To 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.

***

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 49.Kg3

Bloodied and exhausted, Enrique and Vince sat by the chessboard for the last time. The noise was unbearable, with the entire crowd cheering and stomping their feet. Favreau thought for a minute or so, or rather attempted to think – because under the conditions this feat would be impossible, and decided on the first of the two plans pointed out by the commentator – he’d place his rook on d7 and walk the king around it. Yeah, that should be the ticket. Play continued 49…Rc7 50.h5 Rd7 51.Kg4 Ke8 52.Kf4 Kd8 53.Kg4 Kc7

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.

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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.

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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!”
“And what a match it was! Advantage swinging from side to side, wild punches, enterprising moves, and above all – fighting spirit and heart, Bob.”
“Yes, those two sure proved us today that spirit is one thing they have in abundance, Jimmy. Just look at this capacity crowd cheering them!”
“It’s hard to win the heart of this Palace crowd, Bob, as many great players learned before, but these two did it. They’re both winners in my book.”

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.”
Favreau spat some blood on the concrete floor. “I think my front teeth are gonners.”
“And of course,” Markov continued, “Bad blunder with c4. But very enterprising play, nothing to say.”
“Thanks.”

There was a knock on the door. “Reporters already?” wondered Leone, as he went to open it.
“How you feeling, man?” Dominguez stood behind the door, supported by his cornermen.
“I envy you, man. You can stand.”
“Just wanted to drop by and say it was a good game.”
“Yeah, a good game. But only a draw, so no Interzonal invite.”
“Santoro promised you the Interzonal too? What a rat …”
“You know what Rico?” With great effort, Favreau rose into a sitting position, “I bet there never was any Interzonal slot. I bet he never intended to give any of us anything. He just said that to motivate us.”

“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.
“Vince, honey, are you alright?” She asked, running to him and holding his bloodied cheeks in her hands. “I was so worried, I thought you weren’t gonna make it through this fight, and …”
“Debbie? What are you doing here?”
“I heard about the fight, and an hour later I was on a jet from New-York.”
“But how did you know I was going to be in the fight? It was supposed to be … someone else, I was announced in the last minute.”
Debbie smiled, “Let’s just say I got a good tip. Thanks, Enrique.”
“You’re welcome, Deb. Seems like you two have a lot of catching up to do. I’ll be off.”
“So, Rico,” Favreau got up and swayed on his feet, “What are you going to do now?”
“I don’t know. Go back to Mexico City, I guess. Maybe open a chess-boxing school. Or a liquor store. No more B-tournaments for me, I had enough of that.”

As Dominguez turned around and approached the door, it opened again, and the stout form of Todd Santoro burst through.
“Mr. Santoro, what a surprise. Aren’t you upstairs watching the big match?”
“What match?! It was a travesty, not a match. The Russian leveled my guy one minute and twenty seconds into the first round, that’s it, first round knockout. Just listen to them,” he pointed his finger up in the direction of the ceiling, from where a muffled booing sound emanated. “I am finished now, finished! Jensen and Manetta just said on national TV that my player was ‘poorly prepared’, and that it was all my fault! Who’s going to want to work with me after this?”
“I can think of someone who will.” Debbie said.
“Really?”
“Yes.” Favreau and Dominguez answered at the same time.
“Really? You know what, guys,” Santoro put his hands on Favreau and Dominguez’s shoulders, “I have an idea. The Interzonal is in Manila, right? And I only have one invitation. But I can pull some strings with the Philippine president, who’s a good friend … of a friend of mine, and create another invite for … let’s say, an ‘audience favorite’ – how’s that?”
“Sounds great,” Dominguez said.
“But …” Favreau passed his eyes from Debbie to the fat man and back.
“But what, Vincent?”
“Excuse us for a moment, please.” Debbie pulled him by the hand into the shower stall. “Look, Vince, you’ll be thirty-five soon. This could be your last chance. Better not waste it.”
“But you…”
“I’ll wait for you. I have my New-York office to keep me busy. Those stocks won’t sell and buy themselves, you know,” She smiled.
“So it’s settled then!” Santoro beamed. “You get the best suites at the Palace tonight, courtesy of Santoro Enterprises. We’ll discuss your contracts tomorrow.”

