Beating Carlos the Jackal

It has been nearly three weeks since my last post because Arcadia Chess Club didn't meet on October 13 as it was Columbus Day. I was then too busy last week to post about my first round game in the Fall Challenge, so I present the game here now.

The first round of a new tournament is usually chaotic but this went better than most. As Dave King and I are the two Tournament Directors, we are always scrambling at the start of the first round to enter new players, take their money and make the pairings. They are typically a bunch of people who show up at the last second (in fact, often after our announced 6:30pm start time) and then get in a snit if they have to wait to be paired. Sorry, if you turn up late you can't expect us to re-do all the pairings, when half the players are already at their boards, just to suit you!

Getting back to my first round encounter, I was paired against Carlos Luna, rated 1611. He was not one of the latecomers to the tournament so my rant above was not directed at him! Carlos is a curious character who seems to be much stronger at blitz than he is at standard time controls. He had a provisional rating of over 1900 at one stage and beat some strong players. He then had a very mixed run of form where he would have a good win one week only to then undo the hard work the following week by losing to a class D player. As a result, his rating has now settled at 1611, which still isn't too shabby for his first non-provisional rating. Given his patchy results, I wasn't sure what to expect from him. As it turns out, it was quite a hard fought game and the last one of the night to finish.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d6 3. f4 Qc7

I honestly had no idea what was going on here. I thought at first he might be trying to transpose into some sort of Pirc structure, where c6 is quite commonly played by black, but if he wanted a Pirc why not play the standard Nf6 and g6 moves? After the game, I asked Carlos what the opening was and he called it the "Star Defense." I was still none the wiser until I Googled it and realized he might be referring to the S.T.A.R. Chess book by Paul Motwani. I haven't read the book but had heard of it. I am not sure if this opening is covered in there or if it's something else. Either way, it was a good way to get me out of  book early.

4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 Nd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. fxe5?!

Fritz says that this is okay for white but I was chastising myself a few moves later. Even now, I think the computer's top choice of 8. Be3  looks good. I probably rejected it automatically because it loses a tempo if black plays either 8. ... exd4  or 8. ... exf4. In reality, this was short sighted on my part and I should have kept the tension. White is already up a couple of tempi, so it shouldn't be a big deal if black captures either the d or f pawns and I have to take back with the dark squared bishop I have just moved. Additionally, one problem black has in this position is that his bishop on f8 isn't very good and might have a hard time getting into the game. By playing 8. fxe5, I am just helping black because now his bishop can get out. Finally, black has already given me the bishop pair and the position will definitely open sooner or later, whether it's because black makes a pawn capture or white does. There is no need to rush this.

8. ... dxe5 9. d5 Ngf6 10. dxc6 bxc6 11. Be3 Bb4 

I was already less than thrilled with my position. Fritz says the position is already a bit better for black, an assessment I agree with. It's much easier for black to play.

12. Bd3 O-O 13. O-O Rab8 14. Ne2 Bc5! 15. b3

I wasn't sure what else to play here. I thought black's 14th move was excellent because he is going to exchange off the dark squared bishops, thus removing my best piece from the board. My light squared bishop on d3 is not happy with life either, so I thought this position had to be better for black.

15. ... Qb6 16. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 17. Kh2 Qd6 18. Rad1 Qa3 19. Ng3 g6 

Of course, capturing on a2 would run into Ra1 and I think white would then be better.

20. Qe3 Ne8?

He we arrived at an interesting position. Black is still threatening the pawn on a2 but it's again not a true problem yet because his a7 pawn would hang after I play Ra1. I could see that black might be trying to get a knight to e6 and, from there, to either f4 or d4. Those are both juicy looking squares. In the meantime, I still have an isolated pawn on e4 but right now it's not much of a weakness (black isn't even attacking it once). The big problem white has in this position is that all of his pawns are on light squares, making the d3 bishop just plain miserable. The bishop has very little scope in this type of structure and I felt like I was almost playing down a piece. Therefore, I came up with a radical solution that would either win a pawn or at least trade off my bishop for one of black's knights. Either way, this would put me right back in the game. Fritz thinks my 21st move is the best too, so I was pleased to have found it.

21. Bb5!

This wins the c6 pawn because black's knight on d7 is hanging. Black can capture the bishop (which actually would solve the problem of his isolated c pawn) but then he would drop the d7 knight. At least then he wouldn't be down material but I figured white would have dramatically improved his position by getting rid of his worst piece (the light squared bishop) and by getting a rook to the 7th rank, where it also conveniently hits the a7 pawn.

21. ... Nc5 22. Bxc6 Ng7 23. Bd5 Nce6 24. c3 Qe7 25. Bxe6 Nxe6 26. Rd5 Nf4 27. Ra5 Rb6 28. Ne2 Nxe2 29. Qxe2 Qc7 30. Qd2? Rc6?

