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The First Move
The Official Newsletter of McHenry Area
Chess
Volume 1 Number 5
www.McHenryAreaChess.org
July 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page 1
-
Purposes of the Organization
-
July Tournament Announcement
-
Chess Happenings
Page 2
-
June Quad results
-
Tournament schedule for rest of year
-
Organization Purpose
Page 3
- Game of the Month
Page 6
-
Other tournament positions
Page 7
-
The Opening Door – Danish Part 2
Page 10
-
Membership Info
-
Borders Meeting Schedule
Page 11
- July Tournament Flyer
July Tournament Announcement
The
next M.A.C. tournament will be held on July 17, at the
Crystal Lake Park
District Building. It will be a three round Quad, with a time
control of G/80 (G/75 with 5 second delay).
Registration is from 8:30
to 9:15, and the first
round is at 9:30. The entry fee is $10. You may pre-register by contacting Bob,
Andrew or Jeff. Please see the flyer on
the last page of this newsletter for more details.
Chess Happenings
McHenry Area Chess has placed Tournament Life Announcements
(TLAs) for our next two tournaments in Chess Life, the USCF magazine. Our July Quad and August Championship
tournaments appear in the current, July issue, and the TLA for August will
repeat next month. Only four tournaments
are listed for Illinois,
and two of them are ours. Check them out
on page 59 of the magazine.
Going Corporate
McHenry Area Chess
has filed for official recognition as a nonprofit corporation. We are working
with the generous support of the law offices of Rupp & Youman, 4306F West
Crystal Lake Road, McHenry, IL 815-385-7444.
We expect this process to complete in about a month. This will benefit us in our dealings with the
community and should help in fundraising.
June Quad won by Bob C.
Top seeded Bob C.
went undefeated in the June Quad to take first place. Bob Cu. also went undefeated, but with more
draws, taking second. Andrew W. placed
third losing only to Bob C.
Bob
C. Bob Cu. Andrew Jeff
Bob C. X ½ 1 1
Bob Cu. ½ X ½ 1
Andrew W. 0 ½ X 1
Jeff C. 0 0 0 X
Tournament schedule set
for rest of year
Events have been
scheduled for the rest of the year. All
events have registration starting at 8:30,
with the first round at 9:30. Except for the Crystal Lake Championships and
Quick Tournament, all entry fees are $10 and approximately 60% of entry fees will
be used as a prize fund. The August Championship tournament offers trophy
prizes and declares regional champions, while the December Quick Tournament is
a half day tournament at half the usual entry fee.
July 17: Quads, Game/80
August 21:
McHenry County
Championships
September18: 4 round Swiss, Game/60
October16: Quads, Game/80
November
20: 4 round Swiss, Game/60
December
18: 4 round Quick Tournament,
Game/20, entry fee $5.
2005
Schedule
January
15: Quads, Game/80
Purposes of the
Organization
McHenry Area Chess is a non-profit group dedicated to
providing a venue for players in the county to play chess competitively and for
recreation.
Any and all profits from McHenry Area Chess (M.A.C.) events
will be used for club operations, prize funds, or donated charitably.
We hope you enjoy receiving our
monthly bulletin. If you wish to receive
this bulletin via regular mail, we will need a fee of $10 to cover yearly costs
for printing and postage. E-mail
delivery is free. There are no other
membership fees at M.A.C. To join,
please contact us at www.mchenryareachess.org, or speak to Bob, Andrew or Jeff
in person.
Game of the Month
This month we analyze a game from our June Tournament between
Bob Cu. (White) and Andrew W. (Black).
Although the game eventually ended in a draw, there were lots of interesting
and pretty tactics, and several points where the game could have been won by
either side. The endgame considerations
alone are worth studying
1. c4 e6
2. Nf3 Nf6
3. g3 d5
4. cxd5 This move is unheard
of in grandmaster play. The kingside fianchetto doesn't go well with the
exchange variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined.
