FRIDAY:

I've lost my last 5 games of chess and familiar doubts about my chosen hobby are pressing. I could park my grade and retire to publishing and coaching, but that's not an admirable way to behave. Besides, having lost my last 5 games, my grade wouldn't be quite as wonderful at the end of the season, so, time to shape up!

Click on [...] to see games list.

[Event "East Devon Open"]
[Site "Exeter"]
[Date "2013.03.01"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Regis, David"]
[Black "Pittman, Frank"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A24"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[EventDate "2013.03.??"]

{FRIDAY: I've lost my last 5 games of chess and familiar doubts about my
chosen hobby are pressing.  I could park my grade and retire to publishing and
coaching, but that's not an admirable way to behave.  Besides, having lost my
last 5 games, my grade wouldn't be quite as  wonderful at the end of the
season, so, time to shape up.  THE GAME: Black was unlucky to play a line I
had recently reviewed, and conceded a pawn.  Despite some oversights by White
in analysis, ut was actually Black who came up with a blunder.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3
g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 e5 6. Nge2 d6 7. d3 c6 8. O-O Be6 {"Asking for
f5", says Watson.} (8... Nbd7 $142) (8... h6 {1-0 Turner,M-Macleod,A/Ron
Banwell Masters 2001/The Week in Chess 358 (33)}) (8... a6 {1-0 Makarichev,
S-Pavlovic,M/Belgrade GMA op 1988/CBM 010 (23)}) 9. h3 (9. f4 $5 {I got into a
filthy mess playing this move against Andrew Greet some years ago, but Watson
reckons it's OK here:} Qb6+ 10. Kh1 Ng4 11. f5 $1 Bc8 12. Qe1 Ne3 ({"Black
should probably try the computer idea"} 12... gxf5 $5 13. exf5 Nd7 14. Bf3 (14.
h3) 14... Ne3 15. Na4 Qa6 16. Bxe3 Qxa4 17. g4 {with g5 in the post.} Qc2 18.
Qc3 $1 Qxc3 19. Nxc3) 13. f6 $1 (13. Na4 Nxg2 14. Kxg2 Qd8 15. g4 {1-0 Sareen,
V-Ahlers,B/Essent Open 2005/[John Watson] (41) "Black is stuck. This is the
desired result for a Botvinnik System. The only drawback is that White has rid
himself of his bad bishop, which could be used for defence! Still, White can
neutralize a counterattack."}) 13... Nxg2 (13... Nxf1 14. fxg7 Nxg3+ 15. Qxg3
Kxg7 16. Qh4 {and Black has problems with the dark squares around the King.})
14. Kxg2 Bh8 15. b3 $16 {Fritz 5 likes this for Black despite Watson's blunt +/
-}) (9. Qb3 b5) 9... Qd7 {I'd had this position towards the end of last year
against new Exeter signing Pablo Medina who punted 9...d5.  So, alas for
Pittman, I now knew the right approach.  I thought the Queen on d7, protecting
b7, made it better for Black, but it comes to the same thing.} (9... d5 $5 {
Looked too straightforward, but I couldn't solve it after interviewing all day.
} 10. exd5 $1 (10. b3 dxe4 (10... Qd7 11. Kh2 Rd8 12. Bg5 dxc4 13. dxc4 Qe7 14.
Qc1 Na6 15. Qe3 Qf8 16. f4 exf4 17. gxf4 Re8 18. Rad1 Nh5 19. Bf3 Qc5 20. Qxc5
Nxc5 21. Bxh5 gxh5 22. f5 Bc8 23. Rg1 Kh8 24. f6 Bf8 25. Nf4 Ne6 26. Nxe6 Bxe6
27. Rg2 Rad8 28. Rdg1 Rd3 29. Kh1 Rxc3 30. Bf4 Rxh3+ 31. Rh2 Rxh2+ 32. Kxh2 Bg4
33. e5 h6 {0-1 Martinez Asuar,J-Brito,A/Oropesa del Mar TchA-ESP 1996}) (10...
Na6 11. Bg5 d4 12. Nb1 h6 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. f4 b5 15. Nd2 bxc4 16. bxc4 Rb8 17.
Nf3 exf4 18. gxf4 Rb2 19. e5 Be7 20. Kh1 c5 21. Ng3 Qd7 22. f5 Bxf5 23. Nxf5
gxf5 24. Qc1 Rb6 25. Qf4 Kh7 26. h4 Rg6 27. Bh3 Rg4 28. Bxg4 fxg4 29. Nh2 h5
30. Qe4+ Kh6 31. Rf5 Rg8 32. Rxf7 {1-0 Jeske,E-Steudtmann,C/Rostock 12th 1986/
EXT 2001}) 11. dxe4 Qc8 12. Kh2 Na6 13. Ba3 Rd8 14. Qc1 Qc7 15. Qb2 Qa5 16.
Rad1 Nb4 17. Nc1 Bf8 18. Nb1 Nd7 19. Qd2 Qb6 20. Qc3 a5 21. Bb2 Bc5 22. a3 Bd4
23. Rxd4 exd4 24. Qd2 Na6 25. Bxd4 Qc7 26. Bb2 f6 27. Qc3 Bf7 28. f4 Nac5 29.
Rd1 Re8 30. Rd4 Rad8 31. Nd3 Ne6 32. Rxd7 Qxd7 33. Qxf6 Nd4 34. Nc5 Qd6 {
Cordara,M-Loncar,R/Forli 1993/1-0 (69)}) (10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Kh2 (11. Bg5 d4 12.
Nd5 Nbd7 (12... Bxd5 13. exd5 Nbd7 14. Qd2 Nb6 15. Rac1 Qd6 16. Qa5 Nfxd5 17.
Rc5 Nc7 18. Bxb7 Ne6 19. Rc6 Qd7 20. Rxe6 Qxb7 21. Re7 Qf3 22. Re1 Qxd3 23.
