Knight_Tour Chess

Will I Ever Get to Play Again?

2011-01-12T12:24:00.000Z

I know I am writing just for myself now, and who could blame anyone? I can't post anything if I don't have any chess experiences. I thought I would get to play here in Baku, the birthplace of Garry Kasparov and the home of some of the strongest GM's in the world, but I haven't been able to play at all.

So, I am thrilled that next summer I will move to Budapest, which has a thriving chess scene, mainly thanks for Laszlo Nagy's First Saturday tournaments each month. I gained my FIDE rating in Budapest in 2003 at the Spring Chess Festival. I know I won't be able to play immediately after arriving, as I will need to settle into my new home and position at work, but I am excited at the prospect of finally getting to play again.

I see that the game reviewer app stopped working on my blog. I wish there was a way of using the Chessbase export feature with Blogger to allow me to show my games here that way. The USCF uses it all the time, but I have no idea if there is a means of doing it on Blogger. I believe you need some space somewhere on the server to store the game data. Anyone know how to do this in Blogger?

Anand Retains World Championship Title!

2010-05-12T09:38:00.000Z

Hurray for Anand! I am so happy that he beat Topalov to retain his title, and with such an amazing game also. Anand is such a gentleman. Here is the only decent photo I have with him, from a simul event at the British Embassy in Moscow in the mid-90's. The color's a bit washed out, but this was a cheap camera and it was then scanned into the computer years later from a print.

Chess in Baku

2009-08-21T10:06:00.002Z

I recently arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan. I want to be able to play chess here, but the chess calendars that I have found so far do not show any events in Baku for the next year. There is the Baku Open in September, but unfortunately I don't think I can play in that due to being too new at work here.

See You in Baku

2009-05-23T13:41:00.002Z

I just wanted to let anyone who happens to read this know why I am not posting these days. There are two reasons. One is that I have been finishing a book that I have been writing. The second reason is that I am moving from Iceland to Baku, Azerbaijan. We will arrive in Baku in August. I won't be able to play chess for some time, since I will be settling in to the new position, but I hope to eventually play in Baku. They sure have a strong chess tradition, including being the birthplace of Garry Kasparov. If any Azeris see this blog, perhaps you can help me out with finding good FIDE-rated events in Baku. I've tried emailing the clubs and federations that I could find, but no one responded.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 9

2009-04-01T21:00:00.006Z

I have played in many tournaments in my life, and 455 tournament games, yet this event has been the worst performance I have had. Given how the rest of the tournament went, this last round was fitting. I played a young boy with no official rating - though FIDE shows that he has just begun playing and so far has a 1670 rating - and he played like each of my previous opponents has - mistake free. I have had games in the past where the computer showed no real mistakes by my opponent, but this is the first time I have had an entire tourney with no such mistakes!

I noticed some interesting patterns between this year's tournament and last year's. Last year I never once had to play down against a player lower rated than myself, and I gained around 30 rating points. This year I had to play down five times, and I lost around 18 rating points. Last year I didn't lose a single game with white; this year I nearly lost every white and didn't lose any with black!

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.04.01"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Karlsson, Mikael"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B40"]
[WhiteElo "2076"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bd3 Qb6 6. Nb5?!
The proper move here is 6. Nb3, but I was feeling particularly aggresive and I didn't care if he took the pawn.
6...a6
He would have been fine taking the pawn: 6...Nxe4 7. Bxe4 Qxb5 8. Nc3 Qb6 9. O-O d5 and black has a small edge.
7. Be3
The computer likes 7. N5c3 better.
7...Bc5 8. Bxc5 Qxc5 9. N5c3 Nc6 10. Nd2 b5 11. O-O Bb7 12. Kh1 O-O 13. f4 d6 14. a3 Rfd8 15. Nb3
Looking back on it, I don't like this move. The computer recommends it, yet in the game this knight was just out of play for a long while.
15...Qb6 16. Qe2 Qc7 17. Rad1
The computer also recommends this, but if I was really going to follow the plan that you see over the next few moves, then this is just a wasted tempo.
17...Rac8 18. Rf3
I told myself not to do this. I knew I wouldn't play like this against a higher rated opponent. Yet, I felt that lower rated players often panic when someone directly attacks their king, and I didn't quite like the idea of playing g4 and g5 instead, since my king is potentially exposed to the black bishop.
18...Ne7 19. Rh3?
I couldn't back down, even though I knew I should. Since I could see that his knight was swinging over to g6, this move doesn't do any good anymore. Perhaps it would have made better use of itself on g3. Best of all would have been to abandon that line of play and just play it back to f2 or f1.
19...Ng6 20. Rf1
You see how moving this rook to d1 was a waste of time?
20...e5!
An excellent move that highlights the drawbacks of my overly aggressive plan. I either have to allow the opening of the d file for black's rook or further weaken my kingside with g3. Neither is appealing. So, black gets a perfect outpost for his knights on f4.
21. fxe5 dxe5 22. Rg3 Nf4 23. Qf2
I really thought I had him here. So many 1600 level players would have gone right in for the knight trade on d3, but given the way this tournament has gone, I am not surprised he didn't go for it.
23...N6h5
I had hoped for 23...Nxd3?? 24. Qxf6 and white wins.
24. Rf3 Nxd3 25. cxd3 Nf4 26. Nc1
Here I missed the chance for equality with 26. d4!
26...Rd7 27. g3
Better was 27. N3e2 f6 (27...Nxe2 28. Nxe2 Rcd8 29. b4 f6 30. Rc1 Qd6 31. Rc3 Rc7 32. Rxc7 Qxc7 33. h3 with a slight edge to black.) 28. Nxf4 Qxc1 (28...exf4 29. Ne2 g5 30. Nc3 =) 29. Nh5 Rf7 30. b4 Qc2 31. Qb6 Qc6 32. Qf2 Qe6 with a slight edge to black.
27...Ne6 28. Nd5 Bxd5
Black overlooked a much easier win here with 28...Rxd5! 29. exd5 Bxd5.
29. exd5 Nd4 30. Re3 Rxd5 31. Re4 Rc5 32. Ne2 Nxe2 33. Rxe2 Rd8 34. d4! exd4 35. Qxd4 Qc6+ 36. Qe4 g6?!
Black should have played 36...Qxe4+ 37. Rxe4 Rc2 38. Rfe1 g5 39. R4e2 Rdd2 40. Rxd2 Rxd2 41. b4 Rd3 42. Ra1 with a good advantage for black.
37. Qxc6 Rxc6 38. Re7 Rf8?!
Much better was 38...Rc2 39. Rexf7 Rdd2 40. Rf8+ Kg7 41. R1f7+ Kh6 42. Kg1 Rxh2 43. Rf2 Rhxf2 44. Rxf2 Rxf2 45. Kxf2 Kg5 and black should win.
39. Ra7 Kg7 40. Rf2 h5 41. h4 1/2-1/2
Though my move is the last one, it was actually he who offered the draw. He is too new to chess to know that he has to make his move first before offering a draw, I guess. I was lucky to escape alive. So, how come 1600 level players are all of a sudden playing like experts?

Reykjavik Open 2009: Photos from Round 1

2009-03-31T22:49:00.012Z

A friend took some photos in round 1, and I just received them. Oddly enough, after so many tournaments, this is the first time I have photos of me playing in a tournament (not a simul):

Here is top seeded Ukrainian grandmaster Alexander Areshchenko in round 1, playing against fellow Ukrainian Anastazia Karlovich.

U.S. champion GM Yuri Shulman is the second seed.

Here I meet my first round opponent, Icelandic grandmaster Throstur Thorhallsson.

Me playing against GM Thorhallsson.

Just before the game begins.

One last shot of me playing in round 1.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 8

2009-03-31T22:13:00.004Z

I finally managed to play a pretty good game from start to finish. I am happy with this one. I learned my lesson from two rounds ago and decided to play a brand-new opening line so I would avoid my opponent's preparation. It is strange playing something that you don't know, but I don't think I made too many mistakes.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.31"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Thorsteinsdottir, Hallgerdur"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "1951"]
[BlackElo "2076"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3
I knew from the databases to expect either an Alapin Sicilian or a Rossilimo Sicilian, so I prepared for both. This is the Alapin.
2...Nf6
My surprise! I have never played this variation before. I prepared as best I could, but there is just too much to actually learn in one day.
3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. cxd4 d6 7. Bc4 e6 8. O-O Be7 9. exd6
This is where she took me out of my preparatory knowledge.
9...Qxd6 10. Nc3 a6
Other moves played here are 10...O-O or 10...Nxc3.
11. a3
This is a novelty according to my database. 11. Ne4 has been played previously.
11...O-O 12.Qd3 Rd8 13. Bg5 Bxg5 14. Ne4 Qe7
The computer really likes black now and likes a line beginning with 14...Nf4. I actually considered this move, but it looked far too complicated to actually try in this situation. The mainline analysis runs 14...Nf4 15. Nxd6 (15. Qb1 Qc7 16. Nexg5 h6 17. Qh7+ Kf8 18. Qh8+ Ke7 19. Qxg7 hxg5 20. Nxg5 Rxd4 21. Rad1 (21. Qxf7+ Kd6 22. Rad1 Qxf7 23. Nxf7+ Ke7 24. Rxd4 Nxd4 25. Rd1 Nf3+ 26. gxf3 Kxf7 and black wins.)) 15...Nxd3 16. Nxg5 (16. Bxd3 Bf6 17. Ne4 Bxd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 with a large edge for black.) 16...Nxb2 17. Ngxf7 Nxc4 18. Nxd8 Nxd6 19. Nxc6 bxc6 and black has a large advantage.
15. Nexg5 f5!?
Much safer is 15...Nf6.
16. Rfe1 Qf6 17. Rad1 h6 18. Nh3 g5 19. Ne5 Bd7 20. Bxd5 exd5 21. Qb3 Rab8
I knew I had to give up the central pawn, but I thought I saw more than enough compensation for it.
22. Qxd5+ Be6 23. Qc5 Rd5 24. Qc3 Rc8 25. Nxc6 Rxc6 26. Qe3 f4 27. Qe4 Rcd6
Amazingly, all of these past moves are the computer's first choice!
28. f3 Bxh3 29. gxh3
White had a better play for equality here. The line is long and there are many possibilities, so I will just give the computer's main line: 29. Qe8+ Qf8 30. gxh3 Qxe8 31. Rxe8+ Kf7 32. Re4 Rb5 33. Rd2 Rb3 34. Kf2 Rdb6 35. Ree2 Re6 36. Rxe6 Kxe6 37. h4 gxh4 38. d5+ Kd6 39. Kg2 a5 40. Kh3 Rxf3+ 41. Kg4 Rf1 42. Kxh4 Rc1 43. Kh5 Rc5 44. Kxh6 Rxd5 45. Rf2 Rf5 46. Kg6 Rf8 47. h4 Ke5 48. h5 Rg8+ 49. Kf7 Rh8 50. Rh2 f3 51. Kg7 f2 52. Rxf2 Rxh5 =.
29...Rd8
This had to be played or I could get into serious trouble.
30. Qe6+ Qxe6 31. Rxe6 Rxd4 32. Rxd4 Rxd4 33. Rxh6 Rd1+ 34. Kg2 Rd2+ 35. Kg1 Rxb2
I was certain I could win this endgame.
36. Rg6+ Kh7 37. Rxg5 Rb3 38. Rf5 Rxf3
I overlooked the more convincing 38...Rxa3 39. Rxf4 b5 and wins. However, I am still winning.
39. Kg2 Rxa3 40. Rf7+ Kg6 41. Rxb7 a5 42. Rb5 a4 43. Ra5 Ra1
This wins because once the pawn comes to a2 I can move the rook with check against her king (at the right moment). If she tries to avoid this, then I get to move the 'f' pawn down.
44. h4 a3 45. Ra6+ Kh5 46. Kh3
This is a very good try for her, looking for stalemate.
46...f3!
This must be played. Pushing the pawn to a2 would be a terrible mistake: 46...a2?? 47. Rxa2 =.
47. Ra5+ Kh6 48. Ra6+ Kg7 49. Ra7+ Kf6 50. Ra6+ Ke5 51. Kg3 a2 52. h5
If she tried 52. Kf2 then 52...Rh1 wins due to the skewer of the king and rook once she takes on a2.
52...Rg1+ 0-1
I am very happy with my play. My opponent didn't make any major mistakes (the theme for this event!), yet I was still able to find enough pressure to earn the win.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 7

2009-03-30T20:45:00.002Z

Well, what had so far been a dismal tournament has now officially sunk below anything I ever imagined in my worst chess nightmares. Sorry, I have nothing positive to say on this, because that is the truth. Besides shedding a boatload of rating points, I feel as if my opponents play as perfectly as computers and there is little I can do about it. Today I faced the lowest rated opponent I have faced in ages, only 1660 ELO. I am more than 400 points higher rated, so my statistical chances are supposed to be about 99%, if I recall correctly. Well, this opponent played as mistake-free as any of the much higher rated opponents I have faced. I kept finding devious little ways of trying to win in the endgame, but she never fell for a single one, though in my past experience 1600 level players would have fallen for at least one of them. I know it's just how I feel right now, but I feel like I should give up chess. If I were prone to that sort of thing, I would weep.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.30"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Finnbogadottir, Tinna"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B34"]
[WhiteElo "2076"]
[BlackElo "1660"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6
Ah, of course. Every game I saw in the database had her playing consistently with 2...e6, so naturally she varies now. It's what I thought I should do yesterday, but didn't and paid the price.
3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Be3 Nf6 6. f3
I am sure she didn't know this, but this was a perfect opening choice against me, because I do not allow the normal dragon, yet she got me into it. Now I have to play an opening I don't know.
6...Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8.Qd2 d5 9. exd5?!
This shows my lack of knowledge of this version of the dragon.
9...Nxd5 10. Nxd5 Qxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. c3 Rb8 13. b3?
A terrible move (see, I am the only one who makes mistakes these days!). I could have had a slight edge with 13. Qxd5 cxd5 14. O-O-O
13...Qa5 14. b4 Qe5
Better is 14...Qa3! 15. Rc1 Bf5 16. Bc5 Rfd8 17. Qe3 Qb2! 18. Be2 Bd3! 19. Kf2 Bxe2 20. Rb1 Qxa2 21. Ra1 Qb2 22.Rab1 Qxc3 23. Qxc3 Bxc3 24. Kxe2 and black should win this.
15. Rc1 Bf5 16. Bc4 Bh6 17. Kf2 Rfd8 18. Qe2 Bxe3+ 19. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 20. Kxe3
You see, even with a less than stellar opening, I have fought back to a slightly better endgame. If my opponent only played like a normal 1600 player, I could expect to win this!
20...Rd6 21. Rhd1 Rbd8 22. Bb3
I played this because in my past experience, this level of player, more often than not, likes to trade down, and this looks like a very plausible plan here, though in fact I would likely win if she did. So, naturally she doesn't.
22...Be6
Of course. If 22...Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rxd1 24. Bxd1 I am pretty sure I could win this given my centralized king.
23. Rxd6 exd6 24. Rd1 Re8 25. Bxe6
The computer likes 25. Kf4 better, but it just leads to equality after 25...Bxb3 26. axb3 d5 27. Rd2 Re1 28. b5 cxb5 29. Rxd5 a6 30. h4 Rb1 31. b4 =.
25...Rxe6+ 26. Kd3 Kf8 27. c4 Ke7 28. a4 Kd7 29. Rd2 Kc7 30. Re2 Kb6
Of course she doesn't trade rooks like a normal 1600 player often would.
31. a5+ Ka6 32. Rb2
My move isn't really a mistake, but easier to play would be 32. Re4 c5 33. Kc3 Rxe4 34. fxe4 h5 35. g3 cxb4+ 36. Kxb4 f6 37. Ka4 Kb7 38. Kb5 a6+ 39. Kb4 Kc6 40. Kb3 Kc5 41. Kc3 f5 42. exf5 gxf5 43. h3 d5 44. cxd5 Kxd5 45. Kd3 Kc5 46. Ke3 Kb4 47. Kf4 Kxa5 48. Kxf5 Kb4 49. g4 =
32...f5 33. Kd4 Re5 34. h4?!
I keep making my life harder than it needs to be. Better is 34. Rd2.
34...f4 35. Rd2 c5+ 36. bxc5 Rxc5 37. Kc3 Kxa5 38. Rxd6 Rh5 39. Rd5+??
Strange. I looked at this move first and thought it didn't work. Then I looked at the correct move, 39. Rd4 and wasn't sure if it quite worked or not. When I looked at my current terrible move again, I thought I saw something better. I just miscalculated. Drawing would be 39. Rd4 Rxh4 40. g4 g5 41. Rd5+ Kb6 42. Rxg5 Rh3 43. Rb5+ Kc6 44. Kd4 Rxf3 45. Rf5 Rf1 46. Rf6+ Kc7 47. Rf7+ Kc6 =.
39...Rxd5 40. cxd5 Kb6 41. Kd4 Kc7 42. Ke5 Kd7?
The first and only mistake that she makes in the entire game! Flat out winning is 42...a5 43. h5 a4 44. hxg6 hxg6 45. Kd4 Kd6.
43. Kxf4 a5 44. Ke4 a4 45. Kd4 Kd6 46. g3??
I blow it. I could have held the draw with 46. Kc4 a3 47. Kb3 Kxd5 48. Kxa3 Ke5 49. Kb3 Kf4 50. Kc4 Kg3 51. Kd4 Kxg2 (51...Kxh4 52. Ke5 Kg3 53. Kf6 Kxg2 54. f4 Kg3 55. Kg5 h5 56. Kxg6 =) 52. f4 Kg3 53. Ke5 h5 (53...Kxh4 54. f5 gxf5 55. Kxf5 =) (53...Kg4 54. h5 =) 54. f5 gxf5 55. Kxf5 =).
46...a3 47. Kc3 Kxd5 48. h5 a2 49. Kb2 Kd4 50. Kxa2 Ke3 51. f4 Kf3 52. Kb3 Kxg3 53. hxg6 hxg6 54. f5 gxf5 55. Kc3 f4 56. Kd2 Kg2 0-1
Of course, playing the stellar way that she did, she deserves the win. I just don't understand how a 1600 player plays like this. I know she did it on her own, because she rarely left the board, so congratulations to her, and massive frustration for me.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 6

2009-03-30T20:20:00.005Z

I never have photos of me playing chess, so it is nice that someone posted this one on the skak.is blog. This is me on the right playing today's opponent, while in the center of the photo is the lady to whom I lost in the next round.

I deserved what I got today, and possibly should have even lost. As black I have a pretty predictable set of lines against 1. e4, and that bit me hard today. I considered playing something I have never played before, just to throw off my opponent's preparation, and I should have done so I guess, but I decided to stick with what I knew. My opponent planned things perfectly, using a line I have never had played against me and which I have never studied. I was lucky to get a draw...

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Eiriksson, Vikingur"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "1882"]
[BlackElo "2076"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 O-O 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. h4
My opponent deserves full credit. He found a gaping hole in my opening knowledge here. I knew instantly that I was going to suffer. I know only the next two moves of this line, and I just knew that my opponent had spent all day studying this line on his computer. He confirmed that afterward.
13...Bh6 14. g4 Bf4 15. Qf3 Be6
A common alternative, though I didn't know it, is 15...Rb8.
16. Bd3
This move is fine, but also decent is 16. Nxf4 with a game so complex that I am not even going to try to give you any analysis.
16...Ne7?
Here is where my lack of knowledge hurt. This is bad. Instead, 16...Re8 is fine here.
17. Nxf4 exf4 18. Qxf4 Ng6 19. Qg3 Ne5 20. Be2 Bc4?!
Again not so good. Better was still 20...Re8.
21. f4 Nc6?!
Better is 21...Nd7.
22. Bxc4 bxc4 1/2-1/2
I offered a draw because I saw more danger of losing than of being able to make any sort of comeback to win. I saw some possible pressure against the 'e' pawn if he went after the pawn on c4, but he could just castle queenside and my attack would probably not be enough.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 5

2009-03-29T20:18:00.004Z

I have noticed a pattern - my opponents never blunder. Oh, they make occasional second-best moves, but overall they just don't mess up. I believe I have played relatively well in this event, yet my results are miserable, and if you examine each of the games you will notice that my opponents never really make any mistakes. I have to assume that this is because my playing style is not generating enough confusion...

Today I played a new line (for me) of the French, simply because this line was the only example of a French that I had for this opponent. I played relatively well, yet I never gained any advantage, and my opponent kept playing almost all the best moves throughout the game, so that slowly but surely I was strangled. Note that my old Fritz 8 is not sufficient to be able to analyze the complexities that arose in this game, so I don't trust all of the analysis. I sure wish the new Fritz 11 or the Rybka 3 were more affordable.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.28"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Halldorsson, Gudmunder"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C03"]
[WhiteElo "2076"]
[BlackElo "2248"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
I have never played this variation before, but it was the only one for which there was an example of my opponent's previous play.
3...Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. dxc5 O-O
I'm sure he purposely varied from his previous game in this line, which was played earlier in this same tournament against a GM. He played 6...Nc6 in that one.
7. O-O a5 8. a4
This is a novelty according to my database, and while my computer seems to think it is okay, I felt throughout the game that I had some trouble because of this move. ({RR} 8. Re1 Na6 9. exd5 Qxd5 10. Re5 Qd8 11. Nb3 a4 12.Nbd4 Nxc5 13. Bc4 Qc7 14. Nb5 Qb6 15. Nfd4 Bd7 16. Qf3 Rac8 17. Be3 Qa5 18. c3Bxb5 19. Bxb5 Bd6 20. Rg5 Nce4 21. h4 h6 22. Rg4 Nxg4 {Martinez Lopez,E-Bermejo Martinez,J/Mondariz 2003/CBM 95 ext/0-1 (37)}) ({RR} 8. Qe2 Na6 9. c4 Nxc5 10. cxd5 Nxd3 11. Qxd3 b6 12. Re1 Ba6 13. Qb3 Bc5 14. h3 exd5 15. e5 Ne8 16. Nf1 Nc7 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Ng3 Ne6 19. Rad1 d4 20. Ne4 d3 21.Be3 Bb4 22. Bd2 Nc5 {Ruiz Jimenez,F-Baron Rodriguez,J/Mondariz 2002/CBM 91 ext/1/2-1/2 (51)})
8...Na6 9. e5
I didn't even look at the move the computer likes best: 9. exd5!? Qxd5 10. Bxa6 Rxa6 11. Nb3 and my old Fritz 8 says white is a little better here.
9...Nd7 10. Nb3 Naxc5 11. Nxc5 Nxc5 12. Bb5 Bd7 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. Be3 Bxb5 15. Qxb5 Qc7 16. Rfe1 Rfd8 17. c3 Qc6 18. Nd4 Qxb5 19. Nxb5 Nb3
I am sure there are ways to improve in the previous moves, though nothing really stands out. This 19...Nb3 move really hurt, because I had to choose between giving up a pawn and remaining somewhat active, or placing my rook on a terrible square.
20. Ra2 Rc4 21. Bb6
An alternative worth exploring is 21. Rd1.
21...Ra8
The computer likes 21...Rd7 much better here and gives black a slight edge.
22. g3
I actually looked at the move the computer likes best - 22. Bc7!? - and it didn't look bad to me, but I wasn't sure enough about it.
22...g5 23. h3
23. f3 or 23. Rd1 are possibly better alternatives, but too complex to give lines here, especially since my computer isn't up to snuff.
23...h5 24. Nd6
The computer also likes 24. Kg2, but again I don't trust the analysis.
24...Rc6 25. Be3 b6 26. Nb5 Nc5 27. f4
My computer can't make up its mind about the move I played versus 27. Rd1.
27...gxf4 28. gxf4
The computer prefers that I first play 28. Nd4 Rcc8 and only then 29. gxf4. I imagine this is because it keeps black's knight out of b3.
28...Kh7 29. Kh2 Rg8 30. Rg1?!
Here again I had the chance to keep the knight out of b3 with 30. Nd4.
30...Rxg1 31. Kxg1 Nb3
You see, my rook gets stuck again.
32. Na7!?
The computer prefers 32. Kf2, but it seems to just lead to a lost game anyhow: 32. Kf2 Kg6 33. Kf3 Bc5 34. h4 f6 35. Na7 Rc7 36. Nb5 Rc8 37. Bxc5 bxc5 38. Nd6 Rd8 39.Ra3 c4 and black has a winning advantage. During the game I actually thought I might be winning here, but I was soon to be proven wrong.
32...Rc4 33. Bxb6 Kg6!
I had only looked at him taking on f4 with the rook, whereupon I thought I could win with 33...Rxf4 34. Nc6 Bc5+ 35. Bxc5 Nxc5 36. b4! Ne4 37. bxa5 Nxc3 38. Rf2 Rxa4 39. Rxf7+ Kg6 40. Rf6+ Kg5 41. Rxe6 and it is white with the winning chances.
34. Kg2
The alternative 34. Be3 still just loses to 34...Kf5 35. Nb5 Rxf4! 36. Bxf4 Kxf4 37. Kf1 Kxe5 38. Na7 Bf8 39. Ke1 Ke4 40. Kd1 Kd3 41. Nc6 f6 42. Nd8 e5 43. Ne6 Bd6 44. Ng7 e4 45. Nf5 e3 and black wins.
34...Kf5 35. Be3?
Better was 35. Nb5 Kxf4 36. Nd4 Nxd4 37. Bxd4 Rc8 38. Ra1 Rb8 39. Rf1+ Ke4 40. Rf2 Bh4 41. Rd2 Bg5 42. Rc2 Kd3 43. Rf2 Bd2 though black still has a large edge.
35...Ke4 36. Kf2
It's hard to call this a mistake when everything loses now. For instance 36. Bf2 Kd3 is also losing.
36...Bh4+
Also winning was 36...Kd3!.
37. Ke2 d4! 38. Bxd4
I know this looks like a terrible blunder, but it really is no worse than anything else. I was vaguely hoping I could find a way to pick up the 'a' pawn and start pushing my pawns. Just as bad was 38. Bd2 d3+ 39. Kd1 Bg3 40. Nb5 Nxd2 41. Kxd2 Bxf4+ 42. Kd1 Rc5 43. b3 Rxe5 44. Rf2 Rg5 45. Rf1 Rg2 46. Re1+ Kd5 47. c4+ Kc5 and black wins.
38...Nc1+ 39. Kd2 Nxa2 40. Nb5 Kxf4 41. b3 Rc6 42. Kc2 Nb4+ 43. Kd2 Nd5 44. c4 Ne7 45. Bc3 Ra6 46. Nc7 Ra7 47. Nb5 Rd7+ 48. Ke2 Nc6 49. c5 Bd8 50. Nd6 Nxe5 51. Bd2+ Kg3 0-1
It gets frustrating to watch other games and see people making mistakes, while in my own games the only one who seems to ever make mistakes is me...

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 4

2009-03-27T20:38:00.007Z

I was really stressed out before this round. After last night's debacle I really needed to get a positive score today, but this player uses opening lines that don't sit well at all with my style. Even worse, when I looked through his games, in the possible opening lines I might see, he plays so tough that I couldn't imagine actually winning this one. With how badly I figured I would do today, I have to be pretty happy that I got a draw. My opening preparation helped some. He varied pretty early into something I didn't know, but studying the opening all day helped me figure out some plans.

I chatted with American grandmaster Vinay Bhat before the round and took the photo above. That's GM Bhat on the left. He seemed like a really great guy, and I wish I knew him better.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Naslund, FM Mikael"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D23"]
[WhiteElo "2195"]
[BlackElo "2076"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qb3
It was a relief to see him actually play this, because it was the only line I studied all day.
4...dxc4 5. Qxc4 Bf5 6. g3 e6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Re1
This was new for me. I didn't really know what to do now, so I stuck with the same basic plan tht I had from the original game I was following. I had expected him to play 10. Qb3 here.
10...Qb6
Looks like this is a novelty, and not too horrible according to my computer.
11. e4 Bg6 12. Bf4 a5
I wanted the option to play the queen to a6. I wasn't yet sure exactly which rank I wanted to put each rook on, so I 'passed' with this move. The computer likes 12...Rfd8 here.
13. a3 Qa6 14. Qxa6 Rxa6 15. d5
Yeah, I knew this was coming. The question was just whether I would find enough counterplay to survive.
15...cxd5 16. exd5 Nc5 17. Ne5 Bd6
After the game my opponent said that this move really surprised him. We looked at some alternatives, and some looked okay, but I still think this works out best.
18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. Bxd6
The computer comes up with a very difficult to see line that seems to give white a big edge here. 19. Be3! exd5 20. Rad1 Re8 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 Bf8.
19...Rxd6 20. dxe6 Nxe6 21. Red1 Rfd8 22. Bxb7 Rb6!
This was my saving grace. The endgame is slightly better for white, but it should be manageable.
23. Rxd8+ Nxd8 24. Bf3 Rxb2 1/2-1/2
Since he was already getting low on time and I didn't see any winning chances for me, I offered a draw and was grateful that he accepted.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 3

2009-03-27T13:24:00.006Z

What a terribly distressing game today. I finally outplayed a strong titled player only to throw all of my hard work away in one instant of blindness when the game was finally all but winning for me.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.26"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Johannesson, FM Ingvar Thor"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A08"]
[WhiteElo "2076"]
[BlackElo "2345"]

1. e4 e6 2. d3
I was in the mood for something more solid today.
2...d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. g3 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. O-O Nge7 8. Re1 h6 9. c3 Qc7 10. Nf1
This is apparently a novelty, at least according to my database. I had an idea to play for an attack due to the pawn on h6 being a little weak.
10...O-O 11. Ne3 Rd8 12. e5!
I really liked this move. It blunts the power of the rook on d8 and gives some kick to my kingside attack.
12...d4
You can see the point of 12. e5 if he had played 12...Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Ng4 Bg7 15. Nxh6+ Kf8 16. Qf3 Nc6 17. Bg5 with a good advantage to white.
13. Ng4 dxc3 14. bxc3 Nf5 15. Nf6+ Kh8 16. g4!?
I was in the mood for attack and attacking is always easier. A more solid advantage could have been gained by 16. Bf4 b6 17. Qa4 Bb7 18. g4 Nfe7 19. g5 h5 20. Rad1.
16...Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxf6 18. Bf4
Here I thought I was flat out winning, but I overlooked his next move.
18...Nd6 19. Qf3
I wanted to build up pressure, especially since he was getting into time trouble. Probably best was simply 19. Bxh6.
19...Bg7
A better defense for him would be 19...g5 20. Bg3 Kg7 21. Rad1 with an unclear game.
20. Qh3!?
Again I wanted to keep adding to the pressure. Better is probably just 20. Nc4 Kg8 21. Bxd6 Rxd6 22. Nxd6 Qxd6 23. Rac1. The computer calls this equal, but I have to believe white has the advantage here.
20...Kh7 21. Bxh6
Crazy complications arise after 21. Nc4!? e5 (21... Bxc3 22. Qxh6+ Kg8 23. Rac1 Bxe1 24. Rxe1 and white wins.) 22. Nxe5 g5 23. Bxg5 f6 24. d4 fxg5 25. Qd3+ Nf5 (25...Kg8 26. Bd5+ wins.) (25...Kh8 26. Ng6+ Kh7 27. Re7 wins.) 26. gxf5 Bxe5 27. f6+ Kh8 28. Qg6 Bxh2+ 29. Kh1 Bf5 30. Qxf5 Bd6 and white has a large edge.
21...Bxh6 22. g5 Nf5 23. gxh6 Rh8 24. Re4 Qe7 25. Bf3
I had two things in mind when I played this. First I wanted to begin opening the g file for a rook. Second, I was concerned about black playing f6, and this move prevented it.
25...Bd7
You see, if he had played f6 there could have followed a nice queen sac: 25...f6 26. Nxg6 Rg8 27. Qxf5 Rxg6+ 28. Kh1 e5 29. Qxg6+! Kxg6 30. Rg1+ Kh7 31. Rg7+ Qxg7 32. hxg7 Rb8 and white is better.
26. Kh1 Kg8 27. Rg1 Rxh6 28. Nxg6
I thought that this gave me the edge, but according to the computer black ends up better with correct play.
28...Qf6?
He should have played 28...Rxh3 29. Nxe7+ Kf8 30. Bg2 Rxd3 31. Nxf5 exf5 32. Rh4 Ke7 33. Re1+ and black has the edge.
29. Ne5+! Kh8 30. Nxd7?
This felt so right at the time, but the right way to win here is 30. Qg2! Bc6 31. Ng4! Nh4 (31...Rg8 32. Nxf6 Rxg2 33. Bxg2 Rxf6 34. Rg4 Bxg2+ 35. Kxg2 Rh6 36. Rb1 Nd6 37. Ra4 a6 and white should win.) 32. Nxf6 Nxg2 33. Ng4 Bxe4 34. Bxe4 Rh5 35. Bxb7 Rd8 36. Bxg2 Rxd3 37. Nf6 Rg5 38. Rb1 Kg7 39. Ne4 and white wins.
30...Rxh3 31. Nxf6 Rxf3 32. Reg4??
Aaaaaaaagh!! I still had around twenty minutes on my clock so this is hard to explain. Basically I flat out overlooked that once his knight moved my own knight would be hanging on f6. I literally thought the game was over; that after my move (which threatens mate on g8) he could only play 32...Nh6 and then I would mate him with Rh4. Obviously once he played his move I saw that I had blown it. I still could have had good winning chances with 32. Ng4 Rxd3 33. Ne5 Rxc3 34. Nxf7+ Kh7 35. Ng5+ Kh8 36. Nxe6 Rg8 37. Re5 Rxg1+ 38. Kxg1 Nd4 39. Rxc5 Rxc5 40. Nxc5 b5 41. Kf1 Kg7 42. Nb3 Nc2 43. Ke2 Kf6 44. Kd2 Nb4 45. a3 Nd5 46. Kd3 Ke5 47. h4 Nf4+ 48. Kd2. I had to leave out many possible variations in order to keep this manageable, but they all led to a white edge. How come my opponents never blunder like this against me?
32...Nh6
I could have just resigned right here, but I was stunned to suddenly go from believing I was won to having to accept that I had lost.
33. Nd7 Nxg4 34. Rxg4 Rxd3 35. Rh4+ Kg7 36. Rg4+ Kh8 37. Rh4+ Kg7 38. Rg4+ Kh6 39. Ne5 Rd5 40. Nxf7+ Kh5 41. Re4 Rf8 42. Ne5 Rxf2 43. Re1 Rdd2 0-1
A humiliating disaster!

