All the 
best 
in chess.
(TM)

  GM A. Shabalov (2606) - GM S. Kudrin (2556);  
  [B51]  
  The 2007 U.S. Championship Tournament (ch-USA)  
  Stillwater, OK (USA, Round #9), 23.05.2007.  

  [A.J. Goldsby I]  

The decisive game of the U.S. Championships, and the one that gave Shabalov the title. 

 1.e4 c5;  2.Nf3 Nc6;  3.Bb5,  
The system of play popularized by GM Nicolas Rossolimo. 
(Most of the time, masters will normally play 3.d2-d4 here, which normally leads to the "Open Sicilian.") 

See my "Game of The Month" column for January, 2004 ... 
for a fair look at the opening system that is used in this game. 

3 ...d6;  
This transposes into a slightly inferior version of the Moscow Variation. 
(1.e4, c5; 2.Nf3, d6; 3.Bb5+, etc.)  

It is common - at the master level, anyway - for Black to fianchetto his KB. (I.e., 3...g6.) 

     [ Probably better was:  3...g6;  4.0-0 Bg7;  5.c3 Nf6;  6.Re1 0-0;  7.d4 cxd4;   
       8.cxd4 d5;  9.e5 Ne4;  10.Nc3 Nxc3;  11.bxc3, "~"  with White owning just   
       a fuzz more terrain than his opponent.  (Maybe - "+/=")  

       A good example of this position would be:   
       GM Zbynek Hracek (2615) - GM Luke McShane (2497); [B31]  
       Bundesliga (9899), Germany; (9.1) / 31,01,1999. 
       {White won a nice game, 1-0 in 36 total moves.}   

       [ See also MCO-14, page # 353; column # 01 and all notes as well.] ]   

 4.0-0 Bd7;  5.Re1 a6;  6.Bf1,  (Maybe - '!')    
This is very profound, and leads to a complex position where - for the most part - tactics take a back seat to strategy and positional play. (White could have also played 6.Bxc6 and 7.d4, with a nice edge.) 

 6...Bg4!?;   
This is the 'book' move here ... but I am not crazy about it. (I think it would be better to try 
and play 6...Nf6, fianchetto my KB, and then try to get some development.)   

 7.h3 Bxf3;  
Black decides to exchange off the Bishop, I might have preferred to play 7...Bh5.   

     [ The alternative was:   
       7...Bh5;  8.c3 Nf6;  9.d3 e6;  10.Nbd2 Be7;  11.g4 Bg6;  12.Nh4 Nd7;    
       13.Ng2 e5;  14.Nf3 h5!?;  15.g5 Nf8;  16.Ngh4 Qd7;  17.d4, "+/="   
       with a solid edge for White.   

       GM Andrei Sokolov (2568) - GM Stelios Halkias (2494); [B51]   
       The 2nd European Champ. (EU-ch) / Ohrid, Macedonia (R9) / 2001.   
        {White won a long game, 1-0 in 56 moves.}  {Search for this game.}  ]   

 8.Qxf3 g6;  9.c3 Bg7;  10.Na3 Nf6;  11.Nc2 Nd7;  12.Rb1 Qb6;  13.b3 0-0;   
The opening is over, White has a small (but distinct) advantage. The only question is, "How does White convert this into something a little more tangible?"   

 14.Bb2 Rac8;  15.Qd1 Rfe8;  16.d4 cxd4;  17.cxd4 Nf8;    
This looks OK, (if a little slow); but perhaps Black should be angling for ...d6-d5? (Say 17...e6; and 18...d5.) Or perhaps even 17...d5 immediately for Black?   

     [ Possibly better was:  17...d5!?; 18.exd5!?, "+/="  18...Nb4;  and it looks 
       like Black should soon regain his Pawn ... with a fairly playable position. ]  

18.Qd2 Na7!?;  Hmmm. 
This looks inferior, maybe 18...Qa5 would have been a better idea for Black.  

 19.Ne3 Nb5;  20.Rbd1 Ne6;  21.Nc4 Qa7;  22.d5,    
Black has succeeded in forcing White into pushing his QP. (He has also managed to  substantially increase White's advantage.)   

 22...Nf8!?;  (Maybe - '?!' or even '?') 
This looks too passive, the c5-square looked much better.   

 23.Bxg7 Kxg7;  24.a4 Nc7;  25.a5,   
White locks down Black's Q-side Pawns. Also good for White was 25.Be2, "+/="  perhaps with the idea of heading for g4. 

 25...f6?!;   
Black wanted to prevent White from playing e5 anytime soon, however this move only creates more holes in Black's pawn-wall. (Better was 25...Nd7 instead.) 

 26.Kh1 Na8;  27.f4 Qb8!?;  28.e5,   
White is intent on tearing holes in Black's Pawn structure, perhaps sensing that the BK is weak. 

  nqr1rn2/1p2p1kp/p2p1pp1/P2PP3/2N2P2/1P5P/3Q2P1/3RRB1K b  

The critical position has been reached. 

     [ The box likes: 28.Qd4, "+/"  in this position for White. ]  

 28...Nd7?;   
Now Black allows his Pawns to become corrupted and also gives White an outpost on e6.  
(Better was 28...d6xe5; to be followed by 29...b7-b5.) 

Now White wins at least a Pawn. 
 29.exd6 exd6;  30.Re6 Nc5;  31.Nxd6! Nxe6;  32.Nxe8+ Rxe8;  33.dxe6 Re7;   
This looks forced. (Of course not </= 33...RxP/e6??; because of  34.Qd7+.)   

 34.Qb4 Qe8;  35.Bc4 Nc7;  36.Re1! Nb5;   
Black is doing the best that he can, but his position is horrible right now.   

     [ Not </= 36...Nxe6??;  as  37.Qd6,  "+/-"  wins a piece for White. ]  

 37.Qc5 h5!?;  38.f5! gxf5;  39.Bxb5! axb5;  
This is forced, taking with the BQ is simply met by 40.QxR/e7.   

 40.Qxf5 Qg6;  41.Qxb5 Qg3;  42.Qe2,   
This is good, the box liked the play of 42.Re4 instead.  

 42...Qxb3;  43.Qxh5 Qg3;  ('?')   
A mistake, but one that comes in a position that is completely lost for Black.  

 44.Re4,  "+/-"   Black Resigned.    
A wonderful game by Shabalov, who played strong and logical chess from the first move until the very last. 

  Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby, 2007. All rights reserved.  

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Click  HERE  to see another Shabalov game from the 2003 U.S. Championship.