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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