Spring, Summer 2009

Averbakh - Kotov, 1953.

Black to play.

Letter from the Editor

Greetings once again! As you know, the Alabama Chess Antics is supposed to be a quarterly

publication; however, after the long Antics drought of 2007-2008, we’ve had to squeeze two seasons’

worth of material into each issue just to make up for lost time. With this issue, it looks like the Antics has

finally “caught up” to the present day of Alabama chess. And just in time, since our biggest tournament of

the year--the State Championship--is coming right up, on September 11-13. Let’s all come to Birmingham

and make this tournament a memorable one!

This issue of the Antics features annotated games from Will Stevenson, Bryan Tillis, and myself.

The Expert players of Alabama are therefore very well-represented, but I’d like to see more submissions

from players in other classes. Even if you don’t want to write your own annotations, if you think you’ve

played a particularly good game or a game that stands out in some interesting way, send it in.

We also have some nice tournament reports from both Neil Dietsch and Caesar Lawrence. Not

only can these guys organize and/or direct tournaments, they also really know how to bring the memories

of those tournaments to life in print! Thanks again, fellas.

On a different note, since the last Antics was released, the ACF President, Keenan Olson, resigned

from office. We thank Keenan for the work he put into the ACF over the past few years, and we welcome

our interim President (the former Vice President), Chuck Singleton, to his new position. We will have our

annual election at the ACF business meeting during the State Championship; please come to the meeting

and vote!

Kindest regards,

Scott Varagona

________________________________________________________________________

The dramatic conclusion to the game on the cover is:

30...Qxh3+!! 31.Kxh3 Rh6+ 32.Kg4 Nf6+ 33.Kf5 Nd7 34.Rg5 Rf8+ 35.Kg4 Nf6+ 36.Kf5 Ng8+ 37.Kg4 Nf6+ 38.Kf5 Nxd5+ 39.Kg4 Nf6+ 40.Kf5 Ng8+ 41.Kg4 Nf6+ 42.Kf5 Ng8+ 43.Kg4 Bxg5 44.Kxg5 Rf7 45.Bh4 Rg6+ 46.Kh5 Rfg7 47.Bg5 Rxg5+ 48.Kh4 Nf6 49.Ng3 Rxg3 50.Qxd6 R3g6 51.Qb8+ Rg8 0–1.

Contents:

McCormick - Stevenson: Huntsville City Championship by Will Stevenson page 3

Alabama Quick Chess Championship: Report by Neil Dietsch page 5

Bryan Tillis: Two Games by Bryan Tillis page 6

Chris Bond Memorial Classic: Tournament Report by Caesar Lawrence page 7

Stevenson - Varagona at the CBM by Will Stevenson & Scott Varagona page 8

Tournament Life Announcements page 11

Brian McCormick - Will Stevenson:

Huntsville City Championship by Will Stevenson

This was the 5th and deciding round of the Huntsville City Championship. With one round to go, I was ahead by half a point with 3.5/4, having drawn Josh McClellan the previous round. Brian had incredible results up to this point, having already upset 3 much more highly rated players. I wasn't shocked, though, as Brian has improved rapidly and simply needs more tournaments to get his rating up to where it should be. Despite the over 500-point rating gap, I didn't take this one for granted at all. This is one of the most instructive games I believe I have played, but more on how NOT to play a certain position than how to play it. 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 What I expected. Brian's usual weapon of choice against 1..c5, the Closed Sicilian. 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Be3 The mainline. Also common is the immediate f4. Frequently the moves transpose. However, nowadays Black's setup is fairly standard and universal. 6...Rb8

The Closed Sicilian used to give headaches to Sicilian players at all levels for decades. Spassky made it really famous, winning game after game at the very highest levels with it. However, within the past couple decades, the solution for simple equality has been found. Black's basic setup involves quick counter play along the b file(and sometimes c-file), strong control of the d4 square, and developing the knight to e7 instead of f6. The reasons for this will be discussed in a few moves. 7.Qd2 b5 8.Nge2 Nd4 9.0–0 e6 10.Nd1!

