1997 World Open $200,000.00 gtd!
The World Open is the biggest money tournament in chess
year in and year out. It has grown from its original
100,000 dollar format and I have been playing in them
since 1980. They have consistently attracted players from
the World's top 50 list. I always look forward to the
premier event in American Chess. This year I was
fortunate to win my largest cash prize of $3000.00.
My first opponent has drawn both K's; Karpov and
Kasparov.
GM Gennadi Zaichik 2614 - Brian McCarthy 2346
1997 World Open rd 6
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6
This is the Taimanov variation of the Sicilian Defense.
It has been played by many top American stars like US Champs
Larry Christiansen, Lev Alburt, Joel Benjamin and Mike Wilder.
Kasparov's d5 Tammy novelty in game 46 of his first World
Title match is a main reason he is World Champ. My tournament
preparation with black vs e4 consisted of an early b5
line used for years by an old girlfriend, Brazilian
Olympic team member, Regina Ribiero. It was also used in
last year's World Open money game: GM Shabalov-GM Rohde.
Black tries for queenside play. Regina told me she had
worked on every line and was convinced black is OK. I
am still not convinced, but it worked for Rohde and it
held the draw in my last round money game against former
Moscow youth and US Junior champ Boris Kreiman, earning
an additional 2000.00 dollars. I want to thank GM Anatoly
Lein for his help preparing. He lives here in Jersey City
and we have rode together to tournaments many times.
5. Nb5
Karpov's usual option, I think GM Zaichik played e4 against
me because I had drawn our first game and even got some
winning chances with Lasker's Bf5 antidote to his Reti.
Now on his own, he relies on Russian theory, having drawn
both K's who can blame him.
d6 6. c4 Nf6 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3 b6 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nb8!
A move played by both Sophia and Judith Polgar, it has
led to some wild games with famous GM's. I tried to say
Zaichik had made a novelty, but was corrected by GM John
Fedorowicz, who said "C'mon its just bad". He then went
on comment that he believed this hedgehog was probably
"the best hedgehog" due to the Na3. Certainly white has
time to maneuver in the closed f3 position. What comes
next I dubbed the "Zaichik 4 pawns attack"
11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. f4 Be7 13. Bf3 Qc7 14. Be3 Rc8 15. Rac1 h6 16. b4
I must confess ...h6 is one of the best psychological moves
of my life. I was playing the game using the strategy of
the 1985 Chicago Bears and all out blitzed him. In the next
few moves the time situation would be 40 mins left for him
1 hr 40 for me. 16...h6 does really threaten to play g5.
Fischer g5'd Spassky's bind in match 2 and I used g5 in
the early 80's against IM Boris Kogan's son, when he was
an up and comer. The threat is to go d5 with a hit on h2,
the price I must pay is a compromised structure if I go Bf8
and g6. The way he was playing told me a maneuvering battle
wasn't in the works, and I do have the Bd8-c7 plan as a backup.
I was rewarded by a 20+ min think and a seemingly planless move,
producing my hour clock lead. A top flight army might get away
with a 2 front war for a while, but I saw no way for white to
support an open center and the dual flank attack, although in
retrospect, I hardly punish him for this. Hence once b4, I felt
safe to castle and believed there were enough weaknesses to "hog
prod", without g5.
O-O 17. Qb3 Rfe8 18. Kh1 Bf8 19. Qb1 Qb8 20. Qd3 e5
"If you wanted to flag him, play b5! and then d5 like Portisch....."
said GM Fedorowicz at the site. "What you did was just bad" but it
worked....! Ok I admit it is clearly inferior to b5, but still there
are many tricks for anyone with under 10 minutes to get to move 40.
He first must find the win of a pawn, which only exists due to a positional
vice grip I overlooked.
21. f5 d5
Of course d5 is not forced and it does drop a pawn, yet
still deserves credit for its practicality. Pretending
e5 was "just a flesh wound" (-Monty Python; fighting the
Black Knight who lost his arms and legs) is out due to
the eventual well known bind maneuver Nc2-e3-d5.
22. Nxd5
Here I had planned the computer like Nxd5 and Bb4 until I
tried to analyze a continuation. I realized the boat now
had a few leaks and told myself " in for a penny in for a
pound".
Bxd5 23. cxd5 Bxb4 24. Qxa6 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Bc5!!
The move I am most proud of. Ego and the crowd watching
the game aside. I could smell blood and it was mine! I
remembered the old pro wrestling adage, "live to fight
another day". I wanted to take Zaichik out for the crowd,
yet somehow I maintained my poise enough to minimize damage
and attempt repairs to the torn structures in my position.
