A34 Symmetrical English: 2.Nc3, lines with ...d5 (1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nc7 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O e5 8.d3 Be7 9.a3 O-O)

This game that you can view below was played in the first round of the third division, group 4 team match between SalSK 3 and ÅmSK over twelve years ago. I played on board 5 for SalSK 3 in this match. We started these division matches with a nice 3 - 1 win. These matches are played on five boards but as draws do not count for the score, the result in the game below is basically considered as 0-0 in the match score. Even though similar to short castles, I just meant that neither team gets any points for the draw. With our team winning the match and me being able to draw against a higher rated opponent and therefore increasing my rating again, this match went quite well for me. Sure me winning this game would have been excellent, but I am happy about the way things went regardless. Until Monday, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

[Event "Sarjapeli"] [Site "?"] [Date "2003.09.20"] [Round "1"] [White "Åsten, Eero"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "1548"] [BlackElo "1403"] [Annotator "Stockfish 9 64 POPCNT (30s)"] [PlyCount "139"] [EventDate "2003.02.15"] 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2 Nc7 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. d3 Be7 9. a3 O-O {A34 Symmetrical English: 2.Nc3, lines with ...d5} 10. Rb1 a5 ( 10... Bf5 11. Be3 Rc8 12. b4 cxb4 13. axb4 b5 14. Qd2 Re8 15. Rfc1 a6 16. Nh4 Bd7 17. Nf5 Bf8 18. Ne4 Bxf5 19. Rxc6 Bd7 20. Rb6 Re6 21. h4 h6 22. Rxe6 Nxe6 23. Qa2 Nd4 24. Bxd4 exd4 25. Qxa6 {Andersson,U (2545)-Tseitlin,M (2480) Polanica Zdroj 1978 1-0 (42)}) (10... f6 11. Ne1 Bd7 12. Nc2 Rb8 13. Ne3 Nd4 14. Ned5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 Be6 16. Nxe7+ Qxe7 17. b4 c4 18. e3 Nb5 19. Qc2 Rbc8 20. dxc4 Rxc4 21. Qb2 Rfc8 22. a4 Rc2 23. Qxc2 Rxc2 24. axb5 Ba2 25. Ra1 { Wolfangel,C-Bellahcene,O Nimes 2014 1-0 (39)}) 11. Be3 Ne6 {Black has an active position} 12. Qc1 $146 (12. Qc2 Ned4 13. Bxd4 cxd4 14. Ne4 a4 15. Nc5 Bxc5 16. Qxc5 Ra5 17. Qc2 Be6 18. Rfc1 Bb3 19. Qd2 Qb6 20. Ne1 Rb5 21. Ra1 Na5 22. Nc2 Bxc2 23. Qxc2 Nb3 {0-1 (23) Menna Barreto,L-Padua Filho,A Nola Friburgo 1980}) (12. Nd2 Ned4 $11) 12... Ned4 13. Bxd4 (13. Nd2 Be6 $15) 13... exd4 (13... cxd4 14. Nb5 $15) 14. Ne4 (14. Nb5 Be6 15. b3 Na7 16. Nxa7 Rxa7 $11 ) 14... b6 15. Ned2 (15. Qc2 Be6 $17) 15... Rb8 (15... Be6 16. Re1 $17) 16. Nc4 Be6 (16... b5 17. Nfe5 Na7 18. Nd2 $15) 17. Nce5 (17. Nfe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Qd6 $15) 17... Nxe5 (17... Bd5 18. Nxc6 Bxc6 19. Re1 $15) 18. Nxe5 Bd5 (18... Rc8 19. Nc6 Qe8 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Re1 $15) 19. Bxd5 (19. Nc6 Bxc6 20. Bxc6 h5 $15) 19... Qxd5 $15 20. Nf3 {White king safety improved} Rfe8 21. b3 (21. Re1 Bf8 $17) 21... Bf6 (21... Bf8 22. Re1 $15) 22. Re1 Re6 (22... Qd7 23. Qc4 $15) 23. Qc4 $15 {White threatens to win material: Qc4xd5} Qd6 (23... Qb7 $15) 24. a4 ( 24. Qb5 $5 $11 {looks like a viable alternative}) 24... Rbe8 $17 25. Rb2 (25. Nd2 Qd7 $17) 25... g5 (25... g6 26. Qc1 $17) 26. Kf1 (26. Nd2 Rxe2 27. Rxe2 Rxe2 $17) 26... Qe7 (26... Qc6 27. Kg1 $19) 27. Rc2 $2 (27. Qd5 $142 $5 $17) 27... g4 $19 28. Ng1 (28. Nd2 Bg7 $19 (28... Rxe2 $6 29. Ne4 Rxe1+ 30. Kxe1 $17 )) 28... Bg5 29. Qd5 $2 (29. e4 $142 dxe3 30. Qxg4 exf2 31. Rxe6 fxg1=Q+ 32. Kxg1 fxe6 33. h4 $19) 29... h5 $4 {gives the opponent counterplay} (29... Re5 $5 {and Black can already relax} 30. Qc6 Re6 31. Qd5 $19) 30. h4 $2 (30. f4 Rg6 31. e3 dxe3 $17) 30... gxh3 $4 {Black loses the upper hand} (30... Re5 $142 { and the scales tip in favour of Black} 31. Qc6 Re6 $19) 31. Nxh3 $17 Re5 (31... Rg6 32. e3 dxe3 33. Rce2 $15) 32. Qf3 (32. Qh1 Qf6 $17) 32... Bh6 (32... Qe6 33. Kg2 Qg6 34. Rh1 $15) 33. Qg2 (33. Kg2 Qe6 34. Nf4 Qg4 $15) 33... Kh7 (33... Qe6 34. Nf4 Qf5 35. Qh3 Bxf4 36. Qxf5 Rxf5 37. gxf4 Rxf4 38. f3 $17) 34. Qf3 $2 (34. Ng1 $5 $11 {must be considered}) 34... Qe6 (34... h4 35. e4 dxe3 36. fxe3 Qd7 $19 (36... Rxe3 $6 37. Rxe3 Qxe3 38. Qxf7+ Kh8 39. Qf6+ Kg8 40. Qg6+ Bg7 41. Kg2 $11)) 35. Ng1 $4 {the position is going down the drain} (35. Nf4 $142 Qd7 36. Rd2 $17) 35... Qxb3 $19 36. Rc4 b5 (36... Kg7 $142 {and the rest is a matter of technique} 37. Kg2 R8e6 $19) 37. Qxf7+ $18 Bg7 38. axb5 Qxb5 39. Nf3 Rf8 (39... R8e7 40. Qf4 Rd5 41. Qh4 $18) 40. Qc7 Ref5 41. Qe7 (41. Rec1 { might be the shorter path} Qb8 42. Qxa5 Qd8 $18) 41... Kh6 (41... Kg8 42. Qe4 $18) 42. Qe4 a4 $6 {puts up no strong fight} (42... Qe8 43. Qxe8 Rxe8 $18) 43. g4 (43. Ra1 $142 {and White can celebrate victory} Qd7 44. Rcxa4 $18) 43... hxg4 $14 44. Qxg4 a3 {Black advances the passed pawn} (44... R8f6 45. Kg2 Kh7 46. Rh1+ Bh6 47. Qe4 Rg6+ 48. Kf1 Rxf3 49. Rxh6+ Kxh6 50. exf3 $11) 45. Rcc1 ( 45. Kg2 Kh7 46. Ng5+ Kg8 $11) 45... a2 46. Qh3+ $4 {what a pity, victory was in sight} (46. Ra1 $142 {would bring relief} Qa6 47. Red1 $11) 46... Rh5 $19 47. Qe6+ (47. Qg2 {desperation} Qc6 48. Rc2 $19) 47... Rf6 48. Qxa2 (48. Qe4 { is not much help} Qd7 49. Red1 Rh1+ 50. Ng1 Qh3+ 51. Ke1 Rxg1+ 52. Kd2 Rxd1+ 53. Rxd1 Re6 $19) 48... Rg6 (48... Qd7 49. Qd2+ Kg6 50. Qg5+ Rxg5 51. Nxg5 Bh6 52. Rxc5 Bxg5 53. Rxg5+ Kxg5 54. Rc1 Qf5 55. f3 Rh6 56. Kf2 Rh2+ 57. Ke1 Rh1+ 58. Kf2 Rxc1 59. e3 Qh3 60. exd4 Qh2+ 61. Ke3 Re1#) 49. Qd2+ $19 Kh7 50. e3 ( 50. e4 {does not save the day} Bh6 51. Rb1 $19) 50... dxe3 (50... Qd7 $142 { secures victory} 51. Ke2 dxe3 52. Qxe3 Re6 $19) 51. Qxe3 $11 Bh6 {Black threatens to win material: Bh6xe3} 52. Qe7+ Rg7 (52... Kg8 $142 $5 {must definitely be considered} 53. Qd8+ Kh7 54. Qe7+ Kg8 55. Qd8+ Kh7 56. Qe7+ $11) 53. Qe4+ $16 Kh8 (53... Rg6 $142 54. Rb1 Rh1+ 55. Ke2 Rxe1+ 56. Rxe1 Qb4 57. Qe7+ Rg7 $16) 54. Rcd1 (54. Rb1 $142 Rh1+ 55. Ke2 Qxb1 56. Rxb1 Rxb1 57. Ne5 Rb2+ 58. Kf3 $16) 54... Rh1+ $11 55. Ke2 Qb2+ 56. Nd2 Rxe1+ 57. Kxe1 Rg1+ 58. Nf1 Qc3+ 59. Ke2 Qc2+ 60. Rd2 {White threatens to win material: Rd2xc2} Bxd2 61. Qe8+ Kg7 62. Qe7+ Kh6 63. Qe6+ $4 {spoils everything} (63. Qd6+ Kg5 64. Qe5+ Kh6 65. Qd6+ Kg5 66. Qe5+ Kh6 67. Qd6+ $11) 63... Rg6 {Black threatens to win material: Rg6xe6} (63... Kh5 64. Qf7+ Kh4 65. Qc4+ Qxc4 66. dxc4 Rxf1 67. Kxf1 Kg4 68. Ke2 Bh6 69. Kd3 Kf3 70. Kc2 Ke4 71. Kc3 Bf4 72. Kc2 Kd4 73. Kd1 Kxc4 74. Ke2 Kd4 75. Kf3 Ke5 76. Ke2 Ke4 77. f3+ Kd4 78. Kd1 c4 79. Kc2 c3 80. Kb3 Kd3 81. Ka3 Kc4 82. Ka4 c2 83. Ka5 c1=Q 84. Kb6 Qb1+ 85. Ka6 Qb8 86. Ka5 Qb5#) 64. Qh3+ $11 Kg7 65. Qd7+ Kf6 66. Nxd2 Qb2 67. Qd6+ {White forks: c5} Kg7 68. Qe7+ Kh8 69. Qf8+ Kh7 70. Qf7+ 1/2-1/2

D04 Colle System (1.d4 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Bf5 4.Bd3)

Oops, this post was for a few minutes published when I was in the process of typing things for it. Maybe I am a bit sleepy because it took me awhile to see that I had accidently clicked the publish button. I just saw that this post had some views even though I thought I had not published it yet, then I realised my mistake. Oh well, no harm done, some of you might have seen some preview of the things to come but that is all.

The game below was played in the second round of third division, group 5 team match between ÅmSK and SalSK 3 over thirteen years ago. These matches are played with five player teams and I played on board 4 for SalSK 3. This was one of the two losses we suffered in this match and it was sufficient for our opponent to win the match because in the other three games, we won one and two were drawn. This meant that ÅmSK won the match 2-1 because draws are not counted in the score. In addition to all of the things I have updated today, I also finally found one game that featured a never before seen opening variation as far as this blog is concerned that is. It will be the 425th different variation to appear in this blog.

[Event "Sarjapeli"] [Site "?"] [Date "2002.10.19"] [Round "2"] [White "Ekström, Håkan"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "1624"] [BlackElo "1302"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2002.10.19"] 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Bf5 {Queen's Pawn Game: Colle System, Anti-Colle} ( 3... e6 4. Bd3 c5 5. b3 (5. c3 {Colle System: Traditional Colle}) 5... Nc6 6. Bb2 Bd6 (6... Be7 7. O-O O-O {Rubinstein Opening: Classical Defense}) 7. O-O O-O {Rubinstein Opening: Bogoljubov Defense}) 4. Bd3 {D04 Colle System} Be4 5. Nc3 e6 (5... c6 6. Bxe4 Nxe4 7. Nxe4 dxe4 8. Nd2 f5 9. b3 Nd7 10. Bb2 Nf6 11. f3 exf3 12. Qxf3 Qa5 13. O-O-O g6 14. Kb1 Qd5 15. Qe2 Bg7 16. c4 Qe6 17. Rhe1 Ne4 18. Qf3 Nxd2+ 19. Rxd2 O-O 20. h4 {Dolgitser,K (2280)-McCarthy,B (2250) Long Island 1991 1/2-1/2 (41)}) (5... Bxf3 6. Qxf3 Nc6 7. O-O e6 8. Re1 Bb4 9. a3 Bd6 10. Nb5 O-O 11. Nxd6 cxd6 12. c4 e5 13. cxd5 e4 14. Bxe4 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Re8 16. Qd3 Qa5 17. Bd2 Qxd5 18. Bc3 Ne5 19. Qf5 g6 20. Qg5 {Stanciu,A (1138) -Lazan,D (1106) Calimanesti 2015 0-1}) 6. O-O {N} (6. Bxe4 Nxe4 7. Nxe4 dxe4 8. Nd2 Qg5 9. O-O Qg6 10. f3 exf3 11. Nxf3 Nd7 12. Qe2 c5 13. Qb5 O-O-O 14. c3 Bd6 15. b4 cxb4 16. cxb4 f6 17. Qc4+ Kb8 18. Qxe6 Bxb4 19. Qb3 Ba5 20. Rb1 Qe4 { Elia,A (1850) -Renzi,M (1994) Ladispoli 2009 1-0}) (6. a3 h6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Nb5 Be7 9. Nc3 c6 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. f4 O-O 13. b4 a5 14. b5 c5 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Bd2 Nbd7 17. Na4 cxd4 18. exd4 Qxc2 19. Nc3 e3 20. Qxe3 Nb6 {Dunkel,H (1628) -Schmidt,E (2063) Brakel 2004 1-0 (86)}) (6. Nxe4 $2 dxe4 (6... Nxe4 7. O-O {+/=}) 7. Be2 exf3 8. Bxf3 Qc8 {-+}) 6... Bd6 7. Nb5 O-O 8. Ng5 Nc6 (8... Bxd3 9. cxd3 Be7 10. Nf3 {=}) 9. a3 {Controls b4} (9. Nxe4 dxe4 10. Be2 a6 11. Nxd6 cxd6 {+/=}) 9... e5 (9... Bxd3 10. cxd3 (10. Qxd3 Bxh2+ 11. Kxh2 Ng4+ 12. Kg1 Qxg5 {+/-}) 10... a6 11. Nxd6 cxd6 12. Nf3 {=}) 10. f3 {Covers g4} (10. Nxe4 $5 {is noteworthy} dxe4 11. Be2 {=}) 10... Bxd3 {=/+ Black forks: f1+b5} 11. Qxd3 Re8 12. e4 (12. c4 $5 exd4 13. exd4 dxc4 14. Qxc4 {=/+}) 12... dxe4 13. Nxe4 a6 (13... Nxe4 14. fxe4 exd4 15. Nxd6 Qxd6 {+/-}) 14. Nbxd6 {+/=} cxd6 15. d5 Nxe4 16. fxe4 Ne7 17. Qg3 (17. Be3 b5 {+/=}) 17... Ng6 18. Be3 Rc8 19. c3 Qh4 {Black threatens to win material: Qh4xe4} 20. Qf3 {White threatens to win material: Qf3xf7} Rf8 21. Rae1 Qe7 {White king safety improved} 22. Bd2 Qd7 23. b3 b5 24. Rc1 Ne7 25. Qg3 Kh8 26. c4 bxc4 27. bxc4 f5 {Black threatens to win material: f5xe4} 28. Qh3 Rcd8 (28... a5 {!? =}) 29. Bg5 {+/=} f4 {Black gains space} (29... Rb8 30. Bxe7 Qxe7 31. Rxf5 Qa7+ 32. c5 {+/-}) 30. Qxd7 {+/- } Rxd7 31. Bxe7 Rxe7 32. c5 dxc5 33. Rxc5 Rd8 (33... Rb7 {!? +/-}) 34. Rb1 {+-} h6 35. Rb6 Ra8 (35... a5 36. a4 {+-}) 36. d6 Re6 $4 {the pressure is too much, Black crumbles} (36... Rd7 37. Rxe5 Kg8 38. Kf2 {+-}) 37. Rcc6 (37. d7 Rxb6 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Rxa8 Rd6 40. d8=Q Rxd8 41. Rxd8 f3 42. gxf3 g5 43. Ra8 g4 44. Rxa6 Kg7 45. fxg4 Kf7 46. a4 Ke7 47. Rxh6 Kd7 48. a5 Kc7 49. a6 Kb8 50. Rh7 Ka8 51. g5 Kb8 52. Rf7 Ka8 53. g6 Kb8 54. g7 Kc8 55. g8=Q#) 37... a5 $4 {the position was bad, and this mistake simply hastens the end} (37... Rd8 38. Rxa6 Kh7 {+-}) 38. d7 Rxc6 (38... Ree8 39. Ra6 Rab8 40. dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 41. Rxa5 Rb8 42. Rxe5 f3 43. gxf3 Rb3 44. Kf2 Rxa3 45. Rc7 Ra2+ 46. Kg3 Ra8 47. Ree7 Ra1 48. f4 Rg1+ 49. Kh4 Rg2 50. f5 Kh7 51. Re8 h5 52. h3 Rh2 53. Rcc8 Rxh3+ 54. Kxh3 Kh6 55. Re6+ Kg5 56. Kg3 h4+ 57. Kf3 h3 58. Rg6+ Kh5 59. Rh8#) 39. Rxc6 Kh7 (39... Rf8 { cannot change what is in store for White} 40. Rc8 Kg8 41. Rxf8+ Kxf8 42. d8=Q+ Kf7 43. Qxa5 f3 44. gxf3 h5 45. Qxe5 h4 46. a4 g6 47. a5 g5 48. a6 g4 49. fxg4 h3 50. a7 Kg6 51. a8=Q Kh7 52. Qf5+ Kh6 53. Qaf8#) 40. Rc8 (40. Rc8 Rxc8 41. dxc8=Q f3 42. g4 g6 43. Qf8 h5 44. g5 f2+ 45. Kxf2 a4 46. Qf7+ Kh8 47. Qxg6 h4 48. Qf6+ Kh7 49. Qf7+ Kh8 50. g6 h3 51. Qh7#) 1-0

B20 Sicilian: Unusual White 2nd moves (1.e4 c5 2.b4 cxb4 3.a3 e6 4.d4)

This week has been mostly about the over the board games I have played and it will continue to be like that also for the rest of the week. Game of today is from the last round of the tournament that was played at Vammala in 2002. Before this fifth round, I had lost the first three games and then on the fourth round I managed to finally win a game. The game below unfortunately brought me back to a normal result for me in those days, so I ended up only having 1 point out of the possible 5 points which was really disappointing at the time, despite of the fact that I was the lower rated player in all of these five games.

