Kingston CC Championship 2026: Results summary, some notes

[Frank Dixon]

Sam Marin (2047), Carleton U. -- Hou Ji Yao (1860), McGill U. 'B'; bd. 2 of 4
Kingston 2016, played Jan. 9
InterUniversity Team Championship, Championship section, rd. 1 of 4
Org.: InterUniversity Chess League; Queen's University Chess Club, Chair: Simon Gladstone; Kingston Chess Club
TD: Tyler Longo; Assistant TD: NTD Frank Dixon
Sicilian, Paulsen / Kan / Maroczy, B43
Time controls: 40/90' + 30", SD/60' + 30"
Notes by Frank Dixon

[Here is a marathon positional battle, interesting, well played and hard fought from both sides, with no real tactics in what can often be a highly tactical line, finally ending in a draw!! Black's effort is impressive, spotting his opponent nearly 200 rating points, and eventually getting slightly the better of the draw. Enjoy!!]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Qc7 7.Be3 Be7 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O d6 10.Qd2 b6 11.f3 Bb7 12.Nc2 Rfd8 13.Na4 Nbd7 14.Rac1 Nc5 15.Qb4 Bc6 16.Nxc5 bxc5 17.Qc3 Nd7 18.b4 cxb4 19.Nxb4 Bb7 20.Bd4 Bf6 21.Rfd1 Bxd4+ 22.Qxd4 Nc5 23.Nd3 e5 24.Qe3 Ne6 25.c5 Nd4 26.cxd6 Qxd6 27.Nc5 Qb6 28.Bc4 Rac8 29.Nxb7 Qxb7 30.Bd5 Qb5 31.Rb1 Qc5 32.Kh1 Ne6 33.Qb3 Rd6 34.h3 Qc7 35.Qa4 Kf8 36.Rb7 Qc2 37.Qxc2 Rxc2 38.Rdb1 Rc7 39.Rxc7 Nxc7 40.Rb8+ Ke7
[Reaching the first time control. The ending is close to level, with White having a bishop for a knight in an open position, usually good for a slight advantage. It's fascinating to see how Black deals very effectively with this.]
41.Rb7 Rd7 42.Bb3 f6 43.Ba4 Nb5 44.Rb6 Rd6 45.Rb7+ Rd7 46.Rb8 Rd8 47.Rxd8 Kxd8 48.Kg1 Nd4 49.Kf2 Kc7 50.Ke3 Kd6 51.Kd3 Ne6 52.Ke3 Nf4 53.Kf2 h5! 54.h4 g5 55.g3 Ne6 56.Be8 gxh4 57.Bxh5 hxg3+ 58.Kxg3 Nd4! 59.f4 Ne6 60.fxe5+ Kxe5 61.Bg6 Ng5! 62.Kf2 Nxe4+ 63.Ke3 f5
[The game at last departs from material equality. Can Black make something of his extra pawn!?]
64.Bf7 Nc5 65.Bc4 a5 66.Be2 f4+ 67.Kf3 Ne6 68.Bc4 Nd4+ 69.Kf2 Ke4 70.Ba6 Kd5 71.Bc8 Kc4 72.a4 Kb4 73.Bd7 Kc3 74.Bb5 Kb4 75.Bd7 Kc4 76.Be8 Kd3 77.Bg6+ Kc3 78.Be8! Kb4 79.Bd7 Nb3! 80.Kf3 Nc5 81.Be8 Nxa4 82.Kxf4 Nc3 83.Ke3 Nb5 84.Kd2! a4 85.Bxb5! Kxb5 86.Kc3 a3 87.Kb3, 1/2 -- 1/2.
[White had to calculate perfectly to hold the draw, and did so!!]

[Frank Dixon]

Matthew Struthers (2047) -- Geoff McKay (2151)
Kingston 1997, played Nov. 17
Kingston Whig-Standard Championship, rd. 7 of 8
Org.: Kingston Chess Club
TD: Frank Dixon; Assistant TD: Dr. James Cairns
Alekhine, Four Pawns', B03
Time controls: 30/90', SD/60'
Notes by Frank Dixon

