[Event "Western States Open"]
[Site "Reno, NV"]
[Date "1999.10.27"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Browne, Walter S."]
[Black "Harmon, Clark"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A52"]
[WhiteElo "2538"]
[BlackElo "2239"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "1999.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 $5 {The Budapest Defense.} 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Be2 Re8 8. O-O Ncxe5 (8... Ngxe5 9. b3 (9. Nxe5 Nxe5 {transposes to the next note.}) 9... Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 Ne5 11. Bb2 a5 12. Ne4 Bf8 $14 {, but see the comment below.}) 9. Nd4 ({White goes his own way. Theory shows} 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. b3 a5 11. Bb2 Ra6 $5 {, when Black has delayed the development of the c8-bishop to allow some flexibility to retreat from c5 in either direction and to develop the a8-rook along the sixth rank. Stockfish will prefer White's space edge in these positions, but human practice seems to be balanced, or even to slightly favor Black.}) 9... Nf6 10. b3 d5 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Bb2 Qe4 14. Kh1 Qh4 15. Nf3 Nxf3 16. Bxf3 Bd6 17. g3 Qe7 18. Bg2 c6 19. e4 f6 20. f4 Be6 21. Qc2 Rac8 22. Rad1 c5 $2 (22... Rcd8 {guards the d6-bishop and makes White's attacking attempt far more speculative:} 23. e5 fxe5 24. Be4 h6 25. f5 Bf7 26. f6 gxf6 {, and while there are still attacking chances, it isn't quite clear how to proceed.}) 23. e5 $1 fxe5 24. Be4 c4 ({Now} 24... h6 25. f5 Bf7 $2 26. f6 $1 gxf6 27. Qd2 {is a fork, and White is winning.}) 25. Bxh7+ Kh8 26. Bg6 Bg4 27. Rde1 $2 ({Black has done well to make things complicated, and here the late six-time U.S. Champion goes slightly wrong, picking the safer-looking move to avoid the morass.} 27. fxe5 Bxe5 (27... cxb3 28. Qe4 Bxd1 29. Rxd1 Qg5 ({Saving the rook doesn't work.} 29... Red8 30. Qf5) ({Or} 29... Rf8 30. Qg4 {and mate follows shortly.}) 30. Bxe8 Rxe8 31. Rxd6 bxa2 32. Kg2 {and White's extra bishop is just too powerful.}) 28. Rde1 {would win:} c3 29. Bxc3 Rxc3 (29... Bh3 30. Qd1 Qg5 31. Bxe8 Bxf1 (31... Rxe8 32. Bxe5 Bxf1 33. Bxg7+ Kxg7 34. Qd7+ Kh6 35. Rxe8 $18) (31... Bxc3 32. Rf8+ Kh7 33. Qc2+ g6 34. Bxg6+ Qxg6 35. Re7+ Kh6 36. Qxg6+ Kxg6 37. Rxc8 Bxc8 38. Rc7 $18) 32. Rxe5) 30. Qxc3 Bxc3 $2 31. Rxe7 {and Black has back rank issues. Trying to calculate all of these lines with multiple hanging pieces for both sides is incredibly difficult in a practical game.}) 27... cxb3 28. Qxb3 Rf8 29. fxe5 $6 (29. Qd3 Qd7 30. Bxe5 Bb4 $14 {, heading into an unclear ending.}) (29. h3 Bf5 30. Bxf5 Rxf5 31. g4 Rff8 32. f5 $14) 29... Bb4 30. Rb1 Be2 (30... Qg5) 31. Qe3 $4 ({White sees a checkmate, but it turns out to be a bit of a mirage. After} 31. Rxf8+ Rxf8 32. Be4 {the battle continues.}) 31... Bxf1 32. e6 {White threatens 33.Qh6+. One can almost see GM Browne performing his manic time-pressure jitter in his chair at this point.} Rf6 (32... Kg8 {also defends and wins.}) 33. Bxf6 (33. Qe4 Rxg6 34. Qxg6 Bc4 35. Bxg7+ Qxg7 36. Qxg7+ Kxg7 37. Rxb4 b5 $19) 33... Qxf6 34. Be4 Bc5 35. Qb3 (35. Qf4 Bc4 $19) 35... Qf2 {Checkmate is forced. Bravo.} 0-1

[Event "Seattle Futurity #2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1983.06.08"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Harmon, Clark"]
[Black "Taylor, Gordon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E48"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "1983.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 c5 ({Theory in the Rubinstein Nimzo-Indian is dense and extensive, so I'll just offer a few generally similar alternate lines that are available.} 5... d5 6. Nf3 c5 {could lead to the next note.}) 6. Nge2 (6. Nf3 d5 7. O-O dxc4 8. Bxc4 Nbd7 9. Qe2 b6 10. Rd1 cxd4 11. exd4 {is one version with the Isolated Queen Pawn (IQP).}) 6... d5 7. a3 (7. cxd5 cxd4 8. exd4 Nxd5 9. O-O Nc6 {is another.}) 7... cxd4 8. exd4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Be7 10. O-O Nbd7 (10... Nc6 11. Qd3 b6 12. Rd1 Bb7 13. Qh3 Na5 14. Ba2 Rc8 15. Nf4 {is an IQP that looks like the game, but with a queenside fianchetto for Black.}) 11. Qd3 (11. Nf4 Nb6) 11... Nb6 12. Ba2 Bd7 13. Rd1 Bc6 14. Qh3 Nbd5 {This should look familiar to anyone who followed the previous notes. Black has established a blockade on d5.} 15. Bg5 Rc8 16. Rd3 Re8 17. Rad1 Nxc3 18. Nxc3 Nd5 19. Bxe7 Rxe7 20. Rg3 Nxc3 21. bxc3 {The structure changes into the so-called hanging pawns, side-by-side on the half-open c- and d-files.} Bd5 22. Bb1 ({White could start with} 22. Qh6 {with similar play, though White has the added option of retreat to d2.} Qf8 (22... g6 23. Rh3 f6 (23... f5 24. Qd2) 24. Bb1 f5) (22... f6 23. Bb1 f5) 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Qg5) 22... f5 23. Re3 Rec7 24. Qg3 (24. Bd3 Qd6 $15) 24... Qf6 (24... Qf8 $15) 25. f4 Qf8 26. Rf1 Bc4 27. Rfe1 Qxa3 (27... b5) 28. d5 $1 Qc5 29. dxe6 $13 Bxe6 30. Kh1 Bf7 31. Qg5 g6 (31... h6 32. Qh4 $13 (32. Qxf5 Qxf5 33. Bxf5 Ra8 $13)) 32. h4 Qa5 (32... h6 $1 33. Qxh6 Qf8 34. Qg5 Qd8 {forces a repetition.}) 33. Re5 $1 Qxc3 34. Bxf5 Rb8 (34... Rf8 35. h5 $14) 35. h5 Rc6 36. hxg6 $2 (36. Bd7 $16) 36... hxg6 37. Be6 Rxe6 $2 ({The best defensive try is} 37... Kg7 {, when there are several ways to continue the attack for White, but none leads to a clear advantage.} 38. f5 (38. Bxf7 Rh8+ $1 39. Kg1 Qd4+ 40. R5e3 Rc1 $1 41. Qxg6+ Kf8 42. Qg3 $1 Rxe1+ 43. Qxe1 Kxf7 44. Qc3) (38. R5e3 Qf6 39. Bxf7 Qxg5 40. fxg5 Kxf7 41. Re7+ Kg8 42. Rd7 Rc4 43. Ree7 Rh4+ 44. Kg1 {seems to be no more than a draw.}) (38. Bh3 Rh8 39. Re7 Rf6 40. Qe5 Rxh3+ 41. gxh3 Qxh3+ 42. Kg1 Qg3+) 38... Rh8+ 39. Kg1 Qd4+ 40. R5e3 Qh4 {and all the complications appear to be heading for perpetual check or an equal rook ending.}) 38. Rxe6 Qh8+ (38... Kg7 39. R6e3 $16) 39. Kg1 Bxe6 $2 (39... Qh5 40. Qxh5 gxh5 41. Re7 $16) 40. Qxg6+ ({Or} 40. Rxe6 $18 {.}) 40... Qg7 41. Qxe6+ Qf7 42. Qe5 Rf8 43. Re3 Qf6 $2 (43... Qg7 44. Qd5+ Rf7 (44... Qf7 45. Rg3+ Kh8 46. Qe5+ Kh7 47. Qg5 Kh8 48. Qh6+ Qh7 49. Qxf8+) 45. Re8+ Qf8 (45... Kh7 46. Qh5+ Qh6 47. Qxf7+) 46. Rxf8+) (43... Qg6 44. Rh3 Rf6 (44... Qg7 45. Qe6+ {with a continuing attack.}) 45. Rh5 $18) 44. Rg3+ Kh7 45. Qe4+ Qf5 46. Qe7+ Kh6 47. Qg7+ Kh5 48. Rg5+ 1-0