Strong and standard. 10...Ne7 One of the few openings in chess where it is considered good to play g6 AND e6. The reason for e6 and Nge7 is to limit the powerful potential white kingside initiative. White dreams of f4..g4..f5 with a quick attack and quite natural play. This is the system that gave Black headaches until the e6..Nge7 setup became known. The idea is for Black to play f5 himself before white gets the chance to! 11.c3 Nxe2+ 12.Qxe2 0–0 13.f4 b4 14.d4 Or 14.g4 f5! and if anyone is very slightly better it is Black! 14...bxc3 15.bxc3 Qa5 16.Qd2 Ba6

We are finished with the opening stage of the game. Also, we are just now out of book! Brian really knows his Closed Sicilian theory! However, the opening has been a smashing success for me. I am already slightly better. 17.Rf2 Rfd8 18.Bf1? Trading off Black's bad bishop. White really needs to get developed on the queenside quickly or it will be too late. 18...Bxf1 19.Kxf1 Yuck. Either recapture is bad: 19.Rxf1 cxd4 20.Bxd4 e5 21.Bf2 d5! 19...d5 I had a choice of playing this many different ways, but chose to treat it like a French structure (with g6 and Bg7 inserted). 20.e5 cxd4 21.cxd4 Qa6+ 22.Qe2 Qa3!

There is no reason to trade queens. Mine is completely dominant and is limiting the development of his queenside. 23.Rf3!? Rdc8 24.Bc1 Qa4 25.Rd3 Rc2 Now it gets interesting and is where the calculation begins in earnest. Before playing this move I calculated the line that will end at move 32 for Black. In a couple moves you will be asking the same question I still ask myself today: "What in the WORLD was I thinking?" 26.Ra3! This is what I expected. If he just plays passively, he will get rolled up in a few moves. He is a wounded animal here and is taking the fight to me! 26...Rxe2 26...Qxd4! 27.Qxc2 Qxa1 28.Rd3! (28.Rxa7 Rc8 29.Bb2 Rxc2 30.Bxa1 Nf5 31.Ra8+ Bf8 32.Bb2 Kg7 33.Ba3 Bxa3 34.Rxa3 Rxh2) was another line I had calculated. Why I also didn't choose this line instead of the upcoming lemon I played is another mystery to me. 27.Rxa4 Rxh2??

Terrible. Absolutely horrible. What happened here is an interesting study in psychology. So the move is bad in itself, but what makes it so bad is that I had calculated the reply back on move 26 and played it

anyway. Yes, you have just witnessed an expert-rated player playing hope chess! Savor it while you can because you will likely not find another one in this country or the world-over who would do this. I literally thought to myself before I played into the line "Well, I don't think (hope) he'll play the following move and even if he does, I will hopefully still find a way to win." Simply amazing. Stupidity (and to some extent arrogance) that deserves to be punished. Come on, Brian. I'm stubborn as an old mule. Give me a good scalping which I deserve! 27...Rc2 would have been better and kept a stable advantage, if only a small one. 28.Nf2! Not so difficult to find, but not always the most natural move to play when one has the opportunity to win the pawn back. 28...Nc6 From this point forward I had to play almost perfectly to give myself a chance. White is strategically close to winning now. 29.Kg1 Rh5 30.Kg2 Bf8 31.g4 Rh4 32.Kg3 Be7 33.Ba3!

Well, this is the move that I didn't calculate when I played into the line back on move 26. Of course I saw it around move 30 or so. At that point all I could do was hope he didn't find it. He did, and I'm in big trouble. Forget what the computers say here. Black is in serious trouble. 33...Bd8 33...Bxa3 34.Kxh4 Bb2 35.Rd1 a5 36.Kg3 Bc3 37.g5 Kg7 38.Ng4 is hopeless for Black. 34.Rc1 Rb6 35.Bc5 Rb2! Passive defense is no longer an option. I am going to have to play for mate. I already saw an idea for a mating net, but if he plays correctly, I am in trouble.

36.Ra6 Simpler is 36.Bxa7. 36...g5! 37.Rxc6 gxf4+ 38.Kf3? 38.Kg2 Rxg4+ 39.Kf3 Rg3+ 40.Kxf4 Rg2 41.Nd3 Bg5+ 42.Kf3 Rxa2 is unclear, especially in mutual time pressure. White's king is walking a tightrope here. Rybka really likes White here, but I would put it close to equal. 38...Rh2 Suddenly the tables have turned again. Black is winning again! 39.Rf1 Bh4 40.Rc8+ Kg7 41.Bf8+ Kg6 42.Nd3??

