Edd's Chess Analysis

GAME 038 - Shan Conrad Wolf

2011-11-27T12:03:00.001-08:00

Edward Davies vs Shan Conrad Wolf

Winchester College vs Passed Pawn B

Position after 3.e5

Position after 27.Red1

Position after 30.Ba4

Position after 37...Rbd8 (white can mate with Rg8+)

Position after 42.Be6

Position after 60.Bh5

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nf6? searched in db and this has seldom been played, and usually white plays the critical line e5, although in some games wimped out and played another move to allow black to transpose and undo his incorrect move order. Although the move has been played ostensibly on purpose (not by some momentary lapse) by GMs a couple of times, I believe it is poor enough to deserve a full? The rarity of the move implies that it is occasionally played by black by accident if the player is new to the sicilian and hasn't learnt any theory. 3.e5 A shock that on move 3 I could retreat his knight to g8; I checked in case the line had any independent significance, (i.e. such as the e5 pawn becoming a target), but judged that white is doign well whatever black tries 3...Ng8 Fritz already gives white a pawn advantage in evaluation. I was very happy with how the game had started and wanted to develop quickly and actively 4.Bc4 in hindsight this this bishop caused me quite a lot of trouble in the game with threats of being trapped by b5 c4 and cluttering development of the queenside, and because it can have no realistic threats to the f7 square due to the obvious e6 from black, it purely looks strong but has no real threat in building up an attack. However it does develop the piece and bring white closer to queenside castling. I believe due to these considerations that Nf3 would have been better and maybe the bishop could even have been fianchettoed. [4.Nf3 probably the best, after which white can be very happy with the opening few moves; 4.f4 is possible but not necessarily the best as the f4 pawn may not be ideal once e5 is traded and if white wants to castle kingside] 4...Nc6 logical attacking pawn and best way to start sensible attempt at developing 5.Nf3 [I considered 5.f4 but decided again that the f4 pawn may be badly placed after the e5 pawn is traded] 5...Qc7?! This could probably have a ? instead of ?! but I was unable to find the correct refutation over the board; it is clearly a dangerous move to allow more loss of tempo after the very slow start [5...e6 was logical, nullifying any threats to f7 and facilitating development] 6.Nd5?! not terrible but ultimately it does not win any time as it is forced to retreat after e6 [6.Nb5 is a better way of attacking the queen and the bishop is still eyeing f7 6...Qb8 7.0–0 e6 (7...Nxe5? can have severe consequences if white knows how to repond 8.Nxe5 Qxe5 9.d4! crushing according to Fritz. The black queen has to continue to protect c7 (9.Re1 is still a big advantage for white but not crushing) 9...cxd4 (9...Qb8 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.Bf4 d6 12.Rfe1 white has ferocious development and is threatening to take on d6 12...Kd8 proving the hopelessness of the position 13.dxc5 and white should have no trouble making black's life a misery) 10.Re1 Qc5 threatening bishop on c4 11.b4! Reminiscent of the Evans Gambit or a Sicilian Wing Gambit. Not the easiest move to find by any means, and not so easy to find tenable alternatives; I will look at the alternatives too since there is no guarantee of seeing this kind of move. NB: an important point is the bishop is poisonous because Nd6+ will win the queen a) 11.Qe2?? is a bad mistake and black gets a good game 11...a6 e.g. 12.Na3 Nf6 13.Bf4 b5 14.Qf3 d5 15.Bd3 Be6; b) 11.Bf1 is kind of ok for white; he is a pawn down with good development 11...a6 12.Nxd4 Nf6 13.g3 h5 14.Nb3 Qc6 and white has squandered the advantage, though still has reasonable development in compensation for the pawn; c) 11.Na3? a pretty dismal move after white should have got an advantage without difficulty from the opening 11...e6 12.Bf1 better for black according to F; d) 11.Qd3 looks a bit odd but is actually alright for white 11...a6 (11...d5 12.Bxd5! the bishop is poisonous 12...Nf6 13.Bf3 Bd7 14.Nxd4 Rd8 15.Be3 white has very good development indeed for the pawn, and black is still some way from castling) 12.Nxd4 likewise white has very good development advantage for the cost of a pawn; e) 11.Bf4! A move that Crafty points out, and is very strong 11...e6 (11...d6 loses to 12.Nxd6+; 11...Qxc4 loses the queen to 12.Nd6+ Kd8 13.Nxc4) 12.Nc7+ Kd8 13.Bb3 Rb8 14.Nxe6+ fxe6 15.Bxb8 and white wins a clear exchange; f) 11.b3 white is still doing pretty good after this 11...e6 12.Bb2 a6 13.Nxd4 Nf6 slight advantage to white according to F; 11...Qxb4 (11...Qc6) 12.Ba3 the pieces corrdinate beutifully and this looks crushing; white has three minor pieces and a rook all developed very aggressively on the black king, and all of the black's pieces are in their initial positions apart from the queen; sometimes pieces can defend well from their inital positions but in this case it is just a farcical contrast in piece development between the sides (12.c3 fritz at first liked this the most) 12...Qa4 13.Qxd4 (crafty also suggests 13.Qh5 ; 13.Qe2) ) ; 6.0–0 is probably the best 6...e6 (6...Nxe5 7.Nd5 Nxf3+ 8.Qxf3 Qc6 9.Nc7+! with a revealed attack on the f7 square 9...Kd8 (9...Qxc7 10.Qxf7+ Kd8 11.Qxf8#) 10.Nxa8 Qxf3 11.gxf3 clearly winning for white a full exchange up) ] 6...Qb8 [6...Qa5 is iffy and apparently no better; 6...Qd8 possibly better than Qb8 but surely can't be much better in any case] 7.Qe2 Choosing move 7 was difficult; I wanted to play 0–0 as I was I could make the most of my lead in development if black won the pawn, but it wasn't clear to me precisely how I could go about this and I was worried I would squander the development lead and end up a pawn down stupidly. I felt it was a cop out to play Qe2 but ultimately I played the move I believed in and just wasn't confident about giving up the pawn in this position. [7.0–0 I should really have trusted my intution and played this, and even if I messed up the initiative a pawn down I could analyse the game afterwards I would get practical experience with such a line and could analyse my play afterwards even if it didn't go to plan 7...Nxe5 (7...e6 would apparently have been black's best response anyway 8.Nc3) 8.Nxe5? in fact white can get a fairly crushing advantage if black takes the pawn 8...Qxe5 9.Re1 (9.f4 Qd4+ 10.Ne3 Nf6 11.c3 Qd6) 9...Qd6? a) 9...Qd4 10.Nc7+; b) 9...Qb8 10.d4 e6 (10...cxd4 11.Qxd4) 11.Bf4 (11.Qh5 b6) 11...Bd6 (11...d6 12.Nc3 cxd4 13.Qxd4 e5 14.Bxe5 dxe5 15.Rxe5+ Be7 16.Rae1 Qc7 17.Nd5) ; 10.d4 Nf6 11.Bf4] 7...e6 8.Nc3 I felt a bit gutted at this point; I felt that after my opponent had played such dubiuos moves early in the openign (Nf6 back to Ng8 and Qc7) that I should have a big advantage, but it goes to show unless you are prepared to go into critical lines a pawn down for development etc then the defending side can more or less catch up in development and take the sting out of the position. [8.Nf4 f6 9.Nd3 (9.exf6 Qxf4 10.f7+ Qxf7; 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nd3 b5 11.Bb3) 9...b5 10.Bb3 c4] 8...d5 I was fairly happy after this move as I don't have to worry about defending the e5 pawn [8...f6 9.0–0] 9.exd6 Qxd6? this looks very dubious and Fritz changes the evaluation from +0.5 to about +1.2. I cannot understand the logic of this at all; capturing with the bishops aids development of the kingside pieces and even coordinates well with the queen on b8, whereas the queen capturing is just a target and does not help with developing the pieces. I felt again that I should have a clear advantage after this move. [9...Bxd6] 10.Nb5?! although not bad, this knight is none the less made to retreat again before long. Fritz suggests the best move is d3 continuing development and the queen is pretty misplaced on d6 [when I got home after the game I analysed the game briefly without the computer and this was one move I looked at 10.Ne4 Qc7 11.c3 I suggested this, starting to work out how to make sure the light bishop is active (F 11.b3 Nf6 12.Bb2 Be7) 11...Be7 (11...Nf6 12.0–0) 12.0–0 Nf6 13.d4 the move I suggested is ok but maybe not the best (F suggests 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.d3) 13...cxd4 14.cxd4 Nxd4? would be a blad mistake (14...Bd7) 15.Nxd4 Nxe4 I now looked at both Qx and Bb5+ 16.Qxe4? is wrong (16.Bb5+! Bd7 17.Bxd7+ Qxd7 18.Qxe4 is easily winning for white; I'm glad I reached this far into the analysis with the computer aggreeing with me mostly) 16...Qxc4 e.g. 17.b3 Qd5 18.Qxd5 exd5 19.Re1 white doesn't have enough compensation for the pawn; 10.d3 Qd7 (10...Nf6 11.Nb5 Qb8 12.0–0) ] 10...Qd8 11.0–0 a6 [or 11...Nf6 ] 12.Nc3 Nf6 again the knights is forced to retreat so I never really gain any tempo from attacking the queen on c7 (either of the two times). Again I was left with a slight annoyance that although I'm not doing too badly, I failed to get a substantial advantage out of the opening despite several punishable looking moves committed by my opponent. In this position the feature that bothered me was that my light bishop does not fit very well into the position and black has threats of b5 c4 potentially trapping it, and at the least the bishop seems to encumber development of the queenside and in getting some central control with my pawns. 13.a4 not a move I was that happy about playing, given the hole it creates on b4, but it does do a good job of nullifying threats of b5 on the bishop which at least takes that stress away so that I can concentrate on other things [in hindsight 13.d3 was perfectly playable and it would have been sensible to speed up the dark bishop development and central pawn control; For example if 13.a3 which does not create a hold on b4, there is a big drawback 13...b5 14.Bb3 c4 15.Ba2 actually fritz has a clever way of activating the bishop again 15...Be7 16.Rd1! preparing d3 and recapturing with the rook 16...0–0 17.d3 black has to take or loses a pawn 17...cxd3 18.Rxd3 Qc7] 13...Bd6 this move is ok, as is Be7 14.d3 I prefer this to 14.b3 14...Qc7 a decent enough move with a threat in mind; naturally of Nd4 attacking the queen and knight which leads to the loss of a pawn due to Bxh2+, so white has to meet this threat. The main choises appear to be g3 and h3. I preferred h3 in this position as it also covers g4, but admittedly it has a drawback of a potential attack down the g file by black hitting the g4 square. There are actually other options to meet the threat too: Bg5 and Be3; things can get pretty complicated as can be seen. [F prefers 14...0–0 ] 15.h3 [15.g3 is perfectly sound (I think) but the fianchetto structure without the bishop is slightly compromising long term, and black still has options of complicating with h5 and h4; 15.Bg5 0–0 (the main point is showing why 15...Nd4 doesn't work 16.Nxd4 cxd4 (16...Bxh2+ 17.Kh1 cxd4 18.Bxf6 dxc3 19.Bxg7 Rg8 20.Bxc3 Bd6 and white emerges clearly better) 17.Bxf6 gxf6 18.Ne4 f5 (18...Bxh2+ 19.Kh1 Bf4 20.Nxf6+ is complicated but it has to be nicer for white) 19.Nxd6+ Qxd6 20.Qh5 and white's position is clearly nicer with much greater king safety) 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qe3 is pretty good for white; 15.Be3 I should have considered this, as not only does it parry the threat but does not commit to any pawn moves in front on the king. On the other hand my f3 knight is still effectively 'pinned' due to the threat of Bxh2+ so it's probably not a bad idea to remove this threat of Bxh2+ permanently 15...0–0 16.h3 here Fritz suggested h3 anyway; naturally the plan is g5 is no longer on for black after committing to castling kingside] 15...Ne5?! a questionable move; black's c6 knight was strong controlling b4 d4 and e5 and trading it is nice for white [15...0–0 probably better to start with] 16.Nxe5 I'm more than happy to trade it off, plus all other moves that I can think of look silly here [16.Bg5 is possible but just seems pointless 16...Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Bh2+ 18.Kh1 Be5] 16...Bxe5 17.Re1 I was happy with this move; it develops the rook to a logical strong position on e1 with tempo 17...Bh2+ Fritz aggrees with this intermezzo, moving the king. I'm not entirely sure why but admittedly the king may not be as well placed on f1 or h1 as on g1. 18.Kh1 Fritz at first suggests Kf1 but I think that is a case of the computer lacking positional common sense in some cases, and after processing for longer agrees with Kh1 18...Bd6 [F seems to prefer 18...Bf4 e.g. 19.Bxf4 (19.a5 Bxc1 20.Rexc1 Bd7) 19...Qxf4] 19.Bg5 The natural move, and by now I was feeling fairly upbeat about my position after the initial stresses of working out the development of the queenside and potential problems of the light squared bishop 19...Be7 [F suggests castling straight away, although it could be wrong as the lines following BxN and gxf are sharp and could easily lead to problems for black 19...0–0 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Qh5] 20.Bh4 I'm happy with this plan, preparing Bg3 with a strong positioning of the bishop 20...0–0 21.Bg3 actually Fritz says that a5 was better here [21.a5] 21...Qb6? it looks like a clear mistake to allow the white bishop to have the run of the diagonal. None the less I have to meet the threat on the b2 pawn. I considered a5, which Fritz says is the best move, but not all variations were clear to me so I decided against risking something I couldn't calculate to the end clearly [21...Bd6 22.Bxd6 Qxd6 trading off the strong white bishop is the best option] 22.Bb3 a little anti position perhaps but it does the job and white still has a positional advantage [22.b3 doesn't look very nice; 22.a5 apparently the best move 22...Qc6 (22...Qxb2? 23.Na4 I looked at this but thought after Qd4 the black queen escapes having snatched a pawn, but there is more to it: 23...Qd4 24.Nb6 Ra7 25.Bb8! winning the exchange. A good example of why it is important to be able to calculate forced lines as far as possible in order to seize good opportunities) ] 22...Bd7 Fritz aggrees with this; it is logical to develop the remaining minor piece 23.Be5 I think this is quite a nice positional move, (it seems immediate a5 would have been technically stronger though); the main point of it is it removes the pin on the b3 bishop as the b2 pawn is defended now, and it also does quite a nice job of putting an at least temporary positional cramp on black. It seems that in this position black has to play quite carefully. 23...Bc6 quite a good practical move, with an uncomfortable attack xray attack on the whtie king. I was considering whether to move my king straight away but saw that a5 prodding the queen was good positionally. [F suggests 23...Qa5 ] 24.a5 Fritz aggrees this is the best move. After playing this I none the less admonished myself for not properly looking at the Bxg2 sacrifice; it is unlikely to be any good but I felt I should have looked at it at least briefly 24...Qd8 25.Ne4 F aggress with this. Instead of making a time losing king move when my king is not even in immediate danger I prefer to unravel my position further at the same time as blocking the diagonal attack 25...Nxe4?! Fritz says this is a mistake. [25...Nd5 and white only has a slightly better position] 26.dxe4 So after all the drama of the opening and early middlegame we now reach a position with all heavy pieces but only bishop pairs left, so it's the kind of time to clear your head and reassess the position. (There wasn't a lot of time to kill in the game though as it was 75 minutes for 36 moves and a 15 minute rapid play finish, so I had to ration myself to about two minutes per move and if a move took much longer than that there had to be a good reason, but I managed to keep the clock situation so that I had the equivalent of two minutes per move right until the time control). In this position black really does have to be very careful as white has quite a cramp on the position and the black queen has very limited options. 26...Bf6?! This lead to a nasty intermezzo, which although was still tenable for black, it required accurate and calm play. I at first looked at BxB QxB and then maybe e5, but realised that left white with little chance of any advantage, (in fact is may worse for white). It then struck me to look at Rfe1, attacking the queen rather than parrything the threat of black winning the bishop on e5, and looking through the responses I was happy with what I was seeing; they all seemed to be somewhat detrimental to black whatever he plays. I had a strong feeling I was likely to win the game after Rfe1. [F suggests 26...Bb5 e.g. 27.Bc4 Qe8 and F gives white about half a pawn advantage] 27.Red1! In this position my opponent needed to think calmly about any possible tenable defence, but instead he played a losing tactical move. Qc8 or Qe8 was necessary. 27...Bb5?? this made me wonder if I had made a mistake for a second or so, but then I realised my opponent had essentially given up and that c4 totally refutes this [27...Qc8 28.Bxf6 gxf6 29.Qg4+ is not pleaseant for black at all 29...Kh8 30.Qh4 Kg7 31.Qg3+ Kh8 32.Qf4 f5 and he looks in trouble (Fritz +1.9); 27...Qe7? is naturally no good because of the skewer 28.Bd6 winning a clear exchange; 27...Bd7?? is obviously unplayable 28.Bxf6 gxf6 (28...Qxf6 29.Rxd7) 29.Ba4 Qxa5 (29...b5 30.axb6 Qxb6 31.Rxd7) 30.Rxd7; when originally analysing I thought this was the best option for black, allowing BxB gxf 27...Qe8 28.Bxf6 gxf6 where it is not entirely pleasant for black but white has work to do to prove his advantage; also black can play Kh8 Rg8 and use the g file for counterplay. I think practically speaking this was the best move for black, (it is psychologically easier than giving up the queen for a rook and piece unless the latter is clearly good). 29.c3 (NB: the queen play such as 29.Qg4+ is not as good as after Qc8 because the black queen can support f6 with Qe7, and this is why 27...Qe8 is better than 27...Qc8 by the look of it 29...Kh8 30.Qf4 Qe7) ; 27...Bxe5 according to Fritz this is the best move for black, although it is difficult for black to give up his queen like that 28.Rxd8 Rfxd8 black could have good drawing chances. Although not pleasant for black, it certainly looks like white has a lot of work to do to try and win the position. this is reminiscent of the analysis of my game against Mark Broom in September 2011 where Fritz showed an actual (apparently dead drawn) fortress with Q+R+B vs R+R+B+B.] 28.c4 Bd7 there is nothing better 29.Bxf6 gxf6 30.Ba4 the crushing refutation of 27...Bb5. The only doubt I had was b5 but I saw that after axb6 the pin is still on, (it's important to note that Ra7 cannot help defend as the a7 square is attacked by the b6 pawn.) [At first I had looked at 30.Qd2 seeing that Bc8 and Be8 lose a whole rook, but saw that Bc6 is fine for black. Then I saw the crushing move Ba4.] 30...Qxa5 [30...b5 doesn't help 31.axb6] 31.Bxd7 This is fine, but F still slightly prefers taking with the rook [31.Rxd7 b5 I was concerned about this, losing the rook on a1 if the bishop moves, however it is harmless after cxb 32.cxb5 (32.Qg4+ is even stronger 32...Kh8 33.Qh4 bxa4 34.Ra3 is forced mate (in my own analysis I looked at 34.Qxf6+ Kg8 35.Rd3 which is also crushing but not a forced mate) 34...Qe1+ (34...Rad8 35.Qxf6+ Kg8 36.Rg3#) 35.Kh2 and there is no sensible way to avoid mate, for example: 35...Rg8 36.Qxf6+ Rg7 37.Rg3 Rag8 38.Qxg7+ Rxg7 39.Rd8+ Rg8 40.Rdxg8#) 32...axb5 33.Qxb5 Qxb5 34.Bxb5 Rxa1+] 31...Qb4 black has no good moves; maybe he can play to make it difficult for white to retrieve his bishop somehow. I now stalled a little. I had won a piece and got a totally winning position as a result, however I was unhappy about my bishop's position and was looking for the cleanest way to bring it back to base. 32.Ba4 I think this is a fair move practically speaking, although Fritz drops the evaluation from 5 pawns to 3 pawns for white. I wanted to avoid complications and stay a good piece up, (actually I'm a pawn down but have good compensation in play against his king etc too). After this I only had about about 4 or 5 minutes left to make the last few moves before the time control, which should be plenty, but after the time control there is only 15 minutes for the rest of the game. [32.Ra4 Qb6 33.Qg4+ Kh8 34.Qh4 Qd8; Fritz says the following is the best 32.Qg4+ Kh8 33.Qh4 Qxb2 34.Bxe6 Rg8 (34...fxe6 35.Rab1 Qxb1 (35...Qc3 leads to forced mate 36.Rxb7) 36.Rxb1) 35.Bxf7; 32.Ra3 Rad8 33.Qg4+ Kh8 34.Qh4 (34.Rad3 Qxb2) 34...Qxb2] 32...Qb6 [32...b5 33.cxb5 axb5 34.Bxb5 Rxa1 35.Rxa1 Rb8 36.Rd1 Kg7 (36...Rxb5 37.Rd8+ Kg7 38.Qg4+ Kh6 39.Rg8 mates) 37.Qg4+ Kh8 38.Be2 Qxb2 39.Rd7 Rf8 (39...Rg8 40.Qf4 f5 (40...Qxe2 41.Qxf6+ Rg7 42.Rd8#) 41.Bd3 Qg7 42.g3 fxe4 43.Bxe4 and white easily wins) ; F1: 32...Rfd8 ] 33.Ra3! not messing about this time; with the ruthless threat of Rg3+ 33...Rab8? I can only think this is a passing move in order to keep the game on white's clock time [F1: 33...Kh8 ] 34.Rg3+ strong but there was a much better move according to F [34.Qg4+ Kh8 35.Rb3 (35.Rg3 is obviously pointless after Rg8 35...Rg8) 35...Qxb3 (35...Qc7 36.Qh4 Rg8 (36...Qe5 37.f4 Qxe4 38.Qxf6+ Kg8 39.Rg3+ Qg6 40.Rxg6+ hxg6 the position is trivial) 37.Qxf6+ Rg7 38.Rbd3 Fritz gives white +12) ] 34...Kh8 35.Qf3? I'm very unhappy about this move and class it as a blunder, although white is still winning after black's best reply it gives black unnecessary chances to get back in the game with 3 pawns vs one on the queenside and my bishop currently being awkwardly placed on the queenside on the a file. Obviously this hangs the b2 pawn and after black takes it with the queen he covers f6. I noticed this within a coupld of seconds of playing it but was extremely relieved when I could see my opponent was not taking much time on his move and was about to play something else. 35...f5? now after the slight slip white can breathe a sigh of relief [35...Qxb2] 36.Qc3+ the position is now in the territory of forced mates 36...f6 37.Rd7 now there is no defence to a forced mate for black (providing white can find it) 37...Rbd8 in this position I was sure there had to be a mate but just couldn't find it. I would like to think given more time to think, (e.g. in a tournament game with 30 or 45 minutes added at the time control), that I would have found it soon after, but I only had five or ten minutes to finish the game so after a while I reluctantly traded the rook and got on with winning the game that way. 38.Rxd8 [38.Rg8+ a neat little mate which really shouldn't have been difficult to see in this position 38...Kxg8 (38...Rxg8 39.Qxf6+ Rg7 40.Qxg7#) 39.Qg3+ Kh8 40.Qg7#] 38...Qxd8 39.exf5 e5 40.Rd3 seizing control of the middle file with the rook. Of course the game should objectively be a formality now, but I still wasn't happy to relax yet 40...Qc8 threatening the f5 pawn, but this allows me to make a very favourable repositioning of my bishop which makes the win very easy 41.Bd7 Qc7 42.Be6 now my bishop is in the perfect place and there is little left to worry about 42...Rd8 43.Rxd8+ [the machine says 43.Rg3 is better, however computers don't understand the concept of blundering because they look at everything, and in this position it is the best human strategy to trade pieces and reduce any chance of counterplay for the defender] 43...Qxd8 44.Kh2 again a good human move in this kind of situation, taking away any chance of black checking the king; white is in no hurry (in a chess sense, although I was playing my moves pretty fast as I only had a few minutes left) and can methodically convert the win 44...Qf8 45.Qd3 Qb8 this looks like a clever trick, with the 'threat' of e4+ checking and attacking the queen with the pawn, however Qg3 intercepts it and moves the queen; a nice attempted trick by my opponent while I was fairly short of time however it didn't actually have any substance 46.g3 parrying the perceived threat, (again I would like to think given a bit more time on the clock I would have seen it was a harmless threat, but none the less it is a good idea to remove any chances of a swindle out of the position 46...b6 47.Qd7 preparing to trade queens 47...a5 48.Qf7 I thought for a second I had a mate, but obviously Qd8 parries this 48...Qd8 49.Qd7 enough is enough and it's time to trade queens and get this over with 49...Qf8 50.Qc8 Qxc8 51.Bxc8 although the endgame is technically trivial, it is still good practice to maintain good form in moves played and plans. I waste no time in walking my king straight up the diagonal g2-f3-e4-d5 51...Kg7 52.Kg2 h6 a pointless pawn move but the position is nevertheless defenceless 53.Kf3 Kf7 54.Ke4 Ke7 55.Kd5 Kd8 Fritz now suggests Ke6, but in a practical situation it would be cocky to play like this and give up the piece as it could backfire unless it is and extremely simplified position, especially when there are only a few minutes on the clock 56.Be6 [56.Ke6 Kxc8 57.Kxf6 Kd7 58.Kg7 b5 59.cxb5 e4 60.f6] 56...Kc7 57.f4 as good a way as any 57...exf4 58.gxf4 a4 59.Bf7 clearing space for my king to come to e6 and queen the f pawn 59...Kd7 The white king is blocked for now, but there are three ways that I can see of creating an immediate zugzwant for black: h4, Bg6, and the move I played Bh5 60.Bh5 Looking at the game now I like this move the most out of the options; it is a clear zugzwang as the a and b pawns will be lost for black if either move, and white has the opposition so if black moves his king, the white king can proceed and win 60...Kc7 [60...Ke7 61.Kc6 is just as bad for black] 61.Ke6 Kc6 62.Kxf6 b5 this allows a nasty bishop check that removes even the faintest hope of black getting a passed pawn. White would have to go out of his way here to give black a chance of saving the game, e.g. 63.Be8+ [63.h4 b4 64.Ke6 a3 65.bxa3 bxa3 66.Ke7?? a2 letting black queen] 63...Kb6 64.Bxb5 after this my opponent played on until checkmate, which from a practical point of view was sensible as I was down to a couple of minutes on the clock so it's possible for someone to blunder and allow a stalemate for example in that situation, however having 'grown up' on a diet of playing thousands of blitz chess games, (not that I am recommending blitz as it can be bad for your form, although it is good if you are not used to time trouble and want practice at converting technical wins quickly), I did not feel any doubt whatsoever about finishing the game sensibly. 64...h5 65.Ke6 h4 66.f6 Ka5 67.f7 Kb4 68.f8Q a3 69.bxa3+ Kxa3 70.Qa8+ [of course 70.Qxc5+ was the obvious move] 70...Kb3 71.Qa4+ Kc3 72.Qa3+ Kd4 73.Qb2+ Ke4 74.Qe5+ Kd3 75.Qxc5 Ke4 76.Qe5+ Kd3 77.c5+ I managed to write down most of my moves until about two minutes were left on the clock, (so I could analyse the moves later), but I now put the pen down and concentrated on finishing the game. I pushed the c pawn and promoted to a rook, checking carefully on each move that there was no chance of a stalemate, then checkmated with the queen and rook. I worried myself a couple of times in this final conversion of the game with a few minutes left as a couple of times I forgot to press the digital clock and gave me opponent ten or twenty seconds each time; naturally he did not tell me as he probably hoped I would lose on time, and the fact I did this twice was a bit silly; in any case drama was avoided and the game was converted cleanly. Overall an odd game in the opening which still leaves me pretty baffled, (then again the opening is the most subtle and difficult part of the game according to top players), since I was sure there was a way of getting a clear advantage, but this seemed to mostly disappear into the middlegame. None the less I still had an advantage into the middle game and apart from the slight lapse of 35.Qf3? giving black a slight chance of counterplay, (and missing a pretty simple checkmate, although I can forgive myself this as I had given myself a time limit to spend looking for a checkmate and needed to get on with winning the game), I'm very happy with how I played both positionally and tactically, as well as in the endgame conversion of the win. 1-0

