In the final round, I had the Black pieces against Chouchanik Airapetian 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Ng5 Rf8 12. Nf3 h6 Given how things had gone the last couple of rounds, perhaps 12... Re8 and a quick handshake was called for. Instead, I decided to try to fight for an even score in the tournament. 13. Nbd2 Re8 14. Nf1 Bf8 15. Ng3 Qd7 The main line is the immediate 15... Na5 16. Bc2 Nc4 16. Nh4 Na5
17. Bc2 It appears that White can take advantage of Black's move order with 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. Nh5 as in the game Westerinen-Johansen, Gausdal 2002. One pretty variation is 18...Qc6 19. Qf3 Be7 (Johansen played 19...Nxb3) 20. Nf5 Nxh5 21. Bxf7+ Kxf7 22. Nxh6+ Ke6 23. Qf5+ Kd6 24. Nf7+ Kc5 25. Be3+ Kc4 26. Nxe5# 17... g6?! I end up suffering a long time for this move It was much better to play 17... Nc4 when the knight will be much more active from b6 than it ends up in the game. 18. b3 Nc6 19. d5 Ne7 The knight ends up passive here for a long time. Afterwards, my opponent suggested 19... Nd8 with the idea Bc8 and Nb7-c5, but that doesn't look that appealing to me either. On e7 the knight helps defend the kingside and may assist with an ...f5 break in the distant future. 20. c4 c6 20... c5 here or on the next move with a closed Benoni structure is another option, but I think it is best to open the file in order to trade major pieces and ease Black's cramped position. 21. Be3 Qc7 22. Qd2 cxd5 23. cxd5 Kh7 24. Rac1 Qd8 25. Nf3 Nd7 26. Bb1 Rc8 27. h4 Nf6 28. Nh2 Qd7 29. Bd3 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Rc8 31. Be2 Nfg8 Better is 31... h5. However, I was still dreaming about playing ...f5 some day which is pretty much out of the question in conjunction with ...h5. 32. h5 Rxc1+ 33. Qxc1 Qc8 34. Qd1 Qc3 35. Ng4 White really has done much to increase her advantage over the past twenty moves, but I can't say that Black has equalized either. Now, I finally lost patience and lashed out with the clocks running down. 35... gxh5?! 36. Nxh5 f5 At long last, but at this point it only exposes the Black king 37. exf5 Nxd5 38. f6 Qc7 better is 38... Nxe3 39. fxe3 but White still has a clear advantage. 39. Qb1+ I had missed the check along the diagonal. 39... Kh8 40. Qg6 Nxe3 41. Nxe3 d5 42. Qe8 d4 43. Qxf8 dxe3 44. f7 exf2+ 45. Kh2 e4+ 46. g3 f1=N+ 47. Bxf1 Qc2+ 48. Bg2 [1:0]
On Monday morning, I had the White pieces vs. Mehmed Pasalic, who had beaten me in the final round last year in a one-sided game. I was hoping to improve on that, but it turned out not to be the case. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 c5 6. d5 O-O 7. Nf3 e6 8. Be2 exd5 9. cxd5 Nbd7 10. O-O I think this solid move gives white a plus. The main alternative is the wild line 10. e5 dxe5 11. fxe5 Ng4 12. e6 Nde5 10... Re8 11. Nd2 a6 12. a4 Qc7 13. Kh1 Rb8 White has a huge plus score in the database with a variety of moves including my choice 14. a5 b5
This was a bit disconcerting. For the second game in a row my opponent plays a move which I thought I had just prevented. 15. axb6 Nxb6! In earlier games Black had played 15... Rxb6 when the White knight comes to c4 with tempo. 16. Ra3 16. Bxa6? Ra8 is the tactical justification for capturing with the knight. 16... c4 Now I think Black is fine. The white center is well restrained and he has clear ideas of doubling rooks on the e-file as well as Nf6-d7-c5, perhaps in conjunction with ...f5. 