[Event "Oregon Closed Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Matt Zavortink"]
[Black "Zoey Tang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D13"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2228"]
[Annotator "Zoey Tang"]
[PlyCount "104"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,104,16,13,30,-10,24,39,35,25,29,27,43,19,19,19,34,20,3,2,43,14,46,18,
3,4,4,38,36,27,20,18,37,-33,11,29,47,16,59,56,56,57,174,174,154,164,264,300,
306,342,229,320,401,0,246,280,201,189,305,314,323,170,195,0,104,11,45,13,15,41,
-79,-79,-126,-118,-130,-183,-190,-223,-230,-278,-282,-311,-333,-333,-343,-361,
-361,-361,-361,-368,-328,-418,-416,-416,-353,-367,-357,-389,-389,-389,-504,
-517,-537,-537,-547,-557,-557] The first game of the tournament. Luck of the
draw had me playing all the tournament favorites in the first few rounds, so I
wasn't expecting much. Take it one round at a time!} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 {
A weird way to transpose to the Slav defense which often confuses white
players.} 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 {The Exchange Slav. I had mainly prepared for
Matt's London system, so I was sadly already out of preparation.} 5. Bf4 Nc6 6.
e3 Bf5 7. Nf3 a6 {This move aims to prevent the annoying pin with Bb5.} (7...
e6 8. Bb5 Nd7 9. Qa4 Rc8 10. O-O a6 11. Bxc6 Rxc6 12. Rfc1 Be7 $11 {would be
the main line.}) 8. Be2 e6 9. Qb3 Bb4 $6 {Natural, but not the best} (9... Nh5
{Matt told me after the game that this was black's only move.} 10. Qxb7 $6 Na5
11. Qc7 Nxf4 12. Qxf4 Rb8 $11 {Here black has compensation.}) 10. Ne5 Qe7 11.
Nxc6 bxc6 12. O-O O-O 13. Na4 Nd7 {A common idea in the Slav; remanuevering
the knight to better support c5} 14. Rfc1 Rfc8 15. a3 Bd2 16. Rc5 $5 {An
interesting idea; sacrificing the exchange to gain a monster knight.} Nxc5 $6 {
This move is not required; technically I can take the rook at any time} (16...
f6 $11 {Preparing e5 and being more patient in general.}) 17. Nxc5 f6 18. Bxa6
Rd8 19. Bb7 e5 $2 {The computer hates this move. I was very excited about it
during the game because I could give some material back to achieve an attack.}
(19... Ra5 20. Bxc6 Rxc5 21. dxc5 Qxc5 22. Qb5 $16 {Black will have to defend
this position.}) 20. Bxa8 exf4 21. e4 $1 {Did not see this.} (21. Bxc6 $4 fxe3
22. Bxd5+ Kh8 23. fxe3 Qxe3+ 24. Qxe3 Bxe3+ 25. Kh1 Bxd4 $11 {and black is
satisfied with their position.}) 21... Bxe4 22. Bxc6 Kh8 23. Qd1 Ba5 24. Nb7
Ra8 25. Qa4 Bxg2 {During the game, I knew I was completely losing. I tried to
create as much counterplay and chaos as possible, especially since I had a ~30
minute time advantage.} 26. Nxa5 $4 (26. Nc5 $1 $18 {Very difficult to find;
white prevents Qe4, opens a discovered attack on the rook, and continues to
put pressure on the both of black's weak bishops.}) (26. Kxg2 $4 Qe4+ 27. Kg1
Qg6+ 28. Kf1 Qd3+ 29. Kg2 Qe4+ 30. f3 Qe2+ {Black will perpetual.}) 26... Rb8
$4 {I only saved the rook because it was guarding my back rank.} (26... Qe4 {
I considered this move as well, but rejected it because of} 27. Bxa8 Bh3 $4 (
27... Qg6 $1 {and black will perpetual after} 28. Bxd5 Bf3+ 29. Kf1 Qd3+ 30.
Kg1 Qg6+ $11) 28. Bxd5 $1 $18 {and white has back-rank mate ideas.}) 27. Qc2
Be4 28. Qd2 g5 {Defending the pawn in the way I thought would create the most
chaos.} 29. Re1 Qf7 30. b4 $4 {This move guards the pawn, but white's king is
now in danger.} Qh5 {The queen sneaks its way in.} 31. Rxe4 {Forced, or else
black has Qg4+ or Qf3.} dxe4 32. Bd7 Rd8 33. Bf5 Qf3 $2 (33... Re8 $1 $19 {
supporting e3 was a better move order.}) 34. Nc4 $4 (34. Qc1 {Again difficult
to find; white threatens Qc7 and prepares to potentially defend with} e3 35.
fxe3 fxe3 36. Qf1 $1 $11) 34... e3 $19 {Tactics :D} 35. fxe3 fxe3 36. Nxe3 Re8
{Now white is forced to lose a minor piece.} 37. Bg4 Qxe3+ 38. Qxe3 Rxe3 39. a4
Re4 {Luckily, white's pawns are all falling.} 40. Bf3 Rxd4 41. b5 Rxa4 42. b6
Rb4 43. b7 Kg7 44. Kf2 f5 45. Ke3 g4 46. Bc6 f4+ 47. Kd3 f3 48. Ke3 Kf6 49. h3
h5 50. hxg4 hxg4 51. Kf2 Rb2+ 52. Kg3 Kg5 {After obtaining a slightly worse
position out of the opening, Matt played a nice exchange sacrifice that left
my pieces lacking in space. In semi-desperation, I started ignoring material
and throwing pieces at his king. In the end, one slow move made in time
pressure allowed me to turn the tables. All in all, not the most smooth
victory I've had!} 0-1

