Opening Index...
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Alekhine's Defence
Benoni Defence
Bogo-Indian Defence
Budapest Gambit
Caro Kann Defence
Clarendon Court Defence
English Opening
French Defence
Irregular Opening
King's Gambit
King's Indian Attack
King's Indian Defence
Nimzovitch-Larsen Attack
Queen's Gambit
Ruy Lopez
Scandinavian Defence
Sicilian Defence
Sokolsky-Orangutan Opening
Alekhine's Defence
Kirby - McKay: Alekhine's Defence, B04
Coppin - McKay: Alekhine's Defence, B04
Coppin - McKay: Alekhine's Defence, B04 [Best Game Prize]
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Patrick Kirby
BLACK: Geoff McKay
EVENT: Kingston Whig-Standard Open 2001
OPENING: Alekhine's Defence B04
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Nbd2 Nc6?!
[I 'invented' the plan of Be3 and Nbd2 for this game. I think it is quite logical since the Knight supports f3 and c4. 8... 0-0 9.Rc1 e5 (9... Bg4 10.Qb3 is also interesting.) 10.Be2 f5 11.Bg5 Qe8 12.c5 Is one of the positions I had on the board prior to the game. 10... f5 may be a bit extreme, but I think 9... e5 is where Black should start looking, if he is expecting to play me in a future tournament.]
9.d5 Ne5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5
[10... dxe5 Is playable too. But this is not the way to defend the integrity of your favourite opening... 11.Qb3 Bf5 12.Be2]
11.Qb3 ...
[White is definitely slightly better here. Black has no active plan. On the other hand, it is also hard to see a plan for White. Okay, Be2, Rc1, 0-0, but where's the checkmate?]
11... 0-0 12.Bd3!? ...
[The correct move. But I forgot about Black's reply, so it was giving me headaches before I noticed 13.Bc2 and 14.a4! (12.Be2 with the following possibilities. 12...Bf5 ((12...e6 13.0-0 exd5 14.cxd5 Qf6 15.Bxb6 axb6 16.Nc4)) 13.Nf3 Bg7 14.0-0 Nd7 15.Nd4 Nc5 16.Qd1 Bd7 17.b4 Ne4 18.Rc1 e5 19.dxe6 fxe6 20.Bf3 Nf6 21.Qd2 e5 22.Nb3)]
12... Nd7
[12...e6 This move weakens the d6-pawn. 13.0-0 exd5 14.cxd5 Qf6 15.Rae1!? Bf5 (15...Bxb2 16.Ne4 Qg7 17.Nxd6) 16.Bxf5 Qxf5 17.Bxb6 axb6 18.Nc4]
13.Bc2 f5?!
[This doesn't deserve the dubious sign -- it's as good as anything else. But Qa5 looked scarier to me. (13...Qa5 14.a4! Nc5 15.Qa3)]
14.f4 ...
[A mechanical move. Even though this probably keeps a slight edge anyway, it should not be played. No master should play this way, look at the Be3. (14.Bh6 Rf7 15.0-0 Nc5 16.Qa3 And White has a fine position.; 14.Nf3 f4 15.Bd2 Nc5 16.Qa3 Bg7 17.Bc3 Is also pleasant for White.)]
14...Bg7 15.0-0 Nc5 16.Qa3 e6 17.Rad1?! ...
[The rook ends up not doing much on d1. (17.Rae1; 17.Rac1 In either case, White has a slightly better version of the game continuation.)]
17... exd5 18.cxd5 Re8 19.Rfe1 Bd7 20.b4 Ne4 21.Nxe4 fxe4
[The position has become roughly equal. You might say that White is better, because of the pawn on e4, but there is no way to win this pawn.]
22.Bf2 Bf5 23.Ba4 Re7 24.h3 h5 25.Rc1 a6 26.Kh2 Bf6 27.Bc2 Rc8 28.Bb1 Kf7 29.Qb3 Qe8 30.Qe3 Rec7 31.Rxc7+ Rxc7 32.Qb6 ...
[32.Bxe4 Bxe4 33.Qxe4 Qxe4 34.Rxe4 Rc2 is no worse for Black.]
32... Re7 33.Bd4?! ...
[If White is trying to win, why not snatch a pawn? 33.Qxd6 e3 34.Bxf5 gxf5 35.Bg1 Of course, it's just a mess, any result is possible, but White DOES have an extra pawn.]
33... Qh8 34.Be3 Rd7 35.Bc2 Bd8 36.Qd4 Qxd4 37.Bxd4 Rc7 38.Bb3 Bf6 39.Bxf6 Kxf6
40.Re3?! ...
[White is getting into trouble. 40.g4 hxg4 41.hxg4 Bxg4 42.Rxe4 And it is hard to imagine any result but a draw.]
40... h4 41.Kg1? ...
[Now the game is over. I didn't sense any danger at all. (41.g4)]
41... g5 42.fxg5+ Kxg5 43.Kf2 Kf4 44.g4 hxg3+ 45.Rxg3 Rc1 46.Rg7 e3+ 47.Ke2 Rh1 48.Rf7 Rh2+ 49.Kf1 e2+ 50.Ke1 Ke3 0-1
[Notes: P. KIRBY]
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Geoff McKay
EVENT: Kingston Club Championship 2001
OPENING: Alekhine's Defence, B04
1.e4 Nf6
It is easy to prepare for Geoff. He almost always plays the Alekhine's. The bad news for his opponents is that he knows it inside and out.
2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.0-0 0-0
Now that Black has castled, he threatens 9...,Bg4
9.h3 de 10.de Nd4 11.Nxd4 Qxd4 12.Re1 a5 13.a4 Be6!?
Up to White's 13th we have been following Short-Timman, Tilburg 1991. In that game Timman met White's strong threat to push the e-pawn by playing 13...,e6. However that move weakens the dark squares. Short won with a direct mating attack. Geoff chooses the other reasonable way to prevent 14.e6!
14.Bxe6 fe 15.Nd2 Rf5?!
Black disconnects his Rooks in order to consistently hammer on White's restricting e5 pawn. As a result, White is able to play to take control of the d-file. Black gets no effective play on the f-file and, as we will soon see, White can hold the e-pawn.
16.Nf3 Qc4 17.Qd1 ...
If the Rf5 was still on f8, White would almost be forced to swap the Ladies, leaving the e5 pawn undefendable, because Qd1 could be met strongly by Rad8. Instead, White begins to increase his control of the board while finding tactical resources to defend the mighty pawn on e5.
17... Raf8 18.b3 Qd5 19.Be3! ...
Black cannot swap Queens with White prepared to chop the Nb6 and plant a Rook on d7. Once the minor pieces are gone, even pawn down endings are easily won for White.
19... Nd7
Grabbing the pawn is not a good idea here: 19... Bxe5? 20.c4!, Qxd1 21.Raxd1,Bc3 22.Re2,c5 23.Rd3,Bg7 24.Bd2+/- illustrates Black's difficulties. Instead, Geoff continues to lean on e5.
20.Bd4 ...
Black still dares not scoop the button: 20...,Bxe5 21.Bxe5,Nxe5 22.Qxd5,Nf3+ 23.Qxf3,Rxf3 24.gf with advantage or 20...,Nxe5 21.Bxe5,Bxe5 22.Qxd5,Bxa1 (22...,Bh2+ 23.Kxh2,ed 24.Rxe7) 23.Qxe6+ also winning.
20... Rd8?
Running short of time (30/90), Black hopes to contest the critical d-file. Instead, he is victimized by a nasty pin.
21.c4 Qc6 22.Bc3 Qb6 23.Re3 c5 24.Rd3 Qc7 25.Qe2 ...
The e5 pawn still continues to lead a charmed life, so Black seizes his chance to escape the pin. However White has gained considerably in the position by securing uncontested control of the only open file.
25... Ra8 26.Rad1 Nf8
Black's "Alekhine's Knight" has toured from one side of the board to the other and back seeking a good square. The Critter is destined to rest on f8 for the remainder of the game.
27.Qe3! g5 28.g4 Rxf3
The alternative was just as hopeless: 28...,Rf7 29.Nxg5,Bh6 30.Nxe6,Bxe3 31.Nxc7,Bxf2+ 32.Qg2,Rc8 33.e6,Rf4 34.Be5+/-
29.Qxf3 Bxe5
Finally, Black succeeds in collecting the e-pawn but the price has been too high.
30.Bxe5 Qxe5 31.Qxb7 Rb8 32.Qxe7 1-0
White threatens Re3 and Black is helpless.
[Notes: W. Coppin]
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Geoff McKay
EVENT: Whig-Standard Open Swiss (5)
OPENING: Alekhine's Defence, B04
Often when we are reviewing the notes of the winner to game of chess, we are left with the impression that it was all inevitable. This is an illusion more often than not. The reality is that chess is an imperfect human struggle as Lasker has noted. Fortunes change throughout the course of a game and victory usually goes to the player making the second last mistake. This game is a great illustration.
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 c6
For the main alternative, 5...,Nb6, see the previous Coppin-McKay game annotated in this section. Since Geoff had also tried this idea in a meaningless game last year (agreed drawn after some fireworks fun), I was more or less expecting it.
6.h3 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.a4 ...
I am not sure about this natural looking move. Probably better is 8.exd6,Qxd6 9.Nc3,Nxc3 10.bxc3 and Black will have a much more difficult time finding a safe haven for the Bc8. So why, you might ask, did I not have something specific prepared for this game? Two reasons- first of all, I don't prepare specific opening moves but instead seek general ideas that offer promising middlegame chances and secondly, I was house sitting that week for a friend and did not have access to my computer!
8... Be6 9.Bb3 ...
Again- 9.exd6 seems more rational. White's plan to play c4 will leave b3 ripe for exploitation.
9... dxe5 10.Nxe5 ...
10.dxe5 allows Black to pile up on the e-pawn.
10... Nd7 11.c4?! ...
This may or may not be an outright error. The saner plan was to swap Knights, play c3 and hunker down for a long even game. The text is simply asking for trouble. Geoff soon obliges.
11... N5b6 12.Qe2?! ...
For better or worse, White probably should have tried the more consistent 12.d5!? here. The complications would be enormous with both sides walking the edge between winning and losing. An example- 12.d5!?,Nxe5 13.dxe6,Qxd1 14.exf7+, Rxf7 15.Rxd1 when Black cannot grab the c-pawn with either Knight. In any case, the game would be decidedly unclear. After the text, Black has a clear plan to win material by exploiting the weakened b3.
12... Nxe5 13.dxe5 Nd7 14.f4 Qb6+
Exploiting b3 as indicated. Now my brain finally kicked into gear and play becomes quite trappy.
15.Qe3 Nc5 16.Rf3! ...
Sac'ing the a-pawn was the main alternative with reasonable play after 16.Ba2,Nxa4 17.b3 etc. However White could not realistically expect more than a draw after a long defence. Embarrased by my own previously weak play, I played the text in an attempt to actually create winning chances! OK, a note of caution- Don't try this at home, kids. :-) While one should not make a habit of handing very strong players an advantage in the opening, this game certainly illustrates that opening preparation tends to be overrated by club strength players. Now the middlegame fight that Lasker was talking about really begins.
16... Nxb3 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.Rxb3 b5 19.Nd2 Rfb8
Clearly 19...,bxc4 (or 19...,bxa4) 20.Rxb7 favours White.
20.Rb4 bxc4 21.Ne4! ...
Clearly 21.Nxc4?,c5 is losing however now White has reasonable compensation for the pawn. eg: 21...,Bd5 22.Nc5 followed by Nc5-d7-b6, Ra3 and Be3 in any appropriate order. Black thinks he sees a better way and prevents Nc5 first.
21... b6
In chess, as in life, nothing is ever entirely free. Black has alertly exploited White's dubious opening play and been rewarded with an extra pawn. However, While Black was harvesting that pawn, White was improving his development. Now b6 is a target to exploit.
22.a5 ...
Both players admitted after the game to having no idea how to accurately assess this position. Now 22...,b5 frees up c5 and gives White a solid passed pawn. But is it winning? Who knows?! The problem of the trapped Rook can be solved by a later b3. Rather than struggle with the positional problems posed by such an unclear line, and probably mesmerized by the apparently trapped Rook, Black moves quickly and falls for a particularly nasty trap. The use of "psychology" is a weapon in every experienced tournament player's repetoire.
22... c5
Now 23.Rb5,Bd5 24.Nc3,Bc6 or 23.Ra4,b5 is What Black was probably expecting... winning in either case. However there is a third option.
23.Rxb6! ...
Such are the capricious fortunes of war! White offers a Rook and Bishop but they cannot be taken: 23...,Rxb6 24.axb6! Rxa1 25.b7! and White Queens. Note that White has Ng5 in reply to Black's otherwise winning ...,Bh6. While Black will have just about material equality, the discoordinated pieces, exposed King and weak pawns all offer reasonable winning chances while virtually ensuring at least a draw. Due to the tournament situation, Black must play for a win so Geoff is forced to decline the offer. Now before the enthusiastic crank up their Fritz or Chessmaster seeking some objective assessment of the sacrifice, I remind everyone that a tournament hall, with the clock ticking, is not the comfort of your study. Just as the late World Champion M. Tal used to play for messy (and occasionaly unsound) positions, I too could care less if my opponent "wins" the post mortem. Black "won" the opening, but the middlegame and ending are not yet so clearly decided. This fight is going to be decided over the board and apparently the ghost of Lasker was whispering in my ear.
23... Bd5 24.Rxb8+ Rxb8 25.Nc3 ...
Obviously White now has an advantage due to the passed pawn but the position is EXTREMELY delicate. The superficially attractive 25.Nxc5 would actually help Black by freeing the trapped Bg7 after 25...,e6 followed by ...,Bf8.
25... Bc6 26.a6 ...
Passed pawns must be pushed goes the convential chess wisdom and White needs no engraved invitation.
26... f6
This is the only other way to activate the Bg7 but White has calculated that it takes too long.
27.a7 Rd8
Active defence is Black's best try. 27...,Ra8? 28.Be3,fxe5 29.Bxc5,exf4 30.Na4,Bxa4 31.Rxa4,Bxb2 32.Rxc4 threatening 33.Rb4 is winning easily for White.
28.Be3 fxe5 29.Ra6 Ba8 30.Rb6 Kf7
Forced.
31.Rb8 Ke8 32.Nb5 Kd7
Forced again.
33.Bxc5 exf4 34.Bb6?! ...
Not an outright blunder, but most certainly an inaccuracy. The immediate 34.Nc7 does the trick since 34...,Kxc7 35.Bb6+ is lights out. After the text, Black has a resource that could have extended the game considerably, as Dilip Panjwani quickly pointed out after the game.
34... Rc8 35.Nc7 Bc6
As Dilip pointed out, White's win after 35...,Bd4+! is much harder. eg. 36.Bxd4,Kxc7! 37.Be5+,Kd7 38.Bxf4 and White will have to inch his King into the battle. While it is probably a technical win, it could easily take 100 moves or more and every move would have to be precise. Fortunately for White, Black chooses the other way to save his light squared Bee.
36.Ne6! 1-0
A problem like knockout! White threatens the Bg7 and the devestating check on c5. Taking the Knight fails equally quickly: 36...,Kxe6 37.Rxc8,Bd5 38.Rxc4! and its all over.
[Notes: W. Coppin]
Benoni Defence
Hum - Brice: Modern Benoni Defence, A64
¶ All Openings Index
The Kingston Chess Club would like to thank International Master Deen Hergott of Ottawa, for giving his kind permission to use his notes to the game Peter Hum - Ron Brice, from round 3 of the 2002 Kingston Open. IM Hergott writes an excellent chess column, every Saturday in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, where this game first appeared (Feb. 16, 2002). For the latest chess news and fine games from around Eastern Ontario, around Canada, and around the world, read Deen's column!! - Frank Dixon
WHITE: Peter Hum (Ottawa)
BLACK: Ron Brice (Hamilton)
EVENT: Kingston Open 2002 [3]
OPENING: Modern Benoni A64
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6 7.Bd3!? ...
[A very popular line these days. A more common piece deployment is Nf3 and Be2. White's long-term strategic plan is to advance the central majority, culminating in an eventual e4-e5, usually assisted by pressuring the weak d6-pawn. In contrast, Black aims to advance his queenside pawns with active play on the long diagonal and half-open e-file.]
7... Bg7 8.h3 0-0 9.Bg5 h6 10.Be3 ...
[10.Bf4, attacking d6, looks more accurate.]
10... Re8 11.Nf3 a6 12.a4 Nbd7 13.0-0 Rb8 14.Bf4 Qc7 15.Qd2 Kh7 16.Rfe1 Nh5 17.Bh2 c4?!
[Double-edged. This activates the queenside pawns, but cedes the important d4-square to White. Black should really be better developed before making such a bold advance.]
18.Bc2 b5 19.axb5 axb5 20.g4 Nhf6?
[For better or worse, Black must try 20...b4 to drive an attacker away from the b5- pawn. 21.gxh5 bxc3 22.hxg6+ wins a pawn, but this is minor compared to the game continuation.]
21.Nd4 Qc5 22.Nc6 Rb6 23.Bf4! ...
[The simple threat of 24.Bf4-e3 cannot be adequately met.]
23... Rxc6 24.Be3! Qb4 25.dxc6 Ne5 26.Kg2 Nxc6 27.f3 ...
[With an extra Exchange, White need only consolidate his position to reel in the full point.]
27... Nd7 28.Rab1 Re6 29.Red1 Nc5 30.Qf2 Nb3 31.Nd5 Qa5 32.Bb6 Qa4 33.Qg1 Qa2 34.Nc7 Re7 35.Nxb5 Bxb2 36.Qf2! ...
[Black shouldn't have grabbed the b-pawn, but the writing was already on the wall.]
36... Bg7 37.e5! ...
[Threatening the Queen with 38.Bxg6+.]
37... Nb4 38.Bxb3 cxb3 39.Qxa2 bxa2 40.Rxb4 Bxe5 41.Bd4! ...
[The end.]
41... Bf4 42.Nc3 Be6 43.Rb8 g5 44.Rh8+ Kg6 45.Rg8+ 1-0
[Notes: D.HERGOTT]
Bogo-Indian Defence
Voloaca - Kirby: Bogo-Indian Defence, E11
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Mihnea Voloaca
BLACK: Patrick Kirby
EVENT: Kingston Open 2002 [3]
OPENING: Bogo-Indian, E11
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.Qc2 d5? 6.a3 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 0-0 8.Rc1 c6 9.e4 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nbd7 11.Bd3 h6 12.0-0 c5 13.Rfd1 cxd4 14.Nxd4 Rd8 15.c5 Ne5 16.Nxf6+ gxf6!?
[16...Qxf6 17.Be4 Qe7 18.g3± (18.f4 Ng4)]
17.Be2 Bd7 18.f4 Nc6 19.Nb5 Rab8 20.Rd3 b6 21.Nd6 bxc5 22.Qxc5 e5!?
[The best practical chance.]
23.fxe5!? ...
[23.Ne4 Kg7 24.Qxe7 Nxe7 25.Rc7 Bf5 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Rxe7 Bxe4 28.fxe5 fxe5 29.Rxe5±]
23... Nxe5
[23...Qxe5 was also possible. White retains a serious advantage in the ending, with more active pieces and a better pawn structure, but at least Black doesn't have to worry about getting mated in time pressure.]
24.Rg3+ Kf8 25.Rd1 ...
[with the idea of Qc1]
25... Ng6 26.Qh5 Kg7 27.Bc4 Be6??
[Black's active defense would have paid off after 27...Bg4! I had looked at this idea on the previous move, where it didn't work, but here it was the best chance. 28.Qxg4 Rxd6 29.Rxd6 Qxd6 30.b4 Rd8 and White is only slightly better, at best.]
28.Bxe6 Qxe6 29.Rgd3! ...
[White almost blundered with 29.Nf5+?? Qxf5 30.Qxf5 Rxd1+ 31.Kf2 Rxb2+ when Black is no worse.]
29... Nf4?
[29...Rxd6 30.Rxd6 Qe3+ 31.Kh1 Rxb2 And White is winning.]
30.Nf5+ Qxf5 31.Qxf5 Nxd3 32.Rxd3 Rxd3 33.Qxd3 Rxb2 34.Qa6 Rb1+ 35.Kf2 Rb2+ 36.Kf3 Rb3+ 37.Kg4 Rb2 38.Kh3 1-0
[Note: P. KIRBY]
Budapest Defence
Hamilton - Dixon: Budapest Defence, A52
Southam - Dixon: Budapest Defence, A52
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Robert Hamilton
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston simul 1991
OPENING: Budapest Gambit, A52
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5
The Budapest Gambit dates from the game Adler - Maroczy, Budapest 1896. Chess tradition for naming opening variations often follows the place where the game using the variation for the first time was played. It gained widespread popularity after Black's victory in the famous game Rubinstein - Vidmar, Berlin 1918. This line contains a few tricky traps, and has a more tactical flavour than many queenside openings, but also is based on a firm positional footing, as GM John Nunn noted in his book Nunn's Chess Openings (NCO), published in 1999. Books analyzing the variation have been published by Vasconcellos, Staker, and Borik. Although often derided as 'coffee-house chess', the line has been adopted by many strong GMs in recent years on an occasional basis, including Nunn, Short, Speelman, A. Ivanov, Rogers, Illescas, Svidler, Korchnoi, Epishin, Malaniuk, Ree, Hodgson, Ljubojevic, Shabalov, and Hort. In more historic times, the Budapest has been played by GMs such as Keres, Bisguier, Tartakover and Szabo.
3.dxe5 Ng4
The Fajarowicz variation has 3...Ne4, which is not as strong. But this line too is not without its points. There is one notorious trap which White must watch out for, shown in the game Marinelli - Osmanbegovic, Cannes Open 1993: 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.a3 d6 6.exd6 Bxd6 7.g3?? Nxf2! 8.Kxf2 Bxg3+ 0-1.
4.Nf3 ...
This is the most solid variation, but Black recovers his pawn. Former World Champion Alexander Alekhine favoured 4.e4 here, originating in the game Alekhine - Seitz, Hastings 1926. If White wishes to retain his pawn, he can play 4.Bf4 (Rubinstein's move) Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 (the Keininger trap, another nasty one, goes 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.axb4?? Nd3 mate) Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Qe7 8.Qd5 f6 9.exf6 Nxf6, where Black has some compensation for his pawn minus.
4...Bc5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Nc3 0-0 7.Be2 Ngxe5 8.0-0 Nxf3+ 9.Bxf3 Ne5 10.Be2 a5
This interesting move was popularized in the 1980s, the idea to shift the queen rook to the kingside for attacking chances. Black can also play the more solid 10...d6 with an acceptable game.
11.b3 Ra6 12.Bb2 Re8 13.Qc2?!
So far both players have followed the best recommendations of theory, and after some slight transpositions, have arrived at the main tabiya for this variation. Alternatives here are 13.Ne4 and 13.Na4. The real test here is 13.Qd5!, with recent games showing that Black has some challenges in justifying his somewhat unusual strategy. After 13...Ba7 (if 13...Bf8 White retains a positional advantage, but Black's position is solid enough) 14.c5! Rh6 15.f4!?, the N/e5 could be in some danger, although White has also loosened his own position along the g1-a7 diagonal. The second edition of Batsford Chess Openings, edited by GMs Kasparov and Keene, and published in 1989, gave a footnote here with 15...Qh4 16.h3, with White holding a slight advantage. The game Remlinger - Svidler, Peer Gynt 1991, saw 14...Rae6 15.Ne4 Qe7 16.Rac1 Bb8, and Black won, but according to analysis by GM Nunn, White gets the advantage by 17.Ng3 c6 18.Qd1. Black has to find improvements after 15...Nc6 16.Nb5! Qh4 17.h3 Rxe3 18.Bc4! Re7 19.Nxa7 Rxa7 20.Rae1 Kf8 21.Qg5, where White won quickly in B.Lalic - Mukic, Yugoslavian Championship 1988. One idea might be to combine the BCO II line after 16.h3 with 16...c6!? hitting the White Queen, with Black preparing to sacrifice the knight for some dangerous kingside attacking chances.
13...Rh6 14.h3 d6 15.Na4 Ba7 16.c5 Qh4! 17.Bxe5 Rxe5 18.Qc4 Re4!
Gaining a tempo on the Queen and posting the rook on a strong central square.
19.Qb5!? Bxh3!
The attack intensifies, although Black must also watch his own back rank. The Master took a good look at me after I played this sacrifice here!
20.Qxb7 Bd7!
Simultaneous attack (threatening a discovered checkmate along the h-file) and defence (protecting Black's back rank against mate after 21.Qa8+ Re8!, since the bishop guards the e8-square allowing the rook to retreat to block the check. White doesn't have time to grab the free bishop with 21.Qxa7.
21.f3 Rxe3! 22.Bc4 ...
If 22.Qxa7 Rxe2! threatens mate on both h2 and h1.
22...Qd4!
Setting up a deadly discovery on the g1-h7 diagonal. White's reply is forced, and he does achieve the exchange of queens, but even this cannot save him.
23.Qd5 Qxd5 24.Bxd5 Bxa4! 25.bxa4 Bxc5! 0-1
White, already down two pawns, must now lose at least a piece because of the threatened discovered check. This was the only loss by FIDE Master Robert Hamilton, ranked at the time about 15th in Canada, during his weekend displays at the Frontenac Mall in Kingston, covering more than 150 games. Robert awarded me a chess set to honour my victory over him!
WHITE: Todd Southam (2420)
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Toronto Active 1995
OPENING: Budapest Gambit, A52
Notes by F. Dixon
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5
In several previous friendly games with Todd, an FM with one IM norm, and 1987 Canadian Junior champion, I was destroyed quickly when I tried my normal King's Indian, so I decided to try something a bit more unusual against such a renowned theoretician.
3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3
The two main alternatives are 4.Bf4 (GM Rubinstein) and 4.e4 (GM Alekhine); interesting also is 4.e6!? (recommended by GM Euwe), which does not cause Black any problems with correct response. One very nasty trap to beware is 4.Qd4?! d6! 5.exd6 Bxd6 6.Qxg7?? Be5!, winning the queen.
4...Bc5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 Re8 8.Nc3 Ngxe5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.b3 a5 11.Bb2 Ra6
This funky-looking rook lift idea, planning to swing the rook to the kingside for attacking prospects, revitalized the Budapest in the 1980s. Prior play had seen the solid 10...d6, championed by the Hungarian IM Kaposztas, with White usually retaining a small edge.
12.Qd5
So far, so book. Todd proves to be fully up to date with the latest theory in this variation. Black equalizes against other White responses such as 12.Qc2, 12.Nd5, 12.Ne4, and 12.Na4.
12...Ba7
The more conservative 12...Bf8 is a playable alternative.
13.c5 Rh6
The Russian GM Peter Svidler, several times Russian champion, tried 13...Rae6 against IM Remlinger at Peer Gynt 1991, and won the game, which continued 14.Ne4 Qe7 15.Rac1 Bb8, but analysis by GM Nunn now claims an edge for White after 16.Ng3 c6 17.Qd1.
14.f4
Looks very strong, since the knight must retreat from its nice central post, opening up the a1-h8 diagonal. But, as we shall see, this advance also loosens the pawn cover around White's king, and gives Black chances on the g1-a7 diagonal.
14...Qh4!?
This audacious invasion, thematic to the variation, was suggested in the second edition of Batsford Chess Openings, by GMs Kasparov and Keene, published in 1989. I had done some analysis of this move, but here was the first time I had a chance to actually try it in a game situation. Known to cause trouble for Black is the alternative 14...Nc6 15.Nb5! Qh4 16.h3 Rxe3 17.Bc4! Re7 18.Nxa7 Nxa7 19.Rae1 Kf8 20.Qg5, and White won brilliantly in B.Lalic -- Mukic, Yugoslav Ch. 1988.
15.h3
Todd, meeting the queen move for the first time, rejected the immediate win of a piece with 15.fxe5 because of dangerous variations such as 15.fxe5 Qxh2+ 16.Kf2 Rxe5 17.Rh1 Rf6+ 18.Bf3 Rxd5 19.Rxh2 Rd2+ regaining the piece with a big advantage for Black.
15...c6!? 16.Qe4
Not the best, although the pin on the knight against the R/e8 looks very tempting. After the game we established in analysis that the immediate 16.Qd4! causes Black more problems, since, as it turns out, he must sacrifice his knight under conditions which allow the exchange of queens. For example, 16...d6 17.fxe5 Bxc5 18.Qxh4 Rxh4 19.Nd1 dxe5, with some advantage to White, although Black has decent compensation for the sacrificed piece, with two pawns, a development edge, and some looseness in White's position.
16...d5! 17.Qd4
Todd was going to capture en passant, he said later, but at the last minute saw the vicious variation which I had planned: 17.cxd6? Nf3+! 18.Qxf3 (18.Bxf3 Rxe4 19.Bxe4 also leaves Black on top) Rxe3! 19.Qf2 Rxh3! 20.gxh3 (20.Qxa7 Rh1 mate) Qxh3, and White is powerless to stop mate, despite being ahead by two pieces. What a pity that I didn't get the chance to play this line. Other queen moves leave Black at least equal.
