Wesley Koehler - Lee T. Magee [B45]

1965 Kansas Open (5) 1965


B45: Sicilian Four Knights

Wesley Koehler snail mailed this game to me: a game from the 1965 Kansas Open. The game won first place for him, his first Kansas Chess Championship with a score of 5-0. ( I didn't ask what his age was at the time.) Lee Magee finished second at 4-1. Comments by Wesley Koehler are marked WK. My comments, aided by Fritz 8.0 are marked, wlc.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bf4 Ne5 ? wlc-7....e5 is rather standard today. 8. Qd4 a6 9. Nxd6+ ! 9... Qxd6 WK-If 9....Bxd6, then 10. Rd1, but not 10...0-0-0, because of 11.Nd3+ 10. Bxe5 Qc6 !? 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. Qxf6 Rg8 13. O-O-O Bd7 14. Rd3 b5 15. Rf3 Rg7 16. Bd3 b4 17. Ne2 Qb7 18. Ng3 Bb5 19. Rd1 Rg6 20. Bxb5+ axb5 21. Qh8 Ke7 WK-If 21...Rxa2? 22.Rd8+! 22. Qxh7 ! 22... Bg7 23. Qh4+ ! WK-Much clearer than 23....Nf5+? exf5 24.exf5 Rh8 25. fxg6 Rxh7 26.gxh7 Qc8 23... Ke8 24. Rfd3 ! 24... Bf6 25. Qh7 Qa6 26. a3 WK-Not 26.Rd7?? Bg5+ 26... bxa3 27. bxa3 b4 28. Nh5 Bc3 29. Ng7+ ! 29... Bxg7 29... Rxg7 ?? Wesley notes this is a mistake, and provides his analysis after, 30.Qh8+ in line B. Fritz 8.0 found a better move to follow this 29...Rxg7??: 30.Rd8+!!, which mates by force in 4, a little quicker, maybe.This is line A. 30. Qh8+ wlc-This is the starting point for the line that Wesley game me.(30. Rd8+ wlc-The line Fritz 8.0 found. 30... Rxd8 (30... Ke7 31. Qh4+ Rg5 32. Qxg5+ f6 33. Qg7#) 31. Qh8+ Rg8 32. Qxg8+ Ke7 33. Qxd8#) 30... Ke7 31. Rd7+ Kf6 32. Qh6+ Rg6 33. Qf4+ Kg7 34. Qxf7+ Kh6 (34... Kh8 35. Qh7#) 35. Qh7+ Kg5 36. f4+ Kxf4 37. Qh4+ Ke5 38. Qh5+ Kf4 39. Qf3+ WK- mate (wlc-Mate in four after either 39...Ke5 or Kg5). 30. Qg8+ Bf8 31. Rd8+ ! Black resigns 1-0


Rachael Dale (1725) - Ryan Bentele [A04]

Lindsborg Scholastic-HS (5) 2002


A04: Unusual lines after 1 Nf3 and King's Indian Attack

1. Nf3 Wesley Koehl er sent this game to me with the game #1. It is from the Lindsborg Rotary Scholastic Tournament, December 14th, 2002. Rachael Dale from Oklahoma won this game in the 5th round to clinch first place in the High School division with 5 wins and 0 losses. The scholastic tournament was highlighted by the guest appearance of Anatoly Karpov, former world chess champion. 1... g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. d4 d5 4. c3 Nf6 5. Bg2 O-O 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. O-O e6 8. Re1 Re8 9. e4 Ne7 ? wlc-Black should not allow the white "e" pawn to advance to "e5". It results in a cramped game for him. 9... Nxe4 wlc-This or 9...dxe4 are better. 10. Nxe4 dxe4 11. Rxe4 e5 12. Bg5 f6 13. Bd2 Be6 wlc-An equal position, and black may even have a very slight advantage. 10. e5 Nd7 11. Nf1 c5 12. Ne3 b5 13. b3 c4 14. Ba3 Nb6 15. Bc5 Nc6 16. Ng4 Nd7 17. Bd6 Na5 18. Rb1 Ba6 19. Ba3 Rb8 20. b4 wlc-Now with this move, 20.b4, the queenside is all locked up. Black hopes for counterplay on the queenside aren't good. White has all the play on the kingside. 20... Nc6 21. Bc1 Bc8 22. Bf4 Rb7 ? wlc-I'm not sure the point in this move. 22...a5 is needed immediately, if black is going to have a chance. Even 22...Ra8 right now is better; with 23. ..a5 on the next move. 23. Qd2 Qe7 23... f6 wlc-Black needs to free up his position to create room for his king. 24. exf6 Nxf6 25. Bg5 Rf8 26. Nfe5 Qc7 27. Bxf6 Bxf6 28. Nxf6+ Rxf6 29. Ng4 Rf8 wlc-Only slight advantage for white here, as opposed to the game. 24. Bh6 Bh8 25. Qf4 Nd8 ? The losing move according to Fritz 8.0. 25..f6 while black can would have been a good idea. 26. Bg5 Qf8 27. Nh6+ Kg7 28. Bf6+ wlc-28.Qf6+ would have worked also. A queen sacrifice for mate! The sacrifice is unnecessay for mate though. 28... Nxf6 29. exf6# wlc-Let's take a look at this very, very cramped final position for black. He gets mated by a mere pawn!!!! 1-0


