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By Alex Marler
A total of 31 players came out to play chess and help raise money for ALS research at the second annual Waldo Odak Open. In the Open, Al Howlett was ecstatic when the round one pairings had to be remade, knocking him to board two instead of squaring off against No. 1 seed GM Ben Finegold. Unfortunately, Al's joy was short-lived as FM Doug Eckert's sharp play in the Classical English was too much for him to handle. Things didn't get better for Al in round two as he was paired with giant-killer Thomas Gaul. Al was banking on getting to play his beloved Alekhine's Defense, but the sly attorney from Iowa didn't allow it as he passed on playing his usual 1. e4. Gaul went on to win.
GM Ben Finegold had very little trouble winning the tourney. In the final round, he faced his rapidly improving student Matt Larson. The Grandmaster sacked a bunch of pawns for a mating attack, and although Matt put up a creative defense, the sacrifices finally paid off in the end--to the tune of $250!
Spencer Finegold had an impressive performance, boosting his rating to 2175, just 25 points short of master. He took the "Top Expert" prize of $200. Selden Trimble also had a nice performance with his only loss to the Resident GM. He scored 3.5/5 defeating NM Bob Holliman to cross the Expert barrier once again. More importantly, Mr. Trimble proved once again that he is an expert not just on the chess board, but also in life. He generously donated his entire prize of $175 to ALS research.
Matt Larson banked more than $100 and gained another 27 points to land at 1843. Since he has started taking lessons with GM Finegold at the very beginning of 2011, his rating has shot up 716 points! One can only wonder what his rating will be this time next year.
In the U1800, two brand new Chess Club members came out of retirement to take first place. George Purnell and Chris Cabrera split the overall prize after both had been dormant from tournament chess for a long time. Ken West got all the breaks in this tourney. After a solid first day (2-1), Ken got great news on Sunday morning that his main competition for the "D" prize withdrew. Because he had already declared a half-point bye for round 5, Ken knew all he needed was a draw vs. Nathan Phan. Ken played hard and secured the desired result to take home the 1st Place "D" money.
Owen Bitting continues to show his improvement with a good result. However in the final round, much to the dismay of his teacher Spencer Finegold, Owen "Ohhhhh" Bitting offered his opponent a draw while being up three pawns to two pawns in a king and pawn endgame. However, the draw did clinch him a clear first-place victory in the U1200 section.
Thanks to Spencer's guidance, Owen is now at his peak rating of 1254 after being a career 600 player. Thank you to all the players for coming out to support ALS research, all the players that donated back their prizes, and all the members that graciously helped fund the $2,000 guaranteed prize fund. 100% of the entries went straight to ALS Research.
Finegold, Spencer (2130) - Eckert, Doug (2200)
Annotations by Spencer Finegold
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 {I consider this move to be very
slightly inaccurate} (4... g6 {as GM Diamant played against me, allows white
to fall into a positional trap (which I did) our game continued:} 5. Bg2 Bg7 6.
O-O Nge7 7. Nbd2 {and here it is} (7. c3 {trying for d3-d4 provokes black
to play} d5 {and play will transpose to the game most likely after:} 8. Nbd2
O-O 9. Re1) 7... d6 {and now White finds himself in an awkward strategical
position, he has no way of arranging d3-d4 but also has no black target to
attack. That being said, the position should be about =}) 5. Nbd2 g6 6. Bg2 Bg7
7. O-O Nge7 8. Re1 O-O 9. c3 d4 {Black needed to win this game for 2nd
place, so he plays in very aggressive style, still} (9... b6 {is to be preferred}
) 10. Qc2 (10. cxd4 cxd4 11. e5 {is Houdini's suggestion, but I wasn't sure if
d4 or e5 was weaker}) 10... e5 11. a4 h6 12. Nc4 Be6 13. Nfd2 {This wasn't
just to protect my c4-Knight, as I could just allow black to trade away his
better bishop, but rather I was trying to play on the queenside with both
knights} Qd7 {this move in itself isn't bad, but the plan is, therefore I would
prefer Qc7} 14. Bf1 Rad8 {putting pressure on the d-file is meaningless now
that I have a Bishop on f1.} (14... Rab8 {is a much nicer square, preparing ...
