♘  "Generalizations are like spectacles for the short-sighted. They help, but they are no substitute for excellent eyesight, or positional judgement."
-Bernard Cafferty  ♘

♔ Wachusett Chess Club Games ♔





♖ ♞ ♗ More games needed to make this section come to life! ♝ ♘ ♜

OK, here it is. For all those who are just itching to submit their games for publication or just get them into PGN format, this simple popup game editor allows you to do just that! When you click the PGN Editor Chess Tool you'll be treated to a popup chessboard that is easy to use & has enough features to generate game scores by moving the pieces just like you did in the actual game.

The easiest way if you don't already have a game file but would like to enter the game move by move is to:

* select the "MANUALLY ENTER POSITION" button in the popup window, then

* click "NEXT".

* At this point you can make the moves of your game one by one in order, just as the game was played.

* Once you've entered all the moves, then click "NEXT" (again) &

* fill out the info so you & I both know who played the game & when & where, etc.

* Then click "NEXT" once more & your entire game appearas in the PGN box! (This I find pretty amazing!)

* At this point, click on "SELECT PGN" (This will highlight the entire game.), then

* put the mouse pointer into the PGN box & press CTRL-C
or press your RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON & select "COPY".

* Then open a text file on your computer or go to your email message window &

* press CTRL-V or press the RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON & select "PASTE".

This should create a copy of your game in PGN format for saving as a file or emailing to someone like me.

Please email games to "mtal31 AT hotmail DOT com"[replace the "AT" & "DOT" letters with symbols & remove spaces in this to make a normal email address.] along with any notes or comments particularly about what you were thinking during the game. Believe it or not, this is phenomenally simple & if you go through it once or twice, you'll agree. The only thing I can imagine that would make the process easier for you to enter games would be extractive telepathy which I haven't quite figured out yet on my end, so I'm hoping lots of people try this & send in lots of games real soon.
Thanks for your continued enthusiastic participation.

Club Games

2023 Games

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, (with additional support from Mike Commisso, Roger Cappallo, Stephen Murray, Dave Couture & Michael David) in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2022 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
The complete game set for this tournament consists of 56 games. All 56 of these games are here.
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

2022 Games

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, (with additional support from Mike Commisso, Stephen Murray, Dave Couture & Michael David) in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2022 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
The complete game set for this tournament consists of 49 games. All 49 of these games are here.
[NOTE: the Round 5 Board 7 game between Ken Gurge & Jim donahue contains an illegal move which was not noticed by either player during the game, so it may not play on your .PGN viewer.]
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

2021 Games

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Mike Commisso, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2021 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
The complete game set for this tournament consists of 27 games. All 27 of these games are here [except for those where both scoresheets are missing].
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

2019 Games

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Mike Commisso, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2019 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
The complete game set for this tournament consists of 27 games. All 27 of these games are here.
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

2018 Games
[Here's a game from the 2018 B Championship. Thanks to Michael David for providing game score & annotations.
To download the text version click here: McNeilage-David2018-06-27.pgn.txt.
If you have a .PGN player installed, you may view or save the .PGN here.]
[Event "WCC - B Division Championship"]
[Site "Fitchburg State U."]
[Date "2018.06.27"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Ralph McNeilage"]
[Black "Michael David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1649"]
[BlackElo "1514"]
[ECO ""]
[CurrentPosition "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
1.d4 d6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.Nf3 { After White's 5th move there are 107,000 Chessbase games with the same config. }
5...c6 { Black's more obscure move the Chessbase games to 1,244. I like this move to make Qa5 an early option. }
6.Be2 O-O 7.Be3 { Only 229 games are in Chessbase, most notably a game from 8 months earlier in October 2017; Magnus Carlsen (2832) - G Gusienov (2645). }
7...a6 8.Qd2 { The Queen-Bishop battery form a 150-like-attack targeting Bh6 }
8...Ng4 { Without the h-pawn deployed to h3, the battery can be interrupted with Ng4 }
9.Bg5 f6 { After White's ninth move there is only 1 Chessbase game; Cavades, J (1562) - Rocha, S (2378), however Rocha played 9...h6 to chase the White Bishop versus my less accurate f6 }
10.Bh4 Qa5 { I finally follow c5 with Qa5 eyeing the open 5th rank to quickly change a Queen-side attack to a King-side assault }
11.h3 Nh6 12.a3 Nf7 13.b4 Qc7 { I give up on my Qh5 ambitions and ready for a central pawn push on c5 or e5 }
14.Bg3 Nd7 15.c5 e5 { White initiates the pawn confrontation on c5, so I am happy to target a more central e5 }
16.cxd6 Qxd6 17.Bc4 { White has favorable development and space with this effective absolute pin on f7 }
17...Qe7 18.d5 { This was pivotal as White blocked its pin and allowed Black to get both Knights involved in chasing the White Bishop back to the A-file in a Texas-two-step, losing tempe for White }
18...Nd6 19.Bb3 c5 20.bxc5 Nxc5 21.Ba2 Bd7 22.O-O Rac8 23.Rfc1 Kh8 24.Qe2 Bh6 { Placing the Black Bishop on the 2nd longest diagonal made it much more active and setup Black's Queen-side attack }
25.Rc2 Qe8 26.Nh2 { It was clear the White Knight was positioning to unseat the Black Bishop on h6; it was 2 moves away so Black went on the flanking Queen-side attack }
26...Nb5 27.Nxb5 Bxb5 28.Qe1 Bd3 29.Rc3 Qb5 30.f3 { If White would have played Ng4 here it would have forced the Black Bishop to retreat to g7 or face an exchange that eliminated its effective support role }
30...Qb2 { This powerful Queen move keeps White Rooks from working together and gives Black a variety of attacking combinations }
31.Nf1 Bd2 { While this move appears to give Black a favorable exchange 32. Qxd2 traps the Black Queen as follows: 32...Qxa1 33. Rc1 Nxe4 34. Rxa1 Nxd2 and White is slightly better afterwards }
32.Nxd2 Qxc3 { Black cleanly wins the exchange }
33.Bf2 Na4 34.Qd1 Nb2 { Returning the Queen to b2 would've been a far stronger position; after some more jockeying around Black finds that advantage } 35.Qe1 Bb5 36.Bb6 Nd3 37.Qd1 Nf4 38.g3 Ne2+ 39.Kg2 Nd4 40.Nb3 Qb2+ 41.Kg1 Rc2 { With the Black Rook joining the Black Queen on the 2nd rank there's a quick Mate enabled by limiting the King to only the G&H files, thanks to the Black Bishop covering f1; forcing the White Queen to sacrifice itself }
42.Qxc2 Nxc2 43.d6 Nxa1 44.Nc5 Rc8 45.Be6 Ra8 46.Bd7 Qd4+ 47.Kg2 Qxd6 48.Bxb5 Qxb6 49.Nd7 Qxb5 50.Nxf6 { After the last White runner-pawn is eliminated it's mop-up time. There's an efficient Mate in 3 from here with Qe2+ followed by bringing the Black Rook to the first rank }
50...Rd8 51.Ng4 Rd2+ 52.Nf2 Qb2 53.h4 Rxf2+ 54.Kh3 Nb3 55.Kg4 Nc5 56.a4 Qb6 57.a5 Qe6+ 58.Kg5 Kg7 59.h5 h6+ 60.Kh4 Rh2#
0-1

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Mike Commisso, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2018 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
The complete game set for this tournament consists of 28 games. All 28 of these games are here.
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

[Though not strictly a club game since it was played in an outside event, Mariano Rivera sent this in, so I'll post it here. Enjoy!]

I analyzed my games from the 2018 Mass Game/60 Championship. According to the analysis tool in lichess.org I played a perfect game of 38 moves as black when my opponent resigned. I'm actually surprised because I was really unsure how to proceed just before the series of exchanges in the middle game - especially since I decided to go pawn grabbing just before the exchanges. I could not see how white could get an advantage from losing the pawns so I decided to take them.

2 of my other games weren't near this quality but they were clear wins by the time I made any mistakes or blunders. I should have won the fourth game based on the position out of the opening to share first place. Black's king was stuck in the center but I allowed him to slip away and even get an advantage towards the end. The kid was tired too and a little low on time so we agreed on a draw.

[Site "Marlboro, MA"]
[Date "2018.04.15"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Gus Dudley"]
[Black "Mariano Rivera"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "977P4"]
[BlackELO "1289P15"]
[Moves "38"]
[Plycount "76"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. dxe5 dxe5 8. Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Nxe5 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Bxe5 11. O-O Nc6 12. Be3?! Inaccuracy. Best move was Bg5.
( 12. Bg5 Re8 13. Bf6 Bf5 14. Bxe5 Rxe5 15. Ng3 Nd4 16. Bf3 Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 Bh3 18. Rfe1 Rxe1+ )
12... Bxb2 13. Rab1 Bg7 14. Bg5 Re8 15. Bd3 Ne5 16. Rfe1 Bf5 17. Bc2 Nxc4 18. Nf6+?? Blunder. Best move was Bd3.
( 18. Bd3 b5 19. f3 Bd4+ 20. Kf1 c6 21. Rbc1 Bxe4 22. Rxe4 Rxe4 23. Bxe4 Rc8 24. Bd3 Nd6 )
18... Bxf6 19. Bxf5 Bxg5 20. Bd3 Nb6 21. g3?! Inaccuracy. Best move was Bc2.
( 21. Bc2 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Rd8 23. Rd1 Rxd1+ 24. Bxd1 Nd5 25. a4 c6 26. g3 Kf8 27. Bf3 Bf6 )
21... Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Kf8 23. Kg2 Rd8 24. Rd1?! Inaccuracy. Best move was Bf1.
( 24. Bf1 c5 25. h4 Bf6 26. Re4 c4 27. Bxc4 Nxc4 28. Rxc4 Rd2 29. Rc7 Rxa2 30. Rxb7 Bd4 )
24... c5 25. Bc2 Rd2 26. Rxd2 Bxd2 27. Kf3 c4 28. Ke4 Ke7 29. Kd4 c3 30. Kc5?! Inaccuracy. Best move was a4.
( 30. a4 Nd7 31. h4 Kf6 32. Kd3 Ne5+ 33. Ke2 Nc6 34. Bb1 b6 35. h5 Nb4 36. f3 Ke5 )
30... Nd7+ 31. Kc4? Mistake. Best move was Kd4.
( 31. Kd4 Kf6 )
31... Ne5+ 32. Kd5 Nf3 33. h4 Ne1 34. Bb1 c2 35. Bxc2 Nxc2 36. Kc4 Be1 37. Kd3 Bxf2 38. Kxc2 Bxg3
{White resigns} 1-0
-Mariano Rivera

2017 Games
Here is Andy Kiser's big upset over Brian Biglow.

[Event "George Sturgis Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC: FSU, McKay C-159, Fitchburg MA"]
[Date "2017.12.6"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Brian Bigelow"]
[Black "Andrew Kiser"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "1433"]
[BlackELO "1028"]

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. c4 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. h3 e5 7. d5 Nd4
8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Qxd4 O-O 10. Qd1 c6 11. Bd3 b5 12. Bg5 b4 13. Na4 cxd5
14. cxd5 Qa5 15. O-O Nd7 16. Be7 Re8 17. Bxd6 Ne5 18. Bc2 Nc4 19. Bf4 Nxb2
20. Rb1 Nxd1 21. Rbxd1 Ba6 22. Rfe1 Rac8 23. Bb3 Be5 24. Be3 Rc7 25. d6 Rd7
26. Rd5 Qd8 27. Nc5 Bb5 28. Nxd7 Qxd7 29. Red1 Re6 30. Bc5 a5 31. a3 a4 32. Ba2 b3
33. Bb1 Bc4 34. R5d2 b2 35. Bb4 Bb3 36. Re1 Bxd6 37. e5 Qc6 38. Rxd6 Qc7
39. Rdd1 Rxe5 40. Rd8+ Kg7 41. Re3 Qc1+ 42. Kh2 Rxe3 43. fxe3 Qxb1 44. Bc3+ Kh6
45. Rd7 Qc1 46. Rxf7 Qxc3 47. Rf2 Qxe3 48. Rf3 Qe5+ 49. Rg3 Bd5 50. h4 Be4
51. h5 Kxh5
0-1

Here is a game Mike Commisso played at this year's New Hampshire Open.

[Event "NH Open"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/OmHtdjsA"]
[Date "2017.7.9"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Mike Commisso (1657)"]
[Black "Eric Hilhorst (1714)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[TimeControl "-"]
[ECO "B32"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation"]
[Termination "Normal"]
[Annotator "Mike Commisso"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6
{B32 Sicilian Defense: Kalashnikov Variation}
6. N1c3 a6 7. Na3 b5 8. Nd5 Nge7
{I expected Nf6 and Bg7}
9. Bg5 f6
{It's not everyday that someone opens up the king side when e7 was well enough defended.
Not knowing the Kalashnikov well, I was expecting g6 given Nd7.}
10. Qh5+
{I decided to take the offer but wasn't expecting a direct win. Black defended well enough and, in a
roundabout way, castled by hand over 15 moves. Meanwhile, the white queen has no great place
to retreat once the black king side is a mess.}
10... g6 11. Nxf6+ Kf7 12. Qf3 Qa5+
{Stockfish assigned '?' to both queen moves. White's queen should be on h4 according to Stockfish.
Either will protect the knight when the bishop retreats to d2, but Qh4 is better in that
it discourages Bg7. This move signlals the beginning of a lot of choices
with large swings in the +- score coming.}
13. c3 Nd4
{White doesn't retreat the bishop with tempo and black played Nd4 one move late.
It could have had tempo on the white queen, then push the bishop with h6 and win the Nf6}
14. Qd3 h6
{Another mistake. Retreating the knight saves it. At this point we're 40 minutes into a game
that is shaping up like a 4th round game.}
15. Bd2 Kxf6 16. cxd4 Qa4
{I expected a retreat to b6. Stockfish agreed and says Qa4 was worth 2 pawns.}
17. dxe5+ dxe5
{I chose opening the center considering the black king position and white's slightest lead in development.
Stockfish thinks Nc2 was better. I considered it and sort of prefer it now because my knight spent
a lot of time on the queen side. It might have been worth the move given that black wasted a move with Qa4.}
18. Be2
{? and giving back the 2 pawns of advantage just gifted.}
18... Nc6
{?? and up to +5.1 for Stockfish.}
19. Bd1 Qd4 {Nc2 would have stopped this, eh? What follows is my realization that black's queen was a target and
I could improve my pieces at her expense. As it unfolded, black's potential space advantage clarifies.}
20. Qf3+ Kg7 21. Bb3 Qd7 22. Nc2 Bc5 23. Rd1 Qe7 24. Be3 Rf8 25. Bxc5 Qxc5 26. Qe3 Qe7 27. O-O Be6 28. Bd5 Rac8
{I took 12 minutes for Bd5, leaving me with 20 minutes to black's 40 minutes.
I reasoned that the center solidified and not to my liking, my control of the d file wasn't going to result
in invasion and I needed an imbalance. Stockfish approved, even if I thought I was clever for the sake of it.
I planned to get the knight to d3, e3 or f3.}
29. Qb6 Bxd5 30. exd5 Nb8 31. Ne3 Rf6 32. d6 Qd8 33. Qb7+ Qd7 34. Qd5 Nc6 35. Rd2 Rd8 36. Rfd1 Re6
{At this point, I had 6 minutes left, black had 18 minutes. The position had settled a bit.
I wanted to walk my knight to c5 via f1, g3 and e4. Stockfish disapproved.}
37. Nf1 Nd4
{With this move black enjoys quite a bind for a while. He didn't take the d6 pawn for a long time and
he wasn't sure afterward why. 4 minutes to 6 minutes.}
38. Qe4 g5
{I saw possibilities to pressure the king side and hoped it would cost black time. Hope is misplaced in chess. Still, we're at 1 minute apiece.} 39. Ng3 Qf7
{32 seconds to 16 seconds}
40. Kf1 Kf6
{7 seconds each. We both managed to move kings into the worst positions in time trouble.
Black unwound his mistake and tucked his king away. Given that slowness, it was a good time to either put the knight on e4 or plahy Kg1. I didn't.}
41. Qg4 Kg7 42. Qe4 Kg8 43. Qd5 Rdxd6
{I had long given up on d6 but losing the control of c6 and e6 was unfortunate.
At this point, I thought back to the incursion 29. Qb6 and started planning around that idea.}
44. Qa8+ Re8 45. Qe4 Rf6 46. Qe3 Rf4
{Luck for white. This forces off the black knight unless black intended an exchange sacrifice.
It wasn't a very forcing way to do that.}
47. Ne2 Nxe2 48. Rxe2 Rf8 49. Qb6 Qh5
{The black king is well protected. The queen is a good defender.}
50. Rd8 Qxh2
{Equal after Rd8. Rd7 was suggested after the game.
Stockfish preferred Qe6+ which leads to liquidation on f6, 2 queen side pawns each and 3 to 2
on the king side for white.
Qxh2 seems kind of scary but it reinforces the need for white to use the e2 rook soon.}
51. Qe6+ Kh7
{?? It's been 11 moves since the time control and we're at 12 mintues and 4 minutes.
This loses but the upcoming comedy is fun.}
52. Rd7+ Kh8 53. Qxe5+ R8f6 54. Qe8+ Rf8 55. Qe5+ R8f6
{two repeats is not 3 repeats. I had bought a bit of time.
Black said later that the second repetition signaled to him that I didn't see the mate.
True. But then I did and got a tie for second in U1850 from the win.}
56. Qxf6+ Rxf6 57. Re8+
{Black resigns.}
1-0

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2016 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
You may eventually play any or all of the complete games from the 2016 WCC Championship by using this link:

Play 2017 WCC Championship Games online


The complete game set for this tournament consists of 28 games, 5 of which were forfeited & 23 of which were actually played. All 23 of these games are here.
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

[This game was sent in by Roland Booker with his comments.
I added the .pgn headers, but I haven't had time to reformat it for page viewing yet, so it's presented here as preformatted text.] 

[Event "Martin Laine Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC: FSU, McKay C-159, Fitchburg MA"]
[Date "2017.05.03"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Booker, Roland"]
[Black "Briggs, Don"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1619"]
[BlackElo "1420"]
[Board "11"]
[Section "only"]
[Plycount "90"]
[Moves "45"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez, Steinitz variation"]
[ECO "C62"]
[TimeControl "G/100 min. d5"]
Comments are surrounded by square brackets, actual game moves are outside the brackets.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.Bxc6+?! bxc6 5.d4 f6? 6.0-0 Ne7 7.Qe2 Bg4?!² 8.Nbd2= Ng6 9.h3 Nf4? 10.Qe3? Bxh3??± 11.gxh3 Qd7 12.Nh2!? Nxh3+ 13.Kh1 Be7 14.Ndf3 0-0!? 15.Ng1?² Nf4± 16.Qf3?!² Ne6 17.d5!? cxd5 18.exd5 Nd4 19.Qd3 f5??± 20.Be3??= Nb5??+- 21.c4?!± f4 22.cxb5 fxe3+- 23.fxe3 Bf6? 24.e4?! a6?! 25.bxa6 Qa4? 26.b3?? Qd7?? 27.b4?? c6?? 28.dxc6 Qxc6 29.b5 Qb6? 30.Rac1? Bg5?? 31.Rc6 Qa5? 32.Qd5+?? Kh8 33.Rxf8+ Rxf8 34.Qxd6 Rd8!? 35.Qxe5?? Be3 36.Qe7?? Bxg1? 37.Rc7?? Rg8 38.Kg1 Qb6+?? 39.Qc5 Qg6+ 40.Kf2 Qxe4 41.Nf3 Re8?? 42.Rc8 Qe2 43.Kg3 h6 44.a7 Qxa2?? 45.Rxe8+ Kh7 1-0


[Roland Booker 1619 - Donald Briggs 1420 C62 Wachusett Chess Club

This file is formatted to be readable by Deep Fritz 14 chess database software.
Legend:  After the move--
                !?- the move is deficient,              ?! - the move is dubious,
                ? - the move is bad,                         ?? - the move is poor
                =   the position is equal ,               ²   slightly favors White,
                ±   White has an advantage,          +-  White's advantage is probably decisive

I don't annotate good moves because a move can only be as good as the position allows. A move is ok if it is the best possible in the position, otherwise it is lacking. This is my attitude because I know I can't play perfectly, but I can improve if I can just recognize my mistakes and learn from them.

]1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 [
C62: Ruy Lopez: Steinitz defense
569 121118  file in tree2 directory
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6
]4.Bxc6+?!  [(dubious; d4 ok; 0-0 playable)
I like roughly equal early positions that most people don't study much because I like to play chess rather than memorize it. 4.Bxc6+ is dubious because it gives up a lot just to get an equal position. The ok move is probably the best; a playable move gives up just a little.
]4...bxc6 [(ok)
Forced recapture
]5.d4 [(ok; Qe2,h3,0-0,Nc3,c4,d3,b3,a4 playable)
]5...f6? [(bad; exd4,Nf6 ok)
White uses the f6 tempo place his pieces on better squares than Black can reach because ...Nd7 gets in the way. ...f6 is often played by players hoping to avoid early loss, but it is still bad.
]6.0-0 [(ok; Qd3 playable)
No important threats to counter or make, so harbor White King
]6...Ne7 [(ok; Qd7,g6 playable)
]7.Qe2 [(ok; Be3,Qe2,Nc3 ok; Qd3,Nxe4,Be3,c4,b3,Nbd2 playable)
Dreaming about Rd1 with threats on the e5 pawn. I forgot that I had an opponent.
Makes the d4 pawn hard to defend. Black's Bg4 is going to be really annoying. 7.dxe5 or h3 have to be better
]7...Bg4?! [(dubious; a5,Ng6 ok; Qd7 playable)
Black shows that he prefers attacking to developing. I prefer defending to just about anything else, especially against poorly prepared assaults.
]8.Nbd2? [(bad ; dxe5 ok)
Awkward defensive move. Much better exchange on e5. I wanted to develop while defending, but I forgot that pieces have to be coordinated.
]8...Ng6 [(playable; exd4 ok)
]9.h3 [(ok; Kh1 playable)
]9...Nf4? [(bad; Bh5 ok; Bd7,Be6 playable)
Black Nf4 tempos to accelerate Kside attack without developing follow-up. 9...Bh5 10.g4?? Nf4 winning two pawns. If the Bishop leaves, then h3 turns into a wasted move.
]10.Qe3? [(bad; Qd1 ok; Qc4 playable)
Awkward placement makes defense and development difficult. The position now is almost exactly equal.
]10...Bxh3?? [(poor; Bd7,Be6 ok)
After ...Be6, f4N is well-posted. White struggles to develop. After a piece sac, Black's attack, though lasting, is losing because White has plenty of time to defend against the slow follow-up.
]11.gxh3 [(ok)
Forced to accept Bishop sacrifice
]11...Qd7 [(ok; Nxh3+,Qc8 playable)
]12.Nh2!? [(barely playable; Ne1 ok; Nh4 playable)
This awkward move makes it difficult to get the White pieces coordinated in defending the King. A better plan was N-e1-d3,Kh2,Qf3,Rg1
]12...Nxh3+ [(ok; Qxh3,g5 playable)
]13.Kh1 [(ok)
Avoiding ...Nf4+
]13...Be7 [(playable; h5 ok)
13...Be7 starts play along the f-file, ...h5 starts a King-side pawn storm; the two best plans Black has in this position.
]14.Ndf3 [(ok; Nb3/playable)
White needs to make room for the Bishop: fianchettoing it is a non-starter, and there is no indication that b3 would be useful yet.
]14...0-0!? [(deficient; g5 ok )
Makes no threat so lets White reposition WQ avoiding Nf4 tempo or play Ng1 to counter h3 weakness; leaves h3N hanging. ...g5 reinforces f4 strongpoint but doesn't overcome White advantage: Black isn't getting enough positionally for the Bishop sacrifice. There is no material recovery and the King-side assault is stalled.
]15.Ng1? [(bad; Qd3 ok)
I was thinking only of driving the h3N away, but there is no hurry as it isn't accomplishing anything and won't be reinforced soon. Worse, the Night's absence makes it easier for Black to get some favorable exchanges. Better was clearing e3 for the Bishop; there was a Qd3 tempo off the xrayed d7 Queen because then Nf4 breaks up the black pawn structure.
]15...Nf4 [(playable; Ng5 ok)
Ng5 is better because it helps get the e7 Bishop involved when ...d5 threatens the White center.
]16.Qf3?! [(dubious; Bd2 ok; Qg3 passable)
It was more important to connect the Rooks than to threaten the f4 Black Night
]16...Ne6 [(playable; Ng6 ok; )
16...Ng6 would  have helped the center more.
]17.d5!? [(deficient; dxe5 ok; Qh3 playable)
Saves the pawn and doesn't open the f-file for Black, but lets Black get four pawns to one on the King-side.  The pawn exchange is ok because the f-file doesn't accrue to Black. Letting Black take e4 after 17.Qh3 doesn't improve his position much either.
]17...cxd5 [(ok; Nc5,cxd5 ok; Nd4 playable)
...cxd5 and Nc5 are interchangeable in the line that frees Black's center. ...Nd4-c5 is similar.
]18.exd5 [(ok)
Forced recapture
]18...Nd4 [(ok; Nc5 playable)
]19.Qd3 [(ok)
Protect c2, but don't want the Black Queen free on f5
]19...f5?? [(poor; Qf5 ok; c6,Rac8,c5,a5,Rab8,a6,Rfb8 playable)
Blocks a retreat square needed by for the d4 Night
]20.Be3?? [(poor; c3 ok)
The d4 Night is lost, and the Black Kingside is surprisingly vulnerable , eg, 20.c3 c5 21.cxd4 cxd4 22.Ne2 Rab8 23.Rg1 Kh8 24.Ng3 Rb5 25.Nh5 g6 26.Bh6 Rf7 27.b3 gxh5 28.Qg3  28...Qe8 29.Bg7+ Kg8 30.Bxe5+ Kf8 31.Qg8#
Thinking only of the Bishop's threat to the d4 Night, I didn't even look at f4 attacking the e3 Bishop, c5 doubly protecting the d4 Night, or at Qb5 attacking the undefended White Queen after c3. I clearly forgot to survey the tactics affecting this move. After 20.Be3??, the Night escapes and Black gets back  half  the White advantage.
]20...Nb5?? [(poor; c5 ok)
20...Nb5 leads to a worse way to exchange the Night.
Save the Night by attacking the White Queen, eg, 21...c5 21.c3 Qb5 and if White doesn't exchange Queens, he loses even more ground to ...f4 counterattacking the e3 Bishop.
]21.c4?! [(dubious; a4 ok)
a4 is better because c4 breaks up the Wd-side pawns; a clear White winning line doesn't appear for a few moves.
]21...f4 [(ok; Nd4 playable)
recovery threat to the e3 Bishop countering the threat to the b5 Night
]22.cxb5 [(ok)
]22...fxe3 [(ok)
Forced recovery
]23.fxe3 [(ok)
]23...Bf6? [(bad; Rfb8 ok)
23...Bf6? gives White a move to protect the Queen-side slightly, just enough to keep White's decisive advantage. ...Rfb8 with Rooks on the Queen-side pawns' files would have cut it significantly.
]24.e4?! [(dubious; a4 ok)
24.e4?! leaves the Queen-side fluid allowing Black counterplay there; a4 would have stabilized the Queen-side making White's King-side play more effective
]24...a6?! [(dubious; Bg5 ok; Rfb8 )
The pawn is dropped only temporarily, but recovering it costs Black two moves White can use to organize the other two Queenside flank pawns.
]25.bxa6 [(ok)
Captures the exposed pawn.
]25...Qa4? [ (bad; Rfb8 ok)
An awkward recovery that offers White a favorable exchange of Queens.
]26.b3?? [(poor; Ng4 ok)
26.b3?? is a wasted move. Ng4 is the most direct move to resolve the e-side and ensure that the Queen-side pawns get home first.
]26...Qd7?? [(poor; Qxa6 ok)
Having committed, Black should have recaptured the pawn.  Instead 26.Qd7 effectively gives White two moves to keep his undeserved gains.
]27.b4?? [(bad; Rac1 ok)
27.b4?? is bad because it gives the BQ time to penetrate to the a-file. 27.Rac1 is the correct rook to move because the f1 Rook is keeping the g5 Bishop from getting to the Queen-side via f2 or e1.
]27...c6?? [(poor; Rab8 ok; Qa4,Rfb8 )
27...c6?? helps White by converting the flank pawns into connected passed pawns. Connected passed pawns on the fifth and sixth ranks are usually worth almost a Night.
The other three moves all fight the pawns in some way.
]28.dxc6 Qxc6 29.b5 [(ok)
defends a6 with tempo
]29...Qb6? [(bad; Qc8 ok)
The Queen isn't a great blockader of pawns. Better to eye them from a distance and try for some counterplay against the White King.
]30.Rac1? [(bad; Qd5+ ok)
Both moves win quickly; Qd5+ gives Black less Queen-side play initially.
eg. 30.Rac1 Rab8 31.Ng4 Qxb5 32.Nxf6+ gxf6 33.Qg3+ Kh8 34.Rc7 Rg8 35.Rxh7+ Kxh7 36.Qh4+ Kg7 37.Qxf6+ Kh7 38.Qh4+ Kg7 39.Qg4+ Kh8 40.Qh5+ Kg7 41.Rf7#
]30...Bg5?? [(poor; Qd4 ok; Rfb8 playable)
30...Bg5 surrenders the King-side to White quickly. ...Qd4 exchanges Queens which objectively makes the game last more moves, but also makes it harder to try for perpetual check. ...Rfb8 leads to more counterplay on the queenside.
]31.Rc6 Qa5? 32.Qd5+?? [(poor; Rxf8+ ok)
32.Qd5+?? wins, but Rxf8+ and promoting the b-pawn shortly wins much faster. The rest of the move comments indicate either that White had a faster win or that Black could have resisted longer. Black mercifully dropped a Rook on move 44 and resigned after 45 three moves before checkmate.
]32...Kh8 33.Rxf8+ Rxf8 34.Qxd6 Rd8!? 35.Qxe5?? Be3 36.Qe7?? Bxg1? 37.Rc7?? Rg8 38.Kxg1 Qb6+?? 39.Qc5 Qg6+ 40.Kf2 Qxe4 41.Nf3 Re8?? 42.Rc8 Qe2+ 43.Kg3 h6 44.a7 Qxa2?? 45.Rxe8+ Kh7 1-0

2016 Games
Here are a few games from the 2016 Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial tournament:
Special thanks to Brett Kildahl, who sent in game scores of all four of his games from this tournament.

[Event "Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC @FSU, Fitchburg"]
[Date "2016.10.19"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kildahl, Brett"]
[Black "Meehan, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2128"]
[BlackElo "1635"]
[Board "1"]
[EventDate "2016.10.19"]

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 Bd6 4.O-O Nd7 5.d3 f5 6.e4 fxe4 7.dxe4 Ngf6 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Ng5 N7f6 10.Re1 O-O 11.Nd2 c6 12.Nde4 Bc7 13.c4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 Nf6 15.Qc2 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 g6 17.Bh6 Rf7 18.Bxg6 hxg6 19.Qxg6+ 1-0

[Event "Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC @FSU, Fitchburg"]
[Date "2016.10.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Harris, Ed"]
[Black "Kildahl, Brett"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1751"]
[BlackElo "2128"]
[Board "1"]
[EventDate "2016.10.26"]

1.a3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.c4 d6 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.e4 c6 10.O-O Qe7 11.Qc2 a5 12.h3 Rb8 13.Be3 b6 14.Rab1 Nh5 15.Rfe1 Nf4 16.Bf1 Bb7 17.b4 axb4 18.axb4 Ne6 19.Red1 c5 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Nd4 22.Bxd4 exd4 23.Re1 Qd6 24.b5 Ra8 25.Ra1 d3 26.Rxa8 dxc2 27.Ra2 c1=B 28.Rxc1 Re8 29.Rcc2 Qf4 30.Ra6 Bd4 31.Nh2 Re1 32.Ra3 Ne5 33.Ra8+ Kg7 34.Rc8 Qf5 0-1

[Event "Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC @FSU, Fitchburg"]
[Date "2016.11.02"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Kildahl, Brett"]
[Black "Couture, Dave"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2128"]
[BlackElo "1790"]
[Board "1"]
[EventDate "2016.11.02"]

1.Nf3 f5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bg5 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 6.e4 fxe4 7.Nxe4 O-O 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.c3 d6 10.Qc2 g6 11.h4 Qe8 12.h5 e5 13.hxg6 exd4 14.gxh7+ Kh8 15.O-O-O dxc3 16.Nxf6 Nb4 17.Nxe8 Nxc2 18.Nxc7 Rb8 19.Kxc2 cxb2 20.Kxb2 Bg4 21.Rde1 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Rxf3 23.Bc2 Rxf2 24.Re8+ Rxe8 25.Nxe8 1-0

[Event "Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC @FSU, Fitchburg"]
[Date "2016.11.16"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Paulson, Ray"]
[Black "Kildahl, Brett"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2010"]
[BlackElo "2128"]
[Board "1"]
[EventDate "2016.11.16"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.Nc3 Re8 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Qd2 Bg7 13.Rfe1 a6 14.e4 Bg4 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Nd7 17.Rad1 b5 18.Re2 Qa5 19.a3 Ne5 20.Bg2 Nc4 21.Qc2 Nxa3 22.bxa3 Qxc3 23.Qxc3 Bxc3 24.f4 Rab8 25.Rc2 b4 26.Kf1 Bd4 27.axb4 Rxb4 28.Ra2 Rb6 29.Rdd2 Reb8 30.Ke2 Rb3 31.g4 Re3+ 32.Kd1 Rb1+ 33.Kc2 Rbb3 34.Kc1 Rec3+ 35.Rdc2 Rg3 36.Re2 Be3+ 37.Kd1 Bxf4 38.Rab2 Rgd3+ 39.Kc2 Rbc3+ 40.Kb1 Rc1+ 41.Ka2 Be5 42.Rb1 Rc4 43.Rb8+ Kg7 44.Rb6 Ra4+ 45.Kb1 Ra1+ 46.Kc2 c4 47.Rb4 Ra2+ 0-1
Here are a few games from the 2016 Rocco R. Pasquale Memorial tournament:
Special thanks to Brett Kildahl, Ed Harris, Jackson Parker, & Tom Whistler, who sent in games from this tournament.

[Event "Rocco Pasquale Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC: FSU, McKay C-192, Fitchburg MA"]
[Date "2016.10.05"]
[Round "4"]
[Board "5"]
[White "Parker, Jackson"]
[Black "Gladding, Lawrence"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1693"]
[BlackElo "1831"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.a3!?
{A tame sideline of the Taimanov that doesn't really promise White much, but does stop the annnoying ...Bb4 that is sometimes encountered. This moves make sense considering that Black has essentially wasted tempo to stop ...Nb5.}
5...Qc7 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.g3 d5?!
{Better was 8...Be7 followed by castling. This is too slow as it weakens the d pawn and allows White smooth development in the form of attack.}
9.exd5 exd5 10.Bg2 Be6 11.0-0 Bd6 12.Nxe6?!
{12. Re1 0-0 13. Bg5 was stronger.}
12...fxe6 13.Bh3 Qf7?!
{13...Nd8! and White's attack is not so obvious. After the computer's suggestion of 14. f4 0-0 15. Qf3, Black's central pawns offer him compensation for the lack of development.}
14.Re1!?
{14. Qe2 is apparently better, but this gives White some tricks.}
14... 0-0 15.Bc5 Qc7??
{Hard to believe, but the line 15...Bxc5! 16. Bxe6 Bxf2+ 17. Kh1 Bxe1 18. Qxf7+ Rxf7 19. Qxe1 is equal, though I still prefer White.}
16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.Bxe6+ Kh8 18.Bxd5 Nxd5 19.Qxd5 Qf6 20.f4!
{Pragmatic chess does not work here. White must be willing to allow some checks. 20. Re2 Nd4 is unpleasant, and 20. Rf1 Rd8 doesn't help White much either.}
20...Rad8 21.Qe4 Nd4 22.Rad1 Qb6 23.Nd5?? Rxd5
{I missed this move. Now White is only slightly better. The problem is that I have no way of stopping 24...Nxc2+.}
24.Qxd5 Nf3+??
{Black never recovered from this move. 24...Nxc2+ was stronger.}
25.Kg2 Nxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Rd8?
{26...Qxb2 27. Qc5 Rd8 28. Re5 is more resilent.}
27.Qe5 Rd2+ 28.Kf3 Rf2+ 29.Kg4 Qg6+ 30.Qg5 h5+ 31.Kh3 Qf7??
{Black has to exchange queens after which White has a winning endgame. 31...Qxg5 32. fxg5 Kh7 (32...Rxc2?? 33. g6! and checkmate is inevitable) 33. Re7 b5 34. b4.}
32.Re7 1-0

More games from the Rocco R Pasquale Memorial:
./PGN/Gladding-Kildahl.pgn.txt
./PGN/Paulson-Harris.pgn.txt
./PGN/Whistler-Biglow-20160921.pgn.txt

Games from the Harold B. Dondis Memorial:
Special thanks to Mike Commisso, who sent in this game.
This game was a 200 point upset & a well played game throughout.

