In our opening round we were a little surprised that we would be playing against a team on the bottom half of the table,Usually at the Olympiad we tend to be paired against the top countries the very 1^st round.For the team this went vey well and we managed to win 3-1 against Nigeria.

Adu,O (2227) - Solomon,K (2414) [A07]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (1.71), 28.08.2012

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.0–0 Bg4 5.d3 Nbd7 6.Nbd2 e5 7.e4 dxe4 ( Fixing the center in my view limits Whites strategic possibilities.) [7...Bd6 Has been played in a number of games but White can increase the scope of his Bishop on g2 by exchanging pawns in the center. 8.h3 Bh5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.c4 0–0 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Ne4²] 8.dxe4 Bc5 9.h3 Bh5 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.a4 a5 12.Nc4 0–0 13.Bg5 [Here 13.g4 is premature 13...Bg6 14.Nh4 Nb6 15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.gxf5 (16.exf5 Rfe8) 16...Nxc4 17.Qxc4 Qb6 And blacks position is ok; 13.Bd2 was a decent alternative.] 13…Ne8? [With the idea of playing f6 and Bf7 later.Here 13...Rfe8 is probably best] 14.Rad1 f6 15.Bd2 [While my opponent was thinking I realized that  15.Be3! was very strong 15...Be7 (15...Bxe3 16.Qxe3 Bf7 17.Rxd7 Qxd7 18.Nb6 Qd8 19.Nxa8 Qxa8 20.Rd1) 16.Rxd7 Qxd7 17.Nb6 Qd8 18.Rd1 Nd6 19.Nxa8 (19.c4 c5 20.Nxa8 b6 21.Nxb6 Qxb6 22.Qc2 Bf7 23.b3 Rb8 24.Nh4 g6 25.Rd3 Be6 26.Bc1±) ] 15…b6 [15...Nd6 Should be played here.] 16.g4 [16.Qd3 Be7 17.Be3 Nc5 18.Bxc5 Bxc5 19.Rd2 Bf7 20.Rfd1 Be6 with equality] 16…Bf7 17.Nh4 g6 18.Kh1 Nd6! With this move black takes control of the f4 square. 19.Nxd6 Bxd6 20.b3 Nc5 21.Be3 Rfd8µ (Now after regrouping His Qto e7,Ne6,Bc7 the exchange of rooks will be unavoidable and the game plays itself as black will dominate play on the Q-side.) 22.Qf3 Qe7 23.Qg3 Bc7 24.Rg1 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Rd8 26.Rg1 Ne6 27.Bf1 Nf4 28.Ng2 g5 29.Qf3 Qb4 30.Bc1 Bg6 31.Bc4+ Kh8 32.c3 Qc5 33.Ne3 b5 34.axb5 cxb5 35.Bf1 Qxc3 36.Bxb5 Rd4 37.Qg3 Bxe4+ 38.Kh2 Qxb3 39.Bf1 a4 40.Nf5 Rd1 41.Ba3 Bxf5 42.Qxb3 axb3 43.gxf5 e4 44.Kh1 Be5 45.Bc4 Rxg1+ 46.Kxg1 Nxh3+ 47.Kf1 b2 48.Ba2 Nf4 49.Bb1 Nd3 50.f3 Bd4 51.fxe4 Ne5 52.Bb4 h5 53.Kg2 Kg7 54.Kg3 h4+ 55.Kh3 Kh6 56.Be7 Nc4 57.Bb4 Kh5 0–1

Then came round 2 and we were up against Singapore.There was a quite a difference of rating between their board 1 and board 2.my opponent had a high rating of 2595,whereas their board 2 had a rating of 2437.Here we managed to upset the Singapore team by beating them 2.5-1.5

In my game below psychology played a key role in winning this match.

Zhang Zhong (2595) - Solomon,K (2414) [C53]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (2.33), 29.08.2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 (Another possibility here is Nf6) 5.c3 Nf6 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 0–0 10.Be3 Bg4 11.Qc2 Bf5 12.Qb3 Na5 13.Qa4 [13.Qb4 is an interesting alternative.)] 13…c6 14.Be2 Nxc3 [Stronger was 14...f6!  for e.g 15.0–0 Bg4 16.Rfe1 Bxf3 17.gxf3 (17.Bxf3 Nxc3 18.bxc3 fxe5 19.dxe5 Bxe3 20.Rxe3 Nc4 21.Re2 Qg5) 17...Ng5 18.f4 (18.Bxg5 fxg5 19.Rad1 Rf4) 18...Nh3+ 19.Kg2 fxe5 20.fxe5 Qh4] 15.bxc3 f6 16.exf6 Qxf6 17.Ne5 Rae8 18.Qb4 [18.0–0 Was Correct and would have lead to a complecated struggle.] 18…Bc7?! [Here I should have played 18...c5! Pointed out to me by my team mate  IM Watu Kobese after the game. 19.dxc5 Bc7 Its this simple move i didnt consider. (I looked at 19...Rxe5 20.cxb6 Nc6 (I missed 20...Bd3!! 21.Bf3 Nc6 22.Qb2 axb6 23.0–0–0 Bc4) 21.Qb2 Rxe3 22.fxe3 Qh4+ 23.g3 Qh6 24.bxa7 Qxe3 25.Qd2) 20.Nf3 Re4] 19.0–0 Qe7!? (A practical move which had my opponent thinking,to exchange queens or not?) 20.Rfe1 Qd8! The unexpected retreat of blacks Queen unbalanced my opponent.Therefore the exclamaition mark is for the psychological merit of Qd8. 21.Bf1 Bd6 22.Qb2 Bxe5! (Not objectively the best move! But after noticing my opponent clearly rattled,I decided to change the character of the position by exchanging 1 minor piece.This decision was clearly justified as my opponent was unable to adjust to the swift changes of positions.) 23.dxe5 b6 24.f4 Qd7 25.Rad1 Qf7 (Here we were both getting short of time.) 26.Bc1? [26.Qf2 suggest itself.] 26…Bg4 27.Rd4 c5 28.Rd2?? Qxf4 29.Rxd5 Qf7 30.c4 Be6 31.Qd2 Bxd5 32.Qxd5 Re6 33.Be3 Nc6 34.Bd3 Nb4 Here White resigned. 0–1

Round 3

we lost 2.5-1.5 to turkey.Despite the loss,it was still a good result for the team considering we all were faced with Gms,I managed to draw and Mabusela played a good game to beat A Gm Barris

Solomon,K (2414) - Solak,D (2599) [B07]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (3.17), 30.08.2012

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.c3 [In Padova Open last year I played 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.Qe2 0–0 6.0–0 against Solodovnichencho.Aware that my opponent probably saw that game I decided to change.] 4…Nf6 5.Bd3 0–0 6.0–0 Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Nbd7 12.Bd2 [Better was 12.Be3 e6 (12...Ne5 13.Qe2) 13.dxe6 fxe6 14.Qe2 Nh5 15.Qd2 Nc5 16.Ne2] 12…e6 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.Qe2 Nc5 15.b4 Nxd3 16.Qxd3 d5 17.exd5 exd5 18.Rad1 a5 19.bxa5 [19.b5² dxc4 20.Qxc4 cxb5 21.Nxb5 White is slightly better,but its obviously not enough to win.)] 19…Rxa5 20.cxd5 Nxd5 21.Nxd5 Rxd5 22.Qc2 c5 23.Be3?! [23.Bc3] 23…c4! (Now white has to fight to hold.) 24.a4 c3 25.Ra1 Qa5 26.Qb3 Rc8 27.Ra2 h5 28.Rb1 Be5 Timetrouble [28...Bd4 29.Rd1 Rcd8 30.Bxd4 Rxd4 31.Rxd4 Rxd4 32.Re2 Qc5 33.Qc2 Qa3 34.Re3 Rc4 35.Re1 h4µ] 29.Qc2 Rcd8 30.Qe2 R8d6 31.g4 hxg4 32.hxg4 Qd8 33.Kg2 Bd4 34.Bf4 Re6 35.Qf3 Rf6 36.Rb8 Qxb8 37.Bxb8 Rxf3 38.Kxf3 Rc5 39.Bf4 c2 ½–½

Round 4

We played Brazil,a team a little stronger than Turkey,again we lost narrowly 1.5-2.5 but a good result nevertherless.We were expected to lose 3-1 I think.Watu lost on board 2 ,a game that should have actually ended up in a draw but due to fatigue in the 4^th hour of play,he made the final mistake leading to defeat.The rest of the games were all draws but they were fighting chess till the bitter end.

My opponent had a rest in round 3 and as they say in physical sports played with a fresh pair of legs.I lost the initiative after move 14 and in an unpleasant position was hanging on the ropes until finally achieving a draw on move 58.

Solomon,K (2414) - Vescovi,G (2617)[E17]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (4.21), 31.08.2012

 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 Qc8 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.e4 d6 11.Nc3 Nd7 12.Qd2 a6 13.Rad1 Re8 14.h4 c5 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Qxd6 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Nxe4 18.Qxb6 Nxc3 19.Rd4 Na4 20.Qa5 Nc5 21.Qc3 Qc7 22.Ne5 Bxg2 23.Kxg2 Rad8 24.Nf3 Rxd4 25.Nxd4 Rd8 26.Nb3 Nd3 27.Re3 Qb7+ 28.Kg1 Nb4 29.Nc1 Nc6 30.Nb3 Nb4 31.Nc1 Rc8 32.Qb3 Qe7 33.Ne2 Qc5 34.a3 Nc6 35.Qb7 Rb8 36.Qxa6 Ne5 37.Nf4 Ng4 38.Re2 Rb3 39.Qa8+ Kh7 40.Kg2 Qxc4 41.Qe4+ Qxe4+ 42.Rxe4 Rxa3 43.Re2 g5 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.Nh3 Kg6 46.Ng1 Kf5 47.Nf3 e5 48.Ne1 f6 49.Nc2 Rc3 50.f3 Nh6 51.Ne3+ Ke6 52.g4 Nf7 53.Nf5 Nh8 54.Ra2 Rc6 55.Ng7+ Kd6 56.Nf5+ Ke6 57.Ng7+ Kd6 58.Nf5+ Ke6 ½–½

Round 5

I finally had my rest day as it was my turn to sit out.Actually it was between myself and Mabuselah who would sit out.I succeeded in convincing Mabu and teammates that he should play ,knowing very well what happened at the last Olympiad against Thailand.I knew Thailand was one team under-rated and in 2010 we under-estimated them and we lost.Logically it makes sense to rest the number 1 player against the lower rated teams and save his energy for the team against tougher opposition.In my opinion Mabu on board 3 was up against the strongest player of the Thai team and he did very well to draw.Team SA beat Thailand 3-1.