[Event "Oregon Closed Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Jason Cigan"]
[Black "Zoey Tang"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2205"]
[BlackElo "2228"]
[Annotator "Zoey Tang"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,55,19,31,14,-14,16,45,45,0,4,29,-25,-32,-29,32,56,67,83,87,10,10,-9,2,
10,4,4,4,28,25,32,37,43,24,26,29,31,31,46,41,39,5,5,-5,15,4,12,-29,38,54,65,60,
46,73,73,76,89,110] Going into the fourth round, I was 3/3 against the top
seeds of the tournament. Jason was actually my last opponent who had won the
Closed before.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 {White aims to
prevent b5 (which would solidify c4).} Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8. g3 {
Preparing Bf4, attacking the queen.} e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 {This pin looks
dangerous for black, but they can reinforce the knight.} Rd8 $6 (10... Nfd7 {
The main line (me not remembering things)} 11. Bg2 g5 12. Ne3 gxf4 13. Nxf5
O-O-O $13 {with an imbalanced position.}) 11. Qc1 Bd6 12. Nxd6+ Qxd6 13. Bg2
O-O 14. O-O {With white's bishop pair, black is slightly worse here.} Qe6 $6 (
14... Rfe8 15. Rd1 Qc5 $16) 15. Qe3 Ng6 16. Qxe6 (16. Qxa7 $2 Nxf4 17. gxf4 Bh3
$44 {Black can attack the king.}) 16... Bxe6 17. Be3 a5 18. Bg5 $2 {A bit slow;
black's doubled pawns won't matter much} Ne5 19. Ne4 Ned7 {Looks ugly, but it
defends sufficiently.} 20. Rfd1 h6 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. Nc5 Bc8 $6 (22... Rxd1+
23. Rxd1 Rb8 $14 {is more accurate, guarding the queenside more securely.}) 23.
Kf1 $2 (23. Nb3 $16 {My opponent found this on the next move.}) 23... Rfe8 $2 (
23... b6 24. Nd3 c5 $11 {Solidifying the queenside with an equalish position.})
24. Nb3 {Oops. Now black is forced to lose the a5 pawn.} Bg4 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26.
Nxa5 Rd2 {Black forks the pawns, but white will always win one more than black.
} 27. Nxb7 Bxe2+ 28. Kg1 (28. Ke1 $6 Rxb2 29. Bxc6 $2 Ng4 $11 {looks rather
risky for white.}) 28... Rxb2 29. Bxc6 Ng4 30. a5 $2 {A bit rushed.} (30. Bh1
$1 {Advanced defensive move which makes Nxf2 ineffective.} Bd3 (30... Nxf2 $4
31. Kxf2 Ba6+ 32. Ke3 Bxb7 33. Bxb7 Rxb7 34. a5 Ra7 35. a6 $18 {White's king
is faster than black's.}) 31. Nc5 Nxf2 32. Nxd3 Nxd3 33. a5 $16 {Black will
have to hold this endgame with the knight vs the passed rook pawn (always the
hardest).}) 30... Nxf2 31. a6 {The most challenging line, forcing black to
find the best sequence.} (31. Kxf2 $6 Bb5+ 32. Ke3 Bxc6 $11 {This endgame is
sad for black, but defensible.}) 31... Nh3+ 32. Kh1 Nf2+ 33. Kg2 {Avoiding
perpetual.} Bg4 34. Bb5 $4 {A brave decision to fight for the win, but white's
king is too weak.} (34. a7 Nh3+ 35. Kf1 (35. Kh1 Nf2+ 36. Kg1 Nh3+ $11) 35...
Rf2+ 36. Ke1 Re2+ 37. Kf1 $11 (37. Kd1 $4 Nf2+ 38. Kc1 Nd3+ 39. Kd1 Rxh2+ 40.
Bf3 Bxf3#)) 34... Nd3+ $1 {This manuever took me quite a while to find; black
has many tempting options.} (34... Nh3+ $4 35. Kf1 Rf2+ $4 36. Ke1 $18 {
Black no longer has Re2+, which was the point of Bb5.}) (34... Ne4+ $4 35. Kg1
Ng5 {Same idea as Nd3+, but white has} 36. Bc6 $1 $11 {defending.}) (34... Nd1+
$4 35. Kg1 Bf3 36. Bf1 {White defends, and} Bxb7 {is not possible because of}
37. Rxd1 $18 {and the passed pawn is simply too strong.}) 35. Kg1 Ne5 {White
has no defense against Nf3+ followed by Bh3#} 36. Be2 Rxe2 37. a7 Nf3+ 38. Kf1
Nxh2+ {Repeating moves to gain time.} 39. Kg1 Nf3+ 40. Kf1 Rd2 41. a8=Q+ Kh7 {
Bh3# is unstoppable. After (again) getting a slightly worse position out of
the opening, I managed to equalize and obtain a defensible endgame. After
blundering a pawn away, I sought counterplay in attacking the king, and my
remaining few pieces managed to work harmoniously to catch the king in a rare
mating net. Another topsy-turvy game!} 0-1

[Event "Oregon Closed"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Zavortink, Matt"]
[Black "Gibbins, Wilson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2205"]
[Annotator "Matt Zavortink - Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "69"]

