IM YEOH LI TIAN vs GM VISWANATHAN ANAND TBILISI 2017

FIDE World Cup had my attention this year. It is held in Tbilisi, Georgia and it featured one of the best current Malaysian player, IM Yeoh Li Tian. 

I was on holidays but I still found some time to watch the games.

It only lasted two games, but our own IM made them very eventful. I don't have anything but praise for the way IM Yeoh Li Tian took GM Anand in the games. In fact, many of his moves surprised me as they were really energetic. Going for the Queen sacrifice in Round 1 and taking the initiative with the Black pieces in Round 2 gave me goosebumps. It was clear that the ex-World Champion was going for the draw by choosing the exchange variation so Yeoh was forced to play aggressively. In the end, he went down fighting. 

Congratulations. 

The games

Round 1

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1884627

Round 2

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1884695

Some video coverage on the games from Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHOEMp5dhQA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95SEXiMc9dI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFs-2TpUM_4

GOOD LUCK TEAM PARA ASEAN 2017!

Tonight I was asked whether I would stop blogging for good. I did not give him a definite answer, but gave him a good hint instead. I cited being busy with school work as the culprit, but I knew that it was not the main reason. Being far away from half of my family really robbed me of weekend treasure. Every Friday and Saturday when I didn't have school events would be filled with programs for my sons and daughters who are currently living separately as siblings. 

However, I managed to arrange a family time even though I am currently reprsenting my state in a chess tournament. In between the two playing days, Kelantan state teams spent some time at Zaaba College, University of Malaya playing chess as friendly gestures with Malaysian PARA chess team which will be playing their games starting on 18 September. The results won't matter, as the experience they got tonight would surely help them to improve before taking on their opponents in the real tournament. 

I played Black with Shaharuddin Sidek. Hopefully he got something from our game.

MY RAPID CHESS.COM GAMES

Today I played my 5000th game in the rapid category of chess.com chess server. I would stop playing the rapid games as it is clear that I could not play fast nowadays. Many of those games I lost due to time pressure, and in quite a lot of them I was in the winning position. I am now playing in a slower time control category and I think I am doing quite well. 

Here is the stats for my chess.com games:

In my 5000th game, I luckily won although we were both in time trouble. It was a sharp Sicilian game where both of us castled on the opposite sides and raced to get to the enemy's King. In the end, he lost on time at the point where he would be checkmated in two moves. 

The diagram below shows one of my lost due to the rapid time control when I could not find the checkmate. By the time I was giving him a perpetual check in order to search for the mate, time was out. You might think that 'This is an easy one!', but try to imagine that you only have seconds to search for it, coupled with the server lag.

SICILIAN vs RUY LOPEZ

So, it will be the Sicilian against the Ruy Lopez. Personally, I play the Sicilian Defense. However, for this tournament, I root for Spain. The Super Mario has done it again, while the Italians, I admit, is nothing like the Italians I knew before this. Their midfield maestro, Pirlo, is very good at spotting the flanking runs made by the wingers. It is just like the Sicilian Defense, attacking from the flank c-file. And their play also grows from strength to strength throughout the tournament, just like the Sicilian Defense which strength increases to the maximum when reaching the endgame. Hopefully, Casillas and co will find a solution to beat Pirlo and the gang, or else, I will have to play the Sicilian Defense again. Ciao!

FUHH....

I just creamed somebody rated higher than me. I managed to checkmate him when my clock was running out of time. At the final position, he had 0:15.6 secs to my 0:00.1 secs. Maybe I had 2 Queens in the end, but it was balanced until he made a crucial mistake on move 43. It started as a Sicilian, albeit without the normal move order, and Black skillfully transposed into the Dragon variation. After the exchange of a pair of Rooks, White started to attack the centre. Black then blocked the centre, and stole the loose a-pawn. However, White quickly regained the pawn, and gained the initiative afterwards with the Queen dominating the board consisted of 5 opposing pawns and a dark-coloured Bishop each. Finally, the final mistake was made, and the rest was a matter of technique.

