1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 c6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Nf3 Re8 10. O-O Nf8 11. h3

For an extended discussion of this "high class waiting move," see Yermolinsky's The Road to Chess Improvement pages 67-74.

 

11... a5!?

This seems a bit commital, which plays into White's hands. The idea is to slow up White's typical Minority Attack with b4-b5. But the beauty of 11.h3 is that White can now pursue other ideas than the minority attack, in which case ...a5 looks like a waste of time and even a mistake since now ...c5 will weaken the b5 square. A wide range of alternatives have been tried, including:

a) 11... Ne4 12. Bf4!

b) 11... Ng6 12. Bxf6! Yermo 12... Bxf6 13. b4 with the typical minority attack.

c) 11... Be6 12. Rfe1 N6d7 13. Bf4 Ng6 14. Bh2

d) 11... Nh5 "this might be Black's best" writes Yermolinsky 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Rfe1 Nf6 14. Rab1 a5 15. a3 g6 16. b4 axb4 17. axb4 Ne6 18. b5 Ng7 "with the idea of ... Bf5." However, the resulting endgame is certainly not great for Black since White is still in control, but he should survive.

 

12. Ne5 Be6

12... N6d7!?

 

13. Bf4 c5?!

This move does not combine well with ...a5 due to the hole at b5 which White immediatelyexploits

 

14. Bb5! N8d7 15. Nxd7 Nxd7 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. Rfd1!

Eyeing Black's weak, isolated d-pawn.

 

17... Rc8 18. Qd3 Qb6 19. Nxd5! Qd8

19... Bxd5 20. Bxd7+-

 

20. Rac1 b6 21. Nc3 Re7 22. Rc2 Qf8 23. Bd6 Bxd6 24. Qxd6 Nf6 25. Rcd2 Rb8?

 

26. e4?!

After the game, Steve was kicking himself for having missed 26. Qxb8! Qxb8 27. Rd8+ Qxd8 (27... Re8 28. Bxe8) 28. Rxd8+ Ne8 29. Bxe8 which should force immediate resignation.

 

26... h6! 27. e5 Nd7? 27... Nh7 28. Bxd7 Bxd7 29. Nd5!

 

Black resigns as he must surrender a piece with 29...Re6 30.Qxd7..

1-0

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 c5

Kernighan's standard "principled" response in this position.

 

3. e3

It seems to me that the "principled" response for White is a reversed QGA with 3. dxc5 e6 4. c4 (4. e4!?) 4... Bxc5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. e3 which is Aaron Sumerscale's recommendation in A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire, with play against Black's isolani. Also intriguing is a reversed Chigorin with 3. Nc3!?

 

3... e6 4. Bb5+?!

Moldovan calls this a "reversed Bogo-Indian," but why White trades his good bishop for Black's bad one is a mystery to me. 4. b3 Nf6 5. Bd3 leads to a Colle-Zukertort, which is basically a reversed Tartakower. 4. c4!? will likely lead to isolani positions. 4. c3 heads for a traditional Colle.

 

4... Bd7 5. Qe2 a6 6. Bxd7+ Nxd7= 7. O-O Ngf6 8. b3 Rc8

8... b5!?

 

9. dxc5?!

9. c4

 

9... Bxc5 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Nbd2 Qe7 12. c4 Rfd8 13. Rfd1 Nb6

This seems the critical juncture for Black to come up with a plan. Alternatives might be

a) 13... Ba3!? 14. Bxa3 Qxa3 15. e4

b) 13... e5!? 14. cxd5 e4 15. Nd4! (15. Ng5 h6 16. d6!? Bxd6! 17. Ngxe4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Bxh2+ 19. Kxh2 Qxe4 with the initiative ) 15... Bxd4 (15... Nxd5?! 16. Nf5 Qg5 17. Ng3! f5 18. Ndxe4 fxe4 19. h4 ) 16. Bxd4 Nxd5 unclear

 

14. Rac1 Kf8?!

Black's idea of centralizing his King in the middlegame appears misguided.