{[%evp 0,69,19,29,18,-1,19,12,12,12,31,8,44,13,17,15,38,14,42,-9,10,-24,-36,
-24,0,-9,0,-8,5,-6,3,-6,7,10,-2,15,12,-17,-15,-15,-14,-42,-9,-17,61,6,94,90,89,
92,92,216,199,186,185,195,197,197,295,300,302,430,440,486,563,586,593,595,586,
623,644,644] Notes preceeded by "MZ - " are from Matt, notes preceeded by "WG
- " are from Wilson.  MZ - A typical, humbling Fianchetto King's Indian. After
the game finished I felt like I had done a good job maintaining control and
slowly increasing my advantage, leading inevitably to the final tactical
breakthough. However, the computer shows that black had numerous opportunities
to break out and create a chaotic position, so in reality I just had no idea
what was going on for the majority of the game!} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 {MZ - Not
at all what I was expecting, and a sign that Wilson had prepared something for
my normal 3.b3 line, so I decided to do something different.} 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O
O-O 5. d4 d6 6. c4 {WG - Matt smells a rat and plays line that isn't in his
repertoire.} (6. b3 {MZ - I considered this, though I figured it may transpose
to whatever Wilson had prepared against an earlier b3. Black can also meet
this move more directly, for example with the traditional response:} e5 7. dxe5
dxe5 8. Ba3) 6... Nc6 7. Nc3 e5 {MZ - I was somewhat relieved to see this move,
as I have also played the black side of these positions. WG - I didn't have
time to prepare a full King's Indian Repertoire, so I memorized three lines
from a free Chessable course. I didn't think I would actually reach this
position; it was just due diligence. When I told Matt after the game, he
laughed and correctly guessed that Plichta was the course author.} 8. dxe5 ({
WG - After} 8. d5 {Chessable suggests} Nb8 {to which Chessbase helpfully
appends a !} 9. e4 a5 10. Z0 {followed by} Na6 {looked reasonable to me.}) 8...
Nxe5 $5 {MZ - I think this is a good move and probably easier to play than ...
dxe5 after which white has a large number of tricky options. WG - As
recommended by the Chessable course. At this point it was dawning on me that
Avrukh had covered this line in his latest Grandmaster Repertoire book.} 9. b3
{MZ - Following the old Avrukh recommendation, simply trying to get developed.
White's argument is that they have a superior pawn structure: white's plan is
to plant a knight on d5, and if it is kicked with ...c6 then black will have a
weak d-pawn. However black's pieces are quite active and the one weakness
should be manageable. Now Wilson found what is probably the strongest sequence
for black, though he had to spend a considerable amount of time to do so, as
there are a lot of tempting looking moves to calculate.} (9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Qxd8
Rxd8 11. Bg5 {MZ - This is white's most popular way to meet 8...Nxe5. Like
many King's Indian variations in which white exchanges on e5 and then trades
queens white has a slight initiative, though it's very hard for me to believe
that black isn't totally fine here after a move like ...Rd7, getting out of
the pin.}) 9... Nxf3+ ({MZ -} 9... Ne4 $4 {Tempting but very bad because of
white's subtlety on move 11} 10. Nxe4 Nxf3+ 11. exf3 $1 Bxa1 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bh6
{Because of white's earlier exf3 black will not be able to put the bishop on
e5, causing it to get sidelined on the queenside:} Bb2 14. Qd2 Ba3 15. Bxf8 $18
{MZ - Now black's desired move ...Qxf8 would drop a pawn to Qa5, hitting the
offside bishop and the c7 pawn.}) 10. Bxf3 Bh3 11. Re1 (11. Bxb7 {MZ - Not
great for several reasons, for example:} Rb8 12. Bg2 Bxg2 13. Kxg2 Ne4 14. Nxe4
Bxa1 15. Bg5 {Here this idea doesn't regain the material because of} Qe8 $1 $13
{when the absence of white's light-squared bishop is clearly felt, though
white still has decent play for the exchange}) 11... c6 {WG - I probably took
15-20 minutes on this normal KID move. I had to convince myself that I wasn't
losing my d-pawn, as his loose knight on c3 meant I could play Qa5 and (either)
Rd8. I guess I should be pleased with myself as I figured out the main line on
my own, but the time I burned cost me in the long run. Reminds me of the
Alekhine quote "The fact that a player is very short of time is, to my mind,
as little to be considered an excuse as, for instance, the statement of the
law-breaker that he was drunk at the time he committed the crime."  MZ - I
didn't remember anything past this except that the natural looking move Bb2
allows black to equalize immediately with ...d5. Avrukh recommends Bg5, which
my computer thinks is equal. It instead recommends Bf4, provoking ...Nh5
before retreating to d2. My feeling is that if the position really requires
this level of subtlety then black is probably doing alright.} 12. Rb1 $6 {
MZ - Less active than Bg5 or Bf4 I suppose.  WG - A sign that Matt is also
making it up as he goes along. A new move, and maintains equality, but isn't
the most testing. He will test me later. Probably a good anti-Wilson strategy,
as fatigue and time trouble will affect me before it affects him.} (12. Bb2 $6
d5 13. cxd5 Nxd5 {MZ - Black has fixed their structure and is doing well.})
12... Qe7 {WG - Not the most active move. Shows that I don't have the true KID
spirit, but I no longer have time for thinking things through.} 13. Bb2 Rfd8 {
MZ - The idea of black's last move. This looks less natural to me than placing
the f-rook on e8 though it is solid enough.} 14. Qd2 h5 $5 15. Rbd1 $14 {
MZ - Here I felt like I had a small, stable advantage, but as so often happens
in the Fianchetto King's Indian I didn't really know what to do next.} Qe6 16.
Ba3 (16. Bh1 $1 $14 {MZ - A slick Stockfish move, preparing e4 without
allowing the simplifying ...Bg4 in response.}) 16... Rd7 17. Qf4 $6 {MZ - Now
I've actually lost control and given black an opportunity to break out.} Rad8 {
WG - My brain isn't in the right place to play the KID. I need to be looking
for counter-attacking ideas, not trying to hold the defense. You don't have
enough space in a KID to hold the defensive line, you need to be planning to
lash out given any opportunity.} ({MZ -} 17... d5 $1 18. cxd5 Nxd5 $1 {Trading
the knights helps black has it allows the g7 bishop to immediately control the
square in front of the isolated pawn.} 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Bc5 {White wants to
set up a blockade on d4 but black can prevent it with concrete play:} Be5 21.
Qe3 $6 d4 $15 {White cannot take the pawn:} 22. Bxd4 $4 Rad8 $19) 18. Rd3 $6 {
MZ - Once again allowing ...d5 with similar play to the previous note.} Ng4 19.
Bxg4 {MZ - It's probably a sign that something has gone wrong that I have to
play this move, giving up my fianchettoed bishop. During the game I thought I
still had an edge as I can continue with f3 and e4 when my position appears
harmonious, however black should be able to break out at any time.} (19. Ne4 {
MZ - I was planning this move but ultimately decided there was nothing special
after ...Ne5.} Ne5 (19... Bh6 $6 20. Bxg4 hxg4 21. Qxh6 Qxe4 22. f3 {MZ - A
strange position where I correctly thought white is probably a bit better.
It's unclear how black will get the h3 bishop into the game without trading
queens on h5 and losing the d6 pawn in the process.}) 20. Ng5 {MZ - I was
planning this but realized it doesn't work:} Nxd3 21. Nxe6 Nxf4 22. Nxd8 Nxe2+
23. Rxe2 Rxd8 $17 {Black is a pawn up.}) 19... Bxg4 (19... Qxg4 20. Qxg4 Bxg4
21. f3 Be6 22. e4 {MZ - During the game I thought maybe I would still have
some slight pressure in this position, but in fact it is pleasant for black,
who has a variety of plans, including the simple ...Bxc3 followed by ...d5
leading to a dead equal bishops of opposite color ending.}) 20. f3 $2 (20. Ne4
{MZ - The only move to maintain equality according to Stockfish, essentially
reaching a better version of the game after ...Bf5 Ng5, as white hasn't spent
a tempo on f3.}) 20... Bh3 {MZ - Again missing an opportunity to blow the
position open.} (20... Bf5 $1 {WG - unleashes KID chaos.} 21. e4 d5 $15 {
MZ - Now white must be very careful to not lose on the spot.}) 21. Ne4 Be5 $2 {
MZ - In hindsight this is black's big mistake. Pushing the queen to a better
square and also exposing the bishop to tactics.} (21... Bf5 $1 22. Ng5 Qe7 23.
e4 Bh6 24. h4 f6 {MZ - White barely holds on with some improbable computer
tactics:} 25. Qe3 Bh3 26. Kh2 $1 fxg5 27. hxg5 Bxg5 28. f4 Bxf4 29. Qxf4 Bg4
$15 {MZ - A strange position that would be very hard for me to evaluate over
the board. The computer gives black a small edge which feels completely
meaningless in a practical game as both players have extremely weak kings.})
22. Qd2 Bf5 $2 {MZ - Suddenly the game is over.} (22... f6 {MZ - The
computer's ridiculous suggestion, trapping it's own bishop. The idea is to
prepare ...Bf5 as in the game without allowing Ng5.} 23. Bb2 (23. f4 Bb2 24.
Bxb2 Qxe4 $11 {MZ - Another weird "equal" position according to the engine.})
23... Bf5 24. Bxe5 Qxe5 25. Rd4 Bxe4 26. Rxe4 Qg5 $11) 23. Ng5 $1 {WG - Now it
is over. It seemed like a long game and a full fight at the time, but now I
notice we are only on move 23.} Qe8 24. e4 Be6 25. f4 {MZ - f5 is coming when
black loses a piece due to the pin on the e-file. Wilson finds the only way to
save the piece but it requires fatally weakening the dark-squares.} Bf6 26. f5
Bxg5 (26... Qe7 27. Nf3 $18) 27. Qxg5 Bxf5 28. Bb2 {MZ - Black has actually
won a pawn but white threatens to invade with Qf6.} Qe6 29. Bf6 Re8 30. Rf3 {
MZ - Winning a piece, since if the bishop moves then the f3 rook will defend
the f6 bishop, allowing the decisive Qh6.} Kh7 31. Rxf5 Qxf5 32. exf5 Rxe1+ 33.
Kf2 Re4 34. h3 d5 35. g4 1-0

[Event "Oregon Closed Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Haessler, Carl"]
[Black "Zavortink, Matt"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "2308"]
[Annotator "Matt Zavortink"]
[PlyCount "44"]

{[%evp 0,44,21,-5,2,-23,-27,-27,-11,-22,-28,-17,-15,-60,-41,-77,-64,-64,-40,
-61,-73,-129,-115,-110,-103,-204,-194,-180,-172,-201,-201,-201,-192,-195,-196,
-196,-188,-246,-244,-341,-325,-376,-376,-376,-206,-626,-1108] This was my only
really clinical game of the tournament, so of course I have to include it.} 1.
c4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 {We've transposed from the English to a
variation of the Exchange French in which white plays an early c4. I often see
people recommending this line for white to get French players out of their
comfort zone, but it's really harmless.} Bb4+ 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. h3 $6 $15 {Too
slow in such an open position! I thought black should have a small edge now.} (
6. Nf3 O-O 7. Be2 dxc4 8. Bxc4 Bg4 9. O-O Nc6 {A typical variation to show why
this line is toothless - black's pieces are just as active as white's so there
isn't any compensation for the potential weakness of the IQP.}) 6... O-O 7. a3
$2 {That's a second slow move. I thought black may be close to winning.} Bxc3+
{Retreating shouldn't be considered. With white's king in the center time is
the most important factor and capturing on c3 requires white to spend a tempo
on the non-developing move bxc3.} 8. bxc3 c5 {Preparing to break the position
open even more. I figured I should delay the more natural ...Re8+ in case
white pre-emptively blocks the e-file, when I may have more useful moves.} 9.
Be3 Qa5 {Again forcing white to play a defensive move that doesn't prepare
kingside castling.} 10. Qc2 Re8 $19 {Threatening to take on d4 and win a piece
due to the pins. White is busted.} 11. Nf3 Nc6 {Renewing the threat.} 12. Be2 {
Now white is threatening to castle when he would reach a survivable position.
But black has a final disruptive move:} Bf5 13. Qb2 (13. Qxf5 Qxc3+ {drops the
a1 rook}) (13. Qd2 {walks into} Ne4) 13... cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Bd3 16.
Be3 Bxe2 17. Kxe2 {As a result of the combination black is a pawn up and
white's king is stuck in the middle.} Qa4 $6 {I wanted to stop Re1 and Kf1.
Stockfish likes the idea but prefers a different execution with ...Qc7!. Of
course the simple ...dxc4 was also good.} 18. Rhd1 Qxc4+ 19. Kf3 {A tad risky.}
Qe4+ 20. Kg3 Qe5+ 21. Kf3 Ne4 22. Qxb7 Qh5+ 0-1

