AN EXCITING GAME BETWEEN GM EUGENE TORRE VS. NM REGGIE OLAY

( Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr and IM Candidate Reggie Olay doing the ceremonial moves ushering the start of the classic chess match between the Davao Young Stars vs. the Davao Experienced Stars held recently in Davao City. Looking on are some of Davao's finest chessplayers and stakeholders)


Considering that today is the birthday of my good friend NM and IM Candidate Edgar Reggie Olay, allow me to pay tribute to him by featuring his epic battle against the Philippines living legend GM Eugene Torre. The game was played during the 2001 Philippine National Championships held in Quezon City. The game started as a quiet Sicilian Defense sideline but became tactical and complicated during the ensuing middle game. The result was a shocker and unexpected.

Enjoy the game! .


[Event "ch-PHI"]
[Site "Quezon City PHI"]
[Date "2001.04.09"]
[EventDate "2001.04.02"]
[Round "8"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[White "Eugenio Torre"]
[Black "Edgar Reggie Olay"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "136"]

SICILIAN DEFENSE

Annotations by Caissa's Father


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Be2 g6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Bb5+



GM Torre's pet line in the Sicilian. In his book " Beating the
Anti-Sicilians " GM Joe Gallagher has this to say:

" This original move is a specialty of the Filipino grandmaster Torre.
Basically White wants to play d4, but if he continues in normal fashion
with 6 Re1 this will be almost impossible to carry out. The check on
b5 helps him to implement this advance as each of Black's replies
lessens the pressure on d4.

I believe that I became the first victim of this line in the game
Torre- Gallagher, St. John 1988. I was so taken aback by this check
that I conducted the rest of the game in a very miserable manner.
Firstly, I chose 6...Nc6, the weakest of the three plausible ways
to escape the check. Play then continued 7. d4 cxd4 8. cxd4 0-0
9. Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd7 11. Be2 e5 12. d5 Bxf3 13. dxc6! Bxe2
14. Nxe2 Nf6 15. cxb7 Rb8 16. Nc3 with a clear advantage to White
( 1-0 after 32 moves ).

Now lets go back to the game.

6... Nbd7 7. Re1 O-O 8. d4 a6 9. Bf1 Qc7 10. h3 e6



This is a new move. In the game Toomanian, H vs. Ghaem Maghami,
Iranian Championships, 1998, Black continued with 10... cxd4
11.cxd4 b5 12. e5 Nd5 13. a4 bxa4 14. exd6 exd6 15. Ra3 N7b6
16. Nc3 Bd7 (0-1, 35 moves ). Fritz also prefers the move
10...cxd4


11. Bf4 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Nxf6
15. a4 Be6 16. a5 Rfd8 17. Qc2 Ne8 18. c4 Nd6 19. Nfd2 f5
20. Nc3 Rf8 21. Nd5 Qf7 22. Bd3 Rac8 23. Nb6 Rc6 24. Ra3 Kh8
25. Re2 f4?!



Releasing the tension too early. The position is akin to the King's
Indian classical line but here black's pawn storm is not that
effective as the light squares can be controlled by White's bishop
and queen. He should have just consolidated his position by 25...Rc7
and just wait for a favorable time to move his f pawn.

26. Re1 g5 27. Be2 Rg8 28. Qd1 Bf6 29. Nd5 Bd8
30. Bh5 Qg7 31. Qe2 Ne8 32. Rea1 Nd6 33. Rb3 Bf7 34. Rd3 Qf8
35. b4 Qe8 36. Bxf7 Nxf7 37. Qh5?!



Slowly by slowly and through adept maneuvering, GM Torre has
achieved a small but lasting advantage. However, his last move
was a waste of tempo. Best is the immediate 37. bxc5 Rxc5 38. Rb1
with decisive advantage as White' queenside attack crashes
through while Black's kingside attack has not yet taken off.

37...Rcg6?

Black could have swung the tide in his favor by 37... g4!
38.hxg4 Rg5 39. Qh1 cxb4 40.Nxb4 Rcg6! with counter-play.