HANIF vs IIUMCHESSMASTER, FINAL POSITION

Final position

At last, White resigns. After more than a year playing the game, White decides that it is best that he does not continue the pain. The game started on December 7th, 2008 as a Morra Gambit, his pet line, against my Sicilian. He skillfully mixed up the order of the opening moves, but I maintained my composure and went along with him. However, the game became interesting when he blundered away a central pawn with 25.Rd2? and I took advantage. The resulting Queen + Rook + Pawns endgame was still dangerous play, however, and I managed to force the exchange of Queens with 29...Qc7+ to enter the Rook endgame with a passed d-pawn. He created a Queenside passed pawn, in order to get a counterplay, but the death of this pawn signaling the demise of any hope.

ARE KNIGHTS REALLY ARE BETTER THAN THE BISHOPS?

This is a recent endgame I played against an online opponent. A thorough assessment on this kind of position is essential if you are to be a good chess player. Pawn structures, king position, minor piece arrangement should be considered very accurately. Knight versus bishop always has been, and will be, debated fiercely as who is better, but really, it is only a matter of who realizes the advantages better.

From the above position, white made a mistake when he played 43.f4? to which black strongly replied 43...e4! creating a passed pawn. The play continued 44.h4 b5, 45.axb5 axb5, 46.h5

White tried to create his own passed pawn by exchanging his pawn majority on the Kingside. 46...gxh5, 47.g5 Nd6! The black knight blockaded the passed pawn. 48.Ba7 Nf5+, 49.Kh3 e3, 50.Kg2 The King scrambled back to stop the intruder. 50...Ke4, 51.Kf1 Kxf4, 52.Ke2 Kxg5, 53.Kf3 h4, 54.Bc5 h3, 55.Bb6 e2!

The pawn marched on, knowing that it cannot be captured because of the threat of 56...h2 queens. 56.Bf2 White tried to stop both pawns with the bishop and the King, but yet the knight delivered a stunning blow 56...Nd4+!

57.Kg3 Nxb3 Creating another passed pawn. 58.Kxh3 Nc1!

This knight heading for d3 to control the queening square e1. Game over. 0 - 1

Here we can see that the knight was powerful enough to jump all over the place creating havoc and defending at the same time, while the bishop was helpless when all the opponent's pawn were on the light squares. The King was tied to defend the queening of the two passed pawns, but the third one proven to be too much.

However, when both bishops are still on board, they pose powerful threats. The next game shows the power of the two bishops against the two knights.

In this diagram, the knights movement were severely restricted by the bishops and the phalanx of pawns. Even after exchanging all the rooks the bishops will still dominate the knights. Nothing fancy about black's attack - it was straight forward towards the King. Enjoy.

ACTIVATE YOUR ROOK!

Position after 40.Rc8

This ending between Hanif vs Yours Truly is still ongoing. Black to move.

HANIF vs IIUMCHESSMASTER

The game has arrived at the crucial stage. White to move.

ENDGAME BATTLE

Hanif vs IIUMChessmaster will resume the battle with Rook endgame. Black has the upper hand with an extra passed centre pawn while White has the pawn advantage in the Queenside of the board. Black's King is closer to the centre and his Rook controls the only available line. Who will prevail?

SOLUTION TO 'HOW TO BEAT NICHOLAS CHAN'

From the above position, I continued with 29.Ba5. Granted, it was not the winning move you have been searching for. Moreover, Nicholas Chan was not beaten just because he took the b-pawn, but for the subsequent blunder on move 32 when he exchanged the Rook. The game continued 29...Rxb3 30.Rb1 Rxb1 31.Rxb1 Nb6 32.Bxb6 Rxb6 33.Rxb6 axb6 34.Nc8 Ke8 35.Nxb6 Kd8 36.Kf2 Kc7 37.a5 Kb7 38.Ke2 Bf8 39.Kd3 Ka6


We arrived at a position where White was clearly winning. The Bishop was cornered, and the passed a-pawn could not be taken without a huge loss of material. The game concluded 40.Nd7 Be7 41.Nb8+ Kb7 42.Nd7 Kc7 43.a6 Kc6

44.a7 Kb7 45.Nb6 Kxa7 46.Nc8+ Kb7 47.Nxe7 Kc7 48.Ng8 Kc6 49.Nh6 Kd7 50.Nxf7 Ke7 51.Nh8 Kf8 52.Nxg6+ Kf7 53.f5 exf5 54.Nf4 1-0