17...Nd7! 18.Nb5
Todd said later that he thought at the time I had simply overlooked this move, which does win a piece (the B/a7) due to the mate threat on g7. The variation given in the last note convinced Todd that this bishop was Black's most dangerous piece, so he was happy to eliminate it, before it could transfer to b8, away from the now-blocked g1-a7 diagonal. However, I had entered the variation with 14...Qh4, planning to sacrifice a piece, and in fact, was able to preserve the knight, which later plays a very important role in the attack. As we shall see, there is a lot more to the position than meets the eye on an immediate glance, so the variation is proven useful, at least for a 30-minute time control.
18...Nf6 19.Nxa7 Bxh3!
A double bishop sacrifice with a new twist. The N/a7 is now trapped, and remains out of play as the storm gathers around White's king. A look of concern emerged on Todd's face starting about now!
20.Bf3
White cannot accept the sacrifice because of quick mate: 20.gxh3? Qg3+ 21.Kh1 Rxh3 mate.
20...Bxg2!
Again! White has little choice but to accept now, since 21.Rf2 allows 21...Qh1 mate.
21.Bxg2 Qh2+ 22.Kf2 Ne4+!
Black certainly needs to be careful, since by moving his knight from the f6-square, he is hanging a mate for White on g7, but has seen that he will win the B/g2 in time to defend that square.
23.Ke1
Or 23.Kf3 Qg3+! 24.Ke2 Qxg2+, amounting to much the same thing.
23...Qxg2!
Black now has a won position, but must still exercise some caution.
24.Rd1 Rh2! 25.Qxg7+
Black's dominance has left White, who was extremely short of time, with little choice to avoid an even worse fate, with a mate looming on e2 and his B/b2 weak.
25...Qxg7 26.Bxg7 Kxg7 27.Rg1+ Kf6 28.a4 Ra8!
Finally rounding up the trapped knight!
29.Nxc6 bxc6 30.Rc1 Rb8 0-1.
Todd told me afterwards he was very impressed with my play in this game, which remains my biggest upset, in terms of rating difference (over 400 points!). Receiving a compliment from such a strong player, who was definitely not a poor sport despite losing the game, gave me perhaps the best feeling I have ever had in chess!
Caro Kann Defence
Dixon - Garrison: Caro-Kann, B15
Dixon - Letourneau: Caro-Kann, Modern Smyslov-Karpov, B17
Sibbald - Hutchison: Caro-Kann, Advance
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: Stephen Garrison
EVENT: Queen's University Winter Active, Kingston 1998
OPENING: Caro-Kann Defence, B15
Notes by F. Dixon
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Bc4 ...
This gambit variation is not especially well-regarded by the chess theoreticians, but it does contain a few dangerous attacking ideas, giving up a pawn for the open f-file and a lead in development, so is worth a try on occasion. The variation is not listed in popular opening guides such as Nunn's Chess Openings, so it has some surprise value. The Caro-Kann tends to be a defence chosen by defensive-minded players, and this line forces Black to be very careful with his defence, right from the start of the game.
4... Bf5 5.f3!? exf3 6.Nxf3 Nf6 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.Ng5!? ...
Probably not completely sound, but it does contain swindling potential. The move threatens both mate on f7 and the bishop on f5. The Caro-Kann is somewhat notorious for the number of top Grandmasters who have been defeated in miniature games in drastic style over the years. Here are a few examples. 1) Botvinnik - Spielmann, Moscow 1935: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Qb6 7.cxd5 Qxb2 8.Rc1 Nb4 9.Na4 Qxa2 10.Bc4 Bg4 11.Nf3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 1-0. 2) Reti - Tartakower, Vienna 1910: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qd3 e5 6.dxe5 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qxe5 8.0-0-0 Nxe4 9.Qd8+ Kxd8 10.Bg5+ 1-0. 3) Nunn - Georgiev, Linares 1988: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Ng5 h6 6.Ne6 Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qb6 8.Bd3 fxe6 9.Qh5+ Kd8 10.Ba5 winning Black's Queen.
8... e6?
Black's only mistake, but it is enough to lose the game. Just shows how tough a game chess can be. Black had to play 8...Bg6 here, to safeguard both his bishop and the f7 square. He thought his method does that job as well, while providing a chance for his B/f8 to develop. But White now has a devastating Exchange sacrifice which rips the game open. After 8...Bg6 9.Qe2, Black still must be careful, since 9...h6?! 10.Nce4!, and now not 10...hxg5? 11.Nd6 mate; nor 10...Bxe4? 11.Bxf7 mate, so Black should play 10...e6, and now White can try 11.Nxf6+ Nxf6 12.Bxe6!? with a sharp position. If 10...Nxe4 11.Qxe4, hoping for 11...Bxe4? 12.Bxf7 mate. Black's safest reply is 9...e6 first, when White has some compensation for the pawn.
9.Rxf5! exf5 10.Bxf7+ Ke7 11.Qe2+ Ne4 12.Ncxe4 fxe4
Whatever Black chooses leads to much the same thing. Here if 12...Qb6 (hoping to use the d8 square for the King's escape), then White mates with 13.Nc5+ Kd8 (if 13...Kf6 14.Qe6 mate; if 13...Kd6 14.Qe6+ Kc7 15.Qxd7+ Kb8 16.Bf4+ mates) 14.Qe8+ Kc7 15.Qxd7+ and mates, and other lines are similar. On 12...Nf6, then 13.Nc5+ Ne4 14.Nxe4 Qxd4+ 15.Be3 Qxb2 16.Bc5+ Kc7 17.Ne6+ Kb8 18.Rd8 mate.
13.Qxe4+ Kd6 14.Bf4+ Ne5 15.Qxe5+ Kd7 16.Qe6 mate 1-0
The final position illustrates the value of gambits, since four of Black's pieces (both rooks, Queen, and bishop) remain on their original squares, and never participated during the game.
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: Ryan Letourneau
EVENT: Kingston Chess Club 2003
OPENING: Caro-Kann Defence, Modern Smyslov-Karpov, B17
Notes by F. Dixon
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7
This variation has been around for a long time, but was popularized by former World Champion, GM Anatoly Karpov, starting in the late 1980s. It is known for its soundness and solidity. Black usually maneuvers cleverly to exchange pieces, often playing for the endgame, which suits Karpov's patient positional style.
5.Ng5 ...
Another move which has been known for many years. It became trendy about 1988 because of several games by GM Garry Kasparov, at the time World Champion.
5... Ngf6
Not 5...h6? 6.Ne6! Qa5+ 7.Bd2 Qb6 8.Bd3 fxe6? 9.Qh5+ Kd8 10.Ba5, winning Black's Queen, in Nunn - Kir. Georgiev, Linares 1988.
6.Bc4 ...
Kasparov himself suffered a catastrophe on the Black side of this line, in his second match against the IBM computer program Deep Blue. In game six, New York 1997, the moves were 6.Bd3 e6 7.N1f3 h6?! 8.Nxe6 Qe7 9.0-0 fxe6 10.Bg6+ Kd8 11.Bf4 b5 12.a4 Bb7 13.Re1 Nd5 14.Bg3 Kc8 15.axb5 cxb5 16.Qd3 Bc6 17.Bf5 exf5 18.Rxe7 Bxe7 19.c4 1-0. Just shows how tough chess can be. However, this game has always mystified me, especially when viewed against the rest of Kasparov's amazing career. But Kasparov was under extraordinary stress in this match. He resigned a position in game two which was later shown to be drawn with best play. The IBM team was refusing to release printouts of Deep Blue's 'thinking process', which Kasparov believed he was entitled to view after games. Following Kasparov's loss, IBM's stock price rose spectacularly the next day on world markets.
6... e6 7.Qe2 Nb6 8.Bb3 ...
8.Bd3 is equally playable.
8... Be7
Not 8...Qxd4? 9.N1f3, followed by 10.Ne5 wins.
9.N1f3 ...
More common here is 9.N5f3, followed by Ne5 and N1f3. But this alternative develops faster. While it is true that the N/g5 will have to retreat to h3 or e4 (where it could be exchanged) after Black plays ...h7-h6, this need not be a drawback. From h3 the knight can move to f4 where it hits important light squares like e6, g6, d5, and h5; the knight could also return to g5 as part of a kingside pawn storm.
9... 0-0 10.Bd2 h6 11.Nh3 c5 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.0-0-0!? ...
Somewhat risky play by White, since he castles long with the c-file open to Black. This long castling is quite rare in this particular variation, presenting a different strategic pattern. The position actually somewhat resembles an Open Sicilian, where White's e-pawn has been exchanged for Black's d-pawn.
13... Qe7 14.Rhe1 Bd7 15.Ne5 ...
Occupying this central square after Black has moved his bishop to d7, a square from which either Black knight could have challenged White's N/e5, which will now take additional time.
15... Rac8 16.Kb1 Rfd8?! ...
This rook should have stayed where it was, to protect f7, as will be soon shown.
17.f4 ...
Having completed his development, White can begin his kingside pawn storm.
17...Bd4 18.g4 Ba4 19.g5 hxg5 20.fxg5 Nh7?
Disastrous. My young opponent had played very well to this point. But the game is about to turn tactical, after a positional beginning, and every move counts double when this happens. Either here or on the previous move, Black had to play the absolutely essential move 20...Bxb3! to exchange White's dangerous bishop. One point is that 21.gxf6? doesn't work because of 21...Bxc2+! 22.Ka1 Qxf6, with Black on top. So after 21.cxb3 (capturing away from the centre to remove the c2-pawn as a target) Nfd5 leaves White only a bit better.
21.g6! ...
Winning. If now a) 21...Nf6 22.gxf7+ Kh7 (if 22...Kf8? or 22...Kh8?, then 23.Ng6+ wins the Queen) 23.Ng5+ Kh6 24.Nxe6+ Kh7 25.Qd3+ mates; or b) 21...Nf8 22.gxf7+ Kh8 23.Qh5+ Nh7 24.Ng6 mate; or c) 21...Ng5 22.Nxg5 f6 23.Qh5 wins, for example c1) 23...fxe5 (or 23...fxg5) 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Qh8 mate; c2) 23...Qc7 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Nxe6+ wins the Queen; c3) 23...Qd6 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Qh8+ Ke7 26.Qxg7+ mates.
21... fxg6 22.Nxg6 Qf6 23.Qxe6+ Qxe6 24.Bxe6 mate 1-0
WHITE: Peter Sibbald (1999)
BLACK: Rob Hutchison (1781)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU 2003
OPENING: Caro Kann- Advance
Notes by Peter Sibbald.
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Na6?!
This rare move came as a surprise. It has appeared a few times in top level play.
4. c3
Not 4. Bxa6 Qa5+
4... Nc7 5. Bd3
To prevent ...Bf5
5... b6?!
The "normal" move is 5..g6. The game move attempts to trade the bad QB by eventually playing it to a6. Should white ever castle kingside, then black can play Ba6 because the B on d3 is pinned to f1
6. Bf4 e6 7. Nh3 Ne7 8. Bg5
This violation of opening principles, (moving a piece twice) is justified because black has played e6. I wanted to either restrain f6 or provoke h6. Black is in a bit of a bind.
8... Qd7 9. O-O Ba6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. Nd2
The N on a6 is badly placed. In return, I have lost my nice white B.
11... h6 12. Be3 Nf5 13. Qe2 Nc7 14. a4
Why? Black must either stay in the middle or castle kingside. I decide to pick up some space on the queenside so that black cannot devote all his defensive effort to the kingside.
14... Be7 15. Nf4 g6 16. b4 O-O 17. Qg4 Kh7
Otherwise, white plays Nxg6.
18. Nb3 Rg8 19. Bd2
The question of whether black should have exchanged off this B is interesting. His f5 knight is strong, and B is bad but I now decided that because it could help attack h6, it should be preserved.
19... c5 20. bxc5 bxc5 21. Nxc5 Bxc5 22. dxc5 Na6 23. Nd3 Rac8 24. Qh3
Threatening g4 followed by Qxh6.
24... h5 25. g4! Ng7 26. Qe3 g5?
Rh8 is necessary to make room for the black King.
27. Qxg5 Nf5 28. Qxh5+ Kg7 29. gxf5 Kf8+ 30. Kh1 d4
The h1-a8 diagonal is very weak for white. I have to take care and avoid getting mated.
31. Bh6+?!
Rg1 is better.
31... Ke8 32. fxe6 Qxe6
And only now do I observe that if black plays Rh8 I lose the B on h6. Further, the d4 pawn after capturing on c3 could become dangerous. So, in a fit of terrible technique I play...
33. Bd2 Qd5+ 34. f3 dxc3 35. Qf5 Rd8 36. Bxc3
The last several moves have been inaccurate for both sides. I played Bxc3 because it will get the Qs off and the ending is won for white.
36... Qxd3 37. Qxd3 Rxd3 38. Be1 Nxc5 39. Bf2 Nb3 40. Rab1 a6 41. Bg3 Ke7 42. Rbd1 Rc3 43. Rd6
Much stronger than I realized. I was just hitting the a6 pawn but then I noticed that mate was in the air!
43... a5 44. Bh4+ Ke8 45. Rd8# 1-0
44... Kf8 45. Bf6 Rc8 46. Rfd1 is also winning. Instead of 43. a5 black had to try f5!?
Clarendon Court Defence
Profit - Coppin: Clarendon Court Defence, A43
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Brian Profit
BLACK: Wayne Coppin
EVENT: Kingston Chess Club 2003
OPENING: Clarendon Court Defence, A43
Notes by W. Coppin
1.d4 c5 2.d5 f5!?
British IM J. Levitt recommends this rare offshoot of the Old Benoni if Black wants to play for a win. He calls it the Clarendon Court Defence. Most GMs and IMs dismiss it as unsound although as far as I know, there has been no direct tactical refutation. Among the strong players willing to play it are GM Elvhest, GM Tukmakov, GM Spraggett, IM Hergott and many British titled players.
3.c4 ...
Of all the ways to meet the defence, this is perhaps the most "responsible". As IM Levitt writes:
"White has a number of different approaches to this position - I split them into three:
- attempts to smash the opening flat; e.g. 3 e4, 3 h4 and 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 f3
- the sharp main line: 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Qb6, as in Alburt - Levitt
- positional lines with g3 (with or without c4)
(Levitt continues) In these lines play can resemble the Leningrad Dutch - Black often gets a weakness on e6, but has active and aggressive piece deployment to compensate. In my experience so far, the positional approach has been the most common (but usually only after a 20 min think)."
It would take a small book to attempt to assess all of White's options, making it fruitful ground for those seeking double-edged ideas.
3... g6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.g3 d6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.Nh3 ...
Black's "hybrid" system is not easily cracked. From the Benoni, Black gets the strong Bg7 and the plan to play ...,b5 while from the Lennigrad Dutch Black gets play around e4 and the chance for aggressive kingside attacks using the f-file. White takes dead aim at the weakness of e6, a sound strategic plan.
7... Na6
Depending upon how the opening unfolds, Black's critter may go to b4 pressuring c2 and d5 or it may slip back to c7 overprotecting e6 and supporting a later b5.
8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1?! ...
The combination of g3 and e4 does not go well together because of the delay in development and the exposed Nh3. Now Black usually plays 9...,Nc7 10...,a6 11...,Rb8 and 12...b5. In light of White's obvious (and dubious) plan to play e4, I decided to offer a pawn in hopes of confusing the position even more.
9... Rb8 10.Nb5 ...
After a long think, White decided to accept the challenge.
10... Bd7 11.a4 ...
The hasty 11.Nxa7 allows 11...,Qb6 when Black recovers the pawn with huge play against b2 and d5.
11... Nb4
The aggressive b4 outpost is just the start of Black's compensation.
12.Nxa7 Ne4!
Now White cannot contest e4 either. Meanwhile, the move prepares a nasty trap by taking d2 away from White's Bc1.
13.Nb5 Qa5
White has successfully grabbed the booty but Black has the kind of active piece position that Clarendon Court players dream about.
14.f3?? ...
This is the "natural" move in the position and it loses immediately. During the hasty post mortem White suggested the nonintuitive 14.Rf1 as a winning improvement. Indeed, the move is not easy to meet! However, after staring at the board for a couple of hours at home I finally turned to 14...,e6. It was the only move that we did not seriously consider after the game because White can drive the Ne4 with f3 and simply gobble up d6. However the more I looked, the better I liked Black. I then ran the position past Chessmaster for a reality check and the machine coughed up all kinds of tactics leading to at least a small Black advantage. At the board, I believed that the awkward 14.Be3 was White's best chance to try to consolodate but I have not run that past the silicon servant yet.
14... Nc2!
Much stronger than the attractive 14...,Bxb5 15.cxb5,Nc3 when White simply plays 16.bxc3,Bxc3 17.Bd2 and laughs all over the dark squares.
15.Qxc2 Qxe1 16.Bf1 Nxg3!
Temporarily returning the material to expose White's King is the quickest way to win.
17.hxg3 Qxg3+ 18.Bg2 f4
Now White either coughs up another ex. or gets mated.
19.Nxf4 ...
Or 19.Bxf4 Rxf4 and Black's Killer Bees and the open f-file will soon decide.
19... Qe1+ 0-1
Black has any number of ways to win from here, depending upon White's reply, including the obvious 20...,Rxf4
English Opening
Towers - Dixon: English, Botvinnik, A36
Shoraka - Dixon: English, Symmetrical Variation, A30
Bokhout - Dixon: English Opening, Black Knights Tango, A00
Hutchison - Dixon: English-Reti Opening, A12
Towers - Dixon: English Opening, Botvinnik System, A24
Dixon - Danilov: English Opening, Symmetrical, A37
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Jeff Towers
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston Championship 1995 (4)
OPENING: English, Botvinnik, A36
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 c5 3.e4 Nc6
Jeff adopts his favourite Botvinnik variation in the Symmetrical English, which I had been expecting. This is playable with either colour, and was developed by GM Mikhail Botvinnik, world champion for all but two years between 1948 and 1963. White can get an unpleasant grip if it is not countered carefully.
4.d3 g6 5.g3 Bg7 6.Bg2 Nge7 7.Be3 Nd4
This move is an essential part of Black's strategy, occupying the hole at d4 with a knight, to try to slow down White's expansion plans, in which the advances f2- f4 and b2-b4 play important roles.
8.Nge2 a6 9.Rb1 Nec6 10.0-0 Rb8 11.f4 b5!?
Usually Black has castled by this time in this variation, based on previous games. But delaying castling, and thus saving time, was part of Black's plan to try for active counterplay from an early stage, to avoid a prolonged maneuvering battle in a closed position, which is to Jeff's liking. Black's King is not in danger remaining in the centre for a while longer. Neither of the two major sources available at the time this game was played, the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings nor the book 'Symmetrical English', second edition, by IM John Watson, deal with this possibility.
12.e5 d6!
The only move but it does hold Black's game together. Both players had played fairly quickly so far, but now Jeff went into a long think in this complex position.
13.Bxc6+ ...
Here, 13.Qd2 would retain the tension and force Black to justify his unusual strategy, since White has completed his development and is poised to begin operations on the kingside or in the centre. Black's best reply is probably 13...dxe5, since if 13...0-0, strong is 14.Ne4! Complex play results from 13...dxe5 14.Bxc6+ Nxc6 15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.Bxc5 bxc4. Black could be in some trouble if he tries to win a pawn after 13...dxe5 14.fxe5 Nxe5 15.Bg5! Qc7 16.Ne4 0-0 17.Nf6+ Kh8 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Qf4! So best is likely 13...dxe5 14.fxe5 0-0 15.Ne4 Qb6!?, with an unclear position.
13... Nxc6 14.exd6 Bd4!
This is the key move which makes the variation work for Black, gaining a tempo on the undefended bishop. If Black were forced to reply right away with 14...Qxd6, then White follows with the strong 15.Ne4! winning the c-pawn with the much better game.
15.Bxd4 ...
Here, 15.Qd2 keeps more options for White.
15... cxd4 16.Ne4 f5!
Driving the knight away from the protection of the d6-pawn.
17.Ng5 Qxd6
Black recovers his pawn with the better game. The absence of White's light- squared bishop will become important, and Black's d4-pawn controls key squares and cramps White's position. White's pieces are passive and uncoordinated. In addition, Black now had a lead on the clock of over half an hour.
18.cxb5 Rxb5! 19.Re1 0-0 20.Nc1 e5!
Black's better development and greater space indicate that he should try to open up the position to increase his advantage.
21.fxe5? ...
White should keep the position closed for the next few moves, until he can defend the immediate threats on the long diagonal, and redeploy his pieces to better positions. For example, 21.Qd2 Qd5 22.Kf2 Bb7 23.Rg1 exf4 24.gxf4 Re8 25.Nb3 Re3 26.Rbe1 h6!? 27.Rxe3 dxe3 28.Qxe3 hxg5 29.Qe8+ Kg7 30.Rxg5 offers some active chances for survival. This variation would have been tough to find over the board.
21... Nxe5 22.Nb3 Qd5!
Black creates strong threats on the long diagonal. White is curiously helpless to do much about it, and his flag was now hanging.
23.a4? ...
A blunder in grave time trouble in an already lost position. But even on the better 23.Qe2 Bb7, White must give up a piece to prevent mate, since 24.h3 Qh1+ 25.Kf2 Qg2 mate; or 24.Rec1 Qh1+ 25.Kf2 Ng4+ 26.Qxg4 Qxh2+ wins the Queen. So, after 23.Qe2 Bb7 24.Ne4 fxe4 25.dxe4 Qd6, Black is simply a piece up for no compensation.
23...Bb7! 24.Ne4 Rxb3 0-1
This win was sweet since not only did it come against Jeff's favourite system, but also because Jeff had finished half a point ahead of me to win the Kingston Whig-Standard title a few months before, where the difference came down to our head-to-head game, in which I had held the advantage right into the endgame only to let him off the hook for a draw.
WHITE: Mohammad Shoraka
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Queen's University Chess Club, 2004
OPENING: English Opening, Symmetrical Variation, A30
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.c4 b6 2.Nc3 Bb7 3.b3 f5!? 4.Bb2 Nf6 5.Nf3 c5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qc2 d6 10.Rfe1 0-0 11.Rad1 Qd7 12.e3 e5 13.Nh4 g6 14.Bh3 e4!? 15.Nxe4!?
After an original, comparatively placid opening, this shot opens up a whirlwind of tactical possibilities for both sides.
15...Nxe4 16.Qxe4 Ne5!
A powerful reply, perhaps overlooked or underestimated by White, who is doing well after 16...fxe4 17.Bxd7.
17.Qc2
Not 17.Qf4?, which loses quickly to 17...Nd3, or to 17...Bxh4 followed by 18...Nf3+.
17...Bxh4! 18.Bxe5!
Absolutely essential, or else White gets crushed after 18.gxh4 Nf3+. A sample variation is 19.Kf1 (if the King goes to g2 or h1, then Nxe1+ wins the Queen) 19...Nxh2+ 20.Kg1 (if 20.Ke2 Bf3+ 21.Kd3 Be4+ wins the Queen) Nf3+ 21.Kf1 Nxe1, with an Exchange up and a continuing initiative.
18...dxe5 19.gxh4 Qc6!
Threatening mate on h1.
20.e4 fxe4 21.Bg2
Clever, but Black's initiative continues.
21...Qf6!
A nice double attack on f2 and h4.
22.d3! exd3 23.Rxd3
Forced.
23...Bxg2 24.Kxg2 Rae8!
Black has an edge, although the previous play has opened up the game for White's rooks on the central files. White has defended very well for the past ten moves. The game would be almost equal after 24...Qxh4?! 25.Rxe5.
25.Rh3
White decides to save the doubled h-pawn.
25...Qc6+ 26.Kg1 Rf3!? 27.Rxf3 Qxf3 28.Qe4 Qxe4 29.Rxe4 Kf7 30.f4 Kf6
White assessed the coming pawn endgame as drawn, but Black has just enough of an edge to win.
31.Kf2 Kf5 32.Rxe5+ Rxe5 33.fxe5 Kxe5 34.Ke3
Black has the opposition, and can force White to give way in the centre with his King by running him out of moves, as will be shown. This winning method in the pawn endgame is very instructive.
34...a6 35.a3 a5 36.a4 h6 37.h3 h5 38.Kf3
Now his King must give way, due to zugzwang, as he has no more useful moves. This is the best chance, since 38.Kd3 Kf4 is hopeless, with Black queening much sooner.
38...Kd4 39.Kf4 Kc3 40.Kg5 Kxb3 41.Kxg6 Kxa4!
Capturing this one, in order to queen the a-pawn, which will stop White also queening his h-pawn.
42.Kxh5 Kb4 43.Kg6 a4 44.h5 a3 45.h6 a2 46.Kg7 a1=Q+ 47.Kg8 Qf6 48.h7 Qg6+ 49.Kh8 Kxc4 0-1
A hard-fought game!
WHITE: Peter Bokhout (2084)
BLACK: Frank Dixon (1979)
EVENT: Ontario Open (2), Kingston 2003, May 18
OPENING: English Opening, Black Knights Tango, A00
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.d4
[I served as the TD and co-organizer, and also filled in a few rounds as the odd player, all but one with Black, to avoid giving byes to other players. I also announced that I was not competing for prizes. This looked like a tough game for me, as Peter had won the 1999 North Bay International, U2000 section, with a monster score of 7.5/8 and a performance rating over 2300. But this was his first tournament in a while.]
1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6!?
[I have played this line for several years now, generally scoring pretty well. It is not covered in either of IM Georgy Orlov's two books on the Black Knights' Tango, or in any other source that I have found. The somewhat surprising idea is to allow White to play 4.e2-e4, usually a cardinal sin in this type of position, and then to counter with d7-d5, obtaining a new central structure. It is a bit like the Flohr-Mikenas line in the English Opening, 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4, to which it could transpose. IM Tom O'Donnell told me a few years ago that my move order was better than the regular Black Knights' Tango, which is usually 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6, with quite a completely different style of play. There are also some similarities, and sometimes possible transpositions, to the Guimard line in the French Tarrasch (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nc6), another unusual French line (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d6 3.Nc3 Nc6), the MacCutcheon Variation of the French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4), to an unusual line, often played by Tartakower, in the Classical French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e5 Ne4!?), the Nimzovich Defence to 1.e4 (1.e4 Nc6), Chigorin's Defence to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6), and to two lines in the Nimzo-Indian Defence, the Taimanov (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 Nc6) and Milner-Barry (4.Qc2 Nc6) Variations. I should also add that I have played all of the above variations at one time or other!]
4.e4
[The most popular reply, after which NCO gives +/= ending its coverage. I have also faced 4.a3, 4.Bg5, 4.e3, 4.Nf3, 4.g3, 4.Bf4, and 4.d5.]
4...d5 5.cxd5
[This gives the game a bit of the flavour of the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit. I have also met 5.Bg5 and 5.exd5, but the most popular continuation is 5.e4 Ne4. This is not the proper forum for a detailed analysis of the alternatives early in the game. I may put together an article in the future outlining my experiences with this variation, along with some analysis of other possibilities. Help from a strong master with this project would be appreciated!]
5...exd5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Nf3 Bb4 8.Qc2 f5 9.Bd3 Be6 10.0-0 Be7 11.a3 0-0 12.b4 a6
[White begins his minority attack on the queenside, as in the Queen's Gambit. Black has good development of his minor pieces, but needs to react precisely to meet White's plan.]
13.Na4 Qd7 14.Bb2
[If 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.bxc5 Na5. White could also try 14.b5 Na5!?]
14...b5!? 15.Nc3!
[White threatens 16.Nxb5 axb5 17.Bxb5 winning!]
15...Rab8 16.Ne2 g5!?
[This advance often proves necessary in the variation, which is not for the faint-of-heart. Black cannot let the White knight get to f4.]
17.Bc1
[Perhaps better is 17.Rfc1 Rb6, but then how does White continue!? He could try 18.a4!? with complications. For example, 18...Nxb4 19.Qxc7? Qxc7 20.Rxc7 Nxd3 21.a5 (21.Rxe7 Nxb2 22.a5 Rc6 wins) Bd8! 22.axb6 Bxc7 23.bxc7 Nxb2 wins. Slower plans on move 18 are met by 18...Rc8 (to guard c7) followed by ...Nd8 relieving the c-file pressure. For example 18.Rab1 Rc8 19.Ba1 Nd8 =.]
17...f4!? 18.Nd2
[If 18.Bxe4 dxe4 19.Qxe4 Bf5! 20.e6 Bxe6 threatens 21...Bf5 trapping the Queen.]
18...Rf7 19.f3
[The game is getting quite complicated! Interesting is a): 19.Nb3, planning to trap the N/e5 with 20.f3, but I had intended 19...f3! with great complications. a1): 20.Nc3 or 20.Ng3, then 20...fxg2. a2): 20.gxf3 Rxf3 a21): 21.Ng3 Bh3! a211): 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.Bxe4 Qg4 and mates; a212): 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.Rd1 Qg4 24.Qxc6 (or 24.Qxe4) Rxg3+!, and Black is doing well. a22): 21.Bxe4 dxe4 22.Qxe4? Rxb3 wins. Also possible is b): 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Bxe4 Nxd4 b1): 21.Nxd4 Qxd4 22.Bb2 Qb6; b2): 21.Qd3 Nxe2+ 22.Qxe2 Bc4 23.Rd1! Qe6 24.Qb2 f3!. Both these lines look promising for Black.]
19...Nxd2 20.Bxd2 Nd8 21.Nc1 c6 22.Nb3 Nb7 23.Rfc1 Rc8 24.a4 g4!? 25.axb5 axb5 26.Ra7 gxf3!
