White - IM
John Donaldson
Black - GM Alejandro Ramirez
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3
a6
(D)
JD - The
Chebanenko variation (4...a6) is a tough nut to crack. Alejandro has used it
successfully in the past including a draw with Kasimdzhanov in the FIDE
World Championship Knockout in Tripoli in 2004.
AR - This silly looking move has been the
fashion slave for some years. The idea is to cover the b5 square,
threatening dxc4, but overall to allow the R manouvre to a7, defending the
b7 pawn. You have to love modern chess.
5.c5
AR - This came as a pleasant surprise.
I was expecting Donaldson to attempt a draw after cxd5, and expect boards 3
and 4 to result in a victory for the SF team.
5....Nbd7
JD - Black has other choices here but this
is currently considered best.
6.Bf4 Nh5 (D)
7.Bd2
JD - 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bd2 Nhf6 9.Qc2 Qc7 10.e4
dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 Nf6 13.Qc2 Be6 14.Bd3 Nd7 15.0-0 Bd5 16.Rfe1 e6
17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.dxe7 Be7 = Topalov - Kasparov, Linares 2004
AR - 7.e3 is a bit more popular then
7.Bd2, but in my opinion both moves present Black with problems.
7...Nhf6
JD - 7...g6 8.e4 led to a nice victory in
Gelfand-De la Riva Aguado, Pamplona 2004.
8.Qc2
AR - White prepares the e4 break, Black
has no reason to fear it though.
8.....Qc7
AR - and prepares his own break on e5.
JD - Normally 8....g6 is played here and I
am not sure White has shown a way to an advantage. One amusing
possibility is 9.e4 dxe4 10.Ng5 Bg7 11.Bc4 00 12.Bxf7 Rxf7 13.Ne6 Qe8 14.Nc7
Qd8 15.Ne6 with a draw as 15...Qa5?? drops the queen to 16.Nxe4 Qb5 17.a4.
Alejandro's move 8...Qc7 caught me by
surprise. It has been played a couple of times in this exact position,
and Kasparov has used it in similar positions, albeit with the inclusion of
....h6 (Bf4-g5-d2, instead of simply Bf4-d2).
9. e4 (D)
9....Nxe4
JD - 9....dxe4 gives White the extra
option of 10.Ng5, which Lautier used to beat Jakovenko in a blitz game.
10.Nxe4 dxe4 11.Qxe4 Nd7-f6 (D)
AR - This is an
interesting moment in the game. I was expecting John to play Qe5, as
it seemed the most hazardous...
12.Qc2
AR - yet he prefers to retain the biggest amount of pieces possible in the
game, claiming that his space advantage is more important then his weak d5
square and d4 pawn.
If 12.Qe5
Qxe5 13.dxe5 Nd5 14.Bc4 g6 with an unclear position. White has more
space but has some structural weaknesses.
JD - The Mechanics' Chess Club's
GM-in-Residence, Alex Yermolinsky, told me after the game that retreat was
not best, that 12.Qe5 looked more testing.
12....Bc8-e6 (!
AR)
AR -
This move is rather important. Normally chess players would block the
d4-pawn with a N, but in this case the B on d5 will be much more powerful!
13.Bd3 Bd5
JD - 13...Nd7, in comparison with the
Topalov-Kasparov game (but with no ....h6), might be considered.
Alejandro's move certainly looks very natural.
14.O-O-O
JD - Maybe 14. O-O along the lines of
Topalov's play might be right. 14....Bxf3 15.gxf3 e6 leaves White with some
ratty looking pawns but he does have space and two bishops. If Black
doesn't take on f3 then Ne5 might come with effect.
14...g6 15.Ne5 (!? AR) (D)
AR - White realizes that if he simply
develops, he will end up in an inferior position in little time, so he
sacrifices a pawn for the sake of attack.
15...Bg7
AR - Black declines until there is
a better moment. White is forced to play f4-f5 if he is to continue
his play.
JD - 15...Bxg2 16.Rhe1 Bg7 17.f4 Bd5 would
transpose to the game but White would get the choice of other moves besides
f4 on move 17.
16.f4 (?! JD)
JD - 16.f3 is more prudent but I thought the text would stop Black
castling either side. This is probably true but Alejandro shows that
it's not so important.
16...Bxg2
AR - I saw no good reason not to
take this pawn now. White has some compensation, but I was confident
in my defensive possibilities.
