Black wins the pawnstorm race.

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. f3 O-O 6. Qd2 Re8 7. Bh6 Bh8 8. Bc4 c6 9. O-O-O b5 10. Bb3 a5 11. a3 11. a4 Qc7 11... Na6 12. Nb1 12. e5!? is an interesting alternative. 12... Nh5 13. g4= 12... a4 13. Ba2 Qb6 14. Be3? 14. c3 shores up the King position. 14... Bd7 The vigorous 14... b4! amplifies Black's attack. 15. Qd3 Nd5! 16. Bxd5 (16. exd5 Bf5 kicks the Q, followed by ...b3 getting at least the piece back) 16... cxd5 and Black has all the play. 15. g4? White is already too late. 15. c3 15... b4! 16. Bc4 Reb8 17. Qd3 c5 17... Nc7 18. axb4 d5 picks on the ungainly B. 18. e5 bxa3 18... d5! turns Black's pawns into an angry mob. 19. Qxa3 Ne8 20. h4 Bb5 20... Qc7! is a simple yet effective way to blast open the c-file and/or h8-a1 diagonal. 21. Bxb5 Qxb5 22. Nc3 Qb4 23. h5 dxe5?! 24. hxg6 fxg6 25. Nd5?! 25. dxc5= 25... Qxa3 26. bxa3 Rb7? 26... cxd4 gladly gives up the weak e7 pawn to get White's influential Pd4. 27. Bg5? 27. dxc5 . "If you won't take it, I will!" Miserliness is so important in chess; this one simple capture puts White in the driver's seat for the first time in the game. 27... Nf6 28. dxe5? 28. Bxf6 exf6 29. dxe5 fxe5 30. g5 28... Nxd5 29. Rxd5 e6 30. Rd8+? Trading one of your two developed pieces can't be good. 30... Rxd8 31. Bxd8 Bxe5 White may either lose his Bishop, or grant his opponent a killer passed a-pawn. 32. Ne2 Bb2+ 33. Kb1 Bf6+ 34. Kc1 Bxd8 0-1 [RM+Fritz 9 (120s)]

White's better developed pieces carry the day.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 Nf6 5. Bxc4 Bb4 6. f3 6. e5 Nd5 7. Nge2 c5 8. O-O is 'book'. 6... O-O 7. Nge2 a6 8. a3 Ba5?! 8... Be7 9. O-O 9. Bg5 takes advantage of Black's last move. The pin is annoying. 9... b5 10. Ba2 Bb6 11. Kh1 c6?! Black ends up in trouble later because he never develops his Queenside properly. 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 g5 14. Bg3 Nh5 15. Bf2 Kh7 Black wishes to play f5, but the opening of the Kingside favors White, who is better developed. 16. Qc2 f5 17. exf5 The simple 17. Rad1 highlights the deficiency of Black's strategy. He doesn't dare open the b1-h7 diagonal, or White's Q and B will come after him. 17... exf5 18. Rad1 Qf6 19. Bb1 Nd7 This N bottles up the Bc8 and Ra8. 19... Ra7 and ...Be6 is a better plan to develop. 20. Rfe1 Ng7 21. Ng3 Ra7 2b2r2/r2n2nk/pbp2q1p/1p3pp1/3P4/P1N2PN1/1PQ2BPP/1B1RR2K w - - 0 22 22. d5! A well timed advance. 22... Bxf2 Unfortunately for Black, 22... cxd5 is crushed by 23. Nxd5 Qg6 24. Nxf5 Nxf5 25. Ne7 . 23. Qxf2 c5 24. d6 Kh8 25. Nd5 Qd8 25... Qxd6 26. Ne7 Qf6 27. Ngxf5 Nxf5 28. Nxf5 and there is no defense to 29.Rd6. 26. Ne7 Rf6 27. Nc6 Qb6 28. Nxa7 Qxa7 29. b4 Qb6 30. bxc5 Nxc5 31. Rc1 Re6 32. Rxe6 Ngxe6 33. Bxf5 Qxd6 34. Bxe6 Nd3 35. Rxc8+ Kh7 36. Qa7+ Kg6 37. Qf7# 1-0 [RM+Fritz 9 (120s)]

Black punishes his opponent for making bad trades.

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. O-O Nf6 6. d3 g6 7. Nbd2 Bg7 8. Nb3 Nd7 last book move 9. e3 O-O 10. exd4 cxd4 11. Nh4 e5 12. Bxc6? Exchanges the defender of the K-side light squares. 12... bxc6 13. Nf3 c5 14. Bg5 Qc7 15. Re1 Bb7 16. Bd2 a5! Denies this square to the wN. 17. a4 Rfe8 17... Qc6 nails the N down and prevents White from coordinating a defense. 18. Kg2 Qb6 followed by a big pawn roller with ...f5 and ...e4. r3r1k1/1bqn1pbp/6p1/p1p1p3/P1Pp4/1N1P1NP1/1P1B1P1P/R2QR1K1 w - - 0 18 18. Nxa5? Trades two of his most active pieces. White spends the rest of the game helplessly waiting for the central pawn roller. 18... Rxa5 19. Bxa5 Qxa5 20. Nd2 Qa8 21. f3 Bh6 22. Rf1 Be3+ 23. Kg2 f5 24. h4 Nf6 25. Rf2 Ng4 26. Rf1 Bxd2 27. Qxd2 Ne3+ 28. Kg1 Nxf1 29. Rxf1 Bxf3 30. b3 e4 31. Re1 e3 32. Qa2 Bg4 33. Qg2 Qf3 34. Qxf3 Bxf3 and Black had little trouble winning the endgame. 0-1 [RM+Fritz 9 (120s)]

