Changes to Chess Publishing in the Past 10 years

10 years ago I was actively involved in writing chess articles for Canadian chess magazine (it was called “En Passant” at the time). As I was going through my old articles I started thinking of what changed in the world of chess publishing in the past 10 years:

• Computer engines have become much stronger, so most analysis absolutely must be checked with them
• six piece endgame table bases have been developed, which does have an impact on a lot of my articles – since I focused on endgames
• Paper books is not the only format in which chess materials are distributed. Many chess materials are published as free and commercial videos and on web sites. Ebooks have really taken off with most chess books published today also being available in digital format. 
• The way I am creating this blog post is actually by talking into a microphone and then the computer converts my speech into text, even though it does require a lot of correction
• The magazine for which I wrote is no longer sent out by mail to all members of Canadian chess federation and instead is also available online

10 years ago the amount of information available seemed overwhelming, and this is even more true today. Good information and study materials are still in high demand - quality was important 10 years ago and it is still very important now. Reviewing the analysis and commentary that I created 10 years ago it is easy to spot some mistakes, but we do live in a different world today…

Opposite Coloured Bishops – part 12

(14) Moore Harry - Herder D
1994 BC Closed (6), 1994

How are the opposite coloured bishop endgames affected when also one pair of rooks is on the board? A very important idea is that the stronger side can sacrifice the exchange in order to break through the blockade. This is very logical, as by giving up a rook for a bishop, we eliminate the drawish factor of the position - opposite colour bishops. 33...Bd5 White is suffering from weakness of light squares around his king, with potential back rank problems. This, in addition to Black's extra pawn is more than decisive. 34.exf6 Kxf6 35.a3 a4 36.h3 [36.Rc1 ! ? 36...Bc4 37.f3 -1.22 37...b5 38.Ba5 Rc6 39.Rd1 Be2] 36...Rc2 37.Bb4 h5 38.Ba5 Kf5 39.Bb4 Rb2 Diagram

40.Re3? Of course, it was necessary to prevent Rxb4. Then Black would have to transfer his king to b3 or a2, with the idea of still sacrificing the exchange on a3. The complex of weak light squares on the kingside would make it very hard for the White king or rook to prevent this invasion. [40.Bd6 ! ? 40...g4 -1.22 (40...Be4 ? 41.g4+; 40...Kf6 ? 41.Be5+) ] 40...g4 41.h4 Rb1+ Diagram

! probably White missed this intermediate check. 42.Re1 Rxb4 ! 43.axb4 a3 Diagram

now the pawn gets to a2 44.Kf1 Bc4+ 45.Kg2 a2 46.Rc1 b6 47.Ra1 Bd5+ 48.Kf1 Ke4 49.Ke2 Bc4+ 50.Kd2 Kf3 51.Ke1 [51.Kc3 Bd5 52.Rf1 Ke2] 51...b5 52.Rd1 Diagram

White does not let the black king to 'b2'. Dave Herder opens the 'second front'. 52...e5 53.Ra1 e4! 54.Rc1 Bd3 Threatening Bb1 55.Ra1 Bb1 56.Kf1 e3 Diagram

Very elegant play by the BC master! 0-1

Opposite Coloured Bishops – part 11

I am continuing the series of annotated games with endgames with bishops of opposite colours. More examples are here. This example illustrates that weak pawns are vulnerable in this type of endgame just like in any other. A rook is particularly good at picking up weak pawns, while the bishop can help to protect your own pawns.

