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                 IECC CHESS BITS & PIECES

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       Published by the International Email Chess Club
      Devoted solely to free E-Mail Correspondence Chess

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Volume 4, Issue 26                         November 1, 1997
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Ortwin Paetzold
1916     32-8-33   GER

I am 33 years old now, but started my "chess career" at the
age of 10. At that time I wanted to play ches with my
father, but he often came back from work being tired and
not hungry for chess.

So I went into our city to the office of the local newspaper,
remembering that they sometimes publish something about the
local chess club. They gave me an address and I joined the
club!

During the next 9 years, while I attended Grammar School, I
was always between the top players in Gladbecks chess club,
but I could never win a title except the last year, just
after finishing my school exam. It seemed that I had now
enough time to concentrate on chess to become the City
Youth Champion.

After that event I left Gladbeck to go to University. I
moved to Cologne, where I played in several local chess
clubs, but my main concentration was on Physics. I finished
my diploma in 1989, having stopped playing chess totally
for two years.

Then I got a job in a research lab, where a new chess group
was built up. I had a very nice chess time here, since our
team started in the lowest class of the company chess groups
but followed Caesars words "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came,
looked and won) and when my contract was over after three
years, we won the championship of the highest class.

During this three year period I wrote my Ph.D. thesis about
the simulation of particle diffusion in disordered
materials, developing the first vectorizable algorithm for
this kind of Monte Carlo Simulation.

During this time, I had the first experiences in Email-Chess,
being member of L-CHESS@GREAN, a mailing list on the BITNET.
But I had to stop this when I left the research lab.

During the time of the thesis I also decided to change my
private life and got married with a wonderful woman.

In 1992, I finished my exams for the doctoral degree and
directly got a contract with Ford Motor Company. At this
time I changed the chess club again, since I was not allowed
to play at GMD, because I was no longer working for them.

The first year at Ford found me on different jobs in the
systems area, but in 1993, I got the chance to move into
the Product Development Department, fulfilling my dreams,
namely developing cars with the computer. After I got used
to the basics, I got an even larger task, namely the
coordination of the Noise, Vibration and Harshness
development of the body shell of a new vehicle, which was
partially done by a supplier. The task grow larger, since
I also got responsible for the Windnoise Reduction
Development of this vehicle, and I became member of the
so-called "Drive Team", which tested prototypes long before
the customer could even see the cars.

When in September 1996 the Ford Ka was launched, one of my
largest dreams was fulfilled, namely that I can touch, what
I am working on. After the launch I moved into a different
department, where I am responsible for hardware parts like
locks, latches, wipers and soon, also an interesting job,
since here the long durability is the center of the work.

In early 1995 I "detected" chess on the usenet, and soon
found that two chess groups are there. I joined them both,
becoming one of the first 100 members of IECC, where I soon
started to play in several tournaments. My start in IECG was
much slower, actually I cannot say, why.

By now I have finished or am playing about 75 games in IECC,
from which I won 11 by forfeit, which was a pity, since I
like email chess very much. The first games were not very
successful, since I tried to play these games "on a sheet of
paper". Now I own Chessbase, which helps much to keep the
control over the games.

When I moved my email-address from the office to my PC at
home, it seems that my play started to get stronger. I
managed to win one Swiss tournament (#14) and KO 9. These
results, plus the fact that I never lost a game due to a
forfeit, were one reason that I got the invitation to the
Swiss #50 and I am proud to have been selected.

Last Summer I joined the team which tried to save IECG, the
other club Lisa Powell has founded. There I started as the
archivist, but soon concentrated on running the rating list.
The good connection to my internet provider allowed us to
set up the IECG Homepage here as well.I became also the
Webmaster and I am running the IECG Council Mailinglist,
where the "team" discusses important matters. And then,
since we had a lack of volunteers, I also took over the job
as a Tournament Secretary for some events, namely the IECG
World Championship and the Cup-Finals. This is the reason
why I reduced the number of games played in IECC, though I
recently joined a knockout tournament. And then there is the
never-ending series of two-game-matches against Heiner
Theofel.

