[Event "2022-2023 SCC U2200 Week 3 CA-N vs WA"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.11.15"]
[Round "3.1"]
[White "Taghizadeh (CA-N), Rayan"]
[Black "Shubin (WA), Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C06"]
[WhiteElo "2400"]
[BlackElo "2196"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2022.11.15"]
[EventType "team-match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[TimeControl "900+2"]

{[%evp 0,96,24,25,23,-45,-29,-43,-48,-60,-67,-67,-67,-67,-37,-68,-62,-56,-65,
-67,-61,-112,-84,-67,-3,8,-9,-37,-43,-46,53,-330,-309,-300,-285,-297,-297,-297,
-181,-177,439,553,530,534,607,-261,-269,-247,-271,-258,-156,-298,-296,-369,
-373,-395,-400,-437,-448,-448,-446,-451,-473,-474,-464,-480,-480,-841,-841,
-848,-852,-848,-498,-518,-511,-522,-524,-606,-621,-623,-641,-635,-662,-662,
-599,-664,-668,-783,-798,-818,-823,-817,-823,-823,-635,-651,-664,-643,-675]
It's important to remember, when playing through this see-saw battle, that it
is rapid chess. There is simply no time to work out definitive tactics when
faced with such dizzying complexity.} 1. e4 e6 2. Qf3 $6 {Isn't there some
opening rule against this sort of thing?} d5 3. d3 Nc6 4. c3 Nf6 5. Nd2 e5 $1
6. h3 Bc5 7. g4 $6 {White insists on being provocative, but falls behind in
development.} dxe4 ({Perhaps it is even better to continue to develop and only
exchange in the center when forced:} 7... Be6 8. g5 $5 (8. Ne2 {looks a bit
like the game, but with more central tension.}) 8... dxe4 9. dxe4 (9. Nxe4 $6
Nxe4 10. dxe4 (10. Qxe4 $4 Bd5 $19) 10... Qe7 $17 {Development and structure.})
9... Nd7 $17 {.}) 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. dxe4 Be6 10. Ne2 Qd6 (10... Qd7 11. Bg5 (11.
Bg2 O-O-O 12. O-O Qd3 $17) (11. Ng3 Nb4 $1 {is practically winning.}) 11... f6
12. Rd1 Qf7 13. Be3 Bxe3 14. Qxe3 Bxa2 $17) 11. Ng3 g6 $6 ({The threat of Nf5
doesn't feel like enough to justify weakening the kingside dark squares. Black
has a noticeable edge in development and pawn structure, and anytime a knight
does choose to drop into f5, ...g6 will come sooner or later to give it a
nudge.} 11... O-O-O $5 12. Be2 (12. Bg5 $2 f6 13. Be3 Nb4 $1 14. Qe2 Bc4 $19) (
12. Nf5 Qf8 (12... Bxf5 13. Qxf5+ Kb8 14. Be2 Ne7 $15) 13. Bb5 h5 14. Bxc6 hxg4
15. Bxb7+ Kxb7 16. hxg4 Rxh1+ 17. Qxh1 g6 18. Ne3 Qd6 $17) 12... a5 13. Be3 (
13. Nf5 Qf8) 13... Bxe3 14. Qxe3 Kb8 15. Rd1 Qe7 16. Nf5 Qf8 17. Rxd8+ Nxd8 {
and White's minor initiative peters out, leaving ...g6 and ...Bxa2 on the
possibilities list.}) (11... Nb4 $5 12. Bb5+ c6 13. cxb4 Bxb4+ 14. Kf1 cxb5 {
probably favors Black, but not by as much as in the last note, with the black
queen on d7 preventing the Bb5+ defense.}) 12. Bg5 f6 $1 {A clever idea, only
necessary due to the weakening caused by ...g6, though.} 13. Bxf6 $6 ({White
should grab the tempo:} 13. Rd1 Qe7 $13 {.}) 13... O-O 14. g5 Nb4 $6 (14...
Rad8 15. Be2 Qd2+ 16. Kf1 Be7 $15) 15. Be2 $4 (15. Qe2 {is forced. Then} Rad8
16. Rh2 (16. Rd1 Qxd1+ 17. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 18. Kxd1 Bxf2 19. cxb4 Bxg3 $13) (16.
Bxd8 $2 Bxf2+ 17. Qxf2 Rxf2 18. Kxf2 Qd2+ 19. Ne2 Nc2 20. Rc1 Qe3+ 21. Kg2
Qxe4+ 22. Kh2 Ne3 {and despite a numeric superiority, White is helpless to
save the exposed king and hanging pieces.} 23. Ng3 Qh4 $1 {, for example.})
16... Bxa2 $5 (16... Nd3+ 17. Qxd3 Qxd3 18. Bxd3 Rxd3 19. Bxe5 {and White may
be hanging together.}) 17. Bxd8 Bb3 $1 18. Rd1 (18. Bf6 Rxf6 $1 (18... Nc2+ 19.
Qxc2 Bxc2 20. Bc4+ Rf7 21. b4 Bb6 $13) 19. Rc1 {with considerable
complications.} Rf8 20. Qd2 Qxd2+ 21. Kxd2 Bxf2 22. Nh1 Rd8+ 23. Ke2 Bg1 24.
Rg2 Nd3 25. Rxg1 Nxc1+ 26. Ke3 $13 {for example, is computer-directed mayhem.})
) 15... Nc2+ 16. Kf1 Nxa1 17. h4 Rxf6 18. gxf6 h5 $4 ({Stockfish shows the
cold-blooded} 18... Rf8 $1 19. Nf5 (19. h5 Rxf6) 19... Bxf5 20. exf5 Kh8 21. b4
Bb6 {, and the computer has no worries on defense.}) (18... Qd2 {in order to
meet} 19. h5 {with} g5 {also leaves White with no real compensation.}) 19. Nxh5
$1 gxh5 $4 (19... Nc2 $13) 20. Qxh5 Kf8 21. Qh8+ Bg8 22. Bh5 $4 ({The win is
fairly straightforward with} 22. Qg7+ Ke8 23. Qxg8+ Qf8 (23... Kd7 24. Qxa8
Qxf6 25. Rh2) 24. Qe6+ Kd8 25. Rg1 $18 {.}) 22... Qd3+ {The tide turns yet
again, but this is the final time.} 23. Kg2 ({Possibly what White missed was} 
23. Kg1 Qg3+ 24. Kf1 Qxf2#) 23... Qxe4+ 24. f3 Qc2+ 25. Kg3 Bf2+ 26. Kg2 (26.
Kh3 Qh7) 26... Be3+ 27. Kg3 Bf4+ 28. Kh3 Qh7 29. Qxh7 Bxh7 30. Rxa1 Rd8 31. Rg1
Rd2 32. Kg4 Rxb2 33. Rd1 (33. a4 Rb6) 33... Rg2+ 34. Kh3 Rg3+ 35. Kh2 Rxf3+ (
35... Rg5+) 36. Kg2 Rg3+ 37. Kf2 Rd3 38. Rf1 Rxc3 39. Kg2 Rg3+ 40. Kf2 Rh3 41.
Rd1 Rd3 42. Rf1 Be4 43. Ke2 Rd2+ 44. Ke1 Rxa2 45. Rg1 Ra1+ 46. Kf2 Be3+ 47.
Kxe3 Rxg1 48. Kxe4 Rh1 {0-} 0-1

[Event "2022-2023 SCC U1800 Week 3 OR vs WA"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.11.16"]
[Round "1.1"]
[White "Suess (WA), Wade"]
[Black "Tang (OR), Zoey"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B56"]
[WhiteElo "1527"]
[BlackElo "2233"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2022.11.16"]
[EventType "team-match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[TimeControl "900+2"]