[Event "Oregon Closed Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Raptis, Nick"]
[Black "Zavortink, Matt"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E92"]
[WhiteElo "2370"]
[BlackElo "2308"]
[Annotator "Matt Zavortink"]
[PlyCount "58"]

{[%evp 0,58,19,29,18,2,61,60,37,48,43,35,28,21,73,34,25,42,45,45,66,51,47,43,
52,25,16,-2,-5,2,3,-16,-6,-10,-13,-34,-1,-36,-9,-7,-48,-44,-53,-49,-50,-59,-75,
-168,-104,-172,-165,-150,-179,-179,-113,-104,-182,-220,-334,-609,-902] My last
round game. I was half a point behind Zoey and thought she might make a quick
draw, so I needed to play to win at all costs (I was wrong and Zoey crushed
her own brother to take clear first - congrats!). I figured I would play the
King's Indian and accept a slightly worse position to try to keep as much life
and dynamic potential in the game as possible.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7
4. d4 O-O 5. e4 {Somewhat surprising as I've never seen Nick play the white
side of this position, but he tries to be unpredictable.} d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3 {
The Gligorich Variation. Now ...exd4 is the prescribed move if black wants to
equalize but I wanted to keep things as complex as possible.} Ng4 (7... exd4 8.
Nxd4 Re8 9. f3 {This is what most sources recommend for black, since the
position of white's bishop on e3 allows black to immediately break out of the
bind with ...c6 followed by ...d5, as was played in some classic
Karpov-Kasparov games.}) 8. Bg5 f6 9. Bh4 Nc6 (9... g5 10. Bg3 Nh6 {is another
line, when both sides have ridiculous looking dark-squared bishops.}) 10. d5
Ne7 11. Nd2 f5 {Less popular than the alternatives ...Nh6 and ...h5.} 12. Bxg4
{Nick finds the most testing continuation.} fxg4 13. Bg5 $1 {An important move
otherwise the white bishop becomes a target of black's pawnstorm after ...h6, .
..g5, etc.} h6 14. Be3 b6 $2 {Not a good move. I thought I recalled black
making a pawn move on the queenside in this position, but this move isn't it.
I thought since white doesn't have a light-squared bishop I may gain the
useful option of ...Ba6, for instance if white continues with b4, c5, and Nc4.
But really this is just a simple violation of the rule that black isn't
supposed to touch the queenside pawns in these kinds of positions.} 15. b4 g5
16. Nb3 {White wants to continue with a4-a5, taking advantage of the hook
created by ...b6 without allowing black to activate the light-squared bishop.}
Ng6 17. g3 {A perfectly logical move, trying to keep the knight out of f4, but
maybe a mistake as ...Nf4 will come anyway} (17. a4 Nf4 18. O-O {I thought
white should just castle when I wasn't really sure how black's kingside attack
should proceed. On the other hand white's next move is a5 and black must
immediately figure out how to defend.}) 17... Rf3 {The position now becomes
extremely difficult to figure out as black is hoping to sacrifice a piece with
...Nf4 soon. My computer likes white and keeps the white pieces positioned to
safely decline the sacrifice, which is a bit inhuman as black will be allowed
to go ...Ng2+ and either take on e3 or bring more pieces to the f-file.} 18.
Qc2 $6 {I thought this made sense, reinforcing the loose c3 knight and also
getting ready to evacuate the king to the queenside, but in fact it makes the
sacrifice stronger.} (18. a4 $1 Nf4 19. a5 $1 $14 {The computer suggestion,
just getting on with it. Black can't really make anything happen.}) 18... Ba6
$2 {Missing the chance. And also not really threatening anything since ...Bxc4
can be met by Nd2.} (18... Nf4 $1 {This move is strong at once:} 19. a4 (19.
gxf4 $2 gxf4 20. Bd2 Qh4 21. O-O-O Rxf2 $19 {Black has taken two pawns for the
piece already and the h2 pawn is next.}) 19... Ng2+ {In the variation above,
with a5 instead of Qc2, white would be able to go Kd2 and on ...Nxf3 fxe3 Rf2+
play Kd3! when the king is quite safe. Now with the queen on c2 white would
have to meet ...Rf2+ with Ne2 instead to avoid losing the queen, so this is a
noticeable improvement for black.}) 19. a4 Nf4 {Now white should definitely
decline the sacrifice when the inclusion of a4 and ...Ba6 is in his favor.} 20.
gxf4 $2 (20. Nd2 $1 Ng2+ 21. Ke2 $16 {A very hard position to assess over the
board, but the computer says this is the way for white to play. Black will
likely re-sacrifice the knight on f4 soon but white's king will sneak away via
d1. The misplaced bishop on a6 will have to waste time retreating to c8.})
20... gxf4 {Suddenly ...b6 and ...Ba6 look intelligent as black will
immediately capture on c4 if the e3 bishop moves.} 21. Nd2 Rh3 {Simply moving
away as the e3 bishop is trapped.} 22. Nf1 {A good practical try.} Bxc4 {
Keeping the momentum seemed better than regaining the material. Here white has
two moves to stay in the game, at least practically speaking.} (22... fxe3 23.
Nxe3 {Black has won a pawn but this didn't look so clear to me as white can
castle long and the e3 knight may eventually be able to come to f5.}) 23. Bd2 (
23. Ne2 $1 {White keeps the dream of getting the f1 knight to e3 or g3 alive.
I don't think either of us considered this move.} Bxe2 24. Qxe2 fxe3 25. fxe3
$1 {Black is better but it's far from simple.}) (23. Ng3 $1 {Also quite
logical but a difficult move to consider over the board.}) 23... Bd3 $19 {
I didn't realize it at the time but now the game is over - white's pieces are
too discombobulated.} 24. Qa2 Qh4 25. Rg1 (25. O-O-O {This is what white would
like to play but sadly after} Qxf2 {there is no way to avoid losing material
as ...Qg2 next would trap the h1 rook.} 26. Be1 Qf3 {Black threatens ...Qxh1
and ...Bxf1}) 25... Rf3 26. Nd1 Rf8 27. Rc1 g3 28. hxg3 fxg3 29. Rxg3 (29. Nxg3
Rxg3 30. fxg3 Qxg3+ 31. Rxg3 Rf1#) 29... Qh1 0-1

