Game Analysis: Atlanta Class Championship, Round 5

Hello everyone and welcome. Here we will be concluding the coverage of my games from the Atlanta Class Championship. Before getting to the game, a little word on the tournament situation and the player I faced in the final round. Going into the final round, one player had 3.5 points, and that was the player that I lost to back in the third round, in which the game was covered two articles ago. I was then the only player with 3, and then there was a number of players with 2.5, two of which had to face us on the top two boards. So going into this round, I know that a win will at worst put me in clear second, and with a loss or draw by the tournament leader, I could end up in clear first or tied for first, respectively, and so this game was critical as a loss, or even a draw for that matter, was totally worthless and out of the question.

A word about my opponent. I had observed throughout the tournament that he moved extremely fast in all of his games. With a time control of 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by sudden death in 30 minutes with a 10 second delay, I have observed cases where the number of moves made was in the 30s, and Frank's clock would still have over 80 minutes on it. It resulted in his 2.5 score coming in the form of three draws and a win. What that told me was that he was probably very good at well known tactical patterns. Before the round, I had looked him up on the USCF Website and noticed that he had played well over 1400 tournament games, which just, to me, confirmed the likelihood that a lot of what he did came in the form of repetition. The fact that this dates back to late 1991, which is as far back as the USCF records, and so he could easily have played hundreds more before that. So, to me, the solution was simple. I am looking at your typical "expert" who probably hit a wall because he shows no sign of patience at the board, and if he just took his time, probably a lot of his draws and losses would have results in victories.

So what do you do against such an opponent? You play something extremely unusual. An opening that does not result in your "typical" types of pawn structures, like blocked centers that result from the French or King's Indian, or IQP centers that result from many Queen Pawn openings, or open type centers that result from say, the Petroff or the Berlin. I needed something really odd. As it turns out, there is this system called the Elshad System. There is a version of it for Black, which is intended to be a defense to specifically 1.d4, and then there is the version for White, which starts with the move 1.c3, and then subsequent play can be vastly different depending upon which way White chooses to play it. The game below is one of many options for White, and I have taken other approaches in different games, so don't think that this game is "the line". I have no intention of giving away any secrets in that opening, and those that want to know them will have to invest the money and the time themselves. While I mainly play 1.e4, this 1.c3 line is my sideline that I use against players in certain situations. For example, a player that I might be playing for the umpteenth time, throw a curve ball at them. In this case though, with it literally being the second time we ever faced and the first time since 2007, that was not my reason for playing it. It strictly had to do with the fact that he plays too fast, and so if I can throw him off his stride, it is at minimum a psychological advantage for me. It did force him to slow down a little, but even at game's end, he spent a grand total of 28 minutes to my 64.

Without further ado, let's see how playing too fast can get you destroyed.


Atlanta Class Championship, Round 5
W: Patrick McCartney (2018)
B: Frank Johnson (2021)
Elshad System

1.c3 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.g4 d5 4.h3 e5 5.Bg2 Be6 6.Nf3 Qc7 7.Ng5 O-O-O 8.Nxe6 fxe6 9.Nd2 Be7 10.Nf1 Bh4 11.e4 dxe4 12.Bxe4 Nf6 13.Qe2 Rhf8 14.Ng3 Bxg3 15.fxg3 Nxe4 16.dxe4 h6

So this is where we are going to start the analysis. I should start by saying that White, who has played this opening before, has 77 minutes left to Black's 87 minutes, and so Black is still rushing moves. So who is better?

It turns out, it is roughly equal with White possibly having an ever so slight advantage. That said, this is soon to change as Black's situation is more critical. White is slightly behind in development, but he has all of long term advantages in the position. He has the better minor piece given that the board is somewhat open, and also given that the c3-pawn covers two key squares that the Knight could get to from c6. He also has the better majority. Both sides have three pawn islands, but Black's majority is doubled e-pawns blocked by a single White e-pawn. White's majority is doubled g-pawns and an h-pawn versus g- and h-pawns. So why is White's version better? It's because Black's last move, which he was fairly quick to make, wasn't very good. It creates a hook for White, and White will play g5 shortly, and when White plays g5, Black can't advance the pawn as it would hang to a capture with the White Queen, and if he trades or allows White to trade, White gets a genuine 2-on-1 majority rather than the useless doubled e-pawns that Black has. Given these facts, we know that endgames would likely favor White. Therefore, three moves make sense for White here. 17.g5, going for the majority, 17.Be3, catching up in development, and the move played in the game.

17.Rf1

White's goal is to trade a set of Rooks and get closer to an endgame. The Rook, of course, was doing nothing anyway on h1.

17...Qa5?

This is not a good square for the Queen. Black has a number of options, including trading Rooks on f1, to avoid having his d8-Rook dragged to the f-file, or a move like 17...Qd7 or 17...Qe7, looking to maintain control of the open d-file. He could also solidify his queenside with 17...b6. But the game move is a waste of time, and very shortly the d-file is actually going to be a problem for Black.

18.Rxf8 Rxf8 19.Bd2

Turns out this move is too passive and allows Black equality. White actually has a large advantage after 19.Be3. My main fear was allowing the Knight to become active with 19...Nd4. However, it fails tactically. White wins after 20.Qc4 Nc2+ 21.Kd2 Nxa1 22.Qxe6+ Kd8 23.Qd6+ Ke8 24.Bxc5 Rf7 25.Qxe5+ Kd7 26.Qd5+ Kc8 (Or 26...Ke8 27.Qe6+ Kd8 28.Qxf7 Qxc5 29.Qd5+ and White wins.) 27.Qxf7 Qxc5 28.Qf5+ Qxf5 29.gxf5 and White wins).

After Black's best play in response to 19.Be3, which is 19...Nb8 20.Qc4 Nd7 21.Rd1 (21.Qxe6? Qb5 =), White has a clear advantage.

19...Qa4 20.b3 Qa3 21.Bc1 Qa5 22.Bd2 Qb6

Black would be advised to put the burden on White and repeat the position with 22...Qa3. White probably has nothing better than to take a draw by repetition.

23.O-O-O Nb8 24.g5

There's that g5 move that was mentioned earlier.

24...hxg5 25.Bxg5 Nd7 26.Qd3

So the d-file has gone from being controlled by Black to being completely owned by White. Black will have problems with the d8-square and his King.

26...Qc6 27.Be7 Rf2?

The lesser evil is 27...Rf7. After 28.Bd6, White still has an attack, but it's not nearly as dire as what happens in the game.

28.Bxc5!

The Bishop is poisoned.

28...Rxa2

28...Nxc5?? is of course mate on move with 29.Qd8. 28...Qxc5? drops the Queen after 29.Qxd7+ Kb8 30.Qe8+ Kc7 (30...Qc8 31.Rd8) 31.Qd8+ Kc6 32.Qd7+ Kb6 33.Rd6+ and Black can take the Rook, block with the Queen, or walk into a pawn fork, all of which drop the Queen.

29.Kb1 Ra5 30.Be7 Rb5 31.c4 Rb6

So after 31 moves, White has used 41 minutes. Black has used 11 minutes. And what do we have here? A position where Black is completely busted thanks to a number of inferior moves, and two really bad moves on moves 17 and 27. This is precisely what I was banking on when playing an odd opening against a rapid player.

32.Rf1!

This move will convert White's positional advantage to a winning material advantage.

32...Kc7

I was expecting 32...Kb8, avoiding White's next move. Even so, 33.c5 is then a problem for Black.

33.Rf8 Rxb3+

Black has nothing better.

34.Qxb3 Nxf8 35.Bxf8 Qe4+ 36.Qc2 Qe1+ 37.Ka2 Qxg3 38.Qd2

38...e4

I was shocked by this move. I had expected 38...Qxh3. It still loses for Black, but it's not the easiest of winning endings to execute. There is not only one way for White to win it, but an example of a line that would lead to a win for White would be 39.Bd6+ Kc8 40.Be7 b6 41.Qd8+ Kb7 42.Qd7+ Ka6 43.Bb4 Qf3 44.Kb2 Qe4 45.Qc8+ Qb7 46.Qxe6 Qe4 47.Bc3 Kb7 48.Qd5+ Qxd5 49.cxd5 e4 50.Bxg7 Kc7 51.Kc3 Kd6 52.Kd4 and White wins easily as the Bishop can drive the King away from d6 with a check.