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 2

2009-03-26T10:38:00.003Z

At last year's Reykjavik Open I never had to play down during the entire event. In the second round I had to play against an unrated player. There were very few games in the database, but he seemed to be a pretty strong player, and about the only preparation I could do was to assume he would play 1. e4. I am always very nervous in such situations because I really don't like to lose to lower ranked players. The game ended up being a mess, where the computer sees better moves for both sides on nearly every move at one point when we were in time trouble.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.25"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Unnarsson, Sverrir"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]
[BlackElo "2076"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. Bd3 Be6 12. c3 Bg7 13. O-O O-O 14. Nc2 Rb8 15. Nce3?!
The first doubtful move of the game. Other games have gone (15. Qh5 f4 16. g3 Qd7 17. f3 fxg3 18. hxg3 f5 19. Nce3 f4 20. gxf4 exf4 21. Nf5 Rxf5 22. exf5 Bf7 23. Qg5 Bxd5 24. f6 Ne5 25. Be4 Bxe4 26. fxe4 Rb7 27. fxg7 Qh3 28. Qd8+ Kxg7 29. Rf2 Nf3+ {Klundt,K-Maugg,L/Bad Woerishofen 2003/CBM 93 ext/1/2-1/2 (33)}) or (15. Nde3 f4 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Ne7 18. Qh5 f5 19. f3 Qd7 20. g4 fxg3 21. hxg3 Nxd5 22. Rae1 Rbe8 23. Kf2 Nf6 24. Qxf5 Qxf5 25. Bxf5 a5 26. Re2 Re7 {1/2-1/2 Bergen,K-Deutschmann,R/Graz 2002/EXT 2003 (26)})
15...fxe4 16. Bxe4 f5 17. Bc2 e4?!
I was playing to try to trap his knight in the center with f4, but this move just throws the initiative to white. Better was 17...Qd7 18. Bb3 Rf7 19. f4 b4 with an unclear game.
18. Bb3 Kh8 19. Nf4 Bxb3 20. axb3 Be5?!
Although this move is doubtful, it at least attacks, while white still retains an advantage after the supposedly better 20...Qc8 21. b4 Be5 22. Ned5.
21. Ned5
I was happy to see this. I had feared 21. Ne6 Qh4 22. g3 Rg8 23. Nxf5?, but this actually loses to 23...Qh3 24. Ned4 Nxd4 25. cxd4 Bf4. White has a clear edge after 23. Rxa6 instead.
21...Rg8
I keep attacking. I could have had equality with 21...a5 22. Qh5 Qe8 23. Qh6 Qf7.
22. Qh5
Better here is 22. Rxa6! with an advantage.
22...Rg4?
A bad move, showing how my mindset was just to attack. I could have held white's advantage to a minimum with 22...Qc8 23. Qh6 Qb7 24. f3 b4.
23. Rxa6!?
Now he could have had a winning advantage with 23. Qxf5 Qg8 24. h3! Rg5 25. Qxe4 Re8 26. Qf3.
23...Qc8 24. Rxc6
Better was 24. Rfa1 Bxf4 25. Nxf4 Rxf4 26. Rxc6 Qxc6 27. Ra7 Rb7 28. Ra8+ Kg7 29. Qg5+ with a big advantage.
24...Qxc6 25. Qxf5 Rbg8 26. g3?
A mistake. Still winning is 26. Nf6! Bxf6 27. Qxf6+ R8g7 28. g3.
26...Qb7
I was trying to be tricky, hoping he would take the e4 pawn so I could win the knight on f4. Better is 26...R4g5 27. Qe6 (27. Qxe4? Bxf4) 27...Re8 28. Qh6 Rg7 29. Re1 Bxf4 30. Nxf4 Qb6 31. Qf6 Kg8 32. Rd1 e3 33. fxe3 Rxe3 34. Qd4 Qxd4 35. Rxd4 Rd7 an white has a tiny edge. Note that white was in significant time pressure somewhere around here.
27. Ra1?!
White could get back a significant edge with 27. Re1 b4 28. Qxe4 bxc3 29. bxc3 Qxb3 30. c4.
27...e3?!
My heart's in the right place, but this is not a good move. I actually could have taken over the advantage with 27...R4g5 28. Qe6 Rf8 29. Kf1 e3.
28. fxe3 R4g5 29. Qd3 Qg7 30. e4 Qh6 31. Ne7?
This is when I finally felt I would win. He was in terrible time pressure and just threw this move out. 31. Rf1! keeps an edge for white.
31...Bxf4 32. Nxg8 Rxg8 33. Qf3 Be3+ 34. Kh1 Rf8 35. Qg4 Bc1
I really liked this move. I wasn't going after the pawns really; I was cutting off the rook on the file so that my queen and rook could better pressure his king. Luckily for me, with his next move he made this plan work even better.
36. Ra7? Bxb2 37. Rc7 Qc1+ 0-1
If the king moves then Qf1 is mate.

I wasn't happy with how I played, but it was a relief to get a win. Now I just hope I can do better next round.

Reykjavik Open 2009 Rd. 1

2009-03-24T21:45:00.004Z

It's been a long time since I have blogged, mainly because I have not been playing. I last played in October, so I worry that I will be rusty in this event. I love the Reykjavik Open because it gets so many strong players. The only sad thing was that they did not post the first round pairings, probably due to many players dropping out at the last second, so I didn't know who I would play, and I didn't get to prepare anything.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2009"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2009.03.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Thorhallsson, GM Throstur"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2076"]
[BlackElo "2442"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6
Well that tears it. I already know next to nothing about the Center Counter defense, but once he plays 2...Nf6 I literally only know one more move (3. d4) in the opening. That's not a good sign when you are playing a grandmaster!
3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4
Like I said, I didn't know if this was a line or not (it is). I just prayed that I could somehow come through the opening alright.
4...Nb6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3
While this move didn't feel right to me, I was purposely playing to prevent his white square bishop from developing easily. If I ever played Nf3 early on it would give him the g4 square. I was hoping to force him to play e6 before developing his bishop.
6...Bg7 7. Be2 O-O 8. Rc1
You see? I am still playing to prevent the bishop from coming out.
8...Nc6 9. d5 Ne5 10. Bd4
This was a spur of the moment decision because I saw some tactical motifs that I liked.
10...e6 11. f4!
This is what I was thinking of when I played Bd4. It feels terrible, especially when I haven't completed development, but I didn't see any instant attacks available for black, and I liked pushing the knight back to where it further impeded his development.
11...Ned7 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. d6!?
I decided on this because I didn't like opening lines for him. I had initially thought to play the correct line, but it worried me so I ended up trying to keep the center more closed. Better was 13. Qd4+ Nf6 14. g4 Kg8 (14...c5 15. Qxc5 Nxg4 16. Bxg4 Qh4+ 17. Qf2 Qxg4 18. d6 and white is slightly better)15. g5 Ne8 16. Nf3 exd5 17. c5 Nd7 18. Qxd5 c6 19. Qc4 Nc7 20. O-O with an unclear position.
13...Nf6 14. c5
Better was 14. Nb5 cxd6 15. Qxd6 Bd7 16. Nd4 with equality.
14...Nbd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. dxc7 Qxc7 17. Qd2 Re8 18. Nf3
I finally get a chance to develop the knight! I felt like I was just barely hanging on here.
18...Re4 19. Ne5 Bg4 20. Nxg4 Nxg4 21. O-O Ne3!
His plan over the past few moves was good, as this knight will be much better than my bishop.
22. Rf3 d4 23. g3 Rd8 24. Bd3 Re6 25. b4
It looks like it is better to go ahead and play f5 right here rather than later. (25. f5!? Re5 26. fxg6 fxg6 27. b4 a5 28. a3 axb4 29. axb4 b6 30. cxb6 Qxb6 31. b5 =)
25...a6 26. f5 Rf6 27. Re1
A little better is 27. Rf4
27...h6 28. Qf2 g5 29. h3 a5 30. a3 axb4 31. axb4 b6 32. cxb6 Qxb6 33. b5 Qb7
I am so close to being about equal, but not quite. It was frustrating that he never really made any mistakes.
34. g4 Rc8 35. Rg3 Rc3! 36. Bf1 Nxf1 37. Rxc3 dxc3 38. Qxf1 Qb6+ 39. Kg2?!
It probably wouldn't have made a difference to the outcome, but Kh1 is a touch better.
39...Rd6 40. Qc4?
I'm lost anyway, but here I overlooked a cute tactic. Qf3 was slightly better.
40...Rd2+ 41. Re2 Qe3!
Cute! This is what I didn't see. I could have just resigned right here, but I kept hoping I was overlooking something.
42. Rxd2 Qxd2+ 43. Kf3 c2 44. f6+ Kxf6 0-1

Playing the Stonewall Dutch All Wrong

2008-10-10T22:11:00.006Z

Since I got back into chess recently, one of the openings that I gave up on is the Dutch Stonewall, an opening that I played for more than twenty years. My results were simply not good enough, so I decided it was time to try fresh openings against 1. d4. Part of my dismal results is due probably to my simply not playing the opening properly! Here is a good example, from one of the 1st Category round robins in which I played during the four years I lived in Moscow.

[Event "1st Category Round Robin#4"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "1995.05.16"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Tarshilov"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A85"]

1. c4 f5
Well, what can I say? It is not good to play the Dutch immediately against 1. c4, but I didn't know that at the time. Back then I thought it was pretty clever to have the same opening against 1. c4, 1. d4, and 1. Nf3. Later on GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz crushed me badly in this line and told me that I can't play the Dutch until white has played d4. He proceded to play the pawn to d3 and use it to support an early e4 thrust. Not what black is after...
2. d4
Until GM Wojtkiewicz's lesson I always got away with it, as every player invariably played d4 at some point and transposed into the Dutch proper.
2...Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bf4 d5
I always played the Stonewall Dutch, though I think it does not suit my style of play.
6. c5 c6 7. e3 Be7 8. Be2 O-O 9. Nf3 Bd7
I know this is not the usual move, but I was overly impressed once by a GM game in which black moved this bishop (usually locked away behind the wall of pawns) to h5 via d7 and e8 and then traded it for a knight. It seemed to me to be a logical way to get rid of this usually bothersome bishop, but I adhered to this idea far too faithfully for too many years.
10. Ne5 Be8 11. g4
Uh oh, I always dreaded when white delayed castling and threw the pawns at my king. I have never been great at defending against this and I usually overreact in my attempt at defense.
11...g5 12. Bg3 Nbd7 13. h4
He's coming at me with everything, so my thinking was that I needed to find a way to exploit the fact that his king was still stuck in the center of the board. It wouldn't matter how ugly his attack looked if I could corral his king.
13...Ne4 14. gxf5?
He makes a move that doesn't look so bad to my amateur eyes, but the computer takes white from a significant advantage down to nothing because of this move. The way I see it, this ruined white's potential attack, because black now gets to shut down all the attacking lines, and in fact appears to get more attacking lines himself out of the deal. Taking on d7 followed by Be5 was far better for white.
14...Nxg3
Naturally!
15. fxg3 Nxe5 16. dxe5
This was the first difficult choice, to take on f5 or c5? I decided I would do better with my bishop on the other side of the pawn chains, but I think taking on f5 is nearly as good.
16...Bxc5 17. f6
It looks slightly better to play 17. e4, though black still has a slight edge.
17...Bxe3
This move looks obvious but may be a mistake. Fritz likes Qc7 much better and gives black a large edge.
18. Qd3 d4
I thought I was much better here since I was locking his king in with my bishop.
19. Ne4?
Whoops! This gives black a winning advantage due to the check on a5. White needed to try Bg4.
19...Qa5+ 20. Kd1 Qxe5
This move is simple and good, but Bg6 may be even stronger. Black cannot be careless now. Having a winning game is not the same as actually winning the game! A few careless moves and black can easily blow it - something I have learned many times in the past.
21. hxg5 Bxg5
This move is not bad, but it overlooks the far better Bg6, which wins more easily despite giving white some counterplay.
22. Bh5 Bf7
I should have just taken the pawn on f6 - 22...Bxf6 23. Bxe8 Raxe8 24. Rxh6 Bg7 and black wins.
23. Bxf7+ Rxf7 24. Rh5 Qb5
It is also fine to sack the rook on f6 here, but I was happier just trying to trade down to a winning endgame.
25. Qxb5 cxb5 26. Nxg5 Rxf6!
It pays to be accurate. Taking immediately on g5 makes things harder than necessary. Taking on f6 works due to the threat to win the rook on a1.
27. Ke2 hxg5 28. Rxg5+
Rah1 immediately is a better try to save the game, though black is still winning of course.
28...Kf7 29. Rxb5 b6 30.Rh1 Ke7
I get a bit too conservative, but it all works out as black's passed central pawns are simply too strong.
31. Rg5 Rf7 32. Rh6 Raf8 33. Kd3 Rd8 34. Rh4 Kf6?!
The computer really dislikes this move and gives black only a slight edge now. It much prefers 34...Rf3+ and only then Kf6.
35. Rf4+?
White needed to keep both rooks to have any chances. 35. Rgh5 was the better try.
35...Kxg5 36. Rxf7 e5
It is fine to give up the a pawn in order to get the central pawns rolling.
37. Rxa7 e4+ 38. Kd2 e3+ 39. Kd3 Re8 40. Rg7+ Kf6 41. Rh7 e2 42. Rh6+ Kg5 43. Rh1 e1=Q 44. Rxe1 Rxe1 45. Kxd4 Re2 46. Kc3 Kf5 47. b4 Rxa2 48. Kc4 Rg2 49. Kb5 Rxg3 50. Kxb6 Ke6 51. b5 Kd7 52. Kb7 Rb3 53. b6 Ra3 54. Kb8 Kc6 55. b7 Rb3 56. Ka8
This is why white did not give up earlier - one last clever attempt at a stalemate.
56...Kc7 0-1

Icelandic Team Championships

2008-10-05T14:25:00.006Z

Anchoring my Haukar club's top boards are Lithuanian GM Aloyzas Kveinys (on the right) and Danish GM Henrik Danielsen.

The first four rounds of the Icelandic Team Championships took place this weekend. It was nice to see some strong GMs out playing for various teams. GM Loek Van Wely was the best known (though he has lost a lot of rating points and was only the fourth highest rated), playing alongside GMs Baklan and Kuzubov. My Haukar team is led by GMs Kveinys and Danielsen. I played for the Haukar B team, though I only got to play in rounds 2 and 3 due to my wife's birthday. They might have been better off without me as I played well up until time trouble (the time control is far too short!) and then blew both wins, actually losing one of them. I was happy with my level of play until I got under one minute left in each game. My blitzing skills are quite poor...

Our team won the first round 5-1, so we hoped to continue this good performance. This round we were paired against one of the strongest teams by rating, so we knew it would be difficult. I didn't know my opponent's rating when I played him, so I just assumed he was around my own playing level, though it turned out he is a master. That makes me feel pretty good since I feel I outplayed him with the black pieces, and only collapsed in time trouble where both sides were moving with under a minute on the clock.

[Event "Icelandic Team Championships"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.10.04"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Steindorsson, Sigurdur"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A23"]
[WhiteElo "2208"]
[BlackElo "2088"]
[WhiteTeam "KR-a"]
[BlackTeam "Haukar-b"]

1. c4 e5
This is a new try for me against the English. Few people have played the English against me, so I rarely get to learn anything about it. I decided to try to get a reversed Sicilian down a tempo and see what happens.
2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 c6
I was happy to see his 3. g3 move, since it made me feel that I was catching up a bit on the lost tempo, so it made sense for me here to play a reversed Alapin setup.
4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Bg2 Bc5 8. Nb3 Bb6 9. O-O Bf5
This is apparently a novelty, though I don't think it is anything bad.
10. d3 exd3 11. exd3 O-O?!
Castling looked fine, except that I overlooked a weakness in my position, which my opponent duly exploits. I should have played 11...Be6 12. Bg5 Nc6 though white retains a slight edge.
12. Bg5! Nbd7
This was the first move I looked at, knowing it lost at least a pawn. I examined some alternatives, but they all just looked even worse than this, which at least develops.
13. Nxd5 h6 14. Bxf6
It's not so easy to see, but there was a stronger line with 14. Qf3 hxg5 15. Qxf5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Rb8 and white has a strong advantage.
14...Nxf6 15. Qf3?
This move throws away the advantage, which could have been retained with 15. Nxb6 Qxb6 16. Qf3 Bg6.
15...Qxd5 16. Qxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Bxd3 18. Rfe1 Ba6 19. Re7 Rab8?!
I actually looked at the correct move, but not deeply enough. Much better is 19...Rac8! and black suddenly has the initiative.
20. Rae1
Slightly more accurate is 20. Rc1
20...Bd8?
The time control is simply too quick at game in 90 plus a 30 second increment. We can't spend enough time analyzing, and both of us make some sloppy moves. I couldn't see a better plan for me here than my bishop move, but much better is 20...Rbc8!
21. Rxf7! Rxf7 22. Re8+ Kh7 23. Bxf7 Bc7 24.Re7 Bb6 25. Kg2 Rc8 26. Bd5
More accurate is 26. Be6.
26...Bd3!
Excellent! Cuts off the danger to that diagonal and now my rook threatens to take over the second rank.
27. Nd2 Rc2 28. Ne4 Rxb2 29. Nf6+?!
Better is 29. Kf3.
29...Kg6 30. Ng4 Bd4 31. Rd7 Kf5 32. Bf3 Rb1?!
I thought that Rb4 looked to dull here and I wanted to force a perpetual check if he took the bishop. Better, though, is 32...Rb4 33. Ne3+ Bxe3 34. Rxd3 Bd4.
33. h4?!
White has a nice shot here with 33. Nxh6+! gxh6 34. g4+ Ke5 35. Rd5+ Ke6 36. Rxd4 Bf1+ 37. Kg3 Rb2 with a large advantage.
33...Rb4 34. a3 Ra4 35. Ne3+ Bxe3 36. Rxd3 Bc1 37. Bxb7 Rxa3
White was in time trouble by now, but my clock was catching up rapidly as I spent a considerable amount of time just trying to keep my king from becoming fatally entangled over the next several moves.
38. Rd7 Bb2 39. f4? a5?
For some reason, probably time pressure, I overlook the rather obvious 39...Kg4 which simply wins for black.
40. Bd5 Bc3 41. Rf7+ Kg6?
I needed to play 41...Bf6, which retains an edge for black.
42. h5+?
White also misses the winning 42. f5+! Kh7 43. h5.
42...Kxh5 43. Be4!?
White spurns any drawing lines, hoping to make me blunder in our mutual time trouble. He could have forced a cute draw here with 43. Rxg7 Bxg7 44. Bf7+ Kg4 45. Be6+.
43...Bf6 44. Kh3 Re3 45. Bf5 a4 46.Ra7?
White misses the winning idea of 46. Rd7!
46...a3 47. Ra6 Rc3?
Since neither side is seeing the winning idea of white moving the rook to d7 it is hard to call this a blunder, but it is wiser here to head for a draw with 47...a2 48. Rxa2 g5 49. Bg4+ Kg6 50. f5+ Kg7 51. Re2 Ra3 52. Bh5.
48. Rc6
Again 48. Rd6! wins for white. Obviously I cannot take the rook on c6 as it will be checkmate.
48...Re3 49. Re6 Rc3 50. Re2?
White gives the advantage to black when he still could have had a big edge with 50. Rd6.
50...Bh4??
In the crazy seconds with little time left on the clock I blow everything. I simply forgot that his bishop could come back and check me. Without that move my idea works. Anyhow, I could have won here with 50...g5 51. Bg4+ Kg6 52. f5+ Kg7 53. Bh5 Rb3.
51. Bg4+ Kg6 52. Kxh4 Rb3 53. f5+ Kf7
I was so upset at the turn of events that I decided to just 'fall on my sword'.
54. Bh5+ Kf6 55. Re6+ Kxf5 56. Bg4# 1-0

I was shattered by the way this game ended, so much so that despite not having eaten breakfast, I now didn't go to lunch either but simply waited around for the next round. Again I didn't know my opponent's rating, but most of all I was irritated that I again had to play black. I am much better with white. After losing 2.5-3.5 in the second round (thanks to my blown game) we needed to get back on track.

[Event "Icelandic Team Championships"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.10.04"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Vigfusson, Vigfus"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "2001"]
[BlackElo "2088"]
[WhiteTeam "Hellir-c"]
[BlackTeam "Haukar-b"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6
I had a poor experience against the Alapin Sicilian last year, so this year I played a bit more soundly with 4...Nf6.
5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Na3 cxd4
I shouldn't have traded here, because it leads to my having to place a knight out of the way on a6.
9. Nb5 Na6 10. Nfxd4 Bxe2 11. Qxe2 O-O 12. Rd1 Rfd8 13. Be3 Qh5?!
Not a good idea, but I couldn't see anything better. Funny, but I actually looked for a second at the correct move - 13...Qe4 - but I thought it looked too strange to actually play!
14. Nf3?
He needed to take it! 14. Qxh5 Nxh5 15. Nb3 Nf6 16. Bxa7. I recall looking at the position and wondering how I could possibly drum up any activity. It didn't look likely any time soon, yet I marvelled a few moves later as I actually did get that activity.
14...Nd5 15. Bd4
Taking the pawn leads to a slight black edge after 15. Bxa7 Nf4 16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Qc4 Qg4 18. Qf1 Bc5 19. Kh1 Bxa7 20. Nxa7 Nc5.
15...Nf4!
Here comes the activity!
16. Qe5 Qg4 17. g3 Nh3+ 18. Kg2 Rd5
I thought I was winning now.
19. Qe3 Rxb5 20. Ne5 Qf5 21. c4 Rxe5?!
I looked at 21...Bg5 but didn't see how it could help me. I looked at moving the rook but it always got trapped. I failed to see that by playing 21...Bg5 I could move the queen away from covering the c5 square, thus allowing my rook to escape with 21...Bg5 22. Qe2 Ra5 23. Bc3 Rc5 and black wins.
22. Bxe5 Ng5?!
With such a short time control it is hard to take the time to see tactics properly. I looked at 22...Nxf2 briefly but just dismissed it because of 23. Rf1. I missed the fact that I had a way out with 23...Ng4!
23. Rd7 Bc5 24. Rad1 f6 25. Bd4 b6 26. f4 Nf7 27. Qf3 Rf8 28. Rxa7 Nb4?!
I looked at the right move but did not see the correct follow-up - 28...Qc2+ 29.Kh1 Bxd4 (the move that I overlooked; I was looking at Qxc4) 30. Rxd4 Qxb2 31. Rd1 Nc5 and black has the edge.
29. Bxc5 Qxc5 30. Rdd7 Qxc4
I was rightly concerned about white taking over the 7th rank and how I could defend against it. I felt I had the edge and didn't want to proceed to lose now. To make matters worse, both of us were now drifting into time trouble.
31. Rac7 Qxa2 32. Qb7 e5
This was my plan for defending. I looked briefly at taking on b2 with check but didn't see that I could still come back and defend the knight on f7. 32...Qxb2+ 33. Kf1 (33. Kh3 Qe2 34. Rxf7 Rxf7 35. Rxf7 Qh5+ 36. Kg2 Qxf7 and wins) 33...Qb1+ 34. Kg2 Qa2+ 35. Kg1 Nd3 36. Qxb6 Qe2 and black wins.
33. Qxb6? Nd5
This looked obvious, but even better is 33...Qxb2+ 34. Kh3 g5 35. Qe6 Qa2.
34. Rxf7 Nxf4+ 35. gxf4 Rxf7?
I miss the required intermediate check - 35...Qd5+ 36. Kf2 Rxf7 37. Rc8+ Rf8.
36. Qb8+ Rf8 37. Qb7 Kh8 38.Rc8?!
He should have gone ahead and taken on g7 - 38. Rxg7 Rg8 39. Rxg8+ Qxg8+ 40. Kf3 and it is hard to see how black can win.
38...Qg8 39.Rxf8 Qxf8 40. fxe5 fxe5 41. Qe4 Qb8 42. b4 g6 43. Kf3 Kg7 44. Ke3 Qd6
A little more accurate is 44...Qa7+ 45. Kf3 Qa3+ 46. Kf2 Qb2+ 47. Kg1 Qc3.
45. h4 Kf6 46. Qc4 h6 47. Qc5?? Ke7?
In time trouble I worried that taking the queen would let the white king gobble up all the pawns on the kingside. I simply didn't have time to calculate or it would have been obvious that I win here with 47...Qxc5+ 48. bxc5 g5 49. c6 Ke6 50. c7 Kd7 51. Ke4 g4.
48. Qa7+ Qd7 49. Qc5+ Ke6 50. b5 Qd5 51. Qc8+ Kd6 52. Qd8+ Kc5 53. Qxd5+ Kxd5 54. b6 Kc6 55. Ke4 1/2-1/2

Although our team won this round 4.5-1.5 we should have done better by me winning. I feel like a liability to the team when I have results like these. An interesting note that I found out later, though I was playing on board 4 this round, my opponent was their team's highest rated player.

On the left are GMs Van Wely, Baklan, and Kuzubov while on the right is Icelandic GM Hannes Stefansson.
Grandmaster Loek Van Wely of the Netherlands played first board for the Bolungarvikur-a team.

My Best Novelty

2008-07-26T14:45:00.005Z

I haven't bothered to blog for awhile, because I haven't had any chances to play chess. I keep writing to local organizers asking them about things, but no one has been responding. I don't know if they are simply not receiving my emails, or if I am not receiving their replies.

I have never written about correspondence chess, because it is something that I tried for only a few years and promptly decided I didn't like it much. I do have a few interesting games from those years, though. In this one, I came up with my very first novelty; one that I think was quite good, given how poorly white had fared up to this point. In fact, according to my database at that time, white had not won a single game in this particular variation. Even now when I search the database I don't see anyone using my novelty, though some strong players have played into this line.

[Event "1999 Golden Knights"]
[Date "1999]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Hanlon, Richard"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2246"]
[BlackElo "1897"]
[EventType "tourn (corr)"]
[EventCountry "USA"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Qb6 7. Be3 a6 8. Na4 Qa5+ 9. c3 cxd4 10. b4 Qc7
No one had played this variation against me before; they had always sacked the bishop on b4.
11. Qxd4 a5 12. b5 b6
After following the percentages in the databases that showed a nice advantage for white in these lines, I was suddenly shocked here to see the percentages plummet. I scanned over the games and saw that white had won none of them, and black had scored many victories from this position. Needless to say, I was suddenly quite worried. I looked over all the games and saw a common theme: black always moved his knight to c5 and it got traded for the knight on a4. I thought this was strange, because to me it looked as if black's pieces were cramped, especially the knights, so why trade the knight on a4 and help black untangle? Was it required? I tried to see how I could prevent the trade. Coming back to b2 with the knight didn't look good, so the only other way to keep black cramped was to free up the c3 square for the knight to retreat to. No one had played c4 before, but looking at it I couldn't see anything wrong with it. The only thing I was unsure of was whether black could get something out of playing bishop to b4 now that it was available. So, I went for it and played my novelty, unsure as to whether it was good or not. After the game was over I analyzed it with a computer and it did not recommend c4, so I remained unsure; however, computers have progressed much since then, and nowadays the computers promptly recommend c4! So, I feel that I actually came up with a good novelty, though I doubt anyone else has ever noticed this.

13. c4! Nc5
He didn't play Bb4+, though it looks like white retains an advantage if he does. (13...Bb4+ 14. Kf2 Nc5 15. a3 Ne4+ 16. Kg1 Bc5 17. Nxc5 bxc5 18. Qd3 Bb7 19. cxd5 and white has an edge)
14. Nc3
This was the point of my novelty, to retain the knight, thus leaving black cramped. Black's queenside pieces have real trouble untangling without giving some other advantage away to white.
14...dxc4 15. Bxc4 Bb7 16. O-O g6?
This is much too slow, and it also weakens the dark squares too much. It is easy for white to bring both knights around to e4 and threaten the f6 and d6 squares.
17. Ng5 Bg7?
This weakens black further, though white retains a significant edge after 17...Nbd7 18. Rfd1 Be7 19. Rac1.
18. Nce4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Bxe4 20. Qxe4
Black trades off both of the offending white knights, but white has enough continuous threats to prevent black from castling, meaning that black is essentially lost.
20...Ra7 21. Rac1 Qb7 22. Qxb7
I wasn't sure that trading the queens was the best move here, but I was able to see a fairly straightforward winning plan, so I figured it was fine even if there might be better moves.
22...Rxb7 23. Be2
This is why: I threaten to bring the bishop to f3 and go after the weak pawns on the queenside. This also keeps black from castling still.
23...Nd7
If 23...O-O then 24. Bf3.
24. Bf3 Rb8 25. Rc7 Bxe5
Complete desperation.
26. fxe5 Nxe5 27. Bc6+ Nxc6 28. bxc6 f5 29. Rd1 1-0

Budapest Spring Chess Festival 2003

2008-05-21T18:24:00.009Z

Because I changed careers in 2001 and went into long term training, along with the fact that I couldn't seem to get involved with any chess in Zagreb, Croatia once I moved there, it took a long time to play chess again. It was nearly two years after my win at the U.S. Amateur that I finally played again. This time I was interested in attempting to get a FIDE (World Chess Federation) rating. In order to do that one must play 9 or more tournament games against FIDE rated opposition. Since the Budapest Spring Chess Festival was nine rounds, if I wanted to earn a rating then I needed to do well enough not to have to face any unrated opponents. I couldn't have asked for a better start.

[Event "Budapest Spring Chess Festival"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "2003.03.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Gorgs, Alfred"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B57"]
[BlackElo "2164"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 Qb6
One of my favorite games is Kindermann-Zueger and it starts with this move. No one has played it against me before, so I was eager to see how long we could follow that game. Little did I know that it would follow the game entirely! How often does that happen?
7. Ndb5 a6 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Nd4
This is the idea, to offer a poisoned pawn on e4.
9...Nxe4
He went for it! Safer would have been 9... Ng4 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Bc1 d5 (11... Qc5 12. Qe2 leaves white with a slight edge) (11... Nxf2? 12. Bxf7+ Kxf7 13. O-O Kg8 14. Rxf2 g6 15. Qd3 Be6 16. Ne2 and white has a large edge) 12. Be2 Nf6=; 9... e6 10. O-O Be7 11. f4 O-O leaves white with a tiny edge.
10. Qf3
First I threaten both the knight and the f7 square.
10...f5
10...Ng5 or 10...Nf6 both leave white with a small edge.
11. Nxc6
Now I create a weakness on c6.
11...bxc6 12. O-O-O
This tempts him to play d5 to seemingly consolidate the position.
12...d5 13. Nxe4
White is all but winning here.
13...fxe4
I was amazed that he continued to follow the same moves as the Kindermann game, but other moves are no better - 13...dxe4 14. Qg3 leads to long lines where black cannot untangle his pieces and white wins pretty easily while 13...Qc7 14. Ng5 leads to a win for white too.
14. Qh5+ g6
Losing is 14...Kd8 15. Bxd5 Bd7 16. Qf7 cxd5 17. Rxd5 Qc7 18. Rhd1 Rb8 19. Bf4 Qc6 20. Bxb8.
15. Qe5 Rg8

16. Rxd5!
It felt so good to get to play this astonishing move, even if it wasn't my own creation.
16...cxd5
16...Qb4 17. Rd4 Bg7 18. Bxg8 Qxb2+ 19. Kxb2 Bxe5 20. c3 Bxd4 21. Bxd4 wins.
17. Bxd5
I threaten to win his queen. With his move he seemingly finds a way to defend his rooks due to my unprotected queen.
17...Qb5 18. Qxe4
But this threatens his queen again and also continues to fork the rooks.
18...Bf5 19. Bc6+ Kf7 20. Qd5+ Qxd5 21. Bxd5+ e6 22. Bxa8 Bg7 23. Bf3 Rb8 24. b3 g5
Amazingly, this is the first new move of the game! The Kindermann-Zueger game finished with 24...Rc8 25. c4 1-0. White was threatening to win the black bishop with g4. I decided not to take the free g pawn because I was nervous about allowing any sort of counterplay.
25. h3 a5 26. Rd1 Rc8 27. c4 a4 28. Bh5+?!
Now I go ahead and allow him some counterplay anyhow.
28...Kf8 29. Bd4
I could have played 29. Bxg5 a3 30. Rd7 and won, but I was being cautious and worrying about stopping any counterplay.
29...e5 30. Bc3 Rb8 31. Kb2 Be6 32. Be2 Kf7 33. b4 Bf8 34. a3 e4 35. Bd4 Rc8 36. Rc1 Rd8 37. Kc3 Be7
I was being ultra-cautious, not wanting to blow it, and I was searching for a way to get rid of at least one of his biships.
38. c5 Bb3 39. Bc4+ 1-0
That did it! My 11th win in a row and a great way to begin my quest for a FIDE rating.