Round 6

Here team SA drew to Switzerland,a very good result,I was the only one to have lost,Cawdrey drew on board 4,Watu drew on board 2,Henry beat IM Forster 2459 on board 3.My game against Pelletier was very intense.I was confronted with a variation I never played and consumed lots of time and energy very early in the game.This worked against me later in the mutual time-scramble where I ended up playing on reserves and missed a simple win.After the time control I could only find ways to prolong the battle and nearly escaped but my opponents superb endgame technique didnt allow this.

Solomon,K (2414) - Pelletier,Y (2595) [E16]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (6.28), 03.09.2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qe7 7.0–0 Bxd2?! 8.Qxd2 0–0 9.Nc3 d5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Rac1 [White gains a big advantage after the immediate 11.Nh4! g6 (11...Ne4 12.Nf5 Qf6 13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.Qf4 Na6 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Qxe4 Rfe8 17.Qf3) 12.Qg5] 11…Na6 12.Nh4 [12.Rfe1 Ne4 13.Qf4] 12…Ne4 13.Nf5 Qf6 14.Nxe4 [14.Qf4 g6 15.Bxe4 (15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Nh6+ Kg7 17.Qxf6+ Kxf6 18.Ng4+ Kg7 19.Rfd1) 15...dxe4 16.Nh6+ Kg7 17.Qxf6+ Kxf6 18.Ng4+ Kg7 19.Rfd1] 14…dxe4 [14...Qxf5 15.Nc3 Rae8²] 15.Ne3 Rad8 16.Rfd1 [Stronger was 16.d5 ] 16…c5 17.d5 Qg6 18.Qc2 f5 19.Qa4 Rf7 20.Kh1 Nb4 21.Qb3 f4 22.gxf4 Rxf4 23.a3 Na6 24.f3 exf3 25.Bxf3 Kh8 26.Rc4 Qf7 27.Rxf4 Qxf4 28.Qc3 (This is where the time scramble began) 28…Nc7 29.Ng2 Qf7 30.e4 Nb5 31.Qe3 Nd4 32.Be2 Qe7 33.Bd3 Bc8 34.Rf1 g6 35.Qh6 Bg4? [35...b5 36.d6 Qg7 37.Qg5 Rxd6 38.Qxc5 Rd8 39.Qg5 Re8 40.Nf4÷] 36.Qf4? [I missed 36.d6!! just winning.] 36…Bh3 37.Rf2 Bxg2+ 38.Kxg2 Kg7 39.a4 Rd6 40.Bc4? [40.Qg3] 40…Rf6 41.Qxf6+ Qxf6 42.Rxf6 Kxf6 43.Kf2 Ke5 44.Ke3 g5 45.h3 h6 46.Bf1 Nb3 47.Be2 c4 48.Bxc4 Nc5 49.Bd3 Nxa4 50.b4 a5 51.d6 Kxd6 52.bxa5 bxa5 53.Kd4 Nb6 54.e5+ Ke7 55.Bb1 a4 56.Kc5 Nd7+ 57.Kd5 a3 58.Ba2 Nb8 59.Ke4 Nc6 60.Kf5 Nb4 61.Bb3 Nd3 62.Kg6 Nxe5+ 63.Kxh6 Kf6 64.Kh5 Kf5 65.Ba2 Kf4 66.Bd5 Nd3 67.h4 g4 0–1

Round7

Another South American team  Chile,this time we managed to draw.Daniel won a nice game against Salinas Herrero Pablo 2417,whereas Mabuselah lost  early to Flores Rios 2498.Mabu Had difficulty maintaining the same  level in the 2^nd half of the tournament.I had a solid position and Watu a very promising position,infact Watu somewhere missed a win and somehow lost the thread of the postion.Meanwhile the position on my board really heated up in the time-scramble and assessing the team situation I went all in for a win and managed when my opponent upon reaching the time-control blundered.

Morovic Fernandez,I (2575) - Solomon,K (2414) [A07]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (7.24), 04.09.2012

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.0–0 Bg4 5.d4 (In my opinion this set-up poses no problems for black as his Light squared bishop is outside the pawn chain.) 5…Nbd7 6.c4 e6 7.Qb3 Qb6 8.Nc3 Be7 9.Bf4 0–0 10.h3 Bf5 11.c5 Qxb3 12.axb3 h6 (Im not surprised that the computer doesnt understand this position and evaluates it as slightly better for White,in my view black is definitely better due to the better pawn structure and also due to the fact that whites bishop on g2 being restricted by the pawn chain c6,d5.Blacks Dark squared bishop can later bite on d4 after he plays e5,ed followed by Bf6.So whites pawn chain d4,c5 is not a restriction to blacks dark squared bishop.) 13.b4 g5 14.Be3 a6 15.Nd2 Rab8 16.f3 Bg6 17.g4 Ne8 18.Bf2 Bf6 19.Nb3 e5!? (A point was needed for my team to equalize the scores,and with a mutual time scramble approaching i decided to intensify the struggle by creating tension in the center) 20.dxe5 Bxe5 21.Bd4 Bg3 22.Bf2 Be5 23.Bd4 Bg3 (Gaining time on the clock) 24.e4 [After 24.Bf2 I actually intended 24...Bc7] 24…dxe4 25.Nxe4 Bxe4 26.fxe4 Nc7 (This knight is headed for f4) 27.Bc3 Ne6 28.Rad1 Ne5 29.Na5 Nf4 30.Rd2 Nfg6 31.Rfd1 Bf4 32.Rd6 Kh7 (each  having 30 seconds per move to reach the time control with 30 seconds increment,incredably tense!) 33.Kf2 Rfe8 34.Bf1 Nf8 35.Rf6 Re7 36.Nc4 Nfg6 37.Nd6 Re6 38.Rf5 Rd8 39.Be2 Rd7 40.Ne8?? (My opponent with 3 seconds on his clock was forced to move a piece.He obviously must have forgoten about the rook on e6,perhaps it had the appearance of a pawn,Playing under so much tension and timetrouble with 30 seconds on your clock for many moves can lead blunders of this nature.) 40…Rxd1 0–1

Round 8

Our Next South American opponents were Columbia,We were really doing the South American Continent tour.We surprised ourselves and beat them 2.5-1.5 Mabu Lost,Daniel drew,Henry and myself managed to win our games.We as a team pulled it off and beat our first South American country.In my game in particular I decided to enter a theoretical dual to secure the point,This was justified as in that particular variation I was well armed.

Solomon,K (2414) - Cuartas,Ja (2521) [D45]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (8.27), 05.09.2012

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 (With 3Nc3,4e3 I was sure that my opponent will play the meran.Usually I play 3Nf3 but I noticed in my pregame preparation that my opponent plays 3…Nf6 4Nc3 a6 and if 4e3 he might play g6 in general leading to closed positions which I wasnt in the mood for especially after the tense battle the round before.) 3…Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Be2 0–0 8.0–0 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 [9...b5 is the mainline variation.My opponent is following the exact line which I played in Server 24 tournament in June the last round.In that game I misplayed the Opening and later lost.] 10.e4 e5 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.h3 (A deviation from my game against Akshat Server 24 tournament 2012.There I played the dubious g3,which Im sure my opponent hoped il repeat.) 12…b5 13.Bb3! (This was first played in the 8th World teams championship 2011 Aronian-Karjakan in which Aronian with inventive play won a nice game.Later a few more games were played with this idea of Aronian and after analysing it I came to the conclusion that  its still playable.) 13…Bb7 [13...exd4 in my view is correct 14.Nxd4 Nc5 15.Bg5 Be5 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nxc6 Aronian-Karjakan(17.Rac1 Has also been seen in practice.)) ] 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nd4 Rad8 [15...Ng6 Stanley Chumfa suggested me after the game but white is always better e.g 16.Nf5 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 Be5 18.Bg5 Nf4 (18...c5 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Bd5) 19.Rac1 c5 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Bxd5 Nxd5 23.exd5 c4 24.b3 g6 25.d6 Qd7 26.Nh6+ Kh8 (26...Kg7 27.Ng4) 27.Ng4 With a big advantage] 16.Nf5 c5 17.Bg5! [17.Bd5; 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.Bxd5] 17…c4 18.Bxf6 gxf6 [18...cxb3 19.Qc1 wins] 19.Qc1 Nf3+ (forced) 20.gxf3 Bf4 (Here i noticed the worlds number 2 Aronian watching my game,He saw I was cashing in on one of his inventive ideas.) 21.Qc2 [I was nearly tempted to go for 21.Rxd8 Bxc1 22.Rxf8+ Kxf8 23.Rxc1 cxb3 24.axb3 Bc8 25.Ne2 Qd8 26.Ned4 but could see a stroight forward way in.)] 21…cxb3 22.Qxb3 Kh8 23.Rxd8 Qxd8 24.Rd1 Qc8 25.Nd5 Be5 26.Nde7 Qc7 27.Qc3 Bf4 28.Qd4 Be5 29.Qe3 Bf4 30.Qb3 Be5 31.Kh1 (With the knights on f5,e7 and rook controlling the d-file white has such a dominating position that theres nothing black can do to survive.The rest of the game was a matter of technique.) 31…Qb6 32.Qc2 Bb8 33.Qc3 Qe6 34.Qe3 Qe5 35.Kg2 Qh2+ 36.Kf1 Qxh3+ 37.Ke2 Qh2 38.Qb6 Qe5 39.Qxb7 Qxb2+ 40.Rd2 Qb4 41.Qc6 Be5 42.f4 Ba1 43.e5 Qc4+ 44.Qxc4 bxc4 45.Rd1 Bb2 46.Rg1 1–0

Round 9

After a good result in round 8 we were now moving up ,this time against a Worldclass team like Bulgaria,They were definitely in another league as they beat us 3-1 Gone are the days that South Africa loses 4-0 .Watu who had an uphill struggle in the beginning  made a comeback and annihilated his worldclass opponent GM Georgive with inventive opening play.The rest of us were outclassed by our worldclass opponents.Henry Lost a worthy battle against cheparinov ,Mabu had a very promising position,but in Mabuselahs time pressure his opponent managed to turn the tables on him.My Opponent Topalov a former Worldchesschampion taught me what it means to play on his level.I am greatful to have had this experience!

