My first classical tournament in Canada was exactly 16 years ago, it was a Labor Day one. My Mondays club decided to revive that tradition and organized such a tournament, I registered for it. Finally the time came and a long weekend tournament started on Saturday, there were more than 200 people. It was happening near my home, in the church, half a hour walk. It was hot and I wanted to take my laptop there, so I intended to take a public transportation as parking there would be a headache.
Saturday. Morning, round 1. I come early and talk to a few acquaintances. Then parings appear, my opponent is a girl rated about 1700. I drew her with Black half a year ago, I got Black this time too. She unexpectedly starts with Nf3, I transpose into Queen’s Indian Accelerated. I think the unusual order of moves throws me off my regular plans, I don’t play my usual Bb4+ though she could just play c3.
The move 13… Na6 was the one I later regretted, I am just not accustomed to have it there, not on c6. After 20 moves I decide to attack on the kingside. Computer doesn’t like my 21… Bg4 and prefers immediate g5. On move 26 computer evaluates the position as ~1, so it looks like my attack is going nowhere. After a few moves I lose a pawn, also it is clear that her queenside attack is becoming dangerous.
My 34… Kh7 is a big mistake, 34… Qe8 would give White a hard time figuring out how to make a progress. On move 35 I am practically forced to sacrifice my bishop on h3, her 37. f3 takes my last hope away. I resist for some time, then resign when I see that the mate is unavoidable.
Round 2. I get an aged man rated about 1685, he is late. I has White, we play Ruy Lopez. I have to play Anti-Marshall, then we get Zaitsev variation. His 10… exd4 is not considered good by the book, on move 14 he deviates from it. Instead of my 15. Nf1 computer likes 15. a4 c6 16. Bb2 with 0.78 estimate.
It is difficult now to explain the reason for 19. Qd3, Qd2 is better. After his 19… c5 I get an excellent opportunity, 20. dxc5 dxc5 21. Rxd8 Raxd8 22. Bc7 wins an exchange. I do not see it and play 20. Rad1. My 23. d5 is a bad idea, I got tired of defending e4 pawn, but this just gives c5 square for his knight.
He doesn’t do it, the position is equal, but I feel that am losing the initiative. On move 28 I miss Nxd5 strike, Qe3 would be almost equal. After taking on a6 I feel like I am OK, but the position actually is not easy. On move 33 I have to play Ne1 instead of playing it on the next move. In 2 moves I make a mistake by playing a4 instead of immediate Nf1, another knight move that should be played one move earlier.
My 37. Nh1 allows his Nxg2 which practically finishes the game, I resign two moves later.
Sunday. Round 3. My opponent is a young man rated about 1600, he has White. I learn that he played recently Scotch Game, Schmidt variation transposing from Petroff and prepare for the line he played. The same happens, he transposes, but then plays a different line, I am familiar very well with it.
We follow the book, on move 12 I decide to experiment and play Rb8 instead of playing usual Re8 or Be6. On the next move I play regular h6 and out of the blue he plays Bxh6. A few moments I don’t even see what is a motif for that, then notice that after 14… gxh6 15. Qg3+ Kh8 he takes the rook on b8 which is unprotected due to a lack of Bc8-e6 move.
I don’t want just to give up a pawn with weakening of my king’s position and start to think. I find 14… gxh6 15. Qg3+ Bg4, which defends the rook. Of course I will lose that bishop later due to a pin, but will get a pawn back. So I play it and computer thinks I am even better after his 16. h3 and prefers 16. Qe3 with following Qxh6 and perpetual. After the game I found that Bxh6 is actually a book sacrifice that leads to a draw.
The move 17… h5 looks a bit dangerous to me, but was actually the best. His 18. Ne2 is a mistake, I could win an exchange after 18… Re8 19. hxg4 Ne4 20. Qh3 Bc5+ 21. Kh2 Nf2 22. Qh5 Nxd3 23. cxd3 Bf2. On move 21 I spend quite some time deciding how to take on g4. My experience tells me that in such positions after queens exchange I sometimes get a worse endgame.
