Chess Improvement

Here’s a game by #1 ICC webcast host, old Harvard Square buddy IM Bill Paschall, ICC handle MrSerious. Let’s see some analysis of how he did and where he went wrong back in 2006.

[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, USA"]
[Date "2006.07.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "IM_Paschall"]
[Black "GM_Antic"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Opening "King's Indian: fianchetto, Kavalek (Bronstein) variation"]
[ECO "E62"]
[NIC "KI.74"]
[Time "18:30:18"]

2006 World Open
Philadelphia, former capitol of the USA
July 3, 2006

Opening – King’s Indian, Kavalek Variation
White – IM Bill Paschall
Black – GM Dejan Antic

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O
5. Bg2 d6 6. d4 c6 7. O-O Qa5

Kavalek Variation. One of GM Roman Dzindzichashvili’s favorites, who taught Bill a thing or two in Boston.

8. h3 e5 9. e4 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nbd7 11. Re1 Re8
12. Nb3 Qc7 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. Qe2!!! TN
Theoretical Novelty by Paschall and the best move -
#2 move 14 c5!! and
#3 move 14 Bf1!
have been tried once each

14 … Nh5
Antic has a comfortable position – a big part of Black’s strategy is to
lure White’s pawns forward to their own doom. This game is a perfect example. The pieces are barely touching which means Black has a 25 move comfort zone – top 3 moves – 14 … Be6!!, … b6!, … Nh5!

15. Be3! Be6!! 16. Nd2!
close call between this and 16 c5!

16 … f5!!
Provocative!? Bill tries to fight fire with fire here but it backfires big time. I have been screaming for 5 years that a bodyguard (pawn near a King) is worth a piece but only the GMs listen to me.

I don’t know if computers are designed for positions like this – 16 … Nd7, … f5, … Nf6, … c5 and … Bc8 is what Fritz 8 recommends – Humans loathe retreating or creating giant holes in their pawn structures. If we do retreat we cover our shame by calling it “regrouping”.

17. f4??
Fighting fire with fire but this seems to be the move that Black is forever trying to provoke in the g3-King’s Indian.

17 … Nxg3!!
Say it with me, class. “A bodyguard is worth a piece”.
Thank you, be seated. 17 … B:c4!, … Nd7! and … Nf7 work OK too but 17 … N:g3 is an explosion.

18. Qf2! (Only move) Nxe4!! (Only move)
19. Bxe4!
Only move because N:e4 is met by … Nd3

19 … Nxc4!!
Only move. Antic’s antic have resolved themselves into 3 pawns for a piece, solid pawn structure, safer King, e-file pressure, bishop-pressure, possible central pawn wave

20. Nxc4
Bill finally has a choice again between this and 20 Bc2, a close call, better for Dejan either way.

20 … fxe4! 21. Nd2!
Knights need outposts – without them they get pushed back to irrelevant squares.

21 … d5!!!
The black pawns are rolling down the center. It’s a bad sign when your GM opponent has good choices every move – notice Bill was fine until he got overaggressive with 17 f4?? – Dejan has 21 … Bf5!!, … B:c3, … b5, … B:h3, … Qd7, … Rf8 and others

22. Rac1 Qf7
Among 30 good moves, 22 .. Qd7!!!, … Rf8!!, … Qd8!!, … Qf7!! and … Qd6!! are best.

23. Ne2 Bxb2!! 24. Rc2! Bg7! 25. Bxa7 Bxh3
Bill has drawn a line in the sand from a7 to e3 to prevent the pawn wave so Grandmaster Antic uses the open space in front of IM Paschall’s King to distract the diagonal defenders, the tin cans on a7 and f2 with a string between them.

26. Bd4 e3
There it is already, snipping the white string with a red kid’s scissors. The tin cans on d4 and f2 made a pleasing metallic sound as they hit and rolled.

27. Bxe3! Qf5!
slapping the rook on c2 plus setting up … R:e3+ shots combined with Qf5-g4+-g2checkmate 26 … e3 overloaded Bill’s pieces on
d4, c2, f2 and g1. It’s getting serious for Mr. Serious.

28. Rcc1 Qg4+!!
Paschall resigns due to 29 Ng3 d4 30 B:d4 B:d4 31 Q:d4 Q:g3+ 32 Kh1 Qg2 checkmate 29 Kh2 R:e3 29 Kh1 R:e3
29 Qg3 R:e3
{Black wins} 0-1

Paschall-Antic.pgn
————————————————————————
[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, USA"]
[Date "2006.07.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "IM_Paschall"]
[Black "GM_Antic"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Opening "King's Indian: fianchetto, Kavalek (Bronstein) variation"]
[ECO "E62"]
[NIC "KI.74"]
[Time "18:30:18"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. d4 c6 7. O-O Qa5 8. h3
e5 9. e4 exd4 10. Nxd4 Nbd7 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nb3 Qc7 13. Bf4 Ne5 14. Qe2 Nh5
15. Be3 Be6 16. Nd2 f5 17. f4 Nxg3 18. Qf2 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Nxc4 20. Nxc4 fxe4
21. Nd2 d5 22. Rac1 Qf7 23. Ne2 Bxb2 24. Rc2 Bg7 25. Bxa7 Bxh3 26. Bd4 e3
27. Bxe3 Qf5 28. Rcc1 Qg4+ {Black wins} 0-1
————————————————————————–