Topalov,V (2752) - Solomon,K (2414) [E16]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (9.16), 06.09.2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 [4...Ba6 Is what I usually play.I decided to try something I never played before inorder to avoid his direct preparation for this game.] 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 c5 7.0–0 0–0 8.Bxb4 cxb4 9.Nbd2 d6 In retrospect Ithink the choice of variation was a good one as during the game i saw my opponent a little worried.The reason for this can be 1) White has to play extremely well to gain an advantage in this set-up because many games on top level  has ended in draws.and 2)The team was under pressure,On board 2 Watu had a very good position quite early in his game against Georgiev whom he beat,and Henry against Cheparinov was still early to tell,Mabusela had a slight edge early in the opening. 10.Re1 (Played after some considerable thought.) 10…Re8 (But from here on Topalov accelerated his play) 11.Nf1 Nbd7?! (My lack of experience in this line begins to show.This knight should have gone to a6 instead, making it difficult for white to force black to play ba when white replies ba with pressure down the b-file.With the knight on a6 he can maintain the tension on b4,and should white play ab he can reply Nxb4. [11...a5 12.Ne3 Na6] 12.Ne3 a5 13.a3 bxa3 14.bxa3 Be4 (Preventing Rb1) 15.Qb3 Rc8 16.Rac1 Qc7 17.Bh3 Ba8 18.Qb2! (Whites advantage begins to show,its very instructive how Topalov manoeuvres and places his pieces,e.g his placing his Bishop on h3 and Queen on b2 was very annoying for me as white now has a permanent threat of d5 hanging over my head.At this stage i regretted playing Nbd7 too early.) 18…g6?! [18...Ne4 was practically best Avoiding unnecessary weaknesses.] 19.Nd2 [19.d5 e5 20.Ng5 Rb8 21.Bxd7 Qxd7 22.Rc3 h6 23.Nf3 a4] 19…Rb8 (Black is still ok in this position,but practically its much easier playing White.I was drifting into time trouble and my opponent playing quickly capitalizing on his practical advantages.) 20.f3 Qd8 21.Nc2 [21.f4] 21…e5?! [Here 21...Bc6! was a good idea,but i didnt have time to work it out,i decided to try and remain solid. 22.e4 b5 23.cxb5 Bxb5 24.Qa1 Qb6] 22.e4 Nf8 23.Rcd1 Qc7 24.Ne3 Ne6 [24...N8d7 25.Rc1] 25.Bxe6! fxe6 [25...Rxe6 26.Nd5! (26.dxe5 dxe5 27.Nd5 Qc5+ 28.Kg2 Nd7) 26...Qd8 27.Kg2 Nd7 28.dxe5 Nxe5 (28...dxe5 29.Nf1) 29.Qd4 b5 30.cxb5 Rxb5 31.Nf4] 26.Nb1!± Bc6 27.Nc3 Bd7 28.Kg2 Rf8 29.Nb5 Bxb5 30.cxb5 Rbd8 31.dxe5 dxe5 32.Rxd8 Rxd8 33.Rc1 Qd6 34.Nc4 Qd4 35.Qxd4 exd4 36.Nxb6 d3 37.Kf2 d2 38.Rd1 Rb8 39.Nc4 Rxb5 40.Rxd2 Rc5 41.Rc2 (White is now clearly winning,but it was still too early to resign,Topalov a former worldchesschampion still needs to show some endgame technique!) 41…g5 42.Ke3 e5 43.Kd3 h5 44.Nd6 Rxc2 45.Kxc2 g4 46.fxg4 hxg4 47.Kd3 Kf8 48.Nc4 Nd7 49.Nxa5 Ke7 50.Nb7 Nb6 51.Kc3 Kd7 52.Nc5+ Kc6 53.Nd3 Nd7 54.Kc4 Nb6+ 55.Kb4 Nd7 56.a4 Kb6 57.a5+

1–0

Round 10

This was an important match for our team as well as for South African chess! We needed to win inorder to stay in contention for being 1^st in Africa,and I think most importantly for South African chess! The result on board 1 could determine our first Gm Elect! All that was needed for the GM norm was a draw,My experience now is that in an important match  its more difficult to play for a draw than to play for a win!Before this game Graham Jurgensen,andGunter van den Berg confirmed with me that a draw was all thats needed.Ofcause I forced my roommate Henry Steel to do all the calculations the night beforeJ

We won 2.5-1.5. Henry won on Board 3 and the restof us fought really hard just to make draws.We were all exhausted at this stage as we were playing without a reserve player since round 9!

Solomon,K (2414) - Zambrana,O (2471) [E09]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (10.26), 07.09.2012

In this important match there was alot at stake! The result of this match (in particular my game)could decide the double Gm norm and also possibly South Africas 1st Grandmaster.I spend about 3 hours the night before preparing for my opponents,followed by a sleepless night laying awake in bed resting with excitement.After breakfast at about 10 am we received the confirmation on who exactly our opponents would be.This was followed by another hours preparation,and back in bed to rest again with anticipation.Never before have I been under so much psychological pressure.I decided to play  1.Nf3 (This flexible move narrowed down my opponents choice of variations significantly,It wasnt too difficult to predict what he will play after this move.) 1…Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Be7 [The other line he plays is 3...b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0–0 c5 with which i would be very comfortable with.)] 4.Bg2 0–0 5.0–0 d5 6.d4 c6 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.Nbd2 b6 9.e4 Bb7 10.e5 Ne8 11.cxd5 exd5 (I was really surprised by this move which I never seen before.Actually after the game Watu mentioned to me that this variation is in Avrukhs Book on d4 repetoire.Obviuously I never been through Avrukhs book) 12.Re1! Logical!,vacating f1 for the knight thats headed for f5 and overprotecting e5.Black brings his knght to e6,and plans c5.) 12…Nc7 13.Nf1 Ne6 14.Ne3 c5 15.Nf5 Rc8 16.Qd1 Re8 17.Nxe7+ [17.Be3 is suggested by Avrukh in his book.Had i been through Avrukhs book I would definitely have saved alot of time and energy reaching this position.] 17…Qxe7 18.Be3 Nb8 19.Nh4!? [I suddenly became ambitious. 19.dxc5 bxc5 20.Rc1 Nc6 21.Bd2 was safer)] 19…g6 20.f4 Nc6 21.dxc5 d4 22.Bf2 Nxc5 23.Qd2 a5 24.Rad1 Rcd8 25.a3 [25.Bxc6 is a very difficult move for me to play as i wasnt sure how to evaluate blacks compensation.But actually its ok 25...Bxc6 26.Bxd4 Ba8 (26...Qe6 27.Qf2 Qd5 28.Ng2 Qxa2 29.Bxc5 Rxd1 30.Rxd1 bxc5 31.Rd6) 27.Qc2 Qb7 28.Ng2] 25…a4 26.h3 Nb3 27.Qd3 Nca5 28.Bxb7 [The retreat of 28.Nf3! Never occured to me during the game.Its clear that in this game i followed the strategy of only moving forward and seeking concrete play.] 28…Qxb7 29.f5 (Moving only forward.I was already in time trouble) 29…Nc5 30.Qd2 Nc4 31.Qh6 Rxe5 32.Rxe5 Nxe5 33.Rxd4 Qe7 34.Rxd8+ Qxd8 35.fxg6 hxg6 36.Qf4 (Now I was fighting for a draw.) 36…Qd1+ 37.Kg2 Qd5+ [Luckily my opponent joined me in time trouble. 37...Ncd3 38.Qe3 Qc2 39.Qxb6 Qe2 (Is not so easy to find.) 40.Qe3 Qxb2] 38.Kh2 Ncd3 39.Qd4 Qxd4 40.Bxd4 Nc4 41.Nf3 Ndxb2 42.Ne1 f5 (The time control was reached and before playing my next move i took a 5 minute breather to calm down and adjust to the new situation .Emotionally I felt relieve I wasnt blown away before the time control and perhaps there was still a way to save the game.I needed to get into the correct psychological frame of mind to desperately up my level of play.After some 10 minutes thought I found a clear plan to draw the game.Still practically it wasnt easy to execute.I found..  43.g4 fxg4 44.h4! (Planning to liquidate the K-side with h5 later.) 44…Nd1 45.Nc2 Nd6 46.Kg3 Nf5+ 47.Kxg4 Nxd4 48.Nxd4 Ne3+ 49.Kg5 Kf7 50.Nb5 Nc4 51.Nc3 Nxa3 52.Nxa4 b5 53.Nc5 b4 54.h5 (Here I knew it was objectively drawn,the next challenge was proving it with less than 5 minutes.) 54…gxh5 55.Kxh5 Ke7 56.Kg4 Kd6 57.Nb3 Kd5 58.Kf3 Kc4 59.Nc1! The key move that secures a draw,all that was needed for Gm double norm! 59…Nc2 60.Ke2 Na1 61.Kd1 Kd4 62.Kd2 Kc4 63.Kd1 Kb5 64.Nd3 b3 65.Kc1 Kc4 66.Nb2+ Kb4 67.Nd1 Ka3 68.Kb1 Nc2 69.Nb2 Kb4 70.Nd1 Na3+ 71.Kb2 Nc4+ 72.Kc1 Nb6 73.Nb2 Kc3 74.Nd1+ Kd3 75.Kb2 ½–½

After this match congratulations were in order for our team success and on my completing 3 Gm Norms!My team mates and I were already in a festive mood and celebrating.On learning the last round pairing we were surprised to have faced another worldclass Elite team! France! A team of nearly all 2700s! Surely we were expected to lose 4-0,But those days are gone.South Africa as a chessplaying nation has improved considerably! Watu again came to our rescue and drew his game,We lost 3.5-0.5

My Game against Vachier lagrave was another lesson for me what its like to play on a very high level.I can say that in both my games with Topalov and Vachier Lagrave I wasnt beaten in the opening but to them outplaying me in the middlegame.Team SA did extremely well considering their lack of international exposure.

