Chess Room Newsletter #366

"He looks like a tramp. He dresses badly and is not too clean. He doesn't know how to eat properly what's in front of him. He speaks only about chess, as if it is the most important thing in the world, and he talks about the game even with nonplayers who can't follow what he's saying. They think he's a madman. If you spend a couple of days with Murey, you forget that anything else exists in the world besides chess - it's a wonderful feeling. It is important to meet such people because then you realize how rich and deep the game really is."
~Joel Lautier
Lautier discusses fellow GM Jacob Murey in Paul Hoffman's King's Gambit (pages 127-28).

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1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
2) Young Masters by Michael Aigner
3) Tal at the Mechanics' in 1991
4) A poem by Dennis Fritzinger

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1. GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Patrick Wolff (SF) 1-0
2. IM Vinay Bhat (SF) vs FM William Kelleher (BOS) 1-0
3. NM Denys Shmelov (BOS) vs IM John Donaldson (SF) 1/2-1/2
4. Gregory Young (SF) vs NM Chris Williams (BOS) 0-1

Notes to boards one and two come from GM-elect Vinay Bhat's commentary at the team's blog.

On board 1, we had a match-up of two players with a combined haul of 5 US Championships. I don't know what the opening line is about, but Black seemed to get a decent position. With 14...d5, Black has probably equalized - if 15.exd5, Black can play the simple 15...Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Rxd5 17.Rxd5 exd5 with a comfortable position, or mix things up with 15...Nb4.

It was around move 17 that Patrick said he began to lose the thread. 17...b5!? doesn't really help his position that much, and instead the immediate 17...Qe5 looks much more to the point. The real problem was that Black's moves didn't fit together very well at this point in the game. Larry offered a pawn with 20.g3 that was probably better left untouched, but once that pawn was taken, Larry was off to the races. 23.e5 and 27.Nd5! especially signaled the end, and he finished it off in style.

