[Event "Malaga (Spain)"]
[Site "Malaga (Spain)"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Eugenio Torre"]
[Black "O'Kelly"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B51"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "1973.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 Ngf6 5. Nc3 cxd4 6. Qxd4 e5 7. Qd3 h6 8.
Nd2 Be7 9. Nc4 O-O 10. Bxd7 Qxd7 11. Ne3 Qc6 12. g4 Be6 13. Rg1 Nd7 14. Nf5
Bxf5 15. gxf5 Kh7 16. Qh3 Rg8 17. Nd5 Bf6 18. c3 Raf8 19. Qh5 Rh8 20. Be3 Qa4
21. Kd2 Rhg8 {Diagram #} 22. Rg6 1-0

[Event "Moscow (Russia)"]
[Site "it"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Grigory Levenfish"]
[Black "Riumin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E38"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 c5 6. Qc2 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Be7 8.
e4 Nc6 9. Nf3 Qa5 10. Bd2 Qh5 11. Be2 d5 12. O-O dxc4 13. Bxc4 Bd6 14. Ne2 Ng4
15. Nf4 Qh6 16. Nh3 Qh5 17. Rad1 Nce5 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Bf4 Nxc4 20. Qxc4 Qc5
21. Qd3 Bxf4 22. Nxf4 b6 23. Qd6 Qa5 24. b4 Qa4 25. Nh5 Qb5 26. e5 Qe2 {
Diagram #} 27. Ng3 (27. Nf6+ gxf6 28. exf6 e5 (28... Qc2 29. Qxf8+ Kxf8 30.
Rd8#) 29. Qxf8+) 27... Qb5 28. Rfe1 Bb7 29. Re3 Qc6 30. Qxc6 Bxc6 31. Ne4 Bxe4
32. Rxe4 Rfd8 33. Red4 Rxd4 34. Rxd4 Kf8 35. Kf1 Rc8 36. Ke2 Rc2+ 37. Rd2 Rxd2+
38. Kxd2 Ke7 39. Kd3 Kd7 1/2-1/2

[Event "Monaco"]
[Site "09"]
[Date "1969.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Rudolf Teschner"]
[Black "Lajos Portisch"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C02"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1969.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nge7 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nf5 8.
Bxf5 exf5 9. Nc3 Be6 10. O-O Be7 11. Ne2 g5 12. Ne1 f4 13. f3 Qb6 14. Kh1 Bf5
15. b3 Qa6 16. Rf2 O-O-O 17. Bb2 f6 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Qd2 Kb8 20. Nxf4 Qb6 21.
Ne2 Rhe8 22. Rd1 Ka8 23. Bc3 Rc8 24. Ng3 Nxd4 25. Nxf5 Nxb3 26. axb3 Bxc3 27.
Qc2 Bxe1 28. Re2 Bb4 29. Rxd5 {Diagram #} Qa6 30. Ng3 Red8 31. Rxd8 Rxd8 32.
Rf2 Qd3 33. Qc7 a6 34. Rf1 h5 35. Qb6 h4 36. Qxb4 hxg3 37. Qc4 gxh2 38. Qxd3
Rxd3 39. Rb1 Ka7 40. Kxh2 Kb6 1/2-1/2

[Event "Izt"]
[Site "Petropolis"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vladimir A Savon"]
[Black "David Bronstein"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C99"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "1973.??.??"]

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 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bb7 13. Nbd2 Qc7 14. Nf1 Rac8 15.
Re2 Nh5 16. Bd3 Nc6 17. Rc2 Qd7 18. d5 Nb4 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Be2 Nc2 21. Rb1 f5
22. Nxe5 dxe5 23. Bxh5 g6 24. Be2 Nd4 25. f3 f4 26. Bd2 Bc5 27. Kh1 Ba7 28. Bd3
Qd6 29. Nh2 h5 30. Rc1 Kf7 31. Ba5 Qd7 32. Nf1 g5 33. Nd2 Kf6 34. Rxc8 Qxc8 35.
Nb3 Nxb3 36. axb3 Qc5 37. Be2 Bc8 38. Bd8+ Kg6 39. d6 h4 40. Be7 Bd7 41. Bd8
Be6 42. b4 Qxb4 43. d7 Bxd7 44. Bc7 Qd4 45. Bxe5 Qxe5 46. Qxd7 Qc5 47. Qd1 Qd4
48. Qb1 Kf6 49. Kh2 Ke5 50. Bd3 Bc5 51. Bc2 Qf2 52. Bb3 Be3 53. Bd5 {Diagram #}
Kd6 (53... Qg3+ 54. Kh1 g4 55. Qa1 gxf3 56. Qxa6) 54. b4 Bd2 55. Qa1 Qg3+ 56.
Kh1 Qe1+ 57. Qxe1 Bxe1 58. Bb7 Bxb4 59. Bxa6 Kc6 60. Kg1 1/2-1/2

[Event "6th Dubai Open"]
[Site "Dubai UAE"]
[Date "2004.04.20"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Chakravarthy Deepan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[WhiteElo "2552"]
[BlackElo "2331"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2004.04.19"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bb5 e5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nxe5 Nxe4 7. Nxe4 Qd4
8. O-O Qxe5 9. d4 cxd4 10. Re1 Be6 11. Bg5 Be7 {Diagram #} 12. f4 Qd5 13. Bxe7
Kxe7 14. f5 Qxf5 15. Qxd4 Qd5 16. Qb4+ c5 17. Nxc5 a5 18. Qa3 Qd4+ 19. Kh1 Qb4
20. Qe3 1-0

[Event "Tnmt, London"]
[Site "Tnmt, London"]
[Date "1883.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "James Mason"]
[Black "Mikhail Chigorin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[EventDate "1883.??.??"]

1. d4 e6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Be2 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. dxc5 O-O 8.
Nbd2 Bxc5 9. Nb3 Bb6 10. Nfd4 Ne7 11. Bd3 Ne8 12. Qh5 f5 13. Qe2 Ng6 14. Nf3 {
Diagram #} Nxf4 15. exf4 Qf6 16. Ne5 Nd6 17. c3 Ne4 18. Nd4 Qh6 19. g3 Bc7 20.
f3 Nc5 21. Bc2 b6 22. Rf2 Ba6 23. Qe3 Rfe8 24. Re1 Bxe5 25. Qxe5 Nd7 26. Qd6
Nf8 27. Qc6 Rec8 28. Qa4 Bb7 29. Bd3 Rc7 30. Rfe2 Bc8 31. Ba6 Qh5 32. Bxc8
Rcxc8 33. Qc2 Re8 34. Qd3 Qf7 35. Re5 Rac8 36. Qe2 g6 37. Kf2 Rc4 38. Rxd5 Ra4
39. a3 exd5 40. Qxe8 Qxe8 41. Rxe8 Kf7 42. Rd8 Ra5 43. Ke3 Rc5 44. Rxf8+ Kxf8
45. Ne6+ Ke7 46. Nxc5 bxc5 47. b4 Kd6 48. bxc5+ Kxc5 49. Kd3 h6 50. g4 h5 51.
h3 h4 52. a4 a6 53. a5 Kb5 54. Kd4 Kxa5 55. Kc5 Ka4 56. Kxd5 Kb5 57. c4+ Kb6
58. Kd6 Kb7 59. c5 Kc8 60. Kc6 a5 61. Kb5 Kc7 62. Kxa5 1-0

