In the second qualifier, I almost beat a FIDE master, but I blew it in time trouble.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Qa4 d6 7. e5 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Bd7 9. Nxd7! The bishop pair will dominate the knights in this open position. 9... Qxd7 10. Bb5 Bg7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rd1 Qf5 13. Bd3 Qg4 14. Qxg4 Nxg4 15. Be2 Nf6 16. Be3 Nb4 17. Rd2 Rac8 18. a3 Nc6 19. Rad1 White now controls the only open file as well. 19... a6 20. Bf3 h5 21. g3 b5 22. Bg2 Ne5 23. Nd5!? This sacrifices a pawn temporarily and could be postponed. 23... Nxd5 24. Rxd5 Nc4 25. Bc5 Nxb2 26. Re1 e6?! Now Black offers an exchange sacrifice to hold onto his pawns. Better is: 26... Rfe8 27. Bxe7 Rc7 28. Rd8! Rxd8 29. Bxd8 Rd7 30. Ba5 Nc4 31. Bb4 a5 32. Re8+ Kh7 33. Be1 Nxa3 34. Bxa5 Nxc2 35. Bc6 for example, where Black is a pawn up, but White's bishops still dominate the position. 27. Bxf8 Bxf8 28. Rd7 Rxc2 29. Be4! Rc3 30. Bxg6!! Sacrificing the bishop for four pawns prepares a likely winning endgame and establishes a positional advantage that is impossible to overcome with correct play. 30... fxg6 31. Rxe6 Rc5!? It's tempting to capture on a3, but, for example 31... Rxa3?! 32. Rxg6+ Kh8 33. f4 Nc4 34. Rf6 Kg8 35. f5 Ne5 36. Rc7 Bg7 37. Re6 Rf3 38. Re8+! Kh7 39. Rxe5 shows the rook must spend too much time coming back to defend. 32. Rxg6+ Kh8 33. Rxa6 Nc4 34. Ra8 Rf5 35. Rdd8 Kg8 36. Ra7 Rf7 37. Rxf7 Kxf7 38. a4! This forces the black pawn to the a-file, where the knight will not be able to defend it as well. I started to run out of time here, but I was still finding good moves. Unfortunately, that luck was about to run out like the time. 38... bxa4 39. Ra8 a3 40. Ra6 Bb4 41. f4?? Missing the only move and winning combination: 41. Ra4! Bc3 42. Rxc4 a2 43. Ra4 a1=Q+ 44. Rxa1 Bxa1 45. Kg2 and after exchanging a pair of pawns, it is possible the connected passers are enough to win, while it is impossible for Black to do more than draw. 41... Na5 The rook is cut off from stopping the pawn. 42. Rb6? 0-1

This game was not my best-played game in the tournament, but it was still a draw against a titled player. My opponent, though a player with a very respectable title, was obviously not used to having such a short amount of time with which to conduct her best game. She missed a checkmate on the board - see position after Black's move 27 - that I didn't spot until a split second after making my move.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 Nxe4 4. Bd3 d5 5. dxe5 Be7 6. Nbd2 Nc5 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O h6 9. Re1 Bf5 10. Nf1 c6 11. Ng3 Bh7 12. Be3 Re8?! Better is 12... b5 to prevent or at least delay c4. 13. c4 dxc4 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. Bxc4 b5 16. Bxc5 Bxc5 17. Bb3 Na6 18. e6! fxe6 19. Rxe6 Kh8 20. Rxc6 Rd6 21. Rxd6 Bxd6 22. Rd1 Bb4 23. Ne5 g5 24. Nf7+ Kg7 25. a3 Bg6 26. Ne5 Bf8? This is the decisive mistake and should have lost the game for me. Better is 26... Nc5! with the idea of 27. axb4 Nxb3 and 28. Rd7+ suddenly doesn't have such grave consequences. 