With that game in the books, we were down 2-0 ... 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.0-0-0 0-0 9.Nb3 Qb6 10.f3 Rd8 11.Qe1 a6 12.h4 Qc7 13.h5 h6 14.Be3 d5 15.Kb1 dxe4 16.Rxd8+ Bxd8 17.fxe4 b5 18.Bd3 Qe5 19.Qe2 Be7 20.g3 Qxg3 21.Rg1 Qh3 22.Bxh6 Nxh5 23.e5 Bb7 24.Qe4 Kf8 25.Qh7 Ke8 26.Bxg7 Kd7 27.Nd5 Rd8 28.Nf6+ Kc8 29.Qxh5 Qe3 30.Rc1 Nxe5 31.Bh6 Qg3 32.Ne4 Bxe4 33.Bxe4 f5 34.Bxf5 exf5 35.Qxf5+ Nd7 36.Bf4 Qf3 37.Nd4 Qb7 38.c4 1-0Preparing for this game was a little tough, as I didn't have much to go on. As it was, I ended up facing a line that I normally only see from the black side. This was a little uncomfortable at first, as I've only played this line of the Meran (with the old 8...a6) with black, and I've generally been quite happy with my positions. In any case, 11...Ng4 was a small surprise, as it's not as popular as 11...axb5, but seems to have been scoring quite well in recent years. However, the opening turned out well for me (16...Bd5 appears to be the main theoretical move, as played by Ivanchuk) although I made a serious mistake after that.19.Qg3 was based on a miscalculation, as I thought I could prepare to develop with c1-bishop and had guarded the e5-pawn indirectly.The line I was looking at was: 19...Nxe5 20.Qxe5 Rxd3 21.Nxc5 Rd5 22.Na4 Qb4 23.Qc7 Rc8 24.a3! (not 24.Qb6 Rb5) Qb3 25.Qb6 Rb5 26.Qd4! (the key point behind 24.a3), when 26...Rc8 is met by 27.Qd8#!. With this in mind, I happily continued with my plan of Qf4-g3, but then Kelleher played 19...Nxe5 anyways! At first I was quite happy, as I thought he maybe missed this a3 idea, but then I figured something was up and took another look - after 22.Na4 in the above line, 22...Qc6! is the plan, as then 23.Qe4 f5 and White can't hang on to everything, with a4 and g2 both needing constant attention.So I had just given up my extra pawn and had worse development to boot. Luckily for me, Black's pieces were for the most part on good squares but had nowhere to really go as an upgrade. I became progressively happier with my position, and after 29...Rd2, it's essentially over for Black. So we were now on the board, the only problem was that we only had one chance left to even up the score. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 Ng4 12.Qa4 Bb7 13.Nbxd4 Qb6 14.0-0 Bc5 15.h3 Bxf3 16.hxg4 Bb7 17.Nb3 0-0 18.Qf4 Rfd8 19.Qg3 Nxe5 20.Nxc5 Qxc5 21.Be2 Qd5 22.Bg5 f6 23.Be3 Rac8 24.Bb6 Rd6 25.Rad1 Qc6 26.Bd4 Rcd8 27.Bxe5 Rxd1 28.Bxd1 fxe5 29.Bb3 Rd2 30.Re1 e4 31.Qb8+ Bc8 32.Qf4 Rxb2 33.Rc1 Qd7 34.Qb8 Black resigns 1-0 Notes by John Donaldson 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.e4 Bg6 11.Bd3 Bh5 Smyslov's idea. Black threatens ..e5 to induce White to play e5. 12.Bf4 The immediate 12.e5 is also possible. 12...Qe7 Another idea to resume the plan of ..e5 is 12...Re8. Then 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 exd5, intending ...Nd7-f8-e6 is interesting. The text connects Black's Rooks which allows him to quickly contest the c-file. 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Rfc1 15.Qe3 Rfc8 (15...Bg6 16.Bg5 Qe8 17.Bxg6 fxg6 18.Rfc1 h6 19.Qb3 a5 20.Be3 Nb6 21.Qd1 Nc4 offered equal chances in Ivanchuk-Motylev, Moscow 2002) 16.a5 a6 17.Ra4 Bg6 18.Bxg6 fxg6 19.Qb3 Rc4 20.Bg5 Qf8 21.Bd2 Bxd2 22.Rxc4 dxc4 23.Qxb7 Bxa5 24.Qxd7 Qe8 25.Qxe8+ Rxe8 26.Ra1 Rb8 27.Kf1 Rb5 28.Ng5 Bd2 29.Nxe6 Rxb2 30.Rxa6 c3 31.Ke2 Bh6+ 32.Kd3 c2 33.Ra8+ Kf7 34.Ra7+ Kxe6 35.Ke4 Rb4 0-1 Geller-Furman, Gorky 1954 - the pioneering game for this line. 15...Rfc8 16.Qe3 a6 16...Bg6 17.Bf1 Qd8 18.Qe2 a6 19.Bd2 Be7 20.Ne1 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Nb8 22.Bc3 Nc6 23.Qd2 Rc8 saw Black getting his characteristic counterplay in Lugovoi-Kobalija, Moscow 1999. 17.Ng5 17.Bg5 Qf8 ½-½ Shulman -Donaldson,Stillwater 2001. 17...Bg6 18.Bxg6 fxg6 Black always captures this way in this variation to have breathing room on the kingside and to be able to evict the Knight with ...h6, but here 18...hxg6 was not out of the question as White doesn't have an attack. 19.Qh3 Nf8 20.Qb3 h6 21.Nf3 Nd7 21...g5!? intending ...a5, ...Qd7 and Ng6-e7-f5 was suggested afterwards by Vinay as a way to liven the play. 22.a5 On 22.Rc2, trying to grab the c-line, Black has Nb6 23.Bd2 Bxd2 24.Nxd2 Rxc2 25.Qxc2 Kh7 26.a5 Rc8 27.Qb3 Nc4. 22...Rxc1+ 23.Rxc1 Rf8 24.Bd2 Bxd2 Unfortunately Black's Knight is grossly out of play after 24...Rxf3?? 25.Qxb4 ( or 25.Bxb4 Rxb3 26.Bxe7 Rxb2 27.h4 Kf7 28.Bd6) 25...Qxb4 26.Bxb4 Rb3 27.Rc8+ Kf7 28.Ba3. 25.Nxd2 The position is equal. Black's weaknesses at e6 and b7 are counterbalanced by Whites at a5 and d4. Desperate maneuvering by Black the next twenty moves is caused by the need to win to equalize the score in the match. 25... Nb8 26.Qc3 Nc6 27.Nb3 Kh7 28.Rc2 Qh4 29.Qe3 Qg4 30.Rd2 Rc8 31.h3 Qf5 32.Qc3 Qb1+ 33.Kh2 Qe1 34.Rc2 Qe4 35.Rd2 Qf4+ 36.g3 Qf7 37.Nc5 Na7 38.Qd3 Nc6 39.Qc3 Na7 40.Qd3 Nb5 41.Kg2 Qe7 42.Rc2 Qf7 43.Rd2 Rc7 44.Rc2 Na7 45.b4 Nc6 46.Rb2 Na7 47.Rc2 Nc6 ½-½ 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Qe2 d6 7.c4 Nbd7 8.Nc3 Be7 9.0-0 Qc7 10.f4 b6 11.Kh1 Bb7 12.b3 h5 13.Bb2 h4 14.Rae1 Nh5 15.Nd5! Qd8 Played after a long thought. Capturing on d5 would be suicidal. 16.e5?? 16.Nxe7 Qxe7 17.Kg1! takes away Black's one threat and leaves White with a crushing position. 16...dxe5 17.Nxe6 Ng3+ 18.hxg3 hxg3+ 19.Kg1 Bc5+ 20.Nxc5 Rh1+ 21.Kxh1 Qh4+ 22.Kg1 Qh2#

