It’s times like these that good coaches search for inspiration to give their team a spark… to ignite the inner fire… to instill confidence… to root out the malaise that pervades a team’s psyche… Yes, I’m sure Matt Phelps is pouring over Vince Lombardi’s old speeches.  Well Matt, I’m here to help.  What we need is a better motto and some non-racist pizza.  I offer this article in hopes that we can borrow from the wisdom of those great thinkers of the past… even if some of them didn’t play chess.  Let’s begin with the words of Homer,  “Here’s to alcohol, the cause of—and solution to—all life’s problems.”…  You didn’t think I meant that Homer, did you?

And there were plenty of problems in this fourth round match as Boston took on a very tough opponent in the New Jersey Knockouts.  Would Matt’s decision to suspend Jorge and Ilya for this match come back to haunt him?  Would Jorge and Ilya carry through with their threat to picket the match?  And what about their list of demands… Would Matt provide non-pork pizza to assuage Jorge’s perceived affront to his Muslim heritage?  And what about Ilya’s request for a four member, female, under twenty cheerleading squad?  Yes, turmoil was evident both off and on the board as the Blitz fell victim to themselves… and old axioms became reality…

Much of your pain is self-chosen.  ~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, 1923

The much anticipated rematch did not go as expected, at least from the Blitz perspective, as GM Christiansen issued a dubious novelty, 8… Bh6?,  and went down in flames.  One would guess that the last time Larry was lost on move eight was quite a while ago, if ever.  Let’s take a look…

GM Joel Benjamin  vs.  GM Larry Christiansen  –  Board 1

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. c3 d5

Position after 3…d5!?

This move started the audience whispering.  This is a very dangerous move for Black and gives White a nice edge.  Was there some preparation going on here?  Normal, and probably better, is 3… Bg7 4.d4 cxd  5.cxd d5! And now White can push past to e5 with a positional edge or, play 6.exd Nf6! 7.Bb5+ N1d7 8.d6!? exd and it’s a game.

4. exd5 Qxd5 5. d4 Nf6 6. Na3 cxd4 7. Bc4 Qe4+ 8. Be3!…

I found several games with this move and none were good for Black.  Now, Black can sack the Queen for three minor pieces and pawn with…  8… dxe 9.Bxf7! Kxf7 10.Ng5+ Kg7 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Qd4+ Nf6  13.Qxe3 Nc6

Analysis position after 13…Nc6

Black’s pieces are uncoordinated and White should win the e-pawn.  Fritz gives White a +1.2 advantage… But, I would not want to play either side.

8… Bh6?

Position after 8…Bh6?

Just an out-and-out blunder of a piece.  Of course, White is much better after 8… e5 or 8… Be6.  But, we’ve all seen Larry’s come from behind technique save, or even win, such games.

9. Bd3! Qxd3 A forced sack of Queen for two minor pieces… not nearly enough.

Black could not play 9… Qe6  He must keep the Bishop pinned, or lose his Bishop on h6.  10.Nxd4 Qe5 11.Nc4… and the Queen must move off the e-file and cannot defend the Bishop.

After this, GM Benjamin shows technique of his own.  Larry only played on because of time considerations… but, really, all hope is lost at this point and Black resigned on move 43.  Oh well, @#$% happens.

I can only offer the following sentiment for such a game and I think Larry might agree…

I don’t mind getting beaten, but I hate to lose. - Reggie Jackson

The effect that this game had on the team was evident.  All the players knew from very early on that board one was lost.  This led to the players, especially boards 2 and 3, pressing too hard to complicate thinking that we needed at least one win on the middle boards to even draw the match as both were small underdogs.  Boston (0-1)

Meanwhile, as expected, Marc Esserman was rolling… but with the Morra Gambit?

“Modern Chess is too much concerned with things like Pawn structure. Forget it, Checkmate ends the game”  – Nigel Short

NM Marc Esserman  vs.  Jayson Lian  –  Board 4

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4. Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 Nge7 7. Bg5… a not too subtle trap. If 8… h6 9.Nb5… threatens mate on d6 and White is winning. 7… f6 8.Be3 Ng6 9. O-O Be7

Position after 9…Be7

Up to now, we have been following theory and, in particular, Esserman-Shabalov 2008.  That game continued 9.Nd4 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 O-O  11.f4? Qc7 winning the f-pawn with advantage.  No wonder Marc was wandering around muttering something about his opponent memorizing moves.  Did he think that Marc would not have improved here?   Not that 10.Nd4… is bad, but Marc had something else in mind…

10. Nb5!?… a new move to memorize. 10… O-O 11. Rc1 Kh8 12. Qd2 Nge5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5!? I actually like this move because it tempts White to grab his pawn back.

Position after 14…Nxe5

During the game I thought that 13… fxe was better and Fritz thinks so too.  But, the move in the game is psychologically motivated.  Best for White now seems to be 10.Bb3… keeping a large advantage as Black’s Knight must return to c6 and White can play 11.Rfd8… essentially having traded one Knight and gained a move.  White’s advantage in the game was smaller but who can argue with success.

14. Nxa7 Nxc4 15. Rxc4 d5? A bad move in a critical position.

Position after 15…d5?