From the games I played in IECC, I am rating three as
especially important:

1) My first Pyramid match against Bob Warren, a long 74-move
game with an interesting end game, where Bob just found the
only way to keep the game as a draw. This game shows a lot
of my typical OTB play.

2) My win with white against Gideon Heichal in KO 9, which
decided the tournament.

3) My Swiss #31 game in round 2 against Jorge Miraglia, who
had a much higher rating. Here I reached a draw in an
interesting line of the Sicilian.

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Peter Tomashewski
1656     0-1-1 CAN

I am 54 years old, married with a married son and single
daughter. Both live away from home, my son locally, my
daughter far away teaching elementary school in California.

My wife works as a nurse, while I work as an internal
management auditor for Statistics Canada, the national
statistics-gathering agency for Canada. My city, Kanata,
is a suburb of Ottawa, Canada's capital city. Kanata is
Canada's major high technology centre ("Telecomm Valley
North").

I have been playing chess by correspondence since 1970 with
the Canadian Correspondence Chess Association. I also play
over-the-board chess in one of the larger chess clubs in
Canada. My rating is considered to be "club average". I
enjoy chess by email, and have been very pleased with the
speed by which the games were played in my first TRIO.

My biggest chess thrill was to play in the super 1988 Chess
Festival in Saint John, New Brunswick. There, I had my
picture taken with the late great Michael Tal and witnessed
other great grandmasters such as Gligoric.

Peter J. Tomashewski <peterjay@intranet.ca>
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Dave Cook   1000    USA

In 1974, I married Jean (Jeannie) Marie Gunzel, and we have
two wonderful daughters - Melanie Dawn (Born: 1983) and
Allison Marie (1986).

In my spare time (if there is any), I teach Tae Kwon Do
rwo nights per week at our congregation in Littleton,
Colorado. I have been a Black Belt since 1985, and just got
my Second Degree in 1996).

I am a self-sustained minister (to pay the bills;
a Computer Engineer; play Chess, love philosophical/
historical/theological discussions, and astronomy.
I also co-founded a Chess Club (1995) that meets twice a
month at our church.

I have been playing chess since I was 12 (off and on) until
one of my girl friends got me interested (she would whip me
pretty bad) - it was one of our safer interests. To help me
to beat her, I went to the library during one of her
family's vacation, and picked up I.A. Horowitz's book
for Chess beginners (it was first in a growing library).
This was about the time Fischer was playing Spasky in 1972.

My brother got interested at that time, and being a fireman,
he would play with the other firemen (I would come and visit,
and we would play round robin tournaments) - which to my
growing chess ego, was unbeatable.

In 1973, I met my future wife, and her father was an avid
chess player (when working for NASA, he learned to play
chess from all those German rocket scientists, like Werner
Von Braun). Fhe next 22 years, we played and played and
played -- and it took me a year to beat him. In 1995,
he passed away, but I have a memory of those times together!

During my stint in the Military, I would play chess at the
Air Bases (1974-1980). This was my only time in competitive
play. A lot of fun, but no trophies.

My wife and daughters DO NOT PLAY CHESS. They find it boring.
But they indulge me when I grab my chess board and head off
to either a neighbor's house or to the Chess Club at our
church.

Cordially,   Dave Cook - Colorado
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Analysis by Bill Wall  1977

Tim Nagley - David Glew, IECC 1997

1.g4

{Grob's Attack, also known as the Spike.  This opening was
inspired by Swiss International Master Henry Grob
(1904-1974).}

1...e5

{more common is 1..d5 and this game transposes to it}

2.Bg2 d5

{the Open Defense to the Grob}

3.c4

{safer is 3.h3. Other moves have also been tried here}

3...dxc4

{another common reply is 3...c6}

4.Qa4+

{4.b3 and 4.Qc2 have also been played}

4...c6 5.Qxc4 Be6 6.Qc3

{other moves for White include 6.Qa4, 6.Qc2, and 6.Qe4}

6...Nd7 7.h3

{7.Nf3 is another possibility}

7...Ngf6 8.a3?