[Event "Match, Utrecht NED"]
[Site "Match, Utrecht NED"]
[Date "1935.01.08"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Alexander Alekhine"]
[Black "Max Euwe"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C15"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1935.??.??"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nge2 dxe4 5. a3 Be7 6. Nxe4 Nc6 7. g4 b6 8. Bg2
Bb7 9. c3 Nf6 10. N2g3 O-O 11. g5 Nxe4 12. Nxe4 Kh8 13. Qh5 Qe8 14. Nf6 Bxf6
15. gxf6 gxf6 16. Qh4 Qd8 17. Bf4 {Diagram #} e5 (17... f5) 18. Bg3 f5 19. dxe5
Rg8 20. Bf3 (20. Qxd8) 20... Qd3 21. Be2 Qe4 (21... Qc2) 22. Qxe4 fxe4 23. Bh4
h6 24. O-O-O Rae8 25. Bf6+ Kh7 26. f4 exf3 27. Bxf3 Na5 28. Bxb7 Nxb7 29. Rd7
Nc5 30. Rxf7+ Kg6 31. Rxc7 Nd3+ 32. Kb1 Kf5 33. Rd1 Nxe5 34. Rf1+ Ke4 35. Rxa7
Nc4 36. Rd7 Ke3 37. Re1+ Kf3 38. Rxe8 Rxe8 39. Rd4 Ne3 40. Rh4 Nf5 41. Rb4 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Jaan Ehlvest"]
[Black "Michael A Brooks"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2606"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "181"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. b3 Nc6 7. Bb2 Be7 8. Nc3
O-O 9. e3 d6 10. Rc1 Rb8 11. d4 Re8 12. Re1 Bf8 13. d5 exd5 14. cxd5 Nb4 15. e4
Ba6 16. Bf1 Bxf1 17. Kxf1 Qc8 18. Re2 Qa6 19. Kg2 Nd3 20. Rb1 Nxb2 21. Rbxb2
Nd7 22. a4 Qb7 23. b4 cxb4 24. Rxb4 Rbc8 25. Nb5 Rc5 26. Nbd4 Qa6 27. Re3 Ne5
28. Nxe5 dxe5 29. Nb5 Qb7 30. Rbb3 Rec8 31. d6 Qd7 32. Red3 Rc4 33. Nc3 R8c6
34. a5 bxa5 35. Nd5 Rxd6 36. Rb8 Rc8 37. Rdb3 Qd8 38. R8b7 a4 39. Rf3 Rc7 40.
Rxc7 Qxc7 41. Qxa4 Qd7 42. Qa1 Rh6 43. h4 Re6 44. Rc3 Bd6 45. Qa6 Re8 46. Rd3
Rd8 47. Ne3 Qc7 48. Nd5 Qb8 49. h5 h6 50. Rc3 Kh7 51. Rc6 Bf8 52. Qc4 Bd6 53.
Nf6+ Kh8 54. Qxf7 Rf8 55. Nd7 Rxf7 56. Nxb8 Bxb8 57. Rc8+ Kh7 58. Rxb8 Re7 59.
Rb5 Kg8 60. Kf3 Kf7 61. Ke3 Kf6 62. f4 Kf7 63. Ra5 Kf6 64. Kf3 Kf7 65. Ra6 Kf8
66. Ke3 Ke8 67. Ra5 Kf7 68. Kf3 Ke8 69. fxe5 Kd8 70. Kf4 Rf7+ 71. Kg4 Ke8 72.
e6 Rb7 73. Kf5 Ke7 74. Ke5 Kf8 75. g4 Ke8 76. Ra6 Ke7 77. Kf5 Rb5+ 78. e5 Rb7
79. Kg6 Ke8 80. Ra4 Re7 81. Kf5 Rc7 82. g5 hxg5 83. Kxg5 Ke7 84. Kf5 Rb7 85.
Rg4 Kf8 86. h6 gxh6 87. Kf6 h5 88. Rc4 Rb8 89. e7+ Ke8 90. e6 a5 {Diagram #}
91. Rc1 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.11"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Boris Gulko"]
[Black "Douglas D Eckert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D82"]
[WhiteElo "2561"]
[BlackElo "2275"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rc1 Ne4 8. cxd5
Nxc3 9. Qd2 Qxa2 10. Rxc3 O-O 11. Bc4 Qa1+ 12. Rc1 Qxb2 13. Nf3 Nd7 14. Be2 Qa3
15. Nd4 Bxd4 16. exd4 Nf6 17. Bf3 Rd8 18. O-O Nxd5 {Diagram #} 19. Bxd5 Rxd5
20. Ra1 Qb3 21. Rfb1 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Charles Lawton"]
[Black "Melikset Khachiyan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B76"]
[BlackElo "2546"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2
O-O 9. O-O-O Be6 10. Nxe6 fxe6 11. Bh6 Rc8 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. h4 Qa5 14. Kb1 Ne5
15. Nb5 Qxd2 16. Rxd2 Nc6 17. Bc4 a6 18. Nc3 Kf7 19. a3 Ne5 20. Bb3 Nc4 21.
Bxc4 Rxc4 22. Ne2 b5 23. b3 Rc5 24. Nf4 e5 25. Nd3 Rcc8 26. Kb2 Nd7 27. Nb4 a5
28. Nd5 Rc5 29. Rd3 Rfc8 30. Rc3 e6 31. Rxc5 Rxc5 32. Ne3 Nb6 33. h5 g5 34. Ng4
Nd7 35. Ne3 Nf6 36. Rd1 Ke7 37. g4 Nd7 38. Rd3 Rc8 39. c4 Nc5 40. Rd1 Rb8 41.
Ka2 bxc4 42. Nxc4 Rxb3 43. Nxa5 Rxf3 44. Nc6+ Kf6 45. Rxd6 Rf2+ 46. Kb1 Nxe4
47. Rd7 Nc3+ 48. Kc1 e4 49. Rxh7 e3 50. Rh6+ Kg7 51. Rxe6 Rf1+ 52. Kc2 e2 53.
Kxc3 e1=Q+ 54. Rxe1 Rxe1 55. Kc4 Re4+ 56. Kb5 Rxg4 57. a4 Rh4 58. a5 Rxh5 59.
a6 g4+ 60. Kb6 g3 61. a7 g2 62. a8=Q g1=Q+ 63. Kc7 Qg3+ 64. Kb6 Qg1+ 65. Kc7
Rf5 66. Qe8 {Diagram #} Rf7+ 67. Kd6 Qg6+ 68. Kc5 Rf5+ 0-1

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.14"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Joel Benjamin"]
[Black "Gata Kamsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2583"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Qc8 8.
Nd2 e6 9. Ngf3 Be7 10. Ne5 Bh5 11. Qc2 Nd7 12. O-O Ndxe5 13. Bxe5 Nxe5 14. dxe5
Bg6 15. Qa4+ Kf8 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. Nf3 a6 18. Qf4 Qc7 19. Rac1 Rc8 20. b3 b5
21. a4 Kg8 22. axb5 axb5 23. Qe3 Kh7 24. Nd4 Bc5 25. Rcd1 Kg8 26. h3 Rh4 27.
Qd3 b4 28. Nf3 Rf4 29. cxb4 Rxb4 30. Rc1 Qb6 31. Rc3 d4 32. Rc4 Rxb3 33. Qe4
Rc3 34. Rc1 Qa6 35. R4xc3 dxc3 36. Rc2 Be7 37. Kh2 Rc4 38. Qd3 Qc8 39. Qe3 Qc7
40. Qd3 Qc6 41. Qe3 Bb4 42. Qd3 Qd5 43. Qe2 f6 44. Ra2 fxe5 45. Ra8+ Bf8 46.
Rd8 {Diagram #} c2 47. Rxd5 exd5 48. Qxe5 c1=Q 49. Qxd5+ Kh8 50. Ne5 Qf4+ 0-1

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Alexander Shabalov"]
[Black "Douglas D Eckert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B81"]
[WhiteElo "2569"]
[BlackElo "2275"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be3 a6 7. g4 Nc6 8. g5
Nd7 9. h4 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 b5 11. O-O-O Bb7 12. f4 Qa5 13. a3 Rc8 14. Kb1 e5 15.
fxe5 Nxe5 16. Qa7 Qc7 17. Bh3 Ra8 18. Nd5 Qb8 19. Qd4 Bxd5 20. Qxd5 Be7 21. h5
O-O 22. g6 Kh8 23. Bf5 Nc4 {Diagram #} 24. h6 Nxe3 25. hxg7+ 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Charles Lawton"]
[Black "Boris Gulko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B48"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Be3 Nf6 8.
Qe2 Nc6 9. O-O-O Be5 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Na4 Rb8 12. b3 O-O 13. g3 d5 14. f4 Bd6
15. e5 Ba3+ 16. Kb1 Nd7 17. c3 c5 18. Ka1 Bb7 19. Rhe1 Bc6 20. Nb2 a5 21. Rb1
a4 22. Nxa4 Rb7 23. Bc1 Bxc1 24. Rexc1 Ra8 25. Bc2 c4 26. Bd1 cxb3 27. axb3 Nc5
28. Rb2 Bb5 29. c4 dxc4 30. Ra2 {Diagram #} cxb3 31. Rxc5 Bxe2 32. Rxc7 Rxc7
33. Rxe2 Rxa4+ 34. Kb2 Ra2+ 35. Kxb3 Rxe2 36. Bxe2 Rc1 0-1

[Event "ABC-202-September 2002"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "Promotion"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1rk1/8/5b2/6B1/7P/8/2p5/R3R1K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

{Diagram #}  0-1

[Event "ABC-202-September 2002"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "Getting out of check"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r1k/1R5P/6p1/8/5b2/6q1/1Q4B1/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

{Diagram #}  0-1

[Event "ABC-202-September 2002"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "Back row"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1r1k/6pp/8/8/5bPq/5Q1P/3R1RB1/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

{Diagram #}  0-1

[Event "ABC-202-September 2002"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "Unpin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3k4/3q4/3R4/8/r4B1P/6P1/8/5K2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

{Diagram #}  0-1

[Event "ABC-202-September 2002"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "Driving off"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/3q2b1/3Bp3/5p2/1r6/3P2Q1/7P/5R1K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

{Diagram #}  0-1

[Event "ABC-202-September 2002"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "Back row"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1q4k1/1r3pb1/2QB4/2p5/8/8/6PP/5R1K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

