Please submit games to WachusettChessClubGames@comcast.net.

I don't know if I've ever had a game fall apart so quickly and so completely.  The "blunder" I made was not an obvious one, but it WAS huge.  According to Fritz, it was worse than throwing my queen away!  After I made the move and Wayne replied, there were threats everywhere I looked for the remainder of the game.  I could make a contest out of this: See If You Can SPOT THE BLUNDER :-)  Actually, I'll put the answer at the bottom of this page (*).

[Event "2008 WCC Championship Prelims"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2008.04.02"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Wayne Steadman"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A46"]

[WhiteElo "1271"]

[BlackElo "1639"]

[PlyCount "45"]

 1. Nf3  Nf6 2. d4 c5 3. c3 b6 4. Bf4 d5 5. Qc2 Bg4 6. Nbd2 e6 7. e4 dxe4

 8. Nxe4 Bxf3 9. gxf3 cxd4 10. Qa4+ Nbd7 11. Qxd4 Nxe4 12. fxe4 Nf6

13. Bb5+ Nd7 14. O-O-O Be7 15. Qxg7 Bf6 16. Qh6 e5 17. Bxd7+ Qxd7

18. Qxf6 Qxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Rg8 20. Qxe5+ Kf8 21. Bh6+ Rg7 22. Qxg7+ Ke7

23. Qe5# 1-0

This game was a not very welcome "welcome back to the club" game after a little more than 2 months off, but then again Wayne has never been very "welcoming" to me ;-)  Despite the difference in ratings, this is the 4th time that he has beaten me!  Good game Wayne!

Here is a game that Max Sewell sent in.

Here's the game. The asterisk on move 14 is when I accidentally
touched my queen with my thumbnail (causing her to spin around and
everything --%$#@!) trying to reach over her for the Knight on d7
(intended Nb6).

Max


Jakobowicz (1824) vs. Sewell (1281)

1. f4,     d5
2. Nf3,    Nf6
3. g3,     c5
4. Bg2,    Nc6
5. d3,     e6
6. 0-0,    Be7
7. Nc3,    0-0
8. Bd2,    Rb8
9. e4,     d4
10. Ne2,   b5
11. h3,    a5
12. g4,    a4
13. g5,    Nd7
14. h4,    Qe8*
15. Ng3,   Nb6
16. h5,    c4
17. Qe2,   Qd8
18. h6,    g6
19. Nh2,   Nb4
20. Bxb4,  Bxb4
21. Ng4,   Nd7
22. dxc4,  Qb6
23. c5,    Bxc5
24. Kh2,   Ba6
25. Qf3,   b4
26. Rfe1,  Bb7
27. Qe2,   Ba6
28. Qf3,   Bb7
29. b3,    a3?
30. Rad1,  f5
31. Nf2,   e5
32. fxe5,  fxe4
33. Qe2,   e3
34. Nd3,   Qc7
35. Bxb7,  Qxb7
36. Rf1,   Qd5
37. Nxc5,  Nxc5
38. Rxf8,  Rxf8
39. Qxe3,  Rd8
40. Qe2,   Ne6
41. Rf1,   Nxg5
42. Rf6,   Nf7?
43. e6,    Nxh6
44. e7,    Re8
45. Re6,   Nf5
46. Nxf5,  Qxf5
47. Re5,   Qf6?
48. Qc4+,  Kg7
49. Qxd4,  h5
50. Qe3,   Qh4+
51. Kg2,   Qg4+
52. Kf2,   Qd7?
53. Re6,   Qc7
54. Qd4+,  Kg8?
55. Rxg6+, resigns
 

Here is a game that Ken Gurge sent in.

Dave:

It was a pretty interesting game.  I played passively in the opening against his Sicilian O'Kelly and decided I needed to sac the exchange for some counterplay. It worked to some degree as I was able to keep the initiative for quite some time. However, he eventually stabilized everything and seemed headed for an endgame win with his extra material. I then sac'ed a knight, which effectively left him up a rook, for connected passed pawns. I pushed them like crazy until one queened and he had to give up his extra rook for it. This still left him up a pawn in a rook and pawn ending. He was able to go up two pawns to zero, but in doing so allowed me to cut his king off from all the action and hang on for the draw.

Gurge-Laine 2007-October-31

Here is a game that Ken Gurge sent in.  It is his first win over former club champion Bruce Felton!

[Event "John Loyte Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2007.08.01"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Bruce Felton"]
[Black "Ken Gurge"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B03"]
[WhiteElo "1838"]
[BlackElo "1712"]
[PlyCount "126"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nf3 e6 9. a3 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Be2

S Tidman - S Pertlova 2000 continued 11. Qd2.

11...Na5 ({0.51 Fritz 9:} 11... f6 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. O-O Rf7 14. a4 {[eval -3,13]})

12. b3 Rc8 ({0.84 Fritz 9:} 12... Qd7 13. d5 exd5 14. c5 Nc8 15. b4 Nc4 {[eval 43,14]})

13. d5 ({0.31 Fritz 9:} 13. O-O f6 14. Nh4 fxe5 15. Nxf5 Rxf5
16. Rxf5 {[eval 84,13]})

13... exd5 14. Bxb6 ({-0.65 Fritz 9:} 14. cxd5 Bh4+
15. Nxh4 Qxh4+ 16. Bf2 {[eval 54,13]})

14... cxb6 15. Nxd5 Nc6 ({0.35 Fritz 9:} 15... b5 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Qd6 Qxd6 18. exd6 bxc4 19. bxc4 Nxc4 20. Bxc4 Rxc4 21. O-O {[eval -65,14]})

16. Qd2 ({-0.26 Fritz 9:} 16. O-O f6 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Ra2 Kh8 19. Bd3 {[eval 35,13]})

16... Re8 17. Ra2 ({-0.98 Fritz 9:} 17. Qf4 Bg6 18. Rd1 {[eval -25,13]})

17... h6 ({-0.12 Fritz 9:} 17... Be4 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Qe3 f5 {[eval -98,13]})

18. O-O ({-0.67 Fritz 9:} 18. Qf4 Be6 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. O-O Rcd8 21. Rf2 Bc8 {[eval -12,14]})

18... Bc5+ 19. Kh1 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 ({-1.04 Fritz 9:} 20. Qf4 Nxf3 21. Qxf5 Ne5 22. Bg4 Qh4 23. Bh3 {[eval -34,14]})

20... Rxe5 21. Raa1 Be3 ({-0.46 Fritz 9:} 21... b5 22. Qf4 Bd6 23. Nc3 bxc4 24. Bxc4 b5 {[eval -147,13]})

22. Qc3? ({-2.04 Fritz 9:} 22. Qb2 Qe8 23. Bh5 Rxd5 24. cxd5 Rc2 25. Qb1 {[eval -46,15]})

22... Qxd5 23. Qxe3 Rxe3 24. cxd5 Rxe2 25. Rxf5 Rcc2 26. Rg1 Red2 27. Re5 Kf8 28. Rge1 Rc8?! ({-1.04 Fritz 9:} 28... g6 29. Re7 Rxg2 30. Rxb7 Rxh2+ 31. Kg1 Rcg2+ 32. Kf1 Rd2 {[eval -168,15]})

29. h3 Rd8 30. Re7 R2xd5 31. Rxb7 R5d7 32. Rxd7 Rxd7 33. Re3
f6 34. Kg1 Kf7 35. Kf2 h5 36. h4 Rd5 37. g3 a5 38. a4 g6 39. Kf3 Rf5+ 40. Kg2 b5 41. axb5 Rxb5 42. Kf2 Rf5+ 43. Kg2 Rd5 44. Rc3 Ke6 45. Rf3 g5 46. hxg5 fxg5 47. Rc3 g4 48. Kf2 Ke5 49. Rc8 Kd4 50. Rc7?? ({-4.01 Fritz 9:} 50. Rb8 Rf5+ 51. Kg2 Rc5 52. Rd8+ Ke4 53. Re8+ Kd5 54. Rd8+ Kc6 55. Rc8+ Kb6 56. Rb8+ Kc7 57. Re8 Kd7 58. Ra8 Rb5 59. Ra7+ Ke6 60. Kf1 {[eval -124,17]})

