[Event "Qual. for Jamaican Ch., HWT Ent. Centre"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.05.22"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Ian Wilkinson"]
[Black "Zachary Ramsay"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[Annotator "Wilkinson, Ian"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2011.04.07"]

{A DOG WAR AGAINST "ZACALOV"! Zachary "Zacalov" Ramsay is undoubtedly one of
the "finds" of Jamaican chess in recent years. A unique talent, he combines
his passion for the sport with great work ethic and tremendous fighting spirit,
making him a formidable opponent. One of the "unofficial masters" in Jamaica,
although in medical school his love for the "king of games" still sees him
finding time to play competitively including the current national qualifier.
We have had some bruising, uncompromising battles in the past exchanging wins
on more than one occasion with a 70-move stalemate in our history, I had no
doubt that this clash was going to see fireworks!} 1. e4 c5 {Zachary almost
always plays this move in response to the king's pawn double hop.} 2. Nf3 d6 3.
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Ramsay swears by the Sicilian Najdorf. Why not
? He understands the opening well and has had good results with it, including
a demolition job on Jamaican record seven-time national champion FM Shane "the
Magician" Matthews in a memorable game from the 2007 Jamaican national
championship.} 6. Bc4 Nbd7 7. Bb3 g6 {[#]This move reminds me of the legendary
Jamaican chess player and administrator, NM John Powell who died in 2007. John
and I played a number of "friendly", training games and he usually played the
Sicilian defence with the black pieces. Whenever he employed this set-up he
referred to it as the "Drag-Dorf" - a hybrid of the Najdorf and the Dragon!} 8.
f4 $146 {Again, my database is screaming out "novelty". This is a surprise to
me as this seems to be a natural move.} ({To demonstrate how dangerous this
opening is for Black, White won against much "stronger" opposition with} 8. Be3
Bg7 9. f3 Nc5 10. Qd2 O-O 11. O-O-O Nxb3+ 12. axb3 Qa5 13. Kb1 Rd8 14. g4 e5
15. Nde2 Be6 16. Bg5 Rac8 17. h4 b5 18. h5 b4 19. Nd5 Bxd5 20. exd5 Rc5 21.
Bxf6 Bxf6 22. hxg6 hxg6 23. Ng3 Rdc8 24. Ne4 Bg7 25. Rc1 Rxd5 26. Qh2 Rd4 27.
Qh7+ Kf8 28. g5 Rxe4 29. fxe4 Qd8 30. Rhg1 d5 31. Rcf1 Qd6 32. Rxf7+ Kxf7 33.
Rf1+ Qf6 34. Rxf6+ {1-0 Melgosa,M (2295)-Gausel,E (2525)/Dos Hermanas 2004/CBM
099 ext}) 8... Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 $6 {[#]A dubious opening "experiment". I
thought of playing 10.h3 (the first choice of the engines) but did not want to
"waste" a move.} Qc7 ({A strong refutation of my last move was} 10... Nc5 $1 {
and after} 11. e5 dxe5 12. fxe5 Ng4 {it is clear that Black has dominated the
opening.}) 11. O-O-O Nc5 {A natural, but very strong, move. Black was very OK
after this and, to my mind, might even be better.} 12. Nd5 Nxd5 13. exd5 {I
hated to lock in the Bb3 but I think that this was the only way not to lose
the e4-pawn. An additional benefit of capturing with the pawn was that it left
Ramsay saddled with the backward e7-pawn. This pawn on e6 was to prove vital
in the jousting to come.} Bd7 14. h4 Nxb3+ {I was actually relieved at this
exchange having regard to the limited scope of the religious figure.} 15. axb3
h5 {[#]} ({Looking at the position after I had moved I did not like} 15... Bg4
$1 {In fact, in a brief post-mortem (without sight of the board) I told
Zachary that this was the move he should have played and he agreed
acknowledging that this would have given him a tempo in attacking the Rd1 and
then, if necessary, he could have played h5. In fact,} 16. Rde1 {is met by} a5
$1 {and Black develops a powerful initiative.}) 16. f5 $1 {I was about to play
this move without any hesitation as my intuition told me it was very strong;
not only does it prevent Bg4, it also clears the c1-h6 diagonal with chances
to exchange the Bg7 . My discipline held, however, and I looked at the
position for a couple of minutes before playing it anyway!! Two powerful
silicon beasts agree that the text-move was better than their second choice 16.
