Bob Kratzat forced a perpetual check in game three of the Club Championship Match on Tuesday by sacrificing his knight with 23…Nxe4 +. The match remains tied and game four will decide the 2016 club champion. Mr. Prieto requires only a draw to secure his third club title. Mr. Kratzat must win the game. Mr. Prieto entered the match with draw odds based upon his higher seed and a regular season club record of +25-1=7, superior to Mr. Kratzat’s record of +16-8=8. Mr. Prieto seemed passive in the Nimzo-Indian Defense. The move 5. Ne2, a Rubinstein Variation allowed Mr. Kratzat’s strategic 5… Ne4 invasion. The move restricted White’s movement and coordination while Black was snuggly castled and ready to either attack or develop his queenside. A flurry of trades left Mr. Kratzat with tempo to active his queen bishop. Mr. Prieto now seemed fixed on using his queenside pawns to restrict Black s queenside sector development, which left White’s kingside pieces on their home squares and eventually blocked from entering the fray. This writer is puzzled with Black’s choice of 11…dxc4 rather than 11…Bb7, a piece move that gains tempo. The continuing surprise is that White recaptured using the Queen rather than 12. Bxc4, which would develop the king bishop and allow castling. At this point Black easily continued his development while White continued his queenside pawn push. By the time Black’s queenside pieces were deployed, White was still struggling with his Kingside development. The time it took White to overcome his kingside paralysis allowed Black to start his attack.
[pgn]
[Event “WCC 2016 Championship Match”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “2016.12.07”]
[Round “2.3”]
[White “Prieto, Adolfo”]
[Black “Kratzat, Robert”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “E46”]
[WhiteElo “1906”]
[BlackElo “1710”]
[PlyCount “53”]
[EventDate “2016.12.07”]
[EventType “match”]
[EventRounds “4”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 Ne4 6. Qc2 d5 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8.
Nxc3 Nxc3 9. Qxc3 b6 10. b4 ({…developing a piece and opening the oportunity
to castle.} 10. Bd3 a5 11. O-O {gives White a better game.}) 10… a5 ({
…developing the Queen Bishop places pressure on White’s kingside.} 10… Bb7
11. cxd5 (11. c5) 11… Bxd5 12. f3) 11. b5 dxc4 {Diagram [#]} 12. Qxc4 $2 (12.
Bxc4 Bb7 13. O-O Nd7 14. a4 Nf6 15. Ba3 Nd5 16. Qd2 Nb4 17. Rfb1 Qg5 18. f4 Qg6
19. Bxb4 axb4 20. Rxb4 Ra7) 12… Bb7 {Whites kingside is now under serious
pressure} 13. a4 Nd7 14. f3 Rc8 {… is very defensive.} ({If instead} 14…
Qh4+ 15. g3 Qh5 16. Bd3 Bxf3 17. O-O e5 {Black has a serious attack kingside
attack underway.}) 15. e4 {…again, White keeps moving pawns.} (15. Be2) 15…
c5 16. Bb2 Nf6 ({this White position offers Black opportunity.} 16… Qg5 17.
Qb3 c4 18. Qc3 f5) 17. Rd1 Qc7 18. Ba3 (18. dxc5 bxc5 19. Be2 Nd7 20. O-O {
and White would have wriggled out of trouble.}) 18… Rfd8 19. dxc5 Rxd1+ 20.
Kxd1 Rd8+ 21. Ke1 Qd7 22. Be2 Qd2+ 23. Kf2 (23. Kf1 {It is surprising how one
square can change the course of a game.} bxc5 24. Bc1 Qd4 {, now White enjoys
the advantage. After the Queen trade White’s King travels to f2 and allows
access for the king rook to enter the fray.}) 23… Nxe4+ $3 {Diagram [#]} 24.
fxe4 Qf4+ 25. Ke1 Qd2+ 26. Kf2 Qf4+ 27. Ke1 1/2-1/2
[/pgn]
Watertown Chess ClubAdmin