[Event "WA vs BC Match"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.07.03"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Sinanan, Josh"]
[Black "Kaufman, Ray"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D85"]
[WhiteElo "2286"]
[BlackElo "2369"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "225"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8.
Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Bf4 Qa5 12. Qb3 b6 13. a4 cxd4 14. cxd4
e5 15. Bd2 Qa6 16. Bb4 Rfc8 17. d5 Qc4 18. Qb1 Bh6 19. Bd6 Nc5 20. Bxc5 Qxc5
21. Qb5 Qxb5 22. axb5 f6 23. Rfd1 Rc5 24. Rab1 Kf7 25. Ne1 Bf8 26. Nd3 Rc4 27.
f3 Rac8 28. Ra1 R8c7 29. Rdc1 Rc3 30. Rxc3 Rxc3 31. Rxa7+ Kg8 32. Ne1 Bc5+ 33.
Kf1 Rb3 34. Ke2 Rb2+ 35. Kd3 Rxb5 36. Nc2 Rb1 37. Ra1 Rb3+ 38. Kc4 Rb2 39. Kc3
Rb5 40. Kc4 Rb2 41. Kc3 Rb5 42. Rd1 Kf8 43. Ra1 Be7 ({I wonder... Did either
player realize that} 43... Kg8 $1 {produced a third repetition of the position?
}) 44. Ne3 Rc5+ 45. Kb3 Rb5+ 46. Kc3 Rc5+ (46... Bc5) 47. Kd3 b5 48. Ra8+ Kf7
49. Ra7 Ke8 50. Rb7 h5 51. Nc2 Kd8 52. Nb4 Bd6 53. Nc6+ Kc8 54. Rxb5 ({Or} 54.
Rg7 g5 55. Rf7 g4 56. Rxf6 Kd7 57. fxg4 hxg4 58. Rg6 {.}) 54... Rc1 55. Rb2 Kd7
(55... Ra1) 56. h3 Rg1 57. Na7 Bc5 58. Nb5 (58. Rb7+ Ke8 (58... Kd6 $4 59. Nb5#
) 59. Kc4 Bxa7 60. Rxa7 Rxg2 61. Kc5 {looks winning.}) 58... Bb6 59. Na3 Bd4
60. Rc2 (60. Rb7+) 60... Rd1+ 61. Kc4 Ra1 62. Nb5 Bb6 63. Kb3 Rb1+ 64. Kc4 Ra1
65. Nc3 Bd4 66. Ne2 Be3 67. Kd3 Ba7 68. Rb2 Bc5 69. Rb7+ Ke8 70. Kc4 Be7 71.
Nc3 Rc1 72. Kd3 Bc5 73. Nb5 Rg1 74. Rc7 Bf2 75. d6 Rxg2 76. Re7+ (76. Kc4 Kf8
77. Kd5 Bh4 78. Ke6 Rd2 79. d7 $18) 76... Kd8 77. Nc7 (77. Kc4 $5 {again,
heading to e6 and possible mate threats.}) 77... Bb6 78. Ne6+ Kc8 79. d7+ Kb8
80. d8=Q+ (80. Rf7) 80... Bxd8 81. Nxd8 Rg3 82. Ke3 Rxh3 83. Nf7 (83. Nc6+ Kc8
84. Rf7) 83... g5 84. Kf2 g4 85. fxg4 hxg4 86. Nd6 Rf3+ 87. Kg2 Rd3 88. Ne8 Rf3
89. Rf7 Rf4 90. Nxf6 Kc8 91. Kg3 Kd8 92. Rd7+ Kc8 93. Rd6 Kc7 94. Re6 Kc8 95.
Re8+ Kb7 96. Rxe5 $4 ({White assumes he reaches the famous (winning) Lucena
position with Black's king cut off along the d-file. As we will see in the
next note, chess is not so simple, and assumptions may be cruelly punished.
^^The actual (and non-trivial) winning plan here is} 96. Re6 $1 Kc8 (96... Ka7
97. Kh4 Kb7 (97... Ka8 98. Nd7 $1 Kb7 (98... Rxe4 99. Ra6+ Kb7 100. Nc5+ $18)
99. Nc5+ Kc7 100. Rxe5 Kd6 101. Rd5+) (97... Kb8 98. Nd7+ Kc7 99. Nc5 {does
the trick.}) 98. Nd7 $1 Kc7 (98... Rxe4 99. Nc5+) 99. Nc5 $18) (96... Kc7 97.
Nd5+ Kd7 98. Rxe5) 97. Rb6 Kd8 98. Rb8+ Kc7 99. Nd5+ Kxb8 100. Nxf4 exf4+ 101.
