INHOUDSOPGAVE:
Voor alle vragen over EUWE-ONLINE, zoals wat betekent $5 en wat is PGN:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~wimnij/euwe/euwe.htm
Oude Nummers (EN laatste standen): http://www.xs4all.nl/~mverhoef/euwe/
--------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL EDITION FROM THAILAND
Bericht uit Thailand. Ron Hoffman
----------------------------------------------------
Bericht uit Thailand
Diegenen die denken dat de heer Hoffman, zich bevindend in Thailand,
uitsluitend lui achterover leunt, een cola light nuttigt, zonnebril draagt
en achter allerlei beeldschone Thaise mannen aanzit, hebben het mis, zeker
wat betreft de eerste drie punten; integendeel, ik heb mij wederom de
strenge tucht onderworpen. Een flink gedeelte van de dag ben ik vlijtig aan
het schaakwerk met software, onder andere de 5 stappen methode van van
Wijgerden al eens helemaal doorgenomen, en allerlei serieuze lectuur,
bijvoorbeeld Attacking Technique van Colin Crouch. Dat niet alleen, ik ben
inmiddels ook regelmatig bezoeker van de Bangkok Chess Club, iedere
vrijdagavond. Er wordt vooral gevluggert, meestal 5 minuten per partij, de
derde vrjdag van de maand is het Rapid, 15 minuten per partij. De sfeer is
zeer plezierig, de bezoekers zijn merendeel farang (Thais voor
buitenlander) maar gelukkig zijn er ook Thais die komen spelen. Het was
grappig om te bemerken dat ons handenschudden zeker niet universeel is;
Thais onderling beginnen de partij met een waai; twee handen voor de borst,
handpalmen tegen elkaar en hoofdknikken, zeker geen eenvoudige beweging om
uit te voeren want de hoek en de hoogte van de handen zijn afhankelijk van
de wederzijdse leeftijd. Mooie beweging vind ik. Ook geen handenschudden
aan het eind van de partij; meestal hoofdknikken, bij het vluggeren vaak
hard lachen.
Ook heb ik inmiddels meegedaan aan de 1st Bangkok Chess Club Open, gespeeld
in Pattaya, waarvan hierbij een verslag.
De oplettende lezer zal het opvallen dat mijn annotaties in het Engels
geschreven zijn, dat heb ik gedaan omdat dit verslag wellicht ook op de
Bangkok Chess Club site (gemakkelijk te vinden op internet) gepubliceerd
zal worden.
Ron Hoffman
---------------------------------------------------------
[Event "Pattaya (1)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "B. Bell"]
[Black "R. Hoffman"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A49"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2002.12.09"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
{After I had booked my flight to Thailand I discovered that the first
Bangkok Chess Club Open would take place during my stay. Being my very
first tournament in Asia I did not at all know what to expect but I decided
to take part anyway. Naturally, not having brought any opening books
with me, my opening preparation left much to be desired. After having
played 1.c4 for a few years and a short fling with the Trompovsky (1. d4
followed by Bg5) my recently taken up first move, 1. e4, is still very much
in a state of embryonic development. In order to compensate for this and
also in case the tournament would turn out a complete disaster for me I had
brought along Alain de Botton's The Consolations of Philosophy. (I did
not open the book during the tournament, but read it in the days after. It
might be said that chess in itself is a consolation but -I hasten to add-
it is a very unreliable one, very often capable of torture, thus, happily,
leaving much time and ample opportunity for needful philosophical
consolations.) The reader might be forgiven to think that the first
Bangkok Chess Club Open would take place in Bangkok, but not so, it took
place in Pattaya. The first move was the journey from Bangkok to Pattaya
in a touring-bus. An exhilarating journey with quite a few bumps and
pitfalls avoided at the very last moment, but as the Lonely Planet
guide-book puts it; "as long as you've got the proper Buddhist altar on the
dashboard, what could happen?" The bus driver seemed of the same opinion,
so, after some furious driving indeed we crash-landed in Pattaya. The
tournament would turn out to be very well organised, splendidly situated in
the Amari resort. Having come to play chess, I myself did not partake much
of Pattaya's night-life. I had only a few brief outings on the beach in
which indeed I was sollicited by screaming women (who soon gave up on me)
and beautiful boys (who did not give up on me so soon -and almost made me
waver in my firm resolve).} 1. d4 1... Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O
5. O-O d6 6. c3 Nbd7 7. Nbd2 e5 8. e4 b6 9. b4 Bb7 10. Qc2 Re8 11. d5
{Diagram } 11... Nh5 $2 {Going for the usual KID counter-play; heading for
f5 and hope for some king-side chances with f5-f4.} ({Better would have
been} 11... c6 12. dxc6 12... Bxc6 {and Black is fine.}) 12. Nb3 Rf8 13.
