2008 Eastern Class Championship Tournament Report

Hey All, I played the Eastern Class Championship this weekend in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. I finished the tournament with 3/5, with all my games being decisive. It is pretty rare for me to have all my games be decisive in a 5 round tournament, usually I draw a couple along the way. There are a couple of good pictures of me and a tournament report by Elizabeth Vicary on the uschess.org website.

I headed down to Sturbridge on Friday afternoon. I left my condo in Manchester, NH at 3pm in an attempt to avoid rush hour and the snow! I told David Vigorito before I left that it’s been so long since the last time I played GM Alexander Ivanov.. Usually he plays a lot of these local tournaments, where playing him is almost inevitable. Anyways I told Dave that I wanted another shot at Alex, since I think that I am a lot better than I was a year ago when I played him last at the Eastern Classes… Be careful what you wish for, because in the first round I get paired with Ivanov! I was rated 2378 for this tournament, that goes to show you just how strong the open section was this year!

A funny story about the round 1 pairings was told to me later in the tournament by Chris Bird.. Apparently on the way to Sturbridge, Bill Goichberg and his wife were driving down the highway and all of the sudden the trunk on their station wagon opened up and their laptop went flying onto the highway! I guess it was dark out, and they were looking on the highway for it, but had no success in finding it. Since pairings without a computer are a real pain, they went to buy another laptop at the store. While they were in the store, someone stole the printer out of their car! So when they came out they discovered they had to go back inside and buy a printer! Just when they thought it couldn’t get worse, when they came back to the hotel and setup the laptop and printer, they found out the printer wouldn’t work because it wasn’t “Vista Compatible”. Chris Bird discovered why it wasn’t “Vista Compatible”, they had plugged the USB cord into the ethernet port! No wonder it wasn’t working! Bill still had to do the first round pairings by hand, but thanks to Chris, the rest of the tournament was done by the computer.

Bournival,Braden (2378) - Ivanov,Alexander (2625) [B27]
17th Eastern Class Champ. Sturbridge, MA (1), 29.02.2008
[Bournival,Braden]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 [3.c3!?] 3…Bg7 4.dxc5 Qa5+ 5.c3 [5.Nc3!? Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Qxc3+ 7.Bd2 Qxc5 8.Bd3 This is a speculative line, white may have some compensation but I don’t think quite enough.] 5…Qxc5 6.Be3 6…Qa5 [6…Qc7 Is the normal move, which I expected. 7.Bd4 Is the main line.] 7.Bd4? I played this without much thought, not undestanding the difference of the queen on a5. [7.Nbd2 Nf6 8.Nc4 Qc7 9.e5 Ng4 10.Bf4+/=;] 7…Bxd4! [7…Nf6 8.e5 Ng4 9.e6 0-0 10.exf7+ Rxf7 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.Be2+/=] 8.Qxd4 Nf6 9.e5 If I just develop normally, black has no problems, I figured during the game I must try to take advantage of the fact that black has yet to play d7-d6. [9.Nbd2 Nc6 10.Qe3 d6 Is just fine for black, and it will be hard for white to come up with a clear plan.] 9…Nc6 10.Qf4 g5!

After this move it is clear that black is the only one who can be better. [10…Nd5 11.Qd2+/=; 10…Nh5 11.Qe3 d6 12.exd6 0-0! I had seen this during the game and was afraid of it. 13.Nbd2 exd6 14.Nc4 Qc7 15.0-0-0 d5 Seems fine for black too.] 11.Qe3 [11.Nxg5 Nxe5!? (11…Qxe5+ 12.Qxe5 Nxe5 Is similiar to the game except we both have an extra set of minor pieces.) 12.Na3 Ng6 13.Qd2 Qe5+=/+; 11.Qxg5 Rg8 12.Qe3 (12.Qf4? Rg4!) 12…Ng4 13.Qe2 Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5=/+] 11…Ng4 12.Qxg5 Ngxe5 [12…Qb6 Admittedly I didn’t even see this possiblity during the game. 13.Qd2 (13.Qxg4 Qxb2 14.Qg7 Rf8 15.Bc4 Qc1+ (15…Qxa1? 16.0-0 Gives white a great attacking position.) 16.Ke2 Qxh1 17.Ng5 Qxh2 18.Bxf7+ Rxf7 19.Qxf7+ Kd8 20.Nf3 Qh1 21.Qf4 With an unclear position, but black should be better since his king is safer and it’s hard for white to develop his queenside.) 13…Ngxe5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Na3 d6 16.Nc4 Nxc4 17.Bxc4=] 13.Nxe5 [13.Nbd2 Nxf3+ 14.Nxf3 Qxg5 15.Nxg5 Rg8 Was a possiblity, my knight gets developed faster here but it’s unclear whether it’s better placed on the kingside than the queenside. This position just remains =.] 13…Qxe5+ 14.Qxe5 Nxe5 The following endgame is fairly =, but in my opinion it is easier for black to play since he has 2 central pawns and has a clearer line of play. Obviously the opening wasn’t a success for white. 15.Na3 [15.f4 Ng4 16.Na3 d6 Would transpose back to the game.] 15…d6 16.f4 Ng4 17.Nc2?! White is still OK after this move, but now has some technical difficulties since the e4 square is not under control. [17.Nb5!? Kf8 18.Bd3; 17.Bd3! This move makes more sense than the text, Ne3 is not an issue, and the white bishop is well placed on d3 where it eyes the h7 pawn. 17…Bd7 (17…Ne3 18.Kf2 Ng4+ 19.Kf3) 18.0-0 Bc6 19.Rae1] 17…Bf5 18.Bb5+ Kf8 19.h3 This structure with f4 and h3 is certainly not ideal, but it was hard to find a better move, the deficiency of white’s inaccurate 17th move shows itself. 19…Nf6 [19…Bxc2?! 20.hxg4 d5 21.Kd2 Be4 22.Rh2 Rg8 23.g5+/=] 20.Ne3 Be4 21.0-0-0 [21.Kf2 Is a move I wanted to play, but i was afraid of black’s next move. 21…Nh5 Obviously white doesn’t want to play f4-f5, when the dark squares in the center become weak, but instead I can defend f4 tactically. 22.Rhd1! A sample line could be: 22…Nxf4 23.Rd4 f5 24.Nxf5 Nxh3+ 25.gxh3 Bxf5 26.Re1 a6 27.Rf4 axb5 28.Rxf5+ Ke8 29.Rxb5 Rf8+ 30.Ke3 Rxa2 31.Rxb7=] 21…h5 Black’s intention is to play h5-h4 to clamp down the kingside, but I was able to find a way to stop this tactically. [21…Rg8 This move offers black more chance of an advantage, white must be very careful after this move. 22.Rd2 Rg3 23.Re1 d5 24.Bd3 e6 25.Bxe4 Nxe4 26.Rd4 Rc8 27.Re2 Kg7 28.Nf1 Rg6 29.g4 And white is holding it together.] 22.Rhe1! Rg8 [22…h4 23.Rd2 Rg8 24.Ng4! Nxg4 25.hxg4 And white’s position is fine since h4 is going to be more of a weakness than a strength.] 23.Rd2 Rg3 24.Nf1!

