[Event "Sunningdale Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.05.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Constantinou, Peter"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2453"]
[BlackElo "2298"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{In round 2 I played against local FM Peter Constantinou. Having just arrived
the evening previous I did not have a lot of energy to stay up preparing.
Instead I decided to play old analysis of mine resulting in an equal yet
complicated position.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bd3 $5 {Diagram [#] This
move will transpose favourably to the main lines of the Semi-Slav unless Black
plays actively.} e5 $1 {This is why White always starts with Nf3 or Nc3. After
this central break there are many forced lines which lead to an exchange of
Queens and a balanced endgame.} (4... e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. b3 Bd6 7. Bb2 $14 {
Delaying Nc3 has the advantage of controlling e5 before castling, and
continuing Nbd2 if necessary.}) 5. dxe5 dxc4 6. Be2 (6. Bxc4 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Ng4
$15 {is already slightly better for Black.}) 6... Qxd1+ 7. Bxd1 {Diagram [#]
This is the end of the forced sequence, resulting in a trade of Queens and an
equal yet very imbalanced endgame. White has a 5v3 majority on the Kingside
and Black has a 4v2 majority on the Queenside.} Ng4 8. f4 Bc5 9. Ke2 {The only
plausible way to keep all 5 pawns.} (9. Bxg4 Bxg4 $15 {gives up too many light
squares.}) 9... Bf5 10. h3 Bd3+ 11. Kf3 $1 {Diagram [#] Despite having no
pieces developed, White is very close to playing g4 and controlling every
important square with his pawns alone.} h5 12. Ne2 Nh6 13. Nbc3 (13. g4 Nxg4
14. hxg4 hxg4+ 15. Kg2 Be4+ $19) 13... f6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. g4 Nd7 16. Ng3
hxg4+ 17. hxg4 O-O-O 18. Nce4 {Diagram [#]White's King is completely safe and
although it's still awhile before the Rooks are connected, White intends
Bd2-c3 with pressure on the h-file and the f6 pawn.} Be7 19. Bd2 f5 20. gxf5
Nxf5 21. Rxh8 Bxe4+ {Diagram [#]} 22. Nxe4 (22. Kxe4 Nxg3+ 23. Kf3 Rxh8 24.
Kxg3 Bh4+ 25. Kf3 Rg8 $11 {Black's lead in development and pressure on the
g-file should be sufficient counterplay for the connected passed pawns and
Bishop pair.}) 22... Rxh8 23. Be2 $2 {This move was a mistake. I should have
played Bc2 in order to remove Black's Nf5. I completely underestimated how
strong this piece would become. Be2 gains time by attacking c4 but it doesn't
solve White's lack of coordination.} b5 24. Bf1 Rh2 25. Rd1 Nc5 {Diagram [#]}
26. Nf2 (26. Nxc5 Bxc5 27. Bc1 Kc7 $11 {White cannot advance either of the
passed pawns and all of my pieces are stuck on the first rank!}) 26... Kb7 27.
Bc3 Na4 28. Be5 (28. e4 Bc5 29. Ng4 Rxb2 $13 30. Bxb2 Nxb2 $13 {is a crazy
variation which I did not know how to evaluate. Black's pawns and 3 minor
pieces are dangerous while White's pawns are far from becoming a threat.})
28... Bc5 29. Ng4 {Diagram [#] The position is a complete mess. With my time
getting low and having made the mistake of not playing Bc2 to remove the
strong Nf5, I thought I could already be worse.} Rc2 30. Rd7+ Ka6 31. b3 Nc3
32. bxc4 Nh4+ 33. Kg3 Nf5+ 34. Kf3 Nh4+ 35. Kg3 Nf5+ 36. Kh3 {Diagram [#]
Despite being low on time, I felt inclined to push against my lower-rated
opponent for the win. I also did not see a way that he can avoid Bd3 as well
as cxb5 and ensuing tactics.} Nxe3 ({The key idea that both my opponent and I
missed was} 36... Ne2 $1 37. cxb5+ cxb5 $11 {and White has to take the N
before ...Ng1 checkmate happens.}) 37. cxb5+ cxb5 38. Nxe3 Bxe3 39. Rd3 {
Diagram [#]} Bxf4 $2 {A mix of low time and panic. There are a number of ways
to give up a piece for that pawn. Leaving White with the two Bishops is
certainly the least desireable.} (39... Bd2 40. Rd6+ Kb7 (40... Ka5 41. Rxd2
$18) 41. Bg2+ Kc8 42. Bc6 {is still extremely complex. White's pieces have
great coordination and the Bishop pair offers a lot of checkmate possibilities.
}) 40. Bxf4 Nxa2 41. Ra3+ Kb6 42. Be3+ Kc6 43. Bg2+ Kd6 44. Bf4+ Kc5 45. Rxa7 {
Diagram [#]The a7-pawn is won by force. I'm not sure what the tablebase
evaluation of this endgame will be, but it certainly felt like I could force a
win over the board. The 2 Bishops are able to control so many important
squares at once.} Nc3 46. Rc7+ Kb4 47. Bf3 Kb3 48. Rc5 b4 49. Be5 Rd2 50. Kg4
Rd3 51. Rc6 Kb2 52. Rc4 Kb3 53. Rc8 Kb2 54. Kf4 Ka2 55. Bg4 Kb2 56. Rb8 Ka3 57.
Be6 Rd1 58. Ra8+ Kb2 59. Ra4 {Diagram [#]} Rf1+ (59... Kc2 {was more precise,
intending Nd5+ after Rxb4 with a theoretical draw, however difficult. I would
have to undo my Ra4 attempt by playing Bf5+ and Ra8 if I want to keep 2
Bishops on the board.} 60. Rxb4 Nd5+ 61. Bxd5 Rxd5 $11) 60. Kg4 Rg1+ 61. Kf5 {
Now the b4 pawn is won by force as well with the control and pins the the
Bishops offer. After winning both pawns the remaining position is actually
quite easy to win. The N is no match for White's B-pair.} Rf1+ 62. Kg6 Rg1+ 63.
Kf7 Rf1+ 64. Ke7 Re1 65. Rxb4+ Kc2 66. Bf5+ Kd2 {Diagram [#]} 67. Kd6 (67. Rb2+
Kc1 68. Rc2+ Kd1 69. Ke6 {was also possible but having one Bishop pinned and
the other defending my rook seemed very fragile.}) 67... Ne2 68. Rb3 Rf1 69.
Be4 Ke1 70. Rb2 Rg1 71. Bf3 Rg6+ 72. Kd5 Ng1 73. Be4 Rg8 74. Bc3+ Kd1 75. Bd3
Rd8+ 76. Ke4 Re8+ 77. Kf5 Ne2 78. Rd2+ {The Bishops are too strong in the
endgame; Black's N could hardly move.   I was happy with my unusual opening
choice because I think the resulting position is unexplored and very
imbalanced. I didn't know what to expect from the coming rounds if it took me
78 moves to win in round 2!} 1-0

[Event "Sunningdale Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.05.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Pert, Nicholas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2453"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{In round 4 I played against GM Nicholas Pert from England, a new opponent for
me although he has played this tournament before. I expected this to be the
toughest match for me, as he was the #1 ranked in the event.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6
3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 {Diagram [#]Black has two main options in 4. ... Bf5 and
4. ... Bg4 if he wants to develop the light squared Bishop. Otherwise ...e6
leads to a Semi-Slav position where the Bishop usually develops to b7.} 5. Nc3
e6 6. h3 Bh5 7. g4 {There are a number of ways to play as White, but I prefer
to establish an imbalance immediately by trading my N for the light-squared B.}
Bg6 8. Ne5 Nbd7 9. Nxg6 hxg6 {Diagram [#]} 10. a3 $1 {A subtle move. I think
Bd3, Qb3, or Bd2 are more common. The idea of a3 is obviously to prevent ...
Bb4, but more specifically to prevent Black from controlling e4.} ({For example
} 10. Bd3 Bb4 11. Bd2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 dxc4 13. Bxc4 Ne4 $11 {So many pieces have
been traded and White will lose his Bishop pair as well.}) 10... g5 {This is a
noteworthy plan, securing the dark squares and preventing White from
continuing to expand on the Kingside with g5 and h4.} (10... Bd6 11. Bd2 Qe7
12. Bd3 dxc4 13. Bxc4 O-O $13 {leads to imbalanced play. White has a Kingside
initiative while Black intends to open up the center and expand on the
Queenside.}) 11. Qf3 Be7 12. Bd3 {Diagram [#] Neither of Black's most common
central breaks (...c5 or ...e5) work because of the pressure Qf3 has on the
Pd5.} Kf8 $6 {The idea of this peculiar move is g6-Kg7 while leaving the h8
rook to pressure h3 and prevent h4.} (12... O-O 13. h4 gxh4 14. g5 Ne8 15. Qh5
$18 {leads to checkmate.}) 13. Bd2 dxc4 (13... g6 14. O-O-O Kg7 {seemed much
more consistent. Black achieves his plan and although White is preferred the
middlegame is balanced.}) 14. Bxc4 c5 $2 {Diagram [#] I do not agree with
opening the center after playing a move like ...Kf8.} 15. h4 $1 {My opponent
certainly had not considered this move. Although ...Kf8-g7 is sometimes a core
idea, the timing did not make sense because of White's Qf3 creating tactics
along the f-file.} (15. d5 Ne5 16. Qe2 exd5 $19) 15... cxd4 (15... gxh4 16. g5
Nh7 17. g6 Ng5 18. Qf4 $44 {Although the computer evaluates this as equal, it
certainly looked to favour White over the board.}) 16. hxg5 $1 ({Incorrect
would be} 16. exd4 Nb6 17. Bd3 Qxd4 $15 {where Black has a lot of activity and
White's King is still in the center.}) 16... Rxh1+ 17. Qxh1 dxc3 18. Qh8+ Ng8
19. Bxc3 $16 {Diagram [#]This was the point of the combination that began with
15.h4: White's two Bishops exert immense pressure on the position and Black's
pieces lack coordination.} Ndf6 (19... e5 {is the only way to prevent Qxg7+
but there are too many threats to deal with after} 20. g6 $1 $18) 20. Rd1 Qc7 {
Diagram [#]} 21. Bd3 {A patient move. There is no rush to take the free Nf6,
so instead Bd3 creates a more powerful threat of Bh7xg8. All of White's pieces
are optimally placed.} Rc8 22. Bh7 Nxh7 (22... Qh2 23. gxf6 Qg1+ 24. Kd2 Rd8+
25. Bd4 Qxf2+ 26. Kc1 $18 {And Black's checks will run out.}) 23. Qxg7+ Ke8 24.
Qxh7 {Diagram [#] The remaining N is trapped and ...Kf8 doesn't change matters.
After White regains the piece he will still be ahead two pawns with a strong
attack.} Bf8 25. Qxg8 Qh2 26. Rd4 (26. Ke2 Qg2 27. Rd4 e5 28. Bb4 $18 {was
more accurate.}) 26... e5 27. g6 exd4 28. Qxf7+ Kd8 29. Qxf8+ Kc7 30. Qc5+ Kb8
31. Qxd4 {Diagram [#] After giving up the exchange for 2 more pawns White has
an easy endgame to convert.} Ka8 32. Qd7 Rf8 33. Bf6 Qh1+ 34. Ke2 Qe4 35. g7
Re8 36. Bd4 a6 37. Kd2 Rb8 38. Qf5 Qe8 39. g5 Rc8 40. Qd5 Qg6 41. e4 Qe8 42.
g8=Q {Diagram [#] Although not the most precise, time was getting low and I
knew that the Bishop + 3 pawns vs. Rook endgame was a win.} Qxg8 43. Qxg8 Rxg8
44. Bf6 Kb8 45. Ke3 Kc7 46. Kf4 Kd7 47. Kf5 Rc8 48. f4 Ke8 49. e5 a5 50. e6
Rc5+ 51. Kg6 b5 52. f5 b4 53. axb4 axb4 54. Bh8 Rc6 55. f6 Rxe6 56. Kg7 {This
was the first time I played against GM Pert and with my victory I maintained
first place in the tournament.} 1-0

[Event "Sunningdale Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.05.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Hambleton, Aman"]
[Black "Fernandez, Daniel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2453"]
[BlackElo "2367"]
[Annotator "Aman Hambleton"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{In round 6 I played against IM Daniel Fernandez of Singapore. So far he was
undefeated in the tournament and my main rival for first place. Although I
expected the Grunfeld I did not expect the specific variation played in the
game.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 {Diagram [#]This is a
variation I have been playing for a few years now, with great results. Bd2 is
a sideline but has seen high level play from Anand, Dreev, and especially
Svidler during the 2013 Candidates.} Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 (6... Nb6 7. Be3 O-O {is
the other main alternative, intending a central break with ...e5 or ...f5.}) 7.
Bxc3 O-O 8. Qd2 b6 {Diagram [#] This was the move I did not expect. Although
Bd2 is not a popular Grunfeld system, this is an even more unlikely variation.
More common is ...c5 and Black tries to fight for dark square control.} (8...
c5 9. d5 e6 10. Bc4 exd5 11. Bxd5 Nd7 $11) 9. Bc4 {I could have also chosen a
setup with Bd3 and Nf3, but since I am a KID Saemisch player Ne2 and f3 seemed
more familiar.} Nd7 10. Ne2 c5 11. d5 (11. O-O Bb7 12. f3 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Ne5 14.
Be2 Rc8 $11 {gives White no advantage at all.}) 11... Ne5 12. Bb3 Ba6 13. O-O {
Castling is imperative because of ...Nd3+, and now Black needs to think about
where to put his N after f4.} Qc7 14. f4 {Diagram [#]} Bh6 (14... Nc4 $2 {
loses a piece:} 15. Bxc4 Bxc4 16. Bxg7 Bxe2 (16... Kxg7 17. Qc3+ $18) 17. Be5
$18) 15. Rad1 Nd3 (15... Nc4 {doesn't work any better now because after} 16.
Qd3 {the N is pinned and the doubled pawns after ...b5 only serve to block off
Black's Ba6:} b5 17. Bxc4 bxc4 18. Qh3 Bg7 19. f5 $18) 16. Bc2 c4 (16... Nb4
17. Bb1 Bxe2 18. Qxe2 Bxf4 19. d6 $1 Bxd6 20. e5 $18) 17. Bxd3 cxd3 18. Nd4 {
Diagram [#] White has a preferable position due to the strong Bc3 and mobile
pawn center. Black needs to try to open the position and play very actively to
stay in the game. From a human point of view I think this position is very
tough to play for Black.} Bb7 $2 ({Somehow the Ba6 needs to come back into the
game from b7, but} 18... Rac8 19. Rf3 Rfe8 20. Qf2 e6 $13 {was a better
continuation, opening up the center and putting pressure on White's pawns.})
19. Qxd3 Bxf4 20. Nb5 $1 {Diagram [#] This was the continuation that my
opponent missed. Now Black will lose the Bf4 unless he enters the tactical
variations, which are all in White's favour.} Qb8 (20... Bxh2+ 21. Kh1 Qb8 22.
Qd4 f6 23. d6 Bxd6 24. Nxd6 exd6 (24... Qxd6 25. Qc4+) 25. Rxf6 {will lead to
a huge material loss, if not checkmate.}) 21. Qd4 f6 22. d6 $1 e5 (22... Bxd6
23. Nxd6 exd6 (23... Qxd6 24. Qc4+) 24. Rxf6 {is the same variation mentioned
above, at least leading to some material loss.}) 23. Qc4+ Kg7 24. Nc7 $18 {
Diagram [#] Black's pieces have no coordination. Ne6 is a threat, the Ra8 is
trapped and en prise, meanwhile there are tactics surrounding Rxf4 and e5.} b5
25. Qc5 Bxe4 26. d7 Kh6 (26... Bf5 27. Nxa8 Qxa8 28. Qe7+ $18) 27. Nxa8 Bxa8
28. Rxf4 {This win ensured at least a share of first place, but having played
all of the strong contenders I was confident to make at least a draw in the
last round to win the tournament and that's exactly what I did. I won the
tournament last year with 6.5/7 and returned to do it again with 6/7 this year!
} (28. Rxf4 exf4 29. Qxf8+ Qxf8 30. d8=Q $18 {Black has no more attacking
chances and remains a rook down.}) 1-0

