[Event "12th Izmir Open"]
[Site "Izmir TUR"]
[Date "2013.09.07"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Fier, A."]
[Black "Rozum, I."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2592"]
[BlackElo "2525"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2013.09.03"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "TUR"]
{For this last instalment of 'Master Miniatures' I'll show five games.} 1. d4
Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. c3 d6 {This move, with the idea of a
later ...e5, is Black's most common answer, but in my view it gives White very
easy play - take a look at Rogers's games in this system and you will see what
I mean.} 6. Bd3 g6 7. Ne2 Qe7 8. O-O Bg7 9. f4 e5 10. f5 (10. Nd2 {is more
common, but Fier plays the most aggressive move and it also seems okay.}) 10...
Nc6 (10... gxf5 11. exf5 Nd7 12. Re1 O-O 13. Nd2 exd4 14. Nxd4 Ne5 15. Qb3 {
also favours White slightly as he can play around the e5-knight, and Black's
queenside development is limited by the f5-pawn.}) 11. Bc4 (11. fxg6 fxg6 12.
d5 Nb8 13. Bb5+ Nd7 {should also be okay for Black.}) 11... gxf5 12. exf5 Bd7
13. Nd2 Na5 $2 {This only weakens Black's position.} (13... exd4 $1 14. Nf4
dxc3 15. bxc3 Be5 16. Nd5 Qh4 17. Nxc7+ Kd8 18. Nf3 Qxc4 19. Nxa8 Rg8 {is not
by any means forced but this final position seems better for Black as the
a8-knight is out of the game and Black has taken the initiative.}) 14. Bd5
O-O-O 15. b4 $1 {Now the attack on the king begins.} Nc6 $2 ({Black had to try
his luck with} 15... Bc6 {.}) 16. b5 Nb8 17. f6 $1 {This is completely
crushing, as Black's pieces are all misplaced and his king is still weak.} Bxf6
18. Ne4 Bg5 19. Rxf7 Qe8 20. Qb3 (20. Nxd6+ $1 cxd6 21. Qb3 $1 {with the
unstoppable threat of Qc4 was even better.}) 20... Bg4 21. b6 $1 axb6 22. Qxb6
$1 {Bravo!} Qxf7 ({or} 22... cxb6 23. Bxb7#) 23. Qxb7+ Kd7 24. Bxf7 Bxe2 25.
Qd5 {Black resigned. This 5.c3 variation of the Trompowsky is a good practical
weapon as most players drift into a passive position against it.} 1-0 [Event "1st League Cent-SRB 2013"]
[Site "Kragujevac SRB"]
[Date "2013.09.14"]
[Round "1.6"]
[White "Parligras, M."]
[Black "Atalik, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2566"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2013.09.14"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[WhiteTeam "Pozega"]
[BlackTeam "Sloga - Kraljevo"]
{The following game is a bit strange - Black tries a number of creative
manoeuvres which ultimately just weaken his position, and by the time he
castles queenside his position is just hopeless.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d6
4. e4 e5 5. Ne2 c5 6. d5 h5 7. Nbc3 h4 8. Be3 Bh6 9. Bxh6 Rxh6 10. Qd2 Rh8 11.
Nc1 Nbd7 12. Be2 Qe7 13. Nd3 Nb6 14. b3 Bd7 15. a4 a5 16. O-O-O O-O-O 17. Nb1
Nh5 18. Qxa5 Qg5+ 19. Rd2 Kc7 20. Nxc5 Ra8 21. Qb4 Qxg2 22. Re1 Qxh2 23. a5
dxc5 24. Qxb6+ Kc8 25. d6 1-0 [Event "TCh-CRO 2a Liga 2013"]
[Site "Bol CRO"]
[Date "2013.09.14"]
[Round "1.4"]
[White "Dvirnyy, D."]
[Black "Kovacevic, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2554"]
[BlackElo "2564"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2013.09.14"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "CRO"]
[WhiteTeam "SK Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik"]
[BlackTeam "SK Slaven, Vukovar"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qa4 {I used to think this system
proved an advantage against the QID, but Black does fine in practice.} Bb7 {
Against most queen moves on the fifth move Black is happy to retreat his
bishop voluntarily as Black's ...c5 reply gains in strength.} 6. Bg2 c5 7. dxc5
Bxc5 (7... bxc5 {is a more dynamic option.}) 8. Nc3 O-O (8... Ne4 $5 {is an
interesting independent try that could have been avoided by 8.0-0.}) 9. O-O Be7
10. Rd1 Na6 {Black prepares ...Nc5 to maximise his control over the e4-square.}
11. Bf4 Nc5 12. Qc2 Qc8 13. Rac1 (13. Rd4 {is White's other main move, not
giving up the e4-square without a fight.}) 13... Nce4 14. Nxe4 $6 {While White
shouldn't be worse after this move, Black's play becomes extremely easy and he
has scored very well over the board.} (14. Nd4 {is far more critical.}) 14...
