BCS March Digest

   [Event "US Amateur Team West"]  [Site "Santa Clara"]  [Date "2019.02.17"]  [Round "3"]  [White "Ganesh Murugappan"]  [Black "Derek O'Connor"]  [Result "0-1"]  [PlyCount "162"]  [WhiteElo "2180"]  [BlackElo "2350"]  [ECO "C95"]  e4 e5 2. Nf3 {One of the challenges in writing chess is figuring where to  start. If I'm talking to a 9-year-old kid, I start here, because 2. Nf3 is a  move from which students should refrain (too complicated, really). If none but  masters (like the two participants) were reading, I wouldn't have to say  anything until move 19.} 2… Nc6 {2. Nf3 is bad for students, and 2…Nc6 is  even worse for passivity.} 3. Bb5 a6 {Chessplayers waste more time on P-R3 than  any other move on the chessboard. They love Morphy's move 3…a6 because they  don't have to explain it, or understand it.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 {I  like 6. Bxc6, but I wouldn't say so in a classroom, or even a Kolty Chess Club  lecture, because an explanation of White's deliberate loss of time would be  dreadful dull for most.} 6… b5 7. Bb3 d6 {7…O-O c3 8. d5!, but that falls  outside the scope of this game. The roads not taken in a Spanish Game are great  conversation fodder, though if this were New in Chess magazine, nothing  warrants mention until the novelty at move 19.} 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 {9. d4 Bg4 in  Bronstein-Keres, 1950 candidates tournament, is one of my favorite games for  the successful psychology of putting Keres on the defensive side of a gambit.}  9… Nb8 {Purdy told his readers that White's long-term positional pluses in  the Lopez come at the cost of development, and that Black wins the shorter  sharp games while the drawn-out quiet games favor White. What would Purdy say  about 9…Nb8, I wonder.} 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 {Without this  backward-going move, White couldn't make his next backward-going move.} 12…  Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 {I like this reorganization of the black pieces. Black played  the solid …d6, …Be7, ….Nb8-d7, and …O-O ahead of placing the bishop on  the more active diagonal by …Be7-f8-g7. My oldest friend in the Whistlin'  Pigs CC just goes 3…g6. I tell him: You and Smyslov are both crazy.} 14. Ng3  g6 15. a4 c5 16. d5 c4 {This is when 8…Nb8 makes more sense than 8…Na5,  after which the knight often finds c4 (less coherent than …Nc6-b8-d7-c5).}  Bg5 Be7 {The most common move is 17…h6, putting the question to that  bishop like 3…a6 queried the other. Then Black's game is half-comprised of  pawn moves, giving club-level players the notion that the master's way is to  make many pawn moves.} 18. Be3 Qc7 19. Nh2 h5 {The first new move, far as I  could find. 19…Nc5 was played in a couple of grandmaster game last year.  Hammer-Brunello, 2018 European team championship, went 20. f4 ef4 21. Bf4 Bf8  Qf3 Bg7 23. Bg5 Nfd7 24. Ng4, the buildup O'Connor aimed to avoid.} 20. h4  {Maybe this sacrificial idea was the first move White had to make on his own.  Since White's central break is f2-f4, g4 therefore becomes a hole for the black  knights. It's the outposts on c5 and e5 that form the basis for Black's long  haul, while the backward pawn on d6 has the great task of restraining White's  center. If White manages e4-e5, then you see the culmination of White's  long-term thinking. These concepts are the same in the Benoni.