[This game was crucial to Matthew's eventual tournament victory. Matthew, a Physics student at Queen's University, and an important organizer as Ontario Youth Coordinator in his first year there, 1994-95, ended with 6.5/8. He had a half-point bye and a loss to former champ Dr. Peter Sibbald, who holds a PhD in Physics!! Matthew defeated me in the final round, in a wild game, to clinch the title, contested since the 1950s, for a trophy and prize donated by Kingston's newspaper, founded in 1834, but now down to four issues per week.]
1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4
[This is the Four Pawns Attack, which from the 1920s has been the toughest test for Black players of this defense. Alexander Alekhine introduced the opening to top-class chess at Budapest 1921; it had been played sporadically before that. As Black, it is all too easy to be overrun by the pawn storm, or to make a tactical error and lose quickly, as is the case here. Not for the fainthearted! The Alekhine was Geoff's main defense against 1.e4, and he scored many successes with it. I had some wins against him in rare variations, as well as several losses.]
5...dxe5 6.fxe5 Nc6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.Be3 e6
[The sharpest lines see Black play an early ...g6, which is borderline unsound. Deep knowledge and strong courage are needed. GM Lev Alburt (born 1945) for many years championed the Alekhine as Black, and he showed many new resources. GM Alburt was a multiple USA champion after arriving from the USSR, who wrote some excellent books as well. GM Bobby Fischer played it occasionally in the early 1970s, then twice in his victorious world title match, Reykjavik 1972, over holder GM Boris Spassky. Bobby scored a win and a draw!]
9.Nc3 Be7 10.Ne4 Bb4+ 11.Kf2!? Be7 12.Be2 Bxf3 13.gxf3 O-O 14.Rg1! f5!? 15.Nc5! f4!? 16.Nxe6!
[Putting a second piece en prise; but as GM Mikhail Tal, the eighth World Champion, said: "They can only take one at a time!"]
16...fxe3+ 17.Kf1 Qd7??
[Losing immediately. An absolute must was 17...Qe8!, whereupon White has the choice between two strong replies: a) 18.Rxg7+, with one possibility being 18...Kh8 19.Qd3 Qh5 20.Qxe3 with an unclear situation, and b) 18.Nxg7 Qf7 19.Ne6+ (19.e6!? Qxg7! 20.Rxg7+ Kxg7 -/+) Kh8 20.Nxf8 Rxf8 21.Rc1, where there are again many complex lines.]
18.Rxg7+ Kh8 19.Qd3!!, 1-0.
[Black cannot stop mate on h7.]

[Frank Dixon]

Jay Serdula (1850) -- Frank Dixon (1950)
Kingston 2005, played Jan. 17
Kingston Chess Club Winter rapid, G/30', rd. 4 of 6
TD: Dr. Peter Sibbald
Sicilian, Kuprejcik, B56
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

Chess is an endlessly fascinating game on the 64 squares, but what I have also learned in my lifetime of chess involvement is that the people one meets are sometimes even more interesting!! A great example is my opponent in this game. Jay was born in 1972, and raised in Deep River, Ontario, which is the townsite for Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories, founded in 1945 for Canadian research into the development of nuclear energy, and for other scientific research. I was raised there a few years before him, but wasn't born there. Both of our fathers were engineers / scientists at CRNL. Jay is a published author, who self-identified as an Aspergers person, in his book 'Aspirations of an Aspie'. Jay has been resident of Kingston for many years, and we connected through chess, playing many interesting games. He earned his undergrad degree in science at the University of Waterloo, and then completed a M.Sc. at the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, where he also worked for a time. Jay is a very accomplished sportsman across many interests: besides chess (where his rating has been as high as 1958), he is a talented swimmer (his excellent book is mainly about his successful quest to swim across Lake Ontario!!), a competitive Nordic skiier, a pretty good golfer (I lent him a set for a summer, and he showed amazing improvement), a dedicated runner, an excellent skater, and I am sure there are a few more sports in there as well! He has many friends in the Kingston area, and has enormous achievements, overcoming his health challenges. He is an inspiration to everyone who knows him. What follows is one of our games.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7
[This is the Kuprejcik Sicilian, named for GM Vladimir Kuprejcik. The site 365chess.com has over 50 games by him from this position. The line can be highly transpositional in nature, and is quite often played by GM Magnus Carlsen, former World Champion, among other very strong players.]
6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Nc6 8.Be3 a6 9.a3 Be7 10.b4!? b5 11.Bb3 O-O (11,6) 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.Rfd1 Rac8!
[Looking to pressure on the c-file, especially the N/c3, now that White has advanced his b-pawn.]
14.Ncxb5!?
[Recognizing Black's intent, White takes drastic action, with a thematic combination. Here, he gets three connected Queenside passers for his piece. This idea is often seen in the Sicilian, and is covered with many examples in the fine historical book "Sacrifices in the Sicilian", by IM David Levy, Batsford, mid-1970s, recommended to everyone!]
14...axb5 15.Nxb5 Qb8 16.Nxd6 Rcd8
[Capturing with 16...Nxe4 looked very interesting as well, but I do have a lot of experience facing this type of sacrifice, so decided on the KISS approach (Keep It Simple, Smart Guy!), keeping the threat on the e4-pawn alive, and looking to optimally rearrange my compact minors formation, to increase pressure on the N/d6, which is pinned to the Q/d2.]
17.f3 Ne5! (18,12)
[White's Queenside passers can become very dangerous in an ending, but we are a long ways from that.]
18.Bc5
[I was more concerned about a quick c2-c4-c5, where White may in fact be a bit better, but that would be a mutually difficult (and very different!) game ahead.]
18...Bc6! 19.a4 h6 20.b5 Bxe4!! (23,14)
[Jay said later this move, introducing a very deep combination, was a complete shock to him. White is likely unable to save the game from this juncture.]
21.fxe4 Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Bxc5+ 23.Nxc5 Rxd2 24.Rxd2 Qb6!
[To borrow a great line from GM Bobby Fischer ('My Sixty Memorable Games'): "the scorpion's sting at the tail end of the combination!" This wins the pinned N/c5, and puts the game away.]
25.Rad1 Qxc5+, 0-1. (28,17)

