Claus Jensen Chess Blog

Game 11 in the 2007 RHP Championship was my black game against Gatecrasher.
I used to have a very good grip on Gatecrasher earlier, but in recent games he’s beaten me on several occasions. In this tournament I seem to have gotten back on track. At least I beat Gatecrasher this time!

The game was very exciting and extremely complicated. The Opocensky variation of Sicilian Najdorf turned into wild complications in middle game and at no point in the game I felt completely sure of victory - not until Gatecrasher resigned at move 40 because he reached the same conclusion as I hoped for: The black queen and rook are forcing a win by taking all white pawns and eventually forcing white into a lost position.

Play through annotated game:

Gatecrasher-cludi 0-1

 PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Gatecrasher"]
[Black "cludi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[PlyCount "80"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {My beloved Najdorf once again…} 6. Be3 Ng4 {This has been my prefered way of playing against 6.Be3 since I was faced with myself against wilfried some time ago. It’s called the opocensky variation and has been played by Topalov and others} 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 {This variation is a very atypical sicilian. Both sides have awkwardly placed pieces and black’s pawn structure is very different…But the line is perfectly playable although it’s definitely not textbook stuff, since black is neglecting several of the traditional opening “rules”. Just think of the “Never move a piece twice in the opening”…} 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. h3 Ne5 {I prefer this square for the knight, but Nf6 of course playable as well} 11.Nf5 {Threatening on g7 and forcing black to exchange bishop for knight} Bxf5 12. exf5 Nbc6 {This line has been played several times before and I believe white is only marginally better} 13. Nd5 e6 14. fxe6 fxe6 15. Ne3 {Black’s pawn structure is somewhat unusual: 3 pawn islands, which is not too recommendable as they can be very hard to defend properly. The good news is that black has the half-open c and f files at his disposal.} O-O 16. c3 d5 17. Qb3 b5 18. Be2 Ng6 {To place the knight on f4 and unblock the e6 pawn. Nf4 is closing down white’s Bg3 pretty effectively} 19. O-O {I was a little surprised that Gatecrasher decided to castle short. Although his previous move opened up for this, I still expected the long castle. Black’s advanced kingside pawns would be excellent targets for a white kingside attack…} Nf4 20. Rfe1 b4 {Opening up for g7-a1 diagonal and b-file. Black’s pieces are very actively placed at this point in the game and I think black has reached equalization from the opening.} 21. Bxf4 (21. cxb4 Nxe2+ 22. Rxe2 Nd4) (21. Rac1 bxc3 22.bxc3 Qa5) 21… gxf4 (21… Rxf4 22. Bg4 Qd6 23. Bxe6+ Qxe6 24. Nxd5 Qf7 25.Nxf4 Qxb3 26. axb3 gxf4 {and black will have a difficult endgame with very weak pawns}) 22. Ng4 Rb8 (22… bxc3 23. bxc3 Rb8 24. Qc2 h5 25. Nh2 Qf6 26. Bxa6 Qxc3 27. Qg6 {with about equal chances}) 23. Qc2 {I was confident at this point that my connected centre pawns were strong enough to do damage on white. And I was definitely not caring too much on protection of the a-pawn. In my mind this position called for offence, not defence.} Kh8 {I thought it was neccessary to get my King away from g-file and white square and possible knight checks but probably better to play Qg5 immediately} 24. Bxa6 e5 25. a4 (25. Rad1 bxc3 26.bxc3 h5 27. Bc4 {An interesting piece sac suggested by Fritz} hxg4 28. Bxd5 {with VERY unclear position}) 25… e4 26. Rad1 bxc3 27. bxc3 h5 28. Bb5 {Practically winning another pawn} (28. Nh2 Qg5 29. h4 Qf5 30. f3 {And white may be able to defend the position}) 28… Nd4 {Interesting move that gives white some trouble and probably better than the alternative I considered:} (28… Rc8 29. Qa2 hxg4 30. Rxd5 Qh4 31. Rxe4 Bxc3) 29. cxd4 hxg4 30. hxg4 Rb6 {I’m two pawns behind but I have excellent attacking chances in h-file} 31. f3 Rh6 32. Kf1 {Forced move} Qe7 {Initializing the plan Qe7, Bf6, Qg7 to put maximum pressure on d4. I don’t think black can win without taking d4 at some point. Another possible line could be} (32… Rh1+ 33. Ke2 Rh2 34. Rh1 Qh4 35.Rxh2 Qxh2 36. Rf1 exf3+ 37. Kxf3 Qg3+ 38. Ke2 Qxg2+ 39. Kd1 Qxg4+ 40. Qe2 {black has equalized material, but is probably not able to win from here}) 33.Qc3 {Defending d4 pawn} Rh2 34. Rc1 Bf6 {I was definitely not sure of my chances at this point, but I found encouragement in the fact that it’s not too easy for white to defend properly :)} 35. Qc5 Qg7 {This is the critical point in the game: Black is threatening Bxd4 which is very dangerous for the exposed
white king. At this point no excact calculations are possible, it’s more intuition, but I don’t think white can allow himself to grab another pawn, like Gatecrasher does here with} 36. Qxd5 (36. Rc2 Rd8 37. Qc7 {and position is about even because black cannot attack without allowing white perpetuals with Queen and rook entering via c-file}) 36… exf3 37. Qxf3 (37. gxf3 Qh7 38.Re6 Rh1+ 39. Ke2 Rxc1) 37… Bxd4 {I believe white is in big trouble but I’m certainly not sure that he is without escapes. His king is very exposed and
there seems to be no proper defence} 38. Ke2 (38. Bc6 Bb6 39. Rc2 (39. Red1 Rh1+ 40. Ke2 Qb2+ 41. Kd3 Rd8+ 42. Bd5 Qb3+ 43. Ke4 Qxa4+ 44. Kd3 Rxd1+ 45.Rxd1 Kg7) 39… Qd4) 38… Rd8 39. Bd3 (39. Qxf4 Rxg2+ 40. Kf1 Rg1+ 41. Ke2 Qe7+ 42. Kf3 Qb7+ 43. Rc6 Rxe1 44. Qh6+ Qh7) 39… Bb6 {Threatening Qb2+} 40.Qxf4 Rxg2+ {White is forced to give up Queen for rook and bishop after the forced 41.Kf1 Rf2+ etc. Unfortunately for white my queen and rook are able to force a win and therefore Gatecrasher rightfully resigned. I have to admit that I was very nervous that I’d missed something in my analysis of the position and it was a great relief to see the resignation from Gatecrasher.}0-1