MASTER AT THEIR OWN GAMES

It was the last game of the tournament. At board one, the championship was at stake. It was either me or him. A draw was not sufficient as he was half a point in front at the start of the game. I was playing white. After six moves, I thought he made an opening mistake. I pounced and took his King's right to castle before feasting on pawns. However, I was so far behind in development when he started attacking and shattered my pawn formation. Several weak moves later, I started to panic when his centre pawns look menacing enough. The game finally ended when I blundered a rook. After the game, I finally realized that the variation he played was home prepared and I was foolish enough to enter into his territory. Who was he? (Kindly highlight the name of the Black player to know the answer)

White: Yours Truly
Black: Nizam Hamzah
Allegro BPM Kelantan (6)
30.03.2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 d6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bc4 g6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 Ng4 9.e6 Ne5 10.exf7+ Nxf7 11.Bxf7+ Kxf7 12.Qf3+ Kg8 13.Qxc6 Be6 14.Be3 Rc8 15.Qe4 Bf5 16.Qd5+ e6 17.Qb3 Rb8 18.Qa4 Rxb2 19.Rc1 Qc8 20.Ne4 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 d5 22.Qe5 Bg7 23.Qd6 Bc3+ 24.Bd2 Rb6 25.Qf4 e5 26.Qf3 Bxd2+ 27.Kxd2 Qe6 28.Rhd1 Kg7 29.Ke1 Rd6 30.Qc3 Rf8 31.Rb1 Rf7 32.Rd3 Rc6 33.Qb3 Rb6 0-1

ENDGAME STUDY - LUCENA POSITION

One of the most important endgame study as a material for chess trainings is the Lucena Position. Knowledge of this position is essential for every chess player and the ability to convert their game plan in order to achieve this position is obligatory. I recently managed to achieve the position in one of my online games and won.


White : "danigol"
Black : "iiumchessmaster"

Sicilian Najdorf

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be2 Nbd7 9. Qd2 b5 10. O-O-O Nb6 11. f4 Nc4 12. Bxc4 bxc4 13. fxe5 cxb3 14. exf6 bxa2 15. Nxa2 Bxa2 16. b3 Rc8 17. Kb2 Bxb3 18. cxb3 Qxf6+ 19. Qd4 Be7 20. Qxf6 Bxf6+ 21. Bd4 Bxd4+ 22. Rxd4 Rc6 23. Rhd1 Ke7 24. Rd5 Rhc8 25. R1d2 f6 26. g4 h6 27. h4 Ke6 28. g5 hxg5 29. hxg5 R8c7 30. gxf6 gxf6 31. Rf5 Rc5 32. Rdf2 Rxf5 33. Rxf5 Rc5 34. Rf2 Re5 35. Rf4 d5 36. exd5+ Rxd5 37. Re4+ Re5 38. Ra4 a5 39. Kc3 f5 40. Kd3 Kf6 41. b4 axb4 42. Rxb4 Kg5 43. Rb8 Kf4 44. Rg8 Kf3 45. Kd2 f4 46. Rg7 Kf2 47. Rg8 f3 48. Kd3 Kf1 49. Kd2 f2 50. Rg7 Rd5+ 51. Kc2 Ke2 52. Re7+ Kf3 53. Rf7+ Ke3 54. Rf8 Rd4 0-1

BLINDFOLD CHESS

Blindfold means playing chess without looking at the board. It requires the player to memorize chess positions until the end of the game. It strengthen the chess player's memory, as well as stamina as playing it will double the task for the brain. First you have to remember the current position, before thinking about the reply for your opponent's move. I tried to play simultaneous blindfold games with only three of my 'students' during my coaching time at IIUM, and I managed a win, a draw, and a defeat. I enclose here my first blindfold game when I was still at a secondary school in Kelantan. Even though I lost the game, there were several interesting moves made by both of us, in the 3-hour long game!

