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Главная страница Шахматисты Шахматисты США Ник де Фирмиан

Ник де Фирмиан не активен

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De Firmian, Nick
Звание ФИДЕ: GM (Гроссмейстер)
Другое звание: DI (Инструктор по развитию ФИДЕ)
Федерация: США
Дата рождения: 26.07.1957
Рейтинг стандарт: 2445
Рейтинг рапид: 2468
ФИДЕ ID

[Event "Reggio Emilia-A 8990 32nd"]
[Site "Reggio Emilia"]
[Date "1989.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Beliavsky, Alexander G"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E91"]
[WhiteElo "2640"]
[BlackElo "2570"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "1989.12.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "ITA"]
[EventCategory "15"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 1997"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.11.15"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.11.15"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Be2 e6 8. O-O Re8
9. dxe6 Bxe6 10. Bf4 Qb6 11. Bxd6 Rd8 12. e5 Ne8 13. Na4 Qc6 14. b4 cxb4 15. c5
Qc8 16. Nd4 Nxd6 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. exd6 Bxa1 19. Qxa1 Qd7 20. Bg4 Re8 21. Nb2
Nc6 22. Nd3 Qg7 23. Bf3 Nd4 24. Nxb4 Rac8 25. Nd3 b6 26. cxb6 axb6 27. Bg4 Rcd8
28. Qe1 Rxd6 29. Ne5 Nc6 30. Nxc6 Rxc6 31. Qe4 Rd6 32. Bd1 Qd4 33. Qb1 Rf8 34.
Bb3 Kg7 35. Qc2 e5 36. Qc7+ Kh8 37. Qc2 e4 38. Qe2 Rdf6 39. h3 e3 40. f3 Qd2
41. Re1 Qxe2 42. Rxe2 Re8 43. Bd5 Rd6 44. Be4 Rd2 45. Rxe3 Rxa2 46. Rb3 Rb8 47.
Rb5 Kg7 48. h4 Kf6 49. Kh2 Ra5 50. Rb4 b5 51. Bd3 Ra4 52. Rxb5 Rxb5 53. Bxb5
Rxh4+ 54. Kg3 g5 55. Kf2 Rb4 56. Bd7 Ke5 57. g3 Rb7 58. Bg4 Rb2+ 59. Kg1 Kd4
60. f4 gxf4 61. gxf4 Ke4 0-1

[Event "Mid America op"]
[Site "Chicago"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Ivanov, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C92"]
[WhiteElo "2580"]
[BlackElo "2665"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "1994.??.??"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "5"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2004"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2003.11.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2003.11.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. a4 h6 12. Nbd2 Bf8 13. Bc2 exd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 15.
Bb1 c5 16. d5 Nd7 17. Ra3 bxa4 18. Rxa4 a5 19. Ra3 Ba6 20. Nf1 Bxf1 21. Kxf1 g6
22. Bf4 Rc8 23. Qd2 h5 24. Bh6 Bxh6 25. Qxh6 Qf6 26. Rxa5 Ra8 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28.
Qd2 Nb6 29. Qc3 Qxc3 30. bxc3 Na2 31. Bxa2 Rxa2 32. Re2 Ra3 33. Rc2 Na4 34. e5
Nxc3 35. exd6 Kf8 36. g3 f6 37. Nh4 Ke8 38. Nxg6 Kd7 39. Nf4 h4 40. gxh4 Ne4
41. h5 Rf3 42. Ne6 Rxh3 43. Re2 f5 44. Ng7 Nxd6 45. Re6 c4 46. Kg2 Rd3 47. h6
c3 48. h7 c2 49. Nxf5 Rxd5 50. Re7+ Kc6 51. h8=Q c1=Q 52. Qa8+ Kb6 53. Qxd5
Qg5+ 54. Kf1 Qc1+ 55. Re1 1-0

[Event "Rubinstein Memorial 32nd"]
[Site "Polanica Zdroj"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Huebner, Robert"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C11"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2630"]
[Annotator "Ftacnik,L"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1995.08.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "POL"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 049"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1995.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1995.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Qb6 9. Qd2 Qxb2 10. Rb1 Qa3 11. Bb5 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 Bb4 13. Rb3 (13. O-O O-O (
13... a6 14. Rb3 Qa5 15. Rfb1 (15. Bxd7+ $6 Bxd7 16. Rfb1 Bc5 17. Rxb7 Rc8 18.
R1b3 Ba4 19. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 20. Kh1 Qc4 $1 (20... Bxb3 21. Ne4 Qxc2 22. Nd6+ Kf8
23. Qxc2 $1 Rxc2 24. Rb8+ Ke7 25. Rb7+ $10) 21. Rb1 O-O 22. Nxa4 Qxa4 $15 {
Georgiev,Kir-Ehlvest,J/Reggio Emilia/1989/0-1 (61) ><c2, f4}) 15... Ba3 (15...
Be7 $5 16. Bxd7+ Bxd7 17. Kh1 b5 18. f5 $44) (15... Qxb5) 16. Bxd7+ Bxd7 17.
Kh1 (17. Rxb7 Rc8 18. Kh1 Bc5 $15) (17. Qe3 Rc8 18. Rxb7 Rc4 19. f5 Bc8 20.
fxe6 fxe6 21. Rxg7 Rxd4 22. Qg5 Qxc3 23. Qh5+ Kd8 24. Qg5+ Ke8 25. Qh5+ {
1/2-1/2 Santo Roman,M-Zueger,B/Moscow olm (10) FRA-SUI 1994}) 17... Bc5 (17...
b5 $2 18. Qe3 Rb8 19. Nxd5 $16) 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Rxb7 Rd8 $1 (19... Rc8 $4 20.
Ne4 $18) 20. Ne2 Qf2 21. R1b3 {~/= Magem Badals,J-Zueger,B/Horgen II 61/(284)
1994} (21. Qe1 Qxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Rc8 23. Nd4 Ke7 $1 24. Reb1 Rc4 25. R1b4 Rhc8 $15
) (21. R1b3 Qf1+ 22. Ng1 O-O 23. Rb1 Qc4 $10)) 14. Rb3 Qa5 15. Qf2 f5 (15...
Nb6 $2 16. a3 Be7 17. Ne4 $1 Nc4 18. Nf6+ $1 Bxf6 19. exf6 Qd2 20. fxg7 $18 {
Ziatdinov,R-Zueger,B/Biel op/1994/}) 16. Rfb1 Be7 17. Bxd7 Bxd7 18. Rxb7 Qd8 (
18... Rfd8 19. Nb5 Rab8 20. Nd6 Rxb7 21. Rxb7 Qxa2 22. h3 Qa4 23. Rxa7 Qc6 {
1/2-1/2 Luther,T-Zueger,B/Mitropa-Cup (6) SWZ-GER [2] 1991}) 19. Bc5 Bxc5 20.
Qxc5 Bc8 21. Rb8 Rxb8 22. Rxb8 d4 23. Ne2 Qd7 24. Nxd4 Rd8 25. Qd6 {1-0 Kruppa,
Y-Kaidanov,G/URS-chT 1988}) (13. f5 exf5 14. O-O (14. Rb3 Qa5 15. a3 Qxb5 16.
Nxb5 Bxd2+ 17. Kxd2 O-O 18. Nc7 Rb8 19. Bxa7 Rd8 20. Re1 d4 21. Rb4 {1-0
Garcia,G-Armas,J/Camaguey-B 1987}) 14... O-O 15. Rf3 Bc5 16. Bxd7 Bxd7 17. Nxd5
Qxa2 18. Rfb3 Bxd4+ 19. Qxd4 Be6 20. Ra1 Qxa1+ $2 (20... Qxc2 $1 21. Nf6+ gxf6
22. Rg3+ Kh8 23. Qh4 Qc5+ 24. Kh1 Qxe5 $19) 21. Qxa1 Bxd5 {0.5/Nunn,J-Zueger,B/
London/1987/}) 13... Qa5 14. a3 Be7 15. f5 exf5 (15... b6 16. O-O Ba6 17. Bxa6
Qxa6 18. Nb5 O-O-O 19. fxe6 Nc5 20. Rxf7 Nxb3 21. Qe2 Kb8 22. cxb3 Rhe8 23. a4
Qc8 24. h3 Qxe6 25. Rxg7 Rg8 26. Rxh7 Rc8 27. a5 Rc1+ 28. Kh2 Qg6 29. Rxe7 Qg3#
{0-1/Mencinger,V-Rogulj,B/Bled op (7)/1992/}) 16. Nxd5 (16. e6 fxe6 17. Bxg7
Rg8 18. Qh6 Kf7 19. Bxd7 Bxd7 20. Be5 d4 21. Qxh7+ Kf8 22. Bf4 Rxg2 23. Bh6+
Ke8 24. Qh8+ Kf7 25. Qh7+ {Van der Wiel,J-Ree,H/Nederland/1986/}) 16... Bh4+ (
16... Qxd2+ 17. Kxd2 Bd8 18. Rg3 a6 19. Bxd7+ Bxd7 20. Rxg7 {0.5/De Wit,J-Ree,
H/Amsterdam II/1985/} (20. Rxg7 Be6 21. Nf6+ Kf8 $1 $10 {_|_})) 17. Kd1 (17. g3
Qxd2+ 18. Kxd2 Bd8 19. Rf1 O-O 20. Bxd7 Bxd7 21. Rxb7 Bc6 22. Ne7+ Bxe7 23.
Rxe7 Rfd8 $15) 17... Qd8 $2 (17... Qxd2+ 18. Kxd2 Bd8) 18. Nf6+ $3 gxf6 (18...
Kf8 19. Bc5+ $18) (18... Ke7 19. Qb4+) (18... Bxf6 19. exf6 O-O (19... gxf6 20.
Re1+ Kf8 21. Qh6+ $18) 20. Bxd7 (20. fxg7 Re8 21. Rh3 $40) 20... Qxd7 21. Rg3
g6 22. Kc1 f4 23. Qxf4 Kh8 24. Qh6 Rg8 25. Rh3 $18) 19. exf6 O-O (19... Bxf6
20. Re1+ Be7 (20... Kf8 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Rg3+) 21. Bxh8 $18) (19... h6 $8 20.
Qe3+ Kf8 21. Qe7+ Qxe7 22. fxe7+ Bxe7 23. Bxh8 f6 24. Rg3 $18) 20. Rg3+ $1 Kh8
(20... Bxg3 21. Qg5+) 21. Qh6 Rg8 (21... Bxf6 22. Qg7+ $1 Bxg7 23. Bxg7+ Kg8
24. Bf6#) 22. Rg7 Nf8 (22... Nxf6 23. Rxh7#) (22... Nf8 23. Rxg8+ Kxg8 24. Qg7#
) 1-0

