Chess Room Newsletter #906 | Mechanics' Institute

You are here

Home » Chess » Newsletters » Chess Room Newsletter #906

Chess Room Newsletter #906

Gens Una Sumus!

 

 

 

Newsletter #906

Feb 21, 2020

By Abel Talamantez

Table of Contents


2020 Max Wilkerson Memorial TNM Round 6 Recap

TNM Heads Into Final Week

The Max Wilkerson TNM, the first of the 2020 season, will enter its final week this coming Tuesday, with decisive matches in two sections, and a couple of games to see if perfection remains over seven weeks. In the championship section, Josiah Stearman won his game against Natalya Tsodikova, giving him a full point lead over Nicholas Weng headed into final week. The match was tough, and Tsodikova's position looked solid, but an error late opened the door for Stearman to take advantage and he never let go. It looks like the final round will have Stearman face off against A player Nicholas Weng, who recently moved here and has had a great inagural TNM showing. 

In the A/B section, Bruce Ricard continues on a roll, defeating Nicholas Boldi and staying a perfect 6/6. He is 1.5 point ahead of the field, and will win the A/B section with a round to spare. The question now is will he remain perfect, it is a marathon after all, and even strong players would find it difficult to with seven straight. We will follow to see if he can close the show.

In the U/1600 section, Ilia Gimelfarb also has a perfect 6/6 after a win against Max Ross. This sets up a likely final round battle against Joseph Roberts (5/6). Can Roberts pull off the upset and claim a share of 1st? Tune in on Tuesday night, as we elevate the top 2 boards in each section to boards 1-6 to capture the final round drama!

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

 

2020 US Amateur Team West Championship

The Mechanics' Institute was the organizer for the 2020 U.S. Amateur Team Championship, which was held February 15-17 at the Hyatt Regency SFO in Burlingame. The event had 64 teams and 266 players, all vying to be the champion team from the West, who will then go on to the national semi-final with the champions of the tournaments from the North, South, and East. 

The winning team was a local team from Berkeley Chess School called BCS (Best Chess School). The team consisted of IM elect Gabriel Bick, IM Ladia Jirasek, FM Rayan Taghizadeh, and Ben Lemkin. In 2nd place was BCS Can We Wu It? and 3rd place was Kolty Chess Club. 

Special shout out goes to Junior Mechanics' team of NM Ruiyang Yan, Ethan Boldi, Daniel Lin, and Nicholas Boldi, which finished top in the under 2000 category, including a draw in the final round against the overall top seed of the tournament Elem to GM led by GM Steven Zierk. Congrats to these amaing kids!

This event had 20 boards broadcast online on Chess24, and we had live commentary starting at round 3. Parents were engaged, observing the games online and cheering for their teams. Our goal was to organize a great national event in a way that unites communities through chess, both live and online.

Full results can be found by following this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess/usatw

To watch and re-live the live broadcast, please follow this link and choose the day: https://www.twitch.tv/mechanicschess/videos

Thank you to everyone who worked hard to support this great event, including Mechanics' Institute chess committee member Jim Eade, who attended and joined the commentary along side GM Nick de Firmian and FM Paul Whitehead. Our commentators did an amazing job. Thank you to our great TD staff, including Chief TD John McCumiskey, Assistant Chief TD Reka Sztaray, and TD Richard Koepcke. Very special thanks to Judit Sztaray, who was co-organizer and driving force in making the event an overall success. Thank you to all the players and parents who helped us make create this experience for everyone and helped enhance the player and spectator experiences. 


FM Paul Whitehead's Column

This column will return next newsletter.

 

Article by WIM Alexey Root about Mechanics' Institute

https://www.sparkchess.com/heart-in-san-francisco.html

Tournament Director's Corner

What’s so special about the Team Tournaments?

by Dr. Judit Sztaray, FIDE NA, USCF Senior TD

Over the past weekend we had one of the most exciting and fun events of the year, the Amateur Team West Championship. Many were familiar with the special rules of the team tournaments, but even this Senior Tournament Director had to look up a rule or two to make sure that we were adhering to the USCF rules.

I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some of the interesting rules that we had to enforce this weekend, and perhaps shed some light to our decisions:

  1. The first important concept to keep in mind is that Team tournaments are unique in the sense that teams are paired against teams. No individual pairings are posted.
    Wait, What? No pairings for the individual players? How will I know who I’m playing?
    We always hear this question at the beginning of any team tournament from players who are not used to this format.
    The answer lies in the lineup of the other team:
    It’s up to the team to decide who sits down and play in any round. This of course does not make too much of a difference when a team consists of four players. Then you know that those four players should (most likely) always be at the table in every round.

    If a team has five or six players, however, then it is up to the team to decide who is sitting down to play in any given round, and there is no way to know until the games have started. Captains and teams can make changes until the last minute, given that they adhere to a very important rule that I’ll discuss in the second point.
    So my answer always: take a look at your opponents team, if there are four players, most likely you’ll be playing with the player on the same place in the lineup as you. If more than four players is listed, then go to your board and wait and see.
     
  2. The second rule to keep in mind is that players in any team must sit down in rating order.
    31B. Player rankings. Players on a team are ranked according to rating; the higher-rated players play on lower board numbers. Alternates must be lower-rated than regular team members. Unrated players, unless assigned ratings (28D), must play on higher-numbered boards than rated players.

    It’s ultimately the captain’s responsibility to make sure that all players are in order. If a team has alternates, that alternate must sit in line where s/he falls.
    This especially crucial and important to pay attention when a team recruits a player during the tournament. This happened a few times this past weekend, due to sickness and unforeseen circumstances, which prevented players from coming back to play.
     
  3. The third rule is that boards must be filled from lowest to highest board numbers by the team members. If any player is missing, players from higher board number must move up to the lower board number.

    31B. If a player is missing from the lineup, lower-rated teammates must move up to preserve the order by rating, so that if a team forfeits games, they are always on the last (highest-numbered, lowest-rated) boards. Board assignments must always be made as described in the preceding paragraph.

    When a player does not show up at the start of the round, the team has two choices: all boards higher than the missing board can opt not to start the game until making sure that the player gets here, or they can also opt to move up. If any team has less than 4 players, it’s always the top boards that need to be filled, and the bottom board(s) will be forfeited.
    This also means that if any board is not filled, i.e. there is a gap between team players, then that board and all higher boards are forfeit their games. Even if they played the game, and it will – of course – be USCF rated, however, for tournament score purposes, it will count as a forfeit. Unfortunately, no special circumstances or emergencies can give an exception to this rule. The forfeit is also applicable in the individual standing, since the individual player did not sit at the correct board at the round in question. So unfortunately, while the player won the game that s/he started, if that player did not sit at the correct board, even the individual player standing will have to show as a forfeit loss.
     
  4. Captain’s responsibilities are not only to fill out the result sheet, make sure players are sitting in rating order, but also they can advise any team members on draw offers. This of course have to follow the announced rules: whether or not TD have to be present, and captain and player must never discuss the game itself, or analyze the position. They can only discuss game scores, and if a draw would be advisable for a team.


References:
US Chess rules: http://www.uschess.org/content/view/7752/369/

 


Tony's Teasers

Last week's problem:
White to move and mate in 3, J. Balik, 1924
 

 

Solution: 1. Rg7!!  Kxc6  2. Bc4  f5  3. Rc7#

This week's problem

White to move and mate in 3. K.S. Howard 1936


Scholastic Chess

Report on the 2020 US Amateur Team West National Championship’s Scholastic Side Event

The scholastic side event of the exciting 2020 US Amateur Team West Championship took place on Saturday, February 15th. A total of 68 players competed on 17 teams. While the main event had a restriction that teams had to be under 2200 average rating, the scholastic side event had the maximum of the average rating at 1200. The team entries were impressive, with the top team, the Sacramento Scholastic All-Stars team, right at 1199.8 average rating.

The time control, as usual, was kid friendly with G/30;d5 with games lasting no more than an hour. At the end of the day, after five rounds, the Sacramento team emerged as the clear winner with a perfect score of 5/5. We also awarded Top Girls team, Top School team and Top Club team, which went to Berkeley Chess School Queens, The Fallon Colts,and the Mechanics’ team, respectively.

For this scholastic side event, we actually help the players and do things a bit differently than the main event. We do post individual pairings rather than team pairings, because it’s so much easier for the kids to read where they have to sit down, and we make sure that the scholastic teams are all 4-player teams. We also do not assign captains responsibilities as this would confuse most teams, so every child can play their game regardless how the other boards are doing. Nevertheless, they get a sense of the team comradery, see how their overall score from the four boards affect how they are paired, and understand how the team stands in the tournament.

Overall, this tournament was a lot of fun, and we thank all the participants and appreciate their willingness to try something that was likely new to them. Congratulations to all the winners and all the players who came out and played!

Complete standing: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournament-archive?y=2020&t=77&e=289848

 

Our next big event is the signature scholastic event of
the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club

2020 San Francisco Scholastic Championship

FREE EVENT - Register online to secure your spot!

Saturday, March 28, 2020 @ Golden Gate Park

Information - Registration - Flyer

 


 

GM Nick de Firmian's Column

Practical Openings 5: 

Center Counter (or Scandinavian) Defense with 2…Nf6 – 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6

 

This simple, yet imbalanced defense to 1.e4 is easy to learn as Black forces the action with his/her first move. The compelling attack on the white e-pawn with 1…d5 immediately contests the center and almost always results in the pawn exchange to keep the center open (for both Black and White). The variation recommended here is to not recapture the d-pawn with the queen (2…Qxd5) but delay a move with 2…Nf6 so that there is no loss of time moving the queen around (as it gets attacked on the central squares).

