[Event "Idaho Closed"]
[Site "Garden City, ID"]
[Date "2021.09.05"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Parsons, Larry R"]
[Black "Kodiahalli, Kaustub"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D45"]
[WhiteElo "2013"]
[BlackElo "1749"]
[Annotator "Larry Parsons"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2021.09.04"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,60,40,25,27,-16,26,18,34,14,48,55,55,27,29,22,58,13,35,35,33,15,33,33,
31,-12,-5,-11,-16,0,5,5,9,4,35,11,37,34,41,38,25,27,64,61,68,58,82,82,89,89,80,
97,69,90,108,76,74,54,72,102,322,275,716]} {Kaustub Kodihalli was leading the
tourney with 4.0/4, while I was in a tie for second with 3.5/4.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4
c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Be7 6. Qc2 Nbd7 7. Bd3 a6 {7...a6 is not in my
Fritz opening book.} 8. cxd5 exd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Rb1 a5 11. a3 Re8 12. b4 axb4
13. axb4 b5 $2 14. e4 $1 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Bb7 16. Ne5 $2 (16. Neg5 {was much
better.}) 16... Nxe5 $2 (16... Nxe4 {was much better.}) 17. dxe5 Nxe4 18. Bxe4
g6 19. Be3 $2 ({Missing} 19. e6 $1 {winning.}) 19... Qc7 $2 (19... Bf8 {
is needed.}) 20. f4 ({20.f4 is second-best and again misses} 20. e6 $1 {
winning.}) 20... Bf8 21. Rfd1 Red8 22. Bc5 Bg7 $2 (22... Rxd1+ {was necessary.}
) 23. Qf2 Ra6 24. Bd6 Qd7 25. Rd3 Rda8 26. Rbd1 Ra1 27. Qf3 Qe8 28. g4 R1a2 29.
Bc5 h6 30. Rd7 Qc8 31. Qb3 Qe8 32. Bxg6 R8a3 33. Qxf7+ Qxf7 34. Bxf7+ Kh7 35.
Bxa2 Rxa2 36. Rxb7 h5 37. Rdd7 hxg4 38. Rxg7+ Kh6 39. Rxg4 Ra1+ 40. Kg2 Ra2+
41. Kg3 Ra3+ 42. Kg2 Ra2+ 43. Bf2 c5 44. bxc5 b4 45. Rxb4 Ra3 46. Rg3 Ra2 47.
Rb8 Kh7 48. Rbg8 Ra6 49. R8g4 Rc6 50. f5 Rh6 51. e6 Rf6 52. Bd4 Rg6 53. Rh4+
Kg8 54. Rh8# 1-0

[Event "Idaho Closed"]
[Site "Garden City, ID"]
[Date "2021.09.05"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Holbrook, Hunter"]
[Black "Parsons, Larry R"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B27"]
[WhiteElo "1535"]
[BlackElo "2013"]
[Annotator "Larry Parsons"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2021.09.04"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,53,28,40,60,-4,41,41,55,-1,-1,-39,-39,-29,-39,-21,6,-31,-31,-53,-24,0,
0,-26,-17,-21,-14,-21,-22,-11,-29,-20,-24,-24,-30,-30,-3,-12,3,0,-11,-11,8,-18,
-27,-22,-10,-17,-5,-87,-87,-87,-87,-87,-87,-87]} {I only needed a draw in the
last round to secure at least a share of the championship, and so offered one
after move 20 (the earliest a draw offer was allowed in this tournament). And
so I accepted a draw offer on move 27, although my position was close to
winning with best play.} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 $6 {Is not in my
Fritz opening book.} Nf6 5. e5 Nc6 6. Qf4 Nd5 7. Qe4 Nc7 8. Nf3 Bg7 9. Bc4 d5
10. exd6 Qxd6 11. Qf4 Qxf4 12. Bxf4 e5 13. Be3 Be6 14. Nbd2 O-O 15. O-O-O Rfd8
16. Bxe6 Nxe6 17. Nc4 Kf8 18. Ng5 Nxg5 $2 (18... Ke7 {is equal, as} 19. Nxh7 f6
{traps the knight.}) 19. Bxg5 f6 20. Be3 Ke7 21. Bc5+ Ke6 22. a4 Rd5 23. b4 b6
$2 24. Rxd5 $2 ({Missing} 24. Bxb6 $1 {winning a pawn.}) 24... Kxd5 25. Ne3+
Ke6 (25... Ke4 {is winning.}) 26. b5 bxc5 27. bxc6 {Draw agreed.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Idaho Closed"]
[Site "Garden City, ID"]
[Date "2021.09.13"]
[Round "4"]
[White "McKenzie, Niall"]
[Black "Price, Josh James"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B35"]
[WhiteElo "1208"]
[BlackElo "1475"]
[Annotator "Josh Price"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2021.09.04"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,33,18,34,62,43,42,39,12,22,68,57,57,44,49,38,-1,22,58,47,51,35,64,31,
49,20,30,24,27,0,7,14,14,20,-1,4]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5.