[Event "RACC Ch."]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2014.01.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Gordon, David"]
[Black "Khachidze, Vasil"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2264"]
[BlackElo "2221"]
[Annotator "Vasil Khachidze"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 e6 {Diagram [#]
This move is not the most popular. It has two main advantages and one main
disadvantage: it avoids often dull symmetric variations which arise after the
most popular 6. ... Bf5, and accelerates Black's kingside development, but
shuts in his light square bishop.} 7. e3 Bd6 8. Bxd6 {Even though this move is
most popular, White scores substantially lower than 6.Bg3 (52% vs 58%). And
one interesting detail: 6.Bg3 was favored at the same time by such giants of
positional play as Petrosian and Portisch, and by such kings of attack as Tal
and Geller.   However, the statistics offer another object for reflection:
third and much less popular 6.Bd3 scores even higher: almost 64%. The breakup
of White's pawn structure after 8. ... Bxf4 9.exf4 in this case is only
temporary, and White advantageously employs his doubled f4 pawn for an attack
in the center and kingside.} Qxd6 9. Bd3 O-O 10. O-O Ne8 {Diagram [#] Rare and
risky move. A normal move in this position is 10. ...Bd7. Another move is the
immediate 10. ...e5 when Black frees his bishop at the cost of getting an
isolated pawn on d5. With the text move Black wants to play ...f7-f5, however
decentralizing his knight allows White to strike in the center and to get a
positional advantage. What does then black obtain? Black obtains the opening
of the game, because soon the central pawns disappear altogether.} 11. e4 {
Most principled move.} dxe4 12. Nxe4 {Diagram [#]} Qd5 ({Another possible move,
though not consistent with the Black's plan, is} 12... Qb4 {with the possible
variation} 13. a3 Qxb2 14. Qa4 {(threatening to trap black queen with 15.Rfb1)}
Qb6 15. Rac1 Bd7 16. Nc5 Qc7 17. Nxd7 Qxd7 18. Be4 Nf6 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Ne5
Qd5 21. Nxc6 Rfe8 $14) 13. Rc1 $1 {Developing the rook and setting a trap (see
the comment on Black's move)} f5 (13... Nxd4 $2 14. Nxd4 Qxd4 15. Ng5 g6 ({or} 
15... f5 16. Bxf5 $1 $16) 16. Nxh7 $1 $16) ({After} 13... Qxa2 $6 14. Qe2 $16 {
White would have a very strong initiative and a big lead in development for a
pawn.}) 14. Nc3 (14. Rc5 {Black can obtain three pieces for the queen:} fxe4 $5
({On the other hand,} 14... Qxa2 {also leads to complications. For example:}
15. Neg5 Qxb2 16. Bc4 $44 {with positional compensation for the two pawns and
better chances to White.}) 15. Rxd5 exd5 {followed by capturing a third piece
on the next move. One possible variation runs as follows:} 16. Qb3 exd3 17.
Qxd5+ Kh8 18. Ng5 Nf6 19. Nf7+ Kg8 20. Nh6+ Kh8 21. Nf7+ {draw} ({no smothered
mate though:} 21. Qg8+ $4 Nxg8 $19)) 14... Qd8 15. d5 exd5 16. Nxd5 Kh8 {
Diagram [#]} ({Of course not} 16... Qxd5 17. Bc4 $18 {winning the black queen.}
) {The middlegame position that arose is interesting in that there is no
standard plan for it, mostly due to its pawnless center, lack of apparent
weaknesses, and the direct contact between the pieces of the sides. For that
reason, playing such positions may be formidably difficult for both sides,
notwithstanding which side has the initiative. Yet one can formulate some
general strategic guidelines for playing them: a battle will be of a tactical
nature, there is no room for lengthy maneuvers. Every move preferably should
either create a direct threat or defend from it, or do both if possible. The
crisis and transformation may occur very quickly, and because there may be
lots of reasonable alternatives and complications, mistakes are "normal" and
the balance can easily swing from one side to other, and therefore a search in
width rather than in depth should be applied in calculations.  The next few
moves show that the game continuation conforms to those strategic
particularities.} 17. Qb3 Be6 18. Qa3 {Diagram [#]} Nc7 $6 {Allows a
combination for White.} (18... Nd6 {deserved a serious consideration. For
example:} 19. Nf4 Bg8 20. Rfd1 Qf6 {and the discovered attack by the white
bishop is not dangerous:  if} 21. Ba6 {then} Rad8 {(Black threatens 22. ...
bxa6 23.Rxc6 Nc4)} 22. h4 Rfe8 {(renewing the threat ...bxa6)} 23. Bd3 a6 {
with approximate equality.}) 19. Qxf8+ $1 Qxf8 20. Nxc7 Bxa2 21. Nxa8 g6 $2 {
Diagram [#] The idea of this move is to consolidate the kingside and open the
way for the king, as the Na8 cannot run away. However, this move has a
tactical flaw. The computer suggest the non-obvious move 21. ... Bg8 when
White still gets two rooks for the queen with a clear advantage.} 22. Nc7 $2 (
22. b3 {is the correct move, with a big advantage to White. For example:} Bxb3
({or} 22... Qxa8 23. Bc4 $1 $18 {Isolating the black bishop and achieving a
winning position}) 23. Nc7 Qd8 24. Rc3 $16 {and Black cannot win a piece back})
22... Qd6 23. Bb5 Qxc7 24. Bxc6 $6 ({better is} 24. Rfd1) 24... bxc6 25. Nd4
Bd5 {Diagram [#]  The resulting position is between middlegame and endgame and
a maneuvering play begins. White needs to activate his rooks, and Black needs
to provoke a weakness in White's king position.} 26. Rfe1 Qf4 27. Nc2 Qg5 28.
Ne3 Be4 29. Rc5 Qf6 {Diagram [#]} 30. f3 $6 {Introduces a weakness in white
king's position.} ({The position is equal and could end up in a draw by
repetition:} 30. Ra5 Qd4 31. Rd1 Qb6 32. Nc4 Qb3 33. Ne3 Qb6) 30... Bd5 31. Rc3
(31. Nxd5 $2 Qd4+ $16) 31... Bf7 32. Rd1 h5 33. f4 Qe7 34. g3 h4 35. Kf2 Qe4
36. Rd7 {Diagram [#]} Be6 $6 ({better is} 36... Kg8) 37. Rxa7 $6 {Allows
Black's breakthrough on the kingside.} ({The computer suggests} 37. Re7 {with
equality. For example:} Qh1 38. Rxe6 Qxh2+ 39. Kf3 Qxg3+ 40. Ke2 Qh2+ 41. Kd3
Qxf4 {etc. with a forced draw in some 30 moves!}) 37... g5 $1 38. fxg5 f4 39.
Ra8+ Kg7 40. gxf4 Qxf4+ 41. Ke1 $6 {Loss of the Ph2 is decisive. White was in
time trouble.} ({Better is} 41. Kg1 Qxg5+ 42. Kf2) 41... Qxh2 42. Nd1 $2 (42.
Ra6 {is the correct move.}) 42... Qg1+ 43. Kd2 h3 {Diagram [#]} 44. Ra7+ $4 ({
White would have some practical chances to save the game if he could exchange
his rook and knight for Black's bishop and h-pawn in order to build some kind
of a fortress. Consider a possible position:   White: King on a2, Rook on a3,
pawn on b2,   Black: King on d4, Queen on d1, pawn on c4, Black to move.   In
such a case Black can still win with 1. ...Qd3!, when White's fortress falls.
However, in practice, in an overtime game, White's drawing chances by building
a fortress could be considerable.  But unfortunately for White, it is not
possible to build a fortress. For example, if} 44. Re3 {then} h2 45. Ra7+ Bf7
46. Rxf7+ Kxf7 47. Rf3+ Kg6 48. Nf2 Qxg5+ 49. Re3 Qf6 $19 {winning}) 44... Qxa7
0-1

[Event "(fortress buster)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.01.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gordon"]
[Black "Khachidze"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Vasil Khachidze"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/2pk4/R7/KP6/3q4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{[%csl Gd3][%cal Gd1d3] Diagram [#] White: King on a2, Rook on a3, pawn on b2,
Black: King on d4, Queen on d1, pawn on c4, Black to move.   In such a case
Black can still win with 1. ...Qd3!, when White's fortress falls. However, in
practice, in an overtime game, White's drawing chances by building a fortress
could be considerable.} 1... Qd3 *

[Event "Buenos Aires"]
[Site "Buenos Aires"]
[Date "1960.07.04"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Taimanov, Mark E"]
[Black "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E51"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/3B4/8/1p4k1/1PbK2P1/8/8 w - - 0 74"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "1960.06.23"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "19"]
[EventCountry "ARG"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 74. Kc4 Be1 $1 75. Bxb4 Bxg3 $8 76. Bc3 Bd6 77. Kd5 Be7 78. Bd4
Bb4 79. Kc4 Ba5 80. Bc3 Bd8 $1 81. b4 Kf4 82. b5 Ke4 83. Bd4 Bc7 84. Kc5 Kd3 $1
85. Kc6 Kc4 86. Bb6 Bf4 87. Ba7 Bc7 $1 1/2-1/2

[Event "RACC Ch."]
[Site "Ottawa"]
[Date "2014.02.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Khachidze, Vasil"]
[Black "Gelblum, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B92"]
[WhiteElo "2221"]
[BlackElo "2236"]
[Annotator "Vasil Khachidze"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 {Diagram [#] At that point
you may wonder why the name of the opening is cited as Najdorf variation
instead of Dragon at the top. The game transforms in a position which has an
opening classification B92 (Najdorf, Opocensky variation). You will be
surprised to learn that the Black bishop will never end up on g7 in this game!
However in a variation which was eventually played by Black, it is not rare
that the bishop is not fianchettoed. But formally this opening can also be
classified as Dragon because of Black's specific pawn structure, and how the
game starts. Or maybe it should be named Dragon-Najdorf?!} 6. Be3 a6 {Probably
an attempt to surprise the opponent with less theoretical and unusual setup.
Only in 1% of games this move is played here.} 7. f3 {According to statistics,
this natural move scores a healthy 65% for White.} b5 8. Qd2 Bb7 9. Be2 Nbd7
10. a4 e5 {10. ... b4 transposes to the same variation.} 11. Nb3 b4 12. Na2 d5
13. Nxb4 dxe4 {Diagram [#]  In the only recorded game with such a variation 
(Zelcic-Ruck, Porec 1998), White opted for a plan with long castling 14. 0-0-0.
That hard-fought game ended in Black's win, after White rejected a repetition
at some point.} 14. O-O $146 Qc7 15. Rad1 exf3 16. Bxf3 e4 17. Be2 Be7 {
Diagram [#] Playing 17. ... Bg7 here would badly expose the dark squares in
Black's queenside. But, seeing such sudden alteration of the dark-squared
bishop's trajectory, how to not remember GM Eduard Gufeld 's lifelong loyalty
to Bg7 and his masterpieces with that bishop? Anyway, as seen below, Black
could not escape the consequences of his weakened pawn structure introduced by
g6 in this particular case.} 18. Qd4 {The best "machine" move here is 18.Qc3!?,
but from "human's perspective" 18.a5 or  first 18.c4 then 19.a5 deserved
attention. The text move aims to introduce some tactical threats due to the
weakness of the dark squares on Black's kingside, and fight for the control of
the important e5 square.} O-O ({If} 18... a5 {then} 19. Bb5 axb4 20. Rxf6 O-O-O
21. Bxd7+ Rxd7 22. Qxd7+ Qxd7 23. Rxd7 Kxd7 24. Nc5+ $14 (24. Rxf7 $14)) 19.
Bf4 {Diagram [#]} Qb6 $2 {Black's desire to exchange the queens is
understandable, but he underestimated the consequences of White's 21st move.
It was necessary to play 19... Qc8, even though after 20.a5 White would have a
space advantage, the chances are roughly equal.} 20. Qxb6 Nxb6 {Diagram [#]}
21. Bd6 $1 {After this move material losses are unavoidable for Black. It is
interesting that the weakness introduced by g7-g6 is employed by White in the
same, but symmetrical way as in Dragon variation (i.e. exchanging the bishops
with Bd6 vs Bh6).} Bxd6 22. Rxd6 Nbd5 23. Rdxf6 ({Also possible was:} 23. Nxd5
Nxd5 24. Na5 Ne3 25. Nxb7 Nxf1 26. Kxf1 Rfb8 27. Nc5 Rxb2 28. Nxe4 Rxc2 29.
Bxa6 $16) 23... Nxf6 ({If} 23... Nxb4 {then} 24. Rb6 $16 {winning a piece.})
24. Rxf6 $16 {Diagram [#]  With White's material advantage, the rest is a
matter of technique, even though generally in the endgame the rooks's value
increase significantly compared to minor pieces (especially versus knights).} {
The game continued:} a5 25. Na2 Bd5 26. Nc3 Bxb3 27. cxb3 {Diagram [#]} e3 $2 (
{Better was} 27... Kg7 $1 {when the white rook should retreat and Black can
play ...f5 to protect his pawn on e4.} {White cannot capture the pawn after 27.
... Kg7, for example:} 28. Nxe4 Rae8 29. Rf4 g5 30. Rg4 f5 31. Rxg5+ Kh6 32.
Rh5+ Kg6 33. Rg5+ Kh6 $11) {The game ended:} 28. Rf3 Rad8 29. Rxe3 Rd2 30. Bc4
Rxb2 31. Nd5 Kg7 32. Re7 Kh6 33. Ra7 f5 34. Rxa5 f4 35. Ra7 f3 36. gxf3 Rxf3
37. Re7 Rff2 {Diagram [#]} 38. Ne3 {Black's position is hopeless.} Rfd2 39. a5
Rb1+ 40. Nf1 Rd4 41. a6 Ra1 42. Kf2 1-0

[Event "Toronto Open"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.18"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Plotkin, Mark"]
[Black "Cheng, Bindi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2247"]
[BlackElo "2522"]
[Annotator "Mark Plotkin"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Before this game, I knew Bindi was a tough opponent, as he smashed me in the
Pirc last time. I prepared for his line, and he wanted to surprise me with the
Sicilian. Unfortunately for him, I knew theory there as well.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 (4. dxc5 Nxe4 5. cxd6 Nxd6 $11) 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 {
Diagram [#] This is a normal theoretical line in the Najdorf. The most popular
response is either Bg5, or Bc4. I decided to play a line that Karpov used to
play most regularly.} 6. Be2 {This was Karpov's calm move, with no real
intention of attacking, just attempting to get a positional edge over your
opponent.   After Be2, there are two good responses for Black: ...e6 or ...e5.
...e5 usually leads to boring positions, and knowing Bindi, I wasn't afraid of
his response.} e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. f4 Nc6 10. Kh1 {This is still
theory, and I probably still played Kh1 prematurely, but I just wanted to keep
my king safe from the a7-g1 diagonal.} Qc7 11. Qe1 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Bd3 Bb7
14. Qg3 {Diagram [#] My bishops are placed very well, and after Qg3, I am
ready to attack my opponent's king.   The only piece defending his K is his
knight, but White has two ways of attacking the Nf6: pushing e5, or playing
Nc3-d5 as a sac to open lines for the bishops. That is a very typical idea.
For example: 15...Bc6 16. Qh3 Rac8 17.Nd5. With ideas of 17...exd5 18.exd5 and
threatening mate on h7.    Also, if Black goes ...b4, the Knight goes from
c3-d1-e3-g4 and trades the Nf6. The e4 pawn isn't hanging after Nd1 because
there's a mate: 14...b4 15.Nd1 Bxe4? 16.Bxe4 Nxe4 17.Qxg7#.     Knowing Bindi
though, he wasn't going to allow me to have all that, but these tactical
threats may force Black to weaken his king side position with  ...g6.} Nh5 $4 {
A huge error. The only piece that was defending his king, and with one move,
Bindi puts his best piece out of play.} 15. Qh3 Nxf4 16. Rxf4 e5 {Diagram [#]
It seems that here Black is able to recover the strong bishop, but there was a
tactic that Bindi missed...} 17. Nd5 $3 {A strong  in-between move forcing
Black to give up his strong bishop. If Black doesn't take the knight, (e.g. 17.
..Qd8) White goes 18...Bb6 and is up a piece, or even more.} Bxd5 18. exd5 g6 {
The only move to defend from mate. White just got everything he wanted.
Opening up the light-squared bishop, weakening the opponent's king.} 19. Raf1
$3 {Diagram [#]} exf4 {If Black takes the bishop he gets mated after Rxf7!} ({
editor - Here's the mating attack Mark mentioned:} 19... exd4 20. Rxf7 Rxf7 21.
Rxf7 Kxf7 22. Qxh7+ Ke8 23. Bxg6+ Kd7 (23... Kd8 24. Qg8+ {#2}) 24. Bf5+ Ke8
25. Be6 Bd8 26. Qg8+ Ke7 27. Qf7# {every single attacking move on a light
square.}) ({editor - The computer says Black's best chance was} 19... f5 {
though after} 20. Bxf5 Rxf5 21. Rxf5 gxf5 (21... exd4 22. Rf7) 22. Qxf5 Rf8 $1
(22... exd4 23. Qg4+ $8 Bg5 $8 (23... Kh8 24. Rf7 Rg8 25. Qxd4+ {and mate}) 24.
Qxg5+ $18) 23. Qg4+ $16 {White has an extra pawn and a Black's exposed K will
probably cost more.}) 20. Qh6 f6 21. Bxg6 Bd8 ({editor -} 21... hxg6 22. Qxg6+
Kh8 23. Rxf4 {is mating.}) 22. Bf5 Qg7 {Diagram [#] All forced moves for Black.
White wins a lot of pawns for the exchange and it is obvious that the White
bishops over-power the black rooks.} 23. Be6+ Kh8 24. Qxf4 Rb8 25. Rf3 {
Diagram [#] Threatening Rg3, and after ...Qe7, White is dead won after Qh6.}
Bb6 26. Rg3 Qe7 27. Rg8+ {Winning the Queen for a Bishop and a rook.} Rxg8 28.
Bxf6+ Qxf6 29. Qxf6+ Rg7 30. h4 {Diagram [#] The game is practically over:
White is up two pawns, Black doesn't have a lot of play, and the opposite
color bishops actually increase White's advantage because of king-side play.  
I'm threatening to push the pawn to h6, but Black finds a way to stop that.}
Re8 31. h5 Bd8 32. Qf4 Bg5 33. Qxd6 {Now White is just gonna take all of
Black's pawns. Despite not having any king side play anymore, White is up too
many pawns for Black to handle.} h6 34. Qxa6 Bf4 35. Qxb5 Rb8 36. Qf1 Bd6 {
Diagram [#]} 37. Qf6 $2 {I thought I was just gonna win the h6 pawn because
after 37...Kh7 38.Bf5+ I have Qxh6 next. But Black has an unexpected response.}
Rf8 $1 {Fighting on, and playing for one last chance.} 38. Bf7 $3 {This move
puts the dagger in his opponent's heart. The game is over, and Black has no
way of fighting any more.} (38. Qxh6+ Rh7 39. Qc1 Rxh5+ {and Black has a lot
more play than White needs to give.} {editor - according to my computers,
White has to play precisely to keep any advantage:} 40. Bh3 $8 Bg3 41. c4 $8 {
Computers say White is winning, but FWIW, I don't trust them here. One of
their few remaining weaknesses is evaluating fortresses, and this position
seems like an "anti-fortress": White pawn advances risk allowing Black to
coordinate R's to go after e1.}) 38... Be7 39. Qxe7 Rgxf7 40. Qe5+ Kh7 41. d6
Rf5 42. Qe4 Kg7 43. d7 {The game is over as Black has no real way of stopping
White from promoting to another queen.   Overall, I'm pretty happy with this
game despite making the Qf6 blunder. Other than that, I was able to capitalize
very effectively on my opponent's errors.} 1-0