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The 2007 RedHotPawn Championship is getting more and more exciting! Only a few games are left in the tournament and it’s looking very good for me!!!
The current standing (after my win over Gatecrasher in my game 11):

1. cludi 23 (max possible score 32)
2. English Tal 22 (34)
3. David Tebb 21 (27)
4. Gatecrasher 20 (35)
5. Salin i Vitalik 14 (26)
6/7. Pattrick06, Phillidor284 9 (9)
8. uffejaster 5 (5)

Gatecrasher is still the player with highest possible score, but in this field of great players I’m very happy to have the most points in hand alreeady
My 10th game was a draw against David Tebb. As you can read in my notes, I ws very disappointed not to win this one, but I simply didn’t manage to find the right plan…

Play through annotated game:

cludi-David Tebb ½-½

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "cludi"]
[Black "David Tebb"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B44"]
[Annotator "Jensen,Claus"]
[PlyCount "115"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 {Bastrikov Variation of Tajmanov (I believe!) I’m not very familiar with this variation} (4… a6 {Would have led to the Kan Variation}) 5. Nb5 {Generally, whenever I get the chance to play Nb5 against Sicilians, I’ll do it! I know I waste a few (or more!) knight moves, but black is not always allowed to develop naturally either and Nb5 is very annoying.} d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Nd4 {I was very much in doubt where to put my knight. Na3 was the other option. The knight is more centralized on d4, but prevents white from immediate Bd3.} Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. Be3 Bd7 11. O-O {Nothing has happened yet. Both sides playing natural developing moves and position is equal.} Nxd4 {
Wants to activate Bd7 by freeing up the c6 square} 12. Bxd4 Bc6 13. Qd3 (13. f3 {This move blocks not only the e2 bishop but also the 3rd row which could be used for a queen manoeuvre like the one in the game}) 13… Nd7 {David Tebb questions this move himself. And I agree with him.} (13… b5 14.cxb5 axb5 15. a3 Qb8 {Could be a good way to go for counterplay . For instance} 16. b4 Qb7 17. f3 {And now white has blocked his own pieces and black has completely equalized}) 14. Qg3 {Very nice move pointing at both opp king and d6 potential weakness} e5 {Blocking both threats but gives black the classical “backwards” pawn on d6. I personally hate this black pawn structure although I recognize it’s been played (and with success) many, many times before. I would have prefered Nf6 here, but that would  be instant admission that Nd7 was a mistake. These kind of admissions are very hard to do at the board!} 15. Be3 {I like this position as white. Space advantage, more active pieces, nice control of d5 square, better pawn structure.} Bh4 16. Qg4 Nc5 17. Nd5 Bd7 18. Qf3 (18. Qh5 Nxe4 19.f3 Nc5 20. g3 Bf6 {with about equal chances}) 18… f5 19. Bxc5 dxc5 (19…fxe4 20. Qxe4 Bf5 21. Nf6+ {with white advantage}) 20. Rad1 fxe4 (20… Rb8 21.exf5 Bxf5 22. Ne3 Qf6 {and white is still better}) 21. Qxe4 Bc6 22. Bd3 g6 23.Qxe5 {white is pawn up and black has no real compensation} Bxd5 24. cxd5 {looking at his position I have to say I’m very disappointed not to have won this game. My position is clearly superior although the fact that we’re having
opposite coloured bishops is somewhat favouring black’s chances for adraw} Bf6 25. Qe6+ Kh8 26. Kh1 Bd4 27. b4 Rf6 28. Qe4 Qd6 {Black is trying to activate his pieces. The latter move opens up for a8 rook. It could go to c8/d8 or double rooks in f-file} (28… Bxf2 29. bxc5 Bxc5 30. Qe5 Kg7 31. Rde1 Qd6 32.Qc3 {And white is slightly better}) 29. f4 Rd8 (29… Raf8 30. bxc5 Bxc5 31. g3 {and white maintains some advantage}) 30. bxc5 Bxc5 {Black is pretty solidly defending the position. It’s not that easy for white to progress. At least I had problems finding any useful plan here…} 31. Qe5 a5 (31… Qxe5 32. fxe5 Rxf1+ 33. Bxf1 {is winning for white}) 32. a4 b6 33. h4 Rd7 {Black wants to play Re7 and get rid of the annoying white queen. Unfortunately there’s not much white can do to counter that plan.} 34. Kh2 Re7 35. Qxd6 (35. Qg5 Rf8 36.Rf3 Bd4 37. h5 Bf6 38. Qg4 g5 {is giving white some attacking chances instead of going direrctly to a drawish endgame}) 35… Rxd6 36. Bb5 Kg7 37. Rf3 Re4 38. Kh3 h6 39. Kg4 {I thought I could take advantage of my kingside majority by “forcing” black to play h5 and then I could play h4 and then later push either the f or the h pawn. I was wrong. Perhaps I should have tried to play g4 immediately} (39. g4 Rf6 40. g5 Rfxf4 41. Rxf4 Rxf4 42. d6 Rf8 43. Kg4 {Is this winning? Are there any better defene for black in this variation? I’m not sure of the answer to either of the questions…}) 39… Rf6 40. g3 h5+ 41.Kh3 Rd6 42. Bc6 Re2 43. g4 hxg4+ 44. Kxg4 Rf6 45. Kg3 (45. h5 gxh5+ 46. Kxh5 {doesn’t work as white gets mated in  a few moves starting with} Rg2) (45. Rdd3 Rg2+ 46. Kh3 Rb2 {and white is having difficulties finding winning plan}) 45…Bd6 {blocking d5, pinning f4 and virtually leaving white no offensive options}46. Rd4 Re1 47. Bd7 Rg1+ 48. Kh2 Rb1 {black goes for a rook exchange on b4 and the game is drawn} 49. Kg2 Rb4 50.Rxb4 axb4 {I was somewhat shocked, or at least disappointed, with the way this game had developed and I desperately wanted to play on a little although I knew all too well that I had no chance of winning the game.} 51. Kg3 Rf7 52.Bb5 Rc7 53. Kg4 Rc1 54. Rg3 Rd1 55. Bd3 b3 56. h5 gxh5+ 57. Kxh5+ Kf8 58. Be4 1/2-1/2

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Game 9 in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was another win!
My opponent, uffejaster, played the game very well and was very close to get a draw.
Fortunately, he made a few minor mistakes in the end game allowing me to win the game
and maintain my chances of winning the tournament!

Play through annotated game:

