Gens Una Sumus!
Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club Newsletter #856
January 18, 2019
"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them" – Ralph Waldo Emerson
One of the beautiful things about chess is its authenticity. Your character, style, and emotions are all lay bare in how you play and how you deal with adversity and success within the game. It is a liberating thing to be able to be yourself, as with friends. Over the board, this freedom can also come out when you experiment with a new style or try something innovative to you. I think this what makes the chess club something special. The club provides a venue to live out this experience in play, be it recreational, tournament or simply playing among friends. The joy of sharing moments of authenticity among friends through chess makes the club a venue of cultural, social, and intellectual significance.
Abel Talamantez
Chess Director, Mechanics' Institute
Winter TNM Round 2 in Full Swing
Our Winter TNM started round 2 as a refuge from the San Francisco rain. While we had to deal with a glitch in launching the DGT board broadcast on board 1, we continue to stay resilient and ready to try again next Tuesday with success. We posted the standings on Wednesday morning and we have streamlined our processes to get the PGN files and newsletter out in a timely manner. Thank you for your support and patience as we learned to make some adjustments, but you can expect prompt service and support moving forward.
Henry Gross Memorial Saturday February 2nd
Register now for the 19th annual Henry Gross Memorial happening on Saturday February 2, 2019 at the chess club. This will be a 5 round swiss, G/40;d5 time control USCF rated. Come at and enjoy an affordable Saturday packed with rated chess, time scrambles, and fun. I have included some pictures from our January Bob Burger Open, which was won by Vyom Vidyarthi with a perfect 5/5. To register, please go to:
https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/Tournaments2019/19thAnnualHenryGrossMemorial
Scholastic Chess News
Our scholastic chess program is developing quite nicely, providing classes to many schools in San Francisco, Burlingame and Hillsborough. In all, we currently run 27 programs, of which, 18 are provided free of charge to schools in San Francisco. The goal of our classes is to inspire chess and promote the critical thinking and social/emotional benefits that chess can offer. We hope that through chess, children can develop skills that will be applicable to many areas of their life in addition to improving their game.
Monthly Rated Scholastic Event
Beginning Saturday April 13, 2019, we will be offering a once a month scholastic rated swiss tournament at West Portal Elementary School. This will give developing younger players an option to engage in rated weekend events in San Francisco to learn, develop their skills, improve their rating and meet new friends. We will also concurrently at this event offer a new event we will call our Junior Mechanic Scholastic (JMS) tournament, which is aimed at brand new players that have never played a rated game. This unrated event will serve as a guide and practice for rated events and children and parents will learn what they need to know to participate in their first rated tournament.
2019 San Francisco Spring Scholastic Championship
Our big 2019 San Francisco Spring Scholastic Championship will take place on Saturday March 23, 2019 and is approaching fast! This event is a celebration of scholastic chess at Golden Gate Park, where there will be a rated open section championship, and an unrated section for grades K-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8, 9-12. Best of all, entry for all is free! There will also be a 20-board simultaneous exhibition with GM Daniel Naroditsky. We had about 225 students participate last year and we are looking to have an even bigger turnout this year!
Registration for both the Spring Scholastic Championship and the April scholastic are now open; please visit the club homepage or follow these links:
https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/Tournaments2019/2019SanFranciscoScholasticChampionship
Support Scholastic Chess!
We are always in need of support in the form of contributions to help fund staffing and resources for these events, as well as volunteers. While we provide our classes and events for free, we do want to maintain quality in our venues and staffing. If you can support our Scholastic Chess Initiative, either through donations or with your time, please reach out to us at: [email protected].
SF Mechanics Suffer Tough Loss Against Australia
The San Francisco Mechanics PRO Chess League team suffered a defeat on Tuesday to the Australia Kangaroos 11-5. This puts us at 0-2 for the year, but there is still time to mount a comeback in the standings. We have 5 matches remaining, and an additional 3 events called Battle Royale, which pits 8 teams against each other in an all out battle. It is an uphill battle, but I know the Mechanics are good for the fight, especially with the return of GM Sam Shankland, who is currently unavailable as he is playing in the Tata Steel Masters. We will root the Mechanics on next week on Tuesday from the club, as the live broadcast returns to the Mechanics' Institute with IM David Pruess commentating. They will face the Seattle Sluggers, lead by GM Hikaru Nakamura. Play will start at 5:45pm Tuesday, and we will be showing coverage from the big screen inside the club.
Tata Steel Masters at Halfway Point
Many of the best players in the world are currently in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands for this 14 player single round robin, including world champion GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and our very own GM Sam Shankland. Here is the crosstable for the event:
Play resumes Friday January 18th. For coverage, please visit this link:
https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/tata-steel-masters-2019/5/1/1
Tony Lama's Teasers
28 year Mechanics' Institute security guard and chess enthusiast Tony Lama loves to entertain all comers with his mate in 3 problems, and we thought we would share the same pain in solving them with our readers. We will provide the problem, with the solution coming the next week, along with the next puzzle. The following is the composition for this week:
Wednesday Night Blitz Report
International Master and former MI Chess Club Director John Donaldson made his first appearance in the Wednesday Night Blitz on January 16th and won handily with a score of 10.5 out of 12. Second was Expert Carlos Davila with 9.5 and 3rd was Jules Jelinek with 9. 13 players participated.
A Night of Blitz Magic with the "Magician from Riga".
By Paul Whitehead
In 1991 the 2nd Pan-Pacific International Chess Tournament was held in San Francisco, organized in large part by current M.I. Grandmaster in Residence Nick de Firmian and Mechanics' Institute board members Neil Falconer and Robert Burger. The tournament was held in memory of another M.I. board member, Guthrie "Mac" McClain, and was won by Bobby Fischer's old friend, Grandmaster Eugenio Torre from the Philippines. Of further note is that another, future M.I. board member played as well — Grandmaster Patrick Wolff.
But the star attraction among the invited was the legendary "Magician from Riga", Mikhail Tal.
World Champion in 1960, Tal was the most feared attacking player in the world, a favorite of chess fans everywhere. When Bobby Fischer was coming up, Tal blew him away. He blew EVERYONE away. One might even say that he "smoked" them...
"Mischa" Tal was not a model of healthy living. He drank and smoked, and he was in and out of hospitals for this and that most of his life. Born in 1936, he died in 1993, at the age of only 56.
It was rumored that upon arriving in New York on his way here, he discovered that one cannot smoke on domestic flights in the United States... so he took a flight to Montreal... then an international flight to San Francisco... all so he could continue to puff away uninterruptedly!