Be3 h6 14. Rad1 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. c4 f4 17. Bc1 17... Kh8 $2 ({During
the game and also afterwards I had the feeling that I had missed some good
chances around here. Having played f5 and f4 Black should be better at
least a bit, I thought. Such are the delusions of a KID-player who has
managed to squeeze in f5-f4 with seeming impunity! Having analysed this
game for some time I have to modify this; White has the advantage here.
Black's king-side chances are largely imaginary, whereas White is firmly in
control of e4, and his play on the queenside well under way. Black may
indeed have accomplished f5 and f4 but should not forget that the white
squares around his King are rather weakened by the advance of his pawns.
Square g6 in particular looks like a really nice square for a white Knight
or Queen. Also; any advance of the black pawns will create weaknesses,
after e5-e4 White will have square d4, and, as played, White has e4.
The move I felt would have given Black some advantage would be} 17... a5
{expecting something like} 18. bxa5 bxa5 19. a4 19... Nb6 {followed by a
quick Bc8 and Bf5. Whatever the assessment of this particular position,
White has a much better move after}) (17... a5 {as pointed out by Fritz:}
18. Bh3 $1 {This move makes excellent use of the weakened squares around
Black's King. White follows up with Be6, Nh4 and has a big advantage.}) 18.
c5 Ndf6 (18... fxg3 19. fxg3 bxc5 20. bxc5 20... Ba6 $16) 19. Nh4 Kg8 20.
Ng6 fxg3 21. fxg3 ({ I played 20 ... fg3 quite confidently; trusting in the
usual sort ofcompensatio n for the exchange after} 21. Nxf8 21... gxh2+ 22.
Kxh2 22... Qxf8 { but actually, after} 23. Qg6 {(a move which I had not
noticed during the game) Black is struggling to find a move!} { Maybe
Black's best chance for survival would be} 23... Qf7 24. Qxf7+ Kxf7 25. c6
Ba6 26. Rh1 Be2 27. Rde1 27... Bc4 {White is better here but his advantage
may not be enough for a win; the pawn on d5 is quite weak, Bishop g2 is not
very active, and as long as Black can manage to keep the position closed
his Knights will be quite nice.}) 21... Re8 22. Qc4 $1 {Fist I thought that
with this move White is allowing Black some counter-play. But actually, it
is a winning move!} ({White is also much better after} 22. c6 22... Ba6 23.
Rfe1 23... Bc8 $16) ({Another good move for White is} 22. Nh4 {The idea is
to play Qg6 or Nf5. I had rather underestimated this plan, thinking that
Bc8 would be ok. But after Bc8 White is already winning with Qg6!} 22... e4
{ Seems to be the only move that allows Black to put up some sort of a
fight.} 23. Nf5 23... Ba6 $14) 22... bxc5 {Diagram } 23. bxc5 { Here White
misses a win.} ({Fritz comes up with the tactical shot} 23. Nxc5 $1 23...
dxc5 24. d6+ Kh7 25. Bxb7 Rb8 26. Bc6 cxd6 27. bxc5 d5 28. Qc2 e4 29. Bxe8
Qxe8 30. Nh4 $18) 23... a5 24. Qc2 (24. Qa4) 24... a4 25. Nd2 25... Ra5 $6
{Going for the jugular.} ({During the game I thought that to take on d5
would be quite ok but being short on time did not want to think too long
checking whether White did not have some nasty threats with Ne4 and Qc4.}
25... Bxd5 26. Bxd5+ Nxd5 27. Qc4 c6 28. Ne4 dxc5 29. Nxc5 29... Nhf6
{seems OK for Black.}) ( {Another try for Black,} 25... Ba6 26. Rfe1 26...
