Here are the games I played in a
November 15, 2007 simul at the Kolty
Club.
The game scores as to the best of
my recollection, but move orders may be slightly inaccurate.
I’ll start with the wins.
Game One - Ruy
Lopez
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nge7
(I had booked up on the position
after 3. … a6 4. Ba5 Nf6 5.
d4, but I didn’t get a chance to play it.)
4. d4 ed
5. 0-0 h6
6. c3 dc
7. Nc3 a6
8. Ba4 b5
9. Bb3 Na5
10. Ne5 Nc4
11. Bc4 bc
12. Qf3 f6
(I was expecting this to be the
shortest game, but it outlasted 7 others.)
13. Qh5+ g6
14. Ng6 Ng6
15. Qg6+ Ke7
16. Nd5+ Ke6
(I wasn’t sure how to continue
from here. Perhaps I’m missing a quick win.)
17. f4
Bc5+
(I missed this check. I was
planning 18. f5+ Kd6 19.Bf4+ Kc6 20. Bc7 winning the queen.)
18. Kh1 Rf8
19. f5+ Kd6
20. Bh6 Rg8
21. Bf4+ Kc6
22. Bc7 Rg6
23. Bd8 Rh6
24. Bf6 Bb7
25. Rac1 a5
26. Bg4? Rh4
(Transposed
moves. I was thinking about playing 26.
g4 then Bg5. The bishop is needed on f6 to prevent him
doubling rooks on the h file. )
27. Be3 Rah8
28. h3
Rh3+
(Missed this
tactic.)
29. gh Be3
30. Ne3 Rh3+
31.Kg2
Re3
32. f6
Re4
33. f7
Kb5
34. Kg3 Re3+
35. Kg4 Bg2
36. Rf5+ e5
37. f8/Q Bh3+
38. Kh3 Bf5
39. Qf5 Re4+
40. Kg4 1-0
Game Two – French Defense
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Bd3 ed
4. Be4 Nf6
5. Bd3 Nc6
6. Nf3 Bd6
7. 0-0 h6
8. Re1 Bd7
9. a3 Ne7
10. c4 c6
11. Nc3 Ng6
12. Bg6 fg
(Perhaps this was a bad pawn to
grab. It cost me the two bishops and several tempi.)
13. Qd3 0-0
14. Qg6 Be8
15. Qd3 Bh5
16. h3
Nh7
(h3 stops
any dreams he may have of a kingside attack. My long range plan here is to
bring the queen’s rook to the second rank, push the f and g pawns, and post the
rook on g2 for a mating attack.
I don’t think there is any
particular reason to not take the e6 pawn, but I was afraid it was just opening
lines for him.)
17. Ne5 Qf6
18. Ne4 Qe7
19. f4
Rad8
20. Be3 Nf6
21. b4
Nd7
22. Ra2? Ne5
(Oops! I saw that he was
threatening to win a pawn, and so I started looking at 22. Nf3 when I was
worried about 22. ... g5. After looking at it, I
rejected the knight move, but in the meantime I forgot that he was making a
threat. Qe4 is probably best, but then I was worried about b5. )
23. fe Qe5
24. Bf2 Qf6
25. Qe3 Bd7
26. Bg3 Qf3
27. Bd6 Rf7
(I had switched to endgame mode,
and knew I wanted my king in the center after the exchange of some heavy
pieces. I can’t let him get his rook to d8 rook to f8, so this move gains a
crucial tempo.)
28. Rf2 Qf2+
29. Qf2 Rf2
30. Kf2 Kf7
(Despite the opposite colored
bishops, and even material. this endgame is clearly won. The difference in
activity between my pieces and his is striking, and I have a space advantage.
Even if he gets the rooks off, if my king can get to c7 he is lost, but I’m not
sure I can accomplish that.)
31. Ke3 Bc8
32. Rf1+ Kg6
33. Be5 Re8
34. h4
Re7
35. Rf8 Bd7
36. h5+ Kg5
(After 36. …
Kh7 37. c5 he is in zugzwang)
37. Bd6 Re8
38. Rf7 Rg8
39. Kf3
1-0
Game Three – Petroff
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. Ne5 d6
4. Nf3 Ne4
5. c4 d5
6. Nc3 c6
7. cd cd
8. Ne4 de
9. Qa4+ Nc6
(I’ve lost track of how many times
I’ve won a pawn or a piece on e4 with this trick. It crops up in the Ponziani and the Kings Gambit declined too.)
