<My scientology is a little rusty...actually a lot rusty.>

Mine too.

Coming into this last round game I had scored 0.5/3 with White, the two losses both being opening debacles. Kids today are ready for all the traps and zaps I used to rely on. Don't trust anybody under 30.

At any rate, I was not in the mood for a theoretical discussion and, on a whim, whipped out an old favorite from the 1970s. It's a very deceptive line since it looks like White is tripping over his own feet when he's actually preparing an all-or-nothing kingside attack. So it's a decent surprise weapon, but opponents rarely fall for it twice.

Besides the transpositional possibilities, the line that took all the fun out of the Dunst for me was 3...e5 and 4...Be6. If White's LSB can't get to c4, it's pretty much dead wood--especially if Black has refrained from ...c5 and has ...c6 available to answer Bb5+.

Hubbard, as he told me later, is a Caro-Kannist, so 2...c6 was certainly an alternative for him. But the 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 line is a provocation, and most Black players with gumption (and 200 rating points) are going to accept the challenge with 2...d4. At least the first time.

I think Black lost this in large part because he tried to play too well. He didn't want to play ...Nc6 before White committed the f1 bishop, so 5...Bd6. Then, with the bishop on d6, he started worrying about a pin on the knight and played 7...h6. Then, with g6 weakened, he posted the knight on e7 where it also guarded f5.

The upshot was that when the premature attack started with 10.Qh5, the only Black pieces in the neighborhood were a quiet rook on f8 and the frozen knight on e7 which was blocking at least three other Black pieces from participating in the defense. Maybe the attack wasn't so premature after all.

Black then came up with an ingenious way to protect h6, which ran into the tactical accident 12.Bxf7+. There might be a better defense than 16...Qe6 and the exchange sacrifice that followed, but I guess he was anxious to get the queens off the board.

20.Nh7 and 21.Nf6+ were psychologically necessary. No young whippersnapper is going to tell me when to trade queens! We old geezers have our pride.

As I mentioned, I hadn't played in tournaments for about a decade. This game does not herald a comeback. Among other reasons, I stopped due to health concerns. Some of my medications compromise my immune system, so I'm susceptible to infections and need to avoid crowds--which includes tournament playing rooms. Indeed, I caught a bug during this tournament and, three weeks later, still haven't shaken it off.

Sorry to hear that, hope you get well soon. Haven't played a tournament either since the 90s, and doubt I ever will. As I get older the thought of spending a weekend at the chessboard has no appeal at all, although there are some good memories. I would probably not be a serious threat to Seth Homa in any case.

As to <WickedPawn> and his question as to how White could do this, well its pretty evident and a good example of OTB competition. What White saw, Black didn't. The slight rating difference has no influence here. Basic chess rules and themes are irrefutable, no matter the rating

Well Done! <PhonyBenoni>