Chess Room Newsletter #954

Newsletter #954

 

February 6, 2021

By Abel Talamantez

Table of Contents

• 2021 US Amateur Team West
• TNM
• ThNM
• John Donaldson
• Twitch Arena
• Weekly Classes
• Online Events Schedule
• Scholastic Corner
• FM Paul Whitehead's Column
• GM Nick de Firmian's Column
• Submit your piece or feedback

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2021 US Amateur Team West Championship 

The 2021 US Amateur Team West Championship brought 75 teams and 300 players together for the ultimate team competition. The 4-player teams needed to have an average rating of under 2200, but the combination of players can vary greatly, and can include grandmasters as well as novices on the same team. The stronger teams would field a balanced lineup, with competitive players on each board, mathematically calculated to give the best opportunity for success. And strong they came! Eleven teams in the field had average team ratings over 2100. Strong players came from near and far, but in the end, it was the local teams that dominated the West. The University of California at Berkeley fielded six teams, and in a talent-rich field, their A and B teams faced each other in the penultimate round as the only two remaining undefeated teams. Rather than opt for a friendly draw between teammates, the 5th round match between them was one of the most fiercely contested team matches we have seen, with FM Paul Whitehead covering two of the game in his columnn below. The UC Berkeley B team came out on top, and then won their final round match where an unfortunate mouse slip put their opponents in the hole early, and the gritty UC Berkeley B team went on to a perfect 6/6, taking the title of US Amateur Team West Champions. The winning team consisted of FM Rayan Taghizadeh, NM Arjun Bharat, NM Christopher Pan, and Nathan Fong. Congratulations to the champions, who will await the winners of the East, North, and South to play for the title of national champions.

The championship winning Cal B Team

Finishing in 2nd place were the Berkeley A team made up of IM Kesav Viswanadah, FM Teemu Virtanen, WIM Ashritha Eswaran, and Junior Mejia. Taking 3rd place was Stanford University's A team, with IM Bryce Tiglon, WIM Emily Nguyen, NM Seth Talyansky, and Robbie Selwyn.

Lauren Goodkind, along with sister Barbara from 100% Lady Chess Moves Won the u/1800 Section

We also had an u/1800 team section, where there was a tie for 1st. Coming out on top on tiebreaks was the all female team 100% Lady Chess Moves, with Lauren Goodkind, Barbara Goodkind, Daniela Keller, and Cheryl Lins. Taking 2nd on tiebreaks was the team We Ran Out of Tranquilizer Pills, Where Can We Buy More? with Vijay Surla, Adam Muhs, Rama Chitta, and Ed Pernicka. Taking 3rd place was high school team The Cheerios, with Derek Clasby, Hemtej Gundra, Siddhanth Balaji, and Aditya Joshi. 

Special shout out to our Mechanics' teams and players that played valiently throughout the weekend. Our team of top juniors, Junior Mechanics' 2021 led by FM Jason Liang, NM Ruiyang Yan, Nicholas Weng, and Kevin Su finished 4th overall. The Mechanics' Institute with FM Kyron Griffith, GM Jim Tarjan, Jonah Busch, and Chelsea Zhou finished 10th. GM Patrick Wolff participated with a group of friends, with Patrick having impressive wins over WGM Jennifer Yu and FM Andy Lee. IM John Donaldson played on a team with Mechanics' Trustee FM Mark Pinto. Many of our TNM regulars participated in the event, and we happy to see so many familiar faces in Zoom and playing the event. 

Special thanks goes to all of the hard work by the organizing and tournament directing staff to ensure such a smooth-running event. Judit Sztaray was Chief Organizer and kept the whole event on track and lively, with NTD John McCumiskey working the computer. Thank you also to Brian Yang, Jiten Patel, Juan Cendejas, Aaron Thompson, Arthur Liou, Sam Shoykhet, and Tom Brownscombe who also assisted. Thanks also to the commentary team of GM Nick de Firmian and FM Paul Whitehead, who helped me try to bring the event to life for viewers, and helped capture many key moments throughout the tournament. 

Chess Club at UC Berkeley. Photo: Devanshi Rathi

It was great to see the success of the Cal teams, helped no doubt by the vibrant chess club they have on campus with a deep lineup of talented masters and strong club players. They certainly show how an engaged and active chess community can do great things!

To watch the broadcasts of each round, you can view the videos on our YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw3dh9SwMBEg2zBb6AHMT9A/videos

Full results, including special prize awards are found below after the game annotations by GM Nick de Firmian. The games from this tournament were especially exciting and were a pleasure to watch. Here are some of the games, though there are far more games that deserved mention. Enjoy!

(14) NM Arjun Bharat (RapidDefeat) (2198) - FM Teemu Virtanen (nurmiTV) (2293) [B06]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (5.2), 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.g3 Benko's "other" opening (the most famous being the Benko Gambit of course!), with which he stunningly beat Fischer in Round 1, and then Tal in Round 17 (!) of the 1962 Candidates tournament. 1...g6 2.Bg2 Bg7 3.d4 c5 [3...Nf6 4.e4 d6 5.Ne2 0-0 6.Nbc3 is a Pirc Defense, where Black systems have been comfortably worked out (although the "comfort" is somewhat nervous!).] 4.d5 d6 5.e4 Nf6 6.Ne2 White keeps open the c-pawn options, and sure enough, it's a sort of King's Indian in a few moments (that is, the pawn goes to c4 before Nc3). 6...0-0 7.0-0 Na6 8.c4 Nc7 9.Nbc3 a6 10.a4 b6+/= 11.f4?! This doesn't really fit in with the fianchetto and the knight on e2. [11.Rb1 looking for a well-prepared b2-b4 is a more harmonious plan.] 11...Rb8 12.h3 b5 Black has set up the basic queenside break, while White's expansions on the kingside are ineffective (for now!) 13.Kh1 e6?! There was further to go on the b-file, either: [13...b4 14.Nb1 e6; or 13...bxc4] 14.axb5 axb5 15.dxe6?! [15.e5!? is the best continuation, although it doesn't quite lead to any advantage.] 15...Bxe6 16.cxb5 [Now Black can tuck his knight nicely after 16.e5 dxe5 17.fxe5 Nd7] 16...Nxb5 17.Nxb5 Rxb5 18.Nc3 Rb4-/+

19.g4?! White might have been worried about ...Nh5 but overlooks (or not!?) worse: 19...Nxg4! 20.f5! gxf5 (forced) [20...Bc4 21.Qxg4 Bxf1 22.Bxf1 gxf5 Here White can take with the queen, keeping control of d5.] 21.exf5 Now the rook stops Qxg4 21...Bb3 [Complicated but best was 21...Bc4! 22.Rf4 Nf6!-/+ with a pretty solid extra pawn.] 22.Qe1 Nf6 23.Bf3!? with some attacking intentions! [Still, 23.Ra8=/+ keeps it (Black's advantage) to a minimum] 23...Qd7?= [Black needed to anticipate the danger with 23...Kh8-/+ 24.Qg3 Rg8 25.Rg1 when various further defensive moves turn out well.] 24.Rg1 Kh8? Black still had two ways to scrape up a defence: [24...Ne8; or 24...Qxf5] 25.Qg3 This in fact is good enough. [But White missed 25.Rxg7! Qxf5 (25...Kxg7 26.Bh6+! leads to mate if taken, else White mops up material.) 26.Rg3 White steals the bishop and back, winning.] 25...Ne8 26.Ra8 Looking to remove the defender (Rxe8) 26...Be5 [Chess.com's "analysis" computer thought this was a mistake, but White is still in the win zone: 26...f6 but White is still winning, with most moves. 27.Kh2 is a nice preparatory move, (or even 27.Qg2) ] 27.Qg2! Qxf5 28.Bh6 Rh4 Black might have been counting on this move, with its own threats, to save him, but White's next beats him to the punch, with checks:

29.Qg8+! RapidDefeat won by resignation. Edge of the seat chess is Arjun's game! 1-0

(7) Alan Finkelstein (stratus_junior) (1970) - Nathan Fong (nathanf314) (2304) [E05]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (6), 01.02.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 The Open Catalan makes for fluid, dynamic play early in the opening. 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 e5 12.dxe5 Qxe5 13.Qxc4

So White has won a pawn at the cost of giving up the fianchettoed bishop and a slight lag in development. 13...Be6 14.Qc2 Bf5 15.Qc4 Be6 16.Qa6?! This way of avoiding the repetition is dangerous as the white queen is far from the kingside. [(+0.26) The best move was 16.Qd3 Nd5 17.Qf3 h6 18.a3 Rae8 19.Rd1 c5 20.Re1 Qd4 21.Nc3 Qc4 22.Bf4 Nxc3 23.Qxc3 Qxc3 24.bxc3] 16...Bh3 17.Re1 Qd5 18.f3 Critical move. 18...Qc5+ [18...Ng4 19.Nc3 Qc5+ 20.e3 Ne5 21.Qe2 Rad8 would be excellent compensation for the pawn] 19.e3 Nd5?! [19...Nd7 20.Qe2 Ne5 21.Rd1 Be6 22.Nc3 Rad8 would transpose to the previous note] 20.a3 Rad8 21.Qe2 Rd6 22.b4 Qb6 23.Bb2?

