Corrales and Brattain Win in Indianpolis

GM Fidel Corrales and SM Mika Brattain won the 14th Annual Indianapolis Open (August 23-25, Indianapolis) with a score of 4.5-0.5, each taking home a first place prize of $1300. Corrales also won an extra $100 for better tiebreaks. This year’s event was one of the largest in the tournament’s history. 225 players in six sections fought it out for their share of the $15,000 prize fund. The 39 players in the major section included two GMs, three FMs, and a total of 13 players rated over 2200. There were a few upsets in the opening two rounds, but the top players for the most part avoided surrendering any points to lower rated players. Headed to the merge, there were seven players with perfect scores: GMs Alex Lenderman & Fidel Corrales, SM Mika Brattain, FM Gabriel Petesch, NM Dimitar Mardov, Deshawn Kelley and Jonathan Gollapudi. The GMs both won, but all the other players drew. GM Lenderman defeated FM Petesch and GM Corrales defeated NM Mardov in a what he believes was his best game of the tournament. Corrales graciously annotated several of his best games for CLO.

[pgn]

[Event "Indianapolis Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.24"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Corrales Jimenez, Fidel"]
[Black "Mardov , Dimitar A"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2008"]
[Annotator "gmcor"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2018.10.12"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.10.04"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 (5. Nc3 b5 6. Bd3) 5... Qc7 6.
O-O Nf6 7. Qe2 d6 (7... d5 8. e5 Nfd7 9. f4) (7... Nc6 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. e5) 8.
c4 Be7 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. b3 (10. f4 O-O 11. Kh1 b6 12. Bd2 Bb7 13. b4 Rac8 14.
Rac1 Rfe8 15. Qe3 g6 16. Qh3 Qb8 17. f5 exf5 18. exf5 Ne5 19. fxg6 hxg6 20. Nf5
Nfg4 21. Be2 gxf5 22. Rxf5 Qa8 23. Bxg4 Rxc4 24. Bf3 Rh4 25. Qg3+ Kh8 26. Bg5
Rh7 27. Bxe7 Rxe7 28. Bxb7 Rxb7 29. Ne4 Rb8 30. Rxe5 dxe5 31. Qxe5+ Rg7 32. Rc3
Kg8 33. Nf6+ {1-0 (33) Gonzalez Vidal,Y (2550)-Pichot,A (2504) Montevideo 2015}
) 10... O-O (10... Nxe4) (10... b5 11. Bb2 (11. cxb5 Qxc3 12. Bb2 Qc7 13. Rfc1
Qb6 14. Nc6) 11... bxc4 12. Bxc4) 11. Bb2 b6 12. Rad1 (12. f4 Bb7 13. Kh1 Rfe8
14. Rae1 Rad8 15. Bb1 Bf8 16. Nf3 g6 17. Qf2 Qc5 18. Qh4 Qh5 19. Qg3 Qg4 20.
Qf2 Qxf4 21. Bc1 Qg4 22. Ng5 Qh5 23. Bd3 Re7 24. Be2 Ng4 (24... Qh6 25. Nxe6)
25. Bxg4 Qxg4 26. Nxf7 Rb8 27. Bg5 Rbe8 (27... Ree8 28. Nh6+ Bxh6 29. Qf7+ Kh8
30. Bxh6 Rg8 31. Qxd7) 28. Bxe7 Rxe7 29. Nxd6 Bc6 30. Nc8 Rg7 31. Nxb6 Bb4 32.
Nxd7 Rxd7 33. Qb6 Rd2 34. Rg1 Bxc3 35. Qxc6 Be5 36. Ref1 Kg7 37. Qc5 Bd6 38.
Qa7+ Kg8 39. e5 {1-0 (39) Andreikin,D (2719)-Liang,J (2452) China 2018}) 12...
Bb7 13. f4 Rfe8 14. g4 Nc5 (14... g6 15. f5 (15. g5 Nh5 16. Qg4) 15... exf5 16.
gxf5 Bf8 17. Qf2 Bg7 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Ne5 20. Be2 Neg4 21. Bxg4 Nxg4 22.
Qf3 Ne5 23. Qg2 Qe7 24. f6 Bxf6 25. Nc6 Nxc6 26. Bxf6 Qe3+ 27. Kh1 Ne5 28. Rde1
Qh6 29. Re4 Nd7 30. Rh4 Qe3 31. Bd4 Qd3 32. Kg1 Re2 33. Qg5 Re4 34. Rxe4 Qxe4
35. Rf4 Qe1+ 36. Rf1 Qe8 37. Qg3 Qe4 38. Rf4 Qe7 39. Rf3 b5 40. Re3 Qf8 41. Qg4
Qd8 42. Qf4 Qf8 43. Qg4 Rd8 44. Qe2 bxc4 45. bxc4 Qh6 46. Re8+ Rxe8 47. Qxe8+
Nf8 48. Qe3 Qxe3+ 49. Bxe3 Nd7 50. Bd4 f6 51. Kf2 Kf7 52. Kg3 g5 53. h4 Kg6 54.
Be3 Kf5 55. h5 Ke4 56. Bc1 Ne5 57. h6 Nxc4 58. Kg4 Ne5+ 59. Kh5 Kf5 60. a4 Nd3
61. a5 Nf4+ {0-1 (61) Makoveev,I (2290)-Rozum,I (2568) Kazan 2019}) (14... h6
15. h3 (15. h4 h5 16. g5 (16. gxh5) 16... Ng4) (15. g5 hxg5 16. fxg5 Nh7 17. g6
fxg6 (17... Nhf6 18. gxf7+ Kxf7 19. Nxe6 (19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Qh3 Nf8 21. Nxe6)
19... Kxe6) 18. Nxe6)) 15. g5 Nfd7 (15... Nxd3 16. Rxd3 Nd7 17. Qh5 (17. Rh3)
17... g6 18. Qh6 (18. Qxh7+ Kxh7 19. Rh3+ Kg8)) 16. Bb1 Nf8 17. Qh5 b5 (17...
g6 18. Qh6 Ncd7 (18... b5) (18... Qd8) (18... Qd7 19. Nd5 exd5 20. Qg7+ (20.
Nf5 Nce6 21. Nxe7+ Qxe7 22. cxd5) 20... Kxg7 21. Nf5+ Kg8 22. Nh6#)) 18. f5 e5
(18... exf5 19. Nxf5) 19. f6 (19. Nde2 bxc4 20. f6 Bd8 21. fxg7 Ng6) 19... exd4
20. Nd5 Bxd5 21. exd5 Ng6 22. Bxd4 (22. Rxd4 Qd7) 22... Nd7 (22... Bf8 23. Rf4
$1 (23. Rf3 Ne4) 23... Re5 24. Rh4 h6 25. Bxe5 Nxe5 26. fxg7 Bxg7 27. gxh6) 23.
fxg7 (23. fxe7 Rxe7) 23... Nde5 24. Rxf7 Nxf7 (24... Kxf7 25. Qxh7 Rg8 26. Rf1+
) 25. Bxg6 Nxg5 (25... hxg6 26. Qh8+ Nxh8 27. gxh8=Q+ Kf7 28. Rf1+) 26. Bxe8
Qc8 27. Bg6 Nh3+ (27... Qh3 28. Bf7+ (28. Bxh7+ Nxh7 29. Qxh3)) 28. Kh1 1-0