Be3 Bg7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. Bb3 Re8 {This is a bit of a side line, and I
happened to forget the exact variation after 9.0-0 9...d6} 9. O-O d6 10. f3 {
This was the move that threw me, it isn't very common. White normally plays 10.
h3 and f4 gaining space with a potential attack.} a6 11. Qd2 Bd7 12. Rad1 {
Na5 and Ne5 are very similar but I missed the idea of 12...Ne5 13.f4! which
gains space with tempo. And it's surprisingly hard to play as black even with
the bishop pair.} Ne5 $2 {Mistake. Na5 was best.} 13. Nde2 $2 (13. f4 Neg4 14.
h3 Nxe3 15. Qxe3 e5 16. fxe5 dxe5 17. Nf3 {And white's position is much better
because white's pieces are much better.}) 13... Rc8 14. Bh6 Nc4 {The bishop on
b3 is very strong and I want to trade it off with an active rook} 15. Bxc4 Rxc4
16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Kh1 {Kh1 avoids any Qb6+ ideas} Qa5 18. Nd4 Rec8 {Just
improving but it's hard to find a good plan here other then b5-b4} 19. Nb3 Qd8
20. Rfe1 {The idea of white is e5! which is very strong} b5 {Since there isn't
a good way to stop e5 I have to counter} 21. Re2 $2 {I thought e5 is a bit
more natural...} b4 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. exd5 Bb5 $4 {This is a big mistake
because white gets all the counter play.} (23... Rxc2 {This is a better idea
because the queen is very strong in this position. I of course looked at this
but I thought because white's king looked safe and white got the active open
file that this was suicide but I missed....} 24. Qxc2 Rxc2 25. Rxc2 Ba4 $1 {
I looked at this but I still didn't see that it was super good.} 26. h3 Qb6 27.
Re2 {And black is slightly better because white's pawns are weak along with
the king side dark-squared weaknesses. But when I saw this position in my head
it didn't seem natural.}) 24. Rde1 R4c7 25. Re4 Rxc2 26. Qd4+ Kg8 {This is
very complicated, both sides need to be careful not to blunder something.} 27.
Rxe7 R8c7 {Trying to keep my pieces active while defending everything} 28. Qb6
{On the surface this looks like a good move but my opponent miscalculated the
following variation.} (28. Rxc7 Qxc7 {Was a better continuation for white. But
it is still equal}) 28... Qxe7 $1 {The rooks are much better because I own the
2nd rank and my king is safer then white's king.} 29. Rxe7 Rxe7 {Back on move
28 my opponent thought he had Qd8 forking the rook and king, but I can play
Re8 which wins!} 30. h4 {I believe that h3 is much easier to play as a human.}
Re1+ 31. Kh2 Ree2 32. Qxd6 $4 {This allows the following variation which wins!}
Rxg2+ 33. Kh3 (33. Kh1 {Is another option but It loses because black is too
active and there isn't perpetual.} Rge2 34. Qb8+ Kg7 35. Qg3 Rxb2 36. Qg1 Rf2 {
And black wins the queen}) 33... Bf1 $3 {This is the only move that wins on
the spot. The game is over because of the following variations.} 34. h5 {
This leads to mate.} (34. Qb8+ Kg7 35. Qe5+ {It looks like white has perpetual.
..} Kh6 $1 36. Qf4+ Rg5# $3 {I calculated this when I played Rxg2}) 34... Rg1+
$1 35. Kh4 {1. e4 (} 0-1

[Event "Denker Tournament of HS Champions"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.02"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Mikulis-Borsoi, Luca"]
[Black "Colombo, Dominic"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "1379"]
[BlackElo "1960"]
[Annotator "Dominic Colombo"]
[PlyCount "184"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,184,19,31,14,-9,-11,-4,15,8,12,6,24,9,59,40,25,-62,-41,-45,-45,-91,
-84,-94,-78,-78,-45,-53,-43,-48,-16,-33,-20,-30,-28,-66,-70,-75,-69,-52,-69,
-92,-37,-67,-67,-67,-65,-67,-75,-73,-73,-72,-77,-64,-68,-63,-67,-79,-69,-116,
-115,-93,-55,-67,-56,-76,-80,-60,-39,-60,-63,-109,-74,-89,-72,-100,-73,-144,
-100,-79,-71,-48,-19,-48,82,14,17,8,29,57,61,0,-8,-174,2,-3,-8,-70,-68,-113,
-113,-142,-137,-114,-156,-223,-174,-364,-367,-428,-448,-436,-453,-453,-469,
-477,-483,-591,-627,-1606,-446,-695,-373,-379,-378,-386,-392,-400,-400,-401,
-405,-405,-406,-411,-406,-417,-405,-419,-401,-405,-400,-422,-409,-415,-389,
-391,-377,-383,-390,-394,-412,-415,-425,-435,-467,-493,-535,-540,-601,-651,
-764,-774,-794,-812,-794,-794,-649,-794,-606,-653,-623,-784,-671,-784,-677,
-784,-784,-784,-784,-794,-547,-547,-547,-29979,-29980,-29977,-29990]} 1. d4 Nf6
2. Bg5 Ne4 3. Bf4 d5 4. f3 Nf6 5. e4 dxe4 6. Nc3 exf3 7. Nxf3 e6 {I had never
seen this line before but I was happy being up a pawn even though I was behind
in development.} 8. Nb5 {Nb5 deviates from any previous master games. It seems
like a waste of a tempo because of Nd5. I think White should instead develop
his light square Bishop and try to put pressure on the f-file.} Nd5 9. Bg5 Be7
10. h4 a6 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 h6 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Bd3 Nd7 15. O-O Qd6 {
Qd6 is a slight inaccuracy. I wanted to stop d5, control the kingside dark
squares and possibly put pressure on the c-pawn. I missed that after d5 Qc5+
and Black is winning.} (15... b6 16. Be4 Rb8 {Seems good for black but looks
unneccessary}) (15... O-O {Castles would have been better since the king is
safer, and f5 can be pushed just like in the game but a tempo earlier.}) 16.