Blitz games vs Baadur Jobava!

2011-11-21T10:58:00.001-08:00

Oligarckh 3049 vs UltraMarathon 1774

On the 5th of March this year I played three blitz games (3 minutes +1 second increment) on the Playchess server against Baadur Jobava of Georgia, ranked at the time 37th in the world with a FIDE rating of 2707, (and a recent win against world number one Magnus Carlsen in the chess olympiad). All three games were Friendly (do not effect ratings) and Jobava (Oligarckh) had a rating of 3049 and my (UltraMarathon) rating was 1774.

Game 1

Oligarckh vs UltraMarathon

Position after 20.b4

The first game against Badur Jobava. 1.d4 This was the first of 3 games against Baadur Jobava (aka Oligarckh on Playchess); I had been talking to him and he sportingly challenged me to a few blitz games. There were dozens of spectators watching. I will just give brief comments as these games are just included for fun to show how easily a super GM kills a club player in blitz. 1...c6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qb3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Qb6 8.Nd2 Qxb3 9.axb3 a6?! why did I play this? It doesn't serve any purpose at the moment. [9...Nd7] 10.e4 Bg6 11.Bd3 Fritz gives white a pawn advantage 11...e6 Fritz says Nd7 or e5 were better [11...Nd7 12.f4 f6 13.f5 Bf7; 11...e5 12.Nc4 exd4 13.Nb6 Ra7 this looks messy for black so Nd7 was probably better than this] 12.Nc4 Nd7 13.Bf4 Be7 [F says 13...b5 is better 14.Na5 Nf6] 14.Nd6+ Bxd6 15.Bxd6 Nf6?! [15...f5 may have been better] 16.f3 h5 Fritz agrees, but by now it gives white 1.4 pawns advantage 17.Ke2 h4 18.Ke3 Ng8?! looks time wasting; Kd7 was less pointless [18...Kd7] 19.c4 Ne7 20.b4 white has the mother of all pawn centres 20...Nc8 21.Bf4 f6 22.b5?! a dubious move according to Fritz which drops evaluation from 1.5 to 0.8 [22.g4] 22...Ke7? Black had to play accurately with c5, but I didn't and the computer evaluation is 2.3 [22...c5 23.bxa6 bxa6 24.Rhb1 (if 24.dxc5? e5 25.Bxe5 fxe5 26.Ra5 and black is a bit better) 24...cxd4+ white's problem is threats to trap the dark squared bishop 25.Ke2 (25.Kxd4? e5+ 26.Bxe5 fxe5+ 27.Kxe5) ] 23.bxc6 bxc6 white now easily infiltrates 24.Rhb1 Ra7 25.Bb8 Ra8? at least I should have kept it on the 7th rank [25...Rd7] 26.Rb7+ Kf8 27.Ra5 Be8 28.c5 Kg8 29.Bc4 Bf7 30.Rxa6 Rxa6 31.Bxa6 Be8 32.Rc7 h3 33.g3 Kh7 34.Rxc8 resigned 1-0

Game 2

UltraMarathon vs Oligarckh

Position after 18..Nxa5

Game two, this time I had white. 1.e4 d6 2.d3 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.Nge2 c5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.h3 Rb8 9.Be3 b5 10.Qd2 [10.a3 may have been better] 10...b4 11.Nd1?! [F says 11.Nd5 was better] 11...a5 12.Bh6 a4 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Ne3 a3 15.bxa3 bxa3 16.Rab1 Be6 Actually I have done pretty well so far and Fritz evaluates it as about equal 17.c4 Qa5 18.Qxa5 Nxa5 19.Nd5? [apparently after 19.Rb5 the position is still about equal] 19...Nxd5 20.exd5 It comes to mind that this game is a good example of how futile it is when club players focus their training on learning openings, (which I have always thought a ludicrous thing), because here I had an equal position against a super GM up until move 19 but once we get properly into the middle game the class of the stronger player immediately becomes apparent, (this is only a blitz game but still serves to demonstrate that principle). 20...Bf5 the d pawn is hard to defend 21.Be4? this blunders a pawn (in an admittedly already very bad position) - a better defence could have been player though [even so after 21.Rbd1 black can get a totally dominating position even with simple positional moves 21...Rb2 22.Rfe1 Rfb8] 21...Bxe4 the rest is trivial 22.dxe4 Nxc4 23.Rxb8 Rxb8 24.Rc1 Rb2 25.Rxc4 Rxe2 26.Rc3 Rxa2 27.Kg2 Ra1 28.Kf3 Kf6 29.h4 h5 30.Kf4 e5+ 31.dxe6 fxe6 32.f3 e5+ 33.Ke3 a2 resigns 0-1

Game 3

Oligarckh vs UltraMarathon

Position after 14.Bd2

1.d4 The third blitz game against Jobava. 1...c6 2.e4 Caro Kann this time instead of Slav 2...d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.Ne2 0–0 8.0–0 Bf5?! Fritz doesn't like this, allowing Ng3 followed by h4, and gives white +1 pawns evaluation 9.Ng3 Bg6 10.Bd3?! Fritz drops evaluation from +1 to +0.2 [10.h4 F +1] 10...Nd7 11.Re1 Re8 12.Bf4 Nb6 13.c3 [13.Nf5 was stronger according to Fritz] 13...Nd5 Fritz actually gives black a slight edge here (–0.2) 14.Bd2??! Hanging the d3 bishop and white instantly resigned before I even knew why (and before I had a chance to take the d3 bishop)! At the time and in the intervening months I was almost certain Baadur had thrown the game on purpose to be a good sport and that may be the case, but having analysed the game I can see it is quite likely he really did blunder, (remembering that this is only a blitz game). Fritz suggests 14.Ne2 giving up the bishop for the knight, which white naturally would not be keen to acquiesce to, and Be3 and Bc1 look positionally unpleasant places to put the bishop, so it looks like he has put the bishop on the natural square d2 almost instantly without thinking and has overlooked that the d3 bishop is en prise. 0-1

GAME 037 - Mark Broom

2011-11-20T10:12:00.000-08:00

Mark Broom vs Ed Davies

Fareham Congress Premier 2011

Position after 16.Bb1

Analysis diagram after 21..Qxe5!! 22.Qxe5 Rxd7 showing the apparent fortress where the position is a draw