[Event "Toronto Open"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Sapozhnikov, Roman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2727"]
[BlackElo "2385"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. Bd3 d5 5. b3 Nc6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. a3 b6
9. Nbd2 Bb7 10. Qe2 Rc8 11. Ne5 {Diagram [#]This position was analyzed in CCN
2014.02 (see Sambuev - Lusza, Montreal 2012).} Qc7 {It might be better not to
define the Q's position until after ...Nc6-e7-g6, since it might be better on
e7 or c7 (or even a8), depending on where White's Rs go.} (11... Ne7 $1 12.
Rad1 Qc7 13. f4 Ne4 14. Bxe4 dxe4 15. dxc5 Bxc5 16. b4 Bxe3+ $3 $17 {(0-1, 46)
Sambuev,B (2523)-Gundavaa,B (2519) Istanbul, 2012.}) 12. f4 Ne7 13. dxc5 Bxc5
14. b4 Bd6 15. c4 a5 (15... Ng6 16. Rac1 Nxe5 17. cxd5 Qb8 18. fxe5 Bxe5 19.
Bxe5 Qxe5 20. dxe6 fxe6 $11) 16. Rac1 Qb8 17. b5 a4 (17... Ng6) 18. Ndf3 Bc5 {
Diagram [#]} 19. Nd7 $4 {Bator blows a gasket!} ({Bator didn't get the move
order backwards, because this} 19. Bxh7+ $2 {loses too:} Nxh7 $8 (19... Kxh7 $4
20. Ng5+ Kg8 21. Nd7 $18) 20. Nd7 Qd6 21. Nfe5 Nf5 $19) (19. Bd4 $142 Bxd4 20.
Nxd4 dxc4 21. Bxc4 Ned5) (19. cxd5 $142) 19... Nxd7 $19 20. Bxh7+ {Roman told
me that Bator said that in calculating the following sac he had forgotten that
he'd already given up a second piece on d7.} Kxh7 21. Ng5+ Kg6 22. Qg4 {
Diagram [#]} f5 (22... Bxe3+ {also wins, but it's scarier:} 23. Kh1 f5 24. Qg3
Bxc1 25. Nxe6+ Kf7 26. Qxg7+ Ke8 $8 $19 (26... Kxe6 $4 27. Re1+ Kd6 28. Qxe7+
Kc7 29. Be5#)) 23. Qg3 Nf6 24. Be5 Nh5 $1 25. Qh3 {Diagram [#]The position
looks very dangerous for Black, but (surprisingly) he almost always has more
than one way to defend. For some players that might turn out to be the biggest
problem: knowing you're winning but having to choose between "better" or
"worse" wins.} Bd6 ({Black even wins with} 25... Qxe5 $1 26. fxe5 Kxg5 {with
four minors (and lots of good squares for them) for the Q.}) 26. g4 Nf6 27.
gxf5+ (27. Bxf6 Rh8 $19) 27... Nxf5 28. Nxe6 Rh8 29. Qg2+ Kf7 30. cxd5 Bxe5 {
Diagram [#]} 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 ({Or,} 31... Qxc8 32. fxe5 Bxd5 33. Ng5+ (33. e4
Qxe6 $19) 33... Kg8 34. Qf2 Nxe3 $19) 32. fxe5 Qxe5 ({Or,} 32... Bxd5 33. e4
Qxe5 $1 $19) 33. e4 (33. Rxf5 Qxe3+ 34. Qf2 Rc1+ 35. Kg2 Qxe6 $1 $19) 33...
Nxe4 34. Qxe4 Qxe4 35. Ng5+ Kg6 36. Nxe4 Bxd5 {Diagram [#]} 37. Nf2 (37. Rxf5
Rc1+ 38. Rf1 Rxf1+ 39. Kxf1 Bxe4 $19) 37... Rc2 38. h3 Kg5 39. Rd1 Bf3 40. Rd3
Kf4 41. h4 Ne3 42. Rd7 g6 43. Rd6 Kg3 44. Rxg6+ Ng4 45. Nd3 Rg2+ 46. Kf1 Be2+
47. Ke1 Bxd3 48. Rxb6 Ne3 0-1

[Event "Toronto Open"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Gerzhoy, Leonid"]
[Black "Zhang, Yuanchen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E49"]
[WhiteElo "2583"]
[BlackElo "2305"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c5 8.
cxd5 exd5 9. Ne2 {Diagram [#]} Re8 ({Here's the start of a classic game which
originated the plan seen in this game: centralize Rs, Bb2 to stablize the dark
squares, Ne2-g3 and then f3 and e4 to control the center before a kingside
attack.} 9... b6 10. O-O Ba6 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. Bb2 Qd7 13. a4 Rfe8 (13... cxd4
$142 14. cxd4 Rfc8) 14. Qd3 c4 $2 15. Qc2 Nb8 16. Rae1 Nc6 17. Ng3 Na5 18. f3
Nb3 19. e4 Qxa4 20. e5 $40 {(1-0, 41) Botvinnik,M-Capablanca,J AVRO, 1938.})
10. O-O Nc6 11. f3 {Diagram [#]} Qc7 (11... Nh5 12. g4 Nf6 13. Ng3 g6 14. Ra2
Qa5 15. Bd2 Qb6 16. Kh1 Re7 17. Qa1 c4 18. Bc2 Na5 19. Rb2 Qc7 20. a4 Bd7 21.
Qa3 Bc6 22. g5 $1 Ne8 23. e4 dxe4 24. fxe4 $16 {(1-0, 58) Gerzhoy,L (2448)
-Gusev,N (2117) Montreal, 2012.}) 12. Ng3 (12. Ra2 Bd7 13. Ng3 Rad8 14. Re2 Ne7
15. Qe1 Qa5 16. e4 $36 dxe4 17. Nxe4 $1 Nxe4 (17... Nfd5 $2 18. c4 $18) 18.
Rxe4 $14 {(1/2-1/2, 54) Alexandrova,O (2427)-Socko,M (2431) Warsaw, 2013.})
12... Bd7 13. Re1 Rad8 14. Bb2 a6 15. Qc2 h5 $5 16. Qf2 {Diagram [#]} Bc8 $6 {
The start of a poor and slow regrouping (...b5, ...Bb7) which will give White
time to push e3-e4 and cede control over f5.} (16... Na5) 17. h3 b5 18. Rad1
cxd4 (18... Be6) 19. cxd4 Bb7 $6 (19... b4 $5) (19... Na5 $5) 20. e4 dxe4 21.
fxe4 Nxd4 $5 {Diagram [#] This loses, but Black's position may be lost already.
} 22. e5 $8 $18 (22. Bxd4 $2 Rxd4 23. Qxd4 Qxg3 24. Re2 $14) 22... Rxe5 23.
Bxd4 Rg5 (23... Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Rxd4 $140 25. Qxd4 Qxg3 {Black has comp, except.
..} 26. Qd8+ Ne8 27. Qxe8#) 24. Bb6 ({or} 24. Bxf6 $18) 24... Qb8 25. Bxd8 Rxg3
26. Bf1 $1 1-0

[Event "Toronto Open U2200"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.19"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kim, Yongjoo"]
[Black "Oliveira, Rodrigo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2015"]
[BlackElo "2077"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 {Best game for U2200} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 Bg7 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2
Bxf3 7. Bxf3 {Diagram [#]Although ...Bxf3 has been tried now and then, I think
it just concedes White an easy advantage. Unlike lines in the Benoni (where
Black equalizes with ...Bg4xf3/e2) the center hasn't been fixed yet, and
conceding the B-pair against a flexible center is a recipe for trouble (see
Porper-Hansen, below).} Nc6 (7... e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Be3 c6 11.
O-O-O+ Kc7 12. h4 $2 (12. g4 $5 {\/()}) 12... h5 13. Be2 Nbd7 14. f3 Bh6 $15 {
(0-1, 60) Volkov,S (2628)-Andreikin,D (2503) playchess.com (blitz), 2006.}) (
7... Nfd7 8. Be3 c5 9. d5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qa5 11. Qb3 Nb6 {Diagram [#]If Black
had a half-open c-file his position might be OK, but this looks extremely
suspect:} 12. a4 (12. O-O Qa4 13. Be2 N8d7 14. f4 O-O-O 15. e5 $1 f5 (15...
dxe5 16. fxe5 Nxe5 17. Bxc5 $16 Nexc4 18. Bxe7) 16. Rab1 Rhe8 17. Rfe1 dxe5 18.
fxe5 Nxe5 19. Bxc5 Nexc4 20. Qxa4 Nxa4 21. Bxa7 Nab2 $8 22. Rxb2 $1 Nxb2 23.
Rb1 $16 {The Nb2 is trapped; (1-0, 70) Flear,G (2365)-Westerinen,H (2410)
London, 1982.}) 12... N8d7 13. Be2 f5 14. exf5 gxf5 15. O-O Ne5 16. Bh6 $1 (16.
Bh5+ $16) 16... Rg8 17. Rfb1 O-O-O 18. Qc2 $1 Nbxc4 19. Qxf5+ (19. Bc1 $1 $18 {
/\f4, and if 19...Nb6 Rb5 wins the Q.}) 19... Kb8 $16 {(0-1, 61) Berg,K (2350)
-Westerinen,H (2390) Hamburg, 1985.}) 8. Be3 (8. d5 Ne5 9. Be2 Ned7 10. O-O O-O
11. Be3 e5 12. b4 a5 13. a3 axb4 14. axb4 Qe7 15. Qd3 Rfd8 16. Rfc1 b6 17. Nb5
$16 Ne8 18. Na7 Nb8 19. Nc8 $1 $18 {(1-0, 33) Short,N (2635)-Picha Prague 
(simul), 1990.}) 8... e5 ({In the following game, Eduard Porper squeezes a
young Eric Hansen's pieces out of the center before turning to a kingside
attack:} 8... O-O 9. O-O Nd7 10. d5 Nce5 11. Be2 Nb6 12. Qb3 (12. c5 $14) 12...
c6 13. f4 Ned7 14. dxc6 bxc6 15. Rad1 Qc7 (15... Rb8 16. Qc2 Bxc3 $5 17. Qxc3
Na4 $13) 16. Rd2 Nc5 17. Qc2 Ne6 18. Kh1 Qb7 19. b3 $14 c5 $6 20. Bf3 Rad8 21.
Ne2 a5 {Diagram [#]} 22. f5 $1 Nc7 23. Bg5 (23. e5 Qc8 24. exd6 exd6 25. Bg5
$18) 23... Na6 24. e5 $1 $18 Qc7 25. e6 $1 fxe6 26. fxg6 h6 27. Qe4 $1 Qd7 (
27... hxg5 28. Qxe6+ Kh8 29. Qh3+ {and mate.}) 28. Qh4 $1 Rf6 29. Bxf6 exf6 30.
Rfd1 Qe7 31. Ng3 {(1-0) Porper,E (2476)-Hansen,E (2349) Red Deer (Battle of
Alberta), 2008.}) 9. d5 Nb8 10. Qc2 Nbd7 11. Rc1 a5 12. a3 O-O 13. b4 axb4 14.
axb4 Ne8 15. c5 f5 {Diagram [#]White's queenside play is miles ahead of any
central or kingside counterplay Black might have hoped for. The next stage is
a model of how to turn that into a winning positional bind.} 16. c6 $1 Nb6 $1 (
16... bxc6 $143 17. dxc6 Ndf6 (17... Nb6 18. Bxb6 cxb6 $18 {o^c, Xd5, XBg7}) (
17... Nb8 18. b5 {the Nb8 is worth a pawn.}) 18. exf5 d5 19. Bxd5+ Nxd5 20. Qb3
Nef6 21. Rd1 $18) 17. Nb5 bxc6 18. Qxc6 Rf7 19. exf5 $1 gxf5 20. Bh5 $1 Re7 21.
Bxe8 Qxe8 22. Bxb6 cxb6 {Diagram [#]} 23. O-O $1 {Not the computer's top
choice (Nxd6), but a good human move: Black can't save both his b and d pawns,
and White will win them once he's activated his last piece.} Rd8 24. Qxe8+
Rexe8 25. Rc6 Bf8 26. Nc7 Re7 27. Ne6 {Diagram [#]} Rxe6 (27... Rdd7 28. Rc8
Rf7 29. Ra1 $18 {with a complete bind.}) 28. dxe6 Kg7 29. Rc7+ Kf6 30. Rxh7
Kxe6 31. Rb7 d5 32. Rxb6+ Bd6 33. Ra1 d4 34. Raa6 Kd5 {Diagram [#]} 35. Rxd6+
$1 {The no-nonsense way to win: "Black's K can't dance at two weddings" (b8
and h8).} Rxd6 36. Rxd6+ Kxd6 37. h4 e4 38. g3 (38. h5 {is more no-nonsense,
as the Black K can't stay in the square of both White passers.}) 38... Ke5 39.
Kf1 f4 40. gxf4+ Kxf4 41. h5 d3 42. Ke1 Kf3 43. h6 $8 d2+ 44. Kxd2 Kxf2 45. h7
e3+ 46. Kd3 e2 47. h8=Q (47. h8=Q e1=Q 48. Qh4+ {forces off Black's Q.}) 1-0

[Event "Toronto Open U2200"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.18"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Docheshme, Amir Mohammad"]
[Black "Stefanovic, Miroslav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A47"]
[WhiteElo "1636"]
[BlackElo "2044"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 {Best game U1900} Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 {Diagram [#]} 5. Be2
({Gata Kamsky is the only top GM who regularly plays the London system, and he
always plays} 5. h3 {to save the B.} c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. a3
cxd4 10. cxd4 Rc8 11. Nc3 d5 12. Rc1 $14 {(1/2-1/2, 69) Kamsky,G (2741)
-Sargissian,G (2671) Khanty-Mansiysk (World Rapid), 2013.}) 5... Nh5 $1 6. Bg5
Be7 7. Bxe7 Qxe7 $11 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 d6 10. Nc3 Nd7 11. Nd2 Nhf6 12. Bf3 {
Diagram [#]} d5 13. Rc1 c5 $1 14. dxc5 Nxc5 (14... bxc5 {is reasonable too,
aiming for hanging pawns rather than the isolated pawn.}) 15. cxd5 {Diagram [#]
} exd5 (15... Rad8 $5 16. dxe6 $140 Bxf3 17. exf7+ Qxf7 18. gxf3 Nd3 19. Rc2 (
19. Rb1 $2 Ne5 $1 $19) 19... Nb4 20. Rc1 $11) 16. Nb3 Rac8 (16... Nce4 $11 {
the use of e4 compensates Black for his blockaded IQP.}) 17. Nxc5 Rxc5 (17...
bxc5 $5 18. Nxd5 $140 Nxd5 19. Bxd5 Rfd8 20. e4 Bxd5 21. exd5 Qb7 22. d6 Qc6 $1
$14 {Black is worse, but should hold.}) 18. Qb3 Ba6 19. Rfd1 $14 Bc4 $2 (19...
Bb7 {keeps the B on the board.}) 20. Qa3 Qd7 21. b3 $1 $16 {Forces Black to
exchange another minor piece.} Bb5 22. Nxb5 Rxb5 {Diagram [#]Critical Position
The exchange of two pairs of minor pieces leaves White with a clear advantage:
the better minor piece and better structure.   A big problem with defending
the IQP with major pieces and only one minor piece is that if Black defends
from behind, then the Pd5 might get pinned on the d-file, and e3-e4 creates a
winning lever against it. But if Black defends the Pd5 from the side (as he's
doing now with the Rb5) it can run short of squares after b3-b4 (see Korchnoi
- Karpov, Merano g.9).} 23. h3 (23. Qa4 $1 {threatens b3-b4 then Be2, winning
the R, so} Ra5 (23... a5 24. Be2 Rc5 25. Qxd7 Nxd7 26. Rxc5 Nxc5 27. Rxd5 $16)
24. Qxd7 Nxd7 25. Rxd5 {with good winning chances.}) (23. e4 $1 {good, but
trickier and less clear cut than 23.Qa4} d4 (23... -- $140 24. e5 Ng4 $2 25. e6
$1 Qxe6 26. Qa4 $18) (23... Rd8 24. exd5 Nxd5 25. Qb2 $18 {/\a4 and b4}) (23...
Re8 24. exd5 Nxd5 25. Qa4 $18) 24. Rc4 $16) 23... Rd8 24. Rc2 {White keeps the
option of doubling on the c-file.} (24. Rd4 {allows White to pile up on the
d-file with a R at the front.}) 24... Ra5 25. Qb2 (25. Qb4 $1 {controls c5 and
d4.}) 25... Rc5 26. Rcd2 Qf5 27. Qd4 Re8 28. Qa4 Ra5 29. Qc6 Rc8 (29... Qe6
$142) 30. Qb7 Rd8 $2 {Diagram [#]} 31. b4 $8 $18 Ra4 (31... Ra3 32. Bxd5 $18 {
as in the game.}) (31... Rb5 32. a4 Rxb4 33. Qe7 $18 {forks the Rs.}) 32. Bxd5
Re8 33. Bb3 ({Winning, as is the more obvious:} 33. Bxf7+ Kf8 34. Bxe8) 33...
Ne4 (33... Rxb4 34. Qxf7+ Kh8 35. Rd8 Rbe4 36. Qf8+ Ng8 37. Qxg8+ Rxg8 38.
Rxg8#) 34. Bxa4 Nxd2 35. Rxd2 Qb1+ 36. Bd1 (36. Rd1 $142 {and Black's last two
pieces are both hanging.}) 36... Qxb4 37. Re2 Qc4 38. Qd7 1-0

[Event "Toronto Open U1600"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.04.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Korcsak, Andrei"]
[Black "Mendoza, Armand"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "1591"]
[BlackElo "1553"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. c4 Nf6 {Diagram [#]} 5. Bg5 ({More common is:
} 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Be2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bg4 9. Be3 Nc6 10. O-O Rb8 11. Be2
{1/2-1/2 Miezis,N (2527)-Solozhenkin,E (2508) Jyvaskyla, 2006.}) 5... Bb4+ 6.
Nc3 O-O 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. cxd5 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} Re8+ {This gets
the P back and leaves Black with better development and a safer K, but Black
has better.} ({After} 8... c5 $1 {Black is almost winning.} 9. Nge2 (9. dxc6 $2
Nxc6 $40 10. Nf3 Bh3 $3 11. gxh3 (11. Be2 Bxg2 12. Rg1 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Nxd4 14.
Bxb7 Rab8 15. Bg2 Bxc3+ 16. bxc3 Rfe8+ 17. Kf1 Qa6+) 11... Rfe8+ 12. Kd2 (12.
Be2 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Qxf3 $19) 12... Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Rad8 $40 {Black wins back one
piece and still has a colossal attack.}) 9... Re8 $1 $40 10. a3 cxd4 11. Qa4
Nc6 $3 $19 12. dxc6 (12. axb4 dxc3 $19) 12... Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 d3 14. Qc4 dxe2
15. Bxe2 Be6 $19) 9. Be2 Qg5 10. Kf1 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Qxd5 $15 {Diagram [#] Black
is a bit better because White's Kf1 prevents him from activating the Rh1, but
over the next few moves White develops at the expense of the Black Q.} 12. Qb3
Qe4 13. Bf3 Qd3+ 14. Ne2 Nc6 15. Rd1 Qa6 16. Qc2 g6 (16... Bd7 $15 {getting
the Rs connected as fast as possible while White has one stuck on h1.}) 17. Be4
Bd7 {Diagram [#]White has just about equalized, and after Bd3 then (maybe)
h2-h4-h5 should be fine. Instead...} 18. Rb1 $4 Rxe4 $1 $19 19. Qxe4 Bf5 20.
Qf4 Bxb1 21. Qxc7 Bd3 {Wins another piece, but} (21... Qd3 $1 {threatening
mate wins a  R:} 22. g4 Qd1+ 23. Kg2 Qxe2 24. Rxb1 Qe4+ $19) 22. d5 Bxe2+ 23.
Ke1 Bf3 $1 {Not just flashy but faster than ...Bh5 since it prevents White
from playing f3 and desperately squirming away through f2.} 24. gxf3 Re8+ 25.
Kd1 Qd3+ 26. Kc1 Re2 27. Qc8+ Kg7 28. dxc6 Qc2# 0-1

