CHESS HORIZONS system is 7... d6 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Bd7 10. Qd2( 10. Nc2!?) 10... Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. f3 a5 followed by... Nd7-c5 8. Qxg4 Nxd4 9. Qd1 Ne6 10. Rc1 b6 10... Qa5 is a positionally risky alternative, with the idea of... g5 attempting to further Black ' s dark square control, but Black ' s queen can come under fire after. 11. Bd3 b6 12. O-O g5( 12... Bb7 13. f4) 13. Bd2! 11. Bd3 O-O 12. O-O d6 13. Qd2 Nc5 14. Bb1 Bb7 15. b4!?
More solid would be 15. f3, but W h i t e put his bishop on b1 to follow up with the more aggressive f4. Although the knight on c5 is forced to retreat, Black obtains counterplay against c4, e. g., Nd7-e5. This is a recurring Hedgehog theme, as excell e n t l y elucidated in Sergey Shipov ' s massive 532 page tome " The Complete Hedgehog " Volume 1(!). 15... Nd7
15... Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Nxe4 17. Bxe4 Bxe4 18. Bh6 16. Rfd1
White is mixing in positional niceties but 16. f4 to prevent... Ne5 looks more logical when the rook might be more effective on f1. 16... Rc8 17. Nd5 Ba6
1 / 2? In response to 17... Ne5!? I had intended the regrouping 18. Bg5 Re8( 18... f6 19. Bh4 Nxc4 20. Qd4 Ne5 21. Rxc8 Bxc8 22. Rc1 with compensation) 19. Ne3 and though I think Black is fine, the position promises plenty of play. 18. Bg5
After long consideration. I was not mulling over the draw off e r, which seemed to coincide with similar off e r s from several of my opponent ' s teamm a t e s. I was looking at 18. c5 and 18. b5 without finding anything promising. At this point my match assessment was that of the four boards my position was the most favorable, so I felt it necessary to press my advantage with the pawn sac. 18... f6
If 18... Re8 19. Ne3 as in the previous note. The game move was played rather quickly. Black may win the c4 pawn but White has plenty of compensation in the weakened e6 square for the knight and the b1-g8 diagonal to Black ' s king. 19. Bh4 Rxc4?!
Better is 19... Bxc4 20. Bd3 b5( 20... Bxd3 21. Rxc8 +-) 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. b5 and the position remains double edged, e. g., 22... Ne5 23. f4 Nd3 24. Rxc4 Rxc4 25. Qxd3 Rc8 26. f5 with compensation. 20. Nf4
Another strong idea is to get control of the c-file: 20. Bd3 Rxc1 21. Rxc1 Bxd3 22. Qxd3 and there are too many threats like Rc7, Rc8, Qh3-e6, and Qa6. 20... Qc8
Black tries to meet the twin threats of Ne6 and Qd5 + by protecting the c4 rook and getting away from the fork. Black can try 20... Qa8 but after 21. Nd5 threatening c7 and e7, Black has nothing better than 21... Qd8 when 22. Bd3 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Bxd3 24. Qxd3 transposes to the note to White ' s 20th move. 21. a4 Kh8 22. Ne6 Re8 23. Ba2 b5
23... Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Qb8 25. Nc7
+- 24. Bxc4 bxc4 25. b5 Bb7 26. Qd4 Ne5 27. Nxg7 Kxg7 28. f4 Nf7 29. Qxc4
I was getting annoyed with the undefended rook on d1 in variations like 29. Rxc4 Qg4 30. Bg3 Bxe4 though White is still winning. I thought the text would be simpler. 29... Qg4 30. Bg3 h5 Suddenly it seemed like the f4
pawn was dropping due to the threat of 31... h4. The Black knight might then become a monster on e5 and... h3 would be in the offing. Add in the approaching time pressure in a position which has seemed so totally winning for the last ten moves, not to mention the match situation( we were down a point at this time), I was relieved to finally hit upon the cute queen trap which relieves Black ' s pressure. 31. Qf1 h4
31... Bxe4 is probably better but the position simplifies after. 32. Qe1 d5 33. h3 Qe6 34. Qe3 32. h3! Qh5
32... Qxg3 33. Rd3 +- 33. Bf2 Bxe4 34. Re1 Ba8 35. Rc7 g5 36. Rexe7 Rxe7 37. Rxe7 gxf4 38. Qc4
With accurate defense White can probably take on a7, but with only a few minutes on the clock the chance to simplify was irresistible. 38... Qg6 39. Qxf7 +! Qxf7 40. Rxf7 + Kxf7 41. Bxa7 Be4
1 / 2? If Black tries to defend the h4 pawn with 41... Kg6 42. Bf2 Kg5 White ' s king takes care of business on the other side. 43. a5 Be4( 43... f3 44. a6 +-) 44. b6 Bb7 45. Kf1 Kh5 46. Ke2 Kg5( 46... Bxg2 47. a6) 47. Kd2. 42. Bf2 f3 43. gxf3 Bxf3 44. Bxh4 Ke6 45. b6 f5 46. Kf2 Bc6 47. a5 Bb7 48. Ke3 Kd7 49. Bf2 Ke6 50. Kd4 f4 51. h4 Kf5 52. Kc4 Ba6 + 53. Kd5 1-0
This game evened the match at 1. 5- 1. 5. All eyes turned to what had now become the decisive Board 1 Stoyko-Kelleher matchup. At some point during the first time control Stoyko ' s cell phone went off, resulting in a ten minute major. Another ring would be a game misconduct, but he made the wise decision of handing over the off e n d i n g device to
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