[Time to get the counterattack rolling, now that White's pieces are all on the queenside!]
27.gxf3?!
[Interesting is a): 27.Na5 Rc7 a1): 28.Rxb7 Rxb7 29.Nxb7 Qxb7 30.Qxc6 Qxc6 31.Rxc6 Rg7, leading to an interesting endgame! (Hans Jung); a2): 28.Nxc6!? Bh4!! (good for Black); White wins after 28...fxg2 (28...Kh8 also seems to fall short) 29.Nxe7+! Qxe7! 30.Qxc7 Qxc7 31.Rxc7 Rxc7 32.Bxf4! (32.Kxg2 Rg7+ is not as good for White) Rg7 33.Bxb5; a3): 28.Bxb5 Nxa5 (if 28...f2+!? {hoping for 29.Kxf2 Bh4+! followed by cxb5 since the second rank is now defended by the R/f7} 29.Kf1!) a311): 29.Rxa5 (a312): 29.Rxc7 Qxc7 30.bxa5 fxg2 a321): 31.Kxg2 f3+; a322): 31.Qxc6 Qxc6 32.Rxc6 Bd7 33.Rb6 Bxb5 34.Bxb5 f3!; a3112): 29.Rxa5 f2+ 30.Kf1 f3! 31.g3 Bf5 32.Qc3 Bd3+!! 33.Qxd3 Qh3+ 34.Kxf2 Qg2+ a31121): 35.Ke3 Bg5 mate; a31122): 35.Ke1 f2+ 36.Kd1 f1Q+ crashes through.]
27...Rg7+ 28.Kh1
[If a) 28.Kf1 Bh3+ 29.Ke2 Rg2+ 30.Kd1 Bxb4! If b) 28.Kf2 Bh4+ 29.Ke2 Rg2+ b1): 30.Kf1 Bh3!; b2): 30.Kd1 Rg1+ 31.Ke2 Qg7! (31...Rg2+ is a perpetual check if Black wants) 32.Rxg1 Qxg1 33.Ra8+ Nd8! 34.Bxb5!? (creating space for the King on d3) Rg7! 35.Bxc6? Rg2+ 36.Kd3 Bf5+ wins the Queen; this line is not forced but it does illustrate White's problems.]
28...Bh3 29.Bf1?
[If a): 29.Bxf4 Bg2+ 30.Kg1 Qh3 31.Bg3 Bxf3 threatens Rxg3+ and Rf8. If b): 29.Rg1!, White may be able to hold the game, and even win if Black is not very careful: 29...Rxg1+ 30.Kxg1 Bh4! 31.Bxf4 Qg7+ b1): 32.Bg3! Bxg3 33.hxg3 Qxg3+ 34.Kh1 Qxf3+ 35.Kh2! may hold because of the weakness of h7, since 35...Rc7?! {intending 36...Rg7} allows 36.Ra8+! Kg7 37.Bxh7! Kh6 38.Rg8!! winning for White because of the pending mate on g6; b2): 32.Kh1 Rf8 33.Bg3 Bxg3 34.hxg3 Rxf3 35.Nc5!? Rxg3! 37.Rxb7 Rg1+ 38.Kh2 Qg3 mate (again, not forced, but it is a plausible variation).]
29...Bxf1 30.Rxf1 Qh3!
[White is now in deep trouble. He finds the only defence giving up the Exchange for a pawn, allowing him to stay in the game.]
31.Rf2 Bh4! 32.Bxf4 Bxf2?
[Wins the Exchange, but misses an immediate win with 32...Rf8! (Hans Jung). This is clear after 33.Bh6 Rxf3! or 34.Bg3 Rxg3!]
33.Qxf2 Rf8 34.Bg3! Qf5 35.Nd2!
[I had missed this move, which defends both f3 and b1, when I hastily played my 32nd move. Now White may be able to survive, although Black is certainly much better. Both players were in some time pressure.]
35...Nd8! 36.Rxg7+?
[His last chance was a retreat with 36.Ra1 with some drawing chances. Now Black's pieces become much too active against White's unsafe King.]
36...Kxg7 37.Bh4 Ne6 38.Bf6+ Kf7
[Black's King will be perfectly safe here. White's pieces are now separated and uncoordinated, and the many open lines allow for a quick conclusion.]
39.Qe3 Ra8 40.Qc3 Qh3 41.Qd3 Ra1+ 42.Nb1 Nf4!
[White's Queen is overwhelmed with royal duties. She cannot simultaneously defend the squares b1, f1, f3, and g2.]
0-1.
[An original, hard-fought game, not without its mistakes, but with many memorable moments.]
WHITE: Rob Hutchison 1775
BLACK: Frank Dixon 1940
EVENT: Kingston Club Championship 2004
OPENING: English/Reti, New York System, A12
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1. Nf3 d5
[Beforehand, this game had me quite concerned, since Rob, playing Black, had defeated top seed Raja Panjwani (2207), the tournament's defending champion, in round one, an upset of about 450 rating points. Although I have done very well against Rob in previous games, only losing once in serious games over a ten-year period, our most recent game from February had me in some trouble, as Rob surprised me in the opening and played much faster than he had in our previous encounters, avoiding the clock trouble which had plagued him. I had to agree to a draw by perpetual check while I was up the Exchange, since my King was under some serious fire. I decided to be first with the opening surprise this time.]
2. c4 c6 3. g3 Nf6 4. b3 Bf5
[This posting of the bishop characterizes the New York System, named from the tournament there in 1924 which featured most of the world's best players. I decided to give my favorite King's Indian Defence the night off, to try something different, for a change, because Rob and I have played several games in the King's Indian in previous events. This decision proves to be double-edged, since Rob knows his pet lines very well, and I walked right into one of them! This caused me a few anxious moments. But I believe that trying out new systems under the pressure of tournament play can only be beneficial in the long run for a player's development. Of course, it is optimal to try out any new systems which are under consideration, in a few friendly games beforehand, against other opponents, to get a feel for their intricacies.]
5. Bb2 h6
[To provide a retreat for the B/f5.]
6. Bg2 e6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. d3 Bd6
[A bit of an audacious post; safer is 8...Be7.]
9. Nbd2 O-O
[Likely better are 9...Qe7, 9...e5, and 9...Bh7, but this move has also been played in a few Master games. This line did very well for White when it started being played in the 1920s, but more recent games have balanced the chances. Euwe -- Fontein, Holland 1925, had 9...Qe7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.e4 dxe4 12.dxe4 Bg4 13.e5 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.Re1 Nd7 16.Qc2 Bxa1 17.Rxe7+ Kxe7 18.Qe4+ Be6 and White won. A.Neilson -- Spielmann, Stockholm match 1924, had 9...e5 10.e4 dxe4 11.dxe4 Bh7 12.Qe2 0-0 13.Rad1 Qe7 14.Nh4 Ba3 16.Ba1 Rfe8, and again White won. Bogolyubov -- Staehelin, Bern 1932, saw 9...0-0 10.cxd5 exd5 11.e4 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Nxf3 Re8 14.Nh4 dxe4 15.dxe4 Be5 16.Bxe5 Nxe5 17.f4 Qb6+ 18.Kh2 Rad8, with White winning again. The slower 10.Qe1 was played in Vencke -- Meyerhold, Osterroenfeld 1996: 10...Bh7 11.e4 dxe4 12.dxe4 e5 13.a3 a5 14.Nh4 Re8 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.Nb1 Nc5, with Black winning. In Kolarov -- Padevsky, Bulgarian Championship playoff match 1964, Black tried 9...Bh7 10.e4 dxe4 11.dxe4 e5! 12.Qe2 Qe7 13.a3 0-0 14.b4 b6 with Black a bit better, and winning in 50 moves. The stronger 11.Nxe4! was played in Donchenko -- Klovans, Tallinn 1965: 11...Be7 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.d4 0-0 14.Qe2 Re8 15.b4 a5 16.a3 Nb6 =, and drawn in 26 moves.]
10. e4
[Rob preferred 10.cxd5 cxd5 first, and then 11.e4, in the post-mortem, pointing out that this exchange would take away a nice secure post for Black's Queen on c7, which proved handy in the game. This exchange would be a bit similar to the games Euwe -- Fontein and Bogolyubov -- Staehelin which are quoted above. GMC Jonathan Berry, commenting several years ago on a game played in this variation, noted that in these sorts of positions, the whole seems to be greater than the sum of the parts, since a small change in the position can lead to a completely different plan being most appropriate.]
10... dxe4 11. dxe4 Bg4
[This seems to be new. In Koshy -- M. Ferguson, British Championship, Dundee 1993, Black accepted the pawn sacrifice with 11...Bxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Nh4 Ndf6 14.Qe2 Ng5 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qh5 Kg7 18.f4 Nh7, giving White very good play for the pawn; this game was eventually drawn. In Grimm -- Lemanczyk, Germany NRW League 1999-2000, White varied with 13.Re1 Ndf6 14.Nh4 Ng5 15.Qe2 Re8, also leading to a draw.]
12. h3 Bxf3 13. Nxf3
[Offering the thematic pawn sacrifice in a slightly different situation.]
13... Qc7
[I didn't like the looks of 13...Nxe4?! 14.Nd4!, or 14.Nh4!, although perhaps 14...Ndf6 is playable in either case. Black's position seemed to be too loose, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time on the clock, to delve deeper by analysis, so early in the game.]
14. Qe2 Bc5
[Threatening 15...Qxg3.]
15. e5 Nh7
[Retreating to the back rank would interfere with development.]
16. Nd2 Rae8 17. Ne4 Be7 18. f4 f5
[Here I was hoping for 19.exf6 Nhxf6 20.Nxf6 Bxf6!, defending the e-pawn with the rook, and opposing the bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal, with a roughly equal position.]
19. Nc3
[White has played excellently so far, and correctly avoids the above exchanges, which would level out the position and free Black's game. White has a clear advantage, with more space and the two bishops. But the position is original and it is not easy to find the right middlegame plan to proceed.]
19... Kh8
[Black should play 19...g6 immediately, for reasons explained below!]
20. Kh2
[White wanted to get his King off the g1-a7 diagonal, but better here was 20.Kh1, staying out of the X-ray of Black's Queen on c7. I was concerned about 20.Qh5!, here and later, with a bind coming on Black's Kingside. As it turned out, Rob and I both noticed this move during the game!]
20... Rg8
[Again the immediate 20...g6 is likely best, although I thought this would encourage him to play 21.g4!?]
21. Rab1
[Starting to drift. This slow plan, though thematic, achieves little here since Black's Queenside is well-protected; the strike 21.Qh5! is still best.]
21... a5 22. a3 g6
[Now Black is back in the game, since he has prevented the Queen incursion, and is able to gain a bit of space for expansion on the Kingside.]
23. Bc1 Rg7 24. b4 axb4 25. axb4 Reg8
[Black has equalized the position, and is now ready to break on the g-file.]
26. Be3 g5 27. Rg1 gxf4 28. gxf4
[The correct recapture is 28.Bxf4! Bg5, and now the exchange of bishops would leave White with few problems, as analysis after the game showed. Black does gain entry on the g-file with his rooks, but careful defense will neutralize attacking chances there. Returning to the game position, Black spots the preconditions for a strong and interesting combination, which his previous play has helped to set up: 1) Undefended N/c3 which can be attacked from the e5 square, 2) B/e3 blocking the Q/e2's defence of the e5-pawn, 3) open g-file with Black rooks doubled there, 4) White's King in line with Black's Queen on the h2-b8 diagonal, blocked only by the pawns on e5 and f4. 5) White's King position checkable from g4 by a knight. So...]
28... Nxe5 29. Bd4
[Looks tempting. Losing is 29.fxe5? Qxe5+ 30.Kh1 Qxc3 with two pawns up. Likely holding the game, as found in the post-mortem, is 29.b5! Nd7 (to guard the f6 square so that 30.Bd4 is met with Bf6) 30.bxc6 bxc6, and Black cannot break through; he has to content himself with an advantage, and his e-pawn will require protection.]
29... Ng4+
[The sort of sacrificial move which is easy to miss. After all, the knight was pinned to the rook, which was itself pinned to the Black King! Now White has several ways to lose, and one way to hang on for dear life. But he responds quickly, not grasping the depth of complexity in the position.]
30. hxg4
[This loses quickly. Also losing are a) 30.Kg3? Ngf6+! a1) 31.Kh4 Qxf4+ and mates; a2) 31.Kf3 Rg3+ and mates; a3) 31.Kh2 Qxf4+ 32.Kh1 Qxd4 with a piece and two pawns up. But b) 30.Kh1! seems to present quite a tough defence! During the game I noticed this possibility, and was trying to decide between playing safely, and going for a spectacular mate with b1) 30...Qxf4? 31.Bxg7+! Rxg7 32.hxg4 Rxg4, and now Black has very good winning chances in a King hunt against any move except 33.Rgf1!! I saw this move before I played 28...Nxe5! The reason this is a problem is that this rook move attacks Black's Queen, presenting an immediate challenge to the rook-down attacker; it also defends key squares around White's King, which will have to walk out of the corner in response to checks, and most importantly it allows White's King access to e1 and escape on d1! For example, after 33.Rgf1!! Rh4+ 34.Kg1 Qh2+ 35.Kf2 Qf4+ 36.Ke1!, and the attack is essentially over, with Black lost, since his threats are exhausted, and he is a rook down for not enough compensation. So, having seen this variation, why then did I still play the nice combination on move 28!? Well, the reason is that Black has a way to avoid this line, by playing b2) 30...Ngf6!, where he remains a pawn up, and has defused White's threat of winning the Exchange on g7, by blocking the long diagonal with his knight, which is well-defended. In this position, after variation b2, Black is much better, but is not yet won. Black has a target pawn on f4, his rooks are doubled on the g-file, and his King is safe. White should probably continue 31.Be5! Bd6!, and Black will now have play against a weak g3 square, which can be hit by playing Q/c7-f7 to protect a knight moving to h5 and from there to g3. So, to sum up, the combination is sound, since against even best play by White, Black winds up with a big advantage, by exiting with 30...Ngf6!. As we will see, against weaker defence, the game is won, so the above critical decision at move 30 is avoided!]
30... Qxf4+ 31. Kh1 Qxd4 32. Nd1 Rxg4
[Everything flows together for Black, recovering his piece, with three pawns up, and his attack still continuing. He is now threatening the very strong 33...Rh4+ winning further material.]
33. Nf2 Rh4+ 34. Bh3 Rxg1+ 35. Rxg1 Ng5 36. Rg3 Bd6 37. Rd3 Qf4 38. Rxd6
[White has to surrender at least a further Exchange to prevent mate on h2.]
38... Qxd6 39. Qb2+ Kh7 40. Qf6 Qd7 41. Kg2 Nxh3
[Returning the Exchange leads to an easy Queen ending win with three extra pawns.]
42. Qxh4 Nxf2 43. Qxf2 e5 44. b5 f4 45. Qc2+ Kg7 46. b6 Qg4+ 0-1
WHITE: Jeff Towers
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Casual Game, Ottawa 2004
OPENING: English, Botvinnik, A24
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d6 5.e4 0-0 6.Nge2 Nbd7 7.d3 e5 8.0-0 c6 9.h3 Qc7
[Hebert -- K.Spraggett, Quebec Open, Montreal 1982, continued 9...a6 10.Be3 b5 11.Qd2 Rb8 12.b3 Nc5 13.Rae1 Re8 14.Qc2 Nfd7, with Black eventually winning.]
10.f4 Rb8
[Seems to be a new move, according to chessbase.com. After 8...c6, there are 278 games listed, now we are on new ground.]
11.Be3 a6 12.Qd2 b5 13.f5 bxc4 14.dxc4 a5 15.g4 Ba6!? 16.b3
[The immediate 16.g5 would have been answered by 16...Nh5!, which seems quite good for Black. White prevents this with his next move, covering the h5-square with his knight, and forcing Black's knight to retreat to the back rank, but not before Black swings his King's rook to the Queenside.]
16...Rb4 17.Ng3 Rfb8 18.fxg6 hxg6
[Black has captured towards the centre on both pawn exchanges. The questions are, how dangerous is White's play down the open f-file, and does Black have sufficient counterplay on the queenside!?]
19.g5! Ne8 20.Rf3 a4 21.Raf1! Nf8!?
[Provocative, inviting White into f7.]
22.Rxf7 Qxf7 23.Rxf7 Kxf7
[So White has won Black's Queen and a pawn for his two rooks. Who will be better in this very interesting and yet fairly common unbalanced material situation, with many unclear possibilities for both sides!? American GM Edmar Mednis, who unfortunately died a few years ago, covers this topic in one of his popular instructional books. Black must coordinate his pieces very well in order to keep the balance, and cannot allow White's Queen to get loose.]
24.Nxa4 Bxc4 25.Qf2+ Kg8 26.Nb6 Be6 27.Bf1 Nc7 28.Nc4 Bxc4
[A difficult decision, since the immediate 28...d6-d5 came into strong consideration. But I did not want to allow this knight into d6.]
29.Bxc4+ d5 30.exd5 cxd5
[So Black has the central duo of passers, while White pins his hopes on his two bishops and passed queenside pawns.]
31.Bf1 Nfe6 32.Bd2 R4b7
[Not the immediate 32...Rf8? because of 33.Bxb4! Rxf2 34.Kxf2, where White is better.]
33.h4 Rf8!
[Now this is strong, seizing the open file which White had earlier created.]
34.Qg2 Rbb8
[This first. If 34...e4? 35.Nxe4! dxe4 36.Qxe4, creating counterplay against the undefended rook on b7, and the weak g6-pawn.]
35.b4 e4! 36.a4? Bd4+ 37.Kh1 Rf2! 38.Qh3 Rxd2 39.b5!?
[So Black has won a piece, but the game is by no means over, because there is still a lot of material on the board, and White has dangerous passed pawns on the queenside. Coordination of pieces will be a must for Black now.]
39...Rf8 40.a5 Nf4!
[A perilous possibility which had to calculated carefully, as White's Queen now invades Black's Home Counties.]
41.Qd7! Nce6! 42.a6 Rf7! 43.Qc8+ Nf8! 44.Qb8 Rb2!
[Stopping the passed pawns in their tracks.]
45.Qa8 e3! 46.Qe8 Rb1 47.Kh2 e2!
[This is too strong, breaking White's resistance.]
48.Nxe2 Nxe2 49.Bxe2 Rf2+!
[For the second time, Black invades with a rook check on this square as a prelude to winning a bishop.]
50.Kg3 Rg1+ 51.Kh3 Re1 52.Qd8 Rexe2 53.Qxd5+ Ne6!
[Guarding the bishop on d4.]
54.Qc4 Re3+ 55.Kg4 Rf4# 0-1
[All of Black's pieces cooperate to produce the final mate, which has a certain symmetrical beauty.]
WHITE: Frank Dixon (1980)
BLACK: Alex Danilov (2100)
EVENT: Smiths Falls Open, 1990
OPENING: English, Symmetrical, A37
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.c4 c5
[My opponent in this game has a very strong Kingston connection. He is the son of Dr. George Danilov, who was one of the founders of the present-day Kingston Chess Club in the mid-1950s. Dr. George Danilov won the Kingston Whig-Standard Championship several times, and he also donated the trophy which serves for the Kingston Chess Club Championship. I finally managed to win this trophy for the first time (after some half-a-dozen near misses!) in 2004. Dr. George Danilov was a National Master strength player, a Medical Doctor, while his son Alex is also a Doctor, of Science, Physics. Dr. George Danilov defeated IM Feodor Bohatirchuk in a team match, Kingston vs. Ottawa, in the 1960s. IM Bohatirchuk had defeated former World Champion GM Mikhail Botvinnik at least three times, without losing, in the Soviet Union, before Botvinnik became World Champion. Dr. George Danilov also drew a simul game with GM Alexander Alekhine in Yugoslavia in the 1930s, while Alekhine was World Champion!]
2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nxd5
[A rare but seemingly perfectly playable continuation, in this reverse Sicilian Dragon position, which is not mentioned in the major sources.]
5...Qxd5 6.Nf3
[Checking a games database here gives the conclusion that the variation hasn't been played enough to yield a main line. At the time this game was played, games databases were just starting to make their way from specialized use by GMs into more general application by class players. Here are a few examples by strong players. 1) W. Ohrbach -- Reti, Bad Homburg 1927: 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nxd5 Qxd5 6.g3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.d3 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Nd2 Qd7 11.Ne4 b6 12.Rb1 Bb7, which looks fairly even, and wound up drawn. 2) Fuchs -- Letelier, Moscow Olympiad 1956: 6...e5 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.d3 Be6 9.0-0 Qd7 10.Be3 Rc8 11.Qa4 f6 12.Rfe1 b6 13.a3 Na5 14.Qxd7+ Kxd7, also about even, and ending drawn. 3) Saidy -- Bisguier, U.S. Open, Omaha 1959: 6...e5 7.d3 Be7 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Be3 Qe6 11.a3 Bd7 12.Nd2 b6 13.Ne4!? Rad8, which looks fairly even; Black won. 4) I.Raicevic -- Ninov, Dortmund Open 1989: 6...Nc6 7.Bg2 g6 8.0-0 Bg7 9.d3 Qd6 10.Nd2 b6 11.Qa4 Bb7 12.Qh4 Qd7, also even, winding up drawn.]
6...e5 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.O-O Be7
[The game has reached a form of Reversed Maroczy Bind, a common formation in the Accelerated Dragon. It turns out that Alex Danilov actually often plays this White formation when he is Black, which was unknown to me during the game!]
9.b3 O-O
[We are seemingly on new territory after this move.]
10.Bb2 Qd6 11.d3 Be6 12.Rc1 Rad8 13.Nd2 b6 14.Nc4 Bxc4 15.bxc4
[So White has obtained the two bishops, as well as being able to capture with his b-pawn towards the centre. With a slight advantage, he then goes after the e-pawn. In doing so, he gives up his good bishop, which protects his King; perhaps this is too high a price for a centre pawn!]
15...Bg5 16.Rb1 Qd7!?
[Offering the e-pawn; I decided to snap it off.]
17.Bxc6 Qxc6 18.Bxe5 Rfe8! 19.Bc3 Qe6! 20.Rb2 a5 21.e3 Qh3!
[Black certainly has some compensation for his pawn: his pieces are active, while White's position is a bit uncoordinated, as will be soon seen.]
22.f4?!?
[What else!?]
22...Rxe3!?
[An amazing idea. Black gives up a rook and a piece, then regains the piece, and winds up with a perpetual check from a disadvantageous position!]
23.fxg5 Rdxd3 24.Rd2 Rxg3+! 25.hxg3 Rxg3+
[Black needs to be very careful, as his back rank could turn into a huge liability.]
26.Kf2 Rg2+ 27.Ke1 Qe3+ 28.Re2 Qxc3+ 29.Qd2 Qa1+ 30.Qd1 Qc3+ 31.Qd2 Qa1+ 1/2
[There is no avoiding the perpetual check. White doesn't have time to enjoy his extra rook, or to mate Black on the back rank! My opponent said that this was a very lucky escape for Black, but it sure took a lot of nerve and foresight to play it.]
French Defence
Coppin - Sibbald: French - Exchange, C01
Sibbald - Panjwani: French - Winawer, C17
de la Para - Gordon: French - Advance, C02
Dixon - Smith: French Defence, Burn/Rubinstein, C11
Dixon - Profit: French Defence, Winawer, C18
Dixon - Profit: French - Winawer, C18
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Peter Sibbald
EVENT: Kingston Whig-Standard Open Swiss 2002
OPENING: French Defence, Exchange C01
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 ...
The Exchange Variation of the French Defence has something of a reputation for being drawish... an ironic choice of openings for two opponents playing to win in the last round. However with the exception of the horrific time trouble blunder, this game is a good illustration of how to build a winning game. White does not try to force things with unnecessary risks, but instead patiently exploits what Black gives with sound strategic moves that fit the game's pawn structure. Forget the result (trust me- I won't for a very long time). This is an instructive game.
3... exd5 4.c4 ...
The first point: I agree with the pundits that the 4.Bd3 lines do tend to be drawish. However the text introduces a dynamic tension in the centre... anything but drawish. Compare the structure to that found in the Botvinik-Panov Attack in the Caro Kann or some lines in the Nimzo-Indian. Those same pundits would surely not consider those openings to be dull or drawish. White is willing to accept the slight potential ending disadvantage of the isolated d-pawn. However as one chess wit observed, "Before the endgame, the gods have placed the middlegame." If Black swaps out of the centre, White will have two very large pluses- 1. More space in the centre (and he who controls the centre controls the game) 2. A gain of a precious tempo that can be decisive in a game featuring open lines everywhere for attack. Peter knows that I enjoy playing wild open games (probably accounting for his choice of the French rather than the Sicilian that he was playing all tournament) and thus decides to keep the tension in the centre.
4... Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4
This is a "book" line, but I think it is inferior to 5...,Be7. In this line, Black will be virtually forced to give up the Two Bishops giving White a small but comfortable advantage. Note also that when Black swaps on c3, White will recapture with the b-pawn- eliminating the isolani and making Queenside castling very dangerous because of the open b-file.
6.Bd3 ...
White wants to play the Ng1 to e2 in order to play against Black's Bc8 and against d5. It is an idea often seen in the games of the free thinking Americans Maurice Ashley and Josh Waitzkin. True- 6...,dxc4 is no longer a loss of tempo since White will have to move again to recapture, but then White would have the advantages of central space and open lines plus the possibility to exploit the loose Bb4.
6... Be6
This gain of tempo is actually too passive in this line in my opinion. For better or worse, I think Black should probably continue aggressively since now White gets a long positional based initiative. The line 6...,dxc4 7.Bxc4,Bf5 offers a more active piece potential. I had planned to exploit that by playing an eventual Ng1-e2-g3 followed by f2-f4-f5 gaining space on the kingside while playing against the light squared Bee. A sharp game with chances for both sides would result.
7.c5 Nc6
The problem with playing 7...,c6 (intending to provide a retreat for the Bb4) is that White gains a number of free moves to expand on the queenside. Meanwhile White's Bc1 will go to f4 and probably swap the Bees anyway meaning that White will be able to anchor a piece on e5 in support of attack on either side of the board. In short, it would be a plan that takes Black far too much time to realize. White would have a big plus.
8.Ne2 Qd7 9.Qc2 ...
Black was threatening to activate his "big pawn" by Bf5. Note that ...,Bg4? is met strongly by f3! when ...,Bh5 runs into Nf4 with advantage. White's Bc1 easily covers the weakened e3 square and Black cannot coordinate an attack on it anyway.
9... Bxc3 10.bxc3 ...
Capturing with either the Queen or the Knight to avoid the doubled pawns would be a strategic mistake here. Consider the logic- White's pieces are aggressively pointed at the kingside so Black would probably love to skip over to the queenside with his King. Now that the b-file is opened, Black accepts great risks in castling queenside.
10... h6
Since Black dare not castle queenside, he is more or less forced to play this weakening prophylactic else Bg5 would be brutal. Note that while White is attacking in this game, it is through indirect means... playing 7.c5 which virtually forced Black to give up the Two Bishops, then taking away any good squares for Black's Be6 with 8.Ne2 and 9.Qc2, and finally 10.bxc3 which discouraged Black from castling queenside and more or less forced the weakening text move in order to castle kingside. Positional chess is still attacking chess... just a bit more subtle than "sac, sac and mate". :-)
11.0-0 0-0 12.Nf4 ...
Of course. Now that g6 is weakened a bit, I inch closer while establishing a tension on Be6 (ie. I can take it when I please and there is nothing he can do about it.) I will use that tension to increase the pressure on his cramped game.
12... b6?
Whoops! Black is probably lost now. Why? Because now I can establish two separate tension points in his position and he must always be watchful of my threat to exchange on both. This will seriously reduce his defensive options.
13.Ba3 Rfe8 14.Rae1 ...
By bringing this Rook over I have another threat- 15.Nxe6 forcing ...,fxe6 (a major structural weakness) since ...,Rxe6 is met by 16.Bf5 and Black will not have 16...,Rxe1 with check... an important point.
14... Ne7 15.Nxe6...
I would have preferred to have the time to double before swapping but Black was threatening ...,Bf5 again.
15... fxe6 16.Re2 ...
Even a cursory glance at the diagrammed position is enough to reveal White's winning plan. The e6 pawn is backwards on an open file and Black has no effective way to contest the e5 square to eliminate the constricting weakness. A closer look will also show that 15... fxe6 left behind a serious light squared weakness around Black's King. My opponent is a strong player and he has seen the writing on the wall. Rather than suffer through a losing passive defence, he took a long time seeking an active way to break out of the bind.
16... Ne4!?
Peter is a practical player so this reaction was not unexpected. He pitches a pawn to eliminate my strong light squared Bee. I briefly considered kicking him out with f3 followed by f4 (after ...,Ng5) but it was too soon to lever his e6 weakness and I did not want to put another pawn on the dark squares until I was ready to push it to f5. Besides- a pawn is enough to win given that his e6 pawn is probably still a goner too.
17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.Rxe4 ...
Else c3 would be hanging after ...,Nd5.
18... Nd5 19.Rfe1 b5
Black eliminates his other tension point but it has cost him yet another tempo.
20.Bb2 ...
Toying with the idea of playing c4, but most of all it is sending Black a message- I am telling him that I do not think that he can improve his position much more than it is already. In retrospect, with time trouble looming large, I should have simply played the direct 20.Bc1 intending (among other things) 21.Bf4.
