[Event "Casual Game"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "1984.5.23"] [Round ""] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Corbett, Bill"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C37"] [WhiteELO "1915"] [BlackELO "1940"] {Annotations by Gene Nix.} 1. e4 {The first time I walked into the Greenville Chess Club at the Bobby Pearse Center, Bill Corbett bade me welcome and invited me to play a game.} e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 4. Bc4 g4 5. O-O {The Muzio Gambit, good for first impressions.} gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qe7 7. Qxf4 Qc5+ 8. d4 Qxd4+ 9. Be3 Qxc4 10. Nc3 {10. Qe5+ Qe6 11. Qxh8 Qg6 12. Qe5+ Ne7 13. Qxc7 Qxe4 14. Re1 Na6 15. Qa5 Qb4 16. Qxb4 Nxb4 17. Na3 and White seems simply to be down two pieces for a rook.} Bh6 {10...Bd6 11. Qf3 Nc6 12. Nd5 Ne5 13. Qf5 b6 -+} 11. Qe5+ Qe6 12. Qxh8 Bxe3+ 13. Kh1 Qg6 14. Nd5 Bb6 15. Nf6+ Kf8 16. Nxg8 Qxg8 17. Rxf7+ Kxf7 18. Rf1+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

[Event "Monterey Chess Center Open"] [Site "Monterey, CA"] [Date "1993.9.26"] [Round "1"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Anderson, Renard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteELO "1861"] [BlackELO "2396"] {Annotations by Gene Nix.} 1. e4 {As feared, Rybka shows my most memorable game to have been a comedy of errors.} c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. f4 Nxb5 5. Nxb5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. c4 Nf6 9. d3 O-O 10. Rb1 b6 11. b3 Bb7 12. Bb2 e6 13. e5 Ne8 14. d4 a6 15. Nxd6 Nxd6 16. exd6 Be4 17. dxc5 {More fatalism than inspiration, but this is the only move that does not lead to a big Black advantage.} Bxb1 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Qd4+ Qf6 20. Qxf6+ {20. cxb6 Qxd4+ 21. Nxd4 Be4 22. c5 Rfd8 23. Kf2 Kf8 24. Re1 Bb7 25. Rc1 Rab8 26. b4 Ke8 27. a4 Bd5 28. b5 axb5 29. Nxb5 Kd7 30. Nc7 Bb7 31. a5 Ra8 32. a6 Rxa6 33. Nxa6 Bxa6 34. Ke3 Bb5 35. Ra1 Kc6 36. Kd4 f6 37. Re1 Kd7 38. g4 Re8 39. h4 Ra8 40. g5 fxg5 41. Rb1 Ba6 42. Ra1 Bb7 43. Rxa8 Bxa8 44. hxg5 Bb7 45. Ke5 Bf3 46. Kf6 Ke8 47. Kxe6 +-} Kxf6 21. cxb6 Be4 {21...Bxa2 22. Nd2 e5 23. c5 Ke6 24. fxe5 Rac8 25. Rc1 Kd5 26. Ra1 Rxc5 27. Rxa2 f6 28. exf6 Rc1+ 29. Kf2 Rxf6+ 30. Ke2 Rxd6 31. Rxa6 =} 22. c5 {To the point and keeping with White's near-frantic desire to start driving a thundering herd of pawns up the Queenside. But 22. Ng5 is stronger.} {22. Ng5 Bb7 23. Nxh7+ Kg7 24. Nxf8 Kxf8 25. g4 Ke8 26. c5 Rc8 27. Rc1 Kd7 28. Kf2 a5 29. h4 f6 30. a3 e5 31. b4 axb4 32. axb4 Ra8 33. fxe5 Ra2+ 34. Ke1 Rh2 35. b5 Rh1+ 36. Kd2 Rh2+ 37. Ke3 Rh3+ 38. Kf2 Rf3+ 39. Ke2 Be4 40. c6+ Ke6 41. d7 +-} Rfd8 23. Ne5 Rac8 24. Rc1?? {Too quick and careless, and it throws away everything. Just as I was trying to see if 24...Rxd6 25. Rc4 stays in business, my opponent just as quickly played...} Bc6?? {+/-} {24...Rxd6 25. Rc4 Rd1+ 26. Kf2 Bd5 27. Rb4 g5 28. c6 Bxc6 29. Nxc6 Rxc6 30. b7 Rc2+ 31. Ke3 Rd8 32. fxg5+ Kxg5 33. b8=Q Rxb8 34. h4+ Kf6 35. Rxb8 Rxa2 -+} 25. d7 {25. b4 h6 26. Rd1 g5 27. d7 Bb7 28. fxg5+ hxg5 29. Rf1+ Kxe5 30. dxc8=Q Rxc8 31. Rxf7 Bc6 32. a3 Rg8 33. Kf2 +/-} Bxd7 Nxd7+ Rxd7 27. c6 Rdc7? {Giving up. More fight (not to mention more potential for White errors) lies in 27...Ke7. 27...Ke7 28. Kf2 Rdd8 29. c7 Rg8 30. b7 Kd7 31. bxc8=Q+ Rxc8 32. Ke3 Rxc7 33. Rxc7+ Kxc7 34. Kd4 Kd6 35. g4 h6 36. h4 f6 37. g5 e5+ 38. fxe5+ fxe5+ 39. Ke4 hxg5 40. hxg5 Ke6 41. a3 Kd6 42. b4 Ke6 43. a4 Kd6 44. b5 axb5 45. axb5 +-} 28. bxc7 Rxc7 29. b4 Kf5 30. g3 Ke4 31. a4 Kd5 32. b5 a5 33. Kf2 Rc8 34. c7 Kd6 35. b6 Kd7 36. Ke3 f6 37. Kd4 {37. b7 is more efficient, but White has a plan.} e5+ 38. fxe5 fxe5+ 39. Kxe5 Re8+ 40. Kd5 Kc8 41. Kc6 Re6+ 42. Kb5 {Black resigns.} 1-0

[Event "Orlando August Tornado"] [Site "Orlando, FL"] [Date "1996.8.17"] [Round "3"] [White "Chavira, Wilmer"] [Black "Nix, Gene"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteELO "2294"] [BlackELO "1945"] {Annotations by Gene Nix.} 1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 b6 4. Nf3 Bb7 5. Nc3 d6 6. Qa4 Qd7 7. O-O e6 8. e3 g6 9. d4 Bg7 10. d5 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Na5 12. Qxd7+ Kxd7 13. Ng5 Ke7 14. Re1 Nxc4 15. Nxf7 Nf6 16. Nxh8 {"I hate the English!" - COL Saito, The Bridge on the River Kwai} Bxd5 17. Nxg6+ hxg6 18. h4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Ne4 20. Rh1 Nxc3 21. h5 gxh5 22. Rxh5 b5 23. g4 b4 24. g5 Kf7 25. f4 a5 26. Rh7+ Kg6 27. Rh6+ Kf5 28. Rf6+ Ke4 29. Rxe6+ Kd3 30. Kf3 a4 31. Rh6 Rg8 32. g6 b3 33. axb3 axb3 34. Ra6 Na2 35. Ba3 Nxa3 36. Rxa3 c4 37. f5 Nc3 38. Rh2 Nb1 39. Ra6 Nd2+ 40. Kf4 c3 41. Rxd6+ Kc2 42. Kg5 b2 43. Rb6 b1=Q 44. Rxb1 Kxb1 45. Rh1+ Kb2 46. f6 Ne4+ 47. Kf5 Ng3+ {I was very pleased to still be in this game. With little time remaining, I took the perpetual check, unable to penetrate the fog surrounding ...Nxh1. Rybka says it almost wins.} 48. Kg5 Ne4+ {48...Nxh1 49. f7 Rc8 50. g7 c2 51. g8=Q c1=Q 52. Qg7+ Kb1 53. Qg6+ Qc2 54. Qxc2+ Kxc2 55. e4 Nf2 56. e5 Ne4+ 57. Kf5 Kd3 58. e6 Nd6+ 59. Kf6 Nxe4+ 60. Kg6 Nd6 61. e7 Nxf7 Kxf7 =} 49. Kf5 Ng3+ 50. Kg5 Ne4+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Hawaii State Championship"] [Site "Honolulu, HI"] [Date "2004.4.29"] [Round "2"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Mui, Eric"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B41"] [WhiteELO "1800"] [BlackELO "2183"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Qc7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 d6 10. Kh1 Nbd7 11. f4 b6 12. Qe2 Bb7 13. Rf3 h6 14. Rh3 Rfd8 15. Bh4 Nf8 16. f5 Ne8 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Rf1 Bf6 19. Qg4 Bxd4 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. Rxh6 g6 22. e5 Bxe5 23. Bxg6 Bg7 {The time control was G/50, and the remaining moves were speed chess.} 24. Bf7+ {24. Rh8+ Kxh8 25. Qh5+ Kg8 26. Bf7+ Qxf7 27. Qxf7+} Qxf7 25. Rxf7 Kxf7 26. Rh3 Nf6 {I stopped recording after this move and reconstructed the game afterward.} 27. Qf4 e5 28. Qf2 Ne6 29. Qxb6 Rd7 30. Nd5 Nxd5 31. cxd5 Bxd5 32. Qxa6 Nf4 33. Rg3 Rc7 34. h4 Nxg2 35. Rxg2 Rc2 36. Qa7+ Ke6 37. Qxg7 Rxg2 38. Qxg2 Bxg2+ 39. Kxg2 d5 40. Kf3 Kf5 41. a4 d4 42. a5 e4+ 43. Ke2 Kf4 44. a6 d3+ 45. Kd2 Kf3 46. a7 e3+ 47. Kxd3 e2+ 48. a8=Q+ Kf2 49. Qf8+ {Black resigns.} 1-0