With the game move, White is able to execute a series of checks that allows him to take the e6-pawn with check.

39.Qa5+ Kc8 40.Qc5+ Kd7 41.Qe7+ Kc6 42.Qxe6+ Kc7 43.Ba3

Bringing the Bishop back to block the Queen from checks temporarily.

43...Qg2+ 44.Bb2 g5

Black actually spent about a minute on this move. I remember him being about ready to play another move, but then realized the g-pawn falls to a Queen check followed by a capture on g7. However, while completely busted, Black made matters really easy because the pawn is now stuck on g5, the same color square as the White Bishop. It would have made more sense to play 44...g6 instead, though White is still completely winning. In the game, this g5-pawn will fall almost immediately after White is successfully able to eliminate the Queens.

Now the only question for White is how to make progress. Turns out, the answer is to walk the King up the board. To keep the King protected, the White pieces need to be near the King. To attack Black, the White pieces need to be near the Black King. Therefore, the White King comes with them!

45.Ka3 Qf3+ 46.Kb4

The best square for the King as Black will have to go far away to check the King again, and the following move, there will be no checks.

Black has spent 17 minutes to play his first 45 moves. He now sits there and proceeds to spend a full six minutes on his 46th move. The problem is, it's way too late for that! He should have been spending his time earlier. Let me once again emphasize bad moves by Black such as 17...Qa5 and 27...Rf2. In the meantime, White has spent 57 minutes on his first 46 moves, and so with 63 minutes left for the game, White is in no threat to run out of time, or even feel pressured to the point where it would impact his judgement in the position.

46...Qf8+ 47.Ka4!

While 47.c5 is also still winning, why give Black any hope at all? He can play 47...a5+, which just complicates the matter. Sure, White still wins, but why deal with a high pressure situation, such as 48.Kb5 Qf1+ 49.Kxa5. The game move is simply easier for White.

47...b6 48.Qxe4 a5

So Black goes for desperation by threatening a cheap shot mate in 1. That said, it took me a matter of a minute to confirm that Black has no way to avoid the trade of Queens here.

49.Bxe5+ Kd7

Or 49...Kd8 50.Qa8+ also eliminates the Queens.

50.Qd5+

And now if 50...Ke7, then a skewer occurs with 51.Bd6+. Therefore, Black is forced to the back rank and the Queens are gone.

50...Ke8 51.Qa8+ Kf7 52.Qxf8+ Kxf8 53.Bf6

Remember the comment back at Black's 44th move, and how this pawn is now stuck on a square that is the color the White Bishop resides on? Now that pawn will fall immediately.

53...g4 54.hxg4 Kf7 55.Bd4 1-0

With another pawn about to fall, Black had enough and threw in the towel.


Mission Accomplished! Black spent a grand total of 28 minutes to White's 64 for this game, and while White's opening selection may not be viewed as the best of openings, and despite White's one real mistake on move 19, the opening, and subsequently the flow of the game, served its purpose. Black played a number of inferior moves, like 16...h6, just to name one, and two really bad moves on moves 17 and 27, and all of this masked White's lone error along with choice of opening. When you clearly know that you are playing against someone that always moves way too fast, the way to take them down is to get them out of their comfort zone. They probably have well known patterns mentally stored that arise from common openings like the Sicilian or Nimzo-Indian, but they can really get thrown off if they face something that is really odd, like the Sokolsky (1.b4), Bird's Opening (1.f4), 1.Nc3 lines, which can transpose to various King Pawn openings or also lead to independent positions, such as the Tubingen Gambit (1.Nc3 Nf6 2.g4), or as was the case here, the Elshad System via 1.c3. Now keep in mind, it needs to be something that you know. Just throwing a random move that you've never played yourself won't do you any good, but while you may be a 1.e4, 1.d4, 1.c4, or 1.Nf3 player, it might be good to have something unusual in your repertoire for White. The fact that White goes first allows for such activity without getting killed. None of these should be your main opening for White, and I say this despite the fact that 1.b4 for a while was indeed my main opening back in 2008 and 2014, having played over 200 games with that opening move. I should add that doing this is not a good idea when you have Black. When you are already at a slight disadvantage because your opponent goes first, you should stick to your bread and butter defenses, and trust your own ability to outplay your opponent in a position that you see in almost half of your Black games while your opponent might face it a couple of times a year as White.


As for the tournament, those of you that recall in the article on round 1 that I had won this tournament, you probably already know what happened on the other board. The leader, Doruk Emir, who beat me in the third round, had to play Alexander Rutten, the kid I defeated in the first round, and Alexander Rutten won that game, leaving both Doruk Emir and Alexander Rutten, along with one other player, with 3.5, which lead to my 4-point performance being a clear first place result.

This concludes the coverage of the Altanta Class Championship. This is also very likely the last article of 2019. I hope everyone enjoys the Holidays, and I will be back after the Charlotte Open to continue to cover games from tournaments, such as the Charlotte Open, along with other articles on endgame play, opening and middlegame topics, and will continue the French Connection series with lots of analysis and ideas in the French Defense with many games featuring that opening.

Best wishes to everyone. See you in 2020!

Game Analysis: Atlanta Class Championship, Round 4

Hello everyone and welcome. Here we will be continuing the analysis of the games I played in the Atlanta Class Championship. After three rounds, the standings were Doruk Emir, the player I lost to in the previous round, with 3 points, and then five of us with 2 points (nobody had 2.5), and then waiting in the wings was the top seed, the guy I beat in the first round, with 1.5, while the second seed, the guy I beat in the second round, lost again in the third and is a non-factor at this point in time. All of this ends up being very significant. The five players with 2 points are the next three in line, the 4-, 5-, and 6-seeds (the last one being me), along with two class A players playing up. Doruk Emir gets the 4-seed in this round while Frank Johnson (the 5-seed) and myself both get the luxury of playing down this round.

The opponent I got was a very young kid who could not have been more than maybe a tween. As I have mentioned many times before, kids, tweens, and even teens, most (and I emphasize, most, and not all,) tend to be impatient, reliant on tactics, and rarely have a deep understanding of positional play as most of them don't study the old fashion way at a three-dimensional board, and instead tend to go for a lot of internet play and using computers to do their analysis, which often leads to passive learning. Passive learning can lead to sharp tactical play, but often results a massive weakness in positional understanding and overall strategy. For this reason, I was completely shocked by the opening selected, but then at the same time, I was not at all shocked by the positional errors that White made in this game early on. By the time tactics started kicking in, Black was already winning, but it lead to a very long series of complicated moves as Black had to stop a lot of White's threats and find the break through in the winning endgame. This did lead to time issues for myself (Black), but luckily, unlike the third round, they did not cost me as I wasn't literally down to my final minute in the first time control, and in the second time control, I was in an endgame when time was short, and so Black's moves were fairly simple at that point. It just turned out to be a long-winded process to convert the win, especially given that I had to go for the simplest way out instead of what was necessarily the fastest way out.

With all of that said, let's take a look at what happened in the game.


Atlanta Class Championship, Round 4
W: Vikram Rajmohan (1942)
B: Patrick McCartney (2018)
London System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.Bf4

Not exactly the opening I expected from a young kid. This is more the opening selection I would expect from a crotchety old man who is well past his prime, looking for simplicity, and wants to play the same position over and over again as rather than having to go through complicated tactics that would require a lot of calculation, which is an area that older people tend to be at a disadvantage, he or she would rather play based on known patterns. This type of play requires positional understanding, which if you study in the manner that people over 60 today studied back in the day, before artificial intelligence took over, this type of opening should be right up their alley.

