Brian Wall once wrote:
When I was performing my duties as an International Chess bon vivant I received a tell that my mind won’t let go of.
“Can you tell me why the top players do not employ the Alekhine’s Defense?”
The question has been bothering me ever since and I’ll tell you why.
First of all,
Khasimdzhanov ( FIDE World Champion ),
Ruslan Ponomariev ( FIDE World Champion ), Ivanchuk ( World #7 ),
Michael Adams ( World #8 ), Mamedyarov ( World #12 ),
Rublevsky ( Russian champion ), Shabalov ( American Champion ),
Christian Bauer, Baburin, Zoltan Varga, Robert Zelcic, Nikolenko,
Kengis, Rozentalis, Solozhenkin, Speelman, Vaganian, Ye Jiangchua,
Yermolinsky, Agdestein, Milos and Daniel Fridman
are some of the players that have employed
Alekhine’s Defense in the last 5 years.
It goes beyond that. I have a theory of life that says two
conflicting experiences determine our lives. One is that we
are human pinballs, bouncing from one perceived trauma to another,
twisting ourselves into pretzels to avoid future pain. I could give
endless examples of this -
——————————————————————————
The idea I am trying to get to is that our behavior can be half seen as a reaction to emotional traumas.
The second half of our behavior are due to what I call healthy actions, adventures in facing fear, amusement parks, trying new things, taking risks, getting actual experience instead of relying on distant negative reports.
What Grandmasters don’t think about is that a trite tarnish of an opening threshold TRAUMATIZE the tabula rasas, terminating their curiosity and turning the timid trout from those tarns.
Some examples -
A – 1 e4 g6 played by Capablanca
described by Alekhine as a joke opening.
B – Kasparov giving up the King’s Indian due to
Kramnik’s treatment of the Bayonet attack.
C – Spassky described the Caro-Kann as “not quite correct”
D – Fischer and Kavalek considered the Winawer French “positionally lost”
E – Fischer considered the Dragon weak -
Karpov won almost every game as White against it.
F – Fischer crushed the Center Counter, Scandinavian
G – I don’t know any World Champions that have tried 1 e4 Nc6
H – Kramnik thinks the Pirc Defense abandons the center and is not 100% correct
I – Fischer thought 1 d4 was boring
The point is that millions of huddled Chess sheep look to the Lions of Chess for leadership and so avoid perfectly sound constructions because their heroes raised an eyebrow. Minor ripples of discord from Mount Olympus turn into human tidal waves of fear at the lower levels. The opposite of this attitude is to have a little confidence and investigate for yourself.
Courage is the power to let go of the familiar. ~Raymond Lindquist
That is why I have played every legal move for Black and White in rated Chess. I was simply disgusted and tired of patzers avoiding openings by quoting GM’s, including myself.
This was all a preamble to explain why I was so impressed with Nakamura in the 2006 World Open. Hikaru does not wring his hands about a “slightly cramped, inferior game” like the legions of Chess Hamlets out there, the Hickinator practices with hundreds of blitz games to get a feel, double checks everything with his computers and awaaaay he goes. Why do children constantly have to lead the way for adults? – because adults have simply become so twisted
with falsely perceived traumas they won’t try any more. My own theory is that when we get too old to laugh at God’s jokes he whisks us off the stage and brings in the next audience.
The Nakster had 3 victories with Alekhine’s Defense in the World Open, 2 as Black and one as White against Joel Benjamin. One thing the World #78 player did not do is ask himself – “Can you tell me why the top players do not employ the Alekhine’s Defense?” – Hikaru just rolls up his sleeves and gets the job done.
I am going to present a few Alekhine’s Defenses today. Hang on.
————————————————————————–
Wachter, Richard
2003-12-07
200312072630 UTAH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP (UT)
1: AMATEUR 1415 1546
last event
————————————————————————-
I received an email from Richard Wachter about his first Denver tournament. I will add comments of my own in when unneeded and unwanted.
Brian Wall -
—————————————————————————
—————————————————————————
Richard Wachter to Brian -
“richard wachter”
Subject: Re: Denver Open
To: “Brian Wall”
I enjoyed your article on the Alekhine’s you played against Hammersmith. Here’s my first round game from Saturday.
Event: Denver Open 2006
Division: U1800
Round: 1
White: Richard Wachter 1546
Black: Roderick Santiago 1684
Date : July 1, 2006
Opening: Alekhine’s Defense
1. e4 Nf6
I had not played a tournament game in nearly 3 years…I was worried about my rusty openings but was pleased to see Alekhine’s Defense. I played countless games with the white side against Rob Karnisky in a Boulder coffee shop years ago.
2. e5 Nd5
3. d4 d6
4. c4 Nb6
5. exd exd
6. Nc3 Nc6
7. Be3 Be7
8. Bd3 Bf6
9. Ne2 Bg4
10. a3?!
Alekhine himself played this in a 1932 simul. I enjoyed the historical irony but made the move with different strategic intentions. Alekhine castles queenside in his game which fizzled into a draw. My
plan is based on saccing two pawns and counterattacking with better piece activity to utilize the coming open lines. I also take b4 away from the c6 Knight who never does find his way past the 3rd rank.
Brian Wall -
10 f3 23 games
10 Qd2 9 games
10 h3 6 games
10 Qb3 2 games
10 0-0 2 games
Fritz 8 -
10 Qb3, h3, f3, Qb1, Qd2, Qc1, d5, Qc2, c5, 0-0, Be4
10…. NxP
Brian Wall -
10 … B:d4!!
Brian Wall -
11. 0-0 NxN
12. NxN
Pitching a second pawn but the rest of my pieces will soon point towards the black king.
Brian Wall -
12 B:e2!
Brian Wall -
12. … Bxp
13. Ra2 Be5
14. f4 Bf6
15. h3 Bd7
16. Nd4 0-0
17. g4
Fritz prefers a more solid approach with Re2. I wanted to provoke the exchange that occurs next and set the stage for a kingside assault.
17. … BxN
Far from forced…also possible were h6, Re8, or c5.
18. BxB
This is the kind of position I had hoped for when playing a3. The Black pieces lack mobility and seem to be destined to defend for the duration of the middlegame. Black’s extra two pawns mean that he’s
winning but far from won. I now want to disrupt the pawns in front of the black monarch and find a timely place to swing in the a2 Rook.
17. … BxN
18. BxB Qh4
I don’t like this move because I don’t see a follow up. The queen will be driven away, actually losing a tempo in the game. 18 … c5 is one alternative.