Hi Paul,
In response to your table counting games submitted, have at it. I left the analysis as lichess gave it. I'm pretty sure it's Stockfish 5. If you want to add or delete, proceed. Mainly I'm offering comments reflecting how I saw the game unfold. I'll send Mirijanian-Commisso another day. Mike

[Event "WCC Harold B. Dondis Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett Chess Club, FSU, McKay, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2016.9.7"]
[White "Ken Gurge"]
[Black "Mike Commisso"]
[WhiteElo "1856"]
[BlackElo "1656"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1856"]
[BlackElo "1656"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[TimeControl "G100/d5"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack"]
[Termination "Normal"]
[Annotator "Mike Commisso & lichess.org"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Be3
{ B90 Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, English Attack }
6... e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be2 Be6 9. O-O O-O 10. Kh1
{Engines usually have a complaint by now. It mildly didn't like Kh1 but didn't offer an alternative. We made it to move 21 without it offering a variation which was pretty solid by us. Clearly Ken wanted f4 soon.}
10... d5
{Maybe early, but thematic and Ken is too strong to sit around and wait for a bind to develop.}
11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Bxd5
{Here Bf3, BxB, QxB and pressure on b7 concerned me, along with his QB and Knight already there. }
13. f4 e4
{I couldn't see anything good for me so why improve his QB by taking on f4?}
14. c4 Bc6
{It doesn't seem like much. My queen knight needs to get out and it takes away a good square at c6. But later c4 got in Ken's way. }
15. Qc2 Nd7 16. Nd4 Qc7 17. Nxc6 Qxc6 18. Rad1 Nf6 19. Qb3 Bc5 20. Bd4 Rad8
{Lots of maneuvering. I finally realized how his KB didn't have much room. Bd4 game me the slightest time to get a rook into play.}
21. Bxc5?!
{ (-0.15 ? -0.65) Inaccuracy. Best move was Bxf6. }
{After the game Ken thought Bxf6 was better. I liked it a little but thought I'd get dark square pressure on the king side.} (21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22. Qxb7 e3 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. f5 Rd2 25. b4 Bf8 26. Qf3 Qb2 27. Re1 Qxb4)
21... Qxc5
{An even game}
22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Qxb7?
{ (-0.69 ? -3.27) Mistake. Best move was Qc3. }
{Until here, b7 was poison and traps the queen. Even here, it takes the queen away from the center which was huge for me.}
(23. Qc3 e3 24. Rf3 Ng4 25. h3 Rd2 26. hxg4 Rxe2 27. Qd3 Re1+ 28. Kh2 h6 29. Kg3 Qe7)
23... Qe3 24. Qc7 Rf8?
{ (-3.20 ? -0.66) Mistake. Best move was Re8. }
{I didn't like Re8 because Ken can attack the rook again and tie my knight to its defense.}
(24... Re8 25. Bd1 Qd3 26. Rg1 e3 27. Bf3 Qd2 28. b4 e2 29. Bxe2 Ne4 30. h3 Qxe2 31. Kh2)
25. Bd1 Qd4?!
{ (-0.73 ? -0.14) Inaccuracy. Best move was Qd3. }
{I was fixated on the f2 pressure.
Ken's next move ended that idea although the engine thinks pushing the passer is better.}
(25... Qd3 26. Rg1 e3 27. Bf3 Re8 28. Qa5 Ne4 29. Bxe4 Qxe4 30. c5 Qxf4 31. h3 Qd4 32. Qc3)
26. h3?!
{ (-0.14 ? -0.94) Inaccuracy. Best move was c5. }
(26. c5 Qxb2 27. Bb3 Qe2 28. Rb1 Ng4 29. Qe7 h6 30. h3 Qd3 31. Ra1 Nf2+ 32. Kh2 Qd2)
26... e3 27. Ba4??
{ (-0.51 ? -6.43) Blunder. Best move was Bf3. }
{Apparently this lost it. I was glad my rook was not on e8. }
(27. Bf3 Qxb2 28. Qe5 Qxa2 29. Qxe3 Qxc4 30. Rd1 Rc8 31. Qd4 Qb5 32. Qe5 Qc4 33. Rd6 Qf1+)
27... e2 28. Rc1?!
{ (-6.30 ? -7.05) Inaccuracy. Best move was Ra1. }
(28. Ra1 Ne4 29. Kh2 Qf2 30. f5 Nd2 31. Bc6 Qf1 32. Rxf1 exf1=Q 33. Qe5 Qf2 34. b3 Nf1+)
28... Ne4 29. Qe5?
{ (-6.47 ? -7.74) Mistake. Best move was f5. }
(29. f5 Qd2 30. Ra1 e1=R+ 31. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 32. Kh2 Nd2 33. Qf4 Nf1+ 34. Kg1 Ne3+ 35. Kh2 Qc1)
29... Qxe5?
{ (-7.74 ? -5.34) Mistake. Best move was Qe3. }
(29... Qe3 30. Rb1 e1=R+ 31. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 32. Kh2 Qg3+ 33. Kg1 Qf2+ 34. Kh2 Nd2 35. Bd1 Nxc4 36. Qc3)
30. fxe5 Nf2+ 31. Kg1 Nd3 32. Re1?
{ (-5.02 ? -6.11) Mistake. Best move was Rb1. }
(32. Rb1 e1=R+ 33. Rxe1 Nxe1 34. Bd7 Rb8 35. b3 Nd3 36. e6 Nc5 37. exf7+ Kxf7 38. Bf5 g6)
32... Nxe1 33. Kf2 Nd3+ 34. Kxe2 Rd8 35. a3? { (-5.63 ? -8.22) Mistake. Best move was b3. }
(35. b3 Nxe5 36. h4 Rd4 37. Ke3 Rxh4 38. c5 Rh2 39. Kd4 Ng6 40. Bc6 Nf4 41. b4 Nxg2)
35... Nxb2 36. Bc6 Nxc4 37. Bb7 Nxe5 38. Bxa6?! { (-8.12 ? -8.82) Inaccuracy. Best move was Be4. }
(38. Be4 a5 39. a4 Rd4 40. Bc2 Rc4 41. Kd1 Kf8 42. Kd2 Ke7 43. Bd1 Rd4+ 44. Ke2 Nc4)
38... Ra8 39. Bb7?!
{ (-8.43 ? -9.05) Inaccuracy. Best move was Bb5. }
(39. Bb5 Rxa3)
39... Rxa3 40. Kf2 Kf8 41. Be4 h5 42. Bb7?
{ (-8.41 ? -11.39) Mistake. Best move was h4. }
(42. h4 Ra4 43. Ke3 Ke7 44. g3 Ra3+ 45. Kf2 Ng4+ 46. Kg2 Ra2+ 47. Kf1 Kd6 48. Bh7 Ke5)
42... Nd3+ 43. Ke2 Nf4+ 44. Kf2 Ke7 { White resigns } 0-1
{certainly could have tightened up the ending. Enjoy.}
♙   ♙   ♙  

Chris Chase is a FIDE Master & the chess columnist for the Boston Globe. He took over writing the column ("Chess Notes") after Harold Dondis died in December 2015. They were co-columnists til Harold's passing. Chris is a multitime Boylston Chess Club champion and a former New England champion, He has never won the Mass. Open. Massachusetts state champion is one title that has eluded him. But it's great to have him at the club. He wants to say something to the players next week - before the start of Round 3 [on August 24th] - about Harold Dondis.
-George M

Here an instructive draw by Chris with the black pieces from the 1990 World Open where he faced none other than perhaps the most famous chess coach in the world, IM Mark Dvoretzky.
Enjoy

[Event "World Open - Open section"]
[Site "Adam's Mark Hotel, Philadelphia"]
[Round "5"]
[Date "1990.07.02"]
[White "Dvoretzky, Mark"]
[Black "Chase, Christopher"]
[WhiteElo "2470"]
[BlackElo "2280"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B06"]
[Opening "Modern Defense, Pseudo-Austrian Attack"]
1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.f4 c6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Qd3 Nf6 8.O-O-O d5 9.e5 Ne4 10.Ne2 Bf5 11.Qa3 Bf8 12.Nd2 e6 13.Qb3 Nxd2 14.Rxd2 Qxb3 15.axb3 Nd7 16.Ng3 a5 17.Nxf5 gxf5 18.c3 Be7 19.Be2 a4 20.bxa4 Rxa4 21.Kc2 Nb6 22.b3 Ra3 23.Kb2 Kd7 24.Ra1 Rha8 25.Rxa3 Bxa3+ 26.Kb1 Be7 27.g4 fxg4 28.Bxg4 Rg8 29.Bh3 Nc8 30.f5 Bh4 31.f6 Rg6 32.Rg2 Na7 33.Kc2 c5 34.dxc5 Nc6 35.Bf4 d4 36.cxd4 Nxd4+ 37.Kb2 Be1 38.Ka3 Nb5+ 39.Kb2 Nd4 40.Rxg6 hxg6 41.Bg2 Bb4 42.Bxb7 Bxc5 43.h3 Nb5 44.Bh2 Bb4 45.Be4 Nd4 46.Bg2 Kc7 47.Bf4 Ne2 48.Bh2 Nd4 49.Bf1 Nf3 50.Bg3 Bc5 51.Bb5 Bd4+ 52.Kc2 Bxe5 53.Bxe5+ Nxe5 54.Kc3 g5 55.Kd4 Kd6 56.Be8 g4 57.hxg4 Nxg4 58.Bxf7 1/2-1/2
Here's Tony Cesolini's big round one victory over Carissa Yip from the 46th Continental Open

[Event "46th Continental Open"]
[Site "Sturbridge, MA"]
[Date "2016.08.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Cesolini, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C06"]
[Opening "French Defence, Tarrasch variation"]
[WhiteElo "2286"]
[BlackElo "2113"]
[PlyCount "68"]

{Here was the first round of the tournament, of course I was beyond nervous to simply be playing in the Open section, but it got even more ramped up when I saw the pairings, the nationally known, Carissa Yip. It concerned me for a few reasons, I knew we played similar defenses at times, so this game was going to be interesting...}
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
{And so it begins, the Tarrasch. My throat closed a bit on this move as historically I have a poor performance against this variation.}
3...Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2
{All theory so far...}
7... cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. O-O Bd6 11. Nf3 O-O 12. Bf4
{Okay, so after O-O, black should be playing QC7 preventing, BF4 as an option, I simply wanted to castle, and was okay with some exchanges, and staying away from chief theory, its still .16 so it isn't refuted, but obscure.}
12...Bxf4 13. Nxf4 Qd6
{My first slip, the good news is g3 is the only move that puts the hurt on black's ideas, otherwise I have equalized, I originally thought g3 would create weaknesses, and perhaps my opponent agreed as it wasn't played.}
14. Ne2 e5 $11 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Qxe5
{I have equalized, black has a centralized queen that attacks b2, and makes some artificial threats on the kingside.}
17. Nc3 Qg5 $2
{Taking a position that was equal and making it almost .89 for White, terrible.} (17... Ng4 18. g3 d4 19. Ne4 Bf5 $11)
18. f4 $1 Qh6 19. h3 $2
{Creating weaknesses and the advantage slips a little.} (19. Qb3 Be6 20. Rae1 Rae8 21. Bb5)
19... Bd7 20. b4
{One defensive move too many, as now the position is basically equal again.}
20...Rac8 21. Qb3 Be6 22. Rae1 $11 Bf7 23. Nb5 $2 $17 Nh5 $1
{This mistake followed by Nh5 as provided a full point swing from +.85 to -.70 in eval}
24. Kh2 Nxf4
{This is an extremely critical part of the game, with Nd4 holding about -0.84 but everything else becomes almost fatal, and here Carissa plays a move that isn't in the top five, and is the first real blunder.}
25. Nxa7 $2 d4 $1
{Eval here is -2.18...}
26. Qb1 (26. Qa3 Rc3) 26... Rc3
{-2.93..I miss the absolute killer blow in this sequence but so far, I am only improving the position for me.}
27. Bxh7+ Kh8 $1 28. Qf5 $2
{Now here I looked at the computer move for a long time, probably close to ten minutes, but I just couldn't find the killer blow, but then once I could analyze and settle my nerves I started to see the idea.} (28. Bf5 Bg6 29. Nb5 Bxf5 30. Nxc3 Bxb1)
28... g5
(28... Nxg2 $1 29. Kxg2 (29. Nb5 Nxe1 30. Nxc3 dxc3 31. Rxe1 Qd2+) 29... Bd5+ 30. Qxd5 (30. Rf3 Qd2+) 30... Qxh3+)
29. Nb5 $1
{Okay, so Carissa has caught back up to about -1.43 and I need to make sure that as we head into time trouble, I don't drop any further off or my king safety will make this game very hard on myself. I come up with the best move according to the Silicon Monster, and I was very happy that I played it this way.}
29...Bc4 $1 (29... Be6 $4 30. Qe5+ $1 Kxh7 31. Nxc3 dxc3 32. Qxc3 $11)
30. Qe5+ Kxh7 $17 31. Nxc3 Bxf1 32. Ne4 $2
{Mistake in time trouble, and best moves are still almost down -2} (32. Qc7+ Kg8 33. Rxf1 dxc3 34. Qxc3 Qe6)
32... Nxh3
{32... Bxg2 33. Qe7+ (33. Nxg5+ Kg6 $1) 33... Kg8}
33. Qc7+ Kg8 34. Rxf1 $4
{Playing for a cheapo}
34...Nf2+ $1
{Mate no matter how she goes, Carissa Resigned here. This game wasn't without its struggles, and I gave too many chances when in a clearly winning position. I'm swimming with sharks in this tournament, I can't stare at them like they are on the Discovery Channel, I must swim among them. Overall Score: C+} (34... Rxf1 35. Qc4+ Rf7 36. Qf1 (36. gxh3) 36... Rxf1)
0-1

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2016 now is another contender for the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
You may eventually play any or all of the complete games from the 2016 WCC Championship by using this link:

Play 2016 WCC Championship Games online


(Not yet available in the online player as of July 31, 2016.)
These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file. If you don't have a .PGN viewer, there are several available for free online. You can download Winboard from here. It's easy to use & free.

{Here is a nice miniature sent in by Ed Harris.}

[Event "Martin Laine Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett Chess Club, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2016.5.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Edward Harris"]
[Black "Mike Commisso"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1862"]
[BlackElo "1702"]
[ECO "A00"]
[EventDate "2016.5.11"]
[TimeControl "G/100;d5"]

1. a3 e5 2. e4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bc5 4. b4 Bb6 5. c4 d6 6. Nc3 Bg4 7. Be2 Nf6 8. d3 h6 9. h3 Be6 10. Na4 Bd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Nc3 a6 13. Bb2 c6 14. O-O O-O 15. f4 Qb6 16. Kh1 exf4 17. Na4 Qa7 18. c5 Bb3 19. Qd2 Nxe2 20. Qxe2 Bxa4 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Qh5 Kh7 23. Rxf4 Rg8 24. Rxf6 Rg6 25. Rxf7+ Kh8 26. Qxg6 1-0

{Here Ed Harris takes on Candidate Master, Roger Cappallo using his favorite, Anderssen's Opening.}
{In his video for week #8, Roger refers to this as a "boring draw" & presents a different game, but this game still contains some agile maneuvering by both players.}

[Event "Martin Laine Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett Chess Club, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2016.5.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Edward Harris"]
[Black "Roger Cappallo"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1862"]
[BlackElo "1960"]
[ECO "A00"]
[EventDate "2016.5.25"]
[TimeControl "G/100;d5"]

1. a3 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. d4 Nf6 4. e3 O-O 5. Nbd2 d6 6. Bc4 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. e4 Qe7 10. c3 Be6 11. Qc2 Rad8 12. Re1 a6 13. Bxe6 Qxe6 14. Nf1 Na5 15. Bg5 h6 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Ne3 Nb3 18. Rad1 c6 19. h3 Bg7 20. Ng4 Nc5 21. b4 h5 22. Ne3 Nd7 23. Rd2 Nb6 24. Red1 Bf6 25. c4 Rxd2 26. Rxd2 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Bxd8 28. c5 Nd7 29. Nc4 b6 30. cxb6 Bxb6 31. Nxb6 Nxb6 32. Qc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "5 Minute Blitz Game"]
[Site "Live Chess Chess.com"]
[Date "12.04.2016"]
[White "FrenchDefender"]
[Black "kickage"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1870"]
[BlackElo "1948"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[Moves "27"]
[Annotations "Jackson Parker"]

{This is a game I played online recently. It's full of tactics, and I managed to mate my opponent by sacrificing my queen.}
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 bxc6
{This is theory, but I prefer 6. Bxc6 keeping pressure on the e4 pawn, and allowing the option of Nfd7 in the future.}
7.c4 Qb6 8.Qd3 Nf6 9.Nc3 e5?!
{This leaves the d6 pawn severly weak and hems in the dark-squared bishop. Better is the plan g6-Bg7-0-0 when white has to worry about playing his usual plan of b2-b3-Bd2, or Bb2}
10.0-0 Be7 11.Bg5!? Qxb2 12.Rab1 Qa3 13.Rb7! Bc8 14.Rc7
{Here I could have obliterated black's chances of survival with 14. Rxe7! [14.Rxe7+ Kf8 (14...Kxe7 15.Nd5+) 15.Nxe5 Be6 16.Bxf6]}
14...Bd8 15.Rxc6 Bb7 16.Rxd6 Be7 17.Nb5! Qc5 18.Bxf6
{Once I realized the rook on d6 can't be taken because of 18. Bxd5 Nxd6+ 19. Kf8 Nxb7, this move was relatively easy to spot.
18...gxf6 19.Rd1
{19. Rd7 is much stronger, but this also wins.}
19...a6 20.Rd7 axb5 21.Rxb7 bxc4?? 22.Qd7+ Kf8 23.Nh4! Rd8 24.Qxd8+! Bxd8 25.Rxd8+ Kg7 26.Nf5+ Kg6 27.Rxh8
{Black will be mated in six moves regardless of what he plays.} 1-0
-Jackson Parker

Notes by Hugh McLaughlin:
I was awarded an "*" for this upset and Dave C. recommended I write this game up. Since it will be a while before I get another upset award, and probably longer before I win against this player again (we played once before - I lasted 22 moves before resigning), I will try and capture what was going through my head. Documentation and statistics by others: insert here or wherever

3/30/2016 match at WCC - Jackson Parker vs Hugh McLaughlin
1: e4 e5 2: Nf3 Nc6 3: Bb5 a6 - nothing surprising, time to address the first attack by white
4: Ba4 b5 5: Bb3 Nd4 - white decide to take up a typical position, and I decide to try push a bit
6: c3 Nxf3 7: Qxf3 Qf6 - white said afterwards that he expected me to take the bishop; I figured I might last longer if I could get the queens off the board - no deep strategy, just trying to get far enough into the game to stumble into something
8: Qg3 Bc5 9: d3 h6 10: 0-0 Ne7 - developing pieces, he castles, as will I given the chance
11: Be3 d6 12: Bxc5 dxc5 13: f4 0-0 - finished sorting our pieces, I am bit worried that white has a greater plan that I am falling into, awful lot of pawns still out there, as in ALL 16 of them
14: fxe5 Qb6 - it looks like white's grand vision may be unfolding, and I am happy to set up a potential discovered check in case I might need it in the future
15: Rf6 Be6 16: Rxh6 c4+ - since I did not have to wait too long for white to pounce, I play my trump card, while sitting there thinking about my pinned pawn and all the firepower starring at my king
17: d4 cxb3 18: axb3 Ng6 19: Rh5 Bxb3 - I was even on points, with a very uneven pawn distribution, so I grabbed a cheap pawn and shored up my lonely knight
20: Nd2 Bc4 21: Nf3 Be2 - I figure my best bet is to attack and trade if given the option. I didn't fancy the end game with all of white's pawns, but I have one more minor piece, so here goes.
22: Re1 Bxf3 23: gxf3 c5 - both sides are starting to blaze the guns, so here goes. White said afterwards that c5 was a good move. I wish he had mentioned it at the time - I was running scared.
24: f4 cxd4 25: f5 d3+ - I was surprised when white continued with the pawn swarm and let the d pawn pass. Of course, I did not know where the oncoming pawn swarm would take us, but here we go.
26: Kh1 Rad8 27: e6 d2 - I could tell this would resolve itself quickly, so I kept firing.
28: exf7+ Kxf7 29: fxg6+ Qxg6 30: Rf1+ Kg8 - this is going somewhere, but I had no idea where.
31: Rxf8+ Rxf8 32: Qxg6 d1?Q+ - I figured that if white got a free move, I was done, so I set my sights on mate. I didn't know exactly how it would fall in place, but it was now or never.
33: Kg2 Qe2+ 34: Kh3 Rf3+ 35:Kh4 Qh2+ 36: Kg5 Qg3++ - exactly even strength, and every gun just starring at each other. Looking back, a very interesting game, but I did win - which makes it easier to like.

[Event "Evert Siiskonen Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg State - WCC"]
[Date "2016.3.30"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Jackson Parker"]
[Black "Hugh McLughlin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "1694"]
[BlackELO "1237"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Nd4 6. c3 Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 Qf6 8. Qg3 Bc5 9. d3 h6 10. O-O Ne7 11. Be3 d6 12. Bxc5 dxc5 13. f4 O-O 14. fxe5 Qb6 15. Rf6 Be6 16. Rxh6 c4+ 17. d4 cxb3 18. axb3 Ng6 19. Rh5 Bxb3 20. Nd2 Bc4 21. Nf3 Be2 22. Re1 Bxf3 23. gxf3 c5 24. f4 cxd4 25. f5 d3+ 26. Kh1 Rad8 27. e6 d2 28. exf7+ Kxf7 29. fxg6+ Qxg6 30. Rf1+ Kg8 31. Rxf8+ Rxf8 32. Qxg6 d1=Q+ 33. Kg2 Qe2+ 34. Kh3 Rf3+ 35. Kh4 Qxh2+ 36. Kg5 Qg3# 0-1

Roland Sorel played an interesting & instructive game on Wednesday, January 13th 2016 against Vlad Gaciu. Roland lost the game, but transferred it to PGN & used the 64-bit version of Stockfish-6 to annotate it. It's presented here for your enjoyment & general chess interest. Nice work Roland.

Play Vlad Gaciu vs. Roland Sorel online.

2015 Games
[Event "WCC Ernest E. Fandreyer Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.10.28"]
[Round "2"]
[White "P. Godin"]
[Black "Jackson Parker"]
[WhiteElo "1947"]
[BlackElo "1583"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Board "7"]
[ECO "C"]
[Plycount "72"]
[Moves "36"]
[Opening "French Defense"]
[TimeControl "G/100 d5"]
[Annotator "Jackson Parker"]
1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Ngf3 Nf6 7.Qe2 0-0 8.0-0 b5 9.Re1 Rb8 10.c3 b4!? 11.e5 Nd7 12.d4 bxc3 13.bxc3 cxd4 14.cxd4 Qb6
{At first I thought this was a blunder, but it is in fact black's best move in this position. I wasn't worried about 15. Rab1, because I always have 15...Nxd4 16. Rxb6 Nxe2+ 17. Rxe2 Rxb6 when black is a pawn up. Paul saw this and chose the most principled move, but also the least challenging.}
15.Nb3 a5! 16.Be3 a4
{Perhaps 16....Ba6 17. Qd1 Nb4 is more accurate. This move is still strong, since I'm threatening to play a4-a3 when I should have an overwhelming advantage in the endgame.}
17.Nbd2 Ba6! 18.Qd1 f6?
{This is actually a blunder, but it's not so obvious why without some help from Stockfish. The engines recommend 19. exf6! Bxf6 20. Bh3, and now the weak pawn on e6 will be difficult to defend. Strangely enough, taking the pawn on a4 is a mistake. Black gets tremendous counterplay on the queenside due to the fact that 19....fxe5 20. dxe5 Nc5! makes life very awkward for the white queen. For example, 21. Qc2 Nb4 22. Qc3 Na4, etc.}
19.Qxa4 fxe5 20.Rab1
{It was still not too late to play 20. Bh3!, when white has a clear advantage.}
20...Bb5 21.Qc2
{21. Qd1 is better. It avoids any threats along the c file, and also avoids any tactics with Nc6-Nb4. 21. Qc2 is a very natural move though.}
21...e4
{This move is now even more effective now that I have the option of playing Nc6-Nb4 attacking the queen. With 21. Qd1! e4?! is not that great because 22. a4 simply wins a piece, and in this position 22...Nb4 doesn't threaten anything.}
22.a4 Nb4!
{Now white is forced to sacrifice the exchange, otherwise black will get too much counterplay on the queenside after 23. Qc3? Bxa4.}
23.Rxb4 Bxb4 24.Ne5??
{White should have played the simple capture 24. axb5, when white is only slightly worse.}
24...Nxe5 25.dxe5 d4 26.Bf4 g5! 27.axb5
{27. Bxg5 d3 28. Qd1 Qxf2+ is completely winning for white.}
27...gxf4 28.Bxe4 fxg3! 29.Bxh7+ Kh8 30.hxg3 d3 31.Qxd3 Qxf2+ 32.Kh1 Qxe1+ 33.Kh2 Rf2+ 34.Kh3 Qh1+ 35.Kg4 Qxh7 36.Qe3?? Rg8+
{White resigns I thought I played this game badly, but it was in fact very complicated. I thought I blundered a pawn, but I ended up getting amazing counterplay for it. Godin missed the chance to take on f6 and play Bh3, when he should have had the clearly better position, but after taking on a4 he ceased to have any advantage and lost. --Jackson}

Below is a game sent in by Tom Whistler. This game is now the biggest upset in recorded club history, breaking the previous record which stood for nearly five years. I've added some comments & will soon update them.

[Event "WCC Rocco Pasquale Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C192, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.09.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Tom Whistler"]
[Black "Mike Meehan"]
[WhiteElo "765"]
[BlackElo "1606"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Opening "Queen's Pawn Game"]
[TimeControl "G/100 d5"]
[Annotations "P. Godin"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 Bd6 4. e3 Nd7 5. Bd3 f5
{This move is not in the quickie database & I'm not a big fan of weakening the e-pawn. Fritz agrees +0.50.}
6. Nbd2 Ngf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Bxd6 cxd6 9. c4?!
{White should play 9. Rc1 before trading this pawn.}
9... dxc4 10. Bxc4
{10. Nxc4 is better.}
10...d5
{I prefer 10... Nb6 here gaining some time to free up the c8 bishop.}
11. Bd3 Ne4 12. Ne5
{This move looks much better than it is & gives away white's advantage. 12. Rc1 instead makes sense here.}
12... Qf6?!
{12... Nxe5 should equalize.}
13. Ndf3 a6 14. Rc1 Qe7?!
{Black should go all the way back to d8 here.}
15. a3 h6??
{Not necessary & of course it instantly hangs an exchange.}
16. Ng6 Qf7 17. Nxf8 Qxf8 18. Bxe4 dxe4
{18... fxe4 may be more solid, but black is lost anyway.}
19. Ne5 Qe8 20. f3 Nxe5 21. dxe5
{After this recapture, black will have to work to develop his bishop.}
21...exf3 22. Qxf3 Rb8 23. Rc7!
{A great place for the rook & black is still not fully developed.}
23... Qd8 24. Rfc1 Qe8??
{This allows white to go from +2.81 to +4.81 according to Fritz. It's time to play 24... Bd7 & maybe eventually Bc6.}
25. Rxg7+
{A totally unsound sacrifice. Either 25. Rd1 followed by Qg3 or 25. Qg3 then Rd1 would murder black. Fritz also likes 25. Qd1-d6.}
25... Kxg7 26. Qg3+ Qg6??
{After this move, Tom has a chance to look like Tal. Any legal king move instead would quickly result in a winning ending for black.}
27. Rc7+
{Black resigns. The black queen goes, then mate follows soon.}
1-0

Harlow B. Daly Games ♔

In conjunction with this year's Harlow B. Daly Memorial Tournament, here are a few of Harlow's memorable games as published in the H.B. Daly Tribute collection by Harry Lyman & Stephen Dann.

[Event "Harlow Daly Trophy Tournament"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1966.08.06"]
[White "Harlow B. Daly"]
[Black "M. Leman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo ""]
[BlackElo ""]
[PlyCount "21"]
[Moves "11"]

{"Either Leman was awed that Harlow would play in his own tournament or he wanted to make sure that Harlow would win a prize!" -H. Lyman}
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 3. dxc5 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. e3 e6 6. Nc3 Bxc5 7. a3 O-O 8. b4 Nxb4 9. axb4 Bxb4 10. Qd4 Ne4 11. Qxb4
1-0

[Event "Boston Latin vs English High"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1901.12.07"]
[White "Harlow B. Daly"]
[Black "W. I. Lourie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo ""]
[BlackElo ""]
[Board "1"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[Moves "26"]

{Of the over 2500 recorded games by Harlow Daly, this is his first recorded win. It was played just five days after Harlow's 18th birthday.}
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. Nxe5 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Re8 8. Nc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 f5 10. f4 Qf6 11. Qf3 c6 12. Bd2 Be6 13. Rab1 b6 14.Re2 c5 15. Ree1 c4 16. Bxc4 Bxe5 17. Rxe5 Nd7 18. Rxe6 Rxe6 19. Bxd5 Re8 20. Re1 Kf8 21. Bxe6 Rxe6 22. Qa8+ Ke7 23. Qxa7 Rxe1+ 24. Bxe1 Qe6 25. Qa3+ Kf7 26. Qb3 1-0

[Event "Lynn vs. Dorchester"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1902.02.24"]
[White "T.F. Whelan"]
[Black "Harlow B. Daly"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo ""]
[BlackElo ""]
[PlyCount "70"]
[Moves "35"]

{To give you an idea of the vintage of this game: The First World War wasn't due to start for another dozen years. President Theodore Roosevelt (barely a year into the first term of his presidency) was getting ready to prosecute the Northern Securities Company for violation of the Sherman Anti Trust Act. & 18-year old Hrlow Daly was spending shiny new Indian Head pennies!}
{"Harlow tries a Dutch, & falls behind a pawn. But he overwhelms his adversary in the ending."}
1. d4 f5 2. e4 fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bc4 d5 5. Nxd5 g6 6. Nc3 Bg4 7. f3 exf3 8. Nxf3 Bg7 9. O-O a6 10. Ne2 Nc6 11. c3 Na5 12. Bb3 Nxb3 13. Qxb3 Qd5 14. Nf4 Qxb3 15. axb3 Nd7 16. h3 Bxf3 17. Rxf3 Rf8 18. Ne6 Rxf3 19. gxf3 Kf7 20. Nxc7 Rd8 21. b4 e5 22. Bg5 Rc8 23. Nd5 exd4 24. Bd2 Ne5 25. Kg2 Nc4 26. Be1 Nxb2 27. cxd4 Bxd4 28. Rb1 Nc4 29. Bf2 Bxf2 30. Kxf2 Ne5 31. Rb3 Rd8 32. Nf4 g5 33. Ng2 Rd3 34. Rxd3 Nxd3+ 35. Ke3 Nxb4 0-1

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2015 now is a serious contender as the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.
You may play any or all of the complete games from the 2015 WCC Championship by using this link:

Play 2015 WCC Championship Games online

These games are available as a single .PGN file which you can download here as a .TXT file.

This is my game against Ken Gurge with comments. Normally I would keep such embarrassment to myself, but it was one of the more interesting games. The sad thing is that white had a 12.00+- at one point. -JP
Due to a transcription error or two leading to a mismatched parenthesis & some ambiguous move numbers, I'm not sure how the actual game went. I recall that the analysis of some non-game variations by Tony Cesolini, Dave Thomas, & myself was quite interesting. -PG

[Event "Wachusett Chess Club B Division Championship"]
[Site "Fitchburg State University, McKay C-192"]
[Date "2015.07.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Jackson Parker"]
[Black "Ken Gurge"]
[WhiteElo "1608"]
[BlackElo "1721"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[Moves "59"]
[Opening "Caro-Kann Defense, Advance Variation"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3
{Short Variation.}
4... e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. c3 h6 7. Be3 Be7
{The normal move is 7...Ne7}
8. h3 Qc7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 O-O-O 11. O-O f5 12. exf6
{This was unnecessary. 12. a4 or 12. b4 are all better moves, this just frees up black's kingside.}
12... Bxf6 13. b4 e5 $2 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Bxa7 Ne7
(16... b6 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 18. Qf5+ Kb7 19. Qxe5)
17. Bd4 Rhf8 18. Nd2 Bxd4 19. cxd4 Qd7 20. b5 Qf5 21. Qa3 $3 Kd7 22. Rae1 Nc8 23. bxc6+ bxc6 24. Nf3 Qf6 25. Ne5+ Kc7 26. Qa5+ Kd6 27. Qc5+ Kc7 28. Qa5+ Kd6 29. Rc1 Ne7 30. Qc5+ Kc7 31. Rc3 $2
{White is still winning by quite a bit, and to to call this move a 'blunder' is a bit asinine, but the move 31. Qa7+! wins on the spot.} (31. Qa7+ Kd6 32. Qb6 ({An interesting sacrifice that I considered when playing 31. Rc1:}
32. Nxc6 Nxc6 33. Rxc6+ Kxc6 34. Rc1+ Kd6 35. Qc7+ Ke6 36. Rc6+ Kf5 37. g4+ Kg6 38. Rxf6+ Kxf6) 32... Rc8 33. Qc5+ Ke6 34. Rce1 $1
{34. Ng4+! wins the queen and there is nothing black can do to stop it.}) 31... Ra8 32. Rf3 $2 Qd6 33. Qxd6+ $4
{33. Qc3 holds the advantage. At this point I was becoming a little too erratic.}
33... Kxd6 34. Rxf8 Rxf8 35. Nd3 $4
{This was the move that lost me the game. Now I am powerless to stop black from winning the d4 pawn.}
35... Nf5 36. a4 Nxd4 37. a5 Ra8 38. Ra1 Nb3 $1 39. Ra3 Nxa5 40. Kf1 c5 41. Ke2 Ra7 42. Ra4 Re7+ 43. Kd1 Nc6 44. Kd2 g5 45. h4 Rf7 46. hxg5 hxg5 47. Rg4 Rf5 48. f3 Ne5 49. Nxe5 Kxe5 50. g3 Kf6 51. f4 gxf4 52. gxf4 Ke6 53. Rh4 Kd6 54. Rh6+ Kd7 55. Rh7+ Kc6 56. Rh6+ Kb5 57. Ke3 Kc4 58. Rh1 Rf7 59. Rc1+ Kb5
{The rest is obvious.}
0-1

[Event "Martin Laine Memorial / 2015 Westminster Championship"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.05.20"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Mike Meehan"]
[Black "Dave Couture"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1492"]
[BlackElo "1741"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[Moves "31"]
[ECO "A80"]
[Opening "Dutch Defense"]
[Additional Comments "P. Godin"]

{2015 Westminster Championship}
{In my never-ending quest to provide a continuing stream of the most intimate details of the things that large numbers of people are least likely to care about, I present Dave's game from Round 3 of the Martin Laine Memorial Tournament. Since Westminster resident, Dave Couture, was paired with Mike Meehan, also from Westminster, & since they are the two highest rated active players in that jurisdiction, this game is the match to determine the 2015 Westminster Champion. I don't expect to see anything similar on the USCF site until Fabiano Caruana meets Hikaru Nakamura for the title.}
1. d4 f5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 g6 4. Nd2 Bg7 5. f4 O-O 6. Ngf3 d6 7. c4 Nc6 8. Qb3 e6 9. a3 Ng4 10. Nf1 e5 11. fxe5 dxe5 12. dxe5 Ncxe5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Bc2 Be6 15. Nd2 Nxc4 16. Nxc4 Qh4+ 17. g3 Qxc4 18. Qxc4 Bxc4 19. Rb1 Rfe8 20. Kf2 Rad8 21. Rd1 Rxd1 22. Bxd1 Bd3 23. Ra1 Rd8 24. Bb3+ Kf8 25. Bd2 Bxb2 26. Bb4+ Ke8 27. Ra2 Bf6 28. Bg8 Bb1 29. Re2 h6 30. Bh7 Kf7 31. e4 Bxe4 0-1

[Event "Pan American-ch U12 Girls"]
[Site "Pan American"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sierra Parada, Mery Z"]
[Black "Pinho, Lenita Leite"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[ECO "A80"]

1. d4 f5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 g6 4. Nd2 Bg7 5. f4 O-O 6. Ngf3 e6 7. O-O b6 8. Qe2 Bb7 9. c3 Nc6 10. b3 Ne7 11. Bb2 h6 12. Rae1 Ned5 13. Kh1 Ne4 14. Rc1 Ndf6 15. Ne5 Qe8 16. Ndf3 d6 17. Nc4 Kh7 18. Ncd2 Qe7 19. Ba6 Bxa6 20. Qxa6 Qd7 21. Qd3 Rae8 22. Qe2 Qc6 23. a3 Nxd2 24. Nxd2 e5 25. Qf2 Ng4 26. Qf3 Qxf3 27. Rxf3 exf4 28. exf4 Re2 29. Rc2 Ne3 30. Rxe3 Rxe3 31. Nf1 Re1 32. Kg1 Rfe8 33. Kf2 c5 34. dxc5 dxc5 35. g3 Kg8 36. a4 a6 37. h3 b5 38. axb5 axb5 39. h4 h5 40. Ba3 Rb1 41. Bxc5 Rxb3 42. Bd4 Bxd4+ 43. cxd4 Rd3 44. Rb2 Rb8 45. Rb4 Rd8 46. Rxb5 R8xd4 47. Rb8+ Kf7 48. Rb6 Ra4 49. Rb2 Raa3 50. Rb7+ Ke6 51. Rb6+ Rd6 52. Rb2 Rda6 53. Re2+ Kd6 54. Rd2+ Kc5 55. Rc2+ Kd4 56. Rd2+ Kc3 57. Kg1 Ra1 58. Rf2 R6a2 59. Rf3+ Kd4 60. Re3 Rc2 61. Rf3 Raa2 62. Ne3 Rc3 63. Nxf5+ gxf5 64. Rf2 Ke4 65. g4 fxg4 66. f5 Rxf2 67. Kxf2 Kxf5 0-1

[Dave Couture is one of a small number of people who don't mind seeing games they lost published. Here Dave loses a 22-move miniature to a pretty mating finish at the hands of 354 point lower rated Stan Talcott.-PG]
"I'll be adding some comments & clarifications of the Stockfish analysis soon." -DC

[Event "Martin Laine Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.05.06"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Dave Couture"]
[Black "Stan Talcott"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1741"]
[BlackElo "1387"]
[Board "8"]
[PlyCount "46"] [Moves "23"]
[TimeControl "G/100 d5"]
[ECO "C69"]
[Opening "Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation"]

Congratulations to Stan on a well-played game! This game is another example of a lesson that I have yet to fully learn - something that I've heard over and over and understand in theory, yet fail to heed - which is "Play the board and not the player!" I know if I did a statistical analysis of my games, I'd find that I score better than expected against stronger players and much worse than expected against weaker players.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O f6 6. d4 Bg4!?
From the book "The Spanish Exchange Variation" by Stefan Kinderman: "This active move was recommended as best by Fischer himself. These days Grischuk and Beliavsky are two highly-rated supporters of 6...Bg4. Black has more winning chances than in the 6...exd4 variation, but also must run greater risks..."
7. c3 Bxf3 8. gxf3?!
Here I was worried about being down a pawn in the opening against a lower-rated player (see comments above) after 8. Qxf3 exd4 9. cxd4 Qxd4, and decided to permanently weaken my kingside instead. I was also hoping that I could put my rook on the half-open g-file. I didn't appreciate the fact that the pawn structure was cutting my own pieces off from my kingside (which proved to be deadly). In any event, if I had sacrificed the pawn with 8. Qxf3 exd4 9. cxd4 Qxd4 it would have only been temporary because of 10. Rd1! Qc4 11. Bf4 and I would have been in good shape.
8...Bd6 9. Be3 Qd7 10. dxe5 fxe5 11. Nd2 b5 12. Nb3 O-O-O 13. Nc5
13. a4 would have been very good here.
13... Bxc5 14. Bxc5 Qf7
Much better than trading off here.
15. Qe2 Ne7 16. Be3 Ng6 17. b3??
Here I show a lack of a sense of danger. Basically I was only was only worrying about Nf4 here. I don't think I was even looking at Stan playing Nh4 and the problems that would cause.
17...h6 18. c4 Nh4!
Only now do I realize I'm in trouble.
19. Kh1 Nxf3 20. Kg2??
My only chance here would have been Rg1.
20...Rhf8
20...Qg6+ 21. Kh1 Qh5 would have been even quicker, but Rhf8 certainly gets the job done.
21. Rh1 Qh5 22. Bc5??
I spent a full 5 minutes on this one. My only hope here would have been h3 or h4.
22...Qg4+ 23. Kf1 Qh3# 0-1

Thanks to Dave Couture for sending in this game score.

[Event "2015 Evert Siiskonen Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.04.01"]
[Round "1"]
[Board "1"]
[White "Dave Couture"]
[Black "Roger Cappallo"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1670"]
[BlackElo "2020"]
[ECO "C01"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[PlyCount "123"]
[Opening "French Defense, Exchange Variation"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 5 64"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. Nf3
{last book move}
5...g6 6. Qe2+ Qe7 7. Qxe7+ Bxe7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Be6 10. Nbd2 Kg7 11. Rfe1 h6 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 cxd6 14. h3 Nc6 15. c3 a6 16. Re2 b5 17. a3 Rfc8 18. Rae1 Na5 19. Nh4 Nc4
$2 $18 ({1.43 Stockfish 5 64:} 19... Bd7 20. g4 Nc4 21. Ndf3 Re8 22. Ng2 Rxe2 23. Rxe2 g5 24. Ne3 Re8 25. Kg2 Nxe3+ 26. Rxe3 Rxe3 27. fxe3 Ne4 28. Bxe4 dxe4 29. Nd2 f5 30. Kg3 Kf6 $11 {[%eval -15,27]})
20. Nxc4 dxc4 21. Bxg6 Rg8 22. Bf5 Bd5 23. Re7 Kh8 24. g3 Rg5
$18 ({2.95 Stockfish 5 64:} 24... h5 25. Kh2 Rge8 26. Rxe8+ Nxe8 27. Bc2 Nf6 28. Nf5 Re8 29. Rxe8+ Nxe8 30. a4 Be6 31. axb5 axb5 32. g4 hxg4 33. hxg4 Bxf5 34. Bxf5 Kg7 35. Kg3 Nc7 $18 {[%eval 186,28]})
25. Bc2 Be6 26. R1xe6 fxe6 27. Rxe6 Kg7 28. Rxd6 Re8 29. Nf5+ Kg6
$18 ({5.07 Stockfish 5 64:} 29... Rxf5 30. Bxf5 Re2 31. g4 Rxb2 32. h4 a5 33. g5 hxg5 34. hxg5 Ne8 35. Rd7+ Kf8 36. Bh7 Re2 37. Kg2 Re7 38. Rxe7 Kxe7 39. f4 Nd6 40. Kf3 Ke6 $18 {[%eval 361,27]})
30. Nxh6+
$2 $18 ({2.34 Stockfish 5 64:} 30. h4 Rxf5 (30... Rh5) 31. g4 Re2 32. Bxf5+ Kg7 33. g5 hxg5 34. hxg5 Ng8 35. Rg6+ Kf8 36. Be6 Ne7 37. Rf6+ Ke8 38. Bf7+ Kd7 39. g6 Nxg6 40. Rxg6 Rxb2 41. Rxa6 Rb3 42. a4 $18 {[%eval 507,28]}) (30. g4)
30... Kxh6 31. Rxf6+ Kg7 32. Rf5
$16 ({1.03 Stockfish 5 64:} 32. Rxa6 Re2 33. h4 Rd5 34. Ra7+ Kf8 35. Bg6 Rd6 36. Ra8+ Kg7 37. Bf5 Rxb2 38. g4 Rf6 39. a4 Ra2 40. Ra7+ Kf8 $18 {[%eval 228,28]})
32...Re1+
$18 ({1.98 Stockfish 5 64:} 32... Rxf5 33. Bxf5 Re2 34. d5 Kf6 35. g4 Rxb2 36. d6 a5 37. Kf1 b4 38. cxb4 axb4 39. axb4 c3 40. Ke1 Rxb4 41. h4 c2 42. Kd2 Rd4+ 43. Kxc2 Rxd6 44. f3 Ke5 45. Be4 Rh6 46. h5 Kf4 47. Kc3 Rd6 48. Kc4 $16 { [%eval 103,32]})
33. Kg2 Rxf5 34. Bxf5 Re2 35. Bc8
$2 $15 ({-0.27 Stockfish 5 64:} 35. g4 a5 36. h4 Rxb2 37. g5 b4 38. axb4 axb4 $18 { [%eval 219,32]} 39. h5 bxc3 40. h6+ Kf8 41. g6) 35... a5 36. d5
$17 ({-1.35 Stockfish 5 64:} 36. Kf1 Rxb2 37. Ke1 Rb3 38. Ba6 Rxc3 39. Bxb5 Rxa3 40. Kd2 a4 41. Bxc4 Rf3 42. h4 Rxf2+ 43. Kc1 Kf6 44. g4 a3 45. g5+ Kg6 46. Kb1 Rb2+ 47. Ka1 Rd2 48. Be6 Rxd4 49. Ka2 $15 {[%eval -31,31]})
36... Rxb2 37. g4 Rb3 38. Bd7 b4
$15 ({-0.27 Stockfish 5 64:} 38... Rxa3 39. Bxb5 Rxc3 40. d6 Rd3 41. d7 Rd5 42. Bxc4 Rxd7 43. Kg3 Rd4 44. Be6 a4 45. h4 a3 46. g5 Rd2 47. f4 a2 48. Bxa2 $17 {[%eval -132,28]})
39. axb4 axb4 40. cxb4 c3 41. Bf5 Rb2 42. d6
$2 $19({-1.72 Stockfish 5 64:} 42. Kf3 c2 43. Bxc2 Rxc2 44. Kf4 Rxf2+ 45. Ke5 Re2+ 46. Kf5 Rd2 47. Ke6 Re2+ 48. Kd6 $11 {[%eval -12,27]})
42... Kf8
$15 ({-0.45 Stockfish 5 64:} 42... Kf6 43. d7 Ke7 44. g5 c2 45. d8=Q+ Kxd8 46. Bxc2 Rxc2 47. Kg3 Ke7 48. f4 Ke6 49. Kg4 Rg2+ 50. Kf3 Rg1 51. Ke4 Rb1 52. f5+ Kf7 53. Kf3 Rxb4 54. Kg3 $19 {[%eval -172,27]})
43. g5
$17 ({-1.27 Stockfish 5 64:} 43. Kf3 c2 44. Bxc2 Rxc2 45. Ke4 Kf7 46. Ke5 Re2+ 47. Kd5 Rd2+ 48. Ke5 Ke8 49. f4 Kd7 50. Kf6 Rxd6+ 51. Kg7 Rd3 52. h4 Rh3 53. h5 Rh4 54. g5 Rxh5 55. b5 Ke7 $15 {[%eval -45,28]})
43... c2 44. Bxc2 Rxc2 45. Kg3 Rc4 46. f4 Rxb4 47. Kg4 Kg7
$2 $11 ({0.00 Stockfish 5 64:} 47... Kf7 48. Kf3 Rd4 49. d7 Rxd7 50. f5 Rd1 51. Kg3 Kg7 52. Kf3 Rf1+ 53. Kg4 Kf7 54. h4 Kg7 55. h5 $19 {[%eval -232,27]} Rf2 56. f6+ Kf7 57. Kh3 Rf4 58. Kg3 Rf1 59. Kg4 Rh1 60. Kf4 Rxh5 61. Kf5 Rh1 62. Ke4 Kg6 63. Ke5 Rf1 64. Ke4 Kxg5)
48. Kf5 Rd4 49. Ke5 Rd3 50. f5 Re3+ 51.Kd5 Rxh3 52. d7 Rd3+ 53. Kc6 Rc3+ 54. Kd6 Rd3+ 55. Ke7 Re3+ 56. Kd8 Kf7 57. f6 Rc3 58. g6+ Kxf6 59. Ke8 Re3+ 60. Kf8 Rd3 61. Ke8 Re3+ 62. Kf8 1/2-1/2

Thanks to Walter Niemi for sending in these game scores.