[Event "Donner Memorial"]
[Site "Amsterdam"]
[Date "1996.08.17"]
[Round "1"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[Annotator "Wedberg,T"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "1996.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 055"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Petursson King} e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 d5 $6 $146 {Sokolov wants to test if 8.a4 really is a true
anti-marshall.} (8... b4) (8... Bb7) (8... Rb8) 9. Bxd5 $1 (9. axb5 dxe4 10.
bxc6 exf3 11. Qxf3 e4 12. Qe3 Bd6 $14 {This looks a bit like a Marshall.}) (9.
exd5 Na5 $5 (9... Nd4 10. Nxd4 (10. Nxe5 Bb7) 10... exd4 11. axb5 Bb7 12. bxa6
Bxd5 13. Bxd5 Nxd5 $16 {but not without some chances to Black.}) 10. Nxe5 Bb7
$132) 9... Nxd5 10. exd5 Nd4 (10... Qxd5 11. Nc3 $16) 11. Nxd4 (11. Nxe5 Bb7
12. Nc3 b4 13. Ne2 Qxd5 14. Nf4 Qd6 $13) 11... exd4 12. axb5 Bb7 13. c4 dxc3
14. dxc3 axb5 15. Rxa8 Bxa8 16. Qd3 Bxd5 17. Qxb5 $16 {White is a healthy P up.
Compared to the usual Marshall lines Blacks counterplay is thin.} Bd6 {
Petursson: A nice looking pair of bishops but the attack never really takes
off.} 18. Nd2 Qa8 {King: Black's strategy certainly looks elegant, but he
doesn't have quite enough compensation for the pawn. The problem is that White
has no weaknesses that Black can latch on to, in spite of his great freedom of
movement.} 19. f3 Qa7+ 20. Kh1 Qf2 21. Qe2 Qh4 22. Nf1 h6 23. Be3 Re8 24. Qd2
Qh5 25. Bf2 Rxe1 26. Qxe1 f5 27. Bg3 f4 28. Bf2 Qf5 29. Qd1 Bc4 30. Kg1 Bd3 31.
Nd2 Kh7 32. h3 Qb5 33. b3 Qe5 34. Bd4 Bc5 $2 (34... Qe6 $142) 35. Ne4 $1 {
Petursson: A very neat clarifying move} Bxd4+ $6 (35... Bxe4 36. fxe4 $16) 36.
cxd4 Qb5 $8 (36... Qxd4+ $2 37. Nf2 $18) 37. Nc5 Bf5 38. Qe1 $1 $18 {/\Qe5 /
\Qe5} Bc2 39. Qc1 Qe2 40. Qxf4 1-0

[Event "Donner Memorial"]
[Site "Amsterdam"]
[Date "1996.08.19"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Salov, Valery"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2675"]
[BlackElo "2575"]
[Annotator "Ribli,Z"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "1996.08.17"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "NED"]
[EventCategory "16"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 055"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nf3 {Ribli.Auf diese Weise vermeidet Weiss das
eventuelle Wolgagambit oder die Benoni-Verteidigung.} cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3
e6 6. Ndb5 d5 7. Bf4 e5 8. cxd5 exf4 9. dxc6 bxc6 10. Qxd8+ Kxd8 11. Nd4 Bb7 $5
{Ribli.Das alte 11...Bd7 ist auch gut spielbar,aber De Firmians Idee ist
logisch. Der Laeufer hat seinen Platz auf der grossen Diagonale.} (11... Bd7 {
Siehe SURVEY}) 12. g3 c5 (12... fxg3 13. hxg3 Kc7 14. Bg2 Rd8 15. Rc1 Bb4 (
15... Rxd4 $2 16. Nb5+) 16. Rh4 (16. O-O Rxd4 (16... Bxc3 17. Nxc6 Bxc6 (17...
Bxb2 18. Nxd8+ Bxc1 19. Rxc1+ (19. Nxf7 $1 Bxg2 (19... Re8 $2 20. Rxc1+ Kb8 21.
Bxb7 Kxb7 22. Nd6+) 20. Rxc1+) (19. Nxb7) 19... Kxd8 20. Bxb7) 18. Rxc3 Rd6 19.
Rfc1 $18) 17. Nb5+) 16... Nd5 $10) 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. Bg2 (14. O-O-O Ke7) 14...
Rb8 15. O-O-O Ke7 $10 {Ribli. Schwarz hat einen schwachen Bauern auf c5, aber
das Laeuferpaar und sein aktives Spiel kompensieren das. Der Bauer f4 stoert
ein wenig die weisse Stellung, nach 16.gf4 Bf4 hat Weiss auch Probleme mit
seiner Bauernstruktur. Der folgende Zug von Weiss ist erzwungen.} 16. e3 {
Ribli.Weiss kann diesen Zug nicht umgehen.} fxe3 17. Rhe1 Rhd8 $8 18. Rxe3+ Kf8
{Ribli. Ich kann diese Stellung als gleich abschaetzen. Der schwarze c-Bauern
ist grundsaetzlich schwach, aber es gibt auch andere Faktoren. Schwarz droht
mit Ng4.  Weiss kann zu seinem Unglьck nicht seinen Traum verwirklichen. Das
ist in erster Linie der Tausch des weissfarbigen Laeufers, und die Besetzung
des wichtigen Feldes c4 durch seinen Springer auf f3.} 19. h3 (19. Red3 Be7 (
19... Ke7 20. Nb5 (20. Nh4)) 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Rxd8+ Bxd8 22. Ne1 (22. h3)
22... Bxg2 23. Nxg2 Ng4) 19... g6 20. Ne1 $6 (20. Red3 Bc7 21. Rxd8+ (21. Nb5
$2 Rxd3 22. Rxd3 Ba6) 21... Rxd8 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. Ne1 $10) 20... Ba6 $1 $15
21. Nc2 Be7 22. Rde1 Rd7 23. Bf1 (23. b3 c4) 23... Bxf1 24. Rxf1 c4 25. Rd1 (
25. Re2 $5) 25... Rdb7 26. Na4 {Ribli.Die Turmverdoppelung auf der halboffenen
b-Linie bietet Schwarz gefaehrliche Initiative.Weisse frueheres Grundziel -
das Spiel gegen den schwache c-Bauern - bleibt eine Illusion.} Nd7 27. Rd4 Nb6
28. Nxb6 Rxb6 29. Rxc4 (29. Rd7 Bc5 30. Rf3 Rxb2 31. Rfxf7+ Ke8 $17) 29... Rxb2
30. Rc7 $6 (30. a4 $5) 30... Bg5 31. f4 Bd8 $17 32. Rd7 (32. Rxa7 Bb6) 32...
Rxa2 33. Rc3 Bb6 {Ribli. Schwarz hat praktisch gewonnen.Er besitzt nicht nur
einen Bauernvorteil, darueber hinaus ist die gegnerische Bauernstellung
ziehmlich verwundbar.} 34. Rc4 Ra5 35. Kd2 Re8 36. Kc3 Rb5 37. Ra4 Re2 38. Nd4
Re3+ 39. Kd2 Bxd4 40. Rdxd4 Rxg3 $19 41. Rxa7 Rxh3 {Ribli.Weiss macht in
seiner Verzweiflung noch ein Paar Zuege - er hдtte sich diese letzte Phase
lieber sparen sollen.} 42. Rdd7 Rf5 43. Rd4 Rf3 44. Raa4 Rh5 45. Rd3 Rh2+ 46.
Kc3 Rhh3 47. Rxf3 Rxf3+ 48. Kd2 Kg7 49. Ke2 Rb3 50. Ra6 h6 {Ribli. Die
einfache Drohung von Schwarz ist: mit g6-g5 zwei verbundene Bauern ins Leben
rufen, das gewinnt leicht. Deshalb gab Weiss in dieser hoffnungslosen Stellung
auf.} 0-1