After 15… b5!?  16.Rc2 Bb7,  or,  16.Rxc8 Rxc8 17.Nxc8 Qxc8 18.a3 Qb7  Black is still very much in the game.  Of course, 16.Nxb5 Rxa2 is not the way to go.  The point is that Black frees all his pieces and gets to play on.  After the game move it is all over… White wins a pawn after…  16. exd5 17. Rxc8 18. Nxc8 Qxc8 19. Qxd5 Rd8 20. Qb5 Bd6 21. Rc1 Qb8 22. g3… White has the better position and a pawn.  Black threw in the towel on move 31.  Boston (1-1)   Another good performance by Marc.

Hmmm! A deep philosophical lesson from this game… well, how about…

“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one” – Mikhail Tal

Now we seemed to have some hope as both middle boards were at least holding their own and Denys had the two Bishops and initiative… could we hope to win a game whose theme seemed to be…

“Some part of a mistake is always correct” – Savielly Tartakover

SM Denys Shmelov  vs.  IM Dean Ippolito  -  Board 2

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3… IM Ippolito probably was in his game preparation here as Denys is pretty consistent in playing this line.  4… c5 5. d5 Nh5 6. Nh3 d6 7. Nf2 f5!? This brought the game some interest from the spectators. 8. e4 exd5!? A prepared improvement?  I found no games with this move.  Berkes-Ivanisevic 2008 went 8… O-O 9.exf  exf  and was an uneventful draw.

Position after 8…exd5!?

Now White is faced with a choice that will affect the strategy of the game.  A capture with either pawn is about equal, but 9.cxd5… has some long term benefits… it frees the f1 Bishop and avoids the doubled pawns that, with hindsight, make it hard for White to win.  However, it does seem safer to keep things under control as Denys did with…

9. exd5 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Qh4 13. g4?!…

After this, Black gains equality.  Instead, 13.Bd3!?… seems to give White a decent edge. It prevents Black’s 13… Nd7 as the f-pawn is hanging. Best for Black, if he wants to get his Knight to d7,  seems  to be… 13… Rf8 14.Qd2… When White will try to trade Queens and grab the e-file… or 13… g6  14.Re1 Re5 15.Rxe5 dxe 16.Be3 Nd7 17.Nh3 Qf6  gives White a nice advantage due to the two Bishops and a passed pawn.

Position after 13.g4!?

After the move in the game, things get messy and Black seems to always have a way to draw due to his very nice pseudo-sacrifice  13… Ng3! 14.hxg Qxg3+ 15.Kh1 f4 Black must play this move to gain a perpetual check threat.  16.Ne4 Rxe4 17.Qe1!… the only move to prevent the perpetual.

Position after 17.Qe1!

Fritz likes keeping the Queens on for Black by 17… Qh3+ 18.Kg1 Re8 giving White a smaller plus than in the game.  IM Ippolito likes his drawing chances in the endgame although it must be said that White’s two Bishops and better development seems a daunting obstacle to that end.

17. Qe1 Re8 18. Qxg3 fxg3 19. Re1 Nd7 20. Kg2 Ne5 21. Bf4 Bd7 22. Kxg3 Re7 23. Bg5 Ree8 24. Bf4 Re7 25. Bg5 Ree8

Black has been offering a repetition and draw.  White can now settle for the gain of a simple tempo and play 26.Bd2!?… threatening 27.f4… and a similar type game.  However, things seem to work out well for White after…

26. Bf4 Re7 27. Bf1 Rae8 28. Bg5 Rf7 29. f4 Ng6

Position after 29…Ng6

White has a choice of two similar moves.  He can exchange Rooks first or, as in the game, play 30.Bd3… It seems strange that White has more space, the two Bishops and a large advantage (according to Fritz and most observers) but, I can find no clear win.  And most of the time the draw seems to be a result of the doubled pawns.  If first,
30.Rxe8 Bxe8 31.Bd3 Bd7 32.Rb1 b6 33.Re1 Kf8 34.Re2 Bc8 35.Rh2 Kg8 and White just can’t seem to break in since he has no pawn wedge on the Queenside due to the doubled pawns… frustrating…

30. Bd3 Ne7 31. f5 h5 32. Re6 hxg4 33. Kxg4 g6

Another critical and frustrating position.

Position after 33…g6

Here Black seems to be coming out on top… but, Fritz, the unafraid beasty that he is, suggests calmly winning a pawn.  34.Rxd6! Nxf5 35.Rxg6+ Kf8 36.Rh1… and now this looks very dangerous for Black… but continuing…  36…Bf5! 37.Bxf7 Kxf7 38.Rh6… and White is a pawn up.  But, the bishops of opposite color and the now infamous doubled pawns make things drawish… such a shame.

Denys missed this variation and got into trouble after…

34.f6 Nc6! Such a wonderful move especially when your opponent is in a bit of time trouble.  White is worse and Black is probably winning… but not easily…after  35.Kg3! Bxe6 36.Bxg6! Ne5  37.dxe6 Rxe6 38.Bxf7 Nxf7 39.Kf4 Nxg5  40.Kxg5 Kf7 41.Rh1 Rxf6!  42.Rh7+ Ke6 43.Rxb7 Rf3 44.Rxa7 Rxc3 45.Ra4 Ke5 and Black is on top.