[Frank Dixon]

Meng Lou (2260) -- Steve Guidi (1826)
Kingston 1996, played May 11
Ontario High School Championship, Championship section, rd. 4 of 5
Org: Ontario HS Chess Association, Kingston Chess Club, Queen's University Chess Club
TDs: Ed Thompson, Christopher Field, Frank Dixon
Time controls: 30/90', SD/60'
Budapest Gambit, A52
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

[This was the board one game in the top section; Meng Lou, top-rated, was from Windsor; Steve Guidi from Churchill H.S. in Toronto. The game turns out to be a not-unexpected easy win for the young NM.]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Bf4
[White can try to hold the gambit pawn in some variations, with this move. Major alternatives are: a) 4.Nf3 and b) 4.e4. Also occasionally seen is 4.e6, while 4.Qd4? is an error.]
4...Nc6 5.Nf3 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Qe7 7.a3 Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.e3
[Catastrophic is 9.axb4?? (here or on the previous move) Nd3#!; the Keininger trap.]
9...Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Be2 d6 12.O-O Re8 13.Qc3 a5 14.Bg3 Bd7 15.Rfd1 Bc6 (25,40) 16.Qd4 Nd7 (40,50) 17.b4 Nf6 18.b5 Qe4?? 19.bxc6 Qxc6 20.Bf3, 1-0. (49,67)
[Meng Lou would go on to capture the 1996 title.]

[Frank Dixon]

Jeff Towers (1900) -- Jason Oldendorp (1660)
Kingston 1995, played March 20
Kingston Chess Club Championship, Group 'A', Rd. 8 of 9
TD: Chris Hargreaves
Time controls: 30/90', SD/60'
English, Carls variation, A22
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.g3 d6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.e4 c6 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.O-O Nb6 9.h3 e5 (6,21)
[White is playing his favorite Botvinnik system; Black responds with the Carls variation, and looks to set up a quick attack on the Kingside. The game heads into a very sharp, unbalanced struggle from an early stage, with Black sacking a piece, for dangerous attacking chances, which White needs to watch very carefully.]
10.Be3 Be6 11.f4 Qd7 12.g4 h5 13.f5!? hxg4!? 14.fxe6 Qxe6 (35,40) 15.Kh2 Kh7 16.Ng3 Rh8 (49,49) 17.Rh1 Kg8 18.Qf1 gxh3 19.Bf3 Bh6 20.Qe2 Bxe3 21.Qxe3 Ng4+ 22.Bxg4 Qxg4 (65,59)
23.Raf1 Rf8 24.Rhg1 Qe6 25.Nf5! Rh7 (75,67) 26.Rf3 Kh8 27.Ng3 f5 28.exf5 gxf5 29.Nge4!
[This resource had to be seen from a few moves before, and it gives White the upper hand.]
29...Rg8 30.Rxg8+ Qxg8 (88,81)
[Both sides make the time control.]
31.Ng5 f4 32.Qg1! Rh5 33.Rxh3 Rxh3+ 34.Kxh3 Nd7 35.Qg4 Qg6 36.Nge4!, 1-0. (107,98)
[Courageous play from young Jason, conceding many years of experience and nearly 250 rating points.]

[Frank Dixon]

I am now correcting a possible error on game identification. I believe I had previously entered this game score, several years ago, on chess5.com, on my personal account there, with public access. The chess5.com site is no longer operational, so I can't check to be sure. But I was entering a bunch of games there, from a variety of events and with a range of players, and while I think this game score is in fact correct, with game details also correct, the Black player's name may NOT be. If it has been entered by Hugh Brodie for CanBase, it is here corrected, for the record, with this information to be transferred there, hopefully.

