0099 SICILIAN DEFENSE (Taimanov)
Smokehouse I, 2-26-00, Rd:3, Charlotte, N.C.
Patrick McCartney (1861)  Bob Spurrier (1998)
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cd 4 Nd4 e6 5 Nc3 Bb4 6 Be3 Qa5 7 Qd2 Nf6 8 Bd3 d5 9 Nb3 Bc3 10 bc (Definitely best. White doesn't wish to trade Queens and go into an endgame with the destroyed pawn structure he has on the Queen side)10...Qc7 11 ed (f3 just leads to yet another isolated pawn and another pawn island for White after 11...de 12 Be4 Ne4 13 fe) 11...Nd5 12 0-0 b6 13 Nd4 Ne5 14 Nb5!? (An interesting way to counter Black's threat on c3. White intends to play c4, and the royal fork possibility on d6 would make winning the pawn on ce temporarily impossible.  The gain of the tempo on the Queen gives White the extra move needed to try to consolidate his somewhat weak position due to the wrecked pawns)  14...Qc6 15 c4 Nd3 16 cd3 Ne3 (16...Bb7?? is answered by Nd4+-) 17 fe (I like this better than 17 Qe3 because it gives White a central pawn mass, and can perhaps make it useful for a central pawn roller later on in the game) 17...Bb7 18 Qb2 0-0 19 Nd4 Qd7 20 Rad Rae 21 Nf3 f6 22 d4 Qc7 23 Rc1 e5! 24 c5 Ba6 25 Rfd ed (Opening the e-file for his rook, and somewhat weakening White's pawn center) 26 ed Be2 27 Re Bf3 28 Qb3 Qf7 29 Re8?! (Rather than force the issue, White should have offered Black to trade queens on b3 and just play 29 gf, allowing the 4 pawn islands and trying to use the passed pawn for compensation) 29...Re8 30 Qf3 (Probably an unsound sacrifice. 30 gf and trying to draw a slightly inferior endgame was probably best.  White still has the passed pawn, but Black's rook now gets to the 2nd rank, hence why it was probably best to play gf back on move 29) 30...Qa2 31 c6 Qe6 32 d5 Qd6 33 c7 Rc8 34 Qe4 Qd7 (34...h6! LF) 35 d6 (35 Rc6! LF) Qd6 36 Qb7 Qe6 37 Rd1 (Removing the threat of the fork on e3, and also threatening to win with 38 Rd8. Black has only one move that survives, but it also wins...) 37...Re8?? (And, that isn't it!! The winning move for Black is 37...Kf7! and since 38 Rd8 allows 38...Qe1 Mate, White must waste time building an escape for his king with a move like 38 h3, and then Black plays 38...Ke7 and gets the king within range of where it needs to be to stop the c-pawn, as White can no longer play Rd8) 38 Qd5 (The killer blow!) 38...Qd5 (Or 38...Kf7 39 Qe6 followed by Rd8 winning) 39 Rd5 Re1 40 Kf2 Rc1 41 Rd8 Kf7 42 c8(Q) Rc8 43 Rc8 Ke6 44 Rc7 a5 45 Rc6 Kd5 46 Rb6 Kc5 47 Rb7 g5 48 Rh7 a4 49 Ra7 Kb4 50 Ke3 f5 51 Kd4  1-0 (Notes by McCartney)