Qe2 O-O 17. Nd2 f5 {I spent a lot of time on f5. White has a lot of attacking
ideas. Qe4 is a threat if I try to develop the Bishop through b6. Nc4 forces
the queen to go back to e7. Nf6 is a possibility but the knight feels
misplaced there and the rook sac forces a draw. f5 restricts the movement of
the White Knight, makes g4 harder to play, and stops ideas of an exchange sac.}
(17... b6 18. Qe4) (17... Nf6 18. Rxf6 gxf6 19. Qg4+ Kh8 20. Qh5 Kg7 21. Ne4
Qd8 22. Qg4+ Kh8 $10) 18. Nc4 Qc6 19. Rae1 Rf6 {I played Rf6 instead of Nf6 to
prevent Ne5, and allow my Bishop to go on the long diagonal after putting my
Knight on the newly opened f8 square.} 20. Qh5 Nf8 {I spent a good amount of
time figuring out the Rf6 Nf8 plan, the unfamiliar opening, and the f5 idea. I
had 10 min or less at this point and my opponent had somewhere around 55 min.
I saw g4 as the best move for White, and was unsure of my response, but I
needed to move.} 21. g4 Bd7 22. g5 Be8 23. Qe2 hxg5 24. Ne5 (24. hxg5 Rg6 25.
Qd2 Nh7 26. Ne5 Rxg5+ 27. Qxg5 Nxg5 28. Nxc6 Bxc6 {This is an interesting line
that I believe would have been better for White than what White chose in the
game. Black has compensation for the exchange because of the two pawns but
Black's compensation is less so than in the game.}) 24... Qxc3 25. hxg5 Qxd4+
26. Qe3 Qxe3+ 27. Rxe3 Rf7 {Black has three pawns for the exchange and is
better.} 28. Nxf7 {Kxf7 was better although I played Bxf7 because it looked
safer in time pressure.} Bxf7 29. Kg2 Rd8 30. Rb1 b6 {I sacked the pawn for
compensation although Be8 would have been a good way to activate the Bishop
and the King, plus keep the pawn.} (30... Be8) 31. Bxa6 Rd2+ 32. Re2 Rd4 33.
Re3 Rg4+ 34. Rg3 Ra4 35. Be2 e5 {The idea behind sacking the pawn becomes
clear now. White's pieces are misplaced, my bishop is activated, and I can
begin to move my pawns.} 36. a3 Bd5+ 37. Kf2 Rf4+ 38. Ke3 Ra4 39. Kd2 e4 40.
Rb5 (40. g6 {An idea White should keep in mind. If g6 is pushed my King will
have great trouble supporting the pawns. g6 also makes Rg5 possible and ideas
of doubling on the h-file viable.}) 40... c6 41. Rxb6 Nd7 {Nd7 is a blunder.} (
41... f4 42. Rc3 Kf7 {This is better than what happened in the game.}) 42. Rb7
{After Rb7 the game should be drawn although it is not easy to play.} (42. Ra6
Rxa6 (42... Rd4+ 43. Kc3 c5 44. g6 Kf8 45. Rg5 {And Black will lose his f-pawn
and soon the game.}) 43. Bxa6 {Here Black is losing. The pawns will be stopped
and the a-pawn will be pushed.}) 42... Nc5 43. Rb4 Ra8 44. Bc4 Rd8 45. Ke3 Ne6
46. Rg1 {Rg1 is losing. This line holds the draw, which is similar to the game
but the g1 rook is more active.} (46. Bxd5 cxd5 (46... f4+ 47. Kxe4 cxd5+ 48.
Ke5 fxg3 49. Kxe6) 47. Ke2 f4 48. Rgb3 Kf7 49. a4 f3+ 50. Kf2 Nxg5) 46... Kf7 (
46... f4+ 47. Kf2 e3+ 48. Ke1 f3 49. Rf1 f2+ 50. Ke2 Nd4+ 51. Kxe3 Nxc2+ 52.
Kxf2 Nxb4 {f4 makes it so black is winning}) 47. Bxd5 cxd5 48. Rb7+ {My idea
was to push f4 with check and move the king to f5 from g6.} (48. Rb6 {I
thought Rb6 here would be annoying since it stopped my idea to bring the king
to f5 but the pawns are strong enough to advance without the king's immediate
support.} f4+ 49. Kd2 f3 50. a4 (50. Ke3 Rc8) 50... d4 51. g6+ Kf6) 48... Kg6
49. Rb6 f4+ 50. Ke2 Kf5 51. c3 Rh8 {Transferring the rook to the open file and
to White's second rank.} 52. Rb5 Ke5 53. Rd1 {Note that c4 fails due to Nd4+} (
53. c4 Nd4+) 53... Rh2+ 54. Kf1 Rh1+ 55. Ke2 f3+ 56. Kd2 e3+ 57. Kxe3 {Wins
the rook. If White tries to play Kc2 to hold onto the rook then the following
happens:} (57. Kc2 Rxd1 58. Kxd1 Nf4 59. Rb8 (59. Ke1 Nd3+) 59... f2 60. Re8+
Kd6 {and promotion is unstoppable}) 57... Rxd1 58. c4 Nxg5 59. cxd5 Rxd5 60.
Rb7 Ne6 61. Kxf3 (61. Ra7 Nd4 62. Rxg7) 61... Rd3+ 62. Kg4 Rxa3 {Winning
White's last pawn and it is now a very simple win.} 63. Rb5+ Kf6 64. Rf5+ Kg6
65. Rb5 Ra4+ 66. Kg3 Kf6 67. Rd5 Kg6 68. Rb5 Ng5 69. Rb6+ Kh5 70. Rb7 g6 71.
Rb8 Rg4+ 72. Kf2 Rf4+ 73. Ke3 Kg4 74. Rg8 Rf6 75. Ra8 Kg3 76. Ra1 Re6+ 77. Kd4
Nf3+ 78. Kd5 Re5+ 79. Kc4 g5 80. Kd3 g4 81. Rb1 Re1 82. Rb2 Re8 83. Ra2 Ng5 84.