b7-b5 at some moment}) 15. a5 Nc8 {a nice defensive move! Nimzowitsch once
said “The best attacking moves look beautiful, but the best defensive moves
look hideous”} 16. Qa4 Nb8 {This one probably wasn't entirely necessary just
yet} (16... Qc7 17. Qb5 Nb8 18. Nb3 Na6 {and White cannot build up any more
pressure}) 17. cxd4 (17. Nb3 {isn't as bad as I thought it was during the game,
but still not as rosey as I'd like} Qxa4 18. Rxa4 b5 19. axb6 axb6 20. Ra1)
17... cxd4 18. b4 Qxa4 19. Rxa4 a6 20. Nb3 Nd7 21. Bd2 Na7 22. Rc1 Rc8 23. Ra2
(23. Nc5 {a move I was trying to make work the whole rest of the game is
tactically justified now} Nxc5 24. bxc5 Rxc5 25. Bb4 Rfc8 26. Bxc5 Rxc5 {
even though Black has only one backwards pawn for the exchange, the position
should be dynamically equal for several reasons: 1) Black has the bishop pair
2) White's bishop on f1 is a problem 3) Black's knight will be very strong
very soon and 4) White's rooks will have trouble finding activity}) 23... Rc6
24. Rac2 {continuing a dubious plan} Rfc8 25. Be1 {with the plan of f2-f4
Be1-f2 putting pressure on Black's center, it was the only plan I could find
in the position} Bf8 26. f4 f6 27. Bg2 Nb5 (27... R6c7 {as it turns out,
the knight is much better place on c6 attacking b4 than on the b5 outpost. Of
course I never even considered this paradoxical rook retreat} 28. Bf1 {this
move is almost mandatory to take the sting out of} Nc6 29. Rb2 Nxb4 30. Nxd4 {
now the bishop defends d3} exd4 31. Bxb4 Bxb4 32. Rxb4 {and black can retain
an advantage with:} Bxc4 33. dxc4 Nc5 $15) 28. f5 Bf7 (28... Bxc4 {was also
possible} 29. Rxc4 g5 {but only with this continuation in mind} (29... Rxc4
30. dxc4 Nc3 31. Bxc3 dxc3 32. c5 Nb8 33. Rxc3 Nc6 34. fxg6 Kg7 35. Bh3 Rd8
36. Bf5 Nxb4 {and White probably has the better chances})) 29. fxg6 Be6 (
29... Bxg6 30. Bh3 R8c7 31. Bxd7 Rxd7 32. Nb6 {and White has untangled nicely})
30. h4 Kg7 (30... Nc3 31. Bxc3 dxc3 32. Rxc3 Bxb4 33. R3c2 b5 34. axb6 Nxb6
35. Nbd2 a5) 31. Kh2 Kxg6 32. Bh3 Bxh3 33. Kxh3 h5 34. Rg2 {just when
White was starting to breath} (34. g4 {at once is best}) 34... f5 {but
Black gives it right back} (34... Na3 {Which was seen by both players
during the game and dismissed as innocuous} 35. Nxa3 Rxc1 36. Nxc1 Rxc1 37. Bd2
Rh1+ {I missed this powerful idea} (37... Ra1 {was the only line I
looked at} 38. Nc4 Rb1 39. g4 {and I thought I had enough counterplay with
this move, and probably do} Bxb4 40. gxh5+ Kxh5 41. Bxb4 Rxb4 42. Nd6 {but
certainly black should be better, as he's up a pawn} Rb3 43. Rg3 Nc5 44. Ne8
Rxd3 45. Nxf6+ Kh6 {but White doesn't have the typical drawing trick with:}
46. Ng8+ (46. Rxd3 {and White has good drawing chances}) 46... Kh7 47. Nf6+ {
because after} Kh8 {my rook is pinned, so I have no Rg8#}) 38. Rh2 Ra1 {now
that the White rook is on h2, g3-g4 loses some punch} 39. Nc4 Rb1 {Black is
certainly much better, White's only hopes lie in} 40. Rf2 Bxb4 41. Bxb4 Rxb4
42. g4 Rb3 43. gxh5+ Kxh5 44. Rf3 {but maybe White can hold}) 35. exf5+ Kxf5
36. g4+ hxg4+ 37. Rxg4 Bh6 {Since move 30 or so, both players have had less
than 10 minutes, so we just started banging out natural moves at this point} (
37... Na3 {as still possible, but Black no longer has the better end of it
after} 38. Nxe5 {Which I was considering, but of course couldn't calculate
with such little time (or even if I had plenty of time...)} (38. Nc5 {is the
only other reasonable move, but White is worse after:} Nxc5 39. bxc5 Nxc4 40.
