Chess Room Newsletter #900

Newsletter #900

Jan 10, 2020

By Abel Talamantez

Table of Contents

• Max Wilkerson Memorial TNM
• Scholastic Chess in 2020
• New Things for Mechanics' in 2020
• 2020 US Amateur Team West
• Wednesday Night Blitz
• FM Paul Whitehead's Column
• Tony's Teaser
• GM Nick de Firmian's Column
• TNM Games
• Submit your piece or feedback

2020 Max Wilkerson Memorial TNM Begins! 

The first TNM of the new decade started off with many strong players and new faces. This 3-section, 7-round format will already have more than 100 players by the start of round 2 and promises some very exciting matches. The championsip section started with some very intriguing matches, with board 1 pairing FM Josiah Stearman against the winner of last marathon's A/B section Jonah Busch. Though Jonah was largely dominant in the last TNM, he got a lesson from the tournaments top seed as Stearman quickly took control against an Alekhine's Defense and ended things early. Another top A/B section finisher from a previous TNM Ako Heidari also played up and got a handful in the first round against FM Kyron Griffith. Heidari blundered the exchange early and Griffith slowly pressed on to victory. There were no big surprises in the first round in this section, and round 2 will have more exciting match ups as the first round winners meet and those who took first round byes enter the fight. 

FM Josiah Stearman plays white against A/B TNM champ Jonah Busch. FM Kyron Griffith just finishes winning the exchange on board 2.

Fear the pink hoodie! NM Rui Yang Yan plays fierce fighting chess under that seemingly innocent attire.

In the A/B section, nearly half the players who have a point after the first round did not play in the previous TNM. It is great to see new faces joining chess' greatest weeknight tradition. In the under 1600 section, nearly 50 players are competing for section supremacy, and it will take all 7 rounds to determine a winner for sure. It is a joy to see so many club players looking to socialize, learn and move up the ladder, and we are happy to see so many newcomers to chess move into tournament play.

We will have more details on the sections as the rounds develop. As always, FM Paul Whitehead is our amazing commentator for the TNM rounds, providing live coverage of games and player interviews. We look forward to having guest commentators, as well as special guests. 

To watch the replay of round 1 coverage, please follow this link here

For a full list of standings and results from the round, click here

Scholastic Chess in 2020

Looking ahead of the new year, we are excited about many events in plans:

2020 US Amateur Team West Nationals - Kids Championship
Saturday, February 15, 2020 @ Hyatt Regency Burlingame
Information - Registration

2020 San Francisco Scholastic Championship
Saturday, March 28, 2020 @ Golden Gate Park
Information - Registration - Flyer

First Kids Swiss tournament of 2020 - Saturday, January 18 10AM

3 sections: 700+, 400-699, and under400
First round: 10AM and then rolling schedule
Prizes: Trophies to Top 5 trophies, medals to all others!
Ideal for new tournment players - notation and use of clock is not neccessary!
Register - More information
 

NEW Things @ Mechanics' For 2020!

The new year brings a reflection of where we are and where we want to go. We introduced many new ideas in 2019, and for the most part, I think they have served to elevate our chess club and created a tighter community among the chess players playing at our club. We had many innovations in 2019, such as providing live broadcasting of games, providing live commentary, creating FIDE rated rapid events and expanding the number of tournaments and types for regular and scholastic events. We have also expanded our scholastic outreach programs, providing free chess in 17 public schools through the generous donations of many individual supporters and organizations. We now also provide free weekday classes taught by GM Nick de Firmian and FM Paul Whitehead and continue our free kids class on Saturdays and women's class on Sundays. We have also expanded the size and scope of our fee based after school programs, creating a comprehensive program in schools and scholastic tournaments for those players to improve on their skills.

We want the focus in 2020 to be on strengthening these new ideas and programs, being careful not too add too many new things without taking the time to gauge the success of what has recently added. We want to focus on providing the highest quality in everything we do, so we are looking for ways to provide a better interactive broadcast experience for our events, raising money to support more free programs, and offering new venues for tournaments and camps. A legendary flight instructor in San Jose who was my flight instructor many years ago, Amelia Reid, always told her students that a good pilot is always learning. Even though she had logged over 55,000 hours of flight time, she was always looking to improve. While we are proud of the quality and innovation at our club, we are laways looking to make it even better.

This being said, we do have some new ideas we are looking to try out for 2020. Some of these are just concepts, and some are in development, here goes:

• Mechanics' Institute mate in 2, mate in 3 puzzle composition contest.
• FIDE/USCF rated Blitz tournaments.
• Mechanics' online match #2, #3 - USA club and an international club.
• More community outreach; enaging diverse communities through chess

We will have more details soon, but these things will happen. We look forward to an amazing 2020!

Lastly, we want to thank our entire chess community for their encouragement and support. We truly feel like we are part of a family and community here and we want to strengthen that spirit to keep the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club as one of the world's great chess clubs. Thank you all, and please reach out to us if you have any questions.

Abel Talamantez and the Mechanics' Institute Chess Team

2020 U.S. Amateur Team West National Championship Coming to Burlingame Hyatt, Organized by Mechanics' Institute Chess Club

The greatest team tournament in the nation is making it's west appearance this year at the Hyatt SFO in Burlingame, right off the 101 freeway and very close to the Milbrae BART and CalTrain stop. This tournament is part of a 4-tournament series (West, East, North and South) where 4-player teams are formed with the requirement being the combined ratings of the 4 players must be under 2200. It is a team score, so a match against another team will be judged based on the combined scores of the 4 players. For example, if 2 players on your team win, 1 draws and the other loses, it is a match score of 2.5-1.5 and you would score 1 point for the match victory. A 2-2 match score means a half point for the team, etc. This 6-round event brings teams of players together for fun, for competition, and is one of the funnest tournament experiences of the year. The winning team goes on to compete in the national championship online later in the year, between the winners of the North, South and East. 

There will be many section prizes as well, with awards for best under 2000 average rating, 1800, 1600, 1400, 1200 etc. We also have many soecial award categories such as best Women's team, best College team, best Elementary Team, and best Family team among others. 

You don't even need to hvae a full team to participate. You may enter as an individual entry and we will put together teams. What is special about this event is that teams are listed in order acccording to rating, so board 1 -4 on your team is determined by rating and you play the board 1-4 order of another team. But another team may have a GM on board 1 and if you are a strong A player playing board 1 on your team, you get paired against a GM! In this event, you never know who you are playing, and all that matter is the overall team result. 

This year's event is even more special, as we will be broadcasting 5 matches via DGT voards (20 games!) and we will have live commentary on site by GM Nick de Firmian and FM Paul Whitehead via our Twitch channel https://www.twitch.tv/mechanicschess

Come an join the action and fun the weekend of February 15-17, 2020. For more information and to register, please follow this link

We hope to see the Mechanics' community in full force!

Wednesday Night Blitz Report

FM Paul Whitehead's Column

Famous Chess Games You Should Know.

The “Miniature” - World Champion Examples, Part 1.

By FM Paul Whitehead

FM Paul Whitehead lectures during his free Thursday evening class at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club 5:30-7pm

One of the great pleasure of chess is winning a quick game: we get to go home early, we get to walk around and look at other games – we have won, but others are still struggling!  I must say however, that most of these games are nothing to write home about.  Our opponents make some elementary mistake, they blunder, they overlook our threats.  We feel great that we’ve won a quick game – but was it art?

The chess “miniature” is usually a game that lasts about 25 moves, give or take.  Sometimes there’s a serious blunder as in this famous example, where former World Champion Anatoly Karpov dropped a piece vs. GM Larry Christiansen in 1993:

12…Bd6?? was refuted by 13.Qd1, and black resigned.  Surely the quickest loss of Karpov’s career!

But it’s not exactly chess art.

If this game gives some hope to us all, the following examples might squelch that: it’s usually the stronger player that prevails: hungrier for the win and with superb tactical awareness, the World Champions and their kind have shown it’s not only possible to win quick games, but to do so in brilliant fashion.  From Paul Morphy’s famous win over the Duke at the Opera in 1858 to Magnus Carlsen’s crush of Anish Giri 2019, the best players have elevated the miniature win to crowd-pleasing chess art.

I’m including some VERY famous games here.  Why revisit these old curios?   It’s been my experience that the average club player either

1. Doesn’t know the games, or -
2. Needs a refresher.

 

I’m starting part 1 out with Paul Morphy and the above-mentioned game, and on through Max Euwe’s victory over Bobby Fischer 99 years later.  Parts 2 and 3 will take us from Botvinnik to Carlsen.

Sit back and enjoy these timeless masterpieces.  As usual, my intention is not to provide exhaustive analysis but to point the reader in a certain direction: towards the greatest chess games ever played.

These particular ones are short and sweet.

