1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 g5!? One of the more challenging systems available against the Scotch game in this position.  10.g3 Bg7 11.Bb2 O-O-O 12.Bg2 Rde8 13.O-O Bxe5 14.Qxe5 Qxe5 15.Bxe5 Rxe5 16.cxd5 Bxf1 17.Kxf1 cxd5 Reaching an endgame, which I had looked at in my preparations and which is probably about balanced.  18.Nc3 c6 19.Rc1 Kd8

This position has been played in many games before though my direct preparation stopped at this point.  20.Ne2 Rhe8 21.Nd4 g4 22.b4 h5 This is the first new move in the game. (  An earlier game ended in a draw following 22...a6 23.a4 Ke7 24.b5 axb5 25.axb5 cxb5 26.Nxb5 Rb8 1/2-1/2 Broekmeulen,J-Gharamian,T/Bethune 2003/CBM 098 ext ) 23.h4 gxh3 24.Bxh3 h4 25.g4 (  White gets into trouble if he simply tries to take this pawn with the knight 25.Nf3? Re2 26.gxh4 Rxa2 -/+ ) ( Though an alternative is 25.gxh4 Re4 26.Nf5 Rxb4 = but with the White king quite exposed the passed pawn does not equate to an advantage. ) 25...Re4 26.Rd1

With the knight on d4 Black can't break into the White position.  26...Kc7 27.a3 Rf4!? Preparing R8e4 to knock the knight away from its central perch. (27...a5!? was a good alternative here. ) 28.Rd3 Rfe4 29.Nf3 (29.Rd1 = ) 29...a5 30.b5

30...Rb8 ( My intuition pointed to 30...cxb5! 31.Rxd5 but I didn't seriously consider the next move  31...Kc6! (  During the game I only considered 31...Rb8 and I think I found  32.Ne5 d6 33.Nxf7 which didn't seem that promising  33...Ra4 34.Nxd6 b4 35.axb4 axb4 36.Nc4 = ) 32.Rd3 d5 33.Nxh4 b4 -/+ ) 31.bxc6 dxc6 32.Nxh4 a4 33.Rf3 Rb3 (  Here I wanted to play 33...Re7 34.Nf5 but didn't notice  34...Rb3!! -/+ ) 34.Rxf7+ Kb6 35.Nf3 (35.Rf3? d4! -+ ) 35...Rxa3 36.g5 Ra1+ 37.Kg2

37...Re8?! ( It seems that 37...a3! was the better move here, but with many tricky variations.  38.Rf8 (38.g6 Re8 39.g7 Rg8 40.Be6 a2 41.Re7 Rxg7+ 42.Rxg7 Rd1 -+ ) (38.Bc8 Re8 39.Rb7+ Kc5 40.Bf5 Ra8 41.Nd2 Rd1 -+ ) 38...Ra4! 39.g6 Ra7 40.Nd4 Re1 41.Rc8 Kc5 42.Nxc6 a2 43.Nxa7+ Kb6 44.g7 a1=Q 45.Rb8+ Ka6 46.g8=Q Rg1+ 47.Kh2 Rxg8 48.Rxg8 Kxa7 -/+ This still could prove difficult for Black to win. If the bishop can sacrifice itself for the d-pawn it looks like a fortress. ) 38.Bd7 Rg8 ( White has amazing counterplay after 38...Rd8 39.Nd4!! Other moves leave White much worse  39...a3 40.Bxc6 a2 (40...Re1 41.Rf6 Kc5 42.Nc2 a2 43.Ba4 Rc8 = ) 41.Rb7+ Ka6 42.Rb4 Rg1+ (  White has a mating net, which he can execute after the blunder 42...Re1?? 43.Bb7+ Ka5 44.Nc6# ) 43.Kf3 Rf8+ 44.Ke3 Re1+ 45.Kd2 Rd1+ 46.Kxd1 a1=Q+ 47.Ke2 Qc3 and the mating net is still helpful  48.Bb7+ Ka5 49.Nc6+ Qxc6 50.Bxc6 Kxb4 51.Bxd5 Rf5 = ) 39.Rf6 Rc1 40.Be6 Rd8 41.g6 a3