Now I must also give a word of caution to those of you that incorporate the concept of chess psychology into your game. I did mention before that this concept of how older people study and understand the game versus how younger people study and understand the game at the amateur level is true for the majority of cases, but not all cases. Therefore, Black here has to play on the assumption that White knows precisely what he is doing, and it is only after the subsequent 10 to 12 moves that I was able to confirm that White did not have a strong background in understanding positional concepts, as we shall see shortly.

Lastly, for those of you looking for an answer to the London System that play the King's Indian Defense against 1.d4/2.c4, this double-fianchetto line is well worth looking into. I'm not claiming it's any kind of bust to the London System as there is no refutation to it, but if you want an active game with potential winning chances, this is not a bad line to go with.

3...Bg7 4.e3 d6

If Black wants to maintain the highest level of flexibility, with in some cases the possibility of playing ...d5 instead, then 4...O-O is appropriate here as White hasn't played e4.

5.c4

To me, this move is a mistake. In some ways, it's White committing too early, and in others, it's White mixing openings. To me, if White is going to play the structure with c4, d4, and e3 against the King's Indian Defense, the Bishop should be on g5 rather than f4, and for those looking for an example of this, go back in this forum to August 2019 and go through the 5th round of The Des Moines Open, which featured that exact line. Black won, but in reality, it was White that should have won that game.

On the flip side, there may occasionally be cases in the London System where White does play c4 instead of c3, but he should not commit to that until Black has revealed his hand, like is he going to play for c5 or e5? Will he double-fianchetto and hold both pawns back? I think that White should continue with his Kingside development first and then figure out what to do with the c-pawn. White should probably play 5.h3 or 5.Be2 here.

5...O-O 6.Bd3

And here we have another positional mistake by White. Against the King's Indian, it is extremely rare that d3 is the best place for the Bishop as it bites on granite with the strong g6-h7 pawn structure. Also, as we will see, White's Bishop will come under attack, and actually end up taken. This is White's better bishop, and a piece that he should be holding on to with his pawn structure. This piece is far better placed on e2.

6...Nbd7 7.Nc3 b6 8.O-O Bb7

So it is only now that Black exposes his hand as he went for a double-fianchetto setup with a delay in advancing ...c5. This keeps c5 from being a target for White, doesn't give White b4 as a lever, and still allows for ...e5 instead of ...c5 if the position calls for it. White's next move cannot be good.

9.d5

The idea behind this move is very shallow. Yes, it blocks the Bishop that Black just put on b7. However, it costs White the dark squares, which Black control rapidly as White's poor development of his Light-Squared Bishop will gain Black a tempo.

9...Nc5 10.Rc1

Wh-wh-what????? No, this cannot be right at all. White has two options here, and everything else is just outright bad. The first, and the one that I expected White to do, was retreat the Bishop to c2 or e2. I am guessing that White expected to be able to play 11.Bb1 on the next move only after getting the Rook out, going on the assumption that I would play the standard 10...a5 to secure the outpost for the Knight on c5. If White had played something like 10.Be2 or 10.Bc2, that is precisely what I would have done. But here? Absolutely not!

Before going to the game and seeing Black's reaction to this, it should also be mentioned that White does not have to secure the Bishop. He could transform the pawn structure and play 10.e4, against white Black should play 10...Nfd7, not allowing White to advance e5. For the moment, he should have no fear in White advancing b4 as he can then take the Bishop on d3, despite it being the bad Bishop now, and disrupt White's Queenside activity with a timely ...a5 immediately after the trade on d3.

10...Nxd3

Black is not allowing White to have his cake and eat it too. The Bishop is now gone, and Black, with in unopposed light-squared Bishop, should not have the issues on the light squares that he often has in the King's Indian Defense with all his pawns sitting on dark squares. How White follows up in the next couple of moves is even more alarming.

11.Qxd3 Nd7

Once again, to control the dark squares e5 and c5.

12.b4?

Probably played in fear of ...Nc5, but this doesn't solve any problems. It only creates more problems. Black isn't likely looking to play ...Nc5 just to get a cheap tempo unless he is going to play ...a5, but with the Knight for Bishop trade, Black can instead go for ...e5 and a Kingside attack without fearing weaknesses on the light squares resulting from the advancing of the pawns in front of his King. White had to play 12.e4 here, and after 12...e5 13.Bg5, it is still a game.

12...a5

With b4 played pre-maturely, White now has to choose between giving Black an open a-file for his Rook, or else lose control of c5 again.

13.b5

13.a3 was White's best move here with approximate equality.

13...Nc5 14.Qe2 e5

White is now between a rock and a hard place. He clearly cannot afford to take enpassant. It does nothing to weaken Black. It would open up Black's unopposed Bishop on b7. It would also heavily expose the weak pawn on c4. However, other moves simply give Black a ready-made attack. White's got two minor pieces on the Kingside that Black can gain tempos on via pawn moves, and everything for Black points to an attack on the White King. The Rook on a8 can be swung across to the Kingside, and the Bishop re-routed via c8 to a better diagonal. Meanwhile, the Queenside is virtually slammed shut, and there is absolutely nothing White can do there. So aside from having to watch out for cheap tactics by White, Black should feel very comfortable in this position, and doesn't even need to rush the attack as there is virtually nothing that White can do with the pawns the way they are.

Remember at White's third move when I said that you can't just "assume" the majority of cases matches your situation? Remember how I said at first, you have to assume that he knows what he's doing? Well, now it can be safely said that White did not understand London System strategy at all, and that White is positionally busted. Now keep in mind that positionally busted does not mean that Black will have this rapid fire attack that blows White off the board in a matter of a few moves. Oh, no way! In fact, it's 86 moves later when White resigns, despite the fact that he probably could have safely resigned sooner, as we shall see later on.

15.Bg3

The least of the evils for White, but even according to artificial intelligence, Black's position is up a full pawn in value already, and we are only 15 moves into the game.

15...f5 16.h3

Another sad necessity that really shows how dire a situation White's position really is. Normally, the old adage is not to advance pawns on the side of the board in which you are weak, but in this case, if White doesn't advance that pawn now or soon, his Bishop is going to get trapped by the Black pawns.

Anybody that play the King's Indian Defense against 1.d4 would also probably recognize at this point that Black has an improved version of the typical attack that he gets in the Classical King's Indian. This illustrates why it is very important to understand ideas and strategies when studying an opening, not just memorizing moves. Those that memorize would see this position as probably good for Black, but would need to figure out for themselves how to go about it. With the blocked queenside, they will likely recognize that Black's attack is on the King, but might think a little over-cautiously, thinking that his King is exposed because White has not played f3. A King's Indian player who doesn't merely memorize but understands what is going on realizes that the main reason Black wants f3 played by White before he plays ...f4 in the normal King's Indian has to do with White's light-squared Bishop, not King exposure, and with White's Bishop gone, this is not an issue at all, and so as you will see in the game, Black is playing for ...f4 the moment White advances his e-pawn.

16...f5 17.e4

So here we have the situation we just talked about. A player that memorizes might think about leaving the tension here, or possibly trading twice on e4 and then going ...Bc8, trying to gain a tempo on f5 with the Bishop. This idea though is not best. Black should instead recognize two things. The first, once again, is that White's Light-Squared Bishop is gone. There is no issue with exposing the g4-square, and so Black does not need f3 to be played to advance his pawn. However, another thing to recognize is that advancing the pawn creates another major headache for White. What does he do with that Bishop on g3? He only has two choices, and both lead to bad situations for White, and so therefore, Black should not even contemplate another move, and instead, proceeds to advance the pawn.

17...f4!

This shuts out any play by White that might result from opening up the b1-h7 diagonal by trading on e4 or f5, and the Bishop now has to move in a way that benefits Black. Normally, Black doesn't gain this tempo, and normally, White's Bishop is on either d2 (in the 10.Nd3 variation of the Mar Del Plata) or f2 (in the 10.Be3 line of the Mar Del Plata). Here, it either has to go to h2, which will virtually put White down a piece. The Bishop is completely useless, and by the time White is able to get it out with something like Kh1, Bg1, N-somewhere, and f3, Black's pawns and pieces have already swarmed around the White King. Not to mention, the moment White moves the Knight, he must watch out for tactical shots by Black of playing ...f3, even if it's a pawn sacrifice, it could fatally open routes to the White King.