In round 2 I had to face a master. Though he lost to me, he had a great event and gained a lot of rating points.

[Event "Budapest Spring Chess Festival"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "2003.03.15"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Nagy, Bence"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C54"]
[BlackElo "2201"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6
I was glad he didn't play the normal Giuoco Piano line; I think it is pretty clear now that white is in trouble in the main lines of the Giuoco Piano, which is why I have now started playing the variation with 4...Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2.
5. d3 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Bb6 8. Be3 Ne7
Equal is 8...Bxe3 9. Rxe3 Na5 10. Nbd2 Nxc4 11. Nxc4 Be6 12. Re1.
9. Nbd2 c6 10. Bb3 Bc7 11. h3 h6 12. Nf1 Kh7 13. Bc2 g6?! 14. Qd2 Nfg8 15. d4 Qe8 16. N3h2?!
The shifting around of pieces in this type of game is hard for me. I have trouble coming up with a good plan. Better would be either 16. Rad1 or 16. Ng3.
16...f5 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. f4?!
I missed the chance to take a significant advantage with 18. Bc5. I figured with his exposed king I should be trying to bust open the center. (18. Bc5 b6 19. Bd6 Qd8 20. Rad1 Bxd6 21. Qxd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 fxe4 23. Bxe4 strongly favors white).
18...fxe4
Slightly better is 18...exf4 19. Bxf4 Bxf4 20. Qxf4 fxe4 21. Qxe4 Bf5 22. Qe2=.
19. fxe5 Bf5 20. g4 Rd8 21. Qg2 Be6 22. Bxe4 Nd5 23. Nf3 Nxe3 24. Nxe3 Ne7 25. Kh1
I should have tried 25. g5 here, but I had ambitions of getting a rook to the g file and directly attacking his king.
25...Rf4 26. Nd4
Nc2 was more prudent here.
26...Bg8 27. e6 c5
Suddenly I felt that I was in big trouble, so I thought I needed to lash out and hope the tactics fell my way. I needn't have panicked; the position becomes better for black but not by much if I just play 28. Ne2.
28. Ndf5?! gxf5
I think that black could have had a safer advantage by playing 28...Bxe6 29. Nxe7 Qxe7 30. Bxb7 Qh4 31. Kg1.
29. gxf5
This was my idea, to open up the g file for an attack. Sadly, it doesn't work against proper defense. Fortunately for me he doesn't defend properly.
29...Qh5??
To me it seemed obvious what black needed to do, so I was really surprised at his move. Clearly better is 29...Kh8, leaving white struggling to complicate things with 30. Rg1 or 30. Rf1.
30. Rg1 Be5 31. f6+ 1-0
My 12th win in a row. I couldn't believe how well I started this quest to get a FIDE rating. I lost the next one to an IM, so my winning streak came to an end, but it sure was great while it lasted.

I'll show one more game from this tournament simply because I felt I played really well and the game is not bad. It is from round 5.

[Event "Budapest Spring Chess Festival"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "2003.03.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Kerekes, Zsolt"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C42"]
[BlackElo "2134"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3
I don't like playing against the Petroff, so I play this to avoid it.
3...Bb4 4. Bc4 O-O
Bad for black would be 4...Bxc3 5. dxc3 Nxe4 6. Qd5 Nd6 7. Qxe5+ Qe7 8. Qxe7+ Kxe7 9. Bd3.
5. d3 d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. Bd2 Bxc3 8. bxc3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. O-O Nb6 11. Bb3 Qf6 12. g4 Bg6 13. Bg5 Qd6 14. Re1 Nc6 15. Nd2?!
Better is 15. Nxe5! Nxe5 16. Bf4 with a slight edge.
15...Kh8 16. Ne4 Bxe4 17. dxe4!
I spent a long time on this move, because all of my instincts were telling me to keep my pawns intact by taking with the rook, but a long examination told me that it was better to take with the pawn. Sometimes you have to break the rules.
17...Qg6 18. Be3 Rad8 19. Qf3 Nc8 20. Rad1 Nd6 21. Bc5
At this point I felt I had the edge due to my bishop pair, despite my bad pawn structure.
21...b6 22. Ba3 Ne7 23. Rd3 c5 24. Red1 Nec8
Perhaps a better try is 24...f5 but with proper play white retains a solid edge with 25. Bc1 b5 (25...fxe4? 26. Rxd6 exf3 27. Rxd8 Re8 28. R1d6 and wins) 26. Ba3 fxe4 27. Rxd6 exf3 28. Rxd8 Re8 29. R1d6 c4 30. Rxg6 Rxd8 31. Ra6 Nd5 32. Bd6 cxb3 33. axb3 with a large edge.
25. Kf1!
With the idea of h4 to go after the locked-in queen.
25...f6?
A better try is 25...Rde8 26. h4! Nxe4 (26...Qxe4 27. Qxe4 Nxe4 28. Ba4 Re6 29. Rd8 Kg8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. Rd8+ Ke7 32. Re8+ Kf6 33. Rxc8 and wins) 27. h5 Qc6 28. Bd5 Qa4 29. Bxe4 f5 (29...Qxa3?? 30. Qf5 g6 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. h6 Qxa2 33. Qg7#) 30. gxf5 Qxa3 31. h6 Qxa2 32. hxg7+ Kxg7 33. Rd7+ wins.
26. Be6! Rde8 27. Rxd6 Rxe6
No better is 27...Nxd6 28. Rxd6 f5 29. gxf5 Rxe6 30. fxe6 and wins.
28. Rxe6 Qf7 29. Rxe5 Qxa2 30. Bc1 Kg8 31. Red5 Ne7 32. Rd7 Nc6 33. Qd3
This was the simplest way to win, with the idea of Qd5+.
1-0

I was really proud of this win, because it was a fairly strong win against a good player. I did manage to play all rated players in the event, though I got badly sick and struggled in the middle portion of the tournament. I earned an initial FIDE rating of 2108.

Longest Winning Streak pt. 2: U.S. Amateur Championship

2008-05-19T20:19:00.016Z

As always before a tournament I was nervous before the first round. I wondered whether my five wins in a row at the National Open meant that I was playing stronger or not. I had scored an undefeated 5 out of 6 the last time I had played in the U.S. Amateur Championship way back in 1993, so I didn't want to do worse than that now that I felt I was a better player.

Event "US Amateur Championship West"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "2001.05.26"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Wagner, Patrick"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B16"]
[WhiteElo "1920"]
[BlackElo "1474"]

I have always dreaded playing down against lower rated opposition, because I am prone to being upset at times, just like in the first round of the previous tournament.
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6
I was very happy to see this variation as I have done well with it. I recalled my almost win in this line (where I had just blown it with a dumb move) in the Continental Open a year before.
6. c3 Bf5 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. g3 Nd7 9. Bg2 O-O-O 10. O-O e5
This was new for me and made me nervous. I usually play for Nh4 to seal up the h file and then start attacking the black king. I wasn't sure what to make of this e5 move, so I just started attacking anyway.
11. a4 Nb6 12. a5 Nc4 13. Qa4
Better may be 13. Qe2 Be6 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 with a slight edge to white.
13...Bd3 14. Rd1 e4?
He misses that I can gain two pieces for a rook.
15. Rxd3 Nxb2
Better, though still losing, is 15...Nd6 16. Rd1 exf3 17. Bxf3.
16. Bxb2 exd3 17. a6 b6 18. Qc4 Rd6? 19. Bc1
I try to take advantage of his placing his rook in line with his queen.
19...Rd8 20. Qxd3 Bd6 21. Qf5+ Kb8 22. Qxf6
Perhaps even better is Rb1 or c4 to directly attack the king.
22...h5 23. Bg5 Rde8 24. Ne5 Bxe5 25. dxe5 Rhg8 26. Bf4 Re6 27. Qh4 Rd8 28. Bh3 Rxe5 29. Bxe5 1-0

I was relieved to get a fairly simple win to start the tournament, though naturally it only gets tougher from here. At the time I never considered the fact that this was my sixth win in a row. I was hoping for another fairly easy game in the next round, but my opponent didn't oblige despite being almost three hundred points lower rated than me.

[Event "US Amateur Championship West"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "2001.05.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Rodriguez, Orlando"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "1631"]
[BlackElo "1920"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nb3
I am always happy to see this line, as it cedes the advantage to black straight away.
6...Bb4 7. f3 d5
This is why black now has the edge; he gets the freeing d5 in with no trouble.
8. exd5 Nxd5 9. Bd2 Nxc3 10. bxc3 Bd6 11. Bd3 O-O 12. Qe2 Be6 13. h4 f5 14. O-O-O a5 15. a4 Be7 16. Kb2 Qd6 17. Ra1 Bf6?!
I am doing too much maneuvering when I should be bringing more pieces into the battle with 17...Rac8.
18. Bg5 Rad8 19. Rad1 Qe7 20. Bxf6 Rxf6 21. h5 Rh6 22. g4 e4 23. fxe4 fxg4 24. e5? Kh8
I miss the best continuation - 24...Rd5 25. Bc4 Rxe5 26. Qxg4 Bxc4 27. Qxc4+ Qe6 28.Qxe6+ Rhxe6 with the edge to black.
25. Qe3 Bxb3 26. cxb3 Qxe5 27. Qxe5 Nxe5
I felt that winning a pawn was the way to go, but white gets some compensation and I have given up some of my advantage.
28. Be4 Rb8
I place my pieces in passive positions, giving white equality. Better was 28...Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Kg8 30. Bxb7 Rxh5 with an endgame edge.
29. Rd5 Nc6 30. Rg5 Re6 31. Bxc6 Rxc6 32. Rxg4
We have arrived at an endgame with equal material, but white has a small advantage. I wasn't happy to be in this situation against an opponent I am supposed to be able to beat.
32...Re8 33. Rd1 g6 34. h6 Rc5 35. Rgd4 Kg8 36. Rd7 Rh5 37. Rxb7 Rxh6 38. c4 Rh5 39. Rdd7 Rf8 40. c5
I knew I was on the brink of losing here, so I began desperately searching for tricks to stop his advancing pawns.
40...Rh2+ 41. Kc3 Rc8 42. Kd4 Rd2+ 43. Ke3??
He misplays it and I end up with the advantage again. I can't understand his choice of move, except that perhaps he was really worried about my kingside pawns. Clearly better is 43. Kc4 Rc2+ 44. Kd3 R2xc5 and white is all but winning.
43...Rxd7 44. Rxd7 Rxc5 45. Kd4 Rf5 46. Ke4 h5 47. Rc7 h4 48. Rc1 h3 49. Rh1 Rh5 50. Kf4 Kf7 51. Kg4 h2 52. Kg3 Ke6 53. Kg2 Kd5 54. Rd1+ Kc5 55. Kh1 Kb4 56. Rd3 g5??
I thought it was all over at this point, so I played a careless move that blocks my rook's protection of the a5 pawn. Accurate was 56...Rc5 57. Kxh2 Rc3 58. Rd4+ Kxb3 winning.
57. Rg3?
He failed to see that he could now draw with 57. Rd5! (57. Rd5! Kxb3 58. Rxa5 Kc4 59. Rf5 Kd3 60. a5 Ke4 61. Rb5 Kf4 62. a6 Rh7 63. Rb7 Rh8 64. a7 Ra8 65. Kxh2 Ke5 66. Kg3 Kd6 67. Kg4 Kc6 68. Rg7 Kb6=)
57...Ka3 58. Rd3 g4 59. Rg3 Rh4 60. b4+ Kxb4 61. Rxg4+ Rxg4 0-1

Win seven in a row, though not without some luck. I felt doomed before round 3 because my opponent was one that I feared more than any of the others. I had played him previously when he was a mere class B player and I had nearly lost then, and he had since skyrocketed in rating with some impressive results. He was significantly higher rated than me now, and young kids are often very underrated at that.

This game is very imperfect, yet it is one of my favorite games due to the sheer excitement of it. Early in the game I could see some of the teenage friends of my opponent laughing and joking due to the fact that I was obviously collapsing badly very quickly in the game. Later though, the tables inexplicably turned and their faces turned grim. I have never seen such a large crowd gather to watch one of my games before. I was playing before an exhibition board and there were twenty or so seats filled with people, and more were standing and watching. There was a palpable excitement near the end of the game that I have never felt before or since in chess. When the game finished a small group of people mobbed me, asking how it was possible that I pulled this off!

[Event "US Amateur Championship West"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "2001.05.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Martinez, Leonardo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "1920"]
[BlackElo "2045"]

1. e4 e6
I had several reasons to be worried about this game. I have pretty poor results against the French for one. The previous round also contributed - if I had so much trouble scraping out a win against a weaker player, how the heck was I supposed to do much better now?
2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qd2 b5
This is a common Steinitz French position with black trying to crash through on the queenside before white can do the same on the kingside. In our previous game I got into trouble after I castled queenside, so this time I planned to castle kingside. However, my inaccuracy on move 10 caused me to change my mind.
9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Nd4?!
Why give black the pin with Qb6? Better would be Rd1 or Bxc5.
10...Qb6 11. O-O-O
Perhaps I should have considered Rd1 to preserve my original plan of castling kingside.
11...O-O 12. h4
I played this move not with the intention of attacking the kingside, but rather with the idea of allowing my rook to come to h3 to protect the e3 bishop.
12...f6 13. Rh3?
But, this was the wrong time to play this move. I should have played exf6 to keep black's advantage to a minimum.
13...Nxd4 14. exf6!?
This was the only move I could see that would give me any counterplay to try to save the game. Taking back the knight on d4 would simply put me in a dead-lost endgame down two pawns. (14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. Qxd4 Qxd4 16. Rxd4 fxe5 17. Rd1 Rxf4 and black wins easily.)
14...Nf5
(14... Nc6!?)
15. Bxc5 Qxc5 16. fxg7
g4 immediately is probably better. I was hoping somehow that my rook might be good on g3.
16...Rf7 17. g4
I gave up on the idea of getting the rook to g3, realizing that I just needed to create as many complications as I could, especially near the enemy king.
17...Nxg7 18. Bd3 Qb4
Black would love to trade queens into a won endgame with either Qxf4 or d4.
19. f5 d4 20. fxe6 Nxe6
21. Qh6!
This was the only way I could hope to continue the game. I could not allow the queens to come off the board.
21...dxc3 22. Bxh7+ Rxh7 23. Qxe6+ Kh8 24. Rxc3 Qe7
Black would love to consolidate the position into an easily winning endgame, but white now finds a way to tie-up black's pieces on the queenside. Perhaps better for black would be Qf4+ since it prevents white's queen from going to c7 as in the game.
25. Qc6 Rb8 26. Qc7
Now black must constantly worry about moves such as Rxd7 followed by Qxb8.
26...Rf7
White would have some compensation after 26... Rxh4 27. Rcd3 Qe8 28. Qxb8 Nxb8 29. Rd8.
27. Rcd3
It is amazing to be down two pieces yet still have some chances. A computer would win this easily, of course, but the pressures of over-the-board play are more complicated.
27...Qe5 28. Rd6
Again, I must prevent the trade of queens, plus this move begins my attempt to produce some pressure against black's exposed king.
28...Qf4+
Now was the time to play 28... Bb7! to finally free up his pieces.
29. Kb1 Qxg4 30. a3
With blacks pieces still tied-up, I needed to give my king some breathing room.
30...Kh7 31. R1d4 Qg8 32. b3
I had to prevent Rf1+.
32...Rb7 33. Qc6
Now that the threat against black's queenside rook is gone, I needed to make direct threats against his king.
33...Qf8 34. R4d5 Rf5?
Black finally makes a mistake. Better would have been Nf6 with black finally freeing up his extra pieces.
35. Rxf5 Qxf5 36. Qxc8 Ra7 37. Rxa6 Rxa6 38. Qxa6
White now has the only winning chances, and black is in time trouble.
38...Kg7 39. Qc6 Kf7 40. h5
This pawn proves to be the deciding factor.
40...Ke7 41. h6 Nf6 42. Qc7+ Ke6?
The knight had to come back to d7.
43. Qc8+ Nd7 44. Qg8+ Ke7 45. h7 Qf1+ 46. Kb2 Qf6+ 47. Ka2 Qf5
Black would now like to get a perpetual check on c2 and c1, but white's queens will cover the b2 square.
48. Qg7+ Ke6 49. h8=Q 1-0

I was stunned at winning this game, my eighth win in a row. By this time I wondered if I didn't have some sort of 'fate' happening to me. It seemed that no matter how poorly I played I was somehow continuing to win. The next game only strengthened this suspicion, as I played my worst opening yet and got into a dead lost position yet again. Prior to the game I had talked with an old friend of mine, Ed Yetman, and he had told me that my next opponent was very strong. In a recent Arizona state championship event, Kiven Plesset had been the only player that GM Tal Shaked had not been able to beat...and I had to play him with black.

[Event "US Amateur Championship West"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "2001.05.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Plesset, Kiven"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A80"]
[WhiteElo "2063"]
[BlackElo "1920"]

1. d4 f5 2. Bg5
Wow, I never saw this against the Dutch before. I wasn't sure what to play.
2...Nf6 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 d5?!
This seemed obvious to me at the time, but it turns out that this pawn becomes very weak here.
5. c4 c6 6. Nc3 Be6 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. Qxb6 axb6 9. cxd5 Bxd5 10. Nxd5 cxd5
I can't believe how ugly my position has become. It has to be lost already for all practical purposes.
11. Bb5+ Nc6
Better is 11... Kf7.
12. a3 Bb4+ 13. Ke2 O-O? 14. Rc1 Na7 15. Bd7 Bd6 16. Bxf5
I'm thankful for small favors. 16. Be6+ would have let him have the more important pawn.
16...Rfe8 17. Kd3 g6 18. Bg4 Nc8 19. Ne2 Ne7 20. Nc3 Ra5 21. Bf3 Kg7 22. g3 Rd8 23. Rc2 b5
I had to let him have the second pawn if I wanted to be able to generate any counterplay.
24. Nxd5 Nxd5 25. Bxd5 b4 26. Bxb7 bxa3 27. bxa3 Rxa3+
Now, this is a clearly losing position, so I had nothing to play for but tricks and traps.
28. Ke2 f5 29. Rd1 h5 30. f3 g5 31. e4 f4 32. e5?
He gets careless for some reason. I suspect that my terrible play led him to believe that I couldn't put up any resistance.
32...Re3+
Or 32... Bxe5 33. Rcd2 Bd6.
33. Kf2 Bxe5 34. gxf4 Bxf4 35. Be4
Now I actually have realistic chances to save the game.
35...Ra3 36. Kg2 h4 37. Kh3 Re8 38. Kg4
His recent moves and the setup of my pawns and bishop around hisking reminded me of the mate I had in the fourth round of my previous tournament. I began playing to try to reach a similar situation.
38...Kf6
This cut off one flight square for his king.
39. Rb1 Ra6
This allows my king to remain on f6, at least for now.
40. Rb7 Rh8
This threatens the final part of the mating web, and for some reason he never suspected a thing.
41. Rc5
Here it was, the position I had been aiming for. I saw that if I played h3 he could 'win' one of my rooks, but by doing so he would place my king in just the right position. I didn't expect he would actually fall for it, but he did.
41...h3 42. Rf5+?
He thinks he is winning my rook. I think it would be a draw after 42. Bh7 Rd6 43. Rf5+ Ke6 44. d5+ Rxd5 45. Rxd5 Kxd5 46. Kxh3 Rb8 47. Be4+ Ke6 48. Rxb8 Bxb8 49. Kg4 Kf6 or 42. Rh7 Rxh7 43. Bxh7 Rd6.
42...Ke6 43. d5+?
He still fails to see the danger. He could still draw with 43. Bd5+ Kd6 44. Rf6+ Kxd5 45. Rxa6 Kxd4 46. Rd7+ Ke5 47. Re7+ Kd4 48. Re4+ Kd5.
43...Kd6 44. Rf6+ Ke5
See? My king comes to the right spot and he is welcome to my 'free' rook.
45.Rxa6??
He still had one last chance to notice the mating web. He could have left black with a slight edge with 45. Rf5+ Kd4 46. Rff7 Ra2 47. Rb4+ Kc3 48. Rfb7 Rxh2 49. Rb3+ Kd4 50. Kf5.
45...Rh4# 0-1

I wasn't thinking about this being my ninth win in a row; I was thinking that it was my second major miracle in a row! Notice how similar this mate was to the one I had in the fourth round of the National Open.

In a tournament where I was ranked 15th by rating, I ended up playing each of the top four seeds in a row. Leo Martinez was ranked fourth and Kiven Plesset was ranked number 2. Now my next opponent was the third ranked player. I figured that I was fated to win this event, so it was okay to just keep getting losing games right out of the opening!

[Event "US Amateur Championship West"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "2001.05.28"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Richardson, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "1920"]
[BlackElo "2056"]

Only now did I begin to wonder if I actually had a chance to win the U.S. Amateur Championship. I kept facing the top-seeded players, and with luck I was beating them.
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qc7 11.Bd2 O-O-O 12. O-O-O Ngf6 13. Qe2 e6 14. Kb1 Bd6 15. Rhe1?
This is inexplicable. I have known and played this position for many years, and I was well aware that I needed to play Ne4. Somehow my mind got things transposed and I played a move I was supposed to play later on.
15...Bxg3 16. fxg3 Qxg3
I felt dejected. On my way to a restroom break I saw local master Paul Gold and I shook my head and said that I had blown it already. Despite my levity above, I truly didn't believe that I could continue to get away with terrible openings against strong players.
17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Ng4?
Now I perked up a bit. His queen is hemmed in with his move. He should have played 18...Nxh5! 19. Rf1 Qg6 20. Qf2 Kb8 21. Be3 Ng3 22. Bxa7+ Kc8 23. Bb6 Nxf1 24. Bxd8 Rxd8 25. Rxf1 Qh5 26. a3 Rd7 with a strong black edge.
19. Rf1 Rd7 20. Bf4 Rxd1+ 21. Qxd1
I was playing to try to take advantage of his poor queen position. I saw that he couldn't touch the pawn on g2.
21...Qh4 22. Rh1 Nf2?
My luck continued to hold. He makes a mistake that allows me to reach a better endgame. He should have played 22... Rd8 23. Qf1 Qf2.
23. Rxh4 Nxd1 24. Rg4 Rh7?
He puts his rook in an awful position, failing to see that the simple 24...Rg8 does just fine, though white retains a slight edge. Now I can trap his knight. (24... Rg8 25. Bxh6 Rh8 26. Bf4 and white has a minimal edge.)
25. Bd2! Nf2 26. Rf4 Nh1 27. Be1
The knight is trapped and I just need to play accurately to seal up the win.
27...g5 28. Rf1 f5 29. exf6 Rd7 30. Kc1 Rf7 31. Kd2 Kd7 32. Ke3 e5 33. Rxh1 Rxf6 34. Bg3 Ke6 35. Ke2
This seems like an odd move, but my agenda was to get the rooks off the board.
35...Rf5
His move allows me to do just that.
36. Rf1 Rxf1 37. Kxf1 Kf5 38. Ke2 e4 39. Ke3 Kg4 40. Bb8 Kxh5 41. Bxa7 Kg4 42. Bb8 Kf5 43. a4 h5 44. b4 g4 45. g3 1-0

There is no point in showing the last round game against the top seed. Both of us had 5 out of 5. He made a transposition error very early and offered a draw. I believed my tiebreaks were better, because I had no idea that my previous opponent had withdrawn from the event (My fourth round opponent had also withdrawn), so I accepted the draw. I tied for first place, and even with the withdrawal of two of my strong opponents I still would have won the tiebreaks if it had not been for the fact that my second round opponent had won his first round game by forfeit. That took an extra half point away from my tiebreaks, and the first tiebreaker became dead even. The second, third and fourth tiebreaks were also even. I ended up losing on the fifth tiebreak! A real disappointment considering that to me the idea of tiebreaks is to determine who played the better tournament. I played and upset each of the top four seeds. The winner faced no one stronger than the fifth seed. I upset four strong players and was upset by no one, while he upset nobody and was upset once (by drawing with me). I don't agree with the tiebreaks, but they are the rules.

One last note is that this form of tiebreak favors the higher rated players. How often do you see lower rated players withdraw from a tournament because of a loss to a higher rated player? Not so often. But it is quite common to see higher rated players withdraw after losing to a lower rated player. Their withdrawals hurt the lower rated players tiebreak points.

Longest Winning Streak pt. 1: National Open

2008-05-17T19:42:00.011Z

In the year 2001 I had the longest winning streak of my chess life. If I discount one very short draw that sealed up 1st place in one of the events, I had twelve wins in a row! I don't believe I had ever had more than a four or five game winning streak prior to this. The winning streak began in the second round of the 2001 National Open, extended through the 2001 US Amateur West Championship, and finished in the third round of the Budapest Spring Chess Festival in 2003 (Yes, I had a long layoff from chess due to a change of career).

The National Open in Las Vegas has long been one of my favorite tournaments in which to play. I love Las Vegas, or at least The Strip portion of Las Vegas, and there is something special about going on a road trip with good friends to such an event. I had played in several National Opens in the late 1980's and early 1990's, and I had scored 4.5 out of 6 in all but one of those tourneys. I began to feel that I could never score anything but 4.5 in the National Open! After living in Russia for four years I came back to the U.S. and again began to take part in the National Open. I finally broke my scoring streak by scoring 5 out of 6 in the 1999 National Open; I had a chance to score 5.5 from 6, up a pawn in an endgame in the last round, but I couldn't find a way to convert it and had to settle for a draw. The following year I had a dismal performance, only scoring 3.5 from 6. So, in 2001 I was hungry to put that bad performance behind me and score at least 5 if not higher.

Round 1 crushed my hopes immediately. I played the opening terribly and had a lost position. I fought back hard, though, and ended up in a better endgame with some winning chances. I miscalculated at an important point and actually blew the game. I was so disappointed with myself that I could not have conceived that I was about to have the longest winning streak of my life!

[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas, Nevada"]
[Date "2001.03.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Schmahle, Klaus"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "1674"]
[BlackElo "1903"]

I came into this game feeling that it didn't matter at all. I had lost interest in the event after my poor showing in round 1. I really blitzed through the opening even though I don't know it well. I took a devil may care attitude to the game because I felt the tournament was ruined already. I knew that I would have to win five games in a row to salvage the tournament, and I didn't feel that was likely to happen.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5
I experimented a bit with the Gruenfeld Defense around this time, because I was so unhappy with my results with the Dutch.
4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4?! Nc6
Better here was 8... e5
9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. Rb1 a5 13. b3 Ba6 14. Bxa6 Rxa6 15. Qd3 Qa8 16. Rd1 e6 17. Bb2 Rc8 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Rbc1 Rac6 20. Rxc6 Qxc6
All of this had just been blitzed out by me (he took his time) and I had no real idea what I was doing, who was better, nor did I care. Around this point I began to play a little more carefully since endgames take subtlety and I can often beat opponents in the endgame even if they are equal.
21. Kf1 f6 22. Ke2 Kf7 23. Kd2 Ke7 24. Ke1 a4 25. b4? Qc4!?
I didn't notice the two hanging pawns after 25...Qd6. I was too intent on examining my move, which leads to a black advantage.
26. Qxc4 Rxc4 27. a3 Rc3 28. Ra1
This is why I am better here. His rook is stuck defending that a3 pawn, while my rook has more options.
28...Rc2 29. g3 h5 30. Kd1?
I'm not sure what his thinking was. I suppose he thought his rook could come through the c file and get compensation for the pawns he was dropping.
30...Rxf2 31. Rc1 Rxh2 32. Rc7+ Kd6 33. Ra7 Rg2 34. Rxa4 Rxg3 35. Ra6+ Kd7 36. Kd2 h4 37. Ra7+ Kc8 38. Re7 h3 39. Rxe6 Rg5
So that my rook could come behind my pawn.
40. Rc6+ Kb7 41. Rc1 h2 42. Rh1 Rg2+ 43. Kd3 g5 44. e4 dxe4+ 45. Kxe4 g4 46. Kf4 g3 47. Kf3 Rg1 0-1
My mental approach to this game was lousy due to my emotions following my first round upset, so I was lucky that my opponent was just not so good at endgames.

[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas, Nevada"]
[Date "2001.03.10"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Newton, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C57"]
[WhiteElo "1903"]
[BlackElo "1700"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5
At this point I had not yet given up on playing this move. I like its aggressive intentions, but I have lost too many games in this line for me to continue to play it now.
4...d5 5. exd5 Nd4
No one had played this against me before. I knew a little bit of the theory, enough to know that my bishop needed to come back to f1 shortly, but that is all.
6. c3 b5 7. Bf1 Nf5 8. Bxb5+ Bd7 9. Qe2 Bd6
I had no idea what the correct moves were at this point, so I just played by what looked right to me.
10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 11. d4 O-O 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. O-O
I was too worried about my queen and king being lined up on the e file, plus my pieces being undeveloped, so I played it safe. Quite possible was 13. Qxe5 Rae8 14. Ne6 fxe6 15. d6 cxd6 16. Qe2 with a significant edge to white.
13...Rfe8 14. Qc2 Qxd5 15. Nf3 Rad8 16. Bg5 Bd6
It seems very strange to me that he would voluntarily allow me to ruin his kingside pawns. I didn't do it immediately because I wanted to use attacks against his queen to complete my development.
17. Nbd2 h6 18. c4 Qe6 19. Rfe1 Qd7 20. Bxf6
Now that I am comfortably developed I felt that I must be winning.
20...gxf6 21.Ne4 Kg7 22. Nxd6
I should have applied more pressure on him with 22. Rad1.
22... Nxd6 23. Rad1 Rg8 24. Re2
I was well aware that I could play c5 and pick up another piece, but I was more concerned with preventing any and all counterplay, so I decided I wanted my knight to be able to come back to e1.
24...Kh8 25. Ne1 Rxg2+?
Wow, he must have been feeling desperate at this point and hoped there might be some miracle here.
26. Nxg2 Rg8 27. f3 Qh3 28. Rxd6
I did this to simplify things for me.
28...cxd6 29. Qe4 1-0

[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas, Nevada"]
[Date "2001.03.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Delgadillo, David"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "1800"]
[BlackElo "1903"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5
This is a variation of the Sveshnikov that I don't like and know very little about.
7...Nxd5 8. exd5 Ne7 9. c4 a6??
You see? This shows how little I knew about this line. I had no idea he could beat me now with 10. Qa4.
10. Nc3?
Fortunately for me he didn't know it either!
10...g6 11. Be2 Bg7 12. O-O O-O 13. Qb3?
He had a slight edge until this move. Now my reply gives me at least equality.
13...Nf5! 14. Bd2 Nd4 15. Qd1 Bf5 16. Rc1 Rc8 17. b3 Bd7
I floundered a bit for a plan. I realized that I wanted to play f5 at some point.
18. Be3 Nxe2+19. Qxe2 f5 20. f3 Rf7
Better is 20...b5.
21. Qf2 Qe7
Still better is 21...b5.
22. Rfd1 Rff8 23. Kh1 f4?
I chose the wrong way. Better is 23...e4.
24. Bb6 Bf5 25. c5
Uh oh, now white has a substantial advantage.
25... e4 26. Nxe4 Bxe4 27. fxe4 Qxe4 28. Qf3?!
He allows me to liquidate much of his advantage with this move. Better was 28. Rc4.
28...Qxf3 29. gxf3 dxc5 30. Bxc5 Rfd8 31. b4 Bf8 32. a4 b6
Better was 32... a5 33. Bxf8 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Kxf8.
33. Bxb6 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Rxd5 35. Bc5 Bxc5 36. bxc5 Rd7 37. Rc4 g5?
Much better was Rc7.
38. c6 Rc7 39. Kg2 Kf7 40. h4 h6 41. hxg5
He should have tried 41. Kh3! here.
41...hxg5 42. Kh3 Kf6 43. Kg4??
I couldn't believe it. I had been looking at the idea that he could be mated over here for a couple of moves, but I didn't expect he would actually walk into it.

