[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram A"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4k3/3pPp2/8/8/8/4R3/4K3/4Q3 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "2"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Qh1 (1. Qb1 f5) (1. Qh4 d5 2. Qa4#) 1... d5 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram B"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3k4/3n4/3K4/8/8/8/8/3Q4 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "2"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Qa1 (1. Qg1 Nf6) 1... Nb6 (1... Nb8) (1... Ke8 2. Qg7) (1...
Kc8 2. Qa7) *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram C"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/2ppp3/2pkp3/2ppp3/8/3K4/3Q4 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "7"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Ke2 (1. Kc2 c3) 1... e3 (1... c3 2. Qa4 e3 3. Kf3 e4+ 4. Kf4
e5+ 5. Kf5 c2 6. Qa2+ c4 7. Qa5+ c5 8. Qa8#) 2. Qh1+ e4 3. Qh5+ e5 4. Qf7# *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram D"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/4B3/4B3/4k3/4N3/4K3 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "6"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Bd5 (1. Bf5 Kf3 2. Bf4 Kg2) 1... Kd3 2. Bd4 Kc2 3. Bc4 Kb1 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram E"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/5B2/5B2/8/4N1k1/4K3 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "0"]

{Diagram [#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram G"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/6P1/8/2p2K2/2k5/8/8 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "0"]

{Diagram [#]}  *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Diagram F"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/4k3/2p3p1/4K3/2P3P1/8/8 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "16"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. g4 (1. c4 Kf6 2. Kd5 Kf5 3. Kxc5 Kg4 4. Kd4 Kxg3 5. c5 g4 6.
c6 Kf2 7. c7 g3 8. c8=Q g2 9. Qf5+ Ke1 10. Qe4+ Kf1 11. Qf3+ Kg1 12. Ke3 {
Diagram [#]}) 1... Kd6 2. Kf5 Kd5 3. Kxg5 Kc4 4. Kf4 Kxc3 5. g5 c4 6. g6 Kb2 7.
g7 c3 8. g8=Q c2 *

[Event "Varna olm prelim2"]
[Site "BUL"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Donald Byrne"]
[Black "Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A26"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e4 e5 6. Nge2 Nc6 7. O-O d6 8. d3
a6 9. f4 Rb8 10. h3 b5 11. f5 b4 12. Nb1 Nd4 13. g4 Nd7 14. Nd2 c5 15. Nf3
Nxf3+ 16. Rxf3 Qh4 17. Be3 Bh6 18. Bf2 Qe7 19. h4 gxf5 20. Rxf5 Bg7 21. Ng3 Nf6
22. g5 Ne8 23. Be3 f6 24. Qe2 Bxf5 25. exf5 Nc7 26. Qh5 Rfd8 27. g6 Bf8 28. Ne4
Rd7 29. Rf1 Ne8 30. Ng5 fxg5 31. hxg5 Qg7 32. Bd5+ Kh8 33. Be4 Be7 34. Qh4 Nf6
35. gxf6 Bxf6 36. Qh5 Qe7 37. Rf3 Rf8 38. Rh3 a5 39. Bh6 Rfd8 40. Bd5 Rg8 41.
Bxg8 Kxg8 42. gxh7+ Kh8 43. Rg3 Qf7 {Diagram [#]} 44. Rg8+ 1-0

[Event "Varna Bulgaria"]
[Site "Varna Bulgaria"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dieter A Mohrlok"]
[Black "George Mortimer Kramer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C71"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. d4 b5 6. Bb3 Nxd4 7. Nxd4 exd4 8. c3
d3 9. a4 Bd7 10. axb5 axb5 {Diagram [#]} 11. Qh5 d2+ 12. Bxd2 1-0

[Event "Varna ol (Men)"]
[Site "Varna"]
[Date "1962.09.16"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Walter Estrada Degrandi"]
[Black "Svetozar Gligoric"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E81"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Qd2 exd5
9. Nxd5 Be6 10. Nxf6+ Bxf6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. O-O-O Nc6 13. f4 Nd4 14. Nf3 Bg4
15. Nxd4 Bxd1 16. Nb5 Ba4 17. Nxd6 Rad8 18. e5 Qe7 19. Qd5 {Diagram [#]} Rxd6
20. Qxd6 Rd8 0-1

[Event "Varna ol (Men) fin-A"]
[Site "Varna"]
[Date "1962.09.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vlastimil Hort"]
[Black "Robert Eugene Byrne"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E81"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. f3 a6 6. Be3 c6 7. Qd2 b5 8. Bd3 Nbd7
9. Nge2 O-O 10. h4 e5 11. h5 Nxh5 12. g4 Nhf6 13. Bh6 exd4 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15.
Qh6+ Kh8 16. Nxd4 Ne5 {Diagram [#]} 17. Nxc6 Nxd3+ 18. Kd2 1-0

[Event "Bulgaria"]
[Site "Olympiad, Varna"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Wolfgang Unzicker"]
[Black "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B08"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. d5 e5 8. dxe6
Bxe6 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 h6 11. h3 g5 12. Be3 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15.
c3 Qxd1 16. Rexd1 Rad8 17. Bb5 Bd5 18. Nd4 Bxd4 19. Bxd4 a6 20. Bxc6 Bxc6 21.
Re1 f5 22. f3 Bb5 23. b4 b6 24. Rxe8+ Rxe8 25. a4 Bc4 26. a5 Re6 27. axb6 cxb6
28. Kf2 Kf7 29. Re1 Rxe1 30. Kxe1 a5 31. bxa5 bxa5 32. g3 a4 33. Kd2 a3 34. Kc2
h5 35. h4 f4 36. Be5 Ke6 37. Bc7 {Diagram [#]} gxh4 38. Bxf4 h3 39. g4 h4 40.
Bh2 Be2 0-1

[Event "Varna olm"]
[Site "Varna olm"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Dieter A Mohrlok"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B63"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8.
O-O-O O-O 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. f3 a6 11. g4 Rd8 12. Be3 Qc7 13. g5 Nd7 14. h4 b5 15.
g6 fxg6 16. h5 gxh5 17. Rxh5 Nf6 18. Rg5 Ne5 19. Qg2 Bf8 20. Be2 Nc4 21. Bxc4
bxc4 22. Nd4 Rb8 23. Rh1 Rb7 24. Rh6 Kf7 25. Rh4 Qb6 26. Nd1 Qc7 27. f4 h6 28.
Rg6 Re8 29. f5 e5 {Diagram [#]} 30. Nc3 Qd8 31. Nc6 1-0

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "R.Reti vs. E. Znosko-Borovsky"]
[Black "London 1922"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D61"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1
cxd4 9. exd4 dxc4 10. Bxc4 h6 11. Bh4 Nb6 12. Bb3 Bd7 13. O-O Rc8 14. Qe2 a6
15. Rfe1 Bb4 16. Ne5 Bxc3 17. bxc3 g5 18. Bg3 Rxc3 19. h4 Nfd5 20. Qh5 Kg7 21.
Bxd5 exd5 22. Nxf7 Rxf7 23. Be5+ Rf6 (23... Kh7) (23... Kg8 24. Qg6+ Kf8 25.
Qxh6+ Ke8 (25... Kg8 26. Qh8#) 26. Bd6+) 24. hxg5 hxg5 25. Qxg5+ Kf7 26. Qh5+
Kg8 27. Rb1 {Diagram [#]} Rcc6 28. Rb3 Be8 29. Rg3+ {Diagram [#]} Bg6 30. Rxg6+
Rxg6 31. Qh8+ Kf7 32. Qxd8 Rc8 33. Qh4 1-0

