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September 2018 | USChess.org The most “ challenging “ victory of my career.

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2 September 2018 | Chess Life Chess Life SEPTEMBER

COLUMNS 14 CHESS TO ENJOY / ENTERTAINMENT The IQ-Elo Connection By GM Andy Soltis

16 BACK TO BASICS / READER ANNOTATIONS Desperado By GM Lev Alburt PHOTO: ASHLEY RODGERS, TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY 22 18 IN THE ARENA / PLAYER OF THE MONTH A Summer to Remember Players from 10 NATO By GM Robert Hess nations met at Texas Tech University to 20 LOOKS AT BOOKS / SHOULD I BUY IT? Logical Ambition compete in the NATO By John Hartmann Chess Championship.

48 SOLITAIRE CHESS / INSTRUCTION The Strongest Chess-Playing Cab Driver? By Bruce Pandolfini 22 MILITARY CHESS / NATO CHAMPIONSHIP 50 THE PRACTICAL ENDGAME / INSTRUCTION #################### !##  #!#"  Concrete Calculations BY COLONEL (RETIRED) DAVID A. HATER, U.S. ARMY By GM Daniel Naroditsky The United States hosts the event for the first time in the tournament’s 29-year history.

DEPARTMENTS 30 COVER STORY / NATIONAL OPEN 5 SEPTEMBER PREVIEW / ################### #"!  #   THIS MONTH IN CHESS LIFE AND US BY GM ELSHAN MORADIABADI CHESS NEWS GM Ioan-Cristian Chirila’s determination wins the day—and the Edmondson Cup—at the 2018 National Open. 6 COUNTERPLAY / READERS RESPOND 7 US CHESS AFFAIRS / NEWS FOR OUR MEMBERS 38 MEMBERSHIP APPRECIATION / MAP WINNERS 8 FIRST MOVES / CHESS NEWS FROM AROUND THE U.S. ###################!!#! " #  " Meet some of the top affiliates from our year-long membership drive. 9 FACES ACROSS THE BOARD / BY AL LAWRENCE GRAND PRIX EVENT / U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN TOURNAMENT LIFE / SEPTEMBER 42 54 ##################! " "#" " 71 CLASSIFIEDS / SEPTEMBER BY WGM SABINA-FRANCESCA FOISOR SOLUTIONS / SEPTEMBER Saikhanchimeg (Sana) Tsogtsaikhan shines in her 71 second U.S. Women’s Open. 72 MY BEST MOVE / PERSONALITIES THIS MONTH: GM ROBERT HESS 46 ENTERTAINMENT / HUMOR ################## !#"# # ! BY DENNIS J. MC GRATH ON THE COVER Contrary to popular belief, chess players’ brains can misfire GM Ioan-Cristian Chirila tweeted, “Summer is off to spectacularly, rendering us incapable of performing the simplest tasks. a good start!” after winning clear first at the 2018 National Open. COVER PHOTO BY LENNART OOTES Didn't get a US Chess Federation Sales Buying Guide in the center of this issue but you want one? Visit USCFSales.com for contact information to order one.

4 September 2018 | Chess Life TEXAS TECH CHANCELLOR ROBERT DUNCAN SHAKES HANDS WITH LT. CHASE WATTERS, UNITED STATES NAVY, AFTER MAKING THE FIRST MOVE. WATTERS’ OPPONENT IS MR. CARL PORTMAN, GREAT BRITAIN’S TEAM CAPTAIN. LOOKING ON, LEFT TO RIGHT: GM ALEX ONISCHUK; JAN CHEUNG, NATO CHESS GAMES EDITOR; AND COLONEL TOMAZ MALINOWSKI OF POLAND, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INTERNATIONAL MILITARY CHESS COMMITTEE.

The 2018 NATO Chess Championship The United States hosts the event for the first time in the tournament’s 29-year history.