[Event "Olympiad-32"]
[Site "Yerevan"]
[Date "1996.10.01"]
[Round "14.1"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Azmaiparashvili, Zurab"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "1996.09.15"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "14"]
[EventCountry "ARM"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 055"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1996.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "US of America"]
[BlackTeam "Georgia"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "GEO"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3 g6 5. c4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. c5 N6d7 8.
Bc4 O-O 9. O-O c6 10. Re1 Nf6 11. h3 b5 12. Bb3 a5 13. a3 Na6 14. Qe2 Nc7 15.
Qxe7 Be6 16. Qxd8 Rfxd8 17. Bf4 Nfe8 18. Bxe6 Nxe6 19. Be5 Bxe5 20. Rxe5 Nf6
21. Rd1 b4 22. Na4 Nd7 23. Ree1 Rab8 24. d5 cxd5 25. Rxd5 Ndxc5 26. Rxc5 Nxc5
27. Nxc5 Rb5 28. axb4 Rxb4 29. Re2 Rb5 30. Na4 Rb4 31. Nc3 Rdb8 32. Re5 Rxb2
33. Rxa5 Rc2 34. Ne4 Re2 35. Ra4 f5 36. Nf6+ Kg7 37. Nd5 Rb7 38. h4 Rd7 39. Ra5
Kh6 40. g3 Rb7 41. Nf4 Ree7 42. Ne5 Rb6 43. Kg2 Reb7 44. Nc4 Rc6 45. Ne3 Rcb6
46. Rxf5 Rb5 47. Ng4+ 1-0

[Event "New York op"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1997.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ehlvest, Jaan"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A75"]
[WhiteElo "2635"]
[BlackElo "2575"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1997.04.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 057 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1997.05.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1997.05.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 a6 8. a4 Bg4
9. Be2 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nbd7 11. O-O Bg7 12. Bf4 Qe7 13. Re1 O-O 14. Qd2 Rfe8 15.
h3 Ne5 16. Be2 Qc7 17. Bh2 c4 18. Kh1 Rab8 19. f4 Ned7 20. Bf3 b5 21. axb5 axb5
22. Ra6 Nc5 23. Rc6 Qa5 24. e5 Nd3 25. Re2 b4 26. Nd1 dxe5 27. fxe5 Nd7 28. e6
N7e5 29. Rxc4 fxe6 30. dxe6 Nxc4 31. Qxd3 Rbd8 32. Qxc4 Rxd1+ 33. Bg1 Qa7 34.
e7+ Kh8 35. Rf2 Rxg1+ 36. Kxg1 Bd4 37. Qf7 Qxe7 38. Qxe7 Rxe7 39. Kf1 Bxf2 40.
Kxf2 g5 0-1