So when Tal rolled into the M.I. Chess Club on a rainy night in March of 1991 to play in a big blitz tournament organized by club director Max Wilkerson, we all knew what to expect: smoke and fire. Ashtrays were everywhere, as smoking was strongly encouraged at the time.
The tournament was divided into 2 sections of 18 players — and I got to play Tal! I lost that game, but longtime Mechanics' member Joe Tracy nicked him for a draw — and Joe didn't even smoke!
When the smoke cleared, Tal had won his section, but I was only 1/2 a point behind and finished 2nd. In the other section Berkeley Grandmaster Walter Browne won, and San Francisco Master Richard Lobo finished 2nd. On to the playoffs... Browne and Lobo the non-smokers, Tal and I with ashtrays, lighters and cigarettes at the ready. Who would prevail? I didn't care: I now had the chance to play Tal 2 more games!
On we went, and as Browne squared off with Lobo, I took my chair opposite Tal.
What happened later that night I can only dimly recall: Browne somehow won the event after Tal "played to the gallery" and went down in a blaze of glory, I took 3rd place behind Tal (and drew him a game!) and took 2 friends out to dinner with the $90.00 I won, but...
There was a moment, the highlight of my life in chess, a moment I will never forget, when a hush seemed to fall over the chess room and each spectator seemed to hold their breath, the world stopped and...
Mikhail Tal lit my cigarette.
From round 2 of the 2019 Winter Tuesday Night Marathon:
(18325) Jensen,Christian (1857) - Diaz,Conrado (2343) [B01]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.1), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Bc4 [6.Ne5] 6...Bf5 7.0-0?! [7.Ne5 e6 (7...Bg6!?) 8.g4 (8.Qe2!?) 8...Bg6 (8...Be4 9.0-0! (9.f3 Bd5 10.Bd3 (10.Qe2) ) ) 9.h4 (9.Bd2!?) 9...Nbd7 (9...Bd6!) ; 7.Bd2; 7.Qe2] 7...e6 8.Bf4 [8.Ne5; 8.Re1; 8.Bd2; 8.Ne2!?] 8...Be7 [8...Nbd7; 8...Nd5] 9.Qe2 [9.Qd2!?; 9.Re1; 9.h3] 9...0-0 [9...Nbd7!?] 10.h3 Nbd7 11.Nh4 [11.a3; 11.Bb3!?] 11...Bg6 [11...Nb6!?; 11...Rfe8] 12.Nxg6 hxg6 13.Rfd1 [13.Rad1 Rfe8 14.Rfe1 Bb4 15.Bd2 Qc7 16.Ne4 Bxd2 17.Rxd2 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Nf6 19.Qh4 Rad8 20.Bb3 Qd7 ½-½ (20) Avila,P (2117)-Rivera,A (2389) Bogota 2011; 13.Bb3 Qf5 14.Qd2 Bb4 ½-½ (71) Condie,M (2310)-Fernandes,A Copenhagen 1982; 13.Rfe1 Bb4 14.Bd2 Rfe8 15.a3 Bxc3 16.Bxc3 Qc7 17.Bd2 Qb6 18.c3 1-0 (71) Pinto,C (2078)-Do Nascimento,P (1710) Brazil 2011] 13...Rfe8 14.Ne4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4 Nf6 16.Qf3 Rad8 17.g4 Qb6 18.c3 Nd5 19.Bd2 Rd7 20.b4 Red8 21.a4 a5 22.b5 Qc7 23.bxc6 bxc6 24.Qe4 Bd6 25.Re1 Bf4 26.Bxf4 Nxf4 27.Re3 Nd5 28.Rg3 c5 29.Bb5 Rd6 30.dxc5 Qxc5 31.c4 Nf6 32.Qe3 Rd4 33.Re1 Qb4 34.Qc1 Ne4 35.Rge3 Nd2 36.c5 Nb3 37.Qc3 Nxc5 38.Rc1 Nxa4 39.Bxa4 Qxa4 40.Ra1 Qxa1+ 41.Qxa1 Rd1+ 42.Re1 Rxa1 43.Rxa1 Rd5 0-1
(18326) Winslow,Elliott (2318) - Harris,John (1854) [D53]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.2), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 a6 This is one of those moves: either he is just making moves, or he studies modern opening theory. It just so happens that I, at least during this game, was firmly in the former category for this line! 5.Bg5
(18327) Hakobyan,Sos (1829) - Ye,Win Aung (2229) [B06]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.3), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.h3 a6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Be3 b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.b4 0-0 9.0-0 Nbd7 10.Re1 Rc8 11.Bd2 c5 12.bxc5 dxc5 13.d5 b4 14.Na4 c4 15.Bxb4 cxd3 16.Qxd3 a5 17.Ba3 Re8 18.Rac1 Qc7 19.c4 Ba6 20.Qd1 Nh5 21.Bxe7 Rxe7 22.d6 Qd8 23.dxe7 Qxe7 24.Qd5 Nc5 25.Nxc5 Rxc5 26.Qa8+ Bc8 27.Rb1 Qc7 28.Rb8 h6 29.Reb1 Kh7 30.e5 Rxc4 31.R8b5 a4 32.Qa5 Rc1+ 33.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 34.Kh2 Qc2 35.Qd2 Qxd2 36.Nxd2 Be6 37.a3 Nf4 38.Ra5 Nd3 39.Rxa4 Nxf2 40.Nf3 Nd3 41.Ra5 no more moves recorded: 0-1 0-1
(18328) Wong,Russell (2200) - Babayan,Gagik (1806) [C29]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.4), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 Nf6 4.fxe5 Nxe5 5.d4 Ng6 6.e5 Ng8 7.Nf3 h6 8.Bc4 Bb4 9.0-0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 N8e7 11.Ng5 0-0 12.Nxf7 Rxf7 13.Rxf7 d5 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Qf3 d5