4. ... exd5
5. Bg2 Be7
6. O-O O-O
7. d4 Bf5
8. Nc3 c6
9. a3 Nbd7
10. b4 This is a double edged move. It gains space, but cedes c4 as an outpost
for Black. Although the minority attack
is the standard strategy for White in the exchange variation, here it doesn't
work because his pieces are not positioned to support it. Black's
development is better on the queenside, and he has strong control of the light
squares. White's king's bishop wishes it wasn't fianchettoed now.
10. ... Ne4 The intent is to undermine the White knight, a
key support unit of the light squares on the queenside, such as b5.
11. Bb2 a5 Black seeks to turn b4 into a weakness.
12. Qb3 Also playable is 12. b5 Qb6 (not 12... Nxc3
13. Bxc3 cxb5 14. Qb3 as that loses the pawn right away) 13. bxc6 bxc6 14. Ra2
is fine for White.
12. ... axb4
13. axb4 Qb6 The isolated White b pawn is a weakness that
will demand attention. Black employs phase
one of Nimzovitsch's famous plan against weak pawns: Restrain, blockade,
destroy! At this point, Black has a
somewhat better game.
14. Nxe4 Better is 14. b5 Nxc3 15. Bxc3 cxb5 16. Qxd5
14. ... Bxe4
15. Bc3 Qb5 Phase two: Blockade! In addition
to blockading the pawn, this
move also attacks the e-pawn. The
blockade is the main intent,
since the attack is easily countered, but the blockade is structurally
important. Moves which accomplish one
goal while threatening another are usually very effective.
16. e3 Nb6
17. Nd2 Bxg2
Equally
good here is 17. ... Bd3 18. Rfc1 Na4 and after the minor piece exchange, the
White b pawn falls. But Black has his
main strategic theme in mind, and doesn't want to stray from it.
18. Kxg2 Na4 Again, the loss of the b pawn is
forced. Black will exchange knight for bishop, and the d2 knight can't
protect the pawn. However, although the game is still young, Black has used up
a lot of his time already.
19. Rfb1 Nxc3
20. Rxa8 Rxa8 Black
considered but did well to avoid 20. ... Nxb1 21. Ra2! Nxd2 22. Rxd2 Bxb4 23.
Rb2 and the won pawn cannot be kept.
21. Qxc3 Ra4
22. e4 With the
pawn lost, White correctly goes for counterplay.
22. ... Rxb4
23. Ra1 h6 Short on time already, Black makes his first
mistake. Black should play 23. ... Ra4
to prevent the back rank penetration.
24. Ra8+ Kh7 This leaves too much of the Black kingside
unprotected. The better play was 24. ...
Bf8
25. exd5 Perhaps
White played quickly in order to keep Black under maximum time pressure. Far superior is to use the checkmate threat
by 25. Qf3 dxe4 26. Qxe4+ f5 27. Qxe7 Rxd4 28. Rd8 Rxd8 29. Qxd8 and with
reasonably careful play White's knight will win the endgame against the extra
Black pawns.
25. ... Qxd5+
26. Nf3 Qb3 A
miscalculation, based on keeping the White queen from going Qc2-e2. Much more aggressive is 26. ... Rb3 27. Qc2+
f5 28. Qd1 (disastrous is 28. Qe2 Bf6 29. Qe8 Qxf3+ 30. Kh3 Qxf2 31. Qh8+ Kg6
32. Qe8+ Kg5 33. Ra1 Rb2) 28. … g5 29. Ra5 (Again, White must resist 29. Qe2
Bf6 30. Qe8 Qxf3+ 31. Kh3 g4#) 29. ... c5 30. Qe2 Bd6 31. Rb5 Rc3 and Black wins
the pinned knight with mate not far behind.}
27. Qe1 Bf6 Although this move seems natural for Black,
in fact it is a major error that should cost the game, as we'll see in a few
moves. Much better and the only
alternative is 27. ... Qe6 28. Qxe6 fxe6 29. Re8 Bf6 30. Rxe6 Bxd4 31. Nxd4
Rxd4 32. Kf3 and Black maintains a slight advantage, although rook and pawn
endings can be difficult to win. In this
case because Black has two connected passed pawns, White has the onerous burden
to prove the draw.