Torres' last opponent narrowly missed an upset draw.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 d5 6. cxd5 O-O?! 7. dxe6 Bxe6 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. e3 c6 10. Bd3?! 10. Qa4 keeps bQ out of a5. 10... Qa5 11. Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12. Kf1 Bc4! Inferior is 12... gxf6 13. Ne2 . 13. Bxc4 13. Be7?? Bxd3+ 14. Ne2 Qb2! leaves the wQ badly overworked. 13... Qxc4+ 14. Ne2 Nxf6 15. Rc1 Qa6 16. a4 Nd5 17. Kg1 b5 18. axb5 cxb5 19. h3 Rfc8 20. Kh2 Qd6+ 21. g3 b4 21... Rxc1 with the idea of keeping a Rook behind a passed pawn. 22. e4 Instead, 22. Rxc8+ Rxc8 23. Qa4 prepares to blockade the pawns. 22... Nc3?! Why break up the connected passed pawns? 23. Nxc3 Rxc3 24. Rxc3 bxc3 25. Qd3 Rc8 26. Rc1 Qc6 27. Rc2 g6 28. d5 Qb6 With White's d-pawn getting ever stronger, Black's winning chances are fading. It was time for him to start playing for a draw. 28... Qc4 29. d6 a5 30. d7 30. Qd5 prepares the advance of the e-pawn. 30... Rd8 31. Rxc3 Qb7 Black has nothing better than 31... Qxf2+ 32. Kh1 Rxd7 33. Rc8+ Kg7 34. Qxd7 Qf1+ with a perpetual. 32. Rb3 Qa7 33. Kg2 Rxd7 34. Qb5 Rd4?? Too bad. Aft er holding his own against a very much higher rated player, Black collapses. 35. Qe8+ Kg7 36. Rb8 Rd2 37. Qf8+ 37. Qh8+ removes Black's option to play ...f5 later on. 37... Kh6 38. Qf8+ Kg5 39. Rb5+ and now if 39... f5? 40. Rxf5+ gxf5 41. Qxf5+ Kh6 42. Qf6+ Kh5 43. g4# 37... Kf6 38. Qh8+ Ke6? Shortens the misery for Black. 38... Kg5 39. Rb5+ f5 40. h4+ Kh6 41. Rxf5 Qg7 39. Re8+ Qe7 40. Rxe7+ and White won. 1-0 [RM+Fritz 9 (120s)]

An instructive Rook ending where both sides miss chances.