35. Bxg6 Ne5+ 36. Kh5 Bxe6 37. dxe6 Rxe6 38. Bxf7+ Kxf7

and White resigned on move 45.  Tough game for both sides…  Boston (1-2)  All that’s left is the moral… let’s settle for…

“A Chess game is divided into three stages:  the first, when you hope you have the advantage, the second when you believe you have an advantage, and the third… when you know you’re going to lose!” – Savielly Tartakower

I think Denys might go along with this sentiment.

Yet, our final finisher, perhaps, had an even tougher struggle.  Charles was Black and his struggle was to equalize and in achieving that and more he finally seemed to push a little too hard.

NM McKenzie Molner  vs  NM Charles Riordan  –  Board 3

“The best-laid schemes o’ mce an ‘men Gang aft agley” – Robert Burns

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Re1 d6 7. a4 Na5 8. Ba2 c5

All according to plan… and we can prove it… we have pictures.  At this point, Charles expected 9.Nc3…  Instead, NM Molner played 9.c3… but, is still, I think, within Charles preparation.  Black now plays well and soon gets an advantage after…

9… Nc6 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Rb1 a6 13. Nf1 Qd7 14. Ng3 b5 15. axb5 axb5 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 cxd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Qxd4…

It seems that Black has grabbed an advantage here.

Position after 19.Qxd4

During the game I felt that 19… Ng4 was the move.  For example, moves like 20.f3… or 20.f4… are just too weakening of the f2-a7 diagonal and give Black plenty of tactics.  For example, 20.f4 Ra6 21.Kh1 Bd8 22.h3 Bb6  23.Qd2 Bf7 and Black wins an exchange.  Also, 20.h3… fails to  20… Ra4 21.b4 Bf6 22.Qd2 Ne5 and Black’s Knight will occupy the excellent outpost on c4.

After the game move… 19.Ra4… White stops the Knight invasion with  20.Qd1… and Black is only slightly better.  20… d5?! I didn’t like this during the game.  The game is now dead equal.  Maybe 20… Bd8 or …Qa7 to allow the Knight to relocate.

21. b3 Ra2 22. e5 Ne8 Fritz liked 22… Bc5?! Giving up two pieces for two pawns and a Rook after  23.exf Bxf2+ 24.Kh1 Bxe1 25.Qxe1 Rxf6.   Black has two passed pawns in the center of the board but, he is a long way from the endgame.  I can’t say I can recommend this as better that what Charles played.

22. e5 Ne8 23. Be3 g6 24. Re2 Rxe2 25. Qxe2 Ng7 26. Ra1 Rc8 27. Ra7 Rc7 28. Ra8+ Bf8 29. h4… Obviously, White is not expecting an endgame or he would not put a pawn where the Knight might attack it… maybe h3… was better.  In any case, White has an initiative.  29… Qc6 30. Qa2 Rc8 31… Qc3 immediately, attacking the e-pawn and preventing a defense by f4… was better and might force a trade of Queens when the game will be even.

31. Ra6… 31.Rxc8 Qxc8 32.Qd2… was better 31… Qc3 32. Ra8 Rxa8 33. Qxa8 Qxe5 34. Bc5 Qf4 35. Ne2 Qf7 36. Nd4 Ne8 37. Bxf8 Kxf8 38. Nxb5 Qd7 The game is equal but White has better mobility… meaning Black’s moves are a bit harder.

39. Qb8 Ke7 40. Nd4 Qc7 41. Qb4+ Nd6 42. Qe1 Qd7 43. Qe5 Nf7 44. Qg7 e5 45. Nf3 Qf5? A mistake. White can win after 46.Ng5! Qb1+ 47.Kh2 Qf5 48.f3… to stop the perpetual and White will win either the e-pawn or h-pawn and trade pieces as well.

46.Qxh7? Ke6? 46… Kf6 47.Qg8… and equality is much easier for Black.

47. Qg8 Kf6 48. Qf8 Qb1+ 49. Kh2 Qxb3 50. Nxe5… 50.Ng5 Qb7 51.Nh7+ Kf5 52. Qg7 Qe7 53.Ng5… wins a piece and the game.  50… Kxe5 51. Qxf7 Qc2 White has won a pawn, but Queens are on the board and all the pawns are on the same side.  Fritz suggests 51… Qd3 and the King hangs around e6 and f6 and waits.  It’s a difficult win if it is there.

As time got low, Black blundered his Queen on move 62.  Boston (1-3)  We had our chances in this game and on board two.  It just wasn’t our day.  I guess it’s true…

“The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake” – Savielly Tartakover

Hey, this Tartakover was quite the sophist… we could use a guy like him.

Needless to say, the teams mood was dour.   We needed something to cheer us… to make the team feel better… I’m no Tartakover but… how about…

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

No,  that won’t do… too philosophical… we need something practical… I think the following will do fine…

“If you want to forget all your other troubles, wear too tight shoes.” – The Houghton Line, November 1965