Monday, January 28, 2008

A look at the games from the Kent Oliver Memorial

Final Round


Prince-Lipnowski 0-1
When the zug didn't zwischen. White's 14. Be3 was met with a nasty surprise.

Remillard - Nikouline 0-1
White dropped a pawn for nothing on move 16, and a second pawn a few moves later.

Kaptsan - Liu 1-0
Black "castled into it".

Bince - Khedkar 1-0
White missed an early chance; 8. Ng5 would have been hard to meet.
Black did not play 22. ... Nxa4 with a large advantage ? or 23...Rxd1 and Nxe4. Time trouble ?
Even 33. Nh5 is strange when Qb8+ mates in 1. Perhaps there is a game score error.

Einarsson - Atem DRAW
White missed playing 25. f3 with good prospects. The players played the Q and pawn ending accurately.

Greenberg - Rutter DRAW
White had an advantage all game until 20.d5 and soon the draw was agreed.

Crawford - Jim Green 0-1
White made a serious unforced error in a dynamically equal position.

Goodman - Gannon 0-1
I thought White had to try something like 26. exf5 to clarify the position (and not lose a pawn), and at 28. White to try cxb6 or cxd6, but I guess Black's Qe4+ looked scary. And at 30. White has to try cxb6 or cxd6 and hope for a mistake by Black. Desperate times call for desperate actions.

Letain - Gibbons 1-0
Black had to try 12...Ne5 or more importantly 15...f6

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A look at the games from the Kent Oliver Memorial

Round 4


Nikouline -Lipnowski 0-1
These two continued their theoretical battle from the Yanofsky Memorial. (I still hvae to go back on comment on those games)

more to come

Atem - Prince 0-1
White created his own very pawn at e3. Black had a nice forcing option(not played) 21...Nh3+ 22. Kh1 Ng4 23. Bxg4 Bxg4 and there all sorts of back rank mates and other lines that win more material.
Later White did not see to the end of his Queen "sacrifice" 23. Qxd5 as a couple of Black checks save the pinned Queen.

Liu - Remillard DRAW

I normally don't comment on openings here, but when Black omits d6, shouldn't White play 5. e5 ? (Chess grammar question - where do you put the question mark if you are not annotating the move ?). White had a positional advantage for most the game - but released all the tension with 30. h6+. Is there a notation error - 40. Kc2 hangs a pawn, but Kc3 does not ? also 51. Nd1 does not look the right move.

Jim Green - Kaptsan 0-1
Aron told me the critical moment was around moves 23 -25 when he forced Jim into either defending a weak c pawn or giving up the g pawn.

Khedkar - Goodman 1-0
Black lost an exchange early.

Rutter - Einarsson DRAW
Black is winning in the final position - I am not sure if time was a factor.

Greenberg - Letain 1-0
Harley must have had a preminition that he was going to be the beneficiary of his opponents error. Althought he was down a pawn, he kept on trading off pieces in violation of an old chess maxim. Black should have taken a second pawn on move 16. Eventually Black blundered a piece

Thursday, January 24, 2008

A look at the games from the Kent Oliver Memorial

Round 3

Turning points

Kaptsan - Nikouline 0-1
Aron went wrong by not playing 18. g3. Instead, Black got activity starting with Bxh2+ and won.

Lipnowski - Khedkar 1-0
Black starting drifting in what appeared to be an equal position. Once White's rook got the d file Black had difficulty defending.

Prince -Rutter 1-0
Black had an enormous advantage as late as move 23 when 23...Bxa4 seems logical. Black made a serious misstep with 24...Kg7 instead of Kg8, and compounded the error by playing 25...Bxe6.

Bince - Liu DRAW
The computer tries 38...g5 ! to stop the perpetual. The point is that after 39. Bxg5+, White can not check on f4 and Black gains a tempo. But even if Weixi considered g5, it is difficult to figure out the consequences over the board.

Gannon-Atem 0-1
Black unneccessarily sacrificed the exchanged, only to have White blunder it back on move 39 with result that Black ends up with a passed a pawn and domination of the dark squares. White
could have put some resistance, but 49. Qxd6 resulted in White getting mated.

Remillard - Greenberg 1-0
Black got a horrid position in the opening.

Goodman - Jim Green DRAW
The players locked up the pawn chains. I thought that White should leave the rooks on, and instead of 35. hg5, start the manouvre Bf3-d1-c2-b1-a2 ---what it Black going to do ? Instead the rooks came off and and at first glance it looks like a dead draw after 38. Bf3

Black played 38...Kg7. But what about 38...Nxc5 ! and it looks like Black wins.

Einarsson - Desjarlais 1-0
14...cxd4 would regain the pawn Black lost earlier, but soon lost a second pawn and the game.

Letain- Crawford 1-0
Not sure what happened after move 40 as Black squandered his won position. 41...Rc8 is not necessary, simply gf5 is sufficient, on the next move the extra bishop was left en prise. Black still had chances to hold the draw, first with 46...Kg6

Monday, January 21, 2008

A look at the games from the Kent Oliver Memorial

Round 2
Turning points

Liu - Lipnowski DRAW
Weixi held his much higher opponent to draw quite easily.

Atem - Kaptsan 0-1
James blundered a piece when he was at least equal

Greenberg - Prince 0-1
White had to play 21.fe3 with a good game. He was still ok until he missed 27. Qf7

Deslarlais - Gannon 0-1
Going through this without the computer I think I spotted about 6 real good puzzle positions, all with White to win. I'll get back to this game later. [Well, I guess that shows you how sharp I was in early February - I was wrong, wrong, wrong.] But 21. Bc5 removing the defender of d8 is strong.

Remillard - L. Gibbons 1-0
White missed 17.Rxd5 and Black appears to have resigned prematurely at move 20.


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

A look at the games from the Kent Oliver Memorial

Round 1
Turning points

Lipnowski - Jim Green 1-0
This game was equal until the late middlegame when Black starting drifting.
Black missed taking the initiative after 35. Rc4

the c pawn is attacked, but Black has the surprising

35...Rd8 ! with the idea 36. Nxc5 Rd5 (notice that mate is threatened) 37. Ne4 Rf5+ 38. Ke3 Rfe5 and Black wins material as f5 is threatened and the c5 square will be available for nasty forks.

In the game, Black also had the strong 38...f5 which embarasses White's pieces.
Black appeared to be playing for the draw but loses his way with 48...Rdd7, when Re7 should hold the draw (if Black had enough time on the clock).

Gannon - Nikouline 0-1
Alex was in some trouble but 21. Qc5 + wastes a critical tempo, forcing Black to vacate the f8 square where the queen rook will soon appear.

Kaptsan - Remillard 1-0
Black threw away the draw with 63...Be3; Kc7 should be good enough to get over to Ke7 in time.

Letain - Atem 0-1
After 40...Kc5 41. Bg1+ looks winning for White.