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The list of kids who achieved the title of USCF master before their 12th birthday is fairly short. Pending the rating of the Tuesday Night Marathon, this list will have the new name of Daniel Naroditsky (note - he came in at 2202). He joins two other local kids, Jordy and Vinay, who became masters at age 10 in the mid 1990s.

Stuart Rachels, 11 years
Marc Tyler Arnold, 11 years
Parker Zhao, 11 years
Ray Robson, 11 years
Jordy Mont-Reynaud, 10 years 209 days
Vinay Bhat, 10 years, 176 days
Fabiano Caruana, 10 years ?? days
Hikaru Nakamura, 10 years 79 days

The list includes two current Grandmasters (Nakamura and Caruana), one GM-elect (Bhat) and one IM (Rachels). Robson will undoubtedly become an IM by the end of next year, probably sooner. Obviously, the sky is the limit for Daniel Naroditsky's future chess achievements!

Mike Nolan also supplied a list of all USCF members who became a rated expert (2000+) before their 10th birthday. This list is also pretty exclusive: Brian Luo, Fabiano Caruana, Nicholas Nip, Marc Tyler Arnold, Hikaru Nakamura, Darwin Yang, Ray Robson and Vinay Bhat (in order of youngest to oldest).

The question now is when will Nicholas Nip break 2200? By my count, Nicholas has about 7 months to become America's first 9 year old master and over 9 months to break Nakamura's record. Can he do it? Stay tuned! (note - Nicholas is now around 2100)

John Donaldson adds the following. The above names are primarily drawn from post 1990 as the computerized USCF ratings only go back to mid 1991. The period between 1982 and 1990 is a blank. For February 1982 and before we have the following article. Note that while a good start it does not appear to be complete. One significant omission is Larry Christiansen and another Yasser Seirawan.

The cover of the February 1982 issue of Chess Life is titled America's Youngest Master and features John Jarecki 12 years, 6 months and Stuart Rachels 11 years, ten months.

