[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.11"]
[Round "1"]
[White "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Black "WIM Lee, Megan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "2351"]
[Annotator "Brandon Jiang"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/120:0"]

{Megan, the defending WA state champion and top-seed in the Championship
section, defeated me last year in the WA state championship tournament after
grinding me out from a slightly worse position.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 $1
{I considered several opening options such as Scotch, Giuoco Piano, and Ruy
Lopez against Megan's 1.e4 e5. However, upon analyzing her previous games, I
did not like her setup against Ruy Lopez. Initially, I planned to use an
unusual line in Scotch Mieses, but after assessing the complexities of the
resulting middle-game positions, I lacked the confidence to execute it.
Ultimately, I settled on a Giuoco Piano setup that could apply long-term
pressure on the Black. This approach could come as a surprise to Megan, given
my recent tendency to play Ruy Lopez.} Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 a6 6. h3 Ba7 7. Bb3
h6 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Nf1 ({I also looked at} 9. g4 $1 {[%cal Ge1c1,Gg4g5]} d5 (
9... d6 10. Nf1 Be6 11. g5 hxg5 12. Bxg5 Nb8 13. Rg1 Kh7 14. Nh4 Nbd7 15. Qf3
Qe8 16. Ne3 Bxb3 17. axb3 Qe6 18. Nd5 Rac8 19. O-O-O c6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 21. Rxg7+
Kxg7 22. Rg1+ Ng4 23. Rxg4+ Kh8 24. Nf6 Rg8 25. Rxg8+ Rxg8 26. Qh5+ Kg7 27.
Qg5+ {1-0 (27) Mamedov,R (2654) -Nasuta,G (2512) Europe Echecs INT 2021}) 10.
g5 hxg5 11. Nxg5 Ne7 12. exd5 Nexd5 13. Nde4 Bf5 14. Qf3 Bg6 15. Rg1 c6 16. Bd2
a5 17. O-O-O a4 18. Bc2 Nh5 19. d4 exd4 20. c4 Nb6 21. Ng3 d3 22. Bxd3 Qxd3 23.
Qxd3 Bxd3 24. Nxh5 Bg6 25. Ne6 Nxc4 26. Nhxg7 a3 27. bxa3 Bxf2 28. Nxf8 Kxf8
29. Ne6+ Ke7 30. Nc7 Rxa3 31. Bb4+ c5 32. Nd5+ Ke6 33. Bxa3 Bxg1 34. Nf4+ Kf5
35. Rxg1 Nxa3 36. Rf1 Ke5 37. Nxg6+ fxg6 38. Rg1 Kf5 39. Rg3 Nb5 40. Rb3 Nd6
41. a4 Ke5 42. a5 Nc4 43. Rb5 Kd5 44. Rxb7 Nxa5 45. Rg7 Nb3+ 46. Kb2 Nd4 47.
Rxg6 {1-0 (47) Mamedov,R (2659) -Warmerdam,M (2498) Wijk aan Zee 2020}) 9... d5
10. Qe2 Be6 11. Ng3 Na5 12. Nxe5 ({Another option in my preparation is} 12. Bc2
dxe4 13. dxe4 Bc4 14. Qd1 Qxd1+ 15. Bxd1 Bd3 (15... Rfe8 16. Be2 Rad8 17. Nd2
Bd3 18. Bxd3 Rxd3 19. Ke2 $10) 16. Nxe5 Bxe4 17. O-O Rfe8 18. Nf3 Nc4 19. Be2
Bd5 20. Rd1 b5 21. Kf1 Rad8 22. Nd4 c5 23. Ndf5 Bb8 24. b3 Nd6 25. Be3 Nfe4 26.
Rac1 Nxf5 27. Nxf5 b4 28. cxb4 cxb4 29. Bb6 Rd7 30. Bg4 Rb7 31. Bd4 Be5 32. Ne3
Bxd4 33. Rxd4 {1-0 (33) Kramnik,V (2480)-Galdunts,S (2470) Kherson 1991}) 12...
Nxb3 13. axb3 dxe4 14. dxe4 Bxb3 15. Be3 (15. O-O Re8) 15... Re8 16. f4 $6 (16.
Bxa7 $1 Rxa7 (16... Rxe5 17. Bd4 Re6 18. O-O Nxe4 19. Nxe4 f5 20. Nf6+ Qxf6 21.
Qf3 $11) 17. f4 (17. Nf3 b5 {with Bc4 threat, White cannot castle.})) 16... Nd7
17. Nxd7 Bxe3 18. Qxe3 Qxd7 19. O-O Rad8 20. Qf3 Qe6 21. Kh2 Rd2 22. Ra5 $2 (
22. Rf2 $1 Red8 23. Qe3) 22... Qb6 $1 (22... Rxb2 23. Re5 Qc8 24. Qg4 $1 $40 {
and Nf5 is next.}) 23. Rh5 Bc4 24. Rg1 (24. Rd1 $4 Be2 $1 $19 (24... Rxd1 25.
Qxd1 Qxb2 26. Qd4 Be6 27. f5 Ba2 28. Rxh6 c5 (28... gxh6 29. Nh5 Kf8 30. Qc5+
Re7 (30... Kg8 31. Nf6+) 31. f6) 29. Qd7 (29. Qe3 f6 30. Rxf6 gxf6 31. Qh6 Qb6
32. Nh5 Qc7+ 33. Kg1 Rf8 34. Qg6+ Kh8 35. Qh6+ Kg8 $11) 29... Qb5 30. Qd2 gxh6
31. Qxh6 Qc6 32. f6 $18)) 24... Rxb2 25. Qg4 Kf8 26. e5 Bd3 (26... Qc6 27. Nf5
Qg6 28. Qh4 {threaten Rg5!} Bd3 (28... f6 29. Nxh6) 29. Nxh6 (29. Rg5 Qh7)
29... f5 $3 $13) 27. Qd7 Bb5 28. Qg4 Qe6 $2 29. Qh4 $2 (29. Nf5 Qg6 30. Qh4)
29... Qe7 $6 (29... Bd3 $19) 30. Qg4 (30. Rxh6 Qxh4 31. Rxh4 g6 $15 {[%csl Ga6]
} 32. Ne4 Ke7 33. Nf6 Rd8 {[%csl Rg2][%cal Gb5c6,Gd8d2,Ga6a4]}) 30... Bd7 31.
Qd1 Rd8 32. Qd3 $4 (32. Qa1 Rf2 33. Qe1 Rxf4 34. Qe3 Rf6) 32... Kg8 $2 (32...
g6 33. Rxh6 Kg7 34. Rh5 Bg4 $19) 33. Qe3 Rb6 $2 (33... a5 34. f5 f6 35. e6 Bc6)
34. f5 f6 35. e6 Be8 36. Rh4 Rb5 37. Rf1 (37. Rg4 {also a good alternative})
37... Kf8 $2 (37... Re5 38. Qf4 a5 $13) 38. Rxh6 $1 gxh6 $4 {in time trouble,
Megan missed White's Move 40.} (38... Kg8 39. Rh4 $16) 39. Qxh6+ Qg7 (39... Kg8
40. Ne4 $18) 40. e7+ $1 {Black resigned. “A good beginning is half of the
success”! While I consider myself fortunate to have won this game, I must
say that going into a tournament with the goal of defeating the defending
champion (who is likely the strongest player in the section) gave me a
tremendous amount of confidence for the remainder of the tournament.} 1-0

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "FM Sang, Tian"]
[Black "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2347"]
[BlackElo "2214"]
[PlyCount "128"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 5. d4 Qe7 6. d5 Nd8 7. a4 a6 8. O-O d6
9. Re1 Nf6 10. Nbd2 O-O 11. Bd3 Ne8 12. Nc4 Ba7 13. h3 g6 14. b4 f6 15. Ba3 f5
16. b5 fxe4 17. Bxe4 Qf7 18. Qd3 Bf5 19. bxa6 bxa6 20. Ncxe5 Bxe4 $2 21. Qxe4
dxe5 22. Bxf8 Qxf8 23. Qxe5 Nf7 24. Qe6 Qc5 25. Re2 $2 Ned6 $6 26. Ng5 $2 Qxc3
27. Rae1 Rf8 28. Nf3 Kg7 29. Qd7 Rd8 30. Qg4 Nf5 31. Ng5 Rxd5 $6 32. Ne6+ $2
Kf6 33. Nf4 Rd6 34. Re6+ Rxe6 35. Rxe6+ Kg7 36. Nxg6 $4 Qc1+ $4 37. Kh2 N7h6
38. Qe2 $4 hxg6 39. Qe5+ Kh7 40. Qf6 Qf4+ 41. Kh1 Qc1+ 42. Kh2 Qf4+ 43. Kh1
Ng3+ $1 44. Kh2 Qxf6 $19 45. Rxf6 Ne4 46. Rxa6 Bxf2 47. Rc6 Bb6 48. g4 Nf7 49.
Kg2 Ned6 50. Rc2 Kg7 51. h4 Ne5 52. Kg3 c5 53. Kf4 Nd3+ 54. Ke3 c4+ 55. Kd2
Ba5+ 56. Ke3 Nb4 57. Rd2 Bb6+ 58. Ke2 Bc5 59. h5 g5 60. a5 c3 61. Rd1 c2 62.
Rc1 Nc4 63. a6 Na3 64. Kd2 Nxa6 0-1

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.12"]
[Round "3"]
[White "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Black "CM Vemparala, Nikash"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "2230"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Bb3 a5 7. h3 d6 8. Nbd2
Be6 9. Ba4 Ne7 10. O-O Ng6 11. d4 Ba7 12. Re1 c6 13. Bc2 Qc7 14. Nf1 h6 15. Ng3
Rad8 16. Be3 b5 17. Qd2 Kh7 18. a4 Rfe8 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. exf5 Ne7 21. axb5 cxb5
22. Qe2 Nc6 23. dxe5 Nxe5 24. Bxa7 Nxf3+ 25. Qxf3 Qxa7 26. g4 Kg8 27. Bd3 Qb6
28. h4 Nd7 29. Be4 Ne5 30. Qg2 Qc5 31. Rad1 Qc4 32. g5 hxg5 33. Rd4 Qc7 1/2-1/2

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.12"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Min, Ryan"]
[Black "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A85"]
[WhiteElo "2088"]
[BlackElo "2214"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bd3 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nge2 d6 7. O-O e5 8. f3 c5
9. d5 Na6 10. a3 Kh8 11. Bd2 Bd7 12. e4 f4 13. g4 h5 14. h3 hxg4 15. hxg4 Nxg4
16. fxg4 Bxg4 17. Rf2 g5 $2 18. Rh2+ Kg7 $2 19. Kf2 $2 Qd7 20. Qa4 Qxa4 21.
Nxa4 Rh8 22. Rah1 Rxh2+ 23. Rxh2 Bd7 24. Nac3 Nc7 25. Rg2 Rh8 26. Ng1 Ne8 27.
Be2 Kg6 28. Bg4 Bxg4 29. Rxg4 Nf6 30. Rg2 g4 31. Ke2 Kf7 32. Kd3 Rh1 33. Be1 a6
34. Nd1 Rh8 35. Nf2 Rg8 36. a4 Bf8 37. Nd1 Bh6 38. Bh4 Nh5 39. Nf2 g3 40. Nfh3
Nf6 1/2-1/2

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Black "LM Pupols, Viktors"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "2201"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Ngf3 O-O 7. O-O Nc6 8. Re1
b5 9. e5 Ne8 10. Nf1 Nc7 11. h4 b4 12. c4 bxc3 13. bxc3 Rb8 14. N1h2 f5 15.
exf6 Bxf6 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Rc1 Rb2 19. Ng4 Qg6 20. Qa4 Bd7 $2 21.
Qa3 Rfb8 22. Nge5 Qe8 23. Nxc6 Bxc6 24. Qxc5 R8b6 25. Nd4 Na6 26. Qa3 Qf7 27.
f4 Rd2 28. Rxe6 Nc7 29. Rxc6 Rxc6 30. Nxc6 Qe8 31. Ne5 Qb5 32. c4 Qb6+ 33. c5
Qf6 34. Qxa7 1-0

