Some recent losses Pt. 1

A couple of weeks ago I went to San Luis Opbispo to play in the SLO county Championship.  I went in with high hopes having just reached my highest ever rating of 1794.  However, the tournament went poorly for me as I managed a meager +0 =1 -4.  I would like to annotate some of the games here.
In round 1 I was paired against Viktor Hendriks.   On the pairing sheet it said that he was rated 2115.  Little did I know that this was under his actual strength!  Here's the game.


[Event "SLO CHAMP"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "11.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Peter Gaffney"]
[Black "HENDRIKS"]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "11.17.12"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

{E18: Queen's Indian: Old Main Line (4 g3 Bb7 5 Bg2 Be7 6 0-0 0-0 7 Nc3)} 1. d4
Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d5 8. b3 c5 (8...
Ne4 9. Bb2 Nxc3 10. Bxc3 Nd7 11. cxd5 Bxd5 12. Qc2 Nf6 13. Rfd1 Qc8 14. Ne5
Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Qb7+ 16. Kg1 c5 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. b4 Be7 19. b5 Nd5 20. Bd4 Rac8
21. Nc6 Nb4 22. Qb2 Nxc6 23. bxc6 {Novikov,I (2596)-Shahade,G (2458)/New York
2001/CBM 084/1-0 (37)}) 9. Ba3 $146 (9. dxc5 bxc5 10. cxd5 Nxd5 11. Bb2 Nxc3
12. Bxc3 Na6 13. Qc2 Nb4 14. Qb2 Bf6 15. Rfd1 Bxc3 16. Qxc3 Qb6 17. a3 Nd5 18.
Qc2 Nf6 19. Ne5 Bxg2 20. Kxg2 Rab8 21. Rd3 a5 22. f3 a4 23. b4 cxb4 {Van
Tilbury,C (2303)-Jacobusse,W (2022)/Turin 2006/CBM 113/1/2-1/2}) (9. Ne5 cxd4
10. Qxd4 Bc5 11. Qd1 Bd6 12. Nd3 Qc8 13. Nb5 Be7 14. cxd5 Bxd5 15. Bxd5 Nxd5
16. Bb2 a6 17. Rc1 Qb7 18. Nd4 Nd7 19. e4 Nb4 20. Nxb4 Bxb4 21. Qe2 Rac8 22. a3
Be7 23. b4 b5 {Hidalgo Duque,C (2127)-Rodriguez Gonzalez,I (2244)/Mondariz
2005/CBM 108 ext/1-0 (44)}) (9. e3 dxc4 10. bxc4 Ne4 11. Qc2 Nxc3 12. Qxc3 Nd7
13. Bb2 Qc7 14. Rfd1 Be4 15. Ne1 Bxg2 16. Nxg2 cxd4 17. exd4 Rac8 18. Rac1 Bf6
19. Qb4 Rfd8 20. Ne3 Nb8 21. d5 Bxb2 22. Qxb2 Qe7 23. Qe5 Nd7 {Szelecki,
J-Wuensche,K/Hauenstein 1991/GER/1-0 (66)}) (9. dxc5 dxc4 10. Be3 Qc8 ) 9...
dxc4 10. dxc5 Qxd1 11. Rfxd1 cxb3 12. axb3 bxc5 13. Nd2 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 {White
king safety dropped} Nc6 (14... Nbd7 15. Nb5 ) 15. Nde4 {The isolani on c5
becomes a target} Nxe4 16. Nxe4 Rfb8 17. Nxc5 (17. Bxc5 Bxc5 18. Nxc5 h6)
17... Rb5 18. Na6 (18. Ne4 Bd8) 18... Bf6 {Black threatens to win material:
Bf6xa1} (18... Rxb3  19. Bxe7 Nxe7) 19. Nc7 (It was here that I felt pretty good about the position.  I started playing a little too quickly and didn't capture the bishop back first forgetting that I would just be making an even trade here)  Bxa1 20. Nxb5?! (20. Rxa1
Rab8 21. Nxb5 Rxb5) 20... Bf6  21. Rc1 {White threatens to win material:
Rc1xc6} Nd4 {Black threatens to win material: Nd4xb5} 22. Nxa7? (It was here that I thought about trading knights and offering a draw.  It was about this time that I started feeling the fatigue from the 2.5 hour drive that morning to the tournament) (22. Nxd4 Bxd4
23. e3 Bb6) 22... Nxe2 23. Rc8+ (23. Rc4 Nd4) 23... Rxc8 $15 24. Nxc8 {
A minor pieces endgame occured} Nd4 {Black threatens to win material: Nd4xb3}
25. Bb2 Nxb3 26. Bxf6 gxf6 {A knight endgame occured} 27. Nd6 Kg7 28. Kf3 Kg6
29. g4 Nd4+ 30. Kg3 (30. Ke4 Ne2) 30... f5 $15 31. f4 (31. Nc4 f6)
31... fxg4 32. Kxg4 h5+ 33. Kg3?? {further deteriorates the position} (33.
Kh3) 33... Nf5+ $19 34. Nxf5 (34. Kf3 {cannot undo what has already
been done} Nxd6 35. Ke3) 34... Kxf5 (34... exf5  35. Kh4) 35. Kf3 (
35. h4 e5 36. Kf2 exf4 37. Ke1 Ke4 38. Kd1 f3 39. Kd2 f5 40. Kc3 f2 41. Kb4
f1=Q 42. Kc5 Qa6 43. Kb4 Kd4 44. Kb3 Kd3 45. Kb2 Qb5+ 46. Ka3 Kc3 47. Ka2 Qb2#)
35... f6 (35... h4 {makes it even easier for Black} 36. Ke3 Kg4 37. f5 Kxf5
38. Kf3) 36. h3 e5 37. fxe5 (37. Ke3 {doesn't change the outcome of the
game} exf4+ 38. Kf3 h4 39. Ke2 Ke4 40. Kd1 f3 41. Kd2 f5 42. Kd1 Ke3 43. Kc1 f2
44. Kc2 f1=Q 45. Kb3 Qb5+ 46. Kc3 f4 47. Kc2 Qb4 48. Kc1 Kd3 49. Kd1 Qb1#)
37... Kxe5 38. Ke3 (38. Kg3 {a fruitless try to alter the course of the game}
f5 39. Kf3 f4 40. Kg2 Ke4 41. Kf2 f3 42. Kg1 Kf4 43. Kf2 h4 44. Kf1 Kg3 45. Ke1
Kg2 46. Kd2 Kxh3 47. Ke3 Kg3 48. Kd4 f2 49. Kd5 h3 50. Kc4 h2 51. Kd5 h1=Q+ 52.
Ke5 f1=Q 53. Kd6 Qf6+ 54. Kc7 Qfc6+ 55. Kb8 Qb7#) 38... f5 39. Kf3 f4 40. Kf2??
{the pressure is too much, White crumbles} (40. Kg2) 40... Ke4 (40...
Ke4 41. h4 f3 42. Kf1 Kf4 43. Kf2 Kg4 44. Kf1 Kxh4 45. Kf2 Kg4 46. Kg1 Kg3 47.
Kh1 h4 48. Kg1 f2+ 49. Kf1 h3 50. Ke2 h2 51. Ke3 h1=Q 52. Kd4 f1=Q 53. Kc5 Qb7
54. Kd4 Qbb5 55. Ke4 Qfd3#) 0-1