[White would hold the edge after the precise 23.Nd2! He didn't see Black's continuation.] 23...Nxe3! 24.Qxe3 Rd1!

There is no way out. Black threatens 25. Qe3+ as the rook is pinned. On 25. Kf2 Rxe1 26. Qxf6 Rf1+ is the same as the game. 25.Qxb6 Rxe1+ 26.Kf2 □ 26...Rf1+ 27.Ke2 cxb6 With the exchange ahead and active pieces Black has an easy time converting the advantage. 28.Nd2 Re8+ 29.Kd3 Rxa1 30.Bxa1 Bf5+ 31.Ne4 Rd8+ 32.Bd4 b5 33.Kc3 Bxe4 34.fxe4 a6 35.Kd3 f6 36.h4 Kf7 37.g4 Ke6 38.Ke3 Rc8 39.Bc5 a5 40.Kd4 axb4 41.Bxb4 Rc4+ 42.Kd3 Ke5 43.Bc3+ Kf4 44.g5 fxg5 45.hxg5 Kxg5 46.Bxg7 h5 47.Be5 h4 48.Ke3 Kg4 49.Bd6 h3 50.Kd3 Kf3 nathanf314 won by resignation 0-1

(8) NM Christopher Pan (hoodc) (2243) - IM Alex Costello (Larax) (2388) [A01]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com, 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 Qf6 5.e3 d5 6.Be2?! [6.c4 trying to undermine the black center would be better. e.g. 6...Bc5 7.Nc3 Bxd4 8.exd4 with central play for both sides] 6...Bc5 7.c3 [7.Nb5 Qxb2 8.Nxc7+ Kd8 works out well for Black] 7...Qg6 8.g3 Nxd4 [8...Nge7] 9.cxd4 Bd6 10.Nc3 c6 11.d3 Nf6 12.dxe4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Qxe4 14.0-0 Bh3 15.Bf3 Qe6 16.Re1 Bb4 17.Re2 So far Black has done well and would have the advantage after 17...f5, clamping down on the center. Instead Larax plays a natural move that meetw with a fanstastic rejoiner. 17...Qf5?

18.e4!! Amazing! The best move of the tournament. White invites Black to take the bishop on f3 with mate threatened on g2. Yet White would win the queen - 18...Qg6 Black declines the bishop which ends up losing two pawns. Worse was to take the bishop - [18...Qxf3 19.exd5+ Kd7 20.Re7+ Kxe7 21.Qxf3 when White's queen and pawn for bishop and rook is an easy win.] 19.exd5+ Kf8 20.dxc6 bxc6 21.Qc2 Rc8 22.Qxg6 The middle game may be even better, but it makes sense just to head for the ending two pawns up. 22...hxg6 23.Rc1 Bd7 24.Rec2 Ke7 25.Bxc6 Rxc6 [25...Bf5 26.Re2+ Kf8 27.d5 is equally miserable but more complex and so could offer some slim practical chances] 26.Rxc6 Bxc6 27.Rxc6 Ba5 28.d5 Bb6 29.Ba3+ Kd7 30.Bc5! Christopher simplifies even more. He gets a rook ending that is hard to go wrong with. 30...Rb8 31.Bxb6 axb6 32.a4

Black is tied to the defense of the b-pawn as he can't allow White two connected passes pawns. If ...b5 at any point then a5 marches forward. Even Carlsen or Kyron couldn't hold this ending. 32...f6 33.Kf1 g5 34.Ke2 b5 35.a5 Re8+ 36.Kf3 Re5 37.Rc5 b4 38.Rb5 Kd6 39.a6 Re8 40.a7 Ra8 41.Ra5 Kc7 42.Ke4 Kb6 43.Ra4 Kc5 [43...Rxa7 44.Rxa7 Kxa7 45.d6 Kb6 46.Kd5 is trivial] 44.f4 gxf4 45.gxf4 g6 46.f5 g5 47.h3 Re8+ 48.Kf3 Ra8 49.Kg4 The final touch. The white king invades on the kingside. 49...Kxd5 50.Kh5 Ke5 51.Kg6 Rg8+ 52.Kf7 Ra8 53.Ra5+ Kd4 54.Kxf6 Kc3 55.Ke7 Kxb3 56.f6 Kc2 57.f7 b3 58.f8Q Re8+ 59.Qxe8 g4 60.hxg4 b2 61.Rb5 b1Q 62.Rxb1 Kd3 63.Qd7+ Ke3 64.Re1+ Kf4 65.Qf5+ Kg3 66.Re3+ Kh2 67.Qf2+ Kh1 68.Re1# 1-0

(9) NM Seth Talyansky (stalyansky) (2304) - WIM Ashritha Eswaran (goldenpuppy) (2374) [D27]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com, 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6 The O'Kelly Variation. 3.c3 A good move, getting a nice variation of the 2. c3 Sicilian. Black does well after the natural [3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5!] 3...d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.d4 Nc6 6.Be2 This is a little passive. [6.dxc5! Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Nf6 8.Nbd2 is a good ending for White. Black is in a normal line with the waste of time from ...a6] 6...cxd4 7.cxd4 e6 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Nc3 Qd8 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Rc1 0-0 Now White has only a minor edge as Black is pretty solid. 12.Bd3 Bd7!? [12...b5] 13.Bb1 Nd5 14.Bxe7 [14.h4!] 14...Ncxe7 15.Ne5 Bc6 16.Ne4 Rc8 17.Qf3 Nf5 18.Rfd1 Nde7 19.Qh3 Bxe4 20.Rxc8 Qxc8 21.Bxe4 f6!? leading to some complications [21...h6 is more solid] 22.Nf3 [22.Nd3 Rd8 23.Rc1 Qd7 24.Nc5 Qxd4 25.Qb3!] 22...Qc4! 23.b3 Qe2 24.Re1 Qxa2 25.d5?! [25.g4 Nh6 26.Bxb7 Qxb3 27.Bxa6 Nc6 28.Bf1 is equal] 25...Qxb3?! [25...g6!] 26.g4 Nh6

27.Bxh7+! Kh8! [27...Kxh7 28.Ng5+ fxg5 29.Qxb3] 28.dxe6 a5 Black calmly advances the queenside pawns with the kingside under assualt. 29.Bf5 a4 30.Re3 Qb4 31.Nh4 Rd8?! [31...Kg8 32.Ng6?! Nexf5 33.gxf5 Ra8! gets the a-pawn running] 32.Ng6+ Nxg6 33.Bxg6 Qe7

34.f4? [34.Qh5! a3 35.g5 is hard to see with little time but it would give White a terrific attack - 35...a2 (35...fxg5 36.Bb1!) 36.gxh6! a1Q+ 37.Kg2 would be a winning attack for White despite Black's two queens.] 34...b5 35.Bf7? this is too slow 35...Rd2?! [35...b4!] 36.Rc3?! [36.Qf3!] 36...b4?! [36...Rd8!] 37.Rc8+ Rd8 38.Rxd8+ Qxd8 39.Qe3? [39.g5! Qd4+ 40.Kh1 Qd1+ 41.Kg2 Qd2+ 42.Kh1 fxg5 43.e7 Qe1+ 44.Kg2 Qxe7 45.Qc8+ Kh7 46.Qc2+ is a draw] 39...Nxg4? [39...Qd1+ 40.Kg2 Nxf7 41.exf7 Qd5+ 42.Kg3 Qxf7] 40.Qh3+? [40.Qe2 keeps the threat of e6-e7 and would hold the draw after 40...Qd4+ 41.Kg2 Ne3+ 42.Kh3 Nf5 43.e7 Qc3+ 44.Kg4 Nh6+ 45.Kh4 Nf5+] 40...Nh6 41.Qe3 Qe7 now Black stops all the threats and the passed pawns win for him 42.Bg6 b3 43.Qb6 Ng8 44.Bf7 Qf8 45.Qb7 Ne7 46.Qb4 Qd8 47.Qxa4 b2 48.Qc2 Qb6+ 0-1