The 4 page article lists the following other young masters:
August 1956 Robert Fischer (13 years, 5 months)
July 1977 Joel Benjamin (13 years, 3 months)
November 1979 John Litvinchuk (12 years, 7 months)
July 1981 John Jarecki (12 years, 6 months)
August 1981 Stuart Rachels (11 years, ten months)

Other young masters:
October 1964 Walter Browne (15 years)
November 1967 Ken Rogoff (14 years, 8 months)
July 1972 Peter Winston (14 years, 8 months)
July 1973 Kenneth Regan (13 years, 9 months)
February 1976 Michael Wilder (13 years, 6 months)

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The legendary Mikhail Tal was a participant in the 1991 Pan Pacific Grandmaster tournament organized by the Mechanic's Institute. The playing site was the Holiday Inn in Chinatown, with one exception. Tal arrived late and missed some early rounds and played his game ( his only loss) with Patrick Wolff at the MI. Tal also played in a big blitz tournament at the Institute held on March 15. There were prelims and finals. Tal scored 15.5 from 17 to win his section ahead of Paul Whitehead (15 points) who got the second spot for the finals ahead of GMs Utut Adianto and Rosendo Balinas. Tal lost to Greg Kotliar and drew Joe Tracey, two of a handful of games that are missing. Whitehead proved to be the difference in the 4-player final as he took one vital half point from Tal while the latter split with Walter Browne. Final scores: 1. Browne 5 2. Tal 4.5 3. Whitehead 1.5 4. Lobo 1.

You can find crosstables, a selection of games and a fine story on the event by Alan Benson in the April-June 1991 issue of Blitz Chess.

Below are a selection of games that were kindly provided by John Blackstone who entered them into ChessBase. Note one game, versus Caruso, was not published in the Blitz Chess article. Another game which was not in the article, Frankle-Tal, is in CalBase at http://www.chessdryad.com/.

Note the following games are missing. Do any readers have leads? All are from the prelims - his loss to Kotliar, draw with Tracey, wins against Newey, Sheridan, Kastor, Rosenberg and Whitehead.

The following may only be blitz games but they are Tal's blitz games! How often would you see Tal faced the Blackmar-Diemer or essaying the Falkbeer or Winawer Counter gambits?