(18329) Tsodikova,Natalya (2185) - Mercado,Adam (1714) [C90]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.6), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.0-0 d6 8.c3 Na5 9.Bc2 c5 10.Re1 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Nbd2 0-0 13.Nf1 Re8 14.Ng3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 g6 16.Bg5 Nd7 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Nf1 Qf6 19.Qg4 Qe6 20.Ne3 Nf6 21.Qf3 c4 22.Rad1 Rad8 23.d4 exd4 24.cxd4 Nxe4 25.d5 Qe5 26.Ng4 Ng5 27.Nxe5 1-0
(18330) Sadowsky,Jacob (1703) - Ivanov,Aleksandr (2171) [C18]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.7), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.Bg5 c5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Nbc6 8.Nf3 h6 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Be2 Bd7 11.0-0 0-0 12.Ne1 f6 13.f4 fxe5 14.fxe5 Qg5 15.Qd3 Rxf1+ 16.Bxf1 Rf8 17.g3 Be8 18.Bh3 Bg6 19.Bxe6+ Kh7 20.Qe2 Be4 21.Rd1 cxd4 22.cxd4 Qe7 23.Bxd5 Bxd5 24.c4 Bf7 25.Nf3 Bxc4 26.Qxc4 Rxf3 27.d5 Qxe5 28.dxc6 Rc3 29.Qf7 Rc2 30.cxb7 Qe3+ 31.Kf1 Qe2+ 0-1
(18331) Boldi,Ethan Kazanjian (2134) - Greene,Sam (1672) [B13]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.8), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bf5 6.Nf3 Qa5 7.Bd2 Qd8 8.Be2 Nc6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Bc4 Nf6 12.Be3 e6 13.h3 Bh5 14.Re1 Bb4 15.d5 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Nxd5 17.Bc5 Qa5 18.Qxd5 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Ne7 20.Qxb7 0-0 21.Qxe7 Rfe8 22.Qd6 Red8 23.Qe5 Rdc8 24.Bd4 Qxe5 25.Rxe5 Rxc4 26.Rb1 Rc6 27.a4 Rac8 28.Rb7 f6 29.Ra5 e5 30.Be3 a6 31.c4 Rxc4 32.Rxa6 Rh4 33.Kg2 f5 34.Raa7 g6 35.Bg5 Rh5 36.Bf6 e4 37.fxe4 fxe4 38.Rg7+ Kf8 39.Rxh7 Rxh7 40.Rxh7 Rc6 41.Be7+ Kg8 42.Rh4 Re6 43.Bc5 Rc6 44.Be3 Rc4 45.a5 Kf7 46.a6 Ra4 47.a7 g5 48.Rh8 1-0
(18332) Cendejas,Juan (1686) - Gaffagan,Steven (2054) [B20]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.9), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.axb4 dxe4 5.Bb2 Nf6 6.Bc4 e5 7.b5 Bc5 8.h3 0-0 9.Ne2 Nbd7 10.0-0 Nb6 11.Bb3 Re8 12.Ng3 Be6 13.Bxe6 Rxe6 14.Qe2 Nbd5 15.Nc3 Nf4 16.Qe1 Bd4 17.Rb1 Rc8 18.Ngxe4 Nxe4 19.Qxe4 Rg6 20.Qxb7 Nxh3+ 21.Kh2 Nxf2 22.g3 Rxg3 23.Qxc8 Qxc8 0-1
(18333) Askin,David Benjamin (2019) - Abraham,Michael (1609) [D13]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.10), 15.01.2019
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Bc8 7.Bg5 e6 8.e3 Be7 9.Bb5+ Nbd7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rac1 Ne4 12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nd2 f5 15.Bxd7 Bxd7 16.Rc7 Qd6 17.Qxb7 Rfd8 18.Nc4 Qd5 19.Ne5 Qxb7 20.Rxb7 Be8 21.Rc1 Rac8 22.Rcc7 Rxc7 23.Rxc7 a6 24.Kf1 f4 25.Ke2 Bb5+ 26.Kd2 g5 27.Nf7 Rd5 28.Nh6+ Kh8 29.Ng4 h5 30.Nf6 1-0
(18334) Cortinas,Martin A (1666) - Askin,Michael (1993) [B11]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.11), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.d4 dxe4 7.Qxe4 Nf6 8.Bg5 Nxe4 0-1
(18335) Walder,Michael (1970) - Matz,James I (1601) [A13]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.12), 15.01.2019
1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nf3 Ne7 5.0-0 c6 6.d4 Bb6 7.b3 0-0 8.Bb2 Nd7 9.Nbd2 f5 10.Qc2 Nf6 11.Ne5 Ne4 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.Nf3 Ng6 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Qe7 17.e3 Rfd8 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Rc1 Qd7 20.Bd4 Rac8 21.Qd3 Ba5 22.a3 Rxc1 23.Rxc1 Rc8 24.Rxc8+ Qxc8 25.Bxe4 fxe4 26.Qb5 Bd8 27.Qe8# 1-0
(18336) Lum,Michael K (1941) - Zeller,William Patrick [A14]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.13), 15.01.2019
1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.Nf3 d5 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 0-0 7.Nbd2 b6 8.b3 Bb7 9.Bb2 Qd7 10.Rc1 Rad8 11.cxd5 exd5 12.a3 Rfe8 13.Re1 Qc8 14.b4 a6 15.Nb3 Rd7 16.Bh3 Red8 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.Bxe5 Qb8 19.Nd4 Rd6 20.Bxd6 Bxd6 21.Nc6 Bxc6 22.Rxc6 Qb7 23.Qc1 Nd7 24.Bxd7 Rxd7 25.Rc2 c5 26.bxc5 bxc5 27.e4 f6 28.Qb1 Qa8 29.Qb3 Bf8 30.exd5 Qxd5 31.Qxd5+ Rxd5 32.Re6 Rxd3 33.Rxa6 Rd1+ 34.Kg2 Ra1 35.Ra7 c4 36.a4 1-0