Rg8 [24…Rxg2? 25.Rxe4 Rxd2 26.Nxd2 Nxe4 27.Nxe4 Kg7 28.Kd2 Rg8 29.Ke3+/=] 25.Ne3 a6 26.Bd3 Bc6 27.Rg1 This move is logical, my main weakness in this position is the g2 pawn, so I attempt to liquidate it. 27…Bd7 28.Bf5 Bxf5 [28…e6 29.Bc2 d5 30.g4 Leaves white’s bishop much better than it’s counterpart, therefore it makes sense to exchange the minor pieces before pushing the central pawns onto light squares.] 29.Nxf5 d5 30.Ne3 e6 31.g4 Finally my position should be absolutely fine, the only concern now is the open H file. 31…Ne4 [31…hxg4 32.hxg4 Rh8 33.f5 Ne4 34.Re2 Rd8 35.g5 And white is OK since even though black has the H file, other files are opening up quickly.] 32.Rd4?! Right around this point both Ivanov and I were in a little bit of time pressure. [32.Rh2 Rc8 33.Kb1 Ke7 34.g5 Was perhaps somewhat safer for white since black doesn’t have a chance to grab the H file.] 32…hxg4 33.hxg4 Rc8 [33…Rh8 34.f5 Rc8 35.g5 Rh3 36.Nf1 White is worse here but his position is still defensable, still I believe this was a better chance for black to get the advantage.] 34.Rh1 Now it’s going to take black 2 moves to contest the H file. 34…Kg7 35.f5 Rh8 36.Rxh8 Rxh8 37.fxe6 fxe6 38.c4 White now has no problems. 38…Rh1+ 39.Nd1?

Basically the losing move, and right before time control when I had little time to calculate variations, Kc2 should hold easily, for instance: [39.Kc2 Rh2+ 40.Kc1 Ng3 41.Kd1 Rxb2 42.cxd5 exd5 43.Rxd5=] 39…Kf6 40.cxd5 Ke5 Now white has extreme difficulties as the following endgame is very advantageous for black since every piece in his army is superior to the white counterpart. 41.Rd3 exd5! [41…Nf2 42.Rd2 Nxd1 (42…Rxd1+?? 43.Rxd1 Nxd1 44.dxe6! Kxe6 45.Kxd1 Ke5 46.Kd2 Kf4 47.Kd3 Kxg4 48.Kc4 Kf4 49.Kc5+-) 43.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 44.Kxd1 Kxd5 45.Kd2 Ke4 46.Kc3 e5 47.Kc4 Kf4 48.Kd5 e4 49.g5! Ivanov had seen this position which is now a draw, for instance: 49…e3 50.g6 e2 51.g7 e1Q 52.g8Q Qd2+ 53.Kc5 Qxb2 54.Qc4+=] 42.Kc2 Rh2+ 43.Kc1 d4! White is in an awful bind, unable to move his knight. 44.Rf3 Rg2 45.Rf5+ Ke6 46.Rf4 Re2 47.Rf3 The previous moves have been pretty much forced, now black just starts gaining space on the queenside. 47…b5 48.Rh3? This move doesn’t put up much resistance. [48.Ra3! Nc5 This was the move I was afraid of, but it seems thaat i am able to get out of the bind after this. (48…Ke5 49.Rxa6 d3 50.Rc6 Kf4 51.a3 Kxg4 Transposes to the main line.; 48…a5 49.Rxa5 d3 50.Ra6+ Ke5 51.Rc6 Kf4 52.a3 Kxg4 53.Rb6 Rc2+ 54.Kb1 Rc5 55.Nc3 Nxc3+ 56.bxc3 Rxc3 57.Rf6! And white barely holds on. 57…Rxa3 58.Kc1 Kg5 59.Rf8 b4 60.Kd2 Kg6 61.Rd8=) 49.b4 Na4 50.Rd3! Ke5 51.Rd2 This is the move I missed in my calculations, now white can free up his knight. 51…Re1 52.Kc2 Rg1 53.Nf2 Kd5 54.a3 Kc4 55.Nd3 Rg3 56.Ne5+ Kd5 57.Nd3 Rxg4 58.Rh2 And white has drawing chances since his pieces have been activated.] 48…Rg2 49.Rh6+ Kd5! [49…Nf6 50.Nf2! Rxf2 51.g5 Ke5 52.gxf6 Rxf6 53.Rh2 I had my hopes pinned on this variation, which gives white some drawing chances.] 50.Rxa6 Rg1 51.Ra8 The best practical defense given the time situation, Ivanov was down to about 5 minutes here. [51.Rb6 Nf2 52.Kd2 Nxd1 53.Rxb5+ Ke4 54.Rb8 Nf2 55.Re8+ Kf3 56.Rf8+ Kg3-+] 51…Nf2 52.Rd8+ Ke4 53.Kd2 Nxd1 54.Re8+ Kd5 55.Rd8+ Ke5 [55…Kc5? 56.Rc8+ Kd6 57.Rc1 Rg2+ 58.Kxd1 Rxb2 59.Rc2=] 56.Re8+ Kf6 57.Rd8 Nxb2 58.Rxd4 Rd1+ 59.Ke3 Nc4+ 60.Ke4 Ra1 61.Kd5 Rxa2 62.Kc5 Rb2 63.Rd8 Ne5 64.Rd4 b4? [64…Rb1 Is better.] 65.Rf4+? [65.Kd5! Amazingly seems to draw for white, for instance: 65…Nd7 (65…Ng6 66.Kc5 b3 67.Kb4 Ne5 68.Kc3 Rb1 69.Rb4=) 66.Kc6 Nb8+ (66…b3 67.Kxd7 Ke5 68.Rb4 Rd2+ 69.Ke7 b2 70.Rb5+ Kd4 71.g5=) 67.Kb5 b3 68.Rd8 Nc6 69.Rd6+ Kg5 70.Rxc6 Rc2 71.Rb6 Rc1 72.Ka6! And draws.] 65…Ke6 66.g5?? Loses instantly, but the position was already lost anyhow. 66…Nd3+ 0-1

