Yefim Treger Vs. Bryan Andrei – The Sequel!
Every chess game is a challenge and a battle of the minds, but when your opponent is an inspiration, the stakes are even higher. On Saturday, I had the chance to play against Mr. Yefim Treger, a chess player I deeply admire. This was my second time facing him on the chess board, and each match has been unforgettable. Mr. Treger is not only knowledgeable and precise, but also experienced and nimble. He fearlessly launches his attacks, which put almost insurmountable pressure on his opponents. Our game was no exception; it was intriguing and intense.
Playing with the black pieces, like I did in my first game against Mr. Treger a few months ago, I quickly prepared before the game started for the opening line that caught me off guard last time, hoping to avoid ending up in a bad position again. However, he surprised me with another variation of the famous Caro-Kann Defense. The first game of the day begun and Mr. Treger had many surprises for me up his sleeve. My position got worse after I played 4… e6. I was worried about 4… Bg6 followed by 5. e6, but it turns out I would have been fine since my bishop could take on f7 at any time.
I did not realize it at the time, but my position was still getting worse. I struggled to place my pieces in a way that would make me comfortable, but somehow I managed to articulate an attack on the queenside. Unfortunately, I couldn't break through because Mr. Treger’s every move came with tempo, strong like a hammer. As Garry Kasparov once said, “The worst enemy of the [chess player] is the clock” and that was definitely true in this game for both of us. The tension made time slip away quickly, but I was able somehow to balance the position. I was up a pawn, and with Mr. Treger in time pressure, I played 29… Kc7, hoping my king could escape on the kingside through a king walk, where I could use my extra pawn. On move 36, with less than a minute left on his clock, Mr. Treger played Qb5+, and offered a draw. My heart was pounding in my chest – a draw against such a good player would be a great result. But I had to think for a second and evaluate my options.
After the obvious 36… Kd8, I was worried about 37. Rc6. But my mind was racing very fast and I completely missed Qxf4, which would have won another pawn. After the game, I analyzed the position and indeed, 37…Qxf4 would have put me in a winning position! Sometimes, one can play a fantastic game, and still miss an obvious move at the end., especially in time pressure.
Still, it was an honor to play against Mr. Treger for the second time, and I am looking forward to future matches with him. He always throws me interesting curveballs, making each game more fascinating and captivating than the last. Thank you for reading this report, and until next time, stay cool while staying warm!
January 18, 2025, Glen Rock Quad report, Section 1, by Yefim Treger
It is nice to know that some of ICA students not only read my reports but prepare to play with me in advance – and that makes our games more interesting. It is especially concerns Angelo Valentino who intentionally played with me the same variant of Kings Indian Defense which occurred first time in the middle of December (I recommend to read my report from 12/14/2024 and compare our two games; in both of them Angelo was White. I was Black).
Again Angelo has chosen Bg2–fianchetto variant in the Kings Indian Defense and I have again chosen the maneuver Qd8-a5-h5 trying to checkmate my opponent by the famous tandem “queen h5 and knight g4”. This time however we both tried to improve our last confrontation. Thus, I had executed castling (last time I neglected it), Angelo had tried to trade queens by earlier e5; and that was good idea (in that moment I had thought that Angelo prepared it especially for me). But still both of us made some strange decisions. I will try to explain them by using two white positions (1 and 3) and two black positions (2 and 4) shown in the picture.
Would you, being White, play in position 1 c5? This move is anti-positional one, weakens the important d5-square, does not help to develop other pieces, and has many other negative sides. But Angelo made it and I immediately guessed why he did it. He wanted to trap my queen! This move is stopping the black queen from moving along the fifth horizontal and that is its one and only sense! Having guessed it I started analyzing possibilities to trap my queen more deeply. Well, I thought, for my natural move 13…Nf6 he would answer 14. g4. Actually these two moves have been made and position 2 occurred.
How would you play in it? First of all, that is not a trap! Black might answer 15…Qh4 and there is no way to trap the black queen (for example a variant 15…Qh4 16. Bf2 Qg5 17. h4 Qf4 confirms that – White after his unavailing tries would have just weakened his position. I saw this variant but then I decided to analyze a very attractive sacrifice of my c8-bishop for two white pawns. I thought that this sac could give me the famous powerful tandem “queen h5 and knight g4” and I might quickly finish my opponent (by the way, I had to win this game to get some prize). I had calculated the variant 15. g4 Bxg4 16. fxg4 Nxg4 17. Bf4 Bh6 18. h3 Bxf4 and was very satisfied by its value (if White had taken my g4-knight either by his h-pawn or by his queen I would have checked Bf4-e3, with a good position). However I had miscalculated that in the variant just mentioned White could capture my bishop by 19. Rxf4 and I would have stayed at the broken trough! It is a pity that I noticed it too late, after I had really sacrificed my c8-bishop for two pawns. So, after Angelo had made his move 17. Bf4 I decided not to play 17…Bh6, but instead I play 17…Rad8 what in some time resulted in position 3.
How would you play in position 3? Of course, White has to get rid of annoying pin of his d5-bishop. Angelo had played 22. Qf3 but it was a mistake since after 22…e5 Black had completely equalized the position (White could not save his dark-squared bishop due to the Black’s checkmate threats). However, White could play actively – 22. Qd4, and Black would have had a very bad position. It was a big Angelo’s mistake but not the last one. In some time he had made the fatal one, look at position 4.
White had just played 26. Be4 (from b7). Find the Black’s best move. It is 26… Rg8 with an idea of 26… Rg8+ 27. Bg2 Rdg7 28. Rf2 Nd3 29. Raf1 Nxf2 with a winning position for Black. In spite of time trouble I was able to finish the game without any further mistakes and won a prize!
However, I have to admit that my opponent had fought decently. Yes, he made the last mistake in the game, but a position was difficult enough to fully calculate… I am looking forward to play him again!
Section 3 Report by Rayan Zarineh
On Saturday, January 18, I played in section 3. After three rounds, I was able to finish with 2.5 points, securing first place in my section.
My first game was against Ely {I was white}, a player who had gone up some rating in the last few tournaments, especially Nationals. The game started with the queen's pawn opening, and both of us played without mistakes. I focused on keeping my position solid , and capitalizing on any mistakes made by my opponent. After several exchanges, I got into an endgame in which I was able to maneuver my pieces effectively, putting Ely in a difficult position. Eventually, Ely could not keep his position together and I got the win.
In the second round, I was black and faced Arav . Arav opened the game with the queen's pawn opening. Arav was quick to exploit my mistakes, but I kept playing. As the game progressed, I was able to equalize the position a little bit and reach an endgame . I managed to win a pawn and equalize the material.But Arav began making mistakes and I capitalized on them, and it led me to victory.
The third and final round of the day saw me{white} facing Albert{black}. By this point, I had earned 2.0 points and was determined to finish strong. Albert played the solid Petrov.On the fifth move he made a decisive blunder, but I missed it. After a few exchanges, Albert managed to create some pressure on my position. From there, I played carefully keeping the position equal. My careful approach paid off, and I was able to secure a half point, bringing my total to 2.5 points and ensuring my victory in the section.
The tournament was a great experience for me, and winning my section with 2.5 points felt incredibly satisfying. Each game offered its own challenges.
Congratulations to Bryan Andrei for winning this report contest. ! 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 will not have a quad next week, so enjoy your New Years and we hope to see you at our next Quad which is January 25.
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