After 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 White has three reasonable responses. The Modern Variation is to play the straightforward 3.d4, giving back the pawn to concentrating on space and development. 3…Nxd5 is the usual response when both sides attend to development. White may play 4. c4 to attack the central knight that should retreat to b6.

The second option for White after 2…Nf6 is to play 3. Bb5+, interfering with Black’s recapture of the d-pawn. That allows Black to block with a developing  move, usually 3…Bd7 (though 3…Nbd7 is also ok)..

The attempt by White to hold on to the extra pawn with 3. c4 c6 4. dxc6?! Nxc6 rewards Black with quick development and leaves White with a hole on d4 (this is examined in example 3).

 

(1) White - Black [B01]
Center Counter 2...Nf6

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 4.Nf3 Diagram

Center_Counter_387

[Some players immediately attack the knight with 4.c4 This has little independent significance as the knight simply retreats to b6. ] 4...Bg4 [An alternate is 4...g6 which is an active deployment of the king's bishop, though White gains an edge after 5.c4 Nb6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.c5 N6d7 (7...Nd5 8.Bc4 c6) 8.Bc4 0-0 9.0-0] 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.Nc3 Nc6 Diagram

Center_Counter_388

This move attacks the center immediately and is preferable to castling. 9.Be3 [9.d5 exd5 10.cxd5 Nb4 11.Qd4 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 0-0 may be a little edge to White, yet there is play for both sides.; 9.c5 Nd5 10.h3 Bf5 11.Qb3 a6 12.Qxb7? Na5 traps the queen] 9...Bxf3! 10.Bxf3 Nxc4 11.Qa4 Nb6 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qxc6+ Qd7 is equal *

 

(2) Black - White [B01]
Center Counter 2...Nf6

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bb5+ Diagram

Center_Counter_389

This check seeks to cause disruption in the Black camp. Black could interpose with the queen's knight, but simplest is the bishop. 3...Bd7 4.Be2 [4.Bc4 b5! 5.Bb3 a5 6.a3 Bg4 7.f3 Bc8 8.Nc3 Ba6 gives Black plenty of play for the pawn.] 4...Nxd5 5.d4 Bf5! White has moved the bishop twice, so it pays for Black to do the same and place the bishop outside the pawn chain before playing ...e6. 6.Nf3 e6 7.0-0 [7.a3 Be7 8.c4 Nb6 9.Be3 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf6 11.h3 Nc6 gives active chances to both sides.] 7...Be7 8.c4 Nb4! This active move, troubling White on the c2 square, gives Black a good game. 9.Na3 0-0 10.Bf4 c6 Diagram

Center_Counter_390

Chances are equal *

 

(3) White - Black [B01]
Center Counter 2...Nf6

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 [There is little to recommend the advance 2.e5 as Black will play for the center with 2...c5 and keep the option of develping the light squared bishop before playing ...e6; 2.Nc3 dxe4 3.Nxe4 Nd7 4.Nf3 Ngf6 is easy for Black] 2...Nf6 3.c4 c6! Diagram

Center_Counter_391

4.dxc6?! This move is greedy. Safer is to transpose into the Panov-Botvinnik Attack with [4.d4 cxd5 5.Nc3 e6 (or 5...Nc6) ] 4...Nxc6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Nf3 [For 6.d3 Bc5 see our 2nd illustrated game] 6...Bc5 7.Be2 e4 8.Ng5 Qd4 9.0-0 h6 10.Nh3 Bxh3 11.gxh3 0-0-0 Black has the better attacking chances with White's backward development *

 

(4) Emanuel Lasker - Max Victor Behnisch [B01]
Berlin Exhibition, 1912

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.dxc6?! Nxc6 5.Nc3 e5 6.d3 Bc5 7.Be3 World Champion Lasker is on the defensive after 7 moves. He plays to counter the pressure on the a7-g1 diagonal. 7...Nd4 8.Nf3 Ng4 9.Bxd4 exd4 10.Ne4 Bb4+ 11.Nfd2 0-0 12.Be2 Diagram

Center_Counter_392

12...Ne3! 13.fxe3 dxe3 14.0-0 exd2 15.Nxd2 Qd4+ 16.Kh1 Qxb2 Black has regained the pawn with the bishop pair and dark square control 17.Ne4 Qd4 18.Rb1 a5 19.Rf4? Looking for activity White starts complications which end up favoring Black. 19...f5 20.Qb3 Be6 21.Ng5 Qxf4 22.Nxe6 Qe5 23.Nxf8 Qxe2 24.Nd7 Be1 25.c5+ Kh8 Diagram

Center_Counter_393

White is helpless against the queen and bishop attack 26.h3 Qf1+ 27.Kh2 f4 28.Rxe1 Qxe1 29.d4 Qg3+ 30.Qxg3 fxg3+ 31.Kxg3 Rd8 The black rook mops up the white pawns. 0-1

 

(5) Llaneza Vega,Marcos (2504) - Muzychuk,Anna (2533) [B01]
Bundesliga 0910 Germany (3.8), 14.11.2009

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.a3 0-0 8.c4 Nb6 9.Be3 Bf6 10.Nc3 Nc6 Diagram

Center_Counter_394

We have a fairly typical Center Counter position. White has a bit more space, but all the Black pieces are developed to useful squares. Chances are roughly even. 11.Rc1 Qd7 12.d5 White starts the action, but Black is ready. 12...Ne5 13.Bxb6!? axb6 14.Nd4 c5!? Aggressive, but a little risky as well. [14...Rfe8 is equal] 15.Nxf5 exf5 16.Qb3 f4 17.Ne4 [17.Qxb6 f3! 18.gxf3 Ng6 with serious attacking chances] 17...Bd8 18.Rfe1 f5 19.Nd2 Qd6 20.Nf3 Bf6 21.Nxe5 Bxe5 This interesting bishops of opposite color position is sharp. White has a protected passed d-pawn, but Black has a mobile kingside majority which can spearhead the attack. 22.Bf3 Rfe8 23.Re2 Re7 24.h4 g6 25.Rce1 Kg7 26.Qb5 Ra5 27.Qb3 Ra8 28.Qb5 Kf6 Not repeating moves, Anna plays to win. The slow but powerful plan is to advance pawns on the kingside. 29.Kf1 h6 30.g3?! A bit of panic in a tense position. White is worse after this weakening. 30...fxg3 31.fxg3 Rae8 32.h5?! [32.Kg2 Bxg3 33.Qxe8 Rxe8 34.Re6+ Rxe6 35.Rxe6+ Qxe6 36.dxe6 Bxh4 is also bad. Better was; 32.Qb3 Bxg3 33.Rxe7 Rxe7 34.Rxe7 with drawing chances] 32...g5 33.b4?! g4 34.bxc5 Qxc5 35.Bg2 Qxb5 36.cxb5 Bxg3 37.Rxe7 Rxe7 38.Rxe7 Kxe7 White has reached a pawn down bishops of opposite color ending, but this one is hopeless due to the passed black f and g pawns. 39.d6+ Bxd6 40.Bxb7 Bxa3 Diagram

Center_Counter_395

0-1

 



2020 Wilkerson Memorial TNM Games Round 6

Annotations by GM Nick de Firmian

 

(1) Tsodikova,Natalya (2204) - Stearman,Josiah Paul (2445) [B31]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.1), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 [4...bxc6 has also been seen in dozens of games at the top and down.] 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Nd7 8.Be3 e5 9.Qd2 h6 10.0-0 Qe7 11.Nh2 Nf8 12.f4 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne6 14.Bg3 Qg5 A well played opening by both sides reaches an even position. 15.Qe1 Nd4 16.Nf3 Qe7 17.Qf2 0-0 18.Rae1

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1300

18...f5!?N [18...Be6 has been played a few times: 19.e5 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 Rae8 21.Ne4 Bd5 22.Nf6+ Bxf6 23.Qxf6 Qxf6 24.exf6 c4 25.Bd6 Rxe1 26.Rxe1 Rd8 27.Be7 Rd7 28.d4 g5 29.Bc5 Be6 30.Bxa7 Kh7 31.c3 Kg6 32.Rf1 Rd5 33.Bb8 Rf5 34.Be5 Rxf1+ 35.Kxf1 b5 36.Ke2 h5 37.Ke3 Kf5 ½-½ Efimenko,Z (2632)-Wang,Y (2626) Paks 2006] 19.exf5 Qd8 20.Qd2 [20.fxg6?! Nxf3+ 21.gxf3 Bxh3] 20...Bxf5 21.Nxd4 cxd4 22.Ne4 Qd5 23.Nd6 Be6 24.Nxb7 Qxa2 25.Nc5 Bd5 26.b3 Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Re8 28.Re1 Rxe1+ 29.Bxe1 Qb1 30.Kh2 Bf6?! [30...Be5+ 31.Bg3 Bxg3+ 32.Kxg3 Qf1 keeps an even game] 31.h4 Be7 32.Ne4 Kh7? 33.h5 [33.Qa5! planning Qxa7 would put pressure on Black.] 33...g5 34.Qf2 [34.Qe2 is even stronger] 34...Kg8 35.Qd2?! [35.Qe2!] 35...Bxe4 36.dxe4 Bd6+ 37.g3 c5 38.Kh3 Kf7 39.Qe2 d3!? 40.cxd3 Qxb3 41.Kg2 Ke7 42.e5? Both players have navigated a complex middle game well. Natalya finally errs under the constant pressure to play precise moves. The position was even, but this just throws away an important pawn. 42...Qd5+ 43.Kh2 Qxe5 44.Qd2 g4 45.Qxh6? Qe2+! 0-1