Position after 33.Kf1

1.c4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 Transposition into slav 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Be7 [5...Nbd7 is the main line] 6.b3 I get the feeling this is comfortable with black; the only games in the Fritz openings book are from two 2600 odd players and it scored 100% with white 6...0–0 7.Bd3 b6 [7...c5 was the most critical reply by the look of it. It looks like there are a lot of possible replies, but dxc is poor so black only needs to worry about cxd or 0–0 8.0–0 a) 8.cxd5 cxd4 9.Nxd4 exd5 (9...Nxd5 may be ok too 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.0–0) 10.0–0 Nc6; b) 8.dxc5 is questionable 8...dxc4 9.Bxc4 (9.bxc4 is visible poor 9...Nbd7) 9...Qxd1+ 10.Kxd1 Bxc5; 8...Nc6] 8.0–0 Bb7 9.Qe2 it seems quite logical to put the queen here controlling a6 to e2 diagonal and if Nf3 moves it has access to the kingside, and it supports e4 9...Nbd7 [it probably would have been better again to contest the centre with 9...c5 ] 10.Rd1 Qc7 continuing development; I'm not sure if it is good or not but looks playable 11.Bb2 well placed for long term x ray effect on black's king 11...Rac8 expecting my opponent to put a rook/rooks on c file, I don't want my queen anoyingly stranded there when things open up; I was struggling to find a better plan and didn't want to play planlessly 12.Rac1 Qb8?! I was concerned about tactical threats to the queen, but maybe this is too passive; Fritz edges the evaluation a little further in favour of white. I supposed it looks a little like black was psyched out about nothing with this move [e.g. 12...g6 13.h3 (13.cxd5 exd5 and there are no immediate threats to the queen(of course not 13...cxd5 14.Nxd5 which was the kind of tactic I was concerned about) ) ] 13.e4 logically pushing e4 13...dxe4 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 [it may have been better not to trade knights, e.g. 14...Rcd8 ] 15.Bxe4 Nf6 [or 15...g6 ] 16.Bb1 a very nice move I think; Bc2 would have been similar but it seems logical not to block the rook; now white's bishops look very nicely placed; maybe the problem is that some of black's pieces (queen and light bishop) are similarly placed but whereas all white's pieces lend themselves to an attack on the opponent's king, black has no similar threats of a coordinated attack so his pieces should serve some other purpose like specifically setting up to defend the potential white attack 16...Rfe8?! F doesn't like this, and indeed it seem a little bit slow; I think I was preparing a possible bf8 then there is an Xray effect of the rook on the white queen as well as the bishop being a good defensive piece [16...g6 probably would have been better] 17.Ne5 White increases his positional advantage to pretty much it's full potential and will want to strike soon 17...c5 I think this is the correct move for black 18.dxc5 Bxc5 19.Nd7 Nxd7 20.Rxd7 Re7 both white and black have chosen the best moves in this sequence according to Fritz 21.Be5? Amazingly Fritz says this allows a forced draw 21...Qa8? it is understandable that I thought this was the only move; white still has a significant advantage now. To be fair I have given myself a ? too for missing it. [21...Qxe5!! if this really does lead to a dead draw then I think it deserves two ! 22.Qxe5 Rxd7 I don't know if Fritz is serious about this being a draw, or if the position is just beyond the horizon of the computer; it seems like white should be able to find a way through; 'on paper' he is a point up in material with a queen for bishop and rook, but admittedly the bishops are extremely solid 23.a4 F shows this 23...Rcd8 mate threat 24.Rf1 (24.g3?? Rd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rxd1+; 24.h3?? Rd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 26.Kh2 Bd6) 24...Rd2 25.Qc7 R2d7 26.Qf4 remarkably the black position is apparently an impenetrable fortress! I may investigate this in more detail another time to test if it is really true. In any case, maybe this apparent draw indicates that white's move Be5 was too good to be true.] 22.Rxe7?! Fritz thinks this takes away quite a lot of the pressure and simply Rcd1 doubling rooks was strong [22.Rcd1 athough after 22...Bc6 it is beaten back anyway 23.R7d2 Bb4 24.Rd3 f6 25.Bb2 (25.Bd6?! Bxd6 26.Rxd6 Bxg2 27.Rxe6 with quite a complicated position) 25...Bc5] 22...Bxe7 23.Qg4 In this position I felt under a lot of pressure; amazingly my queen has no squares to move to at all; maybe my opponent can be credited with skillfully forcing it into the corner in this way, and I have to defend with less defenders than attackers. I would like to play Be4 here but it is impossible because e4 is controlled by white's queen and bishop. I can see Rf3 to Rh3 or Rg3 etc coming too so I know without accurate play I will be doomed 23...Bf8 This is the best move in this position I think. At first Fritz recommends g6 but then sees the brilliant sacrifice Bxg6 is very good for white [23...g6 24.Bxg6 hxg6 (if 24...fxg6? 25.Qxe6+ Kf8 26.Rd1 Bc6 27.Rd4 Qb7 28.Rf4+ Ke8 29.Qf7+ Kd8 30.Rd4+ Bd5 (30...Bd7 31.Qg8+ Bf8 32.Qxf8#) 31.Rxd5+ Qd7 32.Qg8+ Bf8 33.Qxf8#) 25.Qh3 this looks like inevitable mate but black can avoid it at a cost 25...f6 the only try (e.g. 25...f5 26.Qh8+ Kf7 27.Qg7+ Ke8 28.Rd1 Bd5 (28...Rd8 29.Qg8+ Bf8 30.Qxg6+ (or 30.Qxe6+ Be7 31.Qxg6+ Kf8 32.Bg7+ Kg8 33.Bh6+ Kh8 34.Qg7#) 30...Ke7 31.Bf6#) 29.cxd5 exd5 30.Bf6 Rc7 31.Qg8+ Kd7 (31...Bf8 32.Re1+ Re7 33.Rxe7+ Kd8 34.Qxf8#) 32.Qxa8) 26.Qxe6+ Kf8 27.Bxf6 Rc7 28.Be5 none the less this requires accurate play from white 28...Rc6 29.Qh3 Qc8 30.Qh8+ Kf7 31.Qg7+ Ke8 32.Qg8+ Kd7 33.Rd1+ Rd6 34.Qxc8+ Bxc8 35.Bxd6 Bxd6 probably not the best line for white, but he may have good odds of winning the endgame] 24.h4 looks like a reasonable way to proceed. F says it gives away some of the advantage though [simply 24.Rd1 was better according to Fritz] 24...Rc5?! it's understandable that I would want to assist the king's defence with the rook, but seeing as there are no unattacked squares due to the bishops, this is futile and putting the rook on the open file is better [24...Rd8 Fritz says this is basically a draw with only a tiny edge for white; practically speaking white can drum up some nasty threats though so I'm not sure I agree, but none the less it is clear this was black's best move] 25.Bd4 [F also suggests 25.Re1 ] 25...Rc7 26.h5 continuing with the plan; I think the computer struggles to evaluate the game because of the type of position and black has a difficult defensive task 26...Qe8?! inaccurate according to F. It is visibly unnatural; I presume I felt forced into this move looking through various possibilities, but if I had kept my cool there would have been more chance of holding the position [26...Rd7 is the best move according to F] 27.Re1 I am quite proud of how I defended so far against a strong opponent who has been pushing a material advantage in a jiu jitsu kind of way, but my following move is a mistake 27...Bc8? The primary proble of this is now the light diagonal is not occupied by the black bishop and white can put the queen on e4; this was a bad positional slip [27...Qd8 28.Bc2 (28.h6?! g6 29.Be3 Rd7 F says black is slightly better) 28...Rd7 black is pretty solid] 28.Qe4! f5 appears to be the best option for black 29.Qxf5 exf5 30.Rxe8 Kf7 31.Re3 g6 32.hxg6+ hxg6 after 28.Qe4 black's play has pretty much played the best moves under the circumstances and white still has a job to do in order to win 33.Kf1 Bg7 [F suggests 33...Rd7 and maybe keeping all the material on - the bishops in particular, is the best plan for black] 34.Bxg7 Kxg7 35.f4 Kf6 36.Bd3 Bb7 37.Be2 Rh7 at least trying to present white with problem to make his job difficult (Fritz only evaluates this +0.65 so I had done well to salvage this position despite the original loss of a pawn in the middle game when things looked very unpleasant for black. Of course black could have played better in that middlegame and played on to draw. Fritz does not criticise any of the moves from either player in the endgame hitherto. It seems to me in this example and in other games, oftentimes the more moves are made in an endgame, the more it benefits the side trying to draw and the advantage can slowly reduce, (another example is my game against Andy McDougall in the Hampshire Congress where I also went down a pawn in the middlegame but the evaluation started to get closer to a draw in the endgame) after a while. 38.Rh3 Rd7 [F seems to prefer 38...Re7 ] 39.Rd3 Re7?! a mistake according to Fritz [39...Rg7 e.g. 40.Rd6+ Ke7 41.Rd2 Kf6] 40.Bd1?! F thinks white has missed a strong opportunity [40.Rd6+ is good according to F, beating the king back; e.g. 40...Kg7 41.g3 Be4 42.Kf2 Kf7 43.b4] 40...Re4?! [40...Rg7 was more solid according to F] 41.g3 Re7 42.Rd6+! Kf7 43.Kf2 This time Mark does exactly as Fritz recommended in the note before, and now the black king is cut off 43...Be4 [apparently 43...Kg7 was more solid] 44.Bf3 [Fritz says that 44.b4 is the strongest 44...Kg7 45.Ba4] 44...Bb1 trying to cause some kind of problems for white; Fritz prefers BxB marginally [44...Bxf3 45.Kxf3 Kg7 white should win according to the computer 46.g4 Kf7 47.g5 Kg7 48.Rc6 Rb7 should be a relatively easy win for white] 45.Bd5+ Kg7 46.a3 Bc2 47.b4 Bd3? I was starting to feel pretty hopeless about any prospect of drawing, but white can win clearly after this [47...Bb3 was the way to keep playing for a draw according to Fritz, e.g. 48.b5 Bd1 49.Be6 Bc2 50.Ke3 Kh6 51.Kd4 Kh5 things could have stayed somewhat interesting] 48.Be6 Kf6?? a blunder is an already lost position; I'm not happy with it but at the same time I realised I was 99.99% sure to lose the endgame against Mark by now and lost the plot [48...Be4 49.Bd7 Kf8 50.c5 bxc5 51.bxc5 Rg7 52.Ke2 a5 53.c6 Ke7 54.Rd4 Rg8 55.c7 Bb7 56.Bb5 Rc8 57.Rd7+ Kf6 58.Kd3 Rf8 59.Kd4 Bc8 60.Kc5 Ke6 61.Rd6+ Ke7 62.Rxg6 a4 63.Ba6 Bxa6 64.Rxa6 Kd7 65.Kb6 Rc8 66.Rxa4 Rg8 67.Rd4+ Kc8 68.Rd8+ Rxd8 69.cxd8Q+ Kxd8 + -] 49.Bc8+ Kf7 50.Rxd3 All in all I was happy with how I played in this game; I feel that it was far from a total annihilation by my very strong opponent and I made him work hard to convert the positional grind into a win. There was a spectacular possibility of a fortress in the middlegame (according to Fritz but I'm still not totally convinced) and the computer insists I could have made white's task tougher in the later middlegame with some simple principled moves such as moving the rook to the open file. I also seem to have somewhat swindled the position closer to a draw than it necessarily should have been in the endgame but I'm also not 100% sure about this. In any case the level of play was quite good from both players and I think I can take some valuable lessons from this game. 0–1

GAME 036 - Ricky Vaja

2011-11-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Ed Davies vs Ricky Vaja

Fareham Congress (bye round match)

Position after 15.Nxf4

Position after 31..Qxf2

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nge2 e5 7.0–0 0–0 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bxf6 Fritz agreed with this 9...Bxf6 10.Nd5 Bg7 11.a4 [F suggests 11.Bh3 which looks a little odd to me] 11...d6 12.Qd2 Be6 13.c3 F isn't keen on this and gives black an edge; my idea was to control the d4 square but I guess it restricts the movement of my knights too [13.h4 in hindsight I can see that this would have been a good move] 13...Rc8 14.f4 exf4 [it was apparently better to do 14...Bxd5 15.exd5 Na5 is strong (15...Ne7 16.fxe5 (not 16.c4 exf4 17.Nxf4 Qb6) 16...dxe5 17.c4) 16.Qe3 fork of rook and queen was threatened 16...c4 positional pressure on white 17.f5 may be the best (17.dxc4 Nxc4 18.Qxa7 compicated; 17.fxe5 cxd3 18.Qxd3 Bxe5 not bad for black; 17.Nc1 exf4 18.Rxf4 a6 19.Re4) 17...cxd3 (17...gxf5 18.Rxf5 cxd3 19.Qxd3 Nc4 (or 19...Qb6+ 20.Rf2 Nc4 21.Be4 Nxb2 looks bad for white) ) 18.Qxd3 gxf5 (18...Nb3 19.Ra3 the knight is shooed sraight away 19...Nc5 20.Qe3) 19.Qxf5 Qg5 even position according to F] 15.Nexf4 this is quite pleasant for white [after the game my opponent said I should have played 15.gxf4? quoting a saying "every schoolboy knows you take with the g pawn", but I replied that after Bxd5 exd5 the f pawn is isolated and the position is horrible for white and I think he agreed. 15...Bxd5 16.exd5 Ne7 17.Be4 it isn't an immediate disaster for white but positionally horrible] 15...Bd7 This looks a bit obsessive, that my opponent is worried about losing his 'advantage' of the bishop pair [F prefers 15...Qd7 ] 16.Rf2 [F says 16.Bh3 would have been stronger. It look a bit wrong to trade off my fiachetto bishop but maybe it's good 16...Bxh3 e.g. 17.Nxh3 Ne5 18.Qe3 Qd7 19.Nhf4 F gives white just under half a pawn advantage] 16...Ne5 17.h3 Fritz doesn't like this and now gives black an edge [17.Bh3 better according to F 17...Ng4 (17...Bxh3 18.Nxh3 Ng4 19.Rff1 F still prefers white) 18.Bxg4 Bxg4 19.Ne3 Bd7 20.Nfd5 a very interesting prospect with 2 knights vs 2 bishops] 17...Bc6 An odd looking move and looks a little bit pointless [F: 17...Re8 18.Rff1 Qa5 19.b3] 18.Raf1? ridiculously I leave the a4 pawn en prise. I think I was frustrated around this time in the game as I couldn't really think of a plan [18.Ne3 would be fine] 18...b5? my opponent return the favour and doesn't take it [18...Bxa4 19.Ra1 b5 black can hang onto the pawn but at the cost of putting the bishop out of the game slightly; Fritz gives under half a pawn to black, but still black should be better here; F prefers first to play 18...h5 19.h4 Bxa4 20.Ra1 b5] 19.axb5 Bxb5 20.c4 F is not keen on this [F1 20.Ra1 a5 (after 20...a6 loses the h pawn e.g. 21.c4 Be8 22.Rxa6) 21.b3 h5 22.Qe3 about equal according to F] 20...Bd7 [F prefers 20...Be8 and I'm not sure why exactly] 21.b4 cxb4 [F says 21...a6 is better, e.g. 22.bxc5 dxc5 black has a passed pawn and defence of the d3 pawn is a bit of a liability for white] 22.Nxb4? a mistake, although it is quite hard to see that Qx is the only good move as I was worried about g5 moving the f4 knight and leaving the d3 pawn hanging if I moved the queen. [the threat to the d6 pawn is a major factor 22.Qxb4 Bc6 (e.g. 22...a5 23.Qxd6; 22...g5 the move I was worried about 23.Nh5 Nxd3 24.Qxd6 this is actually perfectly alright. Sometimes it is best to go into variations which are somewhat unclear if you judge them to be the best option based on intuition as well as analysis) ] 22...a5 23.Nbd5 Nc6 [23...Rb8 would have been a lot stronger according to F] 24.Kh2 [F 24.Ne2 looks good, heading to c3 and then maybe b5 and help] 24...a4 [24...Bd4 would be a blunder after 25.Nxg6; or 24...Rb8 ] 25.Qa2 Ne5 26.Qa3 I was happy with this move as it has three clear purposes, 1.blockading the advance of the h pawn, 2.attacking the en prise d6 pawn, 3.adding a defender to the weak d3 pawn [Fritz in typical computer fashion suggests this move with wild possibilities: 26.Rb2 g5 for example 27.Nh5 Nxd3 28.Ndf6+ Bxf6 29.Rxf6 Qe7 (or 29...Nxb2 30.Qxb2 Qe7 31.Rxd6 threatening mate on g7) ] 26...Bc6 27.Rb1 [apparently 27.Nb4 was better 27...Bd7 28.Nbd5 would be repeating moves; the position is fairly equal but maybe black is better because of the passed pawn and white weak d3 pawn] 27...Rb8? this is a mistake and turns the advantage to white; the forcing sequence means the h pawn is lost. I think both players were in moderate time trouble by now [F: 27...Re8 28.Ne3 Nd7 29.Nfd5 Bd4 etc and F gives black half a pawn advantage] 28.Rxb8 Qxb8 29.Ne7+ Kh7 30.Nxc6 Qb6?? Objectively this should lose the game without question, but as will be seen I managed to throw the win, (equally my oppoenent managed to trick me well) [Objectively black had to be prepared to give up the a pawn 30...Nxc6 31.Qxa4 Bd4 32.Rf1 for example; F gives white half a pawn advantage] 31.Nxe5 Qxf2! a very clever trick which enabled me to blunder the game. Now white has to play accurately [31...Bxe5 32.Rf3 makes it too easy for white] 32.Ng4?? Throwing away the win. At first Fritz says white is totally dead, but after processing for longer it drops the evaluation to under half a pawn. The position is so deep due to the passed pawn, threats of Rb8 Rb2 and Bd4 and white's counterplay that it is hard for the comptuer to analyse it; things should have been relatively easy after Qxd6 though by the look of it [32.Qxd6 should win without much trouble; the only definitely good move I can find; 32.Nd7 is muddy; I will try not to get side tracked on it; 32.Nf3 also loses 32...g5 33.Nd5 (33.Nh5 loses 33...Rb8) 33...Rb8 34.Nb4 Qc5 loses a piece] 32...Qe1?? apparently white is winning again after this. (Note that this whole section of the game was in at least moderate time trouble for both players before the time control). 33.Qxa4?? I was happy to remove the threat of the passed pawn, but missed a winning move [33.Qxd6 the main point being the threat of Nf6+ 33...Qa1 e.g. if this then 34.e5 h5 35.Nf6+ Kh8 (35...Bxf6 36.Qxf8) 36.d4 white is very clearly winning] 33...Bd4! I had overlooked this and realised it was bad news; this illustrates well the middle game principle of opposite bishops that attacks can be much more dangerous and harder to stop. Although the position is unclear Fritz initially evaluates only a very slight edge for black 34.h4 correct according to F 34...g5?? evaluation goes from and edge for black to a win for white 35.Nh5 good as well according to Fritz (+3) 35...gxh4 36.Nhf6+?? I'm tempted to give this three question marks as the evaluation goes from +4 to -5! A number of queen moves would win for white, as well as Kh3. Somewhat infuratingly looking at it now, there were lots of moves which would still have kept the win objectively. The main problem appears to stem from white's queen being out of the game at the moment, and the tempo should be spent on getting the queen back in the game, or a similar move [e.g. 36.Qd7 Qa5 37.e5 Bxe5 all of these positions are very sharp and there are plenty of opportunities to blunder 38.Kh3 (38.Nxe5 may give black hopes of drawing after 38...Qxe5 39.Be4+ Kh8 40.Qf5 Qxf5 41.Bxf5 hxg3+ 42.Kxg3 doesn't look very easy for white to win this endgame) 38...Bg7 39.Bd5 Kh8 40.Qf5 Qa2 41.Nhf6 Bxf6 42.Qxf6+ Kg8 43.Nxh6+ Kh7 44.Be4#; 36.Qb5 hxg3+ 37.Kh3 and white threatens Qf5+ 37...f5 38.Ngf6+ a clever tactic 38...Bxf6 39.Qxf5+! Kh8 40.Nxf6 Rf7 41.Qg6; 36.Kh3 Qd2 37.Qd7 with the idea again of going to f5; 36.Qa6 hxg3+ 37.Kh3 f5 38.exf5 Qe8 39.Qxd6; 36.c5 even this wins 36...hxg3+ 37.Kh3 Qa1 38.Qd7; 36.Qc6 hxg3+ 37.Kh3 Qa5 38.e5! letting the queen into the game on e4] 36...Bxf6?? Fritz says it is now a draw. This gives up a key component of black's attack; black's king was in no immediate danger but it was a very sharp position. [36...Kg6 it isn't easy to see this is the only move to win 37.Qd7 e.g. is mate 37...Qxg3+ 38.Kh1 Qe1+ 39.Kh2 Bg1+ 40.Kh1 Be3+ 41.Bf1 (41.Kh2 Bf4+ 42.Kh3 Qg3#) 41...Qxf1+ 42.Kh2 Bf4#] 37.Nxf6+ Kg6 38.Nd5? The evaluation changes from draw to a win for black now. Nd7 would have threatened to take the f8 rook with check which may have saved the game [38.Nd7 is unclear but maybe white can draw 38...Qxg3+ 39.Kh1 Qe1+ (39...h3 black cannot do the same thing as in the game because the f8 rook is en prise 40.Nxf8+ Kg7 41.Qa1+ wherever the king moves the queen comes in to a1; a very nice detail 41...Kxf8 42.Bf1 and white is winning) 40.Kh2] 38...Qxg3+ 39.Kh1 h3 I remember that I knew this was coming but couldn't find anything else when I played Nd5 40.Ne7+ [40.Qa2 was more resourceful, at least with an ending of N vs R, but would be none the less hopeless objectively] 40...Kh7 41.Bxh3 everything loses badly 41...Qxh3+ 42.Kg1 Qg3+ 43.Kf1 Qxd3+ 44.Kg1 Rb8 45.Qd7 Rb1+ In the critical positions in time trouble both sides blundered with evaluation shifting rapidly several times. I had got a better position and would have been a pawn up in an endgame, however my opponent played an unsound but tricky tactical idea which caused serious complications and was ulitmately successful, so it may well have been a good idea by him, (rather than trying to play on hoping to draw a pawn down). 0–1

GAME 035 - Oliver Gill

2011-11-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

Oliver Gill vs Ed Davies

Fareham Congress Premier 2011

Position after 10..Nc5?