By COLONEL (RETIRED) DAVID A. HATER, U.S. ARMY

24 September 2018 | Chess Life ALL PHOTOS: ASHLEY RODGERS, TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY having aninternationalmasterastheirhighest- teams ofGermany,Poland,andGreeceeach was strongerthanusual,withthetopthree NATO Championship.Thisyear’soveralldepth Kingdom, Canada,andEstonia. Denmark, USA,Slovenia,Netherlands,United tatives wereGermany,Poland,Greece, few newfaces.Thenationsthatsentrepresen- regulars whoplayeveryyear,buttherewerea the eventwasheldinCanada. roughly thesamenumberthatattendedwhen than whentheeventisheldinEurope,but States. Ultimately,10nationsparticipated—less not affordtheexpenseofcomingtoUnited countries whonormallyplayinEuropecould due tosomeofthesefactors.Also,the year welostseveralteams,orpartsof support, andlocationofthehostcountry.This including militaryrequirements,government a countryparticipatesisinfluencedbyfactors ipated inthetournamentatleastonce.Whether logistical support. their alumnicenter,andanamazingamountof and restaurantsystem,afineplayingvenuein provided lodgingandfoodinthecollegedorms chess organization.EnterTexasTech,which our onlyviableoptionwastopartnerwitha commercial sponsorshipisalwaysachallenge, Defense stoppedfundingchessin2012and the UnitedStates.BecauseDepartmentof rated player.Eachteamisalloweduptosix financial support:England, three hosteditwithoutanyformalgovernment NATO nationshavehosted,andofthose,only In thehistoryofeventonly1429 generous supportofhostsTexasTechUniversity. F players; thetopfourscoresdeterminefinal team scoreintheseven-roundtournament. FIDE ratingover2000,sotheUnitedStates Although thiswasasmallertournamentthan usual, 70percentoftheteamshadanaverage the keynoteaddress. GeneralMittemeyeralso Memorial CircleofTexasTech University, of theUnitedStates Armyuntil1985,delivered the participatingteamsattended inuniform. team haditsworkcutoutforthem. Mittemeyer, whowasthe35thSurgeon General which isdedicatedtoallmilitary veterans.All Honored guestLieutenantGeneral Bernard Usually afewtitledplayersparticipateinthe Most oftheparticipatingnationswere Out ofthe29NATOnations,23havepartic- The eventwasmadepossiblethankstothe The openingceremonywasheld atthe Texas wasbeingheldinthewesternhemisphereforonlysecondtime. place intheUnitedStates.Further,June4-8,2018eventatTexasTechUniversityLubbock, OR THEFIRSTTIMEINITS29-YEARHISTORY,NATOCHESSCHAMPIONSHIPTOOK Canada, and now get downtobattlingoverthechessboard.As players wereunabletoescape.The biggestupset occurred startinginroundone—even thetitled with anycompetitiveevent,significantupsets Texas TechUniversityandrecentlyretired served astheChiefofUrologicalSurgeryat mayor ofLubbock,Texas;TechUniversity luminaries, includingtheTexasgovernor; captain KarlKoopmeiners. ,sentlettersofsupport. from thatpositionattheyoungageof87.Other with twomajorupsets: NavyLieutenantCom - president; andformerworldchesschampion [Denmark] losstolong-timeGerman team was defendingco-championFMFinn Pedersen’s mander George “Chip” KraftdefeatedGreece’s After theopeningceremony,itwastimeto The UnitedStatesscoredfivewins andadraw, AIR FORCETECHNICALSERGEANT NAVY LIEUTENANTCOMMANDER U.S. (STAFF SERGEANTRETIRED) MARINE CIVILIANEMPLOYEE NAVY CHIEFPETTYOFFICER ARMY SECONDLIEUTENANT T George “Chip”Kraft NAVY PETTYOFFICER NAVY PETTYOFFICER U.S. Alberto Hernandez AIR FORCECAPTAIN Enrico Balmaceda V NAVY LIEUTENANT ARMY SPECIALIST he Andrew Peraino Gordon Randall Nicholas Oblak Abiye Williams ARMY COLONEL Chase Watters Andrew Duren Jon Middaugh Offic John Farrell e t Offic T erans ea ials m: ial : &

