US Championship tactics

(1) Nakamura,H (2620) - Muhammad,S (2387) [C78] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (1), 24.11.2004 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.c3 Nxe4 8.d4 Na5 9.Bc2 exd4 10.Nxd4 c5 11.Nf5 d5 12.a4 Qd7 13.f3 Nd6 14.Re1+ Kd8 15.Ne3 Ndc4 16.axb5 axb5 17.Bf5 Nxe3 18.Bxd7 Nxd1 19.Bxb5 Bd6 20.Rxd1 Kc7 21.Nd2 Bc6 22.Bd3 Rhe8 23.c4 dxc4 24.Nxc4 Nxc4 25.Rxa8 Rxa8 26.Bxc4 f6 27.Be3 Rb8 What did Black overlook with his last move? How did White win a piece and the game? 28.Rxd6 1-0

(2) Ross,L (2117) - Gurevich,D (2499) [B72] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (1), 24.11.2004 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.Be3 0-0 8.Bb3 d6 9.h3 Na5 10.0-0 b6 11.Qd3 Bb7 12.Rad1 Nxb3 13.axb3 Nd7 14.Bg5 Nc5 15.Qe3 Qd7 16.Nd5 Rae8 17.c4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 e6 19.Qg4 f5 20.Nxb6 axb6 21.Qh4 e5 22.Ne2 f4 23.Nc3 Rf5 24.g4 fxg3 25.fxg3 Black has a very powerful shot here. Can you work out the entire combination until a stable material advantage is achieved? 25...Rxg5 26.Qxg5 Qxh3 27.Nd5 Bxd5 28.cxd5 Bh6 29.Qh4 Be3+ 30.Rf2 Qxh4 31.gxh4 Rf8 0-1

(3) Ivanov,A (2582) - Zilberstein,D (2379) [C78] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (2), 25.11.2004 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.Na3 0-0 11.axb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 exd4 13.cxd4 Bg4 14.Ra4 Re8 15.Bc2 Qd7 16.Nc3 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Qh3 18.Be3 Re5 19.Re1 Rh5 20.Bf4 Rh4 21.Bg3 His rook is attacked, but Black hammers back with a deadly combination. You have to find two good moves to finish it off. 21...Nh5! 22.Re2 And once again Black must find the good move that completes the task. [22.Bxh4?? Nf4 23.Bf6 Qg2# ] 22...Ne5 23.Rd2 [23.dxe5 Nxg3 24.hxg3 Qh1# ; 23.Bxh4 Nxf3+ 24.Kh1 Qxh2# ] 23...Nf4 24.Bxf4 Nxf3+ 25.Qxf3 Qxf3 26.Bg3 Rh6 27.Nd5 Re6 28.Ra3 Qh5 29.Kg2 Ree8 30.Bf4 c6 31.Rh3 Qg4+ 32.Rg3 Qh4 33.Bg5 Qxg3+ 34.hxg3 cxd5 35.exd5 Ba5 36.Rd3 Rxb2 37.Bd1 Be1 38.Be3 Ra8 39.Kf1 Bb4 40.Bg4 Rb1+ 41.Kg2 Ra2 42.Bf4 Ra3 43.Rxa3 Bxa3 44.Be2 Kf8 45.g4 Ke7 46.Kf3 Bc1 47.Bd3 Ra1 48.Bg3 Ra4 49.Bxh7 g6 50.Bh4+ Kf8 51.Bf6 Bh6 0-1