27. Rd7+ Kf6 28. Nxg6?? Missing checkmate immediately with 28. Ng4# 28... Kxg6 Black still must be very precise to obtain a draw; White's extra pawn is in a good spot. 29. Bf7+ Kf6 30. Bd5 Re8 31. Kf1 Nc5! 32. Rxa7 Nd3 Threatening 33... Re1# 33. Ne4+ Ke5 34. Nc3 Kd4 35. g3 b4! Forcing the liquidation of all queenside pawns. This allows Black to keep his king on the kingside and direct his attention to stopping White from passing a kingside pawn and promoting it. 36. axb4 Bxb4 37. Bf7 Re1+ 38. Kg2 Ne5 39. Ba2 Bxc3 40. bxc3+ Kxc3= 41. Re7 Kd4 42. Re6 Nd3 43. Rxe1 Nxe1+ Now Black's only task is exchanging two pairs of pawns. This results in a position from which Black can trade his knight for the last White pawn and draw because White's lone bishop is not enough to force checkmate. 44. Kf1 Nd3 45. Bb1 Ne5 46. Ke2 Kd5 47. h3 Ke6 48. Ke3 Kf6 49. Ke4 Nf7 50. Ba2 Ne5 51. f4! gxf4 This does exchange a pair of pawns, but Black no longer can force the exchange of the other pair, and no longer has the abovementioned draw threat. 51... Nc6 52. f5 Ne7 53. Be6 is, on the other hand, slightly more risky in this respect. 52. gxf4 Ng6 53. f5 Ne7 54. Be6 Nc6 55. Kd5 Ne7+ 56. Ke4 Nc6 57. Kf4 Nd4 58. Bd7 Ne2+ 59. Kg4 Ng1 60. h4 Ne2 61. Kh5 Kg7 62. Kg4 Nd4 63. Kf4 Kf6 64. Kg4 Kg7 65. Kh5 Nf3 66. Kg4? In a rush to beat the clock, my opponent hangs her bishop, but since I was also in time trouble, I didn't have enough time to find a clear way to win, so I ended up repeating moves and claiming the draw. 66... Ne5+ 67. Kh5 Nxd7 68. Kg4 Nf8 69. Kf4 Nh7 70. Ke5 Nf6 71. Ke6 Ng4 72. Ke7 Nf6 73. Ke6 Ng4 74. Ke7 Nf6 75. Ke6 Ng4 1/2-1/2

Like the second game, I managed to draw in the ending a pawn down after blundering earlier. What sets this apart is the length of the game - 116 moves - the last half of which were played with only seconds left on the clock. My opponent, with a FIDE rating of 2075, is only 125 points short of official mastery.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 A recent addition to my repetoire, but a popular choice. 6... h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Qc7 11. Rh4 e6 12. Bf4 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Rg4 Qf8 15. O-O-O Ngf6 16. Rh4 O-O-O 17. Qb3 Qd6 18. Qa4 Kb8 19. Rd3 Nb6 20. Qa5 Nc4 21. Qa4 Nb6 22. Qa5 An offer to draw by repetition of moves, another sign after the awkward rook maneuver to show I'm not fully comfortable with this opening variation yet. 22... Qd5 23. Qxd5 Nbxd5 24. Ne5 Rhf8 25. Ne4 Nxe4 26. Rxe4 Nf6 27. Rh4 Nd7 28. Nf3?! Probably better is 28. Nxd7+ Rxd7 29. Rg4 f6 30. Re4 Rd6 31. Rde3 Re8 32. c4 but instinctively, I played to avoid a plan by Black to maximize the potential of his rooks along the d-file 28... Nf6 29. g4 Ne4 30. Rh2 Rd5 31. c4 Sacrificing the d-pawn to complicate the position and finally secure an active square for my second rook. 31... Rd6 32. Rg2 f6 33. Ne1 Rfd8 34. f3 Ng5 35. Nc2 c5 36. f4 Ne4 37. Re2 f5 38. d5 exd5 39. gxf5 dxc4 40. Rxd6 Nxd6 41. Re5 b6 42. Ne3 Rd7 43. Nd5 Nb5 44. f6 gxf6 45. Nxf6 Rf7 46. Nd5 Nd4 47. Re6?? I completely missed 47... Nxe6 47... Kb7?? And he completely misses it. I forget what the clock was at, but that could have been a factor for both of us already. It's amazing I almost blundered a rook but then managed to transpose into the correct drawn KRP vs. KR ending. Good ol' blitz chess. 