[Event "Washington Closed"]
[Site "Seattle, WA"]
[Date "1970.02.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Murray, Mike"]
[Black "Walker, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "2103"]
[BlackElo "2110"]
[Annotator "Murray,Mike"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "1970.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "Sicilian Grand Prix"]

{Walker, a NM, was Washington State Champion in 1975, taking second in 1973
and 1974. NorthWest Ratings above are approximate; my usual source, the
Northwest Chess Scanning Project, is incomplete for early 1970.} 1. e4 c5 2.
Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 {This became known as the Grand Prix Attack
in the 1980s, over a decade after this game was played.} Bg7 6. O-O e6 7. f5 {
In the old days, this sac was a shocker.} exf5 8. d3 Nge7 9. Qe1 O-O $6 {
NEVER castle into this mess!} ({Correct is} 9... h6 $1 {when White's attack
sputters.}) 10. Qh4 {Check out IM Erik Rosen's YouTube lecture at https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=rnm7yXtx6yw, about ten minutes into it.} Ne5 $2 {[#]
Black's position is bad no matter what he does, but it's dead lost after this.
The database has 81 games with this position, one of them going back to the
1970s.} (10... h5 {is best, but still bad. White's attack is crushing. The
game might continue} 11. Bg5 $16 Qd7 12. Rae1 a6 13. Bd5) 11. Bg5 Re8 ({
There are many ways to lose. Here's one more:} 11... Nxf3+ 12. Rxf3 Qb6 13. Na4
Qb4 14. Bxe7 Qxa4 15. Bxf8 Bxf8 16. exf5 d5 17. fxg6 hxg6 18. Rxf7 Bg7 19. Qe7
Bd4+ 20. Kh1 Be6 21. Qxe6 dxc4 {1-0 (21) Medianikova,N-Sternina,V Moscow 1970})
12. Nxe5 dxe5 13. Nd5 h6 14. Bxe7 1-0

[Event "PNWCC FIDE Masters - WoW"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.12.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Yanayt, Eugene"]
[Black "Stopa, Jacek"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2070"]
[BlackElo "2427"]
[Annotator "Jacek Stopa"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,92,27,14,44,15,38,40,45,62,58,47,47,30,85,60,63,68,68,24,16,12,30,-4,
11,-10,-31,-15,-14,-20,-28,-30,-28,-12,34,12,49,56,52,37,33,35,62,72,65,53,66,
40,35,51,33,35,76,24,55,33,18,30,39,17,23,-8,0,6,23,27,23,0,2,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-1,
-1,0,-5,0,-13,-13,-5,0,-7,-10,-151,-148,-343,-329,-338,-332,-435,-438] May I
start with saying that my very previous event kicked off in the exact same
fashion, playing Black against this rare talent. Eugene is well-known for
theoretical erudition resulting in posing early challenges to his opponents.
As if White clawing his way to early advantage, he likes to seek educated
opening hacks. Therefore, even despite being thrown aback by his unexpected
lateness, I decided to take initiative immediately.} 1. Nf3 e6 2. g3 g5 $6 {
This controversial early strike was no touch-move accident, even though I did
think of playing my regular 2…f5 while going into the game. On the contrary,
I used an old weapon prepared during my junior years and practiced heavily in
quick games. A regular position ensued.} {Probably the best move in this
position, as there really is no way to punish Black immediately for such
blatant opening blasphemy.} 3. d4 $1 g4 {Staying true to the spirit of this
ultra-aggressive opening, Black pushes forward, creating a need for White’s
immediate reaction.} 4. Ne5 (4. Nh4 Be7 5. c4 $1 {is the engine’s
recommendation, but it does take prior knowledge to do this kind of a trick. I
had to play my time advantage to put Eugene on the spot here.}) 4... h5 {
Black continues on his journey of denying basic opening principles, as if
putting to question the quixotic prep idea of White’s.} 5. h3 d6 6. Nd3 {
This appears forced, and we arrive at a crucial juncture that ends up
determining the nature of the ensuing middle game.} Qf6 {A very thematic
response. Staying true to my style, I do not hesitate to challenge white’s
set-up. This move is not only a defensive resource, but it also casts a shadow
over the central d4 square.} 7. e3 gxh3 8. Rxh3 (8. Nc3 {was a way to seie
piece development driven progress in the opening that Eugene perhaps
overlooked. I intended to continue my development with} Nc6 9. Bd2 Bd7 10. Qe2
O-O-O 11. O-O-O h4 $5 {with interesting complications.}) 8... h4 9. Rxh4 Rxh4
10. gxh4 Qxh4 11. Qf3 Nc6 {A calm move intending ...e5, posing time pressure
as well as showing White that this game will take its own opening course
regardless of any preparation.} 12. Nd2 $6 {This move looks a bit odd.} ({
A more natural reponse was} 12. Nc3) 12... e5 $1 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Ne4 $5 Be6
$6 ({I overlook} 14... Bg4 15. Qg3 Qh5 $1 16. Bd2 O-O-O $15) 15. Bd2 O-O-O 16.
Bc3 Bd6 $11 17. Nec5 $5 {Critical moment in the game. Black needs to make a
decision now which will determine the type of position to ensue. However, 17.
Nc5 is perhaps not the most obvious choice here for White.} ({The move} 17. Bg2
Nge7 18. O-O-O Bg4 19. Qxf7 Bxd1 20. Kxd1 {with a very unclear endgame.}) 17...
Nf6 {I was surprised by the move 17.Nec5 and ended up spending a good 20
minutes to think on this move. I chose the provocative 17...Nf6. Engine likes
a very different approach better: 17...Bg4! 18.Qxf7 Bxc5 19.Nxc5 Nge7! 20.Qc4
Rf8 21.Nd3 Nf5 where Black has dangerous initiative. I wasn’t quite sure how
to respond to White’s most ambitious try 18.Nxe5?! This spectacular tactic
fails to 18…Bxe5 19.Bxe5 Nd7!-+ with the black queen gaining access to b4,
but once the game ended, just glancing quickly, Eugene and I speculated 18.
Nxe5 may have been winning. Knowing my opponent didn’t have a spare
half-hour for fantasy variations, I correctly assumed he would quickly play
the next few forcing moves in the game, which were best.} 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Qh3
Qxh3 20. Bxh3 Kd7 21. O-O-O Ke7 {I was ready to play a few more moves, but
without any major ambition at this point. The position favors white, but only
slightly. It is relatively simplified without the king-side pawns and I do
have an outpost on d5 for my knight. My central set-up, although quite awkward
due to the double pawns, does resemble a Phillidorstyle set-up and I didn’t
think I would risk much here. Furthermore, Eugene’s time left has been
severely reduced by now and it’s not so easy to come up with a positional
improvement here without undermining his own set-up. The game continued.} 22.
Bg2 Nd5 23. Bd2 {White prepares the move c4.} Rg8 24. Bf3 Rf8 25. Bg2 $6 {
The safest and best square for the bishop is 25.Be4 where it cannot be kicked
by 25… Nf6 due to 26.Bxc6, and placing it on an inferior square instead
winds up affording Black some nice practical chances in a few moves.} b5 $5 26.
Rh1 Ncb4 {My only try really, I can't see any other way of posing challenges
here.} 27. Rh7+ Kd8 {The position is essentially equal, but a lot of accuracy
is required still on both sides. A very tricky endgame follows.} 28. Nxb4 Nxb4
29. Bxb4 (29. a3 {is more of an engine move here than a practical one.} Rxf2
30. Bh3 $1 Nc6 31. Be1 Rh2 32. Bh4+ Kc8 33. Bxe6+ Kb7 $11) 29... Bxb4 30. f3 {
This is dubious as White decides to lock his own bishop Instead, 30.Bc6 was a
more active option posing threats on the queen-side. White was probably afraid
of losing both the f2- and e3-pawns, which would lead to forming a pawwed pawn
for Black. However, ...Rxf2 31.Rd7+! Kc8 32.Bxb5 manages to keep the e-pawn
afloat. For example ...Bc5 33.e4 Be3+ 34.Kd1=} Rg8 $1 31. Rh2 $6 {White should
seek some more active options here again, 31.c3! Bc5 32.Bh3 Bxe3+ 33.Kc2 Rg6
34.b4= is equal even though Black is up a pawn; there is no passer or any real
danger on board.} Be1 {A good practical option calling into question white’s
position of the pieces. Better, perhaps, was [ 31...e4 with the sneaky idea:
32.fxe4 Bc5 33.Kd1 Bd6 34.e5 Bxe5  35.Rh5! Bxb2 36.Rxb5 persistently chasing
that bishop despite his own hanging, and after 36...Rg2 37.Rb2 will in all
likelihood peter out to a draw. With little time left, though, many players
would be uneasy to enter this path with White.} 32. Kd1 Bf2 33. Bh3 {33.Bf1
seems better as white grabs the b5 pawn instead of the e6 pawn. 33...Bxe3 34.
Bxb5 Bf4 35.Rh7 Rg2 36.Bd3 and white has the better pawn structure with a mini
advantage here.} Bxe3 34. Bxe6 Rg1+ 35. Ke2 Bf4 36. Rh7 Rg2+ 37. Kd3 Rd2+ 38.
Kc3 {This equal position is more practically difficult for White as, suddenly,
Black starts posing mating net threats to the white king. More aggressive was
38.Ke4!? Rxc2 39.Rd7+ Ke8 40.Kf5, where White would essentially favor his own
initiative over material. Bc1!? Black seeks further pawn grabbing 41.b3! Rc3
42.Kg4 Rc6 43.Kf5= But perhaps this is far from over as these types of
endgames tend to have a lot of hidden fireworks, as we will see in the game.}
a5 39. Bf5 Rd4 $1 {While White's focus had been on defending his pawns, I
aspired to win a much bigger prize. The idea had been overlooked by Eugene,
and of course now mates start lurking in the air.} 40. a3 $1 {Important
defensive resource going against Black's mating nets. 40.b3?? would have been
tragic due to 40...Bc1! with impending checkmate on b4 or hopeless material
loss.} a4 41. b3 {This is still equal objectively, but it is the kind of
position where black is having fun picking the most annoying threats, while
black is walking down a minefield. Interesting was 41.Bd3 c5 42.b4! e4! Black
really has resources here! 43.fxe4 Be5 44.Kd2 c4 45.Rh5! Saving the day in a
very dangerous position. Bf4+ (45...Bf6 46.Rxb5 cxd3 47.cxd3 is a drawn
endgame) 46.Kc3 cxd3! 47.cxd3! Rd6 48.Rxb5 and again, White escapes the
threats and draws.} Bc1 $1 42. Rh8+ {White struggles to come up with
counterplay ideas. Better was 42.bxa4! bxa4 43.Be4 Bxa3 44.Rh8+ Kd7 45.Rh7+
Be7 46.Bf5+ Kd6 47.Rh6+ Kc5 48.Ra6 Kb5 49.Ra8 and it is not easy to make
progress with Black here.} Ke7 43. Rh7+ $4 {White is oblivious to the danger
on the queen-side and misses last resort: 43.bxa4! transitioning into the 42.
bxa4 line with great drawing chances.} Kf6 $19 {Now Black is winning.} 44. Bd3
b4+ $3 {The point of the whole queen-side masquerade.} 45. axb4 a3 46. f4 Bb2+
0-1

