The one that got away (sort of)
With Ronen Har-Zvi gone, the first question that came to mind was, “Who will give our simuls?” Ronen suggested Deepak, the current New York State Champion, as the next simul giver. And indeed, Deepak Aaron and Patrick Chi, New York State Elementary Champion, gave simuls on 4/30/10, with Aaron playing 20 boards and Chi playing ten boards. Aaron won all his games 20-0, and Chi went 91/2-1/2, giving up a draw. Below is the game I played against him, which I drew and took home a small cash prize. I had the black pieces. Patricks rating is 1994, and mine is 1363.
White Black
1. d4 nf6
2. c4 c5
3. d5 b5
The Benko Gambit has a very interesting idea behind it that must not be underestimated. Black wants to sacrifice a pawn to get rid of his a and b pawns for long-lasting pressure on the queenside.
4. cxb5 a6
5. axb6 g6!
MCO (modern book of chess openings) gives this move a exlamation point as in some variations black wants to recapture the a-pawn with the knight.
6. nc3 bxa6
7. e4 bxf1
8. kxf1 d6
9. g3 ng7
10. nf3 nbd7
11. kg2 0-0
12. re1
MCO gives 12. h3 here as the main move, but re1 seems to do fine.
12…qb6
13. nd2 rfb8
Already we can begin to see the pressure building up against whites queenside. The c1 bishop is chained to the defense of the b-pawn, and if the b-pawn moves, it must guard a3, as black would love to stick a rook in there and pile up on the a2 pawn.
14. nc4 qb7
15. a4 nb6
Kick the c4 knight.
16. nxb6 qxb6
17. rb1
Here I was waiting for him to push to e5 with his pawn and then attack the c5 pawn. But hey, what do I know?
17…ne8
18. nb5 nc7
19. nxc7 qxc7
And now we can see the pressure black is exerting on white. The bishop along the diagonal is helping a lot, keeping whites c1 bishop locked in place. Here, I am not sure if Chi gave up a pawn for mobility or if it was just an accident, he returned the material.
20. qc2?! qa5
forking the rook and pawn.
21. bg5 f6
22. bd2 qxa4
23. qxa4 rxa4
24. bc3 rb3
My plan was a simple one. Hold the b-pawn where it was, then trade bishops and advance the c-pawn. Unfortulately, Chi interfered before I could execute my idea.
25. ra1! rxa1
26. rxa1 f5!
Even though queens and a pair of rooks have been exchanged, I can still put a surprising amount of pressure on him.
27. bxg7 kxg7
28. re1!
His idea is 1. exf5 gxf5 2. rxe7 check winning…
28…kf6!
…But its not going ot happen any time soon.
29. exf5 gxf5
30. re2 rb4!?
My idea was to play re4. He could not capture it because after rxe4 fxe4 followed by ke5 was crushing. But he stopped the whole idea in its tracks with…
31. f4 rd4
I want that pawn!
32. re6+ kf7
33. rh6 kg7
34. re6 kf7
1/2-1/2
draw.
After the game, the chess reporter (who is rated 1800ish so he is very good) claimed I had a winning postion, as did Chi’s father and some other specators. Indeed I had looked at the possibility of after 35. rh6 rxd5 36. rxh7+ ke6 and I win the b-pawn, but at the time all I saw was a complicated mess. It was late, and the game had taken a lot out of me. Hence the title, “The One That Got Away” (sort of 
)