(1) Paul Morphy - Duke Karl / Count Isouard [C41]
Paris Paris FRA, 1858

This is one of the most famous games of all time, but well worth reviewing. The timeless themes of rapid development and sacrificial finish are displayed here in full force. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4?! Dubious. 4.dxe5 Already black must part with his bishop (developing white's queen) to avoid losing a pawn. 4...Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5

6.Bc4 Threat: 7.Qxf7 mate. 6...Nf6 Maybe 6...Qf6 7.Qb3 c6. But who wants to play like this? 7.Qb3! The double threat on b7 and f7 means black is losing material already. 7...Qe7 Better than 7...Qd7 8.Qxb7 Qc6 9.Bb5! winning immediately. Black hopes for 8.Qxb7 Qb4+ and trying to survive a pawn down. 8.Nc3 Development! 8...c6 9.Bg5 Yet another piece moves out. Morphy's opponents often looked like they were playing in slow motion. 9...b5 Black thrashes out, but... 10.Nxb5! The rest of the game is not difficult, but it's nice to see the way white's pieces leap into the attack one after the other. 10...cxb5 11.Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.0-0-0 Rd8 13.Rxd7! Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 Black tries to get out from all the pins. 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 Now comes the final brilliant shot. 16.Qb8+!! Nxb8 17.Rd8# The economical way that Morphy handled his pieces and the final attack is just incredible. 1-0

 

(2) Wilhelm Steinitz - Ed Pilhal [C52]
Vienna Vienna AUT, 1862

Wilhem Steinitz was World Champion from 1886 to 1894. Nicknamed the "Austrian Morphy" he was a feared attacking player in his youth. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4

The Evans Gambit - also played by Fischer and Kasparov! 4...Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 exd4 Castling is safer. Over and over in these "miniature" games development - and falling behind in development - is the theme. 8.Ba3! d6 9.e5! dxe5 Black should consider 9...Ne4 followed by ...d5 to keep the e-file closed. 10.Qb3 Black is in serious trouble. 10...Qd7 11.Re1 Qf5 12.Bb5 Nd7 13.Qd5! White moves in for the kill, threatening 14.Bxc6 and 15.Qxa5. Black's king is caught in the cross-fire, and there's no defense. 13...Bb6 14.Nxe5 Ne7 15.Nxd7!! As so often is the case, a sacrifice ends the game. 15...Qxd5 16.Nf6+ Kd8 Or 16...Kf8 17.Bxe7 mate. 17.Bxe7# This is why you should consider castling early! 1-0

 

(3) Amos Burn - Emanuel Lasker [D32]
Hastings Hastings ENG, 02.09.1895

Emanuel Lasker was World Champion longer than anyone, 27 years from 1894 to 1921. He wasn't known for winning short brilliancies (actually he was on the receiving end of a couple) but this little gem against the Englishman Amos Burn is worth a look. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 Nc6

Black employs Tarrasch's set-up, and this position is still quite common through all levels of strength. 6.cxd5 exd5 Taking back on d5 with the knight would be the so-called "Semi-Tarrasch". 7.Bd3 a6 8.dxc5 White gives black an isolated queen's pawn. 8...Bxc5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bd2 Re8 White's play has been a bit lackadaisical. Black has great freedom of movement, and perhaps already stands better. 11.Rc1 Ba7 12.Ne2 Bg4 13.Bc3 Ne4 Black's pieces cross the 5th line... 14.Ng3 14...Nxf2!? White's do-nothing play emboldens black. 15.Rxf2 Rxe3 16.Nf5? As so often happens when under pressure, the defender cracks. 16.Be2 or 16.Be1 would offer a much better defense. 16...Rxf3! 17.gxf3 Bxf5 18.Bxf5 Qg5+ Black wins everything back - with interest. 19.Bg4 h5 20.Qd2? Be3 Not the flashiest game, but one that illustrates an important point: the hungrier player, and the one who is willing to calculate some variations, will prevail over the player who just shows up and pushes the wood around. 0-1

 

(4) Jose Raul Capablanca - Charles Jaffe [D46]
NYSCA ch New York, NY USA, 05.03.1910

Capablanca was World Champion from 1921 to 1927. This game is often used to illustrate certain attacking motifs. 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c6 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Nbd7

A variation of the QGD seen to this day. 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.e4 dxe4 Another approach, perhaps more dynamic, is 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 e5 as played by Ding Liren recently against Giri. 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf6 11.Bc2 White has more space, and black will find it hard to free his position. 11...h6 Maybe now was the time for 11...c5! 12.b3 b6 13.Bb2 Bb7 14.Qd3 g6 15.Rae1 White continues to build up his forces. Black has made no obvious mistakes, yet his position is critical. 15...Nh5?! 16.Bc1 Kg7 17.Rxe6! Threatens 18.Rxg6+ and if 17...fxe6 18.Qxg6+ Kh8 19.Qh7 is mate. 17...Nf6 18.Ne5 White pours it on. 18...c5? Black decides to go out in a blaze of glory. If instead 18...Bxe5 19.Rxe5 and he'd stand no chance against Capablanca's ruthless technique. 19.Bxh6+! White destroys the black king's pawn cover. 19...Kxh6 20.Nxf7+! This final blow smashes the defenses. It's mate next move. 1-0

 

(5) Alexander Alekhine - Emanuel Lasker [D67]
Zurich Zurich SUI, 25.07.1934

When World Champions play each other you might get a peaceful outcome... or a real bloodbath! 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg5 Nbd7

We are getting a Classical QGD. 6.e3 0-0 7.Rc1 c6 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 White has tried almost every move under the sun here. 11.Ne4 is Alekhine's patent. 11.Ne4 N5f6 12.Ng3 e5 Here 12...Qb4+ 13.Qd2 and then trading queens is the safest option for black. 13.0-0 exd4 14.Nf5 Qd8 Black has to be careful. If 14...Qb4 15.Qxd4. White is fully developed and threatens 16.Bxf7+. 15.N3xd4 Ne5 16.Bb3 Bxf5 17.Nxf5 Qb6?! Suprisingly this is a mistake, and Black is in trouble. He could have kept a level position with 17...g6! to evict the white knight ASAP. 18.Qd6! This is a powerful rerouting of the white queen. 18...Ned7 19.Rfd1 Rad8 20.Qg3! With simple moves white starts closing in on the black king. 20...g6 21.Qg5 Kh8 [21...Qb5 22.Bxf7+ Rxf7 23.Nh6+ Kf8 24.Qxb5 cxb5 25.Nxf7 Kxf7 26.Rc7 is a nice line. Black is paralyzed and busted.] 22.Nd6 Kg7 23.e4 Black can hardly move, and the end is near... 23...Ng8 24.Rd3 Bringing up the reserves. 24...f6 25.Nf5+ Kh8 26.Qxg6! A pretty finish. 26...hxg6 27.Rh3+ Nh6 28.Rxh6 is checkmate. 1-0

 

(6) Max Euwe - Robert James Fischer [D35]
Euwe - Fischer m New York, NY USA, 09.03.1957

Max Euwe was World Champion for 2 years, from 1935 to 1937. He and Fischer played a 2-game match, with the other game a draw. This game was played on Fischer's 14th birthday. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Bb4

You can call this a Nimzo-Indian, maybe a Ragozin Defence to the Queens Gambit... perhaps just a variation of the Queens Gambit Exchange Variation. 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 c5!? Kind of loose, but this is Bobby Fischer! However, 7...g5!? which looks even looser, is the move here. 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.Nge2 The Knight is well placed here, ready to spring to f4. 9...cxd4 10.exd4 0-0 11.0-0 11...Be6 12.Bc2 White sets up the classic queen and bishop battery on the b1-h7 diagonal, and black is under some pressure. 12...Be7 13.Nf4 Qb6? Misplacing the queen and losing the game. 13...Bg4, or even 13...g5!? were better tries. 14.Bxf6! Bxf6 15.Qd3 Uh oh. 15...Rfd8 16.Rae1 Nb4 There was no defense, for example 16...Qxd4 17.Qh7+ Kg8 18.Rxe6! fxe6 19.Nxe6+ and 20.Nxd4. 17.Qh7+ Kf8 18.a3! There are other winning moves, but this simple move underlines black's utter helplessness: he can't cover d5. 18...Nxc2 19.Ncxd5 Rxd5 20.Nxd5

Black loses his queen or gets mated. Perhaps Fischer's worst defeat. 1-0

Tony's Teasers

This week's problem:

Mate in 3, white to move. J. Moller 1911

GM Nick de Firmian's Column

Practical Chess Openings 1:

The London System – 1.d4 and 2. Bf4 (or 2. Nf3 and 3.Bf4)

The London System starts with the queen’s pawn, 1. d4, but does not follow with the classic Queen’s Gambit move 2. c4. This keeps the game more closed as there is no pawn interaction to open things up and result in tactical play quickly. Thus, it is an easy system for the White player and can be used against virtually any Black defense. White develops the pieces in a systematic way – usually Bf4, Ngf3, Nbd2, Bd3 (or e2) with pawns on c3, d4, e3 to form a solid wedge in the center. This is usually accompanied by castles and pawn to h3 to give the dark-squared bishop a hiding place on h2. Play is solid and slow to develop, but it can frustrate the player of the black pieces as there is little to hit at.

The system was not very popular until ten years ago when people started looking more at alternative openings. Then Magnus started to play it and it has become one of the hottest openings these days. If you are psychologically prepared for a slower, positional game you will find the London System a very practical choice.

We give two common lines of the opening and two games of Magnus’ to illustrate play.

(1) White - Black [A45]
London System

1.d4 d5 We will consider the lines of 1...Nf6 in the next example. 2.Bf4 Diagram

This is the defining move of the London System, but White could also play 2. Nf3 first and then 3. Bf4. 2...Nf6 3.Nf3 e6 Black could also consider playing 3...Bf5 in the same solid spirit as White. That's equal, yet White can try various ideas with the extra tempo. 4.e3 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Bd6 7.Bg3 This is slightly better than trading bishops on d6. Now if Black trades on g3 White will have an open h-file and solid king side pawns. 7...0-0 8.Bd3 Diagram

Black must now choose between playing for the pawn break ...e5 or playing on the queenside. 8...b6 [An alternative to play for the ...e5 break is 8...Re8 when White might try 9.Ne5 to stop the break.] 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Qe2 Bxg3 11.hxg3 Qd6 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.e4 Diagram

is reasonable for both sides, though White has a solid and slightly more comfortable position. *

(2) White - Black [D00]
London System, 08.01.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 2...e6 3. Bf4 would be like the following games. 3.Bf4 Bb7 4.e3 d6!? This is an interesting plan for Black to cover the e5 square. [4...e6 5.Nbd2 d5 6.c3 c5 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.h3 Is like the 4rth example.] 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.h3 so that the bishop has the safe retreat square on h2 6...g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.c3 Diagram

9...Re8 10.a4 a5 There is a fight for central square after Black makes an advance of the c or e pawn. It is important though not to give ground on the flanks for no reason. 11.Bh2 e5 Diagram

The position is fairly level. White is very solid and doesn't fear the advance or the exchange of the black e-pawn. Black must be careful about being too aggressive, e.g. 12.Re1 c5?! 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nc4 leaves weakened squares in the Black camp. It is this kind of play that make players choose the London system. *

