Chess Room Newsletter #862

Newsletter #862

March 1, 2019

 

2019 TNM Wrap Up

The last round of the Winter TNM concluded last Tuesday with a 4-way tie for first place, after victories from FM Kyron Griffith, NM Conrado Diaz, IM Elliott Winslow, and Kristian Clemens. Griffith’s victory over the sole leader after 7 rounds allowed for a logjam at the top, and a 4-way tie for the Winter TNM title.

You can find a full list of the final standings on our website.

Some of the prize distributions have not yet been updated. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you for participating in our TNM!

 

New TNM Final Format

I want to first and foremost thank all of you who provided valuable feedback with regards to the new changes in the TNM format. Most have been very supportive and some were critical, and through raising those concerns, helped bring about some re-thinking that I think helped us achieve a format that is taking the best from the both sides.

We will have 3 sections, Championship 2000+, A/B 1600-1999, and C/D/E/unrated under 1600. I ultimately decided to go with an over 2000+ section through excellent feedback I received and it provides a resolution to the one issue that was a sticking point: uncertainty. A 12 player non-invitational format based on rating left too much uncertainty for some players as to where they would be placed, and as a player myself, can understand how that can be uncomfortable. A 2000+ section will still attract stronger players, and keep the section very competitive, something this whole idea was meant to do anyway.

Also, we will be broadcasting the top 6 boards in the 2000+ section on DGT Boards and will provide live commentary of the TNM. We will also be broadcasting the top 2 boards of the A/B section, and top 2 boards of the under 1600 section, for 10 games total. We want to include all sections as part of the viewable broadcast.

I think the format and live commentary and broadcast will bring a lot of excitement and energy to the TNM. We will likely continue to run an Open TNM, as it may be good to vary the TNM structures and provide some variety over the course of the year. We will see how it goes, and I want to thank all the MI chess community for your continued feedback and support. We are going into new waters together, and I think it will lead to some exciting energy for the chess community. I have included here the new tournament flyer, which is also available at our website, registration is now open!

 

The 2019 Spring Tuesday Night Marathon

March 19th – May 7th, 2019

• 8 rounds, one game every Tuesday.
• Round 1: 6:30 p.m. March 19th.
  Round 2: March 26th. Round 3: April 2nd. Round 4: April 9th. Round 5: April 16th. Round 6: April 23rd. Round 7: April 30th. Round 8: May 7th.
• Time Control: Game in 2 hours with a 5-second delay (G/2, d5). There will be no adjournments.
• All time delay must be from the beginning.
• Entry Fee: $50.00 (MI members), $60.00 for non-members, $10 additional late for all registrations after 6:15pm on 3/19. Play up fee is $10, players must be within 200 rating points of the next section.
• Sections: Championship; open players rated 2000+ by USCF rating using the March supplement. A/B; open to all players rated 1600-1999. C/D/E/Unrated; for players rated below 1600 and unrated. Players may play up a section with an additional $10 fee if their rating is within 200 points of the next section.
• Cash prizes: Championship: 1^st -$700, 2^nd -$400, 3^rd -$275. A/B: 1^st -$300, 2^nd -$200, 3^rd -$125, best under 1800 -$75. C/D/E/unrated: 1^st -$300, 2^nd -$200, 3^rd -$125, best under 1400 -$75. No restriction on MI membership, all cash prizes fully paid, and based on 100 entries.
• The tournament will follow USCF rules and all players must be current members of the USCF through the end of May 2019.
• The tournament will be FIDE-rated.
• A request for up to three 1/2 point byes will be accepted under the following conditions:
  • All bye requests are irrevocable.
  • Byes for rounds seven and eight must be requested before the start of round 4.
  • Bye requests must be made by noon on Monday for the following Tuesday night round. All bye requests after will be considered 0 point byes.
• Normally, pairings will be made Monday noon and will be posted online and in the Chess Room.
• All pairings are tentative. Final pairings will be posted 6:15pm on Tuesday.
• In the case of players not showing up, extra rated games will be made wherever possible so that those wanting to play a competitive game may do so. These games are USCF rated, but do not affect scoring for the TNM.
• The Tournament Director for this event is STD, NA Abel Talamantez.
• All questions and bye requests should be sent to: [email protected], or call 415-393-0110.

To enter the tournament, please register online at chessclub.org, or fill out the registration form inside the chess room.

 

Ethics in Sports

I wrote last week about a recent ethics ruling by the U.S. Chess Federation regarding a team at last year’s Amateur Team West Championship. Another complaint that has gotten a lot of attention in the chess community for quite some time was just resolved by the U.S. Chess Ethics Committee involving a team from Henderson Middle School in El Paso, Texas. I knew that the case was resoled, and it appears full details were provided to Elizabeth Spiegel from IS 318 fame and Brooklyn Castle. Her blog seems to spell it all out quite nicely.

Read and form your own opinion. It is important for the chess community to be aware of these situations, as not discussing them is what leads to indifference and eventually, leaves the public consciousness. It is important that we not only protect the integrity of the game, but set a good example to kids of the value of fair play and competition, as a win at all costs attitude to glorify adults can do great damage in the example it sets. I’m very happy to see the committee working hard to resolve this as fairly as possible while taking into account the affect it may have on kids, who are often innocent victims.

 

PRO Chess League Update

Week 8 of the PRO Chess League may go down as the week that brought the Mechanics’ back to true form! They defeated the Dallas Destiny 10-6, anchored by a GM Steven Zierk’s 4/4 performance. It was a big win for the Mechanics, and boosts us out of relegation and only a few points away from the 4th and final playoff spot. You can relive the glorious action by following the broadcast from IM David Pruess and FM Andy Lee.

The Mechanics are currently in 6th, but a razor thin margin separates 6th from 4th. You can view standings on the PRO Chess website.

Big week next week in week 9 as they take on the Minnesota Blizzard on Wednesday March 6 at 5:45 pm. Go Mechanics!

 

Bobby Fischer v Bob Burger April 13, 1964 Simul at Mechanics’ Institute

In the last newsletter I published a game in which Bob Burger defeated Bobby Fischer in the simul he gave at the Mechanics’ Institute in 1964. Jude Acers tipped me off that the final move order was incorrect, and our GM in residence Nick de Firmian has also confirmed this. Here is how it actually happened:

Bobby Fischer  - Bob Burger  0-1

e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d55. exd5 Nd4 6. c3 b5 7. Bf1 Nxd5 8. cxd4 Qxg5 9. Bxb5+ Kd8 10. Qf3 Bb7 11. O-O exd4 12. Qxf7 Nf6 13. White resigns 0-1

Thank you all for the correction.

 

Wednesday Night Blitz Update

Expert Carlos Davila and FIDE Master Kyron Griffith tied for 1st and 2nd Places in the February 27th edition of the Wednesday Night Blitz. Each scored 10-2. Expert Jules Jelinek was 3rd with 8-4. 11 players participated, and Jules ran the event smoothly as usual.

 

Richard Willis’ Mystery Chess

Congratulations to Jon Frankle, who came up with the first correct solution to last weeks mystery:

What is the fastest checkmate where neither side moves a pawn?

Solution:

1. Nc3 Nf6
2. Nd5 Ne4
3. Nxe7 Bxe7
4. Nf3 Bh4
5. Ng1 Bxf2#

It can be done a few other ways as well. Now that you have an idea of the mysteries, the gauntlet is being thrown down here!

What is the move sequence where Black’s 4th move is Qxh1#?

 

Tony’s Teasers

Solution for last week

1. Ra2!! Qg3
2. Ra8+ Qg8
3. Rxg8#

This week’s problem:

Mate in 3, white to move, from Gilbert Dobbs, 1939.

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Friendly Rivalries, Part 4

by FM Paul Whitehead

Grandmaster Nick de Firmian is a colleague of mine at the Mechanics’ Institute and a good friend. His accomplishments in the chess world are too many to recount here, but some highlights:

Nick was 3 times the U.S. Chess Champion, and participated in 8 Olympiads and 3 Interzonals.

In 1986 Nick won 1st Place in the World Open, and his prize of $21,000 was the highest in a Swiss-System up to that time.

Many times editor of Modern Chess Openings, Nick worked on IBM’s Deep Blue team in 1997 that defeated Kasparov.

Here is a charming interview with our Grandmaster in Residence.

I was lucky to play Nick 4 tournament games back in the day, and was even luckier to draw one and win another, while losing 2. The draw went 139 moves, and is the longest game I ever played. You can find it in newsletter #852. The other 3 games are given here, with light notes.

Nick and I have played some blitz in the last few years, and I have been completely crushed.

I think Nick might be the fiercest player I have ever faced. His calm demeanor hides a quite ruthless and take-no-prisoners playing style. If you are paired with him… watch out!