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 1"]
[Black "Pin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1p1b4/k7/8/8/3Q4/4K3/8 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Bb5 0-1

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 2"]
[Black "Pin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r2r1k1/5pp1/7p/3p4/8/2R1B3/4B1PP/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... d4 0-1

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 3"]
[Black "Fork"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/4qpp1/2R5/8/3Pp1R1/4P3/8/6K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "1"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qd7 0-1

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 4"]
[Black "Mating attack"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r3/3q1pkp/6p1/8/8/3P4/4PPK1/2R2Q2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qg4+ 2. Kh2 Re5 0-1

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 5"]
[Black "Mating net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/4k3/4b3/6q1/5R2/4QK2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Qh3+ 2. Kg1 (2. Rg2 Qxg2#) (2. Ke2 Qd3#) 2... Qh1# 0-1

[Event "ABC-238-September-2012"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.07.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem 6"]
[Black "Skewer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/7k/1q2b3/8/4K3/3Q4 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]
[EventDate "2012.07.20"]
[SourceDate "2012.07.20"]

{Diagram [#]} 1... Bf3+ 2. Kxf3 Qg4+ 0-1

[Event "World Cup"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.08.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Leko, Peter"]
[Black "Shankland, Sam"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2717"]
[BlackElo "2539"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "132"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]

{Going into this game I knew I had a very tough battle ahead of me, playing
the black pieces against such an illustrious opponent who had ample time to
prepare for me. My first goal was to equalize, and then from there I would
play my best chess and see what happened. Of course a draw would be a great
result, but I was not "playing for a draw", I was "playing to equalize". It
took 50 moves to reach a position that could be viewed as balanced (as opposed
to the early middlegame where black hopes to solve his problems), but once I
finally reached a position with even chances, my opponent began to crumble. It
just goes to show that equality doesn't mean a draw, and even the strongest of
players can lose the thread under pressure.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3
e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 b6 {Diagram [#] This is a little unusual, but it has
served me well as of late. The idea is flexibility, because the light squared
bishop clearly belongs on b7, but black does not yet know where the dark
squared bishop belongs- for example, if white plays for e4, black may want to
keep him on e7 so he can react with dxe4 Nxe4 c5 immediately without white
having Nxd6 available. It also avoids the g4 line because g7 is defended for
the moment.} (6... Bd6 {This is the main line, and after Bd3 or even g4!? some
very sharp and interesting positions arise.}) 7. Bd3 Bb7 8. O-O dxc4 {Black
immediately opens the center. Be7 is a viable alternative, leading to a slower
game, which I played against GM Kaidanov at the last US Championship.} 9. Bxc4
c5 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Ne5 {Formally a novelty, and part of my opponents
preparation for the match. GM Onischuk played dxc5 against me here.} (11. dxc5)
11... O-O 12. dxc5 Qc7 (12... Bxc5 $2 {Would be bad on account of} 13. Nxd7
Nxd7 14. Bb5 Bc8 15. Qa4) 13. c6 $1 {White ensnares the bishop pair, which
secures him a small but long lasting edge.} (13. Nxd7 Nxd7 14. Nb5 (14. cxb6
Qxc4 15. Rxd7 Qc6 $1 {And black wins the exchange}) 14... Qc6 15. f3 Nxc5 {
Would be fine for black}) 13... Nxe5 (13... Bxc6 14. Nxc6 Qxc6 15. Be2 {Would
lead to a very similar position.}) 14. cxb7 Qxb7 15. Be2 Rac8 16. Qa4 Rc5 $2 {
Diagram [#] This move was the product of a faulty thought process. My first
instinct was Rfd8, and I noticed that Ba6 could be met with Rxd1+ Nxd1 Qc6. I
then decided Ba6 was not an issue, so I would simply double rooks on the cfile
and try to play Nc4.} (16... Rfd8 $1 {The natural move was best, and black has
excellent chances to equalize.} 17. Ba6 Rxd1+ 18. Nxd1 Qc6) 17. Bd2 $14 {At
this point I realized after my intended Rfc8 that white could play Ba6 and now
Qc6 does not work because I did not play Rxd1+ distracting the c3 knight-
white would play Bxc8 win.} Qa8 (17... Rfc8 18. Ba6 Qc6) 18. Rac1 Rfc8 {I
achieved Rfc8, and My next move would be Nc4, in which case Black should be
fine.} 19. b4 $1 {But my opponent does not allow for Nc4, and I have to
retreat.} R5c7 {Diagram [#]} 20. Ba6 (20. f4 $5 {Was an interesting try,
leading to some tactical possibilities.} Nc4 (20... Ng6 21. Bf3 Qb8 22. g3 $16
{The difference in piece activity says it all}) 21. Nb5 {We see white's point-
He allowed Nc4 but is trying to win tactically. However, my opponent noticed
all of black's resources and correctly avoided this line.} Nxe3 {After the
correct move black retains good drawing chances.} (21... Nxd2 $2 {This was my
original plan, but it does not work.} 22. Rxc7 Rxc7 23. Nxc7 Qe4 24. Qa3 Bxb4
25. Qd3 Qxd3 (25... Bc5 {At first I calculated this far and thought black was
OK, but I overlooked Qd8+ and then Qxd2} 26. Qd8+ (26. Rxd2 $4 Qxe3+ 27. Qxe3 (
27. Kf1 Qg1#) 27... Bxe3+ 28. Kf1 Bxd2) (26. Qxd2) 26... Bf8 27. Qxd2 {And
white is up a rook.}) 26. Bxd3 $16) 22. Bxe3 Qe4 23. Qa3 $1 (23. Rxc7 Qxe3+ 24.
Kf1 (24. Kh1 Rxc7 25. Nxc7 Qxe2) 24... Rxc7 25. Nxc7 Qxf4+ (25... Ne4 $4 {This
looks good, but it has an unfortunate drawback!} 26. Rd8+ Bf8 27. Rxf8+ Kxf8
28. Qe8#) 26. Bf3 Qxc7 {Black is at least equal}) 23... Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 25.
Qxc1 Nd5 26. Kf2 Nxe3 27. Qxe3 Qxb4 $14 {Black has a solid position with 2
pawns and good dark square control for the piece, I think he has good drawing
chances.}) 20... Rd8 21. Be1 h5 $6 {This move weakens my king cover; I was
hoping to generate some kind of kingside attack but due to my opponents
accurate play nothing ever materialized.} 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. Rd1 Qa8 24. Be2 $1
{A really strong move, rerouting the bishop and preparing for Nb5} Rc8 (24...
g6 25. Nb5) 25. a3 Nc4 {I was hoping to liquidate the queenside with a5, but
a5 immediately would run into Qb5! so I decided to play Nc4, hoping to get a5
in and meet Qb5 with Nxa3. Unfortunately I completely overlooked my opponent's
strong reply.} (25... a5 26. Qb5) 26. Qa6 $1 (26. Qb5) 26... Nd6 27. h3 g6 28.
Bf3 Qb8 29. Ne2 Nd7 30. Bc3 Rc7 31. Ba1 {At this point it is clear that I have
been slowly but surely outplayed. White's bishops are ravaging the long
diagonals, his knight is ready to come into c6, and my queenside pawns are
weak. From this point on, I defended very well and viewed that defense as one
of the best achievements of my chess career.} b5 $1 {Black grabs some space
and gets ready to exchange queens.} 32. Nd4 Qb6 33. Qxb6 Nxb6 34. Nc6 Bf8 35.
Be5 Nbc4 36. Bh2 f6 $1 {Black is willing to weaken his pawn structure, or even
lose a pawn, to keep the activity of the white bishops under control.} 37. Nd8
{The most natural move, provoking weaknesses, but white had a better option
available.} (37. Bxd6 $1 {Now that the white structure has been weakened, this
wins a pawn.} Bxd6 (37... Nxd6 38. Nd8 $1 {Black cannot save e6, because e5
loses a piece.} e5 39. Ne6 Rd7 40. Bc6 {the rook has to abondon defense of the
knight and white is winning.}) 38. Nd4 a6 39. Nxe6 Re7 40. Nd4 Kg7 $16) 37...
e5 $13 {Black's position is riddled with weak squares, but he now does have
one main trump- the bishop on h2 is out of play.} 38. Bd5+ Kh8 39. Ne6 Rc8 40.
g4 hxg4 {The last 8 moves were played under sever time pressure, and having
finally reached time control, I was able to get up and get some water- all the
tension had made me thirsty!} 41. hxg4 g5 $1 {Black weakens his structure
further, but really clamps down on the h2 bishop} (41... Nxa3 {Material is not
the most important part of this endgame- piece activity is. after g5 white
breaks up the black pawn structure, gets his other bishop into the game, and
starts a vicious attack, and in the meantime black's extra pawn on a7 is not
dangerous.} 42. g5 Be7 43. Kg2 Nac4 44. Rh1 {Black is unlikely to survive.})
42. Kg2 {With the sinister threat of Rh1} Kh7 (42... Nxa3 43. Rh1 {Black loses
a pawn back and likely the game.}) 43. Bxc4 $6 {White wins a pawn, but he
gives up his mighty d5 bishop.} (43. Rh1 Kg6) (43. Bg1 $5 {This would be my
choice, trying to force f4 through by defending e3.} Be7 (43... Nxa3 44. f4 {
White has good chances}) 44. f4) 43... Nxc4 44. Rd7+ Kg6 45. Rxa7 Re8 46. Ra6 (
46. Nc7 {I had calculated this move out to what I thought was a forced draw,
but I had missed something.} Re7 47. Nxb5 Rxa7 48. Nxa7 Nxa3 49. Nc6 (49. b5
Bc5 $11) 49... Kf7 $1 $11 {After the correct move black will hold a draw} (
49... Nc2 $2 {This was my plan} 50. b5 Bc5 {And I was ready to play Na3,
winning the pawn, and Nd8 (intending Nd7) could be met by Kf7 Nd7 Bd6! and b6
would even lose to Ke6. But I missed that white had a nasty strike available...
} 51. Bxe5 $1 fxe5 52. Nxe5+ Kg7 53. Kf3 {And white's 3 pawns really overpower
the piece} Na3 54. Nd7 Bxe3 (54... Bd6 55. b6 Kf7 56. b7) 55. fxe3 Nxb5 56. Ke4
{and white will escort his epawn down the board}) 50. f4 (50. Kf3 Ke6 51. Ke4
Nb1) 50... exf4 51. exf4 Ke6) 46... Bd6 47. Nc5 Bxc5 48. bxc5 Rc8 49. c6 Kf7
$11 {Diagram [#] Black has finally equalized- he should be able to round up
the c6 pawn and then he will have no problems, to say the least. I was really
lucky here- against anyone around my own rating I would have offered a draw,
but given my opponent's level and how good his position was before, I felt a
draw offer would be inappropriate. From this point on, Leko tried a bit too
hard to win, and made a couple errors in his time trouble, and I was thus able
to win this ending which I'm sure is drawn.} 50. Bg1 $6 (50. Kf3 Ke6 51. Ke4
Rc7 $22 (51... Nd6+ 52. Kd3 Kd5 53. f3 Nc4 54. e4+ Kd6 55. c7+ Ke7 56. Bg3 Rxc7
57. Be1 $11) 52. f4 (52. Bg3 Nd2+ 53. Kd3 Nf1) (52. f3 Nd2+ 53. Kd3 Nxf3) (52.
Bg1 Nd2+ 53. Kd3 Nf3) 52... Nd6+ 53. Kd3 Kd5) 50... Ke6 51. f3 Kd6 52. c7+ Ke7
53. f4 Rxc7 54. fxg5 fxg5 55. Bf2 {white wants to activate his bishop, but he
had a better way} (55. e4 Nd6 56. Be3 {With a likely draw}) 55... e4 {Of
course the position is still drawn, but white has to find some good defensive
moves with very little time so I thought I had some chances here.} 56. Rg6 Rc5
57. Ra6 {My opponent offered a draw here, but after defending a cheerless
position for so long and finally seeing one where I felt I had better chances,
I simply had to continue.} Rd5 58. Kf1 Rd1+ 59. Kg2 Rd3 60. Rg6 (60. Ra7+ {Was
a better defense- white will harass the black king until it comes toward the
queenside and only then go for the g5 pawn, when black will have a harder time
stopping it.}) 60... Rxa3 61. Rxg5 b4 62. Rb5 b3 63. Rb7+ {after showing great
defense for the last few moves despite his low time, my opponent finally
cracked and made the decisive error.} (63. Be1 $1 {and white still holds
because the bishop gets to c3 to stop the pawn and b2? would even lose to Bb4+}
Kd7 (63... Ra1 64. Bh4+ $1 {And white captures b3} (64. Bc3 b2 {White will
have to draw Rook+Knight vs Rook, which is a draw but such great players as
Polgar, Onischuk, and L'ami have all lost it before so black would retain some
practical chances.})) (63... b2 64. Bb4+) 64. Bc3 $11) 63... Ke6 {now Be1 can
be safely met with b2, when Ra1 is unstoppable.} 64. g5 (64. Be1 b2) 64... Kf5
65. Rb5+ Kg6 66. Be1 b2 {After he resigned, I went numb for a moment- For the
first 4 hours of the game I was just worse, and I felt I got more than I
deserved. About an hour later it started to sink in that I had defeated a 2730
who was once one game away from the world championship, and boy did it feel
good!} 0-1