(3) Carlsen,Magnus - Nakamura,Hikaru [D02]
World Blitz Final, 30.12.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 The classical, aggressive pawn advance attacking the center. 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 Bd6 Diagram

This is straightforward play by Black. Now 6. Bg3 is most commonly played, but Magnus plays a different way. When playing the London System you have choices of logical moves. 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.dxc5 Qxc5 8.c4 dxc4?! [8...0-0] 9.Bxc4 Now White has some lead in development. 9...0-0 10.Rc1 Qe7 11.0-0 b6 12.Qe2 Bb7 13.Rfd1 Nbd7 14.Ba6 White is two tempi ahead in development but it's not easy to make inroads against the solid Black position. 14...Nc5 15.Bxb7 Qxb7 16.Ne5 Ncd7 17.Qf3! Qa6 [Nakamura didn't want to suffer a slightly worse endgame after 17...Qxf3 18.Ndxf3 Nxe5 19.Nxe5 Rac8 20.Nc6 Rc7 21.b4] 18.Nc6 Kh8 19.Nc4 Qxa2 20.g4 Nc5 21.Nd6 Diagram

The White position is very active with the two strong knights deep in the Black camp. Black must be very careful. 21...Nb3? [Needed was the active 21...Qxb2! when White has choices but no clear path to a big advantage. e.g. 22.Rc4 (22.Ne7 h6 23.h4 Nd3 24.g5) 22...Nd5 (22...Nfd7 23.Nxf7+?? (23.g5 Ne5 (23...g6) 24.Nxe5 Qxe5 25.Nxf7+) 23...Rxf7 24.Qxf7 Rf8) ] 22.Rc2 Qa4?! 23.Rc4 Qa6 24.g5 Nd7 25.Rh4 Nbc5 Diagram

26.Nxf7+ This in winning, but mate in three was to be had with 26. Rxh7+! Kxh7 27. Qh5+ Kg8 28. Ne7 mate. 26...Rxf7 [26...Kg8 27.Ne7#] 27.Qxf7 Qe2 28.Rxd7 Nxd7 29.Qxd7 Rf8 30.Rf4! 1-0

(4) Magnus Carlsen (2844) - Evgeny Tomashevsky (2728) [D02]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 22.01.2016

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 b6 4.e3 Bb7 5.h3 Be7 6.Bd3 0-0 7.0-0 c5 8.c3 Nc6 9.Nbd2 d5 Diagram

This is the most classic set up of the London System. All white pieces are on their "London" squares. Black is developed yet has a worry with the e5 square. 10.Qe2 Bd6 11.Rfe1!? Ne7 [11...Bxf4 12.exf4 gives White firm control of e5.] 12.Rad1 Ng6 13.Bxg6! hxg6 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.Ne5 g5?! Diagram

16.f4! gxf4 17.Rf1! Nd7 [White gets a kingside attack on 17...fxe3 18.Rxf6! exd2 (18...gxf6 19.Qg4+ Kh7 20.Rf1!) 19.Rxd2 Qd8 20.Rf4] 18.Qh5 Nf6 19.Qh4 Qd8 [19...fxe3 20.Rxf6] 20.Rxf4 Ne4? Black bails out into a bad endgame, which gives poor prospects against Magnus. Better was to endure the pressure in the middlegame after [20...Nd7 21.Qh5 Nf6 22.Qe2 Nd7] 21.Nxe4 Qxh4 22.Rxh4 dxe4 23.dxc5 bxc5 24.Rd7 Rab8 25.b3 a5 26.Rc7 White wins a pawn as one rook must gaurd the bishop and the other f7. 26...f6? 27. Ng6 is a quick mate. 26...a4 27.bxa4 Ba8 28.a5 Rb7 29.Rxc5 Ra7 30.Nc4 Diagram

1-0

2020 Wilkerson Memorial TNM Games Round 1

Annotations by GM Nick de Firmian

(1) Stearman,Josiah P (2445) - Busch,Jonah M (1944) [B03]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.1), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Nf3 [7.Be3 Bg7 8.Rc1 0-0 9.b3 is the "Voronezh System"] 7...Bg7 8.Be3 0-0 9.Rc1 Nc6 [9...Bg4 10.h3 (10.Be2 d5!?) 10...Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nc6 12.Qd1 d5] 10.Be2 Bg4 11.b3 [11.d5!?] 11...e5 [11...d5 has a big plus score (75%) over 40+ games.] 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.0-0 f5 14.c5+/= f4!?N [14...Nd7 15.Ng5 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 f4 17.Ne6 Qe7 18.Nxf8 Rxf8 19.Qc4+ Qf7 20.Qxf7+ Rxf7 21.Bd2 Nxc5 22.f3 Nd4 23.Be1 e4 24.fxe4 Nxe4 25.Kh1 Nxc3 26.Rxc3 Nc6 27.Rd3 g5 28.Bc3 Bxc3 29.Rxc3 Re7 30.g3 fxg3 31.Rxg3 Rg7 32.Re3 h5 33.Re8+ Kh7 34.Ref8 Nb4 35.R8f7 a6 36.a4 Nd3 37.R1f5 1-0 (37) Leniart,A (2488)-Krasenkow,M (2635) Gorzow Wielkopolski 2014] 15.Bd2 Nd7 16.Ne4

[16.b4! now appears to be best] 16...Nf6?! [The other way to contest e4 is possibly better: 16...Bf5 17.Bc4+ (17.Nd6 e4! gets a bit annoying for White 18.Nxb7 Qc7 19.Nd6!? exf3 20.Bxf3 Nde5 is a wild position.) 17...Kh8 18.Bd5 Nf6 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Nd6 Ne4! Black holds his own.] 17.Nd6 Bxf3? [17...Ne8!? does something about the knight on d6.] 18.Bxf3 Qd7 19.Bc3 Rad8 20.b4 Ne8 21.b5 Nd4 22.Nxb7 Nxf3+ 23.Qxf3 Qxb5? 24.Nxd8 1-0

(2) Heidari,Ako (1940) - Griffith,Kyron (2434) [A24]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.2), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.d3 d6 6.Rb1 e5 7.e3 c6 8.Nge2 Re8 9.b4 a6N [9...Be6 10.0-0 d5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.b5 Qd7 13.Ne4 Qe7 14.Qa4 c5 15.Ba3 Nd7 16.Rbc1 b6 17.d4 exd4 18.exd4 Rac8 19.dxc5 bxc5 20.N4c3 N7b6 21.Qe4 Qg5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Qf4 Qxf4 24.Nxf4 Bxg2 25.Kxg2 c4 26.Rc2 g5 27.Ne2 Red8 28.Rb1 Rd5 29.Bc1 c3 30.Rb3 g4 31.Be3 Rd3 32.a4 Nxa4 33.Bxa7 Rd7 34.Be3 Rb7 35.Rb4 Nb6 36.Rxg4 Kf8 37.Bd4 Bxd4 38.Rxd4 Rc5 39.Rxc3 1-0 (61) Klebel,M-Autenrieth,M (2360) Abensberg 1987] 10.a4 d5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Qb3 Be6 13.d4 Nc6 14.0-0 exd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.exd4 Bf5 17.Be3? There's no reason to drop the Exchange like this. 17...Bxb1 18.Rxb1 Rc8 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.Bxd5 Rc7 21.b5 Rf8 22.bxa6 bxa6 23.Bb7 Bxd4 24.Bxd4 Qxd4 25.Bxa6 Rc3 26.Qa2 Qc5 27.Qe2 Rc2 28.Qf3 Ra2 29.Bb5 Rd8 30.Rf1 Kg7 31.h4 Ra3 32.Qe2 Rxg3+ 33.Kh2 Rc3 34.Qg4 Rd4 35.Qg5 Qd6+ 36.Kg1 h6 37.Qg2 Rxh4 38.Re1 Qd4 39.Kf1 Rch3 40.Bc6 Rh2 41.Qg1 Qc4+ 0-1

(3) Winslow,Elliott C (2223) - Argo,Guy (1939) [A25]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.3), 07.01.2020
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 f5 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.e3 d6 6.d3 g6 7.Nge2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Rb1 Qe8 10.b4 g5 11.f4 exf4 12.gxf4 g4 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.cxd5 Nd8 15.Qc2 Rf7 16.e4 Bd7 17.Bb2 Rc8 18.Bxg7 Rxg7 19.Nd4 c5 20.bxc5 Rxc5 21.Qd2 Bc8 22.Rfe1 g3 23.exf5 gxh2+ 24.Kh1 Qa4 25.Rb4 Qd7 26.Ne6 Nxe6 27.f6 [27.fxe6!] 27...Rg6 and Black lost on time 1-0

(4) Lum,Michael K (1914) - Yan,Ruiyang (2221) [E17]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.4), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.d4 b6 9.0-0 Bb7 10.Nc3 Nbd7 11.e3 Rc8 12.Ne5 cxd4 13.exd4 [13.Qxd4 Nxe5 (13...Bc5 14.Qf4 Bd6 (14...Nxe5 15.Qxe5 Qd7) 15.Nxf7! grabs a pawn) 14.Qxe5 Nd7 15.Qd4 Bf6 16.Qd2 Bxc3 17.Bxc3 and White has collected some positional plusses, 1-0 (30) Repka,C (2487)-Ratsma,R (2295) Zadar 2017] 13...Ne4 14.Nxe4?!N White tries to affect the balance. [Predecessor: 14.Qd3 f5 (14...Nxe5 15.dxe5 Nc5 16.Qd4 Ne6) 15.Ne2 Bd6 16.Nf4 Qe7 17.f3 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Bc5+ 19.Bd4 Qxe5 20.Rad1 Ba6 21.Qe3 Bxd4 22.Rxd4 Bxf1 23.Bxf1 Rc3 24.Nd3 Qe8 25.fxe4 fxe4 26.Qd2 exd3 27.Qxc3 Qe3+ 28.Kg2 Qf3+ 29.Kh3 Qxf1+ 30.Kh4 Qf6+ 31.Kh3 Qf5+ 32.Kh4 Rf6 0-1 (32) Delahaye,R (2153) -Bollengier,A (2253) Saint-Quentin 2012; 14.Ne2 Ba6 15.Nd3 Bg5 16.Nb4 Bb7 17.Nd3 is a quick and dirty perpetual.] 14...dxe4 15.Qe2 f5 16.Rac1 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qd5 [17...Bc5 18.a3 a5 19.b4!?] 18.Rfd1 Rxc1 19.Bxc1 [19.Rxc1?! f4!?] 19...Qxe5 20.Qc4+ Kh8 21.Bf4