Yours Truly - Hanif Arkurni
Casual (Blindfold)
SMU (A) Al-Ma'ahad Al-Muhammadi, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bharu, Kelantan.
1995

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Bxc6 bxc6 7.c4 Nf6 8.Nc3 g6 9.Rb1 Bg7 10.b3 Nh5 11.Qd2 Qa5 12.Bb2 0-0 13.0-0 Bg4 14.Nd4 Rac8 15.Kh1 Qe5 16.Nce2 c5 17.Nf5 Qe6 18.Nxg7 Nxg7 19.f3 Bh5 20.Qh6 f6 21.Nf4 Qd7 22.Nh3 e5 23.Rbd1 Rcd8 24.Bxe5 fxe5 25.Rxd6 Qxd6 26.Ng5 Rf7 27.Qxh7+ Kf8 28.g4 Qf6 29.gxh5 Qxg5 30.hxg6 Rd2 31.Rg1 Qf6 32.Qh8+ Ke7 33.Rg3 Rf8 34.Qh3 Nf5 35.exf5 Rh8 36.Qg4 Rhxh2+ 37.Kg1 Rhe2 38.Kf1 Rh2 39.f4 Rd1+ 40.Qxd1 Rh1+ 41.Ke2 Rxd1 42.Kxd1 Qh4 43.Rg5 Qxf4 44.Rh5 Qf3+ 45.Kd2 Qxh5 46.g7 Qg5+ 0-1

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN

Do you still remember where your chess life began? Well, I do. The game below was the very first game where I learned chess notation, all by myself. I found this game in JAGUH (a small section in Berita Harian newspaper, now non-existent) then I figured out what the Q, B, K means. It influenced me so much I quickly changed my repertoire into Sicilian (previously I was playing French). Then, the irony was that the first game in my first tournament in 1996 at IIUM PJ was against Azhari, where I drew large crowds when I drew with him!

Agus Salim - Azhari Md Noor
Bestari Open 1993 (Round 5), 1993
Sicilian Defense

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 Be6 9.Bc4 b5 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Ne2 Be7 12.Qd3 0–0 13.0–0 d5 14.Bxf6 Rxf6 15.Rad1 d4 16.Kh1 Qf8 17.f3 Rd8 18.Nb1 Nb4 19.Qb3 Rh6 20.f4 Qf6 21.f5 Qh4 22.h3 Qxe4 23.f6 Bxf6 24.Qxe6+ Kh8 25.Ng3 Qd5 26.Qxd5 Nxd5 27.Nf5 Rh5 28.c3 Rxf5 29.Rxf5 Ne3 30.Rxf6 gxf6 31.Rd3 Kg7 32.Nd2 Nc4 33.Ne4 Nxb2 34.Rg3+ Kh8 35.cxd4 exd4 36.Nd2 d3 37.Rf3 Nc4 38.Rf2 Re8 39.Kg1 Re1+ 40.Kh2 Rc1 41.Ne4 0–1

My game against Azhari (pardon the quality of my game because it was my first tournament game).

Me - Azhari Mohd Nor
IIUM Convo Speed Chess (Round 1), 18.08.1996
Petroff Defense

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.0-0 Bg4 11.Be2 Nd7 12.h3 Bh5 13.Rb1 f5 14.Rb3 g5 15.g4 fxg4 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Rxe5 18.hxg4 Bg6 19.Be3 Qe7 20.Bd4 Re6 21.Rxb7 Nd6 22.Bc5 Rxe2 23.Bxd6 Qe6 24.Bxc7 Qxg4+ 25.Bg3 Be4 26.Qd4 Qxg3+ 27.fxg3 Rg2+ 28.Kh1 Rd2+ 29.Kg1 Rg2+ 30.Kh1 Rd2+ 31.Kg1 Rxd4 32.cxd4 Bxc2 33.Rc1 Be4 34.Rcc7 a5 35.Rg7+ Kh8 36.Rxg5 a4 37.Rgg7 Rc8 38.Rgc7 Rf8 39.Rf7 Rg8 40.Kf2 Bg6 41.Rfe7 Rf8+ 42.Ke3 Rc8 43.Rbc7 Rb8 44.Ra7 Bc2 45.Kd2 Be4 46.Rxe4 dxe4 47.Rxa4 Kg7 48.Ke3 Re8 49.d5 Re5 50.Rd4 Kf7 51.a4 Ke7 52.d6+ Kd7 53.Rxe4 Rg5 54.Kf4 Ra5 55.Re7+ Kxd6 56.Rxh7 Rxa4+ 57.Kf5 Ra3 58.g4 Rf3+ 59.Kg5 Rg3 60.Kf4 Rg1 61.g5 Rf1+ 62.Kg4 Ke6 63.Rh6+ Kf7 64.Rf6+ ½-½