Rxa7 Nc4 24. Qa6 Rxa7 25. Qxa7 Nd2 26. Bxd2 Qxd2 27. Kf1 Qxb2 28. Nc1 Qb5+ 29.
Kg1 Qd5 30. Nd3 Ra8 31. Qc7 Qxa2 32. Nxe5 {0-1 Bachmann,K-Van den Berg,C/
FRG-NED 1962/EXT 2003 time}) 13. f4 Bxd5 14. exd5 Qa5 15. b4 Qb6 16. fxe5 Nxe5
17. Qd2 Nfd7 18. Be7 Rfe8 19. d6 Qb5 20. Nf4 a5 21. bxa5 Qxa5 22. Qe2 Nc5 23.
Rf2 Qc3 24. Rd1 Ra3 25. Nd5 Qa5 26. Nf6+ Bxf6 27. Bxf6 Ncd7 28. Be7 Ra8 29. Rd2
Qb5 30. Rf4 Rxd3 31. Rxd3 Nxd3 32. Rxd4 Qb1+ 33. Kh2 Rxa2 34. Qxd3 Qb2 35. Qe4
Qf2 36. Rd1 {1-0 Carvalho,G-Almada,M/ch-URU 2004/The Week in Chess 498}) 11...
Nc6 12. b3 dxe4 13. dxe4 Nd4 14. Na4 Qe7 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Qd3 Bd7 17. f4 Qb4
18. Bd2 Qb5 19. Qxb5 Bxb5 20. Rfc1 Bc6 21. e5 Nd5 22. Rc4 Rfd8 23. Rxd4 f6 24.
Re1 fxe5 25. fxe5 Ne7 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. Bg5 Re8 28. Nc5 h6 29. Bf6 Bxg2 30.
Kxg2 Nc6 31. Bxg7 Kxg7 32. Nxb7 Nxe5 33. Nd6 Rd8 34. Rxe5 Rxd6 {Van Steenis,
J-Hessels,R/Netherlands tt 1994/1-0 (57)}) 10... cxd5 11. f4 $6 (11. d4 $1 {is
Taimanov's idea} e4 (11... dxc4 12. dxe5 Nfd7 13. Bxb7 Bxh3 14. Bxa8) 12. cxd5
Bxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Nc3 Qd7 15. Bg5 h6 (15... Re8 16. Qd2 Nc6 17. d5 Ne5 18.
Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Nxe4 Bg7 20. Rac1 Rad8 21. f4 Nc6 22. dxc6 Qxd2 23. Nxd2 Rxd2 24.
c7 Rxg2+ 25. Kxg2 Rc8 26. Rfd1 Bf6 27. b3 Kg7 28. a4 Be7 29. b4 Kf6 30. b5 b6
31. Kf3 Bc5 32. Rd7 Ke6 33. Rcd1 Be7 34. g4 f5 35. g5 Kf7 {1-0 Markowski,
T-Leib,A/Geneva,SUI 1997}) 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Bxe4 Nc6 18. d5 Ne7 19. Bg2 Rac8
20. d6 Nc6 21. Ne4 Be5 22. Qd5 Rcd8 23. Rad1 Kg7 24. Rfe1 Qf5 25. d7 Nb8 26. g4
Qf4 27. Qxb7 Bc7 28. Nc5 Bb6 29. Re4 Qf6 30. b4 Qb2 31. Re7 Qf6 32. Qe4 a5 33.
Rd6 Qa1+ 34. Bf1 Bc7 35. Rxg6+ {1-0 Bofill,A-Dominguez/Alicante 1989}) (11. Bg5
$5 d4 12. Ne4 Nbd7 13. f4) 11... Nc6 12. fxe5 Nxe5 13. cxd5 (13. Bf4 $5 Nc6 14.
Qb3 $11) 13... Nxd5 14. d4 Nc4 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. b3 (16. Bxd5 Qxd5 17. b3 Nd6
18. Bb2 Nf5 $15) 16... Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Qd5+ 18. Kh2 Nd6 19. Bb2 Nf5 20. Qd2 Rad8
{Long think.} 21. Nf4 $6 (21. Rad1 Rfe8 $17) 21... Qd6 22. d5 $6 {Charging on
with the mistaken idea} Bxb2 23. Qxb2 Ne3 24. Rf3 (24. Rf2) (24. Rfe1) 24...
Nxd5 25. Rd1 {was the plan, but of course} Qf6 $1 $19 26. Qf2 Nxf4 27. Rxd8
Rxd8 28. Rxf4 Qc3 29. Rc4 (29. Qxa7 Qe1 $1 (29... Rd1 30. h4)) 29... Rd2 30.
Rc8+ Kg7 31. Rxc3 Rxf2+ 32. Kg1 Rxa2 33. Rc7 b6 34. b4 a5 35. bxa5 bxa5 36. Ra7
a4 37. h4 h5 38. Ra6 Kf8 39. Ra7 Ke8 40. Kh1 a3 41. Kg1 Kd8 42. Rxf7 Rb2 43.
Ra7 a2 {0-1 Regis,D-Medina,P/Exeter Rooks vs Bishops 2012}) 10. Kh2 d5 {Much
as before.} 11. exd5 $1 cxd5 12. d4 $1 $14 {Black had played at high speed to
this point, but now stopped abruptly.} (12. Qb3 $5 $16 {says Fritz - quite
firmly!}) 12... Nc6 $5 {Relying on activity as compensation.} (12... e4 13. Bg5
({I think Taimanov later recommended} 13. Nf4 dxc4 14. Nxe6 Qxe6 15. Qe2) (13.
cxd5 $1 {was what I intended} Bxd5 (13... Nxd5 14. Nxe4) 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 (14...
Qxd5 15. Nc3) 15. Bxe4) 13... Nc6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nf4 Nxd4 16. Nfxd5 Bxd5 17.
Nxd5 Bg7 18. Bxe4 $16 {0-1 Taimanov M E-Kochiyev A/It  cat. 1977 (36)}) 13.
dxe5 Nxe5 14. cxd5 Bf5 15. Nd4 (15. Qb3) ({I saw} 15. f4 Nd3 16. g4 Nxc1 17.
Qxc1 {but didn't fancy it} Bd3 18. Rd1 Bxe2 19. Nxe2) 15... Rac8 16. Be3 $5 ({
I couldn't quite see my way clear to} 16. Nxf5 $1 Qxf5 17. f4 $1 Nd3 $4 (17...
Nc4 {is not so comfortable for White.}) 18. g4 $18) 16... Rfe8 17. Re1 $5 {
Provoking the following forcing line} Nd3 18. Nxf5 ({After the game we analysed
} 18. Re2 $1 Nxb2 $5 {when things might go} 19. Rxb2 Rxc3 20. Nxf5 Qxf5 21.
Rxb7 Rd3) 18... Nxe1 $6 (18... Qxf5 $6 19. Re2 $1 {and Black is very stretched}
(19. g4 $2 {was what I intended, but} Qe5+ $1)) (18... Nxb2 $1 19. Qb3 Qxf5 20.
Qxb2 (20. Rab1 Nd3) 20... Nxd5 21. Bxd5 Bxc3 22. Qxb7 {is actually no more
than equal at best for White}) 19. Nxg7 Nxg2 $4 (19... Rxe3 $1 20. fxe3 Nxg2
21. Kxg2 Kxg7 $18) 20. Nxe8 {coming out a piece ahead.} 1-0