Today was a really chess filled day because in the morning I went to an elementary school to teach some chess or should I say tried to teach it, because it seemed that no one actually cared to learn the game and after that I went to a high school and had anyone interested shown up for the club, I would have taught some chess there too. Well, due to the way the elementary school chess club has been done this year, not all who participate in it are actually interested in the game. I think that the way it was done last year was much better because then only the children who were interested in chess, participated in it. Last year we also had this club at high school, then basically only one person showed up for it, but it was actually good in some ways because not only was that person interested in chess but also got personal training and because of that may have learned chess better than if on a group. I am far better at teaching chess one on one than for a group of people. I am not saying though that I would be that good in teaching and I actually do not like it all that much, but the way things are at the moment, I am partly forced to do that. In the evening I played on round three in our club tournament which did not go as well as I had thought. I did have some advantage in that game but I guess some less than accurate moves made by me enabled my opponent to get back into the game. I have not had the time to check the game with the computer to see if my position was as good as I thought during the game. I even ended up slightly worse side after a series of moves, but the game ended in a peaceful draw which I need to be happy about considering how the game went before my last move in the game that I think basically forced the draw.

[Event "Vammala"] [Site "?"] [Date "2002.09.01"] [Round "5"] [White "Tuomisto, Kalevi"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [WhiteElo "1506"] [BlackElo "1321"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2002.09.01"] 1. e4 c5 2. b4 cxb4 3. a3 {Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marshall Variation} e6 (3... bxa3 {Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Carlsbad Variation}) (3... d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Bb2 {Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Marienbad Variation} (5. Nf3 e5 6. Bb2 (6. c4 Qe6 7. Bd3 {Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Nanu Gambit}) 6... Nc6 7. c4 Qe6 {Sicilian Defense: Wing Gambit, Romanian Defense})) 4. d4 { B20 Sicilian: Unusual White 2nd moves} Nc6 (4... d5 5. e5 Nc6 6. axb4 Bxb4+ 7. c3 Be7 8. Qg4 g6 9. Bd3 f5 10. Qg3 Na5 11. Ra2 Bd7 12. h4 Nc4 13. Nf3 Qb6 14. h5 g5 15. Bxg5 O-O-O 16. O-O Bb5 17. Qf4 a6 18. Bxe7 Nxe7 19. Ng5 {Schmitt,L (2224)-Fang,J (2433) Manchester 1994 0-1 (55)}) 5. Nf3 {N Black's piece can't move: c8} (5. axb4 Bxb4+ 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 (7. Nf3 d6 8. Bd3 Nf6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O b6 {1/2-1/2 (10) Mihok,O (2160)-Zilahi, G (2102) Budapest 2005}) 7... Bg5 ( 7... d5 8. e5 Bg5 9. f4 Bh6 10. Nf3 Nge7 11. O-O Ng6 12. Ng5 Qb6 13. Kh1 O-O 14. Bd2 Qb2 15. Na3 a6 16. Nb5 Rb8 17. Rb1 Qa2 18. Ra1 Qb2 19. Rb1 Qa2 20. Ra1 Qb2 21. Nd6 Qb6 22. Rb1 {Bradley,A-Bates,L (2178) ICC INT 2009 1-0 (40)}) 8. f4 Bh4+ 9. g3 Be7 10. e5 Rb8 11. Qg4 g6 12. Na3 d5 13. Ne2 a6 14. O-O b5 15. Qf3 f5 16. Be3 h5 17. h4 Nh6 {0-1 (17) Bainov, D-Grekhneva,N (1715) Irkutsk 2012}) 5... Nge7 (5... d5 $5 {is worth looking at} 6. e5 a6 {=}) 6. axb4 (6. d5 $5 Nb8 7. axb4 {+/-}) 6... Nxb4 {+/= Black has a new passed pawn: a7. Black has a cramped position. Black's pieces can't move: c8+f8} 7. Ba3 {White threatens to win material: Ba3xb4} Qb6 (7... Ng6 8. h4 d5 9. h5 dxe4 10. hxg6 exf3 11. Rxh7 {+/-}) 8. Nbd2 Nbc6 $4 (8... Ng6 {would save the game} 9. c4 Qc7 {+/-}) 9. Nc4 {+-} Qc7 10. e5 {Black has a cramped position. Black's pieces can't move: c8+f8 } (10. Nd6+ {finishes off the opponent} Kd8 11. Nxf7+ Ke8 12. Nd6+ Kd8 13. Ng5 Qa5+ 14. Ke2 {+-}) 10... Nd5 $4 (10... Nf5 $5 {and Black can hope to survive} 11. c3 b6 {=}) 11. Bxf8 (11. Nd6+ Bxd6 12. Bxd6 Qb6 {+-}) 11... Rxf8 (11... Kxf8 $5 12. Bd3 Nf4 {+/-}) 12. Nd6+ {+-} Ke7 $2 (12... Kd8 13. c4 Nde7 14. Bd3 {+-}) 13. Bd3 (13. c4 {makes it even easier for White} Ndb4 14. Qd2 f6 {+-}) 13... h6 (13... Nxd4 14. c4 (14. Nxd4 $2 Qc3+ 15. Kf1 Qxd4 {-+}) 14... Nxf3+ 15. Qxf3 {+-} (15. gxf3 $6 Nf4 16. Qd2 Nxd3+ 17. Qxd3 Qc5 {+/-})) 14. O-O (14. c4 {might be the shorter path} Nf4 15. Qd2 {+-}) 14... Ncb4 $4 {terrible, but the game is lost in any case} (14... f6 15. Be4 fxe5 16. dxe5 {+-}) 15. Rc1 ( 15. c4 {keeps an even firmer grip} Nf4 16. Be4 f6 {+-}) 15... Nxd3 $4 { terrible, but what else could Black do to save the game?} (15... Nc3 16. Qe1 Nbd5 {+-}) 16. cxd3 (16. Qxd3 $5 {seems even better} Rh8 17. c4 Nf4 {+-}) 16... Qb6 17. Qd2 (17. Qe2 {makes it even easier for White} Kd8 {+-}) 17... a5 (17... Qb3 {is not the saving move} 18. Rb1 Qa3 19. Rfc1 {+-}) 18. Rc5 Nb4 (18... Qa6 {+- a last effort to resist the inevitable}) 19. Rfc1 Nc6 20. Qf4 a4 (20... Qb4 {+- the only chance to get some counterplay}) 21. Qh4+ f6 22. Qg4 g5 23. Qh5 Kd8 (23... fxe5 {is one last hope} 24. dxe5 Nxe5 25. Nxe5 Kxd6 {+-}) 24. Qxh6 Rg8 25. Qxf6+ (25. Qh7 Kc7 26. Qxg8 fxe5 27. Nb5+ Qxb5 28. Rxb5 exd4 29. Nxg5 b6 30. Nf7 Kb7 31. Rb4 Rb8 32. Rxc6 dxc6 33. Qd8 Ka7 34. Rxa4+ Ba6 35. Qe7+ Rb7 36. Rxa6+ Kxa6 37. Qa3+ Kb5 38. Nd6#) 25... Kc7 26. Qf7 Rd8 (26... Rh8 { does not improve anything} 27. d5 Kb8 {+-}) 27. Nxg5 (27. Rb5 {and White can already relax} Qa6 28. d5 exd5 29. e6 Kxd6 30. e7 {+-}) 27... a3 (27... Kb8 { is the last straw} 28. Rb5 Qc7 {+-}) 28. Rb5 Qa6 29. Nxe6+ Kb8 30. Rcb1 (30. Nc5 {and White takes home the point} Qxb5 31. Nxb5 {+-}) 30... Ra7 $4 {Black has lost his nerve... understandable when you consider his position} (30... a2 31. Nxd8 $1 {a forceful and devastating end} Qxb5 32. Qxa2 Rxa2 33. Nxb5 Nxd8 { +-}) 31. Nc5 (31. Nc5 Qa5 32. Rxa5 Rxa5 33. Nxc8 {+-}) 1-0

B20 Sicilian: Unusual White 2nd moves (1.e4 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Be2)

This game was played in the third round of a tournament at Vammala in 2002. For some reason this was the only round where I had not marked the ratings of the players in the notation. I am not sure about the real reason behind this oddity, but it might be something to do with the fact that I had lost both of my previous games in this tournament.

It was quite an uphill battle for me to make any progress at all in chess in the early stages of my tournament playing career. Career might not be a suitable word to use in this situation because I have never played chess professionally, but I am not sure what other word would have the intended meaning. I think I played around 100 games in tournaments before I started to get my rating to a significantly higher level and also be able to keep it there with ease. The amount of games it actually took is not known for me because I did not really make a note of it at the time. I guess it would have been interesting for me to know now, but I did not regard it as being all that important to me at the time, I was only happy about the fact that my rating started to make its unstoppable climb, well for awhile anyway. I am not even sure about the details anymore, I think when I started that big climb, I was able to increase my rating 283 or 383 points in a year. There is a hundred point difference there, but I can't honestly remember anymore which one of those is the correct amount. As my over the board rating in standard is concerned, it is the biggest climb I have ever been able to do in a year. There have been a couple of times when I was able to increase my rating about a hundred points in a tournament, but sadly I have done the exact opposite as well and plummeted my rating around a hundred points, though that rating drop I think has only happened once.

[Event "Vammala"] [Site "?"] [Date "2002.08.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Hentunen, Jesse"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2002.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. c4 {Sicilian Defense: Staunton-Cochrane Variation} Nc6 (2... d6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 h5 {Sicilian Defense: Gloria Variation}) 3. Nf3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Be2 {B20 Sicilian: Unusual White 2nd moves} e6 6. d3 Nge7 7. Bg5 (7. O-O a6 8. Be3 Nd4 9. Bxd4 cxd4 10. Nb1 b5 11. b3 O-O 12. Na3 bxc4 13. bxc4 d5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. Nd2 dxe4 16. Nxe4 Nd5 17. Qd2 Be6 18. Nc5 Bf5 19. Bf3 Ra7 20. Nc4 Nc3 21. Rfe1 Qc7 {Memic,M-Abel,L (2305) Wiesbaden 1990 0-1 (35)}) 7... Qb6 {N} ( 7... h6 8. Be3 Nd4 9. Qd2 d6 (9... g5 10. Bxd4 cxd4 11. Nb5 Nc6 12. Nd6+ Kf8 13. h3 Qc7 14. c5 b6 15. Nxc8 Qxc8 16. cxb6 axb6 17. O-O Bf6 18. Rfc1 Qd8 19. b4 Ra4 20. b5 Ne5 21. Qc2 Nxf3+ 22. Bxf3 Ra3 23. Qc4 Kg7 24. Bd1 {Chernov,V (2029)-Vrublevskaya,O (2157) St Petersburg 2005 0-1 (50)}) 10. h4 a6 11. Rb1 Nec6 12. Bf4 f5 13. g3 Nxe2 14. Qxe2 e5 15. Bd2 O-O 16. Nh2 Nd4 17. Qd1 b5 18. b3 Ra7 19. Be3 Raf7 20. Rb2 Nc6 21. f3 f4 22. Bf2 {Tarasov,V-Voitsekhovsky,S Nizhny Novgorod 2015 0-1 (38)}) (7... O-O 8. Qd2 Re8 9. O-O a6 10. Rac1 Rb8 11. a4 Nd4 12. Nxd4 cxd4 13. Nd1 d5 14. exd5 exd5 15. c5 Bf5 16. f4 Qd7 17. a5 Rbc8 18. b4 Nc6 19. h3 Nxb4 20. g4 Rxe2 21. Qxe2 Bxd3 22. Qd2 {Boerding,T (1726) -Tempelman,K (1961) Germany 2012 0-1 (35)}) 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Rb1 Re8 10. a3 { Covers b4} a5 11. O-O Nd4 (11... d6 12. Qd2 {=}) 12. Nxd4 {+/=} Bxd4 (12... cxd4 13. Na4 Qc6 14. Qb3 {+/=}) 13. Nb5 {+/-} Bg7 14. Bf4 e5 {Black threatens to win material: e5xf4} 15. Bd2 Nc6 16. f4 (16. Qd1 Nd4 17. Nxd4 exd4 {+/=}) 16... Nd4 (16... exf4 $5 17. Kh1 Qd8 {=}) 17. Nxd4 {+/-} exd4 18. f5 (18. b4 cxb4 19. axb4 axb4 20. Rxb4 Qc7 {+/-}) 18... a4 19. fxg6 (19. Bg4 Be5 {+/=}) 19... fxg6 {=} 20. Rf2 Qb3 (20... d6 21. h4 {=}) 21. Qc1 Ra6 $4 {cause more grief} (21... b5 22. Bd1 Qxd3 {+/-}) 22. Bh6 {+-} Rae6 (22... Qb6 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 {+-}) 23. Bg4 (23. Qg5 {and White has it in the bag} Qb6 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Rbf1 {+-}) 23... R6e7 (23... Qxd3 $5 24. Bxe6+ Rxe6 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 {+/-}) 24. Bxg7 { +-} Kxg7 25. Qd2 Qb6 26. Rbf1 Qd8 27. Qg5 Re5 $4 {Black crumbles in face of a dire situation} (27... d6 28. Bxc8 Qxc8 29. Qf6+ Kg8 30. Qxd6 Rd7 {+-}) 28. Rf7+ Kg8 29. Qh6 (29. Qh6 g5 30. Qxh7#) 1-0

C77 Spanish Game: 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6, unusual lines (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.d3 Bd6)

This game was played in the first round of the 2014 October Glacial Super Casual Banded I 1650+ tournament that is still in progress at Red Hot Pawn. For me this game did not mean all that much anymore as far as the tournament is concerned because I have not been fighting for the win of the group in a long time, but the result of this game did have an affect on the struggle for the win because with this win takinitez007 (1856) made sure that he will advance to the second round. There is also one other player, caissad4 (1914), who can share the win of the group and also advance to the second round, but in order to do so, caissad4 needs to win all of his remaining games and takinitez007 can't gain any more points in his remaining two games. I am currently in shared fifth place and it is still uncertain where I will be in the final standings. In theory I still can fight for a second place finish, but it does require the help of other players.