Better is 42.Kxf4, but still, 42...Rhxf2+ 43.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 44.Ke3 Rxa2 is good for Black. 42...Rh3+ 43.Kxf4 Bg5 mate. Whew! What a close call! I think this game was instructive in a few ways: 1) How to play against the Closed Sicilian. 2) How to play practically when in a losing position and going for counterplay. And 3) What type of logic to NOT use when searching for a move and reasons to play it or not. Don't play hope chess! Surely this shouldn't be a problem for anyone reading this. Anyone over 1200 shouldn't have this happen. Amazing! Lesson learned. Fortunately, it wasn't learned the "hardest of hard ways"! The road to victory in my first Huntsville City Championship wasn't a smooth ride in a Cadillac, but instead a bumpy ride in the back of a beat-up old hay truck!

Alabama Quick Chess

Championship 2009

by Neil Dietsch

From the time director Caesar Lawrence announced, “Shake hands and start your chess clocks,” there was a heightened energy in the large tournament room of the Alabama Quick Chess Championship. Listening to the syncopated slapping of chess clocks, one could feel the tense energy and focus as 42 competitors in four divisions made their opening moves. The rapid responding slaps indicated a pace that would mark games where aggression, intuition, and quick, accurate calculation would be the order of the day. This well-attended state championship tournament played in Tuscaloosa on June 20 attested to the interest in quick chess. The game times were G/25 with a four-second delay – long enough for some thought and strategy, but foregoing the lengthy consideration of moves typical of standard chess tournaments. Claiming the title of Alabama Quick Chess co-champions in the open division were Will Stevenson and Andy Reeder, each with 4 points out of 5. Curtis Barkley took third with 3.5 points. There may have been a sense of déjà vu for the two co-champions as their first-place tie repeated their placing in a Grand Prix Blitz tournament in 2008. Will has been a regular fixture and rising star in Alabama chess tournaments. Andy was an active chess prodigy in Alabama tournaments from 2000 to 2004, playing consistently at the expert level. It was great to have Andy back on the Alabama Chess scene and we hope to see more of him at future tournaments. Perhaps the unresolved question of which of the two can legitimately claim to be the best at fast chess will be enough to draw these competitors out again. In the reserve division, Phillip Clanton and James King shared first-place honors and prize money each scoring 4 out of 5 points. Thomas Gilbreath, Zhuowei Xu, and Doug Strout shared third place with 3.5 points each. Junmo Ryang of Tuscaloosa won first place in the scholastic rated section (5/5) with Ian Dietsch

taking second (4/5) and John McNair winning the third place trophy with 3 points. Hyunmo Ryang, Junmo’s younger brother, also had three points for a share of third place. Scholastic players are alerted not to underestimate young Arden Martin in future games. Arden, who just turned six, earned two wins in this, his first tournament, playing against elementary-school students of all levels. In the unrated scholastic section, Ryan Peelor had a perfect 5/5 and Michael Yu took second with 4/5. Robbie Cohen and Max Brown shared third place with each scoring 3 points. Robbie took home the third-place trophy on tie-breaker rules. Freedom Chess Academy thanks all of the attendees who made the trip to Tuscaloosa. It was a pleasure to hit our optimistic attendance estimate and be able to hand out the full amount of advertised prize money. Writing as an impartial sponsor, I want to say it was a pleasure to see several of the scholastic players from Birmingham step up to the reserve section and challenge their elders. On a more personal note: “Just wait ‘til next time, Charles Li.”

Bryan Tillis: Two Games

annotations by Bryan Tillis

[Editor’s Note: The following game is from the recent Alabama vs. Louisiana team match, which I’m proud to report ended in victory for Alabama. Here, Bryan takes down Louisiana expert Ben Bailey in a Slav Defense.] Bailey,Ben (2100) - Tillis,Bryan (2110) [D10] AL vs. LA , 30.05.2009 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.Qc2 g6 6.Bd3 b5 7.cxb5 cxb5 8.Bd2 [ 8.Bxb5+ axb5 9.Nxb5 Na6] 8...Bd7 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.a3 Rc8 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Ng4 13.f4 e6 14.Qd1