20... Nf6 21.R4e2 Re7 22.Qg6 ...
Time trouble. I should have waited.
22... Qe8 23.Qc2 ...
Unlike pawns, incorrectly moved pieces can retreat. :-) Having said that, swapping would also probably have won but the chore would be much more difficult.
23... Qc6 24.Bc1 Rae8??!!
With time running dangerously low for both players, Black uncorked this lemon instantly. It loses by force. That accounts for the "??". The "!!" are for playing what amounts to a psychological trap... now his Queen can no longer get to e8... and I glanced at my clock and the spectators gathered for the show and I moved...
25.Bxh6?? ...
... and with one careless, thoughtless move I threw away a piece, the game and the tournament. Unbelievable! After 25.Qg6 he is simply busted. Observe: 25...,Nd5 26.Bxh6,Nxc3 27.Rxe6!,Qd7 28.Bxg7!!,Rxe6 29.Bf6+,Kf8 30.Qxh6+,Kg8 31.Qh8+,Kf7 32.Qg7 mate. Other lines are just as bad if not so "pretty". As soon as I chopped the pawn I realized what I had done but it was too late.
25... gxh6 26.f4 Rg7! 27.f5 exf5 28.Rxe8+ Nxe8 29.d5 Qxc5+ 30.Kh1 Nd6 0-1
[Notes: W. Coppin]
WHITE: Peter Sibbald
BLACK: Raja Panjwani
EVENT: Kingston Chess Club 2003
OPENING: French, Winawer, C17
Notes by P. Sibbald
1.e4 e6
The first surprise! I was expecting a Sicilian. Good psychology by Raja as I am known to favour the French as black.
2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 b6
Main line is 4... c5 The idea of course is to exchange the bad light squared bishop by playing it to a6. White can play Qg4 here or a3 according to NCO.
5.a3 Bf8 6.Nf3 ...
NCO prefers Bb5+ but I had no intention of falling behind in development after c6.
6... Ba6 7.Ne2 ...
This was my first hard decision. I liked the look of 7.Bxa6 Nxa6 8. Qe2 Nb8 but played the game idea of 7.Ne2 because a) it makes c3 possible b) it prevents the exchange of Bishops. The downside however is a loss of time...
7... c5 8.c3 Nc6 9.Qa4 Bb7
I was expecting Qc8, keeping the bind on the Ne2.
10.Ng3 a6 11.Be3 Qc7 12.Rc1 b5
Over the previous several moves white might have tried Bd3 followed by Bb1 with the idea of then playing Qc2 when the Q gets kicked with b5.
13.Qd1 c4
A very important decision and one that I normally agonize over as black. The idea of closing the Q-side is attractive as black then can castle long behind the pawns. However, here I think the idea is not nearly as good as when there are pawns on c2 and c3 as often occurs in the Winawer.
14.Be2 0-0-0 15.0-0 ...
Accepting the challenge. Both sides will now use their pawns to attack the opponent's kings.
15... f6 16.a4 ...
I decided that it was worth giving up the e pawn to activate the black B. i.e., 16...fxe5 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qxe5 leaves the black king fairly well ventilated. So of course Raja avoids this.
16... h6 17.axb5 axb5 18.b3 f5 19.Qc2 ...
It was obvious that the black pawns were going to come pouring in at my king. C'est la guerre! I figured (wrongly) that I could blockade them with some knights or bishops.
19... g5 20.Nh5 Qf7 21.Ne1 Nge7
Perhaps 21... f4 is better.
22.f4 g4 23.Ng3 h5 24.Ra1 h4 25.Nh1 Kb8 26.Qa2 Qh7 27.Nc2 Nc8 28.Rfb1 g3
29.h3 ...
Chessmaster recommends leaving the pawn on h2 and playing bxc4. If ..gh Kxh2 and the K is fairly safe. I wanted to play on the Q-side.
29... N8a7 30.Bf3 ...
Why? I did not like the lines where after bxc4 black plays dxc4 opening up that white B on b7. My king is safe, only if I keep a lid the centre. (Or so I thought)
30... Rd7 31.Rd1 ...
So what's this? I dream of bxc4 dxc4, d5! Funny how the human brain fails to function. (The immediate 31.bxc4 looks winning to us but we offer no analysis to back this intuition- ed.)
31... Kc7 32.bxc4 bxc4 33.Rdb1 ...
Where it belongs in the first place.
31... Kd8 32.Ne1 agreed drawn
How are the two sides to proceed? White might try Na3 but Bxa3 is strong. Basically, all exchanges favour black because of the Nh1. So I thought I might put a N on f3 via e1 and at least gently pressure h4. Black can either move his K to the king side, oppose Rooks on the a or b files. OR black can try to recycle say a N and sac it somewhere like f4 to try to crack open the king side. Not without danger. Anyway, without a clear path to advantage I played Ne1 and offered a draw, which was accepted.
WHITE: Francisco de la Para (1778)
BLACK: Dave Gordon (1825)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU 2003
OPENING: French - Advance, C02
Notes by Dave Gordon.
1. e4 c6
Caro-Kann
2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5
French Advanced
4. c3 Nc6 5. Bb5 cxd4 6. Qxd4 e6 7. Nf3 Bd7 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. O-O Nge7
c5 looks better
10. Be3 Ng6 11. b4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Be7 13. Nb3 O-O 14. Rad1 f6 15. exf6 Bxf6 16. Qd2 e5 17. Bc5 Rfe8 18. c4 d4 19. Ng5 Bg4 20. f3 Bf5 21. Ne4 Be7 22. Rfe1 Rad8 23. Bxe7 Qxe7 24. c5 Be6 25. Nd6 Rf8 26. Na5 Bd5 27. Ne4 Rf4 28. Nb3
retreat
28... Nh4
attack, hoping for the cheapo 29. g3 Nxf3+
29. Nxd4 Bxe4 30. Qxf4
reaching time control, White self-destructs
30... exf4 31. Rxe4 Qg5 32. Rd2 Rxd4! 0-1
winding up with R vs Q, White resigns
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: WFM Hazel Smith (FIDE 2051, CFC 2078)
EVENT: Ontario Open, Brantford 2004 (2)
OPENING: French Defence, Burn / Rubinstein, C11
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4
[It is often difficult for Black to obtain counterplay in this line. I share an interesting pre-history with my opponent. Many years ago, as a high school student, I appeared in a musical production with the grandfather of Hazel Smith, Neil Smith, in Deep River, a small town in the upper Ottawa Valley. The show was "The Music Man", where Neil played the lead role of a musical instrument salesman visiting a small Iowa town (which was idealized as 'River City'), while I had a small part in the cast as Tommy, a local teenager. Hazel is the youngest titled player in the history of Canadian chess, on the strength of her outstanding showing at the World Youth Championship 2003 in Greece, where she challenged to win the Girls' Under 12 group. Hazel has since knocked off some strong Canadian masters, including FM Doug Bailey, in a recent tournament, and made a good result in the 2004 Canadian Ladies Championship in Toronto in April 2004. Hazel makes sure she has her lucky teddy bear sitting at boardside for all of her games!]
4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7
[The game has transposed into the Burn system, which is a bit better for Black than the pure Rubinstein. Although White has conceded the bishop pair, his knights control a lot of central territory.]
8.Bd3
[This slightly offbeat continuation has been played in quite a few games. It is logical and retains options of attack on either wing. Fischer -- Benko, Curacao Candidates' 1962, saw instead the more popular 8.Qd2.]
8...b6
[More thematic and accurate seems 8...c5: Holmov -- Orbaan, Szczawno Zdroj 1957, continued 9.Nxf6+ Nxf6 10.dxc5 Qa5+ 11.Qd2 Qxc5 12.0-0-0 Bd7 13.Rhe1 0-0 +/=, and eventually drawn.]
9.Qe2 Bb7 10.0-0-0 Qe7
[So far in Alexander -- Foltys, Margate 1937, which continued 11.Rhe1 0-0-0 12.Ba6 Qb4 13.Bxb7+ Kxb7, and Black held the draw.]
11.h4 0-0-0
[Seems to be the best decision, as castling Kingside would run into strong attacking prospects for White, with a bishop pointed at h7 and the h-pawn already advanced. This double Queenside castling formation seems to be quite rare in this variation.]
12.Kb1
[This seems new, according to ChessBase. Two games had reached the position after Black's 11th move, and both saw 12.Ba6 played. Aronian -- Manukian, Pasanauri 1997, went 12.Ba6 Nb8 13.Bxb7+ Kxb7 14.g4 Nc6 15.c3 Qd7 16.g5 Be7, with White winning. H.Hoffman -- M.Meyer, Germany BundesLiga 2 Nord 2000-01, went 12.Ba6 Rhe8 13.g3 h5 14.Nxf6 Qxf6 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 +/=, and White won.]
12...Kb8 13.g4 g6 14.g5 Bg7
[Having seized some space on the Kingside, White now centralizes his King's rook.]
15.Rhe1 Rhe8
[White has no more than a small advantage out of the opening.]
16.c3 e5 17.Qc2! Qf8
[Probably necessary, since the lineup on the e-file, which will likely open up soon, could be unfortunate for Black's Queen.]
18.Qa4 exd4
[Perhaps more accurate was 18...f5!?, with chances for counterplay.]
19.cxd4
[Retaining pawn control of both e5 and c5, making it difficult for Black to obtain activity.]
19...f5 20.Ned2 Qd6 21.Ba6! Bxa6 22.Qxa6 Qf4
[If 22...Bxd4, then 23.Nb3 regains the pawn due to the pin on the bishop.]
23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Qb5! Qd6?!
[Although the position looks innocent enough, Black is now getting into some difficulties, with a pin by White's Queen on the N/d7 to the R/e8. Probably better was the defensive 24...Rd8, although this does concede the open e-file to White, who would then have a clear advantage.]
25.Nc4!
[Gaining a tempo on the Queen, and preparing to jump into e5, a square which is now covered by both knights. White wants to get a knight to c6, and e5 is the perfect transit square for that operation.]
25...Qe6 26.Re1! Qf7
[Black is also in deep trouble after 26...Qxe1+ 27.Nxe1 Rxe1+, since she doesn't have enough for the Queen, and White retains dangerous chances.]
27.Rxe8+ Qxe8 28.Nfe5! Bxe5 29.Nxe5 Kc8
[A good swindling try would have been 29...Nf6!?, although White still wins after 30.Nc6+ Kb7 31.gxf6 Qe1+ 32.Kc2, as the King can avoid the perpetual check, and can also avoid lines where Black captures the knight on c6 with check and then stops the passed f-pawn with her Queen. Black clearly loses quickly after 31...Qxc6 32.Qxc6 Kxc6 33.f7 and the pawn queens.]
30.Qa6+ Kb8
[If 30...Kd8, then 31.Nc6#.]
31.Nc6+ 1-0
[It is all over after 31...Ka8 32.Qxa7#.]
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: Brian Profit
EVENT: Kingston Championship 2003
OPENING: French Defence, Winawer, C18
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4
[The famous Winawer variation, one of the most complex in chess.]
4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qc7 7.Nf3 b6
[This is a bit of a departure from the main lines, which continue with 7...Ne7 or 7...Nc6 or 7...Bd7. However, it is quite playable, and has seen use from top players recently.]
8.Bb5+
[Black seems to equalize against other tries.]
8...Bd7 9.Bd3 Ba4 10.0-0 Nc6
[In the 2003 Kingston Open, Peter Sibbald played 10...Ne7 against NM Miladin Djerkovic of Ottawa. That game continued 11.Ng5 h6 12.Qh5 Nd8 13.f4, and White won. The rest of this game will be posted on the KCC website in the future, as soon as I can find some time to get around to transcribing the rest of the gamescores. I believe that 10...Nc6 is better than 10...Ne7. However, a very interesting situation has now arisen, and not only on the board, as I will explain below. I play this line as Black myself, and I had reached this position as Black in several blitz games against Geoff McKay. He then came up with the following sacrifice, which is actually played in the game! The exceptionally funny sequel is that earlier on the evening that the current tournament game was played, Geoff and Brian played a warmup blitz game at the Club, in this very variation, where the sacrifice was played, and I didn't see this, since I was busy with my TD duties!! I only learned about this afterwards! Geoff won that game!]
11.Ng5!?
[This seems to be a novelty. Solid play would be 11.Ra2, not sacrificing the c-pawn. I had earlier played this move, in a somewhat different line in the French Winawer, against NM (now IM) Mark Bluvshtein at the PanAm Open in Toronto 1999, missing a win in time pressure and winding up with a draw. Somewhat surprisingly, there have been only five traceable games which have reached this position after Black's tenth move. In the game Vidarsson -- D.Kjartarsson, Iceland Championship, Reykjavik 1999, play continued 11.Be3 Na5 12.Ng5 h5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Qf3 Nc6 15.Qf4 c4 16.Bxc5 Nh6 17.Bd6 Qd7 18.Bh7 Ne7, and White eventually won.]
11...h6 12.Qh5 g6 13.Qh3 c4!
[In the post-mortem, both players agreed that this was better than 13...cxd4 14.cxd4 Bxc2 15.Bxc2 Qxc2 16.Be3, and White gets the c-file, which is why Brian avoided this way of accepting the pawn sacrifice.]
14.Be2 Bxc2 15.a4 Nge7 16.Ba3
[I am not sure if White has quite enough play for the pawn. But the position is certainly very interesting, and offers plenty of challenge to both players with the clock ticking.]
16...Kf8 17.Nxe6+!?
[This was the sacrifice which was originally played against me by Geoff McKay in blitz. I couldn't resist playing it in this tournament game, since I had had trouble against it from the Black side!]
17...fxe6
[If 17...Qd7 18.Nf4 bails White out, and he is better.]
8.Qxe6 Ke8!
[This was a bit of a surprise, although I did look at it. It is certainly better than 18...Rd8 19.Bd6! Qd7 20.Qxd5, which looks very good for White. Black gets his King out of the unpleasant pin on the a3-f8 diagonal.]
19.Bd6 Qd7 20.Qf6 Rf8 21.Qg7
[This was as far as I had seen before I sacrificed the knight, and I decided that White had decent compensation, although I was unsure what Black should do next.]
21...Qe6! 22.Qxh6 Kd7
[This looks good for Black, since he is evacuating his King, and the R/a8 should get into the game. White has only two pawns for the piece, so if Black can consolidate, he should have the advantage.]
23.Qd2 Bf5 24.Rad1!? Na5!
[Very alert play by Black, since it is preventing my intended sacrifice 25.Bxc4!, and is also heading for the hole on b3.]
25.Qb2 Nb3! 26.Qa3 Rf7 27.Rfe1
[Black was very short of time, and so White offered a draw here, which was turned down.]
27...Kc8
[I was expecting 27...Rh8 here, which I evaluated as better for Black.]
28.Bf3!?
[The critical position. After the game Brian indicated a): 28...Kb7?, but this is not good because of 29.Bxe7 Rxe7 (29...Qxe7 30.Qxe7 Rxe7 31.Bxd5+ wins) 30.Bxd5+ Qxd5 31.Qxe7, which is probably winning for White. Also to be considered was b): 28...Bc2!?, on which I intended 29.Bxe7 (planning to sacrifice the Exchange) b1): Bxd1 (if b2): 29...Rxe7, again 30.Bxd5 Qxd5 31.Qxe7 Bxd1 32.Rxd1) 30.Rxd1 Rxe7 (to be considered is 30...Rxf3!? 31.gxf3 Qh3) 31.Bxd5 Qxd5 32.Qxe7, reaching the same position, which I thought was winning for White, because Black's King position is weak, the R/a8 is out of play, and the e-pawn is very strong. So probably better is b3): 29...Qxe7 30.Qxe7 Rxe7 31.Bxd5 Bxd1 32.Rxd1 (probably better than 32.Bxa8 Bc2 33.Bd5 Na5!, picking up the a-pawn) Rb8 33.Bxc4 Na5 34.Bd3!, with four pawns for the rook. I think Black has a very tough defensive task ahead in this unusual endgame. Then, when I got home, I realized I underestimated the cool c): 28...Nc6!, which I think is clearly the best move for Black, removing the N/e7 as a target. I think White has to play 29.Re3, whereupon 29...Kb7 30.Rde1 Rh8 leaves Black better. Black has ideas such as taking on d4 with one of his knights, with the c2 square beckoning a fork. White now has no targets, and would face a difficult defensive battle to achieve a draw.]
28...Bg4??
[A deadly time pressure blunder, losing a piece.]
29.Bxg4 Qxg4 30.Bxe7 Rh7 31.Qd6! 1-0
[White has mating threats which can only be met by giving up more material.]
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: Brian Profit
EVENT: Kingston Championship 2004 Playoff Match (1)
OPENING: French Defence, C15
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3
[Any move which has been played by Alekhine, Keres, Smyslov, and Fischer can't be too bad.]
4...Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 dxe4 6.f3!?
[Usual is 6.Qg4. This is the Wincklemannr Gambit, popular in German correspondence circles since the early 1990s. IM Nikolay Minev has written recently that this gambit needs more games before its true evaluation can be determined. I thought it might be a surprise for Brian, who has solid theoretical knowledge in his openings. Brian was rated 2200 a few years ago, but time constraints of career and family have limited his playing opportunities recently.]
6...Nd7!?
[Now it was my turn to be surprised, as I hadn't looked at this! Both players are now on their own at move seven! More popular are 6...e5, 6...exf3, 6...c5, 6...b6, and 6...Nf6, while 6...Qd5, 6...e3, and 6...f5?! are also seen occasionally. Black is presented with a significant choice at an early stage of the game.]
7.Be3 Ngf6 8.Bc4 b6 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Qe7 12.fxe4 Bxe4 13.Nf3 Bh7!
[Black is playing excellently.]
14.0-0 c6
[Hampering the d4-d5 advance.]
15.a4
[If 15.Rae1 Qxa3!? 16.Bxe6 0-0!]
15...0-0 16.Rae1
[On 16.Ne5 Rac8! (not 16...Nxe5? 17.dxe5 Qc5+ 18.Bf2! wins a piece) 17.Nxd7 Qxd7 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Rxf6 Bg6! 20.Qe3 Kh7 21.Bd3 Rg8 22.Raf1 Rcf8, White recovers his pawn, but Black has consolidated. I wanted to keep more pieces on the board.]
16...Qa3!?
[Complicating. The game seems roughly equal after 16...Rac8.]
17.Bb3 Ne4 18.Qe3 Qb2!? 19.c4 e5! 20.Rb1!
[Attempts to trap the audacious Black Queen backfire: 20.Be7? Rfe8 21.Bb4 exd4! 22.Nxd4 c5! 23.Rb1 cxd4! wins.]
20...Qc3
[White is better after 20...exd4?! 21.Qxe4! Qxb1 22.Qxh7+ Kxh7 23.Rxb1, with two pieces for the rook.]
21.Qxc3
[On 21.Qc1 exd4! 22.Be1 Qe3+ wins.]
21...Nxc3 22.Rbe1 exd4 23.Nxd4 c5 24.Nf5!
[Black's N/c3 has no squares; White now threatens 25.Rf3! winning.]
24...Bxf5 25.Rxf5 g5?
[The game is about equal after 25...Rfe8 (not 25...Rae8? 26.Be7!), but Brian was extremely short of time here.]
26.Bxg5!
[Based upon 26...hxg5 27.Rxg5+ Kh7 28.Rg3, regaining the piece.]
26...Rfe8 27.Rxe8+ Rxe8 28.Bxh6 Kh7?
[Black has drawing chances after 28...Ne2+ 29.Kf2 Nd4! 30.Rd5 Nf8!]
29.Rxf7+ Kxh6 30.Rxd7 Ne2+ 31.Kf2 Nd4 32.Rxa7 Rf8+ 33.Ke3!
[Easiest. 33.Kg3?, aiming to maintain the two Kingside passers, creates unnecessary problems, as Black's rook, knight, and King can create tactical chances against White's King.]
33...Re8+ 34.Kd3 Rg8 35.Ra6 Rxg2 36.Rxb6+ Kg5 37.a5 Rxh2 38.a6 1-0.
[After 38...Rh1 39.Ke4! Ra1 40.Kd5 Ra5 41.Kd6, White's King strolls to b7, queening the a-pawn.]
Irregular Opening
Jordan - Sibbald: Irregular, D02
Coppin - de la Para: Irregular Italian
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Harry Jordan (1617)
BLACK: Peter Sibbald (1999)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU 2003
OPENING: Irregular Opening, D02
Notes by Peter Sibbald.
1. Nf3 d5
This game fragment contains an encouraging lesson for all players, who like Harry, find themselves paired against a much stronger player in the first round of a Swiss. The lesson is this: anyone can screw up, just wait for it!
2. d4 e6 3. Bf4 c5
Good old ECO says that this is a D02. Helpful eh?! We are both now out of book.
4. Nbd2 Nc6 5. c3 Qb6
I thought that 4. Nbd2 was passive and decided to get an attack underway. If dxc5 the f2 pawn or b2 pawn falls. After the game Harry said that he thought that my taking the poisoned b2 pawn was bad for me so he provokes it by playing...
6. g3!? Qxb2 7. Nb3 c4?
Here is that screw up that we were waiting for! It is safer for white to exit with Qa3.
8. Bc1! Qxc3+
And here Harry could have either forced a draw with Bd2, Bc1,Bd2, Bc1... OR after 9. Bd2 Qb2 I could play Bb4+ but my Queen is very badly placed. Instead he played ...
9. Qd2? ...
And black exchanged Queens and went on to win.
The take home lesson? In all games players make mistakes. Don't assume just because your opponent is higher rated that they are immune from this fact of life. I happened to escape this time but if Harry had identified his chance the outcome might have been different!
WHITE: Wayne Coppin (1996)
BLACK: Francisco de la Para (1778)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU 2003
OPENING: Irregular Italian Game
Notes by W. Coppin
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3
Spur of the moment- Francisco was looking just a tad too eager.
3... d6 4. Bc4 Be7 5. Nd5
Objectively, 5.d4 or even 5.h3 are stronger moves however, if Black wants to give up the Two Bees, in order to avoid defending the Two Knights, then I have no objection.
5... Na5
So much for any chance of transposing into more familiar territory. However, I can now use Black's loss of time to grab the Two Bees and slowly seek the inevitable way to open the position. Just for fun, I ran the opening moves past Chessmaster and the poor computer kept trying to suggest aggressive ways to tactically open the position. At various times, it wanted White to play d4 or c3 then d4 or even b4-b5. I prefer a quieter approach, particularly after Black's "aggressive" reply to Nd5.
6. Be2 Nf6 7. Nxe7 Qxe7 8. d3
Capablanca used to play this way- settling for the tiniest of positional edges in the opening and then building on the edge through the middlegame. Obviously I am no Capa but I have complete faith in the latent power of the Two Bishops.
8... h6?!
Waste of time. With no way to increase the pressure on f6, I have no intention of pinning the Knight. Thus Black has delayed his development in order to play the unforced weakening of his kingside.
9. O-O c5?
Black weakening last move was not necessarily fatal but this queenside weakening may well be losing. First point- if White wants to play d4, then sooner or later it can be forced. Second point- now castling queenside is risky because White can pry open a file with a3 and b4. Last point- Black remains underdeveloped.
10. c3 Nc6 11. Ne1
Obviously intending to play 11.f4 opening the centre.
11... g5
Okey dokie... Black is surely not going to castle into the weakened kingside. Plan B is sit on the position until Black either castles Queenside or aggressively volunteers to open the centre.
12. Nc2 Be6 13. Ne3 O-O-O
Do you like Black's position? The optics suggest that he is doing fine- more space on the kingside, slightly better centre control, seemingly safe King. What is White thinking? Simple- think coiled spring. Now that I know where Black's King lives, I intend to open the position and release the power of the Two Bees.
14. Qa4 Kb8
A reasonable prophylactic, freeing the Nc6 from protecting a7.
15. Re1
White has an obvious and simple plan- play a3 then b4, open a file, free the Bees and launch a mating attack. Black cannot simply sit and wait, however if he chooses to open the position, my Bees will rule! The text is a prophylactic against a potential ...,Nd4.
15... d5
I don't know what Black should play here, but opening the centre is positional suicide. White's coiled spring is about to be released with brutal consequences.
16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. Be3
Chessmaster finally understands the danger and rates the position as favouring White by about 8/10ths of a pawn. Black's Nc6 and pawn c5 are in deadly danger. Thus CM8000 recommends 18...,Qd6 but anticipates that 19.a3 and 20.b4 will be almost winning by force. Black decides to ignore the danger and continue to attack.
18... f5 19. Qb5
Whites ability to control the dark squares is fatal. There goes a pawn... or worse.
19... Nd4?
Whoa!! Francisco stated after the game that he was not willing to defend a long game down a pawn. Fair enough. However this sacrifice is not sound.
20. cxd4 cxd4 21. Bd2 Bc6 22. Qb4 Qd7 23. Rac1
White calmly ties the Black Queen to the defence of the Bc6.
23... h5
Francisco pointed to this as the decisive error and it most assuredly speeds things along nicely for White. Black cannot co-ordinate an attack against g2 in time to save the game.
24. Bxg5 Rdg8 25. h4
Black must invest more material in hopes of maintaining the attack. However White has a counter in the centre.
25... Rxg5 26. hxg5 h4 27. Qc5
The threat to take on e5 cannot be met.
27... Re8 28. Bh5 1-0
Black is down a Rook and out of tricks. A curiosity of this game is that the Queen's Knight was the only White piece to advance beyond the 5th rank.
King's Gambit
Sibbald - Coppin: KGA - Cunnigham, C35
Sibbald - Letourneau: King's Gambit Declined, C30
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Peter Sibbald (1999)
BLACK: Wayne Coppin (1996)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU
OPENING: KGA - Cunningham, C35
Notes by W. Coppin.
1. e4 e5 2. f4
The King's Gambit is perfect opening choice for those who prefer to play open games. Former World Champions who have played the opening include GM Bobby Fischer and GM Boris Spassky.
2... exf4
An old piece of chess wisdom says that the best way to refute a gambit is to take it! However the loss of time invariably brings with it high risk.
3. Nf3 Be7
This move defines the Cunningham variation of the KGA. It is a super sharp attempt to counter-attack rather than merely defend. Attributed to a Scottish diplomat (and spy!) about 1735, the opening received little attention until the great Philador provided some lucidity and reason for the system of moves in his famous L'Analyse du jeu des Echecs. However, it was still not seen often in tournament play until the gifted Henry Bird (1830 -1907) scored a number of brilliant wins with the defence in the late 1800s.
4. Bc4 Bh4+ 5. Kf1
The main alternative leads to the sacrifice of all White's Kingside pawns. eg. 5.g3,fxg3 6.0-0,gxh2+ 7.Kh1! leading to a position which is now known to be theoretically unsound for White but still presents Black with enormous practical problems of defence. The text move 5.Kf1, recommended by Philador, yields White an enormous centre and a well co-ordinated attack in return for the temporarily misplaced King. Indeed, Philador's move has long been credited with the unpopularity of the Cunningham.
5... d5
This was Bird's brilliant suggestion to breath new life into Black's defence. The idea is to quickly open all the lines of counter-attack, foresaking material in order to violently attack White's centre and King.
6. Bxd5
Blocking the Bishop and opening the e-file with 6.exd5 as recommended by Steinitz looks intuitively suspicious but some analysis in the early 70s by the Australian master Hay may yet yield some valuable ideas.
6... Nf6
Black hurries to complete development and castle out of the centre. The Bh4 is indirectly defended- a 19th century game went 7.Nxh4,Nxd5 8.Nf3?,Ne3+ 0-1
7. Nc3 O-O
This is the so-called "normal" position in Bird's defence. White's main tries here are 8.d4 and 8.Bb3, both leading to sharp exciting play. Instead, Peter selects a line recommended by the Rev. G. A. MacDonnell.
8. Nxh4 Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Qxh4
Now White's best is probably 10.d3!,Nc6 11.Bxf4,f5 12.e5,g5 +/= Bennett - Sheldon (cor. 1895). Instead Peter chases the Rook.
10. Nxc7? Nc6 11. Nxa8 Nd4!
Suddenly White is in big trouble. Black's threat to play 12...,Bg4 is not trivial. Peter makes room for his Queen but runs into another sharp idea.
12. d3 f3!
Now White is lost. MacDonnell - Bird 1870 continued 13.g3 Qh3+ 14. Kf2 Qg2+ 15. Ke3 Nxc2+ 16. Kf4 f5 17. e5 h6 18. h4 g5+ 19. hxg5 hxg5+ 20. Kxg5 Qxg3+ 21. Kh5 Qg4+ 22. Kh6 Kf7 0-1. The finish in this game is more abrupt.
13. gxf3 Bh3+ 14. Kg1 Nxf3+
Peter graciously plays it out to mate.
15. Qxf3 Qe1+ 16. Qf1 Qxf1# 0-1
WHITE: Peter Sibbald (1999)
BLACK: Ryan Letourneau (1445)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU
OPENING: King's Gambit Declined, C30
1. e4 e5 2. f4 d6
Very rare but not entirely unheard of. Black has much better options here including 2..d5, 2..ef
3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nc3
I thought for a while that I could play 5.fe de 6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.Nxe4+ Kg8 8. Nxg4 but black can play 5..Nxe4
5... Nc6 6. d3 Be7 7. Be3 a6 8. a3 Qd7
Both sides play a bit passively, seemingly content to develop pieces.
