Round 8 (April 18, 2000)

Gormally, Daniel   -  Aagaard, Jacob     1-0   21  D47  Semi-Slav
Ward, Christopher  -  Krush, Irina       0-1   30  D31  Queen's gambit
McDonald, Neil R   -  McNab, Colin A     1/2   14  B08  Pirc; Classical
Hummel, Patrick    -  Norris, Alan J     0-1   28  D44  QGD; Botwinnik
Afek, Yochanan     -  Pert, Nicholas     0-1   51  C18  French; Winawer


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 Gormally, Daniel   m ENG 2504 * = 1 1 1 0 1 = . 1  6.0  2584
 2 Pert, Nicholas     m ENG 2396 = * = 1 . = = 1 1 1  6.0  2596
 3 Ward, Christopher  g ENG 2509 0 = * 0 = 1 . 1 1 1  5.0  2489
 4 Krush, Irina      wm USA 2399 0 0 1 * = . 1 1 0 1  4.5  2457
 5 McDonald, Neil R   g ENG 2438 0 . = = * 0 = 1 = 1  4.0  2403
 6 Hummel, Patrick      USA 2347 1 = 0 . 1 * 0 0 1 0  3.5  2371
 7 Aagaard, Jacob     m DEN 2396 0 = . 0 = 1 * 0 1 =  3.5  2351
 8 Afek, Yochanan     m ISR 2349 = 0 0 0 0 1 1 * = .  3.0  2339
 9 McNab, Colin A     g SCO 2424 . 0 0 1 = 0 0 = * =  2.5  2250
10 Norris, Alan J     f SCO 2301 0 0 0 0 0 1 = . = *  2.0  2233
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John Henderson on round 8: KRUSHED BY THE WANNABES!

OH! That sounds painful! And indeed it was. Those bright, young wannabes, IM Danny Gormally (Shurley, shome mistake?), IM Nick Pert and WIM Irina Krush surged forward on the leader board in a ruthless move in the quest to bag some title norms. And they weren’t too fussy how they did it either: bluff, blunder or good play – even a combination of all three!

Chris Ward

Following a good start from the former British Champion Chris Ward, the top seed was now finding life difficult as the youngsters became quite a handful for him in the last couple of rounds. After losing in the previous round to Gormally, Ward had another bad day at the office as a big mistake against Irina Krush knocked the tournament leader of his feet. Ah, a dejected Chris remembers the days when he was the hip, young thing. Now, unfortunately, he’s not so much hip: more like hip replacement!

Irina Krush

Ward,C (2509) - Krush,I (2399) [D31]