Antic Chess games

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1304640
———————————————————————–

Paschall games

http://www.chessgames.com/player/bill_paschall.html
————————————————————————
Paschall videos

http://www.chesslecture.com/mtm.php
————————————————————————-

Brian Wall Chess games

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=50458
———————————————————————
[Event "Sas van Gent op U20"]
[Site "Sas van Gent"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Meyer,Harvey"]
[Black "Martin,David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "E69"]

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.d4 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 c6
9.h3 Qa5 10.Re1 exd4 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Nb3 Qc7 13.Bf4 Ne5 14.c5 dxc5 15.Nxc5 Nh5
16.Bg5 h6 17.Be3 b6 18.Nb3 Ba6 19.Bf1 Rad8 20.Nd2 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 Nc4 22.Qe2 Nxe3
23.Qxe3 Bd4 24.Qxh6 Qxg3+ 25.Kh1 Qxh3+ 26.Kg1 Be5

0-1
——————————————————————–

[Event "MK Cafe op-A"]
[Site "Koszalin"]
[Date "1997.08.03"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Janocha,Wieslaw"]
[Black "Flis,Jacek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "E69"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 e5 8.e4 c6
9.h3 Qa5 10.Re1 exd4 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Nb3 Qc7 13.Bf4 Ne5 14.Bf1 Be6 15.Nd2 Nfd7
16.Rc1 f5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Nf3 Nxf3+ 19.Qxf3 Ne5 20.Qd1 Qf7 21.b3 Rad8
22.Bg2 Qf8 23.Ne2 Ng6 24.Bg5 Bf6 25.Bxf6 Qxf6 26.Qd4 Qxd4 27.Nxd4 Kf7
28.f4 Bc8 29.Kf2 Rxe1 30.Rxe1 Re8 31.Rd1 Rd8 32.Nf3 h6 33.Nd4 Kf6 34.Bf3 Ne7
35.Ne2 Be6 36.Ke3 Rd7 37.Nc3 a6 38.Kd4 b5 39.c5 b4 40.Na4 d5 41.Nb2 Ng6
42.Nd3 a5 43.Bh5 Nf8 44.Ne5 Rc7 45.Ke3 Bd7 46.Nf3 Ne6 47.Rc1 Ng7 48.g4 Nxh5
49.gxh5 Be8 50.Rg1 Bxh5 51.Ne5 Bf7 52.Kd4 Rc8 53.Nd7+ Ke6 54.Ne5 Kf6
55.Nd7+ Ke6 56.Rg7 Rc7 57.Ne5 Kf6 58.Rh7 h5 59.h4 Re7 60.Rh6+ Kg7 61.Rxc6 Ra7
62.Rb6 Ra8
1-0
—————————————————————————-

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Back in 1963 when I was 8 years old Bobby Fischer wrote in Boy’s Life that this game with Berliner was probably most indicative of his style. It shows remorseless technical determination, not the kind of game I would normally choose to annotate.

I have played over all of Dashzeveg Sharavdorj’s games twice, once to look for email material and once again to prepare for the Colorado Closed. In general Sharavdorj’s style is like the Berliner-Fischer game, relentless, technical Chess usually revolving around one pawn. Dan Avery Chess – a narrow range of plus or minus one pawn.

I have analyzed with Sharavdorj and he sees tacics instantly and his evaluations of endgames is usually instantaneous as well. He plays what David Vigorito calls “correct Chess”. Sharavdorj aims for positional clarity and I aim for tactical insanity so our styles are sort of opposite. Philipp Ponomarev, Colorado Closed 2008, is the only local to beat the Grandmaster in Colorado as far as I know.

Tyler Hughes and I have had winning positons against him but only managed to lose or draw in slow Chess.

Sharavdorj has beaten many top GMs living in the United States. I would describe his style as pure, distilled logic. His approach is too refined for me to appreciate. Sharavdorj is Glenfiddich Scotch and I am Boone’s Farm Tickled Pink wine.

Here is an interesting game where living
legend Viktor Korchnoi beats Sharavdorj.
Korchnoi is as old as my Dad.

Lucius John Wall II 77, born July 22, 1931.
Viktor Korchnoi 77, born March 23,1931

Korchnoi belongs to the short list of almost World Champions like
Keres, Kamsky, Bronstein, Hammersmith, Rubinstein, Schlecter.

