Ali vs. Andrew Rafs

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[Event "Asheboro Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.11.14"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Andrew Rafs"]
[Black "Ali Mirzazadeh"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "1540"]
[BlackELO "1503"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bf4 Qb6 5. Qc2 g6 6. Nbd2 Bf5 7. Qb3 Qxb3 8.
axb3 Nbd7 9. h3 Nb6 10. b4 Bg7 11. Be5 O-O 12. g4 Bc2 13. Rc1 Be4 14. Nxe4
Nxe4 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. e3 a5 17. b5 a4 18. Bd3 Nd6 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. Ne5 Nbc4
21. Bxc4 Nxc4 22. Nxc4 dxc4 23. Ra1 Rfb8 24. Ra3 Rxb2 25. O-O Rb3 26. Rfa1
Kf6 27. Kg2 Ke6 28. Kf3 f6 29. R1a2 Kd6 30. Ke2 c5 31. Kd2 cxd4 32. cxd4 Rxa3
33. Rxa3 Kd5 34. f3 e5 35. Kc3 exd4+ 36. exd4 h5 37. h4 f5 38. gxh5 gxh5 39.
f4 Ra7 40. Ra1 a3 41. Re1 a2 42. Ra1 Ra8 43. Kc2 Kxd4 44. Kd2 c3+ 45. Kc2 Ra7
46. Rd1+ Kc4 47. Ra1 Ra8 48. Kc1 Kd3 49. Kd1 c2+ 50. Kc1 Kc3 51. Rb1 axb1=Q#
0-1

Ali vs. Walter High

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[Event "Asheboro Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.11.14"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Ali Mirzazadeh"]
[Black "Walter High"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "1503"]
[BlackELO "1399"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6
8. Be2 h6 9. Nxf7 Kxf7 10. O-O Be6 11. b3 Qc7 12. Bb2 Bd6 13. g3 c5 14. Nc3
Qc6 15. d3 Rad8 16. Bf3 Qd7 17. Ne4 Qe7 18. c4 Nc6 19. Nxf6 gxf6 20. Bxc6 h5
21. Qf3 Bg4 22. Bd5+ Ke8 23. Qe3 h4 24. Rac1 hxg3 25. fxg3 Qh7 26. Rc2 Qh5
27. Rxf6 1-0

Ali vs. Jens Koeplinger

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[Event "Asheboro Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.11.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Jens Koeplinger"]
[Black "Ali Mirzazadeh"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "1370"]
[BlackELO "1503"]

1. e4 c5 2. a3 Nc6 3. b4 b6 4. b5 Ne5 5. Bb2 Ng6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Nf3 Bb7 8. d3
Nf6 9. O-O Be7 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Ng5 d5 12. exd5 exd5 13. Ba2 d4 14. Nce4 Nxe4
15. Nxe4 Kh8 16. f4 f5 17. Ng3 Bd6 18. Qd2 Qh4 19. Ne2 Qg4 20. Rf2 Nh4 21.
Kf1 Bxg2+ 22. Ke1 Nf3+ 23. Rxf3 Qxf3 24. Kd1 Qf1+ 25. Qe1 Qxe1+ 26. Kxe1 Rae8
27. Kd2 Bf3 28. Re1 Rxe2+ 29. Rxe2 Bxe2 30. Kxe2 Bxf4 31. h3 Be5 32. a4 f4
33. Kf3 h5 34. Bc1 g5 35. Bd2 g4+ 36. hxg4 hxg4+ 37. Kxg4 f3 38. Be1 f2 39.
Bxf2 Rxf2 40. Bb3 Rf4+ 41. Kg5 Kg7 0-1

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[Event "Greensboro Open IX"]
[Site "Bennett College"]
[Date "2015.4.11"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Scott Plaster"]
[Black "Borge Carpen"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 {After his c5, I follow with the usual steps for the Gran Prix
attack. } 2... Nc6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 e6 6. d3 Nge7 7. Nb5 {Here, I
was eyeing d6 for a fork on his king and bishop. It turned out to be a
blunder. } 7... d5 {Here, if I retreat my knight to c3, not only will I waste
a move, but he will probably check with his Queen at d5, then exploit the pin
by moving his pawn to d4. I calculated that I was going to lose this knight no
matter what. } 8. Nd6+!? {Why not lose the Knight on my own terms?} 8... Qxd6
{He's forced to take, then I have logical pawn push, attacking his Queen
(hopefully to save my bishop. } 9. e5 Qd7 10. Bb5 {After he moves his Queen, I
pin the Knight. } 10... a6 11. Bxc6 {Trade it off. } 11... Qxc6 12. O-O O-O
{Here I am very worried about his pawn pushing to d4, opening up the long
h1-a8 diagonal. I'm also noticing the fork opportunity at e3. } 13. g4 {This
move protects the f5 square, while preparing for pushing pawns to his King
side. } 13... b6 14. b3 Bb7 {He sets up his attack on the long diagonal. }
15. d4 {This pawn move blocks his pawn on d5. If he takes, then he'll have his
own pawn to block him. } 15... Rad8? 16. Bb2 {I prepare for his take on d4.}
16... a5 17. a4 {I'm mainly delaying here. } 17... Ba6 18. Rf2 {...defending
g2. } 18... c4 19. Ba3 {...Eyeing e7 (and the fork). } 19... Qc7 20. Bd6
{...attacks the Queen. } 20... Qd7 21. Qe2 {...pinning the black pawn on c4.
} 21... Rc8 22. Rb1 {x-ray attack on his b6 pawn. } 22... Rc6 23. c3 Re8 24.
Bxe7 {I feel rushed here, and soon regret this trade. I should have probably
backed my bishop up to a3. } 24... Qxe7 25. h4 {Time is running low here. I
prepare for a pawn storm on his castled King. } 25... h6 26. h5 {I'm preparing
to bring my Knight, Queen, and Rook in, but first I need to bust a lane open.
} 26... Rf8 27. g5 {At this point, I have around 4 minutes remaining, while my
opening has around 10. } 27... b5 {My opponent creates a diversion on the
opposite side. } 28. hxg6 {Is this the right pawn to take first. This is the
FIRST pawn capture in the entire game! I calculate that if he retakes g5, the
lane is open. If he advances his pawn to h5, my Rook can attack. } 28... fxg6
29. Rh2 h5 30. Nh4 {...Eyeing g6. } 30... Qe8 31. Qc2 {Doubling up on g6. }
31... Rxf4 {Nice attack, but I still eye g6. } 32. Nxg6 {I anticipate his
check on g4, but am prepared. } 32... Rg4+ 33. Kh1 Rxg5 34. Rg1 {I have only
1:30 left here. I protect the knight by offering a Rook trade. } 34... Rxg1
35. Kxg1 cxb3 36. Qb1 Rxc3 {I have :17 seconds left here. } 37. Ne7+ {I try to
gain tempo with check, and opening up the b1-h7 diagonal. } 37... Qxe7 38.
Rxh5 {Preparing for the check on h7.} 38... Rg3+ {I anticipate this check, and
am ready for a response. } 39. Kh2 {After this move, I have :06 seconds left,
while my opponent has over a minute. He lefts his time expire!} 1-0

