In the Quarterfinals, SM Herman’s usual sacrificial creativity paid off as he scored an imaginative win, netting him the top prize in the 2012 GOTY Contest.
This is the final part in a series of articles which has counted down to revealing what game was voted as the 2012 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process worked and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest
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1st Place: SM Matt Herman (NY) vs IM Eli Vovsha (MAN) 1-0
In his usual style, SM Herman boldly plunged forward with 20. Rxf7?! After serious complications, White eventually came out on top, winning a very interesting game
FM Alisa Melekhina (1st Place, 20 Points): This game easily stood out as the most exciting. Herman played the opening aggressively, but he didn’t rush; he consolidated with 13. Kb1. After Black locked up the center with 15… d5, I can imagine the audience on the edge of their seats anticipating fireworks. White is slowly advancing while Black has no clear counter-play.
Herman didn’t disappoint – he unleashed the sensational 20. Rxf7 and 21. Nxe6. Sure it wasn’t foolproof and taking on e6 first was more accurate, but it was psychologically enough to subvert Vovsha. After Black missed his last saving chance with 22… b3, Herman was merciless. It’s rare to see such a ravaging finish against a strong IM. Bravo.
GM Alejandro Ramirez (2nd Place, 19 Points): A sacrificial special! Herman’s treatment of this Sicilian is worthy of being mentioned in books. White devastates Black’s position not just with a piece sacrifice, but a Rook and a piece! Even better, the combinations are sound and the attack irresistible. Beautiful.
GM Robert Hungaski (3rd Place, 18 Points): Crowd pleaser alert! I think this is a good choice to start off the podium countdown considering the first two spots. I’m often not a sucker for these types of games but all of these sacrifices didn’t seem entirely obvious to me. What’s more, what I do like are these types of sacrifices where after the sac the game goes on as if nothing happened, with a total imbalance of material ultimately balanced out by unstable factors. For me, the move of the game was not 20. Rxf7 or 21. Nxe6, but rather 22. Bd4! In the heat of battle it’s easy to give in to our natural tendency to try and force things, but it is the trait of a strong player to fight against tendencies.
IM David Pruess (3rd Place, 18 Points): Great opening play, super sacrifices, high excitement level, and terrific play throughout by White. I’ve seen some comments that Herman didn’t play the best in this game, and I respectfully disagree; I think his play was fantastic! This was the most complex and high-quality sacrificial game in the GOTY contest (not counting positional exchange sacrifices).
FM Ron Young (9th Place, 12 Points): Sitting on my girlfriend’s couch a couple of years back, sipping a tea with honey while watching one of the Middle Eastern revolutions on her wide-screen TV, I commented that “freedom isn’t free”. Not only is it not free, it doesn’t even come with a warranty. As in Romanenko vs Gelashvili, Black’s classic semi-open game freeing move …d5 led merely to quickened suffocation after White’s side-stepping e5. Perhaps Black could have defended better against White’s assault, but to unsoundly sacrifice Rook and Knight and still prevail demonstrates an impressive practical sense.
GM Alex Yermolinsky (10th Place, 11 Points): Vovsha avoided the main lines of the 6. Be3 Najdorf at the cost of transposing into an inferior variation of the Keres Attack. By move 19 White had it all: secure King, strong center, and a Rook on the 7th. At this moment, Herman’s creative spirit took over and he sacrificed his Rook and Knight, trying for a quick score. Vovsha, however, wisely refrained from taking the Knight and played his Queen out. Neither player was able to fully appreciate the ideas offered by this move. Both missed 22… b3 that would have forced a draw. Being low on time Vovsha blundered and went down quickly. A nice attacking display, but simpler methods, such as 20. Nxe6, were available.
Total Score of Herman vs Vovsha: (1st Place, 98 Points)
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Final 2012 Game of the Year Standings:
1st Place (98 Points): SM Matt Herman (NY) vs IM Eli Vovsha (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
2nd Place (85 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (NJ) vs GM Tamaz Gelashvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
3rd Place (82 Points): GM Vladimir Romanenko (MAN) vs GM Alex Stripunsky (NJ) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
4th Place (80 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (NJ) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
5th Place (79 Points): GM Tamaz Gelashvili (NY) vs GM Sam Shankland (NE) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (77 Points): SM Robert Perez (MIA) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (77 Points): GM Mikheil Kekelidze (CON) vs FM Kassa Korley (CAR) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (75 Points): IM Priyadharshan Kannappan (STL) vs FM Kassa Korley (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (72 Points): GM Tamaz Gelashvili (NY) vs SM William Fisher (PHI) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (71 Points): FM Kazim Gulamali (BOS) vs GM Larry Kaufman (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (66 Points): FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) vs IM Justin Sarkar (CON) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (59 Points): IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (59 Points): GM Vladimir Romanenko (MAN) vs GM Tamaz Gelashvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (58 Points): IM Georgi Orlov (SEA) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (57 Points): NM Jared Defibaugh (BAL) vs NM Justus Williams (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (48 Points): GM Ben Finegold (STL) vs GM Niclas Huschenbeth (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (37 Points): NM Joshua Sinanan (SEA) vs IM Shahin Mohandesi (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (33 Points): SM Denys Shmelov (BOS) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (30 Points): FM Ralph Zimmer (BAL) vs NM Joshua Colas (CON) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (17 Points): IM Georgi Orlov (SEA) vs SM William Fisher (PHI) 1/2-1/2 Article Elimination Article