Here is the final game from the tournament. I needed to win to be sole champion. After some minor inaccuracies by both sides in the opening, Black got a large advantage after the game left theory. Haresh was able to stir up some trouble on the queenside, but it appears I saw one move further than he did.
1.e4 e5 Perhaps a small surprise for Haresh since I had played 1...g6 against him the other 3 times I had had Black. 2.Nf3 A small surprise for me. I expected 2. f4 2...Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 The Evans Gambit has become a more frequent visitor to tournament chess following Kasparov's success with it in 1995. Still, since this was only the second time I had faced it since 1984. 4...Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 5...Be7 has fallen out of fashion somewhat since the games Kasparov-Anand Riga 1995 and Shirov-Timman Biel 1995, although the latter game was very unclear after the opening. 6.Qb3 This move order is considered inaccurate. 6. d4 is the most challenging.
6...Qe7 The reason 6. Qb3 is out of favor is 6...Qf6 when 7. d4 is met by 7...Nxd4 and 7. 0-0 Bb6 8. d4 d6 gave Black no problems in Nunn-Hubner Johannesburg 1981. 7.d4 exd4 8.0-0 Bb6 Chambers-Bereolos 1996 Middle Tennessee Open reached this position by transposition. There, White played 9. cxd4 Na5 10. Qc3 Nxc4 11. Qxc4 with a large center and better development to compensate for the bishop pair and the pawn. After 11...d6 12. e5?! I returned the pawn with 12...d5 when Black is better because of the two Bishops, White bad bishop and the outpost on d5. 9.Ba3 d6 10.e5 A typical Evans motif when Black has played ...d6, but it seems to fall short here. 10...Na5
11.Qb4 Unzicker gives 11. Qa4+ Bd7 12. Bb5 Bxb5 13.Qxb5+ Qd7 with slight advantage to Black in ECO. That line at least has the advantage of not allowing Black to have the bishop pair.11...Nxc4 12.Qxc4 Be6 13.Qa4+ Qd7 14.Qc2 Maybe White should try the pawn down ending 14.Qxd7+ Kxd7 15.exd6 cxd6 16.Nxd4 when perhaps he can generate some play against Black's isolated queen pawn. However, that sort of line is very much against Haresh's style. 14...dxe5 15.Nxe5 Qd5 16.Re1 0-0-0 17.Bb4 With the idea of trapping Black's queen with 18. c4. However, it was better to eliminate Black's d-pawn with 18. cxd4. 17...d3 This pawn is a bone down White's throat for the rest of the game. 18.Qd2 c5 19.c4 White couldn't allow ...c4 cementing the d3 pawn. 19...Qd6 20.Bc3 Bc7 21.a4 Perhaps better is 21. Na3 a6 22. g3 trying to blunt Black's battery. Then, if 22...f6 23. Nxd3 eliminates the constricting pawn on d3. 21...f6 22.Na3 22. Nf3 Bg4 is curtains.
22...a6 [22... fxe5 23.Bxe5 Qd7 24.Bxc7 Kxc7 25.Qf4+ Kc8 26.Nb5] 23.Rab1 fxe5 24.Bxe5 Qd7 25.Bxc7 Kxc7 26.Qa5+ White's problem is that bringing his queen into play lifts the blockade of Black's d-pawn. [26.Qb2 Kc8 27.Rxe6 d2 28.Rd6 d1=Q+ 29.Rbxd1 Qxd6 30.Rxd6 Rxd6] 26...Kc8 27.Qxc5+ Kb8 28.Qe5+ [28.Rxb7+ Qxb7 29.Rb1 d2 and the Black queen will not be gone from the board for long.] 28...Ka8 [29.Qxe6 d2! and Black will emerge with an extra rook.] 0:1
This game turned out to be the one that decided the championship. It was originally scheduled for Round 2, but was delayed. This had some influence on the game since Leonard dropped a half point to Mirani prior to this game. Therefore, he needed to try to win this game if he wanted to win the tournament. However, he chose a line where White wins two pawns, but has a worse position with little winning chances. Leonard had some experience playing this line against his computer, but was unfamiliar with my game against Alexander Ivanov . I recovered my pawns, but missed an opportunity for a large endgame advantage. I thought I still had a bit of an edge, but had to be careful about threats to my King, and the game soon became drawn.
1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Bc4 d6 5.Qf3 Nf6!? Once again I try the sacrificial approach.