Bc8 { is still better for Whitye.}) 26. Ne4 Ba6 (26... Nxe4 27. Qxe4 Rxc5
28. Qxa4 Nf6 29. Be3 $16) 27. Rf5 27... Bc8 {Here I decided to head for a
repetition of moves, I had about 4 minutes left, White still had 25
minutes.} 28. Rff1 ({ As expected, White goes for the draw. If I would have
had the white pieces I would have gonefor} 28. Rdf1 28... Bxf5 29. Rxf5
Nxe4 30. Qxe4 Nf6 31. Qh4 Rxc5 32. Bxh6 Nxd5 33. Bg5 {Diagram Black might
be able to defend this position but not when he has only 3 minutes left.})
28... Ba6 (28... Nxe4 29. Qxe4 Rxc5 30. Qxa4 Bd7 31. Qe4 Nf6 32. Qb4 $11
({Not} 32. Qh4 32... Ra5 $1 $15 { the idea is that after} 33. Bxh6 {Black
has} 33... Ra4)) 29. Rf5 Bc8 30. Rff1 30... Ba6 {A lucky escape!} 1/2-1/2
[Event "Pattaya (2)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "R. Hoffman"]
[Black "Yolyenk Hephuch"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B85"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Qc7 8.
a4 Nc6 9. Be3 Be7 10. f4 O-O 11. Qd2 Re8 12. Kh1 Bd7 13. Nb3 b6 14. Bf3
Rab8 15. g4 Bc8 16. Qg2 Na5 17. Nd4 Nc4 18. Bc1 Bb7 19. g5 Nd7 20. f5 (20.
b3 Ne3 21. Ncb5 $1) 20... exf5 { This move came to me as a very pleasant
surprise. I had expected} (20... e5 21. Nde2 {During the game I thought
that Black would be fine here, maybe even a bit better, but actually, White
is a bit better in this position! White has control over d5 (which will be
strengthened by his next move Rd1), a plan like h2-h4-h5 and g6 is
possible, whereas Black is not making any headway on the queen-side. So,
maybe ef5 is not such a bad move.}) 21. Nxf5 Nce5 22. Be3 Bf8 23. Nd5 Bxd5
24. exd5 Rbc8 25. c3 Qb7 ({Well, actually, this was NOT the move Black
played! He first played Qc4, let go of the Queen, giving me enough time to
write down the move, and then decided (probably after noticing the winning
reply Be2) to retrace his steps and then played the text move. What to do
in such a situation? First I indicated that the move Qc4 was already
played, but Black acted as if nothing was amiss, then I called the referee,
explained that the Black player had let go of the piece. However, Black
denied this! As I could not summon any witnesses and as Black kept on
lying, there was nothing to be done but resume the game and play on. But
of course this incident rather wracked my concentration for the rest of the
game. I am not sure what I would have done in my home country but I would
certainly have made much more problems for Black. } 25... Qc4 {would
indeed have been a rather poor move;} 26. Be2 Qc7 ({Even worse is} 26...
Nd3 27. Rad1 N7e5 28. Bd4) 27. Bxa6 $18) 26. Bd4 g6 27. Nh6+ Bxh6 28. gxh6
Qc7 29. Be2 Ra8 30. Rf4 Qd8 31. Raf1 Re7 32. h4 { Not a good idea, I had
quite simply overlooked the coming Black manoeuvre.} 32... Qf8 33. Qg5 f6
34. Bxe5 $6 { The start of a particularly absurd schwindel, which succeeds
and then fails ... } (34. Rxf6 Nxf6 35. Rxf6 Rf7 36. Re6 36... Rf5 $17)
(34. Qg3 Qxh6 35. Bg4 Nxg4 36. Qxg4 36... Rf8 $17) 34... dxe5 $4 { A quite
unbelievable blunder, maybe because of a very bad conscience?} (34... fxg5
35. Rxf8+ Nxf8 36. Bxd6 Rxe2) 35. d6 35... exf4 $4 { See my comment after
move 34.} 36. dxe7 fxg5 ({ I had the feeling that Black was on the point of
playing} 36... Qxe7 { which loses to} 37. Qd5+ { Such a pity! It would have
been so nice to win like this!}) 37. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 ({ Initially I thought
that the ending after} 37... Rxf8 { would have been a much better choice
for Black, but after} 38. hxg5 Nc5 39. Bc4+ Kh8 40. b3 Ne4 41. Re1 Nxc3 42.
