1. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. b4 Qe8 The game is reminiscent of a Dutch Defense, except the White d pawn is held back, which gives deeper range to White's dark squared bishop. Both sides have stable pawn structures, but White has somewhat better attacking chances. 8. Bb2 Qh5 The queenside development should not be neglected. 9. Nbd2 Nbd7 10. Nd4 Ne5 11. Nb5 c6 12. Nc7 White must be careful the knight doesn't get trapped undefended behind enemy lines. 12... Rb8 13. d4 Neg4 14. h3 Bd8 Black need not fear 15. hxg4 as the knight recapture sets up an unstoppable mate. 15. Nxe6 Bxe6 16. d5 cxd5 17. cxd5 Bf7 Not 17... Bxd5 18. hxg4 Nxg4 (though 18... fxg4 19. Bxd5+ Qxd5 20. Qc2 is advantageous to Black) 19. Bxd5+ Kh8 20. Nf3 and the mate threat has evaporated. 18. hxg4 Nxg4 19. Re1 19. Nf3 doesn't work out very well after 19... f4 20. gxf4 Bxd5 and the White defense crumbles. 19... Qh2+ 19... f4 is better both to pry open the White kingside and to put more pressure on d5 as an avenue of further attack. One possible continuation is 20. Nf3 (20. Nf1 fxg3 21. Nxg3 Qh2+ 22. Kf1 Ne3+! 23. fxe3 Be6+ with mate to follow shortly.) 20... fxg3 21. fxg3 Bxd5 22. Bd4 else ... Bb6+ is devastating 22... Bf6 (or 22... Bg5) (or 22... Rxf3) Black's situation is so strong that there are many good alternatives to press the attack home. Black's game, while not easy, is all but certain to win. 20. Kf1 Nxf2! The knight sacrifice is a sharp way to press the attack and is the best move in this position. 21. Kxf2 Bxd5? The correct continuation is 21... Bb6+! 22. e3 f4! 23. gxf4 Bh5! 24. Nf3 Rxf4 25. Rh1 Bxe3+ 26. Kxe3 Qxg2 27. Rxh5 Rbf8 28. Ne5 Qf2+ 29. Kd3 Qxb2 30. Qg1 dxe5 with an easy win from here. Black's attack doesn't play itself, the strong moves are not obscure. Unfortunately, the move played is easily defended against, and allows the attack to fizzle, passing the advantage to White. 22. Nf3 Bb6+ 23. e3 The score stops here, no doubt due to time trouble, but as Black's attack dissolves, White can activate his pieces quickly, possibly even making use of the enemy Queen's limited mobility, and with a material advantage due to Black's knight sacrifice, White went on to win. 1-0

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. h3 O-O 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 A classic closed Ruy Lopez. 12... cxd4 13. cxd4 Rd8 14. b3 exd4 15. Nxd4? In thinking about his fifteenth move, White considered that Black's isolated queen pawn on an open file will be a liability, tempo can be gained while attacking the enemy queen on the open c file, and Black has an awkwardly placed knight. White's pawns are sound, and only the knight on d2 will take any effort to improve. So, with unbridled optimism, White blithely recaptures on d4, having failed to notice that both the d4 and a1 squares are unsupported, and that there is a gaping hole in the weak square c3 all on the same diagonal. The error could have been readily fixed had this been noticed first, by 15. Bb2 after which the pawn on d4 can be captured and White does have a fine if fairly even game. 15... Qc3 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. exf5 Qxa1 18. Rxe7 Re8 19. Rxe8+ Rxe8 20. Nf3 Nc6 21. Bg5 Qxd1+ 22. Bxd1 Ne4 23. Bf4 Nc3 24. Bc2 Ne2+ There was no opportunity for counterplay that would improve White's game. After the initial error, the loss was inevitable. 0-1

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