[Event "Toronto Open U1600"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.18"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Pirri, Daniele"]
[Black "Archibald, Colin B"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[WhiteElo "1472"]
[BlackElo "1393"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 {Best Game U1600} d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. Bf4 {Diagram [#]} h6 $6 ({4...
Nf6 would be a normal developing move, and} 4... dxc4 $1 {is a good way to
unbalance, as White will probably lose a tempo defending the Bf4 after an
eventual ...Nd5.}) 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. O-O a6 9. a3 {Diagram 
[#]} b5 {Black plays in the style of the Chebanenko Slav (...a6, ...b5), but
this is pretty comfortable for White with the Bf4.} ({Black could get a bit
more space with} 9... dxc4 $142 10. Bxc4 {and ...Nd5 or ...b5.}) 10. c5 a5 (
10... Nh5 11. Be5 {and Black can't take the Be5 without stranding his Nh5.})
11. Re1 Nf8 $2 {Gives up control of e5 and strands the K on e8.} (11... O-O
$142) 12. Ne5 $16 {Diagram [#]} Bb7 (12... Bd7 {prevents what follows, but
leaves Black with no moves.}) 13. Nxb5 $1 $18 g5 (13... cxb5 14. Bxb5+ N8d7 15.
c6 {and if Black saves the Nd7 he loses the Q to c7+.}) 14. Bg3 h5 15. h3 (15.
Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Nc7+ Kd7 17. Nxa8 $18 {also wins.}) 15... Ne4 16. Bxe4 dxe4 {
Diagram [#]} 17. Nc3 (17. Nc7+ $5 Qxc7 18. Nxf7 Qxg3 19. fxg3 Kxf7 $18 {White
wins the Pe4 and Black's minors have no prospects.}) 17... f5 18. Na4 Ra6 19.
Qb3 Ra7 20. Nb6 Rh6 21. Qa4 Ra6 22. Nxc6 Bxc6 23. Qxc6+ Kf7 24. Qb5 {Diagram 
[#]White is up two pawns and Black's pieces could hardly be less effective.}
Ra7 25. b4 axb4 26. axb4 Rxa1 27. Rxa1 Qe8 (27... f4 28. Ra8 $18) 28. Qxe8+
Kxe8 29. c6 Bd8 {Diagram [#]} 30. Ra8 $1 {30.c7 wins too, but the Pc6 is worth
more than the Bd8.} Kf7 31. Rxd8 Ng6 32. c7 1-0

[Event "Toronto Open U1600"]
[Site "Annex CC"]
[Date "2014.04.19"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Pamwar, Manish"]
[Black "Kurkowski, Ken"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "1075"]
[BlackElo "1479"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{The following scoresheet was marked "Best Game".} 1. e4 e6 2. Bb5 a6 3. Ba4 c5
4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 b5 6. Bc2 {Diagram [#]The game has transposed into a known
postion from the Sicilian (Moscow).} Nf6 (6... Bb7 7. Qe2 c4 $2 8. b3 d5 9.
exd5 Qxd5 10. bxc4 Qxc4 11. Qxc4 $1 bxc4 12. Na3 Bxa3 13. Bxa3 Nge7 14. Rb1 Rb8
$2 15. Bd6 {1-0 Spraggett,K (2565)-Perez Garcia,R (2085) Dos Hermanas, 1998.})
7. e5 Nd5 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 Bb7 10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Bd2 Bxc3 12. bxc3 {Diagram [#]
Critical Positon} Rc8 $2 (12... O-O $2 13. Bxh7+ $18 Kxh7 $140 14. Ng5+ Kg6 15.
h4 $8 $18 (15. Qg4 $2 f5 $8 16. Qg3 Qe7 $1 $13)) (12... h6 $1 $13 {/\...Na5, ..
.Rc8}) 13. Ng5 $1 h6 14. Qh5 $40 {Diagram [#]} Rf8 (14... O-O $8 15. Bh7+ $1
Kh8 16. Bd3 $1 {gaining time on the K to put the B on a safe square, avoiding .
..Nxd4.} Kg8 (16... Qe7 17. Nh7 $1 (17. Ne4 $16) 17... Rfe8 $140 18. Bxh6 $1
gxh6 (18... g6 19. Qh3 $18) 19. Qxh6 $18) 17. Ne4 $16 {White has a terrific
position, but Black has a better chance to survive this than the game line.})
15. Ne4 $8 $18 {Black pays dearly for the weak dark squares.} Rc7 16. Nd6+ Ke7
17. Bg5+ $5 f6 (17... hxg5 18. Qxg5+ Nf6 $1 19. exf6+ (19. Qxg7 $4 Ne8) 19...
gxf6 (19... Kxd6 $2 20. Qc5#) 20. Qc5 $18 {e.g.} Ne5 21. Nf5+ Ke8 22. Ng7#) 18.
Qg6 $1 Qa8 19. Qxg7+ Rf7 20. Qxf7+ 1-0

[Event "Ontario Open"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2014.05.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cheng, Bindi"]
[Black "Southam, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D31"]
[WhiteElo "2509"]
[BlackElo "2231"]
[Annotator "Bindi Cheng"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Last time I played David, we played a Reti system in which I played slowly
and inaccurately, which eventually fizzled out to a draw. Seeing that he plays
a lot of London and Colle systems, I figured he wouldn't know much mainstream
theory. Unfortunately, I was incorrect in my assessment.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3.
c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bb4 6. e3 b5 7. Bd2 a5 8. axb5 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 cxb5 10. b3
Bb7 11. bxc4 b4 12. Bb2 Nf6 {Diagram [#]Up to this point my only exposure to
this line was from the Conrad Holt -  Edward Porper game. White can also go
for the standard Bd3, 0-0, Nd2 plan, but I wanted to see why Conrad liked
c4-c5.} 13. c5 (13. Bd3 O-O 14. O-O Nbd7 15. Nd2 Qc7) 13... O-O 14. Bb5 Bc6 ({
editor - CCN 2013.09 featured Edward Porper's notes to his win over Conrad
Holt, which continued:} 14... Qd5 15. O-O Bc6 16. Ba4 Nbd7 $6 (16... Bxa4 $142
17. Qxa4 Nc6 $11) 17. Bxc6 Qxc6 18. Qa4 Qd5 19. Rfd1 Rfb8 $2 (19... Qc4 $1) 20.
Nd2 $2 (20. Ne5 $1 Nf8 21. f3 Ra6 22. e4 {"Black is miserable." - Porper})
20... Nf8 21. Re1 Ne4 22. Nxe4 Qxe4 23. f3 Qd3 24. c6 $2 Qd2 $1 $36 {(0-1, 46)
Holt,C (2513)-Porper,E (2423) Wheeling, 2013.}) 15. Ba4 Bxa4 16. Qxa4 Qd5 17.
O-O Nc6 {Diagram [#]  So at this point, it's important to come up with a plan
of controlling e4, securing the queenside blockade, and possibly stopping
Black from playing ...e5.  editor - In his notes to his game against Holt,
Porper gave this line and concluded here "White has absolutely nothing".} 18.
Rfc1 $6 (18. Rfd1 Ne4 $2 (18... Rfc8 19. Nd2 Ne4 20. Nb3 Qg5 $1 $11 {stopping
f3, but I'm not sure if David would have found this move.}) 19. Ne1 {Very
typical way of rerouting the knight and playing f3, thus securing white a
decent advantage} Rfc8 20. f3 Nf6 21. e4 Qd8 $14) 18... Ne4 19. Qc2 f5 (19...
b3 $1 20. Qe2 Rfb8 $15 {This was the line I was most worried about, since here
I can only blockade the pawns and there's little chance of me actually winning
them}) 20. Ra4 {Diagram [#]} Rfc8 (20... f4 $1 21. Re1 Rf6 {Black's attack is
surprisingly strong since all his pieces are already on the kingside and
doubling up on the f-file isn't too difficult to achieve.}) 21. Rca1 Rab8 (
21... e5 22. Rd1 Rd8 {This is a nice move, essentially killing my pawn action
in the centre since I can never take on e5 and Black is still threatening some
unpleasant f4 pushes.}) 22. Ne1 Rb5 $6 {This move is kind of silly since Nd3
easily stops any ...Nxc5 sac ideas.} 23. Nd3 (23. f3 Nxc5 24. dxc5 Rxc5 25. Qf2
{I have to assume this was his idea since he does get some compensation here
but there's no need to complicate matters since I thought I was already better}
) 23... Rb7 24. Nf4 Qd7 {Diagram [#]} 25. g4 $5 {This may not be the best move
but I thought the psychological effect of a move like this would allow my
opponent to make worse moves than normal since it does look like I'm going to
have a strong attack.} (25. Qc4 Re8 26. f3 Nf6 27. Rxa5 Nxa5 28. Rxa5 Qc6 {
This was a fairly interesting exchange sacrifice but I didn't like playing
down material unless I have an outright attack.}) 25... b3 26. Qe2 ({There
were a number of interesting lines} 26. Qc4 fxg4 27. Qxe6+ (27. d5 exd5 28.
Nxd5 {I really wanted this to work, but White is just much worse if Black
finds the saving ...Nd2 move:} Nd2 $8 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. Nxd7 Nxc4 31. Rxc4 Rxd7
32. Rxg4) (27. Nxe6 $2 Nd2 $19 {is even worse.}) 27... Qxe6 28. Nxe6 Nb4 29.
Rxa5 Nd3 30. Ra7 (30. d5 Nxb2 31. c6 Rbb8 {this was too confusing to analyze.})
30... Rxa7 31. Rxa7 Nxb2 32. Rxg7+ Kh8 33. Rb7 {Houdini thinks this is = but I
really have no clue if we would get to this point.}) 26... Qf7 (26... fxg4 27.
Qxg4 e5 {Diagram [#] Apparently I'm just worse here since I'm forced to either
take on e5 after or allow him to take on d4:} 28. Qe6+ (28. Qxd7 Rxd7 29. dxe5
Rd2 30. Rxe4 Rxb2 31. e6 Rb8 {This is complicated but Black's much better, his
two passed pawns are stronger than my pawn on e6 since it can be blockaded by
his king.}) 28... Qxe6 29. Nxe6 exd4 30. exd4 Nf6 31. Nf4 Rd8 {The blockade is
too strong}) 27. gxf5 Qxf5 28. f3 Nf6 {I still felt I was better but
apparently Houdini thinks the position is close to equal since my pawn chain
can be broken up at any time and his passed pawns are still strong as ever.}
29. Nd3 Qg6+ 30. Kh1 {Diagram [#]} Nd7 $4 {This was just a really unfortunate
blunder but because he felt he was under a lot of pressure due to my g4 move 
(judging from his facial expressions), it's possible he just cracked under it
all.} (30... Qf7 $142 31. Rg1 Rf8 {It's difficult to say who's better;
probably equal chances for both sides but I like White since there's always a
slim chance my bishop on b2 can be unleashed.}) 31. Rg1 Qh6 32. d5 $1 $18 exd5
33. Rxg7+ Qxg7 34. Bxg7 Kxg7 {Diagram [#]Now there's a lot of ways to win but
I completely messed it up due to being overconfident and thinking I would mate
in a few moves.} 35. Rg4+ (35. Qg2+ Kf7 (35... Kh8 36. Qb2+ d4 37. exd4 Kg8 38.
d5 $18) 36. Rf4+ Nf6 37. Qg5 $18) 35... Kf7 36. Rf4+ Ke7 37. Qg2 Kd8 38. Qg8+
$4 (38. Rf7 $1 Ne7 39. Qg7 Ng6 40. Qg8+ Kc7 41. Rxd7+ Kxd7 42. Qxd5+ {Picking
up the rook and ending the game.}) 38... Kc7 39. Qxd5 Kb8 {Diagram [#] For
some reason I thought either the knight on c6 or d7 would hang if he moves his
king but yeah...} 40. Ra4 $4 (40. Rg4 Rcc7 41. Rg1 {was the right way to
blockade the pawn but I wanted to get the game over with.}) 40... Rcc7 $4 (
40... b2 41. Nxb2 Rxb2 {And here I thought I could take his knight (probably
what he thought too) but...} 42. Qxd7 $2 (42. Qd6+ $142 Rc7 43. Rh4 $14) 42...
Rd8 $19 {This would be a sad conclusion to this game}) 41. Ra1 Rb5 42. Kg2 a4
$2 {Unfortunately, now that he missed his chance, it's difficult to push his
pawns without dropping them.} 43. Qg8+ Rc8 44. Qc4 {Followed by picking up
both pawns.} 1-0

[Event "Ontario Open"]
[Site "Toronto"]
[Date "2014.05.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Yuan, Yuanling"]
[Black "Cheng, Bindi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2331"]
[BlackElo "2509"]
[Annotator "Bindi Cheng"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Last time I played Yuanling, we played a sharp Najdorf in which I was much
worse and had to trick her into a drawn ending. I wanted to avoid all kinds of
theory the second time through.} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 {Diagram [#]} 3. f4 $6 {3.
Nc3 was more accurate, giving her the option to go f4 the turn after, since ...
c5 would not be as strong with the pawn on f2 protecting her king.} (3. Nc3 c5
4. dxc5 Bxc3+ ({I remember going through some games in blitz where I didn't
take on c3 after going ...c5, this is what might happen in the worst case
scenario:} 4... Qa5 $6 5. Bd2 Qxc5 6. Nd5 Na6 7. Be3 Qc6 8. Nf3) 5. bxc3 Qa5 {
Apparently there's some theory here... but I was not a good student in school.}
) 3... c5 4. dxc5 Qa5+ 5. c3 Qxc5 6. Nf3 Nc6 (6... d6 {I should go ...d6
before developing my knights, which I will do so next time I encounter this
variation.}) 7. Bd3 Nf6 $6 {Diagram [#]} 8. Qe2 (8. e5 Nd5 $2 (8... Ng4 9. Qe2
O-O 10. h3 Nh6 11. Be3 Qa5 12. Nbd2 d6 13. exd6 exd6 14. Nb3 Qc7 15. O-O Nf5
16. Bf2 {This would be what I was intending to play into although White has a
slight advantage here due to my isolated d-pawn.}) 9. b4 $1 Qb6 10. b5 Na5 11.
c4 Nc7 {I would be very unhappy if I reached this position in a real game.})
8... O-O 9. Be3 Qa5 10. Nbd2 Qc7 11. Nd4 {So now I have to play ...d6.} d6 12.
h3 Nh5 13. Qf2 {Diagram [#]} e5 (13... Nxd4 14. cxd4 e5 15. fxe5 (15. dxe5 dxe5
16. f5 Nf4 17. Bf1 Qc2 18. g3 Nd3+ 19. Bxd3 Qxd3 20. g4 b6 {White's in a lot
of trouble here, her attack is going nowhere and my light-squared bishop is
going to be a god.}) 15... dxe5 16. d5 Nf4 17. Bxf4 (17. Bf1 Qc2 18. g3 Nd3+
19. Bxd3 Qxd3 20. Qe2 Qxe2+ 21. Kxe2 f5 {I wasn't sure how to evaluate this
position.}) 17... exf4 18. O-O Bxb2 19. Rad1 Bd7 {I thought White has some
compensation due to her rolling pawns in the centre but again, wasn't sure how
to evaluate this.}) 14. Nb5 $6 {A bit of an inaccuracy, especially considering
what happened afterwards as now my queen gets to go where she wanted in the
first place.} (14. fxe5 Nxe5 15. Bc2 b6 {Here the knight doesn't have to move
from the strong square on d4 and the bishop stays on c2, stopping ...f5 as
well. Compare this to what happens in the game.}) 14... Qe7 15. fxe5 $6 Nxe5
16. Be2 f5 17. O-O {Diagram [#]At this point I fell into a deep think since I
have two appetizing moves: one with winning the pawn on e4 and the other going
for a dubious-looking but threatening attack.} (17. Bxh5 $4 Nd3+ $19) 17... f4
$5 (17... fxe4 18. Qe1 Rxf1+ 19. Nxf1 a6 20. Nd4 Nf6 {I felt Black was better
here, but I didn't want to give her a chance to attack, and felt that she
would be more uncomfortable defending with even material rather than attacking
a pawn down.}) 18. Bd4 (18. Bxa7 {was interesting, but only if she sacs the
exchange:} Ng3 19. Rfe1 (19. a4 $1 Nxf1 20. Rxf1 {White has some comp.}) 19...
Nxe2+ 20. Qxe2 Bxh3 21. gxh3 f3 22. Qh2 Qg5+ 23. Kh1 Nd3 24. Rf1 Qxb5 $19 {
Something like this could happen if she decides to keep the exchange and win
a7.}) 18... Ng3 19. Rfd1 {Diagram [#]} Nxe2+ $6 (19... a6 $1 {was a very
important intermezzo as it forces the knight to a worse square on a3 rather
than the dominant one on b5:} 20. Bxe5 (20. Na3 b5 21. Nc2 Bb7 $17) 20... dxe5
21. Na3 Nxe2+ 22. Qxe2 Be6 23. Nc2 $17) {So here I decided to go into a
forcing line that looked like it was good, but I wasn't sure. I decided to
fully trust my intuition in this game.} 20. Qxe2 f3 21. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 22. gxf3
Qg5+ 23. Kh1 Qh5 24. Bxg7 {Diagram [#]} Rxf3 $1 {A nice intermezzo that should
be good for a transition into a better endgame or winning position.} (24...
Kxg7 25. Nd4 Bxh3 26. Rd2 {I probably should have paid more attention to this
line, but I thought Nd4 gave White better defending chances.}) 25. Qc4+ {
Diagram [#]} Kxg7 {There are a couple lines here that I could have played, but
I was so excited by my ...Rxf3 move that I didn't look at anything else.} (
25... Be6 $3 26. Qxe6+ Kxg7 27. Kg2 Raf8 28. Nxd6 Rf2+ 29. Kg1 Qg5+ 30. Qg4 Qe5
31. Nf5+ R8xf5 32. Rd7+ Kg8 33. Rd8+ Kf7 $19 {Apparently this long line is
winning (according to Houdini) but I was lazy and didn't bother calculating.})
(25... Rf7 $1 26. Rf1 (26. Bd4 Qxh3+ 27. Kg1 Qg4+ 28. Kh1 Be6 29. Qd3 Rf3 $19)
26... Qxh3+ 27. Kg1 Be6 28. Qe2 Kxg7 29. Rxf7+ Bxf7 30. Qf2 Rf8 31. Rf1 Qg4+
32. Qg2 Qh5 $17 {Again, I was too bull-headed to consider other opportunities
and thought my move was winning by force.}) 26. Qd4+ Rf6 27. Rf1 {The
following continuation is basically forced.} Qxh3+ 28. Kg1 Qg3+ 29. Kh1 Qh4+
30. Kg1 Qg5+ 31. Kh1 {Diagram [#]} Bh3 (31... Qe5 $6 32. Rxf6 Kxf6 33. Nxd6 {
Since White doesn't have to take on e5 I'll be obliged to capture on d4 and
give her connected pawns in the centre.}) 32. Qxf6+ Qxf6 33. Rxf6 Kxf6 34. Nxd6
b6 35. Rd1 $15 {Diagram [#]At this point I wasn't too surprised that all I got
was a better ending, but was a little disappointed I didn't get to checkmate
my opponent.   There are plenty of options here, but one thing is for sure: I
have to activate my pieces and prevent my opponent from activating hers.} Ke7 (
35... Be6 36. b3 (36. Nb5 Bxa2 (36... Ke5 37. Nc7 Rf8 38. Nxe6 Kxe6 {Rook
endings are mostly drawn, I didn't have as much faith in this as with the
minor pieces on.}) 37. Rd7 {I was reluctant to allow her rook into my base and
so rejected this line.}) 36... Ke5 37. c4 {this would be my dream position,
but I had faith that my opponent wouldn't go down quietly.}) 36. Nb5 Rf8 $1 {
Even though there's plenty of other moves possible, the thought of sacrificing
a pawn to activate my rook would never have occured to me before reading
Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky as recommended by Raja.} 37. Rd2 (37. Nxa7 Rf2
38. Nc6+ Ke6 {I'll get my pawn back and maintain a threatening rook and bishop
combo against her king. I found out that activity is more important than
anything in endings, even pawns at times.}) 37... Bd7 38. Nc7 Bc6 39. Kh2 Rf3
40. Nd5+ Ke6 41. Kg2 Rf7 42. c4 Ke5 43. Re2 {Diagram [#] I got my dream
position.} g5 44. Kg3 Bd7 $6 (44... h5 45. Rh2 h4+ 46. Kg4 Rg7 {This was what
I was afraid of but apparently after I play ...Bd7, my pawns are too strong
for her to handle.}) 45. Rh2 Kxe4 {Diagram [#]} 46. Rxh7 $4 {This was the line
we both calculated, but it is just plain losing, much more challenging would
be the following variations:} (46. Rh6 Kd4 47. b3 b5 48. Nf6 bxc4 49. Nxd7 Rxd7
50. bxc4 Kxc4 51. Kg4 Rg7 {I don't know if this is winning for Black but maybe
someone with better endgame skills than me could verify.}) (46. b3 Kd4 47. Rh5
g4 48. Nf4 $17 {In any case, White doesn't have to go into such a forcing line
and can transition into a blockading position where Black still has to show
technique - something that is a rarity these days.}) 46... Rxh7 47. Nf6+ Kd3 $2
{Making life difficult for myself.} (47... Kf5 48. Nxh7 Bc8 {followed by ...
Kg6-g7 and trapping the knight.}) 48. Nxh7 {Diagram [#]} Kc2 {I'm sure there's
more than one way to win but accuracy is still important} 49. b4 Kc3 50. c5 (
50. Nf6 Be6 51. c5 Kxb4 52. cxb6 axb6 {and because I keep g5, she can't just
sac her knight on b6 and expect to draw.}) 50... b5 $1 (50... Kxb4 51. cxb6
axb6 52. Nxg5 {this would be the draw I mentioned in the previous note, since
after taking g5 White will just sac on b6.}) 51. a3 Kb3 52. Nf6 Be6 53. Ne8
Kxa3 54. Nc7 Bd7 55. Nd5 Kb3 56. Ne7 {Diagram [#]} Kxb4 57. c6 Be6 58. c7 Kc5
59. c8=Q+ Bxc8 60. Nxc8 {The N has no way back.} b4 61. Ne7 b3 {I didn't play
the best in this game as I overlooked a number of better variations, but
because I was relying fully on my intuition I rejected most other moves that I
felt were too confusing to analyze and simplified into a position I could
understand better.} 0-1