Black may have won a pawn, but White's activity and threats make it hard to go anywhere with it. 21...Qf6 [21...Qc5 22.Rd7 Bc8 23.Rxa7+/=] 22.Qc7 Ba6 23.Be5?! [23.h4!+/- provides an escape square along with the threat of Bg5.] 23...Qe6 24.Qxa7? Too clever. [24.Rd7 Re8 25.Bf1 Bxf1 26.Kxf1 a6 27.Bd4 b5 28.Kg2= is still an extra pawn, but that's about it.] 24...Be2! 25.Re1 Qxe5 26.Rxe2 Bc5 27.Qd7 [27.b4 Bxb4 28.Qxb6 Bc5 29.Qb2 Bd4=/+] 27...Qf6 [27...f4!; 27...e3!] 28.Qd2 Rd8 29.Qb2?

[29.Qc1] 29...Rd1+ [29...e3!-+ crashes the gate immediately.] 30.Bf1 Qd6 31.Qc2 h6! 32.Qc4?! [32.b4!? (last chance) 32...Bxb4 33.Qc8+ Qf8 34.Qxf8+ Bxf8 35.h4-+] 32...Qe5 33.b4 Rd4 34.Qa6 Rxb4 35.Qc8+ Kh7 36.Bh3 g6 37.Qd7+ Qg7 38.Qxg7+ Kxg7 39.Rc2 Kf6 40.Kf1 Rb1+ 41.Kg2 g5 42.f3 Rg1# 0-1

(5) Tsodikova,Natalya (2204) - Lehman,Clarence E (1907) [C24]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.5), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.0-0 Be7 7.Re1 Qd6?!

8.d4!? e4?! [8...Nb6! 9.Bb5 exd4 would keep Black in the game.] 9.Bxd5 Qxd5 10.Nc3 Qh5 11.Nxe4 White is simply up a good center pawn. 11...Bg4 12.Ng3 Qd5 13.c3 0-0-0 14.Qd3 f5 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qxf3 17.gxf3 g6 18.Bf4 Bd6 19.Bxd6 Rxd6 20.Nf1 Kd7 21.Nd2 Re6 22.Re3 Nd8 23.Nc4 Rxe3 24.fxe3 Ke6 25.e4 c6 26.Rd1 fxe4 27.fxe4 Kf6 28.Rf1+ Ke6 29.Ne3 h5 30.e5 Rg8 31.Rf6+ Ke7 32.Kf2 Rf8 33.Rxf8 Kxf8 34.Kf3 Ne6 35.h4 Kf7 36.Ke4 g5 37.hxg5 Nxg5+ 38.Kf5 Ne6 39.Ng2 b5 40.Nf4 Nxf4 41.Kxf4 a5 42.Kg5 Ke6 43.Kxh5 Kd5 44.Kg5 c5 45.Kf6 cxd4 46.cxd4 Kxd4 47.e6 Kd3 48.e7 Kc2 49.e8Q Kxb2 50.Qxb5+ Kxa2 1-0

(6) German,Felix (1895) - Ivanov,Aleksandr (2174) [D10]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.6), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.g3 d5 2.Bg2 e5 3.e3!? Going into less familiar territory. 3...Nf6 4.d4 e4 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Nge2 0-0 8.cxd5 cxd5 9.0-0 Nc6 10.Nf4 h6 11.f3 g5

12.fxe4! Bg4 [12...gxf4 13.exd5! is good for White.] 13.Qd3? [Simply 13.Nfe2+/- is a pawn up.] 13...dxe4! [But not 13...gxf4 14.e5! with another mass of pawns.] 14.Nxe4 gxf4 15.Rxf4 Bh5 16.Rh4 Bg6 17.Rxh6 Kg7 There's no attack, and Black's just up material. 18.Rxg6+ fxg6 19.Ng5 Qd6 20.d5 Nxd5 21.Nh3 Rad8 0-1

(7) Walder,Michael (2124) - Reichwein,Axel (1892) [A36]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.7), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 0-0 6.Nge2 Nc6 7.0-0 Na5?! Just ends up losing two moves. 8.d3 Rb8 9.a3 Nc6 10.Qa4 a6 11.b4 b6 12.Rb1 Bb7 13.d4 White has made good use of his extra moves, and taken over the center and queenside. 13...cxd4 14.exd4 Qc8 15.Bf4 Ra8 16.d5 Nd8 17.Qb3 d6 18.Rbc1 Nd7 19.Rfd1 Ne5 20.Na4 Qc7 21.Be3 Nd7 22.Bh3 f5

23.c5! The breakthrough. 23...bxc5 24.bxc5 Ne5 25.c6 Bc8 26.Bb6 Rb8 27.Rb1 Rxb6 28.Qxb6 Qxb6 29.Nxb6 Ndf7 30.Bg2 g5 31.Nxc8 Rxc8 32.Rb7 Nd8 33.Rxe7 Bf6 34.Ra7 Ng4 35.Rb1 f4 36.c7 1-0

(8) Melville,Cailen J (1884) - Boldi,Ethan (2090) [D06]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.8), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6?! 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3 e6 5.e4 Nb6 6.Nc3 c5 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.0-0 a6 9.Be2 Qc7 10.g3 cxd4 11.Bf4 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.e5 Qb4 14.a3 Qxb2 15.Ne4 Nc8

16.Bd3 [16.Nfg5! h6 17.Nxf7! Kxf7 18.Bh5+ Ke7 19.Qg4 g5 20.Nxg5 Rg8 21.Qf4 is a blistering attack. Note Black's "poisoned pawn" development.] 16...Bc6 17.Nfg5 Nd7 18.Qf3 Rf8 19.Rfb1?! Qc3! 20.Nxc3 Bxf3 21.Nxf3 dxc3 22.Rc1 Ncb6 23.Rxc3 Nd5 24.Rc2 Ke7 25.Rb1 b6 26.Rbc1 Nc5 27.Bf1 Rfc8 28.Nd4 Kd7 29.Bg2 Nd3 30.Rxc8 Rxc8 31.Rxc8 Kxc8 32.f4 g6 33.Bh3?! [33.Bxd5 exd5 34.Kf1 is some chance to survive; now Black is won.] 33...Kc7 34.Kf1 Nb2 35.Ke1 Nc4 36.Bf1 Nde3 37.Bd3 Nxa3 38.Bxa6 Nec2+ 39.Nxc2 Nxc2+ 40.Kd2 Nd4 41.Ke3 Nf5+ 42.Kf2 Kc6 43.Bc8 b5 44.Ke1 Ne7 45.Ba6 Kb6 46.Bxb5 Kxb5 47.Ke2 Kc4 48.g4 Kd4 49.Kf3 Nc6 50.h4 Nxe5+ 51.fxe5 Kxe5 52.h5 gxh5 53.gxh5 f5 0-1

(9) Childress,Jason (2073) - Weng,Nicholas (1864) [B21]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.9), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Rd1 e5 10.Be3 a6 11.Rac1 0-0 12.a3 b5 13.Bd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 Bb7 15.Bb6 Qd7

16.Nxe5? A complicated miscalculation. 16...Nxe5 17.Rc7 Bxd5! 18.Rxd7 Bc4! and Black gets far too much for the queen. 19.Qe3 Nxd7 20.Bd4 Rfd8 21.f4 Nc5 22.Qg3 Bf8 23.Re1 Re8 24.Qf3 Nxe4 25.Rd1 f5 26.g4 fxg4 27.Qxg4 Nf6 28.Qg3 Be7 29.f5 Rac8 30.Re1 Bd8 31.Rc1 Be7 32.Re1 Kf7 33.Rd1 Bf8 34.Bxf6 gxf6 35.b3 Be2 36.Rd2 Rc1+ 37.Kf2 Rf1+ 38.Kg2 Rxf5 39.h4 Bh6 40.Rxd6 0-1

(10) Persidsky,Andre (1856) - Snyder,Larry (2061) [D94]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.10), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 c5 7.dxc5 Qa5 8.0-0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Qxc5 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Na4 Qa5 12.Bd2 Qc7 13.Nc3 a6 14.Rc1 e5 15.Qc2 Qe7 16.Rfd1 h6 17.Na4 Bf5 18.Qc5 Rfe8 19.Qxe7 Rxe7 20.Nb6 Ra7 21.Bc3 Ne4 22.Be1 Re8 23.Bd3 Nd6 24.Bxf5 Nxf5 25.Bc3 Bf6 26.Nd7 Bg7 27.Nb6 Bf6 28.Nd7 Solid play by both players. 1/2-1/2

(11) Gaffagan,Steven (2060) - Perlov,Alexander (1825) [E11]
Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.11), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Nbxd2 0-0 7.Bg2 c6 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Qc2 Re8 10.Rfd1 b6 11.Rac1 Bb7 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Qe7 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Red8 17.h4 g6 18.Bf3 Rab8 19.Qf4 c5 20.Bxb7 Rxb7 21.Rd6 Rbd7 22.Rcd1 Kg7??