[Event "VISA GP"]
[Site "Reykjavik"]
[Date "1998.03.15"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2625"]
[BlackElo "2590"]
[Annotator "Finkel,A"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1998.03.10"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "ISL"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 064"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1998.06.02"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 {Ftacnik Gershon} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3
h6 {Gershon: A rare move .Its purpose is obvious : black wants to prevent
white from playing variations with Bg5,but along with it he wastes a tempi and
weakens his pawn structure.} (6... b6 7. Nf3 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Bb2
Qe7 (10... Ne4 $5 11. Qc2 f5 12. Bd3 Qe7 13. O-O Ng5 14. Nxg5 Qxg5 15. f4 Qg6
16. d5 $1 $14 {Vidarte_Morales,A-Solozhenkin,E/L'Hospitalet op (8)/1993/0-1 
(40)}) (10... a6 11. Be2 Ne4 12. Qc2 f5 13. O-O Ng5 14. Ne1 f4 $13 {Hulak,
K-Van der Wiel,J/Wijk aan Zee/1983/}) 11. Be2 c5 (11... Ne4 $5 12. Qc2 f5 13.
O-O Rae8 14. Ne1 $6 Qh4 15. d5 Ndf6 16. Rd1 Qh6 $1 $132 {Savon,V-Gurevich,V/
URS-OT56 Uzhgorod/1988/0-1 (42)}) 12. O-O Rac8 13. Rad1 d5 $1 14. dxc5 (14.
cxd5 Nxd5 15. Qd2 Rfd8) 14... Nxc5 15. Qe5 Rfd8 (15... Ncd7 16. Qg3 Rfd8 17.
cxd5 Bxd5 18. Nd4 $14) 16. Nd4 Qf8 (16... Nfd7 $2 17. Nf5 $1 Qf8 18. Nh6+ Kh8
19. Qh5 $16) (16... Ncd7 17. Qg3 Ne4 18. Nf5 $1) 17. f3 dxc4 18. Bxc4 Bd5 $1
19. Bxd5 {Timman,J-Karpov,A/FIDE-Wch (Jakarta) 1993}) 7. Nf3 (7. g3 {Gershon}
d6 8. Nf3 a5 9. b3 Re8 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Bg2 e5 12. d5 Ne7 13. O-O Bd7 14. Nd2
Qc8 15. Rfc1 Bh3 16. Bh1 Qg4 17. e4 Ng6 18. Qe3 Qh5 19. f3 Nd7 20. b4 f5 21.
exf5 Qxf5 22. Ne4 Nf6 23. Bc3 Rf8 24. Bd2 axb4 25. axb4 Rxa1 26. Rxa1 b5 $1
$132 {Alterman,B-Kosashvili,Y/Rishon le Zion 1994/0-1 (56)}) 7... b6 (7... d5 {
Ftacnik} 8. e3 Nbd7 9. b4 c6 10. Bb2 Ne4 11. Qc2 a5 12. Bd3 f5 13. O-O Qe7 14.
b5 g5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. a4 Qg7 17. Kh1 Rf7 18. Nd2 {Dias,A-Nagashima,C/Sao
Paulo op 1995/EXT 95op2/1-0 (50)}) (7... d6 {Ftacnik} 8. g3 Nbd7 9. Bg2 Qe7 10.
O-O Re8 11. b4 c5 12. Bb2 Rb8 13. dxc5 dxc5 14. Ne5 Nb6 15. Qb3 Bd7 16. b5 Rbd8
17. Bxb7 Bxb5 18. Bc6 Ba6 19. Bxe8 Nxe8 20. Nc6 {1-0 Botsari Miladinovic,
A-Nikolaou,G/Aegina op 1996/EXT 96op2 (28)}) (7... Nc6 {Ftacnik} 8. e3 b6 9.
Bd3 Bb7 10. b4 d5 11. c5 Ne7 12. Ne5 c6 13. O-O b5 14. f3 Qc7 15. e4 Rad8 16.
Bf4 Qc8 17. Rad1 a6 18. Bb1 {1-0 Sisaettoe,O-Kangasmaa,M/FIN-chJ U14 1996 (23)}
) 8. e3 Bb7 9. Be2 (9. Bd3 $5 d6 10. O-O Nbd7 11. b4 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Bf5
e4 14. Nd2 Re8 15. Bb2 Ne5 16. Rad1 Qe7 17. Qc2 a5 $1 $13 {Sieglen,J-Kveinys,A/
Bonn GSK 1993 (32)}) 9... a5 {[%csl Ra3,Rb2][%cal Ga5a4]} (9... d6 {Ftacnik}
10. b4 a5 11. Bb2 Ne4 12. Qc2 axb4 13. axb4 Rxa1+ 14. Bxa1 Nd7 $11) 10. b3 d6
11. O-O Nbd7 (11... Ne4 $5 12. Qc2 Nd7 13. Bb2 f5 $13) 12. Nd2 (12. Rd1 $5 {
[%cal Gd1d8] Gershon}) 12... c5 (12... e5 {Gershon} 13. d5 Nc5 14. Qc2 e4 (
14... c6 15. e4 $16 {And black ends up with no counterplay.}) 15. Bb2 {[%csl
Ge4][%cal Gb2f6]} Re8 16. b4 axb4 17. axb4 Rxa1 18. Rxa1 Na6 19. Bc3 $16 {
[%csl Gc3,Ge2][%cal Gc4c5]}) 13. Bb2 Qe7 14. Rad1 Rfc8 {Gershon: Each side has
now finished placing his pieces, preparing for the battle.White now advances
his d pawn gaining some space advantage, opening the lines for his bishops,
and closing(at least temporarely) the h1-a8 diagonal. This move, however, has
its drawbacks: it gives black the e5 and c5 squares for his knight.} 15. d5 $5
$14 ({Deserved attention} 15. Bf3 $5 Bxf3 16. Nxf3 a4 17. b4 d5 18. dxc5 bxc5
19. b5 Nb6 20. Ne5 $14 {[%cal Ge5c6,Ge5g4]}) (15. Qd3 $143 {Gershon In order
to move the queen from the c file and put some pressure on black's weakened d
file.} d5 16. Qb1 (16. cxd5 $4 Ba6 $17) 16... Ba6 {Allows black to get a fine
counterplay}) 15... a4 {Gershon: Now white has to decide whether to play b4
and give up on the c5 square or let black take on b3 which would leave the c4
pawn defenseless. Ftacnik: The fight takes very strategical character, black
must be careful with opening the position. White's bishop pair waits for the
unleashing on open diagonals.} (15... exd5 16. cxd5 $1 (16. Bf3 Ne5 17. Bxd5 (
17. cxd5 Bxd5 $17) 17... Nxd5 18. cxd5 b5 $1 19. f4 (19. e4 b4 20. Qc2 Ba6 21.
Nc4 a4 22. Bxe5 axb3 $1 23. Qxb3 dxe5 24. Nb6 Bxf1 25. Rxf1 Rxa3 26. Nxc8 Qd8
27. Qb2 Qxc8 28. Qxe5 c4 $15) 19... b4 $15 {[%cal Ge5g4]}) 16... Bxd5 17. Nc4 (
17. e4 $5 {Ftacnik} Bb7 18. Bb5 (18. Nc4 $2 d5 $1) 18... Re8 19. Nc4 $11) 17...
Bxc4 (17... Qe6 18. Nxd6 Qxd6 19. e4 $16 (19. Bc4 $14)) 18. bxc4 $44 (18. bxc4
Ne5 19. f4 $44)) 16. dxe6 (16. Ne4 $5 {[%csl Rd6] Gershon} exd5 (16... e5 17.
Nxf6+ Nxf6 18. b4 $16) (16... axb3 17. dxe6 {[%csl Gd6]} Bxe4 18. exd7 Qxd7 19.
Qxb3 $18 {[%csl Gb2,Rb6,Rd6,Ge2]}) (16... Ne5 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. dxe6 Qxe6 19.
f4 Qg6 20. g3 Qe4 (20... Nd7 21. Rxd6 $18) 21. Kf2 Qg2+ 22. Ke1 Qxh2 23. fxe5
Qxg3+ 24. Rf2 $16) 17. Nxf6+ Nxf6 18. cxd5 $14) 16... Qxe6 (16... fxe6 17. b4
cxb4 (17... Rf8 {Ftacnik} 18. b5 e5 19. f4 $14) (17... d5 18. b5 e5 19. cxd5
Bxd5 20. e4 $14) 18. Qxb4 $14 {[%cal Gd2f3,Gf3d4,Gd4b5]}) 17. b4 (17. Bf3 {
Gershon} Bxf3 18. Nxf3 b5 $1 19. cxb5 axb3 $15) 17... cxb4 (17... d5 {Ftacnik}
18. Bf3 Re8 19. Rc1 $14) 18. Qxb4 {Gershon: White's got a pair of good bishops,
his pieces placed pretty well for attacking blacks weak pawns and it seems
that he should not have any prblem to neutrolize black's play ( by playing f3,
e4 for example).} (18. axb4 {Gershon} d5 (18... b5 $11 {Ftacnik}) 19. Bf3 Rab8
$15 {[%csl Gc4]} (19... Ba6 20. Bxd5 Qxd5 21. cxd5 Rxc3 22. Bxc3 Bxf1 23. Nxf1
$16)) 18... Nc5 19. Nf3 (19. Qxb6 $2 Rcb8 $17 {[%cal Gb7g2]} (19... Rab8 {
Gershon} 20. Qa5 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Rxb2 $17)) (19. Bxf6 $2 {Ftacnik} Qxf6 20. Qxb6
Rcb8 21. Rb1 Nb3 $1 22. Qc7 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Rc8 $17) 19... Nfe4 20. Nd4 $16 {
[%cal Gf2f3,Ge3e4] White's advantage is beyond any doubt:the pair of strong
bishops and full control in the center give him much better prospects.} (20.
Qxb6 {Ftacnik} Rcb8 21. Ba1 Nxf2 22. Qb2 f6 23. Rxf2 Bxf3 $11) 20... Qg6 21. f3
(21. Bf3 {Ftacnik} d5 $13) (21. Qxb6 $2 {Ftacnik} Nd2 $17) 21... Ng5 {Ftacnik:
De Firmian tries for counterplay and b6 pawn is tactically defended in many
variations. Sokolov had to understand, that the bigger problem lays in the
weak pawn d6.} 22. Kh1 (22. Qc3 $1 {[%cal Gd4f5,Gd4b5]} Re8 23. Nf5 Nge6 24.
Nxd6 Nf4 25. exf4 Rxe2 26. Rf2 Rxf2 27. Kxf2 Rd8 28. Nf5 $3 $18) (22. e4 $5 {
Gershon} Nh3+ (22... Ncxe4 23. fxe4 Bxe4 24. Bg4 $18) 23. Kh1 Nf4 24. Rf2 Re8
25. Nf5 $16) (22. Nb5 $1 {Ftacnik} Rd8 23. Qc3 $16) 22... Re8 23. e4 Nge6 (
23... Bc8 {Ftacnik} 24. Nb5 $16) 24. Nxe6 (24. Nf5 $5 d5 $5 (24... Nf4 25. Rf2
Nxe4 (25... Nh3 26. gxh3 Nxe4 27. fxe4 Bxe4+ 28. Bf3 Qxf5 29. Qc3 $18) 26. fxe4
Bxe4 27. Ng3 Bxg2+ 28. Rxg2 Nxg2 29. Rxd6 $18) (24... Nxe4 {Gershon} 25. fxe4
Bxe4 26. Ng3) 25. cxd5 Nf4 26. Rf2 Nxd5 27. Nxh6+ Qxh6 28. exd5 $18) 24... Rxe6
{Gershon: Now, although white takes a pawn on his next move black has a very
lively piece play.} (24... Qxe6 {Ftacnik} 25. Qxb6 Ra6 26. Qb4 $16) 25. Qxb6
Rc8 26. Qb4 (26. Bd4 $2 {Ftacnik} d5 27. Qa5 Ra6 28. Qb4 Rb6 $11) 26... f5 {
Gains the control over the e file. White has to play very carefully here.} 27.
exf5 (27. Bd4 {Ftacnik} Bc6 28. exf5 Qxf5 29. Rfe1 Rce8 30. Bf1 $16) 27... Qxf5
28. Qc3 {Ftacnik: White is still much better, since the pressure along a1-h8
diagonal is very unpleasant.} (28. Bd3 $5 {Gershon} Qg5 29. Rfe1 Rce8 30. Rxe6
Rxe6 31. Bd4 Nxd3 32. Qxb7 $16) 28... Qg5 (28... Rc7 $1 {Ftacnik} 29. Rde1 $1 (
29. Rf2 $2 Ne4) (29. Rfe1 Rce7 30. Bf1 Nd3 $1 31. Bxd3 Qxd3 32. Qxd3 Rxe1+ 33.
Qf1 Rxf1+ 34. Rxf1 Ba6 $11) (29. Rd2 Nb3 30. Rc2 Rce7 31. Bd3 Qg5 $14) 29...
Rce7 30. Bd1 $16) 29. Rf2 (29. Rfe1 {Ftacnik} Rce8 30. Bf1 Re5 31. Qb4 $16)
29... Re3 30. Qc2 (30. Qd4 $5 $16 {[%cal Rb2c1]}) (30. Qd4 {Ftacnik} Ree8 $16)
30... Qe7 (30... Rce8 $2 {Ftacnik} 31. Bc1 $18) 31. Bf1 Re8 32. Qg6 (32. Rfd2 {
Gershon} Re6 $13) 32... Re6 33. Qg3 Qf7 34. Rd4 $6 {Gershon: For the last five
moves white has weakend too much his king trying to exploit his b2 bishop and
the punishment comes very quickly. Dubious decision.Much better was} (34. Rfd2
$5 Rg6 35. Qh3 (35. Qf2 $16 {Ftacnik}) 35... Re3 36. Bd4 (36. Rxd6 $2 Rxf3 $1
37. Rd8+ Kh7 38. gxf3 Bxf3+ 39. Bg2 Bxg2+ 40. Qxg2 Rxg2 41. Kxg2 Qb7+ $19)
36... Rb3 37. Bxc5 dxc5 38. Rd8+ Kh7 39. Bd3 $18 {with wining position.}) (34.
Bc3 $142 {Gershon}) 34... Rg6 35. Rg4 (35. Qh4 {Ftacnik} Re1 36. Kg1 $16) 35...
Rxg4 36. Qxg4 (36. fxg4 $4 {Ftacnik} Ne4 37. Rxf7 Nxg3+ 38. hxg3 Kxf7 $19)
36... Re1 37. Kg1 Ba6 {Ftacnik: White has not realized his advantage in a best
way and opponent already claims solid counterplay. In a time trouble Sokolov
manages to go completely under.} (37... Nd3 {Ftacnik} 38. Rd2 Nxb2 39. Rxb2 Ra1
40. Qd4 $16) 38. Rc2 (38. Bc3 {Gershon} Rb1 (38... Rd1 {Ftacnik} 39. Rd2 Rc1
40. Bb2 Rb1 41. Rc2 $14) 39. Rb2 Rc1 40. Bd2 Rd1 41. Kf2 d5 $1 $17) {[%tqu
"En","","","","c5e4","",10]} 38... Ne4 $1 $132 {[%cal Gf7a7,Ga6c4] After this
unexpected blow black gets good counterplay.} 39. Rc1 $4 {Terrible blunder
after which white loses on the spot.} (39. Bd4 Bxc4 40. Qc8+ Kh7 41. Rxc4 (41.
Qxc4 Qxc4 42. Rxc4 Nd2 43. Kf2 Rxf1+ 44. Ke2 Nxc4 45. Kxf1 Nxa3 $19) 41...
Rxf1+ 42. Kxf1 Qxc4+ 43. Qxc4 Nd2+ 44. Ke2 Nxc4 $15 (44... Nxc4 {Ftacnik} 45.
Kd3 Nxa3 46. Bb2 Nb5 47. Kc4 $11)) (39. Qxg7+ $5 Qxg7 40. Bxg7 Bxc4 41. Rxc4
Nd2 42. Rc8+ Kxg7 43. Kf2 Rxf1+ 44. Ke2 Rg1 $11 45. Kxd2 {Ftacnik} Rxg2+ 46.
Ke3 Rxh2 47. Rc4 $11) 39... Qa7+ $19 40. c5 (40. Kh1 {Ftacnik} Nf2+ 41. Kg1
Nh3+ 42. Kh1 Qg1#) 40... Qxc5+ $1 (40... Qxc5+ {Ftacnik} 41. Rxc5 Rxf1#) 0-1