ANAND WINS WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2008

Anand drew the 11th game to retain his title of the World Chess Champion with the final score of 6.5 to 4.5. As expected, Anand pushed the e-pawn to seduce Kramnik to play Petroff Defense, which is known to be very drawish among the top GMs. Understandably, Kramnik chose the sharp Najdorf to keep his chance alive. Anand replied with 6.Bg5, and soon the position went AWOL and the result could not be predicted. However, Anand got a slight advantage at the end so Kramnik offered a draw.

Kasparov commented on the championship in Chess Ninja:

"It was a very well-played match by Vishy. Except for the loss of concentration in the tenth game he played consistently and managed to enforce his style. His choice to open with 1.d4 was excellent. He reached playable positions with life in them, so he could make Kramnik work at the board. Anand outprepared Kramnik completely.

[In this match] Kramnik did not expect tough, sharp challenges with white, and this was the key for Anand. He kicked some sand in Kramnik's face and hit Kramnik's weakness: his conservative approach to the game itself. Suddenly Kramnik had to fight in these sharp positions and he wasn't able to do it. This result ends the illusion that Kramnik is a great match player. London was a unique occurrence and I still stand with Leonid Yudasin as the only players Kramnik has ever beaten in a match! Kramnik now has some work to do. His overly-defensive play seems to represent a general decline in strength."

Match director Josef Resch (left) with Anand and Campomanes
(pictures courtesy of chessbase.com)

Replay game 11 here:

Me vs ex-UKM, position after 19.Qg3

MY BATTLE WITH THE EX-UKM
Venue: Yahoo! Messenger (YM)

Last night I played a game through the YM with a formidable ex-UKM player, now a Math teacher in Selangor. It started with the Sicilian Defense until it reached the above position before we decided to adjurn it. I hope we will continue it in the near future.

HOME PREPARATION

Game 3 of Anand vs Kramnik World Chess Championship match 2008 in Bonn, Germany shows how deadly prepared lines could be. I was among many chess enthusiasts who gets to see the game live because of the advancement of technology nowadays (I watched it at ChessCube). Anand gets the upperhand by moving very quickly which leaves a whopping 1 hour gap between the two (Anand used 20 minutes to reach move 20 to Kramnik's 1 hour and a half!). You can replay the game below:

As a player, I myself had the opportunity to prepare against a very good player once (he was 2196 FIDE rated!) during Royal Selangor 2004. He went down checkmated before reaching move 20! However, I did not move quickly so as not to reveal my home preparation. I just pretended to think even though I already knew what to move.

Yours Truly - FIDE Rated Player (2196)
Royal Selangor, 2004
Sicilian Defence

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Nf3 c5 4.Nc3 e6 5.Nxd5 exd5 6.d4 Nc6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qxd5 Qb6 9.Bc4 Bxf2+ 10.Ke2 0-0 11.Rf1 Bc5 12.Ng5 Nd4+ 13.Kd1 Ne6 14.Ne4 d6 15.exd6 Bd7 16.Bd3 Bc6 17.Nf6+ gxf6 18.Qf5 Rfd8 1-0

THE UNBREAKABLE KING

UKM Hardcore - Yours Truly
KUiTTHO Chess Challenge (Round 3), 23.03.2002

This is my third encounter with him. The first was played during our friendly match with UKM, discussing the Classical variation. Our second was in the Merdeka tournament 1999, debating the Sveshnikov variation. However, this is the first time I played with Black, so the Najdorf variation is very much expected.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0–0–0 Nbd7 10.g4 b5 11.Bxf6 gxf6

After 11…gxf6

This position offers chances for both players. From the White side, the mobility of his pieces and clear-cut plan (usually attacking the pawn mass in the center) makes his game freer. However, Black’s defensive resources are not to be underestimated. The pawn mass in the center and counter attacking chances in the Queen’s wing balances White slight advantage. Black can castle Kingside, or not castle at all, if he so wishes.

