Round 3: Williams-Chase 0-1

An up and down affair where the last blunder loses. White sacrifices a pawn early for little to no compensation, but Chase plays a few imprecise moves which allows Williams first, counterplay and then a material advantage. However, White never successfully coordinates his two rooks against Black's queen and/or king and eventually drifts into a losing position. The sequence between moves 41-42 would seem to indicate that both sides were blitzing past the time control at move 40 (though I don't know for sure that this was the case).

[Event "BCC Championship"]
[Site "Somerville, MA USA"]
[Date "2004.09.22"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Williams, Chris"]
[Black "Chase, Chris”]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteUSCF "2053"]
[BlackUSCF "2289"]
[ECO "A04"]
[Opening "Reti/King’s Indian Attack"]

1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 d6 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Ne7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.e4 h6 8.Be3 f5 9.Qd2 g5 10.exf5 Nxf5 11.h4?!

[White plays aggressively - sacrificing a pawn - but Black looks to be better prepared to take advantage of the open lines on the kingside. 11.h3 seems more sensible]

11...gxh4 12.Nxh4 Nxh4 13.gxh4 Qxh4 14.Nd5?!

[After this Fritz believes that Black is winning. The computer preferred 14.f4 exf4 15.Rxf4 Rxf4 16.Bxf4 though Black retains a substantial advantage]

14...Nc6?!

[Why not 14...Na6 ?]

15.Nxc7 Bh3 16.f3 Rac8 17.Nd5 Nd4?!

[This move allows White to turn the tables]

18.Bf2 Qh5 19.Bxd4 Bxg2 20.Qxg2 exd4 21.Ne7+ Kh7 22.Nxc8 Bf6 23.Nxd6

[Fritz prefers 23.Qh2! and assesses the position as winning for White]

23...Rg8 24.Qxg8+ Kxg8 25.Ne4 Bh4 26.Rad1 Kf7 27.Rd2 Bg5 28.Nxg5+ Qxg5+ 29.Rg2 Qe3+ 30.Kh1 Kf6 31.a4 h5 32.b3 Kf5 33.Rff2 Qf4 34.Rg8 Ke5 35.Kg2 Kd5 36.Re2 Kc5 37.Rg7

[At the cost of a pawn 37.Re4 would have activated the other rook and made the Black king position more precarious]

37...b6 38.Rxa7 h4 39.Rf2?!

[39.Rg7 was better]

39...Qg3+ 40.Kf1 Qf4 41.Rg7?

[41.Re7 h3 42.Re4 Qc1+ 43.Re1 would have defended]

41...h3?

[Letting White off the hook. 41...Qc1+ is winning]

42.Ke2??

[But White fails to take advantage. Again 42.Re7 should hold the balance]

42...Qe3+?!

[42...Qe5+ winning the rook would have been quicker]

43.Kf1 Qc1+ 44.Ke2 h2 45.Rh7 Qxc2+ 46.Kf1 Qd1+ 0-1