Kd4 Nh3 85. Rb2 Nf2 {Building a bridge with the Knight so Black's King and
pawn can advance.} 86. Rb1 Kg2 87. Ra1 g3 88. Ra7 Kh2 89. Ra2 g2 90. Rxf2 Kg3
91. Rf7 g1=Q+ 92. Kc4 Rc8+ 0-1

[Event "Rockefeller"]
[Site "Cherry Hill"]
[Date "2021.08.02"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Bian, Erin"]
[Black "Natha, Nirav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "1808"]
[BlackElo "1387"]
[Annotator "Erin Bian"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2021.08.02"]

{This was the 5th round of the Rockefeller tournament. Having lost the morning
round, winning this game was crucial to getting a satisfactory result. Even
though my opponent was only 1300, he was extremely underated and had shown a
performance of 1800+ in the previous rounds.} 1. e4 d6 {This is the Pirc, but
it soon transposes to the Modern} 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. h3 {
Preventing Bg4 and preparing to castle kingside after developing the remaining
minor pieces} Nbd7 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. Bd3 Qc7 8. a4 {Preventing ...b5} e5 9. dxe5
dxe5 10. O-O O-O 11. Qe2 {I was debating between Qd2 and Qe2.11...Re8 after
Qd2 could be annoying, though, so I played Qe2 instead. But this move has
drawback of allowing Nh5-Nf4 with tempo.} (11. Qd2 Rd8 {I though could be kind
of annoying}) 11... Re8 12. Rfd1 Nf8 {Preparing ... Be6} 13. Bc4 Be6 14. Rd2 {
My idea was to double rooks on the d-file.} a5 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. Ng5 $6 {
An interesting idea, but this unfortunately throws away most of white's
advantage.} (16. Rxd8 Rxd8 17. Rxd8 Qxd8 18. Nxe5 Nxe4 $6 (18... Qd6 19. Bxe6
Qxe5 20. Bc4 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Qxe4 22. b3 $16 {Computer line - white is better
here because he has the bishop pair.}) 19. Nxf7 Nxc3 20. Nxd8 Nxe2+ 21. Bxe2
$18 {I saw most of this but didn't want to risk miscalculating such a sharp
line. This was the best option and gives a clear advantage to white though.})
16... Rxd2 17. Rxd2 Nh5 $2 {A serious mistake and possibly the game-losing one.
...Bxc4 was much better.} (17... Bxc4 18. Qxc4 h6 19. Nf3 Ne6 $11 {is around
equal.}) 18. Nxe6 Nxe6 19. Bxe6 Rxe6 20. Qd3 {The point. Now I have full
control over the d-file and am threatening Qd8+ and Bc5. I am also threatening
Qd7, which was what happened in the game.} Re8 21. Qd7 {The point of the last
couple of exchanges - the major pieces invade the 7th rank.} Qxd7 {This leads
to a lost position, but playing 21...Qb8 doesn't offer good chances either.} (
21... Qb8 22. Bb6 $18 {Black is completely passive and white can now slowly
improve his position. Rerouting the knight to c4 is a possible plan.}) 22. Rxd7
b6 (22... Rb8 23. Ba7) 23. Rb7 (23. Bxb6 Rb8 {I wanted to avoid this but it
turns out I have two winning ideas here - Rd8+, trading the rooks, and 24.Bc7
Rxb2 25.Rd8+ and Bd6.}) 23... b5 24. axb5 cxb5 25. Rxb5 Ra8 26. Nd5 Nf6 27.
Nxf6+ Bxf6 28. c4 Kf8 29. Rb7 {Possibly a bit inaccurate - activating the king
was stronger.} (29. Kf1 Ke7 30. Ke2 $18) 29... Be7 30. c5 Rc8 31. Rb5 a4 32.
Ra5 f5 33. f3 $6 {Inaccurate, as it opens up the a7-g1 diagonal so that I am
no longer threatening Rxa4.} (33. exf5 gxf5 34. g3 $18 {should be decisive.})
33... Ke8 34. Kf1 {Stepping away from the diagonal - Rxa4 is on again.} (34.
Rxa4 $6 Bxc5 35. Bxc5 (35. Rc4 $4 Bxe3+ {is check!}) 35... Rxc5 $16 {White has
good chances, but it might be a draw with best play.}) 34... Rb8 $2 {The final
mistake.} (34... Kd7 35. Ke1 {is probably still winning, but it is harder now.}
(35. Ke2 $2 Rb8 $1 $11 {Now ...Rxb2 comes with check!}) 35... f4 36. Bd2 $1 (
36. Bf2 $2 {for example is an error because of} Rb8 $1 $11) 36... Bxc5 37. Rxa4
$16) 35. c6 Rxb2 36. Ra8+ 1-0

[Event "Seattle Classic Scholastic 2021"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.08.29"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Black "Nallappa, Vijay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B78"]
[WhiteElo "1480"]
[BlackElo "1484"]
[Annotator "Gabriel Razmov"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]
[TimeControl "4500+30"]

{[%evp 0,81,36,36,40,58,88,61,61,24,24,25,60,58,52,28,36,26,40,42,44,8,29,16,7,
13,30,34,34,15,51,64,65,46,44,56,116,144,172,103,315,162,345,138,158,245,293,
309,632,730,768,791,802,804,997,1077,1233,1349,1344,425,878,410,474,382,359,
394,384,384,367,266,390,390,390,334,342,346,505,501,507,517,521,417,521,525]} 
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 {This
move should be played here to avoid Knight jumps to g4, as well as to solidify
e4 and prepare g2-g4..} O-O 8. Bc4 Bd7 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Ne5 12.
