Chess Room Newsletter #869 | Mechanics' Institute

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Chess Room Newsletter #869

Gens Una Sumus!

Newsletter #869

May 8, 2019

By Abel Talamantez

 

Caruana, Hammer, and Meier co-champions of the 2019 Mechanics' Institute Rapid Championship

The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club hosted what is arguably the strongest collection of players ever to step foot into its hallowed room for one event. 37 titled players, with 13 GM's, including world #2 GM Fabiano Caruana came out for the 2019 Mechanics' Institute Rapid Championship, which was held in partnership with Chess.com, Twitch, and the PRO Chess League.

There was a steady crowd always observing the top boards

With a strong group of players in town for the PRO Chess League finals, and many chess personalities in town, conditions were ripe for an explosion of talent. A very strong field had already committed to playing the event, but when GM Sam Shankland, GM Cristian Chirila, and GM Fabiano Caruana joined the field, everyone else signed up to be part of the action within a 24-hour span. The result was an electric atmosphere and a packed house full of players and spectators. After 5 hard fought rounds, Caruana, GM Jon Ludvig Hammer and GM Georg Meier tied for 1st with 4.5/5, and are all co-champions of the inaugural club rapid championship.

GM Fabiano Caruana makes a move in the 2nd round against IM Kostya Kavutskiy as GM Sam Shankland battles IM Danny Rensch on board 2

What made the event even more special is that it was an all-star cast of widely known names along with MI club regulars. Popular names like GM Sam Shankland, GM Robert Hess, GM Zviad Izoria, IM Greg Shahade, and IM Daniel Rensch were playing in the same section as FM Kyron Griffith, IM Elliott Winslow, Felix Rudyak, and Cailen Melville. We also had some of our top young talent past their bedtime to not miss this opportunity to play against the best in the world. The country's top 11-year-old NM Eric Yuhan Li made his mark on the field, finishing with 3.5/5, which tied for 8th with GM Shankland, GM Zierk, and GM Alexander Donchenko. NM Rui Yang Yan, the nations #3 11 year old scored a win against an IM.

Club regulars got to mix it up with the very best on this special evening

Because the event attracted so much interest, Twitch carried our live broadcast on their main chess channel, which gave us a huge audience. GM Nick de Firmian and FM Paul Whitehead provided live commentary as we streamed, and we broadcast the top 10 boards on the club DGT boards. One of the best moments of the evening is FM Paul Whitehead interviewing Fabi in the broadcast room.

FM Paul Whitehead interviews GM Caruana in between rounds

After 4 rounds, only 2 players were undefeated, Caruana and Hammer, and they dueled it out to a tense and fierce fight with seconds left on both players clock.

GM Caruana and GM Hammer fight to the end as GM's Meier and Chirila look on

In the end, both players agreed to a draw, and after Georg Meier defeated Chirila, there was a 3-way tie for first.

In the under 2000 section, unrated Asa Witt took down a 24 player field with pretty strong names like Kristian Clemens and Sos Hakobyan.

The event was FIDE Rapid rated and USCF Quick rated. The Organizer and Chief Arbiter was Mechanics' Institute Chess Director Abel Talamantez and Dr. Judit Sztaray was Deputy Chief Arbiter. For the full crosstable, follow this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/2019-mechanics-institute-rapid-championship-presented-pro-chess-league

To watch the broadcast, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amcCfZcwy4M&t=963s

To read the USCF recap of our amazing event, follow this link: https://new.uschess.org/news/star-studded-rapid-mechanics/

PGN's of the top 10 boards for all 5 rounds can be found on the chess club home page: https://www.milibrary.org/chess

 


2019 Mechanics' Institute Rapid Championship: A Crazy 48 Hours

Thursday May 2, 2019 was truly an amazing evening at the MI chess club, a night of chess that had it all; the worlds top players, club regulars, live broadcast, and a fun atmosphere that was truly a celebration of chess. What made this evening even greater is the behind the scenes knowledge of how the event came together, as it shows the value of long lasting relationships, the power of positivity and the ability of the chess community to rally together when something amazing is about to happen. Here is the true-life story of the 48 hours leading up to the event.

It all started when the Danny Rensch Nick Barton, E-Sports Director at Chess.com that the PRO Chess League finals were going to be held in San Francisco, contacted me and if we would like to collaborate on the championship weekend festivities. I thought it would be great to collaborate, and I saw what we were starting to do with our streaming as a natural and good fit to partner, especially also that we helped host the SF Mechanics team. I had proposed holding a rapid event and maybe a simul. Later I was told that ideally we would have a rapid event Thursday evening May 2, and a simul during the day on May 3. They eventually told me that GM Jon Ludvig Hammer would be in to play the rapid event and GM Eric Hansen would play the simul.

That was the only big name player I was told about, so I figured I better reach out to my contacts in order to make this a great event. So I texted people I knew and worked with previously; GM Izoria, GM Zierk, IM Kavutskiy, NM Aleskerov, all agreed to participate on the spot. I reached out to other contacts that all agreed to play. With about 48 hours before the event, I reached out to GM Sam Shankland who also joined in, and I thought we had a great field and we would all put on a great show.

Early Wednesday morning I received a text from a good friend of mine, GM Cristian Chirila, who said he would be in town and we should grab lunch. While we were discussing availability I mentioned that tomorrow I'd be running a big rapid tournament. When he inquired about the start time, I told him he should play and that it would be fun.

Cristian was Fabiano Caruana's second in his world championship match with GM Magnus Carlsen, and I knew Fabiano would be in town because he was part of the St. Louis Arch Bishops team playing in the final. I figured they would be staying together or at least hanging out together, so I asked him if Fabiano would be interested in playing. Within 30 minutes, I found out both were in. I knew this would take things next level, so we announced the updated lineup on Facebook.

What happened next was unbelievable. Once it was known Caruana and Shankland would be playing, everyone wanted in on the action. I received emails and texts from titled players for the next 24 hours. Robert Hess and Eric Rosen wanted in. I was later informed that the Baden Baden team (3 GMs and a WIM) wanted in. I got texts from several local players wanting to play. In the end, we accommodated 72 players and had to turn away about another 20. What was originally going to be a small event with a top GM turned into a memorable evening with a marquee event that will always be remembered.

I was motivated to write about this not just because of the extraordinary circumstances that made this happen, but because it made me reflect on the personal friendships and relationships that had been built over several years that no doubt played an important role. The players who I knew came out to support me when asked, and I would like to think I did the same when I worked with them. They would have come out and played if it ended up being a small event no one knew about. My good friend Cristian Chirila no doubt told Fabi this would be a good event to do in no small part to our friendship. All these personal connections came together to create a buzz that spread like wildfire, and sparked the energy that was very apparent to everyone in the room. And lastly I was assisted by my good friend Judit Sztaray in directing the event, and it was a joy watching the broadcast after to see just how much running around we do during an event.

Thank you to all my friends and supporters for giving the Mechanics' Institute another story to tell in its glorious history. Last Thursday night for me was the type of thing that makes life beautiful and fulfilling.

Abel Talamantez

Chess Director, Mechanics' Institute

 


Tuesday Night Marathon Heads to Final Round

The Tuesday Night Marathon heads to the final round this week with NM Conrado Diaz in control of his fate as he pulled off a win against FM Andy Lee. He now heads into round 8 with a full point lead with 6/7. 5 players remain a point behind; FM Josiah Stearman, IM Elliott Winslow, NM Tenzing Shaw, FM Ezra Chambers and NM Eric Li.  

In the A/B section, William Gray and Kristian Clemens are tied for 1st at 5.5/7, but will both be paired with opponents right on their heels at 5/7 in Kevin Babb and Jonah Busch respectively. In the under 1600, Charles James and Susheel Khamkar try to finish strong with their 6/7 score.

We will update the final results in the newsletter coming out this Friday.

 


Ireland 1983, Part 1.