{8.d3 or 8.Qc2 would be better. Now Black penetrates and
wins the exchange}

8...Nc5

{better than Grob's recommendation of 8...a5}

9.b4

{What else?  Black will be able to penetrate to b3 with his
Knight}

9...Nb3 10.Bb2

{10.Ra2 fails to 10...Nxc1}

10...Nxa1 11.Bxa1 Bd6 12.Qc2

{or 12.Nf3 first}

12...O-O 13.Nf3 Qc7 14.Ng5 a5

{slightly better may be 14...Bd7 and 15...h6}

15.bxa5 Rxa5 16.Bc3 Raa8 17.f4 h6

{not 17...exf4?? 18.Bxf6 threatening 19.Qxh7 mate}

18.fxe5 Bxe5 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.O-O

{castling into trouble. Perhaps 20.Bb4}

20...Bh2+

{Other good possibilities are 20...Bxc3 and 21...Qb6+}

21.Kh1 Nxg4!

{a good sacrifice that allows Black to penetrate the
king-side}

22.hxg4 Rxf1+ 23.Bxf1 Qg3

{threatening 24...Qg1 mate}

24.Bg2

{the only other move is 24.Bd4, but then 24...Qh4 is strong}

24...Rf8!

{threatening 25...Rf1+ 26.Bxf1 Qg1 mate}

25.Bf6 Rxf6 26.Qc5 Rf2 27.Qxf2 Qxf2 28.Kxh2 Qxe2 29.Nc3 Qxd2
30.Ne4 Qb2 31.a4 Qa3 0-1

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Analysis by Phil Hildebrandt
  1864     42- 9- 6   USA

[Event "Pyramid"]
[White "Lewis,Scott"]
[Black "Wall,Bill"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3

{There have been 10 different Black tries in this position.
Most of them just transpose into a few lines that spring
from 5...Nc6, Qc7, Bc5 and Nf6.

Three of theses choices give White a small but lasting
advantage. Nf6 gives Black a solid equality. An interesting
choice here is 5...Ne7}

5...Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.Qxe3 d6 10.Nc3 Nf6
11.O-O O-O 12.f4 Qc7 13.Rhg1 b5 14.g4 b4 15.g5 Nd7

{ We are following Leonid Yudasin - Alexey Suetin Leipzig
1986 1-0. Oddly enough, 6 years earlier in the same position
against Jon Aranson, Suetin chose 15...Ne8 and won. Perhaps
Black should have tried 15...bxc3!? 16.gxf6 cxb2+
17.Kxb2 g6 18.f5 Qd8 with a slight advantage.}

16.Ne2 a5

{ 16...Bb7 would have given a solid equality. In an equal
position, you should never try to attack, nothing you do can
possibly work. 16...a5 was an unfounded show of agression
that gives White a small advantage.}

17.Nbd4

{In Leonid Yudasin - Alexey Suetin Leipzig 1986, White chose
17.Kb1 and went on to win. Here White chooses a different
path.}

17...Nxd4 18.Nxd4

{White avoids 18.e5 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 d5 with a decisive
advantage to Black}

18...Qc5!

{Pinning the Knight. Equality has been restored with this
natural move.}

19.Rg3

{ Perhaps 19.e5 would have been simpler, but 19.Rg3 works
just fine. It also breaks the pin on d4.}

19...a4

{The pawns on a4 and a5 threaten to rip open White's king.
With two open files also, the win should be a matter of
technique.}

20.e5 Bb7

{ Instead of an advantage this move still maintains equality.
I must admit that I would much rather be Black in this
position.}

21.Rh3!

