Game of a Lifetime

The Twin Towers, along with Zimmy, were in the House, waiting for just one more chess player in order to have a G/15 tournament. High Plains Vest even went so far as to call Woody, but only got the answering machine...The Stud tried to cajole Mr Spinks into playing, but he was on duty and having none of it. That left this writer to save the day. Unfortunately, all I could do last night was toss and turn and did not get to sleep until the sun was coming up. I just did not feel right. It happens when one gets older. When young, even your bad days are good days. When older, one tends to have days feeling "out of phase." The eyes won't focus properly and the energy level is just not there. I was waiting for the tournament to begin so I could eat my salad. The last thing I wanted to do was to be used as a punching bag...Checking my biorhythms, www.care2.com/biorhythms/ I learned I was in the very worst physical period, that of changing from a high physical phase to a low one. Damir and Samuel hung round after going next door for pizza, playing chess and laughing a lot...The Drifter surfed the web. Later, Big John came to play Oddo. That was it. It was an relatively empty House...
I mentioned Paul Benoit came by last Saturday telling me about finishing second in the Golden Knights in 1994, a time before 'puters had turned the World Chess Champ into a quivering tub of goo, and a man had to actually think for himself. Paul also mentioned a game he had played in the 1994 US Class Championships in Orlando, and he sent it to me. Although it has been published previously, it will be new to most of you. Big Al Hamilton once told me that, no matter what his opponent's rating, he was always afraid he would play the game of his life. Paul titled his email Game of a Lifetime.
Let me show you why...

Paul G. Benoit-Robert Medrano

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nxf7 Kf7 5 d4 Be7 6 Nc3 Be6 7 d5 Bg4 8 f3 Bh5 9 Be3 Rf8 10 Qd2 Nbd7 11 O-O-O Nb6 12 Be2 Kg8 13 g4 Bf7 14 h4 Nfd7 15 g5 Ne5 16 b3 a5 17 f4 Ned7 18 h5 c6 19 g6! hxg6 20 hxg6 Bxg6 21 Rdg1 Qe8 22 f5 Bxf5 23 exf5 Be6 24 Bd4 Bxd4 25 Qxd4 Qe5 26 Qh4!! Qxc3 27 Qh8+ Kf7 28 Bh5+ Ke7 29 Rxg7+ Kd8 30 Rxd7+ Nxd7 31 Qxc3 1-0

Annotated by Guillermo Ruiz, Life Master

Whites fourth move signals war is to commence with
the Cochrane Gambit followed by d4 Bronstein's
attack. On move 7 white deviates from the normal
7 f4 Re8 8 f5 Bd7 9 Bc4+ Kf8 10 O-O +/=. Blacks
move 8 ... Bh5, tempts 9 g4 Nxg4 10 fxg4 Bh4+
11 Kd2 Qg5+ 12 Kd3 Qxg4 13 Qxg4 Bxg4 yielding
an unclear position. White now continues with the plan
of castling queen side and storming the king side
with pawns. Stronger for White on move 12 is g4
then h4.
Move 19 g6! Makes Blacks defense extremely difficult.
If on move 22.. Bf7 then 23 Rxg7+ Kxg7 24 Bd4+
with mate to follow. If 24 Bh5 Qe5 25 Bg6 Nxd5
26 Rh3! Nxc3 27 Rgh1 Nxh2+ 28 Kd1 Qa1+ 29 Ke2 Nc3+
30 Kf3 Ne5+ 31 Kg2 Qxh1 32 Kxh1 with a winning
advantage for White. However, White
offers the Trojan horse via 26 Qh4 and sets a
trap to snare the enemy queen. If Black rejects
the "gift" then 26 ... Qf6 27 Qh7+ Kf7 28 Rxg7+
Ke8 29 Ne4 Qe5 30 Qh4 and white is winning.

Both players needed a win to place first or second
in their section. The victor would collect a
purse between $500 and $1000. Further, this
game could have easily have been played by a Master
with the white pieces particularly the end game
combination.