By FM Paul Whitehead

In 1983 I followed a lass to Ireland, and ended up spending six months in that beautiful and wild country. Incredibly, with a FIDE rating of 2370, I found myself to be the top player North and South and went on a bit of a tear, winning all six tournaments I played in, including the City Championships of Derry, Belfast and Dublin!

The 1983 Irish Championship was held in Castlebar, way out in the West, and won by Ireland's top-ranked player at the time: Davey Dunne.

I wasn't allowed to play of course, but was made to feel a part of the event: I gave a lecture and a simultaneous exhibition of 20 boards, the result of which is lost in the sands of time...

Most amazingly to me in retrospect is the strange fact that I played a blindfold simul of 3 games, all of which were recorded. I'm not sure I could play even one game today without dropping dead from exhaustion, but hey, I was 23 and didn't know any better!

"Not bad!" I can say to my younger self, "Not bad at all!"

(1) Whitehead,Paul - NN
Blindfold Exhibition, Castlebar Ireland, 1983

It looks like my opponent is ranked somewhere about 1400 - 1600. 22...Rfd8 was bad, but Black was kind of tied down anyway. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6

7.a4 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Bg5 Rc8 10.Nc4 Bxc4 11.Bxc4 Be7 12.0-0 0-0

13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nd5 Nd4 15.Qd3 b5 16.axb5 axb5

17.Bb3 Rb8 18.Ra7 Qc8 19.Rfa1 Qg4 20.f3 Qg6 21.Kh1 h5 22.R1a6

22...Rfd8 23.Nxf6+ Qxf6 24.Rxf7 Qxf7 25.Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.c3

1-0

(2) Whitehead,Paul - NN
Blindfold Exhibition, Castlebar Ireland, 1983

Black seems to be around 1400 - 1600 strength, with a poor knowledge of openings: he never recovered after 3...Bd6?! and a few more errors. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 Bd6 4.Nc3 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nxd4 6.Qxd4

6...Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e5 c5 9.Qd1 Nd5

10.Qxd5 Bxg5 11.Bc4 0-0 12.0-0 Qc7 13.Ne4 Bf4

14.Nd6 Qc6 15.Rae1 Qxd5 16.Bxd5 h6 17.g3 Bg5 18.f4 Be7

19.f5 Bxd6 20.exd6 Rb8 21.Re7 b5 22.f6 g6 23.Rfe1

23...Bb7 24.Bxb7 Rxb7 25.R1e5 c4 26.Rc5 g5 27.Rc7

27...Rxc7 28.dxc7 Rc8 29.Rxd7 Kh7 30.Rxf7+ Kg6 31.Rd7 Kxf6

32.Kf2 Ke5 33.Ke3 Kf6 34.Rh7 Kg6 35.Rd7 Kf6 36.g4 Kg6 37.Kd4

37...h5 38.gxh5+ Kxh5 39.Kd5 a5 40.Kc6 g4 41.Kb7 Rg8 42.c8Q Rxc8 43.Kxc8

1-0

(3) Whitehead,Paul - NN
Blindfold Exhibition, Castlebar Ireland, 1983

This turned out to be the easiest game for me, Black probably in the 800 - 1000 rating range. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3

5...Qd7? 6.d5 Nb4 7.a3 Na6 8.Bxa6 bxa6 9.Nxe5 Qd6 10.Bf4

10...f6? 11.Ng6 Qd7 12.Nxh8 Bb7 13.Qh5+ g6 14.Nxg6 0-0-0 15.Nxf8

15...Rxf8 16.0-0 Rf7 17.Rad1 c6 18.dxc6 Qxc6 Threatening 19...Qxg2 mate, but White is on the ball... 19.Rd5 Rd7 20.Qe8+

1-0

 


GM Nick de Firmian's Opening Lab

1. e4 b6 OWEN'S DEFENSE

Owen's Defense is an uncommon opening that seeks to pressure White on the long light squared diagonal. This attacks the e4 square and seeks to reach down to g2 with possibilities of material gain or an attack on the white king. The downside of this plan is that White can occupy the center with both the e and d pawns, which will restrict Black's activity if the center remains strong.

The opening is named after the English vicar and strong 19th-century amateur chess player John Owen, who used it to defeat Paul Morphy in an informal game in London 1858. The opening is not regularly used by grandmasters today, but Magnus Carlsen and others have used it in quick play games. Since the theory of Owen's Defense is less developed that other openings it can be attractive to surprise opponents who will be ill prepared and be forced to think for themselves.

(1)

1.e4 b6

Black fianchettos the queens bishop to attack the e4 pawn and pressure the long diagonal. This is an excellent place for the light-squared bishop and the pressure can go through the whole length of the board throught to the kingside, where White usually castles. 2.d4 Note that White usually plays both e4 and d4, so Owen's Defense can be played against 1. d4 as well. 2...Bb7 3.Nc3

The most natural move, developing the knight to its usual square and defending the e4 pawn. 3...e6 4.Nf3 Bb4

Black makes use of the opportunity to pin the white knight. This is the one drawback to 3. Nc3 as Black can develop with a threat to win the e4 pawn. 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Qe2

This is better than 6. Bg5 h6 when White would have to trade the dark squared bishop on f6, or 6. e5 Ne4 when Black has succeded in creating counterplay in the center. 6...d5!

This is the key move that gives Black an equal control of the center. It must not be delayed as 6...0-0 7.0-0 d5 8. e5 allows White what he/she wants. 7.e5 On 7. exd5 Nxd5 leaves Black with enough open center squares. Also reasonable is 7...Qxd5 which was played by Magnus himself in a quick game. Naturally he went on to win. 7...Ne4 8.Bd2

White could try gambiting a pawn with 8. 0-0, but that is a bit dubious either way Black captures on c3. 8...Nxd2 9.Qxd2 Ba6

Black has equal chances as the light squared bishops will be traded. There is no problem of being cramped after the exchange of two minor pieces each. *

(2)

1.e4 b6 2.d4 Bb7 3.Bd3

This is a flexible way to defend the e4 pawn. The white c-pawn is not blocked and the queen's knight has the option of hopping to d2. 3...e6 4.Nf3 c5 5.c3

Maintaining the classical pawn center is the best and most principeled continuation. Transposing into a type of Sicilian Defense with 5. Nc3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 is also reasonable. 5...Nf6 6.Qe2 Be7

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

TNM Games Round 7

Annotations by GM Nick de Firmian and IM Elliott Winslow

(1) Lee,Andy C (2344) - Diaz,Conrado (2343) [B33]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.1), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 5.Nb3 Nf6 6.Nc3 e6 7.a3 a6 8.Bf4 Ne7 9.Qd6 Qxd6 10.Bxd6 Nc6 11.Bf4 d6 12.0-0-0 e5 13.Be3 Be7 14.f3 b5 15.g4 Be6 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.exd5 Nb8 18.h3 0-0 

19.f4?! [19.h4 followed by Bh3 would leave White with a nice advantage. Andy Lee starts to drift at this point.] 19...Nbd7 20.Na5 Rfe8 21.Nc6 Bf8 22.Bg2 exf4 23.Bxf4 Nb6 24.Rhe1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Rc8 26.Bg3 Nfxd5 27.Na7 Rc7 28.Bf2 Nf4 29.Bxb6 Nd3+ 30.Kd2 Nxe1 31.Bxc7 Nxg2 32.Nc6 Nf4 33.Nb8 Nxh3 34.Ke3 Ng5 35.Nxa6 Ne6 36.Bb6 d5 37.Nc7 Nxc7 38.Bxc7 Bc5+ 39.Kd3 f6 40.b4 Ba7 41.a4 bxa4 42.b5 Kf7 43.b6 Bxb6 44.Bxb6 Ke6 45.Bd4 g5 46.Be3 f5 47.gxf5+ Kxf5 48.Kd4 a3 49.Kxd5 a2 50.Bd4 g4 51.c4 g3 52.c5 g2 53.c6 g1Q 54.Bxg1 a1Q 55.c7 Qa6 0-1