Bxa6 {White is close to winning. The main difference is of course between
the two Kings; Black's KIng is cut off whereas White's King comes in handy
for stopping the black f-pawn.}) 38. hxg5 Ke7 39. Rxf4 {Unbelievably,the
position on the board now is what should be an easy win for White. However,
I had at this point only 4 minutes left ...} 39... Nc5 40. Bc4 Rf8 41. Rxf8
Kxf8 42. b4 {Of course, I knew this was not quite the best move but I was
hoping that I would somehow be able, in the very little time remaining, to
get rid of the pawns and be able to draw.} (42. b3 a5 (42... Ne4 43. Bxa6
Nxc3 44. Bc4 Ne4 45. b4 Ke7 46. a5 bxa5 47. bxa5 Kd6 48. a6 Kc7 49. a7 Kb7
50. Bd5+ $18) 43. Bd5) 42... Nxa4 43. Bxa6 43... Nxc3 { No, White will not
be able to exchange more pawns, g5 en h6 will fall.} 44. Bd3 Nd5 45. b5 Nf4
46. Bc4 Nh3 47. Kg2 Nxg5 48. Kg3 Nf7 49. Kf4 g5+ 50. Kg4 50... Ne5+ {What
can one say about a game like this? It seems that some players are quite
satisfied with winning in a completely dishonest way. Apparently, being
able to play against such people without losing one's composure, should
also be part of a player's arsenal.} 0-1
[Event "Pattaya (3)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.06"]
[Round "3"]
[White "G. Thaler"]
[Black "R. Hoffman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E61"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e3 {A very passive set-up.} 5...
c5 6. Ne2 d6 7. Nbc3 Nbd7 8. O-O Rb8 9. Re1 a6 10. a4 b6 11. Ra2 Bb7 12. d5
(12. Bxb7 12... Rxb7 {is also ok for Black but would have been perhaps more
in keeping with white's passive play.}) 12... Bc8 13. e4 Ne5 14. Bg5 $4 ({
White should have played} 14. b3 {Black then plays} 14... Bg4 { with an
equal position.}) 14... Nxc4 15. Nf4 h6 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nd3 $2 { Losing
another pawn.} 17... Nxb2 18. Nxb2 Bxc3 19. Re2 Bg4 20. f3 Bd7 21. Kh1 Bg7
22. Nd3 b5 23. a5 b4 24. e5 c4 25. exd6 cxd3 26. dxe7 dxe2 27. exf8=Q+ Qxf8
28. Rxe2 b3 29. f4 Bg4 0-1
[Event "Pattaya (4)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.06"]
[Round "4"]
[White "R. Hoffman"]
[Black "Hutzheimer"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B38"]
[PlyCount "39"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d6 5. c4 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 Bd7 8.
Be2 Nf6 9. O-O 9... h5 $6 {A rather dubious idea, Black will ultimately
have to castle and then his king-side will turn out to be weakened. Having
said this, I must add that personally I find it very difficult to play
against such set-ups.} 10. f3 a6 11. Qd2 Rc8 12. Rac1 Ne5 13. Nd5 e6 14.
Nxf6+ Bxf6 15. Rfd1 Be7 16. h3 Nc6 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. b3 ({Rather more
forceful is} 18. b4 $14) ({ I had planned to play} 18. Bf4 {but} 18... e5
19. Be3 19... f5 { seems ok for Black.}) 18... g5 $5 19. c5 19... dxc5 $4
{Up untill now Black had taken only 15 minutes for all of his moves. This
is all very well but you just cannot play like that; your lack of
concentration is bound to result in some very serious mistakes. This one
loses at once.} ({The only move is} 19... d5 {During the game I was rather
pessimistic about white's chances and felt that I should have played much
more forceful earlier on. However,} 20. exd5 exd5 (20... Bxd5 21. Bc4 $16)
{is still much better for White after} 21. Bc4 $16) 20. Qc3 1-0
[Event "Pattaya (5)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.07"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Thein Dan Oo"]
[Black "R. Hoffman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2541"]
[BlackElo "2084"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
{Obviously, I was rather taken aback when I saw that I was paired against
the highest-rated player of the tournament. Well, I thought, he is also
capable of having a very bad day, and maybe I am lucky in the opening. And
so it turned out, after the game the white player confided to me that he
had not been playing so much and was rather rusty. This, of course, did not
diminish my pleasure after the game! The reader should know that in
this tournament two games a day were played; one in the afternoon and one
-no, not in the evening- in the morning; first game of the day starting at
the ungodly early hour 9.00.} 1. Nf3 1... Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 {I have to
admit that I have never thought very highly of the Fianchetto-system
against the KID. Especially after White plays e4 the Bishop on g2 will
often turn out a mere spectator.} 3... Bg7 4. O-O O-O 5. d4 d6 6. c4 c6 7.