Vachier Lagrave,M (2686) - Solomon,K (2414) [C94]

40th Olympiad Open Istanbul TUR (11.19), 09.09.2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Nb8 10.d3 [10.d4 Nbd7 Is the main line)] 10…Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Nf1 Nc5 13.Bc2 Re8 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.Nh2 d5 16.Ng4 Nxg4 17.Qxg4 dxe4 18.dxe4 Qf6 19.Nf5 Qg6 20.Qh4 Qc6 21.Bg5 f6 22.Be3 Bc8 23.Bxc5 Bxc5 24.Bb3+ Be6 25.Red1 Bxb3 26.axb3 Qe6 27.Qg4 Bf8 28.Rd7 g6 29.Rad1 Kh8 30.Ne3 Bd6 31.Qxe6 Rxe6 32.Nd5 Ra7 33.Rd3 f5 34.exf5 gxf5 35.Rg3 Rg6 36.Rxg6 hxg6 37.Nf6 1–0

After they all returned safely to South Africa I then again did some preparation for about 10days and decided that it was time to get in some practice. My wife and I decided to play a 1 day event in Brunico (in the mountains) on the 4^th August.It was a 9round rapid of 15minutes aside.I was leading until the 5^th round having 5/5 until being beaten by 2600 GM Palac.I Also lost the 6^th round against FM Ceschia but then managed to win my last 2 rounds to secure 3th place.This tournament was a good indication of my form but I wasn’t completely satisfied.It was then decided I will compete in another event which would be the Spielembergo Open from the 11^th until 16 August.

The top players in this event was GM Burmakin 2608,GM Petkov 2512, Gm Lazic 2477, IM Laketic 2437 and then myself.

In this event I showed a good result finishing tied 1^st with Petkov 6/7.The tiebrake bucholtz system puts me in 2^nd place. I drew 2 games,one game to Laketic and the other to Burmakin.In this event I decided to overcome one of my main weaknesses which is time-management.This is indeed the 1^st time in 2 years I haven’t experience any time-trouble problems.

I am now looking forward to the Olympiad which is to be held in Turkey Istanbul 2012!

Solomon - Negro [B07]

Spielembergo, 14.08.2012

1.d4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.e4 d6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bd3 0–0 6.0–0 Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.h3! (An important move!Restricting the bishop on c8) 8…c6 9.c4 Nbd7 10.Nc3 Nc5 11.Bc2 Nfd7 12.Bd2 a5 13.Rb1 Ne5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Bh6 Bg7?!

(Correct was Re8 Now white simply dominates the center and can impose his will on both wings.)

16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qd4+ Kg8 18.e5 Na6 19.Rfe1

[Strongest was 19.dxc6! bxc6 (19...dxe5 20.cxb7!! wins a pawn)) 20.Rfd1]

 19…Nb4 20.Rbc1! cxd5 21.cxd5 Ra6! (Putting up some resistence)

 22.a3 dxe5 23.Qxe5 Nxc2 24.Rxc2 e6 25.Rd2 exd5 26.Rxd5 Qh4 27.Qe7!

(Logical! simplifying into a won endgame immediately eliminates any possibilities for an escape from an opponent whos position is lost.)

27…Qxe7 28.Rxe7 Ra8 29.Ree5 Be6 30.Rxa5 Rad8 31.Rab5 Rd7 32.Rb4 Rc8 33.Reb5 Rcc7 34.Kh2 h5 35.h4 Kg7 36.f3 Bc4 37.Re5 Rd2 38.Re1 Kf8 39.Kg3 Kg7 40.Ne4 Rc2 41.Nd6 Bd5 42.Ne8+ 1–0

Solomon - Burmakin [D15]

Spielembergo 15.08.2012

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 c6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.b3 Bf5 7.Ne5 h6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Nxd3 e6 10.0–0 Nbd7 11.Qc2 Be7 12.c5 a5 13.f3 0–0 14.Bd2 Qc7 15.Be1 Qa7 16.Bg3 Nh7 17.a3 f5 18.Kh1 Rfe8 19.Rae1 Bf6 20.f4 Ndf8 21.Nb1 Qf7 22.Nd2 Nd7 23.Nf3 Qh5 24.Rb1 Rec8 25.Nde5 Ndf8 26.a4 b4 27.Kg1 Bd8 28.Qd1 Ng6 29.Nd2 Qxd1 30.Rbxd1 Nxe5 31.dxe5 Nf8 32.Rc1 g5 33.Nf3 Ra7 34.Rc2 Rg7 35.Nd4 Kf7 36.Rd1 Ng6 37.Kf2 h5 38.Kf3 h4 39.Bf2 Ke7 40.g3 hxg3 41.hxg3 g4+ 42.Kg2 Kd7 43.Rh1 Be7 44.Ne2 Rh8 45.Rxh8 Nxh8 46.Nc1 Rh7 47.Nd3 Ng6 48.Rc1 Kc7 49.Be1 Rh3 50.Bf2 ½–½

Solomon - Ceschia [D85]

Spielembergo 16.08.2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 0–0?! 8.Qd2 c5 9.Rc1 cxd4 Usual is Qa5  10.cxd4 Nc6 11.d5!

[I think my opponent was expecting 11.Nf3 Bg4 12.d5 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Ne5 14.Be2 Qd7!]

11…Ne5 12.h3! e6

(Its this move caused black to lose the game.

 [12...f5!? 13.f4 fxe4 14.fxe5 Bxe5 15.Ne2 e6 16.dxe6 Bxe6 17.Qxd8 Raxd8 18.Bxa7 Bxa2 19.g4 Bb2 20.Bc5]

13.f4 Nd7 [13...exd5 14.fxe5 Qh4+ 15.Qf2 Qxe4 16.Be2]

14.dxe6 fxe6 15.Nf3 e5

[15...Nf6 16.Bd3]

16.Bc4+ Kh8 17.0–0 exf4 18.Bxf4 Nb6 19.Qxd8 Rxd8 20.Bb3!

The surest path! [20.Ne5 Nxc4 21.Nf7+ Kg8 22.Nxd8 b5 Even though the postion is winning for white i dont think its practically easy to convert.)]

 20…Re8 21.Ng5 h6 22.Nf7+ Kh7 23.Rc7!

[23.Nd6 Re7 with some resistence)]

23…Bd7                    

[23...Rxe4 24.Bxh6 Bd4+ 25.Kh1 Re2 26.Bf4]

 24.Nd6 Rf8

 [24...Bd4+ 25.Kh2 Rf8 26.Rd1]

 25.e5 Bc6

[25...g5 26.Be3 Rxf1+ 27.Kxf1 Rd8 (27...Rf8+ 28.Kg1 Bc6 29.e6 Kg6 (29...Na8 30.Rxc6 bxc6 31.e7) 30.e7 Ra8 31.e8Q+ Bxe8 32.Nxe8 Rxe8 33.Bf7+) 28.Rxb7]

 26.e6 Nd5 27.Bxd5 Bxd5 28.Be5 1–0

In Cappelle le Grande I performed way below my level losing a total of 4 games. Certain weaknesses crept into my game, one of which has been like a disease this entire year,-poor time management. I also had trouble selecting the correct opening to play against certain opponents. My only consolation in cappelle le grande was winning my 1^st round game against Gm Mirzoev 2560.In this game I managed to surprise my opponent with 5b3!?Followed by the move 6g3!an idea I found January 2010,yet I have seen others employ this system after, like I Sokolov-Simonian 2011 Cento.

Next was Server 24 in June in which I managed only 4.5 out 9 my lowest performance of the year.Here I lost a total of 4 games,winning 4 and drawing 1game.The second round I was paired against GM Peralta 2608 and was crushed in the early middlegame.My Opponent cleverly chose a variation I never studied and also a line he never played before. My loss against GM Petkov  was due to selecting a dubious variation for which my opponent was well prepared.I came out the opening with a terrible position and also in time trouble to which there was no escape. My losses to GM Ulibin and the young American Akshat  in the last round I can say were again mishaps in serious timetrouble.In both these games I had promising positions, My game against Ulibin the 7^th round I had seconds on my clock before I  blundered on the 40^th move just reaching the time control, with the correct move the outcome should have been a draw. Against Akshad I was already in serious time- trouble and blundered on move 28,Rc7,Correct was to play first 28Bf3 Then followed by 29Rc7tec..

Below are some games I played in this year

Solomon,K (2461) - Ceschia,I (2319) [E11]

17th HIT Open A Nova Gorica SLO (5), 29.01.2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 b6 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.0–0 a5 8.Bf4 Bd6 9.Bxd6 Qxd6 10.Nc3 Qe7 11.Qc2 d6 12.e4 e5 13.Rfe1 Nc6 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.dxe5

(Miscalculation!Here Rad1 was best and simple giving white a clear advantage.)