[Event "PNWCC FIDE Masters - WOW"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.12.28"]
[Round "6.4"]
[White "Erdene, Baasansuren"]
[Black "He, Anthony Bi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2285"]
[BlackElo "2453"]
[Annotator "Jacek Stopa"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,51,16,13,30,-11,51,47,63,63,54,46,38,38,38,46,45,49,18,13,66,50,63,47,
44,27,37,29,47,46,57,80,101,-22,-15,-7,-33,-24,-31,-122,-122,-122,-140,-140,
-144,-144,-123,-147,-146,-146,-105,-104,-88,-146] Very nice middle game play
here by black showcasing just how deadly the Grunfeld Defense can be if white
mishandles early} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3
Bg7 7. Be3 $5 {A standard Grunfeld line, with 7.Be3 being relatively rare but
definitely playable} c5 8. Rc1 Qa5 {Typical idea threatening 9…cd4. Position
will now simplify into an endgame after a queen trade. These Grunfeld endings
are known to be very tricky. White has the central space and pressure down the
c-file, but black is very active against white’s central pawns and has
potential for good endings later on with 2 pawns against 1 on the queen-side.}
9. Qd2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qxd2+ 11. Bxd2 O-O 12. Nf3 Bg4 13. Be3 Nc6 {Almost every
move by black hits white’s central set-up. White’s goal is to hold on to
his center and if he successfully does that, a small advantage will be secured}
14. d5 Nb4 $5 (14... Bxf3 $5 15. gxf3 Nd4 {is another option for black here.}
16. Rc7 e6 17. dxe6 Nxe6 18. Rxb7 Rab8 $1 {With a nice counterplay for the
sacrificed pawn. The line could then continue:} 19. Rxb8 Rxb8 20. Bd3 Rb2 21.
O-O Rxa2 22. Bc4 $11 {Anthony’s 14th move is an attempt to grab early
initiative and white is now put on the spot}) 15. a3 Na2 16. Rc2 $6 ({White
makes first mistake. Better was} 16. Rc7 Rac8 17. Rxe7 Rfe8 18. Rxe8+ Rxe8 19.
Bd3 Nc3 20. h3 Bd7 21. Nd2 $5 b5 $1 {With counterplay. Black sacrificed a pawn
and is betting on activity and quick queen-side progression of the b-pawn.
Very both-sided play will ensue}) 16... Nc3 17. Nd4 Rfc8 18. f3 (18. Bd3 {
is better inviting the following complications} Nxe4 $5 19. Bxe4 f5 20. Bd3 f4
$1 21. Bxf4 Bxd4 {with a very twisted endgame ahead, slightly favoring black
due to the queen-side 2 against 1 pawns}) 18... Bd7 19. Bd3 $4 {White gives
the game away missing an impending strike. One move too late for this
otherwise logical development resource} Ba4 $1 20. Rc1 {[There is no good
square left for this rook.} Nxd5 $3 {Winning material on the spot. White gets
punished for not completing his development on time} 21. Rxc8+ Rxc8 22. exd5
Bxd4 23. Ke2 Bxe3 24. Kxe3 Bb3 25. Be4 a5 26. d6 exd6 27. Bxb7 Rc2 28. f4 Ra2
29. f5 Rxa3 30. Kf4 Kg7 {Black plays very accurately until the very end} 31. g4
Ra4+ 32. Kg3 gxf5 33. gxf5 Kf6 34. Rf1 Rb4 {White resigns due to black's
overwhelming advantage} 0-1

[Event "Neil Dale Memorial Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.01.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Breckenridge, Steven"]
[Black "Hanna, Mark"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "1516"]
[Annotator "Steven Breckenridge"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2022.01.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,33,28,29,71,3,37,26,88,56,137,145,139,139,156,148,126,72,67,41,33,12,
28,39,40,40,40,45,64,64,76,83,61,-7,-4,-10]} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4.
cxd4 Nc6 $2 5. d5 Nb8 6. Qd4 Nf6 7. e5 Ng8 8. h4 $5 {More provocative than
anything and a little slow/less precise. My idea was to possibly provoke h5
for his g6 to be weakened to win the game after e6 f6} Bg7 9. h5 d6 10. Bf4
dxe5 (10... Nd7 11. Bb5 g5 12. Bg3 Nh6 $17 {is hard to find but the missed
opportunity}) 11. Bxe5 Bxe5 12. Qxe5 Nf6 13. Nc3 Qd6 {trading queens
simplified my advantage, so this was a mistake} 14. Qxd6 exd6 15. hxg6 fxg6 16.
Bd3 O-O 17. Nb5 Re8+ (17... Na6 {was the important defense} 18. Nxd6 Nb4 19.
Bb1 Rd8 $10) 18. Ne2 Nxd5 $4 19. Bc4 Be6 20. Bxd5 Bxd5 21. Nc7 Bxg2 22. Nxe8
Bxh1 23. Nc7 Nc6 24. Nxa8 h5 25. O-O-O Bf3 26. Rd2 d5 27. Nc7 Ne7 28. Ng1 Bh1
29. f3 h4 30. Rh2 {RunStevenRun won by resignation 1-0 White wins. Black
Resigned} 1-0

[Event "Neil Dale Memorial Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.01.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Buckner, Moises"]
[Black "Breckenridge, Steven"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E92"]
[WhiteElo "1311"]
[BlackElo "2306"]
[Annotator "Steven Breckenridge"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2022.01.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,52,19,31,14,1,42,37,37,37,46,46,31,29,64,17,60,17,17,8,29,30,24,9,6,
18,14,-10,21,-13,5,-29,-10,-82,-61,-66,-86,-81,-18,-94,-118,-160,-172,-158,
-169,-163,-155,-183,-177,-177,-185,-180,-167,-234,-150] Though only 1311 USCF,
my opponent had close to an 1800 rapid rating on chess.com and his play was
not too shabby finding precise moves.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O
5. Be2 d6 6. Nf3 e5 7. d5 {known as the Petrosian/Karpov variation which I
normally have some difficulty with against top players online.} Nh5 8. Be3 (8.
g3 {is most common} a5 9. Be3 f5 10. exf5 gxf5 11. Nxe5 f4 12. Bd2 Qe7 13. Bxh5
Bxe5 14. Qe2 f3 15. Qe3 {Is an interesting sequence with slight edge to white})
8... Nf4 9. O-O Nxe2+ 10. Qxe2 f5 {black is now cruising} 11. exf5 gxf5 12. Bg5
Qe8 13. Rfe1 Qg6 14. Bh4 Kh8 15. Ng5 Rg8 16. Ne6 $2 Bxe6 17. dxe6 Qh6 18. g3
Nc6 19. Rac1 Qxe6 20. Nd5 Qf7 21. f3 Nd4 22. Qd3 c6 23. Nc3 d5 {a little hasty,
Raf8 or Qh5 were nicer} 24. cxd5 cxd5 25. Rf1 Qe6 26. Nb5 Qb6 (26... Qa6 {
I missed}) 27. Nxd4 e4 28. fxe4 fxe4 29. Qe2 Raf8 30. Kg2 Qxd4 31. Rc7 Rxf1 32.
Qxf1 Rf8 33. Qb5 e3 {Now it's over, and I put on the clinic} 34. Re7 h5 35. Re8
Qd2+ 36. Kh3 Qf2 37. Rxf8+ Qxf8 38. Qe2 (38. Qxd5 $4 Qf1+ 39. Qg2 e2) 38...
Qf5+ 39. Kg2 d4 40. Qf3 Qe5 41. Qf4 d3 42. Qxe5 Bxe5 43. Kf3 e2 44. Kf2 Bxb2
45. g4 Bd4+ 46. Kf3 hxg4+ 47. Kxg4 d2 {RunStevenRun won by resignation 0-1
Black wins. White resigned. Not bad for a 1300 rated USCF!} 0-1

