point will have to go all in with a sac
which may or may not work. Horses for Courses.}) 8. Be3 (8. d5 {would
transpose to the DC rep, but, as I said, this is one player I was certain
would know it better than me.}) 8... Ng4 (8... Qe8 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. a3 Ng4 11.
Bg5 f6 12. Bc1 Nc5 13. b4 Ne6 14. c5 $14 {is the Kaufman repertoire.}) 9. Bg5
f6 (9... Qe8 {is the only move mentioned in the Kaufman repertoire}) 10. Bd2 $6
{the weakest of three possible retreats, leaves d4 less well defended, but
also doesn't allow the B the chance to go to the long diagonal.} (10. Bh4) (10.
Bc1) 10... Qe8 11. h3 Nh6 {[#]} 12. Be3 (12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qc1 Nf7 14. c5 Nxc5
15. Nd5 Ne6 16. Nxc7 Nxc7 17. Qxc7 Nd8 18. Rac1 Be6 19. Bc4 Rf7 $11 {Black
played ...Bf8, traded Qs and then doubled Rs on the d-file for an easy draw in
Lenderman,A (2627)-Kiewra,K (2409) Las Vegas, 2015.}) 12... c6 ({It's rarely
good for Black to play ...f5 unless the center is closed; e.g.} 12... f5 $6 13.
Bxh6 (13. dxe5 f4 $5) 13... Bxh6 14. dxe5 fxe4 15. Qd5+ Kg7 16. Qxe4 (16. Nxe4
dxe5 17. Qxe5+ Qxe5 18. Nxe5 Re8 19. f4 Bxf4 $11) 16... Nc5 17. Qd4 Ne6 {
Black has the B-pair and some activity, but White's probably better.}) 13. Qd2
Nf7 {[#] What to do with the Rs? There have been no pawn captures, so there
are no open or half-open files, and even with the e-pawns as the obvious
levers it's not clear where the Rs should go. White has lots of choices, and I
picked the simplest one.} 14. Rfd1 (14. Rfe1 {is sensible, but somehow felt
slow with all the minors in front of it.}) (14. Rab1 $6 {playing for queenside
expansion might be slow after} f5 $1) (14. Nh2 $5 {aiming for f4.}) 14... exd4
15. Nxd4 Nc5 16. Qc2 {[#]} a5 {Supporting the N, but giving White the chance
to force through c4-c5, even at the temporary cost of a pawn.} ({Leela's first
line is amazing:} 16... Qe7 17. b4 Ne6 18. Nb3 {and now a series of pawn sacs:}
a5 $1 19. Nxa5 $6 (19. bxa5 Nc5 $14) 19... f5 $1 20. exf5 Neg5 21. fxg6 Nxh3+
$3 $17 {and KID-lovers can enjoy working out the rest. Perhaps a good reminder
why Rfe1 and Bf1 are so often played in these positions... and why you
shouldn't trust anyone who says computers are materialistic.}) 17. Nb3 $1 {
I'd seen this in some Saemisch lines (Ng1-e2-c1-b3) and in both cases it
challenges Black's only well-placed minor piece.} Nxb3 $2 {Activates my Ra1
and allows me to push c5. As far as I can tell, this is Black's only clear
mistake of the game, but it's fatal. Black should probably try to clog with ...
b6.} (17... Ne6 18. c5 {this was the point of Nb3} a4 (18... Nxc5 19. Nxc5 dxc5
20. Bxc5 {wins the exchange thanks to ...Nf7 and ...Qe8.}) 19. Nd2 Nxc5 20. Nc4
$16 {and there's no way Black can hold d6, after which the center is open and
White is much better developed.}) 18. axb3 f5 19. c5 $1 {[#]} f4 $5 {Black had
a long think here, but there are no good options: taking c5 drops the exchange,
and pushing ...d5 drops a pawn and the center while leaving White's K much
safer. Neural nets rate the position after c5 as +2.} 20. Bxf4 dxc5 21. Na4 $1
Ne5 22. Be3 Kh8 23. Nxc5 (23. Nb6 $142 Rb8 24. Bxc5 $18 {with a bind, safer K,
and mobile center pawns.}) 23... Be6 (23... b6 24. Na4 {solves nothing, so
Black jettisons a pawn to finish developing.}) 24. Nxb7 Qf7 25. Nc5 {[%mdl 64]
What an outpost! White's threatening f2-f4, when ...Bh6 fails to Qc3! [#]
Critical Position KID players... always need to sac when their positional
weakness become too much :) What happens on 25... Bxh6!?} Bh6 $5 26. Bd4 $1 {
Keeping control.} ({I'd lost to too many KIDs to go for this:} 26. Bxh6 $1 $18
Qxf2+ {but it wins if White plays accurately} 27. Kh1 $8 (27. Kh2 $2 Rf3 $3 28.
