[Event "Idaho Closed Championship"] [Site "Twin Falls (ID)"] [Round "5"] [White "Vandenburg Richard S (ID)"] [Black "Buckendorf Glen (ID)"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [Opening "Modern: Geller System"] 1. e4 {Notes by Richard S. Vandenburg.} g6 {A Buckendorf favorite these days.} 2. d4 Bg7 3. c3 d6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 e5 6. dxe5 Nxe5 7. Nxe5 Bxe5 8. Qd5 {!} Be6 {? Logical looking but not best. White as playing wide-open chess, hoping for a break. Buckendorf, after several very tough games, seems tired and is not up to top form. Both players misplayed the last few moves of the game, an interesting ending which deserves study.} 9. Qxb7 Ne7 {9 ...Bxc4 doesn't help after 10 Qc6+.} (9... Bxc4 10. Qc6+ Kf8 11. Qxc4) 10. Bxe6 fxe6 11. Qb5+ c6 12. Qe2 O-O 13. Bh6 {White really has a good solid position besides being a pawn ahead.} Rf7 14. Qg4 {?} Qb6 {! White loses most of his advantage through hurring and being too eager.} 15. Qe2 Rb8 16. b3 Qc7 {Black seems content with lousing up White's Queenside. More forceful play here may have gotten the pawn back, at least.} 17. Qc2 d5 18. Nd2 c5 19. Nf3 Bh8 20. Rc1 {At last, White is back in the clear.} dxe4 21. Qxe4 Nf5 22. Be3 {White can't play 22 Bf4 here to win the pawn.} Nxe3 23. Qxe3 Rbf8 24. Qxe6 {!!} Qd8 25. O-O Re8 26. Qc4 Bg7 27. Rfe1 Ref8 28. Ne5 Bxe5 29. Rxe5 Kh8 {The pin of the R to the K really hurt Black.} 30. Re2 Rd7 31. Rce1 Rd2 32. Rxd2 Qxd2 33. Qe2 {White can afford to give a pawn back because of superior R position. Also, even one pawn ahead at this point might easily yeald victory.} Qxc3 34. Qe5+ Qxe5 35. Rxe5 Rd8 {No! This logical move wastes a move and allows White to take care of the mating threat.} 36. g3 Rc8 37. Re7 a5 38. Ra7 c4 39. bxc4 Rxc4 40. Rxa5 Kg7 41. h4 h6 42. Kg2 Kf6 43. a4 g5 44. hxg5+ hxg5 45. Ra8 Kf5 {Being two pawns down, should Black continue? Durkin says yes and it almost pays off. If White now plays 46 a5? the game would be drawn: i.e., 46 a5 Rc2 47 a6 Kg4 48 a7 Ra2 and White has no moves that don't lose a pawn or draw. Other variations lead to similar troubles.} 46. Ra5+ Kg6 47. Kh3 Rc2 48. Kg4 Rc4+ 49. f4 gxf4 50. gxf4 Rc1 51. Ra6+ Kf7 52. Kg5 Rg1+ 53. Kf5 Rf1 54. Ra7+ Kf8 55. Ke5 Re1+ 56. Kf6 Ke8 57. a5 Rf1 58. f5 Kd8 59. a6 Kc8 60. Re7 Kb8 61. a7+ {?} Ka8 {White's 61st move was terrible as it gets Black's K into the corner where it can't move. 61 Re6, instead, would win easily. (Executive Editor's note: The a-pawn is irrelevant to White's winning procedure: 61 a7+! Ka8 62 Re8+! Kxa7 63 Rc8 and Black should finally resign as his K is cut off by four files from the pawn.)} 62. Kg6 Rxf5 {?! Black made his move too quickly. White hadn't even noticed the threat of stalemate up until this point. Had the game progressed as follows, it might have been a draw -- 62 Kg6 Rg1+ 63 Kf7 Rf8 64 f6 Rxf6+! and draw. Even without taking the pawn, Black can still draw by merely placing his R besides White's K and checking him regardless of where he puts his K. If White should ever take the R, it is an automatic draw. White could still have won, even after move 62, however, regardless of Black's play, if White played correctly, that is, as follows: 62 Kg6 Rg1+ 63 Kf6 Rf8 64 Ke5 and Black cannot now get an immediate free check giving White time to get loose. If, instead, White played to f7 and e8, Black's checks would take their toll. In this case, it almost brought a draw and would have kept Glen's record of not being beaten by an Idaho player in eight years intact. (Eugene L. Cowan: Okay, I agree in principle; yet Glen resigns after the loss of the R -- it all still depends upon what is hopeless!) (Executive Editor's note: White still can win after 62 Kg6 Rg1+ 63 Kf7 Rf1 64 Re8+ Kxa7 64 f6 Kb7 65 Rd8.)} (62... Rg1+ 63. Kf7 Rf1 64. f6 Rxf6+) 63. Re8+ {#r} 1-0