Nc3 7... Qa5 { The Kavalek-system is not popular today and hence not
well-known.} 8. e4 ({ After the tournament a blitz-tournament was held. Of
course, we met once more, and luckily enough for me, I had the Black pieces
again. White was very eager to get his revenge but it turned out that he
was still off-form:} 8. Bd2 8... Qh5 9. Re1 Bh3 10. Bh1 Nbd7 11. e4 e5 12.
d5 Nc5 13. b4 Nd3 14. Re3 Nxb4 15. Rb1 Na6 16. Rxb7 Nc5 17. Rc7 cxd5 18.
Nxd5 Nxd5 19. cxd5 f5 20. exf5 Rxf5 21. Qc2 Raf8 22. Qc3 Bg4 23. Rxc5 dxc5
24. d6 Bxf3 25. Bxf3 Rxf3 26. Rxf3 Qxf3 27. Qxf3 Rxf3 28. d7 28... Rd3 {and
I won in a few more moves, 0-1.}) 8... Bg4 ({ Also ok for Black is} 8...
e5) 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 $2 { A well-known mistake, now Black can
effectively attack White's centre.} 10... Nfd7 11. Be3 Qb4 12. Qe2 Nb6 13.
c5 dxc5 14. dxc5 Nc4 15. a3 Qb3 ({ Of course not} 15... Qxb2 16. Qxc4 Qxc3
17. Qxc3 Bxc3 18. Rab1) 16. Rab1 Rd8 17. Bg5 (17. Rfd1 Na6 18. Bf1 Rxd1 19.
Nxd1 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 Qxe3 21. Nxe3 21... Nxc5 {Should be winning for Black.})
17... Na6 $1 18. Bxe7 Rd2 19. Qf3 (19. Qe1 Rxb2 20. Rxb2 Qxb2 21. Nb1 Re8
22. Bd6 22... Bd4 $19) (19. Qg4 Rxb2 20. Rxb2 Qxb2 21. Nb1 Bd4 22. Qg5 Re8
23. Bd6 f6 24. Qc1 24... Bxf2+ $19) 19... Rxb2 20. Rxb2 Qxb2 21. Rb1 {One
last trick, which is easily avoided.} (21. Qd3 Ne5 22. Qe3 22... Qxa3 $19)
(21. Nd1 Qe5 22. Bd6 22... Nxd6 {I would have some difficulties exchanging
my wonderful Knight for the particularly useless Bishop but the position
after the exchange is won for Black.} 23. cxd6 23... Qxd6 $19) 21... Qxa3
(21... Qxc3 $4 22. Qxc3 Bxc3 23. Rc1 { is still better for Black but easily
winning as is the text-move.}) 22. Rxb7 Qxc3 ({Of course,} 22... Bxc3 {is
also winning, but I wanted to exchange Queens so as to deny White any
chances.}) 23. Qxc3 Bxc3 24. Rb3 ({ An easy technical win results from} 24.
Bf1 24... Na5 25. Bxa6 Nxb7 26. Bxb7 Re8 27. Bd6 Rxe4 28. Bxc6 Re1+ 29. Kg2
29... Bb4 $19) 24... Bb4 25. Bf1 { The Bishop enters the fray, after which
White will resign, the manouvre Bf1-g2-f1 has turned out less than
impressive.} 25... Nd2 0-1
[Event "Pattaya (6)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.07"]
[Round "6"]
[White "R. Hoffman"]
[Black "Kyi Thein"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2084"]
[BlackElo "2286"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Be3 Nbd7 5. Qd2 e5 6. h3 Be7 7. Nf3 Qc7 8.
a4 O-O 9. Be2 Re8 10. O-O Nf8 11. Rfd1 Ng6 12. a5 Bd7 13. Bc4 $1 13... Red8
({ One of the points of Bc4 was that} 13... Nxe4 14. Nxe4 d5 15. dxe5 15...