Kxg4 Kc7 102. Kxf4 Kd7 103. Kf5 {with the diagonal opposition and a winning
king and pawn vs king ending.}) 96... Rxf6 97. Kxg4 Kc6 98. Rd5 Re6 99. Kf5 Rh6
$4 ({The fatal blunder, after which White does reach Lucena. Black simply does
not have enough checking distance on the short side here.} 99... Re8 $1 {
creates sufficient space to check the king from in front. If White could reply
by advancing the pawn to e5, the position is a win -- but that rook on d5
would be undefended. So Black wins a tempo (a d5-rook retreat) to begin the
frontal defense:} 100. Rd1 Rf8+ 101. Kg6 Re8 $1 102. Rd4 Kc5 $1 103. Rd5+ Kc6
104. Kf5 Rf8+ 105. Kg4 Rg8+ 106. Kf4 Rf8+ 107. Ke3 Rh8 (107... Kc7 108. Kd4 Rd8
{is another trick, reaching a drawn king and pawn ending with the (distant)
opposition:} 109. Rxd8 Kxd8 110. Kd5 Kd7 111. Ke5 Ke7 112. Kf5 Kf7 113. e5 Ke7
114. e6 Ke8)) 100. Rd1 Rh5+ 101. Kf6 Rh6+ 102. Kg5 Re6 103. Kf5 Rh6 104. e5
Rh5+ 105. Kf6 Rh6+ 106. Kg5 Rh2 107. e6 Re2 108. Kf6 Kc7 109. Kf7 Rf2+ 110. Ke8
Rf5 111. e7 Kc8 (111... Rf3 {brings into play the classic Lucena "building a
bridge" maneuver. White wins:} 112. Rc1+ Kb6 (112... Kb7 113. Rc4) 113. Rc4 Rd3
(113... Kb5 114. Rc8 Kb6 115. Kd7 Rd3+ 116. Ke6 Re3+ 117. Kf6 Rf3+ 118. Kg5)
114. Kf7 Rf3+ 115. Ke6 Re3+ 116. Kd6 Rd3+ (116... Re1 117. Rc8) (116... Kb7
117. Rc5 Kb6 118. Re5) 117. Ke5 Re3+ 118. Re4 $18) 112. Rc1+ Kb7 113. Rc4 ({
White doesn't even need the bridge-building here:} 113. Kd7 Rd5+ 114. Ke6 {
and promotes.}) 1-0

[Event "Megan Lee Simul"]
[Site "Issaquah Highlands Chess Club"]
[Date "2022.07.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sankrithi, Siva"]
[Black "Lee, Megan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[WhiteElo "1522"]
[BlackElo "2344"]
[Annotator "Siva Sankrithi"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8.
Bxc6 bxc6 9. O-O Bc5 10. Be3 O-O 11. f3 Ng5 12. f4 Ne4 13. Nd2 Nxd2 14. Qxd2 {
This was the end of my “prep” in the sense that I’ve played the Scotch
Gambit enough times in my chess career that up until this point was familiar
and I felt fine.} Bb6 15. Nb3 Qe7 16. Rfe1 Rad8 17. Rad1 {Silly move. Didn’t
properly anticipate Bg4.} Bg4 18. Rc1 c5 19. h3 Be6 20. a4 {This was dubious
and likely weakened my position but fit into my eventual plan of Qa6 once the
bishop retreated.} d4 21. Bf2 c6 22. a5 Bc7 23. Qe2 Rd5 24. Qa6 {Yay! My plan
actually came to pass! I felt pretty good here as I felt my pieces were
reasonably active and I had a decent plan moving forward, especially
considering my much stronger opponent was playing 30 games and this position
was ripe with tactics.} Qd7 25. Qxa7 Qe7 26. c4 {I passed (we were allowed
three for the entire simul) the first time Megan came around before this move
because I really needed time to calculate deeply here. That said, this was the
first moment in the game where I felt I was better and possibly winning.} dxc3
27. Rxc3 c4 28. Rxc4 {This was a tricky move for me too because I was worried
about the discovery on my rook after she moved hers. That said, I really liked
the idea of Rxc6 putting pressure on the c7 bishop and ideally getting my rook
on the seventh.} Rb5 29. Rxc6 Bxb3 30. Rxc7 Qd8 31. e6 {Now I’m confident
I’m winning this game, theoretically speaking anyway, fully aware that her
endgame play far exceeds my own.} Qf6 32. e7 Re8 {I totally missed 33.Qa8 in
this position while playing, which seems to win much faster in hindsight, but
I felt in the moment 33.Rd7 would still convert my advantage seamlessly.} 33.
Rd7 Qc6 34. Rd8 f6 35. Bb6 Kf7 36. Rxe8 Qxe8 {All in all, it was a lovely game
and an even more wonderful experience for me to play Megan in this format,
where I have a chance at a result despite her being a much stronger player.
Experiencing it with both my boys on either side of me made it even more
thrilling. I felt I played quite well and was able to execute my plans
reasonably, even if there were some dubious moves in between. Cheers!} 1-0

[Event "Megan Lee Simul"]
[Site "Issaquah"]
[Date "2022.07.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lee, Megan"]
[Black "Cheng, Edward"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B08"]
[WhiteElo "2346"]
[BlackElo "1832"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be3 c6 6. h3 O-O 7. Qd2 b5 8. a3
Nbd7 9. Bh6 (9. e5 $14) 9... a5 10. g4 (10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. e5 $14) 10... Bb7 11.
