Sweet slice of Toronto / Ontario chess history!

[Frank Dixon]

I've got a sweet treat for chesstalk patrons! Shortly, I'll be posting several games from the 2016 Ontario HS Championship in Toronto, featuring top players' games. I've had these for ten years, but problems with some of the game scores have held up the posting until now. I've recently had a great stretch of figuring out the errors!!

First, on the event in general, and some specifics for the 2016 tournament:
1) Hosted by University of Toronto Schools, in three sections; dates April 22-23. Location: SE corner of Bloor and Spadina.
2) Format: first day with three rounds; second day with two rounds, for Championship section. Two lower sections played three rounds each day. All sections were CFC rated.
3) Organized by the Ontario High School Chess Association.
4) This tournament was started in 1968, and run annually (until COVID), usually in April or May. It has since resumed its series. But there was an earlier one held in Kingston, apparently, and won by Kingston's future NM Dr. William Doubleday (I am researching this event, held in 1965).
5) Head Organizer: Christopher Field; Head Arbiter: NTD Frank Dixon. Both Chris and I played in this event, back in the day!! Chris has been organizing it for decades now!!
6) Open to any high school student in Ontario, and to selected others (younger players with some experience, for example).
7) The game scores which I do have are courtesy of the players themselves, who answered my request to hand-copy scoresheets for selected games. Thank you!! There were no carbons made available to the players. I am posting them with a view to their inclusion in CanBase, managed by the exceptional Hugh Brodie, of Montreal.
8) Champion for 2016: NM Richard Chen, grade 9, Westmount HS, Hamilton; he scored 4.5/5 for clear first place!! I will be able to present four of his five games. I also have two games from the prodigy Anthony Atanasov, who was in grade two (!!) at the time, and is now an IM!!
9) The games I do have represent some excellent, hard-fought, interesting chess!!
10) Get ready to enjoy some unexpectedly tasty chess!!

Cheers,
Frank Dixon
NTD, Kingston

[Frank Dixon]

Brian Jiang (1597), (grade 10, Bayview, Toronto) -- NM Richard Chen (2367), (grade 9, Westmount, Hamilton)
Toronto 2016, played April 22
Ontario High School Championship, Championship section, round 1 of 5
Time controls: G/90'
Org: Ontario HS Chess Association; University of Toronto Schools
Head Organizer: Christopher Field; Head Arbiter: NTD Frank Dixon
Benko Gambit, A57
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5
[The Benko Gambit, popularized by GM Pal Benko from the late 1960s, but played at least as early as the 1930s in Sweden, in the USSR (where it is known as the Volga Gambit), and in Czechoslovakia, where it is known as the Hromadka System, for the late pioneering Master Karel Hromadka. One high-profile early game was Szabo 0-1 Stoltz, Saltsjobaden Interzonal 1948; GM Szabo was tied for first place going into the last round, while GM Stoltz was in last place! But much of the enormous popularity of the past 50 years can be attributed to GM Benko's playing success and writings; his book, the first comprehensive work in English, dates from 1971. Black sacrifices one or two pawns for queenside activity, a development advantage, and ongoing initiative. Most of the top players of the past 50 years have played it at least occasionally. GMs such as Lev Alburt, Anthony Miles, and John Fedorowicz were frequent patrons of the line, from the 1980s! Deep analysis into the middlegame has developed in several lines. GM Bobby Fischer, the 11th World Champion, played related lines several times in the mid-1960s.]
4.cxb5 a6 5.e3 g6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.bxa6 O-O 8.g3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Bxa6 10.Bg2 d6 11.Nge2 Nbd7 12.O-O Rfb8
[A fairly typical Benko Gambit position; White has kept the light-squared bishops on, but his own is passively posted at g2. I think Black has compensation for the pawn.]
13.Qc2 Ne5 14.b3 Qc7 15.Rfd1 Bd3! 16.Qc1 Nfd7 17.Nf4 Ba6
[White's c4 and d3 squares are inviting targets for Black pressure, and this game, along with many others, revolves around this theme.]
18.Bc1 c4! 19.Nce2 Nc5 20.bxc4 Bxc4 21.Nd4 Bxa2 22.Rd2 Bc4 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Rc2 Bd3! 25.Nxd3 Nexd3
[White never attained a clear, positive plan; this is quite frequent in the Benko; he was shuffling pieces around, and chasing the game from an early juncture. Black is near a winning breakthrough, and Richard shows his superb mastery of this variation, which he would use to score 2.5/3 in the event!]
26.Qd1 Qa7 27.Nc6 Qa1! 28.Qd2 Qxe1+, 0-1.