26. Bxc5 Nxc5 27. Qc4 Qa7 28. Nb5 Qa5 29. Nc3 Qa3 30. Rb1 b5!
I thought less about this move than any other and it allowed
a revived defense to reemploy the blitz. The b pawn has his
date with the executioner, but by investing one more move
in the doomed pawn, mate becomes an all too real threat for
Zaichik and his ticking clock. I don't stop to think again
until I have danced his king into the center. 31. Qb4 looks
decisive, but talented Chess Life contributor Iternational Master
Ronald Burnett was able to punch a hole in my computer aided post mortem
on this move and the next. In time pressure GM Zaichik thinks
a second pawn will make life right.
31. Nxb5 Qe3 32. Nc3
The computer antidote is Nd6, however we were both too
concerned with the rook on e8. I believe when Gennadi grabbed
my b pawn he thought it was as easy as 33. Nd1 hitting
the intruder and stopping the Nf2 smother mate. Of course
Qe1 is mate in two. If true it is an important lesson, because
even strong grandmasters can miss simple things in time pressure.
The crowd starts to reassemble.
Nd3 33. h3 Nf2+ 34. Kh2 Qf4+ 35. Kg1 Nxh3+ 36. gxh3 Qxf3
37. d6 Qg3+ 38. Kf1 Qxh3+ 39. Ke2 Qg2+
My last quick move and even if nothing else works,
I should consider other infiltrations. I did have well
over an hour left and will get another hour in 2 moves.
How can the queen on the seventh be bad I asked as I
blitz off another one. Easy, it allows a retreat defense.
In light of my move 43, it might still be best, but usually
attacks undertaken without a specific aim fail ala Steinitzian
theory. Moving fast is one thing, moving planlessly quite another!
40. Ke1 Ng4 41. Qe2 Qg3+ 42. Kd2
"Oh, he has that" as they say in the parks of Manhattan.
Rd8 43. Rb6 Nh2!!
After my first 20 minute think of the game, I find an
exception to that knight on the rim propaganda. A horse
is a horse, of course of course!!
44. Kc2 Nf3 45. Kb2 Nd4 46. Qd2 h5 47. f6 h4 48. fxg7 Qxg7
The offense leaves the field and they hated to go, but d7
and Qh6 is a real touchdown, so ignoring or Kxg7 are out.
49. Qf2 h3 50. Ka3 Qg2 51. Rb2
This is my first game to appear on the Internet's "Week
in Chess" and here they give the dubious finale Rxd6 0-1.
Black is still better, but it took me an hour to compose
this coup, I'm not giving the h pawn with check.
Ra8+ 52. Na4 Nb5+ 53. Kb3
Kb3 was forced. I was fishing for Kb4 Qe4 and mates, but
the fishing trip took a toll on my concentration and I
now miss the crunching Qxe4; Queen check and Kf8 and no
checks (IM Burnett). Perhaps I fell for Krogius's psychological
error of not wanting to end the game, the crowd seemed to be enjoying
it so. Or as in pro wrestling, pulling them up by the hair after
the two count.
Nd4+ 54. Ka3 Qf3+ 55. Qxf3 Nxf3 56. d7 h2 57. Rb1
Zaichik is now in his last few mins of sudden death and
the obvious move lets him down. Again the knight on the
rim is decisive, because if it is on f3 , I have to try
and win the game all over again. I am still a good bit
better due to the connected passer theme.
Ng1 58. Rc1 h1=Q 59. Rc8+ Kg7 60. d8=Q Qh3+
Not Rc3 because Qxc3 is mate. Here he let his flg fall.
A horse is a horse.
Game 2 1997 World Open
Brian McCarthy - IM E. Sevillano 2589 1997 World Open rd 7
1. d4 c5 2. d5 e6
A transposition test I have given to all my top ten and
top 50 students. Asking them to find all possible transpositions
has yielded responses like c4 a Benoni or d6? like a Benko.
My pattern recognition skills spotted the Morphy position,
e4 e6 d4 c5. Since we were born on the same day and I have
played through his database of games more than a few times,
I felt ready to take on one of the most controversial things
Morphy played. Training with a database that points out all
transposition like Bookup may have been responsible for spotting
e4. I have watched Sevillano play on the ICC and he still does
this and nobody plays e4!
3. e4! exd5
ed5 releasing the tension, is considered weaker than Nf6.
However Nf6 Nc3 leads into one of the wildest Rohde-Shirazi
games I've ever witnessed. It is the only time I can remember
Kamran winning a money game from Mike.
4. exd5 d6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. c4
c4 is probably not best, but I felt confident I could achieve
a Capablanca-Reinfeld Benoni transposition with h3,Nc3,Bd3
and castles. Again the wrong side of my hero's game. First
I'm fighting Morphy, now Reinfeld, that could explain my
uninspired play the next few moves. Black in no way deserves
the position I give him.
Be7 7. Bd3?!
Bd3 may not be bad, but why not Nc3? I teach " in an unfamiliar
position Knight before bishops k side before q side". I
had planned on meeting Bg4 with Nbd2, h3 and g4 if needed.