19. Kh2
Making room for the rooks to occupy the g file.
19. … Rfe8
20. Qf3?
A waste of a move…I wanted to lure the black bishop off the h3-g4 diagonal so I could move my Queen without being bothered with Bxg4. The text should have lead to a forced exchange of one of my bishop…
20. … Bc6
21. Qd1 Nd7
21…Be4 exchanges off at least a pair of bishops and seriously dampens my attacking prospects.
22. Bf2 Qf6?
23. Bd4!
The bishop is pure poison because of 24. Bxh7+ and now the Black queen must continue her retreat.
23. … Qd8
24. Qa1?
Right idea, wrong square. 24 Qb1 carries the more immediate threat and denies black time to untangle his pieces.
24. … f6
24. … Nc5 grabs back a tempo and casts a dark shadow over the queenside.
25. Qb1 Nf8
26. g5?!
Fritz emits a loud groan here but its hard for an U1800 human to make the concessions necessary to defend against this hackneyed move.
26. … pxp
27. Rg1 h6?
27…Ne6 drops the h pawn but reduces Whites threats to smoke and mirrors.
28. pxp pxp
29. Rf2 Kh8??
29 … Ne6 was still the best choice, the text loses instantly to….
Brian Wall -
29 … Kh8???, dropping a Queen and a King.
The best way out now is the heinous
29 … Kh8 30 Qd1!!!!! Kg8 31 Qh5!!! Re5 32 Rgf1!!!
with massive material loss to follow for Santiago.
29 … Kh8 30 Qh5 Nh7 31 Qh5 mates in 4
Roderick has maintained all his advantages since 12 … B:b2! with roughly third best moves but now the heat is on – 29 … Ne6!!!, … Qe7!! and … Re6! all win but Richard has definitely created some pressure.
In a way this game demonstrates the justification for the only two plans a B-player can make -
1- grab material, trade down
2 -attack the King
somehow they know that risky only moves in a critical situation are usually not found. It shows they choose most moves on general grounds, not precise, thorough analysis of every possibility like Josh Bloomer or Tyler Hughes investigate.
It could also be that Roderick is tired of making so many good moves or getting worried about the clock. I like to see games where Chessplayers undertake risky, shaky attacks because they are outnumbered 100 to 1 by defensive players. It is much harder to convince a Petrosian to attack than a Tal to play soundly.
Dune (1965)
Frank Herbert
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
30. Qd1! Nh7
31. Qh5 Re4
Fritz instantly calculated the mate in 5 beginning with Qh5. In the game, I watched my time tick away while I fumbled around with the variations after Bxg7.
32. Rf7
32 Bxg7+ Kxg7 33. Rf7+ with mate to follow.
32. … Qe8
33. Bxp+?
The beginning of a diligent effort to throw away the win.
Brian Wall -
33 R:g5 mates in 7
Brian Wall
33. … Kg8
34. Rgf1 Qe6
35. Bd4
The only mate I managed to calculate here ended with a rook on h8. I lacked the time to worry about accuracy or aesthetics. I was choking harder than Alekhine himself on that fateful piece of meat.
Brian Wall -
35 g7-Bishop to a1, b2, c3 or d4 all checkmate
Brian Wall
35. … Rh4
36. Rg7+
Worth consideration was Bxh7 checkmate.
Brian Wall -
36 Q:h7+ R:h7 37 B:h7 checkmate is pretty …
unnecessary but would be more in my style, a cruel, deliberate attempt to stretch out the game for those who can’t resign.
36 Rg7+ is the Renae Delaware torture method, not through cruelty,
just blissfully unaware of the shorter checkmates.
Brian Wall -
36. … Kh8 37. QxN+
Brian Wall -
I can’t tell if this is the Brian Wall or Renae Delaware torture method -
probably the Renae since Richard was short of time -
37 R:h7+ Kg8 38 Rh8 checkmate or
37 Rg8+ Kg8 38 B:h7 checkmate
one move sooner
Brian Wall
37 … RxQ
38. RxR+ Kg8
39. Rh8++
Better late than never! A sloppy but successful return to Colorado Chess.
Richard Wachter out-
Brian Wall talking again -
Wachter deserves credit for a brave attack with a beautiful final position. Roderick deserves credit for maintaining control until move 29.
Brian Wall
—————————————————————————–
Wachter-Santiago.pgn
[Event "Denver Open, Under 1800 section"]
[Site "Tabor Center, Denver,"]
[Date "2006.07.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Richard Wachter"]
[Black "Roderick Santiago"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ICCResult "Black checkmated"]
[WhiteElo "1546"]
[BlackElo "1684"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: exchange variation"]
[ECO "B03"]
[NIC "AL.08"]
[Time "23:11:38"]
[TimeControl "Game/75"]
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6 exd6 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8.
Bd3 Bf6 9. Nge2 Bg4 10. a3 Nxd4 11. O-O Nxe2+ 12. Nxe2 Bxb2 13. Ra2 Be5 14.
f4 Bf6 15. h3 Bd7 16. Nd4 O-O 17. g4 Bxd4 18. Bxd4 Qh4 19. Kh2 Rfe8 20. Qf3
Bc6 21. Qd1 Nd7 22. Bf2 Qf6 23. Bd4 Qd8 24. Qa1 f6 25. Qb1 Nf8 26. g5 fxg5
27. Rg1 h6 28. fxg5 hxg5 29. Rf2 Kh8 30. Qd1 Nh7 31. Qh5 Re4 32. Rf7 Qe8 33.
Bxg7+ Kg8 34. Rgf1 Qe6 35. Bd4 Rh4 36. Rg7+ Kh8 37. Qxh7+ Rxh7 38. Rxh7+ Kg8
39. Rh8#
——————————————————————–
I drew Nakamura at age 13 but even then, his superiority was obvious. He was an hour ahead on the clock and tortured me in a technical position for 50 moves. He still calculates very rapidly and likes to be waaaay ahead on the clock. Anand and Karpov were famous for this in their youth – their moves were so good it seemed they were not impatient, they simply examined everything instantaneously and saw no better possibilities
[Event "34th Annual WORLD OPEN"]
[Site "Philadelphia"]
[Date "2006.07.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Onyekwere"]
[Black "Nakamura"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2263"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: modern, fianchetto variation"]
[ECO "B04"]
[NIC "AL.04"]
[Time "10:24:24"]
2006 World Open
Philadelphia, USA
Opening – Alekhine’s defense
White – Chikwere Onyekwere, 20 years old, 2006 Chess Champion of Nigeria 2263
Black – Hikaru Nakamura, age 18 , proud member with Kamsky, Onischuk and ICC webcasters Kaidanov and Varuzhan Akobian of the Bronze medal winning 2006 USA Olympic team. Born in Japan, raised by Suniil Weeramanty, Indian Olympic coach
In 2003, Nakamura became the youngest US grandmaster ever at the age of 15 years and 79 days, beating Fischer’s record by three months.