[ 14.h3 Qh4+ 15.Kf1 Qf2#] 14...h5 15.Be2 [ 15.Qc2

Qb6 16.Bxg6 fxg6 17.Qxg6+ Kd8] 15...Bc6 [ 15...Bc5 16.Bxg4 Qh4+ 17.g3 Qxg4 18.Qxg4 hxg4 19.Ne2] 16.Bf3 Bc5 17.Qe2 Qb6 18.Bxg4 hxg4 19.b4 Be7

20.0-0 d4 21.exd4 Qxd4+ 22.Qf2 Qxf2+ 23.Rxf2 Bd8 24.Nd1 Bh4 25.Re2 [ 25.g3 Bxg3 26.hxg3 Rh1#]

25...Bb7 26.Ne3 g3 27.h3 Be4 28.Be1 0-0 29.Rd1 Rfd8 30.Red2 Rxd2 31.Rxd2 g5 32.Rd4 Rc1 33.Kf1

Bg6 34.fxg5 [ 34.f5 exf5 35.Rd8+ Kg7 36.Rd6 f4] 34...Bxg5 35.Ng4 Ra1 36.h4 Bxh4

37.Ke2 [ 37.Nh6+ Kg7 38.Rxh4 Bd3+ 39.Kg1 Rxe1#] 37...Bh5 38.Bd2 Be7 39.Kd3 Rxa3+ 40.Kc2 Bxg4 41.Rxg4+ Kf8 42.Rd4 f6 43.Rf4 f5 44.Rd4 Ra2+ 45.Kc3 Ra1 46.Bf4 Rg1 47.Rd2 Rc1+ 48.Kb2 Rc4 49.Bxg3 Rxb4+ 50.Kc3 Rg4 51.Be1 Bb4+ 0-1 [Ed.: IM Emory Tate won the Alabama Class Championship this year, but not with a perfect score: both Keenan Olson and Bryan Tillis managed draws against him, and, as you will see, Bryan almost had Tate on the ropes.] Tillis,Bryan (2090) - Tate, Emory IM (2382) [A43] Alabama Class Championship, 22.03.2009 1.d4 c5 2.d5 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nc3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qa5 7.Qb3 Nf6 This ended my preparation for the game. I was expecting f5 at this point. 8.Bd3 0-0 9.f4 e6 10.Nf3 exd5 11.cxd5 Re8 12.Nd2 Bd7 [12...Nxe4? 13.Nxe4 f5 14.0-0 fxe4 15.Re1 Bf5 16.Qc4] 13.0-0 [13.a4!? a6 14.0-0 b5] 13...b5 14.c4 b4 15.e5 dxe5 16.fxe5 Ng4 17.e6 fxe6 18.Be4 Qc7 19.Qg3 [19.d6 Qxd6 20.Bxa8 Qxh2#; 19.Qh3 Ne5

20.dxe6 Bxe6 21.Qg3 Nbc6] 19...Qxg3 20.hxg3 Ne3 21.dxe6 Bc6 22.Re1 Bxe4 23.Nxe4 Ng4 [23...Nc2?? 24.Nf6+ Kf8 25.Bh6+!] 24.Nd6 Nc6 25.Nxe8 Rxe8 26.Bf4 Nd4 27.Bd6 Nc2

28.Bxc5? [ 28.e7!! Nxa1 29.Rxa1 Nh6 30.Rf1 Nf7 31.Bxc5] 28...Nxa1 29.Rxa1 Rxe6 30.Bxb4 Re4 I missed that I couldn’t protect the c-pawn with Rc1 when I played Bd6. 31.Bc5 [31.Rc1 Ne5 32.Bc5?? Nd3] 31...a6 32.Bb6 Rxc4 33.a4 Rc3 34.a5 Rxg3 35.Rc1 Ra3 36.Kf1 Nf6 37.Rc8+ Kf7 38.Rc7+ Ke6 39.Ra7 Nd5 40.Rxa6 [40.Rxh7? Nxb6 41.axb6 Rb3 42.b7 a5] 40...Nxb6 41.Rxb6+ Kf5 42.a6 Ra2 43.Kg1 Kg5 44.Rb5+ Kh4 45.Rb4+ Kh5 46.Rb7 h6 47.a7 g5 48.Kh2 Kh4 49.Rh7 h5 50.Rb7 g4 51.Rg7 g3+ 52.Rxg3 Rxg2+ 53.Kxg2= [53.Kh1 Ra2 54.Rg7 Kh3 55.Kg1 Ra1+ 56.Kf2 Ra2+ 57.Ke3 h4 58.Kd4 Kh2 59.Rh7 h3 60.Kc3 Ra3+ 61.Kb4 Ra1 62.Kb5 Kg2 63.Kb6 h2 64.Kb7 h1Q 65.Rxh1 Kxh1 66.a8Q Rxa8 67.Kxa8] 1/2-1/2