(18337) Francis,Daniel E (1607) - Argo,Guy (1909) [A80]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.14), 15.01.2019
[Argo,Guy/Winslow,Elliott]
1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 The Hopton Attack (so-named from a game, maybe in 1860, which White lost in 7 moves! - ecw) 2...Nf6 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 d5 5.Nh3 Bd6 6.c4 Be6?! 7.Qb3? [7.c5!] 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bxc4 9.Qxc4 Qd7 10.Nc3 c6 11.0-0 Na6 12.Rfe1 Rd8? [12...0-0-0!?] 13.e4 fxe4 14.Nxe4 Be7 15.Rad1 Qd5?! 16.Qe2 Qf7 17.Ng3 Kf8? [17...g6!] 18.Nf4 Nc7 19.a3? [19.d5!] 19...Bd6= 20.Qg4 Bxf4 21.Qxf4 Nd5 22.Qc1 a6 23.Qc5+ Kg8 24.Nf5 Qd7 25.Ne7+ Kf7 26.Nxd5 cxd5 27.Qb6 Rhe8 28.h3 Rxe1+ 29.Rxe1 Re8 30.Rxe8 Kxe8 31.Qb3 Kf7 1/2-1/2
(18338) Simpkins,Jerry (1508) - McKellar,Daniel (1872) [B21]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.15), 15.01.2019
[McKellar,D/Winslow,E]
1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.e5 Nc6 4.d3 Bf5 5.Nf3 e6 6.c3 d4 7.c4 f6 8.g3 fxe5 9.fxe5 Nge7 10.Na3 Ng6 11.Bg5 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qb6 13.Rb1 Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Bf4 Ng6 16.Qh5 0-0-0 17.Bg5 Ne7 [17...Ne5 18.Bxd8 Kxd8 The P/d3 is weak and White''s King is stuck in the center... plenty of compensation for the exchange] 18.Qe2 h6 19.Bf4 Ng6 [19...g5 20.Be5 Rg8 is safer for Black's f5-bishop] 20.Bd2 e5 [20...Bd6 (a useful move, and if 21.Bg2 (21.g4? Bxd3 22.Qxd3 Qc6 -ecw) 21...Ne5 making Bg2 look silly)] 21.Bg2 Bd6 22.0-0 Rhf8 23.Nb5 Be7 24.a4 [24.Rxf5 Rxf5 25.Bh3] 24...Bd7 [24...Kb8] 25.b4 Rxf1+ 26.Kxf1 [26.Qxf1 Rf8 27.Qe1] 26...Qf6+ [26...cxb4 27.Bxb4 Bxb4 28.Rxb4 a6] 27.Kg1 Bxb5 28.axb5 cxb4 29.Bxb4 Bxb4 30.Rxb4 (less material, but White's plan is clear - difficult to see what Black should do) 30...Rf8 31.Ra4 Qb6 32.Qa2 Kb8 33.Qa3 a6? [33...Rc8+/=] 34.c5+- Qf6 35.Qa2? [35.Qa1; 35.Kh1] 35...Qg5= 36.Be4?? [36.Qb1 Qe3+ 37.Kh1 computer gives draw, but forced: 37...a5 38.Rxa5 Rf2 39.c6 Rxg2 40.Kxg2 (40.c7+ Kxc7 41.b6+ Kd6 and white gets perpetualled) ; 36.Qa1 same idea; 36.h4 Qxg3 37.Rxa6 bxa6 38.Qxa6 Qf2+ 39.Kh2 Qxh4+ 40.Kg1 Rf1+ 41.Bxf1 Qg3+ 42.Kh1 Qh4+ 43.Kg2 Nf4+ 44.Kf3 Qh1+ 45.Kf2 Qb7; 36.h3 Qxg3 37.bxa6 (37.Qd5 e4 38.Qxe4 Qe3+ 39.Kh2 Qf4+ 40.Qxf4+ Nxf4 41.bxa6 bxa6 42.Rxa6 Nxg2 43.Kxg2) 37...Nh4] 36...Qc1+ 37.Kg2 Qf1# 0-1
(18339) Fuentes,Romulo C (2200) - Lesquillier,Walter (1750) [B01]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.16), 15.01.2019
1.e4 d5 2.e5 c5 3.b3 Nc6 4.Bb2 Bf5 5.Bb5 e6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.d3 f6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 f5 11.Nd2 h5 12.0-0-0 Qg5 13.Kb1 Nh6 14.g3 Kd7 15.d4 cxd4 16.Bxd4 Be7 17.c4 Rhc8 18.Qd3 Rab8 19.Bxa7 Rb7 20.Be3 Qg6 21.Rhg1 Nf7 22.f4 Nh6 23.cxd5 1-0
(18340) Kuczek,Kevin W (2003) - Lamstein,Joshua D (1655) [B23]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.17), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 a6 4.a4 Nc6 5.Bc4 Nf6 6.Nf3 g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.d3 0-0 9.Qe1 e6 10.Qh4 d5 11.Bb3 dxe4 12.dxe4 Nd4 13.Be3 Nxb3 14.cxb3 b6 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.e5 Nd7 17.Ne4 f6 18.exf6 Nxf6 19.Nfg5 h6 20.Nxf6+ Rxf6 21.Ne4 Rf8 22.Rd2 Bb7 23.Nd6 Bd5 24.Nc4 Rad8 25.Rfd1 Rf5 26.g4 Rff8 27.Qg3 Kh7 28.Qh4 Kg8 29.Qf2 Rc8 30.Qg3 Kh7 31.h4 Rf7 32.Kh2 Re8 33.Rf1 Ref8 34.Rdf2 b5 35.axb5 axb5 36.Ne5 Bxe5 1/2-1/2
(18341) Clemens,Kristian (2002) - Rakonitz,David (1644) [E12]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.18), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.g3 0-0 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Bg2 c5 11.dxc5 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qxc5 13.Qd3 h6 14.Ng5 hxg5 15.Bxb7 Nc6 16.Bxa8 Rxa8 17.0-0 Rd8 18.Qe4 Qd5 19.Qxd5 Rxd5 20.Rfd1 Kf8 21.Rxd5 exd5 22.Rd1 Ke7 23.Rxd5 f6 24.Kg2 Ne5 25.a4 Nc4 26.Rd4 Na5 27.Kf3 Nc6 28.Re4+ Kf7 29.Ke3 Na5 30.h3 Nb7 31.Rc4 Nc5 32.a5 Ke7 33.axb6 axb6 34.Rb4 Nd7 35.Kd4 Kd6 36.Ra4 Ne5 37.Ra8 Nc6+ 38.Kc4 Ne5+ 39.Kb5 Nd7
(18342) Wonsever,James (1916) - Lilles,Alex Pierre (1622) [E94]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.19), 15.01.2019
