Blue Emu
GroFAZ
Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but I've recently played what might be the best game of my life (at 62 years old!).
I was playing top board (Board #1) for our club team in a national match... Team Canada vs Team Malaysia. I was Black in the following game, playing at postal time controls (three days per move) and the win brought me up to 2351 online rating!
Jovial Dick (Malaysia) vs Blue Emu (Canada), Board #1 Rated Match Game.
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6
The Najdorf variation, one of my favorites with either color. My opponent chose to play Bobby Fischer's favorite line against it.
6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 ....
Avoiding any nonsense like 7. .... Nxe4 followed by 8. .... d5 forking e4 and c4, and recovering the piece.
7. .... b5
8. 0-0 Be7
9. f4 Bb7
Attacking the e4 Pawn. So far, the game has developed fairly normally... but White now chooses a move that turns the rest of the game into one long tactical combination! From this point on to the end, the game is reminiscent of a sword fight with rapiers at the brink of a cliff!
10. e5!? dxe5
11. fxe5 Bc5!
Instead of moving his attacked Knight, Black immediately counter-attacks!
12. Be3 Nc6!
And now, lacking a reasonable way to reinforce the d4-Knight, White decides to take on f6.
13. exf6 Bxd4
14. fxg7!? ....
Offering a piece in order to destroy the Black King's cover. After much thought, I decided to take it.
14. .... Bxe3+!
Challenge accepted!
15. Kh1 Rg8
16. Bxe6! ....
I saw this coming, of course. Black cannot accept the second piece, because of the Queen check on h5. That Bishop is going to have to take a number and sit down, because I have some Pawn issues that I'm still dealing with.
16. .... Rxg7!
Guarding f7 and menacing the White King along the file as well as the masked pressure on the a8-h1 diagonal.
17. Bxf7+! ....
The White Bishop won't take "No" for an answer!
17. .... Rxf7
18. Qh5! ....
... and now it looks like Black has miscalculated, since mate is threatened on f7 and there seems to be no good way to prevent it. Any move by Black's Queen to guard f7 (eg: Qe7) is met by Nd5 and White wins.
18. .... Ne5!!
A tremendous defensive shot... guarding the threatened mate on f7 and simultaneously unblocking the long diagonal, so that Black's b7-Bishop can keep the White Knight out of d5 and can also menace White's King on h1!
19. Qxe5+ ....
Of course, the Knight move has its deficiencies as well... ... but White had sacrificed TWO pieces to reach this position. If I can rescue my King by returning ONE piece, that leaves me in pretty good shape.
19. .... Qe7
20. Qh5 Rd8
After the game, one of the International Masters who had been drawn by the carnage pointed out that I could have saved a tempo by playing my 21st move (21. .... Kf8) immediately, on move 20 instead, and followed it with 21. .... Re8. No doubt he is correct, but in the heat of the action I was mainly concerned with completing my development and massing my pieces near my King.
21. Rae1 ....
Threatening to simply take the e3-Bishop, since my f7-Rook is pinned against my King, and my Queen is tied down to protect the mate on f7.
21. .... Kf8!
Unpinning the f7-Rook, so that I can reply to 22. Rxe3 with 22. .... Rxf1 mate! But by stepping out of the diagonal pin, I've stepped into a pin on the file...
22. Qxh7! ....
Threatening mate on h8, and again it looks like Black has overlooked something. How do I wiggle out of this?
22. .... Bd4!!
Guarding h8 and preventing the mate, and meanwhile White's e1-Rook is tied down to guarding his brother at f1.
23. h3 ....
Finally White is really threatening my Queen... it was immune to capture before, because of the mate on f1.
23. .... Rd7!
So go ahead and take it! Black would end up with two Rooks and a Bishop as compensation for his lost Queen. But the Rook move to d7 does more than that... it also guards f7 and therefore threatens 24. .... Qxe1! diverting the f1-Rook, so White must for the first time in the game move backwards instead of forwards!
24. Qg6 ....
A psychological victory for Black... this move is the first overt sign that White's attack is being repulsed, and Black is still clinging to his extra piece! Now... does the Black Queen stay close to the King to assist in the defense?... or is it time to counter-attack?
24. .... Qh4!
Counter-attack! With the a8-h1 diagonal open, Black threatens Qxh3+. So White stakes everything on his last attacking chance:
25. Re8+! Kxe8
26. Qg8+ ....
Obviously I can't block that check, so my King heads for the open board, shedding pieces as he goes!
26. .... Ke7
Abandoning the f7-Rook.
27. Rxf7+ Kd6
The King now threatens to duck into c7 (and later into a7) where he will be shielded from checks, so White no longer has any choice... he must prevent the Black King from reaching safety on the Q-side.
28. Qb8+ Kc5!
Abandoning the other Rook as well! But White has no time to take it, in view of Black's threat of 29. .... Qxh3+ 30. Qh2 Bxg2 mate. Black also threatens mate in three with 29. .... Qe1+, and White's f7-Rook is also en prise. There are just too many threats... White is busted. He tries to save what he can...
29. Rf5+ Kb6
30. Kh2 ....
The only way to both guard h3 and also avoid the mate-in-three with Qe1+. But the entry of Black's Queen on e1 is so powerful that it hardly matters whether or not the move is played with check.
30. .... Qe1
Now the threat of Bg1+ is fatal. White tries a distraction...
31. Nd5+ Rxd5!
... But I just give up my last Rook to break that up.
