Round 6 (April 16, 2000)

Ward, Christopher  -  Norris, Alan J     1-0   49  D35  Queen's gambit
Hummel, Patrick    -  McNab, Colin A     1-0   65  E94  Kings indian; Classical
McDonald, Neil R   -  Gormally, Daniel   0-1   43  B50  Sicilian
Afek, Yochanan     -  Aagaard, Jacob     1-0   40  B86  Sicilian
Krush, Irina       -  Pert, Nicholas     0-1   53  A08  Reti (1.Nf3)


Millennium Masters Oakham ENG (ENG), 11-19 iv 2000cat. VII (2406)
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                                 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 
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 1 Ward, Christopher  g ENG 2509 * = . 1 = . 1 . 1 1  5.0  2648
 2 Pert, Nicholas     f ENG 2396 = * = . . = . 1 1 1  4.5  2615
 3 Gormally, Daniel   m ENG 2504 . = * 0 1 . = 1 . 1  4.0  2496
 4 Hummel, Patrick      USA 2347 0 . 1 * 1 0 0 . 1 .  3.0  2436
 5 McDonald, Neil R   g ENG 2438 = . 0 0 * . 1 = . 1  3.0  2401
 6 Aagaard, Jacob     m DEN 2396 . = . 1 . * 0 0 1 =  3.0  2369
 7 Afek, Yochanan     m ISR 2349 0 . = 1 0 1 * 0 . .  2.5  2375
 8 Krush, Irina      wm USA 2399 . 0 0 . = 1 1 * 0 .  2.5  2360
 9 McNab, Colin A     g SCO 2424 0 0 . 0 . 0 . 1 * =  1.5  2198
10 Norris, Alan J     f SCO 2301 0 0 0 . 0 = . . = *  1.0  2171
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There’s a term in the weird and wonderful world of problem solving and compositions called a “cook”. Basically, it’s used to describe an alternative key not intended by the composer, or a solution in fewer moves than stipulated; to show that a line of play in a composition is unsound.

Birthday boy Yochanan Afek

Birthday boy Yochanan Afek, turned 48 yesterday, and was treated to an Indian meal to celebrate. In the restaurant (which is an apt a place as any, I suppose), he told us of the story of the case of “too many cooks” when he went out for a meal in Israel with Garry Kasparov (who was 37 on April 13^th – belated birthday wishes, Garry. The card is in the post!) on his birthday a few years ago.

Knowing that Garry enjoys solving chess problems and endgame studies, he gave the world no.1 a birthday present of a FIDE Album – No, not a CD of the greatest hits of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov! It’s a series of books, each containing a selection of the cream of problems and studies composed during a given period and published on behalf of the FIDE Permanent Commission for Chess Compositions, and from which titles are awarded to composers.

Kasparov enjoys cooking.

Immediately Garry was enthralled with the FIDE Album and spent the rest of the evening in the restaurant solving the problems in his head. A few days later, he met Garry again, and asked him if he had enjoyed the present? “Oh, yes,” replied Kasparov, who then went on to give Yochanan a long list all the “cooks” in the book. Out of over 1,000 compositions, Garry managed to find over 100 in the space of two days!

Here at the Oakham Millennium Masters, we had a few positions from round six that could easily have qualified for the FIDE Album. One game had four queens on the board, and another had eight connected passed pawns across the board!

But first, a birthday win from Yochan Afek.

