| May-19-10 | | Bobsterman3000: Here's a hint: let the extra pawn go. |
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May-19-10
 | | kdogphs: I taught my students a few weeks ago that Rooks love open files and back ranks, this game proves that point... |
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| May-19-10 | | braimondi: This game looks familiar to me... :S |
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| May-19-10 | | diceman: Blacks last chance:
26...Rc8 |
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| May-20-10 | | Riverbeast: During the game, instead of 22. Nb6, I thought 22. e4 was stronger If the Nd5 moves, then 23. Nb6 and white is getting a rook to c7 at the very least If 22. e4 Bxc4, then 23. exd5
If 23...exd5 24. b3
If 23...Rac8 25. d6 seems to win
Again, this is 'head' analysis, so maybe there's something I'm missing? |
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May-20-10
 | | Eyal: 22.e4 seems to be refuted by 22…Rac8!
I was listening to parts of the live broadcast on ICC, and it was pretty funny – especially in view of how things eventually turned out - how Maurice Ashley was planning all sorts of wild attacking ideas for Nakamura, involving the transfer of the queen to the K-side, and then was stunned when Nakamura went for the "boring positional" 14.Qe1, leading to an endgame in which Ashley vehemently claimed White has nothing. |
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| May-20-10 | | Riverbeast: <Eyal> Yeah, I thought white my have had some advantage after 22. e4 Rac8 23. b3, but it looks like there's not much there Maybe Ashley was right though? If Kraai had played 26...Rc8 (instead of 22...bxc6) , maybe white did have nothing |
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May-20-10
| | Eyal: <Riverbeast> Well, 26...Rc8 might draw (Ashley was stunned again when Kraai didn't play it...), but I think the way in which the game developed at least shows clearly White does have something to "work with" - Ashley wasn't seeing anything nearly as difficult for Black as what he has to defend by the stage of move 26 (and, of course, it's possible that Nakamura's play can be improved as well at certain points). |
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| May-20-10 | | MKalafatas: During the game I thought that Kraai blundered away a half-point with 25...Kf8. Turns out it was the only move to draw, because passive defense following 25...Bxg2 (?) fails; i.e., 25...Bxg2 26.Kxg2 g5 27.Rc7 Rb8 28.Kf3 Kg7 29. Ke4 and Black cannot prevent the White King from reaching c7. 29...Kf6 30.Kd4 Rd8+ 31.Kc5 Rb8 32.Kd6 Rd8+ 33. Rd7 and finis. But 25...Kf8 should draw: 26.Bxc6 Rc8! as pointed out by others in the US Championship thread. |
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| May-21-10 | | MagisterMusicae: Possible pun: Nakamura made me "Kraai". |
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Jun-01-10
 | | acirce: <After entering a queenless middlegame via the Catalan, I found a way to trick Jesse in a rook and pawn ending and won a game which would have made Kramnik proud.> http://www.hikarunakamura.com/naka/... |
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