Singapore Masters Blitz Invitational 2015 - Best games of the tourney

Olimpiu Urcan had placed 25 games from the above-mentioned event on the sgchess.net blog. I went through the lot and decided to showcase the best games from that lot here. First up, the 'Caveman Attack Award' goes to Andrean Susilodinata for a barnstormer of an attack.

[Event "S'pore Masters Blitz 2015"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.01"] [Round "8"] [White "Susilodinata, Andrean"] [Black "Neubronner, Jarred"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B42"] [Annotator "Junior Tay"] [PlyCount "72"] [EventDate "2015.03.02"] [SourceDate "2015.03.02"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Be7 7. c4 d6 8. O-O Nf6 9. Be3 O-O 10. Nc3 b6 11. f4 Nbd7 {All these are pretty standard in the Sicilian Kan though Black usually delays castling until necessary.} 12. g4 $5 { According to my database, this bayonet stab was first played by Polish GM Jacek Tomscak in 2009.} (12. Qf3 {is the main line.}) 12... Bb7 $2 {A natural reaction to complete development. The way Andrean brutally conducted the attack showed that this move which completes development is the key to Black's problems!} ({The age old adage - meeting a flank attack with action in the centre applies here. Black cannot allow White to fully concentrate on the kingside attack unimpeded.} 12... Nc5 $1 13. Nxc5 (13. Bc2 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bb7 15. g5 Nd7 16. Qh5 g6 17. Qh6 Re8 18. Rf3 Bf8 19. Qh4 Bg7 20. Rd1 Qc7 21. Rh3 Nf8 {and Black is holding firm, Miranda Rodriguez,T (2167)-Borges Feria,Y (2406)/Havana 2011.}) (13. g5 Nfd7 14. Bc2 {was Lhotka,J (2082)-Suchomel,A (2044)/Prague 2012. Now,} e5 $1 {looks like an appropriate counter as} 15. Nd5 $6 exf4 16. Bxf4 Ne5 {gives Black good play.}) 13... dxc5 14. h3 (14. g5 $6 { is met by} Ng4) 14... Bb7 15. e5 Nd7 16. Qc2 g6 17. Be4 Qc7 {and the action has been transferred to the centre, Tomczak,J (2465)-Miton,K (2595)/Chotowa 2009}) (12... e5 {, jabbing at the centre, is another move to consider.}) 13. g5 Ne8 14. Qh5 $1 {White goes for the jugular.} g6 15. Qh6 Ng7 16. f5 $1 ({ Another demolition job follows} 16. Rf3 $1 Re8 17. Rh3 Nh5 18. Rxh5 gxh5 19. Qxh5 {when resistance is futile. For example,} Nf8 20. f5 $1 {followed by Rf1 and f5-f6 wins hands down.}) 16... Nh5 (16... exf5 17. exf5 Nxf5 {and after} 18. Rxf5 {, the rook cannot be taken.}) 17. Be2 $1 ({Black gets a good chance to hold out, especially in blitz after} 17. f6 Nhxf6 18. gxf6 Bxf6) 17... Re8 { Seeking to trap the queen with ...Bf8 but Andrean had everything worked out.} 18. fxg6 hxg6 19. Rxf7 $3 {This hammer blow ends all discussion. The band can start playing 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and start 'calling momma!'. The rest do not require annotation as White just picks off copious amount of material and more. ..} Kxf7 20. Bxh5 Rg8 21. Qh7+ Rg7 22. Bxg6+ Kf8 23. Qh8+ Rg8 24. Qh6+ Rg7 25. Qh8+ Rg8 26. Rf1+ Bf6 27. Qh6+ Rg7 28. gxf6 Nxf6 29. Bg5 Kg8 30. Bxf6 Qf8 31. Bxg7 Qxg7 32. Qxg7+ Kxg7 33. Rf7+ Kxg6 34. Rxb7 Rc8 35. Rxb6 Rxc4 36. Rxd6 Kf6 1-0

Olimpiu and I agreed that the following was the best game of the event. Wei Ming wins the 'Carlsen Chokehold' award for this asphyxiation demonstration.