{Diagram #}  0-1

[Event "Badalona"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1999.07.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Vera"]
[Black "Moskalenko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A67"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini,Bruce"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2009.07.17"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.17"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+
Nfd7 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nf3 Na6 11. O-O Nc7 12. Kh1 Re8 13. f5 b5 {Diagram #} 14.
fxg6 hxg6 15. Bg5 f6 (15... Bf6) (15... Nf6 16. e5 dxe5 17. d6 e4 18. dxc7 Qxd1
19. Raxd1 exf3 20. Bxf3 Bg4 21. Bxa8 Bxd1 22. Rxd1 Rxa8 23. Rd8+) 16. Bf4 Nf8
17. Nxb5 Nxb5 18. Bxb5 Rxe4 19. Qd2 Bg4 (19... f5) 20. Bd3 Rb4 21. Rae1 Rab8
22. b3 R4b7 23. Qe3 Bxf3 (23... f5 24. Ng5) 24. Qxf3 (24. Rxf3) 24... f5 25.
Qg3 Rd7 26. Re6 Rb4 (26... Nxe6 27. dxe6 Rdb7 28. Bxd6 Ra8 29. Qxg6 Qxd6 30.
Bxf5) (26... Rb6 27. Rxg6 Nxg6 28. Qxg6 Rf7 (28... Qf6 29. Qe8+) 29. Bxf5) 27.
Bc4 (27. Rxd6 Rxf4) (27. Bxd6 Rg4) 27... Rxc4 (27... Rb6 28. Rfe1) 28. bxc4
Nxe6 29. dxe6 Rb7 (29... Re7 30. Bg5) 30. Qxg6 (30. Bxd6 Rb6 31. e7) 30... Qf6
31. Qe8+ (31. Qxf6 Bxf6 32. Bxd6 Be7 33. Bxe7 Rxe7 34. Re1) 31... Kh7 (31...
Qf8 32. Qg6 (32. Qc6 Qb8 33. Qd5 (33. Bxd6 Rb1) 33... Rb1 34. e7+ Kh8 (34...
Kh7 35. Qxf5+) 35. Bc1 Qe8 (35... Bb2 36. Bxb2+) 36. Qxf5 Rxc1 37. Qh3+ Kg8 38.
Qe6+ Kh7 39. Rxc1)) 32. Bxd6 Rb6 33. Qh5+ {Diagram #} Qh6 (33... Bh6) (33...
Kg8 34. e7) 34. Qxh6+ 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.06.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Bareev, E."]
[Black "Sevillano, E."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A67"]
[WhiteElo "2636"]
[BlackElo "2520"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2009.06.09"]
[SourceDate "2009.06.09"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 {offering a Benoni. A daring move, it seemed to
me...the Benoni isn't the most solid of openings, and is barely seen at the
top level these days, but Enrico wanted a sharp struggle from the opening and
didn't mind the risk.} 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+ {
Bareev plays the Taimanov system, his pet line against the Benoni and also the
one considered the most dangerous for Black.} Nfd7 {an awkward retreat, but
one that Black is forced to make unless he wants to deal with e5 on the next
move.} 9. a4 {We've reached one of the branches for Black in this variation.
He can proceed with castling, or throw in a check on h4 which weakens White's
kingside a bit but also costs Black a tempo.} Qh4+ (9... O-O 10. Nf3 Na6 11.
O-O Nb4 (11... Nc7 12. Bd3 a6 13. Re1 Re8 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Bf2 b5 16. axb5 axb5
17. e5 dxe5 18. d6 Ne6 19. fxe5 $13 {Krush,I-Akopian,R/Miami USA 2007}) 12. Re1
a6 13. Bc4 $6 (13. Bf1 $142) 13... Nb6 $1 14. Be2 Bg4 $1 15. h3 Bxf3 16. Bxf3
c4 17. Be2 Rc8 18. Be3 Re8 19. Bf2 Nd7 20. Rc1 Qa5 21. Bf1 Nf6 22. Qf3 Nd7 23.
Qd1 {1/2-1/2 Krush,I-Nabaty,T/Ashdod ISR 2006}) (9... a6 10. Bd3 Qh4+ 11. g3
Qd8 12. Nf3 O-O 13. O-O Nf6 14. Kg2 Bg4 15. h3 Bxf3+ 16. Qxf3 Nbd7 17. Bd2 Re8
18. Rae1 Rc8 19. b3 Nb6 20. e5 $16 {Krush,I-Goletiani,R/Chicago USA 2006}) 10.
g3 Qe7 11. Nf3 O-O ({Taking the pawn with} 11... Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Qxe4+ 13. Kf2 {
is considered dangerous for Black.}) 12. O-O Na6 13. Re1 Nb4 {It's only move
thirteen, but we've reached the turning point of the game. When I caught up
with Enrico after the round and asked him where White had lost the game, he
told me that he actually wasn't sure. Well, that made me curious, since I know
the White side of the Benoni doesn't just lose by force; plus, Bareev's pet
line against the Benoni happens to be my pet line, too! So I was extra
motivated to figure out where White had gone wrong.} 14. Be3 {I think this
move is already the beginning of White's downfall. The one key thing about
this line is that White should always be on the lookout for Black's attempt to
disentagle with the Nf6-Bg4 maneuver. And in the next few moves, Black is
allowed to carry out that plan with no hindrance whatsoever.} ({I'd actually
reached this exact position a few years ago, and opted for the most direct
plan: the e5 breakthrough, based on my memory of a quick Tal victory against
Velimirovic in 1982. But my opponent defended better than Velimirovic, and I
was left unconvinced by the whole approach. Today I'd go for the prophylactic
retreat 14.Bf1. The bishop has exhausted his usefulness on b5, and it's time
to bring him back to support the kingside, particularly the h3 square. The
little pawn move h2-h3 often figures into White's plans.} 14. e5 dxe5 15. d6
Qe6 16. fxe5 a6 17. Bf1 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Rxe5 Qxe5 20. d7 Bxd7 21. Qxd7
$13 {Krush,I-Smetankin,S/Chicago USA 2006}) 14... Nf6 15. Bd2 {This really
passive retreat is what truly hands the initiative over to Black. White had to
cease the maneuvering, and allow for some concrete variations to occur on the
board. I could why that would be difficult psychologically- relinquishing some
control, and getting into move-by-move combat, rather than White squeezing
Black off the board at his leisure. Still, it had to be done.} ({The critical
try for White, and really quite consistent since Black has just given up
control of the e5 square, is} 15. e5 Ng4 16. Ne4 $5 Nxe3 17. Rxe3 {
and for example, if} dxe5 18. d6 Qd8 19. Nxe5 {
White has some very impressive ponies in the center.}) ({Even} 15. Kg2 {
looks preferable to 15.Bd2, since Black isn't really threatening the e4 pawn,
ie:} Nxe4 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Nxe4) 15... Bg4 {
Of course, the first chance he gets, Black develops the bishop to g4.} 16. Kg2
a6 17. Bf1 {In light of what follows, the bishop was probably better off on c4.
} Qd7 $1 {a multifunctional move, threatening ...Bh3, indirectly targeting the
d5 pawn, thus making it harder for White to push through e5 in the future, and
supporting a potential ...b5.} 18. Qb3 Bh3+ 19. Kh1 Bxf1 20. Rxf1 {Black's trad
ed off the light squared bishops, thus leaving White with light squared
weaknesses all over the board. White can only dream of pushing e5 now, which
is supposed to be his main plan in these positions!} b5 21. axb5 axb5 22. Rad1
Qb7 {This is very natural, but Black can also consider the more ambitious 22...
Nd3, since after 23.Nxb5 (23.Qxb5 Qxb5 24.Nxb5 Nxe4 is good for Black) c4! 24.
Qxc4 Nxb2 25.Qc6 Qxc6 26.dxc6 Nxd1 27.Rxd1 Nxe4 Black should be able to
convert the extra exchange.} 23. Bc1 Rad8 {
as before, Black puts indirect pressure on d5 so as to make e5 unplayable.} 24.
Rfe1 Rfe8 {White can't execute e4-e5, and is left without a plan.} 25. Kg2 Nd3
$1 {Diagram #} 26. Rxd3 (26. Re2 Nxc1 27. Rxc1 b4 {
hardly looks playable for White.}) 26... c4 27. Qd1 cxd3 28. Qxd3 b4 29. Nd1 {
The rest of the game saw Black convert his advantage, though not without
giving his opponent some chances.} Rc8 30. Bd2 Nd7 31. Re3 Nc5 32. Qe2 Re7 33.
Nf2 Bxb2 34. e5 {White finally implements his only source of counterplay, and
it gets tricky here. The materialistic computer wants to push the b-pawn, but
it underestimates the power of White's threats on the kingside. Enrico makes
some very human decisions.} dxe5 (34... b3 35. Ng4 {
now for example, the computer wants to queen the b-pawn as quickly as possible:
} Bxe5 36. fxe5 b2 {only to discover that life is not so simple after} 37. exd6
{ie:} Rxe3 38. Nf6+ Kg7 39. Qxe3 b1=Q 40. Qh6+ Kxf6 41. Bc3+ Kf5 42. Qf4#) (
34... f5 $5 {might be a worthy try for Black, limiting the danger from the Nf2.
}) 35. fxe5 Qxd5 {
Black plays very naturally, but White unexpectedly sneaks back into the game.}
36. Bxb4 Bd4 37. Bxc5 {White lets slip a good opportunity.} (37. Qd1 $1 {
exploiting the pin on the d-file} Rd7 38. Bxc5 Bxe3 (38... Qxc5 39. Rd3 Bxf2
40. Rxd7 {is not so bad for White.}) (38... Bxc5 39. Rd3 Qa2 40. Rxd7 Qxf2+ 41.
Kh3) 39. Qxd5 Rxd5 40. Bxe3 {The computer slightly prefers this position for
Black, but I have no idea why. It actually looks easier for White to play.})
37... Bxc5 38. Ne4 Re6 39. Rc3 Kg7 40. Neg5 Re7 41. Qc2 Rxe5 42. Rd3 Be7 $1 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.06.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Akobian, V."]
[Black "Fressinet, L."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D46"]
[WhiteElo "2612"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2009.06.09"]
[SourceDate "2009.06.09"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bd3 {Apparently
, this is Varuzh's new weapon against the Meran, which he first unveiled at
the U.S. Championship in May. Prior to that, he'd been employing the system
with Bg5 (1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5). The change has
already paid some dividends, as it gave him a victory against Julio Becerra in
Saint Louis, and now this game. Both won in fine positional style, by the way!}
O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 (9... a6 {this flexible move, not committing to ...
b5 yet, seems to be the choice of the top GM's. It's also what Shulman went
for against Varuzh in Saint Louis.}) 10. Be2 Bb7 11. Rd1 {Now Black is forced
to determine the position of his queen, since White threatens e4 to which
Black needs to be able to respond with ...e5. Julio chose 11...Qc7.} Qb8 12. e4
e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nd4 {After the game, Varuzh expressed puzzlement over
Fressinet going into a "bad line." I'm assuming he was happy with his position
by this point.} Ng6 (14... Neg4 15. g3 (15. h3 {allows a dangerous piece sac:}
Bh2+ 16. Kf1 Nxf2 17. Kxf2 b4 18. Na4 c5 19. Nxc5 Rc8 20. Bf3 {
and now for example Black has} Nd7) 15... b4 16. Bxg4 Nxg4 17. Na4 {
seems to give White a better game, as their knights have nice squares.}) 15. g3
Re8 16. Bg5 Be5 {Since it becomes clear within a few moves that Black's play
was a strategic failure, now is the time to search for improvements.} (16... b4
$5 17. Bxf6 gxf6 {Black often accepts this pawn structure in this line, so
it's not yet the total positional capitulation it seems} 18. Na4 c5 {
another thematic move; obviously Black desperately needs to create counterplay}
19. Nxc5 Rc8 20. Ndb3 a5 $5 ({on} 20... Bxc5 21. Nxc5 Qe5 {
White has the amazing unpinning resource} 22. Qb3 $1 {
and whatever takes on c5, White gets back the piece with Rd7.}) 21. Bg4 a4 (
21... Rc6 22. Bd7) 22. Bxc8 axb3 23. axb3 Rxa1 24. Nxb7 Qc7 $3 25. Qe2 Rxd1+
26. Qxd1 Bf8 27. Qd7 Qc2 $132 {Ok, I'm not claiming that 16...b4 is so amazing
for Black. I'm just trying to give Var and Sargissian something to work on in
their next training session.}) 17. Nf5 Re6 {This move strikes me as a little
too "defensive." Apparently, the sole idea of it is to bolster the Nf6, so
that the bishop can  retreat without worries after f4. But in that case, why
did the bishop go to e5, anyway?} ({
Perhaps Black should take his chances with a sharp continuation like} 17... b4
18. Na4 (18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Na4 Bc8 20. Nd6 Rd8) 18... Nxe4 19. Qxe4 Bxb2 {
Objectively, it should be good for White, but at least it changes the momentum.
}) (17... Bxc3 {is another attempt to make things messy:} 18. Qxc3 b4 19. Qxb4
Nxe4) 18. f4 Bc7 (18... Bxc3 19. Qxc3 b4) (18... Nxf4 $5 19. gxf4 Bxf4 20. Bxf4
Qxf4) 19. Bf3 {At long last the time has come when White no longer has to
worry about the e4 pawn.} Bb6+ 20. Kg2 b4 21. Bxf6 ({
I guess Var saw no reason to go for} 21. e5 bxc3 22. exf6 cxb2 23. Qxb2 c5)
21... Rxf6 22. Na4 c5 23. Rf1 {preparing e5.} Qe8 ({
It doesn't look like Black gets enough for the piece after} 23... Nxf4+ 24.
gxf4 Qxf4 25. Ne7+ Kh8 26. Nd5 Rg6+ 27. Kh1 Qe5 28. Rad1) 24. Rad1 Bc6 25. b3
Rd8 26. Rxd8 Qxd8 27. e5 {a simple positional move- White realizes the
potential of the four on three majority on the kingside.} (27. Nxc5 Bb5 28. Rd1
Qc7 {doesn't look like anything White wants to be involved in.}) 27... Bxf3+
28. Rxf3 Re6 29. Qe4 (29. Nxc5 $4 Rc6 $19) 29... Qe8 30. Qd5 Ne7 31. Nxe7+ Qxe7
32. Nb2 $1 g6 33. Nc4 {Diagram # One of those cases when the knight dominates
the bishop. White has a space advantage, plus they'll control the only open
file on the board. All these positional pluses mean that victory is very close.
..} Bc7 34. Qa8+ Qe8 35. Qxe8+ (35. Qxa7 $2 Qc6 {and Black gets counterplay.})
35... Rxe8 36. Rd3 Re6 ({Trading down into the minor piece endgame was a valid
option. White maintains their huge advantage there, but they still need to