1.e4 c6 The first otb move I had made for nearly two years. My playing strength was a bit of an unknown to me as I hadn't played for so long, but I was confident in my game because of reasonable results in the games I had played previously and a feeling that my playing strength had increased slightly over the intervening years from all the incessant internet blitz playing and reading etc, so I went straight in for the open section of the tournament. In hindsight I think I probably would have played just as rustily against slightly lower graded players than I faced anyway, so being shown my errors by some strong players was probably a good way of kicking me back into form. 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.d3 Nd7 7.Bf4?! This makes things pretty comfortable for black and I think more or less equalises. 7...e5 8.Bd2 [8.Bh2 would look visibly pants] 8...d4 9.Ne2 Qb6 [F 9...Ngf6 ] 10.0–0–0 Fritz agrees 10...Nc5? I was overconfident with what I thought was an advantageous start for me and overlook the basic analytics of the position. I think I can put this partly down to it being my first over the board game for nearly two years so I was a bit out of touch with the reality of the position. [10...Bb4 is ok 11.Qg3 Bxd2+ 12.Rxd2 g6; 10...Ngf6 is ok 11.g4 Bb4 12.Bxb4 (12.g5 Bxd2+ 13.Rxd2 Ng8 14.h4 Ne7) 12...Qxb4 13.g5 Ng8 14.h4 Ne7] 11.Qg3 Now the position is quite problematic for black and F gives white about one pawn. 11...f6 [11...Nd7 may have been better: a lame move to have to make of course, but only because it was a lame move to start with 12.f4 exf4 (12...f6 13.c3 (13.fxe5 fxe5 14.c3 dxc3 15.Nxc3 Ngf6 not great for black but he has solved some of the problems) 13...0–0–0 a) 13...exf4 is not good 14.Bxf4 dxc3 15.Nxc3 0–0–0 16.Kb1 and Rf8; not a happy position for black, white has a huge attack; b) if 13...dxc3 14.Bxc3! taking with bishop and adding to the woe of the d4 square for black 14...0–0–0 15.d4 (15.fxe5 cashing in the pawn immediately is not as good for white 15...fxe5 16.Bxe5 Nxe5 17.Qxe5 Qe3+) 15...Nh6 developing is the best chance 16.fxe5 (16.d5? would be wrong and allow 16...Nc5) 16...fxe5 17.dxe5 Nc5 black has been resourceful but it is very good for white; ) ] 12.f4 black is a long way from creating legitimate threats against the white king so white can happily open the position up and attack the black king 12...Na4? though not an immediately losing blunder, this is delusional, and a simple analysis of the continuations will show it to be futile. [12...exf4 was better; maybe I was concerned about the number of different recaptures and assumed I would lose a pawn, however all three captures on c5 allow black to castle queenside fairly soundly, although it is still exposed 13.Bxf4 (13.Nxf4 0–0–0 similarly is holding for black for now; 13.Qxf4 0–0–0 again this is alright for black for the time being) 13...0–0–0 isn't too nice but black is holding (fritz gives under half a pawn to white)] 13.b3 0–0–0? an attempt at being tricky but this was just burying my head in the sand against a strong player (rated in the 180s) [13...exf4 was much better 14.Bxf4 0–0–0 (also 14...Ba3+ 15.Kb1 (not 15.Kd2 Qa5+ 16.c3 Nxc3 when black is winning) 15...Kf7 the king is actually fairly safe for the time being on this light square 16.e5 Re8 an unclear position; the computer doesn't know what to make of it) 15.Qg4+ (15.bxa4? Ba3+ 16.Kd2 Qb4+ 17.c3 dxc3+ 18.Nxc3 Qb2+ 19.Ke1 Qxc3+ and black is better) 15...Rd7 F actually just gives white a very slight advantage here] 14.fxe5 the game is essentially over by now [obviously 14.bxa4 Ba3#] 14...fxe5 [14...Ba3+ does nothing; 14...Nc5 was a better defence 15.Qg4+ Kb8 16.Bf4 Ka8 17.Kb1] 15.Qxe5 Bd6?! [15...Nc5 16.Qf5+ Kb8 17.Nxd4 still hopeless for black; the white knight obviously would come at the cost of the black rook] 16.Qa5 a good practical move removing practically any chance of black swindling [. 16.Qxg7 a classic computer move, Fritz greedily munches the g7 pawn. There was actually no way of black objectively getting any threatening counterplay, but there is no point in white risking complications when an easy win is in hand] 16...Qxa5 17.Bxa5 Ba3+ 18.Kb1 Nb6 [18...b6 doesn't really make any difference 19.Bd2 (19.bxa4?! would have been dubious 19...bxa5 20.c3 dxc3 21.Kc2 Kc7 22.Nxc3 Rb8 23.Rb1 Nf6 24.Be2 where white's technical task is not necessarily trivial against good defence, although ultimately the win should not be a problem) 19...Nc5] 19.g3 Nh6 I think I was planning on Nc2 Nd4, Fritz prefers immediate Nf6 20.h4 I guess preventing g5, further controlling the position 20...Ng4 I stupidly thought my opponent had accidentally left a hole and allowed my knight to d6, but obviously there is a catch; even so there wasn't really anything better 21.Bh3 h5 22.Rdf1 Be7 23.Nf4 Kb8 24.Bxg4 hxg4 25.Ng6 Rhe8 26.Nxe7 Rxe7 27.Rf4 g5? 28.hxg5 Rg8 29.Bxb6 axb6 30.Rxg4 A well played game by white who easily mopped up after my overambitious opening play. I can see a lot of sketchiness and rusty play from me in this game as with the other games in this tournament, (Fareham Congress Premier 2011), which were the first otb games I had played for some time. 1–0

GAME 034 - Joe Coburn

2011-11-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

Joe Coburn vs Ed Davies

Hampshire Open 2011

19..Rxg5 exchange sacrifice

36..d4

1.e4 I played Joe a few years ago at the same tournament but this time colours were reversed so I didn't really know what to expect. 1...c6 2.f4 d5 There are not a lot of high level games in this line but there are some examples, e.g. Short rolling it out against a lesser GM; it looks like a reasonable sideline for white. 3.e5 Bf5 [3...Nh6] 4.d4 e6 [4...Nh6] 5.Nf3 Nd7 6.Bd3 g6 Fritz is sceptial of this, preferring Nh6. I think it is fairly interesting though. [6...Nh6; 6...Bg6 is also sound] 7.Bxf5 gxf5 8.Nbd2 Material quantity and type is equal but the pawn structure is imbalanced [F seems to be keen on 8.a4 ] 8...h5 A double edged move, knowingly giving up control of the g5 square for the white knight but also giving black more space and options of using the h6 square to maneuvre the bishop and or knight [F plays 8...c5 e.g. 9.Qe2 Ne7 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Nb3 (11.Qb5+ is harmless after 11...Nc6) ] 9.Ng5 wasting no time to take advantage of the g5 square 9...Ne7 [9...Qb6 may have been better, e.g. 10.Nb3 c5] 10.Ndf3 A nice move, freeing the bishop and making sure there will 'always' be a knight on g5 if white chooses. I had a feeling I was slightly worse out of the opening so far, but was not discouraged; black can't afford to play poor moves though. 10...Bh6?! I'm not entirely convinced by my move here, and Fritz isn't keen on it either; it certainly isn't a disaster but there were probably better ways of developing [10...Qb6 looks good too e.g. 11.c3 c5 12.Qe2 Nc6; or the thematic 10...c5 11.0–0 (11.c3 Nc6 looks like a better method of development) ] 11.c3?! although not in any way unsound, this look too unambitious for white; there was no threat so it looks more logical to castle first. [11.0–0] 11...Ng6 Fritz agrees with this after 'thinking' for a while. I would have considered queenside castling here with Qb6 and 0–0–0 only the f7 pawn is depending on the king so this isn't an option yet; now black is preparing Qe7 0–0–0 as an option, and Ng6 threatens an h4 push too 12.h4?! F considers this not very good, and drop evaluation from about half a pawn to white a tiny edge for white. I guess that white wanted to prevent h4 by black and was happy to cement his knights on the g5 square. There is also a threat to the h5 pawn if the f3 knight moves but this appears not to be a problem for black [F1: 12.0–0 Qe7 13.Qe2] 12...Qe7 13.g3?! The third pawn move in a row from my opponent that I am sceptical of. I do not see any possible threat to white's f or h pawns so this looks like a pointless move, and Fritz actually gives black a half pawn advantage after this. [Fritz plays this 13.Be3 which continues development and is flexible] 13...f6 I was happy to unlock the squares in this way as it seems to complement my pieces which have less space than white's. I thought that on move 16 in the game variation I would be able to play Ne5 but I realised by then that the h pawn is hanging so had to play Ng4, but the position was still perfectly ok [F likes f6 but also likes 0–0–0 13...0–0–0 14.Qa4 Kb8] 14.exf6 Nxf6 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.fxe5 Ng4 This was the line the computer gives after 13..f6. I was a bit anoyed with myself for not seeing before 13..f6 what 16..Ne5 cannot be played, but this move is none the less perfectly solid [16...Ne4 the move I originally thought would be nice for black of course can't be played 17.Qxh5+] 17.Bf4 [Fritz: 17.Qa4 a6 18.Qa5 Kd7] 17...Rg8 I had been struggling to work out how to proceed; I didn't want to castle queenside as after 0–0 white's king on the kingside looks a lot more snug than black's, and white doesn't have to think of a plan and can simply attack the black king. I decided I liked the look of the positional exchange sacrifice on b5 as after Rx Bx Bx px Qx, the g5 queen and g4 knight work well together and it removes a lot of the potential probles for black in dealing with threats from white's pieces if and when the king position is committed to 18.Qe2 Bxg5?! According to the computer this wasn't really sound, (the evaluation goes from dead equal to about half a pawn to black), but I was feeling 19.hxg5 Rxg5 I think Joe seemed a bit surprised by this 20.Qd2?! Objectively white should have accepted the sacrifice according to Fritz, and black now has the better endgame position, (endgame in that the pawn structure is more or less resolved and most of the minor pieces have been traded off meaning heavy piece play will be the main factor) [20.Bxg5 Qxg5 21.Qf3 Fritz says white has a 0.7 pawn advantage but it looks fairly solid for black to me] 20...Rg7 21.Rxh5 Qf7?! A weak move [it was stronger to play 21...Rh7 Maybe I overlooked the fact that white cannot double up on the h file and had to cede the file to the black queen, otherwise I cannot see how I couldn't have played it 22.Rxh7 Qxh7 23.0–0–0 0–0–0 Where black is clearly better] 22.Rh8+ Rg8 23.Rh4 [23.Rxg8+ Qxg8 was also ok for white] 23...0–0–0 24.0–0–0 Rh8 25.Rdh1 Qg7 [F plays 25...Rxh4 26.Rxh4 Rg8 but I was reluctant to give the h file up completely] 26.Bg5 Rxh4?! [apparently black should have played 26...Rdg8 27.Kc2 Rxh4 28.gxh4 This is identical to the position in the notes to move 27.gxh4 though apart from the white king and black rook position, so doesn't looks like it makes much difference, but F gives evaluation equal instead of about half a pawn to white 28...Qg6 without the rook on g8 white could play h5, so this is probably the reason (if h5 now, QxB)] 27.Bxh4?! this looks visibly incorrect compared to gxh4; the bishop is in a far less desirable position on h4 than on b5. F now gives black the advantage. [27.gxh4 is the best] 27...Rg8 A little illogical since the g file will always be impenetrable so the rook on h8 has more potential [27...Rh8] 28.Rf1 A inexplicable move to me, although there's nothing wrong with it really, it appears white is just making a waiting move [28.Qf4 maybe make a little more sense positionally] 28...a6 I can't remember exactly why I played this but it isn't bad [F suggests 28...b6 ] 29.a4 playing on the queenside is logical enough, since no progress can be made on the kingside, however with a positional disadvantage it may be unwise for white to open the position and he should perhaps be content with making waiting moves and waiting to see if black does anything 29...Kb8 30.Kb1 By this point I was happy I had increased the safety of my king with a6 and Kb8, so now I was looking for a way to advantageously open the position 30...Qg6 [F suggests 30...Qc7 but this seems slightly planless, e.g. 31.Rh1 Rh8 32.Ka2 Ka8 33.b3 Ka7 34.Kb2] 31.Rf4 this isn't a blunder [F isn't afraid of the revealed check and suggests 31.b3 and if black proceeds with this is it actually harmless and improves the position for white by improving the bishop 31...f4+?! (31...Rh8) 32.Kb2 fxg3 33.Bxg3 Nh6 34.Bf4 Nf5 F says this is equal; now white's bishop is not a bad piece like before] 31...Rh8 32.Qe2 Ka8 while no pawn moves are made, not a lot is changing in the position and time is not crucial 33.b4 A sign that things are going to get more interesting 33...Qe8 not a bad move, preparing the idea of c5. I naturally want to find a plan to proceed in the game as I have a slight positional advantage due to the better minor piece [F suggests the planless 33...Kb8 but I still want to play chess] 34.Kb2?! white should have prevented c5 by playing a5 according to Fritz [34.a5 it is doubtful how the position cannot be a draw now; I suppose black could try a long knight maneuvre like Ng4-h6-g8-e7-c8-a7-b5, but it's hard to see how this can lead to advantageously opening the position for black anyway.] 34...c5! a decent attempt at upsetting the balance and giving winning chances 35.dxc5 [35.bxc5 is similar but may be worse according to F, e.g. 35...Qxa4 36.Qc2 Qxc2+ 37.Kxc2 Ne3+ 38.Kb2 Nc4+ black has a much superior minor piece and should be able to find a plan to use this positional advantage. The following is an example line 39.Kc2 Rb8 preparing b6 40.Rf2 b6 41.cxb6 Rxb6 42.Kd3 black is dominating the positon and has the plan of threatening to queen the a pawn] 35...Qxa4 36.Rf1?? overlooking a crushing move from white [36.Rd4 was the best defence] 36...d4 after I played this move Joe offered me a draw, which I declined (a few moves earlier I had offered him a draw; perhaps I was unsure how to proceed and wanted some points on the table after losing my first two games of the day [this was the 3rd game on day two of the Hampshire Open, so I likely offered it earlier when I was in a technically slightly better endgame because I was tired and wanted to go home]). I could smell blood here but was unable to find the critical move; I believe we were both near the end of our time limits before the 40 move time control. 37.Qd3?! I was sure there was something strong here, but I was nearing critical time trouble and had to make a decision quickly (from what I recall) and although I could see dxc3+ was harmless enough I could find anything better in time that I could be sure of, (again I would hope to see Ne3 normally but after three long chess games at the end of a very long day and with time trouble, I can understand the likely reasons why I didn't see it, although I arguably should have despite time trouble and being tired as they are just excuses. [F says this is the best: 37.Rf4 but is still horrible for white 37...dxc3+ 38.Kxc3 Qa3+ 39.Kd2 Qa2+ 40.Kd3 Qb3+ 41.Kd2 Qb2+ 42.Kd1 Qa1+ Supporting Nxe5 43.Kc2 Nxe5] 37...dxc3+? missing the critical move and now white is safe from immediate slaughter again, although Fritz still gives black about a half pawn advantage [37...Ne3! 38.Rb1 dxc3+ 39.Kxc3 Qa2 40.Qxe3 (e.g. if 40.Bg5 Nd5+ is crushing 41.Kd4 (forced, unless white wanted to give up the queen), now the rook comes into play 41...Rg8 (41...Rh3; 41...Rh1) 42.Bc1 (e.g. 42.Bf4 leads to forced mate 42...Rd8 43.Bg5 b5 44.cxb6 Qf2+ 45.Kc4 Nxb6+ 46.Kc3 Na4+ (46...Rxd3+ obviously wins easily too) 47.Kc4 Rd4+ 48.Kb3 (48.Qxd4 Qc2+ 49.Qc3 Qxc3#) 48...Rxd3+ 49.Kxa4 Qa2#) 42...Rd8 is forced mate, the same variation as above) 40...Qxb1] 38.Qxc3 so here we go again; things are pretty much equal although black may have a slight positional advantage 38...Qb5 [38...Qd7 probably better] 39.Rd1 Nf2 F agrees with this move [39...Qe2+ may be worth a try trying to win and retain a pawn, e.g. 40.Rd2 Qxe5 41.Qxe5 Nxe5 42.Re2 Nc6 43.Rxe6 Nxb4 44.Kb3 Nc6] 40.Rd4 more or less forced 40...Ne4 there weren't any much better moves 41.Qd3 good move opposing black's queen 41...Qxd3 [41...Qa4 white can force a perpetual if he wants to 42.Rd8+ Rxd8 43.Qxd8+ Ka7 44.Qb6+ Ka8 45.Qd8+] 42.Rxd3 Rg8 43.Kb3 Not the best according to Fritz, giving black a slight edge [43.Rd7 e.g. 43...a5 (if 43...Nxg3 44.Bxg3 Rxg3 45.Re7 Rg6 46.Ka3 F says this is a draw) 44.bxa5 Nxc5 45.Rd4 Ne4 46.Rd3] 43...a5 F doesn't like this, giving evaluation as a draw [43...Kb8 e.g. 44.Ka4 Kc7 45.Ka5 Rf8 46.Be7 Re8 47.Bh4 Rh8 48.Ka4 it still remains to be seen how black will proceed] 44.Ka4 axb4 45.Kxb4 I was starting to get concerned about my king having trouble in the corner with the white rook coming to the a file and the bishop potentially going e7-d6 45...Rc8 [45...Rg7 the right move apparaently 46.Rd8+ Ka7 47.Rd4 Kb8 48.Kb5 Rc7 49.Rc4] 46.Be7 I was struggling to see what to do here and felt I was now worse and in danger. 46...Rc6?? I was clearly not sure if it was sound to play b6 and may have thought I would be a pawn down and possibly lose [the correct (only, as far as I can see) move is 46...b6 47.cxb6 Kb7 white cannot make anything of the extra pawn 48.Ka5 a) 48.Kb5 Nc3+ 49.Kb4 (49.Ka5 Nd5 50.Kb5) 49...Nd5+ 50.Kb5 Nc3+; b) 48.Bd8 Rc1 49.Rd7+ Kc8 50.Rc7+ Rxc7 51.Bxc7 (51.bxc7 it may look iffy for black at first sight, but actually this is a draw 51...Nxg3 52.Kc5 Ne4+ 53.Kd4 Nd2 54.Kc5 Ne4+ white can do absolutely nothing to support the promotion of the pawn as the black king controls both b7 and d7. Maybe here white can try walking all the way around to the d3 pawn via the h file, but no doubt this does not work, e.g. 55.Kd4 Nd2 56.Ke3? Nb3 57.Kf4 Nd4 58.Kg5? Nb5 59.Kf6?? Nxc7 60.Bxc7 Kxc7 61.Kg5 - + (obviously if 61.Kxe6 the black pawn queens, and white cannot queen his in time 61...f4 62.Kf7 f3 63.e6 f2 64.e7 f1Q+) 61...Kc6 62.Kf6 Kd5 63.Kg5 Kxe5) 51...Kb7 52.Kc4 Kc6 in fact here Fritz thinks black may have winning chances 53.Bd6 Kxb6 54.Ba3 Nxg3; 48...Kc6 49.Rd8 Rxd8 50.Bxd8 Kb7 51.Bh4 Nd2 52.Kb5 Ne4 53.Be7 (53.Ka5 Nd2 54.Be7 Ne4 55.Bh4 repeating moves) 53...Nxg3; 46...Kb8 is bad but not as bad as Rc6 47.Bd6+ Nxd6 forced or mate on the next move 48.exd6 looking dire for black, but with inaccurate play by white black may be able to play for a draw; 46...Ka7?? just as bad as the game move 47.Kb5 Rc6 48.Ra3+ Kb8 (48...Ra6 49.Rxa6+ bxa6+ 50.Kc6 Nd2 51.Kd7 Nc4 52.Bd6 Kb7 53.c6+ + -) 49.Bd6+ Rc7 (49...Kc8 50.Ra8+ Kd7 51.Rb8 Rc7 (51...Nxd6+ 52.exd6 Rc8 53.Rxb7+ Kd8 54.c6 e5 55.Rh7 mate or gross loss of material) 52.Bxc7 Kxc7 53.Rg8 should be an easy win for white) 50.Bxc7+ (or maybe even better 50.Re3 Kc8 51.Bxc7 Kxc7) 50...Kxc7] 47.Bd6? letting black off the hook; there was a win but this allows a draw [47.Rd8+ Ka7 48.Bd6 Ra6 (48...b6? 49.Kb5 e.g. 49...Rxc5+ 50.Bxc5 bxc5 51.Re8 Nxg3 52.Rxe6 Kb7 53.Re7+ Kc8 54.Kxc5 Ne4+ 55.Kd5 this should be an easy win for white objectively) 49.Bb8+ Ka8 50.Re8 Rc6 51.Bc7+ Ka7 52.Bb6+ Rxb6+ (52...Ka6 53.Ra8#) 53.cxb6+ Kxb6 54.Rxe6+ + -] 47...b6 my primitive brain can see it this time, due to the opportunity to immediately recapture : ) 48.cxb6 Rxb6+ 49.Ka5? [49.Kc4 Kb7 Fritz says this is drawn] 49...Kb7 We agreed a draw here, finally after a long game with some twists and turns; (and after both players had offered a draw twice at various points in the game, all but the last one declined obviously). Fritz actually gives black half a pawn now, although by now I was just happy to have not lost the game. I feel that I did quite well out of the opening and had a positional advantage, and did well to open the position and creating chances, but failed to strike when there was a killing blow and then got into difficulty towards the end of the endgame, so a pretty anoying game but good training none the less. DRAW AGREED. E.g. Fritz gives: 50.Rd4 Nc3 51.Rb4 Rxb4 52.Bxb4 Ne2 53.Kb5 Nxg3 54.Bd2 Ne4 55.Bh6 Nc3+ 56.Kc5 Kc7 57.Kd4 Nd5 58.Bc1 Kc6 59.Bh6 black can try and play on for a win but it's unclear how ½–½

King + Pawn vs King Ending

2011-11-20T03:59:00.000-08:00

King and pawn vs king, white to move.