[Event "Chicago Open"]
[Site "Wheeling USA"]
[Date "2011.05.29"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Abrahamyan, Tatev"]
[Black "Ni, Viktorija"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2335"]
[BlackElo "2178"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2011.05.26"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "Mark Crowther"]
[SourceDate "2011.06.06"]

{this game is full of mistakes, but I played the prettiest move that I have
ever played and it made me genuinely happy to play that move over the board} 1.
e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Ba7 7. Qe2 Ne7 ({
another possible set up is} 7... Nc6 8. Be3 d6 9. N1d2 Nf6 {and now white has
the option of 0-0 or 0-0-0}) 8. Be3 Nbc6 {Diagram [#]} 9. N1d2 (9. Nc3 {is a
more popular move} d6 10. O-O-O b5 11. f4 b4 12. Na4 Bd7 {but here I don't
think white has much of an attack and I like the idea of bringing my b1 knight
to f3}) 9... O-O 10. O-O e5 11. Bxa7 (11. Rfd1 {is a better idea of stopping d5
} Bxe3 (11... d5 12. Bxa7 Rxa7 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nf3 {and black is going to
lose something due to the pin}) 12. Qxe3 d6 13. Nc4 {and white's pieces are
centralized and since there is no bishop on e7, the d6 pawn can become
vulnerable}) 11... Rxa7 12. c4 d6 13. Rfd1 Ng6 14. g3 Qg5 15. Kh1 Bh3 16. Nf3
Qg4 17. Qe3 Nf4 18. Bf1 Bxf1 19. Rxf1 Ne6 20. Rad1 f5 {Diagram [#]} 21. Rxd6 (
21. exf5 Rxf5 22. Nh4 Rf7 23. Rxd6 {perhaps would have been better to trade
off the f5 pawn since I thought black got too much play during the game}) 21...
f4 22. Qd3 $6 (22. gxf4 {it's hard to make a move like this during the game
but it leads to an advantage for white} Qxf4 (22... Rxf4 23. Nbd2 {and now
white threatens Rg1 Qh3 and Rg3 after which both e6 and c6 knights will hang})
(22... Nxf4 23. Rg1 Qh5 24. Nc5) 23. Qxf4 Rxf4 24. Rxe6 Rxf3 {and white is up
a pawn}) 22... Raa8 23. Nfd2 $6 ({this allows black to put the pawn on f3,
which makes black's attack dangerous. better would have been} 23. Nbd2 fxg3 24.
fxg3 Rf6 25. Ng1) 23... f3 24. Re1 Rf6 25. Qf1 Rh6 26. Re3 Rf8 27. c5 Kh8 $6 {
I don't like this move. Black weakens the 8th rank for no reason} 28. Rdd3 Ncd4
$2 ({black misses white's upcoming idea. the simple} 28... Ng5 {would protect
the f3 pawn which is causing a lot of problems in the kingside and it's not
clear how white should improve the position}) 29. Nxd4 Nxd4 30. Nxf3 Rxf3 31.
Rxf3 Qxe4 {Diagram [#]} 32. Qe2 $3 {Diagram # putting the queen under attack
of both pieces, but neither can take it:} Qc6 (32... Nxe2 33. Rd8#) (32... Qxe2
33. Rf8#) (32... Qxf3+ 33. Rxf3 Nxe2 34. Rf8#) 33. Qxe5 Qxf3+ 34. Kg1 $3 ({
otherwise} 34. Rxf3 Rxh2+ 35. Kxh2 Nxf3+ {and black is winning}) 34... Re6 $4 (
{Re6 is a blunder but after} 34... Rf6 35. Qxd4 {white is winning}) 35. Qb8+
1-0