{Maintains equality as long as Black avoids:
21...Rfd8 22.Bxh7+
21...Rfe8 22.Bxh7+
21...dxe5 22.Bxh7+
21...h6 22.gxh6}

21...g6

{The only move.}

22.exd6 a3

{Still equal, but the wind is slowly drifting toward White.
22...Qxd6 should have been played but Black sticks to his
plan of Queenside expansion. A plan should always be
flexible enough to change when the position on the board
calls for it. The Chess goddess Cassia tends to punish those
who flaunt her desires.}

23.Nb3?

{A White inaccuracy. 23.Nb3 hands an advantage to Black.
Cassia must be laughing heartily now. 23.Nb5 or 23.bxa3 had
to be played.}

23...axb2+ 24.Kb1 Qc6

{The Queen trade on e3 should have left Black with the
better game.}

25.Qd4 Rfd8

{25...Nb6 might have been a bit more consistent.}

26.Qxb4

{After this move the advantage shifts to White once more.
Nb6 would have stopped this.}

26...Ra4 27.Qb5

{forcing him to trade queens. Now 27... Rda8 28.Qxc6 Bxc6
29.c4   I wanted to do two things first: create an escape
square for my king but most importantly push the passed pawn
and get it connected with the pawn on d6. Written by
Scott himself and I can't disagree.}

27...Rda8 28.Qxc6 Bxc6 29.c4

{After all the smoke has cleared in this roller-coaster
game, White comes out on top with a winning advantage.}

29...e5 30.fxe5 Rxa2 31.Rd2 Nxe5 32.Rxb2 R2a3 33.Be2 Rb8
34.Rc3 Be4+ 35.Kc1 Nd7 36.c5 Bc6 37.Bd1

{White should go on and win easily unless he commits a few
major blunders.}

37...Rba8

{38. Kd2 was more consistant and simpler. 38.Re2 allows
Black to whittle away at White's advantage.}

38.Re2 f6 39.Re7

{Again 39.Kd2 should be played. If a plan works, stick with
it and win. Don't tempt fate by a fickle whim.}

39...fxg5 40.Bg4 Nf6 41.Be6+

{41.Bf3; 41.Be2 and 41.h3 and White's advantage is next to
nothing.}

41...Kh8

{"I liked driving his king to the h file". Scott explains
his previous moves.}

42.Rf7 Nd5 43.Rh3

{Black has quite a few moves to lose with.}

43...h5

{Only move to hang on but the game is already effectivly
over.}

44.Rg3 Nf4 45.Bc4 R3a4 46.Nd2??

{Huge blunder #'s 1 and 2 combined.}

46...Ra1+

{46...Rxc4+ 47.Nxc4 Bd5 48.Rc7 Ne2+ 49.Kb2 Bxc4 50.d7 Rb8+
51.Ka3 Be6 52.Rd3 Ra8+ 53.Kb2 Rd8 with a passive but
defensible position. White's advantage here would only
consist of his pawns. Black seems to be able to hold his
own here.}

47.Kb2 Rd1 48.Kc2 Ba4+ 49.Bb3 Ra1 50.Re7 Ra2+

{Another chip from White's advantage. Black's tactics are
paying off. White still has a win but it is far from easy
now.}

51.Kc1 Ra1+ 52.Nb1 Bb5 53.Bc2 g4 54.Rb3 Ba4 55.Rb2 Bxc2
56.Kxc2 R1a5 57.Re5 Kg7 58.Nc3 Kf6 59.Re4 Ne6 60.c6 R5a6
61.Nd5+ Kf5 62.Rc4 Ke5

{Black makes the choice to trade the exchange plus a pawn
and get his king in front of the passed c pawn.}

63.Nb6 Kxd6 64.Nxa8 Rxa8 65.Kc3 Ra3+ 66.Kb4 Rd3 67.Rf2 Rf3
68.Rd2+ Kc7 69.Rd7+ Kc8 70.Re4 Nc7 71.Ree7 Rf4+ 1-0