His last two opponents for that record was #1 ICC webcaster IM Bill Pascall and Colorado IM Michael Mulyar.
2664, #78 in the world
This is one of those Chessgames that has a clear equator, a dividing point.
1. e4 Nf6
If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.
Japanese proverb
2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Be2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O
7. exd6 cxd6 8.c4 Nb6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nc6 12. c5
Played 7 timed before
12 B:c6 was played 8 times before
Fritz 8 preferences -
12 c5!!, B:c6, Qd3 and Ne2
12 … dxc5! 13. dxc5! Nd7!
13 … B:c3, … Q:d1 and … Nc4 ( played thrice before )
are possible.
14. Be3!
The best move played once before -
Onyekwere appears adequately booked up so far.
Fritz – 14 Be3, Bg5, B:c6, Na4, Rb1, Kh1
Knowledge without wisdom is a load of books on the back of an ass.
Japanese proverb
If you believe everything you read, better not read.
Japanese proverb
If you understand everything, you must be misinformed.
Japanese proverb
14 … Qc8 TN
Theoretical Novelty by GM Hikaru Nakamura
An interesting decision -
Fritz approves of the previous game’s path -
14 … B:c3 15 bc Qc7 16 Qb3
but fighting with two knights and weakened
dark squares against two bishops filled
Hikaru with aesthetic horror.
Fritz doesn’t have to worry about its soul.
ICC MDog said when Hikaru was a guest commentator on ICC Chess.FM show he kept mentioning the plan, the plan – here I think the plan would be … Rd8 and … Ne5. and avoiding any Queen trade.
15. Rc1
Always aim your rooks at Kings and Queens, no matter how many pieces intervene. -
Romanian GM Suba
Fritz – 15 Qc2, Qb3, Rc1, Re1, Rb1, Qe2, a3, Qe1, Qc1, Be4 and Na4
15 … Rd8
Always aim your rooks at Kings and Queens,
no matter how many pieces intervene. -
Romanian GM Suba
Fritz – 15 … Nde5, … Rb8, … Nce5, … Kh8, … Nf6, … Rd8
16. Qb3!! Nde5
A fog cannot be dispelled with a fan -
Japanese proverb
17. Be4!! Qe6 18. Qxb7
To greed, all nature is insufficient.
- Seneca
Despite my quotes, 18 Q:b7 is a good move -
18 Q:e6!!! with the two bishops, better development and the better pawn structure is perhaps a more practical decision – clear advantage, less risk.
Nakamura had some miraculous escapes in the 2006 Turin, Italy Olympiad – if Onyekwere had reviewed Hikaru’s Olympic swindle against 2700 Grischuk he might have traded Queens here.
18. … Rab8!
19. Qa6!
19 … Rxb2!
It’s true Onyekwere is better but such active pieces in the hands of a major tactician like Nakamura is scary.
20. Nd5???
So far Nigeria was kicking Japan’s butt for some inexplicable reason,
perhaps emotional or time pressure, Chikwere completely falls to
pieces after outplaying Hikaru all game. 18 Q:e6!! seems much more
desirable now than the theoretically equal 18 Q:b7!
In one of my webcasts IM Cyrus Lakdawala humorously recounted how he lost every blitz game but one against Nakamura – Hikaru even teased him about his high rating. Cyrus said Hikaru was the closest thing to a human Fritz machine he ever played.
20 Rfd1!!!, Rcd1!!, Rb1!!, Bf4!, Kh1!, h4! and Kh2
all favor Chikwere.
20 Nd5??? would be a hideous blitz move so I have no idea what hallucination possessed Onyekwere. I thought maybe Hikaru built a Voodoo doll during the game and stuck its head with pins but …
Several religions coexisted in Nigeria, helping to accentuate regional and ethnic distinctions. All religions represented in Nigeria were practiced in every major city in 1990. But Islam dominated in the north, Protestantism and local syncretic Christianity were most in evidence in Yoruba areas, and Catholicism predominated in the Igbo and closely related areas. The 1963 census indicated that 47 percent of Nigerians were Muslim, 35 percent Christian, and 18
percent members of local indigenous congregations.
The only other plausible explanation I can conceive is an honest
confession by Holland’s Pia Sprong during a recent Fishing Pole
almost-brilliancy. Right at the critical moment, when the sacrifices were just about to pour down on White’s head, Pia experienced a sudden panic, a loss of confidence, that she had no right to beat a player hundreds of points higher rated. I have a theory that lower rated players choke against their betters because their emotions were not prepared for anything but losing before the game. Winning feels like no oxygen on Mount Everest, they can’t breathe, get dizzy, panic and blunder until their expectations coincide with the Chessboard.
Well, how would YOU explain 20 Nd5???
I can’t find a single tactical or positional justification.
20 … Rxd5!
Fall seven times, stand up eight.
Japanese proverb
21. Bxd5! Qxd5! 22. Qc8+!
22 … Bf8! 23. Rfd1 Qe6
Hmmm, Hikaru has no trouble trading Queens as soon as HE gets the advantage. To add salt to the wound it’s even on the same square Chikwere could have traded down to his own winning ending.
Maybe it was Hikaru’s time pressure that distracted Chikwere, unlikely as that sounds. Fritz prefers 23 … Q:a2!!! or … Qe4!!
24. Qxe6!
Best but a cruel twist of fate since Onyekwere has lost so much ground since 6 moves ago versus the imaginary 18 Q:e6!!!
24 … fxe6!
Two knights plus Nakamura’s skills in both making plans and seeing tactics versus a rook plus a panicking Chikwere is no contest.
25. Bd4 Nxd4! 26. Rxd4! Nc6 27. Rd7 Rxa2!
28. Rc7! Ra6! 29. Rc8 Kf7!
Centralizing the King plays a role in almost every ending -
Benko
30. Rc3 Bg7! 31. Rc4!
31 … Bf6 32. g3 e5! 33. Rc1 Ke6! 34. Rd1! Nd4 35. Rc7 h5 36. h4 e4! 37. Kg2! e3!