"It was an exciting game, Roger played a modern book line up until his original play at move 14, which was a slight inaccuracy. He made just one mistake in a somewhat complicated position with time becoming a factor, and that decided the game. -WN"

[Event "George E. O'Rourke Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.03.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Niemi, Walter"]
[Black "Cappallo, Roger"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[Opening "French Defense, Steinitz, Boleslavsky Variation"]
[WhiteElo "1855"]
[BlackElo "2036"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.31"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Be2 O-O 9. Qd2 f6 10. exf6 Nxf6 11. dxc5 Qa5 12. Nb5 Qxd2+ 13. Nxd2 a6 14. Nd6 Rd8
(14... d4 15. Bf2 Nd7 16. Nb3 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxd6 =
{Almasi, Z (2717) vs. Korschnoj, V (2558), 1-0, Gibralter Masters 2012})
15. O-O-O (+=) Bxd6 16. cxd6 Ne8 17. Bb6 Rxd6 18. c4 Rd7 19. Rhe1 Nf6 20. Bf3 Rf7 21. f5 e5 22. g4 e4 23. cxd5 Nb4?
(23... Nxd5 24. Nc4 exf3 25. Re8+ Rf8 26. Rxf8+ Kxf8 27. Rxd5 {(1.62)})
24. Nxe4
{(5.17)}
24...Nfxd5 25. Ng5 Nxb6 26. Rd8+ Rf8 27. Ree8 Nd7 28. Bd1 Nd3+ 29. Kb1 g6 30. Bb3+ Kg7 31. Ne6+ Kh6 32. Nxf8 Nxf8 33. Rxf8 Nc5 34. Rxc8 1-0

[Event "George E. O'Rourke Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.03.11"]
[White "Thomas, Dave"]
[Black "Niemi, Walter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1823"]
[BlackElo "1855"]
[Round "4"]
[Section "only"]
[TimeControl "G/1:40 = G/100 min. @G/80"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[Moves "46"]
[Annotator "Walter Niemi with Chessbase 14 Database & Deep Fritz 14x64"]
{I couldn't find a name for this opening other than Queen's Pawn Game, probably because the position was unique to the Chessbase Database after move 4.}
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. c5 d5 4. b4 Be7
{This has never been played in the 6,165,852 games in the Chessbase 2015 database.}
5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nf3 b6 7. e3 a5 {(-.83)} 8. Ba3 axb4 9. Bxb4 bxc5 10. Bxc5 Bxc5 11. dxc5 Qe7 12. Qd4 Nc6 13. Qd2 Qxc5 {(-1.63)} 14. Nd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Qa5 16. Be2? {(-4.30)} 16...Ne4 17.Rc1 c5 18. Qd3 Ba6 19. Qc2 Nxc3 20. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 21. Rxc3 Bxe2 22. Kxe2 Rxa2+ 23. Kf3 c4 24. Rhc1 Rb8 25. R3c2 Rbb2 26. Rxb2 Rxb2 27. Ra1 Kf8 28. Ra8+ Ke7 29.Ra7+ Kf6
(29... Kd6! 30. Rxf7 c3 31. Rf8 c2 32. Rc8 g5)
30. Rc7 h5 31. h4 e5 32. Rc6+ Kf5 33. Rc7 Ke6 34. Rc6+ Kd7 35. Rc5 Kd6 36. Rc8 e4+ 37. Kg3 Rb7 38. Ra8 Kc5 39. Ra1 Rc7 40. f3 Kb4 41. fxe4 dxe4 42. Kf2 Kb3 43. Ke2 Kb2 44. Ra6 Rb7 45. Rc6 c3 46. Kd1 Rd7+ 0-1

[Event "George E. O'Rourke Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.03.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Fratturelli, Tom"]
[Black "Niemi, Walter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1616"]
[BlackElo "1855"]
[Section "only"]
[Opening "Center Counter, 4. b4"]
[TimeControl "G/1:40 = G/100 min. @G/80"]
[ECO "C56"]
[Moves "46"]
[PlyCount "92"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. Nf3 Bg4 9. O-O Bc5 10. Bf4 O-O 11. c3 a6 12. Bd3 Qe7 13. Qe2 Nxe5
= (13...Bxf3 14. gxf3 Ng5)
14. Bxe4 Ng6 15. Be3 Qxe4 16. Nbd2 Qe7 17. Qd3 Bxe3 18. fxe3 Rfe8 19. Rae1 Rad8 20. Nd4 Ne5 21. Qc2 c5 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. Qxf5 Qe6 24. e4 Nd3 25. exd5 Qxf5 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Rxf5 g6 28. Rf1 Nxb2 29. Rb1 Na4 30. c4 b6 31. Kf2 Kf8 32. Rb3 f5 33. d6 Rd8 34. Rd3 b5 35. cxb5 axb5 36. Nf3 c4 37. Rd4 c3 38. Ke2 Nb2
{Here Tom tried to play Kd1, an illegal move I called out, then switched from a piece he touched and moved his knight.}
39. Ne5 Re8 40. Rd5 c2 41. Kd2 Rxe5 42. Rxe5 Nc4+ 43. Kxc2 Nxe5 44. Kb3 Nc6
{Tom played Kb4, I called him out for an illegal move and again did not play the piece he touched}
45. a3 Ke8 46. Kc3 Kd7 1-0
{Not a clean game, many violations, and I'm upset that I didn't check with George about the clock. Still an interesting Scotch Opening and worth checking out}

Here's a cute online blitz miniature that Jackson Parker sent in. It's hard to tell by the names, but presumably he was playing white.
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2015.02.25"]
[White "LightninHopkins"]
[Black "jesusmr1952"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1551"]
[BlackElo "1555"]
[TimeControl "5|0"]
[Termination "LightninHopkins won by checkmate"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.d4!? Nxe4 8.d5 Nd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 10.Qxd4 Nc5??
{10...Nf6 looks like the only move here & white still seems somewhat better. Black's just lost after this.}
11.Qxg7
{Normally I don't like to open files on my own king side, but it looks like black's king is already in real trouble.}
11...Bf6 12.Re1+!
{Black's crushed after this.}
12...Ne6 13.Qh6 Bg5??
{This just gives away everything. The simplest response here is 14.Bxg5!}
14.dxe6!!
{Not actually best because white's winning the knight anyway in every other variation starting with 14.Bxg5, however once in a while it's OK to have some fun.}
14...Bxh6??
{Does anyone care that after 14...dxe6 or even the ugly 14...fxe6, black is holding his own. He's down more than a queen worth, but he's holding his own! [Note: SS Edmund Fitzgerald Captain Ernest M. McSorley's last message: "We are holding our own."]}
15.exf7+ Kf8 16.Bxh6# { And mate. } 1-0

[Event "George E. O'Rourke Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.02.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "George M Mirijanian"]
[Black "Nowell R Sheinwald"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1965"]
[BlackElo "1929"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[Moves "32"]
[Board "14"]
1. e4 d5 2. d4 dxe4 3. Nc3 Bf5 4. f3 exf3 5. Qxf3 Bxc2 6. Qxb7 Nd7 7. Nd5 Rc8 8. Ba6 Be4 9. Nf3 Bxd5 10. Qxc8 Qxc8 11. Bxc8 Nb6 12. Ba6 g6 13. Bf4 c6 14. Bb8 e6 15. Bxa7 Bb4+ 16. Kf2 Nd7 17. a3 Bd6 18. b4 Ngf6 19. Bc5 Ne4+ 20. Ke3 Bc7 21. Bd3 Nef6 22. h3 Nh5 23. g4 Bf4+ 24. Kf2 Ng7 25. Rhg1 h5 26. g5 h4 27. Rg4 Bg3+ 28. Ke3 Nf5+ 29. Ke2 f6 30. gxf6 Nxf6 31. Rxg6 Nh5 32. Rg4 Nf4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "George O'Rourke Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.02.18"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Niemi, Walter"]
[Black "Parker, Jackson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[Opening "French Defense, Winawer, Poison Pawn Variation"]
[WhiteElo "1855"]
[BlackElo "1546"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[Moves "30"]
[Board "4"]
[Annotations "Chessbase 14 Database & Deep Fritz 14x64"]
{Interesting French Poisoned Pawn game. Super Grandmasters have trended to 7...g6 recently. Also, important to note that 11. Rb1 is the only way for white to keep an opening advantage, which has been played in only 29 games according to Chessbase 13 database.}
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. Qg4 Nge7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. f4 Qa5 11. Ne2
{Black has equalized. Houdini recommends Rb1 as the only move to keep a slight advantage}
11... Bd7 12. Qd3 dxc3 13. Qxc3 Qc7 14. h4 Nf5 15. h5 O-O-O 16. h6 d4 17. Qd3 Rh8 18. h7 Rde8?
{(2.04) Parker commented in post-mortem he picked up the rook in haste. Better was Na5 (.78)}
19. g4 Ne3? {(3.01) better was Nfe7} 20. Bxe3 dxe3 21.Qxe3 Kb8 22. Qc5 Ka8 23. Nc3 Rc8 24. O-O-O {(3.99)} 24... Qd8 25. Nb5 Qa5 26. Rxd7 {(9.42)} 26... Qe1+ 27. Kb2 b6 28. Rxa7+ Nxa7 29. Bg2+ Kb8 30. Qxb6#

Here is the exciting draw that Walter Niemi achieved against his 193 point higher rated opponent, Roger Cappallo in the penultimate round of the Reggie Boon Memorial tournament. Included are comments based on annotations by two chess software programs, Chessbase 14 Database & Deep Fritz analysis engine.

[Event "Reggie Boone Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC: FSU, Fitchburg MA"]
[Date "2015.02.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Dave Thomas"]
[Black "Walter Niemi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1768"]
[BlackElo "1829"]
[Board "2"]
[Section "only"]
[Plycount "64"]
[Moves "32"]
[Opening "Nimzo-Indian Defense"]
[TimeControl "G/1:40 = G/100 min."]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 d5 7. e3 c5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Bd3 dxc4 10. Bxc4 a6 11. e4 b5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Bd3 h6 14. O-O c4 15. Be4 Bb7 16. Rb1 Na5 17. Nd2 Qe7 18. a4 Bc6 19. axb5 axb5 20. Bxd5 exd5 21. f4 f5 22. Ra1 Qe6 23. Ba3 Rfc8 24. Bb4 Nb7 25. Nf3 Be8 26. Nh4 g6 27. Ra2 Ra6 28. Rxa6 Qxa6 29. Nxf5 gxf5 30. Qxf5 Rd8 31. Qf8+ Kh7 32. Qe7+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Reggie Boone Memorial"]
[Site "FSU, Classroom C159, McKay Campus School, Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2015.02.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Niemi, Walter"]
[Black "Cappallo, Roger"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C11"]
[Opening "French Defense, Steinitz, Boleslavsky Variation"]
[WhiteElo "1829"]
[BlackElo "2022"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[Board "1"]
[Annotations "Chessbase 14 Database & Deep Fritz 14x64"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.31"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Na4
{Qd2 played most}
9...Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Bb4 11. Qd2
{11. Nb3 leads to draw after Bxc3 12. bxc3 Qxc3+ 13. Bd2 repetition}
11...Nc5 12. Nxc6 ?!
{12. Bd3 Na4 13. Bb5 Nxb214. Bxc6+ bxc6 15. Nxc6 Qa3 =}
12... bxc6 13. Bxc5 Qxc5 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Qxc3 Qxc3+ 16. bxc3 Rb8 17. c4 Ba6 18. cxd5 Bxf1 19. Rxf1 cxd5 20. Kd2 f5 21. Rab1 Kd7 22. Rb3 Rb6 23. Rff3 Rhb8 24. Rg3 g6 25. Rh3 Rxb3 26. Rxh7+ Kc6 27. cxb3 Rxb3 {Draw agreed} 1/2-1/2

Here's Dave Couture's big upset of Carissa Yip from the 2015 Reggie Boone Memorial:
Couture-Yip07JAN15.pgn.txt

FATV Chess Chat Games
This section contains the games featured on the FATV Chess Chat program in text & PDF versions.
They may also be viewed online here.

[Event "Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu School Championship"]
[Site "Helsinki, Finland"]
[Date "1925.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Book, Eero Einar"]
[Black "Hiidenheimo, Antti"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C27"]
[Opening "Bishop's Opening, Blanel Gambit"]
[WhiteElo "??"]
[BlackElo "??"]
[PlyCount "31"]
[Moves "16"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Ng5 5. d4 Ne6 6. d5 g6 7. dxe6 gxh5 8. exf7+ Ke7 9. Bg5+ Kd6 10. O-O-O+ Kc5 11. Rd5+ Kxc4 12. b3+ Kb4 13. Rb5+ Ka3 14. Nb1+ Kxa2 15. Ra5+ Ba3+ 16. Rxa3# {White mates} 1-0

[Event "9th Annual Philadelphia Open 2015"]
[Site "Philadelphia, PA"]
[Date "2015.04.02"]
[EventDate "2015.04.01"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Gorti, Akshita"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[ECO "D"]
[WhiteElo "2163"]
[BlackElo "2219"]
[Moves "25"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[ChassChatDate "2015.05.02"]
1. d4 Nf6 0-1

[Event "4th Zurich CC Classical Championship"]
[Site "Zurich, Switzerland"]
[Date "2015.02.??"]
[EventDate "2015.02.16"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2776"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Moves "29"]
[PlyCount "557"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"]
[ChassChatDate "2015.03.02"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3. Nc3 c6 4.d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7. Ndb5 e5 8.Bf4 Nfg4 9.Qa4
{Modern theory at its best. Taking on f2 is considered to be rather dangerous, so no one does it.}
9...g5
{9...?xf2+ 10. d2 ?b6 11.h3 g5 12.?xg5 f2 13.?h2 and Black is somehow very discoordinated: his pieces are all hanging, Be3 is a real threat.
10.Bxe5 Qxf2+ 11. Kd1 Nxe5 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 Qd4+ 14. Kc2 Nxc4 15.e4
{15. Kb3 Nd2+ 16. Kc2 Nc4= has been a draw a few times, most notably Carlsen-Dominguez, 2009.}
15... Ne3+?
{The first new move of the game, and already a blunder. Perhaps Karjakin should have checked this line more carefully. It is impossible to find your way through the maze of variations in this position without knowing them beforehand. Karjakin is well known to have very deep opening preparation, so at least to me, the fact that he did not know the opening comes to me as a surprise.} 15...Qd2+ 16. Kb3 Qxb2+ 17. Kxc4 ?Bg7! 18.Qa5+! anything else leaves White in real problems; his king is too weak. (b6 19.Qxg5+ f6 20.Qb5 ) absolutely forced, or White gets mated. (20.Qxg7 Ba6+ 21. Kd4 Qf2#) 20...Ba6! A forced move again! (21.Qxa6 f5! ) And now White can't avoid losing his c3 knight and allow a perpetual. You can check the variations if you like, but it is not the type of situations where a silicon monster would lie. }
16. Kb3 Qd2 17.a3 Qc2+ 18. Ka2
{White's king is safe, and he is up a rook for two pawns. Black has the time to trade queens and regain some material by trapping the a8 knight, but it is not sufficient. }
Qxa4 19. Nxa4 Nxf1 20.Rhxf1 b5 {20...b6 21.Rac1 Bb7 22. Nc7+- 21. N4b6 axb6 22. Nxb6 Bb7 23.Rxf7
{Black is basically just down the exchange. }
Bc6 24.Rd1 ?e7?!
{24... Ke8 was more resilient, but still hopeless. 25.Rdxd7!+- }
25.Rf3 Kc7?!
{25... Ke8 26.Rfd3 h5! is technically winning, but White would have a long road ahead of him before converting.}
26. Nxd7 Rd8
{26...Bxd7 27.Rc3+ d8 28.Rcd3}
27.Rc3
{27.Rc3 Rxd7 28.Rdc1 Rd6 29.e5+- }
1-0

[Event "Tata Steel"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"]
[Date "2015.01.18"]
[EventDate "2015.01.09"]
[Round "8"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Vasily Ivanchuk"]
[Black "Wesley So"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2715"]
[BlackElo "2762"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[ChassChatDate "2015.02.02"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nbd2 Qd7 12. Nxe5 Nxe5 13. Rxe5 Nf4 14. Nf3 Nxg2 15. Kxg2 a5 16. Rxe7 Qxe7 17. c3 Ra6 18. d4 Rf6 19. d5 a4 20. Bc2 Rd8 21. Qe1 Qd7 22. Ng5 h6 23. Ne4 Rg6+ 24. Kh2 f5 25. Ng3 Qxd5 26. Qg1 Qf3 0-1

FATV Chess Chat 2014 Games

[Event "1st Pumpkin Pusher"]
[Site "Amherst, MA"]
[Date "2013.11.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Harold Moye"]
[Black "Dave Couture"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2052"]
[BlackElo "1835"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[TimeControl "G/90(5)"]
[ChassChatDate "2014.04.07"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd2 c6 6. Nf3 Bf5 7. Bc4 e6 8. O-O Bb4 9. a3 Bxc3 10. b4 Bxb4 11. Bxb4 Qc7 12. a4 Nbd7 13. Re1 c5 14. dxc5 Nxc5 15. Bb5+ Ncd7 16. Ne5 Rd8 17. Ra3 Nd5 18. Qxd5 exd5 19. Nxd7+ Be6 20. Nf6# 1-0

FATV Chess Chat 2013 Games

[Event "7th European Individual Women's Championship"]
[Site "Kusadasi TUR"]
[Date "2006.04.09"]
[EventDate "2006.04.04"]
[Round "6"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Anna Ushenina"]
[Black "Andjelija Stojanovic"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2398"]
[BlackElo "2193"]
PlyCount "41"]
[ChassChatDate "2013.01.07"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. g3 d5 7. e5 Ng4 8. Bf4 g5 9. e6 h5 10. exf7+ Kxf7 11. Bc1 Bc5 12. Bg2 Qf6 13. Be3 Nxe3 14. fxe3 Bg4 15. Qd3 Qe5 16. O-O+ Kg7 17. Nxd5 Nc6 18. Nf5+ Kg8 19. Nfe7+ Bxe7 20. Qg6+ Qg7 21. Nf6+ 1-0

FATV Chess Chat 2012 Games

[Event "79th Greater Boston Open"]
[Site "Marlboro, MA USA"]
[Date "2012.10.21"]
[EventDate "2012.10.22"]
[Round "2"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "James Rizzitano"]
[Black "Leonid Tkach"]
[ECO "??"]
[Opening "Grand Prix Attack"]
[WhiteElo "2428"]
[BlackElo "2079"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[Moves "36"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.11.05."]
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 e6 6. O-O Bg7 7. d3 Nge7 8. Qe1 Nd4 9. Bb3 O-O 10. Nxd4 cxd4 11. Ne2 a5 12. a4 Bd7 13. Bd2 d5 14. Ng3 f5 15. Kh1 Kh8 16. e5 Nc6 17. Ne2 Rg8 18. Qf2 Qb6 19. Ng1 Bf8 20. Nf3 Be7 21. Qe2 Nb4 22. Be1 Rac8 23. Bf2 Bc5 24. Bh4 Bf8 25. Rad1 h6 26. Rg1 Nc6 27. Bf6+ Bg7 28. Qf2 Nd8 29. Qh4 Nf7 30. g4 Be8 31. gxf5 exf5 32. Rxg6 Kh7 33. Rdg1 Bxf6 34. Rxg8 Ng5 35. R8xg5 Bxg5 36. Nxg5+ 1-0

[Event "It"]
[Site "Buesum GER"]
[Round "15"]
[Date "1969.5.??"]
[White "Gligoric, Svetozar"]
[Black "Gerusel, Mathias"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.09.10"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nxe4 12.Ba3 Qc7 13.Qe3 Nb6 14.Bb3 Nc8 15.Rfe1 Ned6 16.Qf4 O-O 17.Ne5 Re8 18.Re3 Qb6 19.Ba2 Nf5 20.Rf3 Nce7 21.g4 Nh6 22.Nc4 Qa6 23.Nd6 Qxa4 24.c4 Reb8 25.Qg5 f6 26.Qe3 e5 27.h3 Nc8 28.c5+ Kh8 29.dxe5 Nxd6 30.cxd6 fxe5 31.Qxe5 Re8 32.Qxg7+ 1-0

[Event "Mont La Joli"]
[Site "Mont La Joli"]
[Date "1924.03.14"]
[EventDate "1924.03.14"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Sergei Prokofiev"]
[Black "Maurice Ravel"]
[ECO "E30"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.07.09"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 Nc6 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd3 d5 7.Nge2 a5 8.Qc2 h6 9.h4 hxg5 10.hxg5 Re8 11.gxf6 Qxf6 12.O-O-O dxc4 13.Bh7+ Kf8 14.Ne4 Qe7 15.Nf4 b5 16.Rh5 e5 17.Ng6+ fxg6 18.Bxg6 Be6 19.Rdh1 Rad8 20.Rf5+ Kg8 21.Qe2 Bxf5 22.Rh8+ Kxh8 23.Qh5+ Kg8 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Qh8# 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "Saint Louis USA"]
[Date "2012.05.08"]
[EventDate "2012.05.07"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Black "Robert Lee Hess"]
[ECO "C51"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.06.04"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Bd6 6.d4 Qe7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Re1 Ba3 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Ne8 12.f4 Bxc1 13.Rxc1 d6 14.exd6 cxd6 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.h3 Rc8 17.Bb3 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Rc5 19.Re3 Nc7 20.e5 dxe5 21.Qxb7 a5 22.Qe4 Ne6 23.fxe5 Re8 24.Rd1 Qc7 25.Rdd3 h6 26.Bd5 Qb6 27.c4 Qb1+ 28.Kh2 Qxa2 29.Bxe6 fxe6 30.Rd7 Kh8 31.Rxg7 Kxg7 32.Rg3+ Kf8 33.Qh7 1-0

[Event "Princeton USA"]
[Site "Princeton USA"]
[Date "1933.??.??"]
[EventDate "1933.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Albert Einstein"]
[Black "Robert Oppenheimer"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.05.07"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.O-O Nxe4 7.Re1 d5 8.a4 b4 9.d3 Nc5 10.Nxe5 Ne7 11.Qf3 f6 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Qxh8 Nxb3 15.cxb3 Qd6 16.Bh6 Kd7 17.Bxf8 Bb7 18.Qg7 Re8 19.Nd2 c5 20.Rad1 a5 21.Nc4 dxc4 22.dxc4 Qxd1 23.Rxd1+ Kc8 24.Bxe7 1-0

[Event "Somerset ACN Action Swiss"]
[Site "New Jersey USA"]
[Date "1998.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Arthur Bisguier"]
[Black "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[ECO "E70"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "2201"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.04.02"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bg5 O-O 6. f4 c5 7. d5 b5 8. cxb5 a6 9. bxa6 Bxa6 10. Bxa6 Nxa6 11. Nf3 Qb6 12. Rb1 c4 13. Qe2 Rfc8 14. Qf2 Nc5 15. O-O Ng4 16. Qe2 Nxe4+ 17. Kh1 Ngf2+ 18. Kg1 Nh3+ 19. Kh1 Nef2+ 20. Rxf2 Nxf2+ 21. Kg1 Ne4+ 0-1

[Event "Portoroz Interzonal"]
[Site "Portoroz SVN"]
[Date "1958.08.15"]
[EventDate "1958.08.05"]
[Round "7"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Yuri Averbakh"]
[Black "Robert James Fischer"]
[ECO "E73"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.03.05"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 h6 7. Be3 c5 8. d5 e6 9. h3 exd5 10. exd5 Re8 11. Nf3 Bf5 12. g4 Be4 13. Rg1 Nbd7 14. Nd2 a6 15. h4 b5 16. g5 b4 17. gxf6 bxc3 18. Nxe4 Rxe4 19. fxg7 Qxh4 20. Kf1 cxb2 21. Rb1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Western Championship"]
[Site "Minneapolis, MN"]
[Date "1932.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Fred Reinfeld"]
[Black "Samuel Reshevsky"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[ChassChatDate "2012.01.09"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 c5 6.d5 exd5 7.Nh4 g6 8.Nc3 h6 9.O-O a6 10.cxd5 d6 11.e4 Bg7 12.f4 Nfd7 13.a4 O-O 14.Be3 Kh7 15.Qc2 Nf6 16.h3 Nbd7 17.Rae1 Re8 18.Bf2 Ng8 19.e5 dxe5 20.f5 Nf8 21.fxg6+ fxg6 22.Be4 Qd6 23.Be3 Ne7 24.Rf7 Kg8 25.Ref1 Nxd5 26.Rxb7 Nxe3 27.Qf2 Nf5 28.Nxf5 gxf5 29.Qxf5 Kh8 30.Rf7 Ng6 1-0

FATV Chess Chat 2011 Games

[Event "New England Open"]
[Site "Leominster, MA USA"]
[Date "2011.09.05"]
[EventDate "2011.09.05"]
[Round "5"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Igor Foygel"]
[Black "Andrew Wang"]
[ECO "??"]
[WhiteElo "2518"]
[BlackElo "2238"]
[PlyCount "??"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.12.05"]

[Event "US Open"]
[Site "Chicago IL."]
[Date "1994.08.10"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "4"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "John A Curdo"]
[Black "Robert Eugene Byrne"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.11.07"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 Ngf6 5.e5 Qa5+ 6.Nc3 Ne4 7.Bd2 Nxc3 8.Bxd7+ Bxd7 9.Bxc3 Qa6 10.d5 e6 11.Ng5 dxe5 12.Qf3 f6 13.dxe6 Bc6 14.Qf5 Be7 15.O-O-O g6 16.Qh3 fxg5 17.Bxe5 O-O 18.Qh6 Rf6 19.h4 Bf8 20.Qxh7+ Kxh7 21.hxg5+ Kg8 22.gxf6 1-0

[Event "Janowski vs. Marshall, Match 4"]
[Site "Biarritz FRA"]
[Date "1912.09.04"]
[EventDate "1912.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "David Janowski"]
[Black "Frank James Marshall"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.10.03"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.c4 Bb4+ 8.Kf1 O-O 9.cxd5 Qxd5 10.Qc2 Re8 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qxf3 13.cxb4 Nc6 14.Bb2 Nxb4 15.Bxh7+ Kh8 16.gxf3 Bh3+ 17.Kg1 Nxc2 18.Bxc2 Re2 19.Rc1 Rae8 20.Bc3 R8e3 21.Bb4 Rxf3 22.Bd1 Rf6 0-1

[Event "New England Open"]
[Site "Worcester"]
[Date "1990.??.??"]
[EventDate "1990.??.??"]
[Round "??"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Alexandar Ivanov"]
[Black "John Curdo"]
[ECO "??"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "??"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.05.02"]

[Event "Lone Pine"]
[Site "Lone Pine, CA USA"]
[Date "1977.03.20"]
[EventDate "1977.03.20"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Larry Christiansen"]
[Black "Eugene B Meyer"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.04.04"]
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.O-O Qc7 7.c4 d6 8.Nc3 g6 9.Bg5 Bg7 10.Rc1 Nbd7 11.Kh1 O-O 12.Qd2 Ng4 13.Be2 Qc5 14.Bxg4 Bxd4 15.Na4 Qa7 16.Rcd1 e5 17.Bxd7 Bxd7 18.Bf6 Be3 19.fxe3 Bxa4 20.b3 Bc6 21.Qe1 h6 22.Rf3 Rad8 23.Qh4 h5 24.Rf5 Qxe3 25.Qxh5 gxh5 26.Rxh5 1-0

[Event "Fischer Simul Tour"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "1964.03.02"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Harold Dondis"]
[ECO "C23"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.03.07"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.d4 Nxd4 7.Nd5 Ne6 8.Qxe5 c6 9.Nc3 Qf6 10.Qxf6 gxf6 11.Nge2 Nf5 12.g4 Nfd4 13.Nxd4 Nxd4 14.Be3 Nxb3 15.axb3 d5 16.Rxa7 Rxa7 17.Bxa7 Bxg4 18.Bd4 Be7 19.Kd2 c5 0-1

[Event "Margate"]
[Site "Margate (ENG)"]
[Date "1937.04.07"]
[EventDate "1937.03.31"]
[Round "7"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Paul Keres"]
[Black "Alexander Alekhine"]
[ECO "C71"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[ChassChatDate "2011.01.03"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. c4 Bd7 6. Nc3 g6 7. d4 Bg7 8. Be3 Nf6 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Bc5 Nh5 11. Nd5 Nf4 12. Nxf4 exf4 13. e5 g5 14. Qd5 Bf8 15. Bxf8 Rxf8 16. O-O-O Qe7 17. Bxc6 Bxc6 18. Qd3 Bd7 19. Nxg5 O-O-O 20. Nf3 f6 21. exf6 Rxf6 22. Rhe1 Qb4 23. Qxd7+ 1-0

FATV Chess Chat 2010 Games

[Event "US Championship 1958/59"]
[Site "New York USA"]
[Date "1958.12.30"]
[EventDate "1958.12.??"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Larry Melvyn Evans"]
[Black "Arthur Bisguier"]
[ECO "C42"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.12.19"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4 d5 6.Nc3 Bc5 7.d4 Bb4 8.Qb3 c5 9.Bd3 Qa5 10.O-O Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3 12.Bb2 Bxb2 13.Rae1+ Kf8 14.Qxb2 cxd4 15.cxd5 Nd7 16.Qxd4 Nf6 17.Qe5 Qc5 18.Ng5 Bd7 19.Ne4 Nxe4 20.Rxe4 Re8 21.Qf4 Qxd5 22.Rfe1 Rxe4 23.Bxe4 Qe6 24.Qb8+ Be8 25.Qxa7 b5 26.Qa3+ Qe7 27.Bc6 1-0

[Event "Varna Olympiad Final"]
[Site "-"]
[Date "1962.09.28"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "2"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Robert James Fischer"]
[Black "Miguel Najdorf"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.11.02"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 b5 7. Nd5 Bb7 8. Nxf6+ gxf6 9. c4 bxc4 10. Bxc4 Bxe4 11. O-O d5 12. Re1 e5 13. Qa4+ Nd7 14. Rxe4 dxe4 15. Nf5 Bc5 16. Ng7+ Ke7 17. Nf5+ Ke8 18. Be3 Bxe3 19. fxe3 Qb6 20. Rd1 Ra7 21. Rd6 Qd8 22. Qb3 Qc7 23. Bxf7+ Kd8 24. Be6 1-0

[Event "Second Piatigorsky Cup"]
[Site "Santa Monica USA"]
[Date "1966.07.27"]
[EventDate "1966.07.17"]
[Round "7"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Bent Larsen"]
[Black "Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian"]
[ECO "B39"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.11.01"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Be3 Bg7 6. c4 Nf6 7. Nc3 Ng4 8. Qxg4 Nxd4 9. Qd1 Ne6 10. Qd2 d6 11. Be2 Bd7 12. O-O O-O 13. Rad1 Bc6 14. Nd5 Re8 15. f4 Nc7 16. f5 Na6 17. Bg4 Nc5 18. fxg6 hxg6 19. Qf2 Rf8 20. e5 Bxe5 21. Qh4 Bxd5 22. Rxd5 Ne6 23. Rf3 Bf6 24. Qh6 Bg7 25. Qxg6 Nf4 26. Rxf4 fxg6 27. Be6+ Rf7 28. Rxf7 Kh8 29. Rg5 b5 30. Rg3 1-0

[Event "US Championships"]
[Site "Saint Louis, United States of America"]
[Date "2010.05.23"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "9"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Hikaru Nakamura"]
[Black "Yury Shulman"]
[ECO "C18"]
[WhiteElo "2733"]
[BlackElo "2613"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.06.14"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5 7. Bd2 Qa4 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. h4 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nge7 11. h5 Nxd4 12. Bd3 h6 13. Kf1 Nxf3 14. Qxf3 b6 15. Qg3 Ba6 16. Qxg7 Bxd3+ 17. cxd3 Rg8 18. Qxh6 Qd4 19. Re1 Qxd3+ 20. Kg1 Rc8 21. Bg5 Qf5 22. f4 Rc2 23. Rh2 Qd3 24. Qf6 Rxg5 25. Qxg5 Qd4+ 26. Kh1 Qe3 0-1

[Event "USSR Championship"]
[Site "Moscow (RUS)"]
[Date "1951.11.26"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]
[Round "8"]
[Result "0-1"]
[White "Isaac Lipnitsky"]
[Black "Vasily Smyslov"]
[ECO "E33"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.04.04"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Nc6 5. Nf3 d5 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Na5 8. Ne5 Nd7 9. Nxd7 Bxd7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Bf4 Bb5 12. h4 O-O 13. Rb1 Qd7 14. Rh3 Rfe8 15. Rg3 Nc4 16. Bh6 g6 17. Qc1 Nd6 18. Qf4 Ba6 19. e3 Nf5 20. Bxa6 bxa6 21. Rb7 Rab8 22. Rxc7 Rb1+ 23. Ke2 Qa4 0-1

[Event "Margate"]
[Site "Margate"]
[Date "1938.04.25"]
[EventDate "1938.04.20"]
[Round "6"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Alexander Alekhine"]
[Black "Eero Einar Book"]
[ECO "D26"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.03.03"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qe2 a6 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bb3 b4 10. d5 Na5 11. Ba4+ Bd7 12. dxe6 fxe6 13. Rd1 bxc3 14. Rxd7 Nxd7 15. Ne5 Ra7 16. bxc3 Ke7 17. e4 Nf6 18. Bg5 Qc7 19. Bf4 Qb6 20. Rd1 g6 21. Bg5 Bg7 22. Nd7 Rxd7 23. Rxd7+ Kf8 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. e5 1-0

[Event "NOR-ch"]
[Site "Fredrikstad, Norway"]
[Date "2003.07.04"]
[EventDate "2003.07.04"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Magnus Carlsen"]
[Black "Stig Gabrielsen"]
[ECO "B40"]
[WhiteElo "2385"]
[BlackElo "2269"]
[PlyCount "35"]
[ChassChatDate "2010.02.28"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 b6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bb7 6. Qe2 Nc6 7. Nxc6 dxc6 8. Bb2 Bb4+ 9. Nd2 Nf6 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Nc4 b5 12. e5 Nd5 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. exd6 Qxd6 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. Be5 Qa3+ 17. Bb2 Qxa2 18. Rxd5 1-0

2014 Games
Thanks to Dave Thomas for submitting this game from the 2014 George Sturgis Memorial played last December:
Click here to view this game online.
[Event "George Sturgis Memorial"]
[Site "Wachusett CC: FSU, Fitchburg MA"]
[Date "2014.12.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Dave Thomas"]
[Black "George Mirijanian"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1750"]
[BlackElo "1973"]
[Board "4"]
[Section "only"]
[Moves "44"]
[Plycount "88"]
[TimeControl "G/1:40 = G/100 d5"]
[ECO "D01"]
[Opening "Richter-Veresov Attack, Veresov Variation"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 Bf5 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. h3 Bb4 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 O-O 9. a3 Bd6 10. Nf3 Re8 11. Nh4 g6 12. O-O f5 13. Nf3 Nd7 14. Ne2 Nf6 15. c4 dxc4 16. Qxc4 Rc8 17. Rfd1 Qe7 18. b4 a6 19. Re1 Rcd8 20. Nf4 Ne4 21. Nd3 Kg7 22. Rad1 g5 23. Nfe5 f6 24. Nf3 h5 25. Nc5 h4 26. Re2 Bxc5 27. bxc5 Nxc5 28. Rb1 Ne4 29. Rb6 Rd7 30. Reb2 Nd6 31. Qc5 Nc8 32. Qxe7+ Rexe7 33. R6b3 Nd6 34. a4 Kg6 35. Ne1 f4 36. Nd3 fxe3 37. fxe3 Nc4 38. Nc5 Rc7 39. Re2 f5 40. Rc3 Nd6 41. Rcc2 Ne4 42. Nd3 Rcd7 43. Ne5+ Rxe5 44. dxe5 Rd1+ {White resigns}
0-1

2014 WCC Championship Games

Largely as a result of the concerted efforts of WCC Members, Arthur Barlas & Paul Godin, in both acquiring game score sheets & converting them into PGN format, the WCC Championship of 2014 is by far the best documented of any Club Championship ever held at the WCC. We should all hope this becomes standard & continues into the future so that others may view these important games.

Carissa Yip Games ♕

For the past few years now, Carissa Yip & her father Percy Yip have been regular members of the Wachusett Chess Club, beginning when she was barely eight years old. During that short span of about three years, Carissa has consistently improved her chess playing skill to such a degree that she has garnered national & international attention, typically as the youngest or youngest ever female to achieve certain notable milesrones such as USFC expert (2000+) rating in 2012 & her fourth place finish in the World Youth Chess Championships in 2013. Now her most recent accomplishment can be added to the list. That being the youngest female ever to attain a USFC master rating of 2200 or more. At the time of this writing (March 1st, 2015), her latest (now obsolete) title of "National Master", i.e. rating of 2200 or above, has not been officially confirmed by the USCF, but in all liklihood it soon will be. The USCF "Life Master" title requires that a player perform at or above master level in a number of tournaments & this is explained in the link above.

In addition to many weekly club games at the WCC in the last few years, including a 21 game uninterrupted winning streak culminating in her 7-0 perfect score at the 2014 WCC Championship, Carissa Yip has played in several national & international tournaments. Many of these games are significant both in terms of the overall quality of play & the relative importance of the events to the greater chess community. Due to the use of electronic recording chess boards, the majority of Carissa's international escapades have already found their way into a number of online databases. Here is a collection of a representative sample of those games for your study &/or enjoyment.