Nxe6 Ng4+ 29. hxg4 Qh4+ $11 {with a perp.}) 27... Bxh3 28. gxh3 $8 Rf3 29. Rd3
$1 (29. Bxf3 Qxc2 {and the extra pieces should win, but anything might happen
in a rapid game.}) 29... Rxd3 (29... Raf8 30. Qc3 $1 $18 {hitting e5 and f3.})
30. Nxd3 Qh4 31. Bf4 $18) 26... Bg7 27. Nxe6 (27. Qc3 $142 Rae8 28. Bxe5 Qxf2+
29. Kh2 $18) 27... Qxe6 28. Qc3 Rab8 29. Bc4 Qe7 {[#]Now it's all exchanges
down to a winning endgame.} 30. Rxa5 Nxc4 31. bxc4 c5 32. Bxg7+ Qxg7 33. Qxg7+
Kxg7 {[#] It's an easily won rook ending so long as Black can't activate his
Rs, so White just plays safe and slow.} 34. Rd2 $1 Rfe8 35. f3 Re5 36. Kf2 Rb4
37. Rc2 Kf6 38. Rb5 Ra4 39. b3 Ra6 40. b4 Ra8 41. Rxc5 Rxc5 42. bxc5 Rc8 43.
Ke3 Rxc5 44. Kd4 Ra5 45. c5 1-0

[Event "RACC Ch"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2018.02.22"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Dukic, Zachary"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E92"]
[WhiteElo "2112"]
[BlackElo "2243"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2018.02.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

1. Nf3 {The following game was from the penultimate round of the 2018 RACC
Championship. I was tied for the lead and my opponent was ½ point behind, and
so felt he needed to play for a win.} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5. e4
d6 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Na6 10. Nd2 Qe8 11. O-O Bd7 12. Kh1 {
Here I got carried away with a silly brainstorm...} (12. b3 {is the DC REP
move, as in the game vs Xu.}) 12... Nh7 {[#]} 13. g4 $6 {now ...f5 allows
exchanges which leave me with a N outpost on e4. Aren't I clever!} (13. f3 $142
h5 14. Nb3 b6 15. Nc1 Bh6 16. Nd3 Be3 17. Re1 Nc5 18. Bf1 {½-½ Petrosian,
T-Hort,V Lugano, 1968.}) (13. a3 $142 h5 14. f3 Bh6 15. b3 Be3 16. Rb1 f5 17.
exf5 gxf5 18. b4 axb4 19. axb4 Kh8 20. Bd3 Qg6 21. Qe2 Qh6 22. Rfd1 Rae8 23.
Qe1 Rg8 24. Nf1 Bg5 $13 {(½-½, 42) Topalov,V (2780)-Mamedyarov,S (2760) Wijk
aan Zee, 2008.}) 13... Bf6 $1 {So much for "clever". Black just plays a
different plan: trade or improve the DSB.} 14. Bg3 Qe7 15. a3 Bg5 16. Rb1 $6 {
[#] If White wants any queenside pressure then he has to go b3 here,
preventing Black's next. I knew this, but my disappointment that 13.g4 was
just weak left me doubting my form, and I thought the position with the white
pawn on a4 would be a safe hold. That's probably true, but with so little
resilience, maybe White should stick with tic-tac-toe rather than chess?} a4
17. b4 axb3 18. Nxb3 b6 19. a4 Nc5 20. Nxc5 bxc5 21. Bd3 Ra7 22. Nb5 $6 Bxb5
23. cxb5 $11 Rfa8 24. Ra1 Ra5 25. f3 Bh4 $1 {Before Be1 allows the a-pawn to
advance.} 26. Bc2 Nf8 27. Qd2 Kg7 28. Kg2 Nd7 29. Rfb1 Nb6 30. Ra2 R8a7 31.
Rba1 Qd8 32. Kh3 Bxg3 33. hxg3 Qa8 {[%mdl 64] [#]Critical Position Black has
maximum pressure on a4, and can also play ...Rxb5.} 34. Bd1 $4 {Defends a2
laterally to stop ...Rxb5, but this is too cute. White has more than one way
to hold the queenside, but they depend on switching play to the kingside.} (34.