Bxg7 Kxg7 12. g5 $2 (12. e5 $13) 12... Nh5 $15 13. d5 $2 b4 $17 14. axb4 cxd5
15. exd5 (15. Nxd5 $17) 15... axb4 $19 16. Rxa8 Qxa8 17. Qd4+ Kg8 18. Ne4 Bxd5
19. Nfd2 Qa1+ 20. Ke2 Nf4+ 21. Kf3 Qd1+ 22. Kg3 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Nh5+ 24. Kg2 Qxd2
0-1

[Event "Megan Lee Simul"]
[Site "Issaquah"]
[Date "2022.07.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ozusta, Dilan"]
[Black "Lee, Megan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1019"]
[BlackElo "2346"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Bxd2+
8. Nbxd2 d5 9. Bb5 $6 (9. exd5 Nxd5) 9... a6 $2 (9... dxe4 10. Ne5 O-O $15) 10.
Bxc6+ bxc6 11. e5 $14 Ng8 $6 (11... Nh5) 12. O-O $16 Ne7 13. b4 a5 14. bxa5
Rxa5 15. Nb3 Ra3 16. h3 Ba6 17. Re1 Bc4 18. Qc1 Qa8 19. Nc5 Rxa2 20. Rb1 (20.
Rxa2 Qxa2 21. Qg5 Ng6 22. e6 $18) 20... O-O 21. g4 $2 (21. Qg5 $16) (21. e6 $16
) 21... Ra3 (21... Ng6 $13) 22. Re3 Ng6 $4 23. Rxa3 $18 Qd8 24. Rb7 h6 25. Raa7
Nh4 26. Qe3 Nxf3+ 27. Qxf3 Qg5 28. Rxc7 Qc1+ 29. Kh2 1-0

[Event "Megan Lee Simul"]
[Site "Issaquah"]
[Date "2022.07.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Lee, Megan"]
[Black "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B15"]
[WhiteElo "2346"]
[BlackElo "1639"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Nf3 Be6 7. Bd3 Bd6
8. c3 O-O 9. Qc2 h6 10. Be3 Nd7 11. h3 Qc7 12. O-O-O (12. O-O $5) 12... b5 13.
g4 a5 14. b3 Rab8 15. Rdg1 c5 16. Bh7+ Kh8 17. h4 Bd5 18. Be4 Bxe4 19. Qxe4
cxd4 (19... c4 $1) 20. Bxd4 b4 21. g5 Bf4+ 22. Kc2 bxc3 ({Stockfish points out
} 22... Rfe8 $1 {, with a big attack based largely on getting the black rook
to e2.} 23. Qd3 Nc5 24. Qc4 (24. Bxc5 Qxc5 25. Nd4 bxc3 26. Qxc3 {else ...Qa3}
Qd5 {and Black's super-active rooks rule.}) 24... Qb7 25. Bxc5 Qxf3 26. Re1
bxc3 27. gxf6 Bd2 28. Rxe8+ Rxe8 29. Rg1 Re2 $1 {, and now one cute line runs}
30. fxg7+ (30. Rxg7 Bc1+ 31. Kb1 Qf5+ 32. Ka1 Bb2#) 30... Kg8 31. Kb1 Bg5 $1
32. hxg5 Qf5+ 33. Ka1 Qxg5 $1 (33... Qc2 34. Qxe2 Qxe2 $19 {is also quite
sufficient.})) 23. Rg4 Be5 24. gxh6 gxh6 25. Qe3 Kh7 26. Rhg1 Rg8 27. Rxg8 (27.
Nxe5 Nxe5 (27... fxe5 28. Qf3) 28. Qe4+ Kh8 (28... Ng6 29. h5) 29. Qf4 $18)
27... Rxg8 28. Rxg8 Kxg8 29. Qxh6 (29. Nxe5 fxe5 30. Bxc3 $16) 29... Bxd4 30.
Nxd4 Qc5 31. Qe3 Qa3 32. Kxc3 Qxa2 33. Qg3+ Kf8 34. Qd6+ Ke8 35. Nc2 a4 36.
bxa4 Qxa4 37. f4 Qa5+ 38. Nb4 1/2-1/2

[Event "National High School Championship"]
[Site "Memphis, TN, United States"]
[Date "2022.04.10"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "He, Anthony"]
[Black "Murgescu, Adi"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2463"]
[BlackElo "2175"]
[Annotator "Anthony He"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e5 7. Nde2 h5 8. g3
Be7 9. Bg2 Nbd7 {A bit unorthodox but still playable} 10. a4 b6 11. Nd5 Nxd5
12. Qxd5 Rb8 13. h4 $6 {I played this move immediately, but it turns out that
it was pretty useless. There isn't really a point in playing this move as
Black's threat of h4 is just a ghost.} (13. O-O) 13... Nf6 $2 {This move order
is imprecise as my queen gets to d3 in one tempo} (13... Bb7 {If he wanted to
do what he did in the game this move order is just better as it prevents Qd3
due to Nc5 and also retains ideas related to f5.} 14. Qd3 (14. Qd1 Nf6 (14...
f5 $5 {possible, but not sure if it that great here}) 15. Nc3 {[%cal Gd1d3]
And now my queen will need to spend another tempo to get to d3}) 14... Nc5) 14.
Qd3 Bb7 15. Nc3 O-O 16. O-O Qc7 17. b3 $2 {A careless move, as now this move
puts me under eternal pressure under the c-file, and threats with b6-b5 become
very prevalent.} (17. Bg5 {This move made a lot more sense, but I wasn't sure
about the trade of the dark squared bishops.} Ng4 18. Rad1 Rfd8 19. Qe2 $16 {
[%cal Gd1d3,Gf1d1]}) 17... Rbc8 18. Bb2 Rfd8 19. Rad1 Qc5 $1 20. Rd2 g6 21.
