[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.23"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Neven, Knut"]
[Black "Zubac, Marius"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A91"]
[WhiteElo "2309"]
[BlackElo "2210"]
[Annotator "Neven,K"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 d5 5. Nh3 c6 6. Qc2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nd2 b5
$5 9. c5 e5 $146 ({In round one Zubac played the same 8...b5 line against IM
David Cummings, which then continued} 9... a5 10. Nf3 Na6 11. Nf4 Bd7 12. Ne5
Ng4 $6 13. Nxg4 fxg4 14. e4 {and David went on to win a short game by
targeting Black's weak pawn/g4.}) 10. dxe5 Nfd7 11. Nf3 Nxc5 {Marius told me
after the game that he and IM Cummings looked at 9...e5 for some time in their
post mortem, but could not find an advantage for White anywhere in the present
position.} 12. Nd4 $1 {Apparently they didn't consider the text, which is
meant to inhibit the development of Black's queenside in view of tactical
threats introduced by the 'unmasking' of White's light squared bishop...} Qc7
$2 {Black need not blunder a pawn of course, but his position is quite
uncomfortable anyway in view of threats like 13.b4 and 13.Nf4 etc.} 13. Nxb5
Qd7 14. Nd4 Bb7 15. b4 ({Probably even stronger is} 15. Nf4) 15... Ne6 16. Nxf5
Bxb4 17. Rb1 a5 18. e4 $1 d4 19. Qb3 Kh8 20. Rd1 ({The text doesn't spoil
anything, but after the game I was quite disappointed when I realized that my
originally intended} 20. a3 $5 Nc5 21. Qa2 Bc3 {basically wins on the spot
after} 22. Qc4 ({whereas} 22. Ng5 Ba6 $5 {looks a little messy.}) ({or even} 
22. e6)) 20... Na6 $6 ({More tenacious is} 20... Ba6 {although White still has
a large advantage after} 21. Nf4) 21. a3 Nac5 22. Qa2 Bc3 23. Bd2 Bxd2 24. Qxd2
Rfd8 25. Nd6 Ba6 26. f4 a4 {Black is completely lost, but Marius comes up with
a final attempt to block the b/file.} 27. f5 Nb3 28. Rxb3 axb3 29. fxe6 Qxe6
30. Ng5 {Black can do nothing about the fork on f7.} Qe7 31. Ngf7+ Kg8 32. Nxd8
Rxd8 33. Qxd4 Rb8 34. Rb1 h6 35. Qc3 Qg5 36. Rxb3 Rxb3 37. Qxb3+ Kh7 38. Qc3
Qg4 39. Qf3 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Charbonneau, Pascal"]
[Black "Hebert, Jean"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B08"]
[WhiteElo "2386"]
[BlackElo "2398"]
[Annotator "Hebert,J"]
[PlyCount "134"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 g6 {This looked like a good choice against an aggressive and
theoretically well prepared opponent. In Modern or Pirc setups, knowledge of
concrete lines is much less important than strategic understanding.} 2. d4 Bg7
({I have also often played other second moves to avoid committing my dark
squared bishop too early. The fact that this bishop doesn't always belong on
the fianchetto square can be illustrated easily enough with a line like} 2...
c6 3. f4 $6 d5 4. e5 h5 {when the bishop is far more useful on the a3-f8
diagonal to support the central break ...c5.}) 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 {A flexible
move. White can now prepare queenside castling with Qd2 followed by a kingside
offensive with h4, or he can simply continue with the development of his
kingside minor pieces if he so wishes.} Nf6 ({Played with a specific idea in
mind, as otherwise I would have played the routine} 4... c6 {followed by ...b5.
}) 5. Nf3 ({Here} 5. f3 {to rule out ...Ng4 looks more natural.}) 5... O-O 6.
Qd2 {White clearly aims to quickly exchange dark squared bishop with Bh6 next,
but although the system has been played frequently by no less than GM Michael
Adams I find the whole thing a bit too straightforward to cause Black real
problems.} a6 $1 {Black probably has a dozen reasonable moves from this
position, which proves once more how important undestanding is in such
positions compared to knowledge of specific variations. The main thing is to
come up with a plan of development that will create sufficient counterplay.
Compared to the more common 6...c6 the text has several serious advantages:
Black's B/b7 attacks pawn/e4 directly, and square/c6 remains free for the
knight to pressurize the other central pawn. Note that if White had played 5.
f3 instead of 5.Nf3 then 6...a6 would be rather pointless because pawn/e4
would be securely defended.} 7. Bd3 ({Pascal follows his intended setup
without noticing the peculiarities of the position. He would have been better
off with} 7. Bh6 Bg4 8. O-O-O Bxf3 9. gxf3 Nbd7 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. f4 {when
White appears to have good prospects on the kingside, but Black's solid game
was certainly not without counterchances in Adams-Svidler, Groningen 1995.}) ({
Black also had little to fear after} 7. a4 b6 8. Bh6 Bb7 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O e6
11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. Rfe1 c5 {in the game Gallagher-Van Wely, Krumbach 1991.})
7... Bg4 {The most logical reply now that pawn/e4 has been secured. The idea
is to spoil White's pawn structure and put pressure on pawn/d4 with ...Nc6.} ({
Also possible is} 7... b5 8. a4 b4 9. Ne2 a5 10. Ng3 Ng4 11. Bg5 f6 12. Bf4 e5
13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Bc4+ Kh8 15. Qxd8 Rxd8 16. Bd2 {with no apparent edge for
White in the game Fontaine-Beim, DE 2001.}) 8. Bh6 $6 {This typical maneuver
appears unsatisfactory here because Black is able to play ...Nc6 with strong
pressure on pawn/d4.} ({Black's game also looks quite pleasant after} 8. O-O-O
e5 9. d5 Bxf3 10. gxf3 Nh5 {when the bishop pair was meek compensation for
White's inferior pawn structure in Carlier-Gurevich, Cappelle la Grande 1995.})
({Perhaps the retreat} 8. Be2 {is safest, and White retains a small space
advantage after} Nc6 (8... b5 $6 9. a3) 9. d5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Ne5 11. Be2) 8...
Nc6 ({Also possible is} 8... Bxf3 9. Bxg7 Kxg7 10. gxf3 Nc6) 9. Bxg7 Kxg7 10.
d5 $2 ({A positionnally undesirable move that leads to a difficult game. It
was still not too late to bail out of the worst with} 10. Be2 {even though it
is quite clear that} Bxf3 ({or} 10... e5) 11. Bxf3 e5 {gives Black an easy
game.}) 10... Bxf3 $1 11. dxc6 Bxg2 12. Rg1 ({Black had to see earlier that
his adventurous bishop does not get into trouble after} 12. cxb7 Bxh1 13.
bxa8=Q Qxa8 14. Qe2 Bg2 15. f4 Bh3) 12... Bh3 13. cxb7 Rb8 14. Bxa6 {White's
extra pawn is only a temporary luxury. After it falls, White has to cope with
his opponent's superior pawn structure and active heavy pieces on the
queenside where White's king is likely to seek shelter.} c6 15. Qe3 ({During
the game I momentarily feared} 15. e5 {but realized quickly that White's
problems have magnified after} dxe5 16. Qxd8 Rfxd8) 15... Qa5 16. Bc4 ({Trying
to hold on to pawn/b7 with} 16. Qd3 Be6 17. Rg3 Nd7 {does not solve White's
problems.}) 16... Be6 $1 17. Bxe6 fxe6 {The bishop exchange has activated
Black's R/f8 and supplied the second player with a useful pawn mass in the
center.} 18. f4 {With his game already on the critical list, Pascal goes for
complications.} Rxb7 19. O-O-O Nh5 $6 ({More precise is to force a weakening
of the pawn structure surrounding White's king with} 19... Qb4 $1 20. b3 Nh5
21. Ne2 ({the ending after} 21. Rdf1 Nxf4 22. Rxf4 Rxf4 23. Qxf4 Qxc3 24. Rf1
Qf6 {is very pleasant for Black}) 21... Qa3+ 22. Kd2 $1 Qa5+ ({but not} 22...
Qxa2 $4 23. Qc3+ {followed by 24.Ra1 to trap Black's queen}) 23. Qc3+ Qxc3+ 24.
Kxc3 Nxf4 25. Nxf4 Rxf4 26. e5 $1 d5 {and despite White's Fritz-like ingenuity,
Black maintains a serious advantage.}) 20. Rdf1 Qb4 21. Nd1 Nf6 22. Re1 ({After
} 22. f5 Nxe4 23. fxe6 Rbb8 {Fritz claims approximate equality, and it is only
after a further} 24. Rxf8 Rxf8 25. Rg4 d5 26. Rh4 h5 27. Rf4 Rf6 28. Rxf6 Kxf6
{that he admits his earlier poor positional judgment.}) 22... d5 {[#]} 23. f5
$2 ({Things have seemingly gone so wrong for White that Pascal is in no mood
to conceive of a way to survive by means of normal moves. Far more sensible
than giving up a pawn is} 23. exd5 $1 cxd5 ({White also has counterplay after} 
23... exd5 24. f5 Ne4 25. fxg6 hxg6 26. h4) 24. a3 Qa4 25. Qe5 {when White's
dominant queen makes the position difficult to assess.}) 23... Nxe4 24. fxg6 h6
$1 ({I am still not completely sure if Black's cautious approach in the game
is correct, but it seems that} 24... hxg6 25. h4 Rf5 26. Rg4 {gives White
adequate counterplay after} Qa5 27. a3 ({but not} 27. Reg1 $2 Qxa2 28. Rxg6+
Kf7 29. Qa3 Qxa3 30. bxa3 Rf3) 27... Rf3 28. Rxg6+ $3 Kxg6 29. Rg1+ Rg3 30.
Rxg3+ Nxg3 31. Qxg3+ Kf7 32. h5 {and Black's king is in danger.}) 25. Ref1 Rf6
{With his king completely safe, plus an impressive central pawn mass and a
dominant knight in his favor, Black's positional advantage is huge.} 26. Rf4
Qb6 {Probably a wise decision, since 27.Rh4 could have been bothersome.} 27.
Qxb6 Rxb6 28. Rfg4 h5 29. R4g2 Ra6 $1 {Just a little move to make sure that
White's a/pawn does not get to square/a4 any time soon.} 30. a3 c5 {Black
plans to provoke his opponent into playing c3 after ...c4 when White's
queenside pawn structure is completely fixed.} 31. c4 d4 $2 {Black's worst
move of the game, probably provoked by the urge to go forward in a superior
position. To be honest, I did not fully realize the consequences of this move
other than contemplating the poor state of White's N/d1.} ({Correct instead is
to force White to undouble my pawns with} 31... Ra4 $1 32. cxd5 exd5 {and
Black is now blessed with two connected passers along with his other trumps.})
32. Re2 Nd6 33. Re5 Rc6 34. Rgg5 $2 ({Pascal, sometimes a defensive move is
good! Instead} 34. b3 $1 {gives White the advantage after} Rxg6 (34... h4 35.
Kc2 Rxg6 36. Rxg6+ Kxg6 37. Rxe6+ Kf7 38. Rh6 Ra6 39. a4) 35. Rxg6+ Kxg6 36.
Nf2 $1) 34... Nxc4 35. Rxc5 e5 $1 {Thanks to this elegant tactical move Black
regains his advantage.} 36. Rxc6 Rxc6 37. Nf2 ({Worse is} 37. b3 Ne3+ 38. Kd2
Rc2+ 39. Kd3 e4+ {and Black wins.}) 37... Nxa3+ ({Very much unclear is} 37...
Ne3+ 38. Kb1 Rc2 39. Nd3 Rxh2 40. Nc5 $1) 38. Kd1 Nc4 39. b3 Ne3+ 40. Ke2 Rc2+
41. Kf3 {After reaching time control and giving the position some thought I
came to the conclusion that Black should win if he can maintain a healthy pair
of connected passed pawns.} Ng4 $1 ({Simplification looks like Black's most
practical approach to the position, although Fritz has a strong preference for
} 41... Nf1 42. Rxe5 Nxh2+ 43. Kg3 (43. Kg2 $4 Rxf2+) 43... Nf1+ 44. Kf3 Nd2+
45. Kf4 Nxb3 46. Rxe7+ Kxg6 {which should also win. To me, however, Black's
disconnected pawns look less imposing.}) 42. Nxg4 hxg4+ 43. Rxg4 ({Naturally
trading rooks with} 43. Kxg4 Rg2+ {is immediately fatal. Here I had a rather
long think, oscillating between taking the h/pawn or the b/pawn.}) 43... Rxh2
$1 ({I was worried that the quick advance of White's h/pawn with h4-h5-h6
could become a source of counterplay, and quite rightly so after} 43... Rc3+ $2
44. Kg2 $1 ({the retreat covers the h/file in case Black wants to stop the h/
pawn from behind. Black does win after} 44. Ke4 $2 Re3+ 45. Kf5 d3 46. Rg1 d2
47. Rd1 Re2 {followed by ...e4-e3 and ...Re1}) 44... Rxb3 45. h4 Rb8 46. Rg5 e4
47. Re5 d3 48. Rxe7+ Kxg6 49. Rxe4 {and White draws.}) 44. b4 Rb2 45. Re4 Rb3+
{Chasing the king further east} ({A little more difficult for Black is} 45...
Kxg6 46. Rxe5 Kf6 47. Rh5 e5 48. Ke4 Re2+ 49. Kd3 Re3+ 50. Kc4) 46. Kg4 Kxg6
47. Rxe5 Kf6 48. Rh5 $1 ({Pascal sets up a clever trap, and momentarily makes
me regret the check on move 45. However, we have already seen why the
immediate 45...Kxg6 is not clearly better. White fails to put up any
resistance in the line} 48. Rb5 Rb1 49. Kf3 e5 50. Ke4 Re1+) 48... e5 ({After} 
48... Rxb4 49. Kf4 {Black cannot easily get his pawns connected and mobilized,
since} e5+ 50. Ke4 {apparently leads to a theoretically drawn position.}) 49.
Rh6+ Ke7 50. Kf5 {White's defensive plan is to tie his opponent's rook to the
defense of pawn/e5, which in turn lets his own b/pawn run free.} Re3 51. b5 d3
52. b6 Kd7 $1 ({Fortunately Black does not miss that} 52... d2 $2 53. b7 d1=Q
$4 ({White still steals a draw with} 53... Rb3 54. Rh1 $1 Rxb7 55. Kxe5) ({or} 
53... Rf3+ 54. Kxe5 Re3+ 55. Kf5) 54. Rh7+ {wins for White!}) 53. Rh7+ Kc8 54.
b7+ Kb8 55. Rd7 e4 56. Ke5 Re2 $6 ({Black has a shorter and infinitely more
beautiful win with the Zugzwang maneuver} 56... Re1 $1 57. Kf4 Re2 $3 58. Ke5
d2) 57. Kd5 $1 Ka7 $1 ({White's last move sent chills down my spine, as White
now threatens to force a perpetual check by Black's rook after his king
reaches square/c6. A sample line goes} 57... d2 $4 58. Kc6 d1=Q 59. Rxd1 Rc2+ {
with a draw.}) 58. Kc5 Rb2 ({Stronger is} 58... Re1 $1) 59. Kd4 Rxb7 60. Rd8
Re7 61. Ke3 {It seems that White has established a perfect blockade, but it is
not so. White's rook cannot stay behind the d/pawn forever, and at the right
moment Black will sacrifice pawn/e4 to ensure the other pawn's decisive
advance.} Kb6 62. Rd5 Kc6 63. Ra5 ({Black also breaks through after} 63. Rd8
Rd7 64. Rc8+ Kd5 65. Ra8 Kc4 66. Rc8+ Kb3 67. Rb8+ Kc2 68. Rc8+ Kd1) 63... Rd7
$1 64. Ra1 Kc5 65. Kd2 Kd4 66. Ra4+ Ke5 67. Ra1 Rh7 0-1