6.e5 dxe5 7.dxe5 Nd5 8.Nxd5 cxd5 9.Bxd5 0-0 10.Bxb7 Qa5+ 11.c3 Bxb7 12.Qxb7 Na6 13.Nf3 I think Black is better after this move. Ivanov's treatment with 13. Qf3 is more testing. 13...Nc5 14.b4 Nxb7 Not 14...Nd3+? 15. Ke2 Nxc1+ 16. Rhxc1 and Black has insufficient compensation for his two pawns. 15.bxa5 Although White is two pawns up, I think Black is better. He is better developed and White has weaknesses all over the place, a5, c3, c4, d3, and e5. Plus, White's bishop lacks scope because it is being hemmed in by its own pawns.
15...Rfc8 I think this move is more accurate than 15...Nxa5 when after 16. Be3 coming to d4, White's position is solid as in the game Leko-Hamdouchi Cap d'Agle (France) 1994. 16.a6 White is trying to make Black waste alot of time to recover his material. 16...Nc5 17.0-0 Nd3 It looks like this is the first new move. Sinojew-Finkel Budapest 1993 continued 17...Ne4 and Black later won when White went wrong in a level ending. 18.Ba3 e6 Based on the tournament situation (Dickerson had already been nicked for a draw by Mirani) I considered 18...Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxe7 Bxc3 which is completely equal. However, the text move is better, Black does not need to be looking for ways to draw. 18...Kf8!? deserves attention as White's Bishop is denied the d6 square. 19.Bd6 Rxc3 20.Rab1 Bf8 Variations like 20...Nc5 21. Rfc1 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Nxa6 23. Rc6 or 20...Rc6 21. g3 Rxa6 22. Rfd1 show how Bd6 is White's best piece, so I decided to eliminate it. 20...Rac8 can be met by 21. Rb8. 21.Rb3 Now 21. Rb8 fails to 21...Rxb8 22. Bxb8 Bc5 21...Rac8 22.Rd1 Nf4 23.g3 Nd5 24.Kg2
24...R3c6 Better is 24...Rxb3 25. axb3 Bxd6 26. exd6 Rd8 when Black should be better because of White's weakened queenside. White can't reposition his knight at the end of this line via 27.Ne5 Rxd6 28. Nc4 because of 28...Nf4+ winning the exchange. 25.Bxf8 Rxf8 26.Ra3 Rb8 27.Nd4 Rc4 28.Rb3 Rd8 29.Rd2 Nb6 30.Rbd3 Rd5 31.Nf3 Ra4 32.Rxd5 Nxd5 33.h4 h6 34.Nd4 Rxa6 35.Nb5 Ra5 36.Rb2 h5 37.Nd4 Nc3 38.Nc6 Rxa2 1/2:1/2
Riza Berkan was the big suprise from this year's Championship cycle. The qualifying tournament was his first rated tournament. Nevertheless, he qualified comfortably, defeated US Postal Champion David Burris en route to a 2200+ provisional rating. My game with Riza was not particularly exciting. We swapped opening blunders and reached a typical Queen's Gambit Declined position. Riza did not come up with a good plan, accepting a very passive position. I did not conduct the maneuvering phase completely accurately, but Riza didn't take his one opportunity to try to get active and the result was just a matter of time.
From a curiosities point of view, this game is a bit interesting in that White plays Nh1 and Black plays ...Na8. This was the first time that this had occured simultaneously in one of my games, although the knights were not in the corners at the same time.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qc2 c6 7.e3 Ng4?! 8.Bxe7 Qxe7? For better or worse 8...Kxe7 had to be tried
9.Bd3? Simply 9. Nxd5 wins a pawn cleanly. There's really no excuse for missing this, especially since the point of White's early queen development is to prevent 7...Ne4 because of 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Nxd5. 9...Be6 10.Nge2 Nd7 11.h3 Ngf6 12.0-0 0-0 13.Ng3 Nb6 14.Rae1 Qd7 Black starts to flounder. Better is 14...Rad8 or Rfe8. 15.f3 Qc7 16.Qf2 Ne8 Black chooses passive defense. Again ...Rad8 is called for. 17.b3 g6 18.e4 Ng7 19.e5 f5 Much better is 19...f6. After the text White has a clear advantage because of his protected passed pawn and the bad bishop on e6.
20.f4 a6 21.Rc1 Qd7 22.Be2 Rab8 23.Qe3 Nc8 24.Na4 Qe7 25.Nc5 Na7 26.Nh1 Nb5 27.a4 Nc7 28.a5 A bit premature. Better is 28. b4 in order to keep the option of the b5 break. White should not be concerned with ...b6 which only weakens c6 and a6. 28...Rfe8 29.Nf2 Bd7 30.Nfd3 Nce6 31.Na4 The immediate 31.b4 is best. 31...Nc7 32.Bf3?! Giving Black an undeserved opportunity.