So despite losing the first round against Ivanov, I was generally happy with the way I played. I played pretty well throughout the entire game except for the 1 bad decision (Nd1)before the time control.

The next morning I was paired against WFM Alisa Melekhina (who is now 2250ish) with the black pieces. For me this was a must win game, especially after what happened at the US Open last year. For those of you who don’t know, I lost to Alisa in a 6 hour marathon game. At the end of the game I had forced mate in 6 in a simple king and pawn endgame, but played the wrong move order, which lost immediately. It was probably the most discouraging loss of my entire chess career..

Before the round I had about an hour to prepare, because the round was pushed back a full hour due to the people commuting in the snow. In the game last year, I played the Caro-Kann in which she responded with the exchange variation. Not wanting another drawish game, I decided to play the Sicilian, to which I knew she played the Closed Sicilian. I spent my time just looking over my notes on the closed sicilian, and then I was ready to go.

Melekhina,Alisa (2247) - Bournival,Braden (2378) [B26]
17th Eastern Class Champ. Sturbridge, MA (2), 01.03.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Be3 e5 7.Qd2 Nge7 8.Bh6 0-0 [8…Bxh6 9.Qxh6 Nd4 Is the alternative to the text. 10.Qd2] 9.h4 [9.Bxg7 Kxg7 10.f4 Is another possiblity.] 9…Bxh6 [9…f6 This is probably not as accurate as the text since white doesn’t have to waste time with his queen and also gets h5-h6 with tempo. 10.Bxg7 Kxg7 11.h5 g5 12.h6+ Kh8 13.f4 gxf4 14.gxf4] 10.Qxh6 f6 11.Qd2 Nd4 12.Nd5!? This move is somewhat rare, but white has many options in this position. 12…b5 [12…Nxd5 13.exd5 Bd7 (13…Bg4 14.c3 Nb5) 14.c3 Nf5 15.h5 g5 16.h6 b5 17.Be4 Was also possible, the text move should be fine too.] 13.c3 [13.h5 g5 14.h6 Nxd5 15.exd5 b4 16.Ne2 a5 17.Nxd4 cxd4=] 13…Ndc6 14.h5 g5 15.h6 Nxd5 16.exd5 Ne7 Black has the better bishop and more space with better development. The h6 pawn is somewhat of a bone in black’s throat and is white’s only compensation for the other imbalances. The position is roughly equal but probably easier for black to play. 17.f4?

White is too hasty opening up the position when he’s behind in development. 17…exf4! With white’s lack of development, it makes sense to open up the E file in an attempt to expose his king. 18.gxf4 Ng6 19.fxg5 [19.Ne2 Bg4 20.0-0 Bxe2 21.Qxe2 gxf4=/+] 19…Bg4!

This not so obvious move stops white from playing Kd1 or castling queenside, and continues black’s rapid development. It is clear after this move that black has a very strong initiative. 20.Be4 [20.Bf3 Qe7+ 21.Qe2 (21.Kd1? fxg5!-+) 21…Qxe2+ 22.Kxe2 Rae8+ 23.Kd2 Bxf3 24.Nxf3 fxg5 25.Nxg5 Rf2+ 26.Kd1 Re3-+] 20…f5?! This gives white some hope of survival, much better was either 20… Ne5 or 20… Qe7 keeping the tension on f6 and developing quickly. [20…Ne5! I missed this nice move, which brings another pieces into the attack and prepared the march of the F pawn. 21.Rh2 f5 22.Bh1 f4-+; 20…fxg5 This line doesn’t seem to offer black much if white defends accurately. 21.Nh3 Nf4 22.Nf2 Bh5 23.Nh3 Nxh3 24.Rxh3 Bg4 25.Rg3 Rf4 26.Qxf4 gxf4 27.Rxg4+ Kh8 28.Kd2=; 20…Qe7!? 21.gxf6 Qxf6 22.Qg2 Rae8 23.Ne2 Bf3 24.Bxf3 Qxf3 25.Qxf3 Rxf3 26.Rf1 Rxd3-/+] 21.Bf3 [21.Bg2 Qd7 22.Kf2 f4 23.Be4 Ne5 24.Re1 Rae8 With a strong initiative.] 21…Qe7+ [21…Ne5 22.Be2 Bxe2 23.Kxe2 c4 24.d4 Nd3 25.Nh3 Qe7+ Gives black a good initiative but white is definitely still in the game.] 22.Kf1? [22.Kf2 Is obviously a better square for the king. 22…Rae8 (22…Ne5 23.d4 Nc4 24.Re1 Qf7=/+) 23.Re1 Ne5-/+] 22…Qf7 Probably not the most accurate, since it allows the d3-d4 defense. [22…Ne5 This again is very strong. 23.Re1 Qf7 24.Bg2 f4-/+] 23.Bg2 [The best defense. 23.d4! cxd4 (23…Bxf3 24.Nxf3 Qxd5 25.Kf2 Rae8 26.dxc5 Qxc5+ 27.Qd4=) 24.Qxd4 Ne5 25.Be2 Bxe2+ 26.Nxe2 f4-/+] 23…Rae8 Bringing the last piece into the attack. 24.Rc1? This move is absolutely awful. It does absolutely nothing for white’s position. [24.Re1 f4 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Be4 Bf5 27.Nf3 Bxe4 28.dxe4 Rxe4 29.Kf2 Ne5 30.Nxe5 Rxe5 31.Re1 Rxg5-/+] 24…f4 It makes sense to push this pawn through to open up the heavy pieces on the f file. 25.Be4 f3 This is fine, but more complicated, I prefer Bf5. [25…Bf5! I didn’t even consider this move during the game, but it appears to be very strong. 26.Re1 Bxe4 27.dxe4 Ne5-/+] 26.Nh3 [26.Rh2 Bf5 27.Re1 Bxe4 28.Rxe4 Ne5 29.Nh3 Qxd5-+] 26…f2!