 

(2) Childress,Jason (2073) - Askin,David Benjamin (2027) [B18]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.2), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.f4 e6 7.Nf3 Bd6 8.Bd3 Ne7 9.0-0 Nd7 10.Ne4 Bxe4 A good move. Black gives up the two bishops, but gets enough control of the center for equality. 11.Bxe4 Nf6 12.Bd3 Qc7 13.Ne5 0-0 14.Nc4 Rfd8 15.Qf3 Nf5 16.c3 [16.Bxf5 exf5 allows Black control on the light squares.] 16...c5 17.g4 Nh4 18.Qh3 Ng6 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.f5 exf5 21.gxf5 Ne7 22.Bf4 Qd5 23.Be5 cxd4 24.Bxd4 Nc6 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Rf3 Ne5 27.Rg3+ Kf8

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1301

The black knight on e5 is well posted and compensates for the doubled pawns. 28.Bf1 Ke7 29.Bg2 Qc5+ 30.Kh1 Qf2 31.Qh4 a5 32.Rf1 Qe2 33.Qe4 Qxe4 34.Bxe4 Rd2 35.Rg2 Rxg2 36.Kxg2 Rg8+ 37.Kf2 b6 38.Rg1?! The black king is more central than his counterpart after this exchange. 38...Rxg1 39.Kxg1 Ng4 40.c4 Kd6 41.b3 Ne3 42.Kf2 Nd1+ 43.Kf3 Nc3 44.a3 Kc5 45.Ke3 a4 46.Bc2 axb3 47.Bxb3 Nb1 48.Kd3 Nxa3 49.Kc3?! [49.Ba2] 49...b5?! [49...Nb1+! 50.Kc2 Kb4!] 50.cxb5 Nxb5+ 51.Kd3 Nd6 52.Ke2? letting the king in 52...Kd4 53.Kf3 Ke5 54.Kg4 Nxf5 55.Kh5 [55.Bxf7 Nh6+] 55...Nd6 56.Bc2 f5 57.Kh6 f4 58.Kxh7 f3 59.Bd3 Kf4 60.Kg7 f5 61.Kg6 Ne4?! [61...Kg4! stops the h pawn] 62.h4! f2 63.h5 Ng5?! [63...Ng3 64.h6 Ke3 65.Bc4 Ne2] 64.h6 Ke3 65.Bc4 Nf3? 66.h7? [66.Bf1!] 66...Ne5+ 67.Kg7? [67.Kxf5! Nxc4 68.h8Q f1Q+ 69.Ke6] 67...Nxc4 68.h8Q f1Q 69.Qe8+ Kf4 70.Qb8+ Ne5 71.Kf6 Qc4? [71...Qa6+ wins] 72.Qxe5+ Kg4 73.Qxf5+ Kg3 74.Qg6+ Kf3 75.Qh5+ Qg4 76.Qh1+ Qg2 77.Qd1+ Qe2 78.Qb3+ Qe3 79.Qd5+ Qe4 80.Qd1+ Qe2 81.Qa4 Qb2+ 82.Kg6 Qb1+ 83.Kg5 Qg1+ 84.Kf5 Qb1+ 85.Kf6 Qb2+ 86.Kf7 Qb7+ 87.Kg6 Qe4+ 1/2-1/2

 

(3) Winslow,Elliott Charles (2223) - Yan,Ruiyang (2221) [E50]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.3), 18.02.2020
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.e4 Nc6 9.e5 dxe5

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1302

10.Nxe5?N [10.dxe5 Ne8 (10...Ng4 11.Bf4 f6 12.Qc2 fxe5 13.Bxh7+ Kh8 14.Bg3) 11.Bxh7+?? (11.0-0+/-) 11...Kxh7 12.Ng5+ Kg8 13.Qc2 g6-+ 0-1 (33) Havik,V (2139)-Papathanasiou,E (1951) Barcelona 2015] 10...cxd4 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.cxd4 e5 13.dxe5 Qa5+ 14.Kf1 Qxe5 15.Rb1 Bf5 16.Bb2 Qe6 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Bxf5 Qxf5 19.Rb3 Rad8 20.Qf3 Qc2 21.g3 Rd1+ 22.Kg2 Rxh1 23.Kxh1 Qxc4 24.Kg2 h6 25.a3 c5 26.Rc3 Qd4 27.Rd3 Qe5 28.Qc6 Rb8 29.Re3 Qf5 30.Rf3 Qc8 31.Qd5 Qc7 32.Rc3 Rc8 33.Rc4 Qc6 34.Qxc6 Rxc6 35.Kf3 Ra6 36.a4 Kf8 37.Ke4 Ke7 38.Kd5 Ra5 39.Re4+ Kd7 40.Rc4 Ke7 41.Re4+ Kd7 "=?" 1/2-1/2

 

(4) Clemens,Kristian (2019) - Boldi,Ethan [Kazanjian] (2090) [D46]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.4), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 b6 7.0-0 Bb7 8.b3 Be7 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Qe2 c5 11.Rfd1 cxd4 12.exd4 Nh5 13.Bc1 Nhf6 14.Bb2 Re8 15.Ne5

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1303

15...dxc4N [15...a6] 16.bxc4 Qb8 17.Nxd7?! [17.Rab1!?] 17...Nxd7 18.d5?! exd5 [18...Bd6!?] 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.cxd5 Bf6 21.Qc2 Bxb2 22.Qxb2 Qd6 23.Bb5 Re7 24.Bxd7 Rxd7 So far a level position. 25.Rac1 Rad8 26.Qb5 h6 27.Rc3?

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1304

[White should just imitate Black with 27.h3 Note 27...Qe5 28.Rc8! keeps it even.] 27...Qxd5! Stealing a pawn in broad daylight! White neglected to make back rank luft and allowed this nice combination. 28.Rxd5 Rxd5 29.Qf1 Rd1 30.Rc7?! [30.h4; 30.g3] 30...a5 31.Rc6 b5 32.Rb6 [32.Rc5 Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Rd1+ 34.Ke2 Rb1] 32...Rxf1+ [32...b4 33.Rb5 Rxf1+ 34.Kxf1 Rd1+ 35.Ke2 Ra1 36.Rxa5 b3] 33.Kxf1 Rd5 34.Ke2 Kh7 35.h4 f6 36.g4?! [36.a3; 36.g3] 36...b4 37.h5?! Advancing too far, this creates a weakeness 37...f5! 38.f3 fxg4 39.fxg4 Rd4?! [39...Rg5 40.Ra6 Rxg4] 40.Rb5 a4?! [40...Rxg4 41.Rxa5 Rg5 42.Ra4 Rxh5 43.Rxb4 Rh2+] 41.Kf3 a3 42.g5?! [42.Kg3; 42.Rb8 '!'] 42...hxg5 43.Rxg5 Rd2 [43...Rd3+! 44.Ke2 (On everything else, THEN ...Rd2) 44...Rh3 45.Rb5 b3 46.axb3 a2 47.Ra5 Rh1 is a nice trick to know] 44.Rb5 Kh6 45.Rxb4 Kxh5 46.Ra4 Rxa2 It's now a six-piece endgame, so we can see with certainty every little blunder. But right now Black is won (in 36 moves, not that that helps). 47.Kg3 Ra1 48.Kg2 g5 That surprisingly costs Black eight moves, now it takes 42. But that's to mate, and there will be pawn moves along the way... [48...Kg5 was most move-efficient.] 49.Kh2 g4 50.Ra8 [50.Kg3!? drags it out the longest, although 50...Kg5! 51.Rxg4+ Kf5! (only winning move) 52.Ra4 Ke5 The key drawing method for White is called the Vancura Position, and White just can't get there from here. For example: 53.Kg2 Kd5 54.Rf4 (White needed to play 54.Rf3, which is a bit impossible) 54...Ra2+ 55.Kf3 (55.Kg3 Rb2) 55...Rh2!] 50...Kg5 51.Kg2 Kf4 52.Ra4+ Ke3! 53.Rxg4

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1305

53...Kd3? Now White can get the Vancura! [53...Ra2+!! is the only move to win. 54.Kh3 (54.Kf1? Kf3; 54.Kg3 Rb2; 54.Kg1; 54.Kh1 Rf2) 54...Rf2] 54.Kf2? Stepping out of the "Safe Zone." [54.Rg3+!! Only move! Getting to the Vancura Position with check. 54...Kc4 (54...Ke2 sets a little trap: 55.Rf3?? (55.Rb3; 55.Kh2; 55.Rh3; 55.Rc3; Even 55.Kh3 draws, precariously: 55...a2 56.Rg2+ Kf3 57.Rh2 Kf4 58.Rf2+ Ke3 59.Rh2) 55...Rg1+!) 55.Rf3! and there it is. White checks from the side, ready to play to the a-file the moment the pawn advances to a2. And Black has no place to hide from those checks.] 54...Kc3 Why fool around? [54...a2 55.Ra4 Rh1] 55.Ke2 [55.Ra4 a2 56.Kg2 Kb3 57.Ra8 Rb1] 55...a2 56.Ra4 Rh1 and there's that classic skewer again. 0-1

 