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Glinert, Stephen"]
[Black "Cummings, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "2278"]
[BlackElo "2370"]
[Annotator "Glinert,S"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. f4 e6 7. Nf3 Nge7 8. O-O
O-O 9. Be3 Nd4 10. e5 Bd7 11. Ne4 Nef5 12. Bf2 Nxf3+ ({We have been following
the game Glinert-Lesiege, Brantford CA ch 2001, where} 12... Bc6 $2 {led to a
theoretically winning position for White. Instead, David plays the main line
of the variation.}) 13. Bxf3 Bc6 14. c3 h5 15. d4 cxd4 16. cxd4 Rc8 ({I
expected} 16... d5 {with a boring position that is probably a little better
for White because he has long term chances on the kingside.}) 17. h3 {A useful
move to prepare an eventual g4 while forcing Black's hand in the center
without committing my major pieces too early.} dxe5 $6 {Turning White's
impotent B/f2 into a powerful piece.} 18. dxe5 Qa5 19. Qe1 Qxe1 ({By trading
queens White tries to take advantage of his opponent's weakened queenside.
During the game I thought that} 19... Qa6 {might cause some problems, but after
} 20. a4 {Black has some problems dealing with the threat 21.Be2. After} Qd3 ({
or} 20... Qc4 21. b4 {with complications in a balanced position}) {White has a
choice between} 21. Ra3 ({or} 21. Bg2)) 20. Rfxe1 Bd5 $6 ({Now White wins a
pawn. More sense makes} 20... b6) ({or} 20... a6 {when White retains some
advantage due to his stronger bishops and potential pawn breaks on the
queenside.}) 21. g4 hxg4 22. hxg4 Nh6 23. Bxa7 Rc2 24. Bd4 Bxe4 ({Hasty. More
accurate is} 24... Rfc8 {with the threat of 25...R8c4.}) 25. Rxe4 Rd8 26. Bc3
Bf8 ({David isn't too tempted by my invitation to sacrifice an exchange with} 
26... Rd3 27. Be2 Rg3+ 28. Kh2 Rxg4 29. Kh3 Rxe2 30. Rxe2 Rxf4 {since White's
queenside majority would quickly decide the game in his favor.}) 27. Re2 $1 {
White has the bishop pair and a safe extra pawn.} Rxe2 28. Bxe2 Kg7 29. Kg2 b5
$6 {An attempt to stir up trouble.} 30. Bxb5 $2 ({I originally wanted to play} 
30. g5 Nf5 31. Bxb5 Ne3+ 32. Kf3 Nd5 {but was worried that Black might find a
draw after} 33. Bd2 ({later I realized that} 33. Ba5 {leaves Black with
absolutely nothing}) 33... Rb8 34. a4 Nc7) 30... Nxg4 31. Kf3 Nh6 32. a4 $6 ({
Now Black gets unnecessary counterplay. White should instead play for control
of the d/file and keep his opponent's knight out of play with} 32. Be2 {
followed by 33.Rd1.}) 32... Nf5 33. a5 Bc5 ({David doesn't have time for} 33...
Nd4+ 34. Bxd4 Rxd4 35. a6 {and the a/pawn costs Black a piece.}) 34. Bc4 {A
desparate attempt to hold on to the bishop pair.} Ne3 35. Be2 Nd5 36. Be1 ({
Black seems to be holding in the opposite colored bishop ending after} 36. a6
Nxc3 37. bxc3 Rd7 {and so White decides to sacrifice the b/pawn instead.})
36... Rb8 37. b4 $1 {Trading rooks. Minor pieces tend to be terrible at
defending against rook pawns.} Nxb4 38. Rb1 Nc6 ({Perhaps} 38... Kf8 {is a
little better, although White should still win after} 39. Rc1 Be7 40. a6) 39.
Rxb8 Nxb8 40. Bb5 $1 {The point. Black's knight is trapped, and White now
threatens to trade the other pair of minor pieces and queen his pawn.} f6 $2 {
David eases my task considerably. If Black simply waits, intending to
sacrifice his knight for the a/pawn, he might be able to hold despite being
down a piece. However, White is better off playing Bh4-d8-c7 first to tie down
Black's bishop on square/a7. White can then bring in his king to win
comfortably.} 41. Bc3 f5 {Now the weakness of Black's pawn/e6 gives White
another important target.} 42. a6 Kf7 43. Bd2 Nxa6 44. Bxa6 Bd4 {David wants
to trade another pair of pawns.} 45. Ke2 g5 46. Kd3 Bb2 47. Bc3 $1 {Since
Black can never trade bishops, White can use this fact to his advantage.} Bc1
48. fxg5 Bxg5 49. Bd2 Bh4 50. Bf4 {The winning plan is simple, and Black can
only sit and watch helplessly: White will put his bishop on c8 and the king to
d7 to try and win pawn/e6. Black will defend with ...Ke7, but then Bh5
followed by Bg5+ breaks Black's defense.} Bf2 51. Bc8 Bc5 52. Kc4 Ba3 53. Kb5
Ke7 54. Kc6 Bb4 55. Ba6 Bc3 56. Be2 Bd4 57. Bh5 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Herder, David"]
[Black "Ross, David"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "2250"]
[BlackElo "2345"]
[Annotator "Ross,D"]
[PlyCount "191"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 d6 2. e4 g6 3. Be3 Bg7 {My first "Rat", but hopefully not my last.} 4.
Nc3 a6 5. Qd2 b5 ({Many players feel that} 5... Nd7 {is more accurate, but in
spite of spending all morning studying this I now played the text move instead.
..}) 6. Bd3 ({White can also try to take advantage of Black's last with the
immediate} 6. a4 $1) 6... Nd7 7. a4 b4 8. Nce2 Rb8 9. a5 $5 $146 c5 10. c3 bxc3
11. bxc3 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nc5 13. Bc2 Nb3 14. Bxb3 Rxb3 15. Nc3 Nf6 {Here Black
offered a draw.} 16. Nge2 ({Also possible is} 16. f3 {to first support the
center and take away square/g4 from Black's pieces.}) 16... Be6 $5 ({Even
better is} 16... Ng4 $1 17. Bf4 e5 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. O-O O-O 20. Rfd1 Be6 {
with unclear play and compensation for Black's pawn investment after} 21. Qxd6
Qxd6 22. Rxd6 Nc4 23. Rd3 Rc8) 17. d5 ({Approximately equal is} 17. f3 Bc4 18.
O-O O-O 19. Bh6 Bxe2 20. Nxe2 Bxh6 21. Qxh6 Qd7) 17... Bd7 18. Nd4 Rxc3 $5 {I
just couldn't resist...} 19. Qxc3 Nxe4 20. Qc2 Nc5 $4 ({Usually the bishop
pair and a pawn is sufficient compensation for the exchange, but here Black
immediately commits a huge blunder to completely ruin his game. Instead, Black
does have enough counterplay after} 20... Nf6 $1) 21. O-O Qa8 22. Rab1 $1 {The
move I missed.} O-O 23. Nc6 $1 Bxc6 24. dxc6 Rc8 25. Rb6 ({White should win
straight away with} 25. Bxc5 $1 Qxc6 26. Qd3 dxc5 27. Rb6 Qc7 28. Qxa6) 25...
Rxc6 26. Rfb1 Rc8 27. Bxc5 dxc5 28. Qc4 Bd4 29. Rb7 Bf6 30. g3 Kg7 31. h4 h5 {
Herder's time trouble is the only thing that saves Black's hide.} 32. R1b6 $2 (
{Instead} 32. Rd7 Qc6 33. Rbb7 Kg8 {may be survivable.}) 32... Rd8 33. Qxc5 $2
({Similar to the game, but even better for White is} 33. Qxa6 Rd1+ 34. Kg2 Qd8
35. Qc4 Qd2) 33... Rd1+ 34. Kh2 Qd8 {It may be hard to believe, but now that
White's pieces are all far away from the kingside Black can probably just draw
by creating threats against the enemy king.} 35. Rb3 $2 ({White does keep an
edge after} 35. Rxa6 $1 Qd3 36. Rxf6 exf6 37. Rb8 Kh7 38. Rf8) 35... Qd2 $1 {
Incredibly, it is Black who is now better.} 36. Qe3 Qxa5 37. Ra3 Qf5 38. Qf3
Qc2 39. Rxa6 Rd2 40. Rxf6 {White's draw offer at this moment is actually
ridiculous, since Black has some chances to win but absolutely no chances to
lose.} exf6 41. Kg2 Rd3 $1 42. Rc7 Qxc7 43. Qxd3 Qe5 44. Qd7 Qe4+ 45. Kg1 g5 $1
46. hxg5 fxg5 47. Qd2 {About twenty years ago IM Tom O'Donnell attended a
lecture by IM Minev in Seattle. When I asked him if he had learned anything,
his reply was "yes, it is advantageous to have fewer pawns in queen endings
because then the stronger side has more squares to trade queens on".
Interestingly, the opposite is true for rook endings. In this particular queen
ending Black probably does have some winning chances, but not after Black
allows his opponent to advance the g/pawn on move 61.} Qe5 48. Qd8 Qe1+ 49. Kg2
Qe4+ 50. Kg1 Qg4 51. Qe7 Qf5 52. Qd8 h4 53. Qd4+ Qf6 54. Qe4 hxg3 55. fxg3 Qc3
56. Kg2 Kf6 57. Qd5 Qc2+ 58. Kg1 Qf5 59. Qd6+ Kg7 60. Qd4+ f6 61. g4 Qe6 62.
Kg2 Kf7 63. Qa7+ Ke8 64. Qd4 Ke7 65. Kf3 Qc6+ 66. Kf2 Qd6 67. Qe4+ Kf8 68. Qa8+
Kf7 69. Qb7+ Qe7 70. Qd5+ Kg7 71. Qf5 Qa7+ 72. Kg2 Qd4 73. Qe6 Kf8 74. Kf3 Qf4+
75. Kg2 Qe5 76. Qd7 Qe2+ 77. Kg3 Qe7 78. Qc8+ Kf7 79. Kf3 Qa3+ 80. Kg2 Qb2+ 81.
Kf3 Qb3+ 82. Kf2 Qd5 83. Qc7+ Ke6 84. Qc8+ Qd7 85. Qc4+ Ke7 86. Qe4+ Qe6 87.
Qd4 Qa2+ 88. Kf3 Qb3+ 89. Ke4 Ke6 90. Qe5+ $1 Kf7 91. Qc7+ Kg6 92. Qd7 Qc4+ 93.
Kf3 Qf4+ 94. Kg2 Qe4+ 95. Kg3 Qe5+ 96. Kg2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Gardner, Robert"]
[Black "Lawson, Eric"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B32"]
[WhiteElo "2268"]
[BlackElo "2200"]
[Annotator "Lawson,E Gardner,R"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{RG: For me this was one of those "how could this happen" games, and the
following analysis was both painful and productive.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 {EL: I had played the Pelikan against Gregory Huber earlier in
the tournament, and so this time the Kalashnikov seemed like a better choice
to avoid Robert's preparation.} 5. Nb5 d6 6. g3 {EL: The bishop fianchetto is
unusual in this position, but according to the databases White's approach
scores well in practice. Since I had never examined this variation before,
Black decides on a really aggressive approach instead of developing normally.}
h5 {EL: The text has actually been played before, but Black's three losses
cannot be attributed to the opening. My opponent now took some time for his
response, which likely means that I surprised him with my plan.} ({RG: I knew
that Lawson plays the Kalashnikov, and in my preparations became intrigued by
the obscure 6.g3 move. However, shortly before the round I found out that
Pinski and Aagard consider} 6... Nf6 7. Bg2 ({better} 7. Bg5) 7... Bg4 {to be
favorable for Black. Eric's reaction is considered dubious, but I cannot
recall now why this is so.}) 7. h3 {RG: White prevents the annoying ...Bg4
while preparing for the coming advance ...h4.} a6 8. N5c3 h4 {EL: Black tries
to create dark square weaknesses in White's camp.} 9. g4 Nge7 10. Bg2 Ng6 11.
Nd5 Nce7 $6 ({EL: Black should prefer} 11... Be7 {with a slight edge to White.}
) 12. Nbc3 {RG: By now I was very happy with my control of square/d5.} Be6 $6
13. Bg5 {RG: Reasoning that the reply ...f6 at some point weakens the light
squares on my opponent's kingside.} Rb8 {EL: Black wants to dislodge White's N/
c3 with the pawn advance ...b5-b4, which also helps with Black's potential
weakness on square/b6.} 14. a4 {RG: Playing for control of square/b6 is
thematic in these positions..} f6 {EL: This move does weaken my light squares,
but the pin on my N/e7 was just too annoying.} 15. Be3 Nxd5 16. exd5 $6 ({EL:
With} 16. Nxd5 {White retains a small advantage. After seeing the text I felt
that Black is now just about equal.} {RG: Perhaps I was too happy with my
position at this point and should have preferred the much more sensible} Bxd5
17. exd5 Nf4 18. Be4 {with a very pleasant edge to White. In retrospect, I
failed to accurately assess the strength of Black's counterplay after the text,
and found myself instead aimlessly looking for an advantage in spite of a
feeling that I simply wasn't calculating well on this day...} ({or} 18. Bxf4))
16... Bf7 ({RG: Somehow I had paid far more attention to} 16... Bd7 {and only
now realized that Black's bishop does a fine job protecting his kingside after
Eric's move.}) 17. Be4 Ne7 {EL: Black still has aggressive intentions, and now
plans to expand on the kingside with ...g6 followed by ...f5.  RG: And only
here did I realize that Black has a plan to reorganize his kingside with ...g6,
...Bg7 and ...0-0 followed by ...f5.} 18. Qf3 Ng8 $1 {EL: Necessary to protect
pawn/f6.} 19. a5 g6 20. Bb6 Qd7 21. Na4 {EL: White's plan looks a little slow
to me.  RG: One serious drawback to my 16th move is that White now has trouble
finding a suitable assignment for his N/c3.} Bg7 22. Ba7 {RG: This attempt to
harrass Black's pieces is risky, since the bishop eventually gets cut off from
the defense of his kingside.} Rd8 23. Nb6 {RG: I was by now considerably
behind Eric on the clock, and the need to pick up the pace might have had
something to do with the errors that eventually ruin White's game.} Qb5 ({RG:
On} 23... Qc7 24. Ra3 {White intends 25.Rc3 next.}) 24. b3 ({EL: The only way
for White to pose problems for his opponent is with} 24. Qa3 {RG: makes more
sense, when White threatens to pick up an important pawn after 25.c4 Qc5 26.
Qxc5 dxc5 27.Na4. Black can move his king to make room for his queen to
retreat, but that does not help improve the coordination of his pieces.}) 24...
Ne7 25. Ra4 ({RG: Here} 25. c4 {can be met by} Qb4+ 26. Kd1 f5 {when the
weakness of pawn/b3 allows Black to fight for the center.}) 25... O-O {RG:
Black succeeds in coordinating his pieces.} 26. c4 Qe8 27. O-O Kh8 {EL: We
have reached a position typical of King's Indian structures. Black is busted
on the queenside, but counts on kingside play against White's slightly exposed
king for his counterchances.} 28. b4 {EL: (?)  RG: I had dreams of creating a
passed pawn on the queenside in the distant future, but this plan is too slow
and for the time being actually weakens my c/pawn.} f5 ({EL: Playing too fast,
Black misses} 28... Nc8 {to win an exchange plus a pawn. In retrospect, I was
too focused on my kingside attacking plans.}) 29. Bc2 ({RG: After} 29. gxf5
gxf5 30. Bc2 Bh5 {Black can follow up with ...Bh6 and the occupation of the g/
file. Instead, I preferred the structure that arises after Black initiates the
pawn exchange.}) 29... Bg8 30. Ra3 fxg4 31. Qxg4 Rf4 {RG: A very nice outpost
for Black's pieces.} 32. Qe2 Nf5 33. Na4 ({RG: Perhaps} 33. Be4 {is better.})
33... b5 {EL: (!) This sacrifice is logical. Black gains access to square/d4
for his knight in exchange for a pawn and cutting White's B/a7 off from the
defense of his kingside.  RG: This sacrifice surprised me, although Black now
gets better control of square/d4 and my dark squared bishop is cut off from
the rest of his army.} 34. axb6 Nd4 35. Qd1 Qf7 36. f3 {EL: White's plan is to
limit his opponent's pressure down the f/file by bringing his light squared
bishop to square/e4.} ({RG: White is concerned with a piece landing on squae/
f3, but now I think that preserving the bishop and preventing the annoying ...
e4 with} 36. Bb1 {is a much better approach to my problems.} {Black can build
up with} Rf8 ({the immediate occupation of square/f3 can now be dealt with
adequately after} 36... Rf3 37. Rxf3 Nxf3+ 38. Kg2 Rf8 39. Be4) ({while} 36...
Nf3+ 37. Rxf3 Rxf3 38. b7 {might provoke Black into taking a perpetual check
with} Qf4 39. Kg2 Rg3+) 37. f3 Nf5 ({Black cannot forget about his opponent's
b/pawn, viz.} 37... Nxf3+ 38. Raxf3 Rxf3 39. Rxf3 Qxf3 40. Qxf3 Rxf3 41. b7)
38. Be4 {when White still holds on.}) 36... Nxc2 37. Qxc2 e4 38. Qe2 {RG:
White has two better tries:} ({here} 38. Qd1 {prevents ...Bd4+ and leads to a
very unclear position with mutual promotion threats after} Rf8 39. Re3 Qd7 40.
Rxe4 Rxe4 41. fxe4 Rxf1+ 42. Kxf1 Qxh3+) ({White can also return material
immediately with} 38. b7 Qxb7 39. Be3 Rxf3 40. Rxf3 exf3 41. Nb6 {when there
is no guarantee that Black will keep his extra pawn.}) 38... Rf8 39. Kg2 Qf6 $1
40. b7 ({RG: In time trouble I just didn't see Eric's response, but there
really wasn't really anything better available for White anyway. After} 40. Re3
Qg5+ 41. Kh1 Qf5 42. Qh2 ({Black also wins after} 42. Kg2 Bd4 43. Rxe4 Qg5+ 44.
Kh1 Rxf3) 42... exf3 43. b7 Rxc4 44. b8=Q Rxb8 45. Bxb8 Rc2 {White is helpless
in spite of his extra rook.}) 40... Qe7 $1 41. b8=Q ({EL: In time pressure
White misses} 41. Re3 {with a more tenacious defense.  RG: (?) White
inexplicable took 35 of his remaining 51 minutes on the clock for this blooper,
when instead} exf3+ 42. Rfxf3 Qxb7 43. Bb6 ({on} 43. Rxf4 Rxf4 {Black has the
additional threat 44...Rxc4}) 43... Bxd5 44. cxd5 Qxd5 {gives a position where
Black can easily regain his piece, but some practical problems remain before
he can convert his advantage. Grandmaster Shirov once said that it is
important psychologically to forget about what happened before the time
control, and focus on the position at hand. Here I clearly failed to do so,
still angry at myself for blowing such a good position and landing in one that
I should now be happy to survive...}) ({RG: Here} 41. Kh1 Qxb7 {seems to
emphasize the weakness of my f/pawn.}) 41... exf3+ 42. Qxf3 Rxf3 43. Rfxf3 ({
EL: A little better is} 43. Raxf3 {although White is still completely lost.})
43... Rxb8 44. Bxb8 Qe2+ $1 ({RG: During my long think over the 41st move I
had concentrated on finding ways that Black might use his queen to trap my B/
b8. I saw that} 44... Qb7 45. Bxd6 {is fine, but that alone didn't convince me
that the bishop is safe. Had I found a line where the bishop dies, I would
have given up on 41.b8Q in favor of a playable alternative, and a convincing
line that shows it was safe would have made me look for alternatives, and
probably led to the discovery of the rather obvious check that Eric played in
the game?! The lesson to remember is that a more methodical approach to my
analysis during the game might have prevented wasting half an hour on the
clock on an irrelevant sideline!}) 45. Rf2 Qxc4 {EL: White's poorly
coordinated pieces have no way of coping with Black's invading queen and
bishop pair.  RG: The remainder is a brutal slaughter, and White lets his
clock run down while Eric brings in his bishops to weave a mating net.} 46. Nb6
Qxb4 47. Rxa6 Qe4+ 48. Kg1 ({EL: Equally hopeless is} 48. Kf1 Qd3+) ({as well
as} 48. Kh2 Be5+) 48... Bd4 49. Raa2 Bxb6 50. Bxd6 Qe1+ 51. Kg2 Bxd5+ 52. Rf3
Qg1# 0-1