(1) De Firmian,Nick E (2475) - Whitehead,Paul A (2450) [B46]
CalChess Masters Berkeley (9), 13.03.1983

Black gets hypnotized by White's king-side buildup and goes all out to distract: 11...bxa4? (11...b4) was the start of a lot of crazy moves, and Black gets mowed down. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 Nge7 7.Nb3 d6 8.Be3 b5 9.f4 [9.Bg2 Bb7 10.f4 Nc8 11.Qe2 Be7 12.0-0-0 Qc7 13.f5 b4 14.Nb1 e5 15.N1d2 a5 16.Kb1 a4 17.Nc1 Ba6 18.Qf2 N8a7 19.Bf1 Nb5 20.Nc4 Ncd4 21.Bxd4 exd4 22.Rxd4 Nxd4 23.Qxd4 0-0 24.Nb6 Bf6 25.Nxa8 Rxa8 26.Qd2 a3 27.Bxa6 axb2 28.Nd3 Bc3 29.Qe2 Qc6 30.Nxb4 Bxb4 31.Bc4 Qc7 32.Rd1 Bc3 33.Bd5 Ra5 34.h4 Bf6 35.Qf2 Rc5 36.g4 h6 37.Qh2 Qe7 38.Rh1 Rc3 39.g5 Be5 40.Qd2 Kh7 41.Bxf7 Rg3 42.Bb3 Qa7 43.g6+ Kh8 44.Rd1 Rg1 45.c3 Rxd1+ 46.Bxd1 Qg1 47.Kxb2 Qb6+ 48.Bb3 Qc5 49.h5 Qc6 50.Qd3 Qc5 51.Qc4 Qf2+ 52.Bc2 Qb6+ 53.Qb3 Qc7 54.Bd3 Qa7 55.Qb5 Qa8 56.a4 Qc8 57.Bc4 d5 58.exd5 Bf6 59.a5 Qf8 60.a6 Bxc3+ 61.Kxc3 Qf6+ 62.Kb3 Qe5 63.a7 1-0 (63) De Firmian,N (2512)-Grefe,J (2502) Palo Alto 1981] 9...Bd7 10.Bg2 Nc8

11.a4 [11.Nd4 Nb6 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.Bd4 b4 14.Ne2 Nd7 15.Qd3 e5 16.Bf2 Qb8 17.0-0-0 Be7 18.Rhe1 0-0 19.Kb1 a5 20.Nc1 Qb7 21.Qe2 Rfc8 22.Nd3 Rc7 23.Rd2 Bf6 24.f5 Bg5 25.Be3 Be7 26.Bf2 Nb6 27.b3 Nd7 28.h4 Bb5 29.g4 Rac8 30.g5 f6 31.g6 h6 32.Qd1 Rc3 33.Nb2 Kh8 34.Bf3 Bf8 35.Be2 1/2-1/2 (35) Leko,P (2625)-Topalov,V (2700) Leon 1996] 11...bxa4 12.Nxa4 Na5 13.Nxa5 Qxa5+ 14.Nc3 Qb4 15.0-0 Be7 16.f5 Rb8 17.fxe6 fxe6 18.Qh5+ g6 19.Qh6 Bf8 20.Qf4 Be7 21.Qf7+ Kd8 22.Qg7 Re8 23.b3 a5 24.Na4 Rb5 25.Qxh7 Rh5 26.Qxg6 Reh8 27.h4 Bb5 28.Qxe6 Bxf1 29.Rxf1 Re5 30.Qg4

1-0

(2) Whitehead,Paul A (2330) - De Firmian,Nick E (2505) [B99]
CalChess Masters Berkeley (8), 1981

White played cheap and trappy chess, unearthing an obcsure line against the Najdorf. It payed off, as Black got in time trouble and lost his way. A memorable win against a great player. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 10.Be2 b5 11.e5 Bb7 12.exf6 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 gxf6 14.Bxa8 fxg5 15.f5 e5 16.Nd5 Qc8 17.Bc6 Bd8 18.Bxd7+ Qxd7 19.Ne2 Qxf5 20.Ng3 Qg4 21.Rhf1 0-0 22.Ne3 Qe6 23.Kb1 Bb6 24.Nef5 Rd8 25.Ne4 d5 26.Nxg5 Qf6 27.h4 Rd7 28.g4 h6 29.Ne4 Qe6 30.Nxh6+ Kh8 31.Nf6 Rc7 32.Rxd5 Rc4 33.Rxe5 Qd6

1-0

(3) De Firmian,Nick E (2505) - Whitehead,Paul A (2332) [B76]
Berkeley, 1985

Black was all right until 12...Nd7? (12...Nh5). After 19.Rxd4 Black was too far behind in development, lost heart, and was destroyed. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.g4 e6 10.0-0-0 d5 11.Be2 Re8 12.g5 Nd7 13.exd5 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Bxd4 15.Qxd4 Qxg5+ 16.f4 Qf6 17.dxe6 Rxe6 18.Bc4 Qxd4 19.Rxd4 Nf6 20.Bxe6 Bxe6 21.Rhd1 Nh5 22.Rd8+ Rxd8 23.Rxd8+ Kg7 24.Rd4 a6 25.a4 Kf6 26.Kd2 Kf5 27.Ne2 Kg4 28.Ke3 Kh3 29.Kf2 Bf5 30.Ng3 Bxc2 31.Rc4 Bd1 32.Nxh5 gxh5 33.a5 f5 34.Rc7 Kxh2 35.Rxb7 h4 36.Rxh7

1-0

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My Immortal Game

By Derek O’Connor

Although I do not consider myself a very aggressive player by nature, the opening choice and course of a game will occasionally steer my games into attacking territory. The following game might not be the highest quality game I have played -- or will play -- but it is undoubtedly the most spectacular.

IM Safal Bora — Derek O’Connor

46th Annual World Open, Philadelphia 2018

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. c4 O-O 5. d4 d6 This transposes into the King’s Indian Fianchetto -- something I did not mind at all, as I play the white side of this opening religiously. 6. O-O c6 7. Nc3 Qa5 Personally I have my doubts about whether this line fully equalizes for black if white is well-prepared, but it has the potential to lead to sharp complications. 8. Bd2!? This rare move caught me off guard, and I spent quite some time here. 8. e4 and 8. h3 are the most common moves leading to various theoretical main lines.

8… Qb6?! This is not the right reaction, as it does not threaten anything. 8… Qh5 is better, pointing out that white has wasted a move on the not-so-active Bc1-d2. 9. b4!? Bf5 10. c5 This is quite active, but does leave the d5 square weak 10… Qd8 11. cxd6 exd6 12. b5!? Once again white plays energetically, but the more restrained 12. Nh4! should lead to a nice position for white. 12… Ne4 13. a4 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 Be4 By installing the bishop on e4, black places the knight on f3 in a pin of sorts, as white really does not want to trade the fianchettoed bishop. Next black manoeuvres the knight to d5.

15. Qd2 Nd7 16. bxc6 bxc6 17. Rac1 Nb6 18. a5 Nd5 19. Ba1 White’s play looks passive, but if he manages to untangle by removing black’s blockade on the e4 and d5 squares, his own bishops can spring to life. 19… Rc8 20. Bh3! f5 21. Ne1 White threatens to break free with f2-f3 and e3-e4. What should black do?

Black to play.

21… f4!?? This sacrifice is positionally well motivated, but contains a tactical flaw. The calm 21… Nf6 =/+ leaves black with a nice positional edge. However, I saw so many complicated and beautiful lines for black I couldn’t resist playing this flashy move.

22. Bxc8? What may come as a surprise is that this innocent grabbing of material loses! During the game, I thought that I would merely have a strong attack for the exchange, with several of my calculations ending in mate, but my analysis after the game shows that white is busted. Unfortunately, the clever 22. Be6+! Kh8 23. f3! Bf5 24. Bxc8 Qxc8 25. gxf4 +/- spoils all of my fun because I no longer have the manoeuvre Qc8-h3 at my disposal as I did in the game. 22… Qxc8 23. f3?! This is a natural move to try and repel the black forces, but ultimately white does not have time for this move. 23. Rc3! is an extremely difficult move to spot, and the only way to tame black’s attack, but black retains a nearly winning advantage after playing 23… Nxc3 -/+ and continuing the attack with ...Qc8-h3, Bg7-h6 and so on.

Black to play.

23… fxg3! Of course there is no need to back down -- I am playing for mate, and I can use all of my pieces to attack white’s defenseless king. 24. hxg3 Grabbing more material with 24. fxe4? leads to a quick demise: 24… Rxf1+ 25. Kxf1 gxh2 26. Kg2 h1=Q+ 27. Kxh1 Qh3+ 28. Kg1 Bh6 is one line I had foreseen, where white must now part with the queen to avoid being mated by ...Bh6-e3; 24. Qg5? Nf4 threatens forks on both h3 and e2, and 25. Kh1 Qh3 wins by threatening mate on h2 and the rook on f1. 24… Qh3 This sets up ...Bg7-h6 ideas and threatens ...Qxg3+ 25. Ng2 The best defense. 25. Qg5? Bh6 26. Qh4 Qxh4 27. gxh4 Be3+! is an important point as after 28. Kg2 Bxc1 and white cannot recapture e4 due to ...Nd5-e3+ 25… Bh6 Every piece participates, even the previously inactive bishop.

26. Qa2 There is no defense here, but this is the relatively best try, pinning the knight on d5. 26. e3 Qxg3 crashes through, and 26. Qe1 allows a wonderful finish: 26… Ne3 27. Qf2 Ng4 28. fxe4 Be3! (see diagram)

Analysis from the 26. Qe1 variation. White is mated on g2 or h1 next.

This is what I secretly hoped would appear on the board when I went for the exchange sacrifice in the first place! However, as much as I would like to claim that I calculated everything out to checkmate, I definitely missed 26. Qa2, but with so many attacking units, it should not come as a surprise that there is a win here.