uffejaster-cludi 0-1

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "uffejaster"]
[Black "cludi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B96"]
[Annotator "Jensen,Claus"]
[PlyCount "102"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qc7 {My current favourite move in the Najdorf. Have played Qb6 leading to Poisoned Pawn Variatian and Be7 many times but I do like Qc7.} 8. Qf3 b5 {Looks too sharp, opening up the diagonal f3-a8 for white and somewhat ignoring development.
Definitely not a move to recommend any chess student! But I’ve had some success with this line lately.} 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. e5 {Looks like a very natural continuation for white but it doesn’t give black too many problems.} d5 11.exf6 Nd7 12. Bd3 (12. f5 Nxf6 13. fxe6 Qe5+ 14. Be2 fxe6 {is the line I’d prefer as white}) 12… Nxf6 13. Nce2 Rg8 14. O-O-O Bd6 15. Kb1 Bb7 16. Rhg1 (16. h3 O-O-O 17. g4 {is also playable and I think it’s better for white to have the rook staying in the soon-to-be open h-file rather than
moving it to g1 to support the g4-push}) 16… h5 17. g3 O-O-O 18. h3 Kb8 19.g4 {After some preparation white finally moves g4} hxg4 20. hxg4 Ne4 21. Rh1 {Of course white wants his rook back in the h-file. See note to white’s 16thmove} Rh8 22. Qe3 b4 23. Rdf1 Bc5 {Black is now having the more active position but it’s still pretty even.} 24.Rh5 {I definitely expected something like} (24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Rxh8 Rxh8 26. g5)
(24. Rxh8 Rxh8 25. g5 Qb6 26. Rd1 Nc3+) 24… Rxh5 25. gxh5 f6 {Threatening the lethal e5 push} 26.Qc1 {Unpinning the d4 knight} Qb6 27. Nb3 (27. Bxe4 dxe4 28. c3 Bxd4 29. cxd4 Qb5 30. Qe1 b3) 27… Be3 {
White is being tied down more and more} 28. Qe1 a5 29. Bxe4 dxe4 30. h6 {Of course forcing black to keep an eye on the kingside pawn but also allowing black to advance on queenside. Very exciting game at this point…! I would have prefered} (30. a4 {to stop the black a-pawn}) 30… a4 {Now it’s all defending for white} 31. Nbc1 Rc8 {Pointing at white’s weak c2 square, but a little nonchalantly ignoring the dangerous white h-pawn} 32. Rh1 Qc7 {Multipurposed move. Threatening on c2 and plan to block on h7 from where
it may even be able to pose threats along the h7-b1 diagonal} 33. c3 Qh7 34.Qg3 Bc5 (34… Bxc1 35. Rxc1 (35. Kxc1 e3) 35… e3+ 36. f5+ e5 37. Qxe3 Qxf5+ 38. Ka1 b3) 35. cxb4 Bxb4 36. Rh5 Rc7 37. f5 exf5 38. Qf4 {At this point I was not sure if I could win the game. I definitely felt I had the best position: A pawn up, bishops agains knights and connected pawns threatening to progress towards conversion.  But I couldn’t see a clear path towards victory since white has defensive resources at hand. Good blocking of my pawns and a threat in the h-pawn.} Kc8 {Unpinning the rook, but giving white an opportunity to level the game in move 40} 39. Ng3 (39. a3 {Probably better to block the black a-pawn immediately}) 39… a3 40. b3 (40.Qxf5+ Qxf5 41. Nxf5 e3 42. Ng3 Rh7 43. bxa3 Bf8 {And black has only remote winning chances}) 40… Kb8 {Preventing qxf5 with check and the following queeen exchange} 41. Nxf5 Bc3 {Protecting f6 and creating dangerous position for white king} 42. Ne3 {Forced move} (42. Ne2 Qg6 43. Nfg3 Be5 44. Qe3 Rd7 {with huge black advantage}) 42… Be5 43. Qf5 (43. Rxe5 fxe5 44. Qf8+ Rc8 45. Qd6+ Qc7 46. Qxa3 Qb6 {and black is clearly better}) 43… Qxf5 44. Rxf5 Rh7 45. b4 Bc6 46. Ng4 e3 {Threatening Be4+ - the white king is in great danger.} 47. Nxf6 {Only move} Bb2 48. b5 Bg2 {Bh1 is even more decisive} 49. Rg5 {Looking very strong.Threatening Bg2 and Rg8+ followed by Rg7+.  Unfortunately for white it’s not
enough because of the mating threats on the white king} Bf3 50. Rg8+ Kb7 51.Rg7+ Kb6 0-1

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is a terrible thing!
It’s just like when the water supply is failing or the electricity is falling out: You take it for granted when it’s there but once it’s not there you realize how dependant you are on the damned thing.
I’m not a net-a-holic, or am I? After being offline for almost 48 hours I think I could be categorized like one…I was desperate to get the problem fixed - and as quickly as possible. Nothing else mattered. The lack of internet is one of the few things that make me react instantly. Had it been problems with the bathroom sink or the like, it would probably have taken me days (or weeks, if you ask my wife) to get the problem fixed. But in this case I reacted instantly and I was told that my router was not working properly. I was desperate - and my daughters who both have internet access through our wireless network were just as desperate as I was - but luckily a new router arrived early next morning and internet (and family balance) was soon to be restored…

I was timed out in a few games at RedHotPawn - fair enough! -  and other opponents decided not to time me out. Thanks to those opponents - that’s good sportmanship!

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Game 8 in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was another win against Pattrick06.
It was a very close game all the way through and in the end Pattrick06 resigned as he saw no way of stopping my a-pawn.