{A see-saw battle, and a major upset.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. Bb5 (10. Nb3 {
is still known territory.}) 10... Bd7 (10... Qb6 $5) 11. Nf5 Bxf5 (11... Bxc3+
12. bxc3 Qa5 13. O-O (13. Qxg4 $2 Qxc3+ 14. Ke2 Qxc2+ 15. Kf1 Qb2 {forking a1
and b5.}) 13... Qxb5 14. Qxg4 Qc4 $15) 12. exf5 Nf6 13. O-O O-O 14. Re1 a6 15.
Bd3 b5 $6 (15... Nb4) (15... Rc8) 16. Ne4 (16. h4 $14) 16... Qd7 17. c3 Rfe8
18. Qf3 Rac8 19. Rad1 Qa7 $6 (19... d5 20. Nxf6+ exf6 (20... Bxf6 21. h4 $16)
21. Rxe8+ Rxe8 22. Bc2 $14) 20. Bb1 (20. h4 $16) 20... b4 21. h3 (21. h4) 21...
bxc3 22. Nxc3 Qc5 23. Rc1 (23. Rd2) 23... Nd4 24. Qd3 Qa7 $2 (24... Qb4 $13)
25. Qe3 (25. Rcd1 Nc6 26. h4 $5 $14) (25. h4 $5) 25... e5 (25... Nb5 26. Qxa7
Nxa7 27. Bd3 $14) 26. Ne4 $6 (26. fxe6 $1 Rxe6 (26... fxe6 $2 27. Bxd6 $18) 27.
Qd2 $14) 26... Nxe4 27. Qxe4 $6 (27. Bxe4 $15) 27... Qa8 $2 (27... Rxc1 28.
Rxc1 d5 $1 $17) 28. Qd3 $2 (28. Qxa8 Rxa8 29. f3 {, and White will be doing
fine if the bishops can activate.}) 28... Bf6 $2 (28... Rxc1 29. Rxc1 e4 $1 $17
{and ...Nxf5.}) 29. Kh1 $2 ({Better} 29. Rxc8 Rxc8 30. Qa3 Qc6 31. Qa5 Bd8 $15
{, but Black has active well-coordinated pieces.}) 29... Rxc1 30. Rxc1 e4 31.
Qa3 Nxf5 $2 (31... d5 $1 $17 {and Black can pick off the f5-pawn for nothing.})
32. Bxd6 Qd5 33. Qc5 $6 Qxc5 $6 (33... Qd2 $1 $17 {threatens ...Bd4 while
hitting the bishop on d6.}) 34. Bxc5 Bxb2 35. Re1 Rc8 36. Bb4 Nd4 37. Bxe4 Rb8
38. Bc5 Rc8 39. Bb6 Nb5 40. Bd3 Bc3 41. Rc1 Rb8 42. Be3 Bf6 43. Rb1 $6 (43. a4)
({or} 43. Rc6 $14 {.}) 43... Rd8 44. Bxb5 axb5 45. Rxb5 Rd1+ $2 (45... Ra8 {
simply regains the pawn with complete equality.}) 46. Kh2 Ra1 47. Ra5 Bc3 48.
Ra6 Kg7 49. g3 f5 $6 (49... f6 {supports g5 and maintains better king cover.})
50. Ra3 (50. h4 Re1 (50... f4 51. gxf4 gxh4 52. f5 h5 53. Bg5 $16) 51. a4 gxh4
52. Bxh6+ Kh7 53. gxh4 {should be a technical win.}) 50... Bf6 (50... Be5) 51.
Ra5 Kg6 52. Ra6 Re1 $2 ({Losing immediately.} 52... Rd1 {offers slightly
better chances for survival on the board, if not on the clock.} 53. a4 Kf7 54.
Kg2 Rd3 55. a5 Be5 {, with the hope of reducing the pawn count after} 56. Rxh6
f4 57. Bb6 fxg3 {, but} 58. a6 gxf2 59. a7 Ra3 60. Rc6 {planning Rc8 and a8=Q
should win.}) (52... Kf7 $2 53. Rxf6+ Kxf6 54. Bd4+) 53. Bd4 {Time forfeit,
though now Black is quite lost in any case.} 1-0

[Event "2022-2023 SCC U1800 Week 3 OR vs WA"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2022.11.16"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Disenhof (OR), Jonathan"]
[Black "Lazarte (WA), Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E09"]
[WhiteElo "1514"]
[BlackElo "1873"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2022.11.16"]
[EventType "team-match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[TimeControl "900+2"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 h6 $6 ({Black needs to challenge the
Catalan where it lives. Ignore the fianchetto development at your peril.} 4...
dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 Bd7 8. Qe2 b5 9. Rd1 Be7 $13) (4... Be7 5. Bg2
O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 {is still in book, with no
more than a slight edge for White.}) 5. Bg2 c6 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Qc2 Be7 8. Nbd2
O-O 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Qxe4 Nf6 12. Qe2 Bb4 $6 ({The bishop moves
again to strike at nothing. Black should begin some kind of counterplay in the
center.} 12... c5 $14) 13. Rd1 Qe7 14. a3 Ba5 15. Bf4 Rd8 16. b4 Bc7 17. Bxc7
Qxc7 18. Rac1 b6 19. Ne5 Bb7 20. c5 ({An interesting positional idea, trying
to entombed the black bishop. Instead, White has good chances to pick up the
c-pawn with} 20. Qf3 $5 $16 Rac8 21. b5 {,}) ({or thematically open up central
lines and create a passed d-pawn:} 20. d5 c5 21. d6 $5 {, when} Rxd6 22. Rxd6
Bxg2 23. Rd2 Be4 24. Nd7 Qb7 25. Nxf6+ gxf6 26. Qg4+ $16 Kh7 $4 (26... Bg6 $16)
(26... Kf8 $2 27. Rcd1 Bh1 $6 28. f3 $1 Bxf3 29. Rd8+ Rxd8 30. Rxd8+ Ke7 31.
Qg8 f5 32. Qe8+ Kf6 33. Rd7 $18) 27. Rd7 $1 $18) 20... b5 21. Rd3 Re8 (21... a5
$14) 22. h4 Re7 23. Re1 Rae8 24. Qd2 Nd5 25. Bh3 a5 26. g4 axb4 27. axb4 f6 28.
Ng6 Bc8 (28... Rf7 29. g5 Bc8 30. gxh6 gxh6 31. Rg3 $16) 29. Nxe7+ Rxe7 30. Rf3
e5 31. g5 $2 (31. dxe5 fxe5 (31... Rxe5 32. Ra3 $16) 32. Ra3 $16) 31... Bxh3 (
31... e4 $5 $14 32. gxf6 (32. Rg3 Bxh3 33. gxf6 Nxf6 34. Rxh3 $13) 32... Nxf6
33. Rxf6 gxf6 34. Bg2 $14) 32. Rxh3 Nf4 (32... e4 33. gxh6 g6 34. Rg3 Kh7 (
34... e3 $2 35. Rxg6+ Kh7 36. Qd3 $18) 35. h5 $14) 33. Rg3 Nh5 $2 (33... fxg5
34. hxg5 hxg5 35. Qe3 $16) 34. gxf6 (34. Qa2+ $1 Kf8 (34... Rf7 35. g6 $18) 35.
gxh6 Nxg3 36. h7 $18) 34... Nxf6 35. Qxh6 exd4 36. Qxf6 $4 ({White's most
serious error in the game, and it goes unpunished.} 36. Rxe7 Qxe7 37. Qg6 $18)
36... Qxg3+ $4 ({Black's only opportunity to turn the tables. Move order
matters:} 36... Rxe1+ $1 37. Kg2 Qxg3+ 38. fxg3 gxf6 $19) 37. fxg3 Rxe1+ 38.
Kf2 gxf6 39. Kxe1 $18 {The rest goes smoothly.} Kf7 40. Kd2 Kg6 41. g4 f5 42.
gxf5+ Kxf5 43. Kd3 Kg4 44. Kxd4 Kxh4 45. Ke5 Kg5 46. Kd6 Kf5 47. Kxc6 Ke6 48.
Kb7 1-0