The whole game since 20 Nd5???
is just going through the motions.
I think this game also demonstrates why Nakamura is inconsistent and has erratic results. He flies through games and gets lost positions sometimes against much weaker players. Finishing quickly seems more important than playing soundly.
38. fxe3 Ra2+! 39. Kf1! Nf5! 40. Rd8 Nxg3+
41. Kg1! Kf5 42. Ra8! Rc2! 43. Rcxa7! Ne4
44. Ra2! Rxc5! 45. Kg2 Bxh4! 46. R8a5 Rxa5!
47. Rxa5+! e5! 48. Kf3 Bf6 49. Ra4 g5
50. Rb4 g4+! 51. Kg2! h4! 52. Kh2 Bg5!
53. Rb3 g3+! 54. Kh3! Nf2+! 55. Kg2! Kg4!
{Black wins} 0-1
We learn little from victory, much from defeat.
Japanese proverb
——————————————————————–
Onyekwere-Nakamura.pgn
[Event "34th Annual WORLD OPEN"]
[Site "Philadelphia"]
[Date "2006.07.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Onyekwere"]
[Black "Nakamura"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2263"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: modern, fianchetto variation"]
[ECO "B04"]
[NIC "AL.04"]
[Time "10:24:24"]
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Be2 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. exd6 cxd6
8. c4 Nb6 9. Nc3 Bg4 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Nc6 12. c5 dxc5 13. dxc5 Nd7
14. Be3 Qc8 15. Rc1 Rd8 16. Qb3 Nde5 17. Be4 Qe6 18. Qxb7 Rab8 19. Qa6 Rxb2 20.
Nd5 Rxd5 21. Bxd5 Qxd5 22. Qc8+ Bf8 23. Rfd1 Qe6 24. Qxe6 fxe6
25. Bd4 Nxd4 26. Rxd4 Nc6 27. Rd7 Rxa2 28. Rc7 Ra6 29. Rc8 Kf7 30. Rc3 Bg7
31. Rc4 Bf6 32. g3 e5 33. Rc1 Ke6 34. Rd1 Nd4 35. Rc7 h5 36. h4 e4 37. Kg2 e3
38. fxe3 Ra2+ 39. Kf1 Nf5 40. Rd8 Nxg3+ 41. Kg1 Kf5 42. Ra8 Rc2 43. Rcxa7 Ne4
44. Ra2 Rxc5 45.Kg2 Bxh4 46. R8a5 Rxa5 47. Rxa5+ e5 48. Kf3 Bf6 49. Ra4 g5
50. Rb4 g4+ 51. Kg2 h4 52. Kh2 Bg5 53. Rb3 g3+ 54. Kh3 Nf2+ 55. Kg2 Kg4
{Black wins} 0-1
————————————————————————–
[Event "URS-ch sf"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "1958.??.??"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Gufeld,Eduard"]
[Black "Byvshev,Vasily Mikhailovich"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "B04"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.c4 Nb6 6.exd6 cxd6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0
9.Nc3 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nc6 12.c5 dxc5 13.dxc5 Nc4 14.Bd5 N4a5 15.Bf4 Rc8
16.a3 e6
17.Ba2 Qf6 18.Bd6 Rfd8 19.Rc1 b6 20.b4 Nb7 21.Qa4 Nxd6 22.cxd6 Nd4 23.Ne4 Qf4
24.Rxc8 Rxc8
25.Qa6 Rd8 26.Qd3 f5 27.Ng3 Qxd6 28.Ne2 Kh8 29.Rc1 e5 30.Nxd4 e4 31.Qc2 Bxd4
32.Re1 Qf4
33.Kh1 Qxf2 34.Qc1 Qxa2 35.Qg5 Qc4 36.Rc1 Be5 0-1
[Event "Sochi (Women)"]
[Site "Sochi"]
[Date "1987.10.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Galliamova,Alisa"]
[Black "Levitina,Irina S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B04"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0
9.Nc3 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nc6 12.c5 dxc5 13.dxc5 Nc4 14.Be2 N4a5 15.Qa4 Nd4
16.Rd1 Nac6
17.Bc4 Qa5 18.Qxa5 Nxa5 19.Bd3 Rfd8 20.Bg5 Nac6 21.Rab1 Ne6 22.Be3 Bd4 23.Ne4
Rd5 24.Bc4 Re5
25.Bxe6 Bxe3 26.Bd5 Rd8 27.Bxc6 Rxd1+ 28.Rxd1 bxc6 29.fxe3 Rxe4 30.Rd7 Rxe3
31.Rxa7 Re2 32.b4 e5
33.a4 Rc2 34.a5 Kg7 35.Rc7 Rb2 36.Rxc6 Rxb4 37.a6 Ra4 38.Rb6 Kf8 39.c6 Ke7
40.Rb7+ Kd6
41.c7 1-0
[Event "Presov op"]
[Site "Presov"]
[Date "2000.08.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Timofeev,Artyom"]
[Black "Chetverik,Maxim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B04"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Nc3 Bg7 8.Be2 0-0
9.0-0 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nc6 12.c5 dxc5 13.dxc5 Nc4 14.Bd5 N4e5 15.Qa4 e6
16.Be4 f5
17.Bxc6 Nxc6 18.Nb5 Qe7 19.Nd6 Rab8 20.Bf4 g5 21.Bd2 Bxb2 22.Rae1 Be5 23.Qc4 a5
24.a4 h6
25.Bc3 Qf6 26.Rxe5 Nxe5 27.Qe2 Nf3+ 28.Qxf3 Qe7 29.Be5 Ra8 30.Rb1 Ra7 31.Nb5
1-0
[Event "Verona op 11th"]
[Site "Verona"]
[Date "2005.01.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Delizia,Constantino"]
[Black "D'Innocente,Stefano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B04"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Nb6 5.c4 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.exd6 cxd6
9.Nc3 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nc6 12.c5 dxc5 13.dxc5 Nd7 14.Be3 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Qc7
16.Qb3 Rac8
17.Rfd1 Na5 18.Qb4 Nxc5 19.Qxc5 Qxc5 20.Bxc5 Rxc5 21.Rd7 Rfc8 22.Rxe7 R8c7
23.Rxc7 Rxc7 24.Rc1 Kg7
25.Kf1 f5 26.g3 Kf6 27.h4 b5 28.Bd5 Rd7 29.Rd1 Nc4 30.Rd4 Nb6 31.Bc6 Rxd4
32.cxd4 b4
33.Ke2 a5 34.Kd3 Ke6 35.Bb5 Kd5 36.Be8 Ke6 37.Bb5 h6 38.f4 Kf6 39.Bc6 g5
40.fxg5+ hxg5
41.h5 a4 42.Kc2 g4 43.d5 Kg5 44.d6 Kxh5 45.Bxa4 f4 46.d7 Nxd7 47.Bxd7 fxg3
48.Bc6 Kh4
49.Bg2 Kg5 50.Kd3 Kf4 51.Kd4 Kf5 52.Kd3 Kf4 53.Ke2 Kf5 54.Bb7 Kf4 55.Kf1 Ke5
56.Kg2 Kd4
57.Kxg3 Kc4 58.Bc8 Kb5 59.Be6 1-0
6 more click and move games with the Champion of Nigeria
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=104603
————————————————————————–
————————————————————————–
[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, USA"]
[Date "2006.07.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "FM_Milman"]
[Black "GM_Nakamura"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: modern, fianchetto variation"]
[ECO "B04"]
[NIC "AL.04"]
[Time "18:27:50"]
[TimeControl "7200+0"]
This game in click and move format here
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1421042
————————————————————————
2006 World Open
Philadelphia, USA
Alekhine’s Defense
White – Lev Milman,age 18, 2004 US Junior Champ 2478
Black – Hikaru Nakamura, age 18, living legend,
youngest US Champion ever 2664
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6
5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. Ng5 d5 8. Be3
I have seen Lev whip out 25 moves of theory in many openings so perhaps the Alekhine’s still has some surprise value. 8 Be3 was only played once before.
