Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Round 4 of the KCC Championship


diagram

Pelican - Gadgil
White to play and win after 5...Bc5?



diagram

Selling-Davis
Black to play and at least draw after 29.Re6?!



diagram

Massey - Minkov
Black to play and win after 25.Nxa6?



diagram

Massey - Minkov
White to play and win after 38...Kd6.



diagram

Massey - Minkov
White to play and win after 42...Rc7.



diagram

Kernighan - Tomkovich
Black to play and gain a
winning attack after 29.Qb1.


The games from Round 4 of the Kenilworth Chess Club Championship featured many missed opportunities, some (as in Massey-Minkov, Kernighan-Tomkovich, or Selling-Davis) where players rated 300 or more points lower could have won or drawn. In some cases, such as the miniature Pelican-Gadgil, there was a second chance and the opportunity did not get away. In others, such as the time-pressure-flawed game Massey-Minkov, both sides missed chances and eventually agreed a fitting draw. The missed "solutions" can be found exclusively in the notes to these games, which you can also download in PGN format.

In my own game against John Moldovan, which he annotated for our site, I made a few errors but was generally outplayed. John is an excellent player who has done very well in this tournament. In the three previous rounds, he held equality until late in the game against FM Steve Stoyko, achieved a draw against NM Mark Kernighan, and should have won (but lost) against NM Scott Massey. I expect John will play an increasingly important role at our club and it is good to see him succeed, even if it has to be at my expense!

3 comments:

Robert Pearson said...

Hi Michael,

I love these reports and find them very instructive. Did a post and a link to this one today.

I looked at the Kernighan - Tomkovich diagram for a long time and couldn't find 29. ...b5 to save my life! Interesting and difficult combination.

Michael Goeller said...

Thanks for the comment and the link. It got me to take a look at your blog, which I have not done for a while, and I liked your post on "The New Era in Chess Publishing" (which deserves a link back).

BTW: I think I just found a "cook" for problem #2 -- Selling-Davis. The proposed "solution" is still the surprising best move, but it does not force a draw. White has chances to continue the game and play for a win (which he would have done with an opponent much lower rated)... Make that a second puzzler if you wish.

Robert Pearson said...

Yes, going a few moves deeper in Selling-Davis leads to a pawn ending where material is equal but White has a King on the 5th rank v. K on the 3rd and more tempo moves...I'm going to see if I can analyze it out to a finish. I'll let you know...