38. bxc5 Qc6 39. Nb3 R8g7 40. Kf1 Kh7 41. Qg4 Kh8
42. Nb4 Qe8 43. Ke2 Qf8 44. Rd5 f3+ 45. gxf3 Rf6 46. Nd3 Be7
47. Rd7 Nd8 48. Rd1 Qe8 49. Nxe5 Rf4 50. Qg3 Ne6 51. Rxb7 Qa4



52. Ra1?

Moving the wrong rook. 52.Rb8+! Kh7 53. Ra1 and Black's queen
is trapped. After being given a new lease in life, Olay now
started to fight back.

52...Qe8 53. Nd3 Bf6!? 54. Rxg7 Bxg7 55. Rb1 Qa4
56. Nd2 Qc2 57. Rc1?

58. Rb8+ Kh7 59.Rb7 is the only way for White to hold on to the
advantage but the win is already problematic.

57... Qa2 58. c6 Nd4+ 59. Ke1?

59. Ke3 is the only move to stay in the game.

59... Qa3!



A reversal of fortune. Now it is black who is winning!

60. Nb3 Qxb3 61. Nxf4 Qb2?

61... gxf4! would have been an easy win.

62. Ng6+ Kh7 63. Kf1 Qxc1+ 64. Kg2 Ne2 65. Qh2 Kxg6
66. c7



66...Be5?

Olay was probably expecting White to resign after this move as
the bishop cannot be taken due to the obvious Qg1+ mate. Correct
was 66... Qxc4 Qd6+ 67. Kh7 68. Qd7 Nf4 69. Kh2 Qf1! 70.Qf5+ Ng6
71. c8Q Be5! and Black wins.

67. c8=Q!

Unexpectedly, this move saves the game for White. As the saying
goes, " The game ain't over until its over".

67... Bxh2 68. Qe6+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

Draw agreed as Black cannot avoid perpetual check.


Final position.

Replay the exciting game below

GM DARWIN LAYLO'S BEST GAME AT THE 2011 AEROFLOT OPEN B

( Photo from pinoychess.informe.com)


Here is GM Laylo's crucial last round win against GM Gavrilov that
enabled him to tie for 1st at the 2011 Aeroflot Open B


[Event "Aeroflot Open 2011 B"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2011.2.16"]
[Round "9"]
[White "GM Laylo, Darwin"]
[Black "GM Gavrilov, Alexei"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2516"]
[BlackELO "2484"]


KING'S INDIAN DEFENSE

Annotations by Caissa's Father


1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6

7. O-O Bf5




The move 7... Bf5 is known as the Lesser Simagin variation of the
King's Indian Defense Fianchetto System. Black-s strategic plan is
similar to that of Panno's variation, but he hopes to profit from
his omission of ...a6 and the insertion of the developing move...
Bf5. GM Raymond Keene, in his Book " The Complete King's Indian "
has the following comments about Black-s set-up:

" A provocative sortie which is not often played, although it is
something of a speciality of the Dutch GM Jeroen Piket. Black
positively invites White to gain space and time by attacking the
bishop but hopes that in the process White will over-reach himself.


8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c6 10. e4 Bg4 11. Qa4 cxd5 12. cxd5 Bd7

13. Qb4 Qc7




In the game Jasnikowski, 2460 vs. Malisauskas, 2570- Katowise Fibak
Open 1993, Black opted to exchange queens by 13... Ob6 14.Qb6 axb4
15. a4 Rfc8 and went on to win the ending in 59 moves. Fritz instead
suggest 13... Ng4 so that Black's knight and dark bishop can add
pressure to the queenside supported by a later ... Rc8.


14. e5 Ne8 15. e6!?




This daring move played a crucial part in the outcome of this game.
The drawback is that the e6 pawn would be over extended and can be
subject to attack by black's other pieces. More prudent is 15.f4
Bf5 then 16. Nf3 whereby White completes his development while
maintaining his Kingside pressure.


fxe6 16. Bh3 Nf6 17. dxe6 Bc6 18. Nde4 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Qb6 20. Qe1




White cannot afford to exchange queens as he has yet to complete
his development and while Black's 2 bishops are ideally placed.
White's last move it seems was a blunder as White's rook at f1
has nowhere to go after 20... Bb5. Black must have been smiling
at this position but White is cooking something...