[Frank Dixon]

NM Tony (Juntao) Lin (2259), Bethune, Grade 12 -- An (Chloe) Nguyen (1586), WLM King, Grade 9
Toronto 2016, played April 22
Ontario High School Championship, Championship section, round 1 of 5
Time controls: G/90'
Org: Ontario HS Chess Association, University of Toronto Schools
Head Organizer: Christopher Field; Head Arbiter: NTD Frank Dixon
Queen's Gambit, Exchange, D35
Notes by Frank Dixon

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5
[This is a popular line at all levels, and White scores about 60 per cent with it.]
7.Qf3 Bg6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.h4
[Carlsen 1-0 Kramnik, Stavanger 2016, saw the then World Champion continue with 10.Nf3, also a major alternative here, and win a long endgame grind.]
10...Bd6 11.h5 Bf5 12.f3 Be6 13.Bd3 h6 14.Nge2 Rg8 15.Kf2 Nd7 16.g4 O-O-O 17.Rab1 Nb6 18.Rhc1 Kd7 19.b4
[Starting the thematic minority attack. White is a bit better, with more space, but Black has two bishops, with chances not to be dismissed. Black is conceding three years in experience and some 670 rating points, and puts in a brave effort to battle the young Toronto Master, the #2 seed in the event.]
19...a6 20.a4 Ra8 21.b5 axb5 22.axb5 a5!
[Now with Black's outside passed pawn, the endgame is shaping up to be very interesting!]
23.e4 Rgc8 24.exd5 Nxd5 25.Nxd5 Bxd5 26.Nc3 Bc4 27.Bf5+ Be6 28.Be4 Kc7 29.Nd5++ Kd8 30.Nxf6 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 Rb8
[White is temporarily a pawn up, but Black recovers it soon. Opposite-colored bishops might lead one to believe the game will be drawn, but White will get a more advanced King position, for a slight edge. Enough to win!? We shall see!]
32.d5 Bd7 33.Bd3 a4 34.Ra1 a3! 35.Ne4 Bf8 36.d6! Ra8 37.Bc4 f5! 38.gxf5 Bxf5 39.Ke3 Bxe4 40.fxe4 Bxd6
[As both players were now under five minutes on the clock, with no increment, as Arbiter I took over the recording task, wishing to preserve the game's record. White had a bit more time than Black.]
41.Kd4 Ke7 42.e5 Bc7 43.Ra2 Ra4 44.Kd5 b6 45.Rg2 Bxe5! 46.Ba2 Bb2! 47.Kc6 Rh4
[Black's draw offer was declined.]
48.Re2+ Kf6?
[I think Black would retain some drawing chances here, with a King transfer to the Queenside. Tough to say without detailed analysis, though.]
49.Kxb6 Rxh5 50.Kc6 Rh3 51.b6 Rc3+ 52.Kd7 Rd3+ 53.Kc6 Rc3+ 54.Kb5 Rc8
[Here, White had about 90 seconds left, Black about 30 seconds.]
55.b7 Rb8 56.Kc6 Be5 57.Re3! h5
[Winning the a-pawn, and keeping Black's King away from the passed b-pawn, are White's winning ideas.]
58.Rxa3 Re8 59.Rh3 Rh8 60.Bd5 h4 61.Be4 Bg3
[Black's last chance is to give up the passed h-pawn and NOT allow White an exchange sac against the dark-squared bishop, which guards the b8 queening square. By giving up the bishop for the new Queen on b8, Black would get the weaker side of R + B vs R, where the draw can be held with the right knowledge. However, this was too much to expect with both flags hanging. White could also bring the light-squared bishop to c8, blocking Black's rook access to b8 across the rank.]
62.Kb6 Re8 63.Bc6 Re6 64.Rxg3!
[White's position is now won, by a tempo, as Black's g-pawn will finish one move short of queening!]
64...hxg3 65.b8Q g2 66.Qf8+ Kg5 67.Qg8+ Rg6 68.Qd5+ Kh6 69.Qd2+, 1-0 (time).
[White had 15 seconds left on his clock, just enough to win an exciting battle!]