48. Rxh6 Ne2+ 49. Kd2 Nxf4 50. Nxf4 Rxf4 Now the idea is to use the h-pawn to lure Black's king and/or rook away from the queenside mass of pawns and win two of them - at least - to material quality. This means to a draw fails, as you'll see, but the end is the same. 51. Rg6 Rf2+ 52. Kc3 Rh2 53. h6 b5 54. a4 a6 Or 54... bxa4 55. Kxc4 Rxb2 56. Kxc5 a3 57. Rg7+ Ka6 58. h7 Rh2 59. Rg3 a2 60. Ra3+ Kb7 61. h8=Q Rxh8 62. Rxa2 This is another drawn ending. White can make no progress. 55. axb5 axb5 56. Rf6 Rh3+ 57. Kc2 b4 58. Rf7+ Kb6 59. h7 Kb5 60. Rb7+ Kc6 61. Rf7 Rh2+ 62. Kc1 Kb5 63. Rb7+ Ka4 64. Ra7+ Kb3 65. Rc7 Rc2+ 66. Kd1 Rh2 67. Rxc5 Rxh7 68. Kc1 Rh4 69. Rc7 Rh1+ 70. Kd2 Rh2+ 71. Kc1 Rxb2 72. Rxc4! A plan I'd had in mind since I traded my h-pawn for one of Black's c-pawns. Now if 72... Kxc4 73. Kxb2 Kb5 74. Kb1 b3 75. Kb2 Kb4 76. Kb1 and White stalemates Black's king on b1, gives up the pawn, or repeats moves. Either way, it's an official draw. 72... Rh2 Refusing to trade rooks strands Black with the a similar dry scenario. White's king is already guarding the crucial promoting square, b1. The only maneuver left is to position the rook behind the pawn. 73. Rc8 Rh3 74. Rb8 Rc3+ 75. Kb1 Re3 White must remain forever vigilant of Black's mating ideas, see 76... Re1# The remainder of the game should be self-explanatory. 76. Kc1 Re4 77. Rb7 Rc4+ 78. Kb1 Kc3 79. Rb8 Rd4 80. Ka2 Rd2+ 81. Kb1 Kb3 82. Kc1 Ra2 83. Rb7 Ra1+ 84. Kd2 Ka3 85. Kc2 Ra2+ 86. Kc1 Kb3 87. Rb8 Rc2+ 88. Kb1 Rg2 89. Kc1 Rg3 90. Rb7 Kc4 91. Rc7+ Kb5 92. Rb7+ Kc5 93. Rc7+ Kb6 94. Rc4 Kb5 95. Rc8 Rg2 96. Rb8+ Ka4 97. Ra8+ Kb3 98. Rb8 Rg3 99. Rb7 Kc4 100. Rb8 Kc5 101. Rb7 Rg4 102. Rb8 Kc6 103. Kb2 Kc5 104. Rb7 Rg2+ 105. Kb3 Rg3+ 106. Kb2 Kc4 107. Rc7+ Kb5 108. Rb7+ Kc5 109. Rc7+ Kb6 110. Rc8 Rg2+ 111. Kb3 Kb5 112. Rb8+ Kc5 113. Rc8+ Kb5 114. Rb8+ Kc5 115. Rc8+ Kb5 116. Rb8+ 1/2-1/2

Even just looking at this game again makes me want to quit playing blitz chess. This would have been and should have been my first win against an international master one-on-one, but being a piece up doesn't seem to be enough of an advantage to make moves at an average of 2 seconds each. At any rate, up until the 33rd move, I was completely winning, so it's worth a peek.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 5... gxf6 is the only variation of the Caro-Kann not highlighted in this collection of games, so I'll give it a mention here. 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Ne2 Qc7 9. Be3 Nd7 10. Ng3 c5 11. O-O cxd4 12. Bxd4 Ne5 13. Bc2 g6 14. h3 f5 15. Qd2 Nc6 16. Bf6 Bf4 17. Qd3 Be6 18. Ne2 Be5 For a typically bad bishop in the Caro-Kann - White's dark-squared bishop - on f6, it forced Black to adopt a one-track plan: remove it, post-haste! 19. Bxe5 Nxe5 20. Qg3! But Ezat must not have foreseen this crushing pin. If the knight moves, Black's queen is defenseless and captured immediately. 