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Kret, Ted"]
[Black "Neven, Knut"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2190"]
[BlackElo "2309"]
[Annotator "Neven,K"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8.
Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 ({While many Gruenfeld players inevitably choose} 9... cxd4
10. cxd4 Qa5+ 11. Bd2 Qxa2 {in this position, I have never trusted Black's
position after} 12. O-O {GM Khalifman, for example, not too long ago published
a lengthy article in New In Chess that virtually refutes the main line} Bg4 {
Buyer beware!}) 10. d5 Ne5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qd2 e6 13. f4 Bc7 ({This retreat
is a lot more reliable than Black's other options. While Ftacnik's} 13... Bg7 {
is the main line, I have never liked defending against White's pawn roller in
the resulting positions.}) 14. O-O ({GM Smirin tried} 14. Bc4 {against me in
the game Smirin-Neven, Calgary CA op (3) 1996, but got nothing after} a6 15. a4
b5 {Ted plays the main line.}) 14... exd5 15. exd5 Ba5 16. f5 {White has
several options, but this is one of his most aggressive. Ted was prepared!}
Bxf5 17. Rxb7 Qf6 18. Bb2 Qe5 ({Fritz also likes} 18... Rfb8 {with an
evaluation that is probably best described as unclear.}) ({During the game I
couldn't recall if the queen should now go to d6 or e5. There is an important
tactic somewhere in a related line where ...Qe5 must be inserted en route to
d6, but the details had long since been forgotten.} 18... Qd6) 19. Bf3 $2 ({In
the post mortem Ted and I looked mostly at the push} 19. d6 {which is the most
critical test of Black's setup and leads to interesting if totally unclear
complications after} Rab8 {White's pawn/d6 looks intimidating on first
inspection, but in many lines turns out to be a liability for White's poorly
coordinated pieces.} ({or} 19... Rad8 20. Rd1 Rd7) 20. Rxa7 (20. Re7 Be6 (20...
Qd4+ 21. cxd4 Bxd2 22. Bc1 (22. Ba1 Bg5) 22... Bxc1 23. Rxc1 cxd4 24. Rd1 Rfe8)
21. Ba1 (21. Rxa7 c4 22. Kh1 Rfd8 (22... Qc5)) (21. Rd1 Bd8 22. Ba1 c4) 21...
Rfd8 22. Rd1 c4 23. Kh1 Rb6 24. d7 Rbb8 25. Bxc4 Bc7 26. Qh6 Qf6 27. Rxe6 fxe6)
20... c4 (20... Rxb2 21. Qxb2 Bxc3 22. Qb5 Qxd6) 21. Kh1 (21. Re7 Qc5+ 22. Kh1
Bd8 23. Qc1 (23. Re3 Rxb2) 23... Bxe7 24. Ba3 Bg5 25. Bxc5 Bxc1 26. Rxc1 Rfe8
27. Bf3 Re5) 21... Bd3 (21... Qc5 22. Rxa5 Qxa5 23. Bxc4 Qc5 24. Rf4 Rb6 25. d7
Rd8 26. Rd4 Qe7) 22. Bxd3 (22. Re1 Rfe8 23. d7 Re6 24. Rxa5 Qxa5 25. Bxd3 Qg5 (
25... Qd5)) 22... cxd3 23. Ba3 Qe2 24. Qc1 (24. Qd1 Bxc3 25. Rc7 Rbc8 26. Rb7
Rc6 27. Re7 (27. d7 Rd8 28. Qb1 d2 29. Rb8 Qxf1+)) 24... d2 (24... Bxc3)) 19...
c4 $1 {Totally thematic. Black buries his opponent's dark squared bishop, and
the opening of the a7-g1 diagonal suddenly creates serious threats against
White's king. Moreover, pawn/d5 is now permanently cut off from his neighbor
on the c/file, and Black gets to use d3 as an outpost for his bishop.} (19...
Rfb8) 20. Re1 Qd6 21. Kh1 Rfe8 $5 22. Rb5 $2 ({White hasn't seen the danger
yet, but Black is much more comfortable even after} 22. g3) ({or} 22. Bc1)
22... Bb6 $6 ({What a shame. Black can already wrap things up with} 22... Qf4
$1 23. Qf2 Bb6) 23. Rb4 $2 ({Again} 23. Bc1 Bd3) ({and} 23. g3 Qd7 {are better
defensive tries, but White is lost positionally in any case.}) 23... Qf4 $1 {
Nice. White cannot defend against mate on the back rank and the b8-h2 diagonal
at the same time.} 24. Bc1 Bc7 25. d6 Bxd6 0-1