[Event "NC Open"] [Site "Greensboro, NC"] [Date "2009.10.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Gorbounov, Alexei"] [WhiteELO "1933"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [BlackELO "1854"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C10"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 {The strange-looking Hecht-Reefschlager variation of the French Defense. Black often attacks White's pawn chain with ...f6 early in this opening and fights for control over e5.} 4. Be3 Bb4 5. e5 Qe7 {The immediate 5...f6 is more common, but I thought this was a flexible move which would allow ...Qf7 in response to any checks on h5 and would enable me to castle queenside quickly if desired.} 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Na5 8. Nf3 b6 {I preferred having the bishop on b7 rather than d7 since the d5 pawn might be traded off eventually.} 9. Nd2 Bb7 {Here I would reply to 10. Nb3 with 10...Nc4.} 10. Bd3 f6 11. Qh5+ Qf7 12. Qh3 f5 {I felt this was a sensible move here, cutting off the scope of White's queen and d3-bishop. The drawback, of course, is that White's e5 pawn is now rock solid.} 13. Nf3 Ne7 14. Ng5 Qg8 15. Qh5+ Kd7 {With the center closed, the king is just as safe here as anywhere else.} 16. f4 h6 17. Nh3 Nc4 18. Bc1 a5 19. a4 {Freeing the a3 square for the bishop before Black can stop this with ...a4.} 19...Ba6 20. Nf2 c6 {With the possibility of an eventual ...b5 push in mind.} 21. g4 g6 22. Qh4 h5 23. gxf5 Nxf5 24. Qh3 Qf7 25. Rg1 Rag8 26. Rb1 Kc7 27. Bxc4 Bxc4 28. Nd3 Qe7 {Temporarily keeping the bishop out of a3, and also considering the possibility of trading queens with ...Qh4+.} 29. Rg5 {I found this move, which plugs up the kingside, to be really annoying. I considered the possibility of eventually challenging the rook by ...h4 and ...Rh5 but never ended up playing it.} 29...Bxd3 {An impatient move played near the end of the time control. I had the possibility of a good knight versus bad bishop ending in mind, but the bishop kept White's rook off b3 (to guard a3) and was more active than White's knight at the moment. It would probably have been better to leave these pieces on for now.} 30. Qxd3 Kb7 31. Rb3 {Threatening Ba3 followed by Bc5.} 31...Ka7 32. Ba3 Qf7 33. c4 {At first this move looked strong since taking on c4 (otherwise 34. c5 is crushing) seemed to give White play on the queenside. However, Black is still fine thanks to the new ability to use the d5 square.} 33...dxc4 34. Qxc4 Qd7 35. c3? {This natural move reinforcing d4 turns out to be a mistake since the pawn no longer guards the b3 rook and White's light squares are weakened. Here 35...Qd5 would force a trade of queens, but Black has something much better.} 35...Ne3! 36. Qe2 Qd5 {Suddenly Black's queen and knight have sprung to life. The b3 rook is threatened as well as ...Qh1+.} 37. Rb1? {Missing the skewer on the first rank, but White was in trouble no matter what he played. If instead 37. Rb2, 37... Nc4 is strong. One sample continuation would be 38. Ra2 Qh1+ 29. Qf1 Qe4+ 30. Qe2 Qb1+ 31. Kf2 Nxa3 32. Rxa3 Qc1, threatening both the a3 rook and ...Qxf4+. According to Fritz, White's best move was 37. c4, jettisoning the c-pawn but hanging on after 37...Nxc4 38. Bc1.} 37...Qh1+ 38. Kd2 Qxb1 39. Kxe3 Qb3 40. Qb2 {Here I had the choice of winning a pawn with 40...Qxa4, or trading queens while I had the chance, simplifying to a seemingly winning endgame up an exchange.} 40...Qxb2 {Without a doubt this was the wrong choice. The endgame turned out to be far less straightforward than I had hoped.} 41. Bxb2 b5 42. Ba3 Kb7 43. h4 {Another idea for White would be axb5 followed by d5, aiming for play with the newly passed e-pawn and against Black's 5th rank pawns.} 43...Kc7 {Black should free one of the rooks with 43...Rh7.} 44. Rg2 Kd7? 45. Bd6 {The king has wandered too far from the queenside. Now it is evident that White can grab the b-file since the king cannot guard the b-pawn from a6 and the rooks cannot move to b8. Fritz calls this position equal, just after everything was seemingly going Black's way.} 45...bxa4 {Here I was very afraid of 46. Rb2, claiming the b-file and penetrating my position while the bishop stops my a-pawns from moving. At this point I had only 8 minutes to complete the rest of the game.} 46. Ra2? {This was a huge relief. Losing the a4 pawn is no big deal, but this move allowed me to consolidate and grab the b-file myself.} 46...Ra8 47. Rxa4 Ra7 48. Bc5 Ra6 49. c4 {If the bishop had returned to d6, I would have played Rha8, allowing one of the rooks to come to the b-file next. Now I can take the file immediately.} 49...Rb8 50. Ke4 Rb1 51. Ra3 a4 52. d5 Rb3 {I now have 2 minutes left on my clock to finish the game. I decided my best bet would be to rush the a-pawn forward as fast as I could.} 53. dxe6+ Kxe6 54. Ra2 a3 55. Bd4 Ra4 56. Rg2 a2? {The first of three consecutive mistakes in time pressure, this move allows White too much play. After 56...Rxc4 Black would be winning easily.} 57. Rxg6+ Kd7? {I played this natural move to guard the c-pawn, but it would have been better not to allow e6 with check.} 58. e6+ Ke8?? {Fritz gives Kd6 with equality as the best move. The move I played turns out to be the worst one.} 59. Bf6?? {This move threatens mate in one, but I was glad to see it since I had seen the only defense. After 59. Kf5!, Fritz shows that White actually would have been winning, e.g. 59...Rxc4 60. Rg8+ Ke7 61. Bf6+ Kd6 62. Be5+ Ke7 63. Rg7+.} 59...Rxc4+ 60. Kf5 Rb5+ {Now White has no choice but to block the check with the bishop, allowing Black to queen.} 61. Be5 Rxe5+ {White resigns.} 0-1

[Event "GCC Summer Knights"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2010.6.10"] [Round "2"] [White "Rankin, Tim"] [Black "Christensen, Wayne"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D87"] [WhiteELO "1858"] [BlackELO "2067"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O e6 11. Qd2 Qa5 12. Rfd1 Rd8 13. Qb2 a6 14. dxc5 {I was almost embarrassed to play this awful-looking move. However, I thought it was justified since Black had potential weaknesses on b6 and d6 and wanted to expand on the queenside with ...b5.} Ne5 15. Qb6 Qxb6 16. cxb6 {The c4 bishop is safe: 16...Rxd1+ 17. Rxd1 Nxc4?? 18. Rd8+ Bf8 19. Bh6 and Black gets mated.} Bd7 17. Bb3 Bb5 18. Nd4 Nc4 19. Bg5 Rdc8 20. a4? {The idea was to protect the b6 pawn with a4-a5, but, as my opponent pointed out after the game, this was too slow and gave Black too much of an initiative. A better course of play, according to Rybka, would have been to play 20. Nxb5 axb5 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. Rd7 with an edge for White.} Be8 21. a5 Nb2 22. Rdc1? {Played too quickly, missing the upcoming knight maneuver.} Nd3 23. Rc2 Nc5 24. Rac1 {Here I hoped Black would try to win a piece with 22...e5?, to which I would have responded 23. Bd5! exd4?? 24. cxd4 Bxd4 25. Bxb7 with a crushing advantage.} Nxe4 25. Be3 Nc5 26. Ba2 Ba4 27. Rd2 Ne4 28. Rd3 Rd8 29. f3 Nc5 30. Rd2 Rac8 31. Nc6 {Played with only a minute left to reach the time control on move 35, this flashy attempt at flashiness accomplishes little.} Bxc6 {Also good for Black is 31...Rxd2 32. Ne7+ Kh8 33. Nxc8 Rxa2 34. Bxc5 Bh6.} 32. Rxd8+ Rxd8 33. Bxc5 Rd3 34. Bb4 Bh6 35. Re1 {On the final move of the time control, I naturally pick a square which walks right into an obvious fork. 35. Rc2 would have kept White in the game.} Bd2 36. Bc4 {A desperate and ultimately ill-fated attempt to get counterplay based on desperadoes.} Rxf3 37. Rxe6? Be3+ 38. Kh1? fxe6 {Now there was nothing left to do but look at the board, snicker, then resign. If I capture Black's rook, he recaptures with checkmate! 0-1} 0-1

[Event "Reverse Angle 19"] [Site "Charlotte, NC"] [Date "2010.07.24"] [Round "1"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Harris, Neal"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B58"] [WhiteELO "1945"] [BlackELO "2200"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 d6 6. Be2 Nxd4 7. Qxd4 g6 8. O-O Bg7 9. f4 O-O 10. f5 Ng4 11. Qb4 a5 12. Qb3 Bd4+ 13. Kh1 Nf2+ 14. Rxf2 Bxf2 15. Bh6 Qb6 16. Nd5 Qxb3 17. Nxe7+ Kh8 18. axb3 Re8 19. f6 Rxe7 20. fxe7 Bd7 21. Rf1 Bh4 22. Rxf7 1-0

[Event "GCC Fall For Chess"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2010.9.23"] [Round "5"] [White "Rankin, Tim"] [Black "Bossmeier, Karl"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteELO "1883"] [BlackELO "1637"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Ne8 {I was not used to seeing this move (preparing ...f5) played this early. I decided here that I would take on f5 and play in the center and kingside rather than the usual plan of securing e4 and going for a c5 break with queenside play.} 9. Be3 f5 10. exf5 gxf5 11. Ng5 Ndf6 12. f4 e4 13. Kh1 {I wanted to prepare a g4 break to undermine Black's e4 pawn and potentially to attack down the g-file.} h6 14. Nh3 Qe7 15. Nf2 Kh7 16. Rg1 Rg8 17. g4 Nxg4 18. Nxg4 Bxc3 {According to Black after the game, the purpose of trading here was not to double my pawns but to alleviate pressure against e4. I thought giving up the kingside bishop was a mistake at the time, but Rybka likes this move and even gives the edge to Black here.} 19. bxc3 fxg4 20. Bxg4 Nf6 21. Bxc8 Raxc8 22. Qe2 {This multi-purpose move connects the rooks in the event of ...Rxg1+, eyes the e4 pawn, and keeps g4 guarded against a potentially annoying ...Ng4.} b6 23. Bd4 Rxg1+ 24. Rxg1 Re8 25. f5 {The idea is to sink a rook into g6 with dangerous pressure against Black's kingside dark squares, taking advantage of the fact that Black traded off his dark-squared bishop. I turned down 25. Qg2 because everything seemed defended after 25...Qf7, though Rybka prefers 25. Qg2 anyway.} e3 {Black plays the correct move, opening the e4 square for checks to my king.} 26. Rg6? {I mistakenly concluded here that 26...Qe4+ was harmless. After 27. Kg1 Qb1+ 28. Qf1 the checks would be over, and 27...Qxf5 instead seemed unplayable since the f6 knight was hanging. Although the knight is indeed hanging, capturing it allows Black a perpetual check.} Rf8?? {Missing the opportunity to draw with 26...Qe4+ 27. Kg1 Qxf5 28. Rxf6 (nothing better) Rg8+ 29. Kh1 Qe4+ 30. Qf3 Qb1+ with a perpetual. Now Black is lost if White plays the right move.} 27. Qg2! {This move has a mate threat to which there is no adequate defense.} e2? {This would win for Black if not for the upcoming mate in two. 27...Qe4 pinning the queen would probably have been Black's most reasonable attempt to play on, but it fails in problem-like fashion to 28. Rg7+ Kh8 29. Rg8+!} 28. Rxh6+ Kxh6 29. Qg6# {1-0} 1-0