27.Nxf2 Bf3 After this move, black wins back one of his pawns and white’s king remains without any shelter. 28.Rh2 Bxe4 29.dxe4 Rxe4 30.Re1 [30.Kg1 Rf4 31.Re1 Rf5-+] 30…Rxe1+! 31.Qxe1 [31.Kxe1 Ne5 And white can’t stop a fork on f3.] 31…Qxd5 32.Rg2 Nf4? Black is still winning after this move, but black wins on the spot with: [32…Nh4! 33.Rg1 Qd3+ 34.Qe2 Qh3+ 35.Ke1 Nf3+ 36.Kd1 Qf5 And both Qb1 and Nxg1 are threatened.] 33.Rh2 Nd3 34.Qd2 [34.Qe3 Ne5 35.Qe2 Qxa2-+] 34…Qf3 35.Kg1

Since she had only 1 minute left on the clock, I decided to keep the tension. I wasn’t 100% sure about the king in pawn endgame so no reason to risk it in such a dominating position. 35…c4 [35…Nxf2 36.Rxf2 Qxf2+ 37.Qxf2 Rxf2 38.Kxf2 Kf7 39.Kf3 Kg6 40.Kf4 d5 41.Ke5 d4 42.cxd4 cxd4 43.Kxd4 Kxg5 Was an easy win also.] 36.g6 hxg6 37.h7+? Now white doesn’t even have cheapos on g7. [37.Qg5 Nf4 38.Qe7 Nh3+! 39.Kf1 Qd1+ 40.Qe1 Qd3+ 41.Qe2 Qxe2+ 42.Kxe2 Rxf2+ 43.Rxf2 Nxf2-+] 37…Kh8 38.Qh6 Nxf2 39.Rg2 Qd1+ 40.Kh2 Qh1+ 0-1

So I was VERY pleased with this victory. I made a few inaccuracies throughout the game, but overall I played a very decent game. I especially was happy with Bg4! which firmly seizes the initiative.

The 3rd round was where the 3 day and 2 day schedules merged. A few heavy hitters joined the pairing mix, US Champion GM Alexander Shabalov and GM Darmen Sadvakasov. Also, Camp Fluffy member IM James Rizzitano joined the mix. Jim had a winning position against GM Sadvakasov in round 1, up 2 clears pawns with only queen+rook for each of them on the board. Unfortunately for Jim, they were using an analog clock and so they agreed on a draw since Jim only had a couple minutes left.

In the 3rd round, I got a relatively easy pairing (for such a strong section) against NM Lawyer Times.. Even though Lawyer is from Massachusetts, this is the first time him and I ever played. I knew he played the Alekhine Defense, but I wasn’t sure exactly what line he’d play against the exchange variation. Before the round I once again looked at my notes on this opening and was off to the board…

Bournival,Braden (2378) - Times,Lawyer (2194) [B03]
17th Eastern Class Champ. Sturbridge, MA (3), 02.03.2008

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Be3 Bg7 8.Rc1 0-0 9.b3 h6!?

An interesting waiting move to see how white plans on developing. 10.g3 This move is probably not best, but it’s certainly playable. The problem is g3 doesn’t fit in so well with the e7-e5 line, but does fit in well against f7-f5. [10.Be2 This move doesn’t fit in so well with the e5 system where the light squared bishop often goes to c4. 10…e5 11.Nf3 This seems like the best idea since now the endgame lines are not so great for white, white should use the extra tempo in middlegame positions. 11…Nc6 12.Qd2 Kh7 13.0-0 Bf5 14.d5+/-; 10.Nf3!? f5 (10…e5 Transposes to 9… e5) 11.c5 f4 12.cxb6 fxe3 13.fxe3 axb6 14.Bd3+/=; 10.Qd2!?] 10…e5 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Qxd8 Rxd8 13.c5 N6d7 14.Bg2 Nc6 15.Nge2 Nd4 Apparently this move is an inaccuracy, but during the game I thought it was good, but black should just play Kf8. [15…Nf6 This is best according to the computer, and is very logical since black improves his knight and prepares to develop the light squared bishop. 16.h3 Bf5 17.0-0 Rd7 18.Rfd1 Bd3 19.Rd2 Rad8 20.Rcd1 And the position is roughly =] 16.Nd5 Nf5 [16…Kf8 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Bf4 Ne5 19.Kd2+/=] 17.0-0 Nxe3? This move must be a mistake, black has wasted 3 tempi to trade off the knight while white develops his pieces. 18.Nxe3?! Probably an inaccuracy as black has more chances to defend now that he can move his knight on d7. [18.fxe3! I considered this birefly during the game, but just rejected it because it didn’t look quite right, but as it turns out this may be much stronger than 18. Nxe3 as white gets very active fast. 18…Bf8 Best, if f5 instead then: (18…f5 19.g4! Nf6 (19…fxg4 20.Ne7+ Kh7 21.Rcd1! Leaves black defenseless to c5-c6.) 20.Ne7+ Kf7 21.Nxc8 Raxc8 22.gxf5 Bf8 23.fxg6+ Kxg6 24.b4+-) 19.b4 Kg7 20.Rcd1 Rb8 21.Nec3+/-] 18…Rb8? After this move black gets into an awful bind, black needs to move the knight to avoid the pin. [18…Nf8 19.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Ne6 21.Nc4 Rb8 22.Rd5+/= Here white still has excellent winning chances, but atleast black has managed to get his knight out and trade off a set of rooks.] 19.Rfd1