[Event "Match"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2012.06.10"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2699"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[PlyCount "134"]
[EventDate "2010.05.14"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 {According to the statistics from his own
practice, Karpov could be relied upon to meet the Slav with this move order. 
One of the things that attracted me to the line is how the c1-Bishop is buried
within White's set up.  This was a very important consideration when I chose
the Slav.  As we shall see, I'll be doing battle against the two Bishops and
one of them won't be so effective.} Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 e6 7. Nc3 Nbd7 8.
Bd3 g6 {The introductory idea to the Schlechter Slav.  Black reasons that
while he has a strong point in the center, the d5-pawn, he will fianchetto his
Bishop, thereby giving his King a safe home and that the g7-Bishop will
discourage any central expansion plans that White may have.} (8... Bb4) (8...
Bd6) 9. O-O Bg7 10. Rd1 O-O 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Bd2 a6 13. Rac1 Qe7 14. Be1 Rad8
15. Qc2 Qd6 16. Bf1 Qb8 17. Qb1 {Diagram [#]    Thus far both players have
followed the recommended lines of play and both sides can be satisfied by the
outcome of the Opening.      Now dear reader, I would like you to take a good
look at the position before reading on.  Could you please verbalize your
assessment of the position?  Using words weigh the advantages of the position
first for White and then for Black.  Try to be as broad minded as possible. 
Don't consider moves for the moment, rather try to give a clear assessment of
what you like and dislike about the position for both sides.  Take your time. 
Finished?  Good.    Now look again.  What do we see?    In a way that is
fabulously true to his unique style of play, Karpov has reached a higly,
"Karpovian" position.  In fact it is quite funny when you really think about
it.  I would say that the position favors White.  He has a bit more space in
the center and in the long term, his two Bishops might come alive and offer a
serious pull in the late middlegame.    For the short term however, look at
the arrangement of White's pieces.  All of them are on the back rank, out of
'harms way.'  Only the errant c3-Knight is too aggressively placed.    From my
perspective, my position is quite solid.  I've cleverly traded my
light-squared Bishop away while putting the rest of my army on the light
squares but I'm facing a problem.  While solid my position is cramped. 
Generating counter-play will not be easy.  While both players have to keep a
constant awareness of Black's ideas of ...d5xc4, to be followed by ...e6-e5 or
...c6-c5, opening up the position, to do so prematurely would only improve the
prospects of White's two Bishops.  Patient maneuvering is needed.    Black
faces one major problem: White might achieve the "big clamp."  If White could
play two moves at once: c4-c5 and f2-f4, there is serious danger that Black
would be strangled without a whimper.         White has secured the two Bishops
} Nb6 $1 {An important move.  As I had decided against lines that would open
the position, to the advantage of the two Bishops, I began to anticipate the
big clamp mentioned above.  In that case, I will need to prepare counter play
based upon the central push ...f7-f6, followed by ...e6-e5, creating some
breathing room.  To advance the f-pawn, the f6-Knight has to get out of the
way.  To do that, the d7-Knight has to get out of the way as well.} 18. b3 {
Karpov keeps the tension.  He could have gone for the expected big clamp
variation which I would have countered as follows:} (18. c5 Nc8 19. f4 Ne7 20.
Bd3 Nd7 21. Bf2 f6 22. b4 e5 {When the position is roughly balanced, more
importantly, Black has a measure of breathing room.}) 18... Nc8 19. Bd3 Nd6 20.
a4 $1 {I like this move very much.  Again, Karpov keeps the tension in the
position alive not making any commitment.  He keeps the option for Queenside
expansion and asks Black a key question, "what are you going to do?"} Nd7 {The
straightforward answer we have seen.  Black prepares his counter in the center.
Also, in certain cases, there now exists a line where Black can play ...f7-f5
and ...Nd6-e4, going into a Stonewall Dutch like structure, without the
light-squared Bishop.  In such a case, the two Bishops are not a major factor.}
21. c5 Nc8 22. Bf1 {Dare I say, Karpovian?  While expected, I thought the most
challenging was the big clamp:} (22. f4 Ne7 23. b4 f6 24. b5 axb5 25. axb5 e5
26. Ne2 Nf8 {Leading to a position that I felt was a bit better for White
thanks to his edge in space.}) 22... Ne7 23. b4 e5 24. dxe5 {Going for a line
of play where White's King is much safer, the f2-pawn stays at home.  White
doesn't want to be left with a d4-pawn weakness to which he might find himself
shakled.  In a fantasy for Black, if allowed, I'd happily play ...e5xd4, e3xd4
and then ...Nd7-f8, ...Ne7-f5, with all my guns targetting the d4-pawn.} Bxe5 {
With this recapture, I felt that all my Opening difficulties were now behind
me and that I had fully equalized.  The reason for my optimism is that the
current structure makes the advance b4-b5, more difficult for White due to the
likely c5-pawn weakness which gets left behind.  Even so, with the benefit of
hindsight, I should have chosen another recapture, simply activating my Queen
with a good game:} (24... Qxe5 $1 25. Bd3 Nf8 $1 26. Ne2 Ne6 27. Bc3 Qg5 28.
Bxg7 Kxg7 {When Black can face the future with confidence as White's only
possibility for an edge relies upon b4-b5, which doesn't bring much of
anything.}) 25. Ne2 Nf5 26. b5 axb5 27. axb5 Qc7 {I preferred this Queen
activation to the alternative one:} (27... Qa7 $6 28. Qb4 $1 Ra8 29. e4 $1 Ne7
30. g3 $1 {When I preferred White's position.  The position is about to be
opened in which case the two Bishops could frolic.}) 28. Rd3 $5 {This move was
a surprise, despite the logic of wanting to double on the b-file.  I had
expected:} (28. Nd4 Nxd4 29. exd4 Bg7 30. Qb4 Nf8 31. Bc3 Ne6 32. Ra1 Ra8 {
With a balanced position that seemed comfortable for Black.}) 28... Ra8 29. Qc2
Ng7 {Playing to simplify the position.  I was wrongly concerned about the
unstable position of the f5-Knight.  My other main consideration was to play:}
(29... Nf8 $1 {Which I think would have been a better repositioning.}) 30. Nd4
Ne6 31. Nxe6 Rxe6 32. Rb3 Bg7 33. Bb4 Ree8 34. Rcb1 Ra4 $1 $15 {After this
move, I preferred my position.  Black's play is easy: Double up on the a-file
and tie White up to the defense of the c5-pawn.} 35. Ra3 $1 {Best in a
difficult situation.} Rxa3 36. Bxa3 Ra8 37. Bb4 Qe5 38. g3 Nf8 $1 {One of
those nice touches we see so often in grandmaster play.  While Black's
position is very good, we must constantly be on the alert for any