[Event "Northwest Invitational"]
[Site "Vancouver, B.C."]
[Date "1989.05.09"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Harmon, Clark"]
[Black "Basanta, Gary"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A59"]
[Annotator "Ralph Dubisch"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "1989.??.??"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. c4 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bxf1 8. Kxf1 d6 9. h3 Bg7 10. Nf3 O-O 11. Kg1 Na6 ({More common is a sequence such as} 11... Nbd7 12. Kh2 Qa5 13. Re1 Rfb8 14. Re2 Ne8 15. Rc2 Nc7 {. There are plenty of ideas and transpositions in the Benko Gambit, but the general idea is Black will put pressure on the queenside pawns and central dark squares along the a- and b-files and the long diagonal.}) 12. Kh2 Nb4 {Moving the knight around several times isn't usually part of the plan. Basanta was B.C. Champion in the late 1980s, and he carried the nickname "Chipper," for his tendency to set up the occasional tactical cheapo.} 13. Be3 e6 14. a3 Na6 $6 ({Better first} 14... exd5 15. exd5 {, and only after the central exchange} (15. axb4 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 d4 {with complications.}) 15... Na6) 15. Qd2 $14 (15. dxe6 fxe6 16. e5 $1 $16 {was perhaps a missed opportunity.}) 15... exd5 16. exd5 Re8 17. Bh6 Bxh6 18. Qxh6 Rb8 19. Rab1 Nc7 20. Rhd1 Nb5 21. Qd2 Nxc3 22. bxc3 (22. Qxc3 $5) 22... Ne4 $6 (22... Ra8 {could force White into a rather passive defense to keep the material.}) 23. Rxb8 Qxb8 24. Qc2 h6 25. c4 Qa7 26. Rd3 Qd7 27. Re3 f5 28. Qe2 Rb8 29. Ne1 $2 (29. Nd2 $1 {Best, ignoring the threat of pinning along the second rank.} Nf6 (29... Rb2 $4 30. Nxe4 $1 Rxe2 31. Nf6+ $18) 30. Re7 Re8 31. Rxe8+ (31. Rxd7 Rxe2 32. Rxd6 $16 {is also possible.}) 31... Nxe8 {, and White has both material and positional advantage.}) 29... Qg7 $1 30. Nd3 g5 $2 ({Black's last chance to get into the game is to infiltrate with the rook:} 30... Rb1 {, when activity compensates for material. If White proceeds as in the game with} 31. f3 $4 {then} Rh1+ $1 $19 {shows the point.}) 31. f3 $1 Ng3 $2 ({Living up to the nickname "Chipper."} 31... Nc3 32. Qe1 {poses some very difficult questions for Black, though.}) 32. Re8+ $1 ({Black was hoping for} 32. Kxg3 $2 f4+ {, of course.}) 32... Rxe8 (32... Kh7 33. Kxg3 $18) 33. Qxe8+ Kh7 34. Kxg3 f4+ 35. Kh2 Qc3 36. Qe4+ Kg8 37. Qg6+ Kf8 38. Qxd6+ Kf7 39. Ne5+ {Apparently Black lost on time, though Black must give up the queen to avoid mate in two here.} 1-0

[Event "WA Class Championships, Class A"]
[Site "Hyatt Regency, Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Razmov, Gabriel"]
[Black "Lim, Hayul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "1712"]
[BlackElo "1803"]
[Annotator "Gabriel Razmov"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,51,32,32,32,-7,49,50,38,14,17,28,27,22,40,7,1,6,19,8,17,16,26,18,34,-3,20,10,17,-7,-10,-12,61,55,75,90,77,79,117,188,292,281,296,307,314,294,443,431,429,509,457,483,29997,29998]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. h4 $5 {This move was part of my preparation. It can present opponents with difficult choices about how to develop. Playing ...h5 can leave a hook that is easy to attack, but without it, White could simply castle queenside and then go for f3, g4, h5, with an attack on the Black king. Black has to carefully plan out their development.} Bg7 5. e3 c6 6. Bd3 a5 $146 {A move most likely played to prepare for an opposite-sides castling position, where Black can have chances to attack before they lose the battle on the kingside. Theory is scarce here, but ...b5 and ...Bf5 have been played before, with similar ideas.} 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. Be2 Na6 $6 {Now this is a small mistake. Black has committed their a-pawn, and so they can try to provoke early queenside weaknesses for White by 8...a4.} ({After} 8... a4 {, Black forces} 9. a3 {and after something like} Qa5 10. Qd2 (10. Ne5 {is also possible}) 10... Nbd7 $15 {the position is comfortable for Black and close to equal.}) 9. Ne5 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 Nc7 {Now we begin to see the issues in Black's position - the knight on e5 attacks f7, which prevents a queenside castle, Black's queen cannot develop easily, and castling kingside seems dangerous as White is not in a particular danger on the queenside yet and can even delay their own castle thanks to the stable central pawn structure.} 11. g4 $6 {Not the most precise continuation, as this begins to over-extend and create weaknesses in White's position, which would favors Black. However, Black must be accurate in this sharp position.} (11. Bh2 {is a safe and natural move. Play might continue} h5 12. O-O-O a4 13. a3 Ra5 $14 {with some counterplay for Black on the queenside.}) 11... Ne6 $6 {This move fails to open up the position via a pawn exchange, and allows White to regain an edge.} (11... h5 $1 {was better here. If we want to keep the position open, we must play} 12. gxh5 (12. f3 Nd7 {and White hasn't really made any serious progress setting up their attack; it is hard to move forward here.}) 12... Nxh5 13. Bh2 {with a playable and complex position, unlike the pawn storm that ensues in the game.}) 12. Bg3 $6 {A natural move, sparing the bishop from an exchange. However, a potential exchange on f4 can only favor White, as they could then attack with more pawns (e.g., the e3-pawn didn't participate in the attack before), plus the e-file will be more open.} (12. h5 $1 {would pose more challenges for Black. An illustrative line goes} Nd7 13. O-O-O a4 (13... Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Rf8 $13) 14. a3 g5 15. Nxd7 gxf4 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 fxe3 18. Qxe3 d4 19. Qe4 Qb6 20. Ne2 c5 21. Nf4 $14 {and the position remains complex, with lots of opportunities. Both sides have extended on the wings, and even though Black can castle safely on the queenside, his kingside pawns are far from safe.}) (12. Qf3 {is another challenging option. After} Nxf4 13. Qxf4 Rf8 (13... O-O 14. h5) 14. h5 $14 {Black will have difficulties for a while due to the strong centralized knight and the ongoing pawn storm on the kingside.}) 12... h5 $1 {This strong move now poses issues for White as to how to continue the attack. White decides to pursue it energetically, hoping to avoid a kingside castle (as the kingside is closing up) and trying to open up the f-file as an avenue for attack.} 13. g5 Nd7 14. f4 $6 $15 {An impatient move that weakens White's position as the dark-squared bishop loses scope. While the f-file can open up, it's not clear that White will have an attack, as Black can soon castle safely on the kingside.} (14. Nd3 {seems better, since after} Nb6 15. f4 a4 16. O-O-O $5 {we have an unclear position where both sides have chances to attack.}) 14... Nxe5 $6 {This wasn't the right continuation, even though it seems quite natural. White now gets 5 pawns on the kingside and center, which can pose serious issues.} (14... Bxe5 $1 $15 {is the surprising best move here, according to the engine. The idea behind it is likely that the bishop isn't very useful on g7, while the knight on d7 can actually support ...c5 with a counterattack on the center and queenside. Even if} 15. dxe5 {there are attractive options that retain good chances for Black:} Ndc5 (15... a4 16. a3 $6 (16. O-O-O $5 a3 17. b3 b5) 16... b5 $15) 16. O-O-O Qc8 $15 {with good control for Black over the light squares.}) 15. dxe5 Bf8 $2 {This move is hard to explain, yet it underscores that Black would have been better off if they had exchanged that bishop on the previous move instead. Now the Black king is stuck in the center, which is what White had wanted. Also, it would take time to set up a blockade on the light squares due to the central lever e4 for White.} (15... b5 {instead would create a double-edged position. White can choose} 16. O-O-O {and now} Qb8 {is the right way to continue.} (16... Qc7 $2 {looks more natural, but the relatively weaker b-pawn tells in the line} 17. e4 d4 18. Nd5 $1 cxd5 19. exd5 Nc5 20. Qxb5+ Kd8 (20... Kf8 21. Rxd4) 21. Rxd4 {and the resulting position can be tough for Black to defend.}) 17. e4 d4 18. Nb1 $14) 16. O-O-O $1 $16 {Now White's king is finally safe and the central-kingside pawn avalanche can start soon. The pin on the d-file also helps White with playing e4 and f5. Black is already in serious trouble and must tread very carefully.} Qc7 17. e4 d4 18. Nb1 ({Another interesting option would be} 18. Na4 b5 19. f5 $1 gxf5 20. exf5 Ng7 21. Nc5 e6 22. Ne4 $1 Nxf5 23. Nf6+ Kd8 24. Bf2 Bc5 25. c3 $16 {with a serious advantage for White.}) 18... c5 $2 {This move severely weakens the queenside light squares, especially b5; it also makes pushing ...b5 impossible for the moment, rendering counterplay slow and ineffective. White smoothly converts from here.} (18... O-O-O $5 {was perhaps a practical chance for Black, though their position remains difficult after} 19. Qf3 Nc5 20. Bf2 e6 21. Bxd4 $16 {#Diagram Valentin Razmov suggests a diagram just before White's move 19.}) 19. f5 $1 Ng7 ({The other option was} 19... Nd8 {but it also loses due to a similar tactic to what followed in the game} 20. e6 $1 Qxg3 $2 (20... Qb6 21. Na3 fxe6 22. fxg6 Bg7 23. Nc4 Qa6 24. a4 Nc6 25. Rhf1 $18 {Notice White's control over the light squares.}) 21. Qb5+ Nc6 22. Qxb7 $18 {and the lack of development by Black takes its toll - White wins easily.}) 20. e6 $1 $18 {This move was made possible by ...c5; here, White's bishop is immune due to mate threats: 21. Qb5+ and 22. Qd7#.} Qb6 21. exf7+ Kxf7 22. Be5 {Further restricting Black's pieces, and now their king has no escape. Black loses material.} (22. Rhf1 $18 {is another strong continuation of White's attack.}) 22... Rg8 23. Qc4+ e6 24. Rhf1 Qa6 25. fxg6+ Kxg6 $2 {This blunders into checkmate, though Black's position was already lost.} (25... Ke8 {avoids the immediate loss, though after} 26. Qxa6 Rxa6 27. Rf7 $18 {Black's position is completely tied up - their king, bishop, rook on g8, and knight cannot move at all. It'll be only a matter of time until White activates fully and wins material on the kingside.}) 26. Rf6+ {My opponent resigned here, in view of 26... Kh7 27. Rh6#. This game turned out very interesting due to the sharp line that we chose early on. A complex middlegame position arose, which Black didn't handle well: a series of mistakes between moves 15-18 gave White a strong attack that quickly led to a win. The victory was important for me at the start of the tournament, as it helped me to gain confidence for some of the later rounds.} 1-0

