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By International Master Jimmy Liew

Playing too much, playing too little!!!

I had a most hectic two weeks ever. Starting with the 27th ASTRO Merdeka Rapid Open Team Chess Championship 2007, a 25 minutes + 2 seconds over 9 rounds. Followed by the IGB 4th Dato’ Arthur Tan Malaysia Open Chess Championship 2007, a grueling 11 rounds of 90 minutes + 30 seconds topped off with another 8 rounds of the standard edition of  27th ASTRO Merdeka Team with a very unforgiving 90 minutes to the finish. That’s’ twenty games of chess in 12 days.

I had a horrible +3 -5 score in the last tournament. Although that does not reflect the advantage I had in most of those losses. I just failed to convert them as I thought I normally could. Chess Inactivity does strange things to you, that’s what I discovered. On the positive side, I feel that the overall chess standard has improved.  Most of my losses were from players who defended resolutely and capitalized when I over-reached or simply made a less favourable move.

The last round is an excellent example.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 Qb6 8.Ne2 f6 9.g3 cxd4 10.cxd4 Be7 11.Bh3 fxe5 12.fxe5 0-0 13.Rf1

[White cannot capture on e6. After 13. Bxe6+ Kh8 14. Bxd5 Ndxe5 15 dxe5 Bg4 16 Nc3 Bb4 and Black has a very nice attacking position]

13 ..... Nb4 14.Ng5 Rxf1+ 15.Kxf1 Nf8 16.Be3 Bd7 17.Kg2 Rc8 18.Nc3 Nc6 19.Qb3 Qd8!?

[Over the board, I did not think the sacrifice on e6 will work. At some point black has …Na5 getting out of trouble] 

20.Nxe6!?  Bxe6 

[20…Nxe6? 21. Qxd5 +-]

21.Bxe6+ Nxe6 22.Nxd5 Kh8?

[ At this point I rejected my original move 22…Na5 which probably wins. I was hallucinating something along the lines of 23. Nf6+ Kf7 24. Qd1 gxf6 25. Qh5+ Kg8 26. Qg4+ with a perpetual check, missing the very obvious 25…Ng7 which wins outright]

23.Nxe7 Qxe7 24.Rd1

[If white play d5 immediately, I was planning 24.d5 Ned4 25.Qd3 Qxe5 26.dxc6 Qd5+ 27.Kh3 (27.Kf2 Qf3+ 28.Ke1 Nc2+) 27...Qh5+ 28.Kg2 Qf3+ 29.Kh3 Rxc6]

24 ..... Nb4

[24...Nexd4 25.Bxd4 Nxd4 26.Rxd4 Qxe5 27.Qc4 Re8 28.Rd2=]

25.d5 Rc2+ 26.Rd2?

[26 Kg1 puts a stop to all black tactics]

26 ..... Nd4 27.Rxc2!

[ Blacks back rank weakness has saved White]

27 ......  Ndxc2!

 [This should be the winning move. 27...Nbxc2 28.Bxd4 Nxd4 29.Qc4+-]

 28.Bf4 Ne1+ 29.Kf1 Ned3 30.d6 Qd8??

 [Another final hallucination. I originally planned 30...Qd7  with threats of …Qh3 . Then I noticed 31.e6, so why not Qd8 instead followed by Qb6 winning? And straightaway I played 30…Qd8. In fact after 31.e6 , Black is winning …. Qb5 32.Kg2 Nxf4+ 33.gxf4 Qe2+ 34.Kh3 Nd3 35.Qxb7 (35.d7 Qf3+ 36.Kh4 Qxf4+ 37.Kh3 Qf3+ 38.Kh4 Qf6+ 39.Kg3 Nc5 40.Qc4 Nxe6 41.Qc8+ Nd8-+) 35...Qxe6+]

 31.Qc4 h6??

 [31...Nxf4 32.Qxb4 Ne6 33.Qxb7 a5 34.Qe7 Qxe7 35.dxe7 Nc7 36.Ke2 g6 its still unclear who is winning]

 32.Qc7 Nc6 33.e6 Nxf4

 [I had overlooked that 33...Qxc7 34.dxc7 Ne7 35.Bd6 Nc8 36.e7+-]

34.Qxd8+ Nxd8 35.e7 1-0

QUICK GLANCE 
(click on Replay Game)