Rhf1.} Rfc8 $6 {[#]} ({"Zacalov" also agreed with me outside the playing hall
that Black has excellent chances to hold after} 16... Bxd4 {, the reason I
hesitated before making my last move.} 17. Bxd4 Bxf5 18. g4 hxg4 {but it is
understandable that Zachary did not want to part with his precious "Gufeld"
bishop. Indeed, after} 19. h5 $1 {Black needs to find} f6 $1 20. hxg6 Bxg6 {
preserving the dynamic balance. White has no time to play the immediate 21.Qh6
due to the mating attack on c2.}) 17. fxg6 fxg6 18. Ne6 {I wondered if this
was too hasty. The computers like 18.Rdf1 or 18. Rhf1, each appearing to be an
excellent preparatory move.} Bxe6 19. dxe6 Qc6 {[#]} ({With 30 minutes at his
disposal Ramsay missed the strong, "Sicilian-freeing" move} 19... d5 $1 {If I
respond with} 20. c3 {(20.Qd3 is a useful option) then Black can play actively
with} Rf8 21. Kb1 Rf5 22. Bd4 Raf8 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Qd4+ Kh7 25. g4 hxg4 26.
Qxg4 Qe5 {and he has "dynamic equality"!}) 20. Bg5 {[#]} ({Interesting was the
prompt} 20. Qd3 {and White consolidates his position. For instance,} Kh7 ({of
course the pawn is taboo as after the greedy} 20... Qxg2 $4 {White wins with}
21. Rhg1 $18) 21. Rhf1 Rf8 (21... Bf6 $2 {runs into} 22. g4 $1 hxg4 23. h5 $1
$18 {winning for White.}) 22. Bg5 Rxf1 23. Rxf1 Rf8 24. Rxf8 Bxf8 25. Qe2 Bh6 {
with a likely draw.}) 20... Rc7 21. Rhf1 {I had 48 minutes left after making
this move. Having regard to the threats I saw on pondering my next move, I
should have immediately played 21.Qd3!} Rac8 $1 {Zachary spent three minutes
thinking before making this strong move - he now had 24 minutes left. The 4th
world champion, Alexander Alekhine, would have been proud to see the heavy
artillery lined up like this especially with the king in the line of fire.} 22.
Rf2 $2 {[#]I spent twelve minutes thinking about my options before selecting
an inferior choice. I saw all kinds of "demons" coming at me.} ({I did not like
} 22. c3 {because I saw the strong riposte} Qe4 {(the suggested 21.Qd3 would
have denied Black this option) and Black not only threatens to win the e6-pawn
but his troops are ideally placed to rip c3 apart. For example, if} 23. Bh6 $4
{(23.Rde1 is necessary) Black wins with} Bxc3 $1 24. bxc3 Rxc3+ 25. Kb2 Rc2+
$19) ({The move I considered agonisingly (and the best defence suggested by
the engines!) was} 22. c4 $1 {but I genuinely found it hard to play that move
in light of} b5 $1 {The emotionless silicon monsters have the calm defensive
response} 23. Qc2 $1 {Now let us consider a few variations - I prefer Black's
position after} bxc4 ({the defensive retreat by her majesty} 23... Qe8 $6 {
seems dubious as it allows White a crucial tempo to play} 24. Kb1 $1 {and now
if} bxc4 25. Rf7 $1 Kh7 26. b4 {and White seems to be past the worst and,
indeed, with the advantage.}) (23... Kh7 $5 {also leads to tense play
particularly after} 24. Rf7 bxc4 25. Qc3 $1 {the pin is aesthetic.} Rg8 {Only
move.} (25... cxb3 $4 {loses material to} 26. Rxg7+ Kh8 27. Rxe7+ Qxc3+ 28.
