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March 05, 2004To the last pawn - the end!A maelstrom of fists and elbows swirled across the ring for the next thee minutes. The surge of punches was stopped when Favreau was caught by a left uppercut on the chin. The crowd gasped as he went down for the count. After recovering, he managed to punish Dominguez with a straight right to the face, for another count. ‘Ijo de puta’, muttered the Mexican, as he got up on his feet and attacked the Canadian again. ***
Dominguez-Favreau, after 49.Kg3
White was reduced to passive waiting moves as black executed his plan … or was he? With the second hand of his clock about to start its final round, Dominguez played 54.Nxg7. Shell-shocked, Favreau tried to gather his composure. He had only slightly more time on the clock than his opponent – less than two minutes. And his rook was about to lose to white’s pair of passed pawns. Oh well, there’s nothing better, he thought and played 54…Rxg7, and then just tried to waste as much time as possible from Dominguez’s clock with a few pointless rook moves, 55.Kf5 Rd7 56.h6 Rd5+ 57.Ke4 Re5+ 58.Kf4 Rg5 59.h7 Rh5 60.g7 Rxh7.
Dominguez-Favreau, after 60...Rxh7 Dominguez pushed the g-pawn to the eighth row, screaming ‘Queen’ hoarsely as droplets of blood trickled from his mouth. O’Mally quickly replaced the pawn with a white Queen, and after 61.g8=Q Re7 62.Kf5 Kd7 63.Kxf6 Enrique’s win was only a matter of time – literally, since he was down to his last thirty seconds. Favreau didn’t have much more, but this small difference allowed him to hope for a win as well. The players banged out the moves 63…Re8 64.Qd5+ Kc8 65.Kf7 Rd8 66.Qc6+ Kb8 67.Ke7 Rc8 68.Qb6+ Ka8.
Dominguez-Favreau, after 68...Ka8 Favreau’s king, like a battered boxer, was pushed with its back against the ropes, and the noose was tightening. Confident of his win, Dominguez brought his king forward, 69.Kd7, but Favreau had one last surprise in stock for him. After spending twenty of his last forty seconds, he played 69…Rc7+, and the crowd groaned along with Dominguez, when they all saw that capturing the rook leads to stalemate, and if the white king retreats anywhere, black simply keeps checking on the seventh row. The broadcasters’ booth was shrouded in silence, with Manetta and Jensen wordless for maybe the first time in their careers. His last seconds winding down, Dominguez tried 70.Kd6 Rd7+ 71.Kc5 Rc7+. He thought of Kb5, but no, that wasn’t of any help; black has Rb7. Three seconds on his clock… two… one… Dominguez took the rook, 72.Qxc7. *** “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s a stalemate! The match Dominguez-Favreau ends in a draw!” Too exhausted to walk on their own, the players were practically carried away from the ring by their cutmen and trainers. Behind them, arena crews already began to clean the ring and prepare it for the main event. *** “Fighting draw,” Markov said, as he and Leone laid Favreau on the massage table. “But big mistake in endgame, moving king to c7. Rook maneuver to g5 win. Zugzwang.” There was a knock on the door. “Reporters already?” wondered Leone, as he went to open it. “Let me though! Let me through, you bastards!” Evading a host of security personnel, Debbie managed to slip into the corridor, and from there into the dressing room. As Dominguez turned around and approached the door, it opened again, and the stout form of Todd Santoro burst through. *** Outside on the Strip, Lisa was standing on the sidewalk, brandishing a newly made cardboard sign with the letters ’CHICAGO’ painted on it. A gray minivan pulled over next to her. Inside was a family of four, fresh out of losing their vacation money at the casino. *** As Vincent and Enrique walked through the lobby after receiving their room keys, they came under assault from dozens of autograph-seeking fans. And although the two of them didn’t admit it, not to Debbie and certainly not to each other, the sight of pens and papers shoved in their faces reminded them of days of old, and actually made them feel good. Having withstood the first wave of attack, they escaped into the elevator. Debbie pushed the button for the top floor. “So tell me just one thing,” Dominguez turned to his friend, “Which one of us is the ‘audience favorite’?” THE END PS: for your reference, here is the full game in PGN. Just cut and paste it into your chess program, if you are so inclined. [Event "Undercard match"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 e5 7. Nde2 Be6 8. Bg2 Comments
Just why did I see a draw coming? Posted by: Pjotr Houtman at March 6, 2004 03:19 PMJust why did I see a draw coming? Posted by: Pjotr Houtman at March 6, 2004 03:19 PMI really enjoyed the story! Thanks! I'd love to see more chess game based stories. I followed the whole thing with great interest. I have a question about one move however... on move 57, why couldn't white capture the pawn? I see the "endless" checks with the rook, but why can't the white king manuever to h7 and interpose with g7? Then escape to h8 and then push g8! It wins the rook for the new queen and the h-pawn will win the day! And finally, for the record, there are 2 move mistakes in the text. (they are correct in the PGN list at the end, however...) 62... Kd7 is wrongly listed as Rd7 in the story. Finally, a text correction: in paragraph 6 above, “It’s hard to win the heard of this Palace crowd, Bob,..." should read, "...win the heart..." shouldn't it? Thanks again for a great story! Write some more!! David Thanks for your comments, David! Regarding any mistakes made by the players during the game, I don't think one can criticize them too hard. After all, they were not only playing chess, but also taking a huge amount of physical punishment. Not to mention the time trouble in the end ... so the game is definitely not devoid of chess mistakes - some were mentioned by the commentators, some not. As for the other slips you were keen enough to uncover, I accept full responsibility and will fix them soon. Alex Hey, anyone up for starting a chess boxing league? I think it would be an interesting idea... Posted by: wax_eagle at March 7, 2004 06:21 PMWax-eagle, I have inserted some diagrams into the story, so now it's hopefully easier to follow the progress of the game. If you liked this story, why don't you read some of my other creations in http://www3.sympatico.ca/shternshain Posted by: Alex Shternshain at March 11, 2004 07:14 PMTruth is stranger than fiction :) http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1622 Posted by: EagleWingz at May 6, 2004 02:58 AM.............................. Posted by: jay at June 7, 2004 01:15 PM |
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