I had already seen my 43rd move so was fairly happy with my position here  42.Bxd5 Rxd5 43.g7 Rg1+! (43...a2 44.g8=Q a1=Q Anthony was looking forward to this position when something might turn up for White.  45.Qb8+ Kc5 46.Qf8+ Kb6 = or it turns out its a draw (White could choose to play on with little risk even here). ) 44.Kxg1 (44.Nxg1 Rg5+ 45.Kf3 a2 -+ ) 44...a2 45.Rxc6+ Reaching a position where Black can't expect to win despite a small material advantage. (45.g8=Q a1=Q+ 46.Kg2 Qxf6 -/+ Black still has quite good winning chances here. ) 45...Kxc6 46.g8=Q a1=Q+ 47.Kg2 Qf6 I offered a draw here as there are no real chances to win if White elects to start checking the Black king. Exchanging queen's leads to an un-winnable endgame, do Black can't block with the queen. 1/2-1/2

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 c6 8.Nf3 Re8 Bill does not usually play the Queen's Gambit, but he had done a little bit of preparation on it for this game. Afterwards he pointed out that I deviated from book with this move, and correct is Nbd7. I wouldn't have had a clue!  9.Ne5 Too tempting! Slightly better is Qc2 straight away Bill: A little knowledge is dangerous - I decided I needed to punish the absence of a Knight on d7 by getting in f4 before Black can exchange, but it turns out my kingside attack is premature  9...Nbd7 10.f4 Nxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4

The only decent move. Bill probably thought that I would grovel back on d7, because that's more my style. (Bill: You're right I totally did)  12.Bf4 f6!? (12...Bh4+ 13.g3 (13.Bg3 Nxe3 -+ ) 13...g5 14.gxh4 gxf4 15.exf4 Qxh4+ 16.Kd2 is a reasonable line for black. From this point on we both, but particularly white, started using large amounts of time. ) 13.Qc2 ( I was worried about 13.e6 Bxe6 14.h3 Nh6 15.Bxh6 gxh6 but the computer thinks this is equal. I don't think Bill even considered this. I was less worried about my opponent taking my h pawn because I couldn't see how he could follow up the attack. ) 13...fxe5 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.dxe5 Bg5! attacking the pawn on e3  16.Qg6? (16.O-O Nxe3 17.Qg6 Bxf4 18.Rxf4 Rxe5 black has a safe extra pawn but this is better for white than the game. ) 16...Bh4+ ( not terrible, but much better is  16...Bxf4! 17.exf4 Re6 18.Qc2 (18.Qxg4 Rxe5+ ) (18.Qh5 Rh6 ) 18...Qh4+ 19.g3 Qxh7 black is a piece for a pawn up! ) 17.g3 Nxe5

18.Qc2 ( the best move. Also possible is 18.Bxe5 Rxe5 19.O-O-O Bg5 ) ( but not 18.Qh5?? Bg4 19.Qxe5 Rxe5 20.Bxe5 Kxh7 ) ( Bill: It was only at this point I realised I was in real trouble. Going back to c2 was a real admission that my play to date had been bankrupt. I had one interesting idea in the whole game. I saw that after 18.Bxe5 Rxe5 19.gxh4 Qxh4+ 20.Qg3 unfortunately White has  20...Rxe3+! but I noticed there is a surprising upside to this for White  21.Kf2 Rxg3 22.hxg3 finally ignites some h file action for me and I am not *that* much material down. After something like  22...Qf6+? 23.Kg2 White gets some real chances with Raf1 coming. But unfortunately Black has much better 22nd moves that will quickly kill me off ) 18...Nc4 (18...Bg5 is slightly better according to Houdini ) 19.O-O-O Bg5 20.Rde1 ( A little bit grovelly, especially as white cannot keep the e3 pawn 20.Rd4 Nxe3 21.Qg6 Bf5 is quite an interesting line, but black is still winning ) 20...Nxe3 21.Bxe3 Rxe3 (21...Bxe3+ is similar ) 22.Kb1 Qe7 23.Rxe3 Qxe3 24.Rf1 Bh3 (24...Bf6 25.Bg6 Bh3 ) 25.Rd1?! ( The computer really wants white to play 25.Nd1 e.g.  25...Qe7 26.Rf2 Rf8 27.Bd3 Bg4 black is winning but not as much as in the game ) 25...Rf8 and now all my pieces are looking beautifully active. Bill: Ian played very well in this game - refuting my artificial play to obtain a solid positional advantage that he rather remorselessly converts.   26.a3?! Rf2 (26...Bg4! 27.Rh1 Rf2 28.Qd3 Bf3 29.Rg1 white will lose a lot of materia le.g.  29...d4 30.Qxe3 Bxe3 31.Bd3 Rxb2+ 32.Kxb2 dxc3+ 33.Kxc3 Bxg1 ) 27.Qg6 Bf5+ ( I take the opportunity to cash in some material gain, but 27...Bf6! is the best move ) 28.Qxf5 Rxf5 29.Bxf5 Bf6 30.Rd3 Qe5 31.g4 Kg8 ( I was worried about tactical tricks down the h file, but actually 31...Qxh2 32.g5 Qg1+ 33.Ka2 Qxg5 is perfectly winning for black ) 32.h3 Kf8 time to get the king out of his little hole.  33.Rd2 Qf4 34.Rd3 Ke8 ( again worrying about tactical tricks, this time involving a knight fork on d5, but 34...Ke7 35.Rxd5 black can play  35...Bxc3 36.Rd7+ Ke8 37.bxc3 g6 38.Be6 Qe4+ From now on, I play not necessarily the best moves, but the safest I can think of, because I have squandered too many promising positions in this tournament. ) 35.Bg6+ Kd8 36.Bf5 Bxc3 37.Rxc3 d4 38.Rc4 Kc7 39.Rc1 Qe3 40.Rd1 c5 41.Rc1 Kd6 42.h4 Kd5 43.Bc8 b5 44.Bb7+ Kd6 45.Ba6? Trapping his own bishop, but the position was hopeless anyway.  45...Kc6? ( Better 45...Qe4+ 46.Ka2 Qc6 and the bishop dies ) 46.a4 bxa4 47.Rf1 Kb6 48.Bc4 Ka5 49.Rc1 Qe4+ 50.Ka1 d3 Even I would find it difficult to lose from here. Bill: You know that when you are desperately looking for stalemate ideas even though you still have a few bits that can move that it's probably past time to resign. 0-1

