This is almost 3 weeks old now, but while I meant to write something at the time, it slipped my mind and I only got around to it now. An unfortunate side effect of not being the Unemployed Fellow any more …
There was a great article in the NY Times about one of the chess fixture’s in the Bay Area: Michael Aigner. Take a look here for the full article.
I’ve managed to win some interesting games in our last couple encounters, but almost a decade ago, he beat me rather easily with 1.f4. At the time, I think this was his first win over an IM, but luckily for me, his win over GM Yermolinsky is the one that made the NY Times. =)
The first interesting moment in the game was after he had played 8.Qd1-e2, reaching the position below:
(FEN: rnbq1rk1/p3ppbp/1p3np1/2pp4/3P1P2/2PBPN2/PP1NQ1PP/R1B1K2R b KQ - 0 8)
I played 8…a5 here, which seems to be an inaccuracy to me now. When facing the Stonewall setup, it’s normally a good idea to try and exchange the bishop not hampered by his own pawns, but there are a few points against …a5 here.
There and Back Again 