1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 Nf6 3. Bxf6 exf6 4. e3 Bd6 5. Bd3 O-O 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. c3 Bg4 8. Nbd2 Qd7 9. Qc2 h6 10. h3 Be6 11. O-O-O a6 12. e4 b5 13. exd5 Bxd5 14. Ne4 14. Bh7+ Kh8 15. Bf5 is a bit better. 14... Bxa2!? Not as bad as it looks at first sight, but White should still emerge with the edge. r4rk1/2pq1pp1/p1nb1p1p/1p6/3PN3/ 2PB1N1P/bPQ2PP1/2KR3R w - - 0 15 15. Nxd6 White really does nab the Bishop after 15. b3! Ba3+ 16. Kd2 f5 17. Nc5! Bxc5 18. dxc5 Rad8 19. Kc1 , although Black has two pawns as compensation. 15... Qxd6 16. b3 Qa3+ 17. Qb2 Qxb3 18. Be4 Na5 19. Bxa8 Rxa8 20. Qxb3 Bxb3 21. Rde1 Bd5 22. Re7 c6 23. Rhe1 Be6 An interesting plan is 23... Kf8 , defending the e-file, followed by ...Nc4 and the advance of the a-pawn. 24. Nd2 Kf8 25. Rc7 Ke8 26. Kc2?! 26. Rxe6+ and White can hope to survive 26... fxe6 27. Rxg7 26... Kd8 27. Rxe6 fxe6? 27... Kxc7 gets the K into play while maintaining an extra pawn. 28. Re7+ Kb6 29. Rxf7 Ra7 28. Rxg7 Rc8 29. Rg6 29. Ne4 brings yet another piece to pawn-pick. 29... Ke7? 29... c5 is the most accurate response. If White wants to trade Rooks, he can't pick up the h6 pawn. 30. Rxh6 c5 31. Rh7+ Kd8 32. dxc5? 32. Rh8+! Kd7 33. Rxc8 Kxc8 34. dxc5 and the h-pawn is very dangerous. 32... Rxc5 33. Ne4 Rf5 33... Re5 34. Ra7 Nc4 35. Rxa6 Kd7 35... Rf4 36. Rxe6 f5 37. Ng3 Rxf2+ 38. Re2 36. g4 Rf4 37. Nc5+ Ke7 38. Rxe6+ Kf7 39. Re2 Rf3 40. Nb3 40. Kb3 Rxh3 41. Kb4 Ne5 40... Rxh3 40... Na3+ and White must undefend c3 to get out of check. 41. Nd4 Ne5 42. Nxb5 Nxg4 43. Nd6+ Kg6 44. c4 Ne5 45. c5 Nc6 46. Kd2 Rh5 46... Nd4 wins the c-pawn. 47. Nb7 Nd4 48. Re3 Rf5 48... Rh7 ; Black must watch the c-pawn closely. 49. f3 49. Rg3+ forces the enemy K to the h-file. White's K can run to f1 to evade N checks, then Rc3 'breathes life into the passed pawn', as Nimzovich would say. 49... Nxf3+ 50. Kd3 Ne5+ 51. Kd4 Rf1 52. Kd5 Rc1 53. Ra3 Rb1 54. Nd6 Kg5 55. Rc3 Rd1+ 56. Ke6 Re1? Black will likely draw after 56... Nd3 57. c6 Re1+ and sacks the N for the c6 pawn. 57. Nf7+! Nxf7+ 58. Kxf7 Ra1 59. Ke6? Throwing away a tempo in an ending like this is the difference between winning and drawing. 59. c6 wins easily. Black must cough up his Rook to stop the pawn, and his own pawn has not advanced far enough to garner a draw. 59... Ra6+ 60. c6 f5 61. Kd7? This move finally blows it. The only winning chance is to keep the King close to both pawns, e.g. 61. Ke5 with excellent chances for White. 61... f4 62. Kc7 Ra8 63. Kb7 Rh8 64. Rd3 Kg4 65. Rd7 f3 66. c7 f2 67. Rd8 Rh7 68. Rg8+ Kf3 69. Rf8+ Ke2 1/2-1/2 [RM+Fritz 9 (120s)]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O e6 6. Re1 Nge7 7. d3 O-O 8. c3 Qc7 9. Qc2 d5 10. Be3 b6 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. d4 12. Rad1 Rad8 13. Nb3 e5= 12... cxd4 13. cxd4 Rac8 14. Rac1 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nd5 16. Nc3 Nxe3 17. fxe3 Black gets the Bishop Pair; White gets support for the d4 pawn. 17... Ne7 18. Qd2 Qd7 19. Qd3 Nd5 20. e4 2r2rk1/pb1q1pbp/1p2p1p1/3n4/3PP3/2NQ1NP1/PP4BP/2R1R1K1 b - - 0 20 Removing support from the d4 pawn turns out very badly for white. White should be looking to keep the draw in hand beginning with the exchange of knights on d5. It would have been a much tougher fight with White pawns left on e3 and d4. 20. Nxd5 Bxd5= 20... Nb4 21. Qd2 Nc6 22. e5 Ne7 Black's excellent use of this Knight makes a good impression throughout the rest of the game. It is headed for f5 to put pressure on the backward d4 pawn. 23. Rf1 23. Rcd1= putting extra protection on the backward d4 pawn. 23... Nf5 23... Bxf3 24. Rxf3 Bxe5 25. Rd3 and White is a pawn down, but if he can reach an endgame with opposite color Bishops - Who knows? 24. Rcd1 Rc4 25. b3 Bxf3 This move has "shock value" and White does not find the best reply. 26. Bxf3? 26. bxc4 Bh6 27. Qb2 Bxd1 28. Rxd1 My rating after this variation would be "" because after 28... Be3+ , the White pawn on d4 is dead meat! With two isolated pawns (and the e5 pawn looks very shaky) White's game goes down hill. 26... Rxd4 27. Qc1?! Once the e5 pawn goes, Black can use the cliche: "It's just a matter of technique." 27... Bxe5 Fritz likes 27...Rc8 better but that does not mean that 27...Bxe5 winning a pawn and bringing Black's Bishop into action does not also win. It just takes a bit longer. 28. Kf2 Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Qc7 30. g4 30. Ne2 30... Qc5+ 31. Kg2 Black's dinner table is set with spoon and knife. Black's Knight will provide the fork! 31. Ke2 only allows the continued pretty dance by the black Knight. 31... Nd4+ 32. Kf2 Nc2+ 33. Ke2 Qxc3 34. Be4 Nd4+ , etc. 31... Ne3+ 32. Kh3 Nxd1 33. Bxd1 We say goodbye to Black's valiant dancing Knight, which has more than earned its keep thisgame! 33... Qxc3+ At this point, White plays on by inertia in a hopeless position. 34. Qxc3 Bxc3 35. Kh4 Bf6+ 36. Kg3 Rd8 0-1 [Art Byers and Fritz 9]