opportunities to improve our pieces.  On the d7-square, the Knight is
unprotected and potentially vulnerable to a Rb1-b7, attack.  Conversely, the
Knight on the e6-square, will be a fine beast.  In both cases the c5-pawn will
be eyeballed, while the Knight is both protected and more active on the
e6-square, where it will support a ...d5-d4, advance on a good day, or even
contemplate a ...Ne6-g5, on an extremely good day.} 39. Rb3 Qa1 40. Rb1 Qa2 41.
Qxa2 Rxa2 42. Be1 {While we had reached time control, both players were quick
with their last moves.  White has reconciled himself to the loss of the
c5-pawn and seeks to activate his Rook along the b-file.} Bb2 $1 43. bxc6 bxc6
44. Rd1 {Diagram [#]    We now reach a critical position and I had a deep
think.  The c5-pawn is ripe for plucking but how to actually take the darn
thing?} Ba3 {Method number two is first tried.  The other two considerations
were the two Knight moves.  Which one is best?  First a test.} 45. Rb1 $1 Bb2
$1 46. Rd1 Ba3 {Failing my own test.  The correct plucking was a subtle nuance:
} (46... Nd7 $1 {Sad to say, I had only briefly looked at this move.  Having
worked so hard to bring my Knight to the more attractive e6-square, a false
path was my main consideration:} 47. Rd2 (47. e4 d4 $1) 47... Ra1 48. Rxb2 Rxe1
49. Rb7 Nxc5 50. Rc7 Ne4 51. Kg2 {I had reached this position in my mind's eye
and wrongly thought that the position was "close to drawn."  In fact, Black
has a very simple win:} Rd1 $1 $19 {I missed that one.  I had focused on the
natural move that protects the c6-pawn.} (51... Rc1 $2 52. Bd3 $1 $15)) (46...
Ne6 $6 47. Rd2 $1 Ra1 48. Rxb2 Rxe1 49. Rb6 $1 {This move makes all the
difference in the world.  White's counterplay is immediate and the game is
drawn.    Would I have won had I found the correct 46...Nd7?  Hard to say, I'd
like to believe yes.  There is still work to be done but a solid extra pawn to
the good should be enough.}) 47. Rb1 Bxc5 48. Rb8 Rc2 $6 {Excessively cautious.
For most of the game, I've been concerned about allowing White's Bishops free
rein.  But here I should have paid more attention to my own active possibility:
} (48... d4 $1 49. exd4 Bxd4 50. Kg2 Ra4 51. Rb4 Rxb4 52. Bxb4 Nd7 $15 {With
the sunny side of the torture.}) 49. Bd3 Rc1 50. Kf1 Bd6 51. Rb1 $1 {A
disappointment.  Karpov seizes the opportunity to trade off Rooks.} Rxb1 52.
Bxb1 Ne6 $6 {Another slip that allows White to conclusively save the game.} (
52... Nd7 $5 53. e4 $1) ({After:} 52... f5 $1 53. g4 fxg4 54. hxg4 Kf7 55. Ba2
Ne6 {White would still have to fight hard to save the game.}) 53. Bc2 $1 Kf8 (
53... Nc7 $5 54. Ba5 Nb5 55. e4) 54. Ba4 $1 c5 55. Bc6 $1 d4 56. exd4 Nxd4 57.
Bd5 $1 {Now White is home and dry.  Black's chances of winning have slipped
away.} Ke7 58. Bc3 Nb5 59. Bb2 Nc7 (59... Bc7 60. Bc6 Nd6 61. Bd5 Ba5 62. Ke2)
60. Bb3 f6 (60... g5 61. Ke2 f6 62. Bc2 h6 63. Kd3 Be5 64. Bc1 Kd6 65. f4 gxf4
66. gxf4 Bd4 67. Ke4) 61. f4 $1 {The difference between this position and a
previous line is that my d6-Bishop is sitting passively instead of the optimum
d4-square.} h5 62. h4 Ne6 63. Kg2 Bc7 64. Bc3 Nd4 65. Bxd4 cxd4 66. Bc4 Ba5 67.
Kf2 Bd2 {A fine fighting game which left me enormously pleased about my
opening preparation.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Match"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2012.06.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2699"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2010.05.14"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.07.15"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 {Before this move I had my customary think.  It
wasn't easy to guess what Anatoly might do.  If he went for a stodgy QGD, I
would prefer not to have committed my Knight to the f3-square.  Allowing a
Nimzo, would have resulted in a Classical but in that case, if he reverted to
a QGD, I'd regret my third move.} b6 {Excellent.  I correctly intuited that a
Queen's Indian was a good possibility.  Again a thoughtful ponder to lure him
along.} 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2 {And so we have it.  So far so good...} d5 $6 {
Despite my best attempt to disguise my intention by "slow playing" the
position, Anatoly, with his wonderful nose for danger, ducks the crucial line:}
(5... c5 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 Bb7 8. Bg2 Nxd5 9. O-O {Is the starting position
for a wild pawn sacrifice that I wanted to essay.  The lines are really sharp
with the advantage going to the better prepared player.    However, the
"reasonable" move chosen by Karpov, is in fact a poor choice.  The game will
transpose into Catalan type positions where Black will be a tempo behind.}) 6.
cxd5 exd5 7. Nc3 $1 c6 {An indication that Black recognizes the dangers that
something has already gone wrong.  Natural moves like Bf1-g2, Nf3-e5 and
Bc1-g5, will bring White a powerful initiative.} 8. Bg2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Rd1
Bb7 {With this move, Black makes it clear that he will be seizing the
defensive for sometime.  Cheered by my good fortune, I started to look at ways
to blow Black off the board.  Unfortunately, Black's position is not that bad
so as to justify a total seige.} 11. e4 {Not my first choice.  I mainly
concentrated on the common hop:} (11. Ne5 $1 Nfd7 $1 12. e4 (12. f4 Na6 13. a3
Nc7 14. e4 Nxe5 15. dxe5 d4 16. f5 {Certainly achieves high marks for
aggressive intent, I just wanted sure the line was any good for White.  For
example:} c5 17. Bf4 Bg5 18. Qf2 Bxf4 19. gxf4 {Reaches a rather bizzare
structure.}) 12... Nxe5 13. dxe5 d4 14. e6 fxe6 15. e5 Qd7 {Is a sample line
of the type of "berserk" variations I analyzed.  I wanted to punish Black as
quickly as possible, but somehow this line wasn't attractive enough.}) 11...
Nxe4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Ne5 $5 {Consistent with my desire to punish Black's
opening play.  It is however also second best as I missed a key resource.} (13.
Qxe4 $1 Nd7 14. Qc2 Nf6 15. Ne5 Rc8 16. Qa4 $1 {Gives White a very pleasant
Opening advantage.} ({Not:} 16. Nxc6 Bxc6 17. Bxc6 Qd6 18. d5 Nxd5 $1 {Diagram
[#] When Black equalizes on the spot.}) 16... a6 (16... Nd5 17. Qxa7 Qc7 18.
Qa4) 17. Nxc6 Qc7 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. Qb3 h6 21. Bf4 Rfd8 22. Rac1
Rxc1 23. Bxc1) 13... f6 {Second best.  I wrongly thought that:} (13... f5 $6
14. g4 {Was very good for White.  Not so:} (14. f3 $1 exf3 15. Bxf3 Kh8 16. Qc4
Qe8 17. Re1 {Keeps nice pressure on Black's position.}) 14... Qd5 $1 {I missed
the strength of this fine defensive move.} 15. Bf4 (15. gxf5 $6 c5 $1 {Is the
followup I had missed.} 16. Bf4 cxd4 17. Re1 d3 18. Qd1 Qb5 {Is not the type
of position I aspired for.}) 15... Nd7 16. gxf5 Nf6 {With a very scrappy
position.} 17. f3) 14. Qc4+ (14. Bxe4 fxe5 15. Bxh7+ Kh8 16. dxe5 Qc8 17. Be4