9. O-O Bxf3
?! Later in the game black's white squares become quite weak.
10. Qxf3 O-O
At some point black should consider getting stuck in with Nd4. If Bxd4 ed and then black plays c5 with a plausible position.
11. f5
! Because white controls d5 this move binds black down. The B on e7 starts looking very ill indeed.
11... Kh8 12. g4 Qd8 13. Kh1 Ng8
Too passive. Black must establish some counterplay with ideas like c6 followed by d5
14. Nd5 f6 15. c3 Na5 16. Ba2 Qd7
Of course the pesky knight on d5 cannot be chased with c6 because it goes to the hole on b6. Black's game becomes difficult.
17. b4 Nc6 18. Rg1 Rad8 19. Rg3 Nb8 20. Rh3 h6 21. Rg1 c6 22. Nb6 Qe8 23. Be6
! Zugzwang. None of the black pieces can move without being lost. It is remarkable that so many pieces should be on the board with Zugzwang occuring!
23... d5 24. exd5 cxd5 25. Nxd5 Nd7
No question mark for this. If the annotator awards a question mark, he should have a better move in mind and I cannot see one.
26. Nc7 Kh7
Black could resign here.
27. Nxe8 Rfxe8 28. g5 fxg5 29. Bxg5 Bxg5 30. Rxg5 Ndf6 31. Bxg8+ Rxg8 32. Rg6 1-0
King's Indian Attack
van Adel - Dixon: King's Indian Attack, A05
Dixon - Panjwani D: King's Indian Attack, A08
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Stephen van Adel
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston Open 1996 (5)
OPENING: King's Indian Attack, A05
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 d6 5.d3 0-0 6.e4 Nbd7 7.c3 c6 8.Qc2 e5 9.Nh4 a5
Both sides have opened with King's fianchetto formations, and the game was completely symmetrical to move five. But now a bit of dynamic imbalance begins, since White wishes to open the f-file, while Black aims for queenside counterplay.
10.f4 Qb6+ 11.Kh1 a4 12.Nd2 Qc7
White plans to hit the Black Queen with 13.Nc4, so Black retreats early so he can chase the knight away. After a bit of a slow start, the real action is about to begin.
13.Nc4 b5 14.fxe5 dxe5 15.Ne3 Ba6
Both sides had played briskly to this point, but Black now started to burn some time on the clock, seeking a way to unbalance the position.
16.Rd1 c5!?
Giving White the d5-square for his knight, which needs no persuasion to jump right in.
17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Qd6 19.c4 Nb6!
Black has good counterplay, since he has better development, and has blockaded the front pawn of the doubled d-pawn complex, and aims to win it or create attacking chances.
20.cxb5 Bxb5 21.Be3 Rfc8!?
Already planning the exchange sacrifice which soon follows. On the more pedestrian 21...Rac8, Black has a slight advantage.
22.Qf2 Nxd5!? 23.Rdc1 ...
If 23.Rac1 Nxe3! gains a tempo by an attack on the rook.
23... Nxe3! 24.Bxa8 Qxd3 25.Rc3 Ng4!
White said later that he had missed this intermediate move. If White now takes Black's Queen with 26.Rxd3, then Black comes out a rook ahead after 26...Nxf2+ 27.Kg2 Nxd3. White had continued to play quickly, using less than an hour to this point, while Black was a bit short of time, with the control at move 30. But he had worked out the sequence of the combination in advance, so could play his next moves quickly.
26.Qf3 Qxf3+ 27.Bxf3 Nf2+!
Black could also try 27...Nf6 with a small edge.
28.Kg2 Nd3 29.Be4! Nb4
Here, not 29...Nxb2? 30.Rb1 winning a piece.
30.a3 Na6!
Black makes the time control. His knight has had a very interesting career so far, traveling the route b8-d7-b6xd5xe3-g4-f2-d3-b4-a6. With two pawns for the Exchange, Black has full compensation and even is a bit better here.
31.Rac1 f5! 32.Bd5+ Kf8
Black now plans to mobilize his King.
33.Bb7 Bc6+!
Forces the trade of White's best piece.
34.Bxc6 Rxc6 35.b4 axb3 36.Rxb3 e4!
The increased activity of Black's bishop now emphasizes his clear advantage.
37.Rb7 Nc7!
Shielding the second rank to allow Black's King to enter the game.
38.Rc4 Ke7 39.g4 Ke6 40.gxf5+ gxf5
White's kingside bid for activity and freedom merely serves to give Black two connected passed pawns.
41.a4 Bf6! 42.Kh3 Kd5! 43.Rc2 Bxh4!
A somewhat surprising decision, giving up his good bishop for White's offside knight. But the knight was now threatening to re-enter the game via g2, and was also attacking the important f-pawn, which could only be defended by Black's King. Since White will have to recapture with his own King, this piece will now be far out of play on the edge of the board, while Black's King plans to invade White's territory, supporting the advance of his passed pawns.
44.Kxh4 c4!
Black's forces are coordinated while White's are scattered. Still, though, Black must watch the passed a-pawn carefully.
45.a5 Kd4 46.Kg5 ...
Better here is 46.Kg3! with some possible marginal chances to hold the draw with the King closer to Black's central passers. After Black's next the game can no longer be saved.
46...Rc5! 47.Rd2+ Ke3! 48.Rd7 f4+! 0-1
There was an amusing incident at this point. White, who had been behaving quite confidently all throughout the game, now tried to play the move 49.Rdxc7, not realizing that his King was in check from the R/c5 by discovery. Since his planned rook move was illegal, and since he had touched that piece, he had to move it to d5 legally to block the check, which simply drops the rook. So he resigned. But even with best play from here, White cannot hold back Black's pawns. For example, 49.Kg4 h5+ 50.Kh3 Na6 51.Rb6 c3! 52.Rd1 c2 53.Rc1 Kd2 54.Rxc2+ Kxc2 55.Rxa6 e3 56.Kg2 Kd2 57.Rd6+ Ke2 58.a6 f3+ 59.Kg3 f2 60.a7 Ra5 is hopeless.
WHITE: Frank Dixon 1940
BLACK: Dlip Panjwani 1783
EVENT: Kingston Club Championship 2004
OPENING: King's Indian Attack, Capablanca System A08
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d3 Bg4
The Capablanca System.
5. Nbd2 e6 6. c3 Bd6
Seemingly a new position already! Normal for Black is to play ...Nf6 first. For example, Zelkind -- McCambridge, Chicago 1987, continued 5...Nf6 6.c3 e6 7.0-0 Qc7 8.Re1 Be7 9.Qa4?! a6 10.Qc2 b5 11.e4 0-0 12.Nf1 dxe4 13.dxe4 Rad8, with Black a tiny bit better. Another Black plan is 5...Nf6 6.0-0 Qd7 7.c4 Bh3 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nc4 Bxg2 10.Kxg2 e6 11.Nce5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Qb5 13.a4 Qa6 14.Qb3 f6, with White a bit better in D'Amore -- Bruno, Corridonia 2000. Somewhat similar to our game was Mazariego -- Zepeda, Guatemala 2000, which saw 6...Nf6 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Re1 0-0 9.e4 Qc7 10.Qc2.
7. Qc2 Qc7 8. e4 f5
This really sets the game out on a new and interesting pattern, since most games in this line have the KN on f6, making this move impossible!
9. exd5 exd5 10. O-O Nge7 11. Re1 O-O 12. Ng5 f4 13. Nf1
Possibly 13.Ne6 immediately is more accurate.
13... h6 14. Ne6 Bxe6
Black could consider 14...Qd7!? 15.Nxf8 Rxf8, with compensation for the Exchange, since he has good development, more space, and attacking chances down the f-file.
15. Rxe6 d4 16. Bd2 Nf5
I thought he might try 16...Ne5!? trying to strand the rook on e6.
17. Rae1 Nd8 18. R6e4
A bit of a provocative post for the rook, but I figured it can always go back to e2 later if necessary, and it isn't easy to attack the rook on e4.
18... fxg3 19. hxg3 Qf7 20. c4
Defending a2 and setting up a possible strong tactic on d5 with the bishop.
20... g5
This seems too ambitious. The tempting sacrifice 20...Nxg3? 21.fxg3 Qf2+ 22.Kh2! leaves Black without a follow-up and with insufficient compensation for the piece. More solid seems 20...Nc6 followed by developing the R/a8; White would have a small advantage.
21. Qd1
Possibly 21.Rg4!? right away is stronger, menacing 22.Bd5 winning the Queen as well as a possible bishop sac on g5. But I wanted to activate the Queen, which was out of it on c2. I rejected 21.Rxd4? cxd4 22.Bd5 right away, even though it wins the Queen, since Black's knight will land on f3 later, causing problems, as the important light-squared bishop has been exchanged, with excellent compensation for Black. So I deferred this idea, hoping to revive it under better conditions later on.
21... Nc6 22. Rg4 Nfe7
Alert defence of d5, with a counterattack on f2.
23. f4
Really mixing it up now!
23... Kh8 24. Qe2 gxf4
Black offered a draw here, which I declined, since after Black's move, the position will open up to White's advantage.
25. Bxf4
Virtually forcing the trade of Black's best piece, since both h6 and d6 are hanging.
25... Bxf4 26. Rxf4 Qg7 27. Rg4
White, using his development advantage and compact piece formation, improves his position over the next phase while chasing Black's Queen around.
27... Qf6 28. Nh2
Clears the f1-square for a rook, while planning to bring the knight into the game to attack Black's King.
28... Rg8
Black would love to trade off a couple of pieces to ease his defence.
29. Rf4 Qd6 30. Qf2
Secures the f-file while planning invasions.
30... Qg6 31. Rf6 Qg7
No rest for the weary Queen. Not 31...Qxg3? because of 32.Rxh6+ Kg7 33.Qf6#, nor 31...Qxd3? with the same variation. White can also play another mate after 31...Qxd3? 32.Be4! Qxc4 33.Rxh6+ Kg7 34.Rh7#.
32. Ree6 Rgf8
Black's earlier neglect of developing his R/a8 into play is really hurting him. He cannot play 32...Raf8? because of 33.Rxh6+ winning the Queen.
33. Rxh6+ Kg8 34. Rhf6 Rxf6 35. Rxf6 Rf8 36. Rxf8+ Qxf8 37. Qe2
The game is won for White with his extra pawn, his strong light-squared bishop, Black's open King position, great possibilities for White's Queen, and the lack of good prospects for Black's knights. White would put his bishop on e4, his Queen on h5 or g4, his King on g2, then advance his knight with mating threats, and must only guard against a Black knight reaching e3.
37... b6
A mistake in a lost position.
38. Bxc6 1-0
A piece is lost to a double attack after 38...Nxc6 39.Qe6+ followed by 40.Qxc6.
King's Indian Defence
Gordon - Sibbald: KID - Rubinstein, E70 [Best Game Prize]
Hutchison - Dixon: KID - Rubinstein, E70
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Dave Gordon
BLACK: Peter Sibbald
EVENT: Kingston Whig-Standard Open 2002
OPENING: King's Indian, Kramer System, E70
[This remarkable game won the T.D.'s Second Prize for Best Game in the tournament. Congratulations to Dave Gordon and Peter Sibbald! - W.A.C.]
Notes by P.Sibbald and [W. Coppin]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nge2 ...
[It is the deployment of White's Ng1 to e2 that gives the opening system its name according to my sources. However Frank Dixon makes a good case for the name Rubinstein Variation in his notes to Hutchison-Dixon. That game follows this one.]
5... O-O 6.Ng3 Nbd7 7.Be2 e5 8.d5 a5
9.Bg5 ...
[More accurate seems 9.Be3 since Black can now gain time chasing the Bee with 9...,h6 and threats to expand quickly on the kingside. However, I confess to not understanding the subtlties of White's system. Please see the Hutchison-Dixon game mentioned above for a much deeper look at some of the ideas in this system.]
9... Nc5 10.Qd2 a4 11.Rc1 Bd7 12.h4 h5 13.f3 c6 14.Nf1 ...
[White's Critter starts on a truly remarkable journey as both sides play around the potential break at g4.]
14... Qc8 15.Ne3 Qc7 16.Ned1 Rae8 17.Nf2 Nh7 18.g4 hxg4 19.fxg4 f5 20.gxf5 gxf5 21.Bh5 Nxg5 22.Qxg5 Rd8 23.Rg1 ...
[Hopefully one of the two players in this game will explain to me what is going on here! White has given up castling and chosen to play on the kingside, where Black is generally strongest in the King's Indian. Meanwhile Black has paralyzed the queenside, where White is generally strongest, and is now meeting White's dangerous looking kingside play with the classical remedy of countering in the centre. In short, enjoy the fireworks folks, because yours truly does not have a clue!]
23... Bc8 24.Bg6 fxe4 25.Nfxe4 Nd3+ 26.Kd2 Nxc1 27.Kxc1 b5 28.Qh5 Rf4 29.Bh7+ Kf8 30.Ne2 cxd5
30...,bxc4 31.Nxf4,exf4 32.Nc3,cxd5 33.b4,cxb3 34.Qxd5,Qf7 35.Qxf7+,Kxf7 36.Nd5 [Again- I have no idea how to assess this wild position either!]
31.Nxf4 exf4 32.Nc3 b4 33.Qxd5 Qf7 34.Qxf7+ Kxf7 35.Nd5 b3 36.Bg6+ Kf8 37.axb3 axb3 38.Rf1 Bh6 39.Kb1 Kg7 40.h5 Rf8 41.Be4 Bf5 42.Rg1+ Kh7 43.Bxf5+ Rxf5 44.Kc1 f3+ 45.Kd1 Bg7 46.Nc3
46... Rxh5
My move 46...,Rxh5 is a real lemon. I should just take the knight with the B and play with the two passers. So obvious in retrospect.
47.Rf1 Rf5 48.Kd2 Kg6 49.Ke3 Kf7 50.Ne4 Ke7 51.Rxf3 draw agreed
[One of the most entertaining and puzzling struggles that I have ever had the pleasure of playing through. Congratulations again to both players. - W.A.C.]
WHITE: Rob Hutchison
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston Chess Club vs. Queen's University Chess Club, match 1999
OPENING: King's Indian, Rubinstein Variation, E70
Notes by F. Dixon
1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Nge2 ...
This move characterizes the Rubinstein variation, named for the Polish GM Akiba Rubinstein (1882-1961), one of the strongest players never to become world champion. Rubinstein popularized many opening systems which are still used today, for example 4.e3 in the Nimzo-Indian, 3...dxe4 in the French, and the fianchetto of the King's bishop against the Tarrasch Defence in the Queen's Gambit. A great strategist, he was at his peak between 1910 and 1920, but never got a match for the title. Rubinstein came from a poor background, and couldn't raise the funds for a title shot against the world champion Emanuel Lasker, which was the format used in those years. This variation is something of a Kingston specialty, being a favourite of players such as Jeff Towers and Dave Gordon in addition to Rob Hutchison. This Rubinstein variation was played in the prize-winning best game Gordon - Sibbald from the 2002 Kingston Whig-Standard Championship, which ended in a draw after some wild play.
5...0-0 6.Ng3 Nbd7
This is something a bit different from the continuations recommended by two popular opening guides. The second edition of Batsford Chess Openings, also by GMs Kasparov and Keene, and published in 1989, covers 5...e6 and 5...c5, as well as 6...c5, 6...e5, and 6...a6. Nunn's Chess Openings, by GM John Nunn and others, published in 1999, covers 6...c6. I tried the unusual 6...Na6!? against Rob in a later game, from the 1999 Kingston Championship, winning after a hard struggle.
7.Be2 c5 8.d5 a6 9.a4 Qc7 10.h4 h5!
Stopping the further march of White's h-pawn seems to slow down his attacking plans. Black now needs to watch out for the advance g2-g4, so he keeps an eye on the g4 square with his subsequent play. However, White will have to take time to transfer his N/g3 to achieve this pawn advance.
11.Bg5 e6 12.Qd2 exd5 13.exd5 ...
One characteristic of this delayed Benoni method of attack by Black, with the ...e7-e6 advance attacking the d5-pawn, is that White has already played e2-e4 and has the additional option of recapturing on d5 with his e-pawn, as has occurred here. Normally in the Benoni Black plays this advance sooner, before White has advanced his e-pawn, so that when White recaptures on d5, he does so with his c-pawn, giving Black the half-open e-file as well as the queenside pawn majority, the source of much of Black's counterplay.
13... Re8
This useful move occupies the open e-file and also allows Black to avoid the exchange of dark-squared bishops which White is aiming for, since Black has removed the pin on the rook from the h6 square. Chances are even.
14.f3 Ne5!
Threatening to capture on c4 with the knight.
15.Kf2 ...
White was faced with a decision as to his King's home. Castling on either side seemed somewhat hazardous, since White has already advanced both of his rook's pawns. So, although White has now connected his rooks, his King will turn out to be somewhat unsafe on f2 as well.
15... Bd7 16.Qf4 ...
Perhaps better is 16.Rag1!? Nh7 17.Bh6 Bh8 18.Nge4 f5 19.Ng5 Nf7 20.Nxf7 Kxf7, and now White can sacrifice the exchange with 21.g4!? Bd4+, leading to unclear play where White is certainly no worse. Probably Black should decline the offer with 21...Nf6, planning to capture on h5 with the knight and on f5 with the bishop should White exchange his g-pawn. These lines seem to indicate that Black should leave his knight on e5 to meet the advance of the g-pawn.
16... Nh7! 17.Bh6 Bh8 18.Nge4 f5! 19.Nd2?! ...
If instead 19.Ng5 Nf6! leaves Black a bit better. Black would be well-placed to meet the advance of the g-pawn, for example 20.g4 fxg4 21.fxg4 Nxg4+! 22.Bxg4?? Nd3+ wins the Queen. The move chosen cuts off flight squares for the Queen.
19... Nf7! 20.Bg5? ...
Quite missing Black's real intention. White had to move his N/d2 away, for example 20.Nb3 Be5 21.Qd2 (not 21.Qe3? Bd4! 22.Nxd4 Rxe3 wins), and now Black will double his rooks on the e-file with the advantage.
20... Be5!! 0-1
Lethal! Traps the White Queen in mid-board with all the pieces still on the board. The only possible reply is 21.Qe3 which is met by 21...Bd4 pinning the Queen for only a minor piece.
Nimzovitch-Larsen Attack
Panjwani - Coppin: Nimzovitch-Larsen Attack, A01
Panjwani - Sibbald: Nimzovitch-Larsen Attack, A01
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Raja Panjwani
BLACK: Wayne Coppin
EVENT: Kingston Whig-Standard Open Swiss 2002
OPENING: Nimzovitch-Larsen Attack, A01
You have heard it before but it bears repeating: ratings below 2200 or 2300 don't mean squat. While the odds charts (ratings) can help us identify the stronger player and make an educated guess about the eventual outcome, in the final analysis, ratings, like the odds in a horse race, are most unreliable predictors. That probably, in part, helps to explain why there are so many smiling bookies. :-) The wise understand that a tournament chess game is a struggle between two human beings and the result will often turn on factors which are strictly speaking "nonchess related". Raja Panjwani, has made great progress in the last year or so and is now Canada's top rated Under 12 player. He is a superb tactician. However, chess is a rich game and tactics are only a part of it. I decided before the game to try to exploit Raja's youthful ambition and tactical aggression.
1.b3 ...
Something of a surprise. While White has been experimenting with this opening in this tournament's earlier rounds, it's strength tends to come from the surprise value of a few opening traps. Drain those trappy ideas and White is left with a very challenging set of positional problems. In short, I was quite happy to see Raja play it.
1... e5
Black challenges White's intended fianchetto by occupying the centre. I believe that this classical approach is the best way to meet White's hypermodern idea. Of course, that debate has been going on for about 100 years.
2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6
Black is a strong believer in classical chess principles but that "belief" does not include dogmatic thinking. Since guarding the e-pawn with d6 voluntarily enters a strong pin and thus gives White TWO tension points to potentially exploit (e5 and c6), why do it? The Bd6 can always move later when White's tactics against e5 have been drained. Meanwhile, White's "Ruy Lopez" Bb5 is now misplaced since swapping for the Nc6 gives Black the advantage of the Two Bishops and strengthens Black's centre. Alas- the idea is not original. I had seen it a few days before in the game Shutalev(2140) - Shibaev(2306), 4th Stage Russian Cup 2002.
5.Ne2 ...
White has a bit of a positional puzzle to meet here. Without the pin on c6, most of the tactical tricks are rendered toothless. Eventually Black will play something like ...,Ne7, ...,c6, ...,Bc7 and ...,d5 and completely dominate the centre. Thus, Shutalev shifted gears and took dead aim at Black's Bd6 in hopes of exploiting the temporarily awkward piece placement. However after 5.Na3,Na5 7.Nc4,Nxc4 8.Bxc4,0-0 Black had no problems. (0-1 in 21) In this game White decides to head the other way and threaten Nf5. It is also too slow.
5... 0-0 6.Ng3 Re8
Now Black's idea is clear. 7.Nf5 will be met with Bf8 threatening either ...,d5 or g6 and Black is at least equal.
7.d3 ...
To develop the Nb1. Now take a good look at this position and ask yourself how you would continue as Black.
7... Nb8!
As this game suggests, Black does not usually play the opening mechanically. Just because the Nc6 was well placed earlier does not mean that you should just forget about it and leave it there. White changed the pawn structure significantly when he played d3. The immediate thing to note is that it has cut off his Bb5's retreat. Because of the threat to trap the Bee beginning with ...,c6, Black more or less forces White to move the d-pawn a second time. This balances Black's loss of tempo but the change in central pawn structure will be a net gain for Black. It is a logical idea in retrospect, but did you even consider the possibility?
8.d4 c6 9.dxe5 ...
Any Bishop retreat is met by ...,Bc7! followed by d5 and Black's development is slightly more aggressive than White's. True to his style, Raja decides to swap off the dark squared Bees instead in hopes of drumming up tactics based on the exposed Re5.
9... Bxe5 10.Bxe5 Rxe5 11.Bd3 d5
White's Bd3 is better placed than Black's Bc8 but Black's control of e4 offsets the slight development lag.
12.0-0 Nbd7 13.Nd2 Nc5 14.Be2 Qe7?!
Too cute by half. The simple ...,Bd7 eliminates any tactical tricks along the d-file and prepares ...,Nce4 with a slight but lasting pull. The text is a completely unnecessary exchange sacrifice offer containing a drop of "psychological" poison.
15.Nf3 Re6 16.Nd4 Re5 17.Nf3 Re6
There is nothing better for Black so in light of White's repetition a draw was offered... and refused! I now expected Raja to succumb to the psychological pressure to justify his draw refusal and grab the exchange by 18.Nd4,Re5 19.f4,Rxe3 20.Nf5,Qe8 20.Nxe3,Qxe3+ followed by 21..,Nce4! with excellent attacking chances for the small material investment. Indeed, I think that White would be busted. After the game, Raja said he saw it all but still thought that he should be winning here. Hence he rejected the draw offer and looked for complications.
18.Nf5 Qf8 19.N3d4 Re5 20.g4? ...
Frustrated by Black's solid central control, White finally succumbs to the psychological warefare and lets loose the hounds. However Black calmly refutes the weakening aggression.
20... Nce4 21.g5 Nc3 22.Qd3 Nxe2+ 23.Qxe2 Ne4
Now 24.f4?,Rxf5! is winning for Black. White has no choice but to retreat and cough up the g-pawn.
24.Ng3 Rxg5
Now 25.f4?,Nxg3 wins for Black. If the White Queen stays on e2 then Black will play ...,Bg4 or perhaps ...,Bh3 with a strong attack. Now in some time trouble, White decides to offer his own exchange sac. but he does not get enough.
25.Qf3? Nd2 26.Qg2 Nxf1 27.Rxf1 Qe7 28.Nf3 Rg6 29.Kh1 Bg4 30.Rg1 Qf6
Now that both players have made the first time control, the game enters a new phase that features Black slowly unwinding as White continues to seek complications to offset the material deficit.
31.Ne1 Re8 32.f3 Bd7 33.Qf2 Qe5 34.Ng2 c5
When Black's Bee reaches c6, White can forget about pushing the f-pawn. Raja finds a good practical try to keep punching but it too falls a little short.
35.Rd1 Bc6 36.b4!? ...
For another pawn, White regains control of d4 for both defensive and offensive purposes.
36... cxb4 37.Rd4 a5 38.f4 Qe7 39.Nf5 Qf6!
The quickest way to win... now that White has weakened the h1-e4 mini-diagonal, Black can give back the exchange... for a price.
40.Ngh4 ...
White really has nothing better.
40... Bd7 41.Nxg6 Bxf5 42.Nh4 Be4+ 43.Nf3 Qg6 44.Qg2 Rc8! 45.Rd2 ...
Or 45.Qxg6?,Bxf3+ wins.
45... Qh5 46.Rf2 Rc3
White is virtually in zugzwang. The end is near.
47.Kg1 h6
White was threatening 48.Qg5 forcing off the Queens and offering some small survival chances.
48.Qg3 Rxe3
White has escaped the pin on the diagonal but now a pin on his third rank maintains the bind. The final moves were:
49.Rg2 g6 50.f5 Qxf5 51.Qb8+ Kh7 52.Rxg6+ Qxg6+ 0-1
[Notes: W. Coppin]
WHITE: Raja Panjwani (2173)
BLACK: Peter Sibbald (1999)
EVENT: Kingston Grand SNAFU 2003
OPENING: Nimzovitch-Larsen Attack, A01
Notes by Peter Sibbald.
Although this game ends in a draw it is far from dull! Put on your seat belts take a look at this, one of the most exciting games I have played in a long time.
1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb5 d6
Larsen's Opening. ECO code A01. White wants to establish a strong black diagonal with the B on b2.
5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4!?
Raja aims for an active, unbalanced position.
6... Bd7 7. Bxc6?!
Is it correct to give up the white B so easily?
7... Bxc6 8. Nf3 Be7 9. c4 O-O 10. Nc3 Ne8?
Not a great idea. The plan was to play Bf6 and contest the long diagonal. And the knight does cover g7 but Re8 was better. Bxf3 got a brief look but I rejected it because I did not want to face an open g-file.
11. O-O-O a6 12. Qd3
The battle lines are drawn. Both sides now try to pry open the king positions with pawn advances.
12... b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nd4 Qd7
Chessmaster wants to take the g2 pawn and with it's fine analytical brain can find ways to do this. With my rather human brain I still do not want to open the g-file.
15. Kb1 Rb8?!
Once the white K covers a2, white really is threatening to take the b5 pawn. However, Rb8 is a poor move and b4 is more to the point.
16. h4 Nf6
I dream of 17...b4 18. N somewhere ...Be4 winning the white Q.
17. f3 b4 18. Nxc6 Qxc6 19. Ne2 Nd7 20. Nd4 Qb6 21. g4 Ra8 22. Qc2!
Leans on c6 and defends a2 AND moves the Q from d3 where is it exposed to attack after ...Nc5.
22... Bf6 23. g5 Bxd4 24. Bxd4 Qa5 25. h5 c5 26. Ba1
White could probably play Bf6!?
26... Ra6
When I played this I was very pleased with it. The R on a6 covers d6 and can later help with g6 or f6 if the need arises. I can now also play Rfa8 and pile up on a2. However, 26...c4 might be very strong! For example, 26..c4 27. Qxc4 b3 is good for black. So 27. Rxd6 cxb3 28. Qxb3 Nc5 29. Qb2 f6 30. gf Rxf6 and black is threatening to play b3 with a better position than in the game?!
27. Qb2 f6 28. h6 g6 29. gxf6 Nxf6 30. Rdg1
White threatens to sac on g6. In some lines the sac on f6 is also on and white's h pawn queens. Black has to be very careful here!
30... d5
Now I like that R on a6 again!
31. f4 c4 32. Qc2
Threatening to sac on g6 again.
32... Ne4 33. Rh2 c3
Putting the a1 B in a very small box. Black now obtains an advantage.
34. Rd1 Qb6?! 35. Qd3 Rf5 36. Rc2
Black now has a significant advantage. Sadly, an advantage is not a win.
36... Qa5 37. Qd4
Threatening mate.
37... Ra7 38. a4!
Black cannot capture (bxa3 e.p.) without freeing the B.
38... Qc5?!
Probably black should play Rh5 and pick up the h6 pawn.
39. Bxc3!
How many ways can you find for black to go wrong here? Not 39..Nxc3+ 40. Rxc3 Qxd4 41. Rc8+ Not 39..Qxd4 either.
39... bxc3 40. Qxc5 Nxc5 41. Rxc3
White has played well. The two united passed pawns are far more valuable than the B buried on a1.
41... Ne4 42. Rc8+ Kf7 43. Rh8 Ke6 44. Re8+ Re7!
Not 44..Kd6?? 45. Rxe4 winning.
45. Rc8 Rh5 46. Rc6+ Kd7 47. Rc2 Rxh6??
Black throws his edge away. I simply overlooked that the d-pawn hangs. Black must simply play Nf6 first and then take on h5.
48. Rxd5+ Ke8 49. b4 Rh2
I could not resist this amusing move.
50. b5 Rxc2 51. Kxc2 Rc7+ 52. Kb2 Nf6 53. Rd4 Nd7 54. Kb3 Kd8 55. e4 Kc8 56. a5 Kb7?