Chiburdanidze Maia (GM) (GEO) (2500) - Hoffmann Michael (GER) (2485)
It Lippstadt (Germany) (1), 1995

31.Kg2 White has an advantage, as the Black bishop is in a cage of white and black pawns. As Black tries to free up the bishop with 'g6-g5', his pawns are going to become weak. [31.Kf1 !? planning Kf1-e2-d3, then if 31...Bf6 32.Ke2 Bh4] 31...Bf6 32.Kg3 h6 ? ! [32...a4 !? A much better way to activate the bishop was: 33.Rc2 ! ? (33.a3 ? 33...c2 -0.48) 33...a3 34.Kf3 Kd7 35.Ke2 Bd8 36.Kd3 Ba5 37.f3 Rb8 38.Bb3 0.00] 33.Bb3 g5 34.Bc2 Ke6 35.Rb1 Diagram

35...gxf4+ ? [35...Bd8 36.Rb7 Bc7 +0.48] 36.Kxf4 Notice how many 'pawn islands' Black has. 36...Bg5+ 37.Kf3 Bd8 38.Rb5 d5 39.Ke2 Rc4 40.Kd3 a4 41.Rb8 Be7 42.Rh8 Diagram

All 5 Black's weak pawns start to fall down like leaves from a tree in fall. 42...f4 43.Rxh6+ Bf6 44.Rh7 a3 45.Bb3 c2 46.Bxc2 Rb4 47.Bb3 f3 48.Ra7 Diagram

1-0

Opposite Coloured Bishops – part 10

I am continuing the series of annotated games with endgames with bishops of opposite colours. More examples are here.

(12) Suetin Alexey S (RUS) - Botvinnik Mikhail (RUS)
Ch URS Moscow (Russia), 1952

45...Bxe4 ?! with two bishops and an extra pawn Black is clearly winning; now things become more complicated. After being removed from the USSR Olympic team in 1952 ''for poor results", the WC, Mikhail Botvinnik was anxious to win the 1952 USSR Championship, to prove that "he could still play chess". In the final round he needed a win to catch up with Mark Taimanov; as a result, this endgame becomes the struggle of nerves. [45...Rf3-/+] 46.Bxe4 d5 47.Bd3 Be5 ? ! [47...e5 Botvinnik recommends: 48.Rb6 e4 49.Rxb7+ Kd6 50.Bxa6 Rxc2 -1.22 in positions with rooks + bishops of opposite colours, it is important to have a strong pawn center that would reduce the scope of opponent's pieces, bishop in particular (note a similar idea in Alexander-Smyslov) . Even though the material gets reduced, White's pieces are disorganized. 51.b4 ?! For example: (51.Rb6+ !? seems to be better) 51...e3 52.Kb3 ? ! (52.a5 Rc4 ! 53.Rb6+ Ke7 54.Bxc4 dxc4 55.Rb7+ Kf6 -5.50) 52...e2 !] 48.Rg8 Kd7 49.b4 Bf6 50.Rg1 Diagram

50...Rh2 again, Botvinnik notes that the 'e5' pawn must be pushed as soon as possible [50...e5 !] 51.Kb3 Kd6 52.Rd1 Ke7 53.c4 Rb2+ 54.Ka3 dxc4 55.Bxc4 Rc2 56.Bb3 Bb2+ 57.Ka2 Rf2 58.Bc4 a5 59.bxa5 Bc3+ 60.Kb3 Bxa5 61.Bb5 b6 Diagram

now the position has simplified too much, and most spectators expected a draw to be the result 62.Kc4 Kf6 63.Kd4 Rf4+ 64.Ke3 Ke5 65.Rh1 Re4+ 66.Kd3 Rg4 67.Rh5+ Kd6 68.Rh8 Ke5 69.Rh5+ Kf4 70.Rh3 Rg8 71.Rh4+ Ke5 72.Rh5+ Kd6 73.Rh4 Rg3+ 74.Ke4 [74.Kd4 ! 0.00] 74...Bd2 Diagram

75.Bd3 ? now a small miracle happens. 75...Bg5 ! 76.Rh5 Kc5 Diagram

White has to give up material to avoid mate. Probably inspired by such a finish, Botvinnik went to on to win his 7th national title in the tie-break match against Taimanov. 0-1

Replay game in the viewer:

Opposite Coloured bishops – Part 9

Aron Kapstan recently won 2009 Manitoba Seniors Championship. Here is a game of his that I annotated for one of my older articles. He nicely outplayed a less experienced opponent in the complicated endgame.