50... Kd3?? ({-1.24 Fritz 9:} 50... Rb5 51. Rc4+ Kd3 52. Kg2
Rxb3 53. Ra4 Rb5 {[eval -401,18]})

51. Rc4?? ({-4.01 Fritz 9:} 51. Rb7 Ke4 52. Re7+ Re5 53. Rb7 Rc5 54. Re7+ {[eval -124,18]})

51... Rb5! 52. Kg2 Rxb3 53. Rc5 a4 54. Rxh5 Rb2+ 55. Kg1 Rb4 56. Rc5 Rc4 57. Rd5+ Kc2 58. Kf2 a3 59. Ra5 Kb3 60. Rb5+ Kc2 61. Ra5 Rc3 62. Ra4 Kb3 63. Ra8 Kb2 0-1

Many adjectives can be applied to this game - interesting, unique, bizarre, and unsatisfying come immediately to mind.  All of the adjectives relate to the fact that it was a bishop and knight vs. lone king endgame.  This is an endgame I'd never played either side of in spite of 332 previous tournament games and I fully expected that I would NEVER play it in my life!  That pretty much explains the 'unique' and 'interesting' aspects.  To understand the 'bizarre' and 'unsatisfying' aspects of the game, you'll just have to read (play) on...

[Event "John Loyte Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2007.08.01"]

Woo-hoo!  A chance to play the Icelandic Gambit!

He doesn't go for it - not fair, not fair!  Now what am I supposed to do?!  This is the problem with limited experience and even more limited book  knowledge.

Book is 4...exd5.

Fritz gives 5. dxe6 Bxe6 6. d4 Bg7 7. d5 Bf5 ±

Fritz gives 5... exd5 =

Regular development with something like 8. Nf3 would be better.

Fritz gives 11. Nf3 =

Fritz gives 12...b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 Nd5 15. Bd2 Nb6

Fritz gives 13. a3 =

Fritz gives 16. Ng3

Fritz gives 28. Nd2

28... fxe4 29. dxc6 Bxc6 30. Kh2 Ke7 31. Rd1 Nf4 32. Kg3 Ne2+

33. Kg4 Nxc3 34. Rd2 Bd7+ 35. Kf4 Ke6 36. h4 b5 37. Rc2 Nb1

38. cxb5 Nxa3 39. Rxc7 Nxb5 40. Rc5 Kd6 41. Rc4 Bc6 42. Rc2 Nd4?

Fritz gives 42. Nc7

Fritz gives 43. Rd2+

Fritz gives 51. Ke5

Fritz gives 52. Rg2

52... Ke5 53. Kf2 Nd5 54. Kg3 Bd7 55. Rd3 Bc6 56. Kg4 Kf6

57. Ra3 Bd7+ 58. Kg3 Ke5 59. Rd3 Kd6 60. Ra3 Kc5 61. Kf2 Bb5

62. Ra1 Nc3 63. Kg3 Kb4 64. Kg4 Be2 65. Kxg5 Bxf3 66. Rxa4+??

Kxa4

Now I mess up!  Ke5 leads to mate-in-20 whereas my move leads to mate-in-25.  I'd say I can't afford too many of these slip-ups, but in this strange situation Ernest's clock is the one that's constantly running regardless of whose move it is...

Now it's back to mate-in-20!

Now it's down to mate-in-12.  He's heading right towards the corner I want

him to go to all on his own.

The game has become distinctly awkward at this point.  It's my move and Ernest's time is about to run out, but I haven't been saying anything to him given his mood.  I moved quickly to avoid having HIS time run out on MY move.

This takes us from mate-in-10 to mate-in-28.

Well, this was probably my most unsatisfying win ever.  I'd really like to know if I could have pulled off the bishop and knight ending under "normal" conditions.  The funny thing is that when I first learned chess as a kid I spent a lot of time learning how to do this mate from a library book because it was one of the four basic mates against the lone king and I figured that it occurred just as frequently as a queen vs. lone king or a rook vs. lone king (or 2 bishops vs. lone king for that matter).  I knew the configuration that I had to get my 3 pieces in after I drove his king to the "wrong" corner.  As it turned out, I never even had to do that since he moved his king to the "right" corner on his own.  I guess "a win is a win", but it certainly didn't feel like it tonight.

Here is a game that our newest club member Arthur Barlas sent in with the following note:

"White delays developing his king's bishop for a pawn storm."

I would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of this attack! - Dave C

The notes within the game are from Fritz.

Alan Condon's Most Excellent Move!!

Let's see, I've been studying tactics lately, albeit less regularly than I'd like, while Alan has taken a couple of months off from chess altogether.  So who pulls off the beautiful tactic to win the game?!

-notes by Dave Couture

[Event "David Bronstein Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2007.02.21"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Alan Condon"]
[Black "Dave Couture"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D04"]
[WhiteElo "1517"]
[BlackElo "1593"]
[PlyCount "77"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 d5 4. b3 Nc6 5. Bb2 Bf5 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 e6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Bd6 10. a3 O-O 11. Re1 Re8 12. Ne5 h5 13. Nd2 Ng4 14. Qf3 Ncxe5 15. dxe5 Bc5 16. Re2 Qc7 17. Rc1 f5 18. b4 Bb6 19. h3 Bxf2+ 20. Rxf2 Nxf2 21. Qxf2 g5 22. Qe3 Qg7 23. Qd4 g4 24. hxg4 hxg4 25. Qf4 Kf7 26. Nf1 Rh8 27. Ng3 Rac8

Just setting the rook up on the other open file.

28. Nxf5!!

So now the obvious 28...exf5 loses the queen to 29. e6+, but even my best response 29...Qh7 is a loser.

28... Qh7 29. Nd6+ Kg8

29...Ke7 is best, but the prospect of playing on a bishop (and probably a pawn) down wasn't very attractive, so in desperation I figured I'd hope for 30. Nxc8 and whatever I could muster attack-wise down the h-file (which really wasn't anything).  In any event, Alan wasn't going for any of it and just punished me for the lousy move.

30. Qxg4+ Kf8 31. Rf1+ Ke7 32. Rf7+ Qxf7 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Nxf7 Kxf7 35. Qf6+ Kg8 36. Qxe6+ Kg7 37. Qf6+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ Kh6 39. Bc1# 1-0

Excellent game Alan!

5 Pawns vs. 1 Bishop = Draw?!

[Event "David Bronstein Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2007.01.24"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Martin Laine"]

[Black "Ken Gurge"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "A03"]

[WhiteElo "1757"]

[BlackElo "1735"]

[PlyCount "128"]

1. f4 d5 2. b3 Nf6 3. Bb2 {last book move} Bf5 4. Nf3 h6 5. e3 e6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O Bc5 8. Ne5 Qe7 9. Bf3 Rg8 10. d4 Bd6 11. c4 c6 12. Nc3 Ba3?!

Fritz gives (12... g5 13. c5 Bc7 14. b4 gxf4 15. exf4 Ne4 16. Qe2)

13. Qc1 Bxb2 14. Qxb2 a6 15. Rac1 Nxe5?

Fritz gives (15... g5 16. Qd2 g4 17. Be2 g3 18. h3 Nb6)  

16. fxe5 Ne4 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bd1 Be6 20. Bc2 Qg5 21. Rf4 f5 22. exf6 gxf6 23. Bxe4 O-O-O 24. Bxc6?

