Y2K4 - The Kudrinators, round 3, board 1
St. Louis, MO, US Open Team Championship, 11/20/99
Sicilian Defense
notes by Loal Davis
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 b5 6.a3 Bb7 7.Bd3 Qb6 8.Nb3 Qc7 9.O-O Nf6 10.Qe2 d6 11.Bf4!? (Different--it prepares 'a4' by pinning the 'd' Pawn) Nbd7 12.a4 b4 13.Na2 e5 14.Bd2 a5 15.c3 (I think White is better here) bxc3 16.Nxc3 Be7 17.Nb5 Qb6 18.Rfc1 O-O 19.Be3? (Better is 19. Qe1 Bd8 20. Be3. I saw Qe1 and Be3, but didn't put them together) Qd8 20.f3 d5 21.Bf2 dxe4 22.fxe4 Bb4 23.Rc7 Ba6 24.Rac1 h6 25.R1c2? (White controls nice squares, but there's little to attack. The text prepares to bulldoze the position with Na7, which fails at present due to ...Nc5. The tactics are such that the Rook on 'c1' is not defended. 25. R1c2 defends the Rook, but cuts the freee squares for the remaining Rook down to a minimum, and, more importantly, creates back row problems.) 25...Re8 26.Na7 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 Nf8! (Beautiful--the Knight's en route to 'd4' and/or 'f4' with tempo) 28.Qxd8 (28. Qe2 runs into a Knight tour to 'f4'. White is lost.) 28...Rexd8 29.g3 Nxe4 30.Bb6 Rd5 31.Nc6 Ne6 32.Ne7+ Bxe7 33.Rxe7 Rb8 34.Rc6 Rd1+ 35.Kg2 Rb1 36.Nc5 Rxb2+ 37.Kg1 N6xc5 38.Bxc5 Rd8 [0:1]