PUNISHING INACCURACIES IN THE SICILIAN NAJDORF "To crush, to annihilate a man utterly, to inflict on him the most terrible punishment..." - House of the Dead - Fedor Dostoevsky (1821-81), Russian novelist. This game was the easiest of my five wins at the tournament and gave me a great 3-0 start. In fact many persons thought that in terms of time, it was the shortest game of the tournament !!! My opponent, like myself, entered this game with a 2-0 record in what was likely to be a gruelling day with five games to be played pursuant to the three-day schedule. Because of delays with the elevator, I arrived late and noticed that I had already lost five minutes off the clock. It was game in fifty (50) minutes but I had White and was feeling confident after my auspicious start to what was already a very competitive tournament. En garde !!!

1. e4 c5 I smiled a little when I saw this move as I love to play against the Sicilian defence. 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 The Najdorf variation. 6. f3 Diagram # The English attack. 6... e6 6... e5 7. Be3 Be7 8. g4!? A la the legendary Estonian Paul Keres. 8... b5= 9. a3 The prodigious Hungarian Peter Leko likes to play this prophylactic move. 9... Bb7 10. Qd2 Nbd7? My opponent, a resident of Philadelphia, should have castled I think. 11. O-O-O The immediate 11.g5 ! was good but I wasn't taking any chances. 11... Rc8?! 12. h4 More precise was either 12.g5 or 12.Be2 but I was "testing" my opponent having regard to his earlier inaccuracies. 12... e5? 12....Ne5 was the best option here I respectfully believe. 13. Nf5! Diagram # White now has a big advantage. 13... Rc6?? Played after only a minute's reflection. As Mr. Rodney Pryce would have chanted I couldn't believe my eyes. This was as generous a gift as one could have got. It was palpable that the g7 pawn was en prise and had to be protected. I wondered what aversion my opponent had to castling, which was forced I thought. The text immediately lost. 14. Nxg7+ Kf8 15. Bh6! Diagram # and my teenaged caucasian opponent gently turned over His Royal Highness and sighed. AMAZINGLY, I HAD USED ONLY FOUR MINUTES (OF MY REMAINING FORTY-FIVE MINUTES) FOR ALL MY MOVES. THE GAME HAD TAKEN A TOTAL OF EIGHT (8) MINUTES NOT COUNTING THE TIME LOST OFF MY CLOCK BEFORE I ARRIVED AT THE BOARD !!!!. For the purists I should state that I even had the luxury of re-deploying the Knight as evidenced by the following variation: 15. Nf5 Qb8 Best. 16. Bh6+ Ke8 If 16.....Kg8 then 17.Nxe7 mates. 17. h5 Kd8 18. g5 Ne8 19. Nd5 Bf8 20. Qa5+ Nc7 21. Nb4 Rb6 22. Bxf8 Rxf8 23. Nxd6 Ne6 24. Nxb5!! Kc8 25. Rxd7 Kxd7 26. Qxb6 Bxe4 27. Qxb8 Rxb8 28. Nxa6 and wins. But, of course, that route was too long. 1-0 [Wilkinson I.]