32. Rxd5 Bg1+
And facing mate in three, White finally resigned.
I was playing top board (Board #1) for our club team in a national match... Team Canada vs Team Malaysia. I was Black in the following game, playing at postal time controls (three days per move) and the win brought me up to 2351 online rating!
Jovial Dick (Malaysia) vs Blue Emu (Canada), Board #1 Rated Match Game.
1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6
The Najdorf variation, one of my favorites with either color. My opponent chose to play Bobby Fischer's favorite line against it.
6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 ....
Avoiding any nonsense like 7. .... Nxe4 followed by 8. .... d5 forking e4 and c4, and recovering the piece.
7. .... b5
8. 0-0 Be7
9. f4 Bb7
Attacking the e4 Pawn. So far, the game has developed fairly normally... but White now chooses a move that turns the rest of the game into one long tactical combination! From this point on to the end, the game is reminiscent of a sword fight with rapiers at the brink of a cliff!
10. e5!? dxe5
11. fxe5 Bc5!
Instead of moving his attacked Knight, Black immediately counter-attacks!
12. Be3 Nc6!
And now, lacking a reasonable way to reinforce the d4-Knight, White decides to take on f6.
13. exf6 Bxd4
14. fxg7!? ....
Offering a piece in order to destroy the Black King's cover. After much thought, I decided to take it.
14. .... Bxe3+!
Challenge accepted!
15. Kh1 Rg8
16. Bxe6! ....
I saw this coming, of course. Black cannot accept the second piece, because of the Queen check on h5. That Bishop is going to have to take a number and sit down, because I have some Pawn issues that I'm still dealing with.
16. .... Rxg7!
Guarding f7 and menacing the White King along the file as well as the masked pressure on the a8-h1 diagonal.
17. Bxf7+! ....
The White Bishop won't take "No" for an answer!
17. .... Rxf7
18. Qh5! ....
... and now it looks like Black has miscalculated, since mate is threatened on f7 and there seems to be no good way to prevent it. Any move by Black's Queen to guard f7 (eg: Qe7) is met by Nd5 and White wins.
18. .... Ne5!!
A tremendous defensive shot... guarding the threatened mate on f7 and simultaneously unblocking the long diagonal, so that Black's b7-Bishop can keep the White Knight out of d5 and can also menace White's King on h1!
19. Qxe5+ ....
Of course, the Knight move has its deficiencies as well... ... but White had sacrificed TWO pieces to reach this position. If I can rescue my King by returning ONE piece, that leaves me in pretty good shape.
19. .... Qe7
20. Qh5 Rd8
After the game, one of the International Masters who had been drawn by the carnage pointed out that I could have saved a tempo by playing my 21st move (21. .... Kf8) immediately, on move 20 instead, and followed it with 21. .... Re8. No doubt he is correct, but in the heat of the action I was mainly concerned with completing my development and massing my pieces near my King.
21. Rae1 ....
Threatening to simply take the e3-Bishop, since my f7-Rook is pinned against my King, and my Queen is tied down to protect the mate on f7.
21. .... Kf8!
Unpinning the f7-Rook, so that I can reply to 22. Rxe3 with 22. .... Rxf1 mate! But by stepping out of the diagonal pin, I've stepped into a pin on the file...
22. Qxh7! ....
Threatening mate on h8, and again it looks like Black has overlooked something. How do I wiggle out of this?
22. .... Bd4!!
Guarding h8 and preventing the mate, and meanwhile White's e1-Rook is tied down to guarding his brother at f1.
23. h3 ....
Finally White is really threatening my Queen... it was immune to capture before, because of the mate on f1.
23. .... Rd7!
So go ahead and take it! Black would end up with two Rooks and a Bishop as compensation for his lost Queen. But the Rook move to d7 does more than that... it also guards f7 and therefore threatens 24. .... Qxe1! diverting the f1-Rook, so White must for the first time in the game move backwards instead of forwards!
24. Qg6 ....
A psychological victory for Black... this move is the first overt sign that White's attack is being repulsed, and Black is still clinging to his extra piece! Now... does the Black Queen stay close to the King to assist in the defense?... or is it time to counter-attack?
24. .... Qh4!
Counter-attack! With the a8-h1 diagonal open, Black threatens Qxh3+. So White stakes everything on his last attacking chance:
25. Re8+! Kxe8
26. Qg8+ ....
Obviously I can't block that check, so my King heads for the open board, shedding pieces as he goes!
26. .... Ke7
Abandoning the f7-Rook.
27. Rxf7+ Kd6
The King now threatens to duck into c7 (and later into a7) where he will be shielded from checks, so White no longer has any choice... he must prevent the Black King from reaching safety on the Q-side.
28. Qb8+ Kc5!
Abandoning the other Rook as well! But White has no time to take it, in view of Black's threat of 29. .... Qxh3+ 30. Qh2 Bxg2 mate. Black also threatens mate in three with 29. .... Qe1+, and White's f7-Rook is also en prise. There are just too many threats... White is busted. He tries to save what he can...
29. Rf5+ Kb6
30. Kh2 ....
The only way to both guard h3 and also avoid the mate-in-three with Qe1+. But the entry of Black's Queen on e1 is so powerful that it hardly matters whether or not the move is played with check.
30. .... Qe1
Now the threat of Bg1+ is fatal. White tries a distraction...
31. Nd5+ Rxd5!
... But I just give up my last Rook to break that up.
32. Rxd5 Bg1+
And facing mate in three, White finally resigned.