26… Qxg3 27. Rc3 Utilizing the pin to cover the e3 square. 27. fxe4? Be3+ 28. Kh1 Qh3#

Black to play.

27… Bf4 28. Rd1 White avoids 28. fxe4 Qh2+ 29. Kf2 Bg3# 28… Qh2+ 29. Kf1 Bg3 0-1

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GM Nick de Firmian's Endgame Lab

To win a really great endgame it is necessary to make use of the minutest advantages. Sometimes the advantage is easy to use. Good knight against bad bishop can be a very easy win in many circumstances. Some players such as Topalov, would make great use of the powerful bishop pair. A bishop can easily be superior to a knight with passed pawns on both sides of the board – the bishop can control both ends of the board unlike the slow knight. It is much harder to show superiority of a bishop against a knight with symmetrical pawn structure. The case below though is a magnificent example of maximizing the power of one bishop.

(1) Fischer,Robert James - Taimanov,Mark E [B47]
Candidates Match, 1971

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4 d6 11.Qd2 h6 12.Rad1 e5 13.Be3 Bg4 14.Bxc5 dxc5 15.f3 Be6 16.f4 Rd8 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 e4 19.Rfe1 Rxd5 20.Rxe4+ Kd8 21.Qe2 Rxd1+ 22.Qxd1+ Qd7 23.Qxd7+ Kxd7 24.Re5

This game was the 4th game of the first round of the Candidates Matches to determine the challenger for the 1972 World Championship match. Fine opening play from both sides have left us with symmetrical pawn structure of 3 pawns on each side of the board. Material is reduced to just a rook and bishop for White vs rook and knight for Black. All seems perfectly level, but there is the one little difference of bishop vs. knight. The way that Fischer maximizes the power of the bishop is a marvel of instruction. 24...b6?! How can this be wrong? Black moves his pawn out of take and places it on the color opposite of the white bishop. Eminently logical, but this may be the losing move! It/^s hard to find a mistake after this in Black/^s play, yet he loses as if by magic. A better chance was 24/\Kd6! Planning on 25. Bxb7 Rb8 26. Bxa6 Rxb2 with activity. 25.Bf1 a5 26.Bc4 Rf8

Black chooses temporary passivity with the rook rather than allow weak white squares on the kingside. 27.Kg2 Kd6 28.Kf3 Nd7 29.Re3 Nb8 30.Rd3+ Kc7 31.c3

Black has set up a defense which looks hard to crack. Fischer has simply proceeded to centralize his king and with his last move has restricted the squares of the black night. Still, the observer would think very little is happening. 31...Nc6 32.Re3 Kd6 33.a4 Ne7 34.h3 Nc6 35.h4 h5 To stop the advance of the white pawns, though now this pawns is on the same color as the white bishop. 36.Rd3+ Kc7 37.Rd5 f5

This is better than 37/\g6 38. Bb5 Nb8 39. f5 as it frees the black rook from defense while protecting the h5 pawn. Yet it puts another pawn on white and the viewer begins to suspect black is in for real trouble. 38.Rd2 Rf6 39.Re2 Kd7 40.Re3 g6 41.Bb5 Rd6 42.Ke2 Kd8 43.Rd3

It is always a significant decision in the endgame whether to exchange a piece or not. Fischer has determined that he can make progress without the rooks on the board, though this is far from obvious. 43...Kc7 44.Rxd6 Kxd6 45.Kd3 Ne7 46.Be8 Kd5 47.Bf7+ Kd6 48.Kc4

The white king tries to infiltrate on the queenside as the kingside is blocked. I expect Taimanov still considered that he was fairly safe. The following moves entail a lot of maneuvering by White to get his king in. 48...Kc6 49.Be8+ Kb7 50.Kb5 Nc8 51.Bc6+ Kc7 52.Bd5 Ne7 53.Bf7 Kb7 54.Bb3 Ka7 55.Bd1 Kb7 56.Bf3+ Kc7 On 56...Ka7 57. b3 is zugzwang. 57.Ka6! Ng8 58.Bd5 Ne7 59.Bc4 Nc6 60.Bf7 Ne7 61.Be8 Kd8

Black had to move either the king or knight leaving a pawn en pris. Yet his king move attacks the bishop and seems to hold the game, since when the bishop moves the black king returns to c7. 62.Bxg6! Nxg6 63.Kxb6

Fischer has crashed through with the piece sacrifice. His active king nets 3 pawns which are clearly superior to the black knight. 63...Kd7 64.Kxc5 Ne7 65.b4 axb4 66.cxb4 Nc8 67.a5 Nd6 68.b5 Ne4+ 69.Kb6 Kc8 70.Kc6 Kb8 71.b6

Taimanov resigned as the white queenside pawns cannot be stopped. 1-0

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TNM Games Round 8

Annotations by IM Elliott Winslow

Griffith,Kyron Wa (2458) - Ivanov,Aleksandr (2171) [A07]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.1), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Ne7 6.e4 0-0 7.Qe2 Nbc6 8.c3 a5 9.a4 d4N [Relevant: 9...h6 10.Na3 Be6 11.Nb5 is the natural continuation, comparing it to the Fianchetto Variation vs. the Pirc 11...Qd7 12.Re1 Rad8 13.Be3 Kh7 14.d4 dxe4 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Bxe5 17.Bxe4 c6 18.Nd4 Bh3 19.Qh5 Bg7 20.Qxa5 f5 21.Bg2 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 Nd5 23.f3 ½-½ (23) Hirn,O (2235)-Roeder,G (2260) Pfarrkirchen 1997] 10.Na3 Bg4 11.h3 Be6 12.Kh2 Nc8 [12...h6; 12...Qd7; 12...f6] 13.Nb5 Nb6 Bb3 is threatened 14.Qc2 Rc8? 15.Bd2?! [15.Ng5! Bd7 16.f4 gets it rolling right away] 15...Qe7?!

16.Ng5! Bd7 17.f4 f6 18.Nf3 Be6?! 19.cxd4+- Black collapsed on a sort of scale. 19...exd4 [19...Nb4 20.Qc5] 20.Nfxd4 Nb4 21.Bxb4 axb4 22.Nxe6 Qxe6 23.f5 [23.a5! Nd7 (23...Na8) 24.Nxc7] 23...Qf7 24.Nd4 Rfe8 25.Ne6 Rxe6 26.fxe6 Qxe6 27.h4 Qd6 28.a5 Nd7 29.d4 Nb8 30.Qc4+ Kh8 31.e5 fxe5 32.Bxb7 Rd8 33.a6 1-0

Diaz,Conrado (2343) - Tsodikova,Natalya (2185) [A48]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.2), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nbd2 d6 [4...0-0 5.c3 d6 (5...d5 6.e3) 6.e4] 5.e4 0-0 6.c3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Bc4 Nc6 9.0-0 Qc7 A key theoretical position 10.Qe2 h6 Rim Alert! The two more successful moves are [10...Na5 as played in the highest average ELO game from here: ½-½ (45) Carlsen,M (2872)-Gelfand,B (2777) Zuerich 2014; and 10...Nh5 11.Qe3 Na5 (!)] 11.Bxf6 [11.Bh4 was an early Carlsen game, vs. another up-and-coming junior: 11...Nh5 12.Rfe1 Bg4 13.Qe3 g5 14.Bg3 Nxg3 15.hxg3 b6 16.Nh2 Bh5 17.g4 Bg6 18.g3 Rad8 19.f4 Nd4!? 1-0 (62) Carlsen,M (2714)-Cheparinov,I (2670) Khanty-Mansiysk 2007] 11...exf6 [11...Bxf6 12.Qe3 wins a pawn, yet a number of GMs have played as Black.] 12.Nh4 Kh7 [Diaz has been here before, not surprising: 12...Ne7 13.f4 Re8 14.g3 f5 15.e5 ½-½ (52) Diaz,C (2259)-Casella,M (2251) American op, Orange 2015; If you sort the Black players by rating, you see 12...g5!? at the top. 13.Nf5 Bxf5 (13...Ne7?! 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Qf3 Be6 16.Rfd1 Rad8 17.Bb3 Qc7 (17...Rfe8) 18.Nf1 (18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Qe2) 18...c4 19.Bc2 Qf4? (19...Rxd1 20.Rxd1 Rd8) 20.Qxf4 gxf4

Very interesting! But kind of stupid. 21.h3?! (21.g3; 21.a4) 21...b5= 22.Nh2 Bc8 (22...b4) 23.Nf3 f5 24.exf5 Bb7 25.Nd4?! Bxd4 26.Rxd4 Rxd4 27.cxd4 Re8=/+ 28.Kf1 f3 (28...Kg7) 29.gxf3 Bxf3 30.f6?! Re6 31.Bd1 Be4?! 32.Be2 Rxf6 (32...Bf5) 33.a4 Ra6 34.Ra3? (34.Ke1) 34...c3? (34...Bd5 35.axb5? c3!-/+ but it might be blockade!) 35.bxc3?? (35.Rxc3 Rxa4 36.Bxb5 Rxd4=) 35...Rxa4 36.Rxa4 bxa4 37.Bc4 Bb1 0-1 Ganguly,S (2619)-Mikhalevski,V (2539) Biel 2014) 14.exf5 Rae8 Ugly bishop, but otherwise Black has done okay.] 13.f4 Qe7?!N [13...Re8!?] 14.Qf2 [14.Bd5; 14.f5!?] 14...b6 [14...Rd8 15.Bd5 f5! 16.Rae1!+/=] 15.Bd5 Bb7 16.Rae1 Na5 17.Bxb7 Qxb7 18.Re2 Rad8 19.Rfe1 Rfe8 20.g3 c4 21.f5 g5 22.Nhf3 Bf8 23.Qg2 Bc5+ 24.Kh1 b5 25.g4 Nc6