[Event "Olympiad-33"]
[Site "Elista"]
[Date "1998.10.03"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Piket, Jeroen"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E10"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2605"]
[Annotator "Stohl,I"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "1998.09.29"]
[EventType "team-swiss"]
[EventRounds "13"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 068"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Netherlands"]
[BlackTeam "US of America"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "NED"]
[BlackTeamCountry "USA"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 (4... d6 {avoids the line in the game,
as White can now hardly suitably delay the development of Nb1.}) 5. cxd5 d6 6.
e4 $1 a6 $6 ({Very unusual is} 6... Be7 7. h3 ({A small excursion into history:
} 7. Bd3 O-O 8. h3 b5 9. O-O Ba6 $6 10. Re1 b4 11. Bxa6 Nxa6 12. Qd3 Nc7 13.
Nbd2 Nd7 14. Nc4 Ne8 15. Bf4 a5 16. e5 dxe5 17. Bxe5 Bf6 18. d6 g6 19. Rad1 $16
{o^d6,Vidmar,M-Menchik,V/Hastings/1936/}) 7... O-O 8. Nc3 Ne8 9. Bd3 Nd7 10.
O-O Bf6 11. Be3 Nc7 12. Qc2 h6 13. a4 Re8 14. Nd2 Na6 15. Bxa6 bxa6 16. Nc4 Ne5
17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. f4 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Bf5 20. exf5 Rxe3 21. Rae1 Rxe1 22. Rxe1 Qh4
23. Qe4 Rb8 $132 {Bellon Lopez,J-Ivanovic,B/Tarrassa/1989/}) ({Black probably
postpones g6 to avoid the line} 6... g6 $142 7. h3 $5 Bg7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nc3) 7.
h3 ({Another possibility how to exploit the N still being on b1 is} 7. Bd3 Bg4
8. Nbd2 $5 g6 (8... Nbd7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Nxf3 g6 11. O-O Bg7 12. Bf4 Qe7 13. Qd2
O-O 14. Rfe1 Rfe8 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. b3 Nh5 17. Bg5 Bf6 18. Be3 Bg7 19. Bb1 Ne5
20. Nh2 Rc8 21. Bg5 Bf6 22. Bh6 Bg7 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. f4 Nd7 25. g4 Nhf6 26.
Nf3 Ng8 27. e5 $36 {Yermolinsky,A-Shaked,T/Denver/1998/}) 9. O-O (9. h3 Bxf3
10. Nxf3 Bg7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rb1 b5 (12... Nbd7 13. Bf4 Qc7 14. a3 Rfe8 15. Re1
b5 16. b4 Nh5 17. Bh2 c4 18. Bc2 Qb6 19. g4 Nhf6 20. a4 Ne5 21. a5 Qa7 22. Kg2
Rad8 23. Bf4 h5 24. Nxe5 dxe5 25. Be3 Qd7 26. f3 Rc8 27. Rg1 Bf8 $15 {Soppe,
G-Vazquez,R/Asuncion/1991/}) 13. Bf4 Qb6 14. b4 Nbd7 15. a4 c4 16. Bc2 Rfe8 17.
Re1 Ne5 18. Nxe5 dxe5 19. Be3 Qb7 20. Qd2 Nd7 21. g4 Bf8 22. Kg2 Bd6 23. f3
Rec8 24. Qc3 a5 25. Bc5 Nxc5 26. bxc5 Rxc5 27. axb5 Rxb5 28. Qxc4 Rb4 $36 {
[%csl Rc2,Gd6] ^-,Bates,R-Anderton,M/Sutton/1997/}) 9... Bg7 10. a4 Nbd7 11.
Nc4 Nb6 12. h3 (12. Ne3 $5 $14) 12... Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Nxc4 14. Bxc4 Nd7 15. Bd2
O-O 16. Bc3 Ne5 17. Qe2 f5 18. f4 Nxc4 19. Qxc4 fxe4 20. Qxe4 Qd7 21. Bxg7 Kxg7
22. b4 b6 23. a5 b5 $11 {Bates,R-Povah,N/England/1998/}) (7. Qa4+ $143 $6 Nbd7
8. Bf4 Be7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be2 Re8 11. h3 Bf8 12. Nd2 Rb8 13. Qc2 b5 14. O-O b4
15. Na4 Nxd5 16. Bg3 Qf6 17. Rfe1 Nf4 18. Bc4 Ne5 $17 {Tavadian,R-Zaichik,G/
Yaroslav/1982/}) 7... Nbd7 ({A line Black certainly should avoid is} 7... g6 $6
8. Bd3 Bg7 (8... b5 9. a4 $36) 9. a4 O-O 10. O-O (10. Nc3 $5 $14 {-A70}) 10...
c4 (10... Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Nh5 12. Re1 Re8 13. Nc4 Nb6 14. Bg5 Bf6 15. Qd2 Nxc4
16. Bxc4 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 Qf6 18. e5 $1 dxe5 19. d6 Rf8 20. Ne4 Qd8 21. Be2 Bf5
22. Bxh5 gxh5 23. Nxc5 Qf6 24. Ra3 $16 {Solozhenkin,E-Chabanon,J/Cannes/1995/})
11. Bc2 Nbd7 12. Nc3 Rb8 13. Bf4 Ne8 14. Be3 Ne5 15. Nd4 g5 16. f3 Ng6 17. Nce2
Be5 18. Qd2 h6 19. f4 gxf4 20. Nxf4 Nxf4 21. Bxf4 Bxf4 22. Rxf4 Qg5 23. Nf3 Qg7
24. Rh4 Nf6 25. Rxh6 Re8 26. Qf4 Nd7 27. Rf1 Ne5 28. Nxe5 dxe5 29. Qh4 {
1-0,Solozhenkin,E-Friedman,J/New York/1994/}) 8. Bd3 b5 (8... g6 9. a4 Bg7 10.
Na3 $1 $16) 9. O-O Be7 {Original chess by Black. But already} (9... g6 $6 10.
Bf4 $32 {עe8 might be very dangerous.}) 10. a4 Rb8 $8 (10... c4 $6 11. Bc2 Bb7
12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Bxa8 14. Nd4 $40) (10... b4 $6 11. Nbd2 $16 {is
positional capitulation.}) 11. axb5 axb5 12. b3 (12. Na3 $5 c4 (12... O-O 13.
Nxb5 Nxe4 14. Na7 $16) 13. Bc2 Nc5 14. Nd4 Bd7 15. Qf3 $14) 12... O-O 13. Re1
$6 (13. Nc3 $5 b4 (13... c4 14. bxc4 b4 15. Nb5 Nc5 16. e5 $16) 14. Na4 $14 {
/\Nb2-c4,Bb2|^}) (13. Na3 Ba6 $132) 13... Ne8 $1 14. Na3 Bf6 15. Ra2 Nc7 16.
Bf4 Rb6 $13 {Black managed to end his development and keep a flexible pawn
structure on the <<. For White it's not so easy to make any headway on the >>.}
17. Nc2 Re8 18. Bd2 Rb7 19. b4 $6 {This typical Benoni move doesn't seem too
suitable here, as White's forces aren't too well coordinated.} (19. Ne3 Ne5 20.
Nxe5 Bxe5 21. Ng4 Bd4 $132) 19... c4 $8 20. Bf1 Ne5 21. Nfd4 (21. Nxe5 dxe5 $1
$11) 21... Bd7 (21... Nd3 $2 22. Nc6 Qd7 23. Bxd3 cxd3 24. N2d4 {><d3,/\Ra3,Bc3
}) 22. Ra3 (22. f4 $6 Nd3 $1 $36) 22... Ng6 23. f4 Rb6 24. Qf3 (24. g3 $5 $13 {
/\h4-h5}) 24... Ra6 25. Rxa6 Nxa6 26. g3 Qb6 27. Qf2 Nc7 $11 {Black has kept
White's central activity in check and wants to get some play of his own on the
a-file.} 28. Bg2 (28. Bc3 $142 {/\} Ra8 29. Ra1 $11) 28... Ra8 29. Be3 Ra2 30.
Nf3 Qa6 31. Bd4 Bxd4 32. Nfxd4 f6 33. h4 (33. Ne6 $6 Bxe6 34. dxe6 Nxe6 $1 35.
f5 Ne5 $1 36. fxe6 Nd3 $17) 33... h6 34. Bf3 (34. h5 Ne7 $132) 34... Qa4 35. h5
$2 (35. Re2 Na6 36. h5 $1 (36. Qe1 $6 Ne5 $1 $40) 36... Nh8 37. Qe1 Nf7 $11)
35... Ne5 $1 $36 {A tremendous shot, after which White's position collapses.}
36. fxe5 (36. Be2 Nd3 $19) 36... dxe5 (36... fxe5 $143 37. Bd1 exd4 38. Rf1
$132) 37. d6 (37. Re2 exd4 38. Nxd4 Rxe2 39. Qxe2 Qxb4 $19) 37... Ne8 38. Bd1
exd4 39. e5 (39. Nxd4 Qxb4 $19) (39. Qxd4 Rxc2 40. Bxc2 (40. Re2 Rc1 $19) 40...
Qxc2 $19) 39... fxe5 40. Rxe5 Nf6 $19 (40... d3 $5 41. Re7 Qa7 $19) 41. Re7 (
41. Qxd4 Rxc2 {/\Rc1}) 41... d3 42. Rxd7 (42. Ne3 Rxf2 43. Bxa4 Re2 44. Bd1 Rb2
$19) 42... Nxd7 43. Qf5 Qa7+ 44. Kf1 Qa8 $1 (44... dxc2 $2 45. Qe6+ Kf8 46.
Qe7+ Kg8 47. Qe6+ Kh7 48. Qg6+ Kh8 49. Qe8+ Nf8 50. Qxf8+ Kh7 51. Bxc2+ Rxc2
52. Qf5+ $11) 45. Qe6+ (45. Bf3 Qf8 $19) 45... Kh8 0-1

