ODT130528

=**Bjelobrk wins Oceania Zonal**=




 * Problem:** White to play and mate in 4.

The 2013 Oceania Zone Championship was held in Fijian at the Sonaisali Island resort earlier this month. The winner of the open section was FM Igor Bjelobrk, fomerly a New Zealand representative, but playing for Australia since moving to Sydney over a decade ago. Bjelobrk gains an automatic International Master title and entry to the FIDE World Cup tournament in Tromso, Norway later in the year. In a replay of same event two years ago, IM Irina Berezina won the Womens' Championship in a playoff after tying for first with fellow Australian, WIM Emma Guo.

Bjelobrk's victory came as a result of sound opening preparation and tactical acuity, for example in his crucial last-round win against top seed GM Darryl Johansen. Today's instructive game is the one exeption, being Bjelobrk's only loss in the event. Playing White against Australian teenager Justin Tan in the fifth round, a single slip in a dominating position hands his young opponent a winning attack. media type="custom" key="25083506" Black meets the English Opening with a Queen's Gambit Declined formation, which resembles a Catalan without the move d4 by White. White has been playing to win the a-file for his rook and exploit Black's queenside pawn weakness at the cost of delayed development. He can't be complacent here, as 8 Bg2? Bc5! threatens 9...Bb7 winning the queen and forces 9 Qe4 Bb7 10 Qc2 gaining an extra tempo over the game. Black's interests lie on the kingside. He needn't defend his b-pawn as 14 Nxb5? Bxf3 loses a piece, while pushing the white knight around with 13... b4 14 Nb1 will only serve to give it a nice outpost on c4. A thematic idea in this type of position. The exchange of bishops creates holes in the White kingside, but also the weakened Black queenside. At the same time White takes control of the e4 square. White's control of the a- and c-files will tell in the endgame, so Black strives to create kingside threats with knight, queen and advancing f-pawn. White could delay the idea by 19 Nde4 f5? 20 Qb3+ winning the exchange, but 19...Be7 20 Nf3 f5 gets the black pawns moving. The white queen's infiltration can't be stopped, as 21...Rc8? 22 Qb3+ wins a pawn. On the verge of gaining a significant advantage, White makes a tactical oversight. Instead 25 Rb7! Rxb7 26 Qxb7 threatens 27 Qxb5 and if 26... f4, then 27 Rc8! Rxc8 28 Qxc8+ Qd8 29 Qxd8+ Nxd8 30 Ne4 is a winning ending. Faced with the double threat of 27...Qxh3+ and 27....Rf7 skewering the queen and rook, White makes another mistake, this time fatal. Two moves offered better defensive chances: 27 h4!? Rf7 28 Qxf7 Rxf7 29 Rxf7, with the idea of doubling rooks on the 7th rank and 27 Nf3! Qxh3+ (27...Rf7 28 Qxg5 Qxg5 29 Rxf7 is similar to the above line) 28 Kg1 Nxf3+ 29 exf3 Qh6 and the active white pieces compensate for the pawn minus. An important intermezzo, which White must have overlooked. The queen is pushed to a square where she can only observe the coming attack. Or if 30 g4 keeping the f-file closed, 30... Qxg4+ 31 Kf1 f3 32 e3 Nh3 33 Ke1 Nxf2! with a killer passed pawn. White resigned, not waiting for 32 Ng3 Nh3+ 33 Kf1 Rxf2+ 34 Ke1 Qxg3 etc.
 * 1.Nf3 d5**
 * 2.c4 e6**
 * 3.g3 dxc4**
 * 4.Qa4+ Nd7**
 * 5.Qxc4 a6**
 * 6.a4 b5**
 * 7.Qc6 Rb8**
 * 8.Qc2 ---**
 * 8.--- Bb7**
 * 9.Bg2 Ngf6**
 * 10.d3 Bd6**
 * 11.axb5 axb5**
 * 12.Nc3 0-0**
 * 13.0-0 e5**
 * 14.Bg5 Nc5**
 * 15.Nd2! ---**
 * 15.--- Bxg2**
 * 16.Kxg2 Ne6**
 * 17.Nce4 Nxg5**
 * 18.Nxg5 Ng4!**
 * 19.Nge4 f5**
 * 20.Nxd6 cxd6**
 * 21.Ra7 Kh8**
 * 22.Qc7 Qf6**
 * 23.h3 Nh6**
 * 24.Rc1 Nf7**
 * 25.Qe7? ---**
 * 25.--- Qh6!**
 * 26.Rc2 Ng5**
 * 27.Rd7? ---**
 * 27.--- Rbe8!**
 * 28.Qxd6 Qxh3+**
 * 29.Kg1 f4!**
 * 30.gxf4 ---**
 * 30.--- Rxf4**
 * 31.Nf1 Qg4+**


 * 0-1**


 * Solution:** 1 Nd5+ Kf8 (1... Ke8 2 Qe7#; 1...Kd7 2 Qe7+ Kc6 3 Qd6+ Kb7 4 Qb6#) 2 Qe7+ Kg7 (2...Kg8 3 Nf6+ Kg7 4 h6#) 3 h6+ Kg8 4 Nf6#.