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.d5 Nc5 9.Qc2 a5 10.Be3 b6 11.h3 Nh5 12.Qd2 Nf6 13.Bd3 Nxd3 14.Qxd3 Ne8 15.Bg5 Qd7 16.Qd2 f5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Rae1 Ba6 19.b3 b5 20.cxb5 Bxb5 21.Nxb5 Qxb5 22.Re3 Nf6 23.Bxf6 Bxf6 24.Nh2 Kh8 25.Rc3 Qb4 26.Qc2 Bd8 27.Rd1 Rf7 28.Rc4 Qb5 29.Nf1 Qd7 30.Qc3 f4 31.Nh2 Rg7 32.Ra4 Bh4 33.Qc6 Qxc6 34.dxc6 Rag8 35.g4 fxg3 36.Rxh4 gxh2+ 37.Kxh2 Rg2+ 38.Kh1 Rxf2 39.a4 Rb2 40.Rf1 1/2-1/2
(18343) Maser,Thomas F (1907) - Kim,Andy (1604) [B18]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.20), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.Bd3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Ngf6 9.0-0 e6 10.Re1 Be7 11.b3 0-0 12.c4 Qc7 13.Bb2 Rad8 14.Rac1 Rfe8 15.a3 Ng4 16.h3 Nde5 17.Qe4 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Nf6 19.d5 exd5 20.cxd5 Nxd5 21.Nf5 Bf6 22.Bxf6 Nxf6 23.Nh6+ Kf8 24.Qc3 Qf4 25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.Qc5+ Re7 27.Nf5 Nd5 28.Nxe7 Nxe7 29.Re1 Qc7 30.Qxa7 g6 31.Qc5 b6 32.Qd4 Kg8
(18344) Krasnov,Steven (1876) - Starr,Albert Mart (1500) [A15]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.21), 15.01.2019
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 Be7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.0-0 c6 6.d4 h6 7.Nc3 d5 8.Ne5 dxc4 9.Nxc4 Nbd7 10.e4 Nb6 11.Ne3 Bd7 12.b3 Qe8 13.Bb2 Rd8 14.Qc2 Bc8 15.Rad1 a6 16.a4 Na8 17.f4 Nc7 18.Kh1 b5 19.h3 Nh5 20.Qf2 f5 21.Ne2 Bb7 22.g4 fxg4 23.hxg4 Nf6 24.Ng3 a5 25.Bf3 b4 26.Nc4 Ba6 27.Rfe1 Bxc4 28.bxc4 c5 29.Qc2 cxd4 30.Rxd4 Na6 31.e5 Rxd4 32.Bxd4 Nd7 33.f5 exf5 34.gxf5 Bh4 35.Bh5 Qa8+ 36.Kh2 Ndc5 37.f6 Ne6 38.Qg6 Qb7 39.Be3 Bg5 40.Nf5 Nf4 41.Bxf4 Bxf4+ 42.Kh3 Qd7 43.Rd1 Qc7 44.Ne7+ Kh8 45.Qxg7# 1-0
(18345) Pane,Gianluca (1863) - Mathrubootham,Ganesh (1499) [D18]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.22), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 h6!? [6...e6] 7.Bxc4 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qe2 0-0 10.e4 Bh7 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Ne5 c5 13.Bf4 Qa5 14.d5 exd5 15.Bxd5 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Re8
(18346) James,Charles (1419) - Persidsky,Andre (1814) [E35]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.23), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.Qc2 0-0 7.a3 Be7 8.e3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bh4 c5 11.b3 cxd4 12.exd4 Qa5 13.b4 Bxb4 14.Nge2 Bxc3+ 15.Nxc3? [15.Qxc3] 15...Re8+ 16.Be2 Ne4 17.Rc1 Ndf6 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.0-0 Bd7 20.a4 Rac8 21.Qb3? Rxc3 22.Rxc3 Rxe2 23.Rfc1 Ne4 24.Re3 Qd2 25.Rd1 Rxe3 26.fxe3 Qf2+ 27.Kh1 Qe2 28.Rc1 Nf2+ 29.Kg1 Ng4 30.Qc3 Nxe3 0-1
(18347) Drane,Robert (1800) - Abdi,Mehron Edwar (1069) [C24]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.24), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 d5 4.exd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 f6 6.0-0 Bc5 7.Re1 Nc6 8.d4 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 0-0 10.Nb3 c6 11.Nxc5 b6 12.Ne4 b5 13.Bb3 Be6 14.Nbc3 f5 15.Ng5 Bf7 16.Nxf7 Kxf7 17.Nxd5 cxd5 18.Bxd5+ Kf6 19.Bxa8 Qxa8 20.Qd6+ Kf7 21.Rxe5 Re8 22.Qd7+ Re7 23.Rxe7+ Kf8 24.Rf7+ Kg8 25.Rxg7+ Kh8 26.Rxh7+ Kg8 27.Qg7# 1-0
(18348) Buchner,Karl - Nassif,Wassim (1119) [C50]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.25), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 a6 5.0-0 d6 6.h3 b5 7.Bd5 Bb7 8.Nc3 Na5 9.Bd2 c6 10.Bb3 Nxb3 11.axb3 Nf6 12.Ne2 0-0 13.Ng3 Bc8 14.Qe2 Qc7 15.Bg5 Ne8 16.Nf5 f6 17.Bd2 d5 18.b4 Bb6 19.N3h4 Nd6 20.Qg4 Nxf5 21.exf5 Rf7 22.b3 Bb7 23.c4 Rd8 24.c5 Ba7 25.Rac1 Bb8 26.f4 e4 27.Be1 e3 28.d4 Re8 29.Rc3 Re4 30.Qe2 Rxf4 31.Rxe3 Rxd4 32.Re8+ Rf8 33.Qe6+ Qf7 34.Rxf8+ Kxf8 35.Qe3 Re4 36.Qc1 Bf4 37.Rxf4 Qe7 38.Rxe4 Qxe4 39.Qd2 Bc8 40.g4 d4 41.Kf2 Qd5 42.Qd3 Bd7 43.Nf3 Kf7 44.Bd2 g6 45.Qxd4 gxf5 46.Bc3 Qxd4+ 47.Nxd4 fxg4 48.hxg4 Kg6 49.Bd2 h5 50.gxh5+ Kxh5 51.Kg3 Kg6 52.Kf4 Kf7 53.Bc3 Kg6 54.Be1 Kh5 55.Nf5 Kg6 56.Nd4 Kh5 57.Kg3 Kg5 58.Bd2+ Kg6 59.Kh4 f5 60.Bc1 Kf6 61.Bf4 Kg6 62.Nf3 Kf6 63.Ne5 Ke6 64.Nxd7 Kxd7 65.Kg3 Ke6 66.Kf3 Kd5 67.Ke3 Ke6 68.Kd4 Kf6 69.Be3 Ke6 70.Bg5 f4 71.Bxf4 Kf6 72.Ke4 Ke6 73.Bg5 Kd7 74.Ke5 Kc7 75.Ke6 Kc8 76.Ke7 Kc7 77.Bf4+ Kc8 78.Ke8 Kb7 79.Kd7 Ka7 80.Kxc6 Ka8 81.Kd7 1-0
