[Event "World-ch05 Lasker-Steinitz +10-5=4"] [Site "Montreal"] [Date "1894.05.17"] [Round "16"] [White "Steinitz, William"] [Black "Lasker, Emanuel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D60"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "1894.03.15"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "19"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. e3 O-O 7. c5 Ne4 8. Nxe4 dxe4 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nd2 Nf6 11. Nc4 b6 12. b4 Nd5 13. Qb1 f5 14. Ne5 a5 15. Nc6 Qg5 16. h4 Qf6 17. cxb6 f4 18. Qxe4 fxe3 19. f3 Bb7 20. b5 Bxc6 21. bxc6 cxb6 22. Bd3 Qh6 23. g3 Rac8 24. Rc1 Rc7 25. O-O Rd8 26. f4 Qg6 27. Qxg6 hxg6 28. Bxg6 Ne7 29. Be4 Rxd4 30. Bf3 Nf5 31. Rfe1 Kf7 32. Rb1 Nxg3 33. Rxb6 Nf5 34. Rb7 Rxb7 35. cxb7 Rb4 36. Rc1 Nd4 37. Kg2 Rb2+ 38. Kg3 Rxb7 39. Bxb7 Ne2+ 40. Kf3 Nxc1 41. Kxe3 Nxa2 {[#]} 42. Kd4 $4 (42. f5 $8 {is a tablebase draw after the exchange of pawns.} Nb4 (42... exf5 $6 43. Bd5+ $11 {and Black drops a piece... but it is still an "excuse me" draw.}) 43. fxe6+ Kxe6 $11 {and you can play this out here: https://lichess.org/analysis/standard/8/1B4p1/4k3/p7/ 1n5P/4K3/8/8_w_-_-_0_44}) 42... Kf6 $19 43. Kc5 Nc3 {Cutting off the K while returning to the kingside.} 44. Kc4 (44. Bf3 Kf5 45. Kc4 Nd5 $19) 44... Ne2 ({ or} 44... Nd5 $19) 45. Kb5 Nxf4 46. Kxa5 Ng6 $1 47. h5 Nf4 48. Bf3 Kf5 (48... Kg5 49. Kb4 Nxh5 {wins too, but Lasker's way is less crude.}) 49. Kb4 e5 50. Kc3 e4 51. Bd1 e3 52. Bf3 Kg5 {The N and P cut off the white K.} 53. Kc2 Kh4 54. Kd1 Kg3 0-1 [Event "World-ch05 Lasker-Steinitz +10-5=4"] [Site "Montreal"] [Date "1894.05.22"] [Round "18"] [White "Steinitz, William"] [Black "Lasker, Emanuel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D67"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "122"] [EventDate "1894.03.15"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "19"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. e4 Nf4 12. g3 Ng6 13. O-O Rd8 14. Qe2 b5 15. Bb3 Bb7 16. Qe3 a6 17. Ne2 Rac8 18. Rfd1 Re8 19. Ne1 c5 20. dxc5 Nxc5 21. Bc2 Rc7 22. f3 Rec8 23. Bb1 Ne5 24. b3 f6 25. Rc2 f5 26. exf5 exf5 27. Qf2 g6 28. Nf4 Ncd7 29. Nd5 Qd6 30. Rcd2 Rc1 31. Ne3 Rxd1 32. Nxd1 Qe6 33. Kf1 Rc5 34. Qe3 Rd5 35. Rxd5 Qxd5 36. Nc3 Qc6 37. Kf2 Kg7 38. Ne2 Qd6 39. Nd4 Qf6 {[#] How should White activate his worst-placed piece?} 40. Ng2 $4 {Other moves by this N are bad for the same reason.} (40. h3 $142 $11) (40. Kf1 $142 $11) 40... Nc6 $2 (40... Bxf3 $1 {Wins a clear pawn, since Nxf3 allows a fork on g4.}) 41. Ne6+ Kg8 42. Bc2 Qe5 (42... Nce5 $1 $17 {again, comboing through f3 and g4.}) 43. Ngf4 Qxe3+ 44. Kxe3 Nb4 45. Bb1 Ne5 46. Nd4 Kf7 47. a3 Nd5+ 48. Nxd5 Bxd5 49. Bd3 Ke7 50. Be2 Kd6 51. f4 Nd7 52. g4 fxg4 53. Bxg4 Nb6 54. h4 Bb7 55. Be6 Nd5+ 56. Bxd5 Kxd5 57. Nf3 Bc8 58. Ng5 h5 59. Ne4 Bf5 60. Nc3+ Kc5 61. Ne4+ Kd5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Blindfold simul"] [Site "Montreal"] [Date "1900.11.03"] [Round "?"] [White "Pillsbury, Harry Nelson"] [Black "Collins (?)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C62"] [Annotator "Stephen Wright"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1900.11.03"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2013.09"] [SourceDate "2013.09.23"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.03.23"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. Qxd4 Be7 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 c6 12. Rad1 Qc7 13. Rfe1 b6 14. Re3 Rad8 15. Rg3 Qd7 16. Rdd3 Qe6 17. Ne2 d5 $2 {[#]Looks like a good central counter, but White's attack is faster; 17...g6 is necessary.} 18. Nf4 $2 ({ Right idea, wrong move order.} 18. Rxg7+ $142 $1 $18 Kh8 (18... Kxg7 19. Nf4 $8 Qxe4 20. Rg3+ $18 Kh6 21. Qd2 Bb4 22. Bxf6 $1 Bxd2 23. Bg7#) 19. Qe3 $8 Kxg7 ( 19... Rg8 20. Rxg8+ Rxg8 21. exd5 $18) 20. Qg5+ $8 Kh8 21. Nf4 $8 Rg8 (21... Qd6 22. Be5 $8 $18) 22. Nxe6 Rxg5 23. Nxg5 Kg8 $18 {Stephen Wright}) 18... Qxe4 $8 19. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 $4 ({Black should decline the sacrifice with} 19... Kh8 $1 {, when} 20. Rxh7+ (20. Qxe4 $2 dxe4 $19) 20... Kxh7 21. Rh3+ Kg7 22. Rg3+ Kh7 $8 $11 {is only a perpetual; the key difference is that in this line Black's missing h7 pawn gives the K an extra square to avoid mate.}) 20. Rg3+ Kh8 ( 20... Qg6 21. Nh5+ $1 Kh8 22. Rxg6 fxg6 23. Nxf6 Bxf6 24. Qxf6+ $8 Rxf6 25. Bxf6+ Kg8 26. Bxd8 $18) (20... Kh6 21. Qd2 (21. Ne2 $5 $18) 21... Bb4 22. Bxf6 Bxd2 23. Rh3#) 21. Qxf6+ Bxf6 22. Bxf6# {Pillsbury's mate, so named by Renaud and Kahn in their 1953 book "The Art of the Checkmate". - Stephen Wright} 1-0 [Event "simul exhibition"] [Site "Winnipeg CAN"] [Date "1938.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Koltanowski, George"] [Black "Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "1938.??.??"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 d5 5. Nf3 c6 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 b5 $6 9. Bd3 a6 $6 10. e4 $1 Bb7 {[#]} 11. Qe2 $5 {I wonder if Koltanowski may have played this -- rather than immeditely going for the classic Bxh7+ which he must have seen -- to give his 13 year old opponent a chance!?} (11. e5 $142 $18 Nd5 (11... Nfd7 12. Bxh7+ $18) 12. Bxh7+ $18 Kxh7 13. Ng5+ Kg6 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 (14... cxd5 15. h4 $1 ({or} 15. Qg4) 15... Nc6 16. Qd3+ f5 17. h5+ { and mates with Qh3+ or wins the Q with Nxe6+.}) 15. Qd3+ f5 16. Qh3 {threat Qh7# can't be stopped with ...Rh8 since Black's Rs are not connected.} f4 17. g4 $1 {(or Qh7+ then h4).}) 11... c5 12. e5 Nfd7 13. a3 (13. Bxh7+ $142 $18) 13... cxd4 14. axb4 dxc3 15. bxc3 Qc7 16. Bxh7+ Kh8 (16... Kxh7 17. Ng5+ Kg6 18. Qd3+ f5 19. Qg3 (19. exf6+ {is also winning, but less clear cut.}) 19... Qxe5 20. Bf4 $8 $18) 17. Be4 Nc6 18. Ng5 g6 19. Qg4 Ndxe5 20. Qh4+ Kg7 21. Nh3 $5 (21. Qh7+ Kf6 22. f4 Ng4 (22... Nc4 23. Bxg6 $1 $18 (23. f5 $1 $18)) 23. Qh4 Kg7 24. Bb2 $1 $18 (24. Qxg4 $18)) 21... f5 22. Bh6+ Kg8 23. Bxf8 fxe4 24. Bc5 Qg7 25. Qxe4 Nd8 26. Qd4 Ndc6 27. Qd6 Qf7 28. f4 Nc4 29. Qd3 Bc8 30. Rf3 e5 31. fxe5 Bf5 32. Rxf5 $1 gxf5 33. Nf2 Rd8 34. Qg3+ Kh7 35. Rxa6 N4xe5 36. Qh4+ Kg6 37. Bd4 $5 (37. Qxd8 $1) 37... Qd5 38. Qg3+ Kf7 39. Qf4 Nd7 40. g4 1-0 [Event "Canadian Open"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1956.08.26"] [Round "2"] [White "Sobel, Robert"] [Black "Fischer, Robert James"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B70"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1956.08.25"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d6 6. Nc3 c5 7. e4 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. Nde2 Bd7 10. b3 Qc8 11. Bb2 Bh3 12. f3 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 d5 14. exd5 Rd8 15. Qc1 Nb4 16. a3 Nbxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. c4 Qe6 20. Qb2+ Nf6 21. Nf4 Qf5 22. Nd5 {[#]} (22. Rae1 $1 $16) 22... e6 $4 {Is what Bobby Fischer did play...} ({But he should have played} 22... e5 $1 $11 {, blocking the long diagonal and unpinning the Nf6. White has no time to lever open the f-file:} 23. f4 $2 Nxd5 24. cxd5 (24. fxe5 $4 Ne3+ $19) 24... Qe4+ $17) 23. g4 $8 $18 Qg5 24. h4 $8 Qxh4 25. Rh1 $8 Qg5 26. Rxh7+ $8 $18 {Essential: without this White has just given a pawn and weakened his K.} Kf8 (26... Kxh7 27. Nxf6+ $8 { and Ne4+ will win the Q (and remove the threat of ...Rd2+).}) 27. Qxf6 1-0 [Event "Canadian Open"] [Site "Montreal/Quebec"] [Date "1956.08.28"] [Round "4"] [White "Fischer, Robert James"] [Black "Fox, Maurice"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A05"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "124"] [EventDate "1956.08.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d6 3. Bg2 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. d3 O-O 6. e4 e5 7. Nbd2 c6 8. c3 Qc7 9. Nh4 a5 10. f4 Nbd7 11. f5 Nc5 12. Nb3 Nxb3 13. axb3 Nd7 14. g4 Re8 15. Qf3 Nc5 16. f6 Bf8 17. Nf5 d5 18. Qg3 dxe4 19. dxe4 Kh8 20. Qh4 Qd8 21. Ng7 Bxg7 22. fxg7+ Kg8 23. Qf2 Qe7 24. Bg5 Nd3 25. Qd2 Qd7 26. Rad1 Qxg4 27. Bh6 Nf4 28. Bxf4 exf4 29. Rxf4 Qh5 30. Rdf1 Be6 31. Qf2 Re7 32. c4 Qe5 33. Rf6 Kxg7 34. h4 Bf5 35. Rxf5 gxf5 36. exf5 f6 37. Kh1 Qe3 38. Qc2 Rd8 39. Rf3 Qe1+ 40. Kh2 Rd2 $19 41. Qc3 {[#] Find the quickest win.} Qxh4+ $1 (41... Rxg2+ $1 { also wins, but more slowly.}) 42. Rh3 Rxg2+ $1 43. Kxg2 Re2+ 44. Kg1 $2 (44. Kh1 $142 Qe4+ {and ...Qb1+ is the fastest mate.}) 44... Qe1+ $2 {It is possible to love R endings too much. [or maybe White actually played 44.Kh1!]} (44... Qf2+ $142 {and mate next.}) 45. Qxe1 Rxe1+ 46. Kf2 Rb1 47. Ke3 Rxb2 48. Kd4 b6 49. Kc3 Rf2 50. Rh5 Rf3+ 51. Kb2 Rg3 52. Rh2 Rg5 53. Rf2 Kf7 54. Kc3 Ke7 55. Re2+ Kd7 56. Rd2+ Kc7 57. Rf2 Kd6 58. Kd4 Rg4+ 59. Kd3 Ke5 60. Rh2 Rg3+ 61. Kc2 Rg7 62. Rh6 Kxf5 {Less than two months later, Fischer played his "Game of the Century" win over Donald Byrne.} 0-1 [Event "Montreal simul"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1964.02.23"] [Round "?"] [White "Fischer, Robert James"] [Black "Zalys, Ignas"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C33"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "1964.02.23"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bb3 d5 6. exd5 cxd5 7. d4 Bd6 8. Nge2 f3 9. gxf3 Nh5 10. Be3 Bb4 11. a3 Ba5 12. Qd3 a6 13. O-O-O Be6 14. Ng3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 h6 16. f4 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Nd7 18. g4 Bxg4 19. Rdg1 Nf6 20. Bf2 Ne4 21. Qb4 Qd7 {[#]A Back and forth King's Gambit has resulted in a crazy position where White has only one good move...} 22. Bh4 $4 {The attack on e7 creates threats of both Rxg4 and Bxd5} (22. Ba4 $4 {pins and... loses:} b5 $19) (22. Rxg4 $8 Qxg4 (22... Nxf2 23. Rg5 $3 {Threat is Re5+ then Rxd5.} (23. Re1+ $2 Ne4 24. Rxg7 O-O-O $13) 23... O-O-O 24. Rxd5 Qg4 25. Re1 $18 {material is equal, but White has a huge initiative against the Black K and (maybe?) the more dangerous passed pawn.}) 23. Bxd5 Qxf4+ $8 (23... Nxf2 $4 24. Re1+ $8 $18) 24. Kb1 Nd6 $8 $13) 22... a5 $8 $19 (22... f5 $4 23. Bxd5 $18) (22... g5 $2 23. Bxg5 $1 a5 (23... Nxg5 24. fxg5 $18) 24. Qe1 $8 $17) 23. Qe1 $8 (23. Qb6 Ra6 { traps the Q.}) 23... f5 $1 {Not the computer's top choice (...00), but an excellent safe move, defending everything and killing White's open lines. From here on, every move marked by an "!" is SF12's top choice:} 24. Kb1 b5 $1 25. Rg3 h5 $1 26. Bg5 Kf7 $1 27. Re3 Rhe8 $1 28. c3 Ra6 $1 29. Bc2 Rae6 $1 30. Ka1 $2 Nxg5 $1 0-1 [Event "Candidates qf Fischer-Taimanov +6-0=0"] [Site "Vancouver"] [Date "1971.05.18"] [Round "2"] [White "Fischer, Robert James"] [Black "Taimanov, Mark E"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B44"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "177"] [EventDate "1971.05.16"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nb5 d6 6. Bf4 e5 7. Be3 Nf6 8. Bg5 Qa5+ 9. Qd2 Nxe4 10. Qxa5 Nxa5 11. Be3 Kd7 12. N1c3 Nxc3 13. Nxc3 Kd8 14. Nb5 Be6 15. O-O-O b6 16. f4 exf4 17. Bxf4 Nb7 18. Be2 Bd7 19. Rd2 Be7 20. Rhd1 Bxb5 21. Bxb5 Kc7 22. Re2 Bf6 23. Rde1 Rac8 24. Bc4 Rhf8 25. b4 a5 26. Bd5 Kb8 27. a3 Rfd8 28. Bxf7 Bc3 29. Bd2 d5 30. Rd1 d4 31. Bxc3 Rxc3 32. Kb2 d3 33. Kxc3 dxe2 34. Re1 Nd6 35. Bh5 Nb5+ 36. Kb2 axb4 37. axb4 Rd4 38. c3 Rh4 39. Bxe2 Nd6 40. Rd1 Kc7 41. h3 Rf4 42. Rf1 Re4 43. Bd3 Re5 44. Rf2 h5 45. c4 Rg5 46. Kc3 Kd7 47. Ra2 Kc8 48. Kd4 Kc7 49. Ra7+ Kd8 50. c5 bxc5+ 51. bxc5 Ne8 52. Ra2 Nc7 53. Bc4 Kd7 54. Rb2 Kc6 55. Bb3 Nb5+ 56. Ke3 Kxc5 57. Kf4 Rg6 58. Bd1 h4 59. Kf5 Rh6 60. Kg5 Nd6 61. Bc2 Nf7+ 62. Kg4 Ne5+ 63. Kf4 Kd4 64. Rb4+ Kc3 65. Rb5 Nf7 66. Rc5+ Kd4 67. Rf5 g5+ 68. Kg4 Ne5+ 69. Kxg5 Rg6+ 70. Kxh4 Rxg2 71. Bd1 Rg8 72. Bg4 Ke4 73. Kg3 Rg7 74. Rf4+ Kd5 75. Ra4 Ng6 76. Ra6 Ne5 77. Kf4 Rf7+ 78. Kg5 Rg7+ 79. Kf5 Rf7+ 80. Rf6 Rxf6+ 81. Kxf6 {[#]} Ke4 $4 {Kasparov writes: "Undoubtedly the most terrible nightmare in the chess biography of Mark Taimanov. Black had a simple choice of four moves, three of which led to a quick draw, and one to an equally quick loss. And this was the one that Taimanov made..." MGP v.5.} ({White draws with:} 81... Kd4 82. Bc8 Nf3 83. Bb7 Nh4 $8 84. Kg5 Ke5 $8 85. Kxh4 Kf6 $11) ({or} 81... Kd6 82. Be2 Nd7+ 83. Kg7 Ke7 84. h4 Nf6 85. Bf3 Ne8+ 86. Kg6 Kf8 87. Bd5 Ng7 88. Bc4 Nh5 $1 $11) ({ as well as the elegant} 81... Nd3 82. h4 Nf4 $8 83. Kf5 Kd6 $1 84. Kxf4 Ke7 $11 {.}) 82. Bc8 $8 $18 (82. Be6 $2 Nf3 $8 $11 83. Kg6 Kf4 84. Kh5 Ng5 85. h4 Nf3 $11 {and Nxh4.}) 82... Kf4 (82... Nf3 {fails to} 83. Bb7+ $8 Kf4 84. Bxf3 Kxf3 85. Kg5 $8 $18) 83. h4 $8 Nf3 (83... Ng4+ 84. Kg7 $18 {threatening h5 and Bxg4. }) 84. h5 Ng5 85. Bf5 (85. h6 Nh7+ 86. Kg7 Ng5 87. Kg6 {zugzwang.}) 85... Nf3 86. h6 Ng5 87. Kg6 Nf3 88. h7 Ne5+ 89. Kf6 1-0 [Event "Candidates qf Fischer-Taimanov +6-0=0"] [Site "Vancouver"] [Date "1971.05.27"] [Round "5"] [White "Taimanov, Mark E"] [Black "Fischer, Robert James"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D80"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "1971.05.16"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. Bh4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 dxc4 7. e3 Be6 8. Rb1 b6 9. Be2 Bh6 10. Nf3 c6 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. f4 Bd5 13. O-O Nd7 14. Nxc4 O-O 15. a4 c5 16. Ne5 Nxe5 $11 17. dxe5 f6 18. Rb2 Be6 19. Rd2 Qc7 20. Bg4 Qc8 21. Bf3 Rb8 22. Qe2 Rd8 23. Rfd1 Rxd2 24. Qxd2 Qe8 25. exf6 exf6 26. Qd6 Rc8 27. a5 Bf8 28. Qd2 Be7 29. Bd5 Qf7 30. Bxe6 Qxe6 31. Qd7 Kf7 32. Qxa7 bxa5 33. e4 Qc6 34. Rd7 Qxe4 35. h3 a4 36. Bf2 Kf8 37. c4 a3 38. Qxa3 Ra8 39. Qb2 Ke8 40. Qb5 Kf8 41. Rd1 Qxf4 42. Bxc5 $11 Bxc5+ 43. Qxc5+ Kg7 $8 44. Rf1 {[#] Can White win the f6 pawn if Black goes ...Qe4?} Qe4 $5 {Almost everything draws, but this gives White a chance...} 45. Qc7+ Kh6 46. Rxf6 $4 {... to blunder. Almost anything else draws easily.} Qd4+ (46... Qd4+ 47. Rf2 Ra1+ $19 {wins the R. That was Fischer's 5th win in a row over Taimanov, en route to his 6-0 whitewash.}) 0-1 [Event "Canadian Open"] [Site "Vancouver CAN"] [Date "1971.08.29"] [Round "6"] [White "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"] [Black "Suttles, Duncan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B07"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "1971.08.24"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bd3 e5 5. f4 Bg7 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. fxe5 dxe5 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. Nbd2 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bf2 O-O 12. h3 Bh5 13. d5 Bg6 14. Qe2 Re8 15. O-O Nh5 16. g3 Bf8 17. b4 Ndf6 18. Nc4 Bd6 19. Nfd2 Kh7 20. Kh2 Rg8 21. Nxd6 cxd6 22. c4 a5 23. c5 axb4 24. Nc4 dxc5 25. Nxe5 Re8 26. Nxg6 fxg6 27. Bxc5 Qc7 28. Bf2 Ra3 29. Qf3 Nxe4 30. Rac1 Qd7 31. Bd4 {[#]} Rxd3 $2 (31... Nd2 $2 32. Qf7+ Qxf7 33. Rxf7+ Kg8 34. Bxg6 Re2+ 35. Bf2 $8 $18) (31... Nf4 $3 $19 32. gxf4 Nd2 33. Qg3 Nxf1+ 34. Rxf1 Qxd5 $1 35. Rd1 Qxd4 36. Bxg6+ Kxg6 37. Rxd4 Re2+ $1 38. Qg2 Raxa2 $1 $19) 32. Qxd3 $14 Nhxg3 (32... Nexg3 33. Rfe1 Rxe1 34. Rxe1 Nf5 $14) 33. Rfe1 $1 Qd6 34. Kg1 (34. Kg2 $1) 34... h5 35. Bb2 g4 36. Qd4 $4 (36. hxg4 Qf4 $13) 36... Nf5 $8 $19 37. Qd3 gxh3 $4 (37... Qb6+ $1 $19 { White has to give a piece to avoid mate.}) (37... Nh4 38. hxg4 Qf4 $19) 38. Rxe4 Rxe4 39. Qxe4 h2+ $4 (39... Qb6+ $8 40. Bd4 $8 Nxd4 41. Qe7+ Kh6 42. Qe3+ $11) 40. Kg2 Qg3+ 41. Kh1 Qf2 42. Rc7+ Kh6 43. Bc1+ $8 {Black gets mated.} 1-0 [Event "Montreal 1979"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1979.04.16"] [Round "5"] [White "Tal, Mikhail"] [Black "Larsen, Bent"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B66"] [WhiteElo "2615"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "1979.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "18"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. O-O-O a6 9. f4 Qc7 10. Be2 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 b5 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 {[#]What happens on ...Nd5, Bxe7 Nxc3?} Nd5 14. Bxe7 Nxc3 15. Bf3 $1 Nxd1 $4 (15... Ne2+ $8 {This deflection saves the Ra8 and gives Black just enough time to bail out to a worse ending:} 16. Bxe2 Qxe7 17. Bf3 Bb7 18. Bxb7 Qxb7 19. Qd6 Rc8 (19... Qe7 $4 20. Qc6+ $18) 20. Rd2 $16 {If ...Qc6, White's R activity will probably be enough to win a pawn, but that might not be enough to win a multi major piece ending.}) 16. Bd6 $8 $18 {Saving the B, gaining a tempo on the Q, and keeping Black's K stuck in the center.} Qc4 (16... Qa7 17. Bc5 Qd7 18. Rxd1 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 $18 {and there's no good defence to both Bc6+ and Bxa8.} Rb8 20. Bc6+) 17. Qb6 $1 (17. Rxd1 $2 Qxd4 $16) 17... Nf2 18. Bc6+ Bd7 19. Bxd7+ Kxd7 20. Qb7+ Kd8 21. Qxa8+ Qc8 22. Qa7 $1 {Threatening mate and the Nf2.} 1-0 [Event "Montreal 1979"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1979.04.24"] [Round "10"] [White "Spassky, Boris Vasilievich"] [Black "Tal, Mikhail"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E14"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2615"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "1979.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "18"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 d5 6. b3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Bb2 Nbd7 9. Nbd2 Qe7 10. Rc1 Rad8 11. Qc2 c5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Qc3 Rfe8 15. Rfd1 {[#]What happens on 15...d4!?} (15. Rfe1 $5 {would discourage ... d4, but Black might try} c4 $5 16. bxc4 $6 Bb4 $15) 15... d4 $6 16. exd4 $1 cxd4 17. Qa5 $2 (17. Qxd4 Nc5 $17 {and there will be trouble on the d-file.}) ( 17. Nxd4 $8 {White must take, or the d-pawn cuts his team in half.} Bxh2+ { this looks like the Tal move that would frighten anyone who knew him as well as Spassky.} (17... Rc8 $2 18. Nc4 $16) (17... Ng4 $6 18. Nf5 $1 $16 {and White's attack is more deadly!}) 18. Kxh2 Ng4+ {[#]} 19. Kg3 $1 (19. Kg1 $2 Qh4 20. Bxh7+ $1 (20. N2f3 $2 Qxf2+ 21. Kh1 Nde5 $36) 20... Kxh7 21. Qh3 $1 $14 { Black won't have enough activity for the pawn.}) 19... Qd6+ (19... h5 20. Nf5 $8 $18) (19... Qe5+ 20. f4 Qe3+ 21. N2f3 $1 Bxf3 (21... Qf2+ 22. Kh3 $8 (22. Kxg4 $4 Bxf3+ $8 $19) 22... Re3 (22... Ne3 23. Rd2 $18) 23. Rd2 $18) 22. Bxh7+ $1 {There are lots of sidelines here, but in all of them White ends up with an extra pawn and the more active Rs; e.g.} Kxh7 23. Qxe3 Rxe3 24. Nxf3 Ngf6 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rc7 Re7 27. Rxa7 $18) 20. f4 $8 Ndf6 21. Qc5 $1 Re3+ 22. N2f3 $18 {Tactics using the N-fork on e4 don't work:} Qxc5 (22... Rxd3 23. Qxd6 Rxf3+ 24. Nxf3 Ne4+ 25. Kxg4 $18) 23. Rxc5 Rxd3 24. Rxd3 Ne4+ 25. Kxg4 Nxc5 26. Rd2 $18 {White is still up a piece.}) 17... Ne5 $8 $19 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Nc4 Rd5 $1 (19... Bxh2+ $1 {works immediately, but Black needs the R in the attack, so this transposes.}) 20. Qd2 Bxh2+ $1 21. Kxh2 Rh5+ $1 (21... Ng4+ 22. Kg3 Rg5 23. f4 Ne3+ 24. fxg5 Qc7+ {also wins.}) 22. Kg1 Ng4 23. Qf4 Qh4 {and White's five pieces on the queenside are embarassingly useless.} 0-1 [Event "Montreal 1979"] [Site "Montreal"] [Date "1979.04.25"] [Round "11"] [White "Timman, Jan H"] [Black "Karpov, Anatoly"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A28"] [WhiteElo "2625"] [BlackElo "2705"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "1979.04.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "18"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [EventCategory "15"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Be7 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 d5 9. O-O Bd6 10. b3 Qe7 {Threat: ...Qe5.} 11. Bb2 {[#] White has a safe position in an e3 English, with potential play on the c-file. What should Black do? [#]White has a safe position in an e3 English, with potential play on the c-file. What should Black do?} dxc4 $1 {Black voluntarily degrades his pawn structure, but if Bxc4 Black gains time and freedom for a kingside attack. Since this game, White has typically preferred to exchange on d5 first.} 12. bxc4 (12. Bxc4 $1 {gives up any hope of an advantage, but was better than the game, since White will not have to defend the Bb2.} Ng4 13. g3 $8 Nxh2 $5 ( 13... Ne5 $5) 14. Kxh2 Qh4+ 15. Kg2 Qh3+ $8 16. Kg1 Bg4 17. Be2 $8 Bxg3 $8 18. fxg3 Qxg3+ 19. Kh1 $11 {and Black forces a repetition.}) 12... Rb8 $1 13. Qc1 ( 13. Rb1 $2 Rxb2 14. Rxb2 Qe5 $19) 13... Ng4 14. g3 (14. h3 Qe5 15. g3 Nxf2 $1 $19) 14... Re8 {[#]} 15. Nd1 (15. Bf3 Qf6 16. Bg2 Qh6 17. h4 (17. h3 Nxe3 $1 18. fxe3 Bxh3 $19) 17... g5 $1 18. c5 gxh4 $1 19. e4 Qh5 $1 20. cxd6 hxg3 21. Rd1 gxf2+ 22. Kf1 Ba6+ 23. Ne2 Rxb2 $1 {Defelcting the Q so there is no Qg5+} 24. Qxb2 Qh2 {and ...Qg1# 0-1 Khismatullin,D (2552)-Tomashevsky,E (2523) Serpukhov, 2004.}) 15... Nxh2 $1 16. c5 (16. Kxh2 Qh4+ 17. Kg1 Bxg3 18. fxg3 Qxg3+ 19. Kh1 Re4 $19) 16... Nxf1 $1 17. cxd6 Nxg3 $8 {The desperado Timman said he missed.} 18. fxg3 Qxd6 19. Kf2 Qh6 20. Bd4 Qh2+ {"The fact that the game continued can be explained only by Timman's unwillingness to resign so early." - Kasparov} 21. Ke1 Qxg3+ 22. Kd2 Qg2 $1 23. Nb2 Ba6 24. Nd3 Bxd3 $1 25. Kxd3 Rbd8 26. Bf1 Qe4+ 27. Kc3 c5 $1 28. Bxc5 Qc6 29. Kb3 Rb8+ 30. Ka3 Re5 31. Bb4 Qb6 0-1 [Event "Olympiad"] [Site "Thessaloniki"] [Date "1984.11.22"] [Round "4"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Hergott, Deen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2345"] [BlackElo "2240"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "GRE"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2014.09"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2014.09.30"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.12.09"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "India"] [BlackTeam "Canada"] [WhiteTeamCountry "IND"] [BlackTeamCountry "CAN"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 Nf6 6. N1c3 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qd8 11. Nxf6+ Qxf6 12. c4 Qg6 13. f3 Be7 14. cxb5 Nd4 15. Be3 O-O 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. Qd2 (17. Qxd4 d5 $1 $32) 17... d5 18. Bd3 Bg5 19. Qe2 dxe4 (19... Re8 $1 $36) 20. Bxe4 Bf5 $1 21. O-O (21. Bxa8 Rxa8 22. O-O Be3+ 23. Kh1 Bd3 $15) 21... Be3+ 22. Kh1 Bxe4 23. fxe4 Qxe4 24. Rad1 axb5 25. Nxb5 Rxa2 26. Nxd4 Qe5 27. Nf5 $1 {Diagram [#]Both sides play this sharp position very well, and I suspect the effort put at least one of them in time trouble.} Bf4 $8 28. Qg4 $1 g5 $8 29. Rde1 $1 h5 $1 (29... Qf6 $2 30. Rxf4 $18) (29... Qc7 $2 30. h4 f6 31. Re7 $18) 30. Nh6+ $1 Kg7 $8 31. Qxh5 {[%mdl 64] Diagram [#] Defend this against a young Indian player named "Anand"*. *Possibly from the Hindi meaning "you are in time trouble".} Qxb2 $2 {Wins a pawn and threatens g2, but White's tactics hit first.} (31... Qd5 $2 32. Rxf4 $18) (31... Qa5 $2 {Looks good, keeping the Q defended and attacking Re1 prevents Rxf4, but...} 32. Nxf7 $3 Rxf7 33. Re6 $8 $18 {White is down a piece, but Black will lose more trying to prevent mate.} g4 {Defends h6 and the fifth rank,} (33... Ra1 $2 34. Qh6+ {#2}) (33... Rf6 $2 34. Re7+ {#2}) 34. Rg6+ $1 Kf8 35. Qh8+ Ke7 {And Black must lose in the major piece crossfire:} 36. Qc8 $1 $18 {threats include Re6#, Rg8, and (if the Black Q moves) Re1+.} (36. Qh4+ { is another win:} Kd7 37. Qxg4+ Qf5 38. h3 {and the pins win.}) 36... Qd5 37. Re1+ Be5 38. Rg8 $18) (31... Qf6 $8 32. Ng4 $1 Qd6 $5 (32... Qg6 33. Qh3 $14) 33. Rxf4 $5 gxf4 $11) 32. Nf5+ $8 $18 (32. Qh3 $2 Qxg2+ $11) 32... Kg8 (32... Kf6 $5 33. Rg1 $1 {defending the mate on g2, threatening Ne7 and Qh6#.} (33. Qg4 $2 Qxg2+ $1 {Black bails out to a drawn ending.}) 33... Kxf5 $140 34. g4+ Kf6 35. Qh6#) 33. Qg4 $1 {defends g2 and threatens Rxf4} Qd2 (33... Qb4 34. Ne7+ Kg7 35. Nd5 $18) (33... Qb8 34. h4 $18) 34. Rd1 $1 (34. h4 $1) 34... Qb4 35. Rd4 $1 Qb8 (35... Rf2 36. Rfd1 $1 $18) 36. h3 $1 Kh7 37. Rdxf4 $1 gxf4 38. Qg7# 1-0 [Event "Cannes sim"] [Site "Cannes"] [Date "1988.02.14"] [Round "10"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Hamilton, Robert"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A39"] [Annotator "Stephen Wright"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "1988.??.??"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "FRA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2013.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 c5 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nc6 8. Nc3 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 d6 10. Qd3 a6 11. Bd2 Rb8 12. Rac1 Nd7 13. e4 b5 14. cxb5 axb5 15. b3 Nc5 16. Qe3 e6 17. Rfd1 b4 18. Ne2 Ba6 19. Be1 Qb6 20. Rc2 f5 21. exf5 exf5 (21... Rxf5 $142) 22. Nf4 Rfe8 23. Qd2 Kh8 24. Nd5 Qd8 25. Nxb4 Re2 26. Qxe2 $2 ({editor -} 26. Qd5 $142 {leaves Black down a pawn with scattered pieces; e.g.} Rxb4 (26... Rxc2 27. Nxc2 $18) 27. Rxe2 Bxe2 28. Bxb4 Bxd1 29. Bxc5 $18) 26... Bxe2 27. Rxe2 Qf8 28. Nd5 Re8 29. Rc2 g5 30. b4 Ne6 31. Bc3 f4 32. a4 Qf5 33. Bxg7+ Kxg7 34. Rcd2 {[#]} f3 $2 {Black has no immediate way to take advantage of this wedge, whereas the move closes lines, gives White use of the e3 square, and expends a vital tempo. h7-h5-h4 is more to the point.} 35. Bf1 $1 h5 36. a5 h4 37. Ne3 $8 $18 Qe4 ({editor - Black has no time to get to the h-file:} 37... Qh7 38. Rxd6 hxg3 39. Rd7+ $18) 38. Rxd6 hxg3 39. hxg3 Qxb4 40. a6 Rf8 41. a7 (41. Rxe6 {is also winning.}) 41... Qa5 42. Ra6 Qxa6 43. Bxa6 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Championship"] [Site "St.John"] [Date "1988.02.19"] [Round "2"] [White "Kasparov, Garry"] [Black "Dlugy, Maxim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D26"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "1988.02.??"] [EventType "blitz"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2013.