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bd3 g6 6.c4 Nc6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Nc3 Bg7 9.0-0 0-0 10.c5 d5 11.Bg5 Be6 12.Rc1 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nd5 14.Qd2 Qc7 15.Bh6 Rad8 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Ng5 Bc8 18.Rc4 h6 19.Nf3 e5 20.Rh4 Nf4 21.Nxe5 Qxe5 22.Rxf4 Rxd3 23.Rxf7+ Rxf7 24.Qxd3 Qxc5 25.h3 Bf5 26.Qd2 Rd7 27.Qf4 Qd4 28.Qxd4+ Rxd4 29.Rc1 Be4 30.f3 Bd5 31.Rc5 Rd1+ 32.Kh2 Rd2 33.Kg3 Rxb2 34.a4 Kf6 35.Ra5 Rb7 36.Kf4 g5+ 37.Ke3 Ke5 38.Kf2 Kd4 39.Kg3 c5 40.h4 c4 41.hxg5 hxg5 42.Kf2 c3 43.Ke2 Re7+ 0-1 1.e4 c5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 Nf6 4.c4 e6 5.dxe6 Bxe6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Nc3 Bd6 8.d3 Qd7 9.Be2 Bf5 10.0-0 0-0 11.h3 Rfe8 12.Kh1 Nh5 13.Kg1 Nxf4 14.Bxf4 Bxf4 15.a3 Bxh3 16.Nh4 Be3+ 17.Kh2 Be6 18.Bf3 Ne5 19.Be4 Ng4+ 20.Kg3 Qd6+ 21.Kf3 Qf4+ 22.Ke2 Nf2 23.Qe1 Bg4+ 24.Nf3 Nxe4 25.Nxe4 f5 26.Kd1 fxe4 27.dxe4 Qxe4 28.Qg3 Rad8+ 29.Ke2 Bf2+ 30.Kxf2 Qe3# 0-1 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e4 dxe4 4.f3 Nc6 5.d5 Ne5 6.fxe4 e6 7.dxe6 Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1 Bxe6 9.Nf3 0-0-0+ 10.Bd2 Neg4 11.Ke1 Bc5 12.Bd3 Nf2 13.Rf1 Nxd3+ 14.cxd3 Rxd3 15.Ke2 Bc4 16.b3 Ba6 17.Ke1 Re8 18.e5 Ng4 19.Ne4 Nxe5 20.Rc1 Nxf3+ 21.gxf3 Rxf3 22.Rxf3 Rxe4+ 23.Be3 Bxe3 24.Rc3 Bd4+ 25.Kd2 Bxc3+ 26.Kxc3 0-1 1.e4 c6 2.c4 e5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 Bg4 5.Be2 Bxf3 6.Bxf3 Be7 7.Nc3 Bf6 8.Be3 Nd7 9.Qd2 exd4 10.Bxd4 Ne5 11.Be2 c5 12.Be3 Ne7 13.0-0 N5c6 14.Rad1 0-0 15.Nb5 a6 16.Nxd6 Bd4 17.Bf4 Ng6 18.Bg3 Nce5 19.Nf5 Nc6 20.Kh1 Re8 21.Qc2 Qb6 22.b3 Rad8 23.f4 f6 24.Bf3 Nge7 25.Nxe7+ Rxe7 26.e5 fxe5 27.Bh4 exf4 28.Bxc6 Qxc6 29.Bxe7 Re8 30.Bg5 1-0 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Bd3 Nf6 8.Qe2 0-0 9.e5 dxe5 10.dxe5 Nd5 11.0-0 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qc7 13.h4 Bc5 14.Bf4 Ne7 15.Bxh7+ Kh8 16.Bc2 Nf5 17.Ng5 g6 18.h5 Kg7 19.g4 Nh6 20.hxg6 fxg6 21.Qe4 1-0 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 f5 4.exf5 exf5 5.Ndf3 Nf6 6.Ne5 Bd6 7.Ngf3 0-0 8.Bd3 c5 9.c3 Nc6 10.0-0 cxd4 11.cxd4 Ne4 12.Bf4 Qb6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.Rc1 Qb6 15.Bxd6 Qxd6 16.Qb3 Be6 17.Rc2 b6 18.Rfc1 Rac8 19.Ne5 Nd2 20.Qa4 Nc4 21.Nxc4 dxc4 22.Bxc4 Rcd8 23.Bxe6+ Qxe6 24.h3 f4 25.Qc4 Rd5 26.Re2 Qd7 27.Re5 Rd8 28.Rce1 f3 29.gxf3 Kf8 30.Rxd5 Qxd5 31.Qxd5 Rxd5 32.Re4 Kf7 33.Kf1 Rb5 34.b3 a5 1-0 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.e5 Nxb5 6.Nxb5 Nd5 7.Ng5 f6 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qf3 Nb4 10.exf6 exf6 11.0-0 Be7 12.c3 Nc6 13.Ne4 d5 14.Ng3 0-0 15.d3 a6 16.Na3 Ne5 17.Qe2 d4 18.f4 Nc6 19.f5 Re8 20.Bf4 Bd7 21.Rae1 Bf8 22.Qf3 b5 23.Qd5+ Kg7 24.fxg6 hxg6 25.Nh5+ gxh5 26.Qxh5 1-0 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.e4 dxe4 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.dxe5 Nc6 8.Qd5 Qe7 9.Bf4 g5 10.Bg3 Bg7 11.Qxe4 Nxe5 12.Nd5 f5 13.Qe2 Qd6 14.Nf3 f4 15.Nxf4 gxf4 16.Bxd7+ Kxd7 17.Rd1 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Re8+ 19.Kf1 Bd4 20.Bxf4 Qa6+ 21.Kg1 Ne7 22.Rxd4+ 1-0 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Be3 d6 6.f3 Nbd7 7.Qd2 c5 8.Nge2 a6 9.d5 b5 10.cxb5 Rb8 11.a4 Qa5 12.Nc1 axb5 13.Nxb5 Qxd2+ 14.Bxd2 Ba6 15.Bc3 Nb6 16.b3 Nfd7 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Na2 Rfc8 19.Nac3 c4 20.a5 Na8 21.bxc4 Ne5 22.Ra4 Nc7 23.Kd2 Nd7 24.Na7 Nc5 25.Ra2 Re8 26.Nc6 Rb3 27.Kc2 Rb7 28.Be2 e6 29.Rb1 exd5 30.cxd5 Rxb1 31.Kxb1 f5 32.Bxa6 N7xa6 33.exf5 Re1+ 34.Kc2 gxf5 35.Rb2 0-1 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Qc7 8.a4 Be7 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Nd2 b6 11.Bc4 Bb7 12.Qe2 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Nf8 15.h4 Rg8 16.hxg5 hxg5 17.Nf1 Ne6 18.Ne3 Qc5 19.Bd5 Nd4 20.Qd3 Bxd5 21.Ncxd5 Nxd5 22.exd5 f5 23.c3 Nb3 24.Nxf5 Nxa1 25.Nxe7 Rg7 26.Rh8+ Kxe7 27.Rxa8 Nb3 28.Ra7+ Kf6 29.Qf3+ Kg6 30.Qe4+ Kf6 31.Ra8 Rf7 32.Rg8 Ke7 33.Rxg5 b5 34.Rg8 Qc4 35.Bh4+ Kd7 36.Qxc4 bxc4 37.Ra8 Nc5 38.Ra7+ Ke8 39.Rxf7 Kxf7 40.a5 Nb3 1-0 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0-0-0 h6 9.Be3 Be7 10.f4 Qc7 11.Be2 Bd7 12.Bf3 Rc8 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.g4 b5 15.Qg2 b4 16.Ne2 e5 17.Ng3 g6 18.g5 hxg5 19.fxg5 Nd7 20.h4 Nf8 21.h5 Rg8 22.hxg6 fxg6 23.Bg4 Bd7 24.Bxd7+ Qxd7 25.Rdf1 Ne6 26.Rh7 Nf8 27.Rhf7 Qe6 28.Kb1 Qxf7 29.Rxf7 Kxf7 30.Qf1+ Kg7 31.Qxa6 Ne6 32.Qb7 Rc7 33.Qxb4 Nf4 34.a4 Rh8 35.Bb6 Rcc8 36.Qb5 Kf7 37.a5 Rh3 38.Qd7 Ra8 39.Qb7 Rah8 40.a6 Rxg3 41.a7 Rxg5 42.Bc7 Rg1+ 43.Ka2 g5 44.Bxd6 1-0 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.g3 d6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Re1 Be7 10.a4 0-0 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.a5 d5 13.Be3 Rb8 14.Bb6 Qc8 15.Qd3 Bb4 16.Red1 Ng4 17.exd5 exd5 18.Qd4 Be7 19.Re1 Bf6 20.Qf4 Re8 21.Rxe8+ Qxe8 22.h3 Ne5 23.Na4 Nc4 24.Bd4 Bxd4 25.Qxd4 Nxa5 26.Nc5 Nc4 27.b3 Nd6 28.Rxa6 Nf5 29.Qf4 Rc8 30.Ra7 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Be6 32.g4 1-0

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• the last gold rush
  
  a little town
  on the edge of the desert,
  mt. whitney rising
  behind it, a freeway
  running thru it,
  lone pine attracted
  a passel of chessplayers
  every year,
  eager to play through
  the rounds and rise
  to the winner's circle.
  young american
  talent, and older,
  more experienced europeans,
  met in the cafes
  over eggs and coffee
  and in the tournament hall
  over the 64 squares.
  each of the participants
  was invited to dinner
  at the home of the millionaire
  sponsor of the event,
  a mansion on the edge
  of town with a fence
  and night-lit spotlights.
  i met petrosian
  and played 5-minute
  chess with larsen,
  drawing one game.
  my master friends were there,
  embroiled in their own struggles.
  we knew it couldn't last
  forever, and it didn't--
  it was the last gold rush
  in california, played out
  with mt. whitney in the background
  and the desert all around us.