 Seattle Sluggers (1.0 – 1.0) |
vs | Arizona Scorpions (1.5 – 0.5)  |
All Time Series Record: (Tied 3.5 – 3.5)
Starts at 9:00 PM EST
Time Control: Game in 75 with 30 second increment.
Arizona was white on boards 2 and 4.
| Seattle Sluggers | Arizona Scorpions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Varuzhan Akobian: 2697 | 1 | IM Mackenzie Molner: 2511 | |
| IM Georgi Orlov: 2523 | 0.5 | IM Mark Ginsburg: 2400 | |
| NM Joshua Sinanan: 2263 | 1 | FM Robby Adamson: 2415 | |
| NM Roland Feng: 2204 | .5 | FM Pedram Atoufi: 2275 | |
| Average Rating: 2422 | Average Rating: 2400 | ||
| Seattle Total | 3 | Arizona Total 1 |
Arizona loses for the first time this season.
Overview.
The key matchups were on boards 3 and 4 where Arizona outrated Seattle, but we did not score well. Adamson ran Sinanon down to 37 seconds left (!) but could not find a breakthrough. Adamson wound up losing rather surprisingly and our fourth board Atoufi could not crack his young opponent’s defensees, but he came close.
On Board 1 Akobian had a great opening and on Board 2 Orlov for Seattle also had a great opening. Akobian did convert, but Orlov in the end could not convert, but it did not matter.
The games.
Akobian-Molner
Molner tries the Blumenfeld gambit but gets a very suspect position after 18. d6 Bd8. He could not save the ending.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5 5.Bg5 exd5 6.cxd5 h6 7.Bxf6 7. Bh4 d6 8. e4 a6 is a very interesting line.
Qxf6 8.Qc2 Be7 9.e4 Qg6?
This is the source of all the problems. 9… Qb6! is correct and after 10. Nc3 b4 11. Nd1 O-O 12. Ne3 d6 13. Bd3 Nd7 black has a decent game.
10.Nbd2 Na6 11.Bxb5 Rb8 12.Qa4 Qb6 13.Be2 Qxb2 14.0-0 Qb4 15.Qc2 Qb2 16.Qd1 0-0 17.Nc4 Qb7 18.d6 Bd8 19.e5 Nb4 20.Rb1 Qa8 21.a3 Nc6 22.Qd3 Ba6 23.Qf5 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 Na5 25.Nfd2 Qd5 26.Ne3 Qxd2 27.Bxa6 c4 28.Nxc4 Nxc4 29.Bxc4 Bb6 30.g3 Qd4 31.Bb3 Qc3 32.Kg2 Qc6+ 33.Kh3 Qc3 34.a4 Qd2 35.Kg2 Qe2 36.Bd5 Qd2 37.Bc4 Qc3 38.Qf4 Qc2 39.Rc1 Qg6 40.Rc3 Kh8 41.Rf3 f6 42.Bd3 Qf7 43.Qf5 g6 44.Qe4 f5 45.Qh4 Kg7 46.Bc4 Qe8 47.Qe7+ Qxe7 48.dxe7 Re8 49.Rd3 Rxe7 50.f4 Bc7 51.Bb5 Bb6 52.Bxd7 h5 53.Kf3 Kf8 54.Rd5 Kg7 55.h3 Rf7 56.a5 Bc7 57.e6 Re7 58.Ke3 Kf6 59.h4 Rh7 60.Rc5 Bd8 61.Kd3 Rh8 62.Rc8 Kg7 63.Ra8 Be7 64.Rxa7 Rb8 65.Rc7 Rb3+ 66.Rc3 Rb1 67.Rc4 Rd1+ 68.Kc2 Rd6 69.Ra4 Ra6 70.Kb3 Kf6 71.Kc4 Bd8 72.Kb5 Ra7 73.a6 Ke7 74.Rc4 Kd6 75.Rc6+ Ke7 76.Rc8 Bc7 77.Re8+ Kf6 78.Bc6 Black resigns 1-0
Ginsburg-Orlov
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.f3 0-0 6.Bg5 Na6 7.Qd2 c5 8.d5 e6 9.Bd3? This is weak. As I well knew, correct is to play Nge2, Ne2-c1, Be2, and then O-O. Also possible was 9. Rd1!?. The explanation for this bad move is that I was hoping for 9… exd5 10. Nxd5! with a white edge.