[Event "Open Sherbrooke"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.05.24"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Larochelle, Martial"]
[Black "Hébert, Jean"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D52"]
[WhiteElo "2188"]
[BlackElo "2439"]
[Annotator "Jean Hebert"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bg5 {Diagram [#]} ({I was aiming at} 4. e3 f5 {
with a Stonewall formation in a rather favourable set-up (e2-e3 instead of
g2-g3). The move chosen by Martial forces me into a Queen's Gambit in which I
have limited theoritical knowledge. This time things turned out alright anyway.
}) 4... Nf6 (4... Qa5+ 5. Bd2 Qd8 {is not particularly bad if Black is content
with an early repetition.}) 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Nc3 Qa5 {The Cambridge Springs
defense, which attemps to get something out of the pinned Nc3. The second most
common move is} (6... Be7 {transposing to the classical Queen's gambit
declined, which to this day is still a reliable defense.}) 7. cxd5 {The other
main line is} (7. Nd2 Bb4 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Be2 {and then Black can break out with
either} e5 {or} (9... c5)) 7... Nxd5 (7... exd5 {is also playable and after} 8.
Bd3 Ne4 {White can defend with} 9. Qc2 {or sacrifice a pawn with} (9. O-O)) 8.
Qd2 Bb4 9. Rc1 {Diagram [#]} O-O {The database appears to speak in favor of an
early ...c6-c5:} (9... h6 10. Bh4 c5 11. Bc4 cxd4 12. Qxd4 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 O-O
14. O-O N5b6 15. Bb3 $14 {and White may be a bit better with his bishop pair
and greater freedom.} Re8 {(1-0, 53) Aronian,L (2805)-Shirov,A (2722) Wijk aan
Zee, 2011.  However there is nothing wrong with the text move. That is the
advantage of going for main lines even if you dont master them that much.
Generally, they contain enough secondary lines that are fully acceptable.}) 10.
Bd3 h6 11. Bh4 e5 {Diagram [#] I saw no tactical reason to refrain from this
liberating push which turns out to be the main move here.} 12. dxe5 {This
seems to give Black easy equality and even chances for a bit more.} (12. O-O
Re8 13. Qc2 exd4 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Nxd4 ({White managed to win after} 15. Rfd1
Ne5 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Rxd4 Be7 19. Rcd1 Be6 20. Bxe7 Rxe7 21. Bd3
{(1-0, 68) Jobava (2566)-Gurevich,M (2641), Batumi 2002, but surely Black is
OK now.}) 15... Nb6 16. Rfd1 Qh5 (16... Qxa2 $5) 17. Bg3 $14 Bg4 18. f3 Bd7 19.
Qf2 Be7 20. Bb1 g6 (20... Bg5 21. Re1 Bf6 22. Qc2 g6 $11) 21. e4 c5 22. Ne2 $14
{and along with White's central superiority, Black's queen problems became
significant in Moiseenko (2715)-Esen (2543) Khanty Mansiysk, 2011, (1-0, 30).})
12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 Ba3 14. Rb1 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 {Diagram [#] Black has the
better pawn structure to compensate for White's central potential.} 16. O-O Bc5
17. e4 b6 18. Kh1 Qh5 19. Bg3 Be6 {Diagram [#]} 20. Qc2 {It turns out not to
be so easy to push the central pawns :} (20. f4 $2 Rfd8 21. Qc2 Bg4 $1 {and
Black can quietly follow up by doubling on the d-file with pressure.}) 20...
Rad8 21. Rbd1 f6 $1 {Intending ...Qf7 with pressure on the weak Q-side pawns.}
22. Be2 {Something like} (22. f4 Qf7 23. f5 Bxa2 24. c4 {would be refuted by}
Rxd3 $1 {So the attack against Pa2 turns out to be a real threat.}) 22... Qf7
23. c4 {Giving up square d4 but there was no real choice.} Bd4 {The question
was: was it preferable to allow a pair of rooks to be traded first with} (23...
Rd4 $5 {According to the engines the difference is hardly significant.}) 24. f3
c5 25. Bd3 {Diagram [#] Black now stands clearly better strategically but how
am I going to make progress? Of course there is the ...b6-b5 lever that is
appealing at some point, but first I decided to soften White up a bit on the
d-file by preparing the manoeuvre ...Bd7-a4.} Qe8 26. f4 {Even if this has the
appearance of activity, not sure it helps. White's Bg3 stays more active with
the pawn structure as it was. But then White would have had to find ways to
defend passively which is always an unwelcome task.} Bd7 27. Rde1 Ba4 28. Qb1
Qe6 29. e5 f5 {Diagram [#] Now White's activity stands on the g2-g4 break, not
an easy task to achieve favourably.} 30. Bf2 {During the game I thought that} (
30. Bh4 {was a better idea, followed by h3, Kh2 and eventually g2-g4. The fact
is that I don't mind exchanging my Bd4: it opens up the d-file and leaves me
the d4-outpost for my rooks.}) 30... Bxf2 31. Rxf2 Bc6 32. Kg1 h5 $6 {This was
hardly necessary. After} (32... Rd4 33. g4 $2 Bb7 {White would suffer lethally
on the long white diagonal.}) 33. Re3 (33. Be2 $5 h4 34. Rd1 {and Black is
contained in his d-file ambitions.}) 33... Rd4 {Diagram [#]} 34. h3 {Sticking
to his active, agressive plan of pushing the g-pawn. A better way was to
simply defend against the effects of the doubled black rooks on the d-file:} (
34. Be2 g6 35. a4 $5 Rfd8 36. Ra3 Be4 37. Qb3 {and even though White's
position appears prospectless, it remains a tough nut to crack.}) 34... h4 35.
Kh2 g6 36. g3 {Achieving the plan only creates more weaknesses in White's
position.} hxg3+ 37. Rxg3 Kf7 {The idea being ...Rh8-h4, hitting the now
vulnerable f4-pawn.} 38. Qg1 {Diagram [#]} Rh8 ({The stunning} 38... g5 $1 {as
found by the engines is even stronger, since} 39. Rxg5 Rxd3 40. Rg7+ Ke8 {
leads to no compensation for the piece.}) 39. Bf1 $2 {This shortens White's
suffering, since now the f4 pawn is undefendable.} Rh4 40. Bg2 Rhxf4 41. Rxf4
Rxf4 42. Bxc6 Qxc6 43. Rd3 Rxc4 {Diagram [#]} 44. Qd1 (44. Rd6 Rc2+ 45. Kg3 Qe4
{wins quickly.}) 44... Rd4 {There are other winning moves but this is a good
practical decision.} 45. Rxd4 cxd4 46. Qxd4 Ke6 47. Qd8 Kxe5 48. Qe7+ Kf4 49.
Qh4+ Kf3 50. Qg3+ Ke2 0-1

[Event "TORO 2014 (Open)"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Kraiouchkine, Nikita"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2695"]
[BlackElo "2339"]
[Annotator "Keith MacKinnon"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 {The exchange variation
of the Queen's Gambit Declined} 6. e3 {Diagram [#]} c5 (6... Nbd7 7. Nf3 c5 8.
Bd3 Qa5 9. Qc2 c4 10. Bf5 {main line, but White's results aren't great.}) 7.
Bb5+ {Staying away from the transposition back into the main line that would
arise after 7.Nf3.} (7. dxc5 {is somewhat tempting also - especially if you
enjoy playing against isolated queen pawns.}) 7... Bd7 8. Bxd7+ Nbxd7 9. Nge2
h6 (9... Qa5 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. dxc5) 10. Bh4 {Diagram [#]} Qb6 $146 (10... c4
11. O-O Qa5 12. a3 Bxc3 13. bxc3 O-O 14. Qc2 Rfe8 15. Rfb1 Qa6 16. Qb2 b6 17.
Bxf6 Nxf6 $11 {but eventually (1-0, 41) Zhou Jianchao (2660)-Lu,S (2456)
Tianjin, 2011.}) 11. O-O (11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Rc1 $14) 11... cxd4 12.
Na4 Qa6 13. Nxd4 O-O 14. a3 Bd6 15. Nc3 Be5 {Diagram [#]} (15... Rfe8) 16. Bg3
(16. f4 {looks interesting at first, but Black gets good play:} Bxd4 17. Qxd4
Rfe8 18. Rfe1 Rac8 19. Rad1 (19. Nxd5 Rc4 (19... Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Nb6 21. Qd4 Rc2
$44)) 19... Rc4 20. Qd3 Nc5 21. Qe2 Nce4 $11) 16... Bxg3 17. hxg3 Ne5 18. Qe2 {
Diagram [#] Isolated pawns are often a bigger disadvantage in the endgame, so
it is logical that Bator would seek to exchange Queens.} Qxe2 19. Ncxe2 (19.
Ndxe2 Nc4 $11) 19... Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Rac8 21. Rab1 {Diagram [#] Black has full
equality, so it will be interesting to see how the game develops from this
point onward.} Kf8 22. f3 Nc4 23. Kf2 Re8 24. Rd3 Re5 {Diagram [#]} (24... a6)
25. b3 (25. Rc1 Ree8 26. Rdc3 Nd6 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. g4 {and White will be the
one playing for the win due to Black's pawn on d5, but the draw should be
easily attainable.}) 25... Nd6 ({The pawn is immune:} 25... Nxa3 26. Ra1 Nc2
27. Rc1 $18) 26. g4 Re7 27. Rc1 {Exchanging one pair of rooks may make Black's
defensive task more difficult.} Rxc1 28. Nxc1 Rc7 29. Nce2 a6 30. a4 b5 (30...
g6 31. Ke1 Rc8 32. Rd1 Kg7 33. Nf4 $14) 31. axb5 axb5 {Diagram [#]} 32. Rd2 $6
(32. Rd1 {Would have been a lot cleaner. Black would have had a very difficult
defensive task ahead.} Ra7 33. Rc1 Ra2 34. Rc2 Ra5 35. Nf4 g6 36. Nd3 $16)
32... Nxg4+ 33. fxg4 Ne4+ 34. Ke1 Nxd2 35. Kxd2 Re7 36. Nc3 {Diagram [#]} b4 (
36... Re5 37. Ke2 {the b5 pawn isn't going anywhere, and this way, he can
defend g4 on ...Rg5.}) 37. Nxd5 Re4 38. Nf4 g6 (38... g5 39. Kd3 $16) 39. Kd3
Re5 40. e4 h5 41. gxh5 gxh5 {Diagram [#]} 42. Nc6 {There were easier ways to
go about the win, but this does the trick.} (42. g3 {Preparing to play Nd5 and
take b4.} Ke8 43. Nd5 Rg5 44. Nf5 $18) 42... Rg5 43. Nxb4 h4 {Diagram [#]
Cricital Position  Do you see the threat?} 44. Ke2 {The only winning move!} (
44. Nbd5 $2 Rxg2 $1 $11 {The rook is immune as Knights are really bad at
defending against outside passers:} 45. Nxg2 (45. b4 $13) 45... h3 46. Ngf4 h2
47. e5 h1=Q 48. e6 $11 {Surprisingly, White isn't lost even here.}) 44... Rg3 (
44... Rxg2+ 45. Nxg2 h3 46. Nd3 $8 {it is for this reason that 44.Ke2 wins} h2
47. Nf2 $18) 45. Nbd3 {White confidently converts his advantage from here on
out.} f6 46. Kd2 Ke8 47. Kc3 Kd7 48. Kd4 Kd6 49. b4 Rg5 50. Ne1 Rg4 51. Ke3 f5
{Diagram [#]} 52. exf5 Ke5 53. Ned3+ Kxf5 54. b5 Rg8 55. Kd4 Kf6 56. b6 Ke7 57.
Kd5 Kd8 58. Kc6 Rh8 59. Nc5 Rh6+ 60. Nfe6+ 1-0

[Event "TORO 2014 (Open)"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Qin, Joey"]
[Black "Hébert, Jean"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2431"]
[BlackElo "2446"]
[Annotator "Joey Qin"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Bd3 Nc6 {Diagram [#] This is a slightly
awkward move with the bishop already on e7. After Ngf3, White has an advantage
in all transposing lines.} 5. c3 $6 (5. Ngf3 $142 Nf6 (5... Nb4 6. Be2 c5 7.
dxc5) 6. e5 Nd7 7. c3) 5... dxe4 6. Nxe4 e5 $11 {With this break Black obtains
an equal position.} 7. dxe5 Nxe5 8. Bb5+ c6 (8... Bd7 9. Qd5) 9. Qxd8+ {
Diagram [#]} Kxd8 (9... Bxd8 10. Be2 {Were the Black bishop on e7 (defending
against Nd6+) it would be a symmetrical position where Black is a tempo up.
However with the bishop on d8, White gets in Bf4, threatening the Ne5 and Nd6+.
} Be7 11. Bf4) 10. Be2 Nf6 11. Ng5 {An attempt to keep some pieces and utilize
the positioning of the Black king.} (11. Nxf6 Bxf6 12. Bf4 Be6 $11) 11... h6
12. Bf4 hxg5 13. Bxe5 Ke8 (13... g4 $5 14. Bc4 Ke8 15. Ne2 $13) 14. Nf3 g4 15.
Nd4 {Diagram [#] White has some pressure here, planning 0-0-0 and Rhe1 to
target the Black king.} a6 16. O-O-O (16. f3 $1 {This is more of a test,
opening up the position to White's advantage; e.g.} c5 17. Nc2 {and Ne3.})
16... Ne4 17. Rhf1 f6 (17... Bg5+ 18. Kc2 c5 19. Bd3 $14) (17... c5 18. Bd3
Nxc3 19. bxc3 cxd4 20. cxd4 $11) 18. Bf4 g5 19. Bc7 c5 {Diagram [#]} 20. Nb3 $6
{It seems as though Black's knight is in some trouble, but he can use the bad
placement of the White bishop on c7.} (20. Bd3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 cxd4 22. Rfe1 $14)
20... Be6 $1 21. f3 Rc8 22. Bb6 gxf3 23. Bxf3 f5 {Diagram [#]} 24. h3 $2 {This
is too passive and allows Black to trap the bishop on b6. White had to play
actively with g4 and a complicated position:} (24. g4 Rxh2 25. gxf5 Bxf5 26.
Rde1 $13) 24... Bxb3 {Maybe it would have been better to play ...Rh6 first and
keep the threat there.} (24... Rh6 25. Ba5 Bc4 26. Rfe1 b6 $17) 25. axb3 Rh6
26. Ba5 b6 27. Bxb6 Rxb6 28. Bh5+ Kf8 29. Rxf5+ {Diagram [#] At first it seems
that White is just down a piece for two pawns, but on second glance he has
quite a bit of compensation: his pieces are more active with strong light
square control and the Black pawns are isolated and weak. In addition, the
Black pieces are not coordinated at the moment.} Rf6 (29... Bf6 30. Rd7) 30.
Re5 Nd6 (30... Ng3 31. Rxg5 (31. Bf3 Bd6 32. Red5 Bf4+ 33. Kc2) 31... Nxh5 32.
Rxh5 $11) 31. Rxg5 Rf2 32. Rg6 {Diagram [#] Black had around 8 minutes and
White had 20. Although this position is equal, with the time difference, Black
has a difficult task of defending.} Rd8 33. Bf3 a5 34. Rd5 Rb8 $6 (34... Nf7
$142 $11) 35. Rxc5 Nf7 (35... Rxb3 $4 36. Bd5 $18 {theatens Rg8# and Bxb3.})
36. Rh5 $5 {Diagram [#]Critical Position   Complicating the position when
Black is short of time.} (36. Rxa5 Rxb3 37. Ra8+ Bd8 38. Rf6 Rbxb2 39. Bh5 Rxf6
40. Kxb2 $16) 36... Bd6 $2 {A blunder but in any case Black's position is
difficult and made worse by his time trouble.} (36... Rxb3 $2 37. Bd5 Rbxb2 38.
Rh8+ $1 Nxh8 39. Rg8#) (36... Bg5+ $2 37. Rgxg5 $8 Nxg5 38. Rh8+ $19) (36...
Re8 {keeps Black alive.}) 37. Rxd6 $8 $18 Rxb3 38. Rd2 {The simplest way to
win.} Rxd2 39. Kxd2 Rxb2+ 40. Kc1 Ra2 41. Rf5 {With the threats of Rxf7 and
Bd5.} 1-0