bxc3 Rxe7 29. Bxe7 $18) 26. b4 Qe4 $1 27. Re1 Qxg2 {but in this line I think
that Black is really walking a tightrope especially after 28.Bd2, with the
idea of 29.Qe3 hitting h6.!}) 24. b4 {The only feasible option.} c3 25. b3 Qb5
$1 {After this move (instead of the viable option 25...Kh7) the computers
reveal a spectacular draw in the variation -} 26. Qxg6 Qe2 $1 27. Qf7+ Kh8 (
27... Kh7 $5 28. Qf5+ Kh8 29. Rf2 Qb5 $132) 28. Rf2 Qg4 29. Rf4 Qxd1+ $5 (29...
Qe2 30. Rf2 $11) 30. Kxd1 c2+ 31. Ke2 (31. Kc1 $4 {loses to} Bb2+ $1 32. Kd2 (
32. Kxb2 c1=Q+ 33. Ka2 Rc2#) 32... c1=Q+) 31... c1=Q 32. Qxh5+ Kg8 33. Qf7+ {
[#]with a perpetual.}) 22... Qb5 $2 {[#]After sixteen minutes in the
think-tank, Ramsay goes astray in the complications and I heaved a sigh of
relief.} ({The move I feared the most (as I told Zachary after the game) was
22....Qe4 as, inter alia, White is now threatening to win the e6-pawn.} 22...
Qe4 23. Qd3 {In reality the "only" move.} Qe5 24. c4 Qxe6 {and Black must be
winning, or close to it ,here.}) 23. Qe3 $1 {After spending nine minutes I
played a move that not only defends but simultaneously maintains chances of an
attack! This move was also crucial as Zachary was threatening to play Qe5 with
poisonous threats along the a1-h8 diagonal. For the record, I also looked at
23.Qd5 but did not like 23...Rc5!} Qa5 {Down to less than five minutes I felt
that Zachary would have problems with the position still very dynamic.} 24. Kb1
{[#]The only move. I had all of 27 precious minutes left and felt absolutely
safe after getting in this thematic, prophylactic move so late in the game!}
Qb4 25. Bh6 {After worrying for some time at the potential threat of the
bishop along the long diagonal, the desire to exchange this piece is
understandable. Very strong was 25.Rdd2, that was to come next, to shore up my
second rank and remove all hope of counterplay for Zacalov!} Qg4 $1 {To his
credit, although down to 2 minutes on the clock Ramsay still found, in my
opinion, the best move.} 26. Rdd2 Bf6 $4 {[#]With just one minute left on my
worthy adversary's clock the inevitable happened. Disastrous also for Black
was 26... Bxh6 27.Qxh6 Qxe6 28.g4! with a winning attack. Only 26...Be5 would
have preserved the dynamic balance.} 27. Rf4 $1 {The queen is dead...long live
the queen!} Rxc2 28. Rxg4 Rc1+ 29. Ka2 hxg4 30. Rf2 R8c5 {I immediately saw
that 31.b4 averted the Ra5 mate threat but could not resist ending with the
queen sacrifice} 31. Qxc1 $1 {[#]A truly tense struggle.} 1-0

[Event "Natl Qual, HWT Ent. Centre"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.05.22"]
[Round "6.1"]
[White "Markland Douglas"]
[Black "Denton Cockburn"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "1965"]
[BlackElo "2226"]
[Annotator "Wilkinson, Ian"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2011.04.07"]

{"DOUGNIK" CHECKMATES THE FAVOURITE IN THE GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT! After a
tough first half, Markland "Dougnik" Douglas played well in the second half of
a tournament held to give players a chance to qualify for the 2011 Jamaica 
(national) Chess Championship. The veteran player produced an excellent game
in the final round to defeat the rating favourite Denton Cockburn (pronounced
"COE-BURN") who was playing his first chess tournament in Jamaica. Cockburn,
Jamaican-born but living in Canada, had played confidently and solidly
throughout the event notching wins in the process against Michael Diedrick,
Melisha Smith and Peter Thomas, respectively. He also had draws against Ian
Wilkinson and Zachary Ramsay to remain unbeaten on 4.0/5 entering the final
round but then he met "Dougnik". The veteran player thwarted Cockburn's
chances of winning the event outright by recording a famous win after
sacrificing two rooks in a thrilling Sicilian Najdorf. Enjoy!} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3
d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The well-travelled Sicilian Najdorf. The
irony of this game is that after Douglas faced Zachary's Najdorf in the first
round and lost a hardfought contest, Cockburn joined in the post-mortem and
was showing Douglas how he could have improved his play!} 6. f3 {Markland
likes to castle long and pawn storm a la the English Attack.} e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8.