Kb1 Nc4 {Forcing me to give up one of the Bishops. I decided that the
e3-Bishop would be more important in an upcoming attack.} 13. Bxc4 Rxc4 14. g4
a5 $6 {Possibly a mouse-slip, since a good move here is 14... a6 to help make
15... b5 with a queen-side counterattack possible.} 15. h4 h5 {This is pretty
much forced, since otherwise 16. h5! gxh5 17. g5 with 18. Rxh5 coming.} 16.
gxh5 {The only way to keep things open on the king-side.} Nxh5 17. Nde2 $1 {
A hard move to spot - it took me several minutes to see and calculate it - yet
a very intuitive one. This is multi-purpose, with the idea of 17... f5?? 18.
Qd5+, which can even occur on future moves.} Bxc3 $2 {I will spare a blunder
mark here, but a Dragon player should not exchange or give up their
dark-squared Bishop unless they win at least an exchange and still retain a
good position. Black had to think about how to prepare a queen-side expansion
involving a5-a4, b7-b5, etc.} 18. Nxc3 a4 19. Rdg1 {This move is also
multi-purpose, however there is a small flaw. Although this move prevents 19...
Ng3 and moves the Rook into the attack, the other Rook move was better.} (19.
Rhg1 {This move does the same things, however now the h-Rook is not blocked
behind the h-Pawn.}) 19... Qa5 $2 {Another mistake, but my opponent was
already in a bad position.} 20. Nd5 $2 {A common tactic, which is a mistake
here since there is a better move. Can you spot it?} (20. Rg5 $1 {and Black
may resign.} Qd8 21. Rxh5 $1 gxh5 22. Rg1+ Kh7 23. Rg5 {with 24. Qd5 to follow
and an unstoppable attack.}) 20... Qd8 $6 {Apparently, it was better to
exchange queens and give up the pawn. 20... Qxd2 21. Nxe7+ +-.} 21. Qe2 $6 {
A concrete idea, but the wrong one.} (21. Bb6 Qe8 22. Qh6 {and the Queen
penetrates with tempo.}) 21... b5 22. f4 Kh7 23. Rg5 $1 {After missing the
computer-suggested Rg5 idea for several moves, I finally find it.} f5 24. Rxh5+
Kg7 {White is up a full piece and winning. From this point on, my conversion
was quite sloppy, with several missed opportunities to win in faster ways. For
example, here somehow I forgot the winning 25. Qg2 I had prepared. The text
move is also really good, but the engine keeps pointing out faster wins.} (
24... gxh5 $4 25. Qxh5+ Kg7 26. Rg1#) 25. Rg5 Rh8 26. Qg2 Rxe4 27. Rxg6+ Kf8
28. Rg1 Be6 29. Qd2 $6 {29. Rxe6! wins another piece, due to 29... Rxe6 30.
Qg7+.} Bf7 (29... Bxd5 $2 30. Qxd5 Rxe3 $4 {does not work for Black due to} 31.
Rg8+) 30. R6g3 Qc8 31. Qc3 {Forcing a simplification.} Qxc3 32. Nxc3 Rc4 33.
Nxb5 Rxh4 34. Nc3 d5 35. Bd2 d4 36. Ne2 Rh2 37. R3g2 Rh3 38. b3 axb3 39. axb3
Rc7 40. Rg3 {The goal is to solidify the position and eliminate counterplay by
the opponent's active pieces.} Rh4 41. Nxd4 1-0

[Event "Irwin Natl Tmt Of Senior State Champion"]
[Site "Cherry Hill, NJ"]
[Date "2021.08.16"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Perez, Ignacio"]
[Black "Hobbs, Richard Parker"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "1866"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2021.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,119,17,25,36,48,58,57,86,43,85,82,67,93,93,46,48,-24,-24,-19,-23,-24,
-42,-21,0,0,44,45,39,-4,-12,-22,-24,0,-3,-9,-11,-20,66,69,73,51,60,60,83,-44,
-42,-30,0,-8,47,69,88,-13,72,72,83,47,35,35,35,35,59,35,65,19,39,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
3,-18,-14,-18,4,-13,-3,-22,-22,-15,-12,-13,-11,-25,-34,-35,-33,-31,46,45,67,65,
79,70,117,103,103,115,127,123,298,213,209,210,298,391,1080,1218,1249,1397,1547,
1701,1795,1547,1829,1815,2191,26896]} 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Bg4 4. Nf3
Qxd5 5. Nc3 Qh5 6. Be2 Nc6 7. h3 O-O-O 8. Rg1 $6 (8. Be3) 8... Bxf3 (8... Nxd4
$1 9. Nxd4 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 (10. Ncxe2 e5 $17) 10... Rxd4 $17) 9. Bxf3 Qa5 10.
Bxc6 bxc6 11. Qf3 Qb6 (11... e5 $5) 12. a4 Nd5 (12... Rxd4 $5) 13. Ne2 Nb4 14.
