Round 9 (April 19, 2000)

Pert, Nicholas     -  McDonald, Neil R   1/2   36  E05  Nimzo indian
Krush, Irina       -  Hummel, Patrick    1-0   58  E90  Kings indian; Classical
Aagaard, Jacob     -  Ward, Christopher  1/2   14  B76  Sicilian; Dragon
McNab, Colin A     -  Gormally, Daniel   1-0   31  A12  English; 1.c4
Norris, Alan J     -  Afek, Yochanan     0-1   37  A16  English; 1.c4


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 Pert, Nicholas     m ENG 2396 * = 1 = = = 1 = 1 1  6.5  2573
 2 Gormally, Daniel   m ENG 2504 = * 1 1 1 1 = 0 0 1  6.0  2520
 3 Krush, Irina      wm USA 2399 0 0 * 1 = 1 1 1 0 1  5.5  2487
 4 Ward, Christopher  g ENG 2509 = 0 0 * = = 1 1 1 1  5.5  2474
 5 McDonald, Neil R   g ENG 2438 = 0 = = * = 1 0 = 1  4.5  2402
 6 Aagaard, Jacob     m DEN 2396 = 0 0 = = * 0 1 1 =  4.0  2364
 7 Afek, Yochanan     m ISR 2349 0 = 0 0 0 1 * 1 = 1  4.0  2369
 8 Hummel, Patrick      USA 2347 = 1 0 0 1 0 0 * 1 0  3.5  2332
 9 McNab, Colin A     g SCO 2424 0 1 1 0 = 0 = 0 * =  3.5  2324
10 Norris, Alan J     f SCO 2301 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 = *  2.0  2198
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John Henderson on round 9

I COULD HAVE BEEN A CONTENDER…

REMEMBER the 1954 classic “On the Waterfront” with Marlon Brando? He turns round to Karl Malden and says: "I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."

Well, I’m afraid that’s how Danny Gormally and Nick Pert must felt after having the GM norm tantalisingly dangled in front of them in the final round. Needing wins for the norms, both players had their opponents at their mercy, only to let them off the hook at the crucial moment.

Danny Gormally just misses out again.

Worse of all was Danny Gormally. A player with talent in abundance, he’s missed out on his first GM norm by last round disasters in five previous occasions – this was just another one to add to the long list. After blowing his chances against McNab, Gormally was left in the analysis room, flicking the chess pieces across the board, pondering what could have been. Shaking his head from side to side as he played over what he’d missed, you could almost here him muttering, “I could have been a contender. I could have been a somebody…”

McNab,C (2424) - Gormally,D (2504) [A12]

1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 c6 3 g3 d5 4 b3 Bg4 5 Bg2 Nbd7 6 Bb2 e6 7 d3 Bd6 8 Nbd2 0–0 9 0–0 Qe7 10 a3 e5 11 h3 Bxf3 12 exf3?! [A rather strange move that goes against the principles of simple chess. 12 Bxf3 was correct. Surely White couldn’t have been afraid of 12 Bxf3 Rfe8 with ideas of playing ..Rad8 and an eventual ..e4 and ..e3? It takes time for Black to organize this.] 12 ..a5 13 Re1 Qd8! [Getting out of the way of any potential pin on the e-file and heading for the more active outpost of b6 where the Queen will probe weaknesses in both the queenside and kingside.] 14 Qc2 Qb6 15 d4 exd4 16 cxd5 cxd5 17 Qd3 Ne5 18 Qf5 [18 Qxd4 Bc5! 19 Qxe5 Bxf2+ 20 Kf1 (20 Kh1 Rfe8!)]

