[Event "?"]
[Site "Arcadia Chess Club"]
[Date "1988.12.05"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tim Thompson (2037)"]
[Black "Dennis Hokama (2047)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[WhiteElo "2037"]
[BlackElo "2047"]
{Played at the Arcadia Chess Club. I didn't record the name of the tournament, but I can tell you it was round 3. Time control was 40 moves in 90 minutes, and 25 moves per hour thereafter (this was before sudden death time controls). Back in the 80's and 90's Dennis
was a regular around the local chess clubs and we played several games. I think I had a narrow plus score. But his rating since then
has gone down, just like mine, and it looks like he has not played a tournament game since 2000.}
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6 7. N1f3
{I think the main line was then and is now 7. Qe2 Nb6 8. Bb3}
7... h6 8. Nh3 Bd6 9. Qe2 O-O 10. O-O b5 11. Bb3 a6
{A familiar tactic, Black wants to advance c6-c5 but needs to protect the b5 pawn first.}
12. Ne5
{And a familiar response. White will either lodge a bothersome Knight on e5, or put a pawn
there and chase away the defending Knight on f6.}
12... Bxe5 13. dxe5 Nd5 14. Re1
{Protecting the e5 pawn in anticipation of Qe2-g4}
14... Bb7 $6
{I think this was a dubious move, though not a major mistake. Still, 14... Qc7 at
once discourages White from Qe2-g4 with Nd7xe5. On b7 the Bishop is buried
behind the pawns until the c6 pawn finally advances, and with no pressure on
him White is free to strike out and try to take the initiative.}
15. Qg4 Ne7 $2
{But this is a serious mistake, prompted by an hallucination. I certainly expected 15... Kh8
and was surprised when he didn't do it. After the game he said he looked at it and thought
I would play Bxh6 anyway, but when we went over the game he could not recreate whatever he
thought he saw. In any case, after the King move White cannot capture on h6 and should probably play
16. Bd2 or perhaps 16. c4}
16. Bxh6
{Of course I snatched the pawn, no good reason not to.}
16... Ng6 $2 $18
{Losing the pawn, as bad as it was, might not have been fatal, but this is.
White is winning now for sure. I expected 16... Nf5 to cover g7 and chase the Bishop.
Followed perhaps by g7-g6 Black could hold out for a long time and might still
be able to create serious drawing opportunities.}
17. Bxe6
{Evidently he overlooked this shot which
essentially ends the game, since even against best play I will wind up at least
a piece ahead. He could have resigned here, but at this stage of his career
Dennis rarely resigned if there was a dream left to play for.}
17... Qh4
{Apparently the best defense, since capturing either Bishop puts the Black King
in a mating net, and if he sits around and waits I will still grab the g6
Knight.}
18. Qxg6
{Certainly an impressive looking attacking position, if I do
say so myself.}
18... Qxh6 19. Qxh6 gxh6 20. Bxd7
{The smoke of battle clears
and while Black has avoided mate, White stands more than a Knight ahead and
wins in straightforward fashion.}
20... c5
{The Bishop is finally liberated
from behind his own pawns, but too late. The rest of the game is routine. But
remember, there is no rule that requires resignation. So when your opponent
won't resign, don't get mad, just win.}
21. Rad1 Kh8 22. Nf4 Rg8 23. g3 Rg5 24. Rd6 Rd8 25. h4
{Yes I could have grabbed the h6 pawn but what for? I am already
ahead by a copious amount of material and don't need another pawn, so grabbing
it is just time wasted. I chose instead to make his Rook go away.}
25... Rg7 26. Nh5 Bf3
{Dreaming about Rd8-d1-h1 mate. This is the kind of dream that
keeps people slogging along in a really lost position.}
27. Nxg7
{OK, I won't grab a loose pawn but I will grab the loose exchange. Usually better to be up a
Rook than up a Knight.}
27... Kxg7 28. Re3 Bh5 29. f4 f6
{I thought he might actually resign once I broke up the dream mate, but he wasn't ready for that yet.}
30. e6 Be8 31. e7 Rxd7 32. Rxd7 Bxd7 33. e8=Q 1-0
33... Bxe8 34. Rxe8 is forced and then he has a bare naked King against an unopposed Rook. Now those odds
were enough to convince him to resign.