[Event "USA-ch Gr-A"]
[Site "Denver"]
[Date "1998.10.31"]
[Round "1"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Shabalov, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B32"]
[WhiteElo "2605"]
[BlackElo "2645"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "1998.10.31"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 068"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 a6 8. Na3
f5 9. Bd3 f4 10. Nc2 Nf6 11. b3 O-O 12. Bb2 Kh8 13. Qe2 Be6 14. Nd5 Rc8 15.
O-O-O b5 16. Kb1 bxc4 17. Bxc4 Na5 18. Bxa6 Ra8 19. f3 Nxd5 20. exd5 Bf7 21. b4
Bf6 22. Bb5 Qb6 23. bxa5 Rxa5 24. a4 Bg6 25. Qc4 Raa8 26. Rd2 Rfc8 27. Qb3 Rc7
28. Rc1 Rac8 29. Ka2 Qa5 30. Re2 h6 31. Bc6 Bf7 32. Nb4 Rb8 33. Ka3 Bd8 34. Re4
Ra7 35. Bc3 Bb6 36. Kb2 Be3 37. Rb1 Rc7 38. Kc2 Rb6 39. Qc4 Qa7 40. Qd3 Bg6 41.
Rb3 Rc8 42. Kb2 Qe7 43. Rxe5 dxe5 44. Qxg6 Bd4 45. Bxd4 exd4 46. Qe4 Qc5 47.
Qc2 Qe7 48. Nd3 Rxb3+ 49. Kxb3 Rb8+ 50. Bb5 Rd8 51. Nxf4 Qe3+ 52. Nd3 Rxd5 53.
Qc8+ Kh7 54. Qe8 Rg5 55. Qxe3 dxe3 56. Nf4 1-0

[Event "USA-ch final"]
[Site "Denver"]
[Date "1998.11.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Benjamin, Joel"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B50"]
[WhiteElo "2595"]
[BlackElo "2605"]
[Annotator "Har Zvi,R"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "1998.11.15"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "4"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 068"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.02.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 {Hecht} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Nc6 5. c3 g6 6. O-O (6. Ng5 e6 7.
O-O h6 8. Nf3 Bg7 9. Bb3 O-O 10. Re1 e5 11. Nbd2 Kh7 12. Nf1 d5 13. Ng3 Be6 14.
Be3 Qe7 $132 {0-1 Tkachiev,V-Sadler,M/Hastings Premier 9798 1997/CBM 63 (50)})
6... Bg7 7. Nbd2 (7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 e5 9. Re1 d5 (9... Nh5 10. Nbd2 Nf4 11. Nf1
Be6 12. Ne3 d5 13. g3 $2 dxe4 14. dxe4 Nd3 15. Re2 Nxc1 16. Rxc1 Bxh3 $17 {
0-1 Bisco,I-Gazik,I/SVK-ch 1994/EXT 97 (22)}) (9... Kh8 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4
exd4 12. Nxd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 Be6 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qd3 d5 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Na3
Qb6 18. Re2 Bd4 19. Nc4 Bxf2+ 20. Kh1 Qd4 21. Qxd4+ Bxd4 22. Bh6 Bg7 {1/2-1/2
Totsky,L-Sorokin,G/RUS-Cup5 1997/EXP 57}) 10. Bg5 dxe4 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. dxe4
Be6 13. Nbd2 Rad8 14. Qe2 Bh6 15. Bxe6 Qxe6 16. Nc4 $14 {1-0 Totsky,L-Volzhin,
A/Budapest FS03 GM 1996/CBM 53 (41)}) 7... O-O 8. Re1 (8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5)
8... e5 {normally this is a good move when white's bishop is on e2,but even
here when the bishop is "out" on "c4" still it seems not bad black's idea is
an usual to play h6 with d5} 9. Bb3 h6 10. Nc4 Be6 11. h3 Kh7 {black should be
quite happy with his position,he has no weaknesses,and quite clear plan,to
play on the king's side with "f5" or try and break in the center with "d5"} 12.
Ne3 $6 {allowing black to play "d5" immediately can not be a good idea in my
mind,white had to continue and play solidly such moves as "a4" seems just OK} (
12. a4 $5) 12... d5 $1 13. Ng4 {this is white's idea but still I am not
convinced} Nxg4 14. hxg4 Qd7 {[%cal Gd5e4]} (14... Bxg4 $5 {this seems as a
very resaonable move,when I think black's position is nice} 15. Bxd5 (15. exd5
Na5 {[%cal Rh5d1]}) 15... Qd7 $13 {[%cal Gc6e7,Gf7f5]}) 15. g5 h5 16. exd5 Bxd5
17. Be3 (17. Bxd5 Qxd5 18. Be3 $5 {[%cal Gd1b3,Gd1a4]} b6 19. Qa4 {-see game})
17... b6 18. Bxd5 Qxd5 19. Qa4 Rfd8 20. Rad1 Rac8 21. Bc1 Kg8 {this is a
critical position just for understanding what's going on,both players played
very simple after white's Ng4 and the big question is what is this position"?
well it's not easy to say both players have their advantages and disadvantages,
white has a weak pawn on "d3" when black has his "f" fixed and the "f6" square
is under white's control a very unclear position,but black got not bad results
out of the opening} 22. Rd2 Qe6 {[%cal Gd8d7,Gc8d8]} 23. Qc4 Rd5 (23... Qxc4
24. dxc4 {[%csl Rd5,Re4]} Rxd2 25. Nxd2 $14 {[%csl Rg7][%cal Gd2e4]}) 24. Rde2
Rcd8 25. Re3 Qd7 $15 {[%csl Rd3]} 26. Qe4 {[%cal Ge4c6]} Ne7 27. R3e2 (27. c4
Rxd3 28. Nxe5 Rxe3 29. Bxe3 (29. Qxe3 Qe6) 29... Qf5 $1 $15) 27... Nf5 28. c4
$2 {giving black the "d4" square can not be good,} (28. a3 $5 {[%cal Gb2b4]})
28... Rxd3 29. Nxe5 Bxe5 30. Qxe5 Nd4 31. Re3 (31. Re4 Nc2 32. Rf1 Rd1 $19) (
31. Rd2 Rxd2 32. Bxd2 Nf3+ (32... Qg4 33. Re3) 33. gxf3 Qxd2 $15 {[%csl Rg1] /
-/+}) 31... Nc2 $19 32. Rxd3 Qxd3 33. Rf1 $4 {losing immediately the position
seems hopeless for white,but there is just one other move which makes things
completely unclear Hecht: 'Taktik (Turm/Springer-Zusammenwirken)!'} (33. b3 $8
{[%cal Ga1h8]} Nxe1 34. Bb2 {Hecht: 'und es dьrfte Schwarz schwerfallen,
nachzuweisen, daЯ er ьberhaupt noch gewinnen kann.'} Rd4 (34... Nf3+ 35. gxf3
Rd4 36. Qe8+ Kg7 37. Qe5+ Kh7 38. Qf6 Kg8 $17) 35. Bxd4 Qxd4 (35... cxd4 36.
Qxe1 Qf5 $15 {when of course black is the one playing for a win here but white
has good drawing chances here}) 36. Qxe1 $15) 33... Qxf1+ {'!!' Hecht.} 34.
Kxf1 Rd1+ 35. Ke2 Re1+ 36. Kd2 Rxe5 37. Kxc2 Re2+ 0-1