10. Qe4+ Be6
11. Bc4 Qf6
12. 0-0 0-0-0
13. Re1 Re8
14. d4
Bd6
15. Bg5 Qf7
16. Rac1 Kb8
17. Re3 h6
18. Rc6 bc
19. Qc6 Qc7
20. Rb3+ Kc8
21. Qa6+ Kd7
22. Qa4+ Kc8
23. Bd2 Qf7
(Bd2 was the only hard move to
find, preventing Kd8, and winning the queen.)
24. Qa6+ Kd7
25. Rb7+ Bc7
26. Ne5+ 1-0
Game Four - Petroff
1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. Ne5 d6
4. Nf3 Ne4
5. c4 Be7
6. d4 0-0
7. Nc3 Nc3
8. bc Bf5
9. Bd3 Qd7
(I’ve been in this position twice
before, back in 1989, winning both games. It’s not particularly advantageous
for White, but the position is unbalanced and it is not the normal pawn
structure a Petroff player is used to facing, so it
fits my opening philosophy. Chess is a struggle, not a science, and you need to
give your opponent opportunities to play badly.)
10. 0-0 Nc6
11. Rb1 b6
12. Re1 Bf6
13. Rb5 Rfe8
14. Be3 Bd3
14. Qd3 Qg4
15. h3 Qe4
16. Rd1 Qd3
17. Rd3 Na5
(I missed this problem when I allowed the
queen trade.)
18. c5 a6
19. Rb1 b5
20. cd cd
21. a4 ba
22. Ra1 Nc4
23. Bf4 Re4?
(I was already planning Nd2 to
evict the knight, but this move lets me eliminate the knight altogether. The
R+B ending is not won yet, but the weakness on a6 is glaring.)
24. Nd2 Nd2
25. Bd2 Kf8
26. Ra4 Ke8
27. Re3 Re6?
(This lets me fix his d-pawn on a
black square. After this he is busted. It just takes grandmaster technique.)
28. d5
Re3
29. fe Kd8
(I have the methodology of these
kinds of positions, where the opponent is saddled with one weakness, down to a
science. You need to create a second weakness to win. I define an endgame weakness as a
square that has to be defended by a piece. Just follow this recipe.
A. Stop counter-play first!
B. Centralize your king
C. Attack the weakness and tie his
pieces down to its defense.
D. Maximize the location of your
pieces.
E. Repair any small positional
defects you may have while he is in the bind.
F. Push pawns on the opposite wing
from the first weakness.
G. Exchange pawns to open lines
and create a second weakness.
H. Shift the attack to the second
weakness.)
30. Kf1 Rc8
31. c4
Ra8
32. Ke2 Be5
33. Kd3 f5
(It was important not to play e4
to prevent … f5 because it allow his bishop to reach the c5 blockading square.)
34. g4 fg
35. hg
Kd7
36. e4
Kd8
36. Be3 Ke7
37. c5 g6
38. Bg5+ Ke8
39. c6 h5
(I also could have won by trading
on d6 but decided to stick to my plan. The protected passed pawn creates a new
weakness in his position - he must guard the c8 square. The drawback with
keeping the position closed is my king has to find a different way to penetrate
into his position. The f-file will be my highway. )
40. gh gh
41. Ke2 a5
42. Kf3
(The plan is clear, go after the h
pawn with my king. All of my other pieces are ideally posted. I can win the a-pawn with 42. Bd2 but there’s
no rush, the a-pawn will still be fatally weak after I
capture the h-pawn. Capturing a weak pawn usually allows the defense to gain
some counter-play, because pieces are released from the defenders role, so I
don’t really want to capture the a-pawn.)
42. … Bc3
43. Kf4 Bd2+
44. Kf5 Bg5
45. Kg5 Kf7
46. Kh4 Kf6
47. Kg4 Ke5
48. Kf3 Ra7
49. Ke3 Rh7
(If he stays passive I bring my
king to a3, play Rc4, and advance my king up the queenside.)
50. Kd3 Rh4
51. Rc4 Rh3+
52. Kc2 Rh8
53. Kb3 Kf4
54. Ka4 Ke3
55. c7
Rc8
56. Ka5 Kd3
56. Kb5 Zugzwang
1-0
Game Five - Sicilian Alapin
1. e4 c5
2. c3 d5
3. ed Qd5
4. d4 Nc6
5. Nf3 Bg4
6. Be2 Nf6
7. h3 Bh5
8. c4 Qd6
9. g4 Bg6
10. d5
Ne5
(After 10.