Nb4! Naturally black does not oblige by taking on d5 quite yet.
10.Bb1 h6 11.Be3 exd5 12.cxd5 Nd7 13.a3 Na6 14.Nge2 Ne5! This is looking bad for white. I thought that if 15. b3 b5! and white is lost. Wrong! 15. b3!? b5 16. O-O! b4 17. axb4 cxb4 18. Nb5 Nxf3+ 19. Rxf3 Bxa1 20. Ned4! and white has good compensation. Completely overlooked by me.
15.Ba2 What an ugly move to have to play. Nevertheless, the computer says white is all right, which is hard to believe.
Qh4+ 16.Bf2 Qg5! 17.Qxg5 hxg5 18.Nc1? Remarkably, the computer points out 18. Be3! Bf6 19. Nb5! which I did not consider at all and claims equal chances. My move is looking bad .
Bd7 19.h4 This does nothing, but it is hard for white to know what to do.
gxh4 20.Bxh4 Rfe8 21.Nd1 b5 White’s position makes no sense. 21… f5! and 21… c4! were both very strong also.
22.0-0 c4 23.Bf2 Nc5 24.Bxc5 dxc5 25.f4? Terrible. 25. Bb1 was necessary with a very bad game.
Ng4 26.e5 Bf5? Here black missed the decisive and very nice 26… g5! 27. g3 gxf4 28. gxf4 Nxe5!! 29. fxe5 Rxe5! and this wins easily with white’s ridiculous inactive forces.
27.Bb1 Rad8 28.Bxf5 gxf5 29.Nc3 Ne3 I would just go for 29… a6 and white has a very bad game. White has a hard time moving anything.
30.Rf3 Nc2 31.Rb1 b4!
32.Nb5 Rxd5 33.Nd6 Rxd6 34.exd6 Re1+! 34…Rd8 leaves black with an edge but the game move looks stronger.
35.Kh2 Kf8? After 35… Rd1 it looks hopeless for white.
36.Rf2 Ne3 37.Re2 Ng4+ 38.Kg3 Rd1 39.axb4 cxb4 40.Ra1 Bf6 41.Ra5!
White begins a new life.
Nh6 42.Rc2 c3 43.bxc3 bxc3 44.Ne2?? Time trouble. 44. Kf3 is equal. Also good is the foxy 44. Ra3 Rxd6 45. Rxa7 Ng4 46. Kf3 and white is all right.
Rxd6? Here, 44… Rd3+ 45. Kf2 Ng4+ 46. Ke1 Ne3! 47. Rc1 c2! and black wins.
45.Kf2? The computer points out the weird 45. Ng1! and white holds.
Rd3?! Here, 45….Ng4+ on the way to e3 was very strong with an easy c3-c2 followup. However black still has lots of tricks and white has almost no time left.
46.Ke1 Ng4 47.Rca2? The best move, 47. Rc1, is hard to see in time trouble.
Ne3! 48.g3 Rd1+ 49.Kf2 Ng4+? Black should just move the passed c-pawn. 49… c2! 50. Rxa7 Bd4!! is a very nice win. Rf1 mate is threatened.
50.Kg2 Ne3+ The computer points out 50… Rd2 51. Kf3 Rd3+ 52. Kg2 c2 and it says black wins, but a human being may have a hard time knowing why.
51.Kf2 Ng4+? Here was a great chance. 51… c2!! 52. Kxe3 Bd4+ will divert the N on e2 and black wins. A very beautiful win.
52.Kg2 Rd2 53.Kf3 c2 Black is still winning but time plays a factor.
54.Rc5 Rd3+ I had a little panic thinking 54… c1=Q won, but it turns out that 55. Nxc1 guards the f2 checkmate laterally by the rook on a2 so it’s a perpetual check.
