1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Nick diFirmian in MCO-14 refers to this move as "wimpy", but there is no arguing with success. The normal line given is 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 (5. Bc4 c6 6. Bd2 Bf5 7. Nd5 Qd8 8. Nxf6+ gxf6 9. Bf4 Qb6 10. Bb3 a5 and White still has his initiative.) 5... Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. g4 Bg6 8. Ne5 e6 9. Bg2 c6 10. h4 Be4 with advantage to White. 4... Bg4 5. b4 Qh5 Not 5... Qxb4 6. Rb1 Qc5 7. Rxb7 and the rook cannot be harassed as 7... Qc6 is met by 8. Bb5 6. Be2 c6 This is questionable. Black needs to develop pieces and find shelter for the king first. 6... e6 or 6... e5 or 6... Nf6 would be preferable. 7. Ne4 e6 8. O-O Nd7 The White b pawn remains untouchable because of the same Rb1 maneuver. 9. d4 Ngf6 10. Ng3 Qd5 Despite being centralized, the queen has very little scope. Only this square and d6 allow her to rest unmolested, and that not for long. More importantly, the queen is useless in defending Black's other pieces, as she can easily be forced to a square where she will likely have to abandon anything dependent on her. 11. Bf4 Nb6 12. c3 Nh5 13. Nxh5 Bxh5 14. Re1 Be7 15. a4 Qf5 16. Qd2 Nd5 17. Be5 Bf6? Black forgot how restricted the queen is, even though that has been the dominant theme of the game. Instead 17... Bxf3 18. Bxf3 O-O 19. Be4 Qh5 does not make his situation any worse, though it is no better. Alternately, 17... Qg4 18. Bg3 Bg6 19. Ne5 Qg5 20. f4 Qf5 21. Bg4 is playable if uncomfortable. 18. Bd3 and the queen is lost after 18... Qg4 19. h3. White resigns. 1-0

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 White seeks to hold Black back from expanding on the queen's wing, and possibly to prevent Black from protecting the doubled pawn on c5, though that is not possible after ... a6. However, a more interesting plan might have been 5. e4 b5 6. Be2 b4 7. e5 bxc3 8. exf6 cxb2 9. Bxb2 (Also playable and endlessly fascinating is 9. fxg7 bxa1=Q 10. gxh8=Q Qa5+ 11. Kf1 This position is actually even, and White threatens Bh6 followed by Ne5, which looks very strong, but would you have the courage to play something so complicated against a master?) 9... exf6 10. Kf1 Be6 11. Qc2 and White has an impressive lead in development while Black cannot hold the pawn on c4. 5... Bf5 6. e3 e6 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Bd2 9. Nh4 is worth consideration too. 9... a5 10. Re1 Nb6 11. Bf1 The bishop looked so good on the diagonal hitting f7 that 11. Bb3 seems the better move, but it is also needed on the kingside, and Be2 immediately might be chosen. Selecting between those alternatives is largely a matter of taste, since there are no immediate prospects of an attack. But the bishop is misplaced on f1. 11... Bg4 12. h3 Bh5 13. Be2 Just as good is 13. Nb1 looking for a restructuring of the entire White defense. 13... Nbd7 14. Rc1 O-O 15. Ne5? This is a strategic mistake, as it produces permanent structural weakness in the White pawns, being doubled on the e file and backwards on the b file. Better was 15. Qc2 to prepare for the push of the e pawn. 15... Bxe2 16. Nxe2? This is a tactical mistake, as it puts the queen on the undefended d2 square which effectively pins the pawn on d4. It was necessary to recapture on e2 with the queen or rook to avoid the inevitable hardships which follow. 16... Bxd2 17. Nxd7 17. Qxd2 was not possible because 17... Nxe5 drops a piece to Black 17... Bxe1 18. Nxf8 The sequence white chose loses a knight for a pawn but leaves Black's pawn structure weakened. Slightly better would have been losing the exchange of knight for rook, as in 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. Qxe1 But both lines leave White at a serious disadvantage. 18... Bb4 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. Nf4 Qd6 21. g4 Rd8 21... Nd5 looks more natural. 22. Nd3 Nd7 Black can preserve the bishop to participate in a later queenside attack by simple moving the queen out of the way with 22... Qd5 23. Qb3 Qd5 24. Qc2 Qf3 25. Qc4 Nf8 26. Nf4 Re8 27. d5? White's game is beyond salvage at this point, but there is nothing to be gained from the move played. 27... exd5 28. Qd4 and White resigns without waiting for Black's next move. 0-1