(5) Lum,Michael K (1914) - Kuczek,Kevin W (1982) [A85]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.5), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 f5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.h4!? b6 5.Nf3 d6?! 6.h5 Be7 7.h6 g6 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.Bg5?! [9.Ng5 Qd7 10.d5!? opens things up in a way White likes] 9...Ne4 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.e3 Nd7 Now Black has a solid game 12.Bd3 Ndf6 13.0-0-0 0-0-0 14.Kb1 Rhf8 15.Rhf1 e5 16.Nd5? Giving a pawn 16...Nxd5 17.cxd5 Bxd5 18.Ba6+ Bb7 19.Bxb7+ Kxb7 20.d5 Qd7 21.Rc1 Rc8 22.Qb3 g5 23.Ne1?? Nd2+ 0-1

(6) Melville,Cailen J (1884) - Busch,Jonah M (1944) [A62]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.6), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.g3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.Bg5 f6 12.Be3 f5 13.Qd2 Nf6 14.Ng5 Na6 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Nc7 17.Rfd1 Nxe6 18.Qxd6 Qxd6 19.Rxd6 Rab8 20.Rad1 b6 21.Nd5 Ne4 22.Rd7 Bxb2 23.Bxe4 fxe4 24.Ne7+ Kf8 25.Nc6 Rbc8 26.Bh6+ Bg7 27.Bxg7+ Nxg7 28.Nxa7 Ra8 29.e3 Re7 30.Rd8+ Rxd8 31.Rxd8+ Kf7 32.Nc8 Re6 33.Rd7+ Kf6 34.Rb7 Nf5 35.Nxb6 Rc6 36.Nc4 Ke6 37.Kf1 h5 38.h4 Nd6 39.Nxd6 Kxd6 40.Ke2 Ra6 41.Rb2 Kd5 42.Kd2 c4 43.Kc2 Kc5 44.Kb1 c3 45.Rb3 Kc4 46.Rb8 Kd3 47.Rd8+ Ke2 48.Kc2 Ra3 49.Rf8 Rxa2+ 50.Kxc3 Ra5 51.Rf4 Rf5 52.Kd4 Rxf4 53.gxf4 Kf3 54.Ke5 Kg4 55.Kxe4 Kxh4 56.f5 gxf5+ 57.Kxf5 Kh3 58.Kf4 h4

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1306

59.e4?? But still a drawn position! Probably White lost on time. [59.Kg5 just wins.] 0-1

 

(7) Argo,Guy (1939) - German,Felix (1895) [C30]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.7), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.f4 e5 2.e4 King's Gambit by transpostion. 2...Qh4+ '?!' 3.g3 Qe7 4.d3 [4.fxe5!] 4...d5!? 5.Nc3 Nf6?! [5...dxe4] 6.fxe5 Qxe5 7.Nf3 Qe6 8.Bg2 dxe4 9.Ng5 Qb6 10.Ngxe4 Nxe4 11.Qe2

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1307

11...Qf2+ 12.Qxf2 Nxf2 13.Kxf2 Bc5+ 14.Be3 Bxe3+ 15.Kxe3

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1308

It may not look like much but White has a clear advantage here. Development matters in the endgame as well! 15...c6 16.Ne4 0-0 17.Nd6 Nd7 18.Rae1 [18.Bh3!? Rd8 (18...Nb6 19.Bxc8 Nxc8 20.Nxb7 Rb8 21.Na5 Rxb2 22.Kd2 Rb6 23.Rhe1 keeps up some pressure.) 19.Kd2] 18...Nf6 19.c4? [19.Kd2] 19...Rd8 20.Nxc8 Re8+? [20...Raxc8 21.Kd2 Rc7 White doesn't have a whole lot.] 21.Kd2 Raxc8 22.Bh3 Rcd8 23.Rxe8+ Nxe8 24.Re1 [24.b4] 24...Kf8 25.Kc3 c5 26.a3 Rd6 27.Re2 a6?! Pawns on light squares -- bad. 28.b4 b6 29.bxc5 bxc5 30.Re5 [30.a4! Rh6 31.Bc8 Nc7 32.Re5] 30...Rh6 31.Bd7 [31.Bc8 Rxh2 32.Rxc5 Ra2 33.Ra5 Nc7 34.Bxa6] 31...Nf6 32.Bc8 Rxh2 33.Rxc5 Rg2 34.g4 [34.Bxa6 Rxg3 35.Bb7 should be easy.] 34...Nxg4 35.Rg5 '!' 35...Ne3?! [35...h5!] 36.Rxg2 Nxg2 37.Bxa6 The bishop is superior to the knight in this coming pawn race 37...Ke7 38.a4 Kd6 39.Bb7 Nf4 40.a5 h5 41.d4 White still has to put the win together, but he does manage it. [41.a6! Kc7 42.c5! Ne6 43.Kc4 Nd8 44.Bd5] 41...h4?! [41...Kc7] 42.c5+ Kc7 43.a6 g5 44.d5 '!' 44...h3 45.d6+ Kb8 46.Kc4 g4 47.Kb5 Ka7 [47...g3 48.Kb6 g2 49.a7#] 48.c6 Ne6 49.c7 Nd4+ 50.Kc4 g3 51.c8Q g2 52.Qc5+ Kb8 53.Qxd4 h2 54.Bxg2 1-0

 

(8) Persidsky,Andre (1856) - Heidari,Ako (1940) [D28]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.8), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.e3 0-0 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 c5 8.0-0 Nc6 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Qe2 a6 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.a4?! Bd7 13.Bd2 Rac8 14.Rac1 Ne5 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Ba2 Qb8?! [16...Rfd8] 17.e4 Bd6 18.Bg5?! [18.g3] 18...Bc6?

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1309

[18...Bxh2+ 19.Kh1 Bf4] 19.Rxd6! Qxd6 20.e5 Qc5 21.Nd5?! [21.b4! Qxb4 22.exf6+/-] 21...Qxc1+! 22.Bxc1 Nxd5 What advantage there is is Black's. with two rooks and a pawn for the queen black is ahead 23.Bd2?! [23.Bg5] 23...f5?! This creates weakenesses [23...Ne7!-/+] 24.exf6+/- Rxf6 25.Bg5 Bd7 [25...Rf7] 26.Qd2 Rf7 27.a5 h6 28.Bxd5 exd5 29.Be3 Bc6 30.h3 Re8 31.Qd3 Re4 32.f3 Ra4 33.Qc3 Rc4 34.Qd3 Ra4 35.Qc3 Ra1+ 36.Kh2 Ra4 37.Kg3 Rf6 38.b3?!= Ra2 39.Bd2 Re6 40.Qd3 Kh8 41.Be3? Bb5? [41...d4!-/+] 42.Qc3? [42.Qb1!] 42...Rg6+-+ 43.Kf4 Raxg2 44.h4 Bc6 45.Bd4 Kh7 46.h5 Re6 47.Qd3+ Kg8 48.Qf5 Re8 49.Qh3 Rg5 50.Qh4 Bb5 51.Qh3 Kh7 52.Bc5 Ree5 53.Bd4 Rxh5! 54.Qc8 Re7 55.Qf8 Rd7 56.Qe8 Rg5 57.Ke3 Rg6 58.Kf2 Rdd6 59.Qe7 Bc6 60.Qf8 Rde6 61.Qf5 Kg8 62.Qf4 Re8 63.Qc7 Rf8 64.f4 Rf7 65.Qc8+ Kh7 66.f5 Rg5 67.f6 gxf6 68.Qd8 h5 69.Ke3 Rg3+ 70.Kd2 Rf3 71.Ke2 Rf5 72.Ke3 Kg6 73.Qg8+ Rg7 74.Qh8 Rg5 75.Qd8 Rf5 76.Qh8 Rh7 77.Qg8+ Rg7 78.Qh8 Bb5 79.Qd8 h4 80.Qh8 Rh5 81.Qd8 h3? 82.Qd6? [82.Qxf6+ Kh7 83.Qxg7# if the score is correct] 82...Rf7 83.Qh2 Bf1 84.Kf2 Bg2 85.Ke3 Rf5 86.Kd2 Rf3 87.Be3 d4 88.Bxd4 Rd7 89.Qg1 Rf4 90.Ke3 Rfxd4 91.Qh2 Rd3+ 92.Kf4 R7d4# 0-1

 

(9) Reichwein,Axel (1892) - Chin,Alex (1834) [B01]
MI Wilkerson TNM: Extra Rated Game San Francisco (6.11), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Bxe2 5.Nxe2 Qxd5 6.0-0 Nc6 7.c3 0-0-0 8.Qb3 e5 9.Qxd5 Nxd5 10.Be3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nxe3 12.Nxc6 Nxf1 13.Nxd8 Kxd8 14.Kxf1 f5 15.Nd2 b5 16.a4 b4 17.cxb4 Bxb4 18.Rd1 Ke7 19.Nc4 Ke6 20.Rd3 f4 21.Ke2 g5 22.Rb3 a5?! Black stifles his own bishop with pawns. 23.Rd3 g4 24.Rd4 Kf5 25.Kd3 c5?! 26.Rd5+ Ke6 27.Re5+ [27.Ke4!+-] 27...Kf6 28.Ke4 Rd8 29.Kxf4 [29.Rd5!] 29...Rd4+ 30.Re4 Bd2+ 31.Ne3? [31.Nxd2 Rxd2 32.Kxg4 Rxb2 33.Kf3+/-] 31...h5= 32.h3 Bc1 33.hxg4 hxg4 34.b3 Bd2 35.f3 g3 36.Kxg3 Rxe4 37.fxe4?? [37.Nd5+ Ke5 38.fxe4 Kxe4 39.Nb6=] 37...Bxe3-/+ 38.Kf3 Bd4 39.Ke2 Ke5 40.Kf3 Bg1 This is won for Black, but somehow it was a draw. 1/2-1/2