Fritz gives (24. Rc5 Bd5 25. Qf2 Kb8 26. Rxf6 Rgf8 27. Rf4 Ka8 28. Bf5 Bxf5)

24... bxc6 25. Rxc6+ Kd7 26. Rxa6 Bh3?

Fritz gives (26... Bd5 27. g3 f5 28. Qc2 Rc8 29. Qxf5+ Qxf5 30. Rxf5 Rc1+)

27. g3?

Fritz gives (27. Ra7+ Ke6 28. d5+ Rxd5 29. Rxf6+ Qxf6 30. Ra6+ Kd7 31. Rxf6 Rxg2+ 32. Qxg2)

27... Qb5??

Fritz gives (27... Rc8! 28. Qd2 Rge8 29. Raxf6 Qd5)

28. Raxf6??

Fritz gives (28.Ra7+! Kd6 29. Rxf6+ Be6 30. Qa3+ Kd5 31. Ra5 Rb8 32. Qb4 Ke4)

28... Rde8??

Fritz gives (28... Qd3 29. Qc1 Rc8 30. Qe1 Qc2 31. Rf2 Qc1 32.Re2 Qa3 33. Qd2)

29. Qc3??

Fritz gives (29. Rxh6 Rxe3 30. Rxh7+ Re7 31. Rxe7+ Kxe7 32. Qa3+ Kd8 33. Qd6+ Bd7 34. Rf8+ Rxf8 Qxf8+ +-)

29…Qb7??

Fritz gives (29... Rc8 30. Qd2 Rc6 31. e4 Rxf6 32. Rxf6 rg6 33. Rf7+ Ke8 34. Rf2 Qb6 +-)

30. Rf7+??

Fritz gives (30. d5 Re7 31. Rxh6 Rc8 32. Qd2 Qa7 33. Rxh3 Rxe3)

30... Re7 31. Rxe7+ Kxe7 32. Qc5+ Kd8 33. Rf8+ Rxf8 34. Qxf8+

34...Kc7 35. Qe7+ Bd7 36. Qc5+ Kd8??

Fritz gives (36... Qc6 37. Qxc6+ Bxc6 38. g4 Bf3 39. h3 Kd6 40. Kf2 Be4 41.h4)

37. d5??

Fritz gives (37. Qf8+ Be8 38. Qxh6 Qe4 39. Qf6+Kd7 40. Qf4 Qb1+ 41. Qf1 Bg6)

37... Qa6 38. a3?

Fritz gives (38. Qf8+ Kc7 39. Qf4+ Kb7 40. Qf7 Kc7 41. h3 Qe2 42. Qf4+ Kb7)

38... Qe2 39. Qf8+ Kc7 40. Qf2 Qd1+ 41. Kg2 Qxd5+ 42. Qf3 Qxb3?

Fritz gives (42... Qd2+ 43. Qf2 Bc6+ 44. e4 Bxe4+ 45. Kg1 Qd1+ 46. Qf1 Qxf1+ 47. Kxf1 Kc6 48. g4 Bf3 49. h3 Kb5)

43. Qf4+ Kc8 44. Qf8+ Kc7 45. Qxh6 Qxa3?!

Fritz gives (45... Qa2+ 46. Kf3 Qd5+ 47. Ke2 Qa2+ 48. Ke1 Qa1+ 49. Kf2 Qa2+ 50. Kg1 Qb1+)

46. Qf4+ Kd8 47. h4?

Fritz gives (47. Qg5+ Ke8 48. Qh5+ Ke7 49. Qh4+ Kf7 50. Qh7+)

47... Qa2+ 48. Kf3 Qa8+ 49. e4 Qa3+ 50. Qe3 Qf8+ 51. Kg2 Qb4 52. Qg5+ Kc7 53. Kf3 Qc3+ 54. Qe3 Qg7 55. Qc5+ Bc6 56. g4 Qf6+ 57. Kg3 Qe6 58. Qc2 Qd6+ 59. Kh3 Qa3+ 60. Kg2 Qe3 61. g5 Kd7 62. Qf2 Bxe4+ 63. Kg1 Qc1+ 64. Qf1 Qxf1+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "David Bronstein Memorial"]

[Date "2007.01.17"]

[Round "3"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "George O'Rourke"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B75"]

[WhiteElo "1735"]

[BlackElo "1819"]

[PlyCount "65"] 

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Mirijanian sent the following email to Ken G. and George O.:

 

Ken/George -

 

I was checking out the variation you guys played Wednesday and found that 9. 0-0-0 (which Ken played) was the natural continuation for many years until it was replaced by 9. Bc4, which became very popular in the 1960s.

After 9. 0-0-0, Black has basically three major continuations:

9...Nxd4

9...Be6

9...d5

 

After 9...Nxd4 10. Bxd4 could follow 10...Be6 and now White may have nothing better than 11. Kb1 (which prevents 11...Qa5 because of 12. Nd5!), but not 11. g4 because of 11...Qa5 . After 11. Kb1 Black plays 11...Qc7 and follows it up with ...Rfc8 and seeks counterplay on the queen flank.

 

After 9...Be6, White should not play 10. Nxe6, since Black now controls the d5 square and should get good piece play.

 

The gambit continuation 9...d5 is the most critical of all the variations.  After 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12.  Nxd5 cxd5 13.  Qxd5, Black's bet is 13...Qc7, for after 14. Qxa8? Bf5 15.  Qxf8+ Kxf8 16. Rd2 Black can minimize his problems by playing 16...h5!

The line that is most interesting after 13. Qxd5 Qc7 is 14. Qc5 Qb7, for now following 15. Qa3 Bf5 what is White to do? After 16. Ba6 Qc7 17. Qc5, Black may have nothing better than 17...Qb6 and White now has nothing better than 18. Qxb6, since 18. Qa3? allows 18...Bxb2+ 19. Qxb2 Qxe3+!

The 9...d5 continuation is the most complicated of all the variations and the most interesting one.

 

George M

Ken sent the following reply:

9... Bd7 10. g4 Rc8 11. h4 Ne5 12. h5 {last book move}

12... Nexg4 13. fxg4 Bxg4 14. hxg6 fxg6 15. Be2 Rxc3 ({4.79 Fritz 9:} 15... Rf7 {[eval 290,13]})

16. Qxc3 Bxe2 17. Nxe2 Kh8 18. Qc4 Nh5 19. Rhf1 Bf6 20. Nf4 Nxf4 21. Rxf4 Qe8 22. Rdf1 Qd8 23. R4f3 Kg7 24. Qd5 h6 ({8.91 Fritz 9:} 24... Qe8 {[eval 605,13]})

25. Kb1 Qc8 26. Bd4 Qg4 ({12.04 Fritz 9:} 26... g5 27. Bxf6+ Rxf6 28. Rxf6 exf6 29. Qxd6 Qf8 30. Qxf8+ Kxf8 31. Rxf6+ Kg7 32. Rd6 h5 33. Rd7+ {[eval 657,13]})

27. Bxf6+ Rxf6 ({15.96 Fritz 9:} 27... exf6 28. Qxd6 Qg5 29. Rc3 Qe5 30. Rc7+ Kg8 31. Qd7 Qxc7 32. Qxc7 a5 33. Qxa5 {[eval 1204,15]})

28. Rxf6 exf6 29. Qxb7+ Kh8 30. Qb8+ Kg7 31. Qc7+ Kg8 32. Qd8+ Kh7 33. Qxf6 1-0

A Very Instructive Endgame

Watch (and hopefully learn) as two 1500+ players miss forced-win after forced-draw after forced-win after forced-draw...