[Event "S'pore Masters Blitz 2015"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.01"] [Round "10"] [White "Goh, Wei Ming"] [Black "Suelo, Robert Jr"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B40"] [Annotator "Junior Tay"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2015.03.02"] [SourceDate "2015.03.02"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Bg5 $5 {The scumbag opening - Aussie Attack.} Qb6 ({In bullet or blitz play, a common move would be} 4... a6 $4 5. Bxd8 { followed by an opponent disconnect or a litany of profanity...}) ({Personally, I find} 4... Nf6 {to be the hardest to meet.}) 5. Qxd4 Qxd4 6. Nxd4 a6 7. Nd2 $1 {Already, White is eyeing the juicy b6-square for the knight.} Nc6 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. a4 {Clamping down on Black's ...b5.} ({I've always preferred} 9. Nc4 Bc5 10. O-O-O {in online blitz.}) 9... Nf6 10. f3 Bc5 11. c3 h6 $6 {Wei Ming is more than happy to see this move as he seeks to remove Black's only active piece- the dark-squared bishop.} 12. Bh4 g5 13. Bf2 Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Ke7 15. Nc4 {White starts to pull his weight on the queenside dark squares.} Bd7 16. Nb6 Rad8 17. b4 Bc8 18. Ke3 Nd7 19. Nc4 f6 20. Be2 Ne5 21. Nb6 Nd7 22. Nc4 Ne5 23. Na5 $1 {No repetition!} Rd7 24. Rhd1 {It would seem strange to trade a pair of rooks but once Black doubles rooks on the d-file, he can play for ...f5-f4 with a ...Rd2 invasion.} ({Opening another front with} 24. h4 {looks good also. }) 24... Rhd8 25. Rxd7+ Rxd7 {I like the reorganising that Wei Ming embarks on. He first gives himself more options with his knight and kingside pawns.} 26. Nb3 Rd8 27. g3 Nd7 28. b5 $5 {Finally, a commital move.} axb5 29. axb5 cxb5 30. Bxb5 e5 {Black seems to have almost unravelled from the squeeze but the position still requires accuracy.} 31. c4 b6 $6 {Finally, a concession. Perhaps Suelo was concerned about Ra7 followed by Na5 hitting the b7-pawn.} ({ The Black king belongs on c7 but that's very hard to see in blitz.} 31... Kd6 32. c5+ Kc7 {and Black is ok after ...Nb8-c6 or ...Nf8-e6.}) 32. Ra7 {After the patient manouvering, Wei Ming finally has a clear weakness to latch onto, the 7th rank.} Kd6 33. Nc1 $1 {Re-routing the knight to d5 where it hits the b6- and f6-pawns.} Rh8 $2 ({Black must not remain passive and he has to try for activity with} 33... Nc5 {and now} 34. Rh7 Be6 35. Rxh6 Ra8 {, Black gets sufficient counterplay. It's easy to see this of course, with an engine in the background but over the board, it's only natural to cover the weakness (the h6-pawn).}) 34. Nd3 h5 {Suelo is systematically trying to eradicate his h-pawn weakness.} 35. Nb4 h4 (35... Nc5 36. Nd5 f5 37. Ra8 $1 $18 {and Black is in zugzwang.}) 36. g4 (36. Nd5 {is also very strong.}) 36... Rf8 {Now he covers his f-pawn. Black's plan is just to hold firm and ...hope White does not have a tactical breakthrough, as the kingside is closed up and everything seems guarded staunchly.} 37. Nd5 Rd8 38. Ra8 $1 {Well, it only took Wei Ming 1 move to set up a tactical solution. It dawned on Black that White will just set up Bxd7 and trade the whole house leading to a winning king and pawns ending for White.} Nc5 {There is no choice but to give up the b-pawn.} (38... Rf8 39. Bxd7 Kxd7 40. Nxb6+ Kc7 41. Rxc8+ Rxc8 42. Nxc8 Kxc8 43. c5 Kc7 44. Kd3 Kd7 45. Kc4 Kc6 46. h3 {and White will invade into the Black camp.}) 39. Nxb6 Kc7 40. Nd5+ ({Most definitely not a minor piece ending with} 40. Rxc8+ $2 Rxc8 41. Nxc8 Kxc8 {as White's king cannot get in once the Black king sits on the d6-square.} ) 40... Kb7 41. Ra1 Rd6 ({Also futile is} 41... Be6 42. Rb1 Bxd5 43. exd5 Kc7 44. Bc6) 42. Rb1 {Wicked! Now Black now has to worry about the plight of his king as well.} Ka7 43. Ra1+ Kb7 44. Be8 Bd7 45. Rb1+ Ka7 46. Bxd7 Nxd7 47. Rb5 $1 {Supporting the c4-c5 push.} Ka6 $2 {This allows White to win more quickly but Suelo must have been worn out by the big squeeze.} ({In any case,} 47... Ra6 48. Nb4 Ra3+ 49. Kd2 $1 Rxf3 50. c5 $1 {wins.}) 48. Nb4+ Ka7 49. c5 Rd1 50. c6 Nb6 51. Nd5 Nc8 52. Rb7+ Ka6 53. Nxf6 Rc1 54. Rc7 Nd6 55. Nd5 Nc4+ 56. Ke2 Nd6 $4 57. Rd7 Nb5 58. Re7 Rxc6 {Walking into a fork. However, the game has already been lost for quite a while.} 59. Nb4+ Kb6 60. Nxc6 Kxc6 61. Rxe5 Kb6 62. Rxg5 1-0

