Section 1: The Battle Between Yefim Treger and Bryan Andrei
For my last October 2024 Quad Report, I want to devote to its winner, Bryan Andrei. He has managed to not only get the clear first place prize but to show a very bright and interesting play. Bryan, being the lowest rated player in a tournament, has won against a good expert and made a draw with me. It was our first confrontation in all tournaments of ICA and I will begin analyzing our game more deeply.
First of all, in this game I had applied one of my favorite variants in the Caro-Kann defense (for White) characterized by the e6-pawn pattern, explained to you many times in my reports. This pattern is shown in the central part of the picture after I had just played 7. e5-e6 (by the way all white and black positions are marked by the special numbers and digits, with the odd numbers and a letter “W” stand for white positions, and the even numbers and letter “B” stand for black positions).
It is interesting to see how position 10 (after my move 7. e5-e6) has occurred. It is shown in the very upper part of the picture by the special variant called “Variant possible before I played 7. e5-e6”. A reason for showing this variant is in the following. Very often the e6-pawn pattern is complemented by moves h2-h4 and h4-h5 to chase away a black g6-bishop (which guards f7-pawn) and make a black king leave his warm place on the eighth rank and get a walk in the center of the board via f7-square (which the white e6-pawn captures upon executing its famous pattern). Imagine that all elements of this plan were executed! Black king traveling the whole board (and not castled!) would have a hard time for his army to defend him (and, on the contrary, for White would be very easy to finish him; for example something like that happens in the Fried Liver Attack, with a knight sacrificing himself on f7-square).
So, in position 01 I was thinking of playing at first h4-h5 (getting the black position 02) and only then play e5-e6. My calculations were reasoned by the fact that Black after 7. h4-h5 could not take my d4-knight because I would capture his g6-bishop by h5xg6 and he could not recapture the insolent g6-pawn by none of his pawns – capturing by h7-pawn would cost him the h8-rook; capturing by f7-pawn would lose d7-kinght after e5-e6-pawn pattern. So Black had to choose some square for his g6-bishop. I began inspecting all these squares (actually, only a few of them had a sense, since c2, f5 and h5 squares are well controlled by white pieces). To my surprise I had found that Black could play a fantastic move Bg6-d3 (getting a white position 03)! This move had shocked me (it prevents e5-e6 since my b5-bishop is hanging) and I stopped analyzing this whole variant. But after I made my e5-e6 move (instead of 7. h4-h5 like in the Variant), it had just dawned on me that I could play Nd4-e6 (getting the black position 04)! If I had found (and played in the Variant above) Nd4-e6 then I would have gotten a much better position than after simple e5-e6 move.
Here is a short lyric paragraph of my report. Could you imagine in advance that in Chess such picturesque positions (like in abovementioned Variant) were possible?! For many of you it is much unexpected (you are very young) but for me (having lived almost 70 years) it is more expected. Yet I am still stuck by the richness and meatiness of Chess (but I believe that one of the reasons of that is the choice of some specific openings and the tactic means like e5-e6 pawn pattern).
Let’s return to the game. Despite not playing a powerful Variant with 7. h4-h5, I was very satisfied with the positions having occurred further in the game. I was lucky to win a pawn but Black had played decently. It had happened until Bryan decided to sacrifice his bishop for the seeming checkmate attack of my king (when you look over ”pgn”-file below it happened on his move 21… Bxg2).
Then something strange happened with respect to my chess behavior/action. At first, I had understood that the bishop's sacrifice was not supposed to be correct. I had accepted such a sacrifice and reached position 20 (it is a black position) having just played move 24. f2-f3.
But the picture says that I offered a draw. Why did I do this? – I had just told you that I did not believe in my opponent’s attack. But while playing 24. f2-f3 (it was a good move since I had to give up h4 pawn to protect my king) – I had suddenly noticed that Black might not have taken my h4-pawn by his queen. He could play at least two annoying moves: 24…Rg3 and 24…Rg5 leading to the shown positions 21 and 23 respectively. By these moves Black wanted to surround my weak h4-pawn by his queen and rook to create combined threats to my king. In the last moment of thinking (my hand was still holding f-pawn) I had quickly noticed that in case of 24…Rg3 I could not play 25. Rg1 since after 25…Qxh4 26. Qh2 I would lose by 26…Rh3. Also another idea had passed rapidly in my head. While for 24… Rg3 the move 25. Qh2 helps to parry an attack for 24…Rg5 the same move (25. Qh2) is bad because of 25…Rh5.
And I panicked! I was afraid of losing my first game (hoping to win two others) and offered a draw while doing my last move 24. f2-f3. Some of you might think “he was afraid of the player who’s rating is 500 point less than his!” But that is not true. I saw hidden resources in the Black’s position and decided not to risk. Yet I admit that this decision (offering a draw) was a manifestation of my faint-heartedness…
I am finishing my report. Again, I sincerely congratulate Bryan for winning the quad. I have just found out that he increased his rating by more than 100 points. That is probably because he was not afraid of losing (like me). He bravely sacrificed a piece hoping to checkmate the opponent’s king. It somehow worked out completely. There is a proverb - "Winners are not judged"… I wish him luck!