[Event "GCC Championship"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2010.10.28"] [Round "2"] [White "Rankin, Tim"] [Black "Jotev, Petar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteELO "1918"] [BlackELO "1980"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Na6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Nc5 9. Qc2 a5 10. Ne1 c6 11. Be3 cxd5 12. cxd5 b6 13. f3 Nh5 14. Bb5 f5 {Rybka's database shows that this position was also reached in the game Schmittdiel-Watson, Germany 1987, albeit by a significantly different move order in the first 10 moves (1. e4 c6 2. c4 e5 ...). That game continued 15. exf5 gxf5 16. Nd3 and ultimately ended in a draw.} 15. Nd3 f4 16. Bf2 g5 {So far, White wants to play on the queenside and Black on the kingside, which is typical of the King's Indian. In order for me to play on the queenside, I need to remove Black's c5 knight which is plugging up the c-file and the g1-a7 diagonal, hence the idea of a3 and b4.} 17. a3 g4 18. fxg4 {I decided this undesirable capture was better than allowing Black to play ...g3 here.} Bxg4 19. b4 Nd7? {This move is a piece sacrifice since it cuts off the g4 bishop's retreat squares. Best would have been 19...Nxd3 with an advantage for Black according to Rybka.} 20. h3 {Even though this move wins the g4-bishop, I did not play it until I saw I had 24. Ne1 as a defense to the coming 23...Qh4.} Ng3 21. Bxg3 fxg3 22. Rxf8+ Nxf8 {In this position, Rybka actually thinks it is best for White to ignore the bishop and play positionally with a small advantage as Black's kingside attack has been somewhat defused.} 23. hxg4?! Qh4 {Black of course threatens 24...Qh2+ 25. Kf1 Qh1+ 26. Ke2, after which both 26...Qxa1 and 26...Qxg2+ are possible. The move I make here needs to address both these captures.} 24. Ne1 {Though I had seen this move before playing 20. h3, I stopped and spent 33 minutes here before playing it. I did not like the fact that 24. Ne1 would hang the b-pawn to 24...axb4. I also considered 24. Ne2 (to block with Ng1 after Qh1+) but rejected it because of 24...Bh6!, after which the placement of my knights would leave me no way to guard against ...Be3 other than giving back the piece with 25. Nxg3. Finally, I considered 24. Re1, with the idea of hiding my king after 24...Qh2+ 25. Kf1 Qh1+ 26. Ke2 Qxg2+ 27. Kd1, but losing the g2-pawn as well as the possibility of Black's rook infiltrating down the a-file scared me off. (In fact, after 24. Re1?? Rybka finds the unbelievable 24...Ne6!! and White can resign at once!) Rybka confirms that 24. Ne1 is the only move that keeps White in the game, though it still prefers Black.} Qh2+? {This natural move turns out to be a mistake. Best according to Rybka would have been 24...Bh6 with a significant advantage for Black. Now it gives an edge to White. Had Black instead played 24...axb4, I had planned on playing Na4 to shield and unpin the a-pawn as well as hit the b6 pawn. Hopefully in that line I would have had enough sense to drive away the queen first with 25. Nf3.} 25. Kf1 Ng6 26. Bd7 {The idea is to block off the f-file with Bf5 as a response to ...Rf8.} Nf4 {This move was scary since trying to run away with Ke2 is no longer an option. In fact, Black threatens mate here by 27...Qh1#, and the only reasonable way to defend against it is to prepare to block on g1 with a knight.} 27. Ne2 {The correct way to defend, as the e1 knight is serving a more useful defensive purpose than the c3 knight. Now White is winning easily according to Rybka, though this position was far from relaxing at the time.} Qh1+ 28. Ng1 axb4 29. Qc6 Rf8 30. Bf5 {The king is well protected with a steed on each side and a bishop solidly plugging up the file.} h5 31. gxh5 {I really wanted to play 31. axb4 and 32. Ra8, but I decided that allowing the h-pawn to march down the board was way too dangerous.} Rxf5 {Black gives up even more material in an attempt to keep the attack going, but there is little hope at this point if White plays carefully.} 32. exf5 e4 33. Qe8+ Kh7 34. Qxe4 {This is much stronger than simply moving the rook to safety.} Bxa1 35. f6+ {This important in-between move creates mate threats around the king. Taking the f4 knight immediately is much worse, as Black can struggle on with 35...bxa3.} Kh8 {If 35...Kh6, I saw that if nothing else I could take the knight with check, then play axb4 and win easily with an extra piece and a deadly passed f-pawn.} 36. Qe8+ {Black resigns. The queen is history after 36...Kh7 37. Qf7+ Kh6 38. Qg7+ Kxh5 29. Qh7+.} 1-0

[Event "GCC Championship"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2010.11.4"] [Round "3"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteELO "1951"] [BlackELO "1918"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Nb4 6. e5 Nxd3 7. Qxd3 Ng8 {In this sub-line of an obscure line of the French, Black gives White a large lead in development in return for getting rid of White's annoying light-squared bishop. The lead in development is not as important when the position is closed.} 8. O-O Ne7 9. Ne2 b6 10. b3 Ng6 11. Rd1 a5 {Preparing to put the light-squared bishop on a6, taking advantage of the fact that White has no light-squared bishop to oppose it.} 12. c4 Ba6 13. Qc2 Rc8 {Foolishly ignoring the warning signs. The center is about to open - get the king to safety, NOW!} 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Nc3 Qa8 16. d5 Bb4 {Now I realized I needed to castle at all costs, including giving up the bishop pair if necessary.} 17. dxe6 fxe6 18. Ne4 Bb7 {I was worried about having to face a barrage of knights with Neg5 and Nh4 if I castled here. As much as I hated giving up my light-squared bishop, I decided I needed to be able to get rid of one of White's knights.} 19. Neg5 Bxf3 {I still considered castling here for a long time, but I thought 20. Nh4 would be strong for White. Rybka confirms my suspicions, giving the line 19...O-O 20. Nh4 Bc5 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. fxe3 Be4 23. Nxe4 Nxh4 24. Rd7 with an advantage for White, while it says the position is equal after 19...Bxf3.} 20. Nxf3 O-O 21. Qc4 Kh8 {I now have only 11 minutes for the rest of the game.} 22. Be3 {This was played to stop my bishop from coming to c5, but White underestimated the strength of the exchange sacrifice on f3.} Rxf3 23. gxf3 Nxe5 24. Qxe6 Nxf3+ 25. Kf1 {Forced, as any other move loses the queen to the discovery 25...Nd4+.} Nxh2+ 26. Kg1 {Forced again, as the attempt to run away with 26. Ke2?? loses horribly to 26...Qf3+ 27. Kd3 Rd8+ followed by 28...Qe2+.} Nf3+ 27. Kf1 Nh2+ {Draw agreed. I was happy with a draw here due to my time pressure, and White had no way to get out of the checks. Rybka prefers 27...Rf8 with an edge for Black.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "GCC Snowstorm 2011"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2011.02.03"] [Round "3"] [White "Pohl, Klaus"] [Black "Nix, Gene"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C83"] [WhiteELO "2200"] [BlackELO "1946"] {Annotations by Gene Nix.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Be3 Be7 {Here's a former secret: I'm so enamored of the lines flowing from 9. c3 Bc5, that I never study this more common variation. "How does this guy keep an 'A' rating," you wonder? Me too.} 10. c3 O-O 11. Nbd2 Bg4 {This routine move required some 15 minutes of me. Consequences to follow.} 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Qxd8 Raxd8 14. Ng5 Nxe5 15. Nxe4 Nd3 {From here on I felt Black had an advantage. And so Black did.} 16. h3 Bc8 17. Rab1 Bb7 18. Ng3 c5 19. Bc2 f5 20. Bxd3 Rxd3 21. Bf4 g5 22. Bc7 f4 23. Nh5 Rf5 24. Rbd1 Rfd5 25. Rxd3 Rxd3 26. Re1 Kf7 27. Ng7 Bc8 28. Nh5 Rd2 29. g3 fxg3 30. Nxg3 Bxh3 {30... Rxb2 31. Re5 Bxh3 32. Ne4 h6} 31. Re2 Rxe2 32. Nxe2 Bg4 33. Ng3 h5 34. Nf1 Ke6 35. Ne3 Bf3 36. c4 Bd6 37. Bb6 h4 38. cxb5 axb5 39. b3 h3 40. Nf1 Kd5 41. Bd8 g4 42. a4 bxa4 43. bxa4 Kc4 44. a5 Kb5 45. Nh2 c4 {This turns out to be a good move, but my assessment is becoming hurried and ragged. I ought to have kept the light-square Bishop, as the K-side pawns will have no defender, should I forget the importance of keeping a Bishop on the b8-h2 diagonal. With the clock mocking me and my won position, this is not moot.} 46. Nxf3 gxf3 47. Bf6 Kxa5 {Were the board not horizontal, my pawns and pieces would coast to victory on their own...} 48. Bc3+ Bb4? {Like the expanding hallway of the familiar nightmare, the end just moved farther away. Purely coincidentally, this third-rate move still happens to win, but 48...Ka4 is much faster.} 49. Be5 Ka4 50. Kh2 Kb3 51. Kxh3 Bc3 52. Bf4 Bd4 53. Kg3 c3 54. Kxf3 c2 55. Ke2 Kb2 {I considered briefly (how else?) just ending the game with 55...Bxf2, which would have deprived the onlookers of a somewhat more melodramatic finish.} 56. f3 {Wise as an old gray wolf, Klaus keeps his winning chance in play.} Kb1 57. Kd3 Bb2 58. Be3 Bc1 59. Bc5 Bf4 60. Ba3 Bd6 61. Bxd6 c1=Q {The cloud in this silver lining is the quarter-minute or less remaining on my clanking mechanical clock, with the memory of unnumbered ancient time-scrambles carved by the blood-red minute-arm into the underside of the dangling flag, while the second-timer wags its reproving finger at me. Who can tell when that thing's gonna drop, is what I'm saying....} 62. Be5 { Klaus offered a draw hereabouts, but I chose to to push my luck a little, in keeping with my penchant for finding ways to toss won endgames.} Qc2+ {The win needs too many moves. Fortunately, I had the benefit of two very recent losses on time in remarkably similar circumstances in the GCC Quick Resolution tournament, keeping me mindful of the need to take something from this game. Wave to Gerard Dotti and Bill Wetzel. Burn some, learn some. (62... Qf1+ 63. Ke3 Kc2 64. Bf6 Qe1+ 65. Kf4 Kd3 66. Kf5 Qe3 67. f4 Qe4+ 68. Kg5 Qd5+ 69. Be5 Qf7 70. Kh6 Ke4 71. Kg5 Qf5+ 72. Kh6 Qg4 73. Kh7 Kf5 74. Bg7 Qxf4 75. Bh8 Qc7+ 76. Bg7 Qf7 77. Kh8 Kg6 78. Be5 Qh7#)} 63. Ke3 Qb3+ 64. Ke4 Kc2 {We played a few more moves, none of which were 65. f4, Qd3 mate. The remaining text is from dimming memory of fading regrets, but is reasonably close to what actually happened.} 65. Bf6 Qc4+ 66. Kf5 Kd3 67. f4 Ke3 68. Be5 Qf7+ 69. Bf6 Qxf6+ {Time's about up. But 11...Bg4 surely led to a fine game, and was worth every second it took to play. Sigh...} 70. Kxf6 Kxf4 1/2-1/2