(10) FM Rayan Taghizadeh (Fibrinogen) (2384) - WGM Jennifer Yu (ahappypawn) (2106) [A01]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com, 30.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 This Larsen/Nimzovich opening puts pressure on the center with the bishops. It does let Black occupy the center space. 4...d6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Nf3?! [6.Ne2 would avoid having to move this knight next move] 6...e4 7.Nfd2 d5 8.Bxc6 bxc6 This is like a French Defense reversed, and here Black has an edge. 9.c4 a5 10.Ba3 Bb4! 11.Bxb4 axb4 12.a4 0-0 [12...h5 taking the strategy from White's side of the French, would get excellent play.] 13.Qc2 ∓ 13...Ra7 [13...c5! breaks up the center while White is not well placed for it, e.g. 14.Qb2 Be6 15.0-0 cxd4 16.Qxd4 dxc4 17.Nxc4 Qxd4 18.exd4 Bxc4 19.bxc4 Ra5 20.Re1 Rfa8 wins a pawn] 14.Nf1 Qe7 15.Nbd2 c5 16.Rc1?! [16.dxc5 Ra5 17.Ng3 Rxc5 18.0-0 is only slightly better for Black] 16...cxd4 17.exd4 c5! Black is winning the battle in the center 18.Qb2 Ng4 19.Ne3

19...Qh4?! [Black would have a decisive advantage after 19...Nxe3! 20.fxe3 Qh4+ 21.g3 Qh6 22.Nf1 Bh3 and the white king is caught in the center] 20.Ndf1?! [20.Nxg4 Bxg4 21.cxd5 e3 22.Nc4! is equal] 20...dxc4 ∓ 21.Rxc4 cxd4 22.Nxg4 Bxg4 23.Rxd4?! [23.Ng3] 23...Qf6 24.Qd2

[24.Ne3 Rd7 25.Rd2 Rxd2 26.Qxd2 Rd8 27.Qc1 Rc8 is also winning for Black] 24...Rd7! 25.Rxd7 Qa1+ Jennifer wins the queen and has a winning ending 26.Qd1 Bxd1 27.Rxd1 Qc3+ 28.Rd2 Rd8 29.Ke2 Rd3 30.h4 Qxb3 31.Rh3 Qxa4 32.Rhxd3 exd3+ 33.Rxd3 h6 34.Nd2 Qb5 35.g3 g5 Black is winning but this makes things little easier for White. [35...Kh7 36.Nb3 f5 37.h5 Qa6 38.Nd2 Kh8 39.Nb3 f4 40.Nc1 fxg3 41.fxg3 Qf6 42.Kd1 Qf1+ 43.Kc2 Qf5 would be a better plan] 36.hxg5 hxg5 37.Nb3 Kg7 38.Nd4 Qe5+ 39.Kd2 g4?! again, a little imprecise [39...Kg6 40.Nb3 f5 keeps more options for Black] 40.Nb3 Qb2+ 41.Ke1 Qc2 42.Re3 Kg6 43.Nd2 f5 44.Nb3 Kg5 45.Kf1?

[45.Nd2 Qc1+ 46.Ke2 keeps the blockade] 45...f4? [45...Qd1+ 46.Kg2 Kh5! is zugzwang. White must move something (such as 47. f3) and Black can break through] 46.gxf4+ Critical move. 46...Kxf4 47.Kg1? [(-0.24) The best move was 47.Ke1 Qb1+ 48.Ke2 holds the blockade] 47...Qd1+? [47...Qb1+ 48.Kg2 Qd1 49.Rg3 Ke4 50.Re3+ Kd5 gets the black king over to help on the queenside 51.Na5 Kc5 52.Nb3+ Kb5 53.f3 gxf3+ 54.Rxf3 Qd5 55.Kf2 Ka4 56.Nc5+ Qxc5+ 57.Ke1 Qg1+ 58.Rf1 Qe3+ 59.Kd1 b3] 48.Kg2 Qd5+? MISTAKE (-2.75) [48...Kf5 49.Rg3 Ke5 50.Re3+ Kd5 51.Na5 Kc5 52.Re5+ Kd6 53.Nc4+ Kc6 54.Na5+ Kc7 55.Re3 Qd5+ 56.Kf1 Qxa5 57.Re7+ Kd6 58.Rh7 Qd5 59.Rh6+ Kc5 60.Rh8 b3] 49.Kg1 Qd1+ 50.Kg2 Qd8 51.Kg1?! [51.Kf1] 51...Qd1+? Drawn by repetition! [after 51...Kg5 52.Kf1 Qd1+ Jennifer could still win with best play] 1/2-1/2

(12) Barbara Goodkind (eatdinner) (1673) - Tayseer Khalil (tayseer4ch) (2061) [A80]
US Amateur Team West u1800 Chess.com, 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.d4 f5 2.Bf4 The London System against the Dutch Defense! That's a bit unusual. 2...d6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 g6 5.h3 Bg7 6.c3 Nbd7!? This is certainly provocative - asking White to attack the e6 square. 7.Ng5 Nf8 8.Qb3 e6 9.Bc4 Qe7 10.Nd2 h6 So Black has parried the attack without harm. 11.Ngf3 g5 12.Bh2 Ng6 13.Qc2 Bd7 14.0-0-0 Castling queenside is very unusual for the London System but the move makes sense here as Black has grabbed a lot of kingside territory. 14...b5 15.Bd3 Nf8?! retreating is passive 16.e4 fxe4 17.Nxe4 Nd5 18.Ng3 [18.Rhe1! puts Black under pressure] 18...Nf4 19.Rhg1 Kf7 [19...Nxd3+ 20.Qxd3 Qf7] 20.Ne4 a5? Black's attack is slower. It was time to take the bishop on d3 with the knight. 21.Bxf4 gxf4 22.g3! b4 23.Nh4?! [White has an extra pawn and clearly the better attack after the straightforward 23.gxf4 Rg8 24.Kb1 bxc3 25.Qxc3] 23...Bf6?! [Black is only slightly worse after 23...fxg3 24.fxg3 Ke8] 24.Nxf6 Qxf6 25.c4?! [25.Kb1 Rc8 26.Rge1 Ke7 27.Re4 Brings the white forces to the center and near the black king, who will sooon be in trouble.] 25...a4 26.Qe2 h5?! [26...a3 loosens up the white queenside] 27.Qf3 Ra7 28.Qxf4 Qxf4+ 29.gxf4 Rh6 30.Rg5 Nh7 31.Rg3 Nf6 32.Rdg1 White's extra pawn and active pieces make for a decisive advantage. 32...Ke7 33.Rg7+ Kd8 34.R1g6 Rxg6 35.Rxg6 [35.Nxg6!] 35...Ke7 36.Rg5 Be8 37.f3?! [Active play would be good - 37.f5 e5 38.Ng6+ Bxg6 39.fxg6 exd4 40.g7 Kf7 41.Bh7 Ra8 42.g8Q+ Nxg8 43.Be4 Re8 44.Bd5+] 37...d5?! It's not good to place pawns on white squares with a white-squared bishop 38.c5 Ra8 39.Ng6+?! [39.Rg7+ is much stronger] 39...Bxg6 40.Bxg6 Rg8 [40...h4!] 41.h4 c6 42.Bc2 Kf7 43.Rxg8 Nxg8 44.Bxa4 Nh6

45.Bxc6? [45.Bc2! to keep the black knight out would be a trivial win. Now Black gets some counterplay. 45...Kf8 46.Kd2 Nf7 47.a4 bxa3 48.bxa3 Nd8 49.f5 e5 50.a4 Nb7 51.dxe5 Na5 52.Ke3 Nc4+ 53.Kd4 Ke8 54.Bd3] 45...Nf5 46.Kd2 Nxd4 47.Ba4 Nxf3+? [47...Ke7! getting the black king towards the queenside would have good drawing chances] 48.Ke3? [48.Ke2! Nxh4 49.c6 Nf5 50.c7 Nd6 51.Bd7 would win] 48...Nxh4 49.Bc2 Nf5+ now this is with check, and White cannot take the knight 50.Kf2 Ke7 51.a3 bxa3 52.bxa3 Kd7 53.Ba4+ Kc7 54.Be8 h4 55.a4 Nd4 56.a5 Nb3 57.a6 Nxc5 58.Bb5 Kb6 59.a7? [59.Kf3 Nxa6 60.Be2 Nc5 61.Kg4 d4 62.Kxh4 d3 63.Bf3 would be a draw] 59...Kxa7 60.Kg2 Kb6 61.Be2 Nb3? [61...d4 should win] 62.Bg4? [62.Kh3] 62...Nd4 63.Kh3 Kc5? [63...Nf5 simply wins] 64.Kxh4 Nf5+ 65.Kg5 d4 66.Kf6 Kd6 67.Be2 Ng3 68.Bd3 Kd5 69.Bb1 Ne2 70.f5 e5 playing for the win 71.Ke7 e4 72.f6 Nf4 73.f7 d3?