At the ICA Saturday quad, the vibe was awesome as usual. It feels like an exclusive club of friends that enjoy the challenge and have fun strategizing their journey to checkmate. I started coming to this venue a long time ago (I’m getting old), but I never had the privilege of playing ICA’s mascot yet. Perhaps the highlight of my tournament, besides my large 150 rating gain, was being able to play chess against the formidable Yefim Treger. This 2100 knows opening lines inside out, and is very good in sharp positions. The following is a description of my game against Yefim Treger:
After an interesting caro-khan, in which Ne2 was played on the second move, I ended up in a seemingly dubious position. I already thought about 10 - 15 min by move 10, and I thought I was in big trouble, with a scary knight roaming freely through my position. Turns out, the engine considered the position as fairly equal. I spent a lot of time on the eleventh move, and I ended up making the wrong decision. The engine recommended Ngf6, but I thought that 11… Ngf6 12. h5 Bxc2 13. Nxg7+ Kf7 14. h6, where I thought the g7 knight would haunt me forever. However, the engine points out that after 14… c4, followed by Bd3, I would start an attack before white could develop the rest of his pieces. After withstanding an almost insurmountable amount of pressure, I seemingly “escaped” on move 20, although I was down a pawn. On move 21, I had two options. I could’ve moved the bishop back to f5, and have counterplay in the form of a kingside assault. However, the idea of Bxg2 was irresistible, especially after defending vigorously throughout the chess game. In the game I thought it was brilliant. The engine however, confirmed that the sacrifice was terrible. Yefim realized that the move was a threat. It put his kingside in shambles with one move, and there was no piece able to defend it immediately. Therefore, it looked really scary. After thinking 5 minutes each on his next two moves, Yefim offered a draw after playing 24. f3. Seeing that he only had 5 minutes, I was debating whether to continue on, or accept the draw. I didn’t however see a favorable continuation, so I accepted the draw, and shook this icon’s hand.
To conclude, I had a great time at ICA this weekend, and I look forward to participating again soon!
I’m back! If only for one day. After receiving a job opportunity in San Antonio, Texas, for which I am now working remotely, I had to step away from the game. However, I simply couldn’t resist returning to competition, even if it is just for one day.
To put it bluntly, I was the clear favorite to win my section. I was the highest rated by over 100 points and knew I could beat my competition. Having said that, I was fully aware that my opponents study chess at least twice a week, and compete at least two days out of the month. Myself? I have not competed since August. Therefore, it was clear that I could not and would not underestimate my opponents.
When sitting down to play my first match against Rayan, I did not feel the usual pressure and nerves that I usually feel before a game. It was probably because, after a grueling semester, I was just happy to compete in the game I love! It was also probably why, after 25 moves of perfect play from both players, the game ended in a draw.
It became clear to both players that whoever would commit would lose the game. My plan, therefore, was simple: do not let Rayan push for d5, and don’t overcommit myself. Clearly, a draw was the only result.
If my first match was solid, but unspectacular, my second, against Nevan, was the exact opposite. In a three-move moment of madness, both players miscalculated and blundered a knight. Therefore, the end result was, once again, a draw!
But the match I would like to highlight is my final game, against Justin. Justin is a player who, as a TD, I was able to watch every week whilst working. Justin has, as of late, had great performances at our quads. He has also, however, had the exact opposite. Even today, he blundered a checkmate in his first match against Nevan! But I knew that, given a quiet and ventilated room, where nobody would be able to distract him, Justin would be at his very best. That is why, with Stephen’s approval, we moved to a different room for our match. For me, the quality of a chess game is more important than the result. I would rather lose a beautiful game than win off a blunder.
And as lady luck had it, that is exactly what happened!
By move 12, I had the makings of a plan: protect the kingside, and launch an attack on the center/queenside. And so, we traded off bishops, and I pushed my central pawns up. My next goal was to weaken his pawn structure. I accomplished that by kicking his queen off the b-file with my a-pawn, and further advancing my central pawns.
Despite my structural dominance and stronger queen, Justin’s knights were clearly more active than mine. And this showed by move 22, where he launched an attack on my queenside pawns. As a result, he won my a-pawn, and I gained further improvements in my structure.
At this point in the match, I lost my patience, knowing I was down a pawn, and was ready to launch an attack. The correct way to proceed was to bring my knight on g6 into the game, via f5 and e6. However, I was adamant about bringing my rook into the game to attack the backward pawns. To put it bluntly, that move cost me the game entirely. My rook became a tactical weakness and, after a couple of moves, it was hung. Game over. (Further comments are available on the study).
I would like to conclude this report by congratulating all three of my opponents and ICA as a school. My feeling after losing to Justin was that I did not underperform at all today. Although I had bad moments against Nevan and Justin, I played decent games overall. And, against Rayan, although the game was cagey and boring, I played an essentially perfect game. Instead, all three of my opponents rose up to the occasion and showed me why they belong at a higher level. If they constantly play like they did today, I fully expect to see them playing at an Open next year. In addition, credit goes to ICA for producing such players, both through lessons and competitions. I am looking forward to seeing what this new batch of players will produce in the near future!
Congratulations to Alan Salnikov for winning our report contest, and a free entry to the tournament. If you want a chance to win a free entry into our Saturday Quads, email a report to icanewjersey@gmail.com, following these guidelines. We hope you guys have had a great week and we hope to see you at our next Quad which is November 2. Enjoy and we hope to see you soon! The Battle: Bryan Andrei’s Perspective
Section 2 Report by Alan Salnikov
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