Desert Knight

(RUS) 2785, Dortmund
6/26/2007 It (cat.20)]
5... Ne4?! A good move when
White’s knight is on c3 since it threatens
to double his pawns. But here,
why should Black want to trade his
good knight for the passive knight on
d2?
[5... c5 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. exd4 Be7
8. O-O O-O 9. b3 d5 +0.06]
6. a3 Be7 7. Bd3 f5 8. Bxe4?! Even
if he doubles Black’s pawns, giving
up a bishop for a knight and planting
a strong pawn on e4 doesn't look
right.
[Force Black into exchanging! 8.
Qc2 Nxd2 9. Bxd2 O-O +0.45]
8... fxe4 9. Ne5 O-O 10. h3 d6 11.
Ng4 Nd7 12. b3 Qe8 13. O-O Qg6
14. Bb2 h5 15. Nh2 Bg5 16. Qe2
Rf7 17. f4 exf3!? Exchanging off the
strong pawn on e4 allows him to free
up his position, equalizing.
[17... Bh4 -0.61]
18. Nhxf3 Raf8 19. Nxg5 Qxg5 20.
Rxf7 Rxf7 21. Rf1?! It is tempting to
go for this exchange if you are looking
for a draw. The problem is that
after Black takes, White must concede
something no matter how he
retakes. Seeking exchanges to draw
is fine so long as you do not hurt
your position.
[The path to a draw is through a
strong center. 21. e4! Rf4 22.
Re1 e5 23. d5 -0.07]
21... Rxf1 22. Kxf1?! Exposing his
king to attack allows Black to exploit
the undefended bishop, winning a
pawn.
[Best is 22. Nxf1 but Black's
pieces dominate e4, stifling
White. 22... Nf6 23. Bc3 Qf5 -
0.62]
22... Qf5 23. Nf3 The alternatives
are no better.
[23. Ke1 Qc2 24. Nf3 Qxb3 -
1.68;
23. Qf2 Qc2 24. Nf3 Qxb3 -2.20]
23... Nf6 This was the move I had
intended, eying e4. I didn't stop to
see if there was something else.
[I could have immediately won
the pawn, but there is no way for
him to avoid the loss of a pawn
after 23... Nf6 anyway. 23... Bxf3
24. gxf3 Qxh3 -1.53]
24. Kg1 Bxf3 25. gxf3 Qxh3 26. e4
Qg3 27. Kh1 e5 28. dxe5 dxe5 29.
Bc3 Kf7 30. a4 g5 31. Qg2 He must
exchange to relieve the pressure on
his king.
31... Qf4!? Before exchanging I want
to draw his bishop off of my e-pawn.
[But keeping the queens on the
board gives him counter play. I
should just exchange. 31... Qxg2
32. Kxg2 Nd7 -1.97;
or 31... Nxe4 32. Qxg3 Nxg3 33.
Kg2 Nf5 34. Bxe5 Nd6 -2.06]
32. Bd2 Qh4 33. Qh2 Qxh2 34.
Kxh2 g4 35. Bc3?? Losing instantly.
[He still has a chance to hold
after 35. Kg2 gxf3 36. Kxf3 -
2.59]
35... gxf3 36. Bxe5? Dropping the
bishop, but the position is hopeless
anyway.
36... Ng4 White resigns.
Below are two games by players who
tied for second in the Reserve Section.
The four players tied for second were,
David Lewis, Hector Martinez, Daniel
Herman and Preston Herrington.
Herman, Rebecca (1409) -
Herrington, Preston (1633),
½:½
New Mexico Richard Sherman,
Reserve, Round 1
Rio Rancho, 1/11/2014
Rebecca Herman of Colorado had the
better game but, due to a couple of inaccuracies,
Preston Herrington was able to
spring a tactic that enabled him to trade
queens, easing his burden in the middlegame.
Comments by Steve Farmer
English Opening
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4.
Nf3 Nc6 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 g6
[6... e5 is a viable alternative]
7. d4 A new move but it goes into an
inferior variation of the Gruenfeld
Defense. White is better. 7... Bg7 8.
Be2 O-O 9. O-O Bg4 10. Bb2
[White should put the question to
the bishop and play 10. h3]
10... a6 11. a4 Bxf3 This trade does
not fit into the scheme of the opening.
12. Bxf3 b5? This is a tactical and
strategic mistake.
[Black needed to strike back at
the center with 12... e5]
13. e5 The bishop on f3 comes to life
- White has a winning advantage.
13... Qd7 14. axb5
[Perhaps 14. Qe2;
or 14. Ba3 is better]
14... axb5 15. Re1
[More accurate is 15. Qe2 so
that the queen maintains central
influence and the rook on f1 covers
a1]
15... Rxa1 16. Qxa1 b4 17. Qa4?!
This leaves the door open for Black.
Preston is quick to spot its downside!
[17. Qa6!? bxc3 18. Bxc6 Qxd4
19. Bc1 Bxe5 20. Qa5±]
17... Nxe5!
18. Qxd7! Necessity is the mother of
all forced moves. A lot of material is
traded off, reducing the winning
chances for both players.
[Rebecca realized she could not
bring her queen back to protect
the bishop on f3 as Black opens
up the game in his favor: 18.
Qd1 Nxf3 19. Qxf3 c5 20. cxb4
cxb4 Black has a passed pawn
and good winning chances]
18... Nxd7 19. Rxe7 bxc3 20. Bxc3
Rb8 21. g3
[21. Kf1 bringing the king closer
to the center might have kept
White's slim chances for a win
alive]
21... Rb3 Preston tries to keep win-
Desert Knight PAGE 10 June 2014