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Black "Gottumukkala, Ananth"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "1994"]
[PlyCount "159"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. Nc3 e5 8.
Qd3 Rc8 9. O-O h6 10. Nd2 $1 Qc7 11. Rd1 $1 Bg4 12. Re1 Nf6 13. Nf1 Be7 14. Ne3
Be6 15. a4 O-O 16. Rd1 $5 Qc5 17. Bd2 Bd8 18. Be1 Ba5 19. Ncd5 Bxd5 20. exd5
Bxe1 21. Rxe1 g6 22. a5 Qb4 23. Reb1 Rc5 24. c3 Qe4 25. Rd1 Qxd3 26. Rxd3 Rfc8
27. c4 Nd7 28. b4 R5c7 29. f3 Kg7 30. g4 Rf8 31. Rc3 f5 32. gxf5 gxf5 33. Kf2
f4 34. Rg1+ Kh7 35. Nf1 Nf6 36. Nd2 Nxd5 37. Rd3 Nxb4 38. Rxd6 Rg7 39. Rxg7+
Kxg7 40. Rb6 Nd3+ 41. Ke2 Nc5 42. Nb3 Rc8 43. Nxc5 Rxc5 44. Rxb7+ Kf8 45. Rb6
Rxa5 46. Rxh6 Ke7 47. h4 Ra3 48. h5 Re3+ 49. Kf2 Rc3 50. Rc6 Rc2+ 51. Kg1 a5
52. h6 Kf7 53. c5 a4 54. Ra6 Rxc5 55. Rxa4 Rc2 56. h7 Kg7 57. Ra7+ Kh8 58. Re7
Rc6 59. Kf2 Rc2+ 60. Ke1 Rh2 61. Rxe5 Kxh7 62. Rf5 Rh4 63. Ke2 Kg6 64. Rf8 Kg7
65. Ra8 Kf6 66. Kd3 Rh5 67. Ke4 Rb5 68. Ra6+ Kf7 69. Kxf4 Rb8 70. Ke4 Rb5 71.
Kf4 Rc5 72. Kg4 Rb5 73. f4 Rc5 74. f5 Rc1 75. Ra7+ Kf6 76. Ra6+ Kf7 77. Ra3 Kf6
78. Ra6+ Kf7 79. Rb6 Rg1+ 80. Kf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Moroney, Timothy"]
[Black "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C53"]
[WhiteElo "2232"]
[BlackElo "2214"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Bb6 5. d4 Qe7 6. O-O Nf6 7. a4 a6 8. a5
Ba7 9. Re1 d6 10. h3 h6 11. Be3 O-O 12. Nbd2 Bd7 13. b4 exd4 14. cxd4 Nxb4 15.
Qb3 d5 16. exd5 Qd6 17. Ne5 Bf5 18. Rac1 b5 19. axb6 Bxb6 20. Nc6 $2 Nxc6 21.
dxc6 Bxd4 $6 22. Bxd4 Qxd4 23. Nf3 Qf4 $2 24. Ne5 $2 Ne4 25. Bxf7+ Kh7 26. Nd3
Qg5 27. Bd5 Nd2 28. Qc3 Rad8 29. Re5 Nf3+ 30. Bxf3 Rxd3 31. Qxd3 Qxc1+ 32. Qd1
Qf4 33. Qe1 Kh8 $2 34. Bd5 $2 Bg6 35. Re6 Rd8 36. Rxg6 Rxd5 37. Qe8+ Kh7 38.
Rg3 Qf5 $6 39. Qe7 Rd1+ 40. Kh2 Qf6 41. Qxc7 $6 Rc1 42. Qd7 Rxc6 43. Rxg7+ Qxg7
44. Qxc6 Qe5+ 45. g3 a5 46. Kg2 Qa1 47. Qd7+ Kg8 48. Qe6+ Kg7 49. Kf3 a4 50.
Qe7+ Kg6 51. Qe8+ Kg7 52. Qe7+ Kg8 53. Qe8+ Kh7 54. Qd7+ Kg6 55. Qe8+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "8"]
[White "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Black "Kurungod Anoop, Pranav"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2214"]
[BlackElo "1985"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. c3 Nf6 5. Qe2 Bg7 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 O-O 8.
Nc3 d6 9. h3 Nd7 10. Be3 a6 11. Ba4 b5 12. Bc2 Bb7 13. O-O Rc8 14. a4 $6 b4 15.
Na2 a5 16. Nc1 e5 17. d5 Ne7 $6 18. Ne1 f5 19. f3 Kh8 20. Nb3 Ra8 21. Bd3 Nf6
22. Kh2 f4 23. Bf2 g5 24. Bb5 h5 25. Rc1 g4 26. hxg4 hxg4 27. fxg4 Bc8 $2 28.
g5 Ng4+ 29. Kg1 Bd7 $2 30. Bxd7 Qxd7 31. Nd3 Rfc8 $2 32. Rxc8+ Rxc8 33. Nxa5
Ra8 $2 34. Nc4 Nxf2 35. Qh5+ Kg8 36. Nxf2 Qc7 37. b3 Qc5 38. Kh1 Rf8 39. Ng4
Qc7 40. g6 Rd8 41. Qh7+ Kf8 42. Nf6 Rb8 43. Nd2 1-0

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Aliyev, Timur"]
[Black "Jiang, Brandon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2349"]
[BlackElo "2214"]
[Annotator "NM Timur Aliyev"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{This game was played in the last round and was decisive in determining who is
going to earn the state championship title. I was in clear first with 6.5 out
8, my opponent had 6 points.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 {Megan Lee played
3... Nf6 against me in round 5. My opponent prepared a side line.} 4. d4 exd4
5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 (6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bc4 {would have been more appropriate
considering the tournament situation. White has a small but comfortable
advantage.}) 6... d6 (6... Nf6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5 Ng8 9. f4 d6 10. Qf3 Ne7 11.
Bc4 O-O 12. O-O-O $14) 7. Be2 (7. Qd2 Nf6 8. f3 O-O 9. O-O-O {The position
resembles the classical dragon setup with the c-pawn on the board instead of
the e-pawn. With no counterplay on the c-file for black white has a
comfortable play..}) 7... Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. f3 (9. Qd2 Ng4 10. Bxg4 Bxg4 11.
Rae1 Bd7 12. f4 $14 {Black's two-bishop advantage is compensated by White's
control of the center.}) 9... Re8 10. Qd2 (10. Bc4) 10... d5 $1 11. Nxc6 bxc6
12. Rad1 Qe7 13. Bg5 (13. Bd4 dxe4 14. fxe4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Qxe4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7
17. Bf3 Qc4 18. b3 Qc5+ 19. Qd4+ Re5 (19... Qxd4+ 20. Rxd4 Rb8 21. Bxc6 $11)
20. Bxc6 Rb8 21. Qxc5 Rxc5 22. Bd5 $11 {This would have been much safer
considering a draw was satisfactory for me.}) 13... Qc5+ (13... dxe4 $5 14.
fxe4 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 (15. Bxe7 Nxd2 16. Rxd2 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Rxe7 18. Rd8+ Kg7 19.
Bf3 $44) 15... Qxe4 16. Bf3 Qc4 17. b3 Qc5+ 18. Kh1 Bf5 19. c4 $44) 14. Kh1 $11
(14. Be3 Qb4 (14... Qe7 15. Bg5 Qc5+ 16. Be3 Qe7 17. Bg5 {I am sure my
opponent would not repeat the moves given the title at stake in this game.})
15. Bd4 dxe4 16. a3 Qe7 17. fxe4 Nxe4 18. Nxe4 Qxe4 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Bf3 $44)
14... Be6 $6 (14... a5) 15. Na4 $1 Qf8 {At this point I felt that my pieces
are better coordinated. White intends to play b3 followed by c4 or Qa5.16. Qf4
seemed attractive as black has to choose between 16... Nd7 and 16... Qe7. Both
moves seemed to me as unsatisfactory to play for a win...} 16. Qf4 {At this
point I offered a draw.} Qe7 $6 {I actually wanted my opponent to play 16...
Qe7, as the Queen voluntarily moves into a pin giving White some time to make
solid moves like b3, Rde1, Bd3 in anticipation of upcoming exchanges after
Black's Nh5.} (16... Nd7 17. Qxc7 Nb6 18. Nxb6 axb6 19. Qxb6 Rab8 20. Qxc6 Rec8
21. Qa6 dxe4 22. fxe4 Rxc2 $44) 17. Qh4 (17. b3 $1 a5 (17... Nh5 $6 18. Qd2 f6
19. Be3 f5 20. Bg5 Bf6 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. e5 Nd7 23. Qc3 $16) 18. Qh4 Bc8 19.
Rde1 Qd6 20. Bd3 $14) 17... Bd7 (17... h6 18. Bxh6 Bxh6 19. Qxh6 dxe4 20. Nc3
$1 exf3 21. Bxf3 $14) 18. Nc3 (18. Bd3 Qd6 19. b3 Nh5 20. Rfe1 $14) 18... Qe6
$6 (18... h6) 19. exd5 $2 {Serious mistake. White releases the pressure in the
center and gives black's Queen free access to the b6 square. 19. Rffe1 is much
stronger!} (19. Rfe1 Qd6 20. Bc4 $1 h6 21. Be3 Qb4 22. Bb3 g5 23. Qf2 $16)
19... cxd5 20. Rfe1 $6 (20. Bd3 Rab8 21. b3 $11) 20... Qb6 (20... Qd6) 21. Bd3
$2 {At this point I was in a serious time trouble.} (21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 Be6
23. Rb5 Qc6 24. Qe4 Qxe4 25. fxe4 c6 26. Rb7 Bxa2 27. Bd3 Be6 $11) 21... h6 $1
22. Bxf6 $2 {Allowing the two-bishops advantage was a serious and crucial
mistake of the game/ Taking the pawn on h6 instead would have left
considerable chances associated with a potential sacrifice on g6.} (22. Bxh6
Qxb2 (22... Bxh6 23. Qxh6 Qxb2 (23... Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Qxb2 25. Qd2 Rd8 26. h4
$13) 24. Ne2 $1 Rab8 25. Bxg6 fxg6 26. Qxg6+ Kh8 27. h3 Qb6 28. Nf4 Rxe1+ 29.
Rxe1 Rg8 30. Qh6+ Nh7 31. Qh5 Rg5 32. Qf7 Qf6 33. Ng6+ Rxg6 34. Qxd7 $44 Qd6
35. Re8+ Rg8 36. Re7 Qxd7 37. Rxd7 Rg6 38. Rxd5 $11) 23. Bd2 c5 $15) 22... Bxf6
23. Qxh6 c6 $1 $15 (23... Rxe1+ 24. Rxe1 Qd6 (24... c6 $4 25. Bxg6 $18) 25. Nd1
$13) 24. Qf4 $2 Kg7 $17 25. Na4 Qa5 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Nc3 Bxc3 $6 (27... Qb6) (
27... Be5) 28. bxc3 Qxc3 29. Qc1 $2 {This was the last straw. 29. h4! would
have given White some chances on the king side as Black's king is somewhat
exposed.} (29. h4 $1 Be6 30. Kg1 c5 31. h5 c4 32. Bf1 gxh5 33. Qg5+ Kf8 $15)
29... c5 $1 30. Qa1 $2 (30. Kg1 c4 31. Bf1 Be6 32. h4 $17) 30... Qxa1 31. Rxa1
c4 $19 32. Bf1 Rb8 33. Rd1 Be6 34. Kg1 Rb2 35. Rc1 Rxa2 36. Be2 a5 37. Kf2 d4
38. Ke1 a4 39. Kd2 a3 40. Rb1 d3 41. Bd1 Rb2 42. Ra1 dxc2 43. Bxc2 Bf5 {
My opponent played well, took his chances and deserved the win.
Congratulations to Brandon Jiang for winning the tournament with this game.}
0-1

[Event "WA State, Championship"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "NM Aliyev, Timur"]
[Black "CM Jiang, Brandon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2349"]
[BlackElo "2214"]
[Annotator "Brandon Jiang"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/120:0"]