[Event "Western Open"]
[Site "Bay City"]
[Date "1963.07.07"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "8"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Hans Berliner"]
[Black "Robert James Fischer"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "106"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5
7. Nf3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Bxd2+ 10. Qxd2 O-O 11. Bd3 b6
12. O-O Bb7 13. Rfd1 Nc6 14. Qb2 Qf6 15. Rac1 Rfd8 16. Bb5 Rac8
17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qf4 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20. Qd4 g5 21. f3 g4
22. Be2 gxf3 23. gxf3 Kh8 24. Kh1 Ba6 25. Qf2 Bxe2 26. Qxe2 Qxe5
27. Rg1 f5 28. Qd3 fxe4 29. fxe4 Rf8 30. Qc2 Qf6 31. Rg2 Qd4
32. h3 Qa1+ 33. Rg1 Qe5 34. Qe2 b5 35. Qc2 b4 36. Qd3 a5
37. Qc2 Qf6 38. Qc4 Qf3+ 39. Kh2 Rd8 40. Qc2 Qc3 41. Qxc3+ bxc3
42. Rc1 Rd3 43. Rb1 Kg7 44. Rb5 a4 45. Rc5 a3 46. Kg2 Re3
47. Rc4 Kf6 48. h4 Ke5 49. Kf2 Rh3 50. Kg2 Rd3 51. h5 Kf4
52. h6 Ke3 53. Rc7 Kd2

0-1

berliner-fischer.pgn
—————————————————————————-

[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2007.06.09"]
[EventDate "2007.06.08"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Dashzeveg Sharavdorj"]
[Black "Viktor Korchnoi"]
[ECO "D26"]
[WhiteElo "2454"]
[BlackElo "2623"]
[PlyCount "56"]

2007 National Open

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Round 4

June 8, 2007

40/2, Game/1

White – GM Dashzeveg Sharavdorj 2454

Black – Viktor Korchnoi 2623

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 c5 5. Bxc4 Nf6 6. O-O Nc6
7. Qe2 cxd4 8. Rd1 Be7 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. exd4 Bd7

This has a Lasker/Steinitz feel to it

11. Bg5 TN Sharavdorj

Theoretical Novelty by Sharavdorj

11 Nc3 played 8 times before
11 d5 played once
11 Bf4 never played

11 … O-O! 12. Nc3! Re8! 13. Rd3

It is not so easy to checkmate Viktor Korchnoi

13 … Rc8! 14. Bb3 Bc6! 15. Rad1 Nd5 16. Bxd5! Bxd5!
17. Bxe7! Rxe7! 18. Qh5 Rd7! 19. Rh3! h6! 20. Qe5! Qf8
21. Rg3! Rcd8 22. Rdd3 f6

The game should be about even but Korchnoi
has slight pressure against the d-pawn

23. Qh5 Bc4! 24. Rdf3 Rxd4!

Suddenly Korchnoi wins the isolani

25. h3! Kh8! 26. Rg6 Bd3 27. Rxd3

Rather than just being a pawn down after
27 Rg4 Sharavdorj goes for broke.

27 … Rxd3! 28. Ne4 R8d5!

The attack is dead after
29 Qe2 Qe8 so
Sharavdorj resigns.

0-1

Where did Dashzeveg go wrong?
Little errors.
22 Rdd3 was not quite right.
22 f4 intending 23 f5 with a micro-edge was better.
The idea of 22 Rdd3 was 23 R:g7+ K:g7 24 Rg3
but after 22 Rdd3 f6
the rook was just awkwardly placed.

His next move 23 Qh5 was a little rambunctious,
just defending the d-pawn with 23 Qe3 is OK -
23 Qe3 Bc4 24 Rd1 e5 25 d5 or Q:h6
should hold

Dashzeveg’s next move, 24 Rdf3 digs the hole deeper.
24 Rd1/2 R:d4 25 R:d4 R:d4 26 b3 Ba6 27 Q:h6
is not so bad

26 Rg6 doesn’t help either
and 27 R:d3 is just hopeless.

It seems the Mongolian got nervous just trying to hang onto his weak d-pawn and tried to invade forcefully with his rooks and the whole thing just backfired.

Korchnoi out-Sharavdorjed Sharavdorj.
——————————————————————————
[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas USA"]
[Date "2007.06.09"]
[EventDate "2007.06.08"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Dashzeveg Sharavdorj"]
[Black "Viktor Korchnoi"]
[ECO "D26"]
[WhiteElo "2454"]
[BlackElo "2623"]
[PlyCount "56"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 e6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 c5 5. Bxc4 Nf6 6. O-O Nc6
7. Qe2 cxd4 8. Rd1 Be7 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. exd4 Bd7 11. Bg5 O-O
12. Nc3 Re8 13. Rd3 Rc8 14. Bb3 Bc6 15. Rad1 Nd5 16. Bxd5 Bxd5
17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. Qh5 Rd7 19. Rh3 h6 20. Qe5 Qf8 21. Rg3 Rcd8
22. Rdd3 f6 23. Qh5 Bc4 24. Rdf3 Rxd4 25. h3 Kh8 26. Rg6 Bd3
27. Rxd3 Rxd3 28. Ne4 R8d5 0-1

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