Laurence Coker (1637) - Zebedee Fortman III (1903) [C06]

MoKan Open (3.2) 2003


C06: French Tarrasch: 3...Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Bd3 main lines

wlc-This is the one game I have from the MoKan Open. I mentioned this as a possible Missouri vs. Kansas challange to occur in 2004 and beyond! Discussion to follow in the Annual meeting at the 2003 Kansas Open.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Nf3 Bd6 wlc- How many times have I been in this position in this last year (20 maybe if you include all the Internet Games I have played. 11. O-O wlc-Most of the time, I have seen Qb6, or even Qc7 (to prevent Bf4), before black castles. 11... O-O 12. Bf4 ! 12... Bxf4 13. Nxf4 Qd6 14. g3 a6 15. Re1 Nxd4 ? wlc-A mistake. 16. Bxh7+ ! 16... Nxh7 17. Qxd4 Re8 18. Ne5 Nf6 19. Nfg6 b6 20. Qh4 Nh7 21. Rac1 Bb7 22. Rc2 Rac8 23. Rec1 Rxc2 24. Rxc2 a5 25. Qf4 Nf6 26. Qh4 Nh7 27. Qh5 Rc8 28. Rxc8+ Bxc8 29. Qh4 Ba6 30. Qf4 30. Ne7+ ! This wins a piece and probably the game. 30... Kf8 31. N5g6+ wlc-I didn't see that this both protected the knigh on e7 and drove the king away from his h7 knight. 31... Ke8 32. Qxh7 Qc5 33. Qg8+ Kd7 34. Qxg7 Qc1+ 35. Kg2 Qf1+ 36. Kf3 Qe2+ 37. Kf4 Qxf2+ 38. Kg5 Qe3+ 39. Nf4 Kd6 40. Qf8 Kd7 +-(6.22) 30... Nf6 31. Qh4 White offers draw, and black accepts. Thus ends my string of 6 games of futility against people named Zeb Fortman, dating back to 1983, (0 wins: 6 losses- until this game, a draw)! 1/2-1/2


Laurence Coker (1617) - Kenneth Roberts (1860) [C03]

Southern Colorado Open (4.11) 2003


C03: French Tarrasch: Unusual Black 3rd moves

wlc-A tough game to lose from a game I played in the Southern Colorado Open.