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Charbonneau, Pascal"]
[Black "Lesiege, Alexandre"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2428"]
[BlackElo "2660"]
[Annotator "Charbonneau,P"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{This game proved to be the turning point of the tournament. Lesiege was a
full point ahead of me, and only a win would allow me to stay in the race.} 1.
e4 c6 {Somewhat of a surprise: Alexandre has mostly preferred the Najdorf
recently, but the Caro-Kann has always been a solid backup in his repertoire.}
2. d4 d5 3. e5 {I have played the Panov-Botvinnik Attack in almost all of my
previous games against the Caro-Kann, so Alexandre was certainly well-prepared
for that possibility. On this occasion the Advance Variation gets its first
outing ever...} Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. a3 {This sutble move is popular at GM level.
The idea is to prepare the pawn advance c4 to cramp Black while avoiding the
check ...Bb4+ as well as wasting a tempo with the B/f1.} h6 $6 ({Black avoids} 
5... Ne7 6. Nh4 {when his bishop is traded off against the knight, but the
text is too passive and weakens Black's kingside structure.}) 6. Be2 Ne7 7. O-O
Nd7 8. Nbd2 Bh7 9. b3 c5 $6 {This move allows White to open the position with
a big development lead.} 10. dxc5 $1 Nxc5 11. b4 Nd7 ({Objectively} 11... Ne4 {
may be best, although White has a very scary initiative after} 12. Nxe4 Bxe4
13. Bb5+ Nc6 14. Nd4 Qc7 15. f3 Bg6 16. c4 {with ideas of Qa4 and cxd5.}) 12.
c4 dxc4 13. Nxc4 Nd5 14. Bb2 Be7 15. Na5 $1 {A strong move that cramps Black's
position for the remainder of the game.} Qb8 16. Bc4 N5b6 17. Bb3 O-O 18. Qe2
Rd8 19. Rad1 Kh8 $6 ({Black plays a strange waiting move to force his opponent
to commit himself. The problem is that after} 19... Nf8 20. Nd4 Ng6 21. f4 {
the threat 22.f5 is crushing.}) 20. Rfe1 $5 {Once again Alexandre is forced
into the defensive maneuver ...Nf8-g6 because otherwise Nd4 followed by f4-f5
runs over his position on the kingside.} Nf8 21. Nd4 Nd5 22. f4 $6 ({Pure
craziness! White has a simple win at his disposal with} 22. Qf3 Kg8 23. Nb5 {
when Black's N/d5 cannot move because pawn/b7 hangs, forcing instead} a6 24.
Nd6 Bxd6 25. exd6 {and now both captures on d6 lose an exchange.}) ({Also
simple and strong is} 22. g3 {followed by f4.}) 22... Nxf4 {I had dismissed
this capture far too quickly, and now realized that Black has a new lease on
life.} 23. Qf3 ({Perhaps} 23. Qf1 $5) 23... N8g6 ({White is much better after} 
23... Nd5 24. Qxf7 Bg8 25. Qf3) 24. g3 $6 ({White is only slightly better after
} 24. Nxb7 Nh4 25. Qxf4 Qxb7 26. Qg4) 24... Nh3+ $2 ({In the post-mortem
Alexandre and I discovered that after} 24... Nd5 $1 25. Qxf7 Nxe5 26. Qxe6 Bf6
{White has a hard time proving any advantage. Even Fritz did not offer any
helpful suggestions!}) 25. Kg2 Nxe5 ({After} 25... Ng5 26. Qxb7 Qxb7+ 27. Nxb7
Rd7 28. Na5 {Black literally has a knightmare on his hands with his N/g5.}) 26.
Qxb7 {Now Black, almost magically, loses material.} Bf6 27. Qxb8 Raxb8 28. Kxh3
Nd3 29. Rxd3 $1 {White keeps a winning advantage because of the fork on square/
c6.} Bxd3 30. Nac6 Rbc8 31. Nxd8 Rxd8 32. Rd1 {The only move, but White keeps
his advantage.} Be4 33. Bc3 Rc8 34. Be1 Rd8 35. Bf2 Bd5 36. Bxd5 Rxd5 37. Rd2
Bg5 38. Rc2 a6 39. Rc5 Rd8 40. Ra5 Rd6 41. Kg2 Kh7 42. Rc5 Bf6 43. Rc6 Rd8 44.
Nc2 Rd2 45. a4 e5 46. a5 e4 47. Kf1 Be7 48. b5 axb5 49. a6 {This game is my
first win ever against a Canadian Grandmaster at regular time controls. The
timing couldn't have been better, and I now felt confident about my chances
since I had already faced nearly all of the other top players in the field.}
1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Jiganchine, Roman"]
[Black "Sokourinski, Sergei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2219"]
[BlackElo "2266"]
[Annotator "Jiganchine,R"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{Preparation for a game is a tricky thing: often we get a chance to look very
deeply into a certain variation, but without any guarantee that the same
position will appear on the board in your next game. Knowing just how much
time and effort to expend on such specific preparation is a skill that depends
as much on luck as it does on an accurate assessment of your opponent and his
preferences.} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7.
cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qb3 Bxf3 9. gxf3 e6 10. Qxb7 Nxd4 11. Bb5+ Nxb5 12. Qc6+ Ke7 13.
Qxb5 Qd7 14. Nxd5+ Qxd5 15. Bg5+ f6 16. Qxd5 exd5 17. Be3 Ke6 18. O-O-O Bb4 19.
a3 Rhc8+ 20. Kb1 Bc5 21. Rhe1 Bxe3 22. Rxe3+ Kd6 23. Rde1 Rc4 {Although this
is a theoretical position that promises Black sufficient counterplay based on
hitting White's weakened kingside structure with moves like ...Rf4 and ...Rh4,
my own experience from the other side of the board has made it clear that far
more precision is required from Black, while White rarely risks losing.} 24.
Re7 ({During my home preparation my aim was to concentrate on the destruction
of Black's kingside pawns, which carries far less risk for White than the
alternative approach} 24. Re6+ Kc5 25. Ra6) 24... Rh4 ({After} 24... Rf4 25.
R1e6+ Kc5 26. Rxg7 Rxf3 27. Rxh7 Rxf2 28. Rf7 Rg8 29. Rexf6 Rg1+ 30. Ka2 Re2
31. Rf2 Rg2 32. Rxe2 Rxe2 {White is also up a pawn, although it is unclear if
he can still win.}) 25. R1e6+ Kc5 26. Rxg7 Rxh2 27. Rxf6 Rxf2 28. Rxh7 Rb8 29.
Rc7+ Kd4 30. Rc2 Rxc2 31. Kxc2 {I actually had this very position on my
computer the morning before the game! Black's response looks very natural
because 31...Ke3 supports the advance of Black's d/pawn and attacks the
opponent's pawn/f3. Therefore I checked the move with Chess Tiger on my
computer, and the machine's response seemed rather convincing.} Ke3 $6 ({
During the game I began to worry about} 31... Rh8 {although} 32. b4 {probably
gives White better prospects after} Rh2+ 33. Kb3) ({For the most stringent
theoretical test of the variation one must look deeply into} 31... a5 $5 32.
Ra6 Rc8+ 33. Kb3 ({a game between Belikov and Dreev ended in a draw after} 33.
Kd2 Rb8 34. Kc2 Rc8+ 35. Kd2) 33... Rb8+ 34. Ka2 Rb5) 32. Re6+ Kxf3 $2 ({
Better practical chances for survival are offered by} 32... Kd4 33. f4 Rh8) 33.
b4 $1 {Although Black has recovered his pawn, the price he pays is too high.
White threatens to transfer his king to square/d4, while Black's monarch is
cut off on the kingside. This is, in fact, the most pleasant position for
White that I examined in my preparation.} Kf4 ({The alternative} 33... a5 {
also leads to trouble for Black after} 34. bxa5 Rb5 35. a6 Ra5 36. Kb3 d4 37.
Kb4 Rd5 38. a7 Rd8 39. Kb5 d3 {when} 40. Rd6 $5 {leads to a won queen vs rook
ending after, for example} Rxd6 41. a8=Q+ Ke3 42. Qe8+ Kd4 43. Qh8+ Ke4 44. Kc5
Rd5+ 45. Kc4 Rd6 46. Qh7+ Ke5 47. Qe7+ Re6 48. Qg5+ Kd6 ({or} 48... Ke4 49.
Qd5+) 49. Kxd3) 34. Kc3 $1 ({Much better than} 34. Kd3 $2 {when Black takes
advantage of his access to square/b3 with} a5 $1 35. bxa5 Rb3+ 36. Kd4 Rxa3 37.
a6 Ra5 {and an inevitable draw.}) 34... Kf5 35. Ra6 Ke4 ({Far too passive is} 
35... Rb7 36. Kd4 Rd7 {when Black's king remains isolated on the kingside.})
36. Rxa7 {The stronger side normally wins positions with two pawns vs one when
the defending king supports his own passed pawn as he does here. Eventually
White sacrifices his rook for the d/pawn, leaving Black's rook defenseless
against the far advanced and connected passed pawns on the queenside. Here,
however, a degree of accuracy is still required since Black's pawn is already
far advanced while my own passers have barely started on their journey...} Re8
({Tempting, but in fact less resilient, is} 36... d4+ 37. Kb3 d3 38. Re7+ Kd4
39. a4 d2 40. Rd7+ Ke3 41. b5 Ke2 42. Kb4 d1=Q 43. Rxd1 Kxd1 44. a5 {when the
position of Black's rook in front of his opponent's pawns rather than behind
them makes his defense a hopeless one.} Kc2 45. a6 Ra8 46. Ka5 Rh8 47. a7 Kc3
48. b6 Kc4 49. b7) 37. Kb3 Rd8 $5 ({This is Black's best try. Objectively} 
37... d4 38. Rd7 {is lost too, but the post-mortem revealed that matters are
far from trivial. Black is but a single tempo short in the line} d3 (38... Re5
39. Kc4) 39. b5 Rb8 40. a4 Ke3 41. Kc4 d2 42. Kc5 Rc8+ 43. Kb6 Rc1 44. a5 d1=Q
45. Rxd1 Rxd1 46. a6 Ra1 47. Ka7 Kd4 48. b6 {since a K/c5 would now secure the
draw for Black.}) 38. Re7+ Kd3 39. b5 d4 40. a4 Kd2 41. b6 d3 {[#]} 42. Rh7 $2
{The purpose of 38.Re7+ was to trap Black's king in front of his own pawn. The
text lifts this restriction, and Black now has some hope of scrambling to a
draw after all.} ({Instead, White's easiest route to victory is} 42. b7 $1 Kd1
({or} 42... Rb8 43. a5 Kc1 44. a6 d2 45. Rc7+ Kb1 46. Rd7) ({or} 42... Kc1 43.
Rc7+ Kb1 44. Rc8) 43. a5 d2 {and now the simple} 44. Rh7 Ke2 45. Rh2+ Ke3 46.
Rxd2 Kxd2 47. a6 Rb8 48. Kc4) 42... Ke3 43. Rh1 $6 ({White should in fact
question Black's king as to his intentions with the intermediate check} 43.
Rh3+ $1 {since on} Ke2 {Black's king has taken another important step away
from White's advancing queenside pawns.} ({the retreat} 43... Kd4 44. Kb4 d2
45. Rh1 {is completely hopeless, since the d/pawn is blocked with Rd1}) {and
White gains a critical and winning tempo in the line} 44. Rh2+ $1 ({but not} 
44. Kb4 $2 {with a draw after} d2 45. Rh1 ({or} 45. Rh2+ Ke3 46. Rxd2 Rxd2)
45... Rf8 $1 ({White still wins after} 45... d1=Q $2 46. Rxd1 Rxd1 47. a5 $1)
46. a5 Rf1 47. Rh2+ Rf2 48. Rh1 Rf1) 44... Ke3 45. a5 $1 d2 46. Rxd2 Rxd2 47.
b7 Rd1 48. Kc2 Rd2+ 49. Kc1 Rd8 50. a6 Rb8 51. a7) 43... d2 44. Kb4 $4 ({Only
at home after the game did a look at this position with an endgame tablebase
reveal that a study-like win is possible only with the very precise move order
} 44. a5 d1=Q+ 45. Rxd1 Rxd1 46. Kc4 $1 Ke4 47. a6 $1 Rc1+ {[#]} 48. Kb4 $3 ({
here} 48. Kb5 Kd5 49. a7 Rb1+ 50. Ka4 (50. Ka6 Kc5 51. b7 $4 Ra1#) 50... Ra1+ {
is only a draw, and White even has to avoid losing with} 51. Kb3 $2 Kc6) 48...
Kd4 {Black maintains the opposition, but his king remains too far away from
the enemy pawns.} ({also insufficient is} 48... Kd5 49. a7 Rb1+ 50. Kc3) 49. a7
Rb1+ 50. Ka3 Kc3 51. Ka2 Rb2+ 52. Ka1 $18) 44... d1=Q ({During the game I was
very concerned about} 44... Rc8 {when the threat 45...Rc1 forces the response}
45. Rd1 {Practically speaking this is no longer important, however, since we
can demonstrate a draw for Black after the text.} ({a silly oversight is} 45.
b7 $2 Rb8 $1 46. Kc3 {with a draw})) 45. Rxd1 Rxd1 {Endgame theory constantly
preaches that rooks belong behind passed pawns, and here, too, Black's active
rook should secure the draw...} 46. Kc5 Rc1+ ({Black can already force a draw
by stalemate with} 46... Ke4 $1 47. b7 Rb1 48. Kc6 Rc1+ 49. Kb6 Kd5 50. a5 Rb1+
51. Kc7 Rc1+ 52. Kb8 Kc6 53. a6 Rb1 $1 {[#]} 54. Ka8 Kc7 55. a7 Rxb7) 47. Kd5
Rb1 48. a5 Rb5+ $4 {The critical error.} ({During the game both players missed
that} 48... Kd3 $1 {holds the position for Black on the strength of his
ideally placed rook. After} 49. Kc6 ({on} 49. Kc5 Ra1 50. a6 {the typical
intermediate check} Ra5+ $1 {secures the draw}) 49... Rc1+ $1 50. Kb7 ({
blocking one of his pawns with the king after the text is White's only try,
since} 50. Kd7 Rb1 {just repeats the position}) 50... Kc4 51. a6 Kb5 52. a7 Ra1
$1 {Black is just in time to pick up pawn/b6 with the king after he sacrifices
his rook for White's a/pawn.}) 49. Kc6 Rxa5 50. b7 Ra6+ 51. Kc5 Ra5+ 52. Kc4
Ra4+ 53. Kc3 Ra3+ 54. Kb2 Rd3 55. b8=Q {Even Peter Svidler failed to win this
ending against fellow GM Boris Gelfand at the recent FIDE KO event in Moscow,
but this curiosity is due almost entirely to the new FIDE time controls.} Rd2+
56. Kc3 Rd3+ 57. Kc4 Rd4+ 58. Kc5 Rd3 59. Qe5+ Kd2 60. Kc4 Rf3 61. Qg5+ Ke2 62.
Kd4 Kf2 63. Ke4 Rg3 64. Qd2+ Kf1 65. Kf4 Rg2 66. Qc1+ Ke2 67. Qc2+ Kf1 68. Qc1+
Kf2 69. Qd1 Rh2 70. Qd2+ Kg1 71. Qe1+ Kg2 72. Kg4 Rh1 73. Qe2+ Kg1 74. Kg3 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.28"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Lawson, Eric"]
[Black "Glinert, Stephen"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "2391"]
[Annotator "Lawson,E"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{After consecutive wins in rounds six and seven I still had a chance for the
IM title - as, of course, did my opponent!} 1. d4 Nf6 ({After the game Stephen
indicated that he considered avoiding my Trompowsky with} 1... b6) 2. Bg5 e6 3.
e4 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. Nc3 {This particular line gives White a big development
lead in exchange for Black's bishop pair and solid position.} Bb4 6. Qd2 {
White plans the pawn advance f4 next, and Black reacts by breaking in the
center immediately.} c5 7. a3 Bxc3 {This exchange is probably Black's safest
response.} ({Also played is the retreat} 7... Ba5) ({or the capture} 7... cxd4)
8. bxc3 d6 9. f4 O-O ({The immediate central counter} 9... e5 {is considered
better by theory.}) 10. Nf3 b6 {Stephen readies for his queenside development.}
11. Bd3 Bb7 12. e5 {Black's threat was 12...c4!?} Qe7 13. O-O dxe5 14. fxe5 {
The pawn exchange on square/e5 has created chances for White on the half open
f/file.} Rd8 15. Qf4 {The queen is much more actively placed here, and it
makes sense to get off the d/file in case Black finds a way to create problems
there.} Ba6 16. c4 {White declines his opponent's offer to trade off one of my
main attacking pieces, and now threatens with the deadly 17.Qe4.} Bb7 17. c3 {
Black's bishop retreats to prevent the threat 17.Qc4 and gives White enough
time to consolidate his center.} Na6 18. d5 $5 ({Instead of the normal
attacking plan with} 18. Rf2 {White goes for a continuation that either forces
Black to give an exchange, or leads to a very cramped and defensive position
after White gets in 19.d6.}) 18... exd5 19. cxd5 Rxd5 {Black has to take the
pawn before White plays c4, but cannot do so with the bishop since his N/a6
requires protection.} 20. Qe4 {Forcing Black's response, since 21.Qh7+ as well
as 21.Bxa6 are threatened.} Rxd3 21. Qxd3 Rd8 22. Qe2 {Black's solid position
and extra pawn provides some compensation for the lost exchange.} Nc7 23. Rad1
Nd5 ({White can meet} 23... Ba6 {with} 24. Rxd8+ Qxd8 25. Rd1 {and control of
the d/file.}) 24. Qd3 $2 c4 $1 {Nicely played by Stephen, who will pick up my
pawn/a3 no matter where my queen goes now. The structural change is in his
favor, since it creates a passed a/pawn for Black and a weak c/pawn for White.
Therefore White liquidates into a drawn endgame.} 25. Qxc4 Ne3 26. Rxd8+ ({
Unfortunately} 26. Qb4 Rxd1 {plays into Black's hands, since} 27. Qxe7 (27.
Rxd1 Qxb4 28. Rd8+ {fails to} Qf8) 27... Rxf1# {is mate}) 26... Qxd8 27. Qd4
Qxd4 28. Nxd4 Nxf1 29. Kxf1 Kf8 30. Kf2 Ke7 31. g3 {White's last pawn moves
onto a dark square.} f6 32. exf6+ Kxf6 33. Nb5 {White's knight maneuver
completely levels the position.} a6 34. Nd6 Bc6 35. Ke3 Ke6 ({Obviously bad is
} 35... Ke5 36. Nc4+ {followed by 37...Nxb6.}) 36. Nc4 b5 37. Na5 Bd5 {White's
king reaches square/d4 followed, if necessary, by c4 to exchange more pawns.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Hebert, Jean"]
[Black "Glinert, Stephen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "2398"]
[BlackElo "2278"]
[Annotator "Glinert,S Hebert,J"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{SG: With three rounds to go I now needed 2.5/3 for the IM title. After barely
scraping a draw against Lawson in the previous round, today's pairing with
Black against Hebert certainly wasn't an easy one, and made even more
difficult by the fact Jean also needed a win to stay in contention with
Charbonneau, Spraggett and Lesiege at the top of the leaderboard.} 1. e4 b6 2.
d3 $5 {SG: Jean mentioned after the game that expected 1...b6, but at the last
moment decided that he wanted a non-theoretical battle.} Bb7 3. f4 e6 4. Nf3 d5
5. e5 c5 6. c3 d4 $5 {SG: Black doesn't want to play a French structure.
Instead, this advance weakens square/e4, but in exchange gains control of
square/f5 for Black together with prospects of coming into square/e3 some time
later.} 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. Ne4 Nf5 9. Be2 Be7 10. O-O ({SG: During the game} 10. g4
Nh4 11. O-O Nxf3+ 12. Bxf3 Nc6 {seemed possible, although Black looks fine
with ideas like ...dxc3 ...Qd7 and ...O-O-O.}) 10... h5 11. Nfg5 g6 12. Bf3 Nc6
13. Rb1 {SG: White should probably block the center with the pawn advance c4
followed by a kingside attack. Black's counterplay in that case comes from
opening files on the queenside. If White waits too long, then Black again gets
to play ...dxc3 followed by ...Qd7 and 0-0-0 with pressure on the d/file.} Qd7
14. b4 $2 {SG: Jean wants to open the position, but here it is Black's pieces
that spring to life.} dxc3 15. bxc5 {SG: Not Nxc3? Qd4+.} Ncd4 {SG: The
weakness of square/d4 causes White a multitude of problems. Not only do I get
rid of his powerful B/f3, but Black also threatens to play 16...c2, as well as
reducing White's mobility by blockading pawn/d3.} 16. Rb4 c2 17. Qe1 Nxf3+ 18.
Rxf3 bxc5 19. Rc4 Bd5 20. Rxc2 ({SG: This exchange sacrifice doesn't really
help White. Better is} 20. Rc3 {followed by 21.Ba3 with pressure on pawn/c5.
Even though Black is a pawn ahead, the position remains extremely complicated.}
) 20... Nd4 21. Rff2 Nxc2 22. Rxc2 Bxe4 {SG: Else White has 23.Rxc5.} 23. Nxe4
Qxd3 $5 {SG: A slightly risky capture. Black thinks he can defend against
White's attack and, if necessary, return the exchange to reach an endgame with
an extra pawn or two.} 24. Rd2 Qc4 25. Nd6+ Bxd6 26. exd6 O-O ({SG: I
considered} 26... O-O-O {but after} 27. Ba3 {Black already has trouble
defending his pawn/c5 against 28.Qe3 or 28.Qd1 while also worrying about the
counterplay White obtains if he can get his queen to the a8-h1 diagonal. After
the text, Black can always play ...f6 to defend on the kingside.}) 27. Bb2 Qxf4
{SG: Insurance?!} 28. Be5 Qc4 $6 ({SG: Much stronger is} 28... Qb4 {when Black
has threats of his own. White cannot, for example, play} 29. Qf2 ({against} 29.
Qe3 {Black has} Qb1+ 30. Kf2 Qf5+ {followed by ...f6 and either ...Rd8 or ...
Rb8 with a rock-solid defense}) 29... Qb1+ {with an exchange into a won ending
for Black.}) 29. Qe3 f6 30. Bc3 Rab8 31. h3 e5 $6 ({SG: The wrong idea. Much
better is} 31... Rf7 $1 {and Black stops the d/pawn.}) 32. Ba5 Qf4 {SG: In
Black's time trouble this queen exchange seems safest. The two extra pawns,
even though doubled, should be enough to win, or so I hoped.} ({SG: However,
with two minutes left on the clock Black doesn't notice the beautiful winning
line} 32... Rb1+ 33. Kh2 Qc1 34. Qh6 {The move I was worried about!} Qg1+ 35.
Kg3 h4+ $1 {and now} 36. Qxh4 ({or} 36. Kxh4 Qe1+ 37. Kg4 Qe4+ 38. Kg3 g5 $1)
36... Qe1+ 37. Rf2 $1 (37. Kg4 Qe3 {is over}) 37... Qxa5 38. Qe4 f5 (38... Qc3+
39. Kh2 Qc1 40. Qxg6+ Kh8 41. Rf5 {leads to a draw}) 39. Qxb1 Qc3+ 40. Kh2 Qd4
{leads to a position where Black should be able to win White's pawn/d6 cleanly.
}) 33. Qxf4 exf4 34. d7 Rbd8 35. a3 $1 {SG: A critical move, whose importance
becomes apparent later.} ({JH: But not} 35. a4 {as we shall see later. Square/
a4 should stay available for the rook.}) 35... Kf7 36. Bxd8 Rxd8 37. Rd5 Ke6 ({
SG: No better is} 37... c4 38. Rc5 Rxd7 39. Rxc4 {when} g5 40. Ra4 {leaves
Black with the same problems as the game continuation. Note that if White had
played the natural 35.Kf2 instead of 35.a3! Black could instead pick up the a/
pawn with 39...Rd2+.}) 38. Rxc5 Rxd7 39. Ra5 {SG: Suddenly Black's rook is
tied to the passive defense of his a/pawn, while his king cannot advance
across the fifth rank. 'JH: White is two pawns down on the kingside, but
Black's doubled f/pawns and my own ideally placed rook give me good chances to
draw. However, nothing is easy for the defender after a long struggle to avert
defeat...'} h4 {JH: 'Black's main idea is to push his g/pawn all the way to g3
and then go after pawn/g2. However, this cannot be achieved against a
responsible defense.'} ({SG: Still in time trouble, Black avoids} 39... g5 40.
h4) 40. Kf2 f5 41. Ra6+ Kf7 42. Ra5 {'?!'} ({JH: This careless move allows
Black's king to find a safe haven on square/g5. Instead, after} 42. Ra4 $1 {no
such try is possible and White draws easily after} g5 43. Ra6 Rb7 44. Ra4 Rb3 (
{or} 44... Kg6 45. Ra6+ Kh5 46. Ra5) 45. Rxa7+ Kg6 46. Ra6+ Kh5 47. Ra5) 42...
Kf6 43. Ra6+ Kg5 44. Ra4 {'!'} ({JH: Black wins without difficulty after} 44.
a4 $2 Rd2+ 45. Kf3 Rd3+ 46. Kf2 Rg3 47. Rxa7 f3 48. gxf3 Kf4) 44... Rd2+ 45.
Kf3 Rd3+ 46. Kf2 Rg3 {'!'} 47. Rxa7 f3 48. gxf3 Rxh3 49. Kg2 {'!'} Rg3+ 50. Kf2
Rh3 {'JH: Had the a/pawn been on square/a4, Black would now win as shown
earlier by 50...Kf4.'} 51. Kg2 Rg3+ 52. Kf2 f4 53. Rh7 h3 {SG: Black wants to
trap his opponent's king on the back rank, followed by winning White's a/ and
f/pawns. Easier said than done!} 54. a4 Kf5 {SG: First Black's king needs to
be brought closer to the action.} 55. a5 Ke5 56. a6 Rg2+ 57. Kf1 Ra2 58. Re7+
$4 {'?' 'JH: The losing move. I became very worried about the Black king
reaching square/e3 and wanted to prevent this possibility by giving a series
of checks on the d/ and e/files if necessary.'} ({SG: During the game neither
player was sure that White can defend after} 58. Rxh3 Kd4 59. Rh6 Rxa6 60. Kf2
{However, Black has to give his g/pawn in order to make progress, and as long
as White's king is able to retreat to the 'short side', i.e. the h/file, the
position remains a book draw.} (60. Kf2 Kd3 61. Rh8 Ra2+ 62. Kg1 Ke3 63. Rg8
Kxf3 64. Rxg6 {we have reached a theoretically drawn position, demonstrably
because White's king is chased away on the short side.} {The game now ends in
a picturesque drawing position after} Ra1+ 65. Kh2 Kf2 66. Rb6 ({here} 66. Rg2+
Ke3 67. Rb2 {is also a draw}) 66... Re1 67. Rb2+ Re2 68. Rb3 f3 69. Rb8 Kf1+
70. Kg3 f2 71. Kf3 $1)) 58... Kd6 {'!'} 59. Rh7 ({SG: At this point Jean wrote
} 59. Rg7 {on his scoresheet, but realized in time that the pawn queens after}
Ra1+ (59... h2 60. Rh7 Ke5 61. a7 Rxa7 62. Rxh2) 60. Kf2 h2 {Therefore his
rook has to return, and the game is lost. 'wins for Black.'}) 59... h2 60. a7 (
{SG: White is in a kind of Zugzwang. On} 60. Rh6 Kc7 {Black picks up the a/pawn
}) ({while} 60. Ke1 Ra1+ {loses instantly.}) 60... Rxa7 $1 {SG: Now 61.Rxh2
Ra1+ 62.Kg2 Ra2+ leads to an easily won pawn endgame for Black. A difficult
loss, which put Jean out of contention for first place.} ({JH: Now} 60... Rxa7
61. Rxh2 Ra1+ {forces the rook exchange and leads to a winning pawn endgame.
It was during this crucial game that I realized how tired I felt after several
long and hard fought earlier games that lasted 5-6 hours each. But explaining
my poor showing at the end of this event by fatigue alone would be too simple.
My general lack of ambition, based on the assumption that the top places were
not within my reach, was mistaken. And when I found myself in a tie for first
place after eight rounds I was unprepared psychologically to keep fighting for
one of the top spots.}) 0-1