[Event "Glacial Super Casual Banded"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.11.03"] [Round "1"] [White "takinitez007"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "1813"] [BlackElo "1836"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Bxc6 {Spanish Game: Morphy Defense, Bayreuth Variation} (5. d3 {Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Anderssen Variation}) (5. d4 {Spanish Game: Morphy Defense, Mackenzie Variation}) (5. Qe2 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. d4 d6 8. c3 Bg4 {Spanish Game: Wormald Attack, Gruenfeld Variation}) 5... dxc6 6. d3 Bd6 {C77 Spanish Game: 3...a6 4.Ba4 Nf6, unusual lines} 7. Bg5 Bg4 (7... h6 8. Be3 (8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Qe7 10. Qe2 Nh5 11. Nbd2 Bg4 {1/2-1/2 (11) Oltean,L (2348)-Raducanu,A (2081) Olanesti 2013}) 8... Ng4 9. Bd2 f5 10. Bc3 Bc5 11. O-O fxe4 12. Nxe5 Qh4 13. Nxg4 Bxg4 14. Qe1 O-O 15. Nd2 exd3 16. cxd3 Rae8 17. Ne4 Bf5 18. Bxg7 Bxf2+ 19. Rxf2 Kxg7 20. Qc3+ Kg6 21. Raf1 Qe7 22. Qc5 {Engqvist,T (2359)-Furhoff,J (2413) Stockholm 2009 1-0 (51)}) 8. Nbd2 O-O {N} (8... h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Be7 12. g4 Nd7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. O-O Qf6 15. Qxf6 Nxf6 16. f4 exf4 17. Rxf4 Rfe8 18. Raf1 Re7 19. Kg2 Rd8 20. Nc4 b6 21. Ne3 Red7 22. Nf5 Nh7 23. h4 {Sztaray,G (2038)-Szilagyi,T (2066) Hungary 2010 1/2-1/2 (33)}) (8... Qe7 9. Qe2 b5 10. h3 Bh5 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nh4 Qe6 13. Nf5 {1/2-1/2 (13) Sztaray,G (2147)-Mizik,Z (2035) Hungary 2008}) 9. h3 Be6 10. O-O Re8 11. Bh4 Qe7 (11... c5 {!? +/= might be a viable alternative}) 12. d4 {+/-} Bd7 $2 (12... Bc8 13. Nc4 Be6 14. Ncxe5 {+/-} (14. Nfxe5 $6 Bxc4 15. Nxc4 Qxe4 16. Bxf6 gxf6 {+/=})) 13. c3 (13. dxe5 $5 Bxe5 14. Nc4 {+-}) 13... h6 14. Nc4 (14. Re1 Qe6 {+/-}) 14... Qe6 (14... g5 15. dxe5 gxh4 16. Re1 Bxe5 17. Ncxe5 {+/-} (17. Nfxe5 Be6 {+/=})) 15. Bxf6 (15. dxe5 $5 Qxc4 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. exd6 cxd6 18. Qxd6 {+-}) 15... gxf6 {+/-} 16. d5 (16. Nxd6 $5 Qxd6 17. Re1 {+/-}) 16... cxd5 {=} 17. exd5 Qf5 18. Ne3 (18. Nxd6 cxd6 19. Nd2 Qg6 {=}) 18... Qg6 {=/+} 19. Kh1 Bc5 20. b4 {White threatens to win material: b4xc5} Bd6 21. Nh2 (21. Nh4 $5 Qg5 22. Nf3 {=}) 21... Kh8 (21... f5 22. Nc4 {+/-}) 22. f3 {Prevents intrusion on g4} (22. Nc4 Bb5 23. Nxd6 Bxf1 24. Nxf7+ Qxf7 25. Nxf1 Rad8 {+/-}) 22... Rg8 23. a3 f5 24. Qc2 (24. Rf2 Be7 {+/-}) 24... Qg5 {Black threatens to win material: Qg5xe3} (24... e4 $5 25. f4 {-+}) 25. Rae1 (25. Nc4 Ba4 26. Qb2 Qf4 27. Nxd6 cxd6 {+/-}) 25... Qf4 {Black prepares e4} (25... f4 26. Nc4 {+/-}) 26. Rf2 (26. g4 a5 27. Nxf5 Bxf5 28. Qxf5 Qxf5 29. gxf5 axb4 30. axb4 Rg3 {+/-}) 26... e4 {Black has a mate threat} (26... a5 {!? +/-}) 27. Nef1 {=/+} Qh4 (27... e3 {and Black could well hope to play on} 28. Rxe3 Rae8 {=}) 28. fxe4 {+/-} fxe4 29. Rxe4 Qh5 30. c4 Bf5 $2 (30... Rg7 {+/-}) 31. Qc3+ {+-} Kh7 (31... Rg7 32. Re3 Qg6 33. Nf3 {+-}) 32. Re3 Qg6 (32... Bxh2 {does not save the day} 33. Nxh2 Qg6 {+-}) 33. g4 (33. Ref3 {makes sure everything is clear} Be4 34. Rf6 Bxg2+ 35. Kg1 Bxd5+ 36. Rxg6 Rxg6+ 37. Ng4 {+-}) 33... Be4+ {+/=} 34. Kg1 f5 (34... Rae8 35. Ng3 Be5 36. Qd2 {+/=}) 35. Nd2 (35. c5 Bf8 36. Qe5 Re8 37. Qxc7+ Bg7 {+/-}) 35... Rae8 36. Nxe4 Rxe4 (36... fxe4 $5 37. Ree2 Be5 {+/-}) 37. Rxe4 {+-} (37. Rxf5 $4 {White will not be able to digest the pawn} Rxe3 38. Qxe3 Qxf5 {-+}) 37... fxe4 38. Qf6 (38. c5 {would have given White the upper hand} Be7 39. Re2 {+/-}) 38... Qxf6 {=} 39. Rxf6 Re8 40. Rf2 ( 40. Kg2 e3 41. Re6 Rxe6 42. dxe6 Kg7 {+/=}) 40... Be5 (40... a5 {!? =}) 41. Re2 {White threatens to win material: Re2xe4} Bd4+ (41... Kg6 42. Nf1 {+/-} (42. Rxe4 Bxh2+ 43. Kxh2 Rxe4 {-+})) 42. Kg2 {+/-} Kg6 43. Nf1 Kg5 44. Ng3 e3 $2 ( 44... Kf4 45. Nf5 Bh8 46. c5 {+/-}) 45. Nf5 (45. Kf3 {+- makes it even easier for White}) 45... Ba7 $4 {an oversight. But Black was lost anyway.} (45... Re4 46. Nxd4 Rxd4 47. Rxe3 Rxc4 {+-}) 46. Kg3 (46. Kf3 {keeps an even firmer grip} h5 47. c5 b6 {+-}) 46... Re4 (46... h5 47. Kf3 Rd8 {+-}) 47. c5 {White intends d6} b6 (47... Kf6 {cannot change what is in store for White} 48. h4 {+-}) 48. d6 (48. c6 b5 49. d6 cxd6 50. h4+ Kf6 51. c7 {+-}) 48... cxd6 49. Nxd6 (49. cxd6 {and White has triumphed} Re5 50. Nd4 {+-}) 49... Bb8 $2 (49... Re6 50. h4+ Kg6 51. h5+ Kh7 {+-}) 50. Kf3 (50. Kf3 Rf4+ 51. Kxe3 bxc5 52. bxc5 {+-}) 1-0

B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 e6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nf6 11.Bd2 Be7 12.O-O-O Nbd7)

This is one of those games where the move order in the opening is different than the theoretical one. The moves played in the game below follow theory up to my move 7.Nf3, after that the move order in theory is 7...Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.O-O-O Be7. This was played in a team match called Battle in the Wolves' Den. It was played between The 13th Legion and TROY on 18 boards. I played on board 1 for TROY in this match, but I think the name of our team changed during this match. I am not sure, but I think I have never before had such a great success while playing on board 1, I think I have not been able to win both of my games when I have played on this board. This match was surprisingly close despite the fact that we had a lot of timeout losses. We ended up losing the match with a score of 20 - 16, so if we had not lost ten games on time, the result could have been quite different. Our opponent only lost three games on time. This match started on March 30th 2015 and finished on October 20th 2015. Until Monday, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

[Event "Battle in the Wolves' Den - Board 1"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.08.10"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "zoslen"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B19"] [WhiteElo "1879"] [BlackElo "1787"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 e6 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Nf6 11. Bd2 Be7 12. O-O-O Nbd7 {B19 Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line} 13. Rh4 (13. Rhe1 a5 14. Qe2 O-O 15. Kb1 Qb6 16. Ne5 a4 17. c4 a3 18. b3 Qxd4 19. Bb4 Qxe5 20. Qxe5 Nxe5 21. Bxe7 Rfe8 22. Bb4 Ned7 23. Ne4 b6 24. Nd6 Reb8 25. f3 b5 26. Bc3 bxc4 27. Nxc4 Nd5 {Huebner,R (2600)-Larsen,B (2585) Tilburg 1980 0-1 (81)} 28. Bd2 Nc5 29. Ne5 Ra6 30. Rc1 Rb5 31. Rc4 Nf6 32. g4 Nfd7 33. Bc3 Nb6 34. Rd4 Nd5 35. Bd2 f6 36. Ng6 e5 37. Rc4 Nd3 38. Ree4 c5 39. Ra4 Rbb6 40. Rxa6 Rxa6 41. Rc4 Ra7 42. Nh4 Nb6 { Huebner,R (2600)-Larsen,B (2585) Tilburg 1980 0-1 (81)}) 13... c5 {N} (13... O-O 14. Ne5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Qxd3 16. cxd3 Nd7 17. Re4 Rfd8 18. d4 Nb6 19. Ba5 Rd5 20. Bxb6 axb6 21. a3 b5 22. Nf1 b4 23. axb4 Rb5 24. Kc2 Rxb4 25. Re3 Rd8 26. Red3 f6 27. f3 Rd5 28. Re1 {Waschk,A-Fette,M (2390) Germany 1992 0-1 (33)} Kf7 29. Rde3 Rdxd4 30. exf6 Bxf6 31. Rxe6 Rdc4+ 32. Kd3 Rc5 33. R6e4 {0-1 (33) Waschk,A-Fette,M (2390) Germany 1992}) 14. Be3 {Black has a cramped position} Qb6 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Nd5 {Black king safety improved} 17. Rg4 (17. Rhh1 {= }) 17... Nxe3 (17... O-O-O {and Black can hope to survive} 18. Qb3 Nxe3 19. fxe3 Rxd1+ 20. Kxd1 Rd8+ 21. Ke2 Qc6 {=/+}) 18. Qxe3 {+/-} ({Inferior is} 18. fxe3 O-O 19. Ne4 Rad8 {=/+}) 18... Rg8 (18... Rd8 19. Rxd8+ Qxd8 20. Ne4 {+/-}) 19. Ne4 Rd8 $2 (19... Kf8 {+/-}) 20. Rxd8+ {+-} Kxd8 (20... Qxd8 21. Nf6+ $1 { Deflection: g7} Bxf6 22. exf6 Qd5 23. Rxg7 Rf8 24. Qxh6 Qe5 {+-}) 21. Qg3 (21. Nf6 $1 {and White has it in the bag} Bxf6 22. exf6 {+-}) 21... Qa6 {+/=} 22. Qd3+ (22. Rxg7 $4 {A poison bait which should not be taken} Rxg7 23. Qxg7 Qe2 24. Qg8+ Kc7 {-+}) 22... Qxd3 23. cxd3 {White has a new backward pawn: d3} Kc7 (23... g5 24. hxg6 Rxg6 25. Rxg6 fxg6 26. Kd2 {=}) 24. Kc2 (24. Nf6 Bxf6 25. exf6 g5 26. hxg6 fxg6 {+/=}) 24... Kc6 (24... g5 25. hxg6 Rxg6 26. Rxg6 fxg6 27. Nf6 {=}) 25. f4 (25. Nf6 $1 Bxf6 26. exf6 {+/-}) 25... f5 $4 {throws away the game} (25... g5 {= is just about the only chance}) 26. exf6 {+-} (26. exf6 Bxf6 27. Nxf6 {+-}) 1-0

B45 Sicilian Four Knights (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Bb6 7.Be2)

The game below was played in the first round of a tournament that was held at Vammala in 2002. Back then, the most common result for me in over the board games was a loss and this tournament was no exception, I lost four of the five games I played. Well, to be fair to my old self, most of the opponents I faced in this tournament were clearly higher rated than me at the time. Only one opponent was quite close to my rating and that game I was able to win.

Tomorrow I will post some of my correspondence games again, both chess and chess960 games will be featured. I previously thought that I would post those chess960 games today, but then I experienced the lack of productivity and inspiration, so it will be something I do tomorrow instead. Speaking of correspondence games, I only have 72 in progress at the moment, so things are definitely looking brighter on that area. I should have increasingly more time to play the remaining games for the title at the FIDE Online Arena and maybe even have time to read some books I have bought but not read yet. I have around 20 books that are in my reading schedule that I have not even opened yet. Then at some point I should start doing tactics training again and do that regularly, I would also like to go through my chess books that have been collecting dust for years. But I think that I will start going through those chess books only after I have read those books unrelated to chess first.

[Event "Vammala"] [Site "?"] [Date "2002.08.31"] [Round "1"] [White "Laurila, Antti"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B45"] [WhiteElo "1616"] [BlackElo "1321"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2002.09.01"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 {Sicilian Defense: Paulsen Variation, Normal Variation} Bc5 (5... a6 6. Be2 Nge7 {Sicilian Defense: Paulsen Variation, Taimanov Variation}) (5... Nf6 6. Ndb5 Bb4 7. Nd6+ { Sicilian Defense: Paulsen Variation, American Attack}) (5... Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Be2 {Sicilian Defense: Paulsen Variation, Bastrikov Variation}) 6. Nb3 Bb6 7. Be2 {B45 Sicilian Four Knights} Qf6 {Black has a mate threat} (7... Nf6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 d5 11. exd5 exd5 12. O-O Be6 13. Re1 Qd7 14. Bb5 O-O-O 15. a4 a6 16. Be5 Ng4 17. Bxc6 Qxc6 18. Bd4 Qd6 19. g3 h5 20. Bxb6 Qxb6 21. Qd4 Qc7 22. Nc5 {Sanchez Quintero, R (2120)-Rodriguez Mellado,A (1741) Gran Canaria 2012 1-0}) 8. Bf3 {N} (8. f4 Qh4+ 9. g3 Qe7 10. Nb5 a6 11. Nd6+ Kf8 12. f5 Bc7 13. Bf4 e5 14. Nxc8 Rxc8 15. Be3 d6 16. Qd2 Rd8 17. h4 h6 18. O-O-O Nf6 19. Bf3 Rd7 20. g4 Ng8 21. Nc5 Rd8 22. Nxb7 Rd7 {Arancibia Moreno,R (2408)-Cid Gutierrez,S Santiago de Chile 2009 1-0 (43)}) (8. O-O Nge7 {+/=}) 8... a6 { Consolidates b5} 9. Qd3 (9. Qd6 Nge7 {+/=}) 9... Nge7 10. Be3 {White threatens to win material: Be3xb6} Ne5 {Black threatens to win material: Ne5xd3. Black forks: d3+f3} 11. Qe2 Bxe3 (11... Bc7 12. h4 {+/=}) 12. Qxe3 {+/=} O-O 13. Be2 N7c6 (13... d5 14. O-O-O {+/=}) 14. a3 (14. O-O-O b5 {+/-}) 14... Rb8 (14... b5 15. O-O-O {+/=}) 15. f4 Ng6 16. g3 Rd8 17. h4 (17. O-O-O {!? +/-}) 17... d5 { +/= Black has a cramped position} 18. e5 {White threatens to win material: e5xf6} Qe7 19. Nd4 (19. O-O-O {!? +/=}) 19... Qc5 {= Black threatens to win material: Qc5xd4} 20. Rd1 Nge7 21. Qd3 (21. Qf2 Nxd4 22. Qxd4 Qa5 {=}) 21... Nxd4 (21... Bd7 22. Nb3 Qa7 23. Qf3 {=/+}) 22. Qxd4 {=} Qxd4 23. Rxd4 {Black has a cramped position} Nc6 {Black threatens to win material: Nc6xd4} 24. Rd2 b5 25. b4 {White has a new backward pawn: c2} Bb7 26. O-O Rd7 (26... Rbc8 27. Rf3 {=}) 27. Ne4 Rbd8 (27... Rc7 28. Nc5 {+/=}) 28. Nd6 {An ideal square for the white knight.} (28. Nc5 Rc7 {+/=}) 28... Ne7 (28... Ba8 29. Rfd1 {=}) 29. g4 {White plans f5} (29. a4 Bc6 {+/=}) 29... Ba8 30. Bd3 {White intends f5} ( 30. a4 Bc6 {+/=}) 30... Nc8 31. Nxc8 Rxc8 32. f5 {White gains space} Rc3 { Black threatens to win material: Rc3xa3} 33. Ra1 d4 (33... Rd8 {!? = might be a viable alternative}) 34. a4 {+/-} Bc6 35. axb5 axb5 36. Bxb5 $1 {Deflection: a8.} Rd8 $4 {solves nothing} (36... Bxb5 37. Ra8+ {Mate attack Deflection}) 37. Bxc6 {+-} Rxc6 38. Rad1 $4 {not a good decision, because now the opponent is right back in the game} (38. Rxd4 $1 {seems even better} Rdc8 39. c4 h5 {+-}) 38... Kf8 $2 (38... Rc4 {+/-}) 39. Rxd4 {+-} Rxd4 40. Rxd4 Rxc2 (40... exf5 41. c4 fxg4 42. Rxg4 Ke7 {+-}) 41. fxe6 $4 {throws away the game} (41. f6 {and the result of the game is clear: White will win} gxf6 42. exf6 {+-}) 41... fxe6 { +/=} 42. Rd6 {White threatens to win material: Rd6xe6} (42. Kf1 Ke7 {+/=}) 42... Ke7 43. Rb6 Rc7 $2 (43... Rc4 {= would allow Black to play on}) 44. Kf2 { +-} h6 (44... Rc4 45. Kg3 h6 46. Rb7+ Kf8 47. b5 Rc3+ 48. Kf4 Rc4+ 49. Kf3 Rc3+ 50. Ke2 {+-}) 45. Ke3 g5 (45... Rc4 46. Rb7+ Kf8 {+-}) 46. hxg5 hxg5 47. Kd4 Kd7 48. Rb5 (48. b5 {might be the shorter path} Rc2 49. Rb7+ Kc8 {+-}) 48... Rc6 $4 {Black falls apart} (48... Rc2 49. Ra5 Rg2 {+-}) 49. Rc5 Rxc5 50. Kxc5 Kc7 51. b5 Kb7 (51... Kd7 {hardly improves anything} 52. b6 Kd8 53. Kd6 Kc8 54. Kc6 Kd8 55. b7 Ke8 56. Kd6 Kf8 57. b8=Q+ Kg7 58. Kxe6 Kg6 59. Qb7 Kh6 60. Kf7 Kh7 61. Qh1#) 52. b6 Kc8 (52... Kb8 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} 53. Kd6 Kb7 54. Kxe6 Kc6 55. Kf6 Kxb6 56. e6 Kb5 57. e7 Kc4 58. Ke5 Kd3 59. e8=Q Kc4 60. Kd6 Kc3 61. Kd5 Kc2 62. Kc4 Kd2 63. Qe4 Kc1 64. Kc3 Kd1 65. Qe5 Kc1 66. Qe1#) 53. Kd6 (53. Kd6 Kb7 54. Kxe6 Kc6 55. Ke7 Kxb6 56. Kd6 Ka6 57. e6 Ka5 58. Kc5 Ka4 59. e7 Kb3 60. e8=Q Kc2 61. Qe3 Kb1 62. Qf2 Ka1 63. Kb4 Kb1 64. Kb3 Ka1 65. Qe1#) (53. Kc6 Kd8 54. b7 Ke8 55. b8=Q+ Kf7 56. Qh8 Kg6 57. Kd6 Kf7 58. Qh7+ Kf8 59. Kxe6 Ke8 60. Qe7#) 1-0

B23 Closed Sicilian: Lines without g3 (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.d3 g6 4.Be3)

I am starting to go through my over the board games again after a long break. When I published them on the blog, I did not post all that many of them. That will most likely change in the near future, or so it would seem at this time anyway. I will go through the database starting from the earliest examples and at some point I will be able to get to my most recent OTB games. It will take some time because there are around 500 of them. I do not even have all of them in my database just yet because in the past few years, I have not been bothered to put them in any database. Even after starting to do this blog I have rarely put any of my OTB games into a database, mainly because I have preferred the games that I have played in the different correspondence chess sites as a content provider for the blog. Now though it seems like a suitable time to do this change as my correspondence games are not ending fast enough to provide enough content and also because I have, at least for the moment, gone through all the games that I have played at the FIDE Online Arena.