(11) Tootoosis Harvey - Kaptsan Aron
CAN-op (2), 09.07.2000

37...Bxc3 38.b3 e6 39.Bc4 White is up two pawns and should win. 39...Kg7 40.Kc2 Bb4 41.Rd7 Kf6 Diagram

42.f5 ?! This 'tactical' shot just helps Black. 42...exf5 43.Rxf7+ Ke5 44.Kd3 ? [44.Bd3+-] 44...Rh8 Now the position becomes unclear. Black gets his own passer, which is supported by the king, rook, and bishop. To stop this pawn White sends his king. Seems to be a bit risky, does not it? 45.Rb7 Rxh3+ 46.Ke2 Bc3 Diagram

47.a5 !? White keeps finding tactical resources... 47...Ke4 [47...Bxa5 48.Rb5+] 48.a6 Rh2+ 49.Kf1 Diagram

49...f4 ? I think that Black is playing just using his intuition in this entire endgame. [49...Kf3 !? More precise was 50.Bd5+ Kg3 51.Rb8 (51.a7 ? 51...Rf2+ 52.Kg1 Rf4 -5.50) 51...Rf2+ 52.Kg1 Bd4 53.Rg8+ Kh3 and Black seems to be getting a draw: 54.Bc4 Rg2+ 55.Kf1 Rxg8 56.Bxg8 Kg3 57.Ke2 Kf4 0.00] 50.Rd7 f3 Diagram

51.a7 ?? Missing something very important... [51.Bd5+ White had some winning chances after 51...Ke3 52.Re7+ Kd3 53.Bxf3 Bd4 54.Be4+ (54.a7 ? 54...Rf2+ 55.Ke1 Rxf3-/+ !) 54...Kc3 55.Bd5 Ra2 56.Rc7+] 51...Rh1+ 52.Kf2 Be1# Diagram

 0-1

Opposite Coloured Bishops - Part 8

Continued from Part 7

(10) Alexander Conel Hugh - Smyslov Vassily (RUS)
London (England) London (England) (1), 1954

21.g3 White's dark squares are a bit weak on the kingside, so he decides to spend a tempo on 'fixing the holes'. Even though Black is slightly better, draw seems to be the only possible result here. [21.Re1 Bf2] 21...Rb8 ! ? 22.b3 Re8 23.Bb5 Re6 24.Rd1 c6 Diagram

25.f5 ? This active move turns out to be a serious mistake. White occupies the 'e' file, but as there are no invasion squares, the file has little importance. However, the pawn on 'f5' is a weakness, and limits White's own bishop. 25...Rd6 26.Bd3 Kf8 27.Kg2 Bb4 28.Rf1 Ke7 29.Rf2 Rd8 30.Kf3 Kd6 31.Re2 Bc3 32.Kf4 Rb8 33.h4 a5 Diagram

34.Kg4 ? [34.a4 !] 34...c5 35.Kh5 a4 36.g4 Be5 37.g5 hxg5 38.hxg5 Rb4 39.Re3 Rf4 40.c4 ? 40...Bd4 41.Rg3 a3 Diagram

 

And the 'a2' pawn falls. This game shows that superior technique in simple positions can bring a lot of extra points to a player. 0-1

Replay game in the viewer:

Opposite Coloured Bishops – Part 7

(9) Shariyazdanov Andrey (RUS) (2470) - Ruck Robert (HUN) (2465)
Ch Europe (juniors) (under 20) Slofok (Hungary) (9), 1996

