Manhem Chess Week, part 2. | CHESS AT THE BAG OF CATS

With all the fish sliding downstream towards Tromsö, it seems a bit out of place to struggle on upstream. But, that is what we salmons do… So, yesterday, Manhem Chess Week (at Manhem Chess Club) finished. It was won by Eduardas Rozentalis and yours truly, with Emanuel Berg in third spot. There were quite a few interesting games played, but the double rounds were so tiring that I did not have the time, nor the energy, to post anything during the tournament. Now it is time for amends. The first game I would like to call your attention to was played in the third round:

   [Event "Manhem Chess Week 2013"]  [Date "2013.08.11"]  [Round "3"]  [White "Wallace, John-Paul"]  [Black "Rozentalis, Eduardas"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A17"]  [PlyCount "74"]  [EventDate "2013.??.??"]  [SourceDate "2011.03.24"]   {John-Paul is an International Master from Australia who quit playing for a  long time and now - hopefully - is back in the game. He played quite a few  exciting games of high quality, but stumbled when it came to bringing the fish  to the shore (seems I am into fish related analogies today).} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4  e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. a3 Ba5 6. g3 Nc6 7. Bg2 d5 $1 8. O-O O-O ({It is no  good to play} 8... d4 $6 {At first it seems that} 9. Na4 Qe7 10. d3 {leaves  the queen on b3 and the knight on a4 less than optimally placed, but the  bishop on a5 is not such a jolly fellow either. A possible continuation is:}  Nd7 11. e3 $5 (11. Qc2 O-O 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. b4 e5 $1 14. bxc5 Qxc5 15. Rb1 {  with some initiative for White.}) 11... e5 12. exd4 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 cxd4 14. Qc2  {and as it turns out; the knight on a4 will help White develop a strong  initiative on the queenside.}) 9. d3 h6 $1 {It is important for White to stop  Bc1-g5 in order to be able to hold on the flexible centre. The kind of  scenario analysed after 8...d4, generally favours White since the bishop on g2  will become very strong in either a Modern Benoni-, or a Benko-structure.} 10.  Bf4 (10. cxd5 exd5 11. Na4 Qe7 (11... b6 $5) 12. Qc2 Re8 13. e3 Bb6 14. b3 {  was unclear in Batsiashvili, - Arabidze, European Ind w 2012.}) 10... Re8 11.  Ne5 (11. Na4 b6 12. Ne5 Bd7 13. e3 $6 (13. Nc3) 13... g5 $1 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 15.  Be5 Ng4 16. Bc3 Bxc3 17. Nxc3 dxc4 18. dxc4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qe7 {and Black had  some initiative on the white squares and the kingside, in Topalov,V (2711)  -Kramnik,V (2802)/Dortmund 2001.}) 11... Nd4 $1 {This is more better than} (  11... Nxe5 12. Bxe5 Nd7 (12... Ng4 $1 13. Bf4 d4 14. Na4 e5 15. Bc1 Bb6 16. Qc2  Rb8 17. b4 Bd7 $132) 13. Bd6 {with an advantage for White in Filippov,V (2595)  -Kiriakov,P (2495)/Krasnoyarsk 1998.}) 12. Qd1 Bc7 {This is where the game  becomes interesting!} 13. e3 $1 {This is a strong move. John-Paul starts a  forced sequence that will bring all his pieces to life.} Nf5 14. g4 $5 {This  move is quite ambitious and has a double purpose; the bishop gets a retreat on  g3 and a future h4 and g4-g5 becomes a possibility.} ({The sane would play} 14.  Ng4 e5 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. Nxd5 Qd8 17. e4 exf4 18. exf5 Bxf5 19. gxf4 {which  leads to something resembling equality.}) 14... Nh4 15. Bh1 Nh7 $3 {This is a  magnificent move. I walked past the board at this stage and came to the  superficial conclusion that Black is already better.} 16. Bg3 Ng5 17. h3 $3 {  Another beautiful move that, for the price of a pawn, solves the main problem  of the White position, that the king has nowhere to go.} Nxh3+ $6 {After this  slight mistake White takes a firm hold on the initiative.} (17... Bxe5 18. Bxe5  dxc4 19. Bg3 cxd3 20. f4 Nxh3+ 21. Kh2) ({The critical continuation is} 17...  d4 $1 {when} 18. Nb5 (18. exd4 cxd4 19. Ne4 Nxh3+ 20. Kh2 Bxe5 21. Bxe5 Ng6 22.  Bg3 Nhf4) 18... Bxe5 19. Bxe5 Ng6 20. Bc7 $1 (20. Bg3 e5 {and Nb5 is in  trouble.}) 20... Qd7 {forces White to fight for a draw. You may analyze this  further on your own. Maybe I have missed something better for White earlier?!})  18. Kh2 Ng5 19. Nb5 $1 {This move ruins the coordination of the Black pieces  and makes it less attractive for Black to exchange the bishop on e5 (as this  would allow White to place the knight on d6 or c7 later).} Bb8 20. f4 $1 Nh7 ({  It might be better to play} 20... a6 $5 21. fxg5 axb5 22. gxh6 gxh6 23. Nxf7  Bxg3+ 24. Kxg3 Qc7+ 25. Kh3 Nf5 $1 {with complications.}) 21. b4 $1 {White has  fantastic compensation for the missing pawn.} a6 22. Nc3 d4 $6 {This move is  "aji keshi", to use a Go-term. Later, it will be important for Black to have  different options with the d-pawn.} ({The engine claims that} 22... cxb4 23.  axb4 Ng6 {is a little better for Black. To me, it seems like White has  excellent compensation after} 24. Nxg6 fxg6 25. Bf3) 23. Ne2 $1 Ng6 24. bxc5  dxe3 25. d4 $1 Bxe5 26. fxe5 Qg5 27. Ng1 $1 Rd8 28. Nh3 Qe7 {Now Black  threatens to destroy the White centre with e3-e2 on the next move. How would  you respond?} 29. Re1 $6 {Chess at this level does not allow for mistakes. So  far John-Paul has played a brilliant game, but now he stumbles. Instead:} (29.  Qd3 $1 e2 30. Rfe1 Qxc5 $5 (30... Bd7 31. Bxb7 Rab8 32. Be4 Ba4 33. Rab1 Bd1  34. c6 $1 {is hopeless for Black.}) 31. Qxg6 Rxd4 32. Qh5 {would have left  Black with inadequate compensation for the piece.}) 29... Bd7 30. Bxb7 $2 {  After this - second - mistake, Black is already better.} ({The best chance was  } 30. Qb3 {when} Bc6 31. d5 exd5 32. cxd5 Nxe5 33. dxc6 bxc6 {is quite unclear.  }) 30... Ba4 {White's whole game is built on those central pawns and when they  fall, so does White.} 31. Qf3 Rab8 32. c6 Rxd4 33. Qxe3 Rxg4 ({There is  something to be said for} 33... Rbd8 {, but Rozentalis choice is both strong  and practical.}) 34. Nf2 Rxg3 35. Qxg3 Qc7 36. Qg2 $2 {It is a bit harsh to  critizise White here, since his mission is far from enviable. However, after} (  36. Rab1 Ng5 37. Nh3 {there is still hope.}) 36... Ng5 37. Nd3 Nh4 {and White  resigned.} 0-1

I will publish more games from this tournament later. For those of you who are interested in a more personal take on the tournament I recommend Jasmin Bejtovic’s blog.