[Event "WA Class Championships, Expert"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Razmov, Valentin"]
[Black "Ramkumar, Nikhil"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "1879"]
[BlackElo "1849"]
[Annotator "Valentin Razmov"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,117,19,31,19,0,4,4,0,0,-7,0,11,3,9,-10,11,-9,12,0,50,43,86,81,73,69,75,73,73,77,84,85,96,73,109,89,92,44,46,55,190,175,178,194,249,249,249,173,208,176,206,210,209,214,205,215,213,214,226,221,238,200,213,147,214,209,198,197,197,199,201,161,202,202,195,161,195,167,148,148,198,182,181,188,194,162,248,190,178,185,182,158,168,171,169,169,172,178,178,178,177,181,194,193,269,335,542,324,330,412,418,292,415,491,512,562,625,663,973,1025]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 {The popular Exchange Queen's Gambit opening variation.} exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 {A known move in theory, but more popular are 6...Be7, 6...Bd6, and 6...h6 instead.} 7. Qf3 Bg6 {My opponent took an unusually long time to think here, which I interpreted to mean that he wasn't familiar with this line.  In the meantime, I was trying to recall the main ideas from games in this line played by Kramnik, Carlsen, Anand, and others over the past several years.  I knew that the line was solid, but Black had to play with care, patience, and persistence.} (7... Be6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Bd3 Nd7 11. Nge2 Bd6 12. O-O f5 $14 {is another way to play on for Black.}) 8. Bxf6 gxf6 $6 {Usually queens get exchanged on f6 instead, so I reasoned that with his move my opponent wanted to seek active counterplay (in part using the preserved queen) against my less developed king-side and uncastled king, rather than trading down into a somewhat worse but solid endgame. The reality is that Black has the pair of bishops, while the doubled, isolated f-pawns are hard for White to target, so their potential weakness doesn't easily show.} (8... Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Nf3 (10. h4)) 9. h4 $1 {Immediately setting out to provoke a weakening on Black's king-side. A typical idea in such positions, I remembered.} Qb6 $6 {Black is daring White to castle long or retreat. After some thought, I accepted the challenge, on principle. White would shortly net the f6-pawn as a \"reward.\"} (9... h5 {is the usual response, leading toward} 10. Rd1 Nd7 11. Bd3 Bd6 12. Nge2 $14) 10. O-O-O h5 11. Qxf6 Rg8 12. g3 $6 $146 {This was a moment of long deliberation for me, as I had to construct an effective plan for completing White's development and transitioning into a middlegame. I reasoned that although Black shows some promise to develop an initiative, White could keep their extra pawn and catch up over time.} (12. Bd3 $1 Nd7 (12... Bxd3 $6 13. Rxd3 Rxg2 14. Nh3 $1 {This strong move I had missed in my deliberations, only focusing on 14.Qf3 Rg4, which didn't feel satisfying.} Nd7 15. Qf3 Rg7 16. Qxh5 $16) 13. Qf3 O-O-O 14. Nge2 $16) 12... Nd7 13. Qf3 Bb4 14. Nge2 O-O-O (14... Qa5 15. a3 Be7 16. Bh3 Nb6 17. Bf5 Nc4 18. Kc2 $14) 15. Bh3 {So far everything is going according to plan. Having missed the earlier opportunity to counter Black's light-squared bishop from d3, White is preparing to shut down that bishop's diagonal via Bf5 now.} Rge8 $6 {\"Activity, activity, activity\" must have been the slogan behind that move. I expected instead that the Black king would step away from the pin, in a prophylactic king move, common after a long castle.} (15... Kb8) 16. Bf5 Qa6 {Another small surprise, though it's clear that the Black queen seeks increased activity, possibly leaving the b6-square for the knight, as soon as it becomes unpinned.} 17. Rd2 $6 {It was White's turn to disregard common prophylaxis, paradoxically after I had fully expected my opponent to play that same king-move two moves earlier.  I wanted to avoid yet another pin (in this case a self-pin) and its associated limitation on piece mobility, though in reality this pin (of the light-squared bishop) isn't as dangerous. Instead, I opted for the well-known \"second-rank defense\".} (17. Kb1 $16) (17. a3 $16) 17... Kb8 18. Rhd1 $6 {Connecting the rooks, but allowing Black to start developing their initiative now that their knight has been unpinned.} (18. a3 $1 {forces Black to make a decision and resolves one of the pins on White's position} Bxc3 (18... Bd6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Qf7) 19. Nxc3 Nb6 20. Rc2 Nc4 21. Kb1 $16) 18... Nb6 $1 {White's rooks are starting to feel uncomfortable in their limited space, given the ambitions of Black's knight to occupy the c4-square in the near future.} 19. b3 $2 {A  tough move to make: it restricts the Black knight, but weakens the dark squares around the White king.} (19. Kb1) 19... c5 $2 {Correct idea - to open the center and start an attack on the White king - but incorrect timing. As a result, Black's d5-pawn is weakened, and White's rooks suddenly turn from potential targets into a great strength.} (19... Nc8 $1 $13 {/=} 20. Rc2 Nd6 21. Bxg6 fxg6 22. a4 Qb6 (22... b5 $6 23. Kb2 $14) 23. Kb2 $14) 20. dxc5 Bxc5 21. Kb1 $1 Rd6 $2 {A rook lift and a tactical trap (threatening ...Rf6).} (21... Bb4 $16) 22. Bxg6 $1 {Letting go of a liability (the pin) and setting up a potential trap too (Black's bishop is short on squares to move to).} fxg6 23. Nxd5 $2 {After a long thought and calculation, White yields to the temptation to increase their material advantage.} (23. Qf4 $1 {After this move, White's threats would simply be too much to deal with... For example:} Ka8 24. b4 d4 25. bxc5 dxc3 26. Qxd6 (26. Rxd6 $4 Qxe2) 26... Qb5+ 27. Ka1 cxd2 28. Rxd2 Nc8 29. Qc7 $1 (29. Qd7 Qxd7 30. Rxd7 Re5) 29... a5 30. Rb2 Qa6 31. Nd4 $18) (23. Nd4 $1 Rd7 $1 24. Rc2 Rf8 25. Qe2 Qxe2 26. Ncxe2 $16) 23... Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Rf6 $2 {Keeping White's two rooks standing strong and owning the d-file, white forcing an improvement of White's knight is hardly a goal Black should strive for.} (24... Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Rf8 26. Nf4 Ba3 27. Qd1 Qf6 {This line was the main subject of White's calculations, resulting in a sense of assurance that the position is likely winning already.} 28. Nd3 $1 $16 (28. Qd4 $2 Rc8 29. Nd3 Qxf2 $1 30. Qf4+ Qxf4 31. gxf4 (31. exf4 $6 Rc3 $13) 31... Rc6 $14)) 25. Nf4 Qb6 26. Qe2 Rc6 27. Qd2 {White is interested in trading, in order to reduce the pressure around their king, and to stabilize their advantage.} (27. Nd3 $1 Bd6 (27... Ba3 $2 28. Ne5 $1 $18) 28. Nb2 $16) 27... Rec8 28. Rd8 a6 (28... Ba3 $5) 29. Rxc8+ Rxc8 30. Nd3 Ba3 $6 (30... Bd6) 31. Nb2 $2 {Missing a strong continuation, but also landing the knight on a square that at a glance appears helpful for the king's safety but in fact will not solve the potential backrank issues that White has... At this point, both sides had under 10 minutes left to complete the next 10 moves until the time control.} (31. Ne5 $1 $18 Qe6 32. Qd4 b5 (32... Qf5+ 33. e4) 33. e4 $1 (33. b4) 33... a5 34. Qd5 $18) 31... Bb4 $2 {Black offered a draw here. I saw no reason to cut short the excitement.} (31... Qe6 $1 32. Qd4 (32. Nc4 $2 Qf5+ $14 {loses a pawn}) 32... Qf5+ 33. e4 $16) 32. Qd4 Qc6 33. Qf4+ Ka7 34. Qd4+ {White sees an opportunity to repeat moves once and thus gain some time on the clock.} (34. Qc4 $1 $18 {was missed; it forces queen trades, which is in White's favor as a potential continuation.}) 34... Bc5 $1 35. Qd2 $6 (35. Qd5 Qf6 36. Rd2 $16) 35... Bb4 $6 {Black offered a draw again. Both players had 3 minutes each for the next 5 moves.} (35... Qe4+) 36. Qd4+ Bc5 37. Qd7 $6 {Correct idea -- an active queen would be preferable -- but overpushing it a bit. An active and centralized queen would have been even stronger:} (37. Qd5 Qf6 38. Rd2 $16) 37... Qe4+ 38. Qd3 Qf3 39. Rd2 $1 {Down to 1 minute for the final couple of moves, White finds a good move.} (39. Rc1 $1 Rc6 (39... Qxf2 $2 40. b4 $18) 40. Rc2 $1) 39... Bb4 40. Qd4+ $1 (40. Rc2 Qh1+ 41. Qd1 Qe4 42. Qd4+) 40... Bc5 41. Qd5 Qf6 42. Rc2 Qf8 (42... Ba3 $5 43. Qd4+ Qxd4 44. exd4 Rd8 45. Rd2 (45. Nc4 $1 Bb4 46. a3 (46. Ne5 Rxd4 47. Nxg6 Ba3 48. Re2 $1 $18)) 45... Bb4 46. Rd1 $16) 43. Na4 $1 (43. a4 $1 $18) 43... Ba3 44. Qd4+ {Instead of trading rooks, White sees an even better opportunity - to trade queens (and possibly rooks too) $1} Kb8 45. Qf4+ $1 Qxf4 (45... Ka7 46. Qxf8 Rxf8 47. Rd2 Rc8 48. Nb2 b5 49. Nd3 $1 $18) 46. Rxc8+ $1 {A effective intermediate move that trades down to a simpler endgame where White can finally activate their king in the absence of any heavy pieces on the board.} Kxc8 47. exf4 {The doubled f-pawns aren't a problem for White. After the king activates the break-through with f4-f5 will eventually become possible.} Kd7 48. Kc2 b5 49. Nc3 Ke6 50. Kd3 Kf5 (50... Bc5 51. Nd1) 51. Nd5 Kg4 52. Ke4 $1 {Keeping the Black king at bay, above all, and thus not taking any risks.} Bd6 53. Ne3+ Kh3 54. f5 {Settling for a pragmatic move after seeking but (correctly) not finding any working mating ideas. The rest is simple and does not need commentary.} gxf5+ 55. Nxf5 Bc5 56. Kf3 Bf8 57. Nd4 b4 58. Ne6 Bh6 59. Nf4+ 1-0