 

(2) Shaw,Tenzing (2287) - Li,Eric Yuhan (2228) [A20]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.2), 30.04.2019

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.d4 e4 5.Nc3 d5 6.f3 exf3 7.Nxf3 dxc4 8.0-0 Be7 9.Ne5 Be6 10.Bf4 Nbd7 11.e4 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Ng4 13.Bf4 Bg5 14.d5 Bxf4 15.Rxf4 Qb6+ 16.Kh1 Nf2+ 17.Rxf2 Qxf2 18.dxe6 0-0 19.exf7+ Rxf7 20.Ne2 Qe3 21.Nf4 Re8 22.Rc1 b5 23.Rc2 g5 24.Re2 Qc5 25.Nh5 Qe5 26.Qd2 c5 27.a3 h6 28.h3 1/2-1/2

(3) Uzzaman,Ashik (1931) - Stearman,Josiah P (2387) [B23]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.3), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.f4 Bg7 4.Nf3 a6 5.g3 b5 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.d3 e6 8.e5?! d5?! 9.exd6 Qxd6 10.0-0 Nd7 11.Qe2 Ne7 12.Ne4 Qb6 13.c3 0-0 14.Be3 Rac8 

15.d4?? Just a terrible blunder dropping a piece. 15...Bxe4 16.dxc5 Qb7 17.Bd4 Nxc5 18.Rfe1 Bd5 19.b3 Ne4 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Nd4 Nxc3 22.Qe5+ Kg8 23.Bh3 Qb6 24.Kf1 Rfd8 25.f5 Nxf5 26.Nxf5 exf5 27.Rac1 Ne4 0-1

 

(4) Ivanov,Aleksander (2171) - Chambers,Ezra (2336) [A53]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.4), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 d6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e4 e5 5.d5 Nd4 6.Nge2 Nxe2 7.Bxe2 Be7 8.Be3 0-0 9.g4 Nd7 10.Qd2 a5 11.0-0-0 Nc5 12.h4 a4 13.Rdg1 c6 14.g5 cxd5 

15.cxd5? [15.Bxc5 dxc5 16.Nxd5 is just clearly better for White] 15...Qa5= 16.h5 a3 17.g6? [17.b3=] 17...axb2+ 18.Qxb2 Bd7 19.gxh7+ Kh8 Black is winning. 20.Bxc5 Qxc5 21.Kb1 Rfc8 22.Rc1 Bg5 23.Rc2 Qa5 24.Rd1 Rc5 25.Qxb7 Rac8 26.Qa8 Rxc3 27.Qb7 Ra8 28.Qxd7 0-1

 

(5) Askin,David (2013) - Winslow,Elliott C (2306) [E68]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.5), 30.04.2019
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.g3 0-0 6.Bg2 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.e4 c6 9.b3 exd4 10.Nxd4 Re8 11.Re1 a5 12.Bf4 Nc5 13.Qd2 Ng4 14.Rad1 Ne5 15.Qc2 Qf6 16.h3 

16...Ned3 17.Be3 Nxe1 18.Rxe1 Ne6 19.Nde2 Ng5 20.Kh2 Nf3+ 21.Bxf3 Qxf3 22.Qd2 Be5 23.Ng1 Qf6 24.Na4 Qe7 25.Nf3 Be6 26.Ng5 Bf6 27.Rd1 Bc8 28.Nb6 Ra6 29.Nxc8 Rxc8 30.h4 a4 31.Qxd6 axb3 32.axb3 Rd8 33.Qxd8+ Qxd8 34.Rxd8+ Bxd8 35.Nf3 Ra3 36.b4 Rb3 37.b5 cxb5 38.cxb5 Rxb5 39.Kg2 Bb6 40.Bc1 Rb1 41.Bd2 Bc5 42.Ne5 b5 43.Kf3 Rb2 44.Be1 Bd6 45.Nd3 Rb1 46.Ke2 b4 47.e5 Be7 48.f4 b3 49.Bc3 Ba3 50.g4 b2 0-1

 

(6) Ricard,Bruce (1892) - Tsodikova,Natalya (2185) [C96]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.7), 30.04.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.Re1 0-0 8.c3 d6 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.d5 Nce5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.f4 Ng6 17.Nf3 Bh4 18.Re2 Bg3 19.f5 Ne5 20.Nxe5 Bxe5 21.g4 Bd7 22.Rg2 Qh4 23.Bd2 Qxh3 24.Bc3 Bxc3 25.bxc3 Qxc3 26.e5 Qxe5 27.Qf1 Rfe8 28.g5 Qd4+ 29.Kh2 Re3 30.f6 Rh3# 0-1

(7) Walder,Michael (1989) - Kondakov,Adrian (2066) [A24]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.8), 30.04.2019

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.d3 d6 6.e3 e5 7.Nge2 c6 8.0-0 Nh5 9.Rb1 f5 10.f4 Nd7 11.b4 Nhf6 12.b5 Qc7 13.Ba3 c5 14.Bb2 Re8 15.h3 Nf8 16.Qd2 Be6 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.cxd5 e4 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.dxe4 fxe4 21.g4 c4 22.Nc3 Bxc3 23.Qxc3 Nd7 24.Qd4 Qb6 25.Rfd1 Qxd4 26.Rxd4 c3 27.Rc1 Rac8 28.Kf2 Rc5 29.Rxe4 Rxe4 30.Bxe4 Nf6 31.Kf3 Nxd5 32.Bxd5+ Rxd5 33.a4 Rc5 34.Ke4 a6 35.bxa6 bxa6 36.Kd4 c2 37.Kd3 Ra5 38.Rxc2 Rxa4 39.Rc6 d5 40.Rd6 Kf7 41.Rxd5 Ke6 42.Re5+ Kd6 43.h4 Ra1 44.h5 a5 45.hxg6 hxg6 46.Rg5 a4 47.Kc4 a3 48.Rxg6+ Ke7 49.Kb3 Kf7 50.Rg5 a2 51.Kb2 Re1 52.Kxa2 Rxe3 53.f5 Rg3 54.Rg6 Rf3 55.Kb2 Rg3 56.Kc2 Rf3 57.Kd2 Rg3 58.Ke2 Ra3 59.Kf2 Rb3 60.Re6 Ra3 61.Re3 Ra4 62.Kf3 Kf6 63.Re6+ Kf7 64.Re4 Ra1 65.Kf4 Rf1+ 66.Kg5 Ra1 67.Rb4 Ra7 68.Rb6 Rc7 69.Rh6 Kg7 70.f6+ Kg8 71.Kg6 Rg7+ 72.Kf5 Ra7 73.Rg6+ Kf8 74.g5 Ra5+ 75.Ke4 Ra4+ 76.Kd3 Ra3+ 77.Kc4 Ra4+ 78.Kb5 Ra1 79.Rg7 Rb1+ 80.Kc6 Rc1+ 81.Kd6 Rd1+ 82.Ke6 Re1+ 83.Kf5 Rf1+ 84.Kg6 Ra1 85.Rh7 Ke8 86.Re7+ Kf8 87.Rb7 Ra8 88.Kh7 Ra1 89.Kg6 Ra8 90.Rh7 1-0

