[Event "1997 New York Open"]

[Site "Manhattan, New York City"]

[Date "1997.04.02"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Morozevich, Alexander"]

[Black "Ippolito, Dean"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C42"]

[WhiteElo "2595"]

[BlackElo "2280"]

[PlyCount "158"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6

This move, once considered a speculative alternative to 6 ... Be7

or 6 ... Nc6, is now a mainstream option.

7. O-O O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3

An important juncture. On 9 Qc2 Na6! is a sound pawn sacrifice.

Also to be considered is 9 cxd5 cxd5 10 Nc3, to give Black an isolated

queen's pawn. Then Tkachiev - Ye Rongguang, Jakarta 1994 saw 10 ...

Nxc3 11 bxc3 Bg4 12 Rb1 b6 13 Rb5 (the prelude to an Exchange

sacrifice introduced by Nigel Short) [ANALYSIS DIAGRAM] Bc7 (not 13

... a6? 14 Rxd5! Bxh2+ 15 Nxh2! winning two bishops for a rook) 14 h3

a6 (if 14 ... Bh5? 15 c4) 15 hxg4 axb5 16 Qc2 with an unclear

position.

Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Bg4 12. Qd3

The most aggressive approach. Another possibility is 12 h3 Bh5 13

Re1 Nd7 14 Bf1 Qc7 14 c4 as in Kuczynski - Barua, Manila 1992.

Nd7

If Black wants to avoid the forthcoming complications, he can drop

his bishop back with 12 ... Bh5, after which White's most accurate

seems to be 13 Bg5 Qc7 14 Rae1 Nd7 15 Be7, Chandler - Barua,

Thessaloniki 1988.

13. Ng5

Now the play is virtually forced.

Nf6 14. h3 Bh5

Way too passive is 14 ... Bd7 15 Re1 h6?! 16 Nxf7 Rxf7 17 Qg6 Qf8

18 Bxh6.

15. f4 h6 16. g4 hxg5 17. fxg5

DIAGRAM

The critical position. White is recovering the piece he has

invested, and his attack still looks to be brewing.

Nxg4

In Nunn - Salov, Brussels 1988, 17 ... b5 18 Bb3 was thrown in.

18. hxg4 Qd7

Black cannot play 18 ... Bxg4 19 g6 Be6 (or 19 ... Qh4 20 Bxf7+ Kh8

21 Bf4 and Black is in big trouble) 20 Rxf7! Bxf7 21 Qh3!

DIAGRAM

19. Qh3?!

In the Nunn - Salov game, 20 Qf5 was played in the analogous

position (with ... b7-b5 and Bc4-b3 thrown in). After 20 ... Bxg4

21.Qxd7 Bxd7 22.Rxf7 Rxf7 23.g6 Be8 24.Be3 a5 Black was ok. Back to

our game, 19 Qf5 would be better than Morozevich's 19 Qh3. The big

question is whether Ippolito had an improvement in store if White

captured the bishop with 19 gxh5. Theory gives 19 ... Qd7 19.gxh5 Qg4+

20.Kf2 Rae8 21.Rg1 Qh4+ 22.Kg2 b5 23.Bb3 and then in Short - Huebner,

Tilburg 1988, Black blundered with 23 ... c5? 24 Rh1, while in Psakhis

- Mikhalcisin, Klaipeda 1988, White also won after 23 ... Re4 24.Qf3

Bh2 25.Rh1 Rg4+ 26.Kf1 Rg3 27.Qxc6 Qh3+ 28.Kf2 Qf5+ 29.Ke1 Rc8 30.Be6.

Bxg4 20. Qh4 Bf5

Now Black, with his extra pawn and more compact king position, has

a clear advantage. Still, Morozevich tries to get something going on

the h-file.

21. Bf4 Bxf4 22. Rxf4 b5 23. Bb3 Rae8 24. Raf1 Bg6 25. Qh1 Re3 26. Rh4

Bh5

Neatly thwarting all of the threats. Now White has to scramble to

avoid a mating attack.