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e3 Nc6 5. d4 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bc4 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 Nf6 11. a3 a6 12. Ba2 Qd6 13. Bg5 b5 $2 {[#]} ( 13... Rd8 $1 $14) 14. Bxf6 $6 $16 {Kasparov misses his shot... IQP positions can stump even the best!} (14. d5 $3 $18 Nxd5 (14... exd5 15. Nxd5 $1 Be6 ( 15... Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Be6 (16... Bxg5 17. Bxf7+ $18) 17. Bxc6 $18) 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Nxf6+ $18) (14... Na5 15. dxe6 Bxe6 16. Qxd6 Bxd6 17. Bxe6 $18) 15. Nxd5 Qd8 (15... Bxg5 16. Nf6+ Bxf6 17. Qxd6 $18) 16. Nxe7+ Nxe7 17. Qxd8 Rxd8 18. Bxe7 $18) 14... Bxf6 15. Ne4 Qd8 16. d5 exd5 17. Bxd5 Bd7 18. Rc1 Rc8 19. Nd6 Rc7 20. Qb3 {[#]} Ne5 $2 (20... Be8 $2 21. Nxe8 Rxe8 22. Rxe8+ $1 Qxe8 23. Qc2 $8 $18) (20... Na5 $2 21. Nxf7 $8 $18 Nxb3 22. Nxd8+ Kh8 23. Rxc7 $18) (20... Be6 $8 {blocks the attack on f7, and although it undefends the Nc6, it also pins one of the two attackers, so the N is not really hanging.} 21. Bxe6 (21. Rxe6 $2 Nd4 $1 $19) 21... Qxd6 $8 $11 {and Black catches up in development.}) 21. Nxe5 $8 $18 Bxe5 22. Nxf7 Bxh2+ 23. Kxh2 Qh4+ 24. Kg1 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Be8 26. Ne5+ Kh8 27. Qe3 1-0 [Event "World Blitz Championship"] [Site "St.John"] [Date "1988.02.20"] [Round "3"] [White "Georgiev, Kiril"] [Black "Kasparov, Garry"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A38"] [Annotator "Stephen Wright"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "1988.02.??"] [EventType "blitz"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2013.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Rb1 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 10. b3 Qd6 11. d3 e5 12. a3 Bd7 13. b4 cxb4 14. axb4 Nxb4 15. Ba3 a5 16. Qb3 b5 17. Ng5 Rac8 18. Bxb4 axb4 19. Qxb4 Qxb4 20. Rxb4 Rc2 21. Re1 h6 22. Ne4 Rfc8 23. Nd6 R8c5 24. Rbb1 Ra2 25. Bf3 h5 26. Rec1 Rxc1+ 27. Rxc1 Ra6 28. Ne4 Bf8 29. h4 b4 30. Rc7 Be6 31. Rb7 Ra1+ 32. Kg2 Rc1 33. Ng5 Ba2 34. Ra7 Rc2 35. Rb7 Bc5 36. Ne4 Bf8 37. Ng5 Kg7 38. Ra7 Bc5 39. Rb7 Bf8 40. Ra7 Bb3 41. Nxf7 Bc5 42. Rb7 Bxf7 43. Bd5 Rxe2 44. Rxf7+ Kh6 45. Kf1 Rd2 46. Bc4 Rb2 47. f4 exf4 48. gxf4 b3 49. Rb7 Rf2+ 50. Ke1 b2 51. Bg8 {Diagram [#]} g5 $4 ({ Kasparov deals with the immediate mate, only to blunder into a second one.} 51... b1=Q+ 52. Rxb1 Rxf4 $15 {would maintain Black's advantage.}) 52. hxg5+ Kg6 53. Bh7# 1-0 [Event "Saint John cm 1/8 final-2"] [Site "Saint John CAN"] [Date "1988.??.??"] [Round "8"] [White "Korchnoi, Viktor"] [Black "Hjartarson, Johann"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2590"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "1988.??.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Saint John cm 1/8 final-2 1988 12 34 5678 1 Hjartarson,Johann 2590 1½001½½1 4.5/8 2 Korchnoi,Viktor 2640 0½110½½0 3.5/8} 1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bf4 a5 11. Nc3 Na6 12. Rae1 Nb4 13. e4 Nd7 14. Ra1 Bd6 15. Be3 Nc2 16. Bg5 Nb6 17. Qd3 Nb4 18. Qe2 Qe8 19. b3 f5 20. Rac1 h6 21. Be3 Qh5 {[#] What happens after 22.d5} 22. d5 $2 (22. Rfe1 $142) ( 22. e5 Be7 $15 {Gives Black d5 and a free hand to push on the kingside.}) 22... fxe4 $8 (22... exd5 $2 23. e5 $1 $16) (22... f4 $4 23. Bxb6 $18) 23. dxc6 $4 { Terrible, and hard to explain; perhaps an overraction after finding that d5 made his position worse.} (23. Nxe4 $8 N6xd5 $1 (23... exd5 $2 24. Nxd6 $18) 24. Bc5 $15) 23... exf3 $8 $19 24. Qd1 ({Maybe this is what White had miscalculated:} 24. Bxf3 Qxf3 $8 25. Qxf3 Rxf3 26. cxb7 Rb8 $8 (26... Raf8 $2 27. Nb5 $15) 27. Bxb6 cxb6 28. Nb5 {with threats on d6 and c8, but now} Bc5 $19 (28... Bf8 $19)) 24... bxc6 (24... Nxc6 $1 $19) 25. Bxb6 cxb6 26. Qxd6 fxg2 27. Rfd1 Qf5 28. Qd2 Nd3 29. Rc2 Ne5 30. Qe2 Rad8 31. Kxg2 Nf3 32. Rxd8 Rxd8 33. Rc1 Nd4 34. Qe3 c5 35. Rd1 Qc2 36. h4 Rf8 37. Rc1 $2 Rxf2+ $1 38. Qxf2 Qxc1 { Korchnoi qualified for one more Candidates matches, after this, getting eliminated by Jan Timman in the second round.} 0-1 [Event "Quebec op"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "2004.07.21"] [Round "6"] [White "Hébert, Jean"] [Black "Korchnoi, Viktor"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E14"] [WhiteElo "2415"] [BlackElo "2594"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2004.07.17"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. d4 e6 4. e3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nc3 Bb7 7. Bd3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Qa4+ c6 10. Ne5 O-O 11. b4 Bd6 12. f4 b5 13. Qb3 a5 14. bxa5 b4 15. Ne2 Na6 16. Rc1 $2 (16. O-O $11 c5 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Qxb4 Bxe5 19. fxe5 Nxd3 20. Qxb7 Ne4 $11) 16... c5 17. Bxa6 Bxa6 18. Nc6 Qd7 19. dxc5 Bxe2 (19... Qxc6 $1 20. cxd6 Qd7 (20... Qxd6 21. Bxb4) 21. Bxb4 $16) 20. Kxe2 Bxf4 {[#]} 21. Qxb4 $2 (21. exf4 $142 Qxc6 22. Rhd1 $1 Rxa5 23. Bxb4 Qa6+ $15 {and takes a2.}) 21... Qxc6 (21... Bc7 $1 $19 22. Nd4 Bxa5 23. Qb2 Bxd2 24. Qxd2 Ne4 25. Qc2 Qg4+ 26. Kf1 Ra3 $19 {White is playing without the Rh1.}) 22. Qxf4 {[#]} d4 $1 {Opening lines while the white king is in the center. Korchnoi plays the attack very accurately.} 23. exd4 Qxg2+ 24. Kd3 (24. Qf2 $4 Rfe8+ 25. Be3 Rxe3+ 26. Kxe3 Ng4+ $19) 24... Qg6+ $1 25. Kc4 (25. Ke2 Rfe8+ 26. Kd1 Qd3 27. Re1 ( 27. Qf1 Qxd4 $19) 27... Rxe1+ 28. Kxe1 Re8+ 29. Kd1 Nd5 30. Qg3 Ne3+ 31. Qxe3 Rxe3 $19) 25... Ne4 (25... Nd5 $19) 26. Bb4 Qa6+ $1 27. Kb3 Qd3+ $8 28. Kb2 Rfb8 29. Rhd1 (29. a3 Qxd4+ 30. Kc2 (30. Kb3 Nxc5+) 30... Rxb4 $1 $19) 29... Rxb4+ 30. Ka1 Qe2 $1 31. Rb1 Nc3 (31... Qxa2+ $1 {is faster, but maybe unnecessarily flashy?}) 0-1 [Event "Canadian Open"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2007.07.14"] [Round "9"] [White "Sandipan, Chanda"] [Black "Tiviakov, Sergei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E17"] [WhiteElo "2563"] [BlackElo "2648"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2007.07.07"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Voted second best game in Chess Informant 100, and and one of only two games played in Canada to be included in "The Mamoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games"; the other was Timman - Karpov (Montreal, 1979).} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. d5 exd5 8. Nh4 c6 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Nc7 11. e4 d5 12. Nc3 Bf6 13. exd5 $5 cxd5 14. Bf4 Nba6 15. Re1 Qd7 16. Bh3 Ne6 $6 (16... Qd8 $8 {Kasparov}) 17. Ne4 $1 Bxb2 18. Rb1 Bc8 19. Ng5 Bf6 20. Qh5 Bxg5 (20... Nxg5 21. Bxg5 Qc6 22. Bxf6 Qxf6 23. Ne7+) 21. Bxg5 Re8 { [#] White is two pawns down but has a lot of pieces in menacing positions. Now what?} 22. Bf6 $1 {White has a winning attack on the dark squares -- g7 is protected only by the pinned Ne6 -- and the key in all winning lines is a piece sac on f6, g7 or h6. In fact, White's position is so crushing that Stockfish 12 rates nine different moves as winning for White. Here is a brief overview, showing as many different winning maneuvers as possible:} ({2)} 22. Nh6+ $18 gxh6 (22... Kh8 23. Nxf7+ $18) (22... Kf8 23. Bf6 $18) 23. Bf6 $1 Qd6 24. Bxe6 $1 Bxe6 (24... Rxe6 25. Qxh6 Rxf6 26. Re8+ {#1}) 25. Qxh6 Qf8 26. Qg5+ {#1}) ({3)} 22. Rbd1 g6 (22... f6 23. Rxd5 $1 $18) 23. Qh6 f6 24. Rxd5 Qxd5 ( 24... Qf7 25. Nd6 $8 $18) 25. Rxe6 Qd1+ 26. Bf1 $18) ({4)} 22. Bf1 Bb7 (22... Nac7 23. Bf6 {transposes}) 23. Bb5 $18 {wins material and keeps an attack.}) ({ 5)} 22. Qh4 Qc7 23. Rbc1 Nac5 24. Bf6 g6 25. Nh6+ Kf8 26. Ng4 h5 27. Re5 { and Rxh5 breaks the pawn cover.}) ({6)} 22. Qg4 Nac5 23. Bf6 g6 24. Qh4 Bb7 25. Rxe6 Nxe6 26. Qb4 $3 {such a crazy move to see: removing the Q from the attacking zone; threat is Nh6#.} h5 27. Qd2 {and Qh6 wins.}) ({7)} 22. Re2 g6 23. Nh6+ Kg7 24. Bf6+ $1 Kxf6 25. Qe5+ Ke7 26. Qg7 $8 Rf8 27. Rxe6+ $18) ({ 8) This line looks ridiculous, since White seems to throw away two tempi (here and on move 24), but it's another different win:} 22. Re5 Nac5 23. Nh6+ $8 Kf8 24. Bd2 (24. Bxe6 $18) 24... Bb7 25. Nf5 Kg8 26. Nxg7 $8 Nxg7 (26... Kxg7 27. Qh6+) 27. Bxd7 $8 Nxh5 28. Rxe8+ $18 {with a winning material advantage in the endgame.}) ({9)} 22. Bg2 {even undeveloping wins, though the margin is smaller: } Nac7 23. Bf6 Nf4 $5 24. Qg5 $8 Rxe1+ (24... Ng6 25. Nxg7 $18 Qg4) 25. Rxe1 Nfe6 26. Qg4 Ne8 (26... h5 27. Nh6+ $18) 27. Bb2 Bb7 28. Nh6+ Kh8 (28... Kf8 29. Ba3+ $18) 29. Qf5 Nf6 (29... Nd6 30. Qf6) 30. Bxf6 gxf6 31. Qxf6+ Ng7 32. Re7 Qc6 33. Qxf7 Qxh6 34. Rxb7 $18) 22... gxf6 (22... Nac7 23. Nxg7 (23. Nh6+ gxh6 24. Qxh6 {and Bf5+-}) 23... Nxg7 24. Qh6 $18) (22... g6 23. Qh6 Nac5 ( 23... Bb7 24. Rbd1 $18) 24. Rbd1 Qc7 25. Rxd5 $18) 23. Qh6 {The Ne6 prevents mate on g7, and White can't sac for it, because ...fxe6 opens a defence along the 7th rank; so what can White do?} Nac5 (23... Bb7 24. Qxf6 (24. Rbd1 d4 25. Rxe6 fxe6 26. Rxd4 $18) 24... Nac5 25. Nh6+ Kf8 26. Bxe6 Nxe6 27. Nf5 Kg8 28. Rxe6 fxe6 29. Nh6#) 24. Rbd1 $1 {To attack h7!} Qb7 25. Rd4 Ne4 26. Rexe4 $1 dxe4 27. Qxf6 Qc7 28. Nh6+ Kf8 29. Qh8+ Ke7 30. Nf5# 1-0 [Event "ShirovSimulOttawa2010"] [Site "?"] [Date "2010.02.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Pepin, Christian"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2012"] [BlackElo "2723"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2010.02.12"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Qc2 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 d5 7. e5 Ne4 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. e6 fxe6 10. O-O g6 11. Nc3 Rc8 12. Bxc6 Rxc6 13. Qe2 Nxc3 14. Qe5 Rg8 15. bxc3 Bg7 16. Qg3 Rxc3 17. Bf4 {[#] ...Bxd4 or ...Rf8} Bxd4 $6 (17... Rf8 $142 18. Qh4 (18. Be5 Bxe5 19. Qxe5 (19. dxe5 Qc7 {Xe5}) 19... Qc7 20. Qg7 Qf4 $17) 18... Rxf3 $1 {this exchange sac leaves White with five isolated pawns and Black's Bs with dangerous diagonals.} 19. gxf3 Bxd4 20. Qxh7 (20. Rad1 Bc5 $17) (20. Bh6 $2 Bxa1 21. Bxf8 Bf6 22. Qh6 Kf7 $19) 20... Bb5 $17) 18. Qh4 $1 $13 Rxf3 $1 19. Qxh7 $8 (19. gxf3 $4 Bb5 $1 $19 {frees d7 for the King and puts both Rooks under attack}) 19... Rxf4 {White has a perpetual.} (19... Kf8 $5 20. Bh6+ Bg7 21. gxf3 $13) (19... Rxf4 20. Qxg8+ Rf8 21. Qxg6+ Rf7 22. Qg8+ $11 {A reasonable result after plaing the disruptive 9.e6. White played well to keep Black under pressure.}) 1/2-1/2 [Event "RACC 2011 Shirov Simul"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2011.02.03"] [Round "?.2"] [White "Pacey, Kevin"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A28"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2011.02.03"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 Bb4 5. Qc2 O-O 6. Nd5 d6 7. a3 Ba5 8. b4 Bb6 9. Nxb6 axb6 10. Bb2 e4 11. b5 Na5 12. Ng5 Re8 13. d3 Bf5 14. dxe4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Qc3 Qg5 17. h4 Qh6 18. Rh3 Re5 {[#]} {[#] What would be fun to play against Shirov?} 19. g4 $1 {The threats include g5 and f4, hitting Black's majors and forcing open the attack on g7.} (19. Rg3 Bg6 $13) 19... f5 $4 (19... f6 $142 $1 $14 {XNa5}) (19... Rae8 $5 {looks bad, but after} 20. f4 { Black stays in the game with} (20. Be2 $142) 20... Bg2 $8 (20... R5e7 21. g5 Qg6 22. h5 $18) 21. g5 (21. Bxg2 Qxf4 22. O-O-O Qxg4 $13) 21... Bxh3 22. gxh6 Rxe3+ 23. Qxe3 Rxe3+ 24. Kf2 Rb3 $14) 20. g5 $1 $18 {the Be4 is trapped!} Qh5 21. Be2 Qf7 22. f3 f4 23. exf4 (23. fxe4 $1 Rxe4 24. Bd3 Rxe3+ 25. Rxe3 fxe3 26. O-O-O $18) 23... Qxf4 (23... Bf5 $1 24. fxe5 Bxh3 25. exd6 cxd6 {is bad, but leaves Black with more of a mess to conjure with.}) 24. fxe4 Rf8 25. Rd1 $1 Qxe4 26. Qd3 $8 $18 {Defends e2 and creates a double attack on Qe4 and Re5, forcing off Black's Q and killing any chance for tricks.} Re7 27. Qxe4 Rxe4 28. Rd4 Re6 29. h5 Rfe8 30. Rh2 Nb3 31. Rf4 Nc5 32. Kd1 Re3 33. h6 g6 34. Bf3 { Bd5+ wins more material. Draw with Black, win with White, Kevin's simul score vs Shirov is now +1=1-0.} 1-0 [Event "RACC 2011 Shirov Simul"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2011.02.03"] [Round "?.3"] [White "Shirov, Alexei"] [Black "Doubleday, William G"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2722"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "83"] [EventDate "2011.02.03"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Be3 Qc7 8. f4 d6 9. g4 Be7 10. Qe2 a6 11. g5 Nd7 12. h4 b5 13. Qf2 b4 14. Ne2 Bb7 15. h5 a5 16. Bg2 e5 17. f5 a4 18. Nd2 Na5 19. f6 gxf6 20. Ng3 Ba6 21. Nf5 Bf8 22. gxf6 Nc4 23. Nxc4 Qxc4 24. Bf1 Qc6 25. O-O-O b3 26. a3 Nxf6 $1 {Alexei said he'd just forgotten that this move was possible!} 27. c3 Nxe4 28. Bg2 d5 29. Bxe4 $1 dxe4 {[#]} 30. Nd6+ $2 (30. h6 $2 Bd3 31. Ng7+ Kd8 32. Bg5+ Kc8 33. Qf5+ Kb7 34. Qxf7+ Ka6 $19) (30. Rhg1 $5 Bd3 31. Ng7+ Bxg7 (31... Kd8 32. Qxf7 Bxa3 $13) 32. Rxg7 Qe6 33. h6 $44 {Black has two extra pawns, but I don't see how he can break White's dark square blockade without exposing his K.}) 30... Bxd6 31. Qf6 {The only way to create any threats, and clearly White's idea behind Nd6+.} Bd3 $2 {So close! Black either didn't see that he could zig-zag out of trouble and keep the extra piece, or thought his counterattack was winning.} (31... Kd7 $142 $1 $19 32. Qxf7+ $140 Kc8 $8 $19 33. Rhg1 (33. Qe6+ Kc7 34. Qf7+ Qd7 35. Qd5 Bd3 $19) 33... Bd3 34. Rg8+ Rxg8 35. Qxg8+ Kb7 36. Qxh7+ Qc7 $19) 32. Qxh8+ $11 Kd7 33. Qxh7 {[#]What happens on ...Bxa3!?} Bxa3 $2 (33... Qc4 $142 $13 {defending f7 and threatening ...Bxa3.}) 34. Rxd3+ $2 $11 {Safety first. White can't be blamed for not finding the following lines in a simul:} (34. Qxf7+ $8 $18 Kc8 $5 (34... Be7 35. Bg5 $18) 35. Rd2 $8 Bxb2+ (35... Qxc3+ 36. Kd1 Bxb2 37. Rg2 $8 $18 Bc2+ 38. Ke2 $8 Qd3+ 39. Kf2) 36. Kd1 $8 (36. Kxb2 a3+ $19) 36... Bxc3 37. Rg1 $8 $18 (37. Rg2 $2 Qd7 38. Rg8+ Kc7 39. Bb6+ Kxb6 $8 40. Qxd7 Rxg8 41. Qe6+ Kc5 42. Qxg8 b2 $11) 37... Bc2+ 38. Ke1 Bxd2+ 39. Bxd2 $8 $18) 34... exd3 35. Qxd3+ Bd6 $11 36. Qf5+ Ke8 37. Rg1 a3 $1 38. Rg8+ Bf8 $8 39. Qxe5+ Kd7 40. Qf5+ Qe6 41. Qb5+ Qc6 42. Qf5+ {A real fighting game.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "RACC 2011 Shirov Simul"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2011.02.03"] [Round "?.6"] [White "Dunne, Fracesco"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C77"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2011.02.03"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. Qe2 d6 8. h3 O-O 9. c3 h6 10. Rd1 Re8 11. d3 Bb7 12. Nbd2 Ne7 13. Nf1 Ng6 14. Ng3 Nf4 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. Nf5 d5 17. Qc2 dxe4 18. dxe4 {[#]} Bxe4 $6 {On the way to the airport I asked if he thought this sacrifice was sound, or whether it was, as Tal used to say, "a bit of hooliganism". Shirov said he didn't like his position and thought this gave him adequate compensation, but that he'd just missed White's strong defensive retreat on move 21; and if he'd seen 18...Qc8 he would have played it.} (18... Qc8 $1 19. Bd5 Bxd5 20. exd5 Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Ne4+ 22. Kg1 Qxf5 $17) 19. Rxd8 Raxd8 20. Nxh6+ gxh6 21. Qc1 $1 {The move Shirov missed. If Black loses the Pf4 he's toast.} ({The other way to save the Q gives Black plenty of play:} 21. Qe2 Bb7 22. Qf1 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Rd2 $44) 21... Nh5 22. Nd4 $1 Re5 {[#]Black overlooked a White defensive resource and is scrambling for compensation. What should White do?} 23. f3 $4 (23. Qd1 $6 Rg5 24. f3 Bg6 $13) (23. Qf1 $6 Rg5 24. f3 Ng3 $13) (23. Kh2 $142 $16) (23. Bd1 $142 $1 Rg5 24. Bxh5 $1 Bxg2 (24... Rxg2+ 25. Kf1 $18) 25. h4 $1 $18) 23... Bxf3 $3 $40 24. gxf3 $2 (24. Qf1 $1 Bc6 {to support ...Rde8 if the Rs get traded on the e-file.} (24... Be2 $5 $17) 25. Kh2 Bxd4 26. cxd4 Rxd4 27. Qf2 $11) 24... Rxd4 $3 {There's no stopping mate, which White sportingly allowed the spectators to see.} 25. cxd4 Bxd4+ 26. Kg2 Re2+ 27. Kf1 Ng3# 0-1 [Event "RACC 2011 Shirov Simul"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2011.02.03"] [Round "?.10"] [White "Desjardins, Michel"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C27"] [BlackElo "2722"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2011.02.03"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 7. Qf3 f5 8. Qd5 Qe7 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6 {[#] The so-called "Frankenstein-Dracula Variation". Black obviously has _some_ compensation in development and centre control, but is it enough for an exchange and a pawn? After a minute of analysis, Rybka rates this postion +1.5, and Houdini +1.1. It is nice to think that GMs still understand compensation much better than computers -- think of David Bronstein's games against them -- but maybe it's time for an opening survey done with the latest software!? FWIW, Shirov is now the highest-rated player to play this position, but (oddly) Chessbase removed this game from their MegaBase after including it for a few years. Update 2021: SF12 rates this position as +/- after several White moves, including the game line and 11. Qf3! and 11.Ne2!.} 11. Nxb6 $5 axb6 12. Qd3 $1 f4 {[#] Black is threatening ... e4, what should White do?} 13. c3 $2 (13. Ne2 $1 e4 (13... Bb7 14. Nc3 $14 (14. O-O $14) 14... Nd4 15. Bd5 $14 {1-0 (38) Skliarov,V (2376)-Tay,J (2230) chess. com INT 2020}) 14. Qh3 $8 $16 {Michel told me that after the game he ran Houdini on this position for 10 hours, and it couldn't find enough compensation for Black. When I asked Alexei about it he admitted that he hadn't checked these lines with the recent generation of computer programs, but that once he'd started down this line with ...Nxe4 he didn't see a way out of it. - 2011 Checking this 10 years later with Stockfish12 supports the original conclusion: White is much better, but it's complicated. - 2021} f3 15. gxf3 (15. Nc3 $5) 15... exf3 16. Qxf3 Bh6 17. Kd1 $1 $16 (17. O-O $4 Rf8 $19)) 13... e4 $8 14. Qe2 Ne5 $1 $19 15. Bc2 $2 (15. Kd1 $142) 15... Bb7 (15... f3 $1 16. gxf3 exf3 17. Qe3 (17. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 18. Kd1 Bb7 19. Qxe7+ Bxe7 $17) 17... Ndc4 18. Qe4 Bb7 $19) 16. Qf1 $2 (16. f3 $13) 16... f3 17. gxf3 exf3 18. Kd1 Qh4 19. d4 $2 (19. h3 $1 Ne4 $1 20. Rh2 $1 Qf4 $36) 19... Ng4 $1 $19 20. Be3 Bh6 21. Qh3 (21. Bxh6 Nxf2+ 22. Kc1 Qxh6+ 23. Kb1 Nxh1 $19) 21... Nxf2+ 22. Bxf2 Qxf2 23. Qxh6 Qf1+ 24. Kd2 Nc4# 0-1 [Event "RACC Olympic Waive"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.06.23"] [Round "4"] [White "Short, Nigel D"] [Black "Hambleton, Aman"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "75"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Olympic Waive Active Tournament. An Olympic Waive tournament is a fund-raiser for the Canadian Chess Olympic team(s); as such $20 from each entry goes to the Olympic fund. Nigel has agreed to play! Unless you have been invited to play in the top section of the Round Robins at the Edmonton International or the London Classsic, this is your best chance to play Nigel one-on-one in a tournament. To give everyone (including unrated players) a fair chance to play him, Nigel's opponents for Rd.1 and 2 will be selected at random from the bottom half of his score group. Normal Swiss pairings everywhere else. http://ottawarachessclub.pbworks.com/World-Class-Events} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 b6 8. Qg4 Kf8 9. a5 cxd4 10. cxd4 bxa5 11. c3 Qc7 12. Qf3 Ba6 13. Bxa6 Nxa6 14. Ne2 Kg8 15. O-O Qc4 16. Rxa5 Nc6 17. Ra1 Nc7 18. Nf4 Ne7 19. Nh5 Ng6 20. Ra5 Nb5 {[#]What would Alekhine play?} 21. Bd2 {Good enough for a winning advantage, but the Alekhine finish is...} (21. Qf6 $3 gxf6 22. Bh6 {and Nxf6#}) 21... Rc8 22. Rb1 a6 23. h3 h6 24. Kh2 Nh4 25. Qg4 Ng6 26. Rba1 Qd3 27. Be1 Nxc3 28. Bxc3 Rxc3 29. Rxa6 Rc4 30. Rxe6 Kh7 31. Ra7 Rf8 32. Ree7 Rxd4 33. f4 Qd1 34. Qxd1 Rxd1 35. Rxf7 Rxf7 36. Rxf7 Nh4 37. f5 Rd2 38. Nf6+ 1-0 [Event "New York Challenge sim"] [Site "New York"] [Date "2016.09.22"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Wiebe, Isaac"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A96"] [WhiteElo "2857"] [BlackElo "2017"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2016.09.22"] [EventType "simul (rapid)"] [EventRounds "1"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Dragon"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2019.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 f5 {Hard to believe, but there are no Carlsen games from this position in the MegaBase!} 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. b3 d6 7. d4 Ne4 8. Bb2 a5 9. Nfd2 Nxd2 10. Nxd2 Bf6 11. e4 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Bxb7 Ra7 15. Be4 Bxe4 16. Nxe4 Nc6 17. Qd5+ Qxd5 18. cxd5 Nb4 19. Ba3 Rd8 20. Bxb4 axb4 21. Rfd1 Ra5 22. Rac1 Raxd5 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Rxc7 Ra5 25. Rb7 Rxa2 26. Rxb4 Kf7 27. Kg2 Ke6 28. h4 {[#]What's Black's best defence?} Rb2 $2 { Magnus went straight to this position in the postmortem (see photo), but analyzed it as though it was Black's move: "You need to take control over the light squares on the kingside. Once I get in this [h4-h5], my king will come here [g4], my rook will... [check your king away], and my king will come in [g4-f5]. So you need to play ...g6 and ...h5."} 29. h5 $1 (29. Z0 {"Once you get this,} h5 {I think I still have excellent winning chances, but it's much more difficult.... Once I get control over the light sqaures it becomes very easy to play." - Magnus Carlsen}) 29... Be7 30. Rb7 Rb1 31. Kf3 Rb2 32. Kg4 Re2 33. f3 Rb2 34. Rb6+ {Notice that keeping the pawn on b3 restricts the activity of Black's R.} Kd5 35. Kf5 Rh2 36. Rb7 Ba3 37. Kg4 g6 38. Rd7+ $1 {Pushing the black K either away from the e5-pawn or to where it will be exposed to a check which enables White's R to gain a tempo to get back to the queenside. Even in a simul Magnus finds the most accurate finesse!} (38. Rxh7 gxh5+ 39. Rxh5 Rb2 { is winning, but trickier} 40. Nc3+ Kc5 41. Rxe5+ Kd4 42. Ra5 $8 $18 Bb4 43. Nb5+ Kc5 44. Nc3+ $8 Bxa5 45. Na4+ $8 $18) 38... Ke6 39. Rxh7 gxh5+ 40. Rxh5 Rb2 41. Rh6+ Kd5 (41... Ke7 42. Rb6 {saves the b-pawn with none of the fuss of the variations above.}) 42. Nc3+ Kd4 43. Nb5+ Kd3 44. Nxa3 Rxb3 45. Ra6 e4 46. fxe4 Kxe4 {[#]This would be a draw, if it weren't for that stubborn g-pawn.} 47. Ra4+ Ke5 48. Nc4+ Kf6 49. Ra6+ Kg7 50. Ne5 Rb5 51. Kf5 Rb1 52. Ra7+ Kh8 53. g4 Rb6 {[#]It's a trivial win, but Magnus plays it computer-perfect for the minimum moves to mate.} 54. g5 Rb1 55. Kg6 Rb6+ 56. Kf7 Rb8 57. Ng6+ Kh7 58. Kf6+ Kg8 59. Rg7# 1-0 [Event "FIDE World Cup"] [Site "Tbilisi"] [Date "2017.09.06"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Kovalyov, Anton"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2794"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "86"] [EventDate "2017.09.03"] [EventType "k.o."] [EventRounds "7"] [EventCountry "GEO"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] {"I think I got a bit lucky today. I think he overpushed in a more-or-less equal position. He made a sacrifice that, if it would have worked it would be the Game of the Year. But, it didn't work, hopefully for me." - Anton Kovalyov, in postgame interview with Anastasia Karlovich.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 h5 9. Be2 Nbd7 10. O-O Rc8 11. Qd2 b5 12. Rfd1 Nb6 13. Bxb6 $1 Qxb6 14. a4 $1 b4 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Bd7 17. a5 Qb7 18. Qe3 Be7 19. Qb6 $1 Qxb6 20. axb6 Rb8 $8 21. Rxa6 Bd8 $8 22. b7 Ke7 $5 (22... Rxb7 23. Rda1 $14) 23. Nc5 $2 dxc5 24. d6+ Kf6 25. Bf3 { [#]} Kf5 $8 $17 {"When I played ...Kf5 I thought I had very good winning chances." - Kovalyov If Black can shut out or trade White's LSB then the b7-pawn is neutraized and Black wins. Here, and again at move 37 Black plays against the LSB.} 26. Bd5 e4 $1 27. Re1 Bf6 $6 28. Bxe4+ Kg5 29. Ra5 Bxb2 $1 30. Rxc5+ Kf6 31. Re3 g6 $1 32. Rf3+ Ke6 $8 (32... Kg7 33. Bd5 $132) 33. Rd3 Rhd8 34. Ra5 f5 35. Bf3 Bc3 36. h4 Kf6 37. g3 $2 {[#]} (37. Ra8 $142 $15) 37... f4 $8 $19 {An excellent clearance sac, giving the Bd7 squares and unblocking the Rd8.} 38. Be4 (38. gxf4 Bf5 $19) 38... Bf5 39. Bxf5 gxf5 40. Rb5 Ke6 { Players reach the time control and gain an extra 30 min.} (40... fxg3 41. fxg3 Rd7 42. Rdd5 Ke6 $1 43. Rxf5 Rbxb7 44. Rxb7 Rxb7 45. Rxh5 Kxd6 $19 {Black's R attacks the c-pawn and White's pawns are controlled by the B.}) 41. Kf1 (41. Rdd5 Rxb7 $19) 41... Rd7 42. gxf4 Rbxb7 43. Re3+ Kf6 0-1 [Event "CAN-ch"] [Site "Ottawa CAN"] [Date "1984.??.??"] [Round "14"] [White "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Black "Day, Lawrence"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A10"] [WhiteElo "2540"] [BlackElo "2435"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "23"] [EventDate "1984.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 b6 2. c4 Bb7 3. b3 f6 4. Nc3 e5 5. e3 Bb4 6. Bb2 Ne7 7. Qc2 Nbc6 8. Ne4 d5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 {[#]} 10. a3 $1 Bd6 $2 (10... O-O-O $2 {hoping for 11.axb4?? Nxb4-+, might work in bullet chess, but loses to} 11. Bc4 $1 Qd7 12. axb4 Nxb4 13. Qb1 $18) (10... Na5 $2 11. axb4 Nxb3 (11... Qxe4 12. Qxe4 Bxe4 13. bxa5 $18 ) 12. Rd1 Qxe4 13. Qxb3 $18) (10... f5 $2 11. Ng3 Qc5 (11... Bc5 12. b4 $18) 12. Qb1 $18) (10... Nd8 $1 {is best} 11. Nxf6+ gxf6 12. axb4 $16) 11. Bc4 $18 { Traps the Q.} Nd4 (11... Qa5 12. Nxd6+ cxd6 13. b4 $18) 12. Nxd6+ $1 {saves the N with tempo then takes d4 and White is up a piece.} 1-0 [Event "Live Chess"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2020.02.08"] [Round "?"] [White "Malik, Omid"] [Black "Atanasov, Anthony"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A12"] [WhiteElo "2320"] [BlackElo "2252"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b3 d5 3. Bb2 Bf5 4. e3 e6 5. Be2 Nbd7 6. O-O Bd6 7. c4 c6 8. Nc3 h5 9. d4 Ne4 {London System Reversed [#]What happens on Nxe4?