(8) Gaffagan,Steven (2019) - Hakobyan,Sos (1829) [D34]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.9), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.Nf3 e6 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.d4 c5 5.c4 cxd4 6.cxd5 exd5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Bg5 Be6 11.Rc1 Rc8 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Bh3 Kf7 14.Qd3 h6 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Rfd1 Rc7 17.Bxe6+ Kxe6 18.Nxd5 Kf7 19.Nxc7 Qxc7 20.Qd7+ Qxd7 21.Rxd7+ Kg6 22.Rxb7 Nd4 23.Kf1 Re8 24.e3 Nf5 25.Kg2 Re6 26.Rxa7 Bxb2 27.Rb1 Bc3 28.Rab7 Ba5 29.R1b3 Nd6 30.Rd7 Rf6 31.f3 Nc4 32.e4 Bb6 33.f4 Rc6 34.Kh3 Na5 35.Rbd3 Bc7 36.Ra3 Bb6 37.e5 h5 38.Rd6+ Rxd6 39.exd6 Kf7 40.Rd3 Ke8 41.Kh4 Bg1 42.h3 g6 43.Kg5 Bh2 44.Kxg6 h4 45.gxh4 Bxf4 46.h5 Nc6 47.d7+ Kd8 48.Rd5 Ne7+ 

Here the game went (in a mad time scramble) 49.Kf5 (!!) Nxd5 (!!) 50.Ke4 (I'm not sure of this) and a draw was reached in a few more moves. Hakobyan is in fact winning after a legal move by White (gets his knight to h6 guarded by his bishop, and the king gets rid of the other pawns) 1/2-1/2

 

(9) Wong,Russell (2200) - Boldi,Ethan Kazanjian (2058) [C00]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.10), 30.04.2019

1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 b6 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.0-0 Nf6 7.e5 Nd5 8.d3 Be7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.c3 Re8 12.d4 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nb4 14.Rd1 Ba6 15.Qd2 Rc8 16.Ne1 Bb7 17.a3 Na6 18.b4 Nc7 19.Bb2 d6 20.Nc2 Ne6 21.Ne3 Bg5 22.f4 Nxf4 23.gxf4 Bxf4 24.Qf2 Qg5 25.Nf1 Re6 26.exd6 Rxd6 27.b5 Rf6 28.Qe2 h5 29.Ng3 Be3+ 30.Kh1 h4 31.Nf1 Rf2 32.Qxf2 Bxf2 33.Rd3 Rc2 34.Bc1 Rxc1 0-1

(10) Persidsky,Andre (1814) - Marcus,Joel (1833) [B07]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.11), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bd3 Nbd7 4.f4 e5 5.fxe5 dxe5 6.d5 

6...Nxe4! 7.Nf3 Nef6 8.Qe2 Bd6 9.c4 0-0 10.0-0 e4 11.Bxe4 Re8 12.Nfd2 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Qh4 14.Bf4 Bxf4 15.g3 Bxg3 0-1

 

(11) Pane,Gianluca (1863) - Kuczek,Kevin W (2003) [A84]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.12), 30.04.2019

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 Nf6 5.f3 0-0 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Nh3 d5 9.0-0 Nc6 10.a3 Be7 11.Qc2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Nxd4 13.Qd3 Nxf3+ 14.gxf3 Qxd3 15.Bxd3 Rad8 16.Bc4 Rxd2 17.Bxe6+ Kh8 18.Bxf5 g6 19.Be4 Nxe4 20.fxe4 Rxf1+ 21.Rxf1 Bd6 22.Rf2 Rd3 23.Kf1 Rxe3 24.Ng5 Ba6+ 25.Kg2 Bc4 26.Nf7+ Bxf7 27.Rxf7 Bxa3 28.Nd1 Re2+ 29.Kf3 Re1 30.bxa3 Rxd1 31.Rxc7 Rd3+ 32.Kf4 Rxa3 33.e5 Ra5 34.e6 Rf5+ 35.Ke4 Rf8 36.Rxa7 b5 37.Ke5 Rb8 38.Kf6 Kg8 39.Rg7+ Kh8 40.Rd7 Kg8 41.Ke7 b4 42.Rd8+ Rxd8 43.Kxd8 b3 44.e7 b2 45.e8Q+ Kg7 46.Qe5+ Kh6 47.Qxb2 g5 48.Ke7 Kh5 49.Kf6 h6 50.Kf5 g4 51.Qe2 Kh4 52.Qxg4# 1-0

(12) Argo,Guy (1909) - Melville,Cailen J (1941) [C02]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (7.13), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 [4...Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 (5...Bd7; 5...Nge7; 5...Nh6) 5.Nf3 Nc6 [5...Bd7 6.Be2 (6.a3; 6.Qd3) 6...Bb5 7.c4!?] 6.Be2 [6.Bd3 cxd4 (6...Bd7 7.dxc5 (7.0-0) 7...Bxc5 (7...Qc7 8.Qe2 Bxc5 9.0-0) ) 7.cxd4 Bd7 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Nbd2 (9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.Nc3 (10.Qe2 Ne7 (10...a6; 10...Qb6) ) 10...a6 (10...Qxe5 11.Re1 Qb8 (11...Qd6 12.Nb5) 12.Nxd5 Bd6) 11.Qe2 (11.Re1; 11.Qf3) ) 9...Nxf3+ 10.Nxf3 Bb5 (10...Ne7; 10...Bc5) ; 6.a3] 6...cxd4 [6...Bd7; 6...Nh6; 6...Nge7] 7.cxd4 Nh6 [7...Nge7] 8.Nc3 Nf5 9.Na4 Qd8?! [9...Bb4+!? 10.Kf1 Qd8 11.a3 (11.h4) 11...Be7 12.b4; 9...Qa5+!? 10.Kf1!? (10.Bd2 Bb4 (10...Qd8!?) 11.Bc3 b5! 12.a3! Bxc3+ (12...Qxa4!?) 13.Nxc3 b4 14.axb4 Qxb4 15.Bb5 (15.0-0!?) ) 10...Bd7 (10...Be7; 10...b5) 10.b3?!N [10.0-0; 10.a3] 10...Be7?! [10...Bb4+!? 11.Kf1 (11.Bd2 Qa5) 11...Be7] 11.Bb2 [11.0-0] 11...0-0 12.0-0 Bd7 13.Rc1 f6?! 14.Nc5 [14.exf6! gxf6 (14...Rxf6 15.Nc5; 14...Bxf6 15.Nc5) 15.Bd3 (15.Nc5) 14...fxe5 15.dxe5 Bc8 [15...Rc8 16.Nxb7 Qb6 17.Nd6 Nxd6 18.exd6 Bxd6 19.Bd3] 16.Bb5 [16.Qd2] 16...Qb6 [16...Nb4!?] 17.Bxc6 Bxc5 

[17...Qxc6 18.Nd4 (18.Nd3 Qe8) 18...Qb6 19.Nxf5 Bxc5 20.Qc2 Bxf2+= 21.Qxf2 exf5 22.Qxb6 axb6 23.Rc7 =0.00] 18.Bxd5?? [18.Ba4!+/=] 18...Rd8-+ 19.Bxe6+ Bxe6 20.Qe2 Rac8 21.Qe4 g6?! [21...Bxf2+! 22.Kh1 (22.Rxf2 Rxc1+ 23.Bxc1 Rd1+ 24.Ne1 Rxc1) 22...Rxc1 (22...Qe3 23.Qxb7? Ng3+ 24.hxg3 Qh6+) 22.Ng5?! Bd5?! [22...Bxf2+] 23.Qf4 Rf8 24.Rxc5 Qxc5 25.e6 Bc6 26.g4 Ng3! 27.Qxg3 Qxg5 28.f4 Qc5+ 29.Rf2 Qd5 0-1

 

(13) Gray,William (1962) - Clemens,Kristian (1946) [C42]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.17), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 [5.d4 d5 6.Bd3; 5.c4!?; 5.Qe2; 5.d3] 5...Nf6!? [5...Nxc3 6.dxc3] 6.d4 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.Be3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 Be7 10.g4 Bg6 11.g5 Ng8 12.Bxg6 hxg6 13.Qd2 c6 14.0-0-0 Qa5 15.d5 c5 16.Kb1 0-0-0 17.Qe2 Re8 18.h4 Bd8 19.Rhe1 Ne7 20.Qc4 Nf5 21.Bd2 Qc7 22.Qa4 a6 23.Qg4 Reg8 24.Bf4 Nb6 25.Ne4 Kb8 26.Ng3 Qd7 27.Nxf5 gxf5 1/2-1/2

(14) Busch,Jonah M (1826) - Maser,Thomas (1901) [C21]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.18), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Bc4 cxb2 5.Bxb2 d5 6.Bxd5 Nf6 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxd8 Bb4+ 9.Qd2 Bxd2+ 10.Nxd2 Re8 11.Ngf3 Nc6 12.0-0 h6 13.Rfe1 Be6 14.Nb3? Bxb3 15.Bxf6 Bc2 16.Bc3 Bxe4 17.Rad1 Bxf3 18.Rd7+ Re7 19.Rexe7+ Nxe7 20.gxf3 [20.Bb4-/+] 20...Rc8 21.Be5 [21.Bb4 c5] 21...Ke6 22.Rxc7 Rxc7 23.Bxc7 Nd5-+ 24.Ba5 Kf5 [24...Ke5] 25.Kg2 b5 [25...Ke5] 26.a3 a6 27.h4 g6 28.Bd2 h5 29.Kg3 Ke5 30.Bb4?! 