-Dave Couture

[Event "2006 George Sturgis Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2006.12.13"]

[Round "3"]

[White "Tom Fratturelli"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "B01"]

[WhiteElo "1547"]

[BlackElo "1584"]

[PlyCount "131"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nxd5 4. d4 Nc6?!

4...g6 is most common here.

5. Be2 Bf5 6. a3 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nf6 9. Nc3 Qd7?

This just gets me into trouble later as Tom slowly strangles me.

10. Be3 O-O 11. b4 h6 12. b5 Nd8 13. Ne5! Qc8 14. Qd2 c6 15. a4 cxb5 16. axb5 b6 17. Bf3 Nb7 18. Nc6 Qc7 19. Ra4 Ng4 20. Bf4 Bd6 21. Bxd6 Qxd6 22. Bxg4 Bxg4 23. Rfa1 a5 24. bxa6 Qxc6 25. axb7 Qxb7 26. Nb5 Rxa4 27. Rxa4 Qe4

Not fearing the 28. f3 fork because of 28...Qb1+.

28. Ra1

NOW I need to worry about the f3 fork, but forget to.

28... Rd8

Of course as soon as I moved the rook, I remembered the fork!  Hmmm... I think this sort of thing explains my rating.

29. f3

My first instinct as soon as I had realized my blunder was that I was going to take with my bishop, but I prefer my next move.  Also, Tom was down to about a minute per move and I liked the complications that 29... Qc6 caused.

29... Qc6 30. fxg4 Qxc4 31. Rb1 e5 32. Rb4 Qe6 33. Qe2 Qe7 34. Rb1 e4 35. Re1 Qb4 36. h3 Rd5 37. Nc7 Rxd4 38. Rf1 Rd2 39. Qe3 Rd7 40. Qf4??

My clock has a feature whereby it beeps when a player has 10 seconds left.  Before Tom made his 40th move, it beeped!  I think he made this move with 8 seconds left!

40... Qc5+ 41. Kh1 Qxc7 42. Qxe4 Qd6?!

I completely overlooked Tom's reply.  Perhaps I should have played 42...Rd8.

43. Qe8+ Kh7 44. Rxf7 Rxf7 45. Qxf7

In "Basic Chess Endings" Reuben Fine writes, "Endings where both sides have queens and pawns are notoriously difficult.  One pawn ahead wins even less frequently than in rook endings, and with two pawns up the win is still not smooth sailing."

The more I looked at this position, the more complex it looked.  It certainly looked like it was going to be tough to advance the pawn and protect myself from a perpetual check at the same time.

45... Qe5 46. Qb3 b5 47. Qd3+ Kg8 48. Qb3+ Kf8 49. Qb4+ Ke8 50. Kg1 Qd5 51. Kf2 Qc4?

Check this out: Fritz gives this as a mistake, giving the line 51... Qf7+ 52. Kg3 and only THEN 52...Qc4.  You may ask, "What if white plays 52. Ke3?"  Then Fritz gives 52...Qe7+! 53. Qxe7+ Kxe7 with the distant opposition and a winning advantage!  Okay back to the game...

52. Qxc4 bxc4 53. Ke2??

This loses, but only if I play Kd7.  Tom should have played 53. Ke3 taking one less move to get to the pawn (pointed out by Parker Montgomery).

53... Ke7??

Here's the winning line given by Fritz: 53...Kd7 54. Ke3 Kc6 55. Kd4 Kb5 56. Kc3 g5! and black wins.

54. Kd2??

Once again giving me a chance to win.  We were both very generous to each other without realizing it at the time.  I thought I had it won from the time we had exchanged queens, by virtue of having the outside passed pawn.  My best calculations, which turned out to be VERY incomplete, showed me winning.

54... Ke6 55. Kc3

55... Ke5??

Giving the draw back to Tom!  As I said previously, my calculations were woefully incomplete.  I still thought I had a forced win here.  I now realize, as Parker pointed out, that 55...Kd5 wins.

56. Kxc4 Kf4 57. Kd5??

The drawing move is 57. g5.  Then if 57...h5, white plays 58. Kd5.  If instead black plays 57...Kxg5, then white plays 58. g3!

57... Kg3??

And the winning move would have been none other than 57...g5!  So then 58. Ke6 Kg3 59. Kf5 Kxg2 and wins.

58. Ke5??

g5 still draws...

58... Kxg2??

...and yes g5 still wins...

59. Kf5??

...and (yawn) g5 still draws.

59... Kxh3 60. g5 h5 61. Kg6 h4??

At this point I was only playing on in the slim hope that Tom would move his king onto the h-file after capturing my pawn.  I was just playing mechanically.  This is one of those points where it would be nice if someone would tap me on the shoulder, clear their throat and say, "Take a REALLY good look at the position."  Hopefully everyone reading this is taking notes ;-)

As Parker pointed out AFTER the game (please read the previous sentences Parker - yuk, yuk), even at this late stage I STILL had a win - 61...Kg4 and it's all over - a full point for a hard night's work, but as I said I didn't even pause for a second to look at it.

62. Kxg7 Kg2 63. g6 h3 64. Kf8

Ah well...

64... h2 65. g7 h1=Q 66. g8=Q+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "LeBlanc Memorial"]

[Date "2006.11.15"]

[Round "5"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "Parker Montgomery"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "C96"]

[WhiteElo "1668"]

[BlackElo "1970"]

[PlyCount "116"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d3 Qc7 12.

Nbd2 Re8 13. Nf1 h6 {last book move} 14. Ne3 Bb7 15. Nf5 Bf8 16. Nh2 Kh7 ({0.76 Fritz 9:} 16...d5 17. Ng4 Nxg4 18. Qxg4 Kh8 19. Ne3 d4 {[eval 42,13]})

17. Ng4 Ng8 18. Qf3 ({0.20 Fritz 9:} 18. Nfe3 g6 19. b4 cxb4 20. cxb4 Nc6 21. Nd5 {[eval 86,14]})

18... g6 19. Nfxh6 ({-0.69 Fritz 9:} 19. Nh4 f5 20. Ne3 Qg7 21. Qe2 Qf6 {[eval 21,14]})

19... Bxh6 20. Bxh6 Nxh6 21. Nf6+ Kg7 22. Nxe8+ Rxe8 23. Qg3

Qe7 24. h4 ({-0.95 Fritz 9:} 24. a3 Nc6 25. b4 Qc7 26. bxc5 dxc5 27. Qe3 {[eval -40,14]})

24... Qf6 25. Re3 Bc8 26. Rf3 Qe6 27. h5 Qg4 28. hxg6 fxg6 29. Bb3 ({-1.59 Fritz 9:} 29. Qxg4 {[eval -89,14]})

29... Qxg3 30. Rxg3 Rf8 ({-0.60 Fritz 9:} 30... Nxb3 31. axb3 Nf7 32. Rc1 Nd8 33. d4 exd4 34. cxd4 Ne6 35. d5 {[eval -130,15]})

31. Bd5 Ng4 ({1.25 Fritz 9:} 31... Bb7 32. Bxb7 Nxb7 33. Rd1 Ng8 34. d4 Nf6 {[eval -52,14]})

32. Rf1 ({-1.04 Fritz 9:} 32. b4 cxb4 33. cxb4 Nf6 34. bxa5 Nxd5 35. exd5 Bb7 36. Rg4 Bxd5 {[eval 125,15]})

32...Nf6 33. Bb3 ({-1.54 Fritz 9:} 33. b4 Nb7 34. Re3 g5 35. Rfe1 Kg6 {[eval -108,14]})

33... Nh5 34. Re3 Nf4 35. Bc2 Nc6 36. f3 g5 ({-1.12 Fritz 9:

