To the last pawn - Part V

High above, in the nosebleeds, Lisa wasn’t happy at all with the free seat she received. Not only she was too far to properly see the board, but all four 20’ plasma televisions screening the match were somehow just out of her line of sight. Oh well, at least she could hear the voice-over commentary from the broadcasters’ booth directly above her.

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 5...a6

“So, we had a fairly quick start to our undercard match, and now things are starting to slow down. What do you think about the situation, Jimmy?”
“Well Bob, the Najdorf variation has been chosen, a rare guest at this level. Mostly, players today like the Sveshnikov or the Karjakin. This should be interesting.”
“Oh, look, Dominguez made a move. 6.g3, what’s up with that, Jimmy?”
“This is definitely an ‘out of book’ move, Bob. Not entirely a bad one, mind you, white wants to develop his bishop to g2 and castle, but very unorthodox. I guess Endgame wants to capitalize on Vindicator’s lack of practice. Maybe he has something prepared for him.”
“Oh, and a quick, almost immediate response from Favreau, 6…e5. He sure wasted no time pushing that pawn, Jimmy.”
“Yes, Bob, Favreau is playing by the seat of his pants now, not much theory on that line. I personally don’t like e5 here. It’s ok after Be2 or Be3, but with white ready for Bg2, he’ll take control of d5 too easily.”
“Well, we should wait and see, Jimmy. Dominguez retreated with 7.Nde2 as expected.”
“Actually, Bob, I kinda expected 7.Nb3. 7.Nde2 looks very irregular.”
“Irregularities is what this game is all about, Jimmy. Favreau develops with 7…Be6.”
“Natural move, Bob. Key square now is d5.”
“Some more moves played quickly. 8.Bg2 Nbd7 9.0-0, and now Favreau’s turn to think.”
“He has a lot of choices here, Bob. But as I say, simple is always the best. If I were in his shoes, I’d just go Be7, castle, Rc8, and try to reach the first boxing round with a reasonable position.”
“So why’s he taking so long?”
“Maybe he sees something better. As Lasker said, ‘If you see a good move, look for a better one’”
“But doesn’t that mean you’d have to look for moves forever and never actually make a move, Jimmy?”
“Guess you’re right, Bob, guess you’re right.”
“Oh, look, Favreau pushed another pawn. 9…b5, and a quick 10.a3 from Dominguez. What could that mean, Jimmy?”
“I really don’t understand 10.a3, Bob. Black was not about to push b5-b4 now, and if he did, that’d just leave his queenside weak. Remember, unlike most Najdorf positions, the e4 pawn is not in peril because of the bishop on g2. I think Dominguez wasted a move defending from a non-existent threat.”
“You sure have a good eye for details, Jimmy. 10…Nb6 by Favreau.”
“A good move. With the bishop out of its traditional f1-a6 diagonal, the square c4 is a natural place for the knight. Also, Nb6 controls d5 – did I say it was a key square?”
“You sure did, Jimmy. Dominguez deep in thought again. They’re both sweating already, haven’t even thrown one punch. And look, 11.f4”
“This is a super-aggressive move, Bob. These two players are really giving it all they’ve got. I predict a great match here.”
“11…Qc8 was played.”
“I really don’t understand this move. Maybe … no, I won’t even attempt to second-guess Favreau’s decisions.”
“Well, folks at home, that was one for the history books. Our commentator Jimmy Manetta just admitted he has no clue.”
“Not in those exact words, but yes, Bob.”
“12.Kh1 from Dominguez. A passive move, Jimmy?”
“Not really. He prepares a kingside pawn storm, and gets ready for it by tucking his king into a safe corner.”
“What about exchanges on f4 or e5, Jimmy? Should either side initiate an exchange?”
“I believe not, Bob. exf4 by black is answered by Bxf4, exposing the weakness of d6, while after fxe5 dxe5 the same weakness disappears. So we have a Mexican standoff of sorts here in the center.”
“I don’t believe we can say ‘Mexican’ on TV, Jimmy, in accordance with The Political Correctness Act of 2010.”
“Screw the Political Correctness Act, Bob.”
“Well spoken, Jimmy. 12…Be7 from Favreau. Completing his development?”
“You sure learn fast, Bob. Development is what this move is all about.”
“And we have the gong for the first boxing round! So in favor of our viewers, let’s recap the moves so far quickly, as the participants are donning their boxing gear. 1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be6 8.Bg2 Nbd7 9.O-O b5 10.a3 Nb6 11.f4 Qc8 12.Kh1 Be7. How do you evaluate the position, Jimmy?”
“A fighting opening, Bob. Too early to make any kind of predictions. The middlegame will tell.”
“And now, the gloves are on, it’s time to fight!”

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 12...Be7
***

The first boxing round started the same way the game of chess did – rapidly, brutally, with no punches held. Favreau and Dominguez literally leapt at each other, meeting in the middle of the ring in a jumble of arms, elbows and gloves. Dominguez, more agile, was the first to get a few punches through, but Favreau retaliated with a mighty uppercut that threw the Mexican backward to the ropes. As they met again in the middle of the ring, Favreau hissed through his clenched teeth, “You’re going down.”
Instead of responding, Dominguez lowered his head, passed under a powerful punch that could have leveled him of the spot, and performed a small Rumba dance of his fists on the Canadian’s ribs. “Take that!” he exclaimed after Favreau had to seek refuge in a hold, and the referee yelled, “Break”. They kept going at each other, for the whole three minutes, until another gong ended the boxing round.

“Too bad,” Dominguez smiled as the chess table was being lowered again, “I was beginning to enjoy this.”
O’Mally pushed him aside. “No trash talk. White to move,” he said, starting white’s clock again.

Dominguez knew what to do already. During the peak of his career, he was known for having one advantage over his adversaries – he could think about chess during the boxing rounds. While his opponents dedicated those three minutes to senseless pummeling, Enrique always had the board position etched in his mind, and considered his options in the split-second between a duck and a jab. This usually contributed toward large advantages on the clock. This time, he did it again. Even before Favreau was fully seated, Dominguez reached forward and pushed another pawn.

Posted by Alex Shternshain at February 28, 2004 11:08 PM