[Event "WA Class Championships, Class B"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Davies, Cedric"]
[Black "Bimod, Karthik"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "1647"]
[BlackElo "1510"]
[Annotator "Davies,Cedric"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2023.11.25"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "6"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,65,20,13,35,35,34,2,16,-43,-43,-45,-18,-18,-14,-17,-4,-4,-26,-13,-4,7,43,42,26,4,4,-6,0,72,64,57,113,168,344,-9,51,22,158,158,182,187,463,472,615,79,130,126,67,18,110,0,134,134,533,683,840,792,29993,29994,29995,29996,29997,29996,29997,29998,29999,29999]} 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e5 c5 4. b4 {The French Wing Gambit. This is the first time I've tried it in a tournament game. The idea is to give up a pawn to establish a strong central pawn chain.} cxb4 5. a3 Nc6 6. axb4 Bxb4 7. c3 Ba5 8. d4 Nge7 9. Bd3 {The gambit has done it's job. For the cost of a pawn, White has a solid pawn chain, a strong Bishop on d3 and possibly later a strong Bishop on a3. The position is about equal, but I prefer to play as White. The moves come more naturally and White has great chances to mount a kingside attack.} Bd7 10. Ba3 Qb6 11. O-O h6 {A good defensive move. If Black were to castle right away he could run into some trouble.} (11... O-O {For example:} 12. Ng5 g6 (12... h6 13. Nh7 Rfd8 14. Nf6+ gxf6 (14... Kh8 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 16. Nxd7 Rxd7 17. Qa4 Nc6 18. Bb5 $18) 15. Qg4+ Kf8 16. exf6 $18) 13. Qg4 Kg7 14. Qh4 h6 15. Nh3 $16) 12. Qd2 O-O 13. g4 $5 {Striking out at the h6 weakness with gusto! Perhaps better would have been to prepare further with moves like Ra2-b2, Kh1-Rg1, or even Bc2-Qd3. After playing this move, I started worrying of Black playing f6 or f5 and making use of the weakened f-file.} Rfe8 $2 {It makes sense to want to get out of the pin, but the move is too passive. Much better here is f6.} (13... f6 14. exf6 Rxf6 15. Ne5 Be8 16. Bxe7 Nxe7 17. g5 hxg5 18. Qxg5 Nc6 $15 {With this potential for Black, I now feel that my g4 move was premature.}) 14. g5 h5 15. g6 $1 {The pawn pushes on! I sacrifice another pawn to open up the g5 square for my Queen. My attack is starting to come together. I was getting gleeful here of my attacking prospects, while underestimating Nf5 as a defensive resource. I also wasn't thinking of the possibility of Black counterattacking in the center by Bxc3 or Nxd4. It's important in chess to be able to objectively evaluate a position. I bet many of us suffer from being overly optimistic of our own chances. I certainly believed I was a few moves away from a crushing position.} fxg6 ({Better is} 15... Nxg6 16. Qg5 ({And not} 16. Bxg6 fxg6 17. Qg5 Rf8 $1 18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. Nh4 Qd8 $17) 16... Bxc3 17. Nxc3 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Ne2 $16) 16. Qg5 Rac8 $2 {The computer evaluation jumps from +1.2 to +4.3 for White after this move.} ({Better is} 16... Rf8 17. Nh4 Bxc3 18. Nxc3 Qxd4 19. Bxe7 Nxe7 20. Rad1 Qg4+ 21. Qxg4 hxg4 $16) 17. Nh4 $2 {Here I made a big mistake, wiping away all of my advantage, according to the computer. I of course saw the position after Bxg6 Qxg6 (Black move) Ng5 and the danger it posed, but I couldn't see a direct mate, or how to continue. So then I thought, maybe it's better to bring in another attacking piece, exchange knights on g6 and keep my Queen-Bishop battery. Here again, I'm thinking optimistically about my prospects, not seeing how he doesn't need to exchange knights and how well Nf5 works to block my Bishop. Nh4 is too slow and diverts the Knight away from its best square: g5} (17. Bxg6 Nxg6 18. Qxg6 {And Black can only stop mate by giving up their Queen. For example:} Ne7 19. Bxe7 Rxe7 20. Ng5 Ree8 21. Qf7+ Kh8 22. Qxh5+ Kg8 23. Re1 $1 {What I couldn't see in my head before playing Nh4. The Rook comes into the attack to deliver the decisive blow} Qb2 24. Qf7+ Kh8 25. Re3 {And Black can only stop mate with Qc1+ and Qxe3}) 17... Nf5 18. Nxg6 Nfxd4 {A complete shock! I was so focused on the kingside, I hasn't considered Black blowing apart the center. I want to give Black a ! for the idea, but not for the move as both Bxc3 and Ncxd4 are better options.} (18... Bxc3 $1 19. Nxc3 Ncxd4 20. Qxh5 Rxc3 21. Rfb1 $11 {The position is quite dynamic. Black is 2 pawns up and his counter attack is gaining momentum, but White can force a draw by repetition.} Qc7 22. Qh8+ Kf7 23. Qh5 Kg8) (18... Ncxd4 19. cxd4 Qxd4 20. Bxf5 exf5 21. Ne7+ Rxe7 {The Rook must take. Any King move leads to disaster.} 22. Bxe7 Bc7 23. Bf6 Qg4+ 24. Qxg4 hxg4 $18) 19. Qxh5 {The right thing to do is to ignore Black's sacrifice and continue on. Black is forced to spend the next move bringing the Knight back to its defensive post on f5, otherwise he will face disaster.} Nf5 ({For example:} 19... a6 $2 20. Nf8 $3 {Black has to give up material to avoid mate.} Nb4 (20... Nf5 21. Qh7+ Kf7 22. Qg6+ Kg8 23. Nxd7 $18) (20... Rxf8 21. Qh7+ Kf7 22. Bg6#) 21. cxb4 Nf5 22. Qh7+ Kxf8 23. bxa5+ Qc5 24. Rc1 $1 Qxa3 25. Nxa3 $18) 20. Ra2 {In the game I was feeling quite bummed at this point. It seemed to me that my attack had fizzled. That darned Knight was back on f5 blocking my Bishop and I had no good way to remove it. Black now has counterplay in the center. My e5 pawn is suddenly looking weak. I was also low on time. About 12 minutes left to make the next 20 moves. Again, it's important to be objective and not let emotions control your position. My attacking chances are still there. The computer here gives a +1.8 pawn advantage to White. So, I really should have been feeling better about my position than I was. I see that my Rooks aren't participating so I work towards activating them.} Qb3 $2 {Black has the idea to use his Queen along the 4th rank, but it's a mistake, as it ends up trapped and not able to participate in the defense of his position.} 21. Rb2 Qa4 22. c4 $2 {I saw that Black had put his Queen into a precarious position. If I play Bb5, the Queen has an escape square on e4. And if I play Bc2, the Queen can go to c4. So I hit on the idea, which I thought was brillant at the time, to play c4! He can't take, because if he does, he takes away his c4 escape square, and I can trap the Queen with Bc2. And if he doesn't take, I eliminate my weakness and undermine the f5 Knight by exchanging on d5. All well in good. But I should have calculated 2 levels deep to see that I could have indeed trapped the Queen from this position.} ({Much better is} 22. Bb5 Qe4 23. Nd2 $18 {And the Queen is trapped}) 22... Ncd4 23. cxd5 exd5 24. Bd6 {I only have around 5 minutes left to reach move 40. Here I wanted to play Rxb7, but after Black plays Rc7 he eliminates my attacking piece. My idea was Bd6 stops Rc7 and now he might play b6, blocking the Bishop from coming back to the defense, a small victory. I was also trying to tempt Black into exchanging away his f5 Knight.} b5 25. Kh1 {My queen's Rook has been activated, though maybe not to much effect. Now I work to activate the king's Rook on the g-file.} b4 $2 {This can't be the right move. The computer gives Nh6 with a slight edge to Black. After this move, the pendulum swings heavily in White's favor.} (25... Nh6 26. Ne7+ Rxe7 27. Bxe7 Ne6 28. Bg5 Qd4 29. Rb3 Nxg5 30. Qxg5 Nf7 $15) 26. Rg1 Bd8 $2 {A losing move, but Black was already in a losing position.} 27. Rxb4 Qc6 28. Rxd4 Nxd4 {With the Knight finally removed from f5, the end is near} 29. Ne7+ {A clearing sacrifice. I've waited a long time to utilize the b1-h7 diagnal.} Bxe7 30. Qh7+ Kf7 31. Rxg7+ Ke6 32. Qg6+ {Here Black resigned because it is mate next move} Bf6 33. Qxf6# {An intense battle. The opening gambit gave me extra space on the kingside from which to launch an attack, which I did. Black had chances to strike back in the center, which he also did. I was able to activate my Rooks to bring new pieces into the attack, and with one or two imprecise defensive moves by Black, emege victorious. I hope you enjoyed the game.} 1-0

