59th NY MASTER ACTION
June 3rd 2003
COMMENTARY BY IM GREG SHAHADE
www.newyorkmasters.com
There will be a fantastic new development in the NY Masters in the following weeks. All four games, every Tuesday night, will be broadcast with live radio coverage on chess.fm, ICC’s internet chess radio station. There are many great benefits to this…
1 – Great live commentary by IM William Paschall and Tony Rook, including very instructional post mortems of every game!
2 – A much larger crowd for the NY Masters, as there are many chess.fm fans and thus the amount of chess fans watching should multiply in the coming weeks.
3 – A great chance for sponsors to get coverage, as during the breaks and in between the games, all those who are sponsoring the NY Masters will be announced along with the website and the product/s they are offering.
So everyone, please be sure to tune into chess.fm during future weeks for great chess entertainment! I listened to the final round broadcast tonight and it was great fun!
Back to tonight’s coverage, what a difference a week makes! Last week we had only one grandmaster, and this week we had five! Of our 14 player field, only 2 players were rated under 2300, so it was a VERY strong field this week. The average USCF rating this week was 2452, probably the highest in NY Masters history.
We had two new players this week as a crowd favorite, the many times Armed Forces Champion from Indiana, FM Emory Tate , dropped in on his way to the international event in Vermont. Also joining the fun was strong FM Zeev Dub from Israel, who has 3 IM norms and may be receiving the title shortly, if he can get his FIDE rating over 2400!
** One last note – I moved into a new home 2 weeks ago and thus had no access to a DSL connection. Without DSL, I am unable to use my mailing provider to send emails, hence you may not have received the reports by email, but they went straight to the website. Today I got DSL installed in my new place and thus will be sending out the reports via email again as always!
Participant List for 59th NY Masters:
1. GM Leonid Yudasin
2. GM Jan Ehlvest
3. GM Alex Stripunsky
4. GM Alex Wojtkiewicz
5. GM Pavel Blatny
6. IM Jay Bonin
7. FM Emory Tate
8. FM Zeev Dub
9. FM Bryan Smith
10. FM Mauricio Uribe
11. NM Dmitro Kedyk
12. FM Boris Privman
13. NM David Zimbeck
14. Qualifier – Fabiano Caruana
15. Filler – Evan Rosenberg
PRIZES
1st - $330
2nd - $150
3rd - $50
U2400 - $100
ROUND 1
Pairings
1 Dub – Yudasin 1/2 - 1/2
2 Ehlvest – B.Smith 1-0
3 Uribe - Stripunsky 0-1
4 Wojtkiewicz - Kedyk 1-0
5 Privman - Blatny 0-1
6 Bonin – Zimbeck 1-0
7 Caruana - Tate LIVE GAME!!
The only upset of the first round occurred in the battle of the yarmulke’s, as both Leonid Yudasin and Zeev Dub sported the headgear for their first round game. In a Nimzo-Indian, Dub lost a pawn or two but was able to force perpetual check with doubled rooks on the seventh rank. The internet matchup was going to be one for the ages, as 10 year old elementary champion was going to square off against NY Masters newcomer, the swashbuckling FM Emory Tate. Would the youngster be able to handle the tactical and attacking prowess of Tate…..
(1) Caruana,F (2154) - Tate,E (2437) [B22]
59th New York Masters New York (1), 03.06.2003
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.d4 c4 6.Be2 Bd6 7.0-0 a6 8.Ne5 Ne7 9.Bf3 Nbc6 10.Re1 0-0 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 Be6 13.Bg5 Qc7 14.Bxe7
A strange decision by Fabiano, simply giving up a bishop for a knight for no vital reason.
14...Nxe7 15.Qd2 Rac8 16.h3 Ng6 17.Nxg6 hxg6 18.Qg5??
A losing blunder by Fabiano, self trapping the queen……the final combination isn’t difficult for Emory to see.
18...Bf4! 19.Qh4 g5! 20.Qh5 g6 21.Qh6
21...g4!
The bishop on f3 is a goner, and so Caruana calls it a day. It wasn’t the best performance by Fabiano, who has had good results on the live internet games in the past.
0-1
ROUND 2
Key Pairings
1 Blatny – Ehlvest 0-1
2 Stripunsky – Bonin 1-0
3 Tate – Wojtkiewicz LIVE GAME!!
There was some interesting action on the top boards this round. Ehlvest methodically picked apart GM Blatny’s position, after some early inaccuracies. Bonin looked to have a nice endgame against Stripunsky, but Jay was totally outplayed in the time scramble, and Stripunsky racked up the point.
Meanwhile Emory Tate would have a much tougher task this round in GM Alex Wojtkiewicz. Would he be able to pull off one of the attacks he is famous for, or would Wojo’s experience and technique forstall any activity from Tate?