Play through annotated game:

cludi-Pattrick 0-1

PGN of game: [Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "cludi"]
[Black "Pattrick06"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B54"]
[Annotator "Jensen,Claus"]
[PlyCount "109"]
 
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d6 {Don’t actually know the name of this variation. The first choice for white is whether to push the c-pawn before Nc3 or play Nc3 immediately. I chose the first option to give myself as much space as possible} 5. c4 Bd7 6. Nc3 g6 {Black decides to go for the fianchetto. The alternative was of course e6 and Be7 followed by castling} 7.Nxc6 Bxc6 8. Be3 Bg7 9. Bd4 Nf6 10. Bd3 O-O 11. O-O {Position is pretty even,I think. Both sides have developed all their light pieces and white’s only small advantage is perhaps better space.} Qa5 12. Rb1 {I regretted this move and should have played immediate f4 and stick to my plan which is of course kingside operations like f4, Qg3/h3 exchange of Bg7 and the maybe even g or h-pawn push. Rb1 prepares b4, but it was not my plan to “waste time” on queenside advances and furthermore allow black to put his Queen on g5} Qg5 13.f4 Qh4 14. Qe1 Qh6 {Qh5 looks like a more natural spot and the plan of putting the knight on h5 is not so good. I think Qh5 and Nd7 is better for black.} 15.Qg3 Nh5 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Qf2 {Now black’s queen is very immobile.} e5 18. fxe5 dxe5 19. Nd5 Nf4 20. Bc2 Bxd5 {An error. Gives white (too) strong pawn play in centre.} (20… Rad8 21.Rbd1 Qg5 22. Nxf4 Qxf4 23. Qxf4 exf4 24. Rxf4 Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 {with even chances. white is pawn up, but black now has the better pieces}) 21.exd5 Rac8 22. b3 b5 23. Rbe1 Qg5 (23… bxc4 24. Rxe5 Nd3 25. Bxd3 cxd3 26. d6 d2 27. d7 Rcd8 {and white is winning}) 24.h4 Qg4 {Threatening Nh3} 25. Kh2 f6 26. Re4 {Protecting c4 and pinning Nf4} bxc4 27. bxc4 Rc5 28. Bb3 Rf7 29. Re3 Qc8 30. g3 Qh3+ 31. Kg1 Qg4 {Pinning the g3 pawn and once again threatening Nh3} 32. Qe1 Nh5 33. Rd3 {Black is somewhat in trouble and seeks to put Bb3 under pressure to break the white pawn chain which could be very dangerous} a5 34.Qe3 (34. d6 a4 35. Bxa4 Qxc4 36. Qd1 e4 {Is not working for white}) 34… a4 35. Bxa4 Qxc4 36. Bd1 (36. Bc6 e4 37. Ra3 f5 {with equal chances}) 36… Ra5 (36… e4 37. Ra3 Qc1 38. Qxc1 Rxc1 39. Bxh5 Rxf1+ 40. Kxf1 gxh5 {and white would still have a lot of hard work (if at all possible) to do to bring home the game}) 37. Bb3 Qc5 38. Kg2 Qxe3 39. Rxe3 {This ending is only marginally better for white. White has 2 isolated free pawns which can both be supported by the bishop, but of course it’s not easy to advance them as long as all rooks are still on the board. Black’s knight is currently very badly placed, but that can of course be improved rather quickly} Rc5 40. Rd1 Rd7 41. Rd2 Kf8 42. Rf2 {Threatening Rxe5} f5 {A mistake.} (42… Re7 43. d6 Rd7 44. Rd2 f5 45.Be6 Rd8 46. Ra3 Rc6 {and white cannot hold d6 pawn}) 43. Rxe5 Nf6 44. Rf3 Nxd5 45. Kh2 {King must be removed away from knight checks} Kg7 46. Rd3 {Vey unusual position with knight pinned in 2 directions by 2 rooks} Ne7 {Only move} 47. Rxf5 Rxd3 48. Rxc5 h5 (48… Nf5 49. Rc7+ Kf6 50. Rxh7 Rd2+ 51.Kh3 {with white advantage. For example} Rd3 52. Rf7+ Ke5 53. h5 Rxg3+ 54. Kh2 Rg5 55. hxg6) 49. Bc2 Rd2+ 50. Kg1 Nd5 51. a4 Ne3 52. Be4 Rd4 53. Bc6 Nf5 54.a5 Rd3 55. Rc4 {of course planning to play Ra4 and then push the a-pawn to conversion. Black decides to resign here. A little early perhaps but I agree with pattrick06 that the game is difficult for black to hold.} 1-0

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Game 7 in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was a draw against English Tal.
I opened my usual 1.e4 and I guess English Tal, replying 1…e5, hoped for another King’s Gambit, since he beat me badly in round 1 of the championship in that opening. Remembering that game very well, I thought it best to go for a Ruy Lopez, but English Tal chose the Petrov Defense which is very drawish - and the game actually went that way. It was balanced all the way through. The draw was inevitable…