27. Qh2 Re2 28. Rf2 Re1+ 29. Kg2 Qe7 30. Qg3 Bg6 31. Kh2 Be4 32. Qf4

g6 33. Qf6 Qxf6 34. Rxf6 Re2+

Ippolito went on to convert his extra pawn in the endgame.

35. Kg3 Bd5 36. Bxd5 cxd5 37. Rf2 Re3+ 38. Rf3 Rxf3+ 39. Kxf3 Rc8

40. Kf4 Rxc3 41. Ke5 Rc2 42. Kxd5 b4 43. a3 bxa3 44. Rh3 Ra2 45. Kd6

Ra1 46. d5 f6 47. Re3 fxg5 48. Ke7 Rd1 49. Rxa3 Rxd5 50. Rxa7 Rf5 51.

Ke6 Rf4 52. Ke5 Rf7 53. Ra1 Kg7 54. Rg1 Rf5+ 55. Ke6 Ra5 56. Rg2 Ra1

57. Ke5 Re1+ 58. Kd4 g4 59. Kd3 Kf6 60. Kd2 Re4 61. Kd3 Kf5 62. Rg1

Rf4 63. Ke2 Rf3 64. Rb1 Kf4 65. Rb6 Kg3 66. Rxg6 Rf8 67. Rg7 Kh3 68.

Rh7+ Kg2 69. Rg7 g3 70. Rg6 Kh2 71. Rh6+ Kg1 72. Rg6 g2 73. Rg7 Rf5

74. Rg8 Re5+ 75. Kf3 Rf5+ 76. Ke2 Rh5 77. Kf3 Rh3+ 78. Ke2 Kh1 79. Kf2

Rh2 0-1

And if you are Black, you have to be prepared against

1 e4 e5

2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 d6 - the Fischer defence to the King's Gambit

2 Nc3 Nf6 3 f4 d5 - the Vienna Game - or 3 Bc4 Nxe4 idea 4 Nxe4 d5.

2 Nf3 Nc6 and now:

3 Bc4 Nf6 - this is the 2 knights defence

3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Bb4 - the Scotch

or 4 Bc4 Bc5 5 c3 Nf6 6 cxd4 Bb4+ - White played the Scotch

Gambit 4 Bc4, but the listed move order forces a transposition to the

Giuoco Piano.

or (3 d4 exd4) 4 c3 - the Goring Gambit d5 5 exd5 Qxd5

3 Nc3 Nc6 4 Bb5 [4 d4 exd4 is the Scotch as above; 4 Bc4 Nxe4! 5 Nxe4

d5 is ok for Black] Nd4 is the Rubinstein Variation of the 4

Knights Opening.

In the Ruy Lopez 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 the main moves for Black are:

3 ... a6 (Morphy Defence)

3 ... Nf6 (Berlin Defence)

3 ... d6 (Steinitz Defence)

3 ... Bc5 (Classical Defence)

3 ... Nge7 (Cozio Defence)

In the first round against young Dmitry Schneider, I showed a

fairly effective method of dealing with the King's Indian Attack:

Schneider - Rohde

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d3 Nc6 4 g3 g6!

Avoiding the commitment with ... d7-d5. I learned of this subtlety

from the game Kaidanov - Gulko, U.S. Champ. 1996.

5 Bg2

Passing over the possibility of 5 d4 which admittedly "loses a

tempo" but it tries to expose a Black weakness on d6 and is therefore

reasonable. Kaidanov did not have this chance against Gulko because he

had played an earlier Bf1-g2 rather than Ng1-f3.

5 ... Bg7 6 O-O Nge7 7 h4

A little more restrained was Kaidanov's 7 c3 d5 8 Qe2 b6 9 Na3 Ba6,

although Black achieved easy equality.