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8. exd5 cxd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Bg5 c6 11. Na4 All of this has been the book line of the Four Knights Defense, Scotch Variation. At this point there are two primary continuations 11. Ne2 h6 12. Bh4 Bg4 13. c3 Bd6 14. Qa4 Bd7 which appears to be, as the book says, even. Or 11. Qf3 Bd6 (11... Bxc3 12. bxc3 h6 13. Bf4 is supposed to favor White, possibly because of the bishop pair and the potential for a kingside attack, but I don't see it, given that the White pawn structure is so disrupted and Black seems to have adequate defensive resources.) 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. Qxf6 gxf6 Again, the book says this is an even position, but I don't see it. Granted, Black has the bishop pair, but again, the Black pawn structure is a shambles, much like in the preceding line for White. Apparently, Aleksanda agrees, since as the game progressed he gave Black the bishop pair with the damaged pawn structure. 11... Be6 12. Qf3 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Qxf6 gxf6 15. Rac1 Rab8 16. c4 Bd6 17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. b3 Rfe8 19. Rfd1 Re5 20. Bf1 If White is concerned about a coordinated attack against the g2 square, wouldn't 20. Nc3 have been a better way of dealing with it? As is, unshielding the rook on d1 doesn't seem to help much either. 20... Rbe8 21. Nc3 Ba3 22. Nxd5 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 cxd5 24. Rc7 a5 24... Re7 might have made for a more tenacious defense, as White will most likely avoid trading rooks since the bishops are of opposite color. But it's close, and so hard to make the call. 25. Rd7 Re5 26. g3 Bc5 27. Kg2 Kf8 27... d4 so the pawn could be supported by the bishop would have been better. Now Black begins to let the draw slip away. 28. f4 Ke8? Black wants to preserve the d pawn, but that is simply not possible. The attack on the rook must be addressed directly, not with a counterthreat, because the Black pieces are not mutually supporting. The rook should be kept on the e file, but will be lost if it attempts to move sideways to hold the pawn. 29. Bb5? White can win material immediately, without waiting for Black to make an error, by 29. Rc7 Bb6 30. Bb5+ to add coverage of the e8 square 30... Kf8 31. Rc8+ Ke7 32. fxe5 29... Re3 Black misses his last chance to minimize his losses with 29... Re2+ 30. Kh3 Rc2 30. Rc7+ Kf8 31. Rxc5 d4 32. Rd5 Re1 33. Rxd4 This is a game that got away from Guy. It's not recorded if a draw was ever offered, but such an offer was certainly justified between moves twenty and twenty-five. 1-0

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. g3 dxc4 The move order is a bit unusual, and transpositions into various openings are possible. The opening has characteristics of the King's Indian, Reti variation, or it's also like an English Opening, Caro variation. Good book knowledge of numerous openings is very helpful in playing such flexible lines. 4. Qc2 Nf6 5. Qxc4 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 Nbd7 The battle for the center picks up. White's knights have good coverage, and the fianchettoed bishop and queen provide support, White also has a greater pawn mass that can move into position when called for. But the queen is a tempting target, and is not the best piece to engage in preliminary battles. Black also has good pressure on the d and e files, and is poised to dominate the light squares with ... Nb6 and ... Bf5. But for the moment the Black pieces are cramped and awkwardly placed. 9. d4 Re8 10. Ng5 An early act of aggression, hitting at the weak f7 square and inviting Black to weaken the kingside with ... h6. However, it postpones development. I would have expected 10. e4 or 10. Re1 or 10. Rd1 but the move played has the advantage of demanding Black undevelop the rook or make the light squared bishop bad. 10... e6 11. e4 Nb6 12. Qb3 The queen does not have a lot of options. Not good is 12. Qd3 because it is unsupported on that square, which pins the d pawn. 12... e5! 