(4) Muhammad,S (2387) - Ross,L (2117) [D15] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (2), 25.11.2004 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Bd3 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.0-0 Be7 11.Bd2 0-0 12.a4 b4 13.Na2 Nc6 14.Qe2 Qb6 15.Nc1 Na5 16.b3 Rfc8 17.Rb1 Ne4 18.Bxe4 dxe4 19.f3 e5 20.fxe4 exd4 21.Nd3 Rc2 22.Qf3 Rf8 23.Rfd1 Nc6 24.Kh1 Bg5 25.Nf4 Qb8 26.Nd5 dxe3 27.Bxe3 Ne5 28.Qg3 Bxe3 29.Qxe3 Ng6 30.Rbc1 Rb2 31.Rc7 h6 32.Qd3 Nf4 33.Qc4 Ne6 34.Ne7+ Kh7 35.Rcd7 Qg3 36.Rg1 Ng5 37.Nf5 Qxb3 38.Qd4 Qc3 39.Qd6 Nxh3 40.Rf1 Qc4 41.Ne3 With queen and rook hanging Black has to find an accurate move (actually one of two accurate moves) to keep his advantage and win the game. 41...Qe2! [or 41...Qxe4! 42.Qxf8 Nf2+ 43.Kg1 Qxe3 44.Rxf7 Ng4+ 45.Kh1 Qe5 46.Rxg7+ Qxg7 47.Qf5+ Kh8 48.Qc8+ Qg8-+ ] 42.Qxf8 Qh5 43.Kh2 Nf2+ 44.Kg3 Qe5+ 45.Kf3 Qxe4+ 46.Kg3 Qxe3+ 47.Kh2 Qf4+ 48.Kg1 Nh3+ 0-1

(5) Airapetian,C (2149) - Lein,A (2387) [C11] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (2), 25.11.2004 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nce2 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nc6 8.c3 Nxd4 9.cxd4 Nb8 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Nf3 Bd7 12.Be2 Qb6 13.Bc3 Ne7 14.a4 a5 15.Qd2 Nc6 16.0-0 Be7 17.Kh1 Nb4 18.Ne1 h5 19.g3 g6 20.Ng2 0-0-0 21.Rac1 Kb8 22.b3 Rc8 23.h4 Rc7 24.Bb2 Bc6 25.Ne1 Rhc8 26.Nd3 Nxd3 27.Qxd3 () You will probably quickly spot the little combination that wins a pawn... 27...Bxa4 28.Rxc7 Rxc7 29.bxa4 Qxb2 30.f5 exf5 31.Bf3 Rc4 32.Rd1 Qf2 33.Be2 f4 34.Rf1 Qxd4 35.Rxf4 Qxd3 36.Bxd3 Rxf4 37.gxf4 Bxh4 38.Kg2 Kc7 39.e6 fxe6 40.Bxg6 b5 41.axb5 a4 42.Bb1 Kb6 43.Ba2 Kxb5 44.f5 exf5 45.Bxd5 a3 46.Kf3 Bg5 0-1

(6) West,V (2107) - Casella,M (2259) [B22] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (3), 26.11.2004 1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 cxd4 6.cxd4 e5 7.dxe5 Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1 Bg4 9.Bb5 0-0-0+ 10.Ke1 Another very simply motif you should spot in a flash: how does Black pick up material? 10...Nxe5 11.Nbd2 Rd5 12.Be2 Nf6 13.h3 Bf5 14.Nxe5 Rxe5 15.Nf3 Bb4+ 16.Kf1 Re7 17.Bd2 Bxd2 18.Nxd2 Rd8 19.Rc1+ Kb8 20.Nb3 Be4 21.Bc4 Rc7 22.Kg1 Rdc8 23.Nd2 Bd5 24.b3 b5 25.Kh2 bxc4 26.bxc4 Bxc4 27.Rb1+ Ka8 28.Rb2 Bd5 0-1

(7) Adamson,R (2373) - Becerra,J (2537) [B67] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (4), 28.11.2004 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 a6 7.Qd2 e6 8.0-0-0 Bd7 9.f4 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.fxg5 Ng4 12.Be2 Nge5 13.Nf3 Be7 14.Rhg1 b5 15.Rdf1 Qa5 16.Kb1 0-0-0 17.Nxe5 dxe5 18.Bd3 Be8 19.g6 Bxh4 20.g7 Rg8 21.Qxh6 b4 22.Ne2 b3 23.axb3 Nb4 24.Nc1 Be7 25.Qh7 Bc6 26.Rxf7 Bg5 27.Qxg8 Rxg8 28.Rf8+ Qd8 29.Rxd8+ Kxd8 30.Re1 Rxg7 31.c3 Bxc1 32.cxb4 Bh6 33.Re2 Rd7 34.Kc2 Black is clearly winning, but how can he pick up the point with one tactical shot? 34...Rxd3 [34...Rxd3 35.Kxd3 Bb5+ 36.Kc2 Bxe2 ] 0-1