I was very impressed by the way Benjamin handled the opening against the acknowledged expert of the ...Nc6 Centre Counter. Before the event, I wanted to prepare against those strong opponents I would be facing but gave up after 5 minutes, realising that it would be too much work. But I did click on some of Nelson's Centre counter games where he (as well as his elder brother and sister) outplayed many masters with it by constantly combining central pressure with slick piece play. Here, Benjamin Foo gets the 'Take the bull by the horns' award by entering into Nelson's main line and coming out with a powerful idea to blast the queenside open. With this, we've come to the end of my annotated series for this event. Thank you for viewing!

[Event "S'pore Masters Blitz 2015"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.01"] [Round "8"] [White "Foo, Benjamin"] [Black "Mariano, Nelson III"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B01"] [Annotator "Junior Tay"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2015.03.02"] [SourceDate "2015.03.02"] 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 $5 {The ...Nc6 Centre counter is a specialty of American IM Alexander Reprintsev. Other experts in this line are French GM Etienne Bacrot and ...the Mariano family! Both brother GM Nelson Mariano II and sister WIM Cristine have utilized this line frequently too with success.} 6. Bd2 $1 (6. d5 Nb4 7. Bb5+ c6 8. dxc6 Nxc6 9. Ne5 Bd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. O-O e6 12. Re1 Be7 13. Bf4 Nf6 14. a3 O-O 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. Qf3 Rac8 17. Rad1 Qf5 18. h4 Nd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 {and Mariano's elder sibling has gained the edge, Chong,C (2127)-Mariano,N (2466)/Kuala Lumpur 2005} ) ({The theoretical continuation is supposed to be} 6. Bb5 {but that doesn't faze Nelson.} Nd5 7. a4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 a6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. O-O Bg4 11. Qd3 Bf5 12. Qd2 e6 13. Ne5 Bd6 $1 14. Ba3 Bxe5 15. dxe5 c5 16. Rfd1 O-O {and the future World Junior Champion agreed to a draw against Nelson, Lu,S (2538) -Mariano,N (2292)/Kuala Lumpur 2013.}) 6... a6 ({I've studied many years ago that} 6... Bg4 7. Nb5 Qb6 8. c4 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Qxb7 Qe4+ 12. Qxe4 Nxe4 13. Be3 {gives White a big plus in the ending.}) 7. Bc4 Qh5 { Black's plan is to put as much pressure as possible on the d4-pawn with ...Bg4 and ...0-0-0.} 8. O-O Bg4 9. Be2 O-O-O 10. h3 $1 {With natural moves, White has seized the edge and Black has no time to threaten the d4-weakie.} Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Qf5 12. Bxc6 {The point of White's trade. He gets to damage the Black queenside and the tempo to defend the d4-pawn.} bxc6 {This position has been encountered by Nelson in tournament praxis!} 13. Qe2 $1 {Gaining more time to set up his own offensive plan.} (13. Ne2 e6 14. c4 Qd3 $1 15. Rc1 Ne4 16. Be3 Qxd1 17. Rfxd1 Bd6 18. a3 Rhg8 {White has a structural edge though Nelson eventuallly ecked out a win, Dela Cruz,N (2371) -Mariano,N (2251)/Manila 2013}) 13... Kb7 14. Be3 e6 $146 {This is Nelson's improvement over a prior game.} ({ Black has attempted to straighten his pawns after} 14... Nd5 $2 15. Nxd5 cxd5 { but this gave White time to pummel down the queenside with} 16. c4 $1 e6 17. c5 Ra8 18. Rfc1 c6 19. Rc3 Be7 20. Rb3+ Kc7 21. Qd2 Rhc8 22. Bf4+ Kd7 23. Rb7+ $18 {Fomichenko,E (2492)-Scheblykin,S (2348)/Anapa 2008}) 15. b4 $3 {Benjamin gives him no rest and demonstrates the sustained initiative play that has earned him scalps over IMs in recent months.} Bd6 16. Rfb1 {Bringing the whole chain gang into the attack.} e5 {Black meets the flank action with central activity but it's too little too late.} ({After} 16... Nd5 17. Nxd5 exd5 18. a4 {is also daunting for Black.}) 17. b5 $3 {The king's cover is blown away just like that.} cxb5 18. Nxb5 $1 axb5 19. Rxb5+ ({Even more incisive is} 19. Qxb5+ Kc8 20. c4 {with the idea of c5-c6.}) 19... Kc8 20. dxe5 {The Rb5 also helps to set up a horizontal pin.} Bxe5 21. f4 Rhe8 $2 ({Black must bail out into an ending a pawn down with} 21... Rd5 $5 22. Rxd5 Nxd5 23. fxe5 Nxe3 24. Qxe3) 22. fxe5 $18 {The rest is a clinical mop-up by Ben and he never relinquished his sustained initiative thanks to the floundering Black king.} Rxe5 23. Rxe5 Qxe5 24. Qa6+ Kd7 25. Rd1+ Ke7 26. Qa3+ Ke8 27. Qa4+ Rd7 28. Re1 Kf8 29. Qa8+ Ke7 30. Bf2 Qxe1+ 31. Bxe1 Nd5 32. Qc6 Rd6 33. Qc5 Kd7 34. Bg3 Re6 35. Qxd5+ Kc8 36. a4 c6 37. Qb3 Kd7 38. a5 c5 39. a6 Re8 40. a7 Kc6 41. Bb8 Re1+ 42. Kf2 Re6 43. a8=Q+ 1-0

