The Results from the Kickoff Competition!

The long awaited results have finally arrived in the form of an Armageddon game between the two co-winners, Jerry Ling and Kunal Roy, where, unfortunately, only one can win.

For those of you who don't know, an Armageddon game is a game where Black has draw odds, but White has more time. The time control in this game was five minutes for white, and four minutes for black.

After drawing, it was determined that Jerry Ling had the white pieces, while Kunal Roy had the black pieces.

On to the game:

Ling, Jerry--Roy, Kunal
16.06.2009
Annotations are by Alex Guo
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6



I'm not an expert on the Sicilian Defense, but I read somewhere that White should wait for Black to play ...a6 before playing Nxc6. That way, Black's later move ...a6 in some lines would become totally useless and become a wasted tempo. 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bf4 Nf6 Qf6 is worth considering. 7.Nc3 Qa5 8.e5?!



Slightly inaccurate, as it unnecessarily gives Black the d5 square. Qd2 and Bd3 are more playable options. Nxc3 11.Bxc3






11...Bxc3+?? No offense, Jerry, but 11...Qe5 totally kills Jerry Ling. Kunal, I think the reason why you missed this was because, as black, you were going for a draw, which, as a rule, is a terrible idea. Always play for a win. Well, at least most of the time. 12.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 13. bxc3 0-0 14.Bd3 Rb8 15.c4 Rd8 16.c5 Rb4 17.Kd2 Ra4 18.h4



Hehe. Jerry, this is a really desperate attempt which should NOT have worked. Ba6 19.h5 Bxd3 20.cxd3 Rb8 21. Kc3 Rbb4?! An inaccurate move. In response to a baoynet attack like the kind Jerry's doing, it always pays to push that weak flank pawn one square in order to preserve your pawn structure. In this case, not doing it proved to be kinda bad. 22.h6





22...gxh6 23.Rxh6 Kg7?? A gross blunder, which is enough for a good player to win. 23...Rh4 was imperative in order to kill that active rook. 24.Rah1 Rg4 25.Rxh7+ Kf8 26.Kh8+ Ke7??



Death bodes for the Black monarch now. 26...Rg8 was necessary for survival. 27.Kb3 Raf4 28.Ra8 This move should have been played a move earlier. Ra4 29.Rhh8 f5 Desperation. White to move and mate in two.


30.Rhf8?? Needless to say, no the most accurate move. But it serves the same purpose just as well. d5 31.exd6+ Kd7 32.Rf7#



Kunal, I think your aim for a draw in the beginning stopped you from winning early. Then, you underestimated Jerry's kinside thrust and payed dearly for it. In the end, you panicked a lot and as a result, you missed several ways to prolong the game. And Jerry, all I can say is that you were extremely lucky. But then again, Karpov once said that "The good chess player is always lucky" :D