} 20… Nh7 21.  Bh6 Ndf8 {Black regrets jumping on the pawn too soon in case of} (21… Bxh4  Nxh5 gxh5 23. Qxh5 {Nd7-f8-g6 will come in handy if White opts to capture  twice on h5. Then the knight can hop to g6 to block the file and guard the  bishop, while the black queen has one fewer obstacle to the kingside.}) 22. f4  Bxh4 23. Qf3 exf4 24. Bxf4 (24. Qxf4 {makes sense for threatening to capture on  h4, keeping the h6-bishop in the red zone, and freeing f3 to re-introduce the  knight.}) 24… Nd7 {Because e5 is open, which is emphasized on 25.Nxh5 gxh5  26.Qxh5 Bf6.} 25. Rf1 Ne5 26. Qe2 Nf6 {Black's extra pawn looks clean.} 27. Nf3  Nxf3+ 28. Qxf3 Ng4 29. axb5 {The pawn at b5 becomes a target for Nd4, but  Black's use of the a-file might count for more.} 29… axb5 30. Rxa8 Rxa8 31.  Ne2 {White can lift the blockade with} (31. Bxd6 Qxd6 32. Qxf7+ Kh8 33. Qxb7 {,  but he's falling apart on the black squares following} 33… Rb8) 31… Bf6  {Black has an extra pawn, but count the legal moves for each side. Black has  almost twice the mobility.} 32. Qg3 Be5 33. Kh1 Bc8 {The second-consecutive  smart centralization by a black bishop.} 34. Nd4 Bd7 35. Nf3 Ne3 $1 36. Rc1  Bxf4 37. Qxf4 Ng4 38. Nd4 Qd8 39. Kg1 (39. Qxd6 Qh4+ 40. Kg1 Qg5 41. Re1 Qe3+  {is lovely.}) 39… Qe7 40. Rf1 Ra2 41. b3 cxb3 42. Bxb3 Ra3 43. Qc1 Ra8 44.  Qf4 Kg7 45. Bd1 Rc8 {A note in the PGN supplied by O'Connor goes} (45… Ne5  Be2 Ra3 47. Bxb5 Rxc3 48. Bxd7 Qxd7 {, and I think the note suggests that  Black should avoid it, for the pawns are on one side of the board, and White's  pieces work together.}) 46. Qf3 Ne5 47. Qg3 h4 48. Qe3 f6 {This one puzzles me.  Black's queen can no longer run to h4 following …h4-h3, and e6 falls into  White's hands. According to O'Connor, he reasoned to chain his pawns on black  squares opposite the color of his bishop, while his queen is relieved of  watching over g5 (in case Qe3-g5 plus Nd4-f5+ comes into view). The players  were very short on time, he said, and that explains lots.} 49. Be2 h3 $1 {He  changed his mind, going back to the plan of breaking up the white king  position, at the cost of returning the pawn.} 50. Bxb5 hxg2 51. Kxg2 (51. Ra1  {is in the notes, which stands out for coordinating the white pieces.}) 51…  Ng4 52. Qf3 Bxb5 53. Qxg4 {The notes give} (53. Ne6+ {, and what a mess to  ponder during time pressure. After Black gets out of check, he threatens  54…Bxf1+, which White can't capture because there are knight forks on h2 and  e3. 53. Qxg4 is a rational time-pressured move, threatening Nf5+, and Qxc8. And  if 53…Bxf1+, Black has rook for knight, but I have a feeling Black would  eventually look for ….Rxe6, aiming to win the queen ending.}) 53… Bd7  (53… Bxf1+ 54. Kxf1 {and what's the best way for Black to cope with the two  giant threats? Stockfish says} 54… Qb7 55. Nf5+ Kf8 56. Qxg6 Qb1+ 57. Kf2  Qc2+ 58. Kg1 Qd1+ 59. Kh2 Qd2+ {gives Black an advantage of about one-fifth of  a pawn. Chess authors used to have to try to work these out themselves. On  pocket sets while on deadline.}) 54. Qf3 Qe5 55. Re1 Qg5+ 56. Qg3 Qd2+ 57. Qf2  {Stockfish says 57. Re2 on the way to a2 and up the file.} 57… Qxc3 (57…  Qxf2+ 58. Kxf2 Rxc3 59. Ra1 {is dead even, said Stockfish, considering the  d6-pawn.}) 58. Qe3 {Since the black rook emerges with better activity, this is  a misstep.} 58… Qxe3 59. Rxe3 Rc4 60. Ne2 f5 {With more time to think, Black  might have kept the pawns on the board, and played} (60… Bg4 {, threatening  61…Rc2, and if …f5 comes later, then the bishop is more active.}) 61. exf5  Bxf5 62. Ng3 Rd4 63. Re7+ {Better to limit the black king with} (63. Nxf5+ gxf5  Re7+ Kf8) 63… Kf6 64. Nxf5 Kxf5 65. Rf7+ Kg5 66. Rd7 Rxd5 67. Kf3 Kf6 68.  Ke4 Re5+ 69. Kf4 Ke6 70. Rg7 g5+ 71. Kg4 Kd5 72. Rd7 Kc5 73. Rc7+ Kd4 74. Rc1  d5 75. Kg3 Re3+ 76. Kf2 g4 77. Rg1 g3+ 78. Kf1 Ra3 79. Ke2 Ke4 80. Rd1 Re3+ 81.  Kd2 Rd3+ 0-1  