Now black can barely move his pieces. 19…Kf8 20.Nc3 This move is may or may not be the most accurate, but is very logical. White improves his worse minor piece and prepares to bring it to either d5 e4 or b5. [20.c6!? This move may work tactically, but positionally it doesn’t make much sense since black no longer has a weakness on b7. 20…bxc6 21.Rxc6 Here black can barely move his pieces, best is perhaps: 21…Bb7 (21…e4 22.Nc4 Bb7 23.Rc7 Ke7 24.Bh3 f5 25.Nf4+-) 22.Rc7 Bxg2 23.Kxg2 Nf6 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Rxa7+-; 20.Nc4!? Heading for a5 or d6 immediately is very strong too. 20…Re8 21.Nd6 Re7 22.Bh3 f5 23.g4!+-] 20…a6 Black decides that he needs to stop Nb5, there are some interesting lines with Nb5-a7! [20…Bf6 21.Nb5 a6 22.Na7! For instance is very strong. 22…Ra8 23.Nxc8 Raxc8 24.Bxb7 Rxc5 25.Bxa6+-] 21.Nc4 This move is fine, I now have ideas of Na5 and c5-c6 and also Nd6xc8. [21.Rd6 Is tempting as white increase his clamp on the d7 knight. 21…Re8 (21…Bf6 22.Ncd5 Bg5 23.h4 Bxe3 24.Nxe3 Re8 25.c6 bxc6 26.Bxc6 Re6 27.Rxd7 Bxd7 28.Bxd7+-) 22.c6 bxc6 23.Bxc6 Re6 24.Rxd7 Bxd7 25.Bxd7 Rd6 26.Bh3+-] 21…Bf6 22.b4?! [22.Rd5 Is perhaps more accurate since black can not stop white from winning 2 pieces for a rook, for instance: 22…Be7 23.Rcd1 Now black threatens stuff like Nb6 and Bh3 so black must move the rook. 23…Re8 24.Rxd7 Bxd7 25.Rxd7 Bxc5 26.Bxb7+-] 22…Kg7 Here I felt like I had lost some of my advantage since black can finally move his knight to f8, still though the b7 pawn remains a problem forever. 23.Ne4?! White should still be winning after this move but the task is not quite as easy, better was: [23.Nd5! Bg5 This is why I rejected Nd5. (23…Nf8 24.Nxf6 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Kxf6 26.Rd6+ I had seen this position during the game and realized white just wins a pawn, but was worried about Bg5 instead of 23… Nf8.) 24.f4 exf4 25.h4! This is the move i missed in my calculations. 25…Bf6 (25…f3 26.hxg5 fxg2 27.gxh6+ Kxh6 28.Ne7 Kg7 29.Nb6+-) 26.Nxf6 Kxf6 27.Rd6+ Ke7 28.Re1+ Kf8 29.Nb6 Re8 30.Rxe8+ Kxe8 31.Nxc8 Rxc8 32.Bxb7+-] 23…Be7 24.Ned6 Bxd6 25.Rxd6 Re8 So black has managed to trade off one of white’s strong knights and get out of the pin, but white’s position is still dominant since b7 is weak forever. 26.Rd5!? Re7 27.Na5 [27.Re1!? Seems to win a pawn, but the clamp might not be as strong after this. 27…e4 28.Rxe4 Rxe4 29.Bxe4 Nf6 30.Rd4 Nxe4 31.Rxe4 Be6 32.a3+/- But atleast black can move here.] 27…Nf6 [27…e4! Probably the best chance. 28.c6 Nf6 29.Rd8 bxc6 30.Rxc6 Re8 31.Rxe8 Nxe8 32.a3+/-] 28.Rd8 Now c6 is a big threat. 28…Re8 29.Rxe8 [29.Rxc8 Rexc8 30.Bxb7 Rc7 31.c6 Also seemed extremely promising during the game, but I felt there was no reason to give up the exchange.] 29…Nxe8

30.Re1! Finally white’s positional advantage starts to bear fruits. 30…Be6 31.Bxb7 Kf6 [31…Bxa2 32.Rxe5 Kf6 33.Re4 Nc7 34.Rd4+-] 32.a3 Nc7 33.Rd1 [33.Rxe5 I saw this during the game, but I was getting into a little bit of time pressure and didnt want to allow any counterplay. 33…Rd8 34.Re1 Rd2 And black gets some counterplay, but obviously it’s not enough for 2 pawns.] 33…Nb5 34.c6?! This still wins but its not quite as easy. [34.Bxa6 Nxa3 35.Nc6 Ra8 36.b5 Was perhaps better than the game, I saw this line but thought he might have some stuff with Bc4, but it doesn’t work since: 36…Bc4 37.Bb7!] 34…Nc7 35.a4 Ke7 36.Rb1 Rd8 [36…Bf5! 37.Rc1 Bd3 Was a better defense 38.Rc5 Kd6 39.f3+-] 37.b5 axb5 38.axb5 Bf5 39.Rc1!