32...Be6?! Much better is 32...Nb5 intending Nd6-e4 with some activity. If 33. Qf2 then ...Nge6 picks off the d-pawn. 33.Ndc5 Bd7 34.Nb6 Be6 35.Rc2 Na8 36.Nba4 Bd7 37.Rfc1 Ne6 38.Nxe6 Bxe6 39.g3 Nc7 40.Be2 Bd7 41.Kh2 Ne6 42.Qd2 Kh8 43.b4 Rg8 44.Nc5 Nxc5 45.bxc5 Be6 46.Rb2 Ra8?! Misplacing the rook, but even after Rbe8, Black is eventually going to be done in by the g4 break. 47.Rcb1 Ra7 48.Qe3 Rc8 49.g4 Rc7 50.Qg3 Kg8 51.Bd3 Qf7 52.Rf1 Qg7 53.gxf5 gxf5 54.Qh4 Kh8 55.Qd8+ Bg8 56.Rg1 Qf7 57.Rxg8+ Qxg8 58.Qxc7 1:0
This was my first game in this year's Championship, however it was really round 3 since my first two games had been delayed. I was looking for revenge against Eric since he had beaten me in the qualifying tournament. It turned out that I was in the most trouble in all my games in this one. After some inaccurate moves in the middle game, I lost a pawn for little compensation, although the position was still tactical. Eric made a couple of inaccuracies that turned the tide in my favor.
1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Be3 d6 I had played 4...d5 in the qualifier. 5.Qd2 b5 6.a3 Nd7 7.h4 h5 8.f3 a6 9.Nh3 Nb6 10.b3 Bb7 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Ng5 Nf6 13.Bd3 Nfd7 The text is very ambitious. More solid is 13...e5 or 13...0-0. I had become enamored with the possibility of playing ...c5. 14.e5 Nf8 [14... dxe5 15.Bxg6 fxg6 16.Ne6 Qb8 (16... Qd6 17.Nxg7+ Kf7 18.Ne4) 17.Nxg7+ Kf7 White can save his knights in these lines with Bh6] 15.e6
15...Nxe6?! [15... fxe6 16.Bxg6+ Nxg6 17.Nxe6 Qd7 18.Nxg7+ Kf7 seems better for Black since the White knight is trapped.] 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Bxg6+ Kd7 18.Ne4 Bf6?! Better is 18...Raf8 in order to meet 19. Ng5 with Rf6. 19.Ng5 Bxg5 20.hxg5 I underestimated this simple recapture. 20...h4 21.Qf2 There is no need to collect the h-pawn right away. 21.Bf7 to get the g-pawn rolling would leave Black in difficulties. 21...Nd5 22.Bd2 h3 23.gxh3 Raf8 24.Be4 c5 Black cannot allow Bxd5 when his light squared Bishop would never again see the light of day.
25.Qg3? Eric was concerned about the tactics associated with ...Nc3 but overlooked that 25. dxc5 Nc3 could be met by 26. Bxc3 hitting the rook on h8. [25.dxc5 Nf4 26.Bxb7 Qxb7 27.Bxf4 Rxf4 28.cxd6 exd6 29.Rd3 e5 doesn't seem to be enough for the pawn.] 25...cxd4 26.g6 Rhg8 27.0-0 Ne3 28.Bxe3 dxe3
29.Bxb7? The final mistake. [29.Bd3 e2 (29... Qc5!?) 30.Bxe2 Qxc2 31.Bd3 Qxb3 should be better for Black, but at least White can still fight.] 29...e2 30.Be4 exf1=Q+ 31.Rxf1 d5 forcing a winning ending. 32.Qxc7+ Kxc7 33.Bd3 e5 White is helpless against 34...e4 winning the g6 pawn. 34.Kg2 e4 35.fxe4 Rxg6+ 36.Kh2 Rxf1 37.Bxf1 dxe4 38.Bg2 e3 39.Bf3 Kd6 40.Be2 Ke5 41.c3 Kf4 42.h4 Rc6 43.c4 bxc4 44.bxc4 Rb6 45.Kg2 Rb2 46.Kf1 Kg3 47.Bd3 Kf3 48.h5 Rd2 0:1
For the second consecutive year, and third time overall, I have won the Knoxville City Championship. I followed the same formula that had worked the other years of drawing the runner-up with Black and winning my other games. The Championship was a bit weaker than in other years since many stronger players have moved away or were unable to compete; only 3 players were rated over 2000. Nevertheless, the tournament was hardfought.