7 ... h6 8 Re1 O-O 9 c3 d5 10 e5 b6

Black has a good position. But later the kid started to outplay me;

after some strange aberrations unique to action chess, I managed to

win.

The second round was a bit more pleasant:

Rohde - Lunna

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5

I have never played this before. However, I know that the solid

Todd Lunna is partial to such stodgy variations as 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4

Nd7, and I figured that this was an offbeat way to throw him off.

3 ... exd5 4 c4

Kind of a nothing variation, but one that Ashley and Waitzkin swear

by.

4 ... Bb4+ 5 Nc3 Qe7+

Played quickly by Lunna, but I was not impressed. Later, Todd told

me that Steve Stoyko had recommended this as an easy antidote to the

Ashley/Waitzkin recipe.

6 Be2!

A pawn sacrifice, but quick development is key. On 6 Be3 Nf6,

Black's potential to get in ... Nf6-g4 or ... Nf6-e4 is very

distracting.

6 ... dxc4 7 Nf3 Nf6 8 O-O Nbd7?

After this Black is practically lost! Also unappetizing were 8 ...

Be6 9 d5! or 8 ... O-O 9 Bxc4. And 8 ... Bxc3 9 bxc3 Be6 holds the

pawn for now, but leads to a lot of trouble. I think the whole line

with 5 ... Qe7+ is not very good.

9 Bxc4 O-O 10 Re1 Qd8 11 Qb3

The same move would have answered 10 ... Qd6. Black has insoluble

problems.

Rd. 3: Kreiman - Rohde

1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5

I felt Kreiman might play the Torre, as Kreiman mainly plays 1 e4,

and the Torre is regarded as a safety valve for 1 e4 players playing 1

d4.

3 ... c5 4 c3

More common is 4 e3.

4 ... cxd4

On 4 ... Qb6, I thought White can play 5 Bxf6!? with the idea 5 ...

Qxb2 6 Bg5 Qxa1 7 Qc2 menacing Mf3-d2-b3. With the c-pawns gone, this

will not work for White.

5 cxd4 Qb6 6 Qc1 Nc6 7 Bxf6 gxf6 8 e3 d5 9 Be2 Bd7 10 Nc3 Rc8

Black has a static pawn formation but he also has the two bishops

and good control of the center.

11 O-O f5?

Weak because e5 will be available to the White knight in many

lines. Much better was the quiet 11 ... Be7 with a satisfactory

position.

12 Qd2 Be7 13 Rfc1 O-O 14 Na4!

Now I had to play very carefully to equalize.

14 ... Qa5! 15 Qxa5 Nxa5 16 Nc5 Bc6!

The plan is to kick White out with ... b7-b6. Meanwhile, if 17 b4

Nc4 White cannot win a pawn with 18 Bxc4 dxc4 19 Rxc4 due to 19 ...

Bxf3 20 gxf3 b6 snaring the knight.

17 Ne5 b6 18 Nb3!

A strong move giving White the potential for a pull. Black's next

is forced.

18 ... Bb7 19 Nxa5 bxa5 20 Nd7 Rxc1+ 21 Rxc1 Rc8 22 Nc5

White has a small edge. After further vicissitudes, the game ended

in a draw.

After 3 rounds, Ashley led with 3-0, having beaten Dlugy in round

3. Sagalchik, Kreiman and I had 2 1/2 out of three.

Rd. 4: Rohde - Ashley

1 Nf3 c5 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nc3 e6 4 g3 b6

Entering the Hedgehog. The major alternative here was 4 ... d5, the

Tarrasch.

5 Bg2 Bb7 6 O-O d6 7 d4 cxd4 8 Qxd4 a6

Black's wall of central pawns may grow in strength later; his

immediate concern is not to let d6 come under attack from a knight on

b5.

9 Ng5

A well-known variation was 9 b3 Nbd7! 10 Ba3 Nc5 (shielding the

d-pawn) 11 e4 Qc7 12 e5 dxe5 13 Qxe5 Rc8! and White does not have too

much. The object of the text is to realight on e4, putting pressure on

d6.