} 36... d5 37. exd5 Nxd5 38. Ree1 Bf5 39. g3 b4 40. Ba4 Nde7 {[eval -164,15]})

37. g4 ({-2.69 Fritz 9:} 37. g3 Nh5 38. Kf2 Be6 39. a3 Nf6 40. Ree1 {[eval -112,15]})

37... Rh8 38. a4 b4 39. Bb3 Nh3+ 40. Kg2 Nf4+ ({0.00 Fritz 9:} 40... Na5 {[eval -269,14]})

41. Kg1 Kf6 42. Bd5 Ne7 43. Bc4 Nc6 ({0.00 Fritz 9:} 43... Rh3 {[eval -300,14]})

44. Bd5 Nxd5 45. exd5 Ne7 46. c4 Ng6 47. Rf2 ({-3.58 Fritz 9:} 47. Re2 Bd7 48. b3 {[eval -223,18]})

47... Bd7 48. b3 Nf4 49. Rh2 Rxh2 50. Kxh2 Be8 51. Re1 Bg6 52. Rd1 ({-6.96 Fritz 9:} 52. Kg1 Bxd3 53. Re3 Bc2 54. Kf1 Nd3 55. Ke2 Nc1+ 56. Kd2 Bxb3 57. Kxc1 Bxc4 58. a5 Bxd5 {[eval -455,20]})

52... Bxd3 53. Rd2 e4 54. fxe4 Ke5 55. Kg3 Ne2+ 56. Kf2

({-8.16 Fritz 9:} 56. Kf3 Nd4+ 57. Ke3 Bc2 58. Rf2 Bxb3 59. Rf7 Bxa4 60. Re7+ Kf6 61. Ra7 a5 62. Ra8 b3 63. Rb8 Bd7 64. Kd3 {[eval -546,20]})

56... Kxe4 57. a5 ({-12.57 Fritz 9:} 57. Rd1 Kd4 58. Rh1 {[eval -760,20]})

57... Nd4 58. Rb2 Bc2 0-1

Before this game I told Ernest that I needed to be careful against him because he had beaten me once before.  Obviously I wasn't careful enough!  I'm now 1-2 against Ernest in spite of the rating difference.

-Dave Couture

[Event "J. Camille LeBlanc Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2006.11.08"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Ernest Fandreyer"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B01"]

[WhiteElo "1170"]

[BlackElo "1654"]

[PlyCount "137"]

1. e4 d5 2. c3?!

I've never seen this before and in an effort to keep the game from getting too interesting tactically I play the conservative Caro-Kann-like...

2... c6?!

Fritz has no qualms with capturing the pawn, giving the following line: 2...dxe4 3. Qa4+ Nc6 4. Qxe4 Nf6 5. Qe3 Nd5 =/+.

 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Na3 a6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Ne5 e6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. f3?!

Unnecessarily weakens the kingside.

11... Qc7 12. Be3 Bxa3 13. bxa3?!

Qa4+ is a better way to recapture the bishop.

13... Qxc3+ 14. Bd2?!

It would have been better to play Kf2 and drop the a-pawn instead of the d-pawn.

14... Qxd4 15. Rb1 Qe5+ 16. Qe2 Qxe2+?!

For some reason, Fritz thinks Qc7 is significantly better.  Who am I to question Fritz (especially after THIS game)?

17. Bxe2 b5 18. O-O?!

Drops another pawn.  Gee, I'm up 3 pawns and about 500 rating points.  I guess I can sit back and relax - famous last words!

18... Rxh3 19. Kg2 Rh8 20. Rh1 Rxh1 21. Rxh1 Nbd7 22. Rh8+ Nf8 23. Bb4 N6d7 24. Rg8 a5?

Here I miss a tactic.  My intent was to drive the bishop off the diagonal where it was guarding the knight.  First I'd force it to d6, then I'd play Ra6 to get it off the diagonal.

25. Bd6

Now that he actually PLAYED Bd6 I saw that 25...Ra6 would lose to 26. Bxf8 Nxf8 27. Bxb5+!  I think it was right about here where Angel Soto came by and said "You're in trouble man!"

25... Rc8?!

Now in my "flustration" (if I may coin a word) I follow a weak move with yet another weak move.  25... f5 would have been better first or I could even have CASTLED which I had completely forgotten about!

26. Bxb5

Once I realized that both knights were pinned, I had about 10 seconds where my stomach dropped out thinking that it was going to be a forced mate-in-1 with Rxf8#!

26... Rc2+ 27. Kg3 Kd8 28. Bxf8 Nxf8 29. Rxf8+ Ke7 30. Ra8 Rc5 31. Rxa5 Kf6 32. a4 d4 33. Kf4 Rd5?

Fritz gives the much more aggressive 33...e5+ 34. Ke4 Kg5, but George Mirijanian pointed out that I probably needed to play g5+ here before Ernest did so that I could keep my king safe from checks that could allow him to queen his a-pawn.

34. Ra6?

After I moved I was worried that he was going to play Ra7 which Fritz actually likes.  Fritz gives the following line: 34. Ra7 e5+ 35. Ke4 Rc5 36. f4 exf4 37. Kxd4.

34... d3 35. Bc4?

Ernest misses the chance to push my king back with 35. g5+ Ke7 36. Ra7+ Kd8 37. Ke4 d2 38. Be2 d1Q 39. Bxd1 Rxd1 40. Rxf7 and white is in good shape.

35... d2 36. Bb3 d1=Q 37. Bxd1 Rxd1 38. g5+ Ke7 39. Ra7+ Ke8 40. a5 Ra1

I've been aware for some time that all I should have to do is keep my rook behind his a-pawn and he won't be able to queen it.  Watch how quickly I forget!

41. a6 Rxa2 42. Ke5 Rd2??

I'm amazed at the number of mental lapses I made tonight.  I was thinking that I wanted to keep his king from coming over to assist the a-pawn and completely forgot about keeping my rook behind the a-pawn.  Ernest didn't forget!

43. Rb7! Rd5+ 44. Ke4 f5+ 45. gxf6 gxf6 46. a7 f5+ 47. Kf4 Ra5 48. Rb8+ Kf7 49. a8=Q Rxa8 50. Rxa8 Kf6 51. Ra6 g5+ 52. Ke3 Ke5 53. Ra5+ Kf6 54. Kd4 g4 55. fxg4 fxg4 56. Ke4 g3 57. Kf3 g2 58. Kxg2 e5 59. Kf3 Kf5 60. Ke3 Ke6 61. Ke4 Kd6 62. Rxe5 Kc6 63. Kd4 Kd6 64. Rd5+ Ke6 65. Kc5 Kf6 66. Kd6 Kf7 67. Rf5+ Ke8 68. Rf6 Kd8 69. Rf8# 1-0

Congratulations Ernest!