Now black loses a piece by force. 39…Nxb5 40.c7 Rd2 41.c8Q Bxc8 42.Rxc8 Nd6 43.Rc7+ Ke6 44.Nc4 Rd1+ 45.Kg2 Rc1? This loses to a nice tactical shot, which I missed, but black is lost anyhow. 46.Bc8+ [46.Bd5+! Kf6 47.Nxd6! Rxc7 48.Ne8+ I saw this pattern during the game, but missed Bd5+.] 46…Nxc8 [46…Kf6 47.Nxd6 Rxc7 48.Ne8+ Wins.] 47.Rxc8 Rd1? This makes it easy, but black is dead anyways. 48.Re8+ Kf6 49.Nxe5 Ra1 50.Ng4+ Kg7 51.Re7 h5 52.Ne3 Ra5 53.h4 Kf6 54.Rb7 Ke6 55.Nc4 Rc5 56.Nd2 Rf5 57.Nf3 Kd5 58.Rb5+ Ke4 59.Ng5+ 1-0

Overall a nice game from start to finish. Once again I made a few inaccuracies throughout the game, but I felt like the quality of my games so far was pretty high.

The next morning I was paried against GM Sergey Kudrin. Chris Bird helped me get a head start on the pairing by figuring it out for me before the pairings officially went up. There were some complicated color things going on, but Chris got it right. I figured he’d probably play the DragonDorf (which is a Dragon and Najdorf hybrid) since I had seen him do that often as of late. I knew Accelerated Dragon and straight up Dragon were possiblities, but I am pretty well prepared in those and wasn’t worrying too much about it. I looked at a few games that Kudrin played in the Dragondorf, and decided on a basic scheme of development, but didn’t have time for any preparation of specific lines.

Bournival,Braden (2378) - Kudrin,Sergey (2611) [B72]
17th Eastern Class Champ. Sturbridge, MA (4), 02.03.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 a6 The Dragondorf, which I had expected before the game. I decided to just play a regular Yugoslav/English Attack setup. 7.f3 b5 [7…Bg7 8.Qd2 Nbd7 Seems like the most popular way to play the Dragondorf.] 8.Qd2 Bb7 Already we are in fairly uncharted waters. 9.g4 The most aggressive way to play the position. [9.a4 This is a rather different way to play the position, which I considered during the game. 9…b4 10.Na2 e5 11.Nb3 (11.Qxb4!? Qc7 12.Nb3 d5 Seems fine for black.) 11…d5 (11…a5 12.Bb5+ Nc6 13.0-0+/-) 12.Bg5! Nbd7 13.exd5 Qb6 14.d6 Bxd6 15.a5 Qc7 16.Nxb4~~; 9.Bd3 Nbd7 10.0-0 Bg7 11.a4 bxa4 12.Nxa4 d5 13.Bh6 0-0 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.exd5 Nxd5 16.c4 N5f6 17.c5 1/2-1/2 Sammour Hasbun,J-Kudrin,S/Sturbridge USA 2007/The Week in Chess 644; 9.0-0-0!?] 9…h5?! This new move is probably an inaccuracy. Black should wait until white has done h2-h4 before doing this, since h2-h4 is not so useful after g4-g5. [9…Bg7 10.0-0-0 h5 (10…Nbd7 11.h4 h5 12.g5 Nh7 Misplaces the knight.) 11.g5 Nfd7 12.a3 Is similar to the game.] 10.g5 Nfd7 11.a3?! After analyzing a few lines, I believe this move is a slight mistake, white can do without a3 in all lines it seems. [11.0-0-0 White can try to do without the a3 move. 11…Bg7 12.f4 Nc5 13.Bg2 Nbd7 (13…0-0 14.e5!; 13…b4 14.Nd5 e6 15.Nf6+ Bxf6 16.gxf6 Nbd7 17.e5 Bxg2 18.Qxg2 d5 19.f5!+-) 14.e5! dxe5 (14…b4 15.Nd5 dxe5 16.Nc6 Bxc6 17.Bxc5 Bxd5 18.Bxd5 Rc8 19.Bxb4+-) 15.Bxb7 Nxb7 16.Nc6 Qc8 17.Na7 Qd8 18.Qg2 Nd6 19.Nc6 Qc8 20.Nd5+-] 11…Bg7 12.f4 0-0 13.0-0-0 Nc5 This scheme of development is very natural, and was what I expected. Nc6 is not really where the knight wants to go, and white has a few ways to slight advantage. [13…Nc6!? 14.Bg2 (14.f5!? Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Ne5 (15…Bxd4 16.Qxd4 gxf5 17.Rg1 Gives white a strong attack) 16.Qf4 With interesting attacking chances. 16…gxf5 17.Rg1 fxe4 18.Nxe4~~) 14…Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Bxd4 16.Qxd4 Qb6 17.Rhe1 With maybe a slight pull for white.] 14.Bg2 Nbd7 15.e5!

The best chance for an advantage, after the a3 inaccuracy on move 11, white can probably only be happy with a small edge. 15…Nb6? This move is a mistake, black should go for: [15…dxe5! 16.Nc6! (16.Bxb7 exd4 17.Bxd4 Nxb7 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Qxd7 Nd6 20.Qh3 Qc7=) 16…Bxc6 17.Bxc6 exf4 18.Bxc5 Nxc5 19.Qxf4 Qb8 20.Qb4 Qe5 21.Bxa8 Qxg5+ 22.Kb1 Rxa8+/=; 15…Bxg2? 16.Qxg2 dxe5 17.Nc6 Qe8 18.Nd5+-] 16.Bxb7 Nc4 17.Qe2 Nxb7 18.e6!