1 c4 e6 2 Nc3 d5 3 d4 c6 4 e3 f5 5 g4 Nf6 6 gxf5 exf5 7 Qb3 dxc4 8 Bxc4 Qe7?! [8 ..Bd6! was the correct response: A) 9 Bf7+ Ke7 10 Bc4 b5 11 Be2 Be6; B) 9 Nf3 9 ..Qe7 10 Bd2 b5 11 Bd3 Be6 12 Qc2 b4 13 Na4 Bd5‚ Ovseevich,S-Guliev,S/Nikolaev zt/1995/] 9 Nf3 [Heading for f4 with 9 Nh3! Is the Portisch treatment: 9 ..b5 10 Bd3 g6 (10 ..Be6 11 Qc2 g6 12 Nf4 Bf7 13 Bd2±) 11 Nf4 Bh6 12 Nce2! 1–0 Portisch,L-Haba,P/Yerevan 1996/EXT 97] 9 ..b5 10 Be2 Be6 11 Qc2 g6 12 Ng5 Bg8 13 Bf3 h6?! [13 ..b4 14 Na4 Bd5 15 Nc5 Nbd7 16 Bxd5 Nxd5 17 Nge6 Nxc5 18 Nxc5 Qc7 19 Bd2 Bxc5 20 Qxc5 Qb6 would have been better for Black] 14 Nh3 g5 15 Nxb5! [This should be winning. Unfortunately, Chris follows up badly.] 15 ..Qd7 16 Ng1 Bb4+ 17 Bd2 Bxd2+ 18 Kxd2 Bh7 19 Rc1? [A blunder that White quickly regrets, considering that 19 Qc5! literally ties Black in a knot: 19 ..Kf7 (19 ..Kd8 20 Nd6) 20 Qe5 g4 21 Nc7! gxf3 22 Nxf3! Rc8 23 Nxa8 Na6 24 Qf4 Qb7 25 Ne5+ Ke8 26 b3 Qb4+ 27 Ke2 Ne4 28 Rhc1 and Black should be thinking about resigning soon.] 19 ..0–0 20 Ne2 f4! 21 Qc4+ Kg7 22 Nbc3 [No better is immediately taking on c6 in order to access the d6 square for the knight: 22 Bxc6 Nxc6 23 Qxc6 Qf5! 24 Nd6 Qd3+ 25 Ke1 fxe3 26 Qc7+ Kg8 27 fxe3 Qxe3 28 Qc4+ Kh8 29 Rc3 Qe7 30 Qc7 Qe6 31 Rf1 Nd5 32 Nf7+ Kg8 33 Qe5 Qxe5 34 Nxe5 Rxf1+ 35 Kxf1 Nxc3 36 bxc3] 22 ..Qh3!

[Such is the vagaries of chess. If Black plays any other move, White’s probably still better. However, with 22 ..Qh3, White’s king cannot be saved. Ward was now regretting the fact that he didn't play 19 Qc5 trapping the Black king in the centre of the board. Now, its White's king that's coming under pressure.] 23 Bxc6 Nxc6 24 Qxc6 Rae8! 25 Ng3 [25 exf4? Be4! 26 Qc4 (26 Nxe4 Nxe4+ 27 Ke1 Nxf2 28 Kxf2 Qe3+; 26 Qc7+ Rf7 27 Qc4 Rc8) 26 ..Rc8 27 fxg5 (27 Qb5 Rb8) 27 ..Rxc4 28 gxf6+ Rxf6 29 Nxe4 Rxc1 30 Rxc1 Rf7] 25 ..fxg3 26 hxg3 Qf5 27 Ke1 Ng4 28 Nd1 Re6 29 Qb7+ Rf7 30 Rc7 Qa5+ 0–1

Now, after scoring 2/2 in her previous two games, Irina Krush put herself in contention for her first, full IM norm – if she beats Patrick Hummel in the last round. As for Mr Hummel, his norm chances were slim and hopeful – and hopeful had left the building after this tragic defeat to Scotland’s Alan Norris (who was last seen jigging through Oakham after finally winning a game!).

Hummel,P (2347) - Norris,A (2301) [D44]

Millennium Masters Oakham ENG (8), 18.04.2000

[John Henderson]