The notation below is the only notation I have from this rapid chess tournament that was played at Salo over thirteen years ago. I do not remember much from those games, but I do remember the place where this tournament was held back then. I have fond memories of playing there even though my results were never all that great. It somehow had this old time feel to it, which I really like. These days the tournaments that I have participated in have this modern feel to them and they can't in my opinion bring the same kind of atmosphere to the tournaments that I experienced while playing in this old place so many years ago and in one other place where tournaments where used to being held. I kind of miss those times and tournaments being held in those places, even if the places that tournaments are held now are more spacious and in other ways much better than the old places. If I remember correctly, the copy of the notation was given to me by my opponent, I did not mark my moves in these rapid chess tournaments back then and after all these years have passed, I am quite sad that I did not do that. It would have been nice to look at those games after all this time.

[Event "Salon nopean shakin turnaus"] [Site "?"] [Date "2002.05.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Torkkola, Jari"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "1837"] [BlackElo "1303"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2002.05.11"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 {Sicilian Defense: Closed Variation, Traditional} 3. d3 (3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6 6. f5 {Sicilian Defense: Grand Prix Attack, Schofman Variation}) (3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 {Sicilian Defense: Closed Variation} (6. f4 e5 7. Nh3 Nge7 {Sicilian Defense: Closed Variation, Botvinnik Defense I, Edge Variation})) 3... g6 4. Be3 {B23 Closed Sicilian: Lines without g3} e6 (4... Nd4 5. Nce2 Bg7 6. c3 Nxe2 7. Nxe2 b6 8. g3 Bb7 9. Bg2 Nf6 10. O-O O-O 11. h3 Qc7 12. c4 e6 13. f4 Ne8 14. Nc3 Rd8 15. Bf2 d5 16. cxd5 exd5 17. e5 d4 18. Ne4 Kh8 19. Re1 {Smyslov,V (2510)-Bacrot,E (2470) Albert 1996 0-1 (62)}) 5. g3 {N} (5. Be2 d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. d4 Bg7 8. Nf3 Bg4 9. Bb5 Bxf3 10. gxf3 Nge7 11. Qd2 O-O 12. Ne2 c4 13. c3 Nf5 14. O-O-O a6 15. Ba4 Qa5 16. b3 b5 17. bxc4 Qxa4 18. cxd5 Nce7 19. Nf4 Rfd8 {Pagerka, M-Langnerova,K Mureck 2004 0-1}) (5. Qd2 Qa5 (5... Bg7 6. Be2 Nge7 7. Bh6 O-O 8. Bxg7 Kxg7 9. h4 Qb6 10. O-O-O a5 11. h5 gxh5 12. Rxh5 a4 13. Qh6+ Kg8 14. Qxh7# {1-0 (14) Beranova,K-Malkova,A Kouty nad Desnou 2013}) 6. f4 d6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. d4 Nge7 9. Be2 O-O 10. g4 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Qb4 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. O-O-O e5 15. f5 Bd7 16. f6+ Kxf6 17. Qh6 Ke6 18. g5 f5 19. gxf6 Rxf6 { Rawlinson,C (2058)-Lamont,R (1894) England 2015 1-0}) (5. d4 Bg7 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Nge2 Nf6 8. f3 b6 9. cxb6 d5 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 O-O 12. e5 Nd7 13. b4 Qxb4 14. Rb1 Qa5 15. b7 Bxb7 16. Rxb7 Nxe5 17. Rb5 Qc7 18. Be2 Rfc8 19. O-O Ng4 { Karasev,V (2412)-Novogrudsky,N (2226) Odintsovo 2008 1-0}) (5. d4 d5 6. Bb5 Bg7 {=}) 5... d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. d4 (7. Qe2 Be6 8. Nf3 {=}) 7... c4 (7... Bg7 8. Nge2 Bg4 {=/+}) 8. Bg2 {White threatens to win material: Bg2xd5} Be6 9. Nge2 Bg7 10. O-O Nge7 11. Nf4 {d5 becomes the focus of attention} Qd7 12. Nb5 (12. b3 cxb3 13. axb3 O-O {+/=}) 12... O-O {=} 13. Nxe6 fxe6 (13... Qxe6 $2 14. Nc7 Qd7 15. Nxa8 Rxa8 16. c3 {+-}) 14. c3 {Prevents intrusion on b4} a6 {Black threatens to win material: a6xb5} 15. Na3 b5 16. Nc2 Rab8 17. Bf4 Rb7 18. a3 { Secures b4} a5 19. Re1 Nf5 20. Qe2 {White threatens to win material: Qe2xe6} Qe7 $4 (20... Nd8 {+/= saving the game}) 21. Qxe6+ {+-} Qxe6 22. Rxe6 (22. Rxe6 Nce7 23. Ra6 {+-}) 1-0

B83 Sicilian Scheveningen: 6.Be2, lines without ...a6 (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O)

This was played in a team match called Chess mates 97th match. The match is played between ♕♖ChEsS MaTeS♕♖ and Unikat - Automat Team on 20 boards. I play on board 4 for ♕♖ChEsS MaTeS♕♖ in this match where, unfortunately for us, the winner has already been decided. The score is 11.5 - 22.5 in favor of Unikat - Automat Team at the moment I type this. I won the game below on time, but the position on the board was also quite hopeless for my opponent and I am fairly confident that had the game continued, I would have won the game anyway.

My correspondence games are finishing in a fairly reasonable pace again and at the moment I only have 74 of them in progress. Having been accustomed to 270+ games for several months, this amount of games is quite relaxing for me. I am still not able to get into a position where I would not be in move in any of my games, which is something I would like to change in the near future. As the amount of games in progress drops, this obviously becomes easier and easier to achieve.

[Event "Chess mates 97th match - Board 4"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.07.17"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "akl19591959"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B83"] [WhiteElo "1870"] [BlackElo "1919"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 {Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation} Be7 (6... a6 7. O-O Nbd7 { Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation, Scheveningen Variation} (7... Qc7 8. f4 Nc6 9. Be3 (9. Kh1 Be7 10. a4 {Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Variation, Paulsen Variation (#3)}) 9... Be7 10. Qe1 O-O {Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen, Classical Main Line})) 7. O-O O-O {B83 Sicilian Scheveningen: 6.Be2, lines without ...a6} 8. Be3 Bd7 9. Qd2 {Black has a cramped position} Nc6 {N} (9... a6 10. a4 (10. Rad1 Nc6 11. f3 Qc7 12. Kh1 b5 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Bf4 Rfd8 15. a3 Rd7 16. Bd3 Rad8 17. Qf2 e5 18. Be3 Rb8 19. Qg3 Re8 20. Bg5 Nh5 21. Qh4 Bxg5 22. Qxg5 Nf4 23. g3 Nxd3 24. Rxd3 Re6 { Osena,A-Tran Ngoc Minh,T (1625) Chiangmai 2013 1/2-1/2 (58)}) 10... Nc6 11. f4 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bc6 13. Bf3 Ne8 14. Qf2 f6 15. Bb6 Qd7 16. a5 Bd8 17. Rad1 Bxb6 18. Qxb6 Rc8 19. Rd2 Nc7 20. Rfd1 Ne8 21. Ne2 f5 22. Qe3 Bxe4 23. Bxe4 fxe4 24. Qxe4 {Liebzeit,M (1353)-Gannon,K (1580) Winnipeg 2004 1-0 (36)}) 10. Ndb5 { White threatens to win material: Nb5xd6} Qb8 11. Rad1 Ne8 {Black has a cramped position} (11... Rd8 12. Bf4 {=}) 12. Bf4 {The pressure on d6 grows. White threatens to win material: Bf4xd6} e5 {Black threatens to win material: e5xf4} 13. Bg5 (13. Be3 {+/=}) 13... f6 $2 (13... Bxg5 $5 {and Black is still in the game} 14. Qxg5 a6 {=}) 14. Be3 {+/-} a6 15. Na3 b5 16. Nd5 Qb7 17. c3 (17. c4 $5 b4 18. Nc2 a5 {+/-}) 17... Be6 18. Nc2 Rd8 (18... Bd8 19. h3 {+/-}) 19. f4 ( 19. a4 Rb8 {+/-}) 19... Nc7 20. b3 (20. Ncb4 Nxd5 21. exd5 Nxb4 22. dxe6 {+/-} (22. cxb4 $6 Bd7 {=})) 20... Bxd5 (20... exf4 $5 {is worth looking at} 21. Rxf4 Bf7 {+/=}) 21. exd5 {+/-} Nb8 22. Bf3 Nd7 23. Nb4 Rc8 (23... exf4 $5 24. Bxf4 Rf7 {+/-}) 24. Nc6 {+-} Rce8 25. Qf2 exf4 26. Bxf4 Ne5 27. Bxe5 (27. Be4 $5 Nxc6 28. dxc6 Qc8 {+-}) 27... fxe5 {+/-} 28. Qg3 (28. Qe3 Bd8 29. c4 {+/-}) 28... Bf6 $2 (28... Qb6+ {and Black can hope to survive} 29. Kh1 Qe3 {+/=}) 29. Be4 {+-} Kh8 $4 {Black falls apart} (29... Na8 30. c4 bxc4 31. bxc4 Bd8 {+-}) 30. Qh3 g6 31. Bxg6 Na8 32. Bxe8 Rxe8 (32... Qg7 33. Rd3 Rxe8 {+-}) 33. Rxf6 Qg7 34. Rdf1 (34. Rdf1 Nc7 35. Rf7 Nxd5 36. Rxg7 Kxg7 37. Qg3+ Kh8 38. Nxe5 dxe5 39. Rf7 Rg8 40. Qxe5+ Nf6 41. Qxf6+ Rg7 42. Qxg7#) 1-0

A38 Symmetrical English vs ...g6: 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nf6 (1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.b3 Ne4 8.Bb2 d6)

This game is the first game of the second half of the 100 game rapid chess match between these two friends. This was already the fifth game in a row where Tomi did not lose. He started to be in a very decent shape to make a much needed comeback in the match. This is also the latest game from the match, so we have finally reached the current situation in the match. It seems we have taken over a months hiatus from playing these games. For the record, it was not my choice to take the break. I am not sure which one of us has benefitted from the break, but I guess we will find an aswer to that as soon as we continue with the match. Based on the recent results that we both got from the over the board tournament last weekend, I would continue my downhill in this match if we would start playing again soon. My performance in that tournament was really disappointing while my friend played very well and won his group.

Because of that tournament last weekend, I have not been able to search my various databases for new openings to cover for the rest of the week, so we shall see what I come up with in the much reduced time than usual. I will post my latest Chess.com games and the remainder of the FOA games and after that it might be time to go through my OTB games database. I will post some of my chess960 games also later this week.

[Event "Challenge 32709238"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A38"] [WhiteElo "1782"] [BlackElo "1722"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. b3 {English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Double Fianchetto} (7. d3 {English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Duchamp Variation}) (7. d4 {English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Mecking Variation}) 7... Ne4 8. Bb2 d6 {A38 Symmetrical English vs ...g6: 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nf6} 9. Qc2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Bxc3 11. Qxc3 { Black king safety dropped} Rb8 {N} (11... e5 12. e3 (12. d3) 12... e4 {1/2-1/2 (12) Novkovic,M (2415)-Tratar,M (2478) Austria 2007}) (11... Bg4 12. e3 Qd7 13. d4 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Bh3 15. Rad1 Bxg2 16. Kxg2 Rac8 17. Qb2 Rfd8 18. Rd2 Nxd4 19. Qxd4 a5 20. a4 Rc5 21. h3 Qc6+ 22. f3 Qb6 23. Rd3 Rdc8 24. Rfd1 Qb4 25. Qg4 Qa3 26. h4 {Antoniewski,R (2552)-Pikula,D (2461) Bol 2014 1/2-1/2 (31)}) 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 a6 15. Rfd1 Be6 (15... Qc7 16. Bd5 {=}) 16. Rd2 ( 16. c5 Qa5 17. cxd6 Rfd8 {+/=}) 16... b5 17. Rad1 (17. cxb5 $5 {is an interesting alternative} axb5 18. Qa7 {=}) 17... bxc4 {=/+} 18. bxc4 Qb6 19. Qd3 Rfc8 {Attacking the isolated pawn on c4} 20. Bd5 Bxd5 21. cxd5 Rc7 1/2-1/2

D55 Queen's Gambit Declined: 4.Bg5 Be7: Lines without ...h6 and 6...h6 7.Bxf6 (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Be2 Bb7 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.O-O Nd7 11.a3 c5 12.Rc1)

This was played in the second round of the 28th Chess.com Tournament (1601-1800). I am currently fifth in group #18 and only if I win my last game in this round which is also the last game I have left in the tournament, I will be able to finish fourth or basically be in shared third place. That last game is against fliubo, who can take the lead in the group in case he wins that game. The current leader of the group is Kounle (1860), who has only game left to finish this round and the result of that game will pretty much decide if Kounle or fliubo will advance to the third round. It is nice to see that the win of the group will be decided in the last game, so that the interest for the remaining games is still there. Had the group been decided earlier, the rest of the games would have been just something that you are forced to play and they would not have had been that exciting anymore. It only took one ill-adviced move from me to lose this game. My move 27...exd4?? was the game losing mistake after which I could not bring the game to a balanced state anymore. Admittedly the position was not pleasent for me to play at that point anyway. Until Monday, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