Afek,Y (2349) - Aagaard,J (2396) [B86]

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bc4 [An old Fischer favourite - the aggressive Sozin] 6 ..e6 7 Bb3 Nbd7 8 g4 h6 [In general, Black usually plays: 8 ..Nc5 9 Qe2 (9 f3 Be7 10 g5 Nfd7) 9 ..h6 10 g5 hxg5 11 Bxg5 Qa5] 9 Be3 b5 10 f3 Bb7 11 Qd2 b4 12 Nce2 [12 Na4 d5!] 12 ..d5! 13 exd5 Nxd5 14 0–0–0 Nxe3 [14 ..Nc5 15 Rhe1 Rc8 also looked good] 15 Qxe3 Qb6 16 Rhe1 0–0–0 17 f4 g5! [Exploiting the weak dark-squares in the White camp.] 18 fxg5 hxg5 19 Rf1 e5 20 Nf5 Bc5? [This just let's White back into the game. Instead, Black can exert great pressure on the White position by simply exchanging queens: 20 ..Qxe3+! 21 Nxe3 Bc5 22 Nd5 Rxh2 23 Ng3 f6 24 Ne4 Be3+! 25 Nxe3 Bxe4] 21 Qxg5 Rxh2 22 Neg3 f6 23 Qg7 Bd4 24 Nxd4 exd4 25 Qe7! Rg2? [25 ..Rh3! was better with the idea of 26 Ne4 (26 Nf5 Nc5 27 Bc4 d3 28 cxd3 Nxd3+ 29 Bxd3 Rhxd3 30 Rxd3 Rxd3) 26 ..Re3 27 Rfe1 Rxe1 28 Rxe1 Bxe4 29 Qxe4 Ne5] 26 Ne4 Kb8 27 Nxf6 Nc5 28 Bc4

[Hard to miss, but 28 Bd5!! Leaves Black paralysed: 28 ..b3 (28 ..Bxd5? 29 Nxd5 Rxd5 30 Rf8+) 29 axb3 Bxd5 30 Nxd5 Qa5 (30 ..Rxc2+ 31 Kxc2 Qg6+ 32 Rf5) 31 Kb1 d3 32 Qe5+ Kb7 33 Rxd3 Nxd3 34 Rf7+] 28 ..d3 29 cxd3 b3 30 axb3 Nxb3+ 31 Kb1 [31 Bxb3! Rc8+ (31 ..Qxb3 32 Qxd8+) 32 Kb1 Qxb3 33 Nd7+ Ka8 34 Qa3] 31 ..Nd2+ 32 Rxd2 Rxd2 33 Qe5+ Ka8? [33 ..Ka7! 34 Ne4 (34 Nd5 Rxd5! 35 Bxd5 Bxd5) 34 ..Re8 would have saved the game for Black] 34 Nd5! Qd6 [34 ..Rxd5? 35 Bxd5 Bxd5 36 Qxd5+! Kb8 37 Rf8+ Kc7 38 Qd8+ Kc6 39 Rf6+] 35 Qe3 Qh2 36 Qb6 Qd6 37 Nc7+ Kb8 38 Nxa6+ Ka8 39 Qa5 Bxa6 40 Bxa6 Kb8 1–0

Patrick Hummel, a winner in round 6.

Hummel,P (2347) - McNab,C (2424) [E94]