{Going into this game, I knew it was a must-win for me. I was half a point
behind Timur, who had been performing exceptionally well in the Championship
section with 5 wins and 3 draws in the first 8 rounds. He was the 2nd
highest-seeded player and only needed a draw to secure the WA state
championship. While a draw would secure me a 2nd place finish in the
Championship section, I made the decision to play for a win.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3
Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 $1 {A risky move, but fit the last round situation.} 4. d4 exd4
5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 d6 $1 {Timur was expecting 6...Nf6.} (6... Nf6 7. Qd2 O-O 8.
O-O-O) 7. Be2 $6 {This is not the most critical move. If White wants to have
opening advantage, he must play Qd2 and 0-0-0.} Nf6 8. O-O O-O {Mission
accomplished. Based on the situation in the last round, we anticipated that
White might opt for a less aggressive approach. Now the position is about
equal, even I am out of preparation (my preparation mostly spent on White's
Qd2/0-0-0 setup). I felt this was a good sign for me.} 9. f3 Re8 10. Qd2 d5 11.
Nxc6 bxc6 12. Rad1 Qe7 13. Bg5 Qc5+ 14. Kh1 Be6 15. Na4 Qf8 16. Qf4 Qe7 17. Qh4
Bd7 18. Nc3 Qe6 $6 (18... Rab8 19. b3 h6 20. Be3 a5 $13) 19. exd5 $6 (19. Rfe1
Rab8 20. exd5 Qd6 21. Bc4) 19... cxd5 20. Rfe1 Qb6 21. Bd3 (21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22.
Rxd5 Bc6 23. Rdd1 {This was his best chance to equalize}) 21... h6 22. Bxf6
Bxf6 23. Qxh6 c6 24. Qf4 Kg7 25. Na4 $2 (25. Qd6 $1 Rad8 26. Rxe8 Bxe8 27. Qa3
$13) 25... Qa5 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Nc3 Bxc3 $6 (27... Qb6 $1 28. Qc1 Rb8) 28.
bxc3 Qxc3 29. Qc1 $2 (29. h3) 29... c5 30. Qa1 $4 {Queen-less endgame is
helpless for White.} (30. Kg1 {White is worse, but he still has some chance to
save the game.}) 30... Qxa1 $19 {With the position in my favor, it was now the
time for me to convert my advantage to a full point.} 31. Rxa1 c4 32. Bf1 Rb8 (
32... Re3 33. Kg1 Rc3 34. Rc1 Bf5) 33. Rd1 Be6 34. Kg1 Rb2 35. Rc1 Rxa2 36. Be2
a5 37. Kf2 d4 38. Ke1 a4 39. Kd2 a3 40. Rb1 d3 41. Bd1 Rb2 42. Ra1 dxc2 43.
Bxc2 Bf5 {White resigned. I was so happy that I became the 2023 WA state
champion!} 0-1

[Event "WA State, Premier"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.11"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Willy, Stephen"]
[Black "Wang, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2017"]
[BlackElo "1972"]
[Annotator "Stephen Willy"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Na3 Be7 7. Nb5 {I had
prepared this move with a Jobava London type of idea because it forces Na6 and
keeps the knight in an annoying position for black} Na6 8. Be2 O-O 9. Ne5 {
This was an interesting move which if it works I have a very active position
however stockfish thinks after cxd4 followed by Qxg2 Bf3 Qh3 black is better}
cxd4 10. cxd4 {Rather than trading queens I decide to keep more complications
and life in the position} Bb4+ (10... Qxg2 11. Bf3 Qh3) 11. Kf1 {The king may
look odd here but its actually quite safe} Qd8 {He supports Nc7 as well as a
waiting move for what my plan is} 12. Bd3 (12. Bg5 Be7) 12... Be7 {Since both
Qd8 and Be7 most likely would be needed anyways he doesn't give me
opportunities to get free tempos (I also decided not to play Bg5 because it
provokes Be7 anyways and after Nd5 the position would have been annoying for
me) he also has Nb4 ideas I have to be very careful about} 13. h4 Nb4 14. Bb1 {
I decide to save the strong bishop on d3 and not worry too much about b6 Ba6
ideas however computer thinks I should have played Rh3 right away because now
it thinks after Nc6 I don't have enough compensation for the IQP and king on f1
} (14. Rh3 Nxd3 15. Qxd3) 14... Bd7 (14... Nc6) 15. Nc3 Rc8 {I felt like Rc8
is a slight waste of time as stuff is happening on the kingside} 16. Rh3 Nbd5 {
With 2 moves that waste too much time the advantage has shifted from -1 to +0.
8 the computer was still begging for Nc6} 17. Rg3 Kh8 18. Bg5 Be8 {Somehow he
has a fortress so I decide to play Kg1 to avoid any attacks checks or backrank
issues in the future (this was actually a very strong prophylactic move)} 19.
Kg1 Qb6 {The computer immediately thinks Qd3 g6 Qd2 is +1.5 for me however I
didn't see how that helped my position but I thought I had a nice tactical
idea so I played it} 20. Qc2 (20. Qd3 g6 21. Qd2) 20... Qxd4 {So I forgot d4
was hanging and the evaluation goes from +1.5 to -1.5} 21. Ng4 {Things start
to become crazy as now I want to take on f6 and mate him and after g6 I was
having some interesting thoughts about Nxd5 however that line just doesn't work
} Nb4 {Well I guess Qe2 is forced} (21... g6 22. Nxd5 Rxc2 23. Nxe7 Nxg4 24.
Rxg4 {I was calculating this but there are 4 ways that this fails} Qxf2+ (24...
Qd1+ 25. Kh2 Rxf2) (24... Rc1+) (24... Qxb2)) 22. Qe2 {I am starting to get
low on time so I am calculating fast Qc4 seemed natural to me however Nfd5
probably just makes the game a lot more simple for him} Qc4 (22... Nfd5) 23.
Qe1 Nfd5 {And this already is a huge mistake that allows me to at least
equalize} 24. Ne3 Qc5 25. Nexd5 Nxd5 {I was looking at Nxd5 Bxg5 Rc3 but I
thought Qe4 was a strong intermezzo because I thought f5 doesn't work because
of Qxe6 and he would have to play g6 then Nxd5 with the same idea} 26. Qe4 (26.
Nxd5 Bxg5 27. Rc3 Qa5 28. b4 Qd8 {And somehow he this is fine for him}) 26...
f5 {I was confused when I saw this I thought I could just take on e6 so I did}
(26... g6 27. Nxd5 Bxg5 28. Rc3 Qd6 29. Rxc8 exd5 {This would be black's best
try if g6}) 27. Qxe6 {Bxg5 and he is better again and Bc6 he maintains a
slightly better position Rd8 and f4 are around equal and everything else is
better for me} Bf7 (27... Bxg5) (27... Bc6) (27... Rd8) (27... f4) 28. Qxf5 {
Well I am pretty sure this works} Bg6 29. Qxd5 Qxf2+ 30. Kh2 Rc5 (30... Rcd8 {
After the game he said that he thought that this and Bd6 worked but if he were
to play this I was unsure if Rf3 works or not (it does) and Bxe7 should just
be better for me}) 31. Bxe7 {The simple move for time pressure} Rxd5 32. Nxd5
Re8 33. Bxg6 hxg6 34. Rd1 Qf7 35. Bg5 Re2 36. Nf4 Rxb2 37. Rd6 Rb6 38. Rd8+ Kh7
39. Re3 {He Resigned} 1-0

[Event "WA State, Premier"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.12"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bian, Erin"]
[Black "Willy, Stephen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "1994"]
[BlackElo "2017"]
[Annotator "Erin Bian"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 {Already this was a surprise: I had been expecting a Ruy Lopez. This
was not the only time in this tournament I had been out of prep by move one...}
2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 {I was glad to see this, as I am
pretty familiar with the lines in the Dragon.} 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 O-O
9. O-O-O d5 10. Qe1 e5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Bc4 Be6 14. Kb1 Rb8 15.
Ne4 {Up until here everything was book for me. Stephen was also playing fast,
so I suspect he had prepared this pretty deep ahead of time.} Qc7 16. Bc5 Rfd8
17. g4 a5 18. Bb3 h6 {This makes ...f5 a possible idea by preventing ideas
with Ng5. The last few moves were pretty natural, but now both sides need to
find a plan.} 19. Rg1 f5 $6 {Unknown to me at the time, everything up until
Black's last move had been played before in Anand - Nakamura, 2018.19...f5 is
a reasonable idea, but dubious strategically as after 20.gxf5 black is forced
to take back with the bishop.} 20. gxf5 Bxf5 (20... gxf5 $2 21. Nf6+ $1 Nxf6 (
21... Kh8 22. Nh5 $18) 22. Bxe6+ Kh8 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8 24. Bxf5 $18) 21. h4 Rb5 {
Provokes a4 and threatens to double rooks on the b-file. However, my queenside
is pretty solidly defended.} 22. a4 Rb7 23. Ka2 Kh7 24. Ng3 $2 {I assumed that
Black would be forced to either allow an exchange on f5 or retreat the bishop
to e6, but I was wrong. Here Stephen has a superb move that neither of us even
considered during the game.} Nb4+ $2 {This was a serious mistake: after the
series of trades, Black is no longer able to get counterplay, while White has
many targets to attack.} (24... Bxc2 $1 $132 {This instantly equalizes, and,
more importantly, gives a serious attack for Black that would be tough to
defend. Of course, both sides must be extremely accurate here: the scale could
easily tip with a single inaccurate move. This position could be analyzed for
a very long time, so I'll give just a few lines.} 25. Bxc2 e4 26. Qxe4 $1 Rxb2+
27. Ka3 Rd6 $1 (27... Ra2+ $1 28. Kxa2 Nc3+ 29. Ka3 Nxe4 30. Nxe4 $11 {
Everything is forced. While Stockfish gives 0.00, both sides have a lot to
play for here in this imbalanced position.}) 28. Nh5 Nc3 $1 29. Rxg6 $1 {
Believe it or not, every move after this is forced (the two "not-only" moves
have their alternatives listed) - everything else is losing for either side!}
Ra2+ 30. Kb3 Qb8+ $1 31. Qb4 $1 Qg8+ $1 32. Re6+ Rxc2 $1 33. Nf6+ Bxf6 34. Qb7+
Kh8 35. Rdxd6 Rb2+ $1 (35... Ne4 $1 $11) 36. Kxb2 Qg2+ 37. Kc1 (37. Bf2 $11)
37... Na2+ 38. Kb1 Nc3+ 39. Kc1 Na2+ $11) 25. Bxb4 Rxd1 26. Qxd1 Rxb4 27. h5 {
Aims to quickly open up the kingside.} c5 {Black tries to trap my bishop, but
after c3 and Nxf5, I have the option of rerouting it to the b1-h7 diagonal
with Bc2.} 28. c3 Rb8 29. Nxf5 gxf5 30. Qd3 $6 {This makes my life a bit
harder after 30...e4.} (30. Qd5 $1 $18) 30... Rf8 (30... e4 $1 31. fxe4 $6 {
This was what I was planning: I had seen the following line and evauluated it
as "better, maybe winning", but I hadn't realized how advantageous my original
position was.} (31. Qd5 $1 $18) 31... Rxb3 $1 32. Kxb3 c4+ 33. Qxc4 Qb6+ 34.
Qb5 $1 Qxg1 35. Qxf5+ Kh8 36. Qxa5 $18 {In reality this is around +3, but
perhaps Black can put up better resistance than in the game.}) 31. Be6 Kh8 32.
Rg6 e4 {An interesting try that I had overlooked, but luckily white is still
winning.} 33. fxe4 f4 34. Bf5 Qf7+ 35. Kb1 f3 $6 {With the f-pawn gone, it's
hard to put up any real resistance. The rest isn't very interesting - I was
probably slightly over-cautious, but I was able to get the job done.} 36. Qxf3
Rb8 37. Qf4 Qf8 38. Qc7 Re8 39. Rxh6+ Kg8 40. Rg6 Kh8 41. Qxa5 Qf7 42. Qxc5 Qb3
43. Qd5 Qxa4 44. Qd7 Qxd7 45. Bxd7 Rxe4 46. h6 Bf8 47. Rf6 Be7 48. Rc6 Bf8 49.
Bf5 Rf4 50. Bd3 Rf3 51. Kc2 Kg8 52. h7+ Kh8 53. Rc8 Kg7 54. b4 Rf7 55. b5 Kh8
56. b6 Kg7 57. Rc7 Be7 58. b7 Bd8 59. Rxf7+ Kh8 60. Rf8+ 1-0