2009 Chris Bond Memorial Classic

Chess Tournament Results

by Caesar Lawrence

Date: 8 AUG 2009 Location: Frazer United Methodist Church, Montgomery, AL This year marks the 5th Anniversary of the Christopher Bond Memorial Classic. We honor Chris Bond for his love of family, friends and chess. He was known to carry a chess book wherever he went; I believe he is teaching Angels above how to play chess.

Scott Varagona earns another chess title – 2009 Chris Bond Memorial Classic Open Champion - with a perfect 4.0 score. He entered the tournament at the eleventh hour, so to speak. I see that studying math and chess until the midnight hours paid off for him. If you don’t know, Scott is a PhD Candidate in Math at Auburn University. Will Stevenson, Bryan Tillis, Joshua McClellan, Terrance Edinburgh and Eddie Koen battled for the second place honors. That is a testament to the historical competitiveness of this tournament. They come to play and win. In the Reserve section, Dr. Doug Strout earned the first-place honors by scoring 3.5 points. Doug has become a regular player over the past two years. And, he is no stranger to being among the top finishers in the reserve section. Thomas Gilbreath and Varun Yerramsetti shared second place with 3 points each. Rachel Garner of Montgomery won first place in the combined scholastic rated section. She scored 5.5 points from the double Round Robin format. Logan Mercer amassed 3 points, Eliza Strout earned 2 points and Spencer Robinson garnered 1.5 points. The scholastic players were few in numbers, but their love for the Royal Game and competitive spirit was great. In the Novice section, two newcomers to organized tournaments, Venkata Macha and Maria Paolini, battled for 6 games. Venkata proved to be the better player by winning their match play with a perfect 6.0 score. Nevertheless, Maria played each game with the desire to play well and learn from the experience. She did not quit. Despite the final match score, her willingness to play chess showed me that she has the desire to become a better player. In closing, it was a great pleasure to me to see some of our up-and-coming scholastic players in the Reserve section challenging their elders. They are our chess future. Let’s teach them how to play chess and teach them well. And, we want to say “Thanks” to Frazer UMC for hosting the tournament and for their commitment to supporting our efforts to promote chess in Montgomery.

Top Finishers: Open: 1st:Scott Varagona, 4, 2nd: Will Stevenson, Bryan Tillis, Joshua McClellan, Terrance Edinburgh, and Eddie Koen, 2.5

Reserve: 1st: Doug Strout, 3.5, 2nd: Thomas Gilbreath and Varun Yerramsetti, 3 Knights: 1st: Logan Mercer, 3 Pawns: 1st: Rachel Garner, 5.5, 2nd: Eliza Strout, 2, 3rd: Spencer Robinson, 1.5 Novice (K-9): 1st: Venkata Macha, 6, 2nd: Maria Paolini, 0 Chief Tournament Director: Caesar Lawrence Sponsor: Caesar Chess Attendance: 31 Players (25 Classic and 6 Scholastic)

Will Stevenson - Scott Varagona:

Chris Bond Memorial 2009

annotated by Will Stevenson & Scott Varagona

SV: Yet another epic struggle. The main theme of most of my games with Will has been "chaos versus control," but this game was pure chaos from beginning to end. After briefly looking over the game together right afterwards, Will and I wrote up our own comments on this game independently. I have combined our remarks into one tag-team article. I hope it will be interesting to see both players’ perspectives side by side like this! WS: Another gut-wrenching and tragic encounter with Scott. Our games are always very exciting! Somehow, some way, one of these days I am going to avoid getting into time trouble and totally freezing up against him. At least we have good games to analyze! 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5!? SV: This Caro Advance sideline is gaining in popularity. It looks odd, but in my experience Black often regains the pawn with a relatively comfortable game. WS: Aha! I was more or less expecting this if he stuck