I still like 21… Qxg4 more and play it, computer says both moves are equal. I miss 25… Nh5 winning the f4 pawn, computer evaluates the position as only -0.39. After his 27. Rc1 I get a bad feeling that it is now a situation from the past with worse endgame, then intensify my thinking and find Re2 with following Ne4.
I spend some time deciding how to respond to 29. Nxe4 and find the right dxe4. After 33 moves the position is equal, but then he starts to go the wrong way I think. His Kf1 shows that he realizes the dangerousness of “e” pawn, but the right move would be 34. Re4 putting the rook behind the pawn.
His 36. d5 is another mistake, Re4 or Rh3 would be the right move. After a few moves we end up in R+2P vs R endgame. I play carefully, checking every move. On move 55 I see that I have a pawn sacrifice, f2 and after spending some time to check it I play it. We get into K+R vs K ending, strangely he continues to play until the mate is on the horizon, then he resigns.
Round 4. The pairings come and I see that I got a boy rated 1641, I have White. He plays French Defense, the line with Qxd5, I feel comfortable in this line. After the opening the position is equal, then he makes a strange move 13… a5. I see that after 14… a4 there is a possibility of Nf5 with the idea of Bxf6 and Rxd7. I carefully check it spending quite some time, then play it.
He takes on f5, everything goes as expected. I see that there is a combination, 15. Rxf7 Rxf7 16. Qe8+ Rxe8 17. Re8#. It looks like he sees that too as he plays 17… g6. It is actually a mistake, the best was 17… a3 allowing to take on f7, but not taking the rook. My Qc2 shows that I thought he defended, but there was 18. Rxf7 Rxf7 19. Qe6 Raf8 20. Qxf6 getting the bishop and then getting the exchange back with advantage.
My pieces are active, I try to pressure him. Eventually I win a pawn, but computer still evaluates the position as ~0.4. His desire to get into an opposite-colored bishops endgame is understandable, but actually is a mistake. I have to say here that after drawing the opposite-colored bishops endgame being up 2 pawns in the last big tournament and computer showing there was a win there I had my work cut out for me. I studied the analysis and looked at some theory.
It greatly helps me here. I find a way to penetrate with my king on the kingside and win his . So I win his “h” pawn while his wins my “a” pawn. The position with 2 split passed pawns far away from each other is won for White. In the end he is torn up between the pawns and resigns in a lost position.
Monday. Last day is unexpectedly full of drama.
Round 5. I get a small boy, later I learn that he is Canadian 2023 U8 champion. I get White again, he plays Sicilian d6. On move 8 I don’t feel like playing d4 and play quiet d3. After the opening there is some struggle in the center. I play f3 on move 21 missing to play f4, my hesitation to play it because of e4 is not right, e4 simply doesn’t work at all.
I feel uncomfortable after his 21… d5 and play 22. Rfc1 to prevent Rc3, but computer says that 22. cxb5 Rc3 23. Rbd1 would give better, as Rdc8 could be met with f4. I go for the rooks exchanges believing that I can hold that queen endgame. After the game I remembered that I had a similar game 4 months ago where I drew.
On move 34 I sacrifice the “h” pawn to open his king for checks, computer approves that. One thing that bothers me is the boy’s behavior, he goes downstairs, where the restrooms are, pretty often, every 10-15 minutes. I saw his father when the round was about to start and I am sure that he is downstairs where are the rooms for the spectators/parents.
His 36… Kd6 makes me nervous, I see that the king can escape to the queenside. I start to doubt if he could find such a good move himself. When I play 37. Qg6+ he suddenly goes downstairs again, on his move, that is against the rules. It is the last straw, I go to the arbiter and explain the situation, then say the same to TD. They listen carefully. I go back and when the boy comes back tell him that he can’t leave the board on his move as well as can’t go downstairs as often as he does. The arbiter comes and tells me, that I can’t talk to my opponent, only to the arbiter, I nod.