[/pgn]

Because Brattain and Kelley drew and Gollapudi drew with Stephen Adams, only the two GMs had perfect scores heading into Sunday. Lenderman had white versus Corrales and was playing to win, but Corrales held his own and was probably just a little bit better when they agreed to a draw just prior to move 30.

[pgn]

[Event "Indianapolis Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.25"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Lenderman, Aleksander"]
[Black "Corrales Jimenez, Fidel"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A33"]
[WhiteElo "2654"]
[BlackElo "2537"]
[Annotator "gmcor"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2018.10.12"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.10.04"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. a3 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8.
Nxc6 bxc6 9. Qc2 Be7 10. Bd2 (10. e4 Nxc3) 10... O-O 11. e4 Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Qb6
13. Be2 Ba6 14. O-O Rfd8 15. Rad1 Bb5 (15... Rxd1 16. Rxd1 Bxe2 (16... Rd8 17.
Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. Bxa6 Qxa6 19. Qd2 (19. Qd1)) 17. Qxe2 Rd8 18. Rxd8+ Qxd8 19. g3
Bf6 (19... Bc5) 20. Qc4 (20. Bxf6 Qxf6) 20... Bxc3 21. Qxc3 Qd6 22. b4 f6 23.
h4 Qd1+ 24. Kg2 Qd7 25. Qc5 Kf7 26. h5 Kg8 27. a4 Kf7 28. a5 Kg8 $14) 16. g3 (
16. Rxd8+ Rxd8 17. Rd1 Bc5 (17... Qc5) (17... Rxd1+ 18. Qxd1 Bc5 19. Qe1 Bd4)
18. Rxd8+ Qxd8) 16... Qa6 17. Bxb5 (17. Rfe1 Rxd1 (17... Bxe2 18. Rxd8+ Rxd8
19. Qxe2 Qxe2 20. Rxe2 Rd3 21. Rc2) 18. Bxd1 Rd8 19. Be2 Bc5 20. Bxb5 cxb5 21.
Bxg7 Bxf2+ 22. Qxf2 Kxg7) 17... cxb5 18. Qe2 Qa4 19. Qg4 Bf8 20. h4 (20. Bf6
Rxd1 21. Rxd1 h5 (21... b4 22. axb4 h5 23. Qxh5 gxf6) 22. Qxh5 gxf6 23. Rd7
Qxe4 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Qxf6+ Kg8 26. Qf7+ (26. Rd4) 26... Kh8) 20... a5 21. h5
h6 (21... b4 22. Bxg7 Bxg7 23. h6) 22. Be5 b4 23. axb4 axb4 24. Qf3 Qa5 25. Bf4
Qa2 26. b3 Qc2 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Rc1 Qd3 29. Qxd3 Rxd3 30. Rc8 (30. e5 Rxb3 31.
Rc8 Rb1+ 32. Kg2 b3 33. Rb8 b2 34. Bd2 Kh7 35. Bc3 Ba3 36. Rb6 g5 37. g4 Kg7)
30... f6 (30... Rxb3 31. Bd6) 31. Be3 Kf7 (31... Kf7 32. Rc7+ Ke8 33. Rc8+ Kf7
34. Rc7+ Ke8 35. Rc8+ Kf7 36. Rc7+ Ke8 37. Rc8+ Kf7) 1/2-1/2