Singapore Masters Blitz Invitational 2015 by Junior Tay

Personally, I would prefer to play in events where I can get a decent number of rounds with stronger players to ‘teach me a lesson’. I also believe my contemporaries also feel the same way, that is, they would prefer tourneys where they could be put to the test by strong masters. Hence, these days, I would rather take part in Chess.com’s Titled Tuesday event, where the US$1000 prize fund pulls in ELO 2700+ type super-GMs like Hikaru Nakamura, Baduur Jobava, Maxime Vachier Lagrave just to name a few. In my two attempts at the event, I have played GMs Jon Ludwig Hammer (got a lucky draw) and Laurent Fressinet (got hammered) and both were incidentally King Magnus’ World Championship seconds.

A recent innovative concept by Olimpiu Urcan caught my attention immediately. Together with Mark Tan Koh Boon, they co-sponsored one of the strongest local events possible. By the way, Mark is no slouch at chess, having beaten Wei Ming and Julio Sadorra (now GM) in tournament play before.

Not since the last TCA Mega Open (a cool $1100 first prize won by your blogmaster Wei Ming) had we seen such an impressive line-up. It’s not just about the money (1st - $600, 2nd - $300, 3rd -$200, 4th-6th 1 year Chesscafe membership, 3 lucky draw prizes- Kevin Goh’s autographed Everyman Chess Development 6 Bg5 book).

 The conditions established were equally promising too, for example,
*Early personal invitations to the masters to take part with no deadline to reply – as long as they do so before the start of the event
*Big spacious, air-conditioned condo function room
*Low entry fees - $10, which is easily 3 to 10 times lower than the local events
*Generous time-frame to decide whether to participate
*Bottled mineral water supplied during games
*Flexibility – the participants, by majority vote, can decide on changes to the schedule for example

*Publicity – the event would be covered via pictures, video, and game scores swiftly afterwards.