} 10. Nxe4 $6 { Sadly, White's best move would be the illegal d4-d3, equalizing.} dxe4 $1 { premove} 11. Nd2 {What happens on ....Bxh2+} (11. Ne5 $142 {is better, but Black has a strong initiative after} Qg5 $1 $40 12. Nxd7 $2 (12. Kh1 $1 Nf6 $15 ) (12. f4 exf3 13. Rxf3 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Bc5 15. Bd4 O-O-O $19) 12... Bh3 $1 13. g3 h4 14. Ne5 (14. Nc5 hxg3 $19) 14... f6 15. f4 exf3 16. Nxf3 Qxe3+ $19) 11... Bxh2+ $5 12. Kxh2 Qh4+ {premove} 13. Kg1 Nf6 {premove} 14. f3 $1 (14. Ba3 $5 { the least likely looking defence.... but good! The idea is to play Bd6 to defend h2.} Rd8 $8 (14... O-O-O $2 15. Be7 $1 $16) (14... Ng4 $2 15. Bd6 $18) 15. Re1 Ng4 16. Nf1 $8 {Black can force a draw, but can also play for more:} Nxf2 (16... Qxf2+ 17. Kh1 Qh4+ $11) 17. Qd2 Rh6 $5 (17... Nh3+ 18. Kh1 Nf2+ $11 ) 18. Qb4 $13) 14... Ng4 $8 15. fxg4 $8 hxg4 $8 {[#] premove} 16. Rxf5 $2 $146 {Novelty! Yep, this has all happened before... between two IMs.} (16. Rf4 $6 { is weak:} Qh2+ 17. Kf2 (17. Kf1 $2 Qg3 $19) 17... g3+ 18. Ke1 Qxg2 $17 { and White can avoid mate, but the g3-pawn is expensive.}) (16. Bxg4 $8 Bxg4 ({ Black can repeat for a draw with} 16... Qh2+ 17. Kf2 Qh4+ 18. Kg1 $8 Qh2+ $11) {White might survive with} 17. Qc2 $8 $13 ({The IM game went} 17. Qe1 $2 Qh2+ 18. Kf2 Rh5 $1 $19 19. Rh1 Rf5+ $8 20. Nf3 Rxf3+ $8 21. Ke2 Qxg2+ 22. Kd1 Rf2+ {0-1 Lu,C (2203)-Vo,T (2399) Johor, 2017.}) 17... Qh2+ (17... Qh1+ 18. Kf2 Qh4+ 19. Kg1 $13 {Black can repeat for a draw.}) (17... f5 $5 {Leelenstein and Fat Fritz} 18. Rf4 $8 O-O-O $15) 18. Kf2 Rh5 19. Nxe4 $8 Rf5+ 20. Ke1 Rxf1+ $1 21. Kxf1 Bf5 $8 {threatening ...Qh1+ then ...Qh4.} 22. Nd6+ $1 Qxd6 23. Qf2 $15 { with equal material and opposite Bs.}) 16... Qh1+ $1 17. Kf2 g3+ $8 {premove} 18. Kxg3 Qh4# 0-1 [Event "CAN-ch"] [Site "Winnipeg CAN"] [Date "1986.07.??"] [Round "4"] [White "Hamilton, Robert"] [Black "Nickoloff, Bryon"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A13"] [WhiteElo "2372"] [BlackElo "2420"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "1986.07.12"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "15"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. Qc2 c5 4. a3 Ba5 5. Ne4 d6 6. b4 cxb4 7. c5 dxc5 8. Qxc5 Na6 9. Qb5+ Kf8 10. axb4 Bb6 (10... Bxb4 $4 11. Rxa6 $18) 11. e3 Nf6 {[#] What happens if White takes on f6?} 12. Nxf6 Qxf6 $4 (12... gxf6 $8 13. Ba3 $16) 13. Rxa6 $8 $18 bxa6 14. Qc6 Qa1 $1 {Good try.} (14... Rb8 15. Qd6+ $18) 15. Ne2 $8 ({It's never too late to blunder away the win...} 15. Kd1 $4 Ke7 $1 $19 16. Qxa8 Bd7 17. Qxh8 Ba4+ $19 {White is going to lose both Bs and still have an unsafe K and no development.}) 1-0 [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"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Embiggened"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2020.04.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bc4 Nb6 7. Be2 Nc6 8. d4 Bd7 9. O-O a6 $6 {[#]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 12 and Leelenstein 15 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 {[#] SF12 rates this position as +6.6, but I played the next phase so badly that my advantage is minimal after 10 more moves.} 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 $142 $1) 19... Be6 (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 (24. Qe2 $142 O-O 25. Bc5 $18 {with a material-winning bind.}) 24... Kxf7 25. Bb6 $6 $14 (25. Ng5+ $142 $16) 25... Ke6 $2 26. Ng5+ $1 Kf6 27. f4 Nc8 28. Re1 $1 Kg6 $1 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 Rd2 42. Be3 Rc2 43. Bb6 g6 44. Bd8+ Ke6 45. Rg7 Kd5 46. Rxg6 Ke4 47. Kg3 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 54. Be5 b5 55. g4 Nc4 56. gxf5 Nxe5 57. fxe5 Kxe5 58. Nxe4 Kxf5 59. Rg4 1-0 [Event "Match"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1975.12.20"] [Round "1"] [White "Coudari, Camille"] [Black "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A26"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "1977.??.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. c4 d6 6. Nc3 e5 7. d3 Nc6 8. Rb1 Nh5 9. Nd5 f5 10. Bg5 Qd7 11. Qd2 f4 {[#] It's a King's English where Black has played the typical ...f4 break, which here also threatens to trap the Bg5. What should White do?} 12. gxf4 $2 {A serious mistake, but it's not at all easy to see how White can get enough play for his endangered Bg5.} (12. Nh4 $5) (12. g4 $6 Qxg4 (12... h6 $17) 13. Nxc7 h6 $17 {is similar to the game, but Black doesn't have f4 for an attacking piece.}) (12. b4 $142 $1 {To deflect the Nc6 from e7.} h6 13. b5 hxg5 (13... Nd4 14. Nxd4 hxg5 15. Nc2 $14) 14. bxc6 bxc6 {It looks like White will get crushed by Black's kingside and central pawns, but there 's a saving trick:} 15. Nxg5 $5 {tactically saves the Nd5 with the fork to Ra8.} (15. Qa5 $5) (15. Nc3 $2 g4 $19) 15... Bh6 16. Ne6 $1 $13) 12... h6 $8 13. fxe5 {The critical line.} (13. Bh4 exf4 $19 {and ...g5.}) 13... hxg5 $8 14. e6 Qxe6 $3 (14... Qd8 15. Qxg5 $1 (15. Nxg5 Ne7 $17) 15... Bxe6 16. Qxg6 Bf7 {material is equal; the computer prefers Black but a human might not like this.}) 15. Nxc7 Qd7 16. Nxa8 {[#] A really good position to test your evaluation with the computer's. Who is better and why? Materially, White has a big advantage (Rpp vs B). The Na8 is probably a goner, and if we count it as lost then White has an insignificant material advantage (Rpp vs BN) . Black obviously has attacking chances on the kingside, but how much is that worth? In fact, Stockfish 12 says Black is winning: -3.7. How can that be? Here is a neat trick to help understand computer engine evaluations using your chess software's copy-and-paste: copy the position and paste it into a new board; then, edit the new board [in ChessBase, click S] and move one piece to various squares, using the engine to evaluate each, then compare the evaluations. For instance, in this position, move offside and unsafe Na8 to: -- the offside but safe square a1 and... the computer says Black is still winning (-2); -- the safe but more active a3... then Black is only a little bit better (-.5); -- the safe and active c3, then... White is winning (+3). So the key here is not material, but the activity of the pieces. More specifically, Black's greater power to get pieces into the attack than White's to get pieces over to defend. There are too many defensive tries to fully analyze here, so the variations which follow show just a few of Black's winning maneuvers.} Nf4 $8 17. Ne1 (17. Kh1 Nxg2 18. Kxg2 (18. Qxg5 Nf4 { and an eventual ...Bb7 will be curtains.}) 18... Qh3+ 19. Kg1 Rxf3 $1 20. exf3 Be5 $19) 17... Be5 $1 (17... Nd4 $1 {also works, but is more complicated.} 18. e3 Nxg2 19. exd4 Nxe1 20. Rfxe1 Qg4+ 21. Kf1 Qf3 $19 {and ...Bh3+}) 18. e3 Qh7 $8 (18... Nxg2 $2 19. Nxg2 Qh7 20. f4 $13) 19. f3 (19. exf4 Bxf4 {threatening mate and the Q.}) 19... Nxg2 20. Qxg2 Bh3 21. Qxg5 (21. Qf2 Bxf1 22. Kxf1 Rxa8 $19) 21... Rf5 $1 22. Qxf5 gxf5 0-1 [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 "Chess Canada Embiggened"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2020.04.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d6 5. d4 Bg4 6. d5 Ne7 7. Be2 Nd7 8. e4 { [#]Critical Position KID-style with ...g6 or something else?} g6 $2 {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.} (8... f5 $2 9. Ng5 $18) (8... Bxf3 $142 9. Bxf3 g6 $14 {Black has conceded the B-pair and space, but it's better than the game line.}) 9. h4 { Not a bad idea, but White missed the tactical solution} (9. Nxe5 $1 {which wins a pawn since} Bxe2 10. Nxd7 $8 Bxd1 $4 11. Nf6# {takes advantage of the move 8...g6}) 9... Bg7 10. Ng5 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 h6 12. Nf3 O-O 13. h5 g5 14. g4 f6 15. Be3 Rf7 16. Nd2 c5 17. O-O a6 18. a3 Nc8 19. b4 b6 20. Rfb1 Ra7 21. Nf1 Rc7 22. Ng3 Ne7 23. bxc5 bxc5 24. Qc2 Ra7 25. Qa4 Nb6 26. Qa5 Nec8 27. Na4 Rfb7 { [#]} 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 Nd7 32. Rxb8 Nxb8 33. Rb1 Nd7 34. Nf5 Bf8 35. c6 Ndb6 36. Rxb6 Nxb6 37. Qxb6 Ra8 38. Nc7 Rb8 39. Nxe8 Rxb6 40. c7 Rb1+ 41. Kg2 Rc1 42. d6 1-0 [Event "North Bay op"] [Site "North Bay"] [Date "1996.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Southam, Todd"] [Black "Cote, Jacques"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteElo "2290"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "1996.08.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 Nf6 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 c6 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Qf3 g6 8. h3 h5 {[#] Black has made five pawn moves to control the light squares. Can White do anything about it?} 9. g4 $1 $16 {SF12 rates this position as +1.6 at 28 ply; more-or-less winning already.} (9. Nge2 {too slow} Kf7 $1 $13 {connecting Q and R and defending g6.} 10. Nxd5 $4 {is terrible} cxd5 11. Qxd5+ Kg7 $19) 9... fxg4 (9... Qd7 $2 10. gxf5 $16 gxf5 11. Nge2 $18 {Hebert,J (2400) -Merstorf,D Metz 1995 (1-0, 41)}) (9... hxg4 10. hxg4 Rxh1 11. Qxh1 fxg4 12. Bxg6+ Kd7 13. Nge2 $16 {material is equal, but White has much faster development and a better pawn structure. (1-0, 32) Egorov,E (2355)-Ankudinova, E (2124) Pavlodar, 2010.}) 10. hxg4 (10. Bxg6+ $2 Ke7 $13) 10... Bxg4 11. Qxg4 $8 $18 {This is the point of 9.g4. For the Q, White gets a R and N, initiative against an exposed Black K, and terrific light square pressure.} (11. Bxg6+ $2 Ke7 12. Qg2 $13) 11... hxg4 12. Rxh8+ Bf8 13. Bxg6+ Ke7 14. Nge2 Nd7 15. Bf5 $1 {Threat Rh7+} Kd6 16. O-O-O b5 17. Rdh1 Qa5 18. R1h7 $18 Nb6 19. Ng3 $1 b4 {[#] } 20. Nce4+ $3 dxe4 21. Nxe4+ Kd5 22. Nxf6+ $1 Kd6 (22... Kc4 23. Bd3#) 23. Ne4+ (23. Bxg4 $18 Qxa2 24. Ne4+ Kd5 25. Rh5+ Kxe4 26. Re5#) 23... Kd5 24. Rh5 $1 c5 25. Bd7+ Kxe4 26. Bc6+ {and Bxd5 mate next. An excellent King hunt by Todd.} 1-0 [Event "Arnprior op"] [Site "Arnprior CAN"] [Date "2011.04.30"] [Round "1"] [White "Pacey, Kevin"] [Black "Villeneuve, Luc"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteElo "2294"] [BlackElo "1751"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2011.04.30"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 c6 6. Bd3 g6 7. Qf3 Be6 8. h3 Bd6 9. g4 {as in T.Southam-Cote, above.} fxg4 10. hxg4 Bf7 11. Nge2 Nd7 12. Nf4 Nf8 13. O-O-O {[#]What should Black do?} Qc7 $2 (13... Rg8 14. e4 $1 (14. Nfxd5 $1 cxd5 15. Bb5+ $18) 14... Qc7 15. Nfxd5 cxd5 16. Bb5+ Kd8 17. e5 $8 Rc8 18. Ba4 $1 Be7 19. Nxd5 Qa5 20. Nxe7 Qxa4 21. Nxc8 Qb3 {1-0 (21) Southam,T-Walker, B Toronto CAN 1993}) (13... Qe7 $142 14. e4 $1 {and Black is in trouble but maybe not lost.}) 14. Nfxd5 $3 Bxd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Qxf6 Rg8 17. Bb5+ Nd7 18. Rxh7 1-0 [Event "Oregon Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.09.05"] [Round "4"] [White "Doknjas, Neil"] [Black "Murray, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "Neil Doknjas"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bd3 a6 7. Nd2 Bg4 8. Qb3 Na5 9. Qa4+ b5 10. Qc2 e6 11. Ngf3 Be7 12. Ne5 Rc8 13. Ndf3 Bh5 14. Ng5 $5 { [#] Critical Position This move sets a trap...} h6 (14... Bg6 $4 15. Bxg6 { and Black loses to Ne6 or Nf7.}) (14... Nc6 $142 {or ...Nc4, removing the attacker on e5.} 15. Nxc6 Rxc6 $11 16. Nxh7 $4 Nxh7 17. Bxh7 g6 $19) 15. Ngxf7 $2 (15. Nxe6 $142 $3 {The same idea, but prevents Black from castling.} fxe6 16. Bg6+ Kf8 (16... Bxg6 $2 17. Qxg6+ Kf8 18. Qf7#) 17. Nf7 Qe8 18. Nxh8 Bxg6 19. Nxg6+ $19) 15... Bxf7 16. Bg6 O-O $1 {Now White is just worse.} 17. Bxf7+ Rxf7 18. Qg6 Qf8 $1 19. Bxh6 Nc4 20. Nxf7 Qxf7 21. Qxf7+ Kxf7 22. Bc1 b4 23. f3 bxc3 24. bxc3 Na3 25. Kd2 Nb5 26. Bb2 a5 27. a4 Nd6 28. Kd3 Nc4 29. Bc1 Nd7 30. h4 e5 $5 31. h5 exd4 32. cxd4 Rb8 33. h6 gxh6 34. Rxh6 Nf6 35. Rh3 (35. g4 $142 Rb3+ 36. Ke2) 35... Rb4 36. g4 Kg7 37. g5 Ne4 $1 38. Kc2 Ned6 39. Ra2 Nf5 40. Kd1 Nxd4 41. f4 Nf5 42. Rd3 Bd6 43. Ke2 Nb6 44. Bd2 Re4+ 45. Kf3 {[#] ...Nd4 or ...Nc4} Nd4+ $2 (45... Nc4 {maintains the pressure on White.}) 46. Rxd4 Rxd4 47. Bc3 Kg6 $2 (47... Be5 $8 48. Bxd4 Bxd4 {and Black has some drawing chances. } 49. Re2 $1 $16) (47... Bc5 $2 48. Rd2 $18) 48. Bxd4 Nc4 49. Kg4 1-0 [Event "Paul Keres mem (1st)"] [Site "Vancouver CAN"] [Date "1976.06.26"] [Round "9"] [White "Tarjan, James"] [Black "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "1976.06.19"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. exf5 Bxf5 12. c3 Bg7 13. Nc2 {[#] It's 1976, when this opening still had that new Sveshnikov smell! Should Black challenge the Nd5 with ...Nd7, or commit the K with ...00?} Ne7 $6 {Challenging the Nd5 makes strategic sense, but doing so immediately costs Black the B-pair, and leaves him with worse pawns, as in Adams-Shirov below.} (13... O-O $142 $13 14. Nce3 Be6 15. Bd3 f5 16. O-O e4 (16... Kh8 $1) 17. Nf4 Bf7 18. Bc2 Be5 19. Nfd5 $14 {Topalov,V (2740)-Carlsen,M (2861) Abidjan (blitz) 2019 (0-1, 28).}) 14. Nxe7 Qxe7 $4 (14... Bxc2 $1 15. Qxc2 Qxe7 $14 {(½-½, 111) Adams,M (2630) -Shirov,A (2685) Chalkidiki, 1993.}) 15. Qf3 {Fork. Tarjan won this 1st Keres Memorial with 9/10.} ({And at least 55 other games, including Somlai,L (2385) -Porper,E (2485) (Borsodtavho, 1991), which continued...} 15. Qf3 $18 Bxc2 16. Qxa8+ Qd8 17. Qxa6 O-O 18. Bxb5 $18 {(1-0, 45).}) 1-0 [Event "North Bay int"] [Site "North Bay CAN"] [Date "1994.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Floyd, Brian"] [Black "Ivanov, Igor Vasilievich"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B33"] [BlackElo "2485"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "1994.08.04"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "8"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8. Bg5 a6 9. Na3 Be6 $6 (9... b5 $142 {keeping the Na3 offside.}) 10. Nc4 Rc8 11. Ne3 Qa5 12. Bxf6 $1 Nd4 $1 {[#]It's 1994, and the new Sveshnikov smell is gone. .. but it's still a tricky beast.} 13. Bd3 $1 {No tricks for you!! Trying to save the Bf6 is disasterous, and must have been what Black was banking on.} ( 13. Qd2 $2 gxf6 14. Bd3 Rg8 {and White can't castle due to ...Nf3+, and f2-f3 allows ...Bh6.}) (13. Bh4 $4 Rxc3 $8 14. Qd2 (14. bxc3 Qxc3+ 15. Qd2 Qxa1+ $19) 14... Rxe3+ $8 15. fxe3 Nxc2+ $8 $19) (13. Rb1 $18 {is also strong, but it's not clear the Rb1 is well placed, while Bd3 has obvious virtues.}) 13... gxf6 14. O-O $18 {Black has a horrible Sveshnikov. Ivanov tried well from here, but White continued to play better and won.} Rxc3 15. bxc3 Qxc3 16. Qh5 Bg7 17. a4 $1 O-O 18. Rab1 Qc7 19. Rb4 Rb8 20. Rfb1 Nc6 21. Nd5 $1 {Offering an exchang for a winning light square attack.} Bxd5 22. exd5 Nxb4 23. Qxh7+ Kf8 24. Rxb4 f5 25. Qxf5 Re8 26. g3 a5 27. Rg4 Qe7 28. Rxg7 $1 (28. Rxg7 Kxg7 29. Qh7+ Kf6 30. Qh6#) 1-0 [Event "Quebec-ch"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1988.06.18"] [Round "8"] [White "Bolduc, Steve"] [Black "Ivanov, Igor Vasilievich"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B34"] [WhiteElo "2230"] [BlackElo "2505"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "1988.06.09"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [EventCategory "1"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5 Ng8 9. Bf4 $2 (9. f4 $142 $13) 9... Qa5 $1 10. Qe2 (10. Qd4 $142 $17) 10... Rb8 $1 {[#]Ivanov is attacking the dark squares again. What should White do about b2?} 11. O-O-O {Not this... but it was kind of a trick question, since White had no good moves in the diagram.} (11. Rb1 $2 Rxb2 12. Rxb2 Qxc3+ $19) ( 11. Bd2 {hangs e5, but avoids immediate disaster.}) 11... Rxb2 $1 $19 12. Qe3 ( 12. Kxb2 Qb4+ 13. Kc1 (13. Ka1 $2 Qxc3+ {wins the N and Bf4.}) 13... Qxf4+ 14. Qe3 Qxe5 $18) 12... Rb4 13. Rd4 Rxd4 14. Qxd4 Nf6 $5 {Funny guy: taking the Nf6 loses the pawn and the Nc3.} 15. Bd2 Nd5 16. Bc4 Nb6 17. f4 Qa3+ 18. Kd1 d5 19. Bb3 O-O 20. h3 c5 21. Qf2 c4 {Oh, the humanity!!} 0-1 [Event "Hoogovens"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "1980.01.22"] [Round "6"] [White "Biyiasas, Peter"] [Black "Timman, Jan H"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B50"] [WhiteElo "2485"] [BlackElo "2600"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "1980.01.15"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "13"] [EventCountry "NED"] [EventCategory "11"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 a6 4. g3 Nc6 5. Bg2 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 {[#] ... g6 or ...e6} (7. Bxf3 g6 8. d3 Bg7 9. a4 e6 10. Bg2 Nge7 $11 {0-1 (73) Hort, V-Fischer,R Palma de Mallorca 1970}) 7... g6 $6 (7... e6 $14 {White has the B pair but a lot to prove.}) 8. e5 $1 {This guarantees White a long-term advantage, minimally because the Bg2 is now unopposed and unblocked.} ({ This pretty liquidating tactic was overlooked by two rather good players recently:} 8. O-O Bg7 9. Ne2 Nf6 10. c3 Nd7 11. Rd1 Nde5 12. Qe3 c4 $11 { Firouzja,A (2702)-Carlsen,M (2876) chess24.com INT 2020 (½-½, 67)}) 8... dxe5 $2 (8... Bg7 9. exd6 $14) (8... Nxe5 9. Qxb7 Rb8 10. Qxa6 $16) 9. Qxc6+ $1 { The real point, and the tactical problem with 7 ...g6: White has a strategically winning endgame.} bxc6 10. Bxc6+ Qd7 $8 11. Bxd7+ $16 Kxd7 12. Na4 Kc6 13. b3 e6 14. Bb2 f6 15. O-O-O (15. f4 $5) 15... Bd6 16. Rde1 Ne7 17. Re4 Nf5 18. Rc4 $1 Rab8 19. Re1 Rb4 20. Ree4 Rhb8 21. Ba3 R4b5 22. c3 Bf8 23. Re2 Kd5 24. g4 $1 Nd6 (24... Ng7 25. f4 $1) 25. Rxc5+ Rxc5 26. Bxc5 Bh6 27. Kc2 Bf4 28. Be3 g5 29. d4 exd4 30. Bxf4 $1 gxf4 31. c4+ Nxc4 32. bxc4+ Kxc4 33. Rxe6 d3+ 34. Kd2 Rb4 35. Re4+ 1-0 [Event "44th World Open"] [Site "Philadelphia"] [Date "2016.07.03"] [Round "7"] [White "Preotu, Razvan"] [Black "Ludwig, John"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B76"] [WhiteElo "2462"] [BlackElo "2348"] [Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2016.07.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Dragon"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2019.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 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 Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. O-O-O Ne5 12. Be2 Qc8 13. h4 Nfd7 14. h5 Nc4 15. Bxc4 Qxc4 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. f4 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qxa2 19. Qh2 {[#] Critical Position It might be pushing it to classify this as an Opening Position, but when you play the Dragon you have to know some lines a LONG way.} Nf6 (19... Kf7 $8 {White is only slightly better after} 20. Qh7+ Ke8 21. e5 (21. Qxg6+ Kd8 22. Qg7 $13 {KM}) 21... dxe5 22. Qxg6+ Kd8 $13 23. Bc5 (23. Qe4 Qa1+ 24. Kd2 Qa5 $13 {1-0 (56) Iljiushenok,I (2499)-Kanter,E (2375) Kazan, 2016.}) 23... Kc7 24. Bxe7 Rxf4 25. Qd3 Qa1+ 26. Kd2 Qa6 27. Qxa6 $11 {Sivuk,V (2532)-Jones,G (2657) Gjakova, 2016 (½-½, 66).}) 20. Bd4 e5 {Black puts up the best defence, but it's too late.} ({editor - nowhere to run and nowhere to hide} 20... Kf7 21. Bxf6 $8 exf6 (21... Kxf6 22. Qh7 $18) 22. Qh7+ $8 Ke8 23. Qxb7 $18 { threatening Qxa8 and Rh7, both mating; those edge-Rs are useless defenders.}) 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Qxe5 $8 ({editor -} 22. Bxe5 $2 Qa1+ 23. Kd2 Rad8+ 24. Bd4 Rxd4+ $1 25. cxd4 Qxd4+ $11 {White's edge-Rs are no help against the perpetual checks.}) 22... Qa3+ 23. Kb1 Qd6 24. Qg5 Nxe4 25. Qh6 Kf7 26. Rhf1+ Nf6 (26... Ke6 27. Qxg6+ Kd7 28. Qxe4 $18) 27. Bxf6 Qb6+ 28. Kc1 exf6 29. Qh7+ 1-0 [Event "Edmonton 11th"] [Site "Edmonton"] [Date "2016.06.26"] [Round "9"] [White "Sambuev, Bator"] [Black "Sethuraman, SP."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B82"] [WhiteElo "2540"] [BlackElo "2653"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2016.06.18"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [EventCategory "9"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Dragon"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2019.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4 Be7 7. Bb5+ $5 { A tricky move which was played a few times by Dutch GM John Van der Weil in the 1990s, but has nearly disappeared since Black now usually plays 6...a6, which is what Kasparov always played.} Bd7 (7... Nbd7 $2 8. e5 $1 $18) 8. e5 Nd5 $6 (8... dxe5 $142 9. fxe5 Nd5 $11) 9. Nxd5 {[#] Critical Position White has played a Sicilian sideline, and Black has to figure out the correct sequence of exchanges.} exd5 $2 (9... Bxb5 $2 10. Nxe7 Ba6 11. Nxe6 $1 fxe6 12. exd6 $18) (9... dxe5 $8 {Best, but not as good as trading on the previous move, because here the Nd5 has extra options.} 10. Nxe6 (10. Nxe7 $5 exd4 11. Qxd4 $14 Bxb5 12. Qxg7 Rf8 $8 (12... Kxe7 $4 13. Qg5+ $18) 13. Ng8 $16) 10... fxe6 ( 10... Qa5+ $2 11. Bd2 $18 {the fork on c7 defends the Bb5.}) 11. Qh5+ g6 12. Qxe5 $14 {with an advantage at no cost.}) 10. e6 $1 $18 {If Black had first exchanged on e5 then we take off the pawns on f4 and d6; this difference is that here the d6-pawn does not allow the black Q to defend d5 after ...Bxb5, and that matters.} Bc6 (10... Bxb5 11. exf7+ Kxf7 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Qxd5+ Ke8 { and takes on b5 with an extra pawn and a winning advantage.}) (10... fxe6 11. Nxe6 $18 Bh4+ (11... Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qxb5 $2 13. Nc7+ $18) 12. g3 Qe7 13. Bxd7+ ( 13. O-O $1) 13... Kxd7 14. f5 Bf6 15. Qxd5 Nc6 16. O-O Rae8 17. Bf4 g5 18. Rfe1 gxf4 19. Nc5+ {1-0 Klinger,J (2450)-Ammann,P (2220) Velden, 1994.}) 11. exf7+ Kxf7 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Nxc6 Nxc6 14. Qxd5+ Kf8 15. Qxc6 $18 {White is up two pawns for nothing and converted with no drama.} Rc8 16. Qe4 Bh4+ 17. g3 d5 18. Qf5+ Bf6 19. O-O Qb6+ 20. Rf2 Re8 21. Kf1 Qc6 22. Bd2 Re4 23. Bc3 d4 24. Bb4+ Kf7 25. Qc5 Qa6+ 26. Kg1 Rd8 27. Ba5 Rd7 28. Re1 Rxe1+ 29. Bxe1 Kg8 30. Qf5 Rd8 31. Ba5 Re8 32. Qd5+ Kh8 33. Bc7 h6 34. Be5 Rd8 35. Qe4 Re8 36. b3 Qxa2 37. Qc6 Rf8 38. Qc5 Kg8 39. Qxd4 Bxe5 40. Qxe5 Qa6 41. Rd2 Qb6+ 42. Kg2 Rc8 43. c4 Rb8 44. Rd3 Kh7 45. Qe4+ Kh8 46. f5 Qf6 47. Kh3 Rf8 48. Rd5 Rb8 49. c5 a5 50. Re5 Qf7 51. c6 Rd8 52. Qf3 Qc7 53. Re6 Qf7 54. Qg4 Qf8 55. Qg6 Qg8 56. c7 Rf8 57. Re7 Rc8 58. f6 1-0 [Event "CAN-ch"] [Site "Vancouver CAN"] [Date "1951.08.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Anderson, Frank"] [Black "Hayes, Rea"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C09"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "1951.08.24"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "12"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Ngf3 Nc6 6. Bb5 a6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. O-O Be6 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Nb3 Be7 11. Nbd4 Qd6 12. Re1 Nf6 13. Ne5 {[#]What should White do after ...c5? After ...Rc8?} c5 (13... Rc8 14. Nxf7 (14. Bf4 { is also very strong.}) 14... Kxf7 (14... Bxf7 15. Nf5 $18) 15. Rxe6 $18) 14. Nxf7 $8 $18 Kxf7 15. Nxe6 $8 (15. Rxe6 $4 Qd7 $17) 15... Ne4 16. Nf4 {Simplest. } (16. Nc7 $1 {is unnecessarily tricky;} Rad8 17. Qf3+ Bf6 18. Bf4 $18) 16... Rhd8 17. c4 $1 dxc4 18. Qc2 Nf6 19. Qxc4+ Ke8 20. Ne6 1-0 [Event "41st Olympiad Tromso"] [Site "Tromso"] [Date "2014.08.14"] [Round "11"] [White "Yuan, Yuanling"] [Black "Repkova, Eva"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2241"] [BlackElo "2350"] [Annotator "Yuanling Yuan"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.02"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.06.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.02.28"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 a6 6. Nf3 c5 7. Be3 Nc6 8. Qd2 b5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 {Diagram [#]Critical Position What happens if 10.Bd3} 10. Bd3 { I had prepared for this line well before the game. My opponent threw me a questionable look after I played Bd3, clearly thinking that I had just blundered; but she did spent 15 minutes before replying with the natural move.. . Negi's book has excellent short strategic summaries. About this position he writes: "When going through the variations ahead, you should keep in mind that White's main strategic plan involves playing against Black's 'bad' light-squared bishop. As long as Black's counterplay (such as ...f6 or ... g5) can be kept under control, virtually any endgame with a white knight established on d4 and the black bishop still on the board will be more pleasant for White. The computer does not always agree, and I cannot say if the machine is objectively right or not. What I do know is that a practical game, such positions are always easier to play with White, who can improve his position slowly, while Black's position can feel suffocating." - Parimarjan Negi, GM Repertoire 1.e4 vol.1 (Quality Chess, 2014).} d4 $2 {A move that turns out to be a mistake.} (10... Qb6 {is the correct response for Black. editor - Negi's book gives several pages of analysis here, beginning with: 10.. .Qb6 11.Bf2! Bb7!? (or 11 ...b4, or 11...00) 12.a3!N.}) 11. Nxd4 {After I played this she spent 30-40 minutes thinking, during which I toured the playing hall and watched some of the final battles of the Olympiad.} Nxd4 12. Ne4 {This is the critical response, threatening Bxd4, followed by Nd6 and Be4, with a double-attack on the Bd4 and Ra8.} Qh4+ ({editor -} 12... Bb6 13. Nd6+ Kf8 14. Be4 $18) ({editor -} 12... Qb6 13. Nxc5 Nxc5 (13... Qxc5 14. c3 $16) 14. Bxd4 Nxd3+ 15. Qxd3 {and White is just up a P.}) 13. Bf2 Qg4 ({editor -} 13... Nxc2+ $146 14. Bxc2 (14. Qxc2 $2 Bb4+ $15) 14... Bxf2+ 15. Qxf2 Qxf2+ 16. Kxf2 {"Black falls a long way short of equality in the endgame" - Negi.} Ke7 { White has a big lead in development and some weak dark squares to go after, but Black might still hold - editor.}) 14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. Nd6+ Ke7 16. Be4 $18 Bxb2 17. Rb1 {[#]} Ra7 (17... Ba3 18. Bxa8 Bc5 19. Bf3 Qg6 20. Ne4 Rd8 21. Rd1 Bb6 22. Qb4+ {1-0 Karjakin,S -Topalov,V Kiev (rapid), 2013.