[Event "LeBlanc Memorial"]

[Site "Leominster"]

[Date "2006.11.08"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Larry Gladding"]

[Black "Ken Gurge"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B02"]

[WhiteElo "1865"]

[BlackElo "1668"]

[PlyCount "126"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. g3 d6 4. exd6 exd6 5. Bg2 {last book move} c6 6. d4 Nb6 7. Ne2 Bf5 ({0.09 Fritz 9:} 7... d5 8. a4 Be7 9. Nd2 Bf5 10. Nf1 O-O 11. Ne3 {[eval -28,15]})

8. O-O Be7 9. Nd2 d5 10. Nf3 N8d7 11. Re1 O-O 12. Nf4 Re8 13. Nd3 Bf6 14. Nde5 Be4 15. Nxd7 ({-0.95 Fritz 9:} 15. Bf4 Nf8 16. Bh3 Ne6 17. Nd2 Bxe5 {[eval –32,13]})

15... Nxd7 ({-0.49 Fritz 9:} 15... Qxd7 16. c3 Qf5 17. b3 a5 18. Bf4 Nd7 19. h3 {[eval -95,15]})

16. Bf4({-1.11 Fritz 9:} 16. c3 Qb6 17. Re2 Nf8 18. Be3 {[eval -49,13]})

16... Qb6 17. Ne5 ({-1.73 Fritz 9:} 17. c3 Qxb2 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. axb3 h6 20. Bd6 {[eval -107,13]})

17... Bxe5 ({-0.91 Fritz 9:} 17... Nxe5 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxe4 Bxf4 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21. gxf4 Rxe1+ {[eval -173,14]})

18. dxe5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Re6 20. c4 Rd8 ({-0.11 Fritz 9:} 20... dxc4 21. Qxd7 Rd8 22. Be3 Rxd7 23. Bxb6 {[eval -76,14]})

21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Bg5 Rde8 23. Qxd5 Nxe5 24. Rad1 Qc6 ({0.30 Fritz 9:} 24...Qxb2 25. Rb1 Qc3 26. Rec1 Qa3 27. Rxb7 {[eval -29,14]})

25. b4 ({-1.65 Fritz 9:} 25. Qxc6 Nxc6 26. Rxe6 Rxe6 27. Be3 a5 28. h4 b5 29. g4 a4 30. h5 {[eval 30,15]})

25... Qxd5+ ({0.06 Fritz 9:} 25... Nd3 26. Rxd3 Qxd5+ 27. Rxd5 Rxe1 28. Rd7 a6 29. Rxb7 h6 30. Be3 {[eval -165,16]})

26. Rxd5 f6 27. Be3 Ng4 28. Rd7 Nxe3+ 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. fxe3 Rxe3 31. Kf2 ({-0.79 Fritz 9:} 31. a4 Re2+ 32. Kg1 Ra2 33. a5 b6 34. Rxa7 bxa5 35. Rxa5 Rb2 {[eval -11,15]})

31... Ra3 32. Rd2 ({-1.43 Fritz 9:} 32. Rxb7 Rxa2+ 33. Kg1 a6 34. h3 Rb2 35. Ra7 Rxb4 36. Rxa6 Kf7 37. Kf2 {[eval -79,16]})

32... b5 33. Ke2 Rc3 ({-0.46 Fritz 9:} 33... Kf7 34. Rb2 f5 35. Kf2 g6 36. h3 g5 37. Rc2 {[eval -148,14]})

34. Rd8+ Kf7 35. Rd7+ Kg6 36. Rxa7 Rc2+ 37. Kf3 ({-0.81 Fritz 9:} 37. Kd3 [eval -27,18]})

37... Rxh2 38. Ra5 h5 39. a3 Ra2 40. Ke3 f5 ({-0.16 Fritz 9:} 40... Kh6 {[eval -118,16]})

41. Kf4 Rf2+ 42. Ke3 Ra2 43. Kf4 Rf2+ 44. Ke3 Ra2 45. Ra6+ ({-1.64 Fritz 9:} 45. Kf4 {[eval 0,20]})

45... Kg5 46. Kf3 h4 ({-0.11 Fritz 9:} 46... Rb2 47. Ra7 g6 48. Ra6 Rb1 49. Kg2 Rd1 50. Kf3 Rd3+ 51. Kf2 {[eval -152,18]})

47. gxh4+ Kxh4 48. Kf4 ({-1.15 Fritz 9:} 48. Rg6 Rxa3+ 49. Kf4 Ra7 50. Kxf5 Rf7+ 51. Ke6 Rb7 52. Kf5 Rd7 53. Ke6 {[eval -11,19]})

48... Rf2+ 49. Ke3 Ra2 ({0.00 Fritz 9:} 49... Rg2 50. Kf4 g5+ 51. Kxf5 Rf2+ 52. Ke4 g4 53. Rh6+ Kg5 54. Rh7 g3 55. Rg7+ Kh4 56. Rh7+ Kg4 {[eval -82,18]})

50. Kf3 ({-1.84 Fritz 9:} 50. Kf4 {[eval 0,21]})

50...Kg5 51. Ra5 g6 52. Kg3 Kh5 ({-0.79 Fritz 9:} 52... Kf6 {[eval -203,19]})

53. Ra8 ({-2.20 Fritz 9:} 53. Kf4 Kh6 54. Rxb5 Rxa3 55. Rc5 Rh3 56. b5 Rb3 57. Ke5 Kg5 58. Kd6 Kg4 {[eval -79,18]})

53... Kg5 ({0.00 Fritz 9:} 53... g5 54. Rh8+ Kg6 55. Rg8+ Kf6 56. Ra8 Ke5 57. Re8+ {[eval -220,18]})

54. Ra5 Ra1 ({-1.17 Fritz 9:} 54... Kf6 {[eval -175,18]})

55. Ra6 ({-3.99 Fritz 9:} 55. Kf3 Rb1 56. Rxb5 Rb3+ 57. Ke2 Rxa3 58. Kd2 Kg4 59. Ra5 Rh3 60. b5 f4 61. Ra6 g5 {[eval -117,18]})

55... f4+ 56. Kf2 ({-5.38 Fritz 9:} 56. Kf3 Re1 57. Kf2 Re3 58. a4 bxa4 59. Rxa4 {[eval -399,19]})

56... Kh5 57. Ra5 ({-5.38 Fritz 9:} 57. Kf3 g5 58. Ra8 Rf1+ 59. Ke2 Rb1 60. Kf3 Rb3+ 61. Ke4 Kg4 62. Kd5 f3 63. Rf8 Rc3 64. a4 {[eval -386,18]})

57... Kg4 58. Rxb5 Rxa3 59. Rc5 Ra2+ 60. Kf1 Rb2 61. b5 g5 62. Rd5 f3 63. Rd4+ ({-#49 Fritz 9:} 63. Ke1 Kf4 64. Rd8 Rxb5 65. Rf8+ Rf5 66. Rd8 g4 67. Rh8 Re5+ 68. Kf1 Kg3 {[eval -746,17]})

63... Kg3 0-1

Notes by Larry Gladding.

J. Camille LeBlanc Memorial

Round 2

Sicilian Defense

Najdorf Variation

White: Mirijanian (1935)   O

Black: Gladding (1865)     1

1. e4 c5  2. Nf3  d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4  Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qc7 (In past games with George I always played 7…..Be7. However, after 8. Qf3 Qc7  9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4 , no matter how much theory I studied from this point on George always managed to get a decisive advantage)

 8. Bxf6  gxf6 9. Qh5 (Now I’m out of book. I saw this move as a side note but couldn’t remember the continuation. Two references give 9…Qc5 is safe for Black and 9…Qc5 10. Qxc5 dxc5 and Black has the better ending. I had considered Qc5, but rejected it.)