Rfd1 Ra8 $5 22. Qe2 Bc6 $1 {I missed this idea entirely, and now I wasn't too
happy with my position.} 23. Nd5 $2 {Transforming the pawn structure in my
opponent's favor} (23. Rd3 b5 24. Bc1 {Probably what I should have done, but
it takes some nerve to allow the destruction of my pawn structure.} bxa4 25.
Nxa4 Bxa4 26. bxa4 $13) 23... Nxd5 24. exd5 Bd7 25. Kh1 (25. Bxe5 {This move
obviously doesn't work now, but this idea in general was what I was hoping for,
until I realized that it almost never works.}) 25... Re8 $6 (25... Bf8 {
More precise, now Bh6 ideas are also a thing and he doesn't risk his bishop
hanging on e7 in whatever complex lines may arise.}) 26. Rd3 {I came up with
the idea to scarifice an exchange to open up my bishops, seeing the potential
of Black's weak king.} b5 27. Rc3 Qb6 28. axb5 axb5 29. Bc1 f5 $2 {Weakening
his king a lot. This move was uncalled for, and although this idea is thematic,
it is not appropriate in such positions} 30. Rc6 Bxc6 31. dxc6 e4 (31... Kg7
32. Bd5 $14 {[%cal Gc1e3]}) 32. Qd2 {This move was missed.} Bf8 $2 {This move
seals the deal} (32... Kf7 33. Qd5+ Kg7 34. Be3 Qa5 35. Bf1 $16) 33. Qd5+ Kh7
34. Qf7+ Bg7 35. Rxd6 Qa7 36. Qxg6+ Kg8 37. Rd7 Qa1 38. Qf7+ Kh8 39. Qxh5+ Kg8
40. Kh2 Qe5 41. Qf7+ Kh7 42. Bf4 Qc3 43. Qxf5+ Kg8 44. Bxe4 Qf6 45. Bd5+ 1-0

[Event "National High School Championship"]
[Site "Memphis, TN, United States"]
[Date "2022.04.09"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Tahmassebi, Bijan"]
[Black "He, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2234"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "Anthony He"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 (6. g3) 6... a6 7.
g3 $2 {Usually g3 is played without the bishop going to e3 as to avoid Ne5-g4
idea with tempo.} Nf6 8. Bg2 h5 $6 {Probably premature. Clearly White isn't
going to castle next but I underestimated his next move.} 9. f4 $1 b5 (9... Ng4
{Such ideas which are normally effective against something like f4 no longer
work.} 10. Bg1) 10. Qd3 $6 {Gives me a tempo with Nb4 later on, making e5 not
a threat.} (10. Nxc6 Qxc6 11. Rg1 {I was slightly worried about this idea.} Bb4
(11... Bb7 12. e5) (11... Ng4 12. Bd4) (11... e5 12. fxe5 Ng4 13. Bd4 $18 {
[%cal Gc3d5]}) 12. Bd4 Bb7 13. Qd3 $14) 10... Bb7 11. O-O-O Rc8 12. e5 Nb4 13.
Qe2 Nfd5 14. Nxd5 Nxd5 15. Bd2 Bc5 $17 {Now Black's position is much better
due to the surprising lack of coordination between White's pieces.} 16. Nb3 Bb6
17. Na1 g6 {Prophylaxis against future f5} 18. Kb1 h4 19. g4 Qc4 {Trading
queens makes attacking the remaining weakesses exponentially easier} 20. Rhe1
h3 21. Be4 Qxe2 22. Rxe2 {Probably overlooked by my opponent} Rh4 23. g5 Rc4
24. Bd3 Rcxf4 25. Bxf4 Nxf4 26. Be4 (26. Ree1 Ng2 27. Re2 Bf3 {The main
problem for White besides being down a pawn is the presence of the h3 pawn,
meaning that even though there are opposite colored bishops, in the long term
the h3 pawn will become too powerful of a passer.} 28. Ree1 Bxd1 29. Rxd1 Ne3
$19) 26... Nxe2 27. Bxb7 a5 (27... Rd4 {Maybe a bit cleaner} 28. Re1 Rg4 29.
Bxa6 Nd4 30. c3 Nf3) 28. Ba6 Rb4 29. Rd3 Rg4 30. c3 Rg1+ 31. Kc2 Rg2 32. Kd1
Nf4 33. Rf3 Rg1+ 34. Kd2 Rg2+ 35. Ke1 Nd5 36. Bxb5 Rxb2 37. Nb3 Rxh2 38. c4
Rh1+ 39. Kd2 h2 40. Rh3 Be3+ 41. Kc2 Nb4+ 42. Kc3 Bf4 43. Nxa5 Nxa2+ 44. Kb2
Bxe5+ 0-1

[Event "National High School Championship"]
[Site "Memphis, TN, United States"]
[Date "2022.04.09"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "He, Anthony"]
[Black "Ladan, Nicholas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2463"]
[BlackElo "2274"]
[Annotator "Anthony He"]
[PlyCount "157"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. O-O d6 6. c3 g6 {I saw that my
opponent had never played this move before, and that he had always played
lines relating to g5, but I had predicted that under the tournament
circumstances he would opt for this "safer" variation.} 7. d4 Qe7 8. Re1 Bg7 9.
