Rank & File

2015 Spice Cup
The 2015 SPICE Cup Open, sponsored
by Webster University and the
Susan Polgar Foundation, took place
from October 17-22 at the Crowne
Plaza Clayton Hotel in St. Louis, Missouri,
USA. The nine round tournament
had 45 players, nine of whom
were rated over 2600, and five players
from California. Liem Le (MO)
took first with 7/9. Keaton Kiewra
finished 10th with 5.5/9. Michael
Brown, Konstantin Kavutskiy and
Eugene Yanayt all finshed with 5/9.
Spice Cup
10.19.2015 B22
Round 4
Kiewra, Keaton - Robson, Ray
Annotated by Keaton Kiewra
1.e4 c5 2.c3 ....
When playing the highest rated opponent
you’ve ever faced it’s always
a good idea to play an opening you’ve
never played before. Okay, just kidding.
I had some leftover preparation
from another game that I wanted to
use here. I thought this would be a
great opportunity to use it because
Ray Robson tends to consistently
play 2...Nf6 against this Alapin system,
which allows for deep preparation.
2...d5
Ugh, why do I ever think I can outprep
these guys? I should have just
played the London System like I
did last game. My opponent clearly
smelled a rat and opted for a line
that according to the database he
has never played before. In fact after
move 2 we are already in a position
where neither of us has any tournament
game experience!
3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6
6.Na3 a6 7.Nc4 Nbd7 8.Be2 cxd4
9.Qxd4 b5
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+kvl-tr0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+-+psn-+0
9+p+q+-+-0
9-+NwQ-+-+0
9+-zP-+N+-0
9PzP-+LzPPzP0
9tR-vL-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
So far we have both been making
theoretical moves, albeit not all of
the most common ones. Black’s last
move is quite rare since normally he
doesn’t want to kick the Knight into
a5 so early.
10.Na5 Bd6 11.Bd2 O-O 12.c4 Qxd4
13.Nxd4 Ne4!
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-trk+0
9+-+n+pzpp0
9p+-vlp+-+0
9sNp+-+-+-0
9-+PsNn+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9PzP-vLLzPPzP0
9tR-+-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
Allowing the pin after Bf3 is risky,
but Ray Robson has never been one
to shy away from complications. This
is objectively the best move and certainly
the best way for Black to create
winning chances.
14.Bf3 Ndf6 15.cxb5 e5 16.Nc4 Bc5
17.Nc6 Nxf2?
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-trk+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9p+N+-sn-+0
9+Pvl-zp-+-0
9-+N+-+-+0
9+-+-+L+-0
9PzP-vL-snPzP0
9tR-+-mK-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy
I’ve definitely felt like I’m facing a
2700 player so far since all of Black’s
moves have been pin point accurate
and put me under maximum pressure.
Black’s incredibly natural last
move though is a bit of a slip up that
allows White a nice resource. 17...
Nxd2 18.Nxd2 e4 19.Be2 e3 should
give Black the slightly favorable
game.
18.b4! ....
Turning the tide! Black now has to
part with his dark squared Bishop,
taking the sting out of his attack.
18...Nxh1
18...Nd3+ 19.Ke2+/-.
19.bxc5 ....
XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+-trk+0
9+-+-+pzpp0
9p+N+-sn-+0
9+PzP-zp-+-0
9-+N+-+-+0
9+-+-+L+-0
9PzP-vL-+PzP0
9tR-+-mK-+n0
xiiiiiiiiy
Let’s assess this messy position now
that the dust has settled. For the
price of a mere exchange White now
has the Bishop pair, strong Queen-
www.scchess.com Dec 2015-Jan-Feb 2016
Rank & File 15