[Event "TORO 2014 (Open)"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Hébert, Jean"]
[Black "Djerkovic, Miladin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A10"]
[WhiteElo "2446"]
[BlackElo "2242"]
[Annotator "Jean Hebert"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. Nge2 b6 6. a3 Ba5 7. Rb1 Na6 {
Diagram [#]} 8. Bd2 {If I had been prepared for this line I most probably
would have avoided this move that gives White just about 42%! Some other moves
do a lot better.} (8. g3 Bb7 9. d5 {looks dangerous as White is threatening to
establish a bind in the center which would be bad news for Black with his
minor pieces stuck on the Q-side. Let us a bit further without turning this
into an article on opening theory.  Black must react energitically:} b5 (9...
exd5 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O Bxc3 12. Nxc3 Nc7 13. cxd5 $14) 10. Bg2 bxc4 11. O-O
O-O 12. e4 exd5 13. e5 (13. Nxd5 $5) 13... Ng4 14. Bxd5 Bc6 15. f4 {and White
to my judgment may have the more pleasant position.}) (8. f3 O-O 9. d5 exd5 10.
cxd5 b5 11. Kf2 b4 12. Nb5 d6 {with a complex struggle ahead,  Aleksandrov 
(2591)-Milos (2633), Shenyang 2000, (0-1, 41).}) 8... Bb7 (8... O-O 9. d5 exd5
10. cxd5 Bb7 11. Nf4 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Ne4 {led after 13.Bd3 to a rather unclear
position in Harikrishna (2673)-Ivanisevic (2588) Reykjavik 2006, (1/2-1/2, 29).
White however had the improvement} 13. Bxg7 $5 Kxg7 14. Bxa6 Bxa6 15. Qa4 Nxf2
16. Kxf2 Bc8 $14) 9. f3 {Unusual even if somewhat logical in this particular
position.   In the line} (9. Ng3 O-O 10. d5 {White might develop nicely
without f2-f3 which would be an improvement.}) ({During the game, looking for
a way to exploit Bd2, I looked for a while at} 9. b4 $5 cxb4 10. Nb5 {Diagram 
[#] which amounts to an attempt at refuting Black's setup. I finally rejected
it mostly on the basis that this theoritical position should not contain a
refutation. I also looked at some concrete moves like} Ne4 (10... Qe7 $5 11.
axb4 Nxb4 12. Qb3 Na6 13. Bxa5 bxa5 {is unclear.}) 11. axb4 Qh4 $2 {which is
actually pretty good for White but I missed the real moves that makes the
whole idea nothing special and possibly very risky. So I chose to follow my
intuition.} (11... Qf6 $1 12. f3 Nxd2 13. Qxd2 Nxb4 14. Rxb4 Qe7 $1 15. c5 O-O
{is good for Black.}) 12. Ng3 $14) 9... O-O 10. d5 $5 {Again natural and
tactically justified as the Pd5 is sufficiently defended. However, White has
to deal with a slow-developing K-side.} (10. Nf4 d5 11. cxd5 cxd4 12. exd4 Bxc3
13. bxc3 exd5 14. Be2 Nc7 15. O-O Qc8 16. a4 Re8 17. Re1 Ba6 18. Bd3 Rxe1+ {1/
2-1/2 Berezjuk,S (2448)-Babula,V (2581) Luhacovice, 2003.}) 10... exd5 11. cxd5
(11. Nxd5 {is also playable but not better. After all, the plan was to set up
a pawn center, so what would be the point of taking with the knight and invite
exchanges?}) 11... b5 {Diagram [#] Again a thematic move in such positions,
even if there are plenty of other ways. My opponent and I play the opening at
the same level: we both know what to do generally but without precise
knowledge of the theory, so dangers lurk at every move.} 12. Nxb5 {After} (12.
e4 b4 13. Nb5 Qb6 14. a4 Rfe8 {White has serious problems to continue his
development with his e4 pawn indirectly pinned.}) 12... Nxd5 13. Kf2 {The best
square for the King when one cannot castle...} Bxd2 14. Qxd2 {Diagram [#]} Qb6
{I approve of this move even if the engines slightly disagree. It is very
human like to put the Queen on the same diagonal as the opposing king.} (14...
Nac7 15. Nd6 Bc6 16. e4 (16. Ng3) 16... Qf6 $1 17. Nf5 Ne7 $11) (14... Bc6 {
appears less desirable:} 15. Ng3 Nac7 16. e4 $14) 15. Ng3 $6 {Probably a bit
too ambitious. The straightforward} (15. Nec3 $1 {was better:} Nac7 16. Nxc7
Nxc7 17. b4 Bc6 18. b5 Bb7 19. Na4 Qg6 20. Be2 {and White's game is certainly
now the most pleasant.}) 15... Rfe8 $2 {Diagram [#]} (15... Nac7 {was correct
with equality, relieving the pressure against square d6.}) 16. e4 $2 {I did
not even consider:} (16. Nf5 $1 {Otherwise I would have played it! Black then
has serious problems; e.g.:} g6 17. Nfd6 Re6 18. Bc4 Rxd6 19. Nxd6 Qxd6 20.
Rbd1 Nac7 21. e4 {and White ends up the exchange.}) 16... Nac7 {Diagram [#]
Now follows two most natural moves which nonetheless turns out to be mistaken.}
17. exd5 $2 (17. a4 Nxb5 18. a5 $1 {True, such moves are difficult to see and
even more difficult to foresee.} (18. Bxb5 $2 c4+ $1 19. Ke2 Nc7 20. Bxc4 d5 {
and Black is clearly better, even strategically winning.}) 18... Qf6 19. Bxb5
Nc7 $13) 17... Nxb5 $2 ({Now it's Black's turn to miss a very strong move
pointed out by the engines.} 17... a6 $3 {regains the piece in very favourable
circumstances.} 18. Nd4 {Unpleasant but the lesser evil.} ({Of course if} 18.
Nxc7 $4 c4+ $19 {wins.}) 18... cxd4 19. Qb4 Qxb4 20. axb4 Nxd5 $17) 18. Bc4 $8
({At the last moment I saw} 18. Bxb5 $2 c4+ {and White is in big trouble with
no way to get his Rh1 out.}) 18... Nd6 {Black wants to put pressure on d5 but}
(18... Nd4 {and}) (18... Ba6 {felt just as reasonable.}) 19. b3 a5 {Diagram [#]
} 20. Qf4 $1 {A nice positional move. I rejected} (20. a4 {because of} Qb4 {but
} 21. Qf4 {retained approximate equality.}) 20... Ba6 21. Rhc1 Rab8 $2 {The
wrong track. Black's only potential danger lies in his underdefended K-side.
He had to go for either} (21... g6 {preventing Nh5 or}) (21... Nb5 {allowing
the Queen to defend on the 6th rank, if needed.}) 22. Nh5 $1 {Diagram [#] I
could barely believe my eyes when I realised how much play this move would
give me. Black's king is now facing great dangers.} Rec8 $2 (22... Red8 {is OK
because after} 23. Qg5 Ne8 24. Re1 {Black has} Qg6 25. Qxg6 hxg6 {since Bxa6
will not attack a rook!}) (22... Kh8 {was also playable but only if one
calculates like a computer:} 23. Qg4 g6 $1 ({I had seen} 23... Rg8 24. Qxd7 {
with advantage for White.}) 24. Nf6 Nxc4 25. Qh4 $1 {Diagram [#]Critical
Position} Re2+ $3 {the only saving move} 26. Kxe2 (26. Kg1 $2 Kg7) 26... Nxa3+
27. Ke1 Kg7 28. Nxd7 Qb5 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Kf2 Qxd7 31. Ra1 Qxd5 32. Rd1 Qxb3
33. Qxa6 {with unclear play.}) 23. Qg5 $18 {The game is practically over.} Ne8
24. Re1 g6 25. Bxa6 {Diagram [#]} Qxa6 {During the game I tried to calculate
what could happen after the best try:} (25... c4+ {I came to the partly
intuitive conclusion that somehow it would not save Black. The engines confirm
it easily:} 26. Kg3 Qxa6 27. Qh6 Qd6+ {the black Queen only looks defended:}
28. f4 gxh5 (28... Qf8 29. Rxe8) 29. Rxe8+ {and wins.}) 26. Qh6 {Flawed but
interesting stuff I believe. This gave me the chance to play the leader 
(Sambuev) in the last round and catch up with a win.} 1-0

[Event "TORO 2014 (Open)"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Kraiouchkine, Nikita"]
[Black "Zhou, Qiyu"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2339"]
[BlackElo "2262"]
[Annotator "Qiyu Zhou"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{I had played against Nikita Kraiouchkine twice before, losing both times. In
the previous game I had a preferable position but got careless in the end, so
I was going to be more careful this game. The opening was a bit of a surprise
for me, and I was not sure about what to do.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4.
g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. e4 d5 8. e5 Ne4 9. Bd3 {Diagram [#]} Bb7 ({
Interesting was} 9... c5 10. Bxe4 dxe4 11. Qxe4 Bxc4 12. Nc3 (12. Qxa8 Bd5 13.
Qxa7 Bxf3 14. O-O Nc6) 12... Bd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Qxd5 exd5) 10. O-O h6 11.
Be3 Ng5 12. Nxg5 hxg5 13. Nc3 {Diagram [#]} c5 {This leads to unfavourable
exchanges for Black in the center.} ({A better move was} 13... dxc4 14. Bxc4 a6
15. Rad1) 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Rad1 (15. Bb5+ {and Black has serious problems
with the king:} Nd7 16. e6) 15... c4 16. Be2 {White's position up to this
point has been pretty good. However Bf5 was better, completely stopping any ...
Qd7 ideas.} (16. Bf5 Na6) 16... Qd7 17. f4 gxf4 18. Bxf4 (18. Rxf4 O-O 19. Bg4
Qc6 $16) 18... Na6 19. Bf3 Nc7 20. b3 cxb3 21. Qxb3 O-O 22. Be2 Rad8 23. a4 Ne6
24. Be3 Bg5 25. Bxg5 Nxg5 26. Bd3 Qg4 {Diagram [#]} 27. Kg2 (27. Nb5 {was much
more active;} Bc8 28. Nxa7 (28. Kh1 Qh5 $13) 28... Qxd4+ 29. Kh1 Ne4 30. Nc6
Qe3 31. Nxd8 Bg4 $13) 27... Qh3+ 28. Kh1 Ne4 {Diagram [#]} 29. Bxe4 (29. Kg1 {
was the best move. Black does not have much iniative after this move, unless I
play ...Nxg3.} Nxg3 30. Rf3 Qg4 31. Rxg3 Qxd4+ 32. Kg2 Qxe5 $44) 29... dxe4 30.
Rf4 g5 31. Rf6 e3+ 32. d5 Rfe8 33. Qc2 Rxe5 34. Qg2 {Diagram [#]} Qxg2+ ({Here
I missed} 34... Rdxd5 35. Nxd5 e2 36. Re1 Bxd5 {but 34.Qxg2 wins anyways.}) 35.
Kxg2 Rc8 36. Ne2 Rc2 37. Kf1 Bxd5 38. g4 Bc4 39. Re1 Re4 40. Rf3 Rf4 {In
general, the opening was pretty badly played by me (Black), so that is one
thing I have to fix.} 0-1

[Event "TORO 2014 (Open)"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Sambuev, Bator"]
[Black "Hébert, Jean"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E14"]
[WhiteElo "2697"]
[BlackElo "2446"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O d5 6. b3 Bd6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. c4 {
Diagram [#]As you'll see from the supplemental games, this is the third time
Bator and Jean have played this position in 2014.} Nbd7 (8... dxc4 9. bxc4 Nbd7
10. Qe2 Qe7 11. Ne5 Rfd8 12. f4 (12. e4 $6 c5) 12... Ne4 13. Nc3 Ndf6 14. Qc2
Nxc3 15. Bxc3 c5 16. Rad1 (16. Be1 $5) 16... g6 $11 {(1-0, 60), Sambuev,B
-Hebert,J, Carnival Quebec, 26/01/2014}) 9. Nc3 a6 10. Rc1 dxc4 (10... Qe7 11.
cxd5 exd5 12. Ne2 Ne4 13. Ng3 {Analysis Diagram [#]} f5 14. Qc2 (14. Rc2 Rf7
15. Re1 g5 16. Nd2 Raf8 17. Qe2 g4 18. Bxe4 (18. Ndxe4 $5) 18... fxe4 19. Qxg4+
Kh8 20. f4 $1 Bc8 $1 $44 {(1/2-1/2, 26) Bruzon Batista,L (2652)-Kramnik,V 
(2754) Wijk aan Zee, 2005.}) 14... c5 15. Rfe1 Qe6 16. Qe2 Ndf6 17. Nh4 Nxg3
18. hxg3 Ne4 19. Nf3 Ra7 $5 $11 {(1-0, 61) Sambuev,B (2597)-Hebert,J (2430)
Trois-Rivieres, 16/03/2014.}) 11. bxc4 e5 12. Bf5 Re8 13. Nd2 (13. Re1 exd4 (
13... e4 14. Nd2 g6 15. Bh3 $14) 14. exd4 Rxe1+ 15. Nxe1 g6 16. Bh3 Qe7 $13 {
(1/2-1/2, 48) Rindlisbacher,L (2370)-Pelletier,Y (2604) Zuerich, 2012.}) 13...
exd4 14. exd4 Bf4 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 15. g3 $4 (15. Rc2 $142) (15.
Ne2 $142) 15... Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Ne5 $1 $19 17. Qf4 (17. f3 Nxf3+ $19 (17... Nxc4
$19)) 17... Qxd4 {This wins two pawns and wrecks White's Kingside, so it's
plenty good enough to win, but} (17... Nf3+ $142 18. Kg2 Nh5 $1 $19 {and the
White Q has no squares which are safe from the Nf3-discovered check.} (18...
Ne1+ $1 19. Kh3 Bg2+ {#3})) 18. Rfd1 Qxf4 19. gxf4 Nf3+ 20. Kf1 Nxh2+ 21. Kg1
Nf3+ 22. Kf1 Rad8 {Diagram [#]} 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Nd5 Nxd5 25. cxd5 Bxd5 26.
Rxc7 Bxa2 27. Ke2 Bd5 28. Bc8 a5 29. f5 Re8+ 30. Kd3 b5 31. f6 Bc4+ 32. Kc2
Re2+ 33. Kc1 {Diagram [#]} Ne5 (33... Bd3 $1) (33... Rxf2 $2 {wins, but
requires precision:} 34. Bf5 Rf1+ $8 (34... gxf6 $2 35. Bxf6 Be6 36. Rb7 Rf1+
37. Kb2 Rf2+ 38. Bc2 Rxc2+ $8 39. Kxc2 h5 $13) 35. Kc2 gxf6 36. Bxf6 Be6 $8 $18
{defends Rc8# and threatens ...Bxf5 with check (which is why Black had to
force the K onto a white square with 34...Rf1+).}) 34. Bd4 gxf6 35. Bf5 Kg7 36.
Kd1 Nf3 37. Be3 (37. Rxc4 Rd2+ $19) 37... Re1+ 38. Kc2 a4 39. Ra7 h5 40. Ra8
Be6 41. Be4 Ne5 42. Kd2 Rf1 43. Bc5 Nd7 44. Bd3 {Diagram [#]} Nxc5 $1 {Black
has other ways to win, but this exchange sac is the most clear cut... assuming
you can correctly calculate and evaluate the next ten moves.} 45. Bxf1 b4 46.
Kc2 a3 47. Kb1 Ne4 48. Bg2 Nd2+ 49. Ka1 b3 50. Rxa3 b2+ 51. Kxb2 Nc4+ 52. Kb3
Nxa3+ 53. Kxa3 {Diagram [#] Black would have had to correctly evaluate this
position when playing 44...Nxc5.} Kg6 54. Kb4 Kf5 55. Kc3 Kf4 56. Kd2 h4 57.
Ke2 h3 58. Bc6 Bg4+ 59. f3 Bd7 $1 0-1