26.e5 fxe5 27.Ne4 Qe7 28.Nfxg5+ Kg8 29.Qh3 Rd6 30.Nxd6 Qxd6 31.Ne4 Qd7 1-0

Winslow,Elliott (2318) - Persidsky,Andre (1814) [D35]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.3), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4 [5...c6; 5...Be7] 6.e3 0-0 7.Bd3 c6 8.Qc2 h6 9.Bh4 Nbd7 10.Nge2 [10.Nf3; 10.f3!?] 10...Re8 11.h3 g5?! 12.Bg3 Ne4 13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.0-0 Qe7 15.f3 Nf6 16.Be5 Nd7 17.Bh2 Nf6 18.fxe4 Nxe4 19.Be5 Nxc3 20.Nxc3 f5

21.g4! [21.Ne4!! Rf8 (21...fxe4?! 22.Rf6!! Rf8 23.Rxh6) 22.a3! Bd7 (22...fxe4 23.Rxf8+ Kxf8 24.axb4 Qxb4 25.Rf1+ Ke8 (25...Ke7 26.Qxe4!) 26.Rf6!) ] 21...Bd6 22.gxf5 Bxe5 23.dxe5 Qxe5 24.e4? I was so stuck on this move that I didn't even look at any alternatives. [24.Rf3!+- Bxf5!?+- 25.Rxf5 (25.Qxf5 Qxf5 26.Rxf5 Rxe3 27.Rd1 (27.Kg2) ) 25...Qg3+ 26.Qg2 Rxe3 27.Qxg3 Rxg3+ 28.Kh2 Rd3; 24.Kg2!?] 24...b5!+/= 25.Kg2?! [25.Rae1 Qg3+ 26.Qg2 Qxg2+ 27.Kxg2 b4 28.Nd1+/=] 25...Bb7 26.f6 Rf8 27.Qb3+ [27.Rf5! Qe6 28.Raf1] 27...Kh8 28.Rf5 Qe8 29.Re1 Rd8 30.Qb4 Bc8 31.Rf3?? [31.Qe7 Qg6] 31...Rf7 32.e5 Rd2+ 33.Kg1 Qd8 34.e6 Qc7 35.Ne2 Rxe2 36.Rxe2 c5 37.exf7 Qxf7 38.Qxc5 1-0

Clemens,Kristian (2002) - Fuentes,Romulo C (2200) [A37]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.4), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 d6 6.d3 h5 ... and checkmate! I don't think this is going to catch on. Although, it is curious and amusing to see that it's got a nice plus score (including transpositions), except for one move... 7.Bg5 This! Only played once, by the only 2600+ player to be in this position, admittedly against someone 550 points below him... 7...Nh6 [7...Be6 8.Rb1 Nh6 9.a3 Nf5 10.h4 Qd7 11.Ne4 Rc8 12.0-0 Nfd4 13.b4 b6 14.Re1 Bg4 15.Qa4 Bxf3 16.exf3 Ne5 17.Qd1 0-0 18.Be3 e6 19.Bxd4 cxd4 20.f4 Ng4 21.Ng5 d5 22.cxd5 exd5 23.Bh3 Qb5 24.Bxg4 hxg4 25.Qxg4 Qxd3 26.Nxf7 Rc2 27.Rbd1 Rd2 28.Ne5 Bxe5 29.Rxd2 Qxd2 30.Qxg6+ 1-0 (30) Melkumyan,H (2633)-Luchtmeijer,A (2089) Canberra 2014] 8.Qd2?! Daring Black to hunt down bishop for knight -- which he does 8...f6 9.Bf4 e5 10.Be3 Ng4 [I wonder how he chose this over 10...Nf5] 11.0-0 Be6 12.a3 Qd7 13.Rab1 [13.b4!?] 13...Nxe3 14.fxe3 g5 15.b4 h4 16.Ne4 cxb4 17.axb4 [17.d4!!+/-] 17...hxg3 [17...h3 18.Bh1 0-0] 18.hxg3 Bh3?

19.c5! ("A wing attack is best met" etc.) 19...Bxg2 20.Nxd6+ Kd8 21.Kxg2 Bf8 [21...Qh3+ 22.Kf2 Kd7 23.Rh1 Qxh1 24.Rxh1 Rxh1 25.Qa2 White gets in, somewhere] 22.Rh1 Rxh1 23.Rxh1 a6 24.Qa2 [Here's a bit of computer magic: 24.Rh8 Qg7 25.Qa2 Kc7 26.Rg8 Qh7 27.b5 Ne7 28.b6+ Kd7 29.Rxg5!] 24...g4 25.Nd2 Kc7 26.N2c4 Rd8 Black is very lost. 27.Nb6 This puts things on a bit of an edge; [27.b5! Bxd6 28.cxd6+ Kb8 29.bxc6 (It actually prefers 29.e4!) 29...Qxc6+ 30.e4] 27...Qg7?! [27...Nxb4 28.Qa5! (28.Nxd7 Nxa2 29.Nxf6 Bxd6 30.cxd6+ Kxd6 is going to take a lot of work.) 28...Nc6 29.Qa3 (29.Qa4) ] 28.b5 [28.Nf7! Qg8 29.Qe6 Be7 30.Rh8] 28...Rxd6 29.Na8+ Kb8 30.cxd6 axb5 [30...Nd8 31.bxa6!] 31.Nb6 Here Stockfish notes it's mate in twelve. (I'm usually surprised it's that fast!) 31...Bxd6 32.Qa8+ Kc7 33.Nd5+ [33.Nd5+ Kd7 34.Qxb7+ Ke6 35.Qxg7 Kxd5 36.Qd7 Nb8 37.e4+ Kc5 38.Rc1+ Kb4 39.Qxd6+ Kb3 40.Rb1+ Ka2 41.Qb4] 1-0

Gaffagan,Steven (2054) - Marcus,Joel (1833) [A53]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.5), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.h3 Bh5 6.g4 Bg6 7.Nh4 e6 8.Bg2 d5 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bf4 Bd6 12.Qd2 Na6 13.Qe3+ Be7 14.Qg3 Qd7 15.Rc1 Rc8 16.0-0 Bd8 17.e4 dxe4 18.Rfe1 0-0 19.Be5 Bc7 20.Rcd1 Nb4 21.Nxe4 Nbd5 [21...Nc2] 22.Nc5 Qe7 23.Nxb7?! [23.Qb3; 23.Rc1; 23.Nd3; 23.g5; 23.f4] 23...Bxe5 24.dxe5 Qxb7 25.exf6 gxf6 [25...Qxb2] 26.Rd2 [26.b3+/=] 26...Kg7 27.Red1 Rh8 28.a3 g5 29.Bxd5 cxd5 30.b4 Rh4? [30...a5= 31.bxa5 Rc5] 31.Rd3? [31.Rxd5 Rch8 32.Qc3! Kg6 (32...Rxh3? 33.Rxg5+) 33.Qf3 Qc7 (33...Rxh3? 34.Rxg5+) 34.R1d3+-] 31...Rch8 32.Qg2= d4?? 33.Qxb7 1-0

Pane,Gianluca (1863) - Askin,Michael (1993) [D45]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.6), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.b3 Bd6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.Qc2 Rc8 11.Rac1 h6 12.Rfd1 Qe7 13.Qb1 Rfd8 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 Nf6 17.Qb1 Ba3 18.Ne5 Bxb2 19.Qxb2 c5 20.Bf3 Rxd4 21.Rxd4 cxd4 22.Bxb7 Qxb7 23.Qxd4 Qe4 24.Qxe4 Nxe4 25.Rd1 f6 26.Nf3 Rc7 27.Kf1 Kf7 28.Rd4 Nc5 29.Ke2 e5 30.Rd2 Ke7 31.Ne1 a5 32.Nc2 Rd7 33.Ne3 Rxd2+ 34.Kxd2 Kd7 35.Nd5 Kc6 36.f3 Ne6 37.a3 Nd4 38.b4 axb4 39.axb4 b5 40.Kd3 f5 41.Nc3 [41.f4+/= bxc4+ 42.Kxc4 Kd6 43.Nb6 g5=] 41...bxc4+ 42.Kxc4 Nc2 43.b5+ Kd6 44.b6 Kc6 45.b7 Kxb7 46.Kd5 Ne3+ 47.Kxe5 Nxg2 48.Kxf5 Nh4+ 49.Kg4 Ng6 50.f4 Kc7 51.Kf5 Nf8 52.Ke5 1/2-1/2

Hakobyan,Sos (1829) - Maser,Thomas F (1907) [C54]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.7), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.Bxc6+ bxc6 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.0-0 0-0 11.h3 [11.Nc3] 11...c5 12.Be3 f6 [12...cxd4-/+] 13.exf6 [13.dxc5] 13...Rxf6? [13...cxd4 14.Bxd4 c5=/+] 14.Nc3? [14.dxc5=] 14...c6?? [14...cxd4! 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Nxd4 Ba6-/+] 15.Ne5? [15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Bxc5 Bxc5 17.Ne4 Rxf3 18.Nxc5] 15...Qf8? [15...cxd4 16.Bxd4 Nxc3 17.Bxb6 Ne2+ 18.Qxe2 axb6=/+] 16.Nxe4+/- dxe4 17.dxc5 Bc7?! [17...Bxc5] 18.Nxc6 [18.Nd7! Bxd7 19.Qxd7+/-] 18...Rg6?