Be3 Nbd7 9. Qd2 b5 10. Be2 Be7 11. Nd5 {[#]} ({I suggested to "Dougnik" during
the above-mentioned post mortem that, in my humble opinion. he should delay
the Nd5 thrust. More in the spirit of the position was} 11. g4 $5 {and in a
fairly recent game Black won after} Nb6 12. g5 Nh5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. exd5 Bd7
15. O-O-O a5 16. f4 a4 17. Nc5 Nxf4 18. Bxf4 exf4 19. Nxd7 Qxd7 20. Qxf4 O-O
21. h4 b4 22. Kb1 Qc7 23. Bd3 a3 24. h5 f5 25. Bxf5 Qa7 26. b3 Qc5 27. Rh3 Kh8
28. Qg4 Rae8 29. Bg6 Rf2 30. Qe4 Ref8 31. Qxe7 Qd4 {0-1 Kozlov,G (2265)
-Chernobai,A (2398)/Dagomys 2009/CBM 129 Extra}) 11... Bxd5 12. exd5 Nb6 13.
Bxb6 Qxb6 14. O-O-O a5 $146 {[#]My database indicates that this is a novelty
and what seems to be a quite decent one. Also good for Black is} (14... O-O 15.
Qd3 Rfc8 $17 {when the second player's position looks to be easily preferable.}
) ({Seen before was} 14... h6 15. g4 Nxg4 16. Kb1 Nf2 17. Rhg1 Nxd1 18. Qxd1 g6
19. Bd3 Rg8 20. Qf1 Qe3 21. Rg2 Qb6 22. f4 Bf6 23. Qe2 O-O-O 24. fxe5 Bxe5 25.
Qg4+ Kb8 26. h3 a5 27. a4 h5 28. Qh4 g5 29. Qe4 f5 30. Qe1 bxa4 31. Qxa5 Qxa5
32. Nxa5 Rdf8 33. Nc6+ Kc7 34. Ne7 f4 35. Nxg8 Rxg8 36. Bf5 Bd4 37. Rd2 Be3 38.
Rd1 f3 39. Rf1 f2 40. c3 g4 41. hxg4 hxg4 42. Kc2 g3 {0-1 Zuluaga,M-Zea,J/
Medellin 2010/CBM 135 Extra}) 15. Qd3 Rb8 16. g4 {[#]Douglas played this move
immediately. I could hardly concentrate on my game as the outcome of this game
would determine the top placings and I was willing Dougnik on after earlier
telling him that he was the last chance to "rough up" the "visitor".} O-O {
This per se does not appear to be losing but after the game I told Cockburn
that I did not like that he "castled into it" in this position. The engines
like the immediate 16...a4! when Black seems to have the initiative.} 17. h4
Nd7 18. Qf5 {The idea behind this move, as will soon be apparent, is to clear
the d3 square for the Be2.} Qc7 19. g5 a4 20. Nd2 b4 21. h5 b3 22. axb3 {[#]}
axb3 $4 {This was a blunder. Black had to play 22... Nc5 (with a dynamic
balance) to get ready to capture the Bishop if it took up its sniper's post on
d3. For example, 22...Nc5! 23.Bd3 Nxd3+ (23...g6! is also very strong for
Black in this position) 24.Qxd3 axb3 with a clear advantage to the second
player. Denton was now in serious trouble.} 23. c3 $2 {[#]Markland returned
the favour.} ({White seems to be well on top after} 23. Bd3 $1 g6 $8 24. hxg6
Nc5 25. g7 Nxd3+ 26. Qxd3 Qxc2+ 27. Qxc2 Rfc8 28. Qxc8+ Rxc8+ 29. Kb1 $18)
23... Rfc8 24. Bd3 Nf8 {[#]This appears to be the best way to hold up the
crumbling barricades.} 25. g6 $1 {[#]Looking on I was telepathically willing
Douglas to play this move that, objectively, sets Black some serious problems
to solve. Another strong option was} (25. f4 $5 {when Black can try to