[73...Ng6+ is a draw] 74.Kf6! now the white pawn queens and it's all over 74...Kd4 75.f8Q d2 76.Qb4+ Ke3 77.Qxe4+ Kf2 □ 78.Qxf4+ Ke1 79.Bc2 Ke2 80.Qe4+ Kf2 81.Qd3 Ke1 82.Qe3+ Kf1 □ 83.Qxd2 eatdinner won by resignation 1-0

(13) NM Sriram Krishnakumar (2008king) (2225) - GM Patrick Wolff (AmateurT2021) (2343) [B53]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (1), 30.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

Another game where the "retired" lion shows it best left asleep! 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 White dodges the Najdorf -- or would it be a Dragon? 4...Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Qd3 This line, championed by Carlsen a few years ago, seems momentarily antithetical but expects Black will want to kick the bishop anyway, when the tempo is back. But Wolff doesn't participate. 6...g6 7.c4 Bg7 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Nc3 0-0 10.h3 Rc8 [Here is a game where Black acquiesced: 10...a6 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 12.Nd4 Bd7 13.a4 Rc8 14.b3 Qc7 15.Be3 e6 16.Rfc1 h6 17.a5 Qb8 18.Nde2 Bc6 19.Bd4 Rfe8 20.Re1 Rcd8 21.Bb6 Rc8 22.Rad1 Nd7 ½-½ (72), Anton Guijarro,D (2688) -Donchenko,A (2654) Karlsruhe 2020] 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 12.Rd1

12...Nd7N [The predecessor here is a bit silly but short and fun: 12...Qc7 13.Be3 b6 14.Rac1 Qb7 15.Nd5 e6 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qxd6 Bxe4 18.Nd4 Bxg2 19.Qg3 Be4 20.b3 Qe7 21.Nb5 Bb2 22.Nd6 Bxc1 23.Nxc8 Rxc8 24.Rxc1 Rd8 25.Qe5 Ba8 26.Bd4 Rxd4 27.Qxd4 Qg5+ 0-1 (27) Vorenkamp,J-Bontjer,B Groningen 2004] 13.Nd4 Nc5 14.Qe3 Bd7 Black intends to put his hedgehouse in order, seeing as how White hasn't stopped him. 15.b3 a6 16.Rb1 e6 17.Bb2 Qe7 18.Ba1

18...f5!? White might have thought he'd stopped this! 19.exf5 gxf5 20.b4

20...Ne4!? Wolff plays for activity (at a small price of a pawn). [20...Na4 runs into the wrong kind of excitement: 21.Nd5!] 21.Nxe4 fxe4 22.Qxe4 e5 23.Qd5+ Kh8

24.Ne2? White falters. [24.Nf3! comes out ahead after a flurry of exchanges: 24...Bc6 25.Qxd6 Qxd6 26.Rxd6 Bxf3 27.gxf3 Rxc4+/- when White has a number of promising continuations.] 24...Bc6 [24...Qf6 is an interesting alternative] 25.Qxd6 Qf7 26.f3!

26...Bxf3! Suddenly White's king is in trouble! 27.Rf1? Computer defence makes this the losing move! [It's hard to believe, but White holds after just 27.gxf3! Qxf3 28.Qd3 (28.Qd2 is even good enough -- 28...Rg8 29.Kh2 Qf2+ is just a perpetual. (29...Bf6?? 30.Ng1!+-) ) 28...Qf2+ 29.Kh1 Rf3 30.Qd7 Rg8 31.Ng1 Bf6 (31...Rg3 32.Qd5!+-) 32.Rb2 Qe3 33.Rb3 Qf2 34.Rb2= is another inhuman repetition.] 27...Rc6! 28.Qd2 [28.Qxf8+ Qxf8 29.Rxf3 Qd8-+ is okay materially for the moment, but Black has targets (and ...Kg8 will effortlessly sidestep any danger).] 28...Rg6 [28...Qg6!? is an alternative, with c4 also hanging.] 29.Rf2

[29.g3 is that damn computer trying to defend again, but not this time: 29...Qxc4 works now.] 29...Qxc4?? But here it's a blunder! [Patrick missed 29...Rxg2+! 30.Rxg2 Bxg2 since 31.Kxg2 Qg6+! just picks off the rook at b1 for a boring win.] 30.Rbf1+/- e4 [30...Bh6 31.Rxf3! (31.Qe1 Be3 32.Kh2 Bxf2 33.Rxf2+-) 31...Bxd2 32.Rxf8+ Kg7 33.Bxe5+ Kh6 34.Ng3 Qxb4 35.Kh2+- when it turns out it's Black's king that ultimately is in trouble.] 31.Bxg7+?! [31.Nf4!+- gains a very useful tempo for the attack.] 31...Rxg7

32.Qc3?? [32.Qb2! is still an advantage -- here the pin remains annoying.] 32...Qxc3! 33.Nxc3 Rfg8 too easy -- and out of nowhere Black has a smooth win. 34.g4 h5 35.Re1 [On 35.Rh2 Black just moves a rook over, h7/d7/d8, and it's over.] 35...hxg4 36.Nxe4 Re7 A flash finish that showed Wolff in fine attacking form, if a bit flawed. Still, Krishnakumar's defences were difficult, and the practical result was Black's. 0-1

(1) IM Bryce Tiglon (ThunderrPanda) (2314) - FM Kyron Griffith (KyronGriffith) (2326) [B12]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (6), 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 The Modern Advanced Caro Kann. It starts out looking like it's going to be a quiet game, but preparatory moves lead to extremely tense positions when the grappling stage is over. Caruana has been the great protagonist, but of course everybody at the top has a computer. 5...Ne7 The move mostly likely to be the right square with the right piece. And, the current top scorer of the main moves [(if you don't count 5...Bg6 ); 5...c5 certainly makes sense, but Black also might want to prepare a bit before opening things up, what with White so close to castling while Black isn't.] 6.c3 [6.0-0 most played by far, but at 61% vs. 54%, one must wonder. Still, White loses a lot of pawn options, like b3/c4, or just c4 by itself. In any case, it all probably transposes.] 6...Nd7 7.0-0 h6 Now that White has definitely commited his king? 8.a4 g5 But Black might still castle long... 9.a5 Go ahead! 9...Bg7 10.Ne1 [Looks like the only game to make it this far previously went 10.b4 Qc7 11.Nbd2 f6 12.exf6 Bxf6 13.Nb3 0-0 14.Re1 Rae8 15.Nc5 Nxc5 16.bxc5 Ng6 17.h3 e5 18.dxe5 Nxe5 19.Nd4 Be4 20.a6! 1-0 (35) Huschenbeth,N (2585)-Ducarmon,Q (2479) chess. com 27.02/0 ] 10...c5 11.a6?! [11.f4 is the computer (Stockfish 12), with the advantage growing over time.] 11...bxa6 12.Bxa6 cxd4 13.cxd4 0-0 Still the safest place to go. 14.Nc3 Qb6 [14...f6] 15.Be3 [15.Bb5!? when Black has a bit of trouble dislodging this bishop.] 15...Rfd8 [15...f6!] 16.Be2!?

[16.Qe2] 16...Qxb2!? With the bishop on f5 it's safer than usual to go for the poison. 17.Na4 Qb8 18.Nd3 White certainly has compensation, what with Black's queen looking a bit ridiculous on the open files, but it's nothing special. 18...Nb6 19.Nxb6 axb6 20.Qb3 [20.g4 and busting up the kingside keeps a balance, maybe.] 20...Rxa1 21.Rxa1 Qc7 [21...Nc6! sending the knight to the natural outpost on c4 with tempo generates some initiative.] 22.Rc1?! Qa7 Black claims a file. 23.Qb2 Ra8-/+ 24.Nb4 Qa3 25.Qd2 Bg6 26.g4 Be4 [Chess.com's own analysis computer likes 26...Ra4 27.Nd3 Rc4] 27.f3 Bh7 28.Rc3 Qa5 29.Kf2 Bf8 30.Rb3 Rc8 31.h4?