Nbd2 O-O 10. h3 Qd8 11. Bb5 Bd7 $2 {Miscalculation that loses him a pawn} (
11... Re8 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Qa4 $14) 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. dxe5 dxe5
14. Nxe5 Bxe4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Nxg6 (16. Bxh6 {This was also a candidate, and
probably the best and most clear cut one.} Qxd1 17. Raxd1 Bxh6 18. Rxe4 $18) (
16. Qxd8 Raxd8 17. Rxe4 Rd1+ 18. Kh2 Re8 19. f4 f6 20. Rd4 Rxd4 21. cxd4 fxe5
22. dxe5 g5 23. g3 gxf4 24. gxf4 Rd8 25. Be3 Rd3 26. Re1 Kf7 27. Kg2 Ke6 28.
Kf3 Kf5 {Was the line that I had calculated from afar, but I wasn't so sure
how winning it was given the blockade. However, I misjudged this position, and
due to the connected passers, White should be winning comfortably.} 29. Ke2 Rd7
(29... Ke4 30. Bxa7 b6 31. Bb8 Rd7 32. e6 Re7 33. Bxc7 {A nice addition.}) 30.
Rg1 Bf8 31. Rg8 $18) 16... fxg6 (16... Nxc3 $1 {The move I was scared of the
most.} 17. Qb3 {The move I was probably going to play.} (17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 18.
bxc3 Bxc3 19. Ne7+ Kh7 20. Be3 Bxa1 21. Rxa1 {White should be better here, but
it is no easy task given the connected passers on the queenside.}) 17... Re8
18. Rxe8+ Qxe8 19. bxc3 Qe1+ 20. Kh2 Qxc3 21. Ne7+ Kf8 {When I saw this line I
found it dififcult to believe that I wasn't just winning as in material wise,
but it turns out that there really was no way to end the game immediately.} 22.
Qxb7 Re8 23. Rb1 Rxe7 24. Be3 $16 {Probably what I was going to resort to.})
17. Qb3+ Kh7 18. Rxe4 Qd3 19. Qc4 {Now I have a no risk position, and with a
lot of maneuvering around I slowly make progress} Qc2 20. Qe2 Qxe2 21. Rxe2
Rad8 22. Be3 Rfe8 23. Kf1 a6 24. Ke1 Kg8 25. Rd1 Kf7 26. Red2 Rxd2 27. Rxd2 Ke6
28. Ke2 h5 29. Bf4 c6 30. Rd6+ Kf7+ 31. Kf3 Re6 32. Rd1 Bf6 33. Be3 Re8 34. Bb6
Re5 35. Bc7 Rd5 36. Rxd5 cxd5 37. Ke3 Ke6 38. g4 b5 39. Kd3 Bh4 40. f3 Bf2 41.
Bf4 Bb6 42. Be3 Bc7 43. Bc5 Bf4 44. Kc2 Kd7 45. Kd3 Ke6 46. Be3 Bc7 47. f4 Bb8
48. f5+ {Maybe not necessary but I think it was a mistake to allow for an
outside h-pawn.} gxf5 49. gxh5 f4 50. Bd4 Kf5 51. h6 Kg6 52. Bg7 Ba7 53. Ke2
Be3 54. Kf3 Bc1 55. b3 Kh7 56. Be5 Bd2 57. Kg4 Kg6 58. Kf3 Kh7 59. Ke2 Bc1 60.
Kd1 f3 (60... Be3 61. Bd4 $18 {Ends the game instantly.}) 61. Ke1 Kxh6 62. Kf2
Bb2 63. Kxf3 b4 64. Bf4+ Kh5 65. cxb4 Ba3 66. Bd2 Kh4 67. Kf4 Kxh3 68. Ke5 Kg2
69. Kxd5 Kf3 70. b5 axb5 71. Kc6 Ke2 72. Ba5 Kd3 73. Kxb5 Kc2 74. Bb4 Bc1 75.
Kc4 Kb2 76. a4 Be3 77. Bc5 Bf4 78. a5 Bb8 79. a6 1-0

[Event "National HS Blitz Championship 2022 - O"]
[Site "Memphis,TN"]
[Date "2022.04.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Chasin, Nico"]
[Black "He, Anthony"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D93"]
[WhiteElo "2390"]
[BlackElo "2466"]
[Annotator "Anthony He"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[EventType "blitz"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Rc1 Be6 7. Nf3 c6 8. Qb3
Qb6 9. c5 Qxb3 10. axb3 Nh5 11. b4 $2 {The start of White's problems. There
isn't really a point in giving up the bishop pair} (11. Be5) (11. Bc7) 11...