(18349) Lintz,Michael - Quang,Danny (1719) [D00]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.27), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Ngf3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Bb5 Qb6 8.Qb3 a6 9.Ba4 Qxb3 10.Bxb3 c4 11.Bd1 Be7 12.b3 b5 13.a4 0-0 14.0-0 Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.b4 Bd3 17.Re1
(18350) Anderson,Michael (1903) - Birdsall,Erik [C45]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.28), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 d6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bc4 f6 7.Bxg8 Rxg8 8.Qh5+ Kd7 9.Qxh7 Be7 10.0-0 Bb7 11.Qf5+ Ke8 12.Qg6+ Kd7 13.Qg4+ Ke8 14.f4 d5 15.e5 fxe5 16.fxe5 Ba6 17.Re1 Bc8 18.e6 Bh4 19.Qg6+ Ke7 20.Qf7+ Kd6 21.Qf4+ Kc5 22.Be3+ Kb5 23.Qf1+ 1-0
(18351) Xu,Jayden (1619) - Soffer,Aaron (1260) [D02]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.29), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.Bf4 e6 6.e3 Be7 7.Rc1 0-0 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.Qxb6 axb6 10.Be2 Nbd7 11.0-0 c5 12.Rfd1 Be4 13.Nd2 Rfd8 14.a3 Rac8 15.Ndxe4 dxe4 16.f3 exf3 17.Bxf3 cxd4 18.exd4 Rxc4 19.b3 Rcc8 20.Bxb7 Rxc3 21.Rxc3 Bxa3 22.Rb1 Bb4 23.Rc4 Be7 24.Bg5 h6 25.Bf4 g5 26.Bc7 Rf8 27.Re1 Re8 28.Ra4 b5 29.Ra6 Bb4 30.Re2 Bc3 31.Be5 Ng4 32.Bc6 Ngxe5 33.dxe5 Rd8 34.Bxb5 (I suspect there was now a big time scramble) 1-0
(18352) Casares Jr,Nick (1600) - Rushton,Peter (1186) [C50]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.30), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.Re1 Be7?! [5...Bc5] 6.d4 d6 7.d5 Nd4?! [7...Nb8] 8.Nxd4 exd4 9.Qxd4+- 0-0 10.h3 a6?! 11.a4 c5?! 12.Qd3 Qa5 13.Bd2 Qb6 14.a5 Qc7 15.Nc3 b5 16.axb6 Qxb6 17.Na4 Qc7 18.Nc3 Nh5+- 19.Bxa6?? Bg5?? [19...Bxa6 20.Rxa6 c4 21.Qf3 Rxa6 22.Qxh5 Bf6 23.Nd1 Rb8 24.c3 Ra1 25.Qe2=] 20.Bxc8 Raxc8 21.Nb5 Qb6 22.c4 Qd8 23.Bxg5 Qxg5 24.Nxd6 Nf4 25.Qg3 Rb8 26.Qxg5 hxg5 27.Nb5 Nd3 28.Re2 Ne5 29.b3 f6 30.Rd2 Nd7 31.Ra7 Rf7 32.Rda2 Re7 33.Rc7 Kf8 34.Raa7 Rd8 35.Nd6 g6 36.g3 f5 37.exf5 gxf5 38.Nxf5 Re1+ 39.Kg2 Ne5 40.Rh7 Kg8 41.Nh6+ 1-0
(18353) Capdeville,Barry (1219) - Newey,Richard (1600) [B58]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.31), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be2 Qb6 7.Bb5 Bd7 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Nf5 Nxe3 11.Nxe3 Qxb2 12.Ne2 Qb4+ 13.c3 Qxe4 14.0-0 g6 15.Ng3 Qe6 16.Re1 Qf6 17.Ne4 Qg7 18.Nxd6+ Kd8 19.Ne4 Kc7 20.Nc5 Rd8 21.Qb3 e5 22.Qb7+ Kd6 23.Rad1+ 1-0
(18354) Chan,John (1560) - Tabatabai,Hadi (1149) [D02]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.32), 15.01.2019
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 f6 3.h3 Nc6 4.c3 e5 5.dxe5 Nxe5 6.Nd4 Bd7 7.Bf4 Bd6 8.e3 Ne7 9.Be2 N7c6 10.Nb5 Be6 11.Nd2 a6 12.Nxd6+ Qxd6 13.Qc2 Na5 14.b3 0-0-0 15.Rd1 Qc6 16.0-0 g5 17.Bxe5 fxe5 18.Nf3 Qe8 19.Nxg5 e4 20.Nxe6 Qxe6 21.Bg4 Qxg4 22.hxg4 h5 23.gxh5 Rxh5 24.Rfe1 Nc6 25.Kf1 Ne5 26.Ke2 Rh2 27.Rg1 c6 28.a4 Rg8 29.c4 dxc4 30.Qxe4 Nd3 31.Qe6+ 1-0
(18355) Bayaraa,Timothy (1175) - Boldi,Nicholas (1521) [C01]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.33), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 c5 5.Be3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Nf6 7.dxc5 Bg4 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.Qe2 0-0 11.Qd3 Qc7 12.Qd4 Rfe8 13.0-0 Bxf3 14.Nxf3 Ne4 15.Bd2 Bxc5 16.Qd3 Qb6 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.fxe3 Nf6 19.Rae1 h6 20.b3 Ng4 21.Kh1 Rxe3 22.Rxe3 Qxe3 23.Qd2 Qxd2 24.Nxd2 Re8 25.Kg1 Re2 26.Rd1 Ne3 27.Rc1 Rxg2+ 28.Kh1 Rxd2 0-1
(18356) Cole,Tony (1520) - Enkhjargal,Gabriel (1135) [C55]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.34), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bb4 5.Ng5 0-0 6.Qf3 h6 7.h4 Nd4 8.Qd1 d6 9.Ne2 Nxe2 10.Qxe2 Bd7 11.c3 Bc5 12.Bb3 a5 13.d3 Bg4 14.Nf3 Re8 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Qxe3 d5 17.0-0-0 d4 18.Qd2 Re7 19.Rde1 b5 20.Nh2 Be6 21.Bxe6 Rxe6 22.Kb1 a4 23.f4 Qd6 24.f5 Ree8 25.g4 dxc3 26.Qxc3 b4 27.Qd2 Nh7 28.g5 h5 29.g6 fxg6 30.fxg6 Qxg6 31.Rhg1 Qd6 32.Nf3 Rf8 33.Ng5 Nxg5 34.Qxg5 Rf7 35.Qxh5 Ra6 36.Qg5 Qh6 37.Qxe5 Qxh4 (Around here the score finally becomes unguessable. Around move 53:) 1-0