[/pgn]

The draw on board one allowed Brattain to catch up as he defeated Gollapudi. In the final round, Lenderman would have black against Brattain. Corrales had a more favorable pairing, as he was paired down to NM Justin Storn and had white. Brittain defeated Lenderman and assured himself of at least a tie for first.

[pgn]

[Event "Indianapolis Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.25"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Brattain, Mika"]
[Black "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2743"]
[BlackElo "2528"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. g3 d5 5. Bg2 O-O 6. cxd5 exd5 7. a3 Be7 8. Nh3
c6 9. Nf4 Na6 10. O-O Nc7 11. f3 c5 12. Be3 b6 13. Bf2 Bb7 14. Qc2 cxd4 15.
Bxd4 Ne6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. f4 Bc5 18. e3 Rc8 19. Qe2 Qe7 20. Rad1 Bc6 21. Kh1
Rcd8 22. Rfe1 Be8 23. e4 Bh5 24. Bxf6 Qe8 25. g4 Rxf6 26. gxh5 d4 27. e5 Rxf4
28. Ne4 Be7 29. Qc4 Qf7 30. Rxd4 Rf8 31. Nf6+ 1-0

[/pgn]

Lenderman was very gracious in defeat. His philosophy was that he was working on his game, and it was better to make mistakes in this event rather than the two GM events coming up on his schedule. Corrales defeated Storn to also tie for first.

[pgn]

[Event "Indianapolis Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.25"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Corrales Jimenez, Fidel"]
[Black "Storn, Justin Thomas"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2537"]
[BlackElo "2028"]
[Annotator "gmcor"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2018.10.12"]
[SourceVersionDate "2006.10.04"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d4
Nxd4 (8... exd4 9. Nxd4) 9. Nxd4 (9. Bg5) 9... exd4 10. e5 Ne8 11. Qxd4 d6 (
11... c5 12. Qe4 Rb8 13. c4 Bb7 14. Qg4 bxc4 15. Bxc4) 12. c4 dxe5 (12... c5
13. Qe4 Rb8 14. Bf4 (14. exd6) (14. cxb5 axb5 15. Bf4 dxe5) (14. Bc2 g6 15. Bh6
Ng7 16. cxb5 axb5 17. Nc3 Bf5 18. Qe2 Bxc2 19. Qxc2 dxe5 (19... d5)) 14... bxc4
) 13. Qxe5 Bd6 14. Qg5 Nf6 15. cxb5 axb5 (15... Re8) 16. Nc3 h6 (16... c6 17.
Bf4 h6 18. Qh4 g5 19. Bxg5 hxg5 20. Qxg5+ Kh8 21. Qh6+ Nh7 22. Rad1) 17. Qxb5
Ng4 18. g3 Nxh2 19. Bd5 c6 20. Qxc6 Ra5 21. Be3 (21. Kxh2 Qh4+ 22. Kg1 Bxg3 23.
Bf3 (23. Be3)) 21... Ra6 22. Qc4 Ng4 23. Rad1 Ne5 24. Qe2 Ra5 (24... Bg4 25. f3
Bf5) 25. Bg2 Bg4 26. f3 Be6 27. Ne4 Bd5 (27... Rd5 28. Rxd5 (28. Nxd6 Qxd6)
28... Bxd5) 28. Nxd6 Qxd6 29. f4 Nc6 30. Bb6 Qb8 31. Bxa5 Bxg2 32. Qxg2 (32.
Kxg2 Nxa5 33. b3 Nc6) 1-0

[/pgn]

Both Brattain and Corrales added to their winnings by tying for the mixed doubles prize, and Corrales added even more by taking second place in the blitz tournament. The section winners were: U2000 Ben Boaz, 4.5-0.5, $1200 U1800 Eric Henry, 4.5-0.5, $1200 U1600 Nick Romeo & Ben Finkel, 4.5-0.5, $800 U1400 Travis Daniel, 4.5-0.5, $900 U1100 Daniel Kim, 4.5-0.5, $700 Mixed Doubles GM Fidel Corrales & Celina Zhou and Mika Brattain & Sneha Prebu, 7.5 points, $150 to each player Blitz FM Gabriel Petesch 7-1, $95 NTD David Hater directed for Continental Chess assisted by Bill Buklis and Nicholas Ostroskiy. Previous Continental Chess tournaments can be found at the Continental Chess website at http://www.chesstour.com/cross.html.