[Event "East Devon Open"]
[Site "Exeter"]
[Date "2013.03.02"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Mackle, Dominic"]
[Black "Regis, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A40"]
[Annotator "Regis,Dr.Dave"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2013.03.??"]

{I'm not sure whether to be pleased at how long I lasted or disappointed that
I never felt as though I had anything positive to contribute during the game. 
I was disappointed with my opening play, but that may have been OK.  Odessky
titled his chapter on this line as "Tears fall", and maybe that's all there is
to it: Black cannot create difficulties for White in this variation.} 1. d4 e6
2. c4 b6 ({I had resolved to start playing} 2... Nf6 {here, but did not.  I've
played exactly one Nimzo in my life, and had a vague idea that Dominic steers
for the Queen's Indian anyway...}) 3. a3 Bb7 ({I had resolved to play} 3... g6
{here, but did not}) 4. Nc3 f5 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. d5 Na6 7. b4 Bd6 ({In a similar
position, Danny King suggests} 7... Nxb4 $5 8. axb4 Bxb4 9. Bd2 Bxc3 10. Bxc3
exd5 11. cxd5 Bxd5) (7... exd5 8. cxd5 c5 {has been played} 9. dxc6 (9. d6 {
worried me:} Ne4 10. Nb5 Qf6 11. Bf4 Bc6 12. Be5 Qe6 13. e3) 9... dxc6 10. Bf4
(10. Qb3 Bd6 11. e3 Qe7 12. Nd4 Be5 13. Nxf5 Qd7 14. Nd4 O-O-O 15. Be2 c5 16.
Nf3 Bxc3+ 17. Qxc3 Ne4 18. Qc2 g5 19. Bb2 Rhe8 20. O-O Qf5 21. Nd4 Qg6 22. f3
Kb8 23. bxc5 Nexc5 24. Qxg6 hxg6 25. Kf2 Nc7 26. Rad1 Nd5 27. e4 Na4 28. Ba1
Ndc3 29. Bb5 Nxd1+ 30. Rxd1 Nc5 31. Bxe8 Rxe8 32. h3 Ba6 33. Nc6+ Kc7 34. Nb4
Bb5 {Vaisser,A-Halkias,S/2nd IECC 2001/The Week in Chess 344/1-0 (63)}) 10...
Be7 11. e3 Nc7 12. Qxd8+ Bxd8 13. Bc4 Ncd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Be5 Kf7 16. Nd4
Re8 17. f4 Bf6 18. Bxd5+ cxd5 19. Bxf6 Kxf6 20. Kd2 Rec8 21. Rhc1 a6 22. Nf3 g6
23. g3 Ke7 24. Ne5 Kd6 25. Kd3 Bc6 26. Kd4 Ba4 27. h4 Ke6 28. Kd3 Rab8 29. Kd2
Ra8 30. Nf3 Kd6 31. Rxc8 Rxc8 32. Rc1 {Ionescu Constantin-Kiss Attila/It (open)
, Balatonbereny (Hung 1996/1-0 (46)}) 8. g3 (8. e3 O-O 9. Bd3 c6 10. dxc6 dxc6
11. Qe2 c5 12. b5 Nc7 13. Bb2 Ng4 14. O-O-O e5 15. h3 Nh6 16. Bc2 Qe7 17. e4
Ne6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. Rxd5 Nf4 20. Qd2 Nxd5 21. Qxd5+ Kh8 22. exf5 Rae8 23. Rd1
e4 24. Qxd6 Qxd6 25. Rxd6 Nxf5 26. Rd7 exf3 27. Bxf5 Rxf5 28. g4 Rf4 29. Kb1
Kg8 30. Rxg7+ Kf8 31. Rxa7 Re1+ 32. Ka2 Re2 33. a4 Rxf2 34. a5 Rxb2+ {0-1
Southam Todd-Hergott Deen/It (open), North Bay (Canada) 1994}) 8... c6 9. dxe6
dxe6 10. Bg2 O-O (10... c5 11. Nb5 Be7 12. Qxd8+ Rxd8 13. O-O cxb4 14. axb4
Bxb4 15. Rxa6 Bxa6 16. Nc7+ Ke7 17. Nxa6 Bd6 18. Bf4 Ne4 19. Nd4 Rc8 20. Bxd6+
Kxd6 21. Nb5+ Ke7 22. Bxe4 fxe4 23. Rc1 h5 24. h4 g5 25. hxg5 Rhg8 26. Nxa7 Ra8
27. Nc6+ Kd6 28. Ncb4 Rxg5 29. Rd1+ Ke7 30. Rd4 Rg4 31. c5 bxc5 32. Nxc5 Rc8
33. Nxe4 e5 34. Nd5+ Ke6 35. Ra4 Rxe4 36. Rxe4 Kxd5 37. Rh4 Rh8 38. Kg2 Ke6 39.
f3 Kf5 40. g4+ Kg5 41. Kg3 {1-0 Baburin,A-Wall,T/Iona Tech Masters 1998}) 11.
O-O Qe7 {I thought I had misplayed the opening, but Odessky gives this
variation with his approval, judging it equal.} 12. Bb2 Rad8 13. Qc2 {White
has space, better pieces, and no targets for Black to aim at.  I hate playing
positions like this.} c5 14. b5 Nc7 {Wozu? as Alekhine asked.} (14... Nb8) 15.
a4 (15. Nd2 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Qf7 17. Nf3 Qh5 18. Rad1 e5 19. e3 e4 20. Ng1 Ne6 21.
Qe2 Qg6 22. Kh1 Qh6 23. Nd5 Nh5 24. Nf4 Nhxf4 25. exf4 Qg6 26. Qe3 Qf7 27. Ne2
Be7 28. Be5 Bf6 29. Qc3 Bxe5 30. Qxe5 Rfe8 31. Qc3 Rd7 32. Qa1 Red8 33. Nc3 Nd4
34. Nd5 Nf3 35. Kg2 Qh5 36. Rh1 Rd6 37. a4 Nh4+ 38. Kf1 Qf3 39. Rg1 e3 40. Nf6+
Kf7 {0-1 Lim Chuing Hoong-Nguzen Thai Binh/Asian Jr Champs 1999}) 15... f4 $5 {
Perhaps a mistaken idea, but I didn't want to wait for White to come down the
a-file.} 16. Ng5 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 Be5 18. Nf3 Bd6 (18... Bd4 $5) 19. a5 e5 $6 (
19... Ng4 $1 {says Fritz}) 20. axb6 axb6 21. Ne4 Nxe4 $2 {Draws the Queen to a
superb square where it can, for example, win the e-pawn by force.} 22. Qxe4
fxg3 23. hxg3 Ne6 $5 24. Rh1 g6 25. e3 (25. Nxe5 $1 {can hardly be wrong.  A
level of mutual time trouble is accumulating.}) 25... Bb8 26. Rad1 Ng5 {
Deciding after all to fight to keep the e-pawn.} (26... Qf6 $5) 27. Nxg5 Qxg5
28. Qb7 Rf7 29. Qxb6 Bc7 30. Qe6 Rxd1 31. Rxd1 Qh5 32. Qd5 Qg4 33. Ra1 $5 (33.
b6 $1) 33... h5 $4 {Collapsing.} (33... Qe2 $1 $11 {After the game, we
wondered if this was winning!} 34. Ra8+ $4 (34. b6 $1 Qxf2+ 35. Kh3 Bb8 36. Ra8
$5 Qf5+ 37. g4 Qf1+ 38. Kh2 Qe2+) 34... Kg7 $1) 34. Ra8+ Kh7 $4 35. Qxf7+ 1-0

[Event "East Devon Open"]
[Site "Exeter"]
[Date "2013.03.02"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Regis, David"]
[Black "Bartlett, Simon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[Annotator "Regis,Dr.Dave"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2013.03.??"]