Unfortunately, for the second year running, we were unable to complete the full schedule. Two weeks were set aside for makeup games. I had two such games heading into the last week against David Skov and Leonard Dickerson. I hadn't made any effort to make these games up off-site since the makeup dates were available. When Haresh Mirani was unable to play the last week, that left me with 3 games to play in 2 weeks. Skov also had two games to play, but could not play one of the weeks. The tournament director, John Anthony, decided that Dickerson-Bereolos was the game that had to be played, since it decided first place, so Skov was forfeited against me. I think this was the wrong decision, and was still willing to play Skov off-site. (Indeed, that is what I did with Mirani, who could also not make the schedule make-up date). The other players agreed with this point of view, but Skov protested the unfair treatment he received by withdrawing from the tournmanent. We could not convince him to continue play and to try to make up his remaining games. Thus, he was forfeited in two games that his opponents had originally asked to be delayed. This is really not an acceptable resolution, I hope there will be more communication and a clearer policy about dealing with delays at our tournaments in the future.
As is my custom, I will annotate my games from the Championship for inclusion in the tournament book. I'll post them here, one per day, starting tomorrow. Finally, a bit of housekeeping. I switched the required tripod ad from a pop-up window (that many readers found annoying) to one embedded at the top of the page.
Pawn endgame authority Russell Linnemann points out a flaw in my analysis of the game Blocker-Figler. In the note to 3...g6, I state 4. g4 e5 is similar to the game. Similar, but not the same! White has a breakthrough with 5. f4! Kxe4 6. f5! gxf5 7. g5! hxg5 8. h5! (not 8. hxg5 Kd5 and the King is in the square of the pawn) and White wins. Instead, Russell and I looked at some lines with 3...g6 4. g4 Kd4 and it appears Black holds. I'm not going to include those variations here (although several of them are interesting) because...
Figler's 3...g5 was not a mistake! In my analysis I gave 4. hxg5 hxg5 5. e5 with the idea of 6. f4 winning. If we take this a little further though, 5...Kd4 6.f4 Ke4! 7. fxg5 (else gxf5) Kxe5! 8. g4 (else Kf5) Kd6 and Black holds. For example, 9. Kf3 Ke7 10. Kf4 Kf7 11. Ke5 Kg6=. Therefore, the question marks I assigned to ...g5 and h5 should be removed. Also, this is a good lesson to always question published analysis.
A very tricky pawn ending with the unusual feature that an active King was compensation for a pawn. Thanks to Nick Barber and John Anthony for additional help with the analysis.
It looks like my NedStat counter broke (again). Must be all the traffic. I added a more traditional counter, but it doesn’t give the detailed reporting NedStat did and also lets me just sit and click refresh if I wanted. Any recommendations for a good counter with statistics? I’d also like to welcome to my latest partner, remarq.com. They have online access to the newsgroups like rec.games.chess.misc. I need to figure out how to get the banner to take you directly to r.g.c.m and the other chess groups. For now, clicking the link will take you to the games area.
Now, on to the chess! I’d like to discuss an ending I witnessed at the Kings Island Open. It was the last round game between IM Calvin Blocker and Ilya Figler. I didn’t see the very end of the game, but I know it ended in a draw. The moves I did see played offer some food for analytical thought.
From the diagramed position, Black played 1...Nd3+!? Despite being a pawn down, Black heads for the K+P ending, hoping his active K will offset his pawn deficit. 2. Nxd3 Kxd3 3. h4 g5? This seems to fail fairly simply. 3...g6!? is interesting. Then, if 4.g4 e5 is similar to the game and 4. h5 g5 5. e5 Kd4 6. f4 gxf4 7. gxf4 Ke4 8. Kg3 lets Black have the trick 8...Kf5= so it looks like White must try 4. e5 Kd4 5. f4 h5 when Black has the opposition. It is not clear to me that White can make progress. 6. Kf3 Kd3 7. g4 Kd4 8. g5 Kd5 and Black again has the opposition and White is out of waiting moves. 4.h5? 4.hxg5 hxg5 5.e5 and 6. f4 seems to be a straightforward win since the stalemate trick is gone. 4...e5 This is all I saw of the game. I wonder if Calvin had the same illusion I did that he now could play 5. f4 and on 5...gxf4 6. g3-g5!!? Unfortunately for White, pawns can only move two squares on their first move and 6. g4 lets Black bring his King back in time with 6...Kxe4. Moving the King on the 5th move allows 5...Ke3 which is no help, so that seems to leave 5. g4 as the only try. However, that takes away any breakthrough and Black can keep the opposition with 5...Kd4 6. Ke2 Kc4 7. Ke3 Kc3 since 8. f4 still fails because Black takes 8...exf4+ with check.
