[Event "Youth Tournament"]
[Site "Monterey Park Chess Club"]
[Date "1968.11.08"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Tim Thompson (UR)"]
[Black "Guy Kato (1300)"]
[Result "1-0"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[BlackElo "1300"]
{This game has the distinction of being my first USCF rated chess game. In the old Monterey Park Chess Club the kids & adults were segregated and played in their own tournaments. Although I had been playing & studying chess throughout my years in elementary school and high school, I was nearly 19 before I joined the USCF and began to play in rated tournaments. Since I was new & unrated, they put me in the kids tournament, which included some older teenagers, but I was the oldest player. I won the tournament 7.5/8 and was thereafter allowed to play in the "adults" tournaments, with my first USCF rating of about 1620.}
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Bf4 {This is certainly an acceptable
move. But today I would consider 5. e3 followed by b2-b3 and posting the QB
on b2 instead.} 5... Bxf3 {I don't think the trade is worth it and would
favor 5... e6 followed by Bf8-d6 instead} 6. exf3 {Today I would prefer
6. gxf3 dxc4 7. e4 b5 8. a4 and Black can't hold the extra pawn, while White
has a pretty good center, and can even consider routing the KB to the h3
square.} 6... Nbd7 $6 {6... dxc4 7. Bxc4 Does give White an isolated QP, but
also gives White good Bishops and plenty of room to work with. 6... e6 7. Qc2
Bd6 makes more sense to me today, challenging White's dark squared Bishop.
Black is taking too long to get his King out of the center.} 7. Qc2 e6 8. Bd3
g6 $6 {This weakens the dark squares around the soon-to-be-castled Black King.
I don't think the fianchetto was such a hot idea. 8... Bb4 9. O-O Ba5 is
slow but allows for Ba5-c7 to challenge the h2-b8 diagonal.} 9. O-O Bg7 10.
Rfe1 Nh5 {10... O-O Makes more sense. The Black knight on h5 really is
sidelined for no particularly good reason.} 11. Be3 e5 $2 $18 {Worse than
"dubious", this is just plain bad. Staring at a White Rook on the soon to be
open e-file, black really needs to castle at once. As it is, not only is the
Black King staring down the White Rook, but it's hard to see a way for Black to
avoid losing a pawn.} 12. dxe5 Bxe5 {12... dxc4 13. Bxc4 Bxe5 14. Bd4 f6 15. f4
$18} 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nxd5 $6 $16 {This maybe good enough to win, but is
really inferior compared to what the position has to offer. After all, with the
Rook and King looking at each other, the right idea should have been obvious:
14. f4 $18 and Black is going to lose a lot more than a mere pawn.} 14...
Qh4 $4 $18 {The mandatory 14... O-O leaves White a pawn up, but it's the
doubled f-pawn, so White has some work ahead of him to win the endgame, if he
can win the endgame. But with this move Black gives White a second chance to see the
tactic that he missed last move, and this time I spotted it.} 15. f4 {And
White must win a piece and with it the game.} 15... Bxf4 {15... Bg7 16. Bc5+
Kd8 17. Be7+ $18} 16. Bxf4+ Kf8 {16... Kd8 17. Qc7#; 16... Ne5 17. Bb5+ Kf8 18.
Qc5+ Kg8 19. Ne7+ Kg7 20. Bxe5+ is no major improvement over losing the Queen.
Black could have honorably resigned, but it takes a long time for kids to
figure that out.} 17. Bh6+ Kg8 18. Ne7+ Qxe7 19. Rxe7 Ndf6 20. Rc7 Ng7 {20...
Ne8 21. Rc8 Rxc8 22. Qxc8 Nf6 23. Re1 And zugzwang strikes.} 21. Rc8+ Rxc8
22. Qxc8+ Nfe8 23. Re1 Kf8 24. Bxg7+ {Intent on my preconceived combination I
played quickly and overlooked the obvious: 24. Qxe8#; 24. Rxe8# But I had
already seen that I could take all of his pieces and automatically did it.} 24... Kxg7
25. Rxe8 Rxe8 26. Qxe8 1-0 With no pieces left at all, Black finally gets the
hint and resigns. Back in the old days there weren't many youngsters in chess
clubs that were as strong as I was, even if it's just the mid 1600's. Nowadays
even 10 years olds scoff at 1600. But I was quite happy to win my first rated
game, and eventually my first rated tournament.