28. Qe4+ g6
29. Qe8 h5
30. Qg8+ White
overlooks an absolutely killer move in 30. Ng5+! Kh6 (not 30. ... Bxg5 31. Qh8#)
31. Nxf7+ Qxf7 (not 31. ... Kh7 Qg8#) 32. Qxf7 Rxd4 33. Qxf6 and mate with Rh8
in a moment. With the knight check, at the very least White wins the enemy
queen, and Black would likely resign right away.
30. ... Kh6
31. Ne5 White misses his second chance for an easy
win. The right attack is 31. Rf8 (worth
Black's trying but to no avail is 31. ... h4 32. Rxf7 h3+ 33. Kxh3 Qe6+ 34. Kg2
Qxf7) Since from the beginning, the f pawn cannot be defended and its loss
opens up Black to deadly attacks. Black
must give up major material to avoid mate.
31. ... Qd5+
32. Kh3 Bxe5 Black can also try 32. ... Qe6+ 33. Kg2
Qd5+ to play for a draw.
33. dxe5 33. Rf8 looks
very threatening for White but it is actually good for Black, if he's daring enough. The best reply would be 33. ... Qh1 34. Rxf7
Qf1+ 35. Kh4 Bxg3+! (also winning is 35. ... Rxd4+! 36. f4 Rxf4 37. Rxf4 Qg2!
38. Qf8+ Bg7 39. Rf2 g5#) 36. Kxg3 (no
good is 36. fxg3 Rxd4+ 37. Rf4 Rxf4+ 38. gxf4 Qxf4+ 39. Kh3 Qg4#) Qg1+ 37. Kf4
Qxf2+ 38. Ke5 Qxd4+ 39. Ke6 Qd5+ 40. Ke7 Re4+ 41. Kf8 Qd8#. A remarkable turn of events! If White tries hard for the win, he loses. So
White did best with the move played.
33. ... Qf3 Going for the win, but missing a surprisingly
simple tactic. Instead 33. ... Qe6+
forces a perpetual check.
34. Qh8+ Much better, 34. Qf8+ Kg5 35. Qxb4 forks
the king and rook and simply wins for White.
However, as this shot was missed, the game is pretty much even.
34. ... Kg5
35. Qd8+ Kf5
36. Qf6+ Ke4
37. Qh4+ Also playable is 37. Qxf3+ Kxf3 38. Rf8 f5
39. e6 ( but not 39. exf6 g5! 40. Rg8 Rh4+! 41. gxh4 g4+ 42. Rxg4 hxg4# Would you have seen that?) 39. ... Re4 40. Rf6 c5. Or White could have
also played, although its unclear, 37. Qe7 Rc4 38. Qh4+ Kd3 39. Ra3+ Rc3
37. ... Qg4+
38. Qxg4+ hxg4+ Four
checks in a row - not something you see every day!
39. Kxg4 Kxe5+ Black is significantly better in this rook
pawn endgame because of his two queenside passed pawns, but White's kingside
majority gives him significant counter chances.
40. Kg5 c5
41. f4+ Kd4
42. h4 It’s
tempting, but not enough, to try 42. Rf8 c4 43. Rxf7 Rb6 because the White pawn
advance is slow but the Black advance is quick.
42. ... c4
43. g4
43. … Kc3 Wasting precious tempi. In this race of
the pawns, timing is critical, and this slows Black down a lot. Now a draw is theoretically possible. However, a certain win is in 43. ... c3 44.