17.Rhe1 (! AR)
AR - A not so obvious move. Most
people would "regain" their tempo by playing Rhg1, yet that would only
"force" Black to play Bd5, a move he wants anyways! The rook is much
better placed on the e-file.
17....Bd5
AR - The bishop goes
back to defend f7.
18.f5 (D)
JD -
18.Kb1 was an offhand suggestion made by Yermo after the game. His
thought is that f4-f5 weakens White's grip on the position and he's probably
right.
18...Nd7 (! JD+AR)
AR - A fine tactical mess issues,
where I think John misplayed. White's strongest option here is to
exchange knights, and pressure the e-pawn.
JD - 18....0-0-0 19.Qa4; 18...0-0 19.Rg1
both look a little scary for Black with Ba5 burying Black's Queen in one
line and sac's on g6 looking tempting in the other, but Alejandro's decision
to trade off White's pieces stops the attack in its tracks.
19.Nc4 (!? AR)
AR - Very risky, White sacrifices
yet another pawn. I was planning 19.Nxd7 Kxd7! 20.Bc4 Rae8 and Black's
pawn is not free, but it's a pawn.
JD - I pretty much have to do this to keep
it complicated but now another pawn goes.
19...Bxd4
AR - And Black simply takes it! I was aware of the Nd6+ followed by
Ba5 line which occurred in the game, but saw that White was really gaining
nothing out of it.
20.Nc4-d6+ (D)
AR - 20.Ba5 Qf4 21.Bd2 was an interesting
option. Surely you don't sacrifice 2 pawns to force a perpetual, but
White had to start thinking if his attack would really crash through.
20...Kd8
JD - 20...Kf8? 21.Bh6 Kg8 22.Rxe7 would
be very nice for White.
21.Ba5 (! AR)
AR - A simple move to see, the bishop is
indirectly protected. Black must have foreseen this possibility when
playing 18...Nd7, otherwise a question mark should be attached to that move!
21...b6 22.cxb6 Bxb6
AR - 22...Nxb6?? 23.Nxf7 Bxf7 24.Be4! and
White wins. It was also important to notice this when playing
18...Nd7.
23.Bxb6 Nd7xb6 (D)
AR - Now Black is two pawns up, and wants
to consolidate by playing e6. His king is pretty happy in the centre
of the board. White still has some pressure, and should create all
sorts of threats to keep Black from consolidating.
24.Nc4
JD - White's intention is to trade
some minor pieces here to get at Black's King, but 24.Ne4 gxf5 25.Nc5 might
have been a better try.
24....gxf5 (! JD)
JD - I think this is the right idea, ensuring that Black has a strong
pawn center to hide his king behind.
25.Qc3
JD - During the game I thought this
interpolation was a good idea but the straightforward 25.Nxb6 Qxb6 26.Bxf5
was not without it's points as my move activates Black's Rook.
25....Rg8 26.Nxb6 Qxb6 27.Bxf5 Rb8 28.Bxh7 Rg8-g2 (D)
AR - Black is now active and has an extra
pawn. The position should be winning, and Whites only hope is to
create murky water in the time trouble we just got into.
29.Bc2
JD - 29.Rd2 allows ....Rxd2 and
...Qb4 or the immediate ...Qb4 but might have been better than the text.
By this point both opponents were getting low on time.
29....Qb4 (! AR)
JD - 29...Rxh2 30.Qe5 Qc7 31.Qxc7
Kxc7 32.Rxe7 Kb6 might have been a good risk-free practical decision but at
this point the match was still wide open and Alejandro probably felt he
needed to win the game at all costs (Simutowe-Zilberstein was a one point
turnaround in one move.)
30.Qh8+
JD - 30.Qe5 f6 wins on the spot so I need
to lure his king up.
30....Kd7 (D)
31.Qh8-e5
AR - 31.Rxd5+ cxd5 32.Qh3+ e6 33.Qxg2
Qxe1 and Black is winning. If 31.Qh3?! Kc7 and again Black has a
winning position.
31...Qc5 (? AR)
AR - Quite messy, Qc4 was much cleaner. Now White gets counterplay due
to his passed h-pawn. After 31...Qc4, White doesn't have the Re2
resource that he used in the game. Black seems almost winning to me.
JD - I was hoping for 31....f6? 32.Rxd5
cxd5 33.Ba4!