Bxe4 15. Qa4 Qb7 $1 {A very strong move, increasing the pressure down the long
diagonal and preparing ...Rac8.} 16. Bd6 Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Rfc8 18. Rcd1 $6 {White
plays the position as if he is better, but he should already be thinking about
how to equalise. The d7-pawn is easily defended by the f6-knight whereas the
c4-pawn and a4-queen are serious weaknesses.} Rc5 $1 {A very strong move,
threatening both ...Rac8 and ...Ra5.} 19. Ne1 Rac8 20. Rxd7 (20. R6d4 {is
obvious, but after} Bxg2 21. Nxg2 b5 22. cxb5 Rxb5 23. b3 d5 {Black is clearly
better as ...Ne4-c3 is coming.}) 20... Nxd7 21. Rxd7 Qc6 22. Qxc6 Bxc6 23. Rxa7
Rxc4 {This endgame doesn't hold much hope for White as his knight is outpaced
by Black's active rooks. 24.Bxc6 would keep mild drawing chances but after the
game's} 24. Nd3 Ra4 25. Rxa4 Bxa4 {White gave up as ...Rc2 is coming and some
White pawns are going to drop off.} 0-1 [Event "TCh-ESP CECLUB Honor 2013"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "2013.09.10"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Moskalenko, V1."]
[Black "Vallejo Pons, F."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[WhiteElo "2524"]
[BlackElo "2706"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2013.09.08"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[WhiteTeam "Escola D'Escacs de Barcelona"]
[BlackTeam "Enracha - SC Colon de Sabadell"]
{'The Brilliant 1.b3' would be a fitting title for this game, where the
creative Grandmaster Moskalenko smashes a 2700 GM.} 1. b3 d5 2. e3 (2. Bb2 {is
the main move, but Moskalenko opts to play an English Defence a tempo up.})
2... e5 3. Bb2 Bd6 4. f4 {This move is considered weak in the English Defence
version when Black has the move ...c5 in, but without this move included, this
reversed version is playable.} exf4 {Black decides to go for it!} (4... Nd7 {
is a no-nonsense move that should be okay for Black.}) 5. Bxg7 Qh4+ 6. g3 fxg3
7. Bg2 gxh2+ 8. Kf1 {This position is extremely unclear with pieces flying
everywhere.} Bg4 (8... hxg1=Q+ 9. Kxg1 Qg5 10. Bxh8 Bg4 {gives Black
compensation for the exchange in attacking chances against the White king, but
this is clearly not a refutation of White's system.}) 9. Nf3 Qh5 10. Nc3 Ne7 {
Black wants to play ...Nf5-g3, including his knight in the attack.} 11. Bxh8
Nd7 $1 (11... Nf5 {was also possible, but Black can afford to continue
developing.}) 12. e4 {White tries to clear some lines for his h8-bishop and
fight for the initiative.} (12. Kf2 O-O-O 13. Bd4 Nf5 {also leaves Black with
a fearsome attack.}) 12... O-O-O $1 {Now all of Black's pieces are in play and
he is much better.} 13. Bd4 Rg8 $2 {Black errs just as he had a chance to
smash White:} (13... Nc6 $1 14. Bf2 d4 15. Nd5 f5 $1 {brings White under a
gigantic attack. Even} 16. e5 $1 Ncxe5 17. Rxh2 Qf7 {does not overly help him.}
) 14. Qe2 Ng6 $2 {The practical problems posed by White provoke another error
from Black, this time one that changes the evaluation 180 degrees.} (14... Nc6
{was still phenomenal for Black, as} 15. Nb5 Nxd4 16. Nbxd4 Nf6 17. e5 Ne4 {
threatens a very strong check on g3 and it's hard for White to stop this.}) 15.
Qf2 $1 {Now White is winning with best play - Black's attack just falls short.}
Bh3 16. Bxh3 Nf4 {This is desperate, but} (16... Qxh3+ 17. Qg2 {would force
the queens off, with a winning endgame for White.}) 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18. Rxh2 Nh3
19. Nxd5 $1 {With Nf6 threatened, the game is up.} Rg6 20. e5 Qf5 21. Ne3 Rg1+
22. Nxg1 {Black resigned.} 1-0 [Event "TCh-ESP CECLUB Honor 2013"]
[Site "Linares ESP"]
[Date "2013.09.14"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Dominguez Perez, L."]
[Black "Spraggett, K."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B41"]
[WhiteElo "2757"]
[BlackElo "2568"]
[Annotator "Illingworth,Max"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2013.09.08"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "ESP"]
[WhiteTeam "Sestao Naturgas Energia"]
[BlackTeam "Escola D'Escacs de Barcelona"]
{Finally, this game is a good example of how to play Hedgehog positions as
White, and surprisingly Black plays the awful 17...Na7 in an already worse
position, after which his position is hopeless and the rest is easy for
Dominguez.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be2
Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Rc1 Bd7 11. a3 Rc8 12. f3 b6 13. b4 Rb8 14. Nb3
Bc8 15. Qd2 Bb7 16. Rfd1 Ba8 17. f4 Na7 18. e5 dxe5 19. fxe5 Qxd2 20. Rxd2 Ne4
21. Rd7 Nc8 22. Nxe4 Bxe4 23. c5 Bd5 24. cxb6 Nxb6 25. Rxe7 1-0 