Happy New Year to you and the rest of New Jersey! I am still out here in Missouri. Recently I competed in the 22nd Annual Xmas Tree Open in Independence where I scored 3 wins and 1 draw. I took a half-point bye in the first round, as I attended the Los Angeles Rams versus Kansas City Chiefs playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. The following is my fourth round encounter with Martin Phillips of Springfield, Missouri.
David Cole
Martin Phillips (USCF 1800) - David Cole (USCF 2083), Independence 12/29/1991
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bc4 d6 6.O-O Nf6 7.d3 O-O 8.e5?
It is premature to push in the center. Black can win a pawn here with 8...dxe5 9.fxe5 Nxe5! 10.Nxe5 Qd4+ followed by 11...Qxe5. But opening lines creates counterchances for White. The continuation 8...Ne8 is simplest. [Cole]
Two better tries for White are 8.f5 and 8.Qe1. For example, 8.f5 e6 9.fxg6 fxg6 10.Qe1 Nd4 11.Nxd4 cxd4 12.Ne2 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Bb3 Qb6 15.Bg5 Be6 16.Nf4 Bf7 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Bxd5 Qd6 19.Bxf7+ Rxf7 20.Qe4 Bg5 21.Nd5 Rd7 22.c4 dxc3 23.Nxc3 Qd4+ 24.Qxd4, draw, Dueball-Parma, Berlin 1971. Or 8.Qe1 e6 9.Qh4 d5 10.Bb3 Nd4 11.e5 Nd7 12.Qh3 Nxf3+ 13.Rxf3 Nb6 14.a3 Bd7 15.Bd2 Rc8 16.Re1 c4! = (ECO) [West]
8...Ne8 9.Qe1 e6 10.exd6 Nxd6 11.Bb3 Nf5 12.Ne2
White tries to keep the black knights from the d4 square, but 12.Ne4 is indicated here. [Cole]
12...b6 13.Ng3 Ncd4 14.Nxf5 Nxf5 15.Qe4 Rb8
For a long time I considered 15...Qc7 16.Qxa8 Bb7 17.Qxa7 Ra8 18.Qxa8+ Bxa8 with an unclear position. I thought that White could consolidate his position with c3, Bd2, Bc2, and Rae1 with a tougher struggle than in the game. Again, 15...Rb8 is simplest. [Cole]
16.c3 Bb7 17.Qe2 Qd6 18.Bc2 Ba6 19.Bd2 Rbd8 20.Ne1 Rd7 21.Rd1 Rfd8 22.Bc1 Qc7 23.Kh1
In the post mortem analysis, we found that 23.g4 offered White better chances despite opening the king position. The black knight would have to go to a less effective square, and White can slowly coordinate his pieces with Nf3, Be3, and an eventual d4. The game move leaves White now with uncoordinated pieces. Black is quick to strike. [Cole]
23...h5! 24.Rf2 Bf6 25.Nf3 Kg7 26.Qe4? Bb7 27.Qe2 Rh8 28.Ne5 h4! 29.Nxd7 Ng3+ 30.hxg3 hxg3+ 31.Kg1 gxf2+ 32.Qxf2?
White should play 32.Kxf2 with the idea of walking the king to safety on the queenside by Be3, Ke1, Kd2, Kc1, etc. [Cole]
32...Qxd7 33.Be3 Qd5 34.Bb3 Qh5 35.Kf1 Qg4 36.Kg1 Bh4 37.Qd2 Bg3 38.Bf2 Bh2+ 39.Kf1 Bxf4, White resigns.
{This article originally appeared in Atlantic Chess News in 1992}