Here's Carissa's victory over IM Andrew Tang at the 12th Philadelphia Open 2018

[Event "12th Philadelphia Open"]
[Site "Philadelphia"]
[Date "2018.03.31"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Tang, Andrew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E04"]
[WhiteElo "2290"]
[BlackElo "2509"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2018.03.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bd6 7. Qxc4 O-O
8. O-O e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Bxe5 11. Nc3 c6 12. Rd1 Qe7 13. e4 Be6
14. Qe2Rfd8 15. Be3 Ng4 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Bxa7 b5 18. Bb6 Rb8 19. Be3 Nxe3
20. Qxe3 Rd8 21. a3 Bd4 22. Qf3 b4 23. axb4 Qxb4 24. Rb1 Bb3 25. Rc1 Be6
26. Rb1 h6 27. h4 Bb3 28. Rc1 Ba7 29. Qf4 Be6 30. Rc2 Rd3 31. Kh2 Bb8 32. e5 Rd4
33. Qe3 Ba7 34. Qf3 Qb3 35. Re2 Bg4 36. Qxc6 Bxe2 37. Qe8+ Kh7 38. Nxe2 Rb4
39. Qd7 Qc4 40. Nc3 Bxf2 41. Qf5+ Kg8 42. Qxf2 Qb3 43. Nd5 Qxb2 44. Ne7+ Kf8
45. Qc5 Rb7 46. Ng6+ Kg8 47. Qc8+ 1-0
[Event "46th National Chess Congress"]
[Site "Philadelphia"]
[Date "2015.11.27"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Yip, Carissa"]
[Black "Kovalev, Vladislav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[WhiteElo "2235"]
[BlackElo "2596"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2015.11.27"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7
8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. O-O Bc5 10. Be3 O-O 11. f3 Ng5 12. f4 Ne4 13. Nd2 Nxd2
14. Qxd2 Bb6 15. c3 Qe7 16. Rae1 c5 17. Nb3 Bb5 18. Rf3 Bc4 19. f5 Qxe5
20. Bg5 Rae8 21. Rxe5 Rxe5 22. Be3 Rfe8 23. Kh1 Bxb3 24. axb3 d4 25. cxd4 cxd4
26. Bg1 Re2 27.Qd3 Rxb2 28. f6 g6 29. Rf2 Rxf2 30. Bxf2 h6 31. h3 Rd8 32. Qd2 Kh7
33. Qe2 Kg8 34. Qe7 c5 35. Be1 Rf8 36. Bd2 Bd8 37. Qd6 g5 38. Qe5 Kh8 39. h4 Rg8
40. hxg5 Kh7 41. Qf5+ Kh8 42. Qd7 1-0
This game may also be vieewed online as it was played on Greg Shahade's YouTube channel.
It looks like the time control is two minutes each plus a one second increment per move, so it's pretty fast.
Spectators seated at the table are 11 year old Brandon Jacobson (2139 USCF) & 12 year old Akshita Gorti (2244 USCF).
[Event "US Chess Camp #29 Blitz"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club, New York, NY"]
[Date "2015.07.27"]
[White "David Brodsky"]
[Black "Carissa Yip"]
[WhiteElo "2302"]
[BlackElo "2257"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Round "1"]
[Game "7"]
[ECO "B78"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[Moves "41"]
[TimeControl "G/2 +1 sec inc"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. h4 h5 11. O-O-O Ne5 12. Bb3 Rc8 13. Bh6 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. g4 b5 17. gxh5 b4 18. Nd5 Nxh5 19. Nxb4 Qa5 20. a3 Rb8 21. Kb1 Be6 22. Nxe6+ fxe6 23. Rhg1 Qe5 24. Rg5 Qf6 25. Rdg1 Kf7 26. Rxg6 Qxg6 27. Rxg6 Kxg6 28. Qg5+ Kf7 29. Qxh5+ Kg7 30. Qg5+ Kf8 31. h5 a5 32. Qxa5 Rc5 33. Qa4 Rxh5 34. Qb3 d5 35. Qd3 Rd8 36. exd5 exd5 37. a4 e5 38. a5 d4 39. a6 Ra8 40. Qb5 Ke7 41. Qb7+ 1-0

Here is her first round win from the 2015 US Girls Junior Invitational tournament in Tulsa, OK against NM Sarah Chiang.
[Event "2015 US Girls Junior Closed"]
[Site "Tulsa"]
[Date "2015.06.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Chiang, Sarah"]
[Black "Yip, Carissa"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "2282"]
[WhiteTitle "WFM"]
[BlackELO "2257"]
[BlackTitle "CM"]
[Source "MonRoi"]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Bg5 Na6 9.Nd2 Qe8 10.O-O Kh8 11.a3 Bd7 12.b3 Ng8 13.Rb1 f5 14.f3 Bh6 15.Bxh6 Nxh6 16.b4 axb4 17.axb4 Qe7 18.exf5 gxf5 19.Kh1 Rg8 20.f4 Qg7 21.Rf2 e4 22.Ndxe4 fxe4 23.Nxe4 Bf5 24.Bf3 Rae8 25.Re2 Ng4 26.Qg1 Rgf8 27.g3 Nf6 28.Qg2 Qg6 29.Rbe1 Nxb4 30.Re3 Nxe4 31.Bxe4 Rxe4 32.Rxe4 Nd3 33.Re7 Nxe1 34.Rxe1 Re8 35.Qd2 Rxe1 36.Qxe1 Bd3 37.Qa1 Kg8 38.Qa8 Kf7 39.Qc8 Qe4 40.Kg1 Qe1 0-1

Here is her big win against NM Chris Williams, with comments by Carissa. A big win in this game put Carissa within 9 rating points of 2200.
[Event "Legends of Chess: Oscar Panno"]
[Site "Boylston Chess Club, Cambridge MA"]
[Date "2015.2.21"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Chris Williams"]
[Black "Carissa Yip"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2309"]
[BlackElo "2150"]
[Board "1"]
[Section "Premier"]
[Moves "47"]
[Plycount "94"]
[TimeControl "G/60 d5"]
[ECO "B70"]
[Opening "Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation"]
[Annotator "Carissa Yip"]

{I just finished world amateur team tournament in NJ last week. After returning home, I played on Thursday night, and Friday night. This morning I skipped the first round and started at the second round. After 2 wins, I was very tired, and planned to withdraw after 2 games as I normally do. However, I wasn't sure this time. I knew that I would become a master if I could win this game. I would get more than 40 rating points! But I never beat Chris before. He is a very strong master. I talked to my dad, and my dad told me not to think too much about ratings. He told me to listen to my heart.}
1. e4 c5
{Follow my heart!}
2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Nb3
{A strange move, usually played when black plays Nc6.}
7... a6
{The plan is to attack on the Queen side}
8. g4
{I never seen this line before.}
8... b5 I
{continued with my plan as White seems to have weakened the King side}
9. g5 Nfd7 10. f4 Bb7 11. Be3 b4 12. Nd5 Nc6 13. Nd4 e6 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15. Bd4 e5 16. fxe5 Bxd5 17. exd5
{This is another possibility 17. exd6 Bxe4 18. Bxg7 Bxh1 19. Bxh8 Qxg5}
17... Qxg5 18. e6 Nf6 19. Bf3
{19. exf7+ Kxf7 I have connected my rooks and can do manual castling if I need to.}
19... O-O
{Keep my king safe and develop my Rook. White's a-rook is not developed yet. Black has a huge advantage.}
20. Qd2 Ne4!
{This is a winning move. After the exchange, Black has a winning endgame.}
21. Qxg5
{21. Bxe4 Qh4+ 22. Bf2 Qxe4+ 23. Qe2 Qxh1+ or 21. Qd3 Bxd4 22. Qxe4 Bxb2 23. Rb1 Bc3+}
21... Nxg5 22. Bxg7 Nxf3+ 23. Kf2 Kxg7 24. Kxf3 fxe6+ 25. Ke4 exd5+ 26. Kxd5 Rf2!
{Game over}
27. Rac1 Rc8 28. c4 bxc3 29. bxc3 Rxa2 30. Kxd6 Rd2+ 31. Ke7 Rc4 32. Rhe1 Rxh2 33. Re6 Rh3 34. Rxa6 Rcxc3 35. Rca1 Rcd3 36. Re6 Rhe3 37. Re1 Rxe1 38. Rxe1 Rf3 39. Ke6 g5 40. Ra1 Kg6 41. Ke5 Rf5+ 42. Ke4 h5 43. Ra8 Rf4+ 44. Ke3 h4 45. Rh8 Kf5 46. Ra8 h3 47. Ra1 Kg4
{White resigned}
0-1

♘ Carissa Yip vs. Gary Cote Mass Open U2000 Fitchburg, MA, 2012.05.26

♖ Carissa Yip vs. Ray Paulson Harlow B. Daly Memorial WCC(5) 2012.08.01

2013 Games

2012 Games

2012 WCC Championship Games

The above link connects to the online viewer for the six games submitted from the 21 games actually played in the 2012 WCC 2012 Championship.

2011 Games

2010 Games

Below is a game sent in by Rick Evans. This game was the biggest upset in recorded club history, a record which stood for nearly five years when it was recently broken (September 16th 2015) by Tom Whistler.

Wachusett Chess Club - Dec 1, 2010
White: Arthur Barlas, Elo: 1716
Black: Rick Evans, Elo: 879

1. e4 e6

Having been away from chess for many years, I resorted to my old favorite from the 1970s, the French Defense

2. d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6

The Tarrasch variation seems to have become a very common line against the French because book lines give it a slight edge in most cases.

4.e5 Nd7 5.Nf3 c5 6.c3 Nc6

So far, so much book.

7.Be2 cxd4

I feared white playing Bd3 which seems more threatening especially if the white queen ends up on c2, but I probably also would play Be2 as white as it is very flexible. After Be2, I played cxd4 after weighing the alternative of c4, but I thought my better chances were to not lock up the queenside but try for a more open game there as I seemed to have lesser options on the kindside. I've seen masters lose in these positions after locking up the queenside in games on www.chessgames.com, so I had reservations about going that route.

8. cxd4 Be7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Nb3 b6

I wasn't so sure about Nb3, but I suspected at the time that maybe Arthur thought that an 879 rated player might not think to really protect c5, but at any rate it adds protection to whites pawn on d4 and really isn't a bad move at all. I played b6 to allow b7 to my white bishop and to deny c5 and a5 to white's knight.

11. a3 f6

a3 denies b4 to my knight, but I had no plans whatever to post it there. I played f6 to try to break up white's formidable center, thinking that it was now or never.

12.Bb5 Bb7

I didn't like Bb 5 for white, but I'm not sure why; it seems plausible enough.

13. exf6 Bxf6

If I were white, I probably would not have taken the pawn as breaking up the center is black's problem and I would have probably just proceeded with what I wanted to accomplish.

14.Re1 Re8

Ah... so I begin to realize, black wants to make e6 a target, and a good one it is at that. Suddenly I see one of the problems of playing the French... this pawn formation that results in the center which can expose the e pawn to attack.

15.Bf4 a6

I thought the Bf4 was a great and strong move. I saw it coming. Oh well, nothing to do about it so I wanted to get rid of the other pesky bishop.

16. Bxc6 Bxc6

If I were white, I would not have been so quick to make this trade.

17.Qd2 Nf8

Oh my, white has really made my weak e6 pawn a target. What to do? It's really defensive but I just had to move the knight back to protect it.

18.Ne5 Bxe5

I expected Ne5 as it is strong and I had to give up my black bishop against my wishes. My only consolation was that I thought my knight on g6 would be helpful to me in driving away or exchanging white's now very annoying bishop on e5

19.Bxe5 Ng6 20.g3 Rc8

White, I presume, wanted to deny my knight f4 and h4 and wanted to give his king some space for the late middlegame, but I'm not so sure this would have been my choice if I were white.

21.h4 Ba4

I distinctly did not like h4 for white here. I would have played for dominance on the queenside instead. I played Ba4 to annoy the white knight. and demonstrate to white that I thought his kingside thoughts might be in error as far as I was concerned.

22.Qd3 Bb5 23.Qe3 Rc2

I whispered to Arthur that this might be my losing move and he replied something like, "...well either that or your winning move. Who knows?"

24.a4 Bd7 25.Re2 Rxe2

I didn't see any real alternative to exchanging rooks.

26.Qxe2 Nxe5

As we were almost entering an endgame like situation and I wasn't in fear of being mated or mating Arthur anytime soon, I thought it was a good idea to make this exchange.

27.Qxe5 Qb8

If I were white, I probably would have recaptured with the pawn, connecting my kingside pawns and proceeding with a blockade of the black pawn on d5. But who knows which plan is better at this point?

28.Qe2 a5

Well, I wanted to fix the temporarily vulnerable white pawn on A4. What can I say?

29.f4 Rc8

I see my only chance as activating my passive white bishop and getting my queen rook into the game in some meaningful way. The open c file seems attractive to me, as it has for a good part of the game. I'm wondering why white hasn't played to dominate it earlier.

30.Rc1 Qd6

Just trying to give my queen more scope.

31.Rxc8+ Bxc8 32.Qc2 Bd7

Got to protect those queenside invasion square religiously or all *&%$ will break lose on me.

33.Nc1 Qb4

I thought I gained some time here due to white's piece placement issues, and wanted to take full advantage.

34.b3 Qxd4+

Well, black's queen move came with more than one threat, and I won a pawn as it turned out. This is where the game sort of turns around in black's favor I think (or thought at the time)

35.Kh2 Qc5 36.Qxc5 bxc5

The rest of the game probably just demonstrates my lack of excellent endgame play, but the result was a win although surely not the most elegant one.

37.Nd3 c4 38.bxc4 dxc4 39.Ne5 c3 40.Nd3 Bxa4 41.Kg1 Kf7 42.Kf2 Kf6 43.g4 Bb3 44.Ke3 a4 45.Nc1 c2 46.Kd4 g6 47.Ke4 Bd5+ 48.Ke3 h5 49.g5 Kf5 50.Ne2 Kg4 51.Kd2 Bb3 52.Nd4 Kxf5 53 White resigns.
0-1

2010 WCC Championship Games


These are the 6 games that Tony Cesolini played to win the 2010 Wachusett Chess Club Championship.

Tony Cesolini's 6 Championship Games

A very interesting game. There was a material imbalance for most of the game. Marty almost pulls out a draw, but blunders in time pressure.

[Event "George O'Rourke Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2010.03.17"]
[Round "4 of 5"]
[White "Dave Couture"]
[Black "Martin Laine"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "1814"]
[BlackElo "1856"]
[TimeControl "G/105(5)"]

1. e4 f5 2. exf5 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 Nc6 6. Nf3 e5 7. fxe6 Bxe6 8. Qe2 Qe7 9. O-O O-O-O 10. Re1 Bg4 11. Bb2 Qd7 12. h3 Re8 13. Qxe8+ Nxe8 14. hxg4 Nd6 15. Nxd5 Qxg4 16. Ne5 Nxe5 17. Rxe5 h5 18. Ne3 Qd7 19. Rxc5+ Kb8 20. Rd5 h4 21. Bf5 Qf7 22. Be5 Rh6 23. c4 b6 24. Ng4 Rh5 25. Rxd6 Bxd6 26. Bxd6+ Kb7 27. Be4+ Kc8 28. Re1 Rh8 29. Bd5 Qh5 30. Re5 Qg6 31. Be6+ Kd8 32. Be7+ Kc7 33. Bf5 Qf7 34. d4 Re8 35. Ne3 g5 36. Nd5+ Kb7 37. Be4 Kc8 38. c5 bxc5 39. dxc5 Qg7 40. Bf6 Rxe5 41. Bxg7 Rxe4 42. c6 Kb8 43. b4 g4 44. b5 g3 45. fxg3 hxg3 46. Kf1 Re6 47. a4 Kc8 48. a5 Rd6 49. Ne7+ Kd8 50. Nf5 Rd5 51. Nxg3 Rxb5 52. Ne2 Rxa5 53. Nd4 Rc5 54. Ne6+ 1-0


In this game Gail Lingner of Fitchburg, returning to tournament chess after 17(!) years, defeated former club champion Martin Laine of Lunenburg.

[Event "2010 George O'Rourke Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2010.02.17"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Martin Laine"]

[Black "Gail Lingner"]

[Result "0-1"]

[WhiteElo "1856"]

[BlackElo "1594"]

[TimeControl "G/110"]

 

In the notation below, the move in parenthesis is the move recommended by the computer program Rybka.

Bird's Opening

1. f4            Nf6

2. b3            e6

3. Bb2           Be7

4. Nf3           Nc6

5. e3            a6

6. Be2           b5

7. 0-0           0-0

8. Ne5           Bb7

9. Bf3           Rb8

10. d3           d5

11. g4           h6

12. g5           hxg5

13. fxg5? (Nxc6) Nxe5

14. Bxe5         Nd7

15. Bg3          Bxg5

16. Qe1          Bf6

17. d4           c5

18. c3           e5

19. Nd2? (Bg4)   exd4

20. Bxb8         dxc3 

21. Bd6          Re8? (cxd2)

22. Rc1          cxd2 

23. Qxd2         Qb6 

24. Bg3? (Bxd5)  c4 

25. Bf2? (Bxd5)  Bg5 

26. Rce1? (Bxd5) d4? (Ne5)

27. Bxb7         Qxb7

28. Qxd4         Ne5

29. Bg3          Nf3+

30. Rxf3         Qxf3

31. Bf2          Re4 

32. Qd7?? (Qd2)  Rg4+ 

33. Kf1          Rg2

34. Qd2          Rxh2

 

and White resigned. 0-1

Congratulations to former club member Mark Norris who had a recent win published in "Chess Life"!  Click here to see the column.

2009 Games

A Cautionary Tale

(or "A Dream Denied")

 

I managed to find a new, unique way to throw away a "won game".  I'll set the stage by saying that going into this game, Gary and I were tied for 1st place for the club championship (each with 3 points out of 4 games) and previously I've never finished above .500 in  a club championship.  I played the Dutch Defense for the first time ever and having "studied" it for about 10 minutes last night and another 10 minutes before leaving for the club tonight, I was quickly out of book.  I don't think his 6. Rxh5 was correct and I soon had the advantage.

 

Gary was taking a very long time thinking about his 15th move, so I got up and took a long enough break that I had time to walk down the hall, and step outside for a breath of fresh air.  When I came back, Gary had made his move.  I looked at the board and wrote 15. Bd4 (without the capture) and didn't realize that without the recapture I'd be down 2 pieces for a rook.  It wasn't until a few moves later that I realized I was down material rather than still up the exchange and I couldn't figure out what had happened.  About 20 moves later I actually counted up the number of captures on my score sheet and realized that there was one too few pieces on the board.  I stopped the clock and we went over the game from the beginning with George Mirijanian (the TD) and when George read off the move 15. Bishop TAKES d4 that I realized what had happened and upon returning to the board resigned.

 

I may never walk away from the board again...

 

By the way, all credit to Gary for hanging in, getting the advantage, and then holding onto it.  As of this writing, he needs only a draw next week to become club champion for the first time! -Dave Couture

 

[Event "2009 Wachusett Chess Club Championship"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2009.06.10"]

[Round "6"]

[White "Gary Brassard"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A85"]

[WhiteElo "1829"]

[BlackElo "1779"]

[PlyCount "83"]

[TimeControl "G/105(5)"]

 

1. d4 f5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. h4 Bg7 5. h5 Nxh5 6. Rxh5 gxh5 7. e4 O-O 8. exf5 d6 9. Qxh5 Rxf5 10. Qh4 Bf6 11. Qg3+ Kh8 12. Bd3 Rh5 13. Be3 Nc6 14. O-O-O Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Qg8?? 16. Bxf6+ exf6 17. Qxg8+ Kxg8 18. Nd5 Kg7 19. Nxc7 Rb8 20. Ne8+ Kf7 21. Nxd6+ Ke7 22. Nxc8+ Rxc8 23. Re1+ Kf7 24. Nf3 b5 25. b3 a5 26. Kb2 bxc4 27. Bxc4+ Kf8 28. Re6 Kg7 29. Re7+ Kf8 30. Rf7+ Ke8 31. Rxf6 Rhc5 32. Kc3 a4 33. Ra6 axb3 34. axb3 h5 35. Ra7 Rd5 36. Rh7 Rd6 37. Rxh5 Ke7 38. Rh7+ Kf6 39. Rh6+ Ke7 40. Rh7+ Kf6 41. Rf7+ Kg6 42. Ne5+ 1-0

2008 Games

[Event "Wachusett CC Championship"]
[Site "Fitchburg State College, MA"]
[Date "2008.04.02"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Short, Pete"]
[Black "Bennett, Joseph"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1539"]
[BlackElo "1820"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2008.04.02"]
[SourceDate "2008.04.02"]
1. f4 d5 2. e3 g6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2 c5 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. O-O O-O 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Ne5 Qb6 10. c4 d4 11. Qc1 Nd7 12. Nf3 e5 13. fxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. e4 f5 16. d3 Qc7 17. Qh6 Bg7 18. Qf4 Qxf4 19. Rxf4 fxe4 20. Rxf8+ Bxf8 21. dxe4 Bh6 22. Ba3 Be3+ 23. Kf1 Bg4 24. Bxc5 Re8 25. h3 Bd7 26. Na3 Rxe4 27. Nc2 Rf4+ 28. Ke2 Rf2+ 29. Kd1 Rd2+ 30. Kc1 Rxc2+ 31. Kxc2 d3+ 32. Kxd3 Bxc5 33. Re1 Bf5+ 34. Ke2 Kf7 35. Kf3 Bb4 36. Rd1 Ke7 37. g4 Be6 38. Ke4 h5 39. gxh5 gxh5 40. Rd3 Ba3 41. Rf3 a5 42. Rg3 h4 43. Rf3 Bb2 44. Re3 Ba3 45. Rf3 Bd6 46. Kd3 Bg3 47. Kd4 Bxh3 48. Kc5
In this position, black need only make one move to seal the victory...
Joe didn't find the winning move over the board. Can you?
You can play through this game here: http://tacticstime.com/?page_id=3284.
48...Bd7 49. Kb6 a4 50. bxa4 h3 51. Rxg3 Kd6 52. Rd3+ Ke7 53. Rd2 Kd8 54. Rh2 Kc8 55. c5 Kb8 56. a3 Kc8 57. a5 Kb8 58. a6 Ka8 59. Kc7 Bg4 60. Kxc6 Ka7 61. Rb2 Kxa6 62. Kc7 Ka5 63. Kd8 Ka4 64. c6 Kxa3 65. Rh2 1-0

Here is a game sent in by Ken Gurge:

 

[Event "McMaster Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg"]
[Date "2008.07.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ken Gurge"]
[Black "Joe Bennett"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B86"]
[WhiteElo "1717"]
[BlackElo "1787"]
[Annotator "Gurge,Ken"]
[TimeControl "Game 110 min."]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6
(all standard [Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation -PG])


6. Bc4 (white chooses the Fischer-Sozin Attack over the main line Bg5 and the Be2 and Be3, which I usually play, lines in order to avoid the 6...e5 lines)

6... e6 7. Bb3 Be7 (The start of black's troubles. This innocent looking move allows white to play a very aggressive line in the Najdorf- b5 is considered best, but Nbd7 and Nc6, the latter transposing into the Sozin Variation, are also playable)

8. g4 h5 (bad, but not fatal; better is h6 after which 9.Rg1 Nc6 10.Be3 leaves white better)

9. g5 Ng4 10. h4 (an inaccuracy by white which allows black to equalize. Both 10.g6 - due to the threat against e6 - and 10.f4 leave white well ahead and probably winning)

10...Nc6 11. f3 Nge5 (better is 11...Qb6 after which black is better)

12. Be3 b5(?) (likely the losing move, after Na5, black is equal; after the text move, the g7 pawn is lost and black's position starts to crumble)

13.f4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Ng4 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. Bd4 Bb7 17. Qe2 e5 18. Be3 Qa5 19. O-O-O
Rc8 20. Kb1 Rxc3 21. bxc3 Bxe4 22. Rhe1 Bf5 23. fxe5 Nxe5 24. Qg2 Rg6 25. Qa8+
Bd8 26. Bd4 Re6 27. Bxe5 Rxe5 28. Rxe5+ dxe5 29. Qc6+ 1-0
 

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2008.07.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Joe Bennett"]
[Black "Dave Couture"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1788"]
[BlackElo "1682"]
[PlyCount "136"]

This was a VERY intense game (my typical self-induced time trouble made it all the more so).  Play it over - you won't be disappointed!

I managed to get a pretty big advantage by promoting a passed pawn.  Then Joe threatened with one of his own passed pawns and from that point on as I looked at variations, I was often changing my evaluation from win to loss to draw all in the space of 30 seconds or so!  We finally end in a bare-king draw which seemed appropriate.
-Dave Couture

1. f4

I've actually played Bird's myself before, but I still manage to come out of the opening at a disadvantage.

1...d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O b6 7. c3 Re8

Now we're officially out of book.  7...Bb7 followed by either 8...c5 or 8...Nbd7 is what has previously been played here.

8. Ne5 Ng4 9. Nxg4 Bxg4 10. h3 Bc8 11. e4 c6 12. e5 d4 13. Na3 Ba6 14. c4 Qc7
15. Nb5 Qd7 16. b3 Bb7 17. Na3 Na6 18. Nc2 Rab8 19. Qe2 c5 20. Ba3 Bxg2 21.
Qxg2 Nc7 22. Rae1 a6 23. b4 Ne6 24. g4 cxb4 25. Bxb4 a5 26. Ba3 b5 27. f5 Nc7
28. c5 b4 29. c6 Qd5 30. Qxd5 Nxd5 31. Bb2 b3 32. Nxd4 bxa2

33. Rf2??

33. Ba1 would have worked and kept the position pretty much equal.

33...Nb4?

I played this pretty quickly.  I just saw the threat of the knight fork while guarding my advanced a-pawn and went for it.  I only saw the Bxe5 tactic a few moves later

34. Rd2

Fritz prefers the counter thrust 34. c7 giving the following line 34. c7 Rbc8 35. Rf3 Rxc7 36. Ba1, but then I could play 36. Rec8 so I'm not sure Fritz is right on this one.

34...Nxd3 35. Rxd3 Rxb2 36. Ra3 Bxe5 37. Rxe5 Rb1+ 38. Kf2 a1=Q 39. Rxa1 Rxa1

40. f6

 

 

 

40...e6?

Not good.  This pawn became a thorn in my side because of the constant back rank mate threat hanging over my head ("Oh my side!  Oh my head!").  I should have played 40...Kf8!

41. Rc5 Rc8 42. Nb5 Rd1 43. Na7 Rc7 44. Rxa5??

He should have played the knight back to b5 for the draw, which is what I was expecting.  Instead this gives me what should have been a win, which I will proceed to throw away one inaccuracy at a time.

44...h5 45. gxh5 gxh5 46. Rc5?

Better would have been 46. Rg5+ Kh7 47. Rxh5+ Kg6 48. Ra5

46...Rxa7?

I miss 46...Rd5! which should be winning.  For example, 47. Nb5 Rxc5 48. Nxc7 Rxd6 or 47. Rxd5 exd5 48. Nb5 Rxc6 or if white just pulls the rook back 47. Rc4 Ra5!

47. c7 Rxc7 48. Rxc7 Rd2+ 49. Kg3 Rd4 50. Re7 h4+ 51. Kf3 Rd3+ 52. Kg4

52...Rd4+?!

As soon as I played this, I saw that he could come in with his king and probably eliminate any chance I had to win.

53. Kg5! Kf8 54. Ra7 Rd8 55. Kxh4 Kg8 56. Kg5 e5?

I think 56...Rd3 would have been a draw.  Here's a couple of variations: 57. h4 Rf3 58. Ra8+ Kh7 59. Ra5 Rf2 60. h5 Rg2+ 61. Kf4 Rf2+ or 58. Ra5 Kh7 and if he advances the pawn I can just keep checking from behind.

57. Re7 Rd3 58. h4 Rg3+

 

 

59. Kh5?

 

Now it's going to be a draw.  59. Kf5 would have kept his chances for a win alive.

 

59...Rg6 60. Rxe5 Rxf6 61. Rg5+ Kh7 62. Rg3 Rh6+ 63. Kg4 Rg6+ 64. Kh3 Rxg3+

65. Kxg3 Kh6 66. Kg4 f6 67. Kf5 Kh5 68. Kxf6 Kxh4 1/2-1/2

I don't know if I've ever had a game fall apart so quickly and so completely.  The "blunder" I made was not an obvious one, but it WAS huge.  According to Fritz, it was worse than throwing my queen away!  After I made the move and Wayne replied, there were threats everywhere I looked for the remainder of the game.  I could make a contest out of this: See If You Can SPOT THE BLUNDER :-)  Actually, I'll put the answer at the bottom of this page (*).
-Dave Couture

 

[Event "2008 WCC Championship Prelims"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2008.04.02"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Wayne Steadman"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A46"]

[WhiteElo "1271"]

[BlackElo "1639"]

[PlyCount "45"]

 

 1. Nf3  Nf6 2. d4 c5 3. c3 b6 4. Bf4 d5 5. Qc2 Bg4 6. Nbd2 e6 7. e4 dxe4

 8. Nxe4 Bxf3 9. gxf3 cxd4 10. Qa4+ Nbd7 11. Qxd4 Nxe4 12. fxe4 Nf6

13. Bb5+ Nd7 14. O-O-O Be7 15. Qxg7 Bf6 16. Qh6 e5 17. Bxd7+ Qxd7

18. Qxf6 Qxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Rg8 20. Qxe5+ Kf8 21. Bh6+ Rg7 22. Qxg7+ Ke7

23. Qe5# 1-0

 

This game was a not very welcome "welcome back to the club" game after a little more than 2 months off, but then again Wayne has never been very "welcoming" to me ;-)  Despite the difference in ratings, this is the 4th time that he has beaten me!  Good game Wayne!

Here is a game that Max Sewell sent in.

Here's the game. The asterisk on move 14 is when I accidentally
touched my queen with my thumbnail (causing her to spin around and
everything --%$#@!) trying to reach over her for the Knight on d7
(intended Nb6). -Max


Eric Jakobowicz (1824) vs. Max Sewell (1281)

1. f4,     d5
2. Nf3,    Nf6
3. g3,     c5
4. Bg2,    Nc6
5. d3,     e6
6. 0-0,    Be7
7. Nc3,    0-0
8. Bd2,    Rb8
9. e4,     d4
10. Ne2,   b5
11. h3,    a5
12. g4,    a4
13. g5,    Nd7
14. h4,    Qe8*
15. Ng3,   Nb6
16. h5,    c4
17. Qe2,   Qd8
18. h6,    g6
19. Nh2,   Nb4
20. Bxb4,  Bxb4
21. Ng4,   Nd7
22. dxc4,  Qb6
23. c5,    Bxc5
24. Kh2,   Ba6
25. Qf3,   b4
26. Rfe1,  Bb7
27. Qe2,   Ba6
28. Qf3,   Bb7
29. b3,    a3?
30. Rad1,  f5
31. Nf2,   e5
32. fxe5,  fxe4
33. Qe2,   e3
34. Nd3,   Qc7
35. Bxb7,  Qxb7
36. Rf1,   Qd5
37. Nxc5,  Nxc5
38. Rxf8,  Rxf8
39. Qxe3,  Rd8
40. Qe2,   Ne6
41. Rf1,   Nxg5
42. Rf6,   Nf7?
43. e6,    Nxh6
44. e7,    Re8
45. Re6,   Nf5
46. Nxf5,  Qxf5
47. Re5,   Qf6?
48. Qc4+,  Kg7
49. Qxd4,  h5
50. Qe3,   Qh4+
51. Kg2,   Qg4+
52. Kf2,   Qd7?
53. Re6,   Qc7
54. Qd4+,  Kg8?
55. Rxg6+, Black resigns.
 

Here is a game that Ken Gurge sent in.

Dave:

It was a pretty interesting game.  I played passively in the opening against his Sicilian O'Kelly and decided I needed to sac the exchange for some counterplay. It worked to some degree as I was able to keep the initiative for quite some time. However, he eventually stabilized everything and seemed headed for an endgame win with his extra material. I then sac'ed a knight, which effectively left him up a rook, for connected passed pawns. I pushed them like crazy until one queened and he had to give up his extra rook for it. This still left him up a pawn in a rook and pawn ending. He was able to go up two pawns to zero, but in doing so allowed me to cut his king off from all the action and hang on for the draw. -Ken Gurge

Gurge-Laine 2007-October-31

2007 Games

Here is a game that Ken Gurge sent in.  It is his first win over former club champion Bruce Felton!

Dave:

    Here is my game with Bruce with Fritz evaluations. I played a speculative 11...Na5 to complicate things rather than the book 11...f6. As I thought at the time he started to go wrong with 14.Bxb6. I think he expected 14...axb6. I don't care what Fritz says about something better, I was very proud of 21...Be3 because it kept things complicated and gave him the opportunity to go wrong by overlooking an x-ray attack on the queen if he moved to the wrong square, which he did. After move 25, the rest of the game (38 more moves) was pretty much just grinding out a win with a pawn up. Although the all seeing Fritz shows where technical improvements could have been made, I was happy with the way my rook constrained his king and protected all my pawns until my king could maneuver in for the win. An endgame I didn't screw up!
Pictured are Bruce Felton (L.) & Ken Gurge (R.) at next board.

Ken

[Event "John Loyte Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2007.08.01"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Bruce Felton"]
[Black "Ken Gurge"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B03"]
[WhiteElo "1838"]
[BlackElo "1712"]
[PlyCount "126"]

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. a3 Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Be2

S Tidman - S Pertlova 2000 continued 11. Qd2.

11...Na5 ({0.51 Fritz 9:} 11... f6 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. O-O Rf7 14. a4 {[eval -3,13]})

12. b3 Rc8 ({0.84 Fritz 9:} 12... Qd7 13. d5 exd5 14. c5 Nc8 15. b4 Nc4 {[eval 43,14]})

13. d5 ({0.31 Fritz 9:} 13. O-O f6 14. Nh4 fxe5 15. Nxf5 Rxf5
16. Rxf5 {[eval 84,13]})

13... exd5 14. Bxb6 ({-0.65 Fritz 9:} 14. cxd5 Bh4+
15. Nxh4 Qxh4+ 16. Bf2 {[eval 54,13]})

14... cxb6 15. Nxd5 Nc6 ({0.35 Fritz 9:} 15... b5 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. Qd6 Qxd6 18. exd6 bxc4 19. bxc4 Nxc4 20. Bxc4 Rxc4 21. O-O {[eval -65,14]})

16. Qd2 ({-0.26 Fritz 9:} 16. O-O f6 17. exf6 Bxf6 18. Ra2 Kh8 19. Bd3 {[eval 35,13]})

16... Re8 17. Ra2 ({-0.98 Fritz 9:} 17. Qf4 Bg6 18. Rd1 {[eval -25,13]})

17... h6 ({-0.12 Fritz 9:} 17... Be4 18. Nxe7+ Qxe7 19. Qe3 f5 {[eval -98,13]})

18. O-O ({-0.67 Fritz 9:} 18. Qf4 Be6 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. O-O Rcd8 21. Rf2 Bc8 {[eval -12,14]})

18... Bc5+ 19. Kh1 Nxe5 20. Nxe5 ({-1.04 Fritz 9:} 20. Qf4 Nxf3 21. Qxf5 Ne5 22. Bg4 Qh4 23. Bh3 {[eval -34,14]})

20... Rxe5 21. Raa1 Be3 ({-0.46 Fritz 9:} 21... b5 22. Qf4 Bd6 23. Nc3 bxc4 24. Bxc4 b5 {[eval -147,13]})

22. Qc3? ({-2.04 Fritz 9:} 22. Qb2 Qe8 23. Bh5 Rxd5 24. cxd5 Rc2 25. Qb1 {[eval -46,15]})

22... Qxd5 23. Qxe3 Rxe3 24. cxd5 Rxe2 25. Rxf5 Rcc2 26. Rg1 Red2 27. Re5 Kf8 28. Rge1 Rc8?! ({-1.04 Fritz 9:} 28... g6 29. Re7 Rxg2 30. Rxb7 Rxh2+ 31. Kg1 Rcg2+ 32. Kf1 Rd2 {[eval -168,15]})

29. h3 Rd8 30. Re7 R2xd5 31. Rxb7 R5d7 32. Rxd7 Rxd7 33. Re3
f6 34. Kg1 Kf7 35. Kf2 h5 36. h4 Rd5 37. g3 a5 38. a4 g6 39. Kf3 Rf5+ 40. Kg2 b5 41. axb5 Rxb5 42. Kf2 Rf5+ 43. Kg2 Rd5 44. Rc3 Ke6 45. Rf3 g5 46. hxg5 fxg5 47. Rc3 g4 48. Kf2 Ke5 49. Rc8 Kd4 50. Rc7?? ({-4.01 Fritz 9:} 50. Rb8 Rf5+ 51. Kg2 Rc5 52. Rd8+ Ke4 53. Re8+ Kd5 54. Rd8+ Kc6 55. Rc8+ Kb6 56. Rb8+ Kc7 57. Re8 Kd7 58. Ra8 Rb5 59. Ra7+ Ke6 60. Kf1 {[eval -124,17]})

50... Kd3?? ({-1.24 Fritz 9:} 50... Rb5 51. Rc4+ Kd3 52. Kg2
Rxb3 53. Ra4 Rb5 {[eval -401,18]})

51. Rc4?? ({-4.01 Fritz 9:} 51. Rb7 Ke4 52. Re7+ Re5 53. Rb7 Rc5 54. Re7+ {[eval -124,18]})

51... Rb5! 52. Kg2 Rxb3 53. Rc5 a4 54. Rxh5 Rb2+ 55. Kg1 Rb4 56. Rc5 Rc4 57. Rd5+ Kc2 58. Kf2 a3 59. Ra5 Kb3 60. Rb5+ Kc2 61. Ra5 Rc3 62. Ra4 Kb3 63. Ra8 Kb2 0-1

Many adjectives can be applied to this game - interesting, unique, bizarre, and unsatisfying come immediately to mind.  All of the adjectives relate to the fact that it was a bishop and knight vs. lone king endgame.  This is an endgame I'd never played either side of in spite of 332 previous tournament games and I fully expected that I would NEVER play it in my life!  That pretty much explains the 'unique' and 'interesting' aspects.  To understand the 'bizarre' and 'unsatisfying' aspects of the game, you'll just have to read (play) on...

 

[Event "John Loyte Memorial"]
[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]
[Date "2007.08.01"]

[Round "4"]
[White "Ernest Fandreyer"]
[Black "Dave Couture"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "1299"]
[BlackElo "1562"]
[PlyCount "155"]
 


1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. c4 e6


 


Woo-hoo!  A chance to play the Icelandic Gambit!


 
4. Nc3


 



He doesn't go for it - not fair, not fair!  Now what am I supposed to do?!  This is the problem with limited experience and even more limited book  knowledge.


 
4...g6?!


 


Book is 4...exd5.


 
5. d3?


 


Fritz gives 5. dxe6 Bxe6 6. d4 Bg7 7. d5 Bf5 +/-


 
5... Bg7?!


 


Fritz gives 5... exd5 =


 
6. Bf4?


 
Fritz gives 6. dxe6 +/-


 
6... O-O 7. dxe6 Bxe6 8. h3?!


 


Regular development with something like 8. Nf3 would be better.


 
8... Re8 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Nb5 Rc8 11. Qa4?


 


Fritz gives 11. Nf3 =


 
11...a6 12. Nc3 Qe7?


 


Fritz gives 12...b5 13. cxb5 axb5 14. Nxb5 Nd5 15. Bd2 Nb6


 
13. a3?


 


Fritz gives 13. a3 =


 
13... Rcd8 14. Nf3 Nh5 15. Be3 Bxc3+ 16. bxc3 Nf6?


 


Fritz gives 16. Ng3


 
17. O-O Bd7 18. Qb3 b6 19. Qb2 Nh5 20. Bg5?? Qxe2 21. Qxe2 Rxe2


22. Bxd8 Nxd8 23. Rfe1 Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Nc6 25. d4 Kf8 26. Ng5 h6 


27. Ne4 f5 28. d5?


 


Fritz gives 28. Nd2


 


28... fxe4 29. dxc6 Bxc6 30. Kh2 Ke7 31. Rd1 Nf4 32. Kg3 Ne2+ 


33. Kg4 Nxc3 34. Rd2 Bd7+ 35. Kf4 Ke6 36. h4 b5 37. Rc2 Nb1


38. cxb5 Nxa3 39. Rxc7 Nxb5 40. Rc5 Kd6 41. Rc4 Bc6 42. Rc2 Nd4?


 


Fritz gives 42. Nc7


 
43. Ra2?


 


Fritz gives 43. Rd2+


 
43... Ne6+ 44. Ke3 Nc5 45. Kd4 g5 46. hxg5 hxg5 47. Rc2 Ne6+ 


48. Ke3 a5 49. Ra2 a4 50. f3 exf3 51. gxf3 Nc7?


 


Fritz gives 51. Ke5


 
52. Ra3?


 


Fritz gives 52. Rg2


 


52... Ke5 53. Kf2 Nd5 54. Kg3 Bd7 55. Rd3 Bc6 56. Kg4 Kf6 


57. Ra3 Bd7+ 58. Kg3 Ke5 59. Rd3 Kd6 60. Ra3 Kc5 61. Kf2 Bb5 


62. Ra1 Nc3 63. Kg3 Kb4 64. Kg4 Be2 65. Kxg5 Bxf3 66. Rxa4+??



Kxa4 


 



  




 



  

  This is the point at which the game became rather bizarre.  I chuckled knowing what was ahead of me (especially since I had only 16 minutes left on my clock), but Ernest held his hands up as if this was now a dead draw.  I explained that it was a forced mate, but that I was going to have to be very precise to do it within the 50-move rule 
  (i.e. by move 116).  He still was convinced that the mate was impossible and seemed to think that I was just 
  messing with him.  We played on, but he was so disgusted that he was no longer recording his moves and was rarely even bothering to hit his clock 
  (actually I don't know if he ever hit his clock again from this point on).