[Event "Julian Borowski 1st"]
[Site "Essen"]
[Date "1999.03.31"]
[Round "5"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Sutovsky, Emil"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2610"]
[BlackElo "2612"]
[Annotator "Rogozenco,D"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1999.03.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 071"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.08.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Rb8 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a3 (13. a4 {is the
main continuation here.}) 13... a5 {As long as White didnґt place his Bishop
on e2, this logical move has a serious drawback - the pawn on b5 becomes weak
and White has the oportunity to win a tempo later on.} (13... O-O 14. Bd3 (14.
Be2 a5 $11) (14. g3 Ne7 (14... a5 15. Bg2 Ne7 $11) 15. Ncb4 Bb7 16. Bg2 a5 17.
Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Nd5 Qe6 $11) 14... Bb7 $5 (14... Be6 15. Ncb4 Qc8 $5 16. Bc2 Bd8
$13) 15. a4 (15. h4 Bh6 16. a4 bxa4 17. Rxa4 a5 $13) 15... bxa4 16. Rxa4 Ne7
$11) 14. Bd3 $1 Ne7 (14... O-O 15. Qe2 Na7 16. h4 $1 Bh6 17. g4 Bf4 18. Qf3 $16
{was played in Nisipeanu-Rogozenko/Bucharest/1995, and itґs not possible to
play the typical 18. ... Be6 with the idea 19. ... Qf6 because of the bad
position of the Knight on a7.} Be6 19. Nxf4 Qf6 $4 20. Qe3 $18) 15. Nxe7 Qxe7 (
15... Bxe7 16. Ne3 Be6 17. Bc2 $5 (17. O-O Bg5 18. Qe2 Qd7 $11) 17... O-O 18.
Bb3 b4 19. cxb4 axb4 20. a4 $14) 16. Qe2 Qb7 17. O-O O-O 18. b4 $1 $14 a4 $6 {
Black overestimated his position. The idea to fix Whiteґs pawn on a3 with the
hope to exploit it in the future seems to me no realistic at all.} (18... axb4
19. axb4 (19. Nxb4 Be6 20. c4 bxc4 21. Bxc4 Bxc4 22. Qxc4 Rfc8 23. Qe2 $14)
19... Qc6 20. Ra3 $14) 19. c4 Be6 {Giving up material Black finds himself in a
lost position.} (19... bxc4 20. Bxc4 Be6 21. Bxe6 fxe6 22. Rfd1 (22. Rad1 $16)
22... Rbd8 (22... Bd8 23. Rxd6 Bb6 24. Rf1 Rf4 25. Rxe6 Rxe4 26. Qf3 $16) 23.
f3 $16) 20. cxb5 Rfc8 21. Ne3 g6 (21... Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Bc4 23. Rfd1 $18) 22. Nc4
Bxc4 23. Bxc4 $18 Qb6 24. Ra2 $1 Rc7 25. g3 h5 (25... Rbc8 26. Bd5 $18) 26. Kh1
{Black has no play at all and White can slowly improve the position of his
pieces.} Kg7 27. h4 Bh6 (27... Bd8 {Looks a bit more stubborn. Of course
Blackґs position is extremely passive, which in conection with less material
makes it technically winning for White. With the Bishop on d8 Black could hope
at least to come once on b6.}) 28. Kg2 Rbc8 {The last try for counterplay, but
of course it doesnґt work.} (28... Qb7 29. Kh2 Qb6 30. Rfa1 $5 Qb7 31. Rc2 Rbc8
32. Raa2 Qb6 33. Bd5 Rxc2 34. Rxc2 Rxc2 35. Qxc2 Qxb5 36. Qc7 Qe8 37. b5 $18)
29. Bd5 Rc3 30. Rd1 $1 Bc1 31. Rd3 Rxd3 (31... Qxb5 32. Rxc3 Qxe2 33. Rxc8 Qd1
34. Ra1 $18) 32. Qxd3 Qd4 33. Qxd4 exd4 34. b6 {The march of b-pawn decides
immediately the game.} d3 35. b7 Rb8 36. Kf1 f5 {The whole game Black was
trying to get some activity, but it always only helped White, as it helps here
too.} (36... Kf8 37. Ke1 Ke7 38. Kd1 Bh6 39. f4 $18) 37. Ke1 fxe4 38. Kd1 Bh6
39. Bxe4 g5 40. hxg5 Bxg5 41. f4 Bh6 42. Rh2 1-0

[Event "Sigeman & Co 07th"]
[Site "Malmo"]
[Date "1999.06.09"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Timman, Jan H"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2670"]
[BlackElo "2610"]
[Annotator "Atlas,V"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1999.06.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "SWE"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 072"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.10.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.10.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3
h5 9. Qd2 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Kb1 Be7 12. Nd5 Bxd5 ({Another option is} 
12... Nxd5 13. exd5 Bf5 14. Bd3 Bxd3 15. Qxd3 Bg5 16. Bf2 (16. Rhe1 O-O 17. g3
Bxe3 18. Qxe3 Qc7 19. c3 Nb6 20. Qg5 Nc4 21. Nd2 Qb6 22. Nxc4 Rxc4 {0-1
Kovacevic,A-Gelfand,B/Investbanka Belgrade/1997 (29)}) 16... b5 17. h4 Bh6 18.
Be1 Qc7 19. Na5 Nb6 20. Bf2 Nd7 21. Nc6 Nb8 22. Na7 Rd8 23. Qb3 f5 24. a4 bxa4
25. Qxa4+ Qd7 26. Qb3 O-O 27. Nc6 Rc8 {1/2-1/2 Leko,P-Sadler,M/Tilburg 1998/
EXT 99 (34)}) 13. exd5 Nb6 14. Bxb6 Qxb6 15. Bd3 $5 ({An interesting plan,
which might become an important alternative to} 15. g3 O-O 16. Bh3 Ra8 17. Rhe1
a5 18. a4 Qc7 19. Bf1 Rfc8 20. Bb5 Bf8 21. f4 exf4 22. gxf4 Qb6 23. Re2 Ne8 24.
f5 Nc7 25. f6 g6 26. Bd7 Rd8 27. Be6 Re8 28. Qg5 {1-0 Shirov,A-Svidler,P/
Linares 1998/CBM 64 (28)}) 15... g6 ({Certainly, not} 15... Nxd5 $4 16. Bf5 $18
) 16. Rhe1 Nd7 (16... Nxd5 {is strongly met by} 17. Bxg6 Nc3+ 18. bxc3 fxg6 19.
f4 exf4 {, with a dangerous attack.}) 17. g3 {Preparing advancement of the
f-pawn.} Kd8 ({After} 17... Kf8 18. f4 {/\f5, White has good attacking
prospects on the kingside.}) 18. Re4 $1 {[%cal Ge4b4,Gb4b7] An effective
transfer of the white rook to the queenside via the center allows White to
keep initiative.} Nc5 19. Rb4 Qc7 20. Nxc5 dxc5 21. d6 $1 {[%cal Gd1d8,Gd3c4,
Gc4f7,Gd3e4,Ge4b7]} ({This thematic pawn sacrifice is another important link
in the chain of White's plan. Opening the d-file for operations of his major
pieces and activating his bishop, White thereby significantly augment his
winning chances. Passive} 21. Rb3 {allows Black to consolidate his position by}
Bd6 {, and} 22. Qg5+ {does not bring anything in view of} Be7 $11) 21... Bxd6
22. Rb3 Ke7 23. Be4 $2 {[%mdl 8192]} ({An unexplainable oversight. White
misses the chance to get decisive advantage after} 23. Bxa6 $1 {Now} Rb8 {
is the only move,} ({since} 23... bxa6 $2 {loses on the spot after} 24. Rb7 $1
Qxb7 25. Qxd6+ Ke8 26. Qxe5+ $18) {, and now the most efficient continuation is
} 24. Rd3 {(both} (24. Rxb7 Rxb7 25. Bxb7) ({and} 24. Bxb7 {(it is even
stronger than capturing the b7-pawn with the rook)} c4 $140 25. Rb5 c3 26. Qg5+
f6 (26... Kf8 27. Qf6 $18) 27. Qxg6 Rxb7 28. Rxb7 Qxb7 29. Qg7+ $18 {yields
White excellent winning perspectives)}) 24... Rhd8 25. Bc4 {, and White should
win} (25. Bb5 $18) 25... b5 $140 26. Bxf7) 23... b5 24. Rd3 (24. Bb7 $2 {
is refuted by} c4 $1 25. Bxc8 (25. Rc3 Rcd8 {/\Bb4-+}) 25... cxb3 26. Bxa6 Qc6
$1 (26... bxa2+ $2 27. Ka1 Qc6 28. Bxb5) 27. Qg5+ (27. Bxb5 bxc2+ 28. Qxc2 Qxb5
) 27... Ke6 $19) 24... Rhd8 25. Qg5+ Ke8 26. Bxg6 $5 (26. Qf6 Qe7 ({Blunder} 
26... Be7 $4 {offers White an exciting choice between the somewhat more
sophisticated} 27. Bc6+ ({and the straightforward} 27. Qh8+ Bf8 28. Rxd8+ Rxd8
29. Rxd8+ Qxd8 30. Bc6+ Ke7 31. Qxe5#) 27... Qxc6 (27... Kf8 28. Qh8#) 28.
Rxd8+ Bxd8 29. Rxd8+ {, with the same result in both cases.}) 27. Qh8+ Qf8 28.
Qf6 (28. Rxd6 $4 Qxh8 29. Bc6+ Ke7 $18) 28... Qe7) 26... Be7 27. Qxh5 fxg6 28.
Qxg6+ Kf8 29. Qxa6 Rxd3 30. Qh6+ Kf7 31. Qh7+ Kf8 32. cxd3 (32. Rxd3 Rd8 33.
Qh8+ Kf7 34. Qh7+ $11) 32... Bf6 33. Qf5 Kg7 34. h4 Ra8 35. Rc1 Qf7 36. b3 (36.
a3 {fails to} Rxa3 $1 37. bxa3 $140 Qb3+ 38. Ka1 e4+ $19) 36... c4 37. dxc4 Qa7
38. Qc2 $4 {The decisive mistake. Timman played this game, consciously or
subconsciously avoiding any option to let the game finish a draw. Well, then
the result is in a way justified, despite the fact that White had a winning
position in the middlegame. Essential was} (38. Rc2 Qg1+ 39. Rc1 Qf2 $11) 38...
bxc4 {Threatening 39...cb3 40.Qb3 Rb8-+.} 39. h5 (39. bxc4 $4 Rb8+ 40. Ka1 e4+)
39... Kh8 40. b4 e4 $1 $19 {[%csl Ra1,Rb2,Gd4][%cal Gf6a1,Ga7d4] The winning
move. Black's bishop comes into play with decisive effect. White is helpless
against threats on the main diagonal.} 41. Qxc4 (41. fxe4 Qd4 $19) 41... exf3 (
41... Qa3 $1 {was easily winning too:} 42. Qb3 (42. Rc2 Rd8) 42... Qxb3+ 43.
axb3 exf3 {followed by 43...Ra1-+}) ({The text} 41... exf3 {also does not
leave White any chance to escape:} 42. Qe6 Qd4 43. Rc8+ Rxc8 44. Qxc8+ Kg7 45.
Qc7+ Kh6 46. Qc1+ Kxh5 {winning.}) 0-1