[Event "GCC Spring Showdown '11"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2011.4.21"] [Round "4"] [White "Dotti, Gerard"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteELO "1635"] [BlackELO "1958"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin.} 1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Nc6 4. Bb5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Qd5 6. Bxc6+ Qxc6 7. Qd3 b6 {Turning down White's offer of a pawn via 7...f5 8. Ng3 Qxg2. After 9. Nf3, the black queen would have a hard time returning to the game.} 8. f3 Bb7 9. Ne2 Be7 10. Bf4 Nf6 11. N2c3 h6 {It still is not clear which way either player will castle at this point. This move prepares to break with ...g5 if I choose to castle queenside, and it stops any attacking ideas involving Ng5 or Bg5 in case I castle kingside.} 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. Ne4 Be7 14. c3 {Both sides keep waiting to see which way the opponent will castle...} O-O-O 15. O-O-O {White castles the same way as Black, indicating he does not want a mutual pawn-storm situation.} f6 {As Black, I have the two bishops, so I would like to open the position. In particular I would like to increase the scope of my light-squared bishop, for which White has no counterpart. A ...g5-g4 break would help open the h1-a8 diagonal, but the immediate 15...g5 would be met by 16. Be5 likely followed by 17. Nf6. The move 15...f6 keeps the e5 square out of White's hands and also eyes the possibility of an ...e5 break.} 16. Qc2 g5 17. Be3 g4 18. Nd2 gxf3 19. gxf3 {Recapturing this way helps fight for the light squares, but it also weakens White's kingside pawn structure.} Kb8 20. Rhg1 Qd5 {Aiming for h5, where the queen would attack both of White's isolated kingside pawns.} 21. Qb3 Qf5 22. Rgf1 {Before this move, White had 38 minutes remaining to Black's 32. White spent 20 minutes on this passive move, putting him at a time disadvantage for the rest of the game.} e5 23. Qc2 Qh5 24. Ne4 Qf7 {The immediate 24...f5 would walk into the fork 25. Ng3, so first I moved the queen with tempo.} 25. b3 f5 26. Nd2 exd4 27. Bxd4 Rhg8 28. Nc4 Qh5 29. Be5? {The decision to give up the isolated f3 pawn is costly, not just because it loses a pawn but because it allows Black's light-squared bishop to become active. Better would have been a move guarding the f3-pawn such as 29. Rd3 or 29. Ne5, still with an advantage for Black.} Bxf3 30. Rxd8+ Bxd8 31. Qf2 Be4 32. Rg1? {This move lets Black put a quick end to White's suffering.} Rxg1+ 33. Qxg1 Qe2 {Threatening 34...Qc2# as well as taking away the white king's lone escape square (b2) from a bishop check on g5.} 34. Qd1 Bg5+ 35. Nd2 Qd3 {36...Qb1# is threatened, and the horse statue on d2 cannot budge, so White has only one way to avoid immediate mate. The cooperation of the two bishops here is brutal.} 36. Kb2 Qxd2+ 37. Qxd2 Bxd2 38. Bg3 f4 39. Bf2 Be3 40. Bxe3 fxe3 41. Kc1 Bb1 42. a3 Ba2 43. b4 Bb3 {White resigns.} 0-1

[Event "GCC Spring Showdown '11"] [Site "Greenville, SC"] [Date "2011.4.28"] [Round "5"] [White "Zaborskyy, Pavlo"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E65"] [WhiteELO "UNR"] [BlackELO "1958"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. e3 O-O 8. d4 cxd4 9. exd4 d5 {Striking back in the center in order to provoke a c5 push by White.} 10. c5 b6 11. cxb6 Qxb6 12. Na4 Qb5 13. Re1 Ne4 14. Nc3 Nxc3 15. bxc3 e6 16. Ba3 Rd8 17. Qb3 Qa5 18. Bb4 Nxb4 19. cxb4 {This removes White's backward pawn weakness on c3 but replaces it with an isolated pawn on d4. The b4 pawn also turns out to be surprisingly weak.} Qb6 20. Rad1 Rb8 21. a3 a5 22. Qc3 axb4 23. axb4 Qxb4 24. Qc7 Qd6 25. Rc1 Qxc7 26. Rxc7 Rd7 27. Rxd7 Bxd7 28. Bf1 Rb4 {Attacking White's weak d4 pawn.} 29. Rc1 {White gives up the d4 pawn in an attempt to get counterplay against the f7 pawn.} Bxd4 30. Rc7 Ba4 31. Ng5 Rb2 {Black now has 11 minutes remaining to White's 60.} 32. Rxf7 h6 33. Nxe6 {This exchange sacrifice is virtually forced. The attempt at skewering the bishops with 33. Rf4 gives Black the pleasant choice of 33...Bxf2+, leading to a bishop ending two pawns ahead, or 33...e5, again assuring the win of the exchange.} Kxf7 34. Nxd4 Rb4 35. Nf3 Rb1 36. Kg2 Bb5 37. Bxb5 Rxb5 38. Ne5+ Kf6 39. f4 Kf5 40. Kf3 Rb3+ 41. Ke2 Rb2+ 42. Kf3 Rxh2 43. g4+ Kf6 44. g5+ Kf5 {Avoiding 44...hxg5?? 45. Ng4+ winning the rook. I made sure I could avoid this fork before grabbing the h2-pawn back on move 42.} 45. gxh6 Rxh6 46. Ke3 Rh1 47. Kd4 Rd1+ 48. Nd3 {Capitulating, though White is lost anyway.} Rxd3+ 49. Kxd3 Kxf4 50. Kd4 g5 51. Kxd5 g4 {White resigns.} 0-1

[Event "GA State Championship"] [Site "Atlanta, GA"] [Date "2012.05.04"] [Round "1"] [White "Christensen, Wayne"] [Black "Gulamali, Kazim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A43"] [WhiteELO "2169"] [BlackELO "2445"] [Annotator "Wayne Christensen"] [PlyCount "85"] {Annotations by Wayne Christensen.} 1. d4 {Entering the tournament, I was coming off of a streak of 9(!) games without a win, including losses to 1 B and 3 A players. I suffered 3 losses and one draw in my match with NM Chris Mabe (I represented SC in the SC/NC Border Battle). The result of this hideous streak was that I had lost 70 rating points. I wasn't really despondent, though. While Chris had crushed me twice with Black, I really gave a good accounting of myself with White, reaching good positions in both games. In my notes, I credit Rybka, or my opponent's suggestions in the post mortem, as accurately as I can remember. Uncredited notes are my own.} c5 2. d5 e6 3. c4 exd5 4. cxd5 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nf3 a6 8. a4 Ne7 {Taking the lower rated player out of his "book". Very practical.} 9. Bd3 {The first questionable move. The B really belongs on e2.} h6 10. Bf4 {I wanted to post the B on this diagonal before ...g5.} g5 11. Bg3 Ng6 {11... f5 (I was prepared to give up the B pair by capturing on f5.) 12. exf5 Nxf5 13. Bxf5 Bxf5 14. O-O} 12. Nd2 Ne5 13. Be2 {Admitting the mistake. The B is needed to hold up ...h5, I thought, but actually it is playable here. } Qe7 {13... h5 14. h3 (14. Bxh5 Nd3+) 14... Nbd7 15. Qc2 Qe7 16. a5 g4 17. hxg4 hxg4 18. Rxh8+ Bxh8 19. Qa4 Kf8 20. f4 (Rybka4 +/= 0.58)} 14. O-O O-O 15. Qc2 {I refrained from the immediate f4, because I did not want to be saddled with a backward eP and leave e5 as an unassailable square for my opponent. However, the move played did not "feel right", and I was becoming uneasy. Both Kazim and Rybka felt f4 was better. 15. f4 gxf4 16. Bxf4 Nbd7 17. Kh1 Ng6 18. Bg3 Nde5 19. a5 (Rybka4: +/= 0.59)} 15... f5 16. f4 gxf4 17. Bxf4 fxe4 18. Ndxe4 {18. Bxe5! (Kazim's suggestion in the post mortem. This highlights the difference in our skill levels. To me, this is a non intuitive move, and I would not waste much time considering it. He analyzes concretely, without prejudice, and finds the best move. Yermolinsky discusses this at length in "The Road to Chess Improvement" [A gift from my friend, Klaus Pohl]. Clearly, I did not absorb that lesson from his excellent book!) Bxe5 (18...Qxe5 19. Nc4 Qd4+ [19...Qe7 20. Rxf8+ Qxf8 21. Rf1 Bd4+ 22. Kh1 (Nb6 and Ne4 are both threatened.)] 20. Kh1 [And the Pd6 is in trouble.]) 19. Rxf8+ Kxf8 (19... Qxf8 20. Rf1 Qe7 21. Ncxe4 Bd7 22. Bh5 Kh8 23. Nc4 Bxa4 24. Qd2 Bd4+ 25. Kh1 [Rybka4: +- 1.90]) 20. Nc4 Bd7 21. Rf1+ (Rybka4: +- 1.51)} 18... Bf5 19. Rae1 Nbd7 20. Qb3?! {This is a bona fide mistake that gives away any edge that White had. Better is 20. Bg3 Bg6 21. Qb3 Rxf1+ 22. Bxf1 (Rybka4: +/= 0.61)} 20... Rab8 {Passing up the chance to obtain 2 Ns for a R and P. I did not consider this line until after I had played my previous move. The more I looked at it the less I liked it. 20... Bxe4 21. Nxe4 Ng6 22. Bxd6 Qxe4 23. Bxf8 Rxf8 24. d6+ Kh8 25. Bf3 Qd4+ 26. Kh1 b6 (Rybka4: = 0.14)} 21. Ng3 Bg6 22. Qd1 Qh4 23. Qd2 b5 {I was expecting this. I thought I could take the P; but, I also knew that Kazim is a tactical wunderkind.......} 24. axb5 axb5 25. Nxb5 Rxb5 26. Bxb5 Ng4 27. h3 Bd4+ 28. Kh1 Nf2+ 29. Rxf2 Bxf2 30. Qxf2 {We both had about 5 minutes left around here. I was just playing natural moves and trying to simplify. Strong in between moves go unnoticed. 30. Re6 Rxf4 31. Rxg6+ Kf7 32. Ne2 Nf8 33. Rxd6 Bg3 34. Nxg3 Qxg3 35. Kg1 (Rybka4: +- 2.26)} 30... Rxf4 31. Qe3 Ne5 32. Rf1 Rb4 {32... Rxf1+ 33. Bxf1 Kh7 34. Kg1 Kg7 35. Be2 Qb4 (Rybka4: +/= 0.36)} 33. Bd7 {My best move of the game. Bringing the B back into the game gives White some chances.} Rxb2 {33... Nxd7 34. Qe6+} 34. Bf5 Qg5 35. Be6+?! {Patzer sees check, Patzer gives check...... Better is 35. Qa3 Rb8 36. Ne4 Qe7 37. Qg3 Rf8 38. Rf4 Kh7 (Rybka4: +/- 1.13)} 35... Kh7 36. Qa3 {The key move I saw from afar.} Be4!? {A surprise, and with just minutes left on the clock! I discounted taking the exchange, because I had so little time on the clock. The only time in this tournament that the clock (albeit slightly) factored into a move. I knew I had at least a draw with the move I played, and that was looking pretty good to me! (36... Rb7 37. Qa8 Rg7 38. Nf5 Bxf5 39. Bxf5+ Ng6 40. Qf8; 36... Qd2 37. Qa7+ Nf7 38. Rxf7+ Bxf7 39. Qxf7+ Kh8 40. Qg8#)} 37. Qa7+ Kg6 38. Bf7+ Kh7 {38... Kg7?? 39. Nh5+ +- (Kazim pointed this out in the post mortem.)} 39. Bh5+ {I could not find a win here. Kazim and Rybka agree. It is amazing to me how often the defense can hold by calmly walking the K into a discovered check!} Kg8 40. Qa8+ Kh7 41. Qa7+ Kg8 42. Qa8+ Kh7 43. Qa7+ {This game left me feeling very confident. A feeling I maintained the rest of the tournament. Now, how to put it in a bottle.....} 1/2-1/2