[Event "WA Class Championships, Class D"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Haining, Breck"]
[Black "Ganesan, Vidur"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[WhiteElo "1300"]
[BlackElo "1270"]
[Annotator "Breck Haining"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,73,13,25,108,67,84,76,75,50,83,54,63,36,36,26,81,49,61,29,27,31,31,29,47,18,19,-1,16,22,26,27,256,235,268,268,246,231,247,251,296,289,323,338,416,406,406,332,417,446,448,352,353,322,333,355,370,368,406,411,405,405,505,400,883,898,898,909,1041,1261,1307,1345,2452,29978,29981,29982]} 1. e4 g6 {The Modern Defense with 1.e4.  My son, Kyle, sometimes plays this defense as Black, a defense he learned from Ignacio Perez.  Since retirement I have started playing more often on Chess.com.  I usually play 1.g6 now when playing as Black, trying to play as I've seen my son play, but I only know the first few moves.  This is not a defense I typically encounter on Chess.com.} 2. d4 {I usually follow 1.e4 with 2.Nf3, 2.Nc3, or 2.Bc4, but I think my opponent intends to continue with the Modern Defense.  Thinking back to the many times I have been crushed on Chess.com playing this defense as Black, what comes to mind is the major mistake I think I make is to allow my opponents to grab too much space, so I launch out with 2.d4.} Bg7 {I've seen several people respond to 2.Bg7 with 3.f4, but this seems too aggressive to me.  I have also had opponents play 3.c4.  This seems better than 3.f4.  I think one would need to know lines better to play 3. c4 or 3.f4.} 3. Nc3 {3.Nc3 seems reasonable to me.} d6 {3.d6, okay, this was expected.  I don't really know how to play against this defense, but keep thinking "grab space."  I think about playing 4.Bc4, but don't like how I see play continuing.  I could play 4.Be2, which seems solid, but think at this point I want to allow my queen the freedom to move out along the diagonal.  4.Ng3 also seems solid, but depending on how my opponent plays I might want to try aggressively playing f4 before putting my knight on f3.} 4. Bd3 {The computer doesn't like this move at all.  The engine says I had a slight advantage before.  Now the game is equal.} Nd7 {I didn't expect 4.Nd7.  I think players usually go with 4.Nf6.  The engine says I have regained my slight advantage.} 5. Be3 {If higher level players are bothering to look at this game they're probably having a good chuckle and probably won't ready any further. I've given back my advantage.  Clearly I'm hoping to create a battery to capture Black's fianchettoed bishop.} e6 {Too passive, in my mind.} 6. f4 {I am emboldened and play 6.f4.} Ne7 7. Nf3 {Now 7.Nf3.} h6 {Again, too passive in my mind.} 8. Qd2 {I've prepared my battery and can castle either way, though I really have no thoughts of castling queen side.} a6 {A good move, but I think my opponent will run into problems as I am controlling more space.} 9. a4 {The engine likes castling king side better, but I plan to do so soon enough.} b6 10. O-O {My pieces are developed and I am happy enough with my position.} Bb7 11. b4 {The engine doesn't much like this move, but I'm not playing an engine, I'm playing a real person, and I think with this opponent 11.b4 is going to help me.  I'm grabbing more space.} Rc8 12. Ne2 {12.Ne2 is not a line the computer likes.  The engine thinks it is best to push a pawn, either 12.f5, 12.b5, or 12.e5.  I'm thinking clear space for my c pawn while brining my knight around for additional king side protection.} c5 13. bxc5 bxc5 14. c3 {The engine likes 14.Rab1 better, but 14. c3 is the next favored line.} Qc7 15. Rab1 Nb6 {... 15.Nb6 is a mistake.  I didn't see it right away, but soon enough.} 16. Qb2 {My opponent is going to lose a minor piece, no two ways about it.  I'm feeling much better about the game now.  My opponent is in a tough spot now.  He thinks for a long time.} Bxe4 {The computer likes 16.c4 a bit better, but I think my opponent has found the best continuation and have to applaud his decision.} 17. Bxe4 Nc4 18. Qc1 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 {I don't like losing my dark square bishop, but I'm still content with my play.  By my count I'm up two points.  The engine says I'm up just under two.} cxd4 20. cxd4 d5 21. Rfc1 Qa7 {17.Qd8, 17.Qd7, and 17.Qd6 are better choices.  I have enough defenders of the pawn on d4 and what I really want to do now is trade off more material.} 22. Rxc8+ Nxc8 23. Bd3 {I retreat.   The engine says 23.Bxg6 is much better.} (23. Bxg6 {[%eval 341,0]} O-O {[%eval 342,0]} (23... fxg6 24. Qxe6+ {[%eval 478,0]})) 23... Nb6 24. a5 Nd7 25. Qd2 {The engine likes 25.Bg6 much better.  I guess that pawn on e6 is pretty weak.  My plan is to go after the a pawn after putting my king in the corner.  My pawn on d4 is still protected well, but I want to free up my knights.} O-O {Better late than never? Kids, don't try this at home.  Castle earlier.} 26. Kh1 {I feel better with my king in the corner, but the computer says this wasn't such a good move.  26.Qc1, 26.Qc2, and 26.Qc3 are all considerably better moves.} Rc8 27. Ne5 {The engine agrees, this is the best move.} Nxe5 28. fxe5 {Yeah!  The engine agrees I took back the right way!} h5 {The computer does not like this move.  More importantly, I don't like this move.  My opponent is not playing a computer.  He's playing me. Advancing this pawn makes me a bit nervous.  Now I don't lke where my king is so well.  I'm okay, but need to pay attention and strive not to blunder.} 29. Rb6 {Best move, but it is fairly obvious.} Qc7 30. Bxa6 Rb8 {Trading off rooks seems like an even trade, but I come out in a much better position.  The engine adds 1.7 to my advantage.} 31. Qb2 {Unknowingly, I give up most of that advantage.  Better would have been 31. Qc3.} Rxb6 {At this point my opponent has completely lost, but I don't think he knows it.  He fights on, which is commendable.  I could blunder, but I'm determined not to do so.} 32. axb6 Qb8 33. b7 Bf8 34. Qb5 Be7 35. Qd7 Bd8 {The computer says mate in 18.  Ha, ha, ha.  Who can find a mate in 18? Do you want to try? Not me.} 36. Qc8 Qc7 37. b8=Q {Res.} 1-0