[Event "WA State, Premier"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.12"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Frantz, Joseph"]
[Black "Kona, Vidip"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A70"]
[WhiteElo "1980"]
[BlackElo "1923"]
[Annotator "Joseph Frantz"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. d4 {[%eval 0,0]} Nf6 {[%eval 28,0]} 2. c4 {[%eval 16,0]} c5 $6 {[%eval 93,0]
Inaccuracy. e6 was best.} (2... e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6
7. Bh4) 3. d5 {[%eval 75,0]} e6 {[%eval 6,0]} 4. Nc3 {[%eval 48,0]} exd5 {
[%eval 97,0]} 5. cxd5 {[%eval 29,0]} d6 {[%eval 89,0]} 6. Nf3 {[%eval 86,0]} g6
{[%eval 65,0]} 7. Bf4 {[%eval 67,0]} Bg7 {[%eval 71,0]} 8. Qa4+ {[%eval 56,0]
I knew beforehand my opponent played the Benoni, so I looked at the
"Asymmetrical Benoni" section of Chess Structures by Mauricio Flores Rios
before the game, where the authors says White scores 70% in this line. Good
enough for me, I thought. It turns out that, unfortunately, you still have to
know what you're doing.} Bd7 {[%eval 49,0]} 9. Qb3 {[%eval 49,0]} Qc7 {[%eval
65,0]} 10. e4 {[%eval 35,0]} O-O {[%eval 45,0]} 11. Bd3 {[%eval 5,0]} Nh5 {
[%eval 29,0]} 12. Bd2 {[%eval 4,0]} a6 {[%eval 2,0]} 13. a4 {[%eval 7,0]} Bg4 {
[%eval 1,0]} 14. Ng5 $6 {[%eval 61,0] Inaccuracy. Be2 was best. I spent most
of this game under the illusion that I was playing quite cleverly, when I was
mostly not. Here, I expected to answer 14...h6 with 15. h3 and have an
advantage, but Stockfish thinks that's only even.} (14. Be2 Nd7) 14... Nd7 {
[%eval 65,0] Oof. I realized that stopping 15...Ne5 with 15. f4 would mean
that I could not play h3 without allowing Black's knight onto g3.} (14... h6
15. h3 hxg5 16. hxg4 Nf4) 15. f4 $2 {[%eval -179,0] Mistake. f3 was best.} (15.
f3) 15... h6 $6 {[%eval -43,0] Inaccuracy. b5 was best.} (15... b5 16. Be2 c4
17. Qc2 Bxe2 18. Nxe2 Nc5 19. O-O Nf6 20. Ng3 Rae8 21. f5 h6 22. Nh3) 16. Nf3 {
[%eval -69,0]} (16. h3 hxg5 17. hxg4 Nxf4) 16... Bxf3 {[%eval -58,0]} 17. gxf3
{[%eval -94,0] I felt that White's doubled pawns were a negligible
disadvantage and that eventually I should be able to crash through in the
center and be better.} Rfc8 {[%eval -95,0]} 18. Bc4 {[%eval -11,0] Wanting to
lure Black's knight onto b6, where it would be less useful than on d7.} Nb6 $2
{[%eval 68,0] Mistake. b5 was best.} (18... b5 19. axb5 Bxc3 20. Qxc3 axb5 21.
Rxa8 Rxa8 22. Be2 Ra1+ 23. Bd1 Qd8 24. O-O b4 25. Qe3) 19. Bf1 {[%eval -95,0]}
c4 {[%eval 98,0]} 20. Qc2 {[%eval -84,0]} Nd7 {[%eval -89,0] I had anticipated
responding to 20...Qc5 with 21. Bh3 following by 22. a5, but then I saw that
after 21...Re8 22. a5, Black can respond with 22...Nxd5.} (20... Qc5 21. Bh3
Re8 22. a5 Nxd5 (22... Nc8) 23. Nxd5 Qxd5) 21. Bh3 {[%eval -59,0]} Qd8 $2 {
[%eval 2,0] Mistake. Nc5 was best. Part of me felt like this was a cheap
threat to win a piece, but I realized I should make sure that castling
kingside doesn't lead to serious problems after a bishop check on d4 followed
by Qh4. I concluded I could always just move my king to g2 and be safe there.}
(21... Nc5 22. O-O Re8 23. Kh1 Nd3 24. f5 g5 25. Be3 Nhf4 26. f6 Bxf6 27. Bf5
Re5 28. Bxf4) 22. O-O {[%eval 15,0]} b5 {[%eval 37,0]} (22... Bd4+ 23. Kg2) 23.
axb5 {[%eval 67,0]} axb5 {[%eval 62,0]} 24. Be3 {[%eval 73,0]} b4 {[%eval 73,0]
} 25. Ne2 {[%eval 71,0]} Rxa1 {[%eval 24,0]} 26. Rxa1 {[%eval 4,0]} f5 $6 {
[%eval 69,0] Inaccuracy. b3 was best. Stockfish thinks this is a mistake and
that White should capture, but I felt like Black was trying to open the e-file
for Qe7 and Re8 followed by aggressive minor piece moves where possible. And
since I assumed I was better anyway, I felt no reason to capture.} (26... b3)
27. Ra6 $6 {[%eval 27,0] Inaccuracy. exf5 was best.} (27. exf5 Qh4 28. Bg4 Qe7
29. Bf2 b3 30. Qd2 Nhf6 31. Bh3 g5 32. Ra7 Qe8 33. Bd4 Ra8) 27... b3 {[%eval
45,0]} (27... Qh4 28. Bf1 b3 29. Qb1 Qe7 30. Rc6) 28. Qd2 $4 {[%eval -156,0]
Blunder. Qc1 was best.} (28. Qc1 Qh4) 28... Qe7 $4 {[%eval 37,0] Blunder. c3
was best. Stockfish thinks 28...c3 is best, but to play that, Black would have
to realize just how serious the promotion threats really are.} (28... c3 29.
Nxc3 Bxc3 30. bxc3 Ra8 31. Bf1 (31. Rxa8 Qxa8 32. Bf1 Qa1 33. c4 b2 34. Bd4)
31... Rxa6 32. Bxa6 Nxf4 33. Bxf4 Qb6+ 34. Be3 Qxa6 35. Bd4) 29. e5 $4 {
[%eval -45,0] Blunder. Rc6 was best. I thought that Rxg6 would lead to the
collapse of Black's position.} (29. Rc6 Ra8) 29... dxe5 {[%eval -94,0]} 30.
Rxg6 {[%eval -48,0]} exf4 {[%eval -56,0]} 31. Nxf4 $2 {[%eval -264,0] Mistake.
Bd4 was best.} (31. Bd4 Ne5 32. Bxe5 Qxe5 33. Rc6 Rd8 34. d6 Qb5 35. Rc7 Qb6+
36. Kg2 Rxd6 37. Rc8+ Kf7) 31... Ne5 $6 {[%eval -162,0] Inaccuracy. c3 was
best. Instead, it is my position which collapses. This tactic would have been
hard to visualize in advance because the fork wasn't there until my rook was
on g6 and because e5 was guarded until just now. I simply wanted to quit chess
forever at this point.} (31... c3) 32. d6 {[%eval -126,0]} Qf7 {[%eval -142,0]}
33. d7 {[%eval -109,0]} Rd8 {[%eval -242,0]} 34. Qa5 {[%eval -299,0] I had
calculated that this tactic still leaves me with a lost position, but couldn't
find anything better, and didn't have a ton of time.} Rxd7 {[%eval -252,0]} 35.
Qxe5 {[%eval -269,0]} Nxf4 {[%eval -248,0]} 36. Qxf4 {[%eval -266,0] I had
initially considered 36. Rxg7+, but realized now that the move loses because
36...Qxg7+ 37. Qxg7+ Rxg7+ leaves White down a rook.} (36. Rg3 Nxh3+ 37. Rxh3)
(36. Rxg7+ Qxg7+ 37. Qxg7+ Rxg7+ 38. Kf1) 36... Qxg6+ {[%eval -105,0]} 37. Kf2
{[%eval -295,0]} Qf7 $6 {[%eval -176,0] Inaccuracy. Rd1 was best. I felt that
this move needlessly let White back in the game. Black had to give up their c4
or f5 pawn, but the f5 pawn was much more important to hold onto, since
without it White's chances for cheapo tactics were much greater.} (37... Rd1
38. Qxc4+) (37... Rf7) 38. Bxf5 {[%eval -173,0]} Rb7 {[%eval -194,0]} 39. Qg4 {
[%eval -148,0]} h5 $4 {[%eval 69,0] Blunder. Qf6 was best.} (39... Qf6) 40. Qg5
{[%eval 68,0]} Qf6 {[%eval 31,0]} 41. Qxh5 {[%eval 27,0] I now felt that I had
good drawing chances and could possibly even win.} Re7 {[%eval 49,0]} 42. Bh7+
{[%eval 29,0]} Kf8 {[%eval 5,0]} 43. Bc5 $4 {[%eval -239,0] Blunder. Qg4 was
best. Bizarrely, White's strongest move, leading to an engine draw, is Qg4. It
would not have crossed my mind in an hour of thought that White would have a
perpetual even a rook down, yet that is what Stockfish says: 43...Qxb2+ 44.
Kf1! Rxe3 45. Qc8+ and White actually has a perpetual. Chess is very strange.}
(43. Qg4 Rxe3 (43... Qxb2+ 44. Kf1 Rxe3 45. Qc8+) 44. Kxe3 Qe5+ 45. Be4 Ke7 46.
Qc8 Bh6+ 47. f4 Qxf4+ 48. Kd4 Bg7+ 49. Kd5 Qe5+) 43... Qxb2+ {[%eval -371,0]} (
43... Qg6) 44. Kf1 {[%eval -366,0]} Qe2+ {[%eval -336,0]} 45. Kg1 {[%eval -368,
0]} Bd4+ {[%eval -391,0] The move I missed. I assumed this move was not
possible, but liquidating bishops gives Black a won position.} 46. Bxd4 {
[%eval -334,0]} Qd1+ {[%eval -356,0]} 47. Kg2 {[%eval -391,0]} Qxd4 {[%eval
-325,0] I briefly thought this move gave White a perpetual before realizing it
did not, but there was nothing better to do.} 48. Qf5+ {[%eval -361,0]} Rf7 {
[%eval -315,0]} (48... Ke8 49. Qc8+ Kf7 50. Qf5+ Qf6 51. Bg8+ Kg7 52. Qh7+ (52.
Qxf6+ Kxf6 53. Bxc4)) 49. Qc8+ {[%eval -332,0]} Kg7 $6 {[%eval -247,0]
Inaccuracy. Ke7 was best.} (49... Ke7 50. Qb7+ Kf6 51. Qc6+ Kg7 52. Qg6+ Kf8
53. Qg8+ Ke7 54. Qg5+ Kd6 55. Bg6 Rd7 56. Qa5) 50. Qg8+ $6 {[%eval -446,0]
Inaccuracy. Be4 was best.} (50. Be4 b2 51. Qg4+ Kf6 52. Qf4+ Ke6 53. Bf5+ Rxf5
54. Qxd4 b1=Q 55. Qxc4+ Kd7 56. Qd4+ Kc6) 50... Kf6 {[%eval -468,0]} 51. Kh3 $4
{[%eval 32738,0] Checkmate is now unavoidable. Qg6+ was best. A blunder, but
White is lost anyhow.} (51. Qg6+ Ke7) 51... Qd7+ {[%eval 32746,0]} 0-1

[Event "WA State, Invitational"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.18"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Razmov, Valentin"]
[Black "Tessiore, Luca"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "1818"]
[BlackElo "1945"]
[Annotator "Valentin Razmov"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/120+10:0"]