Kg2 $5 {is a tricky move, setting up tactics on the h-file.} Rxb5 (34... Nxa4
$2 35. f4 $1 $16 (35. Ra3 $6 Nc3 36. Rxa5 Rxa5 37. Rh1 $16) 35... Nc3 36. Rxa5
Rxa5 37. Rxa5 Qxa5 38. fxe5 dxe5 39. b6 $3 $18 {turns the d-pawn into a
winning passer.}) 35. Rh1 g5 36. f4 $36) (34. Bb3 $142 {is simplest.} Nxa4 {
doesn't lose, but White has full counterplay after} 35. f4 $1 Nc3 (35... f6 36.
fxe5 fxe5 37. Rf1 $18 {and Black's K misses his army.}) 36. Qxc3 Rxa2 37. Rxa2
Rxa2 38. Bxa2 Qxa2 39. fxe5 $13) 34... Qd8 $2 (34... Nxa4 $1 35. Bb3 {was the
trappy idea which stopped Black taking on a4, but here} Nc3 $19 {unpins and
blocks the Q attack on a5. I'd seen this, but overlooked that I can't play QxN
without undefending on a2.}) 35. Kg2 Ra8 {After all that build up, Black goes
back to fishing on the kingside.} 36. Bb3 Qg5 37. Qxg5 hxg5 38. Kf2 Rh8 39. Kg2
Rha8 40. Kf2 Rf8 41. Bc2 {[#]} f5 42. gxf5 gxf5 43. Rh1 fxe4 44. Bxe4 Rh8 $1
45. Rxh8 Kxh8 {Black wins the d-pawn or the a-pawn, but White's rook gets
active.} 46. Ra1 Rxa4 47. Rh1+ Kg8 48. Rh5 g4 49. Rg5+ Kf7 50. Rxg4 Nc4 51. Rh4
$11 Ra2+ 52. Ke1 Rb2 53. Rh7+ Kf6 54. Rxc7 Rxb5 (54... Na3 $1 $11) 55. Bd3 $14
Rb4 56. Rd7 e4 $1 {Forcing White to make a tough choice in time trouble.} 57.
Bxc4 $5 (57. Bxe4 Rb3 {I didn't see how to make progress.}) 57... Rxc4 58. f4
Kf5 59. Rxd6 Rc2 60. Re6 {[#]All that work comes down to a R ending in mutual
time-trouble, and neither side is up to the challenge...} Rc4 $4 61. Ke2 $4 (
61. Re5+ $18 {transposes to the game.}) 61... Rc2+ $1 62. Kd1 Rc4 $4 (62... Rg2
$11) 63. Re5+ $1 $18 Kg4 64. Ke2 Rc2+ (64... Kxg3 65. Ke3 $8 $18) 65. Ke3 Rc3+
66. Kxe4 (66. Kxe4 Rc4+ (66... Kxg3 67. Rg5+ Kf2 68. d6 $18) 67. Ke3 Rc3+ 68.
Ke2 Rc4 69. Rg5+ Kh3 70. f5 $18) 1-0

[Event "RACC RR"]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2019.04.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Upper, John"]
[Black "Xu, Daniel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E92"]
[WhiteElo "2174"]
[BlackElo "2089"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "2"]
[EventCountry "CAN"]

{[%mdl 32768] My opponent in this game went on to win the 2019 CYCC U14
Championship three months later.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Nf3
O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Qe8 10. Nd2 Na6 11. O-O Nh7 12. a3 Bd7
13. b3 h5 14. f3 Bh6 15. Rb1 (15. Bf2 {prevents the Bh6 relocation, but frees
the Black Q to start kingside play with} Qe7) 15... Be3+ 16. Kh1 Bc5 {[#]All
theory so far.... but now I play...} 17. Nb5 $5 ({DC has this:} 17. Qc1 $1 {
guarding a3 and preparing Na2 and b3-b4, saying "We have reached the main line
of the main line Petrosian System..." - DC So, despite my efforts, I once
again failed to reach the main line :( DC covers three Black tries here: 17...