30...Kd4?! [30...Nxb4 31.axb4 Kd5 32.Kf4 Kc4 33.Kg5 Kxb4 34.Kxg6 Kc5 Black queens first, only, with check.] 31.Bf8 Kc4 [31...a5] 32.f4 a5 33.Kf3 b4 [33...Kd3!] 34.axb4 Nxb4?? [34...axb4 35.Ke4 (35.Ke2 Kc3 (35...b3 36.Kd2 Nc3 37.Kc1 Ne2+ 38.Kb1 Nxf4) 36.Kd1 Kb2 37.Kd2 b3 38.Kd3 Ka2 39.Bg7 Nxf4+ (39...Ne7) ) 35...b3 36.Ba3 Ne7] 35.f5 gxf5 36.Kf4= a4 37.Kg5 [37.Kxf5=] 37...a3 38.Kxh5 a2 39.Bg7 Nd3 40.Kg6 Kb3 41.Ba1 Kc2 42.h5 Kb1 43.h6 Kxa1 44.h7 Ne5+ 45.Kg7 Kb1 46.h8Q a1Q 47.Qh1+ Kb2 48.Qxa1+ Kxa1 49.Kf6 1/2-1/2

 

(15) Babb,Kevin (1641) - Xu,Jayden (1669) [E35]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.19), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.Bg5 b6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.e3 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bd3 h6 10.Bh4 c5 11.a3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Nbd7 13.0-0 Qc7 14.Rac1 Rac8 15.Qb2 Rfe8 16.Nd2 Ne4 17.f3 Nd6 18.Rfe1 Re6 [18...Nf8+/=] 19.e4 f6 20.Bg3 Rce8 21.Qb1 Qc6 22.exd5 [22.c4!+-] 22...Rxe1+? [22...Qxd5+/-] 23.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 24.Qxe1 Qxd5 25.Qe7 Nf7 26.Bc4 1-0

(16) Krasnov,Steven Le (1876) - Cortinas,Martin A (1686) [B33]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.20), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.Bd3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.0-0 d6 10.h3 h6 11.Be3 Be6 12.a3 Qc7 13.Qe2 Rac8 14.Rfb1 Na5 15.Bxa7 Qxc3 16.Qd2 Nd7 17.Qxc3 Rxc3 18.Rb5 Nc4 19.a4 Na3 20.Rxb7 Nxc2 21.Rd1 Ra8 22.Bxc2 Rxc2 23.Rxd6 Nc5 24.Bxc5 Rxc5 25.Rb4 Rca5 26.Rb5 Rxa4 27.Rxe5 R4a5 28.Rxa5 Rxa5 29.Nd4 Re5 30.f3 Bc4 31.Kf2 Ra5 32.g3 Ra3 33.Rc6 Ba6 34.h4 h5 35.Rc7 g6 36.Ra7 Ra2+ 37.Ke3 Bc4 38.Rc7 Be6 39.Kf4 Ra5 40.Nxe6 fxe6 41.Re7 Kf8 42.Rxe6 Kf7 43.Rb6 Ra4 44.Rd6 Rb4 45.Kg5 Rb5+ 46.Rd5 Rb3 47.Kf4 Ke6 48.Rg5 Kf7 49.Rc5 Rb4 50.Rc6 Ra4 51.Rc7+ Kf6 52.g4 hxg4 53.Kxg4 Rb4 54.Rc6+ Kf7 55.Rd6 Ra4 56.Kf4 Rb4 57.Rd5 and White won in a few moves 1-0

(17) McKellar,Daniel (1872) - Bradley,Christopher (1604) [B27]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.21), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.e5 Nc6 6.Qa4 Nd5 7.Qe4 Nc7 8.Bf4 Bg7 9.Nc3 0-0 10.Be2 Ne6 11.Be3 Qa5 12.0-0-0 Nxe5?? 13.Rd5 Qxc3? 14.bxc3 Nc6 15.Nd4 f5 16.Qd3 Ne5 17.Rxe5 Bxe5 18.Nxe6 dxe6 19.Bd4 Bf4+ 20.Kb1 Rd8 21.g3 Bc7 22.Qe3 Bb6 23.Qe5 Bxd4 24.cxd4 Rd6 25.Bc4 Bd7 26.d5 Rc8 27.Bb3 Rc5 28.Rd1 b5 29.Qe3 Rc7 30.Rd3 exd5 31.Rxd5 Re6 32.Rxd7 1-0

(18) Cohee,James (1606) - Ochoa,Jason B (1738) [B31]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.22), 30.04.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 0-0 7.d3 d6 8.h3 Bd7 9.Nbd2 a6 10.Bxc6 Bxc6 11.a4 Nd7 12.Nc4 b5 13.axb5 axb5 14.Rxa8 Qxa8 15.Ncd2 Qb7 16.Qe2 e5 17.c4 b4 18.b3 Ra8 19.Nf1 Nf8 20.N1h2 Ne6 21.g3 Qa7 22.Ng4 Qa2 23.Qxa2 Rxa2 24.Ne3 Kf8 25.Kf1 Bh6 26.Re2 Ra1 27.Rc2 Nd4 0-1

(19) Drane,Robert Will (1800) - Mays,Jerry L (1700) [C28]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.23), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.f4 0-0 [5...d6] 6.a3 d6 7.f5 Nd4 8.Bg5 c6 9.Nf3 b5 10.Ba2 Qb6 11.Nxd4 exd4 12.Ne2 b4 13.axb4 Qxb4+ 14.c3 Qxb2 15.cxd4 Nxe4 16.Bxe7 Qb4+ 17.Kf1 Re8 18.dxe4 Rxe7 19.Qd3 a5 20.Qc3 Ba6 21.Qxb4 axb4 22.Bc4 Rea7 23.Rxa6 Rxa6 24.Bxa6 Rxa6 25.Kf2 Kf8 26.Rb1 Rb6 27.Ke3 c5 28.Kd3 b3 29.Kc3 f6 30.dxc5 dxc5 31.Rxb3 Rxb3+ 32.Kxb3 Ke7 33.Nf4 Kd6 34.Nd3 g6 35.fxg6 hxg6 36.h4 f5 37.Nxc5 fxe4 38.Nxe4+ Ke5 39.Nf2 Kf4 40.g4 Kf3 41.h5 1-0

(20) Porlares,Teodoro (1713) - Robeal,Rafik (1716) [A40]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.24), 30.04.2019

1.d4 b6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 Ne7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bd2 Nf5 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 d5 9.Nc3 Nd6 10.Ne5 Nc6 11.e4 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nc4 13.exd5 exd5 14.Bc1 c6 15.Qg4 g5 16.b3 Bc8 17.Qh5 Nxe5 18.Rxe5 Qd6 19.Re1 Bf5 20.Bxg5 1-0

(21) Lamstein,Joshua D (1655) - Drury,Mark L (1878) [D60]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.25), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 0-0 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.c5 Nh5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nd2 g6 11.0-0 e5 12.Be2 exd4 13.exd4 Nf4 14.Re1 Qg5 15.Bf3 Nf6 16.Re3 Bf5 17.Ne2 Rfe8 18.Nxf4 Qxf4 19.Nf1 Bg4 20.g3 Qf5 21.Bxg4 Nxg4 22.Rf3 Qe6 23.Ne3 Nf6 24.a4 Re7 25.b4 a6 26.b5 axb5 27.axb5 Rxa1 28.Qxa1 Ne4 29.bxc6 bxc6 30.Ng2 Qd7 31.Qc1 Kg7 32.Re3 Nf6 33.Rxe7 Qxe7 34.Qe3 Qe4 and eventually ... 0-1

(22) Casares Jr,Nick (1600) - Babayan,Gagik (1806) [B70]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.26), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 c5 7.0-0 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Kh1? 