{This game was played in round 6, at which point both players had chances for
a podium finish, so the end result mattered.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4.
Nc3 Bb4 {First small opening surprise by Black.} 5. Qa4+ {After some
contemplation, White decided not to follow the main lines after 5.Bg5, as the
opponent was likely freshly prepared there. One of the ideas behind Qa4+ is
that it forces Black's knight onto the c6-square, where it interferes (at
least for some time) with the typical pawn break c7-c5.} Nc6 6. Bg5 {By now
White has taken a sideline of a sideline, so the game progresses without much
effect of memorized lines from here onward.} ({An alternative is to play more
conventionally with} 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 b6 (7... Re8 8. Bd2) 8. Bd2 {but there
isn't much opening benefit for White to expect here.}) 6... Bd7 $6 {Second
opening surprise by Black. Although this is a normal move, it does not pose
much challenge for White.} (6... dxc4 {seems more challenging for White, as in
some variations White does not get their c-pawn back and plays for long-term
positional compensation much in the style of Catalan openings:} 7. e3 (7. e4
Bd7 8. Qc2 h6 9. Bd2 b5 $5 10. Nxb5 Bxd2+ 11. Nxd2 a6 12. Na3 Nxd4 13. Qxc4 Bb5
$15) 7... Bd7 8. Qc2 b5 9. Be2 a6 10. O-O $13) 7. Qb3 h6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. e3
dxc4 10. Bxc4 O-O 11. O-O {After avoiding the more complicated opening lines 
(knowingly or unknowingly), the resulting position is only slightly better for
White.} Qe7 $6 {By itself not a bad move, but the beginning of a wrong plan.
Black was evidently more experienced in the classical QGD lines that continue
with some c7-c5 pawn break, and here they seek that opportunity, even though
it's not the best.} (11... Bd6 {instead moves the bishop away from any
possible tactical strikes and keeps a solid position for Black.}) 12. Qc2 {
Side-stepping the obvious threat ...Na5.} Na5 $6 {By now it's evident that
Black feels the urge to push c7-c5, so White looks for ways to capitalize on
that manufactured urge.} (12... Bd6 {is still okay for Black.}) 13. Be2 $146 {
The first truly new move. White aims to clear the d-file and bring that bishop
to the long diagonal h1-a8 in the long run.} c5 $2 $16 {Allowing White a
long-term pressure on a pawn weakness.} (13... Rac8 14. a3 Bd6 15. Rac1 Rfd8
$14) 14. a3 {Starting a forcing line...} Bxc3 15. Qxc3 b6 16. dxc5 Qxc5 17.
Qxc5 bxc5 $16 18. Rac1 $6 {Missing a strong and non-obvious way to put
considerable positional pressure on Black, where despite the symmetrical pawn
structure Black's pieces would be harder to develop and connect properly.} (18.
b4 $1 {White overlooked this move, as they were too fixated at this point on
the idea to exploit the c5-pawn weakness.} cxb4 (18... Nb7 19. Ne5 Rfd8 20. Ba6
Bc8 21. Rfd1 $16 (21. Nc6 Rd7 22. Rfd1)) 19. axb4 Nb7 (19... Nc6 $6 20. b5 Ne7
21. Ne5 $16) 20. Ne5 Be8 21. b5 $16) 18... Rfb8 19. Ne5 Bb5 {Practically
required. Black offered a draw here, which White felt was a bit premature, so
the play continued.} 20. Bxb5 {Played somewhat reluctantly...} ({Here White
spent a long time evaluating instead the consequences of} 20. Bf3 $5 Bxf1 {
including by sacrificing (temporarily) the exchange:} 21. Kxf1 $1 (21. Bxa8 Ba6
(21... Nb3 22. Rxf1 Rxa8 23. Rd1 $14) 22. Rxc5 Rxb2 23. f4 $14 {and White does
not gain much in that line.}) 21... c4 $1 22. Rc3 $1 {A strong move that White
missed while calculating- it supports the white rook while leaving Black
without a particularly useful move to help untangle. This omission was the
main reason for not taking the promising 20.Bf3 route.} (22. Bxa8 Rxa8 23. Rc3
Rc8 24. b4 f6 25. Nd3 Nb7 26. Nc5 Nd6 27. Nxe6 Nb5 $14) 22... Rb5 23. Bxa8 Rxe5
24. a4 $1 g5 25. g4 {and although the resulting endgame position remains
complicated, what is clear is that White plays for two results here.}) 20...
Rxb5 21. a4 $1 {Fighting for a positional advantage before Black has managed
to fully consolidate.} Rxb2 22. Rxc5 Nb7 23. Rc7 f6 $6 {Clearly, Black wants
to not lose their f7-pawn, but this move causes a considerable weakening of
Black's king-side pawn structure, which was to persist throughout the endgame.}
(23... Nd6 24. Rd7 Ne4 25. Rxf7 Ra2 26. Re7 Rxa4 27. Rxe6 a5 $14 {Black has
compensation for the sacrificed pawn. Still, it's always easier to sacrifice
other people's pawns. ;-)}) 24. Nc6 Kh7 $6 {Apparently preparing to add a rook
on g8 to protect the g7-pawn in the long-term, but this creates a bind on
Black's pieces.} (24... Nd8 25. Nxd8 (25. Ne7+ Kh7 26. h4) 25... Rxd8 26. Rxa7
Ra2 27. h3 Rdd2 28. g4 $14) 25. Nd4 Nd8 26. Rfc1 $6 {The idea of a strong rook
presence on the 7th rank is correct, but its realization here is bit rushed.
It was better to fix Black's weaknesses first:} (26. h4 $1 a5 27. h5 $16) 26...
e5 27. Nf5 Ne6 28. Re7 Rb6 $6 (28... Rc8 $1 {gains a tempo instead, bringing
Black's second rook to a more active position quickly:} 29. Rd1 Rd2 30. Rf1 Kg6
(30... Rc6 31. g4) 31. g4 Rc6 32. Kg2 $16) 29. g4 $1 a5 {Black spent 40
minutes here, looking for practical chances, and apparently found something
unexpected.} 30. Rd1 Rg8 31. Rdd7 {Black is in a bind. Almost a zugzwang
situation $1} Nc5 $5 {Objectively perhaps not the best option, according to
the engines, but this move offers Black an excellent chance -- both
psychologically (suddenly Black gains apparent activity in exchange for a pawn)
and practically (in the opponent's mild time trouble: White had 11 minutes
left to complete the next 9 moves.} 32. Rxg7+ $6 {It's hard to resist the
temptation of capturing material -- especially gaining extra material -- with
check.} (32. Rc7 $1 Ne6 (32... Nxa4 $2 33. Nxg7 $18) 33. Ra7 Kg6 34. h4 h5 35.
Red7 $1 $18 {threatening Ne7+}) 32... Rxg7 33. Rxg7+ Kh8 34. Ra7 Rb4 35. Ra8+ {
Repeating the position once while calculating options...} Kh7 36. Ra7+ Kh8 37.
Rxa5 $6 {With 6 minutes for 4 moves till the time control, White starts to err
and spill their advantage.} (37. Nxh6 Rxa4 38. Nf7+ Kg8 39. Nh6+ Kh8 40. Kg2
$16 {would offer better endgame conversion chances, but White was unsure how
dangerous Black's a-passer could become, and didn't want to take the risk on
it.}) 37... Rxg4+ 38. Kf1 Nxa4 {We're now at the second critical moment of the
endgame. A correct plan by White would win -- but it requires finding an only
move to start that plan; an incorrect plan gives Black excellent drawing
chances, as demonstrated in the game. Can you spot the correct winning plan 
(and best first move) for White $2} 39. f3 $2 {After some contemplation and
with just 1 minute left for the final move, White errs and loses their last
winning chance.} (39. Ra6 $1 {The winning idea is to focus on the f6-pawn
weakness, not h6 -- even if the latter is more apparent and \"the lower
hanging fruit\". The white knight on f5 is dominant and should not leave its
outpost -- otherwise, Black's king activates and White's win evaporates.} h5 (
39... Rg6 $4 40. Rxa4) 40. Rxf6 Rg5 41. h4 Rg4 42. Rh6+ Kg8 43. Re6 Kf7 44.
Rxe5 $18) 39... Rb4 {Here Black offered a second draw, and rightfully so. Plus,
the chance of a correct assessment by White with just 1 minute to go is
relatively small.} 40. Nxh6 $6 {White plays on auto-pilot... At least two
other move options were relatively better:} (40. Ra6 $1 Nb6 41. Kg2 $16) (40.
Kg2 Nc3 41. Ra6 $1 $16) 40... Nb6 41. Ra2 $6 {After spending 15 minutes to
build an endgame plan, White decides to bet on ensuring the forward path of
their king, rather than allowing ...Rb2 to limit its mobility. Although this
is a typical and valuable endgame idea, concretely in this position it wasn't
the best.} (41. Nf5 $5 {would have properly continued White's fight for a win:}
Rb2 (41... e4 42. f4 Rb2 43. h4 Nc4 44. Rc5 Nd2+ 45. Ke1 Nf3+ 46. Kd1 Rd2+ 47.
Kc1 Rh2 48. Rc6 Nxh4 49. Nxh4 Rxh4 50. Rxf6 $16) 42. h4 $1 Kh7 (42... e4 43.
fxe4 Nc4 44. Ra6 Kh7) 43. Rc5 Kg6 44. e4 Rd2 45. Rc7 Rd7 $16) ({The R+3P vs R
$146 endgame after} 41. Nf7+ Kg7 42. Nxe5 $2 fxe5 43. Rxe5 Nc4 {looked
interesting theoretically, but not promising for White. So White rejected that
option.}) 41... Nd5 42. Nf5 Kh7 43. Rg2 Rb1+ 44. Kf2 Rb2+ 45. Kg3 Rxg2+ $1 {
White was hoping to be able to increase their piece activity in the knight
endgame, but here Black's king and knight are first to reach that goal, which
ensures the drawn outcome of the game.} 46. Kxg2 Kg6 47. e4 Nf4+ 48. Kg3 Kh5
49. Ne3 {White tries for a bit longer, but the draw is never in doubt any more.
} Ne2+ 50. Kf2 Nd4 51. Ng4 Kg5 52. Ke3 Nc2+ 53. Kf2 Nd4 54. Ne3 Kf4 55. Nd5+
Kg5 56. Ne7 (56. h4+ Kxh4 57. Nxf6 Kg5) 56... Kf4 57. Ng6+ Kg5 58. Nh8 Kh6 (
58... f5) 59. Nf7+ Kg6 60. Nd6 Kg5 61. Ke3 Nc2+ 62. Ke2 Nd4+ 63. Ke3 Nc2+ 64.
Kf2 Nd4 65. Kg3 Ne2+ 66. Kg2 Nd4 67. Nc4 Kf4 68. Nd2 Ke3 69. Nf1+ Kf4 70. Ng3
Nxf3 71. Nh5+ Kxe4 72. Nxf6+ Kf5 73. Kxf3 {Congratulations to Luca on his
fantastic defense in the second part of the game $1} 1/2-1/2