8 … f6! TN
Theoretical Novelty by Nakamura
8 … Nc6 has been tried twice
Fritz 8 -
8 … f6!!, … 0-0!, … Bf5, … h6, … Nc6,
… a5, … a6, … c6, … Qd7 and … Na6
A fairly solid position.
9. Nf3! Nc6! 10. exf6!
With no f-pawn support and … Bg4 on its way square-e5 had to collapse.
10 … exf6! 11. O-O! O-O! 12. Re1
Positions like this make me happy I am not a Grandmaster – Grinding down a promising young player like Lev Milman from a symmetrical pawn position sounds like tough work to me.
12 … Re8
I might have plumped for 12 … Na5:b3 but Milman is so solid after 14 ab Hikaru didn’t bother.
13. Nbd2 Na5! 14. c3! Nxb3! 15. Qxb3!
I’d play 15 ab in a heartbeat to extend the scope of my a1-rook at the expense of my Queen.
15 … Be6
Fritz prefers Nakamura here, perhaps because his Kingside pawns
help out with space a bit.
15 … a5!!, … Qd6!, … Be6!, … Bf8!, … Bd7!, … Bf5, … Bg4,
… a6, … Re7, … Re8, … Re6, … g5
16. Qc2 Bf5! 17. Qc1! c6
Cheapest babysitter principle – now the b6-knight is free to wander.
17 … Re7, … Qd7, … g5 and … Qd6 are slightly better for Hikaru as well.
18. b3!!
To restrict the b6-knight and allow for queenside expansion later.
A natural normal move.
18 … g5!?
Not for a mere mortal like me to judge – maybe weakening f5-h5 is Ok because Hik has a light-squared bishop and Lev doesn’t. 18 … g5 also restricts the e3-bishop and f3-knight. The f6-g5 pawns don’t move so I assume more Kingside aggression was not the idea.
19. Nf1
seems logical, heading for fresh weaknesses at f5-h5
19 … Qd7
seems logical, trying to shore up the fresh weakness at f5. It’s all been unfathomable, microscopic jockeying for tiny squares so far.
20. Ng3
seems logical, heading for fresh weaknesses at f5-h5
20 … Bg6
seems logical, trying to shore up the fresh weaknesseses at f5-h5
21. h4
I forgot Milman’s Kingside pawns could move.
21 … h6
21 … g4! gains space but Hikaru is happy keeping all of Milman’s Kingside dogs in a kennel.
22. hxg5! hxg5
Fritz 8 prefers 22 … fg capturing away from the center and giving additional mobility to the g7-bishop and opening the f-file. I refuse to award an exclam to that move. Someone should fix the glitch.
23. Nh2
Lev continues to be in denial about his knights playing a role in this game.
23 … Bh6
Trying to fake Lev out with … f5-f4. Fritz prefers Nakamura’s game slightly with 23 … Re7, … a5, … Nc6, … Rad8, … Bf8, … Qd6, … Rab8, … Bh6 et. al.
24. Bd2 Rxe1+! 25. Qxe1! Nc8
The only reason not to take the free tempo with 25 … Re8! is to
squeeze a win out of a draw and avoid an e1-rook exchange later.
26. Qe2! Nd6! 27. Ng4!
Lev hasn’t put any pressure on Nakamura yet but he has kept a pretty drawish position from deteriorating too badly. It looks like something out of an exchange French or Petroff’s so far, a symmetrical nightmare for a Grandmaster as Black trying to win. I avoid these positions if I can.
27 … Bg7! 28. Qf3! Qf7
Continuing the normal no-trade policy against the weaker player that we are all familiar with. 28 … f5 29 Ne5 B:e5 30 fe Ne4 is very comfortable for Hikaru.
29. Re1!
Give me the file, trade a set of rooks or offer a draw, my GM friend
29 … a5!
Karpov used to squeze GMs like this – give them the file but control the ports of entry. It demonstrates sheer will to win at any length.
30. Re3
Fine, maybe if I double on the file you’ll trade me off and give me a draw.
30 … a4!
Making progress on the Queenside while Lev is groveling on the e-file for a trade.
31. Qe2
I doubled on the e-file as advertised – who’s sorry now?
31 … axb3!
Yawn – wake me up when you make a threat, Lev.
32. axb3! Ra1+! 33. Kh2
33 … Bf8!!
Milman’s e-file activity is an illusion. Naka is better after 33 … Nf5, … Qf8, … Ne4, … Kh8, … Bc2, … Be4, … Kf8 or … Bf5.
34. Nh6+?
From bad to worse, maybe time pressure or positional desperation.
34 … Bxh6! 35. Re7! Bd3!!
Milman would be fine except for this one move.