9 ... Bxg2 10 Kxg2 Be7 11 Rd1 Qc7

With this move Ashley begins to go down the wrong path. Correct was

11 ... O-O because 12 Nge4 can be met comfortably with 12 ... Ne8!

securely rooting the d6-pawn, and preparing to push White back with

... f7-f5.

12 Nge4 O-O 13 Nxf6+

This leads to a strong position.

13 ... Bxf6 14 Qxd6 Qxc4 15 Qxb6 Nc6

Played quickly, looking for compensation for the pawn. Not good

would be 15 ... Bxc3 16 bxc3 because of White's very strong bishop in

variations like 16 ... Qxe2 17 Ba3 Re8 18 Qb7.

16 Qb3 Qxb3 17 axb3 Nd4 18 Ra3

Tempting was 18 Be3 as 18 ... Nxb3 19 Ra3 Rfb8 20 Na4 is juicy, but

Black can instead play 18 ... Nc2! wrecking White's pawn structure,

which would generate real counterplay.

18 ... Rb8 19 Ne4 Nc2

On 19 ... Nxb3 20 Bf4 is very strong.

20 Nf6+ gxf6 21 Ra4 Rxb3 22 Bh6! Nb4

Or 22 ... f5 23 Rxa6!

23 Rd4!

With a big advantage, which I later converted. Meanwhile, Sagalchik

defeated Kreiman, and thus I tied for first with Sagalchik in this

event.

Alexander Shabalov - Geoff Gelman

Eastern Open 1996

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5

The major alternatives here are 4...b6 and 4...0-0.

5.Bd3 b6

More common is 5 ... Nc6, looking to enter the Huebner Variation

after 6 Nf3 Bxc3+, followed by ... d7-d6 and ... e6-e5, which is a

good plan here as White's kingside attack will not be very quick with

his f-pawn blocked. Therefore, White usually plays 6 Ne2, with Black

responding with 6 ... cxd4 or 6 ... d5.

6.Nge2

A common line is 6 Nf3 Bb7 7 O-O O-O 8 Na4. This forces Black to

concede space with 8 ... cxd4. In Becker - Peiter, Germany 1993, 6 a3

was played, reasonably transposing to the aggressive Saemisch system

in response to Black's ... b7-b6. Play continued 6 ... Bxc3+ 7.bxc3

Bb7 8.f3 d6 9.e4 e5 10.d5 with a pitched battle in store.

Nc6

In Dumitrache - Lisenko, Bucharest 1993, a much different route was

followed: 6 ... Bb7 7.0-0 cxd4 8.exd4 0-0 9.a3 Bd6 10.b4 Nc6.

7.0-0 0-0 8.a3

A critical test of Black's slightly unusual move order is 8 d5,

gaining space, but giving up the light-squared bishop after 8 ... Ne5.

8...Bxc3 9.Nxc3 cxd4 10.exd4

DIAGRAM

Nxd4!

This is necessary. Otherwise, White has obtained the two bishops

without giving up anything in terms of pawn structure, time or space.

11.Bxh7+ Nxh7 12.Qxd4 Qf6 13.Qg4

13.Rd1 is also answered by 13 ... Ba6

13...Ba6 14.Rd1 Rfc8 15.Ne4 Qe7 16.Nd6

Gelman has emerged from the opening with only a minimal

disadvantage.

Rc6 17.Qd4 Qf6 18.Qxf6 Nxf6 19.b3 Kf8 20.a4 Ne8 21.Nb5 Ke7 22.f3 Bb7

23.Ra2 a6 24.Ba3+ d6 25.Nd4 Rc7 26.Kf2 Kf6

Now Shabalov tries to make headway in the ending against his young

opponent, but he is consistently rebuffed.