[Event "2022 Turkey Shoot"]
[Site "Coeur d'Alene, ID"]
[Date "2022.11.20"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wannamaker, Linus"]
[Black "Pimentel, Emmy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "1466"]
[BlackElo "498"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2022.11.20"]
[EventType "swiss (rapid)"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {The Italian Game.} Nf6 4. d3 ({This quiet way to
handle the Two Knights Defense is now by far the most popular method in
Grandmaster play. Long ago} 4. Ng5 {was standard, but it is now recognized as
time wasting, and Black is thought to get plenty of counterplay with} d5 (4...
Bc5 $5 {for the swashbucklers.}) 5. exd5 Na5 (5... Nxd5 $2 {leads to the
infamous Fried Liver attack. White can choose the immediate sacrifice on f7
followed by Qf3, or open the center with 6.d4.}) ({Other moves have also been
played and analyzed, mostly before there was computer assistance in the
process.} 5... Nd4 6. c3 b5 7. Bf1 Nxd5) (5... b5 6. Bf1 h6 7. Nxf7 Kxf7 8.
dxc6) 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nf3 e4 $13 {.}) (4. d4 {can lead to
the Max Lange Attack.} exd4 5. e5 (5. O-O Nxe4 (5... Bc5 6. e5 d5 7. exf6 dxc4)
6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 (7. Nc3 $5) 7... Qxd5 8. Nc3 $13)) 4... Be7 (4... Bc5 5. c3
a6 6. Bb3 Ba7 7. O-O d6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 {Many of the subtleties of this
opening now depend on whether one side or the other advances their a-pawn one
or two spaces, starts maneuvering the knight from the queenside to the
kingside, breaks in the center, pins on g4/g5... Even the top GMs are capable
of messing this up on a regular basis.}) 5. O-O O-O 6. c3 (6. Re1 d6 7. a4 (7.
c3 Na5 8. Bb5 a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bc2 c5 {and we seem to have reached a position
from the Spanish Game (Ruy Lopez). The modern way of playing the Italian lends
itself to these transpositions.}) 7... Na5 8. Ba2 c5 9. c3 Nc6 10. Nbd2 Be6 11.
Nc4) 6... d5 (6... d6 7. Bb3 Na5 8. Bc2 c5 9. Nbd2 Nc6 10. Re1) 7. exd5 Nxd5 8.
Re1 (8. h3) 8... Bf6 (8... Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. Nbd2 Nb6 11. Bb5 {is roughly
equal.}) 9. Nbd2 Be6 (9... Nb6) 10. Ne4 $14 Re8 11. Nfg5 Qe7 $6 (11... Bxg5 12.
Nxg5 h6 13. Nxe6 Rxe6 $14 {White has the bishop pair, but Black has no serious
weaknesses.}) 12. Nxe6 fxe6 ({Forced.} 12... Qxe6 $2 13. Nc5 Qd6 (13... Qe7 14.
Nxb7 Nb6 15. Bb5 {has similar issues.}) 14. Nxb7 {loses a black pawn and
doesn't solve the problem of the loose knights.}) 13. Qf3 Rad8 14. b4 b5 ({
Black has something of a bad bishop and those weak e-pawns to defend in the
long term, so looks for short-term tactics to provide compensation.} 14... Nxc3
{at first looks interesting:} 15. Nxc3 e4 {, but} 16. Nxe4 $3 ({The idea was} 
16. dxe4 Qxb4 $1 {regaining the piece with interest.}) 16... Bxa1 17. Bg5 Bf6 (
17... Qxb4 18. Rxa1 {and White has both material and activity.}) 18. Nxf6+ gxf6
19. Bxf6 $18) 15. Bb3 (15. Bxb5 {seems quite possible. The only risk lies in
complex tactics such as} Nd4 16. cxd4 Qxb4 {, but something like} 17. Bg5 Qxb5
18. Bxf6 Nxf6 19. Nxf6+ gxf6 20. Qxf6 {leaves White with a strong initiative:}
exd4 (20... Rxd4 21. Rxe5 Rd5 22. Re4 Rg5 23. Rae1) (20... Qxd3 21. Re3) 21.
Re5 (21. Rxe6 $6 Rf8 22. Qh4 Qxd3 {is not as clear for White.}) 21... Rd5 22.
Re4 Rg5 23. Qxd4 {, when White has excellent winning chances.}) 15... Qf7 16.
Bd2 Nce7 17. a4 a6 18. g3 Nf5 19. axb5 axb5 20. Ra6 Ra8 $4 ({I like how White
has opened and started operations on the a-file, and here Black cracks
tactically.} 20... Be7 {maintains the original disadvantage.}) 21. Rea1 ({
Very good and quite thematic, but White can win more quickly with tactical
motifs involving the loose rook on a8, overloaded pawn e6, loose knights, and
a fork on d5:} 21. Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 (22... gxf6 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Qxf5)
23. Bxd5 {, when a recapture loses the rook to a fork,} exd5 24. Qxd5+ {.})
21... Rxa6 22. Rxa6 h6 23. Nxf6+ ({Or} 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Nxf6+ {scoring the
f5-knight.}) 23... Nxf6 24. Rxe6 $1 Rxe6 25. Qxf5 Nd5 26. Qxf7+ Kxf7 27. Bxd5
Kf6 28. Bxe6 Kxe6 29. Kg2 g5 30. Kf3 Kf5 31. g4+ Kf6 32. Ke4 Ke6 33. f3 c6 34.
h3 Kf6 35. f4 (35. c4 Ke6 36. Bc3) 35... exf4 36. Bxf4 gxf4 37. Kxf4 Ke6 38. c4
Kf6 (38... c5 39. bxc5 b4 40. Ke3 {catches the pawn.}) 39. h4 Kg6 1-0

[Event "SPFNO K-12 Girls"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.10.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Zhang, Iris"]
[Black "Jammalamadaka, Varnika"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B36"]
[WhiteElo "1593"]
[BlackElo "1726"]
[Annotator "Iris Zhang"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Nf6 {Accelerated Dragon,
Varnika's favorite weapon as black.} 6. Nc3 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 d6 {At this point in
the game, I was out of book.} 8. f3 Bg7 {I decided to prepare a kingside
attack with Be3 and then Qd2.} 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 Be6 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. exd5 Bf5
13. g4 Bd7 14. O-O-O Qc7 {Though my c line was still exposed, I decided to
continue my kingside attack with pawn pushes} 15. Bh6 Qc5 16. h4 {Better was
Bxg7} f5 {Without f5, after h5 push it would've been deadly for black} 17. h5
Rf7 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Qg5 Qb4 20. Rd2 Bxb2+ {This move caught me by surprise,
and from here on it became a very close game} 21. Rxb2 Qe1+ 22. Kc2 Ba4+ {
My opponent was under time pressure but played well.} 23. Kd3 Qd1+ {I
considered 24. Rd2 but 24... Qxf3} 24. Ke3 f4+ 25. Ke4 {Though my kingside
attack was near successful, 25...Rf6 followed up by 26. Qh4 Qc1 would be
completely winning for Varnika.} Bc2+ 26. Rxc2 {Secured the win} Qxc2+ 27. Bd3
Qc3 28. Qxg6+ Rg7 29. Bxg7 Qxg7 30. Qxg7+ Kxg7 31. Kxf4 Rf8+ 32. Kg3 Kf6 33. f4
e5 34. fxe5+ Kxe5 35. Rf1 Rg8 36. Rf4 a6 37. Re4+ Kf6 38. Re6+ Kf7 39. Rxd6 Ke7
40. Rb6 Rb8 41. d6+ Kd7 42. Bf5+ Kd8 43. g5 Ke8 44. d7+ Ke7 45. g6 a5 46. Rb2
a4 47. Re2+ Kf6 48. Re8 {Of the 6 games I played, this one was the most risky
one but also the funnest one.} 1-0

[Event "SPFNO K-12 Girls"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2022.10.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Khandelwal, Krisha"]
[Black "Szeto, Sophie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "1100"]
[BlackElo "1725"]
[Annotator "Krisha Khandelwal"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2022.10.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 Be7 {At this point, I was a bit
confused whether to go with the fianchetto setup with g3, Bg2 or just play e3.}
6. e3 Nbd7 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 b5 9. Rc1 Bb7 10. O-O O-O {I think I should
have played Ne2 here so that I can play Ng3 Nf5 later.} 11. Bb1 b4 12. Na4 Ne4
{I made a mistake on the next move. I should have just captured the black
bishop on e7 and then I would have won a pawn on e4 after Be4 de4 Nd2 and then
Qc2.} 13. Bf4 Rc8 14. Ne5 {Black should have taken on e5.} c5 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 {
I missed taking a free pawn out here; I should have captured on e4 and then
taken the pawn on c5.} 16. dxc5 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. Qd3 g6 $4 {18...g6 was
a blunder after which the position is lost for Black.} 19. Bh6 Rfe8 20. Rxc5
Ba6 21. Qxa6 Rxc5 22. Qf6 Qc7 23. Qg7# 1-0

