>From famine to feast. After my appeal for contributions in the May issue,
four people submitted games to me. Unfortunately I can't do them all at once,
so in this issue we will look at some games from the Golden Triangle Open
in March, submitted by Tom Martinak. In upcoming issues (I hope as soon as
possible), I will annotate games by Pat Barron from the Pittsburgh Open; some
games by Andy Rea (who, as usual, wrote his own entertaining commentary); and
another game by the late Charlie Nowe, his famous victory over Joel Benjamin
to win the New York State Championship a few years ago.
White: W. Lyle Hayhurst
Black: James F. Herman
Golden Triangle Open, March 1998
Ruy Lopez
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bb5 a6
4 Ba4 Bc5
5 O-O Nge7
6 c3 f6
This could have been trouble. Instead 6 ... Bb6 or 6 ... Ba7 leads to an
interesting game after 7 d4 exd4 8 cxd4 d5. An important variation is
9 exd5 Nxd5 10 Re1+ Be6 11 Bg5.
7 d4 Ba7
8 Be3
8 dxe5! was more incisive. If 8 ... Nxe5? 9 Nxe5 fxe5 10 Qh5+ Ng6 11 Bg5
wins immediately. After 8 ... fxe5 9 Bb3, threatening 10 Ng5, Black has
plenty to think about. After the text Black can set up a sound defense.
8 ... O-O
9 Bb3+ Kh8
10 Nbd2 d6
11 h3 Qe8
12 Kh2 Ng6
13 Re1 Nf4
14 Bxf4 exf4
15 Nh4 Ne7
16 Bc2 Qb5?
Black was more or less OK until now.
Diagram: r1b2r2k/bpp1n1pp/p2p1p2/1q6/3PPp1N/2P4P/PPBN1PPK/R2QR3
17 e5! fxe5
It's too late to repent by 17 ... Qd7: 18 Qh5 f5 19 exd6 cxd6 20 Rxe7! and
21 Ng6+. Also 17 ... Qxb2 18 exf6 Nd5 19 fxg7+ Kxg7 20 Rc1 leaves Black's
king at the mercy of White's queen.
18 Qh5 Bf5
18 ... g6 19 Bxg6.
19 Nxf5 g6
20 Nxd6 Qxb2
20 ... gxh5 21 Nxb5 axb5 22 Rxe5.
21 Qxe5+ Kg8
22 Bb3+ and White won.
In this tournament Don Meigs showed flashes of his form of ten years ago, when
he won back-to-back Club championships. The following two games show his
creative thinking in the opening. Anybody can have a new idea, but it's rare
to come up with ideas that are good enough to beat masters.
White: Don Meigs
Black: Tom Magar
Golden Triangle Open, March 1998
1 e4 c5
2 f4 d5
3 exd5 Nf6
4 Nc3!
A fairly recent discovery was that Black gets good counterplay for the pawn
after 4 c4 e6 or, more surprisingly, after 4 Bb5+ Bd7 5 Bxd7+ Qxd7 6 c4 e6
7 dxe6 fxe6! These gambits have nearly put the 2 f4 variation out of
business. But what if White doesn't hold on to the pawn?
4 ... Nxd5
5 Qf3!? Nxc3
5 ... Nb4!? leads to complications, which I won't try to solve right here
and now.
6 dxc3!?
6 Qxc3 looks good, as Black's king bishop is tied down. But after 6 ... e6
and 7 ... Qf6! it's only equal.
6 ... Nc6
Black can consider delaying the development of this knight, since it might
well have a better future on f6 than c6. In other words, play 6 ... e6,
7 ... Be7, and 8 ... O-O, and only then develop the knight, possibly by
9 ... Nd7 and 10 ... Nf6.
7 Be3 e6
8 Bd3 Bd6
9 O-O-O Qe7
Black's minor pieces are now awkward, as we shall soon see. In hindsight,
8 ... Be7 and 9 ... Qc7 would have been a better setup.
10 Nh3 Bd7
11 Ng5!
Diagram: r3k2r/pp1bqppp/2nbp3/2p3N1/5P2/2PBBQ2/PPP3PP/2KR3R
All of a sudden there is a serious threat of 11 Ne4, as well as a
semi-serious threat to take the h-pawn. After 11 ... b6 (so as to answer
12 Ne4 with simply 12 ... Bc7), can White really take the pawn? If
12 Nxh7 f6 13 Bg6+ Kd8, White can't retreat the knight, but Black can't
get to it either. 12 Bxh7 g6 looks even more problematical for White.
But after 12 Ba6!? Rb8 13 O-O-O, Black's defense looks precarious.
The text move is not clearly better, as Black takes on a real weakness.
11 ... f5
12 Rhe1 O-O-O
13 Qf2
Black finally threatened ... h6.
13 ... h6
14 Nf3 g5
15 g3
If 15 fxg5 f4 16 Bd2 hxg5.