[9.Be3 Qb6; 9.Nb3] 9...Nxd4?! [9...Nxe4! 10.Nxc6 Nxc3 11.Nxd8 Nxd1-/+] 10.Qxd4 a6 11.f5 Nd7?! [11...b5] 12.Qd1 [12.Qf2+/=] 12...b5 13.fxg6?! fxg6?? 14.Qd5+ Kh8 15.Rxf8+ Qxf8 16.Qxa8 Nb6 17.Qc6 Bd4 18.Bd2 [18.Bh6!! Qd8 (18...Qxh6 19.Qe8+ Kg7 20.Qxe7+ Kg8 21.Rf1) 19.Rf1] 18...Bd7 19.Qc7 Qe8 20.Rf1 Kg7 21.Nd5 Na8 22.Qb7 Qd8 23.Bc3 Bxc3 24.bxc3 e6 25.Bg4 Kh6 26.Rf7 Be8 27.Rxh7+ Kg5 28.Qe7+ Qxe7 29.Rxe7 exd5 30.Rxe8 Nb6 (and) 1-0

 

(23) Malykin,Erika (1637) - Perlov,Alexander (1720) [D03]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.27), 30.04.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bg5 e6 4.Nbd2 h6 5.Bf4 c5 6.c4 Nc6 7.e3 Bd6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxd6 Qxd6 10.dxc5 Qxc5 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.a3 0-0 13.Be2 Bd7 14.0-0 Rac8 15.Nc4 Qd8 16.Nd6 Rc7 17.Nd4 a6 18.e4 Nf4 19.Bg4 e5 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.g3 Ng6 22.Nf5 Qf6 23.Qf3 Ne7 24.Qe3 Nxf5 25.Bxf5 Qe7 1/2-1/2

(24) Tillman,Glenn D (1729) - Kim,Andy (1619) [B13]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.28), 30.04.2019

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Bf4 Bg7 8.Nb5 Na6 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 dxc4 11.Qxc4 Rc8 12.Qe2 Rc6 13.Nxa7 Re6 14.Be5 Qa5+ 15.Nd2 Nd7 16.0-0 f6 17.Qc4 Nf8 18.Bf4 Nb4 19.Nb5 Rc6 20.Qe2 Ne6 21.Bg3 Kf7 22.Nb3 Qb6 23.Rad1 Nd5 24.Rfe1 Re8 25.Rc1 Nef4 26.Bxf4 Nxf4 27.Qe4 Nh3+ 28.gxh3 Qxb5 29.Rxc6 Qxc6 30.d5 Qd6 31.Qe6+ Kf8 32.Qxd6 exd6 33.Rxe8+ Kxe8 34.Nc1 Kd7 35.Kf1 f5 36.Nd3 Kc7 37.Ke2 b5 38.Kd1 g5 39.Kc2 Kb6 40.Kb3 Be5 41.f3 Bxh2 42.Kb4 h5 43.a4 bxa4 44.Kxa4 g4 45.hxg4 hxg4 46.fxg4 fxg4 47.b4 Bg1 48.b5 Be3 49.Kb4 g3 50.Ne1 Bd2+ 0-1

(25) Boldi,Nicholas Ar (1571) - Mercado,Adam (1714) [C55]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: 1600-1999 San Francisco (7.29), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.c3 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.d3 Bg4 7.0-0 Be7 8.b4 0-0 9.Re1 Ndxb4? 10.cxb4 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 [11.gxf3! Qd4 12.b5!] 11...Qd4 12.Bd2 Bxb4 [12...Qxa1 13.Bc3 Bxb4 14.Bxa1 Bxe1+-] 13.Bxb4 Nxb4 14.Na3 Qc3? 15.Nb5 Qd2 16.Re2 [16.Rad1] 16...Qg5 17.Nxc7 Rac8 18.Nd5 Nxd5 19.Qxd5 Rfd8 20.Qxf7+ Kh8 21.Qxb7 Qh5 22.Rae1 Rxc4 23.Rxe5?? [23.h3+-] 23...Qxe5-+ 24.Qb1 Rb8! 25.Qd1 Qxe1+ 26.Qxe1 Rc2?? [26...Rcb4-+] 27.h3= Rxa2 28.Qe5 Rab2 29.Qa5 h6 30.Qxa7 Rd8 31.Qa5 Rf8 32.Qc5 Rd8 33.Qa5 Rf8 34.Qc5 Rd8 35.Qc7 Rf8 36.Qc5 Rd8 37.Qe7 1/2-1/2

(26) James,Charles (1419) - Reyes,Victor (1290) [D10]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.31), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 e6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 a6 6.a3 f5 7.Bf4 Bd6 8.Bxd6 Qxd6 9.Ne5 Nf6 10.e3 Nc6 11.f4 0-0 12.Rc1 b5 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.Na4 Qb6?? 15.Nxb6 1-0

(27) Barreyro,Romeo - Carron,Joel (1515) [D02]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.32), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 Nf6 2.h3 e6 3.Bf4 d5 4.Nf3 Bb4+? 5.c3 Be7 6.e3 0-0 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.Nbd2 c5 9.g4 c4 10.Bc2 b5 11.g5 Nh5 12.Bh2 g6 13.h4 Bb7 14.Rg1 a5 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 b4 17.Nf1 Bc6 18.Ng3 Nxg3 19.Rxg3 a4 20.f4 Qa5 21.Qd2 bxc3 22.bxc3 Rab8 23.h5 Rb2 24.hxg6 fxg6 25.a3 Rfb8 26.Bg1 R8b3 27.e4 Rxa3 28.Rxa3 Bxa3 29.exd5 Bxd5 30.Qd1 Bc6 31.Bd4 Bf8 32.f5 exf5 33.Bxf5 gxf5 34.g6 h6 35.g7 Be7 36.Qc1 Rh2 37.Rg1 a3 38.Qa1 Bh4+ 39.Kf1 a2 40.Rg6 Qb5 41.Kg1 Rh1# 0-1

(28) Isreal,Andrew - Starr,Albert (1543) [A80]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.33), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg5 e6 5.e3 Be7 6.Bd3 b6 7.Ne5 Nbd7?? 8.Nc6 0-0 9.Nxd8 Bxd8 10.0-0 c5 11.Nb5 cxd4 12.exd4 h6 13.Bh4? g5 14.Bg3 f4 15.c4 fxg3 16.fxg3 Bb7 17.Qe2 Kh8 18.Nd6 dxc4 19.Bxc4 Bd5 20.Bxd5 exd5 21.Qe6 Bc7 22.Rac1 Bxd6 23.Qxd6 Rae8 24.Rc7 Rf7 25.Rxa7 Ref8 26.h3 Kg7 27.a4 Ne4 28.Rxf7+ Rxf7 29.Qxd5 Nxg3 30.Rxd7 1-0