So therefore, White goes the other route with his Bishop, but we shall soon see that it is not roses for White either.

18.Bh4 Bf6!

What is the one really bad piece for Black in lines of the King's Indian where the center is completely blocked? The Dark-Squared Bishop! What has Black just done here? Forced the trade of Dark-Squared Bishops! With Black's attack, he absolutely does not want an endgame, but if there is literally one piece that Black should be more than thrilled to trade off, it's the dark-squared Bishop. Again, we are seeing many ideas in the King's Indian Defense in an improved version here. This is why ideas and understanding are so much more important than memorizing reams of lines. You can end up in a completely different opening - Remember, this game was a London System, not a King's Indian Defense - and yet wind up in a position just like something else that you play, or in this case, like that but with interest!

19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.Nd2 Bc8

Re-routing the Bishop as once again, White has virtually nothing, and Black can take his sweet time to arrange everything.

21.Qf3?

This is a horrible move. The Queen is not a good blocking piece. Yes 21.f3 does weaken dark squares, and advances another pawn on the side White's weak, but this was by far the lesser evil. All White can do is sit back and make Black prove that he can bust through, but sometimes you have to admit that you are playing for 2 results, and do whatever you can to try to draw the position. The move played does not achieve that.

21...Rf7 22.Rfd1

Possibly trying to give a little extra breathing room to the White King, but don't think that the White King can just run away to the Queenside. Let's not forget that Knight on c5. Just because he's not on the Kingside doesn't mean he isn't taking part in the attack.

22...Rg7 23.Nf1 Bd7 24.g4

Possibly trying to take advantage of the fact that en passant would hang the Black Queen, but rather, all this does is give Black another hook that is even easier to latch on to, and does nothing but weaken the White King even further.

24...Qh4 25.Nh2 h5!

White's position is coming apart at the seems.

26.Qg2 hxg4 27.Nxg4 Rf8 28.f3 Rh7 29.Kh2 Kg7 30.Rh1

Black's pieces can hardly be improved. That usually means it's time for the kill shot. How should Black proceed?

30...Bxg4!

Removing a key defender, and forcing White to give Black a protected passer on f4.

31.fxg4

This move is forced as 31.Qxg4?? results in mate in 4 after 31...Qf2+ 32.Qg2 Rxh3+!! 33.Kxh3 Rh8+ 34.Kg4 Qxg2 mate.

31...Nd3!

And now in comes the Knight, which will win material due to tactics.

32.Rcf1

Anything else allows ...Nf2 and ...f3, leading to a making attack.

32...Nb2

This move is cute, and still winning, but unnecessary. Black had 28 minutes to make 9 moves, and probably should have looked a little longer at the direct attack, and maybe he would have seen that significantly stronger is 32...f3! 33.Rxf3 Rxf3 34.Qxf3 Nf4 and White is busted.
33.Rf3

Of course not 33.Qxb2?? Qg3 mate!


33...Nxc4

Chomp!

34.Nd1 Rfh8

Playing this move requires Black to see a tactic, otherwise White would have an winning invasion on the Queenside.

35.Qc2

This doesn't work for tactical reasons, but the White Queen was already being overworked as it was.

Do you see the move for Black here?

35...Qxg4!

The main point is not that the pawn was hanging. If that's all it was, White could take the Knight and threaten to invade on c7. The point is that the Knight can't be taken because of a double capture on h3 with mate.

36.Qc3

So instead of taking the Knight, the Queen is stuck guarding the weak h3-pawn.

36...Qd7

Attack and defense at the same time. Black continues to eye h3, but also guards the c6 and c7 squares so that he can move his Knight once White gets rid of the mate threat. Note that White still can't take the Knight on c4 as 37.Qxc4 Rxh3+ 38.Rxh3 Qxh3+ 39.Kg1 Qxh1+ 40.Kf2 Rh2 is mate.

That said, Black did have a tactical shot that would have put White away quicker. After 36...Rxh3+!! 37.Rxh3 f3!!, White has to part with his Queen and after 38.Qxf3 Qxf3, due to the pin on the Rook, Black's winning easily.

37.Nf2 Ne3 38.Rc1 Kg8

A clever way to add defense to the c7-pawn, and also gets Black out of the pin, preventing any Rxf4 tricks.

39.Rg1 Rh6 40.Rc1 R8h7

Shuffling the Rooks so that both are doing a task.

41.Rg1 Qxb5

There goes a second pawn!

42.Re1 g5 43.Rexe3

White goes for desperation by sacrificing yet another exchange to try to open up lines to the Black King. With proper defense, this shouldn't work.

43.fxe3 44.Qxe3 Rg6 45.Ng4

45...Rf7 46.Rg3

Two other move worth noting:

A) 46.Nh6+ fails to 46...Rxh6 47.Qxg5+ Rg7 and now if 48.Qxh6, then 48...Qe2+ is mate in 3.

B) 46.Rxf7 Kxf7 47.Qf2+ Kg7 48.Qc2 Qd7 and Black is safe.

46...Rf4

The point behind Black's previous move.

47.Qg1 Qe2+

Winning yet another pawn.

48.Rg2 Qxe4 49.Nh6+ Kh7

Black could also take the Knight, but why risk it and why give White any satisfaction at all?

50.Ng4 Rf3 51.Nf2 Qf4+ 52.Kh1 Rh6 53.Qb1+ Qf5 54.Qc1

54...Rhxh3+

One can hardly criticize what Black did. It does eliminate the White Queen after all, and wins easily, and with only 7 minutes left for the game, it might be the best way to go if you don't immediately see that taking the Knight was possible, and of course wins faster. After 54...Rxf2 55.Qxc7+ Kg6 56.Qxd6+ Kh5, there are no more checks.

55.Nxh3 Rf1+ 56.Qxf1 Qxf1+ 57.Kh2

So Black will have three pawns and a Queen for Rook and Knight (the pawn on g5 is dead for those of you that think I can't count). The main thing now for Black is not to allow any knight forks of the King and Queen, and allowing a discovered check is fine as long as the piece moving out of the way of the discovering piece isn't able to attack the Black Queen in doing so.

57...Qc4

And so I went here, anticipating a capture on g5, and if it's with the Knight with check, I'll be able to cross the g-file and not be stuck on the h-file.

58.Nxg5+

Of course, taking with the Rook does keep the Black King on the h-file, but then I can scoop up both remaining White pawns as I can take the first one on a2 with check.

58...Kg6 59.Ne6+ Kh6

59...Kf6 was also possible.

60.Ng7 Qf4+

Black should simply grab the d5-pawn here.

61.Kg1 e4

Now we see what Black is after. Rather than simply cleaning house and getting rid of the White pawns, Black tries to promote one of his own.

62.Ne6 Qe5

Do note that for the moment, like if White were to move the a-pawn or the King, the d5-pawn is poisoned and it is therefore not a threat to be taken. If the Black Queen were on d5 right now, 63.Rh2+ followed by 64.Nf4+ would win the game for White.

63.Rh2+

White proceeds with the check anyway instead of maybe waiting and seeing if Black falls for the trap. There is nothing else White can do except weasel out with a cheap trap, so why not try it? Turns out I was fully aware of the situation.

63...Kg6 64.Nf8+ Kf7 65.Rf2+ Ke8 66.Ne6 e3 67.Re2

Black, of course, still can't take the pawn on d5 due to a Knight fork on c7. Therefore ...

67...Qg3+ 68.Rg2

Any other move allows mate in 9.

68...Qe1+ 69.Kh2 Qh4+

Due to the increment time control, I played this just to gain an extra minute on the clock. The real move comes at move 71.

70.Kg1 Qe1+ 71.Kh2 Qc3

Covering all bases, including c7 and e3.

72.Ng7+ Kf7

The best square for the King as there is no way to give a Knight fork with a King on f7 and a Queen on d5.

73.Nf5 Qe5+ 74.Ng3 Qxd5

The pawn is now safe to take, and with connected passers, White position is hopeless. With d5 gone, White can safely resign here. The rest of the moves are simply given for completeness.