 

15. Rc2

15. Bxf6! Qxf6 16. cxd5 exd5 (16... Rxd5 17. Ne4 Qf5 18. Nxc5 Rdxc5 19. e4 ) 17. Qd3

 

15... Ke8?! 16. Rdc1 Ba3 17. Bxa3 Qxa3 18. Ne5

Fritz likes 18. e4 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Nbd7

 

18... Nfd7 19. Nxd7 Rxd7 20. Qh5!?

20. Nb1!? Qa5 21. Qh5 20... h6 After the game, Mark said that 20... dxc4= was better

 

21. Qg4 g6?

21... dxc4 22. Nb1 Qf8 unclear

 

22. Qd4?!

White appears to have missed a strong line in 22. c5! Rdc7 (22... Na8 23. Qd4 ) 23. Nb1 Qa5 24. Qd4 Nd7 25. b4 Qa4 26. Nc3 Qc6 27. e4 e5 28. Qd2 dxe4 29. Nd5 g5 30. Nxc7+ Rxc7 31. Qe3+- Also possible, but less clear, is 22. Qh4 dxc4 23. Ne4 Nd5 etc.

 

22... dxc4! 23. Qxb6 Rxd2 24. Qxb7 Rcd8 25. g3 cxb3 26. Qxb3 Qd6 27. Rxd2

if anything, White is slightly better after 27...Qxd2 28.Qa3! due to Black's exposed King.

 

1/2-1/2

[Fritz, Goeller, & Geoff McAuliffe]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nf3!? Bc5?!

White must have intended to play the Boden-Kieseritzky Gambit, which typically goes 3... Nxe4 4. Nc3 Nxc3 (4... Nc6!? 5. O-O) 5. dxc3 f6 6. Nh4! g6 7. f4 with compensation. Also 3... Nc6 transposes to the Two Knights Defense and is likely Black's best.

 

4. Nxe5 O-O 5. O-O

5. d4

 

5... Nxe4?

5... d6 6. Nxf7!? Rxf7 7. d4 Bb6 8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Re1 should give White a long-term initiative.

 

6. d4?!

White appears to have missed a win with 6. Nxf7! Rxf7 (6... Nxf2?? 7. Nxd8++-) 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Qh5+ Kf8 (8... Kg8 9. Qd5++-) 9. d3+-

 

6... Bb6 7. Be3 d6 8. Nd3

8. Nxf7!? Rxf7 9. Bxf7+ Kxf7 10. Qh5+ Kf8 11. Qxh7 with compensation

 

8... Nc6 9. c3 Qe7 10. Nd2 Nxd2 11. Qxd2 Qe4 12. f3 Qf5 13. g4!? Qd7 14. Nf4 a6?! 15. Nh5 Qd8??

Necessary was 15... d5

 

16. Bg5!->

Now White' attack is simply overwhelming.

 

16... Ne7 17. Bh6!?

Most deadly is 17. Bf6!-> Be6 (17... gxf6 18. Qh6 forces mate) (17... h6 18. Bxg7 Nf5 19. Bf6+-) 18. Qg5+- which should mate or win the Queen.

 

17... d5! 18. Bd3 f5 19. Bxg7 Rf7 20. Qg5 Qd6 21. Nf6+ Rxf6 22. Bxf6+ Ng6 23. Rae1?!

The quickest win for White is 23. gxf5+-

 

23... Kf7 24. Be5?!

White has a number of stronger ways, including

a) 24. gxf5 Bxf5 25. Be5 Qxe5 26. Rxe5 Bxd3 27. Rxd5+-

b) 24. Re7+ Nxe7 25. Qg7+ Ke8 26. Re1 Be6 27. Bxf5+-

 

24... Nxe5 25. Rxe5??

throwing away an overwhelming position. The win is swift for White after 25. Bxf5! Bxf5 (25... Nc6 26. Qh5++-) 26. Qxf5+ Kg8 27. Rxe5+-

 

25... Qxe5!

The only saving move, but more than sufficient.