  
 





  

  Okay, so at this point according to the endgame tablebases, it's mate-in-29 - piece of cake!  Plenty of room for error, right?

  
 
67. Kf5 Be4+ 68. Ke5  Kb4 69. Kd4 Bc2 70. Ke3?


 

  

    

    Ke5 is mate-in-27.  This makes it mate-in-23.  The main point is that he's moving towards the corner that I want to force him to rather than away from it.  I'll take whatever I can get.

    
 
70... Kc4 71. Kf4 Kd4 72. Kg5 Nd5?


 

    

    Now I mess up!  Ke5 leads to mate-in-20 whereas my move leads to mate-in-25.  I'd 
    say I can't afford too many of these slip-ups, but in this strange situation Ernest's clock is the one that's 
    constantly running regardless of whose move it is...

    
 
73. Kg4?


 

  
Now it's back to mate-in-20!


 
73... Ke4 74. Kg3??


 

  
Now it's down to mate-in-12.  He's heading right towards the corner I want

  
him to go to all on his own.


 
74... Bd1 75. Kf2 Ne3 76. Ke1 Kd3 77. Kf2


 

    

    The game has become distinctly awkward at 
    this point.  It's my move and Ernest's time is about to run out, but I 
    haven't been saying anything to him given his mood.  I moved quickly to 
    avoid having HIS time run out on MY move. 


 
77... Kd2??


 

  
This takes us from mate-in-10 to mate-in-28.


 
78. Kg3 0-1 (time forfeit)

 

    

    Well, this was probably my most 
    unsatisfying win ever.  I'd really like to know if I could have pulled 
    off the bishop and knight ending under "normal" conditions.  The funny 
    thing is that when I first learned chess as a kid I spent a lot of time 
    learning how to do this mate from a library book because it was one of the 
    four basic mates against the lone king and I figured that it occurred just 
    as frequently as a queen vs. lone king or a rook vs. lone king (or 2 bishops 
    vs. lone king for that matter).  I knew the configuration that I had to 
    get my 3 pieces in after I drove his king to the "wrong" corner.  As it 
    turned out, I never even had to do that since he moved his king to the 
    "right" corner on his own.  I guess "a win is a win", but it certainly 
    didn't feel like it tonight.




Here is a game that our newest club member Arthur Barlas sent in with the following note:
"White delays developing his king's bishop for a pawn storm." 

I would not have wanted to be on the receiving end of this attack! - Dave C

The notes within the game are from Fritz.






[Event "(Harlow B. Daly Memorial?)"] 

[Site "Wachusett CC: FSU, Fitchburg MA"] 

[Date "2007.07.18"] 

[Round ""] 

[White "Arthur Barlas"] 

[Black "Tom Fratturelli"] 

[Result "1-0"] 

[WhiteElo ""] 

[BlackElo ""] 

[Board ""] 

[Section ""] 

[Moves "29"] 

[Plycount "57"] 

[TimeControl "G/1:40 = G/100 d5"] 

[ECO "D01"] 

[Opening "Sicilian Defense"] 







 1. e4 c5
 2. Nf3d6
 3. d4 cd
 4. Nxd4 Nf6
 5. Nc3 Nc6
 6. f3 e6
 7. Be3Be7
 8. Qd2 a6
 9. 0-0-0Bd7
 10. g4 0-0
 11. h4 Rc8
 12. h5Ne5?!


	Fritz gives 12...Nxd4.


 13. g5 Ne8
 14. Be2 Qa5
 15. Kb1 b5
 16. Nd5 Qd8
 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7
 18. g4 Nc4
 19. Bxc4 Rxc4
 20. b3 Rc8
 21. Rdg1 Bc6
 22. Nxc6 Rxc6
 23. f5 exf5
 24. exf5Qe4
 25. f6 g6?!


	Fritz gives 25...a5.


 26. hg Qxg6??


	26...fxg6 is the only defense here.


 27. Rh6 Qf5
 28. Rgh1 Nc7
 29. Qh2 1-0 


 



Alan Condon's Most Excellent Move!!




Let's see, I've been studying tactics lately, albeit less 
regularly than I'd like, while Alan has taken a couple of months off from chess 
altogether. So who pulls off the beautiful tactic to win the game?!

-notes by Dave Couture





 



[Event "David Bronstein Memorial"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2007.02.21"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Alan Condon"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "D04"]

[WhiteElo "1517"]

[BlackElo "1593"]

[PlyCount "77"]


1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 d5 4. b3 Nc6 
5. Bb2 Bf5 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 e6 8. O-O cxd4 9. exd4 Bd6 10. a3 O-O 11. Re1 Re8 
12. Ne5 h5 13. Nd2 Ng4 14. Qf3 Ncxe5 15. dxe5 Bc5 16. Re2 Qc7 17. Rc1 f5 18. b4 
Bb6 19. h3 Bxf2+ 20. Rxf2 Nxf2 21. Qxf2 g5 22. Qe3 Qg7 23. Qd4 g4 24. hxg4 hxg4 
25. Qf4 Kf7 26. Nf1 Rh8 27. Ng3 Rac8


Just setting the rook up on the other open file.




28. Nxf5!!




So now the obvious 28...exf5 loses the queen to 29. 
e6+, but even my best response 29...Qh7 is a loser.


28... Qh7 29. Nd6+ Kg8


29...Ke7 is best, but the prospect of playing on a 
bishop (and probably a pawn) down wasn't very attractive, so in desperation I 
figured I'd hope for 30. Nxc8 and whatever I could muster attack-wise down the 
h-file (which really wasn't anything).  In any event, Alan wasn't going for 
any of it and just punished me for the lousy move.


30. Qxg4+ Kf8 31. Rf1+ Ke7 32. Rf7+ Qxf7 
33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Nxf7 Kxf7 35. Qf6+ Kg8 36. Qxe6+ Kg7 37. Qf6+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ Kh6 
39. Bc1# 1-0


Excellent game Alan!

    


5 Pawns vs. 1 Bishop = Draw?!



[Event "David Bronstein Memorial"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]



[Date "2007.01.24"]



[Round "4"]



[White "Martin Laine"]



[Black "Ken Gurge"]



[Result "1/2-1/2"]



[ECO "A03"]



[WhiteElo "1757"]



[BlackElo "1735"]



[PlyCount "128"]


1. f4 d5 2. b3 Nf6 
3. Bb2 {last book move} Bf5 4. Nf3 h6 5. e3 e6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O Bc5 8. Ne5 Qe7 
9. Bf3 Rg8 10. d4 Bd6 11. c4 c6 12. Nc3 Ba3?!


Fritz gives (12... g5 13. c5 
Bc7 14. b4 gxf4 15. exf4 Ne4 16. Qe2)


13. Qc1 Bxb2 14. 
Qxb2 a6 15. Rac1 Nxe5? 


Fritz gives (15... g5 16. Qd2 
g4 17. Be2 g3 18. h3 Nb6)  


16. fxe5 Ne4 17. 
cxd5 exd5 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Bd1 Be6 20. Bc2 Qg5 21. Rf4 f5 22. exf6 gxf6 23. 
Bxe4 O-O-O 24. Bxc6?


Fritz gives (24. Rc5 Bd5 25. 
Qf2 Kb8 26. Rxf6 Rgf8 27. Rf4 Ka8 28. Bf5 Bxf5)


24... bxc6 25. 
Rxc6+ Kd7 26. Rxa6 Bh3?


Fritz gives (26... Bd5 27. g3 
f5 28. Qc2 Rc8 29. Qxf5+ Qxf5 30. Rxf5 Rc1+)


27. g3?


Fritz gives (27. Ra7+ Ke6 28. 
d5+ Rxd5 29. Rxf6+ Qxf6 30. Ra6+ Kd7 31. Rxf6 Rxg2+ 32. Qxg2) 


27... Qb5?? 



Fritz gives (27... Rc8! 28. Qd2 
Rge8 29. Raxf6 Qd5) 


28. Raxf6?? 



Fritz gives (28.Ra7+! Kd6 29. 
Rxf6+ Be6 30. Qa3+ Kd5 31. Ra5 Rb8 32. Qb4 Ke4)


28... Rde8??


Fritz gives (28... Qd3 29. Qc1 
Rc8 30. Qe1 Qc2 31. Rf2 Qc1 32.Re2 Qa3 33. Qd2) 


29. Qc3??


Fritz gives (29. Rxh6 Rxe3 30. 
Rxh7+ Re7 31. Rxe7+ Kxe7 32. Qa3+ Kd8 33. Qd6+ Bd7 34. Rf8+ Rxf8 Qxf8+ +-)


29...Qb7??


Fritz gives (29... Rc8 30. Qd2 
Rc6 31. e4 Rxf6 32. Rxf6 rg6 33. Rf7+ Ke8 34. Rf2 Qb6 +-) 


30. Rf7+??


Fritz gives (30. d5 Re7 31. 
Rxh6 Rc8 32. Qd2 Qa7 33. Rxh3 Rxe3) 


30... Re7 31. Rxe7+ 
Kxe7 32. Qc5+ Kd8 33. Rf8+ Rxf8 34. Qxf8+






34...Kc7 35. Qe7+ 
Bd7 36. Qc5+ Kd8??


Fritz gives (36... Qc6 37. 
Qxc6+ Bxc6 38. g4 Bf3 39. h3 Kd6 40. Kf2 Be4 41.h4) 


37. d5??


Fritz gives (37. Qf8+ Be8 38. 
Qxh6 Qe4 39. Qf6+Kd7 40. Qf4 Qb1+ 41. Qf1 Bg6) 


37... Qa6 38. a3?


Fritz gives (38. Qf8+ Kc7 39. 
Qf4+ Kb7 40. Qf7 Kc7 41. h3 Qe2 42. Qf4+ Kb7) 


38... Qe2 39. Qf8+ 
Kc7 40. Qf2 Qd1+ 41. Kg2 Qxd5+ 42. Qf3 Qxb3?


Fritz gives (42... Qd2+ 43. Qf2 
Bc6+ 44. e4 Bxe4+ 45. Kg1 Qd1+ 46. Qf1 Qxf1+ 47. Kxf1 Kc6 48. g4 Bf3 49. h3 Kb5)



43. Qf4+ Kc8 44. 
Qf8+ Kc7 45. Qxh6 Qxa3?! 


Fritz gives (45... Qa2+ 46. Kf3 
Qd5+ 47. Ke2 Qa2+ 48. Ke1 Qa1+ 49. Kf2 Qa2+ 50. Kg1 Qb1+) 


46. Qf4+ Kd8 47. 
h4?


Fritz gives (47. Qg5+ Ke8 48. 
Qh5+ Ke7 49. Qh4+ Kf7 50. Qh7+)


47... Qa2+ 48. Kf3 
Qa8+ 49. e4 Qa3+ 50. Qe3 Qf8+ 51. Kg2 Qb4 52. Qg5+ Kc7 53. Kf3 Qc3+ 54. Qe3 Qg7 
55. Qc5+ Bc6 56. g4 Qf6+ 57. Kg3 Qe6 58. Qc2 Qd6+ 59. Kh3 Qa3+ 60. Kg2 Qe3 61. 
g5 Kd7 62. Qf2 Bxe4+ 63. Kg1 Qc1+ 64. Qf1 Qxf1+ 1/2-1/2

    






[Event "David Bronstein Memorial"]



[Date "2007.01.17"]



[Round "3"]



[White "Ken Gurge"]



[Black "George O'Rourke"]



[Result "1-0"]



[ECO "B75"]



[WhiteElo "1735"]



[BlackElo "1819"]



[PlyCount "65"] 


 



1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. 
Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O


 







  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  
 

  

  George Mirijanian sent the following email to Ken G. 
  and George O.:

  
 

  
  

    
Ken/George -

  

    
I was checking out the variation you guys played Wednesday and found that 9. 
    0-0-0 (which Ken played) was the natural continuation for many years until 
    it was replaced by 9. Bc4, which became very popular in the 1960s.
  

  

    
After 9. 0-0-0, Black has basically three major continuations:

  

    
9...Nxd4

  

    
9...Be6

  

    
9...d5

  

    
After 9...Nxd4 10. Bxd4 could follow 10...Be6 and now White may have nothing 
    better than 11. Kb1 (which prevents 11...Qa5 because of 12. Nd5!), but not 
    11. g4 because of 11...Qa5 . After 11. Kb1 Black plays 11...Qc7 and follows 
    it up with ...Rfc8 and seeks counterplay on the queen flank.

  

    
After 9...Be6, White should not play 10. Nxe6, since Black now controls the 
    d5 square and should get good piece play.
  

  

    
The gambit continuation 9...d5 is the most critical of all the variations.  
    After 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12.  Nxd5 cxd5 13.  Qxd5, Black's bet is 
    13...Qc7, for after 14. Qxa8? Bf5 15.  Qxf8+ Kxf8 16. Rd2 Black can minimize 
    his problems by playing 16...h5!

  

    
The line that is most interesting after 13. Qxd5 Qc7 is 14. Qc5 Qb7, for now 
    following 15. Qa3 Bf5 what is White to do? After 16. Ba6 Qc7 17. Qc5, Black 
    may have nothing better than 17...Qb6 and White now has nothing better than 
    18. Qxb6, since 18. Qa3? allows 18...Bxb2+ 19. Qxb2 Qxe3+!

  

    
The 9...d5 continuation is the most complicated of all the variations and 
    the most interesting one.

  

    
George M

	
Ken sent the following reply:

  





  

    

      
9.Bc4 and 9.0-0-0 seem to be played about equally these days.

    

      
After 9.0-0-0, ...Bd7 is also a viable option for black as George played 
      and after 10.g4, black can vary with Qa5 or play Rc8 as George did, but 
      then after 11.h4 Ne5 12.h5, Qa5 is probably better than Nxg4.

    

      
In your 9...Nxd4 line, white plays either 12.g4 or h4 and after black's 
      12...Rfc8, the race to see who gets to the king first is on.

    

      
After 9...Be6, 10. Nxe6 is fine according to my database. White wins 100% 
      of reported games after 10...fxe6 and any of 11.Kb1, g3, or Bc4.

    

      
9...d5 is certainly the most often played move and as you note by far the 
      most complicated. Nonetheless, I still prefer white in the Dragon 
      variations.

    

      
Ken G.

  





 



9... Bd7 10. g4 Rc8 11. h4 Ne5 12. h5 
{last book move}


 



12... Nexg4 13. fxg4 Bxg4 14. hxg6 fxg6 15. 
Be2 Rxc3 ({4.79 Fritz 9:} 15... Rf7 {[eval 290,13]})


 



16. Qxc3 Bxe2 17. Nxe2 Kh8 18. Qc4 Nh5 19. 
Rhf1 Bf6 20. Nf4 Nxf4 21. Rxf4 Qe8 22. Rdf1 Qd8 23. R4f3 Kg7 24. Qd5 h6 ({8.91 
Fritz 9:} 24... Qe8 {[eval 605,13]})


 



25. Kb1 Qc8 26. Bd4 Qg4 ({12.04 
Fritz 9:} 26... g5 27. Bxf6+ Rxf6 28. Rxf6 exf6 29. Qxd6 Qf8 30. Qxf8+ Kxf8 31. 
Rxf6+ Kg7 32. Rd6 h5 33. Rd7+ {[eval 657,13]})


 



27. Bxf6+ Rxf6 ({15.96 Fritz 9:} 
27... exf6 28. Qxd6 Qg5 29. Rc3 Qe5 30. Rc7+ Kg8 31. Qd7 Qxc7 32. Qxc7 a5 33. 
Qxa5 {[eval 1204,15]})


 



28. Rxf6 exf6 29. Qxb7+ Kh8 30. Qb8+ Kg7 31. 
Qc7+ Kg8 32. Qd8+ Kh7 33. Qxf6 1-0








2006 Games





A Very Instructive Endgame


 



Watch (and hopefully learn) as two 1500+ players miss forced-win 
after forced-draw after forced-win after forced-draw...



-Dave Couture


 



[Event "2006 George Sturgis Memorial"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]



[Date "2006.12.13"]



[Round "3"]



[White "Tom Fratturelli"]



[Black "Dave Couture"]



[Result "1/2-1/2"]



[ECO "B01"]



[WhiteElo "1547"]



[BlackElo "1584"]



[PlyCount "131"]


1. e4 d5 2. exd5 
Nf6 3. Nf3 Nxd5 4. d4 Nc6?!


4...g6 is most common here.


5. Be2 Bf5 6. a3 e6 
7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nf6 9. Nc3 Qd7?


This just gets me into trouble 
later as Tom slowly strangles me.


10. Be3 O-O 11. b4 
h6 12. b5 Nd8 13. Ne5! Qc8 14. Qd2 c6 15. a4 cxb5 16. axb5 b6 17. Bf3 Nb7 18. 
Nc6 Qc7 19. Ra4 Ng4 20. Bf4 Bd6 21. Bxd6 Qxd6 22. Bxg4 Bxg4 23. Rfa1 a5 24. bxa6 
Qxc6 25. axb7 Qxb7 26. Nb5 Rxa4 27. Rxa4 Qe4


Not fearing the 28. f3 fork 
because of 28...Qb1+.


28. Ra1


NOW I need to worry about the 
f3 fork, but forget to.


28... Rd8


Of course as soon as I moved 
the rook, I remembered the fork!  Hmmm... I think this sort of thing 
explains my rating.


29. f3


My first instinct as soon as I 
had realized my blunder was that I was going to take with my bishop, but I 
prefer my next move.  Also, Tom was down to about a minute per move and I 
liked the complications that 29... Qc6 caused.


29... Qc6 30. fxg4 
Qxc4 31. Rb1 e5 32. Rb4 Qe6 33. Qe2 Qe7 34. Rb1 e4 35. Re1 Qb4 36. h3 Rd5 37. 
Nc7 Rxd4 38. Rf1 Rd2 39. Qe3 Rd7 40. Qf4??


My clock has a feature whereby 
it beeps when a player has 10 seconds left.  Before Tom made his 40th move, 
it beeped!  I think he made this move with 8 seconds left!


40... Qc5+ 41. Kh1 
Qxc7 42. Qxe4 Qd6?!


I completely overlooked Tom's 
reply.  Perhaps I should have played 42...Rd8.


43. Qe8+ Kh7 44. 
Rxf7 Rxf7 45. Qxf7


In "Basic Chess Endings" Reuben 
Fine writes, "Endings where both sides have queens and pawns are notoriously 
difficult.  One pawn ahead wins even less frequently than in rook endings, 
and with two pawns up the win is still not smooth sailing."


The more I looked at this 
position, the more complex it looked.  It certainly looked like it was 
going to be tough to advance the pawn and protect myself from a perpetual check 
at the same time.






45... Qe5 46. Qb3 
b5 47. Qd3+ Kg8 48. Qb3+ Kf8 49. Qb4+ Ke8 50. Kg1 Qd5 51. Kf2 Qc4?


Check this out: Fritz gives 
this as a mistake, giving the line 51... Qf7+ 52. Kg3 and only THEN 52...Qc4.  
You may ask, "What if white plays 52. Ke3?"  Then Fritz gives 52...Qe7+! 
53. Qxe7+ Kxe7 with the distant opposition and a winning advantage!  Okay 
back to the game...


52. Qxc4 bxc4 53. 
Ke2??


This loses, but only if I play 
Kd7.  Tom should have played 53. Ke3 taking one less move to get to the 
pawn (pointed out by Parker Montgomery).


53... Ke7??


Here's the winning line given 
by Fritz: 53...Kd7 54. Ke3 Kc6 55. Kd4 Kb5 56. Kc3 g5! and black wins.


54. Kd2??


Once again giving me a chance 
to win.  We were both very generous to each other without realizing it at 
the time.  I thought I had it won from the time we had exchanged queens, by 
virtue of having the outside passed pawn.  My best calculations, which 
turned out to be VERY incomplete, showed me winning.


54... Ke6 55. Kc3






55... Ke5??


Giving the draw back to Tom!  
As I said previously, my calculations were woefully incomplete.  I still 
thought I had a forced win here.  I now realize, as Parker pointed out, 
that 55...Kd5 wins.


56. Kxc4 Kf4 57. 
Kd5??


The drawing move is 57. g5.  
Then if 57...h5, white plays 58. Kd5.  If instead black plays 57...Kxg5, 
then white plays 58. g3!


57... Kg3??


And the winning move would have 
been none other than 57...g5!  So then 58. Ke6 Kg3 59. Kf5 Kxg2 and wins.


58. Ke5??


g5 still draws...


58... Kxg2??


...and yes g5 still wins...


59. Kf5??


...and (yawn) g5 still draws.


59... Kxh3 60. g5 
h5 61. Kg6 h4??


At this point I was only 
playing on in the slim hope that Tom would move his king onto the h-file after 
capturing my pawn.  I was just playing mechanically.  This is one of 
those points where it would be nice if someone would tap me on the shoulder, 
clear their throat and say, "Take a REALLY good look at the position."  
Hopefully everyone reading this is taking notes ;-)


As Parker pointed out AFTER the 
game (please read the previous sentences Parker - yuk, yuk), even at this late 
stage I STILL had a win - 61...Kg4 and it's all over - a full point for a hard 
night's work, but as I said I didn't even pause for a second to look at it.


62. Kxg7 Kg2 63. g6 
h3 64. Kf8


Ah well...


64... h2 65. g7 
h1=Q 66. g8=Q+ 1/2-1/2

    



[Event "LeBlanc Memorial"]



[Date "2006.11.15"]



[Round "5"]



[White "Ken Gurge"]



[Black "Parker Montgomery"]



[Result "0-1"]



[ECO "C96"]



[WhiteElo "1668"]



[BlackElo "1970"]



[PlyCount "116"]



 



1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 
O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d3 Qc7 12.



Nbd2 Re8 13. Nf1 
h6 {last book move} 14. Ne3 Bb7 15. Nf5 Bf8 16. Nh2 Kh7 
({0.76 Fritz 9:} 16...d5 17. Ng4 Nxg4 18. Qxg4 Kh8 19. Ne3 
d4 {[eval 42,13]})


 



17. Ng4 Ng8 18. Qf3 ({0.20 
Fritz 9:} 18. Nfe3 g6 19. b4 cxb4 20. cxb4 Nc6 21. Nd5 {[eval 86,14]})


 



18... g6 19. Nfxh6 ({-0.69 
Fritz 9:} 19. Nh4 f5 20. Ne3 Qg7 21. Qe2 Qf6 {[eval 21,14]})


 



19... Bxh6 20. Bxh6 Nxh6 21. Nf6+ Kg7 22. 
Nxe8+ Rxe8 23. Qg3



Qe7 24. h4 ({-0.95 Fritz 
9:} 24. a3 Nc6 25. b4 Qc7 26. bxc5 dxc5 27. Qe3 {[eval -40,14]})


 



24... Qf6 25. Re3 Bc8 26. Rf3 Qe6 27. h5 
Qg4 28. hxg6 fxg6 29. Bb3
({-1.59 Fritz 9:} 29. Qxg4 {[eval -89,14]})


 



29... Qxg3 30. Rxg3 Rf8 ({-0.60 
Fritz 9:} 30... Nxb3 31. axb3 Nf7 32. Rc1 Nd8 33. d4 exd4 34. cxd4 Ne6 35. d5 {[eval -130,15]})


 



31. Bd5 Ng4 ({1.25 Fritz 
9:} 31... Bb7 32. Bxb7 Nxb7 33. Rd1 Ng8 34. d4 Nf6 {[eval -52,14]})


 



32. Rf1 ({-1.04 Fritz 9:} 
32. b4 cxb4 33. cxb4 Nf6 34. bxa5 Nxd5 35. exd5 Bb7 36. Rg4 Bxd5 {[eval 
125,15]})


 



32...Nf6 
33. Bb3 ({-1.54 Fritz 9:} 33. b4 Nb7 34. Re3 g5 35. Rfe1 Kg6 {[eval 
-108,14]})


 



33... Nh5 34. Re3 Nf4 35. Bc2 Nc6 36. 
f3 g5 ({-1.12 Fritz 9:



} 36... d5 37. exd5 Nxd5 38. Ree1 Bf5 39. g3 
b4 40. Ba4 Nde7 {[eval -164,15]})


 



37. g4 ({-2.69 Fritz 9:} 
37. g3 Nh5 38. Kf2 Be6 39. a3 Nf6 40. Ree1 {[eval -112,15]})


 



37... Rh8 38. a4 b4 39. Bb3 Nh3+ 40. 
Kg2 Nf4+ ({0.00 Fritz 9:} 
40... Na5 {[eval -269,14]})


 



41. Kg1 Kf6 42. Bd5 Ne7 43. Bc4 Nc6
({0.00 Fritz 9:} 43... Rh3 {[eval -300,14]})


 



44. Bd5 Nxd5 45. exd5 Ne7 46. c4 
Ng6 47. Rf2 ({-3.58 Fritz 9:} 47. Re2 Bd7 48. b3 {[eval -223,18]})


 



47... Bd7 48. b3 Nf4 49. Rh2 Rxh2 50. 
Kxh2 Be8 51. Re1 Bg6 52. Rd1 ({-6.96 Fritz 9:} 52. Kg1 Bxd3 53. Re3 
Bc2 54. Kf1 Nd3 55. Ke2 Nc1+ 56. Kd2 Bxb3 57. Kxc1 Bxc4 58. a5 Bxd5 {[eval 
-455,20]})


 



52... Bxd3 53. Rd2 e4 54. fxe4 Ke5 55. Kg3 
Ne2+ 56. Kf2



({-8.16 Fritz 9:} 56. Kf3 Nd4+ 57. Ke3 
Bc2 58. Rf2 Bxb3 59. Rf7 Bxa4 60. Re7+ Kf6 61. Ra7 a5 62. Ra8 b3 63. Rb8 Bd7 64. 
Kd3 {[eval -546,20]})


 



56... Kxe4 57. 
a5 ({-12.57 Fritz 9:} 57. Rd1 Kd4 58. Rh1 {[eval -760,20]})


 



57... Nd4 58. Rb2 Bc2 0-1

    



Before this game I told Ernest that I needed to be careful 
against him because he had beaten me once before.  Obviously I wasn't 
careful enough!  I'm now 1-2 against Ernest in spite of the rating 
difference.


-Dave Couture


 



[Event "J. 
Camille LeBlanc Memorial"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]



[Date "2006.11.08"]



[Round "4"]



[White "Ernest Fandreyer"]



[Black "Dave Couture"]



[Result "1-0"]



[ECO "B01"]



[WhiteElo "1170"]



[BlackElo "1654"]



[PlyCount "137"]



 



1. e4 d5 2. c3?!


 



I've never seen this before and in an effort to keep 
the game from getting too interesting tactically I play the conservative 
Caro-Kann-like...


 



2... c6?!


 



Fritz has no qualms with capturing the pawn, giving the 
following line: 2...dxe4 3. Qa4+ Nc6 4. Qxe4 Nf6 5. Qe3 Nd5 =/+.


 



 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Na3 a6 6. Nf3 
Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Ne5 e6 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. f3?!


 



Unnecessarily weakens the kingside.


 



11... Qc7 12. Be3 Bxa3 13. bxa3?!


 



Qa4+ is a better way to recapture the bishop.


 



13... Qxc3+ 14. Bd2?!


 



It would have been better to play Kf2 and drop the 
a-pawn instead of the d-pawn.


 



14... 
Qxd4 15. Rb1 Qe5+ 16. Qe2 Qxe2+?!


 



For some reason, Fritz thinks Qc7 is significantly 
better.  Who am I to question Fritz (especially after THIS game)?


 



17. Bxe2 b5 18. O-O?!


 



Drops another pawn.  Gee, I'm up 3 pawns and about 
500 rating points.  I guess I can sit back and relax - famous last words!


 



18... Rxh3 19. Kg2 Rh8 20. Rh1 
Rxh1 21. Rxh1 Nbd7 22. Rh8+ Nf8 23. Bb4 N6d7 24. Rg8 a5?


 



Here I miss a tactic.  My intent was to drive the 
bishop off the diagonal where it was guarding the knight.  First I'd force 
it to d6, then I'd play Ra6 to get it off the diagonal.


 



25. Bd6


 



Now that he actually PLAYED Bd6 I saw that 25...Ra6 
would lose to 26. Bxf8 Nxf8 27. Bxb5+!  I think it was right about here 
where Angel Soto came by and said "You're in trouble man!"


 



25... Rc8?!


 



Now in my "flustration" (if I may coin a word) I follow 
a weak move with yet another weak move.  25... f5 would have been better 
first or I could even have CASTLED which I had completely forgotten about!


 



26. Bxb5


 



Once I realized that both knights were pinned, I had 
about 10 seconds where my stomach dropped out thinking that it was going to be a 
forced mate-in-1 with Rxf8#!


 






 



26... Rc2+ 27. Kg3 Kd8 28. Bxf8 Nxf8 29. Rxf8+ 
Ke7 30. Ra8 Rc5 31. Rxa5 Kf6 32. a4 d4 33. Kf4 Rd5?


 



Fritz gives the much more aggressive 33...e5+ 34. Ke4 
Kg5, but George Mirijanian pointed out that I probably needed to play g5+ here 
before Ernest did so that I could keep my king safe from checks that could allow 
him to queen his a-pawn.


 



34. Ra6?


 



After I moved I was worried that he was going to play 
Ra7 which Fritz actually likes.  Fritz gives the following line: 34. Ra7 
e5+ 35. Ke4 Rc5 36. f4 exf4 37. Kxd4.


 



34... d3 35. Bc4?


 



Ernest misses the chance to push my king back with 35. 
g5+ Ke7 36. Ra7+ Kd8 37. Ke4 d2 38. Be2 d1Q 39. Bxd1 Rxd1 40. Rxf7 and white is 
in good shape.


 



35... d2 36. Bb3 d1=Q 37. Bxd1 Rxd1 38. g5+ 
Ke7 39. Ra7+ Ke8 40. a5 Ra1


 



I've been aware for some time that all I should have to 
do is keep my rook behind his a-pawn and he won't be able to queen it.  
Watch how quickly I forget!


 



41. a6 Rxa2 42. Ke5 Rd2??


 



I'm amazed at the number of mental lapses I made 
tonight.  I was thinking that I wanted to keep his king from coming over to 
assist the a-pawn and completely forgot about keeping my rook behind the a-pawn.  
Ernest didn't forget!


 



43. Rb7! Rd5+ 44. Ke4 f5+ 45. gxf6 gxf6 46. a7 
f5+ 47. Kf4 Ra5 48. Rb8+ Kf7 49. a8=Q Rxa8 50. Rxa8 Kf6 51. Ra6 g5+ 52. Ke3 Ke5 
53. Ra5+ Kf6 54. Kd4 g4 55. fxg4 fxg4 56. Ke4 g3 57. Kf3 g2 58. Kxg2 e5 59. Kf3 
Kf5 60. Ke3 Ke6 61. Ke4 Kd6 62. Rxe5 Kc6 63. Kd4 Kd6 64. Rd5+ Ke6 65. Kc5 Kf6 
66. Kd6 Kf7 67. Rf5+ Ke8 68. Rf6 Kd8 69. Rf8# 1-0


 



Congratulations Ernest!

    



[Event "LeBlanc Memorial"]



[Site "Leominster"]



[Date "2006.11.08"]



[Round "4"]



[White "Larry Gladding"]



[Black "Ken Gurge"]



[Result "0-1"]



[ECO "B02"]



[WhiteElo "1865"]



[BlackElo "1668"]



[PlyCount "126"]


1. e4 Nf6 2. 
e5 Nd5 3. g3 d6 4. exd6 exd6 5. Bg2 {last book move} c6 6. d4 Nb6 7. Ne2 Bf5 
({0.09 Fritz 9:} 7... d5 8. a4 Be7 9. Nd2 Bf5 10. Nf1 O-O 11. Ne3 {[eval 
-28,15]})


8. O-O Be7 9. 
Nd2 d5 10. Nf3 N8d7 11. Re1 O-O 12. Nf4 Re8 13. Nd3 Bf6 14. Nde5 Be4 15. Nxd7 
({-0.95 Fritz 9:} 15. Bf4 Nf8 16. Bh3 Ne6 17. Nd2 Bxe5 {[eval -32,13]})


15... Nxd7 
({-0.49 Fritz 9:} 15... Qxd7 16. c3 Qf5 17. b3 a5 18. Bf4 Nd7 19. h3 {[eval 
-95,15]})


16. Bf4({-1.11 
Fritz 9:} 16. c3 Qb6 17. Re2 Nf8 18. Be3 {[eval -49,13]})


16... Qb6
17. Ne5 
({-1.73 Fritz 9:} 17. c3 Qxb2 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. axb3 h6 20. Bd6 {[eval 
-107,13]})


17... Bxe5 
({-0.91 Fritz 9:} 17... Nxe5 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxe4 Bxf4 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 
21. gxf4 Rxe1+ {[eval -173,14]})


18. dxe5 Bxg2 
19. Kxg2 Re6 20. c4 Rd8 ({-0.11 Fritz 
9:} 20... dxc4 21. Qxd7 Rd8 22. Be3 Rxd7 23. Bxb6 {[eval -76,14]})


21. cxd5 cxd5 
22. Bg5 Rde8 23. Qxd5 Nxe5 24. Rad1 Qc6 ({0.30 
Fritz 9:} 24...Qxb2 25. Rb1 Qc3 26. Rec1 Qa3 27. Rxb7 {[eval -29,14]})


25. b4 
({-1.65 Fritz 9:} 25. Qxc6 Nxc6 26. Rxe6 Rxe6 27. Be3 a5 28. h4 b5 29. g4 
a4 30. h5 {[eval 30,15]})


25... Qxd5+ 
({0.06 Fritz 9:} 25... Nd3 26. Rxd3 Qxd5+ 27. Rxd5 Rxe1 28. Rd7 a6 29. 
Rxb7 h6 30. Be3 {[eval -165,16]})


26. Rxd5 f6 
27. Be3 Ng4 28. Rd7 Nxe3+ 29. Rxe3 Rxe3 30. fxe3 Rxe3 31. Kf2 
({-0.79 Fritz 9:} 31. a4 Re2+ 32. Kg1 Ra2 33. a5 b6 34. Rxa7 bxa5 35. 
Rxa5 Rb2 {[eval -11,15]})


31... Ra3 32. 
Rd2 ({-1.43 Fritz 9:} 32. Rxb7 Rxa2+ 
33. Kg1 a6 34. h3 Rb2 35. Ra7 Rxb4 36. Rxa6 Kf7 37. Kf2 {[eval -79,16]})


32... b5 33. 
Ke2 Rc3 ({-0.46 Fritz 9:} 33... Kf7 
34. Rb2 f5 35. Kf2 g6 36. h3 g5 37. Rc2 {[eval -148,14]})


34. Rd8+ Kf7 
35. Rd7+ Kg6 36. Rxa7 Rc2+ 37. Kf3 ({-0.81 
Fritz 9:} 37. Kd3 [eval -27,18]})


37... Rxh2 38. 
Ra5 h5 39. a3 Ra2 40. Ke3 f5 ({-0.16 
Fritz 9:} 40... Kh6 {[eval -118,16]})


41. Kf4 Rf2+ 
42. Ke3 Ra2 43. Kf4 Rf2+ 44. Ke3 Ra2 45. Ra6+ 
({-1.64 Fritz 9:} 45. Kf4 {[eval 0,20]})


45... Kg5 46. 
Kf3 h4 ({-0.11 Fritz 9:} 46... Rb2 
47. Ra7 g6 48. Ra6 Rb1 49. Kg2 Rd1 50. Kf3 Rd3+ 51. Kf2 {[eval -152,18]})


47. gxh4+ Kxh4 
48. Kf4 ({-1.15 Fritz 9:} 48. Rg6 
Rxa3+ 49. Kf4 Ra7 50. Kxf5 Rf7+ 51. Ke6 Rb7 52. Kf5 Rd7 53. Ke6 {[eval 
-11,19]})


48... Rf2+ 49. 
Ke3 Ra2 ({0.00 Fritz 9:} 49... Rg2 
50. Kf4 g5+ 51. Kxf5 Rf2+ 52. Ke4 g4 53. Rh6+ Kg5 54. Rh7 g3 55. Rg7+ Kh4 56. 
Rh7+ Kg4 {[eval -82,18]})


50. Kf3 
({-1.84 Fritz 9:} 50. Kf4 {[eval 0,21]})


50...Kg5 51. 
Ra5 g6 52. Kg3 Kh5 ({-0.79 Fritz 9:} 
52... Kf6 {[eval -203,19]}) 


53. Ra8 
({-2.20 Fritz 9:} 53. Kf4 Kh6 54. Rxb5 Rxa3 55. Rc5 Rh3 56. b5 Rb3 57. 
Ke5 Kg5 58. Kd6 Kg4 {[eval -79,18]})


53... Kg5 
({0.00 Fritz 9:} 53... g5 54. Rh8+ Kg6 55. Rg8+ Kf6 56. Ra8 Ke5 57. Re8+ 
{[eval -220,18]})


54. Ra5 Ra1 
({-1.17 Fritz 9:} 54... Kf6 {[eval -175,18]})


55. Ra6 
({-3.99 Fritz 9:} 55. Kf3 Rb1 56. Rxb5 Rb3+ 57. Ke2 Rxa3 58. Kd2 Kg4 59. 
Ra5 Rh3 60. b5 f4 61. Ra6 g5 {[eval -117,18]})


55... f4+ 56.
Kf2 
({-5.38 Fritz 9:} 56. Kf3 Re1 57. Kf2 Re3 58. a4 bxa4 59. Rxa4 {[eval 
-399,19]})


56... Kh5 57. 
Ra5 ({-5.38 Fritz 9:} 57. Kf3 g5 58. 
Ra8 Rf1+ 59. Ke2 Rb1 60. Kf3 Rb3+ 61. Ke4 Kg4 62. Kd5 f3 63. Rf8 Rc3 64. a4 {[eval 
-386,18]})


57... Kg4 58. 
Rxb5 Rxa3 59. Rc5 Ra2+ 60. Kf1 Rb2 61. b5 g5 62. Rd5 f3 63. Rd4+ 
({-#49 Fritz 9:} 63. Ke1 Kf4 64. Rd8 Rxb5 65. 
Rf8+ Rf5 66. Rd8 g4 67. Rh8 Re5+ 68. Kf1 Kg3 {[eval -746,17]})


63... Kg3 0-1

    


Notes by Larry Gladding.


 



J. Camille LeBlanc Memorial



Round 2



Sicilian Defense



Najdorf Variation



White: Mirijanian (1935)   O



Black: Gladding (1865)     1



1. e4 c5  2. Nf3  d6 3. 
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4  Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qc7 (In past games 
with George I always played 7.....Be7. However, after 8. Qf3 Qc7  9. O-O-O Nbd7 
10. g4 , no matter how much theory I studied from this point on George always 
managed to get a decisive advantage)



 8. Bxf6  gxf6 9. 
Qh5 (Now I'm out of book. I saw this move as a side note but couldn't 
remember the continuation. Two references give 9...Qc5 is safe for Black and 9...Qc5 
10. Qxc5 dxc5 and Black has the better ending. I had considered Qc5, but 
rejected it.)