}) 18. Rxb2 { The last few moves were forced.} Rc7 19. O-O Nc5 $2 {Another blunder. However, White was already much better in this position.} 20. h3 Qg3 21. Nf5+ $1 { The win was simple from here on.} exf5 22. Qd6+ Ke8 23. Bc6+ Bd7 24. Qxc7 Qe3+ 25. Kh1 Qd4 26. Bxd7+ Nxd7 27. Rbb1 Qc5 28. Qb7 Ke7 29. Rbd1 Qc8 30. Qa7 Rd8 31. Rd6 Qxc2 32. Rfd1 Qc8 33. Qd4 {threatening ...e6 and then ...Qxg7 then ... Rxe6#. My opponent resigned. This game was perhaps the most seamless and effortless one I played throughout the entire tournament. Preparing for a few hours before each game eventually pays off. - Yuanling Yuan} 1-0 [Event "RA November Open"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2013.11.10"] [Round "4"] [White "Pacey, Kevin"] [Black "Forget, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C15"] [WhiteElo "2243"] [BlackElo "1885"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2013.12"] [SourceDate "2014.01.14"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.01.17"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Ne7 6. Bd3 dxe4 7. Bxe4 c5 8. Nf3 Nbc6 9. O-O O-O {Diagram [#]Critical Position Is Bxh7+ sound?} 10. Bxh7+ $5 {If White had a pawn on e5 then Bxh7+ would be automatic: it's an obvious win. Here it's not nearly so clear.} Kxh7 11. Ng5+ {Black has to choose where to put his King: h6, g8 or g6.} Kg8 $4 {This makes it toooooo easy.} (11... Kh6 $2 12. Nxf7+ $18 {White wins the Qd8 and two pawns for two minor pieces}) ({ Black's only move is} 11... Kg6 $8 {White can force a draw with the most "normal" continuation:} 12. h4 $1 {[#] This lets White play for more, and may actually lead to an advantage, though the position is too complex for a definitive analysis. White's immediate threat is h5+, forcing the Black K off its only safe square. I'll consider three defences: 12...Nf5 trying to make space for the K on e7; 12...Rh8 to stop h4-h5+; 12...f5 stopping Qg4.} (12. Qg4 f5 $8 13. Qg3 f4 {transposes to the next line.}) (12. Qd3+ f5 (12... Nf5 $1 13. g4 f6 14. gxf5+ exf5 15. Nh3 Kh7 $15) 13. Qg3 f4 $1 (13... Kf6 $2 14. Bf4 $36) 14. Bxf4 Nf5 $8 15. Qg4 (15. Qh3 $6 Rh8 16. Qd3 e5 $1 $15) (15. Qd3 $5 e5 16. Bc1 cxd4 17. g4 dxc3 18. gxf5+ Bxf5 19. Qg3 $13) 15... Nh6 $8 16. Qg3 $8 Nf5 $11) 12... f5 (12... Nf5 $2 13. Qg4 $1 Qd5 (13... Nh6 $2 14. h5+ Kf6 15. Nh7+ Ke7 16. Qxg7 $18) (13... Kf6 14. Nxe6 $1 $18) 14. Nxe6+ $1 (14. h5+ $2 Kf6 $15) 14... Kh7 15. Nxf8+ Kg8 16. Qh5 $1 $18) (12... Rh8 13. Qg4 $8 (13. Qd3+ $2 Nf5 $8 $17) 13... f5 $8 (13... e5 $2 14. Ne6+ Kf6 15. Bg5+ Kg6 16. Bxe7+ {and mate-in-two.}) 14. Qg3 Kf6 (14... f4 $5 15. Qxf4 $1 $36) 15. Re1 $1 $40) 13. h5+ Kf6 $8 14. Re1 (14. Rb1 $5) 14... cxd4 (14... Rh8 15. Qe2 {[%cal Re2e6] threatening Qxe6 mating.} Qd6 (15... Qd5 16. Bf4 $1 $18 {(/\c4 and Rad1)}) 16. dxc5 Qe5 17. Be3 {and White still has a strong attack, the key point being that } f4 $4 18. Bd4 $18 {wins the Black Q by deflecting the Nc6.}) 15. cxd4 Qxd4 16. Qe2 $8 f4 (16... Qxa1 $4 17. Qxe6+ Bxe6 18. Rxe6#) (16... Qd6 17. Qf3 $1 Qd4 18. Rb1 {It's hard to find good moves for Black. Although White is still down a piece for a pawn, he can get some material back with Nh7+.}) 17. c3 Qa4 (17... Qe5 18. Nh7+ $16) 18. Nxe6 Bxe6 19. Qxe6+ Kg5 20. Rb1 {and the position is still unclear: for the piece, White has an exposed Black K but only one pawn.}) 12. Qh5 $18 Re8 13. Qh7+ (13. Qxf7+ Kh8 14. Re1 $18 {also wins.}) 13... Kf8 14. Qh8+ Ng8 15. Nh7+ Ke7 16. Qxg7 Kd7 17. Bg5 Nce7 18. dxc5 1-0 [Event "Quebec-ch"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1973.??.??"] [Round "2"] [White "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Black "Boileau, Doug"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "11"] [EventDate "1973.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7 4. Bc4 {[#] It's a Philidor. What should Black play, and what should Black NOT play?} Be7 $4 {Definitely not this.} (4... c6 $142 {controlling d5.}) (4... exd4 $142 5. Qxd4 $14 {with more space and easier development.}) (4... Nb6 $142 5. Bb3 $16) (4... h6 $2 {Bad, but the refutation is much harder to see than the game mistake.} 5. dxe5 dxe5 6. Bxf7+ $8 $19 Kxf7 7. Nxe5+ Kf6 8. Nc3 $8 $18 (8. Qd4 $2 c5 $8 (8... Qe8 $4 9. Nxd7+ $18 {(½-½, 47) Xu,E (2056)-Brajkovic,N (2005) Guelph, 2019.}) 9. Nxd7+ Ke7 $14 {(½-½, 29) Kosteniuk,A (2469)-Skripchenko,A (2456) Warsaw (rapid) 2004.}) 8... Kxe5 9. Qd5+ Kf6 10. Qf5+ Ke7 11. Nd5+ Kd6 12. Bf4+ Kc6 13. Qe6+ (13. O-O-O $18) 13... Bd6 14. Nb4+ $8 $18) 5. dxe5 dxe5 $2 (5... Nxe5 6. Nxe5 dxe5 7. Qh5 g6 8. Qxe5 Nf6 9. Bh6 $18) (5... Nb6 $5 6. Bb3 $16) 6. Qd5 {No good way to defend f7} 1-0 [Event "Toronto-ch"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "1947.04.??"] [Round "4"] [White "Anderson, Frank"] [Black "Mallinson, Stuart"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "1947.04.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. Bf4 O-O (8... Bf6 {and ...Be6 are more flexible.}) 9. Qd2 h6 10. O-O-O (10. Bxh6 {is worth analyzing for anyone who plays either side of this.}) 10... d5 { [#]Critical Position: Can White take on h6?} (10... Bg4 11. Bxh6 Bxf3 12. gxf3 gxh6 13. Rhg1+ $18) 11. Bxh6 $1 $18 (11. h4 {is also winning, but the immediate capture is more direct}) 11... gxh6 12. Qxh6 f5 $8 13. Bc4 $8 (13. g4 $2 {is clever, and almost works, but just too slow} Qd6 $1 14. Qh5 Kg7 $8 15. gxf5 Qh6+ $8 $19) 13... Rf7 (13... Rf6 14. Bxd5+ $8 Qxd5 15. Qg5+ $8 $18) 14. Bxd5 Qe8 15. Rhe1 {and Ng5.} 1-0 [Event "2013 Charlottetown Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.05.05"] [Round "4"] [White "Felix, Chris"] [Black "Banks, Anthony"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C63"] [WhiteElo "1933"] [BlackElo "1984"] [Annotator "Chris Felix"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventType "team-tourn"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2013.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2013.06.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. d3 fxe4 5. dxe4 Nf6 6. O-O Bc5 7. Bc4 d6 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. Bg5 Nd4 10. Nd5 {Diagram [#] Critical Position Should Black: A) castle kingside to prepare an attack down the f-file? B) Immediately capture the Nf3 to damage White's Kingside and gain a tempo off the Rf1 with Bh3? C) Play ...c6 to force the Nd5 away?} Nxf3+ {White's play in the game shows why this isn't the best.} ({A)} 10... O-O $4 {(loses a piece)} 11. Nxf6+ Kh8 12. Nxg4 Nxf3+ 13. Qxf3 $1 Qxg5 14. Qe2 $18) ({B)} 10... Bxf3 {(not bad, though White seems to keep a plus.)} 11. gxf3 c6 12. c3 cxd5 13. cxd4 dxc4 14. dxc5 O-O 15. cxd6 $14) ({C)} 10... c6 $1 11. Nxf6+ (11. Ne3 $143 Nxf3+ $1 12. gxf3 Bh3 $1 $17 {unlike the game, this line does not allow White a quick counterattack, so Black's better structure dominates.}) 11... gxf6 12. Bh4 { (helps block the g-file)} (12. Be3 $143 Nxf3+ 13. gxf3 Bh3 14. Re1 d5 $1 15. Bf1 (15. exd5 $4 Rg8+ $19) 15... Rg8+ 16. Kh1 Bxf1 17. Rxf1 d4 $17) 12... Nxf3+ (12... Qd7 $1 13. Bxf6 $140 $2 Bxf3 14. gxf3 Qh3 $19) 13. gxf3 Bh5 {Black will castle Queenside and have the initiative after a well-timed ...f5.} (13... Bh3 $2 14. f4 $1 $132 {as in the game.})) 11. gxf3 Bh3 (11... Bh5 $142) 12. f4 $3 { editor - !! The move of the game: the threat of Nxf6+ and Qh5+ is so strong that Black has to give back an exchange to survive.} Bxf1 {[#] editor: Attacking Practice By material count, White is down the exchange, but since neither of Black's Rs is doing anything useful, it's best to think of this position as White being (temporarily) up one minor piece with the Black K caught in the center.} 13. Nxf6+ $2 (13. Kxf1 $142 $40 Rf8 (13... h5 14. fxe5 dxe5 15. Qf3 $1 $18 {e.g.} Qd6 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Nxc7+ $3 Qxc7 18. Qxf6 $18 { (XRh8 and Bb5+)}) (13... exf4 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Qh5+ Kd7 (15... Kf8 16. Qh6+ Kf7 17. Nxc7+ $18) 16. Qf5+ Kc6 17. b4 Bd4 18. Ne7+ Qxe7 19. Qb5#) 14. Bxf6 ( 14. b4 $1) 14... gxf6 15. Qh5+ Kd7 (15... Rf7 16. Nb6 $18 {White wins a whole R }) 16. Qf5+ Kc6 (16... Ke8 17. Qe6+ Qe7 18. Qxe7#) 17. a4 {(threatening Bb5#)} a6 18. Bb5+ $1 {(anyway!)} axb5 19. axb5+ Kxb5 20. Rxa8 Qxa8 21. Nxc7+ $18) 13... gxf6 14. Qh5+ Kd7 15. Qf7+ Kc6 (15... Kc8 16. Be6+ Kb8 17. Bxf6 {And after ...Qe8, ...Qf8 or ...Rf8 White will have the better endgame.}) 16. Qd5+ ( 16. Kxf1 {This was a better move, keeping the pressure on the black king. Qd5+ was inaccurate, giving black an advantage.}) 16... Kb6 17. b4 Bxc4 18. bxc5+ dxc5 19. Qxc4 a6 20. Qe6+ Qd6 21. Rb1+ Kc6 22. Qxf6 {Diagram [#] The attack is over, I'll end up in the endgame an exchange down, but with a two passed pawns. } Rhg8 23. Kf1 Rg6 24. Qf7 exf4 25. Bxf4 Rf6 $2 {A mistake, ...Rf8 was much better. The position is equal now.} 26. Qb3 Qxf4 $2 (26... Rxf4 27. Qxb7+ Kd7 28. Qxa8 Qd4 29. Qd5+ Qxd5 30. exd5 {This would have been a good endgame.}) 27. Qd5# 1-0 [Event "CYCC 2012 U18"] [Site "Victoria"] [Date "2012.??.??"] [Round "5"] [White "Botez, Alexandra"] [Black "Calugar, Arthur"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D15"] [WhiteElo "2028"] [BlackElo "2404"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. c5 Nbd7 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. e3 Nxf4 8. exf4 b6 9. b4 g6 10. Qa4 Qc7 11. Ne5 b5 12. Qd1 a5 13. a3 {[#]What's better: .... Nxe5 or ...f6?} f6 $4 (13... Bg7 $142 {followed by ...00 and ...f6.}) (13... Nxe5 $142 14. fxe5 Bg7 {Again, followed by ...00 and ...f6. In both lines, White has space, but long-term the Nc3 will be no match for Black's DSB, which will attack on either the h8-a1 or h6-c1 diagonals.}) 14. Nd3 $2 (14. Nxc6 $3 { An excellent move, and the only move that doesn't leave Black better.} Qxc6 15. Bxb5 Qe6+ 16. Kd2 $1 $16 {White has two pawns for the N, a lead in development, and probably wins the d5-pawn with Qf3 and Re1. SF12 rates this position as +2. 5.}) 14... Bg7 15. h4 e5 $1 16. f5 exd4 17. Ne2 O-O 18. Nxd4 Ne5 19. Nxe5 $2 fxe5 $19 20. Nxb5 Qd8 $1 {Black can take, but this move leaves White with no play or hope.} (20... cxb5 21. Qxd5+ Kh8 22. Qxa8 e4) 21. Nd6 Bxf5 22. b5 e4 23. bxc6 Bc3+ $1 24. Ke2 Bg4+ {Arthur won the U18 CYCC with 7/7} 0-1 [Event "Toronto op"] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "1993.??.??"] [Round "6"] [White "Nickoloff, Bryon"] [Black "Dougherty, Michael"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D32"] [WhiteElo "2390"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "37"] [EventDate "1993.??.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 $1 {I don't think Black can equalize now.} Nf6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. e3 (7. Bxf6 $1 {is good too.}) 7... Be6 8. Bb5 Rc8 9. O-O {[#] ...h6 or something else?} h6 $2 {Black is dangerously far behind in development, and getting castled will probably cost at least a pawn (to Qa4 if nothing else); but this makes things worse.} (9... cxd4 $142 10. Nxd4 ({or} 10. Qxd4)) (9... Be7 10. dxc5 O-O (10... Bxc5 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Nxd5 $16 (12. Rc1 $16)) 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. b4 $16) 10. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 11. e4 $1 $18 { And the rest of this short game is extended initiative which White plays perfectly.} dxe4 (11... cxd4 12. Nxd5 $18 Qd8 13. Nxd4 Bxd5 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. Nxc6 $18 Qxd1 (15... bxc6 16. Qxd5 $18) 16. Nxa7+ $18) 12. Nxe4 Qf4 (12... Qd8 13. dxc5 {is a free pawn with a lead in development.}) 13. Re1 $1 Be7 14. d5 $1 Rd8 $1 15. Nc3 $1 (15. d6 $1 {also wins.}) 15... O-O (15... a6 16. Bxc6+ bxc6 17. Re4 Qc7 18. Qa4 Bxd5 19. Nxd5 Rxd5 20. Rae1 Rd7 21. Ne5 $18 {somehow, all the tactics just seem to work for White.}) 16. Qc1 $1 {So subtle, and completly crushing.} Qg4 (16... Qxc1 17. Raxc1 {and Black loses one of his Bs.} ) 17. Bxc6 Bd6 18. dxe6 bxc6 19. e7 1-0 [Event "Hart House Reading Week Open"] [Site "Toronto"] [Date "2017.02.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Yang, Kaiqi"] [Black "Plotkin, Victor"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2432"] [BlackElo "2401"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "156"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Gnome"] [Source "CFC-JKU"] [SourceDate "2019.07.24"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nf3 c6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Be7 7. b3 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Bb7 11. Bb2 h6 12. O-O-O $5 {Unusual. White normally castles short, but unless Black can force open the b or c-files, the white K isn't in much danger; and Black's Bs don't make much of an impression. On the other hand, Black's Ph6 gives White a hook to aim at, and his two Bs are already pointed at the Black K.} Qc7 (12... b5 $5 13. c5) 13. Rhe1 a5 14. a3 Rfd8 15. Kb1 {Both sides have castled, so it's not really an opening anymore, but this position is a test of White's unusual opening decsion to castle long. [#] Critical Position ...c5 or ...Nxe4} c5 $6 (15... Nxe4 $142 16. Bxe4 Nf6 17. Bd3 c5 $13 (17... b5 $13)) 16. d5 $1 {A very strong pawn sac.} exd5 17. Nc3 $1 (17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. Nc3 (18. Nd4 $6) (18. Ned2 Bf8 $15 {and Black's play against the White King should come first.}) 18... Be6 $13) 17... dxc4 $2 (17... d4 $4 18. Nb5 {and the Q and Be7 are hanging.}) (17... Bd6 18. cxd5 {gives White a space and development advantage, since the d5-pawn can't be taken:} Nxd5 $4 19. Nxd5 Bxd5 20. Bh7+ $18 {winning the exposed Bd5.}) 18. Bxc4 { If Black's Rs were on e8 and d8 then the position would be balanced, but where they are now Black's position may already be beyond saving!} Bxf3 $1 (18... Bf8 $2 19. Qg6 $1 $18) (18... Nf8 $2 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Ne5 $18 {wins f7 and the game; e.g.} Nd5 (20... Ne6 21. Nxf7 $18) 21. Nxf7 $8 Kxf7 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Qf5+ $18 {material will be equal for one ply, then Black will have to give up the exchange to save himself from the light-square attack.}) 19. gxf3 Nf8 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. Bxd5 Rxd5 $8 (21... Rac8 $2 22. Rg1 $18 {Black's kingside is toast; e.g.} Ne6 (22... Ng6 23. Qxg6 $18) 23. Rxg7+ Nxg7 24. Qc3 $18) 22. Rxd5 $16 {White is up an exchange for a pawn and with more active pieces.} Rd8 23. Qf5 Rxd5 24. Qxd5 Ne6 25. Be5 $1 Qc8 26. f4 g6 27. f5 $1 $18 {Trading a doubled pawn to degrade Black's kingside and open another file for the R.} gxf5 28. Bb2 Qc7 29. Qxf5 Qxh2 30. Qf3 Qh4 31. Rg1+ Kf8 32. Rh1 Qg5 33. Qa8+ Bd8 34. Rd1 h5 35. f4 Qh4 36. Ka2 Ke8 37. Qc6+ {Materially, Black is ahead, with NPP for the R, but his K is so exposed that there's no way to save the game. In fact, almost 1/2 of White's next 30 moves are checks, which might indicate time trouble, but certainly shows who has the initiative. I've included a few notes the computer rates as improvements, but none of them significantly alter the evaluation: White is winning.} Kf8 38. Qa8 Ke8 39. Qc6+ Kf8 40. f5 $1 Nd4 $1 41. Qh6+ (41. Qd6+ $142) 41... Ke7 42. Qh8 Bc7 43. Qc8 Qh2 44. Re1+ Kf6 ( 44... Be5 $142) 45. Qh8+ $1 Kxf5 46. Qh7+ Kf6 47. Qh6+ Kf5 48. Qh7+ Kf6 49. Rf1+ Bf4 50. Qh6+ Kf5 51. Qxb6 Ne6 52. Qb7 $1 Kg6 53. Qe4+ Kg5 54. Qd5+ Kg4 55. Qf3+ Kf5 56. Rh1 Qd2 57. Rxh5+ Ng5 58. Qh3+ Ke4 59. Qh1+ Kf5 60. Qh3+ Ke4 61. Qh1+ Kf5 62. Qf1 Kg6 $1 63. Rh1 Be5 64. Qc1 {If Black's K was on e4 then the following exchanges would give decent drawing chances; but so far back it can't support the f-pawn or the weak queenside pawns.} Qxb2+ 65. Qxb2 Bxb2 66. Kxb2 Ne4 67. Kc2 f5 68. Rg1+ Kf6 69. Kd3 Ke5 70. Rg8 Kd5 71. Ra8 f4 72. Rf8 $1 Nf2+ 73. Ke2 Ng4 74. Rxf4 Ne5 75. Ra4 Nc6 76. Kd2 Nd4 77. Kc3 Nc6 78. Rh4 Ne5 1-0 [Event "Toronto int."] [Site "Toronto CAN"] [Date "1985.07.31"] [Round "5"] [White "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Black "Karklins, Andrew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2591"] [BlackElo "2343"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "1985.07.27"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Qc2 Nxc3 8. Qxc3 Nd7 9. Bg5 Nf6 10. e4 $1 {[#] White is playing gambit style against a QID; what should Black do?} Rc8 $2 (10... c5 $4 11. Bb5+ Ke7 12. e5 $18) (10... Nxe4 $4 11. Bb5+ c6 12. Bxc6+ $18) (10... Bxe4 $4 11. Bb5+ Ke7 12. Ne5 $1 {With such a huge lead in development White even threatens d5 and 000.} Bxg2 13. Bc6 $18) (10... a6 $1 11. Bd3 $14 {(1-0, 29) Spraggett,K (2560)-Speelman,J (2530) Taxco 1985; which was about a month before the present game; so it seems likely the next sequence was part of Spraggett's preparation.}) 11. Bxf6 $1 Qxf6 {This natural move is bad, but only because of a very hard-to-see reason.} 12. Ba6 $3 $16 Bxa6 $8 13. Qc6+ Kd8 (13... Ke7 14. Ne5 Rd8 15. Qxc7+ Ke8 16. Qc6+ Ke7 17. Qa4 Bb7 (17... Bd3 18. Rc1 $3 $18) 18. Qxa7 $18) 14. Ne5 Qe7 { [#]This next sequence deserves a diagram.} 15. d5 $8 Qe8 16. Nxf7+ $8 Qxf7 17. dxe6 $8 Qe8 18. Rd1+ $8 (18. O-O-O+ $4 Bd6 $19 {and Rxd6 would self-pin the Q.} ) 18... Ke7 (18... Bd6 19. Rxd6+ $18) 19. Rd7+ Kf6 20. e7+ $1 {AlphaZero couldn't have done it better!} 1-0 [Event "Montreal m"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1985.??.??"] [Round "4"] [White "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Black "Hébert, Jean"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2620"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "26"] [EventDate "1985.??.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qc2 Bb7 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 O-O 8. g3 c5 9. dxc5 Ne4 10. Qc2 Nxc5 11. Bg2 Be4 12. Qc3 d5 {[#] A fairly typical QID. Should White castle, or try for more with Bg5?} 13. Bg5 $4 d4 $8 $19 { The Nf3 defends both Bs, so it doesn't control d4. White resigned.} (13... d4 $8 $19 14. Qxd4 (14. Nxd4 Qxg5 $19) (14. Bxd8 dxc3 15. b4 (15. Be7 cxb2 $19) 15... Nb3 $19) (14. Qb4 {the only square that doesn't allow ...f6 followed by . ..Nb2 forking the Q and R.} f6 15. Bd2 Nc6 16. Qb5 a6 {traps the Q.}) 14... Qxd4 15. Nxd4 Bxg2 $19) 0-1 [Event "RACC Olympic Waive"] [Site "?"] [Date "2012.06.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Djerkovic, Miladin"] [Black "Short, Nigel D"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C13"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "106"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 7. Nf3 a6 8. g3 f5 9. Nc3 c5 10. Bg2 cxd4 11. Qxd4 Qxd4 12. Nxd4 Ra7 13. O-O-O b5 14. f4 Kf8 15. Rhe1 Kg7 16. Re2 Rd8 17. Red2 Rad7 18. Nc6 Nxc6 19. Bxc6 Rxd2 20. Rxd2 Kf6 21. a4 b4 22. Na2 a5 23. Rxd8 Bxd8 24. Kd2 Bb6 {Not a pleasant position to try to hold against a 2700 player with the Bishop pair and twice as much time; Miladin plays the remander very well, but (unfortunately) not perfectly. Time remaining: 4:58 v 11:44} 25. Ke2 Ke7 26. c3 Ba6+ 27. Bb5 Bxb5+ 28. axb5 bxc3 29. Nxc3 Kd6 30. Na4 Bg1 31. h3 h5 32. Kf3 Kd5 33. b3 Bd4 34. g4 fxg4+ 35. hxg4 hxg4+ 36. Kxg4 f6 {[#]} 37. f5 $1 $11 {White had 44 sec (+5 sec increment) left.} e5 38. Kf3 e4+ 39. Kf4 e3 40. Kf3 Ke5 41. b6 Kd6 42. Ke2 Kc6 43. Kd3 Bxb6 44. Nxb6 Kxb6 45. Kxe3 {White 23s v Black 3m12s} Kb5 46. Ke4 $4 {[#]} (46. Kd3 $11 Kb4 47. Kc2 $11) (46. Kd4 $11 Kb4 47. Kd5 Kxb3 48. Ke6 {transposes to the game.}) 46... Kb4 $4 (46... Kc5 $8 {Black can win by first shouldering the the White King back before going after whichever pawn is left undefended.} 47. Kd3 (47. Ke3 Kb4 $19) 47... Kd5 $19) 47. Kd5 $8 $11 Kxb3 48. Ke6 $11 a4 49. Kxf6 a3 {[#]} 50. Kf7 $4 {ARRGH!! Time pressure and being SO close to a draw against a chess legend do terrible things to the nerves.} (50. Kg7 $4 { self-pins to lose a critical tempo:} a2 51. f6 a1=Q $19) (50. Ke7 $8 a2 51. f6 $8 a1=Q 52. f7 $8 Qg7 53. Ke8 $8 Qe5+ 54. Kf8 (54. Kd7 $11) 54... Kc4 55. Kg8 Qe6 56. Kh8 $11 {If Black's K was much closer (e.g. on f5) this would be a win since Black can force mate after allowing the promotion; but not here.}) 50... a2 51. f6 a1=Q 52. Kg6 (52. Ke7 Qe5+ $19) 52... Kc4 53. f7 Qh8 $8 $18 0-1 [Event "Quebec Amateur"] [Site "Montreal"] [Date "2014.10.11"] [Round "3"] [White "Zhou, Qiyu"] [Black "Sambuev, Bator"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A84"] [WhiteElo "2111"] [BlackElo "2569"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "138"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.02"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.06.27"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.02.28"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. c4 e6 4. e3 Bd6 5. b3 f5 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. O-O Qe7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Ne5 b6 10. Nd2 Bb7 11. Qe2 Nbd7 12. Rac1 Rac8 13. Rfd1 Rfd8 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Ba6 Nb8 16. Bd3 Ne4 17. f3 Nxd2 18. Qxd2 Bxe5 19. dxe5 Ba6 20. Bb1 Nc6 21. Qf2 Rc7 22. e4 fxe4 23. fxe4 d4 24. Rc2 Nxe5 25. Bxd4 Rcd7 26. Rcd2 Qg5 27. Qe3 Qxe3+ 28. Bxe3 Rxd2 29. Rxd2 Rxd2 30. Bxd2 Bd3 31. Bxd3 Nxd3 32. Be3 Kf7 33. Kf1 Ke7 34. Ke2 Nb4 35. a4 Kd6 36. Bd4 g6 37. Kd2 Nc6 38. Kc3 Nd8 39. Kc4 Kc6 40. b4 Nf7 41. Kd3 a6 42. Bg7 b5 43. a5 e5 44. Bf8 Nd8 45. Bc5 Ne6 46. Be3 Kd6 47. g3 Nd8 48. Bc5+ Ke6 49. Ke3 {editor - From here on the position is 0.00 all the way.'} Nb7 50. Bb6 Nd6 51. Kd3 Nc4 52. Bc5 Kf6 53. h3 Kg5 54. Be7+ Kh5 55. Bf6 Kh6 56. Be7 Kg7 57. Bc5 Kf7 58. Bf2 Nd6 59. Bc5 Ne8 60. Ke3 Ng7 61. Kd3 Ne6 62. Be3 Kf6 63. Ke2 h5 64. Kf3 Nd4+ 65. Kf2 g5 66. h4 gxh4 67. gxh4 Ke6 68. Bxd4 exd4 {[#]} 69. Ke2 $8 {The d3 and e5 squares are "mined" -- whoever steps on one first loses -- but if neither does it's a draw.} Kd6 {As of the time of annotating this game, I've played six times against Bator. This is my only draw against him. :) - Qiyu Zhou} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Oakville Invitational Norm"] [Site "Oakville, ON, Canada"] [Date "2020.02.21"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Vettese, Nicholas"] [Black "Krnan, Tomas"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "2367"] [BlackElo "2484"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] {https://www.chess.ca/en/ratings/#/t/202002069/132215} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nc3 O-O 6. O-O h6 7. a3 a6 8. Bd5 Nxd5 9. exd5 Nd4 10. Nxe5 d6 11. Nc4 Qh4 12. Kh1 b5 13. Nd2 f5 14. f4 $1 Bb7 15. Nf3 Qf6 16. Be3 Rae8 17. Bxd4 Bxd4 18. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Qf3 $11 Re7 20. Qf2 Qxf2 21. Rxf2 g5 22. Kg1 $16 Kg7 23. Kf1 Kf6 24. Re1 Rfe8 25. Rxe7 Rxe7 26. Re2 Rxe2 27. fxg5+ hxg5 28. Kxe2 Ke5 29. h3 $2 (29. g3 $142 Bxd5 $140 $4 30. Nxd5 Kxd5 31. h4 $18) 29... Bxd5 30. Nxd5 Kxd5 31. Kf3 Ke5 32. g3 $11 Kf6 33. c4 c6 34. Ke3 d5 35. cxb5 cxb5 $8 (35... axb5 $4 36. d4 $8 $18 {when h4 and b3+a4 create a outside passers.}) 36. h4 Kg6 37. hxg5 Kxg5 {[#]Glory or safety?} 38. Kd4 $4 (38. b4 $5 Kg4 $8 39. Kf2 f4 40. gxf4 Kxf4 (40... d4 $4 41. f5 Kxf5 42. Kf3 $18) 41. Ke2 d4 42. Kf2 $8 Kg4 $8 43. Kg2 $8 $11) (38. Kf3 $11 a5 (38... d4 $4 39. b4 $18) 39. b3 $11) 38... Kg4 $8 $19 39. Ke5 (39. Kxd5 Kxg3 40. Ke5 f4 {Black wins the race.}) 39... d4 $8 (39... d4 40. Kf6 (40. Kxd4 Kxg3 41. Ke3 f4+ 42. Ke2 Kg2 { Black wins this "race" too.}) 40... Kxg3 41. Kxf5 Kf3 {Black wins the d-pawn and the game.}) (39... Kxg3 $4 40. Kxf5 Kf3 41. Ke5 $18) 0-1 [Event "National Capital Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2009.12.06"] [Round "5"] [White "Sapozhnikov, Roman"] [Black "Upper, John"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C06"] [WhiteElo "2412"] [BlackElo "2228"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "154"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Bd3 c5 5. e5 Nfd7 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Nf3 Bd6 11. O-O Qc7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Bh4 Nh5 14. Qc2 h6 15. Bg6 Rxf3 16. Bxh5 Rf8 17. Bg3 Bxg3 18. hxg3 Qb6 19. Qd2 Bd7 20. Rad1 Rac8 21. Nc3 Qb4 22. Rfe1 Rf6 23. Bg4 Rcf8 24. Re2 Bc8 25. b3 Rg6 26. Bh3 Rgf6 27. f4 g6 28. Re3 Kg7 29. Rf3 Rd8 30. Na4 Qxd2 31. Rxd2 Kf7 32. Kf2 Ke7 33. Ke3 Rdf8 34. Nb2 Bd7 35. Nd3 Rc8 36. Rff2 Rff8 37. Rc2 Kd6 38. g4 g5 39. g3 Rh8 40. Rh2 Rcf8 41. Bf1 Be8 42. Rc1 Bg6 43. Nc5 Nd8 44. Bd3 Bxd3 45. Nxd3 Nc6 46. Rch1 Rfg8 47. f5 exf5 48. Rxh6+ Rxh6 49. Rxh6+ Kc7 50. Rh7+ Kb6 51. gxf5 Re8+ 52. Kd2 Nxd4 53. f6 Re2+ 54. Kd1 Re3 ({Luckily I saw this problem-like win:} 54... Re6 55. f7 Rf6 56. Rh6 $1 $18) 55. Nb4 Rf3 56. Nxd5+ Kc5 57. Rd7 Kc6 58. Rd8 Ne6 59. Nb4+ Kb5 60. Rd6 Rxf6 61. Nd3 Rg6 62. a4+ Ka5 63. b4+ Kxa4 64. Rxe6 Rxe6 65. Nc5+ Kxb4 66. Nxe6 {Diagram [#]} g4 $4 {[The following is a revised version of analysis I sent endgame guru Karsten Muller, which he published in his "Engame Corner" column on Chess Cafe.] What could be more obvious than ...g4: saving the pawn (for now) and putting it on the square the most tempi from the N? I've since reviewed this endgame with the 7-piece Lomonosov tablebases and discoved that of Black's 12 legal moves in the diagram only three of them are losing, the others are ...Ka4 and ...Ka5. In fact, if it was White to move in the diagram it would still be a draw. Unfortunately, when I played the game I had read only the first two pages of the chapter on N endings in "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual"; on the fourth page he shows that when pawns are head-to-head (like the g3/g4 duo are now) the N can safely defend its P without being attacked, because then the Black Pg4 prevents the opponent's K from attacking both the Nh5/f5 and the Pg3. On its own, that would still make it a draw, but the tempo Black spent on ...g5-g4 allows White to win a queenside P and still get back to defend the Pg3, winning. There are three key ideas in this ending: 1. White's only chance to win is to save his g-pawn while stopping Black's queenside pawns. 