to the Caro. 4.dxc5 e6 SV: The alternative is 5...Nc6, which is more active for Black, but White can hold onto his extra pawn for a very long time. WS: I recalled that Scott prefers this move, while Alex Weiner preferred Nc6. It was a matter of remembering the theory. 5.Be3 Nd7 6.Bb5 Qc7 7.b4!? SV: More common is 7.Nf3, saving the e-pawn instead of the c-pawn. Now maybe I can take on e5 AND lure the queenside pawns to their doom. WS: Scott notes that theory favors Nf3 more here, but against Scott, I generally prefer the sharper move. 7...a5 SV: In his book on the Caro Advance, the ever-cautious Karpov recommends 7...Qxe5. WS: 7...Qxe5 8.c3 Qc7 9.Nf3 a6 10.Ba4 is considered more common. This is probably a little better than was played in the game. 8.c3 axb4 9.cxb4 b6?!

SV: Dangerous ambitions! If I can undermine White's queenside then I'll be a hero, but what about my lack of development? Again, safer was 9...Qxe5. 10.cxb6 Qxe5 SV: Not 10...Bxb4+ 11.Kf1! Qxe5? 12.Bd4 Qg5 13. Nf3, with a strong initiative for White. WS: As Scott pointed out I had planned 10...Bxb4+ 11.Kf1 with an initiative for me. 11.Nd2 Bxb4 12.Ngf3 Qd6

WS: Weakening of the dark squares is terrible: after 12...Bxd2+ 13.Nxd2 Ngf6 (13...d4?? 14.Nc4+-) 14.Bc6 Rb8 15.0–0±, I intuitively felt that my pawns would roll quicker on the wing than his in the center and that he would miss his dark squared bishop. I knew he wouldn’t go in for this. 13.Rc1! SV: Of course, Will is not about to let me get away with my opening shenanigans. Suddenly Rc1–c6, Rc1–c7, or Bb5-c6 (and b6-b7) are all threatened. Fritz favors other moves (like 13.O-O or 13.a3), but it's hard to argue with the text. WS: Really grabbing the initiative! I felt that I must be better after this. 13...Ne7 WS: 13...Ngf6 14.Rc6 Qb8 (14...Qe7? 15.Rc7 with b7 and Ne5 threats is absolutely dreadful for Black.) 15.Qb3 Be7 (15...Ba5 16.Bc5! Ne4 17.Bb4 Nxd2 18.Nxd2 Qe5+ 19.Kd1± Bxb4 (19...Qa1+? 20.Rc1) 20.Qxb4 and it's going to be long painful suffering for Black.) 16.0–0 0–0 17.a4 was a line I actually looked at during the game. I considered that I would have excellent chances here. Indeed, after 17...e5 18.Rxc8! Qxc8 (18...Rxc8?? 19.Bxd7 Nxd7 20.b7+-) 19.Bxd7 Qxd7 20.Nxe5 Qb7 21.Qb5 I should have excellent chances to convert my advantage. 14.Rc7

14...Rb8?? SV: The threat of b6-b7 had to be addressed, but this move loses--and, right now, it's not at all obvious why! Turns out, the daredevil move 14...Rxa2! is the only way for Black to proceed. I rejected this line during the game because 15.Qc1 O-O 16.b7 looked unanswerable, but Fritz shows the way: 16...Ba3! 17.bxc8=N Nxc8 18.Qc6 Ra1+ 19.Ke2 Rxh1 20.Rxd7 Qxc6 21.Bxc6, which looks roughly equal. WS: Here is where we have a little difference of

opinion. While I agree that Rxa2 is best, I don't think it bails him out of troubles completely. Intuitively, I felt that 14...Rxa2 15.0–0 would fight to keep the initiative. I agree that he gets more after Qc1 than I even realized! 15...0–0 16.Qb1 had to be very good for me. All this development for a pawn?! Indeed it does seem to win material. 16...Nxb6 (16...Bxd2 17.Nxd2 Nxb6 18.Rxe7+-; 16...Ra3 17.Bxd7 Bxd7 18.Rxd7 Qxd7 19.Qxb4) 17.Rxc8 Rxc8 18.Qxa2+-. 15.Qa4! Kd8 SV: Sad, but Qa4-a7 is coming, so I had to deal with the pin somehow. Stronger was the computer's ... Nf5, but at this point that's just splitting hairs. If White plays just right, I'm dead lost. 16.Qa7 WS: How could I not feel great here? I felt that I was winning. "All I need to do is not get careless here." I even had a time advantage of about 24 minutes to 7 after Scott's following move. How could I possibly lose this? 16...Bxd2+!

