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Four players cashed out in the Random Pairings Swiss, held November 28th.  In a field of 24 (with 2 sections but 1 prize fund), Jack Mongilutz, Rich Blank, Donahue Scott and Laverne Gildner finished 3-0 to share the $60 prize pool.

Cody Fisher played some strong movies in his round 3 game vs. Jack Mongilutz -- a game Mongilutz had to win to cash out.

White chose a solid (passive) opening to test his young opponent.  His 11. c5 ?! didn't look right -- why give the second player a free hand in the center?  Before you take the pressure off the center, you have to be sure that you are gaining more than just one move -- it has to be a bind, or a wing majority, or something substantial.

The exception would be something like Mackenzie vs. Tarrasch (1885), a game that started 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. c4 Bd6?! and now Tarrasch considered his opponent's 5. c5! to be the winning move -- because it makes e6-e5 very hard to achieve.

In our game this week -- Black had all of the play.  Unlike Tarrasch, he got in e6-e5 very easily and he might have stood his ground with 22. ...Bc7 to see how his higher-rated opponent planned to proceed.

His 22. Bxg3!? idea was correct -- he gets R+3 pawns vs. 2 pieces -- but it carried the "obligation" of finding sharp moves.

Fisher was up to the task until 29. ... Be4?!, a clunker that helped organize the white pieces.  Remember -- when you have pawns for pieces, you aim for the ending.  When you have pieces (in this case B+N vs. R+3P), you must ATTACK.  Thus, 29. ... Qe3+ trading queens (here or earlier) was correct).

Perhaps he was lured into attacking by the lack of pawn cover for the white king.  But he had piece cover!

Mongilutz could have made his young opponent suffer sooner with 32. Qg3!, showing just how well his pieces were coordinated.  The game wasn't over until Black tossed it away with the "aggressive" 33. ... Re2 (?).  Instead, 33. ... Rf8 keeps the play alive.

White hit hard with 35. Rxg7+! but missed the cute follow-up 36. Nf7+ (making him accept the gift).

An amazingly hard-fought game for the money round!

Jack Mongilutz-Cody Fisher: English Opening: 1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. b3 Nf6 4. Bb2 Bf5 5. d3 e6 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. g3 Bd6 8. Bg2 Qe7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. d4 Rac8 11. c5 Bb8 12. b4 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nd4 Bg6 15. h3 Rfe8 16. Qb3 a6 17. Rac1 h6 18. a4 Ned7 19. Ba3 Ne4 20. N2f3 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Bxe5 22. Nf3 Bxg3 23. fxg3 Nxg3 24. Rfe1 Nxe2+ 25. Rxe2 Qxe2 26. Nd4 Qd2 27. Qc3 Qf4 28. Rf1 Qe5 29. Bb2 Be4 30. Bxe4 Qxe4 31. Nf5 f6 32. Nd6 Qg6+ 33. Kh1 Re2  34. Rg1 Qh5 35. Rxg7+ Kh8 36. Rg3 d4 37. Qxd4 Re1+ 38. Kh2 Re2+ 39. Kg1 Re1+ 40. Kg2 Re2+ 41. Re5 42. Nxc8 Qe2+ 43. Kg1 Qe1+ 44. Kh2 Qe2+ 45. Rg2 Qf3 46. Qd8+ 1-0

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Jim Strobel chose the aggressive Four Pawns Attack against his opponent's Alekhine's Defense in this week's game.

Taking a full center with 5. f4!? carries certain obligations -- for example, the need to defend it.  Such a space advantage carries a "use it or lose it" burden. The main line goes 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nc3 e6 9. Nf3 (note that this move is delayed as long as possible) and now Black has many moves, but the two most reliable ones are 9. ... Be7 (allowing d4-d5) and 9. ... Bg4 (trying to stop it).

Strobel's 8. Nf3?! could have been met with 8. ... Nb4!, forcing 9. Na3 when the wayward knight removes any chance for a quick d4-d5 push.  Instead, his opponent chose 8. ...e6 with the idea of testing the main line.