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 wlc-This is an usual line against the Tarrasch. In fact in my 30 years of playing chess I had never seen 3....Nc6 against me in this position. This move 3...Nc6 and 3...Be7 are becoming more common, as other more common lines are getting excessively analyzed deep into the opening. 4. c3 wlc-This is not the best line, as it allows 4...e5, which John Emms in his book THE FRENCH TARRASCH by Batsford gives a ! 4... e5 ! 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Qf3 wlc-Once again, I picked the wrong line. I wanted to play 6.Bc4, but first I need to block the queen from taking on g2. I choose the wrong piece. 6. Ngf3 wlc-Better! 6... e4 ? wlc-This is what I was afraid of, but 8.Qe2 takes care of that, and black loses a pawn without compensation.(6... exd4 wlc-A better move by black, but white gets even in the game because of the game of a tempo, hitting the queen with the bishop.0 7. Bc4 Qd7 8. Qe2+ Be7 9. cxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Nf3 Qf6 12. Bg5 Qg6 wlc-Ample compensation for the sacrificed pawn by white.) 7. Bc4 Qf5 8. Qe2 Nf6 9. Bd3 Ne5 10. Bxe4 Nxf3+ 11. Bxf3+ Be7 (1.25) 6... Qxf3 7. Ngxf3 exd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. cxd4 Be6 10. Bb5+ ? Better was 10.Bc4. I didn't realize that I was going to lose a pawn by my move. 10... c6 11. Ba4 O-O-O 12. Bb3 Rxd4 13. Bxe6+ fxe6 14. O-O wlc-Do I have compensation for the pawn? Have I come up with a new gambit (Coker's Gambit). My end result doesn't support it (a loss). 14... Bd6 15. Nf3 Rg4 16. h3 Rg6 17. Be3 Bb8 18. Rad1 Ne7 wlc-Fritz 8.0 likes 18...Bd4 right away. And, as there it is where it ends up, I lose two tempi here, something I can ill afford being a pawn down. 19. Bc5 Nd5 20. Rfe1 Re8 21. Bd4 wlc-I should have put it here in the first place. 21... Re7 22. Be5 Bxe5 23. Rxe5 ?! wlc-Because white took with the rook, instead of the knight, he now has to be aware of ...Nf4 at any moment by black. 23. Nxe5 wlc-This is better. I thought it better to connect the white rooks right away, but that is not necessary. The knight is well posted on e5, and gains a tempo by attacking the rook on g6. 23... Rf6 24. Rd4 Kc7 25. Rde4 wlc-Now threatened is 26.Ng4! 23... h6 24. Rde1 Nf4 25. Nh4 Rf6 26. R1e3 Kd7 27. R3e4 Ng6 28. Nxg6 Rxg6 29. f4 Rf6 30. g4 g6 31. Kg2 Ke8 32. Rd4 Rd7 33. Rxd7 Kxd7 34. Kg3 b6 35. h4 Kd6 36. Re3 a6 37. Rd3+ Kc7 38. Re3 Kd6 39. Rd3+ Ke7 40. Re3 Rf8 41. b3 Rd8 42. f5 wlc-I may have been suckered into making this move because of the black king's position on the "e" file opposite my rook. 42... gxf5 43. gxf5 Rd6 44. Kg4 Kf6 45. fxe6 Rxe6 A crtical position. I see that if I trade rooks, I can win black's "h" pawn. But, what I don't see is that once I win the "h" pawn, my own king gets blocked in, and cannot get to a position that is not in front of my own "h" pawn. Thus, my next move 46.Rxe6 is the losing move, because black has the 3 pawns to 2 on the queenside. 46. Rxe6+ ? 46. Rf3+ wlc-When down material, it is best to leave rooks on the board. Since, I can never promote my "h" pawn, the trade of rooks results in a loss king and pawn endgame. 46... Kg7 47. Rd3 Kg6 48. h5+ Kf6 49. Kf4 Ke7 50. Rg3 c5 51. a3 b5 52. Rc3 Kd6 53. Kf5 a5 54. Rg3 c4 55. bxc4 bxc4 56. Rc3 Kd5 57. Rxc4 Re5+ 58. Kf6 Kxc4 59. Kxe5 Kb3 60. Kf5 a4 61. Kg6 Kxa3 62. Kxh6 Kb3 63. Kg6 a3 64. h6 a2 65. h7 a1=Q 66. Kf7 wlc-I think this is drawn? What do you think? 46... Kxe6 47. Kh5 Kf6 48. Kxh6 c5 49. Kh7 b5 50. h5 Kf7 51. Kh8 c4 52. a4 wlc-Trying to get of all my pawns to set up a possible stalemate. Black sees right through this, and does not cooperate. It is desperation here. 52... c3 53. axb5 c2 54. bxa6 c1=Q 55. Kh7 Qg5 White resigns (Mate one. Time to resign this instructive opening, middle game, and endgame). 0-1


Laurence Coker - Michael Waters [A80]

CCLA-Social Quarterly-1383 1970


A80: Dutch Defence: Unusual White second moves

I play postal chess in CCLA (Correspondence Chess League Of America) and have done so for 30 years off and on. I give one of my very first games from 1970. It still stands as the shortest game I have played ever, be it postal or OTB tournament. Believe it or not, this is a postal game. It is a help mate by black. My comments are longer than the game is!!!!!