A tale of mutual blunders. Black should have played 30. ... Rxb3, a move I saw immediately after I played 30. Qd2. It just wins his pawn back and I would have had nothing. After the game, Carlos said he saw this but thought he would still be down a pawn because his a7 pawn would hang. I told him that was true but, as consequence of putting a pawn on c3 and my queen on d2, my c pawn would then hang too. He said he just missed that.

31. c4 Rc5 32. Rxc5 Qxc5 33. Qd5 Qe7 34. Rf3 Rd8??

A blunder in what was already a very bad position. Carlos missed a tactic that picks up a second pawn and wins the game. The rest of the game is uninteresting (I had quicker mates and, for some reason, Carlos kept playing on despite being down a queen), so I just give the moves below without notation.

35. Rxf7! Qxf7 36. Qxd8+ Kg7 37. Qg5 Qc7 38. Qd2 Kf6 39. Qd5 Ke7 40. Qg8 Kd6 41. Qd5+ Ke7 42. c5 a6 43. b4 Qb8 44. c6 Qc7 45. a4 h6 46. Qc5+ Ke6 47. b5 axb5 48. axb5 Qd6 49. Qc4+ Ke7 50. c7 Qd2 51. Qc5+ Kf6 52. c8=Q Qf4+ 53. Kg1 Qxe4 54. Qf2+ Qf4 55. Qxf4+ exf4 56. b6 Ke5 57. b7 g5 58. b8=Q+ Ke4 59. Qe6+ Kd4 60. Qd8+ Kc3 61. Qc6+ 1-0


Here is the complete PGN:

Hayes,Matthew (2124) - Luna,Carlos (1611) [B12]

Arcadia Fall Challenge Arcadia (1), 20.10.2014

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d6 3.f4 Qc7 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Nd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.fxe5 dxe5 9.d5 Ngf6 10.dxc6 bxc6 11.Be3 Bb4 12.Bd3 0–0 13.0–0 Rab8 14.Ne2 Bc5 15.b3 Qb6 16.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 17.Kh2 Qd6 18.Rad1 Qa3 19.Ng3 g6 20.Qe3 Ne8 21.Bb5 Nc5 22.Bxc6 Ng7 23.Bd5 Nce6 24.c3 Qe7 25.Bxe6 Nxe6 26.Rd5 Nf4 27.Ra5 Rb6 28.Ne2 Nxe2 29.Qxe2 Qc7 30.Qd2 Rc6 31.c4 Rc5 32.Rxc5 Qxc5 33.Qd5 Qe7 34.Rf3 Rd8 35.Rxf7 Qxf7 36.Qxd8+ Kg7 37.Qg5 Qc7 38.Qd2 Kf6 39.Qd5 Ke7 40.Qg8 Kd6 41.Qd5+ Ke7 42.c5 a6 43.b4 Qb8 44.c6 Qc7 45.a4 h6 46.Qc5+ Ke6 47.b5 axb5 48.axb5 Qd6 49.Qc4+ Ke7 50.c7 Qd2 51.Qc5+ Kf6 52.c8Q Qf4+ 53.Kg1 Qxe4 54.Qf2+ Qf4 55.Qxf4+ exf4 56.b6 Ke5 57.b7 g5 58.b8Q+ Ke4 59.Qe6+ Kd4 60.Qd8+ Kc3 61.Qc6+ 1–0

　

Ge Whizz

The final round of the Istvanyi Open took place on Monday and I had black against 12-year-old Anthony Ge, rated 1974. Anthony and I were the only two players on 4.5/5 going into the last round so we both knew the victor would win the tournament outright. Equally, we also knew that a draw would guarantee us both a tie for first.

Although I was the favorite in theory, Anthony and I had drawn our last game (where he'd had a significantly better, if not winning, position at one point). Anthony had also beaten Raoul Crisologo, a high expert, in round 5 and had drawn Dave Bassett (2300) in round 4. Additionally, I had the black pieces again, which was unfortunate because it gave me four blacks out of six for the tournament. Normally, the higher rated player would get due color so I had initially expected to have the white pieces. However, this would have given Anthony three blacks in a row, so the WinTD pairing software correctly gave him white and me black.

Last week, Raoul had lamented how Anthony was getting up and playing with his friends in the back room frequently during their game. He wasn't saying it was distracting; rather, it was just galling that Anthony had beaten him despite hardly being at the board! He would play with his friends, come back to the board, make a strong move quickly, and then go back to playing. It's quite impressive really and I wonder how much potential Anthony has, especially if he takes his games more seriously.

