MEMBERS' GAMES

Since this issue will have been a little delayed getting to you as the FALL issue was , I want nevertheless, to wish you all a belated Happy Holiday season, and I hope the New year is proving to be a good one.

There are a few news items to pass along before getting to the games. Gordon Greig has won K-51 and thus becomes Canada's current CC Champion. (Robert Bowerman of the Yukon Territories is the current Canadian CC Champion. He won K-52.) Next issue I will present games from this event. Our team in the NATT IV tournament has completed 68 games, scoring 36 points still giving us a chance to make a run for 2nd or 3rd , since the English team appears to be running away with the match. Finally the NAPZ team is leading the South American team, CADAP, with 44 ½ points, while CADAP has 36 ½ points.

note: updated information on the Canadian team's standing can be found at: Canada's NATT IV Standings
and the current standings of the NAPZ vs CADAP match can be found at: NAPZ vs CADAP Match Standings

Martial Larochelle of Chapais, Québec has won the 1993 Canadian Open Championship with 8/10 points. (see crosstable below). This was only a one round event which explains why it was completed before the 1991 and 1992 events.

Following are two games from the New Canadian Open CC Champion.

In this game White's kingside proceeds at a much quicker pace than Black's queenside attack.

White: Martial Larochelle
Black: Pino Verde
0-93
Modern Defense B06

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4

(This invites Black to transpose to the Pirc Defense after 4...Nf6. Alternatives for White are: 4.Be3; 4.Nf3; 4.Bc4; and 4.g3. )

4...c6

(With the idea of ...Qb6 and a subsequent ...Bg4 to put pressure to bear on d4. It also prepares for queenside expansion with b5.)

5.Nf3

(Allowing Black to play the thematic pinning move ....Bg4.)

5...Bg4 6.Be3!?

(According Ken Smith & John Hall this is perhaps White's best move, protecting d4.)

6...Qb6 7.Qd2

(7.Qd3 Qxb2 8.Rb1 Qa3 9.Rxb7 Bc8 10.Rb3 Qa5 unclear {Suetin}.)

7...Bxf3 8.gxf3 Nd7

( 8...Qxb2!? 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.Rxb7 Nd7 11.Rb3 Qa5 12.d5 c5!? unclear {Smith & Hall}.)

9.0-0-0 Qa5 10.Kb1 b5 11.f5

(White immediately begins his own attack on the other wing. On 11.e5 Nh6! 12.Bd3 Nb6 13.f5 Nxf5 14.Bxf5 Nc4 15.Qd3 gxf5 16.exd6 unclear, ECO)

11...Ngf6

11...Nb6 with the idea of ...Rb8 and Nc4.)

12.Rg1!?

(ECO gives: 12.Bd3 b4 13.Ne2 +/=.)

12...b4 13.Ne2 Rc8 ?

The Rook belongs on the b-file.

14.Bh6 0-0 15.h4

Easy.

15...Nb6 16.Qg5 c5 17. fxg6 fxg6 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Nf4 Rg8 20.h5 Kh8 21.Nxg6+!

hxg6 22.Qh6+ Nh7 23.hxg6 Rg7 24.Bh3 1-0.

(Since after 24...Rb8 25.Bf5 . White we will regain the piece and be up to two pawns with an attack on an exposed King. If 24...Re8 25.gxh7 Rxh7 26.Qg6. )

White: Jerry Wasserman
Black: Martial Larochelle
O-93
Sicilian Defense/Dragon Variation/Yugoslav Attack B78

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3

(According to Nunn this move has become in effect forced now because after 7.Bc4 or 7.Qd2 Black can counter with 7...Ng4 attacking the Bishop on e3.)

7...Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.Bc4 Bd7

(This is considered the main line. Interesting alternatives are: 9...Nd7; and 9...Nxd4.)

10.0-0-0 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.h4 Nc4

North Bay Variation for me. (12...h5 appears to be more reliable according to theory.)