Rd8+ Kc4 45. Rc8+ Kb3 46. h5 gxh5 47. gxh5 Rc4! 48. Rxc4 Kxc4 49. h6 c2 50. h7
c1=Q 51. h8=Q Qg1+ 52. Kf5 (if 52. Kf6 Qd4+ or if 52. Kh6 Qh2+ 53. Kg7 Qxh8+
54. Kxh8 b5 and in both cases Black wins) 52. ... Qg6+ 53. Ke5 Qe6# But Black let White off the hook.
44. f5 This is a
subtle mistake that gives the win back to Black if that side pushes his pawns aggressively
enough. But the draw can be preserved with 44. h5 gxh5 45. gxh5 Rb1 46. Rb8 b5
47. h6 Rg1+ 48. Kf6 Rh1 49. Rxb5 Rxh6+ 50. Kxf7 Kd4 51. f5 c3 52. Rb1 c2 53.
Rc1 Kd3 54. f6 Kd2 55. Rxc2+! Kxc2 56. Kg7 and draws.
44. ... Rb6 Black, with only seconds left on his
clock, loses faith in his plan. The king
should have come to b2 based on the following consideration: 44. ... Kb2 45.
fxg6 fxg6 46. Kxg6 c3 47. Rc8 (47. Kf5 c2 48. Rc8 b5 49. Rxc2 Kxc2 50. h5 Rb1
51. g5 b4 is winning for Black) 47. ... Rxg4+ 48. Kh5 Rd4 and White will regrettably
have to sacrifice his rook for the c pawn.
45. Rf8 gxf5
46. h5 Kb2
47. Rxf7 c3
48. Rxf5 c2
49. Rc5 Rd6 Black missed his last chance for a win with
49. ... Rc6
50. h6 c1=Q+
51. Rxc1 Kxc1 Black's
rook is keep busy restraining the White h pawn.
If Black gives up the rook for the pawn, both sides race their pawns
down the board neck and neck, and they will queen back to back. Neither side has a quick x-ray attack to win
the opponent's queen, and so the game was shortly agreed as a draw.
A most interesting game and well played by both sides.
Other tournament positions
Look at these positions and more by viewing the games with
analysis on our website. Our viewer
allows you to play over all the games, including variations, with just an easy
click of your mouse. It’s fun and
informative to use. Check it out!
The following position is White to move and gain a strong material
advantage. Although only six moves have
been played, the game is as good as won for White. What’s the right move?
Jeff C. vs Bob Cu.
In this position, Black can win a pawn. Can you find it?
Andrew W. vs Bob C.
In the first position, Jeff
correctly jumped on 7. Bxf7+.
Black is best off refusing it with a simple 7. … Ke2 but the game
progressed 7. … Kxf7 8. Nxe5+ Kg1 9. Nxg4 winning two pawns.
In the second position, Black has prepared to make use of the
half open f file with Ng5. The white
queen has no place to run where it can defend the pawn on f2. This gave black a material advantage that
compensated for the doubled pawn and was good positionally as well.
The Opening Door
This article completes the discussion of the Danish gambit
begun last month. The Danish is a very
dynamic and aggressive opening where White immediately sacrifices two pawns for
a lead in development and center control.
And it’s a true gambit, where the pawns can’t simply be regained. In this issue, we see what happens when Black
attempts to keep both of the gambited pawns.
We’ll also list the possible transpositions if Black declines
any of the sacrifices. Those openings
will be identified but not looked at here.
They may be studied in future issues.
Danish Gambit, Part 2
1. e4 e5
2. d4 exd4
3. c3 dxc3
4. Bc4 cxb2
5. Bxb2
Black accepts the full Danish opening sacrifices. In these lines there is no intent to return
them.
5. … d6
6. Qb3
Not 6. f4 Be6 7. Bxe6 fxe6 8. Qb3 Nd7 9. Qxe6+ (White cannot
capture the b pawn as 9. ... Rb8 wins the White bishop with an X-ray attack) 9.
… Qe7 and things quickly head for an endgame where Black is a pawn up and
therefore better off.
6. … Qd7
7. Nf3 Nc6
8. Bc3 to prevent 8. … Na5
8. … Nh6
9. O-O f6 in order to neutralize the effect of the
White bishop on the long diagonal and to improve the position of the Black
knight.