Rxc4 Bh6 (40... Rxc5 $6 41. Rxc5 Bxc5 42. Rg5+ Ke6 43. Bg3 Bd6 44. h5 )
41. Bb4 Be3) 38... Kxe5 {forced} (38... Nxe5 39. Nxd4+ Kf6 40. Rf4+ Ke7 41.
Nxc6+ Nxc6 42. h5 {this variation is what attracted me, but I didn't know
that I was so much better}) 39. Bg3+ Kf6 40. Rf1+ Ke7 41. Nxd4 Rf6 {again
forced} 42. Nf5+ Ke8 43. h5 {and somehow, White has an advantage}) 38. Rc2
{played instantly} (38. Bd2 {is actually almost winning} Bxd2 (38...
Bf8 {is best, but giving White two free tempi in such a positoin is dangerous
to say the least}) 39. Nbxd2 Ke6 40. Rf1 Rf8 41. Rg6+ Kd5 42. Rxf8 Rxg6 43. Rf7
Nf6 44. Re7 ) 38... Bf4 39. Rf2 Nf6 40. Rg7 Rg8 (40... Rxc4 {I was
hoping for} 41. dxc4 Rxc4 42. Nc5 {with the unplesant threat of Rg5# gives
White the initiative} Nd5 43. Rf7+ Kg6 44. Rxb7 {but this position is still
not very simple, my intuition tells me White should be close to winning,
Houdini isn't very helpful just changing its evaluation from +.45 to +1.10 and
back again}) 41. Rxg8 Nxg8 42. Nc5 Rc7 (42... Nf6 {ignoring the threat to
reactivate his knight is best} 43. Nxb7 Nd5 44. Nc5 Nbc3 45. Rb2 Bc1 46. Rf2+
Bf4 47. Rb2 Bc1 {and repeating is the best White has for if:} 48. Rb3
Rg6 {White is close to getting mated}) 43. Bd2 Re7 (43... Rg7 {was
forced} 44. Bxf4 exf4 45. Rxf4+ Kxf4 46. Ne6+ {and White has some chances, but
this should be a draw}) 44. Nxe5 Kxe5 45. Rxf4 Nc3 46. Ne4 Nd5 47. Rg4 Ngf6
48. Rg5+ Ke6 49. Nxf6 Nxf6 50. Rg6 Kf7 51. Rxf6+ ({and Black resigns as:}
51. Rxf6+ Kxf6 52. Bg5+ Kf7 53. Bxe7 Kxe7 {and White wins easily}) 1-0
Vaughn, Rodney (1815) - Howlett, Al (1907)
Alekhine Defense
1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. Bc4 Nb6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. a4 a5 7. d3 Bf5 8.
Be3 e6 9. Nge2 Be7 10. O-O O-O 11. Ne4 Nd5 12. Bd2 Ndb4 13. N4g3 Bg6 14. Nf4
Bf6 15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. Bc3 b6 17. Ne4 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Nd5 19. Qd2 Qh4 20. f4 Rad8
21. d4 e5 22. g3 Qg4 23. Nf2 Qf3 24. Nd1 Qh5 25. fxe5 Nde7 26. Qg2 Qg5 27. Qf3
Kh7 28. Qf4 Qh5 29. Qe4 f5 30. exf6 gxf6 31. Rf4 Kg7 32. Qf3 Qh6 33. Ne3 f5 34.
Rf1 Qg5 35. Rh4 Rh8 36. Rxh8 Rxh8 37. Nd5 Qh6 38. Qf2 Nxd5 39. Bxd5 Ne7 40. Bc4
c6 41. Bd3 Nd5 42. Qe2 Qg5 43. Rf2 Rf8 44. Qe5+ Kh6 45. c4 Ne3 46. Rf4 Ng4 47.
Qe2 Kg7 48. h3 Nf6 49. Qe5 Qxg3+ 50. Kf1 Qxh3+ 51. Kf2 Qh2+ 52. Kf3 Rf7 53. d5
Qh1+ 54. Kf2 0-1
McLaughlin, Jim (2100) - Larson, Matthew (1816)
Grunfeld Indian
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 O-O 8.
Ne2 c5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Bd7 11. Rc1 Qc7 12. f4 Rad8 13. d5 Na5 14. Bd3 e6 (
14... b5 15. c4 bxc4 16. Bxc4 Nxc4 17. Rxc4 Qa5 18. Bxc5 Qxa2 19. Rc2 Qb3 20.
Bxe7 (20. Nc1 Qb7 21. Bxe7 Bg4 22. Qxg4 Qxe7 23. Ne2 ) 20... Ba4 21. Bxf8
Bxf8 22. Rc1 Qe3+ ) (14... c4 15. Bb1 b5) 15. c4 b6 (15... b5 16. cxb5
exd5 17. Bxc5 ) 16. f5 Nb7 17. f6 Bh8 18. Qe1 e5 19. Qh4 Nd6 20. Kh1 Rb8 21.