[18...Kh8+/=] 19.Qd5+? [19.f4! Bxh3 20.Rf2+- (20.Qd5+ Kh8 21.Rf2+-) ] 19...Be6? [19...Kh8= 20.Ne7

20...Rxg2+! 21.Kxg2 Qf3+ 22.Kg1 Bh2+! 23.Kxh2 Qxh3+=] 20.Ne7++- Qxe7 21.Qxa8+ Kf7 22.Qxe4 [22.f3!] 22...Qf6 23.f4 Bxh3 24.Rf2 Bf5 25.Qb7 Qe7 26.Re1 Be4 27.Qb3+ Kf8 28.c6 [28.Bd4!] 28...Bxc6 29.Bd2 Qc5 [29...Bb6 30.Kf1] 30.Re3 [30.Be3] 30...a5 31.Qa3?+/= [31.f5 Rh6 32.f6] 31...Qxa3? [31...Bb6] 32.Rxa3+- a4 33.Rc3 Kf7 34.g3 [34.Be3] 34...Bb6 35.Be3 Rxg3+ [35...Ba5] 36.Kh2 Rxe3 37.Rxc6 Bd4 38.Rc4 Rd3 39.Rg2 a3 40.bxa3 Bf6 41.a4 Ra3 42.Rgc2 g5 43.f5 Be5+ 44.Kg2 Kf6 45.Rf2?! Bf4 46.Rb4? [46.Rc6+ Kxf5 47.Rh6 Rxa4 48.Rxh7+/-] 46...Kxf5= 47.Rb5+ Kg4 48.Kf1 h5 49.Rg2+ Kh4 50.Rb4 Rc3 51.Rb3 Rc1+ 52.Ke2 Rc2+ 53.Kf1 Rc1+ 54.Ke2 Rc2+ 55.Kf3?? g4+ 56.Kxf4 [56.Rxg4+ hxg4+ 57.Kxf4 Rxa2-+] 56...Rxg2 57.Ra3 g3 0-1

Kuczek,Kevin W (2003) - Babayan,Gagik (1806) [C01]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.9), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 Bb4+ 5.Nc3 Qe7+ 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qb3 Ng4 8.Be2 Nxe3 9.fxe3 dxc4 10.Qxc4 c6 11.Nf3 0-0 12.h3 Bxc3+ 13.Qxc3 Nd7 14.Nd2 Nf6 15.Bf3 Bf5 16.0-0 Rfe8 17.Rae1 Bg6 18.Nc4 Be4 19.Ne5 Bxf3 20.Rxf3 Rf8 21.e4 Rad8 22.Rfe3 Nd7 23.Nf3 Nb6 24.Kh1 Qe6 25.b3 Qd6 26.a4 a6 27.a5 Nc8 28.Rd3 Ne7 29.Ne5 Ng6 30.Nc4 Qf6 31.e5 Qe6 32.Nd6 Rd7 33.Ne4 Qd5 34.Nc5 Re7 35.Ne4 Rd8 36.Nd6 Nf4 37.Rg3 Ne6 38.Nf5 Red7 39.Qd2 Kh8 40.Rd3 c5 41.Ne3 Qe4 42.d5 Nf4 43.Rc3 Nxd5 44.Nc4 Nxc3 45.Qxc3 Qxe1+ 46.Qxe1 Rd1 47.Qg1 Rxg1+ 48.Kxg1 Rd3 49.Nd6 Rxb3 50.Nxf7+ Kg8 51.Nd6 b5 52.axb6 Rxb6 53.Nc4 Rb4 54.Nd6 Kf8 55.Kf2 c4 56.Ke3 g6 57.Kd4 Ke7 58.Kc3 Ra4 59.Ne4 Ra2 60.Nc5 Rxg2 61.Nxa6 Ke6 62.Kxc4 Kxe5 63.Kd3 Rh2 64.Nc5 Rxh3+ 65.Ke2 h5 66.Nd7+ Kf4 67.Kf2 Rh2+ 68.Kf1 g5 69.Nf6 h4 70.Kg1 Ra2 71.Nh5+ Kf3 72.Kh1 g4 73.Kg1 g3 74.Kh1 Ra1# 0-1

Mercado,Adam (1714) - Argo,Guy (1909) [C41]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.10), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Nd7 4.d4 c6 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.0-0 Be7 7.a3 Ngf6 8.Nc3 h6 9.b4 Qc7 10.Bb2 g5 11.Qd3+/- Nf8?

12.Nxe5 Be6 13.Bxe6 Nxe6 14.Ne2 Rg8 15.Nxf7? Kxf7 16.e5 Rad8 17.Qf5 Rd5? 18.c4 Ng7 19.e6+ Kf8 20.Qg6 Nxe6 21.Qxh6+ Kf7 22.cxd5 cxd5 23.Bxf6 Bxf6 24.Qh5+ Kg7 25.Rac1 Qe5 26.Qg4 Rh8 27.Ng3 Nd4 28.Rfe1 Qd6 29.Qxd4 Bxd4 30.Nf5+ Kf6 31.Nxd6 Be5 32.Rxe5 1-0

Rudyak,Felix (1892) - Ansari,Jahaan (1390) [D52]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.11), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.e3 c6 6.Nf3 Qa5 7.Nd2 Bd6 8.Bh4 0-0 9.Bd3 e5 10.0-0 e4 11.Be2 Re8 12.a3 Be7 13.b4 Qd8 14.b5 Nb6 15.a4 Be6 16.c5 Nbd7 17.bxc6 bxc6 18.Rb1 a5 19.Bg3 Nb8 20.Qb3 Na6 21.Rb2 Qd7 22.Rfb1 Bd8 23.Na2 Bc7 24.Qc3 Bxg3 25.hxg3 h6 26.Qxa5 Nc7 27.Qb4 Bg4 28.Bf1 Reb8 29.Qxb8+ Rxb8 30.Rxb8+ Kh7 31.R1b7 Nfe8 32.a5 Qf5 33.Nb4 Nf6 34.Rxc7 Qh5 35.f3 exf3 36.gxf3?! [36.Bd3+] 36...Bxf3 37.Nxf3??= Qxf3 38.Bd3+ Ne4 39.Bxe4+ dxe4 40.Kh2 Qf2+ 41.Kh3 Qf1+ 42.Kh2 Qf2+ 1/2-1/2

McKellar,Daniel (1872) - Busch,Jonah (1799) [D87]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.12), 26.02.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Bc4 Nc6 9.Ne2 0-0 10.0-0 Qc7 11.Qc1 b6 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Bxc5 Ne5 14.Bd5 Qxc5 15.Bxa8 Ba6 16.Qd2 Rxa8 17.Rfd1 Ng4 18.Nd4 Rc8 19.Rac1 Bh6 20.Nb3 Bxd2 21.Nxc5 Bxc1 22.Nxa6 Rxc3 23.h3 Ne5 24.Nb4 Rc4 25.Nd5 Ba3 26.f4 Nc6 27.Rd3 Bc5+ 28.Kh2 Nb4 29.Nxb4 Bxb4 30.a3 Bc5 31.Rd5 Bxa3 32.f5 gxf5 33.exf5 Bd6+ 34.Kg1 Rc5 0-1

Askin,David Benjamin (2019) - Xu,Jayden (1619) [E16]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.13), 26.02.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 c5 6.d5 exd5 7.Nh4 g6 8.Nc3 Bg7 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bd2 Qe7 11.cxd5 d6 12.0-0 0-0 13.e4 Nbd7 14.f4 Kh7 15.Re1 h5 16.e5 dxe5 17.d6 Qxd6 18.Bxb7 Rab8 19.Bf3 e4 20.Nxe4 Nxe4 21.Rxe4 Bxb2 22.Rb1 Bd4+ 23.Kg2 Nf6 24.Re2 Rfe8 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Bc3 Nd5 27.Bxd4 cxd4 28.Qd2 Ne3+ 29.Kg1 Nc4 30.Qd3 Na3 31.Rd1 Rd8 32.Bxh5 Qc5 33.Bxg6+ Kg8 34.Be4 Nc4 35.Rc1 b5 36.Nf5 Re8 37.a4 a6 38.axb5 axb5 39.Nh6+ Kf8 40.Nf5 Kg8 41.Re1 Nb2 42.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 43.Nxd4 1-0

Lum,Michael K (1941) - Kim,Andy (1604) [B14]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.14), 26.02.2019