[Event "Neil Dale Memorial Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.01.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Breckenridge, Steven"]
[Black "Wang, Tony"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "2135"]
[Annotator "Steven Breckenridge"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2022.01.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,59,14,24,40,42,59,29,30,26,27,14,9,19,28,27,50,38,49,37,46,16,46,57,
85,55,70,74,154,142,174,130,130,130,130,131,151,147,168,168,139,91,135,151,355,
436,438,453,478,380,566,575,576,576,593,782,1266,1727,29995,29996,29999,-30000]
I did a bit of preparation the night before playing this game as I knew he was
a Petrov player and wanted to be sure to get something out of the opening. I
was conflicted with two lines to try and ultimately went for the French
exchange Nf3 Nf6 transposition line. My other line was a Nc3 Petrov line I
prepped that I saw could get a decisive advantage from his game history on
chess.com. In our game the surprise for me was his Be7 move, though I also had
some small prep for it, but mostly prepped Bd6 Qe2 Qe7 (or Be6) and Qxe7 Bxe7
Bf4 or Kxe7 (mainline) that I defeated WA Champion Roland Feng in 2016 WA Open.
} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d3 Nf6 6. d4 d5 7. Bd3 Be7 (
7... Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 (9... Bxe7 10. Bf4 c6 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. O-O-O
Re8 13. h3 Nbd7 14. Bh2 {was the beginning of some of my Bxe7 prep}) 10. O-O
Re8 11. Nc3 c6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Rae1+ Be6 14. Bd2 Kf8 15. Ne5 Nbd7 16. f4 Nb6 17.
f5 {was the end of my Kxe7 prep}) 8. h3 {avoiding some potentially annoying
Bg4 lines which I know he would have obliged to} O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. c4 c6 {
a bit too passive, the computer now almost gives me a +1 score from a previous
+.3} 11. Nc3 Nbd7 12. Ne5 {A bit precarious, but very provocative as the risk
payed off for the sequence of a brilliancy} (12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14.
Qb3 {was apparently a more secure +1}) 12... c5 $2 {hard to give this a ?
since it is so natural to try and give black some sort of play} (12... Bd6 13.
f4 c5 {was the best defense}) 13. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 (13... cxd4 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.
Nf3 Ne5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5 $16 17. Qf3 {was a try}) 14. Bxh7+ $1 Kxh7 (14... Kf8 15.
Qh5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nc7 17. Bc2 {is gg}) 15. Nxf7 $1 {The crux of the idea to
distract the queen first from defending the rook on e8} Qb6 16. Qh5+ Kg8 17.
Nh6+ gxh6 18. Qxe8+ Bf8 19. cxd5 cxd4 20. a4 $1 {perhaps the nail in the
coffin as the Rook lift is just a tempo too fast} (20. Re1 {I didn't like} Nc5
21. Re7 Qf6 22. d6 b6 {and didn't see anything concrete though the computer
likes...} 23. Qc6 {and gives +3 instead of 20. a4 for +2.5 but sometimes the
human way produces the fastest result as it was much harder to find a defense
to Ra3!}) 20... Qf6 21. Ra3 Ne5 22. Rg3+ Kh7 23. Re1 Bg7 24. Rxe5 (24. d6 {
was an alternative I was calculating, but there is no need to be fancy since
calculating the game continuation}) 24... Qxe5 25. Qg6+ Kg8 26. Bxh6 Bf5 27.
Qg5 {now you can also see the multipurpose of h3 in the opening!} Re8 28. Bxg7
Qxd5 29. Be5+ (29. Bh8+ {more aesthetic}) 29... Kf7 30. Qf6# {RunStevenRun won
by checkmate 1-0 White wins by checkmate. A nice way to beat two openings in
one! (Petrov and French)} 1-0

[Event "Neil Dale Memorial Open"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.01.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Murray, David"]
[Black "Breckenridge, Steven"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "1902"]
[BlackElo "2306"]
[Annotator "Steven Breckenridge"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2022.01.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,46,40,29,15,24,45,43,44,35,35,-3,-8,1,-10,-5,14,27,28,22,22,25,10,5,
24,22,22,-103,-90,-117,-117,-228,-241,-307,-182,-197,-193,-376,-415,-642,-661,
-637,-648,-863,-845,-1000,-1025,-1029,-1049] I did some small preparation
before this game as I knew he had a Jobava type london system in mind with Nf3
included, but in my humble opinion black should at least equalize rather
comfortably and the ideas can favor black for dynamic central initiative} 1. d4
Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. Nb5 Na6 6. e3 c6 7. Nc3 Qa5 (7... Nc7 {
is an alternative}) 8. Nd2 Nh5 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. Bg5 (10. Be5 {I thought was
important for White} f6 (10... Bxe5 11. dxe5 Nc5 12. Be2 Ng7 {seemed too equal
for my liking}) 11. Bg3 {And white retains a small advantage}) 10... h6 11. Bh4
e5 12. Be2 exd4 13. Nxd4 $2 (13. exd4 Nf4 14. Bg3 $1 (14. Bf3 Ne6 15. O-O Nxd4
16. Bxd5 $1 {keeping white in the game by a tempo} cxd5 17. Re1+ Ne6 18. Nxd5
Qc6 {And computer is floating around equal from this dynamic initiative with
no castling}) 14... Ne6 (14... Nxg2+ 15. Kf1 Bh3 16. Kg1 {should give white
the edge}) 15. O-O O-O (15... Nxd4 16. Bxa6 $14 bxa6 17. Na4 Qb4 18. Nbc5))
13... Qxb2 {white is now busted} 14. Na4 Qa3 15. Bxh5 gxh5 16. c4 b5 17. cxb5
cxb5 18. Nc2 Qxa4 19. Qxd5 Qxh4 20. Qc6+ Kf8 21. Qxa8 Bc3+ 22. Kf1 Qc4+ 23. Kg1
Bxa1 {RunStevenRun won by resignation 0-1 Black wins. White Resigned} 0-1