8. ...Ne8 6. e4d67.d30-08.Ne2 5. bxc3Nc6 2. Nc3Nf63.g3Bb44.Bg2Bxc3 1. c4e5 Annotation byKraft Lubbock, Texas,06.05.2018 29th NATOChessChampionship(2), Chip Kraft(FIDE1950,USA) Guido Schott(FIDE2127,GER) (A22) f5. WhatIamseeingwiththepawn structure diagonal formy lightsquarebishop.Also,if ... f5,ifexf5and my ...Bxf5,Ihaveanexcellent here isthatafterWhitecastlesand Blackplays tions toplayaneventualf2-f4. c-pawns. maintains thetwobishops,butwithdoubled Roman’s Labsandhesuggeststhatline. ... Ba5,followedbyBb6.Iwatchalotof was goingtotaketheknight,play...d6,0-0, NATO. up myScandinavianwith...Qd6forthe made fortheNATOtournament.Ialsogave was oneofthetwoopeningchangesthatI always answeredc4with...c5untilnow.This first timeinatournamentroundsixofthe Accelerated Dragon,whichItriedoutforthe upsets asKraftdefeatedGermany’sGuidoSchott Kraft andHernandezagainbothpulledoff Slovenia’s IgorMestek.TheU.S.Navyduoof board one,Germany’sIMLorenzDrabkedrew Stankowski. Elijah EverettlosttoPoland’sAleksander Germany couldnotescapeupsetsaseighthseed was anextraplayer,hisscoredidn’tcount.)Even Werksma. (Unfortunately,becauseHernandez Officer AlbertoHernandezdefeatedArie Konstantinos MouroutisandNavyChiefPetty Secretary SlawomirKedzierski. and InternationalMilitaryChessCommittee and HernandezdefeatedPoland’steamcaptain iiayCes/ Military Chess I amsimplyplanningtomeetf2-f4 with...f7- With thismove,Whitedeclareshisinten - This wasthelinethatIwanted.White If WhitehadplayedNd5insteadofBg2,I I playtheEnglishmyselfaswhiteandhave Round twowasevenmorecompetitive.On NATO Championship www.uschess.org 25 Military Chess / NATO Championship