1.c4 d6 2.g3 e5 3.Bg2 f5 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 Be7 6.Nc3 c6 7.Nge2 O-O 8.O-O Na6 9.Bd2 Be6 10.d5 cxd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.cxd5 Bd7 13.Nc3 white should probably prevent ...Nc5 with b4   13...Nc5 heading for an annoying outpost on d3  14.b4 Nd3 15.Qb3 (15.Bf3 Nxb4 16.Rb1 Nd3 17.Rxb7 computer line ) 15...e4

16.f4 ( Scott pointed out afterwards that 16.f3 is better, but black still has a slight edge ) 16...exf3?! ( black does not have to take this pawn, maybe 16...Bf6 is better. Or Anthony might have been worried that the knight has no squares to move to if he does not take ) 17.Bxf3 Qb6 18.Ne2 Ne5 19.Nd4 Bf6 20.Rac1 Nxf3+ 21.Nxf3 Rfe8 22.a4 Re4 (22...a5 23.b5 Re4 24.Rc4 = ) 23.a5 Qb5 24.Rfe1 Rae8 25.Kf2 b6 This may not have been completely the best move, but my position is getting steadily worse. Time for some drastic action  26.axb6 Qxb6 27.Rc6!? Now the fun begins! White is slightly worse but gets some counterplay, thanks to the discovered check and the annoying passed pawn on c6  27...Bxc6 28.dxc6+ Kh8 29.Rc1 R8e7

30.Qd3 ( I'd like to play Qd5 but this leads to disaster as I have to keep looking at the weakness on e3 30.Qd5?? Rxe3 31.Kg2 Re2+ 32.Kh3 Qf2 ) 30...h6 31.b5 ( again not 31.Qxd6 Rxe3 ) 31...d5 32.Kg2 Qd8 33.Rc5 d4? ( Anthony slips up slightly 33...Qb6 34.Rxd5 a6 with the move played, white is winning  ) 34.exd4 Bxd4?? Anthony slips up big time! He shouldn't really be self-pinning like this.  35.c7?? ( Returning the favour. I don't need to look after e3 any more, and if 35.Bc3 , black can resign ) 35...Rxc7 36.Rxc7 Qxc7 37.Nxd4 Qd7 38.Bc3 ( Anthony pointed out afterwards that  38.Be3 is better, preventing f4 tricks ) 38...Qd5 39.Kf2 f4! 40.Qd2 Qg5 41.Kg2? Re3 42.Nf3 (42.Nc2 better ) 42...Qxb5 43.Qd4? ( The losing move. 43.Qd8+ Kh7 44.Qc7 puts up a fight ) 43...Qb7! 44.Qxg7+ Qxg7 45.Bxg7+ Kxg7 46.gxf4 a5 47.Ne5 black can simply take the knight and push the pawn. I resigned without waiting for this 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Be2 (5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Qa4 d6 7.e5 dxe5 8.Nxe5 Bd7 9.Nxd7 Qxd7 10.Be3 Bg7 11.Rd1 Qc8 12.Be2 O-O 13.O-O ) 5...Nc6 6.Qd1 Bg7 7.Nf3 d6 8.O-O O-O 9.h4 I thought this was a mistake. Weakens King-side and if move Bishop to g4 stops advance.   9...Bg4 (9...Ng4 10.Nd5 Nge5 11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.Bg5 ) 10.Be3 Qa5 11.Re1 Qh5