18 ..Rfe8?! [And here's where Danny-boy goes wrong in a very big way. He originally planned to play the unbelievable 18 ..Nc4! - which seems good for Black - but instead decided to try and build-up his position before lashing out. 18 ..Nc4! A) 19 Bc1? Ne3!! 20 fxe3 (20 Qd3 Nxg2 21 Kxg2 Rfe8 22 Bb2 Bc5) 20 ..Bxg3 21 Re2 dxe3 22 Nf1 Bf2+ 23 Kh1 Rfe8 24 Qd3 Nh5 25 Bxe3 Bxe3 26 Rxe3 Ng3+ 27 Nxg3 Rxe3 28 Qxd5 Qxb3; B) 19 bxc4 19 ..Qxb2 20 Red1 Rfe8 21 cxd5 b5] 19 Bf1 a4 20 f4 Nc6 [20 ..Ne4! was probably Black's last chance to play for a win after: A) 21 Rxe4 dxe4 22 fxe5 (22 Nxe4 Nf3+ 23 Kh1 Ra5) 22 ..Rxe5 23 Nc4 Rxf5 24 Nxb6 Rd8 25 Bxd4 axb3 26 Rb1 Bxg3 27 Be3 Bf4 28 Bxf4 (28 Rxb3 Rg5+) 28 ..Rxf4 29 Rxb3 Rf3 30 Rxf3 exf3 31 Kh2 (31 a4 Rd1 32 Nc4 Ra1) 31 ..Rd6 32 Nc4 Rd1 33 Ne3 Ra1; B) 21 Nxe4 21 ..Nf3+ 22 Kh1 dxe4 23 Rxe4 Rxe4 24 Qxe4 Nd2 25 Qd3 Nxf1 26 Rxf1 axb3] 21 b4 Bf8 [21 ..Rad8!?] 22 Qd3 [White has now consolidated his position and, with the bishop pair, wrecks havoc in Black's position.] 22 ..Rad8 23 Rad1 Nd7 24 Qc2 Ra8 25 Rxe8 Rxe8 26 Nf3 Nf6 27 b5 Nb8 28 Bxd4 Qd8 29 Bxf6 Qxf6 30 Rxd5 Rd8 31 Ng5 [31 ..g6 32 Rxd8 Qxd8 33 Bc4 Kg7 34 Bxf7] 1–0

At least Nick Pert has a GM norm to his name! However, despite winning the tournament outright at his alma mater, he must be kicking himself over his blunder on move 31, allowing a repetition. Both Gormally and Pert were last seen heading towards the nearest drinking-hole to console themselves.

Nicholas Pert, winner of the event but he also missed out on a GM norm chance.

Pert,N (2396) - McDonald,N (2438) [E05]