9. a3!? was unusual  and signaled that White planned to develop the Nb1 to the d2 square.  This made it easier to defend his center but harder to actually use it, as again the d4-d5 push had less support.

Black tried to tear down the center with 12. ... f6, under the belief that he would just be a move ahead of the normal 9. ... Be7 main line.

But his tempting 9. ... Bf5-g4 manuever -- so useful when White has played Nc3 -- meant that his opponent could mix things up with a timely Nd2-e4.

Play would have been very sharp after 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Ne4!? Bxf3 15. Nxf6+ Rxf6 16. Bxf3 and now Nxc4 (snatching a pawn) virtually forces White to follow with 17. Bg5.  Black would get some very active knights to compensate for the exchange after 17 ... Nxd4, leading to a wild position for a short time-control game.

Instead, 13. h3 Bf5 routed the bishop back to its normal position.

14. Nb3?! dropped a pawn and was the losing move -- Black is always happy to trade down in these Alekhine positions as the exposed white pawns are targets.  Having an extra pawn just gave extra impetus to this idea.

The key shot in the game was 18. ... Nd2 (!), a crushing move that lived up to the Allentown club's t-shirt claims (see below).

The liquidation led to a winning game for Black -- note that if 23. Bc4 then 23. ...Kh8 sidesteps any dangers and keeps a solid plus.

Jim Strobel -- Eric C. Johnson: Alekhine's Defense: 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. f4 dxe5 6. fxe5 Nc6 7. Be3 Bf5 8. Nf3 e6 9. a3 Bg4 10. Nbd2 Be7 11. Be2 0-0 12. 0-0 f6 13. h3 Bf5 14. Nb3 fxe5 15. dxe5 Qxd1 16. Bxd1 Nxc4 17. Bd4 Rad8 18. Be2 Nd2 19. Nbxd2 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Rxd4 21. Nf3 Rd7 22. b4 Rfd8 23. Rad1 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 25. Bxd1 a5 26. g4 Be4 27. Nd2 Bd5 28. bxa5 Bc5+ 29. Kh2 Bxa3 30. Nb3 Bb2 0-1

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Jack Mongilutz took over the top spot in the 2009 Quad Championship race with a 2.5/3 performance at the November Quads.  He now holds the lead with 20.0 pts.

Tom Volkert fell to second place with 18.0 pts.

With just one month to go (3 rounds), these are the only two players still in the running for the 2009 title.

Quad winners were:

Q1 Jack Mongilutz

Q2 Jim Drasher, Richard Neal, LaMont Rouse (tie)

Q3 David Sherman

Q4 Jim Strobel

Q5 Mark Moretti

Honorable mention goes to Jim Strobel for his clutch 3-0 sweep in quad 4, but his 16.0 pts were not enough to stay close to the leaders.

Who will join our list of Quad Champions?  Catch the action at the December quads on 12/12.

Will Jack Mongilutz (left) defend his 2008 quad title?

Or will Tom Volkert come thru to take the crown?

This week's game is relatively short (22 moves) but it contains some subtle opening points.

In a sideline of the Dutch Defense, Black faces a fundamental question:  should he clamp down on the e4-square (with d7-d5)?  If yes, then he offers up his e5-square to the opponent.  If no, then he must always be ready for a center-opening break.

The move order with 2. Nf3 and 3. Nc3 seems to be relatively unexplored.  Many opening works treat the position as a variant of the 2. Nc3 sideline -- the main line of which is 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5! 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 Be6!  In this line, White keeps the f3-square free for the queen (i.e. 6. Qf3) and routes the Ng1 to the f4-square.

Thus, games with both Nf3 and Nc3 played are fairly rare.

If White plays his Bf4 idea too soon (i.e. 1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4?!) the poor piece can get harrassed with Leningrad-like ideas of d7-d6 and e7-e5.

But after Black is committed to d7-d5, the bishop can rest comfortably on f4.