2. The white King on its own can stop but not capture Black's pawn duo -- taking one would allow the other to promote. 3. If Black's K was somehow cut off from the queenside (imagine Black's Kh3 and g4 pawn vs Kf2 and g3 pawn) the N could stop both the a and b pawns -- it could even win one of them -- but it would still be a draw because there would be no way for White to both stop the remaining pawn(s) and win Black's g4-pawn without losing the g3-pawn. Therefore, if Black keeps both queenside pawns and ties either of the white pieces to the defence of g3 then Black cannot lose. So Black should be concerned about only one of the following, either: saving both a and b pawns, or stopping White's g-pawn. 66... g4??? both loses a queenside pawn and wastes a tempo to create a pawn structure which is easiest for White to defend.} (66... Kc3 $142 67. Ke2 $5 {is playing with fire, but objectively no worse} (67. Nxg5 {more or less transposes to the game,} Kd3 68. Nh3 Ke3 69. g4 Ke4 $11 {the White K takes three moves to defend the g4 pawn, which gives Black enough time to run the queenside pawns, so there's no way to use the N to stop the a+b Ps without dropping the gP. If the white K gets in front of the black pawns to stop them then the Black K can oscilate somewhere in the square of the g-pawn.}) 67... a5 68. Nxg5 $8 $11 a4 69. Ne4+ $8 Kc2 70. Nc5 a3 (70... b5 71. Nd3 a3 72. g4 b4 $1 $11 (72... a2 $4 73. Nb4+ Kb2 74. Nxa2 Kxa2 75. g5 $18 {White promotes with check.})) 71. Nd3 $8 $11 b5 (71... Kc3 72. Nc1 $8 $11) 72. g4 $8 Kc3 73. Nc1 $8 b4 74. Na2+ Kb3 75. g5 $8 Kxa2 76. g6 Kb1 77. g7 a2 78. g8=Q a1=Q 79. Qg1+ Ka2 80. Qa7+ $11) (66... a6 $142 {or any queenside pawn move which saves them both is also drawing.}) 67. Nd8 $1 $18 b5 (67... b6 68. Nc6+ Kc4 69. Nxa7 Kd3 70. Nc6 Ke3 71. Ne7 $8 Kf3 72. Nf5 $18 { the Black P prevents the defending K from attacking both the N and the P, so on } Ke4 73. Ng7 (73. Nh4 Ke3 74. Kc2 Kf2 75. Nf5 $18) 73... Kf3 74. Nh5 $18) ( 67... Kc5 68. Nxb7+ Kc6 69. Nd8+ Kd5 $18 70. Kd2 a5 71. Kd3 $18 {the N goes to h5 and the K stops the Pa5.} a4 72. Nb7 (72. Nf7 a3 73. Kc3 Ke4 74. Nh6 (74. Ng5+ $4 Ke3 $11) 74... Kf3 75. Nf5 Ke4 76. Nh4 $18) 72... a3 73. Kc3 $1 (73. Na5 $2 a2 74. Nb3 Ke5 75. Na1 Kd5 $11) 73... Ke4 74. Nd6+ Kf3 75. Nf5 $18) 68. Nc6+ $1 {#35} Kc3 69. Ne5 $2 {Either time pressure, or White hadn't finished the Dvoretsky chapter on NvP endings either :-)} (69. Nxa7 $8 $18 Kd3 (69... b4 70. Nc6 $18 b3 71. Kc1 $8 $18) 70. Nxb5 Ke3 71. Nd6 Kf3 72. Nf5 {[#] Black's g4 pawn costs him the game. Remove it, and ...Kg4 would draw.} Ke4 73. Ng7 ({or } 73. Nh4 Ke3 74. Ke1 $18) 73... Kf3 74. Nh5 $18) 69... b4 $11 70. Nxg4 { now the Black K can either attack the gP or safely sit on the square in front of it to hold the draw.} Kd3 71. Nh2 a5 72. g4 Ke4 73. Kc2 a4 74. g5 Kf5 75. Nf3 a3 76. Kb3 Kg6 77. Ka2 Kf5 1/2-1/2 [Event "2016 Washington International"] [Site "Washington D.C."] [Date "2016.08.15"] [Round "5"] [White "Preotu, Razvan"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "2469"] [BlackElo "2638"] [Annotator "Razvan Preotu"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2016.08.13"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada K2"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Qb6 5. Nb3 Nf6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Qe2 Qc7 8. g4 h6 9. Bd2 a6 10. f4 d6 11. Bg2 b5 12. O-O-O Rb8 13. h4 h5 14. e5 dxe5 15. g5 Ng4 16. f5 Bb4 17. fxe6 Bxe6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Bxd5 Bxd2+ 20. Rxd2 Ne7 21. Bf3 f5 22. gxf6 Nxf6 23. Re1 O-O 24. Qxe5 Qxe5 25. Rxe5 Ng6 26. Bd5+ Kh7 27. Be4 Nxe4 28. Rxe4 Rbe8 29. Rxe8 Rxe8 30. Rd5 Re5 31. Rxe5 Nxe5 32. Kd2 {[#] Critical position Should Black play ...Nc4+ or ...Nf3+} Nc4+ $2 {Kamsky should have gone after the h-pawn.} (32... Nf3+ 33. Ke3 Nxh4 34. Nc5 a5 35. Ne4 Kh6 36. Nd6 b4 37. c4 bxc3 38. bxc3 $17 {White may be able to draw because of the counterplay with the c-pawn.}) 33. Kd3 $2 (33. Kc3 g5 {looked extremely dangerous to me, but White is in time to get the king back to stop the pawn:} 34. hxg5 Kg6 35. Nd4 Kxg5 36. b3 Ne5 37. Kd2 Kf4 38. Ke2 $11) 33... Nxb2+ 34. Ke4 Na4 35. a3 Nc3+ 36. Kd3 Nb1 37. Nc5 Nxa3 38. Nxa6 Kg6 $19 39. Nc7 Kf5 40. c3 Ke5 {Kamsky was probably confused on how to win the h-pawn without trading it for the g-pawn.} (40... Kg4 41. Ne6 g6 42. Nf8 Kxh4 43. Nxg6+ Kg5 44. Ne5 Kf4 45. Ng6+ Kg4 {Black's winning plan is to control the e5-square with ...Nc4 and chase the knight away with ...Kg5.}) 41. Ne8 g6 42. Nc7 Kf5 43. Nd5 Kg4 44. Ne7 {[#]} g5 $2 {A strange mistake. Black gives up an important tempo because the king will be on g5, not on g4.} (44... Kxh4 45. Nxg6+ Kg4 $19 {With the same winning plan as before.} 46. Kd4 Nc4 47. Ke4 Kg5 48. Nf4 h4 $19 {White won't be abe to stop the h-pawn and protect the c3-pawn.}) 45. hxg5 Kxg5 46. Ke3 Kg4 (46... Nb1 47. Nd5 Kf5 48. Nf4 h4 49. Nd5 Ke5 50. Nf4 Kf5 (50... Nxc3 51. Ng6+ $11) 51. Nd5 Kg4 52. Kf2 $11) 47. Kf2 {The king has gotten in front of the pawn, so it's an easy draw. Black's knight will always be stuck defending the b5-pawn.} Nc4 48. Nc6 Nd6 49. Kg2 Ne4 50. c4 {A very important draw! The few points I gained were enough for me to cross 2500, meeting the last requirement I needed to acheive my GM title.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Match Ivanov-Spraggett"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "1981.09.??"] [Round "3"] [White "Spraggett, Kevin"] [Black "Ivanov, Igor Vasilievich"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2450"] [BlackElo "2430"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "164"] [EventDate "1981.09.??"] [EventType "match"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 exd5 7. g3 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Bf4 c5 11. Rc1 Rc8 12. Ne5 a6 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. Na4 Qe6 15. Qb3 Nd7 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. Nc3 Nf6 18. Rcd1 Rfe8 19. Rd3 h6 20. Be3 Ne4 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Qxd5 Qxd5 23. Rxd5 Nf6 24. Rxc5 $5 bxc5 25. Bb7 Rc7 26. Bxa6 Nd5 27. Bc1 c4 28. e3 Ra8 29. Bb5 c3 30. bxc3 Nxc3 31. a4 Nxb5 32. axb5 Ra2 33. e4 Rb7 34. Be3 Rxb5 $15 35. Kg2 Re5 36. Rd1 Rxe4 37. Kf3 Re8 38. h4 Ra6 39. Rd5 Kh7 40. Kg2 Kg6 41. Rd7 f6 42. Kf3 Rae6 43. Rc7 R8e7 44. Rc4 Ra6 45. Rc3 Rb7 46. Rd3 Kf7 47. Rc3 g5 48. hxg5 hxg5 49. Rc4 Kg6 50. Rc1 Rb3 51. Rd1 Ra4 52. Kg2 f5 53. Rd6+ Kh5 54. Kh3 Ra2 55. g4+ fxg4+ 56. Kg3 Rb5 57. Rd8 Ra4 58. Rf8 Kg6 59. Rg8+ Kf6 60. Kh2 Rf5 61. Kg2 Raa5 62. Rf8+ Kg6 63. Rxf5 Kxf5 64. Bb6 Ra3 65. Bc7 Rf3 66. Bd6 Ke6 67. Bc7 Rf8 {[#]White has been defending an exchange down ending for over 30 moves. Can this be held?} 68. Bg3 $4 {Not like this.} (68. Kg3 $4 {The B has to be able to sit here.} Rf7 69. Bb6 (69. Ba5 Rf3+ 70. Kxg4 Rxf2 $19 {Black saves the g-pawn with either ...Rf5+ or ...Rg2+.}) (69. Bb8 Rb7 $19 {traps the B on a nearly open board!}) 69... Kf5 $19 {With the B unable to return to g3, Black brings the R to the third rank and K to h4 and plays ...g3 to trade White's blockading pawn to create a passer.}) (68. Kg1 {and 68.Kf1 both draw, and are the only moves which do.}) 68... Rf4 $3 $19 {White can't take on f4, so now he runs out of safe moves with the B and Black can advance the K and go into a winning pawn ending by taking on f2 or g3.} 69. Kf1 Kd5 70. Kg1 Kd4 71. Kg2 Kd3 72. Kf1 Rf3 $1 73. Kg2 (73. Ke1 Rxg3 $19) (73. Bc7 g3 74. Bxg3 Rxg3 75. fxg3 g4 $8 $19) 73... Ke2 74. Bd6 (74. Kg1 Rxg3+ $19) (74. Kh2 Kf1 (74... Rxf2+ 75. Bxf2 Kxf2 76. Kh1 Kg3 $19) 75. Kh1 Rxf2 76. Bxf2 Kxf2 $19) 74... Rxf2+ 75. Kg3 {[#]This could be a second Critical Position} Kf1 $4 { The key is for Black to give up one pawn, but save the other with a check from g1.} (75... Rf1 $1 $19 76. Bc5 Kd3 77. Kxg4 Ke4 $19 {and again, the R check on f5 or g1 wins.}) (75... Rf6 $19 76. Bc7 (76. Be7 Rf1 77. Kxg4 Rg1+ $19) 76... Rc6 77. Bd8 Rc1 78. Kxg4 Rg1+ 79. Kf5 g4 $19) 76. Kxg4 $11 Rg2+ 77. Kf3 $8 g4+ 78. Kf4 $8 Kg1 79. Kg5 $1 Kf2 80. Kf4 $8 Kf1 {[#]} {To advance the pawn, Black needs to get his K to f3 or h3; and one way to do this is with ...Rg3 and ... Kg2. White has to respond to ...Rg3 by attacking it with the B from the b8-g3 diagonal, or from the h4-e1 diagonal ; and the only way to get the B to h4 without allowing a skewer is from d8. So...} 81. Kg5 $4 (81. Bc7 $8 $11 Rc2 ( 81... Kg1 82. Kf5 (82. Kg5 Kf2 83. Kf4 $11) 82... Kf2 83. Kf4 Rg3 84. Bd8 (84. Ba5 Kg2 85. Be1 $11) 84... Kg2 85. Bh4 $11) 82. Bd8 $8 Rc4+ 83. Kg3 $8 $11) ( 81. Be5 $2 Kg1 $1 82. Kg5 Kf2 83. Kf4 Rg3 84. Bc7 (84. Bf6 Rf3+) 84... Kg2) 81... Rg1 $8 82. Kh4 Ke2 {The K gets to f3, supporting the P and winning White's B.} 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 "Chess Canada Embiggened"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2020.04.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 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 a5 11. Ne5 Nf8 12. f4 N6d7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Rf3 f6 15. Nxd7 Bxd7 16. h3 g6 17. g4 Qd6 18. Qf2 Ne6 19. Kh1 c5 20. Rg1 cxd4 21. exd4 Nf8 22. h4 Re7 23. f5 g5 24. hxg5 fxg5 25. f6 Rf7 26. Qe3 Ne6 27. Qe5 Qxe5 28. dxe5 Bc6 29. Kh2 Re8 30. Rf5 h6 31. Ne2 Nc5 32. Nd4 Bd7 33. Bb5 Bxb5 34. Nxb5 Nd3 35. Nd6 Rxe5 36. Nxf7 Kxf7 37. Rd1 Rxf5 $8 38. gxf5 Nf4 39. Rc1 $6 Kxf6 40. Rc7 d4 41. Rxb7 d3 42. Rd7 Kxf5 43. Kg3 {[#]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 $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 "2015 Edmonton Invitational"] [Site "Edmonton"] [Date "2015.11.07"] [Round "3.3"] [White "Pechenkin, Vladimir"] [Black "Haessel, Dale R"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "2327"] [BlackElo "2204"] [Annotator "Vladimir Pechenkin"] [PlyCount "161"] [EventDate "2015.11.06"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada K2"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. e4 d6 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O Ne8 9. Be3 Nc7 10. d4 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Ne6 12. Nde2 Nc5 13. h3 a5 14. f4 Be6 15. b3 a4 16. Rb1 Qa5 17. Nd5 axb3 18. axb3 Bxd5 19. exd5 Nb4 20. Nd4 Na2 21. Nb5 Nc3 22. Nxc3 Qxc3 23. Rf3 Ne4 24. Qe2 Qb4 25. Qd3 Nc5 26. Qc2 Ra6 27. Bd2 Qb6 28. Be3 Qb4 29. Bd2 Qb6 30. Be3 Qc7 31. b4 Nd7 32. Bf2 Rc8 33. Qb3 Rca8 34. Kh2 Ra2 35. Kg1 Ra1 36. Rxa1 Rxa1+ 37. Kh2 Rc1 38. Qe3 Rxc4 39. Qxe7 Bc3 40. Qe8+ Nf8 41. b5 Qd7 42. Qe2 Rc8 43. Re3 Bf6 44. h4 Ra8 45. Bh3 Qc7 46. Re4 Qc3 47. Bg2 Qa1 48. Rc4 Ra2 49. Rc2 Rxc2 50. Qxc2 Qa5 51. Qc4 Qd8 52. Bh3 Nd7 53. h5 gxh5 54. Qe2 Nc5 55. Bxc5 dxc5 56. Qxh5 Kg7 57. Qg4+ Kf8 58. Qf5 Kg7 59. Bf1 b6 60. Bd3 Qg8 61. d6 Bd8 62. d7 f6 63. Kh3 Qf7 64. Qxh7+ Kf8 65. Qh8+ Qg8 66. Qxg8+ Kxg8 67. Kg4 Kf7 68. Bf5 Ke7 69. Kh5 c4 {[#]} 70. g4 $2 {It's hard to refrain from this advance with a minute on the clock, but now Black achieves a draw with a sequence of only (but relatively obvious) moves.} ({It is only when I went to sleep that the following move dawned on me:} 70. Kg6 $1 { I rushed back to the computer to confirm that White wins in all the lines with the help of zugzwang. The main idea can be illustrated as follows:} c3 71. Kh6 $1 Bc7 (71... Kf7 72. g4 $1 Bc7 73. g5 $1 $18) 72. Kg7 {The triangle is completed, Black is in zugzwang.} Bd8 (72... Bd6 {loses control of the d8-square and after} 73. d8=Q+ Kxd8 74. Kxf6 {White wins easily}) 73. g4 { Analysis Diagram [#] Only now!} {The most stubborn defence is} c2 (73... Bc7 { is insufficient:} 74. g5 fxg5 75. fxg5 Be5+ 76. Kh7 c2 77. Bxc2 Kxd7 78. g6 { and wins}) 74. Bxc2 Kxd7 75. Kf7 {Remarkably, Black is helpless. For example,} Kd6 76. Bf5 Kd5 (76... Be7 77. Ke8 {and Black has to part with his bishop because of another zugzwang.}) (76... Kc7 77. Ke8 {leads to the same result.}) 77. Ke8 Bc7 78. g5 fxg5 79. fxg5 Ke5 80. Bd7 {and the g-pawn will cost Black his bishop.}) 70... Bc7 71. g5 fxg5 72. fxg5 Be5 73. Kg6 ({Unfortunately,} 73. g6 {runs into} Bg7) 73... Bf4 {The difference from the line above is that the g-pawn can't move.} 74. d8=Q+ Kxd8 75. Kf6 Kc7 76. g6 Bh6 {[#]} 77. Ke6 ({ There is no reason to go for} 77. g7 Bxg7+ 78. Kxg7 Kd6 79. Kf6 Kc5 {and it's only White who can lose here.}) {The remaining moves were played simply because I did not want to offer a draw for the second straight time.} 77... Bg7 78. Be4 c3 79. Ke7 Bh8 80. Bf5 Bd4 81. Be4 {It can be concluded that the decision to exchange queens wasn't a bad one, as the resulting opposite-colour bishop endgame was a win for White.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "CUCC"] [Site "Toronto"] [Date "2015.01.10"] [Round "3"] [White "Gusev, Nikita"] [Black "Qin, Zi Yi (Joey)"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B92"] [WhiteElo "2377"] [BlackElo "2431"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "144"] [EventDate "2015.12.??"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.04"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.04.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. a4 Be6 10. Be3 Nbd7 11. f3 Nb6 12. a5 Nc4 13. Bc1 Rc8 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Bd7 16. c3 Bg5 17. f4 exf4 18. Bxc4 Rxc4 19. Nd2 Rc7 20. Ne4 Bb5 21. Nxg5 Qxg5 22. Bxf4 Qf6 23. Rf2 Re8 24. Qd2 Rc4 25. Bg3 Qe7 26. b3 Re4 27. c4 Bd7 28. Raf1 Bg4 29. Qb4 Be2 30. Bxd6 Qg5 31. Ra1 Bd3 32. Bg3 Qxd5 33. Rd1 Bxc4 34. Rfd2 Qb5 35. Qxb5 Bxb5 36. Rd8 h5 37. Rxe8+ Rxe8 38. Rd5 g6 39. Bh4 Re6 40. Rd2 Kg7 41. Bf2 f6 42. Bd4 g5 43. Kf2 Kg6 44. b4 Re4 45. Bc5 Bc6 46. g3 Rc4 47. Re2 Kf5 48. h3 Rc1 49. Re1 Rc4 50. Re2 Be4 51. Re1 h4 52. g4+ Ke5 53. Re2 Rc3 54. Re3 Rc2+ 55. Re2 Rxe2+ 56. Kxe2 Bg2 57. Ke3 Bxh3 {[#]} 58. Bd4+ $2 {Pushes the attacking King back, which is a good thing, but it puts the B on a square where it can't get to the only saving diagonal.} (58. Kf3 $8 f5 59. gxf5 { looks terrible, but it's a draw:} Bxf5 (59... Kxf5 60. Be7 $11) 60. Be7 g4+ 61. Ke3 h3 62. Bh4 $11 {e.g.} Kd5 63. Bg3 Kc4 64. Bd6 h2 65. Bxh2 Kxb4 66. Bc7 b5 67. axb6 $8 $11) 58... Ke6 59. Kf3 Bf1 $2 (59... f5 $8 $19) 60. Be3 $11 Bb5 61. Bd2 Bc6+ 62. Kf2 Kf7 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 63. Bc3 $2 (63. Be3 $8 { White draws by attacking the passed pawns from behind with the Bishop, where it also cuts off the attacking King.} Kg6 64. Bb6 f5 65. gxf5+ Kxf5 66. Bd8 Kg4 67. Be7 Kh5 68. Bd8 g4 69. Ke3 $8 {Black is up two connected passed pawns, but it is still a draw: the queenside pawns are irrelevant, and Black can't get past the dark-square blockade.} g3 70. Kf4 $8 g2 71. Bb6 h3 72. Bg1 {or Kg3.}) 63... Kg6 64. Bd4 f5 65. gxf5+ Kxf5 66. Kg1 g4 67. Kh2 Kg5 (67... g3+ 68. Kh3 Kg5 $19) 68. Be3+ Kh5 69. Bc5 g3+ 70. Kh3 Bd7+ 71. Kg2 Kg4 72. Bd6 h3+ 0-1 [Event "Saint John op-2"] [Site "Saint John"] [Date "1988.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Ivanov, Igor Vasilievich"] [Black "Sarwer, Jeff"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "2505"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "1988.01.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.06.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] {The following game was played when Jeff was 10, and his opponent, IM Igor Ivanov, was the most successful tournament player in North America.} 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. d4 Bd6 7. c4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Be6 11. Rg1 Nd7 12. g4 Nb6 13. b3 a5 14. a4 Qe7 15. Nh4 Qa3+ 16. Qb2 Qd6 17. Rg3 Qf4+ 18. Qd2 Qxd2+ 19. Kxd2 Rad8 20. Kc3 Rd7 21. f4 Rdd8 22. f5 Bc8 23. Re3 Rfe8 24. Rde1 Bd7 25. Ng2 g6 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Rxe8+ Bxe8 28. Ne3 Kg7 29. c5 Nc8 30. d5 cxd5 31. Nxd5 gxf5 32. gxf5 Bd7 33. Bg2 Bc6 34. h4 Ne7 35. Nxe7 Bxg2 36. b4 axb4+ 37. Kxb4 Kh6 38. a5 Kh5 {[#]} 39. c6 $8 (39. Kb5 $2 Kxh4 40. Kb6 Kg4 $1 41. c6 Bxc6 (41... bxc6 42. a6 $8 c5 43. Nc6 $8 $18) 42. Nxc6 h5 $8 43. Kxb7 (43. Nd4 $2 h4 44. Kxb7 h3 $19) 43... h4 44. a6 h3 45. a7 h2 46. a8=Q h1=Q {and Ne5+ would win for White, if the N wasn't pinned. Instead, Black wins the Pf5 and draws.}) 39... bxc6 (39... Bxc6 $2 {loses trivially:} 40. Nxc6 bxc6 41. a6 $18) 40. a6 (40. Kc5 $2 Bf1 $8 { Black stops the a-pawn and now White has to play carefully to avoid losing.} 41. Nc8 $8 $11 Kxh4 42. Nd6 $8 (42. Nb6 $2 Bb5 $17 {White might have some miracle save, but I doubt it.}) 42... Ba6 $8 (42... Kg4 $2 43. Nc4 $18) 43. Kb6 $8 (43. Kxc6 Be2 $3 $19 {Black now has two diagonals to stop the a-pawn, and it takes too many moves for the N to block one then the other.}) 43... Bf1 44. Kc5 (44. Kxc6 $2 h5 $19) 44... Ba6 $11) 40... Kxh4 (40... c5+ 41. Kxc5 Ba8 ( 41... Kxh4 42. Nd5 $18 {cuts off the B.}) 42. Nd5 Kxh4 43. Nc7 {and Black loses control over a8, since} ({Passed pawns must be pushed?} 43. a7 $4 { Not this one! White gives up control of b7 and Black draws.}) 43... Be4 44. Nd5 $18 {cuts off the B.}) 41. Kc5 $1 Kg4 42. a7 h5 43. a8=Q h4 44. Qb8 h3 45. Kd4 1-0 [Event "2016 World Open"] [Site "Philadelphia"] [Date "2016.07.04"] [Round "8"] [White "Erenburg, Sergey"] [Black "Preotu, Razvan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B80"] [WhiteElo "2585"] [BlackElo "2452"] [Annotator "Razvan Preotu"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2016.06.30"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada K2"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2 b4 9. Nd1 e5 10. Nb3 Nc6 11. Bc4 Be6 12. Qe2 Qc8 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. c4 a5 15. Nf2 a4 16. Nd2 Be7 17. Nd3 O-O 18. O-O Nd7 19. Qf2 Ra5 20. Rfd1 Nc5 21. Nf1 a3 22. bxa3 Nxe4 23. Qe1 Nc3 24. Rdc1 Rxa3 25. Nxb4 Nxb4 26. Rxc3 Rxc3 27. Qxc3 Nd5 28. Qd3 Nxe3 29. Nxe3 Qc5 30. Kh1 Bg5 31. Nf1 Rf4 32. Rb1 g6 33. Rb8+ Kg7 34. Rb7+ Rf7 35. Rxf7+ Kxf7 36. Qe2 Bd8 37. g3 Bb6 38. Kg2 d5 39. Nd2 Kf6 40. cxd5 exd5 41. Nb3 Qc6 42. Qd3 h5 43. a4 e4 44. fxe4 dxe4 45. Qb5 Qc2+ 46. Kh3 Qf2 47. Nd2 Qf5+ 48. Kg2 Qxb5 49. axb5 e3 50. Nf3 Kf5 51. Kf1 Kg4 52. Kg2 g5 53. Ng1 Kf5 54. h3 g4 {[#]} 55. Ne2 ({editor - As far as I can tell, Ne2 is the losing move. After} 55. hxg4+ {I can't find a way for Black to win.} hxg4 ( 55... Kxg4 {and Black can win the g3-pawn, but with the wrong-corner B and P combo and White's advanced b-pawn it's a draw; e.g.} 56. Ne2 Bc7 57. Ng1 (57. Kf1 Kf3 58. Nd4+ {also draws, as the N can give itself up for the e-pawn.}) 57... Bxg3 58. b6 $8 $11 h4 59. b7 h3+ 60. Nxh3 e2 61. Nf2+ $11 ({or} 61. b8=Q $11)) 56. Kf1 Ke4 {This is as dominating a position as Black can get, but White has an improbable fortress:} 57. Ke2 (57. Ke1 {also draws.}) 57... Bc7 58. Kd1 $8 Bxg3 59. b6 Kd3 (59... Bf2 $4 60. Ne2 $18) 60. b7 {and White can oscillate the N between e2 and g1 Black can't make any progress since his B is tied to b8.}) 55... Ke4 56. Nf4 Ba7 57. hxg4 hxg4 {White is in zugzwang and must allow the Black king to go through.} 58. Ne2 Kd3 59. Nf4+ Kd2 60. Kf1 Bb8 61. Ne2 Bc7 {Another zugzwang, White loses the g3-pawn and the game.} 62. Nd4 Bxg3 63. b6 Bb8 64. b7 g3 65. Nf3+ Kd1 66. Nd4 Bc7 67. Nb5 e2+ 68. Kg2 e1=Q { A very important win, as this allowed me to play for a GM norm in the final round!} 0-1 [Event "ShirovSimulOttawa2010"] [Site "?"] [Date "2010.02.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Smilovici, Emil"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C68"] [WhiteElo "1958"] [BlackElo "2723"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2010.02.12"] [EventType "simul"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. d3 Qf6 8. Be3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qxf3 10. gxf3 Bd6 11. Nd2 Ne7 12. Nc4 Ng6 13. Kh2 f6 14. Rg1 Kf7 15. Na5 Rhb8 16. Nc4 Nh4 17. Nxd6+ cxd6 18. Kg3 g5 19. f4 exf4+ 20. Bxf4 Ke6 21. Bd2 Ng6 22. f4 gxf4+ 23. Bxf4 Rg8 24. Be3 f5 25. exf5+ Kxf5 26. Raf1+ Ke6 27. Bg5 Raf8 28. Rxf8 Rxf8 29. Re1+ Kd7 30. d4 Re8 31. Rxe8 Kxe8 32. Kf3 d5 33. a4 Kd7 34. b3 Ke6 35. c3 Kf5 36. h4 Nf8 37. Be7 Ne6 38. Bd6 a5 39. Bc5 Nf4 40. Bb6 Ng6 {[#]Rank the following: 41.Kg3, 41.Bd8, 41. Bxa5} 41. Kg3 $2 (41. Bd8 $1 Ke6 42. Kg3 Kf5 43. Kf3 $11 {if Black stops combining the attack on Ph4 with the threat to invade on e4 then his Pa5 is lost}) (41. Bxa5 $6 {leaves only Black with winning chances.} Nxh4+ 42. Kg3 Ng6 43. Kf3 (43. Bd8 $2 Ke4 $19 ) 43... h4 44. Bd8 h3 45. Bc7 {[#]I think this position is drawn, but it is easy for White to go wrong.} Nf8 46. Ke3 Ne6 47. Bb8 Ng5 48. a5 $1 {A useful move, giving White two ways to try to create a passed pawn: c4xd5 and b4-b5-a6, and c4-c5, b4-b5 follwed by c5-c6.} Kg4 (48... Ne4 49. c4 $8) 49. c4 $8 (49. Bh2 Nf3 $19) 49... Ne4 (49... Nf3 50. cxd5 cxd5 51. b4 $8 Nh4 $8 $11 (51... h2 $4 52. Bxh2 Nxh2 53. b5 $18) 52. b5 Nf5+ 53. Kd3 Ng3 54. Bxg3 Kxg3 55. a6 $11) 50. Bh2 $8 (50. cxd5 $4 cxd5 51. Bh2 Ng3 52. Kf2 Nf5 53. Be5 Ne7 54. b4 Nc6 $19 ) (50. Bc7 $4 Ng3 $19) 50... Ng3 51. Kf2 Nf5 52. Be5 h2 53. Bxh2 Nxd4 54. cxd5 cxd5 55. b4 Nc6 56. Bd6 $11) 41... Ke4 $1 $19 {Black's K invades and White loses a Queenside pawn and any chance to create a passer, after which his N outperforms the bad B.} 42. Bxa5 Kd3 43. Bb4 Kc2 $1 $19 {Black's Ng6+Ph5+Pd5 keep the White K out of the game, and they're all on light squares so they can't be kicked by the B.} 44. a5 Kxb3 45. Kh3 Kc4 46. Kg3 Kd3 47. Kh3 Nf4+ 48. Kg3 Ke3 49. Kh2 Kf3 50. Be7 Kg4 $19 {Black wins all the Ps} 0-1 [Event "Charlotte USA Primary-ch"] [Site "Charlotte"] [Date "1986.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Sarwer, Jeff"] [Black "Waitzkin, Joshua"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E76"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "1986.??.??"] [EventType "game"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] {This was the game that was the "inspiration" for the climactic game in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer. "When I sat down to play Josh, just before we started he said "I am all prepared for d4." So..." - Jeff Sarwer, 2010 USCF interview. http://www.uschess.org/content/view/10007/571} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. e5 Ne8 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Nxc5 10. Bc2 a5 11. O-O b6 12. Be3 Bb7 13. Qd4 dxe5 14. Nxe5 Qxd4 15. Bxd4 Rd8 16. Bxc5 bxc5 17. Na4 Bxe5 18. fxe5 Rd2 19. Rf2 Rxf2 20. Kxf2 f6 21. e6 Nd6 22. Nxc5 Rc8 23. Nxb7 Nxb7 24. b3 Nc5 25. Re1 Rc6 26. Be4 Ra6 27. Bc2 Rxe6 28. Rxe6 Nxe6 29. Ke3 Kf8 30. Ke4 Ke8 31. g3 Kd7 32. Kd5 f5 33. a3 h6 34. b4 axb4 35. axb4 Nc7+ 36. Kc5 e5 37. Ba4+ Kc8 38. Bc6 $6 (38. Kd6 $18 {gets the kingside pawns.}) 38... e4 {[#] Fame and Movie Stardom are at stake...} 39. b5 $4 {"Once I got the winning endgame I simply lost my focus and didn't take the game seriously enough." - Jeff Sarwer, 2010 USCF Interview} (39. Kd6 $18 {preventing the N from redeploying.} Ne8+ $5 40. Bxe8 e3 41. c5 e2 42. c6 e1=Q 43. Bd7+ $18) (39. Kd4 $18 Ne6+ 40. Kc3 $1 (40. Ke3 $2 Kd8 41. b5 Nc5 42. b6 g5 43. Kd4 Nb3+ 44. Ke5 Kc8 45. Kxf5 e3 46. Bf3 Nd4+ 47. Ke4 e2 $11) 40... Kd8 (40... Kc7 41. Be8 g5 42. Bg6 $18) 41. c5 Ke7 42. Kc4 $18) 39... e3 $2 (39... Ne6+ $8 40. Kb4 $8 ( 40. Kd6 $4 Nd4 $19) 40... Nd4 41. Be8 e3 42. Kc3 Kd8 (42... e2 43. Kd2 $14) 43. Bxg6 Nf3 $8 44. Kd3 $8 Ne5+ 45. Kxe3 Nxg6 $11) 40. Bf3 $1 $18 Ne6+ 41. Kd5 Ng5 42. Be2 Kc7 43. Ke5 (43. c5 $142) 43... Ne4 44. Kd4 Kd6 45. Kxe3 Kc5 46. g4 $1 Nd6 {[#]} 47. Kf4 $4 (47. gxf5 $18 Nxf5+ 48. Ke4 Nd4 49. Bd3 g5 50. b6 Nc6 51. b7 $18) 47... g5+ $8 $11 48. Ke5 fxg4 49. Kf6 g3 $1 50. hxg3 Ne4+ $8 51. Kg6 Nxg3 52. Bd3 Nh1 $1 53. Kxh6 g4 54. Kg5 g3 55. Be4 Nf2 56. Bd5 Nd1 57. Kf4 Nc3 58. Bc6 Ne2+ (58... Nxb5 $11) 59. Kf3 Nd4+ 60. Kxg3 Nxc6 61. bxc6 Kxc6 62. Kf3 Kc5 63. Ke3 Kxc4 1/2-1/2 [Event "National Capital Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2009.12.06"] [Round "5"] [White "Samsonkin, Artiom"] [Black "Sambuev, Bator"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C16"] [WhiteElo "2594"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "147"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. a3 Bf8 6. f4 Ba6 7. Bxa6 Nxa6 8. Qd3 Nb8 9. f5 Qh4+ 10. g3 Qg4 11. h3 Qxf5 12. Qxf5 exf5 13. Nxd5 Kd7 14. Nf3 Nc6 15. Ne3 Re8 16. Nxf5 f6 17. Bd2 fxe5 18. O-O-O exd4 19. N3xd4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Nf6 21. Bf4 Nh5 22. Nb5+ Kc6 23. Nxc7 Re4 24. Nd5 Nxf4 25. Nxf4 Bd6 26. Nd3 Re3 27. g4 Rf8 28. Rhe1 Rff3 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. Rh1 a5 31. Kd2 Rg3 32. Ke2 Rg2+ 33. Nf2 Bc5 34. Rf1 Rg3 35. Nd3 Bd4 36. Rf4 Bf6 37. Rf3 Rg2+ 38. Rf2 Rg1 39. Rf1 Rxf1 40. Kxf1 Kd5 41. Ke2 Ke4 42. a4 Bd4 43. b4 Bc3 44. bxa5 bxa5 45. Nc1 Kd4 46. Kf3 Be1 47. Ke2 Bb4 48. Na2 Ba3 49. Kf3 Bd6 50. Ke2 Ke4 51. Nc1 Be5 52. Nb3 Bc3 53. Nc5+ Kd4 54. Nb3+ Kc4 55. Nc1 Bb2 56. Na2 {[#] The Na2 looks bad, but White's pieces defend all the squares the Black K has to cross to attack the White P's, and there's no way to make the White K give way since the only way to take away its defensive squares (e2,f2,f3) either allows the Na2 to move, or frees the Pc2. White has a dynamic fortress.} Kd4 57. Kf3 g5 58. Kf2 Ke4 59. Ke2 h6 60. Kd2 (60. Kf2 Bd4+ 61. Ke2 Kf4 62. Kd3 $36 {is similar to the game.}) 60... Kf3 61. Nc1 Kg2 62. Nd3 Bf6 63. Ke3 Kxh3 64. Kf3 {Nice! White doesn't need the Ph3 to blockade the light squares.} Bc3 65. Nf2+ Kh4 66. Ne4 {Diagram [#]Black's been pressing all game, and has finally restored material equality and now has a BvsN with P's on opposite sides. So obvioulsy Black has all the winning chances... right?