generate his own threats with} Qa5 26. Ne4 Qa1+ (26... Qxd5 $6 27. Nf6+ $1 Bxf6
28. gxf6 g6 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. Qh3 $36) 27. Bb1 $1 g6 $132) 25... h6 $4 {
Reeling under the unrelenting pressure from Dougnik Cockburn goes astray and
blunders. He would not recover.} ({The computers say that Black had to play} 
25... fxg6 26. hxg6 hxg6 27. Qg4 Qa5 28. Nb1 Bf6 29. Rh2 g5 30. Rdh1 Kf7 31.
Be4 Ra8 $132 {with chances for each player.}) 26. gxf7+ $1 {Douglas now
conducts the rest of the attack flawlessly.} Kh8 27. Rdg1 {This is natural and
powerful. Markland was now leaning forward over the board his eyes all aglow!
The scent of blood had actually got stronger.} ({Looking on I liked} 27. Ne4 $5
$18 {bringing another piece to attack.}) 27... Qa5 {[#]} 28. Rxg7 $3 {Boom...
baff...baddaffff!!!! The double "exclam" is given for, inter alia, the
audacity and aesthetics of the rook sacrifice that is absolutely correct and
wins crushingly.} Kxg7 {The only option to delay the death blow was the
desperado} (28... Rxc3+ {but the result is not in doubt after} 29. bxc3 Qxc3+
30. Kd1 Qa1+ 31. Nb1 $18) 29. Rg1+ $1 Bg5 {A sad necessity as 29...Kh8 runs
into 30. Rg8 mate!} 30. Rxg5+ {"Ain't no stopping us now..."!} hxg5 31. h6+ $1
{[#]Correctly played by Dougnik who then left the board, probably to calm his
nerves. There was still time for Markland to go wrong with 31.Qxg5?? as after
31...Kxf7 32.Bxg6+ Nxg6 33.Qxg6+ Ke7 34.Qe6+ Kd8 35.Qxd6+ Ke8 36.Qe6+, White
has to settle for a draw via perpetual check. Cockburn stopped the clock and
shook his head wistfully appreciating that he is mated after 31.. Kxh6 32.Qf6+
Kh5 33.Qh8+ Nh7 34.Qxh7#. An excellent win by Markland in what I thought was
the game of the tournament.} 1-0

[Event "Natl Qual, HWT Ent. Centre"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.05.21"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Ian Wilkinson"]
[Black "Markland Douglas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B86"]
[Annotator "Wilkinson, Ian"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2011.04.07"]

{AN EXCITING SICILIAN AGAINST "DOUGNIK". After a hardfought draw in the first
round, with the black pieces, against the rating favourite (2226)
Jamaican-Canadian Denton Cockburn, I decided to press very hard against my
long-time adversary Markland "Dougnik" Douglas. Douglas suffered a tense loss
in the first round in a difficult game against the second rating favourite,
Candidate Master Zachary Ramsay, after arriving roughly forty minutes late for
that game and seemed ready to fight.} 1. e4 c5 {I had prepared to play the Ruy
Lopez but Douglas avoided the debate after my win against him with the white
pieces in last year's President's Invitational event.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4.
Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 {I decided to pursue Bobby Fischer's favourite
weapon against the Sicilian Najdorf.} e6 {A standard response that can also
steer the contest into various forms of the Scheveningen .} 7. Bb3 {[#]} ({
White could also have castled short} 7. O-O $5 {and in one possible variation}
b5 8. Bb3 b4 9. Na4 Nxe4 10. Re1 d5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. f3 Nf6 13. Bxb8 Rxb8 14.
Nc6 Qc7 15. Nxb8 Qxb8 16. Qd4 O-O {although White has the exchange, Black has
some compensation in the form of the two bishops, a pawn and a solid kingside.}
) 7... Qc7 8. Be3 Bd7 {[#]An interesting choice.} (8... Be7 9. f4 O-O 10. Qf3
b5 11. a3 Nbd7 12. g4 Nc5 13. g5 Nxb3 14. Nxb3 Nd7 15. O-O-O Nc5 16. Nd4 Bb7
17. Rhg1 (17. Kb1 Rac8 18. Rhg1 f5 19. gxf6 Bxf6 20. Qg2 Rce8 $132) 17... Rac8
$132) ({White won a nice game after} 8... Nbd7 9. O-O Nc5 10. Qf3 Be7 11. Qg3
h5 12. f3 h4 13. Qf2 h3 14. g4 b5 15. Rad1 Nxb3 16. cxb3 g6 17. b4 e5 18. g5
Nh5 19. Nd5 Qb7 20. Nc6 Qxc6 21. Rc1 Qd7 22. Nc7+ Kf8 23. Nxa8 Qe6 24. Nb6 Bd7
25. Rc7 Be8 26. Nd5 Bd8 27. Ra7 Bc6 28. Rxa6 Qc8 29. Rxc6 Qxc6 30. Rc1 Qa8 31.
a3 Kg7 32. Qc2 Rf8 33. Qc6 Qb8 34. Qd7 Qa8 35. Qxd6 Qa4 36. Qxe5+ Kh7 37. Kf2
f5 38. gxf6 {Boros,D (2462)-Burg,T (2449)/Ohrid 2009/CBM 133/1-0}) 9. f4 $146 {
[#]My database labels this move a novelty!} ({A common option is the attacking
} 9. g4 {and in a game close to Jamaican shores White also won after} h6 10. f3
Nc6 11. Qd2 b5 12. O-O-O Nxd4 13. Qxd4 a5 14. a4 b4 15. Nb5 Bxb5 16. axb5 a4
17. b6 Qc6 18. Bc4 Nd7 19. Bd3 b3 20. Qc4 Qb7 21. Kd2 bxc2 22. Rc1 Be7 23. Qc7
Qxc7 24. bxc7 O-O 25. Bb5 Nc5 26. Bxc5 dxc5 27. Bd7 Bg5+ 28. Kxc2 Bxc1 29. Rxc1
Rfc8 30. Bxc8 Rxc8 31. Ra1 Rxc7 32. Rxa4 Kf8 33. Kc3 Ke7 34. Ra5 Kd6 35. Kc4
Rb7 36. Rb5 Ra7 37. Rxc5 Ra1 38. Kb5 Rh1 {Pujols,C (2330)-Poyato,A (2205)/
Havana 1999/EXT 2000/1-0 (62)}) 9... b5 (9... Be7 $1 10. f5 e5 11. Nde2 Nc6 12.
Nd5 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 O-O 14. O-O Na5 15. Nc3 Bc6 16. Qd3 Nxb3 17. axb3 Rfc8 18.