(29) Ansari,Jahaan (1397) - Jijo,Wilson [D08]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.34), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.e3? Bb4+ 5.Bd2 dxe3 6.Qa4+? [6.Bxb4? exf2+ 7.Ke2 fxg1N+! 8.Ke1 (8.Rxg1? Bg4+ A trap from my very first chess book.8...Qh4+-+; 6.fxe3! Qh4+=/+] 6...Bd7?? [6...Nc6 7.Bxb4 exf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qh4+-+] 7.Qxb4 exd2+ 8.Nxd2+/- Bc6 9.Ngf3 f5 10.Rd1 Na6 11.Qc3 Qe7 12.Bd3 f4 13.Be4 Bxe4 14.Nxe4 Qb4 15.0-0 Qxc3 16.Nxc3 h6 17.Nd5 g5 18.b4 c6 19.b5 cxd5 20.bxa6 dxc4 21.axb7 Rb8 22.Rc1 Rxb7 23.Rxc4 Kf7 24.g3 fxg3 25.fxg3 Ne7 26.Nxg5+ Kg6 27.Nf7 Rf8 28.Rg4+ Kh5 29.Rh4+ Kg6 30.Rf6+ Kg7 31.Rg4+ Ng6 32.Rgxg6+ Kh7 33.Rxh6+ Kg7 34.Rhg6+ Kh7 35.Ng5+ Kh8 36.Rh6+ 1-0

(30) Simpkins,Jerry (1508) - Otterbach,Renate (1225) [B21]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.35), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 c5 2.f4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.c3 e6 5.d3 Nc6 6.Na3 Nge7 7.Nc4 d5 8.exd5 exd5 9.Nce5 Nxe5 10.fxe5 0-0 11.Bf4 Be6 12.Qd2 Nc6 13.Bh6 Re8 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Be2 Bf5 16.d4 Be4 17.0-0 cxd4 18.cxd4 Rc8 19.Rac1 h6 20.Qf4 Re7 21.Bb5 Re6 22.Nd2 Bf5?! [22...f5 23.exf6+ Rxf6 24.Qxf6+ Qxf6 25.Rxf6 Kxf6 26.Nxe4+ dxe4 27.Bxc6 bxc6 (27...Rxc6 28.Rxc6+ bxc6 29.Kf2 Ke6 30.Ke3 Kd5 31.h4) 28.Kf2 Ke6 29.Ke3 Kd5 30.Rc5+ Kd6 31.Kxe4+/-] 23.g4 Ne7 24.gxf5 Rxc1 25.fxe6 Rxf1+ 26.Bxf1 fxe6 27.Qf6+ Kg8 28.Qxe6+ Kh7 29.Bg2 Qc7 30.Nb3 b6 31.Bxd5 Nxd5 32.Qxd5 Qe7 33.e6 Qg5+ 34.Qxg5 hxg5 35.e7 g4 36.e8Q Kh6 37.Kg2 a6 38.Kg3 Kh5 39.Qe5+ Kh6 40.Kxg4 b5 41.Qh8# 1-0

(31) Morgan,Jerry (1491) - Abdi,Mehron Edwar (1069) [A02]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.36), 30.04.2019

1.f4 e6 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 0-0 5.Bb2 Nc6 6.Bb5 Na5 7.0-0 a6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Nc3 d5 10.Ne2 Qd6 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Nh4 e5 13.Bxh7+ Kxh7 14.Ng3 exf4 15.Rxf4 d4 16.Nhf5 Bxf5 17.Nxf5 Qxf4 18.exf4 d3+ 19.Kf1 Rh8 20.Qg4 Bf8 21.cxd3 Re8 22.Re1 Re6 23.d4 c6 24.Re3 Rxe3 25.dxe3 Nb7 26.Ke2 Nd6 27.h3 Nxf5 28.Qxf5+ Kg7 29.Qg4+ Kh7 30.Qd7 Kg6 31.Qxc6 Bh6 32.Qxa6 Re8 33.Qxb5 Re4 34.Kf3 f5 35.g4 fxg4+ 36.Kxe4 gxh3 37.Kf3 h2 38.Kg2 f5 39.Qc6+ Kh5 40.d5 Kg4 41.Qg6+ Kh4 42.Qxh6+ Kg4 43.Qg5# 1-0

(32) Revi,Frank (1375) - Fernicola,Michael [E43]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.39), 30.04.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 Ne4 6.Qc2 Bb7 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Be2 d6 10.0-0 c5 11.Ne1 Qe7 12.f3 Nf6 13.e4 Nc6 14.Be3 Rac8 15.Rd1 Rfd8 16.Qd2 Na5 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bh4 g5 19.Bg3 cxd4 20.Qxd4 e5 21.Qe3 Nxc4 22.Qc1 Nh5 23.Bf2 Nf4 24.Bxc4 Rxc4 25.Qc2 Qc7 26.Rc1 Rxc3 27.Qd2 Rxc1 28.Be3 Ba6 29.Qb2 Qc4 30.Nd3 Rxf1+ 31.Kxf1 Qxd3+ 32.Kf2 Rc8 0-1

(33) Tabatabai,Ashkon (1138) - Olson,David R (1400) [C41]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.40), 30.04.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 Be6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Ng5 Bxc4 8.dxc4 h6 9.Nf3 Nxe4 10.Nc3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Qd7 12.Qe2 0-0 13.Rfd1 b6 14.Bc1 Qe6 15.Ba3 Na5 16.c5 bxc5 17.Qb5 Nc4 18.Nd2 Nxa3 0-1

(34) Ahrens,Richard - Dubensky,Walter B (1210) [D45]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.41), 30.04.2019

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 b5 7.Bd3 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.a3 c5 10.Bxb5 cxd4 11.Nxd4 a6 12.Qf3 Nd5 13.Bc6 Nxc6 14.Nxc6 Qd6 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Qxd5 Bb7 18.Qd1 Rad8 19.Qe2 Qg5 20.f3 f5 21.e4 f4 22.b4 h5 23.Bb2 Rde8 24.Rad1 h4 25.h3 Qg3 26.Qf2 Qg5 27.Rd4 Bc8 28.Rd5 Qh6 29.Qd2 Be6 30.Rd8 Qg5 31.Rxe8 Rxe8 32.Bc1 Bxh3 33.Qd5+ Qxd5 34.exd5 Bd7 35.Bxf4 Kh7 36.Bg5 Re5 37.Bxh4 Rxd5 38.Ra1 Rd4 39.Bf2 Rd6 40.Bc5 Rg6 41.Re1 Bh3 42.g4 Rc6 43.Kh2 Rh6 44.Kg3 g5 45.Rh1 Bf1 46.Rxf1 Re6 47.Kf2 Rc6 48.Re1 a5 49.Re5 a4 50.Rxg5 1-0