play accurately.} 36... Rd8 37. Rxd8+ Bxd8 38. Kf3 f5 {this move is forced, to
prevent the king going to d5. Now White faces a big decision about whether to
take on f6, or leave the pawn structure as is, for example going
Ke3-d3-Ne3-Kc4. I won't go into long variations here, but this looks like a
good position to play out if you're trying to improve your endgame technique.})
37. Rd7 Rc6 38. Kf3 Kf8 39. Ke4 Ke8 40. Rd2 h5 41. h3 f6 {Monroi says that the
game ended here. I guess Fressinet got tired of playing his role in this
positional catastrophe. The game could have continued 42.Kd5 Kd7 43.Re2 Ra6 44.
Kxc5.} 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.06.07"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Melekhina, A."]
[Black "Krush, I."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B26"]
[WhiteElo "2287"]
[BlackElo "2452"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2009.06.09"]
[SourceDate "2009.06.09"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 Nf6 {I chose this
solid setup, instead of e6-Nge7 for instance, under the influence of
Kasparov's convincing victory over Fedorov in Wijk aan Zee 2001. I didn't even
realize that that game had never been a 'proper' Closed Sicilian, since
Fedorov dispensed with Nc3 altogether. I just tried to carry out what I
remembered of Kasparov's ideas, and despite the altered circumstances, the
result was equally happy for Black.} 7. h3 Rb8 8. Nge2 O-O ({
I wanted to proceed with} 8... b5 {but changed my mind after noticing} 9. d4 $1
cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b4 12. Nd5 {
; this wasn't the sort of game I was looking for.}) 9. Qd2 b5 10. O-O b4 11.
Nd1 (11. Nd5 e6 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {Black has a comfortable game.}) 11... a5 12.
Kh2 {I have to say, this move seemed rather indulgent to me. It's useful if
White insists on carrying out the Bh6 plan, but the course of the game shows
that Bh6 only led to problems. Instead, 12.f4 looks like a reasonable try.} ({
During the game, I calculated} 12. Bh6 Bxh6 13. Qxh6 Nd4 $1 {forcing the
retreat of White's queen to d2, since the exchange on d4 is very favorable to
Black.} 14. Qd2 Bxh3 $1 {(that's what the king came to h2 to prevent)} 15. Nxd4
Bxg2 16. Nc6 Qd7 {I got up to here, and decided it was good for Black, though
it's actually pretty balanced after} 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Kxg2 d5 {. We're on
e 18 of an obscure Closed Sicilian...but this entire line had already been
mentioned in annotations I later stumbled across in Chessbase!}) 12... Ba6 13.
Bh6 Bxh6 14. Qxh6 c4 {A replication of Kasparov's play: advance the queenside
pawns, put the bishop on a6, and break against the pivotal point in White's
pawn chain while their queen is dawdling on the kingside.} 15. dxc4 Ne5 {
There was a big choice between this move and the bishop recapture, which would
have went 15...Bxc4 16.Qd2 Qc7 17.Ne3 Bxe2 18.Qxe2. Basically it came down to
whether Black wanted to trade his bishop for White's knight, or trade a pair
of knights. I think I chose right, but my doubts tormented me at the time.} 16.
Ne3 {16.b3 Ne-g4 wins the queen.} Nxc4 {16...Bxc4 was again possible.} 17. Rfe1
$5 {Diagram # This move took me by surprise- after all, the b2 pawn is hanging.
I was expecting 17.Nxc4 Bxc4 18.Qd2 Qb6 (tying down the rook to f2, so that
White can't unpin immediately) 19.Kg1 and Black has various ways to maintain a
better game, such as: 19...Rfc8 20.Rfd1 Bxe2 (20...Nh5!? 21.Nf4 Nxf4 22.Qxf4
Rc5 is very good for Black) 21.Qxe2 Qc5 22.Rd2 a4 or 19...Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Qd4 21.
Rab1 Rfc8 22.Rfd1 Qc4.    I faced another difficult decision. Should I call
the 'bluff' with the materialistic ...Nxb2, or make a less ambitious move that
preserves Black's advantage with no risk? Also, I couldn't even evaluate how
much of a bluff Rfe1 was. My intuition told me that taking the pawn was a
valid option, in objective terms. But one thing was indisputible: if I took
the pawn, the nature of the game would change completely, and I'd be on the
defensive, entering complications whose consequences I knew I wouldn't be able
to calculate. I made the safer move, and with hindsight, I still don't regret
it.} Qb6 {a very simple move that takes control of the key d4 square, while
threatening White with an exchange on e3 (a positional catastrophe).} (17...
Nxb2 18. Nd4 {the point. With Rfe1, White unpinned and now the knight can come
to a very powerful position in the center, threatening not only the Nc6 fork,
but also a knight sacrifice on f5. Black would again have to make a major
decision about how to deal with Nc6; 18...Rc8, 18...Rb6, 18...Bb7- all these
moves have their particularities. I won't shower you with variations, although
it's impossible to make sense of this position without them. Let me just say
that after ...Rc8 or ...Bb7, White develops their attack with a combination of
e5! (opening up lines) and Ne-f5, while after ...Rb6 White can go in another
direction, Nd5, which is what I feared during the game.}) 18. Ng1 {Another big
surprise. This move basically indicates a "burning the bridges" attitude
towards the position (incidentally, that was the spirit of Fedorov's play, too)
. White surrenders the center/queenside in hopes of a decisive attack on the
kingside. But such an approach simply has no justification, since it's Black
who's had the better position ever since the c4 break. What I'm trying to say
is: when you're worse, you should defend, not attack- unless your position is
so hopeless that there is nothing to lose. But I don't think that's the case
here.} ({I still thought White would trade knights:} 18. Nxc4 Bxc4 19. Kg1 {
and sure, Black is better, but White can hang in there.}) 18... Rfc8 {
indirectly threatening the c2 pawn} 19. Rac1 Nxe3 20. Rxe3 ({Objectively,} 20.
Qxe3 Qxe3 21. Rxe3 {is still the best continuation, but White didn't play 18.
Ng1 to trade queens and suffer in a clearly worse endgame.}) 20... Qd4 {
Black's queen uses the abandoned center to do some pawn shopping.} 21. Nf3 Qxb2
22. Rb3 Qxa2 23. Ng5 {White's brought their knight into position, and
threatens things like e5 or Rf3, or a combination of the two. Black can handle
the position in different ways, but in my subsequent moves, I just opt for the
most direct, principled approach.} Rxc2 24. Rxc2 Qxc2 (24... Qxb3 25. Rc7 Re8
26. e5 dxe5 27. Bc6 Rc8 28. Rxe7 Bc4 $1 {
Because of this move, 24...Qxb3 was a worthy alternative to what I played.})
25. e5 $1 {I only noticed this move on Alisa's time, and reproached myself for
not noticing it when I should have: on my think at move 23. It doesn't change
the evaluation of the position (that Black is winning) but it does create
maximum chances for White.} ({Instead, I spent my time calculating} 25. Rf3 {
and was very pleased when I found the antidote:} Rb5 $1 {with the point that on
} 26. Rxf6 {Black responds with a counter sac on g5} Rxg5 27. Qxg5 exf6 28.
Qxf6 Qc5 $19) 25... dxe5 (25... Qxb3 {is the first step in a forced line:} 26.
exf6 exf6 27. Qxh7+ Kf8 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Qxb8 fxg5 30. Qa7+ Ke6 31. Qxa6 {
but it ends well for White (meaning that they're not going to lose).}) 26. Rf3
{Diagram # Here it is, the critical position of (this part of) the game. So
far, Black's consistently taken the material that White offered, and White's
down to their final (but powerful!) threat. How should Black defend against
Rxf6?} Rb7 $2 {a complete miscalculation.} ({
The convincing refutation of White's play would have been} 26... Qc6 $1 {
, a move that didn't even occur to me during the game, probably because it's
so unnatural to place one's pieces in line with a potential discovered attack.
The main point is that on Rxf6 I can take back with the queen, and cover the
h8 and f7 squares.}) 27. Rxf6 exf6 28. Qxh7+ {I had looked at the immediate
Bxb7, and not appreciated what a different it makes when White eliminates the
h7 pawn first. Right, pretty pathetic calculation.} Kf8 29. Bxb7 Qxf2+ 30. Bg2
{Now the problem is that on ...fxg5, White goes Qh8+ Ke7 Qxe5 and there is no
way to escape from the checks. The only way to continue the game was:} Bc4 31.
Qh8+ Ke7 32. Qc8 {we were completely on the same page about this natural move,
but it turns out to be a mistake.} (32. Ne4 Qb6 $1 {
a nice square for the queen, guarding the f6 pawn and the queenside.}) (32. Nh7
$1 {a find of the computer; the idea is to use the f8 and f6 squares for
counterplay, ie:} Bd5 33. Qf8+ Kd7 34. Nxf6+ Qxf6 35. Bxd5 Qf2+ 36. Bg2 b3 37.
Qa8 b2 38. Qd5+ Ke8 39. Qxe5+ $11) 32... fxg5 {forced if Black hopes to keep
an advantage, otherwise the queen and knight drum up too much counterplay.} 33.
Qxc4 Qb6 {I thought that Black had reasonable winning chances here.} 34. Qd5 $6
(34. Bd5 {was probably a better defensive try.}) 34... Kf6 35. Qf3+ Kg7 36. Qd5
Qd4 (36... a4 $1 {should have won the game:} 37. Qxe5+ Qf6 38. Qb5 (38. Qxf6+
Kxf6 {is winning for Black.}) 38... a3 $1 {I missed this move, calculating
only 38...b3 39.Qxa4 b2 40.Qc2, when White stops the pawn from queening.} 39.
Qxb4 a2 $19) 37. Qxa5 b3 38. Qe1 b2 (38... f5 $5) 39. Be4 f5 40. Bb1 e4 41. Kg2
{I had a long think after the time control, and decided to place my king a
little further away from White's queen.} Kh6 42. Qa5 {an active move, which
looked very suspect to me. I thought White should wait with something like 42.
Kf1. Now I started calculating a win.} f4 {After this, the play is forced for
a few moves. White has to respond to this pawn advance by creating breathing
room for their king, which is what Alisa does.} (42... e3 {
was a candidate, but White has} 43. Qa3 $1) 43. gxf4 gxf4 44. h4 f3+ 45. Kh3 {
Here I spent a really huge chunk of time. Yes, the win exists, but it's very
well hidden...} Qf6 ({The first move to check out, of course, is} 45... Qg1 {
but White has} 46. Qd2+ Kh5 (46... e3 47. Qxb2 $11) (46... g5 47. Bxe4 Qh1+ 48.
Kg3 Qxh4+ 49. Kxf3 Qxe4+ 50. Kxe4 b1=Q+ 51. Kf3 $11) 47. Qd5+ $11 {
because on g5 White has Qf7+.}) (45... Qe3 {
also came up for examination, but I didn't see anything after} 46. Qd8 f2+ 47.
Kg2 {; White always has defenses based on perpetual check.}) ({
Finally, let's look at Black's beautiful, study-like path to victory:} 45...
Qd7+ $1 46. Kg3 Qd6+ 47. Kh3 f2 48. Qg5+ (48. Kg2 e3) 48... Kg7 49. Kg2 {
I got to this point, and concluded that it was a dead end, but...} e3 $3 {
Diagram #} 50. Qxe3 Qh2+ $3 51. Kxh2 f1=N+ {
Wow, how often is it that the best pawn promotion is to a knight?} 52. Kg2
Nxe3+ 53. Kf3 Nc4 54. Kg4 Nd2 55. Bd3 Kh6 $1 {a final bit of accuracy,
ensuring that White won't be able to swap the last pair of pawns. Incredible
what beauty lurks in the depths of a position.}) 46. Qd2+ $4 ({
We both missed that White has an immediate draw with} 46. Bxe4 $1 Qe6+ 47. Kg3
Qxe4 {this looks completely losing for White, but they're saved by the resource
} 48. Qc3 $1 $11 {, winning the b2 pawn with the threat of mate on h8, and the
f3 pawn isn't going anywhere.}) 46... g5 $4 {I have no idea what sort of
mental block prevented me from playing the winning 46...Kh5. After all, 47.
Bxe4 Qxh4 is mate, and 47. Qa5+ g5 (Qf5+ should win, too) is winning. Instead
I calculated 47. Bxe4 Qe6+ 48.Kg3 Qxe4 49.Qg5 and I'm the one that's mated.
That scared me off 46...Kh5. Another example of my calculating prowess in this
game.} 47. hxg5+ {this simple capture liquidates to an immediate draw.} ({
Alisa spent a long time here, and I started calculating a fantasticalvariation 
that started with} 47. Bxe4 Qe6+ 48. Kg3 (48. Kh2 Qxe4 49. Qxg5+ Kh7 {
and amazingly, White has no more checks on an open board.}) 48... Qxe4 49.
hxg5+ Kh5 50. Qxb2 {and here I was wondering: is it a win? is it a draw?} (50.
Qh2+ $2 {forcing the king to g5 isn't a good idea, since it gives Black the
Qf4 check later} Kxg5 51. Qxb2 Qf4+ 52. Kf2 Qh2+) 50... Qg4+ 51. Kh2 Qh4+ 52.
Kg1 Qe1+ 53. Kh2 {Diagram #} Qe2+ $1 {Ultimately, Black wins by forcing a
queen trade, with just a single pair of pawns left! It would have been so nice
to win this way *sigh*.}) 47... Qxg5 48. Qxb2 {
I had forgotten that White could take that pawn.} Qh5+ 49. Kg3 Qg5+ 50. Kh3
Qh5+ 51. Kg3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Boylston Chess Club, Somerville, MA"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.03.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Theil, Carey"]
[Black "Eugene, Perelysteyn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2221"]
[BlackElo "2611"]
[Annotator "Theil,Carey"]
[PlyCount "131"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