[Event "WA Class SCC Adult Swiss"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Louie, Henry"]
[Black "Christy, John"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B94"]
[WhiteElo "1310"]
[BlackElo "1472"]
[Annotator "John Christy"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2023.09.28"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

{[%evp 0,56,19,38,40,41,66,66,57,33,33,38,58,66,75,71,59,40,28,21,62,37,43,67,58,38,40,34,62,36,41,48,61,50,72,41,93,113,116,118,162,158,172,174,176,79,99,-284,-481,-532,-507,-29993,-29994,-29995,-29996,-29997,-29998,-29999,-29999]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 h6 $6 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O h5 10. Kb1 Bh6 11. Qd3 Ne5 12. Qe2 Bg4 13. f3 Bd7 14. Qf2 Rc8 15. Nf5 Bxf5 16. exf5 Qd7 17. Bd3 Rxc3 18. bxc3 Nxd3 19. cxd3 Qb5+ 20. Qb2 Qxf5 21. Qxb7 O-O 22. Qe4 $11 Rb8+ 23. Kc2 $4 {the losing blunder!} Qa5 $3 24. Ra1 Rc8 25. c4 $4 Qd2+ 26. Kb3 Rb8+ {[#] Henry actually resigned here. Checkmate is unstoppable, Henry knew it; and resigned.} 27. Qb7 {these are various variations, it's a mating attack} (27. Ka3 Qb4#) (27. Ka4 Qb4#) 27... Rxb7+ 28. Ka3 (28. Ka4 Qb4#) 28... Qb4# 0-1

[Event "WA Class Rapid Championship, Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.25"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Tu, Robin"]
[Black "Boey, Chad"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C30"]
[WhiteElo "1777"]
[BlackElo "1716"]
[Annotator "Chad Boey"]
[PlyCount "28"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]

{[%evp 0,28,26,22,22,-29,13,12,37,33,20,6,2,-199,-196,-172,-121,-122,-104,-147,-169,-188,-125,-314,-314,-1214,-1942,-29997,-29998,-29999,-29999] This game is inspired by Greco, my favorite player.} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 $5 {Greco style} 4. exf5 e4 5. Ng5 $6 {5.Ne5 is slightly better} Nf6 6. Bc4 $4 d5 7. Be2 Bc5 8. Bh5+ Kf8 9. Nf7 $2 Qe8 10. Nxh8 Nxh5 11. d3 $2 Bxf5 12. g4 $4 exd3+ 13. Kd2 Qe3+ 14. Kc3 {I touch the d-pawn and almost took on c2. Then I noticed that ramming it into d2 was mate.} d2# {0-1 Black wins.} 0-1

[Event "WA Class Championships, Class A"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Wang, Leonardo"]
[Black "Boey, Chad"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D32"]
[WhiteElo "1708"]
[BlackElo "1756"]
[Annotator "Chad Boey"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,46,38,30,38,-9,-3,4,45,45,25,7,19,19,15,-7,7,-10,30,36,27,-21,2,-32,-22,-17,-27,-18,-10,-15,-7,-10,-12,-25,-95,-614,-1509,-29989,-29990,-29991,-29992,-29995,-29996,-29997,-29996,-29997,-29998,-29999,-29999]} 1. d4 e6 {A waiting move. I want to see some clues to what white wants to do before I commit to ..d5 or ..f5 or ..Nf6. In the first round of this tournament, I committed to a Dutch defense early. The result of that game was a draw in 56 moves after five hours of play.} 2. c4 d5 3. Nc3 {Now it is decided, this will not be an exchange Slav that I see happening so often here.} c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be2 Bd6 {7...cxd4 was also considered. After 8.Nxd4 Bd6 9.Ncb5 Bb8 I believe black's position is pleasant with chances for an attack later.} 8. O-O O-O 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Nb5 {A routine maneuver for the knight to land on the d4 square where it will blockade the isolated pawn.} Re8 11. Nbd4 Bg4 12. Nxc6 {This move I don't understand except that maybe white's long-term goal is to gang up on the weak c-pawn. The queen's knights are traded for no gain nor loss.} bxc6 13. b3 Qe7 14. Bb2 Ne4 {My only intention behind this move is to prevent white from exchanging another minor piece. I sensed an eagerness to simplify and I did not want to cooperate.} 15. Qc2 Rac8 16. Rfd1 {The first mistake of the game and as it turns out, a fatal one. White's heavy pieces have abandoned the delicate f2-e3 structure. I took a long think here to calculate.} Nxf2 $1 17. Kxf2 $4 {I calculated that this move leads to a mate in 7 so I dismissed it and assumed white would play instead 17.Qc3 to which I planned to respond with 17...d4. However, I overlooked the possibility of 18.Rxd4! which seems to hold white's position together. The resulting exchanges that would follow would result in a position where black is only a mere pawn up but in a dreadfully stale position.} Qxe3+ 18. Kg3 Qf2+ {The king! Always the king!} 19. Kxg4 Qxg2+ 20. Kh4 Bf2+ 21. Kh5 g6+ 22. Kh6 Be3+ 23. Ng5 Bxg5# 0-1

[Event "WA Class Championships, Master"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "He, Daniel"]
[Black "Willy, Stephen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2357"]
[BlackElo "2203"]
[Annotator "Daniel He"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2023.11.26"]

{[%evp 0,93,28,38,48,33,35,45,39,38,38,9,31,8,20,33,27,27,2,2,-2,7,2,25,43,40,40,31,34,0,57,-19,-11,-213,-31,-44,-40,-44,-44,-37,-42,-29,-28,-65,-14,-90,-92,-202,-136,-136,30,36,53,-15,-3,0,155,0,135,135,143,77,77,148,124,167,75,0,195,118,118,118,122,179,219,36,301,36,146,254,362,362,306,445,453,455,455,249,29993,29994,29995,29996,29997,29998,29999,29999] This game illustrates quite well the power of a dynamic advantage, which in my own terms consists of a lead in development and the opponent's weak king.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 {The French Steinitz variation, where White usually maintains a nice pawn center but Black aims for pawn breaks at either c5 or f6 to chip at it.} Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 {A sideline that immediately attacks the b2 pawn before White is able to 0-0-0} 9. Na4 Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Qb6 11. Qd2 {Sacrificing the b2 pawn for the initiative} Qxb2 12. Rb1 Qa3 13. Bb5 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 a6 15. Rb3 Qe7 16. Ba4 Qd8 (16... b5 17. Bxb5 {This is the point. Due to being behind in development, Black's king is stuck in the center and is all tangled up} axb5 18. Nxb5 Qd8 19. Qc3 {White will win the exchange with Nc7+}) 17. Bb6 Qh4+ 18. Bf2 Qd8 19. Bb6 Qh4+ 20. g3 Qg4 21. Ne4 $5 {Offering the knight, but it cannot be taken.} Be7 (21... dxe4 22. Rc3 {The threat of Rxc8+ is deadly and Black's queen is offsides and cannot help defend.} Bb4 23. Rxc8+ Rxc8 24. Bxd7+ Ke7 25. Qxb4+ Kxd7 26. Qd6+ Ke8 27. O-O $1 {Simply threatening Rd1 and black is helpless against it}) 22. Nc5 Bxc5 23. Bxc5 b5 24. Ba3 {Making room for Qb4 with the mate threat} Qg6 $2 (24... Nxe5 {The best move according to theory which can lead to a draw by repetition} 25. fxe5 (25. Qb4 $5 Ng6 {Quite a sharp position which is hard to evaluate, but the engine calls it dynamically equal.}) 25... Qe4+ 26. Kf2 Qxh1 {Black has a perpetual check as soon as white plays Qb4}) 25. Re3 f5 26. exf6 Nxf6 27. f5 {Giving up another pawn to open up the f-file. In such an open position, piece activity is far more valuable than pawns.} Qh6 {I believe this is Black's best try, threatening Ne4 and Ng4} (27... Qf7 28. fxe6 Bxe6 29. O-O {A long-lasting initiative and black is still unable to castle on either side.} bxa4 30. Qd4) (27... Qxf5 28. Rf1 Qg6 29. Qb4 Qf7 30. Bb3 {I evaluated this as a bit better for white also keeping a long-lasting initiative. One idea from here is invade on the dark squares with a rook maneuver such as Rc3-Rc7.}) 28. Qc3 {Active defense! Getting out of the pin and activating the queen} Ne4 29. Qc6+ Kd8 30. Qb6+ Ke8 31. Qc6+ {I was ready to play Rxe4, but given the extremely sharp nature of the position, the repetition of moves is strategic to speed up the game to move 40 for the second time control where more time is crucial for the necessary calculation.} Kd8 32. Qb6+ Ke8 33. Rxe4 dxe4 34. Qc6+ Kd8 35. Qb6+ Ke8 36. Qc5 {It is essential to play Qc5 when the king is on e8 instead of d8 so Black cannot play Bd7 and shield the king} Qf6 (36... Qg5 37. Qc6+ Kf7 38. O-O {If black ever plays exf5, Bb3+ comes and another piece joins the action}) 37. Qc6+ Kd8 38. Qb6+ Ke8 39. Qc6+ Kd8 40. Ke2 {Black has no checks! The last piece, the Rh1, is activated.} Ra7 41. Qb6+ (41. Rd1+ Rd7 {Rd7 stops my entire initiative so I discarded this move}) 41... Rc7 (41... Ke8 42. Qxa7 {Black could have played like this, but it's already dangerous} bxa4 43. Rd1 {It's well known that opposite colored bishop endgames are often drawn, but with queens on, the attacking side has the huge edge. It's illustrated nicely here since Black's light squared bishop is helpless on the dark squares where the threats lie.}) 42. Rd1+ Bd7 43. Bb3 $1 {I'm quite proud of this move! The bishop finally retreats after spending half of the game being left attacked on a4.} (43. Bd6 {I considered this immediate threat but Qc3 looked unclear because it allows Black's queen some counterplay.} Qc3) 43... Qxf5 $4 {Loses on the spot to a combination} (43... exf5 44. Rd6 {Ending with Be6 creates decisive threats. Black is unable to keep the checks} Qg5 45. Rxd7+ Kxd7 46. Be6+ Ke8 47. Qxc7 Qh5+ 48. Ke1 {Black's checks run out}) 44. Qb8+ Rc8 45. Rxd7+ Kxd7 46. Qd6+ Ke8 47. Qe7# {1-0 White wins.} 1-0