1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Be7 4 g3 Nf6 5 Bg2 [The Catalan Opening, so-called because Tartakower, at the Barcelona tournament of 1930, played the moves d4, Nf3, g3 and Bg2, and named the opening after the region of Spain] 5 ..0–0 6 0–0 dxc4 7 Qc2 a6 8 a4 Bd7 9 Rd1 Bc6 10 Nc3 Nd5 [Not the best. Better is: 10 ..Bxf3 11 Bxf3 Nc6 12 Bxc6 bxc6 13 a5 Rb8 14 Qa4 Rb4 15 Qxc6 Qd6 16 Qf3 (16 Qxd6 cxd6!) 16 ..Rfb8 17 e4 Qd7 18 Qe2 Qc8 with the idea of ..Qb7 with relentless pressure down the b-file.] 11 e4 Nxc3 [11 ..Nb4?! 12 Qe2 Nd3 13 d5! exd5 14 exd5 Bd7 (14 ..Bxd5?? 15 Nxd5 Qxd5 16 Qxe7) 15 Ne5 Nxe5 16 Qxe5 Bg4 17 Re1 Bd6 18 Qd4 Bf5 19 Ne4 Re8 20 Bd2 Bxe4 21 Bxe4 Nd7 22 Qxc4 Nf6 23 Bf3 Qd7 24 a5 Qf5 25 Kg2 h5 26 h3 Rad8 27 Bc3 Nd7 28 Re4 Rxe4 29 Bxe4 Qg5 30 h4 Qh6 31 Re1 Nf6 32 Bf5 Re8 33 Rxe8+ Nxe8 34 Qb3 Bf8 35 Bc8 Nd6 36 Bxb7 Nxb7 37 Qxb7 Qg6 38 Qa8 Qe4+ 39 Kh2 Qe2 40 Bd4 Qb5 41 Qd8 Qb4 42 Be3 Qb5 43 b4 Qxb4 44 Qxc7 g6 45 Qc8 Kg7 46 Qxa6 Bc5 47 Bxc5 Qxc5 48 Qb6 Qxd5 49 a6 g5 50 hxg5 Qxg5 51 Qd4+ Kh7 52 a7 Qa5 53 Qe4+ 1–0 Goj,A-Struk,J/Bytom 1995/EXT 97 (53)] 12 bxc3 b5 [12 ..Nd7? 13 d5! exd5 14 exd5] 13 Ne5! Bb7 14 Qb1! Nc6 15 Nxc4 e5 16 Be3 exd4 17 cxd4 bxc4 18 Qxb7 Na5 [Cutting off the Queen's retreat was worth a try: 18 ..Nb4!? 19 e5 (19 Bf4 c3! 20 Rac1 c2 21 Rd2 c6 22 Bh3 a5) 19 ..Rb8 20 Qf3 Nd3] 19 Qb2 Rb8 20 Qc2 Rb3 21 Bf1 Bb4 22 Rac1 Rc3 23 Qb2 Rb3 24 Qc2 Rc3 25 Qe2 Rxc1 26 Rxc1 Qa8 27 Qg4 Re8 28 d5 h5 29 Qf3 c3 30 Qxh5 [Also 30 Bd3 A) 30 ..h4 31 gxh4 c6 32 Rb1 Bd6 (32 ..c5 33 Qg4 c4 34 Bc2); B) 30 ..g6 31 Rb1 Bd6 32 Bd4 and, in both cases, White is well in command.] 30 ..Rxe4

31 Bd3? [Kiss goodbye to the GM norm! A slip-up at the crucial moment sees Pert falling into a repetition. Instead, the simple Qf5 leaves Black with an uphill struggle - and White with his second GM norm!: 31 Qf5! Re8 (31 ..Qe8 32 Bd3 Rxe3 33 Qh7+ Kf8 34 Qh8+ Ke7 35 Qh4+!) 32 Bd3 g6 33 Qg4! Rxe3 34 fxe3 Qxd5 35 Bxg6] 31 ..g6! 32 Qg5 Be7 33 Qh6 [33 Bxe4 looks good, but... 33 ..Bxg5 34 Bxg5 Qe8! 35 Bc2 Qe5 36 h4 Nc4 and Black is well on top as White will never successfully be able to coordinate his pieces.] 33 ..Bf8 34 Qg5 Be7 35 Qh6 Bf8 36 Qg5 Be7 ½–½

However, all wasn’t lost for the tournament that was solely designed to generate norms for the young wannabes. A bit of good fortunate against her fellow countryman left Irina Krush with something to celebrate after she scored her second International Master norm (the first being in the Koltanowski International in San Francisco in 1999) and her final norm can't be far away.

Irina Krush got an IM norm with a final round win.

Krush,I (2399) - Hummel,P (2347) [E90]