1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 Nf6 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. e4 fxe4 5. Qh5# A diagram of the ending position of this ridiculous game from 1970. 1-0


Neil Andrews (1809) - Darius Masuhud (1642) [D36]

Lindsborg Rotary Open (4.1) 2002


D36: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation: Main line (5 Bg5 c6 6 Qc2)

wlc-I include this game from the 2002 Lindsborg Rotary Tournament. Both Darius Masuhud and Neil Andrews finished with the same score 7.5 out of 9 possible. As Neil Andrews had three draws and no losses, this win was necessary for Neil to end up tied with Darius, who finished with just one draw and this one loss.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Be7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. Qc2 O-O 8. e3 Re8 9. Bd3 h6 10. Bh4 Be6 11. O-O Nbd7 12. h3 Rc8 13. Rab1 c5 14. Qe2 cxd4 15. Nxd4 a6 16. Bg3 Nc5 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bg6 Rf8 wlc-This position, according to Fritz 8.0, shows minimal advantage for white (0.34) 19. Rfd1 Qb6 20. Be5 Bd6 21. Bxd6 Qxd6 22. e4 Qe5 23. exd5 Qxe2 24. Nxe2 Nxd5 25. Rbc1 Nd7 25... a5 wlc-A better move. 26. Rd4 b6 27. Rdc4 Rfd8 28. Bb1 Kf7 29. g3 Nf6 30. Nc3 Rd2 31. Na4 wlc-This position is equal for black (0.00) 25... b6 wlc-Another better move. 26. a3 Na4 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Rd2 b5 wlc-Again equal (0.22) 26. Nd4 Rxc1 27. Rxc1 Rf6 ?! wlc-Not the best move. 27... Nf4 wlc-Better, defending the e6 pawn and attacking the white bishop on g6 at the same time. 28. Rc7 Nf6 29. Bc2 Rf7 30. Rc8+ Rf8 31. Rc4 wlc-Equal (0.09) 28. Rc8+ Nf8 ?! Not as good a move. Better is 28.Rf8 28... Rf8 wlc-Better 29. Rxf8+ Nxf8 30. Be4 Kf7 31. g3 wlc-Equal (0.09) 29. Be4 b6 30. Nxe6 Ne7 31. Rxf8+ Rxf8 32. Nxf8 Kxf8 wlc-White is a pawn up and wins the endgame. (1.16) 33. b4 Kf7 34. f4 Ke6 35. Kf2 Nd5 36. f5+ ! 36... Ke5 37. Bxd5 Kxd5 38. g4 wlc- After the exchange of the last minor pieces on the board, this is a won "king and pawn" endgame for white. 38... Kc4 39. h4 Kxb4 40. g5 hxg5 41. hxg5 Kc5 42. g6 Kd6 43. f6 wlc-Black Resigns. 1-0


Neil Andrews (1809) - Charles Davis (1920) [D06]

Lindsborg Rotary Open (5.1) 2002


D06: Queen's Gambit: Symmetrical and Baltic Defences

I include this last game by Neil Andrews from the Lindsborg Rotary Open without much comment.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. cxd5 Nxd5 4. e4 wlc- I have only played queen pawn openings a few times (though I played the English Opening for years). This line is already out of my memorized "book moves." 4... Nb6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. b3 c6 10. Be3 N8d7 11. Qc2 Rc8 12. Rfd1 Qe8 13. Rac1 f5 14. exf5 exf5 15. Bf4 Qg6 16. Re1 Ba3 17. Rcd1 Bb4 18. a3 Bd6 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. b4 Qg6 21. Ne5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Rce8 23. Bxg4 Qxg4 24. h3 Qf4 25. g3 Qc4 26. Qb2 Re6 27. Ne2 Nd5 28. Nd4 Re7 29. Qc2 Qxc2 30. Nxc2 f4 31. Rd4 fxg3 32. fxg3 Rf3 33. Kg2 Rc3 34. Rd2 Kf8 35. Ree2 Rf7 36. Rf2 Rxf2+ 37. Kxf2 Ke7 38. b5 Ke6 39. bxc6 bxc6 40. Re2 c5 41. a4 a5 42. Ne1 h6 43. Nf3 Rc4 44. Ra2 Nb4 45. Rd2 Rc2 46. Rxc2 Nxc2 47. Nd2 Kxe5 48. Nc4+ Kd4 49. Nxa5 Kd3 50. Nb3 c4 51. Nc1+ Kc3 52. a5 Na3 53. a6 Nb5 54. Ke3 Kb2 55. Ne2 Ka3 56. Nd4 Na7 57. Ne2 Kb4 wlc-It is difficult to follow the rest of the game notation after this. Suffice to say, it went on for 20 more moves and ended in a draw. 1/2-1/2

Game(s) in PGN