The coloured square diagram shows whether the position is a win or draw for white with white to move and with the kings in the same position but the pawn on all the possible squares; cyan are wins for white and magenta are draws. (Ignore the pawn on e2.) Naturally the cyans further up the board are trivial cases where the black king is outside of the queening square of the white pawn, but he ones near the white king are the interesting ones. This diagram illustrates how if the pawn has been extended then it is a draw but if it is in the initial position is can still be won. It is also interesting how b3 happens to also be a win but anywhere else on the 3rd rank is a draw. I decided to look at the winning method for this exact case.

From the diagram position, white is winning and accurate play is necessary. The technique with the pawn on b2 for example is easier because there is far less chance of allowing a draw as most sensible looking moves retain the win, whereas in the current example three only moves in a row are required.1.Kb2The only move that wins.[1.Kc2= e.g. 1...Kd7 2.Kc3 Kc7 3.b4 Kb6 4.Kc4 Kc6 5.b5+ Kb6 6.Kb4 Ka7 7.Kc5 Kb7 8.b6 Kb8 9.Kc6 Ka8 10.b7+ Kb8 11.Kb6 draw]1...Kd7 2.Ka3The only move.[2.Kc3= Kc7 3.b4 Kb6 4.Kc4 Kc6 The black king has opposition and draws.]2...Kc6 3.Ka4Diagonal opposition.[3.Kb4= Draws. 3...Kb6 Black king gets opposition.]3...Kc7[3...Kb6 4.Kb4 Ka7 5.Kc5 Ka8 6.Kb6 Kb8 7.b4 Ka8 8.b5 Kb8 9.Ka6 Kc7(9...Ka8 10.b6 Kb8 11.b7 Kc7 12.Ka7)10.Ka7]4.Kb5[4.Ka5 also wins 4...Kb7 5.Kb5 Kc7 6.Ka6 Kb8 7.b4 Kc8 8.Ka7 Kc7 9.b5]4...Kb7 5.b4 Ka7 6.Kc6 Kb8 7.Kb6 Kc8 8.Ka7Clearly white needs to know his or her stuff for the starting position as the first three moves were only moves. Cases with the pawn on the second rank are more forgiving white does not have to play only moves as much as in the b3 example. 1-0

Two knights mate vs 2 pawns

2011-11-20T03:38:00.000-08:00

Black to move can mate in around 60 moves.

1...Nc6 I will play moves with white that prolongue the mate for as long as possible. 2.Kc2 Nc5 3.Kc3 Na6 4.b4 Naxb4 5.c5 Nd5+ 6.Kc4 Nc7 7.Kd3 Kd7 8.Ke3 Ke6 9.Kf4 Kd5 10.Kf5 Ne6 11.Kg4 Ke5 12.Kf3 Nf4 13.Ke3 Kf5 14.Kf3 Nd5 15.Kg3 Ke4 16.Kf2 Kf4 17.Ke2 Ke4 18.Kd2 Nf4 19.Kc3 Kd5 20.Kc2 Kc4 21.Kd2 Kd4 22.Ke1 Ke3 23.Kf1 Kf3 24.Ke1 Ng6 25.Kf1 Nge5 26.Ke1 Nc4 27.Kd1 Ke3 28.Kc2 N4e5 29.Kd1 Nf3 30.Kc1 Kd4 31.Kc2 Kc4 32.Kc1 Kc3 33.Kd1 Kd3 34.Kc1 Nfd4 35.Kb1 Nc2 36.Kb2 Ne3 37.Kb3 Kd4 38.Kb2 Kc4 39.Ka2 Kc3 40.Ka3 Nf5 41.Ka4 Nfd4 42.Ka3 Kd3 43.Ka2 Kc2 44.Ka3 Kc3 45.Ka4 Kc4 46.Ka3 Ne2 47.Kb2 Kd3 48.Kb1 Kd2 49.Ka1 Kc2 50.Ka2 Kc3 51.Ka3 Nf4 52.Ka4 Kc4 53.Ka3 Nd3 54.Ka4 Nb2+ 55.Ka3 That is 50 moves since the past pawn move so unfortunately this does not quite make it, (as if this could ever happen in a human game; then again it could be applicable in an engine vs engine situation). 55...Kc3 56.Ka2 Nc4 57.Kb1 Kd2 58.Ka2 Kc2 59.Ka1 Nb4 60.c6 Na5 61.c7 Nb3# Absolutely ridiculous. It probably could be thought of in terms of technique, (taking one pawn, blockading the other, somehow amazingly beating the king into the corner, all perfectly timed for a mating sequence at the end where the knight blocking the pawn moves and white's king is stalemated so has to push the pawn, which gives black the required tempos to mate. Having thought about it, regardless of where the pawns are, if there is a win then black will use the same method of pushing the king in the corner and then hopping across the board with the blockading knight to mate. I'd say a 2 knights vs pawn ending would be humanly possible, but it would have to be a position fairly close to the mate.

Position at move 59 with black to play: 59..Nb4 60.c6 Na5 (or ..Nd2) 61.c7 Nb3#

Rook + pawn vs rook ending from tournament game.

2011-11-20T03:18:00.000-08:00

Black to move - the position it technically a draw.

This was a rook endgame vs current Hampshire Champion Peter Williams in the 2007 Hampshire Open; the endgame is technically a draw but I lost it. I haven't conducted a proper analysis of it yet, so I will now with the aid of tablebases. 1...Ke7 2.Ke5 Re3+ 3.Kf4 Rh3 4.Kg4 Rb3 5.Kf4 Kf6 6.Ke4 Rb4+ 7.Ke3 e5 8.Rd5 Kf5 9.Rd8 Rb3+ 10.Kd2 Ke4 11.Re8 Rb2+ 12.Kc1 Rg2 so far there was no real risk of letting the draw slip, but as the endgame proceeds white has to play more accurately. 13.Kd1 [13.Kb1 this loses, but all other sensible moves draw (by sensible I mean not Rxe5 or Rg8). However the win apparently takes 33 moves and I'm guessing it is no trivial feat; I may come back to this if there is time and see how it is done. 13...Rd2 the following is the win for black (with best defence from white) 14.Kc1 Rd7 15.Kc2 Kf4 16.Rf8+ Ke3 17.Re8 e4 18.Rh8 Kf2 19.Rh2+ Kg3 20.Re2 Kf3 21.Rh2 e3 22.Rh3+ Kf2 23.Rh2+ Kg3 24.Rh5 e2 25.Re5 Kf2 26.Rf5+ Ke1 27.Rc5 Re7 28.Rf5 Rc7+ 29.Kd3 Kd1 30.Re5 Rd7+ 31.Kc4 e1Q 32.Rxe1+ Kxe1] 13...Kd4 14.Ke1 e4 15.Kf1 this was admittedly guess work but I was doing ok so far [15.Rd8+ astonishingly, this move loses for white, (in 37 moves), whereas all other rook moves apart from trivially obvious bad moves are fine (i.e. a8,b8,c8,f8,h8,e7, and e6) 15...Ke3 16.Kf1 Rf2+ the only move to win (e.g. 16...Rh2 any Rook move by white on the 8th rank (apart from h8) draws for white; this appears to be because any king opposition mate threat is met by a check from the white rook (although 17.Re8 may be different; I will check that line) 17.Rc8 (17.Rf8 it is clear the Rf2 check is unavailable, and nothing else makes progress 17...Re2 18.Rg8 Rb2 19.Rf8 Rb1+ 20.Kg2) 17...Rf2+ 18.Ke1 Rh2) 17.Ke1 Rh2 18.Kf1] 15...Rb2 16.Rd8+ I was lucky that in this position this move is still a draw 16...Ke3 Now white's options are more restricted 17.Re8 I fortunately chose one of the drawing moves. Anything rook move on the 8th rank (apart from b8) is ok, everything else loses. [for example 17.Rd7 loses in 36 moves 17...Rf2+ (or 17...Rb1+ ) 18.Kg1 Rd2 19.Re7 Kf3 the only winning move (19...Kd3 allows a draw 20.Kf1 the only drawing move 20...Ke3 21.Rc7 Rd1+ 22.Kg2 Ke2 23.Ra7 only move 23...e3 24.Ra2+ or Ra3 24...Rd2 25.Ra1 Deja Vu 25...Rb2 (25...Kd3+) 26.Ra6 or anywhere else on the a file 26...Rd2 27.Ra5 Ke1+ 28.Kf3 only move 28...e2 29.Ke3 only move 29...Rd1 30.Rg5 or Rh5 or Ra2 30...Kf1 (as a complete unrelated side track from the practical game, the following is a draw too 30...Rd3+ 31.Kxd3 Kd1) 31.Rf5+ Ke1 32.Rg5) 20.Rf7+ Ke2 only winning move but an obvious one (20...Ke3 unlikely black would play this anyway 21.Kf1 draws 21...Rc2 22.Rg7) 21.Ra7 black has to be careful not to play a drawing move: Rd5,Rd6,Rd8 are ok as it Kf3. Everything else draws including e3 21...Rd8 (21...e3 22.Kg2 Kd1+ 23.Kg3 e2 24.Ra1+ Kc2 25.Re1 Kd3 26.Kf2 nothing black does avoid a draw 26...Ra2 ostensibly this is a nasty trick as white has an only move 27.Rb1 a) e.g. 27.Rc1 Ra5 white loses (not 27...Kd2 28.Re1 draw) 28.Rb1 Rf5+ 29.Ke1 Rf1# the point; b) 27.Rg1 Ra7 anywhere from a4 to a8 28.Rb1 Rf7+ 29.Kg2 is the most tenacious, e.g. 29...Rf5 30.Ra1 Ra5 is the quickest 31.Rb1 Kc2 32.Rh1 Re5 33.Re1 Kd2 34.Kf2 Rf5+ the rest is trivial; 27...Ra6 28.Rb3+ Kc2 29.Re3) 22.Ra2+ Kf3 23.Rf2+ Ke3 24.Rf5 Ra8 25.Kg2 black has to play Ra2+ or Kd3 (Rg8+ draws) 25...Ra2+ (25...Rg8+ 26.Kf1 Rh8 27.Re5) 26.Kg1 Ra1+ 27.Kg2 etc; the tablebase is lagging now so I will leave it at that, but a few general themes are shown in the example lines I have looked at] 17...Ra2 18.Re7 One of the drawing moves. Anywhere on the e file with the rook was ok, Kg1 was ok, and Rb8 was ok, but everything else would lose. [18.Rb8 it's interesting that this is the only moves on the 8th rank the rook can make and still draw] 18...Ra6 19.Re8 My instincts are still serving me well. Also ok was Re5, Rb7, or Kg2. 19...Rf6+ 20.Ke1 All king moves are ok. 20...Kf3 All sensible (by sensible I again mean not sacrificing the rook for nothing) moves draw 21.Re7 Rb6 22.Rf7+ Re5, Re8, Kd1, and Kd2 were also ok 22...Ke3 23.Kd1?? white suddenly had to play an only move to draw. The quickest win for black is in 29 moves. [23.Kf1 is the only drawing move. Some example lines: 23...Kd2 24.Kg2 or Re7,Rd7,Ra7,Rf2. E.g. (not 24.Kf2?? e3+ 25.Kf3 e2 26.Rd7+ Ke1 27.Ke3 Re6+ 28.Kd3 Kd1 29.Rb7 Rd6+ and black queens) 24...e3 white has to play an only move 25.Ra7 Rb2 another only move required (25...e2 26.Ra2+ only move 26...Kd1 27.Ra1+ Kc2 28.Ra2+ Kd3 29.Ra3+ Kc2 30.Ra2+ no progress can be made (I think this is called the Philidor or Lucena position) 30...Rb2 31.Rxb2+ Kxb2 32.Kf2 Kc2 33.Kxe2) 26.Ra1 Rc2 27.Kg3 or Kf1 or Kf3 27...Rb2 28.Kf3 e.g. 28...e2 29.Kf2 Rc2 30.Rb1 the black rook can't move up and across to check because of R2+ either repeating moves or losing the pawn(or 30.Re1 ) ] 23...Rd6+ Or Rb1+ 24.Ke1 Ra6 Nicely done; every other move draws. 25.Kd1 Ra1+ again the best move 26.Kc2 forced 26...Ke2 the quickest win. Ra2 also wins, (and the win is not lost with Ra4, 5, 6, or 8, but Ra3 is a draw interestingly) 27.Rh7 one of many losing options to lose in 25 moves 27...Rf1 28.Re7 e3 this is the best but Rf4 also wins 29.Kc3 by now practically all black's legal moves win (15 winning moves in total) 29...Kf2 30.Rf7+ it turns out this loses the slowest (22 moves) 30...Ke1 31.Re7 again the slowest losing move 31...e2 both this and Rf3 win in 21 32.Kd3 the 'best' losing move again 32...Rf3+ black had only two winning moves here, the other being Rf2. 33.Kc2 the slowest again 33...Kf1 the quickest move again; Rf6 and Rf8 win in 19 too 34.Kd2 Rf2 with the threat e1=Q++. The position is now trivial. 35.Kc1 I could have prolongued further with Kd3 or Kc3 losing in 17 but a novice can see everything loses trivially. 35...e1Q+ 36.Rxe1+ Kxe1 37.Kb1 Kd1 38.Ka1 Rf3 [38...Kc2 is one move quicker 39.Ka2 Rf3 40.Ka1 Ra3#] 39.Kb2 Kd2 40.Kb1 Rb3+ [40...Kc3 is the quickest 41.Ka2 Kc2 42.Ka1 Ra3#] 41.Ka2 [41.Ka1 would have prolongued it for one more move] 41...Kc2 42.Ka1 Ra3# My opponent did a great job of converting the win the very moment I let the draw slip; I was expecting to see some inaccuracy and perhaps the win slipping on some moves with perfect play from white, but the win never slipped once. 0-1