(10) Pane,Gianluca (1927) - Hakobyan,Sos (1818) [E38]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.12), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 Na6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 Nxc5 8.f3 d5 9.cxd5 Qxd5 10.e4 Qc6 11.Be3 Ncd7 12.Qxc6 bxc6 13.Rc1 Bb7 14.Ne2 0-0 15.Nd4 Rfc8 16.Kf2 Rab8 17.Be2 Kf8 18.Rc2 a6 19.Nb3 Ke8 20.Na5 Rc7 21.b4 Ba8 22.Rhc1 Ne5 23.Bxa6 g5

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1310

24.Bxg5 Neg4+ 25.Ke2 h6 26.Bf4 e5 27.Bg3 Nxe4 28.fxe4 Rb6 29.Bd3 h5 30.h3 Nh6 31.Nc4 1-0

 

(11) Lehman,Clarence E (1907) - Perlov,Alexander (1825) [B20]
MI Wilkerson TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (6.13), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nf3 e6 6.axb4 Bxb4 7.c3 Be7 8.Na3 Nc6 9.Nb5 Qd8 10.d4 Nf6 11.Bd3 0-0 12.0-0 b6 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.Qd2 a6 15.Nc7 Rc8! 16.Nxa6 Nd5 17.Bg3 Na5!

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1311

Black has given the pawn back but taken important queenside squares 18.Qb2 Rxc3 19.Bxh7+? Kxh7 20.Rxa5 bxa5 21.Qxb7 Qb6 Forcing the queen trade. White's combination starting with Bxh7+ was not enough 22.Qxb6 Nxb6 23.Rb1 Rfc8 24.Bf4 Nd5 25.Bd2 Rc2 26.h3 Ra2 27.Kf1 Rcc2 28.Ke1 a4 29.g4 f6 30.h4 Rab2 31.Kd1 Rxd2+ 32.Nxd2 Nc3+ 33.Kc1 Nxb1 34.Kxb2 Nxd2 35.Nc5 a3+ 36.Kxa3 e5 37.Kb2 exd4 38.Ne6 Nf3 39.Kc2 Kg6 40.Kd3 Ne5+ 41.Kxd4 Nxg4 42.f3 Nh6 43.h5+ Kf7 44.Kd5 Nf5 45.Nf4 Ng3 46.Kc6 Ba3 47.Kd5 Bc1 48.Nd3 Bh6 49.f4 Nxh5 50.f5 Ng3 51.Ne5+ fxe5 52.Kxe5 Bc1 0-1

 

(12) Boldi,Nicholas Armen (1754) - Ricard,Bruce (1849) [B30]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.9), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 e5 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.d3 Be7 6.Be2 f5 7.exf5 Bxf5 8.0-0 Nf6 9.a3 0-0 10.Bd2 d5!? staring interesting complications. a simpler game is [10...Nd4] 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Qb3 Be6 13.Qxb7 Na5 14.Qa6 Bc8 15.Qb5 Bd7 16.Qa6 Rf6

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1312

17.Qxa5 Qxa5 18.Nxd5 Qd8 19.Nxf6+ gxf6 Black has emerged with an edge after the trade of queen for rook, knight and pawn 20.Bc3 a5 21.Nd2 Qc7 22.Nc4 a4 23.Bd2 Bc6 24.Rac1 Kh8 25.f3 h5 26.Ne3 Qd7 27.Bc3 Bd6 28.Nc4 Bc7 29.f4 Rg8 30.Rf2?! [30.Bf3 Bxf3 31.Rxf3] 30...Qh3 31.Bf1 exf4 32.Bxf6+ Kh7 33.Be5? [33.Re1] 33...Bxe5 34.Nxe5 Qe3! 35.Rc4 [35.Nxc6 Qxc1] 35...Qxe5 36.Rcxf4 Bd5 37.Rf5 Qe6 38.Rxh5+ Kg7 39.Rff5 Qe3+ 40.Kh1 Bf7 41.Rh3 Qe1 42.Rhf3 Bg6 43.Rxc5 Bxd3

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1313

44.Rc7+ Kh6 45.Rh3+ Kg5 46.Rg3+ Kf6 47.Rf3+ Ke6 48.Rcf7 Be4! 49.R7f6+ Ke5 50.Rf2 Bxg2+! 51.Rxg2 Rxg2 52.Rf8 Rg6 53.Re8+ Re6 54.Rxe6+ Kxe6 55.Kg1 Qc1 56.h4 Ke5 57.h5 Kf4 58.h6 Kg3 59.b3 Qc5+ 60.Kh1 Qh5+ 61.Bh3 Qxh3+ 62.Kg1 Qg2# 0-1

 

(13) Breedt,Rudolph Frans (1882) - Xu,Jayden (1712) [B71]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.14), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.f4!? Bg7?! 7.e5 dxe5 8.fxe5 Ng4?! 9.Bb5+ Nc6 10.Nxc6 Qxd1+ 11.Nxd1 a6 12.Ba4 Bd7 13.h3! Nxe5 [13...Nh6 14.Nxe7! Bxa4 15.Nd5] 14.Nxe5 Bxa4 15.Bf4! Bxc2 16.Nc3 g5 17.Bh2 Rc8 18.0-0 Rc5 19.Rac1 Bxe5 20.Bxe5 Rxe5 21.Rxc2 0-0 22.Rd1 Rc8 23.Rcd2 Rc7 24.Rd5 Rxd5 25.Nxd5 Rc2 26.Nxe7+ Kg7 27.Rb1 Kf6 28.Nd5+ Ke5 29.Ne3 Re2 30.Ng4+ Kf4 31.Rf1+ Ke4 32.Nf6+ Ke5 33.Rf2 Rxf2 34.Ng4+ Ke4 35.Kxf2 Kd3 36.Ne5+ Kc2 37.Nxf7 Kxb2 38.Nxg5 Kxa2 39.Nxh7 b5 40.Nf6 b4 41.Ne4 b3 42.g4 a5 43.g5 Kb2 44.g6 Kc2 45.Ke3 a4 46.g7 a3 47.g8Q a2 48.Qc4+ Kb2 49.Qc3+ Ka3 50.Nd2 a1N 51.Qxa1+ Kb4 52.Nxb3 and won 1-0

(14) Drane,Robert William (1812) - Mercado,Adam (1789) [B31]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.15), 18.02.2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.0-0 Bg7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.d3 Rb8 8.Rb1 0-0 9.h3 d6 10.Be3 Nd7 11.Qd2 Re8 12.Bh6 Bh8 13.Ng5 Nf8 14.f4 Ne6 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.f5 exf5 17.exf5 Bd4+ 18.Kh1 Bxf5 19.g4 Be6 20.Rbe1 Bf7 21.Qf4 Bf6 22.g5 Rxb2 23.gxf6 e5 24.Qc1 Qd7 25.Kh2 Reb8 26.Qd2 Qc7 27.Re4 d5 28.Rh4 R8b4 29.Bg5 c4 30.dxc4 d4 31.Nd1 Rxa2 32.Qxb4 Rxc2+ 33.Rf2 d3 34.Qe7 Rxf2+ 35.Nxf2 Qa5 36.Rxh7 1-0

(15) Babayan,Gagik (1784) - Acosta,Anthony (1762) [B46]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.16), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 Bb4 8.Bd2 d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.Qg4 Bf8 11.0-0 Nf6 12.Qh4 Be7 13.a3 Ne4 14.Qh5 Nxd2 15.Rfe1 g6 16.Qe2 Ne4 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Qxe4 Qd5 19.Qe2 Bb7 20.f3 0-0 21.Kh1 Qh5 22.b4 Bh4 23.Rf1 Bg3 24.h3 Bc7 25.Bc4 Qh4 26.Rfd1 Qg3 27.Kg1 Qh2+ 28.Kf2 Bb6+ 29.Ke1 Rfd8 30.Bd3 Bd4 31.Rab1 Bc3+ 32.Kf2 Be5 33.Qf1 Qg3+ 34.Ke2 Qf4 35.Qe1 Rac8 36.Qd2 Qg3 37.Rg1 Bc6 38.Kf1 Bb5 39.Qe2

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1314

39...Rxc2 40.Bxb5 Rxe2 41.Bxe2 Bd4 0-1

 

(16) Abraham,Renjish (1861) - Cortinas,Martin A (1662) [A20]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.17), 18.02.2020

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.d3 Bb4+ 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Ngf3 Nc6 8.0-0 0-0 9.a3 Bc5 10.b4 Bb6 11.Bb2 Re8 12.b5 Nd4 13.Nxd4 Bxd4 14.Bxd4 exd4 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.a4 Rc8 17.Nxd4 Qd6 18.Re1 Qb6 19.Nf3 d4 20.Qb3 Qc5 21.Qb2 Rcd8 22.Rac1 Qb6 23.Rc4 Bxf3 24.Bxf3 Re7 25.Qb4 Red7 26.a5 Qe6 27.Qb2 Ng4 28.Rec1 Ne5 29.Rc7 Nxf3+ 30.exf3 h6 31.Kg2 Qe5 32.Qc2 Qxb5 33.Rc5 Qa6 34.Qc4 Qd6 35.Re1 Re7 36.Re4 Kh7 37.Rxe7 Qxe7 38.Rd5 Rxd5 39.Qxd5 b6 40.axb6 axb6 41.Qxd4 Qb7 42.Qe4+ Qxe4 43.fxe4 1-0