9….b5 10. O-O-O Nc6 11. Nxc6 Qxc6  12. Nxb5?! (12. f5 Qc5 13. Bd3 b4 14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Rhe1 ± 1.34/10 Fritz 7)

12…Be7 13. Nc3 Rb8 14. Qa5 (14. f5 Qc5 15. Nb1 Ba4  16. Bd3 Ke7 17. Rhe1± 1.28/10 Fritz 7)

14….Qb7 15. b3 Bb5 16. Bd3 Be7 17. a4 (17. Rhg1 Fritz 7)

17…Bxd3 18. Bxd3 d5 (18…f5 19. Ne2 fxe4 20. Rg3 Qb6 21. Qh5 Bf6 0.67/11 Fritz 7)

19. Na2 (Black was threatening Bb4 trapping the Queen)

19….dxe4 20. Re3 Bd6 (Fritz recommends 20…f5. Other playable moves are: Rg8, Qd5, Rc8 or Ba3+)

21. g3 Ke7 22. Qh5 Rac8 (22. ...Ba3+  23. Kb1 Rhd8 24. Rhe1 Rd2 25. f5 Qc7 - + -2.41/19 Fritz 7)

23. Rhe1 Rhc8 24. Kb1 Qc6 25. R1e2? (After the game we thought R3e2 was the move but Fritz recommends 25. Rc3 Qd5 26. Qe2 Ba3 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Qxa6)

25….Ba3 26. Nc3 Bb4 27. Nxe4??  (27. Na2 Bd2  28. Rxd2 Rxd2 29. Rc3 Qd7 30. Qa5 -+ -3.80/11 Fritz 7)

27….Rd1+! 28. Kb2 Qxe4 29. Qf3 (Not 29. Rxe4 Ba3+ 30. Ka2 or Ka3 30….Ra1 Mate)

29... Qd4+ 30. c3 Rd2+ 31. Rxd2 Qxd2+ 32. Kb1 Ba3? (32…Rxc3 33. Qb7+ Kd8 34. Rxc3 Bxc3 35. Qb6+ Ke8 -+ 18.05/13 Fritz 7)

33. Qb7+ Qd7 34. Qxd7 Kxd7 35. Kc2 Bc5 36. Rd3+  Ke7 37. h3 Rd8 38. Rf3 Rd5 39. b4 Ba7 40. c4 Rd4  41. Kc3 e5 42. c5 Ke6 43. f5+  Kd5 44. a5 Bb8 45. g4 e4 46. Re3 Be5 and White resigned. (0-1)

[Event "LeBlanc Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2006.11.01"]

[Round "3"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "Martin Laine"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B07"]

[WhiteElo "1668"]

[BlackElo "1768"]

[PlyCount "107"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 e5 4. d5 c6 {last book move}

5. Nc3 cxd5 ({0.70 Fritz 9:} 5... Nbd7 6. Nge2 Nc5 7. O-O Be7 {[eval 22,14]})

6. exd5 Bg4 7. Nge2 Qa5 8. f3 Bh5 ({1.10 Fritz 9:} 8... Bd7 9. O-O Na6 10. Be3 Be7 11. Ng3 Nc7 12. Be4 {[eval 68,15]})

9. Ng3 Bg6 10. Bxg6 ({0.38 Fritz 9:} 10. O-O Be7 11. f4 exf4 {[eval 114,12]})

10... hxg6 11. Bd2 ({-0.94 Fritz 9:} 11. Be3 Nbd7 12. Qd3 Rc8 13. O-O-O Nb6 {[eval 45,14]})

11... Nxd5 12. Nce4 Qb6 13. c4 Ne3 14. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 15. Qe2 Qxe2+ 16. Nxe2 Nc6 17. O-O-O O-O-O 18. N4c3 Be7 19. Nd5 Bg5+ 20. Kc2 Rh4 21. b3 f5 22. h3 Re8 23. g3 Nd4+ ({0.50 Fritz 9:} 23... Rh6 24. h4 Bd8 25. b4 Reh8 26. Rhe1 {[eval -61,14]})

24. Nxd4 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 exd4 26. Kd3 ({0.11 Fritz 9:} 26. f4 Bd8 27. Kd3 Kd7 28. a4 a5 29. Kxd4 Re2 30. g4 Bh4 31. gxf5 gxf5 {[eval 50,15]})

26... Kd7 ({0.50 Fritz 9:} 26... Be3 27. h4 Kd7 {[eval 11,14]})

27. f4 Bd8 28. h4 Re4 ({1.00 Fritz 9:} 28... b5 29. h5 bxc4+ 30. bxc4 Rh8 31. Rb1 Bb6 32. Nxb6+ axb6 {[eval 27,15]})

29. h5 gxh5 30. Rxh5 Ke6 ({2.03 Fritz 9:} 30... g5 31. Rh7+ Kc8 32. Rh8 Kd7 33. Rf8 {[eval 104,14]})

31. Rh8 Bf6 32. Re8+ Kf7 33. Rxe4 fxe4+ 34. Kxe4 Bd8 35. Kxd4 Ke6 36. Ke4 g6 37. g4 Bh4 38. Nc7+ Kd7 39. Nb5 a6 40. Nd4 Bg3 41. f5 gxf5+ 42. Kxf5 Be5 43. Nf3 Bh8 44. g5 Ke7 45. g6 Bc3 46. Ng5 Be5 47. Ne6 Bc3 48. g7 Kf7 49. Nd8+ Kxg7 50. Nxb7 Bb4 ({6.29 Fritz 9:} 50... Kf7 51. Nxd6+ Ke7 {[eval 280,20]})

51. Ke6 Kf8 52. Nxd6 Bc5 53. Kd7 Bb4 ({13.48 Fritz 9:} 53... Kg7 54. Ne4 Ba7 55. b4 Kg6 56. c5 Bb8 57. c6 Kf5 58. Nc5 Bg3 59. Nxa6 Ke4 {[eval 752,18]})

54. Nb7 1-0

Eduardo Valadares submitted this game from the 1st Annual Western Mass. Chess Association Memorial tournament held in Palmer.

[Event "1ST Annual WMCA Memorial"]
[Site "Palmer, MA"]
[Date "2006.09.13"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Douglas E Fiske"]
[Black "Eduardo Valadares"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C19"]
[WhiteElo "1972"]
[BlackElo "1405"]
[PlyCount "91"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. Bd3 h6 11. h4 Nb4 12. Be2 Qc7 13. Rb1 a5 14. c3 Na6 15. Bd2 Bd7 16. h5 f5 17. Rg1 Be8 18. Nh4 b6 19. g4 fxg4 20. Bxg4 Nf5 21. Nxf5 exf5 22. Bf3 Kh8 23. Bxd5 Rd8 24. Bf3 Nb8 25. Qb3 Nd7 26. e6 Nf6 27. Qxb6 Qe7 28. Bf4 Nd5 29. Bxd5 Rxd5 30. Be5 Rxe5+ 31. dxe5 Bxh5 32. Qd6 Re8 33. Qxe7 Rxe7 34. Rb6 Bf3 35. c4 g5 36. Rd6 g4 37. Kd2 h5 38. Rb1 Re8 39. c5 Be4 40. Rbb6 h4 41. c6 h3 42. c7 h2 43. Rb8 h1=Q 44. Rxe8+ Kg7 45. Rd7+ Kg6 46. Rg8+ 1-0

Eduardo Valadares submitted his first round victory from the 66th New England Open in Leominster.

[Event "Lawrence Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2006.08.30"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ken Gurge"]
[Black "George Mirijanian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C26"]
[WhiteElo "1602"]
[BlackElo "1941"]
[PlyCount "41"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. f4 Ng4?

Here is a note from George Mirijanian from the game Laine-Mirijanian, May 17, 2006.

[This is a mistake. Black was better off playing 5...Nc6 or 5...Bg4. Even 5...Be6!? was a viable continuation. But the text move gets Black into big trouble.]

6. f5 Qh4+ 7. g3 Bf2+ 8. Kf1 Bxg3 9. hxg3 Qxh1 10. Qxg4 g6 11. Qg5 Nd7 12. Nd5 f6 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6 14. Qxf6 Rf8 15. Bb5+ c6 16. Bxc6+??

In this tactical minefield 16. Qxd6 was needed to maintain the advantage.

16... bxc6 17. Qxd6 Bd7??

17... Bxf5! gives black equality.  For example: 18. Qxe5+ Be6+

 18. Qxe5+ Kf7 19. Qd6 Ke8 20. Bg5 Rf7 21. Qe5+ 1-0

Notes by Dave Couture.