{A bit of a grind.  I have been playing this line for so long, you would have
thought I could find the right way through when I get a chance, but just as
against Alan Brusey in January, I make a pig's ear out of Botvinnik's silk
purse.  Black doesn't seize his moment, though, preferring to play simple,
uncommittal moves, which lead to his downfall.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7
4. Nc3 d6 5. e4 e5 6. Nge2 O-O 7. d3 Nc6 8. O-O Nh5 9. f4 (9. h3 f5 (9... Be6
10. Nd5 Nb8 11. g4 Nf6 12. f4 Ne8 13. f5 Bd7 14. f6 Bxf6 15. Nxf6+ {1-0
Spanton,T-Bonani,G/La Perla Open 2000/The Week in Chess 280}) 10. exf5 gxf5 11.
Nd5 Nf6 12. Bg5 Ne7 13. Nec3 c6 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. Qd2 Be6 16. Rae1 Qf7 17. b3
Nh5 18. Kh2 f4 19. Bf3 Qg6 20. Bh4 Qh6 21. Kg2 Rae8 22. g4 Nf6 23. Bxf6 Qxf6
24. Rh1 Qh4 25. Reg1 Rd8 26. Kf1 d5 27. Qc2 Bf7 28. g5 Bh5 29. Bg4 Rfe8 30. Ne2
f3 31. Ng3 Bxg4 32. hxg4 Qxg4 33. Nh5 Qe6 34. Nf6+ Bxf6 35. gxf6+ Kh8 36. Rg7
Qf5 37. Qd2 dxc4 38. Rhxh7+ Qxh7 39. Rxh7+ Kxh7 40. Qg5 Rd7 {1-0 Harikrishna,
P-Alavi,S/Cala Galdana WYCF b10 1996}) (9. Nd5 f5 (9... Ne7 10. Bg5 f6 11. Be3
c6 12. Nxe7+ Qxe7 13. Qd2 Be6 14. Rac1 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. f4 Rae8 17. Rfe1
Qf7 18. b3 Qg6 19. d4 Bc8 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. Bxa7 Rd8 22. Qc2 exf4 23. Nxf4 Nxf4
24. gxf4 Qh6 25. Qf2 Bc3 26. Rxc3 {1-0 Grant,A-Gruettner,R/12th Monarch
Assurance 2003/The Week in Chess 465}) (9... Bg4 10. f3 Bd7 11. g4 Nf6 12. Bg5
Nd4 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. Bh4 c6 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Bg3 Qe7 17. Qd2 b6 18. Rae1
Rae8 19. Qf2 h5 20. gxh5 gxh5 21. h4 Kh7 22. f4 Rg8 23. e5 Rxg3 24. exf6 Rxg2+
25. Qxg2 Qxf6 26. Rxe8 Bxe8 27. Qg5 Qg6 28. f5 Qh6 29. Kh2 Bd7 30. Kg3 c5 31.
Kf4 b5 32. b3 bxc4 33. dxc4 Bc6 34. a3 d5 35. Qxh6+ Kxh6 36. cxd5 Bxd5 37. Rc1
{1-0 Fohler,C-Wagner,H/FRG-ch qual 1990/GER}) (9... Be6 10. h3 f5 11. exf5 gxf5
12. f4 Qd7 13. Kh2 Nf6 14. Rb1 Rae8 15. Be3 Kh8 16. b4 Qf7 17. Nec3 Nd4 18.
Nxf6 Bxf6 19. Nd5 Bg7 20. b5 Qd7 21. Nb4 Bg8 22. Bxd4 exd4 23. Bxb7 Qe6 24. Re1
Qg6 25. Qf3 Re3 26. Rxe3 dxe3 27. Bc6 Bd4 28. Nc2 Qf6 29. Re1 Bb6 30. Nxe3 Qc3
31. Qe2 Be6 32. Nd1 Qf6 33. Qxe6 Qd4 34. Qe2 Ba5 35. Rf1 Bb6 36. Qb2 Kg7 37.
Re1 Rf7 38. Qxd4+ Bxd4 39. Ne3 Re7 {1-0 Weyerstrass-Overbeeke/HSG 1981}) (9...
Nd4 10. Nxd4 exd4 11. f4 c6 12. Nb4 Nf6 13. Nc2 Nd7 14. f5 c5 15. Bf4 Ne5 16.
Qd2 f6 17. h4 Nf7 18. g4 g5 19. Bh2 gxh4 20. Bf4 Ne5 21. Bh3 Bd7 22. Kh1 Bc6
23. Ne1 b5 24. b3 bxc4 25. bxc4 Rb8 26. Rg1 Nf7 27. Nf3 h6 28. Nxh4 Ng5 29. Bg2
Rf7 30. Qf2 Rb6 31. Ng6 Rfb7 32. Bc1 Nf7 33. Nf4 Ne5 34. Qh4 Qe7 35. Qh3 Be8
36. Nd5 Qf8 37. Nxb6 axb6 38. Bf4 Bc6 39. Rgb1 Nf7 40. e5 {time 1-0 Maus,
S-Fransson,P/Gausdal Int 1990/TD}) 10. exf5 gxf5 (10... Bxf5 11. h3 (11. Be3
Qd7 12. Qd2 Rf7 13. f4 Re8 14. Rae1 Bh3 15. d4 exd4 16. Bf2 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 g5
18. fxg5 Ne5 19. Bxd4 Nxc4 20. Qd3 Rxf1 21. Rxf1 Qc6 22. Rf5 Be5 23. Qf3 Nd2
24. Qxh5 Qxd5+ 25. Kh3 Qe6 26. g4 Bxd4 27. Nxd4 Qe3+ 28. Nf3 Rf8 29. g6 {1-0
Raaste,E-Ristoja,T/Helsinki op 1984/EXT 2002}) 11... Nf6 (11... Bd7 12. g4 Nf6
13. Bg5 Qc8 14. Qd2 Nxd5 15. cxd5 Nd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Rac1 Rf7 18. Rc2 a5 19.
Be4 Bxg4 20. hxg4 Qxg4+ 21. Bg2 Rf5 22. f4 h6 23. Be7 Re8 24. Qe2 Qxe2 25. Rxe2
Kf7 26. Bh3 Rxe7 27. Rxe7+ Kxe7 28. Bxf5 gxf5 29. Re1+ Kf7 30. Rc1 {1-0 Wahls,
M-Langheinrich,F/Bundesliga 2001-2 2001/The Week in Chess 361}) 12. Be3 Kh8 13.
Qd2 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Ne7 15. Rac1 c6 16. dxc6 Nxc6 17. d4 Qa5 18. d5 Qxd2 19. Bxd2
Nd4 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. Rc7 Rab8 22. g4 Bd3 23. Re1 Bf6 24. Bh6 Rfe8 25. Re6 Rxe6
26. dxe6 Re8 27. Rf7 {1-0 Bilek,I-Gulbrandsen,A/Rilton Cup 1973/EXT 2001}) 11.
f4 (11. Nec3 Nf6 12. Bg5 Ne7 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7 14. Qd2 c6 15. b4 Qc7 16. b5 Bd7
17. a4 a5 18. Rab1 Be6 19. Rfe1 Qd7 20. bxc6 bxc6 21. Rb6 e4 22. dxe4 Bxc4 23.
e5 dxe5 24. Qxd7 Nxd7 25. Rxc6 Rac8 26. Rxc4 e4 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Nd5 Rc5 29.
Rd1 Ne5 30. Be3 Rc2 31. Ne7+ {1-0 Reschke,T-Friede,A/OLO-B 1993}) 11... Nf6 12.
Rb1 a5 13. b3 Kh8 14. Bb2 Bd7 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. d4 e4 17. Ne3 Ng4 18. Nf4 {1-0
Duhayon,Y-Winants,H/2nd Open 2003/The Week in Chess 452}) (9. Be3 f5 (9... Ne7
10. Qd2 c6 11. d4 f5 (11... Qc7 12. Rad1 f5 13. f4 fxe4 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. fxe5
Rxf1+ 16. Rxf1 Be6 17. b3 Nf5 18. Bg5 h6 19. g4 hxg5 20. gxf5 Qb6+ 21. Kh1 e3
22. Qd6 Bxf5 23. Ne4 Rd8 24. Qe7 Nf4 25. Nxf4 gxf4 26. Nf6+ Kh8 27. Rxf4 g5 28.
Rxf5 e2 29. Ne8 e1=Q+ 30. Rf1 Qxe5 31. Rf8+ Kh7 32. Be4+ Qxe4+ 33. Qxe4+ {1-0
Marin,L-Fugulyan,G/Ciuc Premium A1 2002/The Week in Chess 408}) 12. Rad1 Qe8
13. dxe5 dxe5 14. exf5 Nxf5 15. Bc5 Bh6 16. Qc2 Ne7 17. Bd6 Bg7 18. Qb3 Rf7 19.
c5 Nf6 20. Bxe5 Ned5 21. Bd6 Be6 22. Nd4 Nxc3 23. Nxe6 Ncd5 24. Rfe1 Qc8 25.
Bh3 Nd7 26. Ng5 Rf6 27. Re7 {1-0 Notter,F-Mueller,H/Karlsruhe U20 1992/GER 04})
(9... Nd4 10. Qd2 (10. f3 f5 11. Qd2 f4 12. gxf4 Nxe2+ 13. Nxe2 Nxf4 14. Nxf4
exf4 15. Bxf4 Bxb2 16. Rab1 Bd4+ 17. Kh1 b6 18. Bg5 Qe8 19. Bh6 Rf7 20. f4 Bb7
