Evans On Chess. May 31, 1996. Copyright Chesstours. All rights reserved.

                              14th NEW YORK OPEN

The chess clocks were stolen in the middle of a major international
tournament in New York sponsored by the American Chess Foundation last
April. Welcome to the big apple!

New clocks arrived and Britain's Michael Adams, 24, snared first in an
elite field of 12. Then he joined 520 others at the 14th New York Open,
held for the second year in a row across the Hudson river in Newark, New
Jersey, to get away from high room rates.

The $100,000 prize fund attracted 22 grandmasters including Holland's
Loek Van Wely, 23, who won $10,000 with a sizzling 7.5 - 1.5 in the top
section. Adams, his main rival, lost to an unknown in the first round yet
still ended in a six-way tie at 7-2 with Alexander Chernin (Hungary), Jan
Ehlvest (Estonia), Roman Dzindzihashvili and Alexander Yermolinsky (USA)
plus newcomer Blas Lugo. They each won $2,000.

Blas Lugo, 28, escaped from Cuba two years ago when they let him play
chess in Mexico. He crossed the border at El Paso and got asylum in Miami
where he played in local tournaments without notable results. But in New
York Blas blasted four grandmasters on his way to the top and had a
chance at all the marbles in the penultimate round when this critical
game decided first prize.

Lugo sacrificed a knight on move 14 for a ferocious attack. His other
knight on a4 was immune for a long time. Not 17...Qxa4? 18 Rxe6! Kxe6 19
Re1 Kf6 20 Qd4 Kxg6 21 Qe4 Kf7 (or 21...Kf6 22 Qf5) 22 Qe6 mate. On the
next move 18...Qxa4? 19 Qc5 Kd8 20 Qc7 mates. Later if 21...Qxa4? 22
Qxd5! still wins.

But Lugo went astray in a mass of complications. He missed a brilliant
shot by 19 Rxe6! Kxe6 20 Qe5 Kd7 20 Bf5 Kd8 21 Bxc8 Bxc8 22 g5 hxg5 23
Bxg5. Now if 23...Qxa4 24 Bxf6 gxf6 25 Rxd5 Bd7 26 Qxf6 Kc7 27 Qxh8 looks
like it wins.

Instead Van Wely extinquished the attack. On 22 Bf7 Bd6! 23 Qxe6 Kc7 the
king slips out of a mating net. At the end Black is far ahead in material
after 32 Qe8 Kc7, so Lugo threw in the towel.

The second game from an early round is another example of Lugo's style,
and his performance rating of 2740 was the sensation of the New York
Open. Was it a flash in the pan or a preview of things to come?

White: BLAS LUGO Black: LOEK VAN WELY Sicilian Defense 1996

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be3 e6 7 f3 b5 8 g4 h6 9
Qd2 Nbd7 10 0-0-0 Bb7 11 Bd3 b4 12 Na4 d5 13 exd5 Nxd5 14 Nxe6! fxe6 15
Bg6 Ke7 16 Rhe1 Qa5 17 Bf4 N7f6 18 Qd4 Rc8 19 Qe5? Rc6 20 g5 hxg5 21 Bxg5
Kd7 22 Qb8 Bc8 23 Qa7 Qc7 24 Qe3 Qd6 25 Qa7 Qc7 26 Qe3 Rd6 27 Nc5 Kd8 28
Bxf6 gxf6 29 Rxd5 Rxd5 30 Nxe6 Bxe6 31 Qxe6 Qd6 White Resigns

White: BLAS LUGO Black: NIINA KOSKELA Three Knights Game 1996

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nd5 Bc5? 5 c3 a6 6 d4 exd4 7 cxd4 Ba7 8 Bc4
Na5? 9 Bg5! f6 10 Ne5! h5 11 Ng6 Rh7 12 Bf4 d6 13 Nxc7 Qxc7 14 Bxg8 Rh6
15 Bxh6 gxh6 16 Qxh5 Black Resigns