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Russell, Corey"]
[Black "Nair, Roshen"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2217"]
[BlackElo "2081"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 19,122,1,6,-29,-35,-98,-98,-108,-108,-108,-108,-140,-135,-128,-102,-102,
-102,-102,-102,-102,-102,-104,-104,-107,-106,-124,-120,-135,-130,-130,-130,
-142,-140,-153,-131,-199,-187,-226,-157,-157,-157,-157,-157,-158,-158,-178,
-178,-178,-174,-198,-198,-198,-183,-269,-269,-295,-295,-295,-295,-295,-295,
-295,-295,-443,-427,-432,-392,-370,-316,-627,-627,-7988,-7987,-1073,-891,-1009,
-1009,-5294,-1259,-29980,-5119,-29981,-29982,-29982,-29983,-29982,-29983,
-29982,-29983,-29982,-29983,-29982,-29983,-29983,-29983,-29983,-29984,-29983,
-29983,-7975,-5198,-29982,-29983,-29980,-29981] All annotations are Fritz 16,
unless denoted by my initials ( -cjr).} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. g3 Bf5
5. Nc3 e6 6. Bg2 h6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. c5 Qxb3 9. axb3 Na6 10. Ra4 Bc2 11. Ne5 Nd7 {
[%cal Bf6d7,Bd7e5,Be5c4][%mdl 32]} 12. Kd2 (12. Nxd7 $15 Kxd7 13. Bf4) 12...
Bxb3 $17 {Threatens to win with ...Nd7xe5.} 13. Ra3 {And now Ne5xd7 would win.}
Nxe5 14. Rxb3 Nc4+ 15. Kc2 b6 16. e4 {[%cal Re4d5]} bxc5 17. exd5 Nb4+ (17...
exd5 $6 18. Nxd5 cxd4 19. Nf4 $11) 18. Rxb4 cxb4 19. dxe6 Rc8 $1 20. exf7+ Kxf7
21. Na4 Be7 22. Re1 Rhe8 23. Bf1 Nb6 24. Nxb6 axb6 25. Bc4+ {[#]} Kf8 $1 26.
Bf4 Rcd8 27. Be5 (27. Re6 $17) 27... Bf6 28. Re3 c5 29. Rf3 Ke7 ({Reject} 29...
cxd4 30. Bxf6 gxf6 31. Rxf6+ Kg7 32. Rxb6 $11) 30. Bxf6+ gxf6 31. dxc5 bxc5 {
[%mdl 4096] Endgame KRR-KRB} 32. Rf5 {[#]} Rd4 $1 {[%cal Rd4c4]} 33. Kb3 Rd2
34. Rxc5 Rxf2 35. Rh5 Rh8 36. Bd5 (36. Kxb4 {was necessary.} Rb8+ 37. Kc5)
36... f5 $19 37. Kxb4 Rxb2+ 38. Kc3 Rf2 39. Kd3 Kf6 40. Ke3 Rb2 41. h3 (41. Bc4
$142) 41... Rb5 42. Bf3 Re8+ 43. Kd4 Rb3 44. Rxh6+ $2 (44. Bd5 Rxg3 45. Rxh6+
Kg7 46. Rh5) 44... Kg7 45. Bd5 Rb4+ 46. Kc5 Kxh6 47. Kxb4 {KR-KB} Re3 48. Kc4
Rxg3 49. Be6 Kg5 (49... Kg6 $142 50. Kc5 Rxh3 51. Kd4 Ra3 52. Bxf5+ Kxf5 53.
Kc5 Rd3 54. Kc4 Ke4 55. Kc5 Rd8 56. Kc4 Rc8+ 57. Kb5 Kd4 58. Kb6 Rc5 59. Kb7
Kc4 60. Kb6 Kb4 61. Ka7 Ka5 62. Kb7 Kb5 63. Ka8 Ka6 64. Kb8 Kb6 65. Ka8 Rc8#)
50. h4+ Kf6 51. Bd5 Rg4+ 52. Kd3 Rxh4 53. Ke3 Ke5 54. Bg2 Ra4 55. Bc6 Ra3+ 56.
Kf2 Kf4 57. Bd5 Rc3 58. Ke2 Rc2+ 59. Kd3 Rc5 60. Bb7 Kg3 61. Kd4 {The
precision says it all - my opponent was 82% precise and I was only 31%. I am
not going to survive that. Qb3 in the opening is apparently not a good idea.
Back to the drawing board on that one... -cjr} Rc7 {Precision: White = 31%,
Black = 82%.} 0-1

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.18"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fisette, Robert"]
[Black "Russell, Corey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C60"]
[WhiteElo "2217"]
[BlackElo "2089"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 13,58,18,17,-19,24,24,31,34,48,44,88,80,129,100,149,149,193,193,211,153,
195,99,99,97,230,230,230,230,234,165,165,95,67,-160,-160,-160,-80,-188,-188,
-188,-188,-231,-231,-393,-372,-978,-977]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nge7 {
This is the Cozio defence. -cjr} 4. Nc3 g6 5. d4 Bg7 6. Be3 exd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8.
Nxc6 Nxc6 (8... bxc6 {might be stronger.} 9. Ba4 Ba6) 9. Qd2 $11 Re8 {White
has an edge.} 10. O-O-O d6 11. h4 Bd7 (11... Qf6 $14) 12. h5 gxh5 (12... Qf6
$142) 13. f3 Ne5 (13... Re5 $142) 14. Be2 $16 b5 (14... h4 $16) 15. Rxh5 $18 b4
16. Nd5 {[#] Hoping for Be3-h6.} c6 (16... Be6 $16 {is a better defense.} 17.
Bh6 (17. Qxb4 Rb8 $18) 17... Bh8) 17. Bg5 (17. Qxb4 cxd5 18. Rxd5 Re6 $17) (17.
Nxb4 $18 a5 18. Na6 (18. Qxd6 axb4 19. Rxe5 Bxe5 $11)) 17... f6 $16 18. Bh6
Bxh6 (18... cxd5 $16 {was worth a try.} 19. Bxg7 Qe7) 19. Qxh6 $18 cxd5 20.
Qxh7+ Kf8 21. Qh8+ ({Less strong is} 21. Rxd5 Qe7 $14) 21... Ke7 {[#]} 22. Qg7+
$40 {[%mdl 128] White is out for blood.} (22. Rh7+ $1 $18 Nf7 23. Qg7) 22...
Nf7 $16 {And now ...Re8-g8 would win.} 23. Rh6 $2 ({Stronger than} 23. Rhxd5
Rg8 $17) (23. Rh7 $1 $14 {is the one way to stay ahead.} Be6 24. exd5 (24. Rh6
Rg8 $11)) 23... Rg8 $17 24. Qxf6+ Kf8 ({Better is} 24... Ke8 25. Qxd8+ Rxd8)
25. Rxd5 (25. g4 $17 {keeps fighting.}) 25... Qxf6 $19 26. Rxf6 Ke7 ({Not} 
26... Rxg2 27. Bc4 $11) 27. Rf4 (27. Rxf7+ $142 Kxf7 28. g4) 27... Rxg2 28. Kd2
$2 (28. Rd2 {was necessary.} Rg1+ 29. Rd1) 28... Ne5 29. Rh4 $2 (29. Ke3 Ng6
30. Bd3) 29... Nxf3+ {Precision: White = 46%, Black = 35%.} 0-1