20...Bb5 21. Be3 Qd8 22. Ng5 Bxf1 23. Qxf1 Nc6 24. Bg4 Ne5

25. Qh3 h6 26. Nf7




From nowhere, White has suddenly whip-up a kingside attack.


26...Nxf7?

26... Qa5 is th only way to maintain the initative and parry White's
threat. Then if 27. Bxh6 Nxg4 28. Qxg4 Qf5! However, this move is
difficult to find over the board.


27. exf7+ Kh7?

Best for Black is to return the exchange by 27... Rxh7 28. Be6 Qf8
and the game will probably end in a draw. It seems that Black is
still playing for a win without realizing the precarious position of
his king.


28. Be6 Qa5 29. Rc1?!

White falters. Best is 29. f4! with a further f5 on sight in order
to further weaken Black's kingside.


29... d5?

The only move to regain the intiative is 29... Qe5! followed by
Rad8 and the eventual push d5. The queen is centralized and can
help defend Black's Kingside.


30. Rd1 Rad8?




The final blunder. 30... Qxa2! 31. Rd4 Qb1+ 32. Kg2 h5
33. Rh4 Bh6 34. Rxh5 Qe4+ 35. Kg1 Qb1 +36. Kg2 Qe4 + with
perpetual check. How would now White proceed with his attack?


31. Rd4!




Probably Black overlooked this move. The rook cannot be taken by the
bishop because of Qxh6 mate.


Rd6 32. Rh4 g5 33. Qf5+ Kh8 34. Rxh6+! Bxh6 35. Bd4+




Black resigns. 1-0

Nice attacking game by GM Laylo.

IM RICHARD BITOON'S BEST GAME AT THE 2011 AEROFLOT B

( photo from pinoychess.informe.com )


IM Richard Bitoon scored 5.5 points in 9 rounds in the 2011 Aeroflot
B held in Moscow, Russia just recently. Although his score was not
enough for a GM norm, his 8th round win against GM Mikhail Ulibin
of Russia was something to cheer about. The Russian GM was the
second seed of his group with a 2547 rating. Below is their game.


[Event "Aeroflot Open 2011 B"]
[Site "Moscow, Russia"]
[Date "2011.2.15"]
[Round "8"]
[White "IM Bitoon, Richard"]
[Black "GM Ulibin, Mikhail"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "2461"]
[BlackELO "2547"]


SICILIAN DEFENSE
ENGLISH ATTACK
( Annotations by Caissa's Father )


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Be3



This is the starting position of the English Attack. IM Steffen
Pedersen, in his book " Easy Guide to the Sicilian Scheveningen ",
has this to say:

The English Attack is a modern way of combating the Najdorf and
Scheveningen. The English Attack is characterized by White's set-
up with f3, Qd2 and 0-0-0 followed by advancing the g-pawn. This
plan can be extremely dangerous and Black must be careful not to
neglect his development.


6... Be7 7.g4 h6



IM Pedersen:

Black's most popular plan is to slow down White's kingside
advance with ...h6, followed by...Bb7 and ...d5. White must
then open up the kingside as quickly as possible.

In practice this has been Black's most popular option, but
as remarked above kingside castling is hardly feasible since
White can quickly break through with h4 and g5, and as the
queenside is quite airy, the king must therefore stay in the
centre.


8.Rg1 a6 9. Qd2 b5 10. Bd3 g5?!



This move unduly weakens Black's kingside. Instead, Fritz 10
suggest 10... Bb7 11. h4 b4 12. Nce2 Qa5 13. Nb3 Qc7 14. 0-0-0
Nbd7 15. Qxb4 Ne5 with counter-play.


11. O-O-O Nfd7 12. Kb1 Ne5 13. h4 Bb7 14. hxg5 hxg5 15. Rh1 Rg8


16. f3 Nbd7 17. Rh7


The game GM Renet, O (2515) vs. GM Ribli, Z (2605) Clermont
Ferrand 1989 continued 17. Of2 Rc8 18. Rd2 Nc5 19.a3 Nexd3
20. cxd3 Bf6 21.Rdd1 Qa5 1/2-1/2


17... Qa5?!