The opening inaccuracy in this week's game seems to be 6. Be2 -- White's pieces lack energy after this move.  Far better would be 6. Bd3, allowing the Nc3 to re-position itself with Nc3-e2 and freeing the c-pawn for a timely c2-c4! 

This c2-c4 plan can be very strong if preceded by an early Bg5-Bxf6, damaging the second player's pawn structure.  However, in Bf4 positions, Black's pawns are intact and he can react to c2-c4 with a timely c6-c5 of his own. 

In the game, White's Nc3 had little to do and no place to go.

White tried to open lines on the kingside with 9. g4!?  but the second player correctly ignored it.  The key moment came when Black decided to trade off White's only active piece (13. ... Bd6!), leaving the opponent's kingside a bit drafty in all resulting positions.  15. f4?? was a blunder.

Larry Noone -- Eric C. Johnson: Dutch Defense:  1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 c6 5. e3 e6 6. Be2 Be7 7. h3 0-0 8. Ne5 Nbd7 9. g4 Ne4 10. Nxe4 fxe4 11. Nxd7 Bxd7 12. 0-0 Be8 13. c4 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. f4 exf3 16. Rxf3 Rxf3 17. Bxf3 Qg3+ 18. Bg2 Qxe3+ 19. Kh1 Bg6 20. cxd5 exd5 21. Rc1 Re8 22. Rc3 Qf2 0-1

A comparison with the following game from the 2000 Russian Championship is interesting -- all the same themes appear (after the inaccurate 7. Be2):

A. Sidarov (2339) - V. Popov (2534): Dutch Defense: 1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 f5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bf4 c6 5. e3 e6 6. a3 Be7 7. Be2 0-0 8. Ne5 Nbd7 9. g4 Nxe5 10. Bxe5 Nd7 11. Bg3 a5 12. h4 b5 13. g5 Bb7 14. Na2 Qb6 15. Bf4 b4 16. a4 c5 17. 0-0 Rac8 18. Nc1 Rfd8 19. Bb5 Ba6 20. Bxa6 Qxa6 21. Re1 Bd6 22. Ne2 Nf8 23. Bxd6 Qxd6 1/2-1/2 in 49 moves.

Before everyone starts playing 2. Nf3 and 3. Nc3...let me caution you:  Black is perfectly fine after the flexible 3. ... e6. 

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Joe Mucerino and Greg Nolan powered their way to 3-0 scores and a split of the $60 prize fund for the Random Pairings Swiss, held 10/24/09.

Michael Cook played a nice game against Michael Turcotte in round 1 -- as so often happens, just as he achieved a winning position he went astray and lost.

First, a bit of background on the Queen's Gambit...

In the Orthodox Queen's Gambit Declined, Pillsbury's 4. Bg5 idea is designed to stop black from playing c7-c5.  A typical line would be 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 0-0 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 (Capablanca's freeing maneuver) 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. 0-0 Nxc3 12. Rxc3 when Black can try to free his game with 12. ...e5.  Anyone who plays the Queen's Gambit (with either color) should be familiar with this maneuver.

When White doesn't play Bg5 (such after 5. Bf4) then Black should aim for greater activity with c7-c5. 

Back to the game...

Cook's 5. ...c6 and 10. ... Nd5 give the impression he was following the Capablanca recipe (which is less effective against 5. Bf4).

White might have played more ambitiously with either 7. a3!? or 10. e4!?   Note that after 7. a3!? Qxb2? is impossible as 8. Na4 snares material (a common theme).

On move 15, White had a variety of interesting moves (15. Be5!?; 15. Rd1!?), so his 15. h3 makes an odd impression.  The key point is the position of the Bg3 -- he really would like it back on the c1-h6 diagonal.  With 17. f3, White tried to put his central pawn mass to work, but he soon found that his dark-squared bishop would have been better placed on its home square.

By analogy to a Nimzo-Indian position:  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 0-0 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 c5 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. Ne2 Re8 11. 0-0 White can hope for success here because 1) his central pawns give flexibility, 2) his Bc1 covers any dark-square weaknesses when the pawns advance, 3) his Bc1 is unopposed, 4) he can aim to advance in the center with e3-e4 or play on the wing with g2-g4 and Ra2-g2.