  [Event "BCC Glasscoe Anti-Swiss"]  [Site "Berkeley"]  [Date "2019.02.09"]  [Round "2"]  [White "Alan Glasscoe"]  [Black "Alex Shrauger"]  [Result "0-1"]  [PlyCount "58"]  [ECO "B23"]   e4 c5 2. Nc3 {One night at the Hayward Chess Club in 1976, the topic of  conversation was my first learnings in computer programming. An older boy  scoffed at my inexperience, while a working programmer said no one used BASIC  in the real world. "Learn C", he said. The adult said: "I'll give you a choice,  a lesson in C programming, or a chess lesson." At 13, I was easily intimidated  by older kids, so I was already discouraged about programming, and I had no  idea what the programming language "Sea" was about, so I opted for a chess  lesson. The chess lesson was useless, about the Rauzer Sicilian. Looking back,  if I'd felt encouraged about programming that night, I might have been one of  the early tech zillionaires. But I opted to learn nothing useful about the  Rauzer Sicilian, except for one single thing that's stayed with me ever since.  The guy said: "No matter which Sicilian you're playing as Black, you're always  looking to push P-Q4 because that's the move that will equalize in the center."  Which is why White spends a move on 2. Nc3 ahead of 3. f4, so Black can't play  …d7-d5. But what I've noticed in decades of observing Sicilian players who  are fashion-conscious instead of understanding is that they don't really know  the importance of …d5, and if White goes 2. f4 (leaving c3 open for the pawn,  perhaps), Black will usually do whatever they planned in case of 2. Nf3.} 2…  d6 3. f4 g6 {This is what White hopes for in the Vinken Sicilian, so when f4-f5  comes, it makes contact with something.} 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6 6. O-O Nc6 7. d3  a6 8. a3 {I don't think Black should get …b7-b5 so easily.} 8… b5 9. Ba2  Bb7 10. Ne2 {You can see what White was thinking: c3 is open for the pawn to  blunt the g7-bishop, while the knight is headed for g3 to help f4-f5. But if  White plays 2. Nc3 to ward off …d5, White probably ought to stick with it, at  least until the other queenside pieces are active. Other players in this  position played 10. Qe1 Nge7, then the thematic 11. f5 and the thoughtful 11.  Rb1.} 10… Nge7 11. Qe1 d5 {Black achieved ….b5 and …d5 too easily. If the  knight were still on c3, then e4xd5 discovers a pin on the e-file.} 12. Ng3  {Whenever Black gets equal center control  and  better development, White  wasted time somewhere. 12. Qh4 stays even in development, and helps Bc1-h6  after the f4-pawn gets out of the way.} 12… O-O 13. f5 {After falling behind  in development, White opens the position. It looks like he's playing  thematically, but the Nc3-e2-g3 detour wasn't practical.} 13… dxe4 14. dxe4  exf5 15. exf5 {Suddenly White's game looks awkward. He hasn't maintained a pawn  in the center, while the knight on g3 means the queen is sitting for a black  rook on e8, and the queenside is stuck until the b2-pawn is secure.