White should just sit tight. [31.Rb2 for instance. But patient defense is tough.] 31...gxh4 Free pawn! 32.Qb2 [32.Bxh6? Bxh6 33.Qxh6 Qa1 picks on d4 and h1 for a crushing invasion.] 32...Ra8 33.Nd3 Bxd3 [33...h5!] 34.Bxd3 Qa1 35.Qxa1 Rxa1 36.Rxb6 [36.f4] 36...h3 [36...Ra2+!] 37.Bb1 h2 38.Kg2 Ra3 39.Bc1 Rxf3 [39...Rc3! is disruption.] 40.Kxh2 Rf1 41.Be3 Re1 42.Bf4 Nc6 43.g5?! [Unsavory was 43.Rxc6 Rxb1 44.Rc8 Kg7 45.Bg3 but maybe White is holding. Stockfish isn't finding any progress.] 43...hxg5 44.Bxg5 Nxd4 [44...Nb4 traps the bishop! And it's a lot less of a headache than the game continuation.] 45.Kg2 Re2+?! [45...Rxe5!? Third pawn!?] 46.Kf1 Rh2 47.Bf6 Nf3 48.Rb8 Nd2+ 49.Kg1 Nf3+ 50.Kf1 Nd2+? [Black is doing okay after 50...Nd4 but it's tricky. 51.Bd3 Rh3 52.Ba6 Ra3 53.Bb7 Nf5] 51.Kg1 Rh5? The clocks read White: 1:16, Black: 0:21. [51...Rh3! sets up a safe knight retreat on c3.] 52.Bc2? [(-0.23) The best move was 52.Be7 Nxb1 53.Bxf8 Kh7 54.Rxb1 Rxe5 could actually in practice go either way (!).] 52...Nf3+

53.Kg2?? [(-1.11) The best move was 53.Kf1 still gets the bishop harassed, but isn't lost. 53...Nd4 54.Ba4 Rh1+ 55.Kg2 Ra1 56.Bd7 Nf5 when it looks like that pin is permanent.] 53...Nxe5?? [53...Ne1+] 54.Be7 Critical move. 54...Nd7 55.Rd8 Critical move. 55...Kg7 56.Rxd7 Bxe7 57.Rxe7 Kf6

So here we are after all. If White could pick off a couple of those pawns it could turn into a R+B v R ending, a difficult one in practice (but drawn in theory). 58.Rb7 Re5 59.Kf3 Re1 60.Ba4 Ke5 61.Bd7 d4 62.Kf2 Ra1 63.Rb6 Ra7 64.Bc6 Rc7 65.Ke2 Kd6 66.Bf3+ Kc5 67.Rb2 Ra7 68.Rc2+ Kd6 69.Rb2 Ra3 70.Rb6+ Ke5 71.Bh5 Ra7 72.Kd3 Ra3+ 73.Kd2 Ra7 74.Kd3 Rd7 75.Rb5+ Kf4 76.Rb1 f5 77.Rf1+ Ke5 78.Bf3 Kf6 79.Rf2 Ke5 80.Rf1 Ra7 81.Re1+ Kf4 82.Bc6 e5 83.Rf1+ Kg5 84.Bd5? [It was a good moment to bring his king in with 84.Kc4 Ra3 85.Kd5] 84...Ra3+ 85.Kd2 [85.Kc4 Rc3+ 86.Kb4 f4 The pawns are getting out of hand!] 85...e4 86.Be6 f4 87.Re1 Black has almost two minutes (increment collection!) vs. 16.4 seconds for White. 87...Rd3+ [Right away: 87...e3+! 88.Ke2 d3+! 89.Kf3 e2 and the rook goes.] 88.Kc2 Rc3+ 89.Kd2 e3+ 90.Ke2 Kf6 [90...d3+!] 91.Bg8

91...Ke5?? [Last chance to get in 91...d3+! which wins. 92.Kf3 e2 93.Ra1 e1Q 94.Rxe1 d2+ 95.Ke2 dxe1Q+ 96.Kxe1 Ke5! White can't even get his bishop to the long diagonal] 92.Bh7! The only move, and good enough! 92...Rb3 93.Rc1 Rb2+ 94.Rc2 Rb7 95.Bg6 Rg7 96.Rc6 Rg8 97.Kf3 Rh8 98.Rc5+ Kd6 99.Rc1 Rh4 100.Bd3 Kd5 101.Be4+ Kd6 102.Bd3 Ke5 103.Rc5+ Ke6 104.Rc1 Ke5 105.Rc5+ Ke6 106.Rc1 Ke5 Game drawn by repetition. What an intense struggle, from start to finish! 1/2-1/2

(2) FM Kyron Griffith (KyronGriffith) (2315) - IM John Donaldson (imjohndonaldson )(2435) [B34]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (2), 30.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 Black doesn't fear the Rossolimo, 3.Bb5, or at least he fears it less [than the other main line evasion: 2...g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 (4.Nxd4) ] 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 John has written about and played the Accelerated Dragon for a long time, and counts on it for stability. 5.Nc3 [5.c4 (The Maroczy Bind) is no longer the popular move when you look at all levels, but scores solidly better. That could have something to do with its preferred status by Carlsen, Caruana, So, etc.] 5...Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nxc6 Kyron has headed for this old line recently, even against GM Guseinov in a Mechanics' online tournament. [It would have been interesting to see what John prefers in the main line: 7.Bc4 Black has had all sorts of new ideas since the last Silman/Donaldson book.] 7...bxc6 8.e5 Ng8 The quieter and sounder move, although in practice it doesn't score any better (or worse). [Guseinov often (but not always!) plays the old, possibly doubtful gambit 8...Nd5 9.Nxd5 cxd5 10.Qxd5 Rb8 with excellent results. 11.0-0-0 (11.Bxa7 Rxb2 12.Bd4 Rb8 13.Bc4 (13.Ba7 Rb2 14.Bd4 Rb8 15.Ba7 Rb2 ½-½, Kotsur,P (2558) - Guseinov,G (2625), Khanty-Mansiysk Governor Cup 7th 2011.) 13...0-0 14.0-0 d6 (14...Bb7 15.Qc5 d6 16.exd6 exd6 17.Qa7 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 Ra8 19.Qb6 Qd7 20.Bxg7 Qg4+ 21.Kh1 Qf3+ 22.Kg1 Qg4+ 23.Kh1 Qf3+ 24.Kg1 1/2-1/2 (24) Kovchan,A (2483)-Guseinov,G (2456) Alushta 2001) 15.Bb3 Bb7 16.Qc4 dxe5 17.Be3 Qa5 18.Rfd1 e6 19.Qc5 Qa8 20.f3 e4 21.f4 Bxa1 22.Rxa1 Bd5 23.Qd4 Bxb3 24.axb3 Qd5 25.Qf6 Qf5 26.Qxf5 gxf5 27.Kf2 Rfc8 28.Ra2 Ra8 29.Rb2 Ra1 30.b4 Rca8 31.Ke2 R1a2 32.Rxa2 Rxa2 33.Kd2 Kf8 34.Kc3 Ke7 35.Kb3 Ra1 36.c4 Kd7 37.c5 Re1 38.Bd4 e3 39.b5 e2 40.c6+ Kc8 41.b6 Rb1+ 42.Bb2 Rxb2+ 43.Kxb2 e1Q 0-1 (43) Radulski,J (2475)-Guseinov,G (2571) Dos Hermanas 2004) 11...Bb7 (Less than a month earlier an online game of Kyron's went 11...Qc7 12.f4 0-0 13.Qc5 Qb7 14.b3 d6 15.Qxa7 Qxa7 16.Bxa7 Ra8 17.Bd4 Bg4 18.Re1 Rxa2 19.Bd3 dxe5 20.Bxe5 Bxe5 21.fxe5 and White took it down: 1-0 (64) Griffith,K (2226)-Limelight2727 (2028) Chess.com 18.11/0 ; 11...0-0 12.Bxa7 Rb7 13.Bd4 Rc7 14.Qb3 Bb7 15.f4 Qa8 16.Bb6 Rcc8 17.Rxd7 e6 18.Qa3 Be4 19.Qxa8 Rxc2+ 20.Kb1 Rxa8 21.Bd3 Bxd3 22.Rxd3 Rxg2 23.Rhd1 h5 24.R3d2 Rxd2 25.Rxd2 g5 26.Be3 gxf4 27.Bxf4 Ra4 28.Rf2 h4 29.b3 Ra5 30.Re2 Kh7 31.Kb2 Kg6 32.Rg2+ Kf5 33.Rxg7 Kxf4 34.Rxf7+ Kxe5 35.Rh7 Kd4 36.Rxh4+ Kd3 37.b4 Rf5 38.Rh7 e5 39.Kb3 e4 40.Rd7+ Ke2 41.a4 e3 42.b5 Rf1 43.Kb2 Rf4 44.Ka3 Kf3 45.Rd1 Rd4 46.Rxd4 e2 47.Rd3+ Kf4 48.Rd4+ Kf5 49.Rd5+ Kf6 50.b6 0-1 (50) Mu,J (2203)-Guseinov,G (2643) chess.com INT 2017) 12.Qd2 (12.Qd4 0-0 13.f4 d6 14.Qxa7 Qc8 15.Qd4 dxe5 16.fxe5 Qc7 17.Bf4 Rfd8 18.Qc4 Rxd1+ 19.Kxd1 Qb6 20.b3 Rc8 21.Qb5 Qd4+ 22.Bd2 Be4 23.c3 Rxc3 24.Qe8+ Bf8 25.Bc4 Bc2+ 26.Ke2 Bd3+ 27.Bxd3 Qxd3+ 28.Ke1 Rc2 29.Ba5 Qe2# 0-1 (29) Pruess,D (2383)-Guseinov,G (2571) Dos Hermanas 2004) 12...Bxe5 13.Bxa7 Ra8 14.Qe3 0-0 15.Qxe5 Rxa7 16.Kb1 d6 17.Qe3 Qa8 18.Bc4 Bxg2 19.Rhg1 Be4 20.Bb3 Rb8 0-1 (53) Griffith,K (2286)-GGuseinov (2650) Chess.com 16.12/0 ] 9.Bd4 Qa5 [9...Nh6 10.e6 0-0 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.Qd4+ f6 13.exd7 Qxd7 14.Qxd7 Bxd7 15.0-0-0 Rfd8 16.Be2 Bg4 17.f3 Be6 0-1 (44) Njili,K (2413)-Guseinov,G (2623) Sharjah 2016] 10.Bc4 Bxe5 11.0-0 Nf6 [11...f6 12.Re1 Nh6 13.Ne4 d5 14.Nxf6+ exf6 15.Bxe5 fxe5 16.Rxe5+ Kf8 17.Qd4 Nf7 18.Rae1 Bf5 19.Re7 dxc4 20.Qf6 Qd5 21.h4 Rg8 22.R1e5 Qd1+ 23.Kh2 Rg7 24.Rxf7+ 1-0 (24) Sindarov,J (2443)-Guseinov,G (2632) Dubai 2019] 12.Re1 d6 13.Bxe5 dxe5 14.Qf3 0-0 15.Qg3