23.Qf6+! 1-0

(12) Maser,Thomas F (1900) - Kaplan,Glenn (1676) [B09]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.12), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.e5 dxe5 6.dxe5 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Ng4 8.Ke1 c6 9.h3 Nh6 10.g4 Nd7 11.Nf3 Nb6 12.Be3 Be6 13.Rd1 Nd5 14.Bd2 Nxc3 15.Bxc3 Bd5 16.Kf2 0-0 17.Bd3 f6 18.exf6 Bxf6 19.Bd2 Nf7 20.Rhe1 b6 21.Be4 Bxe4 22.Rxe4

22...e5? [22...Nd6] 23.Bc3! Rad8 24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.fxe5 Be7 26.Ke2 c5 27.Re3 c4 28.Re4 b5 29.Rd4 Ng5 30.Nxg5 Bxg5 31.Kf3 Kf7 32.Ke4 Ke6 33.b3?! [33.Bb4! seems to keep a winning position.] 33...Rxd4+ 34.Bxd4?! [34.Kxd4!? cxb3 35.axb3 Be7 36.Ba5 a6 37.c4] 34...cxb3 35.cxb3 a6 36.Bb6 Bd2 37.Bc7 Bc3 38.h4 Bb2 39.h5 Bc3 40.a4 bxa4 41.bxa4 Bb2 Good defense by Glenn. 1/2-1/2

(13) Cortinas,Martin A (1662) - Breedt,Rudolph F (1882) [E67]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.13), 07.01.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d6 5.b3 0-0 6.Bb2 Nbd7 7.c4 Re8 8.0-0 e5 9.e3 c6 10.Nc3 e4 11.Nd2 d5 12.b4 Nb6 13.c5 Bg4 14.Qb3 Nbd7 15.a4 Nf8 16.Rfe1 Qd7 17.f3 exf3 18.Nxf3 Qf5 19.Ne5 Bh3 20.e4 Qh5 21.exd5 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 Ng4 23.Nxg4 Qxg4 24.d6 Ne6 25.Ne2 Nxc5 26.bxc5 Rxe2+ 27.Rxe2 Qxe2+ 28.Kg1 Bh6 29.Bc1 Qe1+ 30.Kg2 Bxc1 31.Qc2 Qd2+ 32.Qxd2 Bxd2 33.h4 Bc3 34.Rd1 Rd8 35.Kf3 f6 36.Rd3 Bb4 37.Re3 Rd7 38.Rd3 b6 39.d5 cxd5 40.cxb6 axb6 41.Rxd5 Rxd6 42.Rb5 Ba5 43.Rb3 Rd4 44.Ra3 Rc4 45.Ra2 Kf7 46.g4 Ke6 47.Kg3 Kd5 0-1

(14) Royzen,Igor (1868) - Lin,Aung Tun (1657) [A47]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.14), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Nf3 Bb7 5.Bd3 Nh5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.c3 f5 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.0-0 d6 11.Qe2 a5 12.g3 Nd7 13.e4 f4 14.e5 dxe5 15.Nxe5 Ndf6 16.Rae1 Qe8 17.Bb5 c6 18.Bd3 Kh8 19.Ne4 Rd8 20.Ng5 c5

21.Nxe6 Rd6 22.Nxf8 Qxf8 23.Bc4 Bd5 24.Bxd5 Rxd5 25.g4 g6 26.gxh5 Nxh5 27.Nf3 Qf5 28.Qe6 1-0

(15) Carron,Joel (1645) - Abraham,Renjish (1861) [B21]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.15), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 d6 5.Nf3 Nf6?! [5...Nc6 6.Bc4 a6 (6...e6) ] 6.Bc4 [6.e5!?] 6...Nc6?

7.0-0 [7.e5! dxe5 (7...Nxe5?? 8.Nxe5 dxe5 9.Bxf7+) 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 (8...Nxd8 9.Nb5 Rb8 10.Nxe5 e6 11.Bf4) 9.Ng5 Ke8 10.Nb5] 7...e6 8.Qe2 a6 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.Be3 b5 12.Bb3 Be7 13.Rac1 0-0?!

14.Nd5! exd5 15.exd5 Bg4 16.Rxc6 [16.dxc6!] 16...Qd7 17.Rdc1 [17.h3!] 17...Rfc8?! [17...Nf6 18.h3 Bh5] 18.Qc2? [18.h3+-] 18...Nf6 19.Rxc8+ Rxc8 20.Qxc8+ Qxc8 21.Rxc8+ Bxc8 22.Nd4= Kf8 23.Nc6 Ke8 24.Nxe7 Kxe7 25.Bd4 Bb7 26.Kf1 g6

27.Bxf6+? [27.a3 Nxd5 28.Bxd5 Bxd5 29.Bc3=] 27...Kxf6 28.f4 Kf5 29.g3 Ke4-+ 30.Bc2+ Kd4 31.Ke2 Bxd5 32.a3 a5 33.Kd2 Be4 34.Bb3 d5 35.Bd1 b4 36.axb4 axb4 37.Bb3 Bb1 38.Kc1 Bd3 39.Kd2 Bc4 40.Bc2 b3 41.Bd1 Ke4 42.Kc3 Ke3 43.Bxb3 Bxb3 44.Kxb3 d4 Renjish smoothly took advantage of his possibilities. 0-1

(16) Ricard,Bruce (1849) - Raza,Aezed (1643) [B22]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.16), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 g6?! Sometimes you play both ...e6 and ...g6, but it just looks strange here. [3...d5 heads for some French positions where White is already committed to c2-c3: 4.exd5 (4.e5 is the Advance Variation) 4...exd5 (4...Qxd5!?) 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bb5 Bd6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.0-0 Nge7 looks a lot like seven (!) of the games where Korchnoi had Black vs. Karpov in their 1974 Candidates Finals match. All were drawn. (Shades of recent world championship matches, except that every time Korchnoi varied he lost drastically!)] 4.Nf3 Qc7 5.Be2 Bg7 6.0-0 d6 7.Re1 Ne7 8.Na3 a6

[8...cxd4 9.cxd4 0-0] 9.e5?! Objectively maybe not best, but after Black's response it pays off handsomely! 9...b5? Asking for trouble... 10.Bxb5+! ...which White provides! 10...Nbc6 [10...axb5 11.Nxb5 is going to be a lot of pain for Black. Unfortunately the text move isn't really any better.] 11.exd6 Qxd6 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.Bxc6+ Qxc6 [13...Nxc6 14.d5!] 14.Nfe5! White doesn't let up! 14...Qc7 15.Qf3 A fine "flash attack" by Bruce! 1-0

(17) Hansen,Mateo (1624) - Drane,Robert (1812) [A85]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.17), 07.01.2020

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.d5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 f4 10.e4 fxg3 11.e5 gxf2+ 12.Kxf2 Ne4+ 13.Ke3 Nc5 14.Qh5+ Ke7 15.Be2 Qe8 16.Qf3 Qf7 17.d6+ cxd6 18.exd6+ Ke8 19.h4 Bb7 20.Qxf7+ Kxf7 21.hxg5 Kg7 22.Rh5 Bxg2 23.Nf3 Nc6 24.gxh6+ Kf6 25.Nh4 Rag8 26.Rg1 Bh3 27.Rxg8 Rxg8 28.Bd1 Bf5 29.Nxf5 exf5 30.Bc2 Ne4 31.Bxe4 fxe4 32.Kxe4 Kg6 33.Rh1 Rh8 34.Rf1 Kxh6 35.Rf7 Rh7 36.Rf8 Kg7 37.Rc8 Kf6 38.Kd5 Rh5+ 39.Ke4 Ke6 40.Rg8 Re5+ 41.Kf4 Kxd6 42.Ra8 Rc5 43.Ke4 Rxc4+ 44.Kd3 Ra4 45.Rh8 Rxa3 46.Rh6+ Kc7 47.Kc2 Na5 48.Rh4 b5 49.Rh5 a6 50.Rd5 Nc4 51.Rd3 Ra2+ 52.Kc1 Rh2 53.Kd1 a5 54.Ke1 a4 55.Rd5 Kc6 56.Rd1 Rh1+ 57.Ke2 Rxd1 0-1

(18) Mercado,Adam (1789) - Tamondong,Cesar B (1617) [B32]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.18), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.N1c3 a6 7.Na3 b5 8.Nd5 Rb8 9.c3 [9.c4! doesn't let Black off so easy.] 9...h6?! [9...Be7!? 10.Nc2 Nf6] 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Qf3 Be7 [11...Nxd5! 12.exd5 Ne7=/+ isn't exactly Caruana-Carlsen, but it sure looks similar.] 12.Nc2 [12.Be2] 12...0-0 13.Be2 Be6 14.0-0 Ng4 15.Bd2 Bg5 16.Rad1 [16.Bxg5 Qe7 17.Rfd1] 16...Bxd2 17.Rxd2 Ne7 18.h3 Bxd5 19.hxg4 Bb7?! [19...Be6] 20.Rfd1 Qa5 21.Nb4 Around now Black must wish he'd nudged that White pawn to d5. 21...f5? [21...Nc8 and hang on...] 22.Qd3 [22.Rxd6 Bxe4 23.Qe3 and it turns out Black has a lot more weak pawns than just d6.] 22...fxe4 23.Qxd6 Rbe8 24.Qe6+?! [24.Qxe5 Nd5 25.Qd6 Nxb4 26.Qxb4 Qxb4 27.cxb4 e3 is unhealthy pawns, but; Best is to get out of the way of the rooks with 24.Qc5] 24...Kh8 25.Rd7?? White must have simply missed Black's next [25.g5! still gives Black a rough time.] 25...Bc8! 26.g5 Bxd7 27.Rxd7 Nf5!? [27...Nc8 28.Qxa6 Qxa6 29.Nxa6 Rd8 30.Bxb5 Black should be okay.] 28.Qg6 Rd8?

