USATE Star-Ledger Column for March 2nd
Esdoyle firemanfreiberger We have our first entry from the US Amateur Team East, and it’s an exciting one. Our contributor and winner of the game is Rich Fireman. We have always felt his last name is a bit ironic when considering his chess style as he seems to start more fires on the chessboard than he puts out!
This game is no exception. Rich, of course, opens with the Dunst Opening: 1.Nc3. It has been used by clever New York 5-minute players for at least a half-century. It is quite tricky, gives equal chances and takes people out of their preparation.
If you try to take White away from his prep with 1…f5, then 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 exd3 4.Bxd3 leaves White in a From’s Gambit a move ahead with an advantage.
In our game, Black plays some shaky bishop moves right at the start. The bishop check simply moves an already developed piece. There were five better choices:
8…0–0; 8…Nc6; 8…Qd6; 8…Qe7; 8…c5. Then he comes up with the Bd7 and a5 idea, ostensibly threatening b5 and the trapping of the bishop. Both players seem to think it may work!
However, there were several refutations of the idea after 9…a5: 10.Qg5 b5 11.Bxb5 Bxb5 12.Qxe5+ and 10.f4! b5 11.Bxf7+ (11.fxe5 bxc4 12.exf6 Qxf6 13.dxc4 c5 14.0–0–0) 11…Kxf7 12.fxe5 Ng4 13.0–0+ Ke8 14.Qf4 Qe7 15.Nf5 Qxe5 16.Qxg4.
The, both players try ill-advised “attack with the queen first” moves. Neither works, but Fireman rises to the occasion by correcting what he did and then conceiving an especially effective kingside attack.
He finally uses the move 9.N1e2 was meant to support by hitting with 16.f4 and then properly capturing with the rook to get the doubling on the f-file and setting up the sacrifice on move 20.
His position is so good by move 19 that not only the sparkling e5 push bring victory, but another way was available that was about as good: 19.R4f3! a4 20.Nf4 Qg5 21.Ngh5 g6 22.h4 Qxh4 23.Nd5 gxh5 (23…Ng4 24.Rh3) 24.Nf6+ Kg7 (24… Kh8 25.Qxh6) 25.g3 Qh3 26.Qg5+, but it seems a bit colorless in comparison to the fireworks provided by White with e5 and then Rf6!! and the follow-up 25.e6!
On that move, it doesn’t matter which way Black takes as White’s attack is by that point decisive. Fireman then demonstrates to Black that not only will he be down in material, but the queen is about to do a housecleaning of the Black queenside. A great game by Rich Fireman. It is very instructive in its conception of developing a kingside attack.
Hopefully, the rest of our readers will send in their best games from this tournament that broke all records: 1250 players and 291 teams!!
Rich Fireman-Jon Freiberger, USATE, Parsippany, 2008
1. Nc3 d5 2. e4 d4 3. Nce2 e5 4. Ng3 Bd6 5. Bc4 Nf6 6. d3 Bb4+? 7. Bd2 Bxd2+ 8. Qxd2 Bd7? 9. N1e2!? a5? 10. a3?! b5 11. Ba2 O-O 12. O-O c5 13. Qg5? Ng4 14. Qd2 Qh4? 15. h3 Nh6 16. f4 exf4 17. Rxf4! Qg5 18. Raf1 Qg6 19. e5! Nc6 20. Rf6!! gxf6 21. Rxf6 Qg7 22. Nh5 Nf5 23. Nxg7 Nxg7 24. Qg5 Rae8 25. e6! Bxe6 26. Bxe6 Rxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Qxc5 Rc8 29. Nxd4 Black Resign>