[Event "GA State Championship"] [Site "Atlanta, GA"] [Date "2012.05.05"] [Round "2"] [White "Lokanata, Yansen"] [Black "Christensen, Wayne"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C59"] [WhiteELO "2183"] [BlackELO "2169"] [Annotator "Wayne Christensen"] [PlyCount "82"] {Annotations by Wayne Christensen.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 {I have a love/hate relationship with the Two Knights Defense, and it is all due to this N on a5. In every game I worry about finding a way to bring it back into play (2 moves) without relinquishing the initiative.} 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 9. Nh3 {Steinitz move. The idea is to avoid lines where Black gets in ...e4 with tempo (9. Nf3). This position was something of a tabia in his World Championship match with Tchigorin 2 centuries (!) ago. Tchigorin chose 9...Bc5 and reached some good positions.} g5 {A recomendation of Nigel Davies in his book "1.e4 e5!". The idea behind it is to restrict the Nh3, prepare a kingside pawn storm, and exert influence on the long diagonal with the K's B.} 10. Nc3 {10. O-O g4} 10... Bg7 11. d3 O-O 12. Ng1 {Very Steinitzian and very inevitable I think. White loses time, but his position is sound and compact.} Rb8 {Arresting the development of the Q's B, and dissuading White from 0-0-0.} 13. Nf3 Nd5 14. Nd2 f5 15. h4?! {A mistaken idea. The White K will never be safe in the center. White should "castle into it".} g4 16. g3 c5!? {Well, here I am, thinking about that stupid N on the rim.....} 17. Nb3!? {White offers to trade off Black's problem piece by moving his own N 7 times? Better is 17. O-O Nc6 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. c3} 17... Bb7 18. Rh2?! {I still think 0-0 is correct, in spite of the kingside weaknesses.} Nxc3 19. bxc3 e4 {Trying to rip open the e file.} 20. Bd2 Nxb3 21. axb3 exd3 22. cxd3 Qb6 23. Ra3 Rbe8 24. Kf1 Re7 25. f4 Rfe8 26. Ra2 Kh7 {Prophylactic play. The K exits the a2-g8 diagonal, so the Q will feel safe on b3/d5.} 27. Qa1?! {Removing the Q from the center can't be good.} Qxb3?! {I thought 27...Rxe2 had to be winning, but I could not find the decisive follow up. Rybka shows the way. 27... Rxe2 28. Rxe2 Qc6! 29. Be3 (29. Rxe8 Qg2+ 30. Ke1 Qg1+ 31. Ke2 Bf3#) 29... Qf3+ (Rybka4: -+ -6.00)} 28. Rxa7 Qd5 29. Qa2 Qc6 30. Qa4 Qb6 {Winning the exchange, while maintaining the bind.} 31. Rf2 {31. Ra5 Rxe2 32. Rxe2 Qb1+ 33. Be1 Rxe2 34. Kxe2 Bf3+ 35. Kd2 (35. Kf2 Qb2+ 36. Kg1 Qg2#) 35... Qb2+ 36. Qc2 Bxc3+} 31... Bg2+ 32. Kxg2 Qxa7 33. Qxa7 Rxa7 34. Bf1 Ra3 35. Bc1 Rxc3 36. Bb2 Rb3 37. Bxg7 Kxg7 38. Rc2 Re1 39. Kf2 {39. Rxc5 Rbb1} 39... Rbb1 40. Be2 Rbc1 41. Rb2 Rh1 0-1

[Event "GA State Championship"] [Site "Atlanta, GA"] [Date "2012.05.05"] [Round "3"] [White "Francisco, Richard"] [Black "Christensen, Wayne"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C35"] [WhiteELO "2316"] [BlackELO "2169"] [Annotator "Wayne Christensen"] [PlyCount "66"] {Annotations by Wayne Christensen.} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Be7 {The Cunningham Defense. In the 19th Century Black always followed up with ...Bh4+, displacing the White K, although White usually won anyway.} 4. Bc4 Nf6 {Euwe's "Modern" wrinkle. Black aims to give back the pawn in return for rapid development, and the 2Bs.} 5. e5 Ng4 6. O-O {If White fails to castle immediately, then ...Bh4+ is a real threat. 6. d4 d5 7. Bb3 Bh4+ 8. Kf1 b6 9. Bxf4 Ba6+ 10. c4 dxc4 11. Ba4+ b5 12. Nc3 bxa4 13. Qxa4+ c6 14. h3 Nh6 15. d5 Nf5 16. Rd1 O-O 17. g4 Qb6 18. Qc2 Qe3 19. Bxe3 Nxe3+ 20. Ke2 Nxc2 21. Nxh4 cxd5 22. Rxd5 Bb7 23. Rc1 Bxd5 24. Nxd5 Nd4+ 25. Ke3 Ne6 0-1 (Kramer - Euwe, Max (NED), Netherlands 1941)} 6...O-O {6...d5 7. exd6 Qxd6 8. d4 O-O 9. Nc3 c6 (Better is 9...Qh6) 10. Ne4 Qh6 (10...Qc7 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxf4 +/=) 11. Qe2 Be6 12. Bxe6 fxe6?! (Better is 12...Qxe6) 13. h3 Ne3 14. Bxe3 fxe3 15. Rae1 (Francisco-Christensen, Atlanta 2007) was how our first game in this variation went. Richard beat me rather easily in that game.} 7. d4 {7. h3?! d5! 8. exd6 (8. Bb3 c5 9.hxg4 c4 10. Ba4 b5 11. Bxb5 Qb6+; better is 8. Be2 Nh6 9. d4 Nf5 10. Bxf4 c5 11. c3 Qb6 [Rybka4: =/+ -0.50]) 8... Qxd6 with the idea ...Qc5+. These little lines demonstrate how easily the White KB can get into trouble.} 7... d5 8. Bb3 {Taking me out of my "book". Better is 8. exd6} 8... Ne3 9. Bxe3 fxe3 10. Qe1?! {Too cute, I think. The QNP is uncovered. 10. Qe2 c5 11. c3 Be6 12. Na3 Nc6 13. Nc2 Qb6 (Rybka4: =/+ -0.62)} 10...c5 11. c3 Qb6 {I spent about 10 minutes on this move. While thinking, I was reminded of the old story, I think it was in the "Fireside Book of Chess", about an old man on his death bed, surrounded by his sons.... "Father, do you have any final words of wisdom for us?" "Yes", the old man replied, "Never take the QNP with your Queen!"} 12. Bxd5!? {A surprise, but it shouldn't have been. A bold move, typical of Richard's style. I had spent all of my time considering 12. Na3. 12. Na3 c4 13. Ba4 Qxb2 14. Nb5 Bf5 (All forced. White can go for the a8 R, and Black can go for the f1 R. The desperado eP is an unusual asset for Black. White must make time to capture it, or face its advance.) 15. Nc7 (15. Qxe3 Bd3 16. Nc7 Nc6 17. Nxa8 Bxf1 18. Rxf1 Rxa8 19. e6 f6 [Rybka4: =/+ -0.39]) 15... Bd3 (15... e2! [Rybka] This eliminate's White's idea of Nxd5 followed by Nxe3.) 16. Nxa8 (16. Nxd5! Bd8 17. Nxe3 Ba5 18. Rc1 Bxf1 19. Kxf1 Nc6 [Rybka4: = -0.08]) 16... e2 (Rybka: Better than 16...Bxf1 17.Kxf1 e2+ 18. Kf2 Na6 19. Rb1 Qxa2 20. Rxb7 [20. Ra1 Qb2 21. Rb1 = ] 20...Qxa4 21. Rxe7 Rxa8 22. Qxe2 Kf8 23. Rb7 Qc6 24. Qb2 Kg8 [Rybka4: = 0.00]) 17.Rf2 Na6 18. Bd7 Rxa8 19. e6 f6 (Rybka4: -/+ -1.31)} 12... Qxb2 {My heart was saying "NO, NO, NO", but my head was saying "Really, I don't see anything wrong with it". So, head over heart, I played it.} 13. Qxe3 Qxa1 14. e6!? {Another surprise, and a scary one. I spent twenty minutes here. At first, everything I analyzed looked winning for White. I had to sort through 4 candidate moves: 14...f6 looked like the safest, but also felt like a defeatist move, with the QB trapped on its original square; and, appeared to be well met by 15. Nh4 with the idea Nf5. 14...f5 was almost the same. 14... Bxe6 looked similar to 14...fe at first; but then, I did not like Black's position after 15. Bxb7. White is recovering his R (by also threatening d5, skewering the B on e7), and the Black Q is still out of play in the corner..... Now see how Rybka makes mince meat of my game analysis.} 14...fxe6 {*14... f6 15. Nh4?! (Better is 15. Qd2 with the idea of trapping the Black Q, yet another idea that did not occur to me. 15. Qd2 Rd8 16. c4 cxd4 17. Nxd4 Rxd5 18. cxd5 Bc5 19. Nc3 Bxd4+ 20. Qxd4 Qb2 21. Rxf6 gxf6 [This is just one of many flights of fantasy on which Rybka embarks. It may think Black is always equal, but I wouldn't want to try to defend the resulting positions. Rybka4: = 0.00]) 15...Nc6 16. Nf5 g6 17. Nd2 Qb2 18. Nc4 (I thought Black was busted here, but Rybka finds a bold defense.) 18...Qxa2! 19. Ne5 Qxd5 20. Nxc6 Qxe6 21. Ncxe7+ Kf7 22. Qh3 Rh8 23. Nxg6 hxg6 24. Qxh8 gxf5 (Rybka4: -+ -1.90). *14... f5 15. Nh4 (And here this idea does not work at all, because the White R can't cover both Ns. Just bad analysis on my part. Better is 15. Qd2, again with the idea of trapping the Black Q. 15... Nc6 16. Nxf5? Rxf5 -+) *14... Bxe6 15. Bxb7 (Better is 15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Qxe6+, transposing into the game.) 15... Nd7 16. Bxa8 Rxa8 17. d5 (My analysis stopped here, judging White to be better. Rybka reveals the truth.) 17...Qxa2! 18. dxe6 Qxe6 19. Qxe6 fxe6 20. Re1 Nf8 (Rybka4: -+ -2.04)} 15. Bxe6+ {I had been very worried about the in between move 15.Nbd2, with the idea of Nc4 and Nce5, but the Silicon Monster cold bloodedly gives the nod to Black. 15. Nbd2 cxd4 (15... Qb2 16. Bxe6+ [16. Nc4 Qb5 17. Bxe6+ Bxe6 18. Qxe6+ Kh8 19. Nce5 Nc6 transposes] 16... Bxe6 17. Qxe6+ Kh8 18. Nc4 Qxc3 19. Nce5 Nc6. This is the position I saw from afar, and I thought I was getting smothered mated. When we looked at it after the game, though, it was clear that Black just gives up the R for the N and survives. 20. Nf7+ Rxf7 21. Qxf7 cxd4 22. Qf5 d3 -+) 16. Bxe6+ Kh8 17. cxd4 Qb2 18. Bxc8 (18. Nc4 Qb5) 18... Rxc8 19. Qxe7 Nc6 (Rybka4: -+ -1.91)} 15... Bxe6 16. Qxe6+ Kh8 {Analyzing this position from afar, I was very aware of the smothered mate and back rank mate threats.} 17. Qxe7 {After 17.Ne5, I thought, I had a perpetual for sure. Once again Rybka demonstrates the best defense, but would I have found 20...h6? I'd like to think so, but who knows? 17. Ne5 Rxf1+ 18. Kxf1 Qxb1+ 19. Kf2 Qc2+ 20. Kg1 (20. Kf3 Qxc3+ 21. Kg4 Qxd4+. I knew, during the game, that the K had to retreat.) 20... h6 (20... Nc6?? 21. Nf7+ Kg8 22. Nh6+ Kh8 23. Qg8+ Rxg8 24. Nf7#) 21. Qxe7 (21. Ng6+ Kh7 22. Nxe7 Nc6) 21... Nc6 (Rybka4: -+ -7.62). 17. Nbd2 Qxc3} 17... Nc6 18. Qxb7 {But this makes things too easy. 18.Qxc5 Qxa2 is winning for Black, but there is still play left.} Rab8 19. Qxc6 Rxb1 {Suddenly, Black's Q reenters the game without making a move! I breathed a sigh of relief around here.} 20. Qb5 Rxf1+ 21. Qxf1 Qxc3 22. dxc5 Qxc5+ 23. Kh1 Rc8 24. Qa6 h6 25. h3 Qc1+ 26. Ng1 Qc5 27.Nf3 {My last difficult moment. Black appears to be easily winning, yet I could not find a clear plan. Trying to attack g2 looked futile, as did doubling on the back rank. Taking the aP left me vunerable to a perpetual or a Q and N counterattack......After a few minutes of fruitless analysis, thoughts of taking the repetition crept into my mind. I forced myself to think. I am as proud of this decision as 14...Qb6. Finally, it came to me.......} Rc6 28.Qe2 Qc1+ 29. Ng1 Qc2 {The key move. The Q covers the diagonal to stop perpetual, while attacking g2 and the aP. Now the win is simple.} 30. Qe8+ Kh7 31. Ne2 Ra6 32. Qe5 Ra4 33. Nc3 Qc1+ {Well, I played correctly, in spite of some shoddy in depth analysis and evaluations! The endless calculations of this game were exhausting. It's not my style to take big chances on defense, but I was feeling very confident....... Richard demonstrated real character by doing a post mortem with me after what had to be a devastating loss for him. (33...Qc1+ 34. Kh2 Qf4+ 35. Qxf4 Rxf4 and the aP is a goner.)} 0-1