13. Rd1 exd4 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15. Rxd4 Nfd5! hitting the rook, which causes the White position to fragment 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Rd1 it is dangerous to leave the back rank undefended as Black is dreaming of an eventual ... Re8 ... Bh3 Giving up the d pawn, even though there are no prospects for a quick recovery, is the better option. White is compensated for the material with a surge in development and much freer play for his pieces than Black. 12... Qxd4 13. Be3 Qd8 14. Rfd1 Which rook to use is always a torturous question. My instinct would have been to play Rad1, but White may have wanted to keep the a pawn protected to allow recovering the pawn on b6 after exchanging bishop for knight. Centralizing the king's rook keeps that option open, therefore holding down the Black queen. 14... Nbd7 15. e5 An interesting move that I certainly would not have seen., as it seems so obviously questionable at first glance. But it displaces the Black knight while also freeing up e4 as a pathway for White's knights to move into the weak square at d6, possibly exploiting the weakness at f7 again. However, it is a move that is going to have to prove itself after the commitment is made. 15... Ng4 16. Nce4 Nxe3 17. Qxe3 Qe7 18. f4 18. Nd6 is more compelling, but is it any better? 18... Rf8 19. f4 Nb6 20. Nge4 Nd5 and White doesn't have any good targets. Black remains cramped, but he also remains a pawn up. 18... h6 19. Nf3 Nb6 20. Nd6 Rd8 21. Nd2 Nd5 22. Qc5 Qc7 23. N2c4 b6 24. Qa3 b5 Black begins to expand on the queenside, dispersing the White pieces in the process. However, the White knight outpost on d6 remains unshakable, at least, not without Black giving up the dark squared bishop. That would leave the kingside very weak, but if exchanges deprive White of the forces to exploit it, that would be acceptable, especially if the supporting e pawn is thrown into the deal. White does not seem to like those prospects, so... 25. Bxd5 exd5 taking with the e pawn frees the bishop immediately, while taking with the c pawn leaves the bishop bad for a while longer. 26. Qa5 Qe7 26... Rd7 is better because it avoids the tactical shot that follows, presuming that such a surprising move can be anticipated. 27. Nb6! Bg4 Finally the bishop comes out of hiding, but Black can better maintain his edge by returning to the prior position with 27... Qc7 and if 28. Nbc4 Rd7 28. Nxa8 Bxd1 29. Rxd1 Rxa8 30. Qa6! This move accomplishes several things. It covers escape squares for the knight so Black cannot profit from ... Bxe5. It threatens the backwards pawn on c6 from which it can also hit a8. And it gains access to b7, from which mate threats might materialize. All of these combine to make the Black queenside pawns look dangerously weak. 30... Qc7 Black can do no worse than draw with 30... Bxe5 31. Qxc6 (31. fxe5 Qxe5 32. Qxc6 Qe3+ 33. Kg2 Qe2+ 34. Kh3 Qxd1 (34... Qh5+ is a safe perpetual check) 35. Qxa8+ Kg7 36. Ne8+ Kh7 37. Nf6+ Kg7 38. Ne8+ (Not the greedy 38. Nxd5 Qf1+ 39. Kh4 g5+ 40. Kg4 f5+ 41. Kh5 Qh3# but it is interesting that even in these lines Black retains some winning chances.) ) 31... Bd4+ 32. Rxd4 Qe1+ 33. Kg2 Qe2+ 34. Kh3 Qh5+ with a perpetual. 31. Rc1 c5 32. Qxb5 Rb8 33. Rxc5 Rxb5 34. Rxc7 Rxb2 35. Rxa7 d4 Black's mobile pawn looks dangerous, but White has a winning advantage due to the material edge, even if it won't be easy. White should waste no time in eliminating the d pawn even at the cost of his a pawn and then shifting attention to the other wing. 36. Ra5 Too slow! Best is 36. Rd7 d3 37. Ne4 Rxa2 38. Rxd3 36... d3 37. Rd5 d2 38. Kf1 Rxa2 39. Ne4? A losing mistake! Best was 39. Ke2 d1=Q+ 40. Kxd1 Rxh2 41. Ne4 Rg2 42. Rc5 and although White has an edge it may not be enough to win. 39... d1=Q+? Black misses the winning move, even though it's not very hard to see. Perhaps the players were in time trouble at this point. The path to victory is 39... Ra1+! 40. Ke2 Re1+ 41. Kxd2 Rxe4 and White will not be able to hold on for long. 40. Rxd1 Rxh2 41. Rd8+ Bf8 An outstanding game, with some twists and turns, but still a rewarding and just result. This draw allowed Jim and Aleksanda to share in a three way tie for place, and that's nothing to complain about. 1/2-1/2