***

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.
“You going to Chicago?” The driver asked.
“Yes sir, if you’d be so kind to give me a ride...”
“Sure, hop on in.”
Lisa squeezed on the back seat, together with two kids, a twelve-year-old girl swaying to the beat of some unheard music in the earphones of her MPEG player, and a thin dark-haired boy of Lisa’s age.
“What’s in Chicago for you?” asked the kid, raising his eyes from his Gameboy.
“US featherweight championship.”
“You like chess-boxing?” the boy’s eyes opened wide, “Wow, that’s cool! I love chess-boxing. I’m going to try out for our high school team next month, and …”

***

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’?”
“Huh?”
“Santoro said one of us would make the Interzonal as ‘audience favorite’.”
“You want to be the favorite, that’s it? Fine, you be the favorite.”
“That’s very generous of you, Vince,” Dominguez contemplated, “But I’m afraid I can’t accept this gesture. You see, I am reading you like an open book.”
“Huh?”
“If I qualify as the ‘audience favorite’, then it means in a way, that you are qualified as the player who have won this match. And I cannot have this. If there was anyone who should have won this match, that’s me.”
“So you want the match win? Fine, I’ll be the favorite then. Settled?”
“Oh, I see. So you want to steal all the glory to yourself? You want to be the favorite player? I’m afraid I cannot have this, Vince.”
“Oh my god, they’re at it again,” muttered Debbie as she plugged her ears.

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"]
[Site "Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas"]
[Date "2017.8.29"]
[White "Dominguez,Enrique"]
[Black "Favreau,Vincent"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B91"]
[PlyCount "143"]

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 13. b3 Qc5 14. Qd3 O-O 15. Be3 Qc7 16. h3 Rfd8 17. f5 Bc8 18. g4 Bb7 19. g5 Nfd7 20. Nd5 Nxd5 21. exd5 f6 22. h4 Rac8 23. c3 Nc5 24. Qd1 a5 25. Rb1 a4 26. Bxc5 dxc5 27. bxa4 bxa4 28. Qxa4 c4 29. Rxb7 Qxb7 30. d6 Qb3 31. Qxb3 cxb3 32. dxe7 Rd2 33. Bf3 Kf7 34. Rb1 b2 35. Kg1 e4 36. g6+ hxg6 37. fxg6+ Kxe7 38. Bg4 Ra8 39. Kf2 Rxa3 40. Bf5 Ra1 41. Bxe4 Rxb1 42. Bxb1 Rd1 43. Bf5 b1=Q 44. Bxb1 Rxb1 45. Nd4 Rc1 46. Nf5+ Kf8 47. Kg3 Rxc3+ 48. Kf4 Rc4+ 49. Kg3 Rc7 50. h5 Rd7 51. Kg4 Ke8 52. Kf4 Kd8 53. Kg4 Kc7 54. Nxg7 Rxg7 55. Kf5 Rd7 56. h6 Rd5+ 57. Ke4 Re5+ 58. Kf4 Rg5 59. h7 Rh5 60.g7 Rxh7 61. g8=Q Re7 62. Kf5 Kd7 63. Kxf6 Re8 64. Qd5+ Kc8 65. Kf7 Rd8 66. Qc6+ Kb8 67. Ke7 Rc8 68. Qb6+ Ka8 69. Kd7 Rc7+ 70. Kd6 Rd7+ 71. Kc5 Rc7+ 72. Qxc7 1/2-1/2

To the last pawn - Part VII

As soon as the ‘box’ command was sounded by the referee, Favreau pounced on his opponent, throwing punches like a madman, forgetting about his own safety. He knew he had to get something going in the ring, if not on the board. Dominguez, on his part, fought fire with fire. For a few moments, it seemed the scythe had met a rock, as the Mexican threw back two punches for each one thrown at him. But lady luck smiled at the Canadian again – one of his punches, and not a particularly powerful one at that, caught Dominguez above the left eye, gushing blood all over his face. The contest was stopped as Enrique was taken to his corner for a brief laser-stitching.
“Peripheral vision fine?” Favreau inquired when they met again at the middle of the ring, before throwing another punch at the same eye.
“Go to hell.”
The fight raged on.