dxc4 $4 {would fail because of} 16. Qxd7) 14. Bb3 Be8 15. Qe2 h6 16. Qc4 {
Funnily enough I had forgotten that also after this move Ne4 is a threat!}
({ Another move to keep White's advantage is given by Fritz:} 16. d5 $14 {
A move I had not at all considered!}) 16... Qc8 ({ Rather intriguingly,
Black does not achieve equality after} 16... Nxe4 17. Nxe4 d5 18. Qd3 exd4
19. Qxd4 dxe4 20. Qxe4 Kh8 21. Rxd8 Qxd8 22. Qf5 $14) 17. dxe5 (17. d5 {is
still a bit better for White. I never considered this move!}) 17... dxe5
18. Bc5 Qc7 ({After} 18... Bxc5 19. Qxc5 Nd7 20. Qc4 b5 21. axb6 axb6 22.
Rxa8 Qxa8 23. Qd3 {White has the advantage.}) 19. Rxd8 Qxd8 20. Qb4 Bxc5
21. Qxc5 21... b6 $2 ({The move to lead to equality is} 21... Nd7 22. Qb4
b6 23. axb6 axb6 24. Rxa8 Qxa8 25. Qd6 Qa1+ 26. Kh2 Nf6 27. Nxe5 Nxe5 28.
Qxe5 28... Qxb2 $11) 22. axb6 axb6 23. Rxa8 Qxa8 24. Qxb6 Qa1+ 25. Kh2 Qf1
({ Maybe Black had planned to restore material equality by} 25... Qxb2 {
but this would have been met rather embarrassingly by} 26. Bxf7+) {Just as
I wa s about to decide to play Nd2 I thought that maybe some prophylactic
measures ("would it not be a good idea to take away some squares from Ng6")
would be in order here, and opted for the text-move which loses a pawn. It
is quite typical that after having played so cautiously White, having won a
pawn, all of a sudden relaxes, lets his guard down, and opts for a very bad
move.} 26. g3 $4 ({Winning for White should be} 26. Nd2 26... Qc1 (26...
Qe1 27. Nc4 $18) 27. Nc4 {However,actually winning this position would not
at all have been easy because here I had about half an hour left, whereas
my opponent had played much quicker, he still had about one hour.}) 26...
Bd7 27. Nd2 Qxh3+ 28. Kg1 28... h5 $6 { Returning the favour, but quite
legitimately so, White had much less time left. } 29. Qd8+ Be8 30. Nf3 Qg4
31. Nh2 Qg5 32. Nf3 Qc1+ 33. Kg2 h4 ({ Here I was frantically hoping for}
33... Qxb2 34. Ng5 Qxc3 (34... Nh8 { still defends.}) 35. Bxf7+ $18) 34.
Nxh4 Nxh4+ 35. gxh4 Qf4 (35... Qxb2 { is also ok for Black.}) 36. Ba4 Kh7
37. Qd3 Nh5 ({Obviously, after the normal} 37... Qxh4 38. Qh3 Qxh3+ 39.
Kxh3 {the position is equal and also with only 4 minutes left White can
hold this position. The text-move hands over the advantage to White (though
it is not that big an advantage because of the very weak square f4 and
White's pieces are not working together at all) but he simply did not have
time left to make use of this!}) 38. Qh3 g6 39. Ne2 $4 { Drastically ending
the game but White would have lost on time anyway.} 39... Qxe4+ 0-1
[Event "Pattaya (7)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.07"]
[Round "7"]
[White "T. Rinquest"]
[Black "R. Hoffman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E73"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[SourceDate "2002.12.09"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 Na6 7. f4 c6 8.
Qd2 Nc7 9. e5 $6 ({Rather questionable. After the game I could not find any
examples with this move, nor is it mentioned in the books I have.} 9. Nf3)
9... Nfe8 ({Another way of playing would be} 9... dxe5 10. fxe5 (10. dxe5
Nd7) 10... Nd7 11. Bh6 c5 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Nf3 cxd4 14. Qxd4 Ne6 15. Qe3
Qb6) 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. Qe3 Ne6 12. Rd1 (12. Bh4 dxe5 ({During the game I had