Iin the game, White had a similar structure but had to take care as the opponent's dark-squared bishop was still on the board.  Once the bishops were traded (19. ...Bd6!), the holes in White's center became critical and his pawns could not advance.

Black's rook lift (25. ... Rf6-g6) pinpointed the weak g2-square.  The logical conclusion of the game would have been 27. ... Rxg2! (with the idea of 28. Kxg2 Nxc3+, snaring the queen).  Instead, the ill-timed 27. ... Nxf4?! left Black vulnerable to a counter-tactic.   The last chance was 30. .... Kh8 (instead of 30....Kh7 losing instantly).

All in all, it was just the sort of battle you can expect in club chess.

Michael Turcotte -- Michael Cook:  Queen's Gambit Declined: 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Be7 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 Qb6 7. Qc2 0-0 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bc4 Nbd7 10. 0-0 Nd5 11. Bg3 N7f6 12. a3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 c5 14. Rfb1 Qd8 15. h3 b6 16. Ne5 Bb7 17. f3 Rac8 18. Qe2 Nd5 19. Rbc1 Bd6 20. Bh2 Qc7 21. Bd3 f6 22. Ng4 h5 23. Bxd6 Qxd6 24. Nf2 f5 25. a4 Rf6 26. a5 Rg6 27. f4 Nxf4 28. exf4 Rxg2+ 29. Kf1 Qxf4 30. Qxe6+ Kh7 31. Qxf5+ Qxf5 32. Bxf5+ 1-0

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Peter Minear (USCF 2268) scored 4.5/5 to win the 2nd edition of the David Elliott Memorial Tournament in a field of 16.

Kevin Santo scored 4 pts -- including a win over # 2 seed Greg Nolan --  to take clear second place.  He maximized his prize winnings by taking the top class prize rather than joining the leaders.

The prize table included:

1st Peter Minear 4.5 pts  $150 and the Elliott cup

2nd Jack Mongilutz 3.5 pts $80

3rd Greg Nolan, Jim Strobel, Isara Thanakit, Michael Turcotte (tie) 3.0 pts  $20 each

Top 1899-1600/unrated  Kevin Santo 4 pts $100

Top U1600 Ben Lu, Jason Botta (tie) 2 pts $50 each

Minear survived a tough encounter in round 1 vs. Randall McEvilly (the game should have been drawn) and ended with smashing wins vs. Mongilutz and Nolan in the final rounds. 

Michael Turcotte earned a hard-fought draw in round 3.  The ending after 20. Bxf6 may not promise much at higher levels, but at club-level that weak pawn on h6 spells trouble.  White might have done better with 32. g4!?

Peter Minear -- Michael Turcotte: Caro-Kann Defense: 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qc7 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. 0-0-0 0-0-0 13. Ne4 e6 14. Kb1 Nxe4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 16. Qe2 Bd6 17. c4 c5 18. Bc3 Kb8 19. d5 exd5 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Rxd5 Rhe8 22. Qc2 Be5 23. Rhd1 b6 24. Qd2 Rxd5 25. Qxd5 Re7 26. g3 Re6 27. Qd8+ Qxd8 28. Rxd8+ Kc7 29. Rh8 f5 30. Nxe5 Rxe5 31. Rxh6 f4 32. Rf6 fxg3 33. fxg3 Rxh5 34. Rxf7+ Kd6 35. Rxa7 Rg5 36. Ra3 Ke5 37. Rc3 Kd4 38. Kc2 Rf5 39. Kb3 Rf2 40. Ka3 Rg2 41. Rb3 Kxc4 42. Rxb6 Rxg3+ 43. b3+ Kd5 44. Ka4 Rg2 45. a3 Ra2 46. Rh6 Ra1 47. Ra6 Rb1 48. b4 c4 49. Ra8 c3 50. Rc8 Kd4 51. b5 Kd3 52. Ka5 c2 53. a4 c1=Q 54. Rxc1 Rxc1 55. b6 Kc4 56. Ka6 Rb1 57 b7 Rxb7 58. Kxb7 Kb4 1/2-1/2

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Tom Volkert scored 2 out of 3 in the October quads to keep a (slim) lead in the overall championship standings.