Now we have some sense of what to expect from pure endings with bishops of opposite colours. With rooks on the board, things are different. In "Basic Chess Endings" Reuben Fine noticed that with the presence of rooks, first of all, an attack against the enemy's king is possible; secondly, it becomes possible to attack the enemy's weak pawns. Coming are examples to 11-13 illustrate his point, but is there anything else that is different? In fact, for the stronger side it is not necessary to be attacking the king directly, more active and better coordinated pieces can promise serious winning chances even if the opponent's pawn structure is undamaged and provides relatively good shelter for the king. We have already seen how Botvinnik (in example # 7) managed to win a pawn by just using better placement of his heavy pieces. 30...Bf8 White has several very important advantages:
1) his pieces are much more active
2) as a result of this Black's a7 and f7 can become a target
3) White has a kingside pawn majority that he can advance, while Black's queenside majority is useless. 31.Kf3 Ba3 32.g4 Diagram

Examples of winning such positions can be found in the games of Keres, Boleslavsky and others. For young modern GM's this has become just a part of their technique. 32...Kg7 33.Rd3 Bc5 34.Ke4 Kf8 35.f5 gxf5+ 36.gxf5 f6 Diagram

37.Be6 Typical for positions with rooks + bishops of opposite colors: the bishop 'physically' limits the range of opponent's rook. 37...fxe5 38.Kxe5 Kg7 39.f6+ Kg6 40.Rg3+ Kh5 now the Black king may be danger. 41.f7 Rf8 42.a4 a6 43.Rg8 Kh6 44.Kd5 a5 45.Kc6 Kh5 46.Kd7 Kh6 47.h4 Bb4 Diagram

48.h5! Kxh5 [48...Bc5 49.Rxf8 Bxf8 50.Ke8 Kg7 51.h6+! - the idea behind advancing the 'h' pawn.] 49.Rxf8 Bxf8 50.Ke8 Bc5 51.f8Q Bxf8 52.Kxf8+- Kg5 53.Ke7 h5 54.Kd6 Kf6 55.Bd5 h4 56.Kc6 Ke5 57.Bh1 1-0

Replay the game in the viewer:

Opposite Coloured Bishops – Part 6

Continued from Part 5. This game is a good example of a practical endgame that goes through several exchanges, but White’s pawn weaknesses persist throughout the transitions and eventually lead to a loss. On move 32 White missed what was probably her best chance to build a fortress. Again, sacrificing a pawn for strategic purpose is a good idea in these endings. As it happened, the position on move 39 reminds us of the principle of two weaknesses.

(8) Umanskaya Irina (2300) - Lesiege Alexandre (2580)
Cappelle-la-Grande op (2), 20.02.2000

22.Rhd1 c5 [The greedy 22...Rxc4 ? loses a piece after 23.Re1 ! 23...Kf7 24.Bd2 Ra4 25.Ree8] 23.h4 h6 24.R1d3 g5 25.hxg5 hxg5 26.Bd2 b6 27.Re3 Rxe3 28.Bxe3 Diagram

With only one pair of rooks left, the pin is not so dangerous. The 'c4' pawn is weak, however, and later it can be a good target for Black's bishop. 28...Kg6 29.Kd2 Bb7 30.Rxa8 Bxa8 31.f4 g4 Diagram

32.Bf2 [32.f5+ ! ? 32...Kxf5 33.Bf4 deserved attention, then the bishop would be able to protect g3 from the whole 'b8-h2' diagonal. 33...Ke4 (33...Bb7 34.Kd3 Be4+ 35.Ke3 Bb1 36.Bb8 a6 37.Ba7 Bxa2 38.Bxb6 Bxc4 39.Bxc5 0.00) 34.Ke2 Bb7 35.Bb8 Ba6 (35...a5 36.Bc7 Ba6 37.Bxb6 Bxc4+ 38.Kf2) 36.Bxa7 Bxc4+ 37.Kf2 Bxa2 38.Bxb6 0.00] 32...Kf5 33.Ke3 Bg2 34.a3 Bf1 35.Be1 Bxc4 Now White is down a pawn and the White pawns on g3 and a3 are very weak. 36.Bf2 Ke6 37.Ke4 f5+ 38.Ke3 Kd5 39.Kd2 Diagram