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Lesiege, Alexandre"]
[Black "Lawson, Eric"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E43"]
[WhiteElo "2660"]
[BlackElo "2200"]
[Annotator "Lawson,E"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{Considering that this was my first ever game against a Grandmaster, and the
fact that the game would be broadcast live on the internet, my only hope was
to play well.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 {Alexandre frequently plays
the Rubinstein System against the Nimzo-Indian, and has an impressive score
with it.} b6 5. Bd3 ({The first surprise already, as Alexandre usually plays} 
5. Nge2) 5... Bb7 6. Nf3 Ne4 7. Qc2 $6 ({Alexandre and I - purely by chance -
wound up sitting next to each other on the plane back to Montreal, and he
suggested that} 7. O-O {at this moment is in fact better than the text. Later
at home my database confirmed this.}) 7... f5 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. Ne1 (
{White's common alternative is} 10. Nd2) 10... Nd6 {Black immediately launches
an attack on the opponent's pawn/c4. My databae doesn't turn up any examples
of the text, and we eventually transpose to other lines in any case.} 11. f3
Nc6 12. Ba3 Na5 $5 $146 ({Several games by GMs continued} 12... Rf6 {with
satisfactory results, but my move also looks logical.}) 13. Bb4 ({Aside from
the text, White can also try} 13. c5 $6 Ndc4) ({or} 13. Qe2 $5 Ba6 $1 14. c5
Bxd3 15. Nxd3 Ndc4 16. Bb4) ({and even} 13. Qa4 Bc6 14. Qb4 Nab7 $1 {which
looks unclear.}) 13... c5 $5 {Black wants to get play against pawn/c4, even at
the cost of a temporary pawn sacrifice.} 14. dxc5 ({Understandably White wants
to keep his dark squared bishop, since} 14. Bxa5 bxa5 15. dxc5 Nf7 16. e4 Ne5
17. exf5 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 Rxf5 19. Qd6 Bc6 {looks quite unclear.}) 14... bxc5 15.
Bxc5 Qc7 16. Bb4 $1 ({Here} 16. Bxd6 $2 Qxd6 {is only equal.}) 16... Naxc4 $2 (
{Wrong. Instead} 16... Rfc8 $5 17. c5 Ndc4 18. Qe2 Ne5 {gives Black reasonable
compensation for the pawn in view of his active pieces and the poorly
coordinated White forces.}) 17. Bxc4 Nxc4 18. Bxf8 Nxe3 19. Qd3 Nxf1 20. Bd6
Qc6 21. Nc2 Qb6+ $6 ({Although} 21... Ba6 $1 {followed by something like} 22.
Qd4 Qc4 23. Nb4 Qe2 24. Qf2 Qxf2+ 25. Kxf2 Bc4 26. Rd1 a5 27. Nd3 Nxh2 28. Bxh2
Bxa2 {is objectively Black's best try, I felt that the check offered better
practical chances.}) 22. Kxf1 Ba6 23. c4 Bxc4 24. Qxc4 Qxd6 25. h3 $2 ({White,
amazingly, is going to regret this choice, and he should prefer instead} 25.
Qd4 $1) 25... Rb8 26. Qd4 Qxd4 27. Nxd4 Rb2 {White is certainly winning here,
but matters aren't as trivial as they look...} 28. Nb3 Kf7 29. Rd1 Rxa2 30.
Rxd7+ Kf6 31. Nc5 Rc2 $2 {Black gives a second pawn, but reaches an ending
that isn't easy to convert for his opponent. Alexandre was getting short of
time by now also, and that doesn't make his task any easier.} 32. Rc7 Kg6 33.
Nxe6 Rxc7 34. Nxc7 a5 35. Ke2 a4 36. Kd3 $4 ({On the plane we analyzed} 36. Nb5
$1 {for hours, and finally came up with} f4 37. Kd3 Kh5 38. Nc3 $1 (38. Ke4 $2
g5 39. Kf5 h6 40. Kf6 Kh4 41. Kg6 Kg3 42. Kxh6 Kxg2 43. Kxg5 Kxf3 44. h4 Kg3 {
only draws}) 38... a3 39. Kc2 {and White wins because his knight prevents an
invasion by Black's king just in time after} Kh4 40. Ne2) 36... a3 37. Kc2 Kh5
38. Ne6 Kh4 39. Nxg7 Kg3 40. Nxf5+ Kxg2 41. Kb3 ({Here} 41. Nd4 a2 42. Kb2 Kxh3
{also draws.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.29"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Ross, David"]
[Black "Gardner, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[WhiteElo "2397"]
[BlackElo "2268"]
[Annotator "Ross,D"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{This game has some personal historical interest, because it marks the last
game in a string of 23 played in Canadian Championships without a loss. Mind
you, alert readers will be quick to point out that my record also includes 16
draws and only 7 wins! Anyway, in round ten GM Spraggett would torture me for
nearly seven hours before forcing my resignation.} 1. d4 b5 $5 {The "Rocket",
as he is affectionatly known in some circles, counters with an opening that is
completely unknown to me?! You have to love a game where such surprises on the
very first move are still possible after thirty years!} 2. e4 Bb7 3. Bxb5 $1 {
I have always successfully answered the Sokolsky after 1.b4 e5 2.Bb2 with 2...
Bxb4 and it makes sense that here the extra tempo should promise White a fine
game. NM Greg Huber told me that the Albertans dismissed my move during their
preparations with the comment that "no human would play that!" It is a good
thing that my feelings aren't hurt easily...} Bxe4 4. Nf3 e6 5. O-O Be7 ({Most
games continue with} 5... Nf6 {but Robert has a different scheme in mind.}) 6.
Re1 f5 $2 {Black wants to create an outpost on square/e4, but there just isn't
enough time for such luxuries.} 7. c4 Nf6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Ba4 $1 {
This retreat is surprisingly difficult to meet. White intends to attack N/e4
while recycling the bishop to a more flexible square.} c5 11. d5 $1 {Black may
well be lost already.} Na6 12. Bc2 Nb4 ({Black sacrifices a pawn that I should
probably have accepted. Another try is} 12... Qb6) 13. Bb1 $6 ({It seems
ridiculous to me now that during the game I wanted to play for more than the
winning advantage White has after} 13. Bxe4 $5 fxe4 14. Rxe4 exd5 15. cxd5 Bf6
16. a3 Na6 17. d6) 13... exd5 14. a3 Qa5 $2 {Already in time trouble, Robert
fails to notice that his opponent has a concrete refutation to this queen
excursion.} 15. Bd2 $1 Nxd2 16. Nxd2 ({The text is good enough also, but White
can win beautifully with} 16. Qxd2 $1 Bf6 17. Ba2 $3 Nc6 18. cxd5 Qxd2 {since}
19. dxc6+ {is now check thanks to the B/a2.}) 16... Bf6 17. Nb3 {The point.
White picks up the knight.} Qa4 18. axb4 Qxb4 19. Qxd5+ Kh8 20. Bc2 Bxb2 21.
Rab1 Qc3 22. Re2 Rae8 23. Qxc5 Rg8 24. Qxf5 g6 25. Qd3 a5 26. Nxa5 Qxa5 27.
Rxb2 {And Black resigns, since 27...Qe1+ 28.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 29.Qe1 doesn't work.}
1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Berry, Jonathan"]
[Black "Hebert, Jean"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2292"]
[BlackElo "2398"]
[Annotator "Berry,J"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 {A study of my opponent after this unexpected move showed surprise, but
any hope of 45 minutes of squirming was dashed in 30 seconds.} e6 {I had also
prepared for the Pirc and Rat, the Sicilian, and even the Caro-Kann! Depth, of
course, suffers at the expense of breadth.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {A new move for me.}
c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. dxc5 Qc7 $1 {So much for my preparation. ECO mentions only 5..
.Bxc5.} 6. Nc3 {It seems natural to bring out a piece and threaten 7.Nb5 but
all is not well.} Bxc5 7. Bf4 a6 ({Fritz and I like} 7... Qb6 $5 {which Jean
rejected because of} 8. Qd2 {But then} ({White's attack after} 8. Bd3 Bxf2+ 9.
Kf1 a6 10. Na4 Qa7 11. Qe2 {is still speculative, but at the cost of only a
pawn.}) 8... Bxf2+ $1 9. Qxf2 Qxb2 10. Nb5 Qxa1+ 11. Kd2 Kf8 {is too
speculative even for me, and so I was going to play 8.Bd3 instead.}) 8. Bd3
Nge7 9. O-O h6 10. a3 {Lackadaisical.} ({More to the point is} 10. Bg3) 10...
f5 11. exf6 Qxf4 12. fxe7 Nxe7 13. b4 Ba7 14. Ne2 Qf6 15. c4 $1 {In accord
with John Watson's advice in "Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy", knights are
close range pieces, and their possessor often needs to open the position to
bring them into contact with the enemy. Sure, we know that the opposite often
holds in static positions, but not all positions are static. I only wish that
I could better absorb the lessons of Watson's book and also of Alex
Yermolinsky's "The Road to Chess Improvement".} O-O 16. Rc1 Bd7 17. Bb1 Rad8
18. Qc2 {After needlessly investing 22 minutes on the last two moves, White is
now down to 3 minutes to reach move 40.} g6 ({Jean's choice came as a shock,
since I expected} 18... Nf5) ({Brave souls might also try} 18... Bc6 {when the
check} 19. Qh7+ {isn't fatal.}) 19. Ng3 Bc6 20. cxd5 {One minute. After the
game Jack Yoos gently scolded by thanking me for providing the audience with
the entertainment of playing 20 or so moves in the final minute or two in
several of my games.} Bxd5 ({The capture with the bishop allows White to gain
access to square/e4 for a knight, but the capture} 20... exd5 {also involves
concessions and thus White's aggression on moves 13 and 15 is justified. After
the early loss of the bishop pair I was not happy with my position and reacted
in "counterplay" mode, but I have to admit now that White is ok.}) 21. Nh5 ({
The position is equal after} 21. Ne4 $1) 21... Qh8 22. Qc7 gxh5 ({Fritz
suggests} 22... Rde8 {again with 23...Bb8 as a possible threat.}) 23. Qxe7 Bb8
{Jean guards against the rook invasion, and now 24.Be4 would lead to equality.}
24. Rfd1 (24. Be4) 24... Bd6 25. Qh4 Qg7 $2 {Black optimistically delays ...
Bxf3 just in case ...Rxf3 is better, but this allows White to eliminate his
opponent's threats and reach a comfortable position.} 26. Rxd5 exd5 27. Qxh5 {
Thanks to the 30 second increment, I was up to two minutes again. White has a
pawn for the exchange, safer king, and pawn/d5 is a goner.} Bf4 28. Rd1 Bg5 29.
h4 Bf6 30. Ba2 Kh8 31. Bxd5 Rfe8 {Jean offered a draw around here.} 32. g3 ({
By making safety moves, White allows his best winning chance to evaporate.
Possible, for example, is} 32. Rc1 Bb2 $6 33. Rc4 Bxa3 34. Rg4 Qa1+ 35. Kh2 Bc1
36. Nd4 Re7 37. Qf5 {with a winning advantage.}) 32... Re7 33. Kg2 Red7 34. Qf5
$6 Bb2 35. Rd3 $6 ({With the clock ticking and no clear plan of progress in
sight, I now offered a draw, but Black already has no worries. White might try
} 35. a4 {instead.}) 35... Qh7 36. Qxh7+ Rxh7 37. Rb3 ({Also possible is} 37.
a4 Rhd7 38. Rb3) 37... Bxa3 38. Bxb7 Rxb7 39. Rxa3 Rd6 ({Or} 39... Rb6) 40. Ra4
({White overlooks the equalizing} 40. Ne5 Kg7 41. Nd3) 40... Rb5 41. Ne1 Re5 {
With a sinking heart, I now realized that my planned maneuver Nf3-e1-c2-e3
could not be completed.} 42. Nc2 Rd2 43. Na1 $1 {An oft-overlooked property of
a knight in the corner of the board is that it cannot be pinned!} Rf5 $1 44.
Rxa6 Rfxf2+ ({Unaccountably, on} 44... h5 {I intended to play not} 45. Kh3 $1 (
{but the awful} 45. Kg1 $2 Rfxf2 46. Rh6+ Kg7 47. Rxh5 {overlooking} Rg2+ 48.
Kf1 Rdf2+ 49. Ke1 Ra2 50. Kf1 Rgb2)) 45. Kh3 Kg7 46. Ra7+ Kg6 47. Ra6+ Rf6 48.
Nb3 Rb2 49. Nc5 Rxa6 50. Nxa6 Kf5 51. Nc7 Rxb4 52. Nd5 Rb3 53. Nf4 Rb2 54. Nd3
Re2 55. Nf4 Rd2 56. Nh5 Rd7 57. g4+ Ke5 58. g5 Rd3+ 59. Kg4 Rd4+ 60. Kh3 hxg5
61. hxg5 Kf5 62. Ng3+ Kxg5 63. Kg2 Kg4 64. Ne2 Rd2 65. Kf2 Rd3 66. Nc1 {Jean
smiled and said "It's a draw." In a similar position at slow time controls, GM
Lubomir Kavalek made Duncan Suttles stay for a couple of extra hours at the
1971 Canadian Open. Duncan said "Can somebody give this guy a mirror?" because
Kavalek was making no progress, only repeating mirror-image positions. The
game, of course, was drawn, and Kavalek did not win the tournament.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Cummings, David"]
[Black "Lesiege, Alexandre"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2370"]
[BlackElo "2570"]
[Annotator "Cummings,D"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. O-O
dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. Rd1 Qc7 ({The critical test and also more active is} 10...
b5) 11. Ne4 $1 ({Much better than} 11. e4 {which can be answered by} e5 {After
the text, White's queen and light squared bishop soon combine to generate an
initiative against Black's kingside.}) 11... Nxe4 12. Qxe4 c5 13. Bd3 Nf6 14.
Qh4 e5 {Otherwise White plays 15.e4 with a strong attack.} 15. dxe5 Bxe5 16.
Nxe5 Qxe5 17. Bd2 $1 {White doesn't waste time defending the b/pawn.} Qxb2 {
The capture looks risky, but since Black is bound to suffer under White's
bishop pair in any case, he might as well grab a pawn for compensation.} 18.
Rac1 h6 19. Bc3 Qb6 20. a4 $1 ({Since the ending after} 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. Qxf6
gxf6 22. Rxc5 Be6 {is probably fine for Black, White needs to find another way
to improve his position before he can make any progress. With this idea in
mind, White prepares for a better version of the same ending by first fixing
his opponent's queenside pawn structure.}) 20... Re8 21. a5 Qe6 22. Bc4 Qe7 23.
Bxf6 Qxf6 24. Qxf6 gxf6 25. Bd5 Re5 $6 ({Black can try} 25... Rb8 {although
White still has the better ending after} 26. Rxc5 b6 27. Rb1 {Trying to hold
on for the draw, however, did not suit Alexandre's tournament position.}) 26.
e4 Be6 $2 {Objectively, this move allows White to force a position in which
every one of Black's pieces has been trapped.} 27. f4 Rh5 28. Bxb7 Ra7 29. Rb1
$6 ({The text doesn't spoil anything, but White has a simple win after} 29.
Rd8+ {when} Kg7 ({and} 29... Kh7 30. Rb8 Bb3 31. Rc3 c4 32. e5 $1 fxe5 33. Bf3
{traps Black's rook}) 30. Rb8 Bb3 31. Rc3 c4 32. Rg3+ Kh7 33. Rgg8 {forces a
quick mate.}) 29... Ba2 30. Rb6 c4 31. f5 ({Black's king remains trapped after
} 31. Rd8+ $1) 31... Kf8 32. Rd7 ({Much simpler is} 32. Rd8+ Ke7 33. Rc8) 32...
Rh4 33. Rc7 $4 {White overlooks the only trap in the position...} Rxe4 $1 34.
Rxf6 ({I had seen Black's last, but missed that Black now defends with} 34.
Rc8+ Re8) 34... c3 35. Bxe4 $2 ({White has lost his composure. Given my
intention to take the rook with Bxe4, infinitely better is} 35. Rcxf7+ Bxf7 36.
Bxe4) 35... Rxc7 36. Bc2 Bc4 37. Rxh6 Ke7 38. g4 Bd5 39. Rxa6 Rc4 40. f6+ Kd7
41. Rb6 Rxg4+ 42. Kf1 Kc7 ({During the game I was concerned about} 42... Rg2 {
but after} 43. Ba4+ Kc7 44. Rb5 Bc4+ 45. Kxg2 Bxb5 46. Bc2 {White is doing
well.}) 43. Ke2 Rh4 44. Ke3 Rxh2 45. Kd3 Be4+ 46. Kxe4 Rxc2 47. Kd3 Ra2 48. Ra6
({The game is prolonged needlessly after} 48. Kxc3 Rxa5 {since Black can win
White's pawn/f6.}) 48... Kb7 49. Rb6+ Kc7 50. Ra6 Kb7 51. Rb6+ Kc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.30"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Lawson, Eric"]
[Black "Charbonneau, Pascal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "2428"]
[Annotator "Charbonneau,P"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{Eric Lawson is a young player who has taken chess very seriously in the past
year. He has made tremendous progress, and was still undefeated after nice
rounds! I absolutely had to win to keep pace with Kevin Spraggett on the
leader board.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 {As expected, Eric plays his favorite
Trompowsky. Black reacts with a line that leads to unbalanced and complicated
positions.} c5 $5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. d5 Qb6 5. Qc1 Bh6 $5 {This unusual move is
perhaps not all that useful, but it has scored well in practice. Black's
normal plan is to omit the bishop maneuver altogether and just play ...d6
followed by ...f5 and ...Bg7.} 6. e3 d6 7. c3 Nd7 8. Nd2 f5 9. Nh3 {Eric was
still playing very quickly, which I took as a sign of very thorough
preparation. The position is roughly level.} Rg8 $5 ({Hard to say where
Black's king should go. Also interesting is} 9... O-O {followed by ...Kh8 and
then ...Rg8. Later in the game we will see that the king can be in danger on
the queenside!}) 10. Nc4 Qc7 11. a4 Nf6 12. Qd2 b6 {Black plays to put
pressure on pawn/d5, and eventually he has to follow up with ...e6 to open the
game for his bishops.} 13. Na3 a6 14. Rd1 Bb7 15. c4 Qd7 16. Qc2 e6 17. Qb3 $1
Qc7 18. g3 {White has been forced to place his pieces on funny squares: both
knights are on the edge of the board, and the bishop will not be too happy on
square/g2.} O-O-O 19. Bg2 e5 $1 ({Closing the center is correct, and Black now
has a definite edge. Instead the exchange} 19... exd5 {gives White access to
square/c4. Also, after the text White's N/h3 can no longer join the battle via
square/f4.}) 20. O-O Bg7 21. Ra1 Kb8 22. Qc2 Bc8 23. Rfb1 ({White's best
chance is} 23. a5 $5 {Once Black locks up the queenside, he has a free hand on
the other wing.}) 23... a5 $1 24. Nb5 Qe7 25. Ra3 ({The impulsive} 25. b4 cxb4
26. Rxb4 axb4 27. a5 bxa5 28. Rxa5 Bb7 {doesn't seem to lead to mate.}) 25...
h5 26. Ng5 h4 27. Rb3 hxg3 28. hxg3 Ng4 29. Nf3 e4 30. Ne1 Be5 31. Nc3 Ka7 32.
Ne2 Bd7 33. Ra3 Rg7 {Black has plenty of time to mobilize his forces for the
final assault on White's king.} 34. Nf4 Rdg8 ({Not so easy is} 34... Bxf4 35.
exf4 e3 36. f3) 35. Kf1 Qg5 36. Ke2 Nxf2 $1 37. Kxf2 Qxg3+ 38. Kf1 Bxf4 39.
exf4 e3 40. Ke2 Qxf4 ({Even better is} 40... Qh2 41. Kf1 ({or} 41. Kxe3 Rxg2)
41... Rxg2 42. Nxg2 e2+ {and White can resign.}) 41. Bf3 Qh2+ 42. Kd1 Qe5 43.
Qc3 f4 44. Qxe5 dxe5 45. Nd3 Bf5 46. Rba1 $2 Bxd3 47. Rxd3 Rg1+ 48. Kc2 Rxa1
49. d6 e4 50. Bxe4 e2 51. d7 {After this game I watched Kevin torture IM David
Ross for several hours to win a long game, which meant that I needed to win my
final game also...} 0-1