Jack Mongilutz won the top quad with a 3-0 sweep to gain ground on the leader.  Jim Price kept pace with 2 points.

With just two months (6 games) to go, players with fewer than 12.0 pts have been eliminated.

Here are the top 12:

1. Tom Volkert  18.0 pts

2. Jack Mongilutz  17.5 pts

3. Jim Price  15.0 pts

4.-5. Jim Strobel, Ken Smith  13.0 pts

---------elimination line--------------------------------

6. Michael Turcotte  10.5 pts.

7. Qinhong Chen  10.0 pts

8. Tom Fang  9.5 pts

9. LaMont Rouse  9.0 pts

10. Chris Yang  8.5 pts

11.-12.  Joe Mucerino, Greg Nolan  8.0 pts

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It is with much sadness we report that long-time Lehigh Valley chessplayer Joseph DeRaymond has passed away after a lengthy illness.  DeRaymond died at home on October 1st.  He was 58.

DeRaymond came out of chess retirement to play at the 2008 David Elliott Memorial.

Here are some games played at the older Lehigh Valley Chess Club at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill in the 1990s.

Joe DeRaymond -- Eric C. Johnson: Bethlehem 1990 (played as a FIDE World Rapid rated game): King's Indian: 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 0-0 5. e4 d6 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Na6 8. Be2 Nc5 9. Qc2 Nh5 10. b4 Na6 11. Rb1 Nf4 12. 0-0 Nxe2 13. Qxe2 f5 14. h3 f4 15. Bc1 g5 16. Ba3 g4 17. hxg4 Bxg4 18. Rfd1 Rf6 19. c5 Rh6 20. Qc4 Nb8 21. b5 Qe8 22. cxd6 Qh5 23. Kf1 Bxf3 24. gxf3 Qxf3 25. Ne2 Rh2 26. Ke1 Qxf2+ 27. Kd2 Qe3+ 28. Kc2 Rxe2+ 29. Qxe2 Qxe2+ 30. Rd2 Qxe4+ 0-1

Eric C. Johnson -- Joe DeRaymond: Bethlehem 1991: King's Indian: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Be2 0-0 7. Bg5 Na6 8. h3 Nd7 9. Nf3 h6 10. Bd2 Nc7 11. 0-0 a6 12. a4 Kh7 13. Be3 Ne5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. f4 Bxc3 16. bxc3 f5 17. e5 Qe8 18. e6 Nxe6 19. dxe6 Bxe6 20. Rb1 Rb8 21. Re1 Bd7 22. a5 Qd8 23. Rb6 Qc7 24. Bf3 Rf6 25. Bf2 Re6 26. Rxe6 Bxe6 27. Bd5 Qd7 28. Qe2 Bg8 29. Qb2 Bxd5 30. cxd5 Kg7 31. c4+ Kf7 32. Qc3 g5 33. Be3 Kg6 34. Bc1 Rg8 35. Qb3 Rb8 36. fxg5 hxg5 37. Qe3 f4 38. Qe4+ Kf7 39. Qh7+ 1-0

Eric C. Johnson -- Joe DeRaymond: Allentown/Bethlehem City Championship1991: King's Indian: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Be2 0-0 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bf4 Re8 9. Qd2 Kh7 10. Nf3 Na6 11. h3 Nc7 12. 0-0 a6 13. a4 a5 14. Rad1 Na6 15. Rfe1 Bd7 16. Bd3 Nb4 17. Bb1 b6 18. Bh2 e5 19. dxe6 Bxe6 20. Nd5 Bxd5 21. exd5 Qd7 22. b3 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Re8 24. Rxe8 Nxe8 25. Qe2 Bf6 26. h4 Qe7 27. Qxe7 Bxe7 28. h5 Kg7 29. hxg6 fxg6 30. Nd2 Nf6 31. f3 Na6 32. Kf2 Nb8 33. g4 Nbd7 34. Nf1 Ne5 35. Ng3 Ned7 36. Ne2 g5 37. Ng3 1-0

If anyone else has games against Joe that they would like to share -- send them to chesspride@aol.com and we will post them here.