[Event "SPFNO K-12 Open"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2022.10.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Liu, Austin"]
[Black "Shubin, Daniel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C19"]
[WhiteElo "2078"]
[BlackElo "2245"]
[Annotator "Daniel Shubin"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2022.10.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,76,19,38,30,45,34,45,33,32,37,30,35,27,54,42,26,27,27,27,29,16,23,6,
48,46,29,7,10,-20,-19,-47,39,-32,-5,5,20,9,44,-51,-41,-66,-83,-60,-31,-31,-78,
-170,-15,-90,-18,-218,-231,-251,-248,-296,-308,-312,-275,-339,-305,-344,-350,
-366,-291,-502,-321,-372,-408,-378,-381,-567,-640,-581,-641,-682,-697,-1552,
-1360]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 {Going into the game, I was a half-point ahead of
the rest of the field and was planning to keep the game as simple as possible}
3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qc7 7. Nf3 Ne7 8. a4 Bd7 {Better would
have been:} (8... h6 9. Bb5+ Bd7 10. Bd3 Nbc6 11. O-O Qa5 12. Bd2 c4 13. Be2
O-O-O) 9. Bd3 Bc6 (9... h6) 10. Ng5 {At this point, I realized I had misplayed
the opening and it was no longer easy... I would have to defend for a while} h6
11. Qh5 g6 (11... O-O $2 12. Nh7 Re8 13. Nf6+ gxf6 14. exf6) 12. Qh3 Nd7 {
Threatening Nxe5, but a simple 0-0 would avoid the threat and better prepare
the pawn advance} 13. f4 (13. Rb1 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Qxe5+ 15. Be3 hxg5) (13. O-O
Nb6 14. a5 Nc4 15. Re1) 13... Nb6 14. a5 Nc4 (14... Na4 $1) 15. g4 {Clearly I
had to 0-0-0 and connect the rooks... but for that I had to protect the f7
pawn... unfortunatley, I chose the wrong continuation and my opponent could
have punished me} (15. O-O Nf5 16. g4 O-O-O 17. gxf5 hxg5) 15... Ng8 $2 (15...
Bb5 $1 16. O-O Nc6) 16. Bxg6 $6 {Trying to force the issue when slow, steady
play would have sufficed} (16. O-O O-O-O 17. a6 cxd4 18. axb7+ Bxb7 19. cxd4
$18) 16... fxg6 17. Nxe6 Qe7 18. Nxc5 Nf6 19. Qd3 O-O-O 20. Qe2 Rde8 (20... Nd7
21. Nd3 Qh4+ 22. Kf1 h5) 21. O-O b6 {In the game I assumed that, despite
opening the a-file, the white rook alone would not be able to produce any
significant counterplay} 22. axb6 axb6 23. Nb3 Bd7 (23... Ne4 $1) 24. h3 (24.
Nd2 $5 {Nd2 with the idea that if knight takes, Qa6 with an attack... Austin
and I both missed this it seems...}) 24... h5 25. g5 (25. Nd2) 25... Ne4 26.
Rf3 Kb7 27. Nd2 Nexd2 28. Bxd2 Bf5 29. Be1 $19 {At this point, I was in full
control... The Bishop and Knight are overpowered, controlling the whole board,
and I was ahead on both clock and position...} Ra8 30. Rb1 Ra2 31. Rc1 Be4 32.
Rf1 Qe6 33. Kh2 Qf5 34. Rf2 Rha8 $22 {Zugzwang... despite having 4 pieces,
everything white does loses} 35. Qd1 Ne3 36. Qe2 Nxc2 37. Bd2 Na3 38. Qd1 Nc4 {
White Resigned as Black follows up with:} 39. Qe1 Nxd2 40. Rxd2 Qxf4+ 0-1

[Event "SPFNO K-5 Open"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2022.10.23"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Milner, Romi"]
[Black "Yadav, Arjun"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteElo "1359"]
[BlackElo "1441"]
[Annotator "Arjun Yadav"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2022.10.22"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 {here I knew the opponent was going to play London system.} g6
3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 {I decided to play my Kings Indian Defense} O-O 5. Be2 d6 6.
h3 Nbd7 7. O-O c5 {we were still in theory} 8. c3 a6 {here I thought of
gaining more space on the queenside with b5} 9. Nbd2 b5 10. Re1 Bb7 {I gave my
bishop an active diagonal} 11. Bf1 Nh5 {I wanted to get a tempo to play f5 by
attacking the bishop. But...} 12. Bh2 f5 13. Ng5 {I ended up creating a
weakness on e6} Bd5 {The best defense in this position} 14. c4 {here, I should
have counter attacked the knight on g5 with h6.} bxc4 15. Bxc4 Bxc4 16. Nxc4 {
this allows white to have a straight diagonal to my king (a2-g8)} Rf6 17. Qf3
Kh8 18. Qd5 {this allows me to trade queens with...} Qg8 19. Qxg8+ Kxg8 20. g4
{g4 is a mistake. White didn't realize that I can counter with h6!} h6 {
If White plays Nf3, I can play fxg4 attacking the Knight.} 21. gxh5 hxg5 22.
hxg6 Rxg6 23. Rad1 d5 24. dxc5 Nxc5 25. Rxd5 Ne4 {activating the knight to an
outpost. The knight could only be dislodged with f3, which i thought to be
creating more weakness around White's king.} 26. Red1 f4 27. Rd8+ Rxd8 28.
Rxd8+ Kf7 29. Kf1 f3 {allowed me to push the pawn to f3 and minimize the white
king's movement.} 30. Be5 Rc6 {the knight is pinned as there is a mate with Rc1
} 31. b3 Bf6 {I thought of playing Rh6, however decided to keep it near the
action but since I only needed a draw to win the tournament, I played it safe.}
32. Bxf6 exf6 33. Rd3 Ke6 {centralizing my king.} 34. a4 {weakening the b3
pawn and gave target for my Knight} Nc5 35. Rc3 Ne4 36. Rc2 Nc5 37. Rc3 {
... here I missed that after Nxb3, Rxb3, Rxc4, Rb6+, Ke5, white couldn't take
on a6 because of the threat of Rc1#. After a few moves, the game was drawn by
agreement.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "SPFNO K-8 Open"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2022.10.23"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nallappa, Vijay"]
[Black "Chan, Skylor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A43"]
[WhiteElo "1544"]
[BlackElo "1600"]
[Annotator "Skylor Chan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2022.10.23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,80,34,35,27,27,39,39,69,65,56,59,60,70,66,64,58,58,68,62,58,8,8,22,19,
28,34,38,22,8,25,2,28,21,44,43,39,22,38,25,42,27,39,29,70,66,63,67,61,13,26,28,
27,27,27,-13,-24,-9,-9,-178,-167,-164,-160,-160,-148,-181,-168,-203,-251,-362,
-185,-184,-177,-171,-155,-282,-230,-230,-237,-427,-528,-869,-938]} 1. d4 Nf6 2.
Nf3 c5 {Normally I play the KID, but I decided to go for a benoni structure in
this game.} 3. d5 g6 4. Nc3 {My opponent takes advantage of the 2. Nf3 move
order and avoids playing c4.} d6 5. e4 Bg4 {Common motive in Benoni structures,
I wanted to play Nbd7 and take control of the e5 square.} 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Qxf3 {
h3 helps black, as the B is going to take on f3 anyways.} Nbd7 8. Bd2 a6 9. a4
Bg7 10. Bc4 {Giving up the B pair.} Ne5 11. Qe2 Nxc4 12. Qxc4 Nd7 {Ne5 idea.}
13. O-O O-O 14. Rfb1 {Odd move by opponent, f4 would make more sense.} Rc8 15.
Nd1 Qb6 {Idea to play c4 without f4 coming.} 16. Bc3 Ne5 17. Qe2 c4 18. Kh1 {
idea of pf4} Bh6 {Avoiding f4, white is slightly better.} 19. Bd2 {Now I was
considering whether to exchange the dark squared bishops, but didn't want Qh6
and Ne3 to come.} Bg7 {If Bc3 came, I would play Qc5 and accept the exchange
of the dark squared bishops (... 21. f4 Nd7 Bxg7 Kxg7) as the Q is on a light
square and my K is on g7.} 20. Be3 (20. Ne3) 20... Qd8 21. Bd4 b5 {I break
with b5, trying to create inbalances and to rip open lines.} 22. f4 Nd7 23.
Bxg7 Kxg7 {White has an edge.} 24. Ne3 Nc5 25. axb5 {Forced in order to keep
material balance} axb5 26. Qf3 Ra8 {We are fighting for the a1 file.} 27. c3 $6
{At first glance seems logical to take control of the dark squares, but allows
the file to be taken by black.} Nb3 28. Rxa8 Qxa8 29. Nc2 {Both sides were low
on time, and opponent blunders the exchange.} Nd2 $16 30. Qd1 Nxb1 31. Qxb1 Qa4
32. Qd1 Ra8 33. Qd4+ Kg8 34. Na3 Qa7 35. Qd2 Qc5 36. Kh2 Ra4 {Rxa3 is accurate}
37. Qc2 Rxa3 38. bxa3 Qxa3 39. Qd2 b4 40. cxb4 c3 {This is completely winning
for black.} 0-1