{Black lost here because he stuck with a plan that should
have been discarded by move 20. White stuck with his plan
(more or less) and, although he made a few errors, he held
on to win.}

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Analyzed by Ian Peddie  2463

[Event "Swiss 201.1"]
[White "Dunn,Michael"]
[Black "Dias,Helena"]
[Result "0-1"]

1940  Michael Dunn             64-24-15     NZL  -25
1770  Helena Dias              25-1-10      BRA  +25

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6

{3.Nf3 e4 4.Ng5 b5!? is the Bellon Gambit}

4.d4 exd4

{4...e4 5.Nd2 Nxd4 6.Ndxe4 Nxe4 7.Qxd4 Nxc3 8.Qxc3 d6 =}

5.Nxd4 Bb4

{This is the Four Knights variation of the English Opening.
Both players have followed established theory so far, though
white's next essays a new move order in what is a well known
position}

6.Nxc6?! bxc6

{6.Bg5 is book}

7.Qb3 Qe7

{7.Bg5 looks slightly better}

8.Bg5 h6

{Forrest-Smith, USA 196? went: 8.g3 O-O 9.Bg2 Re8 10.e3 Ba6
11.O-O d5 12.Qa4 Bxc4 and 0-1 (22)}

9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Rd1 Ba5

{White's idea of centralising a rook is sound, but why not
combine it with moving the king to safety?  Hence 10.O-O-O
looks better.  Black's 10...Ba5 seems to serve no point.
A developing move would aid black's cause, and the choice
lies between 10...Rg8 or 10...Ba6}

11.Rd3?

{Ye olde rook lift. But this move is completely out of place
here. The simple 11.e3 is far superior}

11...Bb6

12.g3?!

{I'm far from convinced with this. The move e3 must be
played sooner rather than later, and now looks a good time
for that move. Perhaps white was reluctant to play such a
move because of the embarassing position of the rook on d3?}

12...Ba6

{12...h5 at this stage looks intriguing}

13.Bh3 O-O-O 14.O-O Rhe8 15.Rfd1 f5 16.Bxf5?

{If white had played e3 earlier then this capture would have
been possible. Considerably better is 16.Qa4 Bb7 17.e3 when
white is okay. The move played in the game introduces a
tactical sequence that highlights the absence of a pawn
on e3}

16...Qc5 17.Bxd7+ Rxd7 18.Rxd7 Bxc4 19.Qa3 Qxf2+ 20.Kh1 Bc5
21.b4??

{Loses immediately, though white has been drifting for a
while. Strangely enough white has a forced draw here through
21.Qa5! after which 21...Bb6 is black's only move. White
then counters with 22.Qa3! and black must take the draw}

21...Bd6 22.R7xd6 cxd6 23.Qa4 Kb7 24.b5 Bxe2 25.Qa6+ Kb8 0-1

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Analyzed by Andres Valverde  2225  27-20- 6  ESP

[Event "M-1048.2"]
[White "Hermans,Nico"]
[Black "Athens,Jim"]
[Result "0-1"]

1632  Nico Hermans    3-0-1        NED  -18
1630  Jim Athens     19-4-10       USA  +18

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7

{This variation is not played as frequently as 6...e6}

7.Bc4 h6

{More usual is 7...Qa5}

8.Bxf6

{The best}

8...Nxf6 9.Qd2

{Much better was 9.Qe2}

9...e5 10.Nf3 b5 11.Bd5 Ra7 12.O-O Rc7 13.a3 Be7 14.Rad1 Bg4
15.Qd3 O-O 16.Rd2 Qc8 17.Rfd1 Rd8 18.Ba2 Rcd7?!

{This is a passive move. The game until this point was correct.
18...Qb7 appears to be a good move, in some lines it would
allow Rxc3}

19.Bb3 Bh5

{Played without a plan}

20.a4 b4 21.Nd5 Qb7

{21...Nxd5 was better}

22.a5?!