21. f5 gxf5 22. exf5 Qc8 23. Qg5+ Kh8 24. f6 Bxg2+ 25. Qxg2 c5 26. Bg7+ Kg8 27.
Rbe1 Qb7 28. Re4 Be5 29. Rg1 Bd4 30. Bf8+ {1-0 Bilek,I-Kivipelto,K/EO 0}) (10.
f4 Nxe2+ 11. Qxe2 exf4 12. gxf4 Qh4 13. Qf2 Qxf2+ 14. Rxf2 c6 15. d4 f5 16. d5
Nf6 17. Rd2 Ng4 18. Bd4 Bxd4+ 19. Rxd4 c5 20. Rd2 Ne3 21. e5 Nxc4 22. Re2 dxe5
23. fxe5 f4 24. Rf1 g5 25. d6 Ne3 26. Rxe3 fxe3 27. Bd5+ Kg7 28. Rxf8 Kxf8 29.
e6 Kg7 30. Ne4 Rb8 31. Nxc5 e2 32. Kf2 e1=Q+ 33. Kxe1 Bxe6 34. Nxe6+ Kf6 35. d7
Ke5 36. Bb3 {1-0 Bang,E-Petersen,B/Rasmussen mem 1970/EXT 1998}) 10... c6 11.
Rab1 (11. f4 Nxe2+ 12. Nxe2 exf4 13. gxf4 f5 14. Rac1 Nf6 15. h3 Be6 16. e5
dxe5 17. fxe5 Nh5 18. d4 Bf7 19. Bf3 c5 20. Bxh5 gxh5 21. Bh6 Bxh6 22. Qxh6
cxd4 23. Kh2 Bg6 24. Nf4 Qe8 25. e6 Kh8 26. Rcd1 Rg8 27. Rxd4 Qf8 28. Qxf8
Raxf8 29. Rd7 Rg7 30. Rfd1 h4 31. Rd8 Kg8 32. R1d7 Re7 33. Rxe7 Rxd8 34. Nd5
Re8 35. Rxe8+ Bxe8 36. Kg2 Kf8 37. Kf3 Bh5+ 38. Ke3 Bd1 39. b4 Kg7 40. c5 {1-0
Winants,L-Nijboer,F/Wijk aan Zee 1994}) 11... Bh3 12. f3 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 f5 14.
Bg5 Qd7 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Ne2 Rae8 17. Rbe1 fxe4 18. dxe4 d5 19. exd5 cxd5 20.
c5 d3 21. Qxd3 Bxb2 22. g4 Ng7 23. Nf4 Ne6 24. Nxd5 Bd4 25. Qc4 Bxc5 26. Rxe6
Rxe6 27. Qxc5 h5 28. h3 Kh7 {1-0 Ruthenberg,H-Rigo,J/Dortmund 1988}) (9... Be6
10. Qd2 Qd7 11. Rae1 Ne7 12. b3 c6 13. d4 Rfd8 14. f4 Qc8 15. f5 gxf5 16. Bh6
f4 17. Bxg7 Nxg7 18. gxf4 f5 19. d5 cxd5 20. exd5 Bd7 21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Qh6 Be8
23. Kh1 Bg6 24. Nf4 e4 25. Nb5 a6 26. Nd4 Rd6 27. Re3 Qf8 28. Rh3 Rf6 29. Nxg6
hxg6 30. Ne6 Rxe6 31. dxe6 {1-0 Tassi-Whayman/Rome 1985}) 10. Qd2 (10. exf5
gxf5 11. f4 Nf6 (11... Be6 12. Qd2 Rf7 13. b3 Qf8 14. d4 exd4 15. Nxd4 Nxd4 16.
Bxd4 c6 17. Rae1 Bd7 18. Re2 Nf6 19. Rfe1 c5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Bxb7 Kg7 22.
Bxa8 Qxa8 23. Nd5 Bd4+ 24. Kf1 Bc6 25. Re7 Bxd5 26. cxd5 Qxd5 27. Qg2 Qxg2+ 28.
Kxg2 Bf6 29. Rxf7+ Kxf7 30. Kf3 h5 31. h3 d5 32. Rc1 Bd4 33. Rd1 Ke6 34. Rxd4
cxd4 35. Ke2 Kd6 36. b4 {1-0 Claesen,P-Ooms,A/15th Open 2003/The Week in Chess
471}) (11... Kh8 12. Qd2 Be6 13. Rae1 Qf6 14. b3 Nd8 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. d4 Qg6
17. dxe5 Bxe5 18. Bd4 Bxd4+ 19. Nxd4 c6 20. Ne4 Ng7 21. Nc5 Rc8 22. Ndxe6 Ngxe6
23. Nxe6 Nxe6 24. Qd7 Rfe8 25. Qxb7 Nd4 26. Re7 Rxe7 27. Qxe7 Re8 28. Qxa7 Ne2+
29. Kh1 Qh6 30. Qf2 Re3 31. Bf3 Nd4 32. Qd2 c5 33. Bd5 f4 34. Re1 Qh3 35. Qf2
Rxe1+ 36. Qxe1 Qf5 37. Qe8+ Kg7 38. Qe7+ Kh8 39. Be4 {1-0 Sarosy,Z-Siemms,R/
corr CCCA 1980}) 12. h3 (12. Kh1 Be6 13. b3 Ng4 14. Bg1 Rf6 15. d4 exd4 16.
Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 Rh6 18. h3 Nf6 19. Qd3 c5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Rae1 Bd7 22.
Qxd6 Bc6 23. Qxd8+ Rxd8 24. Nd5 Bxd5 25. Bxd5+ Kg7 26. Kg2 b6 27. Re6 Rg6 28.
Rfe1 Bc3 29. Re7+ Kh6 30. R1e2 a5 31. Rb7 Rdd6 32. Ree7 Rg7 33. Kf3 Bd4 34. g4
fxg4+ 35. hxg4 Rxe7 36. Rxe7 Bf6 37. g5+ Kg6 38. gxf6 {1-0 Jacoby Gisbert-Lind
Jan-Olov/It 1980} (38. Be4+ Kh5 39. Rxh7# {1-0 Jacoby,G-Lind,J/Hamburg HSK 1980
})) 12... Re8 13. Qd2 e4 14. dxe4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Rad1 Ne7 17. g4 Ng6
18. Ng3 Qh4 19. Nh5 Bh6 20. f5 Bxe3+ 21. Qxe3 {1-0 Langheinrich,F-Tripoteau,N/
WCh U16 Boys 1999}) 10... Be6 (10... Nf6 11. h3 Be6 (11... Ne7 12. Kh2 c6 13.
f4 Be6 14. b3 Qc7 15. Rae1 Rad8 16. Qc1 b6 17. d4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 fxe4 19. Bxe4
Qc8 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. Bg2 c5 22. fxe5 Rxf1 23. Rxf1 Bxe5 24. Bg5 Qc7 25. Nf4
Bf7 26. Nd5 Bxg3+ 27. Kg1 Rxd5 28. cxd5 Nxd5 29. Qd2 Ne7 30. Rd1 Nc6 31. Bxc6
Qxc6 32. Qc3 {1-0 Spitzbarth,F-Boesenberg,E/WT/M\4641989-90 1990}) 12. Nd5 Qd7
13. Kh2 Ne7 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. exf5 Bxf5 16. Bxb7 Rad8 17. Nc3 e4 18. dxe4 Nxe4
19. Qd5+ Kh8 20. Nxe4 Rb8 21. Nd2 c5 22. Bc6 Rxb2 23. Rae1 Qc7 24. Bf4 {1-0
Paduch,A-Federkevic,D/Canada 1992}) (10... Nd4 11. f4 (11. exf5 Nxf5 12. Bg5
Bf6 13. Ne4 Bxg5 14. Nxg5 c6 15. Rae1 Nhg7 16. b3 h6 17. Ne4 Ne6 18. g4 Nh4 19.
Qxh6 g5 20. d4 d5 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Nc5 Rf6 23. Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Qh5 Kg7 25. f4
exf4 26. Nxf4 Rh6 27. Re8 Qf6 28. Ne6+ Bxe6 29. Rxf6 Rxh5 30. Rfxe6 Rxe8 31.
Rxe8 {1-0 Zlotnikov,M-Hook,W/Washington 1990}) 11... fxe4 12. dxe4 Nxe2+ 13.
Nxe2 Be6 14. Rac1 Qe7 15. b3 Nf6 16. f5 Bd7 17. Nc3 Bc6 18. h3 Rf7 19. g4 gxf5
20. exf5 Bxg2 21. Qxg2 h6 22. h4 Kh8 23. g5 Rg8 24. Qh3 Nh5 25. Nd5 Qd7 26. Qf3
c6 27. Qxh5 cxd5 28. g6 Bf8 29. Kh2 Rxg6 30. fxg6 {1-0 Nielsen,A-Larsen,O/
DEN-ch 1958/EXT 2000}) 11. Nd5 (11. b4 Qf6 12. exf5 gxf5 13. b5 f4 14. bxc6 b6
15. gxf4 exf4 16. Bd4 Qg6 17. Kh1 f3 18. Rg1 Qf7 19. Bf1 fxe2 20. Bxe2 Nf6 21.
Ne4 Kh8 22. Ng5 Qe7 23. Nxe6 Qxe6 24. Rae1 Qf7 25. Bf3 Rg8 26. Qb2 Raf8 27. a3
a5 28. a4 h5 29. Rg2 Re8 30. Reg1 Ng4 31. Be5 Qf4 32. Bxg7+ Rxg7 {1-0 Kriens,
M-Iten,R/DEN-ch int U18 1982/EXT 2000}) 11... fxe4 12. dxe4 Nf6 13. Bg5 Ne7 14.
Nec3 Qd7 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Nd5 Qd7 17. Rad1 Ne8 18. c5 Kh8 19. Be7 Rf7 20.
cxd6 {1-0 Nakhaenko,V-Rzaev,G/corr Tch10-SU 1994}) (9. Rb1 a5 10. Nd5 f5 11.
exf5 Bxf5 12. h3 Be6 13. Be3 Qd7 14. Kh2 Rae8 15. a3 Kh8 16. b4 axb4 17. axb4