[Event "WA State, Invitational"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Colombo, Dominic"]
[Black "Jammalamadaka, Vihaan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B29"]
[WhiteElo "1972"]
[BlackElo "1879"]
[Annotator "Dominic Colombo"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,109,26,26,47,47,85,45,77,65,57,52,55,7,72,51,80,51,51,51,51,29,33,11,
21,13,13,-9,20,37,79,69,89,87,71,61,61,63,61,49,63,55,48,48,82,51,51,51,51,30,
102,102,102,103,93,87,134,136,136,136,130,110,115,127,105,105,175,183,180,183,
177,186,241,241,231,231,375,200,230,200,239,240,256,247,263,263,235,235,235,
214,241,215,230,258,248,259,292,279,347,305,299,281,483,422,694,698,835,903,
863,1075,1682,1757]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 {A very offbeat line that
came up in preparation.} 4. exd5 Nxd5 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Ne5 Nf6 {The best move,
other natural moves like Bxb5 do not work due to tactics.} (6... Bxb5 7. Qf3 f6
8. Nxb5 fxe5 9. Qxd5 Qxd5 10. Nc7+ Kf7 11. Nxd5 {While the position is still
even, White is practically better due to a better pawn structure and more king
safety.}) 7. Qf3 Qc8 {Required to guard the b7 pawn.} (7... Bxb5 8. Qxb7) 8.
Nxd7 Nbxd7 9. d3 e6 (9... a6 {would have been a slight improvement to release
some of the tension in Black's position.}) 10. Bg5 Be7 11. h4 {With the idea
of breaking down Black's kingside while maintaining the flexibility of
castling in either direction.} a6 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. h5 Nd5 {Nd5 is an
inaccuracy. It allows White to break down Black's kingside position. h6 would
have been much better, and it would have likely to a position seen in the
following line where I liked my attacking chances:} (13... h6 14. Bh4 O-O 15.
O-O-O b5 16. g4) 14. Bxe7 Nxe7 {Taking with the Queen would have been better.
It may have led to the following line where White's activity may make him
slightly better.} (14... Qxe7 15. Nxd5 exd5+ 16. Kf1 O-O-O 17. Re1 Qd7 18. Rh4)
15. h6 gxh6 16. Ne4 Qc6 17. Nf6+ {Qf6 would have been better than Nf6. I
struggled with the decision of whether to trade the Queens or keep them on the
board, but I decided to trade them because I thought the resulting endgame
would be better for me and easier to convert. The resulting variations show
that white is better but black is able to safely castle.} (17. Qf6 Rf8 (17...
Rg8 18. Rxh6 Rxg2 19. Rxh7) 18. O-O-O Nd5 19. Qg7 O-O-O 20. Rxh6) 17... Kd8 18.
Qxc6 Nxc6 19. Rxh6 Ke7 20. O-O-O Nd4 21. Ne4 {To avoid Nf5 where the White
Knight will have trouble getting out.} (21. Rdh1 Nf5 22. Rxh7 Rxh7 23. Nxh7 Rg8
) 21... f5 22. Nd2 {Nf6 or Nxc5 would have been improvements but I missed Nf6
and planned to reroute my Knight to the queenside. The activity Black got
after Nxc5 felt unnecessary.} (22. Nf6) ({ } 22. Nxc5 Rac8 23. Nb3 Nxc2 24.
Kb1 Nb4) 22... Rag8 23. g3 Rg6 24. Rdh1 {Rh5 would have been better to avoid
the trade of Rooks. The two Rooks ending is easier to maintain an advantage.} (
24. Rh5 h6) 24... Kf7 {Kf7 is a blunder. After Rxh7 Black is down a pawn and
lacking activity. If Black trades rooks he will still be worse due to activity
but the material is equal and Black should be able to hold a draw.} (24... Rxh6
25. Rxh6 Kf7 26. c3 Kg7 27. Rh4 Nc6) 25. Rxh7+ Rxh7 26. Rxh7+ Rg7 {I avoided
the trade of rooks because the Rook ending would be much simpler to convert
than a minor piece endgame.} 27. Rh4 e5 28. c3 Nc6 29. Nc4 Kg6 30. Ne3 Rd7 31.
Kc2 b5 32. Rh8 {An important move. Now the White rook will infiltrate and
Black's pawns will begin to fall.} f4 33. gxf4 exf4 34. Ng2 Ne5 35. Nxf4+ Kg7
36. Rc8 c4 37. d4 Rf7 38. Rc7 {The simplest way to convert.} Nd7 {The Rook can
not take due to the following line which is easily winning. White is up two
pawns and the a6 and b5 pawns will fall as well.} (38... Rxc7 39. Ne6+ Kf7 40.
Nxc7) 39. Ne2 (39. Ne6+ {is interesting as well, but Nd2 and f4 to secure the
two pawn advantage was simpler.}) 39... Kf8 40. f4 Ke7 41. Ra7 Rf6 42. Kd2 Kd8
43. Ra8+ Kc7 44. Rh8 {I moved my rook to the kingside to avoid any possible
rook traps with Nb8.} Nb6 45. Rh5 Kc6 46. Ke3 Nd5+ 47. Ke4 Nc7 (47... Re6+ 48.
Re5 {Now the point of Rh5 becomes clear.}) 48. f5 Rf8 49. Rh6+ Kd7 50. Nf4 a5 (
50... Re8+ {does not keep the King from advancing due to the following line.
The King could also reroute by going through f3 and then g4.} 51. Ne6 Nxe6 52.
fxe6+ Rxe6+ 53. Rxe6 Kxe6 54. d5+) 51. Ke5 {Rh7+ would have been an
improvement as it wins a piece, but I did not see it and was planning to bring
the King forward.} (51. Rh7+ Kd6 52. Rxc7 Re8+ 53. Ne6) 51... b4 52. Rh7+ {
1 - 0. He resigned because of the following line where Black has no more
counterplay or tricks.} Kc6 (52... Kd8 53. Rxc7 Re8+ 54. Kd6) 53. Rxc7+ Kxc7
54. Ne6+ Kb6 55. Nxf8 1-0

[Event "WA State, Challengers"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Black "Demberel, Amana"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "1574"]
[BlackElo "1589"]
[Annotator "Gabriel Razmov"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 {The French Variation of the Sicilian.} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4
Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 {Transposing into a sharp Scheveningen line.} 6. Be2 Be7 7. Be3
a6 8. O-O O-O 9. a4 {One of the more common moves. This is played to prevent 
(or at least make harder) Black's possible ...b5 next move, which would
threaten to displace the c3-knight, in turn making White's center much less
stable.} Qc7 10. f4 Nc6 11. Bf3 e5 {A good central break. If this isn't played
soon enough, White can simply steamroll Black via Qd2, g4, Qg2, h4, and then
g5. The resulting position is sometimes defensible, but it poses a much harder
task for Black.} 12. Nf5 (12. Nde2 {was another good choice. After} Na5 13. Bf2
Bd7 (13... exf4 $6 14. Nxf4 {and now White has good control over the d5-square
and d6 is a backward pawn.}) 14. f5 {White retains a good position. Black will
play for ...b5 and/or ...d5.}) 12... Bxf5 13. exf5 exf4 14. Bxf4 Qb6+ $6 {
A natural choice, but an incorrect one. Black cannot take the pawn, as
analysis shows, and it only helps White's king move onto a better diagonal.} (
14... Ne5 {would have been a much better choice. If White is to retain the two
bishops, he might try} 15. Be4 {but after} Neg4 16. Kh1 Qb6 17. Qf3 Nxe4 18.
Qxe4 Qxb2 19. Qf3 $1 Ne5 20. Qg3 Bh4 $1 {seems to save the day for Black.} 21.
Qh3 Rac8 22. Nd5 Bd8 $14) 15. Kh1 Ne5 $2 (15... Qxb2 $2 {wouldn't work due to}
16. Qd2 Qb6 17. g4 $16 {White is much better as he has a strong kingside
attack.}) (15... Rad8 {is a much better try, though} 16. Ra3 $1 {is a very
interesting attempt, and definitely best here. It must be answered by an only
move} ({The obvious choice} 16. Nd5 {isn't so good:} Nxd5 17. Bxd5 Nb4 18. Bb3
Bf6 $16 {Black should be fine here.}) 16... d5 17. Rb3 Qd4 {Black can try to
hold on here, but White is clearly much better.}) 16. Bxe5 $2 {The first big
mistake of the game.} (16. Nd5 $1 {and White stands clearly better. After} Nxd5
17. Bxd5 Rac8 18. b3 $16 {White's position is very solid and he can easily
play for a win here. Black doesn't have a great plan in this position.}) 16...
dxe5 17. Rb1 Rad8 18. Qe2 Bd6 $2 {Black returns the favor, and White responds
correctly.} (18... Rd4 19. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 20. Qxd1 Rd8 21. Qe2 Rd4 $15) 19. Nd5
Nxd5 20. Bxd5 Qc7 $2 {After this mistake, Black is nearly losing. He may not
allow 21.f6 with decisive effect.} (20... Be7 {keeps holding on, though White
is still clearly on the offensive.} 21. c4 Qf6 $14) 21. f6 g6 22. Qe3 $6 {
A slight slip.} (22. Qe4 $1 {is a slightly better choice. Now after} Rd7 23. c4
{White can also expand on the queenside; Black is very much tied up and is
close to being positionally lost.}) 22... Rfe8 23. Bb3 $2 {A serious mistake
that hands Black the advantage with accurate defense. As White wastes a tempo
in defending his bishop, his initiative evaporates.} (23. Qe4 {would still
work - after} b5 24. h4 Kh8 25. axb5 axb5 26. Rbd1 $16 {White's position
remains clearly better, though there is a lot still to play.}) 23... Bf8 24.
Rf3 $2 {White is already committed to the attack, so he naturally pursues it.
But here, White should instead take a step back and choose a more solid
approach. At this point, White might have been taken aback by suddenly
allowing Black defensive chances, so he was acting out of emotion.} (24. Qe4 {
again works out for White. After} Qc6 25. Rbe1 {White doesn't have much of an
attack any more, but still has a decent position.}) 24... Qc5 $2 {Allowing
White to climb back into the game, and after missing his earlier chances when
Black showed resourcefulness, White grabs his last chance to equalize.} (24...
e4 $1 {would put White in some trouble, as} 25. Rff1 Qe5 $17 {and now Black
has the more active pieces $1}) 25. Qe4 Qc6 26. Qh4 h5 $2 {Black cracks under
pressure and now White has an advantage and initiative.} (26... Rd4 {and after
the line} 27. Bxf7+ Kxf7 28. Qxh7+ Ke6 $17 {a very unclear and interesting
position arises where Black should be slightly better in the long run.}) 27.
Rg3 Re6 $4 {Missing the only defense.} ({The tricky} 27... Kh8 $1 {saves Black,
as even after} 28. Rg5 Bh6 $1 29. Bxf7 Qxc2 $1 {Black will have chances,
though White is still the one seeking the full point.} 30. Re1 Bxg5 31. Qxg5
Kh7 $1 32. Bxe8 Rxe8 33. h3 $14) 28. Bxe6 Qxe6 29. Rf1 $2 {White didn't miss
the instant win, but wanted to build up to it. This mistake isn't a serious
one, as White is still winning even with best defense.} (29. Rxg6+ $1 {would
be a slightly better choice.} fxg6 30. f7+ Qxf7 31. Qxd8) 29... Bh6 $2 {
Now, White's tactic comes with even more decisive effect.} (29... Rd4 30. Qxh5
Rxa4 31. Qe2 $18 {is the best Black has, but as is clear, White is still
winning.}) 30. Rxg6+ $1 {Here Black resigned, seeing that after 30...fxg6 31.
f7+ White will win the queen or promote the pawn. After the objectively best
30...Kh7, White can simply retreat 31.Rg3 and the material advantage, coupled
with the exposed Black king, should win easily.} 1-0