B86 Win for Black!

1		SICILIAN def. NAJDORF var.
	nr3 - maestrogaffney
	0:1, 11/ 2/2012.

1. e4 c5 2. ¤f3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. ¤xd4 ¤f6 5. ¤c3 a6 6. ¥c4 e6 7. O-O ¥e7 Normally here I would play Nc6 or something like that.  After studying some of the ideas in this line I play this before committing my queenside minor pieces.   8. f4 O-O 9. e5 dxe5 10. fxe5 ¤fd7 11. £h5?! b5! 12. ¥d3 g6 13. £h6?

I can't agree with this move.  It allows so many tactics and misplaces the queen on a square that I will be able to attack rather easily and win tempi.  Better was Qe2 in my opinion.   13... ¤xe5 14. ¥f4?? ¤xd3! This first to eliminate the two bishop advantage first.  15. cxd3 £xd4 16. ¢h1 £g7 Up a whole piece I saw no reason not to simplify; with more queenside space and better prospects on the kingside and a ready made target in the isolani on d3 I felt like the only dangerous my opponent had was his queen. 17. £h3? e5! That queen move to h6 has made so many of these tactics possible.   18. ¥h6 ¥xh3! 19. ¥xg7 ¥xg2 20. ¢xg2 ¢xg7 21. ¤e4? f5 22. ¤c3 ¤c6 23. ¦ae1 ¥b4 24. ¦e2 ¥xc3 25. bxc3 ¦ad8 26. ¦e3 e4 27. d4 ¤a5 Heading for that beautiful sqaure c4! 28. ¦c1 ¤c4 29. ¦e2 e3 30. a4 f4 31. ¢f3 ¤d2 {Game 265 (nr3 vs. maestrogaffney) nr3 resigns [...]

