MT Sustarsic: Draw against SIM Korze, Dr. Danilo

Draw against SIM Korze, Dr. Danilo of Slovenia. He is 46 yrs old and works in the University of Maribor as university assistant professor. He is also the organizer of this event. The game was a thrilling Caro Kann, that ended in a draw http://www.iccf-webchess.com/MakeAMove.aspx?id=297382.

4.Nc3 The Shirov variation, one of the sharpest options against the Caro Kann. Though classical theory frowns upon premature wing attacks, modern praxis shows g4 being played commonly at the opening stage itself.

12...Qb6 With hindsight, I might have tried Qa5 or Qc7.

13.Na4 N 13.O-O Qxb2 14.Na4 Qa3 15.c3 b5 1-0 was Kupsys, Alfonsas (2577) - Stankevicius, Lionginas (LTU) (2432) / EM/CL/Q04-2, ICCF Email 2002. Na4 does not seem to be in the spirit of this line, which is to go for an all out attack on the Black king.

16.b3 If White has nothing better than this pawn move, Black has nothing to be afraid of.

It was not without some trepidation that I received the move 25 Nxg7 , but a quick verification of my notes reassured me. 25.Bxc6 Nxc6 26.Nxg7 Kxg7 also lead to a draw.

After 28.h5, my opponent offered a draw which was accepted.

SIM Szczepanski, Zbigniew continues to lead the tournament with 6.5 points, http://www.iccf-webchess.com/EventCrossTable.aspx?id=22830.

MT Sustarsic: Draw against IM Efremov, Aleksandr Gennadievich

My first result in the tournament: Draw against IM Efremov, Aleksandr Gennadievich, 34 years old, from Moscow, http://www.iccf-webchess.com/MakeAMove.aspx?id=297347.

After 13. Kb1, O-O is the usual move, while a5, c5, and Qc7 are also commonly played. I tried to enter unknown territory with 13...Qb6, based on {1/2-1/2(33) Negi, P (2603) - Vidit, S (2489) / 48th ch-IND ( 8 ), New Delhi IND 2010} which had gone 14.Rhe1 O-O-O 15.Qe2 c5 16.Ne5 Rhf8 17.Nc4 Qc7 18.Nf5 exf5 19.Qxe7. However, I deviated with 14...O-O, which has later been played by others also.

17...Qa5 Now, I find 17...Qb6 18.Ne3 Qc7 19.Rh1 Rad8 20.Qe2 c5 has been played {1/2-1/2(26) Smeets, J (2669) - Parligras, M (2601) / Schachbundesliga 2010-11 (7), Remagen GER 2011}

19.Rxe6 After this sac, a draw appears to be forced. Is that a satisfactory result for White? I don't think so. As the Black player, I was happy to agree to the draw. Of course, during the game I was very much worried there was some win for White. I breathed a sigh or relief when 26. Ng6+    was accompanied by a draw offer.

Can Black avoid the draw after 13...Qb6? That is another question to which I have to find the answer to, before my next game.

Here is a link to the crosstable: http://www.iccf-webchess.com/EventCrossTable.aspx?id=22830. The current leader is SIM Szczepanski, Zbigniew, who has completed eleven games, all drawn!