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.31"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Charbonneau, Pascal"]
[Black "Cummings, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2428"]
[BlackElo "2490"]
[Annotator "Charbonneau,P"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{This is probably the most nervous game I have ever played. I had to win in
order to ensure a tie for first place, and this caused me to play very
aggressively - perhaps too much so...} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nc6 {David is a very solid IM, and a tough last round opponent. The Taimanov
is his long time favorite, but also an opening I play with Black. For the
occasion I had prepared a complicated line that I hoped he had never faced
before.} 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 a6 7. Be3 Nf6 8. a3 $5 {This move has been played
hundreds of times by players who want to castle queenside and avoid the pin
Bb4. But it can also be used as a super aggressive tool to steer the game away
from the kinds of positions that Taimanov players consider their bread and
butter.} Be7 9. f4 d6 10. g4 $1 {The point of White's aggressive setup.} O-O {
Black has a number of ways of snatching the g/pawn, but all of them hand
control of square/d5 to White. In exchange for the pawn White gets plenty of
pressure in the center and along the half-open g/file. For an example of this
strategy readers should examine the game Movsesian-Van der Sterren, DE BL 2000.
} 11. g5 Nd7 12. h4 Re8 ({Very good for White is} 12... Nxd4 13. Qxd4 e5 14.
Qd2 exf4 15. Bxf4 Ne5 16. Nd5) 13. Qd2 b5 14. h5 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Bb7 16. O-O-O e5
17. Be3 exf4 18. Bxf4 {White has an overwhelming attack, and it should be only
a few moves for him to break through to Black's king.} Bf8 19. Rdf1 $6 ({All
of White's moves leading up to this position were fine, but now the text lacks
the required punch. Much more aggressive is} 19. g6 {when Black's king
immediately finds itself under fire.}) 19... Nc5 20. g6 $1 Rxe4 21. Bf3 $6 ({
A better reaction is} 21. gxf7+ Kh8 ({Black loses after} 21... Qxf7 22. Nxe4
Qa2 23. Nc3 Qa1+ 24. Nb1 Nb3+ 25. cxb3 Rc8+ 26. Qc2) 22. h6 {when} Rxf4 23.
Qxf4 Bxh1 24. hxg7+ Bxg7 25. Rxh1 {should still win for White.}) 21... b4 $1
22. axb4 Rxb4 23. gxf7+ $2 ({And that is simply bad?! Much better is to
exchange bishops first with} 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. gxf7+ Kh8 ({or} 24... Qxf7 25.
Bxd6) 25. h6 Rxb2 26. hxg7+ Bxg7 27. Qh2 {and Black must resign.}) 23... Qxf7 {
The tables have been turned completely, and it is now Black who has a strong
attack!} 24. Nd5 Ra4 $1 25. b4 {Here I began to panic, feeling that the
position has completely drifted away from me.} Ra1+ $2 ({Fritz gives Black a
winning advantage after} 25... Ra3 $1) 26. Kb2 Rxf1 27. Rxf1 Ne6 {Now White
has good chances to expose Black's king and queen, despite his opponent's
slight material advantage.} 28. Be3 Qf5 29. c3 Rb8 30. Qg2 $1 Qe5 31. Nf6+ $1 {
White has reason to be confident again, but only after sweating for at least
the last ten moves!?} Qxf6 32. Bxb7 Qe5 33. Bd2 Nc7 34. h6 Be7 $4 ({David
falters in time pressure and allows his opponent to finish the game in style.
Instead, after} 34... g6 35. Qf2 {White just has compensation for the pawn.})
35. Rf5 $3 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.31"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Hebert, Jean"]
[Black "Roussel Roozmon, Thomas"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2398"]
[BlackElo "2140"]
[Annotator "Hebert,J"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 {Even
though I have played against the Hedgehog structure many times over the last
25 years I have recently come to understand a few important things about it
for the White side: 1) your next pawn move may be an overextension; 2)  you
shall not be overly ambitious; 3) I still have more to learn about chess.} Be7
8. Nc3 d6 9. Bg5 {White plays an old system which was popular in the 1980s.
The main idea is to take on f6 when Black is unable to recapture with a knight,
thus creating some disharmony and a loss of time for Black.} a6 ({The most
frequently played reaction to prevent 10.Nb5. However} 9... Nbd7 10. Nb5 d5 {
is playable}) 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Qd3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 ({Probably better is} 12.
Qxf3) ({or even} 12. exf3) 12... Ra7 13. Rfd1 Be7 14. Bg2 O-O 15. Rac1 Nd7 16.
b3 Qb8 17. e3 Rc7 18. Qb1 Nf6 $6 ({Black is fine after} 18... b5 $5 19. cxb5
Rfc8 20. Ne2 axb5 21. Nd4 d5) 19. Ne2 Rd8 20. Nd4 Qc8 21. b4 $1 {The point of
White's previous knight maneuver. The threat to invade square/c6 after b5
forces Black to react in the center.} d5 $6 ({I expected} 21... e5 22. Nf5 Bf8
{when it is not altogether easy to justify the position of White's N/f5,
especially if it eventually lands on square/h4. In that context best seems} 23.
Bh3 ({Black equalizes with} 23. Bf1 g6 24. Nh4 d5) 23... Kh8 24. Qb2 {to make
the move ...g6 seem rather risky.}) ({Pawn snatching with} 21... Rxc4 $4 {
losing convincingly to} 22. Rxc4 Qxc4 23. Rc1) 22. cxd5 Nxd5 23. Rxc7 Qxc7 ({
Perhaps Black can hold on after} 23... Nxc7 24. Nc6 Rxd1+ 25. Qxd1 Qe8) 24. Rc1
Nc3 25. Qc2 Rc8 ({After} 25... Bxb4 26. Nc6 Rd7 27. Nxb4 Ne2+ 28. Qxe2 Qxc1+
29. Bf1 a5 30. Qa6 Qc7 31. Nd3 {White remains on top.}) 26. Nc6 Bf6 $6 ({Here} 
26... Bxb4 $1 {is better than on the preceeding move, since} 27. Nxb4 Ne2+ 28.
Qxe2 Qxc1+ 29. Bf1 a5 30. Nd3 Qc2 31. Qf3 Qxa2 32. Ne5 Rf8 33. Nd7 Rd8 34. Nxb6
{should be drawn.}) 27. Qd3 Rd8 $5 ({On} 27... Nxa2 {I had planned} 28. Rc2 Nc3
29. Qxa6) 28. Nxd8 Ne2+ 29. Qxe2 Qxc1+ 30. Bf1 Bxd8 31. Qxa6 g6 32. Qb5 Kg7 {
White is a sound pawn up, but the presence of opposite colored bishops greatly
increases the defender's chances. White's plan lies in improving his king
position before creating a passed pawn, and exchanging queens if possible.} 33.
Qe5+ ({White seizes the long diagonal, whereas} 33. a4 $2 Qc3 {only weakens
pawn/b4 and leads to a premature exchange of b/pawns.}) 33... Kg8 ({White
quickly creates a dangerous passed pawn after} 33... Bf6 34. Qd6) 34. Qd4 Qc7
35. a3 $1 ({Once again} 35. a4 {only reduces White's scope for torturing his
opponent.}) 35... Be7 36. Qb2 Qd6 37. Be2 Bf8 38. Qc2 Be7 39. Bf3 Bf6 40. Kf1
Kf8 41. Ke2 Kg7 42. Be4 h5 ({Reducing the number of Black pawns standing on
light squares with} 42... h6 $5 {looks like a good idea in principle.}) 43. h4
Kf8 44. Qc4 Be7 45. Bc6 Qe5 $2 ({It is doubtful if White can make much more
progress after the sensible} 45... Bf6 $1 {and now} 46. Qb5 (46. a4 Qe5 ({but
not} 46... Be7 $2 47. a5 bxa5 48. bxa5 Qc5 49. Qxc5 Bxc5 50. Kd3 Ke7 51. Kc4
Ba7 52. Kb5)) (46. Bb5 Qe5 47. Kf3 Qc3 $1 {and this time the queen exchange
does not favor White}) 46... Qd8 47. a4 Bc3 48. Kf1 Qd2 49. Qxb6 Bxb4 {all
with equality.}) 46. Qd4 $1 Qxd4 47. exd4 g5 48. hxg5 Bxg5 49. a4 h4 50. Kd3 $4
({What a terrible lemon, and played after a long think! Why I felt that
defending pawn/d4 was important remains incomprehensible to me, especially
since White has the obvious} 50. a5 $1 bxa5 51. bxa5 Bd8 52. a6 Bb6 53. gxh4
Bxd4 54. f4 Kg7 55. Kd3 Ba7 56. Bf3 {with a winning position. Black cannot
stop both passed pawns, nor will he be able to trade White's a/ and f/pawns to
reach a drawn h/pawn vs wrong color bishop position. True, the incentive of a
mere $50 to finish in a tie for fourth place instead of sole fifth was not
terribly important, but fatigue is a more likely explanation for this blunder.}
) 50... hxg3 51. fxg3 Ke7 52. a5 bxa5 53. bxa5 Kd6 54. Be8 f6 55. a6 Kc7 56.
Bd7 Kb6 57. Bc8 Bc1 58. Kc4 Bb2 59. g4 Ba1 60. Bxe6 Kxa6 61. Kc5 Kb7 62. d5 Kc7
63. d6+ Kd8 64. Kd5 Bb2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.31"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Lawson, Eric"]
[Black "McLaren, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B72"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "2290"]
[Annotator "Lawson,E"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{A win in the last round would give me the FM title.} 1. d4 c5 {Played to
avoid my opening preparation.} 2. e4 {A good move when you want to win. In
this case we transpose to an Open Sicilian.} cxd4 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3
({White's best way to deal with the Accelerated Dragon is} 5. c4 {but I had
something else in mind.}) 5... Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nb3 {White prevents the
freeing ...d5 and steers the game into positional channels.} d6 8. Be2 Bd7 9.
O-O a6 $2 ({More careful is} 9... O-O) 10. Nd5 $1 {The only way to take
advantage of Black's mistake. White aims for the weakened square/b6.} Nxd5 $2 (
{The opening of the e/file puts annoying pressure on pawn/e7, and so Black
should have preferred to remove his king to safety with} 10... O-O) 11. exd5
Na5 $2 12. Nxa5 $6 ({After} 12. Bd4 $1 {Black's position is already critical.})
12... Qxa5 13. Bd4 O-O 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Qd4+ $1 {Centralization with tempo
gain.} Kg8 16. Bf3 Rac8 17. c3 Qc5 18. Qd2 b5 19. Rfe1 e5 $6 ({The protective} 
19... Rfe8 20. Re2 {is better, but gives White pleasant pressure down the half
open e/file.}) 20. dxe6 fxe6 21. Rad1 d5 22. Re5 Qb6 23. h4 $6 ({More accurate
is to prevent ...b4 with the immediate} 23. a3) 23... Rc4 24. h5 Rcf4 25. hxg6
hxg6 26. a3 Kg7 27. Rde1 Qd8 28. R1e3 $2 ({More troublesome for Black is} 28.
Qe3 {threatening to invade Black's queenside with 29.Qa7.}) 28... Qf6 29. Re2
Rh8 $2 ({Black can neutralize White's advantage completely with} 29... g5) 30.
Bxd5 $3 Qh4 ({The bishop is forbidden fruit, considering} 30... exd5 $2 31.
Re7+ Kh6 ({or} 31... Kf8 32. Qxd5) 32. g3) ({while neither} 30... Rfh4 31. g3
exd5 (31... R4h7 32. Bg2) 32. Re7+ Kf8 33. gxh4) ({nor} 30... Rd8 31. Qe3 exd5
32. Re7+ Kg8 33. Rxd7 Re4 34. Qd2 Rxd7 35. Rxe4 {save Black.}) 31. g3 Qh2+ 32.
Kf1 Qxg3 ({Again White wins easily after} 32... exd5 $2 33. Re7+ Rf7 (33... Kf6
34. Qxf4+) (33... Kf8 34. Qxf4+) (33... Kg8 34. Qxd5+ Kf8 35. Qa8+) (33... Kh6
34. Qxf4+) 34. Rxf7+ Kxf7 35. Qxd5+ Kg7 (35... Kf6 36. Qe5+ Kf7 37. Qe7+ Kg8
38. Qd8+ Kh7 39. Qxd7+ Kh6 40. Qd2+) (35... Kf8 36. Qd6+ Kg8 37. Qxg6+ Kf8 38.
Qf6+ Kg8 39. Qd8+) 36. Qxd7+ Kh6 37. Qd2+ Kg7 38. Re7+) 33. R2e3 $6 ({Even
better is} 33. Bg2 $1) 33... Qg4 34. Bg2 Bc8 35. R3e4 Rhf8 36. Rxf4 Rxf4 37.
Rc5 $1 e5 {Brian decides to give a pawn in order to bring his bishop back into
the game.} ({Worse is} 37... Rc4 38. f3 $3) ({or} 37... Rf8 38. Kg1 $1) 38.
Rxe5 Rf7 39. Qd4 {The endgame is easily won, given White's extra pawn and
favorable pawn structure.} Qxd4 40. cxd4 Bf5 41. Ke2 Rc7 42. Rc5 Re7+ 43. Kd2
Bd7 $2 44. Rc7 Kf6 45. Bc6 $1 Bxc6 46. Rxc6+ Kf5 47. Rxa6 Ke4 48. Rxg6 Kxd4 49.
Rg4+ Kd5 50. Rb4 Rf7 51. f4 {Down two pawns, Black has seen enough.} 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.31"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Lesiege, Alexandre"]
[Black "Berry, Jonathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2572"]
[BlackElo "2292"]
[Annotator "Berry,J"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 {I was prepared for Alexandre's usual 4.
e3 and Ne2 treatment against the Nimzo, but a 2100-player had forced him to
squirm for a draw in a recent tournament in England.} c5 5. g3 O-O {I started
to eat time here. As often before in the tournament, I knew in general terms
what I wanted to do, but my opponent knew exactly what to do. Alexandre would
get up after each move, and I could hear him laughing with friends in the
hallway outside.} 6. Bg2 cxd4 7. Nxd4 d5 {I used to get this sort of position
a lot when I played the Benko Gambit.} 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Qb3 ({Possible, of
course, is} 9. Bd2) 9... Nc6 ({Hort-Kindermann, Dortmund 1985, continued} 9...
Qb6 10. e3 Nc6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. O-O Ba6 13. Rd1 Rab8 14. Bd2 Qa5) 10. Nxc6
bxc6 11. O-O Qa5 ({White has an advantage after} 11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 Ba6 13. c4
Nb6 14. Ba3) 12. Bd2 {After this routine move Alexandre did not get up, which
reminds me of another story that relates to timing and body language in chess
psychology. Decades ago in Guadalajara I played an Expert who made some threat
that I could see didn't work. But rather than go into a long huddle I just
made the obvious move, he played the faulty idea at once - there was an
element of machismo - and I won a pawn and later the game.  Some years later
at the 1999 Zonal in Brantford, I was strolling while Hans Jung struggled with
a complex position. Brett Campbell, in a losing rook ending, made a move so
quickly that it caught my eye. So I walked over and in a few seconds saw the
trap and a way for Robert Breau to win the game. But to my astonishment poor
Robert lost his rook and resigned, and I could rejoice that I was a touch more
methodical than to fall into something like that. Soon Hans made his move, and
it was one that I had only looked at in other positions. My stereotypical
response followed in a few brief seconds, losing all of my advantage and worse,
landing in a position that I was able to draw only because that's what Hans
needed for the FM title!} Ba6 $2 ({Later Jack Yoos asked if this was a deep
postal chess preparation. Alas, no. A pawn is a pawn, and the sequence} 12...
Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Ba6 {does not look horribly scary.}) 13. Nxd5 $1 {
Great. A pawn down against a Grandmaster still with the full complement of
time on his clock.} Bxd2 14. Ne7+ Kh8 15. Nxc6 Qc7 16. Rfd1 Bg5 17. h4 ({After
calculating for 14 minutes, White goes for the full court press rather than
relaxing with} 17. e3 {which prepares square/d4 as a resting spot for the
knight.}) 17... Bf6 18. Rac1 Qb6 19. e4 ({After a further 12 minutes,
Alexandre continues on the road to total domination. Also pretty strong is} 19.
Rc2) 19... Bxb2 20. Rb1 {White wants to trade queens without promoting Black's
pawn/a7 to relative safety on square/b6.} (20. Rc2) 20... Qxb3 $2 ({Black
mistakenly assumes that the text is even better than} 20... Qxc6 21. e5 Qc7 ({
Fritz suggests} 21... Qc5 22. Bxa8 Bd4 23. Bf3 Bxf2+) ({but not} 21... Bc4 22.
Qxb2 Bd5 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Qb7 Qxb7 25. Rxb7) 22. Bxa8 Bxe5 {when White is
still ahead, but the position is messy.}) 21. axb3 Bc3 22. Rbc1 Bb2 ({On} 22...
Be2 {follows} 23. Rd7) 23. Rc2 Rac8 24. Rdd2 ({Not only did I overlook this
quiet move which threatens 25.Nb4 but the intended} 24. Rxb2 Rxc6 {is also
very good for White after} 25. Rd7 Rb6 26. Rxa7) 24... Ba3 {The bishops have
no home.} 25. e5 Bb7 26. Nxa7 Rxc2 ({White also has an advantage after} 26...
Rb8 27. Rd3) 27. Rxc2 Bxg2 28. Kxg2 f6 {Creating even more weaknesses doesn't
help, but Black is lost anyway.} 29. exf6 gxf6 30. Nb5 Bb4 31. Rc4 Bd2 32. Nd4
e5 33. Nf5 Kg8 ({Or} 33... Rb8 34. Rc6 Kg8 35. Rxf6 Rxb3 36. Re6 Bc3 37. Re7
Rb2 38. Nh6+ Kh8 39. Ng4 Bd4 40. h5 {and it's lights out.}) 34. Rc7 Rf7 35. Rc6
h5 36. Rd6 Bc1 37. Rc6 Bd2 38. Nd6 {The postmortem was brief. "ALS: 12...Ba6
was a bad move. JB: Yeah, but you made it harder than it needed to be. ALS: I
had to play sharply so that you could not go ...Bb7 and maybe get bishops of
opposite colors." Well, I beg to differ. Conversion of the pawn advantage
would not have strained Alexandre's technique, and I'm inclined to agree with
Pascal Charbonneau's observation that sometimes Alexandre calculates too much.
My games against Hebert and Lesiege do have something in common. In both cases
a possible exchange sacrifice should have been an easy swim, but declining led
to an ugly loss. Well, I suppose that "the manufacturer is not responsible for
customer misuse"!? The result may well have been the same, but a sacrifice can
sow the seeds of doubt.} 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.31"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Ross, David"]
[Black "Wu, Howard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2397"]
[BlackElo "2230"]
[Annotator "Ross,D"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