27.a5 bxa5 28.Bb2 e5 29.Ne2 Bc6 30.Rxa5 Ke6 31.Rda1 Rb7 32. Rxa6 Rxa6

33. Rxa6 Rxb3 34. Bc3 Bb7 35. Ra5 Nf6 36. Ke1 Nd7 37. Kd2 Nc5 38. Kc2

Rb6 39. Bd2 Ba6 40. Be3 Bxc4 41. Bxc5 dxc5 42. Ng3 Kd5 43. Ra7 g6 44.

Rxf7 Kd4 45. Rd7+ Ke3 46. Kc1 Be6 47. Rd2 Rb3 48. Kc2 Bc4 49. Rd6 Kf2

50. Ne4+ Kxg2 51. Nd2 Rb4 52. Rxg6+ Kxh2 53. Rc6 Be2 1/2-1/2

Alexander Shabalov - Alexander Ivanov, Round 7

Eastern Open 1996

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 b6

The Classical alternative here is 6 ... c5.

7.0-0 Bb7 8.cxd5

Eliminating the central tension in preparation for a Stonewall type

of buildup. In Tsevremes - Arnason, Katerini 1993, White dispensed

with this precaution and launched in with 8.Ne5 Bd6 9.f4 c5 10.Qf3,

but his center was already falling apart after 10 ... Nc6. In Kamsky -

Speelman, New York (PCA) 1994, White opted for a queenside buildup

instead, with 8.a3 Bd6 9.b4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Nbd7 11.Bb2 a6 12.Qe2 e5

13.Rad1 e4, giving rise to a double-edged position. An interesting

development plan was employed in Varga - Portisch, Hungary Champ.

1994, with 8 Bd2!? dxc4 9 Bxc4 Nbd7 10 Rc1.

exd5 9.Ne5

This is much better than Leseige - A. Ivanov, New York Open 1994,

which saw 9.a3 Bd6 10 b4 a6, giving Black's bishops an unfettered view

of the kingside. Things did not work out after 11.Qb3 Qe7 12.h3 Nbd7

13.Nh4 g6 14.Nf3 b5 15.Re1 Nb6 16.e4 Nxe4 17.Ng5 Rfe8 18.f3 Nc5

19.bxc5 Qxe1+ 20.Bf1 Bg3 21.Nd1 Qxf1+ 0-1

Nbd7 10.f4 Bxc3

Committal, but it avoids possibilities such as 10 ... c5 11 Ne2 or

11 Bd2, in which case White's minor pieces might develop greater

activity later.

11.bxc3 c5 12.a4

A good idea. White does not have the firepower to just decide this

game on the kingside. The advance of the a-pawn serves to gain space

and try to weaken Black's queenside majority.

Qc8

DIAGRAM

13.Rf3

Making sure that the bishop on d3 is not forced into an exchange by

... Bb7-a6.

Ne4 14.Rh3 Nxe5 15.fxe5 Qe6 16.Ba3 Rac8 17.Qh5 Qg6 18.Qh4

DIAGRAM

f5

Ivanov begins to assume the initiative, even though Shabalov still

has lingering possibilities of making threats on the kingside.

19.Rf1 h6 20.Bxe4 fxe4 21.Rxf8+ Rxf8 22.Rg3 Qc6

The f-file does not give Black any results after 22... Qf5 23.h3.

23.dxc5 Qxa4 24.h3 Qd1+ 25.Kh2 Rf1 26.Qd8+ Kh7 27.Rxg7+ Kxg7 28.Qd7+

White has a perpetual.

1/2 - 1/2

Alexander Kalikshteyn - Larry Kaufman, Round 8, ECO E70

Eastern Open 1996

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Bd3

I discuss this line in "King's Indian Defence Ezine", issue 1.3

5 ... Nc6 6. Nge2 e5 7. d5 Nd4, Christiansen - Yermolinsky, US Champ.

1996. This is a direct equalizing method. Yermo gets the knight in to

d4 before bothering to castle. Play continued 8. Bg5 (Seirawan has

experimented with 8 Bc2!? here, getting rid of the knight on d4

posthaste) h6 9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Ne2 h5 12. O-O O-O 13.

