Reykjavik Open round 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.