What more can you ask for? Soon, 16 ELO 2100-2400+ players signed up and with 3 IMs, 6 FMs and 1 WIM in tow, a jolly good chess tussle was in the works with no easy rounds for anyone. In fact, Jarred Neubronner got it absolutely right when he stated that ‘the winner will not score more than 8 points’.

Wei Ming and Benjamin Foo surged into the lead after 3 rounds with maximum points. Some of my chess pals were quite surprised at young Benjamin’s strength but not us. At a blitz team match held at my place, he scored 4.5/6 vs the likes of IM Hsu Li Yang, IM Terry Toh and FM Ong Chong Ghee - a very impressive result. Round 4 was the matchup between Wei Ming and Ben which ended in a draw after careful play by the latter. Ben took over the lead in Round 5 by beating Reggie Olay, a Filipino NM (with 3 IM norms!) while Wei Ming was held to a draw by FM Tin Jingyao. Round 6 turned the leaderboard into a tizzy when Benjamin was ousted by FM Andrean Susilodinata and Wei Ming got outlasted by his nemesis Jarred. So, at the halfway mark, we had Ben with 4.5 pts, followed by Wei Ming, Jarred, Andrean and Timothy Chan with 4. The latter (another triple IM norm holder) had not played competitively since November 2012. So how did he keep up with the heavyweights at the event? According to Wei Ming, Tim had been playing online regularly for the past month just to keep in shape for this event and it has certainly paid off!

After the break, Ben and Wei Ming stepped up the gas by beating Jarred and Tim respectively. At this point, Reggie Olay (with 3/6 only) started to hit an awesome vein of form but more of that later. Your scribe proved to be the spoiler of the event after drawing Wei Ming and beating Ben in the next two rounds (he missed a simple windmill!) in the next two rounds. Thus, by round 9, we had Wei Ming and Ben at 6.5 points followed by Reggie, Tim and your scribe at 6 points. In the penultimate round, I dropped off the title fight after getting comprehensively beaten by Reggie while Wei Ming and Ben clung on to joint lead after beating Suelo and Gong Qianyun respectively. Tim kept pace by accounting for FM Nelson Mariano III.

So at this point, it was Wei Ming and Ben with 7.5 followed by Reggie and Tim with 7 points. All of a sudden, we have the revenge of the Pinoys as ALL of them magnificently won their games in the all important final round. Wei Ming was outplayed by national coach IM Enrique Paciencia and Ivan Gil Biag took down Ben.

Round 11 - Pinoy Power! 

By beating IM Li Ruofan, Reggie completed an incredible feat from Round 7 to 11, reeling off 5 consecutive wins to claim the 1st Singapore Blitz Masters title with 8/11! The day before the event, he had put on his facebook – “ No Tiger Beer day for me…A tournament to play in the ‘Anchor’age, so ‘Tiger’ moves first! (Nice puns eh?) And tiger-ish moves he played indeed as he strode to an impressive TPR 2464 performance and the $600 first prize. A brilliant self-birthday gift for him, as he celebrated his 39th birthday!

 Reggie ready to fight like a tiger! 

We also had Singapore’s strongest kibitzer in the audience, GM Zhang Zhong who was ever helpful with post-game comments and pointers on the games. What more can we ask for?

One final note is the adoption of the 3 minutes + 2 seconds time control used in the tourney. In the local blitz events, the 5 minutes sudden death time control is still used. Hence it is inevitable that in the dying seconds of the game, you will see clock banging, pieces flying and inevitably disputes as players try to beat the flag instead of the opponent. As a consequence, the arbiter might have to step in to settle disputes. With incremental time, most of these issues are eliminated and as evidenced by the tourney proceedings. Players resign when they are well and truly lost without playing till they get mated. A normal chess game lasts 30 to 60 moves and with 3 minutes+ 2 seconds time control, a game will usually last from 4 minutes to 6 minutes (per side), which is probably shorter than a 5+0 time control with the occasional board dispute.

So kudos to the organizers for a very well thought-out and smoothly run event!

Prize winners: 1st Reggie Olay 8/11 ($600), 2nd -3rd Benjamin Foo ($300), IM Goh Wei Ming ($200) 7.5 pts, 4th and 5th FMs Andrean Susilodinata and Timothy Chan (1 year Chesscafe membership) 7 pts, 6th to 7th FMs Tin Jingyao and FM Nelson Mariano III 6.5 pts (1 year Chesscafe membership)

Lucky draw winners (Chess Developments 6.Bg5 book (Everyman 2014)): FM Tin Jingyao, IM Enrique Paciencia and FM Nelson Mariano III.