I did some brief preparation for Anthony and I's game over the weekend but it was difficult because I'd only had black against him once. The other three times we had played I was white. Also, in our last game I had played the Scandinavian against him, which is not an opening I play too often. I had played this because I suspected he was one of those "Alapin kids", as I have started to call them. I have noticed that a number of the kids in Arcadia play the Alapin and I don't think it's a coincidence. Most all of them have been coached by WIM Sarah Lu and perhaps Sarah likes the Alapin. It's by no means bad for white but, equally, it's hardly the most testing response to the Sicilian either.

Luckily, I knew that Dave Bassett was black against Anthony in their round 4 encounter, so I messaged him on Facebook to ask what Anthony had played. Dave was kind enough to send about the first 10 moves of their last two games and I determined that Anthony probably plays the exact same moves against almost any Sicilian move order. Sure enough, the first seven or eight moves of our game followed that trend.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6

I very rarely play 2. ... d6  in the Open Sicilian but was confident Anthony would avoid 3. d4  and would play the same way he had against Dave Bassett. Sure enough, he did. Even if he hadn't, I would have gone into a Najdorf or Dragon if needs be.

3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 g6 5. O-O

This was the same move order as the two games Dave had shown me. I don't think it's anything for black to worry about. In fact, Fritz thinks black is already slightly better after white's third move!

5. ... Bg7 6. Re1 O-O 7. Bf1 Bg4

This was a slight improvement over the way Dave had handled this against Anthony. Dave had played 7. ... Nc6  but Fritz prefers 7. ... Bg4  (although it thinks 7. ... Nc6  is fine too).

8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nc6 10. d3 Qb6

The computer thinks that 10. ... d5!  is better. This was what Dave had played against Anthony earlier this year, albeit in a slightly different position where black hadn't exchanged his bishop for the f3 knight. Certainly, the d5 pawn push is very thematic for black in a number of Sicilians (not least in my favorite Hyper-Accelerated Dragon!) but I felt 10. ... Qb6  would keep white tied up for a bit. After the text move, Fritz says the position is equal.

11. Nd2 a6 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Bg5 b5 14. Ne3 Ne5 15. Qf4 Nh5

This was a tricky decision. I was slightly concerned about the activity of white's queen, knight and bishop over on the kingside. I felt I needed to take immediate action to deter white from any further nonsense. The main drawback of putting the knight on h5 is that it's a bit out of play. I also had to be sure that white couldn't somehow trap it. As it turns out, 15. ... Nh5  is a very good move and Fritz's number one choice.

16. Nd5

This caught me by surprise and here I had my only really long think of the game. The sequence I came up with seems to be just fine for black and even contains a nasty trap at the end if white isn't careful.

16. ... Nxf4 17. Nxc7 Ra7 18. Bxf4

Probably best. Anthony looked as if he was reaching for the knight and then he saw the trap. If 18. Nd5?  there is a rude awakening after 18. ... Nxh3+! 19. gxh3 Nf3+  followed by capturing the bishop on f4 and suddenly black has won a pawn.

White could try the desperado 18. Nxb5  but then black can play his own desperado with 18. ... Nxh3+  and then capture on b5. The position would be essentially equal.

18. ... Rxc7 19. Bxe5 Bxe5 20. Rad1 Rb8 1/2-1/2

Here I offered draw because I couldn't see how black could win against any reasonable play by white. True, I have the slightly better bishop but his rooks are as active as mine and swapping them would lead to an obviously drawn opposite colored bishop endgame. Anthony accepted the draw offer without hesitation, meaning we both finished on 5/6 and shared a five way tie for first place. Anthony's rating went over 2000 for the first time, so congratulations to him. My rating went from 2124 to 2133, my highest rating ever by one point.

Here is the game PGN:

Ge,Anthony (1974) - Hayes,Matthew (2124) [B50]

Istvanyi Open Arcadia (6), 06.10.2014

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Be2 g6 5.0–0 Bg7 6.Re1 0–0 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Nc6 10.d3 Qb6 11.Nd2 a6 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.Bg5 b5 14.Ne3 Ne5 15.Qf4 Nh5 16.Nd5 Nxf4 17.Nxc7 Ra7 18.Bxf4 Rxc7 19.Bxe5 Bxe5 20.Rad1 Rb8 ½–½

　

More Fire From the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon

Monday night in Arcadia saw the fifth of six rounds in the Istvanyi Open. The tournament is named after Gabor Istvanyi, a one time Arcadia Chess Club player who I believed last played in the 80s or 90s. The USCF website doesn't list him as being deceased but I thought he had passed away in the 90s and that's why the tournament was named after him. I never met him but there are several people at the club who remember him.

On Monday I was paired against Tim Thompson, rated exactly 200 points below me. However, Tim has previously been rated over 2100 and had drawn expert Raoul Crisologo in round 4, so I definitely had to be on my guard.