Nxe5 16.Nxe5 dxe5 17.Qa4+ c6 18.Rad1 0–0 19.Nxf6+ Qxf6 20.Rd7 b5 21.Qc2 Bc8 22.Rd2 Be6 23.Rd6 bxc4 24.Bf1 Qe7 25.Red1 Bd5 26.R6xd5 cxd5 27.Rxd5 Rfd8 28.Bxc4 Rac8 29.Qd2 Rxd5 30.Bxd5 Qc7 31.Kg2 g6 32.h4 Kg7 33.h5 h6 34.a4 Qc5 35.b3 Rd8 36.Qd3 Rd6 37.hxg6 Rxg6 38.Bc4 Rf6 39.Qe2 h5 40.Qd2 Rg6 41.Qd7 Rf6 42.Qd2 Kg6 43.f4 exf4 44.gxf4 Kg7 45.Qc3 Qc6 46.Kf3 Qd7 47.f5 Qd1+ 48.Kf2 Qg4 49.Qe5 Qh4+ 50.Ke3 Qg5+ 51.Kf2 h4 52.Bf1 Qd2+ 53.Kf3 Qd1+ 54.Be2 Qxb3+ 55.Kg4 Qe3 56.Bf3 Qf2 57.Kg5 Qg3+ 58.Qxg3 hxg3 59.e5 Rb6 60.f6+ Kf8  61.Kf4 Rb4+ 62.Kxg3 Rxa4 63.Ba8 Rd4 64.Kf3 a4 65.Ke3 Rd8 0–1

K Solomon-Laketic

carlo memorial

 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c6 6.Bg2 d5 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.0–0 0–0 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.b3 Rc8 11.e4 Bb7 12.Bb2 Qc7 13.Rac1 Qb8 14.Re1 Rfd8 15.Rcd1 a5 16.Qb1 Qa7 17.e5 Ne8 18.h4 Nc7 19.Ng5 Nf8 20.cxd5 cxd5 21.Qd3 h6 22.Nh3 Ba6 23.Qf3

( Now I had 1 minute left my opponent 16minutes)

 Nb5 24.a4 Na3 25.Bxa3 Bxa3 26.g4 Bb4 27.Re3 Ng6 28.h5!

(Planning eventually g5,after black takes hg,then Qg5 followed by h6 etc.. attacking the darksquares)

 Nh4 29.Qg3 Qe7 30.Nf3 Nxg2 31.Kxg2 Rc3 32.Rxc3 Bxc3 33.Rc1 Bb4 34.g5 hxg5 35.Nhxg5 Bd3 36.h6 g6 37.Qh4 Re8 38.Rc6 Be4 39.Kg3 Qb7 40.Nxe4 dxe4 41.Qxe4 Bf8 42.h7+ Kxh7 43.Ng5+ Kg8 44.d5 exd5 45.Qxd5 Bg7 46.f4 Re7 47.Qd8+ Bf8 48.Rc8 1–0

Solomon,K (2449) - Mirzoev,A (2560) [D15]

28th Cappelle Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (2), 04.03.2012

 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 a6 5.b3!? Bf5 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.g3 Bh5 8.Bg2 e6 9.0–0 Nbd7 10.Qd3 Bd6 11.cxd5!

 (Not typical of such positions and came as a sudden surprise to my opponent.)

 cxd5 12.e4

 (Whites energetic play is due to Blacks king being in the center and the poor placement of the bishop on d6.The point is to open the center and expose the weakness on b7.)

dxe4 13.Nxe4 Be7 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bxb7 Ra7 16.Be4 Bxh4 17.gxh4

(White need not in this case fear the pwanstructure of his K-side because white obtains the 2 bishops in an open position and dominates the whole board with is forces,meanwhile black struggles to co-ordinate his forces.)

 0–0 18.Bg5 f6 19.Bf4 f5 20.Bg2 Qxh4 21.Qe3 Qe7 22.Rfe1 Re8 23.d5 Nf6 24.dxe6 Ne4 25.f3 Nf6 26.Rad1 Raa8 27.Qb6 h6 28.Bd6 Qa7 29.Bc5 Qxb6 30.Bxb6 Rac8 31.Ba5 Rc5 32.Bb4 Rb5 33.Rd4

Rb6 34.e7 Rc6 35.Rc4 Rxc4 36.bxc4 Rc8 37.Rc1 Be8 38.Ba3 Kf7 39.Bf1 Bc6 40.Kf2 g5 41.Rd1 Ne8 42.Rd8 Rc7 43.Bd3 f4 44.Bf5 h5 45.h3 Kf6 46.Be4 Bd7 47.Bd5 a5 48.Ra8 a4 49.Ra6+ 1–0

Nyzhnyk,I (2585) - Solomon,K (2449) [E15]

28th Cappelle Open Cappelle la Grande FRA (4.22), 05.03.2012

 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qa4 Bb7 6.Bg2 Be7 7.0–0 0–0 8.Rd1 Qc8!? (A dubious try! And a very risky one against a very strong GM.)

 9.Nc3 Ne4 10.Bd2!

(The refutation,now black is suddenly in great strategic difficulty.)

f5 11.d5 Nxd2 12.Rxd2 Na6 13.Qc2 Bf6 14.Nd4 Bxd4 15.Rxd4 e5 16.Rdd1 Qe8 17.a3 d6 18.b4 Bc8 19.e3 f4? 20.exf4 exf4 21.Re1 Qh5 22.Re7 f3 23.Bf1 Bh3 24.Bd3 Rf6 25.Rae1 Rh6 26.Nb5 Rf8 27.Qc3 Qg5 28.Nxc7 Nxc7 29.Rxc7 Rhf6 30.Ree7 R6f7 31.Bxh7+ Kxh7 32.Rxf7 Rxf7 33.Rxf7 1–0

Peralta,Fe (2590) - Solomon,K (2429) [E58]

Server24Chess 2012 Val Gardena ITA (2), 03.06.2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0–0 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 d5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 Qc7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nh4!

(Good move because Peralta choses a line I never looked at and a line he never played before.)

 Ne7 12.a4 Be6 13.Ba3 b6 14.Rc1 Rad8 15.Qe2 c4 16.Bc2 Rfe8 17.Rce1 Qd7 18.Bxe7 Rxe7 19.f3 Rde8 20.Qd2 g5 21.e4 h6 22.e5 Nh7 23.f4 gxh4 24.f5 Bxf5 25.Rxf5 f6 26.Qxh6 fxe5 27.Rexe5 Rxe5 28.Rxe5 Rxe5 29.dxe5 Nf8 30.Qxh4 Qc7 31.Qg4+ Kf7 32.Qf3+ 1–0

Solomon,K (2429) - Ulibin,M (2519)

[A90]Server24Chess 2012 Ortisei ITA (7), 08.06.2012

 1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 c6 5.Nf3 d5 6.0–0 Bd6 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.Ne5 b6 9.Ndf3 Ne4 10.Qa4!? Ba6 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Re1 Qe7 13.a3 c5 14.Bf4 c4 15.h4 Bb7 16.Qc2 Na6 17.b3 b5 18.bxc4 bxc4 19.Reb1 Rab8 20.Ng5 Nc7 21.Ra2  ( Already here I was in serious time-trouble)   Ba8 22.Rxb8 Rxb8 23.f3 Nxg5 24.Bxg5 Qe6 25.Bh3 Bxe5 26.dxe5 Qb6+ 27.Kg2 g6 28.g4 fxg4 29.Bxg4 Ne6 30.Bxe6+ Qxe6 31.Bf6 d4 32.Rb2 Rc8 33.Kh2 c3 34.Rb1 Qd5 35.Qc1 d3 36.Qh6 Qf7 37.exd3 Bxf3 38.Kg3 Ba8 39.h5 Qd7 40.Rd1???

(Correct was 40 Kh2 with a draw)

 c2 41.Rc1 Rc3 42.Kf2 Rxd3 43.Qg7+ Qxg7 44.Bxg7 Kxg7 45.Rxc2 Rf3+ 46.Ke2 gxh5 47.e6 Rxa3 48.Rc7+ Kf6 49.e7 Bf3+ 50.Kf2 Kf7 51.Kg3 a5 52.Kf4 Bg4 53.Ra7 a4 54.Ke5 h4 55.e8Q+ Kxe8 56.Rxh7 h3 57.Rh4 Bd7 58.Rh8+ Ke7 59.Rh7+ Kd8 0–1

Padova Open 2011

Bellini - Solomon [C41]