39...Bf1 The black king threatens to penetrate both to a3 and to g3. The white king cannot keep the opposition because the black bishop controls crucial squares. Thus White's fortress collapses before it was built. 40.Ke3 [40.Kc2 Ke4 41.Kd2 Kf3 42.Be1 c4 43.Kd1 (43.a4 a5) 43...Bd3 44.Kd2 Be2 45.Kc2 Ke3 46.Kc1 Bf3 47.Kc2 Ke2-+] 40...Kc4 41.Kd2 Kb3 42.Be3 Kxa3 Diagram

43.Kc2 Bc4 44.Bd2 Ka4 45.Kb2 Kb5 46.Be3 Kc6 47.Kc2 Kd5 48.Bd2 Ke4 49.Kc1 Kf3 50.Be1 Ke2 0-1

Replay the game in the viewer below:

Paul Keres Memorial 2002 – part 3 - combinations

To conclude posting extracts from my 7 year old En Passant article about this tournament, here are a few tactical positions:

(6) Leblanc,Paul - Spears,Nicholas [D02]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (2.10), 18.05.2002

Black to move

16...Rh1+ 0-1

(7) Wu,Howard - Daswani,Ben [C09]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (4.21), 19.05.2002

White to move

White is completely winning, but the finishing move is neat. 17.Qh5! 1-0

(8) Lee,Mau-Seng - Stanford,Mike [B45]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (5.7), 19.05.2002

White played 25.Bd2 overlooking a queen sacrifice:
Black to move
25...Qxh2+ 0-1

Opposite Coloured Bishops – Part 5

Continued from Part 4

(7) Kotov Alexander (RUS) - Botvinnik Mikhail (RUS)
Ch URS Moscow (Russia), 1955

25...Be4! Black's advantage is obvious: his bishop is much better than White's. 26.Qd2 Qg4 Black exerts pressure on 'g2'; his own pawns on f6 and g7 make similar ideas by White impossible. 27.h3 Qg6 28.Qf2 h5 29.Kh2 a5 Diagram

In these positions, it is important for the stronger side to have its pawns on the squares of the colour same as the opponent's bishop to limit its scope. 30.Ba3 b5 31.Bc5 b4 32.Rcc1 Rdc8 33.Bd4 Bc2 34.Rd2 Be4 35.Rdd1 Qf5 36.Qe2 Qg6 37.Qf2 a4 ! ? 38.Rxc8+ Rxc8 39.bxa4 Qe8 40.Rd2 Qxa4 41.Qh4 Rc2 Of course, trading rooks relieves White's defensive task, but there was no other way to win the 'a2' pawn. 42.Rxc2 Qxc2 43.Qg3 Qxa2 44.Bxf6 Qxg2+ ! 45.Qxg2 Bxg2 46.Bd4 Be4 Black won a pawn, but the position is very likely drawn. With great ingenuity Botvinnik confuses his opponent and pulls out a study-like win. 47.Kg3 Kf7 48.h4 g6 49.Kf2 Ke6 50.Ke2 Kf5 51.Kd2 Kg4 52.Bf6 White is defending according to the general principle: the king should block the passed pawn, while the bishop is defending his own pawns on the other flank. But he has to be very careful as both 'h4' and 'e3' require protection, and the 'b' pawn can be used to deflect one of defenders. 52...Kg3 53.Be7 Kh3 54.Bf6 Kg4 55.Be7 Bf5! Diagram

The bishop is being transferred to 'e6'. Notice that in the middlegame it would have been a passive square for it, but in the endgame the bishop is going to be very useful on the 'a2-g8' diagonal. 56.Bf6 Kf3 57.Be7 b3 58.Kc3 Be6 59.Bc5? Diagram