Play through annotated game:

cludi-English Tal ½-½

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "cludi"]
[Black "English Tal"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "C42"]
[Annotator "Jensen,Claus"]
[PlyCount "65"]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 {English Tal and I was in same group in round 1. I played my usual King’s Gambit and lost rather quickly. Therefore I felt it was time to go for a Ruy Lopez instead…} Nf6 {English Tal chooses Petrov Defense instead…- Known to be drawish of nature and played at the very highest level.} 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Bf5 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Nc6 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. Qa4 {Up to this move we’re following Anand-Kramnik from the recent WCC 2007 tournament inMexico!!} a6 {Kramnik played Bd7 here and the game was drawn in 65 moves ending with Anand stalemating Kramnik!!} 17. Bc4 Qd7 18. Bb3 (18. Qb3 Bd6 19. Bxd6 cxd6 20. Rxe8+ Rxe8 21. Bd5 Be4 22. Bxe4 Rxe4 23. Rb1 {Perhaps is a little better for white than the line I chose in the game}) 18…Bd6 19. Bxd6 {I considered} (19. Ne5 Nxe5 20. dxe5 Bc5 21. Qxd7 Bxd7 22. Bd5 {But this is no more than even}) 19… cxd6 (19… Qxd6 20. Rad1 Re7 21. Rxe7 Nxe7 22. Ng5 Bg6 {And black is probably just keeping balance}) 20. Bd5 Be6 {Black clearly going for simplicity and I have nothing better than to trade off the bishops} 21. Bxe6 Rxe6 22. Rxe6 Qxe6 23. Re1 {The game is completely even, but after black’s next move I actually felt I might have a small chance of playing for the win.} Qa2 24. c4 f6 25. h3 Rb8 26. d5 {I considered this move for a long time trying to find a plan to win the game. It was a question of going for Queen on 7th row or to play against the weak b7 pawn. For instance} (26. Re3 d5 27. c5 Qb1+ 28. Kh2) (26. Nh4 d5 27. c5 Qd2 28. Rd1 Qb2 29. Nf5 {which would probably have been the best plan}) 26… Ne5 27. Nxe5 fxe5 28. Qb4 Rf8 29. f3 Rf6 30. Qxb7 Qxa3 31. Qc8+ Rf8 32. Qe6+ Rf7 33. Qe8+ {I offered the draw as I couldn’t see any way to way to win the game. I think black has adequate defensive ressources against both Re4 and Rb1. A very balanced and correct game from both sides - and a bit boring, someone might want to add… :)} *

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My 6th game in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was a win against Pattrick06.
I once again tried the From’s Gambit against 1.f4 It’s not a complete sound opening, but it’s great fun to play and it’s about to take the chance when it’s there, because very few open 1.f4 against me…

I’m currently leading the tournament with 3 wins and 3 draws so far, but David Tebb, Gatecrasher and English Tal are all having games in hand compared to me, so absolutely nothing is decided yet…

Play through annotated game:

Pattrick06-cludi 0-1

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Pattrick06"]
[Black "cludi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A02"]
[Annotator "Jensen,Claus"]
[PlyCount "90"]
1. f4 e5 {From’s Gambit. Not perfectly sound, but playable.} 2. fxe5 {White could of course opt to go for King’s Gambit instead with 2.e4} d6 3. exd6 Bxd6 4. Nf3 Bg4 {I’ve had good results recently with this move. It’s bringing the bishop into play early, it prepares for long castle and doesn’t weaken pawn structure. The original idea of From’s Gambit is to play 4…g5, but after the main line} (4… g5 5. g3 g4 6. Nh4 Ne7 7. d4 Ng6 {white gets good game with} 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. Qd3) 5. d3 {Very cautious, but ok move I think} Nc6 6. e3 Qe7 7. Be2 O-O-O {White has played cautiously and is pawn up, but black has excellent development and the game is even. White’s main problem is where to place his king. Short castle looks a little risky, long castle is several moves away and leaving the king in the middle is limiting the centre pawns due to pins in e-file} 8. Nc3 f5 9. e4 {White should have castled here. The idea of the text move is of course to open up for Bc1 but and maybe long term go for long castle.} Nf6 10. Bg5 h6 11. Nd5 {Looks natural but white should have paid more attention to his king!} Qe6 12.Bxf6 gxf6 13. Ne3 Rhg8 14. Nh4 (14. O-O Bc5 {Is of course losing instantly} 15.Qd2 fxe4) (14. Rf1 {looks like white’s best shot} Bc5 15. Nxf5 Bxf5 16. exf5 Qxf5 17. g3 Rge8 {but still black is clearly better}) 14… Bxe2 15. Qxe2 fxe4 16. Nef5 Bc5 17. a3 (17. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 18. dxe4 Rg4 19. Ke2 {with equally hopeless position for white}) 17… Nd4 18. Nxd4 Rxd4 {Now the white problems are very easy to spot: Undeveloped rooks, King in the middle, misplaced knight, black controlling both half open files. Material is even but white is clearly lost already!} 19. g3 Re8 20. Kd2 {Trying some sort of escape and at the same time opening for and connecting rooks, but theres no way to solve all problems with white position} Qg8 {Protecting Re8 and thus threatening exd3 and at the same time looking at useful squares in g-file for later use} 21. Rae1 {Preventing exd3} Red8 22. Qf1 exd3 23. Qf5+ (23. Qxf6 dxc2+ 24. Kxc2 Rd2+ 25. Kb1 Bxa3 {and the party is over}) 23… Kb8 24. Nf3 R4d5 25. Qe6 Qg6 26. c3 a6 27. Rhf1 c6 28. Qe4 f5 29. Qh4 Ka8 30. b4 Bb6 31.Ne5 Qg8 32. Nc4 Bc7 33. Qe7 (33. Qxh6 {leads to similiar positions ans in game} ) 33… R5d7 34. Qe6 Qg5+ 35. Qe3 Qg4 36. Qe6 Rd5 {Very nice move cutting defense line to whites knight and at the same time preparing exchange sac to get Queen to second row} 37. Ne3 Qh3 38. Rf2 (38. Nxd5 Qxh2+ 39. Kxd3 Rxd5+) 38… Re5 39. Qf6 Rde8 40. Qf7 Bd8 41. Rxf5 Qxh2+ 42. Rf2 Qh3 {More effective not to let white have a little counterplay in g-file} (42…Qxg3 43. Rg2 Qh3 44. Rg8 Rxg8 45. Qxg8 Qh4) 43. Rf3 Bg5 {Pinning the knight}44. Kxd3 R8e7 45. Qf8+ Ka7 {White is losing the knight and has absolutely no counterplay whatsoever and rightfully resigns at this point.} 0-1

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My 5th game in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was another draw. This time with black pieces against tournament favourite, David Tebb.