Qg4 18. Be3 Na6 19. a3 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Nxc5 21. Bg2 Rad8 22. f4) 14... Qd5 15.
Bxe4 Qxc4 16. Nxc4 {Darn it again.  Alright, I prefer White's position but I
sure had expected more than this.} Na6 17. Bf4 Rfd8 18. h4 g6 19. Bf3 Nb4 20.
Ne3 Bd6 21. a3 Nd5 {Frankly, I was surprised by this move and Karpov's
willingness to play straight into a long-term inferior ending.  I had expected
something like:} (21... Bxf4 22. axb4 Bxe3 23. fxe3 a6 24. Ra3 Rd6 {Where
Black isn't exactly enjoying himself but the unbalanced pawn structure doesn't
make finding the right plan so easy.}) 22. Nxd5 {A difficult choice to assay. 
I also liked my chances with the other capture:} (22. Bxd5+ cxd5 23. Bxd6 Rxd6
24. Rac1 Rd7 25. b4 Kf7 26. a4 {White keeps a "nagging" pressure.}) 22... cxd5
23. Bxd6 Rxd6 24. Rac1 Rd7 25. Re1 Kf8 {Diagram [#]    While White's position
is certainly pleasing, all my pieces are better and Black has to be
perpetually concerned about his d5-pawn, how to actually go about increasing
the advantage?  Give the position some thought.  This time, calculation is in
order.} 26. Bg4 {This felt like the most forcing and I liked it best.  The
choices however were also tempting.    In a greater sense "to win the game"
White is going to have to accomplish two things, he will have to advance his
King and to open up lines on the Kingside.  Once that is done, he must, of
course be in a position to profit from the opened lines.    Therefore, there
was a lot to be said for the simple:} (26. Kg2 $5 Re8 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8 28. Be2
Re7 29. Bd3 {In this, "take the simple approach" variation, we can see that
White is playing for, f2-f4, Kg2-f3, and the natural Kingside pawn advance,
all with a view of creating a weakness.  But can Black just "sit and hold" the
position by putting his King on the Kingside?  I wasn't sure.    Another line
that drew my attention was trying a straight forwards Bishop Ending:}) (26. Bd1
$5 Rc8 27. Rxc8+ Bxc8 28. Ba4 Re7 29. Rxe7 Kxe7 30. Kg2 Kd6 31. Kf3 Bf5 32. Kf4
{Bishop Endings have their own perculiar set of rules.  This particular case I
judged as a draw owing to the fact that White can't get in the desirous
g3-g4-g5, owing to the defense, ...h7-h6, keeping White at bay.  Conversely,
if Black's pawn were on the h5-square, the position could offer good practical
chances.  In any case, it is important that we make the effort to calculate
such endings.  If they are won, so much the better.  The defender is helpless.}
h5 33. f3 Ke7 34. g4 Be6 35. Bc2 Kf7) 26... Rf7 27. f4 Re8 28. Rxe8+ Kxe8 29.
f5 $6 {A serious slip.  Only after the game, at dinner, did it occur to me
that I could execute this break with my Bishop on the e6-square:} (29. Be6 $1
Rg7 {At dinner, Karpov explained that he had intended this defense, taking
advantage of my temporarily unprotected g3-pawn.   However, it is an illusion:}
30. f5 $1 gxf5 31. Kf2 $1 {And Black is drifting into deep trouble.  His
pieces are passive and White has very clear ways of improving his own:} f4 32.
g4 $1 Re7 33. Bf5 h6 34. Kf3 Kd8 35. Kxf4 Re2 36. Rc2 {Inviting Black into a
tricky Bishop Ending that he is better off rejecting.  I don't know if the
position is winning or not only that it was much better play than the game.})
29... Re7 30. Kf2 Kf7 31. fxg6+ hxg6 32. Be2 Re8 33. Bf3 Ke6 34. Re1+ {What to
say?  Embarassingly, I simply missed Black's defense in the game.  A total
blind spot that will remain a mystery.  In short, when I played this move I
thought it was winning.  Full stop.  Why look any further?    With hindsight,
of course, I could certainly have made Karpov work hard for the draw after:} (
34. g4 $1 Kd6 35. h5 Ba6 36. Rc3 $1 Bb5 37. Kg3 Ba4 38. Kf4 Bd7 39. Rc1 (39.
hxg6 Rg8 40. Rc1 Rxg6) 39... g5+ 40. Kg3 {With good practical winning chances.}
) 34... Kf7 35. Rxe8 $2 (35. Rc1 $1) 35... Kxe8 36. Ke3 g5 $1 {Dohh! 
Obviously.  Black absolutely has to prevent my King from advancing to the
f4-square.  It simply never entered my mind that Black could allow me to
establish a protected passed pawn.  My King has no entry!  (Hate that.)} (36...
Kf7 37. Kf4 a5 38. g4 Bc6 39. g5 Bb7 40. b4 Bc6 41. gxf6 axb4 42. axb4 Kxf6 43.
Bg2 Bb7 44. b5 {Was the planet that I was on.  The line was too pleasant for
words, a near domination theme.  How could I not go for it?}) 37. Bg4 Kf7 38.
Bf5 Bc6 39. h5 Kg7 $1 {The full horror of what I had done began to sink in. 
Black has a fortress.} 40. g4 Kh6 41. Be6 a5 42. Kd2 b5 43. Kc3 Kg7 44. b4 a4
45. Kd3 f5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Blitz Exhibition Match"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2012.06.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2615"]
[BlackElo "2643"]
[Annotator "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2012.06.13"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nbd2 $5 {An interesting twist over
the standard, 5.Nc3 b5 6.b3, continuation.  The text is designed to discourage,
...b6-b5, because after trading on d5, White is poised to bring his Knight to
the c5-square.  I opted for a quiet response but in hindsight I prefer 5...Bf5
6.Nh4 Bg6, as a bit more active.} g6 6. Bd3 Bg7 7. Qc2 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. cxd5
cxd5 10. b3 b6 11. Ba3 Bb7 12. Rac1 Rc8 13. Qb1 Re8 14. h3 e6 15. Bd6 Bf8 16.
Bxf8 Rxf8 17. Rxc8 Qxc8 18. Qb2 Qb8 19. Rc1 Rc8 20. Rxc8+ Qxc8 21. Ne5 Qc7 22.
f4 Ne8 $1 23. Qc2 Qxc2 24. Bxc2 Nb8 $1 {Diagram [#]    I'm doing fine and the
position is balanced.} 25. g4 f6 26. Nef3 Kf8 27. h4 a5 28. Bd3 Ba6 29. Bxa6
Nxa6 30. g5 Nb4 31. a4 Kf7 32. Kf2 Nd6 {Diagram [#] The game is still balanced
but with the trade of Bishops I prefer Black.  There is a chance the h4-pawn
can become a liability.} 33. Ke2 $2 {Now White is worse.  Karpov had to play,
33.Nh2!, in order to provoke, ...f6-f5, when I'm denied use of the f5-square.}
Nf5 34. Nf1 h5 $1 35. Kd2 Nc6 36. Ke2 {Diagram [#]} e5 $1 {Pursuing my winning
chances.  I briefly calculated a possible King and pawn ending and thought I
was winning.} 37. gxf6 {At the time I thought this was losing and that White
had to capture the e5-pawn, with a slightly inferior position.} exf4 38. Ne5+
Nxe5 39. dxe5 fxe3 40. Nxe3 Nxe3 41. Kxe3 {Diagram [#]    I thought this was a
winning move.  Actually, I don't have much choice!} g5 42. hxg5 $4 {This
however is losing.  White had to play:} (42. Kd4 $8 gxh4 43. Kxd5 h3 44. Kd6 h2
45. e6+ Kxf6 46. e7 h1=Q 47. e8=Q Qd1+ 48. Kc6 {with good drawing chances for
White.}) 42... h4 43. Kf4 h3 44. Kf5 h2 {With my clock clicking down I found a
way to lose on the spot.} 45. g6+ Kf8 {There aren't enough question marks to
describe this move.} (45... Kg8 46. e6 h1=Q 47. e7 Qh5+ 48. Ke6 Qxg6 $19 {
Would have been an appropriate finish to a rather well played game.}) 46. g7+
Kg8 47. Kg6 1-0