[Event "WA State, Challengers"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.19"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Wong-Godfrey, Emerson"]
[Black "Eksarevskiy, Albert"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B11"]
[WhiteElo "1720"]
[BlackElo "1670"]
[Annotator "Albert Eksarevskiy"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{Going into this game, I was trailing the leader by half a point (playing him
in the last round). This was therefore a very important game for my tournament,
and also for my opponent (who is a good friend of mine and, in my opinion, a
very formidable opponent for me).} 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 {Prior to the
game, I did some preparation for the two knights since it seemed to be
something my opponent consistently played (but rarely this line).} 4. e5 Ne4 5.
Bd3 (5. Nxe4 dxe4 6. Ng5 Qd5 7. Qe2 Bf5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Bg2 Qxe5 10. Nxe4 h5 {
I was hoping that we would enter this kind of position, where black has active
play and I would likely be more familiar with some of the key plans.}) 5... Nc5
{I briefly looked at Bd3 while preparing and just saw that Nc5 was the move -
my preparation ended here. I was expecting something like 6. Be2 ...d4 7. b4 ..
. dxc3 8. bxc5 cxd2+ 9. Bxd2 where I thought that it would be a fairly equal
game with play for both sides.} 6. Qe2 {An inaccuracy, although not so simple
to capitalize on. The thematic 6... Bg5 would have arguably been a better
alternative to what I chose in the game, since it is not so easy for white to
develop while black has a pretty clear plan to continue into the middlegame.}
Nxd3+ 7. Qxd3 e6 8. Ne2 {An interesting move to try and play c3, Qc2, and then
d4 for white to finally develop his pieces to natural squares.} c5 {Freeing up
the c6 square for my knight and gaining space in the center.} 9. c3 Nc6 10. O-O
Be7 (10... g5 $1 {would have been an interesting try instead of what I chose
in the game, and is recommended by the engine. Black's king is fairly safe,
and black has pretty clearly better development so can afford to go on a
kingside attack with the pawn storm.}) 11. a3 c4 {I opted for c4, gaining
space with tempo and creating some potential outposts on b3 and d3. This does
come at the cost of weakening the d4 square. After 12. Qe3 I intended to
castle and then play f6 in thematic Caro Kann fashion. However, after Qc2 some
interesting complications ensued.} (11... b6 {would have been a good way to
develop the LSB, and after a move like Qc2 black could continue with Ba6 with
a more comfortable position.}) 12. Qc2 Qc7 {Hitting the e5 pawn, which is not
so easy for white to hang on to.} 13. d4 Na5 $6 (13... cxd3 {Both my opponent
and I spent a lot of time evaluating this move. While it does win a pawn and
is favored by the engine, we both felt that the complications were a bit too
much for black to deal with during the game.} 14. Qxd3 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16.
Bf4 Qe4 17. Qb5+ Kf8 $17 {Felt a bit sketchy to me, but is approved by the
engine.}) 14. Bg5 {A good move by my opponent which I actually overlooked. It
makes a lot of sense to try and trade off the dark squared bishop since it
strands black with the bad bishop, while white no longer has to concern
himself with the dark squared pawn complex blocking in his.} Nb3 $6 {I decided
to throw in this move first. However, I could have instead traded and gone f6
for a more comfortable position. Alternatively, the "Petrosian-esque" move
would have been to play 14... Bf8, which I briefly considered but could not
bring myself to play because I thought it might give white too much activity 
(I now realize that the bishop on g5 is not doing very much anyways).} 15. Ra2
$6 {A move which I think ended up turning the tide towards my position. Better
would have been 15. Re1 or Rd1, but my opponent likely did not like this due
to the idea of going Bd7 and a5 a4 (or Ba4) for black. My reasoning was
similarly flawed.} Bxg5 16. Nxg5 Bd7 {Eventually intending Ba4, which my
opponent thus prevented.} 17. a4 h6 18. Nf3 Qa5 {Trying to be greedy by
capturing the a4 pawn and going b5.} (18... O-O-O 19. Nf4 Kb8 $10 {Since my
queenside is quite safe and black has a comfortable amount of space, queenside
castling was another interesting move which I didn't consider enough during
the game. One tricky idea in this line would be Nh5 for white, where my g pawn
turns out to be a bit weak combined with the idea of Qh7.}) 19. Nc1 Nxc1 (19...
Bxa4 20. Nxb3 cxb3 21. Qxb3 Bxb3 22. Rxa5 b6 23. Ra3 Bc4 24. Rfa1 a5 {I
considered going for this endgame, but was a bit concerned about where I would
put my bishop later on and didn't think this was super comfortable (especially
with ideas like b4 for white).}) 20. Rxc1 b5 {Exploiting the pin.} 21. b4 $6
cxb3 22. Qxb3 bxa4 23. Qa3 Qd8 {With the intention of Qe7 to trade the queens
and maybe try to hold on to my extra pawn. Otherwise, I would be in quite an
uncomfortable position since I could not easily castle. It is important to
note that, while I do have "extra material" here, the doubled a pawns are not
so strong here with white's blockading pieces and my bad bishop is still not
doing me favors.} 24. c4 $6 {May be another step in the wrong direction, since
it potentially opens some lines for my bishop and isn't exactly doing very
much for white. A better plan which I thought might have given me some trouble
is Ne1, with the intention to reroute the knight to a square like c5.} dxc4 25.
Nd2 Qe7 26. Ne4 (26. Nxc4 Qxa3 27. Rxa3 Ke7 28. Nd6 $15 {Would actually not be
so clear since my pieces feel a bit tangled.}) 26... Qxa3 27. Rxa3 Rb8 {
Taking advantage of white's weak back rank. Now that I have Rb4 on the cards,
it makes holding onto at least one of my extra pawns much easier.} 28. Nc5 Rb4
29. Kf1 $6 {While this move makes natural sense to try and get the king away
from back rank threats and closer to the passed pawns, it actually allows me
to finally get a fairly active square for my bishop with Bb5, having some
additional threats with the lined up diagonal.} (29. Rca1 {Better, and not
even close to clear despite what the engine may say would have been this move.
This actually leads to a very interesting, study-like endgame which I
certainly was not calculating in this much depth during the game but is very
curious in post-mortem.} a5 30. Nxa4 Bxa4 31. Rxa4 c3 {Pushing the passer
since the a pawn is going to be lost anyways.} 32. Rxa5 c2 33. Rf1 {The only
move which does not instantly lose. Here, black has to be very careful with
how he continues. Rxd4 is the simplest, but is actually quite easy to mess up
with just one wrong move. Even more interesting, however, is the awesome
computer-given line:} Rb2 34. Ra7 Kd8 $3 {Is the only clearly winning move,
preventing the pesky Rc7. Of course, if Ra8+ is played, the black rook cannot
be taken in lieu of Rb1 followed by unstoppable queening.} 35. f4 Rb1 36. Ra1
Rxa1 37. Rxa1 Kd7 38. Kf2 Rc8 39. Rc1 Rc4 40. Ke3 Kc6 41. Ke4 $19 {Where the
endgame is simply winning for black.}) 29... Bb5 30. Rcc3 Rb3 {A nice tactic
enabling the exchange of at least one pair of rooks. if the rook is taken,
then cxb3+ will result in an unstoppable passer.} 31. Ke1 Rxc3 32. Rxc3 O-O {
Here, 33. Ra3 ...Rd8 would actually still make me work for the win. However,
my opponent had gotten low on time by this point and didn't want to grind out
a long, likely losing endgame so he resigned. Maybe slightly premature, but
overall this was an extremely interesting fight which I feel was very well
played by my opponent in a complex, unfamiliar position that ended up turning
to my favor.} 0-1

[Event "WA State, Rising Stars"]
[Site "Redmond, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.12"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ramkumar, Nikhil"]
[Black "Siddem, Sid"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B23"]
[WhiteElo "1525"]
[BlackElo "1500"]
[Annotator "Sid Siddem"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2023.02.11"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 {Round 4, Nikhil Ramkumar vs Sid Siddem. My opponent was 1611 USCF(Post
Event, not published) and 1356 FIDE, the top seed in the rising stars section.
I am happy I got a pretty nice upset in this game, but it was really difficult
and chaotic, even though I had an advantage in this game.} c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4
Nf6 {I think I should not have played Nf6, because theoretically, I am
supposed to play Nc6 first and then play g6 in the closed Sicilian.} 4. Nf3 g6
5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 7. d3 Nc6 8. O-O Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qe1 $6 {I do not
think this was a good move because I think my opponent is making unnecessary
queen moves for no reason, so I think this move was not really that good in my
opinion.} e6 11. Qh4 b6 {I spent a while thinking why my opponent played Qh4,
and I came to the conclusion my opponent wanted to attack my kingside, or play
something like e5, trying to attack my pawn structure, and capture the loose
c5 pawn, so I played b6 to solidify my pawn chain} 12. g4 $5 {[%emt 0:00:12] I
spent a while thinking about this move and I thought that it was kind of scary
for my in this position because my opponent was planning on doing a same-side
pawn storm, and attack my king, so I decided that if my opponent was going to
attack on the kingside, I will try and seek counterplay in the center/
queenside, starting with the pawn break ..d5} d5 13. e5 $2 {My opponent rushed
this move pretty fast, and I think he missed the fact that I had Nxg4, winning
a pawn due to a Zwischenzug, since I can do Nxg4 first and then play d4} Nxg4
14. Qxg4 d4 15. Ne4 $6 {I think my opponent thought he was taking an outpost
for his knight, but it does not really help him that much, because I have dxe3,
having somewhat of a passed pawn I can use to my benefit, and I can help
support it with Ne7 to f5 ideas} dxe3 16. Qh4 Ne7 17. Ng3 {Now, I think my
opponent realized the idea of me playing Nf5, and he did not want to give up
that outpost very easily, but luckily I still had Nd5, still a good square for
my knight, and defending the e3 pawn} Nd5 18. Rae1 Nb4 19. Ne4 $4 {I was kind
of worried when my opponent played this, because of Nf6 threats, attacking my
kingside and trying to get rid of my good dark squared bishop which was
defending, but I had nothing to worry about since I could just play Nxc2,
attacking the rook and guarding the e3 pawn at the same time, but I felt
scared, so I played Qd8, which was a blunder, because I thought I needed to
defend.} Qd8 $4 {Like I said for the last move, I could have simply played
Nxc2, and playing Qd8 was not really necessary.} 20. Nf6+ Bxf6 21. exf6 h5 $4 {
I still had Nxc2 in this position, but I was afraid of my opponent playing Qh6,
Ng5 and such, but they do not work since if my opponent moves the queen off of
the h4-d8 diagonal, the f6 pawn is hanging, and knight threats don't work
since I have Qg7 to defend, and in the game I thought this was the one good
defensive move.} 22. Rxe3 Nxc2 23. Re5 Qxd3 24. Qg5 $4 {I think my opponent
missed Ne3 in this position, and playing Qg5 was not a good move because if he
actually was trying to threaten Qh6, I think I can just play Qf5} Kh7 $4 {
I was afraid in this position and did not calculate thoroughly that I could
just use the knight to defend, but I thought I had to play Kh7 to defend, but
I just waste a tempo and move my king for no reason.} 25. Qh4 $4 {I think this
was an unnecessary queen move, because maybe if my opponent was threatening
Ng5+, there is no point, and now I can take advantage of my really good knight
and play Ne3 or so.} Ne3 26. Re1 Ng4 $4 {I had the right idea in this position,
but I should have played Nf5 not Ng4 because I thought the rook sacrifice on
h5 does not work since I can defend with Qg6, but my opponent was not really
necessarily required to trade queens, so I lost my advantage here.} 27. Rxh5+
gxh5 28. Qxh5+ Nh6 $4 {I should have played Kg8 instead because I was kind of
afraid of giving my knight away easily, but I still lose it anyway, and I
thought after Ng5, Kg8, Qxh6, I have Qg6, and we trade queens, it does not
work that easily, because my opponent would not want to exchange off that
easily with an attack like this, so now my opponent has a pretty good
advantage.} 29. Ng5+ Kg8 30. Qxh6 Qg6 31. Qxg6+ $4 {I think in the game, my
opponent thought this was a lost position because he was down the exchange,
but he should have played Qh4, not trading off queens that easily, and now
after he traded, the computer thinks this is an even position, but I think I
have a slight advantage since I am up the exchange, and I have fighting
chances.} fxg6 32. Rxe6 Rad8 33. Re7 $4 {The position was equal until this
move, according to the computer because my opponent is giving up his f6 pawn
very easily, which is bad because it is key for restricting my king in the
back, and now I am winning since after Rxf6, Rxa7, I have Rd1+, Rd2+, and I
win the queenside pawns.} Rxf6 34. Ne6 Rd1+ 35. Kg2 Re1 {I wanted to try and
eliminate the knight or the rook and simplify the position first before I
capture my opponent's queenside pawns, so I put pressure on the pinned knight.}
36. Re8+ Kf7 37. Rf8+ {I was considering in this position immediately taking
the knight on e6, but luckily I realized it was a bad move because of Re8,
skewering the king and rook, equalizing the position, so I decided to try and
force a rook trade and simplify the position.} Ke7 38. Rxf6 Kxf6 39. Nc7 Re2+ {
0-1, my opponent resigned, because he is down the exchange and I win the
queenside pawns. This game was very complex and chaotic, and had winning
chances for both sides. I was down like an hour in time, because I put in a
lot of time in the beginning, but the extra hour of calculation paid off in
this game.} 0-1

[Event "Collyer Memorial"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.02.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Donaldson, IM John"]
[Black "Merwin, Steve"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "Steve Merwin"]
[PlyCount "29"]