Qb3 c6, and Black has equalized comfortably; 5 ... 0-0 6. Nge2 Nbd7 7.

0-0 c5 (this is probably best here,as 7 ... e5 8 d5 Nc5 9 Bc2 would

leave White with good opportunities to build up a kingside pawn storm

later) 8. d5 Ne5, Christiansen - Shaked, US Champ. 1996. Play

continued 9. f4 Nxd3 10. Qxd3 (in this type of position, Black's two

bishops are nullified by his difficulty in getting some elbow room

with ... e6 without allowing White a quick f4-f5, or pressure on

Black's center) a6 11. a4 b6 12. Be3 Ng4 13. Bd2 e6 14. h3 Nf6 15.

dxe6 fxe6 16. Rad1 with a slight advantage for White.

0-0 6.Nge2 Nc6

Varying from Shaked's 6 ... Nbd7 above.

7.0-0 Nh5

DIAGRAM

8.Bc2!

This is much stronger than 8 Be3 e5 9 d5 Nd4. Then Black can answer

10 Bxd4 exd4 11 Nb5 with 11 ... c5 12 dxc6 bxc6 13 Nbxd4 Qb6.

e5 9.d5

Now 9 ... Nd4 would be weak due to 10 Nxd4 exd4 11 Nb5.

Ne7 10.f3 f5 11.exf5

With the bishop on the b1-h7 diagonal, it is correct to react to

Black's ... f7-f5 with opening the center.

gxf5 12.Bg5 Rf7 13.f4!

Banking on his superior development in opening the position.

However, Black's central pawn duo can become strong if he

consolidates. Another approach for White is 13 Qd2 Qf8 14 Ng3!?

but this may be too slow to confer a serious advantage.

Qf8 14.fxe5 dxe5 15.Qd3

I prefer the straightforward 15 c5 Ng6 16 b4, and the concept of

Bc2-b3 looms large.

Nf6 16.Ng3 e4 17.Qe2 Ng4 18.h3 Ne5 19.c5 N7g6

DIAGRAM

20.Bb3

This looks good, although Kaufman demonstrates that he has

resources. 20 b4 was also still possible, ready to meet 20 ... Nd7

with 21 Bd2.

Qxc5+ 21.Be3 Qd6 22.Nb5 Nf3+ 23.Rxf3 exf3 24.Nxd6

Tempting was 24.Qxf3, but Black plays 24 ... Qd7 and it is not

clear whether White has sufficient compensation for the Exchange that

he has failed to win back.

24...fxe2 25.Nxf7 Kxf7

DIAGRAM

26.Nxe2!

With this continuation, Kaliksteyn plays for an open position in

which his play may be more significant than Black's one-pawn material

plus. Not reliable was 26 d6+ Ke8! which prepares the line 27 dxc7 f4.

Bxb2 27.Rb1 Be5 28.d6+ Kf6 29.dxc7 Bxc7 30.Bd5 Ne7?!

It was time to give the pawn back and make a draw with the

liquidating 30 ... Bb6!, liberating his rook.

31.Bd4+ Kg5

It does not look like a good idea to invite White's h-pawn to the

party. Safer was 31...Kg6.

32.h4+ Kg6 33.Bf3 Nc6 34.Be3 Rb8 35.Nf4+ Kf7 36.Bd5+ Kf6 37.Nh5+ Kg6

38.Nf4+

A perplexing position. 38 Bf4 leads to nothing because of 38 ...

Ne5!

Kf6 39.Nh5+

On 39 Bf3, Black can play, for example, 39 ... Be5.

Kg6 40.Nf4+ Kf6 1/2-1/2

Perdomo,Carlos (2330) - Lobron,Eric (2570) [B18]

NY Open (3), 1997

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 Bh7 8.Nf3

e6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nf6 11.Bd2 Nbd7 12.0-0-0 Be7

Much more common at this point is 12 ... Qc7, and White usually

chooses from 13 c4 or 13 Ne4. The text envisions castling kingside for

Black, a much sharper idea.

