To play the games, just click on the moves in the score in the right hand side. Moves in black are the ones actually played in the game, and moves in color are variations and analysis. You can also click on these moves to see the position on the board. Or you can use the control panel under the board to step through each move manually, or the game can be played automatically. In autoplay mode, you have the option of stepping into the analysis variations or bypassing them completely.
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Akhil Dutta - Jim Marshall [B23]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6 6. d3 The Grand Prix Attack of the Sicilian defense.
More normal for white at this point is 6. f5
6... Nge7 7. Bd2 d5 8. Bb5 O-O 9. Bxc6 White would have been better off keeping this bishop either by
9. Ba4
or simply
9. O-O
9... Nxc6 10. e5 a6 11. Na4 White will have to be careful the knight is not permanently isolated on the side of the board.
11... b6 12. c3 d4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. Nxd4 Qxd4 15. Nxb6 Bb7! Black makes a complex move, forcing a rook exchange that will keep the White king in the center of the board. This gives Black prospects to eventually bring the other pieces out and
over to the kingside for an attack. However, of bigger importance is the
weakness of the White pawns, which will give White problems in defense. Between these two
themes, Black will get a nice edge,
16. Nxa8 Bxg2 17. Rf1 Bxf1 18. Kxf1 Rxa8 19. Qc2 Rb8 20. Rb1 Qd5 21. b3? A subtle mistake in a difficult position. Better was
21. Be3 Qf3+ 22. Qf2 Qh1+ 23. Qg1
White still has problems, but is no worse off than before. The move played, however, made in an attempt to hold onto the queenside pawns, allows Black's pieces into the kingside and causes White's position to rapidly deteriorate.
21... Qh1+ 22. Ke2 Qxh2+ 23. Ke3 23. Ke1 is a somewhat better defense, but it's not capable of changing the outcome.
23... g5 24. Rf1 gxf4+ 25. Rxf4 Not 25. Ke4 Qg2+ 26. Rf3 Qg6+ 27. Kxf4 Bh6#
25... Bh6 26. Qc4 Rd8! 27. Qxc5 Qxf4+ 28. Ke2 Qxd2+ 0-1
Clifford Adams - Bob Cairone [C46]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
John Schaeffer - Mark Robledo Sr. [A42]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 3... c5 is the normal response here.
4. e4 Nd7 4... c5
4... f5
4... Nc6
are all book alternatives in the Rat/Averbakh System opening line.
5. Be3 e5 6. Nge2 Closing in the light squared bishop isn't desirable. Better was
6. Nf3
6... Nh6 7. f3 f5 8. g3 fxe4 9. Qd2 Nf5 10. Bg5 Bf6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. fxe4 Nxd4 White made some good intermediate moves, but was overly focused on the e4 square. This exchange leaves White with an isolated e pawn, which is a serious structural defect.
13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Qxd4 O-O 15. O-O-O Qe7 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 White has eliminated the isolated e pawn, which is a good
thing, but because of the queenside castle, the White king is as exposed as the Black king. Blacks bishop is somewhat more mobile. The open center files are easily contested. At this point, the position is slightly in Black's favor, but is not solid and that can easily change in either direction.
17... Bf5 18. Bd3 Qg5+ 19. Kb1 Qf6 20. Bxf5 Qxf5+ 21. Kc1 Qf2 22. Rd2 Qxd4 23. Rxd4 Rf2 24. Rd2 Raf8 25. Rxf2? This move allows Black a rook on the seventh that cannot be easily dislodged. Much superior was
25. Rhd1
25... Rxf2 26. Re1 Kf7 27. Rh1 White begins a series of very slight inaccuracies that will allow Black to obtain a dominant position. However Black already has a rook on the seventh and White cannot gain a similar wedge, so Black has an appreciable advantage already. The continuation is a good example of endgame technique by Black, taking a slight advantage and increasing the edge be constantly applying pressure.
27... Kf6 28. g4 Kg5 29. h3 Rf3 30. Kd2 Rf2+ 31. Kc3 Kh4 32. a4 Rf3+ 33. Kd4 Rxh3 34. Rxh3+ Trading rooks is a sure way to give Black a won game. In situations like this, it's best to keep the rooks ob the board, as many times rook and pawn endings are hard to win.
34... Kxh3 35. b4 Kxg4 36. c5 h5 37. b5 h4 38. a5 h3 39. b6 dxc5+ 40. Kxc5 axb6+ 41. axb6 cxb6+ 42. Kxb6 h2 43. d6 h1=Q 44. d7 Qc6+ 0-1
Roger Allison - Jeremy Crouse [E10]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
1. c4 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 d6 This is an Indian Defense, Blumenfeld Counter Gambit by transposition. the normal continuations for Black here are either
4... exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3
or
4... b5 5. dxe6 fxe6 6. cxb5 d5 7. e3 Bd6 8. Nc3 with several additional options for Black at this point.
5. Nc3 g6 6. g3 Bg7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O Re8 9. Re1 e5 10. Nd2 This retreat us a bit premature.
White would have been better off restricting Black's space by any of several pawn pushes, or could have developed the
dark squared bishop first. There was no reason to fear e4 by Black, since in that case the pawn becomes too advanced to easily defend.
10... Na6 11. h3 Bd7 12. Kh2 Nc7 13. a4 White wants to maintain his center against counterattacks against it from the flanks by ... b5.
13... Rb8 14. e4 a6 15. a5 b5 16. axb6 Rxb6 17. Qe2 Nh5 A questionable move with few
prospects, but in tight positions like this it's hard to find any plans with clear prospects.
18. Nf1 Qe7 19. Bf3 Nf6 20. g4 This move might give Black chances for a counterattack. And as above, it's hard to judge it's future prospects. An alternative plan for White might have been to concentrate forces against the Black a pawn.