[Event "GA State Championship"] [Site "Atlanta, GA"] [Date "2012.05.06"] [Round "4"] [White "Christensen, Wayne"] [Black "Cadman, Charles"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E90"] [WhiteELO "2169"] [BlackELO "2256"] [Annotator "Wayne Christensen"] [PlyCount "91"] {Annotations by Wayne Christensen.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. h3 {A handy little move that takes a square away from Black's B, stops ...Ng4/...Ne5 ideas, and prepares g4 in some lines.} e5 8. Bd3 Na6 9. a3 Nc7 10. b4 b6 11. Rb1 {A good idea, badly timed. In light of the note to Black's next move, 11. g4 was more to the point. With this pawn formation, the White K is perfectly safe in the center.} Nfe8 {11... Nh5 is Chuck's interesting suggestion. 12. Be3 f5 (12... Nf4!?) 13. Bg5 (13. exf5 gxf5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Qxh5 Bxc3+) 13... Bf6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 and Black is doing better than the game continuation.} 12. g4 cxb4 {12... f5 13. gxf5 gxf5 14. Bg5 Bf6 15. Rg1} 13. axb4 Kh8 {13... a5 14. bxa5 bxa5} 14. Qc2 Bd7 15. Be3 f5 16. gxf5 gxf5 17. exf5 Qf6 {A mistake, I thought. I was expecting the routine 17...Qc8, but Chuck pointed out 18. c5! bxc5 19. bxc5 dxc5 20. Bxc5 (20. Ng5! [Rybka] is even stronger.)} 18. Ne4 Qxf5 19. Neg5 Qf6 20. Bxh7 Bf5 {Forced, I think. White threatens Nh4 with the idea Ng6.} 21. Bxf5 Qxf5 22. Qxf5 Rxf5 23. Nh4 Rf6 24. Ne4 {The N is strongly posted here.} Rf7 25. Rd1?! {Just bad judgement, falling in with Black's plans. 25. b5! clamps down the queenside. 25. b5! a6 26. Bxb6 axb5 27. Bxc7 Rxc7 28. cxb5 Rc4 29. f3 (Rybka4: +- 2.17)} 25... Rd7 26. Nf5 Bf8 27. Ke2 b5 28. cxb5?! {Still cooperating with Black's plans. Chuck pointed out the much stronger 28. c5! dxc5 29. d6! (Suddenly, Black is in dire straits!) cxb4 30. dxc7 Rxc7 31. Rd5 +-} 28...Nxb5 29. Rhg1 Rc8 30. Rg5 Nc3+ 31. Nxc3 Rxc3 32. Rdg1 Ng7 {Here I thought I saw a way to make my single mindedness about playing on the kingside pay off by forcing an easily won K + P ending.} 33. Nxg7 Bxg7 34. Rh5+ Kg8 35. Bh6 Rc2+ {All I have to do is deal with this annoying little check and it's over........ (35... Kf8 36. Rf5+)} 36. Ke3? {I instantly ruled out 36. Ke1 because 36... Rc1+ skewers the R on g1. When I pointed this out in the post mortem, Chuck politely tapped the White B that covers the c1 square! After 36. Ke1 Black must retreat his R to the second rank. 36. Ke1 Rcc7 37. Rhg5 Kh7 38. Bxg7 Rxg7 39. Rxg7+ Rxg7 40. Rxg7+ Kxg7 41. Ke2 winning easily.} 36... Rc3+ 37. Kd2 Rf3 38. Ke2 Rf6 39. Bxg7 Rxg7 40. Rxg7+ Kxg7 41. Rh4 {By keeping one pair of Rs on the board, Black virtually assures the draw. I could not find a way to cover 4(!) isolated pawns.} Kg6 42. Rc4 Kf5 43. Ke3 Rh6 44. h4 Rh7 45. Kd3 Rb7 46. Rc6 {1/2-1/2. (46. Rc6 Rxb4 47. Rxd6 Rxh4 48. Ra6 Rd4+ 49. Ke3 Rxd5 50. Rxa7)} 1/2-1/2

[Event "GA State Championship"] [Site "Atlanta, GA"] [Date "2012.05.06"] [Round "5"] [White "Christensen, Wayne"] [Black "Studen, Damir"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D66"] [WhiteELO "2169"] [BlackELO "2300"] [Annotator "Wayne Christensen"] [PlyCount "107"] {Annotations by Wayne Christensen.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Nf3 c6 7. Rc1 Nbd7 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. O-O a6 12. a4 {I remembered Reuben Fine playing this move in a similar position from a game in his book "A Passion for Chess". The idea is to freeze Black's queenside pawns, or force ...b4 before the freeing ...c5 can be played.} b4 13. Bxf6 {Conceding the 2Bs unnecessarily. I rejected 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Bxe7 because of 14...Nxf2, completely missing Rybka's 15.Bxh7+ (with the idea Qc2+ if Black takes the B) 15...Kh8 16. Rxf2 Qxe7 17. Be4 (Rybka4: +/- 1.32)} 13...Bxf6 14. Ne4 Be7 15. Qe2 Qb6 16. Rfd1 h6 17. Nfd2 {I rejected 17.h3 because it did not fit the long term pawn structure I foresaw around my K. I felt f3 and possibly e4 would be necessary to thwart Black's plan to push his kingside Ps at me (in conjunction with his powerful B on the long diagonal.)} c5 18. Nxc5 {A hasty move, and a bad one. White allows Black to unload the B, now restricted by the P on b4, and keep his active N. The initiative has already passed to Black before move 20! Better is 18. dxc5 Nxc5 (18...Bxc5 19. a5 Qa7 20. Nb3 Rfc8 [20...Be7 21. Rc7, Rybka4: +- 1.65] 21. Bb5 Ne5 22. Nexc5 axb5 [Rybka4: +/- 1.13]) 19. Nxc5 Bxc5 20. Nc4 Qc6 21. Qf1 Rfc8 (Rybka4: +/= 0.26)} 18... Bxc5 19. dxc5 Nxc5 20. b3 {This seemed forced at the time (to protect the aP), even though I knew that a long defense awaited me. Of course Rybka defends the White position at every turn, but a poor human........ Better is 20. Nc4 Qc7 21. Nd6 (Indirectly defending the aP and attacking the dangerous B. Rybka4: = -0.06.) Bd5 22. Ne4 Bxe4 (Rybka4: = -0.02)} 20... Rfd8 21. Bc4 Rac8 22. f3 Rd6 23. Nf1 Rcd8 24. Rxd6 Qxd6 {Damir now has the kind of position he loves. A microscopic advantage with which he can torture me.} 25. Rc2 Qb6 {25...Qd1 26. Rd2 Rxd2 27. Qxd2 Qxd2 (27...Qb1 28. Qd6, Rybka4: +- 2.17) 28. Nxd2 (Rybka4: =/+ -0.32)} 26. Rd2 Rc8 27. Kh1 Qc7 28. Rc2 Qe5 29. Qd1 Qc7 30. Qe2 e5 31. Ng3 g6 32. Kg1 Kg7 33. e4 {Reluctantly played to stop the coming ....e4. However, this little pawn move creates 4 new weaknesses in White's position: f4, d4, the a7-g1 diagonal, and sacs at e4.} h5 34. Qf2 Qe7?! {Here's where it slips away from Black. 34...Ne6 35. Bxe6 (Better is 35. Rd2 Qe7 [35...Nd4 36. f4] 36. Qb6 Rc6 37. Qe3 Nc5 38. a5, Rybka4: = -0.12) 35...Qxc2 36. Bxc8 Qc1+ 37. Qf1 Qxc8 38. Qd3 Qc5+ 39. Kf1. When I saw this position from afar, I thought it might be difficult. The Q needs to be on d3, the N on e2 to cover d4/c3 and the K on f1 to move within the square of the Black pawn on c3 after a possible Q exchange. All OK, but White is in virtual zugzwang. 39...h4 40. Ne2 Bc8 41. Ke1 a5 (Rybka4: -/+ -0.75)} 35. Nf1 Nd7 36. Ne3 Nf6 {Suddenly, Black seems to have as many weaknesses as White.} 37. Qe2 a5 38. Bb5 {Trying to head off Black's plan of ...h4, ...Nh5 etc with play on the queenside.} Rc5 39. Qd1 {Objectively, 39. Nc4 was better, but I hoped for his next move.} Rc3 {There are of course safer alternatives. Playing for the win was Damir's only chance to repeat as State Champion. A draw here meant nothing to him. 39... Bxe4 40. fxe4 Qa7 41. Kf1 Rxb5 42. axb5 Qxe3 43. Re2 Qf4+ 44. Kg1 is Rybka's interesting tactical solution to Black's problems. Rybka4: = 0.00.} 40. Rxc3 bxc3 41. Qd3 Qc5?! {41...Qb4 42. Bc4 Ne8 43. Nc2 Qc5+ 44. Kf1 (Rybka4: = 0.09.)} 42. Kf1 Bc8 43. Ke2 Qb4 44. Qc4 {I knew I was winning now.} Be6 45. Qxb4 axb4 46. a5 {The passed aP decides the issue.} Bc8 {46... Bxb3 47. a6 Be6 48. a7 b3 49. a8=Q c2 50. Kd2} 47. Nc2 Bd7 48. Bxd7 Nxd7 49. Nxb4 Kf8 {49... Nc5 50. a6} 50. Kd3 Ke7 51. Kxc3 Kd6 52. Nd3 Kc6 53. Kc4 f6 54. b4 {How do I explain my best tournament result since returning to chess in 2006? As my friend, Klaus Pohl, is fond of saying, "Today, I see a lot!" And I did. I was accurate, with no losing blunders or ideas. After the draw with Kazim in the 1st round, I felt very confident in every game. The time control was wonderful (G/90 w/30 sec incr). I ran short of time in different games, but never felt the pressure of the clock. Always my mind was on the game. I got lucky in the last game. I think Damir missed a promising try on move 34, and I took advantage of his desperate winning attempt later on. In spite of this result, I know my lot in chess is as a journeyman expert, dancing around 2100. It was nice, though, for a brief moment, to play like I did 20 years ago.} 1-0