Qb3 e5 15. a5 Qa6 16. Bd2 exd4 17. Bxb4 Re8 18. O-O-O Bxb4 19. Nxd4 c5 20. Nf3
(20. Kb1 Qxa5 21. Nc6 Qb6 22. Nxb4 cxb4 23. Qxf7 $14) 20... Re2 21. Kb1 Rhe8
22. Qa4 Qxa5 23. Qd7+ Kb8 24. Qxf7 Qa4 25. Qc4 a6 26. Rd8+ (26. Rge1 $5) 26...
Rxd8 (26... Ka7 27. Rgd1 R8e4 $13) 27. Qxe2 Qb5 28. Qxb5+ axb5 29. c3 Ba5 30.
Re1 Kc8 31. Kc2 Bb6 32. Ng5 (32. Re7 $14) 32... c4 33. f3 (33. f4 h6 34. Nf3
Rf8 35. Re4 Kb7 36. g4) 33... h6 34. Nf7 Rf8 35. Ne5 Bf2 36. Re4 Bg3 37. Ng6
Rf6 38. Ne7+ Kb7 39. Nd5 Rf7 40. Rg4 Bd6 41. Re4 (41. h4) 41... Kc6 42. Ne3 Re7
43. b3 (43. Rxe7 Bxe7) 43... Rxe4 44. fxe4 cxb3+ 45. Kxb3 Bc5 $6 (45... Kc5 46.
Nf5 Be5) 46. Nf5 Bf8 47. Nd4+ Kb6 48. Ne6 Bd6 49. Nxg7 c5 50. c4 b4 51. Nf5 Bf8
(51... Bf4 52. g3 Be5 53. g4 Bf4 {offers significant drawing chances.}) 52. e5
$1 Kc7 53. e6 $1 Kd8 54. g4 Be7 55. Nxh6 Ke8 56. Nf5 Kf8 57. h4 Bxh4 58. Nxh4
Ke7 59. Ng6+ Kxe6 60. Nf4+ 1-0

[Event "European Club Ch."]
[Site "Ljubljana"]
[Date "1995.11.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Mikhalevski, Victor"]
[Black "Azmaiparashvili, Zurab"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A41"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]

1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Bg4 5. g3 Qc8 6. Bg2 Bh3 7. O-O Nf6 8. e4
O-O 9. Bxh3 Qxh3 10. Ng5 Qh5 11. Qxh5 Nxh5 12. Be3 Nc6 13. Rad1 a6 14. f4 Nf6
15. h3 Bh6 16. Nf3 b5 17. e5 Nd7 18. Nd5 Rfc8 19. cxb5 axb5 20. Rc1 Nb6 21.
Nxb6 cxb6 22. Rc3 Nb4 23. Rb3 Nd5 24. Bd2 Rxa2 25. exd6 e6 26. f5 $1 Bxd2 27.
fxe6 Bh6 28. e7 Ra7 29. Re1 Re8 30. Rxb5 Nf6 31. Rxb6 Nd7 32. Rc6 f6 33. d5 Kf7
34. Rc7 Rxc7 35. dxc7 Bg7 36. d6 Nb6 37. Nd4 Bh6 38. Re2 f5 39. Nc6 Ra8 40. d7
1-0

[Event "5th Annual Seattle Chess Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.08.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "GM Aleksandrov, Aleksei"]
[Black "Talukdar, Rohan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A40"]
[WhiteElo "2708"]
[BlackElo "2424"]
[Annotator "Rohan Talukdar"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2021.08.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. e3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. dxc5 {This is a rare sideline but white's idea
is to slowly kick back black's pieces with a3, b4, c4 as black grabs back the
pawn} Qa5+ 5. Nbd2 Qxc5 6. Be2 Qc7 $1 {This is a really accurate move order
since I am delaying Nf6 so that my opponent can't play a3 b4 easily} (6... Nf6
{While preparing for the game, I saw that my opponent reached a similar
position against Nick Raptis} 7. a3 O-O 8. b4 Qc7 9. Bb2 a5 10. c4 d6 11. O-O {
With a different move order, this has reached Raptis-Aleksandrov and I think
white is quite comfortable here}) 7. O-O Nc6 8. c4 {Now that my opponent has
comitted c4 it is time to play Nf6 since white will not have enough time for
a3 b4} Nf6 9. Nb1 $1 {A logical regrouping that my opponent played quite fast}
(9. a3 {is too slow} O-O 10. b4 Ne4 $1) 9... O-O 10. Nc3 d6 11. Bd2 (11. e4 {
In the beginning, I thought my opponent wanted a Maroczy Bind but this seems
like a bad version with the knight on f3} Nd7 12. Qc2 Nc5 13. Rd1 f5 $132 {
is quite interesting here}) 11... Bf5 {If black can achieve Ne4 then black's
bishops will be quite active} (11... Nd7 $5) 12. Nd5 $6 {This is a positional
mistake} (12. Rc1 {seems logical} Ne4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. Bc3 Bxc3 15. Rxc3 Rfd8
{and black should be fine once d5 is achieved}) 12... Nxd5 13. cxd5 {The
structure that has arisen gives white slightly more space but the since I can
trade off two pairs of minor pieces, I have quite a comfortable position. My
bishops are much more active than my opponent's} Ne5 14. Nd4 Bd3 {Trading off
white's important light squared bishop allows the knight on e5 to be stronger}
(14... Be4 {was temping but white has the cool} 15. Nb5 Qb6 (15... Qc5 16. Rc1)
16. Bc3 {and d5 is safe}) 15. Rc1 Qb6 16. Bc3 Qa6 $1 {A nice move to play
which secures my knight a good square on d3} 17. Bxd3 Nxd3 18. Rc2 Rfc8 19. a4
$6 {This move tries to accomplish Nb5 but this is way too slow} (19. f4 $5 {
is interesting trying to start a counterattack but I have a nice way of
playing which is shown by the computer} Nc5 20. Qf3 f5 21. g4 fxg4 22. Qxg4 Qd3
23. Re2 Kh8 {and e4 is a very big hole in white's position}) 19... Nc5 20. b3
$2 (20. a5 Ne4 {and I have all the pressure here}) 20... Nxb3 $1 {My opponent
clearly did not expect this move} 21. Nf5 $5 {trying to complicate things} Bxc3
{I figured that the two pieces should be more than enough for the rook after a
long think} (21... Rxc3 22. Rxc3 Bxc3 23. Qxb3 Bf6 24. Nh6+ Kf8 25. Ng4 Bg7 {
is also winning}) 22. Nxe7+ Kf8 (22... Kg7 $5) 23. Nxc8 Rxc8 24. Qg4 Qc4 (24...