... Nb4 11. Nc3! Nb2+ 12.
Kf1 Na1 13. Nb5 Qd7 14. Qa4
is supposed to be winning for White.)
11. Nc3 Nf3+
12. Bf3 h6
(I’ve had this type of position in
several speed games. He’s dead.)
13. 0-0 a6
14. Re1 Rd8
15. Qa4+ Qd7
(The idea of the queen check is to
get his queen away from the d6-f4 diagonal, so I can complete my queenside
development.)
16. Qa5 Rc8
17. Bf4 Bd3
18. Na4 Qd8
19. Qc3 Bc4
(I must admit this came as a
shock.)
20. d6 b5
21. de
Be7
22. Rad1 Nd7
23. Qg7 Rf8
24. Nc3 Qb6
25. Bd6 Be6
26. Be7
(26. Re6 also wins. I saw the win
of the queen and stopped looking. for better moves)
26. … Ke7
27. Nd5+
(After 27. …
Ke8 28. Nb6 Nb6 the killer
is 29. g5! threatening to capture on e6 and check on
h5) 1-0
Game Six – Sicilian Alapin
My opponent made a few minor
mistakes, then hung his queen.
1. e4 c5
2. c3 b6
3. d4 d6
4. Nf3 Bb7
5. Be3 Nc6?
(cost =
two tempos)
6. d5 Nb8
7. 0-0 Nd7
8. c4
Ngf6
9. Nc3 g6
10. Re1 Bg7
11. Bg5 0-0
12. Qd2 Nh5?
(cost =
two tempos)
13. g4
Nhf6
14. h3
Kh8
15. Bh6 Bh6
16. Qh6 Ng8
17. Qh4 Ndf6
18. e5 de
19. Re5 Rc8
20. Rae1 Rc7
21. Ng5 Re8 ??
(He’s completely tied up, so the win
is just a matter of time. My plan was to target the g6 square with f4 and f5.
If he lets me capture on g6, and recaptures with the f pawn, I’ll get the e6
square for my knight. If he trades on f5, then I’ll play g5. )
22. Nf7+ 1-0
Now for the games I didn’t win. I had two draws and two losses
Thanks to Dan Stolin for providing me with this game score.
1. e4 Nf6
2. Nc3 d5
3. ed Nd5
4. Nd5 Qd5
5. d4 e5
6. de Qe5+
7. Be2 Bg4
8. c3 Bc5
9. Qa4+ Bd7
10. Qf4 Nc6
11. Nf3 Qxf4
12. Bxf4 O-O-O
13. O-O Rhe8
14. Rfe1 Re4
15. Bg3 Rde8
16. Bd3 1/2-1/2
1. e4 d5
2. ed Nf6
3. Bb5+ Bd7
4. Bc4 Bg4
5. f3
I got a bad game after this. My opponent was winning when he offered a draw around move 15-20.
Game 7 – French
Black = Jan deJong
(I also lost another French but I don’t recall the moves from that game. We both misplayed the game in places. My opponent won a R+Ps vs R+N ending.)
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. Bd3 Nf6
4. Nd2 c5
5. c3 Nc6
6. Nf3 cd
7. cd Qb6
I looked this position up in Chesslab’s database and found 8 games. White played 8. e5 in every game
8. ed Nd5
9. 0-0
(This pawn sacrifice is completely unsound. I have to improve my opening play before this point is reached. I may try 6. Ne2 or 6. e5 )
Note added Feb 14, 2008 – I now think the sacrifice is completely sound. I’m looking forward to my chance to play this again.
9. … Nd4
10. Qa4+ Nc6
11. Nc4 Qb4
12. Qc2 Qc5
13. a3 b5
14. b4 Ncb4
(I saw this coming, but miscounted the pieces that would remain on the board at the end of the fireworks.)
15. ab Nd4
16. Ba3 Nc2
17. Bc5 bc
18. Bf8 cd
19. Bg7 Rg8
(When I went into this combination I thought I could play Rac1, but the knight is protected so I’m lost.)
20. Bc3 Na1
21. Ra1. Bb7
(I finally stopped to count the pieces and saw to my shock that I don’t have two pieces for a rook. I resigned immediately. I’m glad I got this beating in a simul and not in a tournament game. I learned a good lesson.)