(8) Abrahamyan,T (2238) - Vayserberg,T (1973) [C02] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (5), 29.11.2004 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.a3 a5 7.Be2 a4 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Bd3 cxd4 10.cxd4 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Qxd4 12.Nc3 Qb6 13.Qg4 f5 14.exf6 Nxf6 15.Qh4 Be7 16.Bg5 Kf7 17.Rae1 Qxb2 18.Ne2 h6 19.Bc1 Qb3 20.Qg3 Qb6 21.Be3 Qd6 22.Bf4 Qxa3 23.Be5 Qb4 24.Nf4 g5 25.Rb1 Qa5 26.Ng6 Rhg8 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 28.Qd6 Bc6 Black was doing fine, but his last move was a disastrous blunder. Why? 29.Rxb7+ [29.Rxb7+ Bxb7 (29...Qc7 30.Rxc7+ Bd7 31.Qxd7+ Be7 32.Qxe7# ) 30.Qd7+ Be7 31.Qxe7# ] 1-0

(9) Stripunsky,A (2533) - Fishbein,A (2505) [C83] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (6), 30.11.2004 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Be3 Be7 10.c3 Nc5 11.Bc2 Nd7 12.Re1 Ndxe5 13.Nxe5 Nxe5 14.Bd4 Ng6 15.Bxg7 Rg8 16.Bxg6 Rxg7 17.Rxe6 hxg6 18.Re2 Kf8 19.Qd3 c6 20.Nd2 Rg8 21.Nf3 Kg7 22.Nd4 Rc8 23.Qg3 Bc5 24.Nf5+ Kf8 25.Nh6 Rh8 26.Ng4 Bd6 27.Qd3 Rh5 28.Rae1 c5 29.Re3 Kg7 30.h3 Rf5 31.b4 Kh7 32.bxc5 Bxc5 33.Re5 Rxe5 34.Rxe5 Kg7 35.Qd2 Be7 36.Rxd5 Qb6 Do you see the combination that wins the game for White? 37.Qh6+ Kg8 38.Rh5! gxh5 39.Qxb6 hxg4 40.Qb7 Re8 41.hxg4 Bc5 42.Qxa6 Re1+ 43.Kh2 Bxf2 44.Qxb5 Re6 45.g3 Re3 46.Kg2 Rxc3 47.Qb8+ Kh7 48.Qb1+ 1-0

(10) Levina,A (2052) - Sagalchik,O (2132) [B01] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (6), 30.11.2004 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.b4 Qb6 7.Be2 e6 8.Rb1 Nf6 9.0-0 Be7 10.d3 c6 11.b5 Qc7 12.Nd4 Qe5 13.bxc6 bxc6 14.Bxh5 Bd6 15.Nf3 Qxc3 16.Ng5 0-0 17.Bb2 Qa5 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Ne4 Be7 20.Rb7 Qd8 21.Qa1 f5 Why was 21...f5 a deadly mistake? Hint: White provoked it with 21.Qd1-a1. 22.Rxe7 fxe4 [22...Qxe7 23.Nf6+ Kh8 24.Nd5+ f6 25.Nxe7 ] 23.Qf6 1-0

(11) Zatonskih,A (2440) - Browne,W (2455) [E42] 2005 US Chessmaster Championship San Diego (6), 30.11.2004 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.a3 Be7 8.Nf4 dxc4 9.Bxc4 0-0 10.0-0 Nc6 11.Be3 Bd6 12.Nh5 Nd5 13.Qf3 Qh4 14.g3 Nxd4 15.Qd1 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Nf3+ 17.Qxf3 Qxc4 18.Ne4 Be5 19.Rac1 Qd3 Six-times US champion Walter Browne was doing fine against WGM Anna Zatonskih, but threw it away by moving his queen to d3. How does the game end? 20.Rcd1 [20.Rcd1 Qb5 21.Qxf7+ Rxf7 22.Rd8+ Qe8 23.Rxe8+ Rf8 24.Rexf8# ] 1-0