(35) Rushton,Peter (1186) - Lintz,Michael Harry [C55]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.42), 30.04.2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Nxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.0-0 Bd6 8.d3 cxd3 9.Qxd3 h6 10.a3 0-0 11.b4 Re8 12.Bb2 Be6 13.Rae1 f6 14.Nh4 Nd4 15.Ne2 Nxe2+ 16.Rxe2 Qd7 17.Re3 b5 18.Bc1 Bc4 19.Qf5 Qxf5 20.Nxf5 Bxf1 21.Kxf1 e4 22.h4 Bf4 23.Re1 Bxc1 24.Rxc1 Rad8 25.Ke2 h5 26.Rg1 g6 27.Ne3 Rd6 28.g4 hxg4 29.Rxg4 Kf7 30.Rg1 f5 31.Rg5 Rh8 32.Ng2 Ra6 33.Rg3 Rc6 34.Kd2 Rd8+ 35.Kc1 Rcd6 36.Nf4 Rd1+ 37.Kb2 R8d6 38.h5 gxh5 39.Nxh5 Rg6 40.Rc3 c6 41.Ng3 Rd5 42.Kb3 Rgd6 43.Kb2 Ke6 44.Ne2 Ke5 45.f4+ exf3 46.Re3+ Kf6 47.Rxf3 Rd8 48.Nc3 Rd4 49.Rh3 Kg5 50.Rh7 Rf8 51.Rg7+ Kh4 52.Rh7+ Kg4 53.Rg7+ Kf3 54.Rxa7 f4 55.Rc7 Rf6 56.Rh7 Rd2 57.Rh3+ Kg4 58.Rh1 Rg2 59.Ne4 Rf8 60.Rh6 Kf3 61.Nc3 Rd8 62.Rxc6 Rdd2 63.Nxb5 Kg3 64.a4 f3 65.Rg6+ Kh2 66.Rh6+ Kg1 67.Kc3 Rxc2+ 68.Kd3 f2 69.Kxc2 f1Q+ 70.Kc3 Qf3+ 71.Kc4 Qf4+ 72.Kc5 Qxh6 73.Nd6 Rg5+ 74.Kc6 Qh1+ 75.Kc7 Qa8 76.a5 Rg7+ 77.Kb6 Qb8+ 78.Kc5 Rc7+ 79.Kd5 Qxb4 80.a6 Qa5+ 81.Ke6 Qxa6 82.Kd5 Rd7 0-1

(36) Robertson,Wade (982) - Harris,Clarence (1400) [C88]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.44), 30.04.2019
[de Firmian/Winslow]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.d3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.Bxd5 cxd5 13.b3?? Bf6 14.Bb2 Bxe5 15.Bxe5 Re8 16.d4 Qa5 17.Nd2 Bf5 18.a4 b4 19.g4 Bg6 20.f4 f6 21.Bd6 Qb6 22.Bc5 Qe6 23.f5 Qe3+ 24.Kg2 Bf7 25.Nf1 Qg5 26.Bxb4 Re4 27.h3 Rae8 28.Bd2 Re2+ 29.Kg3 Rxd2? 30.Qxd2 Qxd2 31.Nxd2 g6 32.fxg6 hxg6 33.Kf2 g5 34.Re1 Rc8 35.Rc1 Rc3 36.Nb1 Rxh3 37.Kg2 Re3 38.c3 Be6 39.Kf2 Re4 40.Re1 Rf4+ 41.Ke2 Bxg4+ 42.Kd2 Rf2+ 43.Kc1 Re2 44.Rxe2 Bxe2 45.Kd2 Bg4 46.b4 Bd7 47.a5 Kg7 48.Ke3 f5 49.Nd2 f4+ 50.Kf3 Kg6 51.c4 Kf5 52.cxd5 g4+ 53.Kg2 Bb5 54.Nb3 Ke4 55.Nc5+ Ke3 56.d6 f3+ 57.Kg3 f2 58.d7 Bxd7 59.Nxd7 f1Q 60.Ne5 Qh3# 0-1

(37) Frank,Robert H (1426) - Capdeville,Barry (1219) [D37]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.45), 30.04.2019

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 Be7 5.Nbd2 0-0 6.0-0 Re8 7.e4 dxe4 8.Nxe4 Nbd7 9.c4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf8 11.d5 Bf6 12.dxe6 Bxe6 13.Bxb7 Qxd1 14.Rxd1 Rab8 15.Bc6 Red8 16.Rxd8 Rxd8 17.Bf4 Bxc4 18.Be5 Bxe5 19.Nxe5 Bxa2 20.Kf1 f6 21.Rxa2 fxe5 22.Rxa7 Ne6 23.Ra5 Rd1+ 24.Ke2 Rb1 25.Bd5 Rxb2+ 26.Kf3 Kf7 27.Ra6 Rb6 28.Ra7 Kf6 29.Bxe6 Rxe6 30.Rxc7 Re7 31.Rxe7 Kxe7 32.h4 h5 33.Ke4 Kf6 34.f3 Ke6 35.g3 g6 36.f4 exf4 37.Kxf4 Kf6 38.g4 hxg4 39.Kxg4 Kg7 1/2-1/2

(38) Chambers,Don (1127) - Yamamoto,Craig (1500) [B50]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.47), 30.04.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 e6 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.a3 b5 7.Ba2 h6 8.Re1 Nc6 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Bb7 11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.f3 Qc7 13.Bf4 e5 14.Bg3 Be7 15.Nc3 0-0 16.f4 Rfe8 17.f5 Rac8 18.Bh4 Qd8 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Qh5 Rf8 21.Re3 Qb6 22.Qh3 Bg5 23.Nd1 Bxe4 24.Kh1 Bxc2 25.Rc3 Qd4 26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.f6 Rc5 28.Qh5 Bg6 29.Qf3 e4 30.Qf1 Rc1 31.Rxc1 Bxc1 32.Qe2 Qd2 33.Qxd2 Bxd2 34.a4 e3 35.Nc3 Bxc3 36.bxc3 e2 0-1

(39) Hilliard,Michael (1404) - White,Andrew Robbins [D02]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.48), 30.04.2019

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.c3 Nc6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Nbd2 a6 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.exd4 g6 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Nxf3 Bg7 10.0-0 Nf6 11.Re1 0-0 12.Bf4 Re8 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Nd7 15.f4 f6 16.Qf3 fxe5 17.fxe5 e6 18.Rf1 Rf8 19.Qe3 Rxf1+ 20.Rxf1 Nb6 21.b3 a5 22.Qf4 Qe7 23.Qc1 a4 24.Be2 axb3 25.axb3 Rf8 26.Bg4 Rxf1+ 27.Kxf1 h5 28.Be2 Kh7 29.Qc2 Bh6 30.Bxh5 Qf7+ 31.Ke2 Qf5 32.Qxf5 exf5 33.Bf3 Kg7 34.Kd3 Kf7 35.c4 dxc4+ 36.bxc4 Ke6 37.Bxb7 Bf8 38.Bc6 g5 39.c5 Nd5 40.Kc4 Ne3+ 41.Kb5 Nd5 42.Bxd5+ Kxd5 43.c6 Bd6 44.exd6 1-0

(40) Anderson,David - Wagner,Tyler [B70]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.49), 30.04.2019

1.d4 c5 2.e4 d6 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bg5 Qb6 7.Bc1 Bg7 8.f3 0-0 9.Be3 Qxb2 10.Ncb5 Qb4+ 11.c3 Qb2 12.Nc7 Qxc3+ 13.Kf2 Qxc7 14.Bd3 Bd7 15.Qd2 Nc6 16.Ne2 Qa5 17.h4 Qxd2 18.Bxd2 Ne5 19.Bb1 Rac8 20.h5 Nxh5 21.Nf4 Bh6 22.g3 Bg7 23.Nxh5 gxh5 24.Bc2 Rxc2 25.Rad1 Rxa2 26.Rxh5 Nc4 27.g4 Nxd2 28.Rdh1 Bd4+ 29.Ke2 Bb5+ 0-1

(41) Service,Bruce - Radaelli,Lucas [B72]
Mechanics' Spring TNM: Under 1600 San Francisco (7.51), 30.04.2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Be3 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.h3 0-0 9.0-0 Bd7 10.b3 Rc8 11.Bd5 Nb4 12.Qd2 Nbxd5 13.exd5 Qa5 14.Nce2 Qxd2 15.Bxd2 Nxd5 16.c4 Nc7 17.Be3 a6 18.Rad1 Ne6 19.Nf4 Nxf4 20.Bxf4 e5 21.Bxe5 Bxe5 22.Nf3 Bc6 23.Rfe1 Bxf3 24.gxf3 Rfe8 25.Re4 f5 26.Re2 Bh2+ 27.Kf1 Rxe2 28.Kxe2 Re8+ 29.Kd3 Kf7 30.b4 Ke7 31.Kc3 Kd7 32.b5 Re2 33.c5 Rxa2 34.Kc4 0-1

 


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