17. Re1?! I found two games that reached this position by transposition, and in both cases White won after 17. Bf3 which seems a much superior move to the text since it isn't really clear that the rook belongs on e1 where it might become subject to tactics on the e-file. White might then be able to start to make Black think about his c-pawn with Qc2 and Na4, which aren't immediately available: 17. Qc2 Nfxd5; 17. Na4 Nxe4 17... Bb7 18. Bf3 18. Qc2 Re7 looks quite comfortable for Black as well. 18... Nfd7 Another drawback of Re1 is that Nd3 arrives with a tempo. I now try a rather desperate pawn sacrifice, but never manage to generate realistic threats, but it is hard to suggest improvements, basically this a dream Benoni position for Black 19. e5 dxe5 20. d6 Qxd6 21. Bxb7 Rxb7 22. Qf3 Rbb8 23. Nce4 Qe6 24. Ng5 Qd5 25. Qxd5 Nxd5 26. Nxc4 exf4 27. Rd1 N7f6 28. Nd6 Re2 29. h3 Ne3 30. Bxe3 fxe3 31. Rxa6 Rexb2 32. Nc4 Rb1 33. Nxe3 Nd5 [0:1]
After that difficult game, I got the Black pieces against another tough opponent in the evening round, GM Julio Becerra. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. d4 Bg4 10. d5 Na5 11. Bc2 Qc8 12. Nbd2 c6 13. b4 Nc4 13... Nb7 is the other main move here when the knight can come back into play via d8 and e6. 14. Nxc4 bxc4 15. dxc6 Qxc6 16. a4 h6 16... a5!? is a double-edged try here. Black gives White a protected passed pawn in exchange for the c5 square for his knight. 17. a5!? This seems to be Becerra's new idea in this position. A few days after this game I received the June 2005 issue of Chess Life which had the game Becerra-Goldin (1-0) from the US Amateur Team Championship. The position seems pretty balanced, but Black has to figure out what squares to develop his pieces to. 17... Rfd8 17... Rfe8? 18. Ba4 is one point of White's move The immediate 17... Qb7 was Goldin's choice. 18. h3 Be6 19. Qe2 Nd7 19... Rac8 20. Bd2 Qb7 21. Rad1 Bf8 transposes to Becerra-Goldin, where Julio played 22. Nh2 but 22. Nh4 similar to the present game, looks stronger. My thought was that b5 might be a good square for my knight via b8-c6-a7, but it isn't clear that is a good plan. On f6 the knight could help support a d5 break as well as keeping an extra defender on the kingside. 20. Bd2 Qb7 21. Rad1 Bf8 22. Bc1 Rac8 23. Nh4 g6 I wanted to keep the knight out of f5.
24. Nf5! d5 The sacrifice cannot be accepted 24... gxf5 25. exf5 Bd5 26. Qg4+ Kh8 27. Qh4 and White's attack is winning 25. Nxh6+ Kh7 25... Bxh6 26. Bxh6 d4 had to be played when White is much better. Instead, the floodgates are opened and the White pieces pour in. 26. exd5 Bxd5 27. Qh5 Nf6 28. Qh4 Bxg2 29. Ng4+ [1:0]
In round 4, I had the White pieces against IM Ben Finegold. In our 1999 game at this tournament, I obtained a very good position and he played a rather dubious queen sacrifice in an attempt to cause chaos. Well, that worked as I lost my head in a time scramble and lost. This game had some eerie similarities to that one. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 Na6 7. Be2 In recent years I have been playing 7. e5 in this position. However, after the miserable position I got in the opening against Chris Mabe at Land of the Sky, I decided to revert to this more solid move. Unfortunately, I spent too much time remembering the subtlties of this variation and it came back to hurt me later. 7... e5 8. fxe5 dxe5 9. d5 Nc5 9... c6 used to be automatic here. Then, Kasparov played the text against Lautier at Amsterdam in 1995 and now it has become the main move. 10. Bg5 I fell into the trap 10. Qc2? Nfxe4 with clear advantage to Black against Doug Hyatt in the 1999 Space City Open. 10... h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. b4 Na6 13. a3 c5 14. Rb1 In the 1999 Chicago Open, in the round after Ben sacrificed his queen for "nothing" and beat me, I got the inspiration to play the speculative 14. b5 Nc7 15. d6 Rd8 16. dxc7 against Ryan Porter. Alas, I was only strong enough to draw that game. 14... Bd7 The good thing about players following the example of Kasparov is that on very rare occasions he made mistakes, so you can catch someone with an improvement. 