I've added some banners between the daily entries that will take you to the about.com chess site. Check it out, it is a fairly comprehensive set of chess links with a human guide maintaining it.
I've gotten some positive feedback on the Q+P endings that I've presented, so I'm going to try to feature more endgames. Probably the most important class of endings is R+P endings, so I'm going to start examining some R+P endings from my tournament experience. Rook and pawn endings are important because of their frequency. The rooks start in the corners and generally need open files to be traded, so they are often the last to be traded. Pure R+P endings have occurred in over 13% of my tournament games so you can see how significant they are. That doesn't even include endings where other pieces are present or R vs. minor piece endings.
I'm going to try to start with simple endings and build to more complex ones. I'd also recommend studying the R+P endings of strong players such as Jose Raul Capablanca, Ulf Andersson, and Viktor Korchnoi. Also, players such as Alekhine, Fischer, Karpov, and Kasparov are strong R+P endgame players although they are generally not noted for it since they are strong in so many phases of the game.
I'm going to assume the reader has some familiarity with concepts such as the Lucena and Philidor positions, which are the building blocks of all R+P endings, and start with slightly more complex endings. Of course, most of these evolved out of more complex R+P endings, but I'll pick up those positions at a later date. The goal to work towards is to be able to win the endings where you have an advantage and draw the endings where you have a disadvantage. Those extra half points will add up to better results, more rating points, etc.
The first rook ending I'll discuss shows how even simple positions can offer ways to go wrong. I had White against Terrence Lee at the 4th Battle of Murfreesboro and just captured Black's last pawn with 66.Rxh5+ .
66...Kg8 67.Rg5+ Kf8 67...Kh8 or Kh7 also hold. Black is now threatening to achieve the Philidor position with 68...Ra6+ 68.Rg6 Ra6+ 69.Kg5 Ra5 Of course not 69...Rxg6+? 70.Kxg6! with a winning pawn ending. The text is playable, but I'd prefer the immediate 69...Ra1. 70.Rb6 Kg8? Heading towards the "short side" but the rook is out of play. 70...Ra1 is a draw. If 71.Kf6, only then 71...Kg8! or 71.Kg6 Rg1+ 72.Kf6 Kg8! 71.Kg6 The mate threat gains White the tempo he needs. Kf8 72.f6 Ra8 73.Rb7 Ke8 74.Kg7 1:0
I've archived the November 1999 material and added my 4 games in 1999 to the GM section. These games cover my super Sunday at Land of the Sky when I drew with Ivanov and Yermolinsky, my loss to Joel Benjamin at the Chicago Open, and my draw with Shabalov at the World Open. In the latter game there is an interesting point where I could have tried to consolidate my extra pawn with Nf1. I analyzed this some with Nick Barber and it looked like White could unwind. I'll try to post some of that analysis at some point and would welcome other independent analysis of that position.
I've also come to the conclusion that the semi-infinite board problem (12/2/99) is a win for white, but I haven't determined the minimum number of moves. Here's my solution, I think this is close to best play for Black: 1.Kb1 Kd4 2.Re2 Kd5 3.Kc2 Kd6 4.Kd3 Kd7 5.Re11 Kd8 6.Ke4 Kd9 7.Kf5 Kd10 8.Rj11 Ke10 10.Kg6 Kf10 11.Kh7 Kg10 12.Ki8 Kh10 13.Kj9 and the Black King is boxed in and slowly squeezed back to the corner e.g., 13...Kh9 14.Ri11 Kh10 15.Kj10 Kh9 16.Ri10 Kg9 17.Ki9 Kf9 18.Kh9 Kf8 19.Rf10+ Ke9 20.Kg9 Ke8 21.Rf9 Ke7 22.Rf8 Ke6 23.Kg8 Ke7 24.Kg7 Ke6 25.Rf7 Ke5 26.Rf6 Ke4 27.Kg6 Kd4 28.Re6 Kd5 29.Kf5 Kd4 30.Re5 Kd3 31.Re4 Kd2 32.Kf4 Kd3 33.Kf3 Kd2 34.Re3 Kd1 35.Rd3+ Kc2 36.Ke2 Kc1 37.Rc3+ Kb2 38.Kd2 Kb1 39.Rb3+ Ka1 40.Kc2 Ka2 41.Rz3 8-) Ka1 42.Ra3#. I think the same technique will work from any starting postion unless it is Black to play and capture the rook. Of course some of those positions will take an infinite number of moves to win since the Black King could start an infinite number of squares from the White King. Another remaining question is if Black's play can be strengthened enough from my solution to enable the fifty move rule.