75.Ne2 Qf3 76.Kg1 d5 77.a4 d4 78.Kh2 d3 79.Ng3 Qxg2+ 80.Kxg2 d2 81.Kf3 d1=Q+ 82.Kxe3 Qxa4 83.Ne4 Qxe4+ 84.Kxe4 Ke6 85.Kd4 c6 86.Kc4 Ke5 87.Kc3 Kd5 88.Kb3 Kd4 89.Ka3 Kd3 90.Ka2 c5 91.Kb2 Kd2 92.Kb3 b5 93.Ka3 c4 94.Ka2 c3 95.Ka3 c2 96.Kb3 c1=Q 97.Ka2 Qc2+ 98.Ka1 Qc3+ 99.Ka2 Qb4 100.Ka1 Kc2 0-1

Literally one move before mate, after 100 moves, White Resigned.


So we just witnessed a 100-move game with a ton of tactics from about move 30-onward. Can you name what the opening was? While many will recall it was a London System, the main point being made is that one cannot use a linear one-to-one relationship between opening and type of game. If all you did was memorize openings, you would think this game was baloney for a London System, but after White failed in many ways to play sound, positional moves in an opening not known for being wild and tactical, the game steered more in the direction of a King's Indian Defense, and what Black got was a souped up, more favorable version of it. It still required general knowledge of the King's Indian Defense for Black to weave his way through. Trying to memorize lines and compartmenalize openings like they are rats in separated mazes where they never meet together is a major flaw often made by amateurs. Many amateurs might be aware of certain well-known direct opening transpositions, like someone that plays the Scandinavian Gambit is probably well aware of the transposition to the Panov-Botvinnik Attack, a line against the Caro-Kann, and an Accelerated Dragon player might transpose directly to the Regular Dragon, or a Modern player might transpose to the Pirc, but the necessity to actually understand the ideas behind the openings you play goes far beyond direct transpositions. This game was not a direct transposition to the King's Indian Defense, but with tons of similarities to the King's Indian, knowing the ideas behind the opening is what was critical, and Black executed it beautifully. He may not have found every opportunity at playing the really flashy move every time, but simply being able to continue to play sound moves that maintain the winning advantage is all that is necessary. The difference between -4 and -8 is not important. What you don't want to do is get into the massive time issues that Black got into back in the third round (see the previous article).


So now an interesting twist occurred in the fourth round. The 4-seed was able to draw against the leader, Doruk Emir, giving the leader now 3.5. The other game between the players with two ended up in a draw, and the top seed, Alexander Rutten, won his game. The 4-seed, for some reason, withdrew after this. This gave Doruk Emir the lead at 3.5, myself alone in second at 3, Alexander Rutten, Frank Johnson (the 5-seed) and two others all had 2.5. I could not play Doruk in the final round as we had already faced. That meant that Doruk was going to have to play the top 2.5 player, which was the top seed in the tournament, and I was going to have to play Frank Johnson in the final round. All other games were irrelevant at this point. I am still in must-win mode, and with a win, I end up in clear second if Doruk wins, a tie for first if he draws, and clear first to myself if he loses.

The result of that game, along with coverage of my game in the final round against Frank Johnson, will be the topic of my next post, which may not come until after Christmas. I will try, but can't promise. Until then, good luck in your games.

Game Analysis: Atlanta Class Championship, Round 3

Hello everyone and welcome as we continue to analyze the games that lead to my victory of the Expert Section (which was also the top section) of the Atlanta Class Championship. In the previous two articles, we saw myself getting White against the top two players of the section, and taking both of them down. So what do I get as an opponent for my first game of the tournament as Black? The three seed! Of course!

In this game, we are going to see Black taking full advantage of the fact that White showed zero understanding of the opening. Black achieves a winning position, and keeps it until the one dark spot in the tournament hits for me. The time control was 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by sudden death in 30 minutes with a 30 second increment. Black, for the final 12 moves of the first time control, gets into severe time trouble, and we will see the entire position turn from a win for Black to a win for White in a mere matter of 12 moves. Even on move 40, Black has a shot at equality and salvaging half the point, but after move 40, Black is busted, and we will see the game conclude with correct technique by White, showing how to execute a winning Rook endgame with passed pawns for both sides.

Without further ado, let's take a look at the game.

Atlanta Class Championship, Round 3
W: Doruk Emir (2096)
B: Patrick McCartney (2018)
King's Indian Defense, Saemisch Variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4

This is a common idea in the English Opening. White has no good way to play for an advantage without directly transposing to the King's Indian Defense. There are two common ways to do it. One of them is to transpose to the Fianchetto Variation via 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O and following up Black's 6th move with 7.d4 as 7.d3 gives White nothing more than equality. The other approach is what happens this game, and playing 3.e4 has one major advantage over playing the fianchetto line. In the Fianchetto line, after 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nf3, Black can also play 5...d5, leading to either the Grunfeld if 6.d4, or anti-Grunfeld positions after 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.O-O, avoiding d4, which gives Black very few problems. By taking a more classical approach and playing either the Classical, Saemisch, Four Pawns, or any other line that involves an early e4, normally reached via 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6, White can specifically avoid the Grunfeld by playing 3.e4 before 4.d4. With 3.e4, the move ...d5 is taken out of the picture. White is basically saying that he has no objection to playing against a King's Indian, but no Grunfeld for you, sir! That said, those that know me know that I'm a King's Indian player, and despise the Grunfeld, and so it's no skin off my nose, but for those of you playing White, this is worth knowing.

Now you might ask, what happens after 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5, as many Grunfeld players know that this move order is necessary due to 3.e4, as played in the game. I would suggest a line that Ulf Andersson played, namely 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3 g6 (normally, his games would go 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5, reaching the same position) 5.e4 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 and Black has literally one move that leads to a near equal position, and that is the counter-intuitive 7...f6. Other moves lead to an advantage for White, including the "typical" move seen here, 7...Bg7. Those of you interested in learning this position are encouraged to pick up a copy of "How Ulf Beats Black" by Cyrus Lakdawala. Some old books on the English Opening may also cover this line.

3...d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 e5

So we have the basic starting position of the 6...e5 variation of the Saemisch King's Indian. Black's idea is fairly simple. He wants to take on d4 to open up the diagonal for his Bishop on g7. White has two basic ideas here available to him. The first, and most common idea, is to lock the center with 7.d5. This move gains space for White, and slams shut the diagonal, and Black ends up with a bad Bishop on g7, similar to the bad Bishop on c8 in the French Defense, another opening that I play regularly, and so bad Bishops don't bother me, but again, you have to know how to deal with them to play this line against the Saemisch. If White does this, Black will usually play 7...Nh5 with ideas of either playing 8...f5, going for a Kingside Attack and chipping away at White's center, or there is an interesting line involving a sacrifice of the Queen for two Bishops and two pawns via 8.Qd2 Qh4+ 9.g3 Nxg3 10.Qf2 (10.Bf2? Nxf1 hits the Queen) Nxf1 11.Qxh4 Nxe3 followed by 12...Nxc4.

The second option is for White to allow the trade on d4 and play 7.Nge2, intending to recapture on d4 with the Knight. This leads to more of a Maroczy Bind type of position after Black trades on d4.

In the game however, White plays a bad move.

7.Qd2? exd4 8.Bxd4 Nc6

And here inlies the problem. The move 5.f3 has the downside of weakening the dark squares around White's King. Therefore, the absolute last thing that White can afford to do is give up his dark-squared Bishop for a Knight, leaving Black's dark-squared Bishop on what is now an open diagonal unopposed. Therefore, Black is developing with the gain of tempo. Had White played 7.Nge2 and recaptured on move 8 with the Knight, then 8...Nc6, while a fine move, does not gain time like it does in the game because White should have no objection to trading Knights if Black wishes to do so, but Black is spending time doing it, first developing the Knight, and then trading it off, falling behind in development while White develops his pieces and merely reacts when needed, like re-capturing when Black initiates a trade.

9.Be3

As explained, a sad necessity, losing time.