{After playing chess for most of my youth and adult life, I finally made
master in December, a few weeks before my thirty-first birthday. A few months
later, I was fortunate to score a win against Grandmaster Eugene Perelysteyn.
Even though the game was played at a fast time control (Game in 30) I'm proud
of both the level of play and the result.} 1. e4 c5 2. c4 {A Botvinnik English.
Even though I don't have complete faith in this opening system, it has brought
me tremendous results.} Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d6 6. Nge2 h5 7. h3 e5
8. d3 Nge7 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. cxd5 ({
The first important decision: how to recapture? My intuition said} 10. exd5 {
was correct, but also offered black greater winning chances. I opted for the
simpler approach.}) 10... Ne7 $6 {After this retreat, black will have
difficulties finding a useful role for his knight.} (10... Nd4 {
was better, with roughly equal chances after} 11. Nxd4 exd4 {.}) 11. Bg5 f6 12.
Be3 h4 13. Qd2 ({I had no desire to play the resulting positions after} 13. g4
f5 $1 {Instead, I am aiming for an f4 break and play on the dark squares.})
13... Bd7 $6 ({Black should play more actively here. One possible path is} 
13... hxg3 14. f4 f5 15. fxe5 Bxe5 16. O-O-O Bd7 {with an unclear position.})
14. f4 hxg3 15. fxe5 fxe5 ({
After the text move, white is better. Black should try} 15... dxe5 {
when he will have compensation for the pawn after} 16. Bxc5 Rc8 {
. The silicon beasts now suggest} 17. d4 $1 {
with a white advantage, but a more human-like continuation is} (17. Be3 f5 18.
Bg5 Qb6 19. Nxg3 f4 20. Ne2 {with chances for both sides.})) (15... dxe5 16.
Bxc5 Rc8) 16. Bg5 Qb6 17. O-O-O Qb4 18. Nc3 {After 17. 0-0-0 I liked my
position and offered a draw. After Perelysteyn declined, I knew I was playing
for a win starting with this move. My plan is simple: keep the black king in
the center and infiltrate with heavy artillery on the f-file. For the moment,
black is effectively down a rook.} Ng8 19. Rdf1 Rh5 20. Kb1 Bh6 21. Bxh6 Rxh6
22. Qg5 Qb6 23. Rf3 Qd8 24. Rhf1 $1 {
A fun move to play over the board against a Grandmaster.} Qe7 25. Qxe7+ Kxe7
26. Rf7+ Kd8 27. Rf8+ Be8 28. Rxg8 {The "bad" knight finally capitulates.} a6
29. Rff8 Ke7 30. Rh8 Rxh8 31. Rxh8 Kf6 32. Rf8+ Kg7 33. Rf3 Bd7 34. Rxg3 Rh8
35. Kc2 b5 36. Kd2 Kf6 37. Ke3 a5 38. Nd1 {Now that my king is centralized, I
slow begin moving my pieces into the black position. The first plan is to play
Nf2 followed by Bf4-g4. Black's queenside expansion does not contain any
serious threats.} a4 39. Nf2 a3 40. b3 c4 41. dxc4 bxc4 42. bxc4 Rb8 43. Nd3
Ba4 44. Rf3+ Ke7 45. Rf2 Rb1 46. Rf1 Rb8 47. Rc1 Ra8 48. Bf3 Be8 49. Bg4 Ra4
50. c5 dxc5 51. Rxc5 Kd6 52. Rc3 Bb5 53. Nc5 Ra7 54. Ne6 Be8 55. Rc8 Bd7 56.
Rd8 Ke7 57. d6+ Kxd6 ({
Another fun move. Now black loses a second piece due to the pretty mate after} 
57... Kf6 58. Rf8#) 58. Nf8 Ra6 59. Rxd7+ Kc6 60. Rd3 Kc5 61. Nd7+ Kb4 62. Nxe5
Rf6 63. Rb3+ Ka4 64. Bd7+ Ka5 65. Nc6+ Ka6 66. Bc8# {An elegant end to a fun
game. Eugene was classy to allow the final coup de grace. What a way to start
my new life as a master!} 1-0