More pictures from the event:

Singapore's chess Olympians - FM Tin Jingyao vs IM Li Ruofan 

FM Jarred Neubronner neu-tralising IM Goh Wei Ming's advantage after a long tussle.

FM Timothy Chan shows that he is not that rusty after 2 years of absolute tournament inactivity as he upended Jingyao here. 

Edward Lee fought Russian FM Andrey Terekhnov to a draw.

 China vs Philippines? 

WIM Gong Qianyun vs IM Enrique Paciencia and IM Li Ruofan vs FM Ivan Gil 

The strongest chess player in Singapore, GM Zhang Zhong, observing the proceedings and giving powerful kibitzing advice after the games. 

Final Scoretable (Chess-results.com)
Check out a video from this event (courtesy of sgchess.net) and more on the youtube playlist!
Board 1 - Benjamin Foo vs IM Goh Wei Ming, Board 2 - Reggie Olay vs FM Timothy Chan

Games section (courtesy of Olimpiu Urcan)
Reggie offered Tim a poisoned pawn on c4 and the latter really grabbed it and a strange material situation resulted. The funny thing was that Reggie's subsequent plan of ransacking the Black queenside had a major flaw...his queen would get trapped there. Unfortunately for Tim, he missed the chance to shut the queen and Reggie's subsequent powerful queen play ended all discussion.