[Event "Western States Open, Reno, Nevada"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.10.16"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sorokin, Aleksey"]
[Black "Tarjan, Jim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Annotator "Jim Tarjan"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,123,19,31,23,-7,-6,9,4,-17,3,14,14,-5,12,13,15,-1,21,20,24,24,23,-10,
-3,-25,-25,-19,36,-1,30,-8,-5,0,4,3,13,-11,0,4,-1,9,44,-29,-8,-5,11,-14,0,-11,
-8,-8,-6,-3,1,-24,-41,-29,-45,-132,-140,-105,-33,-57,0,0,0,0,-39,-46,0,-102,
-45,-104,0,-103,-99,-101,-88,-107,-142,-209,-191,-148,-138,-155,0,0,31,66,66,
64,95,96,103,137,183,137,187,123,187,187,187,187,188,185,327,185,155,178,174,
174,187,178,221,330,338,323,368,377,1042,1256,1256,1056,1399,1399] In 2021 I
was very happy to find myself again playing chess in what I can't help think
of as "real" tournaments, in a real room, on a real board, and with a real,
physically present opponent. Strange, perhaps, that it should matter, with
something like chess, which seems so well adapted to a virtual world.  I'd
like to share three games from these recent tournaments. To me the first two
are the most interesting games I have played recently. Unfortunately, I lost
both games! I was reluctant for that reason to try to make an article out of
them. But, as all real chessplayers know, losing is part of the game, and the
most educational part. It is generally my losses, including these two, that I
spend the most time with later, rather than merely patting myself on the back,
over and over, after a win.  And, besides, I will mollify my pride by also
including a pleasant victory from the 2021 US Senior.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3
Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O c6 {These two recent loses of mine have three
things in common. Both have very strong, talented, young players handling the
White pieces. Both feature the same opening, the Closed Catalan. And in the
middle game both descend into what were, at least for me at the board,
fascinating but unfathomable complications.} ({More popular among the current
elite of the chess world is the Open Catalan of one sort or another, with
Black at some moment taking on c4. As for example here:} 6... dxc4) 7. Qc2 b6
8. Rd1 a5 9. Nbd2 Bb7 10. e4 Na6 11. e5 Nd7 12. cxd5 cxd5 (12... Nb4 $1 13. Qb1
cxd5 {(as in Wojtazsek vs. Carlsen, World Cup 2021! (The top players do not
always choose the Open Catalan!) The point being, which I didn't see at the
board, that if kicked the Nb4 can go back to the better square c6.} (13... Nxd5
$5 {is also worth considering}) (13... Ba6 $6 {vainly hoping for ...Bd3 is not
a good idea because of} 14. Ne4 {and Neg5 next})) 13. a3 {A French Defense
looking thing, but with both sides' pieces in need of reorganizing.} b5 14. Bf1
Rc8 15. Qb1 Qb6 16. Bd3 f5 {Seemed a good moment to get this in, while White's
queenside is undeveloped.} (16... h6 {is also a possible useful move.}) 17. Nf1
({Despite White's undeveloped queenside, an interesting alternative is to go
ahead and open the game:} 17. exf6 Nxf6 18. Ne5 $1 (18. Re1 {is nicely met by}
Nc5 $1 19. dxc5 Bxc5 20. Rf1 Bxf2+ $1 {and indeed White's lack of development
is a problem}) 18... Qxd4 19. Ndf3 {bringing out the pieces with tempo; White
has plenty of compensation for the pawn.}) 17... b4 18. h4 h6 19. Bd2 Nab8 (
19... Ndb8 $5 {Very challenging to understand exactly where the pieces should
go}) 20. axb4 axb4 21. b3 Nc6 22. Qb2 Ra8 ({The computer plays} 22... g5 $5 {
which is certainly not a move I considered at the board.}) 23. Be3 Ba6 (23...
Ra3 {was my first instinct and likely best, with an edge for Black, but I
talked myself out of it.}) 24. Qe2 Bxd3 25. Qxd3 Ra3 26. Rac1 Rfa8 {Looking at
the position now with fresh eyes, not surprising that after this move, away
from the defense, White thinks to attack on the kingside. Though the computer
remains happy with Black's position. In both of these Catalan games, while I
understood in principle the danger of White's kingside attack, I was all too
willing to walk along a razor's edge of defense. It was the style of my youth;
however, judging at least by these couple of games, it would seem I no longer
quite have the chops to make it work.} (26... Na7) (26... Qa6) 27. h5 Qa6 28.
Qc2 Rc8 {[#]} (28... Na7) 29. g4 {So here it comes, the kingside attack. The
logical consequence of first, the pawn on e5, and second, Black having shifted
his rooks and queen over to the queenside. And yet, the objective truth is
that Black is fine, and that 29.g4 is a mistake. From here on, the positions
become very obscure and difficult: good material for an advanced course in
middle game calculation.  My instinct said that White's attack was not quite
right; my instinct was right but my analytical skills were not up to the task
of proving it.} Na7 30. Qb1 Rxc1 $2 (30... Nb5 $1 {With precise moves, Black
refutes the attack. But he needs the threat of a ...Nc3 forking R and Q, which
he loses by exchanging the rooks first.} 31. Rxc8+ (31. gxf5 Nc3 {wins}) (31.
Bd2 Nc3 32. Bxc3 Rxc3 $1 {attacking the Nf3} 33. Rxc3 bxc3 34. gxf5 (34. Rc1
fxg4 {With the Bd2 gone there is no Qg6}) 34... Qe2 {and Black comes first:
the threat of ...c2 is another reason to leave a White rook on d1.}) 31... Qxc8
32. gxf5 ({I don't remember now exactly what I was calculating; possibly I
misjudged the position after} 32. Rc1 Nc3 $1 {At the moment, this N is pinned
to Black's queen, but that turns out not to matter} 33. gxf5 (33. Qd3 fxg4 34.
N3h2 Qe8 $1 {breaking the pin and attacking the p on h5; with b3 falling and
no attack or other meaningful play, White is busted.}) 33... Qa6 $1 {Ideally
one would have seen this back on move 30; I'm sure there are players who could
do it.} {The point not being to win an exchange, but rather White's queen after
} 34. Qc2 Ra2) 32... Nc3 33. Qc2 Ra2 $1 34. Qd3 Nxd1 35. Qxd1 {Starting from
30. ...Nb5!, this is the best White can get to; but he is an exchange down,
with nothing real to show for it.} {The practical move for Black would be} Qc2
{trading queens.}) ({I saw that} 30... fxg4 {is dangerously met by} 31. Qg6 {
but then I missed the same concept down the road.}) 31. Rxc1 Nb5 32. Bd2 fxg4
33. Qg6 {I overlooked Qxg4 next} Nf8 34. Qxg4 {[#] White has created strong
threats on the kingside, without sacrificing any material. But the game is far
from over; b3 is weak, all Black's pieces play; Black can defend against the
immediate threats. As so often, my computer blithely calls the chances "equal".
} Kh8 {Which square for the king?} (34... Kh7 35. Nh4 Bxh4 $1 {of course,
eliminating the dangerous piece} 36. Bxb4 $1 {but this is complicated and just
the sort of thing my old mind cannot register} Rxb3 37. Bxf8 Bg5 $1 {"equal"} {
because if} 38. f4 $2 Nxd4 $1 39. fxg5 Ne2+ 40. Kg2 Nxc1 {Black wins} 41. gxh6
Qe2+ {The computer spits out these lines, showing us to be the monkeys we are.}
) 35. Nh4 Nc3 (35... Rxb3 36. Ng6+ Nxg6 37. hxg6 $16) (35... Bxh4 $1 $11) 36.
Ng6+ Nxg6 37. hxg6 Rxb3 {[#]} 38. Ng3 {[#]} ({Whatever else we did wrong in
this game, Sorokin and I both handled the clock well. He had the time, took a
long think, but missed:} 38. Bxh6 $3 gxh6 (38... Ne2+ $2 39. Qxe2) 39. Rxc3 $3
{the point of the previous move, needed to make Qf4 possible} Rb1 (39... bxc3
40. Qf4 {mates!}) 40. Kh2 $3 Rxf1 (40... Qxf1 41. g7+ Kg8 42. Rc8+) 41. Rf3 ({
or} 41. g7+ Kg8 42. Rf3 {also wins:} Bg5 43. Qh5 Qa7 44. Qe8+ Kxg7 45. Qf8+ Kg6
46. Kg2 $3 {yet another incredible only move to win}) 41... Qc8 42. Kg2 ({or} 
42. Rf7 {Deep Fritz in action: White mates})) 38... Qc8 39. Nh5 Rb2 40. Bxc3
bxc3 41. Qf3 c2 42. Kg2 {I made the time control, relaxed, and hoped I would
stand well... but it remains not the simplest of positions. Black has an extra
passed pawn to his credit, but to his serious debit is his trapped back rank
king and the weak e pawn; the position still hangs by that razor's edge.} Bb4 (
{Black must see something very clever:} 42... Qe8 $1 43. Qd3 {And now it looks
like Black is losing his trump, the c pawn, or going back with the queen to c8.
But there is what used to be called a "problem move"; now we would call it a
"computer move":} (43. Qf7 Qxf7 44. gxf7 g5 $1 $19) 43... Ra2 $1 $17 {the
lovely point being if 44.Rxc2 Ra3! driving White's queen from the defense of
g6. Which I needed to see to save this game. Or even win it.  So 43. ...Ra2!
saves the c pawn, but Black needs more: a plan to progress. 44. ...Ba3? is not
it, because the B takes away the square the rook needs and so White can just
take on c2. Progress is provided by 44. ...Bb4! With more lovely geometry: 45.
...Ra3! 46.Qxc2 Rc3, trading on c1 and finally taking on g6 with the queen.}
44. f4 $1 {the best try, with f5 next} (44. Nf4 Bg5) (44. Kh2 Qa4 $1 45. Qf3
Qxd4 46. Qf7 Qxe5+ {Black is winning} 47. Kg2 Qg5+ ({or} 47... Ra8) 48. Ng3 Qf6
) 44... Bb4 $1 {only winning move: now as I pointed out above the idea is 45. .
..Ra3 46.Qxc2 Rc3} (44... Qc8 $2 45. Qb3 Ba3 46. Qxa2 Bxc1 47. Qa7 $1 Qg8 48.
Qc7 {and taking the c pawn; Black's bishop gets the d pawn but even a pawn
down White is the one with the chances.}) 45. f5 (45. Rxc2 Ra3 $1 46. Nxg7 Qd7
$1) 45... exf5 {Black is winning by the barest of margins} 46. Qxf5 (46. Nf4
Qc8 ({or} 46... Qd8 $1 47. Rxc2 (47. Qxf5 Ba3 48. Rxc2 (48. Ne6 Qc8 49. Qf7 Qg8
) 48... Qg5+ 49. Qxg5 Rxc2+) 47... Qg5+ 48. Kh1 Ra1+)) 46... Qf8 $1 47. Nf6 (
47. Qf7 Qxf7 48. gxf7 g6 {Black wins: ...Ba3 wins White's rook before White
can do something with his N and advanced pawns}) 47... Be7 $1 $19) 43. Qf7 {
Already Black is struggling, and any possible defence would be problem-like,
or should I say, computer-like} Qg8 (43... Bf8 44. Nf6 Ba3 45. Rh1 c1=Q 46.
Rxc1 Rxf2+ 47. Kxf2 Bxc1 48. Qe8+ $16) (43... Qf8 $1 {apparently holds} 44. Qc7
(44. Nf4 Qg8 $1 {"equal"?!}) (44. Qxe6 Bd2 45. Qf7 Qg8 $1 46. Nf6 $11) 44...
Rb3 $1 {unlike in the game, Black's queen is active with ...Qf3+} 45. Rxc2 Qf3+
46. Kg1 Bf8 $1 47. Ng3 Qg4 $1 $17) 44. Qc7 $18 Ra2 45. Rxc2 Ba5 46. Qc8 Rxc2
47. Qxc2 Bb6 {I managed to manuever my B around to where it attacks d4. But in
the long run, and in the hands of Sorokin, it doesn't matter. The smoke has
cleared, and with the pawn on c2 gone, Black's back rank weakness, trapped K,
weak e6 pawn, and dangling bishop, I am doomed.} 48. Qb2 Ba7 49. Nf4 Qf8 50.
Qc2 Qe8 51. Qc3 Kg8 52. Kf3 Qd7 53. Ke3 Kf8 54. Qa3+ Ke8 55. Qa6 Ke7 56. Nxe6
Qxe6 57. Qxa7+ Kf8 58. Qb8+ Ke7 59. Qc7+ Qd7 60. Qxd7+ Kxd7 61. Kf4 Ke6 62. Kg4
1-0

