(1) Nick Manley - Ray Birt
Westport Open Westport Flea Market (3), 22.09.2007



1.e4 d6
This is what you play when someone has played a gazillion games against you in your 1...e5 and 1...e6 stuff. I really don't know this system, though a lot of people play it, so I know a few things to do against it.

2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3
A dose of my own medicine. I know this line pretty well as White, so my gamble may pay off, I thought. I really feared the Classical Nf3 line, since I'm really at sea with that.

4...Nbd7 5.Qd2 c6 6.Nf3
6. Bd6 is a little more precise, leaving the option for f3 still open.Notice how I'm taking my time to put the B on g7. Once there, it gets the Bh6 treatment.

6...b5 7.Bd3 Qc7 8.d5
Not really the most apt move, since it opens the long diagonal. If he was waiting for me to play cxd5 so he could play Nxb5, that was unrealistic.

8...a6 9.dxc6 Qxc6 10.Nd4 Qc7
The net result of the exchange has been the reduction of tension in the center and the opening of lines on the Queen-side.

11.0-0-0 Nc5 12.f3 Nxd3+ 13.Qxd3 Bg7
Now that the Q&B aren't lined up on that diagonal, I can take time for this.

14.Qd2 Bd7 15.Kb1 b4 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Qc4 18.Ne2
White's position is getting creaky. The poor pawn on d5 is a worthless target that needs defending. And the d7B now has f5 for a home.

18...0-0 19.h4
Maybe 19. g4 would have kept more trouble at bay. However, Black still has the a-b pawn duo to charge in with and e6 is another option. My opening strategy has paid off by forcing my opponent into unfamiliar positions where the options are unclear and the judgment as to whether to go for a draw or push on for the win is difficult at best.

19...Rfc8 20.h5
There is no time for this. c2 is overloaded and about to collapse.

20...Bf5 21.Rc1 b3
The diagonals to the King are murder. If axb3, Qxb3.

22.Nc3 bxa2+ 23.Nxa2 Rab8
23...Qb3 looks like a quicker route. If then Nc3 Bxc3.

24.b4 a5
Give this a "?" since Qb3 is the mate I was angling for all along. Now I have to bludgeon him into submission.

25.Rcg1 Bxc2+ 26.Kc1 Qxa2 27.Qf2 Ba4+ 28.Bc5 Qxf2
As the Borg say: "Resistance is Useless!" The King is in a kill box.

29.hxg6 Qc2# 0-1