[28...Ne7 29.Qxa6 and it's back to those three passed pawns on the queenside to counter the extra exchange.] 29.Bg4! Black crumbles. 29...Rxd7 30.Bxf5 Rxf5 31.Qe8+! Rf8 [31...Kh7 32.g6#!] 32.Qxf8+ Great finish by Adam! 1-0

(19) Rakonitz,David (1613) - Babayan,Gagik (1784) [D59]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.19), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 0-0 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Bd3 [10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Rc1 Be6 12.Qa4 c5 13.Qa3! Rc8! was the truly archetypal game Fischer - Spassky, World Championship (9) Reykjavik 1972, and quite a few games before and after.] 10...Bb7 11.0-0 Nd7 12.Nxd5 exd5 13.Rc1 c5 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Bf5 Ne5 16.Nxe5 Qxe5 17.Bh3 Ba6 18.Re1 c4 19.Qa4 Bc8 20.Bxc8 Rfxc8 21.Qa3 Rc7 Black's pawns aren't really any weaker than White's, at least that one on b2 is a problem. 22.Qc3 Qxc3 23.Rxc3 Rb7 24.Re2 a5 25.Kf1 f5 26.Rcc2?! [White probably needed to shake the tree with 26.b3; or 26.g4] 26...Kf7 27.Red2 Ke6 28.Ke2 a4! Black keeps improving his position, while White can no longer really do anything. 29.a3 g5 30.h3 h5 31.g3 [31.g4!?] 31...g4 32.h4 Rb3 33.Ke1 Ke5 34.Kf1 Rab8 35.Kg2

35...Rd3! 36.Rxd3? cxd3 37.Rd2 Ke4 38.Kf1 Rc8 39.Ke1 d4 [39...Rc1+ 40.Rd1 Rxd1+ 41.Kxd1 Kf3 42.Ke1 Kg2 is the cool takedown. (42...d2+ (does also work)) ] 40.exd4 Kxd4 41.Kd1 f4 This wins, [but it's Zugzwang after 41...Rc7! 42.Ke1 Rc1+ 43.Rd1 Rxd1+ 44.Kxd1 Ke4 45.Kd2 Kf3 46.Kxd3 Kxf2 is still there.] 42.Ke1 [42.gxf4 Rf8 43.Ke1 Rxf4] 42...fxg3 43.fxg3 Ke3 [43...Rc1+ 44.Rd1 Rc2] 44.Kd1 Rf8 An admirable grinder by Gagik. [44...Rf8 45.Ke1 Rf1+! is still some icing on the cake.] 0-1

(20) Acosta,Anthony (1762) - Casares Jr,Nick (1600) [C27]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.20), 07.01.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bg5 0-0 7.a3 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.Qd2 b5 10.d4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Bxd4 12.Qxd4 e5 13.Qd3 Qe7 14.0-0 Nbd7 15.Rfd1 Qe6 16.Qxd6 Qg4 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.f3 Qg5 19.Qxc6 Qe3+ 20.Kh1 Nh5 21.Qd5+ Rf7 22.Qxa8+ 1-0

(21) Hack,Richard (1567) - Boldi,Nicholas (1754) [A13]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.21), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.c4 e6 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 Bd6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.b3 Bd7 10.Bb2 Rc8 11.e3 a6 12.Ne2 Qe7 13.a3 Rfd8 14.Qd2 b5 15.b4 a5 16.bxa5 Ra8 17.Bc3 Bxa3 18.Ned4 b4 19.Bb2 Nxa5 20.Bxa3 bxa3 21.Rfb1

21...Rdb8? [21...e5-/+] 22.Rxb8+ Rxb8 23.Qxa5 Rb2 24.Rxa3 e5 25.Nb3 Bb5 26.Bf1 h6 27.Nfd2 Ng4 28.h3 Nf6 29.Ra1 Bc6 30.Qc3 Rxb3 31.Qxb3 e4 32.d4 g5 33.Qb6 Bd7 34.Ra7 h5 35.Nb3 h4 36.g4 Qe6 37.Qxe6 fxe6 38.Nc5 Be8 39.Nxe6 Nh7 40.Rg7+ Kh8 41.Re7 Ba4 42.Ba6 Bc6 43.Rc7 Be8 44.Rc8 Nf6 45.Bb5 Kh7 46.Bxe8 Nxe8 47.Rxe8 Kg6 48.Nc7 Kf7 49.Re5 Kf6 50.Rxd5 Kg6 51.Rf5 Kh6 52.d5 Kg7 53.d6 Kh8 54.d7 Kg7 55.d8Q Kh7 56.Rf7+ Kh6 57.Qf6# 1-0

(22) Madhavan,Srikrishnan (1720) - Yamamoto,Craig (1500) [A85]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.22), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 c6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Ne4 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Qc2 b6 11.Rac1 Bb7 12.a3 Nd7 13.b4 e5 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Qa2 Nxc3 16.Rxc3 Rfc8 17.Rfc1 Rxc3 18.Rxc3 e4 19.Rc7! exf3

20.Bb5? [20.Ba6!! Qd6 (20...Bxa6 21.Qxd5+) 21.Rxb7 Nf6 22.gxf3 should win for White.] 20...Rc8! 21.Rxb7 Rc1+ 22.Bf1

22...fxg2?? [22...Qe4! 23.gxf3 Qxf3 24.h3 Nf6 and Black is winning.] 23.Qxd5+ Kh8 24.Qxg2 1-0

(23) Morgan,Jerry (1467) - Mays,Jerry L (1700) [A03]
Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (1.23), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.f4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d3 d5 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.Qe1 0-0 8.c3 d4 9.Na3 Nd5 10.e4

10...dxe3 11.Bxe3 Nxe3 12.Qxe3 Re8 [12...Be6 13.Qxc5 Qxd3] 13.Nc2? [13.Nc4] 13...Qb6 14.Rab1 Be6 15.d4 cxd4 16.Nfxd4 Nxd4 17.Nxd4 Bxa2 18.Nc2 Qxe3+ 19.Nxe3 Bxb1 20.Rxb1 Rab8 21.f5 e6 22.fxg6 hxg6 23.Nc4 Re7 24.Rd1 Rc7 25.Na5 Kf8 26.Kf2 Ke7 27.Ke2 f5 28.Rd2 Bf6 29.c4 g5 30.Ke3 Be5 31.Bxb7 Rbxb7 32.Nxb7 Rxb7 33.Kf3 Rxb2 34.Rxb2 Bxb2 35.h4 gxh4 36.gxh4 a5 37.c5 a4 0-1

(24) Gimelfarb,Ilia (1599) - Revi,Frank (1298) [B22]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.24), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nc6?! [2...d5; 2...Nf6; 2...d6; 2...e6; 2...g6] 3.d4 cxd4 4.cxd4 e6 5.d5 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 exd5 7.exd5 Qe7+ 8.Be2 Ne5 9.a3 Bc5 10.b4 Bb6 11.d6 Qf6 12.Nh3

12...Nf3+ 13.Bxf3 Qxc3+ 14.Bd2 Qe5+ 15.Qe2 Qxe2+ 16.Kxe2 Bd4 17.Ra2 Be5 18.Bf4 Bxf4 19.Nxf4 Nf6 20.Re1 0-0 21.Kf1 Ne8 22.Rd2 Rb8 23.b5 b6 24.Re7 a6 25.a4 axb5 26.axb5 Bb7 27.Rxd7 Bxf3 28.gxf3 Nf6 29.Rc7 g5 30.Nd5 Ne8 31.Rc6 Rb7 32.Rxb6 Ra7 33.Ra6 Rb7 34.b6 Kg7

35.Ne7 Nxd6 36.Rxd6 Rxe7 37.Ra7 Rxa7 38.bxa7 Ra8 39.Ra6 Kf8 40.Kg2 Ke8 41.Kg3 f5 42.f4 g4 43.Kh4 Kd7 44.Kg5 Kc7 45.Kxf5 Kb7 46.Ra4 h5 47.Kg5 1-0

(25) Rushton,Peter (1294) - Starr,Albert (1552) [C42]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.25), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bc4 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.d3 Qe8 7.Ne2 Be6 8.b3 Bxc4 9.bxc4 Ba5 10.Ba3 c5 11.Nh4 g6 12.Rb1 Qc6 13.Ng3 Nbd7 14.Nf3 Rab8 15.Rb3 Bd8 16.Bb2 Re8 17.Re1 Nf8 18.c3 Ne6 19.Ne2 Be7 20.d4 Qc7 21.d5 Ng7 22.Ng3 Nd7 23.Re3 Nb6 24.Nd2 Bg5!

25.Rf3 Bxd2 26.Qxd2 Nxc4 27.Qd3 Nxb2 28.Rxb2 c4 29.Qd2 b5 30.a3 Rf8 31.h4 f6 32.Qe3 a6 33.Ne2 Qd7 34.Rh3 f5 35.exf5 Nxf5 36.Qc1 Qf7 37.h5 Ne7 38.hxg6 Qxf2+ 39.Kh2 Nxg6 40.Qh6 Rb7 41.Rd2 Rg7 42.Ng3 Qf4 43.Qxf4 Nxf4 44.Rh6 Kh8 45.Nf1 Rfg8 46.Ne3 Rg3 47.Rxd6 Rxe3 48.Rxa6 Rxc3 49.d6 Rd8 50.g3 Nh5 51.Rd5 Rd3 52.Rxb5 Nxg3 53.Rxe5 Nf1+ 54.Kg2 Nd2 55.Kf2 R3xd6 56.Rxd6 Rxd6 57.Re8+ Kg7 58.Re7+ Kg6 59.Re3 Rc6 60.Rg3+ Kf5 61.Ke2 c3 62.Rg1 Ne4 63.Rc1 h5 64.Kd3 h4 65.Kd4 Ng3 66.Rc2 h3 67.Kd3 Ne4 68.a4 Nc5+ 69.Kd4 Nxa4 70.Rf2+ Kg4 71.Kd3 c2 0-1