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Russell, Corey"]
[Black "Kodarapu, Ishaan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D05"]
[WhiteElo "2217"]
[BlackElo "1963"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 17,85,3,24,3,3,-11,-4,-26,-26,-31,-9,-9,-9,-9,-5,-26,13,13,26,-2,24,25,
47,47,73,26,17,-16,-13,-42,-28,-27,-25,-24,-7,-24,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 {This
shows white's intention to play the Colle system. -cjr} e6 4. Bd3 Bd6 5. Nbd2
O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. e4 dxe4 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Bxe4 Nf6 10. Bd3 b6 11. c4 Bb7 12.
Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 c5 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Qe2 Qe7 16. Ne5 g5 17. Bg3 Rad8 18. a3 Bd4
19. Rad1 Kg7 20. Kh1 Nd7 {[#]} 21. Nxd7 ({Better is} 21. Ng4 $1 $16) 21... Rxd7
$11 22. Bb1 Rfd8 23. Rd3 e5 24. f3 f6 25. Rdd1 Bc5 26. b4 (26. Qc2 {is more
complex.} Kf8 27. Rxd7 Rxd7 28. b4 Bd4 29. Rd1) 26... Rxd1 27. Rxd1 {The
position is equal.} Rxd1+ 28. Qxd1 Bd4 29. Qd3 Kf8 30. Qg6 Qg7 31. Qf5 Ke7 32.
Be4 Bxe4 33. Qxe4 Qf7 34. Qb7+ Kf8 35. Qc6 Kg7 36. h3 Qg6 37. Be1 Qd3 38. Kh2
Qf1 39. Qd7+ Kg6 40. Qe8+ Kg7 41. Qe7+ Kg6 {[#] ( -> ...Bd4-g1+)} 42. Qe8+ Kg7
43. Qe7+ {Precision: White = 60%, Black = 47%.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Marx, Jaden"]
[Black "Russell, Corey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "1822"]
[BlackElo "2217"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 12,82,27,23,25,25,48,25,25,24,26,24,25,8,8,-12,-12,-12,-11,-94,-94,-94,
-83,-117,-91,-91,-91,-91,-77,-255,-255,-255,-250,-350,-308,-458,-458,-463,-450,
-504,-492,-488,-427,-516,-500,-603,-515,-515,-505,-505,-505,-550,-509,-544,
-408,-672,-554,-610,-307,-313,0,-577,-530,-763,-600,-763,-540,-911,-911,-872,
-793,-1498,-1498]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nd7 4. Bc4 c6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1
Ngf6 7. c3 b5 {I didn't want white to make a battery on the a2-g8 diagonal
with Qb3. - cjr} 8. Bd3 {White has an edge.} O-O 9. Nbd2 {[%cal Bb1d2,Bd2f1,
Bf1g3,Bg3f5][%mdl 32]} Bb7 10. Nf1 a6 11. Ng3 Re8 12. Nf5 Bf8 13. h4 exd4 14.
cxd4 c5 {[%cal Bc6c5,Bc5c4][%mdl 32]} 15. Bf4 (15. d5 $11 {remains equal.})
15... c4 $17 16. Bc2 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Nxd6 Bxd6 19. Bxd6 Qf6 20. Ne5 $2 (
20. Bb4 $17) 20... Qxd6 $19 21. Rxe4 f6 ({Weaker is} 21... Nxe5 22. Qe2 $15)
22. Nf7 Qd5 23. Rxe8+ (23. Nh6+ $142 gxh6 24. Qg4+ Kf7 25. Rae1) 23... Rxe8 24.
Nh6+ gxh6 {[%cal Bg7h6,Bh6h5][%mdl 32]} 25. Qg4+ Kh8 26. Qf4 h5 27. Rc1 Re4 28.
Qh6 Rxh4 29. Re1 Re4 30. Rxe4 Qxe4 31. Qxh5 Qxd4 32. Qf7 a5 {[#] aiming for ...
b5-b4.} 33. Qe8+ (33. a3 $142) 33... Kg7 {And now ...b5-b4 would win.} 34. Qe7+
Kg8 35. Qe8+ {I had wanted to play ...Nf8 but realized would lose the b-pawn.
So need to run to the h-file instead. -cjr} Kg7 {White must now prevent ...
b5-b4.} 36. Qe7+ Kh6 {[#] Strongly threatening ...b5-b4.Black is clearly
winning.} 37. Qe6 b4 38. Qh3+ Kg6 39. g4 Ne5 40. Qh5+ Kg7 41. g5 Qg4+ {
Precision: White = 22%, Black = 83%.} 0-1

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Russell, Corey"]
[Black "Murray, David"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B29"]
[WhiteElo "2217"]
[BlackElo "1905"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 13,85,-33,-31,-37,-37,-37,-36,-38,-34,-42,-42,-42,-37,-34,-34,-34,-19,
-36,-13,-27,6,6,9,-53,22,-14,44,44,44,44,69,69,69,69,91,88,303,303,303,303,303,
237,407,407,455,455,692,692,717,640,961,536,536,407,407,407,377,377,377,377,
353,353,395,377,395,354,390,395,695,650,587,501,1199,1172]} 1. c3 d5 2. d3 Nf6
3. Nf3 c5 4. Nbd2 Nc6 5. e4 e5 {White is basically playing an old indian but
as white. This does make black better though. This was played mostly to put
David and me on equal playing field - I don't have to worry about opening
theory being my downfall. - cjr} 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Nc4 Qc7
{Black is slightly better.} 10. a4 Be6 11. Ng5 Bxg5 12. Bxg5 f6 13. Bd2 Rad8
14. Qc2 a6 15. a5 Rd7 16. Rfd1 f5 17. Qa4 Rfd8 18. Qa3 ({Better is} 18. Bf1 $11
) 18... Nce7 (18... Ndb4 $1 $15 19. Bg5 (19. cxb4 Bxc4 20. Bf1 cxb4 $15) 19...
Bxc4 20. dxc4 Nc2 21. Bxd8 Qxd8 22. Qxc5 Nxa1 23. Rxa1 Rd2) 19. Rac1 Nf4 ({
Black should try} 19... Ng6 $11 20. Qa4 Ndf4 21. Bxf4 Nxf4) 20. Bxf4 $1 $14
Bxc4 21. Bg5 Bb5 {You might wonder why David didn't take my d-pawn - it's
poison! E.g., 21. ... Bxd3 22. Bxe7 Bxe2 23.Bxd8 (hitting the black queen) ...
Qxd8 24. Rxd7 Qxd7 25. Qxc5 and white is clearly winning -cjr} 22. c4 Bc6 23.
Qxc5 f4 24. Bg4 $36 {[%mdl 2048] White is really pushing.} Rd6 $2 (24... Ba4
$16 {was called for.} 25. Be6+ Kh8 26. Bxe7 Rxe7 27. Qxc7 Rxc7) 25. Qxe5 $18
Ng6 26. Bxd8 Qxd8 27. Qc5 f3 $2 (27... Nh4 28. Re1 Rg6 29. Be6+ Kh8) 28. g3 Qf6
29. d4 {[%cal Bd3d4,Bd4d5][%mdl 32]} Nf4 (29... Nf8 $142 30. d5 Bd7 31. Bxd7
Rxd7) 30. gxf4 Qxf4 31. Qf5 Qh6 32. d5 Bd7 33. Qxd7 Rxd7 34. Bxd7 Qg5+ 35. Kf1
{[#] And now Bd7-h3 would win.} Qg2+ 36. Ke1 Qg1+ 37. Kd2 Qxf2+ 38. Kc3 Qe3+
39. Kc2 {d5-d6 is the strong threat.} Qe4+ 40. Kb3 b6 $2 (40... f2 41. d6 g6)
41. d6 {Hoping for Bd7-e6+!White is clearly winning.} bxa5 {[#]} 42. Bf5 $1 {
[%mdl 512] The idea is my bishop gets out of the way of my d-pawn with tempo.
-cjr} Qb7+ (42... a4+ $142 43. Ka2 Qe8) (42... Qxf5 43. d7) 43. Ka2 {Precision:
White = 52%, Black = 36%.} 1-0

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Swearingin, Michael"]
[Black "Russell, Corey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A36"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "2217"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 19,84,-13,-13,-13,-12,-16,-4,-4,11,10,39,39,39,35,58,19,58,24,24,15,15,
14,13,9,11,10,45,35,38,38,21,10,2,27,112,-159,-159,-159,-159,-187,-187,-187,
-187,-207,-209,-293,-293,-254,-268,-320,-323,-538,-538,-653,-653,-620,-575,
-1000,-908,-908,-895,-895,-895,-895,-891,-895,-866]} 1. e4 d6 2. g3 $1 {
I am giving this move an ! because whatever opening preparation I might have
had, Michael here is taking me out of it. Considering he got an advantage out
of the opening, he made a good strategic choice. -cjr} Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Ne2 Bg7
5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c5 7. h3 Nc6 8. Nbc3 Ne8 {[%cal Bf6e8,Be8c7,Bc7e6,Be6d4][%mdl
32] Thus begins the setup for the Donaldson system. Nick doesn't believe in
this system, though I'm at a loss at what black should do instead. -cjr} 9. d3
Nc7 10. Be3 Ne6 11. Rb1 Ned4 12. a3 Rb8 13. b4 {The position is equal.} e5 14.
Nd5 h6 (14... b6 {keeps more tension.} 15. b5 Nxe2+ 16. Qxe2 Nd4 17. Bxd4 exd4
18. h4 Re8) 15. bxc5 dxc5 16. Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Bxd4 (17. Qa4 {is interesting.} a6
18. Rb6 Bd7 19. Qa5 Nb3 20. Qe1) 17... exd4 18. f4 Bd7 19. Qd2 Kh7 20. Kh2 b6
21. Qc2 h5 22. Rb2 f5 23. e5 h4 24. gxh4 Qxh4 25. Qf2 Qxf2 26. Rbxf2 g5 (26...
b5 $11) 27. Nf6+ $2 {[%mdl 8192]} (27. Re2 $16 {stays on course.}) 27... Bxf6
$17 28. exf6 gxf4 29. Re2 {aiming for Re2-e7+.} Kg6 30. f7 Rxf7 31. Bd5 {[#]}
Rh7 $1 32. Rg2+ (32. Rxf4 $142 Kf6 33. h4) 32... Kf6 $19 33. Rxf4 Rbh8 34. Rg3
Ke5 35. Rgf3 $2 {[#]} (35. Rff3 {was called for.}) 35... Rxh3+ $1 {[%mdl 512]
Black is clearly winning.} 36. Kg1 (36. Rxh3 Rxh3+) 36... Rh1+ 37. Kf2 Ra1 38.
Be4 Ra2+ 39. Kg1 fxe4 40. Rxe4+ Kd6 41. Rf6+ Kc7 42. Re7 Re8 {Precision: White
= 43%, Black = 55%.} 0-1