Ng1 Rfc8 22. Rf3 Ne8 23. Rcf1 Qd6 24. Bg5 b5 25. g4 bxc4 26. Rh3 h5 27. gxh5
Bxh3 28. hxg6 1-0
Cabrera, Crhis (1683) - Purnell, George (1647)
King’s Indian
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O {The King's Indian Defense.
This opening is quite popular at all levels due to rousing attacking play that
black can achieve in most variations.} 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 {
This move represents the main line. The first game in my database to reach
this position was Baldur Hoenlinger-Arthur Duenmann, 1926 DSV Congress. Just
looking at these moves played so far it doesn't seem like chess theory has
developed much in 86 years, however Hoenlinger quickly follows up 9. Ne1 with
10. f4 and gives black a great attacking position, so...} Nd7 10. Be3 f5 11. f3
f4 12. Bf2 g5 {It's already move 12 and these two are still in theory.
Actually, some of the main lines of the King's Indian defense have opening
theory analyzed out to move 28!} 13. Rc1 {This is one of several options.
Chess Legend GM Viktor Korchnoi has played the white side of this position for
decades. He also introduced the move 13.a4 which doesn't commit the rook to c1
yet and tries to jump start the queen side pawn storm. Rc1 is a no thrills
sort of move. The point, which is obvious, is to push the pawn to c5 and open
the c-file, then the Rook will try to get to c7 square with the help of a well
timed Nb5.} Rf6 {This move seems to make the most sense to me. Black is
playing for an all out attack on the white king, so he should just get on with
it. There are a few other prohylactic moves like a6, Ng6 and Kh8, but those
moves rather slow. The main point of Rf6 is to transfer the Rook to the h-file
and then play Queen to e8 and to h5 followed by Qxh2#. Simple, but effective.}
14. c5 dxc5 {Now we are officially out of established theory. This move is
something of a novelty. It has been played before but only by some low rated
players, so it lacks the GM stamp of approval. Usually, black plays 14...Nxc5
because then he opens the diagonal for his light square bishop and maintains a
healthy pawn structure. White then must play b2-b4 , kicking the Knight back
to d7. Black is up a pawn for the moment but white's queenside play has been
accelerated by the tempo gains and the half opening of the c-file.} 15. Nd3 Rh6
16. Nxc5 Nxc5 17. Bxc5 Qe8 {Purnell plans Qe8-h5 with a big attack.} 18. Bc4
Kh8 19. d6 cxd6 20. Bxd6 Nc6 21. Ba3 {I'm not so sure the bishop is well
placed on this diagonal. Playing the bishop back to c5 so as to cover the d4
square from the Knight seems like a better place for it.} Qh5 22. Nb5 {What is
that saying? Oh Yes...."The best defense is a good offense." That does not
apply in chess. Clearly, white needed to take of his king as now black's
attack crashes through.} Qxh2+ 23. Kf2 Bh3 24. Rg1 Qg3+ 25. Kf1 Bxg2+ 26. Ke2
Bxf3+ 27. Kd3 Bxe4+ 28. Kxe4 Qe3+ 29. Kf5 f3 {Followed by Qf4 checkmate. A
great attacking game by Purnell, who also happen to Win First Place in the
U1800 section.} 0-1
In the Simul that took place the night before the tournament GM Finegold fell victim to the Great Tom Gaul.
Finegold, Ben - Gaul, Tom
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. e6 fxe6 5. e4 Ne5 6. f4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Bxc3+ 8.
bxc3 O-O 9. fxe5 Qh4+ 10. Kd2 Qf4+ 11. Kc2 Qxf1 12. Qxf1 Rxf1 13. Bb2 Rf2+ 14.
Kb3 Nc6 15. Nh3 Na5+ 16. Ka4 Rxb2 17. Kxa5 b6+ 18. Ka4 Bb7 19. Nf4 Bxe4 20.
Rhe1 Bc6+ 21. Ka3 Rf2 22. Nd3 Rxg2 23. Nb4 Rf8 24. Nxc6 dxc6 25. c5 Rff2 26.
Red1 h5 27. Rd7 h4 28. Rxc7 Rxh2 29. Rxa7 bxc5 30. Kb3 h3 31. a4 Rhg2 32. Rd7
h2 33. Rdd1 Rf4 34. a5 Rfg4 35. a6 Rg1 36. a7 h1=Q 37. a8=Q+ Kh7 38. Rxg1 c4+
39. Kb4 Rxg1 40. Rxg1 c5+ 41. Kxc5 Qxa8 42. Rd1 Qa5+ 0-1