The irony is that not many players are courageous enough to play this line, opting instead for 11…Nxf6 or 11 Bxf6. In fact, I can say that I am the only player in Malaysia who play this line, and with great results! Among those who have been my victims were Muhammad Arshad and Nor Ilhamuddin, both were Terengganu’s best players. The cause of their defeat was that they were unprepared to face this line, as they have not encountered it anywhere. This is the case here in this game. The fact that White spend 15 minutes on his next move shows.

12.Bh3

The usual move here is 12.f5, exerting pressure on the e6 pawn – the crux of White’s plan. It is then followed by Qh3 and Nc3 - e2 - f4, adding to the misery of the e6 pawn. I don’t know what is his idea with this move.

12…Nc5 13.Nb3
This knight move from the center is not to be recommended.

12… b4 14.Nxc5 dxc5 15.Ne2 Bb7 16.Rhe1 Rc8 17.f5
Trying to open the game, as for now Black has all the spaces he needed.

17… e5

Denying White’s Knight the access to d4 and f4. 17… Qe5 is playable, with the idea of pushing the a-pawn down the board to a3. However, I was not going to give him any counter play.

18.g5 c4 19.gxf6 Bxf6 20.c3 Bc6

I try to complicate the position with the threat of 21…Ba4. The b4 pawn is a temporary sacrifice, as Black will get it back with devastating position.

21.cxb4 Qb7
Threatening both the e4 and b4 pawn, thus gaining the material back.

22.Nc3 Qxb4 23.Kb1 Rb8
Pressuring White’s defense with the immediate threat of mate.

24.Re2 h5 25.Bf1
The unfortunate Bishop is trying to get to the defense of White’s King.

25…Rg8

The last piece to enter the game, after watching it from the edge of the board. The h5 pawn in immune because of the undefended Knight. Can you believe this rook will help in the final mating attack?

26.Rc2 Rg4 27.Bxc4?

Frankly speaking, this move is beyond my expectation. The idea is to lure Black Queen in the line of the rook on c2. With 28.Nd5 to follow, threatening the Bishop and the Queen, White can hope to get better exchange. However, White is in for surprises!

After 27.Bxc4

27…Qxc4! 28.Nd5 Bxd5! 29.Rxc4 Bxc4
Black’s exchange of the Queen for three of White’s pieces is totally justified.

30.Qc3 Rxe4 31.Qf3

White desperately tries to get into the Black’s camp. The rook seems lost as moving it will allow White’s Queen to penetrate into c6 with check. However, White is in for more surprises!

31…Rxb2+!

After 31… Rxb2+!

I spend about 5 minutes on this spectacular move. It is unbelievable that despite the absence of the Queen, Black can still sacrifice his rook!

32.Kxb2 Re2+ 33.Ka3??

A bad blunder in time trouble. The best defense is 33.Kc1, when Black is to play accurately to realize his advantage. Even then Black’s control of the board will prevail. Some sample line 33….e4 34.Qxh5 Bb2+ 35.Kb1 Be5 36.Rd5 Bd3+ 37.Rxd3 exd3 38.Qh4 Bc3 39.Kc1 Re1+ 40.Qxe1+ Bxe1 41.Kd1 Bc3. However, White’s best would be 34.Qf4 Bb2+ 35.Kb1 Bxa2+ 36.Kxa2 Be5+ 37.Qd2 Rxd2+ 38.Rxd2 Ke7 (diagram), when accurate play by Black is needed.

Analysis position

33…Be7+ 0–1

Unavoidable mate. Notice that Black’s King has not move an inch from the start of the game until it ends. It is unbreakable!

Final position

FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE

FM Anas Nazreen Bakri

Yours Truly - Anas Nazreen (2193)
Malay Open (Round 8), 03.02.2003

Sicilian Najdorf

This was my first encounter against Anas in a real competitive game. I had played him once at KYM during the blitz tournament. It was unfortunate that I forgot the game where I completely smashed his king shield before blundering during the time trouble. I could’ve repeated the variation though, if only I can recall it during this game. I always enjoyed pushing my g-pawn up to shatter my opponents’ Scheveningen pawn structure. Kasparov once said that if his opponent wants to win against his Najdorf – Scheveningen set up, they must push the g-pawn. That’s how I destroyed Anas’ King’s fortress then, but this time the push was a little too late.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.a4 Be7 8.Be3 Nc6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Kh1