43...Rh7 0-1
An interesting note is that during this long win streak, I later have a checkmate almost exactly identical to this one. See round four of the U.S. Amateur West Championship in my next posting.

[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas, Nevada"]
[Date "2001.03.11"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Peterson, Thomas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B89"]
[WhiteElo "1903"]
[BlackElo "1800"]

Having won three in a row, I began to take the games a bit more seriously now. I still doubted I could win five in a row, but I figured I might as well try.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4
This is one of my favorite opening lines, as I often get tremendous attacks against the black king.
6...e6 7. Be3 a6 8. Qe2 Qc7 9. Bb3 Be7 10. O-O-O O-O 11. Rhg1 b5 12. g4 b4
I had never had this played against me before, and I had always worried about it. I didn't know that there is an extreme tactical solution to the problem by playing 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Nd5!. In fact I later got my first upset of an IM in this line.
13. Na4?
This just gives black the edge.
13...Nxe4 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Bb6
I was just trying to regain my lost pawn.
15...Bg5+ 16. Kb1 Qb8 17. Qxe4 d5?
He makes a big mistake, overlooking a tactical shot.
18. Bxd5 1-0

[Event "National Open"]
[Site "Las Vegas, Nevada"]
[Date "2001.03.11"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Parker, William"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A83"]
[WhiteElo "1813"]
[BlackElo "1903"]

Well, I had not expected to have a shot at reaching 5 out of 6 in this event. It is not often that I win five games in a row. I expected this round to be really tough, since some money would be coming to the winner.
1. d4 f5
I reverted to the Dutch here because I knew it better than the Gruenfeld, even if I lacked confidence in it.
2. e4
Wow, now this is a highly dangerous line against the Dutch. I wish I knew it better because I like black's chances in it, but although I have studied it a few times, I keep forgetting the theory.
2...fxe4 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 c6
I knew I had read something that showed a good line for black after c6, but I couldn't recall anything else about it.
5. Bxf6 exf6 6. Nxe4 d5 7. Ng3 Bd6
But, this all looked fine to me. It took some of the craziness out of the game and made it look more solid. Knowing how tactical this line can be, I had worried that I might get blown off the board early, so I was relieved to be able to settle things down.
8. Bd3 Qe7+ 9. Qe2 Qxe2+
I was happy to get queens off the board since my biggest worry was that he would throw a big kingside attack at me.
10. N1xe2 O-O 11. O-O-O Na6 12.Kb1 g6 13. c3 Nc7 14. h4 Be6 15. h5 Kg7 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. Rh2 Rh8 18. Rdh1 Bf7
In order to save my g6 pawn.
19. Rxh8 Rxh8 20. Rxh8 Kxh8 21. Kc2
I didn't have any winning aspirations at this point. I was still thinking that he was slightly better and I was just trying to hang on.
21...Ne6 22. Kd2 Kg7 23. Ke3 f5 24. f4
Good for me that he played this. I hadn't noticed the tactical 24. Bf5 available to him leading to an equal endgame. (24. Bxf5 Bxg3 25. Bxe6 (25. Nxg3 gxf5 26. Nxf5+ Kf6 is better for black)25... Bxf2+ 26. Kxf2 Bxe6=).
24...Kf6 25. Kf3 b6 26. Nf1 g5 27. fxg5+ Nxg5+ 28. Ke3 Ne4
Well now my pieces are all better placed than his and my bishop pair can start to assert itself.
29. Nd2?
This is a mistake that loses a piece, but I failed to notice it.

29...Bf8?
See, I was busy thinking about my dominating bishops, so I failed to notice 29. f4+ winning.
30. Nf3 Bh6+ 31. Nf4 Ng3 32. Ng1
It was really difficult to figure out how to increase my advantage during this phase of the game. The pieces were dancing around all over the place.
32...Bh5 33. Ngh3 Bg4 34. Kf2 Bxh3?!
This mistake gives him equality if he takes my knight. I should have played Ne4+ instead. (34... Ne4+ 35. Ke3 a5 with a slight edge)
35. Nxh3?
(35. Kxg3!=)
35...Ne4+ 36. Bxe4 fxe4
Now I was happy and felt I had a chance to win the endgame. At the very least I felt I couldn't lose it.
37. b3 b5 38. Ke2 Kf5 39. a4 Kg4 40. axb5 cxb5 41. Nf2+ Kg3?!
I was too concerned about his g pawn and he could have reached equality now. I should have played Kf5.
42. Nd1?
Happily, he misses the drawing move of 42. c4. (42.c4! bxc4 43. bxc4 dxc4 44. Nxe4+ Kxg2 45. Nd6=).
42...a5 43. c4
He plays it now but it is too late.
43...dxc4 44. bxc4 bxc4 45. Nc3 e3 46. d5 Bg7 47. Na2 Kf4 48. d6 Bf6 49. d7
I had a hard time in this position figuring out the right way to proceed. It finally came to me.
49...Bg5! 50. Nc3 Ke5 51. d8=Q?!
He could have made the win much harder with Nd1 here. (51. Nd1 Kd4 52.Nxe3 a4 (better is 52... Kc3 53. Nf5 a4 (53... Kb2? 54. Nd6 c3 55. Nc4+ Kb3 56. Nxa5+ Ka4) 54. Nd6 Kb3 55. Nf7 Be7 and black wins) (52... Kc5 53. Kd1 a4 54. Kc2 a3 55.Kb1 c3 56. Ka2 Kd6 57. Nc4+ Kxd7 58. Nxa3=) 53. g4 Kc3 and black wins).
51...Bxd8 52. Kxe3 Bg5+ 53. Ke2 Kd4 54. Na4 Bh6
I was trying to put him in zugzwang to make him play weakening moves.
55. Kd1 Kd3 56. Nc5+ Kc3 57. Ne4+ Kb2 58. Nc5 Be3 0-1
It was a bit tricky, but it is finally all over. I was thrilled to win five in a row and win a bit of money. I never dreamed that I would continue the winning streak on into another tournament.

Chess and my kids

2008-05-01T19:55:00.011Z

I haven't posted in a while since I am in a month and a half of training in the states. I miss my kids; I was thinking about them and started going through some old photos. I noticed some chess pictures and decided maybe it would be nice to throw them out here.

My older son, Anton. He was fascinated any time I pulled out the chess board. He really seemed to like chess a lot for a number of years, but appears to have lost interest lately. He is about to turn 10 now; how time flies!

I always let Anton put my set away when I was done studying. A friend had the t-shirt made as a gift for Anton.

Both of my boys could set up a board by their first birthday. Here is my youngest son, Alexei, as a baby. He is almost 8 now. I did a posting a while back about his first chess tournament. He still loves chess, though my job is interfering with my ability to get him to clubs and touraments regularly.

Ready to play!

Here are Anton and Alex in Croatia, when Anton is 4 and Alex is 2.

Reykjavik Open round 9

2008-03-15T18:40:00.015Z

This is what I had feared all tournament long, no longer playing against someone well above me in rating. I was quite unhappy that I ended up being given two blacks in a row, because I had clearly played much better with white, and I had lost all of my blacks. My opponent showed up more than half an hour late for the game, and then kept jumping up and running around to other places for some reason. This probably contributed both to my dropping a pawn early on and to him dropping a piece in return!

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.11"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Ingvason, Johann"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2105"]
[BlackElo "2079"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6
I have never played this before, but there wasn't much in the databases to help against this opponent in my normal Nc6 lines, plus I found that he pretty consistently played the same way with this e6 variation.
3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Qc7 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. f3 Bb4
This was the line that I planned out in my preparation, because this guy liked to attack the black king with g4 and queenside castling, and I felt that getting him to play a3 would help my attack against his castled king.
9. a3 Be7 10. Be2 b5
I showed my hand too soon, I think. I should have held onto this move, hoping that he would castle queenside first. Now I think he got scared of castling queenside and chose to castle the other way instead.
11. O-O d6?!
(better is 11... O-O)
12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13. a4
With this move I felt I was in a bit of trouble, since my unfamiliarity with the typical tactics of this line meant that I didn't see the ideas that could have saved the pawn for me.
13...b4 14. Na2 Qxa4?
I played this because I couldn't see any way to save the pawn, but this is bad and gives white a strong advantage. 14...d5 contained enough tactical finesses to keep black in the game. (14...d5 15. Nxb4 Qd6 16. c3 dxe4 17. Qxd6 Bxd6 18. Rad1 Bxb4 19. cxb4 Nd5 20. Bc5 exf3)
15. Nxb4 Qd7 16.Nxa6 O-O 17. b4 Bb7 18. c4??
I think he felt he was just going to steamroll me now, plus his jumping out of his seat after each move may have contributed to his oversight. This was easily the biggest mistake any opponent made against me in this event.
18...Rxa6 19. Rab1 Rfa8
Now I just wanted to ensure I didn't embarrass myself by blowing this win. I wanted to find logical ways to reduce material on the board.
20. Rfd1 Ra2 21. Rb2 Rxb2 22.Qxb2 Qa4
With one rook removed, I now wanted to either force queens off the board or at least undermine his queenside pawns.
23. c5 dxc5 24. bxc5 Bc6 25.Kf2
I was hoping he wouldn't play this, since then Qa2 would have forced the queens off.
25...h6 26. Qb6 Nd7
I saw that I could get rid of that last annoying queenside pawn. I didn't quite realize how careful I needed to be with the two pieces that would be lined up on the 'c' file. (26... Nxe4+ 27. fxe4 Qxe4 28. g3 Ra2 29. Qb8+ Bf8)
27. Qc7 Bxc5 28. Bxc5 Nxc5 29. Rc1
Now I understood that I needed to be very careful here, as I could easily lose my extra piece.
29...Qd4+
I didn't look much at 30. Kg3 because my intuition told me I would have something I could do if he played that. I concentrated on him playing 30. Kf1 and I was pleased to see that I could play 30...Nd3! and win pretty easily.
30. Kg3
If 30. Kf1 Nd3! 31. Bxd3 Qxd3+ 32. Kf2 Qd2+ 33. Kg3 Qxc1
30... Nxe4+
I was glad that this tactic was available since I think he would have gained a piece back otherwise, though black was still better. He can't take the knight due to Qe3+.
31. Kh3
If 31. fxe4 Qe3+ 32. Bf3 Qxc1
31... Ng5+ 32. Kg3 Bd5 33. Rb1 Ra2
I thought about playing the rook to a4 to threaten mate on h4, but he could play h3. So, I played this so that if he defended with Re1 I could then play Ra4 and he could no longer play h3 to defend since he would drop the rook on e1 to Qh4+.
34. Rd1 Qe3
My main concern here was that he would play Bd3 to threaten checkmate, but I happily found that 35...Rg2+ would mate him first.
35. Rxd5
If 35. Bd3 Rxg2+ 36.Kh4 Nxf3+ 37. Kh3 Ne5+ 38. Kh4 Rxh2#
35... exd5 36. Qb8+ Kh7 37. Qb1+ Ne4+ 0-1
A great way to finish the tournament. By rating I should have scored only 2 or 2.5 points, but I scored 3.5 instead, and I gained around 30 rating points. Best of all, I did well enough that I only competed against players higher rated than me.

The day after the tournament finished there was a knockout blitz tournament to wrap things up. As I waited to find out my pairing, my son Alexei was fascinated by the blitz games being played by the two top Chinese GMs, Wang Yue and Wang Hao. He stood and watched game after game. Finally the pairings were announced and I had to face IM Jon Viktor Gunnarsson. I played well with white to reach an endgame with bishops of opposite colors, but my poor blitzing skills couldn't hold up. I lost with black pretty badly. All in all, it was a terrific, fun tournament and I learned an amazing amount. Getting to meet luminaries like Boris Spassky, Pal Benko, Vlastimil Hort, Lajos Portisch, and Fridrik Olafsson was great.

GM Lajos Portisch with former world champion GM Boris Spassky

GM Fridrik Olafsson and GM Pal Benko

My son watches GM Wang Yue and GM Wang Hao play blitz

Reykjavik Open round 8

2008-03-15T18:22:00.005Z

My thinking before this game was that I needed to do something positive with black. I had not lost any whites this tournament, but I had lost every black so far. My opponent didn't have a much higher rating, but looking at her games showed me that she was very experienced against strong competition, plus she played the Alapin Sicilian a lot, which I can't stand. However, I found an interesting plan to play against her Alapin, so I was actually hoping she would go for it! Sadly, she didn't.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.10"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Andersson, WIM Christin"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2194"]
[BlackElo "2079"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
I had really prepared hard for the Alapin, so this disappointed me. I did see that she once played into an Alapin after 2. Nc6, so now I hoped for that.
2...Nc6 3. d4
Nope, she was playing something that was not in her large collection of games in my database.
3...cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Nxc6
Even worse, she now played a move that no one had played against me before. I had lightly analyzed this move, of course, since it is always a possibility in the Sveshnikov Sicilian, but I wasn't truly familiar with it. If she prepared this at home, knowing that I played the Sveshnikov, then she had a huge advantage over me right now!
6...bxc6 7. Bc4 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 Bb7
Over the past few moves I kept spending lots of time trying to figure out whether I could get a decent position after taking on e4 with my knight, but it never quite looked okay.
11. Qd3 Qc7 12. Rad1 Rad8 13. Rfe1 d6
Apparently I could have had an advantage here by playing 13...d5. (13... d5 14. exd5 cxd5 15. Bb3 d4 16. Nb5 Qc5 17. Qc4 g5 18. Qxc5 Bxc5 19. Bg3 (19. Rxe5 Nd7) 19... Ne4 20. Bxe5 d3 21. Rf1 d2 22. c3 Ba6 23. Bc4 Bxb5 24. Bxb5 Rd5 25. Bg3 Bxf2+ 26. Rxf2 (26. Bxf2 Rxb5 27. b4 Rd8 28. Bd4 Rxd4 29. cxd4 Rxb4) 26... Rxb5 27. Rfxd2 Nxd2 28. Rxd2 Rc8)
14. Bb3 Bc8
I felt that finding a plan here for black was difficult and I didn't want to just make waiting moves, so I decided to swing the bishop over to e6. I was glad to see later that Fritz thinks it is the right plan.
15. f3 Be6 16. Bf2
I was happy to see this move, because I had not felt comfortable playing d5 as long as that bishop kept pinning my knight. Now I felt that d5 was playable and had to give me at least equality.
16...d5 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Qe3
Hmm, I suddenly realized that I needed to worry about the two loose pawns on a7 and e5. I figured out how to save them for now, but I didn't know whose position was better afterwards.
19...Bxb3 20. axb3 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 a5 22. Qb6 Qxb6 23. Bxb6 Ra8 24. Rd7 Bf8?!
Since I saw a trick to keep her from winning the c6 pawn, I didn't look further to see that later she could still force the win of a pawn. Plus, the plan with 24...Kf8! has some very hard to see ideas in it. (24... Kf8! 25. Rc7 Ke8 26. Be3 (26. Rxc6 Ra6 27. Rc8+ Kd7 28. Rc7+ Kd8) 26... Ra6)
25. Rc7 Ra6
The funny thing was that she actually reached for the rook as if to take the c6 pawn. Oh, how delicious that would have been! But, she saw the skewer of course.
26. Be3 f6?!
I didn't realize here that I was about to lose a pawn. Her advantage in this position was not apparent to me. I think black can always draw this position, but the endgame is quite difficult really. (26... g5 27. Ra7 Rxa7 28. Bxa7 f5 29. Bb6 Kf7 30.Kf2 Ke6 31. Ke2 Bd6 32. Kd3 h5 33. Bxa5 g4 34. h3 Be7 35. Bd2 g3 36. b4 Kd5 37.c4+ Ke6 38. b5 cxb5 39. cxb5 Kd5 40. b6 Bd6 41. b7 e4+ 42. fxe4+ fxe4+ 43. Ke3 Ke5 44. Bc3+ Kf5 45. Kd4 Bb8 46. Bd2 Bc7 47. Kd5 h4 48. b4 Bb8 49. b5 Be5 50.b6 Bb8 51. Bh6 Be5 52. Be3 Bb8 53. Bc5)
27. Ra7
Now I understood that I was going to have a very difficult endgame to try to draw.
27...Rxa7 28. Bxa7 Kf7
There is no way to save the pawn on a5, so I simply get my king into the center, hoping that this will allow me to force a draw somehow.
29. Bb6 Ke6 30. Bxa5 Bc5+ 31. Kf1 f5 32. Ke2 g5 33. Bd2 Kd5 34. h4 Be7
I thought that taking the pawn on h4 would be bad, but apparently I can draw with this. (34...gxh4 35. c4+ Ke6 36. Bxh6 Be7 37. Be3 e4 38. fxe4 fxe4 39. b4 Bxb4 40.Bg5 Ke5 41. b3 Kf5 42. Bxh4 Bf8 43. Be1 c5 44. Bh4 Ke5 45. Bd8 Kf4 46. Bc7+ Kf5 47. g3 Bg7 48. Bd6 Bd4 49. b4 cxb4 50. Bxb4 Kg4 51. Bd6 Ba7 52. Bf4 Bd4 53. Be3 Be5 54. Bf2 Bd6 =)
35. hxg5 hxg5 36. c4+ Ke6 37. Kd3 c5 38. Be3?
This is a mistake that gives black a fairly straightforward draw, but I didn't see the right idea. (38. g4 e4+ 39. fxe4 fxg4 40. Ke3 Bd6 41. Bc3 Bf4+ 42. Kf2 g3+ 43. Kf3 g4+ 44. Kg2 Kd6 45. b4 cxb4 46. Bxb4+ Ke5 47. Be1 Kxe4 48. Bxg3 Bd2 49. Bf2 Bf4 50. b3 Kd3 51. c5 Kc3 52. Bg3 Be3 53. c6 Bb6 =)
38...f4?
I overlooked the power of the coming b4 move, so I thought that getting the pawn to f4 with tempo so that my king could come to f5 would then allow me to play an eventual g4 or e4 and draw. The right move here was 38...g4! since it allows a consolidation that makes it pretty easy to draw. (38... g4 39. Bf2 gxf3 40. gxf3 Kd6 41. Bg3 Ke6 =)
39. Bf2 Kf5 40. b4 cxb4 41. c5 Ke6 42. Kc4 b3 43. Kxb3 Kd5 44. Kb4 g4 45. Kb5 g3
Playing e4 instead doesn't quite work either.
46. Bg1 Bd8 47. b4 Bc7 48. Ka6 Kc4 49. b5 Kd3 50. b6 Bb8 51. c6 Ke2 52. c7 Bxc7 53. bxc7 Kf1 54. c8=Q Kxg2 55. Qc7 Kxg1 56. Qxe5 Kf2 57. Qxf4 g2 58. Qg4 1-0

Reykjavik Open round 7

2008-03-15T18:04:00.006Z

I was very nervous before this game. As before, I wanted to at least not lose so that I could continue to play people above me in rating. Already I was dropping down to play someone lower than anyone else I had played so far, so losing this game would be a real blow to my tournament aspirations. I had played this gentleman before, in the October Icelandic Team Championships, and he had beaten me with the black pieces. I prepared for the two main defenses he used - the 2...e6 Sicilian or the French Winawer.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.09"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Finnlaugsson, Gunnar"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2079"]
[BlackElo "2128"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4
This made me really worried. I had not prepared for this, and I had no knowledge of how to properly play against this line. Only twice before had anyone played this line against me, and that was back in the 1980s!
4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. Nf3 b6 7. Bf4 Bb7 8. Be2
I didn't want to play this move,and I don't know why I worried that he would take my f3 knight with his bishop. I should have simply played Qd2 and castled queenside. (8. Qd2 Bd6 9. O-O-O Sadvakasov-Privman)
8...Nd7 9. O-O
I didn't want to castle kingside, yet I convinced myself that I had no choice.
9...Bd6 10. Bxd6 cxd6 11. Re1 Qc7 12. c4 O-O-O 13. b4
I was relatively content here, thinking I might be able to build up a huge attack against his king, but I worried about how fast his attack against my king might come.
13...Kb8 14. Qb3
I think now that I should have played Bf1 instead, with the idea of playing g3 and bishop to g2. That is far better than my lame idea that placed my knight on h4.
14...Rdg8 15. Nh4?!
I shouldn't have worried so much about his attack. I could have simply gone for my own attack with 15. a4 here. (15. a4 Rg7 16. a5 Rhg8 17. g3)
15...f5 16. Bf3
This was why I played the knight to h4. I wanted to try to trade off the white squared bishops.
16...Nf6
This is the problem, though. I needed him to trade bishops; I don't want to take his and help him get his queen into the attack.
17. Rac1 Ne4 18. d5?!
I overlooked the best way to seal up an advantage with 18. Qe3! (18. Qe3 Ng5 (18... Qd8 19. Qh6 Rg5 20. Red1 Rhg8 21. c5) 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. d5)
18...Qd8!
An excellent move. Now I am in some real trouble due to that terrible knight on h4.
19. Bxe4 Qxh4?
A bad mistake. He could have had a clear advantage with 19...fxe4. (19...fxe4 20. Rxe4 (20. Qh3 exd5 (20... Bc8 21. f4 exd5 22. f5 dxc4 23. Rxe4 d5 24.Rd4) 21. cxd5 Bxd5 (21...Bc8 22. Rxc8+ Qxc8 23. Qxc8+ Rxc8 24. Nf5 Rc2 25.Kf1 Rxa2 26. Nxd6 Rb2 27. Nxe4 Rxb4 28. Nf6) 22. a3 Qg5 (22...Be6 23. Qc3 Rg4 24. g3 Rhg8 25. Ng2 d5) 23. g3 Rc8 24. Rcd1 Be6 25. Qg2 d5 26. f4! exf3 (26...Qf6 27. f5 Bd7 28. Rxd5 Bc6 29. Rdd1) 27. Nxf3) 20...f5 21. Rxe6 Qxh4 22. g3 Qd8 23. a4 f4 24. a5 h5 25. axb6 axb6 26. Qf3 fxg3 27.fxg3)
20. Bf3 Qe7
I had been nervous about 20...e5, but it turns out white retains a big advantage. (20...e5 21. c5! (21. g3 e4 22. Bg2 Qd8 23.Red1) 21...e4 22. g3! Qe7 (22...exf3 23. Re8+ Bc8 (23...Kc7 24. cxb6+ Kxb6 (24...Kd7 25. Qa4+ Bc6 26. Qxc6#)) 24. cxb6) 23. Bg2)
21. dxe6?!
Well, I blew it with this move. I was still worrying about his attack against me. Instead I should have looked at how I could attack him! 21. c5! is the start of an overwhelming attack here. (21. c5! e5 22. c6 Bc8 23. a4 Qg5 24. g3 f4 25. c7+ Kb7 26. b5 h5 27. Qa3 Qf6 28. a5 bxa5 29. Rc6 fxg3 30.fxg3 h4 31. Rxd6 Qf4 32. Re4 Qd2 33. Qc5 Ka8 34. Ra6 Bxa6 35. bxa6 Qh6 36. d6)
21...fxe6 22. Bxb7 Qxb7 23. f3 1/2-1/2
I made the draw offer here for a few reasons. First, I had just gone from feeling I may be lost a few moves ago to now not knowing who was better. I felt that I might be better, but I just couldn't tell. I figured if he accepted the draw it would suit me since it would allow me to still play up the next round, while if he declined it then that would help me mentally. Why? Because my mind at this point kept thinking about a draw, and since I believe firmly in only offering a draw once per game, if he declined the draw then I could get my mind off of the draw idea and simply concentrate on playing the game.

Reykjavik Open round 6

2008-03-14T21:23:00.008Z

Oh what a tough round this one turned out to be. For the third time in a row my preparation got me through the opening. He varied just prior to the new move I was going to try out on him, just as FM Arngrimsson did in round 4.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.08"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Thomassen, FM Joachim"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2308"]
[BlackElo "2079"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Bg5 12. Nc2 O-O 13. a4 bxa4 14. Rxa4 a5 15. Bc4 Bd7
All of this was blitzed out by both sides. Apparently he plays just like this each time he chooses the Sicilian (He plays 1. d4 also, so I had to prepare for that too). I was following a specific game of his, but in that game he played 16. b3 rather than his next.
16. Ra2
In the game I was following he later followed with this move, so I still had hopes of transposing back into that game.
16…Ne7 17. O-O Nxd5 18. Bxd5 Rb8 19. Na3
This killed off any chances for transposition back into my preparation. I saw here that he wanted to go after my 'a' pawn. I looked at two moves, either 19…a4 or the move I chose. I believe I should have gone with a4.
19…Be7
It seems to me to be about equal after 19...a4 20. Nc4 Bb5 21. Re1 Kh8.
20. b3 Qc7 21. Qc2 Be6 22. Bxe6 fxe6 23. Nc4 Rb5 24. Rfa1

24...Rfb8?
I moved too hastily without thinking things through. I assumed I could gain enough counterplay against his queenside pawns. I actually could have had a nice potential advantage here if I had seen the right move - 24...d5! 25. exd5 (25. Nxa5 Bc5 26. Qc1 (26. Qd1 Bb6 27. b4 Qxc3 28. exd5 exd5 29. Rb1 Rxb4 30. Qxd5+ Kh8 31. Rf1 (31. Nb3 Rbf4 32. Kh1 Bxf2 33. Ra8 Be1 34. Rxf8+ Rxf8 35. g3 Qe3 36. Qg2 Bb4 37. Qd5 Rf2 38. Ra1 Qe2 39. Kg1 Bf8 40. Rd1 e4 41. Qd2 Rg2+ 42. Kh1 Rxh2+ 43. Kg1 Qh5 44. Qf4 (44. Qxh2 Qxd1+ 45. Kg2 Qf3+ 46. Kh3 Qxb3 and black wins) 44...Kg8 45. Rf1 Rh1+ 46. Kf2 Rxf1+ 47. Kxf1 Qd1+ 48. Kg2 Qxb3 49. Qxe4 h6 and black wins) 31...Rb2 32. Rxb2 Qxb2 33. Kh1 e4 34. Nc4 Qe2 35. Rg1 Ba7 36. h3 Qxf2 and black wins) 26...Bxf2+ 27. Rxf2 Rxa5 with equality) 25...exd5 26. Ne3 (26. Nxa5 Bc5 27. Qd1 Bxf2+ 28. Rxf2 Rxa5 equality) 26...Bh4 27. Qd3 Qb7 28. c4 e4 29. Qd1 dxc4 30. Nxc4 Qa7 31. g3 Be7! 32. Qe1 (32. Nxa5 e3 33. Nc6 exf2+ 34. Kf1 Qb7 35. Rc1 Re5! 36. Re2 (36. Rxf2 Rxf2+ 37. Kxf2 Bc5+ 38. Rxc5 Rxc5 39. Nd4 Qe4 and black wins) (36. Nxe5?? Qh1+ 37. Ke2 f1=Q+ 38. Qxf1 Qe4+ 39. Kd2 Bb4+ 40. Rc3 (40. Kd1 Rxf1#) 40...Rxf1 black wins) 36... Rxe2 37. Qxe2 Bg5 38. Qc4+ Kh8 39. Rd1 Be3 with a large edge to black) 32...Bc5 33. Qxe4 Rxb3 34. Rxa5 Bxf2+ 35. Kg2 Qb7 36. Qxb7 Rxb7 equality)
25. Nxa5 d5
This is still my best try now, though I wish I had seen the idea the previous move while my rook was still on f8 and could contribute to an assault on the f2 square.
26. Qd3 dxe4
26…d4 may have been a better practical try for counterplay here.
27. Qxe4 Qxc3 28. Nc6 Re8 29. Nxe7+ Rxe7 30. Ra8+ Kf7 31. Qxh7 Rb8!
This is the only move that gave me any chance at holding on for a bit.
32. Qh5+ g6
It is hard for me to tell, but it may have been better to just play 32...Kf6 33. R8a3 Rxb3 34. Qh4+ Kf7 35. Ra8 Rb8 though white still has a clear edge.
33. Qh7+ Kf6 34. Qh4+ Kf7 35. R8a4 Reb7 36. Rf1
I felt this was a great idea by him, threatening to play f4 and open up dangerous lines against my king.
36…Qxb3 37. Re4 Kg7?!
I give up too much. I could have fought a bit harder with 37...Qd5 38. Re3 (38. f4 Rb1 39. Qh7+ Kf8 40. Qh8+ Kf7 41. Qxe5 Rxf1+ 42. Kxf1 Rb1+ 43. Kf2 Rb2+ 44. Qxb2 Qxe4 45. Qd2 with a white edge) 38...Kg7 39. Rfe1 Rf7 40. h3 Rf4 41. Qg3 Rb2 42. f3 Qd4 43. Kh2 Rb5 44. Re4 Rxe4 45. Rxe4 Qd6 46. Rg4 Qd3 47. h4 Qf5 48. Rg5 Qf6 49. h5 and white is winning.
38. Qg5 Qc3?!
Again missing a better defensive try with 38...Rf8 39. Qxe5+ Rf6 40. Rh4 Qc2 41.Qe3 Kg8 42. Re4 Rb1 43. f3 (43. Rxe6?? Rxf1+ 44. Kxf1 Qc4+ and black wins!) 43...Rb2 44. Qg5 Qd2 45. Qg3 Rb4 46. Rxb4 Qxb4 47. Re1 Qd4+ 48. Kh1 Kg7 49. h3 Qc5 50. Kh2 Qc3 51. Re4 Qc5 52. Qe5 Qxe5+ 53. Rxe5 Kf7 54. Kg3 Ke7 (54... Rf5 55. Rxf5+ exf5 56. Kf4 Kf6 57. h4 Ke6 58. h5 gxh5 59. Kg5 h4 60. Kxh4 Kf6 61. Kh5 Ke5 62. g4 and white wins).
39. Rg4 Qd3 40. Qxe5+ Kf7 41. Rf4+ Kg8 42. Qxe6+ Kg7 43. Qf6+ Kg8 44. Rg4
A quicker win was 44. Rh4 Rh7 (44...Rg7 45. Qe6+ Rf7 46. Qe5 and wins) 45. Qe6+ Rf7 46. Qe5 and white wins.
44...Rb6 45. Qg5 Qxf1+
Sure, I could have struggled on longer with 45...Re8 46. f3 Kg7 47. Rc1 Qe3+ 48.Qxe3 Rxe3 49. Kf2 Rbe6 50. Rc7+ Kh6 51. Kg3 but what was the point? I at least felt better with my try, hoping vainly for a perpetual check that I knew wouldn’t come.
46. Kxf1 Rb1+ 47. Ke2 R1b2+ 48. Kf3 R2b3+ 49. Qe3
Exactly, he just gives the queen back with a winning endgame.
49…Rxe3+ 50. Kxe3 Kg7 51. h4 Rb5 52. Kf4 Kf6 53. Rg5 Rb4+ 54. Kg3 Rb3+ 55. f3 Rb4 56. Kh3 Rf4 57. Rg4 Rf5 58. f4 Ra5 59. Rg5 Ra1 60. Kg4 Ra4 61. h5 gxh5+ 62. Rxh5 Kg6 63. Rb5 Ra6 64. f5+ Kf6 65. Rb4 Ra5 66. Rb6+ Kf7 67. Kg5 Ra7 68. g4 Rc7 69. Rh6 Kg8 70. Ra6 Kf7 71. Ra5 Rc6 72. Ra7+ Kg8 73. f6 Rc5+ 74. Kg6 Rc8 75. Rg7+ Kf8 76. Rh7 1-0