GAME 033 - Simon Venables

2011-11-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

Edward Davies vs Simon Venables

Portsmouth Chess Club Championship 2011/12 Round 1

12.Ng5

23.Qf2

1.e4 d5 My opponent thought for a few minutes before playing this, so must have been considering other defences for black too. I had no idea what to expect. 2.exd5 c6 I hadn't done any research on this move before to my recollection. I decided in the end to take the advice "the way to refute a gambit is to accept it"; this was especially the case since it is a counter gambit by black, so it shouldn't be as dangerous as accepting a gambit pawn with the black pieces. 3.dxc6 It appears to be relatively rare to accept this gambit judging by my database, although in a search between 1990 and 2011 with games between players both graded 2100+, white won most games (+8 =1 -2). In conclusion from the analysis below, I would say white's only decent options, (as far as I can see), are either tranposing into a Caro Kann exchange variation or accepting the gambit, so that's a bit of advice to anyone who has this played against them. [I considered 3.d4 but didn't really want to play the resulting position after 3...cxd5 where it is a Caro Kann exchange variation and white can choose between the Panov Attack (undoubtedly the most critical) or a quiet move like Bd6 or Nf3. I didn't fancy playing the Panov and felt the others were too soft, so decided to accept the gambit. 4.c4 Panov(4.Bd3 quieter exchange variation) ; 3.c4 cxd5 4.d4 Panov(4.cxd5 an alternative) ; 3.Nf3 is another alternative not immediately transposing into a Caro Kann exchange variation, e.g. 3...cxd5 4.Ne5 An sideline type move, the position of which has occured in a fair few games in the db although almost always with the move order 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Ne5. This must be a perfectly legit opening as it has been played quite a few times against strong players. The star game in player level must be Morozevich (2741) vs Bareev (2709) in 2005 which Morozevich won, (although it was a blindfold game in the Amber tournament). In conclusion this is a sound try, but doesn't look at all critical. (4.Bb5+ I can find only 4 games for this between strong players after 1990, and with 3 wins for black and one draw - one of the black wins by a player called Pavel Zangiev, sharing a name with a famous Street Fighter 2 character!. The latter game started as follows: 4...Bd7 5.Nc3 Bxb5 6.Nxb5 Nc6 7.0–0 e6 8.d4 a6 9.Nc3) 4...e6 5.d4 Nc6 6.Bb5 Qb6 7.c4 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 Nge7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Na4 Qd8 12.Qc2 Bd6 13.Re1 Qc7 14.Bd2 Nf5 15.Nf3 dxc4 16.Qxc4 a5 17.Nc5 Qb6 18.Rac1 h6 19.b3 Rd8 20.Qc2 Bf8 21.Be3 Rd5 22.h3 Qb5 23.Na4 Bb4 24.Red1 Bb7 25.a3 Bxa3 26.Nc3 Nxe3 27.fxe3 Bxc1 28.Nxb5 Bxe3+ 29.Kh1 Rxb5 30.Qe4 Bg5 31.Nxg5 Rxg5 32.Rd2 Rf5 33.Qe3 Rd5 34.Qf4 Rd7 35.Qe5 Rd5 36.Qc7 Rb5 37.Rd3 Rc8 38.Qd7 Rf8 39.Kh2 Ba8 40.Rc3 Rb7 41.Qd6 Rbb8 42.Rg3 Rb5 43.Qe7 Rf5 44.Qh4 Kh8 45.Qe7 Kg8 46.Kg1 g6 47.Qa7 Rd8 48.Qc7 h5?? The evaluation was about equal here but Bareev no doubt had a blind spot as it was a blindfold game 49.Qxd8+ 1–0; 3.d6 a strange looking position, only finding 9 games with the same search criteria, all of which white either drew or lost, (the position was reached in all of the games on the database from the move order 1.e4 c6 2.e5 d5 3.exd6 or 2..e6 3.exd6 (a stupid looking way to play against the Caro Kann (or any opening for that matter) imo); white practically gives black the move, e.g. Sergey Vokarev (2462) played it against Dreev (2639) in 1999 and the game was drawn: 3...exd6 4.d4 d5 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.Bd3 Ne7 etc; maybe white was playing for a draw 7.0–0 0–0 8.Re1 Bf5 9.Bg5 Bg6 A kind of stupid looking position where both players are exactly equal in development and neither player seems to have the move as it were (it's white's move but can't do anything critical evidently).] 3...Nxc6 4.Nf3 [or 4.Nc3 ] 4...e5 [4...Bg4 5.Be2] 5.Bb5 there are sound alternatives but this looks the most critical 5...Bd6 good move, addressing the threat of Nxe5 6.Nc3 [6.d4 allows for unclear complications (I think) 6...exd4 (6...e4 7.Ne5 (7.Qe2) ) 7.Qxd4 Qe7+ 8.Be3 Nf6 9.Nc3; 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 is an option; 6.0–0 is fine but I was concerned about the bishop pin on g4, which could be anoying practically speaking 6...Bg4 actually the engines think it is weak: 7.h3 Fritz likes this, e.g. (Crafty likes 7.d4 exd4 (7...e4 is apparently bad after 8.Re1 Nf6 9.Bg5 Bxf3 10.Qxf3) 8.Qxd4 Bxf3 9.Qe3+ Nge7 10.Qxf3) 7...Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Rc8 9.d4 exd4 10.Nd2] 6...Nge7 [or 6...Nf6 e.g. 7.d3 0–0 8.0–0 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 (9...Bxf3 10.Qxf3) 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Ne4 Qe7] 7.h3 I decided to spend the time to prevent Bg4. The machine likes to castle immediately and doesn't worry about this pin. 7...0–0 8.0–0 a6 [alternatively 8...Nf5 e.g. 9.Re1 Nfd4 10.Bxc6 Nxc6 11.d3] 9.Bc4 [9.Ba4 is not as good as black can ignore the bishop (instead of playing b5 and forcing it on to the strong a2 g8 diagonal) and leave it on this slightly harmless diagonal. It could be argued that the bishop is defended by the knight here but on c4 is undefended, but there appears to be no exposure to tactics in the immediate future.] 9...b5 a good move I think, continuing speedy development [F likes 9...Bf5 ; 9...Na5 10.Bd3 (10.Bb3 Nxb3 11.axb3 is ok too) 10...Nac6 11.Re1] 10.Bb3 Bb7 [10...Be6 doesn't seem in the spirit of the position, as black should probably keep material on and create threats to justify the pawn gambit 11.d3 F suggests this(11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Ne4 looks good for white I think) ] 11.d3 Black has played quite nicely in the opening in my opinion, and perhaps got a little more development compensation that I vouched for when accepting the gambit. (Fritz evaluates as slightly over half a pawn to white). [11.Ne4 is a possibility, but I decided it might be tempting fate to procrastinate my development when my opponent is fully developed with all of his minor pieces and has open files for the heavy pieces etc. 11...Na5 F1. e.g. (11...Bc7 I thought white may have been attacking the bishop for no good reason after this, but now Nc5 is surpringly anoying 12.Nc5 Bc8 avoiding the trade with the knight) 12.d3 Nxb3 13.axb3 Nf5 looks fine for white, although black has some compensation in space and bishop pair, and potential weakness of white's queenside pawns] 11...Kh8?? I didn't see the error of this immediately, but within a few seconds I sensed that my opponent had left me something (I could smell blood?) and I saw that Ng5 is crushing when looking through black's responses to this. At first I though black could play Qe8, but after Qh5 the white pieces are coordinating perfectly and mate is threatened on h7 as well as another attacker added to f7. Black's move is logical strategically, breaking the pin on the f7 pawn and preparing f5, but for this particular plan h6 should be played first, then Kh8 and f5. [e.g. 11...h6 12.Ne4 The plan to push f5 doesn't really work out, and black has to be careful of tactics. 12...Nf5 is the best option according to Fa) 12...Kh8?? 13.Nfg5 f5 14.Ne6 (14.Nf7+ also wins, 14...Rxf7 15.Nxd6 Qxd6 16.Bxf7) 14...Qd7 15.Qh5 (cashing in the exchange straight away also wins, e.g. 15.Nxf8 Rxf8 16.Nxd6 Qxd6 17.c3 (a fairly similar position to the game)) 15...f4 a1) 15...fxe4? 16.Bxh6 there is no defence, e.g. 16...Nf5 17.Bxg7+ Kg8 18.Ng5+ Kxg7 19.Qh7+ Kf6 20.Nxe4#; a2) 15...Rg8 16.Bxh6 g6 (16...Ng6 17.Bxg7#) 17.Bg7#; 16.Nxf8 Rxf8 17.c3; b) 12...Kh7 is even worse than 12..Kh8 13.Nfg5+ Kh8 b1) 13...hxg5 leads to forced mate 14.Qh5+ Kg8 15.Nxg5 Re8 16.Qxf7+ (16.Qh7+ is not as neat 16...Kf8 17.Ne6+ (17.Qh8+? is still easily winning for white but the king slips immediate mate 17...Ng8 e.g. 18.Nh7+ Ke7) 17...fxe6 18.Bxe6 Bc7 19.Bg5 now any move and Qh8+ Ng8 Qxg8# as the e7 square is covered by the g5 bishop, e.g. 19...Bd6 20.Qh8+ Ng8 21.Qxg8#) 16...Kh8 17.Qh5#; b2) if black trys something silly like 13...Kg6 then 14.Ng3 in fact here only Nd5 avoids a forced mate according to Crafty 14...Nd5 b21) 14...Kf6 leads to mate in 10! The exact mate would take extreme virtuosity to see through to the end from this position, (in fact it may be in the category of being too complicated for any human to solve), but obviously for the engines it is trivial. 15.N5e4+ Kg6 forced 16.Qh5+ Kh7 forced 17.Nf6+ Kh8 (17...gxf6 18.Bxh6 Nd5 the mate from here should be quite easy to find 19.Bg7+ not 19.Bxf8+ ; 19.Bg5+ still mates but not as quickly 19...Kg8 20.Bxd5 Nd4 21.Bh6 Ne2+ 22.Nxe2 Kh8 23.Bxf8+ (23.Bg5+ Kg8 24.Qg6+ Kh8 25.Qh6+ Kg8 26.Ng3 Re8 (26...fxg5 27.Nh5 Bxd5 28.Qg7#) 27.Qg6+ Kh8 28.Bxf7 Be4 29.Nxe4 fxg5 30.Qh6#) 23...Kg8 24.Qxf7+ Kh8 25.Qg7#; 19.Nf5 is good too 19...Nf4 20.Bxf4+ Kg8 21.Qh6 exf4 22.Qg7#; 19...Kxg7 20.Nf5+ Kg8 21.Qh6 e4 22.Qg7#) 18.Bxh6 Ng8 19.Bxg7+ Kxg7 20.Nf5+ Kxf6 21.h4 e4 22.Qg5+ Ke5 23.f4+ exf3 24.Rae1#; b22) 14...Nf5 15.Qh5+ Kf6 16.Nxf5 (the only move for forced mate) 16...e4 16...g6 17.Ne4#; 16...Kxf5 17.Ne4+ (17.Nh7+ Qg5 18.g4#; 17.Qf3+ Kg6 18.Bxf7+ Rxf7 19.Qxf7#; 17.Nxf7+ Kf6 18.Bg5+ hxg5 19.Qxg5#) 17...Qg5 18.g4#; 17.Nxe4+ Ke5 18.f4#; b23) 14...Nc8; ; 14.Nxf7+ Rxf7 15.Bxf7 Ng8; ] 12.Ng5 The game should technically be over now as white forces the win of a pawn and exchange, (bringing the total material advantage to 2 pawns and an exchange or 4 pawns abstractly, and black only has minimal compensation in the form of development and space), however the technical phase of a game can be difficult as every chess player knows and it is amazing what kinds of counterplay and complications can be drummed up by the defender. Crafty gives black a huge numer of replies ranging between 3.7 and 4.9 pawns evaluation in favour of white. 12...g6 Looking through the alternatives demonstrates how the attacking motifs latent in the position can work [12...Nf5 13.Nxf7+; 12...Nd4 13.Qh5 (F doesn't like taking immediately as much 13.Nxf7+ Rxf7 14.Bxf7 Qc7 black has potentially dangerous counterplay although white should still be fine) 13...h6 14.Nxf7+ Rxf7 15.Qxf7; 12...Ng8 13.Nxf7+ Rxf7 14.Bxf7 Nf6 15.Ne4; 12...f5 is perhaps a good try as if white plays automatcially with Nf7+, black can get quite strong potential for counterplay: 13.Nf7+ (13.Nxh7! the right move 13...Nd4 a) obviously 13...Kxh7 14.Qh5#; b) attempting to save the rook from being taken leads to mate 13...Re8 14.Qh5 Ng8 b1) 14...g6 15.Qh4 f4 b11) 15...Ng8 16.Ng5+ Kg7 17.Qh7+ Kf8 (17...Kf6 18.Qf7#) 18.Qf7#; b12) 15...g5 16.Nxg5+ Kg7 17.Ne6+ (17.Qh7+ is the simplest 17...Kf6 (17...Kf8 18.Qf7#) 18.Qf7#) 17...Kg8 18.Qf6 Nd5 19.Qg7#; 16.Ng5+ b11) or 16.Nf8+ Kg7 17.Ne6+ (17.Qh7+ Kf6 (17...Kxf8 18.Qf7#) 18.Ne4+ Kf5 19.Qf7#) 17...Kg8 18.Qf6 Nf5 19.Ng5+ (19.Qxg6+ is not as good 19...Kh8 20.Qh5+ Kg8 21.Ng5+ Kg7 22.Qh7+ Kf6 23.Nce4#) 19...Re6 20.Bxe6#; b12) 16.Nf6+ Kg7 17.Qh7+ Kxf6 18.Ne4+ Kf5 19.Qf7#; 16...Kg7 17.Qh7+ Kf6 18.Nce4+ Kf5 19.Qf7# neat; b2) 14...g5; 15.Nf8+ Nh6 16.Bxh6 e.g. 16...g5 17.Bxg5+ Kg7 18.Qh6#; 14.Nxf8 Qe8 (14...Qxf8 15.Qh5#) 15.Be6 Nec6 16.Bd5 Bxf8 17.a3 Be7 18.Be3 Rb8 19.Re1 Rd8 20.b4 Rd6 21.g3 g5 22.Bg2 a pretty insane kind of position and how a typical human way of playing (F+3.5)) 13...Rxf7 14.Bxf7 example line: 14...Qd7 15.Bg5 Nd4 16.a3 Bc5 17.Kh1 Ng6 18.Bxg6 Qc6 19.f3 Qxg6 20.Be3 Rc8; 12...h6 13.Nxf7+; 12...Bc8 13.Nxf7+; 12...f6 13.Nxh7 is on again (13.Nf7+ also good 13...Rxf7 14.Bxf7) 13...Nd4 14.Nxf8 the knight is toxic yet again 14...Nxb3 (14...Qxf8 15.Qh5#) 15.Ne6 Qd7 16.Qh5+ Kg8 17.Qg4 Nf5; 12...Qd7 13.Qh5 is best (13.Nxf7+ Rxf7 14.Bxf7) 13...h6 14.Nxf7+ Rxf7 15.Qxf7; 12...Rc8 13.Qh5; 12...b4 13.Qh5 h6 14.Nce4 (or 14.Nxf7+ Rxf7 15.Bxf7 Ng8 e.g. (if 15...bxc3 then 16.Bxh6 g6 17.Bxg6 Nxg6 18.Bg5+ Kg7 19.Qh6+ Kf7 20.Qh7+ Kf8 21.Bxd8) 16.Ne4 Nd4 17.Bxg8 Bxe4 18.dxe4 Kxg8 19.Qg6 Kh8 20.Be3) ; 12...Nb4 13.Qh5; 12...Ra7 13.Qh5; 12...Ng6 13.Qh5 h6 14.Nxf7+ Rxf7 15.Bxf7 Nf4 16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Rfe1; 12...Bc7 13.Qh5; 12...Bb8 13.Qh5; 12...Na5 13.Qh5] 13.Nxf7+ Rxf7 14.Bxf7 Qf8 Pretty much as good as anything. 15.Ne4 Quite a nice move I think; I thought about just retreating the bishop but I liked the look of this knight move and checked carefully for any unexpected tactics. Playing Bb3 is just as good but I saw no reason not to play this knight move as I felt at the time it was the strongest positionally, and I decided to have confidence in my play and not always play it safe in fear of blundering; also this kind of confident move could make an opponent feel even more helpless from a psychological point of view. [15.Bb3 would probably have been just as good] 15...Nf5 [F suggests 15...Bc7 but it doesn't really make any difference] 16.Nxd6 This is probably not technically the strongest move but I was happy to trade off one of the black bishops and in my opinion substantially reduce the risk of dangerous counterplay against my king [F recommends 16.Bd5 e.g. 16...Rd8 17.c4 but from a practical point of view I want to simplify the position if possible and reduce the chance of missing tactics] 16...Qxd6 I thought for a little while here, working out how best to develop the rest of my position. I was almost committed to developing my bishop when it suddenly struck me that all the lines that were causing me problems were based on one or other of the knights using the d4 square, and c3 is a killer prophilactic move totally taking this away from black 17.c3! I'm very happy with this simple prophilactic move; it does a lot more to weather the storm than developing my bishop and is a real pain for black who is trying to drum up threats [17.Be3 and then for example 17...Ncd4 18.Bxd4 (18.c3 it is too late to play c3 without things getting very complicated and messy 18...Bxg2 19.cxd4 (19.Kxg2? Qc6+ 20.Kh2 Nf3+ 21.Kh1 Rf8 F's first choice(21...N3h4+ is about equal according to F 22.f3 Nxe3 23.Qe1 Nhf5 a very unpleasant position and white will probaby be fighting for a draw here(not 23...Nxf1?? 24.Qxe5+! Qf6 25.Qxf6#) ) ) 19...Bxf1 e.g. 20.Qxf1 Rf8! 21.Bb3 Nxe3 22.Qe1 Nf5 (F +1 approx)) 18...exd4 19.Bb3 Nh4 black has some pretty nasty counterplay; although the computer says white is winning without problem with nearly +3, it certainly isn't the carefree conversion of the game that white wanted 20.Re1 Rf8 white has to defend very accurately and resourcefully since black is up massively on attacking material around the king, (the bishop on b3 isn't doing anything to help at the moment and would probably have to go to e6 to help) 21.Qg4 Nxg2 22.Qe6 Qc7 white is winning technically but it is messys; exactly the kind of thing that 17.c3 stopped(22...Qf4 is harmless because of 23.Qe5+) ] 17...Rf8 a good move under the circumstances I think; piling up as much pressure on the white king's position is black's best chance 18.Bb3 A saw if there was a tactical alternative to this retreat, but it is the only good move 18...Na5 as good as any of the alternatives from what I gather. I spent a long time now working out how to proceed and was unhappy about the problems or potential for counterplay with most of the candidate moves I was looking at; e.g. I thought about developing the bishop to e3, and this would have been ok, but I wasn't happy about my development in general and felt it was a bit out of sync, e.g. after Nh4. I looked at g4 to shoo the knight away but this is terrible after Nh4. I thought about opening the centre with d4 (and this would have been ok too) but had reservations about giving up central control after exd4 cxd4 Nxd4, but it turns out cxd4 is wrong as I will show in the variation, and also Nxd4 would have been wrong anyway, (giving up the pawn with 19.d4 would have been ok though). I thought about an immediately f3 but was very unhappy about Ng3 and having to spend a tempo moving the rook, then not being able to rid the knight after e4 with the queen defending, (and hideous threats of sacrifices with the rook and bishop; in fact he rook, bishop, knight, and queen are a razor sharp weapon pointing at the king when coordinated and with more attackers than defenders, so white has to be very careful). Ironically it turns out that f3 Ng3 was harmless (technically) and that black can't really do much with it. I also considered things like f4 just to see if it was any good but thought that after Ng3 the king is now more exposed and the f file opening may favour black; actually according to Fritz f4 is not all that bad, but I wanted to avoid complications. This was the kind of anoying position with lots of possible candidate moves and a feeling of not being able to waste time or I could get in trouble, and none of the candidate moves quite seemed to work. I considered Qe2, (having looked at it already I think and dismissed it or carried on checking other moves), and realised it actually avoided all the drawbacks of the other moves and was solid, not giving up material, as well as furthering development and improving my defence of the king, and I played this, having used about half or more of my remaining time on this move, (having about 10 minutes for the remaining 10 moves before the time control, which I was not proud of and felt foolish to have got into moderate time trouble with a position where my opponent could create tactical threats and that I would still have to play accurately, however in retrospect I think it was worth spending this time as white's position is easier once it is made and probably would not have been as easy otherwise. (One other move I considered before I saw that Qe2 was good was Qg4, giving up the d pawn if black wants to take it, and putting the queen on the active d file and to continue development. This would have been an alright move too according to Fritz.) 19.Qe2 [19.Qg4 e.g. 19...Nxb3 20.axb3 Qxd3 21.Rd1 Qc2 22.Rd7 Bc6 23.Rd2 Qxb3 24.Rxa6 looks pretty good for white but a 'trickier' position than white wants when down on time and trying ti convert an advantage as clearly as possible; 19.d4? I give this a question mark because black can generate some very dangerous tactical threats in positions that can follow, and it is also much weaker than Qe2 19...exd4 20.Qg4 (not 20.cxd4 Bxg2! a very nasy tactic (an example of the kind of move I was trying to avoid by playing prophilactically) (20...Nxd4 is harmless 21.Be3) 21.Re1 (21.Kxg2?? loses 21...Nh4+ 22.Kg1 (22.Kh1 Nf3) 22...Nf3+ threatening Qh2# 23.Qxf3 Rxf3 the position is hopeless for white) 21...Nxb3 22.axb3 Nh4 23.f4 F says it's about even but it is horrible for white and he will now be content even to draw) 20...Nxb3 21.axb3; 19.g4?? a terrible move, e.g. 19...Nxb3 20.axb3 Qd5 21.f3 Nh4 22.Bh6 Nxf3+; 19.f3 this was a decent alternative 19...Ng3 20.Re1 is apparently harmless; the knight is cosy but isn't going to do much; e.g. 20...Nxb3 21.axb3 Kg7 22.b4; 19.Be3 this was also a solid alternative, although isn't quite as safe as the game move e.g. 19...Nxb3 20.axb3 Qd5 this looks a bit scary as white cannot play f3 due to Nxe3, but Qg4 is fine here 21.Qg4 Qxb3 22.Qb4; 19.Bg5 a pretty decent alternative also; perhaps the best alternative to Qe2, e.g. 19...Nxb3 20.axb3 h6 21.Bc1; 19.Bc2 a very solid move according to F. I did look at this move in some positions around this part of the game but didn't decide upon it, probably because I felt it didn't do much to advance white's development of the queenside in case I needed those pieces to help defend. E.g.: 19...Nh4 20.f3 Nf5 21.Qe1; 19.Re1 allowys unnecessary complications 19...Nh4 20.Bh6 a convoluted and tactical continuation a) 20.Qe2 Rf5 21.f3 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Nxf3+ 23.Kh1 Nxe1 24.Qxe1 Qxd3 unpleasant tactics; white is treading on thin ice and has to find only moves 25.Kg2 (25.Kh2? Nxb3 26.axb3 Rf1 27.Qxe5+ Kg8 white has to take the perpetual check) 25...Nc4 26.Bd1; b) 20.f3?? Nxb3 21.axb3 e4 22.f4 (22.dxe4 Qg3 23.Re2 Nxf3+ 24.Kf1 Nh4+ 25.Kg1 Kg8 black is technically winning) ; c) 20.g3?? Nf3+ 21.Kf1 Nh2+ 22.Kg1 Nxb3 23.axb3 Qe6 24.g4 Qf6 25.Qe2 Nf3+ 26.Kf1 Qh4 27.Qe3 Qxh3+ 28.Ke2 Qxg4 29.Kd1 Nxe1+ 30.Kxe1 Qg1+ 31.Ke2 Bf3+ 32.Qxf3 Rxf3 33.Kxf3; 20...Rf5 (20...Bxg2 is no good 21.Bxf8 (21.Qg4 g5 22.Bxf8 Qxf8 23.Qe6) 21...Qxf8) ] 19...Nh4 I didn't spend long on f3 here, realising it's unlikely black can cause any real problems after that (and making sure I reserved some of the little time I had left just in case I needed for any moves before move 30). [the tactical attempt 19...Bxg2 doesn't lead to anything. 20.Kxg2 Nh4+ 21.Kh1 (21.Kg1? Nf3+ 22.Kg2 black has nothing better than repeating moves hoping white will go for threefold repetition 22...Nh4+ 23.Kh1; 21.Kh2 is losing for white 21...e4+ 22.Kh1 Nf3) 21...Qf6 white can defend with 22.Bd5 Nc6 23.Qe4 Perhaps under the circumstances a move like 19..Bxg2 would have been good for black to give white more chance to make a mistake] 20.f3 It's interesting how two of the best moves that I played to 'counter' black's counterplay were two subtle pawn moves which had prophilactic effect and blunted black's threats. There is not much left for black now. [20.Bh6 is possible but allows black completely unnecessary counterplay, e.g. 20...Rf3 21.d4 Nasty complications that would have been completely unnecessary(not 21.gxf3?? Nxf3+ 22.Kg2 (or 22.Qxf3 ) 22...Nd4+ 23.Qe4 Nf5 24.Qxb7 Nxb7 25.Be3 which is probably better for black. A remarkable material type imbalance, to which someone who had never seen chess before would not be able to imagine what was going on; black has two knights and a queen; a very maneuvrable and dangerous combination of pieces, and white has two rooks and two bishops with one extra pawn (one of which hanging); which is technically up a bit in material but black certainly looks better and has much more chance to create problems for his opponent who has the the predictable bishops and rooks, which cannot really hide their threats.) ; 20.f4 is also fine] 20...Nf5 threatening Ng3; there isn't really anything else [F plays 20...Nxb3 21.axb3 Kg7; 20...Nxg2 this attempt at causing tactical problems does nothing 21.Kxg2 (or 21.Qxg2 is fine too) ; 20...Nxf3+ does nothing either, e.g. 21.gxf3 Qf6 22.Bd1 Bc8 23.h4 Bh3 24.Bg5 Qd6 25.Re1 Nc6 26.Bh6 Rg8 27.Bb3 Be6 28.f4 Qd7 29.Bg5] 21.Re1 a nice (albeit easy to find) move which prevents black playing Ng3 or anything like that by threatening Qxe5 forcing a queen trade 21...Nc6 as good as anything 22.Be3 [F suggests 22.a4 but I am playing purely to blunt my opponent's attacking chances if possible and keep things simple, (there is not much difference in evaluation according to F either, otherwise I'd perhaps reconsider that. 22...b4 23.Bc4 Kg7 24.Rb1 all looks a bit pointless to me when white should just simplify] 22...Ng3 this is harmless, and also is a tactical blunder as black now loses a piece [F suggests 22...Na5 but white's position is now comfortable in my opinion 23.Rad1 Nxb3 24.axb3 it should be a proverbial piece of cake to convert this advantage of a pawn and the exchange now] 23.Qf2 threatening the g3 knight and threatening to skewer the black queen and rook with Bc5, (F gives eval about +7). Black resigns. 1–0