9...a6 10.Nge2 Rb8 11.Nd4 Bd7 12.Nc2

And so now White has lost time with the Bishop, and spends 3 moves to develop his Knight to c2? Yes, the Knight does often move 3 times in the Saemisch King's Indian, but usually to get to b3 or d3, not c2.

12...Ne5 13.Bg5 h6!

To see this move, Black must know about a very common tactical shot in the King's Indian Defense. When looking for ideas, always consider the possibility of the move ...Nxe4. This can lead to a number of possibilities, especially in lines where the White Queen is on d2, because the Knight directly attacks d2, and White must react to that. This often leads to one of two possibilities. The first is an attack on d4. With the Knight moved out of the way, the Bishop directly attacks d4, and so if that leads to more pieces attacking say, a Knight, on d4 than there are defending d4, this leads to the win of a pawn.

While that is not the case here, instead we have another common idea, this being the situation any time f3 is played, and this shows another downside to the Saemisch if it isn't followed up correctly. I should take a moment to state that this article is not a knock on the Saemisch Variation against the King's Indian, but it does show what happens if White subsequently has no clue what he's doing, which was the case here. In this case, we have a fork with the Queen, giving check to the White King, and that is why this move doesn't drop a pawn. White has three options, none of which are good for White. He can admit the loss of more time, and retreat with 14.Be3 or 14.Bf4, and maybe he thinks that the pawn advance weakens Black's structure. While that may be true in some cases, it is not here, but this may be the least of the evils for White. The second is to trade the Bishop for the Knight, which we already discussed. The third is what happens in the game.

14.Bxh6?

This allows Black to force White to give up the dark-squared Bishop for a Knight, which we mentioned earlier is usually really bad for White in this line.

14...Nxe4!

The fact that this hits the Queen gives Black the tempo needed to get in the check and capture the Bishop on h6. The only move that prevents this is 15.Qf4, but then after 15...Nxc3 16.bxc3 and White's pawn structure is a train wreck.

15.Nxe4 Qh4+ 16.Qf2 Qxh6

This move is stronger than trading Queens and taking back with the Bishop. Black's King is safe, White's is not. Black wants to keep the Queens on the board.

17.Be2 b5 18.c5 d5 19.Nc3 Rfe8 20.O-O

Not 20.Nxd5?? Nd3+, where the Queen falls.

20...c6 21.Rfe1 Qf4 22.Rad1 Nc4 23.Bxc4

Which way should Black take back? 23...bxc4, 23...Qxc4, or 23...Rxe1+ followed by one of the captures on c4?

23...bxc4

While not by any stretch the move that loses the winning advantage, this is the start of heading in the wrong direction. Whether Black trades on e1 first or not, he should recapture on c4 with the Queen rather than the pawn. The reason for this has nothing to do with Black's pieces, but rather White's. Black has a winning position and has two unopposed Bishops. His advantage is a long term one, and one that should not be rushed. The Knights must be contained, and by taking with the Queen, where are the Knights going? After 23...Qxc4, the c3-Knight is cannot move forward due to the Black pawns, and the c2-Knight remains passive as attacking the Queen with 24.Na3 forces White to react to the threat of ...b4 after the Black Queen moves, and trying to come out with 24.Ne3 hangs the pawn on c5. By taking with the b-pawn, White has the a4-square to get to the outpost on b6 for the c3-Knight and can cause Black some issues. In the game, it turns out to be enough to cause Black to run low on time. By the way, in the current position, White has 53 minutes to Black's 38 to make 17 more moves before each side is awarded with an extra 30 minutes.

24.Na4 Be5 25.g3 Qf6 26.Nb6 Bh3 27.b3 cxb3 28.axb3 Bc3 29.Re2 Rbd8 30.Na4

Black has 11 minutes to make 11 moves. Black has a fairly simple way to get a winning position, but the lack of time cost me and I fail to see it.

30...Bf5?

Black achieves a winning position with 30...Rxe2!. After 31.Qxe2 Rb8, White is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If White blocks the b-file with 32.Nb6, then 32...Bf5 33.Kg2 d4 forces 34.Ne1 due to the threat of ...d3, and White's pieces are in complete disarray. Otherwise, after 32.Nxc3 Qxc3, White loses material as 33.b4 is answered by 33...a5! and otherwise, both b3 and c5 are hanging.

31.Ne1?

White can shrink Black's advantage to a minimum after 31.Rxe8+ Rxe8 32.Nxc3 Qxc3 33.Nd4 as trying to grab a pawn via 33...Qxc5 only leads to equality as after 34.Nxf5 Qxf2+ 35.Kxf2 gxf5, Black's pawn structure compensates for the pawn loss.

31...Kg7

Once again, Black should trade Rooks on e2 and follow up with ...Rb8, just like he should have the previous move.

32.Ng2

White again should take the Bishop.

32...Bd4 33.Ne3 Bxe3?

All Black needs to do is move the King to avoid allowing a check by the White Knight and White is dead. A simple move like 33...Kf8 wins for Black.

34.Rxe3 Rxe3 35.Qxe3 Qe6?

What is Black doing? Well, it turns out, Black had under a minute to get to move 40, and went with trying to simplify the position. The problem is, this solves all of White's problems as pressure is removed, and now, the best Black can hope for is an equal endgame, and the next few moves we will see even more errors by Black in time trouble, and the resulting position at time control will be completely busted for Black.

36.Qd4+ Qf6 37.Nb6 Qxd4+ 38.Rxd4 Bc8?

What on earth is this? The only trump card that Black has left is the protected passed pawn on d5. He should play 38...a5, looking to get rid of his one weakness. If White plays 39.b4, he can trade. If 39.Ra4, then 39...d4 and White doesn't have time to pawn grab. Black might still have a slight edge this way.

The move played in the game is completely useless and outright bad for Black.

39.Nc4

Had Black left the Bishop on f5 and played 38...a5, this move would not be possible because Black could take the Knight. After 39...dxc4! 40.Rxd8 cxb3 41.Rd1 b2, the b1-square is covered and White loses his Rook. Here, with the Bishop on c8, White has this possibility.

39...Rf8 40.Nd6

Last chance for Black to keep an equal position, and it's move 40, seconds on the clock. What move do you play?

40...Kf6??

Black must play 40...Be6 here, giving him time, while he can, to get the Rook active via 41...Rb8. Now Black is busted. His position will crack, leading to White gaining a pawn as the Black pieces virtually can't move, and White gains a winning Rook ending which he never gives Black a chance at this point. It took 31 moves to get Black to resign, but it's winning the whole way for White. I encourage all of those with problems in their endgame play to analyze this endgame in depth. This is not an endgame article, and so I will only make a couple of high level points, but I encourage those with endgame issues to take at least an hour to go through the last 31 moves of the game.

41.Ra4 Ke5 42.f4+

Driving the Black King back before proceeding with his own attack.

42...Kf6 43.h4 Ke7 44.Kf2 Bd7

Now, due to a subsequent tactic, Black has to give up a pawn to just be able to move, unlike at move 40 where he could trade the a-pawn for the b-pawn.

45.Rxa6 Rb8 46.Ra7 Rxb3 47.Nxf7

Tactically maintaining the pawn advantage.

47...Rb2+ 48.Ke1 Kxf7 49.Rxd7+ Ke6 50.Rd6+ Kf5 51.Rxc6 Rg2 52.Rc8 Rxg3 53.Kd2 Ke4 54.c6 Kd4 55.c7 Rd3+ 56.Ke2 Re3+ 57.Kf2 Re7 58.Kf3 Kc4 59.Kg4 d4 60.Kg5 d3 61.Kxg6

White is just fast enough in the race to take all draw possibilities away from Black.