(2) Tate,E (2437) - Wojtkiewicz,A (2619) [B70]
59th New York Masters New York (2), 03.06.2003
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.Be2 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Nb3 Nf6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.0-0 d6 9.Bg5 a6 10.f4 b5 11.Bf3 Bb7 12.Qe1 Nd7 !
This is a good move for a few reasons:
1 - Moving the knight to d7 stops e5, which was the idea of white’s Qe1
2 – The knight is heading for the weak square c4, via b6.
13.a3 h6 14.Bh4 Nb6 15.Rd1 Nc4 16.e5 Nxb2
17.exd6??
An blunder which loses heavy material immediately. Rxd6 had to be played, and then we still have a game. Tate blamed the oversight on the idea that his rook on d1, was still alive after Nxd1, and thus 18.dxe7 would attack the black queen .
17...Nxd1 18.Nxd1
If 18.dxe7, black could simply play Nxe7, and all of white’s pieces are falling.
18...Qxd6 19.Ne3 e6 20.Ng4 f5!
Ending any fantasy that Tate may have had of formulating an attack. Now it’s just a mop-up job for the GM.
21.Ne5 Nxe5 22.fxe5 Qc7 23.Bxb7 Qxb7 24.Nc5 Qd5 25.Nd3 g5 26.Bf2 Rac8 27.Qa5 Bxe5 28.Qxa6 Bd6 29.a4 Rxc2 30.Qxb5 Qxb5 31.axb5 Rb8 32.Rb1 Rc3 33.Ne1 Bc5 34.Nf3
34...Bxf2+
It was a pity to see Wojtkiewicz overlook the blow 34….Rxb5 35.Rxb5 Rc1, leading to mate.
35.Kxf2 Rc5 36.Nd4 Rd5 37.Rb4 Kf7 38.b6
38...Rxd4
Although this “sacrifice” is unnecessary, it leads an endgame of rook+4 vs. rook+2, which Wojo could win in his sleep.
39.Rxd4 Rxb6 40.Rd7+ Kf6 41.Rh7 Kg6 42.Re7 f4 43.Re8 Kf5 0-1
A nice demonstration by Wojtkiewicz of how to attack on the queenside in such Classical Dragon structures.
Leaders after Round 2
2 pts – Ehlvest, Stripunsky, Wojtkiewicz
1.5 pts – Yudasin
ROUND 3
Key Pairings
1 Ehlvest – Stripunsky LIVE GAME!
2 Wojtkiewicz – Yudasin 1/2-1/2
By round 3, all the GM’s had advanced to the top boards and were ready to face off. Wojtkiewicz and Yudasin drew, thus leaving Wojo in a nice spot with 2.5/3. Things were not as rosy for Yudasin, who was now out of the race for first place with only 2/3.
On first board we had Ehlvest and Stripunsky facing off. Ehlvest has owned Stripunsky in this event so far, as he has won every time he’s had the white pieces against Stripunsky. Would Stripunsky be able to hold off the strong GM this time?
(3) Ehlvest,J (2690) - Stripunsky,A (2651) [A25]
59th New York Masters New York (3), 03.06.2003
1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Rb1 d6 6.b4 Nh6
7.b5 Nd4 8.Nf3 Nxf3+ 9.Bxf3 0-0 10.d3 Kh8 11.0-0 f5 12.Bg2 f4 13.c5
13...dxc5 14.Ba3 fxg3 15.hxg3 Qg5 16.Bxc5 Rd8 17.Be3 Qh5 18.Bxh6 Qxh6 19.Rb4
A creative way of developing the rook by Ehlvest
19...Rd4 20.Rc4!
Another nice tickle, forcing a favorable opening of the d-file, after black captures on c4. Meanwhile black’s queen is gallivanting on h6, far far away from the action.
20...Rxc4 21.dxc4 Qg5 22.Nd5 Qd8
The queen is back into the game!!!
23.Nb6!
But I think Stripunsky wishes it wasn’t on d8, as this tactic ends the game, due to the undefended nature of the black queen. After 23.Nb6 Qxd1 24.Rxd1 axb6 25.Rd8+ Bf8 26. Rxf8 Kg7 27.Rd8, and there is no stopping 28.Bh3, winning the bishop on c8. A nice smooth effort from GM Ehlvest.
1-0
Leaders after Round 3
3 pts – Ehlvest
2.5 pts – Wojtkiewicz
2 pts – Yudasin, Stripunsky, Blatny, Bonin, Tate
ROUND 4
Key Pairings
1 Wojtkiewicz – Ehlvest 1/2-1/2
2 Yudasin – Bonin LIVE GAME!
3 Stripunsky – Blatny 0-1
4 Tate – Dub 1-0
It was an anti-climax in the final round, as Wojtkiewicz and Ehlvest agreed to a quick draw, thus giving Ehlvest clear first place and $330. The rest of the field would be playing to join Wojtkiewicz in 2nd place.
It was for the 4th round this week, that chess.fm started their live broadcast of NY Masters games. Remember that in future weeks, all four rounds will be covered, and not only the final round!