Wayne Coppin (1980) -- Adam Runions (1975)
Kingston 1996, played Sept. 17
Kingston Chess Club vs. Queen's University Chess Club, team match, round 1 of 2
TDs: Dr. James Cairns and Frank Dixon
Time controls: 30/90', SD/60'
Modern, B06
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c3 d6 4.Bd3 e5 5.Ne2 Ne7 6.O-O O-O 7.f4 f5
[White has chosen a quiet line against the combative Modern, off the beaten track, but with a few examples! More recently seen (from 365chess.com) was the Master game Rzayev 0-1 Onysshchuk, Nokhchivan Open 2015, with 7...exd4 8.Nxd4 c5 9.Nf3 d5 10.Be3 dxe4 11.Bxe4 Qc7, ...]
8.fxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5?!
[Again from 365chess.com, we can learn that they have no games with this move. Played since the text, Plenkovic 1-0 Basic, Split Open 2005, had 9.dxe5 Kh8 10.Bg5 Nbc6 11.exf5 Bxf5 12.Bxf5 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Bxf5 14.Bf6 Bxf6 15.exf6 Rxf6, ...]
9...h6! 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bf2 f4! 12.Qb3+ Kh8 13.Nbd2 Nbc6 14.d5 Na5!? 15.Qa3 b6 16.b4 Nb7 17.c4 Ng6! 18.c5 g4! 19.Ba6?! Qg5!
[Black is definitely better, and now threatens thematic, dangerous Kingside play, while White is focused on less relevant Queenside adventures.]
20.Nc4 Na5! 21.Bxc8 Nxc4 22.Qc1 Raxc8 23.Qxc4 f3! 24.Ng3 Nf4! 25.gxf3 Nh3+!
[Black will mate or win significant material, while White's Queen is unable to assist the defense.]
26.Kg2 gxf3+! 27.Kh1
[If 27.Kxh3, then 27...Rf4! and mates.]
27...Qd2!, 0-1.
[If the B/f2 moves, then 27...Qg2#. Otherwise a piece is lost, with mate to follow shortly. A sparkling game from the young player directing Black, conceding about a 25-year experience advantage.]

[Frank Dixon]

Nick Rashev (1999) -- NM Peter Ferguson (2285)
Kingston 1997, played Feb. 8
Kingston Open, Open section, rd. 1 of 5
Time controls: 30/90', SD/60'
Org: EOCA, Kingston Chess Club, Queen's University Chess Club
TD: Frank Dixon; Assistant TD: Dr. James Cairns
Dutch, Leningrad, A85
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 f5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 d6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nh3!?
[This gives the game a distinctive twist, away from the far more common 6.Nf3. Two main reasons for this alternative knight development: a) keep the long diagonal open for White's bishop; b) retain option of an early Nh3-f4. The Leningrad variation, developed by Leningrad masters between the two world wars, and afterwards (including twice world title finalist GM Viktor Korchnoi), had a huge upsurge in popularity in the 1980s, helped by young Soviet GMs such as Vladimir Malaniuk and Mikhail Gurevich, who popularized ...Qe8 for Black, bringing that idea over from the long-popular Stonewall variation. It has become the main line, replacing the earlier ...c6 and ...Nc6, along with other moves, such as ...e6, seen in Tal 1-0 Botvinnik, game 19, world title match 1960. Of course, the city has reverted to its original name of St. Petersburg, with the end of communism in Russia. It was also known as Petrograd.]
6...O-O 7.O-O c6 8.d5 e5 9.dxe6 Bxe6
[Two older games with super GMs on both sides, from this position, are: Karpov -- Kholmov, Rostov-on-Don tt 1980; and Taimanov -- Kholmov, Vilnius zt 1975. Both ended drawn. Super-GM Artur Yusupov has also played the line with Black. The current game is set to outpace any game I have seen in this sub-variation, for creativity and excitement! Fasten your seat belts!!]
10.Qb3!?
[Both the two above quoted games saw 10.b3, and were long maneuvering struggles. Get set for desperado combinations and tactical fireworks!!]
10...Nbd7 11.Ng5!? Nc5!? 12.Nxe6 Nxb3 13.Nxd8 Nxa1 14.Nxb7 Nc2 15.Bxc6 Rab8 16.Nxd6 Rfd8 17.Nb7 Rdc8 18.Ba4 Rxb7 19.Bxc2 Nd7 20.Nb5 Rxb5 21.cxb5 Rxc2 22.a4 Bxb2
[Whew!! That was both fascinating and exhausting!! Now in the ending, White seems better, because of his potential Queenside pawn promotion possibilities, but there is still a lot of play!!]
23.Be3! Nc5 24.a5! Nb3 25.b6! axb6 26.axb6 Nd4 27.Rb1! Nxe2+ 28.Kf1 Be5 29.b7! Bb8 30.Ra1! Rb2
[Reaching the first time control, by less than a minute for both sides. I was watching this game as closely as I could, while also monitoring other games.]
31.Ra8 Nxg3+ 32.hxg3 Rxb7 33.Bf4!
[Should secure the win, although significant work and care are still needed!]
33...Kg7 34.Rxb8 Re7 35.Rc8 h6 36.Rc7 Rxc7 37.Bxc7 Kf6 38.f4 g5 39.Bd8+! Kg6 40.Kg2 Kh5 41.Kf3 Kg6 42.Be7 Kf7 43.fxg5! Kxe7
[White has a won pawn ending.]
44.gxh6 Kf6 45.Kf4 Kg6 46.h7! Kxh7 47.Kxf5 Kh6 48.g4 Kh7 49.Kf6 Kh8 50.Kg6 Kg8 51.g5 Kh8 52.Kh7, 1-0.
[Before now, this was one of the greatest virtually unknown games in Canadian chess history. Now, it is one of the greatest games in Canadian chess history, in my opinion. Nick Rashev defeated a NM nearly 300 points higher, and went on to have a great event, unbeaten, gaining 71 rating points!!]

