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The following game probably had more to do with me changing my style than any other. The disappointment at not winning was overwhelming, and my complete lack of technical skills was so obvious that I couldn't hide from it anymore.

Silman- Z Vranesic
Lone Pine, 1975
1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.e5 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 a5 (Black's most popular move is 6...c4, pointing to the weakness of the b3-square. The text [6...a5] allows me to play a Milner-Barry Gambit with the moves a3 ...a5 thrown in. This makes the gambit far stronger than it normally is.) 7.Bd3 Bd7 8.0-0 cxd4 9.cxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Qxd4 11.Nc3 Qb6 12.Qg4 h5 13.Qf4 a4 14.Be3 Bc5 15.Rac1 Bxe3 16.fxe3 Nh6 17.Kh1 Bc6 18.Qg5 Kd7? (So far I've played in my usual "go for broke" style. Of course, Black's play can be improved, but now it's a bit too late for him.) 19.e4! (I knew I had him, and was quite excited since the play that follows isn't something one gets to do every day.) 19...d4 20.Nd5!!

(A satisfying move to play, and quite crushing. The point is that 20...exd5 is met by 21.e6+! when 21...fxe6 [Other tries also fail: 21...Kxe6 22.exd5+ Bxd5? 23.Rfe1+ forces mate, while 21...Kd6 22.exd5 Bxd5 23.exf7 gives White a winning attack.] 22.Qxg7+ Kd6 23.e5 is mate.) 20...Qd8 21.Qxg7 exd5 22.exd5 Bxd5 23.e6+! Bxe6 24.Bb5+? [Incredibly stupid. At that time I often played quick, attractive moves without looking to see if there was something even better. Of course, 24.Qxd4+! Ke7 25.Qb4+ Qd6 26.Rc7+ Bd7 27.Re1+ wins on the spot.] 24...Ke7 25.Qf6+ Kf8 26.Qxh8+ Ng8 27.Bd3 (From this point on I play like a complete duffer. Far stronger was 27.Bc4.) 27...Qg5 28.Qxd4 Rd8 29.Qb4+ Ne7 30.Bc4 Rd2 31.Qxb7 Nd5 32.Qb8+ Kg7 33.Qg3?? Qxg3 34.hxg3 Ne3 35.Bxe6 Nxf1 36.Rxf1 fxe6 37.Rf4 Rxb2 38.Rxa4 Kf6 39.g4 hxg4 40.Rxg4 Ra2 41.Ra4 e5 42.Kh2 e4 43.Ra5 e3 44.Kg3 e2 45.Kf2 e1=Q+ 46.Kxe1 Rxg2 47.Rc5 Ke6 48.Kd1 Kd6 49.Rc3 Kd5 50.Kc1 Kd4 51.Rc8 Ra2,1/2-1/2.

I still feel sick whenever I look at this game since I blatantly ruined a very attractive creative effort. In retrospect, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to me. Not wanting to go through that kind of unnecessary pain again, I began to study endings and also became a disciple of Tigran Petrosian.

The game against Harari showed the "new" me. I still loved tactics, of course, but I had acquired both patience and positional skills from my study of Petrosian.

Z Harari - Silman
San Francisco, 1976
1.e4 Nf6 2.d3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bc5 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 d5 7.Nbd2 dxe4 8.dxe4 Be6 9.c3 (9.Ng5 would have been answered by 9...Bg4) 9...a5 10.Qe2 Nd7 11.Nc4 f6 (Now that my central situation is firm, I can concentrate on creating queenside targets.) 12.Ne3 a4! (A very strong move. If White leaves the pawn on a2 it will always be in need of defense. However, if he moves it to a3 then the b3-square will fall into Black's hands.) 13.Rd1 Na5 14.Nf5 Rf7 (Having made real gains on the queenside, I now patiently shore up my kingside, knowing that if White's kingside attack fails, the game is mine.) 15.Bh3 Qe8 16.N3h4 Nf8 17.Bf1 (White didn't play the attack with the necessary finesse, and now he's reached a dead end.) 17...Kh8 18.Qf3 Rd7 (Everything is safe, so now Black turns his attention to the open d-file.) 19.Rxd7 Qxd7 20.Ne3 Rd8! (I was moving quickly here since I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish. Fritz points out 20...Bxa2!? 21.Rxa2 Nb3, a line I completely missed. However, this would allow White some initiative by 22.Nd5 Nxc1 23.Ra1 Nb3 24.Rd1 Qf7 25.Bc4. The fact is, if I had to do it again, I would still play the calm, controlled 20...Rd8.) 21.Nhf5 c6 (Taking away d5 from the e3-Knight.) 22.h4 Qf7 (After endless preparation, Black finally targets a2 for assassination. White is now strategically lost.) 23.Ng4 Nd7 24.Bh3 Bf8 (Before pulling the trigger, I took a few "Petrosian" moments to protect the delicate points on f6 and g7.) 25.Be3 Bxa2 (This capture is the culmination of the strategy initiated by 12...a4.) 26.h5 (White prepares one final assault against the Black King.) 26...Bb3 (With a pawn in the bank, all I have to do is protect my pieces and make sure he can never use the d-file.) 27.h6 g6 28.Ng7 b5 29.Kg2 Nb7! (Not wanting to give up my dark-squared Bishop for his silly Knight, I decide to exchange horse for horse, knowing that my material advantage guarantees me an easy technical win.) 30.Re1 Nd6 31.Kh2 Ne8 (Fischer once said that Petrosian was never distracted from his plans, even by good moves! Here 31...f5 was most likely stronger, but I saw no reason to allow any complications whatsoever.) 32.Nxe8 Rxe8 33.Re2? (A blunder in a hopeless position.) 33...Bd1, 0-1.

I was very proud of this newly found positional maturity, and I'm still fond of this game today.

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