GAME 032 - Andy McDougall

2011-11-15T16:06:00.000-08:00

Andy McDougall vs Edward Davies

Hampshire Open 2011

13.Qc2

45.g4

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 I was happy with the draw as I always relish playing the best players. I'd played a number of blitz games against Andy online a couple of years before (which he won about 9.5/10) and knew what opening to expect. 3...cxd5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Nf3 Be7 [or 6...Bb4 ; or 6...Nc6 ] 7.cxd5 [or 7.c5 ; or 7.Bd3 ; or 7.Bg5 ] 7...Nxd5 8.Bd3 [or 8.Bc4 ; or 8.Bb5+ ] 8...a6?! First deviation from typical theory. As Andy said after the game, this looks a little slow and I probably would have been better off castling or playing Nc6 [better is 8...0–0 ; or 8...Nc6 ] 9.0–0 0–0 [9...Nc6 10.a3 0–0] 10.Re1 Fritz likes this but also looks at NxN [10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Bf4 (11.Re1 Nc6 12.Bf4) 11...Nc6 12.Re1 Qa5 for example] 10...Nc6 maybe black would reach the same position in a main line but with a more useful move than a6; it doesn't look bad but care not to waste time is needed in such position as white can launch an attack with the isolated pawns structure; actually we have come back to the Fritz opening book by now and there are a couple of games listed. 11.a3 [or 11.Be4 Nf6 12.Bxc6 bxc6 a bit nicer for white, but black has some compensation in the bishop pair and it doesn't at all look hopeless for now] 11...b5?? Doh! I was hoping to play a good game against this strong player and have a good fight, (and to play well in the first game of this tournament), but instead after this I have to defend and hope for at best a lucky draw, and within a couple of moves I assume I am going to lose and just have to put up the best defence I can. This move falls into the category of undefended pieces being vulnerable to double attacks, and this is an absolute classic. [11...Qb6 would have been fine, e.g. 12.Ne5 (12.Bc4 Rd8) 12...Nxe5 13.Nxd5 (13.dxe5?! Nxc3 14.bxc3 probably not a good isolated pawn for white with both knights traded; will probably act more as a weakness than a strength) 13...exd5 14.dxe5 d4 e.g. 15.b4 Be6 not too bad for black] 12.Nxd5 exd5 [12...Qxd5 is no better after 13.Be4 Qd6 the line I saw, which was the reason I didn't play 12..Qxd5, was 14.Ne5 (14.Qc2 Bb7 15.Bxh7+ Kh8 16.Be4 but 14.Ne5 is probably even better) 14...Nxe5 (if 14...Bb7 then 15.Bf4 is a nightmare for black, e.g. 15...Nxe5 16.Bxb7 (not 16.dxe5 Qxd1; not 16.Bxe5 Qd7) 16...Qd7 (16...Ra7 goes down a whole piece 17.Be4 followed by Bxe5 or dxe5 17...Nf3+ is futile 18.Qxf3 Qxd4 19.Be3) 17.Bxa8 Ng6 e.g. (17...Rxa8 18.dxe5 a rook down for black) 18.Qf3 Nxf4 black is down an exchange) ] 13.Qc2 tactics 101; how embarassing to allow such a simple tactic this early in the game [both Fritz (and my opponent in the post game analysis) think this may have been even better for white 13.Bxh7+ Kxh7 (13...Kh8 14.Bb1 preparing a deadly bishop queen battery) 14.Qc2+ Kg8 15.Qxc6 e.g. 15...Bf5 (the more defensive looking 15...Be6 allows 16.Rxe6! this appears not to be the best once Fritz ponders for longer, but it's interesting and worth looking at 16...fxe6 17.Qxe6+ Kh7 (17...Kh8 is wrong due to 18.Ne5 heading for g6 18...Kh7 19.Qh3+ Kg8 20.Ng6 Qd6 21.Qh8+ Kf7 22.Nxf8 Rxf8 23.Qh5+ Kg8 24.Bd2 black is 2 pawns down with a bad position) 18.Bd2 (the point of Kh7 instead of Kh8 being that after 18.Ne5 black plays 18...Qd6 covering the g6 square with the king and queen 19.Qh3+ Kg8 20.Bd2 F gives just over half a pawn to white) 18...Bf6 19.Bf4 Ra7 20.Bd6 Re8 21.Qxd5 Rd7 22.Qf5+ Kg8 23.Bc5 F gives white just under a pawn; I think good technique is required from white to keep the advantage though) 16.Bd2 Re8 white's knight is a good piece and black has no real compensation for the pawn 17.Rac1 Qd7 18.Qxd7 Bxd7 F +1 eval to white] 13...Qd6 Not bad under the circumstances. Fritz prefers Qb6 though; I'm not immediately sure why, perhaps because it supports queenside play with a5 b4 etc [13...Qb6 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.Bd3] 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.Bf5 F agrees with this but seems to prefer Bd3 [F looks at this at first 15.Bd3 e.g. 15...Bg4 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qd7; F also shows the following sharp option is pretty good too 15.Ne5 Nxd4 16.Qd3 Qf6 17.Bd2 Be6 returning the pawn with some kind of compensation, e.g. 18.Bc3 Bc5 19.b4 Bb6 with a complicated tangle which is unpleasant for black 20.Nc6 (20.Bg6 fxg6 21.Bxd4 Bxd4 (21...Bf5 22.Qd2 Bxd4 23.Qxd4 Be4 24.Rad1 (24.f3 Rfe8 25.fxe4 Rxe5 26.Rf1 (26.exd5?? Rxe1+) 26...Rxe4 27.Qxd5 (27.Rxf6 Rxd4 28.Rxg6 Kh7 about equal) 27...Qb6+ 28.Kh1 Rae8 about equal) ) 22.Qxd4 Rac8 F+0.75) 20...Qh4 threatening f2 after the d4 knight moves 21.Bxd4 Bxd4 22.Nxd4 Qxh7 23.Qg3 Qh6 F gives white just under a pawn advantage 24.Rad1] 15...Bxf5 [15...Bf6 16.Be3 g6 17.Rac1 (17.Bf4 Bxf5 (17...Qxf4 18.Qxc6 Bxf5 19.Qxf6+ Kg8) 18.Qxf5 gxf5 19.Bxd6 Rfc8) 17...Bxf5 18.Qxc6 Qxc6 19.Rxc6 Kg7 20.h4 Rfe8; Fritz's first choice is 15...Kg8 16.Bd2 Bxf5 17.Qxf5 g6 18.Qd3 (18.Qh3 Rfe8 19.Rac1 Bf6 20.Qg4 Rad8) 18...Rfe8 19.Ne5 Bf6 20.f4 Rac8; 15...b4 16.Bxc8 Raxc8 17.Qf5 Kg8; 15...g6 16.Bd3 Bg4 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Qe6 19.Be3] 16.Qxf5 g6 doesn't change the evaluation much according to F, but F prefers Kg8 17.Qh3+ when looking at 16..g6 before playing it I overlooked this obvious reply; then again I was in poor form in this game in terms of overlooking my opponent's critical replies. [F says 17.Qg4 is even stronger, ostensibly preparing to push the h pawn, e.g. 17...Rac8 18.Bf4 Qd8 19.h4] 17...Kg8 Obviously Kg7 Bh6+ 18.Qh6 [F prefers 18.g3 preparing Bf4, e.g. 18...Bf6 19.Bf4 Qd8 20.Be5] 18...Rfe8 the correct move according to Fritz. I spent some time looking at Bf6 also [18...Bf6 19.Bf4 Qd7 20.Ng5 Bxg5 21.Bxg5 Qf5; 18...Qf6 loses a piece to 19.Bg5 Qg7 20.Qxg7+ Kxg7 21.Bxe7 Nxe7 22.Rxe7] 19.Bf4 F concurs 19...Qf6 not that bad, (although black's position is bad whatever he plays), but not as good as Bc8 according to Fritz [19...Bf8 a nifty option which I don't think I considered in the game 20.Qg5 (20.Bxd6 F says this is a mistake from white and gives white slightly under a pawn advantage 20...Bxh6 21.h4 f6) 20...Qd7 21.h4 Bg7 F +1.3; 19...Qd7 maybe also a little better than the game move, e.g. 20.Be5 Nxe5 21.dxe5 Bf8 22.Qd2] 20.Be5 Nxe5 21.dxe5 [21.Nxe5 not as good apparently 21...Rac8 22.Qe3 Qf5] 21...Qf5 the other option was Qe6 which Fritz slightly prefers [21...Qe6 22.Rad1 Rac8 23.Qd2; anything like 21...Qb6 is stupid 22.e6 fxe6? 23.Qxg6+ Kf8 24.Ne5 mating] 22.e6? a mistake according to Fritz; evaluation drop from 1.7 to 0.7. I now looked at the candidate moves fxe6, Bf8, and Bf6 and decided on the latter [22.Rad1 e.g. 22...Bf8 23.Qd2 Rad8 24.Nd4 Qd7; 22.Qd2 if I recall correctly, my opponent said after the game he should have played this, which F agrees with too with evaluation about 1.7 22...Qe6 23.Rad1] 22...Bf6 A good move; I saw that after exf7+ Kxf7 the king is in no immediate danger, e.g. blocking a Queen check on h7 with Bg7 followed by Rh8 (threatening a queen trap), and the bishop is on a very strong diagonal [at first Fritz prefers this move, then after computing for longer prefers the game move Bf6 22...fxe6 ; 22...Bf8? is poor 23.exf7+ Qxf7 (23...Kxf7 24.Ng5+ Kf6 25.Nh7+ Kf7 26.Nxf8 Rxe1+ (26...Rxf8?? 27.Qh7+ Kf6 28.Qe7#) 27.Rxe1 Re8 28.Rc1) 24.Qd2 Bg7 25.Rxe8+ Rxe8 26.Rc1] 23.exf7+ Kxf7 24.Qd2 [F prefers 24.h4 Rh8 25.Qd2] 24...Rac8 Fritz seems to be torn between Rxe1 and d4 instead of this move; Rac8 isn't bad though, and F gives about +0.8 [24...Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.Rc1; 24...d4 25.b4 d3 26.Rad1 Red8 27.Re3 Rac8 28.Ne5+ Bxe5 29.Rf3 Qxf3 30.gxf3 Rc4 31.Qe3 Bd4 32.Qf4+ Bf6 F evaluates about +0.6; I'd rather be white here though] 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Rc1 [F prefers 26.h3 ] 26...Qe4?! a mistake according to F; I think I pointed out after the game that I thought d4 was better [pushing the pawn is the best form of counterplay 26...d4 e.g. 27.h4 d3 28.Rc7+ Kg8 29.Qh6 Qh5 30.Qc1 Qf5] 27.h3 ok but not as good at h4 according to F [27.h4 d4 28.Qh6] 27...d4 got it right this time 28.Ng5+ not bad, but Fritz drops evaluation to abot 0.7 and prefers some of the alternatives [28.Qh6 d3 (it's worth pointing out 28...Rh8?? 29.Qxh8 Bxh8 30.Ng5+) 29.b4 Re7 30.Qh7+ Kf8 (30...Bg7?? 31.Ng5+) 31.Rc8+ Re8 32.Qd7 F gives white just over a pawn advantage; 28.b4 Re7 (28...d3 is a mistake losing the d pawn 29.Re1 Qf5 30.Rxe8 Kxe8 31.Ne1 Ke7 32.Nxd3) 29.Qh6 d3 30.Qh7+ Kf8 31.Rc8+ Re8 32.Qd7 same position as in the 28.Qh6 line above; 28.h4 Kg7 (28...Bxh4 is bad after 29.Re1 Qg4 30.Ne5+ Rxe5 31.Rxe5; 28...d3 29.b4 Re7 30.Qh6 Qe6 31.Rc5 isn't great for black) 29.b4 Re7 30.Re1 Qb7 31.Rxe7+ Qxe7 32.Nxd4 Bxh4 Fritz gives white slightly under a pawn] 28...Bxg5 29.Qxg5 Re7 black's last two moves were correct according to Fritz (eval +0.8) 30.f3 Fritz isn't too keen on this and drops white's advantage to under half a pawn. I think I was a little surprised at this as it doesn't look a very meaningful move. [F at first likes: 30.b4 d3 31.Qh6 Qe6 32.Qf4+ giving about 0.7 to white; 30.Qh6 after further cogitation, F settles on this 30...d3 e.g. 31.Rc8 Qe1+ 32.Kh2 Qe5+ 33.f4 Qg7 34.Qg5 the engine really needs a couple of minutes per move in such positions (unless you have a supercomputer) as the evaluation can changes rapidly if it comes across a strong unexpected move in any line] 30...Qe6 I recall that I wanted to keep queens on as I judged it would give me better drawing chances, although this is very questionable (e.g. my king being more exposed to checks than white's may be a factor) and therefore the candidate moves I looked at avoided trading queens; Qd3 which is visibly poor and Qe6, which isn't too bad. Actually it would have been better to play Qe3+ trading queens according to F [30...Qe3+ 31.Qxe3 Rxe3 I think I was worried here white would check then I would either become cut off on the 1st rank, or if I played Kf6 or Ke6 I would either lose a pawn or have to trade rooks, and assumed I would be lost in the pawn ending resulting from that 32.Rd1 (32.Rc7+ Ke6 33.Kf2 (33.Rc6+ the move I was concerned about draws according to F 33...Kd5 the point being the king supports the d pawn promotion threat so he doesn't necessarily have to worry about losing some pawns 34.Rxg6 d3 white has to be very careful since his king is cut off and the rook is the only piece he can stop the d pawn promoting with 35.Rg7 Ke6 36.Rg6+ Kd5 37.Rg8 Re2 38.Rd8+ Kc4 it seems to be better for black now, and would take a quantum computer to conclude if one side is bound to win lose or draw) 33...g5 34.Rc6+ Kd5 35.Rc2 Fritz assesses it as about equal) 32...Re2 33.Rxd4 Rxb2 34.Rd7+ ironically the computer is saying it is winning here for white, so maybe I was right not to trade into this rook ending, and the computer just needed more time to think about it. It seems to follow the rule, the more pieces that are traded in an ending, the more cut and dry they become, (e.g. rook vs rook is more committal than keeping queen + rook and queen + rook, and in turn pawns vs pawns is much more committal than rook vs rook). There is a great deal of subjectivity in endgames, even though they are perceived as mathematical, evaluation is often very uncertain.] 31.Qf4+ F agrees with this. I had overlooked that Qe6 allowed the trade of queens anyway, so it was pretty much unavoidable 31...Qf6 at least I didn't have to think about this as it was forced (anything else loses the d pawn) 32.Qxf6+ Kxf6 33.Kf2?! amazingly this is actually quite a bad mistake if black is on the ball (which I wasn't) [33.Kf1 Fritz gives +1 eval to white, e.g. 33...Kf5 34.Rd1 Rd7 35.Ke2 Kf4 36.Kf2 Kf5 37.Rc1 Re7 38.b4] 33...Re6?! I miss the chance to bring it close to a draw. I'm not sure what stopped me playing d3; it wasn't hard to see, and after Rd1 I play Re2+ [33...d3 the reason for white's inaccurace Kf2 is clear; black threatens Re2+ 34.Re1 forced (34.Rd1 Re2+ 35.Kg3 Rxb2 (35...d2 may also give drawing chances) 36.Rxd3 a5 black gets counterplay creating a passed pawn on the side away from the kings) 34...Rc7 threatening Rc2. The computer considers a number of possible moves for white, but the evaluation is distant. The evaluation for this position is given as a tiny edge for white (0.2) 35.Ke3 (35.Rd1; 35.Kf1; 35.Kg3) ] 34.Rd1 Rd6 [not 34...Ke5?? 35.Re1+ Kd5 36.Rxe6 Kxe6 with a lost pawn ending] 35.Ke2 F agrees with both of white's last moves. If I had got d3 in earlier, the king wouldn't be able to walk in front so easily 35...Ke5 F isn't sure about this, changing eval from +1 to +1.5 approx [F prefers 35...Kg5 e.g. 36.g3 (36.Rc1 d3+ 37.Ke3 Kh4 38.Kf2 Re6 39.g3+ Kh5 (obviously 39...Kxh3?? 40.Rh1#) 40.Re1 Rc6 F gives white just under a pawn advantage) 36...Re6+ 37.Kf2 Rc6 38.Rxd4 Rc2+ 39.Ke3 Rxb2 40.Rd6 white should win but black has changes for some counterplay creating a passed pawn] 36.g3? F changes the evaluation from +1.5 to about +0.3; it's hard to see exactly why the computer judges it as so bad. It did gives me a good chance at counterplay in the game continutation however [after 36.Rc1 F gives white 1.5 pawns advantage, e.g. 36...Re6 37.Kd2 Rd6 38.Re1+ Kd5 39.Kd3 b4 40.f4 bxa3 41.bxa3 Kc6 42.Rc1+ Kb7 43.h4 Rf6 44.g3 Rd6 45.Rc4] 36...g5 a decent move, but F preferred Kd5 marginally. I took the opportunity to hinder the advance of the pawns and preparing Rh6 [F prefers 36...Kd5 37.h4 Re6+ 38.Kd2 Re3 39.Rf1 Rb3 40.Kc2 Re3 41.Rf2 Ke5 42.Kd1 Rd3+ 43.Kc1 Re3 44.Kc2 F gives 0.3 to white] 37.Kd3 I could tell my opponent wasn't very happy over the next few moves because he spent a fair bit of time thinking about them. Kd3 creeps nearer to a draw according to F, which prefers Rh1 [37.Rh1 Rg6 38.Rh2] 37...Rh6 F disagrees with this also, preferring Kd5. I felt it logical to play on the weakness of h3 and force the rook into the corner (although pushing pawns it isn't inactive here) [37...Kd5 38.Rd2 a5] 38.Rh1 [F suggests 38.Re1+ Kd5 39.Re4 Rxh3 40.Rg4 (40.Rxd4+ Ke5 41.Rg4 Kf6 42.b3 Rh1) 40...Rh5 41.Rxd4+ Ke5 42.Re4+ Kd6 43.g4 Rh8 F+0.6] 38...Rf6 F seems to agree with me for once 39.Rf1 Rh6 F agrees with this too 40.f4+ at first F agrees then prefers Re1+ [40.Re1+ Kd6 41.Re4 Rxh3 with another complicated position] 40...Kd5? a bad blunder [40...gxf4 was correct 41.gxf4+ (41.Rxf4 is wrong 41...Rxh3 42.Re4+ Kf6 43.Re8 Rxg3+ 44.Kxd4 F assesses this as almost dead drawn; white can still try though in case black blunders) 41...Kf5 42.Rf3 Rd6 white has a fair bit of work to do (F gives +0.46)] 41.fxg5? letting black off the hook [41.f5! this is crushing (F +2) creating a protected passed pawn 41...Rf6 42.b4 Ke5 43.Rc1 (or more simply 43.g4 Rh6 44.Rf3) 43...Rd6 (43...Rxf5?? loses 44.Rc5+ Ke6 45.Rxf5 Kxf5 46.Kxd4; 43...Kxf5?? 44.Rf1+ Ke5 45.Rxf6 Kxf6 46.Kxd4) 44.Rc5+ Kf6 45.g4] 41...Rxh3 after this it is suddenly looking like white has a very difficult task of winning 42.Rf5+ Ke6 43.Rf3 Rh5 Atually after thinking for longer F switches to the game move [F slightly prefers 43...Ke5 (+0.3 instead of +0.5) 44.g6 Rh6 45.g4 Rxg6 46.Rf5+ Ke6 47.Rf4 Ke5 48.Re4+ isn't that great for black, and will probably lose ultimately] 44.Rf6+ [F seems to prefer 44.g6 Rg5 45.Kxd4 Rxg6] 44...Ke5 my opponent said after the game he missed this move and had a momentary blind spot 45.g4 F agrees with this. Evaluation is about 0.36 45...Rxg5?? how to throw away a game you have grittily defended since the opening and prised out reasonable drawing chances. I rushed this move, perhaps being down on time a little and thinking there was nothing stopping me play it. It should have rang alarm bells to me that my opponent being graded over 190 is unlikely to let a pawn hang for no reason, but I fell for this trick hook line and sinker. Naturally this leads straight to a lost pawn ending, and Rh3+ would have given white a lot of work to do. It is encouraging that I edged back into the game giving myself drawing chances against a strong player after blundering a pawn in the opening, but it's a little pointless if I'm prepared to throw it away so easily. I believe a similar thing happened against Oliver Gill in my frist game back after a couple of years off of competitive chess back in October, although in that game I was already losing, but in that instance I thought my opponent had allowed me a strong outpose for a knight free of charge, but there was inevitably a catch. The real give away in this kind of situation is how unlikely my opponent is to play a loose move when they are trying hard to make sure they win, and I should have checked and double checked the move to find that catch. Maybe I was also less worried about losing because it was against a high graded opponent so I played the move in a more blaze way than if I was playing someone lower graded and defending, and this is a pretty stupid thing. I don't recall feeling terribly under pressure, including any kind of time pressure, and was happy to play on and try and draw, so it just comes down to a stupid and lazy oversight, and an anti-climactic end to an otherwise interesting game. 46.Rf5+ Rxf5 47.gxf5 Kxf5 48.Kxd4 Kf4 I felt like playing it out just to show the logical conclusion of the game; I'm not sure why exactly and I wasn't rushing or trying to psyche out my opponent in any way, just casually playing the moves 49.Kc5 Ke4 50.Kb6 Kd4 51.Kxa6 Kc4 52.Ka5 Kc5 53.b4+ Kc4 54.Kb6 Kb3 55.Kxb5 Kxa3 56.Ka5 Kb3 57.b5 Kc4 58.b6 Kc5 59.b7 Kc6 60.b8R There were two or three spectators by this point as it was one of the last games to finish and Andy asked for a rook to promote to, which I found quite amusing and I resigned. 1–0