61...Kc3 62.f5 d2 63.Rd8 Rxc7 64.f6 Rc4 65.f7! Rf4 66.h5 Rf1 67.h6 Rg1+ 68.Kh5 Rf1 69.h7 Rh1+ 70.Kg4 Rg1+ 71.Kh3 1-0


What a disgusting way to lose a chess game. Often times, it's better to simply get blown away than to have a winning advantage from the get-go just to completely botch it in time trouble. The following items can be picked up from this game:

• Time management! Black had 11 minutes to make 11 moves, and this cost him. Earlier in the game, a number of moves should have been played faster. Instead, Black was constantly looking for the perfect move. I can recall a few of them I had the candidate in mind long before the move was made, and I spent all that time either looking for pipe dream moves for Black, or else needing to feel 100% positive that there is no counter-play for White. Yes, you do need to blunder-check, but don't spend for ever doing this. Moves with unnecessary time taken include 12...Ne5 (9 minutes), 16...Qxh6 (3 minutes), 17...b5 (5 minutes), 22...Nc4 (9 minutes), 27...cxb3 (7 minutes), and 29...Rbd8 (9 minutes). Some moves do require time to be taken, like the 6 minutes I took for 21...Qf4 as this move impacts the entire idea of what Black is going to do, and I should have spent more time on move 23 than the 1 minute I took there, but of the 42 minutes taken for the 6 moves mentioned, I should easily have been able to preserve 20 minutes of that, giving me the time I needed for moves 23 and 30 thru 40.
• A word of advice - if you don't already do so, take down the time at every move. Don't try to calculate time taken. Simply write the time remaining. So on my score sheet, I have a 27 beside 26...Bh3 and a 20 beside 27...cxb3, and that's how you figure out that you spent 7 minutes. Don't try to calculate that you took 7 minutes during the game. Simply write the time left at each move, and use that information afterwards when analyzing to determine where you need to better manage your time. Look for long times spent on moves that aren't that complicated, and also look for critical decisions in the game that perhaps you didn't spend enough time on. The only move where I feel I made the latter mistake is the recapture on move 23, but there were numerous times that I spent way more time than I should have, and I only know that by taking down the time at every move. I also take down my opponent's time at each move as well. This can tell you where he spent too much time, but it also gives you the information of whether one player has a major time advantage during a critical point in the game.
• In the opening, move order matters. The way White handled the opening gave Black extra tempos because White failed to develop his King's Knight, and Black got a winning position less than 10 moves later.
• When you have the Bishop pair versus a pair of Knights, it's not about rapid fire. It's all about containing the Knights, which capturing with the Queen instead of the pawn on move 23 would have done.
• Endgame knowledge is vital. If White didn't understand his Rook endings, Black might have been able to pull a draw due to the passed d-pawn, but with best play, it wasn't enough to offset the pawn deficit.

So this loss was a major setback, especially given that I should have won the game. There were 14 players in the section. Going into the round, there were only two players with 2 points, and that was the two featured in this game. There were only two players with 1.5. The first one had a half point bye for round three, and the other one drew. Combine that with the players with one point that won their third round, and you had five players with 2 points and nobody with 2.5. Therefore, Emir was in a prime position to win, and any hope for the other 5 of us had to come via two wins. There was virtually no way to mathematically win outright with a win and a draw. So my work was cut out for the final two rounds, which we will look at in the next two articles.

Till next time, good luck in your games.

Fall 2019 CCCSA GM/IM Norm Invitational!

Author: Grant Oen, CCCSA Assistant Director

CCCSA's 12th GM/IM Norm Invitational Tournament

This Thanksgiving weekend, Wednesday November 27 - Sunday December 1, the Charlotte Chess Center will organize our twelfth GM/IM norm invitational.

These seasonal norm tournaments offer special opportunities for players to earn international (FIDE) norms and titles, including Grandmaster and International Master.  24 norms and 12 titles have been earned at these events.  Five players have earned their Grandmaster titles in Charlotte: GM Andrew Tang, GM John Michael Burke, GM Steven Zierk, GM Nicolas Checa, and GM Michael Brown.

Three players at this event can earn their final GM norms: IM Brandon Jacobson (New Jersey), IM 

Kassa Korley (Denmark), and IM Eylon Nakar (Israel).  There are two sections, each a 9 game round robin (all-play-all) held at the Charlotte Chess Center.

The official website can be found here, while games and standings can be found here.  Live games will be also be available on chess24 and Follow Chess.

Norm hunters can earn FIDE norms with a score of at least 6.5 out of 9 in the GM norm section or 6.0/9 in the IM norm section.  The 20 player field includes 4 Grandmasters, 8 International Masters, 6 FIDE Masters, and 2 National Masters from 9 countries (Belgium, Denmark, Hungary, India, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Spain, and the United States) and 8 states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia).

Pairings, standings, and live games can be found here.

PLAYERS

GM Section (GM norm = 6.5/9, average FIDE rating 2441, average USCF rating 2533)

GM Tanguy Ringoir

GM Tanguy Ringoir (Belgium, FIDE 2501, USCF 2591)

·       25 years old

·       Wins over GMs K. Georgiev, S. Ganguly, R. Vaganian, E. Najer, V. Durarbayli

·       4th highest rated player in Belgium, three-time Belgian national champion, highest rated player in Maryland

·       Represented Belgium at the 2012 and 2014 Chess Olympiads

·       Won CCCSA’s Spring 2017 and Spring 2018 GM Invitationals

·       UMBC chess team member, representing UMBC at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       Holds the record for the longest undefeated streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 37 games

·       Holds the record for the largest cumulative plus score in CCCSA Invitationals: +14

·       Interview from Spring 2017 CCCSA GM Invitational

·       This is GM Ringoir’s 9th CCCSA GM Invitational

GM Mark Paragua

GM Mark Paragua (Philippines, FIDE 2496, USCF 2608)

·       35 years old

·       Wins over GMs L. Aronian, S. Mamedyarov, Le Quang Liem, D. Navara, G. Kamsky

·       3rd highest rated player in the Philippines, 2012 Filipino national champion

·       Former World Top 100 player (2621 FIDE)

·       Represented the Philippines at the 2002, 2004, 2006, and 2012 Chess Olympiads

·       Played in the 2004, 2005, and 2013 Chess World Cups

·       Held the records for the youngest master, youngest International Master, youngest Grandmaster, and the first 2600 FIDE-rated player from the Philippines

·       This is GM Paragua’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Eyal Grinberg

IM Eyal Grinberg (Israel, FIDE 2472, USCF 2500)

·       21 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Volokitin, M. Parligras, J. Stocek, H. Martirosyan, A. Sumets

·       31st highest rated player in Israel

·       Represented Israel at the World Youth U16 Chess Olympiad and European Youth U18 Team Championship

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship

·       This is IM Grinberg’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Omer Reshef

IM Omer Reshef (Israel, FIDE 2461, USCF 2551)

·       22 years old

·       Wins over GMs B. Bok, T. Gareev, M. Brown, D. Berczes, U. Bajarani

·       33rd highest rated player in Israel

·       Represented Israel at the European Youth U18 Team Championship

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       This is IM Reshef’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

GM David Berczes

GM David Berczes (Hungary, FIDE 2452, USCF 2548)

·       29 years old

·       Wins over GMs Le Quang Liem, E. Najer, H. Koneru, R. Robson, B. Macieja

·       41st highest rated player in Hungary

·       Represented Hungary at the 2004 and 2006 World Youth U16 Chess Olympiads

·       Won CCCSA’s Spring 2019 GM Invitational

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       This is GM Berczes’ 3rd CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Brandon Jacobson (New Jersey, FIDE 2452, USCF 2540)

IM Brandon Jacobson

·       15 years old

·       Wins over GMs K. Dragun, G. Kacheishvili, R. Hess, E. Cordova, I. Chirila

·       Highest rated 15-year-old in the US

·       North American Youth U12 Bronze medalist, North American Youth U16 Silver medalist

·       Champion, 2016 Barber National Tournament of K-8 Champions

·       Attends Columbia University

·       Earned 1st IM norm in CCCSA’s Summer 2018 IM Invitational and remaining IM norms in the same month (June 2018)

·       2 GM norms (both in 2019), can earn the GM title at this tournament

·       Tied for first for longest win streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 5

·       This is IM Jacobson’s 9th CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Kassa Korley (Denmark, FIDE 2447, USCF 2550)