[59.Kxb3 d4+ 60.Kc2 dxe3 61.Kd1 Kf2 62.Bc5 Bb3+ 63.Kc1 Kf3 64.Kb2 Bd1 65.Kc1 Ba4 66.Bd6 Kg4 67.Be7 Kxf4-+; 59.Kd2 ! 59...b2 60.Kc2 Kxe3 61.Kxb2 Kxf4 62.Kc3= is given by Botvinnik] 59...g5 !! Shock. 60.fxg5 [60.hxg5 h4 61.f5 Bxf5 62.Kxb3 h3 63.Bd6 Kxe3] 60...d4+ ! The 'b' pawn must be saved. Material balance does not matter much as Black gets two distant passers, 'b' and 'h' pawns. White gets two passers too, but the bishop on e6 is acting according to the principle of one diagonal! It stops both White pawns and defends his own 'b3 pawn', along the a2-g8 diagonal. If White's pawn was on a4 instead of d4, he would not lose. 61.exd4 Kg3 that's why Black played 'g6-g5' - now the 'h4' pawn cannot be protected by the bishop from e7. 62.Ba3 Kxh4 63.Kd3 Kxg5 64.Ke4 h4 65.Kf3 Bd5+ Kf2 Kf4 and the king marches to c2. 0-1

Paul Keres Memorial 2002 – Part 2 – two bishops in the endgame

Part 1. I did not perform too well in that edition of the Keres Memorial, but the first round win was very satisfying:

(5) Jiganchine,Roman - Maheux,Pierre [B32]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (1.9), 17.05.2002

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 a6 6.Nd6+ Bxd6 7.Qxd6 Qf6 Starting a new opening is always a painful process, so I felt myself really uncomfortable about the fact that in this position I was already out of book. 8.Qxf6 [Theoretical 8.Qd1 Qg6 seemed to involve some subtleties so I decided to go for a simple solution, even though it Black might get good chances to equalize immediately.] 8...Nxf6 9.Nc3 d5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Bd3 Nfxd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bd2 Diagram

And here I got really happy about my two bishops. In this pawn structure the control of the 'd' file is what each player strives for to get an advantage, but for now it is blocked by 3 minor pieces, and I decided that my chance is instead to put pressure on the e5 pawn.13...Be6 14.0-0 [14.0-0-0!?] 14...0-0-0 15.Ba5 Rde8 [15...Rd7!] 16.Rfe1 f6 17.g3 Diagram

preventing ...Nf4. Depriving opponent's knight of outposts is a common strategy when possessing two bishops.17...Ne7 18.c3 Kb8 19.Bb6 Nc8 20.Be3 Rd8 21.Bf1 Bd5 22.f4 Diagram

Hoping to open up the position for the bishops22...exf4? Black cooperates... 23.Bxf4+ Ka8 24.c4 Bc6 25.b4 Now White has a large advantage: I managed to get my pawns advance, and Black's pieces are pushed back to the last ranks. 25...Rhe8 26.b5 axb5 27.cxb5 Be4 28.Bc7 Diagram

With a very tempting idea to set up a mating net: now White just has to get a rook on the 'a' file. 28...Rd4 29.Rad1 Rxd1 30.Rxd1 Re7 31.b6 Bc6 The threat was 32. Rd8 Bf5 33.Rd5 and Ra5. 32.Bh3 Re8 33.Rd3 Bb5 34.Ra3+ Ba6 Diagram

35.Rxa6+ I was really pleased that the game ended with this mini-combination: the advantage of two bishops was converted in its pure form: [35.Rxa6+ bxa6 36.Bg2+ White uses only his bishops to deliver mate.] 1-0
You can replay this game in a viewer:

Paul Keres Memorial 2002 – part 1 – 3 wins by Bobby Meng

In 2002 Keres memorial - Bobby Meng was provided a sensation result, tying for first place with Georgi Orlov and Jack Yoos among others, beating the new Canadian Champion Pascal Charbonneau in the process. I wrote a report about the tournament for En Passant, so here is the selection of Bobby`s games. I analysed 3 games in that article:
Meng-Wu
Pupols – Meng
Adam - Meng

(1) Meng,Fanhao - Wu,Howard [D42]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (1.10), 17.05.2002

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Bobby is a loyal supporter of this move and it does bring him good results. 2...Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 d6 7.exd6 e6 8.Nc3 Bxd6 9.Bd3 0-0 10.0-0 Diagram

10...Be7 [10...Nce7!?] 11.a3 [I prefer 11.Re1 , but Bobby usually goes for queenside play in these IQP positions] 11...Bf6 suddenly the game transposed into the major theoretical QGD line. White is doing well in this line, so I don't think Black's two move manoeuvre Bd6-e7-f6 was really worth the time investment 12.Be3 [Again, Bobby ignores main lines: 12.Be4 scores well for White] 12...g6 13.Rc1 Nxc3 14.bxc3 e5 [14...b6 15.Bh6 Bg7 16.Bg5 Qc7 17.c4 Bb7 18.d5 Ne5 19.Be4 Qd6 was Gelfand-Van Wely, 1998. The position soon simplified to a draw: 20.Bf4 exd5 21.Bxd5 Bxd5 22.Bxe5 Bxe5 23.Nxe5 Qxe5 24.Qxd5 Qxd5 25.cxd5 Rfd8 26.Rfd1 Rac8=] 15.Bb5 Bg4 16.d5 e4? a miscalculation [>=16...Ne7+/=] 17.dxc6 exf3 18.Qxd8 Raxd8 Diagram

19.Bc5? Now Black is doing ok again [19.cxb7!+-] 19...fxg2 20.Kxg2 bxc6 21.Bxf8 [21.Bxc6!? Rd3 22.Bxf8 (22.f3 Rc8 23.Be4 Rxc3 24.Rxc3 Bxc3 25.fxg4 Rxc5 26.Rc1 Bd4=) 22...Bh3+ 23.Kg1 Bxf1 24.Bc5! Bh3 25.Bxa7 Bxc3 26.Be4 Rd7 and Black is ok] 21...cxb5 22.Bc5 Rd3?! [>=22...a6] 23.f3 Be6 24.Rfd1 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Bxc3 26.Rd8+ Kg7 27.Bxa7 Bb2?! [27...b4!? 28.axb4 Bxb4 29.Bd4+ Kh6; 27...Kf6] 28.Bd4+! Bxd4 29.Rxd4 Diagram

and White managed to win this endgame29...Kf6 30.Kf2 Ke5 31.Ke3 Bb3 32.Rd7 Ke6 33.Rb7 Bc4 34.Kd4 g5 35.Kc5 h5 36.Kd4 [36.Rxb5 Bxb5 37.Kxb5 is not more than a draw for White 37...Kd6 38.Kb6 g4 39.fxg4 hxg4 40.a4 f5] 36...f6 37.Rc7? [37.a4 Be2 38.Ke3 Bc4 39.axb5 was winning on a spot] 37...Kf5 38.Ke3 Kg6 39.Rc5 Kh6 40.Ke4 Kg6 Diagram