(18357) Tabatabai,Ashkon (1138) - Carron,Joel (1491) [B27]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.35), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bc4 Bg7 4.c3 Nc6 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 Qb6 7.Be3 Qxb2 8.Nbd2 Nxd4 9.0-0
(18358) Morgan,Jerry (1491) - Dunlap,Steven (1057) [A03]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.36), 15.01.2019
1.f4 g6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 Bg7 4.c3 b6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.e4 e6 7.e5 Ne7 8.d4 0-0 9.Be3 Nf5 10.Bf2 f6 11.Nbd2 fxe5 12.fxe5 Nd7 13.g4 Ne7 14.Bh4 c5 15.Ng5 c4 16.Nxe6 Qe8 17.Nxf8 Qxf8 18.0-0-0 b5 19.Bg2 Nb6 20.Rdf1 Qe8 21.Bf6 Bc8 22.h3 Be6 23.Rf2 Bh6 24.Rhf1 Nd7 25.Qd1 Be3 26.Rf3 Bh6 27.Qe1 g5 28.Qe3 Ng6 29.Bxg5 Bg7 30.Bh6 Bh8 31.Qg5 b4 32.h4 bxc3 33.Rxc3 a5 34.h5 Ndf8 35.Rxf8+ Qxf8 36.Bxf8 Rxf8 37.Rf3 Rxf3 38.Bxf3 Bf7 39.hxg6 Bxg6 40.Qd8+ Kg7 41.Bxd5 c3 42.bxc3 a4 43.g5 a3 44.Qg8# 1-0
(18359) Chambers,Don (1127) - Baer,Michael A (1488) [C56]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.37), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.c3 Nxe4 6.Qb3 Qe7 7.0-0 Na5 8.Qb5 Nxc4 9.Qxc4 Qc5 10.Qxd4 Qxd4 11.cxd4 d5 12.Re1 Be6 13.Bf4 0-0-0 14.Nbd2 Bb4 15.Rac1 Rd7 16.Re2 Nxd2 17.Nxd2 h6 18.Nb3 g5 19.Be5 Rg8 20.a3 Bd6 21.Nc5 Bxc5 22.Rxc5 Bf5 23.Re1 c6 24.b4 a6 25.a4 Bd3 26.Re3 Bc4 27.Rc3 Re8 28.b5 axb5 29.axb5 f6 30.bxc6 bxc6 31.Rxc6+ Kb7 32.Rxf6 Ra8 33.Rc1 Rh7 34.h3 Ra2 35.Rb1+ Ka7 36.Bb8+ Ka8 37.Rf8 Ra6 38.Bd6+ Ka7 39.Bc5+ 1-0
(18360) Harris,Clarence (1469) - Sullivan,George (958) [B24]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.38), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.d3 e6 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 g6 6.f4 Bg7 7.Nf3 0-0 8.0-0 Re8 9.Be3 b6 10.Bf2 Kh8 11.e5 Ng8 12.Ne4 Qc7 13.Nd6 Rf8 14.Ng5 Nh6 15.g4 f6 16.Nge4 fxe5 17.g5 Nf5 18.Nxf5 exf5 19.Nf6 Rb8 20.fxe5 Nxe5 21.d4 Bxf6 22.gxf6 Nf7 23.Qd2 d6 24.dxc5 bxc5 25.Qc3 Ne5 26.Bh4 Bb7 27.Bxb7 Rxb7 28.Rae1 h6 29.Bg3 Rxf6 30.Rxe5 f4 31.Re8+ Kg7 32.Rxf4 Qf7 33.Rxf6 Qxe8 34.Re6+ 1-0
(18361) Derleth,Christopher (1060) - Bradley,Christopher (1427) [A56]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.39), 15.01.2019
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.dxc5 e6 4.b4 a5 5.Qa4 Ne4 6.Nf3 Qf6 7.Qa3 Qxa1 8.Qb2 Qxb2 9.Bxb2 axb4 10.e3 Rxa2 0-1
(18362) Frank,Robert H (1426) - Soffer,Josiah (799) [D07]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.40), 15.01.2019
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Nc6 4.c4 dxc4 5.Bxc4 Bf5 6.Qb3 e6 7.0-0 Nb4 8.Na3 c6 9.Bd2 b5 10.Nxb5 cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nd7 12.Bxb4 Bxb4 13.Qxb4 Rb8 14.Ne5 f6 15.Bxd7+ Qxd7 16.Qxb8+ Qd8 17.Qxd8+ Kxd8 18.Nf7+ Ke8 19.Nxh8 Kf8 20.Rfc1 e5 21.dxe5 fxe5 22.Rc7 1-0
(18363) Golledge,Aiza - Cunningham,Charles (1414) [C45]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.41), 15.01.2019
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Ne5 5.Bf4 Qf6 6.Bg3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.Be2 g6 9.Nd2 h5 10.Bxe5 dxe5 11.N4f3 Nh6 12.Nc4 Ng4 13.Ne3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Nxe3 15.Qd3 Nxg2+ 16.Kd2 c6 17.Kc2 Nf4 18.Qd2 Bg4 19.Ng1 Rd8 20.Qe3 b6 21.h3 Bxe2 22.Nxe2 Rd3 23.Qf2 Qd6 24.Rad1 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Qc7 26.Ng1 0-0 27.h4 Rd8 28.Rf1 Qd7 29.Nf3 Qd3+ 30.Kb3 Qb5+ 31.Kc2 Qa4+ 0-1
(18364) Adams,Sophie (1406) - Bryan,Robert R (429) [B07]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.42), 15.01.2019
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nc6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd3 a6 6.0-0 g6 7.Bg5 Bg7 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nf1 h6 11.Bh4 b5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Be4 Nf4 14.Bxc6 Bd7 15.Bxa8 Qxa8 16.exd6 exd6 17.Rxe8+ Qxe8 18.Bg3 Nd5 19.Bxd6 a5 20.Bxc5 Nf4 21.Qe1 Qxe1 22.Rxe1 Be6 23.a3 a4 24.Ne5 Bf8 25.Ng3 Bxc5 26.dxc5 f6 27.Nxg6 Bf7 28.Nxf4 h5 29.Ngxh5 f5 30.c6 Be8 31.Rxe8+ Kf7 32.Re6 Kf8 33.c7 1-0
(18365) Ansari,Jahaan (1390) - Reyes,Victor Hugo [A84]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.43), 15.01.2019