Rc5 {is more accurate}) 25. Qd7 {Frankly, I missed this counterplay option} (
25. Qxc4 Rxc4 26. Rb1 Nc5 {the rooks cannot create too much counterplay so
black should be able to convert with ease}) 25... Kg7 {Logical prophlyaxis} 26.
Qxb7 Rc5 27. Rb1 Nd2 28. Rbc1 Qd3 {I just tried to make sure that everything
was in a close vicinity so that I don't blunder} 29. h3 a5 30. Qb6 Bb4 $1 {
Now with my passed c-pawn this should be easy} 31. Rxc5 dxc5 32. Qd6 Qf5 (32...
Qe4 {more accurate}) (32... c4 {is also winning} 33. Qe5+ Kg8 34. Qb8+ Bf8) 33.
Qc6 c4 34. Rxc4 {I think d6 was a better practical choice} (34. d6 Qf6 {
is the simplest} (34... Ne4 35. d7 (35. Rc2 Nxd6) 35... Qxf2+ 36. Kh1 Qxe3 {
this should lead to mate} 37. Rc2 (37. d8=Q Qxc1+ 38. Kh2 Qf4+ 39. Kg1 Qe3+ 40.
Kh2 Bc5) 37... Be7 $19) 35. Rd1 Bxd6 $19) 34... Nxc4 35. Qxc4 {Here I realized
that I need to not allow white to get the setup with Kg2, g3, h4} Qb1+ 36. Kh2
Qb2 {Now it is awkward to defend f2} 37. Kg1 (37. Qf4 Qf6) (37. f4 Qd2) 37...
Qa1+ 38. Kh2 Qxa4 39. Qd4+ Kg8 {my king is completely safe and d6 does not
work due to Qd7} 40. f4 Qb5 41. e4 Qc5 42. Qd3 Qf2 {With my queen active white
cannot protect everything so it is game over} 0-1

[Event "5th Annual Seattle Chess Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.08.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Shah, Paras"]
[Black "Xiao, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1431"]
[BlackElo "1585"]
[Annotator "David Xiao"]
[PlyCount "130"]
[EventDate "2021.08.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[TimeControl "4500+15"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 $6 {This disallows c5} (2... Nf6) 3. Bf4 Bf5 $5 {I don't
know this opening, so both moves are inaccurate.} (3... Bg4) 4. e3 Nf6 5. c3 $6
{This disallows his Knight hopping into c3.} e6 6. Bd3 Bg6 7. c4 $6 {He just
played c3, and now pushes c4, moving his pawn twice.} Ne4 $6 {dxc4 is best,
but I don't want to lose my central pawn.} 8. cxd5 exd5 $6 (8... Bb4+) 9. Nc3
Bb4 10. Rc1 O-O 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Re8 13. c4 $6 Nb4 14. Bb1 c6 $2 {
Securing my central pawn, but it is a Mistake. (see move 16)} 15. Qb3 a5 16. a3
$2 (16. c5 {locks up the position, threatening a3 Qxb7} b5 17. cxb6 Qxb6 18. a3
c5 19. Rxc5 Nxc5 20. dxc5 Qxc5 21. axb4 Qxb4 {and 2 minor vs rook is losing
for me.}) 16... dxc4 17. Qxc4 Nd5 18. Bg3 b5 19. Qb3 (19. Qxc6 Re6 20. Qxb5
Ndc3 {Despite down 2 pawns, black is better.} 21. Qb2 Rb6 22. Qa1 Nxg3 {
And white have no space.}) 19... b4 20. Bxe4 Bxe4 21. Ne5 a4 22. Qb2 b3 {
Grabbing space} 23. Nxc6 $2 {Sacrificing my backward(weak) pawn to get more
development.} Qb6 24. Ne5 Rec8 25. Nc4 Qg6 26. h3 Bc2 27. Nd6 {An invasion} Rc6
28. e4 Nc3 $4 {My intuition was wrong. Just backing up with Ne2 was good. I
didn't really think this through.} 29. Rxc2 Nd1 (29... bxc2 {if I played this,
then...} 30. Qxc2 h6 31. Be5 Raa6 32. Nf5 $1 {forces my queen onto e6} Qe6 33.