[Event "WA Class Championships, Master"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Haining, Kyle"]
[Black "Min, Ryan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C68"]
[WhiteElo "2298"]
[BlackElo "2115"]
[Annotator "Kyle Haining"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "2023.11.26"]

{[%evp 0,83,17,24,24,7,15,4,20,13,16,29,36,25,44,58,56,37,48,-24,-14,-33,-28,-28,-13,-39,-43,-60,-58,-116,-62,-63,-26,-21,-3,0,0,-1,13,13,34,36,40,51,51,50,113,115,137,122,143,143,172,137,146,126,130,132,150,149,156,165,185,185,188,140,189,165,189,53,205,236,266,315,324,266,316,310,375,489,497,505,505,505,505,536]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5 {Black goes for one of the sharper lines against the Exchange Ruy Lopez} 7. d3 ({Taking the bishop is not a good idea} 7. hxg4 $2 hxg4 8. Nh2 Qh4 $19 {wins for Black}) 7... Qf6 8. Nbd2 g5 $5 {a less played move, which I missed in my opening preparation} ({Main line is} 8... Ne7 9. Re1 Ng6 10. d4 {with a balanced game}) 9. Re1 $6 {White likes to play this move to threaten taking the bishop at some point. This was not the right response here however} ({Better was} 9. Nc4 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Qxf3 11. gxf3 f6 12. Be3) 9... Be6 ({If} 9... Bd6 $2 {White can take the bishop} 10. hxg4 hxg4 11. Nh2 Qh6 12. Ndf1 $1 $18) 10. d4 {in view of such a fearsome kingside attack, White needs to strike in the center} g4 ({If} 10... exd4 {computer gives the wild line} 11. e5 Qg7 12. Ne4 g4 13. Nxd4 O-O-O 14. Bg5 {with chances on both sides}) 11. Nxe5 gxh3 12. Qf3 hxg2 13. Qxf6 Nxf6 14. f4 {trying to blot out the Black bishop with f5} Bg4 15. Kxg2 Bh6 $6 {the Black bishop ended up being rather useless here} ({To maintain the advantage, Black needed to play more aggressively with} 15... Rg8 16. Kf2 O-O-O {jettisoning the f7 pawn} 17. c3 c5 $1 18. Nxf7 Rd7 19. Ne5 Rdg7 $15 {with active compensation}) 16. Ndf3 Rh7 {guarding f7 and preparing to long-castle. White's position still looks shaky, but after a long think I realized that a series of exchanges favor me} 17. Nxg4 Nxg4 18. Ne5 $5 {a stabilizing move. Computer prefers others, but over the board it was nice to trade and reduce Black's play} (18. Nh4 $1 O-O-O 19. Nf5 $16 {would have been better, but Black can still try to get active}) 18... Nxe5 $2 (18... Rg7 {Black needs to play this version of the endgame} 19. Nxg4 Rxg4+ 20. Kf3 Ke7 21. Be3 Rag8 22. Rg1 {the difference is now Black can play} f5 $1 23. exf5 Kf6) 19. dxe5 $16 {now White has a pleasant endgame} O-O-O 20. Be3 Rg8+ 21. Kf3 Rhg7 22. Rg1 {White is in time to trade} Rg4 23. Rxg4 hxg4+ 24. Kg3 $18 Kd7 25. Rh1 Bf8 26. Rh4 Ke6 27. Rxg4 Rxg4+ 28. Kxg4 c5 29. c4 {fixing the pawn on a dark square} b5 30. b3 Be7 31. Bf2 c6 32. Bh4 Bf8 33. Kh5 Bg7 34. Bf6 Bf8 (34... Bxf6 {doesn't work} 35. exf6 Kxf6 36. Kh6 Ke6 37. Kg7 Ke7 38. f5 b4 39. e5 {White will win the f7 pawn eventually}) 35. a4 {Black's bishop has run out of moves} Kd7 36. f5 Kc7 37. Bh8 Kd7 38. f6 bxc4 39. bxc4 Ke6 40. Bg7 Kxe5 (40... Bxg7 41. fxg7 {and the pawn queens}) 41. Bxf8 Kxf6 42. Bd6 {1-0} 1-0

[Event "WA Class Championship Rapid, Open"]
[Site "Bellevue, WA"]
[Date "2023.11.25"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wei, Te"]
[Black "Ramaswamy, Rishi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "1790"]
[BlackElo "1636"]
[Annotator "Wei,Te"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2023.??.??"]
[EventType "rapid"]

{[%evp 0,72,5,-55,-19,-19,-28,-27,-26,-29,-11,-10,14,0,8,8,23,21,24,19,26,26,23,51,54,55,52,49,58,69,63,67,62,57,71,60,52,-8,324,0,0,-17,240,261,231,-32,23,28,28,28,3,14,15,16,99,21,18,-2,-1,-77,-66,-367,139,139,393,398,421,167,365,388,391,311,434,-607,-716]} 1. f4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 Bg4 4. b3 e6 5. Bb2 c5 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. d3 O-O 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. Nbd2 a5 11. a4 Qc7 12. Qe1 h6 13. Ne5 Bf5 14. Ndf3 Kh8 15. Nh4 (15. Kh1 Qb7 16. Rg1 Nd7 17. g4 Bg6 18. Nxg6+ fxg6 19. Qg3 Kh7 20. f5 g5 21. h4) 15... Bh7 16. Qg3 {try to bring more pieces for the attack} Nh5 17. Qh3 Nf6 18. f5 (18. g4 {probably better with g pawn push acting as additional support for later f5} d4 19. e4 Nd7 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. f5 h5) 18... Nd7 19. Qg3 $2 {not good, could be much better if play Nhg6} (19. Nhg6+ Bxg6 20. Nxg6+ Kh7 21. Nxf8+) 19... Bd6 20. d4 Nxe5 21. dxe5 Be7 22. fxe6 $2 {bad move, should play f6 utilizing the b2-h8 diagonal} (22. f6 Rg8 (22... gxf6 23. exf6 Qxg3 24. fxe7+) 23. fxe7) 22... fxe6 23. Ng6+ Bxg6 24. Qxg6 Bg5 25. Qxe6 Bxe3+ 26. Kh1 Qc8 27. Qxc8 Raxc8 28. Rxf8+ Rxf8 29. Ba3 d4 30. Bxc5 Rf2 31. c3 d3 32. Bxe3 Re2 33. Bf4 d2 34. Bg3 Re3 35. c4 Rc3 36. Rg1 $2 {bad move leading to resign} (36. Bf4) 0-1