It was a very interesting and complex game until it was simplified drastically in very few moves after which the game was dead even.

Play through annotated game:

David Tebb-cludi ½-½

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "David Tebb"]
[Black "cludi"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[PlyCount "70"]1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {Grunfeld - Still my favourite defense against 1.d4} 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 {The exchange variation is probably the best way to play for white.} c5 {This move is slightly sharper than the more normal 6…Bg7  I always prefered 6…c5 but after some heavy beatings I have seriously considered returning to 6..Bg7} 7. Bc4 Bg7 8. Ne2 {The best lines for white are definitely the ones where the knight goes to e2 rather than f3. And of course David Tebb knows this. Not only does he play Grunfeld himself, but he probably faced this opening hundreds of times before…} Nd7 {This is not played very often, but it was actually played by former World Champion Botvinnik back in 1940!! And by Smyslov in 1969!  Normal moves here are 8…0-0 and 8…Nc6} 9. O-O Qc7 10.Bb3 O-O 11. Bg5 {I was somewhat surprised by this move. Expected Be3} e5 {Very much in doubt about what to play here. Very close to move knight to f6, but decided to accept an early guarded passed pawn for white.} 12. d5 c4 13.Bc2 f6 {Let’s get the white bishop to e3 before the f5 advance…f5 is of course to undermine the guarded d5 pawn immediately (Nimzo knows what I’m talking about here)} 14. Be3 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 {Now white actually faces a similar dilemma as black faced earlier: White wants to attack centre, but in the process he accepts the opponent gets a passed pawn} 16. f4 e4 {I may get a passed pawn here, but the white e3 bishop gets stronger} 17. d6 Qc6 18. Rb1 Nb6 19. g4 {Another example of Nimzo’s advice that pawn chains should be attacked at the root} Nd5 {This looks very natural, but perhaps Rd8 is a stronger move} (19… Rd8 20. Nd4 Qxd6 21. Nxf5 Bxf5 22. gxf5 Qc6) 20. Bd4 Rf7 (20… Rf6 {looks rather crazy, but I actually onsidered this move. For example} 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Qd2 Qc5+ 23. Kh1 Bd7 24. gxf5 e3 25. Qe1 Bc6 {looks dangerous for white, but I somehow felt that something was wrong without knowing excactly what…}) 21. Rf2 Qxd6 22. gxf5 Bxf5 23. Rg2 {I’m a pawn up at this stage, but position is very unclear.} Nf6 24. Rb5 Bg6 25.Qb1 Rd8 26. Rbg5 (26. Rxb7 Rdd7 27. Rb8+ Rf8 28. Rxf8+ Qxf8 29. Qb5 {with white advantage}) 26… Nh5 {This may not be the most beautiful move you’ve ever seen and it certainly isn’t the most educational move you’ve ever seen, but after both double and tripple checking this move I found it to be a very good defensive move.} 27. f5 Rxf5 28. Rxf5 Bxf5 29. Qxb7 Bg6 30.Bxe4 Qe6 31. Bxg6 hxg6 32. Kh1 a6 {After a very complex middle game, I’ve managed to simplify the game into a very even game} 33. Nf4 Qf7 34. Qxf7+ {Forced move.} Kxf7 {Now the game is a dead draw.} 35. Ne2 Bxd4 {I offered the draw as there is nothing more to play for in the game.} 1/2-1/2