{22.Nxf6 and 23.Bc4 =+}

22...Nxd5 23.Bxd5 Qc8 24.Bc4 Bxf3

{Weakening white's king side}

25.gxf3 Bg5 26.Re2

{26.Bxa6 Qc5 and 27...Qxa5}

26...Ra7 27.Kg2 Bf4 28.Qb3 Qb7 29.Ree1 Qe7!

{Launching the attack}

30.Qxb4 Rb7 31.Qa3 Rc7 32.b3

{What to do? White queen is isolated and Black can operate
in the king side freely}

32...Rc6 33.Rh1 Qg5+ 34.Kf1 Qh5 35.Ke2

{35.Rd3 was better, but I think white's position is hopeless}

35...d5!

{winning}

36.Qa4

{or 36.Qe7 Bg5}

36...Rcc8 37.Bd3 f5 38.exf5 e4  0-1

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FischerRandom Games
by Mark Brooks and Tim Nagley

A quick note from Tim

When I read about the FischerRandom games a couple of weeks
ago on the Web-site, I decided to try them out. What
particularly appealed to me was the availability of some
potentially interesting games without opening theory being
at such a premium. I saw this as an opportunity to play on
equal terms, without suffering from my customary problem:
that after about 6 moves I often have a poor position
through lack of textbook knowledge.

I happened to get a reply from the FischerRandom TD within
five minutes, and started two different 2-game matches, with
radically different set-ups, the same day.

So far my games (3 of them still in progress) have been
stimulating, enjoyable and different. I haven't lost too
much hair, either. If you're thinking of giving them a try,
do it!

A quick note from Mark Brooks

The response to the FischerRandom event has been great so
far. We currently have 37 players rated from 931 to 2369.
Every player but one is active, and there is an average wait
of 3 days for a new pairing. There have been 20 matches
assigned, with two matches completed. In total, six games
are complete. I happened to be a player in most of those,
and here are the games from one of my matches.

A FischerRandom Match (FR-7)

The analysis of these games was a collaboration between
Mark Brooks (a mid-1800s player right now, and the
FischerRandom TD) and Tim Nagley (a high 1700s player
right now). It can be improved upon by better players, we
are sure. Mark's opponent was Tony Popp, who is also a
high-B, low-A player.

Let's start with the opening position. In both games of the
two-game match, the same starting position is used. This
position was created by Ron Marshall. Both Ron and Kyle
Evans will generate the random positions for the games Mark
is involved in. The opening position for this match, in FEN,
is:

[FEN "bbrnkrnq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BBRNKRNQ"]

For more information on FEN, please see the FischerRandom
subpages at:
<http://kerouac.pharm.uky.edu/rgbIECC/random.html>

An ASCII representation of this setup is:

    a b c d e f g h
  +-----------------+
8 | b b r n k r n q |
7 | p p p p p p p p |
6 | - = - = - = - = |
5 | = - = - = - = - |
4 | - = - = - = - = |
3 | = - = - = - = - |
2 | P P P P P P P P |
1 | B B R N K R N Q |
  +-----------------+
    Where p = pawns (black)
      and P = pawns (White)

Before starting, it's best to give a good deal of thought
to the opening position. A good book on opening theory can
help; for example, the wonderful "The Ideas Behind the
Chess Openings" by Reuben Fine. There are three main
elements to investigate: weak points, good development
squares, and where and when to castle.

In this position, the obvious weak points are d2 and d7.
These squares are covered only by the king, so they give one
some mating possibilities.

Less obvious weak points include the b2, b7, g2, g7 pawns.
The long diagonals are going to be fought over, and an early
move by one of these pawns will pin its opposite either to
the queen or to the unprotected bishop.

This leads us to development. The easiest way to activate
the two bishops is to play b3 (b6) and c4 (c5). It is
probably best to keep the knights central, and it is
probably less necessary to move the central pawns forward.