15...Qb4 16.Bb3 e4 17.a3 Qd6 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Rxe4 Bf5 20.Re5 Rad8?! [20...a5! generates play on the queeenside and would give equal chances.] 21.Rae1 e6 Now pawn structure is set and White has the better of it. Instead [21...Qd2 could try to confuse things but White would remain better with the calm 22.h3] 22.Qe3 Qd4 23.Qxd4 Rxd4 24.Rc5 White has the better pawns structure and all the winning chances in this endgame.It's not so easy to convert against such an experienced player as John Donaldson though. 24...Rc8 25.f3 h5 26.Kf2 Kf8 27.Ke3 Rd6 28.Rg1 h4 29.g4 hxg3 30.hxg3 g5 31.g4 Bg6

32.Rxg5?! At long last some dividend -- but there is a price to pay. Black's c-pawn advances,. [32.Rg2 f6 33.Rd2 Ke7 34.Ba4 Rxd2 35.Kxd2 Kd6 36.b4 would keep the positional advantage and more winning chances] 32...c5! 33.Bc4 [33.f4 Ke7 34.Rh1 Kf6 35.Re5 Rb6 should hold easily] 33...Bxc2 34.Rc1 Bg6 35.f4 Ke7! 36.Be2 [36.f5? Kf6] 36...Rb8 37.Rgxc5 Rxb2 Now the game simplifies to a clear draw 38.f5 exf5 39.gxf5 Bxf5 40.Rxf5 Re6+ 41.Kd3 Rbxe2 42.Rc7+ Kd6 43.Rxa7 f6 44.Ra6+ Kc7 45.Rxf6 Rxf6 46.Rxf6 Ra2 47.Ra6 Kb7 48.Ra4 Rh2 49.Rb4+ Ka7 50.Kc3 Rh3+ 51.Kb2 Rg3 52.Rc4 Rh3 53.a4 Rg3 54.Rc3 Rxc3 55.Kxc3 Ka8 56.a5 Ka7 57.Kb4 Ka8 58.Kb5 Ka7 59.a6 Ka8 60.Kb6 Kb8 61.a7+ Ka8 62.Ka6 1/2-1/2

(3) FM Mark Pinto (bondtrader) (2253) - GM Jim Tarjan (Tirantes) (2409) [A80]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (2), 30.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 No longer a surprise. 2...Nf6 3.Bg5 d5 Not surprisingly Tarjan responds classically. 4.e3 Be6 Sort of. 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Be2 [Svidler prefered 6.h3 h6 7.Bf4 g5 8.Bh2 c6 9.Bd3 Bg7 and only now 10.h4 g4 11.Ne5 0-0 12.Ng6 1-0 (35), Svidler,P (2723)-Lagarde,M (2657) chess24.com INT 2020] 6...g6 7.h4 Bg7 8.Bf4 c6

9.a3N White is imagining opening the b-file on the queenside when his bishop on f4 permits him to dominate it? Otherwise not much of a plan. [9.Ne5 Ne4 10.Nxe4 fxe4 11.Nxd7 Qxd7 12.Qd2 h6 13.0-0-0 0-0 14.Kb1 c5?! 15.f3 led to a quick win: 1-0 (23) Hoellmann,L (2161)-Koch,F (1941) Goch 2015] 9...h6 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 0-0 12.f4 h5

Tarjan is willing to risk a total blocked position, confident that there will be a way to pry things open on the other side. 13.Qd2 b5 14.0-0 a5 15.b4 Ra7 16.Rfb1 Qd7 17.Qc1 Rfa8 18.Qb2 Bf8 19.Bf3 Ra6 20.Ra2 Qa7 21.Rba1 Massive buildup! But it still needs a bit more. 21...Nd7

22.Be2? [There was a flaw lurking in White's position that needed addressing. 22.g3] 22...Nxe5 23.fxe5 Bh6 24.Nd1?! [The computer wants White to completely scramble the position with 24.Qc1 f4 25.a4!? but it probably doesn't work.] 24...axb4 25.Qxb4 Ra4 Such a nice move, still... [Seems like a perfect moment for 25...f4!] 26.Qc3 Bd7 Black has to stop for something to guard c6, so White gets to patch up the f4 square. But on the other side... 27.g3 b4 28.Qb3 e6 INACCURACY (-2.08) [(-2.93) The best move was 28...Kh7 29.Kf2 bxa3 30.Bf3 Be6 31.Kg2 Ra5 32.Qd3 Qa6 33.Qxa6 R5xa6 34.Be2 Ra5 35.Kf3 c5 36.Nc3 cxd4 37.exd4 R5a7] 29.c4 Rxa3 30.Rxa3 bxa3 31.c5 Black has this nice optic, a passed pawn on the 6th. 31...a2?

[Too far too soon. 31...Be8! Second front! 32.Kg2 g5 33.hxg5 Bxg5 34.Nf2 Qa4 Black is likely to break through (and let's not forget the two bishops).] 32.Kf2! Qa3 33.Qb7? [The computers are thrilled with 33.Qc2 Qa4 34.Qb2 Qa3=] 33...Ra7 34.Qb8+ Kf7 35.Qd8 Bg7 36.Qb8 Bf8 [36...Be8!] 37.Qd8 Bg7 38.Qb8 Ra8! This should be good, too. 39.Qb7 Qa7? Now White has the moment he needs to deal with that a-pawn. [39...Ke7 40.Bd3 Ra4 is still good winning chances.] 40.Qb2 Trading was even as well. 40...Bf8? [Maybe it's time for Black to make the draw happen: 40...Qa3 41.Qc2 Qa4] 41.Nc3 Game drawn by agreement White: 3:35 Black: [Just as White was getting going! (and a touch of time pressure on Black) 41.Nc3 Qa3 42.Rxa2 Qxb2 43.Rxb2 Ke7 44.Na2 Kd8 45.Nb4 Kc8 46.Na6 and White can get back to thinking "win".] 1/2-1/2