planned to play} 12... Bxf3 13. Bxf3 dxe5 14. dxe5 {and was still
pondering} {but this loses;} 14... Qd4 (14... Qc7 {is an improvement but
still a bit better for White.}) 15. Qxd4 Nxd4 16. Bxe7 Nc2+ 17. Kf2 Nxa1
18. Rxa1 f6 19. Bxf8 Kxf8 20. exf6 Bxf6 21. Rd1 $16) 13. dxe5 f6) 12...
Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Nxg5 14. fxg5 14... Qb6 $2 (14... dxe5 15. dxe5 Qc7 16. e6
16... Nd6 $1 {I had overlooked this move.} 17. exf7+ ( 17. b3 Nf5 18. exf7+
18... Kxf7 $1 19. Qc1 Qa5 20. Rd3 20... Rad8 $19) 17... Rxf7 $17) 15. c5 {I
have to admit that I had missed this move.} 15... dxc5 16. dxc5 Qb4 ({A
safe way to play would be} 16... Qc7 17. e6 17... Rd8 { but here Black does
not have any advantage.}) 17. Rd7 { Here I was kicking myself for messing
it up, it seems that Black is worse now.} (17. O-O Nc7 18. Rd7 18... Ne6 $1
19. Rxe7 Rfe8 20. Rxe8+ 20... Rxe8 $15) 17... Bh8 $3 {After thinking for 12
minutes (my longest think in this game) I managed to come up with this move
which seems to insure Black's advantage. It is wonderfully logical; Black's
worst placed piece is the Knight on e8, so how to activate it? Ah yes, of
course, Ng7-Nf5 or Ne6! It is interesting to note that White's pawns are so
weak that Black does not have to hurry to capture them. Bh8!! is the sort
of move I particularly like.} 18. O-O (18. Rxe7 Ng7 19. Rd7 Ne6 20. O-O
Qxc5 21. Re1 21... Bxe5 $17) 18... Ng7 19. Ne4 ({Also after } 19. Rfd1
19... Ne6 20. Rxe7 Rae8 21. Rxe8 Rxe8 22. Ne4 Qxb2 23. Nf6+ Bxf6 24. exf6
24... Qxa2 $15) 19... Qxb2 20. Qc3 (20. Qb3 Qxb3 21. axb3 Nf5 22. g4 Ne3
23. Re1 Nd5 24. Rxb7 Rfb8 25. Rxb8+ Rxb8 26. Nd2 26... Nb4 $15) 20... Qxc3
21. Nxc3 Ne6 22. Rxb7 ({During the game I thought that} 22. Ne4 { would be
a better chance for White. However, after} 22... Bxe5 23. Rxe7 Bd4+ 24. Kh1
{Black should play, as pointed out by White after the game, the neat} 24...
b6 $1 $17) 22... Bxe5 23. Ne4 Nxc5 ({Maybe more precise is} 23... Bd4+ { It
is not at all easy to determine which endings are only slightly better and
which ones are winning for Black. This is because of the presence
ofopposite-co loured Bishops and also because the white Rook on d7 is quite
active.}) 24. Rxe7 ({Would the ending after} 24. Nxc5 24... Bd4+ 25. Kh1
Bxc5 26. Bxc6 Rab8 27. Rfb1 Rxb7 28. Rxb7 f6 29. gxf6 Rxf6 30. Bd5+ Kg7 31.
g3 { have offered White more prospects? But in this ending as well, Black
is better. }) 24... Bd4+ 25. Kh1 Ne6 ({Fritz evaluates the ending after}
25... Nxe4 26. Bxe4 Rac8 27. Rd7 Bb6 28. Rc1 c5 29. h4 {as won for Black
but I think here White has more chances to draw than in the game.}) 26. Nd6
Bc5 27. Rd7 Rad8 28. Ne4 28... Bd4 $2 ({Missing a chance to win easily, the
ending after} 28... Rxd7 29. Nf6+ Kg7 30. Nxd7 Rc8 31. Nxc5 Nxc5 32. Rc1
Nd3 33. Rc3 Ne5 34. Be4 34... c5 {is won for Black.}) 29. Rxa7 $4 {A very
strange blunder, White was under the impression that Black had blundered!
Rather a pity, because the ending after} (29. Rb7 Rb8 30. Rfb1 Rxb7 31.
Rxb7 {is very interesting.} 31... a5 $1 { This is rather a difficult ending
to analyse because there are so few forcing lines. One example wouldbe} 32.
h4 Rd8 33. g3 Bg7 34. Ra7 Rd3 35. Bg4 Re3 36. Bxe6 fxe6 37. Nc5 37... Bc3
$17 { An evaluation like Black has good winning chances would seem to be in
order.}) 29... Bxa7 {The mere fact of this report proves that I did manage
to remain unscathed after some more furious driving on the way back to
Bangok. As a conclusion I can say that I liked to play in this tounament
very much, and very much hope that it will take place again next year.} 0-1
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groetjes,
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W.J. Nijenhuis || WWW : http://www.xs4all.nl/~wimnij/euwe/euwe.htm
wimnij@xs4all.nl || (Euwe-Online)
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