(26) Simpkins,Jerry (1539) - Ahrens,Richard (1256) [C41]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.26), 07.01.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bg4 6.Be2 Qd7 7.Bxg4 Qxg4 8.Qxg4 Nxg4 9.Nf5 g6 10.Ne3 Nxe3 11.Bxe3 Bg7 12.0-0-0 Bxc3 13.bxc3 0-0 14.Bd4 f5 15.exf5 Rxf5 16.g4 Rf3 17.h4 c5 18.Be3 Rf6 19.Rd5 Nc6 20.h5 Ne7 21.Rd2 b6 22.Bg5 Re6 23.Bxe7 Rxe7 24.hxg6 hxg6 25.Rxd6 Kg7 26.f4 Rae8 27.f5 gxf5 28.gxf5 Re1+ 29.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 30.Kd2 Rf1 31.Rd7+ Kf6 32.Rxa7 Rxf5 33.Rb7 Rf2+ 34.Kc1 Rf1+ 35.Kb2 Ke5 36.Rxb6 Kd5 37.a4 Rf7 38.a5 Ra7 39.a6 Kc4 40.Rh6 Kb5 41.Kb3 Rxa6 42.Rxa6 Kxa6 43.Kc4 Kb6 44.Kd5 Kb5 45.c4+ Kb4 46.c3+ Ka5 47.Kxc5 Ka6 48.Kd6 Kb7 49.c5 Kc8 50.Kc6 1-0

(27) Cendejas,Jon (1254) - Jade,Valerie (1532) [C02]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.27), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.e5 Nc6 5.d4 cxd4?! [5...Qb6; 5...Bd7; 5...Nge7] 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 Qb6 9.Nb3 Nge7 10.Bd3 0-0 11.Qc2 Qb4+ 12.Qd2 f6 13.0-0 fxe5 14.dxe5 Qxd2 15.Nbxd2 b6 16.Rfe1 Nb4 17.Bb1 Ba6 18.Nd4 Bd3 19.a3 Bxb1 20.Raxb1?! [20.axb4!+-] 20...Nd3 21.Re3 Nxf2 22.Nxe6 Rf5 23.Rf1 Ng4 24.Ree1 Rxf1+ 25.Nxf1 Rc8 26.Nd4 Rc4 27.Nf3 Rc2 28.b3 b5 29.Nd4 Rb2 30.Ne3 Nxe5 31.Nd1 Rd2 32.Nxb5 Nd3 33.Rf1 Ng6 34.Nf2 Ngf4 35.Nxd3 Nxd3 36.Nxa7 Nb2 37.Nc6 g6 38.h3 d4 39.Rf2 Rd1+ 40.Rf1 d3

41.Ne5? Now the pawn queens. [41.Rxd1 Nxd1 42.Ne5 Nb2 43.Nf3 and White would win] 41...Rxf1+ 42.Kxf1 d2 0-1

(28) Chan,John (1506) - Morgan,Jacob (1227) [D30]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.28), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 Be7 4.c4 d5 5.c5 0-0 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.e3 b6 8.cxb6 axb6 9.Be2 Nd7 10.Nc3 c5 11.0-0 c4 12.a4 Ba6 13.Re1 Re8 14.e4 Nf8 15.e5 Be7 16.g3 Bb4 17.Qc2 f6 18.Red1 Ng6 19.Na2 Be7 20.Ne1 fxe5 21.Bh5 exd4 22.Bxg6 d3 23.Bxh7+ Kxh7 24.Qb1 Rf8 25.Ng2 Bc5 26.Rf1 Qf6 27.Nc3 Bb7 28.Qd1 Kg8 29.Qg4 Rae8 30.Nf4 Bc8 31.Qh5 Qf5 32.Qxf5 Rxf5 33.Kg2 Bb7 34.f3 Bd6 35.Nb5 Bxf4 36.gxf4 Rxf4 37.Nd6 Re7 38.Rfe1 Bc6 39.Kf2 d4 40.Nxc4 Rxf3+ 41.Kg1 Rf5 42.Ne5 Rg5+ 43.Kf2 Re8 44.Nxd3 e5 45.Ke2 Rg2+ 46.Kd1 e4 47.Nb4 Bb7 48.Ra3 Rxb2 49.Na2 d3 50.Re3 Rf8 51.Nc3 Rf1+ 52.Re1 Rxe1+ 53.Kxe1 Rxh2 54.Kd1 g5 55.a5 bxa5 56.Rxa5 e3 57.Rxg5+ Kf7 58.Rg1 Rh1 59.Rxh1 Bxh1 60.Ke1

60...Ke6?? [60...Bf3! 61.Nb1 Kf6!] 61.Nd1! Ke5 62.Nxe3 Kd4 63.Kd2 Bf3 64.Nf5+ 1/2-1/2

(29) Frank,Robert H (1222) - Rothman,Ivan (1487) [A49]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.29), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.b4 h6 8.Bb2 Nh7 9.e4 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.Bxe5 dxe5 13.Nb3 Qe7 14.c3 b6 15.Qe2 Be6 16.Qb2 Rad8 17.Rad1 Kg7 18.Nd2 f6 19.Bf3 Ng5 20.Bg2 c6 21.h4 Nf7 22.a4 Rd6 23.Nf3 Rfd8

24.Qe2?? Bc4 25.Qc2 Bxf1 26.Rxd6 Qxd6 27.Kxf1 Qd3+ 28.Qxd3 Rxd3 29.c4 Ra3 30.b5 Rxa4 31.Nd2 cxb5 32.cxb5 Nd6 33.Bh3 Nxe4 34.Nxe4 Rxe4 35.Bg2 Rb4 36.Bc6 Kf7 37.Kg2 Ke7 38.f3 Kd6 39.g4 Kc5 40.Kg3 Rxb5 41.Bxb5 Kxb5 42.Kf2 a5 43.Ke2 Kc4 44.Kd2 a4 45.Kc2 b5 46.Kb2 b4 47.Ka2 Kc3 48.h5 gxh5 49.gxh5 Kc2 50.Ka1 b3 51.f4 b2+ 52.Ka2 b1Q+ 53.Ka3 Qb3# 0-1

(30) Hilliard,Michael (1476) - Chambers,Wolfe (1182) [D02]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.30), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e3 g6 4.Nbd2 Bg7 5.a3 e5 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Be2 Ne7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Rb1 c5 10.b3 b6 11.Bb2 N7c6 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Nf3 Re8 14.c4 Bf5 15.Bxe5 Bxb1? [15...Bxe5 16.Bd3 is equal (doesn't lose the exchange)] 16.Bxg7! Kxg7 17.Qxb1 d4 18.Qb2 White's two pieces are clearly more powerful than a rook. 18...Qd6 19.exd4 cxd4 20.Nxd4 Re4

21.Nf5+ 1-0

(31) Gimelfarb,Natan (1134) - Ansari,Jahaan (1461) [D20]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.31), 07.01.2020

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.c4 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Be7 7.Be3 0-0 8.Ng5 Nc6 9.0-0 Ng4 10.Nxf7 Rxf7 11.Qf3 Qf8 12.Bxf7+ Qxf7 13.Qxf7+ Kxf7 14.Nc3 Bf5 15.Rad1 a6 16.Bf4 Bd6 17.Bxd6 cxd6 18.Rfe1 Nf6 19.f3 Rd8 20.Ne4 Ne8 21.Ng5+ Kf6 22.Ne4+ Kg6 23.g4 Bc8 24.d5 Ne5 25.Kg2 Nf6 26.Nxd6 Nxf3 27.Nxc8 Nxe1+ 28.Rxe1 Rxc8 29.Rd1 Nxg4 30.Kf3 Nf6 31.d6 Kf7 32.d7 Rd8 0-1

(32) Sachs-Weintraub,Julian (1429) - Dubensky,Walter (1120) [D06]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.32), 07.01.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.e4 Nb4 5.a3 N4c6 6.Bb5 g6 7.d5 a6 8.Qa4 Bd7 9.dxc6 Nxc6 10.Be2 Ne5 11.Qd1 Bg7 12.Nf3 Nc6 13.0-0 0-0 14.Nc3 b5 15.Be3 Qc8 16.Nd4 Rd8 17.Nxc6 Bxc6 18.Qc1 Qe6 19.f3 Rd6 20.Rd1 Bd7 21.Bf4 Be5 22.Rxd6 cxd6 23.Bxe5 Qxe5 24.a4 b4 25.Nd5 Qd4+ 26.Kh1 Kf8 27.Qh6+ Ke8 28.Qxh7 Kd8 29.Qg8+ Be8 30.Qf8 Ra7 31.Rb1 e6 32.Nf4 b3 33.a5 Qd2 34.Qh6 e5 35.Ne6+ 1-0

(33) Wagner,Tyler (1050) - Allen,Tom Carter (1426) [C63]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.33), 07.01.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bc5 7.0-0 0-0 8.Bg5 Qe8 9.Bxf6 Rxf6 10.Qd5+ Kh8 11.Qxc5 Qg6 12.Qe3 d6 1-0

(34) James,Charles (1404) - Dunlap,Steven (1037) [E34]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.34), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nb6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Be3 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.0-0 e5 11.a3 exd4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 dxe3 14.dxc6 exf2+ 15.Kh1 Ba5 16.Rad1 Qe7 17.Rxf2 bxc6 18.Re2 Be6 19.Nd4 Qf6 20.Nxc6 Bb6 21.Bxh7+ Kf8 22.Be4 Bg4 23.Bf3 Bxf3 24.Qh7 Bxc6?? 25.Qh8# 1-0

(35) Nicol,George R (1015) - Harris,Clarence (1402) [C55]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.35), 07.01.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.Bd2 d6 7.c3 Bg4 8.Re1 Qc8 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Nbd2 Ne7 12.h3 Bd7 13.d4 Ng6 14.Nf1 Nf4 15.N1h2 Bxh3 16.gxh3 Qxh3 17.Bf1 Qh5 18.Nd2 Qg6+ 19.Qg4 Bg5 20.Ndf3 f5 21.exf5 Rxf5 22.dxe5 h5 23.Qg3 dxe5 24.Nh4 Bxh4 25.Qxg6 Nxg6 26.Bd3 Bxf2+ 27.Kf1 Rf6 28.Re2 Bg3+ 29.Kg2 Bxh2 30.Bxg6 Rxg6+ 31.Kxh2 Re6 32.Kh3 Rf8 33.Kh4 g6 34.Rg1 Kg7 35.Rg5 e4 36.Reg2 Rf4+ 37.Kh3 Kh6 38.R5g3 e3 39.Re2 Rfe4 40.Kh2 g5 41.Kh3 h4 42.Rg4 Kh5 43.Rxe4 Rxe4 44.Kg2 Kg4 0-1