10. Nbd2 Nf7
11. Rad1 Ncd8 to protect
the knight and to cover the contested e6 square.
12. Nd4 Be7
13. f4 White can
also take a chance with 13. Nf5 O-O 14. Bb2 b6.
With the bishop retreat, White has freed up the queen for a quick swing
over to the kingside. Black is cramped, and all the likely play is on the White
side, which gives compensation for the sacrificed material. However, at least for the moment, this
position is surprisingly secure for both sides. Black will have to play carefully and should
consider returning some material for security if White develops an attack.
13. … O-O
Here White has a few good options, like 14. Nf5 or 14. e5 or
14. f5. In all cases, White plans to
take the attack behind the enemy lines.
Black is cramped while White controls the center and has good
mobility. Unfortunately, White does not
have any clear targets that can be exploited in the near term, despite the
pinned knight on f7 and the dominance of e6.
There’s a need for continuing strategic play until tactics can decide
the issue. White stands better even
though Black has so many more pawns, but the game could go either way.
Now let’s look at another line. Taking it from the top
1. e4 e5
2. d4 exd4
3. c3 dxc3
4. Bc4 cxb2
5. Bxb2 Bb4+
This move is natural and seems quite strong. It develops and helps clear the way for
castling, and it gives a check that forces white to either block the powerful
bishop on the long diagonal or move the king and forgo castling. Unfortunately, it also leaves the black
kingside undefended in an opening where White is intent on attacking the
kingside at any cost.
6. Kf1 Nf6
7. e5 d5
Black doesn’t have much choice about this, since 7. … Ne4
loses a pawn and allows 8) Bxf7+ Kxf7 and now White can pick either the bishop
with 9) Qb3+ or the knight with 9) Qd5+, which then also attacks the bishop. In
both cases White has the better game with persistent pressure on the Black
kingside.
8. Bb5+ c6
9. exf6 cxb5
10. fxg7 Rg8
11. Qc2 Be6
and although Black is still up two pawns, they cannot be held
for long.
12. Qxh7 Kd7
13. Nf3 Nc6
14. Nbd2
favors White since the Black king is stuck in a dangerous
center of the board, but the game is far from over.
13. Nf6
White is better, but anything could happen from here. It’s going to be a slugfest.
Both of these variations seem to be playable for Black, even
though White has compensation for his lost pawns. Keep in mind, however, that
attempts to retain the pawns allows White exactly the kind of game he’s
probably most comfortable with. Black
can win, but he’ll have to beat White at his own game to do so. But however uncertain the outcome is, one
thing is for sure—these games are going to be fun!
Now, as promised before, here’s a list of some variations
that avoid the Danish Gambit by stopping short of accepting both pawn sacs, and
transposing into other lines.
First,
1. e4 e5
2. d4 d6
3. N6 transposes
into Philidor’s defense. This opening is seen most commonly in amateur play and
only rarely at higher levels of play, as it is generally leads to lines where
White is clearly better. Also possible
here is an immediate 3) dxe5 dxe5 4) Qxd8+ Kxd8 and Black has all the problems.
Secondly,
1. e4 e5
2. d4 exd4
3. c3 d5 is the
Danish Gambit Declined.
Finally,
1. e4 e5
2. d4 exd4
3. c3 Nf6 will
transpose into the Goring Gambit of the Scotch Game.
Other alternatives either lead back into the accepted lines
of the Danish gambit or are so clearly unplayable that they don’t have names as
acceptable openings.
That’s it for our investigation of the Danish Gambit. For in depth study of this opening, one can
hardly do better than the book Danish Dynamite by Karsten Müller and Martin Voigt, which also covers the
Scotch and the Urusov Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d4!?). If these articles interested you, it’s worth
checking out.
If you have a favorite opening, or one you’re wondering if
it’s good to play, drop us a note and we’ll try to cover it in future issues.
