Instruction / GM Advice
Nh3+ 13. Kf1 Rb8 14. Nc5 would have been much better for my opponent. (See my note to 9. Nxc6—L.A.)
11. Nxb7 Bxb7 12. Bxb7 Rab8 13. Bf3 Nd3+ 14. e3??
14. Kg2 is much better than the move I played. A bit better, and a likely draw. 14. ... Nxb2 15. d4 Bd6 16. Be2 Na4 17. Bd2?? 6. 0-0
Ditto (see above—with different person- alities, of course) for 6. Nxe5 Bxf2+.
6. ... d5 7. cxd5 From all four opportunities to capture on
e5 (on moves 5, 6, 7—now, and 8) 7. Nxe5 was the one which promised White some real (about +/=) edge.
7. ... Nxd5 8. Nxe5 Entering into murky waters needlessly.
8. ... Nxc3
18. ... Rbb8?? I have no idea why my opponent played
this, but after this move I was feeling pretty good. Despite White’s inaccuracies, 14. e3 and
17. Bd2, White isn’t in any real danger. Perhaps, the most logical outcome would be a draw after 18. ... Nc3!? 19. Bxc3 Rxe2 20. Re1 Rc2 21. Rec1. Why 18. ... Rbb8 (indeed, a poor move)?
9. Nxc6 This is an unnecessary complication.
There is no reason to go into such a complex line with the perfectly good 9. bxc3 Nxe5 10. d4 Bd6 11. dxe5 Bxe5 12. Qc2 which would have worked just fine. This is an excellent position to train and
improve calculation! First Chris had to visualize the position after his planned move, the ambitious 9. Nxc6 Nxd1 10. Nxd8 (1½ moves deep); then, found 10. ... Bxf2+ 11. Rxf2 (clearly, after 11. Kh1 Rxd8, Black is at least equal) 11. ... Nxf2 12. Nxb7— visualize and see that Black, ahead in material, is clearly better. Time to reject 9. Nxc6 and start analyzing 9. bxc3. Altogether, four moves, most of them de facto forced— not easy for the non-master, but doable (if given 10-15 minutes; interesting how much time Chris spent on crucial moves like 7. cxd5, 8. Nxe5, and 9. Nxc6).
9. ... Nxd1 10. Nxd8 Nxf2 I wound up looking at this game with
my new coach a few days after it was played and we came to the conclusion that 10. ... Bxf2+ 11. Rxf2 Nxf2 12. Nxb7
Probably Mr. Sagunsky first planned to double his rooks on the b-file with 18. ... Rfb8, realized that 19. Bc4 would threaten to cut off his b2-rook and put it in some peril—and decided, on impulse, to with - draw that rook to safety. Now White, with his two bishops in
an open, pawn-unbalanced position, is clearly better.
19. Rab1 Nb6 20. Rdc1 Nd7 21. Bb5 Nf6 22. Ba5 h6 23. Bc6
Roll on!—L.A.
31. ... Nxg4 32. Bd7 Nf6 33. Bf5+ Kh8 34. e5 Chris played the ending—better, yes,
but hardly won—very well, and now reaps the rewards. Even being short on time (less than five minutes left) he will handle skillful - ly his opponent’s quite imaginative tactics, and score soon.
34. ... Nd5 35. exd6 Nxc3 36. dxc7 Nice, but, to me, 36. Bxc3 seems simpler.
36. ... Nb5 37. Kf4 Nd6 38. Bd3 Kg7 39. Bb4 Nc8 40. Bc5 Kf6 41. d5 h5 42. Bf5 a5 43. d6 Rg5 44. Bd4 mate.
The inner Karpov did his job well.
English Opening, Four Knights Variation (A28) Chris Wainscott (1702) Jeff Cooper (2211) Waukesha Memorial 2013 (4), G/60
1. Nf3 Nc6 2. c4 Objectively 2. d4 gives White the best
chances to achieve an opening edge. However, I understand Mr. Wainscott’s decision to steer the game into his recently adopted English.
2. ... e5 3. Nc3 Nf6 Now, after 4. g3—if Black replied 4. ...
Here I was trying to channel my inner Karpov. I wanted to keep the knight out of e4 and I didn't want to rush to try to go after the pawn on c7. Instead I wanted
Bc5—we’d have a position from a game, Wainscott-Sagunsky, played a month before.
4. e4 (see diagram next page)
www.uschess.org 31
Another bad move as this just hands over the second rank to my opponent. 17. ... Rb2 18. Rfd1
to get my central pawns mobile. 23. ... Rfd8 24. Rb3 Rxb3 25. axb3 I was slightly worried about making a
target out of the b-pawn, but it seemed like the very act of doing so would turn his a-pawn into a target for me.
25. ... Ng4 26. Rc3 Nf6 I was worried that he would play 26. ...
f5 and that this would make it hard for me to get e3-e4 in.
27. Kg2 Kh7 28. Kf3 g5 29. h3 g4+ 30. hxg4 Rg8 31. e4
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