[Event "USA-ch Gr-B"]
[Site "Salt Lake City"]
[Date "1999.08.30"]
[Round "7"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Kaidanov, Gregory S"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C12"]
[WhiteElo "2598"]
[BlackElo "2611"]
[Annotator "Finkel,A"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "1999.08.05"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "13"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 073"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.12.01"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "1999.12.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Ne4 8. Qg4
Kf8 9. Bd3 (9. h4 c5 10. Bd3 Nxd2 11. Kxd2 Nc6 12. Nf3 c4 13. Be2 b5 14. a3 a5
15. Qf4 Rb8 16. Rhb1 Qe7 17. g4 $14 {Heissler,J-Reefschlaeger,H/BL9596}) 9...
Nxd2 10. Kxd2 c5 11. Nf3 Nc6 12. Qf4 (12. h4 c4 13. Be2 b5 14. a3 Bd7 15. h5 a5
16. Qf4 b4 $132 {Horvath,A-Almasi,I/Budapest FS12 GM 1997}) (12. Rab1 c4 13.
Be2 Rb8 14. h4 b5 15. Qf4 Qe7 16. Rh3 b4 17. Ke1 Bd7 $13 {Kurz,A-Reefschlaeger,
H/BL9596}) 12... c4 (12... Qe7 13. h4 c4 14. Be2 b5 15. Rhb1 Rb8 16. a3 a5 17.
Ke1 Ba6 $132 {Somlai,L-Bock,J/Budapest FS03 IM-A 1997}) 13. Be2 b5 (13... Bd7
14. h4 b5 15. Rhb1 Rb8 16. a3 a5 17. g3 Qe7 18. h5 Kg8 $13 {Walker,B-Dougherty,
M/Toronto 1993}) 14. a3 Rb8 15. h4 a5 16. h5 $5 (16. Qe3 Qe7 17. Rhb1 Bd7 18.
g4 Be8 19. h5 f6 20. Rh1 Kg8 21. exf6 gxf6 22. Nh4 b4 $132 {Khan,A-Marinello,B/
USA-chW 1993}) 16... b4 $6 (16... Qe7) 17. axb4 axb4 18. cxb4 Rxb4 19. Qe3 Qb6
(19... Bd7 20. Rhb1 Qb8 21. Qa3 Kg8 22. Rxb4 Qxb4+ 23. Qxb4 Nxb4 24. Ra7 $16)
20. Ra8 Qb7 21. Rha1 Kg8 22. Bd1 $1 Rb2 23. Qa3 (23. Kc1 Rb1+ 24. Rxb1 Qxa8 25.
c3 $14) 23... Kh7 24. Kc1 Rb6 25. c3 Re8 26. Ba4 $1 Kg8 (26... Qxa8 $2 27. Bc2+
$18) 27. Bxc6 Qxc6 28. Qc5 Bd7 $6 (28... Qxc5 $6 29. dxc5 Rc6 30. R1a5 Kf8 31.
Nd4 Rc7 32. c6 $18 {[%cal Gc1a3,Ga3c5]}) (28... Qb7 $5 $132) 29. Qxc6 Bxc6 30.
Rxe8+ Bxe8 31. Ra8 Kf8 32. Nh4 Rb3 (32... Ke7 33. f4 Bd7 34. g4 Rb7 35. Rg8 Rb3
36. Kc2 $16) 33. Kc2 Rb7 34. f4 Ke7 35. f5 Bc6 (35... Bd7 36. g4 Rb6 37. fxe6
Bxe6 38. Nf5+ Bxf5+ 39. gxf5 $16) 36. fxe6 Kxe6 37. g4 Rc7 $6 (37... Bb5 $5 38.
Rd8 (38. Nf5 f6 39. Nd6 Rb6 40. Ra7 fxe5 41. Nc8 Rb8 42. Re7+ Kf6 43. dxe5+ Kg5
44. Rxg7+ Kf4 $132) 38... Ba4+ 39. Kc1 (39. Kd2 Bd7 40. Nf5 Rb2+ 41. Kc1 Rg2
42. Ne3 $14) 39... Rb3 40. Rd6+ Ke7 41. Nf5+ Ke8 42. Nxg7+ Ke7 43. Nf5+ Ke8 44.
Rxh6 $18) 38. Rd8 Bd7 39. Nf5 f6 40. Nxg7+ Ke7 41. Rh8 fxe5 42. dxe5 Bxg4 43.
Rxh6 Kf7 44. Ne6 $1 Re7 45. Nd8+ Kg8 (45... Ke8 46. Nc6 Rg7 47. e6 $18 {
[%csl Re8]}) 46. Rg6+ Rg7 47. Kd2 Rxg6 (47... Bxh5 48. Rxg7+ Kxg7 49. Ke3 Kf8
50. Kd4 Bf3 51. Ne6+ Ke7 52. Nc7 $18) 48. hxg6 Kg7 49. Ke3 Kxg6 50. Kd4 Kf5 51.
Kxd5 Bf3+ 52. Kd4 Bh5 53. Nb7 1-0

[Event "USA-ch"]
[Site "Seattle"]
[Date "2000.09.26"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Seirawan, Yasser"]
[Black "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2647"]
[BlackElo "2567"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2000.09.25"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "11"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[EventCategory "14"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 080"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2001.01.25"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. g3 Bb4 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 Ne4 8.
Rc1 O-O 9. Bg2 c5 10. O-O d6 11. b3 Nxc3 12. Rxc3 Nc6 13. d5 exd5 14. Qxd5 Nd4
15. Qxb7 Nxe2+ 16. Kh1 Nxc3 17. Ng1 Rb8 18. Qxa7 b5 19. cxb5 Nxb5 20. Qa4 Nd4
21. Nh3 d5 22. Qa3 Ne6 23. f4 Ra8 24. Qc1 Rxa2 25. f5 Nd4 26. f6 Ne6 27. fxg7
Kxg7 28. Rf5 Qa5 29. Ng1 Qd2 30. Qxd2 Rxd2 31. Bxd5 Rd1 32. Kg2 Rd8 33. Bc4
R8d2+ 34. Ne2 Re1 35. Rf2 f6 36. Nc3 Rxf2+ 37. Kxf2 Re5 38. Nd5 Ng5 39. Nf4
Ne4+ 40. Kg2 Nd2 41. Bd5 f5 42. Kf2 Kf6 43. Nh5+ Ke7 44. Nf4 Kd6 45. Bg8 Re7
46. Bd5 Re8 47. Bf7 Rb8 48. Nd3 Nxb3 49. Ke3 Rb7 50. Bg8 Nd4 0-1

[Event "Politiken Cup 26th"]
[Site "Copenhagen"]
[Date "2004.08.01"]
[Round "10"]
[White "De Firmian, Nick E"]
[Black "Beliavsky, Alexander G"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2004.07.24"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "DEN"]
[SourceTitle "CBM 101 Extra"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2004.09.01"]
[SourceVersion "2"]
[SourceVersionDate "2004.09.01"]
[SourceQuality "1"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4
b4 9. d3 d6 10. a5 Be6 11. Nbd2 Rb8 12. Nc4 Nd7 13. Be3 Bf6 14. c3 bxc3 15.
bxc3 Rb7 16. Qc2 Na7 17. d4 Qb8 18. d5 Bg4 19. Nfd2 h6 20. h3 Bh5 21. Ba4 Nb5
22. Na3 Nc5 23. Bxc5 dxc5 24. Reb1 Nxa3 25. Rxa3 Rxb1+ 26. Nxb1 c4 27. g4 Bg6
28. Nd2 Qa7 29. Nxc4 Bh4 30. Ra2 f6 31. Qd3 Bg5 32. Rb2 Qc5 33. Kg2 Rd8 34. Rb7
h5 35. Bd1 Be8 36. Ne3 Bb5 37. c4 Bxe3 38. fxe3 Bxc4 39. Qc2 hxg4 40. hxg4 c6
41. d6 1-0