[Event "Challengers Invitational"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Erard, Eric"]
[Black "Russell, Corey"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "1964"]
[BlackElo "2217"]
[Annotator "Corey Rusell"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 11,47,-30,-23,-40,8,8,14,1,30,20,26,28,29,25,38,28,28,-74,0,0,0,0,0,-13,
-12,-12,-12,-18,-3,-3,-3,-3,-5,-39,-28,-118,-112,-455]} 1. b4 e5 2. a3 d5 3.
Bb2 Bd6 4. e3 Nf6 5. c4 dxc4 6. Bxc4 O-O (6... Nbd7 {keeps more tension.} 7. d3
c6 8. Nf3 b5 9. Bb3 a5) 7. Nf3 Nc6 (7... e4 $15 8. Nd4 a5) 8. d3 $11 {The
position is equal.} Qe7 9. Nbd2 Be6 10. Qc2 a6 11. O-O h6 12. Rfe1 Nd7 13. d4
Bxc4 $1 14. dxe5 {[#]} (14. Qxc4 $11 {remains equal.} exd4 15. exd4) 14...
Ndxe5 ({Better is} 14... Bxb4 $1 $17 15. axb4 Bb5) 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Nxc4 Bxb2
17. Qxb2 {A careless capture. Instead 17. Nxb2 and white seems fine to me. By
taking with the queen, this gives me a vital tempo. -cjr} b5 18. Nd2 Ne5 {
Black wants to play ...Ne5-d3.} 19. Qc2 Rad8 20. Red1 Rd5 21. Ne4 Rfd8 22. Nc5
Qf6 {And now ...Ne5-g4 would win.} 23. Ne4 {[#]} (23. e4 $11 R5d6 24. Nb7 Rxd1+
25. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1) 23... Qg6 $1 $17 {Strongly threatening ...Rd5xd1+.}
24. Kh1 $2 {[%mdl 8192] My opponent resigned here as he almost immediately saw
that now he will lose to ...Qxe4! - cjr Precision: White = 26%, Black = 41%.} (
24. Rxd5 $17 {is a better chance.} Rxd5 25. h3) 0-1

[Event "Idaho Closed"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kodihalli, Kaustubh"]
[Black "Parsons, Larry R"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2035"]
[BlackElo "2000"]
[Annotator "Kaustubh Kodihalli"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 {I had a feeling we would go into this and I was ready for a tough
battle with a respectable opponent.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6
{I was shocked to see this, but I didn't think much of it} 6. f3 Bg7 7. Be3 Nc6
8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 {I was expecting ...
e5, and I thought he might try for a win but...} Bxd4 {He took my bishop and
offered me a draw. Larry is a 19-time champion. I thought he might try to win,
but never offer me a draw. I thought about this for a minute and decided to
play for the win.} 13. Qxd4 Qb6 14. Bc4 Ne3 15. Rd2 {He probably should have
played (15...Nxc4 16.Qxc4 Be6). The position is equal afterwards. 15...Qxd4 is
bad because although he wins a pawn in the following continuation White gets
really active rooks and proves decisive in the game.} Qxd4 $2 16. Rxd4 Nxg2 17.
Re4 $1 {This is the problem of Black's position. The knight is trapped, and he
is forced to give up his pawn.} Bf5 18. Rxe7 Nf4 19. Rd1 Be6 20. Bxe6 Nxe6 21.
Rdd7 {The rooks are now on the seventh rank and Black's position is slipping.}
Rae8 22. Rxa7 Rxe7 23. Rxe7 Ra8 24. a4 Kf8 25. Rb7 Nd4 {In this position, I
was calculating many variations with sacrificing my f- and h-pawns to get his
c-pawn, and then it would be a race. I then realized, I don't have to give up
both my pawns.} 26. f4 $1 Nf3 27. b3 Nxh2 {Now he only has one passed pawn and
can't get to my f-pawn. Meanwhile, I can get his c-pawn with ease.} 28. Ne4 $1
{This is the only move that keeps the advantage. If I try to go Rb6 and get
his pawn, I was worried about ...h5 and advancing his pawn with ...Kg7 and ...
Rh8 to help the pawn. Even though the h-pawn is passed, the kingside pawns are
also pretty weak and can be targeted.} Re8 29. a5 $1 Ra8 30. b4 Nf3 31. Ng5 $1
{This is the final straw, now the position was completely winning for White.}
Nd4 32. Rxf7+ Kg8 33. Rxh7 c5 34. c3 Ne2+ 35. Kb2 Nxf4 36. Rb7 Nd5 37. Kb3 cxb4
38. cxb4 {I knew this was winning, but I had to make sure to not blunder the
sacrificing of the knight for both my pawns. Then, it would be a draw $1} Ne3
39. Ne6 Nf5 40. Rd7 Ra6 41. Nc5 Ra8 42. a6 g5 43. b5 Rb8 44. a7 {My opponent
resigned. This was a very tough game and he gave me a great fight. I am also
very proud of my play as this was my best game of the event.} 1-0

[Event "Oregon Girls Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sripada, Anisha"]
[Black "Tang, Zoey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E61"]
[WhiteElo "1442"]
[BlackElo "2236"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2023.02.04"]