[Event "28th Chess.com Tournament (1601-1800) -"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.04.28"] [Round "?"] [White "fliubo"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D55"] [WhiteElo "2043"] [BlackElo "1861"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 {Queen's Gambit Declined: 4.Bg5 Be7} 5. Nf3 O-O (5... h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. Rc1 dxc4 {Queen's Gambit Declined: Uhlmann Variation}) 6. e3 (6. Qc2 {Queen's Gambit Declined: Miles Variation}) 6... b6 7. Be2 Bb7 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. O-O (10. Nxd5 Bxd5 11. Rc1 Qd6 12. Qc2 Rc8 13. O-O a6 14. Ng5 g6 15. e4 Bb7 16. Qb3 Qe7 17. f4 Nd7 18. Bc4 b5 19. Qh3 Nf8 20. Bb3 c5 21. dxc5 Rxc5 22. Rce1 Kg7 23. Qh4 f6 24. Nxe6+ Nxe6 {Michenka, J (2351)-Kolar,S (2160) Karvina 2003 1/2-1/2 (55)}) (10. Rc1 c6 11. O-O Nd7 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Qa4 a5 14. Qb3 Qb4 15. Qc3 c5 16. a3 Qxc3 17. Rxc3 c4 18. b3 b5 19. bxc4 dxc4 20. Rb1 Ba6 21. Ng5 f5 22. Bf3 Rab8 23. Bd5+ Kh8 24. Ne6 Rf6 { Santos,M (1701) -Cortes,G (1801) Vitoria 2015 1-0 (62)}) 10... Nd7 11. a3 { N Secures b4} (11. Bc4 Nxc3 12. bxc3 c5 13. Qe2 Nf6 14. Rac1 Ne4 15. Rfd1 Rfd8 16. Nd2 Nxd2 17. Rxd2 Rac8 18. Rdd1 cxd4 19. cxd4 Rc7 20. Bb3 Rdc8 21. Rxc7 Rxc7 22. e4 h6 23. Qd3 Qd6 24. f3 Rd7 25. Kh1 Rc7 {Leniart,A (2235)-Simonian,H (2156) Urgup 2004 1/2-1/2 (37)}) (11. Rc1 N7f6 (11... Rac8 12. Qa4 a5 13. Nb5 c5 14. Qd1 cxd4 15. Nfxd4 Nc5 16. a3 Rfd8 17. Na7 Rc7 18. Qe1 Rdd7 19. Ndb5 Nb3 20. Nxc7 Nxc1 21. Qxc1 Rxc7 22. Qd2 Rd7 23. Qc2 Rc7 24. Qb3 Qc5 25. Bd3 Nxe3 26. Nb5 {Cihak,A-Ruzicka,A Klatovy 2003 0-1}) 12. Ne5 Rac8 13. Nb5 a6 14. Na7 Ra8 15. Nac6 Qd6 16. Qc2 Nd7 17. Bf3 f6 18. Nd3 Nb8 19. Bxd5 exd5 20. Nxb8 c5 21. dxc5 bxc5 22. Qxc5 Qxb8 23. Rfd1 Rc8 24. Qe7 Re8 25. Qd7 Rd8 {Zapata Arbelaes,E (1965)-Lopez Oliveira,T (1753) Cali 2011 1-0 (36)}) 11... c5 12. Rc1 {D55 Queen's Gambit Declined: 4.Bg5 Be7: Lines without ...h6 and 6...h6 7.Bxf6} Rfd8 13. Qa4 cxd4 {Black forks: c3+e3} 14. Nxd4 ({Weaker is} 14. exd4 Nf4 {+/-} ) 14... Nc5 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 (15... Nxa4 $4 {greedy!} 16. Nxe7+ Kf8 17. Rc7 {+-}) (15... Rxd5 $6 16. Qc2 Rdd8 17. b4 {=}) 16. Qc2 Qg5 {Black has a mate threat} 17. Nf3 {White threatens to win material: Nf3xg5} Qf6 18. Rfd1 Bb3 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Qc3 Qxc3 {Black forks: b2+c1} 21. Rxc3 Kf8 22. Nd4 Bd5 23. b4 { White threatens to win material: b4xc5} Ne4 {Black threatens to win material: Ne4xc3} 24. Rc7 {White threatens to win material: Rc7xa7} Ra8 (24... e5 25. Nf3 f6 26. Ne1 {=} (26. Rxa7 Rc8 27. g4 Rc1+ 28. Kg2 Rc2 {+/-})) 25. Ba6 Nd6 26. f3 {Consolidates e4} e5 {Black threatens to win material: e5xd4} 27. Rd7 (27. Nb5 Nxb5 28. Bxb5 {+/=}) 27... exd4 (27... Bc4 $5 {has some apparent merit} 28. Rxd6 Bxa6 {=}) 28. Rxd6 {+/-} Be6 29. Rxd4 Ke7 30. Kf2 Rd8 (30... Rb8 $5 31. a4 Bb3 {+/-}) 31. Rxd8 Kxd8 32. e4 Kc7 33. Ke3 Bd7 34. Bc4 f6 35. f4 Kd6 36. Kd4 { White intends e5} Bc6 37. g3 Bb7 38. a4 a6 $4 {the pressure is too much, Black crumbles} (38... Bc8 {+/-}) 39. e5+ fxe5+ (39... Kc7 {+- there is nothing better in the position}) 40. fxe5+ Ke7 41. a5 b5 42. Bd5 Bc8 43. Kc5 (43. Kc5 g5 44. Kb6 h5 45. Bb7 Bf5 46. Bxa6 h4 47. gxh4 gxh4 48. Bb7 Bd3 49. a6 Ke6 50. a7 Kxe5 51. Kc5 Kf6 52. a8=Q Ke7 53. Qa6 Kf7 54. Qh6 Bc4 55. Bd5+ Bxd5 56. Kxd5 h3 57. Qg5 Ke8 58. Qg7 Kd8 59. Kd6 Ke8 60. Qe7#) 1-0

E06 Closed Catalan: Early deviations (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 d5 8.Ne5 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5)

After a quite lot of rapid chess games, it is time once again to look at one of my recently finished correspondence games. It was played at Red Hot Pawn, in a tournament called 2014 September Grand Seven Fourteen III. This tournament started September 11th 2014, so the game below is one of the longest games I have ever played. I actually still have two games left to finish from those games that started with this tournament over a year ago. One of those games is against the opponent I had in this game, caissad4. Both players are partly responsible for the slow pace. When these games started, I had already taken maybe a bit too many games to play and at the start my moving pace was quite slow. It may have improved a bit now that I have maybe 200 games less to play than I did back then. My opponent on the other hand I think has played insane amount of games at the same time, I think he has kept his games in progress around 1000... The most I had in progress at the same time was 300 and that actually lasted only a few hours because the games ended in a suitable time.

This tournament was decided some time ago already but there are still games left to play. The tournament winner is a player called kopsov (1866). Kopsov has one game left to finish, but it does not really matter anymore as the tournament is concerned that is. The player who finishes second is still unclear, it can go to either Luft (1971) or to Reverb (1728). It will depend on what happens in Reverb's last game. If Reverb wins that last game, he will be second, but in all other results, he will be on third place. In case of a loss, he might be in a shared third place though with me, in case I manage to win both of my remaining games. If I can't win both of them, I will finish fourth.

[Event "Grand Seven Fourteen"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.09.11"] [Round "1"] [White "caissad4"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E06"] [WhiteElo "1753"] [BlackElo "1855"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d5 { Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Nimzowitsch Line} (7... Na6 {Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Tiviakov Defense}) (7... Ne4 8. Qc2 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 {Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation, Main Line}) 8. Ne5 c6 9. cxd5 cxd5 {E06 Closed Catalan: Early deviations} 10. b3 (10. f4 Nc6 11. Kh1 Nxe5 12. fxe5 Ne8 13. Bh3 Qd7 14. Qd3 Nc7 15. Bf4 Rac8 16. Rf2 Ba6 17. Qf3 Nb5 18. Qg4 Kh8 19. Bd2 Nxd4 20. Qxd4 Bc5 21. Qf4 Bxf2 22. Qxf2 d4 23. Ne4 Rc2 24. Bg2 Qb5 { Lukman,R (2355)-Wong,M (2415) Singapore 1997 0-1 (76)}) 10... Nc6 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. Bb2 {N} (12. Qd3 Qd7 13. Bb2 Rfd8 14. Rfc1 Qb7 15. e3 Rac8 16. f4 g6 17. Bf3 Ne4 18. Rc2 f5 {1/2-1/2 (18) Ulaneo, M (1976)-Izquierdo,S (2021) Paysandu 2010}) 12... Rc8 13. Rc1 Qd7 14. Qd3 Bb4 15. Rfd1 Rfe8 16. a3 Bd6 17. b4 Qe7 18. b5 {White threatens to win material: b5xc6} Bb7 19. a4 Rc4 {Black can be proud of that piece} 20. Ra1 Rec8 21. Rdc1 Bb4 22. Na2 Bd6 23. e3 { Consolidates f4} (23. Nc3 h6 {=/+}) 23... Rxa4 24. Rxc8+ Bxc8 {Black has a new backward pawn: a7} 25. Bf1 (25. e4 $5 {must definitely be considered} e5 26. exd5 {=}) 25... Rc4 {+/-} 26. Qb3 Rc7 27. Nc3 Qd7 28. Bd3 Be7 29. Kg2 Ne8 30. Bf1 Nd6 31. Bd3 (31. Ba3 Qd8 {+/-}) 31... g6 (31... Nc4 32. Kg1 {+/-}) 32. h3 ( 32. Ra4 Bf8 {+/-}) 32... Nc4 33. Bxc4 Rxc4 34. Qa2 $2 (34. Kg1 Qc7 {+/-}) 34... Rc7 (34... Bb4 {would have given Black a clear advantage} 35. Rc1 e5 {-+}) 35. Qb3 {+/-} Bd6 36. Rd1 Qe7 37. Ne2 (37. Ra1 Bd7 {+/-}) 37... Bb4 (37... a5 $5 38. Rc1 {-+}) 38. Rb1 Bd7 39. Nc3 (39. Bc3 Bd6 {+/-}) 39... Rc4 40. Ba1 Qe8 41. Na2 Ba5 42. h4 (42. Nc3 Bxc3 43. Bxc3 e5 {-+}) 42... Qc8 43. Kh2 (43. e4 dxe4 44. Qe3 f6 {-+}) 43... Rc2 (43... e5 {keeps an even firmer grip} 44. Rb2 exd4 45. Qd1 {-+}) 44. Kg2 $2 (44. Rb2 Rc7 {-+}) 44... Qc4 (44... Bxb5 $5 {might be the shorter path} 45. Qxb5 Rxa2 46. Qb3 {-+}) 45. Qxc4 Rxc4 (45... dxc4 $6 46. Nb4 Bxb4 47. Rxb4 {-+}) 46. Kf3 Kf8 (46... Kg7 {makes it even easier for Black} 47. g4 {-+}) 47. g4 Ke7 (47... Ra4 {and Black can already relax} 48. Nc1 Rb4 49. Rxb4 Bxb4 50. Na2 {-+}) 48. Nc1 (48. Bb2 Ke8 49. Ba1 e5 {-+}) 48... Rb4 ( 48... Bxb5 {seems even better} 49. Nb3 Bb4 {-+}) 49. Rxb4 Bxb4 50. Nd3 $4 { White has lost his nerve... understandable when you consider his position} (50. Na2 Ba3 51. Nc3 {-+}) 50... Ba5 (50... Bd6 {keeps an even firmer grip} 51. Bc3 {-+}) 51. Bb2 Bxb5 52. Nf4 (52. Ba3+ {doesn't do any good} Ke8 53. Nb4 Kd7 {-+} ) 52... Bb4 53. g5 (53. e4 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game} dxe4+ 54. Kxe4 a5 {-+}) 53... a5 0-1

C41 Philidor Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 O-O 7.O-O)

The games from the 100 game match have been very good at offering new opening variations to show in this blog and I think it will be the case for the rest of this week, though there will be other games to look at aswell. I continued taking even more considerable lead in the match as this win brought me a seven point lead. The score after this was 23.5 - 16.5. Was this the most crusial part of the match or will the score be turned the other way around, only time will tell. This 40th game was not the last one before we paused the match, I think we finished the 51st game before the match was paused. Not sure when we are going to continue playing the match but maybe next week would be a good time for that again.

I might start playing games at the FIDE Online Arena again today, but first I need to find something to post on Friday and maybe even start looking for something to post next week. Until tomorrow, my fellow chess enthusiasts!

[Event "Challenge 32586225"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.18"] [Round "1"] [White "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1688"] [BlackElo "1782"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Be7 {Philidor Defense (#4)} 4. d4 (4. c3 {Philidor Defense: Steinitz Variation}) 4... exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O {C41 Philidor Defence} Bg4 8. f3 Bh5 (8... Bd7 9. Be3 Nc6 10. a4 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Be6 12. Rad1 Bxc4 13. Qxc4 Qc8 14. Nb5 c5 15. Nxd6 Bxd6 16. Rxd6 b6 17. Rfd1 h6 18. e5 Nh7 19. Rd7 Ng5 20. Bxg5 hxg5 21. e6 fxe6 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Qg6 {Rodriguez Lopez,R (2299) -Karsenti, M Sanxenxo 2009 1-0}) 9. Be3 (9. Nf5 Bg6 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. Bg5 h6 12. Nd5 Qd8 13. Nxf6+ gxf6 14. Bxh6 Re8 15. Qe1 Re5 16. Qg3 Kh7 17. Bxf7 Rg5 18. Bxg5 fxg5 19. Bxg6+ Kxg6 20. h4 Kh6 21. Qxg5+ Qxg5 22. hxg5+ Kxg5 23. f4+ Kg4 {Del Noval Nemeshazi,N (1770)-Mora Gonzalez Rojas,F (1586) Madrid 2015 1-0}) 9... Bg6 {N} (9... Qd7 10. Qe1 Nc6 11. Qg3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Rad8 13. Nd5 Kh8 14. Rad1 Rg8 15. Nxe7 Qxe7 16. Qg5 Bg6 17. Qb5 Rb8 18. Bxa7 c6 19. Qb3 Ra8 20. Bf2 Ra5 21. Bg3 Rd8 22. Rfe1 b5 23. Bf1 Ne8 24. a3 {Gerbeth,F (1753)-Kittler,A (981) Erlangen 2003 1-0 (36)}) (9... c5 10. Nf5 Bg6 11. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. Qd2 h6 13. Rad1 Rd8 14. Bf4 Nc6 15. Bxd6 Qd7 16. Qf2 b6 17. Bxc5 Qc7 18. Be3 Ne7 19. Bb3 Kh7 20. Rd3 Rxd3 21. cxd3 Nd7 22. Nd5 Nxd5 23. Bxd5 Re8 24. d4 {Nogues Fernandez,R (1824) -Priya Beitia,A San Sebastian 2008 0-1 (62)}) ( 9... c6 10. Qd2 Nbd7 11. a3 Nb6 12. Ba2 Bg6 13. Kh1 Kh8 14. g4 Qd7 15. Qg2 d5 16. g5 Ne8 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 cxd5 19. f4 Bc5 20. Rae1 Nc7 21. h4 Rae8 22. Qf3 Be4 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Qf2 {Nguyen Huu Hoang,A-Nguyen,A Dong Thap 2004 1-0 (56)}) 10. Qd2 Nbd7 {Black has a cramped position} 11. Rad1 Ne5 {Black threatens to win material: Ne5xc4} 12. Bb3 Ned7 (12... c5 13. Ndb5 c4 14. Ba4 { =}) 13. Nd5 (13. a3 Nb6 {+/-}) 13... Nc5 (13... Nxd5 14. Bxd5 c6 15. Bb3 {+/=}) 14. Nf5 (14. Nxe7+ $5 Qxe7 15. Bc4 {+/-}) 14... Bxf5 {=} 15. Nxf6+ (15. Nxe7+ $5 Qxe7 16. exf5 Nxb3 17. axb3 {=}) 15... Bxf6 {=/+} 16. Bxc5 (16. exf5 Bxb2 17. Bxf7+ Rxf7 18. Bxc5 Rxf5 19. Bf2 {=/+}) 16... Bg6 (16... dxc5 17. exf5 Bxb2 {+/-}) 17. Be3 {+/=} Bxb2 18. c4 (18. Qb4 {!? +/=}) 18... Ba3 (18... Qf6 19. Rf2 Bc3 20. Qd5 {=}) 19. Qa5 {= White intends c5} Bb2 (19... Bc5 20. Bxc5 b6 21. Bxb6 axb6 22. Qc3 {=}) 20. c5 Qe7 (20... b6 $5 {should be investigated more closely} 21. Qa6 bxc5 22. Bxc5 Qc8 {=}) 21. cxd6 {+/-} cxd6 22. Bg5 Bf6 23. Bf4 (23. Bxf6 $5 Qxf6 24. Qb4 {+/-}) 23... Be5 {=} 24. Bxe5 dxe5 25. Rd5 { White threatens to win material: Rd5xe5. A classical outpost} Rfe8 26. Rfd1 b6 {Black threatens to win material: b6xa5} 27. Qa4 (27. Qb5 {+/=}) 27... Red8 ( 27... Kh8 28. Qc6 {=}) 28. Rd7 (28. Qxa7 $1 Rxa7 29. Rxd8+ Qf8 30. R1d5 {+/-}) 28... Rxd7 {=} 29. Qxd7 Qc5+ 30. Kf1 a5 31. Rd5 {White threatens to win material: Rd5xc5} Qc1+ 32. Kf2 {White has a mate threat} Qb2+ (32... h5 33. Rd1 Qc5+ 34. Kg3 {=}) 33. Rd2 (33. Kg3 Rf8 {+/-}) 33... Qa3 {+/=} 34. Rd6 {White threatens to win material: Rd6xb6} Kf8 $4 (34... Qc5+ {would be a reprieve} 35. Kg3 Rf8 {+/=}) 35. Rxb6 (35. Rxg6 {secures the win} Qe7 36. Qxe7+ Kxe7 37. Rxg7 {+-}) 35... Qc5+ {-+} (35... Qc5+ 36. Kg3 Qxb6 {-+}) 0-1

B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 dxe4 6.Nxe4 Nf6 7.Ng3)

The game below was played at the FIDE Online Arena and it is part of the 100 game match between these two players. This is game number 39 and the draw meant that my six point lead would continue to be an issue to my opponent that he should solve as soon as possible in order to get back into the fight for the win of the match. The score after this game was 22.5 - 16.5. There were still more than enough games left to change the leader in the match which is still paused and is unlikely to continue this week either. I should start playing at FOA this week though and work on getting the games I am missing for the requirement of Arena International Master. I just have not been able to play there lately which I am trying to change as soon as possible.

I played a team match game last Saturday which could have gone either way, but our top two boards were not able to win their games even though they had a few chances to convert their advantage into wins. It certainly was not the only reason we lost the match, but in the order that the games ended, those two games were the last ones to finish and therefore very important for the end result. It was a match that was played on five boards. The time controls were 1 h 30 min as the basic time, and on move 40, 30 minutes were added to the clock, also there was a 30 second increment that lasted the whole game. The match started with a loss for us on board five, which actually was an expected result as we did not get the best possible team composition. Then I tied the match by winning on board four. Then we lost on board three, which was the deciding point unfortunately as the draws obviously did not help. I was the team captain and while I am happy about the way my game went, I am not happy about the team performance. I knew we had a tough task ahead of us before the match, but because we certainly had chances to win despite the odds, the final score is disappointing. This was the second round match in the group our team plays and had we won this match, we would still be able to win the group but now it seems very unlikely thing to happen.