[Frank Dixon]

Geoff McKay (2065) -- Frank Dixon (1915)
Kingston 2001, played Sept. 25
Kingston Chess Club Fall Rapid, rd. 3 of 4, G/30'
TD: Dr. Dilip Panjwani; Assistant TD: Frank Dixon
Two Knights' Def., C55
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bf6 4.d4 Nxe4
[This line shows a big plus for White in the databases, compared to the main line 4...exd4, but I had been looking at it in some depth, and found several underplayed possibilities that looked reasonable, so decided to try it out here against Geoff, who is very strong on the White side of 1.e4 e5 lines. Here, 4...exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.e5 would lead to the Max Lange Attack, named for the mid-19th century German world-class player, writer, organizer and governance leader. There are only 161 games with 4...exd4, compared to thousands with 4...exd4. One very recent game with 4...exd4 involving top players is Pranesh -- Niemann, Chennai GMs, July 20th, 2026, just eight days ago, which was drawn in 104 moves.]
5.O-O
[Here, 127 of 161 games have seen 5.dxe5, so we are already, after five moves, into very rare territory. Only 17 games had 5.O-O; ah, the magic of chess, and of database technology!]
5...d5 6.Re1
[Here, 6.Bb5 follows Kobalia 0-1 Ponkratov, Moscow World Blitz 2019.]
6...dxc4!
[Seems new, with an unbalanced position already!]
7.Rxe4 Be7 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 9.Rxe5 O-O (9,7) 10.c3 Bd6! 11.Re1 Qh4! 12.g3 Qh3 13.Qe2 Bg4!
[We have a position somewhat akin to the Marshall Attack in the Spanish, where Black sacs a pawn (unveiled in Capablanca 1-0 Marshall, New York 1918). That is a frequent choice from Geoff as Black, with which we have played several games. Black has a very promising attacking position, with actively posted pieces and a development advantage, while White lacks counterplay.]
14.Qf1 Qh5 15.Be3 Rae8! 16.Nd2 b5 17.f4 Bh3 18.Qf3 Qf5! (17,11)
[Naturally, Black avoids trading Queens.]
19.a4 Re6! 20.Nf1 g5!
[Black is going for it with Kingside attack!]
21.d5 Rg6! 22.Kf2 Bg4! 23.Qh1 gxf4 24.gxf4 Bxf4 25.Bxf4 Qxf4+ 26.Kg1 Bf3+, 0-1. (25,19)

[Frank Dixon]

Gerald de Lugt (1861) -- Del Vezeau (1589)
Kingston 1996, played Oct. 22
Kingston Whig-Standard Championship, rd. 3 of 8
TD: Jeff Towers; Assistant TD: Frank Dixon
Time controls: 30/90', SD/60'
Franco-Benoni, A40
Notes by Frank Dixon (provided as a handout in 1996 to KCC members, added to and modified since)

