St.George DefenseC00

FM Kevin Denny (2316)
FM Philip Corbin (2232)

Subzonal Ajedrez
Venezuela, 2001


1. e4 e6 2. d4 a6










Well so much for my preparation. Philip and I have been rivals for years, and even though he is famous for his eccentric openings, this one still came as an almighty shock. To my Knowledge he has never played the St. George before, and whilst it is not as bad as its reputation (Tony Miles once beat Anatoly Karpov with it) I wouldn't call it respectable either, still one should not underestimate the element of surprise. 3. Nf3 b5 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O c5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 Qb6 8. a4 Nc6 9. axb5 axb5 10. Rxa8+ Bxa8 11. Na3 cxd4 12. Nxb5 dxc3 13. Qa4 Bb7 14. Be3 Qa5 15. Qxa5 Nxa5 16. Nc7+ Ke7 17. Bb6 Nc6 18. bxc3 d6 19. Rb1 Nd8 20. e5 Ne4 21. exd6+ 21. Nb5! This may even be stronger than the text. 21... Nxd6 22. Nd4 Kd7 23. Na6










23... Be7?? The text loses by force. He probably should have played 23... Bxa6 though white is still better 24. Nc5+ Kc8 25. Bxd8 Rxd8 26. Nxb7 Nxb7 27. Ba6 This pin is decisive 27... Rd7 28. Nc6 Bc5 29. Na5 Bb6 30. Bxb7+ More crushing was 30. Nc4! Bc5 31. Kf1 Leaving Black in zugzwang. 30... Rxb7 31. Nxb7 Kxb7 32. Kf1 Kc6 33. Ke2 e5 34. f3 f5 35. Kd3 h5 36. Kc4 Bc7 37. h3 g5 38. Rb5 Black should really resign here as this position is a trivial win for white, but Philip plays on for another 17 moves in hopes of a miracle. The rest of the game requires no comment. 38... Bd6 39. Ra5 g4 40. hxg4 hxg4 41. Ra6+ Kd7 42. Kd5 Bc7 43. fxg4 fxg4 44. Rg6 e4 45. Kxe4 g3 46. Kd5 Bf4 47. Rg7+ Kc8 48. Kc6 Kb8 49. c4 Ka8 50. c5 Be5 51. Re7 Bd4 52. Kd6 Bc3 53. c6 Bb4+ 54. Kd7 Bxe7 55. c7 1-0

[Kevin Denny]

Game(s) in PGN