Tournaments / Chicago Open
... Qxb2+ 32. Kd1 Qb1+ 33. Ke2 Qc2+ 34. Kf3 Ne5+ 35. Kg3 Nxd7 36. Qxd7 e5.
31. ... Ne5 If 31. ... cxb4 then 32. Rd7 is decisive.
31. ... Rb7 32. Rd8+ Kh7 33. Qa8 wins like before. 31. ... Nxa3 32. Qxa3 Qc4+ 33. Kd2 Rd8+ 34. Ke1 Rxd1+ 35. Kxd1 Qf1+ 36. Kd2 Qxf2+ 37. Ne2 cxb4 38. Qa8+ Kf7 39. g3 leaves White with enough pawns on the kingside to win easily. Finally, 31. ... Nxe3 32. fxe3 Qc4+ (or 32. ... cxb4 33. Rd7! winning) 33. Kb2 is decisive.
32. Nxe6!
The loose rook on b8 lets White get away with more tricks. 32. ... Rb7 If 32. ... Qc4+ 33. Kd2! (32. Ne6 is also
playing defense preventing ... Rd8+) 33. ... Qxe6 34. Qxb8+ White collects material and the king walks to safety on e1.
33. Qxc5
Now that I have achieved a winning position in the complications due to the extra pawns, it is time to convert back into a simple position without concerns for my safety.
33. ... Qa6 34. Qc8+ Kh7 35. Nf8+ Kg8 36. Nd7+ Kh7 37. Qc2+ g6 38. Nxe5 Qxa3+ 39. Qb2 Rc7+ 40. Kb1 Qa4 41. Rc1 Rxc1+ 42. Kxc1 fxe5 43. h5!
This move exposes the black king which makes my task much easier.
43. ... e4 44. hxg6+ Kxg6 45. Kd2 Qd7+ 46. Qd4 Qc6 47. b5 Qxb5 48. Qxe4+
... and White went on to win 23 moves later. A great practical decision. White cer-
Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense (C65) GM Joshua Friedel (2566) GM Robert Hess (2703)
21st Chicago Open (3), 05.25.2012 Notes by Hess
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Josh chooses to avoid the main line
Berlin Defense (4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 and instead opts for a closed position, where maneuvering is key).
4. ... d6 5. 0-0 Bd7 6. c3 Be7 7. Re1 0-0 8. Ba4 Re8 9. Nbd2 Bf8 10. Nf1 h6 11. Ng3 Ne7 12. Bb3 Ng6 13. h3 c5 14. d4
Neither side has any problems. The position is equal.
14. ... Qc7 15. d5
(see diagram top of next column) This move closes the center of the board
tainly is enticed to take the rook on b6. In retrospect, I was upset that I had placed my knight on h4 to begin with. Bxh6 was never actually hanging (with the loose knight on f6, ... gxh6 would net White a pawn) because of the intermediate move ... Nh4. In that continuation at move 19 (19. ... b3 20. Bd1 Rb6 21. Be3), then 21. ... Ra6 would have been an option for Black! (Not 22. ... Ra6?? 23. Bxb3 as the c4- pawn is pinned. If forced to play 22. ... Rb7 then the whole idea behind 20. ... b3 is wrong.)
23. Bxb6
This move seems natural to “win” the Exchange. Here, however, it was better to delay the capture. It is not that the bishop on e3 was amazing, but rather the closed position currently favored White. Opening the a-file gives Black a ton of initiative. If Black can successfully improve his minor pieces, then the game turns in his favor. 23. Qf1! Rb7 (23. ... Nf4 24. Bxb6 axb6 25.
29. Qc1 Ba6 30. Qa1 Qb6 31. Qa3 Nd7
32. Ra1 Nc5 33. Qa5 Qxa5 34. Rxa5 Some- how this position is given = (0.00) by my engine. This evaluation is ridiculous. By no means does this position provide equal chances for both sides. Black has all the active play and can advance on both sides of the board. To improve your game, try playing a position like this with both col- ors. It is not easy and full of strategy, but will surely strengthen your planning/ understanding of material imbalances.
29. ... Nd7 30. Qc1 Nc5 31. Ra1 Qb6 32. Qe3 Be7 33. Nf3 Bd8 34. Kh2 Kh7
Played to avoid any issues on the back rank.
35. Be2 Bd7 36. Bf1 Na4 37. Qd2 Qc5 38. Rd1 Ba5 39. Rc1 Bb6 Played in time trouble. Likely better was
39. ... Qb6 40. Kg1 b4 41. cxb4 Bxb4 42.
www.uschess.org 31
for good. White will now try to create play on the kingside, Black on the queenside.
15. ... b5 16. Bc2 Reb8 17. a4 c4
Following White’s decision to fight on the queenside, Black frees the c5-square for the f6-knight.
18. Nh2 b4 19. Qf3 Nh4 20. Qe2 b3?! Josh and I agreed that this move was
probably not best. Black should have kept the tension on the queenside instead of aiming for the a-pawn (20. ... bxc3 21. bxc3 Ng6 22. Qf3 Rb7).
21. Bd1 Rb6 22. Be3 Ng6!
Be2 Qc8 [25. ... Nxe2+ 26. Qxe2 Bxa4 27. Ng4 Nd7 28. Nh5 is great for White] 26. h4 [26. Bxc4 Nxg2! 27. Qxg2 Bxh3 28. Qf3 Qxc4 looks nice for Black, despite the engine suggesting a slight edge for White.] 26. ... Nxe2+ 27. Qxe2 Bxa4 28. Nhf1 b5 is very unclear. The computer slightly favors White, but then again it loves mate- rial.) 24. Be2 Rc8 25. Nf3 Nf4 26. Nd2 Nxe2+ 27. Qxe2 with pressure for White, due to Black’s overextended c4-pawn.
23. ... axb6 24. Qe3 b5 25. a5 25. Nh5 Nxh5 26. Bxh5 bxa4 27. Bxg6
fxg6 28. Ra3 Be7 leaves White with a slight edge according to the engines, but this eval- uation is unrealistic. White has no active plan, and Black has two great bishops.
25. ... Rxa5 26. Rxa5 Qxa5 27. Be2 Nf4 28. Bf1 Bc8
During the game I was extremely happy
about this position. White is reduced to the role of a spectator, waiting for Black to maneuver his pieces as he sees fit. The plan is simple: bring the f6-knight to c5 (and from there either a4 or d3), the f8- bishop to the g1–a7 diagonal, and then play on either side of the board. White can do nothing but shuffle pieces!
29. Rb1
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