(4) GM Jim Tarjan (Tirantes) (2451) - WIM Emily Nguyen (enguyen2002) (2274) [D41]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (6), 01.02.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.0-0 Be7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.d4 Nc6 9.Nxd5 Qxd5?! The queen is more target than beacon. [An easy version of the Tarrasch Defense comes about after 9...exd5 ; the absence of a pair of knight means a lot less pressure on d5, both directly from a knight on c3, and indirectly via a bishop to g5.] 10.Be3 c4?! [10...cxd4 11.Nxd4 and the kicking commences, with a weak pawn appearing on c6 as well.; 10...Qh5!? 11.dxc5! has a fantastic plus score. 11...e5 (11...Bxc5?? 12.g4) 12.Nd2?! (12.Qb3!) 12...f5?! (12...Bg4) 13.f4?! (13.Nc4!+/-) 13...e4?! (13...Be6!=/+) 14.Qb3+ Kh8 15.Rfe1 when the world champion narrowly avoided upgrading his membership in the Vera Menchik Fan Club: 1-0 (64) Capablanca,J-Menchik,V Hastings 1929; 10...Qc4!? 11.dxc5 e5 12.Nd2+/-] 11.Nd2 [11.Qc2! is like some wonderful variation of the Catalan -- White gets his pawn back eventually, meanwhile Black remains in disarray.] 11...Qb5 12.Qc2 Rd8 13.Qxc4 [13.a4 is "for free" and turns out more useful than not.] 13...Qxc4 [13...Nxd4 White can just ignore: 14.Rfd1; 13...Qxb2 14.Rab1 Qa3 15.Ne4 again: good Catalan, Black isn't getting into the game.] 14.Nxc4 Nxd4 15.Rfd1 Nf5? [It was worth keeping the knight on that nice square, although White still gets typical play: 15...Bf6 16.Bxd4 Rxd4 17.Rxd4 Bxd4 18.Rc1 Kf8 19.b4 Bb6 20.Nxb6 axb6 21.Rc7 Ke8 22.Bxb7 leads to some thankless pawn-down rook ending, hoping to not lose.] 16.Rxd8+ Bxd8 17.Rd1 [17.Bc5!] 17...Bf6 [17...Be7 was a touch better.] 18.Bf4

The quintessential Catalan won position. symmetrical pawns, even material, crippling advantage. A good advertisement for the King's Indian. 18...Kf8 [On 18...g5 White achieves his winning takedown with the usual mini-tactics: 19.Be5 Bxe5 20.Rd8+ Kg7 21.Nxe5] 19.e4 Nh6 20.Bd6+?! [20.Bc7!] 20...Be7 21.e5 f6 [21...Bxd6 22.Nxd6 Rb8 23.b3 with Rc1-c7 coming] 22.f4?! [22.Bc7! followed by sending the a-pawn down the board.] 22...Ke8?! [22...Bxd6 23.Nxd6 fxe5 24.fxe5 Ke7 struggles on] 23.Bc7+- Nf7 24.Be4 f5 25.Bf3 Bd8?!

[25...Nd8 26.Na5 a6 27.Rc1] 26.Bxd8 Nxd8 27.Nd6+ Ke7 28.Rc1! Kd7 29.b4! Even with the exchanges, the bare essentials remain: broken development, one-sided long diagonal control, almost Zugzwang. 29...Rb8 30.b5 b6 31.Bc6+ Ke7 32.Rd1 Nxc6 33.bxc6 Ba6 34.Rc1 Ra8 35.Rc3 Kd8 36.Ra3 Bc8 37.Nb5 a6 38.Rd3+ Ke7 39.Nd6 a5 40.Nb5 a4 A false entrance. 41.Rc3 Ra5 42.Nd6 Ra8 43.Kf2 Kd8 44.Nb5?! [Just 44.Ke3 was moving in the right direction. 44...Ba6 45.c7+ Kd7 46.h3 and the standard opening a second front on the kingside.] 44...Ke7 45.Ke3 Ra5?! 46.Nd6 Kd8 47.Nb7+ Tirantes won by resignation. Confidence, knowledge and hard work in all phases of the game, Tarjan's imprint. 1-0

(5) GM Patrick Wolff (AmateurT2021), (2298) - WGM Jennifer Yu (ahappypawn) (2045) [C01]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (4), 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Former U.S. Champion Patrick Wolff had the Petroff Defense in his own repertoire, where he knew it could be capable of some sharp lines. That he chooses one of the most congenial systems is probably to avoid anything dangerous and current. [In the classical main line, 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 , you could think Black had a free move ...Ne4, but it really means White can use that premature situation to undermine the center a bit with 8.c4] 5...Nf6 6.d4 d5 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.Qe2+ Maybe there's more to this than anyone wants to admit. 8...Qe7 [8...Be6! 9.Ng5 at the very least grabs the two bishops and a better pawn structure; 9...Qe7 but it's nothing significant for White.; 8...Be7 costs time.] 9.Qxe7+ Kxe7

White comes out of this with some advantage. 10.0-0 Re8 11.Re1+ Kf8 12.Rxe8+ Kxe8 13.Nc3 c6 14.Bg5

14...Be7?! [14...Nbd7 15.Re1+ Kf8 and ...h6, when Black will put things in order shortly.] 15.Re1 Be6 16.Bxf6 gxf6?! The cure is worse than the illness. [16...Bxf6 17.Bxh7 Kf8 (17...g6? 18.Bxg6) 18.Bd3 Nd7 White is squarely better, but there's still a lot of work to do to claim a win.] 17.Nh4! [or 17.Bxh7 f5 18.Ne2!] 17...h6 18.Nf5 Bxf5 [18...Bf8 19.Ne2] 19.Bxf5 Bishops of opposite colors are no salvation when there are rooks and knights around as well; meanwhile Black's weak pawns only go away one way (when they're taken). 19...Na6 20.Ne2 [Similar is 20.Nd1 Kf8 21.Ne3 Nc7 22.Bg4 when f5 might well like a knight on it.] 20...Nc7 21.Ng3 Nb5 22.c3 Kf8 23.Bd3 Nd6 24.Re3 Re8 25.Kf1

25...f5 To Jennifer's credit she is willing to sacrifice a pawn for some freedom; but it won't come close to equalizing, and Wolff's technique is quite up to the task. 26.Bxf5 Bh4 27.Rxe8+ Kxe8 28.Bd3 Bxg3?! Now even the hope of some BOC salvation is gone. 29.hxg3 Ke7 30.g4 Stockfish is wary of putting pawns on the same color as the bishop, brings the king up first [or 30.b4 b5 31.Ke2] 30...Kf6 31.f4 Ne8 32.Kf2 a5 33.a4 Nd6 34.Ke3 [34.b4!?] 34...b6 [34...b5!?] 35.b3 Ke6 36.g5 hxg5 37.fxg5 Nf5+ 38.Kf4 Ne7 [38...Nh4 sends the knight on a suicide mission: 39.Kg3 Nf5+ 40.Kg4 Ne3+ 41.Kf3 Nd1 42.c4] 39.g3 White's extra pawn might not seem like much but it's enough. The plan is the end-run with the king on the h-file. First he shuts off f4 for the knight. 39...Ng6+ 40.Kg4 Ne7 White has over 20 minutes -- Black, under a minute. 41.b4! Kd6

Yu steps to the d-file, preparing a surprise counter -- which Wolff overlooks or underestimates: 42.Kh5?!

Trading, pausing, returning all were easier on the nerves. [42.bxa5; 42.Bc2; 42.Kf4] 42...b5! 43.bxa5! [43.axb5 a4 44.b6 a3 45.Bb1 Nf5 isn't so clear] 43...bxa4 44.Kg4? Here returning is just too far to go for the win. [44.g4 a3 45.Bb1 Kc7 46.a6! Somehow this has to be tossed in 46...Kb6 47.Kh6 Nc8 48.g6 fxg6 49.Kxg6 Kxa6 50.g5 and here, White is winning. Best to fire up your own computer and see if you can verify that.] 44...a3? Too soon! She used forty seconds here leaving herself under twenty. White wants to get his bishop to a2 and play c4, so this just encourages him. [44...Kc7 45.Bc2 a3 46.Bb3 Nc8 47.c4 c5! An echo of the earlier break on move 42! This works out to 0.00 in all lines.; 44...Nc8 45.Bc2 a3 46.Bb3 Kc7 (so that dxc5 won't be check!) 47.c4 c5!=] 45.Bb1 Nc8

46.Kf5? [46.Ba2! sets up c4, winning.] 46...Na7? [46...Kc7! 47.Ba2 Nd6+ 48.Ke5 Nc4+ 49.Kf6 Nd6 50.Ke7 Ne4 51.Kxf7 Nxg5+!= Not the sort of precarious ending to play on increment!] 47.Kf6

Now Black wins the bishop *and* also queens while White takes f7 and runs one of those g-pawns -- and at the end of it all, White is winning. 47...Nb5 48.a6?= or not! This is no time to smell the flowers! Get that g-pawn going! [48.Kxf7! c5 49.g6 (Okay, here 49.a6 is good, Stockfish does the computer thing and makes it 3 or 4 "better" (in the +14 vs. +10 range)) ] 48...Kc7! 49.Kxf7 Nxc3 50.g6 Nxb1 51.g7 a2 52.g8Q a1Q Now there's no CHECK at b8! 53.Qa8

