(1) Stefansson,H (2588) - Gunnarsson,A (2282) [A90] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (2), 21.08.2002 [Easy] 1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.0-0 Bd6 6.c4 c6 7.b3 Qe7 8.Qc2 0-0 9.Ne5 Bd7 10.Nd2 Be8 11.Ndf3 Bh5 12.Nd3 Nbd7 13.Bf4 Kh8 14.Nfe5 Rg8 15.Nxd7 Nxd7 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.Nf4 Bg6 18.e3 Rac8 19.Rfc1 dxc4 20.bxc4 e5 21.c5 Qe7 22.Nxg6+ hxg6 23.Qa4 a6 24.Rab1 Rc7 25.Rc4 Rd8 26.d5 Nxc5 Diagram White to play The sacrifice is in the air, but can you figure out all the details of why it works? 27.Rxc5 e4 [ 27...Qxc5 28.Qh4+ Kg8 29.Qxd8+ Qf8 30.Qxc7 ] 28.Qa5 Rxd5 29.Rxd5 cxd5 30.Qxd5 Kh7 31.a4 1-0

(2) Thorfinnsson,B (2315) - Gretarsson,H (2505) [D13] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (3), 22.08.2002 [Easy] 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c5 3.c3 cxd4 4.cxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Ne4 7.Bf4 g6 8.e3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Bg7 10.Be2 0-0 11.h4 Bg4 12.Qc2 Qd7 13.Rc1 Rac8 14.Qb2 a6 15.c4 dxc4 16.Rxc4 Bxf3 17.gxf3 b5 18.Rc1 e5 19.dxe5 Diagram Black to play After playing 18...e7-e5 19.d4xe5 Black is a pawn down. But has he really sacrificed material? 19...Nxe5 20.Bxe5 [ 20.Rxc8 Nxf3+ 21.Bxf3 Bxb2 ] 20...Bxe5 21.Qb1 [ 21.Qxe5 Rxc1+ 22.Bd1 Qxd1# ] 21...Rxc1+ 22.Qxc1 Rc8 23.Qb1 Bc3+ 24.Kf1 Qd2 25.h5 Bf6 26.Qd3 Qxa2 27.f4 Qc2 28.Qd7 Rd8 29.Qb7 Qc8 30.Qe4 Qa8 31.Qxa8 Rxa8 32.Kg2 b4 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.Rb1 a5 35.Bd1 a4 36.Rxb4 a3 37.Bb3 a2 38.Bxa2 Rxa2 39.Kg3 Bc3 40.Rb1 Kg7 41.Kf3 Bf6 42.Rh1 Ra1 43.Rh2 Bc3 44.Rg2 Bf6 45.Ke2 Rh1 46.Kf3 Kh6 47.Ke2 Kh5 48.Kf3 Bh4 49.Ke4 Rf1 50.Kf3 Ra1 51.Rh2 Ra2 52.Rg2 f6 53.e4 g5 0-1

(3) Bjornsson,S (2357) - Thorarinsson,P (2281) [B07] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (7), 26.08.2002 [Easy] 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 c6 5.Qd2 b5 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.Nf3 e5 8.0-0 Bb7 9.Ne2 Bg7 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.h3 Qe7 12.Ng3 0-0 13.a4 a6 14.c4 b4 15.c5 a5 16.Rac1 Rfd8 17.Rfd1 Ne8 18.Bc4 Nf8 19.Qc2 h6 20.Qb3 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Ba6 22.Nd2 Bxc4 23.Nxc4 Ne6 24.Nb6 Rd8 25.Rxd8 Qxd8 26.Qc4 N8c7 27.Nf1 Qd1 28.Kh2 Bf8 29.Nd2 Diagram Black to play White has just moved his knight from f1 to d2, overlooking a simple combination. Thirty seconds for you to find it. 29...Bxc5 30.Bxc5 Qxd2 31.b3 Qc3 32.Be3 Nd4 33.Bxh6 Nxb3 34.Qe2 Qc5 35.Nc8 Ne8 36.Qf3 Nd4 37.Qg3 Nf6 38.Qh4 Nh5 39.Qd8+ Kh7 40.Be3 Ne6 41.Qd7 Qf8 42.Nd6 Nf6 43.Qxc6 b3 44.Bc1 Nd4 45.Qc7 Ne8 46.Nxe8 Qxe8 47.Qxa5 Qc6 48.Bb2 Qc2 49.Qc3 Qxf2 50.h4 Qxh4+ 51.Qh3 Qxh3+ 52.Kxh3 Nc6 53.Kg4 f6 54.Kf3 Na5 55.Ke2 Nc4 56.Bc3 b2 57.Bxb2 Nxb2 58.a5 Nc4 59.a6 Kg7 60.Kd3 Nb6 61.Kc3 Kf7 62.g4 Ke6 63.Kb4 Kd6 64.a7 Kc6 65.Ka5 Na8 66.Kb4 Nc7 67.Kc4 Kb7 68.Kc5 Ne6+ 69.Kd6 Ng5 0-1