13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5

(14.g4 !?)

14...Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.e5 Nxg4!?

(Sacrificing a piece in exchange for a bunch of pawns. 16...dxe5?! 17.Nb3! with the idea of g5 +/-; or 16...Ne8 17.Qh2 +/- ECO.)

17.fxg4 Bxg4 18.Rdg1

(On 18.Bh6 Bxe5!? 19.Nde2 Re8 20.Rdf1 Qa5 21.Qd3 Rec8 22.Bd2 h5 23.Kb1 Qb6 0-1, Popovych-Fedorowicz, New York 1977.)

18...dxe5 19.Rxg4 Rxd4!?

(This appears to be new. ECO gives 19...h5 20.Rxh5 Rxd4!, but 20.Qe2! was played in Vitomskis-Koifman, corr 1985 eg: 20...exd4 21.Rxg6 fxg6 22.Qxc4+ Kh8 23.Rd1 e5 24.Ne4 Qh4 25.Ng5 Qg4 26.Bd2 e4 27.Ne6 e3 28.Bb4 b5 29.Qd5 Bh6 30.Re1 Rf1 31.Qd4+ Qxd4 32.Nxd4 h4 33.Kd1 Rf4 34.Ke2 Rf2+ 35.Kd3 Bf4 36.Ne2 Bc7 37.Rh1 Bd8 38.Bc5 Rf7 39.Be3 g5 40.Nd4 1-0.)

20.Bxd4 exd4(see diagram. Note: the Black on c4 should be on d4 )

Now Black has four pawns for the Rook

21.Ne2 Qd5!

(The Black Queen occupies a dominating position in the center of the board and wins another pawn as a result.)

22.Rgh4 Qxa2 23.c3

(Forced to stop the mate and to avoid the loss of yet another pawn!)

23...h5

(23...dxc3!?)

24.cxd4 Rc8+ 25.Nc3 b5 26.Qc2 Qa5 27.Kd1 b4 28.Qa4 Qf5!

(Wisely avoiding the trade of Queens at this point in the game and going for the attack.)

29.Qxb4 Qd3+ 30.Ke1 Rc6 31.Ne2 Rc2 32.Qxe7 Qd2+ 33.Kf2 Bxd4+ 34.Rxd4

(Forced, since 34.Kf3 loses to 34...Qd3+ and 34.Kf1 to 34...Qd1+.)

34...Qxd4+ 35.Qe3 Qxb2   (see diagram)

(Black now has four pawns for the Knight: three connected on the kingside and an outside passer on the queenside. This gives him at least a clear advantage, if not a winning one at this point.)

36.Rh4 a5 37.Qe8+ Kg7 38.Rf4 Rc7 !

(Not only protects f7, positions the Rook to move to a7 behind the passer.)

39.Rd4 Qb6 40.Qe5+ Qf6+

(Forces the favorable exchange of Queens.)

41.Qxf6+ Kxf6 42.Ra4 Ra7 43.Nd4 g5 44.Nc6 Ra8 45.Rxa5 Rxa5 46.Nxa5 g4 47.Nc4

47.Nc6!? Kg5 48.Nd8 f5 49.Ne6+ was the only try.

47...Kg5 48.Ne5 f5 0-1.

The Knight is no match for the three connected pawns. A very interesting game.

The following game was kindly submitted by postal GM and OTB IM Jean Hébert of Montréal, Québec responding to my request for an annotated game. Considering how busy Jean is as Editor of Echec+, the magazine of the Québec Chess Federation, this is indeed a rare treat for readers of CHECK!. Jean no longer plays snailmail chess, opting solely to play by the much faster mode of CC play, email. The lesson to be learned from this game is how to create 'unbalances' and then turning those 'unbalances' into a win. Jean not only loves to play chess, he is also a fine teacher as well.