[Event "PNWCC Artist Point, Redmond, Washington"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.09.05"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Lee, Michael"]
[Black "Tarjan, Jim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E06"]
[Annotator "Jim Tarjan"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,85,19,29,23,-8,-8,-14,11,16,27,-8,7,7,41,13,23,10,12,4,29,10,14,20,14,
17,25,3,19,12,22,-8,-2,2,-6,-13,-17,-39,-51,-96,-52,-65,-64,-31,22,0,-14,-8,21,
28,28,-87,-47,-412,-337,-422,-404,-456,-328,-369,-369,-350,-376,-392,-381,-358,
-367,-388,-391,-391,-413,-412,-343,-329,-226,-199,0,0,43,41,41,65,466,450,515,
523,29995,29996]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. d4 c6
7. Qc2 b6 8. Nbd2 a5 9. e4 Na6 {I had thought that this was the way I had
played this before, but in fact my prior games had ...Nbd7 (Ghazarian,
Stembuliak, Leiva). This position is already new in the database. (Or was when
it was played: now I see this game in my Mega Database 2022, as well as one
blitz game.) It makes a certain sense to leave d7 for the other N, and then
this one if need be can go to c7.} 10. e5 Nd7 11. b3 Bb7 (11... c5 {Black
could already play ...c5 but it is not necessarily to Black's advantage who
remains with less space and my plan was to develop and wait}) 12. Bb2 Ra7 {
My play in these positions is inspired by the games of the Canadian GM Anton
Kovalyov.} 13. Rac1 Qa8 14. h4 h6 15. cxd5 Nb4 {I mentioned this possible
maneuver in the last game.} 16. Qb1 Nxd5 {And this time Black is playing it
with the N on d5.} 17. Ne4 a4 {For what it is worth, my computer's assessment
has already shifted from the expected "slightly better for white" to "Black
has an edge".} 18. Nh2 {For White the logical, and perhaps only dangerous plan
is to play for mate.} c5 {Again the computer validates my timing: logical to
make the break in the center at the moment when White removes his N towards
the kingside. But now Black is walking on that razor's edge, because 18. ...
c5, while activating Black's B and Q on the long diagonal, also, crucially,
enables White's dormant bishop on b2 to participate in the mating attack.} (
18... Rd8 19. Ng4 Bf8 {This is no doubt the practical way to play the position.
The B on f8 prevents White's main dangerous sacrificial idea involving a Ngxh6
(after Nef6) as in the game. Waiting to play ...c5, Black does not stand
better but it is not clear he is appreciably worse, either.}) (18... a3 {
A difficult decision: to push ...a3, to open the a file with ...axb3, or to
wait and keep the option of both. One point of ...a3 would be to deactivate
the Bb2 even further on a1: soon we will see a Bc1 move playing a role. If I
had this position again I would play ...a3, especially if it forced the bishop
to a1. Opening the a file and "activating" the Ra7 has no meaningful effect,
whereas the bishop is certainly awkward on a1, and the formation with the
White a2 vs. Black a3 pawns may well be great for Black when the game is
opened later.} 19. Bc3 {Another difficult question: 18. ...a3 doesn't make
much sense if White can respond 18.Bc3, but it was my instinct (and the
computer's as well) that the bishop is in the way on c3, or Black can even
trade} Nxc3) 19. h5 Rd8 {Trying to make sense of this position using the
computer is very confusing; lost in a welter of complications.} ({Here, the
computer likes} 19... Nb4 $5 {which to my eyes looks to move one piece too
many away from the kingside.} {With the follow-up analysis} 20. dxc5 axb3 21.
axb3 Nxc5 22. Nf6+ gxf6 23. Bxb7 Qxb7 24. exf6 Bd6 25. Rc4 {At the end of
which, the computer's evaluation "Black is slightly better" seems hardly
relevant down in my human world.}) 20. Ng4 axb3 21. axb3 Nb4 $2 {This really
steps into it.} ({Again,} 21... Bf8 $11 {is the practical move.}) 22. dxc5 {
Certainly looks right, bringing the Bb2 into the attack} (22. Nef6+ Bxf6 (22...
gxf6 23. Nxh6+ Kg7 24. Nxf7 f5 25. Bxb7 Rxb7 26. Nxd8 Qxd8 27. Rfd1) 23. Bxb7
Qxb7 24. exf6 Qf3 {The tactics end in evaluations somewhere around equal})
22... Nxc5 $2 {[#] But the question marks are only after the fact in the post
mortem, because at the board Lee could not work out the right way} (22... bxc5
23. Nef6+ gxf6 24. Nxh6+ Kg7 25. Nxf7 f5 26. Bxb7 Qxb7 27. Nxd8 Bxd8 $14) 23.
Nef6+ gxf6 ({Too late now for} 23... Bxf6 24. Bxb7 Qxb7 25. exf6 {White wins})
24. Nxh6+ Kg7 25. Bxb7 $2 (25. exf6+ $1 Bxf6 (25... Kxh6 26. fxe7 $18) 26. Ng4
$3 $18 {rather than sacrifices on f7 which I did see are less effective} Bd4 {
Only hope but White's attack is too strong here} 27. Bxb7 (27. h6+ Kf8 28. h7 {
is another way} Ke7 29. Bxb7 Rxb7 30. Rc4 $1) 27... Qxb7 28. Rc4 $1) 25... Qxb7
26. Nf5+ $2 ({Same idea of 26. exf6+ is right here as well, but less
overwhelming than on the prior move:} 26. exf6+ Kxh6 $1 {Because now Black has
this} (26... Bxf6 $2 27. Ng4 $1) {It looks good for Black, but:} 27. Rxc5 $3
Bxf6 $1 (27... Bxc5 28. Bc1+ {forces mate}) 28. Bxf6 bxc5 29. Bxd8 {Better for
White but Black can fight after} Qd5) (26. Nxf7 {is possible} {but} Rd3 $1 $15
({I was going to play} 26... f5 $14)) 26... exf5 27. Qxf5 {[#]} Kh8 $1 $19 {
Black is two knights ahead and the game "should" be over.} 28. e6 Nxe6 {
the clearest} (28... Rd5 29. Bxf6+ Bxf6 30. Qxf6+ Kh7 31. Rc4 Nbd3) 29. Bxf6+
Bxf6 30. Qxf6+ Kg8 31. Rc4 Nd5 32. Rg4+ (32. Qh6 Ng7 33. Rg4 f5) 32... Kf8 33.
Qh6+ Ke7 34. Re1 Kd6 35. Qd2 {[#]} Kc7 $2 {Here it starts to go terribly wrong.
The king is actually best on d6. In some sense it is "castled" nicely out on
d6. The knights protect all the squares, and there are no white pawns left in
the center to break things up. But my old brain simply could not wrap itself
around the position. I still had time on my clock. All I could think of was to
put my king back in a normal position in the corner, and then I would win. But
back on the 7th or 8th rank my king gets in the way of my major pieces.  Some
sort of lesson here about chess talent, the ability to look at any position
and instinctively see where all the pieces should go to work perfectly with
each other.} ({The right move is pretty, and instructive:} 35... Qa8 $1 {
Corner to corner, eyeing a1, h8, and even a later mate on h1.}) (35... Qe7 {
and ...Qf6 neutralizing the h pawn should also do the trick.}) 36. h6 Raa8 $2 (
{Not too late for} 36... Qa8 $1) ({or} 36... Ra5 37. h7 Qa8) 37. h7 Rh8 $2 ({
Already Black must find difficult moves to keep the advantage:} 37... Rac8 $1)
38. Rxe6 $1 $11 {Now I needed to regroup just to hold a draw, but I was gone
by this point, and fated to lose this game. Of course it bears pointing out
that Lee, after missing a win in the really complicated part a few moves
earlier, did not despair, kept his head, and was rewarded.} Ra1+ (38... fxe6
39. Rg7+ Kb8 $11) 39. Re1 Rxe1+ 40. Qxe1 Rxh7 $2 (40... Kd6 $1 $11) 41. Qe5+
$18 Kc6 42. Rc4+ Kb5 43. Qe8+ 1-0