[Event "Border Battle '13"] [Site "?"] [Date "2013.07.13"] [Round "1"] [White "Lawson, Josh"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E97"] [WhiteELO "2023"] [BlackELO "2056"] [PlyCount "94"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Bd2 a5 10. Rc1 Nd7 11. a3 f5 12. Ng5 Nc5 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 Nxe4 15. Ncxe4 fxe4 {So far the game has followed Plachetka-Nickl (Vienna 1990) in Rybka's database, but with Black's 9th and 10th moves reversed. White played 16. Nxe4 in that game and eventually won on move 42.} 16. Bg4 Nf5 17. Nxe4 h6 18. Bc3 Bd7 19. Ra1 Rxa1 20. Bxa1 Qa8 21. Qb3 Qa4 {White's queenside pawns are targets.} 22. Qxa4 Bxa4 23. Rc1 h5 24. Be2 Bh6 25. Re1? {25. Rc3 was better, keeping the bishop out of White's position.} Bc2 26. Bf1 Ra8 27. Bc3 Ra3 28. Bd2 Bxe4 {Played with the intent of giving up the exchange in the ensuing desperado sequence, though I had the cop-out 29...Nxh6 if I changed my mind.} 29. Bxh6 Bxg2 30. Bc1 Bxf1 31. Bxa3 Bxc4 {Black now has two pawns and more active pieces for the exchange, and the d5-pawn will fall as well.} 32. Rc1 b5 33. Bb2 Ne7 34. f4? exf4 35. Kf2 Nxd5 36. Ba3 Kf7 37. Kf3 g5 38. Ke4 Ke6 39. Re1 Nf6+ 40. Kf3+ Kf5 41. Bc1 g4+ 42. Kf2 Ne4+ 43. Kg1 f3 44. Be3 h4 45. Ra1 g3 46. Kh1 f2 47. Bxf2 gxf2 {White resigns. This game capped an 8-game winning streak for me. Things would go wrong shortly...} 0-1

[Event "NC/SC Border Battle '13"] [Site "Cornelius, NC"] [Date "2013.07.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Myers, Dominique"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteELO "2078"] [BlackELO "2056"] [PlyCount "73"] {Annotations by Tim Rankin} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O f6? {Played too hastily, leading to an awkward recapture next move.} 10. exf6 Rxf6 11. g4 cxd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Bxd4?! Rxf4 {White's play on the kingside gives him some compensation for the pawn.} 14. Kb1 Rxg4?! {Too greedy. Simply retreating the rook to f8 was safer.} 15. Qe3 {Rybka prefers 15. Qe2, driving the rook to the undesirable g6 square.} Nf8 16. Qf3 Rxd4 {I knew this exchange sacrifice was a possibility when I decided to take the pawn on g4. Rybka gives that 16...Rh4 and this move, both of which keep the advantage with Black, are significantly better than anything else (where White is at least equal).} 17. Rxd4 Bf6 18. Rg4 e5? {Now White can give back the exchange and reclaim the advantage. Rybka prefers 18...Ng6 with an edge for Black.} 19. Nxd5! Bxg4 20. Qxg4 Kh8 21. Bc4 Ng6 22. Rd1 Qf8 23. Rf1 Rd8 24. h4 Nf4 25. Nxf4 exf4 26. a3 {Keeping the black queen off b4.} Qe7 {Rybka prefers to hang on to the f-pawn with 26...Be5 here. I am now down to one minute remaining and am essentially surviving on the increment. White is also in moderate time pressure, with 12 minutes remaining.} 27. Qxf4 Bxh4 28. Rh1 Bf6? 29. Qf5? {Rybka points out 29. Bd3! which would have won the h-pawn and grabbed the advantage (29...h6?? 30. Rxh6+!).} g6 {I had seen the two follow-up moves to this move, so playing this instead of the ugly 29...h6 was an easy decision in time pressure. Rybka calls the position equal after either move.} 30. Qxg6 Rd1+ 31. Ka2 Ra1+! {Capturing the a1-rook with either piece loses immediately! The white king thus has to step out in the open.} 32. Kb3 Qe3+ 33. Ka4 b5+ 34. Kxb5 Qb6+ 35. Ka4 Qc6+ 36. Bb5 {In some alternate universe, Black played 36...Rxh1! here, and the game ended in a hard-fought draw after 37. Bxc6 hxg6 38. Bxh1 Bxb2. In this one, with seconds remaining, Black played one of the "next-best" moves...} Qc7??? 37. Qxf6+ {Black resigned shortly.} 1-0

[Event "GCC Dark Corner Rooks '14"] [Site "GCC"] [Date "2014.06.12"] [Round "3"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Rankin, Tim"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteELO "1961"] [BlackELO "2007"] [PlyCount "85"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Nb4 6. Bg5 Be7 7. e5 Nxd3+ 8. Qxd3 Ng8 9. h4 h6 10. Bxe7 Nxe7 11. O-O-O a6 12. g4 h5 13. Rdg1 hxg4 14. Rxg4 Nf5 15. Ne2 Bd7 16. Qa3 Qe7 17. Qxe7+ Kxe7 18. Ng3 Nxg3 19. Rxg3 Rag8 20. Rhg1 Kf8 21. Kd2 f6 22. Ke3 Be8 23. exf6 gxf6 24. Rxg8+ Rxg8 25. Rxg8+ Kxg8 26. Kf4 Kg7 27. Nd2 b6 28. c4 dxc4 29. Nxc4 Kh6 30. b4 Bf7 31. Ne3 e5+ 32. dxe5 fxe5+ 33. Kxe5 Bxa2 34. f4 a5 35. bxa5 bxa5 36. Kd4 Kh5 37. Nd5 Bxd5 38. Kxd5 a4 39. Kc4 Kxh4 40. Kb4 Kg4 41. Kxa4 Kxf4 42. Kb5 c5 43. Kxc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "GCC Summer Knights '14"] [Site "?"] [Date "2014.07.10"] [Round "1"] [White "Brown, Will"] [Black "Wetzel, Bill"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C14"] [WhiteELO "2135"] [BlackELO "1644"] [PlyCount "52"] {Annotations by Bill Wetzel} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 {Classical Variation of the French, all normal moves. The center is locked, so play will take place on the wings. Typically White will attack on the King side where he has more space, and Black will attack on the Queen side where he has more space. Also Black has had to accept a bad bishop in order to pick the opening.} 7. f4 c5 8. Nf3 a6 {White develops. Black prevents White's Queen Knight from advancing, causing disruption. Also the move provides a support for the upcoming Queen side pawn storm.} 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. dxc5 Nxc5 {White captures c5 allowing Black's Knight to capture and occupy a stronger more centralized square.} 11. O-O-O O-O {Both sides castle onto their opponent's strong side of the board! This will be a game of attack with no quarter given.} 12. h4 b5 {Both sides begin their pawn attacks on their respective wings.} 13. Nd4 Bd7 {White attacks the undefended Knight on c6 offering to exchange on d4. Black chooses to defend the c6 knight while developing his bad Bishop.} 14. Nxc6 Bxc6 {This exchange traded White's Knight that moved 3 times for Black's Knight that had moved once, and it further developed Black's Bishop.} 15. Qd4 Rab8 16. Bd3 b4 {White continues to develop. Black presses on with the Queen side attack with a gain of tempo.} 17. Ne2 a5 18. g4 Bb5 19. Bxb5 Rxb5 {Though Black would not exchange his strong Knight for White's Bishop, forcing the exchange of his bad Bishop for White's good Bishop gives equality or better.} 20. Ng3 Rc8 {White prevents a Knight outpost on e4 and supports his pawn storm. Black aims his Rook at White's King.} 21. f5 b3 {Each side pushes their pawn attacks. The b3 pawn cannot be taken due to forks and discovered attacks.} 22. f6 bxa2 {White attacks Black's Queen with a pawn, and Black ignores it! The queen cannot be taken since Nb3 would be checkmate.} 23. Kd2 Qc7 {White's King is forced to flee. Black's Queen moves away from the pawn, and forms a battery down the c file.} 24. Qf4 Nd7 {White continues to try to push his attack since there is no way he can defend his Queen side. Black uncovers the big guns while threatening the pawns on f6 and e5. If White moves his Queen to g5 threatening checkmate, Black could take c2 with check and then swing the Queen down to g6, if no better move is seen.} 25. Nf5 {A clever move, White offers to sacrifice a Knight so that Black's own pawn would block Black's pieces from rushing to the defense of the King.} Nxf6 {Black ignores the sacrifice and takes the offending f6 pawn. White's e5 pawn is pinned to his Queen.} 26. Qg5 Ne4+ {White's move is a blunder, but he had no choice but to push his attack. Black's Knight move forks the King and Queen.} 0-1