20... Reb8 21. Ng3 Qf8 22. Ra2 h6 23. Rg1 Kh7 24. Kg2 R8b7 25. Rh1 Kg8 26. Qd3 Rb3 27. Bd1 R3b6 28. Na4 Rb4 29. Bd2 Bxa4 30. Bxa4 White would have been somewhat better taking the rook on b4.
30... Rxb2 31. Rxb2 Rxb2 32. Ra1 Qb8 33. Bc3 Rb7 34. Bc6 Ra7 It would be better to keep the heavy
artillery doubled up on the b file. The rook has very limited mobility on a7, and is not a threat to White in any way where it is. better would have been the sharp line
34... Rb6 35. Ba5 Ne6! 36. Qf1 Nf4+ 37. Kh2 Rb2 with a slight advantage to Black.
35. Rb1 Qc8 36. Ba5 Nfe8? Black missed or misestimated White's threat. Before this move, the game has
been roughly even all along. Now White has a strong advantage.
37. Bb6 Qb8 38. Bxa7 Qxa7 39. Rb7 Qa8 40. Rxc7 Qd8 41. Ra7 Nc7 42. Qa3 Qb8 43. Rb7 Qd8 44. Qa5 Ne6 45. Qxd8+ Best, although fancier than necessary, White can even get away with
45. dxe6 Qxa5 46. e7 and the pawn cannot be stopped from queening
45... Nxd8 46. Rd7 Bf6 47. Rxd6 Kf8 48. Rd7 48. Rxf6 Ke7 49. Rf3 so there is no trap, and White could easilly have captured the loose bishop.
48... Bh4 49. Ra7 Bg5 50. Rxa6 Bf6 51. Kf3 Bg5 52. Ke2 Bf6 53. Kd3 1-0
Robert Hayes - Mark Engelen [B23]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 d6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bc4 The Grand Prix attach of the Sicilian Defense, a favorite opening for this player. However, the bishop cannot be maintained on this square. Preferable was
5. Be2
or even better
5. d4
5... g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. d3 Nge7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2 a6 10. a3 b5 11. Ba2 b4 12. axb4 cxb4 13. Na4 Rb8 14. Rab1 14. Rad1
or
14. Rae1
was better. The rook has no scope on b1, and the bishop on a2 is restricted.
14... Qa5 15. b3 Bd7 16. d4 Na7 17. d5 Nb5 18. Nb6? Perhaps White overlooked the check that occurs after the trades, which
results in the loss of a piece. Better was
18. dxe6 Bxe6 19. Nd4 and although White's worries aren't over, they're more manageable.
18... Rxb6 19. Bxb6 Qxb6+ 20. Kh1 Nc3 0-1
John Gallagher - Jeff Colwell [B78]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. f3 Bd7 10. O-O-O Ne5 11. Bb3 Qa5 12. g4 Rfc8 This is a reasonably standard Sicilian Defense, with moves that are thematic in these lines.
13. Kb1 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. h4 Rac8 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. h5 b5 18. hxg6 fxg6 19. Bh6 b4 20. Bxg7 Kxg7? This move allows White to infiltrate without much trouble. Complicated but tenable was
20... bxc3 21. Qh6 Bxg4 (or possibly 21... Ba4 22. g5 Nh5)
22. fxg4 cxb2 23. g5 Rxe4 24. Rd2 Nh5
Black is still in a dangerous position, but he has resources and possibly a chance for a good counterattack.
21. Qh6+ Kf7 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. Qxh7+ Ke6 24. exd5+ Kf6 25. g5+ Kf5 26. Qf7+ Kxg5 27. Rdg1+ 27. Qxe7+ is better, leading to mate, as in 27... Kf4 28. Qf6+ Kg3 29. Nd4 Rxd4 30. Rdg1+ Kf2 31. Qxd4+ Kxf3 32. Rf1+ Kg3 33. Qg1#
27... Bg4 28. Rxg4+ Rxg4 29. fxg4? This move gives up White's huge advantage. Remarkably, the only move that preserves attack is the counterintuitive
29. Nd4 and Black has no good response. The knight threatens mate on e6, and the rook cannot take it with 29... Rxd4 because that allows 30. Rg1+ Rg4 31. Rxg4+ Kh6 32. Qxg6#
If Black tries to create a diversion by the check on c2, he must sacrifice his queen and the attack quickly peters out, leaving White with the mating net intact. But with the move as played, at this point although the mate threats are gone, White still has a very strong advantage.
29... Qxc2+ 30. Ka1 Qe4 31. Rf1? 31. Qh7
or
31. Qf1 Qe3 32. Qd1 Rc4 33. Re1 Qf4 34. Nd2
maintain White's advantage. The move played let's Black off the hook and almost restores equality, since the attack no longer forces Black's responses.
31... Rc2 32. Qe6 Qxe6 33. dxe6 Kxg4 34. a3 At this point, the score stops due to time pressure. Black is at a disadvantage but is nowhere near as desperately behind as before. As long as the rooks are on the board there's still prospects for a draw or a reversal of fortunes. White has a knight, but Black has a five pawn to three numerical superiority. In such unbalanced positions, the outcome is often
uncertain. However, time and health were issues here. After losing this game, Black
withdrew from the tournament feeling ill. This game was the upset win of the tournament, at a ratings difference of 425 points.
1-0
Nathan McCoy - Suhrittam Sanyal [B12]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
Bill Hayes - Chuck Giertz [B21]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
Vladimir Djordjevic - Eugene Lopez [B23]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
Don Reyes - Gary Levine [A07]
McHenry Area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
Gary Wang - James Tao [C11]
McHenry area Chess November Swiss (1) 2004
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