Atkins HS Clinches 3rd in State: Coaches Rival on the Sidelines

The local Atkins HS Chess Team coached by teacher Scott Plaster boasts the largest high school chess team in the state. They recently clinched a third-place finish in the state K-12 tournament held in Charlotte the weekend of February 13-15. Read about their finish and a friendly rivalry between coaches in this article in the Camel City Dispatch.

Clever Bishop Sack Wins!

This game between Coach Plaster and Hunter Chen demonstrates the importance of tempo on totally getting your opponent off his game! My fried liver was totally countered with a clever Bishop sack early in the game, which led to an attack that I could not survive:

[Event "Casual Game"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2015.2.10"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Plaster"]
[Black "Chen"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 {Here I'm up to my usual opening tactic. } 3...
Bc5 {I disregard the black bishop (a big mistake!)} 4. Nc3 d6 5. Nd5 {Looks
like a great outpost for my knight. } 5... Nge7 6. Ng5 {I see that the knight
on e7 is blocking the queen, so in comes my knight!} 6... Nxd5 {I'm prepared
for this take (at least I think). } 7. Nxf7 {A bold move.....I sack my knight.
The only way to save both the queen and the rook is for the king to take the
knight. When he does this, I'm prepared to take the knight and check the
king!} 7... Bxf2+ {The best laid plans ... OOPs...I had NOT expected this.
Hunter brings in his bishop for the check and the tempo!} 8. Kxf2 {I take,
after weighing the options. } 8... Qh4+ {Here's where black's attack continues
and I am in a very tough spot!} 9. Kf1 Bg4 {From this point forward, I'm too
flabbergasted to recover. I struggle awhile before I finally resign!} 10. Be2
Bxe2+ 11. Qxe2 Nd4 12. Qd3 Qf4+ 13. Ke1 Nb4 14. Rf1 Nxd3+

A Devastating See-Saw!

In this game between Coach Plaster and Daniel Winkelman, the close game gets really exciting on move 17. From there, you will see one of the most devastating "See-Saws" ever!

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[Event "Casual Game"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2015.2.16"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Plaster"]
[Black "Winkelman"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

%Created by Caissa's Web PGN Editor
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. f4 e6 4. Bd3 b6 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. e5 Bc7 7. Nb5 d5 8.
Nxc7+ Qxc7 9. Ng5 g6 10. b3 Nh6 11. Bb2 Bb7 12. O-O a6 13. f5 d4 14. fxe6
Nxe5 15. exf7+ Nhxf7 16. Nxf7 Nxf7 17. Qe2+ Qe5 {Black forces a Queen trade.
} 18. Rae1 {White would rather have Black take, and protects with the rook.
The black queen is pinned, and has no choice. } 18... Qxe2 {Take. } 19. Rxe2+
{Take with Check. } 19... Kf8 {Black walks into the pin (knight)} 20. Bc4
{Here, White exploits the pin with the bishop. } 20... a5 {Black ignores the
pin. Perhaps he's going to move his bishop to a6 to trade bishops, or play b5
to scare the white bishop off the square. } 21. Rxf7+ {Here, the magic
"See-Saw" begins. } 21... Kg8 {Black has only one move. } 22. Rxb7+ {Rook
takes Bishop, with revealed check. } 22... Kf8 {Black has only one move. }
23. Rf7+ {Check with rook again. The see-saw continues. } 23... Kg8 {Black has
only one move. } 24. Ra7+ {Rook attacks black rook, with revealed check. }
24... Kf8 {Again, black has only one move. } 25. Rxa8+ {Rook takes rook, with
check. } 25... Kg7 {Black attempts to protect his rook, but white has another
move up his sleeve. Do you see it?} 26. Re7+ {Check .... winning another rook.
} 26... Kf6 {From here, white could continue. Rf7+, winning the rook on h8,
etc. In total, with a simple "pin" -- the magic "see saw" wins a knight, a
bishop, and two rooks. Watch for this opportunity. It doesn't happen often. It
only occurs with an attacking rook on the 7th or 2nd rank. }