Of course, this is Mark's plan, and he is a bit of a
hypermodern in the first place, so this plan is debatable.
It's important to activate the queen quickly so that she is
not buried under the weight of the bishop on a1 (or a8).

The development plan will help us decide where and when to
castle. The issue here is to activate the bishops; weaken
the a-side; but if we castle h-side, we are moving the king
into the sights of the opposing bishops. Based on these
observations, it is best to castle h-side, but to delay that
either until it is necessary or until the scope of the
opposing bishops is reduced.

[Event "FR-7.1"]
[Site "IECC"]
[Date "1997.09.29"]
[White "Brooks, Mark"]
[Black "Popp, Tony"]
[Result "1-0"]
[FEN "bbrnkrnq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BBRNKRNQ"]

1.b3 f6

{This makes h-side castling unnecessarily weak. The pawn is
also taking the ideal square for the g-knight. An alternative
is b6, which is played in game 2. Another possibility is c5.}

2.g3

{This gives white the a8-h1 diagonal for now.}

2...Nc6

{It may be better to place the pieces this way: e5, Ne6, Ne7
with the idea of activating the b8 bishop along the b8-h2
diagonal. Of course, black may still try a-side development
with c5.}

3.c4 e5 4.Nc3 Nge7 5.e3 a6 6.Nge2 Ba7

{This is another good way to activate the b8 bishop, but it
would be nicer to have the knight on e6 rather than c6 to
enable some a-side play. Some other possible developing
moves for white in the first few moves were Be4 and f4.

The actual formation at this stage is not centrally
dissimilar from a sort of "French Defense Reversed."}

7.O-O O-O-O

{White's King is now on g1, while his Rook still on f1;
Black's King is now on c8 and his Rook on d8. We've
included the ASCII diagram since FischerRandom castling
can be tricky.

    a b c d e f g h
  +-----------------+
8 | b = k r - r - q |
7 | b p p p n - p p |
6 | p = n = - p - = |
5 | = - = - p - = - |
4 | - = P = - = - = |
3 | = P N - P - P - |
2 | P = - P N P - P |
1 | B B R - = R K Q |
  +-----------------+
    Where p = pawns (black)
      and P = pawns (White)

{It's fine for either player to castle h-side at this point.
White expected black to follow him to that side, especially
since white has more space on the a-side. This would also
keep the a8 bishop protected so that black can open the
a8-h1 diagonal.

In fact, black may be giving himself later problems (with a
bishop on a8) by castling a-side, in that he will
necessarily weaken the pawns in front of his king still
further to activate his light square bishop.}

8.Nd5

{White might have tried Be4 here.}

8...Rfe8 9.d4 Kb8

{After castling, if black is going to open the a8-h1
diagonal, he must protect the bishop with his king.
Unfortunately, to open the diagonal now, he must play b6 or
b5, either of which will lead to more open lines towards his
own king.

Also, 9. ... exd4 is better:
10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.exd4 Nxd5 12.cxd5 Re2
This can weaken white's center, and should lead more readily
to open lines for black's centrally-placed rooks.}

10.Nxe7 Rxe7

{This loses a piece, Nxe7 was forced.}

11.d5 Na5

{It might be better not to waste tempi moving the knight,
especially as the c-file seems better for black closed, and
the d-file is better for black open. If Black had saved the
tempi, he could have played h5 and Qg8 at an earlier stage,
to obtain some h-side counterplay.}

12.b4 Nxc4 13.Rxc4 b5

{This opens the a-side.}


14.Rc3 h5

{Better is Qg8 which would induce white to close off the
a8-h1 diagonal before bringing his queen into play.}