Reykjavik Open round 5

2008-03-14T20:51:00.005Z

Now I was back in the same situation as before round 3, where I didn’t want to lose and end up playing down against lower rated opposition; I wanted at least a draw. To make matters worse, I was really stressed out over what had happened in the game from round 4, and this didn’t allow me to get much sleep. I got up and dutifully began to prepare, but my heart was not in it today. I simply felt burnt out on chess. This is sad because my preparation really helped out today, more than in any other game I have played.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.07"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Bjornsson, Bjorn"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2079"]
[BlackElo "2194"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5
I had seen from the databases that he always met Bc4 with the Giuoco Piano, though there were no instances showing how he plays against the 7. Bd2 variation. For more than twenty years I had played the mainline 7. Nc3, but my experiences with that had shown me that too many players knew the line cold and black just plain comes out better, so I decided to switch to the more solid Bd2 variation. This game was the first time I got to use it in a real game.
4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2
It really is nice when your preparation works out, because you feel that you are much better prepared than your opponent for what is coming. This line is considered boring by most people, and it is very drawish, but it is hard for white to lose and does give white some practical chances at an advantage. That is exactly what I wanted for this round when I didn’t want to lose and I wasn’t truly in the mood to even play.
7…Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Qb3 Nce7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfe1 c6 13. Ne4 Qb6
Well darn. This line is very drawish, and I was hoping he would play the more active 13…Nb6. I had studied the Qb6 move at home, though, so I was ready for it.
14. Nc3 Be6 15. Qxb6 axb6 16. Ng5 Nf5?
This was the first new move for me, and I had not seen it in my home preparation. I had no idea whether it was an ok try or a blunder. I examined the position for awhile, especially the obvious move 17. Nxe6. I became worried about letting him take my d4 pawn with the knight, and since I recognized the endgame after taking on d5 instead and knew it left me with a small edge, I went with that. A better move for black is 16...b5 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bb3 and white retains a small edge.
17. Bxd5?!
If I wanted to win then I needed to go for it with 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Rxe6 Nxc3 (18...Nxd4 19. Re4 Nc2 (19...Nf5 20. Nxd5 cxd5 21. Bxd5+ Kh8 22. Rd1 Rfd8 23. a3 Rd7 24. g4 Nh4 25. Kf1 g5 26. Bb3 Rxd1+ 27. Bxd1 Rd8 28. Ke2 Ng6 29. Bc2 Nf4+ 30. Ke3 and white wins) 20. Nxd5 cxd5 (20...Kh8 21. Ne7 g5 22. Rc1 Nb4 23. a3 Na6 24. Bxa6 and white wins) (20...Nxa1 21. Ne7+ Kh8 22. Ng6+ hxg6 23. Rh4#) 21. Bxd5+ Kh8 22. Rd1 Rad8 23. Rc4 Rfe8 24. g3 Ne1 25. Kf1 g6 26. Rc7 Re5 27. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 28. Kxe1 Rxd5 29. Rxb7 b5 and white wins) 19. bxc3 and white has a winning advantage. Notice the cute little checkmate if he takes the rook on move 20!
17...Bxd5 18. Nxd5
I offered the draw despite knowing I had an endgame advantage. I had seen a very similar endgame on my computer that morning, and though white had the clear edge, it nearly always still turned out to be drawn. Since I wasn’t in the mood and just wanted to get out of there, I figured this was a convincing position to offer a draw and expect that he would take it. At least it offered me one more round against strong opposition. {18...cxd5 19. Nf3 Rfe8 and white has only a slight edge.}
1/2-1/2

Reykjavik Open round 4

2008-03-14T20:06:00.010Z

I was pretty psyched up to play this round. I was getting to play a very strong player, yet my preparation made me feel more confident than usual, because I had an odd feeling that he just might follow my preparation longer than most people had. He did, but not long enough for me to get to implement the new move I wanted to use.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Arngrimsson, FM Dagur"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2359"]
[BlackElo "2079"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6
I have seldom encountered the Bb5 variation of the Sicilian, so I have never really become knowledgeable in this particular opening. I had recently been tinkering in blitz with using 3…e6, but I was only able to find good preparatory games against this opponent with 3…g6 and I really liked something I found, so this is the variation I went with.
4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 b6 7. Nc3 e5 8. Be3 Ne7 9. Qd2 h6 10. Nh2 Be6 11. O-O
Unfortunately, I suppose his danger sense made him decide not to continue following his older games and he castles short. I think this is not a great move here, though I am admittedly no expert. Castling long seems more natural to me here, and that is what he played in an older game that I was following, hoping to implement a novelty. Since openings are my biggest weakness, I was happy to have reached such a solid position, and frankly I felt that I liked my position here more than white’s. If given the choice, I would take the black side here.
11…Qd7
I wanted to castle queenside here in order to throw everything at his king.
12. b3 O-O-O 13. b4?
I don’t trust my old version of Fritz to be accurate, but it considers this to be a pretty serious mistake. I followed my instincts and refused the pawn, though if c4 had not looked like a good option, I would have taken it. I prefer to hold off his attack rather than snatch material.
13…c4
The computer says that 13... cxb4 14. Ne2 c5 15. Rfc1 f5 is simply much better for black. My move still leaves me with an advantage, but only a slight one.
14. Rfd1 f5 15. f3 g5
An alternative try is 15...cxd3 16. cxd3 f4 17. Bf2 Kb7 with a slight edge, but I was feeling particularly aggressive and wanted to go after him.
16. Qe2 cxd3 17. cxd3 g4!?
The computer prefers 17…Ng6, but like I said, I wanted to really go after him!
18. fxg4 fxg4 19. hxg4 Rhg8 20. Rd2 Bh8
Fritz prefers the caution of 20…Kb8 but I didn’t want to waste any tempii.
21. a4 Bxg4!? 22. Nxg4 Rxg4 23. a5
Here is the critical position of the game. I spent some time thinking about whether to play a defensive move with 23…b5 or simply continue attacking. I have been burned in the past by taking time out to defend a bit only to find that my attack never came then. However, it was silly for me to think that way here, because my plan if he moved his queen after 23…Rdg8 was to then play b5 anyway! So, why not do it now when I clearly saw the potential danger of him playing 24. axb6. I can’t believe I ignored my own logic, because I thought basically just like that during the game, but played the aggressive move anyhow.
23…Rdg8?
This may not be clearly losing, but it really hurts, when I could have played one defensive move and then continued with my attack - 23...b5! 24. Rc1 (24. Bxh6 Rdg8 25. Be3 Ng6! 26. Rc1 Nf4 27. Bxf4 exf4 28. Nxb5 Kb8 and black wins, but 24. Rf1 Rdg8 25. Rf7! appears to be an amazing way to win for white) 24...Kb8 25. Qf3 h5 26. Qh3 Ng6! (26...h4 27. Rf2 Rdg8 28. Kh1 Nc8 29. Rfc2 Ne7 is unclear) 27. Qxh5 Nf4 28. Qf5 Qg7 29. Bxf4 exf4 30. Nd1 Rg8 31. Rcc2 Qh6 32. Qc5 R4g5 33. Qf2 Rh5 34. Kf1 Rh1+ 35. Ke2 Qh5+ and black wins.
24. axb6!
He plays the right move and now things are grim for black.
24…Rxg2+ 25. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 26. Rxg2 a6
This is black’s only try to save the game.
27. Rxa6 Qxd3 28. Ra8+ Kd7??
It is funny how one can have tunnel vision at certain points in a game. I spent around ten minutes looking at this position, trying to figure out what gave me better chances to complicate things, and I only considered the rook checking me on a7; it never occurred to me for a moment to look at the rook coming to d2. How embarrassed I felt. I am losing, but 28. Kb7 has certain possibilities for white to screw up - 28...Kb7 29. Ra7+ Kb8 30. Bf2 (30. Bc5 Bf6 31. Rf2 Nc8 32. Rxf6 Qg3+ 33. Kf1 Qh3+ 34. Ke2 Qxc3 35. Rf8 Qc2+36. Kf3 Qd3+ 37. Kg4 Qxe4+ 38. Kh5 Qd5 39. Raf7 e4+ 40. Kg6 e3 41. b7 Qe4+ 42.Kg7 Qg2+ 43. Kh8 Qb2+ 44. Rg7 Qxg7+ 45. Kxg7 Kxb7 and white wins) (30. Bd2? Bf6 31. Kh2 Qf3 32. Rc7 Bg5 33. Bxg5 hxg5 34. Rxg5 Qxc3 35. Rxe7 Qd2+ 36. Rg2 Qf4+ 37. Kg1 Qe3+ and black has saved the game) 30...Bf6 (30...Qxc3? 31. Rxe7 Qc1+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ 33. Kh1 Qf8 34. Rh7 Qd8 35. Rxh6 Bf6 36. Rgg6 Be7 37. Rh7 Qe8 38. Re6 and white wins) 31. Rg3 Qd8 32. Bc5 Nc8 33. Rc7 Qd2 34. Rxc6 (34. Rg8 Bd8 35. Rf7 Qxc3 36. b7 Qe1+ 37. Rf1 Qd2 38. bxc8=Q+ Kxc8 39. Bb6 Kb7 40. Bxd8 Qe3+ 41. Rf2 Qe1+ 42. Kg2 Qxe4+ 43. Kh2 Qd5 44. Rgf8 Qd1 45. Be7 e4 (45...Qg4 46. Ra2 and white is winning, though there is still a complicated task ahead.) 46. Bc5 Qh5+ 47. Kg1 Ka6 48. R2f5 Qh3 49. Kf2 Kb5 and white is winning, though again it is tough.) 34...Bg5 35. Rf3 Bf4 36. Kf1 h5 37. b5 Qc1+ 38. Kg2 Qd2+ 39. Bf2 Nd6 (39...h4 40. Nd5 Qd1 41. Nxf4 exf4 42. Rxf4 h3+ 43. Kh2 Qf1 44. Rg6 Qxb5 45. Rf7 Ka8 46. Rg8 Qe5+ 47. Kh1 Qxe4+ 48. Kg1 h2+ 49. Kxh2 Qe5+ 50. Kg1 Kb8 51. Bg3 and white wins) 40. b7 h4 41. b6 Nxb7 42. Nd5 Nd8 43. Rg6 Kb7 44. Rg7+ Kb8 45. Nf6 Ne6 46. Nd7+ Kb7 47. Nc5+ Kxb6 48. Nxe6+ Kb5 49. Nxf4 exf4 50. Rg5+ Kb4 51. Rf5 and white wins)
29. Rd2 1-0

GM Antoaneta Stefanova versus GM Wang Hao from round 2

IM Elizabeth Paehtz versus GM Miezis in round 2

Young FM Ray Robson from the US

Reykjavik Open round 3

2008-03-13T20:35:00.011Z

I felt a lot of pressure before this round. I didn’t want to start a string of losses that would end with me having to play against the lowest rated players in the tournament. I wanted to keep playing up, and that meant having to keep getting upsets, at least draws against higher rated opposition. This round I faced a strong master level player, and I wished to get at least a draw if I could. My preparation focused mainly on the Two Knight’s Defense, as the database showed this as his main response to Bc4 in the king pawn opening. As always seems to happen, he varied immediately to blow away my preparation, and the game turned extremely tactical, which suits my style but is very nervewracking!

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Edvardsson, Kristjan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B98"]
[WhiteElo "2079"]
[BlackElo "2261"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Bd7
I can’t say this is a new move for me in the Najdorf Sicilian, but it is one I never really bothered to think about before. I think I always just tried to follow the same lines as the normal 9…Nbd7 variation, but the fact is that it is quite different. I knew the knight would now come to c6 instead, so I played my bishop to d3 hoping this would lead to a strong attack against his king.
10. Bd3 Nc6 11. Nce2 Nb4
Normally I would not be happy about giving up a strong bishop for a knight, but in this case I felt that getting the free rook-lift to the third rank made it worth it, given that I wanted to be able to swing that rook over to h3 for attacking purposes.
12. Kb1 O-O 13. g4
Part of the usual plan – eliminate the knight on f6, push the pawn to g5, then bring the queen and rook over to either the g or h files.
13…Rfc8 14. c3 Nxd3 15. Rxd3 b5
I was fairly happy now, though I didn’t know the theory of this position. I felt that my attack would come before his.
16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. g5 Bd8
Bringing the bishop back to the 8th rank saved me. I overlooked some defensive possibilities on his part, and without that bishop on d8 I would have lost.
18. Qh5!?
I thought that he had no way to defend the h7 pawn and that my attack might already be overwhelming.
18…e5
I didn’t see that he could have defended with 18...Qb7. 18…e5 is what I expected.
19. Nf5 Qc4
I completely overlooked this defensive idea and suddenly I thought I was in big trouble. I was expecting 19...g6 20. Qh6 (20. Nh6+ Kg7 21. Qf3 Be6 22. Rhd1 is unclear) 20...gxf5. I didn’t look deeper since it became too complex, but my intuition told me my attack would be decisive if I didn’t screw it up. There could have followed 21. Rh3 Be6 22. Qxh7+ Kf8 23. exf5 (23. g6 fxg6 24. Qxg6 Bf7 25. Qxf5 Qc4 26. fxe5 Qxa2+ 27. Kc1 Qe6 28. Qxe6 Bxe6 29. Rf1+ Ke8 30. Rh8+ Kd7 31. Rh7+ Be732. exd6 Rh8 33. Rxe7+ Kxd6 gives white a big edge) 23…Bd5 24. fxe5! and the attack becomes too crazy for Fritz to give me an answer, but I suspect white may win this.
20. Qf3?
I didn’t look deeply enough to see that there was a better possibility for me that still left me with a large advantage. I was very disappointed at my attack being repelled so easily. If only I had seen 20. Rhd1! Bxf5 (20...g6 21. Nh6+ Kg7 22. Qf3 gives white a clear edge) (20...Qxe4? is what I feared, but it allows 21. Nxd6 Qg6 22. Qxg6 hxg6 23. Nxc8 and white is easily winning)
20...Bxf5 21. exf5 e4?
He played too quickly, thinking that this just won, and I thought so too at first. Then I looked deeper, remembering the Bishop blocking black’s back rank, and I found the saving move. Black should have played 21... Bxg5! to threaten 22…e4, when I could have held on with 22. Rxd6 Bxf4 (22... Be7? 23. Rd7 e4 24. Qg2 Bf6 25. Ng3 Qc5 (25...Re8 26. Nh5 Kh8 27. Nxf6 gxf6 28. Re1 gives white a large edge) 26. Nxe4 Qxf5 27. Rd5 Qg6 28. Rg1 and white has a small edge) 23. f6 g6 24. b3 Qc7 25. Rhd1 and things are unclear.

22. Re3!
Yes, a saving move due to the backrank mate threat!
22…d5 23. Qh5
Since he missed the proper continuation on move 21, I get my attack back again.
23…g6?
He is in trouble regardless, but this just makes things worse. His best try was 23...b4 24. Rh3 Kf8 25. Qxh7 Qxe2 26. Qh8+ Ke7 27. Qxg7 Kd6 28. Qxf7 a5 29. Rc1! and white wins.
24. Qh6 gxf5 25. Rh3!?
Not a bad move, but there was no need to give up the knight. Black has no attack looming, so it was an easy win after 25. Nd4, and this also prevents black from defending as in his next move.
25...Rc6 26. Qxh7+ Kf8 27. Qxf5!?
I was apparently intent on letting him have that knight! I sure make my life harder than necessary. It is still easy to win after 27. Qh8+ Ke7 28. Nd4.
27...Qxe2 28. Rh8+?
I make things far too hard. I looked at the correct move but couldn’t see all the way to the end of the variations, so I passed on it. 28. Qd7! Re6 (28... Rg6 29. Rh8+ Kg7 (29...Rg8 30. Qd6+ Be7 31. Qh6+ Ke8 32. Qc6+ and white wins) 30. Qe8 Bxg5 31. Rg8+ Kh6 32. fxg5+ Rxg5 33. Rh8+ Kg6 34. Qc6+ f6 35. Qxa8 Rg2 36. Qg8+ Kf5 37. Qxd5+ Kf4 38. Rh4+ and white wins) 29. Rh7 Be7 30. Rh8+ Kg7 31. Rxa8 and white wins.
28...Ke7 29. Rh7 Qd3+ 30. Ka1 Kd6 31. Rxf7 Rc7??
Black blunders badly just when he could have made white’s win difficult, though after 31...Kc5 32. g6 Ba5 (32...Qf3 33. Rb1 Ba5 34. Qe5 Qe3 35. g7 Rg8 36. Rd1 Bxc3 (36...Rd6 37. Rf6 Rd7 (37... Rxf6 38. Qxd5+ Kb6 39. Qxg8 and white wins) 38. b4+ Bxb4 39. Rxd5+ Kc4 (39... Rxd5 40. Qc7#) 40. Rc6+ Bc5 41. Qxe4+ Kxc3 42. Qxe3+ Kb4 43. Qxc5+ Ka4 44. Rxa6#) 37. bxc3 and white wins) 33. Rf6 Qc2 (33...Rc7 34. Qe5 Qd2 (34...b4 35. Qd6+ Kb5 36. g7! and white wins) 35. g7 Rxg7 36. Qd6+ Kc4 37. Qc6+ Kd3 38. Qxa8 Bxc3 39. Qxd5+ Bd4 40. Qb3+ Ke2 41. Rxa6 Bg1 42. a3 and white wins) 34. Qe5 Rxf6 35. Qxf6 b4 36. cxb4+ Kxb4 (36...Bxb4 37. g7 Rc8 38. a3 Kb5 39. Rg1 Bc5 40. g8=Q Rxg8 41. Rxg8 Qc1+ 42. Ka2 Qc4+ 43. b3 Qc2+ 44. Qb2 and white wins) 37. g7 Rc8 38. Rb1 Kb5 39. Qf7 and white wins.

32. g6?
Both of us were in time trouble at this point, so I was playing more by instinct than calculation. I missed checkmate with 32. Qg6+ Kc5 33. Rxc7+ Bxc7 34. b4+ Kc4 35. Qc6#
32... Rxf7 33. Qxf7 e3!
Black plays tough on defense. I have to play very accurately to finish things off.
34. Qf8+ Kd7 35. g7 e2 36. a3 Bf6?
Black fails to find the right defense. White would have to find an amazing move to win after 36...b4! 37. cxb4 Bf6 38. Qf7+ Be7 39. f5 Qd1+ 40. Ka2!! Qxh1 41. Qe6+ Kc7 42. Qxe7+ Kc6 43. Qxe2 Qe4 44. Qxe4 dxe4 45. f6 e3 46. f7 e2 47. g8=Q Rxg8 48. fxg8=Q e1=Q 49. Qc4+ and white wins. But if white had missed the brilliant reply on move 40 with 40. Rxd1 exd1+(Q) 41. Ka2 Qe2! Then it is just a draw.
37. Qxa8 Qd1+ 38. Rxd1
Also winning here is 38. Ka2 Bxg7 39. Qa7+ Ke8 40. Qg1.
38...exd1=Q+ 39. Ka2 Bxg7 40. Qb7+ Kd8 41. Qxg7 Qf1 42. Qd4 Ke7 43. h4 Qf3 44. Qa7+ Kf8 45. Qxa6 Qd3 46. Qf6+ Kg8 47. Qd4 Qf5 48. Kb3 Kh7 49. Qf2
Ok, so I played to be tricky here. I knew that I probably needed to bring the king to b4, but I worried about somehow giving up a perpetual check. I wished to end things quickly, and with my opponent in time trouble I decided this trick might work and couldn’t do me any harm.
49…Qd3
He falls for it.
50. Qc2 1-0
How thrilled I was! Now I knew I would get to play strong players for at least the next two rounds.

Reykjavik Open round 2

2008-03-12T01:01:00.011Z

I have played Grandmasters in many formats, including a rated action chess game against GM Alexander Wojtkiewicz, but until this second round game I had never gotten to play a GM in classical chess. I spent quite a long time trying to do some preparation against him, and I found many games where he played the Alapin Sicilian as white, so I prepared mainly for that, though I also prepared for the Be2 variation of the Najdorf Sicilian since he seems to like that also. I was not thrilled to see him vary with 6. g3 and there are no instances of him playing this out of all his games in my database.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.04"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Malisauskas, GM Vidmantas"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B91"]
[WhiteElo "2489"]
[BlackElo "2079"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3
This made me nervous already, as I had not found any games where he played the Closed Sicilian, so I had not prepared for it.
2…d6 3. Nge2 Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6
I breathed a quick sigh of relief that he transposed back into the Najdorf, so now I just prayed that he would continue as he usually does with 6. Be2.
6. g3
Well, it always seems to work this way for me; they play moves that are in none of their other games in the databases and blow away my preparation.
6…e5 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O Be6
I suppose there must be something wrong with this idea, though it felt natural to me. I can’t find any GM games in the database with this position, though there are games from the move before my ninth. Fritz seems to feel the position is about equal. I was aware that he would probably chase my bishop with Ng5, but I figured that would be ok.
10. Ng5 Bg4
Frankly, I just don’t know this opening. I never play the Najdorf with black and I only did so because it allowed me to prepare something specific for this opponent. With this move I was hoping that by inducing him to play f3 it might weaken his kingside a bit.
11. f3 Bd7
As soon as I played this I felt uncomfortable about it and thought perhaps I should have played it back to c8.
12. f4
I knew it! He goes after me right away.
12…Nc6 13. f5 b5 14. g4
Not that it helps me any at my amateur level, but Fritz (admittedly an old version) doesn’t like this idea and suddenly rates black’s position as slightly better. I felt during the game that I was in trouble already. Fritz says black has a tiny edge. Go figure.
14…h6
The computer likes 14... Rc8 15. a3 Qb6+ 16. Kh1 Qd4 with a slight edge for black. My move isn’t bad either, but I think it only ends up helping white’s attack against my king.
15. Nh3 g5?
It is difficult for me to understand why I did this obviously bad move. I felt desperate at the time, feeling that he had a big edge. This is apparently not true as Fritz still rates the position as equal. I thought I saw a defensive idea, but it was just an illusion brought about by the fact that I overlooked a couple of obvious moves on his part. (15...b4 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Qb6+ 18. Nf2 Na5 =)
16. fxg6 Bxg4 17. Qd2 b4?
My original intention was to take on g6, but my original defensive idea didn’t look like it would work; the move I chose instead is much worse. At least by taking on g6 there was the remote possibility he could go wrong, as the following demonstrates - 17...fxg6 18. Qxh6 Rf7 19. Nd5 (19. Qxg6+? Rg7 20. Qh6 b4 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. exd5 Nd4 23. c3 bxc3 24. bxc3 Bf3 25. Rf2 Qa5 and black has the edge) 19...Bxh3 20. Bxh3 Rh7 21. Be6+ Kh8 22. Qd2 with a large edge for white)
18. Qxh6 Bxh3 19. Bxh3 b3 20. Rxf6 Qb6+ 21. Kh1 1-0

About what I expected from playing a GM. I just wish he had played his normal Be2 variation against the Najdorf so I could have seen how my preparation worked out.

Grandmaster from Lithuania Vidmantas Malisauskas

A Very Good Start

2008-03-03T23:45:00.021Z

The tournament is dedicated to the late Bobby Fischer

My board before the first round. Look below my game to see more photos.

The Icelandic Chess Center felt impressive today. The organizers did a lot of work to prepare it, with nice posters all over the place showing events of the past Reykjavik Open tournaments. I took pictures of many of the chess celebrities. I was nervous but excited to be playing an IM. I knew FM Bjorn Thorfinnsson a bit, and he was the organizer who allowed me to play in this event (thanks Bjorn!), but I didn't realize he had a younger brother who was an IM.

[Event "Reykjavik Open 2008"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2008.03.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Thorfinnsson, IM Bragi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B89"]
[WhiteElo "2079"]
[BlackElo "2406"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8.Qe2 a6 9. Bb3 O-O 10. O-O-O Qc7 11. Rhg1 b5 12. g4 b4
I wasn’t unhappy to see this variation. I love this variation of the Sicilian as the tactics suit me. I am more knowledgeable about the main variation with 12…Nd7. I have looked a bit at this 12…b4 move, mainly a game of Ivanchuk losing against Grischuk.
13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Nd5 Qb7
This was the first new move for me. I was ready for the normal 14…exd5, when I play 15. g5 and there follows the threat of bishop takes d5.
15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Bg5
I wasn’t sure if this was right, but I thought the pin would be annoying and hard to get out of. The computer prefers moves that are just way over my head, like 16. Qc4.
16…a5 17. f4
I wanted to up the pressure on that pin of the knight, before he got his queenside attack going.
17…Ba6
I was expecting 17…a4 here, when 18. Bc4 b3 19. cxb3 axb3 20. Bxb3 is equal.
18. Bc4
I thought a bit about playing 18. Qe3 since I thought it might leave me with a slight edge, but I got nervous about the bishop perhaps getting in trouble on b3. The computer likes 18. Qe3 e5 (18... a4 19. Bxa4 Bc4 20. b3 e5 21. Qd2 h6 22. Bh4 Rfb8 (22... exf4 23. Qxb4 Be2 24. Rxd6 f3 25. e5 Qxe5 26. Qd4 Qxh2 27. g5 hxg5 28. Rxg5 Nh5 29. Kb2 f2 30. Bxf2 f6 31. Bg1 Qh1 32. Bc6 Bf3 33. Bxa8 fxg5 34. Bd5+ Bxd5 35. Qxd5+ Qxd5 36. Rxd5 and white wins) 23. g5 hxg5 24. Bxg5 Bb5 25. Qe1 g6 (25... Bxa4 26. Qh4 and white wins) 26. Qh4 Kg7 27. Qh6+ Kg8 28. Rg3 and white wins) 19. f5 Kh8 20. Bxf6Qxf6 21. g5 Qe7 with an edge for white.
18... Bxc4 19. Qxc4 d5 20. exd5
Fritz prefers 20. Bxf6 Qxf6 21. exd5 exd5 22. Rxd5 Rac8 23. Qd4 Qc6 24. Qd3 and black seems to have compensation for the pawn deficit.
20... exd5 21. Qd4 Ra6 22. Bxf6Rxf6 23. g5 Rf5 24. Rge1 Qc7 25. Re5 Rc8 26. Rd2 Rxe5 27. Qxe5 Qxe5
I seem to have played quite accurately, at least according to Fritz. Here the computer thinks black should have played 27... Qc4 28. b3 Qe4 29. Qxe4 dxe4 30. Rd5 f6 31. Rxa5 e3 32. Kd1 e2+ 33. Kxe2 Rxc2+ 34. Kd3 Rxh2 35. gxf6 gxf6 36. Kc4 Rh4 37. Kxb4 Rxf4+ 38. Kc3 and white retains a slight edge.
28. fxe5 Rc5
Now I felt a little nervous about the endgame. I felt I should at least draw with accurate play, but I wasn’t certain I would play accurately.
29. Re2 Kf8 30. e6 fxe6 31. Rxe6 d4 32. Rd6 Rxg5 33. Rxd4 Rg1+ 34. Rd1 Rxd1+
I was quite surprised to see him trade rooks here. I thought he would retain the rook and try to squeeze me for a long time.
35. Kxd1 Ke7 36. Kd2
I was uncertain about this pawn endgame. I realized I needed to play very carefully, and I thought I might even have a slight edge, because I felt I could force off all of black’s queenside pawns and still be able to get my king over to the kingside in time.
Kd6 37. c4 bxc3+ 38. Kxc3 h5 39. Kd4 a4 40. b3?!
I play it safe. I wanted that last black queenside pawn gone. However, I could have won with 40. h4 Ke6 (40... g5 41. hxg5 h4 42. Ke4 h3 43. Kf3 Ke5 44. Kg3 and I win) 41. Ke4 g6 42. Kf4 and I win. The sad thing is that I looked at the idea of playing h4 on the previous move but dismissed it because my king was one square too far away from the kingside, so black could play g5. I should have understood now that my king was close enough. It is not such a difficult win to see here.
40...a3 41. Ke4?!
Another inaccuracy on my part. I should have played 41. h4 Kc6 42. b4 (42. Ke5 Kc5 43. Kf5 Kb4 44. Kg6 Kc3 45. Kxh5 Kb2 46. b4 Kxa2 47. b5 Kb3 48. b6 a2 49. b7 a1=Q 50. b8=Q+ Kc2 51. Qd6 and white may be able to win; I just can’t get my tablebases to work, so I am not sure!) 42... Kb5 43. Kc3 g5 44. hxg5 h4 45. g6 h3 46. g7 h2 47. g8=Q h1=Q 48. Qc4+ Kb6 49. Qd4+ Kb7 50. Kb3 and white wins.
41... Kc5 42. h4 Kb4 43. Kf5
I thought quite a bit here, because there was a big choice to make. I saw clearly that going to f5 with my king would be a draw. I thought that perhaps I could win if I played 43. Kd4 instead, but I couldn’t quite see deeply enough, and I got nervous about overlooking something. (43. Kd4 Kb5 (43... g6 seems to be about the same as the Kb5 variation) 44. Kc3 Kc5 45. b4+ Kd5 46. Kb3 g5 47. hxg5 h4 48. g6 Ke6 49. b5h3 50. b6 h2 51. g7 Kf7 52. b7 h1=Q 53. g8=Q+ Kxg8 54. b8=Q+ Kf7 and I seriously doubt that white can find a way to win this.)
43... Kc3 44. Kg6 Kb2 45. b4 Kxa2 46. b5 Kb3 47. b6 a2 48. b7 a1=Q 49. b8=Q+ Kc4 50. Qg8+ Kc5 51. Qxg7 Qxg7+ 52. Kxg7 Kd6 53. Kg6 Ke7 54. Kxh5 Kf7 1/2-1/2

Ok, so maybe I should be a tiny bit upset that I failed to win, but really I have to be happy to start this well. I have only played one IM before in classical chess and he beat me badly, so this is a good beginning. Even better was FM Bjorn Thorfinnsson's result since he beat top seeded and 2698 rated GM Wang Yue of China! Tomorrow I get to play GM Vidmantas Malisauskas of Lithuania.

On the left is wunderkind FM Illya Nyzhnyk of Ukraine and on the right is my opponent, IM Bragi Thorfinnsson of Iceland.

Former women's world champion GM Antoaneta Stefanova

Italian-American Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana, seeded 5th

2nd seed GM Wang Hao of China

Top seed GM Wang Yue of China, rated 2698

Big Chess Week Ahead

2008-02-27T13:29:00.003Z

I was already excited about the prospect of the 2008 Reykjavik Open starting next Monday, but then I found out I need to complete the second leg of the Icelandic Team Championships this weekend also. Too much chess all at once!

I feel honored to be included in the Reykjavik Open. It is a very strong tournament; probably the strongest average rating for an event that I will have ever played in. The rules state that foreigners over 2200 FIDE can compete, and Icelanders over 2000 FIDE. Well, at 2079 I don't quite qualify, but I would like to thank the organizer for allowing me to play. I guess since I do live here in Iceland and compete for an Icelandic club (Haukar) I am an honorary citizen of sorts.

The final round of the Icelandic Team Championships will be on Saturday, and I may face a very strong player as we will compete against the top team, and they fielded a GM on board 1 last October.

I hoped I might get to play a GM in the Reykjavik Open, but looking at the entries so far, it doesn't look promising. I am currently ranked 83rd out of 87 participants that have signed up so far. I guess I had better keep my goals modest; I'll aim for three points from 9.

Continental Open 1999

2008-02-21T22:00:00.004Z

The 1999 Continental Open was only the second classical tournament in which I entered following my return to the U.S. from Russia in late 1997. I had played in a few action chess events and done quite poorly; in fact, though you can see my rating listed as 1913 for this event, it actually had dropped all the way down to 1791 due to horrible results in action chess. I am not good at fast time controls, so it was good to get back to classical chess. I had recently played in the National Open in Las Vegas, at classical controls, and I had gone undefeated with four wins and two draws. I had no idea that I would also manage to go undefeated in this tournament!

I am always nervous about playing down against lower rated opponents, and this game illustrates why. All it takes is an unfamiliar opening and a few dubious moves on my part to lead to a nearly lost game. Fortunately, I managed to complicate things just enough that my opponent goes wrong…

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "King, Anthony"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[WhiteElo "1738"]
[BlackElo "1913"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3
I have never, even today, gotten used to playing against certain openings, and this is one of them. I play the 2…d5 variation because it seems the most principled to me – after all, the queen can come to d5 after the pawn trade and the white knight cannot attack her because the move 2. c3 has been played. However, I don’t know any of the theory of this opening, so I am always at a loss as to what to do after the third or fourth move!
2…d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6
It’s interesting to me to see that I chose Nf6 back then, given that more recently I have played the bishop out first and gotten into some bad games.
5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Nc6 8. h3 Bf5 9. Na3 cxd4 10. Nb5
I can’t comment on the accuracy of the opening play, because I simply don’t know whether what we are doing is normal or not. The computer sees this position as equal.
10…Rc8 11. Nbxd4 Bc5 12. Nxf5 Qxf5 13. Qb3 Bb6 14. Bg5 O-O 15. Rad1 Ne5
Around this point in the game I began to feel antsy because my relatively low rated opponent was never making any mistakes. I didn’t want to start off this tournament, for which I had journeyed all the way to Los Angeles, with an upset. I couldn’t see any way of forcing any advantage, so I decided I needed to try complicating a little to see if I might induce a mistake.
16. Bh4 Qe4?!
I played this clearly dubious move for the reasons stated above. It leads to a clear advantage for my opponent. Much better would have been Qf4, plus it has the potential for my opponent to miss the pin from the bishop on b6 by playing the ‘obvious’ Bg3, only to lose it to Qxg3.
17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Nxe5 Qxe2
Now, Qxe5 was ostensibly the better move, but Qxe2 is, in my opinion, the better try under the current game circumstances, as it has a small trap built into it should my opponent play a move that looks obvious, which he does…
19. Rde1??
For some reason I had a sneaking suspicion that he would fall for this trick. He maintains a large advantage if he plays 19. Nd7 Rfd8 20. Nxf6+ Kg7 21. Nd7.
19...Bxf2+
I win a full rook, so the rest is just making sure I don’t blow it. I play a bit too conservatively, but that is ok under the circumstances.
20. Rxf2 Qxe1+ 21. Rf1 Qxe5 22. Qxb7 Qe3+ 23. Kh1 Rb8 24. Qe7 Rxb2 25. Qxf6 Rb5 26. Rf4 Qe1+ 27. Rf1 Qg3 0-1

My next opponent was the number 2 seed in the Under 2000 section in which I played, so I was expecting a tough game. He arrived late, played quickly, and didn’t quite seem like the higher rated opponent that I was expecting.