(17) Carron,Joel (1645) - Madhavan,Srikrishnan (1720) [C01]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.18), 18.02.2020

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Ne4 9.Qc2 Bf5 10.Bd3 0-0 11.0-0 h6 12.Ne1 Qf6 13.f3 Nd6 14.c5 Bxd3 15.Nxd3 Nf5 16.Ne5 Re8 17.Rb1 Rxe5 18.dxe5 Qxe5 19.Bd2 Nd7 20.Rfe1 Qf6 21.Be3 b6 22.cxb6 axb6 23.Bxb6 h5 24.Bf2 g6 25.Rb7 Ne5 26.Bd4 Nxd4 27.cxd4 Nc4 28.Qd1 Rxa3 29.Re8+ Kg7 30.Ree7 Nd6 31.Ra7 Rc3 32.Qd2 Rc4 33.Qe3 Rxd4 34.Re6 Rd1+ 35.Kf2 Qb2+ 36.Qe2 Rd2 37.Qxd2 Qxd2+ 38.Kf1 Qc1+ 39.Re1 Qc4+ 40.Re2 d4 41.Raa2 d3 42.Red2 Nf5 43.Kf2 Qh4+ 44.Kf1 Ne3+ 0-1

(18) Malykin,Erika (1675) - Allen,Alex (1671) [D30]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.19), 18.02.2020

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.c4 Bd6 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.c5 Qc7 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.Nbd2 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Qxe5 12.Qb3 0-0 13.Nf3 Qh5 14.h3 Re8 15.0-0-0 Re7 16.g4 Bxg4 17.hxg4 Qxg4 18.Nd4 g6 19.Rdg1 Qd7 20.Nf5 Re5 21.Nd6 b6 22.Qc3 Qe6 23.Bf5 Rxf5 24.Nxf5 Qxf5 25.cxb6 axb6 26.a3 Ne4 27.Qc2 Qxf2 28.Qxc6 Qxe3+ 29.Kb1 Qd3+ 30.Ka1 1/2-1/2

(19) Gurovich,Roman (1714) - Mays,Jerry L (1700) [A41]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.20), 18.02.2020

1.d4 g6 2.Bf4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 c5 5.c3 Qb6 6.Na3 a6 7.Nc4 Qc7 8.a4 Bg4 9.dxc5 Be5 10.cxd6 exd6 11.Nxd6+ Qxd6 12.Qxd6 Bxd6 13.Bxd6 Nc6 14.Ne5 Be6 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.c4 Ne7 17.Be2 Nf5 18.Be5 0-0 19.0-0 Rfd8 20.Rfd1 Rd7 21.Rxd7 Bxd7 22.Re1 Be6 23.b4 Kf8 24.b5 cxb5 25.axb5 axb5 26.cxb5 Bb3 27.Rb1 1-0

(20) Kaplan,Glenn (1676) - Hack,Richard (1567) [A21]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.21), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.c4 f5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.d3 e5 8.Ng5?! c6 9.Bd2 h6 10.Nf3 Na6 11.b4? Nc7 [11...Nxb4-/+] 12.Qb3 Qe8 13.a4 Bd7 14.b5 Rb8 15.Nh4 g5 16.Nf3 f4 17.Rab1 Kh8 18.h4 g4 19.Nh2 fxg3 20.fxg3 Ne6 21.Ne4 Nxe4 22.Bxe4 Rxf1+ 23.Nxf1 Nc5 24.Qa3 Nxe4 25.dxe4 Qe6 26.Ne3 Bf8 27.Qd3 Be8 28.Nf5 Kh7 29.Rf1 Rd8 30.Ne3 Bf7 31.Qc3 cxb5 32.cxb5 Rc8 33.Qa5 Bg6 34.Nd5 Be7 35.Qxa7 Bxe4 36.Nxe7 Qxe7 37.Qe3 d5 38.Qxh6+ Kg8 39.a5 Qc5+ 40.Be3 d4 41.Qe6+ Kh8 42.Qf6+ Kh7 43.Qf7+ Kh8 44.Rf6 1-0

(21) Revi,Frank (1298) - Morgan,Jerry (1467) [D11]
MI Wilkerson TNM: Extra Rated Game San Francisco (6.22), 18.02.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bf4 Qb6 5.Qc2 Bg4 6.c5 Qb4+ 7.Bd2 Qc4 8.Nc3 Bxf3 9.e3 Be4 10.Qd1 Bd3 11.Rc1 Bxf1 12.Rxf1 Qd3 13.Qb3 Qa6 14.f3 Nbd7 15.e4 e6 16.e5 Ng8 17.f4 Bxc5 18.dxc5 Nxc5 19.Nb5 Qb6 20.Nd6+ Kd7 21.Rxc5 Qxb3 22.axb3 Nh6 23.Nxb7 Rab8 24.Na5 Rb6 25.h3 Nf5 26.b4 Ng3 27.Rf3 Ne4 28.Rc2 Rc8 29.Be3 Rxb4 30.Bxa7 Rb5 31.Nb3 c5 32.Nd2 Nxd2 33.Kxd2 Rb7 34.Ra3 c4 35.Bd4 Rcb8 36.g4 g6 37.Ra6 Rb3 38.Bc3 Rc8 39.f5 Rc6 40.Ra7+ Rc7 41.fxe6+ fxe6 42.Rxc7+ Kxc7 43.Ke3 Rb8 44.Rf2 Rh8 45.Rf7+ Kd8 46.Ra7 1-0

(22) Casares Jr,Nick (1600) - Ahrens,Richard (1256) [C33]
MI Wilkerson TNM: Extra Rated Game San Francisco (6.23), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 Qf6 5.d4 d6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.h3 a6 8.a3 Be6 9.d5 Bd7 10.Nf3 g5 Diagram

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1315

11.e5!? dxe5 12.Ne4 Qh6?! [12...Qg6] 13.Nexg5 [13.d6!] 13...Be6? The King's Gambit is a confusing opening, which makes many players go astray. This blunder ends the game. [13...Nf5 14.Qe1 is messy] 14.dxe6 fxe6 15.Bxe6 Nec6 16.Qd5 Ke7 17.Bd2 Nd8 18.Bb4+ Kf6 19.Qxe5+ Kg6 20.Qf5+ Kg7 21.Bc3+ Qf6 22.Qxf6# 1-0

 

(23) Poling,Scott E (1828) - Mahooti,James J (1854) [D90]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U2000 San Francisco (6.24), 18.02.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.e3 Nc6 6.Nc3 a6 7.Bd3 g6 8.Nf3 Bg7 9.h3 0-0 10.0-0 e6 11.Rc1 Nh5 12.Bh2 Bh8 13.Na4 Ng7 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.Bxe5 Bd7 16.Bc7 Bxa4 17.Qxa4 Qe7 18.Bb6 Rfc8 19.Rc2 Rxc2 20.Qxc2 Ne8 21.Rc1 Bf6 22.a4 Qd7 23.b4 Be7 24.b5 Bd6 25.bxa6 bxa6 26.Qc6 Qxc6 27.Rxc6 a5 28.Bb5 Bb4 29.Bc5 Nf6 30.f3 h5 31.Rc7 g5 32.g4 hxg4 33.hxg4 Kg7 34.Ra7 Rc8 35.Bb6 Bd2 36.Kf2 Rc3 37.Bxa5 Bxe3+ 38.Ke2 Bxd4 39.Bxc3 Bxa7 40.Kd3 Kg6 41.a5 Ng8 42.Bd4 Bb8 43.a6 Ne7 44.a7 Bxa7 45.Bxa7 Ng8 46.Kd4 Kf6 47.Bb8 Ke7 48.Kc5 Kf6 49.Kd6 Ne7 50.Ba6 Ng6 51.Bc7 Nf4 52.Bf1 Ng6 53.Bd8+ Kg7 54.Bxg5 Nf8 55.Bd2 1-0

(24) Olson,David (1400) - Tamondong,Cesar (1617) [E61]
MI Wilkerson TNM: Extra Rated Game San Francisco (6.25), 18.02.2020

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 0-0 7.Bd3 d5 8.c5 Nc6 9.Bc2 Bg4 10.Be3 Re8 11.Qd2 Bxf3 12.gxf3 e5 13.0-0-0 exd4 14.Bxd4 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Ne4 16.Qxd5 Nxc3 17.Qxd8 Nxa2+ 18.Kb1 Nc3+ 19.bxc3 Raxd8 20.Kb2 Bf8 21.Be4 Bxc5 22.Bxb7 Rb8 23.Rd7 Re7 24.Rhd1 Rxb7+ 25.Rxb7 Rxb7+ 26.Kc2 Bxf2 0-1

(25) Ross,Max L (1549) - Gimelfarb,Ilia (1599) [D02]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.10), 18.02.2020

1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Bd3 Bg4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 e5 6.dxe5 Nxe5 7.Be2 Bd6 8.Nxe5 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 Bxe5 10.Qb5+ Qd7 11.Qxb7 0-0 12.c3 Qg4 13.0-0 Rfb8 14.Qa6 Rb6 15.Qd3 Bxh2+ 16.Kxh2 Qh5+ 17.Kg1 Ng4 18.Re1 Qh4 19.Qf5 Rf6 20.Qxg4 Qxg4 21.Nf1 Qh4 22.e4 Qxf2+ 23.Kh1 0-1

(26) Ansari,Jahaan (1461) - Roberts,Joseph (1358) [D06]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.26), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.e4 Nf6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.d5 Ne5