After this move it is clear black is in huge trouble. 18…Rc8? This move is understandable, but black really needs to switch to defense immediately. [18…Qe8! The best defense, after which black has excellent chances of holding the position. 19.Nd5 (19.f5 fxe6) 19…fxe6 20.Nc7 Qf7 21.Nxa8 Rxa8 22.Kb1+/=; 18…Nc5 This move makes a lot of sense since now the knight fights for squares in the center. But white still gets a very strong attack in all lines. 19.f5 fxe6 (19…Qe8 20.Nd5! fxe6? 21.fxg6!+-) 20.fxg6 Nxe3 21.Qxe3 Bxd4 22.Rxd4 Qe8 23.b4 e5 24.Nd5! Ne6 25.Rh4+/-] 19.f5?! Now white’s attack is simply very strong. [19.exf7+! This continuation is much more clear, but it’s hard to find this 19… Qe8! defense OTB. 19…Rxf7 20.f5 Rxf5 21.Nxf5 gxf5 22.Bd4 e5 23.Nd5! exd4 24.Ne7+ Kf8 25.Qe6! Qxe7 26.Qxc8+ Nd8 27.Qxf5+ Kg8+/-] 19…gxf5?! Now black must be lost after this move. [19…Qe8! Once again this is the best defense. 20.exf7+ (20.Nd5 Rc5 21.exf7+ (21.Nxe7+ Qxe7 22.f6 Qc7 23.Bf4 Bh8 24.Qe4 Ne5 25.e7 Re8~~) 21…Qxf7 22.fxg6 Qxd5 23.Qxh5 Rf5 24.Rhe1 Nxb2! 25.Kxb2 Rxc2+! 26.Kxc2 Qa2+ 27.Kc3 Rc5+ 28.Kd3 Qc4+ 29.Kd2 Qa2+ 30.Kd3=) 20…Qxf7 21.Rhf1 Nxa3 22.f6 exf6 23.gxf6 Bxf6 24.Bh6+/-] 20.Rhg1! [20.exf7+ This also wins, but I prefer the move i played in the game as it bring the rook into the game. 20…Rxf7 21.g6 Rf6 22.Bg5 Rxg6 23.Qxh5 Rxg5 (23…Qe8 24.Nxf5 Rf6 25.Nxg7+-) 24.Qxg5 e6 25.Qxg7+! Kxg7 26.Nxe6+ Kf6 27.Nxd8+-] 20…Qe8 This defensive move comes too late, he needed to play it the last couple of moves. [20…Nxe3 21.Qxe3 Bxd4 22.Rxd4 Kg7 23.Rh4 fxe6 24.Rxh5 Rh8 25.Rxh8 Qxh8 26.Qxe6 Re8 27.Qxf5 Rf8 28.Qd5 Nc5 29.Re1+-] 21.Bf4 Now that the bishop is not attacked, white is threatening simply Qxh5, so the following variation seems fairly forced. [21.exf7+ Rxf7 22.g6 Rf6 23.Nd5 Wins material, the move I played in the game wins too, but requires white to find this nice 24th move.; 21.Nxf5 Bxc3 22.exf7+ Rxf7 23.Nh6+ Kg7 24.bxc3+-] 21…Bxd4 22.Rxd4 [22.Qxh5! I didnt even look for this move, which seems to win almost immediately. 22…Bxg1 (22…Bxc3 23.bxc3+-; 22…Bg7 23.Rd3! fxe6 24.g6 Rf6 25.Qh7+ Kf8 26.Bh6+-) 23.Rxg1 Ne5 24.Bxe5 dxe5 25.g6 fxg6 26.Rxg6+ Qxg6 27.Qxg6+ Kh8 28.Nd5 Rfe8 29.Qh6+ Kg8 30.Qg5+ Kh8 31.Nxe7 Rxe7 32.Qxe7+-] 22…fxe6 23.g6 Kg7 24.Bh6+!

Without this move, black is surviving. 24…Kxh6 25.Rh4 Kg7 [25…Rh8? 26.g7 Wins easily.] 26.Rxh5 Rh8 27.Rh7+! The whole point of 24. Bh6+ 27…Rxh7 28.gxh7+ Kf6 [28…Kh8 This move is better, but white wins easily here too. 29.Rg8+ Qxg8 30.hxg8Q+ Rxg8 31.Qxe6 Rg1+ 32.Nd1 Nc5 33.Qxe7+-] 29.Qg2!

This wins on the spot. [29.Ne4+ Ke5 Wasn’t as clear to me.] 29…Qh8 [29…Qf8 30.Qg5+ Ke5 31.Re1+ Ne3 32.Qxe3+ Kf6 33.Qxe6+ Kg5 34.Rg1+ Kh4 35.h8Q+ Qxh8 36.Qxe7+ Kh3 37.Qe3+ Kh4 38.Qg5+ Kh3 39.Qg3#; 29…Qf7 30.Qg5+ Ke5 31.Re1+ Ne3 32.Qxe3+ Kf6 33.Qh6+ Qg6 34.Rxe6+ Kxe6 35.Qxg6+ Kd7 36.Qxf5+ e6 37.Qf7+ Kc6 38.Qxe6+-] 30.Qg5+ Ke5 31.Re1+ Kd4 [31…Ne3 32.Qxe3+ Kf6 33.Qxe6+ Kg5 34.Rg1+ Kf4 35.Nd5+ Kf3 36.Qe3#] 32.Qg1+ Ne3 33.Qxe3+ [33.Qxe3+ Kc4 34.b3#] 1-0

This was only my 2nd victory over a Grandmaster in a tournament game, and boy did it feel great! It wasn’t just that I beat Kudrin, but the way I beat him was particularly impressive. It’s not every day you get a GM’s king on d4 by move 32!