[Event "SPFNO K-8 Open"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2022.10.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Chan, Skylor"]
[Black "Verma, Darsh"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1600"]
[BlackElo "1632"]
[Annotator "Skylor Chan"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2022.10.23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,45,19,31,34,42,8,8,18,19,-10,25,4,1,-14,-4,3,38,26,21,23,6,15,18,28,
-6,22,23,15,37,37,53,48,46,41,23,53,-49,-18,-38,27,63,54,1,13,-81,-75,-75]} 1.
e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 {Black
has 2 choices; to take on e4 or to exchange the bishops.} Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 d5 9.
exd5 Nxd5 {There are some interesting lines here, such as Qc2} 10. O-O O-O 11.
Rc1 Bg4 {Odd move. I was expecting Nb6.} 12. h3 Bh5 13. Bxd5 Qxd5 14. Qa4 {
Idea of Rc5.} Bxf3 15. Nxf3 Rfe8 16. Rc5 {Very natural move.} Qd6 {Very
interesting moment in this game. My first idea was Rfc1, but I didn't want to
allow any Re2 ideas. However, if Qc4, then Re4 ideas lurk.} 17. Qc2 (17. Qc4
Re4) 17... Nb4 {Critical moment. Qc4 is the best move, as if 18. Nc6 then 19.
d5 $1 Winning the c7 pawn. Otherwise, if 18. Na6 19. Rd5 comes and after
something like 19. Qf6, white can go for this Qb3 Rb5 idea to win the b7 pawn.
Instead I played the worse move} 18. Qf5 f6 $1 19. a3 {idea to play Rd5.} Na6
20. Rd5 Qe6 {Here, I missed that I could exchange on e6 and play b4, where
white has a slight advantage and can play for a win. However, I wanted to
create imbalances and played:} 21. Nh4 {Not the best of moves, while still
equal.} g6 {Critical position. The best was to exchange queens here and to
play b4 like mentioned earlier, but I kept the queens on the board.} 22. Qf3 c6
23. Ra5 {Though the rook looks almost trapped, black only has an edge here and
if something like Nc7, then Rc5 could come and white's rook would come back
into play. Though the play is easier for black, we agreed on a draw as he had
7 minutes while I had 12. Overall, I missed a few chances which could have
given me an advantage.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "SPFNO K-8 Open"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2022.10.23"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Condit, Noah"]
[Black "Chan, Skylor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "1558"]
[BlackElo "1600"]
[Annotator "Skylor Chan"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2022.10.23"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,60,35,40,46,80,102,47,40,34,56,14,22,-15,-13,-12,-25,-22,-4,2,2,-18,
-13,-8,-10,-5,11,-18,-18,-18,-18,-18,-42,-33,-61,-54,-67,-70,60,-107,-86,-175,
-152,-140,-165,-282,-129,-136,-164,-421,-202,-211,-239,-222,-231,-288,-287,
-297,-45,-196,-202,-841,-856]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 {I play Nd7
mainly, but I wanted to try something new.} 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Qc2 {
Here I missed Qg4; this would pick up the e4 pawn after O-O.} Nc6 7. d4 cxd4 8.
Nxd4 {Here I was considering exchanging on d4 or to play Rc8. I figured that
Rc8 would be better as if White doesn't exchange the knights, they are left
with this annoying c3 pawn which hinders their development.} Rc8 9. Be3 Ng4 $1
10. Qe2 {I would gladly take the Bishop pair.} Nxe3 11. Qxe3 d5 {A
questionable move, I should've waited a bit until playing this.} 12. O-O dxe4
13. Nd2 (13. Nxc6) 13... Nxd4 (13... g6 14. Nxe4 Bg7) 14. cxd4 g6 15. Nxe4 Bg7
16. Rfd1 (16. d5 Rc2) 16... O-O 17. d5 $5 Rc2 {Going after the pawns.} 18. d6
b6 {Important move, preventing Nb6.} 19. Rd2 Rfc8 20. Qb3 Rxd2 21. Nxd2 Qxd6 {
Now I am much better.} 22. Rd1 Qc6 {Rd8 is better, but it is already
completely winning.} 23. h3 Qc2 24. Qf3 Bxb2 25. Nb3 a5 26. Rd2 Qb1+ 27. Kh2
Be5+ 28. g3 Rc2 29. Qd3 Rb2 30. Rxb2 {Opponent blunders his Queen.} Qxd3 0-1

[Event "Oregon Class Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.11.05"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Bjorksten, Lennart"]
[Black "Tang, Austin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2101"]
[BlackElo "1977"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,52,19,31,14,23,30,9,24,9,35,41,26,5,26,1,13,12,19,21,21,20,15,1,3,4,
40,10,19,0,23,-5,1,-23,-24,-32,-31,-71,-81,-223,-234,-256,-238,-397,-38,-270,
-366,-465,-490,-493,-514,-540,-539,-541,-551]} {I try to create a narrative
for a tournament, especially when there is none. The easy narratives these
days are "Youth will be served" vs. "Old age and treachery will always beat
youth and exuberance." Perhaps this game will be an indicator, as Austin is a
regular in the Junior tournaments, and Lennart is a regular in the Senior
tournaments.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. c3 Bf5 6. Ngf3 ({
Sometimes London practitioners can steal a pawn in the opening with} 6. dxc5 {
but this is not one of them} e5 7. Bg3 Bxc5) 6... e6 7. Nh4 Bg4 8. Qb3 Qd7 9.
h3 Bh5 10. g4 Bg6 11. Nxg6 hxg6 {The game starts well for Lennart. He has the
two bishops in a quiet position, just kind of position that a more experienced
player might be able to exploit against his youthful opponent.} 12. Bg2 cxd4
13. exd4 Na5 14. Qc2 Bd6 15. Be3 O-O 16. O-O-O $6 {This is a position where
looks are deceiving. It looks logical to castle long where there is more pawn
cover for your king and you can used the advanced g-pawn to attack Black's
king. But the pawn structure resembles an exchange queen's gambit declined
reversed where the standard plan is the minority attack, advancing the p-pawn
and perhaps the a-pawn to weaken the b2-c3-d4 pawn structure. So white is
castling queenside into Black's intended attacking zone. White it might look a
risky to castle kingside with the g-pawn advanced, Black doesn't have any
immediate pawn breaks on that side of the board. Black has one pawn break on
the queenside. And he will use it effectively.} b5 $1 {marching to b4 to crack
open White's king position.} 17. Kb1 Rab8 18. f4 {This move makes the engine
evaluation worse. But it is as good a try as any. White probably can't
successfully defend his king in the long run, so counterattacking Black's king
is the best approach.} b4 19. c4 {Trying to keep the b-file closed} dxc4 20.
Nxc4 Rfc8 21. b3 ({White has a tricky attempt to maintain his queenside pawn
structure that doesn't quite work.} 21. Ne5 Bxe5 22. dxe5 Nd5 23. Qe4 Nc3+ 24.
bxc3 Qa4 {Stockfish predicts great suffering for White in the near future in
lines like} 25. Ka1 Rxc3 26. Rb1 Nc4 27. Bc1 Rc2) 21... Nxc4 22. bxc4 b3 23.
axb3 Qa4 24. Rd3 Rxc4 25. Qa2 Qxa2+ 26. Kxa2 Rc2+ {White made no tactical
errors, yet Black's minority attack was sufficiently strong enough bring home
the point. After round 1 we are seem to be heading toward the "Youth will be
served" narrative. But that isn't how the tournament turned out, as you will
see in the next game.} 0-1

