The King is a fighting piece. Use it!
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[Event "1993 Golden Knights Postal Tournament"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1993.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Hayes, David"]
[Black "Murrell, Brian"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2028"]
[ECO "E87"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "1556"]
{ This game is from the first round of the 1993 Golden knights Postal
Tournament. My opponent was over 500 rating points higher than myself at that
time. Fortunately, he allowed me to build up a strong position, but with no
clear way to break through. A piece sacrifice opened his king's fortification
for a clear advantage. The final position reveals a mate in 8. } 1. d4 { E87:
King's Indian: Saemisch: 6...e5 7 d5 } 1... Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 { This move controls g4 preventing a timely attack by Nf6-g4 after white posts
his bishop on e3 and queen on d2. } 5... O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Nh5 8. Qd2 f5 9. O-O-O a6 { With this move, black prepares a Queen side pawn storm beginning with b5.
Therefore, Nge2 is unacceptable now because it blocks the Bishop on f1. So
how is the King's Knight to develop? Black should have locked up the King
side first with 9... f4. } 10. exf5 gxf5 11. Bh6 Nd7 12. Bxg7 Nxg7 13. f4 $1 { Making way for the knight to go to f3. } 13... Qf6 14. Nf3 { The Knight develops to
its ideal square on f3. Black opts to block the center and gain space with
14... e4. However, this leaves an excellent hole on d4, and is inconsistent
with black's plans for an early b5. } 14... e4 15. Nd4 Re8 16. Qe3 { The e-pawn has
become dangerous and must be blockaded ala Nimzovich. } 16... Nf8 { The losing move.
This knight could have supported a queen side attack against the white king
by moving to c5 instead. Now black's position is passive. White can build his
position without fear of counter play by black. } 17. h3 Ng6 18. Be2 h5 19. Rdf1 h4 $6 { Where is this Pawn going? } 20. Rhg1 Kf7 { Black's king feels the
heat of white's rook through 3 pieces! } 21. g4 hxg3 22. Rxg3 Rh8 23. Rfg1 Rh6 24. Nxe4 $1 { Finally, the position is good enough for a piece sacrifice. This
blow rocks the tower around black's king. Space does not permit the
documentation of every variation, so here is the anticipated main line. 24...
fxe4 25. f5! Bxf5 26. Qxh6 Qxd4 27. Rxg6 Bxg6 28. Qxg6+ Kf8 29. h4! Qe3+ 30.
Kb1 Qd4 forced 31. h5 where the h-pawn demonstrates its royal ambition. } 24... Qh4 25. Ng5+ Kf6 26. Nge6 { Perhaps even stronger is 26. Ndf3 where 26... Qxf4
leads to mate in 5, and 26... Qh5 is just as ugly after 27. Qc3+. } 26... Nxe6 27. Nxe6 Bd7 28. Rxg6+ { Holding a knife against the king's throat, I announce a
mate in eight that can be delayed only by the sacrifice of his queen. } 28... Rxg6 29. Rxg6+ Kxg6 30. Qg1+ Qg4 31. Bxg4 Rg8 32. Bh5+ Kh7 33. Ng5+ Kh6 34. Bf7 Rf8 35. Qd4 Rxf7 36. Qh8+ Kg6 37. h4 Rg7 38. h5+ Kf6 39. Qf8+ Rf7 40. Qxf7# { Well... OK, it is really mate in 12. } 1-0