1.e4 d6   ( I decided on the Philidor seeing that i wasnt able to find any games on my opponent in these positions.   2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4   [5.h3]  5…Be7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 a6!? 8.a4 b6 9.Nd5 Bb7 10.Nxe7+    ( A rare variation,white aiming for the 2 bishops which in my opnion is ok for black as long as the central pawns remains fixed ,e4,and e5.)          10…Qxe7 11.Bd3 Rfe8 12.d5 [12.c3!? h6 (12...exd4 13.Nxd4 g6 14.Bg5 (14.f3 d5! (14...c5 15.Nc2 Qe6 16.Bg5 Rac8 17.Ne3) 15.e5 Nh5 16.f4 Nc5 17.Bc2 (17.Be2 Ng7 18.Bf3 a5 19.Be3 Nge6) 17...Ne4 18.Be3 Ng7 19.Qe2 a5 (19...Rad8 20.Rad1 f6 21.Bxe4 dxe4 22.exf6 Qxf6 23.a5 bxa5 24.Nb3 a4 25.Bd4 Qd6) ) 14...c5 (14...Qf8 15.f3 h6 16.Bh4 Qg7 17.c4 Nh5 18.Bf1) 15.Nc2 Qe5 16.h4 Kg7 17.Qd2 c4 18.Bxc4 Nxe4 19.Bh6+ Kg8 20.Qd4 Rac8 21.Rad1) 13.a5 (13.Nh4 exd4 14.Nf5 Qf8 15.cxd4 Bxe4) 13...b5 14.Nh4 a) 14.h3 c5 (14...Rad8 15.Nh4 d5 16.exd5 Qd6 17.Re3 e4 18.Bc2 Kf8 19.f3 Bxd5 20.Nf5 Qe6 21.fxe4 Nxe4 22.Qg4) 15.d5 c4 16.Bc2 Nc5; b) 14.Qe2 exd4 15.Nxd4 Qd8; c) 14.h3 Rad8 15.Bc2 Qf8; 14...exd4 15.Nf5 Qf8 16.cxd4 Bxe4 17.Bxe4 Nxe4 18.Be3 Ndf6 19.f3 Ng5 20.h4 Ne6 21.d5 Nc5 22.Bd4 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Nxd5 24.Bxg7 Qc8 25.g4 Qe6 26.Bxh6 Nb3 27.Qxe6 fxe6]   12…c6 13.c4 Qd8!?    [13...a5 1 4.Nh4 g6 15.Bg5 Qf8 was played in 12th Eur Aix Les 2011  Between  Mcshane.L-Nevednichy] 14.Nh4    (Played after a long think. [14.a5 bxa5 15.Bd2 a4 16.Qxa4 Nc5 17.Qa3 cxd5 18.cxd5 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 Is slightly better for White.]) 14…g6!    (The situation demanded i maintain the tension as i was playing for a win. [14...Nxd5!? Was my original intention when playing Qd8 but rejected it because of 15.Nf5 Nb4 16.Bh6!? After seeing this move iwas discouraged to look deeper and played the text move (g6) very quickly.However black is ok after (16.Be2 Nc5 17.Nxd6 Re6 18.Nxb7 Nxb7; 16.Nxd6 Nc5 17.Be2 Re6 18.Nxb7 Nxb7 19.Qb3 a5 20.Be3 Nc5=) 16...g6 17.Nxd6 Nxd3 (17...Nc5 18.Be2 Re6 19.Nxb7 Nxb7 20.Qb3 a5) 18.Qxd3 (18.Nxe8 Nxe1 19.Qxd7 Nd3 20.Qxb7 Qxe8 21.Qxb6 Rb8 22.Qc7 Rxb2 23.Qd6 Nf4 24.Rd1 Ne6 25.Qxe5 Qd7) 18...Nc5 19.Qd2 Nb3 20.Qc3 Nxa1 21.Nxe8 Qxe8 22.Rxa1])   15.Bg5 Qc7 16.Qf3   (A direct approach,When playing g6 I understood White would have a strong initiative on the K side,but i also believed in the solidity of blacks position, that his position(black) is not without defensive resouces.And even though I am worse in this position,it is psychologically easier to play,While on the other hand,while my opponent is attacking my King, he has to be careful not to lose his positional orientation. [16.g3!?]) 16…Kg7 17.Qh3 Ng8 18.Ra3 Bc8 19.Qg3 Ndf6 20.Bb1 a5    (Securing the c5 Square for the knight later.At this stage White had 36 minutes,black 21. 21.dxc6 Qxc6 22.Qd3   ([22.Bd3 was best,keeping the 3th rank open for the rook on a3.] )  22…Be6 23.b3   Now its apparant that whites direct attack failed and must now switch to positional methods.   23…h6 24.Bc1 Rad8 25.Ra2 Bc8 26.h3 Bb7    (We were both short of time at this stage.   27.Kh2 Kh7 28.g4 Nd7 29.f3 Nc5 30.Qe3 Ne6 31.Ng2 Qc5   [31...g5 was better with the idea of Ne7,Ng6] )   32.Qd3 Nd4 33.Ba3 Qc7 34.Qe3 Ne7 35.f4 Nec6 36.Rf2 exf4   ([The computer recommends 36...Rd7 ] ))37.Nxf4 d5! (Chess is not only knowledge and logic-(Alekhine) The text move was played with seconds on my clock and took my opponent off balance as the text move has the merit of completely changing the character of the struggle. )  38.cxd5 Rxd5 39.exd5  ([39.Qg3 Ne5 40.Rc1 Bellini had some minutes on his clock and wasnt able to find this knockout move which is at all not so obvious. (40.Nxd5 Nef3+ 41.Kg2 (41.Rxf3 Nxf3+ 42.Kg2 Nxe1+ 43.Qxe1 Bxd5) 41...Nxe1+) 40...Rc5 41.Bxc5 bxc5 42.Nd3 Nef3+ 43.Kg2 Qxg3+ 44.Kxg3 Bxe4 45.Nxc5 Bxb1 46.Rxb1±] )  39…Rxe3 40.Rxe3 Nb4   (The Time-Control was reached with a complicated position.2 rooks and 2bishops versus Queen and 2knights.Objectively White has the superior position,but practically blacks position is easier to play as white needs to play precisely or else the exposed position of his King might work against him.)   41.Re4 Nxb3?!  ([Correct was 41...Nf3+! with an unclear position,White having a Rook and 2 minor pieces against Blacks Queen,however its not so easy to play with this material plus because of the exposed postion of Whites King making it difficult for white to co-ordinate his pieces in an offensive way. 42.Rxf3 Bxd5 43.Bxb4 axb4 44.Kg2 Ba8! 45.Nh5 (45.Bd3 Kg7 46.Rc4 Qe5 47.Kf2 Bxf3 48.Kxf3 Qe1 49.Be2 Qh1+ 50.Ke3 g5 51.Nh5+ Kf8 52.Ng3 Qxh3 53.Kf2 h5 54.gxh5 f5÷) 45...Qc1 46.Bd3 Bxe4 47.Nf6+ Kg7 48.Bxe4 Qb2+ 49.Kg3 Qd4 50.Ne8+ Kf8 51.Nf6 Kg7=]   42.Bb2 Qc5 43.Rfe2?  (Time Pressure! [43.Kg3 was winning]) 43…Nxd5 44.Re8 Nd4 45.Bxg6+! fxg6 46.Nxd5??  ( Missing the intermediate move [46.Bxd4 Qxd4 47.Nxd5 Bxd5 48.R2e7+ Qg7 49.Rxg7+ Kxg7 50.Rb8 Bc6 51.Rxb6 Bxa4 52.Ra6 Bb3 53.Rxa5 g5 54.Kg3 Kf6 55.Ra7 Bg8 56.Ra6+ Kg7 57.Rd6 Bc4 58.Kf3 Bf7 59.Ke4 Bg6+ 60.Ke5 Bf7 61.Rd7 Kg6 62.Rd2 Bb3 63.Rd8 Ba2 64.Rd6+ Kg7 65.Rc6 Bb1 is a draw!] ) 46…Qd6+! 47.R2e5 Nf3+ 48.Kg3 Bxd5 49.h4 g5 50.h5 Nxe5 51.Bxe5 Qa3+ 52.Kf2 Qf3+ 53.Ke1 Qe3+ 54.Kf1 Qf3+ 55.Ke1 Bg8    And black won some moves later 0–1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.d4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Nc3 Na6 10.Bf4 c5 11.Rc1 Ne4 12.dxc5 Naxc5 13.Nd4 Bf6 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Nf5 Ne6 16.Bd6 Bxb2 17.Rc2   [17.Rc4 Qf6 18.Bxf8 Qxf5 19.Be7 e3 (19...Bd5 20.Rc2 Re8 21.Rxb2 Rxe7 22.Qa4) 20.fxe3 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 b5 22.Qc2 Qd5+ 23.Qe4]   17…Qf6 18.Bxf8   (  played after too long a thought as i was unsure how to evaluate the material imbalance and the ramifications of black playing e3.)   18…Rxf8    [18...Qxf5 19.Rxb2 Rxf8 (19...e3 20.f3) 20.Qa4 e3 21.f3] 19.Nd6   (Qxb2and at this critical moment i played quickly,as i overexerted myself before the time the previous move. [19.Qd7 Qxf5 20.Rxb2 e3 21.f3 Qf6 22.Rb4 Nc5 23.Qd4 Qe6 24.Rd1 Qxa2 25.Qxe3] 19…e3 [19...Rd8 20.Qb1 (20.Nxb7 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 e3 22.fxe3 g6 23.Nd6) 20...Rxd6 21.]   20.fxe3 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Ba3 22.Nc4 Bc5 23.Rf1 Qh6 24.Qd5 Qg6 25.h4 Ng5 26.Rf5 Ne6 27.h5 Qh6 28.Qf3 and again time trouble. 28…g6 29.Rd5 Ng5 30.Qf4 Be7 31Re5?! [Correct was 31.Ne5 Qxh5 32.Nc6 Bf6 33.Qxf6 Qh3+ 34.Kg1 Qxg3+ 35.Kf1]     31…Bd8 32.Rd2 [32.g4 gxh5 33.Rd2 Bf6 34.Rf5]   32…Qxh5 33.Qh4 Qxh4 34.gxh4 Ne6 35.Rd7 Bxh4 36.Rxa7 Bf6 37.Rd5 Bg5 38.Kf3 Bd8 39.Ne5 Ng5+ 40.Kg2 h5 41.Nd7 Re8 42.Ra8 Ne6 43.Nxb6    [43.Nf6+ Kf8 44.Nxe8 Kxe8 45.Kf3 Ke7 46.e4 Bc7 47.Ra7 Kf6 48.Rb7 Ke7 49.e5 Ke8 50.e3]   43…Kg7 44.Nc4 h4 45.a4 Rh8 46.Kh3    [46.a5 h3+ 47.Kh1 Rh4 (47...h2 48.Rc8 g5 49.a6 g4 50.Rdxd8 Nxd8 51.a7) 48.Nd6 Ra4 49.Ra7 Nc7 50.Rd1]    46…f5 47.Rd7+   [47.a5 Ng5+ 48.Kg2 h3+ 49.Kh1 Ne4 50.Ra7+ Kf6 51.Kh2 g5 (51...Nf2 52.Rd6+ Kg5 53.Nd2 Ng4+ 54.Kg3 Kh5 55.Kxh3) 52.Ra6+ Ke7 53.Ne5]    47…Kf6 48.Nd6 g5 49.Rf7+    [49.Nb7 g4+ 50.Kg2 h3+ 51.Kh1 h2 52.Nxd8 g3 53.Rd1]    49…Ke5 50.Nxf5 g4+ 51.Kg2 h3+ [51...g3 52.Kg1] 52.Kh2 Ng5 53.Rd7 Kxf5 54.Raxd8 Rh5 55.Rd1 Nf7 56.R8d5+ Ne5 57.Rb5 Ke4 58.Rb3 Nc6 59.Rf1 Ne5 60.Rf4+ Kd5 61.Rb5+ Ke6 62.Re4 Kd6 63.Rd4+ Ke6 64.Rd1 Rh8 65.e4 Nc4 66.Rc1 Nd2 67.Rg5 Rh4 68.Kg3 Rh8 69.Rxg4 Ke5 70.Kh2 Nxe4 71.Rb1 Nc3 72.Rbb4 Kf5 73.Rbf4+ Ke5 74.Rc4 Kf5 75.Rgf4+ Ke5 76.Rb4 Nd5 77.Rbe4+ Kd6 78.Rh4 Rg8 79.Rxh3 Nf6 80.Rb4 Ng4+ 81.Kg1 Ne3+ 82.Kf2 Nd5 83.Rd3 Ke6 84.Re4+ Kf5 85.Rc4 Nf6 86.Rdd4 Ke5 87.e3 Rf8 88.Ke2 Rg8 89.Rc5+ Ke6 90.Kf3 Rh8 91.Rc6+ Ke5 92.Rc5+ Ke6 93.Kg2 Rg8+ 94.Kf1 Rg3 95.Ke2 Rg2+ 96.Kd3 Ng4 97.Kc3 Nxe3 98.Kb3 Rf2 99.a5 Nf5 100.Rd3 Rf4 101.Rc4 Rf1 102.Re4+ Kf7 103.Ra4 1–0