[Event "Oregon Class Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.11.06"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Bjorksten, Lennart"]
[Black "Richardson, Ryan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2101"]
[BlackElo "2043"]
[Annotator "Lennart Bjorksten"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{This game decided the tournament. Entering the last round, Ryan and I were
the only players at 3 points.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Ne5 {
Move order makes a difference! By delaying the typical c3 and Nbd2, white gets
to counter black's Bd6 with the knight jump, thereby avoiding trading off the
London bishop.} O-O 6. Bd3 c5 7. c3 b6 8. O-O Ba6 {Black gets to trade off his
bad bishop, but at the cost of several tempi since black's knight will now be
misplaced.} 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Nd2 Nb8 {Correct, even if it looks strange. This
retreat is the best way for black's knight to get back into the game.} 11. Rc1
Bxe5 12. dxe5 {This restricts the bishop, but I like having a white pawn on e5.
} Nfd7 13. e4 {White's idea is to break open the center. This should benefit
white's bishop and rooks.} f6 14. exd5 fxe5 15. dxe6 exf4 16. Qf3 {I also
considered Qb3 and Re1, but couldn't calculate which option was best. Turns
out the computer likes Qb3, but all of these moves create tactical problems
for black, who was starting to get low on time.} Qc7 $2 {Black cracks. He
obviously saw that 17. Qxa8? Nc6 would trap white's queen, but white has a
nice intermezzo.} 17. e7 $1 {Now black loses decisive material. On 17... Re8
18. Qxa8, black can no longer play Nc6 because the rook would hang. And if 17..
. Rc8 18. Qxa8 Nc6 then white simply promotes with e8=Q.} Nc6 18. exf8=Q+ Rxf8
{The rest, as they say, is a matter of technique. White merely needs to play
simple, straightforward moves to activate his pieces. The extra exchange will
quickly be felt.} 19. Qd5+ Kh8 20. Rfe1 Nf6 21. Qe6 h6 22. Nf3 Re8 23. Qf5 Rd8
24. Rcd1 Rf8 25. Nh4 Rd8 26. Ng6+ Kg8 27. Nxf4 1-0

[Event "Oregon Class Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.11.05"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Baxter, Brent"]
[Black "Kuczek, Kevin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "1800"]
[BlackElo "1971"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,119,27,27,80,31,37,14,14,0,7,18,17,9,42,11,21,21,25,25,32,32,60,30,28,
27,55,79,50,22,47,-24,21,33,63,36,99,36,162,145,176,236,251,187,198,190,183,
183,197,192,192,154,161,118,107,94,225,192,231,225,246,241,246,245,256,255,267,
269,266,256,250,257,242,230,230,219,240,221,260,287,284,316,316,254,285,285,
285,267,238,255,255,239,242,247,300,329,385,302,313,313,346,303,435,458,448,
460,663,681,702,737,1289,1299,29969,29970,29971,29972,29975,29978,29981,1269,
1269,1279]} 1. Nf3 f5 2. b3 e6 3. Bb2 Nf6 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. d3
e5 8. c4 Nc6 9. Nc3 Qe8 {I tend to get slaughtered by Black's kingside attack
in these Dutch Defense vs. English Opening positions. Brent keeps a cool head,
makes a few moves to frustrate the attack, and waits for his chance.} 10. Qd2
Bd8 11. Ne1 {Brent prepares to gain a little space for the kingside defense by
pushing a pawn to f5.} Qh5 12. Nd5 Ng4 13. h3 Nf6 14. f4 Qg6 15. Kh2 Nh5 16.
Qe3 Re8 17. Qf2 {Brent has worked to negate Black's kingside attack, which is
enough to gain him a slight edge. Petrosian would be proud.} Be6 {Seems
logical to develop a piece, but Stockfish says it allows White to increase his
advantage.} ({The engines prefer} 17... exf4 18. gxf4) 18. e4 Bxd5 $2 {It is
strategically correct to remove the well-placed knight, so this would be a
good move if white had to recapture immediately, but...} 19. exf5 $1 Qxf5 20.
Bxd5+ Kh8 21. Be4 ({The cold-blooded} 21. Qg2 {is even stronger, threatening
22.g4} {If Black tries to avoid the pawn fork with} Qg6 (21... Qd7) {then} 22.
fxe5 Nxe5 23. Bxe5 dxe5 24. Bf7 {wins material.}) 21... Qe6 22. fxe5 dxe5 23.
Qf8+ Qg8 24. Qxg8+ Kxg8 25. Bd5+ {This check drives Black's king to h8 where
it will be vulnerable to back rank mates. See move 27.} Kh8 26. Bxc6 bxc6 27.
Bxe5 Bg5 (27... Rxe5 28. Rf8#) 28. Nf3 Bf6 29. Rae1 Kg8 30. g4 Bxe5+ 31. Nxe5
Nf6 32. Nxc6 h6 33. Kg3 Nd7 34. Re7 Rxe7 35. Nxe7+ Kh7 36. Nd5 c6 37. Nb4 c5
38. Nc6 a5 39. Rf7 Nf6 40. Ra7 Re8 41. Rxa5 Re3+ 42. Kg2 Rxd3 43. Rxc5 Rd2+ 44.
Kf3 Rxa2 45. g5 hxg5 46. Rxg5 Ra3 47. Nd4 Nd7 48. Rd5 Nb6 49. Rc5 Nd7 50. Rc7
Ne5+ 51. Ke4 Ng6 52. Nf5 Rxb3 53. Rxg7+ Kh8 54. Rxg6 Rxh3 55. Rh6+ Rxh6 56.
Nxh6 Kg7 57. c5 Kf6 58. Kd5 Ke7 59. Kc6 Kd8 60. Kb7 1-0

[Event "Oregon Class Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.11.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Baxter, Brent"]
[Black "Phipps, Danny"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "1800"]
[BlackElo "1912"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,68,27,20,20,13,11,-4,0,-29,-1,-5,-2,3,4,17,17,23,39,28,32,27,41,47,52,
30,13,22,26,15,39,26,75,77,73,78,88,80,71,62,88,90,123,99,97,104,105,68,130,
116,123,109,119,102,101,97,98,86,179,193,391,274,201,195,234,211,430,449,442,
448,435]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 c6 3. Bb2 Nf6 4. g3 Bg4 5. Bg2 Nbd7 6. O-O e6 7. d3
Be7 8. Nbd2 Qc7 9. c4 Rd8 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Rc1 Qb8 12. Qc2 O-O 13. e4 Rc8 14.
Qb1 dxe4 15. dxe4 {The pawn structure is symmetric, both players have
developed all their pieces, so the game is about even.} e5 $2 16. Nc4 $1 {
Suddenly White's pieces start jumping all over the center by attacking the e5
pawn that just moved within attacking range and the d5 square which is no
longer protected by the pawn on e6.} Bxf3 {the best way to prevent White from
taking the pawn on e5, but still a concession to give up the bishop pair and
defender of the light squares d5 and f5.} 17. Bxf3 b5 18. Ne3 Bc5 19. Qd3 Rfd8
{If I were Black, I would be looking at the symmetrical pawn structure and
White's blocked bishop on f3, and be plotting my route to equality, perhaps by
exchanging the dark-squared bishops. In reality, White stands significantly
better.} 20. Nd5 $1 Kh8 21. Kg2 a6 22. Rfd1 Nb6 23. Qe2 Nfxd5 {Who wants to
live with a pesky knight on d5 forever? That said, capturing with the knight
on b6 is safer, keeping the knight on f6 to help defend the kingside.} 24. exd5
f6 {perhaps this was the reason to take with the knight on f6, as it freed the
f-pawn to defend the one on e5. But it weakens the light squares around
Black's king. White doesn't have any attackers in the zone yet, but Black's
defenders are a long way from the kingside. The attackers are about to appear.}
25. Bg4 Rc7 26. Be6 Nc8 27. h4 Nd6 28. h5 Bb4 29. h6 {Can White really
threaten Black's king with only a bishop and a pawn? Yes, yes he can, if his
queen can shift into the attacking zone at a moment's notice.} Re7 30. hxg7+
Rxg7 31. Rc6 Qb7 32. Qh5 {White has a winning advantage, so Black's next move
can hardly be classified as a mistake, but it allows an attractive finish.} Rg5
33. Qxg5 $1 fxg5 34. Bxe5+ Qg7 1-0