13.Ne4

Really the only continuation which has any teeth is 13 Qe2, as

Lobron himself played against Douven at Amsterdam 1987. That game

continued 13 ... a5 14 Ne5 a4 15 a3 O-O 16 Rh3 Rc8 17 Kb1 c5 18 Bc1

and it seems that White has held on to the initiative. Perhaps,

however, Lobron is not that convinced, and this is why he is playing

the other side. (In the 12 ... Qc7 line, 13 Ne4 is played to enable

g2-g3 and Bd2-f4.)

Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Nf6 15.Qd3

More natural is 15 Qe2, getting the queen off the half-open d-file.

Qd5 16.Kb1 0-0 17.Rde1 Ng4 18.Re2 b5

Black has at least equalized.

19.Rh3 Rfd8 20.Ba5 Rdc8

DIAGRAM

21.Rg3!

A worthwhile pawn sacrifice; otherwise White is in danger of

falling behind.

Qxh5 22.Ne5 b4

Cutting off the bishop from e1, Lobron threatens mate starting with

Qh1+. A draw could have been had with 22 ... Nxe5 23 Rxe5 Qh1+ 24 Re1

Qh5 25 Re5, etc.

23.Qd2 Nxe5 24.Rxe5 Qh1+ 25.Re1 Qh4 26.Rh3

Not 26 Bxb4 Bxb4 27 Qxb4 c5.

Qf6 27.Rf3 Qg5

In this manner, Black has found a way to maintain his one-pawn

advantage.

28.Bxb4 Bxb4 29.Qxb4 Qxg2 30.Qc3 g6

A problem is that additional lines have opened up on the kingside

in return for the extra pawn; this turns out to be not insignificant.

31.b3 Rab8

Better was the distracting blow 31 ... c5! Then if 32 dxc5 Rxc5! is

satisfactory.

32.Rh3 h5 33.Qe3

DIAGRAM

Rb5??

Again, 33 ... c5! needed to be played; if 34 dxc5 Qd5.

34.Rg3 Qd5 35.Qh6

Ouch! An accident will happen on g6.

Qf5

If 35 ... Qxd4 36 Rxg6+ fxg6 37 Qxg6+ leads to a ferocious attack.

36.Reg1 Rc7 37.Rxg6+ fxg6 38.Rxg6+ Qxg6 39.Qxg6+ Rg7 40.Qxe6+ Kh7

41.Qe4+ Rg6 42.f4

White has obtained a technically winning position.

Kh6 43.f5 Rf6 44.Qe3+ Kg7 45.Qe7+ Rf7 46.Qg5+ Kf8 47.Qxh5 Ke7 48.Qe2+

Kf8 49.Qe6 Rbxf5 50.Qxc6 R5f6 51.Qc5+ Ke8 52.Qc8+ Ke7 53.Kb2 Rd6

54.Qc5 Ke6 55.b4 a6 56.Kb3 Kd7 57.c3 Rf3 58.Qa7+ Ke6 59.Qa8 Rf2

60.Qc8+ Ke7 61.a4 Kf6 62.b5 axb5 63.axb5 Ke7 64.Kb4 Rf1 65.Qb7+ Kd8

66.Qg2 Rf5 67.Qg8+ Ke7 68.Qh7+ Kf6 69.c4 Re6 70.Qh4+ Kf7 71.d5 Re7

72.b6 Ke8 73.Qh8+ Rf8 74.Qh6 Rf1 75.Qh5+ Kd8 76.Qh8+ Re8 77.Qh4+ 1-0

Mike,

This covers the French, Philidor's, and 2 Knights from the

Championship.