[Event "US Senior, St. Louis, Missouri"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2021.07.24"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shabalov, Alex"]
[Black "Tarjan, Jim"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C84"]
[Annotator "Jim Tarjan"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,76,19,38,25,16,14,23,25,0,4,0,9,-2,20,17,18,18,19,14,23,0,33,-9,-8,1,
3,-6,-11,-26,-22,-18,-24,-24,-29,-16,-40,-17,-39,-29,10,2,16,23,18,0,22,8,4,14,
-9,-12,-15,-27,-18,-18,-14,-34,-28,-69,-76,-64,-63,-71,-8,-63,-43,-105,-93,
-172,-162,-162,-161,-144,-192,-470,-213,-364,-351]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 b5 7. Bb3 d6 {A relatively new try in this
ancient position. White develops a piece, albeit to a relatively unimpressive
square, at the same time preventing ...Na5.} 8. Bd2 O-O 9. h3 h6 10. Re1 Re8
11. a3 Be6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 {First I put my R on the e file, then I block the
file with doubled pawns! But not as pointless a manuever as it might appear.
After a later ...d5 the rook is useful protecting e6, and, indirectly, e5. The
center squares are very important.} 13. c3 {Up until now, small but arguably
useful moves have been played by both sides. However, this 13.c3 strikes me as
inconsistent.} (13. Nc3) ({or} 13. b4 {and on} Bf8 14. c4 {followed by Nc3
behind the c pawn}) 13... d5 {This involves a possible sacrifice of the e pawn,
but, considering White's undeveloped queenside, it did not take precise
calculation to convince me.} 14. exd5 Qxd5 15. Qe2 Rad8 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Qxe5
Qxd3 18. a4 ({On my opponent's time I was busy trying to calculate just
exactly how to play if he took the pawn, but it did not surprise me that he
refused the offer.} 18. Qxe6+ Kh7 19. Qe2 Qc2 {is very sad for White.}) 18...
Bd6 (18... Qc2 $5) 19. Qe2 Qxe2 20. Rxe2 Nd5 21. Na3 Rb8 22. axb5 axb5 {
An even position. Black has the isolated e pawn, but very nice active pieces
to make up for it.} 23. Nc2 Ra8 24. Rae1 (24. Rxa8 Rxa8 25. Rxe6 {does not win
a pawn:} Ra2 26. Bc1 Nxc3) 24... Ra2 25. Bc1 Bc5 26. Kf1 Kf7 27. Rd1 c6 28. Ke1
Re7 {[#]} {Other players not named Shabalov would aim here to steer the game
towards a draw. Instead, true to his aggressive style, the four-time US
Champion sends his rook on an adventure.} 29. Rd3 $6 e5 30. Rf3+ Ke8 31. Rf5 e4
32. Rh5 Bd6 33. Rh4 $2 {[#]} (33. Kd1 {should be played}) 33... e3 $1 {The
pawn cannot be happily captured any which way.} 34. Bxe3 ({The best hope is} 
34. Kf1 exf2 35. Rxe7+ Bxe7 36. Re4 {though Black retains the advantage after
for example} Kd7 37. c4 Nf6 38. Re2 bxc4 39. Kxf2) 34... Rxb2 35. Kd2 Be5 36.
c4 Bf6 37. Rh5 Nxe3 38. fxe3 b4 0-1

[Event "Washington Class-ch Master/Expert"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2006.11.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Lee, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2241"]
[BlackElo "2163"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r6k/p4qb1/Pp6/3p1r1p/3n1pR1/8/1P1B1PBP/R2Q2K1 w - - 0 29"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2006.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

29. Rxg7 $1 Kxg7 (29... Qxg7 30. Bc3 Rg5 31. Kh1 $18) 30. Bc3 Kh7 31. Qxd4 $18
Rg8 32. Kh1 f3 33. Bh3 Rfg5 34. Re1 Qg6 35. Qd1 Qf7 36. Be6 Rg1+ 37. Rxg1 1-0

[Event "Washington Class-ch Master/Expert"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2006.11.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Lee, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2241"]
[BlackElo "2163"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2006.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O e6 7. Re1 Nge7 8. c3
O-O 9. Nbd2 f5 10. exf5 gxf5 11. a4 e5 12. Nc4 h6 13. a5 Be6 14. Qa4 Qc7 15. a6
b6 16. Na3 d5 17. Qh4 f4 18. d4 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nf5 20. Qh5 Ncxd4 21. Nxd4 Nxd4
22. gxf4 Rf5 23. Qd1 exf4 24. Nb5 Nxb5 25. Rxe6 Nd4 26. Rg6 Qf7 27. Rg4 Kh8 28.
Bd2 h5 29. Rxg7 Kxg7 30. Bc3 Kh7 31. Qxd4 Rg8 32. Kh1 f3 33. Bh3 Rfg5 34. Re1
Qg6 35. Qd1 Qf7 36. Be6 Rg1+ 37. Rxg1 1-0

[Event "WA Championship 2007"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2007.02.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Readey, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2239"]
[BlackElo "2336"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4k2/pp3pbB/2pr3q/7p/Pn3Nb1/2N3Q1/1PP5/1K2RR2 w - - 0 27"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "2007.02.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

27. Ng6+ $1 Rxg6 (27... Qxg6 28. Bxg6 Rxg6 29. Qc7 $18) 28. Rxf7+ $1 Kxf7 29.
Qc7+ Kf6 30. Qe5+ Kf7 31. Qe7# 1-0

[Event "WA Championship 2007"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2007.02.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Readey, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2239"]
[BlackElo "2336"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2007.02.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f3 c6 5. a4 Bg7 6. Be3 O-O 7. Qd2 e5 8. O-O-O
Qa5 9. h4 h5 10. g4 hxg4 11. h5 gxh5 12. dxe5 Qxe5 13. Bf4 Qa5 14. Bxd6 Rd8 15.
e5 Ne8 16. Bd3 Nxd6 17. exd6 Na6 18. Nge2 gxf3 19. Nf4 Bg4 20. Rdg1 f2 21. Qxf2
Rxd6 22. Qg3 Qe5 23. Kb1 Nb4 24. Re1 Qf6 25. Bh7+ Kf8 26. Rhf1 Qh6 27. Ng6+
Rxg6 28. Rxf7+ Kxf7 29. Qc7+ Kf6 30. Qe5+ Kf7 31. Qe7# 1-0

[Event "WA Championship 2007"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2007.02.19"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Pupols, Viktors"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C99"]
[WhiteElo "2239"]
[BlackElo "2237"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r2n3/3b3k/1q1p1b2/1p1Pp1pp/pP2Pp2/P1NB1N1P/2R1QPP1/4K3 w - - 0 47"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2007.02.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

47. Nxg5+ $1 Kh6 (47... Bxg5 48. Qxh5+ Bh6 49. Qf7+ $18) 48. Ne6 Ng7 49. Nxg7
Bxg7 50. Kd1 Bf6 51. Kc1 Bg5 52. Kb1 h4 53. Qf3 Be8 54. Be2 Qd8 55. Nd1 Rc8 56.
Qg4 Rxc2 57. Qe6+ Bg6 58. Kxc2 f3 59. gxf3 Qc7+ 60. Nc3 Qb6 61. Qd7 Qd4 62. Qc6
Qd2+ 63. Kb1 Qc1+ 64. Ka2 Qc2+ 65. Ka1 Qc1+ 66. Nb1 Qe1 67. Qxb5 Qxf2 68. Qd3
Be3 69. Kb2 Bd4+ 70. Kc2 Be8 71. Nc3 Bd7 72. Qd2+ Kg6 73. Nb5 Bxh3 74. Nxd4
Qxd4 75. Qxd4 exd4 76. b5 Kg5 77. b6 Bc8 78. Bf1 Kf4 79. Bh3 Ba6 80. Kd2 Ke5
81. Bf1 Bc8 82. Ke1 Kf4 83. Kf2 Ke5 84. Bb5 Kf4 85. Bxa4 d3 86. Bd1 h3 87. a4
Ba6 88. Bb3 d2 89. e5 Kxe5 90. Kg3 Kd4 91. Kxh3 Bc4 92. Bd1 Bxd5 93. a5 Kc5 94.
Be2 Kc6 95. f4 Kb7 96. f5 Bb3 97. f6 1-0