15.Rfc1 d6 16.Bd3

{With an eye towards a4, bxa4, Bxa6.}

16... Rde8

{Qg8 is still advisable here.}

17.Bg6

{White must keep e4 open until he brings the queen into play
through it.}

17...Rf8 18.Qe4 Qg8 19.Rd1 Bb7 20.a4 bxa4 21.Ra3 Bc8

{On moves 18, 19 and 21 black could have tried f5. White
cannot readily play Bxf5 because Ref7 would be a
considerable improvement to black, giving some genuine
counterplay on the h-side. In fact, this maneuver would
strongly increase the pressure of black's dark square bishop
on the a7-g1 diagonal.}

22.Rxa4 f5 23.Qh4 Rd7

{Rf6 is necessary.}

24.b5 axb5

{Rf6 and e4 are better choices.}

25.Qb4 Bb6 26.Qxb5 Rf6

{Now it's too late: a mate is coming.}

27.Bd4

{This is Mark's favorite move out of his FR games so far.
Because of the weakness of black's a-side, white is able to
leave a piece en prise and move another piece into the line
of attack. For black, taking either one leads to a mate and
the best he can do is drop quite a bit of material.}

27...exd4

{Bb7 might be best in this position: 27...Bb7 28.Bxb6 cxb6
29.Qxd7 Qc8 30.Qxg7 Qf8 31.Qxf8+ Rxf8 32.Bxh5
which leaves white up a knight, a rook, and a pawn.}

28.Rda1 Bb7 29.Qc6

{This is the key move. After this, the rooks cannot be
stopped. [29...Bxc6 30.dxc6: there is nothing left that can
stop an eventual Ra8#}

29... Re7 1-0

{Even Qxd5 falls to 30.Ra8+ Bxa8 31.Rxa8#. It was white's
27th move, though, that correctly exploited the weaknesses
of black's a-side.}

{The second game is here to show you another opening in the
same position. This game went a little fast with mistakes on
both sides (as in any game of chess.}

[Event "FR-7.2"]
[Site "IECC"]
[Date "1997.09.29"]
[White "Popp, Tony"]
[Black "Brooks, Mark"]
[Result "0-1"]
[FEN "bbrnkrnq/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/BBRNKRNQ"]

1.b3 b6

{As mentioned above, an alternative for black is c5.}

2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Ne6

{Mark preferred Ne6 over Nc6 since black has control of the
open a8-h1 diagonal. He has neither the need nor the
intention of moving the e- and the f-pawn early.}

4.Nf3

{Perhaps a little unadventurous?  White might try 4.d4 or
4.Bf5.}

4...c5 5.Bb2

{This move is strange. It seems that getting the queen
active, castling, or making a move in the center would all
be better, depending upon your tastes.

5...O-O 6.Bf5 d5

{Black wants to control the a-side, but it was probably
better to handle the f5 bishop first, perhaps by g6, also
facilitating the queen's mobility.}

7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bxe6 fxe6

{Badly doubled e-pawns. These could end up being dangerous,
but black gains open lines and the a2-g8 diagonal is secure
with white's light square bishop off of the board.}

9.Ng5 Nf4

{Threatens the g-pawn and protects black's troublesome pawn
on e6.}

10.Rg1

{This move is costly. O-O is better, despite black's strong
bishops. Leaving the king in the middle or forcing him
a-side is dangerous with the half-open files for black's
rooks. Also, f2 is made weaker while d2 remains weak.}

10...h6 11.Nf3

{Nge4 might be a better choice in this position.}

11...Qh7 12.h4 Rcd8

{There will develop a lot of play around the d3 square now.
It materialized sooner than expected.}

13.g3 Bxf3 0-1

{14.Qxf3 Nd3+ 15.Qxd3 Rxd3 16.exd3 Qxd3 would give black a
queen and pawn for a rook and knight.}

We hope you enjoyed these games and that you will perhaps sign up for
some FischerRandom chess yourself.

Mark Brooks, FischerRandom TD   <chess@life-online.org>
Tim Nagley                      <timn@globalnet.co.uk>

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If you have won an IECC game against
a higher-rated player, please submit that game
to Lisa Powell  <drpowell@uoguelph.ca>

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