17.Bxd2?? WS: This is how! Absolutely horrible. I simply hallucinated in the Rxb6 lines that follow here. Amazingly I spent 20+ minutes on this move, only to give the game away (and my time advantage and THEN SOME). Now I'm the one in time trouble. Once I saw 4 minutes left on my clock, I told myself I had to make a move and played this dud. The obvious Nxd2 was well analyzed by Scott. SV: This move throws the win away. I was expecting 17.Nxd2 d4, “with complications.” However, the computer's 18.Bxd4! removes all doubt: after 18...Qxd4 19.Rxd7+! Bxd7 20.Qc7+! Ke8 21.Qxb8+ Nc8 22.Qxc8+ Ke7 23.Qxd7+, Black can throw in the towel. 17...Nxb6?? SV: A blunder in reply! I threaten Rb8-a8, trapping the

queen, but White has a fantastic refutation. I should have played 17... Rxb6! WS: The routine 17...Rxb6 equalizes at least for Black.

18.Rxe7? SV: Not best. Instead, Fritz's 18.Ng5!! Rf8 19.Rxe7 Qxe7 (19...Ra8? 20. Nxf7+! Rxf7 21. Re8 mate) 20. Qxb8 is devastating. Still, this idea doesn't readily spring to mind in time pressure, especially since all the action has been on the queenside until now. WS: Panicking a little bit and not even looking at the Ng5 move that I had looked at in a line just a move ago. 18.Ng5 Rf8 19.Rxe7 Qxe7 (19...Ra8 20.Re8+ Rxe8 21.Nxf7# is another cute little line that was possible.) 20.Qxb8+-. 18...Ra8 19.Bg5(?)

SV: This is actually a clever idea, since it saves White's queen; however, 19.Nd4! Rxa7 20.Rxa7! (Fritz) gives Black a lot more problems. This volatile position is now about equal. WS: 19.Nd4, as pointed out by Scott, probably was much better than the move that I played. But I wasn't sure if giving up the queen was such a good idea in a blitz scramble: 19.Qxa8 Nxa8 20.Rxf7 Ba6 21.Rd7+ Qxd7 22.Bxd7 Kxd7 23.Ne5+ Kc7 is a little more comfortable for me, but not as advantageous as the engines claim.

19...f6 WS: Not falling for 19...Rxa7?? 20.Rd7+ Ke8 21.Rd8#. 20.Rxg7 fxg5 21.Qf7 Rf8 22.Rg8 Qb4+ 23.Nd2 Rxg8 24.Qxg8+ Kc7 WS: This is difficult to evaluate. I probably shouldn't be any worse. I may even be a little better. But, with under a minute left at this point, I panicked. 25.Qf7+?? SV: In a time crunch, Will chooses the worst square for his queen. Best was 25.Qg7+, when Qxg5 (defending the d2-knight) is still possible. Incredibly, after all that chaos, Black comes out on top. WS: Just another terrible move. I don't even remember what I was looking at now, but I do recall that immediately after playing it, I realized that I didn't have the follow-up that I thought I did. The queen is on a terrible square. 25...Kb8 26.Bc6?? WS: Completely melting down. 26...Rxa2 27.0–0 Rxd2 SV: We stopped notating here. In the time scramble that followed, I blew much of my advantage, but thankfully Will was the last to err. Talk about living on the edge! WS: After this move, the fun was still not over. Unfortunately, we couldn't recreate the game after this. But, in the bullet scramble (literally, we both had less than a minute on the clock), I dropped another piece, then he dropped a full rook and pawn. At the very end, we reached an endgame of g+h pawn for me vs. d5 pawn + e4 bishop for him. The position (as best we recalled) alternated between good drawing chances for me and winning for him. I eventually erred (with one second on the clock vs. 10 for him), and he won. Yet another meltdown and heartbreaker. Blaming results on time pressure is bush league. I'm puzzled as to why my meltdowns seem to keep happening only against the same one opponent. Either I will have to keep myself from getting into time trouble against him or learn to control myself better. At any rate, another crazy game! I commend Scott "Houdini" Varagona on another win! He is tough, resilient, has good nerves, and is an all-around excellent player. All I can do is shake my fist (jokingly) and say, "Curses! Foiled again!" 0-1

TLAs

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