1.c4 c6 2.e4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.c5 Ne4 9.Bxe7 Kxe7 10.Bd3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Qa5 12.Qd2 b6 13.cxb6 axb6 14.0-0 Ba6 15.Qg5+ Kf8 16.Bxa6 Qxa6 17.Rab1 h6 18.Qf4 Kg8 19.Rb2 Ra7 20.Qd6 b5 21.Qc5 Qa3 22.Qxb5 Qxc3 23.Rb3 Qc4 24.Qxc4 1/2-1/2

Cortinas,Martin A (1666) - Krasnov,Steven (1876) [B21]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.16), 26.02.2019

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bf4 Be6 9.Bxe6 fxe6 10.Ng5 Ngxe5 11.Nxe6 Qd7 12.Ng5 Qf5 13.0-0 0-0-0 14.Qa4 h6 15.Nge4 e6 16.Rfd1 d5 17.Ng3 Qf6 18.Rac1 Nc4 19.Nb5 a6 20.Nc7 Nxb2 21.Qb3 Nxd1 22.Rxc6 bxc6 23.Nxa6 Qxf4 0-1

Chan,John (1560) - Harris,John (1854) [B12]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.17), 26.02.2019

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h3 e6 5.Nf3 h6 6.Nc3 Nd7 7.Bd2 a6 8.b3 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Na4 Ba7 11.Bd3 Ne7 12.Qe2 b5 13.Nc3 Qc7 14.Rc1 Bb8 15.g4 Bg6 16.h4 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 18.f4 Qxe2+ 19.Nxe2 Bxd3 20.cxd3 Kd7 21.Nd4 Bd6 22.Ke2 Rac8 23.h5 Ba3 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.g5 Bb2 26.Nf3 Nf5 27.Rg1 Nd4+ 28.Nxd4 Bxd4 29.Rc1 Rxc1 30.Bxc1 f5 31.gxh6 gxh6 32.Be3 Bc3 33.d4 Kc6 34.Kd3 Be1 35.Ke2 Bg3 36.Kf3 Bh4 37.Ke2 Be7 38.Kd3 Ba3 39.Kc2 Kb6 40.Bd2 Bd6 41.b4 Be7 42.Kb3 Bh4 43.Be3 Kc6 44.Kc3 a5 45.a3 Be1+ 46.Kb3 1/2-1/2

Drane,Robert (1800) - Casares Jr,Nick (1600) [C27]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.18), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 c6 5.f4 d6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.fxe5 dxe5 8.Bxf7+ Kxf7 9.Nxe5+ Kg8 10.Nxg4 h5 11.Nxf6+ Qxf6 12.Qf3 Qe7 13.Ne2 Nd7 14.d4 Rf8 15.Qb3+ Kh7 16.dxc5 Ne5 17.Bf4 Rd8 18.0-0 Qxc5+ 19.Qe3 Qe7 20.Bg5 1-0

Lesquillier,Walter (1750) - Bradley,Christopher (1427) [A57]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.19), 26.02.2019

1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6 3.c4 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6 e6 6.Nc3 Nxd5 7.Nxd5 exd5 8.Qxd5 Nc6 9.e3 Be7 10.Bc4 0-0 11.Nf3 Rb8 12.Bd2 Rxb6 13.Bc3 Nb4 14.Bxb4 Rxb4 15.Qd3 Rxb2 16.0-0 Bb7 17.e4 a5 18.Rfd1 d6 19.e5 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 Qb8 21.exd6 Bxd6 22.g3 Be5 23.Rd7 Rxf2 24.Qxf2 Bxa1 25.Qxc5 Qb1+ 26.Kg2 Qe4+ 27.Kh3 g6 28.a4 h5 29.Re7 Qg4+ 30.Kg2 h4 31.Bb3 h3+ 32.Kf1 Qf3+ 0-1

Robeal,Rafik (1716) - Newey,Richard (1600) [D78]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.20), 26.02.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 c6 7.Nbd2 Ne4 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Ne5 f5 10.f4 Nd7 11.Qb3 Qb6 12.Be3 Qxb3 13.axb3 c5 14.Rfd1 Nxe5 15.dxe5 b6 16.b4 cxb4 17.Bxb6 Be6 18.Bc5 Kf7 19.b3 a5 20.Ra4 Rfb8 21.e3 Ke8 22.Rda1 Rd8 23.Bd4 Rdc8 24.Bf1 1-0

Latourette,Nicholas (1347) - Cendejas,Juan (1686) [C45]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.21), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nf3 d6 6.Nc3 h6 7.a3 Bg4 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.fxe3 Nf6 10.Qd2 a6 11.0-0-0 0-0 12.h3 Be6 13.g4 b5 14.Nd4 Ne5 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Bg2 Rb8 17.Ne2 Nc4 18.Qc3 e5 19.Ng3 Nd7 20.Bf1 Ndb6 21.Bxc4+ Nxc4 22.Rhf1 Qg5 23.Rxf8+ Rxf8 24.Rf1 Nxe3 25.Rxf8+ Kxf8 26.Kb1 Nc4 27.b3 Nd2+ 28.Kb2 c5 29.Qd3 c4 30.Qxd6+ Kg8 31.Nf5 c3+ 32.Ka2 Qf6 33.Qd3 Kf8 34.Qxc3 Nf1 35.Qc5+ Kf7 36.Qf2 g6 37.Qxf1 gxf5 38.Qxf5 1-0

Jensen,Christian (1857) - Chambers,Don (1127) [C58]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.22), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3 Qb6 [8...Be7!?; 8...Rb8!?] 9.Bd3 h6 10.Ne4 Be7 11.Nbc3 0-0 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.0-0 Bb7 14.Qf5 Rfd8 15.b3 c5 16.Ne4 Kf8 17.Bb2 Bc8 18.Qh5 Nb7 19.Nxf6 Qxf6 20.Bxe5 Qg5 21.Qxg5 hxg5 22.Rad1 f6 23.Bb2 Kf7 24.Rfe1 f5 25.Re5 Kg6 26.Re7 Rh8 27.Rxg7+ Kh6 28.Re1 Rh7 29.Rg8 a6 30.Ree8 Nd6 31.Rd8 Nf7 32.Rxc8 Rxc8 33.Rxc8 Nd6 34.Rc6 Re7 35.Rxd6+ Kh5 36.Kf1 g4 37.Bxf5 Kg5 38.Bf6+ 1-0

Matz,James I (1601) - Perlov,Alexander (1720) [A05]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.23), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.d3 e6 5.0-0 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Nc3?! This knight gets off track [7.Na3!? a6 8.c4] 7...b4 8.Ne2 c5 9.e5? [9.a3; 9.c3] 9...dxe5 10.Nxe5 Bxg2 11.Nxf7?? [11.Kxg2 Qd5+ 12.Nf3 0-0 Stockfish makes Black solidly better (-0.77 to -0.98); not an easy evaluation! But it's based on White's held back position, i.e. Black has more space, plus White's knights can't quite seem to get anywhere useful. And the weakened light squares around White's king can't be a good thing.] 11...Kxf7 White lost count of the pieces. 12.Kxg2 Qd5+ 13.Kg1 Nc6 14.Nf4 Qd7 15.Re1 e5 16.Nh5 Rhe8 17.f4 exf4 18.Nxf4 Qg4 19.Qd2 Nd4 0-1

Zeller,William Patrick - Quang,Danny (1719) [D12]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.24), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bf5?! 5.e3 e6 6.a3 a5 7.Bd2 Nbd7 8.Be2 Bd6 9.c5 Bc7 10.b4 axb4 11.axb4 e5 12.0-0 Rxa1 13.Qxa1 e4 14.Nh4 Be6 15.g3 Bh3 16.Rb1 g5 17.Ng2 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 g4 19.b5 h5 20.bxc6 bxc6 21.Qa6 Nb8 22.Qa7 Kd7 23.Na4 Ke6 24.Rb7 Ne8 25.Nb6 Nd7 26.Nxd7 Kxd7 27.Ba5 f5 28.Bd1 Rh6 29.Bxc7 Nxc7 30.Rb8 Qf6 31.Rb7 Qd8 32.Ba4 Rf6 33.Rb8 Qe7 34.Qb7 Ke6 35.Rc8 Ne8 36.Qxc6+ 1-0

Simpkins,Jerry (1508) - Mays,Jerry L (1700) [B06]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.25), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.f4 Bg7 4.Nf3 a6 5.g3 Nf6 6.e5 dxe5 7.fxe5 Nd5 8.Bg2 0-0 9.c3 c6 10.Na3 b5 11.Nc2 f5 12.Ne3 e6 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Bg5 Qc7 15.Qd2 Nc6 16.Bh6 Na5 17.Bxg7 Nc4 18.Qh6 Qxg7 19.Qc1 Bd7 20.b3 Nb6 21.Qa3 Rfc8 22.Rc1 Qh6 23.Kf2 Rc6 24.h4 Rac8 25.Qb4 a5 26.Qe7 Rxc3 27.Rxc3 Rxc3 28.Qd8+ Kg7 29.Qf6+ Kg8 30.Qd8+ Qf8 31.Qxb6 f4 32.g4 (Jerry's score loses it around here (The other Jerry's score quit around move 28). 1-0