[Event "WA Championship 2007"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2007.02.19"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Pupols, Viktors"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C99"]
[WhiteElo "2239"]
[BlackElo "2237"]
[PlyCount "193"]
[EventDate "2007.02.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3
d6 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Nc6 14. d5 Nb4 15.
Bb1 a5 16. a3 Na6 17. b4 Bd7 18. Qb3 Rac8 19. Bb2 a4 20. Qd1 g6 21. Nf1 Nh5 22.
Bc1 Ng7 23. Ng3 Qb7 24. Bh6 Nc7 25. Ra2 Nce8 26. Bd3 Nf6 27. Rc2 Rxc2 28. Qxc2
Rc8 29. Qd2 Nfe8 30. Rc1 Rb8 31. Rc3 Bd8 32. Kh2 Bb6 33. Qe2 Qa7 34. Rc2 f5 35.
Ng5 f4 36. Nf1 Bd8 37. Nd2 Qb6 38. Nb1 Bf6 39. Nc3 Qd8 40. Nf3 Nc7 41. Bxg7
Kxg7 42. Qd1 Ne8 43. Kg1 h5 44. Qe2 Qb6 45. Kf1 Kh7 46. Ke1 g5 47. Nxg5+ Kh6
48. Ne6 Ng7 49. Nxg7 Bxg7 50. Kd1 Bf6 51. Kc1 Bg5 52. Kb1 h4 53. Qf3 Be8 54.
Be2 Qd8 55. Nd1 Rc8 56. Qg4 Rxc2 57. Qe6+ Bg6 58. Kxc2 f3 59. gxf3 Qc7+ 60. Nc3
Qb6 61. Qd7 Qd4 62. Qc6 Qd2+ 63. Kb1 Qc1+ 64. Ka2 Qc2+ 65. Ka1 Qc1+ 66. Nb1 Qe1
67. Qxb5 Qxf2 68. Qd3 Be3 69. Kb2 Bd4+ 70. Kc2 Be8 71. Nc3 Bd7 72. Qd2+ Kg6 73.
Nb5 Bxh3 74. Nxd4 Qxd4 75. Qxd4 exd4 76. b5 Kg5 77. b6 Bc8 78. Bf1 Kf4 79. Bh3
Ba6 80. Kd2 Ke5 81. Bf1 Bc8 82. Ke1 Kf4 83. Kf2 Ke5 84. Bb5 Kf4 85. Bxa4 d3 86.
Bd1 h3 87. a4 Ba6 88. Bb3 d2 89. e5 Kxe5 90. Kg3 Kd4 91. Kxh3 Bc4 92. Bd1 Bxd5
93. a5 Kc5 94. Be2 Kc6 95. f4 Kb7 96. f5 Bb3 97. f6 1-0

[Event "Washington State-ch"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2008.02.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Guo, Alex"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B24"]
[BlackElo "2260"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3bk/p5bp/3p4/1p2Pp2/qP1B4/P2P1NPP/1Rr1R2K/Q7 b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

32... Rc1 $1 33. Rb1 Qd1 $1 34. Rxc1 Qxe2+ (34... Rxc1 35. Qb2 Qh1#) 35. Kg1
Rxc1+ 36. Qxc1 Qxf3 37. Bf2 dxe5 38. Qc5 Qd1+ 39. Kg2 Qxd3 40. Qxa7 h6 0-1

[Event "Washington State-ch"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2008.02.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Guo, Alex"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B24"]
[BlackElo "2260"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. e4 g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 c5 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Nge2 O-O 7. O-O Rb8 8. Be3
d6 9. Qc1 Ng4 10. Bd2 Nd4 11. h3 Ne5 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. Ne2 Qb6 14. Rb1 Be6 15.
f4 Nc6 16. a3 f5 17. Kh2 Rbc8 18. b4 Qb5 19. Ng1 Rc7 20. Rb2 Rfc8 21. Qa1 Qa4
22. exf5 gxf5 23. Nf3 Kh8 24. Rf2 b5 25. Re2 Nd8 26. Be1 Bg8 27. Bf2 Nc6 28.
Nh4 e6 29. Bxc6 Rxc6 30. Nf3 Rxc2 31. Bxd4 e5 32. fxe5 Rc1 33. Rb1 Qd1 34. Rxc1
Qxe2+ 35. Kg1 Rxc1+ 36. Qxc1 Qxf3 37. Bf2 dxe5 38. Qc5 Qd1+ 39. Kg2 Qxd3 40.
Qxa7 h6 0-1

[Event "WA Championship 2008"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2008.02.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Readey, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2280"]
[BlackElo "2325"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/pn2Bpb1/2r1p1p1/3p2P1/3P1N2/1Prb1P1R/3K4/7R w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

38. Bf6 $3 Rc2+ (38... Kf8 39. Rh8+) (38... Bxf6 39. gxf6 Rc2+ 40. Ke3) 39. Ke3
$1 Nd6 40. Rh8+ 1-0

[Event "WA Championship 2008"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2008.02.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Readey, John"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2280"]
[BlackElo "2325"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f3 c6 5. a4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nbd7 7. Qd2 Qa5 8. Bc4
d5 9. exd5 Nb6 10. Bb3 Nbxd5 11. Nxd5 Qxd2+ 12. Bxd2 cxd5 13. O-O-O O-O 14. Ne2
b6 15. Nf4 e6 16. h4 Ba6 17. h5 Rfc8 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. c3 Ne8 20. Kb1 Nd6 21.
Rh3 b5 22. axb5 Bxb5 23. Rdh1 Rab8 24. Bc2 Nc4 25. Bc1 Be8 26. b3 Nd6 27. Bb2
Nb5 28. Ne2 Rb6 29. g4 Rcb8 30. Kc1 Nd6 31. Ba3 Ra6 32. Bc5 Bb5 33. Nf4 Nb7 34.
Be7 Rc8 35. g5 Rxc3 36. Kd2 Rac6 37. Bd3 Bxd3 38. Bf6 Rc2+ 39. Ke3 Nd6 40. Rh8+
1-0

[Event "Washington op"]
[Site "Redmond"]
[Date "2008.05.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Pupols, Viktors"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C13"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "2204"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r1n2/p4pkp/2p1p2R/2p3P1/3r1q2/7Q/PPB5/1K5R w - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

32. Rxh7+ $1 Nxh7 33. Qh6+ $1 (33. Qxh7+ $2 Kf8 34. Qh8+ Ke7 $19) 33... Kg8 34.
Bxh7+ 1-0

[Event "Washington op"]
[Site "Redmond"]
[Date "2008.05.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Pupols, Viktors"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C13"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "2204"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2008.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Nf3 O-O 8.
Qd2 b6 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. Bd3 Nd7 11. Qf4 Qb8 12. Nfg5 Bxe4 13. Bxe4 Bxg5 14.
Qxg5 Qd8 15. h4 Rc8 16. Qe3 Qe7 17. f4 Rfd8 18. g4 Nf6 19. Bf3 Qd6 20. c4 c6
21. g5 Nd7 22. h5 Nf8 23. Kb1 Qb4 24. h6 Qd6 25. c5 Qe7 26. hxg7 Kxg7 27. Rh6
bxc5 28. Be4 Rxd4 29. Rdh1 Qd6 30. Bc2 Qxf4 31. Qh3 Rcd8 32. Rxh7+ Nxh7 33.
Qh6+ Kg8 34. Bxh7+ 1-0

[Event "WA Championship"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2012.02.11"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kelley, Dereque"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "3r2k1/p4p1p/6p1/6P1/4N1R1/Pn3P2/KPQ5/5q2 b - - 0 44"]
[PlyCount "5"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

44... Rd3 $1 45. Qxb3 (45. Nc3 Nc1+ 46. Ka1 Rd2 47. Qb1 Rh2 $19) (45. Qc8+ Kg7
46. Nc3 Nc1+ 47. Ka1 Ne2+ 48. Nb1 Rd1 49. Qc2 Nd4 $19) 45... Rxb3 46. Nd2 Rxa3+
0-1

[Event "WA Championship"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2012.02.11"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kelley, Dereque"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 Nbd7 7. e5 Ne8 8. Be3
c5 9. exd6 Nxd6 10. g4 cxd4 11. Bxd4 e5 12. Be3 e4 13. Qxd6 exf3 14. O-O-O Qa5
15. Rd5 Qd8 16. g5 Qe8 17. Bd4 Qe1+ 18. Nd1 Re8 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qf4 Nb6 21.
Rd8 Bf5 22. Rxa8 Nxa8 23. Qxf3 Be4 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. Bg2 Qe2 26. Bxe4 Qxe4 27.
Rg1 Qxc4+ 28. Kb1 Nb6 29. Qc3 Qe4+ 30. Qc2 Qe6 31. Rg4 Nd5 32. f3 Rc8 33. Qd3
Qc6 34. a3 Nf4 35. Qe4 Qc1+ 36. Ka2 Nxh3 37. Qxb7 Rf8 38. Qd5 Nf4 39. Qb3 Rd8
40. Nc3 Nd3 41. Ne4 Qf1 42. Qc2 Nc1+ 43. Kb1 Nb3+ 44. Ka2 Rd3 45. Qxb3 Rxb3 46.
Nd2 Rxa3+ 0-1

[Event "Washington Class-ch Master"]
[Site "Redmond"]
[Date "2012.11.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Greninger, Harley"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E83"]
[WhiteElo "2198"]
[BlackElo "2273"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1r2r1k1/3b1pbp/p4np1/q1pP4/2P2B2/2N2P2/PP1Q2PP/2KR1B1R b - - 0 18"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