55.Kg2 Ne3+ Computer wins all include the difficult move a7-a5!! which is very hard to see.
56.Kf2 Nd1+ 57.Ke1 Bc3+ 58.Rxc3 Nxc3 59.Rxc2 White can hold this. A lucky escape.
Ne4 60.Ra2 Rd7 61.Ra5 Rb7 62.Kd1 Rd7+ 63.Ke1 Re7 64.Kf1 Rb7 65.Nd4 Nxg3+ 66.Kg2 Nh5 67.Rxf5 Ng7 68.Ra5 Ne6 69.Nxe6+
Fortunately I had just enough time to work out this is pretty easily drawn.
fxe6 70.Ra6! After this black can make no progress.
Rf7 71.Kg3 Re7 72.Kf3 Kf7 73.Ke4 Rb7 74.Ke5 Rb5+ 75.Ke4 Rb4+ 76.Ke5 Rb7 77.f5 Just to end the game faster. 77. Ra5 was equal too.
Rb5+ 78.Kd4 exf5 79.Rxa7+ Kf6 80.Ke3 Kg5 81.Kf2 Kg4 82.Ra4+ f4 83.Ra3 The third-rank defense is well known.
Rb2+ 84.Kg1 f3 85.Ra8 Game drawn by mutual agreement 1/2-1/2
Sinanon – Adamson
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 f5 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 c6 6.0-0 Bd6 7.b3 Qe7 8.Bb2 0-0 9.Nbd2 b6 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.Ne5 a5 12.e3 Na6 13.Rac1 Rac8 14.Qb1 c5 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Ndf3 Ne4 17.Rfd1 Rc7 18.Bf1 Nb8 19.Bb5 g5 20.Qd3 f4 21.Rf1 21. exf4 gxf4 22. g4, while stronger, is very hard to play.
Qe6 22.exf4 gxf4 23.Rce1 Rg7 24.Kg2?
White misses 24. dxc5 bxc5 25. Rxe4 dxe4 26. Bc4 exd3 27. Bxe6+ Kh8 28. Ng5. Better for black is 24. dxc5 fxg3! 25. fxg3 Bxc5+ 26. Bd4 with an equal game.
Bc8?! The correct move was the primitive 24… Rf6! after which it will be an impossible task for white to defend himself considering the time situation. For example, 24… Rf6! 25. dxc5 fxg3! 26. hxg3 bxc5 with huge black pressure. 24.. Rf6! 25. g4 Rxg4+ wins right away.
25.Rxe4! Necessary to hold the balance.
dxe4 26.Qxe4 Qh3+? Better is 26… Bb7 27. Qxb7 Rxb7 28. Bc4 with an equal game.
27.Kg1 Rf6 28.Re1? Around here, or maybe a little earlier, white had thought himself down to 7 seconds (!), getting 30 seconds per move. Adamson disdains sacking on g3, for better or worse, and Sinanon takes control. The key game of the match. In this position white should have played 28. Qd5+! Qe6 (28… Kf8? 29. Re1 is winning for white) 29. Qxe6+ Bxe6 30. dxc5 with an edge.
fxg3 29.fxg3 Bb7? The key moment. Black should have sacrificed on g3. After 29… Rxg3+ 30. hxg3 Qxg3+ 31. Kf1 Bxe5 considering the incredible time gap white might lose on time and maybe draw. White is holding after something awkward like 32. Re3 cxd4 33. Bc4+ Kf8 34. Ba3+ Kg7 35. Qxe5 but black is fully equal.
30.Bc4+ Kh8 31.d5! With a huge edge for white.
Kg8 32.Bf1 Instead of this retreating move, 32. Qe3! with idea of Ng5 was crushing.
Qf5? Black is disoriented. 32… Qh5 keeps the game going.
33.Qxf5 Rxf5 34.Bh3 Rf6 35.Nc4 Rh6 35… Rxf3 36. Nxd6 threatens too much.