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***2009 DAVID ELLIOTT MEMORIAL***

CHESS TOURNAMENT

OCTOBER 17, 2009 -- SEE TLA in CHESS LIFE

REGISTRATION: 9 AM to 10 AM <--notice the early starting time!

Rounds are 10 AM - 11 AM - 1:30 PM - 3 PM - 4:30 PM

Playoff 6 PM

5-Round Swiss G/30 USCF-Rated

EF: $25 $500 Prize Fund Guaranteed!

1st Place $150 + Trophy 2nd Place $80 3rd Place $70

Top 1600-1899/unrated $100 Top U1600 $100

Free Pizza Lunch courtesy of the Elliott Family!

Randall McEvilly faced the Sicilian Defense in this week's game from the Win a T-shirt Swiss.  He opted for the Closed Variation with 2. Nc3 and 3.g3, controlling the d5-square.

Blocking his f-pawn with 5. Nf3 reduced his chances for any advantage -- although this position is still important as it can arise from multiple move orders.  McEvilly's choice of 8. Ne2 might have been a bit too extravagant under the circumstances.

The game was even from the opening.  Black accepted an isolated e-pawn in return for active play and a hint of white square weakness around McEvilly's king. 

The second player needed to maintain good piece activity -- if White could achieve a bind with Ne4, he would have a pawn structure plus.

Perhaps the first real error was 20. Bc1?!, saving a piece that really had no future.  Think about it -- Black wasn't likely to trade his Nf5 for the bishop as it would leave him with a potentially poor Bg7 vs. a strong white knight on e4.

After the heavy pieces were traded on the d-file, White's remaining minor pieces (Bc1, Ne2) did not impress.  This is how stronger players convert positions -- by having the slightly better pieces in the ending.

McEvilly tried to set up a good white-square blockade with 27. g4 and 31. f3 but the timing was wrong.

How cruel it was that moves designed to "freeze" the black pawns for a potential good knight vs. bad bishop ending (i.e. 21. a4 and 29. c4) ended up costing White the game as they were indefensible against the marauding black knight (31. ... Na5).  This is further proof that the white bishop had nothing to fear on move 20.

Randall McEvilly -- Eric C. Johnson: Allentown 2009: Sicilian Defense, Closed Variation: 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 e5 6. d3 Nge7 7. Be3 Nd4 8. Ne2 Nxf3+ 9. Bxf3 b6 10. 0-0 0-0 11. c3 Bb7 12. d4 d6 13. Qd2 Rc8 14. Bg2 f5 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Qc2 Bxe4 17. Bxe4 fxe4 18. Qxe4 Nf5 19. Rad1 Qe7 20. Bc1 Rcd8 21. a4 Rd7 22. Rd5 Rfd8 23. Rfd1 Qf7 24. R5d3 Rxd3 25. Rxd3 Rxd3 26. Qxd3 h6 27. g4 Ne7 28. Qe4 Qe6 29. c4 Qc6 30. Qxc6 Nxc6 31. f3 Na5 32. Nc3 Nxc4 33. Nb5 e4 34. b3 Ne5 35. Nxa7 Nxf3+ 36. Kg2 Nd4 37. Nc8 Nxb3 38. Nxb6 c4 39. Nxc4 Nxc1 40. a5 Bd4 41. a6 Ba7 42. Nd6 e3 43. Kf1 Kg7 44. Nb5 Bc5 45. a7 e2+ 0-1

Ken Smith won the club t-shirt prize -- his new gold shirt will save him $1 every time he wears it to a club tourney (see the club merchandise page).

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