There was nothing wrong with 56...Nc5+ 57. K somewhere, Ne6 picking up the f-pawn. The text allows the R on c7 to be attacked and forces black to give up the N for the two pawns.
57. b6 Nxb6
Black offered a draw, which with two tired players was accepted. A lively attacking game.
1/2 - 1/2
Queen's Gambit
Dixon - Cairns: Queens Gambit Declined, D51
Dixon - Tong: Queen's Gambit Accepted, D24
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: James Cairns
EVENT: Kingston Championship 1995
OPENING: Queens Gambit, D51
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.d4 d5
Jim has also played the King's Indian, Gruenfeld, and Nimzo-Indian defences against me. I guess one should expect no less in the way of variety from a man who has played chess for over 60 years! Jim has been a strong A-class player for a long time, and won the Kingston City Championship in the 1960s.
2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7
To paraphrase Bobby Fischer from his great book "My 60 Memorable Games", this move is a refinement attributed to GM Tigran Petrosian, but was actually played by the Czech Master Rudolf Charousek in the 1890s, and probably dates back even further. The normal move is 3...Nf6; the Tarrasch Defence is 3...c5. The point of the move is that White, now lacking any other good developing move, is obliged to follow up with 4.Nf3, thereby forgoing any lines where the King's knight could be profitably developed to the e2 square. Also, the Exchange variation with 4.cxd5 exd5 now has less bite for White than it would after Black's 3...Nf6. Fischer played the line with 3...Be7 as Black against IM Mario Bertok, Stockholm Interzonal 1962, and annotated this game in his book.
4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 ...
Something a bit different than the usual move 5.Bg5 which has been very heavily analyzed. This alternative variation has become quite popular in itself the past few years.
5...c6
A bit passive but definitely playable. The sharper lines with 5...c5 often see White castling long.
6.e3 Nbd7 7.h3 ...
To secure a retreat square for the B/f4, to preserve it from exchange. This versatile move also could serve as a escape hatch for White's King in the event of kingside castling, or as the start of a pawn advance with a later g2-g4.
7...0-0 8.Qc2 dxc4
Up to the eighth move, Black followed recommendations of theory, which now continues with 8...Re8. Black also allows White to save a tempo by capturing on c4 with his bishop in one move from f1, rather than moving this bishop first, to e2 or d3, and then having to capture on c4. But Jim has some interesting active ideas to follow up, so this move cannot be condemned.
9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.Bg3 N7f6 11.e4 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qa5 13.0-0 ...
Black was threatening 13...Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Qxc3+ winning. Although Black has traded one minor piece to free his game somewhat, White has a small advantage with the better centre and more space.
13...Bd7
Here 13...b5 14.Bd3 Bb7 seems more likely to generate active counterplay for Black.
14.Rab1 b5 15.Bd3 h6 16.Ne5 ...
A move characteristic of this opening. The American grandmaster Harry Nelson Pillsbury (1872-1906), victor at Hastings 1895, the strongest event ever held to that point in chess history, where he overcame all the world's best players, including Lasker, Steinitz, Tarrasch, Chigorin, and Blackburne, pioneered this method of attack in the Queen's Gambit.
16...Qd8 17.f4 a6
To guard the b-pawn, so that Black can get counterplay with the advance...c6-c5.
18.Nxd7 ...
Giving up his strong knight for the passive bishop, but White needs the e5-square for his planned central pawn advance.
18...Qxd7 19.e5 Nd5 20.Rbe1 ...
To prevent a knight fork on e3.
20...c5 21.f5! exf5
Here better would have been 21...Rac8, preparing counterplay on the c-file. By capturing on f5, Black speeds White's initiative.
22.Bxf5 Qd8 23.e6! f6
Gives White a free hand to attack on the Kingside, as the game shows. Black will suffer on the light squares. But Black is also in trouble after 23...c5 24.exf7+, since he can't capture the pawn without losing perhaps even more quickly: a) 24...Rxf7? 25.Be6 wins the Exchange; b) 24...Kxf7? 25.Bg6+ Kg8 26.Rxf8+ Qxf8 27.Rf1 Bf6 28.Be5 with a huge advantage for White.
24.Bg6 cxd4 25.Bf7+ Kh8 26.cxd4 Rc8 27.Qg6! ...
White obtains a powerful attacking formation, with dominance on the light squares, where Black cannot counter effectively since he has already exchanged his light-squared bishop.
27...Qb6! 28.Rf5! ...
White is willing to give up his d-pawn for additional time used for attack. He envisions moving his rook to h5, then sacrificing it on h6 to force mate.
28...Qxd4+ 29.Bf2! Qd3!
Black sees through White's plans, pinning the rook on f5 to the Queen on g6.
30.Qh5! ...
Not only getting out of the pin, but double-attacking Black's knight on d5.
30...Nb4
Unfortunately for Black, if he tries to maintain the knight on its strong central square, with 30...Rfd8, he loses a piece after 31.Rd1!
31.Be3! ...
Now White plans to sacrifice his bishop on h6. Having driven away the Black knight, which was controlling the e3 square, he can continue his attack.
31...Qc3 32.Re2 Rfd8 33.Bxh6! Rd1+
Black cannot take the bishop since 34.Qxh6 mate follows, so he tries his own counterattack.
34.Kh2 Bd6+
Now White has an amazing counter for this move! He will block Black's bishop check with his own bishop, leading to a beautiful discovered checkmate!! I have never seen this tactic achieved anywhere else! We can call it a 'discovered check-blocking checkmate', or a 'disco check-blocking mate' (DCBM) for short. White saw this idea a few moves earlier. Note, however, that Black's play was strong enough that if White had been forced to reply now with 35.g3?, then Black would force checkmate himself with 35...Qxg3!
35.Bf4!! 1-0
Jim's face dropped! What a finish!! One of my favourite games. Black played well, but he seemed to be just a minute late and a dollar short with his counterplay throughout most of the game.
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: Andy Tong
EVENT: Queen's University Chess Club, 2003
OPENING: Queen's Gambit Accepted, D24
Notes by Frank Dixon. A good positional teaching game!
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Nc3 c5 5.dxc5!?
Unusual, but I thought I would try this, as I don't really know very much about this opening variation! This gives Black the chance to trade Queens, which he takes.
5...Qxd1+ 6.Kxd1!
The King might as well recapture, to keep the N/c3 developed on a good square. With Queens exchanged, the King will be safe near the centre, and may even be better here than on a wing, since it can cooperate in endgame plans.
6...e6 7.e3 Bxc5 8.Bxc4 0-0 9.Ke2 Rd8!
Very good, moving immediately to challenge the open file.
10.a3
A bit more to this move than meets the eye. After Black's reply, the B/c4 is safeguarded, since Black can no longer chase it with Nb8-c6-a5, as the a5-square is occupied by a pawn.
10...a5 11.b3 Nc6 12.Bb2 Ba7
Although the Queens have been exchanged, an interesting middlegame is still possible. This move begins a series of wasted moves with this piece, which has trouble finding a useful role. The bishop should probably have stayed where it was. Black needed to come up with a coordinated middlegame plan; he struggles with this, allowing White to build up an advantage with mainly routine moves.
13.Rad1 Rxd1 14.Rxd1
This rook exchange has helped White, since he now controls the only open file, and has a lead in development, along with a safe King. This adds up to a clear advantage.
14...b6 15.Rd6 Bb7 16.Nb5 Bb8
Enclosing the rook. Black does have to watch his back rank, and he handles this challenge fairly well. Black might have been better off to allow this bishop to be exchanged, since he is very cramped on the queenside. A middlegame plan to equalize the position, by trading the second pair of rooks, by challenging on the only open file, the d-file, would have likely allowed Black to hold the game with very precise defence. As it is, the d-file stays in White's hands, and he is able to slowly increase his advantage.
17.Rd1 Ba6 18.h3 Ne8 19.g4
Grabbing some space on the kingside, with future possibilities of expansion and possibly attack, with his well-placed bishops and mobile knights. Kingside attacking chances by White make it difficult for Black to react to all possible options. Also, White's kingside pawn formation stops any possibilities of counterattack or counterplay. So, Black probably does the right thing by forcing exchanges in the next few moves.
19...Nc7 20.Nbd4 Bxc4+ 21.bxc4 Nxd4+ 22.Nxd4!
White took a few minutes here, examining the options. This is the best of the four possible recaptures, keeping the pawn structure stable, with maximum flexibility for the future. Although Black has traded two sets of minor pieces, trying to free his position, his game is still quite restricted with little counterplay. However, White's kingside attacking chances have now been minimized.
22...Ne8 23.Nb5 f6?
Creates another weakness on e6. Black is getting into some trouble, and should probably have played 23...Kf8 with the idea of transferring his King to the queenside to assist with defence there.
24.Bd4!
Attacking the weakness on b6. It will be very difficult to defend. There is an important idea in endgame play, called the "Principle of Two Weaknesses". Many positions with a slight disadvantage can in practice be held if there is only one weakness, for example, here on b6. But if there are two weaknesses, the defender has a much tougher challenge. Because of this, Black should have done everything possible to avoid creating a second weakness on e6. Also, the two weak points, e6 and b6, are separated by several squares, further stretching the resources of the defence.
24...Nd6 25.Kd3
The King's central location now pays off with an easy transfer to the queenside, adding to Black's problems.
25...Nxb5 26.cxb5
Fixing the weakness on b6.
26...Bc7 27.Rc1!
Seizing the newly-opened c-file.
27...Ra7
The rook's first move of the game, passively defending the badly-placed bishop.
28.Rc6 Bd8 29.Rxe6 Kf7 30.Rc6 Rd7 31.Kc4 Rc7 32.Rxc7+ Bxc7 33.Kd5 Ke7 34.Kc6 Bd6 35.a4 1-0
The b-pawn falls, leading to an easy queening march. This is the sort of game I very rarely play, an almost purely positional game, with few tactical variations. Black made no serious mistakes, but the advantage of the first move, and Black's lack of counterplay, made life fairly simple for White.
Ruy Lopez
Dixon - Ho: Ruy Lopez, Flohr-Zaitsev Variation, C92
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: David Ho
EVENT: Queen's University Chess Club, Kingston 2002
OPENING: Ruy Lopez, Flohr-Zaitsev Variation, C92
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6
Black is a strong unrated player, probably of about Class 'A' strength, based on several previous friendly games I have played with him. I have lost a couple of times as Black in closed, hard-fought games against David Ho.
5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0
This move order gives Black the chance to play the Marshall Attack, a very sharp pawn sacrifice, after 8.c3 d5!? This variation was analyzed for ten years by American GM Frank Marshall, U.S. Champion from 1909-36. Marshall, who was born in Montreal, unleashed the line upon Jose Raoul Capablanca at New York 1918, but the Cuban genius, world champion from 1921-27, seeing it for the first time, refuted it over the board! This variation continues to be played today, more than 80 years later, at all levels of chess, and has been deeply analyzed well into the middlegame.
8.c3 d6
Relieving the suspense. Play now moves into normal lines in the Closed Lopez.
9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8
This sequence characterizes the Flohr-Zaitsev Variation, popularized in the 1980s by former world champion Anatoly Karpov. I have faced it quite a bit in friendly games with GMC / FM Martin Kreuzer, Kingston champion 1989-91, while Martin was on a post-doctoral fellowship in mathematics at Queen's University in Kingston. I never dared to give Martin a chance to play it against me in a tournament game, having witnessed his prowess with it. During the 1990 Kasparov - Karpov World Championship match, Martin was pointing out Karpov's mistakes in this variation! Martin is now a professor of mathematics at the University of Regensberg, Bavaria, Germany, and played for the victorious German 6-man team in the most recent correspondence chess Olympiad. Current theoretical evaluation of this line gives Black almost equal chances after many thousands of master games, but there is a great deal of knowledge required to play the system.
11.Nbd2 h6
A move more characteristic of the Smyslov Variation, developed by Vassily Smyslov, world champion 1957-58. There it is played on Black's ninth move. But as we shall see, Black has a new, very interesting idea in mind. Normal here is 11...Bf8, transposing back into the Flohr-Zaitsev line.
12.Nf1 Nh7!? 13.Ng3 Bg5!?
I have never seen this before. White decides to ignore the offer to exchange on g5 with either bishop or knight, and continues with normal Spanish play.
14.a4 Bxc1 15.Rxc1 Na5
Black has moved his bishop three times to exchange it for White's bishop, which never moved in the game, so White must be gaining some time for development. Still, Black's position seems to be OK.
16.Bc2 Ng5!?
Another offer to exchange pieces, which White also passes up, as he carries on with building his position.
17.Nf5 c5 18.d5 Bc8
Since White has closed the centre with 18.d5, Black smartly decides to transfer his bishop back to c8, to give it more scope.
19.N3h4 Kh7?
This turns out to be a serious mistake, moving his King into the concealed firing line of the bishop on c2. Black would like to kick the strongly posted N/f5 away, but he can't do this immediately, since 19...g6? 20.Nxh6+. Black should probably capture the N/f5 with his bishop, and accept a slightly worse but probably still defensible position, after 19...Bxf5 20.Nxf5.
20.Qh5! Qf6 21.f4! ...
Very strong because not only is White threatening to open lines, such as the f-file, the e-file, and especially the diagonal b1-h7, but Black's knight on g5 now has no retreat squares, so Black must lose at least a piece. He elects to complicate and capture on f4, creating several drastic possibilities for the bishop on c2. From the frying pan into the fire, as they say!
21...exf4 22.e5! Rxe5
23.Nxh6+! Bf5
If 23...g6, a fate similar to the game awaits Black after 24.Ng4+!!
24.Bxf5+ g6
Although Black has lost a piece, he said later he thought he would regain it since White now has three pieces (Q/h5, B/f5, and N/h6) under attack. But a very nasty surprise now awaits him.
25.Ng4+!! ...
Even though White's Q/h5 is giving check and is under attack, it cannot be captured because White's B/f5, itself under attack, is pinning the g-pawn to Black's King! There is quite a lot of tactical action taking place within the crowded realm of Black's King! You could say that this move sets the pan itself on fire!
25...Kg7 26.Qh6+ 1-0
It is mate next after 26...Kg8 27.Nxf6 mate
Scandinavian Defence
Panjwani - Murray: Scandinavian, B01
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Dilip Panjwani (1829)
BLACK: Brian Murray (1560)
EVENT: Whig Standard Open 2003
OPENING: Scandinavian Defence
Notes by: W. Coppin
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 Bf5 7. Nf3 Nb4 8. Rc1 e6 9. a3 Nc6 10. Be2 Be7 11. b4 O-O 12. O-O Bf6 13. Qd2 e5 14. d5 e4 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4
Up to now, both players have played reasonably. White has more space but Black has no serious weakness. After 16...,Bg5, Black chops some wood and can reasonably expect to draw.
16... c6??
However this move is a serious strategic mistake. White will be handed a protected passed pawn on d6. White's extra space and a protected passed pawn should be more than enough to force a win.
17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. d6 Rad8?
Perhaps an immediate 18...,Nd7 intending a possible Ne5-d3 would offer some counterplay. The Rook move essentially loses a tempo and that is enough for White to force the win.
19. c5 Nd7 20. f3 exf3 21. Bxf3 Ne5
One move too slow. :-) Now the pin on the f-file is nasty.
22. Ne2 Nxf3+ 23. Rxf3 Qg6 24. Rg3 Qf6 25. Rf1 g6 26. Nd4 Kh8 27. Nxf5 gxf5 28. Rgf3 Rg8 29. Rxf5 Rxg2+ 30. Qxg2 Qd4+ 31. Qf2 Rg8+ 32. Kh1 Qe4+ 33. Qf3 1-0
Sicilian Defence
Dixon - deLugt: Sicilian - Sozin/Fischer Attack, B83
Dixon - Min: Sicilian - Najdorf, B90
Kirby - Dixon: Sicilian - Najdorf, B90
Kirby - Hutchison: Sicilian - Taimanov, B47
Kirby - Predescu: Sicilian - Najdorf, B90
Kirby - Panjwani: Sicilian - Closed, B25
Rashidifar - Dixon: Sicilian - Alapin, B22
Profit - Dixon: Sicilian - Taimanov, B47
Dixon - Gagnon: Sicilian - Dragon, B78
Coppin - Munro: Closed Sicilian, B23
Coppin - Sibbald: Sicilian - Marshall, B40
Cairns - Woldmo: Sicilian - 2.Na3
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Frank Dixon (2069)
BLACK: Gerald DeLugt (1852)
EVENT: Kingston Whig-Standard 1999
OPENING: Sicilian, Classical, Sozin/Fischer Attack, B83
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 ...
[I don't normally play this, but had decided before the tournament to try lines I don't usually play as often as possible.]
6...a6 7.0-0 e6 8.Be3 Be7 9.f4 0-0 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.a4 ...
[White normally castles long in this formation, heading for the Velimirovic Attack. The game heads for less-travelled paths; this position is not considered by Nunn's Chess Openings, although both sides have played logically. White has normally retreated his bishop to b3 by this time, and perhaps also slid his King over to h1.]
11...e5!?
[Black gets excellent play with 11...Nxe4!? 12.Nxe4 d5 13.Bxd5 exd5 14.Ng3 Bc5, which seems to equalize.]
12.Nf5!? ...
[Probably best is 12.Nb3, and 12.Nf3 is probably also better than the move played. But the text definitely sharpens the game, which was another goal for this event.]
12... Bxf5
[Black can also equalize with 12...Be6!]
13.exf5= Rad8 14.Rad1 Rd7?
[But this plan to build for the d6-d5 advance is too slow. 14...Nd4, to mix it up, was better, as was 14...Nb4!? to reinforce the d6-d5 push, which perhaps would even give Black a small advantage. The text allows White to build a strong initiative and attack.]
15.g4! Rfd8
[It was still not too late to back out with 15...Ne8 16.g5 Nb4 17.fxe5 dxe5 18.Rxd7 Qxd7, and now 19.g6! would be a little better for White, who has the initiative, but at least Black has things under control.]
16.g5 Ne8
[This knight would normally head to d7 on the g5 push with a decent position for Black, but that square is already occupied by Black's rook. The text leaves Black's game constricted and his pieces uncoordinated; White quickly takes advantage of this.]
17.Nd5! Qb8 18.g6! Nf6 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6 20.gxf7+ Kf8
[20...Kh8!?]
21.Be6! ...
[This wins an Exchange in all lines, since Black's rooks are stepping on each other's toes in their limited space.]
21... Rc7 22.Qh5? ...
[Of course, 22.Bb6, the logical extension of White's previous play, grabs the aforementioned Exchange. There is a very strange but true explanation for this Queen move. The e3-bishop was sitting behind my e2-Queen, which is a much taller piece. Having written 22.Bb6 on my scoresheet, I then reached over and picked up my Queen and was going to move it to b6! But Queens don't move that way, so I had to play the only other decent move with my already-touched Queen! This allows Black to escape all of his problems and even generate some strong counterplay.]
22...b5!
[Now the Black Queen guards the b6 square.]
23.fxe5 ...
[23.Qxh7 is not dangerous, since the Queen would easily be driven out by ...Rd8-h8 after Black's King moves to e7. Black's f6-bishop is perfectly placed for Kingside defence.]
23...Nxe5! 24.a5 Nc4! 25.Bxc4 ...
[This is unfortunately forced, and now White's strong light-squared bishop is removed, easing Black's defence considerably.]
25... Rxc4 26.Bb6 Rh4! 27.Qe2 Rd7 28.c3 Be5? ...
[Black would have had a small advantage after either 28...Re7 or 28...Rxf7. Nothing would have remained of White's attack. Black, with dark-square dominance, could have then prepared the ...d6-d5 advance to clear the way for his Queen to attack h2, with dangerous threats. Black, however, was getting short of time with the control to make at move 30. He admitted afterward that he had never even considered my deadly reply.]
29.Qxe5!! ...
[Removing the powerful bishop. Black is now defenceless on the dark squares.]
29...dxe5 30.Rxd7 ...
[Now all of the positive elements of White's position gel together (annoying f7 pawn, dangerous rook on the seventh rank, strong bishop on b6 enforcing a dark-square bind, safer King) to overwhelm Black's problems (King in danger, Queen in a box, disconnected pieces, no counterplay). Material is even equal. White has two nasty threats: 31.Bc5 mate!, and 31.Rd8+ winning the Queen, which cannot both be prevented.]
30...Rg4+!? 31.Kf2! ...
[It was still not too late to lose the game: 31.Kh1?? Qa8+! and mates.]
31... Rf4+ 32.Ke2 Rxf1
[The desperate try 32...Re4+ 33.Kd3 Rd4+!? fails after 34.cxd4 e4+ 35.Kxe4, since 35...Qxh2 is met by 36.Bc5 mate and 35...Qa8+ loses to 36.Kd3. Black must give up his Queen to stop 37.Bc5 mate.]
33.Kxf1 ...
[Forgetting about 33.Bc5 mate!, but this does not change the outcome.]
33... Qc8 34.Rd8+ Qxd8 35.Bxd8 Kxf7 36.Ke2 g6 37.fxg6+ Kxg6 38.Ke3 1-0.
[DIXON]
Return to Sicilian Defence Index
Return to the Main Opening Index
WHITE: Frank Dixon (2069)
BLACK: Frank Min (1852)
EVENT: Kingston Rapid 1999
OPENING: Sicilian Najdorf, B90
1.e4 ...
(My very under-rated opponent has been knocking off 'A' players at the Queen's Chess Club, and gives a very good fight here. He studies chess daily and is getting stronger all the time.)
1...c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Rg1...
(A recent try against the Najdorf which is currently fashionable at the GM level. The idea is to avoid variations after 6.Be3 Ng4.)
6...Nc6 7.g4 Nd7!?
(Takes the sting out of the g-pawn's advance. Curiously, in spite of White's ppeparation, the g-pawn never does now get to g5.)
8.Be3 e6 9.Qd2 Be7 10.0-0-0 Nb6?!
(Better, I think, is 10...Qc7 11.f4+/=.)
11.f3?! ...
(Too passive. White would be +/- after 11.f4!)
11...Ne5 12.f4 Nec4 13.Qf2 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 e5!
(Taking advantage of the weakness on the c1-h6 diagonal. But Black has moved his knight four times to exchange the bishop which moved once, so this should eventually count for something as well.)
15.Nf5!? exf4 16.Qf3 0-0 17.Kb1 Bxf5 18.gxf5 Bf6 19.Rd3 Be5 20.Ne2 Nc4! =/+ 21.c3 Qb6!
(While White works to recover his pawn, Black is building his initiative on the Queenside.)
22.b3 Ne3?
(Black's inexperience hurts him here. He would have excellent attacking chances with 22...a5!, or with 22...Rfc8! 23.Rg4 a5! -/+. The text dissipates the attack and helps White untangle. So often in the Sicilian, the game can turn on one move, and this is the case here.)
23.Nxf4 Nxf1 24.Rxf1 Rac8 25.Qg2! ...
(Offering the c-pawn for initiative down the g-file. White now has the edge.)
25...Bxc3 26.Nd5! +/- Qa5
27.Rg1! ...
(White can of course pick up an Exchange with 27.Ne7+, but he has bigger game in view, namely the Black King.)
27...Be5 28.f6! g6 29.Rh3! Rfe8
(The end draws near. No better are: a) 29...Rce8 30.Rxh7! Qa3 31.Rg7+ Kh8 32.Qh3 mate; or b) 29...h5 30.Rxh5 Rce8 {30...Qa3 31.Ne7 mate} 31.Qh3 Bxf6 32.Nxf6+ Kf8 33.Rxa5 wins.)
30.Rxh7!! ...
(A sparkling finish unwinds. But Black finds the best defence.)
30...Qa3!
(Eying the weak b2 and c1 squares. Losing faster are: a) 30...Kxh7 31.Qh3+ Kg8 32.Qh6 Bxf6 33.Nxf6 mate; b) 30...Qd8 31.Rg7+ Kf8 32.Qh3 Bxf6 33.Qh8 mate; c) 30...Bxf6 31.Nxf6+ Kf8 32.Rh8+ Ke7 33.Rxe8+ Rxe8 34.Nxe8 with a rook up.)
31.Rg7+ Kf8 32.Rxf7+! Kxf7 33.Qxg6+ Ke6 34.Qf5+ Kf7 35.Qd7+ Kf8 36.Qg7 mate 1-0.
(DIXON)
WHITE: Patrick Kirby
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston Open 2002
OPENING: Sicilian B90
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 Be7
[7...b5 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.g4 (9.0-0-0 is considered less accurate because of 9...Nb6 10.g4 Nfd7 but 11.Ndxb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 from a recent Grischuk game, may change this assessment.) 9...h6 10.0-0-0 Bb7 11.h4 b4 12.Na4 Qa5 introduces a current theoretical main line, where, in Kirby-Voloaca, Renfrew 2001, I produced the novelty 13.Bc4?! And eventually won. Only time will tell if anyone else is crazy enough to try this piece sacrifice.(Theory continues 13.b3 Nc5 14.a3 Nxa4 15.axb4 Qc7 16.bxa4 d5 17.e5 Nd7 from the games Topalov-Kasparov, Linares 1999, Kasparov-Topalov, Wijk-aan-Zee 2001, as well as many others.)]
8.g4 Nc6 9.Qd2 Qc7 10.0-0-0 Ne5
[10...Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 is better.]
11.Kb1 Nc4 12.Bxc4 Qxc4 13.g5 Nd7 14.h4 b5 15.Qg2 ...
[I am aiming for a position from the game Kirby-O'Donnell, Ottawa 2000.]
15... b4
[15...Bb7 16.h5 Rc8 17.g6 Bf6 18.Nce2! Qc7 19.Bg5! 0-0? 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.gxh7+ Kxh7 And now White could have won with the fantastic 22.Rdg1 Rg8 23.Qg6+!! in Kirby - O'Donnell.]
16.Nce2 g6
[This move is not very impressive, but then again, neither is Black's position.]
17.h5 ...
[17.Nf4 is more accurate.]
17... Nf8
[This is very passive. 17...e5 18.b3!? (18.Nb3 a5 with counterplay.) 18...Qc7 19.hxg6 fxg6 (19...exd4 Does not deserve condiseration.) 20.Ne6 Qc6 21.f4 With the initiative for White, but Black has some opportunities for counterplay based on the stranded Ne6.]
18.b3 Qc7 19.Nf4 Bd7 20.hxg6 fxg6 21.Nde2 a5 22.Bd4 Rg8
[Black has a solid position, but sooner or later he will miss his g8 rook and f8 Knight.]
23.Nd3 Rb8 24.Rhe1 a4 25.f4 axb3 26.cxb3 Qa5 27.Nec1 Bc6 28.Qh3 Ra8 29.Nb2 Qc7
[29... Bb5 Should be tried here, or on the next move.]
30.Bf6 Rc8
[Black offered a draw. He has his only threat of the game 31... Be4. Unfortunately the text move is a big mistake. (30... Bb5)]
31.Nc4 Rd8 32.e5 d5 33.Nd6+ ...
[Now my opponent tried to play 33... Bf6!!, not noticing that he was in check. But fortunately for him 33... Bd6 is the best move in the position. Unfortunately, the position is simply lost.]
33... Bxd6 34.exd6 Qxd6 35.Bxd8 Kxd8 36.Nd3 Rg7 37.Ne5 Bb5 38.Rd4 Rc7 39.Qe3 Ke7 40.Rc1 Rb7 41.Qd2 Be8 42.Qc2 Bd7 43.Qh2 Qb6 44.Qb2 Ra7 45.Nd3 1-0
[KIRBY]
WHITE: Patrick Kirby
BLACK: Rob Hutchison
EVENT: Kingston Club Championship 2002
OPENING: Sicilian B47
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 ...
[If White is playing for a result, then another good move is 3.d3]
3... cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 Qc7 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Kh1 Bb4
[I don't know what White is supposed to do in this position.]
9.Nxc6 ...
[9.f3!? 0-0 10.Bg5 (10.a3 Be7 11.f4 d6 12.Be3 Transposes into a sort of Sheviningen, with the somewhat unusual pawn-a3 for White.); 9.Bg5]
9... bxc6 10.Bd3 d5 11.Bd2 Be7 12.f4 g6
[My opponent thought for a long time and played two highly un-natural moves, Be7, and g6. Still, Black is not worse. That illustrates the quality of my opening play.]
13.Qe1 Bb7 14.Qg3 ...
[This move is a blunder. I was just lazy. I decided to play Qg3 and Rae1, and see if my opponent blundered or lost on time. White should play 14.f5 leading to an interesting game with no guarantees. 14...d4 (14...dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 gxf5 17.Ba5 Qb8 18.Bc3) 15.Ne2 c5 16.fxe6 fxe6 17.Ng3]
14...d4 15.Ne2 ...
[This is another blunder. Better was 15.Nb1, when White can still hope for equality eg. 15.Nb1 c5 16.e5 Ne4 17.Qe1 Nxd2 18.Nxd2]
15... c5 16.e5 Nh5 17.Qf2 c4 18.Rac1 cxd3 19.cxd3 Qd7 20.Rc4 0-0
[20...Bd5 was more exact, and would have avoided the following Queen chase.]
21.Rxd4 Qb5 22.Nc3 Qb6 23.Na4 Qa7 24.Be3 Bc6 25.Rc4 Qb7 26.Nb6 Bb5 27.Rc3 Rad8 28.Rd1 Ng7 29.a4 Bc6?
[This is not the correct square.]
30.Rc2?? ...
[I cannot explain this. After 30.Rdc1, White would recover his piece with a better position.]