41.h4 [Bobby's calculation (or intuition?) is precise: 41.Rxc4 here (and earlier) does not win: 41...bxc4 42.a4 f5+ 43.Kd4 g4 44.fxg4 fxg4 45.a5 h4 46.a6 g3 47.hxg3 hxg3 and Black queens with check] 41...gxh4 [41...Be2 42.hxg5 fxg5 43.Rc6+ Kg7 44.Kf5 Bxf3] 42.f4 h3 43.Kf3 Bf1 44.Kg3 Be2(.) [44...Kh6 45.Kh4 h2 46.Rxh5+ Kg6 47.f5+! Kf7 48.Kg3] 45.Kxh3 Kf7 46.Kh4 Ke6 47.Rc2 Bd3 48.Rc3 Bf1 49.Kxh5 Kf5 50.Rc2 Bd3 51.Rf2 Ke4 52.Kg4 f5+ [52...Ke3 53.Rf3+ Ke4 54.Rh3] 53.Kg5 Ke3 54.Rb2 Ke4 55.Rb4+ Kd5 56.Kf6 Kc6 57.Ke5 Kc5 58.Rd4 Bb1 59.Rd5+ Kc4 60.Ke6 Bd3 61.Rxd3 1-0

(2) Pupols,Viktors - Meng,Fanhao [D12]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (5.5), 19.05.2002

27...Kf7 In this game Bobby got lucky: having been outplayed, he is now receiving a couple of strong blows: [27...Kd8!?] 28.g5 fxg5 29.Nxd5!? exd5 30.Bxd5+ Kg7 Diagram

31.Rc6!? [31.Bxa8] 31...Qd8 32.Rg1 Re8 Diagram

33.Qc1? A strange decision, having conducted the attack with great energy White suddenly retreats. [Winning was 33.Qf3! Rf8 34.Qh5 Rf6 35.Rxf6 Nxf6 36.Qxg5 Nxd5 37.Qxg6+ Kf8 38.Rf1++-] 33...Rc8 34.Rxg5 Ndf8 35.Rxc8 Qxc8 36.Qxc8 Rxc8 37.Bb7 Rd8 38.Rg4 Rd6 Diagram

Black consolidated and went on to win this endgame with an extra piece. 0-1

(3) Adam,Valerian - Meng,Fanhao [C50]
Keres mem 27th Vancouver (3.4), 18.05.2002

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Be3 Bb6 7.h3 0-0 8.Nc3 Be6 9.Bxb6 axb6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.d4 Nd7 12.d5 exd5 13.Nxd5 Nc5 Diagram

I think this is Bobby's best game in the tournament: he manages to play around the White knight on d5 and his own knights start an impressive tango: the semi-open 'f' file, and the h2-h3 advance provide Black with good chances on the kingside.14.c3 Kh8 15.Qe2 Ne7 16.a3 Ng6 17.g3 White covered both d4 and f4, but now the Nf3 lacks support 17...Ne6 18.Qe3 h6 Bobby makes sure that White can never play Ng5, trading off a badly placed N 19.Rad1 Qd7 20.Kh2 Rf7 21.h4 Qb5 Diagram

playing on both flanks reveals a rather mature positional player22.h5 Raf8!? [22...Ne7?! 23.Nxe7 Rxe7 24.Nh4 would have allowed the White N to get to better squares, now he has to go down..] 23.Ng1?! [23.Nd2!?] 23...Ne7 24.b4 Nxd5 25.exd5 Diagram

25...Ng5

Very nice! Black traded off White's strong Nd5, and White is now left out with a passive Ng1 26.f3 Qd7 27.Kg2 Rf6! 28.Qe2 Qf7 29.g4 Rf4 30.c4 Qd7 31.Rde1 Kg8 32.Kg3 Kh8 33.Kg2 e4! Diagram

Now White's pawn structure collapses34.fxe4 Qxg4+ [34...Rxg4+ 35.Kh2 Rxf1 36.Rxf1 Rxe4 was probably an easier way to win - perhaps a bit typical for Bobby: if he sees a good continuation, he sometimes does not stop to look for anything better] 35.Qxg4 Rxg4+ 36.Kh2 Rxf1 37.Rxf1 Rxe4 38.Rf8+ Kh7 39.c5 bxc5 40.bxc5 dxc5 41.Rc8 Re7 42.Kg2 g6 43.hxg6+ Kxg6 Diagram

and having centralized his K, Black won without any difficulties 0-1