{An understanding of Donaldson-Merwin from the 2023 Collyer cannot occur
without first examining Donaldson-Merwin from the previous year. After the
third round of the 2022 Collyer, I knew I would have Black the next morning
against John. And knowing how the opening would go, my good friend Mika
Mitchell and I spent half the night preparing a somewhat dubious line for
Black hoping to cause John to spend some time working it all out. And the plan
succeeded.} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nc6 3. g3 Bg4 4. Bg2 Qd7 5. O-O O-O-O 6. c4 (6. c3
{is also played here, but c4 is the most testing move.}) 6... dxc4 7. Nbd2 Nxd4
$6 ({Black really should play} 7... f6 {here with the idea of} 8. Nxc4 e5 {
, which fights for the center and gives him a chance to develop. However, the
line we prepared abandoned that notion with the idea of grabbing as many pawns
as possible.}) 8. Nxd4 Qxd4 9. Qa4 Bxe2 $6 10. Re1 Bd3 11. Nf3 Qb6 12. Be3 Qa6
13. Qxa6 bxa6 {The last four moves for both sides have been essentially forced.
Now Black is a full three pawns ahead! However, he is way behind in
development, his king is unsafe, and his queenside pawns are a mess. As we
will see, I am prepared to sacrifice the exchange in return for development,
all still part of the previous night’s preparation.} 14. Ne5 Nh6 {It was
here that John spent a full 45 minutes considering his move!! After the game
he said this was a personal record.} 15. b3 $3 {This is the number one move by
Stockfish if it’s allowed to crank long enough, and one I hadn’t looked at.
Now Black’s King is even more endangered, and I was unable to work myself
out of it despite being an hour ahead on time, even eventually losing on time 
(although I had a lost position anyway). Which brings us forward one year
later.} ({He was weighing the line} 15. Bxh6 gxh6 16. Nxf7 Bg7 17. Bh3+ Kb7 {
, now with the chance to even the material count but allowing Black to develop
and target White’s b pawn, against other options. And the option he finally
chose was the correct one, not surprising for a player of his caliber.}) 1-0

[Event "Collyer Memorial"]
[Site "Spokane, WA"]
[Date "2023.02.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Donaldson, IM John"]
[Black "Merwin, Steve"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "Steve Merwin"]
[PlyCount "26"]
[EventDate "2023.02.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. Nf3 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. g3 Bg4 4. Bg2 Qd7 5. O-O O-O-O 6. c4 dxc4 7. Nbd2 f6 {
The principled move as mentioned above. Now if 8.Nxc4 e5 and a fight ensues.
But John had other ideas.} 8. Qc2 Bh3 {I was prepared for John’s eighth move
so my response was immediate. But I did not expect his response, which was
also immediate as was his tenth move.} 9. Bxh3 $1 Qxh3 10. b4 $5 {When Mika
and I were preparing for this game, we abandoned the notion of analyzing 9.
Bxh3 as I assumed John would be unfamiliar with this line, and knowing his
style of play we figured he would opt for continued development, for example 9.
Ne4 Bxg2 10.Kxg2 e6 11.Qxc4. But the IM had out prepared us, no surprise there!
} Nh6 $2 {I thought for maybe ten minutes before making this move and decided
it, and my subsequent move, were necessary in order to provide any chances.
But in reality, 10…c3! is called for and then, as John pointed out after the
game, 11.Qxc3 e5 12.dxe5 Bxb4 and Black is still fighting. As it turns out, my
move is bad but looks scary enough that it requires careful calculation by
White. So, like the previous year, I went ahead on time.} 11. Qxc4 Ng4 12. Bb2
$1 {Played after much thought.} e5 {And here again, John spent considerable
time. Of course, not 13.dxe5?? Rxd2!} 13. b5 Nxd4 {And here I offered John a
draw. I didn’t think it was an unreasonable offer, as Black is now a pawn
ahead and if 14.Bxd4 Rxd4 15.Qe6+ Rd7 and White has no winning chances as
Black is threatening Nxf2! After some more thought John accepted the draw,
likely in view of his clock situation and not seeing a clear way for White to
gain an advantage.   As it turned out, White could have played 14.Rfc1! 
(threatening mate in one) followed by …Nxf3+ 15.Nxf3 Rd7 (...Bd6, my
original plan, would have lost to 16.Ba3) and it appears that Black is holding
things together while still menacing White’s King. However, the idea John
and I both missed was 16.Qa4! and Black is busted, as ...Kb8 runs into 17.b6! 
Ultimately, this draw, combined with the large number of players with 3-0
scores, set the stage for someone other than John Donaldson to win the Dave
Collyer Memorial, a rare occurrence indeed!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Collyer Memorial"]
[Site "Spokane, WA"]
[Date "2023.03.19"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Ackerman, Ryan"]
[Black "Patterson, Ben"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D15"]
[WhiteElo "1979"]
[BlackElo "1701"]
[Annotator "Ryan Ackerman"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2023.02.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{Few players beat experts within their first five tournaments. But Ben had
beaten me twice already and took down another expert in a previous round. He
shows a great deal of natural talent for the game and is clearly hitting the
ground running. But I wasn't about to let him beat me a third time.} 1. d4 d5
2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bg4 $6 {It's improper to move the c8 bishop so
early. Similarly, Bf5 is also dubious.} (4... Bf5 $6 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. c5 $1 Qxb3
7. axb3 Nbd7 8. b4 e6 9. b5 Be7 10. e3 $16) 5. Ne5 Bf5 $2 (5... Bc8 $1 6. cxd5
$16) (5... Bh5 $2 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. g4 $1 Bg6 8. h4 $1 $18) 6. Qb3 $2 {Due to
the seemingly insignificant prevelance of the knight on e5, 6.Qb3 and my
following move now result in only equality. Yup. This whole plan is a total
dud. If the remainder of the game were dry and boring I would expand upon this
claim but there's no shortage of interesting moments in this game.} (6. cxd5 $1
cxd5 ({if:} 6... Nxd5 $5 7. e4 $1 Nxc3 8. bxc3 $18) 7. e4 $1 ({Not all that
looks complicated is truly more complicated. Resisting the pretty pawn sac in
favor of a more conservative plan leads to a much less convincing outcome.} 7.
Qb3 $5 Nc6 $1 8. Qxb7 $5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Rb8 10. Qxa7 d4 11. Qa4+ Qd7 12. exf6
dxc3 13. Qxd7+ Bxd7 14. bxc3 $1 $16) 7... dxe4 8. Qb3 e6 9. Qxb7 Nbd7 10. Nc6
$1 Qc8 11. Ba6 $1 $18) 6... Qb6 7. c5 $2 (7. Qxb6 $1 $16) 7... Qxb3 8. axb3 $10
Bc2 $2 (8... Nbd7 9. Nxd7 $6 Nxd7 10. Bf4 $4 e5 $19) 9. b4 $16 Nbd7 10. Bf4
Nxe5 11. Bxe5 Nd7 12. Bg3 $5 e5 13. e3 $1 (13. dxe5 $2 d4 14. Na4 $2 b5 15. Nb6
$2 Nxb6 16. cxb6 $2 Bxb4#) 13... f6 $2 (13... g5 $1 {Are you feeling dizzy yet?
} 14. h4 $1 $16 exd4 $1 15. exd4 gxh4 16. Rxh4 Be7 17. Kd2 Bxh4 18. Bxh4 Bf5
19. b5 Rg8 20. f3 $16 {How about now? Not yet? Wow. I'm impressed.}) 14. Be2
$18 h5 15. h4 g6 16. O-O Bg7 17. Rfc1 Bf5 18. b5 $18 exd4 19. exd4 Bh6 {
At this point Ben and I both had exactly 42 minutes remaining. 2.5 hours had
passed since the beginning of the game. I now spent 9 minutes assessing the
merit of inviting the bishops to c2 and d2. My intuition served me but my
calculation did not.} 20. Rd1 Bc2 21. Re1 Bd2 $2 {this move allows for a
simple tactic, but positionally black is lost nonetheless. The trick for white
is to understand the power of Ba6. It's such a strong move that moving it to
f3 (which I played later) is an outright blunder. I'll demonstrate:} (21... O-O
22. bxc6 $1 bxc6 23. Ba6 $1 $18 {the c pawn is indefensible. The previously
innocuous-looking g3 bishop fiendishly grins at black's rooks who would love
nothing more then to save the c pawn and drum up counterplay against white's b
pawn. The g3 bishop is a monster. Think of the scholastic-like tactic with a
King on c8, rook on d8, and how white can sac their queen on a6 to score
checkmate. That's what happening. But instead of a King on c8, it's the pawn
on c6. I wish I had thought of it that way during the game.}) 22. Rf1 $2 {
[%eval 470,34]} (22. Bd3+ {I missed a three move tactic. With over 30 minutes
on my clock.} Bxe1 23. Rxe1+ Kf7 24. Bxc2) 22... O-O 23. Ra3 $2 $16 {Instead
of the Ba6 idea, I chose the plan of doubling along the a-file. I chose
incorrectly.} (23. bxc6 $1 bxc6 24. Ba6 $1 $18) 23... Rfe8 24. Bf3 $4 {This
blunder was not my fault. The bishop is an avid bowler and wanted to be lined
up against four targets at once. He was very persuasive about it.} Bxc3 25.
bxc6 bxc6 26. bxc3 {I spend 14 of my remaining 28 minutes on this move and
conconducted a poker bluff strategy.} Bd3 27. Rc1 {This was a semi-bluff. I
didn't know if I could actually pull off c4 and Rxc4 but I figured if I looked
confident as I played this move, he'd buy it. I am the Spokane City Champion
afterall.} Bc4 $2 {It worked! Now Rb1 becomes available!!} (27... Bb5 $1 28.
Bd6 (28. c4 $6 dxc4 (28... Bxc4 $4 {It was not a total bluff. In truth it was
possible to sac the exchange in this scenario.} 29. Rxc4 $1 dxc4 30. Bxc6 $18)
29. d5 Ne5 30. dxc6 Nxf3+ $2 31. Rxf3 Rac8 32. c7 $16) 28... a6 $1 29. Raa1 $14
) 28. Rb1 $1 $18 a6 29. Rb7 $1 Nf8 30. Ra4 $5 Bb5 31. Rb4 $5 {It was better to
leave the rook exerting pressure down the a file.} (31. Ra1 $1 {[%eval 142,34]}
Rad8 32. Kh2 Rd7 33. Rb6 $1 Ne6 34. Bd1 $1 Kg7 35. Ba4 Rc8 $7 36. Bxb5 axb5 37.
Raa6 Nd8 38. Bf4 $16 Ne6 39. Kg3 Kf7 40. Kf3 g5 41. hxg5 fxg5 42. Be5 Nd8 43.
Ke3 Re7 44. Kd3 $16) 31... Re1+ $2 {It's a very challenging situation for
black. But there was a very interesting method of holding the fort via
pestering the b7 rook, repositioning the knight, sac'ing a pawn and activating
both rooks. It's pretty amazing:} (31... Ne6 $1 32. Bd6 (32. R4xb5 $4 axb5 $19)
32... Nd8 $1 33. Rc7 Ne6 34. Rd7 Ng7 $1 35. Be7 Nf5 $1 36. Bxf6 Re1+ 37. Kh2
Rf8 38. Bg5 Rf7 $1 39. Rd8+ Rf8 40. Rxf8+ $14) 32. Kh2 a5 $2 {Ben told me
after the game he was 'seeing double' around this point. He had 12 minutes and
I had 5. Our game was the last still in progress. Several spectators had
gathered.} (32... Rc8 33. Bd6 $1 Rce8 34. R4xb5 $1 axb5 35. Rc7 $1 Ne6 36. Rxc6
b4 37. cxb4 Nxd4 38. Bxd5+ Kh8 39. Rb6 $1 $18) 33. R4xb5 $1 ({White cannot win
with making a sacrifice:} 33. Rb2 $4 Bc4 34. Rb8 $14) (33. Bxd5+ $5 cxd5 34.
R4xb5 $18) 33... a4 $5 (33... cxb5 {[%eval 885,33]} 34. Bxd5+ Kh8 35. Rxb5 Rc8
(35... Ra7 36. c6 $18) 36. Rxa5 g5 37. f3 Ree8 38. Bb7 gxh4 39. Bxh4 Kg7 40.
Bxc8 Rxc8 41. d5 Kg6 42. c6 Ne6 43. c4 Nf4 44. Bg3 Ne6 45. Bd6 Ng5 46. Bf4 Ne6
47. Be3 Nd8 48. Rc5 Kf5 49. c7) 34. Rb1 Rxb1 35. Rxb1 a3 36. c4 {I now had 3
minutes, and Ben had 11. After I played c4, he thought for 5 minutes before
proceeding.} a2 37. Ra1 Ne6 38. cxd5 Nxd4 39. dxc6 1-0