[Event "Challenge 32585584"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.18"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1785"] [BlackElo "1682"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "101"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 g6 {Caro-Kann Defense: Gurgenidze System} (3... b5 { Caro-Kann Defense: Gurgenidze Counterattack}) (3... dxe4 4. Bc4 {Caro-Kann Defense: von Hennig Gambit} (4. f3 {Caro-Kann Defense: Rasa-Studier Gambit})) 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Nf6 7. Ng3 {B15 Caro-Kann: 3.Nc3: 3...g6 and 3.. .dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6} O-O 8. O-O c5 (8... Qb6 9. b3 Bg4 10. Bb2 a5 11. a4 Nbd7 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Rad8 14. Qe2 Rfe8 15. Rfe1 Nf8 16. Qc4 Ne6 17. Rxe6 fxe6 18. Qxe6+ Kh8 19. Re1 Qb4 20. h4 Qd6 21. Qh3 e6 22. h5 gxh5 23. Re5 { Karpov,A (2705)-Larsen,B (2620) Tilburg 1979 1-0 (40)}) (8... Nbd7 9. c4 Re8 10. b3 e5 11. Bb2 e4 12. Ne5 Qc7 13. Qc2 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7 15. Nxe4 Bxe5 16. Bf3 Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 Be5 18. Rfe1 Rf8 19. Rad1 Bxb2 20. Qxb2 f5 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nf6+ Rxf6 23. Qxf6 {Castillo,A (2027)-Benitez Pacheco,A (2092) Santo Domingo 2015 1/2-1/2 (32)}) 9. dxc5 Na6 {N} (9... Qc7 10. c3 Qxc5 11. Be3 Qc7 12. Qa4 Nbd7 13. Rad1 Nc5 14. Qh4 Ne6 15. Rd2 a6 16. Rfd1 Bd7 17. Qb4 Bc6 18. Bb6 Qf4 19. c4 h5 20. Qxe7 Rfe8 21. Qa3 Ng4 22. h3 Bf8 23. Qb3 h4 24. hxg4 {Chaves,J (2052)-Garcia,L (1975) Sao Paulo 2011 0-1 (32)}) (9... Qc7 10. Qd4 {=}) 10. Bxa6 bxa6 11. Be3 {White has an active position} Bg4 (11... Bb7 12. Re1 {+/=}) 12. Qxd8 (12. h3 Bc8 {+/-}) 12... Rfxd8 {+/=} 13. Nd4 (13. Ne5 {!? +/=}) 13... Nd5 {=} 14. c3 {Prevents intrusion on b4+d4} Rac8 15. Nb3 (15. h3 $5 Bd7 16. Rfe1 {=}) 15... Nxe3 16. fxe3 Be6 (16... Bh6 17. Kf2 Rd3 18. Rfe1 {=}) 17. Nd4 (17. Rfd1 Re8 {=}) 17... Bc4 {=/+} 18. Rfe1 e5 {Black threatens to win material: e5xd4} (18... Rxc5 19. b3 Bd5 20. c4 {=/+}) 19. Nf3 (19. Nb3 { !? = must be considered}) 19... Rxc5 {=/+} 20. Ne4 Rcd5 (20... Rcc8 {!? +/-}) 21. b3 {= White threatens to win material: b3xc4} Bd3 {Black threatens to win material: Bd3xe4} 22. Nf2 (22. c4 Ra5 23. Rad1 f5 {=} (23... Rxa2 24. Nc5 {+/-} )) 22... f5 (22... R5d7 23. Red1 {=/+}) 23. Rac1 a5 (23... R5d6 24. e4 Bb5 25. c4 {=}) 24. c4 {+/= White threatens to win material: c4xd5} R5d7 25. Red1 $4 { forfeits the advantage} (25. e4 a4 {+/=}) 25... h6 $4 {throwing away the advantage} (25... e4 26. Nxd3 Rxd3 (26... exd3 $6 27. Kf2 {=}) (26... exf3 $6 27. Nf2 {=}) 27. Rxd3 Rxd3 {+/-} (27... exd3 $6 28. Rd1 {=})) 26. Ne1 (26. Nxd3 Rxd3 27. Rxd3 Rxd3 {=}) 26... e4 {Black gets more space} 27. Nexd3 exd3 { White has a new backward pawn: e3. Black has a new passed pawn: d3} 28. Rd2 Re8 {Black threatens to win material: Re8xe3} 29. Nd1 $4 {gives the opponent new chances} (29. Rxd3 Rxd3 30. Nxd3 Rxe3 {=}) 29... Kf7 $4 {releasing the pressure on the opponent} (29... f4 {would have given Black a clear advantage} 30. e4 Bd4+ 31. Nf2 Be3 {-+}) 30. Kf2 Bf8 31. Nb2 (31. Rc3 Red8 32. c5 Rc8 {=}) 31... Ba3 (31... Bc5 32. Re1 Bb4 {+/-}) 32. Rcd1 {=} Bxb2 33. Rxb2 {A double rook endgame occured} Red8 34. Rbd2 Ke6 35. Re1 Ke5 36. Kf3 g5 37. g3 g4+ { Black wins space} 38. Kf2 Ke4 39. Rc1 h5 40. c5 Rc7 41. Rc4+ Ke5 42. a3 Rd5 43. b4 axb4 44. axb4 a5 45. bxa5 Rdxc5 46. Rxc5+ Rxc5 47. Rxd3 Rxa5 48. Rd2 Ra3 49. Ke2 Ke4 {Exerts pressure on the isolated pawn} 50. Rd4+ Ke5 51. Rd2 1/2-1/2

D79 Fianchetto Grünfeld: Symmetrical Variation (6.O-O c6 7.cxd5 cxd5) (1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d4 c5 6.c3 cxd4 7.cxd4 d5 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Bf4)

The game below is the 1000th analysed chess game to appear in this blog!! It has taken me a bit over a year to reach this milestone but it might very well be that the 2000th game will be added less than a year from now. I think it is at the moment realistic assumption because even though I do not make post everyday anymore, the amount of games that I do post per day is very likely to increase the longer this blog exists. Of those 1000 games I have won 630 (63%), drawn 87 (8.7%) and lost 283 (28.3 %). Those games have featured 411 different opening variations and there are still more to go. The variation that has the most games is still A20 English Opening: King's English Variation. General (30 games 3%) and it may be like that for quite some time, though other variations are catching up a bit. The reason why it has the most games is that when those games were played, I knew almost nothing of opening theory and playing 1.c4 in my first move with White was my favorite for several years. These days I do not play it all that often, there are some opponents however, against whom I have still occasionally played it. Second and third most common openings are C45 Scotch Game: Schmidt Variation (23 games 2.3%) and C64 Spanish Game: Classical Variation (22 games 2.2%). So learning one particular line of theory would not help me all that much because I face the same openings so rarely. Then again I rarely face the same opponents which might contribute to the diversity of the openings. There are still maybe ten people who I have played hundreds of games against, but only three of those I have several hundred recorded games as well.

The game below is the 37th game in the 100 game match between me and a friend of mine, against whom I have played most over the board and online games or that is my assumption anyway because I do not have exact statistics of all the games I have ever played. With this win, Tomi was able to decrease my lead in the match to five points and the score after these 37 games was 21 - 16.

[Event "Challenge 32413613"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.11"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D79"] [WhiteElo "1790"] [BlackElo "1672"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d4 c5 6. c3 cxd4 7. cxd4 d5 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. Bf4 {D79 Fianchetto Grünfeld: Symmetrical Variation (6.O-O c6 7.cxd5 cxd5) LiveBook: 60 Games} Qb6 10. b3 Rd8 11. Na4 Qb4 $146 {The position is equal.} (11... Qa5 12. Rc1 (12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. dxe5 e6 14. Rc1 b6 15. Nc3 Bb7 16. a4 a6 17. Na2 Rac8 18. Rxc8 Rxc8 19. b4 Rc1 20. bxa5 Rxd1 21. Rxd1 {1-0 (21) Seinsoth,P (1455)-Stockter,J (1572) Willingen 2017}) 12... Ne4 13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 Bxe5 15. dxe5 Bd7 16. Qd4 Bxa4 17. bxa4 Qb6 18. Rfd1 Qxd4 19. Rxd4 Rac8 20. Rxc8 Rxc8 21. Bxe4 dxe4 22. Rd7 Rc4 23. Rxe7 Rxa4 24. Rxb7 Rxa2 25. e3 Ra5 26. e6 {Anilkumar,O (2235)-Mithrakanth,P (2370) Kolkata 1993 1/2-1/2 (42)}) 12. Qd2 {-0.83/26} (12. a3 $11 {0.23/27} Qb5 13. Re1) 12... Ne4 13. Qxb4 Nxb4 14. Be5 Bd7 {-0.61/30} (14... Bg4 $17 {-1.06/25} 15. Rfc1 Rac8 16. Bxg7 Kxg7) 15. Bxg7 $15 Kxg7 16. Nb2 $2 {-2.64/26 [#]} ({Better is} 16. Rfc1 $15 {-0.70/29}) 16... Bb5 17. Rfc1 Rac8 18. a3 $2 {-4.76/26} (18. Rxc8 {-1.81/28} Rxc8 19. a3) 18... Nc2 $19 19. Ra2 {intending Nd3.} Bxe2 {Strongly threatening ...Nxd4!} 20. Na4 Bxf3 $2 {-1.76/34 [#]} (20... Nxd4 $1 {-7.26/26} 21. Rxc8 (21. Nxd4 Rxc1+) 21... Rxc8 22. Rxe2 Nxe2+ 23. Kf1 Nc1) 21. Raxc2 Rxc2 22. Rxc2 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 { Endgame KRN-KRN} Rd7 24. f3 Nd6 $1 25. Rc5 $2 {-2.93/27} (25. Nc5 $17 {-1.28/ 31 only move.} Rd8 26. a4) 25... e6 {-1.47/31} ({Black should play} 25... Nf5 $19 {-2.93/27} 26. b4 Nxd4) 26. Nc3 $17 Kf8 27. Kf2 Ke8 28. Ke3 $2 {-5.23/28} ( 28. Ne2 $17 {-1.43/31}) 28... Kd8 $2 {-1.40/32} (28... b6 $19 {-5.23/28 and Black stays clearly on top.} 29. Nxd5 exd5) 29. Nb5 $2 {-6.62/29} (29. Kd3 $17 {-1.40/32}) 29... Nxb5 $19 30. Rxb5 {KR-KR} Rc7 $2 {-2.38/32} (30... b6 { -6.19/32} 31. a4 Rc7) 31. Kd3 $2 {-5.93/29} (31. a4 {-2.38/32}) 31... a6 { -2.56/30} (31... b6 $142 {-5.93/29} 32. Kd2 g5) 32. Rb6 Kc8 33. Ke3 $2 { -5.27/29} (33. a4 {-2.94/33}) 33... Rc6 34. Rb4 $2 {-6.98/29} (34. Rxc6+ { -2.92/27} bxc6 35. b4) 34... b6 35. Kf4 f6 36. g4 Kc7 37. g5 f5 38. Ke5 b5 39. a4 Kb6 {Black mates.} 40. axb5 axb5 41. Kf6 Ka5 {Precision: White = 13%, Black = 33%.} 0-1

B08 Pirc Defence: Classical System (1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.h3 Nf6 5.Be3 O-O 6.Nf3 b6)

The last post of the week will feature a game played at the FIDE Online Arena on August 10th 2015. This is the 34th game played in the 100 game game match that is currently paused again for some time. At this point in the match I started to get a comfortable lead and after this game the score was 19 - 15 in my favor. It is true that the match was far from over at that point in time and the match could still be won by either player. Being in the lead does mean though that I can accept draws more easily because I am no longer forced to increase the amount of wins I have. It also means that my opponent in this match does need to play for the win and in some cases it can play to my advantage if my opponent tries too hard to win positions that should be drawn.

[Event "Challenge 32387544"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B08"] [WhiteElo "1721"] [BlackElo "1766"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. h3 Nf6 5. Be3 O-O 6. Nf3 b6 {B08 Pirc Defence: Classical System} 7. Be2 Bb7 {LiveBook: 3 Games} 8. d5 Ba6 $146 {0.26/23} (8... a6 $142 {-0.27/26}) (8... Nbd7 9. O-O (9. Qd2 Nc5 10. Bxc5 bxc5 11. O-O c6 12. Rfe1 Re8 13. dxc6 Bxc6 14. e5 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Bb5 Bxf3 17. Bxe8 Bxg2 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. e6+ Kg8 20. Kxg2 Bxb2 21. Rad1 Bf6 22. Qd5 Rb8 23. Rb1 Bc3 { Tocklin,T-Makela,R Lahti 1998 1-0 (75)}) 9... Nc5 10. Nd2 e6 11. Bf3 exd5 12. exd5 Re8 13. Nb3 Nfe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Bd4 Bxd4 16. Qxd4 Ng5 17. Nd2 Re5 18. c4 Qe7 19. h4 Nxf3+ 20. Nxf3 Re4 21. Qd3 Re8 22. Rfe1 f5 23. Kf1 {Perez Mederos,R (2192)-Martinez Ramirez,L (2374) Santa Clara 2015 0-1 (51)}) (8... c6 9. O-O Nbd7 (9... cxd5 10. exd5 Na6 11. Bc4 Rc8 12. b3 Nc5 13. Nd4 Nfe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Qf3 Bxd4 16. Bxd4 Nd2 17. Qe2 Nxc4 18. bxc4 Ba6 19. Rfe1 Rc7 20. Qe3 Bxc4 21. Bb2 Qc8 22. Qd4 f6 23. Re6 Qb7 24. Rd1 {Bottenberg,F-Blok,R Netherlands 2001 1-0 (44)}) 10. a4 Nc5 11. dxc6 Bxc6 12. e5 Nfe4 13. Nxe4 Bxe4 14. exd6 Bxb2 15. Bh6 exd6 16. Bxf8 Bxa1 17. Bxd6 Bc3 18. Bxc5 bxc5 19. Bc4 Qf6 20. Qe2 Bc6 21. Rd1 Re8 22. Qd3 Be4 23. Qd7 {Margolin,B (2435)-Solodovnichenko, Y (2590) Germany 2008 1/2-1/2 (42)}) 9. O-O {White has an edge.} Bxe2 10. Qxe2 (10. Nxe2 Nxe4 11. Nfd4 Qc8 $15) 10... Nbd7 11. Rfe1 Re8 12. Nd4 Nb8 {0.95/24} (12... e6 $14 {0.39/26}) 13. Qc4 a6 14. a4 $1 Nfd7 15. f4 $36 {Keeping Black busy.} Nc5 16. e5 {0.08/29} (16. b4 $16 {0.96/24} e5 17. fxe5 (17. bxc5 exd4 18. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 19. Qxd4 bxc5 $14) 17... dxe5 18. bxc5 exd4 19. Bxd4) 16... dxe5 $11 17. fxe5 Bxe5 18. Bh6 Bg7 {1.03/24} (18... Bh8 $11 {-0.09/26 keeps the balance.}) 19. Bxg7 $16 Kxg7 20. Rad1 Qc8 21. Qe2 {0.73/27} ({White should play } 21. b4 {1.50/23} Ncd7 22. Ne4) 21... Ncd7 {1.50/23} ({Better is} 21... Nbd7 { 0.73/27}) 22. Qg4 {0.70/26} (22. Qf3 $16 {1.50/23}) 22... Qb7 $2 {10.71/28 [#]} (22... Nf6 $14 {0.70/26} 23. Qf3 (23. Qxc8 Rxc8 24. Rxe7 Kf8 $14) 23... Nbd7) 23. Nf5+ $18 Kf8 24. Nh6 $2 {2.51/27} (24. Qg5 {19.74/26 Threatening mate with Qh6+.} Kg8 25. Nxe7+ Rxe7 26. Rxe7) 24... Nf6 25. Qf4 Kg7 {2.01/24} (25... b5 $16 {1.47/26}) 26. g4 Nbd7 27. g5 Rad8 $2 {4.60/26} (27... b5 $16 {1.52/24}) 28. gxf6+ Nxf6 29. Qg5 Qc8 30. Ng4 Nxg4 31. Qxg4 Qb7 {3.39/23} (31... Qf5 $142 {2.33/27} 32. Qh4 Qf6) 32. Qd4+ f6 33. Re6 c5 34. Qd3 Qc7 {4.40/23} (34... Rd6 $142 {3.02/26} 35. Rde1 Rxe6 36. Rxe6 Rd8) 35. Rde1 Rd7 {7.97/23} (35... Rd6 $142 {4.43/25} 36. b3 Kf7) 36. d6 Qb7 37. Rxe7+ $2 {2.68/30} (37. Nd5 {11.95/23 } Qc6 38. Nxe7) 37... Rdxe7 38. Rxe7+ ({Don't play} 38. dxe7 $6 Rxe7 39. Rd1 Qc6 $18) 38... Rxe7 39. dxe7 Qxe7 40. Qe4 Qd7 {2.57/22} (40... Qd6 {1.86/27 was called for.} 41. Kg2 Qd2+ 42. Kf3 Qd7) 41. Nd5 Qxh3 $2 {#17/26} (41... b5 $18 {2.74/29} 42. a5 Kf7) 42. Qe7+ Kh6 43. Qxf6 $2 {2.46/26} (43. Qf8+ { #19/24 mates} Kh5 44. Nf4+ Kg4 45. Nxh3 Kg3 46. Qxf6 Kxh3 47. Qg5 h6 48. Qxg6 b5 49. Kf2 Kh4 50. Kf3 bxa4 51. Qxh6#) 43... Qg3+ 44. Kf1 Qh3+ 45. Ke2 $2 { -0.34/28} (45. Kf2 $18 {2.49/28 White wants to mate with Qf8+.} Qh2+ 46. Ke3) 45... Qg2+ $15 46. Ke3 $1 {[#] Qf8+ would kill now.} Qxd5 47. Qh4+ $2 {-3.74/23 } ({White has to play} 47. Qxb6 $15 {-0.45/26} Qd4+ 48. Ke2) 47... Qh5 { Precision: White = 40%, Black = 22%.} 0-1

C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Nxe4)

This game was played in the first round of the 2014 October Glacial Super Casual Banded I 1650+ tournament that is held at Red Hot Pawn. Today I lost one of the games in this first round and it meant that I can no longer win group 1 and therefore I also can't advance to the second round. It is still very unclear on what place I will end up in the final standings because I still have six games left to finish. I am currently on fifth place but theoretically I can finish on second place if all goes well for me in the remaining games. Takinitez007 (1875) is the current leader of group 1 with 50 points and he has also the highest maximum possible score so things are looking good for him. A player called jankrb (2152) is currently on second place with 40 points and third place belongs to caissad4 (1793) who has 38 points at the moment I type this.