I try to calm down, then find 38. Qf5 and 38… Kb4 39. Qf8+ follows. I see that the only way for him to avoid checks is to play Qc5, but if I exchange the queens I have a3 and his king can’t penetrate on the queenside. I evaluate the arising pawn endgame as at least not worse. He plays Qc5 and suddenly offers a draw. I say that I will play more, exchange the queens and then play 41. a3. He replies 41… Kd6 and suddenly I see that I don’t have time to capture the pawns on “h” vertical, if I try his king goes to f4 and then to e3.
So the pawn endgame down a pawn doesn’t look very good to me and I think maybe I should ask him if he still wants a draw. He reads my mind and offers a draw again, this time I agree. He says something like he thinks my position was better because of his weak pawns on the kingside. It looks like a typical kid’s trick to offer a draw in a worse position hoping that opponent doesn’t know it.
Nevertheless I feel good, go to the arbiter and tell him: “Forget about it. We drew.”, then say the same to TD. I go downstairs to run the game through computer. By the way there I meet one of the officials and he tells me that he followed the kid when he left and he really went to the restroom and he thinks the kid just was nervous. I agreed.
I run the game through Houdini and I am shocked with the results. Houdini says that 39… Qc5 was a crucial mistake and I could win by playing 40. a3+!!, before the queens exchange. He only has 40… Kb5, then I exchange the queens like in the game, but I won a tempo! So 42. Kg3 Kd5 43. Kh4 Ke6 44. Kxh5 Kf5 45. g3! Kf6 46. Kxh4 and White wins. In opposite in the game’s continuation of play after 41… Kd6 I see that 42. Kg3 Ke6 43. Kh4 Kf5 leads to 44. g3 Kg6 45. Kh3 Kg5 46. Kg2 h4 47. gxh4+ Kxh4 and Black wins. Just another example how careful you should be in the pawn endgame and you always have to calculate here.
Round 6. Before the previous round the organizers announced that they moved the time of the last round one hour earlier, I am not sure everybody heard it. So when the round starts and my opponent is not there, I think maybe he will be essentially late. I wait and after 10-12 minutes he appears.
It is an adult, his rating is about 1750, he has White. He plays 1. e4 and I again play Petrov’s Defense. This time it goes that way, he plays Italian variation, developing his bishop on c4. It is a kind of a gambit that is considered dubious. Then he castles and plays 5. Re1. I feel like it is not a good move and try to remember what the book says. First Bc5 comes to mind, but I don’t like his d4 and I am right, it is only equal. Then I remember that I saw 5… Nxf2 somewhere. I later found a sentence in the book from the library on Petroff that “Nxf2 crushes”, so I remembered right.
So I play it. He quickly replies by 6. Rxe5. I have to say that all the game he played very fast and aggressively, like a rapid if not a blitz game. Probably it somewhat intimidated me. So 6… Be6 7. Bb5+ c6 follows. I see that I have an advantage, computer evaluates the position as ~-1.5. Later I found that 6… Be7 is a tiny bit better.
On move 8 he takes the the pawn on f2 with the king and I see Qb6+, I wish I would never see it. The idea is to take on b5 with a queen keeping the pawns connected. I think the sense of danger completely left me, I am in euphoria after getting advantage right in the opening. Of course the fact that I never played that line with 5. Re1 Nxf2, even online, also plays a role.
So 9… Qxb5 is a mistake giving back all the advantage. When I play 10… Bd6 he quickly takes on e6 with the knight. It is actually a mistake, Rxe6 leads to equality. I start to think what piece to take. Taking the rook doesn’t look promising because of Nxg7+, then Bh6. Too bad I miss that the bishop is already on e5 and protects g7, my old “chronic disease”. So I take the knight.
I believe that Rxe6 can be met with Kc7 and if Qg4 then Rf1+ with a mate or big advantage for Black, it is actually not as 13. Qg4 Rf8+ is met with Rf6+. Suddenly he sacrifices the rook on d6 and I see that I lost. It seems me that taking a rook would lead to a mate. It actually doesn’t, but White still has ~5.5 advantage.
My next moves look like agony and on move 17 I resign. I am upset of course to finish the tournament that way. Many years ago I learned on Morphy’s games that fast development and safety of your king are very important, here I forgot it. Also “the first pancake is always spoiled”.
Rolling Pawns 