[17...Nf6 18. Rh3 b4 19. Nce2 d5 20. Bxg5 dxe4 21. Bxf6 Bxf6
22.fxe4 Qb6 23. Nf3 Rxg4 24. Nxe5 Bxe5 Aaberg, A (2383) vs.
Eriksson, J (2414), Sweden Championships, 1/2- 1/2 in 42 moves]


This move started Black's downfall. Instead, Black could have
organized his counter-play with 17...b4 18. Nce2 d5! as suggested
by Fritz


18. a3!


Preventing b4. An interesting alternative is 18. Nxe6! and then
if 18... fxe6? 19. Rxe7! Kxe7 20. Nd5 ch.! and Black's queen
falls.


18... Bf6?!


Another dubious move. The bishop is needed in e7 to protect Black's
d6 pawn. Black's best move it seems, is 18... Oc7 followed by Nb6.


19. Be2 Qd8??



Black's only way of prolonging resistance is by castling queenside
although in that line White would still maintain a big advantage.
With this blunder, IM Bitoon quickly finished the game in style..


20. Nxe6! fxe6 21. Qxd6 Be7 22. Qxe6 Rf8 23. Bb6!



Final position.

Black resigns. 1-0

Replay the game below.

U.M VARSITY ALUMNI NIPS ATENEO DE DAVAO VARSITY ALUMNI 5-4 IN REUNION CHESS MATCH

[Engr. Napoleon Recososa (with eye glass) pondering his move against Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr. Also in photo is Chris Yap vs. Alfred Moulic and James Infiesto vs. Nofre Reyes].


True to form, the reunion chess match of the University of Mindanao (U.M) Maroons Varsity Alumni and their counterpart the Ateneo de Davao Blue Knights Varsity Alumni held on February 5, 2011 at Atty. Jong Guevarra's rest house at Eden, Bayabas, Toril, Davao City was an exciting and down the wire battle. U.M won by the slightest of margin 5-4. Both teams were prepared for war of the 64 squares board and the winner of the match was not decided until the last game was finished.





The first round was a stand still with both teams scoring 1.5 points each. James Infiesto scored for Ateneo by winning against Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr. while Alfred Moulic delivered for U.M by downing Engr. Napoleon Recososa. The game between Chris Yap and Nofre Reyes ended in a draw.





Ateneo crushed through in the second round 2-1 with James Infiesto and Chris Yap delivering the crucial wins. With their back against the wall, the U.M Maroons mounted a comeback in the 3rd round. Nofre Reyes held James Infiesto to a draw while Alfred Moulic and Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr. delivered the crucial points winning the 3rd round 2.5-.5, thereby enabling their team to win the match 5-4.





James Infiesto was the individual top performer with 2.5 points in 3 games. While Nofre Reyes and Alfred Moulic scored 2 points each for U.M. Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr. scored only 1 point but his win against Engr. Napoleon Recososa via time porfeit in the last remaining game enabled U.M to win the match.





The intial staging was a huge success thus both teams agreed to hold a much bigger and more exciting second edition.

ATTY MELZAR GALICIA WINS 2011 IBP DAVAO CHESS TOURNEY

( From left: IBP representative, Arbiter NM Sammy Yu,3rd placer Prosecutor Marte Velasco, champion Atty Melzar Galicia, 2nd placer Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr. and 4th placer Atty. Tumanda of the DCWD).


Atty Melzar Galicia won the chess event in the ongoing 2011 Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Davao Palaro held recently at the IBP Lounge, Ecoland, Davao City. Atty Galicia and 2nd placer Atty. Jong Guevarra Jr. both scored 3 points in 4 rounds but Galicia was declared the champion as he defeated Guevarra in their individual encounter. Third place went to Prosecutor Marte Velasco while 4th place went to Atty. Tumanda of DCWD. 5th placer was Atty. Alejandeo Cobol.

The winners received eureka chess sets courtesy of IBP Davao chapter.