White allows Black to play ... fxe4, after dxe4, 18. Kh2 Nxc4 34. Rb2 Qf8 35. Nd2 Qc8 36. Bf3 Be6 White is saddled with double isolated c-pawns. I did not hesitate on this move, but better Eyeing h3. Recapturing Bxe4 in that position allows Black was 18. ... Bd7 19. Qc2 Qe8 threatening ... Ba4. to play ... Bh3 and I am more than happy to 37. Bh5 Rc7 38. h4?? Stockfish says White has nothing better than light square bishops. 20. Rxd7 in that position. The c4- can But all is lost anyway. 9. Rb1 Rb8 10. 0-0 f5 11. Be3 be captured on my terms. 38. ... Rxc3 39. Qb6 gxh4 40. Qxb5 The computer suggests 11. exf5 and after 19. Bg5 h6 White makes on move 40 here, 11. ... Bxf5 then 12. f4 with a slight advantage but his position deteriorated greatly in the last 19. ... b5 was better, as White gets into for White. few moves. problems after 20. Rxb5 Qe8 (i.e. 21. Rb4 Qxa4 11. ... Nf6 22. Rxa4 Nb2 or 21. Rdb1 Nd6 22. Bxf6 gxf6 40. ... hxg3+ 41. Kg1 Rf2 42. Nf1 Bc4, White resigned. The computer says better is 11. ... fxe4 12. 23. c4 a6 24. Qxa6 Ra8 winning), so in that Bxe4 (else the double isolated c-pawns) 12. ... line after 19. ... b5 20. Qc2 Na3 -4.00. Fitting that the game should end with a piece Bh3 13. Bd5+ Kh8 14. Bg2 Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Qd7 20. Bc1 a6 move to the weakened c4-square, which was with a half point advantage for Black. With set in motion many moves ago when White’s my move of my back to f6, I am keeping My plan is simple: to cement the on c-pawns became doubled and isolated. 2-0 start. pressure on e4, seeking exf5 and ... Bxf5, which c4 with ... b5. But 20. ... Nd7 was a better move, I was thrilled at this point! I thought was better for Black, but which the threatening ... Rf2 and ... Nc5 at the same time. computer states is equal. 21. Ng1 b5 In round two, the United States’ top player, Navy Lieutenant Chase Watters defeated 12. h3? 21. ... Nxe4 apparently did work here after Germany’s Karl Koopmeiners and Army This moves immediately gives Black a full 22. Bxe4 Rf2+ 23. Kh1 (23. Bg2 Qb7 mates) Lieutenant Nick Oblak held Germany’s Oliver point advantage according to Stockfish. Obvi - now 23. ... b5 24. Qb3 Bf5 with a winning , Nill to an upset . So even though the other ously with his on e3, he must have been as White will have fatal light square weaknesses two players lost, the U.S. team was in good shape concerned with ... Ng4 ideas, but this leads to and get mated on g2 if he trades the bishops. after round two with 6½ points. a fatal pawn weakening. 22. Qc2 g5?! Round three was tougher for the U.S. team. 12. ... fxe4 13. dxe4 On board six, Watters faced the current Greek women’s champion, WIM Ekaterini Pavlidou. Stockfish suggests c5 here in a bad position It was clearly a hard match and unfortunately, for White, with a possible line of 13. ... exd3 Watters came up on the short end. Meanwhile, 14. Qxd3 Be6 15. cxd6 Qxd6 16. Qxd6 cxd6 Oblak lost to IM Drabke on board seven. Kraft and Black is a full pawn up with a strong center. and Hernandez, however, scored some points: 13. ... b6 Hernandez had defeated Germany’s Hans- Christopher Andresen and Kraft held Poland’s Preventing c4-c5. I am very pleased at this Marcin Pietruszewski to a draw. point as Black. The individual competition also was getting 14. f4 interesting. Greece’s IM Anastasios Pavlidis and WIM Ekaterini Pavlidou, and USA’s Chief Petty The only move. White has nothing on the Officer Alberto Hernandez had the only perfect 22. ... Qe8 was better. queenside. scores. Ironically, if we had desig nated Hernandez 14. ... Be6 15. Qa4 23. Rf1 Qe8 24. Qe2 Qg6 25. a4 Nd6! in our top six players, we would have been tied with Germany for first place! Stockfish suggests just letting the c pawn go My opponent was very low on time here Round four was a mixed bag for the U.S. team. and playing 15. f5 Bxc4, and then 16. Qc2 and missed the Bc4 move. Hernandez played on board one versus IM Pavlidis, followed by g3-g4. This would have made for 26. axb5 Bc4 27. Rxf6 Rxf6 where the 400-point rating dif ference showed an interesting game. Black is -4.66 now, according to Stockfish. and Pavlidis won. Three boards down Kraft drew 15. ... Na5 with Poland’s top player, IM Mateusz Bobula, and 28. Qe3 axb5 The correct move. The c4-pawn is clearly Watters defeated Netherland’s Jan Cheung, who in my sites and 16. c5 is met by 16. ... Nc4 Up and a pawn now. is the games editor for NATO Chess. Another anyway, hitting the bishop on e3, followed by 29. Ba3 Ra8 30. Bxd6 cxd6 31. Rb2 Raf8 critical game of the round was on board two, 17. ... bxc5. where WIM Pavlidou defeated IM Drabke. It seemed to me like of the f- At the halfway point of the tournament, the 16. fxe5 dxe5 file was a quick way to victory here. But 31. ... U.S. team was tied for third with Germany at Stockfish scores this at -2.05 right now. Qf7 and then 32. ... Qa7 was the best contin- 11 points—only half a point out of second place. uation. In the individual competition, only Pavlidis and 17. Rfd1 32. Nf3 R8f7 Pavlidou were 4-0 but couldn’t play each other The wrong to d1. because they were on the same team. Poland’s 32. ... Qh5 was better. Damian Graczyk was in third place with 3½ 17. ... Qc8 33. Rd2 Qg7 points, followed by 14 players (three from the 17. ... Qe7 was far superior according to U.S.) tied for fourth with 3 points. computer. I was seeking the gained by 33. ... Bf1! was a tricky piece exchange to Thursday is always the critical day in NATO attacking the h3-pawn. amplify the pressure on the f-file. Championships as it is one of two days when