Lamstein,Joshua D (1655) - Agdamag,Samuel Za (1506) [C01]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.26), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bd2 Nf6 6.Be2 Nc6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.Bg5 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Nxd5 Qd6 12.c4 Re6 13.a3 Rae8 14.Ne3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Rh6 16.Ng4 Ba5 17.Nxh6+ Qxh6 18.b4 Nxb4 19.axb4 Bxb4 20.Rxa7 Bd6 21.g3 Qe6 22.c5 Bf8 23.Rxb7 Qe7 24.Bc6 Rd8 25.Re1 Qf6 26.Qf3 Qxd4 27.Rxc7 f6 28.Qb3+ Kh8 29.Qf7 Qc3 30.Re8 Rd1+ 31.Kg2 Rg1+ 32.Kxg1 Qc1+ 33.Kg2 1-0

Lintz,Michael - Malykin,Erika (1628) [A45]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.27), 26.02.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 c5 4.c3 Ne4 5.Nd2 Nxd2 6.Qxd2 d5 7.b3 Bd7 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Ne5 cxd4 10.Nxd7 dxc3 11.Qxc3 Bb4 12.Qxb4 Nxb4 13.Rc1 Rc8 14.Rxc8 Qxc8 15.Be2 Qc1+ 16.Bd1 Nd3+ 17.Ke2 Nxf4+ 18.exf4 Kxd7 19.Re1 Qxf4 20.g3 Qe4+ 21.Kf1 Qh1+ 22.Ke2 Qxh2 23.Bc2 Rc8 24.Bd3 e5 25.Bf5+ Kd8 26.Bxc8 Kxc8 27.Rc1+ Kd8 28.Rc5 Qh5+ 29.Kf1 Qd1+ 30.Kg2 f6 0-1

Francis,Daniel E (1607) - Morgan,Jerry (1491) [D00]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.28), 26.02.2019

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c6 3.e3 Qb6 4.b3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.h3 Bh5 8.0-0 Ne4 9.c4 e6 10.Nbd2 Nxd2 11.Qxd2 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Bb4 13.Qc2 Qd8 14.c5 Qh4 15.Kh2 0-0-0 16.a3 Ba5 17.b4 Bc7 18.Bxc7 Kxc7 19.b5 Nb8 20.Qa4 a6 21.bxa6 bxa6 22.Bxa6 Kd7 23.Rab1 Ke7 24.Bb7 Kf6 25.Bxc6 Kg6 26.Qc2+ f5 27.Bb5 Kf6 28.Rg1 g5 29.Rg3 h5 30.Rbg1 g4 31.f4 Nd7 32.c6 Rc8 33.c7 Nb6 34.Ba6 Ra8 35.Bb7 Rag8 36.Qc6 Nc8 37.Bxc8 Rxc8 38.Qd7 Ra8 39.Rc1 Rac8 40.Rc6 1-0

Cole,Tony (1520) - Reed,Nicholas (1271) [C01]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.29), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 Nf6 7.Bb5 Bd7 8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.Ne5 Qd6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Bf4 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Ne4 13.Qf3 g5 14.Qg4 f5 15.Qh5 gxf4 16.f3 Nd2 17.Qg5+ Kh8 18.Qh5 Be8 19.Qh4 Nxf1 20.Rxf1 (...) Black won 0-1

Carron,Joel (1491) - Reyes,Victor Hugo [B12]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.30), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 c6 3.d4 d5 4.e5 h6 5.c4 b6 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Nc3 a6 8.Be2 Bd7 9.0-0 Ne7 10.b4 Nf5 11.b5 a5 12.a4 Bb4 13.Bd2 Be7 14.h3 g5 15.Nh2 Nxd4 16.Bh5 Nf5 17.Ne2 Bc5 18.Bc1 Bc8 19.Ng4 Nd7 20.Nh2 Nxe5 21.Bb2 Bd6 22.Ng4 d4 23.Nxd4 0-0 24.Nxf5 exf5 25.Nxe5 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Qxd1 27.Rfxd1 Be6 28.Rd6 Rab8 29.Rxe6 fxe6 30.Bxb8 Rxb8 31.Rc1 Kg7 32.Rc7+ Kf6 33.Rh7 Rc8 34.Rxh6+ Ke5 35.Bf7 f4 36.Rxe6+ Kf5 37.Rxb6 Rc1+ 38.Kh2 Rc2 39.Bg6+ 0-1

Capdeville,Barry (1219) - Baer,Michael A (1488) [C77]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.31), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 b5 [5...Bc5] 6.Bb3 Be7 ["It is only by playing 5...Bc5 or 6...Bc5 that Black can equalise." (Tiviakov) -- a bit pedantic 6...Bc5] 7.c3 d6 8.d4 0-0 [Black could put immediate pressure on White's center with 8...Bg4!?] 9.d5?! Of course, if White is going to cave on central tension anyway... [9.0-0; 9.Nbd2; 9.a4] 9...Nb8?! [9...Na5 10.Bc2 c6 11.dxc6 Qc7!?] 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Rd1N Nc5?! There are more urgent matters, and the knight is fine on d7; [11...Bb7 followed by ...c6 (when the N/d7 stops the pin on the d-file)] 12.Bc2 Bg4 [12...Bb7; 12...Qe8!?] 13.b4 Nb7? Poor knight! 14.Nbd2 Bd7?! [14...Qc8] 15.Nf1 h6 16.Ng3 c5?

which White ignores [16...c6? same problem; 16...Re8] 17.Nf5? [17.dxc6 Bxc6 18.Nxe5+-] 17...cxb4 [17...Bxf5! 18.exf5 cxb4 19.cxb4 a5] 18.cxb4 [18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.cxb4 a5] 18...Rc8? [18...Bxf5!] 19.Bd3? [19.Ng3!; 19.Nxe7+ Qxe7 20.Bd3] 19...Bxf5! 20.exf5 Nxd5 21.Bd2 Qd7 22.Be4? Nc3? [22...Nf6!-/+] 23.Bxc3 Rxc3 24.Nxe5 Qc7

25.Nxf7? [25.Ng4+- with serious threats (f5-f6, Ne3-d5) 25...d5!? 26.Bxd5 Bg5 27.f6] 25...Kxf7?? [25...Rxf7= 26.a4! (26.Bd5 Nd8 27.a4 Rc2) ] 26.Bd5+? [26.f6!!+- Bxf6 27.Bd5+ Kg6 28.Qe4+ Kg5 (28...Kh5 29.Be6 (29.g4+ Kh4 30.Qg6 Kh3 (30...Qf7 31.Bxf7 Kh3 32.Rd3+) 31.Bg2+) 29...Qc4 30.Bg4+ Kg5 (30...Kh4 31.g3+ Rxg3+ 32.fxg3+ Kg5 33.h4#) 31.Qf5+) 29.h4+ Kh5 30.g4+ Kxh4 31.Qg6] 26...Ke8 27.Qh5+?! Chasing Black's king to safety 27...Kd8 28.Re1 [28.a4!? bxa4! 29.Rxa4 Qd7 (29...Rc1; 29...a5) ] 28...Bf6-+ 29.Rad1 Rc2?? [29...Kc8] 30.Bxb7!+- Qxb7 [30...Rxa2; 30...Qb6 31.Qf3 Kc7 32.Be4 Rc3 33.Rc1] 31.Rxd6+ Kc7 [31...Kc8 32.Re8+[] Kc7 (32...Rxe8 33.Qxe8+ Kc7 34.Rd7+ Kb6 (34...Kc6 35.Qe6#) 35.Qe3+ Bd4 36.Qxd4+ Kc6 37.Qd6#) 33.Rxf8[] Kxd6 34.Qd1+ picks off the rook (or mate) 34...Bd4 35.Qxd4+! (35.Qxc2 Qe7 36.Qd1 Qxf8 37.Qxd4+) 35...Qd5 36.Rd8+ Kc7 37.Rxd5 Rc1+ 38.Qd1] 32.Red1?? [32.Qd1!+-] 32...Kb8-+ [32...Qe4!] 33.Rd7 Qb6 34.Qf3 Re8 35.g3 Ree2 36.Qf4+ Kc8 37.R7d2 Rexd2 38.Rxd2 Rxd2 [38...Rc1+ 39.Kg2 Qc6+ 40.f3 (40.Kh3 Bg5) 40...Qc4] 39.Qxd2 Qd4 40.Qe3 Qxe3 41.fxe3 Bc3 0-1

Harris,Clarence (1469) - Dubensky,Walter [C65]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.32), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5 5.h3 Nxe4 6.d4 Bxd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Bd3 Nc5 9.Be3 Qh4 10.c3 Nxd3 11.Qxd3 Ne6 12.Nd2 d6 13.Ne4 f5 14.Ng3 f4 15.Nf5 Qf6 16.Qb5+ Kf7 17.Ng3 g6 18.Qb3 Kg7 19.Ne4 Qf5 20.Qd5 fxe3 21.fxe3 Qh5 22.Rf6 Ng5 23.Raf1 Qe2 24.Nxg5 Qxe3+ 25.Kh2 Qxg5 26.Qf7+ Kh6 27.R1f3 e4 28.Rg3 Bg4 29.Rxg4 Qe5+ 30.g3 Rhg8 31.Rh4+ Kg5 32.Rff4 h5 33.Qh7 Rh8 34.Rxh5+ gxh5 35.h4# 1-0