FRENCH

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3

Played in the rd. 6 encounter between Benjamin and Shaked, a

little-understood sideline of the Tarrasch. Usually White plays his d2 knight to

f3 and the g1 knight to e2, to ensure adequate defence of d4. With this move,

Benjamin in effect announces his willingness to sacrifice the d4 pawn.

g6

As this does not generate any pressure against d4, it will leave Black

with no choice but to attack the head of the pawn chain on e5. On the other

hand, extra protection will be given to the Black kingside. The critical line is

7 ... Qb6 8 O-O and then Black can try 8 ... cxd4 9 cxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 Qxd4 11

Nf3 Qb6, or he can try the devilish 8 ... Be7, which prepares 9 Re1 g5!?

8. O-O Bg7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 cxd4 11. cxd4 Qb6 12. Bc2 f6 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Ba4

Ne4

White has the sounder position; 1/2-1/2 in 40.

I have discovered a near-universal fear among strong amateur players of

the King's Indian Attack. In the following rd. 10 game against Kaidanov, Gulko

discloses an effective neutralizing treatment:

1. e4 e6 2. d3 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. c3 d5 8. Qe2

b69. Na3 Ba6 10. exd5 exd5 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Rfe1 h6 13. h4 Qd7 14. Ne5

1/2-1/2 in 32.

PHILIDOR'S

Rd. 1 got off to a bizarre start in Shaked - Khmelnitsky:

1. e4 d6 2. d4 e5?! 3. Nf3

Acquiescing to a Philidor's Defence. Strong is 3 dxe5 dxe5 4 Qxd8+ Kxd8

5 f4!

exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Be2 Nc6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. f4 d5

Because this move confers a kingside space advantage on White, it is a

little hasty. I would prefer 8 ... Re8.

9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Bc5+ 11. Kh1 Nd7 12. Na4 Qe7 13. b3

White stands better. 1-0 in 37.

TWO KNIGHTS

Shabalov tried 4 Ng5 in the Two Knights Defence against both Ivanov

"brothers", each of whom was nonplussed:

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 Bc5

Rd. 5: Igor wheels out the Wilkes-Barre Variation!

5. Bxf7+

5 Nxf7 Bxf2+ will get White a draw, if he knows what he is doing.

Ke7 6. Bd5 Rf8 7. O-O d6 8.c3

In a recent simul, I blundered with 8 d3? Bg4 9 Qd2 Nd4 with a great

game for Black. The correct treatment is 8 Bxc6!, blunting Black's play. But

Shabalov is not afraid of a little complications, and endeavors to sac the pawn

back to open up the center.

Bg4 9. Qe1

Estrin - Schmidt, corr. 1972, saw 9 Qb3 h6 10 d4 Bb6 11 h3 Na5 12 Qc2

hxg5 13 hxg4 with a nice edge for White.

h6 10. d4 Bb6

Sensible. Why get embroiled in 10 ... exd4 11 Bxd6 bxc6 12 e5.

11. h3 hxg5 12. hxg4 Qd7 13. Na3

Scrambling to eliminate the monster on b6, so that new defensive options

become possible.

Qxg4 14. f3 Qh5 15.Nc4 g4 16. Nxb6 axb6 17. Qg3 exd4 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. cxd4 gxf3

20. gxf3 g5 21. e5 1/2-1/2

Rd. 10: Alex rolls out the Schlecter Variation!

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 b5 6. Bf1 Nd4 7. c3 Nxd5 8.cxd4

Qxg5 9. Bxb5+ Kd8 10. O-O

An inaccurate move order. Better was 10 Qf3 Bb7 11 Nc3 and if 11 ...

exd4, then 12 O-O! with the variations 12 ... dxc3 13 dxc3, or 12 ... Rb8 13 d3.

Bb7 11. Qf3 Rb8 12. Qg3

Now 12 Nc3 Nxc3 and 12 d3 Nf4 are impossible.

Qxg3 13. hxg3 exd4 14.d3 Nb6 15. Nd2 f6

Black has the better endgame; 0-1 in 41.