1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 e6 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 Bg5 dxc4 6 e4 b5 7 a4 Qb6 8 Bxf6 gxf6 9 Be2 a6 10 0–0 Ra7 [10 ..Bb7 11 d5!] 11 d5?! [I think White got his lines mixed up. As explained in the previous note, White plays d5 against ..Bb7; against ..Ra7, he needs to break down the pawn chain asap with b3!: 11 b3! b4 (11 ..cxb3 12 Qxb3) 12 a5! Qd8 13 Na4 c3 14 Nb6 Nd7 15 Nxc8 Qxc8 16 d5 A) 16 ..cxd5 17 exd5 Rc7 18 dxe6 fxe6 19 Nd4 Ne5 (19 ..Nc5 20 Bh5+ Ke7 21 Re1) 20 Bh5+ Ke7 21 f4 Nd7 22 Nxe6!; B) 16 ..Nc5 17 Nd4 1–0 (24) Lukacs-Hoelzl, Budapest 1987] 11 ..Rd7 12 axb5 cxb5 13 b3 cxb3 14 Qxb3 Bc5 15 e5!? (White has to react violently or Black will just consolidate and win with the passed a & b-pawns.) 15 ..f5 [Taking on e5 was, of course, too risky: 15 ..fxe5? 16 Nxe5 Rc7 17 Ne4 Bd4 18 d6 Bxe5 19 dxc7 Qxc7 20 Rac1 Nc6 21 Qh3 Bb7 22 Rfd1 Qe7 23 Rc5] 16 Ng5 [16 d6? Bb7 is horrific] 16 ..Ra7 17 Bh5 [17 Rac1! first could let White back into the game: 17 ..0–0 18 dxe6 fxe6 (18 ..Bxe6 19 Nxe6 Qxe6 20 Qxe6 fxe6 21 Nxb5 Bxf2+ 22 Rxf2 axb5 23 Bxb5) 19 Nd5! Bxf2+ 20 Rxf2 exd5 21 Bf3 Rc7 22 Bxd5+ Kg7] 17 ..0–0! 18 Ne2 h6 [18 ..exd5? 19 Nf4 Qd8 (19 ..Be6 20 Qg3 Kh8 21 Qh4) 20 Qg3 Kh8 21 Qh4] 19 Nh3!?!

[Either a very brave or a very foolish move. With White needing 1.5/2 for his second IM norm, he gambles that with 19 Nh3 he can try to mate the Black king. It's one thing needing a draw in the final round for a norm; it's totally different needing a win - and with Black! Of course, 19 Qg3 would have drawn: 19 Qg3 hxg5 20 Qxg5+ Kh7 21 Qh4 Kg8 (21 ..exd5?! 22 Bg6+ Kxg6 23 Nf4+ Kg7 24 Nh5+ Kg6 25 Nf6 Qxf6 26 Qxf6+ Kh7 27 Qh4+ Kg8 28 Qg5+ Kh8 29 Rfc1!) ] 19 ..Kh7?! [19 ..exd5! 20 Nhf4 (20 Qxd5 Re7! 21 Nhf4 Bb7) 20 ..Be6 looks good for Black.] 20 Nhf4 a5 21 Rac1 Rg8 22 Qc2? [22 Nc3!? again proves problematic for Black 22 ..Ba6 (22 ..b4 23 Na4; 22 ..Rb7 23 Bf3) 23 dxe6 a4 24 Qa2 fxe6 25 Nxe6 Bb7 26 Nf4] 22 ..Na6 23 Ng3 b4 24 Rfd1 b3 25 Qe2 a4 26 d6 b2 27 Rb1 a3 28 Nd3 Bd4 0–1

Gormally,D (2504) - Aagaard,J (2396) [D47]

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 c6 5 e3 Nbd7 6 Bd3 dxc4 7 Bxc4 b5 8 Bd3 Bb7 9 0–0 b4 10 Ne4 Be7 11 Nxf6+ Nxf6 12 Qe2 0–0 13 e4 c5 14 dxc5 Nd7 15 c6 Bxc6 16 Be3 Bb7 17 Rfd1 Nc5 18 Bc2 [18 Bc4 Qb8 19 Bxc5 Bxc5 20 Ba6 has also been played here before.] 18 ..Qa5?! [18 ..Qb8!? may be best now] 19 Nd2 Rfd8 20 Qh5 [A bluff from Gormally that Aagaard falls hook, line and sinker…] 18 ..Nb3??

[20 ..Rac8!, leaves White with a few problems to solve. However, the only problem Gormally had to solve was "How to keep a straight face after his bluff of 20 Qh5?” From observing his opponents body language, Gormally had a gut instinct that his opponent was going to play the lemon 20 ..Nb3??. His only problem was trying to make sure he didn't give the game away whilst waiting for Aagaard to move.] 21 e5 1–0

Danny Gormally

The scene was now set for Gormally to finally secure his first GM norm – All he needs to do is beat Colin McNab with Black! Easier said than done despite McNab’s performance so far in the tournament.