18... Rxb2 $6 {A chess bluff, but a tough one to refute!} 19. Qxb2 Nxd5 20.
cxd5 Bxc3 21. Qf2 $4 (21. Qb3 $1 Ba4 (21... c4 22. Bxc4 Rc8 23. Rd3 $18 {
and Black's attack seems to run out.}) 22. Bc7 $1 $18) 21... Qa3+ 22. Kb1 Qb4+
23. Kc1 Qxf4+ 24. Kc2 Ba4+ 25. Kxc3 Qb4+ 26. Kd3 Qa3+ 0-1

[Event "Washington Class-ch Master"]
[Site "Redmond"]
[Date "2012.11.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Greninger, Harley"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E83"]
[WhiteElo "2198"]
[BlackElo "2273"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Be3 Nc6 7. Qd2 Re8 8. Nge2
Rb8 9. Nc1 e5 10. Nb3 exd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 c5 13. Be3 b5 14. Nxb5 d5 15.
O-O-O Bd7 16. exd5 a6 17. Nc3 Qa5 18. Bf4 Rxb2 19. Qxb2 Nxd5 20. cxd5 Bxc3 21.
Qf2 Qa3+ 22. Kb1 Qb4+ 23. Kc1 Qxf4+ 24. Kc2 Ba4+ 25. Kxc3 Qb4+ 26. Kd3 Qa3+ 0-1

[Event "WA Championship"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2014.02.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Feng, Roland"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r4rk1/4p3/3p3p/2pP2pQ/1n2q3/2P4P/P4PPB/R5KR b - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "9"]
[EventDate "14.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,9,-667,-194,-29993,-740,-749,-749,-758,-789,-29979,-29980]} 23... Rxf2
$1 (23... Rxa2 $1 {was also strong}) 24. Kxf2 (24. Qg4 Qxg4 25. hxg4 Raxa2 26.
Rxa2 Rxa2 27. cxb4 (27. Bxd6 Ra1+ 28. Kh2 Rxh1+ 29. Kxh1 exd6 30. cxb4 cxb4 $19
) 27... Ra1+ $19) 24... Nd3+ 25. Kf1 (25. Kg1 Qe3+ 26. Kf1 Qf2#) 25... Rf8+ 26.
Bf4 Nxf4 27. Qg4 Nxh3+ 0-1

[Event "WA Championship"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2014.02.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Feng, Roland"]
[Black "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "14.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,54,25,26,34,0,27,20,23,46,32,25,7,-1,10,-26,51,61,46,27,22,19,34,42,
34,-1,1,-22,-11,-81,-86,-77,-95,-105,-73,-105,-27,-52,-59,-97,-122,-102,-175,
-333,-323,-323,-377,-672,-299,-29993,-794,-794,-813,-813,-813,-29979,-29980]} 
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 c5 7. d5 b5 8. cxb5
a6 9. bxa6 Bxa6 10. e4 Bxf1 11. Kxf1 d6 12. h3 Qb6 13. Qc2 Na6 14. Nd2 Nb4 15.
Qb3 g5 16. Bg3 Nh5 17. Bh2 f5 18. exf5 Qa6+ 19. Kg1 Qd3 20. Qd1 Qxf5 21. Nde4
Bxc3 22. bxc3 Qxe4 23. Qxh5 Rxf2 24. Kxf2 Nd3+ 25. Kf1 Rf8+ 26. Bf4 Nxf4 27.
Qg4 Nxh3+ 0-1

[Event "2022 Washington Junior Closed"]
[Site "Redmond"]
[Date "2022.01.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Deshpande, Aaryan"]
[Black "Liu, Austin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2147"]
[BlackElo "1862"]
[Annotator "Austin Liu"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.01.17"]

{[%evp 0,92,32,-14,0,-15,38,15,32,38,40,26,19,5,15,12,39,40,39,16,46,43,52,47,
45,46,46,41,49,37,51,27,30,25,13,29,28,34,41,25,58,45,53,37,73,74,45,0,0,12,15,
-5,41,41,-44,-73,-81,-87,-87,-100,-114,-95,-50,-152,-141,-243,-202,-199,-204,
-197,-204,-204,-202,-202,-202,-204,-206,-204,-204,-205,-213,-205,-197,-234,
-228,-230,-209,-225,-256,-552,-256,-1919,-29972,-29997,-29998]} 1. c4 Nf6 2.
Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. f4 O-O 6. Nf3 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Be2 exd5 9. cxd5 Bg4
{Not the most testing line, but it's not as theory-heavy as Re8. The idea of
Bg4 is to trade off the light-squared bishop, which serves two purposes; first,
mitigating White's space advantage, and second, getting rid of the
not-so-useful bishop.} 10. O-O Nbd7 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 a6 13. Re1 Ne8 {
Black cannot allow White to play e5. This move also often serves the purpose
of maneuvering the knight to c7, where it can support the b5-break.} 14. a4 Rb8
15. a5 {Although this appears to restrict Black's queenside play, in fact
Black can quite often play b5 anyway.} b5 16. axb6 Rxb6 17. Qc2 Nc7 18. Bd2 Qb8
(18... Nb5 $5 19. Nxb5 axb5 20. Ba5 {This seems to refute the line, but in
fact things are hardly so simple.} Qh4 21. Bxb6 Nxb6 {White's dark squares are
very weak. Along with Qxf4, Black also has ideas of Bh6 and Nc4.} 22. e5 $1 {
The only move to maintain the balance.} Qxf4 23. Re4 Qg3 24. exd6 Qxd6 $44 {
With a highly complicated position in which I believe Black has easier play.})
19. Ra2 Nb5 20. Nxb5 axb5 21. b3 c4 $6 {A pawn "sacrifice," although it is
clear it can't be taken. However, White has a good idea against this line.} 22.
Be3 $6 (22. bxc4 $2 b4 $1 $17 {Black has a clear advantage, as Black's pieces
coordinate together very well to support the passed pawn. Black's knight will
soon jump to the excellent c5-square as well.}) (22. b4 $1 {is better. White
will soon play Bc3 and establish a solid blockade, leaving him with a small
but enduring edge.}) 22... Rb7 23. e5 $5 {This tactic doesn't give White
anything, but on the other hand I can't really suggest anything better.} (23.
b4 {is still possible, but less effective now due to the lack of a solid
blockade.} c3 $44) 23... dxe5 24. d6 exf4 25. Bxf4 (25. Bf2 Rb6 26. bxc4 bxc4
27. Bxb6 {Forced.} Qxb6+ 28. Kh1 Ne5 {Black wants to preserve the c4-pawn.} 29.
Rd1 Bf6 $11 {With mutual chances for both sides. Even though the engine claims
it's equal, in a real game these are the kinds of positions that often end up
as a win for either side.}) 25... Ra7 26. bxc4 bxc4 27. Qxc4 Ne5 $1 {The
crucial tactical counterpoint - without this, Black would be worse due to
White's bishop pair and passed pawn.} 28. Bxe5 (28. Qe2 {also doesn't give
anything.} Rxa2 29. Qxa2 Qxd6 $15) 28... Bxe5 29. Rxe5 $2 {A poorly conceived
decision which I can't quite understand.} (29. Kh1 Rxa2 30. Qxa2 Bxd6 $1 $15 {
This is a rather unpleasant position for White to defend, especially in time
trouble, but it's better than the game line for sure.} (30... Qxd6 31. Qd5 {
and once the queens are off, the draw is much easier.})) 29... Qb1+ 30. Kh2 {
I think around this point, my opponent went below 5 minutes, explaining a few
subsequent mistakes.} Qxa2 $2 {Allowing a drawn endgame.} 31. Qc5 $2 (31. Qxa2
$1 Rxa2 {To my surprise, while analyzing after the game, I found this is
actually a draw. The point is if White just puts the pawn on d7 and defends it
with the bishop with the a4-b5-c6 squares, Black can't drive it off. Sacking
the rook for the bishop and pawn is also a draw.} 32. d7 Rd2 33. Bc6 $11 {
And White has constructed his fortress.}) 31... Qd2 $1 32. Re4 (32. Qxa7 Qf4+
33. Kh1 Qxe5 $19 {This is a win due to the weakness of White's king and the
presence of queens.}) 32... Rd7 33. Rd4 Qe3 34. Bc6 Rc8 $1 35. Qd5 Qxd4 $1 {
The only winning move.} 36. Qxd4 Rxc6 37. Qe4 Rcxd6 {Black has two rooks vs a
queen and is a healthy pawn up, which should make this a win.} 38. Qe8+ Kg7 39.
Qe5+ f6 40. Qe8 g5 41. Qe4 h5 {My plan is clear; push the pawn to h4, then
create mating threats along the 1st rank.} 42. Qf5 $6 {My opponent, in time
trouble, didn't do anything to stop my plan.} (42. Qe2 $17 {White should keep
his queen on the e-file, so that if Black puts his rooks on the 1st rank,
White has perpetual ideas with Qe7+. Black now needs to be patient and drive
the queen off the e-file before executing his plan.}) 42... Rd1 43. Qf3 h4 44.
Qf5 Rc7 $6 {Sloppy technique - of course I should put my rook on the e-file,
to not allow White's queen to go there.} (44... Re7 $19) 45. Qg4 Rcc1 46. g3
Rd2+ 0-1