[Event "Las Vegas International Chess Festival"]
[Site "Las Vegas"]
[Date "2012.06.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksandr"]
[Black "Bykhovsky, Anatoly"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2656"]
[BlackElo "2636"]
[Annotator "Finegold,Ben"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2R5/4p3/3p1k2/2nP1p1p/5P2/r3K1P1/2B4P/8 w - - 0 43"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

43. Kd4 Ra2 44. Kc3 Ne4+ 45. Kd4 {Here Bykhovsky thought for a long time about
repeating with 44...Nc5.  Instead he bravely plays for the win, but quickly
finds himself in a losing position.} h4 46. g4 Nc5 47. Bxf5 Ra4+ 48. Ke3 Ra3+
49. Kf2 Ra2+ 50. Kg1 Ra4 51. Rh8 Rxf4 52. Rxh4 Rd4 $2 {Black still has chances
to hold before thsi blunder.} 53. g5+ $1 Kxg5 54. Rxd4 Kxf5 55. Kf2 Ke5 56. Ke3
Kf5 57. Rf4+ Ke5 58. Rf7 1-0

[Event "Antwerp 1973"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Zuidema, Coenraad"]
[Black "Bombieri, Enrico"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A16"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2012.06.03"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O {Diagram [#]} Nc6 (
6... Nbd7) (6... c5) (6... e5) 7. Nc3 Rb8 8. Rb1 e6 (8... e5) 9. Bd2 b6 10. b4
a5 {Diagram [#]} 11. b5 Ne7 12. Nd4 Bb7 13. Nc6 Bxc6 (13... Nxc6) 14. bxc6 d5 {
Diagram [#]} 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Qa4 Qd6 17. Bf4 Qxc6 18. Qxc6 Nxc6 19. Bxc7 Rb7
20. Bxb6 Rfb8 {Diagram [#]} 21. Bc5 (21. Be3) 21... Nd7 22. Rxb7 Rxb7 23. Na4 (
23. Bxd5 Nxc5 24. Bxc6 Rc7 (24... Rb2 25. Rc1) 25. Nd5) 23... Nxc5 24. Nxc5 Rb5
{Diagram [#]} 25. Nd7 (25. Na4) (25. Rc1 Bb2 26. a4) 25... Nd4 26. e3 Ne2+ 27.
Kh1 d4 28. Bf3 Nc3 29. Rc1 a4 {Diagram [#]} 30. Kg2 dxe3 (30... Rb2 31. -- dxe3
) 31. fxe3 Rb2+ 32. Kh3 h5 33. d4 Ne2 {Diagram [#]} 34. Rc8+ (34. Re1 Nc3 35.
Rc1 (35. a3)) 34... Kh7 35. Bxe2 Rxe2 36. Ra8 g5 {Diagram [#]} 37. Rxa4 (37. g4
Rxe3+ 38. Kg2 Ra3) (37. Ra5 f6 38. g4) 37... g4+ 38. Kh4 Kh6 39. Ra6+ f6 40. h3
Rh2 {Diagram [#]} 41. Rxf6+ Bxf6+ 42. Nxf6 Rxh3# 0-1