 

26. Kh1 Qf6 27. Qh5+ Qg6 28. Qh4 Be6?

Letting White off the hook! Black is still winning after 28... h6!

 

29. gxf5! Bxf5 30. Rg1?

30. Qf4! Rg8 (30... Ke6 31. Re1++-) 31. Qxf5+

 

30... Bxd3! 31. Rxg6 Bxg6 32. Qf4+ Kg8 33. Qf6 Re8 34. Kg2 c6 35. Kg3 Bc7+ 36. Kg4 Re2 37. h4 Rg2+ 38. Kh3 Rg3+

White resigns since Black wins the Queen with discovered check after 39.Kh2 Rxf3+ and Rxf6. As Mike might say, this game was quite "blunderific." I think White simply became overwhelmed by the number of winning lines and then could not choose accurately. Also, he likely saw winning lines he had missed as the game continued and so became disheartened-making it difficult to find new winning lines when his opponent missed the best defense. I'm sure this game, with its many winning chances, will haunt Mike for a long time.

 

0-1

[Fritz8, Goeller, McAuliffe]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nxe4 4. Bxf7+?!

More common is the scary Frankenstein-Dracula Variation 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 7. Qf3 f5 8. Qd5 Qe7 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6 11. d3 Bb7~/= when it remains an open question whether Black has sufficient compensation for the Exchange.

 

4... Kxf7 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Nc3 Nc6?

Walking right into White's trap. Black should be better after either 6... c6 or 6... Kg8 because he has a strong central pawn formation, the two Bishops, and better development which more than compensates for his somewhat shaky King placement.

 

7. Qf3+ Kg8

7... Ke6?! holds the pawn but gives White good long-term atacking chances.

 

8. Qxd5+ Qxd5 9. Nxd5 Bd6

White has won a pawn for which Black has little compensation.

 

10. Ne2 Be6 11. Nec3 a6 12. a3 Nd4 13. Ne3 g6 14. d3 Kg7 15. Bd2 Rhf8 16. Ne4 Be7 17. Bb4! Bxb4+ 18. axb4 Rad8 19. Rd1 h6 20. c4?! Rf7! 21. O-O Ne2+! 22. Kh1 Nf4 23. Nc5 Bc8 24. d4?

24. g3! Ne6

 

24... b6?

24... exd4 25. Nb3 Rfd7

 

25. Nb3 exd4 26. Nxd4 Bb7

26... Rfd7 27. Nc6 (27. Ne6+?? Nxe6-+) 27... Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 29. Nxd1 Bb7 30. b5 Bxc6 31. bxc6 Kf6 should give Black drawing chances due to his more active King and White's doubled pawns.

 

27. f3?!

27. Ndf5+!+-

 

27... Re7? 28. Nef5+!

Black resigns due to 28... gxf5 29. Nxf5+ Kf6 30. Rxd8 Kxf5 31. Rf8+ Kg5 32. h4+ Kxh4 33. Rxf4+ Kg5

 

1-0

[Fritz8, Goeller, McAuliffe]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6!? 4. dxc5?!

4. Nc3

 

4... Nxe4 5. cxd6 exd6?

Introducing an unnecessary pawn weakness. Too risky is 5... Nc6?! 6. dxe7 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Nxf2+ 8. Ke1 Nxh1 9. exf8=Q+ Rxf8 10. Be3 and I think White will likely win the trapped Knight. Better are simply 5... Nxd6 6. Nc3 Nc6= or 5... Qb6 6. Qe2 Nxd6=

 

6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nbd2 Bf5 9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. Bd3 d5 11. Re1 Nb4 12. a3

12. Bb5+ Nc6

 

12... Nxd3 13. cxd3 Bxf3 14. Qxf3 O-O 15. d4 Qa5??

Simply drops a piece. 15... Bf6!