{[%evp 0,101,19,31,14,23,52,41,48,34,35,37,41,31,28,2,1,0,0,-9,-6,-15,9,-26,10,
16,39,0,4,7,-6,-20,-12,-33,-46,-123,-120,-194,-213,-228,-216,-208,-209,-209,
-220,-213,-198,-198,-190,-237,-221,-245,-174,-185,-170,-193,-185,-232,-169,
-224,-150,-166,-160,-231,-141,-112,-118,-173,-107,-148,-13,-65,-56,-144,-167,
-177,-31,-143,-158,-127,-115,-144,-140,-175,-157,-174,-174,-229,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,
0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} {This draw was a crucial game for Anisha's qualification
for the Haring tournament this summer. Anisha defended well to secure the half
point.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 ({Last year's game between these players went} 2...
d5 3. e3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. c4 O-O 6. Nc3 c5 7. Be2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Ne4 9. Nxe4 dxe4
10. Bg3 a6 11. O-O e5 12. Nb3 Qe7 13. Qc2 f5 14. h3 f4 15. exf4 exf4 16. Bh2 f3
17. Bd1 Nc6 18. Bg3 Bf5 19. Qd2 Rad8 20. Qc1 Nb4 21. Bc2 Nxc2 22. Qxc2 e3 23.
Qc1 Bh6 24. Qc3 exf2+ 25. Bxf2 Rd3 26. Qa5 fxg2 27. Rfe1 Qf7 28. Qb4 Bxh3 29.
Qc5 b6 30. Qxb6 Rf3 31. Re2 Be3 32. Rxe3 Rxf2 33. Rae1 Rf1+ 34. Rxf1 gxf1=Q+
35. Kh2 Qg2# {0-1 (35) Sripada,A (1377)-Tang,Z (2232) Oregon Girls
Championship 2022. For full annotations, turn to page 6 of your May 2022 copy
of Northwest Chess.}) 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Be2 b6 6. O-O Bb7 7. c4 {Anisha
thinks for herself,} ({and doesn't play the London formula move} 7. c3) 7... d6
8. Nc3 Nbd7 9. Qc2 c5 10. Rad1 Rc8 11. Qb3 a6 12. h3 Qc7 13. Rd2 cxd4 14. exd4
e5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Bg3 $6 {It is logical for White to keep this bishop
trained on the e-pawn, but the bishop on g3 is vulnerable to Black's knight
that will soon invade on e4.} (16. Be3 {retains equality. If Black tries the
same plan as in the game continuation, White gets some piece activity after}
Nc5 17. Qd1 Nce4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Rd7 Qb8 20. Ng5) (16. Bh2 {is a better
version of the game continuation and is also close to equality.}) 16... Nc5 $17
17. Qc2 {Natural, but Zoey exploits this queen placement.} (17. Qd1 {supports
a maneuver like the last note if Black invades on e4 with the knights.}) 17...
Nfe4 $1 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Rdd1 Nxg3 {White's 16th move allowed this Bishop to
be exchanged.} 20. fxg3 $19 {White has two bishops and better pawn structure,
including a passed e-pawn.} e4 21. Nd2 f5 (21... Qxg3 22. Nxe4 Qe3+ {is also
good for Black, but retaining the passed pawn on e4 is fine way to play it.})
22. Qb3 Kh8 23. Kh1 Be5 24. Kh2 Rcd8 25. Nb1 Bd4 26. Nc3 Qe5 27. Rc1 Bc6 28. a4
Bc5 29. Rcd1 Rd4 30. Rxd4 Bxd4 31. Rd1 Bxc3 {Leaves White with crippled pawns
but gives up some of Black's advantage.} (31... f4 32. gxf4 $2 (32. Nd5 {
is better than 32.gxf4, but not good enough to hold the game.} fxg3+ 33. Kh1
Rf2) 32... Qxf4+ 33. Kh1 Be5 {and checkmate is on the horizon.}) 32. bxc3 Rb8
33. Qc2 (33. c5 $1 bxc5 34. Qf7 {gets White some much needed counterplay.})
33... Qf6 34. Rd4 Rd8 35. Rxd8+ Qxd8 36. Bd1 (36. Qb3 $11 Z0 {preparing to
generate counterplay with the break} 37. c5) 36... e3 37. Qe2 Qe8 38. h4 Qe4 $1
39. Qf1 Qb1 40. Qe2 Be4 41. h5 Kg7 42. hxg6 hxg6 43. Qe1 Bc2 $2 {wins the
bishop on d1.} {But after} 44. Qxe3 $1 {the game is drawn} Qxd1 45. Qe7+ Kg8
46. Qe8+ Kg7 47. Qe7+ Kh6 48. Qf8+ Kg5 49. Qe7+ Kh6 50. Qf8+ Kh7 51. Qf7+
1/2-1/2

[Event "Oregon Girls Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.04"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Truong, McKayla"]
[Black "Sripada, Anisha"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "1008"]
[BlackElo "1442"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "2023.02.04"]

{[%evp 0,96,27,22,37,32,44,18,5,-3,-9,-25,10,-12,-30,-17,-14,-5,-14,-10,27,-97,
-102,-71,-88,-90,-96,-92,-84,-78,-42,-119,-124,-123,-85,-88,-98,-95,-89,-113,
-120,-127,-134,-132,-128,-133,-139,-156,-168,-157,-158,-180,-154,-181,-180,
-188,-184,-230,-206,-208,-199,-187,-213,-233,-224,-247,-250,-252,-252,-281,
-272,-283,-266,-283,-265,-360,-307,-317,-223,-217,-226,-245,-239,-256,-243,
-250,-240,-240,-234,-218,-218,-218,-218,-416,-444,-1560,-2274,-2298,-2467]} {
Anisha needed to win her fourth-round game to secure the co-championship.} 1.
e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 {The French Defense is an excellent choice in
scholastic events, as many players choose the Advance variation. There isn't
anything intrinsically wrong with the Advance variation, but it does take some
skill and preparation to retain those center pawns, while Black's plans to
attack them are easy to find. Bonus - you avoid the Fried Liver attack.} 4. Nf3
cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nxc6 Bxc6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 {Black's opening has
been successful, as White's d-pawn and Black's bad light square bishop have
left the board.} 9. O-O Bc5 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 Ne7 12. Nc3 Ng6 13. Qd4 Qc7
14. Rad1 Qxe5 15. Qxe5 Nxe5 {Black is a pawn up, White's center is gone, and
White's slight development advantage isn't worth much in this ending, as there
are no open files for the rooks to use for invasion. From here, Black's win is
never in doubt.} 16. e4 Nc4 17. Rfe1 O-O 18. b3 Nb6 19. exd5 cxd5 20. Nb5 Rfc8
21. Rc1 a6 22. Nd4 Rc7 23. a4 Rac8 24. a5 Nd7 25. Red1 Nb8 26. b4 Nc6 27. Nxc6
Rxc6 28. Rd2 Rc4 29. c3 Rxc3 30. Rxc3 Rxc3 31. Rb2 g6 32. b5 axb5 33. Rxb5 Ra3
$1 {White's passed rook pawn appears dangerous, but with a little care and
technique, Black has nothing to worry about. Anisha correctly puts her rook
behind the pawn, and her extra center pawns will far outweigh White's a-pawn.}
34. Rb8+ Kg7 35. Ra8 {Normally one tries to avoid placing a rook in front of
one's own passed pawn, but there is no other way for White to advance this
pawn.} d4 36. Kf2 Ra2+ 37. Ke1 d3 38. Rd8 ({If White tries to promote the
a-pawn with} 38. a6 {Black just advances the center pawns.} e5 39. a7 e4 40. h4
$2 (40. Re8 Rxa7 41. Rxe4 Ra1+ 42. Kd2 Ra2+ 43. Kxd3 Rxg2 {is also losing.})
40... e3 {and it will soon be checkmate.}) 38... Rxa5 39. Rxd3 Ra2 40. Kf1 h5
41. h3 f5 42. g3 Kf6 43. h4 g5 44. hxg5+ Kxg5 45. Re3 Kf6 46. Rf3 e5 47. Rf2
Rxf2+ 48. Kxf2 Kg5 0-1

[Event "Oregon Girls Championship - U900"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.02.04"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Marla, Isha"]
[Black "Lykins, Annika"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "621"]
[BlackElo "868"]
[Annotator "Wilson Gibbins"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2023.02.04"]

{[%evp 0,42,27,-17,-23,-37,-22,-15,26,-37,-31,-21,-16,-9,5,-1,34,41,41,12,33,
-63,-78,-68,-95,-83,-85,-104,-117,-110,-63,-108,-119,-110,-104,-152,-150,-148,
-134,-134,-144,-152,61,-142,-155]} {This is Annika Lykins's win over Isha
Marla who finished second. She develops naturally, plays logically, and is
never in any trouble.} 1. c4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 O-O 6.
O-O Bxc3 7. bxc3 d5 8. cxd5 Qxd5 9. Ba3 Rd8 10. Ng5 {A tricky attack on
Black's queen, but it doesn't quite work.} Qxd2 11. Qxd2 Rxd2 12. Bxc6 {
White removes Black's knight that defends the d8 square...} bxc6 13. Rfd1 Rxd1+
({...to prevent Black from winning another pawn with} 13... Rxe2 $2 14. Rd8+)
14. Rxd1 {White seems within the bounds of a draw with opposite colored
bishops, White owning the open d-file, and Black's extra pawn is doubled.
Stockfish still likes Black.} Bb7 15. Be7 Nd5 $1 16. Bc5 h6 17. Ne4 Ba6 18. Rd2
f5 19. c4 Bxc4 20. Rc2 Bxa2 21. Rxa2 fxe4 {With her extra pawns, Annika went
on to win the ending.} 0-1