(36) Olson,David R (1400) - Tabatabai,Ashkon (962) [A28]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.36), 07.01.2020

1.Nf3 Nc6 2.c4 e5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nd5 Bc5 5.d3 Ng4 6.e3 0-0 7.Be2 Bd6 8.0-0 Qe8 9.h3 Nh6 10.a3 e4 11.dxe4 Qxe4 12.Bd3 Qe6 13.Ng5 Qe5 14.f4 Qe8 15.Nxh7 f6 16.Nxf8 Qxf8 17.Qh5 Bc5 18.Nxc7 Rb8 19.Rf3 a6 20.Rg3 Be7 1-0

(37) Ballantyne,Andrew (877) - Cole,Tony (1400) [C01]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.37), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Qd2?! h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.Nf3 [9.f4!? might be necessary to bandage up some dark squares and prevent ...Bg5.] 9...Bg4 10.Be2? [10.Kb1] 10...Bxf3! 11.gxf3 [11.Bxf3?? Bg5] 11...Qd6 [11...Nc6! 12.Rhg1 Kh8 13.Rg4 An unusual and creative defense of d4, but... 13...h5! Usually asking for trouble, but here it brings trouble to White. (13...Bg5! 14.f4 Bf6 15.f5 Bg5! 16.f4 Bf6! is pretty funny (as well as strong).) ] 12.Nb5 Qb6 13.Rhg1 (Threatening h6) [13.Kb1] 13...Kh8!=/+ 14.Qb4? Now d4 is a problem. [14.Kb1; 14.Nc3; 14.Rg3!? Nc6 15.Rh3 dreams of a sacrifice on h6, but Black counters that with 15...Ne7! 16.Rxh6+ gxh6 17.Qxh6+ Kg8-+] 14...Nc6 [14...a6?? 15.Qxf8+] 15.Qc5

15...Rad8 [15...Nxd4! 16.Qxb6 Nxe2+ 17.Kd2 axb6 18.Kxe2 c6 followed by picking off White's queenside.] 16.Qxb6 cxb6 17.c3 a6 18.Nc7? Rd7 The knight is trapped. 19.Nxa6 bxa6 20.Bxa6 Ra7 21.Bb5 Ne7 22.Kb1 Ng6 23.Bc6 Ne7 24.Bb5 Rc8 25.Rge1 Kg8 26.Bf1 Kf8 27.Bh3 Rca8 28.a3 b5 29.Bf1 Ra5 30.f4 Nc8 31.Bh3 Nd6 32.Re2 Bh4 33.Bg2 Ne4 34.Bxe4 dxe4 35.Rxe4 Re8 36.Rxe8+ Kxe8 37.Ka2 Bxf2 38.b4 Ra7 39.Kb3 Kd7 40.Rd2 Be3 41.Rg2 g6 42.f5 g5 43.Rg3 Bf4 and Black won around move 67. 0-1

(38) Martin,Michael J (1387) - North,Jeff (867) [B50]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.38), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 [4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4; 4.e5!? dxe5 5.Nxe5] 4...e6 5.Qe2 Nc6 6.d3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Rad1 [9.Bd2 , kick the knight back (10.h3), try again] 9...Nxe3 10.Qxe3 Bf6 11.Qe1 a6 12.a3 b5 13.Ba2 b4 14.Na4 Bd7 15.Bb3 bxa3 16.bxa3 Rb8 17.Rb1 Qc7 18.Nc3 Qa5 19.Na4 Qc7 20.Nc3 Na5 21.Ne2 c4 22.dxc4 Nxc4 23.a4 d5 24.exd5 exd5 25.Ned4 Rfe8 26.Qc3 Qf4 27.Bxc4 dxc4 28.Rxb8 Rxb8 29.g3 Qg4 30.a5 Bf5 31.Re1 Be4 32.Qe3 Re8 33.Qf4 Qxf4 34.gxf4 Kf8 35.Re3 Bxd4 36.Nxd4 Bxc2?? 37.Rxe8+ Kxe8 38.Nxc2 Kd7 39.Ne3 c3 40.Kf1 Kd6 41.Ke2 Kc5 42.Kd3 Kb4 43.Nd5+ Kxa5 44.Nxc3 f5 45.h4 g6 46.Nd5 Ka4 47.Nc7 a5 48.Ne6 Kb4 49.Kc2 Kc4 50.Nf8 a4 51.Nxh7 a3 52.Kb1 Kb3 53.Nf8 a2+ 54.Ka1 Kc4 55.Nxg6 Kd5 56.h5 1-0

(39) Byrd,Bill - Lintz,Michael Harry (1376) [C36]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.39), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 exf4 4.Nf3 Qxd5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Be2 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.c4 Qc6 9.Nc3 b6 10.Kh1 Bb7 11.d5 Qd7 12.Nd4 c6 13.Bxf4 Bxf4 14.Rxf4 cxd5

15.Rxf6! gxf6 16.Bg4 Qd6 17.Bf5 Qf4 18.Qh5 h6

19.Ne6! fxe6 20.Qg6+ Kh8 21.Qh7# 1-0

(40) Roberts,Joseph (1358) - Hall,Diana [B01]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.40), 07.01.2020

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 e5 5.Nf3 f6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.d5 Nce7 8.a3 Bf5 9.b4 0-0-0 10.Nb5 Qxd5 11.Nxa7+ Kb8 12.Be2 b6 13.Nb5 Nc6 14.0-0 Nge7 15.c4 Qd7 16.c5 bxc5 17.Bxc5 Nd5 18.Qa4 Nb6 19.Bxb6 cxb6 20.Rfd1 Qe7 21.Rac1 Be4 22.Nd2 g6 23.Nxe4 Bh6 24.Rxc6 Rxd1+ 25.Bxd1 Qd7 26.Rc7 Qxc7 27.Nxc7 Kxc7 28.Qa7+ Kc6 29.Ba4+ Kd5 30.Nxf6+ Ke6 31.Qxb6+ 1-0

(41) Pagan Griso,Simone - Neugut,Eitan (1322) [B13]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.41), 07.01.2020

1.d4 c5 2.e3 cxd4 3.exd4 d5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg4 7.Be2 dxc4 8.Be3 e6 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Nb5 Bb8 11.Na3 0-0 12.Nxc4 Nd5 13.Nfe5 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Nce7 15.Rac1 Nf5 16.Nd2 Bxe5 17.dxe5 Qa5 18.a3 Ndxe3 19.fxe3 Qxe5 20.Nc4 Qb5 21.Qf3 Rac8 22.e4 Nd4 23.Qd3 Rfd8 24.Qxd4 Rxd4 25.Nd6 Rdc4 26.Rxc4 Qb6+ 27.Kh1 Rxc4 28.Nxc4 Qd4 29.Rc1 g5 30.h3 b5 31.Na5 Qxb2 32.Rc7 Qxa3 33.Rxa7 Qc1+ 34.Kh2 Qf4+ 35.Kh1 Qxe4 36.Rc7 Qe1+ 0-1

(42) Chambers,Don (1298) - Johnson,Nathaniel [C41]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.42), 07.01.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d6 3.Nf3 h6 4.Nc3 c6 5.d4 Nd7 6.0-0 Ngf6 7.Be3 Qc7 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Ne2 Be7 10.c3 0-0 11.Qb3 b5 12.Bd3 a5 13.Ng3 a4 14.Qd1 Rb8 15.Nf5 Qd8 16.b3 a3 17.b4 Nb6 18.Qb3 Be6 19.Qxa3 Bxf5 20.Nxe5 Bxe4 21.Bxe4 Nxe4 22.Nxc6 Qc7 23.Nxb8 Rxb8 24.g3 Nc4 25.Qc1 Nxe3 26.Qxe3 Ng5 27.g4 Bf8 28.a4 bxa4 29.Rxa4 Rc8 30.Rc1 Qd7 31.b5 Qxg4+ 32.Rxg4 Bc5 33.Qd3 Ne6 34.Kg2 Rd8 35.Qf5 Rd2 36.Rf1 Kh8 37.Qxf7 Ng5 38.Qh5 Rd5 39.Re4 Kh7 40.Re6 Rd6 41.Qg6+ Kh8 42.Re8# 1-0

(43) Bayaraa,Timothy (1193) - Sullivan,George T (914) [D07]
Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (1.43), 07.01.2020

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.c4 e6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.a3 Bd6 7.Nc3 Bg4 8.Be2 Ne4 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Nd2 Bf5 11.0-0 h5 12.Bxh5 g6 13.Bg4 Bxh2+ 14.Kh1 Qh4 0-1

(44) Marcus,Joel (1847) - Pane,Gianluca (1927) [D02]
Wilkerson TNM: Rated Extra Game San Francisco (1.44), 07.01.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 Qb6 6.dxc5 Qxb2 7.Rb1 Qc3 8.Bb5 e6 9.0-0 Qxc5 10.Nd4 Bd7 11.N2b3 Qb6 12.Qe2 Ne4 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.Qd3 Bd6 15.Nd2 Qc7 16.Nb5 Bxb5 17.Qxb5+ Ke7 18.Nxe4 Bxf4 19.exf4 dxe4 20.Qb4+ Kf6 21.Qxe4 b6 22.g4 h6 23.Rbd1 Rad8 24.f5 Qe5 25.Qf3 exf5 26.gxf5 Qxf5 27.Qc3+ Kg6 28.Kh1 Kh7 29.Rg1 f6 30.Rde1 Rhe8 31.Ref1 Rc8 32.Qg3 Re7 33.Re1 ..."after a long time scramble".... 0-1

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