(5) Ian Wilkinson (1380) - Ryan Lutz (1350) [B90]

World Open, U–1400 section, Phila (3), 05.07.2002

[Wilkinson,Ian]

PUNISHING INACCURACIES IN THE SICILIAN NAJDORF"To crush, to annihilate a man utterly, to inflict on him the most terrible punishment..."-  House of the Dead - Fedor Dostoevsky (1821–81), Russian novelist.

 

This game was the easiest of my five wins at the tournament and gave me a great 3–0 start. In fact many persons thought that in terms of time, it was the shortest game of the tournament !!! My opponent, like myself, entered this game with a 2–0 record in what was likely to be a gruelling day with five games to be played pursuant to the three-day schedule. Because of delays with the elevator, I arrived late and noticed that I had already lost five minutes off the clock. It was game in fifty (50) minutes but I had White and was feeling confident after my auspicious start to what was already a very competitive tournament. En garde !!! 1.e4 c5 I smiled a little when I saw this move as I love to play against the Sicilian defence. 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 The Najdorf variation. 6.f3

The English attack.6...e6 [6...e5] 7.Be3 Be7 8.g4!?  A la the legendary Estonian Paul Keres. 8...b5= 9.a3 The prodigious Hungarian Peter Leko likes to play this prophylactic move. 9...Bb7 10.Qd2 Nbd7? My opponent, a resident of Philadelphia, should have castled I think. 11.0–0–0 The immediate 11.g5 ! was good but I wasn't taking any chances. 11...Rc8?! 12.h4 More precise was either 12.g5 or 12.Be2 but I was "testing" my opponent having regard to his earlier inaccuracies. 12...e5? 12....Ne5 was the best option here I respectfully believe. 13.Nf5!+-

 

 White now has a big advantage.13...Rc6?? Played after only a minute's reflection. As Mr. Rodney Pryce would have chanted I couldn't believe my eyes. This was as generous a gift as one could have got. It was palpable that the g7 pawn was en prise and had to be protected. I wondered what aversion my opponent had to castling, which was forced I thought. The text immediately lost.  14.Nxg7+ Kf8 15.Bh6!

 and my teenaged caucasian opponent gently turned over His Royal Highness and sighed. AMAZINGLY, I HAD USED ONLY FOUR MINUTES (OF MY REMAINING FORTY-FIVE MINUTES) FOR ALL MY MOVES. THE GAME HAD TAKEN A TOTAL OF EIGHT (8) MINUTES NOT COUNTING THE TIME LOST OFF MY CLOCK BEFORE I  ARRIVED AT THE BOARD !!!!.For the purists I should state that I even had the luxury of re-deploying the Knight as evidenced by the following variation:[15.Nf5 Qb8 Best. 16.Bh6+ Ke8 If 16.....Kg8 then 17.Nxe7 mates. 17.h5 Kd8 18.g5 Ne8 19.Nd5 Bf8 20.Qa5+ Nc7 21.Nb4 Rb6 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.Nxd6 Ne6 24.Nxb5!! Kc8 25.Rxd7 Kxd7 26.Qxb6 Bxe4 27.Qxb8 Rxb8 28.Nxa6 and wins. But, of course, that route was too long.]  1–0