Nxf4 12. exf4 a6 13. Kd2 Nd7 14. Bd3 $2 {Overlooking my next move, in which
the game is relatively straightforward after.} (14. g3 $6 {Prepares f4 in the
following line but still too slow} Bg4 $6 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. fxe5 f6 (16... Bh6+
17. f4)) (14. h3 $1 {Stopping Bg4}) 14... Bg4 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 f6 17. f3
Bd7 18. Rce1 fxe5 19. fxe5 Rf4 20. Na2 a5 21. b5 cxb5 22. Nc3 Bc6 23. Bxb5 Rb4
24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Kc2 Rab8 26. Rb1 Bxe5 27. Rhe1 Bf6 28. b3 Bxc3 {Or else
White maybe gets Na4} (28... Kf7 29. Na4) 29. Kxc3 Kf7 30. Kc2 R8b5 0-1

[Event "National Open (Booster)"]
[Site "Las Vegas, NV"]
[Date "2002.03.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Sasaki, Edwin"]
[Black "Mayer-Kleist, Carol"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1512"]
[BlackElo "1413"]
[Annotator "Fred Kleist"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2002.03.08"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{Carol played the French Defense for much of her chess career. Here she plays
against the Advance Variation in one of her favorite tournaments, the National
Open.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Bb5+ Bd7 5. Bxd7+ Qxd7 6. Ne2 Nc6 7. O-O
cxd4 8. f4 Bc5 9. Kh1 Nge7 10. Nd2 Nf5 11. Nb3 Bb6 12. g4 Ne3 13. Bxe3 dxe3 14.
c3 O-O-O 15. Nbd4 Kb8 16. a4 f6 17. Nxc6+ Qxc6 18. a5 d4+ 19. Kg1 d3 20. axb6
dxe2 21. bxa7+ Ka8 22. Qxe2 Rd2 23. Qxe3 {??} (23. Qf3 e2 24. Rf2 Qxf3 25. Rxf3
Rd1+) 23... Qg2# 0-1

[Event "46th Annual American Open (U1600)"]
[Site "Los Angeles, CA"]
[Date "2010.11.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Belcher, Michael"]
[Black "Mayer-Kleist, Carol"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "1576"]
[BlackElo "1485"]
[Annotator "Fred Kleist"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2010.11.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "8"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{Carol scored six out of eight over Thanksgiving weekend in LA, finishing tied
for second/third and gaining over 100 rating points. Just six points shy of
1600, she gained ten in the SCC's December Friday night event, the C.B. Bagley
Memorial.} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. e3 e6 5. Ne2 Ne7 6. Nbc3 Nbc6 7. a3
a6 8. Rb1 O-O 9. b4 cxb4 10. axb4 Rb8 11. b5 axb5 12. Nxb5 d5 13. cxd5 exd5 14.
O-O Be6 15. Bb2 Ne5 16. Ned4 Qd7 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. f4 Nd3 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Rb3
Nc5 21. Qa1+ Kg8 22. Rbb1 Ra8 23. Qd4 b6 24. Nc3 {??} Nc6 25. Bxd5 Nxd4 26.
Bxa8 Nc6 27. Bxc6 Qxc6 28. d4 Ne4 29. Nxe4 Qxe4 30. Rxb6 Qxe3+ 31. Kg2 Qxd4 32.
Rxe6 {??} Qd5+ 0-1

[Event "North Idaho Championship"]
[Site "Coeur d'Alene, ID"]
[Date "2022.07.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Cambareri, Michael"]
[Black "Kircher, Caleb"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "2024"]
[BlackElo "1764"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "2022.07.09"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 g6 4. d4 Bg4 5. Bd3 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 $6 {White
voluntarily weakens the long diagonal.} Ne4 (7... c5 $5 {seems more
enterprising.}) 8. Nbd2 f5 9. Bb2 Nd7 10. Qe1 Bxf3 11. Nxf3 e6 12. Ne5 (12. c4
$14) 12... Nxe5 13. fxe5 (13. dxe5) 13... Qg5 14. Rf3 Rf7 15. c4 c6 16. Rc1 Re8
17. cxd5 exd5 18. Ba3 Bf8 19. Bxf8 Rexf8 20. Qe2 (20. Bxe4 dxe4 (20... fxe4 21.
Rxf7 Rxf7 22. Rc3 $14) 21. Rf4 $14) 20... Qg4 21. Rcf1 $2 ({This ends up
misplacing the rook from f3.} 21. Rff1 Qxe2 22. Bxe2 $13 {looks balanced.})
21... Ng5 22. Rg3 Qxe2 23. Bxe2 Ne4 (23... Ne6 $1) 24. Rh3 Ng5 25. Rh4 Ne6 26.
b4 $2 (26. g3 $5 $15) 26... h5 (26... f4 $1 27. Bg4 Nc7 $17) 27. Bd3 a6 $6 ({
One option for Black is ....a5/...Ra8 to open another front. Perhaps first} 
27... Kg7 {, guarding the g-pawn while hinting at ...f4 again (or even ...Kh6
to make the h4-rook nervous), followed by the queenside action if White finds
an adequate defense.}) 28. Rh3 $6 (28. a4 $13) 28... Kg7 $1 29. Rhf3 f4 $1 30.