9....b5 10. O-O-O Nc6 11. 
Nxc6 Qxc6  12. Nxb5?! (12. f5 Qc5 13. Bd3 b4 14. Ne2 Ke7 15. Rhe1 +/- 
1.34/10 Fritz 7)



12...Be7 13. Nc3 Rb8 14. 
Qa5 (14. f5 Qc5 15. Nb1 Ba4  16. Bd3 Ke7 17. Rhe1+/- 1.28/10 Fritz 7)



14....Qb7 15. b3 Bb5 16. 
Bd3 Be7 17. a4 (17. Rhg1 Fritz 7)



17...Bxd3 18. Bxd3 d5
(18...f5 19. Ne2 fxe4 20. Rg3 Qb6 21. Qh5 Bf6 0.67/11 Fritz 7)



19. Na2 
(Black was threatening Bb4 trapping the Queen)



19....dxe4 20. Re3 Bd6
(Fritz recommends 20...f5. Other playable moves are: Rg8, Qd5, Rc8 or 
Ba3+)



21. g3 Ke7 22. Qh5 Rac8
(22. ...Ba3+  23. Kb1 Rhd8 24. Rhe1 Rd2 25. f5 Qc7 - + -2.41/19 Fritz 
7)



23. Rhe1 Rhc8 24. Kb1 
Qc6 25. R1e2? (After the game we thought R3e2 was the move but Fritz 
recommends 25. Rc3 Qd5 26. Qe2 Ba3 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Qxa6)



25....Ba3 26. Nc3 Bb4 27. 
Nxe4??  (27. Na2 Bd2  28. Rxd2 Rxd2 29. Rc3 Qd7 30. Qa5 -+ -3.80/11 
Fritz 7)



27....Rd1+! 28. Kb2 Qxe4 
29. Qf3 (Not 29. Rxe4 Ba3+ 30. Ka2 or Ka3 30....Ra1 Mate)



29... 
Qd4+ 30. c3 Rd2+ 31. Rxd2 Qxd2+ 32. Kb1 Ba3? (32...Rxc3 33. Qb7+ Kd8 
34. Rxc3 Bxc3 35. Qb6+ Ke8 -+ 18.05/13 Fritz 7)



33. Qb7+ Qd7 34. Qxd7 
Kxd7 35. Kc2 Bc5 36. Rd3+  Ke7 37. h3 Rd8 38. Rf3 Rd5 39. b4 Ba7 40. c4 Rd4  41. 
Kc3 e5 42. c5 Ke6 43. f5+  Kd5 44. a5 Bb8 45. g4 e4 46. Re3 Be5 and White 
resigned. (0-1)

    



[Event "LeBlanc Memorial"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]



[Date "2006.11.01"]



[Round "3"]



[White "Ken Gurge"]



[Black "Martin Laine"]



[Result "1-0"]



[ECO "B07"]



[WhiteElo "1668"]



[BlackElo "1768"]



[PlyCount "107"]


 



1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bd3 e5 4. d5 c6 
{last book move}


 



5. Nc3 cxd5 ({0.70 Fritz 9:} 5... 
Nbd7 6. Nge2 Nc5 7. O-O Be7 {[eval 22,14]})


 



6. exd5 Bg4 7. Nge2 Qa5 8. f3 Bh5 
({1.10 Fritz 9:} 8... Bd7 9. O-O Na6 10. Be3 Be7 11. Ng3 Nc7 12. Be4 {[eval 
68,15]})


 



9. Ng3 Bg6 10. Bxg6 ({0.38 Fritz 
9:} 10. O-O Be7 11. f4 exf4 {[eval 114,12]})


 



10... hxg6 11. Bd2 ({-0.94 Fritz 
9:} 11. Be3 Nbd7 12. Qd3 Rc8 13. O-O-O Nb6 {[eval 45,14]})


 



11... Nxd5 12. Nce4 Qb6 13. c4 Ne3 14. Bxe3 
Qxe3+ 15. Qe2 Qxe2+ 16. Nxe2 Nc6 17. O-O-O O-O-O 18. N4c3 Be7 19. Nd5 Bg5+ 20. 
Kc2 Rh4 21. b3 f5 22. h3 Re8 23. g3 Nd4+ ({0.50 Fritz 9:} 23... Rh6 
24. h4 Bd8 25. b4 Reh8 26. Rhe1 {[eval -61,14]})


 



24. Nxd4 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 exd4 26. Kd3 
({0.11 Fritz 9:} 26. f4 Bd8 27. Kd3 Kd7 28. a4 a5 29. Kxd4 Re2 30. g4 Bh4 
31. gxf5 gxf5 {[eval 50,15]})



26... Kd7 ({0.50 Fritz 9:} 
26... Be3 27. h4 Kd7 {[eval 11,14]})


 



27. f4 Bd8 28. h4 Re4 ({1.00 Fritz 
9:} 28... b5 29. h5 bxc4+ 30. bxc4 Rh8 31. Rb1 Bb6 32. Nxb6+ axb6
{[eval 27,15]})


 



29. h5 gxh5 30. Rxh5 Ke6 ({2.03 
Fritz 9:} 30... g5 31. Rh7+ Kc8 32. Rh8 Kd7 33. Rf8
{[eval 104,14]})


 



31. Rh8 Bf6 32. Re8+ Kf7 33. Rxe4 fxe4+ 34. 
Kxe4 Bd8 35. Kxd4 Ke6 36. Ke4 g6 37. g4 Bh4 38. Nc7+ Kd7 39. Nb5 a6 40. Nd4 Bg3 
41. f5 gxf5+ 42. Kxf5 Be5 43. Nf3 Bh8 44. g5 Ke7 45. g6 Bc3 46. Ng5 Be5 47. Ne6 
Bc3 48. g7 Kf7 49. Nd8+ Kxg7 50. Nxb7 Bb4 ({6.29 Fritz 9:} 50... Kf7 
51. Nxd6+ Ke7 {[eval 280,20]})


 



51. Ke6 Kf8 52. Nxd6 Bc5 53. Kd7 Bb4 
({13.48 Fritz 9:} 53... Kg7 54. Ne4 Ba7 55. b4 Kg6 56. c5 Bb8 57. c6 Kf5 58. Nc5 
Bg3 59. Nxa6 Ke4 {[eval 752,18]})


 



54. Nb7 1-0

    


Eduardo Valadares submitted this game from the 1st Annual 
Western Mass. Chess Association Memorial tournament held in Palmer.


[Event "1ST Annual WMCA Memorial"]

[Site "Palmer, MA"]

[Date "2006.09.13"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Douglas E Fiske"]

[Black "Eduardo Valadares"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "C19"]

[WhiteElo "1972"]

[BlackElo "1405"]

[PlyCount "91"]



1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 
Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. a4 Nbc6 8. Nf3 cxd4 9. cxd4 O-O 10. Bd3 h6 11. h4 Nb4 12. 
Be2 Qc7 13. Rb1 a5 14. c3 Na6 15. Bd2 Bd7 16. h5 f5 17. Rg1 Be8 18. Nh4 b6 19. 
g4 fxg4 20. Bxg4 Nf5 21. Nxf5 exf5 22. Bf3 Kh8 23. Bxd5 Rd8 24. Bf3 Nb8 25. Qb3 
Nd7 26. e6 Nf6 27. Qxb6 Qe7 28. Bf4 Nd5 29. Bxd5 Rxd5 30. Be5 Rxe5+ 31. dxe5 
Bxh5 32. Qd6 Re8 33. Qxe7 Rxe7 34. Rb6 Bf3 35. c4 g5 36. Rd6 g4 37. Kd2 h5 38. 
Rb1 Re8 39. c5 Be4 40. Rbb6 h4 41. c6 h3 42. c7 h2 43. Rb8 h1=Q 44. Rxe8+ Kg7 
45. Rd7+ Kg6 46. Rg8+ 1-0

    


Eduardo Valadares submitted his first round victory from 
the 66th New England Open in Leominster.

    
[Event "New England Open"]


[Site "home"]


[Date "2006.09.04"]


[Round "1"]


[White "Srinivasalu Ambati"]


[Black "Eduardo Valadares"]


[Result "0-1"]


[ECO "C02"]


[WhiteElo "1343/4"]


[BlackElo "1489"]


[PlyCount "95"]


 


1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Be3 Qb6


6. b3 Bd7 7. Nf3 cxd4 8. cxd4 g6 9. Nbd2 Nh6 10. Bd3 Nb4


11. Qe2 Nxd3+ 12. Qxd3 Bb5 13. Qc3 Bg7 14. Qb4 a5


15. Qd6 Qxd6 16. exd6 O-O 17. Rc1 Nf5 18. Rc5 Bc6


19. Ne5 Rfc8 20. d7 Bxd7 21. Nxd7 Rxc5 22. dxc5 Rd8


23. Nb6 d4 24. Bg5 f6 25. Bf4 e5 26. Bg3 Bf8 27. Ne4 Kf7


28. Kd2 Nxg3 29. hxg3 h5 30. f4 Kg7 31. Kd3 Be7


32. Rc1 f5 33. Nd2 e4+ 34. Kc4 d3 35. Nf1 Bf6 36. Nd5 g5


37. Nxf6 Kxf6 38. Kb5 h4 39. c6 Rd5+ 40. Kb6 bxc6


41. Kxc6 Ke6 42. fxg5 hxg3 43. Nxg3 e3 44. g6 f4


45. Ne4 Rd8 46. g7 Kf7 47. Kc5 Rc8+ 48. Kb5 0-1




[Event "Lawrence Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2006.08.30"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "George Mirijanian"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "C26"]

[WhiteElo "1602"]

[BlackElo "1941"]

[PlyCount "41"]



1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 d6 5. f4 Ng4?


Here is a note from George Mirijanian from the 
game Laine-Mirijanian, 
May 17, 2006.



[This is a mistake. Black was better off playing 5...Nc6 or 5...Bg4. Even 
5...Be6!? was a viable continuation. But the text move gets Black into big 
trouble.]


6. f5 Qh4+ 7. g3 Bf2+ 8. Kf1 Bxg3 
9. hxg3 Qxh1 10. Qxg4 g6 11. Qg5 Nd7 12. Nd5 f6 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6 14. Qxf6 Rf8 15. 
Bb5+ c6 16. Bxc6+??


In this tactical minefield 16. Qxd6 was needed to 
maintain the advantage.


16... bxc6 17. Qxd6 Bd7??


17... Bxf5! gives black equality.  For example: 
18. Qxe5+ Be6+


 18. Qxe5+ Kf7 19. Qd6 Ke8 
20. Bg5 Rf7 21. Qe5+ 1-0

    


Notes by Dave Couture.


[Event "Lawrence Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2006.08.16"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "Tom Fratturelli"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B77"]

[WhiteElo "1602"]

[BlackElo "1593"]

[PlyCount "35"]



1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 
5. Nc3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Qd2 a6 10. O-O-O Bd7 11. Bh6?!


This move has only been seen once before in the game 
"Roberto Costantini - Gy Pinter, Szeged 1994".  In that game black won a 
pawn with 11... Nxd4 12. Bxd7 Nxf3 13. gxf3 Kxg7.


11... Bxh6?! 12. Qxh6 Nxd4 13. Rxd4 b5 
14. Bb3 Qa5 15. Nd5




15... Qd8??


This was the deciding move.  15...Nxd5 was 
needed.


16. Nxf6+ exf6 17. e5! fxe5 18. Rh4 1-0

    


Ken Gurge contributed this game - a draw in a winning 
position!  Would YOU have seen it?! (Additional Fritz analysis added 
by Dave Couture).


[Event "Demulling Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2006.07.12"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Bruce Felton"]

[Black "Ken Gurge"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "D04"]

[WhiteElo "1867"]

[BlackElo "1627"]

[PlyCount "73"]


1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 
3. e3 c5 4. c4 Bg4


The most popular moves here are 
4... e6, dxc4, or cxd4.


5. Nc3 e6?!


Fritz prefers 5...cxd4 here 
giving the following line 6. exd4 Nc6 7. Be3 e6 8. c5 Ne4 9. Bd3 with equality.


6. Qa4+ Qd7 7. 
Ne5?!


Fritz prefers 7...Nb5 Nc6 8. 
Ne5 Qc8 9. Nxg4 Nxg4 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 with a small edge for white.


7... Qxa4 8. Nxa4 
cxd4 9. exd4 Bb4+ 10. Nc3 O-O?!


Again Fritz - the all knowing 
all seeing(?) - prefers 10...Nc6 11. Be3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Bf5 13. Bb5 Rc8 14. a3 
Bd6 15. Rc1 with equality.


11. a3 Bxc3+ 12. 
bxc3 Nbd7 13. Nxg4 Nxg4 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Be3?! Rfe8 16. Kd2 Nxe3 17. fxe3 Re7 
18. Bd3 Nf6 19. h3 Rc8 20. Rac1 Ne4+ 
21. Bxe4 
dxe4 22. c4 Rec7 23. c5 b6 24. cxb6 axb6 25. Rxc7 Rxc7 26. Rc1?!


So far neither Bruce nor Ken 
has made any big, bad blunders, just a few dubious moves.  Here Fritz 
prefers 


26. Rb1 Rc6 27. Rb5 Rg6 28. g4 Kf8 29. Re5 Rh6 30. 
Rxe4 Rxh3 31. Re5 Rh4 32. Rb5 Rxg4 with a small advantage for white.


26...Rxc1 27.

Kxc1 f5 28. Kd2 Kf7 29. g3 g5 30. a4?!


Fritz gives 30. h4 h6 31. hxg5 hxg5 32. Kc3 Ke6 33. 
Kc4 Kd6 34. a4 Kc6 35. Kb4 Kd5 36. Kc3 with equality.


30...Ke6






31. Kc3?


With this move Fritz gives 
black a winning advantage.  To preserve winning chances Fritz gives 31. Kc2 
Kd5 32. Kc3 h5 33. h4 g4 34. Kb3 f4 35. exf4 e3 36. Kc2 Ke4 37. Kd1 Kf3 38. Ke1 
with a clear advantage for black.


31... Kd5 32. h4 
gxh4 33. gxh4 h5






34. 
Kb3??


Again, to 
preserve ANY chance for a win, white needed to play


34.Kd2 Kc4 35.Ke1 Kb4 36.Kf2 
Kxa4 37.Kg3 Kb5 38.Kf4 Kc4 39.Ke5 b5 40.d5 f4 41.d6 fxe3 42. 
d7 e2 43.d8Q e1Q


34...f4 1/2-1/2??


Here Ken offered Bruce a draw 
which Bruce accepted.  Unfortunately for Ken he had a win!  Ouch!


35. 
exf4 Kxd4 36. Kc2 e3 37. f5 Ke5 38. Kd3 Kxf5 39. Kxe3 
Kg4  40. Ke4 Kxh4 41. Kf4 Kh3 
42. Kf3 and here is the part that Ken, unsurprisingly, hadn't foreseen 14 
moves ago(!), 42...h4!  Now white is in zugzwang and is forced to step 
aside and let the black king escape, march to the other side of the board and 
win easily (while white has to delay to gobble the h-pawn).


The big question 
is, how many of US would have played on after 34...f4?  It certainly looks 
like a draw to ME!


-Dave Couture

    


George Mirijanian contributed this game (additional comments 
by Dave Couture (DC)).


Here's my 
second-round game against Martin.

Martin researched a game I had played against Ken Gurge - I don't know when that 
was played - and found an improvement on the 6th move that gave him the 
advantage. After misplaying the opening, I was lucky to draw the game in a 
position in which Martin accepted my draw offer when he could find no clear win. 
I have added some notes.



White: Martin Laine (1781)

Black: George Mirijanian (1947)

Vienna Game [C26]

Rd. 2, Wachusett CC Championship

May 17, 2006




1. e4 
e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5



[I was not in the mood to enter into the complications of the 
Frankenstein-Dracula Variation after 3...Nxe4?! 4. Qh5! Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 
7. Qf3 f5 8. Qd5 Qe7 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6 - a position that Martin and I 
have reached more than once in the past.]




4. d3 
d6 5. f4 Ng4?




[This is a mistake. Black was better off playing 5...Nc6 or 5...Bg4. Even 
5...Be6!? was a viable continuation. But the text move gets Black into big 
trouble.]




6. f5! 
Nf2?



[Black is too greedy. But what he is supposed to do? On 6...h5 7. Nh3 Qh4+ 8. 
Kf1 Be3 White continues with 9. Nd5! and is winning. And after 6...Qh4+ 7. g3 
Qh5 8. h3! Bxg1 9. Qxg4 Qxg4 10. hxg4 Bb6 11. g5 Nc6 12. g6! fxg6 13. fxg6 h6 
14. Rxh6! Rxh6 15. Bxh6 Ne7 16. Bf7+ Kf8 17. Bg5 Bg4 18. Kd2 Bh5 19. Rf1! and 
Black should throw in the towel after 20. g4.]




7. Qh5 
g6



[The alternatives were no better. On 7...0-0? would follow 8. Bg5 Qd7 9. Nd5! 
and on 7...Qe7? would follow 8. Nd5 Qd7 9. Bh6!]




8. Qh6 
Nxh1 9. Bg5! f6 10. fxg6


(DC) T Mazuchowski vs. M Bond (1992) continued 
10. Qg7 Rf8 11. Nd5 Nd7 12. Qxh7 fxg5 13. Qxg6+ Rf7 14. Nxc7+ Qxc7 15. Qxf7+ Kd8 
16. Qg8+ Ke7 17. Qxg5+ Ke8 18. Qg6+ Kd8 19. Qg8+ and white won in 28 moves.



10...fxg5 11. g7 Kd7! 12. Qe6+ Kc6 13. Qd5+




[Worthy of consideration was 13. Bb5+!? Kb6 14. Qb3 - with the devastating 
threat of 15. Nd5+ - and if Black plays 14...c6 to find a hiding square on c7, 
there could follow 15. Nd5+! cxd5 16. Be8+! followed by 17. gxh8Q. Even he tries 
to find a hiding square on a7 with 14...a6, White just continues with 15. Be8+! 
followed by 16. gxh8Q. But how does one assess this position after ...Bd7?]





13...Kd7







[With this move I offered Martin a draw, which he accepted. However, the game 
would have been far from over had he played 14. Nf3!? with the threat of 15. 
Nxe5+.]


(DC) Fritz gives white a winning advantage of 5.63 (e.g., 14. 
Qf7+ Kc6 15. Bb5+ Kb6 16. Be8! Qxe8 17. Qb3+ Ka5 18. gxh8=Q Bd7 19. Qxb7 etc.





1/2-1/2

    



Notes by 
George Mirijanian



Here's my first-round game against Tom Fratturelli that should be of theoretical 
interest as far as the opening is concerned. I have added a few notes.



White:
George Mirijanian (1947)

Black: Tom Fratturelli (1578)

Scandinavian Defense [B01]

Rd. 1, Wachusett CC Championship

May 10, 2006






1. e4 
d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 c6




(Black has to play this move sooner or later in order to give his queen an 
escape route. But most players would probably wait until White has revealed his 
plans. More usual is first 4...Nf6 and if 5. Nf3, then 5...c6 is OK or even 
5...Bf5. For the bolder player, 4...e5?!, Anderssen's Variation, was an option.)




5. Nf3 
Nf6 6. Bd2



(The only other sensible continuation was 6. Bc4.)





6...Qc7



(6...Qb6 could be met by 7. Bc4!, for if Black greedily grabs the pawn with 
7...Qxb2?! he may get himself into trouble after 8. d5! Nbd7 9. 0-0 Nb6 10. dxc6 
bxc6 11. Bb3 Qa3 12. Ne5 e6 13. Qf3, etc.)




7. Bc4 
e6?!



(There was no need for Black to shut in his light-squared bishop with this move. 
Perfectly OK was 7...Bf5 or even 7...Bg4.)




8. Qe2



(After this move, the position is the same as was seen in the game 
Tal-Mascarinas, Lvov 1981, where Tal's opponent continued with 8...Be7 instead 
of the move chosen by Fratturelli.)





8...Bd6 9. Ne5



(Also possible was 8. Ne4.)





9...0-0 10. 0-0-0 b5 11. Bd3 Nbd7 12. f4



(White could have been content with 12. Rhe1, but he has other ideas.)





12...b4 13. Ne4 a5 14. g4 c5 15. g5 Nd5 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Qh5 f5?!



(17...g6 was better.)




18. 
g6! N7f6?



(18...h6 was still possible.)




19. 
gxh7+ Nxh7 20. Rhg1 Ra7 21. Rg3 Ndf6 22. Qe2 cxd4 23. Rdg1 Re7??



(An oversight that ultimately costs Black the game. Called for was either 
23...Rc7 or 23...a5 with counterplay on the queen flank.)




24. 
Ng6 Rff7 25. Nxe7 Rxe7 26. Re1 Bb7?



(Called for was 26...Rc7.)




27. 
Bxf5 Rc7 28. Qxe6+ and Black resigned. (1-0)



George M 

    



Notes by 
George Mirijanian


White: 
George Mirijanian (1955)

Black: Alan Condon (1454)

Barnes Defense [B00]

Rd. 5, WCC Championship Prelims

May 3, 2006




1. 
e4 e6 2. d4 f6?!




[This is 
a highly unusual defense. It is known as the Barnes Defense, since Thomas Wilson 
Barnes (1825-1874), one of the strongest players in England during the 1850s, 
used it to defeat Paul Morphy in a friendly game in London in July 1858. When 
Barnes tried this defense against Adolf Anderssen - in the London International  
Tournament in June 1862 - he lost. Barnes is remembered for having scored more 
wins than anyone else in casual games against Morphy in 1858. He met with a 
tragic end. He went on a diet, lost 130 pounds in 10 months, and died as a 
result. In both games that Barnes played his defense, he met 1. e4 with 1...f6, 
but after 2. d4 played 2...e6, bringing about the position that was reached in 
the Mirijanian-Condon game.]




3. Nf3 
b6




[Barnes' 
plan was to play 3...Ne7 and follow it up with ...d5.]





4. Bd3 
Ba6 5. c4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 d5??



[Called 
for was 6...Ne7.]





7. 
exd5?



[7. Qa4+ 
simply won a piece.]






7...exd5??



[Correct 
was 7...Bxc3+.]





8. 
0-0?



[Once 
again, 8. Qa4+ gained White a piece.]






8...Bxc3 9. bxc3 Bxc4 10. Bxc4 dxc4 11. Qa4+ Qd7 12. Qxc4 Nc6 13. Re1+ Nce7?



[Correct 
was 13...Nge7.]





14. 
Ba3 Kd8?



[It was 
best for Black to play 14...0-0-0! and not fear 15. Qa6+.]





15. 
Qf7 Nd5??



[Correct 
was 15...Ng6! and it looks like all White gains is a pawn following 16. Re8+! 
Qxe8 17. Qd5+ Qd7 18. Qxa8+ Qc8 19. Qxa7.]




16. 
Qf8+
and 
Black resigned.

(1-0)





George M

    


[Event "06 WCC Chmp. Prelims"]

[Site "Fitchburg"]

[Date "2006.04.12"]

[Round "2"]

[White "George Mirijanian"]

[Black "Ken Gurge"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "B02"]

[WhiteElo "1955"]

[BlackElo "1596"]

[Annotator "Gurge,Ken"]

[PlyCount "148"]

[TimeControl "300+3"]



{75MB, Fritz9.ctg, DELL}


1. e4 Nf6 2. Bc4 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 
{last book move} 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 
Bh5 6. d4 e6 7. Be2 Bb4+ 8. c3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 a6 11. c4 Nf6 12. Nc3 Re8 
13. Be3 Nbd7 14. Ne5 Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Nb6 16. a3 c6 17. Rad1 Qc7 18. Bf4 Nbd7 19. 
Qf3 Bd6 20. g4 h6



({1.38 Fritz 9:} 20... Red8 21. b4 a5 22. g5 Ne8 23. Nxf7 Bxf4 {[eval 59,14]})




21. h4 Nh7 22. Ne4 Nxe5 23. dxe5 
Bxe5 24. Bxe5 Qxe5 25. Nd6 Qf6 26. Qxf6 Nxf6 27. Nxe8 Rxe8 28. f3 g6 29. Kg2 Kf8 
30. Kg3 Ke7 31. Rd2 Rd8 32. Red1 Rxd2 33. Rxd2 Nd7 34. f4 f6 35. b4 b6 36. a4 
Nb8



({1.71 Fritz 9:} 36... a5 37. b5 cxb5 38. axb5 Nc5 39. Kf3 g5 40. fxg5 fxg5 41.

h5 a4 42. Ke3 {[eval 113,16]})



37. Kf3 Nd7 38. Ke3 e5 39. g5



({1.09 Fritz 9:} 39. f5 gxf5 40. gxf5 a5 41. b5 cxb5 42. axb5 h5 43. Rg2 Kd6 44. 
Rg8 {

[eval 168,16]})



39... exf4+ 40. Kxf4 hxg5+ 41. hxg5 
f5



({1.73 Fritz 9:} 41...fxg5+ 42. Kxg5 a5 43. Re2+ Kd6 44. b5 cxb5 45. Rd2+ Ke7 {[eval 109,17]}) 



42. Re2+ Kf7 43. a5 bxa5 44. bxa5 
Nc5 45. Ke5 Ne4 



({2.61 Fritz 9:} 45... Ke7 46. Rh2 Nd7+ 47. Kd4 Kd6 48. Rh8 Nc5 49. Rd8+ Kc7 50. 
Ra8 Kd6 51. Ke3 Ne6 {

[eval 144,19]}) 



46. Rb2 Ke7



({3.92 Fritz 9:} 46... Nxg5 {[eval 234,18]}) 



47. Rb7+ Kd8 48. Rg7 Nxg5 49. Rxg6 
Nf3+ 50. Kd6 Ke8 51. Rg3 Nd2 52. Ke6 Kf8 53. Kxf5



({0.79 Fritz 9:} 53. Rg5 {[eval 326,19]}) 



53... Nxc4 54. Rc3 Nxa5 55. Kf6 Ke8 
56. Rc5 Nb7 57. Rxc6 Kd7 58. Rxa6 Nc5 59. Ra7+ Kd6 60. Ra8 Nd7+ 61. Kf5 Ke7 62. 
Ra7 Kd6 63. Ra6+ Kd5 64. Ra1 Nc5 65. Rd1+ Kc4 66. Ke5 Nd3+ 67. Ke6 Nf4+ 68. Kd6 
Nd3 69. Rh1 Kd4 70. Rh3 Nf4 71. Rg3 Ke4 72. Rg5 Kd4 73. Re5 Nd3 74. Rh5 Nf4

1/2-1/2



 

    


Probably my biggest enemy during this game was my old nemesis, 
THE CLOCK!  All credit goes to Richard for playing as well as he did while 
using MUCH less time than me.


[Event "2006 WCC Championship Prelims"]

[Site "Fitchburg"]

[Date "2006.04.05"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Richard Bennett"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "A00"]

[WhiteElo "1294"]

[BlackElo "1617"]

[PlyCount "101"]

[TimeControl "40/80:SD/30"]



1. h4!?


This is my 140th tournament game as black and the 
first time I've seen this!  No one was even sure of the name.  George 
Mirijanian thought it was called the "Meadow Hay", but that is actually the name 
given to a4.  I had to look it up and found that the actual names for this 
h4 opening are the 
Desprez or the Kadas Opening.


1...e5 2. h5 d5 3. d4 exd4 4. Nf3


I don't think the sacrifice is justified given that 
I've already developed to d5 so I decide to hang on to the extra pawn.


4...c5 5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 Be6 7. e3 Nc6 
8. Bb5 Nge7 9. b3 Qb6 10. Bxc6+ Qxc6 11. a4 Nf5 12. Ne5 Qd6 13. f4?


Unnecessarily opens up the kingside.  13. Nd3 
would have been better.


13...Be7 14. Qf3?


14. g4 kicking the knight would have prevented my 
next move.


14...Bh4+ 15. Kd2 d4 16. Nb5 dxe3+ 17. 
Kc2 Qe7 18. Kb2 Bf6 19. Bxe3 O-O 20. Rad1 Rfd8 21. Rxd8+ Qxd8 22. Bxc5 Qd2+


At this point I'm already down to 24 minutes left 
for my next 18 moves.


23. Ka3 Bd5??


Shortly after I made my move, I saw his response and 
hoped he wouldn't see it.


24. Rd1!


No such luck.  A nice move on his Richard's 
part.  What I needed to do on my 23rd move was something along the lines of 
Rc8 or Rd8 to really keep the pressure on.


24...Bxf3 25. Rxd2 Bxh5 26. Bxa7




26...Be7+ 27. Ka2?!


A little too tentative.  I think 27. b4 is 
better.


27...f6 28. Nc4 Rd8 29. Rxd8+ Bxd8 30. 
Ncd6 Ne3??


Hey what's that piece he's picking up over near my 
right elbow?!!  As he lifted my knight off the board I closed my eyes and 
said "Oh God!" loudly enough to disrupt everyone who was still playing - my 
apologies.


31. Bxe3 b6 32. Nb7 Be7 33. Bxb6 Be8 34. 
Nc7?


He let's me back into the game just a little bit...


34...Bc6 35. Nc5 Bxg2 36. a5 h5 37. N7e6 
h4 38. f5 h3??




These last few moves I was thinking that he had 
blown the endgame and I was marching on to a comeback victory.  If I had 
been paying attention and foreseen his next move, I could have just played 
38...Bd6!


39. Bc7 Kf7 40. Nd3?? Be4 41. Nf2??


41. Nec5 leads to victory.


41...Bxf5 42. Nd8+?


Nd4 is better here.


42...Ke8 43. Nb7 Be6??


George Mirijanian pointed out that Kd7 was needed 
here.  I would probably end up with a draw, whereas my move would have 
thrown the game away if he had played 44. a6, but...


44. Nd3?? Kd7 45. Bh2 g5??


Again it was George who pointed out that I had a 
"must-play" move here - Kc6!


46. Kb2??


Richard could have put the nail in the coffin here 
with Nbc5+.


46...Bd5 47. Nbc5+ Kc6 48. b4 f5 49. 
Ka3?!


I'm pretty sure Kc2 is better, but I'll leave that 
as an exercise for you Dear Reader so you can get an idea as to how complex this 
endgame is (you're welcome).


49...f4?


With not a lot of time left on my clock, and trying 
to decide between f4 and Kb5 I decide to go for broke and make the wrong choice.


50. Ka4 f3??


Continuing on the "going for broke" theme.  
Pretty much as soon as I made the move, I realized that his obvious next move 
was now going to be mate and I didn't have much hope that he would suddenly 
decide to do something OTHER than make the move he had been planning to make 
anyway...


51. b5# 1-0


Excellent game Richard!  May we meet again in 
the championship round.

    


[Event "Dr. Max Levinger Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg"]

[Date "2006.03.29"]

[Round "5"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "Bruce Felton"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B90"]

[WhiteElo "1637"]

[BlackElo "1845"]

[Annotator "Gurge,Ken"]

[PlyCount "88"]

[TimeControl "300+3"]



{75MB, Fritz9.ctg, DELL}


Note from Ken Gurge:


Here is 
another game for the website. It's from last week and the result gave Bruce a 
share of 1st for the tournament. It's interesting because Bruce plays the dragon 
rather than his usual hybrid Schevenigan/Najdorf (which I had studied for!). 
Despite dropping a pawn early, I came up with an exchange sacrifice on move 21 
which should have led to at least equality had I followed up with Qh6 after the 
first check, rather than Qg3+. After Qh6 it seems black must allow a perpetual 
check or allow white to achieve essential material equality with potential 
winning chances if black tries too hard for the win. The evaluation is by Fritz 
9 which gives 0.00 after the Qh6 line.


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 
Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a4 Nc6 7. Be2 Bd7 8. O-O g6 9. Be3 Bg7 10. f4 O-O
{last book move}


11. Qd2 Rc8 12. f5 Ne5 13. Nd5
({-0.39 Fritz 9:} 13. a5 Nc4 14. Bxc4 Rxc4 15. fxg6 
fxg6 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Qd3 {[eval 25,13]})


13... Nxe4 14. Qd1
({-1.46 Fritz 9:} 14. Qb4 gxf5 15. Nxf5 Bxf5 16. Rxf5 
e6 17. Qxe4 exf5 18. Qxf5 Kh8 19. Rf1 {[eval -39,14]})


14... Nf6
({-0.66 Fritz 9:} 14... gxf5 15. a5 e6 16. Nb6 Rc7 17. 
c3 Kh8 18. Qb3 {[eval -146,14]})


15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Kh1
({-1.35 Fritz 9:} 16. c3 Nc4 17. Bh6 Re8 18. fxg6 hxg6 
19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. a5 {[eval -67,13]})


16... Nc6
({-0.60 Fritz 9:} 16... Nc4 17. Bxc4 Rxc4 18. c3 Qc7 
19. Bh6 Rc8 {[eval -135,13]}) 


17. fxg6 hxg6 18. Qd2
({-1.53 Fritz 9:} 18. c3 Kg7 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. Bg4 e6 
21. Bf4 Be5 22. Bxe5+ {[eval -62,13]}) 


18... Bxd4 19. Bxd4 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Bf5
({0.00 Fritz 9:} 20... Rxc2 21. Bd1 Rc7 22. Ra3 Bc8 23. 
Qd2 Kg7 24. a5 Rh8 25. Be2 {[eval -148,15]}) 


21. Rxf5 gxf5 22. Qh4 e5 23. Qg3+ 
({-1.44 Fritz 9:} 23. Qh6 Re8 24. Ra3 Re6 25. Rg3+ 
Rg6 26. Rxg6+ fxg6 27. Qxg6+ Kf8 28. Qxf5+ {[eval 0,15]}) 


23... Kh7 24. Qh3+ Kg6 25. Rf1 Qg5 26. 
g4 ({-3.73 Fritz 9:} 26. Qd3 {[eval 
-201,13]}) 


26... f4 27. Qd3+ Kg7 28. Rf3 Rcd8 29. 
Rh3 Rh8 30. Rxh8 Kxh8 31. Qd5 ({-5.11 Fritz 
9:} 31. c4 Qh4 32. Kg2 Kg7 33. Qc3 Re8 34. Bf3 {[eval -356,14]}) 


31... Rd7 32. c4 Qg6 33. Qd1 e4 34. Qd4+ 
Kg8 35. h3 ({-7.50 Fritz 9:} 35. Kg2 {[eval 
-555,14]}) 


35... f3 36. Bd1 Re7 37. Qe3 Qf6 38. b3
({-#17 Fritz 9:} 38. Qf2 Qf4 39. Kg1 d5 40. b4 dxc4 41. 
b5 {[eval -831,14]}) 


38... Kf8
({-9.18 Fritz 9:} 38... f2 39. a5 f1=Q+ {[eval 
-32750,12]})


39. Kg1 Ke8 40. Kf1 Qb2 41. Qf2 Qxf2+
({-5.45 Fritz 9:} 41... Qa1 {[eval -823,15]}) 


42. Kxf2 Kf8 43. Bc2
({-#13 Fritz 9:} 43. Ke3 Re6 44. h4 Rf6 45. Kxe4 f2 46. 
Be2 f1=Q 47. Bxf1 Rxf1 48. h5 Kg7 49. Kd5 Rd1+ 50. Ke4 Rg1 {[eval -466,17]})



43... e3+ 44. Ke1 e2 0-1

    



[Event "Dr. Max Levinger Memorial"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]



[Date "2006.03.22"]



[Round "4"]



[White "Martin Laine"]



[Black "Dave Couture"]



[Result "1-0"]



[ECO "B01"]



[WhiteElo "1741"]



[BlackElo "1617"]



[PlyCount "139"]


1. e4 d5 2. exd5 
Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Bd2 e6 8. Qe2 Bb4 9. O-O-O Nd5


A previous game between us had 
continued 8... Nbd7 9. O-O-O Bb4 
10. Nh4 and ended in a 48 move draw.  Perhaps I should reconsider 8...Bb4 
or 9...Nd5.


10. Nxd5 Bxd2+ 11. 
Rxd2 cxd5 12. Bb5+ Nc6 13. a3 O-O 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. g4 Bg6 17. h4 f6 
18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Qxe6+ Kh7 20. g5 Rae8 21. Qh3 Qf4 22. Qg3 Re4 23. c3 Rfe8 24. 
Qxf4 Rxf4 25. gxf6 gxf6 26. Kd1 Rfe4 27. Rh3 Kh6 28. f3 Re1+ 29. Kc2 R8e3 30. 
Rg2 R1e2+ 31. Rxe2 Rxe2+ 32. Kb3 f5 33. a4 a5 34. Ka3 f4 35. b4 Re1






36. bxa5 Rb1 37. a6 
Rb6 38. a5 Rxa6 39. Kb4 Ra8 40. Rh2 Rb8+ 41. Ka3 Rb5 42. Ka4 Kh5 43. Rg2 Rb1 44. 
Rg4 Ra1+ 45. Kb4 Rb1+ 46. Kc5 Rb5+ 47. Kxc6 Rxa5 48. Rxf4 Ra3 49. Kxd5 Rxc3 50. 
Kd6 g5 51. hxg5 Kxg5 52. Ke5 Re3+ 53. Re4 Rxf3 54. d5 Rf5+ 55. Kd6 Kf6 56. Kc6 
Rf1 57. d6 Rc1+ 58. Kd7 Ra1


After this move I had less than 
5 minutes left on my clock and I believe Martin had about 40 minutes.  
Okay, so he manages his time a little better than I do.


59. Re6+ Kf7 60. 
Re7+ Kf8 61. Re5 Ra7+ 62. Ke6??


Martin finally gives me a 
chance to get my king in front of the pawn and draw with 62...Ke8, but with my 
time running down I miss it and play


62...Ra6?? 63. Rc5 
Ra8 64. Rh5 Re8+ 65. Kf6 Kg8 66. Rd5 Rf8+ 67. Ke6 Re8+ 68. Kd7 Rf8 69. Kc7 Rf7+ 
70. d7 1-0


All of my games with Martin 
have been enjoyable and hard-fought.  After this game, my lifetime record 
against him is a dead-even 1 win, 1 loss, and 2 draws! 

    



 



[Event "Dr. Max Levinger Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg"]

[Date "2006.03.15"]

[Round "3"]

[White "Ken Gurge"]

[Black "Paul Giovino"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "C70"]

[WhiteElo "1637"]

[BlackElo "1747"]

[PlyCount "77"]



1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. 
Bb3 Bc5 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Nge7 8. c3 Ng6 9. d3 O-O 10. Re1 Be6 11. Nbd2 d5 12. Nf1 
Re8 13. Ng5 Qf6 14. Qd2 Nf4 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. d4 Bd6 17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. exd5 Nxd5 
19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Qxd5+







20...Kh8 21. Be3 Rad8 22. Qb3 Rf8 23. Rad1 
Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Na5 25. Qc2 Nc4 26. Bd4 Bxd4 27. Rxd4 Ne5 28. Nh2 Qg5 29. Qd2 Qg6 
30. Rd8 Qb1+ 31. Qd1 Qxd1+ 32. Rxd1 h6 33. b3 c5 34. Rd5 Rf5 35. c4 bxc4 36. 
bxc4 Rg5 37. f4 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Nxc4 39. Rxc5 1-0








2005 Games





Notes by 
George Mirijanian



Additional 
comments by Dave Couture (DC) using Fritz 8 for analysis.




White: George Mirijanian (1959)

Black: Bruce Felton (1886)

[B12] Caro-Kann Defense

Round 4, December 21, 2005




1. e4 c6!




The first surprise of 
the game. I had expected Bruce to play his trusty Sicilian, but perhaps he 
feared I had something special planned against his 1... c5. But I didn't.



2. d4 d5 3. f3!?




This is the 
characteristic move of the Tartakower Variation, better known as the Fantasy 
Variation. It was favored by Saviely Tartakower (1887-1956), who was known for 
off-beat variations.



3... e6




Evidently, Bruce did 
not relish playing 3...dxe4 4. fxe4 e5!, since after 5. Nf3 Black has nothing 
better than 5...Be6! because 5...exd4? allows 6. Bc4! and gives White the 
advantage. Now Black threatens 4...dxe4 5. fxe4 Qh4+, gaining him the advantage.



4. e5?!




This is not the normal 
move. More sensible was 4. Nc3, as was played in the game Smyslov-Botvinnik, 
World Championship Match, Moscow 1958. Also possible was 4. Be3, which offers a 
gambit after 4...dxe4? 5. Nd2! and now 5...exf3?! gives White rapid development 
of his pieces following 6. Ngxf3 Nf6 7. Nc4. Better after 4. Be3 would be 4... 
Qb6!



4... c5 5. c3 Nc6




The position has the 
looks of the French Defense, which it is, after the loss of tempi by both sides. 
Theory views this as favorable to Black.



6. f4 cxd4 7. cxd4 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Nge7 9. Nf3 
a6 10. Bd3 Bd7 11. 0-0 b5 12. Ne2 Ba5 13. Kh1 Bb6 14. Be3 Na5?! 15. b3 Rc8 16. 
Rc1 Rxc1 17. Bxc1 Qc8 18. Bd2




Worthy of consideration 
was 18. Ba3!? ((DC)Fritz 8 confirms that Ba3 is better.)



18... g6?!


(DC)Fritz 
8 gives 18...Nac6 followed by Nf5 as better.



19. Qe1 Nac6 
20. Qh4 Ng8 21. Rc1 Qd8 22. Qh3 Qe7 23. g4 Qf8?!




Worth considering was 
23...Qa3!?



24. f5 Qg7 25. fxe6 fxe6 26. a4 Nd8? 27. 
a5?


(DC)Fritz 
8 shows that both sides miss the threat of 27. axb5 axb5 28. Nc3 followed by 29. 
Nxb5.



27... 
Ba7 28. Rf1?! Nf7 29. Rc1??


(DC)White 
misses the chance to end the game by attacking immediately with 29. Ng5!, but 
now with...




29... Ne7?


(DC)Black 
misses the defensive opportunity Nd8! 




30. Qh4 Nc6 
31. Kg2 h5 


(DC) 
Fritz 8 gives 31... O-O as better.




32. g5 Bb8 
33. Qg3


(DC) Now 
we move into the land of missed attacking opportunities that only Fritz and 
MAYBE Kasparov would see.  Observe: White could have played 33. Nf4! Ne7 34. Bb4 
Rg8 35. Bxe7 Kxe7 36. Nxg6+ Ke8 37. Nf4 Bxe5 (what else? 37... Rh8 38. g6 Nd8 39. 
Nxh5 and now Black has to play 39... Rxh5 because the queen has no safe place to 
go.) 38. Nxh5 Qh6 39. dxe5 Nxe5 40. Kf1 Nxf3 41. gxh6 Nxh4 42. Nf6+ Kf7 43. Nxg8 
Kxg8 and White is going to win the bishop and be up a full rook.




33... Bc7??


(DC) 
Black misses his chance to stay somewhat in the game with 33... h4.




34. Nh4 Bxa5 
35. Be3?


(DC) 
White misses his chance to put the game away with 35. Bxa5 Nxa5 36. Bxg6 and 
then Nf4.




35... Ne7 36. 
Nf4 Nf5?


(DC) 
Fritz 8 gives 36... Bd8 as better.




37. Nxf5 gxf5 
38. h4 Bd8 39. Bxf5?


(DC) 
Fritz 8 gives 39. Be2 as better.