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1316

8.Nxe5 Bxd1 9.Bb5+ c6 10.dxc6 Qa5+ 11.Nc3 0-0-0 12.cxb7+ Kxb7 13.Nc6 Qc7 14.e5 Nd5 15.Ne4 e6 16.Bd2 Qb6 17.Nxd8+ Qxd8 18.Rxd1 Qb6 19.Bd3 Nb4 20.Bxb4 Bxb4+ 21.Ke2 Be7 22.b3 Qa5 23.a4 Qxe5 24.Kf3 f5 25.Ng3 g5 26.Ne4 fxe4+ 27.Bxe4+ Kb6 0-1

 

(27) Martin,Michael J (1387) - Radaelli,Lucas (1411) [C78]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.27), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Bc5 6.c3 Nf6 7.d3 d6 8.h3 0-0 9.0-0 Re8 10.Re1 Be6 11.Bxe6 Rxe6 12.Ng5 Re7 13.Be3 Rd7 14.b4 Bxe3 15.Rxe3 d5 16.Nd2 dxe4 17.Ndxe4 Nd5 18.Rg3 h6 19.Qg4? This just isn't worth it. 19...hxg5 20.Nxg5 Nf6 21.Qf5 Rd5 [21...Ne7!? 22.Qxe5 Ng6 pushes White back (at the cost of another pawn)] 22.Ne4 [22.Ne6!? fxe6 23.Qxe6+ gets another pawn for now, but Black is still up that knight (and not under much attack with the exchanges)] 22...Nxe4 23.Qxe4 Qd7 24.Re1 Rd8 25.Ree3? f5! 26.Rxg7+ Qxg7 [26...Kxg7 27.Rg3+ Kf7 28.Qh4 Rf8 slips away 29.Qh5+ Ke6 30.Rg6+ Rf6] 27.Qxf5 Qf7 [27...Ne7! 28.Qe6+ Kh8 is safe: 29.Rg3 R8d6] 28.Qg4+

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1317

28...Kh8?! [28...Qg7 29.Qe6+ Kh7 30.Qxc6 Qg6 31.Qxc7+ R8d7 is starting to be a lot of pawns, but Black is still winning.] 29.Qh4+ Kg8 30.Rg3+ Kf8 31.Rf3?! [31.Qh6+ Ke8 32.Rg7 R8d6 33.Qh8+ Qf8 34.Rg8-/+ also wins the queen but keeps the kingside pawns healthy.] 31...Qxf3 32.gxf3 Rxd3? [32...R8d6-+ holds onto everything.] 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.Qxc6 Things have simplified quite a bit, with more black pawns to fall. It's harder for Black to pick pawns off, for fear of getting a rook snared to a double attack. 34...Kh7 35.Qxc7+ R8d7 36.Qxe5 Rg7+ 37.Kf1

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1318

Here the scoresheet says "37...Rd7 1/2-1/2" but whichever rook, White should play on. 1/2-1/2

 

(28) Uzakbaev,Nursultan (1415) - Cendejas,Jon Rodolfo (1254) [C44]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.28), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.0-0 dxc3 7.Nxc3 d6 8.Qb3 Qe7 9.Nd5 Nxe4?? 10.Nxe7 1-0

(29) Harris,Clarence (1402) - Chan,John (1506) [C00]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.30), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e6 2.d3 Nc6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 h6 5.Nf3 e5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.h3 d6 8.Nc3 a6 9.Re1 Be6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Rxe3 Qd7 12.Kh2 g5!?

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1319

Bluntly taking advantage of not having committed his king yet. [12...h5!? is another way to go. 13.Re1 h4!? 14.Nxh4 g5 15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.exf5 Qxf5 is various problems for White.] 13.g4? This is a drastic overreaction and ruins White's game. [13.Nd2; 13.d4! g4! (13...exd4 14.Nxd4+/-) 14.d5! gxh3! followed by ...Ng4+ is wild but keeps chances for both sides. (14...gxf3? 15.Qxf3+/-) ] 13...0-0-0 [13...h5! right away is even stronger.] 14.Ng1 Kb8 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Ne7 17.c4 h5-+ The difference in king position is a huge factor. 18.f3? [18.gxh5; 18.Rf3 Nxg4+ 19.Kh1 Nf5!] 18...hxg4 19.Re1 Ng6 20.Re3 Nf4 21.Bf1 gxh3 22.Ne2 Ng2 23.Bxg2 hxg2+ 24.Kg3 Qh3+ 25.Kf2 Nh5 26.f4 Qh4+ 27.Kxg2 gxf4 28.Rh3 Rdg8+ 29.Kh2 Qf2+ 30.Kh1 Qg2# 0-1

 

(30) Morgan,Jacob (1227) - Jade,Valerie (1532) [B21]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.31), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.c3 e5 3.d4 cxd4 4.cxd4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd1 Nf6 7.Nc3 Ke7 This must be a touch-move error. 8.Nf3 h5 9.Bc4 d6 10.Bg5 Be6 11.Nd5+ Ke8 12.0-0 Be7 13.Re1 Kf8 14.Rc1 Bg4 15.Nxe7 Qxe7 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Ne5 18.Qb3 h4 19.Bd5 Rh5+- 20.Qe3?

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1320

[20.Bxf6; 20.f4] 20...Rxg5 21.Qxg5 Nxd5 22.Qxe7+ Nxe7 23.Red1 f5 24.f4 Nf7 25.exf5 Nxf5 26.Rc7 b5 27.Rd5 Ne7 28.Rxb5 a6 29.Rbb7 Re8 30.Kf2 Nd8 31.Ra7 d5 32.Rxa6 d4 33.Rd6 Nf5 34.Rd5 g6 35.Rc8 Ke7 36.Rc7+ Kf6 37.a4 Ne6 38.Rc6 Rb8 39.Rb5 Rxb5 40.axb5 d3 41.b6 d2 42.Ke2 Nfd4+ 43.Kxd2 Nxc6 0-1

 

(31) Rushton,Peter James (1294) - Uzakbaev,Nursultan (1415) [C51]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.32), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bd6 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 0-0 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Bxe5 10.Qb3 d5?! [10...Nxe4-+] 11.exd5

2020_Wilkerson_TNM_Rd6_1321

11...Bxh2+?? This doesn't always work! [11...Ng4! is plenty of fun (and hardly necessary): 12.h3 (12.g3 Nxh2! 13.Kxh2 Qh4+ 14.Kg1 (14.Kg2 Bh3+ 15.Kf3 (15.Kg1 Bxg3; 15.Kh1 Bxg3) 15...Qg4+ 16.Ke3 Bxf1 17.Bxf1 Qg5+ 18.f4 Qxg3+ 19.Kd2 (19.Ke2 Bxf4) 19...Qxf4+ 20.Kc2 Qxf1) 14...Bxg3 15.fxg3 Qxg3+ 16.Kh1 Qh4+ 17.Kg1 Bh3 The loose bishop on c4 is almost an afterthought.) 12...Qh4 White's pieces are all walled off on the queenside.] 12.Kh1?? [12.Kxh2 and White seems to defend. 12...Ng4+ 13.Kg1 Qd6 (13...Qh4 14.Bf4) 14.g3 Qg6 15.Nd2 Qh5 16.Nf3] 12...Ng4 13.g3 Qf6 14.Nd2 Qh6 [14...Bxg3 15.fxg3 (15.Kg2 Bd6) 15...Qh6+ 16.Kg2 Qh2+ 17.Kf3 Bf5 and a rook to e8] 15.Kg2 [15.Nf3 Qh5 16.Kg2 Re8 17.Rh1 Re2! is a nice self-blocking theme (17...Ne3+ 18.fxe3 Qh3+ 19.Kf2 Qxg3+ 20.Ke2 Qg2+ is enough) 18.Bxe2 Ne3+ 19.fxe3 Qh3+ 20.Kf2 Qxg3+ 21.Kf1 Bh3#] 15...Ne5! 16.Nf3 Qh3+ 17.Kh1 Bxg3+ 0-1

 

(32) Wagner,Tyler (1050) - James,Charles (1404) [D13]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.33), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.e3 Nh5 7.Bg3 Nxg3 8.hxg3 Bg4 9.Nbd2 e6 10.Bb5 Bd6 11.Qc2 h6 12.Bxc6+ bxc6 13.Qxc6+ Ke7 14.Rc1 Rc8 15.Qb7+ Qd7 16.Qxd7+ Kxd7 17.0-0 f6 18.e4 dxe4 19.Nxe4 Be7 20.Nc5+ Bxc5 21.dxc5 e5 22.Rfd1+ Ke7 23.b4 g5 24.Re1 Bf5 25.Nd4 Bh7 26.Nb5 a6 27.Nd6 Rc7 28.a4 Rb8 29.b5 a5 30.b6 Rc6 31.f3 Scoresheet breaks down. 1-0 46. 1-0

(33) Neugut,Eitan (1322) - Dubensky,Walter Barnett (1120) [A27]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.34), 18.02.2020

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.e3 Nc6 4.Nf3 d6 5.h3 Be6 6.d4 exd4 7.exd4 Bxd4 8.Nxd4 Nf6 9.Bg5 Qd7 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Nxc6 Qxc6 12.Qd4 Ke7 13.0-0-0 a6 14.Nd5+ Bxd5 15.Qxd5 Rhe8 16.Qxc6 bxc6 17.Re1+ Kd7 18.Rxe8 Rxe8 19.Bd3 h6 20.Kd2 Re5 21.Re1 Rg5 22.g4 h5 23.Bf5+ Kd8 24.Re3 c5 25.Ra3 1-0