30... Nf5
[Now White is lost.]
31.Rdc1 Bxg2+ 32.Kg1 Bh4
[32...Rxd3 was much simpler. 33.Rc7 Bh4 34.Qc2 Qe4 35.Bc5 Ne3 And White should resign.]
33.Qe2 Bf3 34.Qd2 Nxe3 35.Qxe3 Bg4 36.Rc7 Qf3 37.Qxf3 Bxf3 38.Nd7 Rfe8 39.Ra7 Rc8 40.Rcc7 Rxc7 41.Rxc7 Be2 42.d4 Kg7?
[A mistake, but the position already requires good technique to win. My opponent's difficulties were increased by the fact that he now had only fifteen minutes for the rest of the game. 42...Rd8 43.Kg2 Be1 44.Ra7 (44.Nf6+ Kg7 45.Ne4 Rxd4 46.Ng5 Bc4 47.Rxf7+ Kg8 48.Re7 Rxf4) 44...a5 45.Rc7 Bb4 46.Nf6+ Kg7 47.Ne4 h6 48.Nc5 Bc4 49.b3 Bd5+ 50.Kf2 Bxc5 The plan of Rd8, a5, Be1-b4, and Bd1 is quite deep, and, it appears to be the only way for Black to win. With more time, my opponent probably would have found this plan, but instead he blunders away the full point. This game provides another illustration of the fact that 'the hardest game to win is a won game.']
43.Nc5 Rd8?? 44.Nxe6+ Kh6 45.Nxd8 Bxd8 46.Rxf7 Bc4 47.Rd7 Ba5
[47...Bb6 48.f5]
48.d5 Bb3 49.d6 ...
[49.Rd6 Bb4 (49...Bc4 50.e6) 50.Rxa6 Bxd5 This is probably also winning for White.]
49... Bxa4 50.Re7 Bb4
[50... Bd8 51.Rb7 Bc6 52.Rb8 Ba5 53.e6]
51.Kf2?! ...
[51.Rc7 Ba5 52.e6 and White wins.]
51... a5
[This loses right away, but there was no defence.]
52.Rc7 Bb5 53.d7 Be7 54.Kf3 Ba4 55.Ke4 Kh5 56.e6 1-0
[Note: P. KIRBY]
WHITE: Patrick Kirby
BLACK: Sebastian Predescu
EVENT: Kingston Open 2002
OPENING: Sicilian- Najdorf, B90
This was a typical last-round encounter. We just moved the pieces around for a while, until one of us found a mate.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Nbd7 9.g4 h6 10.Qd2 b5 11.0-0-0 Nb6 12.Qg2? ...
[Another chapter in my current work in progress: 'How not to play the Najdorf with White.' The correct move is Qf2.]
12... Rc8?!
[12...Nc4 looks good for Black. 13.Bxc4 (13.Bg1 seems to be forced. 13...Qc7 14.h4 Rc8 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 a5 And White is probably lost.) 13...bxc4 14.Nc5 Qb6 wins for Black.]
13.Kb1?! ...
[White should play 13.Nc5 b4 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Nb1 Nc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 with a complex position.]
13... Be7
[I don't really like this move on principle. If Black castles Kingside he is going to be in trouble, so he should be looking for the initiative on the Queenside as fast as possible. 13...b4 14.Bxb6 Qxb6 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 a5 17.f4 was what I planned during the game. 17...a4 18.Nd2 exf4 19.g5 with compensation.; 13...Rxc3 14.Bxb6 Qxb6 15.bxc3 d5 is interesting even here. Black has at least enough for the exchange.]
14.h4 Nfd7 15.f4?! ...
[White should be more worried about the coming sac on c3 eg. 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Bxh4 17.f4 with compensation, for example: 17...Nc4 18.Bc1 exf4 19.Bxf4 Bg5 20.Re1+ Nde5 21.Bxg5 Qxg5 22.Rh5 Qd8 23.g5]
15... Rxc3! 16.bxc3 Na4 17.Rd3 ...
[A knee-jerk decision. I give back the exchange to continue my attack on the Kingside, but objectively, Black's attack on my King is much more dangerous. 17.Bd2 exf4 18.g5 White cannot allow Bf6. 18...Qc7 also gives Black the initiative, although maybe White should try it.]
17...Bc4 18.g5 ...
[Fritz suggested the typically un-stereotyped 18.Rd2!? Does White gain anything by luring the Black Bishop to c4? 18...Qc7 (18...Nxc3+ 19.Ka1 exf4 20.Bd4 Bf6 21.Qf3 Bxb3 22.Qxc3 Be6 23.Rg1) 19.Bd3 d5 looks good for Black. But so does the text.]
18... Bxd3 19.cxd3 Nxc3+ 20.Ka1 a5 21.d4 a4 22.Nd2? ...
[22.Nc1]
22... Qc7
[22...Qa5 would have been even stronger, after which I can't see a good move for White.]
23.Bd3? ...
[Fritz refutes this move in under 1 second. 23.Nb1 should have been tried. Trading Black's powerful Knight is a correct strategic idea in this position.]
23... b4?
[23...Nd1!! 24.Rxd1 Qc3+ and wins.]
24.Rc1 exf4 25.Bxf4 h5 26.Bc4? ...
[26.Nb1! Qb6 (26...0-0 27.Qc2 Rc8 28.Ba6) 27.Be3 Nxb1 28.Kxb1 b3 29.Rc8+ Bd8 30.a3 and White has recovered to some extent.]
26... Qa7! 27.Qf2?! ...
[27.Be3 is a better chance.]
27... Nb6 28.g6 ...
[28.Bd3 0-0 29.Qf3 g6 and Black's king is completely safe. The text is White's best chance.]
28... Nxc4?
[28...fxg6 Should be preferred. The position is objectively winning for Black. After 29.Bd3 White has some cheapo potential, but that's about it.a)29.Qg1 Nxc4 30.Qxg6+ (a)30.Nxc4 0-0) 30...Kd7 31.Qxg7 Nxd2 32.Qxh8 Nb3+ and Black wins.; b)29.Be6 Rf8 30.Qg3 (b)30.Qe3!?) 30...Rf6 31.d5 Nc4!]
29.gxf7+ Kf8?
[29...Kxf7 30.Bxd6+ Kg8 (30...Bf6 31.Nxc4 Qxd4? 32.Ne5+!) 31.Bxe7 Qxe7 32.Nxc4 Nxe4 33.Qf5 with a very murky position.]
30.Nxc4 ...
[Now Black has problems.]
30... Nxe4
[30... Qd7 or 30...Qa6 are better. I analysed both with Fritz, and I think White is still better, but the lines would not be that easy to see OTB. 30...Qd7 31.e5 d5 32.e6! Qxe6 33.Ne5; 30...Qa6 31.Qf1 Nxe4 32.Qg2 Nf6 (32...Nc3 33.Nxd6) 33.Qg6]
31.Qe3 Qb7 32.Re1 d5 33.Ne5 Rh7 34.Qh3 ...
[A move reminiscent of some mate-in-three compositions. The threat is Qe6 with a double threat of Nd7 and Ng6. If 34... Bf6 then 35.Qe6 threatens Qe8. If 34... Qa6 then 35.Qd7 Qa8 36.Qe6 and wins. Black tried his last chance, but fortunately (for me) it doesn't work.]
34... b3
White to play and win.
35.Rxe4! ...
[Removing the attacker! It takes Fritz about thirty seconds to find this one.]
35... bxa2
[35...b2+ 36.Kb1 dxe4 37.Qe6 And without the mating resource Nc3+, Black would himself get mated.]
36.Ng6+ Kxf7 37.Qe6+ 1-0
[Black loses all his pieces.]
[KIRBY]
WHITE: Patrick Kirby
BLACK: Raja Panjwani
EVENT: Kingston Open 2001
OPENING: Sicilian- Closed, B25
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4 Rb8 7.Nf3 b5 8.0-0 Nd4
[Black chose a fairly unusual move order, but it seems sound.]
9.h3?! ...
[9.e5 is the most critical move, with a few examples on chessbase.com. After 9...Bg4 10.Ne4 (10.exd6 Qxd6 11.Ne4 Qc7) 10...Nh6 11.h3 Nxf3+ 12.Bxf3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 0-0 14.c3 White achieves a promising position.; I could also play 9.Nh4 as in the game, but saving a tempo, since h3 is not a very useful move. 9...e6 10.a3 Ne7 11.Be3 Nec6 12.Qd2 0-0 and White can start thinking about f5. Still, this plan seems less sound then the immediate e5.]
9... e6 10.Nh4 Ne7 11.a3 Nec6 12.Rb1 ...
[12.Be3 Introduces an interesting exchange sac 12...b4 13.axb4 cxb4 14.Ne2 Nb1 or Na4 look pretty sad. 14...Nxe2+ 15.Qxe2 Bxb2 16.e5 Nd4 (16...d5!? 17.Ra2 Bc3 18.Nf3 Is also interesting. White will continue with Nh2-g4.) 17.Qf2 Bxa1 18.Rxa1 Nb5 19.exd6 White's compensation may not be sufficient, but in a practical game, such risks can be justified.(19.Nf3!?)]
12... b4 13.axb4 Nxb4 14.Rf2 Qa5?!
[A tempting move, but Black should be more concerned with his King's safety. 14...0-0 15.Be3 since Na4 doesn't work, White would be stuck in a rather depressing position with little potential for activity. (15.Na4 As I planned during the game, doesn't really work. 15...Bd7! 16.c3? Bxa4 17.Qxa4 Nxd3 and Black wins.) 15...Bd7 16.Nf3 Qb6 And I don't see a constructive move for White.]
15.f5!? ...
[Seizing my chance for counterplay. Black cannot allow this pawn to reach f6.]
15... exf5
[15...Qd8!? is perhaps better. If 16.Na4 Be5! looks good for Black.]
16.exf5 Be5?!
[A rather risky decision, as it turns out, but Black thought he was already close to winning. Black should have accepted the pawn sacrifice: 16...Bxf5 17.Bf4; or 16...Nxf5 17.Qe1+ Be5 18.Bf4 In both cases White obtains some compensation.]
17.fxg6 hxg6 18.Ne4 Nbxc2?!
[Black initiates a rather unsound combination, but White already has a promising position. 18...d5 19.Nf6+ Bxf6 20.Rxf6; 18...Bf5 19.Bf4 Bxe4 20.Bxe5 dxe5 21.Bxe4]
19.Bg5? ...
[And I take him at his word... This move looks really tempting, and it does indeed give White dangerous compensation, but I overlooked something much better. 19.Rxc2 Nxc2 20.Qxc2 Qe1+ 21.Kh2 Rxh4 22.Bf4 The move we both missed during the game. 22...Qa5 23.Nxd6+ Bxd6 24.Bxd6 And White has a big advantage.]
19...Be6 20.Nf6+ Bxf6?!
[20...Kf8! Threatening to take on g3. 21.Nxg6+ (21.Rxc2 Bxg3 22.Nf3 Nxc2 23.Qxc2 is a completely crazy position, where anything is possible.) 21...fxg6 22.Nd7+ Kg8 (22...Kg7? 23.Nxe5 dxe5 24.Bf6+ Kg8 25.Bxh8) 23.Nxb8 Qb6 24.Rxc2 (24.Nc6 Nxc6 25.Rxc2 Bxg3 good play for Black.) 24...Nxc2 25.Qxc2 Qxb8 and Black is healthy.]
21.Bxf6 Rh7?
[A poor move. Black will be down an exchange after Ne3, but giving up two Knights for the rook is an even worse idea. 21...Ne3 22.Qc1 Nxg2 23.Bxh8 Nxh4 24.Bxd4 cxd4 25.Qc6+ Ke7 26.gxh4 I have the feeling that White should be better here, with the extra exchange, but proving this over the board would be difficult.]
22.Rxc2 Nxc2 23.Qxc2 ...
[White has a clear advantage. Black collapsed quickly in time pressure.]
23... Kd7 24.d4 Rc8? 25.d5 Re8 26.b4 Qb6 27.Qa4+ Kc7 28.Qxe8 cxb4+ 29.Kh2 1-0
[KIRBY]
WHITE: Reza Rashidifar
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Queen's University Chess Club, G/90, 2001
OPENING: Sicilian - Alapin, B22
Notes by F. Dixon
1.e4 c5 2.c3 ...
A variation which has become increasingly popular during the last 20 years or so. It allows White to avoid mountains of theory in the main line systems of the Sicilian. Russian GM Evgeniy Sveshnikov was the first top player to really take it up full time. He had an interesting quandary, because starting in the mid 1970s, he also popularized the Pelikan variation of the Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5), and he likes to play 1.e4 as White, so faced the prospect of opponents playing his own Black system against him, and thereby having to reveal the best way to meet it! Sveshnikov sidestepped this problem by using the Alapin line with 2.c3.
2... Nf6
I suffered a drastic loss using the 2...d5 line several years ago, to Wayne Coppin in the 1994 Whig-Standard, and furthermore this game was published in the magazine En Passant, allowing everyone to see my weak play. Wayne played like a strong Master in that game, fully exploiting my errors. At that time I simply hadn't studied the variation, since no one I had ever faced who was of a good playing level had ever tried it against me. However, I have since studied the variation in some depth, and with a victory over Matthew Struthers, two games from my 2002 match against Chris Benson, and now this game, have scored 3.5/4 against Expert-strength players, which helps the confidence. The system with 2...Nf6 offers more opportunities for complex play than 2...d5, which was, however, the choice of World Champion Garry Kasparov against the IBM computer program Deep Blue in their first match. I believe that Black has enormous problems finding a useful role for his Queen in the middlegame using the systems with 2...d5, having it chased constantly around the board.
3.e5 Nd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bc4 e6!?
My opponent in this game is a doctoral engineering student at Queen's University, from Iran, who earned Candidate Master level there, and was champion of his university. He won both his games in the 2001 match against the Kingston Chess Club. Normal here is 5...Nb6, but I wanted to try this rare idea.
6.0-0 a6 7.Bxd5!? ...
Exchanges the central knight at the cost of the two bishops, while somewhat spoiling Black's pawns.
7...exd5 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d6 10.Nc3 ...
The prosaic 10.exd6 Qxd6 leads to a drawish formation.
10... dxe5 11.dxe5 Be6 12.Nd4!? Be7
Black rejected 12...Nxe5 because he felt his lack of development would penalize him, for example 12...Nxe5?! 13.Re1 Qc7 14.Bf4; 13...Bd6 14.f4, and White has the initiative in both cases.
13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.Re1 0-0
The opening is concluded, and Black is certainly no worse. His d-pawn is now a protected passer, which means that most endgames should favour Black. White may have trouble preserving his important e-pawn, since the only pawn support is from the semi-open f-file, where Black has the edge in control. However, Black must be a bit careful in the middlegame since he still lags in development, which is common in the Sicilian.
15.Qg4! Qd7 16.Bh6 ...
Threatening mate on g7.
16... Bc5!
Defends the mate and creates threats against f2.
17.Nd1 ...
An important juncture in the game. White spent some time considering the aggressive 17.Nxd5?, which creates several threats, for example 18.Nf6+. Black cannot capture the knight, but was planning to reply 17...Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Kh8!, when he has three of White's pieces (R/e1, B/h6, and N/d5) en prise. White must retreat his bishop or else lose it, which allows Black to simply capture with his Queen next on d5 with a winning position. However, White will now experience some difficulty coordinating his pieces, with his knight on the back rank, so perhaps preferable here was 17.Re2 Rf5 18.Qg3 Raf8 19.Rf1 Kh8, with Black slightly better, because of pressure against the weaknesses on f2 and e5.
17... Rf5 18.Rc1 Ba7 19.Qg3 Raf8 20.a3 ...
White has drifted into a somewhat passive position, having to protect his weaknesses at f2 and e5, while Black has dealt with the mate threat on g7 and has caught up in development. If 20.Rc2 (to reinforce f2), then 20...Nb4 picks up the a-pawn.
20... Kh8 21.Be3 Bxe3 22.Rxe3 Qe7 23.Rc2 d4!
This passed pawn, while a definite asset in any endgame, will prove to be very useful in the middlegame as well.
24.Re4 Rg5! 25.Qh4 d3!
White was hoping to exploit the pin on the R/g5, but even here this is not a problem for Black, since White cannot play 26.f4?? Rxg2+ winning the Queen. Tactics involving this threat will require White's close attention for the next several moves.
26.Rc3 Nxe5!
A nasty surprise. White cannot capture the knight with 27.Rxe5? because again 27...Rxg2+ wins the Queen. Black now threatens the fork 27...Nf3+ winning the Queen because of the pin on the g-file. Tactics in the service of strategy.
27.Qh3 Rgf5 28.f3 Ng6!
Black now has a clear advantage. This move leaves the d-pawn temporarily unprotected, but White cannot take it because of 29.Rxd3? Nf4! winning the Exchange.
29.Ne3 d2!
Again forestalling White's threat to the R/f5, because of the variation 30.Nxf5? d1Q+ 31.Kf2 Qed7 winning.
30.Rd4 Nf4!
Continuing to chase the Queen, and now threatening a fork on e2 as well.
31.Qg4 Rg5!
Much better than the immediate 31...Ne2+ because Black removes his R/f5 from attack by the N/e3, with gain of tempo. Black now has the very nice variation 32.Qh4 Ne2+ 33.Kf2 Nxd4 34.Qxd4 Rd8!, but even better is 32...Nxg2!! 33.Nxg2 (33.Qf2 Nxe3+ 34.Kh1 d1Q+! 35.Rxd1 Nxd1 is no help) d1Q+! 34.Rxd1 Rxg2+ winning the Queen. White decides to give up his Queen to try to relieve the pressure, which is probably best under the circumstances, but Black still emerges with a winning advantage.
32.Rxf4 Rxg4 33.Rxg4 Rd8 34.Nd1 h6
Taking care of business to avoid tricks on the back rank.
35.Kf2 Qd7 36.Ke2 Qb5+ 37.Rcc4 Qe5+ 38.Rce4 Qxh2 39.Rxe6 Qg1! 0-1.
There is no answer to the coming 40...Qe1+.
WHITE: Brian Profit
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston Championship 2004 playoff match(2)
OPENING: Sicilian Taimanov, B47
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.d4 e6
[Avoiding the Trompowsky, which I figured he had prepared.]
2.e4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Nxc6
[Fairly tame. More challenging are 6.g3, 6.Be3, and 6.Ndb5. But all those moves require quite a bit of knowledge, and Brian is mainly a 1.d4 player who likely didn't plan to play into this line!]
6...bxc6 7.Bd3 Nf6
[7...d5 equalizes, but I wanted a more complex game.]
8.0-0 Be7 9.Re1 e5 10.Bc4 0-0 11.Qe2 d6 12.Rd1 a5 13.Bg5 Bg4!?
[I thought about playing 13...Be6!?. Black is better after 14.Bxe6 fxe6, with the idea of pushing ...d6-d5. But White could play 14.Bb3 instead.]
14.f3 Bh5
[This piece seems out of play here, but I wanted to secure the kingside. The bishop does succeed in getting back into the game later on. Also, I thought it might tempt Brian into pushing his kingside pawns, which doesn't really fit his style. Brian is an excellent positional player, and a former student of the very strong Master Milan Vukadinov, who unfortunately died last year.]
15.Bb3
[Taking away any tactics with ...Qb6+ and ...Qxb2.]
15...Rad8 16.Be3 Bg6
[Brian suggested 16...d5!? 17.exd5 e4!?, but whether this actually leads to anything significant is the question.]
17.Qf2! Rb8 18.Na4 Nd7 19.c4
[White is starting a familiar plan, pressurizing the Queenside.]
19...Kh8
[Here I considered 19...f5?! 20.c5+ Rxb3!? 21.axb3 fxe4 22.cxd6 Bxd6 23.Nc5! Nxc5 24.Bxc5 Bxc5 25.Qxc5 exf3 26.gxf3 Rxf3 27.Rxa5, but this is better for White, since Black's pressure is finished, too many pieces have been traded, and he is down the Exchange. I also didn't want to play 19...c5?!, since the hole on d5 will be very powerful for White's knight.]
20.c5 dxc5 21.Nxc5 Nxc5 22.Bxc5 f5!
[Rather than endure passive defence on the queenside, I elect to give up a pawn (which will likely be lost anyway) for some active counterchances.]
23.exf5 Bxf5 24.Rac1 e4! 25.Bxe7 Qxe7
[After this move, Brian was down to one minute for five moves, while I had half an hour left.]
26.Rxc6 exf3 27.gxf3 Be4! 28.Rc3!
[Only move.]
28...Qf6 29.Rf1 Ba8 30.Bd1 Rb5 31.f4 Rb4 32.a3 Rd4!
[Not 32...Rxf4?? 33.Qxf4! and White mates on the back rank.]
1/2 -- 1/2
[The draw was offered by Brian. But a draw was sufficient for me to clinch the title. White could be in some trouble after 33.f5 Rfd8 34.Bf3 Rd2! 35.Be2 (35.Qg3 also has challenges) Rxb2 36.Rg3 Qc6!. But there was no point in taking chances trying to win as Black, since there are plenty of pieces on the board, in a very sharp position, with lots of tactical tricks possible for both sides. It was a hard-fought game without any serious mistakes by either player.]
WHITE: Frank Dixon
BLACK: Robert Gagnon
EVENT: Carnaval Open, Quebec City 1973 (4)
OPENING: Sicilian Dragon, B78
Notes by Frank Dixon.
1.e4 c5
[This game was played in my first big tournament away from home. I travelled with two friends from the Junior High School chess group, on the bus trip from the local Deep River High School, which was travelling to the Quebec Winter Carnaval, as part of French immersion. Our chess coach, Mr. James Hegney, was a 1700-strength player who felt we were ready for an event like this; we played in the second of three sections available, and it was my first-ever rated tournament. All these years later, I can still recall many experiences from the trip: eating steak off a wooden plate in a traditional Quebec restaurant, huge snowdrifts piled high in the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Quarter of Quebec City, the biting cold of mid-February, and trying to get by with my rudimentary French language skills! The funny part of the chess story was my receiving three Blacks in a row to start the tournament, two of them against the same player! Of course there were several Swiss pairing rules broken with this arrangement, but I didn't understand much about that, since it was my very first tournament! Still, I thought there was something funny with me getting Black in every game. So, I told Mr. Hegney about this. He spoke fluent French, went to the organizers to explain what was going on, and I received White for my last two games. By winning the game presented here, I managed to win a prize! My other big chess memory from this tournament was the amazing play of Jean Hebert, who won the Open section of the tournament, ahead of such strong Masters as Lawrence Day and Leon Piasetski. Hebert at the time was unknown, but he would win the Canadian Championship for the first time only five years later, and subsequently became a very strong IM and one of Canada's best for the past 30 years.]
2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6
[Black's last move introduces the Dragon Variation, so named because of the shape of Black's pawn formation, which resembles a dragon!]
6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Bc4
[We are now heading for the Yugoslav Attack, introduced in the 1950s, and one of the most heavily analysed lines in modern chess. The players castle on opposite sides, and engage in full-scale attacks on each other's Kings, with the play usually becoming razor-sharp. I am going to include in full the scores of four other Grandmaster games in this variation, so that readers can learn something about the patterns, and so develop their intuition. All four of these games are among the most famous in chess history.]
9...Bd7
[The first supplementary game is Fischer -- Larsen, Portoroz Interzonal 1958. Not only was this game pivotal for Fischer's qualification through to the Candidates' Tournament the next year, enabling him to become the youngest-ever Grandmaster at that time, but it also created a sensation throughout the chess world. Here the Fischer -- Larsen game took the following path: 9...Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Bb3 Qa5 12.0-0-0 b5 13.Kb1 b4 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Rac8? {called the losing move by Fischer in his notes; he recommended instead 15...Nxd5 16.exd5 Qxd5 17.Qxb4, with plenty of play still left.} 16.Bb3! Rc7 17.h4 Qb5 18.h5! Rfc8 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.g4 a5 21.g5 Nh5 22.Rxh5! gxh5 23.g6 e5 24.gxf7+ Kf8 25.Be3 d5! 26.exd5 Rxf7 27.d6 Rf6 28.Bg5 Qb7 29.Bxf6 Bxf6 30.d7 Rd8 31.Qd6+ 1-0. For another game incorporating the thematic Exchange sacrifice, rook for knight, on h5, in a different contextual situation, I present Fischer -- Gligoric, Yugoslavia Candidates' 1959. This game has a bit of a different move order at the start, but soon transposes into the Dragon Variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Bd7 7.Bb3 g6 8.f3 Na5 9.Bg5 Bg7 10.Qd2 h6 11.Be3 Rc8 12.0-0-0 Nc4 13.Qe2!? Nxe3 14.Qxe3 0-0 15.g4 Qa5 16.h4 e6 17.Nde2 Rc6 18.g5 hxg5 19.hxg5 Nh5 20.f4 Rfc8 21.Kb1 Qb6 22.Qf3 Rc5 23.Qd3! Bxc3 24.Nxc3 Nxf4 25.Qf3 Nh5 26.Rxh5! gxh5 27.Qxh5 Be8 28.Qh6! Rxc3 29.bxc3 Rxc3 30.g6! fxg6 31.Rh1 Qd4 32.Qh7+ 1-0.]
10.0-0-0 Rc8
[Alternatives are 10...Qb8 (the Stein Variation, named for the great Ukrainian GM Leonid Stein, who died young in 1973), and 10...Qa5, played many times by the modern English GM Chris Ward.]
11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 Nc4
[Another important branch occurs here, with the alternative 12...h5, the Soltis Variation, named for the American GM Andrew Soltis, who is a very well-known and well-regarded chess author. Our third supplementary game is Anand -- Kasparov, New York PCA World Championship match 1995 (11). One very interesting aspect of this game is that Kasparov was trying the Dragon Variation for the first time ever in a serious game, so it was a huge surprise for Anand. Kasparov played the line for the next three games as well, scoring two wins and two draws with Black, a brilliant result which allowed him to win the match and retain his title. Here is the game: 12...h5 13.Kb1 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Nde2 b5 16.Bh6 Qa5 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Nf4 Rfc8 19.Ncd5 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 Nxd5 21.Nxd5 Kf8 22.Re1 Rb8 23.b3 Rc5 24.Nf4 Rbc8 25.Kb2 a5 26.a3 Kg7 27.Nd5 Be6 28.b4 axb4 29.axb4 Rc4 30.Nb6? {The losing move; White has several other alternatives would keep the game level.} Rxb4+! 31.Ka3 Rxc2! 0-1.]
13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5
[This is a well-known pawn sacrifice to open up the h-file.]
14...Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.Bh6
[There are many alternatives here. One is 16.e5, and the modern recommendation is 16.Bg5. Another key move is 16.Nde2, which became popular after the famous game Karpov -- Korchnoi, Moscow Candidates match (2), 1974, won by White. At the time my game was played in 1973, 16.Nde2 was unknown; its purpose is to bolster the N/c3 against the possible Black exchange sacrifice ...Rxc3. Now we present our fourth supplementary game, the Karpov -- Korchnoi game: 16.Nde2! Qa5 {16...Re8 is now the recommended move here, but this has been found only after many Master games.} 17.Bh6 Bxh6 18.Qxh6 Rfc8 19.Rd3! R4c5? {Again, after many Master games, the alternative 19...Be6 20.g5 Nh5 21.Ng3 Qe5 22.Nxh5 gxh5 23.Qxh5 Kf8! has been found to be satisfactory for Black.} 20.g5 Rxg5 21.Rd5! Rxd5 22.Nxd5 Re8 23.Nef4 Bc6 24.e5 Bxd5 25.exf6 exf6 26.Qxh7+ Kf8 27.Qh8+ 1-0.]
16...Qa5?
[This is Black's only mistake of the game. The Black Queen often goes to this square in this variation, as we have seen from our supplemental games. But it is Black's misfortune that there is a forced win here for White, albeit one which requires some deep calculation and the nerve to sacrifice! Current praxis, nearly 30 years later, after many hundreds of games, gives 16...Nxe4!? as being virtually equal; for example 17.Qe3 Rxc3 18.bxc3 Nf6 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Rh2, and now either 20... Rg8 or 20...Rh8 give Black an acceptable position.]
17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qh6+ Kg8 19.g5 Nh5 20.Rxh5!
[I first saw this type of thematic sacrifice in the game Fischer -- Larsen, which is given above. This game, as well as the Fischer -- Gligoric game given here, were published in Fischer's great book "My 60 Memorable Games". This book was the first on chess I ever owned, a Christmas present when I was 12 years old. I learned a lot from this book, and still treasure my well-worn copy!]
20...gxh5 21.Nd5!
[Here's proof that 16...Qa5? was a mistake. White threatens 22.Nxe7+, with mate next move, so Black has to retreat the Queen. As we shall see, White also has another way of pursuing his attack with venom.]
21...Qd8
[If 21...Re8, then 22.Nf6+! comes just the same, with mate to follow quickly as in the game.]
22.Nf6+!
[All these years later, I am still proud of this game, and of the series of sacrifices which led to the win over my experienced adult opponent from France, who was a First Category player in his mid-40s, over for a holiday, for the world-famous Carnaval, some skiing, and some chess. He was stunned by the way I played.]
22...exf6
[Black has no choice.]