After 10.Kh1

This was where I deviated from the above-mentioned game, although this game quickly transposes back to that game continuation three moves later. [refer note on move 13] I timely pushed the g-pawn up, destroyed his King’s shelter, and sent him on the run to seek refuge on the Queenside. However, during the time scramble, and his King already at d7 from his previous position at g8, I blundered away a checkmate. What an anti climax ending to a relatively interesting and pulsating game. Here I give you the variation, even though not to the end because it was a blitz tournament, and I could not remind it correctly.
[10.f4 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b6 12.Bf3 Bb7 13.g4 h6 14.Be3 Qc7 15.g5 hxg5 16.fxg5 Nd7 17.Kh1 Rad8 18.Bg2 Ne5 19.Qh5 Nc4 20.Bc1+- Me - Anas Nazreen, KYM 2002 Blitz, 18/5/2002 0–1]

10...Qc7 11.f4 b6 12.Bf3 Bb7 13.Qe1
This was where I should push my g-pawn. I couldn’t quite remember why I chickened out during this game and move the Queen instead. I’ve played this position many times before against coach Rizal in training and spectacularly won some of them. Moving the Queen to e1 involves some positional play, whereas 13.g4 is purely a direct attacking play.

13...Na5 14.Qf2 Nc4 15.Bc1 Rac8 16.b3 Na5 17.Bb2 Nc6 18.Nxc6 Bxc6 19.Rae1
I’ve mistakenly put this Rook on the wrong square. Correct is 19...Rad1 controlling the half opened file: a basic Rook maxim.

19...e5 20.f5 b5 21.axb5 axb5 22.g4
Now this move is a little too late. Black threatens to win a pawn at c2, therefore I must consider giving up the exchange.

22...b4 23.Nd1 Bb5 24.Ne3 Bxf1 25.Rxf1 h6 26.h4 Nh7 27.Be2 Qd8!
An incredibly good move from a young boy like Anas. Suddenly I found myself giving away pawns after already lost the exchange. Nevertheless, I soundly develop an attacking position against his King using my two Bishop arsenal.

28.g5 hxg5 29.Bd3 gxh4 30.Rg1 Ng5 31.Qg2 Bf6 32.Nd5 Kh8 33.Bc1 Nh7 34.Be3
Threatening 35.Bb6, pushing his Queen away from the defense of the Bishop at f6. Once the Queen moves away, I can safely take the Bishop while threatening mate at g7. Yet, this wonder kid have anticipated the threat and moved…

34...Rb8 35.Bd2 Rg8 36.Bxb4 g5 37.Qg4 Rg7 38.Be1 Ra8 39.Bf2 Ra2 40.b4 Be7 41.Bb6 Qf8 42.Qh5 Kg8 43.Be3
This was the critical position. I should have played 43.Qh6!, threatening to fork the Rook and the Bishop. It was hard to find this simple Queen move during the time pressure. Oh, did I mention that at this very moment, I had 2 minutes to his 10? Analyzing this game afterward, I found that Black is lost in all variations:

Analysis diagram after 43.Qh6

43...g4 (43...f6 is a mistake. 44.Nxe7+ Qxe7 45.Bc4+ winning the Rook, while 43...Bd8 44.Bxd8 Qxd8 45.Bc4 Rxc2 46.f6 Rg6 47.Ne7+ also wins the Rook) 44.f6 Bxf6 45.Nxf6+ Nxf6 46.Qxf6 +-

43...Nf6 44.Qh6?
Now this move is a mistake. I should have played 44.Nxe7 Qxe7 45.Bxg5! Nxh5 46.Bxe7 Rxg1 47.Kg1 where position is roughly equal.

44...Nxd5 45.exd5 f6 46.Qh5 Qf7 47.Qxf7+
Keeping the Queens with 47.Qf3 is the best option. However, as my time clocked away, I thought that playing without the Queens was safer.

47...Rxf7 48.b5 Bd8 49.Rb1 Rb7 50.Kg2 Bb6 51.Bd2 Kf7 52.Kf3 Bc5 53.Be4 Ra4 54.Rb3 g4+ 0–1

Final position