Similarly, Old Oakhamian Nick Pert was on the threshold of another GM norm after it was universally agreed that Yochanan Afek did his level best to beat himself!

Nicholas Pert vs Yochanan Afek with Neil McDonald suggesting a move.

Afek,Y (2349) - Pert,N (2396) [C18]

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e5 c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bxc3 Qa5 7 Bd2 Qa4 8 Qg4 g6 9 Qd1 [More usual is: 9 Ra2 c4 (9 ..Nc6 leaves White smaller choice, as Black threatens 10...cd4 and 10...Ne5.) 10 h4 or 9 Nf3!? is a popular alternative here: 9 ..Qxc2 10 dxc5 Bd7 11 Nd4 Qe4+ 12 Qxe4 dxe4 13 Rb1 Bc6 14 Nb5 Bxb5 15 Rxb5 Nc6 16 Rxb7 Nxe5 17 Bb5+ Kf8 18 Bf4 1–0 Renet,O-Eustache,B/Clichy op 1991] 9 ..b6 10 Qb1 Ba6 11 Qb3 Qxb3 12 cxb3 Bxf1 13 Kxf1 h6 14 h4 Nc6 15 Ne2 Na5 16 Rb1 c4 17 b4 Nb3 18 Be3 a5 19 b5 a4 20 h5 Ra5 21 hxg6 [Also possible was: 21 g4 Rxb5 22 Kg2 Kd7 23 g5 A) 23 ..hxg5 24 hxg6!! Nh6 (24 ..Rxh1 25 gxf7) 25 Bxg5; B) 23 ..gxh5 24 Rxh5 Nxd4 25 Rxb5 Nxb5 26 Bc1 Rh7] 21 ..fxg6 22 g4 Rxb5 23 Kg2 Kf7 24 Rh3 Nxd4 25 Rxb5 Nxb5 26 Rf3+ Ke8 27 Bxb6 Rh7! [Taking on a3 is fraught with danger: 27 ..Nxa3?! 28 Nd4 Nb1 (28 ..Ne7 29 Bc5 Nb1 30 Rf6 a3 31 Rxe6 Rh7 32 Ra6) 29 Nxe6 a3 30 Ng7+ Kd7 31 Rf7+ A) 31 ..Kc6 32 Bd4 Rh7 (32 ..a2 33 Ra7) 33 e6; B) 31 ..Ne7 32 Bc5 Kc6 33 Bxa3 Nxa3] 28 Bc5 Rf7 29 Rh3 Kd7 30 Rh1 Kc6 31 Bb4 g5 32 f3 Rd7 33 Rd1 Ne7 34 Rh1 Ng8 35 f4?!

[With Black needing to score 2/2 for the GM norm, perhaps White should have repeated with 35 Rd1 to force Black to find a plan - and a way of defending h6.] 35 ..gxf4 36 Rd1? [A blunder! Black has no real winning ideas after taking back on f4: 36 Nxf4! d4 37 cxd4 Rxd4 (37 ..Nxd4 38 Rc1 Kb5 39 Rd1! Kc6 40 Rc1) 38 Kf3 c3 39 Bxc3 Nxc3 40 Rc1 Rc4 41 Ne2! Kd5 42 Rxc3 Rxc3+ 43 Nxc3+ Kxe5 44 Nxa4] 36 ..Rf7 37 Kf3 Ne7 38 Bxe7 Rxe7 39 Kxf4 Kc5 40 Ke3 Nxa3 41 Rh1 Nb5 42 Rxh6 Nxc3 43 Nxc3 d4+ 44 Kd2 dxc3+ 45 Kxc3 a3 46 Rh2 Ra7 47 Ra2 Kd5 48 g5 Kxe5 49 Kxc4 Kf5 50 Kc5 Kxg5 51 Kd6 Kf5 0–1