White: Stanislav Kriventsov
Black: Bill Hughes
Pittsburgh Chess League, Phalanx vs. Rocky's Rooks, board 1
November, 2001
Philidor's Defense

 1 e4     e5
 2 Nf3    d6

   In Pittsburgh, Kimball Nedved has been the strongest exponent of the
   Philidor.  Bill recalls Kimball and himself playing many Philidor
   Defenses against Jim Castine and the late Charlie Nowe.

 3 d4

   After 3 Bc4 Black must not play 3 ... Nf6? 4 Ng5.  The books mostly
   give 3 ... Be7, and now after 4 d4 there's another trick:  4 ... Nd7?
   5 dxe5 Nxe5 (5 ... dxe5 6 Qd5) 6 Nxe5 dxe5 7 Qh5 wins.  Instead,
   Black must play 4 ... exd4, and now 5 Nxd4 Nf6 6 Nc3 O-O 7 O-O is an
   important position, where Black has reasonable chances.  But going
   back to the third move, 3 ... Be6!? is interesting; after 4 Bxe6 fxe6
   5 d4 exd4 6 Nxd4 Nf6! is a significant refinement.

 3 ...    Nf6
 4 Nc3

   Black must also be ready for 4 dxe5 Nxe4 5 Qd5 (5 Bd3 and 5 Nbd2 are
   easier to meet) 5 ... Nc5 6 Bg5 Be7 7 exd6 Qxd6 8 Nc3 Qxd5
   9 Nxd5 Bd6.  White's lead in development is dangerous, and Black must
   walk a tightrope, at least for a while.

   Black can't avoid this line by 3 ... Nd7 because of 4 Bc4 c6
   5 O-O Be7 6 dxe5 dxe5 7 Ng5! Bxg5 8 Qh5 Qe7 9 Qxg5 (or 9 Bxg5) Qxg5
   10 Bxg5 Ngf6 11 f3, with a pleasant edge for White.

 4 ...    Nbd7
 5 Bc4    h6!??

   What's this for?  After 5 ... Be7 there are some tricky tactics after
   6 Ng5 O-O 7 Bxf7+, or 6 dxe5 dxe5 7 Bxf7+ (or 7 Ng5).  But Black can
   handle all these variations if he knows what he's doing, and he
   should welcome them, rather than spending a tempo to prevent them.
   The real reason Bill played 5 ... h6 is to lead into his "pet
   variation".  We'll see shortly what that is.

 6 O-O    Be7
 7 Qe2    c6
 8 a4     Qc7
 9 h3     Nf8!?
10 Rd1    g5!?

   Diagram:
     r1b1kn1r/ppq1bp2/2pp1n1p/4p1p1/P1BPP3/2N2N1P/1PP1QPP1/R1BR2K1

   How's that for brass?  Instead of castling, Black just flings his
   kingside forward.  For better or worse, this is the setup that
   Kimball Nedved has specialized in, but my library also includes games
   featuring Walter Shipman, Hans Ree, Ian Rogers, and (going back
   80-plus years) Georg Marco on the Black side.  White has spent
   precious tempi with his h-pawn and his queen and rook, so he can't
   sacrifice or even threaten to sacrifice on e5; he just has to tough
   it out.

11 dxe5   dxe5
12 Nh2    Ng6
13 Ng4?

   White may have thought he was strengthening his defense, but it's
   the opposite.  13 Nf1, to start the knight on its way to f5, is
   premature because of 13 ... g4 14 hxg4 Bxg4 15 f3 Bd7.  White should
   play 13 Be3 and see what Black has to offer.

13 ...    Nxg4
14 hxg4   Nf4
15 Bxf4?

   15 Qf3 h5 16 gxh5 g4 is ugly, but forced.

15 ...    gxf4
16 Kf1    Rg8
17 f3

   There was no other way to defend the g-pawn, but now Black's attack
   plays itself.

17 ...    Bc5
18 Rd2    Qe7
19 Nd1    h5
20 gxh5   Bh3!

   20 ... Qh4 21 Nf2 Qh2 22 Bxf7+ is unconvincing.

   Diagram:  r3k1r1/pp2qp2/2p5/2b1p2P/P1B1Pp2/5P1b/1PPRQP1/R1N1K2

21 b4     Bxb4
22 gxh3   Qg5
23 Bxf7+  Kxf7
24 Qc4+   Kf6
25 Nf2    Qg2+
26 Ke2    Bxd2
27 Qc5    Rad8
28 Rd1    Rg3

   Not 28 ... Be3 29 Rd6+ and White miraculously comes to life.

29 Qa3    Rxh3

   29 ... Qxf2+ wins immediately:  30 Kxf2 Be3+ 31 Ke2 Rg2+ 32 Kf1 Rg1+
   33 Ke2 Rgxd1.

30 a5     c5
31 a6     b6
32 Qb3    Rh2
33 Rf1    Be3
34 Qb5    Bxf2?

   Bill points out 34 ... Rd2+! 35 Ke1 Bxf2+! 36 Kxd2 Bd4+ with mate.
   After the text, it takes great ingenuity to escape perpetual check.

35 Qc6+ Ke7 36 Qc7+ Ke6 37 Qc6+ Rd6 38 Qe8+ Kf6 39 Qf8+ Kg5 40 Qe7+ Kh5
41 Qe5+ Qg6 42 Qh8+ Rh6 43 Qe8+ Kh4 44 Rxf2 Rxf2+ 45 Kxf2 Qg3+
46 Ke2 Qg2+ 47 Ke1 Kg3 48 Qg8+ Kf3 49 Qb3+ Kg4 50 Qg8+ Kh3 51 Qd5 Rh4
52 Qd7+ Kh2 53 Qa7 f3 54 Qc7+ Qg3+, White Resigns.