(4) Yudasin,L (2692) - Bonin,J (2440) [B12]
59th New York Masters New York (4), 03.06.2003
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 g6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bg7 6.0-0 0-0 7.h3 Qc7 8.Bf4 Nh5 9.Bh2 e5 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.Re1 b6 12.a4 a6
IM William Paschall of chess.fm was not too complimentary on the number of pawn moves that Jay Bonin has made in the opening, and I see no reason to disagree with him. Jay has had poor results with this unorthodox opening setup in the NY Masters against players with higher ratings than him.
13.b4 Bb7 14.Nc4 Nf4 15.Bf1 Rad8 16.Qd2 Bh6 17.Qc2 f6
This kingside weakening move doesn’t seem so bad, but just look at all the problems it causes in the next few moves…
18.Rad1 d5
Jay blasts open the position, but who is more prepared for the blasting…
19.Ncd2 c5 20.Qa2!
Black’s king is caught in a crossfire…
20...Kg7 21.Bxf4! Bxf4 22.exd5
and Yudasin has won a pawn for almost no compensation.
22...cxb4 23.cxb4 Qd6 24.Nc4!
Blacks center is quickly falling apart. White gives up the b4-pawn for the very important e5 pawn. This will also destroy the shelter around black’s king.
24...Qxb4 25.dxe5 fxe5 26.Ncxe5 Nxe5 27.Nxe5 Bxd5
A tricky move, as Yudasin cannot capture the bishop due to the undefended rook on e1, however Yudasin had a nasty trick up his sleeve….
28.Qa1!
Yudasin harasses the black king again!! It can only safely go to g8, where it falls into many traps along the a2-g8 diagonal such as Rxd5 Rxd5 Bc4, pinning the rook on d5.
28...Kg8 29.Ng4
Yudasin opts for another method, simply threatening Nf6 check. Note that if the bishop on f4 ever moves off the diagonal, Nh6 is checkmate!
29...Bd2!?
A desperate attempt by Jay to confuse the issue. Yudasin takes the bull by the horn and sacrifices to achieve a winning position.
30.Rxd2!? Qxd2 31.Re3!
...and how does black stop Nh6 mate!!! Jay finds the only defense, but it loses back the exchange and gives white a tremendous amount of pressure on top of his extra pawn.
31...h5 32.Nf6+ Rxf6 33.Qxf6 Bf7 34.Re7 Rf8 35.Qxb6 a5 36.Ra7 Qd1 37.Qb5 Re8 38.Rd7 Qa1 39.Kh2 Re5 40.Qb8+ Re8 41.Qf4 Rf8
42.Rxf7
The final touch…..after 42…Rxf7 43.Bc4, white wins back the exchange and transposes into an easily winning pawn-up endgame.
1-0
With this win, Yudasin joined Blatny, Wojtkiewicz and Tate for 2nd place and $50 each. Once again, GM Jan Ehlvest was this week’s champion with 3.5/4, good for $330. Tying for first Under 2400 with 2/4 were FM Mauricio Uribe and NM Dmitro Kedyk. Uribe had a tough field tonight as he lost to Stripunsky in round one and was rewarded with black against Yudasin in round 2! See you all next week, and hopefully you all have a chance to hear the action on chess.fm!
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59th New York Masters Action USA (USA), 3 vi 2003
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1 2 3 4 Total
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1. Ehlvest, Jaan g 2690 +11 + 4 + 6 = 3 3.5 ($330)
2. Yudasin, Leonid g 2692 =10 + 8 = 3 + 7 3.0 ($ 50)
3. Wojtkiewicz, Alek g 2619 +12 + 7 = 2 = 1 3.0 ($ 50)
4. Blatny, Pavel g 2563 + 9 - 1 +10 + 6 3.0 ($ 50)
5. Tate, Emory f 2437 +14 - 6 +12 +10 3.0 ($ 50)
6. Stripunsky, Alex g 2651 + 8 + 5 - 1 - 4 2.0
7. Bonin, Jay m 2440 +13 - 3 + 9 - 2 2.0
8. Uribe, Mauricio f 2387 - 6 - 2 +11 +13 2.0 ($ 50)
9. Kedyk, Dmytro 2361 - 4 +14 - 7 +12 2.0 ($ 50)
10. Dub, Zeev f 2408 = 2 =11 - 4 - 5 1.0
11. Smith, Bryan f 2386 - 1 =10 - 8 =15 1.0
12. Privman, Boris f 2340 - 3 +13 - 5 - 9 1.0
13. Zimbeck, David 2204 - 7 -12 +14 - 8 1.0
14. Caruana, Fabiano f 2154 - 5 - 9 -13 = 0.5
15. Rosenberg, Evan 2066 --- --- --- =11 0.5
PRIZES
1ST - $330
2ND - $150
3RD - $ 50
U2400 - $100
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