***

The barman got the bright idea to turn the TV’s volume all the way up, in spite of multiple protests from the yuppies.
“Shut up, I want to hear the commentary!” he waved them off, “Just cause I’m at work here doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the game like a normal human being!”
The familiar voices of Bob Jensen and Jimmy Manetta surrounded Lisa again.

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 28.Qxa4

“Wow, what a boxing round, Jimmy! Applause from the capacity crowd here at the Palace, as the players head back to the board. And now, is physical condition going to be a factor?”
“Yes, Bob, it will be. Dominguez is hurt above the eye, he’s lost some blood, Favreau took some body punches and a hard one to the chin, it’s all beginning to accumulate. A great match so far, let’s see what happens next.”
“Favreau is thinking.”
“And he has a lot to think about, Bob. White has an extra pawn, and black must seek some compensation. Maybe 28…Ra8, badgering the white queen … no, wait, it’s no good, white responds 29.Qb3 with the dual threats of Qxb7 and d6+. Maybe he should just play it safe and block the passed pawn. Rd6 or Bd6, yeah, that’s what I would do.”
“Oh, here’s a move, 28…c4.”
“Interesting. He wants to stop white from playing c4 himself and strengthening d5.”
“And 29.Rxb7 by Dominguez! Look at that, did he sacrifice an exchange?”
“Wow, Favreau sure messed it up tactically with his last move. White wins material.”
“But … oh, I see it now, 29…Qxb7 30.d6 played. White wins two bishops for a rook.”
“Yes, Bob, he does. The first move after the boxing round is always the toughest, that’s what they teach you at beginner’s class, and that is apparently also true at Grandmaster level. Both sides took quite a beating in this fantastic third round, Favreau comes out of the blocks with a poor move, loses further material.”
“Would you say Dominguez is winning now? Is it over?”
“Well, after 30…e4 31.dxe7 Qxe7 white is up two pieces for a rook, but we have three more boxing rounds, don’t forget that, Bob. Anything can happen.”
“Yeah, those have always been the great equalizer. So we’re not going to page the fat lady yet, folks at home, her time has not yet come! Favreau makes a move … with his queen … it’s 30…Qb3”
“An enterprising decision by the Canadian! He’s willing to leave white with a pawn on e7 just to get his own passed pawn on b3.”
“A fighting choice. He’d rather go down swinging, folks. Queens exchanged, bishop taken, 31.Qxb3 cxb3 32.dxe7, and now 32…Rd2 from Favreau.”
“Penetrating with the rook to the seventh row. Although black’s passed pawn is not as advanced as white’s, I would say it’s at least as dangerous, if not more. But white’s still up on material.”
“Dominguez contemplating. Will he try to postpone his decision until after the fourth round, Jimmy?”
“He would like to, Bob, but the time on his clock says otherwise. I think he’ll have to move now.”
“33.Bf3 from Dominguez.”
“Okay, he’s guarding the knight and threatening 34.Bh5. Another idea would have been 33.Ng3, followed by 34.Ne4. Yeah, Ng3 was definitely the way to go. Now black has a potential e5-e4 shot, deflecting the bishop.”
“He can go e4 now?”
“Well, not now, Bob, because of Bh5, but it’s an option to keep in mind for the future.”
“And we have the gong for the fourth boxing round out of the scheduled six. Gloves are on again.”