32.Re2 Rxe2
JD - 32...Rbg8 looks right. I
am purposely going to refrain from criticizing moves from this point on
because we were both really low on time. I should mention that unlike
the other teams the MI always plays G/60 with 30 second increment instead of
G/90 with a 30 second increment as we are the only team on the West Coast in
the league. (Dallas always plays G/60
also - Greg Shahade)
Yermo's first impression was that Black
should stay with his King in the center behind his pawns. The
queenside doesn't turn out to be a safe haven.
33.Qxe2 Qb5 34.Bc2-d3 (D)
JD - Now the Oracle (aka Fritz) thinks
that White is equal. Some strong players feel that when you are a pawn
down and the computer say you are equal you are actually better, that is
certainly not the case here but the materialist silicon creature does
appreciate the looseness of Black's position.
34...Qc5+
AR - Just trying to gain some time on the
clock.
35.Kb1 a5
JD - 35...Rg8!? (Fritz) 36.Bxa6 Rg1 37.h4
Qd4 38.Rxg1 Qxg1 39.Kc2 Bxa2 looks good for Black. Probably White
should not grab the pawn on a6.
36.Be4
JD - I played this to loosen
Black's King position but 36.h4 looks better.
36...e6 37.Qf3
JD - White continues his plan to open
Black up, but now b2 is unguarded. Better was 37.h4
37...f5
JD - 37...Ke7 following Yermo's idea to
hide behind the pawns makes sense.
38.Qf3-g3 (D)
38...Qb4
AR - 38...Rxb2 39.Kxb2 fxe4 was possible,
but White probably has perpetual check somewhere.
JD - 38...Qd6 39.Qg7+ Kc8 safeguards the
King.
39.Qg7+ Qe7 40.Qe5 Rb5 41.Bc2 Kc8 42.Qh8+ Qd8 43.Qh8-h7
JD -
Cheap threats of Rg1-g8 are entering White's brain.
43...Rb7 44.Qh6
AR - With time pressure still going on,
it was a relief to see that his queen was unable to give checks for a while.
Black still has an extra pawn and is much better.
JD - I had just enough time left to
appreciate that f6 would be a very nice square for Black's Queen.
44...Kb8
AR - A little trap....
45.h4
AR - 45.Qxe6?? Rxb2+! 46.Kxb2 Qh8+
and Black is winning the white queen.
JD - Finally the right idea.
45...Ka7 46.h5 Qb6 47.Qf6
JD - This blunders a pawn away,
instead I should have played 47.Qc1 Bf3 48.Re1 Bxh5 49.Rxe6
47...Qe3
JD - 47...Bf3 48.Re1 Bxh5 49.Bb3 Bf7
48.Ka1 (D)
AR -
Black is a pawn up and it is obvious that White has no perpetual check
possibilities. Yet, seeing that my teammate Peter Vavrak had 2 pawns
up in a totally winning endgame while the match was tied at 1-1, I didn't
want to risk the match in the ensuing time trouble. I saw the
possibility of Bf3 as probably winning, but decided to allow a perpetual
check. I had already offered a draw a couple of moves ago, but it had
been declined.
JD - Another blunder, I saw 48.h6 Rh7 but
missed 49.Qd8
48...Qe2
JD - 48...Bf3 does the trick again.
At this point we had around 40 seconds left (with a 30 second increment per
move.)
AR - 48...Bf3! --+ 49.Rd3 (49.Rb1 Bxh5
50.Bb3 Bf7 and Black is won.) 49....Qg1+ 50.Bb1 Be4 51.Qd4+ Qxd4 52.Rxd4 and
Black has all the chances.
49.Qd4+ Kb8 50.Qh8+ Ka7 51.Qd4+
JD - Now I found out that a draw was not
going to be enough as we had lost on boards 2+3. I should have tried
51.Qc3 hoping for 51...Qxh5? (51...Kb6 and again Black is better) 52.Qxa5+
Kb8 53.Qd8+ Ka7 54.Rd4
51...Kb8 52.Qh8+ Ka7 53.Qd4+
JD - One check too many; White has gained
some time to think on the clock but allowed a three-time repetition.
AR - And with this the exciting game was
drawn. It is interesting that White's attack looked so promising, yet
it is (at least for me) impossible to see where he missed a way to crash
into the Black fortress.
{Game drawn by repetition} 1/2-1/2