f5, 17...c6, and 17...Kh8 in about three pages of analysis.} f5 18. exf5 gxf5
19. f4 e4 20. Re1 Nf6 21. h3 Qg6 22. Nf1 Rf7 23. Ne3 Rg7 24. Bf1 {when White
had a solid defense on the kingside and went back to queenside expansion with}
Nh7 25. Nc2 Bb6 26. b4 $16 {in: Granda Zuniga,J (2647)-Flores,D (2598) Mar del
Plata, 2012 (1-0, 70).}) 17... c6 18. b4 $1 {A pawn sac for initiative and
enough pressure to get it back. Although this is a different pawn sac than the
c4-c5 vs Cummings, the idea is similar: White has a space advantage on the
queenside and uses a pawn sac to open more lines, in this case for the majors.}
axb4 19. axb4 Bxb4 20. Nc7 (20. Rxb4 $5 cxb5 21. Rb2 b4 22. Qb3 $5 {hoping to
zigzag into b6.}) 20... Nxc7 21. Rxb4 {[#]} b5 22. dxc6 (22. cxb5 c5 23. Rb2
Nxb5 24. Nc4 g5 $1 25. Bf2 $13) 22... Bxc6 23. cxb5 (23. Qc1 $5 Ra4 24. Rb1 b4
25. c5 d5 $13) (23. Qb1 Na6 24. Rxb5 $5 Bxb5 25. cxb5 Rb8 (25... Nc5 26. Nc4
$14) 26. Qd3 (26. b6 $142) 26... Nc5 27. Qxd6 Qd7 $1 {I didn't see an
advantage here.}) 23... Nxb5 24. Nc4 Nc3 25. Qd2 Nxe2 26. Qxe2 Bb5 27. Rfb1
Bxc4 (27... Rb8 $4 28. Qb2 $18) 28. Qxc4 {[#]A position I saw at move 18.
White's majors are better coordinated, and Black's kingside dark squares could
be weak if his pawns advance.} g5 $1 29. Be1 Rc8 30. Qd3 Qd7 31. h4 $5 {
Gumptiony.} Rfd8 (31... g4 32. f4 exf4 33. Bd2 $132) 32. hxg5 Nxg5 33. Bh4 (33.
Rb7 Rc7 34. Ba5 Rxb7 35. Rxb7 Qxb7 36. Bxd8 Ne6 37. Qxd6 {and Black draws with}
Qc8 $1 38. Bh4 (38. Bf6 $4 Qc1+ 39. Kh2 Qf4+ $19) 38... Qc5 $11) 33... f6 {
[#] I thought I was winning here, but I couldn't find it.} 34. Qd2 $1 $14 Qg7
$1 ({I was worried about this} 34... Nxf3 $5 {because Black is OK after} 35.
gxf3 $2 ({During the game I missed this in-between move} 35. Qd5+ $1 {which
destroys Black's coordination:} Kg7 36. Rb7 Nxh4 37. Qxd6 $1 Rc1+ $8 38. Rxc1
Qxb7 39. Rc7+ $16) 35... Qh3+ 36. Qh2 Qxf3+ 37. Qg2+ Qxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Kf7 $13)
35. Rb7 Qg6 36. Ra7 $6 (36. R1b6 $142 {ties Black down, as now} d5 $6 {runs
into} 37. exd5 Rc2 38. Rxf6 $1 $18 {or even Qxg5!?}) 36... d5 $1 $11 37. Bxg5 (
37. Rb6 dxe4 38. Qxg5 $8 Qxg5 39. Bxg5 fxg5 $11) 37... Qxg5 38. Qxg5+ (38. Qa2
Rc1+ $11) 38... fxg5 39. exd5 Rxd5 40. Rbb7 $11 {[#] White still has activity
for the pawn, but it's only enough to draw.} g4 41. Rg7+ Kf8 42. Rh7 Kg8 43.
fxg4 hxg4 44. Rag7+ Kf8 45. Rxg4 Rcd8 46. Rgg7 e4 47. Rf7+ Kg8 48. Rhg7+ Kh8
49. Re7 Re5 $1 {Simplest, breaking up White's doubled Rs on the 7th.} 50. Rh7+
Kg8 51. Rxe5 (51. Reg7+ Kf8 52. g4 e3 53. Rf7+ (53. g5 $4 e2 $19) 53... Ke8 54.
Rc7 Rd7 $8 55. Rc8+ Rd8 56. Rcc7 Rd7 57. Rh8+ Ke7 58. Rh7+ Ke8 $8 $11) 51...
Kxh7 52. Rxe4 Rd6 {I forced him to play out another 20 moves, but it turned
out that he knew how to draw this drawn endgame.} 1/2-1/2