(4) Gretarsson,H (2505) - Stefansson,H (2588) [E12] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (9), 28.08.2002 [Easy] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 c5 5.d5 Ba6 6.e3 exd5 7.cxd5 Bxf1 8.Kxf1 g6 9.Nc3 Bg7 10.g3 0-0 11.Kg2 d6 12.e4 b5 13.Bg5 Nbd7 14.Nxb5 Qb6 15.Nc3 Qxb2 16.Bd2 Qb7 17.Qc2 Ng4 18.Rab1 Qa6 19.Nb5 Rab8 20.a4 Rfc8 21.Rhc1 c4 22.h3 Nge5 23.Nxe5 Nxe5 Diagram White to play Black has just recaptured a knight on e5. He did it with his knight on d7, instead of the bishop on g7. Why was this a fatal mistake? 24.Nc7 Rxb1 [ 24...Rxc7 25.Rxb8+ ] 25.Nxa6 Rxc1 26.Bxc1 Nd3 27.Bd2 Bd4 28.Nb4 1-0

(5) Stefansson,H (2588) - Thorarinsson,P (2281) [A30] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (1), 20.08.2002 [Medium] 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 c5 6.Nc3 a6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 d6 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.Ng5 Bxg2 11.Kxg2 Rc8 12.Nge4 Rc6 13.Bf4 Qa8 14.Kg1 e5 15.Nxf6+ Nxf6 16.Qe3 Rxc4 17.Bg5 Nd7 18.Nd5 f6 19.Qd3 Rc6 20.Be3 Be7 21.b4 Bd8 22.Qb3 Rf8 23.a4 Rc8 Diagram White to move The pawn on b6 looks tempting, but it is attacked twice and defended twice. So what to play? 24.Bxb6! Qc6 [ 24...Nxb6 25.Nxb6 Bxb6 26.Qe6+ and mate in two!; 24...Bxb6 25.Nxb6 Nxb6 26.Qe6+ ] 25.Bxd8 Kxd8 26.Qe3 Rf7 27.Rac1 Qb7 28.Rxc8+ Kxc8 29.Qd3 Nb6 30.Qxh7 Kb8 31.Nxb6 1-0

(6) Thorfinnsson,B (2362) - Vidarsson,J (2378) [A40] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (4), 23.08.2002 [Medium] 1.d4 b6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb7 4.a3 f5 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.g3 Ne4 7.Qc2 Be7 8.Bg2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 0-0 10.0-0 Bf6 11.Rd1 a5 12.b3 Nc6 13.Qc2 Ne7 14.Ne1 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 Nc8 16.Bb2 Nd6 17.Rac1 c6 18.f3 a4 19.bxa4 Qb8 20.e4 fxe4 21.fxe4 Bg5 22.Rb1 Qa7 23.c5 Nc8 24.a5 bxc5 25.dxc5 d5 26.Bd4 Qxa5 27.exd5 cxd5 28.Rb7 Bf6 29.Bxf6 Rxf6 30.Nf4 Qxa3 Diagram White to play Naturally we see the fork after 31.Rxg7+, but White simply loses a piece, doesn't he? 31.Rxg7+ Kxg7 32.Nh5+ Kf8 [ 32...Kf7 33.Qxh7+ Ke8 34.Nxf6+ Kf8 35.Qg8+ Ke7 36.Qg7+ Kd8 37.Qd7# ] 33.Nxf6 Qe3+ 34.Kg2 Ne7 35.Rf1 Nf5 36.Nxd5 Qe5 37.Nb6 Ra7 38.Qd2 Ke8 39.Re1 Ra2 40.Qxa2 Qxe1 41.Qa4+ Ke7 42.Qd7+ Kf6 43.Qd3 Qc1 44.h4 Ne3+ 45.Kf3 Nf5 46.Nc4 Ke7 47.Ne5 Qh1+ 48.Kf4 Qc1+ 49.Kf3 Qh1+ 50.Kg4 Kf6 51.Nf3 Ke7 52.c6 h5+ 53.Kxh5 Nxg3+ 54.Kg6 1-0

(7) Gunnarsson,J (2363) - Gretarsson,H (2505) [C54] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (5), 24.08.2002 [Medium] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bb3 a6 7.h3 Ba7 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.Nf1 Ne7 10.Ng3 Ng6 11.0-0 c6 12.Re1 h6 13.d4 Re8 14.Bc2 exd4 15.cxd4 d5 16.e5 Nh7 17.Be3 Be6 18.Qd2 Nh4 19.Nxh4 Qxh4 20.Nf5 Bxf5 21.Bxf5 Nf8 22.f4 Qe7 23.Bc2 f6 24.Kh1 Qf7 25.b4 Bb6 26.Qd3 Bc7 27.Rf1 Qe7 28.Rab1 g6 29.Rf3 Kh8 30.h4 h5 31.f5 fxe5 32.dxe5 Bxe5 33.Rbf1 Qxb4 34.fxg6 Bg7 35.Rf4 Re4 36.Qe2 Rxf4 37.Rxf4 Qc3 Diagram White to play The black king is clearly in trouble, but White must find an only move to finish him off. Can you work out the entire line in your mind? 38.Rxf8+ [ 38.Rxf8+ Bxf8 39.Qxh5+ Kg7 40.Qh6+ Kf6 41.g7+ Ke7 42.Qg5+ Kd6 43.g8Q ] 1-0