[Event "TORO U1900"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Villeneuve, Luc"]
[Black "Gunapalan, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D34"]
[WhiteElo "1823"]
[BlackElo "1867"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. dxc5 d4 10. Na4 {Diagram [#]} Bf5 11. Bd2 (11. a3 Be4 (11... Ne4 12. b4
Bf6 13. b5 Na5 14. Bf4 Re8 15. Rc1 Rc8 16. Ne1 g5 $1 $15 {(0-1, 42) Porper,E 
(2429)-Zubov,A (2492) Dos Hermanas, 2003.}) 12. b4 Qd5 13. Bb2 Rad8 14. Qd2 Ne5
15. Qxd4 Nxf3+ 16. exf3 Qxd4 17. Bxd4 Bc2 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Nb2 Bxb2 20. Ra2
Bd3 21. Rxb2 Bxf1 22. Bxf1 $13 {(0-1, 42) Barcenilla,R (2502)-Bluvshtein,M 
(2453) Internet, 2004.}) 11... Be4 12. Rc1 Re8 13. Ne1 (13. b4 $142 $14) 13...
Qd5 14. Qb3 Qh5 15. Bxe4 Nxe4 $11 {Diagram [#]Critical Position  Qd3, Qxb7,
Bf4, Nf3.} 16. Qd3 $4 (16. Qxb7 $2 Nxd2 17. Qxc6 Qxe2 $1 $19) (16. Bf4 Qxe2 17.
Qxb7 Rac8 18. Rc2 $13) (16. Nf3 Nxd2 17. Nxd2 Bg5 18. Rcd1 $8 Qxe2 19. Qxb7 (
19. Rfe1 Qxe1+ 20. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 21. Kg2 Bxd2 22. Qxb7 $13) 19... Na5 (19... Bxd2
$2 20. Qxc6 $14) 20. Qb4 $8 Nc6 21. Qb7 $8 $11) 16... Nxd2 17. Qxd2 Bg5 18. e3
(18. f4 Rxe2 $19 {attacks the Q and threatens mate on h2.}) 18... dxe3 19. Qd5
e2 $19 {Diagram [#]} 20. Nf3 (20. f4 exf1=Q+ 21. Kxf1 Qe2+ {and White doesn't
even win the Bg5.}) 20... exf1=Q+ 21. Rxf1 h6 22. h4 Rad8 23. Qb3 (23. Qf5 g6
$19) 23... Bf6 24. Kg2 Rd7 25. Nc3 Bxc3 0-1

[Event "TORO U1900"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Gunapalan, David"]
[Black "Mathieu, Guillaume"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "1867"]
[BlackElo "1747"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Be3 Nf6 {Diagram [#]} 5. f3 (5. Qd2 c6 6. Bh6
Bxh6 7. Qxh6 Qa5 8. Bd3 c5 9. d5 Nbd7 10. Nf3 {Diagram [#]} c4 $1 {This
diffuses White's attack but leaves White with a slightly better endgame:} (
10... b5 $5 11. Bxb5 (11. e5 $5) 11... Rb8 12. Bxd7+ Bxd7 $44 {(1/2-1/2, 42)
Nguyen,A (2465)-Marin,M (2545) Kolkata, 1997.}) 11. Bxc4 Qc5 12. Bd3 Qxf2+ 13.
Kxf2 Ng4+ 14. Kg3 Nxh6 $14 {(1/2-1/2, 43) Van Kampen,R (2572)-Cuijpers,F (2445)
Netherlands, 2012.}) 5... Nc6 $6 {Although this has been played by some stong
players ...Nc6 makes it harder to start queenside counterplay, which Black
usually does with ...c6 and ...b5 and/or ...Qa5.} ({Here's an example of the
Dragon-style attack that wins almost automatically if Black doesn't know what
he's doing:} 5... O-O 6. Qd2 c6 7. Bh6 Nbd7 8. h4 b5 9. h5 b4 10. Nce2 Nxh5 $2
11. g4 $2 $16 (11. Rxh5 $142 $18 gxh5 $140 12. Qg5 {it's mate next.}) 11...
Nhf6 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Qh6+ Kg8 14. Ng3 Qa5 15. b3 Re8 16. g5 Nf8 (16... Nh5
17. Rxh5 $18) 17. gxf6 $18 {(1-0, 30) Kasparov,G (2785)-Karambinas,A Corfu 
(simul), 1996.}) (5... c6 6. Qd2 b5 7. a4 b4 8. Nd1 (8. Nce2) 8... a5 9. Nf2
Nbd7 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Ne2 e5 12. c3 d5 $1 $132 13. O-O Re8 14. Bh6 bxc3 15. bxc3
Ba6 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. Ng3 $6 (18. f4 $1 $36) 18... dxe4 19. fxe4
h6 $11 {(1/2-1/2, 36) Yu,Y (2688)-Giri,A (2722) Reykjavik, 2013.}) 6. Qd2 e5 7.
Nge2 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Bxd4 O-O 10. O-O-O Be6 11. g4 {Diagram [#]} Nd7 $6 (
11... c5 $5 12. Be3 $1 (12. Bxf6 $2 Qxf6 $1 $132 13. Qxd6 $140 $4 Rad8 $19 14.
Qg3 Bh6+ 15. Kb1 Qxc3 $3 $19) 12... Qa5 13. Bh6 Rfd8 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. h4 Bxa2
16. Nxa2 (16. h5 $40) 16... Qxa2 17. Qc3 d5 18. g5 Qa1+ 19. Kd2 dxe4+ 20. Bd3
$8 Qa4 (20... Qa6 $8 $13) 21. b3 Qe8 22. Qxf6+ $18 {(1-0, 28), 28) Najer,E 
(2633)-Mamedyarov,S (2753) Khanty-Mansiysk (Blitz WCh), 2013.}) 12. Bxg7 Kxg7
13. h4 Qf6 $6 {Diagram [#]} (13... Ne5 $16) 14. h5 $2 {Black has long-term
dark-square weaknesses around his K and no way to generate threats, so White
has no reason to rush into the attack but should simply finish developing.} (
14. Be2 $142 $16 {and then possibly f4-f5, or g5 then h5.}) 14... g5 $1 (14...
Qxf3 $2 15. Bb5 $1 $18) 15. h6+ Kh8 16. Be2 Qf4 17. Qxf4 gxf4 18. Nd5 $16 Bxd5
{Diagram [#]} 19. Rxd5 (19. exd5 $1 {would allow White's Rs to attack the weak
Pf4 from the 4th rank, and open a diagonal for the B.}) 19... Ne5 20. Rh5 Rae8
21. Rf5 Re6 $1 $132 (21... Ng6) 22. Rxf4 Rxh6 23. Rf5 Rh2 24. Kd1 Rh1+ 25. Kd2
Rh2 26. Ke3 {Diagram [#]} Kg7 (26... Rh3 {(threat ...Nxg4)} 27. Bf1 (27. Kf4
$140 $2 Ng6+ 28. Ke3 Ne7 $17) 27... Rh1 28. Kf2 $14) 27. Rb5 b6 {Diagram [#]
Critical Position  White has the better pawn structure, more active K, and can
kick Black's N away from its central outpost. What happens if White plays
f3-f4 now?} 28. f4 Rh3+ $1 $11 29. Kd4 $4 (29. Kd2 $142 Ng6 $11) 29... Nc6+ $1
30. Kc4 Na5+ $2 {Black misses his chance to go 5/5 and take clear first!} (
30... a6 $19 {White's K is in a mating net, and the only escape is to give up
a R.} 31. Rb3 b5+ 32. Kd5 Ne7+ 33. Kd4 c5+ $19) 1/2-1/2

[Event "TORO U1500"]
[Site "Gatineau"]
[Date "2014.06.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Lépine, Yanick"]
[Black "Liboiron, Alain"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B03"]
[WhiteElo "1409"]
[BlackElo "1273"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. exd6 exd6 6. Nc3 Be7 {Diagram [#]} 7.
Nf3 (7. Bd3 O-O 8. Nge2 Bg4 9. O-O Nc6 10. f3 Bh5 11. b3 (11. Nf4 $14 {^^ ()})
11... Bg6 12. Be3 Re8 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Qd2 Bf6 $14 {(1/2-1/2, 46) Leko,P 
(2749)-Ivanchuk,V (2750) Odessa, 2007.}) 7... Bg4 8. Bd3 {This is natural, but
not as good as the more common alternatives: h3 and Be2, both of which make it
easier to stablize White's center. Compared to the Leko-Ivanchuk game above,
White cannot so easliy break the pin on the Nf3.} Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. a3 $2 ({
Slow, better is} 10. O-O) 10... Bf6 $1 $15 {Black exploits White's slow a3 to
pressure d4.} 11. b3 {Diagram [#] Critical Position  White's K is still in the
center and Black's pieces are fully developed and pressuring d4, and on the
next few moves both players miss some sharp improvements.} Re8 (11... Nxd4 $1
12. Bxd4 Bxd4 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. Qxd4 Re8+ $15 {If White was already castled
then the d4 h7 pawn trades would favour White as Black's K would be weaker and
the half-open d-file is more useful to White than the half-open h-file is for
Black (as in the note to move 12). But here White is a bit worse, as Kd2
leaves the White K exposed, and Kf1 leaves the Rh1 out of play.}) (11... d5 $5
12. c5 (12. cxd5 Nxd5 {is a bad IQP for White.}) 12... Bxf3 $5 (12... Nc8 $1 {
/\...N8-e7-f5 Xd4}) 13. Qxf3 Bxd4 $1 14. Bxd4 Nxd4 15. Bxh7+ (15. Qh3 $2 Re8+
16. Kf1 g6 17. cxb6 Nxb3 18. Rd1 axb6 19. Bc4 Rxa3 20. Bxd5 Qe7 {Black already
has PPP for the B and White's Rh1 is missing in action.}) 15... Kxh7 16. Qd3+
Kg8 17. Qxd4 Re8+ 18. Kf1 Nd7 19. Nxd5 c6 20. Ne3 Nf6 $1 $44 {Black has a lot
of development for the P, and may be a bit better after the Q exchange.}) 12.
Be2 (12. O-O $142 {and now the double-attacks on d4 actually leave Black worse:
} Bxf3 (12... Bxd4 $140 13. Bxd4 Nxd4 14. Bxh7+ Kxh7 15. Qxd4 Bxf3 16. Qd3+ $14
) 13. Qxf3 Nxd4 14. Bxh7+ Kxh7 15. Bxd4 Bxd4 16. Qd3+ $14) 12... Qc8 (12...
Bxf3 $1 13. gxf3 (13. Bxf3 $140 $2 Bxd4 $19) 13... d5 $17) 13. Qd2 Bxf3 $1 14.
gxf3 Qf5 15. Ne4 {Diagram [#]} (15. O-O-O $142) 15... Rxe4 $6 (15... a5 16.
O-O-O d5 $15 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. c5 Nd7 $15 19. Bg5 $2 Rxe2 $19) (15... d5 $1
16. Nxf6+ ({Here's an example of how fast things can go badly for White:} 16.
Nc5 $2 dxc4 17. bxc4 Bxd4 $3 18. Bxd4 Qxf3 19. Rf1 Nxd4 $19) 16... Qxf6 17. c5
Nd7 18. O-O-O $15 {White has the B pair, but Black has a choice of ways to
open the queenside: ...Rab8, ...b6, or ...Nf8.}) 16. fxe4 Qxe4 17. O-O-O $1 $14
d5 {With the Ne4 having been traded, this pawn push doesn't gain a tempo and
so allows White to keep his pawn structure intact.} 18. c5 Nd7 19. Qd3 {
Diagram [#]} (19. Qc2 $1 {avoids the tactic analyzed in the next note.}) 19...
Qe7 ({Black has the Tal-like:} 19... Nxc5 $1 20. dxc5 (20. Qxe4 Nxe4 {with
more than enough comp for the exchange.}) 20... Qe5 {Black has only PP for the
R, but lots of play:} 21. Rdg1 (21. Qc2 d4 $132 {the only safe square for the
Be3 is d3, which drops the Be2.}) 21... Re8 $1 $132 {Black threatens ...Qb2+
then ...Nd4 or ...Bc3.}) 20. Bf3 Rd8 {Diagram [#]Critical Position  What
happens on 21.Bxd5 Nxc5?} 21. Rhg1 ({White can take the pawn, but the
following forcing line is not so easy to calculate.} 21. Bxd5 $1 Nxc5 22. dxc5
Qe5 23. Rd2 $8 $18 Ne7 (23... Qa1+ 24. Qb1 Qxa3+ 25. Kd1 $18) 24. Bxf7+ Kxf7
25. Qxd8 Qa1+ 26. Kc2 Qxh1 27. Qxc7 $18 {White is up an exchange and a pawn.})
21... Nf8 22. b4 Ne6 23. Qc3 Ng5 24. Bh1 Ne4 25. Qb2 (25. Qc2 {unpinning the
Pd4 (and stopping ...b6) looks more natural.}) 25... Bh4 (25... b6 $1 $132) 26.
Rg4 Nxf2 $4 {Maybe Black missed that the Qb2 also defends f2?} 27. Bxf2 Bg5+
28. Kb1 Qf6 29. Rdg1 Qf5+ {Diagram [#]} 30. Ka1 (30. Be4 $1 {is pretty and
strong, but the game move is obviously winning too.}) 30... Bf6 31. Bh4 h5 32.
Bxf6 hxg4 33. Bxd8 Nxd8 34. Qe2 Ne6 35. Rxg4 Nxd4 36. Rxd4 1-0

[Event "Kommunist"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1965.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1K6/1P6/kp6/1p1P4/1p6/1P6/1p6/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "1965.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Ka8 (1. Kc7 $2 b1=Q 2. b8=Q Qh7+ $11) 1... b1=Q 2. b8=N+ $1 (
2. b8=Q $2 Qh7 3. Qc8+ Ka5 4. d6 Qa7+ 5. Kxa7 $11) 2... Ka5 3. Nc6+ Ka6 4.
Nxb4+ Ka5 5. Nc6+ Ka6 6. b4 Qxb4 $8 7. Nxb4+ Ka5 8. Nc6+ Ka4 9. d6 1-0

[Event "Ceskoslovensky Sach #13"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4b3/8/3K4/8/P7/2k5/6B1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. a5 Kb4 (1... Bb5 2. Kc5 Ba6 3. Bh3 Kb3 4. Bd7 Ka3 5. Kb6 Be2
6. Bb5 Bf3 7. a6 Ba8 8. a7 Kb4 9. Bc6 $18) 2. a6 Kb5 3. a7 Bc6 $1 4. Bxc6+ Kb6
5. a8=N+ $8 1-0

[Event "Lelo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7K/8/8/6k1/p7/p2B4/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Bc4 $8 (1. Bb1 $2 Kf4 ({or} 1... Kf6 2. Kg8 Ke5 3. Kf7 Kd4 4.
Ke6 Kc3 5. Kd5 Kb2 $19) 2. Kg7 Ke3 3. Kf6 Kd2 4. Ke5 Kc1 5. Ba2 Kb2 6. Bg8 a2
7. Bxa2 Kxa2 $19) 1... Kf6 {Shoulder check to keep the Kh8 away} (1... Kf5 2.
Kg7 $11 {is easy.}) 2. Bg8 $8 {Keeps the B on the critical diagonal and puts
it on the only square where Black's K can't gain a tempo by attacking it.} Ke5
(2... Kg6 3. Bh7+ Kf6 4. Bg8 $8 $11) 3. Kg7 Kd4 4. Kf6 Kc3 5. Ke5 Kb2 6. Kd4 a2
7. Bxa2 Kxa2 8. Kc3 a3 9. Kc2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Thèmes 64 #2149"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1970.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "K4n2/6p1/kP6/6P1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "1970.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. b7 Nd7 2. b8=N+ $1 (2. b8=Q $2 Nb6+ $1 (2... Nxb8 $2 3. Kxb8
$11) 3. Qxb6+ Kxb6 4. Kb8 Kc6 5. Kc8 Kd6 6. Kd8 Ke6 7. Ke8 Kf5 8. Kf7 g6 $19)
2... Nxb8 3. Kxb8 Kb6 4. Kc8 Kc6 5. Kd8 Kd6 6. Ke8 Ke6 7. Kf8 Kf5 (7... g6 $2
8. Kg7 Kf5 9. Kh6 $22 $18) 8. Kxg7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Etyudeby"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/kPPP4/P1K5/q7/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. c8=N+ $8 (1. dxe8=Q $2 Qxa6+ 2. Kd7 (2. Kc5 Qa5+ $11) 2...
Qb5+ 3. Kd8 (3. Ke7 Qe5+ 4. Kf8 Qh8+ $11) 3... Qg5+ 4. Qe7 Qg8+ 5. Kd7 Qd5+ 6.
Qd6 Qf7+ 7. Kc6 Qc4+ $11) 1... Rxc8+ (1... Kb8 2. a7+ Qxa7 3. Nxa7 Rd8 4. Kb6
$1 {and Nc6#.}) (1... Kxa6 2. b8=N#) 2. dxc8=N+ $1 Kb8 (2... Kxa6 3. b8=N# {a
third underpromotion to a N.}) 3. a7+ Qxa7 4. Nxa7 Kxa7 5. Kc7 1-0

[Event "Norchi Lenineli"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1946.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/B7/8/6NR/6p1/6p1/4K1k1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "1946.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rh2 $1 (1. Nh2 $2 gxh2 2. Bb7 $8 $11) 1... gxh2 2. Ne5 Kh1 (
2... h1=Q 3. Nf3#) 3. Bb7 Kg1 4. Nf3+ Kh1 5. Kf2 g1=Q+ 6. Nxg1# 1-0

[Event "Achalgazdra Kommunisti"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1937.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p6/8/4B3/8/5B2/1p1p3p/bk1K4 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "1937.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Bd6 b5 2. Bb4 (2. Be4+ $2 Ka2 3. Bd5+ Kb1 4. Bxh2 $2 b4 5.
Kxd2 b3 $11) 2... h1=Q+ 3. Bxh1 Ka2 4. Bd5+ Kb1 5. Ba3 $1 b4 6. Bb3 $1 bxa3 7.
Bg8 ({or} 7. Kxd2) 7... a2 8. Bh7# 1-0