I'll continue my discussion of queen and pawn endings in practice (see Kasparov-World October 1999, Bereolos-Mikuta 10/13/99, and the almost queen and pawn ending Bereolos-Wohl 11/18/99) with the ending of my game against Ronald Burnett from the 1986 US Junior Open. I think this ending really illustrates the difficulties in practice for both sides in the Q+P vs Q ending. We'll pick it up after 61. e8Q, the start of the pure Q+P vs. Q ending. This game actually had been a queen ending for some time except for a brief pawn race after queens were exchanged just prior to this position.
This ending should be a straightforward win for Black since his King is in good position to assist and receive shelter from his pawn and his queen can be easily centralized. 61...Qg2+ 62.Kf7 62.Kf8 would prevent further checks by Black, but would take away the crucial h8 square from the White queen after 62...f3. 62...f3? A very poor move that severely limits the queen's scope. Black should first play Qd5+ centralizing the queen. Now white should be able to draw by perpetual check. 63.Qh8+! The right check. Other checks would allow Black to correct his mistake and interpose with the queen. 63...Kg3 64.Qe5+ Kf2 65.Qd4+ Ke2 66.Qb2+ Ke3 67.Qc3+ Ke4 68.Qc4+ Kf5 69.Qd5+ Kg4 70.Qd4+ Kf5 71.Qd5+ Kf4 72.Qd4+ Kg3 73.Qe5+ Kf2 74.Qd4+ Ke1 75.Qc3+ Kd1 76.Qd3+ Kc1 This attempt goes nowhere. Black should keep his King closer to the queen and pawn to give White more chances to go wrong. 77.Qc3+ Kb1 78.Qb3+ Ka1 79.Qc3+ Of course not 79.Qa3+ Qa2+ -+. 79...Kb1 80.Qb3+ Ka1 81.Qc3+ Ka2 82.Qa5+ Kb1 83.Qe1+ Kc2 84.Qe4+ Kb3 85.Qd3+ Kb2 86.Qd4+ Kb3 87.Qd3+ Kb2 88.Qd4+ Kc1 89.Qc3+ Kd1 90.Qd3+ Ke1 91.Qc3+ Kf1 92.Qc1+ Kf2 93.Qd2+?
Black's persistence finally pays off. Correct was 93.Qc5+! keeping Black from the g1 square. Now Black will be able to use his queen and pawn to escape the checks. 93...Kg1! 94.Qe1+ Qf1 Better is the immediate Kh2, when the checks will soon come to an end. e.g., [94... Kh2 95.Qh4+ Qh3 96.Qf2+ Kh1 97.Qe1+ Kg2-+] 95.Qg3+ Kh1 96.Qh4+ Kg2 97.Qg5+ Kf2 98.Qc5+ Kg3 99.Qg5+ Kh2 100.Qf4+ Kg2 101.Qg4+ Kf2 102.Qd4+ Ke2 103.Qc4+ Ke1 104.Qc1+ Kf2 105.Qc5+ Kg2 106.Qg5+ Kh1 107.Qh4+ Kg1 108.Qg3+ Qg2 109.Qe1+ Repeating the position from move 94. This time I find the correct plan but it turns out to be a little late. 109...Kh2 110.Qh4+ Qh3 111.Qf2+ Kh1 112.Qe1+ Kg2
Ron claimed the 50 move rule just when I finally escaped the checks! Black is now winning although it still takes some technique. [113.Qe4 Qh5+ 114.Ke7 Kg3 115.Qd3 Qe5+ 116.Kd8 Qb8+ 117.Ke7 Qb4+ 118.Ke6 Qf4 119.Kd7 Kg2 120.Qg6+ Qg3 121.Qe4 Kh2-+] 1/2:1/2
There was some discussion at the chess club last night about problems on infinite boards. I finally remembered the "unsolved" problem of this nature. Can a rook and a king mate a king on a semi-infinite board (a1 is the only corner) starting from the position W: Ka1 Rb2 B: Kc3.