26 September 2018 | Chess Life Military Chess / NATO Championship

PRE-TOURNAMENT PREDICTIONS: THE 2018 NATO TEAMS

Germany — One of the founding nations of the NATO Chess Netherlands — The Netherlands team is one of the three Championship (along with Denmark and the United teams that has attended all 29 NATO Championships. They Kingdom), Germany has participated in 27 of the 28 NATO also attended all 12 unofficial NATO Championships, so they Championships and has won the gold medal 22 times and are one of only two teams to play in every unofficial and silver four times. Germany’s top four players, led by IM Lorenz official NATO event from 1978 through 2018. Though quality Drabke, sported an average rating of 2303 making defending depth was not an issue for the team, only two of their six champion Germany the team to beat. players were seeded in the top half, making it unlikely for them to win medals this year. Poland — After Germany, Poland has won the most NATO medals. In the 16 times Poland has played, they have won gold Estonia — Estonia was only able to send one player this year, once, silver nine times, and bronze four times. With the as—ironically—the other player, the Estonian military chess addition of IM Mateusz Bobula and team average rating of team captain, was in the United States attending the U.S. 2254, Poland proved to be the greatest challenge to Germany. Army War College and could not break away. The fact that Estonia was committed to sending at least one representative Denmark — Denmark has medaled seven times, winning silver spoke well of their support of the event. twice and bronze five times. This year, Denmark was hampered by having only four players on the roster. Although United Kingdom — The United Kingdom has participated in their hopes to medal were slim, with a top four average rating every event from 1978-2018. With an average rating of only of 2116 they could not be completely counted out. 1850 and only one player, David Olney, in the top half of the field, the team was not in serious contention for a medal. Slovenia — While close in rating to the U.S. team at 2057, Slovenia had some distinct drawbacks. First, with only four Canada — With an average rating of 1721, the Canadian team players, all scores counted and all players needed to have a good would likely lose more than they would win. Canada attended tournament. But their bigger problem was rating spread. Two of the first NATO Championship in 1989 but didn’t return until Slovenia’s four players were seeded in the bottom half, while the 2002. Since 2002, Canada has sent a team almost every year. U.S. team had five of their six players seeded in the top half. Greece — Although Greece has been a long-time member of United States — The United States is one of only three nations NATO, 2017 was the first year they participated. Greece was to have participated in all 29 NATO Championships. While the led by a brother and sister team of titled players: IM U.S. team didn’t have the strength of the other teams, it was Anastasios Pavlidis and Greek Women’s Champion WIM well-balanced and had more depth. The team’s 2085 average Ekaterini Pavlidou. With a 2191 average rating, Greece was a FIDE rating made it hard, but not impossible, to medal. serious contender.

two games are played in the same day. In the The individual competition was still close. allowed the community to play against the fifth round, five of our players were paired up. Pavlidis drew with Graczyk rather quickly so NATO players. The event ended in a three- Army Specialist Williams delivered a win and he would go into the last round with 5½ out way tie for first between IM Mateusz Bobula, Kraft lost to Germany. All the other games of 6. Elijah Everett defeated Pedersen in a Chase Watters, and Elijah Everett, all with 4½ drew. In the overall race for an individual miniature. In round seven, boards one and two out of 5. champion, IM Pavlidis defeated Germany’s Mark both drew. US Chess executive board member and FIDE Helbig (see annotated game next page) to emerge The two draws meant that IM Pavlidis took Arbiter Mike Hoffpauir directed the tourna - in the lead with the only perfect score. clear first in the individual competition. Graczyk ment, assisted by FIDE National Arbiter Going into the penultimate round, Greece led and Everett tied for second with Graczyk taking Melanie Kneen and WCM Claudia Munoz the team results with 14½ followed by Germany the silver medal on tiebreak. In the team from Texas Tech. and Denmark with 13 (Denmark snuck into the competition, Poland edged out Germany to take mix after every one of their players won their the team title with 20½ points. Germany and round five game.). The U.S. team had slipped to Greece each ended with 20 points. The U.S. If you are currently in the U.S. Armed Forces or fifth place with 12½. team finished with a respectable 16 points for are a civilian employee with the Department of The U.S. had hoped the team would survive fourth place, edging out Denmark by a half point. Defense, you are eligible to apply to represent the round five (which we did) and then score points Side events included the NATO Blitz Cham - U.S. Armed Forces in the 2019 NATO Chess in round six. Unfortunately, every top six player pionship, which Germany’s Elijah Everett won Championship (held from Sept. 15-21, 2019 in was paired up! Kraft came through as he beat with 8½ out of 10 points. GM Alexander Berlin, Germany). For more information, please Slovenia’s Igor Mestek, and Watters drew with Onischuk also gave a clock simultaneous contact Col. David A. Hater, U.S. Army retired, at Poland’s Marcin Pietruszewski, but the other exhibition against 12 players and scored 10 [email protected] and SSgt John F. Farrell, four games ended in losses for our team. Our wins, one draw, and one loss. USMC retired, at [email protected]. hopes for squeaking into third place were As an outreach event to the community, Applications must be received by Dec. 15, 2018; effectively over. Texas Tech hosted the Lubbock Open, which team selection will be made shortly thereafter.