[Event "S'pore Masters Blitz 2015"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.01"] [Round "4"] [White "FM Olay, Edgar Reggie"] [Black "FM Chan, Timothy"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E33"] [Annotator "Junior Tay"] [PlyCount "115"] [EventDate "2015.03.02"] [SourceDate "2015.03.03"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Nc6 {The Zurich variation prizes piece play above structural considerations.} 5. Nf3 d6 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. Qxc3 O-O ({ Personally, I prefer to flick in} 7... a5 {first to prevent White from expanding on the queenside so easily}) 8. b4 Qe7 {A relatively rare continuation, as Black tends to play either the ...e5 pawn sacrifice or ...Re8 here.} (8... e5 $5 9. dxe5 (9. Bb2 {is preferred by GMs Ding Liren and Volkov.} ) 9... Nxe5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Qxe5 Re8 12. Qb2 a5 13. Bg5 axb4 14. axb4 Rxa1+ 15. Qxa1 Qd3 $1 16. f3 (16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. e3 Qb3 {and White is suffering.}) 16... Qxc4 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qb2 {and Black has regained the pawn with the initiative, Peng,Z (2443)-Plasman,H (2217)/Hoogeveen 2001}) 9. Bb2 Re8 10. g3 $5 $146 e5 11. d5 ({After} 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Bg2 Nd4 {, White walked into a devious trap with} 13. e3 $4 Bh3 $1 14. Bxh3 Ne4 $1 15. Qd3 Nxf3+ 16. Ke2 Nfg5 {The point of the combination, Black cannot hold on to the bishop with ...Rad8 and ...Rd2+ looming.} 17. Rad1 {Fick,R (2110)-Eggleston,D (2399)/Bad Wiessee 2013 and now} (17. Bg2 Rad8 18. Qc2 Rd2+ 19. Qxd2 Nxd2 20. Kxd2 {and Black is winning.}) 17... Rad8 18. Qb1 Qf6 $1 19. f4 Qc6 $1 {Hitting the c4-pawn and the h3-bishop simultaneously} 20. fxg5 Nxg5 {with a winning position.}) 11... Nb8 12. Bg2 c6 {Chipping away at the White centre.} (12... b5 $5 {is an attempt to decimate White's centre but White resisted temptation with} 13. Nd2 Bb7 14. O-O Nbd7 15. a4 bxc4 16. e4 c6 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. Qxc4 Rac8 19. Rfc1 Bb7 20. Qb3 {to keep a slight structural edge, Kishnev,S (2488)-Koch,T (2416)/ Belgium 2003}) 13. dxc6 $1 Nxc6 ({Reggie probably planned to meet} 13... bxc6 { with} 14. c5 $1) 14. O-O Be6 15. Rfd1 Rac8 16. Rac1 Red8 17. h3 h6 18. e3 Bf5 ( 18... e4 $5 {with the idea of meeting} 19. Nd2 Ne5 {can be countered by the dangerous exchange sacrifice} 20. Qd4 $1 Nd3 21. Nxe4 Nxc1 22. Rxc1 {when it's easier to play White especially in blitz.}) 19. Nh4 $1 {The tempi earned allows White to make inroads on the queenside.} Bh7 20. b5 ({White can undermine the centre with} 20. c5 $5 dxc5 21. b5 {and he will pick off the e5-pawn with a durable bishop pair edge.}) 20... Nb8 21. a4 b6 22. Ba3 { Attacks the backward pawn on d6} Ne8 ({Stockfish suggests the 'inhuman'} 22... g5 23. Nf3 Ne4 24. Qa1 Qf6 {with approximate equality but humans tend to bother more about structural consideration.}) 23. Qd2 {Starting to massage the position and apply pressure on d6.} (23. e4 {gives White a solid edge too.}) 23... Qe6 {Targeting the c4-pawn.} 24. Kh2 $5 {Reggie dares Tim to pluck the c4-weakie...} Rxc4 $2 {I'm not sure if Tim missed the bishop poke from d5 but the resulting unbalanced piece setup gave Reggie winning chances.} 25. Bd5 $1 $18 Rxc1 26. Bxe6 Rxd1 27. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 28. Qxd1 Ke7 29. Qd5 Nd7 30. Qb7 Rb8 31. Qxa7 $4 {White's play following the massive exchanges has bee geared towards pilfering the queenside. However, at this juncture, both sides did not realise that the queen could be trapped!} Kd8 $4 (31... Be4 $3 {shuts the door on the queen!} 32. a5 Ra8 {and White will regret munching on a7.}) 32. a5 $4 ( 32. f3 {is necessary to blot out the ...Be4 idea.}) 32... bxa5 $4 {Now the queen gets out of jail.} (32... Be4) 33. Qxa5+ $18 Rb6 34. Nf3 Be4 35. Nd2 Bd5 {With Black driven into a defensive shell, Reggie exploits Tim's dilemna with a general pawn advance.} 36. e4 Be6 37. f4 exf4 38. gxf4 Nc7 39. Qc3 $1 { Reggie is not adverse to part with his b-pawn to remove one of Black's knights as Black's kingside has been irretrievably weakened.} Nxb5 40. Qg3 Nxa3 41. Qxa3 Nc5 42. f5 $1 {The prelude to a powerful denoument.} Bb3 43. e5 $1 { Crushing! Removing the knight's pawn support and thus wrecking the Black pieces' coordination totally.} Kc7 44. exd6+ Kc6 45. h4 Bd5 46. Qa7 ({A faster way to convert would be} 46. d7 Nxd7 47. Qc3+ Kb5 48. Qxg7 $18) 46... Rb7 {Tim is really making it very tough for Reggie to make inroads.} 47. Qa3 Kxd6 48. Qg3+ $18 Kc6 49. Qc3 Kd6 50. Qg3+ Kc6 51. Qe5 $1 {The winning plan. Reggie prepares f5-f6 to trade off the g7-pawn, thus removing the support for the hapless h6-pawn.} Nd3 52. Qc3+ Nc5 53. f6 $1 gxf6 54. Qxf6+ Be6 55. Qxh6 Rb2 56. Kg1 Kd7 $4 {Tim blunders his rook away, but there is no stopping the h-pawn anyway.} 57. Qg7+ Kd6 58. Qxb2 1-0

Getting positionally outplayed by FM Andrean Susilodinata, I spotted a really dirty cheapo...