} Be5 $8 $11 {Wrong! This is the ONLY move that stops the manouver Ng3/e6-Nf5 winning the Ph6 and the game. I think it's this vigilance -- on move 66 of the last round of a tough tournament -- that separates the titled players from the 2300+ also-rans. Wrong! This is the ONLY move that stops the manouver Ng3/e6-Nf5 winning the Ph6 and the game. I think it's this vigilance -- on move 66 of the last round of a tough tournament -- that separates the titled players from the 2300+ also-rans.} ({For example:} 66... Bg7 67. Ng3 {[%csl Gf5,Yg7,Rh4,Yh6][%cal Rf5g7,Rf5h4,Rf5h6,Gg3f5]} Bf8 68. Nf5+ Kh3 69. c4 $22 Kh2 (69... h5 70. gxh5 g4+ 71. Ke4 $1 $18 g3 72. Nxg3 $1 $18 {Black's B can't stop both Ps}) 70. Nd4 h5 {A desperate try. White wins if he avoids giving Black a free tempo with check.} (70... Bg7 71. Ne6 $18 { the Ne6 controls all the dark squares the P needs to cross on the c-file.}) 71. Ne6 (71. gxh5 Kh3 72. Nf5 g4+ 73. Ke4 $1 $18 (73. Kf4 Bd6+ 74. Nxd6 g3 75. h6 $18)) 71... Kh3 72. Nxf8 hxg4+ 73. Ke3 $18 (73. Kf2 $4 Kh2 $11)) 67. c4 h5 $8 ( 67... Bf4 $2 68. Nf6 $18 Be5 69. Nh5 Kh3 70. c5 Kh4 71. c6 Kh3 72. Ng7 $18 { with the B tied to defending c7 the N can hop out to immediately support the c-pawn or win the h-pawn first.}) 68. Nf2 (68. c5 {gives White losing chances.} hxg4+ 69. Kg2 Kh5 70. c6 Kg6 71. Nc5 Kf7 72. Nb3 (72. Na6 $4 Ke6 $19) 72... Bc7 73. Nd4 Ke7 74. Nb5 Kd8 75. Kf2 $11) 68... hxg4+ 69. Nxg4 Bd4 70. Nh6 Kh5 71. Ng4 Bb6 72. Ne5 Bc5 73. Ng4 Bd4 74. Nh2 {If Black's K attacks the Q-side P's, White can either defend them with Kb3 or trade minors to win the Pg5 then prevent Black's a-file P from promoting by using a KvsK bodycheck to trap the Black K on the a-file. With the draw, Samsonkin secured unshared first place.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "2016 Commonwealth Chess Championship"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.08.06"] [Round "9"] [White "Thavandiran, Shiyam"] [Black "Swapnil, S. Dhopade"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "2344"] [BlackElo "2500"] [Annotator "Shiyam Thavandiran"] [PlyCount "136"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada K2"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Bd6 13. Ne4 Bc7 14. Kb1 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qd3 Qd5 17. c4 Qe4 18. Qxe4 Nxe4 19. Be3 O-O-O 20. Ne5 Rhf8 21. g4 c5 22. f3 cxd4 23. Bxd4 Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Nd2+ 25. Kc1 f6 26. Bd6 Rxd6 27. Rxd2 Rc6 28. b3 b5 29. Kb2 bxc4 30. Rc1 f5 31. Rdc2 Kd7 32. Rxc4 Rxc4 33. Rxc4 Kd6 34. Rd4+ Kc6 35. Rf4 a5 36. Kc3 Kc5 37. a3 Rf7 38. gxf5 exf5 39. b4+ axb4+ 40. axb4+ Kb5 41. Rc4 f4 42. Rc5+ Kb6 43. Kd4 Rf6 44. Ke4 g5 45. hxg6 Rxg6 46. Kxf4 Rf6+ 47. Ke4 Re6+ 48. Kf5 Re3 49. f4 h5 50. Kg5 Re4 51. Rc1 h4 $1 52. f5 $4 (52. Rh1 {Very simple. White eliminates the passed pawn and also gets f5 in with tempo.} Rxb4 53. Rxh4 Kc6 54. f5 $18) 52... h3 $1 {[#]"Passed pawns must be pushed", or "Do not hurry"?} 53. f6 $4 {I showed absolutely no concern about Black's counterplay and this cost me a =2nd finish.} (53. Rh1 $1 $18 { and White still has winning chances.}) ({or} 53. Rc2 $18) 53... Re2 $8 { Now Black gets his pawn to the second rank, after which the game must end in a draw.} 54. f7 Rf2 55. Kg6 h2 56. Rh1 Rg2+ $8 {I missed that I never get time to take on h2 because Black keeps checking, or White has to impede the f-pawn to hide!} 57. Kh7 Rf2 58. Kg8 Rg2+ 59. Kf8 Kb5 60. Re1 Rg1 (60... Re2 61. Rxe2 h1=Q $11) 61. Re5+ Kb6 62. Rh5 h1=Q 63. Rxh1 Rxh1 64. Kg8 Rg1+ 65. Kh8 Rf1 66. Kg8 Kb5 67. f8=Q Rxf8+ 68. Kxf8 Kxb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Millionaire Chess Open"] [Site "Atlantic City"] [Date "2016.10.10"] [Round "9"] [White "Shankland, Samuel L"] [Black "Hambleton, Aman"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C07"] [WhiteElo "2678"] [BlackElo "2436"] [Annotator "Aman Hambleton"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2016.08.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Dragon"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2019.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd7 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nb3 Nf6 9. Qe2 a6 10. a4 Bd6 11. Rd1 O-O 12. Nbxd4 e5 $1 $146 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. b3 e4 15. Nd4 Qe8 $1 {Another move I had prepared on my computer, with the help of one of my training partners in Montreal. This move, which appears crazy at first glance, intends ...Qe5 and ...Bg4, creating immense pressure against the White kingside out of nowhere.} 16. f3 exf3 17. gxf3 Bh3 18. Ba3 Bxa3 19. Qxe8 Rfxe8 20. Rxa3 Rad8 21. Raa1 Nd5 22. Bxd5 Rxd5 23. Kf2 Red8 24. c3 Rg5 25. Rg1 Rc5 26. Rac1 f6 27. Ke3 Kf7 28. Rgd1 Re5+ 29. Kd2 g5 30. Kc2 f5 31. Re1 Rde8 32. Rxe5 Rxe5 33. Kd2 f4 34. c4 h5 35. Rc3 Kf6 36. Ne2 Bf1 37. Nd4 a5 38. c5 Rd5 39. Ke1 Bh3 40. Rc4 Bd7 41. b4 Ke5 42. c6 bxc6 {Going into this forced sequence, I was completely sure that the endgame was winning for Black.} 43. Nxc6+ Bxc6 44. Rxc6 axb4 45. Rb6 Rd3 46. Rxb4 Rxf3 47. a5 g4 (47... Ra3 { appears a much easier win, but somehow I convinced myself that} 48. Rb5+ Kf6 49. Kf2 {might be difficult to win with my King cut off. editor - Black wins with ...h4 and ...h3, and can bring the K around past the R via h5.}) 48. Ra4 g3 49. hxg3 fxg3 50. Ke2 Rf2+ 51. Ke3 {[#] Critical Position Even though 47 ... Ra3 may have been more simple, I did calculate this variation very thoroughly, and saw it right until the end. Unfortunately, I chose another move at the very last moment that I considered to be winning as well, and got tricked.} Rf8 $4 (51... Rf1 $1 52. Ra2 h4 53. a6 h3 54. a7 g2 55. a8=Q g1=Q+ {queening with check and leading to mate in a few moves.}) ({editor - The unnatural} 51... Rf5 $1 {prevents the saving maneuver White uses in the game, and is the only other move that wins.}) 52. a6 (52. Rh4 {This move scared me as I was debating between ...Rf8 and ...Rf1. Although I knew ...Rf1 was winning, I thought that this move offered me the chance to win the brilliancy prize as well as my game! A case of being overly and unnecessarily fancy -- a real shame.} g2 53. Rxh5+ Kf6 $1 54. Kf2 Kg6+ $19) 52... g2 53. Ra5+ $8 {The in-between move that somehow slipped my calculation because the pawn used to be on the a5 square. Very sloppy in the last moment of this game.} Kd6 {We agreed to a draw because White simply plays Rg5 and collects my g-pawn. Instead, ...Kf6 was no better because of Kf2. I was very proud of my opening preparation, especially against a player as strong as Shankland -- but to not finish off the game properly and collect the full point was definitely a sour taste to end the tournament.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "RA December Open"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2018.12.08"] [Round "2"] [White "Demchenko, Svitlana"] [Black "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier-Kenta"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B75"] [WhiteElo "2329"] [BlackElo "2410"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "156"] [EventDate "2018.??.??"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 a6 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. O-O-O h5 10. g3 Qc7 11. h3 b5 12. Rg1 Bb7 13. g4 hxg4 14. hxg4 Nb6 15. Bd3 Nc4 16. Bxc4 Qxc4 17. Nb3 Qc7 18. Bd4 Rc8 19. g5 Nh5 20. Bxg7 Nxg7 21. Qd4 Rh7 22. Rd2 Ne6 23. Qe3 Rh3 24. Ne2 Rh2 25. f4 Qc4 26. f5 {[#]} Nc5 $4 (26... Nf8 $1 {this feels totally wrong, but SF12 rates it as best.} 27. e5 $5 $13 { with standard Sicilian craziness, which SF12 slightly prefers for Black.} (27. Ned4 $13) (27. Nc3)) 27. Nxc5 $4 (27. Nc3 $1 $18 {threatens Rxh2 and Na5 trapping the Q.} Rxd2 (27... Nxb3+ $4 28. axb3 $18 {attacking Qc4 and Rh2}) ( 27... Rh4 28. Na5 $8 Qb4 (28... Rxe4 $2 29. Nxc4 Rxe3 30. Nxe3 $18) 29. Nxb7 Nxb7 30. fxg6 fxg6 31. Qe1 $3 {gains a tempo on Rh4 and puts the Q on a defended square before playing Nd5!, when t center files are going to be open, and Black's K will feel the draft}) 28. Nxd2 $8 {attacking Qc4 and defending e4.} Qb4 29. a3 $1 Qa5 {Black's pressure on the c-file is over and White has better play in the center.} 30. fxg6 (30. Qh3 $1 $18) 30... fxg6 $16) 27... Rxc5 28. fxg6 fxg6 29. Nc3 Rxd2 30. Qxd2 b4 31. Na4 Re5 32. b3 Qxe4 33. Kb1 a5 34. Qh2 Qe3 35. Rg3 Qd4 36. Rg1 Be4 37. Nb2 Rf5 38. Rd1 Qf2 39. Qxf2 Rxf2 40. Rc1 d5 41. Na4 Rg2 42. Nc5 Rxg5 43. Nxe4 dxe4 44. Re1 Re5 45. Kc1 e3 46. Kd1 Kd7 47. Ke2 Rc5 48. Kd1 Rc3 49. Rg1 Rc5 50. Rxg6 e2+ 51. Kxe2 Rxc2+ 52. Kd3 Rxa2 53. Kc4 e6 54. Rg5 Kd6 55. Rb5 Ke7 56. Re5 Kf6 57. Re1 {[#]} Kf5 $2 (57... e5 $8 {with the pawn on the 5th White's checking distance is reduced enough that Black can block with the R, e.g.} 58. Rf1+ (58. Kd5 Rd2+ $19) 58... Ke6 59. Re1 Kf5 60. Rf1+ Ke4 61. Re1+ Kf4 62. Rf1+ Ke3 63. Re1+ Re2 64. Rxe2+ Kxe2 65. Kd5 a4 $19) 58. Rf1+ $8 Ke5 59. Re1+ Kd6 60. Rd1+ {[#]} Kc6 (60... Ke7 61. Rh1 $1 (61. Re1 {also draws by preventing the e-pawn from advancing.}) 61... Kf6 (61... e5 62. Rh6 $11 Rc2+ 63. Kb5 Rc3 64. Kxa5 Rxb3 65. Ka4 Rb1 66. Kb5 $1 {Simplest: Black's K is cut off, and the R can't support both pawns, e.g.} e4 67. Rh4 Re1 (67... e3 68. Re4+ $11) 68. Kxb4 $11) (61... a4 62. Kxb4 a3 63. Ka4 e5 64. Rh6 Ra1 65. b4 a2 66. Ka3 $11) 62. Rf1+ $8 $11) 61. Re1 $4 (61. Rd2 $8 $11 Ra1 (61... Rxd2 {is stalemate.}) 62. Rd1 $1 Ra3 63. Rd8 {Black's rook escapes only by giving up the b4 pawn, and the only other attempt to make progress is by pushing the e-pawn... which is lost without the support of the K or R:} e5 64. Rd1 $1 {simplest} e4 65. Re1 $11) 61... Rc2+ $1 $19 62. Kd4 Kd6 63. Ra1 Rc5 64. Ke4 Kc6 65. Kd4 Kb6 66. Re1 e5+ 67. Ke4 Rc3 68. Rb1 a4 69. bxa4 Ka5 70. Kxe5 Rd3 71. Ke4 Rd8 72. Ra1 b3 73. Ke3 Kb4 74. Rb1 Ka3 75. Ra1+ Kb2 76. Rf1 Ka2 77. a5 b2 78. Rf2 Ka1 0-1 [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "2017.04.25"] [Round "8"] [White "Hambleton, Aman"] [Black "Van Foreest, Jorden"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E86"] [WhiteElo "2434"] [BlackElo "2584"] [Annotator "Aman Hambleton"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Gnome"] [Source "CFC-JKU"] [SourceDate "2019.07.24"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. Nge2 c6 8. Qd2 exd4 9. Nxd4 d5 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. e5 Ne8 12. f4 f6 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Be2 Nc6 15. O-O Re8 16. Kh1 Ng4 17. Bxg4 Bxg4 18. Bf2 Qf6 19. Nxd5 Qd8 20. Nf3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Nd4 22. Nc3 Nxf3 23. Qxd8 Rexd8 24. Rfd1 Nd4 25. Bxd4 Bxd4 26. Kg2 Rac8 27. Rab1 Bxc3 28. bxc3 b6 29. c4 Kf7 30. Kf3 Ke6 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32. Ke3 Rc8 33. Rb4 Kd6 34. Kd4 Rf8 35. Ke4 Kc5 36. a3 Re8+ 37. Kd3 Rd8+ 38. Ke3 Rd6 39. h4 a5 40. Rb1 {I finally made the time control, playing the last 10 moves on increment, but was now faced with a lost endgame. I decided to play on out of spite and self pity mostly.} Kxc4 41. h5 b5 42. Rc1+ Kb3 43. Rc7 gxh5 44. Rb7 b4 45. axb4 a4 46. Rxh7 Rd5 47. Ke4 Rb5 48. f5 {[#]} h4 $2 (48... Rxb4+ $8 { wins the game} 49. Ke5 (49. Kd5 h4 50. f6 a3 51. f7 Rf4 {access to the f4-square is the major difference between this variation and what happened in the game.} 52. Ke5 Rf2 53. Ke4 a2 54. f8=Q Rxf8 55. Rb7+ Kc2 56. Ra7 Kb2 57. Rb7+ Ka1 {wins for Black.}) 49... h4 50. f6 a3 51. f7 a2 52. f8=Q a1=Q+ { the check ensures that Black can deliver a checkmate.}) 49. f6 $8 $11 {Now the game is drawn.} a3 50. f7 Rb8 51. Rxh4 a2 52. Rh1 Rf8 53. Kd5 $1 {[#] The move my opponent missed, reminded us of a famous endgame study where White's King starts on h8 and manages to assist his passed pawn on c6 while catching Black's passed pawn on h5!} Rxf7 54. b5 Rh7 55. Ra1 Rh5+ 56. Kc6 Kb2 57. Rxa2+ Kxa2 58. b6 Rh6+ 59. Kc7 Rxb6 60. Kxb6 {This miraculous draw was the final notch I needed for the GM norm. I did not know right after the game that it would be enough, as it depended entirely on the ninth round pairing, but I knew that I had been extremely lucky in this game. A definite lesson to stay realistic and continue playing as long as you believe there are chances for your opponent to slip up. Jorden went on to win his final two rounds in convincing fashion and came 2nd place in the Reykjavik Open while I went on to score 7/10 after drawing my final two rounds and securing my 10-round GM norm!} 1/2-1/2 [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"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Embiggened"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2020.04.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 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 Nh7 13. g4 Bf6 14. Bg3 Qe7 15. a3 Bg5 16. Rb1 a4 17. b4 axb3 18. Nxb3 b6 19. a4 Nc5 20. Nxc5 bxc5 21. Bd3 Ra7 22. Nb5 Bxb5 23. cxb5 Rfa8 24. Ra1 Ra5 25. f3 Bh4 26. Bc2 Nf8 27. Qd2 Kg7 28. Kg2 Nd7 29. Rfb1 Nb6 30. Ra2 R8a7 31. Rba1 Qd8 32. Kh3 Bxg3 33. hxg3 Qa8 34. Bd1 Qd8 35. Kg2 Ra8 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 45. Rxh8 Kxh8 46. Ra1 Rxa4 47. Rh1+ Kg8 48. Rh5 g4 49. Rg5+ Kf7 50. Rxg4 Nc4 51. Rh4 Ra2+ 52. Ke1 Rb2 53. Rh7+ Kf6 54. Rxc7 Rxb5 55. Bd3 Rb4 56. Rd7 e4 57. Bxc4 Rxc4 58. f4 Kf5 59. Rxd6 Rc2 60. Re6 {[#] Critical Position: What's better: 60...Rg2 or 60...Rc4?} Rc4 $4 (60... Rg2 $11 61. Re5+ Kg4 (61... Kf6 62. Rg5 c4 $11) 62. Rxe4 Rxg3 63. Rc4 Rd3 64. Rxc5 Kxf4 65. Ke2 Rd4 $11) 61. Ke2 $4 (61. Re5+ $8 $18 {transposes to the game.}) 61... Rc2+ $1 62. Kd1 Rc4 $4 (62... Rg2 $11) 63. Re5+ $1 $18 Kg4 64. Ke2 (64. Rg5+ $2 Kf3 65. Re5 $8 $11) 64... Rc2+ (64... Kxg3 65. Ke3 $8 $18 Rd4 66. Rg5+ (66. Rxe4 $4 Rxd5 $11) (66. f5 $6 Rd3+ 67. Kxe4 Rd4+ 68. Ke3 Rd1 69. Ke2 $8 Kf4 70. f6 Kxe5 71. f7 Rd4 72. f8=Q Kxd5 $18 {winning, but difficult.}) 66... Kh4 67. Rg2 Rxd5 68. Kxe4 $18 {Black's K is cut off and doomed.}) 65. Ke3 Rc3+ 66. Kxe4 (66. Kxe4 Rc4+ (66... Kxg3 67. Rg5+ Kf2 68. d6 $18) 67. Ke3 Rc3+ 68. Ke2 Rc4 (68... Kxg3 69. Re3+ $18) 69. Rg5+ Kh3 70. f5 $18 ) 1-0 [Event "London FIDE Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2017.12.06"] [Round "6"] [White "Motylev, Alexander"] [Black "Hambleton, Aman"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B49"] [WhiteElo "2675"] [BlackElo "2474"] [Annotator "Aman Hambleton"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2017.09.23"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. a3 b5 8. Nxc6 Qxc6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Bd6 11. Qd4 e5 12. Qd3 Nf6 13. Rad1 Bc5 14. Nd5 Nxd5 15. exd5 Qd6 16. Bxc5 Qxc5 17. c4 bxc4 18. Qxc4 Qxc4 19. Bxc4 Rc8 20. Bd3 Rc5 21. d6 O-O 22. Rfe1 g6 23. b4 Rd5 24. Bc2 Rxd1 25. Rxd1 Bc6 26. Re1 f6 27. Rc1 a5 28. bxa5 Ra8 29. Bb3+ Kf8 30. Rc5 Rb8 31. Bc2 Kf7 32. f4 Ke6 33. fxe5 fxe5 34. a6 Kxd6 35. Ra5 Rb2 36. a7 Ba8 37. Bd3 Rxg2+ 38. Kf1 Rb2 39. Bc4 Rd2 40. Rb5 Rc2 41. Bg8 Rc7 42. Ra5 h6 43. h4 Rc8 44. Bb3 g5 45. hxg5 hxg5 46. Kf2 Rf8+ 47. Kg1 g4 48. Rb5 Rc8 49. Rb8 Kc7 50. Rb5 g3 51. Bd5 Bxd5 52. Rxd5 d6 53. Kg2 Ra8 54. Ra5 {[#] In a case of very comical geometry, my King cannot leave the d-pawn and my Rook cannot leave the a-pawn simultaneously. I was frustrated to find that this was not as easily winning as I had imagined.} Kb6 55. Rd5 Kc6 56. Ra5 Kb7 57. Rd5 Rd8 58. Ra5 (58. Kxg3 Kxa7 59. Kf2 (59. Rb5 $8 $11 { [%mdl 32768] Lomonosov}) 59... Kb6 $19 {is just winning.}) 58... Rg8 59. Rd5 Rg6 60. Ra5 Ka8 61. Ra4 Rg7 62. Ra6 Rg6 63. Ra4 Rg7 {I had low time here and assumed that pushing my central pawns would result in a drawn position where they can't advance any further. I decided to simplify the position here because I didn't see how to win, but, in hindsight, not playing ...d5 here was ridiculous!} (63... d5 $1 64. Ra5 Rd6 65. Kxg3 e4 66. Kf2 (66. Kf4 $4 d4 67. Kxe4 d3 $19) 66... d4 67. Re5 e3+ 68. Ke1 Kxa7 $19 {should eventually be winning. Black cannot advance his passed pawns any futher, but White's King can never move to e2 in fear of ...d3+. A big missed opportunity.}) 64. Ra6 { [#]} Rxa7 $2 (64... d5 $8 65. Rd6 d4 66. Rd5 Kxa7 67. Rxe5 Kb6 68. Rd5 Rg4 $8 69. a4 (69. Kf3 g2 $19) 69... Kc6 70. Rd8 Kc5 $19 {is also completely winning. It's painful to analyze this game afterwards and discover this many obvious wins on the board.}) 65. Rxd6 Rxa3 66. Re6 Re3 {Holding the pawns momentarily, but we both knew that the game would be drawn within a few moves. I didn't play ...Rxa7 as a winning attempt, moreso as a draw offer because I didn't see how to make progress.} 67. Re7 Kb8 68. Rg7 e4 69. Rxg3 Rxg3+ 70. Kxg3 e3 71. Kf3 e2 72. Kxe2 {My opponent naturally pointed out the many chances I had to win this game in the endgame, which was tough to hear after such a long fight. I can be satisfied by outplaying a very strong player with Black in the Sicilian, but not putting away the full point here was disheartening. Although a good result, the path ahead to a GM norm in London was going to be very challenging because I started so slowly.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Staunton Memorial"] [Site "Groningen"] [Date "1946.08.20"] [Round "6"] [White "Vidmar, Milan Sr"] [Black "Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E17"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "1946.08.13"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "19"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 d5 8. Ne5 Qc8 9. cxd5 Bxd5 10. Bxd5 Nxd5 11. Bb2 c5 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Nd2 Nc6 14. Ne4 Nxe5 15. Bxe5 Rd8 16. Qc1 Bf8 17. Qxc8 Raxc8 18. Rfd1 f6 19. Bf4 Nxf4 20. gxf4 h6 21. Kg2 Rxd1 22. Rxd1 f5 23. Ng3 Rc2 24. a4 Rc3 25. Rb1 a5 26. e3 Bc5 27. Kf3 Kf7 28. h4 g6 29. h5 gxh5 30. Nxh5 Ba3 31. Rg1 Rxb3 32. Rg7+ Kf8 33. Rg6 Ke7 34. Rxh6 Bb2 35. Rh7+ Kd6 36. Ng7 Bxg7 37. Rxg7 Rb4 38. Rb7 Rb2 39. Rb8 Kc5 40. Rb7 Rb4 41. Re7 Rxa4 42. Rxe6 b5 (42... Rc4 $142 43. Re5+ Kb4 44. Rxf5 a4 $19) 43. Re5+ {[#]} Kc4 $4 (43... Kc6 44. Rxf5 (44. Ke2 Rc4 $19) (44. Re6+ Kc7 $1 $19) 44... b4 45. Ke2 b3 46. Kd2 Rc4 $8 $19) 44. Rxf5 $4 (44. e4 $8 $11 Ra3+ (44... fxe4+ 45. Rxe4+ Kc3 46. Re5 (46. f5 Rxe4 47. Kxe4 b4 $11) 46... b4 47. Re3+ Kc4 $1 (47... Kc2 $2 48. f5 b3 49. f6 b2 50. Re2+ Kc3 51. Rxb2 $18) 48. Re4+ $11) 45. Ke2 Ra2+ 46. Ke3 (46. Ke1 $2 b4 $19) 46... b4 47. exf5 $8 b3 48. Re8 $8 (48. Re7 b2 49. Rb7 Ra3+ 50. Kd2 Rb3 $19) 48... b2 49. Rc8+ $8 Kb3 50. Rb8+ Kc2 51. f6 Ra3+ $8 52. Ke2 $8 Rb3 53. Rc8+ (53. Rxb3 Kxb3 54. f7 $11) 53... Kb1 54. f7 $11) 44... b4 $19 45. Rh5 b3 46. Rh1 b2 47. Rb1 Rb4 48. f5 a4 49. f6 a3 50. f7 Rb8 0-1 [Event "CWCC Zonal 2016"] [Site "Ottawa"] [Date "2016.09.24"] [Round "4"] [White "Zhou, Qiyu"] [Black "Matras-Clement, Agnieszka"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C92"] [WhiteElo "2325"] [BlackElo "2308"] [Annotator "Qiyu Zhou"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. d5 Nb8 13. Nf1 Nbd7 14. N3h2 c6 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 18. Ng4 Ra7 19. Qf3 Nh7 20. Ng3 Rd7 21. Ne3 Nf6 22. Rad1 g6 23. Rd3 Bg7 24. Red1 Qc7 25. Ng4 Nxg4 26. Qxg4 Kh7 27. h4 Rdd8 28. R1d2 Bb7 29. h5 Bc8 30. Qd1 Bf8 31. hxg6+ fxg6 32. Rf3 Be6 33. Rf6 Bxb3 34. axb3 Kg7 35. Rf3 Be7 36. Rd5 Rf8 37. Rxf8 Rxf8 38. Qg4 Bg5 39. Nf1 Qb6 40. Qe2 b4 41. c4 a5 42. Ne3 Bxe3 43. Qxe3 Qxe3 {To be honest, I had dismissed this move because I thought the rook ending was winning for me....} 44. fxe3 { ...however, even though I will most likely get at least two of black's pawns at the loss of one of mine, the doubled e-pawns are not very useful. Therefore my judgement was most likely wrong, and it was probably about equal, but Black has to play very actively and well to hold the draw.} Ra8 45. Rxd6 a4 46. bxa4 Rxa4 47. Rd3 Ra1+ 48. Kf2 Rc1 49. b3 {[#]} Kf6 $4 ({The move I considered during the game was} 49... Rb1 {after which it is most likely drawn, because there is no way I can improve the position of my king, or push my pawns.} 50. c5 Kf6 51. c6 Rc1 52. Rd6+ Kf7 53. Ke2 h5 54. Kd2 Rc3 55. Ke2 Rxb3 $11 { [#] Analysis Diagram} 56. Rd7+ (56. c7 Rc3 57. Rb6 Rxc7 58. Rxb4 $11) 56... Ke6 $11 (56... Ke8 57. Rd5 Rc3 58. Rxe5+ Kd8 59. Rb5 (59. Re6 $2 Rc2+ 60. Kd3 (60. Kf3 b3 $19) 60... Rxg2 $19) 59... Rxc6 60. Rxb4 Ke7 $11) 57. Rg7 Kf6 58. Rb7 Rc3 59. Rxb4 Rxc6 $11) ({Interesting was} 49... Rc3 {pointed out by my opponent during post-mortem.} 50. Rxc3 bxc3 51. Ke2 h5 {[#] Analysis Diagram At first glance I thought this was easily winning for White, but in fact it is just a draw, because black can create her own passed pawn on the h-file if white doesn't watch out.} 52. c5 (52. Kd3 g5 $1 53. Kxc3 h4 $1 54. c5 (54. Kd2 g4 55. Ke2 Kf6 {is a positional draw, since neither side can safely advance their pawns or attack their opponent's pawns.} 56. c5 Ke6 57. b4 Kd7 58. b5 Kc7 $11) 54... Kf7 (54... g4 $4 55. c6 h3 56. gxh3 gxh3 57. c7 h2 58. c8=Q $18) 55. Kd3 (55. b4 $4 g4 $19) 55... g4 56. Ke2 Ke6 57. b4 Kd7 58. b5 {[#]} Kc7 $11 { is the same poistional draw as the other line.} 59. Kf1 Kb7 60. Ke1 Kc7 $11 { and neither side can make progress.}) 52... Kf6 53. Kd3 h4 54. Kxc3 g5 {[#]} { editor -} 55. Kb4 $3 {gives White serious winning chances:} (55. Kd3 g4 56. Ke2 Ke7 57. b4 Kd7 58. b5 Kc7 $11 {is the same poistional draw as the other line.}) 55... Ke7 (55... g4 56. Ka5 $1 (56. Kb5 {allows a saving Q check after the promotions.}) 56... h3 57. gxh3 gxh3 58. c6 h2 59. c7 h1=Q 60. c8=Q Qxe4 61. Qc5 $1 $18 {is a tablebase #49.}) 56. Kb5 Kd8 57. Kb6 Kc8 58. b4 g4 59. Ka7 { [#] will be a winning Q v Q ending.} h3 60. gxh3 gxh3 61. b5 h2 62. b6 h1=Q 63. b7+ Kd7 64. b8=Q Qa1+ 65. Kb7 Qb1+ 66. Ka8 Qa2+ (66... Qxe4+ 67. Qb7+ $18) 67. Qa7+ Qxa7+ 68. Kxa7 {[#]} Kc7 $1 (68... Kc6 69. Kb8 $1 $18) 69. c6 Kxc6 70. Ka6 $18 {White has the opposition and wins because her doubled e3-pawn prevents the black K from approaching and gives her the spare move she needs to avoid stalemate.}) 50. Rd6+ Kg5 51. Rb6 Rc3 52. Rxb4 Kg4 {[#]} 53. Ke2 $1 ({editor - } 53. Rb6 $2 Rc2+ 54. Ke1 g5 $1 55. Rxh6 Rxg2 $132) 53... Rc2+ 54. Kd3 Rxg2 55. c5 Rf2 56. c6 Rf8 57. c7 Rc8 58. Rc4 h5 59. b4 h4 60. b5 h3 61. b6 h2 62. Rc1 Kg3 63. Rh1 Kg2 64. Rxh2+ 1-0 [Event "Quebec op"] [Site "Longueuil CAN"] [Date "2019.07.21"] [Round "2.5"] [White "Chiku-Ratte, Olivier-Kenta"] [Black "Ouellet, Maili-Jade"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A51"] [WhiteElo "2364"] [BlackElo "2079"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "195"] [EventDate "2019.07.20"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. d5 Bc5 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 c6 7. Na4 Bb4+ 8. Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Qxd2 cxd5 10. cxd5 b5 11. Nc3 b4 12. Nd1 Na6 13. Ne3 Bb7 14. Nh3 Qd7 15. O-O Rab8 16. f4 Nc7 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. Rad1 Rfd8 19. Nf5 Nfe8 20. e4 f6 21. Nf2 Ba6 22. Bh3 Qf7 23. Rfe1 Nd6 24. Nxd6 Rxd6 25. Qe3 Rbb6 26. Qc5 Qe7 27. Kg2 Bb7 28. Rc1 Na6 29. Qc4 g6 30. Kg1 Kg7 31. Nd3 Rd8 32. Nc5 Qxc5+ 33. Qxc5 Nxc5 34. Rxc5 h5 35. Rc7+ Kh6 36. Be6 f5 37. exf5 Bxd5 38. Rxe5 Bxe6 39. fxe6 Re8 40. e7 Ra6 41. Rb7 Rxa2 42. Rxb4 Kg7 43. Rb7 Kf7 44. Kf2 a5 45. Re3 Kf6 46. Kf3 Ra4 47. Re2 Ra2 48. h4 Ra4 49. Re4 Ra1 50. Ke2 Rg1 51. Re3 Rc1 52. Kd3 Rc5 53. Kd4 Rc2 54. Kd5 Kf7 55. Rf3+ Kg7 56. Rd3 Kf7 57. Kd6 Re2 58. Rf3+ Kg7 59. b3 { [#]} Re4 $2 (59... Re1 $1 60. Rf8 $5 (60. Rd3 Kf7 61. Rf3+) 60... Rd1+ $8 ( 60... Rxf8 $4 61. e8=Q+ $18) (60... R1xe7 61. Rxe7+ Kxf8 62. Rxe8+ $8 Kxe8 63. Kc6 $18) 61. Kc5 Rxe7 $11) (59... Rd2+ 60. Kc5 ({or} 60. Kc6) 60... Re2 61. Kb5 Re5+ 62. Ka4 Kg8 63. Rf6 Kg7 64. Rbb6 $18) 60. Ra7 $2 (60. Rf8 $8 $18 Rxf8 ( 60... Rd4+ 61. Kc5 $18) 61. e8=Q+ $18) 60... Re2 61. Rc7 Rd2+ $1 $11 62. Ke6 Re2+ $8 63. Kd6 Rd2+ 64. Ke5 Re2+ 65. Kd4 R8xe7 66. Rc6 R2e4+ 67. Kd3 Rb4 68. Kc2 a4 (68... Reb7 69. Ra6 R4b5 $14) 69. bxa4 Rxa4 70. Rc8 Rg4 71. Kd3 Rf7 72. Re3 Rd7+ 73. Ke2 Rgd4 74. Rc2 Rf7 75. Rc6 Rg4 76. Rc5 Kh6 77. Rc8 Kg7 78. Rb8 Kh7 79. Rbb3 Kg7 80. Re6 Kh7 81. Rbe3 Kg7 82. Re7 Rxe7 83. Rxe7+ Kf6 84. Re3 Kf5 85. Kf3 Ra4 86. Rc3 Rg4 87. Rc5+ Kf6 88. Rc8 Kf5 89. Rf8+ Ke5 90. Re8+ Kf5 91. Re7 Kf6 92. Re4 Rxe4 93. Kxe4 {[#] Curiously, all Black's legal moves draw. } Ke6 94. Kf4 Kf6 95. g4 hxg4 96. Kxg4 Kg7 97. h5 gxh5+ 98. Kxh5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Canadian Closed"] [Site "Guelph CAN"] [Date "2015.07.13"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Krnan, Tomas"] [Black "Preotu, Razvan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A12"] [WhiteElo "2557"] [BlackElo "2647"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "126"] [EventDate "2015.07.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.08"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.08.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. b3 d5 2. Bb2 Bf5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Be2 Nbd7 6. c4 c6 7. O-O h6 8. d3 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 a5 11. Bf1 Nc5 12. Ba3 Re8 13. d4 Nce4 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Nd2 Qa3 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Qc1 Qb4 19. c5 a4 20. a3 Qxb3 21. Re2 Qc4 22. Qxc4 dxc4 23. Rc1 Ra5 24. Rd2 Bd3 25. Bxd3 cxd3 26. Rb1 e5 27. Kf1 Rd8 28. Rb4 Rd7 29. Ke1 e4 30. Rdb2 Ra7 31. Rc4 f5 32. Rbb4 Rd8 33. Rb2 Re8 34. Rcb4 Re7 35. Kd2 Kf7 36. Rb1 Ke6 37. f3 Rf7 38. Rf1 Rf6 39. Kc3 Kd7 40. Rb2 h5 41. h4 Kc7 42. Rfb1 Re6 43. Rf1 g6 44. g4 hxg4 45. fxg4 Rf6 46. h5 gxh5 47. gxf5 Ra8 48. Rf4 Re8 49. Rh2 b6 50. cxb6+ Kxb6 51. Rhh4 Re7 52. Rxh5 c5 53. dxc5+ Kxc5 54. Rh8 Rc6 {[#]} 55. f6 $4 (55. Rd8 $2 Kb6+ $1 56. Kd2 Rc2+ 57. Kd1 Rh7 $19 {[%eval 32748,0]}) (55. Kd2 $8 {Getting out of the discovered check leaves Black unable to simultaneously activate his Rs while defending his pawns with the K.