Anderson, Renard (2258) - McCartney, P. (1910)
US Open, 2002
Round 5 [McCartney,P]
04/03/2008 - This week's game comes from the 5th round of the 2002 US Open. I had
a score of 3 out of 4 at the time (the loss being round 2 against an expert), and did not spend 1 minute
sleeping the night before. This game, along with the fact that I drew a player over 2300 that evening
in round 6, might just go to show how overrated sleep really is!
1.e4
e6 2.d4 d5
3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5
c5 5.a3 Bxc3+
6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4
8.Bd3
Qa5 9.Ne2 White
decides to take a very agressive approach as the main line, 9.Bd2, tends to leave Black with little to
no problems after 9...Nbc6 10.Qh5 h6 11.dxc5 b6! 12.cxb6 Ba6 13.Qe2 Bxd3 14.cxd3 axb6 15.Nf3 Qc5 16.O-O
Rxa3.
9...Nbc6 9...cxd4 is
also to be considered.
10.Bg5 Ng6
11.h4? Better is 11.f4. The h-pawn advance
may appear to give White a big attack down the Kingside, but it's just every so slightly too slow, and
White will have to play f4 anyway due to the loose pawn on e5.
11...Nxd4
12.f4 Again, 12...Nxe5 was threatened.
12...Nxe2
13.Kxe2 Qa4 14.Qg3 And
once again, 14...Nxe5 was threatened.
14...c4
15.Bxg6 fxg6 16.Ra2 When
White has to make a move like this, you know something went wrong. The other option is 17.Kd1, which
also blocks the a1-Rook from getting to the Kingside to attack the Black King.
16...Bd7
17.h5 gxh5 18.Bf6
Rf7 19.Rxh5 Be8
20.Rg5 Qd7 As
mentioned before on move 11, Black has just enough to hold his position together.
21.Ra1
h6! It's only because White's Rook was
on a2 and not a1 that made this entire sequence possible. Had White been able to play Rh1 a move sooner,
Black would be in a heap of trouble. Instead, Black is practically winning provided he succeeds in defending
a few more moves.
22.Rg6 Kh7
23.Rh1 Rxf6! The
only move, but also a very strong one indeed.
24.Rhxh6+
gxh6 25.Rxf6 Bh5+
26.Kf2 Rg8 27.Qh3 White
can also try 27.Rxh6+ Kxh6 28.Qxg8, but it doesn't change the outcome of the game.
27...Qg7
28.g3 The Bishop is taboo.
28...Qg4
29.Qxg4 Bxg4 Black
now has a won endgame, and the technique needed to convert this was minimal.
30.Rf7+
Rg7 31.Rf8 Re7
32.Ke3 b6 33.a4
Bf5 34.Kd2 Rb7
35.Kc1 Kg7 36.Rd8
Kg6 37.Rg8+ Rg7
38.Ra8 Kh5 39.Kb2
Kg4
0-1