[Event "Singapore Blitz Masters "] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.01"] [Round "?"] [White "Junior Tay"] [Black "FM Andrean Susilodinata"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B23"] [Annotator "Tay,Junior"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r4bk1/1bq2p1p/pp4p1/2n1Pp2/P1Bp4/1P4Q1/2P2NPP/R4RK1 b - - 0 21"] [PlyCount "6"] [EventDate "2015.03.03"] 21... Re8 {In this position, White is exchange for a pawn up but the isolated e-pawn is poised to drop as White cannot defend it sufficiently. Once it falls, Black surely is better with his powerful bishop pair and dominance in the centre. I spotted an ultra-dirty cheapo here...} 22. Rae1 {Meekly defending the e-pawn or so it seems.} ({I was also considering} 22. Ng4 $5 {but after} Ne4 $1 23. Qh4 Bg7 24. Nf6+ Nxf6 25. exf6 Re4 $1 {, White is in serious trouble.}) 22... Bg7 $4 {Totally missing the cheapo...} (22... Re7 $1 {first would have avoided all the trouble.}) 23. e6 $3 {All of a sudden, Black is forced to lose a rook as ...exf7+ threatens to win the whole house!} Nxe6 ( 23... Qxg3 24. exf7+ {and Black gets mated after fxe8=Q.}) 24. Rxe6 $1 {The Black queen is left en-prise and ...Qxg3 loses to Rxe8 check(!) and White converted the extra rook advantage later.} 1-0

Finally, some very clever opening play by Reggie allowed him to gain the edge over Andrean.

[Event "S'pore Masters Blitz 2015"] [Site "?"] [Date "2015.03.01"] [Round "3"] [White "Susilodinata, Andrean"] [Black "Olay, Edgar Reggie"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B75"] [Annotator "Tay,Junior"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2015.03.02"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 a6 8. Qd2 h5 $5 {A typical motif in the Dragondorf. The main point is White is 'robbed' of his natural Bh6, h4-h5 attacking setup and also the standard g2-g4 bayonet spike has been upended.} 9. O-O-O ({Watch how the irrepressible GM Jobava handle this opening} 9. Bc4 Nbd7 10. O-O-O b5 11. Bb3 Bb7 12. Kb1 Rc8 13. h3 Ne5 14. Rhe1 Nc4 15. Bxc4 Rxc4 16. Nb3 Qc7 17. Bd4 O-O {Here, it looks like conditions are ripe for a central break...} 18. e5 $6 dxe5 19. Bxe5 Ne4 $1 { Ouch! Suddenly, the tables are turned and White is forced on the defensive.} 20. Bxc7 (20. Rxe4 Bxe5 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. Qxd5 Bf6) 20... Nxd2+ 21. Rxd2 Bxc3 22. bxc3 Rxc7 {and Jobava has secured an edge in this ending, Areshchenko,A (2720)-Jobava,B (2695)/Warsaw 2013.}) 9... Nbd7 10. f4 Qc7 {This position requires some care.} ({After} 10... b5 11. Bd3 Bb7 $2 {White has the powerful break} 12. e5 dxe5 $2 (12... b4 13. Na4 dxe5 14. Ne6) 13. Ne6 $3 fxe6 $2 (13... Qa5 14. fxe5 Nxe5 15. Nxg7+ Kf8 16. Nf5 $16) 14. Bxg6+ Kf8 15. fxe5 Qa5 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Rhf1 {Tchoupine,V-Vuckovic,A (2338)/Ditzingen 2002, with a huge position for White,}) 11. f5 Ne5 12. fxg6 fxg6 13. Bg5 $5 {A typical idea, with the intention to trade on f6 and dive in with Nd5. The natural reaction here would be to move the queen away from the Nd5 hit with ...Qa5 but Reggie simply ignores the threat!} O-O $5 14. Bxf6 exf6 $1 {An odd looking recapture, weakening the d-pawn irretrievably but this move is well motivated for the sake of keeping the initiative.} ({After} 14... Bxf6 15. Nd5 Qc5 16. Be2 Bd7 17. Rhf1 {, Black's Dragondorf has lost its vitality.}) 15. Nb3 Re8 $5 {Very enterprising play. Reggie refused to be tied down to defending the d-pawn and instead gave it up nonchalantly to carry on his development.} 16. Nd5 {Andrean cautiously declined the pawn offer but his position soon deteriorated.} ({After } 16. Qxd6 Qf7 17. Be2 Be6 18. Kb1 Rac8 19. Rhf1 Rc6 20. Qd2 Rec8 {there is strong counterplay for Black.}) 16... Qf7 17. Kb1 b5 18. Nd4 $6 {Instead of taking over central squares, White needs to focus on development.} Bb7 19. Nf4 $2 Bxe4 $19 {Reggie had nabbed an important pawn and converted the win in another 25 moves.} 0-1

25 games from the event are available for download from the sgchess.net website