[Event "WA Class Championships, Class B"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2023.11.26"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Demberel, Amana"]
[Black "Kehl, Hans"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C07"]
[WhiteElo "1614"]
[BlackElo "1723"]
[Annotator "Hans Kehl"]
[PlyCount "127"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 {First big decision. I normally like closed positions and play ...Nf6 followed by 4.e5 Nd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nd2 Nc6. But the previous morning I had been tortured in a long closed game out of a queen pawn opening by a middle-school kid who had me completely crushed until he made a blunder (too many good choices to force the win led to him choosing the only one where I had a tactic that allowed me to escape with a rook up - my position was so bad that it still took me 25 moves to untangle my pieces and grind out the win)... So today I chose to open things up.} 4. c3 Nc6 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. cxd4 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Nf6 8. Nxf6+ Qxf6 {So far, so good. I’ve forced the isolated d-pawn, and now I have a pretty simple plan: complete development of my pieces, and then stack up on the d-pawn.} 9. Bc4 Bb4+ {I think my opponent should play a3 to prevent my bishop from developing with check. It’s also not clear that the bishop is well placed on c4 diagonal with the e6-pawn being solid as a rock. Then again, as I pointed out before, my openings are pretty weak, so what do I know?} 10. Bd2 O-O 11. Bxb4 Nxb4 12. Qe2 Rd8 {I wasn’t sure why my opponent played Qe2, but he said later that he wanted to avoid the d-file when my rook inevitably moved over. I thought at the time he was doubling down on pressuring my e6-pawn, which seemed like a faulty plan, so I was happy.} 13. Rd1 a6 {I considered the immediate 13...b5 instead of ...a6 first, sacrificing the pawn to get the bishop on the b7-diagonal more quickly. But in the end, I figured I would be able to pick up the isolated pawn eventually, so I thought I’d be patient.} 14. O-O b5 15. Bd3 Nxd3 {I was happy to trade off my knight for his bishop because White’s king bishop is generally a fearsome attacker in the French...but I think I probably should have hung on to my knight. I considered 15...Nxa2, but thank goodness I saw 16.Bxh7+ Kxh7 17.Qe4+ winning my rook on a8. This is what finally convinced me to get rid of that darn bishop, but I think 15...Bb7 is a pretty reasonable alternative here.} 16. Rxd3 Bb7 17. Rfd1 Rd6 18. Qe5 Rad8 19. Qxf6 gxf6 {Let’s take stock. I’m happy with the queen trade, and now my plan is to get a timely ...e5 to win that isolated d-pawn. I don’t feel bad about the f6-pawn either, as it controls the g5 and e5 entries for the knight.} 20. Ne1 Be4 21. R3d2 e5 {And here it is -- I have my opponent’s knight dominated, and the d-pawn is going to fall. I feel great! However, this is the wrong idea, and actually the position is very even. “Winning” the d-pawn will leave me with isolated pawns on h, f, and d with a bishop against my opponent’s knight. No victory there.} 22. f3 Bf5 23. d5 $2 Kf8 {As an aside the immediate 23...Be6??, while being strategically correct, would have lost the game, as 24.dxe6! Rxd2 25.Rxd2 Rxd2 26.e7 and the rook can’t get back and the King can’t get over. I forgot how many tactics there are lurking even in the simplest positions!} 24. Kf2 Be6 {Now …Be6 works.} 25. Nc2 Rxd5 26. Rxd5 Rxd5 27. Rxd5 Bxd5 28. a3 f5 {Entering the endgame, I’m feeling great! I’ve won that d-pawn which was my objective from the opening, and pawns on both sides of the board make my bishop reasonably strong against the knight. He of course isn’t going to make it easy on me and is putting his pawns on the dark squares where they will be safe from my bishop. Unfortunately, while I’ve achieved my opening and middle game objectives, I’m not sure what my plan should be going forward, so I decide to get more space with …f5.} 29. Nb4 Bb7 30. Nd3 f6 31. Nc5 $2 Bc8 {I remember reading a Chess Life article back when I was a kid in the ‘70s, where the author, who was also a go-master, used the word tesu-ji to describe placing a bishop three squares in front of a knight to dominate the knight’s squares. I’m happy with my bishop in the tesu-ji position I was hoping for when this sequence started on move 29. In reality, 31.f4 completely blockades the position, or leaves black’s pawns too isolated to be useful. Piece activity and outposts are great in the middle game, but endgames are a different kettle of fish.} 32. g3 Ke7 33. Ke3 Kd6 34. b4 Kd5 {Creating an outpost or the knight on c5 is the wrong idea as it can’t really threaten anything. The knight needs to get active instead.} 35. Kd2 a5 36. Kc3 e4 37. Nb3 a4 $6 38. Na5 $2 exf3 {Then he obliges by putting himself back into the barn. 38.Nd4 was a much better, more natural looking move. Responding to with 38...Bd7?? (using the tesu-ji idea) would be a terrible mistake as after 39.f4 the position is blockaded. The only way to win after 38.Nd4 is to play either 38...f4, sacrificing a pawn to prevent the f4 square from being blocked, or 38...exf3 with the same idea. This is the same idea my opponent should have followed on move 31. As it stands, I am now up two pawns, and my opponent’s knight is trapped. At this point I was thinking “How can I possibly do anything but win this game? First place here I come -- 32 years later, no practice, and I still got it!” Something about counting my chickens before they hatch springs to mind.} 39. Kd3 f2 40. Ke2 Be6 $6 {At this stage, I’m starting to drift a little. I know my opponent’s plan is for his king to somehow trap my king on the a-file, with my bishop being the wrong color for the queening square. If that is not his plan he should just resign. Unfortunately for him, my bishop can control the c2-square, so this plan won’t work. …Be6 is an attempt to get my bishop on controlling the c2-square, and maybe even get on the h1-a8 diagonal and permanently get my opponents knight trapped in the barn. 40...Kd4, c3, b2, a3 is a simple, simple, win.} 41. Kxf2 Kd4 42. Nc6+ Kc3 43. Ke3 Bc4 {Trying to protect my b-pawn and control some of the access for my opponent’s king.} 44. Nd4 Bd3 45. Nc6 Be4 {Thinking that I need to control that c2 square so my king can march in, grab the a-pawn, and still escape.} 46. Nd4 Kc4 {Defending the b-pawn, but I don’t think this is a good solution. The bishop needs to defend the pawn, as the king has another job -- to take the a-pawn.} 47. h4 h5 {I played …h5 without thinking, but the reality is 48.g4 almost wins for White, as 48...fxg4 hangs the bishop, and after 48...hxg5 the black bishop barely gets back to stop the h-pawn from queening. Immediately after I played ...h5, I realized I should have at least calculated what was going on before playing it! A lesson for next time.} 48. Ne2 Kb3 49. Kd2 Kxa3 50. Kc3 Ka2 {Finally. My plan has worked. My bishop controls the c2-square, my king can escape. I can give up the a-pawn, and march my king over to the king side, pick off his pawns, and win the endgame. I was starting to congratulate myself on playing a decent opening and middle game and having executed the winning plan in the endgame.} 51. Nd4 Kb1 $4 {The obvious correct move is 51...a3. I knew it, I had planned for it, and I just needed to play it. But somehow, I started thinking: “Well, if I play 51...a3, after 52.Nxb5 Bc6 53.Nd4 he is attacking my bishop, and he has a passed pawn as well. I then have to play something like 53...Be4 maintaining control of the c2-square for my king’s escape, and he’ll play 54.Nc2. I can’t play 54...Bxc2 because after king takes, my king is trapped, and his passed pawn wins. So I’m stuck with a draw.” But the reality is after 53.Nd4 Kb1! my a-pawn will queen if he takes the bishop, so he has to play 54.Nb3, and after 54...a2 55.Nd2+ Kc1 56.Nb3+ Kd1 57.Kb2 Ke1 my king will pick off the kingside pawns, and my bishop will defend against his passed pawn. His king is just too far out of position, and still needs to take a move to kill my pawn on a2. Also, if I was really that uncomfortable with losing my b-pawn, I should have just played 50...Bd5 and avoided the whole mess. After 51...Kb1 it is a draw. At this point my back hurts, my head hurts, and I look over at my opponent, a student over at Lincoln High School - he looks as fresh and relaxed as when we started. Youth is an unfair advantage!} 52. Nxb5 Bc6 53. Na3+ Ka2 54. b5 Bd7 $2 {OK. Now, after throwing away the win, I’m working hard on throwing away the draw. I need to maintain control of the h1-a8 diagonal as b7 is the last square that my bishop can defend his passed b-pawn.} 55. Kb4 Kb2 56. Kxa4 $2 Kc3 {An understandable mistake that throws away any chances for my opponent to win (and thank goodness for that!). The right idea is to get the bishop off the h1-a8 diagonal, and get the passed pawn moving before my king can start gobbling up his kingside pawns. Kxa4 leaves his pawn pinned by my bishop.} 57. Ka5 Kd4 58. b6 Bc6 59. Nb5+ Ke3 60. Nd6 Kf3 61. Nxf5 Kg4 62. Ng7 Bb7 63. Kb5 f5 64. Kc5 {I ended up tied for second place, with two wins and four draws.  My young opponent tied for first with three wins and three draws. After the tournament, his rating jumped by +193 points! Mine increased by +1 LOL. Maybe I’ll try the Washington State Class Championships again in another 30 years!} 1/2-1/2