39... exf5 40. 
e6 Bxe6??


(DC) 40... 
Nd6 41. exd7+ Qxd7 would have left Black with a tough, but still tenable 
position.



41. Nxe6 
Qf8??




A "fingerfehler" in the 
immediate aftermath of mutual time trouble. Bruce let go of his queen and 
realized, to his horror, what he had done. He stared a long time at the position 
and both players knew that the game was over without either one saying a word. 
1-0


Even if the queen had moved to a "safe" square, like 41...Qg6, White wins after 
42. Nxd8 Kxd8 [42...Nxd8?? 43. Qe5+ and 44. Qxh8] 43. Qb8+ Ke7 44. Rc7+, etc.

    



Notes by Dave Couture.



Analysis by Fritz 8.


 



[Event "George Sturgis Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2005.12.21"]

[Round "4"]

[White "George O'Rourke"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B01"]

[WhiteElo "1834"]

[BlackElo "1553"]

[PlyCount "113"]



1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. 
g3 


 


George's 
favorite anti-Scandinavian weapon!


 



4...g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. Nge2 Nf6 7. d3 c6 8. Bd2 Bg4 9. h3 Be6 10. O-O O-O 11. Nf4 
Bd7 12. Re1 Re8 13. Ncd5 Qd8 14. Ne3 Na6 15. Nc4 Nc7 16. Ne5 Nfd5 17. c3 Nxf4 
18. Bxf4 Be6 19. d4 Nd5 20. Qd2 Nxf4 21. Qxf4 f6?


 


Just 
21...Qd6 would have been good enough for rough equality.


 



22. Nxg6!


 


My first 
reaction when George played this was "Shoot! (or words to that effect!)  
I've lost a pawn - I should have seen that tactic!  Then I realized 
(mistakenly) that I could get away with getting my bishop out of the line of 
fire by just recapturing his pawn on h3.


 



22...Bxh3?? 23. Nh4??


 


Luckily 
George misses the same thing that I missed: 23. Bxh3! e5 24. dxe5 hxg6 25. Rad1 
Qe7 26. Qc4+ Kh7 27. Rd7 and the Rook on the e-file is coming over to the h-file 
next.  I'm not sure if I should give these moves double question-marks. 
Just because Fritz sees this stuff doesn't necessarily mean that us mere mortals 
should see it!





23...Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Qd5+ 25. Qe4 Qxe4+ 26. Rxe4 e5?!


 


26...e6 is 
better.


 



27. Rae1 Kf7 28. Nf5 Rad8 29. Nxg7 Kxg7 30. f4 Kf7 31. fxe5 fxe5 32. Rxe5 Rxe5 
33. Rxe5 Kf6 34. g4 h6 35. Kf3 Rd7 36. Kf4 Rg7 37. Rf5+ Ke6 38. Rh5 Rh7 39. Ke4 
Kd6 40. b3 Re7+ 41. Kd3 Re6 42. c4 b6 43. Rf5


 


I was 
worried about George getting his Rook down to the first or second rank, so... 
clever me, I blocked that possibility with my King...


 



43...Ke7??


 



44. Re5


 


I'm still 
not sure whether or not George punched me in the gut after he made this move, 
but it certainly felt like it!  If I had played something like 43...Rg6, I 
think that, at least theoretically, it's not clear whether this is a win for 
White or a draw.  Given the 300 point rating difference, and the fact that 
I was woefully short on time, the reality is that I probably would have just 
lost further on down the line - truly PRACTICAL analysis!


 



44...Rxe5 45. dxe5 Ke6 46. Ke4 b5 47. a3 a5 48. a4 bxa4 49. bxa4 c5 50. Kf4 Ke7 
51. Kf5 Kf7 52. e6+ Kg7 53. Ke5 Kg6 54. Kd6 Kf6 55. e7 Kg5 56. e8=Q Kxg4 57. 
Qg6+ 1-0

    


Notes by  
George 
Mirijanian.


White: 
George Mirijanian (1954)

Black: George O'Rourke (1831)

[B76] Sicilian Defense

Round 5, Nov. 16, 2005




1. e4 
c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6

9. 0-0-0



When playing the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon Variation, another option 
was to first employ 9. Bc4 before castling queenside and then start the kingside 
attack with the g- and h-pawns.




9...a6



Black 
had choices, too. Possible was 9...d5 and after 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. 
Bd4 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Bh6+ 14. Be3 Bxe3+ 15. Qxe3 Qb6 Black stands OK, as was played 
in Kasparov-Topalov, Amsterdam 1995.




10. 
Nxc6?!



It was 
probably more prudent to keep the b-file closed and opt for something like 10. 
Kb1, as was played in the game Rossolimo-L. Evans, Havana 1952. Even 10. g4! had 
more merit than the text move.





10...bxc6 11. e5 Nd5 12. Nxd5 cxd5 13. exd6 Rb8 14. c3 e6! 15. Bc5?! Bd7 16. Ba3 
Qb6 17. Kb1 Rfc8 18. Ka1 Be5 19. f4?



Called 
for was 19. h4! with the threat of 20. h5.





19...Bxd6 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. c4?!



Again, 
21. h4 had to be played.





21...Qb6 22. cxd5 exd5 23. Bd3 Qf6! 24. Bb1?



Worthy of consideration was 24. f5!?





24...Rc4! 25. g3 Rcb4 26. Qc3 d4 27. Qa3 Qb6



Also 
possible was 27...Rxb2.




28. 
Rd2 Ra4 29. Qe7 Be6 30. f5??



White's 
last-ditch effort should have been with 30. a3.





30...Bxa2! 31. Bxa2 Qb3  0-1

    


Notes by  
George 
Mirijanian.


White: 
Martin Laine (1754)

Black: George Mirijanian (1945)

[A01] Nimzovich-Larsen Attack

Round 5, Oct. 5, 2005



1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6



Also good was 3...d5 and after 4. Bb5, then 4...Bd6, as was played in the game 
Rizzitano-Curdo, 1978.



4. Bb5 d6 5. Ne2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. d4



GM Bent Larsen, after whom the variation is co-named, has favored 7. f4, but 
after 7...e4 8. Ng3 Bg4 9. Be2 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 Re8 the position is roughly equal.



7...exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 c6 10. Bd3 Ne8 11. Qe4 f5 12. 
Qf3 g6 13. c4 Bf6 14. Nc3 Qe7 15. Rab1 Qg7 16. Na4 Be6 17. Qe2 Qh6 18. f4 Bxb2 
19. Nxb2 Nf6 20. Nd1 d5 21. Nc3 Rfe8 22. h3 Rad8 23. cxd5 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Bxd5 25. 
Bc4 Qf8 26. Bxd5+ Rxd5 27. Rbd1 Qc5 28. Rxd5 cxd5! 29. Kf2 d4 30. Qc4+ Qxc4 31. 
bxc4 dxe3+ 32. Ke2 Kf7 33. Rc1?!



Better was 33. Rd1.



33...Re4 34. g3 Ke8 35. Rc3 Kd7 36. Rxe3 Rxc4 37. Kd3 Ra4  0-1

    


Notes by Dave Couture.


[Event "Ed Wheeler Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "2005.11.09"]

[Round "4"]

[White "Martin Laine"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[ECO "B01"]

[WhiteElo "1730"]

[BlackElo "1553"]



1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. 
d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Bd2 e6 8. Qe2 Nbd7


8...Bb4 is usually played here.


9. O-O-O Bb4 10. Nh4 O-O-O 11.Nxf5 Qxf5 
12. Bd3 Qg4 13. Qxg4 Nxg4 14. Rdf1 Ngf6 15. a3 Ba5 16. Ne4 Bxd2+ 17. Nxd2 Nd5 
18. g3 e5?


This move allows 19. Nc4 attacking the e-pawn and 
threatening 20. Nd6+ followed by 21. Nxf7, forking the rooks.  A better 
move would have been 18...N5f6 and I would have answered 19. Nc4 with Rhf8.


19. dxe5 Nxe5 20. Bf5+ Kc7 21. Re1 f6 
22. f4 Ng6 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. c4 Nb6 25. Re2 Rhe8 26. Rhe1 Rxe2 27. Rxe2 Rd7 28. 
b3 Nc8 29. Kc2 Re7 30. Re4 c5 31. Kd3 Rd7+ 32. Kc3 Nd6 33. Re6 Nf5 34. Nf3 Rd1 
35. g4 Nd4 36. Nxd4 Rxd4 37. Re7+ Rd7 38. Rxd7+ Kxd7 39. h4 Kd6 40. Kd3 Ke6 41. 
b4 cxb4 42. axb4 f5 43. g5 Kd6 44. Kd4 b6??


This loses against correct play (see notes below).  
Instead 44...a6 is a draw.


45. b5 Ke6 46. c5 bxc5+ 47. Kxc5 Kd7 48. 
Kd5 Kc7 1/2-1/2




Martin offered a draw here and I accepted.  I 
thought a draw was the best he could do because I had looked at 49. Ke6 Kb6 50. 
Kf7 Kxb5 51. Kxg7 a5 52. Kxg6 a4 53. h5 a3 54. h6 a2 55. h7 a1=Q winning.  
I hadn't seen the possibility of 51. Kxg6! which would have been a win for 
white: 51...a5 52. h5 a4 53. h6 a3 54. hxg7! a2 55. g8=Q a1=Q 56. Qd5+ Kb4 57. 
Qxf5.  Martin had seen this continuation, but didn't trust that he had 
calculated correctly and realized a miscalculation could have resulted in a loss 
for him.  After 3 1/2 hours of play it's not unreasonable to mistrust 
calculations 9 moves ahead!



 

    



2005 Wheeler Memorial Tournament



Third Round 



November 3, 2005



 



Ken Gurge (1593) v. George 
Mirijanian (1959)



Bishop's Opening - Blanel Gambit (C27)



(Result 1-0)



(Annotations by Ken Gurge.  Additional 
annotations by Dave Couture/Fritz 8.)


1.e4, 
Nf6 2. Bc4, e5 3.Nc3, Nxe4  
(Nc6 is the move most often played here. - DC) 4. Bxf7+, Kxf7 5. Nxe4, d5 6. Ng3, Qf6 
(more typical is Nc6 and 7.d3 as in 
Hua-Vladimirov, 2004 and Barber-Hausner, 2001) 7. Qf3, e4?? (likely the 
losing move, significant material loss can't be avoided after this) 8. Qh5+, 
g6


9. Qxd5+, Be6?  (Pretty 
much throws away any chance for black.  9...Qe6 keeps black in the game, definitely at a 
disadvantage, but still in the game. - DC) 10. 
Qxb7, Nd7 11. Qxe4  (Qxa1!? leads to 
interesting complications but gives Black more counterplay for his material 
deficit), Bc5 12. Qf3 (up material White forces Queens off), Rhe8 13. Qxf6+, Nxf6 14. N1e2, h5 15. d3, Bd5 (Continuing 
the idea of the previous move with an immediate h4 would have been better. - DC)


16. f3 
(the e4 square continues to be the focal point of the game and White intends to 
make it the strong point of his defense against Black's counterplay), h4 17. 
Ne4, Bb6 18. N2c3, h3 19. g3, Bc6 


20. Bd2, Bd4 21. 0-0-0 
(finally the King escapes the e file), Rab8 22. b3, a5 23. Nxf6 (trading 
material without giving up the e4 strongpoint), Bxf6 24. Ne4, Be7 (Black 
would have been better off playing a4 immediately. - DC) 25. Bc3 
(an important diagonal to keep control of), a4


26. Kd2 
(stepping up to allow the rooks to contest the a file if opened), Rbd8 27. 
Rhf1, a3 28. Kc1 (back to safety with the a file closed), Rd5 29. f4, Bd7 
30. Ng5+, Kg8


31. Rde1, Bxg5 32. 
fxg5, Rxe1 33. Rxe1, Rxg5 (major 
material trades were worth a pawn and Black can't save the a pawn anyway) 34. 
Rf1, Bf5 35. Bb4, Kf7 36. Bxa3, Ke6


37. Kd2, Kd5 38. Rf4, 
Bc8 39. c4+, Kc6 40. b4 Bb7 41. Bb2, Kd7 42. Bf6, Rxg3 
(initiating a trade to result in bishops of opposite color and a last chance to 
draw)


43. hg, h2 44. Rh4, 
h1(Q) 45. Rxh1, Bxh1 46. Ke3, Ke6 47. Bd8, c6 48. a4, Kd7 49. Bb6, Kc8 50. Kf4, 
Bg2 51. Ke5, Bf1 52. Kd4, Kb7 53. Bc5, Be2 54. b5, Bg4 55. a5, Bd7 56. a6+, 
(1-0). This is the first time in 27 
years that I have been able to beat George!    

    


[Event "Raymond W. Fortin Memorial"]

[Site "Fitchburg, 
MA"]

[Date "2005.09.07"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Eduardo , Valadares"]

[Black "Gary, Brassard"]

[Result "1-0"]

[ECO "B12"]

[WhiteElo "1340"]

[BlackElo "1826"]



1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Bf5


4...Nc6 is book here, then if 5. Nf3 Bg4.



5. Nf3 e6 6. a3 Nc6 7. Be2 cxd4 8. cxd4 Qb6 9. Nc3 Rc8 10. O-O 
a6 11. Na4 Qd8 12. Be3 Be7 13. Rc1 f6 14. b4 fxe5 15. dxe5 Be4 16. Bd4 Bxf3 17. 
Bxf3 Nxd4 18. Qxd4 Bg5??


18...Nh6 is probably best, so that on 19. Bg4 Nxg4 
20. Qxg4, Black can play Kf7 guarding both of the attacked pawns.


 19. Rxc8 Qxc8 20. Qg4 Bh6 
21. Bxd5 Qd7 22. Bxe6 Qxa4 23. Rd1 Ne7 24. Bd7+ 1-0

    


Notes 
by George Mirijanian.


Here is 
one of the most interesting games played in the recent tournament:



[Event: 
"Frederic S. Lawrence Memorial"]

[Site: "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date: "2005.08.24"]

[Round: "4"]

[White: "Bruce Felton"]

[Black: "Ken Gurge"]

[WhiteElo: "1872"]

[BlackElo: "1547"]

[Result: "1/2-1/2"]

[Opening: "Queen's Pawn Game"]

[ECO: "D04"]




1. d4 
Nf6 2. e3 g6 3. Nd2 d5 4. Be2 Nbd7 5. Ngf3 Bg7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. c4



The 
game Kovacevic-Ribli, Zagreb 1985, took a different direction with 7. b4 b6 8. 
a4 c5 9. c3 c4 and a draw quickly resulted.




7...c5 8. b3 b6 9. Bb2 Bb7 10. Bd3 Re8 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Rc1 cxd4 13. exd4?! e5 
14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5?



Much 
better was 15...Nf4!



16. Bxe5 Rxe5 17. Nf3 Re8?




Correct was 17...Re7.



18. Bb5 Re7 19. Qd2 Nc7! 20. Qxd8+ Rxd8 21. Bc6 Ne6 22. Bxb7 Rxb7 23. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 
24. Rxd1 Rc7 25. Kf1 Kg7 26. g3 f6 27. Ke2 Nc5 28. Kf1? Ne6 29. Rd2 Kf7 30. Ke2 
Ke7 31. Kd1 Rd7 32. Kc2 Rxd2+ 33. Kxd2 Kd6 34. Kc3 Kd5 35. b4 b5 36. a3 a6 37. 
Kd3 h6 38. h3 g5 39. Nd2 f5 40. Nb3 h5 41. Nd2 h4 42. gxh4 gxh4 43. Ke3 Ng5 44. 
f4 Nxh3 45. Nf3 Kc4 46. Nxh4 Kb3 47. Nxf5 Kxa3 48. Nd4 Nxf4



With 
this move Black assures himself of at least a draw. But did he have winning 
chances after 48...Kxb4!? 49. f5 Ng5 50. Kf4 Nf7 51. f6 Kc3?



49. Kxf4 Kxb4 50. Ke3 Kc3 51. Ne2+ Kb2 52. Kd3 a5 53. Nd4 b4 54. Nc6 a4 55. Nxb4 
a3 56. Kc4 Kb1 57. Kb3   1/2-1/2


 

    



Notes by Ken Gurge.


[Event: 
"2005 Wachusett Chess Club Championship"]

[Site: "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date: "2005.06.15"]

[Round: "Final Round (7th)"]

[White: "Ken Gurge"]

[Black: "Bruce Felton"]

[WhiteElo: "1583"]

[BlackElo: "1876"]

[Result: "0-1"]

[Opening: "Sicilian - Scheveningen"]

 


1.e4 c5  2. Nf3 
d6  3.d4 cd  4. Nxd4 Nf6  5. Nc3 a6  6. a4 e6  7. Be2 
Be7  8. 0-0 Nbd7  9. f4 Qc7  10. Kh1 b6  11. Be3 Bb7  
12. Bf3 Rac8  13. Qe1 Nc5  14. Bd2 h6  15. e5 Bxf3  16. Rxf3 
Nh7  17. b4 Nd7  18. ed Bxd6  19. Nf5?


Nd5 or Nxe6 are better, winning?


19... 0-0  20. 
Nxh6+ gh  21. Qh4 f5  22. Rg3+ Kh8  23. Qxh6 Ndf6  24. Re1 
Rce8  25. Rg6 Qf7  26. Nd5 Nxd5  27. R1xe6 Rxe6 28. Rxe6 Bxb4  
29. Bxb4 Nxb4  30. Rxb6 Qc4  31. h3 Qf1+  32. Kh2 Rg8  33. 
Rg6 Rxg6  34. Qxg6 Qxf4  35. Kh1 Qe5  36. c3 Nd5  37. c4 Nf4  
38. Qxa6 Qb8  39. Qb5 Qd8  40. Qe5+ Qf6  41. Qxf6 Nxf6   
42. g4 Nxg4  43. hg fg  44. Kh2 Kg7  45. a5??


Kg3 draws - white gets greedy and 
loses, pawns separated by only one file can be blockaded by a N.


45... Kf6  46. c5 
Ne6  47. a6 Kg5  48. Kg3 Nc7  49. a7 Na8 50. Kg2 Kf4  51. 
Kf2 Nc7  52. Kg2 g3  53. Kg1 Kf3  54. Kf1 g2  55. Kg1 Kg3  
56. c6 Kh3 (0-1).


This victory in the final round 
gave Felton a share of the club championship with George Mirijanian.   



 








2004 Games








 Larry Gladding and Tom Fratturelli tallied 4-1 to share top honors in the Harlow B. Daly Memorial tournament, held July 7-August 4. Club champion Bruce Felton scored 3.5-1.5 to tie for 3rd-4th place with Kenneth Gurge of Leominster. Deadlocked in 5th-6th place with 3-2 performances were George Mirijanian and Paul Giovino. Tied for 7th-10th place with 2.5-2.5 scores were Gary Brassard, Michael Meehan, Brian Biglow and Matthew Migliozzi of Fitchburg. Larry Gladding directed. Going into the final round, Felton was leading the field of 20 players with a score of 3.5-0.5, but then he was upset by Class C participant Fratturelli while Gladding defeated Class A rival Brassard:






[Event "Harlow B Daly Memorial"] 

[Site "Wachusett CC: First Church Unitarian Universalist, Leominster MA"] 

[Date "2004.08.04"] 

[Round "5"] 

[White "Larry Gladding"] 

[Black "Gary Brassard"] 

[Result "1-0"] 

[WhiteElo "1812"] 

[BlackElo "1871"] 

[Moves "49"] 

[Plycount "97"] 

[ECO "A15"] 

[Opening "English Opening"] 







1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6




{Alexander Alekhine, commenting on his simultaneous exhibition game played (as Black) in March 1929 in New York against consulting players Alex Kevitz and Albert Pinkus, wrote of this move: "One of the different ways of meeting adequately White's opening play. Black intends herewith to transform the game into a typical Queen's Indian Defense.}




 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2




{Alekhine continues: "Allowing Black to choose a more aggressive form of development. Instead, 4.d4 e6 5.Bg2, etc. would lead to well-known variations.}


4...e6




{Here Brassard departs from Alekhine's continuation, 4...e5, which he played against Kevitz and Pinkus and comments as follows: "This move has its advantages and defects, for the center pawn may become exposed. Still, the experiment was worth trying since not much risk is attached to it."}




5.0-0 Be7 6.b3 0-0 7.Bb2 c5 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.e4 e5 10.d3 d6 11.Nd5 Bc8 12.Ne3 Be6 13.Ng5 Qd7 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Bh3 Bd8 16.f4 exf4 17.gxf4 Qf7 18.Kh1 e5 19.f5 Qh5 20.Bg4 Nxg4 21.Nxg4 Kh8 22.Qf3 Bf6 23.Qg2 Rf7 24.Rf3 R7f8 25.Rh3 Qf7 26.Rf1 g6??




{This blunder costs Black the game.}




27.fxg6 Qxg6 28.Rh6 Qg5 29.Bc1 Qg7 30.Rfxf6 Rxf6 31.Nxf6 Qxg2+ 32.Kxg2 Kg7 33.Nd5 Kg8?? 34.Rxd6 




{...and White eventually won on the 49th move.}




 1-0











2003 Games








2002 Games








2001 Games








2000 Games




Notes 
by Dave Couture.


Wayne 
doesn't miss a trick in this one!

 



[Event "Wachusett Chess Club Winter Swiss 2000"]



[Site "Leominster, MA"]



[Round "2"]



[Date "2000.01.26"]



[White "Wayne Steadman"]



[Black "Dave Couture"]



[WhiteElo "1449"]



[BlackElo "1552"]



[Result "1-0"]



[ECO "A40"] 


 1. d4    
e5?!


Yes, I know I shouldn't!



 2. dxe5  Nc6



 3. Nf3   Qe7  



 4. Nc3   Nxe5  



 5. Nd5   Nxf3+  



 6. gxf3  Qc5??


Qd8 was necessary. White would 
then have had only a small edge.


 7. b4!   
Qc4??


I was definitely in trouble 
here, but either Qc6 or Qd6 would have been a lot better than what I played.



 8. e4    Bxb4+



 9. Bd2   Bxd2+



10. Qxd2  Qc5



11. Qg5!  Kf8??


 



Protecting the pawn on g7 - oops! After ...d6 I would 
have ended up down a rook, but still alive.


 



12. Qd8 mate








1985 Games






[Event "Wachusett Chess Club 1985 Championship"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "1985.07.03"]

[Round "10"]

[White "Brian Warnock"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[Result "1-0"]

[WhiteElo "2259"]

[BlackElo "1583"]



1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Qb3 e4 




 




6...Nc6 is usually played here.




 

7. d3




 




Siegbert Tarrasch vs Arturo Reggio, Monte Carlo, 1903, 
continued 7. f3 d4 8. Nxe4 with white winning in 26 moves.




 




7...exd3 8. Qb5+ Qd7 9. Qxd3 d4 10. Ne4 Nxe4 11. Qxe4+ Be7 

12. Nf3 Nc6 13. O-O Qf5 14. Qxf5 Bxf5 15. Rd1 Bc5 16. Nh4 Be6 

17. b3 Rd8 18. Bb2 Bd5 19. e4 Be6 20. Rac1 b6 21. Nf3 Ke7 22. b4 

Nxb4 23. Nxd4 Bxd4 24. Rxd4 Rxd4 25. Bxd4 Rc8 26. Rxc8 Bxc8 

27. a3 Nc2 28. Bb2 f6 29. Bf1 Bb7 30. f3 Bc6 31. Kf2 Kd6 32. Bd3 

Ba4 33. Ke2 Kc5 34. Kd2 Nd4 35. Ke3 Ne6 36. f4 Bc6 37. h3 b5 

38. f5 Nd8 39. Bd4+ Kd6 40. Bxa7 Nf7 41. Kd4 Ne5 42. Bb8+ Ke7 

43. Bxe5 fxe5+ 44. Kxe5 1-0


    




Notes by Dave Couture (heavily assisted by Fritz 8).


 



[Event "Wachusett Chess Club 1985 Championship 
Prelims"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]



[Date "1985.03.20"]



[Round "6"]



[White "Roland Booker"]



[Black "Dave Couture"]



[WhiteElo "1895"]



[BlackElo "1559"]



[Result "0-1"]



[ECO "C11"]


 



 1. e4     e6



 2. d4     d5



 3. Nc3    Nf6



 4. e5     Nfd7



 5. Nce2   c5



 6. c3     Nc6  



 7. f4     Qb6



 8. Nf3    Be7



 9. Qc2



 



 9. g3 or a3 are usually played here.



 



 9...        
f6



10. Bd2    O-O 



11. g4?


Unnecessarily opens up the 
kingside.  Qb3 was one example of a 
better move.



11...        cxd4



12. Nexd4  Nxd4?!


12... fxe5 slightly better



13. cxd4   fxe5 



14. dxe5   Nc5



15. Be3    Qb4+


Coming at him left,


16. Nd2    Bh4+


right, 


17. Kd1    d4


and center.



18. a3     Qa4 



19. b3??


19. Qxa4 Nxa4 20. Bxd4 Rxf4 21. 
Be3 Rxg4 22. Be2 =



19...        Nxb3!



20. Nxb3??


20. Qxb3 was much better.



20...        dxe3



21. Bd3?   g6?


I didn't need to worry about 
Bxh7+.  I could have played 21... Bd7! and Bxh7+ would have caused his pieces to 
get caught in the crossfire.  E.g., 22. Bxh7+ Kh8 23. Bd3 Rac8! 24. Nc5 Qd4 25. 
Rb1 Qd5 26. Rg1 Rxc5 27. Qb3 Qf3+ with mate soon to follow. 



22. Rc1    Qxf4  



23. Qc7    Qxg4+



24. Kc2    e2



25. Rhg1   Rf7??


Looks like a reasonable move 
doesn't it, trying to force the trade of queens?!


26. Qc5??


Also looks like a reasonable 
move, but Roland throws away his chance to snatch the win due to the following 
tactic:  26. Qxf7+ Kxf7 27. Rxg4 e1=Q 28. Rxe1 Bxe1 29. Re4! winning the bishop 
(the only "escape" square is f2 which loses to the fork Rf4+).



26...        Qf3



27. Bxg6?  hxg6  



28. Rxg6+  Rg7



29. Rxg7+  Kxg7



30. Rg1+   Kh6



31. Qc4?   e1=Q



32. Resigns


    



[Event "Wachusett Chess Club 1985 Championship 
Prelims"]



[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "1985.02.20"]

[Round "2"]

[White "Bryant Hopkins"]

[Black "Dave Couture"]

[WhiteElo "1943"]

[BlackElo "1484"]

[Result "1-0"]



1. e4 e6  2. d4 d5  3. exd5 exd5  4. Bd3 Nf6  
5. c3



 



This is a rare continuation.  Nf3 is usually 
played here, often followed by O-O and Bg5.



 




5... 
Bd6  6. Bg5 Qe7+  7. Qe2 Qxe2+  8. Nxe2 Nbd7  9. Nd2 O-O  
10. O-O-O h6  11. Bh4 Re8  12. f3 Nh5  13. Rde1 Kf8  14. Bf2 
Nf4  15. Nxf4 Bxf4 16. Rxe8+ Kxe8  17. Re1+ Kf8  18. g3 Bd6  
19. Nf1 Nf6  20. g4 Bd7  21. Bg3 Bxg3  22. Nxg3 Re8  23. Re5 
Be6  24. h4 g6  25. g5 Nd7  26. Re1 h5  27. f4 Bg4  28. 
Rxe8+ Kxe8  29. f5 Nf8  30. Kd2 gxf5  31. Bxf5 Bxf5  32. 
Nxf5 Ne6  33. Ke3 Kf8  34. Ng3 Ng7  35. Kf4 Ne6+  36. Ke5 c6  
37. Nxh5 Ke7  38. Nf4 Nf8  39. h5 Nh7  40. Kf5 a6  41. h6 
Kf8  42. Nh5 Ke7  43. Nf6 Nf8  44. Nh5 Ke8  45. Nf4 b6  
46. g6 fxg6+  47. Nxg6 Kf7  48. Nxf8 Kxf8  49. Ke6 1-0






(*) Answer to the 
question posed in Steadman-Couture(2008.04.02):




The blunder was 
12...Nf6??  Fritz 8 gives Qb8, Qg5, or Qc7 as better moves than Nf6 in 
spite of the fact that all 3 moves lose the queen!



 













1980 Games




[Event "WCC Championship"]

[Site "St. Joseph Club, Cleghorn, Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "1980.07.20"]

[Round "9"]

[White "Bryant Hopkins III"]

[Black "George Mirijanian"]

[Result "0-1"]

[ECO "B00"]

[Opening "Alekhine's Defense, Modern Variation"]

[WhiteElo "1626"]

[BlackElo "1860"]

[PlyCount "54"]

[Moves "27"]

[Board "1"]

[TimeControl "40/90"]

[Annotations "George Mirijanian"]



1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 e6 6. c4 Nb6 7. Be3 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. Qc2 Bf5 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 d5 12. b3 a6 13. Rd1 Nc6 
14. Nc3 Rc8 15. cxd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Qxd5 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18. Bxg5 Rfe8 19. Qc3 Ne7 20. Qb4 Ng6 21. f3 h6 22. Be3 Red8 23. Rac1 Qb5?! 24. Qxb5 axb5 
25. Rc5 c6 26. Bd2??




{A blunder, which ultimately costs Hopkins the game. Called for was the doubling of rooks along the c-file.}




26...Rxd4 27. Rcc1? Rcd8




{and Hopkins resigned without facing further loss of material.}




0-1









Central New England Open Games




From 1961 until 1986, the WCC organized promoted & sponsored an annual USCF rated chess tournament called The Central New England Open. It was eventually divided into an open section & one or more class sections, but initially I believe it consisted of one large open section only with some prizes given for best score below certain rating criteria, much like the US Open still is today. Early CNEO Tournaments had secondary & tertiary time controls & typical primary time controls were 50 moves in two or two & a half hours, which could result in adjournments &/or delays. By 1971 & probably before that, the tournament was split into three sections, "open", "reserve", & "booster". There were class prizes within each section for best performance under a certain rating. The time control in 1986 was "45 moves in 2 hours, followed by 20 moves in one hour". I believe there were no "sudden death" time control provisions, which meant that after 60 moves had been made, each player would have an additional hour to make another 20 moves & that process would repeat indefinitely as needed to finish the game.







 	


Central New England Open Tournament Statistics

Number & TDYearDates
LocationPlayersWinner


 		
1st TD: Ray Fortin
 		1961
 		
 		VFW Hall, Fitchburg
 		16
 		(David Lees & John Ducharme jr.)?
		


 		
2nd
 		1962
 		
 		VFW Hall, Fitchburg
 		
 		David Lees
		


 		
3rd TD: Ray Fortin
 		1963
 		June 22 & 23
 		VFW Hall, Fitchburg
 		
 		(David Lees & John Ducharme jr.)?
		


 		
4th
 		1964 TD: Frank Hacker
 		June 27 & 28
 		First Parish Church Hall, Fitchburg
 		82
 		William Addison
		


 		
5th TD: George Mirijanian
 		1965
 		June 26 & 27
 		Hotel Raymond, Fitchburg
 		
 		
		


 		
6th TD: Frank Hacker
 		1966
 		June 25 & 26
 		Hotel Raymond, Fitchburg
 		
 		
		


 		
7th
 		1967
 		
 		YMCA, Fitchburg
 		90
 		John Curdo
		


 		
 "Super Booster"
 		1967
 		November 25 & 26
 		YMCA, Fitchburg
 		
 		U1800
		


 		
8th
 		1968
 		July 13 & 14
 		YMCA, Fitchburg
 		 ,=
 		John Curdo & Camille Coudari of Montreal
		


 		

 		
 		
 		
 		
 		
		


 		
11th
 		1971
 		June ?? & ??
 		Holiday Inn, Leominster
 		33, 30, 66 = 129
 		Bruce Amos & Ian Hambleton; Mirijanian 1st Class A
		


 		
12th
 		1972
 		
 		
 		
 		??; Stephen Brudno, Jon Edwards
		


 		

 		
 		
 		
 		
 		
		


 		
16th
 		1976
 		June 19 & 20
 		Holiday Inn, Leominster
 		28,14,24,36,30=132
 		Champ: John Curdo, 16-yr-old Girome Bono, & GM Leonid Shamkovich
Am: Walter Trice, John Sylvia, & Joel Johnson
		


 		
17th
 		1977
 		June 11 &12
 		Holiday Inn, Leominster
 		5rd, 5sec
 		
		


 		

 		
 		
 		
 		
 		
		


 		
21st
 		1981
 		May 23, 24, & 25
 		Holiday Inn, Leominster
 		
 		
		


 		

 		
 		
 		
 		
 		
		


 		
26th
 		1986
 		May 24, 25, & 26
 		Holiday Inn, Leominster
 		
 		
		


 	









[Event "Central New England Open"]

[Site "Leominster, Massachusetts"]

[Date "1972.??.??"]

[EventDate "1972.??.??"]

[Round "5"]

[Result "1/2-1/2"]

[White "Brudno,Stephen"]

[Black "Edwards,Jon"]

[ECO "A40"]

[WhiteElo "????"]

[BlackElo "????"]

[Moves "12"]

[PlyCount "24"]







{Steve Brudno and I were both tied for first. I asked him before the game if he'd be interested in a quick draw, sharing $400. He smiled, and declined my offer.}




1.d4 




{Well booked up, Steve hoped for a Queen's Gambit}




1...e5 




{"Good grief" he exclaimed out loud. After all, here we were in a critical game for first place and this opening has an odor!}




2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.Bf4 Qb4+ 5.Bd2 Qxb2 6.Nc3! 




{Steve knows his openings!}




6...Bb4 7.Rb1 Qa3 8.Rb3 Qa5 9.a3 Bxc3 




{9...Bxa3 10.Rxa3 Qxa3 11.Nb5+-}




10.Bxc3 Qc5 




{headed back to e7 after Kg8-e7-g6}




11.e3 a6 12.Be2!? 




{"Good grief!" I exclaimed and I made my move. [12.Bd3!]}




12...Nge7 




{Where upon, Steve immediately offered a draw. I took the kind offer without even asking him to make a move.}
{It's a fun story, but I hope that you don't take up the Englund Gambit. There are much better responses out there to 1.d4.}







[Event "Central New England Open"]

[Site "Leominster, Massachusetts"]

[Date "1981.05.24"]


[EventDate "1981.05.??"]

[Round "2"]

[Result "1-0"]

[White "Brian Warnock"]

[Black "William Lukowiak"]

[ECO "A06"]


[WhiteElo "2081"]

[BlackElo "2230"]

[PlyCount "99"]







1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 f6 3.d4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.Be2 Bd6 6.c4 c6 7.Nc3 Ne7
8.Nh4 Nd7 9.Nxf5 Nxf5 10.O-O Qc7 11.h3 O-O-O 12.cxd5 exd5
13.a3 Rde8 14.b4 a6 15.Rb1 Kd8 16.a4 Ke7 17.Bd3 Nh6 18.e4 dxe4
19.Nxe4 Nf7 20.b5 axb5 21.axb5 Kf8 22.Nxd6 Nxd6 23.Qc2 g6
24.Bh6+ Ke7 25.Bf4 Kf7 26.bxc6 bxc6 27.Rfc1 Nb8 28.Qc5 Rd8
29.d5 Kg7 30.dxc6 Rhe8 31.Bxd6 Rxd6 32.Rb7 Qxb7 33.cxb7 Rxd3
34.Qb5 Red8 35.Rc8 Kh6 36.Qb6 R8d6 37.Qa7 Nd7 38.b8=Q Nxb8
39.Qxb8 R6d7 40.Qf4+ Kg7 41.Qb4 Rf7 42.Qb8 R3d7 43.Rg8+ Kh6
44.Qf4+ g5 45.Qf5 Rd4 46.g3 Rd6 47.h4 Rd1+ 48.Kg2 gxh4 49.Qf4+
Kh5 50. Qxh4# 1-0
 







Here's a rather interesting game from the 1986 Central New England Open, in which [I believe 11 year old at the time] Robert (Bobby) Seltzer competes in the Class A section & loses his first round game to 1939 rated Tony Jones. Within five years of this game Bobby's USCF rating peaked at 2336. 




[Event "Central New England Open"]

[Site "Fitchburg, MA"]

[Date "1986.05.24"]

[Round "1"]

[White "Tony Jones"]

[Black "Robert Seltzer"]

[Result "0-1"]

[WhiteElo "1939"]

[BlackElo "1833"]

[Section "Class A"]

[TimeControl "45/2, 20/1"]

[Annotator "Robert Seltzer"]

[Plycount "54"]

[Moves "27"]





{Game #209}


1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 e6
{Kann variation of the Sicilian Defense.}

3. d4 c5xd4
4. Nxd4 a6
5. Be2 
{The main line is Bd3.}

5... Nf6
6. Nc3 
{If e5, then Qa5+, winning the pawn. 6. Nc3 prevents that.}

6... Qc7 
{Stopping the pawn advance e5.}

7. Be3 b5 
{Threatening b4 on the next move, winning the e pawn.}

8. f3 d6
9. Qd2 
{Leaving the option of castling long.}

9... Be7
10. 0-0 Bb7
11. a3 
{Almost totally a waste. a4 is a much better move, although it equalizes: 11. a4 b4, 12. Na2 d5 
(if 12. ... a5, Black gets in trouble with 13. Nb5), 13. Nxb4 d5xe4, 14. f3xe4 Nxe4. And Black has a good game.}
{If 13. e4xd5, then Nxd5, guarding the b pawn.}
{If 13. Bf4, then e5, 14. Bg3 d6xe5, and Black still has a good game.}

11... 0-0
12. Bd3 Nbd7
13. Rac1 d5
14. e4xd5 
{This move is forced.}

14... Nxd5
15. Nxd5 Bxd5
16. Ne2 Rfd8 
{Hoping to get play on the open d file against White's Queen.}

17. Nf4 Bb7
18. Qf2 
{Hoping for an eventual Bb6. This move also gets out of the way of the potential attack on the d file.}

18... Bd6
19. Qh4 
{Threatening h7}

19... Nf6
20. Nh5 
{Probably a mistake.}

20... Bxh2+
21. Kh1 
{If 21. Qxh2 Qxh2+, 22. Kxh2 Nxh5, White has Bishop pair but Black is up a pawn.}

21... Nd5
22. Nxg7 
{Bxh7+ doesn't work: 22. Bxh7+ Kxh7, 23. Nf6+ Kg6, 24. Nxd5 B or Pxd5,
 and Black ends up ahead a piece because Qxh2 loses to Rh8.
Nxe3 Kxg7 isn't as good: 
22. ... Kxg7, 23. Qh6+ Kg8, 24. Bxh7+ Kh8, 25. Bg6+ Kg8, 26. Qh7+ Kf8, 
27. Bh6+ Ke8, 28. Qg8+ Kd7, 29. Qf7+, and White gets compensation.}


22... Nxe3
23. Qxh7+ Kf8
24. Nxe6 
{The idea being if f7xe6, then Qxc7. White overlooked the fact that the Bishop at h2 guards Black's Queen.}

24... f7xe6
25. Qh6+ Qg7
26. Qxe3 Qh8
27. Qc5+ 
{If not that move, White gets mated.}

27... Bd6+ 
{White Resigns}

0-1









Tom Wiedeman Games



Tom Weideman, front left, on a recent visit to the WCC




These games may be found on Tom Weideman's online blog at: http://fizzycyst.livejournal.com/?tag=chess
			

Memorable chess games
			

			

After a long hiatus from this blog, I found I wanted to share some chess games with a number of people. I didn't want to foist these upon them by email, so I decided to blog them and point here for optional reading. I basically wanted to get these games and their related anecdotes written down somewhere for myself (and possibly my kids someday), while giving other people who might find them interesting a chance to read them without shoving them down anyone's throat.
			

			

Each game will get its own separate entry, complete with back story and a small amount of analysis. Warning about the latter: I will on occasion use a computer to analyze positions, but I won't always, and therefore do not guarantee the accuracy of the assessments I reach. The point is that some of the analysis is "artistic", in that it does not delve into every variation and subvariation that can follow, but rather points out interesting aspects of the position, some of which may be nearly irrelevant to determining proper play.
			

			

Finally, I want to point out that my most memorable games are not generally my best-played games. They can be classified as "memorable" entirely because of the back story, or because it featured a spectacular finish (though often gratuitously-so), or any number of other reasons. If I remember, I will attempt to give you my playing strength at the time of the game, so that you can put the quality of my play into the proper context, but keep in mind that these entries aren't really a sampling to demonstrate how well I played. They are, as they say, "for entertainment purposes only".
			

			

With all that said, I give you my chess memoirs. Enjoy.
			

			

I am going to attempt to enter these games in chronological order, and my first game comes from my very first USCF-rated event (and I think only my third tournament of any kind, the other two being unrated scholastic events). I came into the 21-player open tournament ranked 21st, and somehow managed to win my first three games. My final round pairing was a very large step upward from those, however: My 4th round opponent Stephen Ducharme was rated 1653 - more than 200 Elo points higher than my toughest opponent from the first 3 rounds. He was one of two superstar high school players (a recent graduate at the time) from our county scholastic league. This first board from a cross-town rival team is not expected to have much trouble with an alternate from a team whose first board was rated around 1200. But I played well above expectation that day, and I suspect he played well below, so we had a perfect storm.
			