[Event "Oregon Class Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.11.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Lewis, Kai"]
[Black "Nobles, Will"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D20"]
[WhiteElo "1620"]
[BlackElo "1710"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "97"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,97,30,22,22,3,37,29,13,24,21,29,20,33,33,32,67,45,39,35,67,-13,14,-16,
-16,-35,28,6,0,0,0,0,34,43,43,43,50,-144,-140,-142,-147,-231,-235,-433,-433,
-418,-231,-234,-231,-234,-229,-236,-168,-286,-244,-244,-212,-254,-254,-260,
-248,-219,-161,-161,-96,-101,-106,-133,-103,-109,-106,-143,-106,-93,-21,-14,0,
0,0,0,0,-11,-11,-37,-21,-34,0,-51,-51,-51,-25,-58,-48,-114,552,557,571,571,571,
558]} {This round 2 game between the eventual class B winners is a
back-and-forth affair that finally resolves in favor of Kai Lewis. Undaunted,
Will Nobles goes on to win his next three games, allowing him to catch Kai who
took half-point byes in rounds 4 and 5.} 1. e3 {Not the most theoretically
critical line, but White has lots of chances to transpose into other openings
depending on Black's next moves.} e5 2. c4 {For example, transposing to the
English opening.} c6 {Transposing to a Reversed Alapin Sicilian} 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.
d4 exd4 5. exd4 d5 6. Nf3 Bd6 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Bxc4 {Chessbase classified this
game as ECO code D20 - the Queen's Gambit Accepted. Why wasn't it classified
A20, the ECO code for the English line 1.c4 e5 2.e3 or even A00, the
classification code for the 1.e3 opening? Because this position could have
been reached through the move order 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.
exd4 6.Nc3 c6 7.Nf3 Bd6 8.Bg5, an unlikely Queen's Gambit accepted line that
has also been reached through the French Defense move order 1.e4 e6 2.d4d5 3.
exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Bxc4. Chess is a maze of
twisty passages, all alike.} O-O 9. O-O Nbd7 10. d5 $6 {A little impatient,
allowing Black equality. The isolated d-pawn will be hard for Black to attack,
so White has no need to hurry to liquidate the supposed weakness.} (10. Re1 Nb6
11. Bb3 Bf5 ({I'd be tempted to play} 11... Bg4 {as} 12. h3 Bh5 13. g4 Bg6 14.
Ne5 {appears to weaken White's kingside, but Stockfish loves White's position.}
) 12. Ne5 {gives White a decent attacking formation}) 10... Nb6 $1 11. Bb3 cxd5
12. h3 Re8 (12... Be6 {is also a fine move, defending the newly won pawn on d5.
But Stockfish says it 0.00, a sign that it believes that best play for both
sides will result in a three-fold repetition. A sample repetition line is} 13.
Qd3 Rc8 14. Rad1 Re8 15. Nd4 h6 16. Bh4 Be7 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Qe2 Bc5 19. Ne4
Be7 20. Nc3 Bc5 21. Ne4 Be7 {which looks artificial to me, but Stockfish is
always right and I am always wrong.}) 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Qxd5 $11
Bf5 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. Qxb7 Be4 18. Qxa7 $2 (18. Bd5 $1 $11 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 Rb8 (
19... g6 20. Qxa7 $2 Qf4 {requires White to sacrifice the exchange with} 21.
Rxd6) 20. Qc6 Red8 21. b3 {may be drawn despite White's extra pawn due to the
opposite colored bishops.}) 18... Bxf3 $1 19. gxf3 Qf4 20. Rxd6 ({The other
way to prevent Black from playing 20...Qh2 checkmate is} 20. Qxf7+ Qxf7 21.
Bxf7+ Kxf7 {Stockfish likes Black's position to the tune of -4.5, but it looks
like there is a lot of work for Black to do before claiming the point. Black
has the wrong Rook pawn for the dark-squared bishop, so either Stockfish has
high hopes for the g-pawn or is hoping to tie White down by aiming all Black's
pieces at the pawn on f2 and then picking off whatever loose pawns it can find.
}) 20... Rxd6 {Black's extra exchange and White's broken kingside pawns
support Stockfish's assessment of an overwhelming Black advantage. But there
is no immediate mate, so White has reasons for hope. His attack on Black's f7
square ties Black down. And though White's connected passed pawns on the
queenside are no immediate threat, if he can ever get them rolling...} 21. Qb7
Rg6+ 22. Kh1 Rh6 23. Qd7 Qxf3+ 24. Kh2 Qf4+ 25. Kh1 Qe4+ 26. Kh2 Qe5+ {Black
has plenty of moves that do not spoil his advantage, but not many moves that
make progress, and most of them seem require aiming toward magical computer
piece arrangements. If you don't believe in magical computer piece
arrangements, you can save time by skipping the following analysis.} ({One
magical piece arrangement example is} 26... Rf8 {Normally you don't want rooks
playing defense - they are great attackers and less than ideal defenders. But
the f7 pawn needs all the help it can get.} 27. Rd1 Qf3 28. Rd2 ({
Alternatively, defending the pawn with} 28. Rf1 {leads to the loss of the
b-pawn after} Qe2 29. Qd1 Qxb2) 28... Rxh3+ 29. Qxh3 Qf4+ 30. Kg2 Qxd2 {
makes progress, as the only way White can defend his b-pawn is to break up the
connected passed pawns.} 31. Qc3 Qxc3 32. bxc3) 27. Kh1 Re7 28. Qd8+ Re8 29.
Qd7 Rf6 30. f3 Qe2 31. Bc4 Qe7 $2 {We are taught to trade piecesl when we are
material up. But in this case, removing the queens means that White's broken
kingside pawn shelter is no longer a defensive problem. This allows White's
connected passed pawns on the queenside to come into their own. Black is still
better, but White has now has clear reasons for hope. For Ted Lasso fans, this
is a time to Believe, not the time for "It's the hope that kills you."} 32.
Qxe7 Rxe7 33. Rf2 g5 {I mentioned earlier my belief that Rooks are great
attackers but less than ideal defenders. So I support Black's attempt to mount
an attack.} ({Stockfish prefers trying to slow down White's queenside pawns
with} 33... Ra7 34. b3 Ra3 {This seems defensive to me, but perhaps I should
view it as an attack on the a2 pawn, combining attack with defense.}) 34. b3
Re3 35. Kg2 h5 36. a4 Kg7 ({The last chance to slow down White's queenside
pawns is} 36... Rf5 $1 $17 37. b4 ({if White tries to pass with a move that
maintains the status quo like} 37. Kg3 Kg7 38. Kg2 h4 39. Rf1 Kf6 40. Rf2 Rc3
41. Rf1 Ke7 42. Re1+ Kd6 43. Rf1) 37... Rf4 {and White gets to choose whether
Black will win a pawn a pawn on b4 or f3} 38. Rc2 (38. Bd5 Rxb4) 38... Rfxf3)
37. a5 $1 $11 Rd6 $6 (37... Rc3 38. a6 Rxc4 39. bxc4 Rxa6 40. c5 Rc6 41. Rc2
$11 {Yeah, in Rook endings there are always plenty of mistakes for either side
to make, so the game isn't quite over. But Stockfish says that both sides
multiple moves to maintain equality - not one of those "narrow path to a draw"
positions.}) 38. a6 $1 $14 Re7 $2 39. Ra2 (39. b4 $1 $16) 39... Ra7 $1 $11 40.
Ra5 Kg6 41. Ra2 f6 42. Kg3 f5 43. Re2 f4+ 44. Kf2 Kf5 45. Re8 Rd2+ 46. Re2 $2
Rad7 $4 {A heartbreaking finish to a hard-fought game.} (46... Rxe2+ $1 $17 47.
Bxe2 Ke5 48. b4 Kd5 49. b5 Kc5 {Black's king blocks the pawns on light squares,
so the light-squared bishop can't break the blockade.}) 47. Be6+ $1 Kf6 48.
Bxd7 Rxd7 49. b4 1-0