I had only played Tim once before, in a game I won earlier this year when Tim had a perfectly fine position only to walk into a bishop skewer on his king and rook. The first seven moves of our game on Monday were identical to our earlier game but Tim then deviated. Let's take a look...

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Qd2

In our previous game, Tim had played 8. f3  which should lose a pawn to 8. ... Qb6  but I had played 8. ... d5  instead, which is also playable but not as good.

In this game, 8. Qd2  is a mistake. I considered 8. ... Ng4  which Fritz likes but ultimately settled on a well known temporary piece sacrifice which essentially equalizes for black.

8. ... Nxe4 9.Nxe4 d5 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Rd1 Qc7

Here white should just retreat the bishop and accept that black has equalized. However, Tim would be the first to admit that opening knowledge is not his specialty (actually, he even mentioned that before the game!) and he unwisely grabbed a pawn that turned out to be extremely hot.

12.Bxd5 cxd5 13.Qxd5 Be6

Tempting was also 13. ... Bb7 14. Qc5 Qxc5 15. Nxc5 Bxg2 16. Rg1 Bf3 Rb1  where I thought black would have an excellent position but it wasn't as clear cut as putting the bishop on e6. After 13. ... Be6, both of black's bishops are raking towards white's queenside pawns and it's hard to see how he can hold it all together.

14.Qc5 Qb7 15.f3 Rfc8

It's important to move the right rook. Psychologically, it was tempting to leave my f8 rook where it was and instead play 15. ... Rac8. However, that wouldn't be in the spirit of the position. My rook is not needed on f8 (it's not as if white has a kingside attack going) and I want to keep my a8 rook where it is because it will defend my a7 pawn in some lines. It's already evident that play is going to revolve around the queenside.

Here Tim had a decision to make. I thought he should have played 16. Qa5  but I think black is already in serious trouble. He is going to have to give the pawn back whatever he does and I can't see any good way for him to avoid dropping another pawn after that. It is also worth nothing that white still owes us a tempo when he castles too.

Instead, Tim played a move that looked tempting but I think results in him having a lost position.

16.Qa3 Bxb2 17.Rb1

This was the point but there is nothing for black to fear. I seriously considered playing 17. ... Rxc2, which indeed is Fritz's first choice, but I wondered if white could complicate matters with something like 18. Kf1 Rxg2 19. Nf2  when it's not clear if my rook is happy on g2 plus white is now threatening to capture my bishop on b2. With hindsight, I think I was probably seeing ghosts because black can always play Rb8, followed by Qd5+. Heck, even if white was somehow able to round up the bishop on b2 I think he would still be in serious trouble because black would have three pawns for the piece and white's king looks ripe for the mating out in the open.

Instead, I decided to keep things simple, let the queens come off the board, and end up in a position where black is up two pawns and completely winning.

17. ... Bxa3 18.Rxb7 Rxc2 19.0–0 a5

There is no need to capture on a2 right away. The pawn isn't going anywhere. Fritz also says that 19. ... a5  is the best move.

20.Rfb1 Bxa2 21.Rb8+ Rxb8 22.Rxb8+ Kg7 23.Ra8 Bb4 24.Bb6 Bd5

I had spent some time trying to make something out of 24. ... Rc1+ 25. Kf2 Be1+ 26. Ke2 Bc4+  but couldn't find a way to make it work. Basically, I was seeing if I could skewer his king and bishop on the g1-a7 diagonal but there isn't anything there. Therefore, I decided to play more simply.

25.Ra7 Bxe4 26.fxe4 Re2 27.Bd4+ Kh6 28.e5 Rxe5 0–1

A final blunder. Tim resigned here as white will be down three pawns with a hopeless position after 29. Bxe5 Bc5+.

Next week I will face off against 12-year-old Anthony Ge to determine the winner of the tournament. As the only two players on 4.5/5, it will be winner takes all! Anthony is already guaranteed to move up to expert when the tournament is rated, even if he loses to me, and he has had a wonderful run of results including drawing a 2300 and beating a 2100. I know I will have my work cut out for me.

Here is the complete PGN:

Thompson,Tim (1924) - Hayes,Matthew (2124) [B35]

Istvanyi Open Arcadia (5), 29.09.2014

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Qd2 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 d5 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Bxd5 cxd5 13.Qxd5 Be6 14.Qc5 Qb7 15.f3 Rfc8 16.Qa3 Bxb2 17.Rb1 Bxa3 18.Rxb7 Rxc2 19.0–0 a5 20.Rfb1 Bxa2 21.Rb8+ Rxb8 22.Rxb8+ Kg7 23.Ra8 Bb4 24.Bb6 Bd5 25.Ra7 Bxe4 26.fxe4 Re2 27.Bd4+ Kh6 28.e5 Rxe5 0–1