www.uschess.org 27 Military Chess / NATO Championship

6. ... Nxd5 7. Qc2 The main line. White prepares e2-e4. Black, in return, often strikes back with Military Games ... c7-c5. (7. e3 is also well-known. 7. ... Be7 8. Bb5+ is useful to provoke c7-c6 before playing Bd3. 8. ... c6 9. Bd3 0-0 10. 0-0 Nxc3 11. bxc3 GM offers a deep dive into c5 12. Qe2 Nd7 13. Rd1 Qc7 14. e4 Nf6 M. Andersen [2605]-A. Lenderman [2600], an interesting NATO game. By GM ALEXANDER IPATOV Reykjavik, 2018 15. a4!? with the typical idea a4-a5.) 7. ... Nxc3 8. bxc3 c5 9. e4 Nd7 10. Bd3 Qc7 11. Bb2 cxd4 12. cxd4 Qxc2 13. Bxc2 Rc8 14. Bd3 Bd6 15. Ke2 Ke7 Shakhriyar ’S INDIAN DEFENSE (E12) . 7. ... Nc6 8. e3 Bg7 9. Bd2 0-0 Mamedyarov (2800)- (2739), IM Anastasios Pavlidis (FIDE 2357, GRE) 10. 0-0-0 Nh5 11. h4 d5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. Kb1 Geneva, 2017. Ne7 14. e4! White favorably opened up the FM Mark Helbig (FIDE 2361, GER) 5. Qc2 position and won convincingly later in the 29th NATO Chess Championship (5), game A R Saleh Salem [2586]-Sergey The alternative 5. e3 appears to be a bit timid Lubbock, Texas, 06.07.2018 Fedorchuk [2664], Doha, 2014) 6. cxd5 (6. to fight for the opening advantage leads to a Bg5!? is my preference over the too theoretical small edge after 5. ... d5 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. b4 0-0 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Ba6 6. cxd5. 6. ... Be7 7. Qa4+ c6 8. Bxf6! Bxf6 9. 8. Bb2 c5 (Also good for Black is 8. ... dxc4!? 9. The move 4. ... Bb7 is more common. 5. Nc3 cxd5 exd5 10. g3 White’s plan is easy to Bxc4 Bxc4 10. Nxc4 a5! 11. bxa5 [No better is d5 (5. ... g6 is interesting, but objectively inferior understand: Bg2, 0-0, Rad1, Rfe1 and e2-e4. 11. b5 Qd5 12. Qa4 Nc6! followed by ... Nc6-a7 to 5. ... d5. 6. Qc2! aiming to seize control over 10. ... 0-0 11. Bg2 Re8 12. 0-0 Na6 13. Rad1 g6 attacking the b5-pawn.] 11. ... b5! 12. Ncd2 the center with e2-e4. 6. ... Bxf3 7. gxf3. White 14. Rfe1 Bg7 15. e4 dxe4?! [15. ... Nc7=] 16. Rxa5=) 9. dxc5 bxc5 10. b5 Bb7 11. Be2 a6 12. has a bishop pair and control over the center. Nxe4 Qc7 17. d5! Alexander Ipatov [2592]- a4 dxc4 13. 0-0 axb5 14. axb5 Nbd7 15. Nxc4 These two factors have higher weight than [2653], Jerusalem, 2015.) Alexander Ipatov (2652)-Hjorvar Gretarsson (2547), , 2016. 5. ... c5 The second most played continuation. It allows d4-d5 which forces Black to play a Benoni position. The main move is the paradoxical 5. ... Bb7 that makes us think that Black has just lost a tempi on playing ... Bc8-a6 and then ... Ba6-b7 back. However, Black’s idea is to play ... c7-c5 on the next move and avoid White’s d4-d5 as in the game. After 6. Nc3 c5 7. d5?! is no longer dangerous. Black can just grab the pawn and see if White has enough (7. e4 is the main move; 7. dxc5!? bxc5 8. Bf4 is also playable.) with 7. ... exd5 8. cxd5 Nxd5. 6. d5 exd5 7. cxd5 g6 8. Nc3 Bg7