36.Re8+ Kf7 37.Nxd6+ Rxd6 38.Rxb8 Bxd5 39.Bxg7 Kxg7 40.Nh4 Rf6 41.Nf5+ Kf7 42.Ne3 Be4 43.Bg2 Bxg2 44.Kxg2 Re6 45.Kf3 Black resigns 1-0
Atoufi-ARZ (2275) – Feng-SEA (2204) [C06]
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Qb6 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.cxd4 f6 10.exf6 Nxf6 11.0-0 Bd6 12.Bf4 Bxf4 13.Nxf4 Qxb2
Atoufi prepared this line for white versus his young opponent. Objectively, it is nothing.
14.Re1 14. Ng5 O-O 15. Ngxe6 is equal.
0-0 15.Nxe6 Bxe6 16.Rxe6 Rae8 17.Rxe8 Rxe8 18.Rb1 Qxa2 19.Rxb7 Ne4 20.Qf1 Rf8? 20… Nd2 and white has zero.
21.Qe1 Re8 22.Rc7 Nf6 23.Qc1? 23. Rc8!! is a vicious shot. After 23… Nd8 24.Qb4! white is much better.
Nd8 24.Bf5 Nf7? 24… Ne4 is necessary.
25.h4 g6 26.Ne5 26. Ng5! is bad for black. The text is good too.
Nxe5 27.dxe5 Ne4 28.Bxe4 dxe4 29.Rc8 After the very strong quiet move 29. g3! , it is very unlikely black can survive.
Rxc8 30.Qxc8+ Kf7 31.Qd7+ Kf8 32.Qd8+ Kf7 33.Qf6+ Kg8 34.Qd8+ Kg7 35.Qf6+ Kg8 36.e6 Qb1+ 37.Kh2 Qb8+ 38.g3 Qf8 39.Qd4 a5 40.Kg1 Qe7 41.Qxe4 a4 42.h5 After 42. Qxa4 Qxe6 white can definitely torture black.
gxh5 43.f4 a3 44.f5 Qa7? After 44… Kg7 how to make progress? 45. Qe5+ Qf6 46. Qc7+ Kh6 47. Qc1+Qg5 48. Qxa3 Qxf5 looks equal.
45.Kg2 a2 46.e7 a1Q 47.Qe6? The last golden moment. 47.e8=Q+ Kg7 48. Kh3!! and black has no checks. 48… Qf7 49. Qxf7+ Kxf7 50. Kh4! Qd1 51. Kg5 and white will score the full point. A big miss. But this extra half point still would have meant Arizona would lose the match.
Kg7 48.f6+ Kh6 49.f7+ Kg5 50.Qd5+ Kg6 51.Qe6+ Kg5 52.Qd5+ Kg6 Game drawn by mutual agreement 1/2-1/2
Tough going for the Scorpions last Monday, there’s to a good match against the Manhattan Applesauce! Be sure to tune in to ICC or Chess.com to catch the games Monday, starting at 9:00 PM Eastern time.
Mark, I have been impressed by your play this year – keep up the excellent work!
For my video coverage of the Scorpions Week 3 Coverage, click on my name to get to my youtube channel or check out the “Video Commentary” link on the SACA website “Players Corner” page.
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Editorial Note [MG]: Farmer likes Molner’s …9…Qg6? in the opening although it loses a full tempo which is not really a good idea in sharp openings. I don’t think we’ll be seeing that move again. In the video he seemed to like as an improvement 9…Qg6? 10. Nbd2 a6 (instead of the game move 10… Na6) but after 11. a4 it’s pretty clear black has a very bad game. The best I can see is 11. a4 Bb7 12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Bxa8 but after the concrete 14. Qb3! black’s absent queen really hurts. The basic problem is that the queen on g6 does not hold up white’s development (in fact, the bishop on f1 is always free to move) so the premise of the move is false. The known move 9… Qb6 actually leads to a decent game so the Blumenfeld in this declined setting is not dead. I think accepting the Blumenfeld is the strongest although most timid 1. d4 players are afraid of that.