 

16. Rxe7 Rae8 17. Rxe8 Rxe8 18. Be3 h6 19. h3 Rc8 20. Qd1

 

20. Bxh6! gxh6? 21. Qg4+

 

20... b5 21. Rc1 Rc4 22. Rxc4 bxc4 23. Bd2 Qb6 24. Bc3 Qe6 25. Qe1 Kh7 26. Qxe6 fxe6 27. f3 Kg6 28. Kf2 Kf5 29. Ke3 h5 30. Bb4 g5 31. g4+ hxg4 32. fxg4+ Kg6 33. Be7 a5 34. a4

 

1-0

[Fritz8]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. O-O Rb8?!

I think Black mixed up his move order. Good for Black is instead 9... Bc5 10. f3 Ng5 11. f4 Ne4 12. Be3 Rb8! unclear

 

10. f3

10. c4!?

 

10... Ng5 11. Nc3 Be7?!

11... Bc5! 12. Kh1! (12. f4 Ne6=/+) 12... Ne6 13. Nxe6 Bxe6 14. f4 unclear

 

12. Rb1?!

Passively defending the b-pawn. Better 12. f4! Ne6 (12... Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. e6! Bxe6 15. Nxe6 Qxd1 16. Nxg7+!! Kf8 17. Ne6+ fxe6 18. Rxd1 ) 13. f5 Nxd4 14. Qxd4

 

12... O-O 13. f4 Ne4?!

13... Bb4! 14. fxg5 Bxc3

 

14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Qe1 f6?

15... c5!=

 

16. e6

16. Qxe4 fxe5 17. Qxe5 Bf6 18. Qc5

 

16... c5 17. exd7

17. Nf5!

 

17... cxd4 18. Qxe4 Qxd7= 19. f5 Rf7 20. Bf4 Bc5 21. Kh1 Re7 22. Qd3 Kh8= 23. Qc4 Qc6??

Walking into a pjn that drops a piece. 23... Qb5= -- Black had many chances to gain equality in this game.

 

24. b4! Qb6 25. Qxc5

Black resigns.

 

1-0

[Goeller]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Ng5 Qe7?? 5... d5[] 6. exd5 Na5 7. Bb5+ c6 8. dxc6 bxc6 9. Qf3 h6 6. Nxf7 Rg8 7. Ng5 d5 8. exd5 Nxd5? 8... Qb4 9. Nxd5 Qd8 9... Qxg5 10. O-O! Bd6 11. Nxc7+ Bxc7 12. Bxg8+- 10. d3 10. Qf3 Qxg5 11. Nxc7+ Kd8 12. Nxa8 Rh8 13. d3 10... Bf5 11. O-O Be7 12. Nxe7 Rf8 13. Nxf5 Rxf5 14. Ne6 Qe7 15. Qg4 g6 16. Bg5 Qd6 17. Ng7+ Kf8 18. Nxf5 Nd4 19. Bh6+ Ke8 20. Nxd6+ cxd6 21. c3 Nf5 22. Bg5 h6 23. Bxh6 Ne7 24. Bb5+ Kf7 25. Qf3+ Nf5 26. g4 Rh8 27. Qxb7+ Ne7 28. Bc4+ 1-0 [Fritz8]

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 d3 A simple way of declining the gambit pawn. 4. c4 Nc6 5. Bxd3 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. O-O Nf6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 b6 11. Qd2 Nb4 12. Rad1 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bb7 14. Nd4 Rc8 15. f4 Qc7 16. b3 Nd7 17. Ndb5 Qb8 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Qxd5 a6 20. Na3 Nf6 21. Qd3 Qb7 22. e5 dxe5 23. fxe5 Ne4 24. Qd4 Rc5 25. Bf4 Rcc8 26. Nc2 Nd6 27. Ne3 Ne4 28. Nd5 Nc5 28... f5 29. exf6 Nxf6 30. Qxb6 29. Bg5 Rce8 30. Nf6+ 30. Qh4 with attack 30... exf6 31. exf6 Bh8 32. Qh4 Re4 33. Rf4 Rxf4 34. Qxf4 Ne6 35. Qh4 Nxg5 36. Qxg5 Qe4 37. Rf1 Re8 Black will win the pawn on f6 by attacking it with all three of his pieces. 0-1 [Ed Selling]