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 33.Bf3

***

The fourth boxing round far more relentless than the ones that preceded it, with the violence steadily escalating to match the proceedings on the board. The crowd was bored no more – expecting a sleepy undercard fight as a prelude to the real thing, they got a bloody carnage. When the gong sounded three minutes later, and contestants staggered to their chairs, they were rewarded with a standing ovation.

***

With only two rounds left in the undercard fight, most of the bar’s patrons left to their arena seats, not only to watch Klichkovsky in action, but also to catch the conclusion of this exciting match live.
“Would you need anything else, ladies?” The bartended approached their table.
“No, thanks, we’re good.”
The man passed his eyes between the TV screen and the wooden door, which connected the bar to the arena.
“Oh, just go,” Debbie was quick to resolve his doubts. We won’t steal any tequila bottles.”

After the door closed behind him, she and Lisa turned to the screen.
“What do you think?” Lisa asked.
“Messy.” Was the laconic reply, as Favreau played 33...Kf7, keeping the white passed pawn in check.
After 34.Rb1 b2 it became clear even to Lisa that Jimmy Manetta was right on one account – the black passed pawn was indeed more dangerous. Dominguez held his bruised head between his equally battered hands and took a long think before playing 35.Kg1, and Favreau pushed the central pawn – 35…e4.
“Bishop to h5, only move to hold.” Debbie whispered, then turned to Lisa and smiled, “But easy for me to say, I haven’t been beaten up for four rounds.”
Dominguez, as his opponent, was beaten for four rounds, with two yet to come. His vision slightly blurred and his mind dazed, he played 36.g6+ with an unsure hand.
“Wow,” Debbie said, “Believe it or not, he’s actually winning now.”
“White?”
“No...”

36…hxg6 37.fxg6+ Kxe7 were played, and Dominguez saved his bishop with 38.Bg4, attacking the black rook at the same time. But after Favreau’s 38…Ra8 he plunged into thought, trying to figure out how exactly to stop the penetration of the black rook. From this contemplation he was awakened only by the fifth round gong.

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 38...Ra8

After the fifth round, the arena crowd was getting truly excited. None of them expected this to happen. They came to see a world championship match, and here were two underdogs, giving them an amazing show in the preliminary fight. Not a single spectator remained seated when Favreau and Dominguez limped heavily to their chairs.

“What a match, what a match we are seeing here so far, ladies and gentlemen! Advantage passes from side to side, hard punches thrown all around, these two fighters are really giving it all they’ve got!”
“Yes Bob, this is one for the record books.”
“So, Dominguez starts this round with 39.Kf2, Jimmy. Bringing his king closer to the action?”
“Yes Bob, the king is a fighting piece in the endgame. He must do something about that b-pawn.”
“Favreau picks up another pawn, 39…Rxa3.”
“Tough times for white. After Rook to a1, the pawn will crash through.”
“Okay, we have 40.Bf5 Ra1 41.Bxe4 Rxb1 42.Bxb1 Rd1 43.Bf5, all played very quickly.”
“The pawn will cost white a piece, but can black win this endgame? I’m not hundred percent sure, Bob.”
“Not to forget, Jimmy, that we still have one more boxing round to go. And here we go, Favreau made a queen, and Dominguez has to give the Bishop. 43...b1=Q 44.Bxb1 Rxb1, and now a quick 45.Nd4 by Dominguez.”
“Oh, a great move, Bob! He’s not clinging to the c3 pawn, instead seeking to check on f5 with the knight, trying to keep the white king pinned down to defend g7.”
“Look at this crowd, Jimmy! Twenty thousand people, absolutely breathless! What a game! 45…Rc1 46.Nf5+ Kf8 played.”
“See, that’s what I was talking about. Had he tried to defend passively with 46.Ne2, black would get his king in the open, but now it’s stuck on the back row.”
“47.Kg3 Rxc3+ now.”
“Oh my, a mutual blunder by both sides, did you see it, Bob?”
“Actually no, Jimmy. You tell me.”
“White wanted to bring his king up, but he should have done it through f3, not g3.”
“What’s the difference?”
“The difference is that now black had 47…Rg1+, Bob, winning g6 and releasing his king. But who can blame these guys for missing an itsy-bitsy check, after all the punishment they took in the ring?”
“Well, Favreau snatched the c-pawn, and now 48.Kf4 Rc4+ 49.Kg3, and this brings us to the final round! This one is for all the marbles! Your evaluation of the endgame, Jimmy?”
“White should be winning, but I’m not sure how … maybe put the rook on the seventh, relieve the king of the need to guard g7 … or maneuver the rook to g5 through g1 and try to put white in zugzwang, those could be the two plans. But, with the time on their clocks winding down, and the contestants’ physical condition, anything can happen.”
“Well, they’ll have plenty of time to think of plans later … and now, it’s Punchtime! Don’t go anywhere, ladies and gentlemen! Forget Klichkovsky and McKenna, these two forgotten fighters, these two glorious gladiators, are the real deal here at the Palace!”