23.gxf6
[White has sacrificed first a pawn, then the Exchange, then a piece. But it will all be returned with interest now, as Black has to give up his Queen to delay mate. The formula of the attack follows the model laid out by Fischer in his notes to the Larsen game: "Pry open the h-file, sac, sac, mate!]
23...Qxf6 24.Qxf6 Rfc8 25.Rg1+ 1-0
[My opponent had seen enough. If 25...Kf8 26.Qxd6+ Ke8 27.Rg8#, or if 25...Bg4 26.Nf5! forces mate quickly.]
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Alan Munro
EVENT: KCC vs Queen's U Match
OPENING: Closed Sicilian, B23
Notes by W. Coppin and Fritz
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3
[Black is the highest rated Queen's player (2091) and thus would welcome an open tactical game. The Closed variation is objectively no better than the open lines but it does promise White an easy equality while minimizing the importance of home cooking. The psychological value is that Black may well push too hard seeking complications.]
2... d6
[The ...,d6 lines are apparently not as challenging theoretically but since I know very little real theory on the Closed it does not matter.]
3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Qe2
[A rarely seen treatment. White can now consider a later e5 as well as the usual ideas featuring the f5 break. The move also has the psychological value of encouraging 6...,Nc6 when White intends to swap on c6 and play to limit the scope of Black's light squared Bee.]
6... Nc6 7. Bxc6
[7. O-O Nh6 is equal according to Fritz.]
7... Bxc6 8. d3 b5
[Fritz prefers 8... Nf6 9. O-O calling it equal]
9. O-O b4
[Black gets more space according to Fritz, particularly on the queenside dark squares. However, I question the value of that space. Unless Black can open the centre, his light squared Bee will remain a spectator. Further, Black is a long ways away from coordinating his pieces to profit from the queenside space advantage.]
10. Nd1
[White's critter will find plenty of play on either e3 or f2.]
10... Nf6 11. Nf2
[11. Ne3 O-O is equal according to Fritz. White selects f2 for the Critter since it will contest the g4 square preparing a thematic g4 push.]
11... Nd7?!
[Very dubious, IMO. Strangely enough, Fritz does not question this loss of time. Clearly Black wants to play ...,e5 or prevent White from playing e5 himself but abandoning the kingside defence cannot be correct. After 11...,0-0 12.g4 White would have a comfortable attack in any case.]
12. Ng4 O-O
[We have reached the critical position. Concrete tactics aside, I believe that most humans would assess White as almost winning outright here. Black has staked out queenside space but his pieces remain a long ways from exploiting that space. His Bc6 is all dressed up with nowhere to go. His Nd7 is neither well placed to defend his King nor yet aggressively coordinated to exploit the queenside. White's Queenside Knight has spent 4 moves deploying from c1-g4 developing concrete attacking threats against the Black King. What does Black have for the tempi? Giving Fritz that question yielded the following possibilities which all seem to yield White an edge:
12... a5 13. f5 leads to positions similar to the game continuation.
12... e5 13. fxe5 and now:
13... dxe5 15. Bh6 O-O 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qe3 clearly favours White
13... h5 14. Bg5! hxg4!? else Nf6+ is strong for White 15. Bxd8 gxf3 16. Qxf3 favours White
12... h5 13. Ne3 just makes White's intended f5 break even stronger
In short, the computer seems to agree with White's over-the-board instincts.]
13. f5 gxf5
[Fritz suggests that Black is still in the game after 13... Qc7 but human beings know that 14. Bh6 subjects Black to a nasty thematic direct attack.]
14. Nh6+!
[Of course. White's attack now plays itself.]
14... Kh8 15. Nxf5 Be5
[Black hopes to build a fortress and then drive out White's monster on f5 but the plan is tactically flawed.]
16. Bh6 Rg8?
[Fritz labels this a poor move yet 16... Re8? 17. Ng5 is crushing and 16... Bf6?! 17. Bxf8 Qxf8 gives insufficient compensation for the exchange according to the silicon brain.]
17. Ng5 Rxg5
[Forced. The threat of 18.Qh5 is too strong. Black must pitch an Ex. because of the threat to f7.]
18. Bxg5 f6 19. Bh6 e6
[or 19... Nf8 20. Bg7+ Kg8 21. Qg4 Ng6 22. h4 +-]
20. Qg4 1-0
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Peter Sibbald
EVENT: 2006 KCC Championship (3)
OPENING: Sicilian, Marshall var., B40
Notes by W. Coppin
1. e4 e6
[Paradoxically, Peter is a fan of the French. Given his aggressive style of play one might anticipate something sharper at this point in the event. Indeed, he has a few surprises in store in this game.]
2. d4 c5
[Whoa - what's this?! In fact, it is a transposition device - 3.c3 will probably lead to an Advance French which is not the line I wanted, while 3. d5 leads to Benoni type positions which I also did not feel prepared to handle. That leaves the open Sicilian treatment.]
3. Nf3 d5
[So we have finally landed in the obscure Marshall varation of the Sicilian. While Black has dodged any potential home cooking, I can give give him some serious structure problems to cope with while making it very hard for him to play for any kind of winning chances. Given Black's active aggressive style, White can be psychologically satisfied with the opening.]
4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. Ne5?!
[Dubious. Much stronger is 6.0-0 or even 6.Nc3 seeking to complete development. White will eventually give Black an isolated d-pawn with a sharp game to follow. Instead, I seek a small structural advantage for the middlegame and ending but fall behind in development.} {Better was 8...,Bd6 and Black is no worse.]
6... Bd7 7. Nxd7 Qxd7 8. O-O cxd4?!
[Better was 8...,Bd6 and Black is no worse.]
9. Re1+ Be7 10. Bxc6
[Saddling Black with some serious pawn structure weaknesses in any ending. White also anticipates big pressure on the e-file making it difficult for Black to complete development in the middlegame.]
10... bxc6 11. Qxd4 Nf6 12. Qe5!?
[The consistent continuation - preventing Black from castling but in retrospect, the natural 12.Bg5 and completing minor piece development was surely stronger. Now Black comes up with a very creative solution to his problems.]
12... Kf8!
[The Black King just forfeits castling and blocks in his own Rh8! Throw in Black's 3 pawn islands vs White's two and surely White is winning, right?! Well it is not that simple. Black has in effect sacrificed his right to castle and his pawn structure to gain some very good dynamic potential for all his pieces except the Rh8. White is seriously undeveloped and must now wrestle with Black's threats to attack White's undefended King with Bee, Knight and Queen AND Black's threat to exploit White's vulnerability on the back rank.]
13. Bf4
[With this move, after about 30 minutes of thinking, White effectively eliminates Black's kingside possibilities but the back rank problem remains.]
13... Re8 14. Qc7!?
[There is simply no way to develop the Nb1 without giving Black a great initiative with ...,Bb4. But rather than retreat with say 14.Qc3 and let Black comfortably unwind, White sets a trap of his own. Given the aggressive nature of my opponent, I figured he just might look at the back rank problem and decide to launch with 14...,Qf5.]
14... Qxc7
[Surely a disappointment for both players since the position now gets very drawish. However after 14...,Qf5? 15.Rxe7!,Rxe7 16.Bd6 it is Black who is in trouble on the back rank. eg. 16... Qe6 17. Nd2 Ne8 18. Bxe7+ Qxe7 19. Qxc6 etc. After the text, the next few moves are pretty well forced.]
15. Bxc7 Bb4 16. Rxe8+ Kxe8 17. Be5 Ke7 18. c3
[If 18.Nc3 then 18...,Ke6 is good for Black.]
18... Bd6 19. Bxd6+
[There is nothing better. Black will end up with an optically attractive looking ending due to the better placed King but his structural problems remain.]
19... Kxd6 20. Nd2 Re8 21. Kf1 Ne4
[Surely best - else White plays 22.Nf3 threatening both 24.Ng5 and 24.Nd4-f5+. Now White has no way to drive away the Black Knight from its dominating post without misplacing his own Critter so the swap is forced.]
22. Nxe4+ Rxe4 23. Re1
[With best play the position is almost surely a dead draw. I almost offered it here but decided to play one more move. Now Black should play 23...,Ra4! when I intended 24.Ra1, Re4 repeating the position since 24.a3 dangerously weakens the White queenside too much with the White King too far away. As long as the Rooks stay on the board, I doubt that either player can realistically afford to play for a win.]
23... Kc5??
[A shocker, albeit a pleasant one for White! In seeking to avoid the inevitable draw, Black hands White a simple won King and pawn ending. With 30 minutes still left on his clock, White had no trouble converting.]
24. Rxe4 dxe4 25. b3
[Obviously Black overlooked this modest move shutting his King out of the queenside. Now all he can do is wait for the White King to join the party.]
25... a5 26. Ke2 a4 27. Ke3
[There is no way White is going to move that b-pawn!]
27... f5 28. Kf4 g6 29. g4 fxg4 30. Kxg4 axb3 31. axb3 h6 32. Kf4 Kd5 33. h3
[Zugzwang.]
33... g5+ 34. Kf5 c5 35. Kf6
[There is no need to chase the kingside pawns yet. Keeping Black's King out of e5 is much quicker.]
35... e3
[The alternative is similar: 35. ... Kd6 36. b4 cxb4 37. cxb4 Kc6 38. Kg6 Kb5 39. Kxh6 Kxb4 40. Kxg5 Kc5 41. h4 Kd6 42. Kf6 Kd5 43. h5 Kc4 44. h6 Kd3 45. h7 Ke2 46. h8=Q etc. In both cases it is the outside passer that decides... a direct consequence of Black's structural compromise in the opening.]
36. fxe3 Ke4 37. b4 1-0
[And its over. As usual, the two rivals put on a show featuring some highly creative and unusual attacking ideas. We seem to be alternating tournament wins lately and it was my turn! Peter is no doubt already plotting his revenge. :-)]
WHITE: Jim Cairns (1760)
BLACK: A. Woldomo (2015)
EVENT: 2006 - 2008 Canadian Correspondence Chess Association - R0601
OPENING: Sicilian, 2. Na3
Notes by W. Coppin based upon those provided by Jim Cairns.
1. e4 c5 2. Na3
[Jim writes that, "the Coppin Attack is becoming more popular, especially in Kingston, Canada. It is not yet deeply analysed." In fact, the opening is better named the Zvjaginsev Variation after the relatively unknown GM Vadim Zvjaginsev who has single-handedly provided respectability to the line at the 2600+ GM level. GM Zvjaginsev has scored wins against many of the world's strongest including former FIDE Champion GM Ponomariov! Having said that, your webmaster did surprise some very strong players in the 2006 Canadian Open - scoring an healthy 2 wins and 2 draws in 4 tries with the idea.]
2... Nc6 3. Bb5
[2.Na3 was in part a waiting move - waiting for 2...Nc6, which can be met by some combination of Bb5, c3 and f4 (before committing to Nf3), hoping for a favorable Rossolimo. Needless to say, the theory is still being written and there is no definitive agreement on how best to handle that weird "Knight on the rim".]
3... Nf6 4. d3
[In general, White wants to keep the centre closed or semi-closed in this line in order to keep Black cramped while denying the usual counterplay that Black gets in the Sicilian. It can be a most effective weapon against aggressive Sicilian players.]
4... g6 5. c3 Bg7 6. Ne2 a6 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. h3
[White ensures that Black's Bc8 has no real future on the c8-h3 diagonal. Play against this Bee after doubling the pawns on the c-file is a common strategic theme for White in many openings. For example, ... Be6 can be met by Nf4 at an appropriatre moment, threatening to swap Black's only real compensation for the doubled pawns.]
8... O-O 9. Be3 b6 10. O-O e5
[What else? Black must surely not allow White to establish a powerful pawn duo with 11.f4. White could then comfortably build his attack behind the pawns and await the decisive moment to break with either e5 or f5. Black does not have the usual counterplay that the half-open c-file gives him in normal Sicilian lines.]
11. Nc4 Re8 12. Qc2
[To allow White to retreat his Critter to d2 if necessary without hanging the d3 pawn.]
12... b5 13. Nd2 Nd7 14. Nf3 Bb7
[As White points out in his original notes, "[there is] not much future [for the Bee] here." As long as the centre remains semi-closed, that piece on b7 is just a tall pawn!]
15. Rad1 Re6?!
[White labels this a "strange Rook maneuver for a strong player". No doubt, Black was dreaming of eventually using the half-open d-file to his advantage. As White quickly shows, the plan is too slow. Meanwhile, Black's Rook is an inviting and most convenient target for White's Nf3.]
16. Ng5 Rd6 17. Qb3
[The absence of the light squared Bee from the centre or kingside is already being felt. White has targeted the weak f7 pawn that Black left behind with his ponderous Rook maneuvering. This in turn provides the time for the thematic expansion with f4.]
17... Qe7 18. f4 Rf6
[Black could likely hold this position if his Rf6 was still on f8 instead of the exposed f6 square.]
19. f5 h6 20. h4!
[Of course! Black dares not capture the Ng5 and allow a protected pawn push to f6. The resulting weakness of the dark squares around the Black King would be fatal without the Bg7 to defend them. White's play is extremely energetic in this game.]
20... Rf8 21. Ng3
[Black's pieces are a jumbled mess so White calmly brings more attackers over to the kingside to seek tactical chances to exploit the gridlock.]
21... Kh8 22. h5!
[Well timed! Once the files start opening in front of Black's King, White's lurking Rooks will have a field day!]
22... hxg5 23. Bxg5 gxh5
[The Rf6 cannot move and White was about to open the h-file for his Rooks so Black tries his best to keep the file closed. Thus, 24.Bxf6? Nxf6 would give Black chances to hold on long enough to reorganize his pieces to prevent a direct mating attack. White is too strong and too experienced to fall for such impatient bait.]
24. Nxh5 Bh6 25. Bxf6+ Nxf6 26. Nxf6 Qxf6
[The opening has been a complete success for White! Black's King is looking fatally exposed on the open g and h files while Black's Bb7 may as well not even be on the board. For all practical purposes, White is an exchange ahead with his powerful heavy pieces about to enter the attack.]
27. Rf3 Rg8 28. Rh3
[Simple chess... but highly effective! This pin is destined to be Black's undoing.]
28... Rg4 29. Qc2 Rh4 30. Rxh4 Qxh4 31. Qf2!
[With a smile. Since the Bb7 is more or less trapped out of the game, White is playing an exchange and pawn up on the kingside. Obviously Black would be in very grim shape after the Queen swap so...]
31... Qe7??
[Black has beat back the first wave mating threats and now offers a draw. In his original notes, White admitted to being tempted but fortunately chooses to play on a few moves.]
32. f6!
[Boom!! This pawn takes the important g7 square away from the defence while preparing to renew the nasty pin on the dark squared Bee.]
32... Qe6 33. Qh4 Kh7 34. Rf1! 1-0
[Just like that! Black must resign. There is no defence to Rf5 with threats to come to either g5-g7 or to h5. Jim demonstrated an excellent grasp of the White potential in this opening as well as a very fine feel for the attack. Defeating strong correspondence players in such a fashion is not easy!]
Sokolsky-Orangutan Defence
Coppin - Dixon: Sokolsky-Orangutan, A00/12
Coppin - Gordon: Sokolsky-Orangutan, A00/10
¶ All Openings Index
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Frank Dixon
EVENT: Kingston Club Championship 2001
OPENING: Sokolsky (Orangutan), A00/12
1.b4 ...
The Orangutan (Sokolsky? Polish??) Opening is a good choice for avoiding reams of theory. These notes will try to reflect how the winner was thinking as the game unfolded, but with the less experienced club strength player in mind. No disrepect is intended to my opponent- he is a strong Expert, as other games on this page show, but simply adopts a dubious line in this game.
1... a5
Believe it or not, this is "book". My opponent had defeated me with it the last time we played this line so I was not surprised.
2.b5 b6
This idea may or may not be "book" but it weakens c6. This is even more significant now that White has a pawn on b5.
3.Nf3 ...
Since Black obviously intends ...,Bb7, it is prudent to develop the Knight to shield g2. Besides, White wants to control the a1-h8 diagonal anyway and the Knight observes the important e5 square.
3... Bb7 4.e3
This increases the control of d4 and and avoids a potential doubling of pawns if Black should decide to eliminate White's Nf3.
4... Nf6 5.c4 ...
Both sides are consolodating control of their respective long diagonals. However White chooses to again delay Bb2 in order to contest d5. This move looks strange in light of the Black fianchetto, but it has a logical purpose. White wants to idealy plant a Bishop on c4 but Black would just chase it with ...,d5. Now ...,d5 can be met with a pawn swap and the Bf1 can then post to c4.
5... d6
The "books" say that the King's Indian style setup for Black is a good way to meet White's opening. That is probably true if Black has not played ...,b6. Here an experienced player will note the hole on c6 and look for a way to exploit it. If the c7 pawn tries to advance, Black will swap and pressure the backward b-pawn on the half-open file.
6.d4 Nbd7 7.Bb2 ...
By preventing ...,e5 White keeps Black cramped and reduces his available plans for completing development.
7... g6 8.Be2 ...
White wants to castle to safety. This move is better than 8.Bd3 since now the Queen is freed from protecting the Nf3. Black owns e4 for now anyway and Bd3 would not change that.
8... Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.Nc3 ...
Some might play this Knight to d2 hoping to prevent Black's break on e5. However it cannot be stopped so White elects the more aggressive posting at c3. Note that White does not even consider pushing to d5 since Black would just hop into c5 with his Knight and perhaps continue aggressively on to e4.
10... Re8
Sure, Black could play 10...,e5 immediately but White would probably swap pawns and play Nd5 threatening to win a pawn. Rather than be more or less forced to then play ...,Re8 anyway, Black elects to indirectly "overprotect" e5 while keeping other options open.
11.Qc2 ...
White connects his Rooks and contests the important e4 square. Black must not be allowed to gain space by playing a pawn to e5 then on to e4 for free. This way, it will take three pieces to guard e4 while White could simply swap on e5, double Rooks on the d-file and exploit Black's tied up pieces.
11... e5 12.Rfd1 ...
Black does not want to play ...,e4 here [cutting off his Queenside fianchetto and tying his pieces to defence of e4] because it would also be driving White's Knight over toward the Queenside [via d2] where White is strongest. Meanwhile, the Rook exploits the tension in the centre by indirectly threatening the Black Queen.
12...Qe7
What could be more natural? The Queen slips off the d-file, the Black Rooks are connected and e5 is overprotected. However it gives White the chance to seize a long and restricting initiative.
13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nd5 ...
Developing players tend to think that Experts must be analysing many moves ahead at all times. Untrue. White's decision to swap centre pawns and plunk the Knight into d5 was only a three move plan. An experienced player knows, without too much analysis, that White's position is then very strong.. the Horse cannot be driven by a pawn and losing time with Qe7-d8 cannot be good, so Black is almost forced to exchange it. The resulting half-open c-file will then be pointing right at the weak backward pawn on c7. Chess is actually a very simple game. :-)
14...Nxd5 15.cxd5 ...
So here we have the fruits of White's three move analysis. The position was not hard to picture 3 moves ago. Take a little time to study it now. Note the weaknesses in Black's pawn structure and the extra space that White has now. Black's c-pawn is attacked. There are three reasonable ways to defend it- with a Rook at c8, playing the Knight to c5 or by counterattacking by pushing the pawn to e4. Try to anticipate how White might deal with any of these possibilities.
15... Rac8
Prudent. The aggressive alternative loses eg. 15... e4? 16.Bxg7! exf3 17.Bxf3 Kxg7 18.d6! recovering the piece with advantage. If instead Black tries 16... Kxg7 then 17.Nd4 Bxd5 18.Nf5+! is also winning for White. The blocking 15...,Nc5 at first seems great since it shields c7 and strengthens control of e4. However White would just pin the piece with 16.Ba3. The later swap(s) on c5 would leave Black with an undefendable pawn on c5 and still c7 would be hopelessly weak.
16.e4 Kh8
White has the c-file locked up and now occupies more space in the centre. Black cannot expect much trying to play there. His only hope now is to find a way to get in ...,f5 and attack on the kingside, but his King would be exposed along the h2-g8 diagonal if he were to get in the f5 push. So first Black tucks it away to avoid surprises. Besides- White has f5 covered too for the moment. Take some time to examine the position now and try to imagine where White would like his pieces if he could just pick them up and idealy place them.
17.Bc1 ...
Hah!... a strange looking move, leaving the long diagonal. White no longer needs to pressure e5 with the permanent weakness on c7 to attack. The Bishop at e3 will prevent ...,Nc5 and support Nf3-g5-e6 if Black ever advances the f-pawn.
17... f6
The other way to keep the Knight at bay is ... h6 but that just creates another target for the Bc1 to lean on. Frank suggests that 17...,h6 with the idea of playing his Knight to f6-e8-d6 (after ...,Red8) could hold the position. Perhaps. But the additional target at h6 and White's ability to triple the heavy pieces on the c-file if necessary would surely not be good either. In any case, finding a viable plan for Black in this position is not easy. I suspect that most players would just prefer to avoid the problems altogether and choose a different line of defence in the first place.
18.Be3 ...
Is this the ideal piece placement that you imagined a couple of moves ago? If not, take a hard look at it now.
18... Nf8
Black is literally running out of reasonable moves.
19.Rac1 Red8 20.Bc4 ...
Good thing that Black tucked his King away in the corner or this would be a nasty threatening move. Instead, the Bee finally reaches c4 just in time to protect d5 and thus prevent ... f5.
20... Ra8
Black is doing the waiting shuffle. He cannot attack and does not have enough space to improve his defences much more than they are. Now imagine you are White. How can you increase the pressure?
21.h4 ...
See- chess is simple! Whites controls the Queenside, occupies most of the centre and now just needs to open a third front to exploit Black's lack of piece coordination. Notice that the Bee on g7 can be trapped.
21... Rd6 22.h5 g5
There was little choice since 22... gxh5? 23.Nh4 followed by 24.Nf5 is more than annoying.
23.Nh2 ...
If you even considered playing your pawn to g4, go to the back of the Expert class. :-) White briefly considered 23.h6!? Bxh6 24.Nh4 but there is no need to give Black even a sniff of potential counterplay in this position. The Knight can redeploy via g4 and e3 later. Meanwhile White anticipates Black trying to activate his Bb7-Bc8.
23... Bc8 24.Be2 ...
With tempo. The target at c7 has really become a pain for Black.
24... Rd7
Deliberate or blunder? Black finally coughs up material.
25.Bg4 Ra7
So- it was probably deliberate. Black hopes that by swapping his useless Rook for White's strong light squared Bee, he can find a way to hold.
26.Bf5 ...
With a smile. Black's only potentially active piece is that Bee on c8. Material must fall sooner or later anyway. Did White examine the consequences of winning the exchange. Nope. But I did gaze a few moves into the crystal ball in anticipation of Black retreating his hanging Rook.
26... Rd8 27.d6 ...
The developing player should note that such moves do not appear by magic. White has almost reached the maximum piece deployment given the pawn structure while Black is at his most uncoordinated. An experienced player will always pause at that point to see if there is a "knockout" shot. This is it.
27... Qf7 28.Bxc8 Rxc8 29.Bxb6 ...
That's all she wrote. The c-pawn must also fall leaving White with a protected passed d-pawn.
29... Rb7 30.Bxc7 ...
The greedy 30.Bxa4 allows 30...,Ne6!? with a hope of counterplay. The text is more than sufficient.
30... Rxb5 31.Qd3 ...
Black would love to play ...,Nd7 but this accurate move rules it out. By attacking the Rook and simultaneously threatening 32.d7 White forces the less efficient Queen to play the lowly role of overworked blockader.
31... Qd7 32.Ng4 ...
Again, with tempo! Good thing White did not play a pawn to g4. The threat to play 33.h6 must be met. This gives White's Knight an extra full move to redeploy to the centre.
32... h6 33.Ne3 ...
If Knights could drool, this one would be leaving puddles. Look at those central outpost squares at d5 and f5.
33... Ne6 34.Nd5 ...
The Knight is huge on d5- threatening Nb6 or Ne7. Black's reply is again pretty well forced.
34... Nf4 35.Qc4 ...
White now threatens 36.Qc6 and Black will lose control of d7. Once the d-pawn can advance, it is all over.
35... Qg4
Black's only serious threat of the game drops a piece.
36.Nxf4 Rb4 37.Qe6 Qxe6 38.Nxe6 Rxe4 39.d7 1-0
[Notes by: W. Coppin]
WHITE: Wayne Coppin
BLACK: Dave Gordon
EVENT: Kingston Club Championship 2002
OPENING: Sokolsky-Orangutan, A00/10
1.b4 Nf6
After about 10 minutes of thought... already the opening is paying dividends. Although the Sokolsky/Orangoutan has achieved a cult-like following among a small group of practitioners, it remains an under-appreciated opening among club strength players. The strategic demands of many of the resultant positions are unique and usually non-intuitive. For the less classical 1...,a5 see the annotated game:
Coppin - Dixon: Sokolsky (Polish/Orangutan), A00/12
2.Bb2 g6
Black has elected to avoid the sharper theory and adopt a King's Indian setup. Although quite playable, the line does allow White to expand at will on the queenside. In fact, the line will often transpose into an English with White holding a comfortable initiative.
3.c4 ...
Almost always a useful move in the Sokolsky. In this case, the move makes 3...,d5 virtually unplayable (e.g.. 4.cd,Qxd5 5.Nc3 gaining a clear tempo). The move also makes b3 available to White's Queen and can potentially lend a Reti-like character to subsequent play.
3... Bg7 4.Qb3 d6 5.e3 ...
More usual ideas feature 5.d4, slowing Black's intended ...,e5 and transposing to a Reti variant. However, since ...,e5 cannot be prevented permanently, White elects lesser analyzed pastures.
5... e5 6.Nf3 ...
This devious invitation to Black to thematically grab kingside space with 6...,e4? illustrates how counter-intuitive the strategic demands of this opening can be. The aggressive push would just cede d4 and f4 to White's Knights. Those with large databases might want to review Sokolsky-Mnatsakanian, 1960 and Sokol-Flohr 1953 illustrating Black's problems in analogous positions.
5... 0-0 7.Be2 Nc6
This is normally met with an immediate push to b5 by White. However, Black would probably welcome the chance to deploy to e7 where the Knight often arrives in the King's Indian in support of an eventual ...,f5. However, White can delay the push illustrating the Nimzowitch assertion that "the threat is mightier than the execution".
8.0-0 Bg4?! 9.h3 ...
Putting the question to Black's Bee does weaken White's kingside but forces a retreat making a future ...,Nh5 tactically dangerous to the x-ray threats from the White Bee on e2. Of course, if Black were to swap, White would just open the position as soon as possible and exploit both long diagonals.
9... Bd7 10.Nc3 ...
White continues to avoid pushing to d4 and thus keeps that square available for the Knights. With the text, White connects the Rooks and prepares to organize serious pressure on Black's queenside. An occasionally seen idea in analogous positions is 10.d3 but that invites ...,e4 when Black opens the e-file to his advantage.
10... Nh5 11.Rac1 ...
Black continues to follow the classic King's Indian recipe of expanding on the kingside with ...,f5. As a balance to Black's kingside play, White's absolute control of d5 means that the c-file can be forced open and White intends to control this open file to devastate Black's queenside. Note that 11.g4? would simply make Black's eventual ...,f5 an even more powerful can opener.
11... f5
There is no point in avoiding the discovered check with 11...,Kh8 since White achieves his goal by 12.c5 anyway.
12.c5+ Kh8 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.Nb5 ...
Why not 14.Nd5 right away? Because by taking the scenic route, White gives Black the chance to go wrong.
14... Qe7 15.Nc7 Rac8 16.Nd5 Qd8
Avoiding the superficially attractive 16...,Qf7 17.Bc4,Be6? (17...,Qe8 18.Ba3 and White renews the threat to play b5 with advantage) 18.Ng5 and White's switch to the kingside will soon ambush Black's overextended position.
17.b5! ...
White's patience has been rewarded as this thematic push now comes with decisive consequences since control of the c-file will come with tempo.
17... Na5 18.Qb4 ...
The double attack on the Na5 and d6 forces Black's reply.
18... Be6 19.Rxc8 Bxc8
Again a forced reply. Now White takes over the c-file with the friendly threat to win two pieces for a Rook.
20.Rc1 b6
This ugly weakening is also forced since 20...,Be6? loses to 21.Nc7. White now finds a tactical way to quickly decide the issue.
21.Ba3! Be6 22.Nc7 Bxa2 23.Qxd6 e4
Out of the frying pan and into the fire... White's Knight now plops mightily into d4.
24.Nd4 Qxd6 25.Bxd6 Rd8
Just as it seems that Black is about to wriggle out, White uncorks the point...
26.Nce6! ...
White's control of the open c-file and Black's discoordinated pieces make this exploitation of the weakness of Black's back rank fatal. White's Rook will now come crashing into c7 and material must fall.
26... Re8 27.Nxg7 Nxg7 28.Rc7 ...
The elimination of the Bee on g7 has left Black helpless to defend the dark squares.
28... Ne6
Black finds the trickiest defense but the rest is not difficult.
29.Be5+ Kg8 30.Rxa7 Bc4 31.Nxe6! Bxe6
The more accurate alternative 31...,Rxe6 32.Bxc4,Nxc4 33.Bc3 does not change Black's prospects. Sooner or later White will harvest b6 and the game. The final moves were...
32.Rg7+ Kf8 33.Rxh7 Nc4 34.Bc3 Kg8? 35.Rg7+ 1-0
[Notes: W. Coppin]
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