[Event "Lawrence Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2006.08.16"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ken Gurge"]
[Black "Tom Fratturelli"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B77"]
[WhiteElo "1602"]
[BlackElo "1593"]
[PlyCount "35"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2 a6 10. O-O-O Bd7 11. Bh6?!

This move has only been seen once before in the game "Roberto Costantini - Gy Pinter, Szeged 1994".  In that game black won a pawn with 11... Nxd4 12. Bxd7 Nxf3 13. gxf3 Kxg7.

11... Bxh6?! 12. Qxh6 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 b5 14. Bb3 Qa5 15. Nd5

15... Qd8??

This was the deciding move.  15...Nxd5 was needed.

16. Nxf6+ exf6 17. e5! fxe5 18. Rh4 1-0

Ken Gurge contributed this game - a draw in a winning position!  Would YOU have seen it?! (Additional Fritz analysis added by Dave Couture).

[Event "Demulling Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2006.07.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Bruce Felton"]
[Black "Ken Gurge"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D04"]
[WhiteElo "1867"]
[BlackElo "1627"]
[PlyCount "73"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 c5 4. c4 Bg4

The most popular moves here are 4... e6, dxc4, or cxd4.

5. Nc3 e6?!

Fritz prefers 5...cxd4 here giving the following line 6. exd4 Nc6 7. Be3 e6 8. c5 Ne4 9. Bd3 with equality.

6. Qa4+ Qd7 7. Ne5?!

Fritz prefers 7...Nb5 Nc6 8. Ne5 Qc8 9. Nxg4 Nxg4 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 with a small edge for white.

7… Qxa4 8. Nxa4 cxd4 9. exd4 Bb4+ 10. Nc3 O-O?!

Again Fritz - the all knowing all seeing(?) - prefers 10...Nc6 11. Be3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Bf5 13. Bb5 Rc8 14. a3 Bd6 15. Rc1 with equality.

11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Nbd7 13. Nxg4 Nxg4 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Be3?! Rfe8 16. Kd2 Nxe3 17. fxe3 Re7 18. Bd3 Nf6 19. h3 Rc8 20. Rac1 Ne4+ 21. Bxe4 dxe4 22. c4 Rec7 23. c5 b6 24. cxb6 axb6 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Rc1?!

So far neither Bruce nor Ken has made any big, bad blunders, just a few dubious moves.  Here Fritz prefers

26. Rb1 Rc6 27. Rb5 Rg6 28. g4 Kf8 29. Re5 Rh6 30. Rxe4 Rxh3 31. Re5 Rh4 32. Rb5 Rxg4 with a small advantage for white.

26...Rxc1 27. Kxc1 f5 28. Kd2 Kf7 29. g3 g5 30. a4?!

Fritz gives 30. h4 h6 31. hxg5 hxg5 32. Kc3 Ke6 33. Kc4 Kd6 34. a4 Kc6 35. Kb4 Kd5 36. Kc3 with equality.

30...Ke6

31. Kc3?

With this move Fritz gives black a winning advantage.  To preserve winning chances Fritz gives 31. Kc2 Kd5 32. Kc3 h5 33. h4 g4 34. Kb3 f4 35. exf4 e3 36. Kc2 Ke4 37. Kd1 Kf3 38. Ke1 with a clear advantage for black.

31... Kd5 32. h4 gxh4 33. gxh4 h5

34. Kb3??

Again, to preserve ANY chance for a win, white needed to play

34.Kd2 Kc4 35.Ke1 Kb4 36.Kf2 Kxa4 37.Kg3 Kb5 38.Kf4 Kc4 39.Ke5 b5 40.d5 f4 41.d6 fxe3 42. d7 e2 43.d8Q e1Q

34...f4 1/2-1/2??

Here Ken offered Bruce a draw which Bruce accepted.  Unfortunately for Ken he had a win!  Ouch!

35. exf4 Kxd4 36. Kc2 e3 37. f5 Ke5 38. Kd3 Kxf5 39. Kxe3 Kg4  40. Ke4 Kxh4 41. Kf4 Kh3 42. Kf3 and here is the part that Ken, unsurprisingly, hadn't foreseen 14 moves ago(!), 42...h4!  Now white is in zugzwang and is forced to step aside and let the black king escape, march to the other side of the board and win easily (while white has to delay to gobble the h-pawn).

The big question is, how many of US would have played on after 34...f4?  It certainly looks like a draw to ME!

-Dave Couture

George Mirijanian contributed this game (additional comments by Dave Couture (DC)).

Here's my second-round game against Martin.
Martin researched a game I had played against Ken Gurge - I don't know when that was played - and found an improvement on the 6th move that gave him the advantage. After misplaying the opening, I was lucky to draw the game in a position in which Martin accepted my draw offer when he could find no clear win. I have added some notes.

White: Martin Laine (1781)
Black: George Mirijanian (1947)
Vienna Game [C26]
Rd. 2, Wachusett CC Championship
May 17, 2006

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5

[I was not in the mood to enter into the complications of the Frankenstein-Dracula Variation after 3...Nxe4?! 4. Qh5! Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 7. Qf3 f5 8. Qd5 Qe7 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6 - a position that Martin and I have reached more than once in the past.]

4. d3 d6 5. f4 Ng4?

[This is a mistake. Black was better off playing 5...Nc6 or 5...Bg4. Even 5...Be6!? was a viable continuation. But the text move gets Black into big trouble.]

6. f5! Nf2?

[Black is too greedy. But what he is supposed to do? On 6...h5 7. Nh3 Qh4+ 8. Kf1 Be3 White continues with 9. Nd5! and is winning. And after 6...Qh4+ 7. g3 Qh5 8. h3! Bxg1 9. Qxg4 Qxg4 10. hxg4 Bb6 11. g5 Nc6 12. g6! fxg6 13. fxg6 h6 14. Rxh6! Rxh6 15. Bxh6 Ne7 16. Bf7+ Kf8 17. Bg5 Bg4 18. Kd2 Bh5 19. Rf1! and Black should throw in the towel after 20. g4.]

7. Qh5 g6

[The alternatives were no better. On 7...0-0? would follow 8. Bg5 Qd7 9. Nd5! and on 7...Qe7? would follow 8. Nd5 Qd7 9. Bh6!]

8. Qh6 Nxh1 9. Bg5! f6 10. fxg6

(DC) T Mazuchowski vs. M Bond (1992) continued 10. Qg7 Rf8 11. Nd5 Nd7 12. Qxh7 fxg5 13. Qxg6+ Rf7 14. Nxc7+ Qxc7 15. Qxf7+ Kd8 16. Qg8+ Ke7 17. Qxg5+ Ke8 18. Qg6+ Kd8 19. Qg8+ and white won in 28 moves.

10...fxg5 11. g7 Kd7! 12. Qe6+ Kc6 13. Qd5+

[Worthy of consideration was 13. Bb5+!? Kb6 14. Qb3 - with the devastating threat of 15. Nd5+ - and if Black plays 14...c6 to find a hiding square on c7, there could follow 15. Nd5+! cxd5 16. Be8+! followed by 17. gxh8Q. Even he tries to find a hiding square on a7 with 14...a6, White just continues with 15. Be8+! followed by 16. gxh8Q. But how does one assess this position after ...Bd7?]

13...Kd7

[With this move I offered Martin a draw, which he accepted. However, the game would have been far from over had he played 14. Nf3!? with the threat of 15. Nxe5+.]

(DC) Fritz gives white a winning advantage of 5.63 (e.g., 14. Qf7+ Kc6 15. Bb5+ Kb6 16. Be8! Qxe8 17. Qb3+ Ka5 18. gxh8=Q Bd7 19. Qxb7 etc.