Rf3 {with an initiative.}) 10. Qf3 ({Interesting is} 10. f5 $5 b4 11. Na4 e5
12. Nf3 Bxa4 13. Bxa4+ Nbd7 14. O-O Be7 15. c3 Ng4 16. Re1 Nxe3 17. Rxe3 O-O
18. Bxd7 Qxd7 19. Qd2 Qa7 {and in this variation the fight has hardly begun.})
10... Nc6 (10... b4 11. Nce2 Nc6 12. g4 e5 13. Nf5 g6 14. g5 Nxe4 15. Nfg3 Nc5
16. fxe5 O-O-O $5 $132) 11. g4 Nxd4 $5 12. Bxd4 Bc6 13. g5 $6 {[#]Played with
60 minutes on my clock.} ({I thought about, and should probably have played,} 
13. Bxf6 $1 gxf6 14. f5 $1 {with a strong initiative.}) 13... Nd7 $2 {With 41
minutes on his clock, Markland thought for five minutes before retreating the
steed. In the process, he missed the tactical shot -} (13... Nxe4 $1 14. Nxe4
Qb7 $1 15. Qe2 Bxe4 16. Rf1 Rc8 17. f5 e5 18. O-O-O $1 a5 (18... exd4 $4 19.
Rxd4 f6 20. Rxe4+ Kd8 21. Re1 Kc7 22. Qd2 Kb8 23. h4 $18) 19. a4 h6 $1 {with
what appears to me to be an unclear position.}) 14. O-O-O $5 (14. f5 $1 b4 15.
fxe6 fxe6 16. Ne2 e5 17. Be3 O-O-O 18. O-O-O Be7 19. Ng3 g6 20. Qe2 Nc5 21. Bd5
$16) 14... Nc5 15. Rhe1 $5 {[#]Probably the first really critical position on
the battlefield.} (15. f5 Nxb3+ 16. axb3 b4 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 e5 19. Rhe1
Rc8 20. Rd2 h6 (20... Be7 $2 21. f6 gxf6 22. gxf6 Bf8 23. Kb1 $18 (23. Qh5 $5
$18)) 21. Qh5 Be7 22. Be3 Bd8 23. Kb1 $18) 15... Nxb3+ $6 {After the game
Markland confessed to being worried about the scope of the holy man along the
a2-g8 diagonal and this largely influenced this capture.} ({Very interesting
was} 15... O-O-O $1 16. Kb1 b4 17. Bxc5 dxc5 18. Rxd8+ Kxd8 19. Rd1+ Kc8 20.
Ne2 Be7 21. Bc4 a5 {with an unclear position.}) ({Incidentally, before I made
my last move I had considered the consequences of} 15... b4 {and spent seven
minutes checking and double-checking the sacrifice} 16. Nd5 $1 {concluding
that it worked. For example,} Nxb3+ 17. Qxb3 {I looked chiefly at 17.axb3 and
if 17...Qb7 18.f5!} Qb7 18. Nb6 $1 Rb8 19. f5 e5 20. Bf2 a5 21. Nc4 a4 22. Qd3
{with a big, if not winning, advantage for White. Although, admittedly, I did
not consider all of this at the board I felt intuitively that 16.Nd5 was
powerful.}) 16. axb3 e5 $2 {[#]Douglas, with 29 minutes left, was beginning to
look concerned at the board and, after thinking for only two minutes, made
what to me was an erroneous pawn advance. I immediately realised that not only
was the precious d5-square now available for the Nc3 but there was a good
chance to open the centre with the black king still exposed.} (16... Rc8 {was
far superior to the text-move.}) 17. Be3 {I liked this retreat that seems
strong and, according to the engines, is winning.} ({Nevertheless, White wins
handsomely in the variation -} 17. fxe5 dxe5 18. Nd5 $1 Bxd5 19. Bxe5 $1 Bd6
20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. exd5+ Kf8 22. Re6 $1 Qd8 23. Re5 g6 24. d6 Kg7 25. Qc3 Kg8
26. d7 h6 27. gxh6 Rxh6 28. Qc6 Kf8 29. Rde1 Kg7 30. Re8 Qg5+ 31. Kb1 Rd8 32.