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.23"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Giles, Patrick"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B80"]
[WhiteElo "1913"]
[BlackElo "1986"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6
I love this kind of open Sicilian. It leads to the kind of tactics that fit my style. I play this line differently now; back then I was just trying to get into the main lines of the Najdorf Sicilian, but my opponent seemed intent on not playing a6 no matter what. That is what ultimately destroyed him in this game.
6. Bg5 Be7 7. f4 Bd7 8. Qf3 Nc6 9. O-O-O Rc8?
As I said, his insistence on not playing a6 really hurts him. Now he cannot defend the pawn on d6.
10. Ndb5! Qa5 11. Nxd6+ Bxd6 12. Rxd6 Nb4
My opponent tries to create counterplay against my king.
13. Bxf6
As is often the case, once one side has an advantage it is good to trade off material.
13…gxf6 14. a3 Rxc3
The theme of sacrificing a rook for the knight on c3 is very common in the Sicilian Defense, and here it is clearly the best chance for black to try to save the game.
15. bxc3 Qxa3+ 16. Kd2 Ke7?
This move increases my advantage. Black needed to try Na2, when the queen would both threaten the rook on d6 and a check on c1. I still would maintain the advantage after either Qd3 or e5.
17. Rxd7+!
Returning the rook, but in exchange I am exposing his king to direct attack shortly.
17…Kxd7 18. cxb4 Qxb4+ 19. Qc3 Qxe4 20. Bb5+ Kd6 21. Rd1!
I was very proud of this move! It is clever because it allows black to take either of the ‘free’ pawns on f4 or g2 while checking my king, yet when my king moves it reveals the attack of the rook on black’s king instead.
21…Qxf4+ 22. Ke2+
It is checkmate in two now.
22…Ke7 23. Qc5+ 1-0

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.23"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Tjokrosurjo, Omega"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B17"]
[WhiteElo "1913"]
[BlackElo "1941"]

1. e4 c6
I have tended to have good results against the Caro-Kann Defense, so I am always happy to see it.
2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7
This variation was a favorite of Karpov, and I like to play against it.
5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6 7. Qe2 Nb6 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. N1f3 Nbd7?
I am not sure why he made this mistake. A person who plays this line should know better. I suppose he knew my knight was coming to e5 and wanted to be proactive about it.
11. O-O!?
Yep, I chickened out here. I was itching to play the correct move Nxf7!, but I couldn’t quite see deeply enough to be certain I was ok. I should have gone for it - 11. Nxf7! Kxf7 12. Ng5+ Ke8 13. Nxe6 Qa5+ 14. Bd2 Bb4 15. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 16. c3 Qa5 17. Bc4 gives me a winning edge, though what I played still leaves me with a better game.
11...h6 12. Ne4 O-O 13. Nxc5 Nxc5 14. Rd1 Nxd3 15. Rxd3 Bd7 16. Ne5 Qe7 17. Nxd7 Nxd7 18. Bf4
I like to develop while making threats at the same time. The threat may be obvious – Bd6 – but it provokes his mistaken next move.
18…e5?
Playing 18…Rfd8 is better, though white still maintains an edge. Black’s move allows me to win a pawn.
19. Bxh6! Qe6
If he takes my bishop then my queen comes to g4 with a double attack against his king and the knight on d7.
20. Rad1
I had to play carefully to make sure I didn’t mess things up. This is the right move, but I had to see that I could save the bishop after he plays his next move.
20…Nc5 21. Rd6!
This is the trick that saves the bishop, while bringing all of my pieces into active positions. If I had retreated the bishop on move 20 then my advantage would have been much less. Being up only one pawn means that it is easy to blow it; I needed to play carefully and try to find a way to consolidate my advantage.
21…Qf5 22. Bc1 Ne6 23. R1d5 Nd4!
He plays a fine move, since my planned capture of the e5 pawn fails badly to 24. Qe5?? Rfe8! and black wins.
24. Qd1
This is the right move, though I was unhappy to be giving him back the extra pawn I had won. Still, I have a decent positional advantage due to better placement of my pieces; the trick is to find a way to make it pay off.
24…Nxc2 25. g4!?
This is my rather radical solution, though it is not bad.
25…Qe4 26. f3 Qe1+ 27. Qxe1 Nxe1 28. Kf2 Rfc8 29. Bd2 Nc2 30. Rxe5 Rc7 31. Bc3
Having once again won a pawn, I was now trying to find a way to trap the knight.
31…Na3 32. Rg5 Nc4?
Although he was lost anyway, this just gives me another pawn. He should have played g6.
33. Rxg7+ Kf8 34. Rh6 Rac8 35. Bf6
Threatening checkmate on h8, this allows me to win a third pawn.
35…Ke8 36. Rh8+ Kd7 37. Rxf7+ Ke6 38. Rxc7 Rxc7 39. Bc3 Nxb2
At first I was dismayed that I had let him win a pawn back due to the threat of the rook coming to c2, but then I found a funny way to win the knight without allowing him to fork my king and bishop. It made a little staircase pattern that I found aesthetically pleasing.
40. Rh6+! Kd5 41. Rh5+ Ke6 42. Re5+ Kd6 43. Bxb2 1-0
Now I could safely take the knight, because after Rc2+ I can interpose my rook on e2 to save my bishop.

Wow! I never expected to start 3-0 in this event. I was very happy and hoped I could maintain my good play.

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.24"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Scott, Gene"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D03"]
[WhiteElo "1969"]
[BlackElo "1913"]

1. d4
I had a feeling my string of wins could not continue, and seeing my opponent’s first move deepened this feeling. Nothing vexes me more than playing against 1. d4. I keep changing defenses, trying different things, hoping to encounter something that feels right to me, but I never find it. For years I had been meeting this move with 1…f5, the Dutch Defense, but my results were less than decent, so now I was dabbling with the Gruenfeld Defense. I liked it ok, but it had the major drawback that opponents could always force me into a King’s Indian Defense if they wanted, and I did not like the KID.
1…Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3
Ok, well this is a strange treatment of this opening. I doubt it is a good move; probably it grants black equality immediately. It’s very timid, and this boosted my confidence a bit.
3…Bg7 4. Bg5 O-O 5. Nbd2 d5 6. e3 b6
In these kinds of queen pawn positions black always has trouble figuring out exactly what to do with the queen’s bishop. Bring it outside of the pawn chain before playing e6? Leave it on the queenside? I just guessed and decided to leave it on the queenside.
7. b4 c5 8. Be2 cxd4
I always have a tendency to break the tension too quickly in positions. I think it is better to leave it there and play Na6 and then Nc7.
9. cxd4 Na6 10. Qb3 Qd6?
My move gives white an advantage once he protects the pawn on b4. His bishop can harass my queen by coming to f4.
11. a3
Even better is 11. O-O, due to a trick. I cannot take the pawn on b4 with Qb4 or I will lose a piece to Bxa6!
11…Nc7 12. Bf4 Qd8 13. h3 Ne6 14. Be5 Bb7 15. O-O Rc8 16. Rfc1 Ne4 17. Bxg7 Nxd2 18. Nxd2 Nxg7 19. Qa4 Rxc1+ 20. Rxc1 Qb8
My position is teetering on the edge and I am playing just to hold on the best I can.
21. Qd7 Rc8
I decided to give up a pawn in an attempt to gain more activity for my pieces.
22. Rxc8+ Qxc8 23. Qxe7 Nf5 24. Qe5 Qc2 25. Nf1 Bc6?!
This is not a good move, but I was hoping to keep the bishop on the board to generate play. White can simply play b5 now and be winning easily. Frankly though, the alternative was not so good – 25…Qxe2 26. Qb8+ Kg7 27. Qxb7 and white has a won endgame.
26. Ba6?!
White misses the easiest win with 26. b5
26...Qa4 27. b5 Bxb5 28. Bxb5 Qxb5 29. Qb8+ Kg7 30. Qxa7 Nd6 31. Qe7 Nc4
Things have become much more difficult for white, as his a pawn is vulnerable.
32. Qb4 Qa5 33. Qxa5 bxa5 34. a4 Nb6?
A very bad move on my part. Just when equality was within my grasp I allow his knight to come free, and white now maintains an edge.
35. Nd2 Nxa4 36. Nb3 Nb6 37. Nxa5 h5
I suppose a grandmaster might win this endgame, but I felt fairly confident that I would not lose it.
38. Kf1 Kf6 39. Ke2 Ke6 40. Kd3 g5 41. e4 dxe4+ 42. Kxe4 f5+ 43. Kd3 Nd5 44. g3 h4 45. Nc4?
White makes a terrible mistake, going from a slight advantage to a perhaps losing game in one move.
45…g4 46. Nd2 hxg3?
I failed to see the right move here - 46... gxh3 47. Nf3 hxg3 48. fxg3 and I am the only one with winning chances. With the move I chose it is now just a draw.
47. hxg4 g2 48. gxf5+ Kxf5 49. Nf3 Kg4 50. Ng1 Nf4+ 51. Ke3 Kf5 52. Kf3 Ne6 53. d5 Nf4 54. d6 Nd3 55. Kxg2 Ke6 56. f3 Ne1+ 1/2-1/2

So, things were still not bad. I had three and a half points from four, which put me in a small group near the first place spot. I had survived as black against my dreaded 1. d4 opening. Next I had to face a Russian player who had looked pretty invincible through the first rounds. I had to be black again too, so I again felt not so confident. At least he didn’t play 1. d4 against me!

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.24"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Reznikov, Gennady"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B21"]
[WhiteElo "1962"]
[BlackElo "1913"]

1. e4 c5 2. f4
While I enjoy playing the Sicilian with either color, playing against the Grand Prix attack (2. f4) always makes me nervous. I always feel that white might just blow me off the board. Fortunately I somehow came out of the opening with an advantage this time.
2…Nc6 3. Nf3 d6 4. Be2 e6 5. d3 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. c3 Nge7 8. Be3 O-O 9. h3 b6 10. Nh2 d5 11. Qc2 d4 12. Bd2 dxc3 13. Bxc3
I am not an expert on this opening, so I am not sure exactly how it happened, but by this point I have a distinct edge due to my control of the d4 square and white’s porous kingside.
13...Nd4 14. Qd1 Nec6
White has no pawns to dislodge my knights, so the d4 square becomes a fortress for my pieces that is a thorn in white’s side. I am amazed I failed to win this position.
15. Nf3 Nxe2+?!
Better is 15...Ba6 as it builds pressure against white’s position while developing.
16. Qxe2 Nd4 17. Nxd4 Bxd4+ 18. Kh1 Ba6 19. Rf3
White defends tenaciously and at this point I begin to have trouble finding a plan.
19…Rc8 20. Bxd4 Qxd4 21. Nc3 Rfd8 22. Rd1 b5 23. e5 Bb7?!
Why did I change my mind? I have no idea. I obviously played 22…b5 with the intention of continuing b4, and that is the right move here - 23... b4 24. Ne4 c4! and black has a big edge again. After my move the position is equal.
24. Rf2 a6 25. Qf1?!
White’s inaccurate plan has once again allowed b4 to be a threat, but I didn’t play it for some reason.
25…Rd7
This is not a bad move, but 25…b4 was better, allowing my queenside to come alive after 25…b4 26. Nb1 Bc6 (Also interesting is Be4) 27. a3 a5 28. Rfd2 g5!, exploiting the weakness of the d3 and e5 pawns and cramping white’s queenside.
26. Rfd2 Rcd8 27. Kh2 Bc6 28. Ne2 Qe3 29. Qg1 Qxg1+ 30. Kxg1 Be4 31. d4 c4 32. a3 Bd3 33. Kf2 Kf8 34. Ke3 Bxe2 35. Rxe2 Rd5 36. Ke4 h5 37. g4 hxg4 38. hxg4 Ke7 39. Rh2 a5 40. Rh3 a4 41. Rd2 R5d7 42. Rf3 Rd5
I had to finally admit that my advantage was gone and I just needed to seal up a draw.
43. f5 gxf5+ 44. gxf5 f6!
I needed to play very accurately here or white could even gain the advantage.
45. exf6+ Kxf6 46. fxe6+ Kxe6 47. Rg3 Re5+!
A clever little trick to gain a tiny edge, but not enough to win.
48. Kf3 Rf8+ 49. Kg2 Ref5 50. Rg7 Kf6 51. Rg4 Rd8 52. Kg3 Re8 53. Rf4 Re3+ 54. Kg4 Rxf4+ 55. Kxf4 Rb3 56. d5 c3 57. bxc3 Rxc3 58. d6 Rc8 59. d7 Rd8 60. Rd5 Ke6 61. Rxb5 Rxd7 62. Rb4 Ra7 63. Ke4 Ra5 64. Rb8 Ra7 65. Rc8 Rh7 1/2-1/2

Well, drawing two in a row after three straight wins is not the way to win a tournament. It is better than losing, of course, but each half point given up drops me a little bit behind the leaders, making my margin of error that much smaller. I felt good that I had not lost a game in five rounds, but I wanted to win again!

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.25"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Dima, Vlad"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B16"]
[WhiteElo "1913"]
[BlackElo "1943"]

1. e4 c6
Ah, I was again happy to see the Caro-Kann.
2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. c3 Bf5 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. g3 Nd7 9. Bg2 e5!?
This was the first new move for me and it threw me for a loop.
10. O-O
I play too cautiously, allowing equality. Better was Be3.
10…Be7 11. Re1 O-O-O 12. b4
I am no expert on this variation; I tend to just throw my queenside pawns at black’s king, hoping to make my white squared bishop stronger on his diagonal.
12…h5 13. Qa4 Kb8 14. dxe5 fxe5 15. Nxe5
I was extremely nervous about taking this pawn, thinking it might be dangerous for me, and I really didn’t want to lose at this point in the tournament, having done so well so far. It turns out this is the right move, though black has enough activity that it is about equal here.
15…Nb6?!
The computer thinks this is bad, but the ‘correct’ line doesn’t look much better - 15…Nxe5 16. Rxe5 Qxe5 17. Bf4 Qxf4 18. gxf4 Rhg8 19. Kh1 and white is practically won. So, Nb6 may be a better practical move for black.
16. Qb3?!
Well, my move doesn’t throw away my advantage entirely, but white was winning after 16. Qa5! Be6 17. c4 Nd7 18. Qxc7+ Kxc7 19. Nxf7 Bxf7 20. Rxe7
16...Be6 17. Qc2 Bd6 18. Bf4
For the next few moves I felt I was walking a razor’s edge, having to make each move just right or black would get the advantage.
18... h4 19. a4 hxg3 20. fxg3 Rh5 21. Rad1!
This was the first really hard move for me to find. I felt I might be in trouble here until I figured out this move. A long sequence of exchanges follows that leaves me with a large advantage.
21…Bd5 22. a5 Bxe5 23. Bxe5 Rxe5 24. Rxe5 Qxe5 25. axb6 Qe3+ 26. Qf2 Qxc3 27. bxa7+ Ka8 28. Bxd5 cxd5 29. Qd4?!
Here I started to worry about maintaining the advantage I knew I had, so I played too cautiously. I should have seen 29. b5! with the plan of advancing the pawn to b6 and hemming in the black king for good.
29...Qxd4+ 30. Rxd4 Kxa7 31. Kf2 Kb6 32. Ke3 Re8+ 33. Kd3 Kc6 34. Rf4 b6?
I can’t understand what my opponent was thinking here. It seems obvious that Re7 needed to be played.
35. Rxf7 Re1 36. Rf4 Rd1+ 37. Kc2 Rg1 38. Rg4??
This move is inexplicable to me. I can only say that I simply did not see the obvious threat of Rg2+ winning the h pawn. I should have played the rook to f2 and consolidated to a won endgame. Now I have to fight for a draw. This was very disheartening, as I had been looking forward to a win for quite a few moves, knowing this would allow me a chance to fight for first place in the tournament. A draw would remove that chance completely.
38...Rg2+ 39. Kc3 Rxh2 40. Rd4?
Now feeling terrible, I pass up my last chance to have any sort of advantage - 40. Rg6+ Kb5 41. Rd6 Rh5 42. Kd4 Rh8 43. Rg6 and white has some slim chances to pull off a win still. Instead I had to settle down and fight hard for a draw.
40...Kd6 41. Rh4 Rg2 42. Rh6+ Ke5 43. Rxb6 Rxg3+ 44. Kd2 Kd4 45. Re6 Rb3 46. Rh6 Rb2+ 47. Kc1 Rg2 48. b5 Kc5 49. b6 Rg7 50. Kd2 d4 51. Kd3 Rg3+ 52. Kd2 Rb3 53. Kc2 Rxb6 1/2-1/2

It is funny how things work. If someone had told me before the tournament that after six rounds I would be undefeated with four and a half points, I would have been delighted. Instead, having glimpsed the possibility of fighting for first place and having it dashed by one terrible mistake, I felt horrible. I felt I had blown everything.

I needed to try to overcome this feeling, because the last round was still a significant money game, at least by chess standards. If I won I would tie for a pretty high place and win over $500.

[Event "Continental Open"]
[Site "Los Angeles, California"]
[Date "1999.07.25"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Zulueta, Jose"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A48"]
[WhiteElo "1950"]
[BlackElo "1913"]

1. d4
As you know from what I have written previously, this was not an auspicious start for me already.
1…Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. h3 d5 6. Be2 c5 7. c3 b6 8. O-O Ba6 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. Qe2 Nb8 11. Nbd2 Nc6 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Nd7 14. Bh2 e5
There hasn’t been much to say about the opening so far. It reminded me a bit of the fourth round game I played, though it went a bit differently. I felt no advantage; I was just trying to fight to not lose the game at this point. I knew I was playing a strong player, so I didn’t really dream of actually winning the game.
15. Nf3?!
He makes a tiny error here, but I fail to take advantage of it.
15…Qe7?!
I should have played 15... e4, when things are about equal, and if anyone can claim any advantage it is me.
16. Qa6 e4 17. Nd2 f5 18. Qb7 Qe6 19. Qc7 Bh6 20. Qd6 Rf6 21. Qxe6+ Rxe6 22. Rfe1 a5
I felt the game was kind of drawish, though I have at least earned a tiny advantage.
23. a4 cxd4 24. cxd4 Rc8 25. Rac1 Rec6 26. Nb3?!
But now things have gone a bit wrong for white, and black has a nice position.
26…g5?!
I allow some of my advantage to slip away. Better was 26…Rc4 27. Kf1 Kf7 28. Ke2 Bf8 with a nagging edge for black.
27. Rxc6 Rxc6 28. Rc1 Rxc1+ 29. Nxc1 Bf8?
It is hard to see why, but the computer rates this as a significant mistake, after which the edge passes from black to white. Much better was 29…Kf7 30. Ne2 Ke6 with equality.
30. Bc7?
The computer considers this to be a mistake also, though it looks pretty decent to me. It likes knight to e2 and then c3 much better.
30…Kf7 31. Ne2 Ke6 32. h4 h6 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Nc3 Bd6 35. Bd8 g4 36. Nb5 g3 37. Bc7 gxf2+ 38. Kxf2 Bxc7 39. Nxc7+ Kd6 40. Nb5+ Kc6 41. Kg3 Nf6 42. Kf4 Ng4
During the game over the last long sequence of moves I had felt that I had gone wrong and white might be winning, but examining all these moves with a computer, it says that I have played quite well and maintained either equality or a tiny edge throughout.
43. g3 Kd7 44. Kxf5?
I guess he grew frustrated at the thought of a draw here, because he makes a mistake that gives me a better endgame.
44…Nxe3+ 45. Kf4 Nc4 46. b3 Nd2 47. Ke3 Nxb3 48. Nc3 Ke6 49. g4 Na1
At the time I thought this was the right move (though moving a knight to the corner rarely is!), but the computer doesn’t like it. It thinks white could have equality with Kd2 here. Instead white blunders badly and I am winning.
50. Nxe4?? Nc2+
Why didn’t I take his knight? Because I was concerned it just led to a draw. It is hard to calculate that my king can actually stop both of his widespread passed pawns – 50…dxe4 51. Kxe4 Nc2 52. Kd3 Na3 53. Kc3 b5! 54. axb5 Nxb5+ 55. Kc4 a4 56. Kb4 a3 57. Kb3 Kd5 58. g5 Ke6 and black’s king actually does catch both pawns. But, try seeing that over the board! I felt I had better chances with my move.
51. Kd2 Nxd4 52. Ng5+ Ke5 53. Nh3 Nb3+ 54. Kc3 Nc5 55. g5 Nxa4+ 56. Kc2 Kf5 57. g6 Kxg6 58. Nf4+ Kf5 59. Nxd5 Ke4 60. Nc7 Kd4
I was not able to record the rest of the moves, due to time pressure for both players, though I had more time than white did. I had to play very carefully here as it could easily turn into a draw. I even started along the wrong plan once only to realize that it led to a draw, so I was forced to backtrack and my opponent tried to claim a draw since I was repeating moves. I had to explain to the arbiter that I had realized that the moves I intended led to a draw, so I was forced to seek a different path. He let the game continue and I won shortly after that.
0-1

What a good feeling it was to finally break out of the drawing rut I was in and finish well! I completed my second straight classical tournament without a loss; I won over $500; and I gained back all the rating points I had lost at action chess.

Murderer's Row

2008-02-10T01:13:00.002Z

Here’s another, better, story from the same tournament as the Laskatelev game given earlier. I started off this round robin very well, with 3.5 out of 4 points, but after ten rounds I only had 5.5 points, so I had slid a bit during the middle part of the event. A friend of mine pointed out the results sheet and it was an interesting thing to see – I had to face each of the top three players in a row to finish the tournament! Talk about Murderer’s Row! None of them had any losses after ten rounds. If I recall correctly two were tied for 1st and one was a half a point back due to having one extra draw. Given that I had performed only average against the bottom and middle people in the tournament, it would seem logical that I should expect to get savaged by these three fellows. Yet, for some reason I can’t explain, I felt a surge of confidence deep inside myself and felt that I would do well.

I played this first game as if through a mist, not exactly playing very well, yet sure that I was going to win.

[Event "1st Category Round Robin #4"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "1995.05.29"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Baransky, G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5
I have always been happy to see the Lasker-Pelikan variation. I really enjoy the wild tactical positions that typically arise.
6. Ndb5
I strike at the weak d6 square.
6…d6
And black is forced to play this move to prevent my knight from hopping into d6.
7. Bg5
This move not only develops a piece but puts added pressure on my eventual move to d5 with a knight.
7…a6
Black needs to play this, because he simply cannot allow both white knights to come to the fifth rank to threaten the c7 square.
8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qd8 11. Bg5 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qd8 13. Bg5 Be7
We had repeated moves a few times. I was willing to accept a draw against one of the best players in the tournament if he wanted to give it. He didn’t, so he varied here.
14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. c3 Ne7
As far as I know, this is a bit unusual here. Usual is castles or Bg5.
16. Nxf6+ gxf6 17. Nc2 f5 18. Bd3
I think this is not the best move, as it allows black to play d5 shortly, which is black’s biggest aim in this opening line. I should have played either a4 or ef5.
18…fxe4 19. Bxe4 d5
Now black has achieved what he wants out of the opening and stands equal.
20. Bf3 O-O 21. Qd2 f6 22. Rd1
In these types of positions, black’s central pawns can come to dominate the game if left unchecked. I am playing to try to hold off these pawns.
22…Be6 23. O-O
This doesn’t appear to be quite accurate. Nb4 seems to give white the tiniest of edges.
23...Qd6 24. Bh5 Ra7 25. f4
The idea of the last two moves was to try to break up black’s central pawn wedge.
25…e4?!
And black finally makes a minor mistake. Naturally he didn’t want his center broken up, but this allows my knight to dominate the center from the d4 square. He was better off playing Nf5.
26. Qe3 Rd7 27. Nd4 Nf5 28. Qe2?
Not sure what I was thinking here. It was just fine to trade off the knight because my rook could come into d4 and control things nicely. Now black could generate good counter-play with 28...b4 and approximate equality.
28…Rg7 29. Kh1 Nxd4 30. Rxd4 f5 31. a4 Qc6 32. axb5 axb5
Taking with the queen was better, hoping for equality, but black is the stronger player and wants to fight for first place in the tournament. He doesn’t want a draw.
33. Ra1
This is the reason why taking with the queen was better. Now I get control over the open a file with my pieces.
33…Qb6 34. Rdd1 Rc7 35. Ra3 Rd8 36. Rda1 Bd7 37. g4?
I get too eager. I smelled blood and overreacted with this impetuous move. The right way to play here is to continue to press on the open file with Ra6. I am not sure I would have seen the follow-up fantastic move though – 37. Ra6 Qb8 38. Bg6!! Whoa, what a move! I would love to get to play something like this. White is flat-out winning after this. After my poor 37. g4 move, black should have played b4 in order to give his pieces more room on the queenside and to try to increase the power of his central pawns.
37... fxg4?! 38. Ra6 Qc5 39. Bxg4 Qf8?!
This isn’t so bad, but it leads in the wrong direction. Better is either Kh8 or Bc6.
40. Rg1 Kh841. Qd2?
Whoops, I screw up. I couldn’t stop looking at getting my queen to d4, since his king was stuck in the corner on h8. My move allows black too much counter-play. Qe3 would have been slightly better, but the best for me would have been 41. Bd7 Rcd7 42. Qe3 with a decent edge.
41...Bc6??
He has felt considerable pressure for awhile now, so he finally makes a big mistake. Correct would have been 41...Bxg4 42. Rxg4 Qc5 with equality. With his blunder he is just lost.
42. Qd4+ Qg7
The rook is stuck defending the bishop.
43. Qxg7+ Kxg7 44. Bd7+
Yes! This shows exactly why his 41st move was a mistake.
44…Kf6 45. Bxc6 Kf546. Bxd5 Rxd5 47. Rg5+ Kxf4 48. Rxd5 Re7 49. Rf6+ Ke3 50. Rf1 Ke2 51. Rdd1 e352. h3 h5 53. b3 Rc7 54. c4 bxc4 55. bxc4 Rxc4 56. Kg2
I have constructed a little mating net. Black can’t stop checkmate without donating his rook.
56…Rg4+ 57. hxg4 1-0

I was quite pleased with myself for winning this first game of the three. I was hoping to keep it going…

The next game started strangely. I was sitting at the board when my opponent approached. As we shook hands, he said, “I no play for Russia; I play for Soviet Union!” I was a little nonplussed at this, never having thought that I was playing these games for any political reasons! I simply said, “Ok” and we started playing.

[Event "1st Category Round Robin #4"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "1995.06.01"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Koritin, U."]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B23"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3
Yuck, I can’t stand the Closed Sicilian!
2…Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6
You see, I am never sure how to play against the Closed Sicilian. I have never studied it, so I just make it up each time I play it. You can see how much it hurts me in this game.
6. f5?!
This is a bit early to be starting this sort of attack. He has not completed development. Better was e5 if he wanted to do something in the center.
6…Nd4?!
Fortunately for him I screw up even worse. The way to exploit his early aggressiveness was to play a move that is not what you normally think of as good - 6...gxf5 (This weakens the kingside, so I normally don’t consider such things) 7. exf5 d5 8. Bb5 e5 (But notice the huge center I get!) 9. Qe2 Qd6 and black has a slight edge.
7. fxe6 dxe6 8. d3 Ne7 9. O-O a6
This move is commonly seen to keep enemy knights out of the b5 square. Here it also vaguely threatens to trap white’s bishop if I were allowed to follow up with b5.
10. a4
Played to preserve the bishop.
10…O-O 11. Ne2 Nec6 12. Nexd4 cxd4 13. Bf4 Bd7 14. Qe1 Rc8
I’ve been wandering a bit without a real plan here, and now white could get a solid edge by playing 15. Bd6 Re8 16. e5.
15. Bg5 Qb6 16. Qh4 Ne5?!
I grew worried here, though in fact the position should be about equal. I thought I was getting into trouble, because white was attacking my kingside, while most of my pieces were stuck on the queenside unable to help. Notice that the pawns on the d and e files form a sort of wall across the center? This leaves only the e5 square open for passing anything through between the king and queen sides. I should have kept my cool, realizing that white’s attack was not really amounting to anything yet, and just played 16…Na5. After my silly move white’s attack does take on dangerous proportions…if he plays it right.
17. Be7?
He messes it up, but it is hard to blame him. It is only because of a spectacular resource that this is the case. White would be winning after 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Be7 Rfe8 19. Rxf7!

17...Nxc4!
A terrific resource to save the game for me!
18. Bxf8 Rxf8 19. dxc4
Now, I have given up a rook for a bishop, which is often losing, but in this position there is compensation due to white’s weak pawns and the control my pieces exert over the vital portion of the board.
19…d3+?!
I get a little overeager and play the ‘obvious’ move, but now white can regain an advantage with correct play. I should have played Qb2 or even Bc6.
20. Kh1?
As so often happens, he plays the ‘obvious’ move too! Correct was 20. Qf2 Qxb2 21. cxd3 Qxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Bxa1 23. Rxa1, and though I have regained material equality, white has a significant endgame edge.
20...dxc2 21. Rac1?
It’s not so easy to see under the circumstances, but 21. a5 is the best defensive try.
21...Bxa4 22. e5 Qxb2 23. c5 Bc6 24. Ng5 h625. Nxf7?
He is so desperate at this point that he lashes out, simply hoping that some tactical resource may be there, but it isn’t.
25…Rxf7 0-1

Well, well. Two for two against Murderer’s Row. Could I make it a clean sweep?

[Event "1st Category Round Robin #4"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "1995.06.05"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Lebedev, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B33"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 e5 8.Bg5 a6 9. Na3 b5 10. Nd5 Be7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. c3 O-O 13. Nc2
There hasn’t been much to say, because the game has gone into the same opening line as the first of these three games, except that black now plays along the more conventional lines.
13…Rb8 14. h4
I was trying to follow an idea of Kasparov’s that I had recently seen.
14…Ne7 15. Nxf6+ gxf6 16. Qd2 d5
This was a new move compared to the Kasparov game, which I believe was against Kramnik. If I recall correctly in their game it was f5 that was played. I tried to see what could be wrong with 16…d5 but couldn’t see anything too bad about it.
17. exd5?!
Not the right way to go. I should have castled queenside, but I was eager to trade queens and head for an endgame. I have always liked endgames.
17…Qxd5 18. Qxd5Nxd5 19. O-O-O Be6 20. g4
Perhaps getting a little too cute. The idea is that he can’t take the pawn without opening up the g file to my rooks against his king.
20…Nf4 21. Nb4 Rb6 22. b3?!
The position was about equal until I played this, weakening my pawn on the c file.
22…Rc8 23. Kb2 e4?!
The tournament leader makes a slight mistake! Better was Kh8 or a5.
24. Rd4
This is why it was a mistake. My rook is well placed here and black’s e and f pawns have become weaker.
24…a5 25. Nc2 Nd5 26. c4 Rbc6?!
Another slight error. Correct was 26…bc4 27. Bc4 Nf4 28. Ne3, though white has a clear edge still. Could I be heading for that clean sweep?
27. Rxe4
I win a pawn.
27…Nb4?
He lashes out, getting desperate. Now he is just losing if I play correctly. Better was still 27…bc4 28. Rc4 and I retain a significant edge.
28. Nd4!
Exactly right and winning!
28…Rd6 29. a3 bxc4
Saving the knight would leave him in a dead lost position on the queenside – 29…Nc6 30. Nb5 Rd2+ 31. Kc3 Rf2 32. Re3 and white is winning. This piece sacrifice has a bit of venom to it also.
30. axb4 c3+
An excellent desperation idea here, and unfortunately I fall for it…
31. Kc2?
I played this very quickly. I felt completely winning and safe here, so I didn’t examine the position and realize there was some danger. Easily winning was 31. Kc1 Bd5 32. Nf5! Bxe4 33. Nxd6 Bxh1 34. Nxc8 axb4 and white’s extra piece will easily win the endgame.
31...Bd5
You see, now the Nf5 idea doesn’t work because the darn king is on c2 where black can take my rook with check! I was so depressed at having overlooked such a simple idea that I failed to look deeper here and see that I am still winning.
32. Re3??
I throw away all of my efforts; black is now winning. Right was 32. Rf4! Bxh1 33. bxa5! I needed to see that my pawns and pieces could coordinate together here to retain an advantage even down the exchange. My rook can come to f5 to defend the a pawn. My bishop can come to c4 to let my king take the pawn on c3. After my move all the rest is just academic.
32...Bxh1 33. Nf5 Rd2+ 34. Kc1 Rcd8 35. Be2 axb4 36. f3 Ra8 37. Bd3 Bxf3 38. h5 Rd1+ 0-1

I was shattered by this loss. I really wanted to sweep these three guys, and I came so close! I had it and let it slip from my hands.