			

White: Weideman, Tom 

Black: Ducharme, Stephen 

Event: Pequoig CC August Open (4) 

Round: 4 

Date: 1977.08.27 

ECO: [A57] 

Opening: Benko Gambit 



1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5 


{I'm pretty sure I had never seen this before in my life at that point, so I wasn't about to mess around with accepting the gambit.} 


4 e3 d6 5 b3 g6 6 Nf3 Bg7 7 Bb2 bxc4 8 Bxc4 


{Not the prettiest white position I've ever seen, but at least he is not killing me with a line that he knew inside-out that I had no clue about.} 


8... Bb7 9 Nbd2 O-O 10 e4 Nbd7 11 O-O Nb6 12 Re1 a5 13 a4 Qc7 14 Qe2 Nbd7 15 Bb5 Nb8 16 Nc4 Na6 


{At this point, my computer rates white as slightly better. That's about to change as my aggressive nature gets the better of me (a common theme throughout my chess career, btw).} 


17 e5? Nxd5 18 exd6 exd6 19 Bxg7 Kxg7 


{Despite the blunder of the pawn, the evaluation of the position now is only very slightly worse for white, meaning my position has some compensation for the material.} 


20 Ne3 Nc3? 


{A terrible move. Even a newbie like me could find the right play here.} 


21 Qb2 d5 


{If his plan was to fork the knight and queen with the pawn to recover the piece, it was faulty in more ways than one. I could simply take the knight and retreat the Q to b2 (keeping the pawn pinned), or...} 


22 Bxa6 Rxa6 23 Qxc3+ d4? 


{As stated above, this doesn't work at all. Clearly Steve was having a bad day.} 


24 Nxd4 Kg8 


{Now white is a full piece up and should win easily. What follows characterizes my play in the early years perfectly - gratuitous tactics. I typically did a pretty good job of finding "brilliant" moves when it was completely unnecessary. But to be fair to myself, I should say that Ducharme was a considerably stronger player than me, and the "safe" approach could have ended with him finding resources, considering all the major pieces are still on the board. Keeping him on his heels with a riskier play might have actually been better from a practical perspective.} 


25 Ndf5!? 


{The computer gives 25 Nef5 as the best move. The reason they are different is, of course, that black doesn't have to take the knight. But if he doesn't, then I'm not giving back the knight, and my move was not dubious after all! It turns out that he does in fact take it, and that makes my move essentially equivalent to the computer's move. Good thing, because judging from the rather weak technique I displayed in finishing-off the game, I needed all the cushion I could get.} 


25... gxf5 26 Nxf5 Rg6 27 Ne7+ Qxe7 28 Rxe7 Rxg2+ 29 Kf1 Ba8 30 Rae1 Rg6 31 f3 Bc6 32 Qxc5 Rd8 33 Qf5 Rf8 34 Qxa5 Rf6 35 Qg5+ Rg6 36 Qh5 Rf6 37 R1e3 Rd8 38 Qg5+ Rg6 39 Qf5 Rf8 40 h4 h6 41 Rxf7 Rxf7 42 Qxg6+ Rg7 43 Qxc6 Kh7 44 Re6 Rf7 45 Rxh6+ Kg7 46 Qg6+ Kf8 47 Rh7 Rxf3+ 48 Ke2 Rf2+ 


{For a brief moment, my heart sank. I was aware of stalemate swindles, even at this tender age, and I was not immediately certain I could escape the checks. Nowadays I wouldn't even need to calculate it out to know that escaping this is easy} 


49 Ke3 Rf3+ 50 Kd4 Rf4+ 51 Qe4 


{Heh, funny that I didn't select simply 51 Ke5.} 


51... Kg8 52 Qxf4 Kxh7 53 Qg5 1-0 


{I went to this tournament with someone who was at the time a new friend (and is now one of my oldest friends), Frank Everett. When my dad arrived in the middle of this game to pick me up (I was 15 - too young to drive), Frank told him that I was on the verge of sweeping the tournament. I think my Dad was as stunned as everyone else there, even though he witnessed first hand my 10-month-long obsession with the game, where I pored over library books, played games with friends over the phone, and even played against myself for hours.} 


{The entry fee was $5, and the first prize of $25 felt like a small fortune to me. I won many tournaments in the years to follow, but none of them ever felt quite as good as this one.} 








Billl Addison Games




			

"The following selection includes two of Addison's games against Fischer, and wins against some of the top American players of his day such as Lombardy and Reshevsky. When going over Addison's games this morning, I was taken by the excitement of many of his contests, and I urge readers to seek out more." -Jennifer Shahade 
			

			

USA, 1955 [D10]

White: Steiner,Herman

Black: Addison,William


1.c4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 Bf5 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.c5 Qc7 7.Nh4 Bg6 8.a3 e5 9.dxe5 Nfd7 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.e6 fxe6 12.Qc2 Kf7 13.Nf3 Be7 14.b4 a5 15.Rb1 axb4 16.axb4 Ne5 17.Rb3 Ra1 18.Qb2 Bf6 19.Nd4 Ra4 20.Qc2 Na6 21.Rh3 Rxh3 22.Qxa4 Rc3 23.Bd2 Nxc5 24.bxc5 Rc4 25.Qa2 Rxd4 26.e3 Rh4 27.g3 Rxh2 28.Rxh2 Nf3+ 29.Ke2 Nxh2 30.Bh3 g5 
31.f4 g4 32.Bg2 b6 33.Qb1 bxc5 34.Qh7 Qb7 35.Qxh2 Qb5+ 36.Ke1 Qb1+ 37.Ke2 c4 38.Qh1 Qd3+ 39.Ke1 c3 40.Bc1 Qc2 41.Ba3 Qb1+ 0-1
			

			

U.S. Open, 1957, Cleveland OH, [B10]

White: Fischer, Robert James

Black: Addison, William


1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Bd6 7.Qe2+ Qe7 8.Qxe7+ Kxe7 9.d4 Bf5 10.Bb3 Re8 11.Be3 Kf8 12.O-O-O Nd7 13.c4 Rad8 14.Bc2 Bxc2 15.Kxc2 f5 16.Rhe1 f4 17.Bd2 Nf6 18.Ne5 g5 19.f3 Nh5 20.Ng4 Kg7 21.Bc3 Kg6 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.c5 Bb8 24.d5 cxd5 25.Rxd5 f5 26.Ne5+ Bxe5 27.Rxe5 Nf6 28.Rxe8 Nxe8 29.Be5 Kh5 30.Kd3 g4 31.b4 a6 32.a4 gxf3 33.gxf3 Kh4 34.b5 axb5 35.a5 Kh3 36.c6  1-0 
			

			

U.S. Championship/Rosenwald New York City, NY (8), 1962 [E66]

White: Addison, William

Black: Mednis,Edmar


1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 a6 8.d5 Na5 9.Nd2 c5 10.Qc2 Rb8 11.b3 b5 12.Bb2 Bd7 13.Rfb1 Qc7 14.Nce4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 Bxb2 16.Rxb2 bxc4 17.bxc4 Rxb2 18.Qxb2 Rb8 19.Qc3 Rb4 20.a3 Rb7 21.h4 h5 22.Bc2 Qb6 23.Rb1 Qd8 24.Re1 Qb6 25.Bd3 Qd8 26.f4 Bg4 27.Rf1 Qb6 28.f5 gxf5 29.Bxf5 Bxf5 30.Rxf5 f6
31.Rxh5 Kf8 32.Qd3 Ke8 33.Rh8+ 1-0
			

			

U.S. Championship, New York, 1962

White: Addison, William

Black: Reshevsky, Samuel Herman


1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.e4 c6 9.h3 exd4 10.Nxd4 Re8 11.Be3 a5 12.Qc2 Nc5 13.Rad1 Nfd7 14.Nb3 Qe7 15.Nxc5 Nxc5 16.Qd2 Bf8 17.Rfe1 Be6 18.Nd5 cxd5 19.exd5 Ne4 20.Bxe4 Bxh3 21.Bd4 Qc7 22.Qc3 Rac8 23.Bd3 a4 24.Rxe8 Rxe8 25.Re1 Rxe1+ 26.Qxe1 Qd7 27.b4 axb3 28.axb3 Qg4 29.Qe3 Qd1+ 30.Kh2 Bg4 31.Be4 Bh6 32.Qc3 Bd2 33.Qb2 h5 34.Qa3 Bh6 35.Qa8+ Bf8 36.Be3 Bf3 37.Bxf3 Qxf3 38.Kg1 h4 39.Bh6  1-0 
			

			

U.S. Championship/Rosenwald New York City, NY (10), 1962 [D29]

White: Addison, William

Black: Berliner,Hans


1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.Qe2 b5 8.Bb3 Bb7 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Nc3 Qc7 11.e4 b4
12.Nd5 exd5 13.exd5+ Be7 14.dxc5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 Nxc5 17.Be3 Nd7 18.Bg5 f6 19.Re1 Nb6 20.Bf4 Qb7 21.Rc5 Rc8 22.Bd6 Rxc5 23.Qxe7+ 1-0
			

			

U.S. Championship, Closed New York City NY, 1963 [E60]

White: Addison, William

Black: Byrne,Donald


1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Bg2 a6 7.a4 0-0 8.e4 e5 9.h4 Nbd7 10.Bh3 Rb8 11.Nf3 Nb6 12.Bxc8 Qxc8 13.b3 Na8 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.a5 g5 
17.Nh2 Bd8 18.h5 Nc7 19.Ng4 Kh7 20.Ne3 Ne8 21.g4 Bc7 22.Ra3 Qd8 23.Qa1 Ng7 24.Ke2 Qc8 25.Qa2 b6 26.axb6 Rxb6 27.Ra1 Qb7 28.Rxa6 Rxa6 29.Qxa6 Qxb3 30.Qa3 Qb8
31.Rb1 Qd8 32.Rb5 Qe7 33.Qa7 Rc8 34.Rb8 Qd8 35.Qa6 Kg8 36.Rb5 Bb8 37.Qb6 Qxb6 38.Rxb6 Rd8 39.f3 Kf8 40.Rb7 Kg8 41.Kd3 Kf8 42.Kc2 Kg8 43.Kb3 Kf8 44.Ka4 Kg8 
45.Ka5 Kf8 46.Ka6 Ke8 1-0
			

			

Stamer Memorial, San Francisco CA (5), 1964 [A00]

White: Suttles,Duncan

Black: Addison,William


1.g3 Nf6 2.Bg2 d5 3.d3 c6 4.Nc3 e5 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bd2 d4 7.Nce2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 Qe7 9.f3 c5 10.Nh3 Nc6 11.Nf2 Rb8 12.0-0 0-0 13.f4 Ng4 14.Nxg4 Bxg4 15.Rae1 b5 16.h3 Bxe2
17.Rxe2 c4 18.Kh2 Qc5 19.b3 Rfd8 20.Ref2 Rb6 21.h4 h6 22.f5 f6 23.g4 Kf7 24.g5 hxg5 25.hxg5 Rh8+ 26.Kg3 Rbb8 27.Bf3 Qb4 28.Qe2 fxg5 29.Bh5+ Kf6 30.Rg2 Rh6 
31.Qg4 Rbh8 32.Rh1 cxd3 33.Kf3 Ke7 34.Qxg5+ Kd6 35.Qxg7 Kc5 36.Rg6 Qd2 37.b4+ Kb6 38.Qxe5 Qe3+ 39.Kg2 Rxg6+ 40.Bxg6 Nxe5 41.Rxh8 Qf3+ 0-1
			

			

1965 U.S. Championship, New York City NY (1), [E45]

White: Addison,William

Black: Fischer,Robert


1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Nge2 Ba6 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Nxc3 d5 8.b3 0-0 9.a4 Nc6 10.Bb2 dxc4 11.bxc4 Na5 12.Nb5 c6 13.Na3 Qe7 14.Qc2 c5 15.Be2 cxd4 16.exd4 Rfc8
17.0-0 Rc6 18.Bf3 Nd5 19.Bxd5 exd5 20.Rfe1 Qf8 21.Qf5 dxc4 22.d5 Rg6 23.Nc2 Nb3 24.Ba3 Qd8 25.Be7 Qc8 26.Qxc8+ Bxc8 27.Ra3 Bd7 28.Ne3 Nd4 29.Rd1 Nf5 30.Nxf5 Bxf5 31.d6 Bd7 32.Rc1 Rg4 33.f3 Rd4 34.Kf2 Rc8 35.Rac3 f6 36.Ke3 Rh4 37.g3 Rxh2 38.Rxc4 Rxc4 39.Rxc4 Kf7 40.Rc7 Ke6 41.Rxa7 Rb2 42.f4 Rb3+ 43.Kf2 f5 44.g4 g6 
45.gxf5+ gxf5 46.a5 b5 47.a6 Rb4 48.Kg3 Ra4 49.Bf8 h5 50.Be7 Bc6 51.Bf8 h4+ 52.Kh3 Bd7 53.Bh6 Kxd6 54.Kxh4 Bc8 55.Kg5 Bxa6 56.Ra8 Kc7 57.Bg7 b4 58.Be5+ Kd7 59.Kf6 1/2-1/2
			

			

1965 U.S. Championship, Closed New York City NY (5) [A48]

White: Bisguier,Arthur

Black: Addison,William


1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nbd2 c5 5.c3 cxd4 6.cxd4 Nc6 7.e3 0-0 8.a3 h6 9.Bh4 d6 10.Bc4 Bf5 11.h3 Rc8 12.0-0 e5 13.e4 Bd7 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Ba2 g5 
16.Bg3 Qe7 17.Re1 Rcd8 18.Nh2 Be6 19.Bxe6 Qxe6 20.Nhf1 Rd3 21.Re3 Rd7 22.Qb3 Qe7 23.Nf3 Rfd8 24.Rae1 Nh5 25.Rc3 Qf6 26.Ne3 Nd4 27.Nxd4 exd4 28.Ng4 Qg6 29.Rd3 Nxg3 30.fxg3 Rc7 31.Nf2 Rdc8 32.Re2 Rc1+ 33.Kh2 h5 34.Qxb7 Be5 35.Qd5 R1c5 36.Qd7 h4 37.Nh1 Rc1 38.Rf3 g4 39.Qxg4 Qxg4 40.hxg4 Kg7 41.Rf5 Rxh1+ 0-1
			

			

1966 U.S. Championship

White: Fischer, Robert James

Black: Addison, William


1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.dxe5 c6 10.Be3 Be7 11.Nd2 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 O-O 13.Qc3 Bb7 14.f4 a5 15.a3 b4 16.Qd2 a4 17.Ba2 bxa3 18.bxa3 Bxa3 19.Rfb1 Bc8 20.Bxd5 Qxd5 21.Rxa3 Qxd2 22.Bxd2 Bf5 23.Rb2 Rfd8 24.Be3 h5 25.h3 Rdb8 26.Rxb8+ Rxb8 27.Rxa4 Bxc2 28.Rc4 Rb1+ 29.Kf2 Rb2 30.Kg3 Bf5 31.Rxc6 Rxg2+ 1/2-1/2 
			

			

U.S. Championship, 1969, New York

White: Addison, William

Black: Lombardy, William James


1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nbd7 8.Re1 c6 9.Bf1 Qe7 10.Rb1 Ne8 11.b3 Nc7 12.Ba3 Ne6 13.Ne2 exd4 14.Nfxd4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 a5 16.Qd2 Nc5 17.Rbd1 Re8 18.Nc2 a4 19.b4 Nxe4 20.Rxe4 Qxe4 21.Re1 Qxe1 22.Nxe1 Bf5 23.Nf3 Be4 24.Ng5 Bf5 25.h3 h6 26.g4 Bb1 27.Nf3 d5 28.Bd3 Bxd3 29.Qxd3 Rad8 30.b5 Re6 31.bxc6 Rxc6 32.c5 d4 33.Qb5 d3 34.Qxb7 Rf6 35.c6 d2 36.Nxd2 Rxd2 37.Bc5 Rc2 38.Qb8+ Kh7 39.Qb5 Rf4 40.c7 Bd4 41.Bxd4 Rxd4 42.Qb7 Rdc4 43.c8=Q Rxc8 44.Qxf7+ Kh8 45.Qf6+ Kh7 46.Qf7+ Kh8 47.Qxg6 R8c6 48.Qe8+ Kg7 49.Qe7+ Kg8 50.Qd8+ Kg7 51.Qd4+ Rf6 52.h4 Kf7 53.Qxa4 Rfc6 54.Qf4+ Ke7 55.Qe4+ Kd7 56.a4 R2c4 57.Qf5+ Kc7 58.a5 Kb7 59.Kg2 Ka6 60.g5 hxg5 61.hxg5 R6c5 62.Qf6+ Kxa5 63.Kg3 Rc1 64.f4 Kb5 65.Qb2+ Kc6 66.Kg4 Kd7 67.Kh5 Rc6 68.Qg7+ Ke8 69.Qg8+ Ke7 70.Qh7+ Kf8 71.Qe4 R1c4 72.Qd5 Kg7 73.Qd7+ Kf8 74.f5 Rc8 75.f6 R4c7 76.Qd6+ Kg8 77.g6 Kh8 78.Kh6 Rc6 79.g7+ Kg8 80.Qd5+ Re6 81.Qxe6#  1-0 
			

			

Palma De Mallorca Interzonal (1), 1970 [D16]

White: Taimanov,Mark

Black: Addison,William


1.c4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Na6 6.e4 Bg4
7.Bxc4 e6 8.0-0 Nb4 9.Be3 Be7 10.Be2 0-0 11.Ne5 Bxe2
12.Qxe2 c5 13.Rfd1 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Qb8 15.Nc4 Nc6 16.e5
Nd5 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Na3 Re8 19.e6 Qf4 20.Nb5 Rac8
21.Bxa7 Nxa7 22.Nxa7 Rcd8 23.Nb5 Bc5 24.Qc2 b6 25.g3
Qf6 26.Nc7 Rf8 27.b4 Bxb4 28.Rab1 Bc5 29.Nxd5 Qxe6
1/2-1/2
			

			

Palma De Mallorca Interzonal, 1970

White: Addison, William

Black: Gligoric, Svetozar


1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.e4 Ne8 10.Nh4 c5 11.dxc6 Nxc6 12.h3 Nc7 13.Nf3 Ne6 14.Nb5 Ned4 15.Nbxd4 exd4 16.b3 Re8 17.Re1 Qb6 18.Bb2 a5 19.a4 Bd7 20.Rb1 Re7 21.Ba3 Nb4 22.Qd2 Rae8 23.Bxb4 axb4 24.Rbd1 Qc5 25.Nxd4 f5 26.Qd3 fxe4 27.Rxe4 Rxe4 28.Bxe4 Bxh3 29.Nb5 Kh8 30.Qd5 Rf8 31.Qxc5 dxc5 32.Bxb7 Bf5 33.a5 Bc2 34.Rc1 Bxb3 35.a6 Ba2 36.a7 b3 37.Rf1 b2 38.Na3 Bc3 39.a8=Q Rxa8 40.Bxa8 Bb4 41.Nb1 Bxc4 42.Rd1 Be6 43.Be4 Kg7 44.Rd6  1-0 
			








Allan Bennett Games ♔ 


			

As five time WCC Champion, I'm sure Allan Bennett produced some fine examples of chess during his years at the club. At this point in time not one of those game scores is available, so I'll post a few of what I consider interesting or instructional games Allan played in various events at other locations.
			

			

At some point I'll publish some detailed notes about this game. Suffice it to say that, any time you can play up nearly 400 rating points & come away with a full point from three time US Champ, GM Larry Christiansen, you've played well! Here Allan does exactly that employing precisely the style which made his famous foe famous, a stellar accomplishment indeed.
			



[Event "Foxwoods Open"]


[Site "Connecticut USA"]


[Round "1"]


[Date "2002.3.28"]


[White "Bennett, Allan"]


[Black "Christiansen, Larry M"]


[WhiteElo "2257"]


[BlackElo "2653"]


[Result "1-0"]









1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 b5 6.Bd3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Bb7 8.a4 b4 9.a5 Qc7 10.Na4 d5 11.exd5 Bxd5 12.O-O Nd7 13.Nb6 Nxb6 14.axb6 Qxb6 15.Be3 Qb8 16.Na5 Bd6 17.c4 bxc3 18.Qa4+ Kf8 19.bxc3 Bxh2+ 20.Kh1 Nf6 21.c4 Qe5 22.cxd5 Qh5 23.Be2 Qxe2 24.Kxh2 exd5 25.Rfe1 Qg4 26.Qc6 Rd8 27.Qc5+ Kg8 28.Nc6 Re8 29.Ne7+ Rxe7 30.Qxe7 h6 31.Rxa6 Qh5+ 32.Kg1 Kh7 33.Ra7 d4 34.Bxd4 Re8 35.Qb4 Re4 36.Qb1 1-0






			

In this game, Allan opens with 1. e4 & Justin plays a fairly standard Center Counter Defense through some typical positions with of course tactical complications. After some tense double edged maneuvers, Allan eventually saves a pawn-down queen ending by swapping queens & using fine endgame technique whittling both himself & Justin down to bare kings to split the point.
			




[Event "Foxwoods Open"]


[Site "Connecticut USA"]


[Round "3"]


[Date "2002.3.29"]


[White "Bennett, Allan"]


[Black "Sarkar, Justin"]


[WhiteElo "2257"]


[BlackElo "2438"]


[Result "1/2-1/2"]






1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Bd2 e6 8.Qe2 Bb4 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd5 12.Ne4 Bxe4 13.Qxe4 Bxd2+ 14.Rxd2 O-O-O 15.Rhd1 Nb6 16.Rxd8+ Rxd8 17.Rxd8+ Kxd8 18.Bd3 Nd7 19.f4 Nc5 20.Qe3 Nxd3+ 21.Qxd3+ Ke8 22.b3 Qxa2 23.Qxh7 Qa1+ 24.Kd2 Qd4+ 25.Ke2 Qxf4 26.Qxg7 Qxh2 27.Kd3 Qg1 28.Qh8+ Kd7 29.Qb8 Qb6 30.Qf8 Qb5+ 31.Kd2 Qxe5 32.Qxf7+ Kd6 33.Qxb7 Qg5+ 34.Kd1 Qxg2 35.Qxa7 e5 36.Qe3 Qf1+ 37.Kd2 Qf4 38.Kd3 Qxe3+ 39.Kxe3 Kd5 40.c3 e4 41.Kf4 c5 42.Ke3 Ke5 43.b4 cxb4 44.cxb4 Kd5 45.b5 Kc5 46.Kxe4 Kxb5 1/2-1/2













Stephan Gerzadowicz Games





Wachusett Chess Club Champion in 1972 & 1973 & postal chess master since that time frame, Stephan Gewrzadowicz has had a huge influence on chess at the club & in Massachusetts & beyond for decades. He has directed many tournaments including several Central New England Opens & other MACA events particularly ranging back to the 196o's, 1970's & 1980's. He is the author of five chess books including: "Journal of a Chess Original", "Journal of a Chess Master", "Correspondence Chess Master", & others. 
















John Grefe Games


IM John Grefe US Co-Champ 1973


			

Here is his decisive win over Walter Browne, later a six-time winner of the U.S. Championship himself, in the 1973 championship: 

Grefe versus Browne, U.S. Championship 1973[4] 

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 h6 9. Bh4 Qc7 10. 0-0-0 Nbd7 11. Be2 Rb8 12. Qg3 Rg8 13. Rhf1 g5 14. fxg5 Ne5 15. Nf3 b5 16. Nxe5 b4 17. Nxf7 bxc3 18. gxf6 Rxg3 19. fxe7 Rg5 20. Bxg5 hxg5 21. Nxd6+ 1-0
			

			

Here is a brilliancy against veteran grandmaster Miguel Najdorf: 

Grefe versus Najdorf, Lone Pine 1976[5] 

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. Bc4 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Qe2 c6 8. a4 Qc7 9. h3 exd4 10. Nxd4 Re8 11. Bf4 Ne5 12. Bb3 Nfd7 13. Rad1 Bf8 14. Bc1 Nc5 15. Ba2 d5 16. f4 Ned7 17. e5 Nb6 18. a5 Nbd7 19. Qh5 Ne6 20. Nf5 Qxa5 21. Rf3 Nb6 22. Rg3 g6 23. Qh4 Na4 24. Rxd5!? Qb6+ On 25...cxd5, Shredder analyzes 26.Nxd5 Bg7 27.Nxg7 Kxg7 28.Nf6 h5 29.f5 Rh8 30.Nd7! Bxd7 31.Qf6+ Kg8 32.Kh2 followed by Rxg6+ or fxg6. 25. Be3 Qb4? Rybka considers the queen sacrifice 25...Nxc3! 26.Bxb6 Ne2+ 27.Kh2 axb6 favorable to Black. 26. Rb5! Nxc3 27. Rxb4 Ne2+ 28. Kh2 Nxg3 29. Qxg3 Bxb4 30. Nh6+ Kh8 31. f5! Nd8 32. fxg6 fxg6 33. Qf4 Bf8 34. Nf7+ Nxf7 35. Qxf7 Be6 36. Bxe6 Bg7 37. Bd4 Rad8 38. Bc3 b5 39. Bd7 Rf8 40. Qe7 1-0 (Analysis from chessgames.com)
			



John Grefe vs. Arnold Denker 

Lone Pine, 1979, ECO: B10 

1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 Qc7 4. f4!? Qxf4 5. Ngf3 Nf6 6. Nb3 Qc7 7. e5 Ng4 8. d4 Bf5 9. Nh4 Bd7 10. Be2 Nh6 11. Bxh6 gxh6 12. O-O Na6 13. Bxa6 bxa6 14. Nc5 e6 15. Qh5 Bc8 16. Rf6 Bxc5 17. dxc5 Rb8 18. Raf1 Rf8 19. Qxh6 Qxe5 20. Qxh7 Rxb2 21. Rxf7 Rxf7 22. Qg8+ 1-0. 




[Event "?"] 

[Site "Berkeley, California"] 

[Date "1988.??.??"] 

[Round "?"] 

[White "John A Grefe"] 

[Black "Alan Pollard"] 

[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 b5 6. e5 Nd5 7. Ng5 e6 8. Qh5 Qc7 

9. Be2 h6 10. O-O g6 11. Qh3 Nd7 12. a4 N7b6 13. Nge4 a6 14. b3 Nxc3 15. Nf6+ Kd8 16. Qxc3 b4 17. Qf3 c3 18. a5 Nd5 19. Nxd5 1-0 


Source: Nick DeFirmian, Modern Chess Openings, 13th Edition, David McKay Company, New York, 1990, p. 434









Deep Thought Games




[Event "US Open"] 

[Site "Boston, MA USA"] 

[Date "1988.08.16"] 

[EventDate "?"] 

[Round "9"] 

[Result "1-0"] 

[White "Deep Thought (Computer)"] 

[Black "Igor Vasilievich Ivanov"] 

[ECO "B01"] 

[WhiteElo "2521"] 

[BlackElo "2505"] 

[PlyCount "57"] 






1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 e6 7.Be3
Bb4+ 
8.Nbd2 O-O 9.a3 Be7 10.h3 Bh5 11.O-O c6 12.g4 Bg6 13.Nh4
Nbd7 14.Nxg6 hxg6 
15.f4 c5 16.g5 Ne8 17.Ne4 Nd6 18.Nxd6 Bxd6
19.b4 cxb4 20.c5 Bc7 
21.axb4 a6 22.Qc2 Qe7 23.Qe4 b6 24.Qb7
Rfc8 25.Bxa6 e5 26.fxe5 bxc5 
27.Bc4 Rab8 28.Rxf7 Rxb7 29.Rf4

1-0











Dieter Keller Games





[Event "?"] 

[Site "Zuerich"] 

[Date "1959.??.??"] 

[Round "?"] 

[White "Keller, Dieter"] 

[Black "Blau, Max"] 

[Result "1-0"] 

[ECO "C44"] 






1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. Qa4 dxe4 5. Nxe5 Qd5 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 Qd7 

8. d3 exd3 9. O-O Bd6 10. Bxd3 Ne7 11. Re1 O-O 12. Nd2 Bxh2+ 13. Kxh2 Qxd3 

14. Ne4 Be6 15. Bf4 Nd5 16. Bg3 Nb6 17. Qa5 Qd5 18. Qxd5 Nxd5 19. Nc5 Rfe8 

20. Na6 Bf5 21. c4 Nf6 22. Bxc7 Bc8 23. Nc5 Bf5 24. Nb7 Rxe1 25. Rxe1 Re8 

26. Rd1 Be6 27. b3 h6 28. Nc5 Bf5 29. f3 Re2 30. a4 Bc2 31. Rd6 Re3 

32. Rd2 Bb1 33. Rd8+ Re8 34. a5 Rxd8 35. Bxd8 Ne8 36. Kg3 f6 37. Kf4 Kf7 

38. Bb6 axb6 39. axb6 Nd6 40. Ke3 Ke7 41. b7 Nxb7 42. Nxb7 g5 43. b4 Ba2 

44. Kd4 h5 45. Kc5 Kd7 46. Na5 h4 47. Kb6 g4 48. fxg4 Bb1 49. Nb3 Bc2 

50. Nd2 Bd1 51. Ne4 Ke6 52. Kxc6 Bxg4 53. Nf2 Be2 54. c5 Bf1 55. b5 Bxg2+ 

56. Kc7 Kd5 57. Kb6 Kc4 58. c6 Bd5 59. Ka6 Kc5 60. c7 Be6 61. b6 1-0 










Phil Leasure Games





With the exception of George Mirijanian, Phil Leasure stands as the most frequent winner of the Wachusett Chess Club Championship having attained that title six times from as early as 1969 to as recently as 2003. Phil has been a regular participant & consistent contender in many of the weekly club tournaments during that time. He has also given both indoor & outdoor simultaneous exhibitions for club members & the general chess playing public occasionally facing the entire WCC membership at once. 


















George Sturgis Games





George Sturgis was a founder of the U. S. Chess Federation& USCF president from its formation in 1939 until his passing in 1944. He was also president of the Massachusetts State Chess Association (MSCA) in 1932. The George Sturgis Memorial Trophy was donated in his honor, for the US Open from 1945-1963. For more biographical details about George Sturgis, please refer to George Sturgis in the "Biographies" Section. Severaal of his games are presented below.
 














[Event "US Open. Championship Final"] 


[Site "St. Louis, MO"] 

[Date "1941.07.22"] 


[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "3"] 


[Result "0-1"] 


[White "George Sturgis"] 


[Black "Llewellyn Walter Stephens"] 


[ECO "D06"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 


[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "92"] 







1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.e4 Nf6 5.Bd3 e6 6.Nf3 h6 7.Nc3
c6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.a3 b6 11.O-O Bb7 12.Rfd1 Qc7 13.e5
Nd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Rac1 Qd8 16.Rc2 Rc8 17.Rdc1 O-O 18.Ba6
Rxc2 19.Rxc2 Qb8 20.Bb5 Rd8 21.Qd2 Nf8 22.Qc1 Rc8 23.Ne1 Rxc2
24.Qxc2 Qc8 25.Qxc8 Bxc8 26.Nd3 a6 27.Bc6 Nd7 28.Bd2 Nb8
29.Ba8 Bd7 30.Bb4 Kf8 31.f4 Bb5 32.Bxe7+ Kxe7 33.Nb4 Kd7 34.b3
a5 35.Nc2 Kc7 36.Ne3 Nd7 37.a4 Ba6 38.f5 b5 39.Bxd5 exd5
40.Nxd5+ Kd8 41.e6 fxe6 42.fxe6 Nf6 43.Nc3 b4 44.Nb5 Ke7
45.Nc7 Bb7 46.Kf2 Nd5 0-1



 



[Event "US Open"] 


[Site "St. Louis, MO"] 

[Date "1941.07.24"] 


[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "6"] 


[Result "0-1"] 


[White "George Sturgis"] 


[Black "Herman Steiner"] 


[ECO "B29"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 


[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "46"] 







1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.c4 Nc7 7.Nc3
Bb4 8.Bd2 Nc6 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.Qg4 O-O 11.O-O-O Ne8 12.Bf4 Qa5
13.Ne4 f5 14.exf6 e5 15.Qh4 exf4 16.fxg7 Kxg7 17.c5 Qxa2
18.Qg5+ Kh8 19.Qe5+ Ng7 20.Qd4 Qa1+ 21.Kc2 Qa4+ 22.Kc1 Bf5
23.f3 Qa5 0-1



 



[Event "US Open (Championship)"] 


[Site "St. Louis, Mo."] 


[Date "1941.07.25"
] 

[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "8"] 


[Result "0-1"] 


[White "George Sturgis"] 


[Black "Reuben Fine"] 


[ECO "D92"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 


[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "68"] 







1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Qb3 dxc4
7.Qxc4 c6 8.e3 Qa5 9.Be2 Nd5 10.O-O Nxf4 11.exf4 Be6 12.Qa4
Qc7 13.g3 Nd7 14.Qc2 Nb6 15.Rfd1 Rad8 16.b3 Bf5 17.Qd2 Bg4
18.Ne5 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Nd5 20.Rac1 Nxc3 21.Rxc3 Rd5 22.Rcd3 Rfd8
23.Qe3 Qd6 24.Nc4 Qd7 25.Ne5 Bxe5 26.fxe5 c5 27.f4 cxd4 28.Qe4
Qf5 29.Qe2 f6 30.exf6 exf6 31.Qd2 Qd7 32.Qb4 a5 33.Qb6 Qc6
34.Qa7 Rc5 0-1



 



[Event "US Open"] 


[Site "Dallas, TX"] 


[Date "1942.08.24"] 


[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "5"] 


[Result "1-0"] 


[White "Daniel Abraham Yanofsky"] 


[Black "George Sturgis"] 


[ECO "C17"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 

[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "95"] 







1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 cxd4 6.Qxd4 Nc6 7.Qg4
Bf8 8.Nf3 Nge7 9.h4 Ng6 10.Qg3 a6 11.h5 Nge7 12.Bd3 h6 13.Qf4
Qc7 14.Qg3 d4 15.Ne2 f6 16.Nexd4 Nxd4 17.Nxd4 Qxe5+ 18.Qxe5
fxe5 19.Nf3 Nc6 20.Bg6+ Kd8 21.Be3 Kc7 22.O-O-O Be7 23.Be4 Bf6
24.Bc5 Rd8 25.Rxd8 Nxd8 26.Rd1 Nf7 27.Bg6 b6 28.Bb4 a5 29.Bc3
Nd6 30.Bxe5 Bxe5 31.Nxe5 Bb7 32.g3 b5 33.b3 Bd5 34.Kb2 a4
35.c4 bxc4 36.bxc4 Rb8+ 37.Ka1 Bc6 38.Bc2 Rf8 39.Rd2 Bf3
40.Bxa4 Rf5 41.c5 Rxe5 42.cxd6+ Kd8 43.Rb2 Re1+ 44.Rb1 Rxb1+
45.Kxb1 Bxh5 46.Bc6 Be8 47.Bxe8 Kxe8 48.Kc2 1-0



 



[Event "US Open"] 


[Site "Dallas, TX"] 


[Date "1942.08.29"] 


[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "14"] 


[Result "1-0"] 


[White "George Sturgis"] 


[Black "Bela Rozsa"] 


[ECO "D52"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 


[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "115"] 







1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.Nf3 c6 6.e3 Qa5 7.Nd2
Bb4 8.Qc2 dxc4 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.Bxc4 O-O 11.O-O Qh5 12.Nce4 Be7
13.Nf3 Nd5 14.Ng3 Qh6 15.e4 Nf6 16.Qd2 Qxd2 17.Nxd2 b6 18.a3
Bb7 19.b4 Rfd8 20.Nb3 Rac8 21.e5 Nd5 22.Rac1 c5 23.dxc5 bxc5
24.bxc5 Bxc5 25.Nxc5 Rxc5 26.Ne4 Ra5 27.Nd6 Ba8 28.Bxd5 Bxd5
29.Rc3 f6 30.Rfc1 h6 31.f4 fxe5 32.fxe5 Kh7 33.Rb1 Rf8 34.Rb4
Ba8 35.Re3 Rd5 36.Re1 Rd2 37.Rg4 Rff2 38.Ne4 Bxe4 39.Rexe4 Ra2
40.Rg3 Rfe2 41.Rxe2 Rxe2 42.Rc3 Rxe5 43.Kf2 Kg6 44.Rc4 a5
45.Kf3 Kf6 46.g4 Rb5 47.Rc3 a4 48.Ke4 Rb3 49.Rxb3 axb3 50.Kd3
Ke5 51.a4 b2 52.Kc2 Kf4 53.a5 e5 54.a6 e4 55.a7 e3 56.a8=Q e2
57.Qh1 Ke3 58.Qe1 1-0



 



[Event "US Open"] 


[Site "Syracuse, NY"] 


[Date "1943.08.20"] 


[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "10"] 


[Result "1-0"] 


[White "Ward Mayhew Parker Mitchell"] 


[Black "George Sturgis"] 


[ECO "B40"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 


[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "79"] 







1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bd3 d6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Be3
O-O 8.Qe2 Nc6 9.O-O-O a6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.e5 Nd5 12.Nxd5 cxd5
13.exd6 Bxd6 14.f4 Qc7 15.g3 Bb7 16.Rhf1 Rfe8 17.Qh5 f5 18.Bd4
g6 19.Qh4 e5 20.fxe5 Bxe5 21.c3 Qe7 22.Qxe7 Rxe7 23.Rfe1 Rae8
24.Rxe5 Rxe5 25.Bxe5 Rxe5 26.Kd2 Kf7 27.Bc2 h6 28.Kd3 Kf6
29.Rd2 g5 30.Kd4 h5 31.h4 gxh4 32.gxh4 Re4+ 33.Bxe4 dxe4
34.Rf2 Ke6 35.c4 Bc8 36.c5 Bd7 37.Rg2 f4 38.Rg6+ Kf7 39.c6 Bf5
40.Rg5 1-0



 



[Event "US Open"] 


[Site "Syracuse, NY"] 


[Date "1943.08.15"] 


[EventDate "?"] 


[Round "3"] 


[Result "0-1"] 


[White "George Sturgis"] 


[Black "Benjamin Altman"] 


[ECO "D82"] 


[WhiteElo "?"] 


[BlackElo "?"] 


[PlyCount "66"] 







1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 c6 6.Qc2 O-O 7.Nf3
Nbd7 8.h3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nb6 10.Bb3 Nbd5 11.Be5 Nxc3 12.Qxc3 Ne4
13.Qc2 Qa5+ 14.Kf1 Bf5 15.Qe2 Bxe5 16.dxe5 Rad8 17.Rd1 Rxd1+
18.Qxd1 Rd8 19.Qe1 Nd2+ 20.Nxd2 Qxd2 21.Qxd2 Rxd2 22.f3 Bd3+
23.Kg1 Rxb2 24.Kh2 Rb1 25.Rxb1 Bxb1 26.Kg3 e6 27.Kf4 b5 28.e4
c5 29.Ke3 c4 30.Bd1 Bxa2 31.Kd4 b4 32.Be2 c3 33.Bd1 Bb1 0-1










Milan Vukcevich Games





Bobby Fischer is the most famous & arguably the strongest player ever to visit any WCC event, however he certainly was not the only world class player to do so. 




While pursuing his post graduate studies at MIT in Cambridge, Milan Rodoje Vukcevich competed in the 1964 Central new England Open held by the WCC in Fitchburg MA at the First Parish Church Hall on main Street. This was a five round tournament & I have none of Vukcevich's games from that tournament. However, his chess career spanned from at least 1955 to 1981 & included such noteworthy opponents as:  Arthur Bisguier, Walter Browne, John Curdo, Svetosar Gligoric, Bukhuti Gurgenidze, John Grefe, William Martz, William Lombardy, Miguel Najdorf, Vasily Panov, Jack Peters, Tigran Petrosian, Ken Rogoff, Leonid Shamkovich, Yasir Sierawan, Vasilly Smyslov, & Jan Timman.




Probably one of the most explosive games one could imagine betweeen a couple of top notch players then or now occurred in 1955 between Milan Vukcevich & Vasilly Panov. The game is a classical French Defense, MacCutcheon Variation miniature wherein Vukcevich presents Panov with a two rook sacrifice. Panov takes one rook & sees that if he takes the second rook, he gets mated nine moves later, so he refuses to bite whereuopn Vukcevich immediately offers the second rook again! This time Panov, either thinking it's now safe or out of sheer exasperation, accepts the bait & proceeds to get mated eight moves later!








[Event "Smederevo"]

[Site "Smederevo"]


[Round "1"]


[Date "1955.??.??"]


[White "Vukcevich, Milan R"]


[Black "Panov, Vasily"]


[Result "1-0"]

[Moves "21"]

[Plycount "41"]

[Opening "French Defense, MacCutcheon Variation"]

[ECO "C12"]








1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 dxe4 7.Bxe4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qa5 9.Bxf6 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Qxc3+ 11.Qd2 Qxa1+ 12.Ke2 Qb2 13.Rb1 Qxb1 14.Nxe6 Bd7 15.Nxg7+ Kf8 16.Ne6+ fxe6 17.Qh6+ Ke8 18.Bg6+ hxg6 19.Qxg6+ Kf8 20.Qg7+ Ke8 21.Qe7# 1-0