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2012.05.13"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Yasser Seirawan"]
[Black "Ray Robson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "2643"]
[BlackElo "2614"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Rb1 Nd7 8.
c4 O-O 9. Nf3 c5 10. O-O Rb8 11. d3 b6 12. Bb2 Bxb2 13. Rxb2 Bb7 14. Qd2 Qc7
15. Qf4 Qxf4 16. gxf4 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Rfc8 18. Kg2 e6 19. a4 a5 20. Rfb1 Kf8 21.
Kf1 Ke7 22. Ke1 Kd6 23. Kd2 Kc7 24. e3 h6 25. h4 Rg8 26. Rg1 h5 27. d4 cxd4 28.
exd4 Kd6 29. Kc3 Rgc8 30. Rgb1 Ke7 31. Kd3 Rd8 32. Bc6 Kf6 33. Bxd7 Rxd7 34.
Rxb6 Rbd8 35. d5 Kf5 36. Rb7 Kxf4 37. Rxd7 Rxd7 38. Kd4 {Diagram [#]} g5 (38...
Kf3 39. Kc5 (39. Ke5) 39... Rc7+ 40. Kb6 Rxc4 41. d6) (38... exd5 39. c5) (
38... Rd8 39. Rb7) (38... e5+ 39. Kd3) 39. hxg5 h4 40. Rb8 (40. Kc5) (40. Rd1)
40... Kxg5 (40... h3 41. Rh8 Kg4 42. Kc5) 41. Ke5 exd5 42. Rg8+ Kh5 (42... Kh6)
43. cxd5 h3 44. d6 f6+ 45. Ke6 Rh7 46. Rg1 Kh4 47. Rh1 Kg4 48. d7 Rh8 49. Kxf6
1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Ray Robson"]
[Black "Varuzhan Akobian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2614"]
[BlackElo "2625"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "115"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Be6 7. Be2 Qa5 8. c5
Ne4 9. Bd2 Nxd2 10. Qxd2 g6 11. Bb5 Bg7 12. Nf3 O-O 13. h3 Qc7 14. O-O f6 15.
Rab1 a6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. b4 Bf5 18. Rb3 e5 19. a4 Be4 20. Ne2 Rab8 21. Ne1 Bf5
22. Nc2 Bxc2 23. Qxc2 f5 24. dxe5 Qxe5 25. Rd1 Rfe8 26. Re3 Qb2 27. Qxb2 Bxb2
28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Kf1 Rb8 30. Nd4 Bxd4 31. Rxd4 Kf7 32. Ke2 Ke6 33. Kd3 g5 34.
Kc3 f4 35. Rd2 Kf6 36. Re2 h6 37. g4 Kf7 38. f3 Kf6 {Diagram [#]} (38... Ra8
39. b5 axb5 40. axb5 Ra5) 39. Re1 Kf7 40. h4 gxh4 (40... Kf6 41. Rh1 Kg6 42.
hxg5 hxg5) (40... Re8 41. Rxe8 Kxe8 42. hxg5 hxg5 43. Kd4 Kf7 44. Ke5) 41. Rh1
Re8 42. b5 (42. Rxh4 Re3+ 43. Kd4 Kg6) 42... axb5 43. axb5 cxb5 44. Kd4 b4 (
44... Re3 45. c6 Ke7) 45. c6 b3 46. Rxh4 (46. c7 b2) 46... Re1 47. Rh2 Rc1 48.
Kxd5 {Diagram [#]} Rc2 (48... Ke7 49. g5 hxg5 50. Rh7+ Kf6 51. Rb7 Rc3) 49.
Rxh6 b2 (49... Kg7 50. Re6 Rc3) 50. Rh7+ Ke8 (50... Kg6 51. Rb7 Kf6 52. Rb4 Kg5
53. Kd6) 51. Rb7 Kd8 52. Ke5 Rxc6 53. Rxb2 Rc4 54. Rd2+ Ke7 55. Rd4 Rc5+ 56.
Kxf4 Kf6 57. Rd6+ Kg7 58. g5 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2012.05.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "A Ramirez"]
[Black "Ray Robson"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D34"]
[WhiteElo "2593"]
[BlackElo "2614"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "126"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O
O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Na4 Be7 11. Be3 Ne4 12. Rc1 Re8 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. Nb3 Bf5
15. Nac5 Bxc5 16. Bxc5 Qd7 17. Re1 Bh3 18. Bh1 h5 19. Be3 h4 20. Nc5 Nxc5 21.
Bxc5 Rad8 22. Qd2 hxg3 23. hxg3 Re5 24. Qf4 Rde8 25. Bf3 g5 26. Qd2 Bg4 27. Bg2
f6 28. e3 Bh3 29. Bh1 Kg7 30. Bd4 Re4 31. Rc5 Nxd4 32. Bxe4 dxe4 33. exd4 Bg4
34. Qc3 Kg6 35. Rc7 Qd5 36. Qc5 Qxc5 37. dxc5 {Diagram [#]} Bf3 (37... Rd8 38.
Rxb7 Bf3 39. Rb3 Rh8 40. Rxf3) 38. Re3 g4 (38... Rd8 39. Kf1 (39. Rxf3 exf3 40.
Rxb7 g4) 39... Rd1+ 40. Re1 Rd2 41. b4 (41. Rxb7 e3) 41... Rxa2) 39. Rxb7 (39.
Kf1) 39... Rh8 (39... Rd8 40. Kf1 (40. Rxf3 Rd1+ 41. Kh2 gxf3 42. Rb3 Rf1)
40... Rd1+ 41. Re1 Rd5 42. Rc1 Rh5 43. Ke1 e3) 40. Rxf3 gxf3 {Diagram [#]} 41.
Rb4 (41. c6 Rd8 42. Rd7 (42. Rb3)) 41... Kf5 42. c6 Rc8 43. Rc4 Ke5 (43... Rc7)
44. c7 f5 45. b3 a5 46. Kh2 Rh8+ 47. Kg1 Rc8 48. a3 Kd5 49. g4 fxg4 50. a4 Ke5
51. Kh2 Kf4 52. Rc5 (52. Rc3) 52... Rh8+ 53. Kg1 Rc8 54. Kh2 g3+ 55. fxg3+ Ke3
56. Kg1 Ke2 57. Rc2+ Kd3 58. Rc4 e3 59. Kf1 f2 60. Kg2 Ke2 61. Rc2+ Ke1 62.
Rc1+ Kd2 63. Rc4 e2 0-1

[Event "US Championship (Women)"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2012.05.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Viktorija Ni"]
[Black "Sabina Francesca Foisor"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2228"]
[BlackElo "2364"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[PlyCount "136"]
[EventDate "2012.05.08"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. c4 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. Qc2 e6 8. b3
Bxf3 9. Nxf3 Qa5+ 10. Ke2 Bd6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Rhd1 Rae8 13. Bc3 Bb4 14. Bb2 Ba3
15. Bc3 Bb4 16. Bb2 dxc4 17. bxc4 Qh5 18. h3 g6 19. Qa4 Be7 20. g4 Nb6 21. Qb3
Qa5 22. a4 Nbd7 23. Bc3 Qc7 24. a5 c5 25. Rab1 cxd4 26. exd4 Rb8 27. Kf1 Rfd8
28. Qb2 Qc6 29. Qe2 Bf8 30. g5 Nh5 31. Qe4 Qc7 32. Ne5 Nxe5 33. dxe5 b5 34.
axb6 Rxb6 35. Be2 Rxb1 36. Rxb1 Ng7 37. Rb7 Qc8 38. Ba5 Rd4 39. Qf3 Nf5 40. Ra7
Rd7 41. Qa8 Qxa8 42. Rxa8 Kg7 43. Bb6 Nd4 44. c5 Be7 45. Rc8 Bxg5 46. c6 Nxc6
47. Rxc6 Bf4 48. Bc7 a5 49. Bd6 g5 50. Ra6 f6 51. Rxa5 fxe5 52. Bxe5+ Bxe5 53.
Rxe5 Kf6 54. Ra5 Rd6 55. Ra6 Rd4 56. Kg2 Re4 57. Bg4 h6 58. Ra7 Kg6 59. Bd1 Rc4
{Diagram [#]} 60. Ra6 Kf6 61. Rxe6+ Kxe6 62. Bb3 Kd5 63. Kf3 Kc5 64. Bxc4 Kxc4
65. Kg4 Kd4 66. Kh5 Ke5 {Diagram [#]} 67. f3 (67. Kxh6 Kf6 (67... Kf5 68. Kg7
Kf4 69. Kg6 g4 70. h4) 68. f3 Kf5 69. Kg7 Kf4 70. Kg6) 67... Kf5 68. Kxh6 Kf6
1/2-1/2

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem I"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/3p1k2/1Pp2r2/4R3/8/8/6P1/7K w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Kg1 c5 (1... Rf4 2. Rb5) (1... Rh6 2. Re8) 2. Rf5 Rxf5 3. b7 *

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.08.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem II"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "*"]
[Annotator "Kantor, Alan"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5kNB/4R3/1r6/8/3K4/8/8/8 w - - 0 0"]
[PlyCount "17"]

{Diagram [#]} 1. Rg7 Rb4+ 2. Ke5 Rh4 3. Kf6 Rxh8 4. Ra7 Ke8 (4... Kxg8 5. Kg6)
5. Ke6 Kd8 6. Kd6 Kc8 (6... Ke8 7. Nf6+ Kf8 8. Ke6) 7. Ne7+ Kb8 8. Nc6+ Kc8 9.
Rc7# *