15 ... g4
16 Nh4 Rhg8
17 a3 b6
18 Ba6+ Kb8
19 Rd3 Bc7
20 b4 cxb4
21 cxb4 Bc8
22 Bc4 Rxd3
23 cxd3 Qf6
24 Qb2 Qxb2+
25 Kxb2 Re8
26 Bd2 Nd4
If 26 ... e5 27 Bb5 Kb7 28 Rc1 Bd7 29 Bxc6+ Bxc6 30 Nxf5 wins a pawn.
27 Bc3 Nf3
28 Nxf3 gxf3
29 Bd4!
Defending f2, to free White's rook and other bishop from defense of f1.
29 ... Bb7
30 Rxe6 Rd8
31 Bf2 and White won the endgame.
W: Mark Eidemiller
B: Don Meigs
Golden Triangle Open, March 1998
1 d4 d5
2 c4 c6
3 Nf3 Nf6
4 Nc3 h6!??
It's not that this move is so horrible, but what's the point? We'll just
have to wait and see.
5 e3 Nbd7
6 Bd3 a6!??
Ditto!
7 e4 dxe4
8 Nxe4 Nxe4
9 Bxe4 Nf6
10 Bc2 Bg4
This must have been the idea all along: Black was trying to avoid playing
... e6, so he could solve the problem of the queen bishop. It really does
make sense, but especially if you're Don Meigs, who probably holds the
Pittsburgh record for trading bishops for knights.
11 Be3 e6
12 O-O Bd6
13 h3 Bxf3
14 Qxf3
Whatever the real merits of Black's fourth and sixth moves, he has reached
a decent position out of the opening. White's queen bishop in particular
is going to have a hard time finding a good square.
14 ... Rc8
15 Rfe1 O-O
16 Rad1 Bc7
17 g3
White now wastes some time and makes some ill-judged pawn advances before
hitting on a plausible plan. 17 Bc1, with the idea of Qd3, Re3, etc., was
better now than when he finally played it on move 20.
17 ... Re8
18 a3 b5
19 b3 Bb8
20 Bc1 Bd6
21 Qd3 Bf8
Black's king is now perfectly safe.
22 Re3 g6
23 Rf3 Bg7
24 Bb2 Qe7
25 a4 Nh7
26 h4 h5
27 Bb1 Qb7
28 Bc3 b4!
29 Bb2 c5!
White has imperceptibly slipped into serious trouble. Black's knight will
find an excellent square on c5. I think the best defense at this point
was by 30 Qe2 and 31 Re3.
30 Qe4? Qxe4
31 Bxe4 a5
32 Rfd3 Nf6
33 Bg2?
33 Bf3 was better (see move 37).
33 ... Nd7
34 dxc5!??
This should have lost, but it's hard to find a convincing defense. After
34 Bf3 cxd4 35 Bxd4 Bxd4 36 Rxd4 Nc5 37 Rb1 Red8 38 Rdd1 Rxd1+ 39 Bxd1 Rd8,
White is still in a powerful bind, and ... Rd2 followed by ... Ne4 is
threatened.
34 ... Nxc5
35 Bxg7 Kxg7
There was no reason not to play 35 ... Nxd3. The extra exchange would win
easily. Perhaps time pressure played a role here.
36 Re3! Red8
37 Bf3 Rxd1+
38 Bxd1 Rd8
39 Bc2 f6
The critical move was 39 ... Rd2. Presumably Black thought 40 Re5 gave
too much counterplay.
Diagram: 8/5pk1/4p1p1/p1n1R2p/PpP4P/1P4P1/2Br1P2/6K1
Position after 40 Re5 (analysis)
There are two serious attempts:
(a) 40 ... Nxa4 41 bxa4 (if 41 Rxa5 Nc3 traps the bishop; if 41 Bxg6 Nc3
42 Bxh5 a4 and it looks like a pawn will queen) 41 ... Rxc2 42 Rxa5 Rxc4
43 Rb5 b3 44 Rxb3 Rxa4. Black's extra pawn is not enough to win,
although you can torture your opponent for many moves in this kind of
endgame.
(b) 40 ... Nd7 41 Rxa5 Rxc2. The knight looks lonely against the rook, but
with careful play Black can stop White's pawns and win. 42 Rb5 Rc3
43 Rsb4 Nc5 44 a5 Nxb3 (but not 44 ... Rxb3?? 45 Rxb3 Nxb3 46 a6)
45 a6 Nc5 46 a7 Ra3 47 Rb5 Ne4 (47 ... Nb3?? 48 Rxb3) 48 Rb7 Nd6
49 Rc7 Kf6 50 Kf1 Ke5 and Black's king is ready to muscle in on the
c-pawn, even if he has to give up his own f-pawn.
After the text move White has time to organize a defense.
40 Kf1! Rd2
41 Re2 Rxe2
42 Kxe2 e5
43 Ke3 f5
44 f4! Kf6
45 Kf3 Ke6
46 Ke3 Kd6 and the game was agreed drawn after the 58th move.