Ne7 18. Nxe7 Rxe7 19. b5 d5 20. Bc5 dxc4 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. dxc4 Bxc4 23. Qc2
Qe6 24. Rb4 Bd5 25. Bxd5 Qxd5 26. Qe4 Qc5 27. Kg2 Nf6 28. Qc4 Qa7 29. Rbb1 Ne8
30. Nc3 Nd6 31. Qxc7 Nf5 32. b6 Qa6 33. Rfd1 Qa3 34. Rd8 Nd4 35. Rxf8+ Qxf8 36.
Qxb7 h5 37. Qd5 {1-0 Gerstenberger,H-Panic,B/6th Stuttgart Open 2001/The Week
in Chess 342}) 9... f5 (9... exf4 10. Nxf4 Nxf4 11. Bxf4 Nd4 (11... f5 12. Qd2
Ne5 13. Rae1 fxe4 14. Nxe4 Bf5 15. b3 Qd7 16. Kh1 Bh3 17. d4 Bxg2+ 18. Kxg2 Nc6
19. d5 Ne5 20. Ng5 Rf5 21. Ne6 Re8 22. Bxe5 Rxe5 23. Rxe5 Bxe5 24. Qf2 h5 25.
Qxa7 c6 26. Qe3 Bg7 27. h4 b5 28. Qe4 Kh7 29. g4 Kh6 30. Qf4+ Kh7 31. Qf7 {1-0
Lauvsnes A-Vage/It 1989}) (11... Be6 12. Qd2 Qd7 13. Nd5 Nd4 14. Bh6 f5 15.
Bxg7 Qxg7 16. Nf4 fxe4 17. Bxe4 c6 18. Rae1 Bf5 19. Rf2 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 Rae8 21.
Qe3 Rxe4 22. Qxe4 Qe5 23. Qxe5 dxe5 24. Nh3 Nf3+ 25. Kh1 g5 26. g4 h6 27. Rf1
Nh4 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Nf2 Ke7 30. Kg1 Ke6 31. Kf1 Ng6 32. Ke2 b6 33. Ke3 Ne7
34. Ne4 Ng6 35. Ng3 Nh4 36. Ke4 Kf6 37. b4 Ke6 38. Nh5 {1-0 Pajdla,P-Sevcak,F/
CSR Amy-ch 13th 1966/EXT 1999}) 12. Qd2 c6 13. Kh1 Be6 14. Bh6 f5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7
16. Rf2 Qd7 17. Raf1 fxe4 18. Rxf8 Rxf8 19. Rxf8 Kxf8 20. Qf2+ Nf5 21. dxe4
Bxc4 22. exf5 Qxf5 23. Qxa7 b5 24. Qb8+ Kg7 25. Qxd6 Bd5 26. Qc7+ {1-0 Berry,
J-Ibarra Chami,L/XVI Carlos Torre Mem 2003/The Week in Chess 476}) 10. Be3 (10.
Nd5 Be6 11. Rb1 a5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. h3 Nf6 14. Ne3 Bd7 15. Kh2 Kh8 16. b3 Qe7
17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. cxd5 Nd8 19. Bb2 c6 20. d4 exd4 21. Nxd4 c5 22. Re1 Qf7 23.
Ne6 Bxe6 24. dxe6 Nxe6 25. Qxd6 Ra6 26. Bxg7+ Kxg7 27. Qe5+ Kg8 28. Bd5 Re8 29.
g4 Kf8 30. f5 gxf5 31. gxf5 Ng7 32. Bxf7 Rxe5 33. Rxe5 Kxf7 34. Rxc5 Rf6 35.
Rc7+ {1-0 Pitkaranta,T-Kuvaldin,V/corr Baltic tt 1986}) 10... Nf6 (10... Be6
11. Nd5 Qd7 12. Qd2 Rae8 13. Rae1 Nf6 14. Kh1 Rf7 15. b3 fxe4 16. dxe4 Bh3 17.
Nxf6+ Rxf6 18. Nc3 exf4 19. gxf4 Bxg2+ 20. Qxg2 Rfe6 21. Bd2 Nd4 22. Rd1 b5 23.
f5 {1-0 Rogers,I-Carton,N/EO 0}) 11. h3 Nh5 {I thought Black has spent so much
time re-positioning that Knight that White might have a way of demonstrating a
plus, but I couldn't find it, despite my experience in this line.} 12. Qd2 $2 (
12. fxe5 $1 $16 {upsets Black's structure:} dxe5 (12... Nxe5 13. exf5 gxf5 14.
d4 $1) 13. Bc5 $1 Rf7 14. exf5 $1 Rxf5 15. Qd2 Nf6 16. g4 Rxf1+ 17. Rxf1 Be6)
12... Nd4 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Bg5 (14. exf5 $1 {still looks like the right
approach.} Nxf5 15. Bg5 Bf6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Rf2 $14) 14... Qd6 $1 {I was
surprised to find this square unoccupied by a pawn.} 15. exf5 $1 {Finally!}
Nxe2+ 16. Nxe2 gxf5 17. Bf3 (17. Rae1 $1) 17... Nf6 18. Nc3 c6 $2 (18... e4 $1
{was critical, discovering an attack on g3, when White is struggling for a way
forward.}) 19. Rae1 Bd7 20. Kg2 Rae8 {White has managed to get to a playable
position, and even has some prospects against the hanging pawns.} 21. b4 $5 b6
(21... Qxb4 22. Rb1 Qd6 23. Rxb7 e4 24. Be2 {and White is making progress}) 22.
a3 $6 {Not very constructive.} Be6 23. b5 $5 c5 {Now I felt the sun on my back.
} 24. Qe2 Bf7 $6 25. Bc6 $1 Re7 $2 (25... Rd8 $1 26. Nd5 $1) 26. Rxf5 $1 Bg6
27. Rxf6 $6 {I was quite pleased with this, but Fritz rains on my parade, as
usual...} (27. Ne4 $1 $18 {(Fritz) undermining the Queen's defence of f6} Nxe4
28. Rxf8+ Bxf8 29. Bxe7 Qxe7 30. Bxe4) 27... Bxf6 28. Bxf6 Rxf6 29. Nd5 Rfe6
30. Nxe7+ Rxe7 31. Bd5+ Kg7 32. Rf1 Re8 33. Qf3 {with a pawn and a bind.} h6
34. h4 Rf8 $5 {A tough position for Black - he doesn't really want an endgame,
but White's major pieces are very strong where they are.} 35. Qxf8+ Qxf8 36.
Rxf8 Kxf8 37. Be4 Bf7 (37... Bh5 38. Bf5 Be8 39. Kf3 Ke7 40. Ke4 Kf6 41. g4 Bf7
) 38. g4 Kg7 39. g5 (39. Kg3 Kf6 40. Kf3 Be6) 39... hxg5 40. hxg5 {which I
assumed was winning easily, as I have a fine barrier to Black's King, but
White also wants for a way in.} Bh5 $1 41. Kg3 Be8 $2 (41... Be2 $1) 42. Bf5 $4
{I cannot explain this decision.} (42. Kg4 $1 {is obvious enough} Kf8 (42...
Bd7+ 43. Bf5 Be8 44. Kf3 $1 $18 {reaching e4 before Black can play Kd6.} Bg6
45. Bxg6 Kxg6 46. Kg4) ({I imagine I was afraid of} 42... Bg6 $4 {but} 43. Bxg6
Kxg6 44. a4 $1 $18) 43. Bf5 Ke7 44. Kf3 Bf7 45. Ke4 Kd6 46. Bh7 $18) 42... Bh5
$1 {Now what?} 43. Kh4 Be2 44. Be4 Bd1 45. Kg3 Bh5 46. Bf5 {Black had a long
think here, and allowed me to draw a number of unhappy conclusions.  White
would like to play the King to e4, but how?  Crawling via f2 allows ...Bg6!}
Kf8 $4 {Removing the threat of Bg6} (46... Kf7 $1 {is tough!  I couldn't find
a way in then or now, e.g.} 47. Kf2 $5 (47. Kh4 Be2 48. Be4 Kg7 $1) 47... Bg6
$1 48. Bxg6+ Kxg6 49. Kf3 Kxg5 50. Ke4 Kf6 51. Kd5 Kf5 52. Kc6 Kf4 53. Kb7 Ke3
54. Kxa7 Kxd3 55. Kxb6 e4 56. Kxc5 e3 57. b6 e2 58. b7 e1=Q 59. b8=Q Qf2+ 60.
Kc6 Qf6+ $11) (46... Bd1 $4 47. Kf2 $1 Bh5 48. Ke3 Bg6 49. Ke4) 47. Kf2 Ke7 48.
Ke3 Bf7 49. Ke4 Kd6 50. g6 $18 (50. g6 Be6 (50... Bg8 51. Bc8 Kc7 52. Bh3 Kd6
53. Bg4 $22 {is Zugzwang}) 51. a4 Bg8 52. Bc8 Be6 (52... Kc7 53. Bh3 Kd6 54.
Bg4 $22) 53. g7 $1 Bg8 54. Bb7 Bh7+ 55. Ke3 Ke7 56. Bd5 $18) 1-0