(8) Vidarsson,J (2378) - Stefansson,H (2588) [B40] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (5), 24.08.2002 [Medium] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.b3 b6 4.Bb2 Bb7 5.e5 Ne7 6.h4 Nbc6 7.h5 h6 8.Na3 Nf5 9.c3 d6 10.Nc4 dxe5 11.Ncxe5 a6 12.Qe2 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bd6 14.0-0-0 Qc7 15.Nc4 Be7 16.Ne3 0-0-0 17.Qg4 Nxe3 18.dxe3 Rxd1+ 19.Qxd1 Rd8 20.Qc2 f5 21.Be2 b5 22.Bf3 Bxf3 23.gxf3 c4 24.Qe2 Bf6 25.Kc2 Qa5 26.bxc4 b4 27.cxb4 Qxa2 28.Kc1 Diagram Black to play There is only one move here to decide the game immediately. Hint: it is a very pleasing move! 28...Bc3 [ 28...Bc3 29.f4 Rd2 ] 0-1

(9) Thorfinnsson,B (2362) - Gretarsson,H (2505) [D11] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (8), 27.08.2002 [Medium] 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 c6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e4 b5 5.a4 e6 6.b3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 cxb3 9.axb5 Nf6 10.Nc3 0-0 11.Bd3 e5 12.dxe5 Nfd7 13.Bc4 Qe7 14.0-0 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Bxb3 Bb7 17.f4 Qc5+ 18.Kh1 cxb5 19.f5 Nc6 20.f6 Rfd8 21.Nd5 g6 22.Qg5 Kh8 23.Rac1 Qf8 24.Rcd1 Na5 25.Ba2 Nc4 26.Ne7 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Rd8 28.Re1 a6 29.h4 Rd4 30.Qc5 Qd8 31.Bxc4 Rxc4 32.Qg5 Qf8 33.Rd1 Bxe4 Diagram White to play Black has tied himself into knots, and White needs just one precise move to finish him off. 34.Qh6 Bxg2+ [ 34...Qxh6 35.Rd8+ Qf8 36.Rxf8# ] 35.Kg1 [ 35.Kxg2! was more precise: Fritz says it leads to a forced mate in seven. 35...Qa8+ 36.Rd5 Rc2+ 37.Kf3 Rc3+ 38.Kg4 Rc4+ 39.Kg5 Qxd5+ 40.Nxd5 and mate in two.] 35...Rc8 36.Nxc8 Qc5+ 37.Kxg2 Qc2+ 38.Rd2 Qc6+ 39.Kg1 Qc1+ 40.Kf2 Qc5+ 41.Ke2 Qe5+ 42.Kd1 Qa1+ 43.Ke2 Qe5+ 44.Qe3 Qxf6 45.Nd6 a5 46.Qd4 1-0

(10) Vidarsson,J (2378) - Thorfinnsson,B (2314) [C23] Iceland Championship Seltjarnarnes, Iceland (10), 29.08.2002 [Medium] 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Qe2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.d3 d6 7.Bb3 Be6 8.Nbd2 d5 9.0-0 h6 10.Re1 Bd6 11.Nf1 Kh8 12.Ng3 Re8 13.Nh4 Ne7 14.h3 dxe4 15.dxe4 g5 16.Qf3 Nh7 [ 16...Kg7 Diagram White to play The last move, 16...Kh8-g7, was considered by Bjorn Thorfinnsson, whose hand hovered over the king. Suddenly he decided to play 16...Nh7 instead. What had he seen in the above position?17.Qxf6+ Kh7 ( 17...Kxf6 18.Nh5# ) 18.Bxe6 Rg8 ( 18...fxe6 19.Qf7+ Kh8 20.Bxg5 hxg5 21.Nh5 Rg8 22.Nf6 Rg7 23.Qh5+ Rh7 24.Qxh7# ) ] 17.Nhf5 Nxf5 18.exf5 Bxb3 19.axb3 b6 20.Ne4 Nf6 21.h4 g4 22.Qe3 Bf8 23.g3 a5 24.Qe2 Nxe4 25.Qxe4 h5 26.f3 Bc5+ 27.Kg2 Rg8 28.Qxe5+ f6 29.Qf4 gxf3+ 30.Qxf3 Rg4 31.Bf4 Rc8 32.Re6 Qf8 33.Rae1 Kh7 34.R1e4 Qf7 35.Be3 Bd6 36.Rxg4 hxg4 37.Qe4 Rd8 38.Bd4 Bf8 39.Rxf6 Qxb3 40.Qxg4 Qd5+ 41.Kh2 1-0