15. d6 A big improvement on Lautier's 15. b5 Nc7 16. d6 Ne6 and the knight finds a nice home on d4.] 15... Rfd8 Now Black's queenside gets bottled up, but after 15... Rad8 16. O-O Be8 (16... Bc8 17. Nb5) 17. b5 Nb8 Black's kingside is in tangles. 16. b5 Nb8 17. Qd5 Bc8 18. Qxc5 18. Rd1 Bf8 19. Qxe5 also deserves attention 18... Be6 18... Qxd6 19. Qxd6 Rxd6 20. c5 Rd7 21. Nd5 and White is clearly better 19. Nd5 19. O-O b6 (19... Nd7 20. Qe3) 20. Qc7] 19... Bxd5 20. Qxd5 Nd7 20... Qxd6 21. Qxb7 Nd7 22. Rd1± 21. c5 I didn't want to let his knight get an outpost after 21. Qxb7 Nc5 but 21. O-O looks more accurate here, now Black generates counterplay 21... Rac8 22. Rc1 Qf4 23. Rc3 Played after long thought. I didn't like the looks of letting his queen into e3, but White still might have the advantage after 23. Nd2 Qe3 24. Nb3 Nf6 23... Nf6 24. Qxb7 Qxe4 25. c6 Qb1+ 26. Bd1 Qe4+ 27. Be2 Bf8? Probably due to my time situation he rejected the repetition with 27... Qb1+= 28. Rc4 28. Rd3 denying the check on b1 is probably a bit cleaner, but the text is also strong. 28... Qe3? this should lose, but after 28... Qb1+ 29. Kf2 Ne4+ (29... Qxh1 30. Nxe5 Nd7 31. cxd7 (31. Nxd7)) 30. Rxe4 Qxe4 31. Rd1 White is much better. 29. c7 Re8 30. Qc6 Bxd6 31. Qxd6 Ne4 32. Qc6 Qf2+ 33. Kd1 Ng5
34. Qxe8+? Horrifying. For some reason I hallucinated that this was winning an entire rook. The game would soon be over after 34. Nxg5 hxg5 35. Bg4 but not (35. Rf1? Red8+ 36. cxd8=Q+ Rxd8+ 37. Kc1 Qe3+ 38. Kb1 (38. Kb2 Qxe2+ 39. Rc2 Qxf1) 38... Qb3+ =) 34... Rxe8 35. c8=Q Rxc8 now I suddenly realized I had no queen. However, White should still be winning, but now it is much more difficult. 36. Rxc8+ Kg7 37. Nxg5 37. Rf1 is more accurate 37... hxg5 38. Rf1 Qd4+ 39. Kc2 f5 40. Rc7+ Kh6 41. Rc4? A mistake dropping a pawn immediately after the time control had passed. After 41. Bc4 White is still relatively coordinated could still hope to advance his queenside pawn majority with the assistance of his king, rook, and bishop 41... Qe3 42. Kd1 Qxa3 43. Rf3 all of White's winning chances seem to slip away now. Perhaps 43. g3 was still a try. 43... Qa1+ 44. Rc1 Qd4+ 45. Kc2 g4 46. Rg3 e4 47. Kb3?! 47. Rf1 e3 48. Rd1 Qa4+ with a draw was a better way to end the game. Now, Black actually gets some winning chances. 47... f4 48. Rgc3 f3 49. gxf3 gxf3 50. Bxf3 exf3 51. Rf1 f2 52. Kc2 Qd5 53. Rh3+ Kg7 [53... Kg5!?] 54. Rd3 Qg2 54... Qxb5 55. Kd2 Qg5+ 56. Re3 Qg2 57. Ke2 Qxh2 is a superior try since he actually gets the b-pawn, but I think White still holds without much problem. Black's problem is that he has a rook pawn on the queenside so after White sacrifices his rooks for the queen and g-pawn the pawn ending is a draw. 55. Rdd1 Qxh2 56. Rd2 Qf4 57. Rdxf2 Qc4+ 58. Kd2 g5 58... Qxb5 59. Rf7+ Kh6 60. Rh1+ Kg5 61. Rg1+= 59. Rg1 Qd4+ 59... Qxb5 60. Rfg2 and Rxg5 if he does anything besides check. Now he tries various maneuvers with his queen attempting to capture the b-pawn with check, but I defend accurately. 60. Ke2 Qe4+ 61. Kd2 Qd5+ 62. Ke1 Qe5+ 63. Kd2 Qb2+ 64. Ke3 Qb3+ 65. Kd2 Qb4+ 66. Ke3 Qc5+ 67. Kf3 Qc3+ 68. Ke2 Qc2+ 69. Ke3 Qb3+ 70. Kd2 Qa2+ 71. Ke3 Qa3+ 72. Ke2 Qa2+ 73. Ke3 Qe6+ 74. Kd2 Qd6+ 75. Ke2 Qe5+ 76. Kd2 Qd4+ [½:½]
In the evening round, I had the Black pieces against Erickson Smith. 1. f4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 5. Nc3 would transpose to a Pirc 5... O-O 6. O-O c5 7. c3 7. dxc5 deserves serious consideration 7... Qb6 8. Qe2 Nc6 I think 8... cxd4 is a bit more accurate when Black has no problems at all, although the text doesn't really trouble Black either. 9. dxc5 Qxc5+ 10. Be3 Qa5 10... Qh5 discouraging a kingside attack also deserves attention 11. h3 Bd7 12. Nbd2 Qc7 13. Qf2 b5 14.