[Event "East Devon Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.03.03"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Abbott, M."]
[Black "Regis, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A42"]
[PlyCount "100"]

{Some rather vague opening ideas were crowned by an absolute lemon on move 12,
after which Black's position could be resigned without shame.  I played on,
more out of inertia than anything else, when I spied an opposite-coloured
Bishop ending in the distance... and White was good enough to steer for it.} 1.
d4 g6 {I haven't played the Modern for a long while in a graded game, but the
English from Round 2 still smelled funny and I wasn't ready to take on Mark's
thorough preparation and great experience in a Nimzo.} 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4.
e4 Nd7 (4... Bg4 $1 {says Davies}) (4... e5 $1 {says Tiger H-P}) 5. Be2 e5 6.
Nc3 Ne7 (6... Ngf6 {transposes to a Classical King's Indian, where I seemed to
recall that Nbd7 hasn't been considered adequate for decades.  But, as usual,
I'm out of date:} 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 (8. Be3 exd4 {The idea o f this variation 
(as well as Glek's Variation) is an attack on the e4-pawn and trying to make
use of the hanging position of the White bishop on e3 after White plays f3.
However the main difference here is that the queen's knight is already on d7
and doesn't put any pressure on the centre. As a positive factor we can
mention the idea of breaking in the centre by means of ...c6 followed by ...d5.
} (8... Re8 $5 {0-1 Turov,M-Bologan,V/European Club Cup, Kallithea 2008/
[Richard Palliser] (34) This direct move is actually a novelty, but not a
particularly good one from what I can see. Probably White should instead take
steps against Black's idea of ...Nf4: (9) "This remains quite trendy and will
probably become even more so having been recommended by Yelena Dembo in the
forthcoming Everyman book, 'Dangerous Weapons: The King's Indian'."}) (8... Ng4
9. Bg5 f6 10. Bd2 {1-0 Wells,P-Espig,L/5th LGA Premium Cup 2008/[Peter Wells] 
(46) This is a first outing for this move on Chess Publishing. The idea is
simple - White wishes to avoid the difficulties with this bishop on g3
associated with 10 Bh4 (hopefully familiar from other games in this update
featuring the immediate 7 Be3 Ng4). At the same time, he is claiming that the
move ...Nd7 affords him the luxury of preferring this square over c1 since
there are no longer ideas of ...exd4 in conjunction with ...f5 for Black. It
is sometimes nice to be able to play, for example, Qc1 and Rad1 without having
to touch this bishop again, even if the piece is ultimately headed back to e3
once it that square has been rendered safe.}) (8... c6 9. d5 $14) 9. Nxd4 Re8
10. Qc2 $1 {White's not in a hurry to play f3 which would allow Black to make
use of the hanging position of the e3-bishop with ...c6 followed by ...d5.} c6
({Now after} 10... Nc5 11. f3 c6 {with a position well-known from Zurich 1953 
(and elsewhere, of course)} (11... Ne6 {occurred in one of the game and White
obtained better play without any problems:} 12. Rad1 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 {and Black
lacks counterplay. Rotstein, A-Bujisho, B/France 2002})) 11. Rad1 Qe7 {
Mikhalevski,V-Plaskett,J/WorldChessNetwork. com 2004/[Mikhalevski, V]/1/2-1/2 
(68) Another attempt to provoke f3.}) (8. Re1 {is the main alternative.}) 8...
a5 $2 {Cramling,P-Haik,A/Metz 1989/[Andrew Martin]/1-0 (65) A mistake which
Cramling pounces on and never lets go. The way she drains all the life out of
Black's position is exemplary. It's better for Black to wait for d4-d5 before
playing ...a5 in this manner. 8. ..c6! was indicated, intending 9 Rd1 Qe7! and
if then 10 Rb1 now 10...a5! is playable.} 9. dxe5 $1) 7. O-O O-O 8. Be3 (8. Re1
) 8... h6 (8... a5 {0-1 Lenz,A-Boguszlavszkij,J/FSIM December 2007 (33)}) (8...
exd4 {1/2-1/2 Schuurman,P-Zimina,O/IX EICC w 2008 (36)}) (8... Re8 {
Batsiashvili,N-Pluzyan,A/4th Karen Asrian Memorial 2011/0-1 (54)}) (8... Nc6 {
Zenzera,A-Ajrapetian,G/Voronezh Master Open 2011/1-0 (65)}) 9. Qd2 Kh7 {I saw
immediately how I was going to lose at the moment my hand touched the King.}
10. dxe5 $1 Nxe5 $4 {Cooperative!  But my heart was leaden, and my brain too,
I think.} (10... dxe5 $1 11. Rad1 (11. Rfd1 f5 12. exf5 (12. Bg5 c6 13. Qd6
hxg5 14. Nxg5+ Kh8 15. Ne6 Qe8 16. Nc7 Qf7 17. Nxa8 Nf6 18. f3 fxe4 19. fxe4
Bg4 20. Bxg4 Nxg4 21. Rf1 Bf6 22. Nc7 Ne3 23. Rf3 Nxc4 24. Qe6 Ng8 25. Rd1 Nb6
26. Rh3+ Kg7 27. Qxf7+ Kxf7 28. Rh7+ Bg7 29. Rf1+ Nf6 30. Rxg7+ {1-0 Mateer,
A-Melekhina,A/1st Metropolitan International 2011}) 12... gxf5 13. Bc5 Qe8 14.
Ba3 c6 15. Qe3 e4 16. Nd4 Ne5 17. f4 exf3 18. Nxf3 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Rf7 20. Qd3
Ng6 21. Bh5 Qe5 22. Bd6 Qf6 23. Rd2 b5 24. cxb5 cxb5 25. Bf3 Bb7 26. Bxb7 Rxb7
27. Rf1 Rd8 28. Qg3 Rbd7 29. Rfd1 b4 30. Nb1 f4 31. Qd3 Rxd6 32. Qxd6 Rxd6 33.
Rxd6 Qxb2 34. R6d2 Qe5 35. a3 bxa3 {0-1 Warner,D-Shoker,S/Heroes Day Masters
2011}) 11... f5 12. Qc2 (12. exf5 gxf5 13. Qc2 Qe8 14. Nb5 Qd8 15. Nc3 Qe8 16.
Nb5 Qd8 17. Bc5 c6 18. Nxa7 Qe8 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Nxc8 Raxc8 21. Ne1 Nc5 22. f3
Ne6 23. Bd3 Nd4 24. Qb1 Kh8 25. g3 Rce8 26. Ng2 e4 27. fxe4 fxe4 28. Rxf8+ Bxf8
29. Nf4 Kg7 30. Bf1 Qc5 31. Kh1 Nf3 32. Bg2 Qe3 33. Qc2 Ne1 34. Qe2 Qxe2 35.
Nxe2 Nd3 36. Rb1 Nf2+ {Villegas,P-Gertosio,F/ch-FRA u20b 2011/0-1 (65)}) 12...
a6 13. b4) 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. Qxd8 Rxd8 13. Nb5 $1 $18 Be6 $6 (13... Rd7 $5 14.
Rfd1) 14. Nxc7 Rac8 15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Rfd1 (16. Bxa7 Rd2 17. Rfe1 Rxb2) 16...
b6 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Rd1 Rxd1+ 19. Bxd1 {Having got to this point, I wondered
if I could get a Knight to d4, bullying White with the prospect of an OCB
endgame.  I made it, but at the cost of another pawn.} Kg8 20. c5 bxc5 21. Bxc5
Nc8 22. Bb3 Kf7 23. Kf1 Bf6 24. Ke2 Bd8 25. Be3 g5 26. h4 gxh4 27. Bxh6 Nd6 28.
Kf3 Nb5 29. Kg4 Kg6 30. Be3 Nd4 {Made it!} 31. Bxd4 $4 {White wishes to show
that he cannot be bullied, but there was no rush to play this.} (31. Ba4 $1 $18
{and I think I finally would resign here.}) 31... exd4 32. Bxe6 d3 33. f4 d2
34. Bb3 a5 35. g3 $2 {Relieving Black of another defensive duty doesn't look
right either.} hxg3 36. Kxg3 Bb6 37. Bc2 Bd4 38. e5+ Kf7 39. b3 Ke6 40. Kf3 Kd5
41. Ke2 Bc3 42. Kd3 Bb4 43. Bd1 Bf8 44. Bf3+ Kc5 45. Kxd2 Kd4 {I think three
pawns is the most you can handle with OCBs.} 46. e6 Be7 47. Kc2 $2 {Allowing
Black to dominate the white King.  But I think now it's drawn in any event:
the pawns are too spread out for the White King to make more than one threat
at once.} (47. Ke2 Bf6 48. Bb7 Kc5 49. Kf3 Kd6 50. Bc8 Ke7 {The Black King
will squat here like a toad in a stone.} 51. Ke4 Bc3 52. f5 Bb2) 47... Ke3 48.
Bc6 Kxf4 49. Kc3 Ke5 $11 50. Bd7 Kd5 $1 (50... Kd5 51. Kd3 Bc5 $1) 1/2-1/2