[Event "Oregon Class Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.11.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Nobles, Will"]
[Black "Uan-Zo-Li, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C79"]
[WhiteElo "1710"]
[BlackElo "1773"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,71,28,28,22,28,34,15,31,4,-8,8,8,-5,16,-20,0,5,18,-3,8,1,9,8,31,-4,23,
21,35,44,61,80,82,86,98,52,92,63,73,73,71,55,272,129,198,188,183,74,88,67,85,
85,144,95,153,122,189,217,214,274,314,321,322,176,183,199,193,164,2002,2879,
2230,2713,29979,29980]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6.
Re1 Bg4 {In the Ruy Lopez, White often plays h2-h3 to prevent this pin before
advancing pawns in the center with c2-c3 and d2-d4. What happens if Black pins
this knight before White prevents it? Will demonstrates that White how to get
the central pawns rolling even when they are inhibited by a pin on the f3
knight.} 7. c3 {First, Will stops 7...Nc6-d4 which would intensify pressure on
the pinned knight. And the pawn on c3 will eventually support the d2-d4 pawn
push, it will just come a little later than it usually does in the Ruy Lopez.
Some the Ruy requires a little patience.} b5 8. Bc2 Be7 9. d3 {It appears that
White will lose time by taking two moves to get his pawn to d4. But he will
gain some time by attacking Black's light squared bishop, so it will turn out
fine in the end.} h6 10. Nbd2 {When I played the Ruy it took a lot of faith
for me to believe these positions were good for White. Black appears to have
more pieces developed than White, partly because White's bishop on c1 is going
nowhere fast. But it usually is reasonably well placed on c1. And the rook on
a1 isn't undeveloped, it is there to assist an a2-a4 pawn push. Development
means getting your pieces to good squares - if they are already on good
squares, you are under no obligation to move them.} O-O 11. h3 {White now gets
this standard Ruy move for free.} Bh5 12. Nf1 Nh7 13. Ng3 {This typical Ruy
maneuver gains additional time by attacking the bishop on h5.} Bg6 14. d4 {
White gets a normal Ruy position. Even though it took a little longer to get
there, it all turned out well in the end. White has a solid though not yet
winning advantage.} Bf6 15. d5 Ne7 16. h4 $5 {White has other good moves, but
this one creates some kingside action} (16. a4 {is also good, though not
better than what White played.}) 16... h5 {The best way of preventing 17.h4-h5
and winning Black's bishop on g6.} 17. Ng5 Nc8 (17... Bxg5 18. hxg5 f6 $14 {
holds White's advantage to a minimum.} 19. gxf6 (19. Nxh5 fxg5 {is messy but
about equal.}) 19... Nxf6) 18. Nxh7 Kxh7 19. Nxh5 Bxh4 20. g3 Bf6 $2 (20... Bg5
21. f4 Bh6 $16 {isn't pleasant for Black, but is better than the game
continuation}) 21. Kg2 Rh8 22. Rh1 Kg8 23. Qg4 Bxh5 24. Rxh5 Rxh5 25. Qxh5 {
White will need to shift some pieces to the kingside for an ongoing attack,
but his well placed queen and the open h-file means that Black will have a
difficult defense} Kf8 26. Be3 Ne7 27. f4 Ng6 ({Stockfish says} 27... exf4 $16
{is a better defensive try, but I would be reluctant to relinquish my e5
strong point and open lines around my king. Black's e5 pawn is keeping White's
bishop on c2 from contributing.}) 28. f5 Ne7 29. g4 Ng8 30. g5 Be7 31. g6 Nf6
32. Qh8+ Ng8 33. Rf1 f6 {It is tempting to try to lock the position as much as
possible, but Black needs the f6 square for his bishop to defend the pawn on
g7.} 34. Rh1 $1 Qd7 35. Rh7 $1 Bd8 36. Bh6 $1 {You don't need to see the mate
in 7 that Stockfish announces to understand the carnage that is about to occur
on g7} 1-0

[Event "WA Challenger's Cup"]
[Site "Seattle, WA"]
[Date "2022.11.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Arat, Yagiz"]
[Black "Pisan, Kai"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A16"]
[WhiteElo "1894"]
[BlackElo "1775"]
[Annotator "Kai Pisan"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2022.11.04"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. c4 Nf6 {This was a fascinating game in the English opening and both sides
had many different chances. Although Black took the advantage pretty early on,
there are lots of hidden tactical and strategic ideas. This was a marathon of
a game, lasting around three hours, and a crucial win for me in the tournament.
} 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 $6 {This already gave me a pretty easy game, as
it allowed for a strong d5 and c6 pawn center. It also helped me play against
the English bishop.} exd5 5. d4 c6 6. Bg2 Bf5 7. Nf3 Bd6 8. Nh4 $5 {This was a
surprise from my opponent, as I had been thinking about 0-0 or possible Qb3
variations. I did not want to give up the light-squared bishop, even though
preserving it would not allow me to maintain my grasp of the critical e4
square.} Be6 9. O-O Qc8 $6 {The engine dislikes this move, but in the game, I
thought it was an interesting plan because I could play both …Nbd7 and
prepare to trade off the light-squared bishops. I was also worried about
possible f4 ideas and my bishop having to be evacuated from e6.} 10. Bg5 Nbd7
11. f4 $6 {Over the board I did not think this move was good because I could
simply play h6 and get the bishop for the knight; it also weakened White’s
king on the g1 to a7 diagonal.} h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. f5 Bd7 14. e4 $1 {White
took an aggressive strategy because Black’s king was still in the center. It
looked quite dangerous for me to short castle, so I decided to opt for moving
my king queenside, after dealing with the center tension.} dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4
16. Bxe4 Qc7 17. b4 $6 {Another aggressive ploy by White to keep Black’s
king exposed. On closer inspection however, it simply gave away a pawn.
Although grabbing it immediately is not one of the engine’s top choices, it
still gave Black many practical chances if the king could be brought to safety.
} Bxb4 18. Kh1 $4 {An odd choice, especially since White needed to play
actively as they were a pawn down. Better would have been Qb3 or Rb1.} O-O-O
19. Rb1 Ba5 20. Rf2 $6 {Black is now winning due to the fact that White’s
pieces are in disarray and White is down material. This plan of Rf2, although
a smart way to stack the rooks, is not fast enough for the position’s needs.}
Rhe8 21. Qf3 Bb6 22. Rfb2 Bxd4 {A critical decision point here. If Black did
not take on d4, then d5 and the light squares around Black’s king being
weakened would be constantly looming. On the other hand, even then I knew that
taking on d4 would lead to a long, complicated, drawn-out ending of two rooks
versus the queen. In hindsight, …Qd6 or …Kb8 might have been better,
although I think simplifying the position down makes it easier to play.} 23.
Rxb7 Qxb7 24. Rxb7 Kxb7 25. Ng2 Re7 26. Qd3 Bb6 27. a4 $4 {White finally gave
way to the pressure and blundered a discovery. This led to an even more
winning endgame for Black, with two rooks and a bishop versus a queen. It is
also a nice tactical motif.} Bxf5 $1 28. Bxc6+ Kxc6 29. Qb5+ Kb7 30. Qxf5 Rd1+
31. Ne1 Rdxe1+ 32. Kg2 R1e5 33. Qf3+ {Here I was perplexed by how to get my
king safe, but saw that if I somehow got it to g8, my wall of pawns would be
enough protection.} Kc7 34. Qf4 Kd8 35. Qf3 f6 36. Qb3 R7e6 37. Kh3 Ke7 38. Kh4
Kf8 39. a5 $1 {I saw this move, although I deemed it not dangerous because my
rooks were protecting my bishop and my king was no longer at risk. However, it
is White’s best option.} Bxa5 40. Qb8+ Kf7 41. Qxa7+ Re7 42. Qa6 g6 43. Kh3
Kg7 {With the problem of my king out of the way, I could finally go on the
offensive and maneuver my pieces to their optimal squares.} 44. Kh4 Bd2 45. Kg4
h5+ 46. Kh3 g5 47. Qd3 Re2 $1 {A beautiful zugzwang. I still had to calculate
it carefully, however, as stalemate traps such as Qh7!! could have worked if
White had not had a g pawn. This also forces the winning of White’s queen
because of the encroaching …g4+, …Rh2 checkmate threat.} 48. g4 R7e3+ 0-1