{This year's Zonal tournament was easily the most enjoyable of the four I have
played in, and Peter Stockhausen together with the other volunteers who worked
on the event deserve our deepest thanks. My only critisism is the eleven round
format, which made the final two rounds entirely superfluous and only resulted
in a playoff at a faster time control to decide our representative at the
World Championships. Older players tend to have a hard time sustaining energy
for such a long event, and maybe in the future we can revert to the old nine
round format and use the extra two days at the end for the playoff if
necessary. But anyway, congratulations to Pascal and best of luck at the
worlds!  Credit also goes out to Eric Lawson, who played the best chess so far
of his young life en route to the FM title, and also to Stephen Glinert, whose
fine performance earned him the coveted IM title. If this tournament is any
indication, chess in Canada is becoming a young person's game and I, for one,
think that is a fine thing...  The tournement was a strange one for me, and in
a sense I was just along for the ride. I had promised Eric Lawson eight months
ago that I would take him to Vancouver if I was satisfied with his progress
and work ethic, even though this meant that he would miss several weeks of
school and private lessons at home. The timing of the event in the spring
rather than the summer makes it difficult for more of our young players to
participate. Anyway, Eric did his part, and so I kept my promise!  In my own
early games I noticed a severe lack of energy and focus that would manifest
itself during about the fourth hour of play, and since this happened
repeatedly I decided to save my energy for the second half of the event while
carefully and gradually increasing my playing time from round to round. My
opening choices, too, were rather funny: I noticed a street near the hotel
named "Bird", a "Dragon" restaurant, and a "House of Ratton" - and so in the
tournament my openings would mirror the sights from my daily walks with Eric!?
By the end of the tournement my form had returned, and it felt good to play
like a 2400 again for the first time in several years. I had even worked my
way into a position where a last round win would take home some prize money...
} 1. c4 {I don't play the English very often, but realized just now that it
had served me well for a long time as a last round money game weapon. Maybe I
should play it more often!} c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 $1 {It is not that this is such
a fantastic move, but it guarantees a dynamic game and winning chances for
both sides. It is important to set your opponent many problems if you want to
win.} Bg7 4. Be2 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. d4 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 $1 {So we have a Reverse
Tarrasch, and a position that gives no theoretical advantage to White at all.
But what is important is that I like the position and am comfortable playing
it. Now White has to decide how to best use his extra tempo.} 8. h3 $5 {White
decides to prevent the usual main lines by taking square/g4 away from Black's
bishop.} dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nbd7 $1 {Howard plays what is supposed to be the best
move. Black wants to blockade the isolated d/pawn before it causes any
problems.} 10. Nc3 Nb6 11. Bb3 Nbd5 12. Re1 b6 {Black's other development
choices for his dark squared bishop were 12...Be6 and 12...Bf5.} 13. Ne5 $1
$146 {Hard to believe, but this natural move cannot be found in my database or
the ChessBase online database of games.} Bb7 14. Bg5 Nxc3 $6 ({I was expecting
} 14... Rc8 15. Rc1 {when White might be able to claim a very small edge,
although objectively the position is probably equal.} ({but not} 15. Qd2 $2
Nxc3 16. bxc3 Ne4 $1)) 15. bxc3 e6 $2 ({Clearly much better is} 15... Rc8 {
with a small edge to White. The text looks natural enough because it limits
White's pressure on pawn/f7, but strangely causes a huge amount of damage to
Black's position. The problem is a tactical one!}) 16. Ng4 $1 h5 {The only
defense.} 17. Ne5 Qc7 18. Qd3 {The weakening of Black's kingside with 16...h5
has suddenly led to numerous sacrificial possibilities for his opponent.} Nd5
$1 {A good try.} 19. Bd2 ({Here} 19. Nxg6 $2 fxg6 20. Rxe6 Qf7 (20... Rf5 $1)
21. Re7 $1 {wins on the spot, but 20...Qf7 is wrong.}) ({White can also try} 
19. c4 $5) 19... Ne7 $2 ({Better is} 19... Rad8) 20. Bc1 $6 ({Much stronger is
} 20. Bf4 $1) 20... Rad8 21. Bf4 Bxe5 $2 ({Black looks like he is in big
trouble, but the exchange of White's dominant knight provides only a temporary
solution to Howard's problems. Instead he should preserve his dark squared
bishop and take his chances with} 21... Qc8 {when the by no means forced
sacrifice} 22. Nxf7 (22. Bg5 $1 Rde8 23. Rad1 $16) 22... Rxf7 23. Bxe6 Qc6 24.
f3 Nf5 25. Rad1 {gives White a pleasant advantage, and there are other
attractive options as well.}) 22. Rxe5 ({Also fine is} 22. Bxe5 $5) 22... Qc6
23. f3 {This move is White's simplest and most permanent solution to Black's
threatening battery on the long diagonal.} Nd5 24. Bd2 Kg7 ({Maybe} 24... Rfe8)
25. c4 Nc7 ({Or} 25... Ne7) 26. Qe3 $1 Qd6 $2 ({This mistake is immediately
fatal, but White also wins after} 26... Rh8 27. d5 Qc5 ({or} 27... Qd6 28. Re1)
28. Qxc5 bxc5 29. Ba5) 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Bc3 Ne8 29. d5 $1 {Howard resigns
before White has the pleasure of sacrificing his queen for a mate in three
beginning with 30.Qh8+! or mate again after 29...Ng7 30.Rxh5!} 1-0

[Event "Richmond CA zt playoff active"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.04.01"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Charbonneau, Pascal"]
[Black "Spraggett, Kevin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2385"]
[BlackElo "2540"]
[Annotator "Byrne,R"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 {In the Paulsen Variation of the
Sicilian Black conceals his intentions for the development of his minor pieces,
while his second and fourth moves control the important knight intrusion
squares d5 and b5 without giving his opponent any clear targets.} 5. Bd3 Nf6 6.
O-O d6 7. c4 Nbd7 8. Nc3 Qc7 9. b3 ({Pascal might have tried} 9. Be3 {although
now} Ne5 10. Be2 Bd7 11. Rc1 Nxc4 12. Bxc4 Qxc4 13. Ncb5 axb5 14. Rxc4 bxc4 15.
Qb1 {brings about material equality in a position that is solid enough for
Kevin.}) 9... b5 {This thematic advance on the queenside is often not so easy
to achieve for Black, but here White's timid last move allows Kevin to play
this thrust immediately.} 10. Bb2 b4 11. Na4 Bb7 12. Qe2 Be7 13. f4 O-O 14. Kh1
g6 {Although White controls more space, his opponent's position is quite solid,
and a kingside attack based on g4 weakens his own position along the a8-h1
diagonal.} 15. f5 e5 16. Nc2 a5 17. a3 {Pascal decides to pursue his chances
on the queenside.} bxa3 18. Nxa3 Bc6 19. Nb5 {This knight outpost also shields
the backward b/pawn.} Qb7 20. Rae1 Rfe8 21. Qf3 Bf8 22. Bc1 Qb8 23. g4 Bg7 24.
Ba3 d5 $5 {Spraggett mounts a spirited challenge in the center in order to
avoid drifting into a passive position.} 25. exd5 Bxb5 26. cxb5 e4 27. Bxe4 Ne5
28. Qg3 Nxe4 $2 ({Much better is} 28... Nexg4 $5 {when} 29. Bg2 Qxg3 30. Rxe8+
Rxe8 31. hxg3 Nh5 $1 32. Bd6 Be5 33. Bxe5 Rxe5 34. d6 Nxg3+ 35. Kg1 Ne2+ {
leads to a draw by perpetual check.}) 29. Rxe4 Qxb5 30. Rfe1 Rad8 ({Perhaps} 
30... Qxd5 31. Nb6 {had escaped Black's attention when he played his 28th move.
}) 31. d6 Qd5 32. Kg1 {By now Spraggett despairs of coping with the passed d/
pawn and decides to sacrifice the exchange in a bid to reach a survivable
ending.} Rxd6 33. Bxd6 Qxd6 34. Nb2 Qb6+ 35. Kg2 Qc6 36. Kh3 f6 37. Nc4 {
Pascal makes optimal use of the pin on the e/file.} gxf5 38. gxf5 Qd7 39. Nxe5
fxe5 ({Kevin cannot interpolate} 39... Qxf5+ $2 {because then} 40. Qg4 Rxe5 41.
Rxe5 Qxg4+ 42. Kxg4 fxe5 43. Ra1 {is hopeless.}) 40. Rxe5 Rxe5 41. Rxe5 Kf7 42.
Rc5 1-0