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Game 4 in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was another win!
uffejaster was making a few mistakes and was eventually being run over but chose to resign early

Play through annotated game:

cludi-uffejaster 1-0

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "cludi"]
[Black "uffejaster"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "45"]1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 {Korch’s reccomended move against King’s Gambit. Black wants to develop nice and quickly rather than going into a tactical battle right away.} 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. d3 Bg4 7. Bb5 {Normal move here is Na4 which I once played against Korch and reached slightly better position without being able to find any winning lines.  Text move is definitely not the objectively best move, but I was trying to create something out of nothing…} Qe7 (7… a6 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. fxe5 dxe5 10. h3 Be6 11. Rf1 {and white has an ok game. Black has bishops but also an ugly pawn structure}) 8. Na4 Bb6 9. Nxb6 cxb6 {axb6 looks more natural to me} 10. O-O O-O {This position is good for white because of the good attacking possibilities.} 11. fxe5 dxe5 12. Be3 Qb4 {I don’t like this move. It looks dangerous to abandon kingside like this.} 13.a4 {I didn’t want to exchange my b5 bishop for the c6 knight so I found this move instead.} Bxf3 (13… Qxb2 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qd2 {and black must sac material to save the Queen}) 14. gxf3 {opening up the g-file which is going to be very dangerous for black} Nh5 15.Kh1 Rac8 (15… Nf4 16. d4 Rac8 17. dxe5 Ne6 18. Rb1 Rfd8 19. Qe2 {with clear advantage for white}) 16. Rb1 Rfd8 17. c3 Qd6 18. Qe1 a6 19. Bc4 Rd7 20. Qh4 Nf4 21. Rg1 Kh8 (21… Nd8 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Bd5 Ne6 24. d4 {and black will be run over}) 22. Qg4 Ne6 (22… g6 23. d4) 23. Rbd1 {Black was apparently no longer amused by the way the game was developing and chose to resign (a little early, I think)} 1-0

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Game 3 in the 2007 RedHotPawn Championship was a win!!!
Salin i Vitalik made a serious error in equal position and lost in only 22 moves!

Play through annotated game:

Salin i Vitalik-cludi 0-1

PGN of game:

[Event "2007 Championship"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.09.27"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Salin i Vitalik"]
[Black "cludi"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B50"]
[Annotator "Jensen,Claus"]
[PlyCount "44"]1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 e6 {Nf6 is the normal move here and Nc6 is also playable} 4. O-O Nf6 5. Re1 Be7 6.c3 O-O 7. Bb3 Nbd7 {Saw this move played by Luca Shytaj last year in Verona Open. The idea is to put the knight on b6 rather than c6 and the develop bishop via d7 and c6. A little uncharacteristic for a sicilian but worth trying out…} 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nb6 10. Nc3 Bd7 11. Qd3 Rc8 12. Bc2 {Threatening e5. How to counter most effectively?} Ne8 {I decided to go for the Ne8-g6-Ng7 setup which is of course weakening black squares around my King, but it’ll take a while for white to position his pieces to really be able to take advantage} 13. e5 g6 14. h4 {Prematurely trying an early “assault” but it’s not dangerous for black} Bc6 15.h5 Ng7 {Black is safe and position is balanced now.} 16. hxg6 (16. h6 Nf5 17.Ne4 dxe5 18. dxe5 Qxd3 19. Bxd3 Rfd8 {with equal chances}) 16… hxg6 17. Bh6 Re8 18. Bxg7 {Wow! Bad mistake by white. Should definitely have kept his bishop on the board. Now the weak black squares poses no problem for black and furthermore, black is allowed immediate play in h-file.} (18. Rad1 Nf5 19. Bc1 Kg7 {and the game is still fairly balanced}) 18… Kxg7 19. Ne4 Rh8 20. Rac1 Qg8 21. Bb1 Qh7 22. Ng3 dxe5 {23.dxe5 Rcd8 24.Qb3 Bxf3 25.Qxf3 Rd2 and the mate threats will cost material for white to block. The resignation is understandable} 0-1

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