[Event "Scottish Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2004.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "McNab, Colin"]
[Black "Rowson, Jonathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Theil,Carey"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2004.??.??"]

{90MB, G2K-A87F338B419} 1. c4 e5 {0} 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Bc5 5. Bg2 d6
6. e3 O-O 7. d4 Bb4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. bxc3 e4 10. Nd2 {Diagram #} Re8 11. Rb1 (11.
c5 dxc5 12. dxc5) (11. d5) (11. Ba3) (11. f3 exf3 12. Qxf3 Bg4 13. Qf4 Bh5 14.
Rb1 Rb8 15. Rxb7 Rxb7 16. Bxc6 Rb8 17. Bxe8 Qxe8) 11... b6 12. f3 exf3 13. Qxf3
Bb7 14. Ba3 Na5 15. e4 c5 16. Qf4 Qe7 17. Rbe1 Nd7 18. Rf2 f6 19. Bf1 Ba6 20.
Bd3 Nf8 21. Rfe2 Ng6 22. Qf5 Rad8 23. h4 Qf7 24. Qd5 Ne7 25. Qxf7+ Kxf7 26. Kf2
h5 27. Rf1 Ng8 28. Ke1 Nh6 29. Kd1 Ng4 30. Rf5 g6 31. Rf4 Kg7 32. Kc2 Rc8 33.
Rf1 cxd4 34. cxd4 Nxc4 35. Nxc4 Rxc4+ 36. Kb3 Rec8 37. Bb2 Rc3+ 38. Bxc3 Bxd3
39. Rfe1 Bc4+ 40. Kb2 Bxe2 41. Rxe2 Kf7 42. Kc2 Rc4 43. Kb3 b5 44. a3 Ke6 45.
Re1 a6 46. Re2 Nh6 47. Bd2 Nf7 48. Bc3 Nh6 49. Bd2 Ng4 50. Bc3 Rc8 51. Bd2 Kd7
52. Bc3 Re8 53. Kb4 d5 54. e5 fxe5 55. dxe5 Ke6 56. Ka5 Rc8 57. Bb2 Rc6 58. Ba1
Nh6 59. Re3 Nf5 60. Rc3 Rxc3 61. Bxc3 d4 62. Be1 d3 63. Kxa6 Nd4 64. Kb6 Nc2
0-1

[Event "Candidates Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1974.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Spassky, Boris"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B18"]
[Annotator "Theil,Carey"]
[PlyCount "110"]
[EventDate "1974.??.??"]