} Kd5 (55... Kb6 $6 {also lets White win the center pawns:} 56. f6 Rc2+ 57. Kd1 Rf7 58. Rh6 $14) 56. Rd8+ Ke5 (56... Rd6 $4 57. Rxd6+ Kxd6 58. f6 $18) 57. Rd4 $1 $11 Rc2+ 58. Kd1 Rh7 59. Rdxe4+ Kf6 60. Rh4 $8 (60. Re6+ $4 Kf7 $8 61. Rf1 Rhh2 $19) 60... Rg7 61. Reg4 Rb7 62. Rb4 $11) 55... Kd5+ $1 $19 (55... Kd6+ $3 56. Kd4 d2 $8 $19 {is a more spectacular win.}) 56. Kb4 (56. Kd2 $2 Rc2+ 57. Kd1 Rb7 {is mating:} 58. Rd8+ Ke5 $8 59. Re8+ Kd6 60. Rd8+ Kc7) 56... Rb7+ 57. Ka5 d2 58. Rd8+ (58. f7 Kc4 $8 (58... d1=Q $2 59. Rd8+ Kc4 $8 ( 59... Rd6 $4 60. Rxd6+ Kxd6 61. f8=Q+ $18) 60. Rxe4+ $8 $11) (58... Rxf7 $2 59. Rxf7 Rc5+ $1 {is a miracle draw:} (59... d1=Q $2 60. Rd7+ Rd6 61. Rxd6+ Kxd6 62. Rd8+ $18) 60. Kb6 Rc6+ 61. Kb7 Rd6 $8 62. Rf1 Kc4 $11 63. Rd1 Kd3 64. Kc7 ( 64. Rh2 Kc2) 64... Kc2 $1 (64... Rd5 $4 65. Kc6 $18) 65. Kxd6 Kxd1 66. Ke5 Kc2 67. Rd8 d1=Q 68. Rxd1 Kxd1 69. Kxe4 Kc2 $11 {and the race ends with both players promoting.}) 59. Rxe4+ Kc3 $8 60. Rd8 (60. f8=Q d1=Q $19 {White has no safe checks and his King is in trouble.}) 60... Rc5+ $8 61. Ka6 Rxf7 62. Red4 Rf6+ 63. Kb7 Rf2 $19 {Black's passer is much further advanced than White's.}) 58... Rd6 59. Rxd6+ Kxd6 60. Rf1 Kc5 $1 61. Ka6 Rb6+ 62. Ka5 Rxf6 63. Rd1 Rd6 ( 63... Rd6 64. Kxa4 Rd3 $1 {is zugzwang, and Black promotes or mates.}) 0-1 [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "2017.04.24"] [Round "7"] [White "Karavade, Eesha"] [Black "Doknjas, John"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A65"] [WhiteElo "2405"] [BlackElo "2216"] [Annotator "John Doknjas"] [PlyCount "183"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Gnome"] [Source "CFC-JKU"] [SourceDate "2019.07.24"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nge2 Bg7 8. Ng3 h5 9. Be2 h4 10. Nf1 h3 11. g3 a6 12. a4 Nbd7 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. Nd2 O-O 15. O-O Re8 16. f3 Rb8 17. Be3 Nh7 18. Bf2 Ndf8 19. Bd3 Bd7 20. Rc1 b5 21. axb5 axb5 22. b4 c4 23. Be2 g5 24. Re1 Ng6 25. Nf1 f5 26. exf5 Bxf5 27. Ne3 Bd7 28. Qc2 Ne7 29. Qd2 Nf5 30. Nxf5 Bxf5 31. Bf1 Qf7 32. Rxe8+ Qxe8 33. g4 Bg6 34. Bxh3 Ra8 35. Bd4 Ra3 36. Bxg7 Kxg7 37. Re1 Qd7 38. Qd4+ Kh6 39. Bf1 Rb3 40. Re6 Qg7 41. Nxb5 Nf8 42. Qxg7+ Kxg7 43. Re7+ Kf6 44. Rc7 Bd3 45. Bxd3 cxd3 46. Kf2 Ke5 47. Ke3 Rxb4 48. Nc3 Ng6 49. Kxd3 Nf4+ 50. Ke3 Rb3 51. Kd2 Rb2+ 52. Kd1 Kd4 53. Kc1 Nd3+ 54. Kd1 Rxh2 55. Ne4 Rh1+ 56. Ke2 Rh2+ 57. Kf1 Kxd5 58. Nxg5 Kd4 59. Re7 d5 60. Kg1 Rd2 61. Re8 Ne5 62. Kf1 Ra2 63. Rf8 Nc4 64. Re8 Ne5 65. Kg1 Rd2 66. Rf8 Re2 67. Rf5 Kd3 68. Nh3 Kd2 69. Nf2 Re3 70. Kg2 Ke2 71. Nh3 d4 72. g5 d3 73. Nf4+ Kd1 74. Nxd3 Nxd3 75. Kg3 Ke2 76. g6 Re8 77. g7 Rg8 78. Rf7 Ke3 79. Re7+ Kd4 80. f4 {[#]Critical Position There is a move that saves Black, but one probably only an engine could find in a few seconds.} Kd5 $2 (80... Nb4 $8 81. Kg4 Nd5 {The Rook is forced to either give up the g7-pawn, or the e-file.} 82. Rf7 Ke4 {With my King so close, it is an easy draw.}) 81. f5 {Now White is winning.} Kd6 82. f6 Ne5 83. Kh3 $8 {Putting me in zugzwang. If White had advanced her King to h4 or f4, I would have the ...Ng6+ fork:} (83. Kh4 $2 Ng6+ 84. Kh5 Nxe7 85. f7 Rxg7 86. f8=Q $11) (83. f7 $4 Rxg7+ $19) 83... Ng6 84. Re4 $1 Kd5 (84... Kd7 $2 85. Kg4 $18 {and Black is helpless against the White King advance.}) 85. Re1 (85. Re8 $3 {This might have been the move of the game, had it been played.} Rxe8 86. f7 Re3+ (86... Rb8 87. g8=Q $18) 87. Kh2 $8 Re2+ 88. Kg1 $18) 85... Nf4+ 86. Kh4 Ng2+ $4 (86... Ne6 $8 {This draws. The threat is 87...Nxg7.} 87. Rg1 (87. Rxe6 $2 {is a tempo slow} Kxe6 88. Kg5 Kf7 $19) 87... Ke5 88. f7 Rxg7 89. Rxg7 Kf6 90. Rh7 Kg6 91. Rh5 Kxf7 $11) 87. Kg5 $4 { Returning the favour.} (87. Kh5 $8 $18 Nxe1 88. f7 {The point of 87. Kh5: I cannot take on g7 with check.} Rxg7 89. f8=Q $18 {And no matter what I do, either my Rook or Knight will be forked and taken by the Queen.}) 87... Nxe1 88. Kg6 Nf3 {The Knight returns just in time.} 89. f7 Ne5+ {A funny position - Black is the one trying to exchange a Rook and a Knight for two pawns!} ({ editor - or} 89... Rxg7+ 90. Kxg7 Ng5 $11) 90. Kh7 Rxg7+ 91. Kxg7 Nxf7 92. Kxf7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Olympiad-41"] [Site "Tromsoe"] [Date "2014.08.08"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Kovalyov, Anton"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E08"] [WhiteElo "2753"] [BlackElo "2622"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "235"] [EventDate "2014.08.02"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "Israel"] [BlackTeam "Canada"] [WhiteTeamCountry "ISR"] [BlackTeamCountry "CAN"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. O-O Be7 7. Qc2 O-O 8. Rd1 Nbd7 9. b3 a5 10. Nbd2 Bb7 11. e4 a4 12. Bb2 a3 13. Bc3 Qb8 14. e5 Ne8 15. b4 dxc4 16. Nxc4 Nc7 17. Rab1 Qa7 18. Bd2 Qa4 19. Rb3 Nd5 20. Nd6 Bxd6 21. exd6 Rfd8 22. Ne5 f6 23. Nc4 Ba6 24. Re1 Bxc4 25. Qxc4 Nf8 26. Bc1 Rac8 27. Kf1 Rxd6 28. Rxa3 Qb5 29. Qxb5 cxb5 30. Bxd5 Rxd5 31. Ra6 Nd7 32. Be3 Kf7 33. Ra7 Kg6 34. Ke2 h5 35. Kf3 Kf5 36. h3 Rc3 37. g4+ Kg6 38. Ke4 hxg4 39. hxg4 Rc4 40. Rc1 Rxc1 41. Bxc1 Kf7 42. Bf4 Ke8 43. Ra8+ Kf7 44. Ra7 Ke8 45. Ke3 e5 46. dxe5 fxe5 47. Bg3 Rd4 48. Ra8+ Ke7 49. Bxe5 Rxg4 50. Bd4 Kd6 51. Rg8 g5 52. Rg7 Ke6 53. a3 Rg1 54. Ke2 Kd6 55. f3 Rb1 56. Rxg5 Rb3 57. Rxb5 Rxa3 58. Bxb6 Rb3 59. Bc5+ Kd5 60. Be7+ Ke6 61. Bg5 Ne5 62. f4 Nc6 63. f5+ $1 Kd6 64. Be3 (64. f6 $1) 64... Rb2+ 65. Kf3 Rb3 66. Ke2 Rb2+ 67. Kd3 (67. Ke1 $142) 67... Rb3+ 68. Kd2 { [%mdl 4096] [#]} Nxb4 $8 (68... Rxb4 $4 69. Bc5+ $18) 69. Bc5+ Kc6 $8 (69... Ke5 $4 70. Bxb4+ $18 {wins the N and saves the P.}) 70. Rxb4 Rf3 $8 71. Bd4 Rxf5 $8 $11 {This is a theoretical draw, but many strong players have lost it. Anton defends by keeping his R very close to his K, preventing the typical losing positions where the R tries to check from behind, but gets blocked by the B. IMO, this is a better drawing technique, as it rarely requires the defender to have to find "only moves".} 72. Rb6+ Kd5 73. Kd3 Rf3+ 74. Be3 Rf5 75. Ra6 Re5 76. Bf4 Rf5 77. Ra4 Rf7 78. Ra5+ Ke6 (78... Kc6 79. Be5 Rf1 $11 { (1-0, 89) Li,R (2374)-Nguyen,T (2227) Al Ain, 2015.}) 79. Ke4 Kd7 80. Ra6 Re7+ 81. Kd5 Rf7 82. Bd6 Rf5+ 83. Be5 Rf7 {[#]There are 21 games in the MegaBase featuring this position; White has won 4 of them.} 84. Bf6 Ke8 85. Ke6 (85. Ra8+ Kd7 86. Ke5 Kc6 $8 $11 {but 1-0 in 117 moves in Kramnik,V (2777)-Bruzon Batista,L (2659) Baku World Cup, 2015.}) 85... Re7+ $8 86. Kf5 Rb7 87. Rd6 Rd7 88. Re6+ Kf7 89. Be5 Re7 90. Rh6 Rd7 91. Bd6 Ke8 92. Rh8+ (92. Ke5 Kf7 93. Rh1 Ke8 $11 {but 1-0 after 38 more moves in Vavrak,J-Simacek,P (2427) Slovakia, 2002.}) 92... Kf7 93. Ke5 Kg6 $1 (93... Kg7 $1 $11 {but 1-0 after 12 more moves in Priborsky,J (2229)-Chalupa,I (2149) Karlovy Vary, 2004.}) 94. Rg8+ Kf7 95. Rf8+ Kg7 96. Rf1 Rf7 97. Rg1+ Kh7 98. Ke6 Rg7 99. Rh1+ Kg6 100. Be7 Rg8 $8 (100... Rh7 $4 101. Rg1+ Kh6 102. Kf6 Kh5 103. Kf5 Rf7+ 104. Bf6 $18) 101. Rh2 Rg7 102. Bf8 Rg8 103. Rf2 Kh7 $1 104. Bd6 Kg6 105. Rh2 Rg7 106. Bf4 Rg8 107. Rg2+ Kh7 108. Bg5 Kg6 109. Rg1 Kh7 110. Kf5 Rg7 111. Rh1+ Kg8 112. Bf6 {[#]} Rh7 $8 (112... Rg2 $4 113. Ke6 Kf8 114. Rc1 Re2+ (114... Kg8 115. Rc8+ Kh7 116. Rh8+ Kg6 117. Rg8+ $18) 115. Be5 Kg8 116. Rh1 $18) 113. Ra1 Kf7 (113... Rf7 $2 114. Ke6 $1 $18 Rb7 115. Ra8+ $1 Kh7 116. Kf5 $1 Kh6 117. Rh8+ Rh7 118. Rg8 Rd7 119. Rg1 Kh7 (119... Rd5+ 120. Be5 Kh7 121. Rh1+ Kg8 122. Ke6 $18 {threatens mate and the R.}) 120. Rh1+ Kg8 121. Ke6 $1 Rh7 122. Rg1+ Kf8 123. Ra1 { 1-0 Van Foreest,L (2526)-Beerdsen,T (2482) Groningen, 2019.}) 114. Ra6 Rh5+ 115. Bg5 Rh7 116. Bh6 Kg8 $1 (116... Ke8 $11) 117. Kg6 Rg7+ $8 {Repeating the offer from move 85.} 118. Bxg7 1/2-1/2 [Event "Mauricie op"] [Site "Trois-Rivieres"] [Date "2016.03.19"] [Round "2"] [White "Libersan, Thierry"] [Black "Hirschberg, Valerian"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2132"] [BlackElo "2326"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2016.03.18"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. d5 Nf6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. a4 c6 8. dxc6 Qxd1+ 9. Rxd1 Nxc6 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. axb5 Na5 12. Nge2 Rb8 13. Ng3 Rxb5 14. Be2 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Ke7 16. O-O Be6 17. h3 Rhb8 18. Bg4 R8b7 19. f4 Nc6 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. f5 R5b6 22. fxe6 Kxe6 23. Nh5 Rf7 24. Rf5 Ne7 25. Rf2 Nc8 26. Rd8 Nd6 27. Ng3 Rg7 28. Nf5 Rd7 29. Rxd7 Kxd7 {[#]} 30. Ng3 $2 (30. Rd2 a5 $19 { Black just advances the a-pawn.}) (30. Nxd6 $1 Kxd6 {gives back a weak pawn to activate the K and a-pawn, but it's not enough for a win:} (30... Rxd6 31. Ra2 a6 32. Ra4 Rc6 33. Kf2 {Black is definitely better -- up a pawn -- but White's R is now much better placed than Black's, and when Black goes Kb6/b5 to dislodge it, White has Rb4+ keeping the K away.}) 31. Rxf6+ Kc5 32. Rf7 a5 33. Rxh7 (33. Re7 Kd6 34. Ra7 Rb5 35. Rxh7 Rb3 $11) 33... a4 (33... Ra6 34. h4 a4 35. Rb7 a3 36. Rb1 $11 {if ...a2 Ra1 and the Black K cannot support the a-pawn. }) 34. Ra7 Kb5 35. g4 Ra6 36. Rb7+ $8 $11) 30... Rb3 $19 {The target Black created on move 14 now falls.} 31. Ra2 (31. Rc2 a5 $19 {and the White R will be forced to abandon the c-pawn.}) 31... Rxc3 32. Rxa7+ Kc6 33. Kf2 Rb3 34. Rxh7 c3 35. Ne2 c2 0-1 [Event "WYCC U8"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.12.27"] [Round "10.36"] [White "Vilok, V Gadwal"] [Black "Noorali, Aahil"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D07"] [WhiteElo "1172"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2013.12.18"] [EventType "schev"] [EventRounds "2"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2014.01"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2014.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.02.22"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c4 e6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Bxe7 Ngxe7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. e3 b6 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. O-O Rc8 10. Rc1 Nb4 11. Be2 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nbd5 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Bd3 Qd6 15. Qe2 Ng6 16. Rc2 Rfe8 17. Rfc1 Nf4 18. Qf1 Nxd3 19. Qxd3 f6 20. Qb5 c6 21. Qa4 a5 22. Qb3 b5 23. Qc3 Qb4 24. a3 Qxc3 25. Rxc3 g5 26. Nd2 a4 27. b3 Ra8 28. bxa4 Rxa4 29. Rb1 Rea8 30. Rbb3 b4 31. axb4 Ra1+ 32. Rb1 Rxb1+ 33. Nxb1 Ra1 {[#]} 34. Rc1 $2 (34. Rb3 Ba6 35. b5 $8 {The key defensive move: gives up a pawn in return for a piece-saving tempo.} (35. h3 $2 {is too slow:} Bc4 36. Rb2 Bd3 $19 {wins the N.}) 35... Bxb5 36. h3 $15 Bc4 37. Rb8+ {saves the R with tempo} Kg7 38. Kh2 {unpins before the B can attack Nb1.}) 34... Ba6 35. Rd1 { Sets a trap!} Be2 $8 ({Black could have given away the advantage with the careless} 35... Bd3 $4 36. Nc3 $16 {unpins the N and defends the Rd1 with a big advantage for White.}) 36. Rc1 Bd3 37. g3 Rxb1 {Of course, Black avoids creating a self-pin with 37...Bxb1?} 38. Rxb1 Bxb1 0-1 [Event "World 50+ Teams"] [Site "Dresden"] [Date "2016.06.26"] [Round "1"] [White "Hergott, Deen"] [Black "Schmidt, Jorg"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B38"] [WhiteElo "2385"] [BlackElo "2112"] [Annotator "Deen Hergott"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada K2"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] {My first serious chess game in over a decade!} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. e4 d6 7. Be2 Bg7 8. Be3 Bd7 9. O-O O-O 10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. f3 Re8 13. Rfd1 Qa5 14. Rab1 Nh5 15. Be3 Nf6 16. b4 Qc7 17. Rdc1 b6 18. Nd5 Qb7 19. Nxf6+ Bxf6 20. c5 b5 21. cxd6 Red8 22. Bf4 exd6 23. Bg5 Bxg5 24. Qxg5 Kg7 25. Qe3 Be8 26. Rb2 Rac8 27. Rbc2 Rxc2 28. Rxc2 Qb6 29. Kf2 Kf6 30. f4 Qxe3+ 31. Kxe3 Ke6 32. Rc7 Rd7 33. Rc8 Re7 34. Rb8 {[#]Critical position. Black is under serious pressure: ...a6 or ...d5 or ...f5} d5 $2 { Black finally cracks.} (34... a6 $2 35. Rb6 $18 {and Rxa6 or e5.}) (34... f5 $3 35. Bd3 $1 {and the d4-square for White's King provides for nagging pressure, but this was the only way for Black to play on.} (35. Bxb5 Bxb5 36. Rxb5 Kf6 $1 37. e5+ dxe5 38. Rxe5 Rxe5+ 39. fxe5+ Kxe5 {and if there is a win here, I don't see it.}) 35... fxe4 36. Bxe4 d5 37. Bd3 Kd6+ 38. Kd4 $16) 35. Bxb5 (35. exd5+ $2 Kxd5+ {recaptures with check, easing Black's defence.}) 35... Bxb5 36. Rxb5 dxe4 37. Re5+ {A spotty game, but a win's a win. As I suspected pre-tournament, the new time controls were going to prove challenging - that was true for nearly all of my games.} 1-0 [Event "2017 SPFGI"] [Site "St. Louis"] [Date "2017.07.26"] [Round "5"] [White "Demchenko, Svitlana"] [Black "Maccarini, Danitza Vasquez"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B84"] [Annotator "Svitlana Demchenko"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] {I played White against WIM Danitza Vasquez Maccarini. Her FIDE rating being over 2200, she has played on the national team of her country (Puerto Rico) for multiple Olympiads.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Qc7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Be7 9. f4 d6 10. Qe1 Nd7 11. Rd1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bf6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Kh1 O-O 15. Qd2 Qb6 16. Qxd6 Qxb2 17. Qd4 Re8 18. Rb1 Qa3 19. e5 Nd5 20. Rb3 Qa5 21. Nxd5 Qxd5 22. Qxd5 exd5 23. Bf3 Be6 24. Rxb7 Rac8 25. f5 Bxf5 26. Bxd5 Rxe5 27. Bxf7+ Kh8 28. Bb3 h6 29. Rf7 g6 30. Kg1 Re2 31. g4 Bxg4 32. Rf8+ Rxf8 33. Rxf8+ Kg7 34. Rf7+ Kh8 35. Ra7 Bh3 36. Rxa6 Rg2+ 37. Kh1 { [#]Critical Position} Kg7 $4 {Loses the exchange!} (37... Rf2 $2 {Does not work.} 38. Rxg6 {winning a pawn and stopping the back-rank mate.}) (37... Rg5 { would be better since it keeps the White king cut out of the game.}) 38. Rd6 $4 {As the saying goes, "Mistakes come in pairs".} (38. Be6 $1 {would be quite a simple win, but I missed that chance. It seems really obvious now, but during the game, in time trouble, I couldn't find it.}) 38... Rf2 39. Rd1 $11 Bg4 40. Kg1 Rxh2 41. Rd4 Rh4 42. Be6 $6 ({Here, I could still fight for a win with} 42. a4 $1 $36) 42... h5 43. Bxg4 hxg4 {After this, it is a clear draw.} 44. Kg2 Rh3 45. Rd3 Rh5 46. c4 Rc5 47. Rd4 Ra5 48. Rd2 Rc5 49. Rc2 Kf6 50. Kg3 Ke5 51. a4 Ra5 52. Kxg4 Rxa4 53. Kg5 Kd6 1/2-1/2 [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 "Chess Canada Embiggened"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2020.04.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O a6 5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Re1 e6 7. c4 Ne5 8. Bf1 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. d4 Nxf3+ 11. gxf3 cxd4 12. Qxd4 Qa5 13. Bg2 Bd7 14. Bd2 Qc5 15. Qxc5 dxc5 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. e5 Be7 19. Rad1 Rfd8 20. f4 Rab8 21. Re2 b5 22. Red2 Be8 23. Rxd8 Bxd8 24. Ne4 Be7 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 {[#] Critical Position} 27. b4 $8 {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 with either ...Qc6+ or ...Qb2+.}) 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 "Championnat Ouvert du Quebec"] [Site "Montreal"] [Date "2013.07.24"] [Round "5"] [White "Sokolov, Ivan"] [Black "Kovalyov, Anton"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E42"] [WhiteElo "2650"] [BlackElo "2606"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 c5 6. a3 Ba5 7. Bd2 O-O 8. Ng3 d5 9. cxd5 cxd4 10. exd4 Bxc3 11. bxc3 exd5 12. Be2 Re8 13. O-O Ba6 14. Bxa6 Nxa6 15. Qa4 Nc7 16. Rfe1 Qd7 17. Qxd7 Nxd7 18. Nf5 Nf6 19. f3 Rxe1+ 20. Bxe1 Re8 21. Kf2 Ne6 22. g3 g6 23. Ne3 Kf8 24. a4 Ke7 25. Ke2 Kd6 26. g4 Kc6 27. Bg3 h5 28. Kd3 hxg4 29. fxg4 Ne4 30. Nxd5 N6c5+ 31. dxc5 Nxc5+ 32. Kc2 Kxd5 33. Rd1+ Kc6 34. Rd6+ Kb7 35. Rf6 Re2+ 36. Kc1 Nxa4 37. Rxf7+ Ka6 38. c4 Nc3 39. Bb8 Ka5 40. Rxa7+ Kb4 41. Re7 Na2+ 42. Kd1 Nc3+ 43. Kc1 Rg2 44. Be5 Na2+ 45. Kd1 Kxc4 46. Rc7+ Kd3 47. Rd7+ Ke4 48. Bc7 Nc3+ 49. Ke1 b5 50. Ba5 Nd5 51. Rb7 Kf3 {[#]} 52. Kd1 $4 {Hangs the Ba5.} (52. Rxb5 $4 Ne3 $19 {and there's no good way to prevent Re2#.}) (52. Bb6 $2 {stops both Black's attack on the K and White's attack on b5} Rxh2 $17) (52. h4 $6 Ne3 {The ...Re2 mate threat saves the b-pawn.} (52... Kxg4 $2 53. Rxb5 $11) 53. Rf7+ $8 Kxg4 $15) ({ The solution is to recognized that Black's pieces are optimially placed and we have a sort of soft zugzwang: if Black's K or R take one of the kingside pawns then the mate threats are gone and White can safely take on b5. So White can simply save the h-pawn.} 52. h3 $1 Ne3 $140 (52... Ra2 $5 53. Rd7 {or Bb6.}) ( 52... g5 {isn't exacly a "pass" move because it puts the g-pawn on a vulnerable square} 53. Bd8 $11) 53. Rf7+ $8 Ke4 (53... Kg3 54. Bc7+ $11 { the fork on f3 saves the h-pawn}) 54. Re7+ {It's hard to see how Black will make any progress:} Kd3 55. Rd7+ Kc4 56. Rc7+ Kb3 57. Rc3+ Ka4 58. Rxe3 Kxa5 59. Re6 b4 60. Kd1 $1 $11) 52... Ne3+ 53. Kc1 Rg1+ {Both Kb2 and Kd2 lose the B to ...Nc4+.} 0-1 [Event "Tatry Open"] [Site "Strbske Pleso"] [Date "2015.09.28"] [Round "4"] [White "Maslik, Miroslav"] [Black "Krnan, Tomas"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E63"] [WhiteElo "2333"] [BlackElo "2440"] [Annotator "Tomas Krnan"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2015.09.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventCountry "SVK"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.10"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.10.08"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2015.10.08"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. c4 d6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 a6 8. Qd3 e5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Qxd8 Rxd8 11. Bg5 Re8 12. Nd2 Nd4 13. Rfd1 Bg4 14. Kf1 Rab8 15. h3 Bf5 16. g4 Bc8 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. cxd5 h6 19. Bh4 Bd7 20. Ne4 f5 21. gxf5 gxf5 22. Nf6+ Bxf6 23. Bxf6 Bb5 24. Rd2 Kf7 25. Bh4 f4 26. a4 Bd7 27. Rc1 Rbc8 28. Rxd4 exd4 29. Rd1 c5 30. dxc6 Bxc6 31. Bxc6 Rxc6 32. Rxd4 Rc1+ 33. Kg2 Rxe2 34. Rd7+ Ke8 35. Rxb7 Re4 36. Bf6 Rxa4 37. Bc3 Rd1 38. Rh7 Rd6 39. Kf3 a5 40. Kg4 Rb6 41. f3 Rc4 42. h4 a4 {[#]White has done everything right until now in his defensive setup - improved his king, fixed the f4 weakness and kept Black's king cut-off on the 8th rank. He needs one more precise move to draw... } 43. Ra7 $4 (43. Be5 $1 Re6 (43... Rb5 44. Rh8+ $1 Kd7 45. Rh7+ {and Black will have to allow Rxh6+ if he wants to escape the perpetual:} Ke6 46. Rxh6+ $1 $11) 44. Kf5 Re7 45. Rxh6 Rc5 46. Re6 $8 $11 {After 43.Ra7, the open 5th rank will be crucial and White's king will find himself in a mating net.}) 43... Rb5 $1 $19 {There is no defence against ...h6-h5+ followed by ...Rb3.} 44. Bf6 h5+ 45. Kh3 Rb3 46. Kg2 (46. Bc3 a3 $19) 46... Rc2+ 47. Kg1 Rd3 48. Bc3 Rd1+ 49. Be1 0-1 [Event "10th Grand Pacific Open"] [Site "Victoria"] [Date "2016.03.28"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Cheng, Bindi"] [Black "Fier, Alexandr"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A09"] [WhiteElo "2482"] [BlackElo "2620"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2016.03.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 g6 4. c4 d4 5. O-O Bg7 6. e3 c5 7. exd4 cxd4 8. d3 O-O 9. Re1 a5 10. Nbd2 Nfd7 11. a3 Nc5 12. Ne4 Nba6 13. Nfg5 a4 14. Rb1 Nb3 15. f4 Rb8 16. Nd2 Nbc5 17. Nde4 b5 18. cxb5 Rxb5 19. Nxc5 Nxc5 20. Ne4 Nb3 21. Bd2 Nxd2 22. Nxd2 Bf5 23. Be4 Bd7 24. Qxa4 Rxb2 25. Qd1 Rxb1 26. Qxb1 h5 27. Nc4 h4 28. Qb6 Ba4 29. Qxd8 Rxd8 30. Nb6 Bb5 31. a4 Ba6 32. g4 e6 33. f5 exf5 34. gxf5 gxf5 35. Bxf5 Bh6 36. Re7 Rd6 37. Nd7 Bb7 38. Nc5 Be3+ 39. Kf1 Bf3 40. Be4 Bg4 41. Ke1 Rf6 42. Bd5 Rf5 43. Ne4 Kf8 44. Rd7 Bh3 {[#] Critical Position It's still equal, but Black's pieces are starting to tie knots around the white K, and even when you're leading the tournament on board 1 it's easy to see ghosts at the end of a long game in the last round of a six-round long-weekend event.} 45. Rd8+ $4 ({White's K can't move:} 45. Ke2 $4 Bf1+ $19 {wins d3 and setting up a mating net. Similarly, 45.Kd1 loses the R to ...Rf1+ then ...Rf4, and Black threatens both ...Bxd7 and...Bf1+.}) (45. Z0 {Also, the Rd7 isn't immediately vulnerable to the Bh3, since} {Black is not actually threatening to win the Bd5 by chasing away the defending R with ...Ke8, since} Ke8 (45... Rf1+ 46. Ke2 Bxd7 (46... Rg1 47. Rxf7+ Ke8 (47... Kg8 $4 48. Nf6+ Kh8 49. Rh7#) 48. Nf6+ Kd8 49. Bc4 {the N guards against ...Bg4 and White has at least a repetition. This line shows why the white R has to stay on the 7th,}) 47. Kxf1 {the Bh3 was defending the Rf1.}) 46. Ra7 Rxd5 $2 47. Nf6+ $18 {wins for White, and shows why the Ne4 shouldn't move.}) (45. a5 $1 {is a cool move -- all of White's other pieces are perfectly placed to avoid Black's tactics -- and this puts the pawn on a safe square so that ...Bxd7 won't be attacking it.} Rf1+ 46. Ke2 Ra1 47. Rxf7+ $8 Ke8 (47... Kg8 $4 48. Nf6+ Kh8 49. Rh7#) 48. Nd6+ $11 (48. Nf6+ $11)) 45... Ke7 $19 46. Rd6 Rf1+ $1 (46... Bf4 {wins a piece, but Black's move is better.}) 47. Ke2 Rg1 {There's no good defence to ...Bg4#.} 0-1 [Event "2016 Canadian Open"] [Site "Windsor"] [Date "2016.07.11"] [Round "2"] [White "Vettese, Nicholas"] [Black "Tarjan, James"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2147"] [BlackElo "2447"] [Annotator "James Tarjan"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2016.07.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Dragon"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2019.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. c4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Ne7 8. Qb3 Nbc6 9. Nxc6 Nxc6 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. Qxb4 Nxb4 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Bb5+ Bd7 14. Bxd7+ Kxd7 15. O-O Rac8 16. Bd2 Nc6 17. Bc3 Ke6 18. Rfd1 Rhd8 19. f4 d4 20. Bd2 d3 21. Kf2 Nd4 22. Rac1 Rc2 {[#] Critical Position What happens after 23.Rxc2?} 23. Rb1 ({editor - White is losing directly in the game line, and there are some very sharp tactics where Black might go wrong after} 23. Rxc2 $5 dxc2 $1 ( 23... Nxc2 $2 $11) 24. Rf1 $3 {creating tempo-winning tactics on the e and f-files;} (24. Rc1 $2 Nb3 $8 $19 {and ...Rxd2 is the only way to win.}) 24... Nf3 $3 (24... Nf5 $2 25. Ke2 $11) 25. f5+ $8 (25. Bc1 $6 Nxh2 $19) (25. Kxf3 $2 Rxd2 26. Rc1 Kd5 $19 {Black's king invades or the rook feasts.}) 25... Kxe5 ( 25... Kxf5 $4 26. Kxf3 Rxd2 27. Ke3+ $18 {Shows one point of Rf1.}) 26. Bc3+ Kxf5 (26... Nd4 $2 27. Ke3 $18) 27. Ke2 $8 Rd1 $1 (27... c1=Q $5 28. Rxc1 $15 { and Black can go into a better ending after ...Nd4+.}) 28. Rxf3+ $1 (28. Rxd1 cxd1=Q+ 29. Kxd1 Nxh2 30. Bxg7 Kf4 $19 {the g-pawn is a goner.} 31. Bd4 a6 32. Bf2 Ng4 $19) 28... Ke6 29. Bd2 c1=Q 30. Bxc1 Rxc1 $17 {White has escaped to a pawn-down rook ending and Black still has a lot to prove.}) 23... h5 $1 $19 24. Ke3 Nf5+ 25. Kf3 Rd5 {White is clearly in trouble. He comes up with a nice trap.} 26. Bc3 Nh4+ 27. Kg3 Nf5+ (27... Nxg2 $2 28. Bd2 $1 {Trapping the N.}) ( {After the game Vettese pointed out the possibility of} 27... g5 28. fxg5 Nxg2 29. Bd2 Rxe5 $19 {Seems convincing, though I don't see how he holds the position anyway, as the game went.}) 28. Kf3 Nh4+ 29. Kg3 Ng6 30. Rd2 Rxd2 31. Bxd2 Rc5 32. Rc1 Rc2 33. Rxc2 dxc2 34. Kf2 Kf5 35. g3 ({The only hope is to keep Black's king out of e4 with} 35. Kf3 {but after} Ne7 {it is lost anyway}) 35... Ke4 36. Ke2 h4 37. Bc1 h3 38. b4 $6 b5 39. a3 Ne7 40. g4 Nc6 41. Kd2 { I gather that young players now are trained never to resign, or at least not until things are very very over. It was annoying the first time, seemed disrespectful, but now I am OK with it. And I have come around to agree that it is a good practice for them. After all, it was Tartakower, was it not, who said, "No one ever won a game by resigning." And people will indeed blunder... but not this time.} Kxf4 {Various ways to win I am sure, but always good in practice to choose the way that offers the opponent absolutely no chance whatsoever.} 42. Kxc2+ Kxg4 43. Be3 Kf3 44. Kd2 a6 45. Bc5 Nxe5 46. Bf8 g5 0-1 [Event "CAN-ch"] [Site "Montreal CAN"] [Date "2001.08.28"] [Round "9"] [White "Sarwer, Jeff"] [Black "Yoos, John"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E70"] [BlackElo "2360"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "143"] [EventDate "2001.08.21"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.06.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 {Jeff played this game unded the alias "Ray Phillips", which is how you will find it in the databases.} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nge2 O-O 6. Ng3 e5 7. d5 Na6 8. Be2 c6 9. Be3 h5 10. h4 Ng4 11. Bxg4 Bxg4 12. Qd2 cxd5 13. Nxd5 Nc7 14. f3 Be6 15. O-O-O Qd7 16. Kb1 Rfc8 17. Bh6 Bxd5 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. cxd5 Qe7 20. Ne2 Na6 21. Rdg1 Rh8 22. g4 Kf8 23. Qe3 Nc5 24. Qf2 Qf6 25. Qe3 a5 26. Rf1 Ke7 27. Rf2 Rh7 28. Nc3 Qf4 29. Qxf4 exf4 30. g5 Rf8 31. Ne2 Nd3 32. Rff1 f6 33. Kc2 Nb4+ 34. Kb3 fxg5 35. hxg5 Nd3 36. Kc3 Ne5 37. b3 Rc8+ 38. Kd2 Rf7 39. Rh4 Ke8 40. Rxf4 Rfc7 41. Rf6 Rc2+ 42. Ke3 Ke7 43. Re6+ Kd7 44. f4 Ng4+ 45. Kd3 Rxa2 46. Rxg6 Rcc2 47. Rg7+ {Diagram [#]Critical Position A long last-round game. White needs a win to reach 6/9 and be eligible for the IM title. White won a pawn in a Nge2 KID, but Black has active Rs behind White's pawns. What should Black do?} Kd8 $2 (47... Kc8 $2 48. Rc1 $18 {forces off a R and leaves White's K safe, with an easy win.}) (47... Ke8 $8 $11 48. Nd4 Rd2+ ( 48... Nf2+ 49. Rxf2 Rxf2 50. f5 $18) 49. Kc3 b5 {There's no Nc6+, so White's K is stuck in a box.} (49... Ne3 $6 {might transpose, but White has} 50. Ra1 $1 Nd1+ $8 51. Kc4 (51. Rxd1 Rxd1 52. Rxb7 $13) 51... Rxd4+ $5 52. Kxd4 Rxa1 { only White has winning chances here.