d5 Qxe5 34. dxc6 Rxc6 {and at the end, white is up a pawn, with black having
no compensation. at least I still have the b pawn with 29...Nd1}) 30. Rxd1 Rxc2
{2 minor vs rook. and I'm down a pawn.} 31. Qb1 Qh5 32. e5 Rb2 33. Qxb2 $4 {
This is a BIG mistake. trading off pieces only makes me better because of my b
pawn.} Qxd1+ 34. Kh2 Qc2 {He must trade, and now my b(c) pawn wins.} 35. Qxc2
bxc2 36. Bf4 Rb8 37. Ne4 Rb1 38. Nc3 c1=Q 39. Bxc1 Rxc1 $13 {Knight and two
pawns versus Rook. An unclear position, Black is probably better.} 40. Nxa4 Rd1
41. Kg3 Rxd4 42. Nb2 Kf8 43. f4 Ke7 44. Kf3 Ke6 45. Ke3 Kd5 46. g3 Re4+ 47. Kd3
g5 {Breaking his pawn structure.} 48. fxg5 Rxe5 49. h4 Re1 50. Na4 Ra1 51. Nc3+
Ke5 52. a4 Kf5 53. Kc4 Kg4 54. Kb5 Kxg3 55. a5 {I was nervous because I see no
way to stop his pawn. Then I realized that I have to sacrifice my rook for his
pawn at the right moment.} Kxh4 56. a6 Kxg5 57. Na4 Rb1+ 58. Kc5 Rb8 59. Nb6 h5
60. a7 Rd8 61. Kc6 f5 62. Kc7 Rg8 63. Nc8 {The moment have come...} Rg7+ 64.
Kb8 Rxa7 $19 65. Kxa7 h4 {And his Knight is unable to defend the pawns.
Overall, this was a wild game where both of us got chances, but my opponent
was not successful in using them, and I came out on top.} 0-1

[Event "5th Annual Seattle Chess Classic"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2021.08.14"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Bloom, Corey"]
[Black "Xiao, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1780"]
[BlackElo "1585"]
[Annotator "David Xiao"]
[PlyCount "134"]
[EventDate "2021.08.13"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[TimeControl "4500+15"]

1. f4 {The bird opening} d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 $6 {This disallows c5.} (2... c5 3. e3
Nc6 4. d4 Nf6 {White forms a "stonewall" pawn structure.} 5. c3) 3. e3 Nf6 4.
b3 Bf5 $5 (4... g6 5. Bb2 Bg7 6. Bb5 O-O {His dark squared bishop has no root.}
) 5. Bb5 e6 $6 (5... a6) 6. Ne5 $6 {Nd4 is better(I disagree with the engine,
which suggests Ne5.)} (6. Nd4) 6... Bd6 7. Bb2 $6 {Now he can't take my knight
on c6.} (7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bxc6+ Kf8) 7... Bxe5 8. fxe5 Nd7 9. O-O Qg5 10. Bxc6
$6 (10. Nc3 Ndxe5 11. Nxd5 exd5 12. Bxe5) 10... bxc6 11. d4 $4 {He spend 10
minutes on this move but still blundered a pawn. I didn't know the thinking
behind it, so I just took.} Qxe3+ 12. Rf2 Qg5 $2 13. Nd2 O-O 14. Nf3 Qe3 15.
Bc1 $6 {Loses control over c3} (15. Qf1 Bxc2 16. Qa6 {And white hangs on})
15... Qc3 16. Bd2 Qxc2 17. Qxc2 Bxc2 {Now I'm up 2 pawns, but the discovered
attack Bb4 wins my bishop.} 18. Bb4 Rfb8 19. Ba5 $4 (19. Rxc2 {Trading is
better, because then} Rxb4 20. Rxc6 {and white is more active while black is
defending.}) 19... Be4 20. Bxc7 Rc8 21. Bd6 Nf8 $4 {I was thinking to play Ng6,
but this is actually a bad move.} (21... c5 22. Ng5 Bf5) 22. Rc1 Ng6 23. Ng5
Bf5 24. Nxf7 $2 {One pawn is not enough. That just helps me trade pieces.} (24.
h3) 24... Kxf7 25. g4 Nh4 26. gxf5 Nxf5 {Good knight vs Bad bishop} 27. Bc5 g5
{Starting a pawn storm on the queenside.} 28. Kf1 Kg6 29. Ke2 h5 30. Kd3 g4 31.
Bb4 h4 32. Rg1 Kh5 33. Rfg2 Rg8 34. Bd2 g3 35. hxg3 Rxg3+ 36. Rxg3 hxg3 37. Be3
Rg8 {Kg4 is more simple.} (37... Kg4) 38. Ke2 g2 39. Bf2 Ng3+ 40. Kf3 Nf5 41.
Rxg2 Rxg2 42. Kxg2 Kg4 {Classic Good knight vs bad bishop.} 43. Kf1 Kf3 44. Ke1
Ke4 45. Kd2 Nxd4 46. Kc3 c5 47. b4 Nb5+ 48. Kb3 c4+ 49. Kc2 Kxe5 $6 (49... d4)
50. a4 a6 $1 {Only move to win!} (50... Nd4+ 51. Kc3 Ne2+) 51. axb5 axb5 52.
Kd2 d4 53. Be1 Ke4 54. Ke2 c3 55. Bg3 d3+ 56. Kd1 c2+ $6 (56... Ke3) 57. Kd2
Kd4 58. Bf4 Kc4 {My plan was to take his b pawn and go to a2.} 59. Bd6 e5 $4
$10 {I blundered.} (59... Kb3) 60. Bxe5 Kxb4 61. Kc1 $4 $19 {Andddd... he
blundered back.} (61. Bb2 Kb3 62. Bc1 $10) 61... Kc4 $4 $10 {Oops} 62. Ba1 $4
$19 {... ok he blundered again} (62. Kb2) 62... Kb3 63. Bc3 b4 64. Bd2 Ka3 65.
Be1 b3 66. Bc3 Ka2 67. Bd4 d2+ {0-1 White resigns. Overall, this was a wild
game where we blundered a lot, especially in the endgame.} 0-1