1.d4 c5 2.d5 d6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 g6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Bd3 e6 7.Bg5 exd5 8.exd5!?
[A significant departure from the regular response 8.cxd5, which would have yielded a garden-variety Modern Benoni position. The best single-volume openings book at the time, Batsford Chess Openings, second edition, by GMs Kasparov and Keene (1989), is completely mute on this position! In their very brief Franco-Benoni section, they consider only lines where White does not play c2-c4 early, and where Black develops his KB to e7. This line (with exd5) is also sometimes known as the Barcza-Larsen Defence, which can also arise from a 1.e4 move order, for example 1.e4 e6 2.d4 c5 3.d5 (3.Nf3 cxd4 would yield an Open Sicilian) exd5 4.exd5 d6 etc.]
8...O-O 9.Nge2 Nbd7 10.f4!? Nb6
[Since White has taken away the e5 square from this knight, it goes to the awkward square b6, from which it will almost certainly have to move again fairly soon. Preferable here is 10...Re8, retaining options of the knight going to f8 for defense. On b6 the knight at least temporarily prevents Black's frequent Queenside advances ...a7-a6 and ...b7-b5.]
11.Qc2 Re8 12.O-O-O!?
[This really sharpens the game, with opposite wing attacks shaping up!]
12...Qd7
[Holds up White's f4-f5 for at least the moment.]
13.h3 a6 14.g4! Qc7
[White has a clear advantage, with more space, better development, and superior coordination. Black must take several moves before getting his own active play moving.]
15.Rde1
[Now White starts to drift a bit. With the advantage that he has, White must attack, according to every chess theoretician since Wilhelm Steinitz (circa 1865), or lose the advantage. Here, 15.f5! would pressure Black, since the N/f6 is already under pressure from the B/g5, and White would threaten to open the f - and / or g -files, to infiltrate his forces towards Black's King. This move grants Black a small respite. Building, non-committal moves such as 15.Rdf1 and 15.Rh2 would have led to greater problems for Black. White can also prepare e4-e5!, a thematic advance., not as strong here as in the regular Benoni, due to the pawn balance.]
15...Nbd7 16.Ng3?!
[Rather than allow exchanges which give Black the opportunity to relieve the congestion in his position, White could have pressed on with 16.f5!, where he still has excellent attacking chances. ]
16...Rxe1+ 17.Rxe1 b6 18.Nge4 Bb7 19.Nxf6+ Nxf6 20.f5
[Now this is nowhere near as strong as it would have been earlier.]
20...b5!
[With this thematic pawn sacrifice, Black is now fighting for the initiative, in a dynamically equal position.]
21.fxg6 fxg6 22.cxb5?!
[Undermining his own center and freeing Black's c-pawn can't be good. How about 22.Ne4 here!? If 22...Nxe4 23.Rxe4 bxc4 24.Bxc4, intending Qe2, and White should not lose this position.]
22...c4! 23.bxa6 Bxa6! 24.Bf1 Nd7!
[Black is now slightly better despite the pawn minus, since he has much greater activity.]
25.Bg2
[White has to start causing Black some problems. 25.Re6 looks interesting, planning to pile up on d6 with moves like Bf4 and Ne4, activating his forces.]
25...Ne5! 26.Be4 Nd3+! 27.Bxd3 cxd3 28.Qd2 Rc8! 29.Kb1
[29.Re7 fails to 29...Bxc3!]
29...Qb8! 30.Ka1?
[On the last move of the first time control, White makes move 30 with seconds to spare, but had to defend with 30.Rc1, when he is worse, but there is no immediate win in sight.]
30...Qb4! 31.Ne4??
[Catastrophic. 31.Rc1 was forced, to stay in the game.]
31...Bxb2+!!, 0-1.
[White resigned because of 32.Qxb2 Qxe1+ 33.Qb1Qxe4, with a rook ahead. After his opening difficulties, Black then used his opportunities in fine style, while White's lack of precision, and hesitation in finding the right plan while he held a clear advantage eventually led to his defeat. In this annual tournament, there was a special 'Frankenstein Prize', for enormous upsets such as this one, and Del would up winning it!]

[Frank Dixon]

NM James Fu (2215), U. of T. 'B' -- NM Aquino Inigo (2227), McMaster U.
Kingston 2016, played Jan. 10
University Team Championship, Championship section, rd. 5 of 5
University of Toronto 'B' vs McMaster University, board 2 of 4
Organizer: Queen's University Chess Club, Simon Gladstone
TD: Tyler Longo; Assistant TD: NTD Frank Dixon
Time controls: G/90' + 30"
Queen's Gambit, D37
Notes by Frank Dixon

[Just getting to posting this game now, from ten years ago. I only had one scoresheet, it had some problems with missing and illegal moves, and my initial efforts to sort it out, shortly after the event ended, didn't pay off. But I believe I have it now!! So, enjoy!]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.e3 b6 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.O-O O-O 8.Qe2 dxc4 9.Bxc4 c5 10.Rd1 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Qc8
[In this last-round game between two NMs, Black has chosen a solid but not especially dynamic system, and will be a bit worse for the entire game, never fully equalizing, and not succeeding in activating his QR. White plays precisely and carefully, steadily building his slight advantage, avoiding unnecessary exchanges, while keeping the lid on Black's activity.]
12.Bd3 Nc6 13.Nf3 Rd8 14.a3 Na5 15.Nd4 Bc5 16.Rb1 e5 17.Bf5! Qb8 18.Nf3 Bxf3 19.Rxd8+! Qxd8 20.Qxf3 Nb3 21.Bc2 Nxc1 22.Rxc1 Rb8 23.Rd1! Qe8 24.g4! (+/-)
[White has a clear advantage, with more space, better coordination of forces, and a safe King. Facing no counterplay, he decides on a Kingside pawn storm.]
24...h6 25.h4 Nh7 26.Ne4! Be7 27.Qf5! Nf8 28.Bb3! g6 29.Qxe5 Bxh4 30.Qf4!
[The winning move; White keeps an eye on h6, b8, and f7; the defensive task proves too much for Black.]
30...Bg5 31.Nxg5, 1-0.
[If 31...hxg5 32.Qxg5 puts White two pawns up, with Black still passive, and vulnerable to White's further pressure. Facing a long drive home in midwinter, Black has seen enough.]