[Event "Glacial Super Casual Banded"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2014.11.03"] [Round "1"] [White "adehaan"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "1544"] [BlackElo "1835"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 $1 {C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3 LiveBook: 150 Games} 8. Qe2 {-1.25/26} (8. O-O $15 {-0.48/27} Bxc3 9. bxc3) 8... Qe7 9. Bg5 $2 { -2.65/22 [#]} (9. Bd2 $17 {-0.94/28} Nxd2 10. Kxd2 (10. Qxe7+ Bxe7 11. Kxd2 O-O 12. Nd5 Bd6 13. Rhe1 b6 14. Re2 Na5 15. Bd3 Bb7 16. Nc3 Bf4+ 17. Kc2 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Nc6 19. Re4 Nb4+ 20. Kb3 Nxd3 21. Kc2 Nb4+ 22. Kb3 Bd6 23. Nb5 a5 24. a3 Nd3 {Scholze,B (966) -Wachtel,A (1324) Oppenheim 2015 0-1 (34)})) 9... Nxg5 $146 (9... f6 10. Bh4 d6 11. a3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bxc3+ 13. Kf1 Bxa1 14. d5 Qxe2+ 15. Bxe2 O-O 16. dxc6 bxc6 17. Bc4+ d5 18. Bb3 Ba6+ 19. Ke1 Bc3+ 20. Kd1 Rab8 21. Kc2 Ba5 22. Rc1 Rfe8 23. Kb1 Rxb3+ 24. Ka2 {Hulleman,C-Hermanns,J Rijswijk 2013 0-1 (38)}) 10. Nxg5 {Black has a decisive advantage.} O-O {-1.16/26} ({ Don't take} 10... Nxd4 11. Qxe7+ Bxe7 12. Nxf7 $17) (10... Qxe2+ $19 {-2.52/23} 11. Kxe2 Nxd4+ 12. Kf1 Ne6) 11. O-O $2 {-5.05/24} (11. Qxe7 $17 {-1.16/26 is a better chance.} Nxe7 12. O-O) 11... Qxg5 12. d5 Nd4 13. Qe4 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nf5 15. f4 Nd6 16. Qd3 Qf6 17. Bb3 b6 18. Bc2 {[#]} Qh6 19. Rf3 g6 20. Raf1 a5 21. Rh3 Qg7 22. g4 Ba6 23. Qf3 Bxf1 24. Kxf1 Rae8 25. g5 Re7 26. f5 gxf5 27. Bxf5 Nxf5 28. Qxf5 Qg6 29. Rf3 Qxf5 30. Rxf5 Rfe8 31. Kg2 Re2+ {Black mates.} 32. Kg3 R8e3+ 33. Kg4 Rxc3 34. h4 Rg2+ 35. Kh5 Rc4 36. Re5 Kg7 0-1

C41 Philidor Defense: Philidor Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bd7)

The game I am sharing today was played in a team match called Royal > 1799. It was played between The Not Wanteds and ☼ The Farm ☼ on three boards. I played on board 2 for The Not Wanteds in this small team match and I was only able to get a draw in my other game against T48 in addition to the loss below. We lost this match with a score of 1.5 - 4.5. My Online Chess rating at Chess.com continues to decline almost everyday, in a month it has dropped about 100 points. Before that I was able to maintain my rating with relative ease above 1900. During about the same time period my rating at Red Hot Pawn has gone up again, though not as much as my rating has dropped at Chess.com. Well, at least the amount of games I have in progress has also declined despite the fact that more games have started again recently. The increase is partly due to the fact that next round started in one of the tournaments where I was able to advance to the next round. And partly because I joined a few more team matches. I have currently 79 games in progress. I might get the game load down to around 50 by the end of next month or that is the plan anyway. It all depends on the willingness of the players to continue some games. I think I have three games in progress at Red Hot Pawn that are continuing on even though the result of the games should be clear to both players.

[Event "Royal > 1799 - Board 2"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.06.04"] [Round "?"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "T48"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1884"] [BlackElo "2034"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bd7 {C41 Philidor Defense: Philidor Gambit} (3... a6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bc4 Qf6 6. Bg5 Qg6 7. dxe5 h6 8. Bh4 b5 9. exd6 bxc4 10. Ne5 Qxg2 11. Rf1 Qxh2 12. Bg3 Qh3 13. Qd4 Qe6 14. O-O-O Bxd6 15. Nxc6 Nxc6 16. Qxg7 Qf6 17. Qxf6 Nxf6 18. Rxd6 {Adamson,R (2315) -Timberlake,B Lansing 1995 0-1 (57)}) 4. Bc4 (4. dxe5 Nc6 5. exd6 Bxd6 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bg5 Qe7 8. Bd3 O-O-O 9. Qe2 Ne5 10. O-O-O h6 11. Be3 Kb8 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Qd2 a6 14. f3 Be6 15. Kb1 Bd4 16. Rhe1 g5 17. Ne2 Bxe3 18. Qxe3 Rd6 {Savage,N (1705)-Dhanwani,A Caleta 2017 0-1 (33)}) 4... h6 5. O-O $146 (5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 a6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nh4 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 Qxh4 10. Qf3 f6 11. c3 Bg4 12. Qg3 Qxg3 13. Nxg3 O-O-O 14. a4 Rh7 15. b4 d5 16. Bd3 e4 17. Be2 Bxe2 18. Nxe2 Bd6 19. b5 axb5 {Van Os,B-Corporaal,R Rijswijk 2000 1-0 (46)}) 5... Qe7 6. Nc3 {Nd5 is the strong threat.} Nf6 7. Re1 c6 { 1.49/22} (7... Nc6 $142 {1.01/27}) 8. a4 {0.85/24} (8. Bf4 $142 {1.49/22} exf4 9. e5) 8... Bg4 $16 9. Be3 Nbd7 10. h3 Be6 {1.31/24} (10... Bh5 $142 {0.87/26}) 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Qd3 exd4 13. Nxd4 {0.32/27} (13. Qxd4 $16 {1.01/22} a6 14. Rad1) 13... Ne5 $14 14. Qe2 g5 15. Reb1 {-0.18/26} (15. Nf3 $14 {0.33/24}) 15... Kd7 {0.89/24} (15... Bg7 $11 {-0.18/26}) 16. b4 Qh7 {1.62/23} (16... Qg7 $16 {0.90/25}) 17. Bd2 {0.59/26} (17. Nf3 $18 {1.62/23}) 17... Be7 18. Nf3 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Raf8 {1.33/23} (19... Rhf8 $1 $14 {0.50/25}) 20. Qd3 {0.43/27} ( {Better is} 20. Qe3 $16 {1.33/23}) 20... g4 21. h4 Nh5 22. g3 {-0.80/25} (22. Qd4 $14 {0.60/25 stays ahead.}) 22... Qg7 {0.00/27} (22... Qf7 $6 23. Qe3 $11) (22... Nxg3 $1 $17 {-0.80/25} 23. fxg3 (23. Qxg3 Rf3 $15) 23... Rf3) 23. Be3 Rf3 24. Ne2 $1 e5 {0.75/26} (24... Bf6 $11 {-0.30/26 keeps the balance.} 25. Rd1 Be5) 25. c4 $2 {-2.35/25} (25. b5 $16 {0.75/26 and life is bright. Strongly threatening bxc6+.} c5 26. Qd5) 25... b6 $4 {2.53/22} (25... Nf4 $1 $19 {-2.35/25 and all is fine.} 26. Qc2 (26. Nxf4 $2 exf4 27. Bd4 Rxd3 $19) ( 26. gxf4 $2 g3 $19) 26... Nh3+ 27. Kg2 Rhf8) 26. c5 Nf4 27. Qd2 $2 {0.02/26} ( 27. Nxf4 exf4 28. Qd4 (28. gxf4 g3 $17) 28... Qxd4 $15) (27. gxf4 g3 $11) (27. Qa6 $1 $18 {1.94/20} Nh3+ 28. Kg2) 27... Nh3+ $11 28. Kg2 Rhf8 {[#] Threatens to win with ...Qh7.} (28... bxc5 $2 29. bxc5 Qg6 30. Rb7+ Ke8 31. cxd6 $18) 29. Rf1 $1 {Black must now prevent Ng1.} Kc7 $2 {5.40/21} ({Reject} 29... bxc5 $6 30. bxc5 Qg6 31. cxd6 $16) (29... Qg6 $1 $14 {0.33/23} 30. Nc3 bxc5 31. bxc5 Nf4+ $1 32. Kg1 Bxh4) 30. cxb6+ $18 axb6 31. Ng1 Nxg1 32. Rxg1 $2 {0.67/28} ({ White should play} 32. a5 $18 {3.42/24} Rxe3 33. Qxe3) 32... Qg6 $1 $14 { [#] aiming for ...Bxh4!} 33. Qc2 {-0.31/26} (33. Qe2 $1 $14 {0.61/27}) 33... d5 $36 {Black is more active.} 34. Rgf1 $2 {-2.89/25} (34. a5 $11 {-0.23/29 and White has nothing to worry.} b5 35. h5 Qxh5 36. Rh1) 34... d4 $19 ({Weaker is} 34... Bxb4 35. Qb1 $17) 35. Bc1 $2 {-4.71/25} (35. Bd2 {-2.92/28} Qf6 36. Be1) 35... Rc3 36. Qb1 $2 {-9.28/25} (36. Qe2 {-3.66/28} Bxb4 37. Ra2) 36... Bxh4 $1 37. gxh4 Rcf3 {Hoping for ...g3.} 38. Ra3 Qf6 {Black mates.} 39. Rxf3 gxf3+ 40. Kh3 Qe6+ 41. Kh2 Qg4 {Precision: White = 25%, Black = 43%.} 0-1

C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3 (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5)

This is from a team match called Magnificent Obsessives Ride. It was played on 40 boards between Obsessive Chess Disorder!! and Team Australia. I played on board 7 for OCD and managed to help the team with two wins. This was a very close match as the score 42 - 38 suggests. The match ended in our victory! It was very disappointing to see some players in both teams having cheater badges next to their handle. If the score of the match would be corrected so that the points that the cheaters got would go to their opponents who did not cheat, the final score would be 41,5 - 38,5 in our favor, so the result would not change that much. Timeouts were a decisive factor in this match though, we lost five games on time, but our opponent lost eleven games on time. The final score might have been quite different if those timeouts would not have happened. This post was previously named as C53 Italian Game: Classical Variation, Greco Gambit, which is how the opening is categorized at lichess.org, for instance. The new name comes from the Fritz 16 opening classification, but both share the same exact moves.

[Event "Magnificent Obsessives Ride - Board 7"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2015.05.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Chair-man"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "1823"] [BlackElo "1889"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. e5 d5 {C54 Giuoco Piano: 4.c3 Nf6, main lines with 5.d4 and 5.d3. LiveBook: 441 Games} 7. exd6 {-0.93/22 } (7. Be2 $11 {0.06/26 remains equal.} d3 8. exf6 dxe2 9. Qxe2+ Kf8 10. Bg5) 7... Qxd6 8. Qe2+ $146 (8. h3 O-O 9. O-O Bf5 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Rad8 12. a3 Ne5 13. Qf5 Nxf3+ 14. Qxf3 c6 15. c4 Bb6 16. b4 Bc7 17. Bf4 Qxf4 18. Qxf4 Bxf4 19. g3 Bc7 20. Re1 Rfe8 21. Nd2 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Kf8 {Kariuki,S-Asavasaetakul,C (1704) Ahmedabad 2017 0-1 (38)}) (8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 (9. b4 Bb6 10. Ba3 Ne5 11. Nxe5 Qxe5 12. Re1 Qf4 13. Bc1 Qd6 14. Qb3 Bf5 15. h3 c6 16. h4 Bc7 17. g3 Nh5 18. cxd4 Qxd4 19. Bb2 Qb6 20. Kg2 Bd6 21. a3 Qd8 22. Qf3 Bg6 23. Nc3 Nf6 { Malkova, A (1558)-Richterova,J (1459) Kouty nad Desnou 2015 0-1 (53)}) 9... Ne4 10. Qc2 (10. Bh4 dxc3 11. Nxc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bf5 13. Bg3 Qxd1 14. Raxd1 Bb6 15. Bd5 Bd7 16. Ng5 Bg4 17. Rd2 h6 18. Bf3 hxg5 19. Bxg4 f5 20. Bd1 f4 21. Rd5 fxg3 22. hxg3 Rae8 23. Rxg5 Rf6 24. Bf3 Re5 {Maderner,A (1750)-Hrbek,S (1711) Malinska 2015 0-1}) 10... Nxg5 11. Nxg5 Qh6 12. Ne4 Bb6 13. Bd3 Ne5 14. Nbd2 dxc3 15. bxc3 Rd8 16. Bc4 Bf5 17. Rad1 Ng4 18. Nf3 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 Nxf2 {0-1 (20) Cano Cavero,A-Rizouk,A (2499) Erandio 2005}) 8... Qe7 9. b4 { Black is slightly better.} Qxe2+ 10. Kxe2 {-1.56/25} ({White should play} 10. Bxe2 {-0.80/28} Bb6 11. b5) 10... Bd6 11. Nxd4 Nxd4+ 12. cxd4 Bxb4 13. Bb2 O-O 14. Nc3 {-2.39/23} (14. Rc1 $17 {-1.57/26 was worth a try.}) 14... Bf5 { ...Rfe8+ is the strong threat.} 15. f3 Rfe8+ 16. Kf2 c6 17. Rhe1 Kf8 18. Re5 Bg6 19. Rae1 Bd6 20. R5e2 Re7 {-1.17/27} ({Worse is} 20... Bxh2 21. Rxe8+ Nxe8 22. g3 $16) (20... b5 $19 {-1.69/24} 21. Bb3 a5) 21. Ne4 {-2.53/27} (21. Rxe7 $17 {-1.17/27 keeps fighting.} Bxe7 22. Ne2) 21... Nxe4+ $19 ({Inferior is} 21... Bxh2 22. g3 $16) 22. fxe4 Bb4 23. Rf1 Bxe4 24. Kg3 {and the idea Rxe4 leaves White hopeful.} Bg6 25. Rxe7 Bxe7 26. Kg4 Rd8 27. h4 f6 28. Kf3 Bf7 29. Bxf7 Kxf7 {Endgame KRB-KRB} 30. g4 Rd5 31. a3 Rb5 32. Rf2 Rb3+ 33. Ke4 Bxa3 34. Bxa3 Rxa3 {KR-KR} 35. g5 Ra4 36. gxf6 gxf6 37. Rf5 b5 38. Rc5 Ra6 39. h5 { -7.99/31} (39. Kd3 $142 {-4.73/29} Ke6 40. Ke3) 39... Rb6 40. Kd3 a5 41. d5 cxd5 42. Rc7+ Kg8 43. h6 b4 44. Rg7+ Kh8 45. Ra7 Rb8 {[#] ( -> ...b3)} 46. Kc2 f5 47. Rxa5 Kg8 48. Rxd5 Kf7 49. Rxf5+ Kg6 $1 50. Rf3 Kxh6 51. Rg3 Kh5 52. Kb3 Kh4 {Black mates.} 53. Rg7 h5 54. Rg6 Kh3 55. Rg5 h4 56. Rg7 Kh2 57. Rg4 h3 58. Rg5 Kh1 59. Rg3 h2 60. Rg4 Rf8 61. Kxb4 Rf2 62. Kc3 Rg2 63. Rd4 Kg1 64. Rd1+ Kf2 65. Rd2+ Kg3 66. Rd3+ Kh4 67. Rd1 Rg1 68. Rd4+ Kh3 {Precision: White = 23%, Black = 80%.} 0-1

B16 Caro-Kann: Bronstein-Larsen Variation (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.Bf4)

The 33rd game in the 100 game match between me and my friend was played on August 10th 2015. This is by far the longest lasting match I have ever played because this started in 2013 if I recall correctly. For reasons I can't remember all that well anymore, after 20 games had been played, this match paused for two years. And the way things are progressing at the moment, this match will continue to next year, unless we activate the match again. We have not played for a month or so now. We have still 49 games to play, so it has taken about three years to play 51 games... We do not even use that long time controls, both players have 15 minutes on their clocks. After the game below ended my lead in the match continued to grow and the score was then 18 - 15 in my favor.