12.g3 Here I was hasty. Computer suggests Rac8 or Rfd8. The other move I considered was Nd7.   12...Ne5 (12...Nd7 13.Nd5 Nde5 14.Nxe5 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Qxe5 ) (12...d5 13.exd5 Rfd8 14.Nd4 Ne5 15.f3 ) 13.Nxe5 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 Qxe5 15.Bf4 Here I also considered Qe6.   15...Qh5 (15...Qc5 ) (15...Qe6 16.Rad1 Nh5 17.Bd2 Rfc8 ) (15...Qa5 ) 16.e5 Qxe2 17.Rxe2 dxe5 (17...Nh5 18.Bg5 f6 19.exf6 exf6 20.Bd2 ) 18.Bxe5 I mis-calculated here. For some reason I was concerned with Bxf6 and also Knight d5 for white.   18...e6 (18...Rfd8 19.Rd1 Rxd1+ 20.Nxd1 Rd8 21.Nc3 e6 ) 19.Rd1 Rfd8 20.Red2 Rxd2

21.Rxd2 Here I thought swapping the knight for the bishop would result in a better ending for me. The flaw in this was I allowed white's rook to get to the 7th.   21...Ne4 (21...Rc8 22.Bxf6 Bxf6 23.Rd7 ) 22.Nxe4 Bxe5 23.c3 Rc8 24.Rd7 Rc7 Fatal mistake. I thoght Kh8 was ok - missed the rook check.  (24...Rc4 25.f3 (25.Ng5 Rc7 26.Rd8+ Kg7 27.Ne4 Rc4 28.Nd2 Rc7 ) 25...f5 26.Ng5 Bxg3 27.h5 gxh5 28.Nxe6 Rc6 ) (24...Rb8 25.Ng5 ) 25.Nf6+ Kh8 (25...Kf8 26.Nxh7+ (26.f4 Bd6 27.Rxd6 Ke7 28.Ne4 (28.Nd5+ Kxd6 29.Nxc7 Kxc7 30.Kf2 Kd6 31.Ke3 e5 32.c4 a5 33.b3 exf4+ 34.Kxf4 f6 ) 28...f5 29.Rd4 fxe4 30.Kf2 (30.Rxe4 Rd7 31.Kf2 ) ) ) 26.Rd8+ Kg7 27.Ne8+ Kh6 28.Nxc7 Bxc7 29.Rd7 1-0

1.g3 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 d6 5.d4 O-O 6.O-O Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.Re1 Nbd7 9.Nc3 Nc5 10.e4 Surprisingly, this normal looking Kings Indian position hasn't occurred in my 4.5 million game database  10...Nfd7 11.Be3 a5 12.Bd4 e5 13.dxe6 Nxe6 14.Bxg7 Nxg7 15.e5 Ra6 16.Nb5 dxe5 17.Nxe5 Nxe5 18.Rxe5 Qf6 19.Qe1 Re6 20.Rxe6 Nxe6 21.b3 c6 22.Qc3 Qe7 23.Nd4 Nxd4 24.Qxd4 Rd8 25.Qb6 Qg5 26.h4 Qd2 27.a3 Re8 28.b4 a4

White must be careful since ...Qb2 is a significant threat.   29.Qc5? (29.b5! With immediate counterplay is one good move ) 29...Qb2! The problem is that the Black a-pawn gets very big very quickly  30.Rd1 Qxa3 31.h5 Qb3 32.Qd6 Qxc4? 33.Rd4? (33.h6! Was the last chance, it generates a real attack and gets White back into the game. The point is Black can't grab the long dark diagonal since if  33...Qc3? 34.Qe7! wins outright ) 33...Qe6 34.Qf4 a3 35.Re4

35...a2! 36.Qc1 Qd7 37.Qa1 Rxe4 38.Bxe4 Qd2 39.Kg2 ( if 39.h6 f6! is most accurate since if  40.Qxf6 Qd1+ Qe1+ or Qc1+ also win as it happens, but this way denies White even any spite checks  41.Kg2 a1=Q finis ) 39...Be6 40.Qf6 ( now if 40.h6 simply  40...Qxh6 since the a-pawn is now secured ) 40...gxh5 41.Kh2 h6 42.Bg2 Qg5 43.Qb2 Qg7 and Black gets a second Queen 0-1