[Frank Dixon]

NM Patrick Kirby (2209) -- Frank Dixon (1942)
Kingston 2002, played April 26
Kingston Chess Club Spring Rapid, rd. 3 of 7
TD: Dr. Dilip Panjwani; Assistant TD: Frank Dixon
Time control: G/30'
Semi-Slav, D43
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 c6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 h6
[Patrick had just won the 2002 KCC Championship, also directed by Dilip (father of now-IM Raja, who was also a contestant), with a powerful 9/10, while I was back in the pack.]
6.Bh4 Nbd7 7.e3 Bb4
[A rare sideline, with only 52 games at 365chess.com. But I believe it is playable.]
8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Qb3 dxc4
[Very few games have reached this position, and I believe my tenth could be new. Sysoenko -- Dokonenko, Mariupol (Ukraine) Open 2003, had 10...O-O; White (then a teenager and now an FM) won in 55 moves.]
11.Bxc4 Nb6 12.Bd3 Nbd5 13.Rc1 b5 (6,5)
[Looks to be an entirely reasonable position for Black, but he must watch out for White's coming advance e3-e4, to chase the N/d5.]
14.O-O O-O 15.Bg3 Bb7 16.e4 Ne7 17.Bd6! Rfe8 18.Bb1!
[Preparing the thematic battery, with the Queen in front of the bishop.]
18...Rad8 19.e5 Nfd5 20.h4 Ba8
[White is somewhat better, with greater space and freedom of action. Black must stay alert, be precise, and seek counterplay possibilities, or else White's two bishops could propel a strong Kingside attack.]
21.h5 Nf4! 22.Qc2! Nf5! 23.Bb4 Qc7 24.g4
[If 24.Nh4!? Nxh4?? 25.Qh7# is one definite problem line for Black.]
24...c5! 25.Bxc5 Bxf3! 26.gxf5! Bxh5!
[Preparing to move to g6 to defend, as needed.]
27.fxe6! Bg6! (15,14) 28.Qd2 Qxe5! 29.dxe5 Rxd2
[Black's problems ease with the exchange of Queens, but White is still better here.]
30.Be3 Ne2+ 31.Kg2 Bxb1 32.Rxb1
[Better was 32.Bxd2! White may have been banking on this rook's Queenside activity.]
32...Ra2 (20,20) 33.exf7+ Kxf7 34.Rxb5 Rxa3 35.c4 a5 36.Bd2 a4 37.Rb7+ Kg6 38.f4 Nd4! (26,26) 39.Bb4 Ra2+ 40.Kg3 Nf5+!
[Black will aim to defend by harassing White's King. White would win quite easily, should Black play passively, I believe. Both sides were getting short of time.]
41.Kf3 h5! 42.Rg1+! Kh6 43.Ke4 g6 44.Rb6 Nh4 45.c5 Rd8! 46.Re1 Nf5! 47.Rg1 Rd4+! 48.Kf3 Nh4+! 49.Ke3 Nf5+!, 1/2 -- 1/2. (29,29)
[White must allow the perpetual, since he would lose after 50.Kf3 Nh4+ 51.Kg3?? Rd3+! 52.Kxh4 Rh2#. A fascinating game, but perhaps something of a lucky escape for Black. I think that in a slower time control game, Patrick would have found a way to win the ending, against Black's best efforts.]

[Frank Dixon]

Simon Gladstone (2152), Queen's U. 'A' -- NM Keith MacKinnon (2280), McGill U. 'A'
Kingston 2016, played Jan. 10
University Team Championship, Championship section, rd. 5 of 5
Queen's University 'A' vs McGill University 'A', bd. 3 of 4
Organizer: Queen's University Chess Club, Simon Gladstone
TD: Tyler Longo; Assistant TD: NTD Frank Dixon
Time controls: G/90' + 30"
Scandinavian, B01
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Qd6
[Starting in the 1980s, GM David Bronstein (1924-2006) was the main pioneer of this Queen retreat in the Scandinavian. Previously, the Queen transfer to a5 was almost universal; occasionally, the retreat to d8 was seen. GM Bronstein, a world-class player for some 30 years (twice Soviet co-champion, winner of two Interzonals; he drew the 1951 World Championship match over 24 games), was also an influential openings researcher, across many variations; he also frequently played the delayed capture on d5 with the N/f6, which was rare at the top level until his success with it.]
5.Bc4 a6 6.a4 Bg4 7.d3 Nc6 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Bg6 10.Be3 e6 11.Nd2 Qe5 12.Qe2 Nd4 13.Bxd4 Qxd4
[It's interesting to see two strong players here avoiding main lines in this variation, and aiming for imbalance and to keep pieces on the board, where there are many games which have seen Black initiate frequent exchanges of minor pieces.]
14.Nb3 Qf4 15.Qe3 Qd6 16.O-O-O h5 17.g5 Nd7 18.d4 h4 19.Be2 O-O-O
[The Scandinavian is one of only a few openings where double Q-side castling occurs fairly often; others include certain Caro-Kann lines, and certain Sicilian lines (both Open and Closed), and, interestingly, the King's Gambit!]
20.Kb1 Qxe3 21.fxe3 Bb4 22.Bd3 Bh5 23.Ne2 Be7 24.Rhg1 Nb6 25.Rdf1! Nxa4 26.Nf4! Nb6 27.g6! Bxg6 28.Bxg6 fxg6 29.Nxe6!
{White has recovered his temporarily sacrificed pawn, and now has significant Kingside pressure.]
29...Rd6 30.Rxg6 Re8 31.e4! Bf6 32.d5!
[White is now clearly better, and Black does not sufficiently appreciate his back-rank weakness.]
32...Re7??
[Instead, 32...Kb8 would leave Black worse, but still in the game.]
33.Rff6!!, 1-0.
[On 33...gxf6 34.Rg8+ would mate in a few moves.]