It is just fantasy.
Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nc3 Na6 10. O-O O-O 11. Be2!?
Again I do what is hard, this game and my Zaichik game
have many similarities. I queen pawns in both of them.
Both opponents felt sure I was a goner. I play a defensive
move, optimistically hoping for better, rather than enter
complication I usually enjoy. Both used all their time and
then were pushed into blunders. Here my idea is simply to
return to Lev Alburt theory, since I have used his reverse
Big Center with success against masters in the past. Just
like my favorite '85 Bears I won both games with aggressive
defense!
11. ... Nc7 12. a3
Scoffing at b5, I threaten to return to the offensive with
b4.
Nd7 13. Bf4 b6 14. Ne4
Ne4 was a one mover against d6, sometimes blitzing your
opponent simply leads to bad moves. This is why I don't
teach any of my students this tactic. The knight on e8 is
really better than c7 and now black is poised to gather
acres of real estate on the kingside.
Ne8 15. b4 Bxf3!
The various permutations of Bxf3 in every line is what
confused me. IM Sevillano picks the absolute best time
since the bishop will now be called as cook, head chef
and bottle washer, c4 needs to be nursed, mate must be
prevented and the d pawn needs help. Thank God this cleric
proves up to the task! If there was an MVP award in chess
this bishop earned it.
16. Bxf3 f5 17. Nc3 Bf6 18. Rc1 Be5 19. Bd2
Again discretion is the better part of valor, and like
the Zaitchik game I must struggle just to survive.
Nc7
The last thing I want to do is surrender the tension in
the only area I'm fighting in, but cb with a b5 break
could get messy.
20. bxc5 bxc5 21. Re1 Rb8 22. a4 Qh4 23. Nb5 Nxb5 24. axb5
24. axb5 is another admission I'm fighting for my life. I'm
5 moves from a queen with cb5, it may as well be 100.
Rf7 25. Bc3
Now forced with g5-g4 mate on h2 looming.
g5 26. Bxe5 Nxe5 27. g3!!
Another pawn flung in the face of a titled player, again
the titled player grabs the offered pawn. Morphy might be
2900 were he alive today. Giving pawns and crushing people
was his stamp on chess. Before Morphy players sacced knights
or bishops on squares like e5 or f7 or they played passively
with such openings as d4 d5 e3. His mastery of the Evan's
and King's Gambit earned a place at the very top. His Sicilian
lines with Bd3 and Be3 are still main lines today.
Perhaps Rf7 overprotecting a7 was his mistake, now Qh6
is the safest, forcing Bg2 and with f4, Re6 looming black
seems slightly worse, but once the knight goes to f7 I
saw no way in. Now even Moses would be proud of the way
my kamikaze bishop parts the hazardous waters for the
tiny d pawn to decide the day!
Qxh3 28. Rxe5!!
Rxe5 was exactly like ...b5 in the Zaichik game, because
even though it gives away material, I couldn't stomach
the alternatives. They were both played instantaneously
and while the spectators seemed to understand, the titled
players grew very confused.
dxe5 29. d6 e4 30. Bh5 Rf6
This simply loses but again my blitz has paid huge dividends.
He has ten moves to make in time pressure. Rg7!! sets up
a blockade defense and shields the king, but how could he
pass up the threat of Rh6 and mate. The queen on h4 did
guard the queening square. Perhaps this was what he missed.
If Rg7! then I must choose between an inferior, but probably
drawable position with d7 and Be8 or the speculative g4
with the idea of fg Bg4! I don't now how I would have
played, but I had plenty of time to decide.
31. Qd5+ Kg7 32. Qxc5 Rbf8 33. d7 Qxh5 34. Qe7+ Qf7
35. d8=Q Rxd8 36. Qxd8 f4 37. Qd4 e3 38. fxe3 f3
It's hard to analyze better moves for black here, he is
still trying to win and his flag is falling.
39. Ra1
Here is where the TWIC game ends. Both games have flawed
TWIC endings because the titled players gave up keeping
score and my score can become hieroglyphic. The ending
was another crowd pleaser. As he picked up his queen to
play Qh5, he realized he not me, would be mated, so he
put her on g6, when I promptly put him out of his misery.
Qg6 40. Rxa7+ Kh6 41. Qxf6 1-0
This was the culmination of a 3 game winning streak, to
be ended the next rd by 2661 GM Serper because I played
to win a rook. queen, bishop and 4 ending. The 5.5/7 put
me on the Internet Chess club live coverage of major events,
for the first time. My first 3000 performance rated day,
my first games in TWIC,(who else is undefeated?), and it
set up my first game on the Internet Chess Club live coverage.
All this good fortune reminds me that not enough
Chess players thank God, like in other sports. I'm not
missing my chance; Thank you Jesus, Thank you Lord!
Return to Homepage