20... Bc4 Black could also try to deal with the pin immediately. 20... Rac8?! 21. Nd4! Nc4 22. Bb3 After 20... Qd6 hoping for 21...Rad8, White simply responds with 21. Rad1 21. Rfe1 Rfe8 22. Nd4 With the idea of capture on f5, since the g-pawn is pinned as well. 23. Nxf5 22... Kh8 23. Re3 f6 24. Rae1 And now the knight is doubly pinned. Even if Black moves his queen, he still can't move his knight. For example, 24... Qg7?? 25. f4 Nc6 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. Rxe8+ 24... Bf7 So Black defends his rook. 25. R1e2?! Qb6 26. Bb3! Bxb3 27. Nxb3 Red8 28. Nd4 Rac8 29. Qf4! Rc4 30. Qh6! The pin is back! 30... Qc7 31. f4 Re8 31... Nc6?? 32. Re8+ Rxe8 33. Rxe8# 32. fxe5 fxe5 33. Nf3?! And here come the stupid moves... 33. g3 for example, starts keeping that central pawn roller locked in place. 33... e4 34. Nd4? Et cetera, et cetera. The remainder isn't worth commenting on. 34... Qg7 35. Qxg7+ Kxg7 36. Rd2 Kf6 37. g3 Rd8 38. Kf2 b5 39. a3 a5 40. Ree2 b4 41. axb4 axb4 42. Nc2 Rxd2 43. Rxd2 bxc3 44. bxc3 Rxc3 45. Ne3 Ra3 46. Rd6+ Kg7 47. Rd7+ Kh6 48. g4 f4 49. Nd5 Rxh3 50. Nf6 e3+ 51. Ke2 Rh2+ 52. Ke1 Kg5 53. Nxh7+ Kxg4 54. Nf6+ Kf3 55. Rh7 Ra2 56. Rh3+ Kg2 0-1

In my final attempt at qualifying, I finally scored my first win against someone with a higher ICC blitz rating than me. My collection from last year is full of upsets, but in this respect, 2003 is very disappointing. However, enjoy the one upset win from the most recent Dos Hermanas qualifiers - another Caro-Kann Defense.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Bc4 Bg4?! The first of ten moves with this notoriously bad bishop for Black in the Caro-Kann - bad because most of Black's pawns are fixed on the same color squares as the bishop, limiting the bishop's mobility. Black's failure to locate a good square is the major strategic and positional downfall for him. Better and more common here is 7... Bf5 8. c3 e6 9. h3 Bh5 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Qe2 Nd5 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. g4 Bg6 14. h4 Threatening 15. h5 trapping the bishop 14... Nf4? If the bishop's wasteful maneuvering is the strategic shortfall, this is the one move that I punish the most proudly. 15. Qe5! Nd3+ Another try, and perhaps the idea of his 14th move is: 15... Ng2+ but after 16. Kf1 the knight is trapped. 16. Bxd3 Bxd3 17. Qxg7 Not only have I won a pawn, but the only minor pieces left on the board are Black's permanently bad bishop and my currently strong knight. 17... O-O-O 18. Ne5 Be4 19. f3 Bg6 20. h5 Rhg8 21. Qh6 Bc2 22. Rc1 The bishop must abandon the defense of another pawn, the h-pawn. 22... Ba4 23. Qxh7 Qg5 24. O-O f6 25. Nf7 Qe3+ 26. Kg2 Qd2+ 27. Kg3 e5 28. Nxd8 Qf4+ 29. Kh3 While Black finds out the king is safe from being harassed with checks here, he's lost the exchange - a rook for a knight. 29... Rxd8 30. dxe5 Rd2 31. Qf5+ Qxf5 32. gxf5 fxe5 33. b3 Bb5 34. c4 Locking the bishop even further away from the action... 34... Ba6 35. Rcd1 And now the king is trapped on the queenside, helpless to stop either the passed f-pawn or h-pawn from promoting. 1-0