[Frank Dixon]

Frank Dixon (1930) -- Dan de Castro (1800)
Kingston 1990, played Mar. 26
Kingston Chess Club Championship, Section A, rd. 7 of 10
TD: Dr. James Cairns; Assistant TD: Gerald de Lugt
Time controls: 40/120', 20'60', SD/60'
Janowski Indian, A53
Clock times in brackets
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 Bf5
[This unusual line is known as the Janowski Indian, named for David Janowski, a Polish / French world-class player from the 1890s to the 1920s. He was known for gambit play and sharp tactics, and contested two World Championship Matches against holder Dr. Emanuel Lasker, but was crushed in both of them. That was the era when World Champions could select their own Match opponents; Janowski had a wealthy financial backer, Pierre Nardus, who arranged the stakes. Lasker bypassed more worthy foes, notably Akiba Rubinstein, who would have likely given him a much better challenge, but who could not raise sufficient match stakes to interest Lasker.]
4.Qb3!?
[As of 2026, there are 845 games available at 365chess.com after Black's third. The three main moves are: a) 4.f3 {347 games}; b) 4.Nf3 {220 games}; c) 4.g3 {200 games}. The other seven tries total only 78 games among them. The most successful try is in fact 4.Qb3 (of course I had no idea of this at the time!), but it is based on only 16 games!]
4...Qc8
[I had known Dan, in his late 20s, for a couple of years, having met him at a coffee shop, playing chess! We got together every couple of weeks for chess. New to organized chess when we met, he had made rapid progress, entering his first CFC event a few weeks after we had met. He had earned an 1800 rating by early 1990, and organized a summer invitational in Kingston, with some help from me, shortly after this game! He was also a talented soccer goalie! He had met his future wife in Kingston in late 1989, and after they moved to Toronto, Dan raised his rating over 2000, some four years after joining the CFC!]
5.Bg5
[In Muse -- Romanishin, Berlin 1999, the game went 5.Nf3 g6 6.Nh4 Bd7 7.e4 Bg7 8.Nf3 O-O, and White, an IM, won in 40 moves over a close-to-world-class GM opponent. In a very rare Master game with the text, Zhu Chen (2447) 1/2 Aleksandra Dimitrijevic (2323), Doha 2014, continued 5...Nbd7 6.Nf3. Both games are at 365chess.com.]
5...Nbd7 6.f3 Nb6 (7,15) 7.e4 Bd7 8.c5!?
[This is unbalancing. A more normal try would be 8.Bd3, intending Nge2 and O-O, with a nice position for White.]
8...dxc5 9.dxc5 Be6! 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.Nb5!? Ne5?!
[I think Black needed to play 11...g6, with a somewhat worse but more playable position; much time has been lost with the knights reshuffling.]
12.Bf4 Nfd7 13.Rd1 c6 (25,35) 14.Nd4! Qc7 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Qc3 O-O-O!? 17.Bc4! Nd3+!? 18.Qxd3 Qxf4 19.Bxe6 Qc7 (48,71)
[Castling long and the exchange of one set of minors have eased Black's cramp somewhat, but White has now won a pawn, and the B/e6 will cause major headaches, holding back Black's counterplay tries. White is much better.]
20.b4 h5 21.Nh3 Rh6 22.Ng5 h4 (58,83)
[Dan is certainly using his clock time well, to try to find the best moves, and he had made huge progress on this aspect, since we met. However, here Black's tough position makes it difficult to attain much, against the strong pressure I was attempting to maintain.]
23.Bg4!
[Vacating e6 to bring the knight there, with a win of the Exchange in prospect.]
23...Rf6 24.Ne6 Rxe6 25.Bxe6 g5 26.O-O Bg7 27.Rd2 Be5 (66,89) 28.Rfd1! Bxh2+
[At last creating some potential threats around White's King; I now needed to be careful.]
29.Kf1 Qg3
[Looks somewhat dangerous, but in fact White has a forced win.]
30.Bxd7+ Kb8 31.Qe2 Rf8 32.Bg4!, 1-0. (74,102).
[White guards his Kingside, and, a rook up, now threatens 33.Rd8+ Rxd8 34.Rxd8+ Kc7 35.Rc8#.]