9. g3 This is by far the main move, but other THE TEAM FROM THE UNITED STATES, moves are no less interesting: REPRESENTING SEVERAL MILITARY The move 9. Bf4!? was played by a rising BRANCHES, STANDS AT ATTENTION AT THE OPENING CEREMONIES. Russian star earlier this year. White also has the better of it after 9. ... d6 10. h4!? h6 (The

28 September 2018 | Chess Life Military Chess / NATO Championship natural 10. ... 0-0 runs into 11. h5! Nxh5 12. 17. Na4 Qb5 18. Nd4) 16. Rfc1. Rxh5 gxh5 13. Ng5 f5 14. Ne6; White also has 14. ... Rac8 15. Qa2 Rfe8 16. Bh3 h5 the better of it after 10. ... h5 11. e4 Bxf1 12. Kxf1 0-0 13. Nd2 a6 14. a4 Ng4 15. Nc4 Bd4 Black wants to play Nf6-g4, but underes- 16. f3 Ne5 Denis Khismatullin [2681]-Vasily timates the weakness of the g5-square. Pawns Yemelin [2568] St. Petersburg, 2014, 17. Bxe5 do not go back in chess! dxe5 18. g3 Nd7 19. Kg2 Rb8 20. Qd2 b5?! 21. 16. ... h6!? axb5 axb5 22. Na5! and the knight goes to c6.) 17. Ng5 Rc7 11. e3!? (Black has good compensation after 11. g3 Qe7 12. Qa4+ b5 13. Nxb5 0-0 14. Nxd6 17. ... Ng4 18. Nce4. Nxd5 Vladimir Fedoseev [2706]-Viktor 18. Qd2 cxb4 19. axb4 Ne5 20. Be3 Qb8 Bologan [2610], Poikovsky, 2018) 11. ... Bxf1 21. Qa2 Bc8 22. Bg2 Bf5 23. Bf4 Rc4 24. 12. Kxf1 0-0 13. h5! Nxh5 (Weaker is 13. ... g5 Qa5 Bd7 25. Nb1 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 Nc4 27. b4-pawn on the next move. 14. Bxg5 hxg5 15. h6 Bh8 16. h7+ Kg7 17. Qf5 Qa2 Ng4 28. h3 36. Ne4 Bg7? Re8 18. Qxg5+ Kf8 19. Qf4 followed by g2-g4-g5.) 14. Rxh5! gxh5 15. Ne4! B. Esen Now it is a serious mistake. (2570)-S. Lobanov (2394), St. Petersburg, 2015; The obvious 36. ... Bxb4?? runs into 37. Nf6+; 9. e4 Bxf1 10. Kxf1 d6 11. Qa4+ Perhaps White Best is 36. ... Bb2 37. Bb8 Kf8 38. Nxd6 Ba3! should keep queens on the board if he wants 39. Ne4 (Black has nothing to fear after 39. to play for more. The position was just level Nxc4 bxc4 40. Bf4 c3 41. Be4 Ba4) 39. ... Bxb4 after 11. ... Qd7 12. Qxd7+ Nbxd7 13. Bf4 Ke7 40. Ba7 f5 41. Nc5 Ke7 Black should be able to Varuzhan Akobian (2640)-Alexander Onischuk hold thanks to the centralization and (2681), Saint Louis, 2018. advanced b-pawn. 37. Bb8 Be5 38. f4 Bd4+ 39. Kh2 f5 40. 9. ... 0–0 10. Bg2 d6 11. 0–0 b5 12. b4 Nxd6 Bc3 41. Nxc4 bxc4 42. d6 Stopping any kind of ... b5-b4 and making the black bishop ineffective on a6. On the other hand, it weakens the a1-h8 diagonal and 28. ... Nge5 undermines the knight on c3. Black could have tried 28. ... Nxf2!? 29. Kxf2 12. ... Nbd7 13. Bf4 Qb6 Qb6+ 30. Kf1 Ne3+ where White would have to find 31. Kg1!! allowing discovered (Black has the better of it after 31. Bxe3 Qxe3 32. Qd2 Qxg3) 31. ... f6!! 