IM Kassa Korley

·       26 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Timman, A. Dreev, A. Moiseenko, A. Shabalov, V. Mikhalevski

·       12xth highest rated player in Denmark

·       Graduated from Duke University

·       Earned 3 IM norms in 3 weeks in summer 2014

·       Earned 1st GM norm in CCCSA’s Summer 2018 GM Invitational, which he won

·       2 GM norms (2018, 2019), can earn his third GM norm at this tournament

·       Tied for first for most wins against GMs in CCCSA Invitationals: 4

·       Has the most points against GMs in CCCSA Invitationals: 11

·       Has played both of the longest games in CCCSA Invitationals (189 moves & 138 moves)

·       Kassa’s Youtube Channel

·       This is IM Korley’s 10th CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Eylon Nakar

IM Eylon Nakar (Israel, FIDE 2433, USCF 2528)

·       25 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Xiong, E. Hansen, A. Beliavsky, V. Mikhalevski, A. Liang

·       45th highest rated player in Israel

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship

·       2 GM norms (2015, 2017), can earn the GM title at this tournament

·       This is IM Nakar’s 1st CCCSA GM Invitational

IM Kevin Wang

IM Kevin Wang (Maryland, FIDE 2416, USCF 2520)

·       22 years old

·       Wins over GMs Praggnanandhaa, M. Panchanathan, L. Bruzon Batista, B. Gulko, S. Azarov

·       76th highest rated player in the US

·       Graduated from the University of Chicago

·       Earned IM norms at 2013, 2014, 2016 World Opens

·       Earned 5th IM norm and necessary 2400 rating to become an IM at CCCSA’s Winter 2018 GM Invitational

·       This is IM Wang’s 6th CCCSA GM Invitational

FM / WGM Jennifer Yu (Virginia, FIDE 2278, USCF 2396)

FM / WGM Jennifer Yu

·       17 years old

·       Wins over GMs B. Macieja, P. Kannappan, I. Krush, A. Kore, C. Hevia

·       10th highest rated 17-year-old in the US, 7th highest rated female in the US

·       2019 U.S. Women’s Champion, 2014 World Youth U12 Girls Champion, 2013 North American Youth U12 Girls Champion, three-time National Girls Tournament of Champions winner

·       Represented USA at the 2017 World Team Championship, 2017 World Girls U20 Championship (bronze medal and 1st IM norm) and the 2018 Chess Olympiad (bronze medal and 3rd IM norm)

·       Earned 2nd IM norm at CCCSA’s Winter 2018 IM Invitational, which she won

·       This is FM Yu’s 3rd CCCSA Norm Invitational

IM Section (IM norm = 6.0/9, average FIDE rating 2336, average USCF rating 2425)

IM Kacper Drozdowski

IM Kacper Drozdowski (Poland, FIDE 2467, USCF 2549)

·       23 years old

·       Wins over GMs V. Fedoseev, D. Anton Guijarro, T. Gareev, B. Bok, Y. Pelletier

·       40th highest rated player in Poland

·       Represented Poland at European Team Championship, European Youth U18 Team Championship

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       2013 European Youth U16 Champion

·       Competed in Polish Chess National Championship

·       1 GM norm (2018)

·       This is IM Drozdowski’s 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

GM Angel Arribas Lopez

GM Angel Arribas Lopez (Spain, FIDE 2436, USCF 2519)

·       25 years old (turns 26 on first day of the tournament)

·       Wins over GMs I. Ipatov, J. Smeets, J. Granda Zuniga, K. Dragun, D. Anton Guijarro

·       61st highest rated player in Spain

·       UT Dallas chess team member, representing UTD at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship and Final Four of College Chess National Championship

·       Won CCCSA’s Winter 2019 IM Invitational

·       2003 Spanish Youth U10 Champion, 2005 Spanish Youth U12 Champion, 2009 Spanish Youth U16 Champion

·       Competed in Spanish Chess National Championship

·       This is GM Arribas Lopez’s 5th CCCSA Norm Invitational

FM Gauri Shankar (India, FIDE 2340, USCF 2457)

FM Gauri Shankar

·       27 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Lenderman, O. Barbosa, N. Mitkov, M. Brown, D. Gurevich

·       131st highest rated player in India

·       Earned fifth IM norm in CCCSA’s Spring 2017 GM Invitational

·       5 IM norms (2009, 2011, 2015, 2015, 2017)

·       Won CCCSA’s Labor Day 2018 IM Invitational

·       Has played all 11 CCCSA Norm Invitationals

·       Most cumulative points scored in CCCSA invitationals: 49.5

·       Most cumulative draws in CCCSA invitationals: 51

·       This is FM Shankar’s 12th CCCSA Norm Invitational

NM Liran Zhou (New York, FIDE 2314, USCF 2400)

FM Liran Zhou

·       11 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Kraai, M. Rohde, IM R. Gajek

·       Top 11-year-old in the US, #5 player under 12 in the world

·       Previous holder of the youngest US Chess National Master record (9 years, 3 months, 22 days)

·       2019 World Cadet U12 Champion, 2017 World Cadet U10 Champion, 2017 North American Youth U10 Champion

·       This is NM Zhou’s 1st CCCSA IM Invitational

IM Roberto Martin Del Campo

IM Roberto Martin Del Campo (Mexico, FIDE 2314, USCF 2392)

·       52 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Becerra, A. Zapata, W. Browne, A. Adly, S. Agdestein

·       Drawn twice with former World Champion Viswanathan Anand at the 1985 and 1987 World Junior U20 Championships

·       12th highest rated player from Mexico

·       Represented Mexico at 3 Chess Olympiads, earning a gold medal in 1990

·       1993 Mexican National Chess Champion

·       Won CCCSA’s Spring 2016 IM Invitational

·       Tied for first for longest win streak in CCCSA Invitationals: 5

·       Most cumulative wins in CCCSA Invitationals: 26

·       This is IM Del Campo’s 11th CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Christopher Shen

FM Christopher Shen (Ohio, FIDE 2306, USCF 2390)

·       15 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Puranik, I. Ortiz Suarez, IMs B. Jacobson, L. Harmon-Vellotti, T. Stremavicius

·       Highest rated player from Ohio, fourth highest rated 15-year-old in the US

·       Silver medalist at 2019 Pan American Youth U18 Championship, Bronze medalist at 2012 World Youth U8 Championship

·       This is FM Shen’s 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Jacob Furfine

FM Jacob Furfine (Illinois, FIDE 2302, USCF 2395)

·       18 years old

·       Wins over GMs V. Georgiev, A. Chandra, IMs S. Schmakel, S. Bora, J. Sheng

·       8th highest 18-year-old in the US

·       Will attend MIT

·       This is FM Furfine’s 2nd CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Aaron Jacobson

FM Aaron Jacobson (New Jersey, FIDE 2301, USCF 2398)

·       20 years old

·       Wins over GMs T. Ringoir, G. Kacheishvili, D. Khamrakulov, D. Boros, N. Checa

·       38th highest rated player under 21 in the US

·       Attends Harvard University

·       Earned first IM norm at CCCSA’s Winter 2019 IM Invitational

·       2 IM norms (both in 2019)

·       Highest cumulative FIDE rating gain at CCCSA Norm Invitationals: +116.4 points

·       This is FM Jacobson’s 7th CCCSA IM Invitational

FM Vincent Tsay

FM Vincent Tsay (New York, FIDE 2300, USCF 2383)

·       14 years old

·       Wins over GMs J. Becerra, M. Rohde, U. Bajarani, IMs B. Jacobson, K. Kiewra

·       7th highest 14-year-old in the US

·       2017 World Cadet U12 Champion

·       2018 New York State Scholastic Champion

·       1 IM norm (2019)

·       This is FM Tsay’s 1st CCCSA Norm Invitational

NM Richard Francisco

NM Richard Francisco (Georgia, FIDE 2281, USCF 2365)

·       35 years old

·       Wins over GMs A. Shabalov, E. Cordova, M. Paragua, J. Becerra, R. Hess

·       4th highest rated player from Georgia

·       This is NM Francisco’s 4th CCCSA IM Invitational