Roberts,Joseph - Frank,Robert H (1426) [C45]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.33), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 6.Nxc6 dxc6 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Be2 Re8 9.f3 Be6 10.Bg5 Ke7 11.0-0-0 Rad8 12.e5 h6 13.exf6+ gxf6 14.Bxh6 f5 15.Rxd8 Rxd8 16.Rd1 Bd6 17.h3 Rg8 18.g4 Rh8 19.g5 Bf4+ 20.Kb1 Rg8 21.h4 Bg3 22.Rh1 b5 23.Bd3 Kd6 24.Ne2 Be5 25.f4 Bg7 26.Bxg7 Rxg7 27.Nd4 Bd7 28.Nxf5+ 1-0

Soffer,Aaron (1260) - Starr,Albert Mart (1500) [C42]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.37), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Ba5 5.b4 Bb6 6.Be2 0-0 7.0-0 d6 8.d3 h6 9.h3 Be6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Nbd7 12.d4 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.dxe5 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 c6 17.Qd4 Qe7 18.Rad1 Nxe5 19.Qd6 Nxf3+ 20.Rxf3 Qxd6 21.Rxd6 Rad8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Rf2 Rd1+ 24.Rf1 Rxf1+ 25.Kxf1 f5 26.g4 fxg4 27.hxg4 g5 28.Kf2 Kf7 29.Kf3 Kg6 30.Kg3 Kf6 31.Kf3 Ke5 32.c4 b6 33.Ke2 Ke4 34.Kf2 Kd3 35.Kf3 Kxc4 36.e4 Kd4 37.a4 c5 38.bxc5 bxc5 39.a5 c4 40.a6 c3 41.Ke2 Kxe4 42.Kd1 Kf3 43.Kc2 Kxg4 44.Kxc3 h5 45.Kd2 h4 46.Ke2 h3 47.Kf2 Kf4 48.Kg1 g4 49.Kh2 Kf3 50.Kg1 Kg3 51.Kh1 Kf2 52.Kh2 g3+ 53.Kh1 g2+ 0-1

Payne,William (1171) - James,Charles (1419) [D00]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.38), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 g6 4.Nd2 Bg7 5.f4 Nc6 6.c3 0-0 7.Ngf3 e6 8.Ne5 Nd7 9.0-0 Ne7 10.g4 f6 11.Nxd7 Bxd7 12.Nf3 e5 13.fxe5 Bxg4 14.Be2 Qd7 15.exf6 Bxf6 16.Rf2 h5 17.Bd2 Rf7 18.Qb3 c6 19.Raf1 Bh3 20.Rc1 Raf8 21.Ne1 Bh4 22.Rxf7 Rxf7 23.Nd3 Qf5 24.Nf4 Qg5+ 25.Kh1

25...Bg2+?? [25...Rxf4 26.Rg1 Qf5] 26.Nxg2 Rf2 27.Nf4?? [27.Bf1 Rxd2 28.Qxb7=; 27.Rg1=] 27...Bg3! 28.Bd3 Rxh2+ 29.Kg1 Bxf4+ 30.Kf1 Qg2+ 31.Ke1 Rh1+ 0-1

Buchner,Karl - Cunningham,Charles (1414) [C55]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.39), 26.02.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 d6 4.d3 h6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Be3 a6 7.a4 Be7 8.h3 0-0 9.Qd2 Kh8 10.Bxh6 gxh6 11.Qxh6+ Nh7 12.Nd5 Be6 13.g4 Bg5 14.Nxg5 Qxg5 15.Qxg5 Nxg5 16.Nxc7 Rac8 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.c3 Rc7 19.b4 Rh7 20.b5 Na5 21.Ba2 Rxh3 22.0-0-0 Rxf2 23.Bxe6 Kg7 24.Rxh3 Nxh3 25.d4 Nf4 26.dxe5 Nxe6 27.exd6 Kf7 28.g5 Nb3+ 29.Kb1 Nbc5 30.g6+ Kxg6 31.d7 Nd8 32.bxa6 bxa6 33.Rd6+ Kf7 34.e5 Ke7 35.c4 Nxd7 36.Rxa6 Nxe5 37.c5 Ndc6 38.a5 Kd7 0-1

Rakonitz,David (1644) - Tabatabai,Hadi (1149) [D04]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.40), 26.02.2019

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 Bg4 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nc3 e5 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.cxd5 Bb4 8.Qa4+ Qd7 9.Qxb4 Nxf3+ 10.gxf3 Bxf3 11.Rg1 0-0-0 12.Be2 Nxd5 13.Qd4 Nxc3 14.Qxd7+ Rxd7 15.Bxf3 Na4 16.Bg4 g6 17.Bxd7+ Kxd7 18.b3 Nc5 19.Ke2 Ne4 20.Bb2 Re8 21.Rgd1+ Kc8 22.Rd4 f5 23.Kf1 Re6 24.Rad1 b6 25.Rd8+ Kb7 26.R8d7 h5 27.Rf7 Rc6 28.Rc1 Rd6 29.Rcxc7+ Ka6 30.Rxa7+ Kb5 31.Rfd7 Rc6 32.Rac7 Rd6 33.Rxd6 Nxd6 34.Rg7 Ne4 35.Rxg6 h4 36.f3 Nc5 37.Ke2 Ka5 38.Rh6 b5 39.Rxh4 Ne6 40.Bc3+ Kb6 41.Rh6 1-0

Tabatabai,Ashkon (1138) - Abdi,Mehron Edwar (1069) [C47]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.41), 26.02.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5 Nxe5 5.d4 Neg4 6.e5 Qe7 7.Be2 d6 8.Bxg4 Bxg4 9.f3 Bh5 10.0-0 dxe5 11.dxe5 Black now played 11...0-0-0. Which is illegal. 11...Rd8 (really ...0-0-0) 12.exf6 Qc5+ 13.Kh1 Rxd1 14.Rxd1 Bd6 15.Ne4 Qe5 16.Ng5 0-1

Cendejas,Jon (952) - Sullivan,George (958) [B30]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.42), 26.02.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 e6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d4 b6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Bb7 11.Rad1 Re8 12.a3 Qc7 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 exd5 16.Bxe7 Rxe7 17.Qxd5 Rae8 18.f4 Qxc2 19.Rd2 Qf5 20.Rf2 d6 21.Qxd6 Re6 22.Qd7 R8e7 23.Qd8+ Re8 24.Qd7 R8e7 25.Rc1 h6 26.Rc8+ Kh7 27.Qd8 Re8 28.Qd7 Rxc8 29.Qxc8 Qb1+ 30.Rf1 Qxb2 31.Qd7 1/2-1/2

Soffer,Josiah (799) - Mayer,Carson [B50]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.43), 26.02.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bc4 e6 5.0-0 g6 6.d3 Bg7 7.Bg5 d5 8.exd5 exd5 9.Nxd5 Be6 10.Re1 0-0 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Bb5 a6 14.Ba4 b5 15.Bb3 Bg4 16.Qd2 Nc6 17.Bd5 Rac8 18.d4 cxd4 19.Bxc6 Rxc6 20.Nxd4 Rd6 21.Qb4 Rxd4 22.Qc3 b4 23.Qc5 Bd7 24.c3 Rd6 25.Qxb4 Bc6 26.Rad1 Qg5 27.g3 Rfd8 28.Rxd6 a5 29.Rxd8+ Kg7 30.Qf8+ Kf6 31.Qh8+ Kf5 32.f4 Qg4 33.Qe5# 1-0

Ahrens,Richard - Bayaraa,Timothy (1175) [C20]
Mechanics' Winter TNM; G/2 d5 San Francisco (8.44), 26.02.2019

1.g3 e5 2.Bg2 Nf6 3.e4 Nc6 4.Nf3 d5 5.d4 dxe4 6.Nxe5 Bd7 7.Nxd7 Qxd7 8.Be3 0-0-0 9.c3 Ng4 10.Bxe4 Nxe3 11.fxe3 Re8 12.Nd2 f5 13.Bf3 Rxe3+ 14.Kf2 Re7 15.Re1 g5 16.Rxe7 Bxe7 17.g4 f4 18.Qe2 Re8 19.Bxc6 Qxc6 20.Qf3 Qb6 21.b3 Bb4 22.Nc4 Qf6 23.Ne5 Bd6 24.Qe4 Bxe5 25.dxe5 Rxe5 26.Qxh7 Qb6+ 27.Kf1 Qe3 28.Qh8+ Re8 29.Qd4 Qe2+ 30.Kg1 f3 31.Qf2 Qd3 32.Rf1 Rf8 33.c4 Rf4 34.h3 Qh7 35.Kh2 Rxg4 36.Qxf3 Rf4 37.Qg2 Rxf1 38.Qxf1 Qc2+ 39.Qg2 Qf5 40.Qg4 Qxg4 41.hxg4 Kd7 42.Kg3 Kd6 43.b4 b6 44.Kf3 Ke5 45.Ke3 c6 46.a4 a6 47.b5 cxb5 48.cxb5 axb5 49.axb5 Kd5 50.Kd3 Kc5 51.Ke4 Kxb5 52.Kf5 Kc5 53.Kxg5 b5 54.Kf4 b4 55.Ke3 Kc4 56.Kd2 Kb3 57.g5 Ka2 58.g6 b3 59.g7 Ka1 60.g8Q b2 61.Qa8+ Kb1 62.Kc3 Kc1 63.Qh1# 1-0