A Game from my days in Russia

2008-02-08T14:14:00.002Z

I decided to present this game for a couple of reasons. The four years that I spent in Russia were a very interesting time for me chess-wise. Everything was different from my years in America. Rather than the Swiss-system events I always played in the U.S., most events in Russia were round-robins, meaning that I played a game against each of the other players in the event. Also, each player was approximately of the same playing strength, so this made every game very tough.

I liked this game because I tried something new in the opening that went very badly for me, then fought back hard for counterplay and found it with a rook sacrifice. It's not the prettiest game in the world, by any means, but it shows the trench-warfare of amateur chess very well.

[Event "1st Category Round Robin #4"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "1995.04.17"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Laskatelev"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3
I normally play the straight Two-Knights Defense lines here with 4. Ng5, or at least that is what I normally played for most of my chess life; I have recently been experimenting with 4. d4 in online blitz, though I haven't gotten a chance to use it in a tournament yet. I believe I was feeling very down about my results, so I played 4. d3 in order to try to be more solid and safe.
4...Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. a4 Bg4 8. h3Bh5 9. Be3 a6 10. Ne2?
What an ugly move! All I can say is that I have always had trouble finding a plan in these types of positions, and that pin by the bishop on h5 was really annoying me. I didn't want to weaken my kingside by playing g4, though I suppose that might be the best move. At least something like 10. a5 would have been fine. Lashing out like I did just turned my position into junk. For some reason I think I felt I would get an attack after he took the knight on f3, by playing my king to h2 and swinging a rook over to the g-file. This wasn't a realistic plan here...
10...Bxf3 11. gxf3 d5
Excellent. Black immediately forces the issue, spotlighting the new weaknesses in my position. If I take on d4 with my pawn then my two f pawns are terribly weak and ineffective, while any other move allows black to play d4.
12. Ba2 d4 13. Bg5?!
I didn't want to put this bishop in a passive position on c1 or d2, but I didn't quite realize that this bishop is critical, since it is the only thing maintaining any grip on the dark squares. Once the bishop comes off the board my position is simply terrible.
13...Nh5
Correct again. Get rid of my bishop so that my kingside becomes even more porous.
14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Kh2 Qh4 16. Rg1
Yes, I saw that I was giving up two pawns here, but I knew I was in serious trouble, and I felt that I had to strike out for desperation counterplay on the only open file available.
16...Qxf2+ 17. Rg2 Qxf3 18. Qg1 Qe3
Another good move. He disrupts my g-file attack before it even begins.
19. Rf2
I tried to move over to the f-file now, since that would allow my bishop to participate.
19...Nf4 20. Nxf4 exf4 21. Re1 Qg3+ 22. Qxg3 fxg3+ 23. Kxg3
Black's plan over the last few moves may not have been the best, but I think he believed he was winning easily, so he was willing to give me back one pawn in order to liquidate my queen.
23...Ne5 24. Ref1 Rae8 25. h4
This move is a sign that I have no idea what to do. Look at the position - there is basically nothing for me to do. I cannot dislodge his knight. I have no pawns to attack it, and my bishop is the wrong color. Therefore I can put no pressure on the f7 square. The h4 move is simply a 'hope move', thinking that maybe I could switch over to the g file with my rooks and use that one remaining pawn to stir something up. I didn't expect it to amount to anything, but you have to make a move, so...
25...Re7 26. h5 h6 27.b4 Kh7 28. Rf5 f6 29. Bd5 c6 30. Bb3 Rc8
All of these recent moves are basically my way of saying, "Ok, I have nothing I can do; I know you are technically winning, so prove it."
31. Rb1 c5 32. bxc5 Rxc5 33. Bd5 b5?!
This appears to be a slight mistake on his part. It would have been better to liquidate the queenside with 33...Rc2 34. Rb7 Rb7 35. Bb7 Ra2 36. Ba6 Ra4.
34. axb5 Rxb5 35. Ra1 a5 36. Ra4 Ra7
He knew I couldn't take the 'free' pawn on d4 without making his a pawn too powerful. Oddly enough, though, when I examine it with the computer it looks like it could have been my best try for saving the game - 37. Rd4 a4 38. Rf1 a3 39. Bb3 Nc6 40. Rc4 and things are not so simple for black. Best is probably 40...Rg5+ 41. Kh4 Ne5 in order to utilize his kingside pawns for attack.
37. Kf4 Rc5

38. Rxe5!
What I love so much about this move is that my computer doesn't even consider it, yet it is clearly my best chance now.
38...fxe5+ 39. Kxe5 Rxc2 40. Kxd4
Ok, what has been accomplished here? Black should still be winning, but he must play very accurately to do so. My bishop and rook work well with the connected, passed central pawns and can be very dangerous.
40...Rh2 41. Kc5!
Another good move! Note how the rook on the a file cannot defend the a pawn once my king arrives at b6.
41...Rxh5 42. Kb6 Re7 43. Rxa5
So, this is it, the point where black must find the right plan or get into trouble.
43...Rhe5?
He doesn't find it. 43...g5 gets blacks pawns going. The move chosen just helps me to get my own pawns moving first.
44. d4 Rg5 45. e5 g6
I have no idea what this move was supposed to accomplish. If black wanted to try to do any more than draw the game he needed to play h5 or Rg4 here.
46. Kc6 Kg7?
This is normally a logical move in endgame positions like this, but here it actually turns the advantage over to me. Better was Rg4 or Rg3 with a hope for salvaging a draw.
47. Kd6 Kf8?!
Although this move ends things quickly in my favor, the game was really over anyhow - 47...Re8 48. Ra7+ Kh8 49. Bc6 Rd8+ 50. Rd7 and white is won.
48. Ra8+ Re8 49. Rxe8+ Kxe8 50. Bc6+ 1-0
Black has no way to stop my pawn from queening.

Hafnarfjordur Championship 2007

2008-02-03T18:50:00.001Z

I originally posted this topic here. My second chess event in Iceland was the Hafnarfjordur Championship in December 2007. Hafnarfjordur is the small town outside of Reykjavik where I live and where our Haukar club is situated. The funny thing about this event is that it was played in Reykjavik rather than in Hafnarfjordur, and about half the players are not from Hafnarfjordur either! It was quite a strong event; the rating average was in the mid-2000s. There was one GM, Henrik Danielsen from Denmark. There were also two FMs and a couple of other masters.

The first two rounds were G/30, which I don't like at all as I am not good at speed chess, but at least they are not FIDE rated and can't hurt me. I played a strong master from Egypt and lost, and lucked into a draw from a bad position in the other action game. Luckily, I really didn't care about these two games as they aren't rated, and since I knew I would not be competing for a prize anyhow, given how many super strong players there were, I didn't much care about my score. The way I saw it, the tournament really began with the first FIDE rated game. At least I played one really solid game...

Benediktsson,T (1956) - Cross,T (2108) [B33]
Hafnarfjordur Championship Reykjavik, Iceland (3), 14.12.2007

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5
The Sveshnikov Sicilian has been one of my favorite openings for more than twenty years.
6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 11.c3 Bg7 12.Bd3 Be6 13.Qh5 0–0
Sorry, there hasn't been much to comment on because this is all standard theory; I have reached this position many times before.
14.Ne3
Now this was the first time I have seen this move, but checking the databases it turns out to have been played quite a bit.
14...f4 15.Nf5 Qf6
I thought a bit about this move because this was the first position where I wasn't quite sure about the correct plan. I figured an advance in the center would open the long diagonal for my queen and bishop.
16.0–0?!
In almost all of the games that have reached this point white played 16.g4 and reached a complex middle-game. Castling here just seems to hand black a ready-made attack down the middle.
16...Bxf5 17.exf5 d5 18.f3 b4
Looking at this game with the computer later I was surprised that my moves through almost the whole game went right along with the evaluations. Playing the pawn to b4 is a typical idea in these positions to weaken the diagonal.
19.Nc2 bxc3 20.bxc3 Rfe8 21.Rfe1
According to my old Fritz 8 it is better to play 21.Rab1 with just a slight edge for black, though I believe black's edge must be bigger due to the pawns in the center. The next part of the attack seemed to play itself, at least until my mistake on move 26.
21...e4 22.fxe4 Qxc3 23.Rad1 Ne5 24.Qe2 Nxd3 25.Rxd3 Qc5+ 26.Kh1 Rxe4?
I thought this move looked obvious and winning, but it turns out to be a mistake as black has the tricky 27.Rxd5! Rxe2 28.Rxc5 Rd2=. So, instead I should have played 26...dxe4 27.Rb3 Qxf5 with a winning advantage.
27.Qd1? Qxc2 0–1

I felt this was about as well as I had played in a long while, and it gave me a boost in confidence. My next opponent made me nervous though. He plays at my club and always, always beats me at speed chess. Even when I get completely winning games he still manages to find some trick to beat me. He tends to mostly play a line of the Sicilian that I don't like, so I prepared for it, and naturally he didn't play it. He also slept in late accidentally and started with a time disadvantage, which may have contributed to what follows.

Cross,T (2108) - Gudmundsson,S (2110) [B06]
Hafnarfjordur Championship Reykjavik, Iceland (4), 15.12.2007

1.e4 g6
So, he surprises me already to blow away my preparation. I have never bothered to study the Modern or Pirc openings, so I pretty much make them up as I go along and end up with different lines each time I play them!
2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.Be3 Nf6 6.Nc3 0–0
A good alternative here is 6...Nxe4 7.Bxf7+ (Fritz prefers Bd3 but I like this better) Kxf7 8.Nxe4 Rf8 9.d5 Ne5 10.Neg5+ Kg8 11.Nd4 c6 12.Nde6 Qa5+ 13.c3 ( 13.Bd2? Qxd5 14.Nxf8 Qxg2 15.Rf1 Bg4 16.f3 Rxf8 17.Rf2 Nxf3+ 18.Nxf3 Qh3 and black is winning) 13...Bxe6 14.Nxe6 Rf7 15.Nxg7 Kxg7 with a slight white edge.
7.Qd2 Ng4 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5
The computer doesn't seem to mind this move, but I was happy to see it. I felt that it gave me good chances to burst open black's kingside later with a timely h4.
10.Bg3 e5?! 11.d5
With this move I felt in control of the game, since I saw good attacking chances against black's king while I felt pretty safe.
11...Na5 12.Bd3 f5 13.h3
The computer really likes 13.exf5! Nf6 ( 13...Bxf5 14.Bxf5 Rxf5 15.Ne4) 14.0–0–0 with a large advantage for white, but I thought I was winning a piece...
13...Nf6 14.b4!?
I played this move instantly, believing I was winning a piece. I have a bad habit of doing this. Better was 14.0–0–0, though I still retain some advantage even with my move.
14...fxe4 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 Nc4 17.Qd3 b5 18.Nd2 Nxd2 19.Kxd2 a6 20.f3
With this move I started my plan of attack. I wanted to immobilize the g5 pawn so that I could play h4 without black replying g4. Thus, I wanted to play f3, Bf2, g4, and then h4. Although this takes some time, I didn't see any great plan for black to stop me.
20...Bd7 21.Bf2 Qe8 22.g4 Rc8 23.h4! Bxg4 24.Rag1?!
I again played instantly, having looked at Bxg4 and believing that it only helped me in my attack. I only looked deeply enough that I thought he would have to retreat the bishop after my move. I saw Bxf3 but dismissed it. In a desperate situation, black looked deeper than me and saw a nice trick involving the loose bishop on f2. My original plan was not wrong, as white is truly better here if I just played 24.Raf1! Bd7 25.hxg5 with a large advantage.
24...Bxf3! 25.Bxf3 e4 26.Bxe4?
Even here I could have redeemed myself with correct play - 26.Qxe4! Qxe4 27.Bxe4 Rxf2+ 28.Ke3 Rf7 29.hxg5 hxg5 30.Rxg5 and white retains a slight edge.
26...Rxf2+ 27.Kd1 Qe5! 28.c3 Re8
It may have been better to play 28...Qxc3 29.hxg5 Qa1+ 30.Qb1 Qxb1+ 31.Bxb1 hxg5 32.Rxg5 with a slight edge for black.
29.Bh7+ Kh8?
A major mistake. Black wins with 29...Kf8 30.Rf1 Qe2+ 31.Qxe2 Rexe2 32.hxg5 hxg5 33.Rh2 Rxf1+ 34.Kxe2 Rc1
30.Re1 Re2
I don't suppose it matters since white still wins, but Fritz points out that slightly better is 30...Rh2! 31.Rhf1 Re2 32.Rxe2 Qxe2+ 33.Qxe2 Rxe2 34.Kxe2 Kxh7 35.hxg5 Bxc3 36.Rc1 Bxb4 37.Rxc7+ Kg6 38.gxh6 Kxh6 39.Rc6 a5 40.Rb6.
31.Rxe2 Qxe2+ 32.Qxe2 Rxe2 33.Kxe2 Kxh7 34.Kd3
I wanted to play it safe here, but an easier win is 34.hxg5! Bxc3 35.Rxh6+ Kg7 36.Ke3 Bxb4 37.Kf4.
34...g4 35.h5 Be5 36.c4 Kg7 37.cxb5 axb5 38.Rc1 Kf6 39.Rxc7 g3 40.Ke3 Kg5 41.Kf3 Kxh5 42.Rb7 Kg5 43.Rxb5 h5 44.Rb8 h4 45.Rg8+
More accurate is 45.b5! h3 46.b6 h2 ( 46...g2 47.Rg8+ Kf5 48.b7) 47.Kg2, but the plan I saw was forcing enough.
45...Kf5 46.Rg4 Bf6
I was expecting 46...h3 when I win with 47.Rxg3.
47.b5 Bd8 48.Rb4 Bb6 49.Rxh4 1–0

I felt a mix of emotions when this one ended, because my opponent was clearly very upset, and he is a nice guy. I know he blew his winning chances, but I also had a right to be a bit unhappy since I was the one who originally blew winning chances. I was lucky that he was short on time (though not that short) and probably didn't get to think long enough at certain critical junctures. Notice, though, that with my full compliment of time I still didn't bother to think enough at critical points either!

This game ended late but other games looked like they were going to go on for quite some time, so I went home without knowing who my next opponent would be. So, I had no preparation, which in FIDE tournaments is often a big help. It turns out it would have been very important for me, since my opponent is one I play regularly at the club. I would have known he was going to play the Alapin Sicilian against me and I could have prepared for it. As it was, once I saw the pairing the next morning I felt doomed. I know next to nothing about the Alapin, and in our blitz games he always wins. Before we even sat down to play I already felt lost, and it shows in the game. Oh, and by the way his rating is quite a bit higher than it shows here, as he has played quite a lot lately, and he is one of those young people who shoot up in rating very rapidly.

Thorgeirsson,S (2061) - Cross,T (2108) [B22]
Hafnarfjordur Championship Reykjavik, Iceland (5), 15.12.2007

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Bf5?!
I give this move a dubious mark even though in the databases there are strong masters who have played it. The reason is that no one has played the line my opponent chose, and as far as I can see through analysis with the computer, black never gets a decent game after his line. Normal is 4...Nf6 though since I don't know the Alapin I didn't know this until now. I may be wrong, but I think my opponent may have a bust for this line of the Alapin.
5.dxc5 Qxd1+
We had just played this exact line last week in blitz at the club and I had been unsure whether to take the pawn or trade queens. I didn't like the position after taking the pawn, but in the queen trade line I can't find a way to get my material back once he plays b4. Fritz likes the queen trade, too, and calls it equal but I disagree. If anyone can find a good line for black here I would really like to see it!
6.Kxd1 e6
Nothing really seems to work. Maybe if I had a better chess engine than Fritz 8? 6...Nc6 7.Bb5 e6 8.b4 Be7 9.Nf3 0–0–0+ 10.Ke2 Nxb4 11.cxb4 Bf6 12.Bg5 Bxa1 13.Bxd8 Kxd8 14.Rd1+ Kc8 15.Nbd2 Bc3 16.Nc4 Nf6 17.Nd6+ Kb8 18.a3 and white has a big edge, or 6...Nd7 7.b4 g6 8.Nf3 Bg7 9.Nd4 and again white is quite content.
7.b4 a5?!
The computer shows me 7...Nf6 8.Bb5+ Nc6 9.Nf3 0–0–0+ 10.Ke2 Nd5 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Bd2 with just a slight edge for white, though I don't much like black's prospects.
8.a3 Nf6 9.Nf3 Bxb1?!
No, I wouldn't normally trade off this bishop for the knight, but I was feeling desperate and thought there might be a good tactic here for me. It didn't turn out too well, but I am not sure regular development would have helped either in the long run with those queenside pawns looming.
10.Rxb1 Ne4 11.Bb5+ Nc6 12.Kc2! axb4 13.cxb4 Nxf2 14.Rf1
Even better is 14.Re1. The rest isn't worth commenting on as it is just a matter of technique.
14...Ng4 15.h3 Nf6 16.Ne5 Rc8 17.Bf4 Be7 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Ba6 0–0 20.Bxc8 Rxc8 21.Kb3 Nd5 22.Bd2 Rb8 23.Kc4 Ra8 24.Ra1 Bf6 25.Ra2 Kf8 26.a4 Nc7 27.Kb3 Ke7 28.Bf4 Nd5 29.Bd6+ Ke8 30.Rf3 Be7 31.Bxe7 Kxe7 32.Kc4 Nc7 33.Rd3 e5 34.Rd6 Ra6 35.Rad2 Ne6 36.Kb3 Nd4+ 37.R6xd4 exd4 38.Rxd4 Ra7 39.b5 cxb5 40.axb5 f5 41.b6 Ra1 42.Rd2 Rc1 43.Rc2 Rb1+ 44.Rb2 Rc1 45.b7 1–0

After that demoralizing experience I tried to boost my confidence for the next round. At least this time I knew who I would play and what color I would have. I also knew he always seemed to play a particular line of the Center Counter defense. I spent the evening studying as hard as I could for this line, so naturally he did an end-around on me and played completely differently. Smart move.

I apologize in advance for all the long variations in this game. It is short and extremely tactical, so there isn't much I can do about it. I usually prefer to explain moves rather than give lines, but this type of game doesn't lend itself to that...

Cross,T (2108) - Fonseca,J (2057) [B01]
Hafnarfjordur Championship Reykjavik, Iceland (6), 16.12.2007

1.e4 Nc6
My darn, clever opponent knew I knew his favorite line (1.e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6), so he chooses something else to thwart my preparation.
2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 Qh5
Agh! I have never seen this! It never ceases to amaze me how variable chess is. Only four moves into the game and he can play something I have never seen, and from the analysis of the databases it seems it is a perfectly viable idea.
5.Be2
Playing the knight to b5 looks really good, but isn't as good as it looks - 5.Nb5 Kd8 6.d4 Bg4 7.Bf4 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Qxf3 9.gxf3 Nb4 10.Kd2 Nd5=. Still, I think this line suits my style more.
5...Bg4 6.d4?!
Odd that such a natural seeming move should be a mistake, which makes this an excellent line for black to play. Better would have been 6.0–0 0–0–0 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 Qg6 9.d3 e5 10.Re1 in order for white to retain a slight edge.
6...0–0–0 7.Be3 e5 8.Ne4?
Yes, I knew this might be a mistake, but I couldn't see deeply enough to know for sure. I was not happy with the state of my position, so I thought active measures were called for. It was better, though, to play 8.d5 f5 9.Ng5 Bb4 10.Bxg4 fxg4 11.a3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Nf6 13.c4 Rd7 14.Rb1 b6 15.Qd3 Re8 16.0–0 e4 17.Qb3 g3 18.hxg3 Ng4 19.Nh3 Na5 20.Qc3 Nxe3 21.fxe3 Qe2 22.Rb4 c5 23.Ra4 with an unclear position, and it is doubtful either of us would have found all of these moves.
8...f5! 9.Ng3 Qe8 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.d5 Nf6
Also good is 12...Qb4+ 13.c3 Qxb2 14.0–0 Qxc3 15.Nd2 Rxd5 16.Bxg4 Rxd2 17.Bxf5+ Kb8 18.Qg4 with a large edge for black.
13.c4 f4!?
The computer prefers 13...Bxf3 14.Bxf3 e4 15.Be2 f4 16.Nf5 Qe5 17.Qb3 Qxf5 18.dxc6 Qa5+ 19.Kf1 bxc6, but only because f4 gives white a surprising resource.
14.Nf1?
Naturally I miss the surprising 14.Nd2! Bxe2 15.Nxe2 Nd4 16.0–0 which keeps white afloat.
14...e4 15.Nd4 Qb4+
From the safety of your computer it might seem simple to win for black, but the position is crazier than might first appear. Relatively best was 15...Ne5! 16.Bxg4+ Nfxg4 17.Qb3 Nd3+ 18.Ke2 Qf6 with a clear winning edge for black;
Also good enough though more complex is 15...f3 16.dxc6 bxc6 ( 16...fxe2 17.cxb7+ Kb8 ( 17...Kxb7?? 18.Qb3+ =) 18.Nc6+ Kxb7 19.Nxd8+ Kc8 20.Qa4 exf1Q+ 21.Kxf1 Rxd8 22.Qa6+ Kd7 23.h3 Bh5 24.Qxa7 with only a slight edge for black) 17.Ne3 fxe2 18.Qd2 Qc5 ( 18...c5?? 19.Nc6 and white should win) 19.Nb3 Rxd2 20.Nxc5 Rhd8 21.Nxg4 Nxg4 22.Nxe4 Rxb2 23.Nc3 Rc2 24.h3 Nf6 25.Nxe2 Re8 26.0–0 Rexe2 and black has a winning position.
16.Nd2 Nxd4 17.Bxg4+ Nxg4?!
This move seems obvious, but oddly enough it turns out to be a mistake. Winning is 17...Kb8! and white will be smothered by black's central pawns.
18.Qxg4+ Kb8 19.0–0–0 h5?!
Another mistake. Black would still retain a large edge after 19...Qa4! 20.Kb1 Qc2+ 21.Ka1 Qd3 22.a3.
20.a3??
I know, I know, anyone would see this is horrible. The sad thing is that the first option I looked at was the right one...20.Qxg7 Ne2+ 21.Kb1 e3 22.fxe3 fxe3 23.a3 Qa4 24.d6 cxd6 25.Ne4 Rhg8 26.Qh6 Rxg2 27.Qf6 Rgg8 a) 27...Qe8 28.Nxd6 Qg6+ 29.Qxg6 Rxg6 30.Nf5 Rxd1+ 31.Rxd1 Rg2 32.Rh1 Nf4 33.Nxe3 with a slight edge for white; b) 27...Qa5 28.Rd3 Rg6!? 29.Qe7 (b) 29.Qxg6!? Nf4 30.Qg3 Nxd3 31.Qxe3 Ne5=) 29...Qc7 30.Qxc7+ Kxc7 31.Rxe3 Rg2 32.Ng3 Nxg3 33.hxg3=; 28.Nxd6 Qb3 29.Ka1 Ka8 30.Rhe1=.
All I can say is that for some weird reason when I glanced at 20.a3 my brain decided that all black could do was either take my queen or play Nb3+. I examined both of those and was happy with them, so I went for it. I had plenty of time on my clock, so with a move that leaves my queen hanging I should have looked a little longer. It isn't hard to see the problem, after all.
20...Qa4 0–1

I was so down after this one that I withdrew from the tournament. I knew I was likely to lose the last round simply because of lack of confidence and energy.

My Son's First Tournament pt. 2

2008-02-03T17:42:00.002Z

The next day was the wrap-up of the weekends chess activities. They did the award ceremony for the previous days winners, so Alex got a very nice medal and a book about the Kasparov-Short world championship match.

Following this, GM Helgi Olafsson gave a simultaneous exhibition. Alex jumped onto a board right away. He played ok for a kid, but played a long bishop move when he should have completed the development of his kingside. GM Olafsson wrote a nice note in the book that Alex won.

Olafsson,H (2535) - Cross,A [B13]
GM Helgi Olafsson Simul, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, 28.10.2007

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Nbd7 7.Nf3 Nb6 8.Bb3 Bg4?? [ 8...e6 9.0-0 Be7=] 9.Ne5 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Be3 Nbd5 12.0-0 Nxe3 13.fxe3 g6 14.Qa4+ Nd7 15.Ne4 Bg7 16.Nf7 Qb6 17.Nc5 Qc6 18.Qxc6 bxc6 19.Nxe6 Rg8 20.Nc7+ 1-0

Look at the expression on Alex's face when he realizes he is lost!

Here Alex gets GM Olafsson's autograph.

I ended up playing in the simul also, as they had empty seats they wanted filled. I spent so much time observing how Alex did that I didn't focus very well on my own game. I played to a decent middle-game position, but then tossed it away in one move by overlooking a simple tactic.

My Son Alexei's First Tournament

2008-02-03T17:26:00.002Z

I am going to repeat a post I originally placed on the Daily Dirt site on October 27, 2007:

Sorry, I know some won't have any interest in this, but I am such a proud father! Today my youngest son played in his first chess tournament. It was played in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland where we live. It was an 8 round blitz event, 7 minutes per player and it was an open event for youth and retirees. Naturally for the first round they paired my son, Alexei, against the oldest player, 88 years old, since Alex was the youngest by far at only 7. Alex played adults twice and lost both of those, but he did very well otherwise, scoring 4 out of 8. He tied with three 9 year olds for 1st in the 7-9 age group, though since Alex was the only 7 year old they awarded him a special medal for his fine result. I took some photos:

Playing in Iceland

2008-01-27T18:47:00.001Z

I'll jump ahead of these older games and show some of my more recent stuff. This was originally posted on the Daily Dirt website and is for a team event played in October 2007:

I finally played some classical chess (or the closest you can call it given the FIDE time control) again after five years away. I felt nervous and rusty, and it showed.

Since moving to Iceland I have seen how amazing the chess scene is here. I joined a small club team called Haukar. This past weekend the first leg of the Icelandic League Team Championships took place, with four rounds. Three more rounds will be played after the new year. I played in the second division (out of four) for the Haukar-B team. Like English league soccer, the top two and bottom two teams from each division (if I understand things correctly) move up or down to the next division each year. So, our team is trying to move up to the first division, though we already have a team there. The first division teams tend to have some rented GMs from overseas. I saw GMs like Kveynis and Nataf playing, but I didn't really look much because I was busy.

I may have only played four games, but I get the impression that Icelanders are vastly underrated, perhaps because they mainly play in a rather closed rating group here on an island. I have played many players between 2000-2200 over the last couple of decades, but these seem better. I Fritzed my games and found that my opponents played only a single significant mistake out of four games! I am used to amateurs making several small to medium mistakes throughout each game; I certainly always do, but these guys simply didn't. It sure made it tough. Two games I lost simply because I made very minor mistakes (that few on this board would see as mistakes at all) and then the games progressed very well all the way to impressive endgames where I simply couldn't save the games. I am not used to opponents playing nearly perfectly. I am weaker in openings and stronger in the rest, so I typically get average or poor positions out of openings and then fight back to win or draw, but that didn't work here. I complicated as best I could, but these guys seem to just be too good. Note that I am NOT suggesting any sort of cheating; it was obvious that everyone was playing real chess.

I played the first round on board three (out of six) and lost a very tough endgame. Then they moved me down to board four for the second game. I played too quickly at a critical point in the opening and blundered. This was my worst game. But, in round 3 our team lost its two best players (one had to leave because his wife was having a baby) and I had to move up to board two! I had to play black against the highest rated player that I faced, and I won! That made me feel a bit better. The last round was again against a player rated higher than me, and again it was a tough, grinding loss in an endgame after only a minor mistake in the opening. Oddly, not one game went into any of the opening lines that I know; they all diverged early into weird lines and I had to make everything up over the board.

Despite my relatively poor showing, our team did very well and finished in second place. This despite having forfeited a game in round 4 when one of our players never showed. So, we are in good position to move up to the first division, especially since out of the three rounds we have left to play, two of them are against the two weakest teams.

I am going to put up three of my games from the recent Icelandic League event in which I played for the Haukar-B team. I think each of these has instructive endgames, and maybe other small lessons for amateur players. Strong players will not want to bother with these.

[Event "Icelandic League Team"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2007.10.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Jonatansson, Helgi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "2108"]
[BlackElo "2075"]
[WhiteTeam "Haukar Chess Club-B"]
[BlackTeam "Reykjanesbaejar-A"]

Ok, so this was my first FIDE rated game since March, 2003. I felt extremely nervous and rusty, especially since I didn’t want to let my new team down.
1.e4 Nf6
Ugh, I was already unhappy because I can't stand the Alekhine's Defense. I tried for many years to play normally against it, but recently I have tried to avoid it. In my last FIDE event I even beat a master with my 2.Nc3 variation.
2.Nc3 d5
But this was new to me, and I also really dislike playing against the Center Counter, so I didn't want to play 3. ed5. I didn't know if playing 3. e5 would be ok, but I decided to go for it.
3.e5 d4 4.exf6 dxc3 5.fxe7?!
Apparently this is a slight mistake, though not too bad. The GMs all seem to play 5.fxg7 cxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Qxd2+ 7.Bxd2 Bxg7 8.0–0–0 with equality.
5...cxd2+ 6.Bxd2 Bxe7 7.Nf3?!
I didn't realize that normal development in this position would be wrong. I overlooked the fact that my pawns on the queenside could be weak and easily besieged by my opponent's bishop-pair. So, better is 7.Qf3 (with the idea of castling quickly) 0–0 8.0–0–0 Be6 with equality, or even a simple 7. Bc3.
7...0–0 8.Bd3?!
Given the pawn weaknesses on the queenside, it is better here to play 8.Be3with equality.
8...Bf6 9.Rb1
Now I understood what I had done wrong, and while I never like to put a rook into such a ridiculous situation as defending on b1, I didn't see any compensation if I just gave up the pawn. However, Fritz seems to prefer doing just that - 9.0–0 Bxb2 10.Rb1 Bf6 11.Re1, with some compensation for the pawn.
9...Re8+ 10.Be3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5?!
One of the only inaccuracies my opponent makes in the game. The bishop is better off on e6 to continue putting pressure on the weak queenside.
12.0–0?!
I failed to take advantage of his inaccuracy. I could have taken a slight advantage by playing 12.g4! Bg6 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Qxd8 Bxd8 15.0–0.
12...Nc6 13.Be2
I still could have had at least equality with 13.g4 Bg6 14.Bxg6 hxg6 15.Qxd8 Raxd8 16.c3=
13...Qe7 14.Qd5
Loads of small inaccuracies on my part, though at my amateur level these are not usually as fatal as they were on this particular weekend. These Icelanders played unbelievably well for their ratings! I thought my move was the only obvious one, but once I saw Fritz's recommendation (14.c3 Bg6 15.Ra1=), I thought that was even more obvious!
14...Bg6 15.Qb3 Qb4 16.Bc4 Rad8 17.Rfd1 a5 18.Ne1?
I had trouble coming up with a good plan here. I thought that by bringing the knight over to d3 I could undo the bishop's pin of the c2 pawn and finally free up my b1 rook. Fritz says I can hold black to a tiny edge by 18.Rxd8 Rxd8 19.a3 Qxb3 20.Bxb3 b5 21.a4.
18...Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Qxb3 20.Bxb3 Bxb2 21.Ba4 Rd8?
Finally, black makes a real mistake, and I actually find the correct plan at first! Better for black was 21...Bc3 22.Rb1 Bxe1 23.Rxe1 Re6 24.c3 Ne5 25.Rd1.
22.Rb1 Bc3 23.Rxb7 Nb4 24.Nd3 Nd5 25.Bb3?
But here I blew it. I had a slight edge if I just played 25.Bc5.
25...c6?! 26.Bxd5 cxd5 27.Rb3?
It has long been amazing to me how many small mistakes one can make in chess and still survive on the amateur level. This is another big mistake on my part, after many small ones, and yet later I still could have saved the game. Here I could have had equality with 27.Bb6 Rc8 28.Nf4 Bxc2 29.Nxd5 Be4 30.Rd7 Bxd5 31.Rxd5 a4=
27...d4 28.Bf4 h6 29.Rb8 Rxb8 30.Bxb8 Kf8 31.Bd6+ Ke8 32.Kf1 Be4 33.f3 Bd5 34.a3 h5 35.Nf4 Bc4+ 36.Kf2 Kd7 37.Bf8 g6 38.Ne2 Bb2 39.Bc5 Bxe2 40.Kxe2 Kc6 41.Be7 Kb5 42.Kd3 Ka4 43.Bc5
Now, looking at this endgame I was unsure whether I could pull off a draw or not. I know he had the edge, of course, due to the advanced a-pawn. I thought I couldn't move my king in front of his a-pawn since his bishop could just defend it on a2 while his king roamed over to the other side and won. It turns out I was wrong, though it is difficult to see it.
43...Bxa3 44.Bxd4?
How many times do we quickly play the moves we think are obvious only to find later that there was something more going on? Here I could have saved the game with 44.Kxd4! Bxc5+ 45.Kxc5 f6 46.f4 h4 47.c4 Kb3 48.Kd5 a4 49.c5 a3 50.c6 a2 51.c7 a1Q 52.c8Q=
44...Kb5 45.g4 Bc5 46.Bf6 a4 47.f4
Pretty much blowing my last chance, though it is hard to see the amazing defense over the board. By playing 47.Kc3 Bd6 48.g5 h4 49.Kb2 Kc4 50.Ka2 Kd5 51.Bc3 Be7 52.Bd2 the bishop and pawns would have coordinated to keep the enemy king away from my pawns.
47...hxg4 48.hxg4 Bd6 49.f5 a3 50.fxg6 fxg6 51.c4+?
Here 51. c3 gives me better chances to hold on.
51...Kb4 52.Kd4 a2 53.Kd5 Bc5 54.Be5 Be3 55.Bd6+?
Basically giving up. I could have made it really hard by playing 55.Ba1 Bf2 56.Bb2 Be1 57.c5 Bc3 58.c6 Bxb2 59.c7 a1Q 60.c8Q
55...Kb3 56.Be5 Bc1 57.c5 Bb2 58.Bxb2 Kxb2 59.c6 a1Q 60.Kd6 Qd1+ 61.Kc7 Qxg4 62.Kb8 Qb4+ 63.Ka8 Qa5+ 64.Kb7 Qb5+ 65.Kc7 g5 66.Kd6 Qd3+ 67.Kc7 g4 0–1
Yeah, I played on longer than I should have. I had just never been in an endgame before where my pawn was on the 6th against a queen. I was still thinking about how one can draw with a bishop pawn on the 7th, though in this case it doesn't work due to black's extra pawn – he can always just take my pawn with his queen and advance the other one, though he doesn't even need to do that.