White: Jean Hébert (2510)
Black: A. Lannaioli (2100)
ICCF EM/M/GT 1997
Petroff's Defense C42
Annotations by Jean Hebert

1.e4

My only 1.e4 game in this event. I usually go 1.d4; 1.c4 or 1.Nf3, but I could not resist a little more variety.

1...e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3

I did not feel like entering the heavily analyzed lines of the Petroff, especially since I have little practical experience against it. I have given up on 1.e4 as my main weapon a long time ago.

3...Bb4 4. d3

A passive looking option chosen for the following reason. A couple of weeks before the start of this game I looked with one of my students at a typical pawn structure coming from the Berlin defense when Black gets doubled c-pawns (after Bb5xNc6). So I saw this opening as an opportunity to grasp it a little further by getting the structure with colors reversed. Unfortunately it did not quite work since Black refrained from taking on c3.

4...d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Bd2 0-0 7.Be2 Nc6 8.0-0 Re8

By simple means Black has obtained a good position. By then I had realized that while my setup is very solid as Black, how as White is it possible to generate winning chances?

Considering the rating difference it seemed very likely that my opponent would be quite content with a boring draw. So to some extent the onus is on me to keep the position alive even against possibly unwilling opposition. From now on I am only trying at first to create unbalances because it is out of the question to think in terms of advantage.

9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.c3

Weakens d3, but in return I mobilize my queenside pawns. This is what I meant by creating unbalances. A further advantage of c2-c3 is that Black gets a difficult choice about where to retreat his Bishop.

10...Be7

10...Bf8 looks more natural in which caase I was considering the provocative 11.Ng5 h6 12.Ne4 f5 13.Ng3 when Black has gained some space and possibly hopes of a kingside attack which I am well prepared to repulse. Positions like that suited me well because even if objectively I am not getting an advantage, I have complicated the game strategically and so created practical chances at minimal, if any, costs.

11.b4!

Aiming for c3-c4 and b4-b5. Black decides to liquidate the center to calm things down.

11...e4 12.dxe4 Qxe4 13.Re1

The Black Queen is slightly exposed, but there is no serious cause for concern yet.

13...Bg4 14.b5!?

A positionnally double-edged move since the White queenside pawns start to look a bit like swiss chesse: lots of holes in between.

14...Na5 15.h3

Making an escape hatch. I guessed that Black would not concede the Bishop pair by taking on f3, although that was playable.

15...Bh5 16.Nd4!

A nice centralized square for the Knight that now works in harmony with the pawn on b5. In such a position you must rely on every little bit of positional nuance if you aim for victory.

16...Bxe2 17.Rxe2 Qd5 18.Qa4

The point of Nd4. This move gaining tempo allows White to seize the e-file.

18...Nc4 19.Rae1 Nxd2 20.Rxe7 Rxe7 21.Rxe7 Qc5 22.Qb4!?

A little bit of bluff does not hurt.

22...Qd5?!

After 22...Qxb4 23.cxb4 Rc8 24.Nf5 Kf8, the White Rook has to leave the 7th rank which would have left me with no advantage.

23.a4 Qa2?

Of course now the c7 pawn cannot be taken because of ...Qa1+ , but nonetheless the decentralizing Queen move is a serious error. The White pieces are now in position to turn their attention to a lonsome Black King.

24.Re1

Defending the first rank while intending Qe7 with threats of Qe8+ and Qxc7.

24..g6?!

24...h6!? the other way of making the much need escape hatch for Black is not so painless either: 25.Nf5 Nc4 26.Qc5 Qd2 27.Re7 also looks promising.

25.Qe7 Qc4 26.Nf5!   (see diagram)

An elegant little combination that puts an end to Black's misery.

26...h5

26...gxf5 27.Qg5+ is similar to the game. The castled King position gets wide open which leaves little hope.

27.Qf6 gxf5 28.Qg5+ Kf8 29.Qh6+

A little finesse.

29...Kg8 30.Qxd2 f4

On 30...Qh4 31.Qh6 Rf8 32.Re2 f4 33.Re5 f5 34.Re6.