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.e3 f5 6.c5 Bc7 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.0-0 Ng4 9.h3 h5 10.Re1 Nd7 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 fxe4 13.Bxe4 Ngf6 14.Bg6+ Kf8 15.Ng5 Nxc5 16.b4 Qd6 17.g3 Nce4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Rxe4 e5 20.Bxh5 Bf5 21.Rxe5 g6 22.g4 Rxh5 23.gxh5 Qf6 24.Re3 Kg7 25.Qe2 Rf8 26.Re7+ Rf7 27.Rxf7+ Kxf7 28.Be3 Bxh3 29.f4 Qf5 30.Kf2 Bg4 31.Qc4+ Kf6 32.hxg6 Kxg6 33.Rg1 Kf6 34.Qg8 Qc2+ 35.Kg3 Qg6 36.Qxg6+ Kxg6 37.Kxg4 1-0
(18366) Otterbach,Renate (1281) - Dubensky,Walt [C44]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.44), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 Nxe5 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Qh5+ Ng6 8.Ng3 Nf6 9.Qg5 Be7 10.Qd2 d4 11.Bd3 Rf8 12.0-0 Ng4 13.Bxg6+ hxg6 14.Qd3 Bf5 15.Nxf5 gxf5 16.h3 Ne5 17.Qg3 g5 18.Qxe5 Qd7 19.Bxg5 Kf7 20.Bf4 Bd6 21.Qxd4 Rae8 22.Nc3 Qc6 23.Bxd6 cxd6 24.Rad1 Rg8 25.Qd5+ Qxd5 26.Rxd5 f4 27.Rf5+ Ke6 28.Rxf4 Kd7 29.Rd4 Rb8 30.Rfd1 Rg6 31.g4 b5 32.Ne4 and White won on move 54 or so. 1-0
(18367) Wingenroth,Jordan (1442) - Rudyak,Felix (1892) [E07]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.45), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.cxd5 exd5 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.Nc3 c6 9.a4 Ne4 10.Qb3 Ndf6 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Ng5 Qxd4 [12...Bf5!? 13.Qxb7 h6 14.Nh3-/+ !?] 13.Rd1 Qb6 [13...Qe5 14.Bf4 Qf5 15.Rd4 Bc5 16.Rc4 (16.Bxe4 Nxe4 17.Rxe4 b6) 16...Bb6] 14.Qxb6 [14.Qc2] 14...axb6 15.Nxe4 Be6 16.Nc3 b5 17.Re1 Bb3 18.a5 Ra6 19.Bg5 Rfa8 20.e4 h6 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Ra3 Bc4 23.b4 c5 24.Nd5 Bxd5? [24...cxb4 25.Nxb4 Rxa5-+; 24...Bb2 25.Rae3 Bd4-+ (25...cxb4-+) ] 25.exd5 cxb4 26.Rae3 Rd6 [26...g6; 26...g5; 26...Rxa5] 27.Re8+ Rxe8 28.Rxe8+ Kh7 29.Rb8 Rd7 30.d6 Bd8 31.Rxb7 Rxb7 32.Bxb7 Bxa5 33.Bc6 b3 34.Bxb5 b2 35.Bd3+ g6 [35...Kg8] 36.Kf1 Kg7 37.Ke2 Kf6 38.Kd1 Bb6 39.f3 Bg1 40.h3 Bh2 41.g4 [41.Kc2] 41...Bxd6 42.Kc2 Be5 43.h4 Bd4 44.Kd2? Ke5 45.Bc2 Kf4 46.Ke2 h5 47.gxh5 gxh5 0-1
(18368) Baker,Nate - White,Andrew Robb [A34]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (2.46), 15.01.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]
1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.d3 d5 4.Qc2 f5 5.g3 Qa5 6.Bd2 d4 7.Nd5 Qd8 8.Nf4 Nf6 9.Bg2 g5 10.Nxe6 Bxe6 11.Bxb7 Bd7?? [11...Nbd7 12.Bxa8 Qxa8-+] 12.Bxa8+- Bc6 13.Bxc6+ Nxc6 14.Bxg5 Bg7 15.Nf3 Qa5+ 16.Bd2 Nb4 17.Qb3 Qb6 18.0-0 a5 19.a3 1-0
GM Nick de Firmian Endgame Lab
Master Endgame Play
Kasparov, Spassky, and Fischer were well known for their aggressive play, but they scored many of their points from grinding out a small advantage in the endgame. Karpov, Kramnik and of course Magnus are would purposely choose to enter long endgames with only a minute advantage. However it’s not just recent times where the chess master differentiates himself in the endgame. Emanuel Lasker and the old champions also relied heavily on the final stage of the game. Below we give a classic example from the nineteenth century.
Harry Nelson Pillsbury vs.Isodor Gunsburg, Hastings 1895
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 O-O 7.Ne5 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nd5 9.f4 Be6 10.Qb3 b5 11.Bxd5 Bxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Qxd5 cxd5 14.Nd3 Nd7 15.Bd2 Rfc8 16.Ke2 e6 17.Rhc1 Bf8 18.Rxc8 Rxc8 19.Rc1 Rxc1 20.Bxc1 Bd6 21.Bd2 Kf8 22.Bb4 Ke7 23.Bc5 a6 24.b4 f6 25.g4
The opening and middle game have been quite even, with the great Pillsbury being unable to gain any significant advantage. Black now exchanges on c5, which gives Pillsbury a protected passed pawn on the 5th rank. The small edge White gains is pressed vigorously by Pillsbury in the knight and then king ending.
25...Bxc5?! 26.bxc5 Nb8?! 27.f5!
Threatening 28. Nf4
27...g5 28.Nb4 a5
29.c6! Kd6
White threatened 30. c7 queening the pawn
30.fxe6! Nxc6 31.Nxc6 Kxc6
32.e4!
With this White gets to protect his advance pawn on e6. The black king will be forced to hover around to the e6 pawn preventing it from advancing two steps ahead. Thus the White king is free to roam the board and take the black pawns. 32...dxe4 33.d5+ Kd6 34.Ke3 b4 35.Kxe4 a4 36.Kd4 h5
Gunsburg tries valiantly to get passed pawns on both wings of the board, but White is quicker to the finish line.
37.gxh5 a3 38.Kc4 f5 39.h6 f4 40.h7 1-0