{90MB, G2K-A87F338B419} 1. e4 {0} c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3
Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. Bd3 e6 8. O-O Ngf6 9. c4 Bd6 10. b3 O-O 11. Bb2 Qc7 12. Bxg6
hxg6 13. Qe2 Rfe8 14. Ne4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Be7 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. Rfe1 Qa5 18. a3
Qf5 19. Qe2 g5 20. h3 g4 21. hxg4 Qxg4 22. d5 cxd5 23. cxd5 e5 24. d6 Bf6 25.
Nd2 Qxe2 26. Rxe2 Rc8 27. Ne4 Bd8 28. g4 f6 29. Kg2 Kf7 30. Rc1 Bb6 31. Rec2
Rxc2 {Diagram #} 32. Rxc2 Ke6 33. a4 a5 34. Ba3 Rb8 35. Rc4 Bd4 36. f4 g6 37.
Ng3 exf4 38. Rxd4 fxg3 39. Kxg3 Rc8 40. Rd3 g5 41. Bb2 b6 42. Bd4 Rc6 43. Bc3
Rc5 44. Kg2 Rc8 45. Kg3 Ne5 46. Bxe5 fxe5 47. b4 e4 48. Rd4 Ke5 49. Rd1 axb4
50. Rb1 Rc3+ 51. Kf2 Rd3 52. d7 Rxd7 53. Rxb4 Rd6 54. Ke3 Rd3+ 55. Ke2 Ra3 0-1

[Event "Herb Healy Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2007.01.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Theil, Carey"]
[Black "Chase, Christopher"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A25"]
[Annotator "Theil,Carey"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2007.??.??"]

{90MB, G2K-A87F338B419} 1. e4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. g3 Nc6 5. Bg2 e5 6.
Nge2 Bg4 7. h3 Be6 8. d3 Qd7 9. Nd5 Nd8 10. Rb1 c6 11. Ndc3 (11. Be3) 11... Ne7
12. b4 O-O 13. b5 f5 14. bxc6 bxc6 15. exf5 gxf5 16. f4 exf4 17. Bxf4 Ng6 18.
Bd2 (18. Qd2) (18. O-O) 18... f4 19. Nxf4 Nxf4 20. gxf4 Bf5 21. Ne4 d5 22. cxd5
cxd5 23. Qb3 Kh8 24. Nf2 Qe7+ 25. Kf1 Nc6 26. Qxd5 Nd4 27. Re1 Qa3 28. Qxa8
Rxa8 29. Bxa8 Bxd3+ 30. Kg1 Ne2+ 31. Kg2 Bb5 32. Bf3 Nd4 33. Bd5 Qd6 34. Be4
Ne2 35. Rd1 Ba4 36. Ba5 Bxd1 37. Rxd1 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.08.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mutual Zugzwang"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k3/4P3/3K4/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.08.03"]
[SourceDate "2009.08.03"]

{Diagram #}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.08.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "White to move and win"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5r2/8/1R6/ppk3p1/2N3P1/P4b2/1K6/5B2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

{Diagram #} 1. Rxb5+ Kxb5 2. Ne5+ Ka4 3. Nd7 Be2 4. Bxe2 Rb8+ 5. Bb5+ Rxb5+ (
5... Kxb5 6. Nxb8) 6. Ka2 Rb4 7. Nc5+ Kb5 8. axb4 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.08.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "White to move and win"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/4K3/8/6p1/7P/5pNN/7k w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

{Diagram #} 1. Ne3 g3 2. Nhf1 g2 3. h4 g1=Q 4. Kf7 (4. h5 Qg5) (4. Kf6 Qg8)
4... Qxf1 5. Nxf1 Kg2 6. Nd2 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.08.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "To harm or not to harm"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5R2/6K1/8/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "0"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

{Diagram #}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.08.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Friedrich Samisch"]
[Black "Aaron Nimzovich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O d5 (7...
Ne4) 8. Ne5 c6 9. cxd5 (9. e4) 9... cxd5 10. Bf4 a6 11. Rc1 b5 12. Qb3 Nc6 13.
Nxc6 Bxc6 14. h3 (14. Ne4) 14... Qd7 15. Kh2 Nh5 16. Bd2 f5 17. Qd1 b4 18. Nb1
Bb5 19. Rg1 Bd6 20. e4 fxe4 21. Qxh5 Rxf2 22. Qg5 Raf8 23. Kh1 R8f5 24. Qe3 Bd3
(24... Re2 25. Qb3 Ba4) 25. Rce1 h6 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.08.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Robert Fischer"]
[Black "Daniel Collins"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "B18"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Nc5 {Diagram #} Qc7 (5... b6) (
5... e5) (5... Nd7) (5... Qb6) 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Nxd3 Nd7 8. Bf4 Qb6 (8... Qa5+)
9. Nf3 f6 10. O-O O-O-O 11. a4 Re8 (11... g5) 12. a5 Qd8 (12... Qa6) 13. Re1 g5
14. Bg3 h5 15. h4 g4 16. Nd2 Nh6 17. Nc4 (17. Re6) 17... Nf5 18. a6 b5 19. Na5
Qb6 (19... e5) 20. Nc5 Nxg3 21. Re6 Nb8 22. fxg3 Rd8 23. c3 Rd6 24. Qe2 Rxe6
25. Qxe6+ Kc7 26. b4 {Diagram #} Rh6 (26... Nxa6 27. Qd7+) (26... f5 27. Qe5+)
(26... Bg7 27. Qxe7+) (26... Rh7 27. Qg8) (26... Kd8 27. Nab7+ Kc7 28. Qf7 f5
29. Qe8) 27. Qg8 Nxa6 28. Qxf8 Rh7 29. Nxc6 Nxc5 30. bxc5 Qxc6 31. Rxa7+ Qb7
32. Rxb7+ Kxb7 33. Qg8 Rh6 34. Qg7 Rh8 35. Qxh8 e5 36. d5 e4 37. Qxf6 e3 38.
Qb6+ Ka8 39. c6 e2 40. Qb7# *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "George Miller"]
[Black "Mark Norris"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2009.07.29"]
[SourceDate "2009.07.29"]

1. b4 e6 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. b5 a6 {Diagram #} 4. e3 axb5 5. Bxb5 c6 6. Be2 d5 7. Nf3
Bd6 8. O-O O-O {Diagram #} 9. c4 c5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. d4 c4 12. Nc3 {Diagram #}
Nc6 13. Nb5 Bb4 14. a3 Ba5 15. Nd2 {Diagram #} Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Ne4 17. Qe1 Qb6
18. a4 Bf5 19. f3 Nf6 {Diagram #} 20. Qc3 Ra5 21. Rfc1 Rfa8 22. Bd1 Bd7 23. Ba3
{Diagram #} Qa6 24. Nc7 Qa7 25. Nxa8 Qxa8 26. Bb4 Nxb4 27. Qxb4 b5 28. Rcb1
bxa4 {Diagram #} 29. Bxa4 Rxa4 30. Qb8+ Qxb8 31. Rxb8+ Ne8 32. Rxa4 Bxa4 {
Diagram #} 33. Rc8 Kf8 34. Rc5 Nf6 35. Kf1 Ke7 36. Ke1 Kd6 37. Kd2 Nd7 38. Ra5
Bb3 39. Ra6+ Kc7 40. e4 Nb6 41. Ra7+ Kd6 {Diagram #} 42. Rxf7 dxe4 43. fxe4 c3+
0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Wyatt,Darrell"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k2N4/P7/K4b2/1p6/1P6/QN3n2/2p1p1p1/4q3 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "10"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

1. Nd4 Nxd4 (1... Qf1 2. Qa2 Qa1 3. Qxa1 g1=Q 4. Qc3 Qa1+ 5. Qxa1 e1=Q 6. Qa2
Qe5 7. Qf7) 2. Ne6 Bd8 (2... c1=Q 3. Qxc1 Qxc1 4. Nc7+ Qxc7) 3. Nxd4 (3. Qc3
c1=Q 4. Qxc1 Nc2) 3... Qf2 4. Qa2 Qxd4 5. Qd5+ Qxd5 *

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Robert Hess"]
[Black "Julio Becerra-Rivero"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C68"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qd6 6. Na3 b5 7. c3 c5 8. Nc2
Ne7 9. a4 Rb8 10. axb5 axb5 11. Qe2 Nc6 12. Rd1 Qg6 13. d4 cxd4 14. cxd4 exd4
15. Ncxd4 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 Be7 17. Bf4 Rb7 18. b4 O-O 19. Rc1 Bg4 20. Qd3 Bxf3 21.
Qxf3 c6 22. h4 h6 23. Qh3 Rb6 24. h5 Qf6 25. Qg3 Ra6 26. Rcd1 Re8 27. Bd6 Bxd6
28. Rxd6 Qg5 29. Qxg5 hxg5 30. R1d4 {Diagram #} Ra1+ 31. Kh2 Rc1 32. Kg3 Rc2
33. Rd7 Ra8 34. Rc7 Ra3+ 35. f3 Raa2 36. Rd8+ Kh7 37. Kg4 Rxg2+ 38. Kf5 Rad2
39. Rf8 g4 40. Rcc8 g6+ 41. Kf6 Rd6+ 42. Ke7 Kh6 43. f4 Re6+ 44. Kxf7 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.14"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Yury Shulman"]
[Black "Alexander Onischuk"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2684"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Na6 8. Re1
Qe8 9. Bf1 Bg4 10. d5 Nb4 11. Be2 a5 12. Be3 Nh5 13. Qd2 Na6 14. Nb5 Nf4 15.
Bd1 Bd7 16. a4 b6 17. Bxf4 exf4 18. Qxf4 Bxb2 19. Rb1 Be5 20. Nxe5 dxe5 21. Qf6
Bxb5 22. cxb5 Nc5 23. Re3 Rd8 24. Rh3 Rd7 25. Bc2 Qe7 26. Qxe7 Rxe7 27. Rc3 Nb7
28. Rc1 Rd8 29. Bd1 Nd6 30. Rxc7 Rxc7 31. Rxc7 Nxe4 32. f4 Rxd5 33. Bf3 Rd4 34.
Bxe4 Rxe4 35. fxe5 Rxe5 36. Rb7 Re6 {Diagram #} 37. Kf2 g5 38. Kf3 h5 39. h3
Kg7 40. g3 Kg6 41. g4 f5 42. gxf5+ Kxf5 43. Rh7 Kg6 44. Rd7 Rf6+ 45. Kg3 h4+
46. Kg2 Kf5 47. Rd8 Ke4 48. Rg8 Kf4 49. Rd8 Ke3 50. Re8+ Kd3 {Diagram #} 51.
Rg8 Rf4 52. Rxg5 Rxa4 53. Rg6 Rb4 54. Rxb6 Kc4 55. Kf3 a4 56. Rb8 a3 57. b6 a2
58. Ra8 Kb3 0-1