[0:1]

Sweet Revenge

[Event "VETS"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Turner, Jesse"]
[Black "Gaffney, P.R.."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B53"]
[Annotator "Gaffney,PR"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "11.??.??"]
[Source "MonRoi"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 {This move caught me off guard.  My
opponent doesn't usually play this that I know of.  I knew this was going to
be a good game already.} a6 (4... Nc6 5. Bb5 a6 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. O-O e5 8. Qd3)
5. Bc4 Nc6 6. Qd3 e6 7. Nc3 Be7 {I played this instead of Nf6 because I wanted
to see where he was going to develop his bishop.} 8. Be3 Nf6 9. a4 {After the
game my opponent thought this was over-aggressive.  I thought it was good
because I wasted my chance to play b5.} Qc7 10. a5 $2 Nb4 (10... Nxa5 11. Bb3
b5 12. Nd4 Bb7 13. f3 $17) 11. Qe2 Nxc2+ 12. Qxc2 Qxc4 {I chose this over the
above variation because I didn't want him to have the bishop pair.   It leads
to some difficulties for me.} 13. Ra4 Qc7 (13... Qc6) 14. Bb6 Qb8 15. Rc4 O-O (
15... Bd7 {I looked at this as well and didn't think the move I chose was that
much worse.  Computer seems to disagree, but in the heat of battle I wanted to
get my king out of the middle of the board.}) 16. Bc7 Qa7 17. Na4 Bd7 18. Nb6
Bb5 19. Rd4 $2 (19. Rc3) 19... Rac8 (19... Rfc8 20. Qc3 d5 21. exd5 Nxd5 22.
Nxc8 Rxc8 23. Bb6 Qb8 24. Qd2 Bb4 25. Rxb4 {I couldn't this during the game.
I recalled that this type of position happened in a game I saw and instead of
saving the rook the player sacrificed the exchange and by doing so he got rid
of one of whites best attackers.}) 20. Rd1 Nxe4 21. Nxc8 Rxc8 22. Qxe4 Rxc7 {
OK, so I'm down an Exchange, but I have two pawns for it.  He can't castle
which means one of his rooks is out of the game for at least a few moves.
Black is doing fine!} 23. Nd4 Qc5 {Threatening to replace the bishop with the
queen if the knight captures.} 24. Ra1 $4 {This was the first time in the game
where I felt like I was clearly winning.} Qb4+ 25. Kd1 e5 (25... d5 $1 {This
led to a really nasty finish that I wasn't able to see.} 26. Qf4 Qxb2 27. Qxc7
Qxd4+ 28. Kc2 Bd3+ 29. Kd1 Be4+ 30. Kc1 Qxa1+ 31. Kd2 Qd4+ 32. Ke1 Bb4+ 33. Qc3
Bxc3+ 34. Ke2 Qd3#) 26. Rc1 Rxc1+ 27. Kxc1 Qxd4 {While this isn't the clearest
win, I was down to less than 10 minutes on the clock and needed to simplify so
I wouldn't spend a lot of time calculating.} 28. Qxd4 exd4 29. g3 Bd8 30. b4
Kf8 31. Rd1 d3 32. Kd2 d5 33. Re1 b6 34. axb6 Bxb6 35. f4 a5 36. Re5 Bc4 37.
Re1 axb4 38. Ra1 Bd4 39. Ra8+ $2 {By this point in the game my opponent was
shaking his head talking to himself.  I'm glad I had my headphones on.} Ke7 40.
Rb8 Bc3+ 41. Ke3 d2 42. Rb7+ Kd6 {White resigns.  And thus a defeat of my
favorite opponent gets notched in my belt.} 43. Rxf7 d1=Q 44. Rd7+ Kxd7 45. f5
Qe2+ 46. Kf4 Bd2# 0-1

A Recent Loss

[Event "Dia de los Muertos"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "12.11.02"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Gaffney"]
[Black "Turner"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "A57"]
[PlyCount "118"]
[EventDate "12.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6 d6 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. a4 Nxb6 8. a5
Nbd7 9. Nf3 g6 10. Nd2 Bg7 11. e4 O-O 12. Nc4 Ne8 13. Bf4 Nc7 14. Qc2 Nb5 15.
Ne2 Bb7 16. g3 Qc7 17. Bg2 Rac8 18. O-O Ne5 19. Nb6 Rb8 20. Rfd1 Bc8 21. Rac1
Bg4 22. b4 Nf3+ 23. Bxf3 Bxf3 24. bxc5 Bxe2 25. Qxe2 Nc3 26. Rxc3 Bxc3 27. cxd6
exd6 28. Rc1 Qc5 29. Nd7 Qxa5 30. Nxb8 Rxb8 31. Bxd6 Re8 32. Qd3 Bg7 33. Kg2
Qa4 34. Rc4 Qd7 35. Rc6 a5 36. Qc4 f5 37. e5 Bxe5 38. Bxe5 Rxe5 39. Rc8+ Re8
40. Rxe8+ Qxe8 41. d6+ Qf7 42. d7????(42.Qc8+!) Qxc4 43. d8=Q+ Kg7 44. Qxa5 Qe4+ 45. Kg1 f4
46. Qc7+ Kh6 47. Qxf4+ Qxf4 48. gxf4 Kh5 49. Kg2 Kg4 50. f3+ Kxf4 51. h4 h6 52.
Kf2 h5 53. Kg2 Ke3 54. Kg3 Ke2 55. Kf4 Kf2 56. Kg5 Kxf3 57. Kxg6 Kg4 58. Kf6
Kxh4 59. Kf5 Kg3 *