exf4 $2 (30. Kf2 $1 $15) 30... Rxf4 31. Rxf4 Rxf4 32. Rxf4 Nxf4 33. Bc2 Ne2+
34. Kf2 Nxd4 $17 35. Bd3 Nf5 36. Kf3 Kf7 37. Kf4 Nd4 38. Kg5 $2 (38. a4 Ne6+
39. Ke3 {and Black will need to demonstrate good technique to convert the pawn
into a win.}) 38... Ne6+ 39. Kh6 Nf4 40. Bc2 Nxg2 $6 (40... d4 $1 41. Bb3+ Nd5
$19) 41. Bxg6+ Ke6 42. Bxh5 Kxe5 43. Kg5 d4 44. h4 d3 45. Bf3 Nxh4 $1 46. Kxh4
d2 $4 (46... Kf4 $1) 47. Kg3 Kd4 48. Kf2 Kc3 49. Bd1 $4 ({White holds now by
activating the king:} 49. Ke3 $1 Kxb4 (49... Kc2 50. Kd4 d1=Q+ (50... b6 51. a4
Kb3 52. a5 bxa5 53. bxa5 Kb4 54. Kd3) 51. Bxd1+ Kxd1 52. Kc5 Kc2 53. Kb6 Kc3
54. Kxb7 Kxb4 55. Kxc6 a5 56. Kd5 a4 57. Kd4 Ka3 58. Kc3 Kxa2 59. Kc2) 50. Kxd2
Ka3 51. Bg4 Kxa2 (51... b5 52. Be6) 52. Bc8) 49... Kxb4 50. Ke2 Kc3 51. Bb3 c5
52. Kd1 b5 53. Bc2 a5 $4 (53... c4 $19) 54. Be4 c4 55. Bc6 b4 56. Ba4 $4 ({
White misses a final chance based on some tricky pawn-down king-in-the-corner
endings that are unwinnable.} 56. Bd5 $1 a4 (56... Kd3 57. Bxc4+ $1 Kxc4 58.
Kxd2) (56... b3 57. a3 $1 b2 (57... a4 58. Bxc4 $1 Kxc4 59. Kxd2) 58. Be4 a4
59. Bb1 Kb3 60. Kxd2 c3+ 61. Kd3 Kxa3 62. Kxc3) 57. Bxc4 Kxc4 58. Kxd2 Kd5 59.
Kd1) 56... Kb2 57. Kxd2 Kxa2 58. Kc1 b3 59. Bb5 b2+ {0-} 0-1

[Event "Mid-Year Scholastic Cup 2022"]
[Site "Orlov Chess Academy, Redmond,"]
[Date "2022.06.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Black "Borate, Neel"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "1556"]
[BlackElo "1516"]
[Annotator "Gabriel Razmov"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[TimeControl "4500+15"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. b4 {My pet line. I like this
because it grabs extra queenside space with tempo. However, this comes at a
cost, since after 5...Bb6 6.d3, White's c3-pawn will be backward and will need
attention.} Bb6 6. d3 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. a4 a6 9. Nbd2 h6 10. Bb3 Ne7 {
Attempting to reorganize and perhaps begin a kingside attack later. Black can
play this move for another reason - to follow it up with ...c6 and ...d5.} 11.
Re1 Ng6 12. Nf1 Be6 13. Ba2 $6 (13. a5) 13... Qe7 $6 (13... d5 {was possible
and good, claiming space in the center.}) 14. Be3 Nd7 15. Ng3 {Completing the
defensive plan for White in response to Black's potentially aggressive
intentions, e.g., preventing ...f7-f5 for the time being.} Kh8 $6 {Is Black
preparing ...f7-f5 in some ways after all?} 16. a5 Ba7 $6 (16... Bxe3) 17. d4
$1 Nf6 18. d5 {Locks in White's light-squared bishop, turning it into a bad
bishop for the time being.} (18. Bb1 {instead saves the bishop from an
exchange and also forces Black's bishop to find a better square in the future,
while maintaining pawn tension in the center.}) 18... Bg4 19. h3 $6 {Although
this forces Black's bishop backwards (to d7), White does not want doubled
pawns on the e-file, even though that prevents a future ...Nf4 by Black. White
should instead have traded on a7 with a follow-up of 20.h3.} Bd7 20. Bb3 (20.
Bxa7) 20... Rfe8 $6 {It is unclear what that rook is going to do on the e-file
in the near future.} (20... Bxe3 21. Rxe3 (21. fxe3 Nh7 22. Nf5 Bxf5 23. exf5
Nh4 24. e4 g6 {⩱}) 21... Nf4) 21. Ba4 $6 (21. c4 Bxe3 22. Rxe3 (22. fxe3 Nh7
{This repeats the line from a move ago.}) 22... Nf4 {⩲}) 21... Bxa4 22. Rxa4
Qd7 23. Ra2 Nf4 24. Qd2 Bxe3 25. fxe3 Ng6 $6 (25... N4h5) 26. c4 $1 c6 27. Qd3
$6 {White now allows the c-file to open, which is unfavorable because Black
occupies it first.} (27. Rf1 $1 {The idea is that if} Rac8 28. Nh2 cxd5 {
there is the stunning positional exchange sacrifice} 29. Rxf6 $3 gxf6 30. cxd5
{after which White is much better due to the ruined Black kingside and the
superb outpost on f5! Play might continue} Rg8 31. Ng4 Nh4 32. Qf2 Rg6 33. Kh2
$1 Rc4 34. Rb2 $6 (34. Nh5 $1 f5 35. Ngf6) 34... f5 (34... Qd8 35. b5 Qxa5 $2
36. bxa6 Qxa6 37. Nh5) 35. exf5 Rgxg4 36. hxg4 Rxg4 37. Kh3 $1 Rc4 38. e4 {
with some kingside chances for White. Black is still on the edge and must find
only moves:} Ng6 $1 39. Nh5 $1 Nf4+ $1 40. Nxf4 exf4 41. Qxf4 Kh7 $1 42. Re2
Qb5 (42... Rxb4 {allows White quick infiltration on the g-file toward Black's
king.}) (42... Qd8 $2 {Here White also infiltrates on the g-file and has real
chances to win.} 43. f6 $1)) 27... Rad8 $6 {Overly defensive idea and also a
passive position for the Black rook.} (27... cxd5 28. cxd5 Rec8) 28. Rd1 cxd5
29. cxd5 Rc8 30. Rdd2 $2 {The beginning of a wrong plan, giving Black the
initiative on the queen-side.} (30. Nd2 Ne7 31. Nc4 Rc7 32. Rf1) 30... Rc7 31.