The next couple of days I will post some of my correspondence chess games again for a change. I was able to find new things to post for this week a lot easier than last week at least for the most part, I still do not know what I will post Friday. Chances are that it will be a day when another major update will see the light of day. Until then, thank you all who have come here to view my blog! A big thank you also to all who have shared my posts and of course to all who have followed me on Google+, it is much appreciated!

[Event "Challenge 32387239"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B16"] [WhiteElo "1756"] [BlackElo "1740"] [Annotator "Stockfish 6 64 BMI2 (30s), TV"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 (5... exf6 6. Bc4 { Caro-Kann Defense: Forgacs Variation}) 6. Bc4 Bf5 7. Nf3 e6 8. Bf4 {B16 Caro-Kann: Bronstein-Larsen Variation} Bd6 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. c3 (10. Qd2 Nd7 11. O-O-O Nb6 12. Bd3 Bg4 13. Be2 O-O-O 14. h3 Bf5 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Qd5 17. Kb1 Kb8 18. Qe3 Qd6 19. c3 h5 20. Nd2 Nd5 21. Qf3 Qf4 22. Qxf4+ Nxf4 23. g3 Nd5 24. Ne4 f5 {Werner,M (2355)-Suess,S Hassloch 1999 0-1 (56)}) 10... Nd7 11. Qe2 (11. h3 Nb6 12. Bd3 Bg6 13. Qc2 Qd5 14. Rg1 O-O-O 15. b3 Qd6 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. O-O-O Nd5 18. Kb2 Kb8 19. Nd2 f5 20. Nc4 Qc7 21. Rde1 Rh4 22. Ne5 Nf6 23. Re3 Rdh8 24. Rd1 Nd5 25. Ree1 Nf6 {Kaypak,O (1153)-Sicars,T (2092) Gelsenkirchen 2014 1/2-1/2 (43)}) 11... Nb6 {N} (11... O-O-O 12. Nh4 Bg6 (12... Rde8 13. Qh5 Bg6 14. Qa5 Kb8 15. O-O Reg8 16. b4 Qf4 17. Nxg6 Rxg6 18. g3 h5 19. Be2 h4 20. g4 Rxg4+ 21. Bxg4 Qxg4+ 22. Kh1 Qf3+ {0-1 (22) Ickert,B (1755) -Bitzer,A (1624) Frankfurt 2005}) 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. g3 Rh3 15. O-O-O f5 16. Qd2 Rdh8 17. f3 f6 18. Qe2 e5 19. dxe5 Qxe5 20. Qd2 R3h7 21. Rhe1 Qc5 22. Be6 Rd8 23. Re3 Qf8 24. Rd3 Qe8 25. Rd6 Re7 26. Bc4 {Hoogakker,P-Foster,P Guernsey 2001 1-0 (40)}) ( 11... Bg4 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 O-O-O 14. O-O-O Nb6 15. Bb3 Nd5 16. g3 f5 17. Kb1 h5 18. Rhe1 Nf6 19. c4 Ne4 20. d5 Qc5 21. Re3 Rd6 22. dxc6 Rxd1+ 23. Qxd1 bxc6 24. Qe1 Rd8 25. Re2 Qd4 26. Kc1 {Lehmann, M-Fischer,T (2089) Germany 2008 0-1 (44)}) 12. Bb3 Nd5 13. Bxd5 Qxd5 14. Qe3 Rg8 {Black threatens to win material: Rg8xg2} 15. Nh4 Bg6 16. O-O O-O-O {Black castles and improves king safety} 17. Rfe1 Bh5 18. Qe4 {White threatens to win material: Qe4xh7} (18. g3 Qg5 19. Ng2 Qxe3 20. Rxe3 Bg6 {=}) 18... Rg4 (18... c5 19. Qxd5 Rxd5 20. dxc5 Rxc5 21. Kf1 {=}) 19. Qxd5 {=} Rxd5 ({Less advisable is} 19... exd5 20. Nf5 Re4 21. Rxe4 dxe4 22. Re1 {+/-}) 20. Nf3 Rf5 {Black threatens to win material: Rf5xf3} (20... Rg6 21. Nh4 Rg4 22. g3 {=}) 21. Nd2 {+/=} Rfg5 22. g3 Rg8 23. Ne4 {White threatens to win material: Ne4xf6} R4g7 $4 (23... R4g6 {+/= saving the game}) 24. Nxf6 {+-} Bg6 25. Nxg8 (25. Nxg8 Rxg8 26. f3 {+-}) 1-0

C62 Spanish Game: Steinitz Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 Bxc6 7.Nc3 Qf6)

Today was a really busy day with all the updates to the blog, but I was able to post all the games that I wanted to post today. I did some of the work yesterday after the post I published because I knew I could not do all the updates today. The game below is the 30th game in the 100 game match I have against a friend of mine. This draw meant that I remained in the lead of the match. The score in the match after this game was 15.5 - 14.5 in my favor. I have played two, maybe three 100 game matches against Tomi before, but those were with time controls where we both had 5 minutes on the clock. This match we play with time controls where both players have 15 minutes at the start of the game. Those matches started quite evenly at first, but at some point I was able to get a clear lead in the match that I was able to hold until the end. All these matches have been played online and I think I have positive score against him in online games, but I am not so sure about the over the board games, I think he has an upper hand in those games. I do not have the exact statistics of either of the online or the games I have played over the board against him, but I think that I am correct in my assumption.

[Event "Challenge 32284354"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.08.06"] [Round "1"] [White "Tocklin, Tomi"] [Black "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C62"] [WhiteElo "1763"] [BlackElo "1745"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "163"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 7. Nc3 Qf6 { 0.87/22 C62 Spanish Game: Steinitz Defence. LiveBook: 7 Games} (7... Nf6 $11 { 0.25/27}) 8. Be3 {0.32/26} (8. Qd3 $16 {0.87/22}) 8... Be7 {0.75/24} (8... Qxd4 $14 {0.32/26} 9. Nxd4 Be7) 9. O-O-O {0.26/27} (9. Nd5 $16 {0.75/24} Bxd5 10. Qxd5 (10. exd5 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Bf6 $11)) 9... Qxd4 $1 $11 10. Bxd4 {White is slightly better.} (10. Nxd4 {feels hotter.} Bf6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Nb1 Ne7 13. Nd2) 10... Nf6 11. Rhe1 O-O 12. e5 $146 {-0.34/26} (12. Nd5 $14 {0.33/28} Bxd5 13. exd5 Rfe8 14. c4 c5 15. Be3 Ng4 16. Bf4 Nxf2 17. Re2 Ng4 18. Rde1 Kf8 19. h3 Nh6 20. Rxe7 Rxe7 21. Bxd6 Nf5 22. Bxc5 Rc8 23. Bxe7+ Nxe7 24. Kd2 Rxc4 25. d6 Nc6 26. d7 {1-0 (26) Granditsch,M (1893)-Soellradl,F Leonding 2006}) 12... dxe5 {0.16/30} ({Black should try} 12... Nh5 $15 {-0.34/26}) 13. Bxe5 Rac8 { 0.33/28} (13... Bxf3 $11 {-0.08/28} 14. gxf3 c6) 14. Kb1 {-0.12/26} (14. Nd4 $14 {0.33/28}) 14... Rfe8 15. h3 Nd7 16. Bg3 Nc5 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Rxd5 Ne6 19. Red1 Red8 20. c4 c6 21. Rxd8+ Rxd8 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 {Endgame KBN-KBN} 23. Kc2 Bf6 24. b3 Kf8 25. Bd6+ Ke8 26. Ne5 Be7 27. Bxe7 Kxe7 {KN-KN} 28. g3 {-0.42/31} ( 28. Nd3 $11 {0.00/36}) 28... Ng5 $1 $15 29. h4 Ne4 30. Nd3 b6 {0.00/38} (30... Kd6 $15 {-0.44/30}) 31. g4 $11 c5 32. f3 Nf6 33. Nf4 Kd6 34. Kd3 Ke5 35. Ke3 h6 36. Nd3+ Ke6 37. Kf4 Nd7 38. Ke4 Nf6+ 39. Kf4 Nd7 40. g5 h5 41. Ke4 f5+ 42. gxf6 Nxf6+ 43. Kf4 Nh7 $1 44. Nf2 Kf6 45. Ne4+ Ke7 $2 {2.33/33 [#]} (45... Ke6 $14 {0.52/36}) 46. Kf5 $1 $18 Nf8 47. Kg5 g6 48. Kf4 $2 {0.00/40} ({White has to play} 48. f4 $1 $18 {1.79/30}) 48... Ke6 49. Ng5+ Kf6 50. Ke4 Nd7 51. f4 Nb8 52. Nf3 Nc6 53. Ng5 (53. Ne5 $5 Ne7 54. Nd7+ Kf7 55. Ne5+ Kf6 56. Nf3 $11) 53... Nb4 54. a3 {-0.71/32} (54. a4 $1 $11 {-0.25/38}) 54... Nc2 $17 55. Kd5 $2 {-5.08/29} (55. Nh7+ $17 {-0.71/35} Kg7 56. Ng5) 55... Nxa3 $19 56. Kc6 { -9.26/32} (56. Ke4 $142 {-5.02/35} Nc2 57. Nh7+ Kg7 58. Ng5) 56... Nc2 57. Kb7 Na1 58. Kxa7 Nxb3 59. Kxb6 Kf5 60. Kb5 Kxf4 61. Ne6+ Kg4 62. Nxc5 Nd2 $2 { 0.00/35} (62... Nd4+ $1 $19 {-8.10/27} 63. Kb4 Kxh4) 63. Nd7 $11 {The position is equal.} Nxc4 (63... Kxh4 $5 64. c5 $8 Nb3 $11) 64. Kxc4 Kxh4 {[#] ...Kg3 is the strong threat. KN-KPP} 65. Kd4 g5 66. Ke3 Kg3 67. Nf6 h4 {White must now prevent ...h3.} 68. Ne4+ Kg4 69. Kf2 Kf4 70. Nd2 g4 71. Kg1 Kg3 72. Nf1+ Kh3 73. Nh2 g3 74. Nf1 Kg4 75. Ne3+ Kf3 76. Nf1 h3 77. Nd2+ Ke2 78. Ne4 g2 79. Ng5 h2+ 80. Kxh2 Kf1 81. Nh3 g1=Q+ 82. Nxg1 {Precision: White = 52%, Black = 60%.} 1/2-1/2

A53 Old Indian Defence without Nf3 (1.e4 d6 2.d4 c6 3.c4 Qc7 4.Nc3 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Be3 Nbd7)

The game below was played in the fifth and final round of the WORLD OPEN RAPID tournament that was held at the FIDE Online Arena on April 13th 2015. This is also the last tournament game that I have played at FOA. Maybe I will start playing tournament games there again at some point, but for now I do not have the time to do that. I would like to activate myself there again but at the moment it would seem that I have too many other things to do, but maybe I can get a game or two played next week. I finished this tournament with three wins and two losses, so this was yet again only a mediocre performance from me. This game featured many mistakes and both players had couple of opportunities to win. The move I like the most is 37.Bxg7! because I was able to play that nice move in a difficult position.

[Event "Tournament 28908568"] [Site "online arena"] [Date "2015.04.13"] [Round "5"] [White "Vierjoki, Timo"] [Black "shivling"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A53"] [WhiteElo "1837"] [BlackElo "1624"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 2.10 (30s)"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 c6 3. c4 Qc7 4. Nc3 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 Nbd7 {A53 Old Indian Defence without Nf3. LiveBook: 37 Games} 9. Qd2 (9. d5 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 c5 11. Be2 O-O 12. g3 a6 13. a4 b6 14. Qd3 Rfb8 15. f4 Rb7 16. Kh1 Rab8 17. Rg1 Qd8 18. Rg2 Ne8 19. Qd2 h6 20. Rag1 Nf8 21. Qc2 Bf6 22. Bd2 Nc7 23. Rf1 Ng6 {Petronic,J (2430) -Kostic,N (2390) Subotica 1992 1-0 (70)}) 9... a6 $146 (9... O-O 10. Rfd1 (10. d5 c5 11. h3 Bh5 12. a4 a5 13. Rfd1 Rad8 14. Nh2 Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Rfe8 16. Ng4 Nxg4 17. hxg4 Nf8 18. g3 Rd7 19. Kg2 Qd8 20. Rh1 Bg5 21. Nd1 Bxe3 22. Nxe3 g6 23. Qd2 b6 24. Nf1 f6 {Romagosa Puchades,J (1947)-Company Sancho,M Cullera 2007 1/2-1/2}) 10... Rfe8 11. h3 Bh5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. g4 (13. Qc2 Bc5 14. Bxc5 Nxc5 15. Nh4 Bg6 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Bf3 Ne6 18. Ne2 Rad8 19. b3 Nd4 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. Qd3 c5 22. g3 a5 23. Bg2 g5 24. Re1 b6 25. Re2 Re7 26. Rae1 Rde8 27. Qd2 Qe5 {Mowla,K (1927)-Mullick,A (1934) Dhaka 2016 0-1 (73)}) 13... Bg6 14. g5 {1/2-1/2 (14) Hurtak,O (2050)-Kuhnmund, I (1644) Prague 2017}) 10. a4 O-O 11. b4 {-0.45/25} (11. a5 $11 {0.28/25}) 11... Rad8 {0.44/24} ({Black should try} 11... d5 $1 $15 {-0.45/25} 12. cxd5 Bxb4) 12. b5 axb5 13. axb5 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 exd4 15. Bxd4 {White wants to play bxc6.} c5 {0.63/26} (15... Nc5 $11 {0.21/28 is superior.}) 16. Be3 Nb6 17. Be2 Nfd7 18. f4 Bf6 19. Rad1 {0.10/27} (19. Qd3 $14 {0.51/24}) 19... Qc8 20. Nb1 Rfe8 21. Bd3 Nf8 22. Qe2 Ng6 23. Nd2 h6 24. Qh5 Na4 {1.22/24} (24... Qc7 $11 { 0.22/24 remains equal.}) 25. e5 $1 $16 dxe5 26. Bxg6 $4 {-1.57/30} (26. Ne4 $1 $16 {1.29/30 is necessary to keep the advantage.} Be7 27. f5) 26... fxg6 $17 27. Qxg6 {[#] Threatens to win with Ne4.} Nc3 $2 {-0.02/30} (27... exf4 $19 { -1.73/28} 28. Bxf4 Nc3) 28. Rde1 {-0.70/27} (28. fxe5 $11 {-0.02/30} Bxe5 29. Rde1) 28... e4 29. f5 Rd3 30. Bxh6 e3 $2 {#13/30 [#]} (30... Qd7 $11 {0.00/30} 31. Bxg7 Bxg7) 31. Nf3 $2 {2.21/30} (31. Bxg7 $1 {#13/30 mates} Bxg7 32. f6 Re7 33. fxe7 Rd6 34. Qxd6 Kh7 35. Qd3+ Kh6 36. Rxe3) 31... e2 32. Rf2 $2 {-1.13/28} ({White has to play} 32. Bxg7 $1 $18 {2.51/31} exf1=Q+ (32... Bxg7 33. f6) 33. Rxf1 Ne2+ 34. Kh1) 32... Rd1 {...Qd7 is the strong threat.} 33. g3 Rxe1+ $2 { 0.00/30} ({Better is} 33... Qd7 $17 {-1.57/24 And now ...Bd4 would win.} 34. Kg2 Rxe1 35. Nxe1 Rd8) 34. Nxe1 $11 {White threatens Bxg7! and mate.} Rd8 $2 { 7.70/31} (34... Re7 $11 {0.00/30} 35. Bxg7 Rxg7 36. Qxf6 Ne4) 35. Rf4 $4 { -4.09/29} (35. Bxg7 $1 $18 {7.70/31 is the narrow road to win.} Bxg7 36. f6) 35... Rd1 $19 36. Kf2 Qd8 $4 {12.83/26} (36... Rxe1 $1 $19 {-3.81/32} 37. Bxg7 (37. Kxe1 Qd8) 37... Rf1+ 38. Kg2 Rg1+ $1 39. Kf3 Rf1+ 40. Kg2 Rg1+ $1 41. Kf3 e1=N+ 42. Kf2 Nd3+ 43. Kxg1 Ne2+ 44. Kf1 Nexf4 45. Qxf6 Nh5) 37. Bxg7 $1 $18 Bxg7 38. f6 Rd7 39. fxg7 {Qe6+ would kill now.} Rxg7 40. Qe6+ Kh8 41. Rh4+ Rh7 42. Qe5+ Kg8 43. Rg4+ Kf8 44. Qxc3 Rf7+ 45. Kg2 Qd7 46. Re4 {62.57/28} (46. Qh8+ $142 {#27/26} Ke7 47. Re4+ Qe6 48. Qh4+ Kd7 49. Rxe6 Kxe6 50. Qe4+ Kf6 51. Qf3+ Kg7 52. Qxe2) 46... Qf5 47. Qh8# {Precision: White = 20%, Black = 15%.} 1-0