[Event "Icicles in Hendersonville"] [Site "Hendersonville, NC"] [Date "2015.01.10"] [Round "3"] [White "Pohl, Klaus"] [Black "Nix, Gene"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C90"] [WhiteELO "2218"] [BlackELO "1932"] [Annotator "Nix,Ernest"] [PlyCount "132"] [EventDate "2015.01.10"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "240+2"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 h6 9. Nbd2 d6 10. c3 Na5 11. Bc2 c5 12. Nf1 Re8 13. Ng3 Nc6 14. d4 cxd4 15. cxd4 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Qxd4 Qc7 18. Bb1 Qc5 19. Be3 Bb7 20. Rc1 Qxd4 21. Bxd4 Rac8 22. Bd3 Nd7 23. Nf5 Bf8 24. Rxc8 Rxc8 25. Rd1 Nc5 26. Bxc5 dxc5 27. e5 Rd8 28. Nd6 Bxd6 29. exd6 Kf8 30. Be2 g6 31. f4 Be4 32. g4 f5 33. gxf5 Bxf5 34. a4 c4 35. axb5 axb5 36. Rd5 Bd7 37. Kf2 Kf7 38. Ke3 Re8+ 39. Re5 Re6 40. Kd4 Rxd6+ 41. Kc5 Re6 42. Bf3 Rxe5+ 43. fxe5 g5 44. Kd6 Be8 45. Bg4 Kf8 46. e6 h5 47. e7+ Kg7 48. Bd7 Kf7 49. Be6+ Kf6 50. Bd5 g4 51. Be6 Kg5 52. Bd7 Bg6 53. Bxb5 h4 54. Bxc4 Be8 55. Kc7 g3 56. hxg3 hxg3 57. Bd5 Kf6 58. Kd8 Bb5 59. Bg2 Ke5 60. Bf1 Bc6 61. b4 Kd6 62. Bg2 Bb5 63. Bf3 Ba4 64. e8=Q Bxe8 65. Kxe8 Kc7 66. Ke7 Kb6 1/2-1/2

[Event "76th SC Championship 2015"] [Site "Columbia, SC"] [Date "2015.10.31"] [Round "2"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Tan, Jonathan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B95"] [WhiteELO "1960"] [BlackELO "1984"] [Annotator "Nix,Ernest"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2015.11.01"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "5"] [EventCountry "USA"] {Annotations by Gene Nix} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Be2 e6 8. O-O Qc7 9. Qd2 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. f3 Be7 12. Rad1 O-O 13. Be3 Rfe8 14. g4 h6 15. Rf2 d5 16. g5 hxg5 17. exd5 Nxd5 18. Nxd5 exd5 19. Bxg5 Bd6 20. Rg2 Ne5 21. h4 Nc4 22. Bxc4 dxc4 23. Bf6 Be5 24. Rxg7+ Kf8 25. Qb4+ {25. Rg8+ Kxg8 26. Qg5+ is the stock line any would-be Expert ought to know at once.} 25... Bd6 {25... Re7 26. Ne6+ fxe6 27. Rxe7 Bd4+ 28. Kf1 +- Once this was verified, I could not resist 25 Qb4+.} 26. Rh7 1-0

[Date "2016.04.16"] [Round "2"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Mason, Sulia"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B84"] [WhiteELO "1934"] [BlackELO "2011"] [Annotator "Nix,Ernest"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2016.04.16"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "240+2"] {Annotations by Gene Nix} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Be2 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 a6 9. g4 b5 10. a3 Bb7 11. f3 Nbd7 12. g5 Ne8 13. f4 Nb6 14. h4 d5 15. exd5 Nxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Bf3 Nc7 18. O-O-O {Immediately after castling, I thought 18. Nc6 would have been better, but the fearless Iron Monster shows the inhuman path to equality: 18. Nc6 Bxf3 19. Nxd8 Bxh1 20. Qd7 Bxd8 21. Bc5 Re8 22. Bd6 Bb7 23. Bxc7 Re7 24. Qxd8+ Rxd8 25. Bxd8 Re8 26. O-O-O =} 18... Bxf3 19. Nxf3 Nd5 20. f5 Qc7 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Nd4 Qd7? 23. Nxe6 Qxe6 24. Qxd5 Qxd5 25. Rxd5 Rf7 26. Kd2 Rd8 27. Rxd8+ Bxd8 28. c3 Bc7 29. Rg1 Rf3 30. Rg4 Kf7 31. Ke2 Rh3 {My time was under 5 minutes, so the remaining 20 or so moves are unrecorded, but White eventually prevailed, and Black helped by losing his Bishop to a Rook-fork.} 1-0

[Event "CCCSA Reverse Angle 60"] [Site "Charlotte, NC"] [Date "2016.04.30"] [Round "3"] [White "Nix, Gene"] [Black "Pohl, Klaus"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A40"] [WhiteELO "1953"] [BlackELO "2203"] [Annotator "Nix,Ernest"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2016.04.30"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [TimeControl "240+2"] {Annotations by Gene Nix} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. c4 {4. dc was too hard to find.} Nc6 5. Be3?? Qb6 {-/+ Five moves in and I'm already busted, with the White pieces no less. I stared at the board for 13 minutes, and finally decided to develop a piece as an alternative to resigning.} 6. Nc3 cxd4 7. Nd5 Qxb2 8. Rb1 Qxa2 9. Ra1 Qb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Nxd4 Qa5+ 12. Bd2 Qd8 13. Nb5 Rb8 14. Be2 Nf6 15. Bf4 d6 16. Ndc7+ {16. Nxe7 Nxe7 17. Bxd6 a6 18. Bc7 Qxd1+ 19. Rxd1 Nc6 20. Nd6+ Ke7 21. Bxb8 Nxb8 -/+} 16... Kf8 17. e5 {This looked better than it was, but seemed to offer some activity.} Ne8 {17... dxe5 18. Qxd8+ Nxd8 19. Bxe5 Bf5 20. Rd1 Nc6 21. Bf4 Rc8 -+} 18. exd6 e5? {18... Nxd6 19. Nxd6 Qxc7 20. O-O Bf5 21. Nxf5 Qxf4 -/+} 19. Be3 {+/= Now White really is back in the game, with 18 minutes remaining to make it count.} a6 20. Nxe8 Qxe8 21. Nc7 Qd8 22. O-O Bf5 23. Bd3? {23. Rb6! +/- Nd4 24. Bxd4 exd4 25. c5 a5 26. Bd3 (Timing is everything.) Bxd3 27. Qxd3 Bf6 28. Nd5 Bg7 29. Re1 and White has taken possession of the board.} 23... Qxd6 {I simply overlooked this.} 24. Bxf5 Qxc7? {24... Qxd1 25. Rfxd1 gxf5 =} 25. Bb6? {25. Bc5+ Kg8 26. Bd6 Qd8 27. Bxb8 Qxb8 28. Qd7 +-} 25... Qe7 26. Be4 {Here my time went under five minutes, to Klaus's 44.} Nd4? 27. Ba7 Ra8 28. Rxb7 Rxa7 29. Rxe7? {29. Rb8+ Qe8 30. Rxe8+ Kxe8 31. Qa4+ is stronger. The remainder of the game is a repetitive illustration of Fischer's famous aphorism, "Patzer sees check, patzer gives check." I constantly found the second-best moves that prolonged the game.} 29... Kxe7 30. Qa4 Rb8 31. Qa3+ Ke8 32. Qd6 Rc8 33. Bd5 a5 34. Rb1 Rd7 35. Qa6 Rc5 36. g3 {Good enough, but 36. Qa8+ Ke7 37. Qg8 Rcxd5 38. cxd5 Bf6 39. Rb8 Bh4 40. Qf8+ Kf6 41. Qh8+ Kg5 42. Qxe5+ Nf5 43. g3 Re7 44. Qf4+ Kf6 45. Rb6+ Kg7 46. gxh4 is stronger. With only two minutes remaining, I was worried about back-rank zingers.} 36... Ke7 37. Rb7 f5 38. Rxd7+ {38. Qa7! Rxb7 39. Qxb7+ +-} 38... Kxd7 39. Qa7+ Rc7 40. Qxa5 e4 41. Qa4+ {With less than a minute remaining, I fleetingly considered a more board-wide strategic attack, but ultimately just played the handiest check. Ever optimistic, Klaus thought Black should win this, but the machine rates White much better. Practically Black can count on the clock. 41. Kg2 Bf6 42. Bg8 h6 43. Bf7 f4 44. Bxg6 f3+ 45. Kh3 +-} 41... Kd6 42. Kg2 Be5 43. Qa6+ {43. Qb4+! Kd7 44. Qf8 Nf3 45. c5 Nd4 46. Qf7+ Kd8 47. Qg8+ Ke7 48. Qxh7+ Ke8 49. Qxg6+ Kd8 50. Qg8+ Kd7 51. Qf7+ Kd8 52. Qf8+ Kd7 53. h4 +-} 43... Ke7 44. Qb6 Kd7 45. h4 Ke7 46. Qb4+ {20 seconds remaining, to Klaus's 22 minutes.} Ke8 47. Qa4+ Ke7 48. Qa8 Kd6 49. Qf8+ Re7 50. Qb8+ {50. Qd8+! Rd7 51. c5+ Kxd5 52. Qxd7+ Kxc5 53. Qxh7 f4 54. Qxg6 e3 55. Qg5 f3+ 56. Kh3 exf2 57. Qxe5+ Kc4 58. Qc7+ Kd3 59. Qh7+ Ke3 60. Qb1 Ne2 61. Qf1 Ng1+ 62. Kg4 Ne2 63. h5 +- would have been the best use of the 3 seconds remaining.}) 50... Kc5 51. Qc8+ Rc7 52. Qf8+ Bd6 53. Qa8 Nc6?? {53... Kb4 54. Qb8+ Kc5 55. Qg8 Kb4 56. Qb8+ and White is winning on the board, but realistically will soon take too long to make a move.} 54. Qa3+ Nb4 55. Qe3# {At first we both noticed White's time had expired, and I congratulated Klaus. Then we both noticed the checkmate, and Klaus congratulated me. I was unsure of the rule I should have memorized as a Local TD, but Klaus insisted, and I later confirmed that USCF rule 13A1 assigns the victory to the mating side when neither player has claimed the time forfeit before the move is completed.} 1-0