1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 c4 Bg7 4 Nc3 0–0 5 e4 d6 6 h3 e5 7 d5 Nh5 [Forgive my indulgence here, but every time I see the 6 h3 King's Indian variation, I'm always reminded of this wonderful game from a youthful Garry Kasparov: 7 ..Na6 8 Be3 Nh5 9 Nh2 Qe8 10 Be2 Nf4 11 Bf3 f5 12 h4 Qe7 13 g3 Nb4 14 Qb3 Nfd3+ 15 Ke2 f4 16 Bd2 fxg3 17 fxg3 Rxf3 18 Nxf3 Bg4 19 Raf1 Rf8 20 Nd1 Qf7 21 Be3 Bxf3+ 22 Kd2 Qd7 23 Rhg1 Qh3 24 a3 Bxe4 25 Rxf8+ Bxf8 26 axb4 Qh2+ 27 Kc3 Nc1 0–1 Kavalek,L-Kasparov,G/Bugojno 1982 (27)] 8 Nh2 a5 9 Be2 Nf4 10 Bf3 Na6 11 0–0 f5 [11 ..Nc5!? 12 Be3 Ncd3] 12 Be3 Nc5 13 exf5 gxf5 14 Bxf4 exf4 15 Qc2 Be5 16 Rab1 Bd7 17 Rfc1 Kh8! [With White opting to place her heavy artillery on the queenside, Hummel decides to take-up the challenge with a direct assault on the kingside. Ultimately, I think Black's plan has the best chance of succeeding.] 18 Nf1 Rg8 19 Nd2 Qh4! 20 Kf1 Rg6 [The immediate 20 ..Bd4 was better.] 21 b3? [White's position would have been all right after: 21 Nb3! Nxb3 22 Qxb3 Bd4 23 Rc2 a4 24 Qa3 (24 Qxb7 Ra7 25 Qb4 Bc5 26 Qb8+ Rg8) 24 ..Bc5 25 b4! axb3 26 Qxa8+ Rg8 27 Qxg8+ Kxg8 28 Rxb3 Bb6] 21 ..Bd4 22 Nd1 Re8 23 a3 Rg7! [White's dead in the water if she allows Black to play Rge7. So...] 24 Rb2 Bxb2?

[Too greedy! Instead, the obvious 24 ..Rge7! is crushing - so to speak! 25 Kg1 Re1+ 26 Nf1 Nd3! 27 Qxd3 Bxb2 28 Rc2 Bg7 29 Re2 R1xe2 30 Bxe2 Qf6] 25 Nxb2 Rge7 26 Qc3+ Kg8 27 Nd3 Nxd3 28 Qxd3 Qf6 [28 ..Re5! with the idea of ..Qe7 looked hard to meet.] 29 Qc2 c6 30 Nb1 Rc8 31 Nc3 Be8? [31 ..c5! 32 Ne2 Qe5 33 Qd2 b5! 34 Nxf4 (34 Qxa5 Qb2) 34 ..bxc4 35 bxc4 Qd4!] 32 Ne2 Qe5 33 Qd2 cxd5?! [This just allows White to get back into the game as it activates the bishop and also allows the knight a good outpost.] [33 ..c5 34 Nxf4 Qd4 35 Qxd4 cxd4] 34 Bxd5+ Bf7 [34 ..Kh8! 35 Nxf4 a4 36 b4 b5!] 35 Nxf4 b5 36 g3 a4 37 Bxf7+ Rxf7 38 Re1 Qc5 39 Ne6 Qc6 [39 ..Qxa3? 40 Nd8! Rf8 (40 ..Rxd8 41 Qg5+) 41 Qd5+ Kh8 42 Nf7+ Rxf7 43 Qxf7 and Black's getting mated after Re7.] 40 Kg1 axb3 [40 ..Qa8!? was probably the only move to stay in the game. The rest is now academic.] 41 Nd8 Rxd8 42 Qg5+ Kh8 43 Qxd8+ Kg7 44 cxb5 Qxb5 45 Re8 h6 46 Rg8+ Kh7 47 Rh8+ Kg7 48 Qg8+ Kf6 49 Rxh6+ Ke7 50 Qg5+ Kd7 51 Qd2 Qc6 52 Rh8 Re7 53 Qa5 Re5 54 Qd8+ Ke6 55 Qg8+ Kd7 56 Qf7+ Re7 57 Qxf5+ Kc7 58 Rc8+ 1–0

Anyone can apply to Oakham School for a chess scholarship (though on entry, they must be aged 11, 13 or 16), and if interested should contact the Registrar, Oakham School, at registrar@oakham.rutland.sch.uk, telephone 0033(0)1572-722487. Alternatively, if anyone has any specific inquiry about chess at Oakham, they are welcome to contact the chess teacher, Graham Lee at glee@globalnet.co.uk