Solomon,K (2426) - Petkov,V (2542) [A13]
14th Padova Open Padova ITA (7), 16.12.2011

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 d4 5.0–0 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.exd4 cxd4 8.d3 Be7 9.Re1 0–0 10.Na3 Nd7 11.Nc2 e5 12.Rb1 a5 13.a3 a4 14.Bd2 f6 15.Nb4 Nc5 16.Nh4 g5        (all of a sudden the position didnt apeal to me. 17.Bd5+    (  played after some serious consideration. )      17…Kh8 18.Ng2 Bf5?!         (my opponent played quickly so i concluded i was caught in his web. [18...Qd6 19.h4 Nb3 20.hxg5 fxg5 21.Qe2 Nxd2 22.Qxd2 Bg4]   19.Bxc6 whites best practical chance.)       19…bxc6 20.Nxc6 Qd7 21.Nxe7 Qxe7 22.Bb4 Qc7 23.Bxc5 Qxc5 24.h4 g4?  [Correct was 24...h6 25.Qh5 Kg7 26.Qf3 Bd7 27.b4! (27.Qe2 Rfe8) 27...axb3 28.Rxb3 Rfb8 (28...Rxa3 29.Rxa3 Qxa3 30.Qb7 Rf7 31.Qe4) 29.Rb7 Rxb7 30.Qxb7 Qc6 31.Rb1 Kg6 32.Qxc6 Bxc6 33.Rb3]        25.h5 Ra7 26.f4 26…gxf3 27.Qxf3 Qc8 [27...Bc8 28.h6] 28.h6 Raf7  29.b4 axb3 30.Rxb3 Bg4 31.Qf2 Bd7 32.Nh4 Rg8 33.Rxe5 Qc7 34.Rd5?    [time trouble i failed to consider quickly (34.Re4 Rxg3+ 35.Kf1 Bc6 36.Rf4 36...Rh3 37.Qxd4)    34...Rxg3+ 35.Ng2 [35.Kf1 Rh3 (35...Bh3+ was what i saw and in a flash  and had  uneasy feelings. 36.Ke2) 36.Rxd4 Rf8 (36...Rh1+ 37.Ke2 Rh2 38.Ng2 Bh3 39.Rb7 Qe5+ 40.Kd1 Rf8 41.Rg7 Rb8 42.Kc2 f5 43.Rgd7 Rg8 44.Rg7 Rxg2 45.Rxg2 Bxg2 46.Qf4 Qf6 47.a4) 37.Qg2 Rg8 38.Rb7 Qe5 39.Rdxd7 Qa1+ 40.Kf2 Qa2+ 41.Kg1 Qa1+ 42.Kf2] 35…Rg8 [35...Bc6 36.Qxg3] 36.Rh5 Bc6 37.Rh2 Qe5 [37...Rg4 38.Rb2]    38.Rb1 Re7 39.Kf1 Rg5 40.Rb8+ Be8 [Winning was 40...Qxb8!! Very difficult to play with limited time. 41.Qxf6+ Kg8 42.Qxg5+ Kf8 43.Rh5 Qb1+ 44.Kf2 Bxg2 45.Qc5 Qb2+ 46.Kg3 Qb7 47.Rf5+ Ke8 48.Qxd4 Bc6 49.Rf6 Qb1]    41.Rh4 Rf5 42.Rf4 Qxb8     [It wasn’t too late to save the game.Correct was 42...Rh5!! 43.Qxd4 Rh1+ 44.Kf2 Qe2+ 45.Kg3 Rxh6 46.Rg4 Qf1 47.Nf4 Qe1+ 48.Kf3 Qd1+,But white can repeat moves by playing 43Rh4 Rf5 44Rf4]   43.Rxf5 Qb1+ 44.Ne1 Bd7 45.Re5 Rf7 46.Re7 Kg8 47.Qg3+ Kf8 48.Rxf7+ Kxf7 49.Qg7+ Ke6 50.Qxh7 Qc1 51.Qe4+ Kf7 52.Qh7+ Ke6 53.Qg8+ Kd6 54.Qg3+ Kc6 55.Qh4 1–0

1.e4 c5! ive been neglecting this move for sometime now.I was in a fighting mood and had no desire to attempt to grind down my opponent but to play aggressively. 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4 Nf6 7.Nf3 0–0 8.0–0 Rb8 9.h3 b5 10.a3 a5 11.Be3 Nd7 12.Rb1 Nd4 [12...b4 13.axb4 axb4 14.Ne2 Ra8] 13.Ne2 Nxf3+ 14.Rxf3 b4 15.axb4 axb4 16.g4 Ra8 17.g5 Ra2 18.b3 Bb7 19.h4 f5! Countering on light squares. 20.Rh3 Qa8! 21.Ng3 e5! I spent too much time here.The position is ripe to be opened as all blacks pieces has already been activated,hence no calculation was required for the textmove. 22.h5 exf4 23.hxg6 hxg6 [23...fxg3 24.Qh5 hxg6 25.Qh7+ Kf7 26.exf5 Ne5 27.f6 Bxg2] 24.Bxf4 Bd4+ 25.Kh1 Ne5 26.Bxe5 dxe5 [26...Bxe5 27.Rh6 Bxg3 28.Rxg6+ Kf7 29.Rf6+ (29.Qh5 Ke7 30.Qh7+ Kd8 31.Rg7 Bc6 32.Rc7 Re8 33.g6 Ra1 34.Rf1 fxe4) 29...Ke7] 27.Rh6 [27.Nh5 Kf7 28.Nf6 Rh8] 27…Ra6 28.Bf3 Be3 29.Kg2 Bxg5 30.Qh1 Bxh6 31.Qxh6 Rf7 32.Rh1 Rg7 33.Kf2 Qf8 34.exf5 [34.exf5 Bxf3] 34…Bxf3 35.Kxf3 Qa8+ [35...Rf6 36.Qh8+ Kf7] 36.Ke3 [36.Kf2 gxf5] 36…Qg2? this goolooking mov is a bunder. [36...gxf5 was correct.] 37.Qh8+ Kf7 38.Nh5 [he missed a draw here with 38.fxg6+ Raxg6 39.Rf1+ Ke7 40.Qf8+ Ke6 41.Qe8+ Kd5 42.Qd8+ Rd6 43.Qa8+ Rc6 44.Qd8+ Rd6 45.Qa8+ Rc6 but he had only 20 seconds left.] 38…Qg5+ 39.Ke2 Qg4+ 40.Kd2 gxh5 41.Rxh5 Qf4+ 0–1