[Event "Icelandic League Team"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2007.10.13"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Larusson, Petr"]
[Black "Cross, Ted"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B31"]
[WhiteElo "2134"]
[BlackElo "2108"]
[WhiteTeam "Haukar Chess Club-B"]
[BlackTeam "Akraness"]

Despite my losses in rounds one and two, I was moved up to board two for our team due to our two top players not being able to show up for this round. One of them had a wife in the hospital having a baby. We thought it would really hurt us, but we actually won this round 5.5 - .5! Only with some luck in my game though.
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5
These guys magically all seem to know the best lines to play against me! I have never done well against this variation; I really prefer the straight 3. d4 lines.
3...g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.h3 Bg7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.0–0 b6 9.Qe2 Ba6 10.a4 Qc7 11.Rd1 Rad8 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nf1 e6?!
Fritz doesn't seem to mind this move much, but later in the game I really regretted having played it. It got in my way for defense.
14.N1h2 Rd7 15.Ng4 c4
I was feeling a bit desperate here, with my black square weaknesses around my king. I needed counter-play in the center but the only idea I could see was to have a rook or queen on d8, and if the pawn was no longer on d3 then I could threaten to play my knight to c3. This is why I played 15...c4.
16.dxc4 h5 17.Nh6+ Kh8 18.g4 Qd8
This is the point of my earlier 15...c4 move; I now have the threat of playing Nc3. It is not really a solid threat, but I was grasping at straws here!
19.Qe4
19.Bg5 is even better.
19...Bxh6 20.Bxh6
I sure didn't want to give up this bishop for the knight, but I couldn't go through with my plan otherwise, since at the end of the combination his knight would be able to take on f7 with a fork.
20...Nc3 21.bxc3 Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 23.Kg2
Ok, here I was, hoping I might finally be in better shape having won the exchange, but the longer I looked at the position the less I liked it. He had too many threats, so I felt I had no choice but to offer the exchange back in return for removing his dangerous bishop.
23...Qd8 24.gxh5?!
He didn't want it, so I decided to keep it!
24...Rg8 25.Bg5 gxh5 26.Qh4 Rg6??
Ouch! A real howler just when I could have drawn the game with 26...Rg7 27.Qxh5+ Kg8 28.Kh2 Qd1 29.Bf6 Qf1 30.Bxg7 Qxf2+ 31.Kh1 Kxg7=
27.Qxh5+ Kg8 28.Kh2??
Lucky me! The one real blunder my opponents made all weekend! He could have simply played 28.Qxg6+ and then taken my queen.
28...Qf8 29.Bf6?
He could probably still have won by playing the knight to h4 - 29.Nh4 Rg7 30.Bf6 Qc5 31.Qf3 Bxc4 32.Bxg7 Kxg7 33.Qg3+ Kh8 34.Nf3 Be2 35.Ng5 Bh5 36.Ne4+-
29...Qh6
Now I knew I should win if I could just get my rook out of the corner.
30.Qxh6 Rxh6 31.Nd2 c5 32.Ne4 Bxc4 33.Bg5 Rg6 34.h4 Be2 35.Nd6?!
Better is 35. Nf6+, though I would still win after 35...Kh8 36.Kg3 Bd1 37.Kf4 Bxc2 38.h5 Rg7 39.Ng4 Bxa4 40.Bf6 Kh7 41.Bxg7 Kxg7 42.Ke3 Bd1 43.Nf6 Kh6–+
35...Bd1 36.Nc8 Kh7 37.Nxa7 Rg8 38.Nc6 Ra8 39.Nd8 Kg6 40.Kg3 Rxa4 41.f3 Bxc2 42.Bd2
I was proud of myself for seeing right here that I could trap his knight. No matter where he goes, my pawns hem in the knight.
42...Ra8 43.Nc6 Ba4 44.Ne7+ Kg7 45.Kg4 Re8 46.Bg5 Kf8 47.f4 Rxe7 48.Bxe7+ Kxe7 49.f5 0–1

[Event "Icelandic League Team"]
[Site "Reykjavik, Iceland"]
[Date "2007.10.14"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Finnlaugsson, Gunnar"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B45"]
[WhiteElo "2108"]
[BlackElo "2125"]
[WhiteTeam "Selfoss og nagr"]
[BlackTeam "Haukar Chess Club-B"]

Sadly, one of our players didn’t show up for this round, so we started with a forfeit. I actually knew the night before who I was going to play, so I looked up his games. He played a whole lot of Winawer French Defense games, so naturally he didn’t play it against me!
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Ndb5 Bb4
Uh oh! I had played this line many times but everyone always transposed into a Sveshnikov by playing 6...d6. I had vaguely seen Bb4 before but didn't know the line. I just assumed I was better after my move, but it turns out that black holds a slight edge.
7.Nd6+?!
Correct is 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.Nxc3 d5 9.exd5 exd5 with a tiny edge for white.
7...Ke7 8.Bf4 e5 9.Nf5+?!
I felt that taking on c8 was wrong since it helps black get his rook to c8 quicker, aiming at the weak point on c3, but it turns out that white still holds a slight edge after 9.Nxc8+ Rxc8 10.Bg5.
9...Kf8 10.Bg5 d5 11.exd5
Keeping black's edge to a minimum would be 11.Bxf6 gxf6 ( 11...Qxf6 12.Qxd5 Bxf5 13.exf5 Rd8 14.Qe4 Rd4) 12.exd5 Bxf5 13.dxc6 Qxd1+ 14.Rxd1 bxc6.
11...Qxd5 12.Ne3?!
I didn't like the looks of Ng3 here, but Fritz thinks it is a little better than what I played - 12.Ng3!? Bg4 13.f3 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Qxd1+ 15.Rxd1 Be6 with a small edge to black.
12...Qd4 13.Bd3 Bxc3+ 14.bxc3 Qxc3+ 15.Kf1 Be6 16.Qb1?!
It felt wrong to play this, but I was desperately seeking some sort of counterplay and felt that getting the knight to d1 was my only chance. I wanted to bring my bishop back into the game via e3 and was ok with him taking it since I could take back with my pawn, which I thought might give me some chances. Fritz likes 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Rb1 Rd8 better though black clearly stands better.
16...Nd5 17.Nd1 Qd4 18.Be3!?
18. Qxb7 was worth a try here, because black would need to choose the correct responses or end up passing the advantage on to me, and for amateurs I think that 18...Rb8 is harder to see. 18.Qxb7!? Rb8 ( 18...Rc8? 19.Rb1 Nf4 ( 19...e4 20.Ba6 Nc7 21.Qxc6 Nxa6 22.Qb7 h6 23.Ne3 hxg5 24.Qxa6 gives black a tiny edge) 20.Bxf4 Qxf4 21.Ne3 e4 22.Bb5 Nd4 23.Bd7 Rd8 24.Bxe6 Nxe6 25.Qxa7 and I take over the advantage) 19.Qxc6 Rc8 20.Qxc8+ Bxc8 21.Rb1–+.
18...Nxe3+ 19.fxe3 Qd7 20.Nf2 f5 21.Ke2 e4 22.Bb5 a6 23.Rd1 Nd4+ 24.Rxd4 Qxb5+ 25.Qxb5 axb5 26.Kd2 Ke7 27.a4
Ok, so this endgame is hopeless, but I actually get a kick seeing how well I do to cut things closer than they look like they should have been!
27...Bd7 28.Rb1?!
Better is 28.a5 Ra6 29.g4 g6 30.gxf5 gxf5 31.Rg1 Rg6 though black should still win.
28...Rxa4 29.Rxa4 bxa4 30.Rxb7 Ra8 31.Nd1 a3 32.Rb1 Kd6 33.Nc3 g5 34.g4 Ke5 35.gxf5 Kxf5 36.Ra1 Ke5 37.Nb1 a2 38.Nc3 Be6 39.Kc1 h5 40.Ne2 h4 41.Nd4 Rf8 42.Kb2 Rf2 43.Rg1 Rxh2 44.Rxg5+ Kf6 45.Nxe6 Rxc2+ 46.Ka1 Kxe6 47.Rg4 Kd5 48.Rxh4 Re2 49.Rg4 Rxe3 50.Kxa2 Rc3 51.Kb2 Rc6 52.Rg5+ Kd4 53.Rg3 e3 54.Rg8 e2 55.Re8 Kd3 56.Rd8+ Ke3 57.Re8+ Kd2 58.Rd8+ Ke1 59.Kb3 Rf6 60.Kc2 Kf1 0–1

My best move

2008-01-27T00:16:00.004Z

I have played several hundred rated games in my life, and this game may still be the only one in which I played a legitimate double-exclamation point move. The game itself is not remarkable. I played the Ruy Lopez for some reason; I never play the Ruy Lopez. I must have been frustrated with poor results with my normal Bc4 opening and decided to shake things up. I won a pawn in the opening due to my opponent's mistakes, but then I played poorly to allow most of my advantage to slip away. When my opponent threatened an immediate forced draw, I thought for a long time looking for a way out….and I found it!!

[Event "Memorial Day Open"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "1990.05.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Yergin, April"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C70"]
[WhiteElo "1903"]
[BlackElo "1632"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
As mentioned above, I always play Bc4 in this position. During this time in my life I played a bare handful of Ruy Lopez openings out of frustration with my poor results with Bc4.
3…a6 4. Ba4 Bc5 5. c3 b5 6. Bb3 d6 7. d4 Ba7?
This mistake gives white a clear advantage. Better was exd4.
8.dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Bxf7
I have won a clear pawn, but I begin to meander without a plan through the next phase of the game, allowing my edge to dwindle.
10…Nf6 11. Bd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 e4 13. Ng5 Ne5 14. O-O
Being greedy with Ne4 is actually better here.
14…Bb7 15. Nxe4 Bxd5 16. Rd1 c6 17. Bg5+ Kd7
By this point black has enough counter play that the game is essentially equal even though white is still up a pawn.
18. Kh1 Ke6 19. Nbd2?
This is a mistake, overlooking that black could invade with Nd3. Better is f3 instead. Lucky for me she doesn’t see the tactic.
19…Kf5?! 20. f4 Bxe4?
Another mistake; Nd3 is still the right move.
21. Nxe4 Ng4 22. Ng3+ Kg6 23. Rd6+ Kf7 24.h3
At the amateur level it is difficult to see it, but this move apparently lets most of white’s advantage slip away, while Rd7+ retains the edge. The difference is that after Rd7+ the black king comes to g6 and blocks the g7 pawn, which stops black from playing the seemingly drawing variation that follows…
24…h6 25. Bh4 Nf2+ 26. Kh2 g5
Ok, here it is, the key moment of the game. It looks as if I have blown it. If I play the moves that save my bishop then black gets a perpetual check with the knight. I was devastated, having felt that I was winning for so long only to give up a draw. I recall this moment well, because April’s husband, Chandler, was playing on the board next to ours and I remember seeing the expression on his face as he studied the position, as well as after I found my remarkable reply. Since it is pointed out to you, it is probably obvious, but over the board when you don’t know it works, it is not so simple.

27. Re1!!
I was so proud of myself when I played this. There were a good number of variations that needed to be calculated quite deeply in order to be sure I was ok here, so just seeing the move itself was not enough; I needed to spend a lot of time calculating everything.
27…gxh4 28. Rd7+ Kf8
The main alternative was Kg8, which leads shortly to mate after 29. Nh5 Bc5 30. Re6 a5 31. Rg6+ Kf8 32. Rf6+ Ke8 (32…Kg8 33. Rg7 mate) 33. Rff7 and checkmate is impossible to stop. Obviously 28...Kg6 allows 29. Re6 mate, but it took me a bit more time before playing my 27th move to make sure that 28...Kf6 would win for me - 28...Kf6 29. Nh5+ Kf5 (29...Kg6 30. Rg7+ and mates next) 30. Re5+ Kg6 31. Rg7 mate.
29. Nh5 Bc5 30. b4 Re8
Bb6 might be slightly trickier as I would have to correctly see that I can trap the bishop after 31. Nf6 Rd8 32. Rb7
31. Rxe8+ Kxe8 32. Nf6+ Kf8 33. bxc5 h5 34. Kg1
I played to simplify here, since the knight is trapped. I saw that I could swap everything off to an easily winning endgame.
34…Rh6 35. Rd6 Kf7 36. Kxf2 Rxf6 37. Rxf6+ Kxf6 38. Ke3 Kf5 39. a3 a5 40. Kf3 a4 41. Ke3 Ke6 42. Ke4 Ke7 43. Ke5 Kd7 44. Kf6 Ke8 45. Kg7 1-0

Beginnings

2008-01-26T22:30:00.001Z

The following game has little of interest, except for its minor historical context. It is a game between two rank beginners, but one of them went on to become a Grandmaster and World Junior Champion! This was the first round of only my third rated tournament, and I was still considered to be 'unrated', though I had an unofficial rating of 1509. Tal Shaked, my opponent, was also unrated, and I believe this was his second tournament (I saw him playing at the Memorial Day Open a couple weeks earlier). I learned a tremendous lesson at the end of this game that has stuck with me ever since.

[Event "Nimzowitsch Classic"]
[Site "Tucson, Arizona"]
[Date "1986.07.12"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Cross, Ted"]
[Black "Shaked, Tal"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C01"]
[WhiteElo "1509"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. exd5?!
You can see that I had little knowledge of openings back then. This is not the way to play against the French Defense! I won't comment much on most of the game, first because it was so long ago that I simply cannot recall my own thoughts during the game, and second because the moves are obviously those of beginners, so we cannot judge them too harshly.
4...exd5 5. Bd2 Nf6 6. Bd3 O-O 7. Nge2 Nc68. O-O Re8 9. a3 Ba5 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Bg5 a6 12. Bxf6
I was ever eager to grab material back then, even if I couldn't see if the resulting position would be in my favor.
12...Qxf6 13. Nxd5 Qd6 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. Ndc3
I would retain a very slight advantage if I had played Ne3 here; now black gets the tiniest of edges.
15...Qg6
Better would have been Rad8 to put more pressure on the isolated d pawn. Threatening a checkmate, such as with the Qg6 move, is something beginners love to do, but here it allows white to gain approximate equality by pushing the pawn to d5. Naturally I didn't see it.
16. g3?! Bxc3?!
Bf3 is better, increasing pressure on white's pieces.
17. Nxc3 Rad8 18. Qd2 Qg4
It is difficult to call this a mistake considering both players are beginners, but white now regains a slight advantage over the next few moves. Without any large errors, the game moves toward an endgame in which white is just up a pawn with a winning edge.
19. d5 Bd7 20. Rae1 Rxe1 21. Rxe1 Qf3 22. Qe2 Qxe2 23. Rxe2 Re8 24. Rxe8+ Bxe8 25. Ne4 b6 26. c4 f5 27. Nc3 Kf7 28. f4 g6 29. Kf2 Ke7 30. Ke3 Kd6 31. Kd4 Bd7 32. b4 c5+ 33. dxc6 Bxc6 34. c5+
I had played the endgame fairly well up until this point, but now I rushed a bit. It would have been better to play a4 here. I am still winning though.
34...bxc5+ 35. bxc5+ Ke6 36. Kc4 Kd7 37. Kb4 Kc7 38. Ka5 Kb7 39. Na2 Bb5 40. Nb4 h6 41. a4 Be2 42. c6+ Kc7 43. Nxa6+ Bxa6?
This was a real mistake and white it dead won now. Better was Kc6, though white should still win with correct play.
44. Kxa6 Kxc6 45. h3 g5
Right here black makes the one move that gives him his only chance. I was so confident of my victory at this point that I spent no time thinking here, I just reached out and instantly played the losing move. Just about anything else wins for me, including a5 or h4.
46. fxg5??
A terrible blunder that throws everything away. This moment drilled a lesson into my head and I don't think I ever lost in such a manner again.
46...hxg5 47. Ka5 f4 48. gxf4 gxf4 49. h4 f3 50. h5 f2 51. h6 f1=Q 52. h7 Qf5+ 53. Ka6 Qxh7 54. Ka5 Qb1 0-1

My background history in chess

2008-01-18T18:28:00.000Z

Everyone falls into chess in a different way. Many people learn about the game from one of their parents or a sibling. I was first given a cheap plastic chess set when I was five. Like many youngsters I was fascinated with the figurines, which looked like various medieval soldiers in two armies. I played around with them a few times, but I had no one to play with, so the game did not grow on me. I don’t remember what happened to that set, but like many toys I imagine various pieces got lost and eventually my mother probably threw it away.

Chess did not reenter my life until junior high school, when a friend convinced me to visit the chess club to which he belonged. This time I felt a mysterious pull from chess. It did not come from the boards and pieces being used by various students. It came from some chess magazines which the teacher had placed on one table. I never had any idea someone would write a magazine about a game! When I flipped through some pages I saw game scores in a mysterious code that I could not quite understand, though I knew they must be showing what moves were being made. I saw for the first time the terms Grandmaster and Master, and I think it was the idea of an adult, professional world somehow revolving around the game of chess that immediately drew my deeper attention. I never knew it existed, but having learned that it did, I wanted to understand it. Unfortunately, I found that I would have to pay a dollar each time I wanted to visit the club, and since I grew up in a terribly poor family and could not afford this, I could not return anymore. Chess once more disappeared from my life, though this time a small part of it simmered in the back of my mind and wouldn’t go away.

As with so many teenagers, various other sports took center stage in my life. I was absolutely in love with soccer, and I was also a little league baseball pitcher. Chess came back into my life due to a strange twist of fate. In my junior year in high school I went out for the soccer team as I did each year. This year the professional soccer coach was gone for some reason, and an English teacher from the school was filling in as coach. He instituted a strange rule for the tryouts- each person had to put down the position for which he was trying out, and cuts would be made strictly based upon this position list. Naturally I signed up for left wing, which had been my position for ten years. Sadly, the coach’s son also signed up for left wing! He was a tall, gangly kid who was not very coordinated. Needless to say, I did not make the cut. I knew and liked this boy, but I resented the way I was wrongly cut from my beloved sport. Looking back on it now, though, I have to admit that it turned out for the best, as it led me back to chess! For the first time in high school I had nothing to do, so when one of my friends suggested I come to the chess club, I agreed to go.

This time I was hooked immediately. There were about 7 or 8 members of the club, and I discovered that I already knew three of them quite well. They were playing a very fast form of chess that they called ‘blitz’ and used strange two-faced clocks. I was mesmerized, and I knew right away that I wanted to become good at this new sport. Yes, I saw it as a sport right away, as opposed to the ‘game’ that I had always considered chess in the past. Even better, this sport was based around individual talent. I did not need to rely on a whole team to determine whether I would win or lose; it was all up to me. I did not even attempt to play during this first visit to the club, as I knew I could do nothing playing at such a fast speed.

I learned from my friends that there were chess competitions between schools. They told me there would be one in just two weeks. I came to every club meeting. Of course I was thrashed badly in my first games, as I knew next to nothing about how chess was played. A major advantage of being young with few responsibilities is that I could concentrate my attention almost entirely on chess in my free time. I took out books from the library and spent hours poring over them, and I quickly learned the basics. In the first tournament I even managed to win a game. Chess supplanted soccer in my life!

I had joined the chess club when the school year was already drawing to an end, so I got to play in only three tournaments that year. I was disappointed to get so excited over this new form of competition only to have it end so abruptly. Even worse, every other member of the club was graduating, so I was the only member left for the next year. I worried about whether there would even be a club the next year- would enough new members join to enable us to compete in the school tournaments?

I was driven by the knowledge that I would be the only semi-experienced member of the club next season, so all that summer I studied books and imagined to myself that I was becoming a stronger player.

In my senior year of high school I forced the creation of a new club. I made sure the school newspaper ran an ad for the chess club. The coach from last year was gone, so I badgered one of my teachers into agreeing to coach the team. The teacher actually knew nothing about chess, but at least she agreed to oversee our club meetings and drive us to the competitions. I installed myself as the leader of the club. We were one senior, and six freshmen….and our team was very bad! I really had improved over the summer, so even on first board I managed to do quite well, but the rest of the team had nothing but enthusiasm keeping them going. Nevertheless I was never so happy in my life. I was truly enjoying myself, and my only regret was that I had not gotten into chess earlier in my life.

Early Chess Development

During this last year of school I saw an advertisement for a different kind of chess tournament, one that was not for students. The ad was trying to get people to join the US Chess Federation (USCF) by signing up for a tournament, and it said I could have a free chess set if I paid the fees. I still did not own my own set, and I was also intrigued by the idea of a non-scholastic chess tournament, so I signed up. The tournament ended up getting cancelled, but the idea of playing in an adult tournament was too strong to ignore, so in January 1986 I signed up for the Tucson Open. There were three different sections in the tournament- an Open section where the strongest players would play, a Reserve section for players whose USCF ratings fell within a certain range below the stronger players, and a Booster section for the weakest or newest players. As I had no idea how I compared against these adult players, I joined the Booster section.

The tournament was very exciting. There were three different rooms, one for each section. I was drawn to the Open section, fascinated by the interesting looking Masters and their deep, serious looking concentration. Whenever I could, I would wander into the Open section room just to watch. I did quite well in the Booster section, too, with six wins, one draw, and one loss (I played two extra ‘rating’ games). I had even been easily winning the one game I lost, being up a rook, but I managed to blunder the game away.

I entered every tournament I could after this. After winning first place in my second tourney, I decided that Booster sections were too easy, so I moved up to playing in Reserve sections.

I also joined two new chess clubs outside of school. In one of these clubs one day, I overheard the strongest Tucson master, Ken Larsen, speaking excitedly about a young eight year old kid, saying that he thought he was a prodigy who could one day be a Grandmaster. His name was Tal Shaked, a quiet, serious young boy, with an aura about him. I could tell right away that Ken was right, there was something special about this boy. I could not say why I felt this, but nonetheless that is exactly what I felt!

In the first round of my next tournament who should I face but Tal Shaked. I was excited at this opportunity. I focused and played as hard as I could, and we reached an endgame where I was up two pawns and was clearly winning. In fact, I thought the game was ‘over’ and that I could play anything and still win. I learned a harsh lesson when a quick pawn capture on my part allowed a trick where Tal could force a passed pawn that would queen before mine. I lost. As crushed as I felt at this turn of events, the lesson I learned from this game was one of the strongest of the many chess lessons I learned in my life, and I never again took any ‘won’ game for granted.

As I entered college I had to cut back on the amount of chess I could play. Instead of ten or twelve tournaments per year, I could play in only four or five. I measured my advances by my USCF rating, which started out at 1509 (Class C) but quickly moved up to the 1900's (Class A) in just a couple of years. My chess growth roughly paralleled Tal’s, though he still had that aura of special-ness about him. We played each other several times in tourneys, usually drawing, though I managed one nice win. Though this period of chess in Tucson drew to a close in 1993, I took great pleasure in watching from afar as Tal rapidly improved, first winning various US championships, then the World Junior Championship, gaining the Grandmaster title just has Ken Larsen had predicted.

Playing in Russia

Playing against Grandmaster Nigel Short

When I graduated from college, I had to move to Russia in order to begin working at the US embassy. It was chess that led me to my career in the Foreign Service. One cannot read chess literature and fail to notice the dominance of Soviet chess players, and in many of the tourneys in which I participated I got to see Russian Grandmasters playing on the top boards. I knew that I wanted to visit Russia somehow, so I switched my major from engineering to Russian Studies, and when the opportunity came, I signed up to work at the embassy in Moscow.

I have to say that my mother was not so sure I was making the right decisions with my life at that point! Just as I was about to fly to Moscow, members of the Russian Parliament led a coup attempt against President Yeltsin. CNN showed tanks firing on the Russian Parliament building, right across the street from the US embassy, and also showed massive gunfire as an attack was made on a television station. Two weeks later I was in Moscow and could see the blackened and burned Parliament building looming over the embassy compound. The first thing they told me at the embassy was to be aware of possible sniper attacks.

As I settled into the exciting life of living and working in a huge, vibrant, rapidly changing foreign city, my mind, of course, turned to chess. I discovered that the main chess club was within easy walking distance from the embassy, so I paid a visit. I learned the schedules of various chess competitions at the club. There were blitz and rapid tourneys each weekend, and there were real tournaments starting each month and played at two games per week. They were round-robin tourneys, rather than the Swiss style tournaments most common in America. This means that I had to compete against players of about my own playing strength, and I had to play each player in the tourney. In Swiss tournaments there are a set number of rounds, and one rarely plays against players of ones own strength, instead typically playing against players much higher and lower in rating.

My initial chess ‘career’ in America was dominated by learning the openings and playing almost solely for tactical considerations. In Russia everything changed. Despite the fact that I nearly always outplayed my opponents in the openings, I started out losing quite a few games. The Russian players tended to be quite strong at strategy, whereas the average American player concentrated much more on tactics. In game after game I would get an opening advantage only to watch it disappear as my Russian opponents continuously found ways of outplaying me in the middle-game. Over time I learned and adjusted my game, and I began to compete evenly against my Russian opponents.

Playing against future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik

I had many amazing chess experiences in Russia. The British embassy in Moscow began to hold annual charity chess events, and they invited diplomats from all the embassies to send their best players to participate. Due to this good fortune, I got to play exhibition games against several World Champions - current, past, and future. First I played a game in which GMs Vladimir Kramnik, only 18 at the time but a future World Champion, and Nigel Short alternated moves in games against nearly 20 opponents. The following year I got to play an exhibition game against World Champ Garry Kasparov. The year after that, I played former World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Few experiences can rival these for an amateur player!

Playing against World Champion Gary Kasparov

In 1994 I met GM Sergey Kudrin at the embassy. He is an American who was born in Russia. I was curious to see him there so I began a conversation with him. He was very nice, and he mentioned that the next Chess Olympiad was going to take place in Moscow in December. He invited me to visit him and the rest of the American team.

A few weeks later the Olympiad began. I took the metro train to the playing site, a large, dingy hotel near the huge television tower in Moscow. There were hundreds of people wandering around in several vast halls, so it took me some time to find a familiar face. I ran into the US team captain, John Donaldson. He turned out to be one of the nicest chess players I ever met, along with another member of the US team, Joel Benjamin. John got me a Players Pass so I could go into the restricted areas and watch all the games and see all the famous players. When they weren’t busy, John or Joel would sometimes walk with me, talking about professional chess, analyzing games, or watching interesting competitors. Although I was not playing, I never felt so close to the heart of chess. I was in chess heaven!

All good things must end, and in 1997 I reached the end of my tour of duty in Russia. I had gotten married to a wonderful Russian school teacher in 1996, and in the fall of 1997 she was pregnant with our first child. So we decided to move back to America instead of taking one of the offers I had to go to either Croatia or Byelorussia.

Playing against former World Champion Anatoly Karpov

Back to America

I did not get to return to chess right away upon returning to America. We were expecting a baby, and I had no job! We moved to Phoenix, where the job prospects were better than in Tucson, and I got lucky and landed a terrific job with a major computer consulting company, Compuware Corporation. I was never treated better in my life by any company, but it was hard work, especially after our son was born. It was two years before I could consider returning to chess again.

The only chess readily available in Phoenix at that time was at a place called the Chess Emporium. Sadly, there was no serious chess available, only ‘Action Chess’, where the games take place with only 30 minutes per player for the whole game. This kind of chess is quite fun, but I have trouble taking it seriously and I am not nearly as successful at it as I am at classical chess. In fact I did so poorly that my rating plummeted all the way from the mid-1900's (where it had been since I left the US in 1993) down to the 1700's! I decided to stop playing Action chess.

A good friend from Tucson told me he was going to a major tournament in Los Angeles called the Continental Open. This tournament cured all my chess ailments! I started off with three wins in a row then drew the next two. I was easily winning the next game, which would have put me within reach of 1st place and a large sum of money (at least for an amateur chess player), but I made a terrible mistake and nearly lost, though I managed to hold a draw. I won the last round and won around $500, which is the most I ever won at chess. More importantly, for me, I wiped away all the rating losses from the Action chess events.

I followed this terrific tournament with several more classical chess events, culminating in my most successful chess period in 2001, when I won ten games in a row and tied for 1st place in the US Amateur West Championship.

Back to the Foreign Service

Despite loving my job, I found life in America to be ultimately unsatisfying after the excitement of having lived in Russia for four years. Something was missing. So, I applied for the Foreign Service and was accepted in 2001. I had to give up chess again for awhile, since I had to go through some intense training for nearly a year, and then I had to move to Zagreb, Croatia. The tragic events of September 11 occurred as we were driving to Washington DC to begin my training. Our hotel overlooked the wreckage of the Pentagon, grimly paralleling my last start in the Foreign Service.

After finally settling down to life in the charming town of Zagreb, Croatia, I again began thinking of chess. I was out of luck, though, as each club I tracked down in Zagreb was closed down. There was one club that people told me still operated, but each time I visited it the doors were locked. I had to look elsewhere for chess.

On the internet I learned of a FIDE (the World Chess Federation) tournament taking place in nearby Hungary in March 2003. It was called the Budapest Spring Chess Festival. I was excited at the prospect of competing for the first time in a FIDE event, and I secretly dreamed of gaining a FIDE rating, though this would be a difficult task. Nevertheless, I managed to have a great start to the tournament, and despite falling very ill in the middle, I performed well enough to earn an official FIDE rating of 2108 (Expert level). I was actually a bit disappointed in the result, given my great start and some of the winning positions I had at the end. I could very easily have earned a Master rating!

Sadly, I had to go back into chess hibernation after this event for nearly five years. I did not get any more chances to play while we were in Zagreb, and in 2004 we moved to Beijing, China to work at the embassy there. Despite the fact that China has several top Grandmasters, there are so far no chess tournaments available in which foreigners can participate. I have scanned the internet trying to find good tournaments somewhere in Asia, but they are rare and I usually hear about them only after they have occurred. So, I played no chess during my three years in Beijing.

In August of 2007 we moved to Iceland, and I was excited at the prospect of getting to play chess again, though I feared I would be very rusty. Icelanders love chess. I won't go into detail here about my experiences here in Iceland, because I intend to do so in later posts. I have indeed shown rust in the two events in which I have played, but I have also shown a glimmer of regaining my previous playing strength, and I am enjoying getting to think about chess all the time again.

My Chess Life

2008-01-18T18:15:00.000Z

I am not sure I will be much of a blogger, but I have been thinking lately that it would at least be nice if my kids could one day read about some of the chess stories from my life. I am just a poor amateur player, but I love chess and have had some wonderful experiences because of chess. I can honestly say that chess has changed my life dramatically, and mostly in good ways.

Why 'knight_tour'? That is a web handle that I have used for years on a few sites, such as Mig Greengard's Daily Dirt chess blog, as well as some political forums. I guess I have gotten used to using it on the web; it has sort of turned into an alternate persona for me; I am not exactly the same person when I write on the web as I am in real life. I chose the term knight tour because I felt it illustrated who I am - a chess lover who travels the world. A 'knight tour' is a demonstration, made famous by George Koltanowski, in which a single knight on an empty board is moved such that it visits each of the 64 squares without ever hitting any square twice. Thus it is a good representation for me as I hop around this world.

So, I will use this space to tell stories, interesting ones I hope, from my past, as well as news of my ongoing chessic adventures. It is an odd day to begin a chess blog, though, since Bobby Fischer just died. He was by far the most legendary figure in chess history.