MY BEST MOVE
FM MATTHEW BENGTSON
CLASSICAL CONCERT PIANIST, FORTEPIANO PLAYER, AND HARPSICHORDIST
through rough patches, where no amount of effort or good play seems sufficient to achieve a good result. But there are also periods where everything goes our way, and we can feel practically unstoppable. My best run came in a period from 1993 to 1995 where I had a 28-5-3 record and suddenly shot from a low expert rank well into the 2300s. In the 1994 Pan-American Intercollegiate Championships, I was excited and a bit nervous to be playing Harvard’s board one. I knew I would face some very strong opponents, but with good play and some good fortune, I managed to score 5½ out of 6, defeating the first two grandmasters I encountered in tournament play. My last-round upset shows how in a sharp position, one unexpected tactic can be enough to swing the balance decisively in one’s favor.
A
Grünfeld Defense (D82) GM Gennady Sagalchik (2568) Matthew Bengtson (2242) Pan-American Intercollegiate (6), 12.30.1994
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Qb3!?
All I knew about this sideline is that
Black’s position was playable in a number of ways. But since things are not simple, I started struggling and consuming lots of time.
7. ... 0-0?! Magnus Carlsen in 2011 selected 7. ...
Na6 here against Ivanchuk. 7. ... dxc4 and 7. ... Nc6 are also, I think, slightly better than the text move.
8. Qb5 Qxb5 9. cxb5 Be6!? I spent over a half hour on just this move
trying to figure out the unusual position. 9. ... Bf5 had been played before. Both are playable but White should retain an edge.
72 June 2014 | Chess Life White seems to suspect nothing! Nec-
essary was 13. c6 but 13. ... Nb6 is quite good for Black.
Please see
www.mattbengtson.com for more information about Bengtson.
pparently the most rational of human endeavors, tournament chess can really be quite fickle. Serious tournament players all go
“ ... tournament chess can really be quite fickle.”
10. Nf3? The underdog’s advantage! It was per-
haps easy for White to lose his sense of danger while his lower-rated opponent was clearly unfamiliar with the position. The queenside was in crisis and demands immediate attention: 10. Rc1!. At this point I already spotted the key tactic in the position, which is why I am considering Black’s 13th my “best move.”
10. ... Rc8 11. Na4?! 11. Nd4 was perhaps better but Black
is already doing very well. 11. ... Ne4 12. Rc1 Nd7 13. b4?
13. ... Nb6! A strange and beautiful shot. White is
simply busted. He thought for 10 minutes before taking and offering a draw, but I wasted little time in declining it.
14. Nxb6 axb6 15. Bd3 Bc3+ 16. Rxc3 16. Kf1 Bxb4 is just awful.
16. ... Nxc3 17. cxb6 White desperately hopes for complica-
tions but Black cleans up by mercilessly punishing White’s homeless bishop.
17. ... Nxa2! 18. 0-0 Nc1! 19. Bb1 Ra1 ... and the rest is easy.
20. Nd2 Ne2+ 21. Kh1 Nxf4 22. exf4 Bf5 23. g3 Bxb1 24. Nxb1 Rc4
Simple as that! White could have resigned with a clear conscience.
25. Kg2 Rxb4 26. Nc3 Rxf1 27. Kxf1 e6 28. Ke2 d4 29. Ne4 Rxb5 30. Kd3 Rxb6 31. Kxd4 Rb4+ 32. Ke5 Kg7 33. Nd6 Rb2 34. h3 Re2+ 35. Kd4 Rxf2 36. Nxb7 Rf3 37. g4 Rxf4+ 38. Ke3 Rf1 39. Nd6 Rh1 40. Ne8+ Kf8 41. Nf6 Rxh3+ 42. Kf4 h5 43. g5 Rh4+, White resigned.
PHOTO: GACHET
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