1 d4 d6 2 Nf3 g6 3 c4 Nd7 4 e4 e5 5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Be2 Ngf6 7 0–0 0–0 8 Be3 Re8 9 d5 Ng4 10 Bd2 f5 11 Ne1 Ngf6 [11 ..Ndf6 12 Bxg4 Nxg4 13 f3 Nf6 worked out well for Black in Clarke-Gligoric, Hastings 1962.] 12 f3 f4 13 g4 h5 14 g5 Nh7 15 h4 Nxg5!? 16 hxg5 Qxg5+ 17 Ng2 h4 18 Kh1 Nf6 19 Rg1 Nh5 20 Ne1 Ng3+ 21 Kh2 Qe7 22 Nd3 g5 23 Nf2 c5 24 Bf1 Nxf1+ 25 Qxf1 Kf7 26 Rb1 Rg8 27 a3 Bf8 28 b4 b6 29 Na2 Qc7 30 Qd3 Be7 31 Ng4 Rg6 32 bxc5 Qxc5 33 Bb4 Qc7 34 Rgc1 [Also an option was: 34 Nc3 Ba6 35 Nb5] 34 ..Bd7 35 Be1 Rc8 36 Bf2 Qd8 37 Qb3 Qe8 38 Nc3 Qh8 39 Rg1 Rgg8 40 Nb5 Ra8 41 Qb4 Rg6 42 a4 Qc8 43 Na3 Bd8 44 a5 bxa5 45 Qb7 Kg8 46 c5! Bxg4 47 Rxg4 dxc5 48 Nc4 Qxb7 49 Rxb7 a4 50 Nxe5? [50 Bxc5 was the secure route to victory.] 50 ..Rb6! 51 Rxb6 axb6 52 Nc6 a3 [Also worth a try to attempt to save the game is: 52 ..Bf6!? A) 53 Bxh4 a3! 54 Bxg5 Bxg5 55 Rxg5+ Kf7 56 Ne5+ (56 Rg1 Rh8+ 57 Kg2 Rg8+ 58 Kf2 Rxg1 59 Kxg1 a2) 56 ..Ke7 57 Nc6+ Kf6 58 Rf5+ Kg7; B) 53 e5! 53 ..a3! 54 exf6 (54 Rg1 a2 55 Ra1 Bh8 56 d6) 54 ..a2 55 Rxg5+ Kf8 56 Rg1 a1Q 57 Rxa1 Rxa1 58 d6 Rd1 59 Bd4 Ke8!] 53 Rg1 a2 54 Ra1 Ra3? [Keeping the dark-squared bishop and the a-pawn offered Black a better chance of confusing the issue: 54 ..Bc7!? 55 e5 Kf7 56 d6 Bxd6! 57 exd6 Ke6 58 d7 (58 Ne7 Kxd6 59 Nf5+ Ke6 60 Nh6 Ra3 61 Kg2 Kd5) 58 ..Kxd7 59 Ne5+ Kd6 60 Nf7+ (60 Nc4+ Kc6 61 Ne5+ Kb5 62 Kg2 Ra3 63 Kf1 h3 64 Bg1 Kb4) 60 ..Kd5 61 Nxg5 Kc4 62 Ne4 Kb3 63 Be1 b5] 55 Nxd8 Rxf3

A diagram moment.

[Eight connected, passed-pawns across the board! I’ll need to consult Mr Tim Krabbe as to what the record for connected passed-pawns is.]

56 Rxa2 g4 57 Bxh4 [57 Ne6! Rxf2+ (57 ..g3+ 58 Kg2 Rxf2+ 59 Rxf2 gxf2 60 d6) 58 Rxf2 g3+ 59 Kg2] 57 ..Rh3+ 58 Kg2 f3+ 59 Kg1 Rxh4 60 Ne6 g3 61 Ra8+ Kf7 62 e5 f2+ 63 Kg2 Rh1 [Underpromoting still losses: 63 ..Rh2+ 64 Kxg3 (64 Kf1 Rh1+) 64 ..f1N+ 65 Kf3 Nd2+ 66 Kf4 Rh4+ 67 Kf5 Rh5+ 68 Ng5+ Kg7 69 Ra7+ Kf8 70 Kg6 Rh1 71 d6] 64 Rf8+ Ke7 65 Kxh1 1–0

Irina Krush and trainer Nikolai Krogius. "Once upon a time, there was a trainer... "

It’s been a long time since a 16-year-old girl pulled my leg. Too many years than I care to mention. However, Irina Krush, proving that she’s not just an accomplished player but also a great practical joker, recently told me a story, which to my great shame as a journalist, I fell for – hook, line and sinker.