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 49...Kg3

To be continued ...

To the last pawn - Part VI

Lisa was bored with the incessant banter of the broadcasters, as well as frustrated with her inability to see the board. Grasping the crumpled ticket, she remembered the old adage - ‘things that are given for free are usually worth their cost’. She got up from her seat and carried herself to the bar, where a big-screen TV was hanging over the champagne-glasses rack.

Several other people were gathered there, a mix of yuppies and rich businessman, whose interest in the match was marginal. They couldn’t be bothered to mingle with the arena crowd, or maybe they were just waiting for the main event to begin. There was only one free place at the bar, next to a dark-haired woman in a red satin dress. Unlike other denizens of the bar, she was totally absorbed in the match, her margarita forgotten. Lisa immediately sensed a soul mate, and she quickly slipped onto the barstool.

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 12...Be7

Glancing on the screen, she realized she didn’t miss much since the start of the round - only one move was made by each side, 13.b3 by white and 13…Qc5 by black.
“He’s out of shape,” said the woman in red to no one in particular.
“You mean white?” Lisa was never slow to join a conversation, “b3 looks very weakening.”
The woman glared at her with surprise, “You know something about chess?”
“Well, I play sometimes.”
“But not enough, apparently. b3 is an excellent move, to keep the black pieces out of c4. It’s not weakening, because Ne2 supports its friend on c3.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, I meant Qc5,” Lisa’s newfound friend lectured on, “It’s a pointless move, and the queen will be kicked away soon.”
“Wow, how do you know so much about this stuff?”
“Let’s just say I’ve been around, girl.”