} 15… Nd4  $1 16. Nxd4 Bxd4+ 17. Kh1 c4 18. c3 Qd5 {Another good move.} 19. Qe2 Bf6  {19…Bc5 keeps the bishop aimed at the white king, and avoids any accidents  that could occur with f4xg6, discovering.} 20. Bh6 {Better to interpolate 20.  fxg6 fxg6, because then 21. Bh6 pushes the rook to f7, a less desirable square  than e8.} 20… Rfe8 21. Qc2 Be5 22. Rad1 Qc6 23. fxg6 Qxg6 {Considering the  relative mobility of the queens (the white queen is tied to g2), Black  shouldn't trade them.} 24. Qxg6+ fxg6 25. Bf4 $2 {25. Bb1 had to be played to  put that bishop back in the game. 25. Bf4 invites the black knight to  encroach.} 25… Bxf4 26. Rxf4 Nd5 27. Rfd4 Ne3 28. Rg1 $2 {Though Black is  still well ahead after} (28. Re1 Nxg2 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. Kg1) 28… Nxg2 29. h3  Nh4+ 0-1

  [Event "BCS Glasscoe Weekender"]  [Site "Berkeley"]  [Date "2019.02.27"]  [Round "1"]  [White "Clarence Lehman"]  [Black "Grant Aung"]  [Result "1-0"]  [PlyCount "51"]  [ECO "B20"]   e4 c5 2. b4 {The May-June 2003 issue of the California Chess Journal  included a report on the San Leandro Swiss held Feb. 2003, directed by Hans  Poschmann. One of the annotated games was Clarence Lehman's win in a Scilian  Wing Gambit against FM Ron Cusi. The accompanying photograph is captioned: "The  intrepid Clarence Lehman". Some things never change.} 2… cxb4 3. a3 e6 {Like  I said some paragraphs earlier, Sicilian players know why they play it: It's  fashion. They just don't know how to play it:} (3… d5 {equalizes in the  center instantly, then} 4. exd5 Qxd5 {and Nb1-c3 is unavailable for the pawn on  b4. Black threatens to win a rook by 5…Qd5+, so} 5. Nf3 {, and Black gets the  upper hand in the center by} 5… e5 {White has no active moves on the  kingside, and clarifies the queenside with} 6. axb4 Bxb4 {White has various  queenside developments, but one of the most adorable moves in chess is  grandmaster Bronstein's} 7. Ra3) 4. axb4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 Nf6 7. Bd3 Nc6 8.  Nf3 {NM Paul Gallegos sometimes prefers to develop this knight on e2, leaving  the f-pawn free.} 8… d5 9. e5 {Compare this with the French Wing Gambit move  order 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e5 c5 4. b4 cxb4 5. a3 Nc6 6. axb4 Bxb4 7. c3 Be7 d4, where the black king knight can still help the kingside. Black's move  order in this position gets his knight pushed to the queenside, lost behind the  pawn wall.} 9… Nd7 10. Qe2 Nb6 11. Na3 f6 12. O-O O-O 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Qc2  e5 {You have to appreciate Black's spirit, aiming to liberate his queen bishop  and take the central initiative. If he survives the damage to his king  position, it's a lively game.} 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. dxe5 Nxe5 17. Nd4 Bg5 {Black  probably looked at} (17… g6 18. Bxg6 Nxg6 19. Qxg6 Rg8 {with a view toward  20…Bh3, which would be dandy if not for} 20. Qh6# { ( {Another thought is})};  17… Qe8 {, followed by …Be6-g8, or …Qh5.}) 18. f4 Ng4 19. fxg5 Rxf1+ 20.  Kxf1 Nxh2+ 21. Kg1 Qd6 {Maybe Black intended to reach this position with  17…Bg5, but there's no hope for this attack while three black pieces are  stowed away in the northwest corner.} 22. Qg6 $1 {Beginning a neat simplifying  combination.} 22… Qg3 23. Qe8+ Kxh7 24. g6+ Qxg6 25. Qxg6+ Kxg6 26. Kxh2 1-0  {1-0 in 37}