31.Re5 Qxa4 32.Qd5

The power of centralization.

32...Qa1+ 33.Kh2 Qxc3 34.Rf5! 1-0

A rather pleasant game, and even more so because it took less than 5 weeks to complete.

First time contributor to the Members' Games column, Rodney Payne of Edmonton, Alberta submited the following thrilling game for our enjoyment. The number of sacrifices White makes will make your head spin! Rodney writes: "I am 29, married, an accountant, and I have been playing chess for sixteen years; CCCA for about 3. I joined the CCCA when I was living in Yellowknife. Anyone who has ever lived in Yellowknife knows there is not much chess to be found. I joined postal chess both to meet chess players and to work on my analytical skills. In my first tournament I went 0/7. I learned a lot about how not analyze chess games from this. So far in my next tournament (still ongoing) I am 5/6. I adopted one excercise that has done me a remarkable service. In the middlegame, I try to analyze and play through every reasonable move for at least four or five moves down the line. This may sound like a lot of work, but using this process-of-elimination method has helped me to find good moves I would not otherwise have found. This is how I found move #39 in my game against Lalonde. This game was played mostly by email.

White: Rodney Payne
Black: Michel Lalonde
G9702 1997
Stonewall Attack A03

1.d4 e6 2.f4 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Nc6 5.Bd3 b6 6.0-0 Bb7 7.Nbd2

The Stonewall attack. I discovered this in a book in the Yellowknife library. After several weeks of study, I started to use it, both in the CCCA and OTB. I am so far 21-0 with it, including a victory over a CFC rated 1950 player in OTB competition. The key to the attack is control over the centre black squares.

7...Nb4 8.Ne5

One of the key moves in the Stonewall. This Knight is a very painful thorn in the side for Black.

8...Bd6

8...Nxd3 9.cxd3 Bd6 10.Qa5+ c6? {10...Kf8!?; or 10...Ke7} 11.Nxc6 Bxc6? 12.Qxb6+ Nd7 (12...Ke7 or 12...Kf8 are forced, but that would deprive Black the ability to castle, RPM.) 13.Qxd6 and White is up a piece; on 8...Ne4 9.a3 f6? 10.Qh5+ g6? [10...Ke7 11.Qf7+ Kd6 12.Ndc4 and the chase is on.] 11.Nxg6 Rg8 12.Ne5 dis +.

9.Bb5+ c6

I thought it was worth it to force Black to block the b7-Bishop. It also takes c6 away from the b4-Knight.

10.Be2 0-0 11.c3 Na6 12.Rf3

Another common element of the Stonewall - the half open f-file will becomea highway for my Rooks.

12...Nc7 13.Rh3 Nce8 14.Bd3 Qe7 15.Qc2

Piling up pressure on h7.

15...g6 16.Ndf3 a5 17.Bd2

Clearing the way for the Queen Rook to move to the kingside.

17...c5 18.c4 cxd4 19.Nxd4 Bxe5 20.fxe5 Nd7 21.Rf1 Rac8 22.Rf4 Nxe5 23.Rfh4 dxc4 24.Be4

I did not want to do this, but I needed to relieve pressure on my vulnerable h1-a8 diagonal.

24...Nf6 25.Bxb7 Qxb7 26.e4

Now my goal is to get the King pawn out of the way of my attack.

26...Nd3 27.Nb5 Qd7 28.e5

Either way I couldn't lose; trading Knights would work in my favor also.

28...Nxe5 29.Bg5 Nh5 30.a4 f6 31.Be3 Qd3 32.Qc1 Qb3 33.Bh6 Nd3 34.Qf1 Rfd8 35.Rxh5 gxh5 36.Rg3+ Kf7 37.Rg7+ Ke8 38.Rg8+ Kd7

(On 38...Kf7 39.Rxd8 Rxd8 40.Bg5! . Or if 38...Ke7 39.Qf3! .)