Qc3+ Qf6 33. Rxd8 Qxc3 34. bxc3 $18) 17... exf4 18. Bxf4 Be7 19. Nd5 ({The
immediate} 19. Qg3 $1 {was also good.}) 19... Bxd5 {[#]} 20. Rxd5 {I had
already decided to concentrate on the isolated d6-pawn hence the capture with
the rook.} O-O 21. Qg3 Rac8 22. Re2 Rfd8 23. Red2 {This is consistent with my
plan but with Markland pinned down I could also have attacked with} (23. h4 $5
Rd7 24. h5 Rcd8 25. h6 g6 26. Be3 Qa5 27. Kb1 Rf8 28. e5 $1 Qc7 29. Red2 $18 {
and it is just a matter of time before Black's position collapses.} (29. Qg4 $5
$18)) 23... Qa5 24. Kb1 (24. c3 $5 Qb4 25. e5 Qxb3 26. exd6 b4 27. Be5 Bf8 28.
d7 Rc4 29. Kb1 Qa4 $16) 24... Qb4 {[#]} 25. R2d4 $1 $18 Qa5 26. Bxd6 $6 {I
made this move with 42 minutes left. This can hardly be called a blunder or a
mistake but, in retrospect, I thought that Black would have had absolutely no
counterplay after the much stronger} (26. c3 $1 {The suggested text cuts out
any offensive options for Black including the check on e1. There was no need
for me to rush and grab the d6-pawn that was doomed to life imprisonment
anyway.}) 26... Rxd6 27. Rxd6 Bxd6 28. Qxd6 g6 $2 {[#]It is understandable
that Black wants to get rid of his back-rank problem but "Dougnik" is in
serious trouble after this luft. A very tenacious defence would have been
mounted by} (28... Qe1+ $1 29. Rd1 ({also better for Black was} 29. Ka2 Qa5+
30. Qa3 Qxa3+ 31. Kxa3 f5 32. exf5 Rxc2 33. g6 hxg6 34. fxg6 Kf8 35. h4 Rg2 36.
h5 Rh2 37. Rf4+ Kg8 38. Rf5 Rh4 {and although well on top White has a lot of
work to do.}) 29... Qxe4 30. Qd8+ Qe8 31. Qa5 Qe7 $14) 29. c3 $1 {Seizing the
chance to remedy the earlier omission.} b4 {A grim choice. This allows the
exchange of queens but there was really nothing better.} 30. Rd5 $1 {30.Qd7!?
also worked.} Qc7 {The only move.} 31. Qxc7 Rxc7 32. c4 $1 ({I also thought of
} 32. Kc2 {and White is still winning comfortably after} bxc3 33. bxc3 Kg7 34.
c4 h6 35. gxh6+ $18 (35. h4 $18)) 32... Kf8 33. Kc2 {The rest, as is oft
stated, is simply a matter of technique.} Ke7 34. Kd3 Rc6 35. e5 Ke6 36. Ke4
Ke7 37. c5 a5 38. Kd4 Rc8 39. Rd6 h6 40. h4 hxg5 41. hxg5 Rh8 42. c6 Rh1 43.
Kc5 Re1 44. c7 Rxe5+ 45. Kc6 Re2 46. Rd7+ Ke6 47. c8=Q (47. Rd4 $1 Rc2+ 48. Rc4
Rxc4+ 49. bxc4 Kf5 50. c8=Q+) 47... Rc2+ 48. Kb7 Rxc8 49. Kxc8 f6 50. gxf6 Kxf6
51. Rd5 g5 52. Rxa5 g4 53. Kd7 Kg6 54. Kd6 g3 55. Kc5 1-0

