I amalways looking to sacmaterial for


an attack, but thismight be going too far. I amway ahead in development. So ques- tion, Mr. Alburt: Should I do this kind of move (threatening the sac), or just finish development and slowly build up the attack? Answer: ... b7-b5wins even here, albeit


not as easily as on move 10. Excluding ... b7-b5, 11. ... Nh5 is very good. Also note that 11. ... Qxg3 would be winning, if not for a counterblow, 12. Nxc5.


12. Rg1 12. b3?? Nxg3!!; 12. Bg2 Nxg3 13. fxg3


Qxg3+ 14. Kf1 Bd7 15. b3 0-0-0 with a good attacking position for Black. These are the kind of positions I play chess for.


12. ... 0-0 The last chance to win the a4-knight


(12. ... b5) goes unnoticed. Where is the engine when we need it?


13. Bg2 f5 I wanted to put asmuch pressure on e2


as possible. I was thinking about remov- ing the pawn on g3, then moving the knight to f4. ButWhite finds a way to slow the attack for the time being.


14. c3 f4 15. g4!!


r+l+ rk+ pp+ + pp + l + +


+ p q +n N+ p pP+ P P + +P P LPPL+ R +QK R


After 15. g4 15. ... Nf6


Stronger was 15. ... f3!


16. cxd4 cxd4 17. b4 d3?? 18. e3?? I lunged way too early with 17. ... d3.


I should have played 17. ... Ne4 with a huge advantage. Now ifWhite would have played 18. Bc3!!, the game would be back to equal. Thank God he missed it. Now I take the time to prevent it.


18. ... Nd5 19. Bxd5+ Qxd5 20. Nc3 Qe6 21. Nb5 Be5


(see diagramtop of next column) All these moves have been best.


22. Rc1 Bd7! I loved this move. He was threatening


the fork, or winning a bishop for knight, but why prevent it? The dark-squared


uschess.org


r+l+ rk+ pp+ + pp + +q+ +


+N+ l + P + pP+


P +pP +P + L P + R +QK R


After 21. ... Be5


bishop is inmy way, and if the rook goes to c7, it will be susceptible to forks or skewers. Plus, I wanted to get the light- squared bishop to the a8-h1 diagonal as quickly as I could. (And lastly, I saw a sac- rifice coming and I wanted to try it). And I love Sam’s way of reasoning.


23. Nc7 Bxc7 24. Rxc7 fxe3 25. Bxe3


r+ + rk+ ppRl+ pp + +q+ +


+ + + + P + +P+


P +pL +P + + P + + +QK R


After 25. Bxe3 White looks solid, but Black has a tac-


tical shot I’ve wanted to play since move 22 that finally opens up the white king to a disaster.


25. ... Rxf2!! The bishop is running out of defenders,


and this move also allows the other rook to enter the fray. White’s king quickly loses to the Black pieces’ hurricane.


26. Kxf2 Rf8+ I love how the combination of pawn-


rook-queen is forcing the king to the edge, where it will not return.


27. Kg2 Qxe3 28. Rf1 Rxf1 29. Qxf1 Bc6+


ppR + pp +l+ + +


+ + + + P + +P+


P +pq +P + + +K+ + + +Q+


After 29. ... Bc6+ + + +k+


30. Kh2?? Best is sacking the rook back, but


Black still has a decisive advantage. 30. ... Qe5+ Ha ha—there is the rook fork. 31. Kg1 Qg3+,White resigned.


ppR + pp +l+ + +


+ + + + P + +P+


P +p+ qP + + + + + + +QK


Final position But I will take the queen instead. He


resigned here, with mate inevitable. I loved this game, because after he makes a bunch of useless and weakening pawn moves, I was able to exploit them with a nice attack. Thank you, Mr. Alburt, for taking the time to show this game. I do appreciate it: every game I annotate makes me that much better of a player. Both the game and Mr. Merlock's notes


would be of very high quality if not for one particular and persistent (and very important) blind spot—overlooking thewin- ning ... b7-b5. Remember,with a knight on rook four, be alert for a neighboring pawn push to its fourth rank!


.


Send in your games! If you are unrated or were rated


1799 or below on your Chess Life (CL) label, then GMLev Alburt invites you to send your most instructive game with notes to:


Back to Basics, c/o Chess Life PO Box 3967 Crossville, TN 38557-3967


Or e-mail your material to backtobasics@uschess.org


GM Alburt will select the “most


instructive” game and CL will award an autographed copy of Lev’s newest book, Chess Training Pocket Book II (by Lev Alburt and Al Lawrence) to the person submitting the most in- structive game and annotations.


Do not send games with only a


fewnotes, as they are of little instruc- tive value and can’t be used.Writing skills are a plus, but instructiveness is a must! Make sure your game (or part of it) and your notes will be of interest to other readers.


Chess Life — July 2011 53 + + +k+


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