39.Qf3!   (see diagram)

Probably the key move to the game. I poured over this position for about two hours before I found it, and two more to convince myself it was a good move; my opponent replied that this was THE move he was afraid of. On 39.Rxd8 Rxd8 40.Bg7 Nxb2 41.Bxf6? Qe3+ 42.Kh1 Rf8 -/+

39...Qxb5

39...Rxg8 40.Qb7+ Kd8 41.Qxb6+ Ke7 42.Qb7+ Kd8 =.

40.Qb7+ Kd6

(Of course if 40...Rc7? 41.Rg7+.)

41.Rxd8+ 1-0

Mike Bateman submitted the following two Nimzowitsch Defenses from a 1995 Challengers tournament.

Mike writes: "It's as if someone had a war, and only invited berserkers. Violence, rage, rampage, storm, uncurbed, and myself the midly boisterous uncontrollable. I believe this is the first tournament that I went in swinging blindly, lost few body parts, killed and maimed and woke up a the end asking myself, "What the (hell) ( you may want to delete this sentence because of this this word) was that? Tomorrow comes when history sums, the minuses of the day. Well I've lost two, won three and drawn one. I'm embarrassed to show the ones I lost, the ones which I was dispatched in the most bloodthirsty and painful way. So I will appease the Four Horsemen, and place before you two sacrifices, offerings on the alter of Cassia."

White: Richard Labonte
Black: Mike Bateman
D9502 Nimzowitsch Defense B00

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 e5

White is at the first crossroads. The popular ideas are to play 3.Nf3!? and transpose into a Scotch, or play 3.c3!? The idea behind c3 is to exchange one of Black's center pawns for a wing pawn. Also to be able to play Bc4. Perhaps White should couple the idea of c3 with the idea Nf3 and Bc4.

3.d5

This by far, is the most popular continuation. My own strategy is now to MCO 10 's recommendation, and try for a 'safe King's Indian'.

3...Nce7 4.Bd3 d6 5.Be3 g6 6.c4 Bg7 7.Nc3 Nh6!

Yoewch, a Knight on the side of the board, but there is reason in madness. First of all, to entice White to exchange his good dark squared Bishop for a Knight on the side of the board or failing that, the Knight heads for g4 or f7 and if nothing nudges it away then it covers the advancing pawn at f5.

8.f3 f5 9.Nge2 f4 10.Bf2 g5

Now the lines have been drawn. White's plan is to attack down the queenside, and Black's to attack kingside. Whoever gets there first, wins!

11.b4 a5 12.a3 0-0 13.c5 Nf7 14.0-0

At the end of the game, Richard surmised that 14.0-0 was not called for, and he might have kept his King in the center. I believe castles kingside was correct; then you have to do a little slipping and sliding against Black's confrontational pawns, but in the end, pressure on the queenside should prevail.

14...h5 15.Qb3!? Ng6 16.Rfc1

I'm not sure I would not lop off the head of this traitorous Rook; running off while the King is under attack. White owns most of the board. Now the first Priority should be defense, then in time offense.

16...g4 17.Kf1 Ng5 18.Ng1 g3! 19.hxg3 hxg3 20.Bxg3 h4 21.Bh2 h3 22.Be2 hxg2+ 23.Ke1

Other possibilities given here superficially: 23.Kxg2 Nh4+ 24.Kf2 Ngf3 25.Nxf3 Nxf3 26.Bxf3 Bg4; or 23.Kf2 Nh4 24.Ke3 Ngf3 25.Nxf3 Nxf3 26.Bxf3 Qg5+ 27.Ke2 Bg4.

23...Nh4 24.Nb5 N4xf3+ 25.Bxf3 Nxf3 26.Nxf3 Bg4 27.Rc3

Oh, sure. Now from a safe distance he wants to help. Rooks!

27...Bxf3! 28.Bg1 Qh4+ 29.Kd2 Bh6+ 30.Re3 Bxe4 31.Re1 Rf1! 0-1   (see diagram)