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Black "Alexander Shabalov"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2701"]
[BlackElo "2569"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a4
O-O 9. f4 Qc7 10. Be3 b6 11. Bf3 Bb7 12. f5 e5 13. Nb3 Nbd7 14. g4 h6 15. h4 {
Diagram #} d5 (15... Nh7) 16. exd5 e4 17. Bg2 Qg3 (17... Bb4) (17... Rfd8) 18.
Qe1 Qxe1 19. Rfxe1 Nxg4 20. Bxb6 Nxb6 21. Rxe4 Nxd5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Rxe7 Rfd8
{Diagram #} 24. Bf1 Kf8 25. Ree1 (25. Rae1 Be6) 25... Rdb8 26. Ra3 Nf6 27. Rd1
Ra7 (27... Be4) 28. Rd2 Be4 29. Rf2 Ng4 (29... Rc7) 30. Rf4 Nf6 (30... Bxc2 31.
Nd4 Bd1 32. Rd3) 31. Nc5 Bxc2 32. Rf2 Bd1 33. Nxa6 Rb6 34. b4 (34. a5) 34...
Rbxa6 35. Bxa6 Rxa6 36. a5 Ne4 37. b5 Rd6 (37... Ra8 38. b6 Nc5 39. a6 Nxa6 (
39... Rxa6 40. b7) 40. Rb2) 38. a6 Nxf2 39. a7 Nh3+ 40. Rxh3 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Robert Hess"]
[Black "Julio Becerra-Rivero"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C68"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2609"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qd6 6. Na3 b5 7. c3 c5 8. Nc2
Ne7 9. a4 Rb8 10. axb5 axb5 11. Qe2 Nc6 12. Rd1 Qg6 13. d4 cxd4 14. cxd4 exd4
15. Ncxd4 Nxd4 16. Rxd4 Be7 17. Bf4 Rb7 18. b4 O-O 19. Rc1 Bg4 20. Qd3 Bxf3 21.
Qxf3 c6 22. h4 h6 23. Qh3 Rb6 24. h5 Qf6 25. Qg3 Ra6 26. Rcd1 Re8 27. Bd6 Bxd6
28. Rxd6 Qg5 29. Qxg5 hxg5 30. R1d4 {Diagram #} Ra1+ (30... g4 31. h6 gxh6 32.
Rxh6 c5) 31. Kh2 Rc1 32. Kg3 Rc2 (32... c5) 33. Rd7 Ra8 34. Rc7 Ra3+ 35. f3
Raa2 36. Rd8+ Kh7 37. Kg4 Rxg2+ 38. Kf5 Rad2 39. Rf8 g4 (39... Rd6 40. e5) 40.
Rcc8 g6+ 41. Kf6 Rd6+ 42. Ke7 Kh6 43. f4 Re6+ 44. Kxf7 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.14"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Yury Shulman"]
[Black "Alexander Onischuk"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2684"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Na6 8. Re1
Qe8 9. Bf1 Bg4 10. d5 Nb4 11. Be2 a5 12. Be3 Nh5 13. Qd2 Na6 14. Nb5 Nf4 15.
Bd1 Bd7 16. a4 b6 17. Bxf4 exf4 18. Qxf4 Bxb2 19. Rb1 Be5 20. Nxe5 dxe5 21. Qf6
Bxb5 22. cxb5 Nc5 23. Re3 Rd8 24. Rh3 Rd7 25. Bc2 Qe7 26. Qxe7 Rxe7 27. Rc3 Nb7
28. Rc1 Rd8 29. Bd1 Nd6 30. Rxc7 Rxc7 31. Rxc7 Nxe4 32. f4 Rxd5 33. Bf3 Rd4 34.
Bxe4 Rxe4 35. fxe5 Rxe5 36. Rb7 Re6 {Diagram #} 37. Kf2 (37. h4 h6 (37... Re4
38. g3) 38. Kf2 g5 39. h5) 37... g5 38. Kf3 h5 39. h3 (39. Kg3) (39. g3) 39...
Kg7 40. g3 Kg6 41. g4 f5 42. gxf5+ Kxf5 43. Rh7 Kg6 44. Rd7 Rf6+ 45. Kg3 (45.
Kg2 h4 46. Rd5) 45... h4+ 46. Kg2 Kf5 47. Rd8 Ke4 48. Rg8 Kf4 49. Rd8 Ke3 50.
Re8+ Kd3 {Diagram #} 51. Rg8 Rf4 52. Rxg5 (52. Rg6) 52... Rxa4 53. Rg6 Rb4 54.
Rxb6 Kc4 55. Kf3 a4 56. Rb8 a3 57. b6 a2 58. Ra8 Kb3 0-1

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2009.05.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ray Robson"]
[Black "Boris Gulko"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B65"]
[WhiteElo "2465"]
[BlackElo "2561"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2009.05.08"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8.
O-O-O O-O 9. f4 h6 10. h4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Qa5 12. Kb1 e5 13. Qd2 {Diagram #} Nxe4
14. Nxe4 Qxd2 15. Rxd2 hxg5 16. hxg5 exf4 17. Rf2 Bf5 (17... Be6 18. Rxf4 f5
19. gxf6 Bxf6 {Diagram #}) (17... d5) 18. Rxf4 Bxe4 (18... d5 19. Rxf5 dxe4 20.
g6) 19. Rfh4 f5 20. Rxe4 Bxg5 21. Bc4+ Rf7 22. Rd4 Rd8 23. Rh5 Bf6 24. Bxf7+
Kxf7 25. Rxf5 Re8 26. Rd1 Re2 27. g4 Ke6 28. Rf4 {Diagram #} Kd7 29. a4 a5 30.
Rd3 b6 31. Rb3 Kc6 32. Rc4+ Kb7 33. Rd3 Be5 34. Rf3 Bf6 35. Rf5 Rg2 36. Ka2 Rg1
37. c3 Rg3 38. Kb1 Rg1+ 39. Kc2 Rg2+ 40. Kd3 Ka6 (40... Rxb2 41. g5) 41. b4
axb4 42. cxb4 Ra2 43. g5 Be5 44. b5+ 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem I"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/P2p1k1p/2qP4/P3P2K/8/B7/3r4/6Q1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

{Diagram #} 1. e6+ dxe6 (1... Kxe6 2. Qe3+ Kf5 3. Qg5+) 2. Kh6 Rg2 3. Qf1+ Kg8
4. Qf8+ Kxf8 5. d7+ Kf7 6. d8=N+ Kf6 7. Be7+ Kxe7 8. Nxc6+ Kf6 9. Kxh7 (9. Kh5
Rg8 10. Nb8 Rg5+) 9... Rg7+ 10. Kh8 Rxa7 11. Nxa7 Ke5 (11... Ke7 12. Kg7 Kd6
13. Kf6) 12. Kg7 Kd5 (12... Kd6 13. Kf6 e5 14. Kf5 Kc7 15. Nb5+ Kc6 16. Na3)
13. Kf6 e5 14. Kf5 e4 15. Kf4 e3 16. Kxe3 Kc5 17. Ke4 Kb4 18. Nc6+ Kb5 19. Kd5
*

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2009.07.29"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k2N4/P7/K4b2/1p6/1P6/QN3n2/2p1p1p1/4q3 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "10"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]

1. Nd4 Nxd4 (1... Qf1 2. Qa2 Qa1 3. Qxa1 g1=Q 4. Qc3 Qa1+ 5. Qxa1 e1=Q 6. Qa2
Qe5 7. Qf7) 2. Ne6 Bd8 (2... c1=Q 3. Qxc1 Qxc1 4. Nc7+ Qxc7) 3. Nxd4 (3. Qc3
c1=Q 4. Qxc1 Nc2) 3... Qf2 4. Qa2 Qxd4 5. Qd5+ Qxd5 *