53...Qxd4?? How easy it is to spot the blunders with time and a computer! [53...Qb2! just doesn't let White queen the a-pawn, while the knight is still able to stop the g-pawn if White trades queens on b7.] 54.Qb7+ Kd8 55.Qb8+ [55.Qe7+ Kc8 56.a7 is the fastest and smoothest mate (queening with check helps).] 55...Kd7 56.a7 Qf2+ [56...Qe4 57.Qb7+ Kd6 58.a8Q and there is no perpetual.] 57.Kg8 Qf5 58.Qb7+ Kd6 59.a8Q Qg6+ 60.Qg7 Qe6+ 61.Kh7 [61.Qf7 gets the White king a couple steps closer but all is good enough.] 61...Qh3+ 62.Qh6+ What a difficult, wonderful ending! Jennifer Yu really tested Wolff, and came back over and over, but in the end it was the not quite retired grandmaster who prevailed. 1-0

(6) IM Keaton Kiewra (Keaton87) (2509) - NM Arjun Bharat (RapidDefeat) (2135) [C41]
US Amateur Team West Chess.com (4), 31.01.2021
[de Firmian, Nick]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.a4 c6 8.Ba2 Qc7 9.h3 b6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Re1 a6 12.d5?! This advance gives up the advantage [12.Nh4 was a better way to move forward] 12...c5?! [12...cxd5 13.exd5 Rac8 is very comforatble for Black] 13.Nd2 Ne8 14.Bc4 g6 15.Bf1 Ng7 16.g3 Rae8 17.Bg2 Bc8 18.Bh6 f5

19.exf5 exchanging pawns lets Black get mobile on the kingside. A good idea would be to play like Petrosian used to in these positions with [19.Ra3! so that this rook might also help on the kingside] 19...gxf5 20.f4?! Rf6! 21.Bg5 Rg6 22.Bxe7 Rxe7 23.Kh2 Qd8 Black is getting a better grip on the kingside squares 24.Nc4 exf4 25.gxf4 Bb7? this is a poor place for the bishop here [25...Rf7! with ideas of ...Qh4 and ...Nf6 gives Black the attack, e.g. 26.Re6 Nxe6 27.dxe6 Rxg2+ 28.Kxg2 Rg7+ 29.Kf1 Qh4 and Black should win] 26.Bf3 Kf8 27.Qd2 Rxe1 28.Qxe1 Nf6 29.Qf2 Ng4+ 30.Bxg4 fxg4 31.Rg1 gxh3 32.Rg5 Kg8 [32...Bc8!] 33.Qg3 Qf6?! 34.Ne4 Qd4? [34...Qe7 35.Rxg6 hxg6 36.Qxg6 Bxd5 37.Nf6+ Kf8 38.Nxd5 Qe2+ gets a knight back with good drawing chances] 35.Ncxd6 Bxd5

36.Rxd5! This cashes in and wins material 36...Qxb2 [36...Rxg3 37.Rxd4 Rg2+ 38.Kxh3 is a clear knight ahead] 37.Qb3 Rg2+ 38.Kxh3 Qxc2 39.Rd3+ Qxb3 40.Rxb3 Black has no chance to survive this endgame. 40...Ra2 41.Rxb6 Ne6 42.Kg4 Rxa4 43.Kf5 Nxf4 44.Nf6+ Kf8 45.Rb7 46. Rf7 is mate next move no matter what. 1-0

 

Team Standings 

 

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February 2021 TNM Starts Tuesday February 9th

The Tuesday Night Marathon will begin this Tuesday February 9th. The tournamemt will be six rounds, G/35+2, and games will be manually paired on Chess.com. The tournament will be USCF online rated, and we will play two rounds per evening, the first starting at 6:30pm pacific time and the next at 8pm. 

Full details can be found in the tournament announcement here: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/february-2021-tuesday-night-marathon-online

We look forward to continuing the tradition that is the Mechanics' Institute Tuesday Night Marathon, where we bring our community together through chess, and invite others to join us as we strive to keep our chess community active and vibrant. We care about fair play, and we care about our players. Join us this Tuesday evening!

To register, please follow this link: https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/2021OnlineTournaments/Feb2021TNMOnline

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 Thursday Night Marathon Report

GM Gadir Guseinov won a rather quick game against IM Elliott Winslow, where the game quickly went to an endgame that was favorable for Gadir as black. Gadir now leads with 4/4. Mike Walder and Jonah Busch also picked up big wins to move up in the standings to 3.5/4. Standings are below, final round will be next week!

SwissSys Standings. Jan-Feb 2021 Thursday Night Marathon: Open (Standings (no tiebrk))

#	Name	ID	Rating	Fed	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total
1	GM Gadir Guseinov	17343590	2700	gguseinov	W19	W8	W6	W4		4.0
2	NM Mike Walder	10345120	2106	FlightsOfFancy	W22	W25	D10	W9		3.5
3	Jonah Busch	12469525	1934	kondsaga	W29	W24	D9	W10		3.5
4	IM Elliott Winslow	10363365	2278	ecwinslow	W20	W12	W5	L1		3.0
5	Arthur Liou	12906142	2034	artliou	W23	W15	L4	W13		3.0
6	Daniel Lin	15176393	2009	SmilyFace4	W14	W17	L1	W22		3.0
7	NM Thomas Maser	10490936	1900	talenuf	L15	W27	W21	W17		3.0
8	Vishva Nanugonda	16380312	1795	3Ke31-0	W31	L1	W20	W24		3.0
9	FM Allan G Savage	10014999	2200	duchamp64	W21	W16	D3	L2		2.5
10	Kristian Clemens	13901075	1997	kclemens	W27	W34	D2	L3		2.5
11	Stewart Katz	12458563	1835	knvsback	W36	H---	H---	D14		2.5
12	Kagan Uz	16434922	1809	uzkuzk	W30	L4	W23	D15		2.5
13	Jacob S Wang	17083655	1560	jacobchess857	H---	W37	W26	L5		2.5
14	Nicholas Reed	16154827	1416	NXBex	L6	W33	W18	D11		2.5
15	Kevin Sun	16898540	1158	kevin_mx_sun	W7	L5	W25	D12		2.5
16	Aaron Nicoski	12797931	1789	KingSmasher35	W32	L9	L22	W26		2.0
17	Christopher Nelson	13742111	1700	LudiMagisterJosephus	W33	L6	W34	L7		2.0
18	Linu John Alex	13836822	1652	ibalek	L24	W29	L14	X28		2.0
19	Jeff C Andersen	11296106	1643	zenwabi	L1	W36	L24	W29		2.0
20	Bryan Hood	12839763	1574	fiddleleaf	L4	W30	L8	W33		2.0
21	Marina Xiao	16380642	1551	maxskiff	L9	W31	L7	W30		2.0
22	Nursulta Uzakbaev	17137317	1519	rimus11	L2	W38	W16	L6		2.0
23	Yali Dancig-Perlman	16280288	1428	noydan100	L5	W32	L12	W34		2.0
24	Alexander Casassovici	30101063	unr.	zatmonkey	W18	L3	W19	L8		2.0
25	Alexander Huberts	16419664	1794	cccalboy	W38	L2	L15	D27		1.5
26	Reka Sztaray	14656444	1533	rekasztaray	H---	W28	L13	L16		1.5
27	Akshaj Pulijala	16497860	1406	loltheawesomedude	L10	L7	W31	D25		1.5
28	Raphael Hofmann	30103963	unr.	justkidding3	H---	L26	W37	F18		1.5
29	Michael Xiao	16380636	1363	swimgrass	L3	L18	W38	L19		1.0
30	Rahim Dharssi	12693378	1018	rahimftd	L12	L20	W32	L21		1.0
31	Adithya Chitta	16695036	954	adichi	L8	L21	L27	W37		1.0
32	Bruce Hedman	17344551	851	Bruce_Hedman	L16	L23	L30	W38		1.0
33	Danny Cao	16939797	843	caodanny	L17	L14	W36	L20		1.0
34	Edward Pernicka	30097683	unr.	copernickas	B---	L10	L17	L23		1.0
35	Philip Gerstoft	12913356	1766	pgstar3	H---	U---	U---	U---		0.5
36	Andrew Fu	16403798	1152	geese	L11	L19	L33	H---	H---	0.5
37	Jared Michael Ruiz	30106002	unr.	jpoka1	H---	L13	L28	L31		0.5
38	Jake Chi Hang Li	17144246	946	TanFlatPupet	L25	L22	L29	L32		0.0

 

For more tournament information on our ThNM, please follow this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/thursday-night-marathon-g605-jan-feb-2021

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John Donaldson Back On Perpetual Chess Podcast

IM John Donladson was back on Ben Johnson's Perpetual Chess Podcast discussing his new book and some chess history. To listen to the podcast, follow this link: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2021/2/2/episode-212-im-john-donaldson-is-back-again