36. Rxf7
The trouble with 36 Qe6 is … Q:e6 37 R:e6 Kf7 38 R:d6 Ke7
trapping the rook.
The trouble with 36 Qe3 is … g4!!
36 … Bxe2! 37. Rxf6! Bf8!
extra piece – game over. 38 N:e2 is met by … Ra2. Lev can get two pawns temporarily for it but Nakamura is very active plus very strong.
38. c4
Basic strategy for trying to draw an ending is to trade as many pawns as possible.
38 … dxc4 39. Nxe2! Ne4 40. Rxf8+! Kxf8!
41. Bb4+! Kf7! 42. bxc4! Ra4
{Black wins} 0-1
—————————————————————————–
72 more Milman games in click and move format here
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?page=3&pid=50478
————————————————————————
[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, USA"]
[Date "2006.07.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "FM_Milman"]
[Black "GM_Nakamura"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2664"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: modern, fianchetto variation"]
[ECO "B04"]
[NIC "AL.04"]
[Time "18:27:50"]
[TimeControl "7200+0"]
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. Ng5 d5 8.
Be3 f6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. exf6 exf6 11. O-O O-O 12. Re1 Re8 13. Nbd2 Na5 14. c3
Nxb3 15. Qxb3 Be6 16. Qc2 Bf5 17. Qc1 c6 18. b3 g5 19. Nf1 Qd7 20. Ng3 Bg6
21. h4 h6 22. hxg5 hxg5 23. Nh2 Bh6 24. Bd2 Rxe1+ 25. Qxe1 Nc8 26. Qe2 Nd6
27. Ng4 Bg7 28. Qf3 Qf7 29. Re1 a5 30. Re3 a4 31. Qe2 axb3 32. axb3 Ra1+ 33.
Kh2 Bf8 34. Nh6+ Bxh6 35. Re7 Bd3 36. Rxf7 Bxe2 37. Rxf6 Bf8 38. c4 dxc4 39.
Nxe2 Ne4 40. Rxf8+ Kxf8 41. Bb4+ Kf7 42. bxc4 Ra4 {Black wins} 0-1
————————————————————————
[Event "Nachod op 6th"]
[Site "Nachod"]
[Date "2000.??.??"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Friml,Antonin"]
[Black "Dostal,Pavel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B04"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Nc6 7.Ng5 d5 8.Be3 Bg7
9.Nc3 f6 10.exf6 exf6 11.Nf3 Na5 12.Qe2 Nxb3 13.axb3 0-0 14.h3 Re8 15.0-0 c6
16.Qd2 Be6
17.Bh6 Bh8 18.Ne2 Nc8 19.Bf4 Qd7 20.Rfe1 Ne7 21.Ng3 a6 22.c3 Nf5 23.Nxf5 Bxf5
24.Kh2 Be4
25.Ng1 g5 26.Bg3 h6 27.f3 Bg6 28.h4 Qf5 29.Rxe8+ Rxe8 30.Re1 Kf7 31.Rxe8 Kxe8
32.c4 Bg7
33.Qb4 b5 34.Qc5 dxc4 35.Qxc6+ Qd7 36.Qxa6 cxb3 37.Ne2 Bd3 38.Nc3 gxh4 39.Bxh4
Qxd4 40.Qc6+ Kf8
41.Bg3 Bh8 42.Nd5 Bc4 43.Qc8+ Kf7 44.Qd7+ 1-0
————————————————————————
————————————————————————
[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, USA"]
[Date "2006.07.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Nakamura"]
[Black "GM_Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: four pawns attack, 7.Be3"]
[ECO "B02"]
[NIC "AL.06"]
[Time "12:14:20"]
[TimeControl "7200+0"]
2006 World Open
Phildelphia, USA
July 2, 2006
Opening – Alekhine’s Defense
White – GM Nakamura, 2004 U.S. Champion,
2709 (after the 2006 World Open)
Black – GM Joel Benjamin, U.S. Champion in 1987, 1997, and 2000
2632 (after the 2006 World Open)
Joel has written some very high level, creative, original openingtheory
on Jeremy Silman’s site, better than anything I’ll ever do.
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_opng_shrtctsopening_shortcuts.html
Joel tied for first ($7,127.00) in this tournament along with 8 others, including GM Alex Wojtkiewicz, who was winning practically every tournament he played in but also drinking at the hotel bar almost every night, dying of liver complications right after the World Open.
You gotta love a guy who spent years blitzing, analyzing and drinking with Tal. Instant legend.
Nakamura was half a point back,
($673.70 – ouch but at least he’s young and alive. )
1. e4 Nf6
Clear provocation – Joel only plays the Alekhine’s Defense once
every five years and now he walks right into Hikaru’s preparation!
Several hypotheses come to mind -
1 – Joel wanted to feel “unrestricted in the opening” like Bronstein playing Botvinnik’s openings against him. This failed.
2 – Joel wanted to make Hikaru “fight his own weapon”, hoping he would hesitate to fight himself psychologically. Spassky tried this against Petrosian once (1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5). This failed.
3 – Joel wanted to find out the best weapon against Alekhine’s Defense. This failed.
4 – Joel was moved by Nakamura’s two wins with Alekhine’s defense and wanted to keep the black streak going. This failed.
Anyone else have a theory?
2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4
This is exciting for American Alekhine’s Defense fans – two American champions fighting it out in the uncompromising 4 pawns attack -
IM Cyrus Lakdawala told me on the air he normally restrains himself but when someone plays the Alekhine’s, he becomes an Indian tiger and throws his pawns at them.
5 … dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nc3
IM John Watson used to tell amateurs here to “pretend your b1- knight is unprotected and you have to save it.”
8 … e6 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. Qd2 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Qh4+ 12. Bf2 Qh5 13. c5 TN
Theoretical Novelty by GM Nakamura
5 played 13 Be2
2 played 13 Qe3
Fritz 8 – 13 Qf4, Qe3, Be2, c5, Qe2
13 … Qxf3
I am not sure there is a fully satisfactory answer here. Taking the f-pawn against a mega-tactician like Nakamura looks a little insane but Hikaru’s better anyway after 13 … Nd7 14 Qe2, f4, Qf4, 0-0-0, Be3, Be2, Qe3, h4, Bg2 or Bb5 or 13 … Nc8 14 d5!!!, Nb5!!, Qf4!, 0-0-0!, Bg2!, Bd3, Be2, f4, h4, Bb5, Rg1, Qe3, Qd3, h3, Be3 or Qd1
or 13 … Nd5 14 N:d5 ed 15 f4, Be2, Qe3, Be3, Qe2, Qf4, Qc3, Bg2, Qd3 or Qd1
Faced with an annoying array of somewhat worse positions Joel grabs a pawn for temporary comfort.