[Event "Shakhmatnye Etyudy"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "7r/K6P/P7/8/1R6/6k1/P6p/1N6 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "1952.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rb3+ Kg4 2. Rb4+ Kg5 3. Rb5+ Kg6 4. Rb6+ Kxh7 5. Na3 $1 (5.
Rb7+ $2 Kg6 6. Rb6+ Kf5 7. Rb5+ Ke6) 5... h1=Q 6. Rb7+ Kg6 7. Rb6+ Kf5 8. Rb5+
Ke4 9. Rb4+ Kd3 10. Rb3+ Kd2 11. Rb2+ Kc3 12. Rb3+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Mkhedruli"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1975.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/8/8/8/5r2/k5K1/3N4/2N5 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "21"]
[EventDate "1975.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Nb1+ $8 $11 Ka4 {If the K steps onto the b-file one of the Rs
gets forked.} 2. Nc3+ $8 Ka5 3. Nb3+ $8 Ka6 4. Nc5+ $8 Ka7 5. Ne6 $8 (5. Nb5+
$2 Kb6 6. Nd7+ Kxb5 $1 $19) 5... Rf3+ 6. Kg4 $8 (6. Kg2 $2 Rf2+ 7. Kg1 (7. Kg3
R8f3+) 7... Rf1+ 8. Kg2 R8f2+ $19) 6... R8f7 (6... R8f6 7. Nd5 R6f5 (7... Rf7
8. Ng5 $11) 8. Nd4 $11) (6... R8f5 7. Nb5+ Kb6 8. Nbd4 $11) 7. Nb5+ $8 Kb6 8.
Nd6 $8 R7f6 9. Ne4 $8 (9. Ne8 $2 Rxe6) 9... R6f5 10. Nd6 Rf6 11. Ne4 $8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Drosha Ty"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1957.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "N7/8/8/4bp2/K7/3P3p/k7/6B1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "1957.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. d4 $1 (1. Nb6 $2 Bd4 {or Bf4}) (1. Kb4 $2 f4 $19) 1... Bxd4 (
1... h2 2. Bxh2 Bxh2 3. Kb4 Kb2 4. Nb6 $11) 2. Bh2 Bg1 $1 (2... Be3 3. Nc7 f4
4. Nd5 $11) 3. Bxg1 (3. Bg3 $2 Be3 4. Nc7 f4 $19) 3... f4 4. Nb6 (4. Nc7 f3 5.
Nd5 (5. Nb5 $2 h2 6. Bxh2 f2 7. Nc3+ Ka1 8. Bd6 (8. Be5 f1=Q 9. Ne4+ Ka2 10.
Nc3+ Kb2 $19) 8... f1=Q 9. Ba3 Qc4+ $19) 5... f2 6. Nc3+ $1 Ka1 7. Bxf2 {
transposes to the mainline.}) 4... f3 5. Nd5 f2 6. Nc3+ $1 (6. Bxf2 $2 h2 7.
Nc3+ Kb2 8. Nd1+ Kc2 $19) 6... Ka1 7. Bxf2 h2 8. Bc5 $1 h1=Q 9. Ba3 $1 Qb7 10.
Bc1 {White's minors keep Black's K in a box, and there's no zugzwang possible
because the B can oscillate between c1 and a3 while the K defends the N from
b3 and c2.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Krivogo Roga"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1976.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4q3/4p2n/6p1/6P1/1p6/1p6/p2K4/kr2N1B1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "1976.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Nc2+ $1 (1. Bd4+ $2 Rb2+ 2. Nc2+ Kb1 $1 $19) 1... bxc2 (1...
Kb2 $2 2. Bd4#) 2. Bd4+ Rb2 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 3. Kc1 Qh8 $8 4. Bc3
$8 {Taking the B is stalemate, but allowing Bxb2 is mate.} (4. Bxh8 $2 Nf6 $1
$19 5. gxf6 Rb1+ 6. Kxc2 b3+ $19) 4... Qg7 $1 5. Bd4 $8 (5. Bxg7 $2 Nf6 $19)
5... Qh8 6. Bc3 b3 7. Bd4 e6 (7... Qxd4 $11) (7... Nxg5 $4 8. Bxh8 $18) 8. Bxh8
Nf6 9. Bxf6 e5 10. Bxe5 $11 1/2-1/2

[Event "Ceskoslovensky Sach"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1954.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/4k1K1/2r2p1P/4p3/p3P3/8/8/5B2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[EventDate "1953.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. h7 $1 (1. Bb5 $2 Rc2 2. Bxa4 Rg2+ 3. Kh8 f5 4. exf5 Kf6 5. Bc6
Rg4 6. h7 $140 Rd4 $19 {#2}) 1... Rc8 2. Bb5 $1 (2. Bc4 $2 a3 3. Bf7 (3. Bg8
Rc2) (3. Bb3 Rc3) (3. Kg6 Rh8 4. Kg7 Rxh7+ 5. Kxh7 f5) 3... Rb8 $1 4. Bd5 Rb1
5. h8=Q Rg1+ 6. Kh7 Rh1+ 7. Kg7 Rxh8 8. Kxh8 f5) (2. h8=Q $2 Rxh8 3. Kxh8 f5 4.
exf5 Kf6 5. Bg2 a3 6. Bd5 e4 $19) 2... a3 (2... Rc3 3. Bxa4 Rg3+ 4. Kh6 Rh3+ 5.
Kg7 $11) 3. Bc4 $8 Ra8 4. Ba2 $8 (4. Bg8 $2 a2 5. Bxa2 (5. h8=Q a1=Q 6. Qh7
Qg1+ $19) 5... Rxa2 6. h8=Q Rg2+ 7. Kh7 Rh2+ 8. Kg7 Rxh8 9. Kxh8 f5 $19) (4.
Bd5 $2 Rd8 $8 5. Bf7 Rb8 $8 6. Bc4 Rb2 $19) 4... Rb8 {Diagram [#]} 5. Bf7 $8 {
The B must go here to be able to block checks on the g-file so that Black
cannot play ...Rb2 (supporting ...a2 and preparing to skewer after a promotion
on the h-file).} (5. Bg8 $2 Rb2 6. h8=Q Rg2+ 7. Kh7 Rh2+ 8. Kg7 Rxh8 9. Kxh8 f5
10. exf5 Kf6 $1 $19) 5... Rc8 (5... Rb1 $4 6. h8=Q Rg1+ 7. Bg6 $18) 6. Bc4 $8
Rd8 7. Bd5 $8 {Diagram [#]Critical Position  What happens on ...Rh8} Rh8 $1 {
Best try.} 8. Kxh8 $8 Kf8 $8 9. Bg8 $8 (9. Ba2 $2 f5 10. exf5 e4 $19 {There's
no stalemate or stopping the Ps.}) 9... f5 10. exf5 e4 11. f6 e3 12. f7 e2
1/2-1/2

[Event "Bulletin Central Chess Club USSR#12"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1b5R/5p1P/5Ppk/8/6PP/p7/P6p/K7 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "18"]
[EventDate "1974.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. g5+ (1. Rxb8 $2 h1=Q+ 2. Rb1 Qa8 3. Rb7 Kxh7 4. Rxf7+ Kg8 $19)
1... Kh5 2. Rxb8 h1=Q+ 3. Rb1 Qa8 4. h8=Q+ $1 (4. Rb4 $2 Qh8 $1 5. Kb1 Qc8 (
5... Qxh7 $2 6. Ka1 Qg8 7. Rb8 $11) 6. h8=Q+ Qxh8 7. Ka1 Qd8 $19) 4... Qxh8 5.
Rb8 $1 Qh7 6. Rb4 $1 Qg8 7. Rb8 $1 Qh7 8. Rb4 $1 Qg8 9. Rb8 Qxb8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Shakhmatna Misl #18"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1959.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/3p2p1/1K2R3/1P6/7p/5b2/k7 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "1959.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rd5 $1 (1. Re8 $2 g5 $19) 1... h2 2. Rd1+ Ka2 $1 3. Rh1 Bg1 (
3... Bg3 4. Kc4 $1 g5 5. Kd5 g4 6. b5 Bf4 (6... Bf2 $2 7. Rxh2 g3 8. Rg2 Kb3 9.
Kxd6 $18) 7. Ke4 $1 Bg3 8. b6 d5+ $1 9. Kxd5 $11) 4. Ka6 $1 (4. Kc4 $2 g5 5. b5
g4 6. b6 g3 7. b7 Ba7 $19) 4... g5 (4... d5 5. b5 d4 6. b6 d3 7. b7 d2 8. b8=Q
d1=Q 9. Qxh2+ $1 $11) 5. b5 g4 6. b6 g3 7. b7 g2 8. b8=Q $8 (8. Rxh2 $2 Bxh2 9.
b8=Q g1=Q $19) 8... gxh1=Q 9. Qg8+ $1 $11 {and on any move 10.Qd5!.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Shakhmaty v SSSR #15"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1960.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6Pb/1P6/1P6/7r/8/6p1/R3K2k w Q - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "14"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. O-O-O+ $1 (1. Kf2+ Kh2 2. b7 Rf4+ 3. Ke3 Re4+ 4. Kf3 $8 {
(cook, JKU)} (4. Kf2 $2 Re8 5. Rg1 (5. Ra8 g1=Q+ 6. Kf3 Qg3#) 5... Be4 $8 $19)
4... Re8 5. b8=Q+ $1 Rxb8 6. Ra2 $8 Kh1 7. Rxg2 $8 Be4+ 8. Kxe4 $8 Kxg2 $11)
1... g1=Q (1... Kh2 $2 2. b7 $18) 2. Rxg1+ Kxg1 3. g8=Q+ $1 (3. b7 $2 Rc4+ $8
4. Kb2 Rb4+ 5. Ka1 Rb1+ $1 6. Ka2 Rxb5 $19) 3... Bxg8 4. b7 Rc4+ 5. Kb2 Rb4+ 6.
Ka1 Rxb5 7. b8=Q Rxb8 1/2-1/2

[Event "64 #28"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.04.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k7/6r1/7R/p7/8/8/8/7K w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "1974.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rh5 $1 (1. Ra6+ $2 Ra7 $1 2. Re6 a4 3. Kg2 a3 4. Re1 a2 5. Ra1
Kb7 6. Kf2 Kb6 7. Ke2 Kb5 8. Kd2 Kb4 9. Kc2 Ka3 $1 $19) 1... a4 (1... Ra7 2.
Kg2 a4 3. Kf2 a3 4. Rh1 $1 a2 5. Ra1 Kb7 6. Ke2 Kb6 7. Kd2 Kb5 8. Kc2 Kb4 9.
Kb2 $11) 2. Rh8+ $1 (2. Ra5+ $2 Ra7 $19) 2... Kb7 3. Rh4 $1 a3 4. Rh3 $1 (4.
Ra4 $2 Rg3 $1 {#25} 5. Kh2 Rc3 6. Kg2 Kb6 7. Kf2 Kb5 8. Ra8 Kb4 9. Ke2 Kb3 10.
Kd2 Kb2 $19) 4... a2 5. Ra3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Thèmes 64 #1028"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6P1/8/8/2p5/5K2/3p4/k7 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "1963.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Ke2 c3 2. g8=R $1 (2. g8=Q $2 d1=Q+ $1 3. Kxd1 c2+ $1 4. Kxc2
$11) 2... Kb2 3. Rg1 (3. Rc8 $2 Kc2 4. Rd8 Kc1 $11) 3... Kc2 4. Rf1 ({or} 4.
Rh1 $18) 4... Kb3 5. Kd3 Kb2 6. Rg1 Kb3 (6... d1=Q+ 7. Rxd1 c2 8. Rd2 $18) 7.
Rb1+ Ka2 8. Kc2 1-0

[Event "Shakhmaty v SSSR #46"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/K5p1/8/8/7p/7k/8/6R1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "19"]
[EventDate "1961.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rg5 $8 (1. Rxg7 $2 Kh2 2. Kb6 h3 3. Kc5 Kh1 4. Kd4 h2 5. Ke3
$11) (1. Kb6 $2 g5 $1 2. Kc5 Kh2 3. Ra1 g4 4. Kd4 g3 5. Ke3 g2 6. Kf2 h3 7. Rd1
g1=Q+ 8. Rxg1 $11) (1. Rg6 $2 Kh2 2. Kb6 h3 3. Kc5 Kh1 4. Kd4 h2 5. Rg3 g5 6.
Ke3 g4 $11) 1... Kh2 2. Kb6 h3 3. Kc5 Kh1 4. Kd4 h2 5. Ke3 g6 6. Rg3 $8 g5 7.
Kf2 g4 8. Ra3 {(R anywhere from a3-e3)} g3+ 9. Kxg3 Kg1 10. Ra1# 1-0

[Event "64 #50"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1979.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "K7/4R3/5k2/8/8/1p6/6r1/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "1979.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Re4 $1 (1. Re1 $2 b2 2. Kb7 Rc2 3. Rb1 Ke5 4. Kb6 Kd4 5. Kb5
Kc3 $19) (1. Re3 $2 b2 2. Rb3 Ke5 3. Kb7 Kd4 4. Kb6 Kc4 $19) (1. Rb7 $2 Rg8+ 2.
Ka7 Rg7 $19) 1... b2 2. Rb4 Ke5 3. Kb7 Kd5 (3... Kd6 4. Kb6 Kd5 5. Kb5 Rg8 6.
Ka6 Ra8+ 7. Kb7 Ra2 8. Kb6 Ra8 9. Kb7 $11) 4. Kb6 Rh2 (4... Rg8 5. Ka6 Ra8+ 6.
Kb7 Ra2 7. Kb6 $1 Ra8 8. Kb7 $1 $11) 5. Kb5 Rh8 6. Ka6 $1 (6. Ka4 $2 Ra8+ $19)
6... Ra8+ 7. Kb7 Ra2 8. Kb6 $1 Ra8 (8... Kd6 9. Rb5 {or Rb3} (9. Rd4+ $2 Ke5
10. Rb4 Kd5 $19) 9... Ra8 10. Kb7 $8 $11) 9. Kb7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Achalgazdra Kommunisti"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1955.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/P6P/8/8/8/1r6/K1k5 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "1955.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. a7 $1 (1. h7 $4 Rb6 $19 ({or} 1... Rb8 $19)) 1... Rb1+ 2. Ka2
Rb2+ 3. Ka3 Kb1 4. h7 Ra2+ (4... Rh2 5. Kb4) 5. Kb4 Rb2+ 6. Ka5 Ra2+ 7. Kb6
Rb2+ 8. Kc7 Rc2+ 9. Kd7 Rd2+ 10. Ke7 (10. Ke6 $2 Rd8 $11) 10... Re2+ 11. Kf7 (
11. Kf6 $2 Re8 $11) 11... Rf2+ 12. Kg6 Rg2+ (12... Rf8 13. Kg7 $1 $18) 13. Kh5
Ra2 14. Kg4 Ra4+ (14... Rg2+ 15. Kf3 $18 {#9}) 15. Kf5 Ra5+ 16. Ke4 Ra4+ 17.
Kd5 Ra5+ 18. Kc4 Ra4+ 19. Kb5 {#23} 1-0

[Event "Shakhmaty v SSSR #01"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r6/1P6/8/8/8/2K5/k7/2R5 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "1988.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rc2+ $8 Ka1 $1 (1... Ka3 2. Rb2 $18) (1... Kb1 2. Rb2+ $1 Ka1
3. Rb6 $18) 2. Rb2 $1 Rc8+ $5 3. Kd2 $1 (3. Kb3 $2 Rc3+ $1 4. Ka4 Ra3+ 5. Kb4 (
5. Kxa3 $11) 5... Kxb2 6. Kc5 $11) 3... Rd8+ 4. Kc1 $1 Rc8+ 5. Rc2 Rb8 6. Rc8
$1 (6. Rc7 $2 Ka2 $11) 6... Rxb7 7. Ra8+ Ra7 8. Rxa7# 1-0

[Event "Schach (1986/12)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1985.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/7P/5P1P/6p1/5pPb/5PpP/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1985.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#] The following is a cleaner version of a theme Nadareishvili first
explored in a 1947 study.} 1. f6 Kh8 (1... Kh7 2. f7 Kxh6 3. f8=Q+) 2. f7 Kh7
3. f8=R (3. f8=Q $2) 3... Kxh6 4. Rf5 Kg7 5. Ra5 Kh6 6. Rb5 Kh7 7. Rb6 Kg7 8.
h6+ Kh7 9. Ra6 Kg8 10. Ra5 Kh7 11. Rh5 Kg6 12. h7 Kxh5 13. h8=Q+ Kg6 14. Qh4
Kg7 15. Qh5 Kg8 {Diagram [#]Critical Position} 16. Qh6 {White keeps the Q a
knight-jump from K to shepherd it toward the bottom left corner, where it will
be "outside the square" of the Pg3.} Kf7 17. Qg5 Kf8 18. Qg6 Ke7 19. Qf5 Ke8
20. Qf6 Kd7 21. Qe5 Kd8 22. Qe6 Kc7 23. Qd5 Kc8 24. Qd6 Kb7 25. Qc5 Kb8 26. Qc6
Ka7 27. Qc8 Kb6 28. Qd7 Kc5 29. Qe6 Kd4 30. Qf5 Kc4 31. Qe5 Kb4 (31... Kd3 32.
Qf4 Kc3 33. Qe4 $18) 32. Qd5 Ka4 33. Qb7 (33. Qc5 {is slightly faster, but
we'll follow the original solution, which pushes the K to a1.}) 33... Ka5 34.
Qb3 Ka6 35. Qb8 $1 Ka5 36. Qb7 Ka4 37. Qb6 Ka3 38. Qb5 Ka2 39. Qb4 Ka1 40. Qd2
Kb1 41. Qh6 Kc2 42. Qxh3 $1 {The point.} gxh3 43. g4 {#15} 1-0

[Event "Lelo"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadareishvili, Gia"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "John Upper"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5B2/6K1/8/1B6/8/1pk5/8/b1N5 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2014.05.01"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Kg6 b2 2. Na2+ $1 Kb3 (2... Kc2 3. Ba4+ Kd2 4. Bb4+ Kd3 5. Nc3
Kc4 6. Ba5 b1=Q+ 7. Nxb1 {#25.}) 3. Bd3 Kxa2 {#47} (3... b1=Q 4. Bxb1 Kb2 5.
Nc3 Kxc3 6. Bg7+ $18) 4. Bc4+ Kb1 5. Bb3 Kc1 6. Bh6+ Kb1 {Diagram [#]} 7. Kg5
Kc1 8. Kf5+ Kb1 9. Kf4 Kc1 10. Ke4+ Kb1 11. Ke3 Kc1 12. Kd3+ Kb1 13. Bf8 $1 Kc1
14. Ba3 Kb1 15. Kd4 Kc1 16. Kc3 Kb1 17. Bf7 Kc1 18. Bh5 Kb1 19. Kb3 Kc1 20. Bg6
Kd2 21. Bb1 Kc1 22. Ka2 {Diagram [#]Now that the Pb2 is permanently blockaded 
(and the Ba1 locked in), White can use the KBB to force Black's K to the only
square where it can be mated while the light-squared B sits on b1.} Kd2 23.
Bb4+ Kd1 24. Be7 Kd2 25. Bf6 Ke3 26. Kb3 Kd2 27. Bg5+ Ke2 28. Kc3 Kf3 29. Kd2
Kg4 30. Bh6 Kh5 31. Be3 Kg4 32. Ke2 Kh5 33. Kf3 Kh4 34. Bc5 Kg5 35. Be7+ Kh5
36. Kf4 Kh6 37. Bf6 Kh5 38. Kf5 Kh6 39. Bg5+ Kg7 40. Ke6 Kf8 41. Kd7 Kf7 42.
Kd6 Kf8 43. Ke6 Ke8 44. Bg6+ Kf8 45. Bh6+ Kg8 46. Bb1 Kh8 47. Kf6 Kg8 48. Kg6
Kh8 49. Bg7+ Kg8 50. Ba2# {Diagram [#]} 1-0