[Event "East Devon Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.03.03"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Regis, D."]
[Black "Bass, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A20"]
[PlyCount "109"]

{I got a position of a type I have often played with colours reversed, and
with an extra tempo arrived at a winning position quite quickly.  There seemed
to be very many a slip between plus and win, though.} 1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2
c6 4. d4 e4 {Black is taking on quite a lot here.  If it was possible, it
would be a main line!  White gets a sort of French-on-steroids, with the bad
Bishop strongly developed on e3 or g5. (In the French, you have to wander over
by Bd7-e8-h5 to achieve the same effect.)} 5. Nc3 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bg5 Bb4 8.
Qb3 {The standard move known from the position with opposite colours 
(Hyper-Accelerated Dragon)} ({but Marin says it's too early to declare for the
Queen, and strongly recommends} 8. Rc1 $1) 8... Nc6 9. e3 Be6 10. Nge2 a5 $6
11. O-O O-O 12. f3 {I spent a little while on this move, but should have
played it straight away - I wasn't considering any alternatives!} ({Fritz
immediately pipes up with the pawn grab} 12. Bxf6 $1 {but there are some
points to negotiate:} Qxf6 13. Nxd5 $1 Qf5 14. Nef4 $1 a4 15. Qxb4 $1 Bxd5 16.
Qc5 Ra5 17. Qc2 Re8 18. f3 $1) 12... Bxc3 13. Nxc3 a4 $5 {Hoping to retain the
central pawn.} 14. Nxa4 Na5 15. Qd1 Nc4 (15... exf3 $5) 16. b3 Nd6 {I spent a
long while here, trying to choose among various attractive lines, but it
wasn't that hard a decision.} (16... exf3 $5) 17. fxe4 ({I decided against} 17.
Nc5 {because of} b6 {but Fritz declares} 18. fxe4 $1 {is good enough} bxc5 19.
exd5 Bg4 (19... Bc8 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. dxc5) 20. Bxf6 $1 Qd7 21. Qd2 gxf6 22.
dxc5 Ne8 23. d6 Rc8 24. b4 f5 25. Rfc1) 17... dxe4 (17... Ndxe4 18. Bxe4 dxe4
19. Nc5 Qd5 (19... Bd5 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rf4 {is similar to the game}) 20. Bxf6
gxf6 21. Rxf6 b6 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Qxe6 {with three pawns}) 18.
Nc5 Bd5 (18... Bf5 19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Nxb7 $1) 19. Rf4 (19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Qg4+
Kh8 21. Qf4) 19... Re8 20. Bxf6 {A foolish thing happened here: I announced
'check'...} gxf6 21. Qg4+ {...and somehow needing to justify it, I played a
check now, but it's not as good as Qh5 immediately} (21. Qh5 $1 {"when h7 is
dropping" (Tim Paulden) but Fritz prefers to play against the King:} f5 22. Rh4
Kf8 23. Qh6+ (23. Qxh7) 23... Ke7 24. Qg7 Rg8 (24... Be6 25. Rh6 {mates}) 25.
Qe5+ Be6 26. d5 $1 $18) 21... Kh8 22. Qh5 {Expecting Black to resign.} Rg8 $5
23. Nxe4 $6 {A bit wet, but should be easily good enough.} ({I nearly fell off
my chair when I realised the Queen would be trapped mid-board after} 23. Qxd5
Rg5 $1 {White still has a win with} 24. Nxb7 $1 Rxd5 (24... Nxb7 25. Qxb7) 25.
Nxd8 Rxd8 {securing three passed pawns, but my nerves weren't up to it.}) 23...
Nxe4 24. Bxe4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 Qc7 26. Qf3 (26. Qc5 {was my original idea, but I
assumed it was worth avoiding} Rxg3+ $1 27. Kh1 Qd7 28. Qe7 Qf5 29. hxg3 Qh3+
30. Kg1 Qxg3+ 31. Kf1 {and White has crawled out, but that's not an easy thing
to decide on}) (26. Qf5 Rg6 (26... Rxg3+ 27. hxg3 Qxg3+ 28. Kf1) 27. Qf2 Qc3
28. Rd1 Qa5 29. Rd2 Rc8 30. Rf4 Rc1+ 31. Kg2 Qa6 32. d5 Qd6 33. Rc4 $18) 26...
Rg6 27. Rf4 Qc3 28. Rf1 Kg8 (28... Rxa2 29. Rxf6 Qc2 30. Rf2 Qc1+ 31. Kg2 Rxf2+
32. Qxf2 Rxf6 33. Qxf6+ Kg8 34. Qg5+ Kh8 {is still tricky but White can find a
way} 35. d5 Qc2+ 36. Kh3 Qxb3 37. Qe5+ Kg8 38. d6 Qd1 39. Qg5+ Kf8 (39... Kh8
40. Qd8+ Kg7 41. d7 Qd5 42. Qe7 Qf5+ 43. Kh4 Kg6 44. Qd6+ f6 45. Qd1) 40. Qe7+
Kg7 41. d7 Qh5+ 42. Qh4) 29. Rxf6 Rxf6 30. Qxf6 Qxe3+ 31. Qf2 Qe6 32. Re1 Qc6
33. Re5 (33. Re7 $5 {was a strong candidate.  Choosing between these lines,
with major pieces having lots of options to swoop across the board, was
costing me a lot of time.}) 33... Qc1+ 34. Kg2 Qc6+ 35. d5 Qa6 36. a4 Qd3 $4
37. Qe3 $4 (37. Rg5+ $1 {is mate in five and wasn't too hard to spot, but all
I was concentrating on were pawn pushes and Queen swaps.} Kf8 (37... Qg6) 38.
Qc5+ Ke8 39. Re5+ Kd7 40. Re7+ Kd8 41. Qc7#) 37... Qc2+ 38. Kh3 Ra6 39. Re8+
Kg7 40. Qg5+ Rg6 41. Qe5+ Kh6 42. Re7 Qc8+ 43. Kg2 Qc2+ 44. Kf1 (44. Qe2 $2
Qxb3) (44. Kf3 $1 {was just the sort of idea I was looking for, but missed it}
Qxb3+ 45. Qe3+ {I was explaining cross-checks to a student just the other day..
.}) 44... Qd1+ 45. Qe1 {I thought this was a mistake but maybe not.} (45. Kg2
Qc2+ 46. Qe2 Qxb3 47. Qd2+ Kg7 48. d6 Qxa4 49. d7 Qc6+ 50. Kg1 Qc5+ 51. Re3 Rd6
) 45... Rf6+ 46. Kg1 Qxd5 {So, White has lost a key pawn, but has a moment's
respite to get organised.} 47. Qe3+ (47. b4) 47... Kg7 48. Qc3 $1 {White has
finally wrested control of some key lines.} Qd1+ (48... Kg6 $5) 49. Re1 Qd5 50.
Re5 $2 (50. Rf1 $1 $18 {was simple enough}) 50... Qd1+ 51. Re1 Qd6 52. Qe5 (52.
Rf1 $1 $18) 52... Qb6+ 53. Re3 Qa6 54. Rf3 $1 {At last!} Qb6+ 55. Kg2 {and
Black decided that I had enough time left to win the pawn endgame.    In the
end, my best-ever performance in grading terms (197), even better than
Paignton last year (195).  (Just in case you get too impressed, my worst-ever
was the East Devon in 2005, when I managed 00001 for a 127 performance.)} 1-0

1 {Black was unlucky to play a line I had recently reviewed, and conceded a pawn. Despite some oversights by White in analysis, it was actually Black who came up with a blunder.}

2 {I'm not sure whether to be pleased at how long I lasted against the top-rated player or disappointed that I never felt as though I had anything positive to contribute during the game. I was unhappy with my opening play during the game, but that may have been OK. Odessky titled his chapter on this line as Tears fall, and maybe that's all there is to it: Black cannot create difficulties for White in this variation.}

3 {A bit of a grind. I have been playing this line for so long, you would have thought I could find the right way through when I get a chance, but just as against Alan Brusey in January, I make another pig's ear out of Botvinnik's silk purse. Black doesn't seize his moment, though, preferring to play simple, uncommittal moves, which leads to his downfall. I didn't find the clearest win, and in pushing for a Bishop endgame could have thrown it away.}

4 {Some rather vague opening ideas were crowned by an absolute lemon on move 12, after which Black's position could be resigned without shame. I played on, more out of inertia than anything else, when I caught a glimpse of an opposite-coloured Bishop ending in the distance... and White was good enough to steer for it.}

5 {I got a position of a type I have often played with colours reversed, and with an extra tempo arrived at a winning position quite quickly. There seemed to be very many a slip between plus and win, though.}

In the end, this was my best-ever performance in grading terms (197), even better than Paignton last year (195). (Just in case you get too impressed, my worst-ever was the East Devon in 2005, when I managed 00001 for a 114 performance.