32. Ne6 (And Black wins an Exchange in the following continuation 32. Nf3? g5 33. Rc6 Bxc6 34. dxc6+ Nc4+ 35. Kh1 gxf4) 32. ... g5 33. Qa5! White needs to trade queens as soon as possible. It not only makes the white king feel safer but also prepares 42. ... Kf7? a rook invasion on the c-file. 33. ... Qxa5 34. bxa5 gxf4 35. Nxg7 Kxg7 36. Rc7 Re7 37. Bf3 Missing the last chance with 42. ... Kf8!. This (Much worse is 37. gxf4?? Nxg2 38. Kxg2 Bxh3+ way, Black helps his king without allowing 39. Kxh3 Rxc7) 37. ... a6 38. gxf4 when both White to either win the c4-pawn or advance sides have chances. his d-pawn and after 43. Bd5 Bb5 44. Bc7 (44. 14. Rac1 29. Nd2 Nxd2 30. Bxd2 Rc8 31. Rxc8+ e4 fxe4 45. Bxe4 Kf7 46. Bd5+ Ke8 I don’t see White missed 14. bxc5! where Black would Bxc8 32. Qa5 Bd7 how White can “keep the game going”—that is, to avoid the material annihilation and three have had three options, but none of the contin- After some turbulence in the middlegame, uation would lead to an equality. Of course, it versus two endgame.) 44. ... Bxb4 45. d7 Bxd7 an equal endgame has been reached. Black has 46. Bxc4 Bc6. Black should hold. is not easy to play 14. bxc5 as it makes the black a nice outpost for the knight on c4. In contrast, pawns more mobile (but weak!) and the light- White would want to bring his own knight to 43. Bd5+ Be6 44. d7! Bf6 45. Be5 Bd8 46. Bc6 Ke7 47. Bb5 Bb6 48. Kg2 Bxd7 49. square bishop more active. 14. ... dxc5. c6, but that is not easy. a) 14. ... Qxc5 15. Be3 Qc7 16. Rac1 (the Bxc4 33. Be3 Nc4 34. Qxa7 Qxa7 35. Bxa7 b5-pawn and c6-square are weak) 16. ... Rac8 Now it is a technical win for White. 17. Qb3 Nc5 18. Qb4; (see diagram top of next column) b) 14. ... Nxc5 15. Nd4 Going towards the dream 49. ... Bc6+ 50. Kf1 Be3 51. h4 Bb7 52. Bc3 c6-square) 15. ... Nce4 16. Nxe4 Nxe4 17. e3 f5 Be4 53. Be1 Bb7 54. Bf2 Bd2 55. Bc5+ 35. ... Bc3?! Ke8 56. b5 Ba5 57. Kf2 Bd2 58. e3 Ba5 (17. ... Bxd4 18. exd4 Black would be doomed 59. Be2 Kd7 60. Bd4 Kd6 61. Bc4 Ke7 62. without the dark-square bishop.) 18. Qc6! Black It doesn’t spoil anything yet, but it is highly Bc5+ Kf6 63. Bd6 Bb6 64. Be5+ Ke7 65. has way too many weaknesses; unnecessary. White gains an important tempi Bd4 Ba5 66. Bc5+ Ke8 67. b6 Bc3 68. Be2 15. Rab1. Applying direct pressure against by bringing the knight back. Kd7 69. Bb5+ Kd8 70. Bd4 Ke7, Black the b5-pawn. Black’s pawns on b5 and c5 look The move 35. ... Kf8! was simple and strong. resigned. strong, but, in fact, are undersupported. 15. ... Black brings the king to the center, protects Rfe8 (Much worse is 15. ... b4 16. axb4 cxb4 the d6-pawn and is ready to go after the

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