Solomon - Hertneck [D11]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Qb3 Qc7 6.g3 [6.Bf4 dxc4 7.Bxc7 cxb3 8.e4 Bg6 (8...Bg4 9.Ne5) 9.axb3² (9.a3 Nf6 10.Nd2 Nbd7 11.f3 Rc8 12.Bg3 c5 13.Nxb3 cxd4 14.Nxd4 a6 15.0–0–0 Bxa3 16.bxa3 Rxc3+ 17.Kb2 Rc8 18.Bd6 Nc5 19.Be2 Na4+ 20.Kb3 Nc3 21.Rc1 Kd7) ] 6…Nf6 7.Bg2 Nbd7 8.0–0 Qb6 9.c5 Qxb3 10.axb3 a6 11.b4 Rc8 12.Bf4 Be7 13.Rfc1 h6 14.h3 0–0 15.Nd2 g5 16.Be3 Kh7 17.Nb3 Ne8 18.Na5 [I spent too much time trying to make 18.b5 work 18...cxb5 (18...axb5 19.Ra7 Rc7 20.Na5 Nef6 21.Rxb7 Rxb7 22.Nxb7 Ra8 23.b4 Bg6 24.g4) 19.Na5 b6 20.Nb3 Nc7 21.Na2 bxc5 22.dxc5 e5³] 18…Rc7 19.g4 Bg6 20.f4 f5 21.Rf1 Ng7 22.Rad1 Bf6 23.Bc1 Rf7 24.Nb3 Rc8 [24...fxg4 25.fxg5 hxg5 26.e4 g3 27.Bf3 Rf8 28.Kg2 Be7 29.Kxg3 Nf6 30.Bxg5 dxe4 31.Be2³] 25.Na5 Nf8 26.Be3 Re8 27.fxg5 hxg5 28.Bf3 time-trouble. [28.Bc1] 28…Rd7 29.Kf2? [29.Kg2 Bf7 30.Bf2 e5 31.gxf5] 29…f4 30.Bc1 e5 31.dxe5 Bxe5 32.h4 with the text move i felt i needed to break the g5,f4 chain and get active piece play.i understood my position was strategically lost and realized that should blacks knight get to g6,then h4 it would be a slow death. 32…gxh4 33.Rh1 Nge6 34.Rxh4+ Kg7 35.g5 Nh7 36.e3 even though whites position is dead lost,i believe it was the correct way to go,to change the characher of play was important,to force my opponent to play precisely with calculation which is not his main strength. 36…fxe3+ 37.Bxe3 d4 38.Bc1 Rf7 39.Ne2 Nhxg5 40.Ng1 Ref8 41.Kg2 Rxf3 42.Nxf3 Rxf3 43.Re1 Rf5 [43...Bg3 wins,but i knew he might not play it because it involves precise calculation.Also with 1 minute on my clock he wanted to play quickly and hope for me to self destruct.] 44.Rf1 Rxf1 45.Kxf1 Nf3 46.Rh1 d3 47.Kf2 Be4 48.Bh6+! this intermdiate move is essential to whites survival. 48…Kg6 49.Nc4 Bd4+ 50.Be3 Bd5? Black was alway winning and i was very close to resigning,but i noticed my opponent was too relaxed and lazy to calculate. [50...d2 wins] 51.Rh6+! i had about 1 minute and my opponent an extra hour. 51…Kg7 [51...Kf7 52.Nd6+ Kf8 53.Rxe6 Bxe6 54.Kxf3] 52.Rxe6! he missed this tactic.even with 1 minute its easy to hold this position. 52…Bxe6 53.Kxf3 Bxe3 [53...Bd5+ 54.Kf2 Bf6 55.Nd6 Bxb2 56.Ke1 Ba3 57.Bd2] 54.Nxe3 Kf6 55.Ke4 d2 56.Kd3 Ke5 57.Kxd2 Kd4 58.Nc2+ Kc4 59.b3+ Kxb3 60.Nd4+ Kxb4 61.Nxe6 Kc4 62.Kc2 Kd5 63.Nd8 Kxc5 64.Nxb7+ Kb4 65.Kb2 a5 66.Ka2 a4 67.Kb2 c5 68.Nxc5 ½–½

 Results 6.5/9

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.c5 g6 7.Ne5 Bg7 8.f4 0–0 9.Be2 Be6 10.Bf3 a5 11.a3 Nfd7 12.Nd3 Na6 13.0–0 [i spent alot of time considering 13.g4 f6 14.h4 Bf7 15.g5 fxg5 16.hxg5 e5÷] 13…Bf5 14.Nf2 h5 forced 15.e4! dxe4 16.Ncxe4 Qc7 17.Be3 Rad8 18.Qe2 Be6 19.Rfd1 Bc4 20.Qe1 Bb3 21.Rd3 Bc4 22.Rdd1 Bb3 23.Rd3 Bc4 24.Rdd1 Bb3 25.Rd3 ½–½

  Solomon - Rozentalis [E11]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 c5 5.Bg2 0–0 6.Nf3 Qb6 7.0–0 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxd2 9.Qxd2 Nc6 10.Rd1!± d5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.Nc3 Be6 [12...Nxd4 13.Qxd4 Qxb2 14.Rab1 Qc2 (14...Qa3 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Bxd5) 15.e4 dxe4 (15...Nxe4 16.Bxe4 dxe4 17.Rd2) 16.Rd2] 13.Na4 Qd8 14.Nxc6 [Correct was 14.Rac1 Ne5 15.Qg5 Ng6 16.Nc5 with a dominating position.] 14…bxc6 15.Rac1 Re8 16.Qd4 Bg4 17.f3 Bd7 18.e3 Qe7 19.Rc3 [19.Nc5] 19…Reb8 20.Rd2 Be8 [20...Ne8 21.Nc5 Nd6 (21...Nc7 22.Bf1 Ne6 23.Nxe6 fxe6 24.e4 Rb7 25.a3) 22.Bf1] 21.b3?! [21.Nc5±] 21…a5 22.Qc5 Qe6 23.Rdc2 h5 [23...d4 24.Qxd4 Rd8 25.Qh4 Rd1+ 26.Kf2 Nd5 27.Nc5 Qe5 28.f4 Rd2+ 29.Kf3 Rxc2 30.fxe5 Rxc3] 24.Bf1 time trouble 24…Nd7 25.Qxc6 Qxc6 26.Rxc6 Ne5 27.R6c5 Nxf3+ 28.Kh1 Bxa4 29.bxa4 Rb1 30.Rc1 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 Re8 32.Rc3 [32.Rc5 was whites best chance to fight for a win. 32...Rxe3 33.Rxd5 Ra3 (33...Re5 34.Rb5 f6 35.Kg2 Nd4 36.Rxe5 fxe5 37.Kf2) 34.Bc4] 32…g6 33.Kg2 Nd2 34.Bb5 Re5 35.Rd3 Ne4 36.Bc6 Nf6 37.h3 Kg7 38.Rb3 Rf5?! [38...Re6 39.Bb7 Re4 40.Bc6 Rc4] 39.Rb5 Ne4 40.Rxa5 [40.Bxd5 Nc3 41.e4 Re5] 40…Rf2+ 41.Kg1 Rf3 42.Rxd5 Rxg3+ 43.Kh2 Rxe3 44.Re5! f5 45.a5 Kf6 46.Re8 Re2+ 47.Kg1 Rxa2 48.Bxe4 fxe4 49.Rxe4 Rxa5 50.Kg2 Ra2+ 51.Kg3 Ra3+ 52.Kg2 Kf5 53.Rb4 Re3 54.Ra4 Re4 55.Ra3 g5 56.Rf3+ Kg6 57.Rf8 Rd4 58.Rf3 Rd5 59.Rf8 Rd2+ 60.Kg1 ½–½

Result 5/7

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 Be7 6.0–0 0–0 7.Re1 a6!? 8.a4 b6 9.Bg5 [At the Olimpaid in Siberia,Rozentalis played  9.Ne2 against me afterwhich black had no problems equalizing. 9...Bb7 10.Ng3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Bf4 Bf8 13.Bd3 Ne5 14.Ndf5 Ng6] 9…Bb7 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 [My opponent spend some time here considering 11.Ba2 Nxe4 (11...Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Nd7 was my intention.) 12.Bxe7 Nxc3 13.Bxd8 Nxd1 and rejected the whole continuation,but after 14.Nxe5 dxe5 15.Be7 white is winning.] 11…dxe5 12.Qf3 c6 [12...Qd4 13.b3 Rad8 14.Rad1 Qc5 15.Be3 Qb4 16.Bd2 Qc5 also equalizes.] 13.Rad1 Qc7 14.Ne2! b5 [14...Ne8 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Ng3 g6 was the simplest way to equalize.] 15.Ba2 Bc8! 16.h3 h6 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Ng3 bxa4 a concrete decision. 19.Qa3 Qb6? [Correct was 19...Rb8 20.Qxa4 Be7] 20.Nh5 Bh4 21.g3 Bd8 22.Qd6 When playing ba i missed that after Qd6 my e pawn was hanging. 22…Be6 I felt like resigning here but i saw one trick. 23.Bxe6 fxe6 24.Qxe6+ Kh7 25.Re2 Ra7 26.Qxe5 [26.Rd7 Rxd7 27.Qxd7 Qc7 28.Rd2 Qxd7 29.Rxd7 Bb6 30.Rxg7+ Kh8 31.Rg6 Rxf2 32.Kh1 Rf1+ 33.Kg2 Rf2+; 26.c4 Re7 27.Qd6 Qb3] 26…Re7! he was expecting Raf7. 27.Qd6 Qb5 28.Nf4 Rxf4 29.Qxf4 Qxe2 30.Rxd8 Qe1+ 31.Kh2 Qxe4 32.Qf8 Qe6 33.Qf3 Qe4 34.Qf8 Qe6 35.Qf3 Qe4 ½–½

Result 4/5

Solomon,K - Ludwigg,M  [E94]

Bad Wiessee Notes by [,KennySolomon]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0–0 6.Nf3 e5 7.Be3 Nbd7 8.0–0 Re8 9.d5 Nh5 10.g3 Bf8 11.Ne1 Ng7 12.Nd3 f5 13.f3 Nf6 [Usual is 13...Be7 14.Qd2] 14.b4 fxe4 15.fxe4 Bh3 16.Rf3! Be7 [16...Ng4 17.Rxf8+ Rxf8 18.Bxg4 Rf1+ 19.Qxf1 Bxf1 20.Rxf1 and white is clearly better.] 17.Nf2 Bd7 18.h3 [Better was 18.Qb3 ] 18…h5 19.c5 Nh7 20.h4 g5 21.hxg5 Nxg5 22.Bxg5 Bxg5 23.Qb3 Rf8 24.c6! The idea is to restrict blacks light squared bishop and momentarily sadate blacks rook on a8 while the action takes place on the K-side. [24.Rxf8+ Qxf8 25.Nb5 Bxb5 26.Bxb5 Qe7] 24…Rxf3 25.Bxf3 Bc8 26.Kg2 Be3 [26...h4 27.Rh1 hxg3] 27.Rh1 Qg5 28.Ncd1 Bf4 29.Be2 b6 30.a4 a5 31.b5 Bd2 32.Qf3 Bg4 33.Nxg4 Rf8 34.Qd3 hxg4 35.Rh4 Rf4 36.Nf2 Nf5 37.exf5 Rd4 38.Qxd4 Qxh4 39.Qxd2 1–0

Results　2-2