Anyways after this game, I knew I’d have to play GM Shabalov in the last round with the black pieces. After going out to dinner with Rizz and Chris Bird, I headed to the skittles room with my laptop to prepare for Shabalov.. I thought he’d play 1. e4 for sure, and looked over some of my lines in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation.. Unfortuntely it turned out to be a waste of time, as Shabalov opened with 1. d4.. He told me after the game that he decided before the tournament to just alternate every round between 1.e4/1.d4.. If only I had known!

Shabalov,Alexander (2703) - Bournival,Braden (2378) [D15]
17th Eastern Class Champ. Sturbridge, MA (5), 02.03.2008

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.g3 After the game Shabalov told me that he had prepared this move for the World Cup, but never got a chance to use it. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t know any of the theory at this point and spent a lot of time figuring it out. 5…b5 [5…g6 Is the best alternative to the text, which was played by Atalik against Shabalov in 1998.; 5…Bf5 Could also be playable, but I was afraid of falling into a position where white does Ne5/d2xc4 where he has transposed to lines without having to play the weakening a2-a4 move. 6.Bg2 (6.Ne5!?) 6…Nbd7 7.0-0 e6] 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.Ne5 [7.0-0 Nbd7! And white doesn’t have time for Ne5.] 7…a6 [7…Qb6 8.a4 Seemed strong to me during the game.] 8.0-0 e6 9.a4 Be7?

Giving the pawn back without a fight can’t be correct, but during the game I was happy just to get out of the opening with a worse position, instead I should have hunkered down and found a way to hang on to the pawn. [9…Nd5! 10.e4 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Nd7 12.f4 Be7 Seems absolutely fine for black.] 10.axb5 axb5 11.Rxa8 Bxa8 12.Nxb5 cxb5 13.Bxa8 0-0 The following line has been pretty much forced, white gets a slightly better position because of his 2 bishops and strong pawn center. In order for black to survive here, he must somehow turn his queenside majority into a strength. 14.Bg2 Nfd7 15.Nf3 [15.Nc6 Nxc6 16.Bxc6 b4 The exchange of a set of knights probably favors black since every piece trade gets closer to an endgame where the queenside majority can start to matter.] 15…Nb6 16.e4 Nc6 17.Be3 Nb4 18.h4!? Im really unclear on what the point of h4 is. Indeed It’s a useful move to have thrown in, but perhaps white should have just gone

 on with development with Qe2 immediately. [18.Qe2]

18…Nd3?! [18…Qc7 Was Shabalov’s suggestion after the game, which seems better. I need to get my last piece, the rook on f8 into the game. Putting the knight on d3 just makes it vunerable to b3 breaks at this point.] 19.Qd2 Na4? [19…Qc7! Again this move makes the most sense.; 19…Bb4 20.Qc2 f5? This move fails again, this time to a different knight move. 21.Ne5! Nxe5 22.dxe5 fxe4 23.Bxe4 Nd5 24.Bxh7++-; 19…Qa8 20.d5 Bb4 21.Qc2 Qa6 22.dxe6 fxe6~~] 20.b3 After this move I am in big trouble since my position on the queenside is being underminded. 20…Bb4 [20…Nab2!? 21.Rb1 Qa8 22.Qc2 Qa3 23.bxc4 bxc4 24.Bf1 Rc8~~ The position is pretty unclear, I feel like white should be doing well but black is still alive.] 21.Qc2 Nc3 22.Kh2? [22.bxc4 bxc4 23.Ra1!+/- Was much stronger than the text, since this stops Qa5.] 22…f5?

This is the losing move, Shabalov let me off the hook with 22. Kh2, but this move creates too many weaknesses and is too slow. [22…Qa5! 23.bxc4 bxc4 24.Nd2 Qa6 And black is holding the position together.; 22…Qa8!?] 23.bxc4 bxc4 24.Ng5 This move seems to win also, white takes advantage of all the weaknesses black has created, namely e6 and d5. [24.exf5 exf5 25.Ne5 Nxe5 26.dxe5 Is very strong for white according to Rybka.] 24…Qe7? [24…Qd7! A better defense than the text. 25.exf5 exf5 26.Rb1! Nxb1 27.Qxc4+ Kh8 28.Qxd3 Na3 29.Qb3 Bd6 30.Bd5 Qe7 31.Nf7+ Rxf7 32.Bxf7+-] 25.exf5 exf5 26.Bd2! Now black is simply lost. 26…Qe2 27.Kg1! Black can not stop Bf3. 27…h6 28.Bf3 Qe7 29.Bxc3 hxg5 30.Bxb4 [30.Bd5+ Is also winning.] 30…Qxb4 31.Rb1 Qa3 32.Bd5+ Kh7 33.Bxc4 Nf4 Desperation. 34.gxf4 gxh4 35.Qe2 Rf6 36.Qh5+ Rh6 37.Qe8 Black can not stop Bg8+ mating. 1-0

Alex was nice enough to analyze with me after the game, which was certainly not necessary (most GMs don’t offer). After the game a big group of us (Elizabeth Vicary, Alex Shabalov, James Rizzitano, Chris Bird, and Me) went to the bar to have a drink. We were joined about 5 minutes later by famous bloggers Blunderprone and Chess Loser along with Ilya Krasik. This was the first time Ilya and I had seen each other at a chess tournament since the whole blog wars thing went down last summer/fall. We gave each other dirty looks throughout the tournament, but never spoke to each other. Ilya broke the ice and said to me “Boy Brad, you’ve been busy”. I responded to him “Ya, I have”, even though I was not quite sure what he mean’t by it.. Other than that we really didn’t speak. Ilya had a promising start in the expert section with 3/3, but dropped his last 2 games to finish with 3/5.

On the way home I made a quick stop at Fluffy’s Lair to show him my games from the tournament. Dave was happy that Camp Fluffy was so well represented, even though Fluffy himself couldn’t be there.. Jim also finished with 3/5, so we had 2 players in the top 5! Go Camp Fluffy!!