Together, they watched in silence as white played 14.Qd3 and black, after a long deliberation, castled.
“He wanted to go Ng4, but realized too late white has simply Qf3. Like I said, out of shape,” commented the woman, then after 15.Be3 Qc7, gave Lisa the ‘I told you’ look.
Afterwards, 16.h3 Rfd8 17.f5 were played, and the woman shook her head.
“White’s clearly better now,” she said. “All those queen moves lost time. White’s about to storm the kingside.”
On the screen, Favreau, clearly unhappy with his position, thought for quite a long time before playing the only move 17…Bc8. Then followed 18.g4 Bb7 19.g5. As the second hand on the top-right part of the screen neared the end of its path, Favreau picked the knight from f6 in his hand. The woman leaned forward and whispered, “Don’t do it.”
“Don’t do what?” asked Lisa, not understanding.
“Don’t do it. Wait.” The woman spoke not to her, but to the screen. Favreau played 19…Nfd7, and at that very second the gong for the start of the second boxing round sounded.
“What an idiot,” the woman in red muttered.
“But why? Nfd7 seems a good move, or isn’t it?”
“Yes, but he should’ve waited with it. Now white has extra three minutes for thought. He should have stalled and made the move after the boxing round.”
“Oh. You sure know a lot about strategy and stuff. I’m Lisa.” She extended her palm for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Debbie. Let’s move over there.” She pointed in the direction of a small corner table.
“But we won’t see the screen from there.”
“Suits me fine. Can’t stand this brutal pummeling.”
“Really? You know what?” Lisa asked in conspiratory whisper once they have settled at their new location, “I hate boxing too. I’m only in it for the chess. But don’t tell anyone, because Tommy DeMarco thinks I am…”
“Don’t worry, I’m taking your secret to the grave, girl.”
“Thanks. Do you know,” Lisa figured it would be a good time to impress Debbie, “That I’m with them?”
“With whom?”
“With them. Vincent Favreau and Enrique Dominguez. We came to Vegas together.”
“Really?” Debbie suddenly seemed interested.
“Yes. We met at this diner, and they gave me endgame lessons. And they were so nice and friendly. Much friendlier than Klichkovsky, who doesn’t even answer my emails.”
“That’s nice. So … ” she hesitated only slightly, “How did Vince … Vincent behave along the way?”
“Like a perfect gentleman!”
“Oh, I don’t mean that. Did he seem focused, concentrated?”
“Well, to tell you honestly, not really. We mostly had fun and talked about stuff.”
“Fun and stuff. That figures. Come on, they’re taking the gloves off again.”

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Dominguez-Favreau, after 19...Nfd7

***

Bruised and battered, the players sat at the chess table again. Dominguez was slightly dizzy, as he took one in the chin toward the end of the round, and Favreau’s kidneys didn’t feel to well either. Sitting at the board, Dominguez mechanically raised his hand to make the planned move – then suddenly realized he forgot what it was. He has such a perfect plan worked out. A very clever piece regrouping, he remembered, followed by an unstoppable kingside attack. But what was it exactly? Seconds passed, time ticked away. Finally, Enrique conceded defeat. He won’t be able to reconstruct his plan. That’s how it is in chess boxing, sometimes you just have to go with what you have, he thought and played 20.Nd5. Favreau was glad to exchange knights and relieve some of the pressure. After 20…Nxd5 21.exd5 he played 21…f6, safeguarding his kingside.

As Dominguez considered his next move, Favreau, for the first time tonight, allowed himself to lean back in his chair, raise his head off the chessboard and smile at the cameras. He knew his opening problems were finally over. Furthermore, black was on the verge of grabbing the initiative. After a long think, Dominguez played 22.h4, not really with the goal of pursuing the kingside storm, but rather safeguarding the g5 pawn. Play continued with 22…Rac8 23.c3 Nc5, and it was white’s turn to retreat with 24.Qd1. Things looked bright for Favreau indeed. After taking a few minutes, he decided the best way for him to develop his initiative was 24…a5, and Dominguez made the ‘mysterious rook move’ 25.Rb1. Well, not so mysterious, since both players knew there was a chance for the b-file to be pried open.

Favreau buried his head in his hands and thought … and thought and thought … so many good options. What should he do? The pain in his abdomen bothered him. I need to get something going on the chessboard, he thought and pushed the a-pawn, 25…a4, and immediately became covered in cold sweat as he realized just how bad this move was. What have I done, he cursed himself. I played directly into white’s hands. Dominguez also understood black’s mistake in no time, and pounced on the black knight with 26.Bxc5.

Favreau slumped down in his chair. His moment of triumph was brief, and he was relegated to defending a bad position once more. At first, he thought of 26…Qxc5 27.axb4 Qxa3, but no, after 28.Rxb5 white’s advantage is too great, and 28.Rxb5 also comes in response to 27…fxg5. He decided to bite the bullet and recapture with the pawn. After 26…dxc5 27.bxa4 bxa4 28.Qxa4, white entered the third boxing round having an extra pawn.

								8
								7
								6
								5
								4
								3
								2
								1
a	b	c	d	e	f	g	h

Dominguez-Favreau, after 28.Qxa4

To be continued …