14. Rg1! Nd5
Joel can’t bring himself to immobilize his Alekhine knight with 14 … Nd7
15. Bg2! Qf4
first there’s no good square for the b6-knight to retreat, now there’s no good place for the Queen to go.
15 … Qf5, … Qh5 and … Qf4 all favor Hikaru.
16. Nxd5! Qxd2+! 17. Kxd2! exd5! 18. Bxd5! Rd8
18 … N:d4 may be best but Nakamura is more active after
18 … N:d4 19 B:f7+ or B:d4
19. Bxc6+! bxc6!
This is the part that impresses me – it looks tough to break through but Hikaru positions everything for the b5-pawn break. A simple but effective plan.
20. Kc3!! f5 21. b4
Fritz gets excited about winning a pawn with 21 Bh4 Rd5 22 Raf1 g6 23 Bf6 Rg8 24 R:f5
Nakamura just sticks with his b5-scenario.
21 … Kd7 22. a4 Rb8 23. Kc4 a6! 24. Rgf1
That’s a little too deep for me – demonstrating Joel’s helplessness maybe? trying to provoke 24 … g6 27 Bh4 maybe?
24 … Ke6 25. Rab1
Good – back to a move that makes sense.
25 … Be7! 26. b5!! axb5+! 27. axb5! cxb5+! 28. Rxb5! c6
The core concept is 28 R:b5 R:b5 29 Re1+ followed by a King invasion with K:b5-c6 It looks pretty sick for Benjamin.
29. Rb6! Rxb6!
Since 29 Rb6 Kd7 30 e6+!! K:e6 31 d5+ or 29 Rb6 Rhc8 30 d5+!!
is disastrous.
30. cxb6! Rb8! 31. Rb1! g5
After 31 … Rb7 the key concept, now or later, is the breakthrough d5 followed by Kb5-c6, will win a piece -
example – 31 … Kb7 32 h4 f4 33 Be1 f3 34 Rb3 g6 35 Bf2 h6 36 d5+ cd 37 Kb5 Rb8 38 R:f3
I feel pretty sure the b6-pawn will cost Joel the game somehow.
32. b7! Kd7 33. d5!! cxd5+! 34. Kxd5! Kc7!
35. Bb6+! Kxb7! 36. Bc5+! Kc7
{White wins} 1-0
Very powerful play by Grandmaster Nakamura -
It’s hard for me even to say where he went wrong -
e.g. 18 … N:d4 19 B:d4 Rd8 20 B:f7+ K:f7 21 Raf1+ Ke6 22 Ke3 Rd5 or
18 … N:d4 19 B:f7+ K:f7 20 B:d4 Ke6 21 Ke3 g6 22 Ke4 Rd8
Maybe someone can do a special study here and prove Benjamin can hold. It reminds me of a discussion I had once with IM John Watson-
I said “Chess is a draw” but Watson countered – “Maybe so but in the hands of a great player a very small advantage can be converted to victory.”
Maybe if we first solve this game we can start to solve Chess itself.
Hikaru had an edge all game but was it enough?
———————————————————————
[Event "World Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia, USA"]
[Date "2006.07.02"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Nakamura"]
[Black "GM_Benjamin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Opening "Alekhine's defense: four pawns attack, 7.Be3"]
[ECO "B02"]
[NIC "AL.06"]
[Time "12:14:20"]
[TimeControl "7200+0"]
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5
8. Nc3 e6 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. Qd2 Bxf3 11. gxf3 Qh4+ 12. Bf2 Qh5 13. c5 Qxf3
14. Rg1 Nd5 15. Bg2 Qf4 16. Nxd5 Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 exd5 18. Bxd5 Rd8
19. Bxc6+ bxc6 20. Kc3 f5 21. b4 Kd7 22. a4 Rb8 23. Kc4 a6 24. Rgf1 Ke6
25. Rab1 Be7 26. b5 axb5+ 27. axb5 cxb5+ 28. Rxb5 c6 29. Rb6 Rxb6
30. cxb6 Rb8 31. Rb1 g5 32. b7 Kd7 33. d5 cxd5+ 34. Kxd5 Kc7
35. Bb6+ Kxb7 36. Bc5+ Kc7
{White wins} 1-0
————————————————————————–
[Event "Wch U20"]
[Site "Dortmund"]
[Date "1980.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Short,Nigel D"]
[Black "Benjamin,Joel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Eco "B05"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 c6 6.Ng5 Bf5 7.a3 h6 8.Nf3 dxe5
9.dxe5 e6 10.c4 Ne7 11.Nd4 Nd7 12.f4 Qb6 13.Nc3 Nc5 14.Be3 Rd8 15.b4 Nd3+
16.Bxd3 Rxd4
17.Qe2 Bxd3 18.Qd2 Nf5 19.Bxd4 Qxd4 20.0-0-0 Be7 21.g3 Ne3 22.Qxd3 Qxd3 23.Rxd3
Nxc4 24.Kc2 Nb6
25.Kb3 0-0 26.a4 Rc8 27.a5 Nd5 28.Nxd5 exd5 29.Rc1 Rb8 30.b5 Bd8 31.Ka4 Be7
32.bxc6 bxc6
33.Rb3 Rxb3 34.Kxb3 c5 35.Rd1 1-0
[Event "San Francisco"]
[Site "San Francisco"]
[Date "1991.03.??"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Fedorowicz,John P"]
[Black "Benjamin,Joel"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "B04"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Bg7 7.Ng5 e6 8.Qf3 Qe7
9.Ne4 dxe5 10.Bg5 Qb4+ 11.c3 Qa5 12.Bf6 Bxf6 13.Qxf6 0-0 14.Qxe5 Qxe5 15.dxe5
Bd7 16.Nbd2 Bc6