Rac2 $2 (31. Rdb2 Ne7 32. Nd2 Rec8 33. b5 {∞}) 31... Rec8 {⩱ Suddenly the
queen-side is in Black's favor, and White isn't making progress on the
king-side either.} 32. Qb3 Qb5 $6 (32... Nf8 $5 {rerouts the knight to a more
useful square. For example,} 33. Rxc7 Qxc7 34. Ne1 Qc1 35. Rd1 Qc3 36. Qxc3
Rxc3 {when Black should win a pawn and his pieces will be active, unlike
White's. Black would have good chances to win from this position.}) 33. Rxc7
Rxc7 34. Qb1 $2 {Letting Black call the shots on the queen-side.} ({A sample
alternative is} 34. Rc2 Rxc2 35. Qxc2 Qxb4 36. Qc7 Nxe4 37. Qxf7 Nxg3 38. Qxg6
Ne4 39. Qg4 Qb1+ 40. Kh2 Nf6 41. Qc8+ Kh7 42. Nh4 $1 Nxd5 43. Nf5 $1 Qb5 44. e4
Nf6 45. Nxd6 Qxa5 46. Qf5+ {=}) 34... Qc4 35. Rd1 $6 {White has their back
against a wall.} (35. Rb2 Qc3 36. Rb3) 35... Qc2 $2 {A serious positional
mistake. Exchanging the queens can only favor White! Now White can look up, as
Black's weak d6-pawn can become a beneficial factor in White's favor. One plan
for White is to infiltrate along the b-file, with Rb1 and b5, forcing a pawn
trade, followed by Rb6. Even though White loses his a-pawn in the process, he
gets more than sufficient compensation by winning d6 and having a strong,
passed d-pawn.} (35... Qb5 36. Nf5 Qd7 {and Black retains an edge.}) 36. Qxc2
Rxc2 37. Rb1 $1 Kg8 $6 (37... Rc7 38. b5 axb5 39. Rxb5 Ne7 {gives Black
chances to hold the position, albeit passively.}) 38. b5 $1 Ra2 39. bxa6 bxa6
40. Rb6 Rxa5 41. Rxd6 Kf8 $2 {\"Activating\" the king is correct in principle,
but here this walks into a crafty mating net, which actually turned out to not
even be the strongest idea for White!} (41... Ra3 {keeps the pressure on White
to prove his advantage, since Black will simply gobble up pawns or push his
own passer.} 42. Rd8+ Kh7 43. Kf2 Ra2+ 44. Kf1 a5 45. d6 a4 46. d7 a3 $1 47.
Rh8+ Nxh8 48. d8=Q Rb2 $1 {and, curiously, Black holds equality despite the
temporary material imbalance due to their advanced a-passer and the poor
position of White's king.}) 42. Nf5 (42. Rd8+ {is more precise, according to
the engines:} Ke7 43. Ra8 {makes pushing and queening Black's a-passer tougher,
while White will easily power their passer down the board at the same time.})
42... Ne7 $4 {Loses on the spot.} (42... Ra1+ {puts up a much stronger
resistance by Black:} 43. Kh2 Kg8 {(forced)} 44. Nxh6+ gxh6 45. Rxf6 Ra3 46. h4
Rxe3 47. h5 Nf8 48. Rxh6 Rxe4 49. Rxa6 {and White has winning chances, but no
guarantee of that result.} Rf4) 43. Rd8+ Ne8 44. d6 (44. Nd6 {is cleanest and
wins instantly. However, I had already seen and was set on queening the pawn
via d5-d6-d7-d8Q.}) 44... Nxf5 45. exf5 f6 (45... Rd5 46. d7 Rxd7 47. Rxd7 {
is the best Black can do. However, this is an elementary win for White as well.
}) 46. d7 Ke7 47. dxe8=Q# {I found this game very tough psychologically,
because I needed to win it in order to keep my lead in the standings and leave
it up to the final round. Also, my opponent found nice ideas at several
junctures which put me on a more defensive stance. I ended up drawing my
final-round game, which gave me a big enough lead to win the tournament and
thus be seeded into the prestigious 2023 WA Junior Closed!} 1-0