(34) Lintz,Michael Harry (1376) - Frank,Robert H (1222) [D00]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.35), 18.02.2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 e6 3.e3 d5 4.Nd2 c5 5.c3 c4 6.b3 b5 7.a4 Bd7 8.axb5 cxb3 9.Qxb3 Ne4 10.Nxe4 dxe4 11.Bc4 Qb6 12.Ne2 Bd6 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.Qa3 Qxa3 15.Rxa3 0-0 16.0-0 Rc8 17.b6 Bc6 18.Rxa7 Rxa7 19.bxa7 Nd7 20.Ra1 Ra8 21.Bb3 Nb6 22.Ra6 Nc8 23.Rxc6 Nxa7 24.Ra6 Kf8 25.g4 Ke7 26.Ng3 g6 27.Nxe4 1-0

(35) Starr,Albert Martin (1552) - Bayaraa,Timothy (1193) [A00]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.36), 18.02.2020

1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 Bxb4 3.Bxe5 Nf6 4.c4 d6 5.Bc3 a5 6.Qa4+ Bd7 7.Qb3 c5 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Nxc3 b6 10.Rb1 Ra6 11.Nb5 0-0 12.Nxd6 a4 13.Qb2 Be6 14.Nb5 Bxc4 15.d3 Bxb5 16.Qxb5 Qd6 17.Qb2 Nc6 18.Nf3 Re8 19.g3 Qxd3 20.e3 Qf5 21.Nh4 Qc8 22.Bxa6 Qxa6 23.Qb5 Qa8 24.0-0 Ne5 25.Qxb6 g5 26.Qxf6 gxh4 27.f3 hxg3 28.hxg3 Re6 29.Qf4 Qd5 30.Rb8+ Kg7 31.Qg5+ Rg6 32.Qf4 c4 33.g4 c3 34.Qd4 Qa5 35.Qd8 Qa7 36.Qh8+ Kh6 37.Qxe5 Rg5 38.Qd6+ Rg6 39.Qf8+ Rg7 40.Re8 Qb6 41.Qb4 Qc6 42.Re4 f5 43.Rc4 Qe6 44.Qxc3 Qf7 45.Qc1 Kg5 46.e4+ f4 47.Rc5+ Kh6 48.Rh5+ Kg6 49.Qc6+ Qf6 50.Rh6+ Kxh6 51.Qxf6+ 1-0

(36) Rothman,Ivan (1487) - Gimelfarb,Natan (1134) [C27]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.37), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 h6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.f4 d6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Na4 Bb6 8.Nxb6 cxb6 9.0-0 Qc7 10.f5 Qc5+ 11.Kh1 Nc6 12.c3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 h5? 14.b4 Nd4 15.bxc5 Nxf3 16.Rxf3 bxc5 17.Bb5+ Ke7 18.Bg5 Kf8 19.Bc4 Ng4 20.h3 f6 21.Bd2 a6 22.Kg1 Nh6 23.a4 Nf7 24.h4 Nh6 25.Bd5 Ra7 26.a5 Ng4 27.Rb1 Rh6 28.Rxb7 Rxb7 29.Bxb7 Rh8 30.Bxa6 Ke7 31.c4 Rb8 32.Bb5 Nh6 33.Rf1 Nf7 34.Ra1 Ra8 35.a6 Ra7 36.Ba5 Nd8 37.Bb6 Ra8 38.a7 Nb7 39.Bc6 1-0

(37) Simpkins,Jerry (1539) - Johnson,Nathaniel [C50]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.39), 18.02.2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 4.c3 d6 5.d4 Bg4 6.Qb3 Bh5 7.Bb5 Nge7 8.d5 a6 9.dxc6 axb5 10.cxb7 Rb8 11.Qxb5+ c6 12.Qa6 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Qc7 14.Na3 Qxb7 15.Qxb7 Rxb7 16.Nc4 Ng6 17.Be3 Be7 18.0-0-0 0-0 19.Nxd6 Bxd6 20.Rxd6 Rc8 21.Rhd1 Kh7 22.Rd7 Rcc7 23.Rxc7 Rxc7 24.Rd6 f6 25.b4 Nh4 26.f4 exf4 27.Bxf4 Rc8 28.Rd7 Kg6 29.Rc7 Re8 30.e5 Re6 31.exf6 gxf6 32.Be3 Nf5 33.a4 Ne7 34.c4 Re4 35.Kb2 Rxc4 36.Rxe7 Rxb4+ 37.Ka3 Rc4 38.a5 f5 39.a6 f4 40.a7 fxe3 41.a8Q Rc1 42.Qg8+ 1-0

(38) Hall,Diana - Chambers,Don (1298) [C55]
MI Wilkerson TNM: Extra Rated Game San Francisco (6.40), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.0-0 Na5 6.b3 Nxc4 7.bxc4 d6 8.Nd5 Nxe4 9.Qe2 Bf5 10.d3 Nc3?? 11.Qe1?? Nxd5 12.cxd5 0-0 13.Bb2 c6 14.c4 Bxd3 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Nxe5 Bxf1 17.Kxf1 Re8 18.Qe4 dxe5 19.Bxe5 f6 20.Qxc6 Rxe5 21.g3 Qd3+ 22.Kg1 Rae8 White played 23.f4 and then resigned. 0-1

(39) Byrd,Bill - Ballantyne,Andrew (877) [C34]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.41), 18.02.2020

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Qe7 5.0-0 Qc5+ 6.Kh1 Qxc4 7.d4 Nb4 8.Na3 Qc6 9.Ne5 Qxe4 10.Re1 Qf5 11.Nc6+ Be7 12.Nxb4 d6 13.Qf3 Qa5 14.Bd2 Qb6 15.Nd5 Qxd4 16.Nxc7+ Kd7 17.Nxa8 Qxd2 18.Nc4 Qxc2 19.Qxf4 Qd3 20.Rad1 Qg6 21.Ne5+ Kd8 22.Nxg6 hxg6 23.Rxd6+ Ke8 24.Qa4+ Kf8 25.Rd8+ Bxd8 26.Qe8# 1-0

(40) North,Jeff James (867) - Neuberg,Bryan [C30]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.42), 18.02.2020

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 h6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 0-0 8.Be3 Re8 9.Qd2 Na6 10.0-0-0 Nxe4 11.Nxe4 Rxe4 12.Bd5 Re7 13.f5 Bxd4 14.Qxd4 Bxf5 15.Rhf1 c5 16.Qf4 Bg6 17.Rf3 Bh5 18.g4 Bxg4 19.Qxg4 Nb4 20.Bxh6 Kf8 21.Qxg7+ Ke8 22.Rxf7 Nxd5 23.Rf8+ Kd7 24.Qg4+ Kc7 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Rxd5 1-0

(41) Shannon,Rex - Pagan Griso,Simone [B10]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.43), 18.02.2020

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 Bg4 4.d4 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 Ng6 8.Bd2 Qb6 9.Nc3 Qxd4 10.0-0 Nxe5 11.Re1 Nxf3+ 12.gxf3 Bd6 13.Qe2 Qh4 14.Kg2 Nd7 15.Nxd5 cxd5 16.Qb5 b6 17.Qxd5 Qe7 18.Qxa8+ Bb8 19.Re4 0-0 20.Qb7 Qd6 21.Bf4 e5 22.Be3 f5 23.Rc4 f4 24.Rc6 Qe7 25.Bd2 e4 26.Kf1 exf3 27.Rc8 Qe2+ 28.Kg1 Qxd2 29.Rxf8+ Kxf8 30.Qxf3 Ne5 31.Qa8 Qd6 32.Re1 f3 33.Kf1 Qd8 34.Rxe5 Qc8 35.Qxf3+ Kg8 36.Qb3+ Kf8 37.Qf3+ Kg8 38.Qd5+ Kh8 39.Re6 Qf8 40.Qe4 1-0

(42) Allen,Tom Carter (1426) - Nicol,George R (1015) [B21]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.44), 18.02.2020
[de Firmian,Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 e5 4.Nf3 d6 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Bc4 h6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nc3 Be7 9.d5 Na5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Qe2 a6 12.Bxd7+ Qxd7 13.Be3 b5 14.a3 0-0 15.Nd2 Rfc8 16.Rac1 Nc4 17.Nxc4 Rxc4 18.b3 Rcc8 19.f4 Ng4 20.fxe5 Nxe5 21.h3 Rab8 22.Qh5 b4 23.axb4 Rxb4 24.Bd4?? Rxd4 0-1

(43) Sullivan,George Thomas (914) - Tabatabai,Ashkon (962) [D37]
MI Wilkerson TNM: U1600 San Francisco (6.45), 18.02.2020

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e6 4.Bg5 g6 5.e3 Bg7 6.Nf3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Qe7 8.0-0 Qb4 9.Bb3 b6 10.a3 Qd6 11.Rc1 Ng4 12.Nb5 Qd7 13.Nxc7+ Kf8 14.Nxa8 Bb7 15.Rc7 Qd6 16.Be7+ 1-0

 

 

 

 

Submit your piece or feedback

We would welcome any feedback, articles or "Letter to the Editor" piece. Submit yours today through this Google Form:

https://forms.gle/eLfUyg2yFZ3vxgcMA

You can browse through our archived newsletters using the "next" and "previous buttons".

Want to save this newsletter for reading at a later time? Click here to learn how.

Want to be notified when the next newsletter is published? Join Our Email List →