17.0-0-0 a5 18.f4 Kg7 19.h4 1/2
[Event "Hawaii op"]
[Site "Honolulu"]
[Date "1996.??.??"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Wolski,Thomas"]
[Black "Benjamin,Joel"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "B05"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 c6 6.Ng5 Bf5 7.e6 fxe6 8.g4 Bg6
9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nf6 11.Nxe6 Qd7 12.Qe2 Na6 13.Nc3 Nc7 14.Nxc7+ Qxc7 15.g5 Nd5
16.Nxd5 cxd5
17.Bf4 Qc4 18.Qxc4 dxc4 19.Kd2 g6 20.Rhe1 Kd7 21.Kc3 Rc8 22.Re3 Bg7 23.Rae1 Rhe8
24.Rh3 Rh8
25.Rhe3 Rhe8 26.Rh3 1/2
[Event "Harvard Cup playoff 10'"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1996.05.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Comp Virtual Chess"]
[Black "Benjamin,Joel"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "B05"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.h3 Bh5 8.c4 Nb6
9.Bf4 0-0 10.Nc3 dxe5 11.dxe5 Nc6 12.b3 a6 13.Nd4 Bxe2 14.Ncxe2 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Bc5
16.Nf3 Qxd1
17.Rfxd1 h6 18.Rd3 Rfd8 19.Rad1 Rxd3 20.Rxd3 Kf8 21.Nd2 Ke8 22.Ne4 Be7 23.Kf1
Nd7 24.Ke2 Nb8
25.Rg3 Bf8 26.Rd3 Nc6 27.Kf1 Be7 28.Rg3 g5 29.Nf6+ Kf8 30.Nd7+ Kg7 31.Bd2 Rd8
32.Rd3 Nb8
33.Nc5 Rxd3 34.Nxd3 Nc6 35.Ke2 Kg6 36.Ke3 Nb8 37.Ba5 Bd8 38.Ke4 Nc6 39.Bc3 Be7
40.f3 Bf8
41.f4 gxf4 42.Nxf4+ Kh7 43.g4 Be7 44.Nh5 Kg6 45.Bd2 Bh4 46.Nf4+ Kh7 47.Be3 Be7
48.Nh5 Kg6
49.Bc1 Kh7 50.Bd2 Kg6 51.Nf4+ Kh7 52.Bc3 Kg7 53.Bb2 Kh7 54.Nh5 Kg6 55.Bc3 Bg5
56.Nf4+ Kh7
57.a3 Be7 58.a4 Nb8 59.Ba5 Bd8 60.Nh5 Nc6 61.Be1 Kg6 62.Nf4+ Kh7 63.a5 Be7
64.Nh5 Kg6
65.Bd2 Kh7 66.Bc3 Kg6 67.Nf4+ Kh7 68.Nd3 Kg6 69.b4 Kg7 70.Be1 Kf8 71.b5 Nb8
72.Kd4 Nd7
73.Bb4 Ke8 74.Bxe7 Kxe7 75.bxa6 bxa6 76.c5 Nb8 77.Nb4 c6 78.Ke4 Kf8 79.Kf4 Kg7
80.h4 Kg6
81.h5+ Kg7 82.g5 Kh7 83.Kg4 Kg7 84.Kh4 Kh7 85.gxh6 Kxh6 86.Kg4 Nd7 0-1
[Event "USA-ch GpA"]
[Site "San Diego"]
[Date "2006.03.02"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Kudrin,Sergey"]
[Black "Benjamin,Joel"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "B05"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Be2 e6 6.0-0 Be7 7.c4 Nb6 8.Nc3 0-0
9.Be3 N8d7 10.b3 dxe5 11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.Bxg4 Nxg4 13.Qxg4 f5 14.Qe2 Bb4 15.Rac1 c6
16.f3 Qf6
17.Bf2 Rad8 18.Qc2 e5 19.dxe5 Qxe5 20.Rfe1 Qf6 21.Re2 Nd7 22.Nb1 Bc5 23.Rd1
Bxf2+ 24.Rxf2 Nc5
25.Rfd2 a5 26.Qc3 Qxc3 27.Nxc3 Rxd2 28.Rxd2 Kf7 29.Kf2 Ke7 30.Ne2 Rf6 31.Nf4 Rd6
32.Rxd6 Kxd6
33.Ke3 Ke5 34.Nd3+ Nxd3 35.Kxd3 f4 36.Kc3 c5 37.Kd3 Kf5 38.Ke2 Ke6 39.Kd2 Kd6
40.Kc3 Ke5
41.Kd3 Kf5 1/2
————————————————————————–
[Event "World Championship 26th"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1966.04.11"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Spassky,Boris V"]
[Black "Petrosian,Tigran V"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Eco "D03"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 d5 4.Nbd2 Be7 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 c5 7.c3 b6 8.0-0 Bb7
9.Ne5 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Nd7 11.Bf4 Qc7 12.Nf3 h6 13.b4 g5 14.Bg3 h5 15.h4 gxh4 16.Bf4
0-0-0
17.a4 c4 18.Be2 a6 19.Kh1 Rdg8 20.Rg1 Rg4 21.Qd2 Rhg8 22.a5 b5 23.Rad1 Bf8
24.Nh2 Nxe5
25.Nxg4 hxg4 26.e4 Bd6 27.Qe3 Nd7 28.Bxd6 Qxd6 29.Rd4 e5 30.Rd2 f5 31.exd5 f4
32.Qe4 Nf6
33.Qf5+ Kb8 34.f3 Bc8 35.Qb1 g3 36.Re1 h3 37.Bf1 Rh8 38.gxh3 Bxh3 39.Kg1 Bxf1
40.Kxf1 e4
41.Qd1 Ng4 42.fxg4 f3 43.Rg2 fxg2+ 0-1
—————————————————————————
[Event "Paris"]
[Site "Paris"]
[Date "1925.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Znosko Borovsky,Eugene"]
[Black "Alekhine,Alexander"]
[Result "1/2"]
[Eco "B03"]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4 dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Nf3 e6
9.Nc3 Nb4 10.Rc1 c5 11.a3 cxd4 12.Bg5 dxc3 13.Bxd8 Rxd8 14.Qb3 cxb2 15.Qxb2 Na4
16.Qa1 Nc2+
17.Rxc2 Bxc2 18.Nd4 Bg6 19.c5 Nxc5 20.Bb5+ Nd7 21.Qc3 a6 22.Bxd7+ Rxd7 23.Qc8+
Rd8 24.Qxb7 Rxd4
25.Qc6+ Rd7 26.0-0 Bd3 27.Rxf7 Bc5+ 28.Kh1 Bb5 29.Qxe6+ Re7 30.Rxe7+ Bxe7
31.Qc8+ Bd8 32.Qe6+ Be7
33.Qc8+ Bd8 34.Qe6+ 1/2
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