}) 50. Rc1 Nf2 51. Nxb5 Nd1+ 52. Kc4 (52. Rxd1 $4 Rac2#) 52... Ne3+ 53. Kc3 $11) 48. Nd4 $1 Rd2+ (48... Nf2+ 49. Rxf2 Rxf2 50. g6 $18) 49. Kc3 b5 50. Nc6+ Ke8 51. Nxa5 $1 Re2 (51... Rxa5 $2 52. Kxd2 $18) 52. Nb7 Kf8 53. Rd7 Rac2+ 54. Kb4 Rxe4+ 55. Kxb5 Ne3 {[#]} 56. Ra1 $6 (56. Nxd6 $1 Rd4 (56... Nxf1 57. Nxe4 $18) 57. Ra1 $1 Rxd5+ 58. Kb6 {Black has to give up an exchange to avoid getting mated:} Rc8 59. Raa7 $1 Rb8+ (59... Rxd6+ 60. Rxd6 $18) 60. Kc7 $18) 56... Nxd5 57. Ra8+ Re8 58. Rxe8+ Kxe8 59. Rxd6 $4 (59. Rd8+ $8 Ke7 60. f5 $8 Rc7 61. Rh8 $1 {requires a long line of precise moves:} (61. Rb8 $1 $18) 61... Rxb7+ 62. Kc6 $8 Rb6+ 63. Kxd5 Rb5+ 64. Ke4 Rb4+ 65. Kd3 Rxb3+ 66. Kc4 Rg3 (66... Rf3 67. Rh7+ $8 Kf8 68. f6 Rf5 69. Rxh5 $18) 67. Rh7+ Kf8 68. g6 Rg5 69. Rf7+ $18) 59... Nxf4 $11 60. Nc5 h4 61. Ne4 Re2 62. Nf6+ Ke7 63. Rd4 Re5+ 64. Kc6 Ng6 65. Nd5+ Kf7 66. b4 Rxg5 67. b5 h3 68. Rd1 Ne5+ 69. Kc7 h2 70. Rh1 Nf3 71. b6 Rxd5 72. b7 {and both sides have to give up their Rs to stop the pawns.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "2016.03.09"] [Round "3.21"] [White "Haessel, Dale R"] [Black "Stefansson, Hannes"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E12"] [WhiteElo "2212"] [BlackElo "2600"] [Annotator "Michael Kleinman"] [PlyCount "112"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Dragon"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2019.01.01"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2019.07.27"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Bb7 5. Nc3 g6 6. d5 Bg7 7. g3 O-O 8. Bg2 Na6 9. O-O Nc5 10. Bf4 d6 11. Ne1 a5 12. Nd3 exd5 13. cxd5 Nfd7 14. Rc1 Ba6 15. b4 Nxd3 16. exd3 axb4 17. axb4 Ne5 18. b5 Bb7 19. Qc2 Ra5 20. d4 Ng4 21. Ne2 Rxb5 22. Qxc7 Bxd5 23. Bxd6 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Qe8 25. Qc2 Qa8+ 26. Qc6 Qxc6+ 27. Rxc6 Re8 28. Rfc1 Rf5 29. Nf4 h5 30. h3 Nxf2 31. Kxf2 g5 32. Rd1 gxf4 33. Bxf4 Rd8 34. Ke3 Rfd5 35. Rc4 b5 36. Rb4 Bf8 37. Rb3 b4 38. g4 f6 39. Ke4 Kf7 40. gxh5 Rxh5 {[#]Critical Position Does Black have a threat, and (if so) what should White do?} 41. d5 $4 ({editor -} 41. Rf3 $142 $1 {gets the R on the other side of the K, so that after} f5+ (41... Bc5 42. Bc7 Rd7 (42... Rh4+ 43. Rf4 $11) 43. Bg3 Rxh3 44. Rdd3 {White should be able to stop the pawns from crossing the light squares.}) 42. Kd3 {the h3-pawn is defended.}) 41... Re8+ $19 ({Or} 41... f5+ 42. Kd4 Rh4 43. Rf1 Bd6 44. Rbf3 Rc8 $1 {and White is paralyzed! It's a nice Zugzwang; e.g.} 45. Kd3 Rc3+ 46. Kd2 Rxf3 $19 {wins a piece.}) 42. Kd4 (42. Kf3 $2 Rxh3+ 43. Bg3 Bd6 44. Kg2 Rxg3+ 45. Rxg3 Bxg3 46. Kxg3 Ke7 $18) 42... Rxd5+ $6 {editor - wins a pawn, but it's neither the best nor the most beautiful move.} (42... Rh4 $142 $1 43. Rf3 Bd6 44. Rdf1 Rc8 $1 {Same Zugzwang as above.}) 43. Kxd5 Rd8+ 44. Kc4 Rxd1 45. Rf3 Be7 46. Bg5 Rb1 47. Bd2 Rb2 48. Rd3 f5 49. h4 Kg6 50. Rd5 Rc2+ 51. Kb3 Rc5 52. Rd7 Re5 53. Bf4 Re4 {[#]} 54. Bd6 $4 (54. Bd2 $8 Re6 55. Rd5 {and White should draw, though it's slightly unpleasant.}) 54... Bxd6 55. Rxd6+ Kh5 $19 56. Rf6 f4 0-1 [Event "Tatry Open"] [Site "Strbske Pleso"] [Date "2016.09.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Krnan, Tomas"] [Black "Kernazhitsky, Leonid"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2430"] [BlackElo "2273"] [Annotator "Tomas Krnan"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventCountry "SVK"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Nh6 7. c3 O-O 8. h3 d6 9. d4 cxd4 10. cxd4 f6 11. Nc3 Nf7 12. b3 f5 13. Qe2 c5 14. exf5 cxd4 15. Nd5 d3 16. Nxe7+ Kh8 17. Qd2 Ne5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Ba3 Re8 20. fxg6 Rxe7 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Qxd3 Bb7 23. Qg3 Bf6 24. h4 Bxh4 {[#] Critical Position What happens on Qxe5+?} 25. Qxe5+ Qxe5 26. Rxe5 Bf6 {I had the impression that my opponent played this move with added excitement, possibly thinking that I overlooked this. But the variation continues of course...} 27. Rh5 $1 Kg7 $2 ({ Seems logical, but equality could have only been achieved with} 27... Bxa1 $1 28. Rxh7+ Kg8 29. Rxb7 Bd4 {and Black's strong bishop combined with the available counterplay against White's pawns fully compensate for their majority:} 30. g4 Rf8 31. Rf7 Rxf7 32. gxf7+ Kxf7 33. Kg2 $11 {would be completely drawn.}) 28. Rc1 $6 (28. Rd1 $1 Kxg6 29. Rb5 Bc6 30. Rc5 Be4 31. Ra5 $16 {and White will gain the a7 pawn with excellent winning chances. The subtle difference between the rook on d1 compared to c1 is that it controls the important d4 square.}) 28... Kxg6 29. Rb5 Rc8 $6 ({Perhaps Black thought exchanging a pair of rooks will lead to an easily drawn endgame, but this is not the case.} 29... Be4 30. Ra5 Rd8 $1 31. Rxa7 Rd6 {and Black will create enough counterplay against the White's kingside with ...Bd4. All his pieces will be ideally placed and the position should be very close to equal. Now one can note the significant difference between 28.Rc1 and 28.Rd1!}) 30. Rxc8 Bxc8 {[#] The position appears close to a draw, but there are a number of reasons why defending this position is not at all easy. Firstly, Black's counterplay possibilities are now completely reduced, since he can never attack White's pawns twice. Secondly, Black has the two edge pawns, which gives White's rook enough squares to maneuver along 5th rank and which will keep Black's pieces stretched. Thirdly, if White is able to create a passed pawn on the queenside, Black's bishops alone can never double-protect any square. And fourthly, the bishops the never protect one another, which would be very important in an endgame like this. Based on these reasons, it is obvious that a B+N combination would be much more preferred for Black in a position like this.} 31. Ra5 $2 (31. Rc5 $1 Bf5 32. Rc6 Kg5 33. f4+ Kg6 34. Kh2 $1 {This is the move I missed. Without this move Black is able to either defend a7 or threaten the f4 pawn with ...Be4 and ...Kf5.} Bg4 35. g3 {followed by Ra6 (or 35....Kf5 36.Rc7) and White will get the a7 pawn with excellent winning chances. My plan was to try and create a passed pawn on the 'a' file, after which I thought I'll have excellent winning chances. Therefore letting the bishop to b6 seemed fine as I would be able to attack it with b4 and a5, or create a passer on the 'a' file along the way. But Black is fast enough to avoid this...}) 31... Bd4 32. Rd5 Bb6 33. a4 Be6 34. Rd6 Kf7 35. b4 Ke7 {Black successfully drives the rook away and is now close to a draw.} 36. Rd3 {[#]} a6 ({Not a mistake, but a slight concession that might allow White to create a queenside passed pawn easier. After} 36... Bd7 37. a5 Bc7 38. Rd4 h5 $1 $11 {White will run out of ways to improve the position and the game should be easily drawn.}) 37. Rg3 $1 {The only way to create problems for Black. White seemingly only aims at the h7 pawn, but that is not the only threat...} Bd4 $6 {Missing White's reply and giving him additional chances.} (37... Kf6 $142 38. Rc3 Bd7 39. Rd3 Ke7 40. b5 axb5 41. axb5 Bf5 $11 {and White's passed 'b' pawn is nowhere near as effective as it would be on the 'a' file, as Black's pieces are closer together and White has one less file for the rook to manoeuver.}) 38. Rg5 $1 { This was also threatened. Now White can again attack both of Black's pawns and the defence becomes very difficult.} Kf6 39. Ra5 Bc8 (39... Bc4 40. Rh5 $1 { [%cal Gh5h7,Gh5h4]}) 40. Rd5 ({With Black's pieces stretched to the defence of his edge pawns, there is always an attacking square for the rook on the 5th rank. Obviously not} 40. b5 $4 Bc3 $11 {(or 40....Bb6 =)}) 40... Be5 41. b5 axb5 42. Rxb5 Bd4 $2 ({The decisive mistake, but defending this position is extremly difficult. It was necessary to sacrifice the h7 in order to stop the advance of the 'a' pawn:} 42... Bd7 $1 43. Rb4 Bc3 44. Rc4 Be1 45. Rd4 Be6 46. Rf4+ Ke5 47. Rh4 Kd6 $1 (47... Bf5 48. Rh5 {followed by a5}) 48. Kf1 Bc3 49. Rxh7 Bd7 50. Rh4 Kc5 $16 {and converting this into a win is not at all easy.}) 43. a5 $18 {The black king has to defend the h7 pawn, but it now becomes clear that the bishops cannot stop the 'a' pawn alone.} Ba7 44. a6 $1 h6 ({Loses fast. Black had one last resource to make White's task more difficult:} 44... Bxa6 $1 45. Ra5 Bxf2+ 46. Kxf2 {and according to the tablebases, White wins in 80 (!) moves, which suggests White could potentially have some real converting difficulties. During the game I knew this was the best defence but assumed the position would be winning. Needless to say I was happy to see 44....h6 played.} ) 45. Rh5 Kg7 46. Rd5 Be6 47. Rd8 Bc5 ({One last trick was possible:} 47... Kf6 48. Ra8 (48. Rh8 Kg7 49. Ra8 Bd4 50. a7 $18) 48... Bd4 49. a7 $4 Bf7 $1) 48. Rb8 Kf6 49. Rb7 {A neat final position. Both 49....Bd5 50.Rb5 or 49....Bc8 50. Rc7 loses a bishop. And what's also interesting about the endgame is that White moved only the rook and his queenside pawns to win against Black's king, bishops and two pawns! editor - this rook made 19 of White's 49 moves, 11 of them on the 5th rank.} 1-0 [Event "Oregon Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.09.05"] [Round "4"] [White "Doknjas, Neil"] [Black "Murray, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "Neil Doknjas"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2017.L8"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.20"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nf6 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bd3 a6 7. Nd2 Bg4 8. Qb3 Na5 9. Qa4+ b5 10. Qc2 e6 11. Ngf3 Be7 12. Ne5 Rc8 13. Ndf3 Bh5 14. Ng5 $5 { See Openings section.} h6 15. Ngxf7 $2 (15. Nxe6 $142 $3 {The same idea, but prevents Black from castling.}) 15... Bxf7 16. Bg6 O-O $1 {Now White is just worse.} 17. Bxf7+ Rxf7 18. Qg6 Qf8 $1 19. Bxh6 Nc4 20. Nxf7 Qxf7 21. Qxf7+ Kxf7 22. Bc1 b4 23. f3 bxc3 24. bxc3 Na3 25. Kd2 Nb5 26. Bb2 a5 27. a4 Nd6 28. Kd3 Nc4 29. Bc1 Nd7 30. h4 e5 $5 31. h5 exd4 32. cxd4 Rb8 33. h6 gxh6 34. Rxh6 Nf6 35. Rh3 (35. g4 $142 Rb3+ 36. Ke2) 35... Rb4 36. g4 Kg7 37. g5 Ne4 $1 38. Kc2 Ned6 39. Ra2 Nf5 40. Kd1 Nxd4 41. f4 Nf5 42. Rd3 Bd6 43. Ke2 Nb6 44. Bd2 Re4+ 45. Kf3 {[#] ...Nd4 or ...Nc4} Nd4+ $2 (45... Nc4 {maintains the pressure on White.}) 46. Rxd4 Rxd4 47. Bc3 Kg6 $2 (47... Be5 $8 48. Bxd4 Bxd4 {and Black has some drawing chances.} 49. Re2 $1 $16) (47... Bc5 $2 48. Rd2 $18) 48. Bxd4 Nc4 49. Kg4 1-0 [Event "World 50+ Teams"] [Site "Dresden"] [Date "2016.06.28"] [Round "3.7"] [White "Plaskett, H James"] [Black "Hébert, Jean"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C06"] [WhiteElo "2445"] [BlackElo "2370"] [Annotator "Jean Hebert"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventType "team-swiss"] [EventCountry "GER"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada K2"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] [WhiteTeam "SV Aufbau Bernburg"] [BlackTeam "Canada"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. Bd3 c5 5. e5 Nfd7 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 g6 8. h4 Be7 9. O-O Qb6 10. Re1 O-O 11. h5 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Nb3 Qh4 15. Bh6 f5 16. Bxf8 Nxf8 17. Rc1 Bd8 18. hxg6 Nxg6 19. g3 Qg5 20. Nc5 b6 21. Nb3 Bd7 22. Nd4 Be7 23. Rc7 Bc5 24. Bxf5 exf5 25. Rxd7 f4 26. Qf3 Rf8 27. Qxd5+ Kh8 28. Rf7 fxg3 29. Rxf8+ Nxf8 30. Re4 gxf2+ 31. Kxf2 Ng6 32. Ke2 Qg2+ 33. Kd1 Qxb2 34. Nc2 Qb1+ 35. Kd2 a5 36. e6 Qb2 37. Qd8+ Kg7 38. e7 Nxe7 39. Rxe7+ Bxe7 40. Qxe7+ Kg6 41. Qe4+ Kg7 42. Qe7+ Kg6 43. Qe8+ Kg7 44. a4 Qf6 45. Ne3 h5 46. Kd3 h4 47. Ke4 h3 48. Nf5+ Kh7 49. Qh5+ Kg8 50. Qxh3 Qc6+ 51. Ke5 Qe8+ 52. Kf6 Qf8+ 53. Kg6 Qe8+ 54. Kf6 Qc6+ 55. Ke7 Qc7+ 56. Ke6 Qc6+ 57. Nd6 Qxa4 58. Qg2+ Kh7 {[#] Critical Position Now White could have won, but with a quiet move humanly impossible to find, as in an end-game study.} 59. Qh1+ $2 (59. Qg3 $3 { The only move and the computer announces mate in 14 ! If you find a good enough reason why a human player should find a move like that I am interested in hearing it.} Qa2+ 60. Kf6 Qa1+ 61. Kf7 Qf1+ 62. Ke7 Qc1 (62... Qe2+ 63. Kf8 {wins immediately.}) 63. Qd3+ Kh6 64. Nf7+ Kg7 65. Qd4+ Kh7 66. Qe4+ Kg7 67. Qg4+ Kh7 68. Qf5+ Kg7 69. Qf6+ Kh7 70. Ng5+ $18 {#3}) ({editor -} 59. Qh3+ $3 { also wins, and is even faster -- #9 according to the computer -- which shows just how far computers have advanced in the 5 years since Jean annotated this game and I proofread it.}) 59... Kg6 {Now it's drawn. White gets no more chances. Sometimes I wonder if games like this makes you grow older faster. :)} 60. Qg2+ Kh5 61. Nf5 Qc4+ 62. Kf6 Qc3+ $8 63. Kf7 Qc4+ 64. Ke7 Qc7+ 65. Ke6 Qc4+ 66. Ke5 Qc5+ 67. Kf6 Qc3+ 68. Ke6 Qc4+ 69. Kd7 Qb5+ 70. Ke6 {As a final comment, I would like to especially thank Dave and Paul Ross who where the brains that made this exciting chess adventure possible. On a financial note, the FQE should be thanked for its contribution to my expenses without which this trip may not have been possible. Along with the Ross brothers, Tom O'Donnell and Deen Hergott proved as expected to be perfect teamates and companions without which such a team competition cannot be that enjoyable. I was a pleasure to be around those people that I had not seen for at least 10 years, if not 20 in some cases. See you next time guys !} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Canadian Open"] [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 "Chess Canada Embiggened"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2020.04.17"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2020.04.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Bg4 7. c3 c6 8. Qb3 Qc7 9. Ne5 Bh5 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 c5 12. Qa4 Nc6 13. Nf1 Bd6 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. Bf4 Qb6 17. Qc2 a5 18. Be3 Bg6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. f3 a4 21. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 22. Kh1 a3 23. b3 Rae8 24. Qd2 Qb5 25. Ne3 Re5 26. Nc2 Rfe8 27. Rxe5 Rxe5 28. Re1 h6 29. h3 Rxe1+ 30. Qxe1 c5 31. Nxa3 Qa6 32. Qc1 Qe2 33. b4 cxb4 34. cxb4 Qxa2 35. b5 Qb3 36. Qc5 Kh7 {[#]Critical Position Material is equal. Both sides have passed pawns; 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 great 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 "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "Reykjavik"] [Date "2014.03.04"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Abrahams, Daniel"] [Black "Li, Chao B"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B59"] [WhiteElo "2055"] [BlackElo "2700"] [Annotator "Daniel Abrahams"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2014.03.04"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "10"] [EventCountry "ISL"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2014.03"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2014.03.31"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2014.05.04"] [SourceQuality "1"] {From Daniel's introduction: ...we had a little over an hour to prepare once the pairings were posted. I was both excited and relieved when I saw that I was paired against Li Chao... relieved because I did not have to worry about actually scoring in the first round. On the way to the tournament hall someone asked me if I was worried and I responded that I was enjoying "the peace of mind of someone who knows their fate." Preparation was short and simple. ....Not only did I not have time to prepare for everything, but he likely wouldn't waste anything from his normal repertoire against someone he should be able to beat easily. The top four boards were on an elevated stage at the front of the hall, with a sizable gap before any other tables so that the organizing committee could speak and pedestrians could pass by at the same time. There was a webcam behind each board, and no shortage of reporters who wanted pictures of the top boards for the tournament's official site, ChessBase, or anywhere else. The chairs were very comfortable, with wheels and the ability to recline. I almost fell off my chair during the opening ceremony, testing just how far I could go. ...Instead of hunching over the board, agonizing over surely-worse positions like most of my ill-fated compatriots on the top boards, I instead spent most of my time leaning back, hands behind my head, looking out over the playing hall. Since I had no expectations for this game, instead of stressing over the board I resolved to enjoy myself and lord my position over the majority of the players who would never get to have a game on the stage. I was going to lose, of course, but this was still my moment and I was going to enjoy it.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5 O-O 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5 Bg5 11. Bg4 Be6 12. O-O Re8 13. c3 Ne7 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. Qf3 Rad8 16. Rfd1 g6 17. Bxe6 fxe6 18. Qe2 Bh4 19. g3 Bf6 20. Rd3 Qc7 21. Rad1 Be7 22. Qg4 Qc4 23. R1d2 Kg7 24. Na5 Qc8 25. b3 b5 26. h4 h5 27. Qe2 Rd7 28. b4 Rc7 29. Rc2 Qb8 30. a3 Rcc8 31. Rd1 Bd8 32. Nb3 Bb6 33. Qd3 d5 34. Kg2 Rc4 35. f3 dxe4 36. fxe4 Rd8 37. Qf3 Rxd1 38. Qxd1 Rxe4 39. Qd7+ Kh6 40. Nc5 Qa8 41. Kh2 Bxc5 42. bxc5 Qf8 {Diagram [#] The key moment of the endgame. I thought that I had winning chances, but I was not sure. Black has a lot of options at his disposal and even if some of them are basic and simply parried it is still a lot for a player of my caliber to keep straight. The two moves I identified fairly quickly were Kg2 and c6. I ended up choosing Kg2 because I felt it had the higher floor: if it did not win, I had a clear and definite draw. On the other hand if I had miscalculated c6 and was simply losing the pawn, then I would definitely be lost.} 43. Kg2 $2 ({KM: Throwing away the win, but an understandable move especially if time was a factor:} 43. c6 $1 {"Passed pawns must be pushed"} Qf3 (43... Rc4 44. c7 { threatening Qd8 and 1-0} Qc5 45. Qe8 Qxc7 46. Rd2 $1 {and Black will lose his Queen defending his King}) 44. Qd2+ Re3 $8 (44... Kg7 45. c7 Rg4 46. Qd7+ Kh6 47. Rg2 $18 {and the pawn will Queen}) 45. Qg2 Qf7 46. c4 $1 $18) 43... Rc4 44. Rf2 Qxc5 45. Qd2+ {After the game, I asked him about an earlier move that I thought might have been winning. He shrugged and excused himself, probably because the move I suggested was actually terrible and would have been losing for him. Allegedly, he told the arbiter to "keep an eye" on me but... I did not hear about this until after the tournament. Presumably both he and the arbiter saw my play across the rest of the tournament and decided that I could not possibly have been cheating. In retrospect, the game itself was not really that good of a game: I did not play very well as White but the position was stale enough that I managed to not lose quickly, and then I took advantage of the one chance he gave me. In fact, outside of 40.Nc5 I did not find any actually good moves, my opponent just blundered at the right time. The next day, after being tipped off by Magnus, I went out to find a copy of the Frettablabbi which gives one memento of the game. On account of being on the front page of the newspaper I also had one local introduce themselves to me, since they had seen me in the paper. The rest of the tournament was not very notable -- I played mostly poorly and may have embarrassed myself in front of Kasparov -- but this is the one result that everyone will remember, and I am okay with that.} Kg7 46. Qd7+ Kh6 47. Qd2+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "CCSCSL Autumn Invitational"] [Site "St Louis"] [Date "2016.11.22"] [Round "9.9"] [White "Hua, Lefong"] [Black "Colas, Josh"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E00"] [WhiteElo "2284"] [BlackElo "2347"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "127"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "USA"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada Gnome"] [Source "CFC-JKU"] [SourceDate "2019.07.24"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.01"] [SourceQuality "1"] {A "Very dirty" win. - Lefong Hua.} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Bd2 Bxd2+ 4. Qxd2 d5 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. e3 O-O 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 Qe7 9. Nge2 Rd8 10. O-O b6 11. Rfe1 Bb7 12. f3 c5 13. Rad1 Nc6 14. Ng3 g6 15. Qf2 Rac8 16. Bb1 Qf8 17. Nge2 Qh6 18. Nc1 Ba6 19. Nd3 Bxd3 20. Bxd3 c4 21. Bf1 a6 22. e4 b5 23. e5 Nh5 24. g3 Ng7 25. f4 b4 26. Na4 Ne6 27. Bg2 Ne7 28. Rf1 c3 29. bxc3 bxc3 30. Rc1 Rc4 31. Nxc3 Rxd4 32. Rcd1 Rxd1 33. Rxd1 d4 34. Ne4 Nf5 35. Nf6+ Kh8 36. Nd5 Qf8 37. Be4 Qc5 38. Bxf5 Qxd5 39. Bxe6 fxe6 40. Rd3 Qe4 41. Qd2 g5 42. fxg5 Kg8 43. h4 Qxe5 44. Qf2 Qe4 45. Qd2 e5 46. Rb3 d3 47. Kh2 Qf3 $2 {[#]Critical Position} (47... Qd5 $142 48. g6 hxg6 49. Qg5 Qd6 $19) 48. g6 $8 $132 {Only move, White now has significant counterplay.} Qf5 (48... hxg6 49. Qg5 $8 $11) (48... Qe2+ 49. Qxe2 dxe2 50. gxh7+ Kxh7 51. Re3 Rd2 52. Kg1 $8 $11 (52. Kh3 Rxa2 53. Rxe5 a5 54. g4 a4 $19 {Black goes ...Rd2 and gets both pawns on the 2nd rank, when ...e1=Q decoy followed by ...Rb1+ will win the R.}) 52... Rxa2 53. Rxe5 a5 54. Kf2 a4 ( 54... Kg6 $4 55. Rxe2 $18) 55. Ra5 $1 $11 (55. g4 $4 a3 56. Ra5 Ra1 $8 $19 { as above.} 57. Kxe2 a2 58. Kf2 Rh1 $19) 55... a3 56. Ra7+ $1 (56. g4 Ra1 $19 { as above.}) 56... Kg6 57. Ra6+ Kf5 58. h5 $1 Ra1 59. Kxe2 a2 60. h6 $1 Rh1 61. h7 $11) 49. gxh7+ Kh8 50. Rb7 $2 Rc8 $17 (50... Rf8 $142 $19) 51. Qe3 Rf8 ( 51... d2 $142 $8 $19) 52. Rb2 (52. g4 $11) 52... e4 53. a4 {[#]} Qe5 $2 (53... Qf3 $1 $19 54. Qd4+ Qf6 $8 $19) 54. Rf2 $11 Rxf2+ 55. Qxf2 Kxh7 56. Qf7+ Kh6 57. Kh3 d2 58. g4 d1=Q 59. g5+ Qxg5 60. hxg5+ Kxg5 61. Qg7+ Kf4 62. Qh6+ $1 Ke5 (62... Kf3 $4 63. Qh5+ $18) 63. Qg5+ {[#]} Kd6 $4 {Played very quickly.} 64. Qd8+ {So was this.} 1-0 [Event "Ontario Open"] [Site "Brantford"] [Date "2015.05.16"] [Round "2"] [White "Bark, Tom"] [Black "Plotkin, Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "1996"] [BlackElo "2246"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "103"] [EventDate "2015.05.??"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "6"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 2015.06"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2015.06.10"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "1998.11.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. e5 Nd5 7. Qg4 O-O 8. Bh6 g6 9. Bxf8 Qxf8 10. Nde2 Nc6 11. Qg3 Qc5 12. a3 Ba5 13. h4 h5 {This position is in the Middlegame Tactics section.} 14. b4 Ncxb4 15. axb4 Bxb4 16. Rh3 b6 17. Kd1 a5 18. Ne4 Qc4 19. Qd3 Qc7 20. Nf6+ Nxf6 21. exf6 Ba6 22. Qe4 d5 23. Qe3 d4 24. Qe4 Bb7 25. Qd3 e5 26. Ng3 e4 27. Nxe4 Qf4 28. f3 Ba6 29. Qxa6 Rxa6 30. Bxa6 Qe3 31. Rh1 Kf8 32. Rb1 Ke8 33. Rb3 Qf4 34. Rd3 Qe5 35. c3 Bxc3 36. Nxc3 Qxf6 37. Re1+ Kf8 38. Ne4 Qxh4 39. Rxd4 Qh2 40. Nd6 Qxg2 41. Rf4 f5 42. Nxf5 Qg5 43. Ree4 gxf5 44. Bc8 Qd8+ 45. Rd4 Qxc8 46. Rd5 Kg7 47. Rfxf5 { [%mdl 32769] Diagram [#]Critical Position Major piece endgames are among the most difficult to calculate.} h4 $6 (47... a4 $1 48. Rxh5 (48. Rg5+ {Creates entirely new goemetry.} Kf6 49. Rxh5 a3 50. Rd6+ Kg7 51. Rhd5 $11) 48... a3 49. f4 {trying to use the pawn to support a R} a2 50. Rdg5+ (50. Rhg5+ Kf6 51. Rgf5+ Qxf5 $19) 50... Kf6 51. Rh6+ Ke7 52. Rg7+ (52. Rh7+ Kd6 53. Rh6+ Kc7 ( 53... Qe6 {also wins.}) 54. Rh7+ Kb8 $19) 52... Kf8 $8 53. Ra7 Qd8+ $8 $19 { ...Qd4, stops the mate and prepares to promote or fork one of the stray Rs.}) 48. Rh5 (48. Rf4 Kg6 49. Rxh4 Qc3 50. Rg4+ Kf7 51. Rf4+ Ke6 52. Rdd4 $11) 48... h3 (48... Qc4 49. Rhg5+ {White has a perpetual.}) (48... Qc3 {keeps an eye on the kingside checks, but White can set up a checking box with:} 49. Rdf5 $1 Qe3 50. f4 $1 {White has a perpetual.}) 49. Rdg5+ Kf6 50. Rb5 Qd8+ 51. Rbd5 Qa8 52. Rhf5+ {The Q can't stop the f-Rook from checking, so it's a perpeual.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Capablanca sim"] [Site "Winnipeg"] [Date "1912.05.12"] [Round "?"] [White "Capablanca, Jose Raul"] [Black "Spencer, RJ."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C49"] [Annotator "John Upper"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "1912.05.12"] [EventType "simul"] [EventRounds "1"] [EventCountry "CAN"] [SourceTitle "Chess Canada 100 Problem"] [Source "CFC"] [SourceDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.03.18"] [SourceQuality "1"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Bg5 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Ne7 9. Nh4 Kh8 10. f4 exf4 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qh5 Ng6 13. Nf5 Rg8 14. d4 Be6 15. Rf3 {[#] "Threatening mate in 16 with Qxh7+..." - Capablanca} Nf8 ( 15... Z0 16. Qxh7+ Kxh7 17. Rh3+ Nh4 18. Rxh4+ Kg6 19. Rh6+ Kg5 20. h4+ Kg4 21. Ne3+ fxe3 22. Rf1 {[#]} Bc4 ({Three leading Cuban players, Juan Corzo, Rafael Blanco and René Portela, suggested the following variation from the diagram "which prolongs resistance and would end in mate if Black played weakly:} 22... f5 23. Be2+ Kg3 24. Rf3+ Kg4 25. Rxf5+ Kg3 26. Rf3+ Kg4 27. g3 $1 Kh3 28. Bf1+ Kg4 29. Kg2 Qxh4 30. Be2 (30. Rxh4+ $142) 30... Qxg3+ $2 31. Rxg3+ Kf4 32. Rh4+ Bg4 33. Rgxg4+ Rxg4+ 34. Rxg4#) 23. Bxc4 d5 24. Be2+ Kg3 25. Rf3+ Kg4 26. Kh2 Qd6+ 27. Rg3+ Kf4 28. Rxf6+ Qxf6 29. Rf3+ Kg4 30. Rf5+ Kxh4 31. Rh5# { - Capablanca. Translated by Edward Winter; see: CFC NL Jan 2010. However, it turns out there is an error in Capa's analysis, and so there is a problem with this "problem". Can you find it?}) 16. Rxf4 Rg5 17. Qh6 d5 18. Bd3 c5 19. exd5 Bxd5 20. Ne3 Ng6 21. Raf1 Qf8 22. Qxf8+ Rxf8 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. h4 {..} 1-0