Let’s just say that she told me “a load of old rubbish” and, like a fool, I was left with enough egg on my face to make an omelette big enough for a sizable meal for all the competitors. Ah, there’s no fool like an old fool…

Krush,I (2399) - Pert,N (2396) [A08]

1 Nf3 d5 2 g3 Nf6 3 Bg2 e6 4 0–0 Be7 5 d3 0–0 6 Nbd2 c5 7 e4 Nc6 8 Re1 d4 9 e5 Nd5 10 h4 Qc7 11 Nf1 b5 12 a4 bxa4 13 Rxa4 Bb7 14 N1d2 a5 15 Nc4 Ncb4 16 Ra3 Rfd8 [16 ..Rfb8! 17 Ng5 Bc6 looks more sensible.] 17 Ng5 Nb6 18 Bxb7 Qxb7 19 Nxa5 Qc7 20 Nc4 [20 Qh5? Bxg5 21 Bxg5 Nxc2 22 Bxd8 Rxd8 23 Rea1 Nxa1 24 Rxa1 Ra8] 20 ..Nxc4 21 Rxa8 [21 dxc4!? Rxa3 22 bxa3 Nc6 23 Nf3 Rb8 is not so easy for White due to the split queenside pawns.] 21 ..Rxa8 22 dxc4 Bxg5 [22 ..Ra1 23 Qe2] 23 Bxg5 Ra2 24 Bc1 [24 c3! Nc6 (24 ..dxc3 25 bxc3 Nc6 26 Qd6) 25 cxd4 A) 25 ..cxd4 26 b4! A1) 26 ..h6 27 Bf6!! gxf6 28 Qg4+ Kf8 29 exf6 Nd8 (29 ..Ne5 30 Qf4) 30 Qxd4 Ke8 31 Rd1; A2) 26 ..Nxb4 27 Qb3 h6 (27 ..Qa5 28 Rb1) 28 Bxh6 Qa5; B) 25 ..Nxd4 26 Be3 Qxe5 27 Bxd4 Qxd4 28 Qxd4 cxd4 29 Re4 Rxb2 30 Rxd4 g6 31 Rd7] 24 ..Nc6 25 Qe2 h6 26 Qe4 Ra1 27 Bf4 Ra2 28 Rb1 Ra4 29 Qe2 Qb7 30 b3 Ne7 [30 ..Ra2 31 Qe4 Na5!] 31 Qd1 Ra2 32 Ra1 Rxa1 33 Qxa1 Ng6 34 Qc1 [34 Qa4 Nxf4 35 Qe8+ Kh7 36 gxf4 Kg6!] 34 ..Qe4 35 Qd2 Nxf4 [35 ..Nxe5! 36 Bxe5 Qxe5] 36 gxf4 Qf3 37 b4 cxb4?! [Opting for the draw with 37 ..Qg4+ 38 Kf1 Qh3+ 39 Ke1 Qh1+ 40 Ke2 Qe4+ was preferable] 38 Qxd4 Qg4+ 39 Kf1 Qxh4 40 c5 Qh1+ 41 Ke2 h5 42 Qd8+?! [White's got a relatively simple win by taking the pawn: 42 Qxb4! h4 43 Qa4 A) 43 ..Qd5 44 c6 Qc5 45 Kf3 A1) 45 ..Qd5+ 46 Qe4 Qc5 47 Kg4! Qxf2 (47 ..Kf8 48 Qd3 Qxc6 49 Qd8+ Qe8 50 Qxe8+ Kxe8 51 Kxh4) 48 c7; A2) 45 ..h3 46 c4! h2 47 Kg2; B) 43 ..h3 44 c6 h2 45 c7 Qb7 46 Qc4 h1Q (46 ..Qc8 47 Qc6) 47 c8Q+ Qxc8 48 Qxc8+ Kh7 49 Qc4] 42 ..Kh7 43 Qd3+ Kg8 44 Qc4 Qc6 45 f3 h4 46 Kf2 Qd7 47 Qxb4 Qd1 48 Qc3 h3 49 c6?? [49 Qd3 Qb1 50 Qd8+ Kh7 51 Qh4+ draws] 49 ..h2 50 c7 Qg1+!

[Only now does White realise she's in a mating net. 50 ..h1Q? 51 c8Q+ Kh7 52 Qd3+ draws] 51 Ke2 h1Q 52 c8Q+ Kh7 53 Kd3 [53 Qd3+ g6 54 Kd2 Qe1#] 53 ..Qf1+ 0–1