[Event "Brockville CA ch"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Grimshaw, David"]
[Black "Joyner, Lionel Berry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E91"]
[Annotator "Nathan Divinsky"]
[PlyCount "98"]
[EventDate "1961.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 c6 7. O-O Bg4 8. Be3
Nbd7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 e5 11. dxe5 dxe5 {White has not obtained any
advantage out of the opening. He now tries to obtain something definite - an
advantage in space. But this turns out to be dangerous.} 12. c5 Qe7 13. b4 Rfd8
14. Qb3 Nf8 15. Be2 (15. Rad1 {looks quite attractive.}) 15... Ne6 16. Bc4 Nd4
17. Qb2 Nh5 18. Ne2 ({Black now has the initiative and White must play most
carefully to obtain equality. An alternative here was} 18. g3) 18... Qh4 19. f3
({If} 19. Bxd4 Qxe4 $1 {and Black wins back his piece with great advantage.})
19... Nf4 20. Kh2 h5 21. Nxf4 $2 ({This leads to difficulties. With} 21. Nxd4
exd4 22. Bxf4 Qxf4+ 23. g3 Qe3 24. Rac1 d3 25. Qb3 Qe2+ 26. Kh1 {White could
obtain a reasonable defence.}) 21... exf4 22. Qf2 Qg5 23. Bd2 Nxf3+ $3 24. gxf3
Qg3+ $1 {The point. This removes protection for the White QB.} 25. Qxg3 fxg3+
26. Kxg3 Bxa1 27. Bg5 {Has Black miscalculated?} Rd4 {No. The combination is
sound because of White's unprotected KB. There are still some subtleties.} 28.
Bb3 Bb2 29. Bf6 Rd2 30. Bxb2 Rxb2 {Now it is clear that Black is the exchange
ahead and the rest is much easier. A really first class game by the champion.}
31. Rd1 a5 32. bxa5 Rxa5 33. Rd8+ Kg7 34. Rd7 Kh6 $1 35. h4 f6 36. Rf7 Rxc5 37.
Rxf6 b5 38. Rf7 Rc1 39. Rc7 Rg1+ 40. Kf4 Rh2 41. Rxc6 Rxh4+ 42. Ke3 Rh2 43. e5
h4 44. e6 {White continues to struggle and create problems.} Re1+ 45. Kf4 Rhe2
46. Rc8 Re5 47. Rf8 g5+ 48. Kg4 Rg1+ 49. Kh3 Re2 {There is no answer to Rg3#.}
0-1

[Event "Vancouver BC ch"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1988.12.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Fullbrook, Nigel"]
[Black "Joyner, Lionel Berry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[Annotator "Lionel Joyner"]
[PlyCount "146"]
[EventDate "1988.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 {6.Bd3 almost surely
signals that White will play the Milner-Barry as after these moves . . .} cxd4
(6... Bd7 7. dxc5 Bxc5 (7... Qc7) 8. b4 Bxf2+ 9. Ke2 a5 (9... Nxb4 10. cxb4 Bd4
11. Nxd4 (11. Be3 Bxe3 {Daswani,B}) 11... Qxd4 12. Qb3 Qxe5+ {Neven,K}) 10. Rf1
axb4 11. Rxf2 b3 12. Kf1 Na5 13. Rb2 Ba4 14. axb3) 7. cxd4 Bd7 {. . . he has
no real option. Note that move order is important here as the immediate 6...
Bd7 permits the strong 7.dxc5!, after which Black is advised to play 7...Qc7,
and not 7...Bc5, as 8.b4! will force Black to sacrifice a piece for two pawns
or be strangled to death. Readers can search for improvements on the line B...
Bxf2+ 9.Ke2 a5 10.Rf1 axb4 11.Rxf2 b3 12.Kf1 Na5 13.Rb2, and 13...Ba4 cannot
be played because of 14.axb3 and the eventual "hang-rook" at a8. After 7...Bd7,
White has to either retreat 8.Be2 as Nimzovitch tried or transpose to the same
gambit by 8.Nc3, as 8.Bc2 is bad beacuse of the obvious 8...Nb4 (e.g., 9.Nc3
Nxc2 10.Qxc2 Rc8 11.O-O Ne7 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Qd2 [13.Rac1 Na5=+, Steinitz-Burn,
Vienna, 1898] 13...Bb4 14.a3 Bc3 15. bc3 Na5 -/+). After Nimzovitch's move 8.
Be2, there follows 8...Nh6! 9.b3 Nf5 10.Bb2 Bb4 11.Kf1 O-O with the better
game for Black, as f6 cannot be prevented and the White position will be under
heavy pressure along the f-file.} 8. O-O {This is the starting point of the
Milner-Barry gambit.} (8. Be2 Nh6 9. b3 Nf5 10. Bb2 Bb4+ 11. Kf1 O-O) (8. Nc3)
(8. Bc2 Nb4 9. Nc3 Nxc2+ 10. Qxc2 Rc8 11. O-O Ne7 12. Be3 Nc6 13. Qd2 (13. Rac1
Na5) 13... Bb4 14. a3 Bxc3 15. bxc3 Na5) 8... Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 Qxe5 $1
{This move, however, is a more convincing refutation of the gambit. White is
positionally lost as his centre has been destroyed and he has no stronghold to
offset Black's d5 point. He must find a tactical solution in the next few
moves or be doomed to defeat.} ({Now} 10... a6 {is at least equal after} 11.
Qe2 Ne7 12. Kh1 Nc6 13. f4 Nb4 14. Rd1 Nxd3 15. Rxd3 Qb6 16. Be3 Bc5 17. Bxc5
Qxc5 18. f5 d4 $1 {, and I prefer Black.}) 11. Re1 {There doesn't appear to be
anything better. Now Black has two defences:} Qb8 {This is the second defence
to 11.Re1. Black decides to give back a pawn. Now White had nothing better
than to accept it.} ({11...Qd6. The game Suttles-Joyner, 1965 Canadian Closed,
continued:} 11... Qd6 12. Nb5 Bxb5 13. Bxb5+ Kd8 14. Bd2 Nf6 15. Qa4 Qb8 $1 16.
Ba5+ b6 17. Bc6 Bd6 18. Bxa8 bxa5 19. Bc6 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Bc7 21. Re2 h5 $1 22.
Rd1 Qb4 {, and Black had a winning edge. This same variation occurred in the
game Reeve-Joyner, Keres 1985, with the slight difference tha a move (a3, a5)
had been played before White offered the gambit. Play continued: 15. Qf3 Nf6
16. Bf4 Qb6 17. Ba4 Bc5! 18.Bg5 Ke7, and Black is winning. The additional
moves had no effect on the play. Since all of this is a little loose and White
may have better moves than those found by Suttles and Reeve, it is much more
prudent to return one pawn and retain a sure positional and material advantage.
}) 12. Nxd5 Bd6 13. Qg4 {Or 13.Bd2, transposing to the mainline.} Kf8 14. Bd2
h5 $1 {Driving the Q to possibly the worst square on the board.} 15. Qh3 Bc6 {
Here 15...Nh6 is almost as good, leading to 16.Ne3 (stopping ...Ng4) 16... Kg8
17.Bc3 Ng4! Anyway! 18.Nxg4 hxg4 19.Qxg4 Bxh2+ 20.Kf1 Qf8, and White has
succeeded in developing one Black rook with the other to follow shortly, as
well as exposing his K to attack. Back to the mainline and the so-called
"improvement".} (15... Nh6 16. Ne3 Kg8 17. Bc3 Ng4 18. Nxg4 hxg4 19. Qxg4 Bxh2+
20. Kf1 Qf8) 16. Ne3 ({This is "it"! The White N is a most unhappy fellow as
he continually gets in the way of the other pieces. He knows he belongs at f3
in this position but can't see how to get there in time to do any good! Indeed,
after 16.Nb4 Be8!, it is hard to find a good idea for White. And as the square
c3 has been spoken for by the White B, there is nowhere else for this poor
fellow to go. The game Burnett-Watson, Los Angeles, 1982 continued:} 16. Nb4
Be8 $1 17. Bc4 (17. Bc3 Ne7) 17... Nf6 18. Nd3 Ng4 19. g3 b5 20. Bb3 Bc6 $1 21.
Nf4 Qb6 22. Be3 Bc5 23. Bxc5+ Qxc5 24. Re2 Re8 25. Rc2 Qb6 26. Rac1 Ba8 27. Rc5
Qb7 28. Qg2 Qd7 $1 29. Qf1 h4 $1 30. Qd1 hxg3 $1 31. fxg3 Rxh2 {0-1. After 16.
Ne3 in Rector-Watson, Fort Worth, 1984, there followed: 16...Nf6 17.Nc4 Bc7 18.
Qh4 Ng4 19.h3? Bd8, and Black had a winning advantage. Borg in the notes to
the 1985 game with P.Nikolic suggested 17.Bc3, and said "unclear". As Mr.
Watson puts it, "after 17...Be5 how unclear is it?"}) 16... Nf6 17. Bc3 Be5 18.
Rac1 Bxc3 19. Rxc3 Rh6 $1 {At this point I could hear White's e1 R and his Q
complain about the poor hapless N on e3. They both wanted his square! The Q
was also saying that this is no way to treat a lady, not realizing what
further indignities awaited her!} 20. Qh4 {The unfortunate e3-N is pinned to
his post to prevent ...Nd5! by Black.} Ng4 $1 {Thematic. The Q must remain
locked up.} 21. f3 $2 {An attempt by the N to die an honourable death.} g5 $1 {
The final indignity to the Q - the cheeky pawn points a dagger at her throat.}
22. Qh3 {Alas! The cheeky fellow cannot be removed, as after 22.Qxg5 Qxh2+ 23.
Kf1 Bxf3!, White would be lost. Here is the remainder of the Fullbrook-Joyner
game.} Nxe3 23. Rxe3 Qf4 24. Be2 Rd8 25. g3 Qf6 26. Qf1 h4 27. g4 Rd2 28. Qc1
Qd4 29. Kf1 Bb5 30. Ke1 Rxe2+ 31. Rxe2 Bxe2 32. Kxe2 Qe5+ 33. Kf1 Rf6 34. Qd2
Rf4 35. Qe3 Qxe3 36. Rxe3 Rc4 37. Re2 Ke7 38. Kf2 f6 39. Ke3 e5 40. b3 Rd4 41.
Rc2 Kd7 {sealed} 42. Rc1 b6 43. Rc2 a5 44. Rc1 a4 45. bxa4 Rxa4 46. Rc2 Kd6 47.
h3 b5 48. Rd2+ Kc5 49. Rc2+ Kd5 50. Rd2+ Rd4 51. Rb2 b4 52. Rc2 e4 53. fxe4+
Rxe4+ 54. Kf3 Rc4 55. Rd2+ Rd4 56. Rb2 Rd3+ 57. Kg2 Rg3+ 58. Kh2 Kc4 59. Rc2+
Rc3 60. Rb2 Ra3 61. Rc2+ Kd3 62. Rf2 Rc3 63. Rf3+ Kd2 64. Rxf6 Ra3 65. Rf5 Kc2
66. Rc5+ Kb2 67. Rb5 Rxa2 68. Rxg5 b3 69. Kg2 Ka1+ 70. Kf3 b2 71. Rb5 Ra3+ 72.
Kf4 b1=Q 73. Rxb1+ Kxb1 0-1

[Event "Port Coquitlam vs. Burnaby"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1997.02.12"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Potoma, Mike"]
[Black "Joyner, Lionel Berry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C16"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1996.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 Ne7 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nd7 7. Nf3 Nb6 8.
Bd3 h6 9. O-O Bd7 10. Rb1 Bc6 11. Bf4 Qd7 12. Qe2 a6 13. Rb3 Nec8 14. Rfb1 Na7
15. Nd2 Ba4 16. Rb4 Nb5 17. Bxb5 Bxb5 18. Qf3 Bc6 19. Nb3 Nc4 20. Nc5 Qc8 21.
Nxb7 Nxa3 22. Na5 Nxb1 23. Nxc6 Na3 24. Qg4 Kf8 25. Qh4 Qe8 26. Bc1 Qxc6 27.
Bxa3 Kg8 28. Rb3 Re8 29. h3 Kh7 30. g4 Rb8 31. Bc5 Rxb3 32. cxb3 Qb5 33. Qe7
Qxb3 34. Qxf7 Qb1+ 35. Kh2 Qg6 36. Qxc7 h5 37. Kg3 Qd3+ 38. f3 h4+ 39. Kxh4
Qxf3 40. Qe7 Kg6# 0-1

[Event "Hollywood"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1952.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Joyner, Lionel Berry"]
[Black "Kashdan, Isaac"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E49"]
[WhiteElo "2240"]
[BlackElo "2565"]
[Annotator "Yanofsky,A"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "1952.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nge2 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. a3
Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Re8 (9... b6) 10. O-O Nc6 11. f3 Qc7 12. Ng3 Bd7 13. Ra2 Rad8 14.
Re2 Bc8 15. Bb2 Na5 16. Qe1 Nc4 17. Bxc4 dxc4 18. e4 Nd7 19. f4 f6 20. Qf2 b5
21. Re3 Nf8 22. f5 Re7 23. Nh5 Rde8 24. Qh4 Rf7 25. Rg3 Qe7 26. Rf4 Kh8 27. h3
(27. Rfg4 Bxf5) 27... Kg8 28. Rfg4 g6 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Rxg6+ Nxg6 31. Rxg6+
Kf8 (31... Kh8 32. Nxf6+ Rh7 33. Rh6) 1-0

[Event "Toronto op"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Barabas, Istvan"]
[Black "Henderson, Fred"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B38"]
[Annotator "Henderson,F"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 {Not the best played of games. but it does have a cute finish.} c5 2. c4
Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 (3... Nd4 {is worth a look.}) 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6
7. Nxc6 (7. Nc3 Ng4 8. Qxg4 Nxd4 9. Qd1 Ne6 {is the most common line in my
database}) 7... bxc6 8. Bd4 d6 9. Qc2 O-O 10. Bd3 e5 11. Bc3 Nh5 (11... d5 {
opening up the game to take advantage of my lead in development  %05I
considered}) 12. Be2 Qg5 13. g3 f5 14. h4 Qf6 {I was a little worried about
putting my Queen on the same diagonal as Black's dark square bishop, but
decided that the pressure on the f-file was worth more.} 15. Rh2 {defending f2}
fxe4 16. Qxe4 Bb7 17. Bxh5 d5 18. cxd5 cxd5 {?} (18... gxh5 {is better}) 19.
Qb4 Rab8 20. Be2 Ba6 21. Qc5 d4 22. Bxa6 {?!  This gives White control of the
f1-a6 diagonal} Qxa6 23. Qa5 {?} dxc3 {!} 24. Qxa6 (24. Qxc3 e4 {is winning})
24... cxb2 25. Qc4+ Kh8 26. Qc3 e4 {(0-1) It's not too often that you can have
a won game while being down a Queen with no immediate mate in sight!} 0-1

[Event "Toronto op"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.03.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Day, Lawrence"]
[Black "Wang, Hao Yuan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "2456"]
[BlackElo "2211"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. a3 $1 e6 3. b4 cxb4 4. axb4 Bxb4 5. Bb2 Nf6 6. e5 Nd5 7. Qg4 O-O 8.
Nf3 Be7 9. Na3 Nc6 10. Bc4 Nb6 11. Bb3 f6 12. O-O fxe5 13. Nxe5 Bf6 14. f4 d5
15. d4 Bd7 16. c3 Ne7 17. Bc2 Nf5 18. Qh3 Bxe5 19. dxe5 Rf7 20. g4 Qh4 21. Qf3
Nh6 22. h3 Raf8 23. Qe3 d4 24. cxd4 Nd5 25. Qd3 g6 26. f5 gxf5 27. g5 Rg7 28.
Bc1 f4 29. Kh2 Ng4+ 30. Kg1 Nge3 31. Bxe3 Rxg5+ 0-1

[Event "Dieppe op"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Hovey, Jordan"]
[Black "Maund, Chris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Maund,C"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4q1k1/p2n1pbp/8/3p4/3P4/3KB3/Pr4PP/R1Q4R b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1... Nc5+ 2. Kc3 (2. Qxc5 Qe4+ 3. Kc3 Qc2#) (2. dxc5 Qe4#) 2... Na4+ 3. Kd3
Qe4# 0-1

[Event "Dieppe op"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Davies, Neil"]
[Black "MacDonald, Jonathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A60"]
[Annotator "MacDonald,J"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2002.??.??"]
[Source "CFC"]
[SourceDate "2002.06.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. dxe6 (4. Nc3) 4... fxe6 5. Nc3 Be7 (5... d5) 6.
e4 Nc6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Bd3 d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. cxd5 Nd4 11. Bc4 Bd6 12. Nxd4 cxd4
13. Qxd4 Ng4 14. Be3 Bf5 15. h3 (15. O-O-O Rc8) (15. Be2) 15... Be5 16. Qd2
Nxe3 17. Qxe3 (17. fxe3 Bg3+) 17... Qh4 18. Be2 (18. O-O Rae8) 18... Rae8 19.
g3 Qb4 20. Qd2 Bxc3 21. bxc3 Qb5 22. Kf1 (22. Kd1 Rxe2 23. Qxe2 Qa4+ 24. Kc1
Rc8) 22... Rxe2 23. a4 Qc4 24. Qd4 Re4+ 25. Qxc4 Rxc4 26. Rd1 Rxc3 27. d6 Be4
28. Rh2 Rd3 29. Re1 Bc6 30. Re6 Rd8 31. a5 R3xd6 32. Re7 Bf3 0-1