GAME 031 - Doug Butcher

2011-11-14T13:34:00.001-08:00

Edward Davies vs Doug Butcher

Hampshire Open 2011

17..dxe5

29.Rh3

1.e4 d5 I 'knew' my opponent was going to play this; a couple of years ago I played the same opponent with the same colours in the same tournament and lost the game, and I was pretty sure my opponent would play the same opening as last time. 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Bxe2 5.Qxe2 Qxd5 6.Nf3 the best move no doubt; last time we played I played 6.Qf3?!, not seeing that it was possible to play the simple 6.Nf3 (defending the d4 and g2 pawns) and I ended up lagging in development with a bad endgame, which I lost as I mentioned above 6...e6 7.0–0 Not necessarily the best option, as in positions where black castles queenside in the scandinavian are often easier for black to attack, whereas it can be comparatively tricky for white to attack the black queenside fast enough [F likes this first 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.0–0] 7...Nc6 8.Nc3 Qf5 pretty good so far from both sides, and F evaluates it as equal 9.Nb5 [F prefers 9.a3 0–0–0 10.Be3] 9...0–0–0 10.Ne5 A good move I think. 10...Nxe5 [10...Nxd4 was also playable, but not quite as good according to F 11.Nxd4 Rxd4 12.Nxf7 Rg8 13.Ng5 e.g. 13...Rd6 14.c3 Be7 15.Re1 F evaluates about equal, but I prefer the position for white slightly as the isolated black pawn may be difficult to prove a strength instead of a weakness for black] 11.Qxe5 Threatening mate on c7 forcing the trade of queens, I thought at first I was winning a pawn after ..Qxe5 dxe5 N moves Nxa7+ but obvsiously the knight can move to g4 keeping material equal [Fritz like at first: 11.Nxa7+ but changes it's mind, prefering 11.dxe5 11...Kb8 12.dxe5 Ng4 13.h3 (13.Nb5 Bc5 looks strong for black 14.Nc3 h5 15.h3 Bd4) 13...h5 14.Nb5 Bc5 doesn't look very pleasant for white; 11.dxe5 Fritz's first move 11...Ne4 12.Nxa7+ Kb8 13.Be3] 11...Qxe5 [11...Qxc2 F thinks it would have been better to do this 12.Bf4 (12.Nxa7+? Kb8 13.Qa5 (13.Nb5?? Rd5) 13...Rxd4 and the position is very poor for white) 12...Rd5 13.Qxc7+ Qxc7 14.Nxc7 Rxd4 15.Rac1 (15.Be3 Rd7 16.Nb5 b6 white has basically no compensation for the pawn) 15...Kd8 F –0.4; white has some work to do to justify being a pawn down; he does have better development for the time being] 12.dxe5 [the cheeky move 12.Nxa7+ was also good / maybe better 12...Kb8 13.dxe5 Kxa7 (13...Ng4 14.Nb5 Nxe5 15.Bf4 f6 16.Bxe5 fxe5 an odd and interesting endgame position) 14.Be3+ intermezzo 14...b6 15.exf6 gxf6 another interesting endgame position; black has a bit more central control and has half open files for the rooks, whereas white has less pawn islands] 12...Ng4 [F suggests the move 12...a6 13.Na7+ (13.exf6 axb5 14.fxg7 Bxg7 15.c3 looks a little nicer for black perhaps due to the diagonal pressure on a1 b2 c3; 13.Nc3 Nd5 maybe a little better for black) 13...Kb8 14.exf6 gxf6 15.Be3 c5 16.b4 Kxa7 17.bxc5 (17.Bxc5+? Bxc5 18.bxc5 Rd5 white should lose the pawn and be a pawn down) 17...Kb8 18.Rad1 Fritz only gives black an edge. May it feels wish active play white can make up for the hideously weakened pawns] 13.Nxa7+ Kb8 14.Nb5 Nxe5 15.Bf4! a nice move to be able to play, with the X-ray effect on the c7 square and X-ray pin on the king, and forcing black into a narrow range of options 15...Bd6 Fritz seems to be torn between this and 15..f6 and can't quite make its mind up [15...f6 16.Bxe5 fxe5 this would have been an interesting endgame, black having weak isolated doubled pawns but a superior minor piece; it doesn't really look very nice for black in practice though; it could constitute a great deal of study though] 16.Nxd6 cxd6 17.Bxe5 I was happy to trade and start a double rook ending with a pawn structure imbalance. I felt my 3 to 1 majority on the queenside would offer me good winning changes, although objectively this may be a bit of an exaggerated evaluation. [F prefers to keep the bishop, e.g. 17.Rfd1 f6 18.a4 g5 19.Bd2 Nc6 the engine evaluates this more or less equal with an edge for white, and it is a very interesting endgame to analyse further, (however I am trying not to get too side tracked and to stick to the game for now, and some of these endgames can be analysed separately at a later date; it is not too relevant for the game though as they are all roughly equal in evaluation)] 17...dxe5 F actually evaluates this about equal, but perhaps it is dumb with this sort of endgame situation and cannot evaluate the long term strength of the 3 to 1 majority, so I'd probably need a very strong club player or master level player to look at the position and tell me their opinion of it 18.Rfd1 Contesting the open file and clearing the path for the king to come to the middle [F suggests 18.Rad1 but this is almost amusing; I can't see any benefit to using this rook and the king is still hemmed in] 18...Rd5 good move, logically preparing to double rooks 19.Kf1 the natural move [it never crossed my mind in the game, but just to show 19.Rxd5 would be a horrible move, letting black spread his pawn chain across and reducing the strength of the white pawn majority on the queenside 19...exd5] 19...Kc7 [19...Rhd8 is more or less the same 20.Ke2] 20.Ke2 Kc6 naturally enough bringing the king towards the centre; there are also several playable alternatives [20...Ra8 e.g. 21.a4 Ra6 22.b3; 20...Rhd8; 20...e4 21.c4 Rh5 (21...Rg5 22.g3 Rh5 23.h4 Ra5 the f2 pawn could be a potential annoyance for white) 22.h3 Rg5 (22...Ra8 23.Rd4 Ra4 24.b3) 23.g3 Ra5] 21.Rd3 I was happy to offer a trade this way and prepare to double rooks [21.c4 may have been better 21...Rd4 I think this was the move I was worried about when looking at it in the game, but F suggests taking for white 22.Rxd4 exd4 23.Kd3 e5 24.a4 Ra8 (24...Rd8 25.b4 looks better for white but is non trivial) 25.b4] 21...e4 [if 21...Rxd3 I was planning 22.Kxd3 (the engine suggests 22.cxd3 but this looks wrong to me) 22...Rd8+ 23.Ke2] 22.Rc3+ [22.Rxd5 exd5 I'm not too keen on this which F suggests, (although the evaluation is about equal for this and 22.Rc3+)] 22...Kb6 I think the king seems a little cut off by the rook on the c file, but it's very hard to tell whether that has any relevance or not in the scheme of the whole position [F suggests 22...Kd6 ] 23.Rd1 the computer still gives a dead equal evaluation; because this endgame is such a long term situation the engine would probably have to look forward a ridiculous number of plys before reaching conclusions 23...f5? I feel this is slightly dubious as the position is trick for black after Rxd5 exd5 Ke3; F for the first time gives a definite slight advantage to white. Probably the main problem is black already had a potential disadvantage with the 3 to 1 minority on the queenside and this move is committal and resolves the position somewhat, and maybe black should play more flexibly and less committally. I recall being pleased after this was played, and looking at the next couple of moves with the engine, it appears this 23rd move by back was the turning point when the game becomes a quite dire situation and very difficult defence. [23...Rhd8 was probaby better, where Fritz can come up with nothing better than: 24.Rxd5 exd5 which looks pretty equal] 24.Rxd5 exd5 25.Ke3 white is threatening Kd4 Rc5 Rxd5 (the main point being the black king is cut off from helping defend the d5 pawn and the black rook cannot defend it on its own). 25...g5 It is more or less impossible for black to avoid losing a pawn I think, so he needs counterplay and correctly plans to advance the pawns in the centre and cause threats of queening [Fritz seems to prefer Ra8. I believe I was looking at this in the game and concerned about it, but: 25...Ra8 e.g. 26.a3 Rd8 (if 26...Ra4 then 27.b4 so I realised at least I hadn't blundered (27.Rc8 g5 (if 27...d4+ then 28.Kd2 f4 this looks a bit alarming 29.Rf8 g5 30.Rf6+ Kc7 31.Rf7+ Kc6 32.f3 e3+ 33.Kd3 Ra5 a pretty crazy position where white is still likely to win a pawn but black has dangerou counterplay (similar to the game)) 28.Kd2 f4 29.Re8 Rd4+ 30.Kc1 h5 31.Re5 another insane position) 27...Ra8 28.Kd4 g6 29.Rh3 Rc8 e.g. 30.c3 Kc6 31.Rxh7 Kd6 32.Rg7 (32.Rh3?? f4 white is mated! 33.c4 Rxc4#) 32...Rc4+ 33.Ke3 Rxc3+ 34.Kf4 d4 35.Rxg6+ Kc7 36.Kxf5 d3 37.Rg7+ Kd6 38.Kxe4 d2 39.Rg6+ Ke7 40.Rg7+ Kd6 and Fritz draws this position) 27.Kd4 f4 28.g3 fxg3 29.hxg3 h5 30.f3 g5 31.fxe4 dxe4+ 32.Kxe4 h4 33.gxh4 gxh4 34.Rd3 Re8+ 35.Kf3 white should probably win but there are probably improvements for both sides; this kind of endgame analysis is extremely difficult because every time you try a candidate move there is a massive web of rapidly branching variations 35...Rg8 36.Rd4 Rg3+ 37.Kf2 Rh3 38.Rc4 Ka6 39.Rc8 b5 40.Ra8+ Kb7 41.Rg8 Kc7 42.Rg7+ white should have winning chances but it seems like it could take forever analysing such a rook ending] 26.Kd4 Rd8?! a mistake according to Fritz which gives white over a pawn advantage now. Black cannot prevent the loss of a pawn now and this appears to be the second main turning point where the game first went from difficult to defend (..23.f5) to clearly losing [26...Re8 the best defence according to F 27.Kxd5 Rd8+ 28.Ke5 Rd2 29.Kxf5 Rxf2+ 30.Kxg5 (30.Kxe4 Rxg2 31.h3) 30...Rxg2+ 31.Kf4 Rxh2 32.Kxe4 It still looks unpleasant for black but would have been potentially very difficult for white to win against good defence] 27.Rh3! Because 27.Rc5 followed by Rxd5 was now futile I looked for other moves, and saw black's position had a second weakness [I was aware that 27.Rc5 was no longer on after 27...f4 28.h3 for example.(28.Rxd5?? loses 28...Rxd5+ 29.Kxd5 e3 and black queens) ] 27...f4 A good move under the circumstances forcing white to calculate very carefully 28.Rxh7 [I considered checking before taking the h pawn 28.Rh6+ but didn't see any good reason to 28...Ka5 for example; remember the phrase from Fischer "Patzer sees a check patzer plays a check"; this move isn't necessarily bad but pointless unless I have a clear reason for playing it] 28...Re8 another accurate move from black 29.Rh3?! this appears to be a mistake judging by the engine [29.Rf7 was the right move according to F, presumably as it prepares a potential Rf1 Re1 blocking the e pawn from promoting once the position opens up] 29...Kc6?! letting white off the hook, and it is back to about +1 to white [29...g4 this would have been unpleasant. It is clear looking through some example lines that this would have cause white real problems and made it potentially very hard to win 30.Rh6+ (30.Rc3 f3 31.gxf3 (31.g3 Rh8 an example line 32.Kxd5 Rxh2 33.Rb3+ Kc7 34.Rc3+ Kb6 35.Kxe4 Rxf2 36.Kf4 Rd2 37.Kxg4 f2 38.Rf3 Rxc2 39.Kh3 Rxb2 40.a3 Kc5 41.Kg2 Ra2 42.Rb3 Kd5 43.Rxb7 Rxa3 44.Kxf2 Ke6 looks like it should be drawn) 31...exf3 32.Re3 Rh8 33.Rb3+ Kc7 34.Rb4 Rxh2 35.Ke3 Rg2 36.Rd4 Kc6 and the computer says this is about equal) 30...Kb5 31.Rf6 f3 32.gxf3 exf3 e.g.: 33.Rg6 Re2 34.Rxg4 Rxf2 35.a4+ Ka5 36.Kc3 Rxh2 37.Rd4 b5 38.Rxd5 Kxa4 39.b3+ Ka5 40.Rf5 f2 41.Rf7 b4+ 42.Kd3 Kb5 43.Ke3 f1N+ 44.Rxf1 Rxc2 45.Rf5+ Rc5 46.Rxc5+ Kxc5 47.Kd3 Kb5 48.Kc2 Ka5 49.Kb1 Ka6 draw 50.Ka1 Ka5 51.Ka2 Ka6 52.Ka1 Ka5 53.Ka2] 30.Rc3+ this appears to be a mistake, as Fritz reduces white's advantage to less than half a pawn after thinking for a while [F also suggests 30.a4 ; 30.Rh6+; F likes 30.g4 b5 (30...fxg3 31.hxg3 Rf8 32.Rh6+ Kb5 33.Rh2 white has a clear advantage by the look of it) 31.b3 Re6 32.a3 Kd6 33.c3 now F puts the evaluation about equal; I think on all of these moves the engine needs a long time to think as the evaluation can change from a win for one side to a draw or vice versa all of a sudden] 30...Kd6 F evaluates this more or less equal, slightly better for white 31.h3 I felt obliged to play this as I felt after g4 the h2 pawn would be too weak but F doesn't seem concerned with this [31.a4 g4 32.Rb3 f3 33.gxf3 exf3 34.Rxb7 Re2 35.Rb6+ Kc7 36.Rb4 Rxc2 37.Ke3 d4+ 38.Rxd4 Re2+ 39.Kf4 Rxf2 40.Rc4+ Kd6 41.Kxg4 Rxh2 42.Kxf3 Rxb2 technically a draw according to F and certainly looks like it] 31...e3 F agrees with this and gives equal evaluation 32.fxe3 Re4+ I knew this was coming but felt it was harmless. I believe around this point in the game I was thinking to myself that the main thing was not to lose and to at least draw the game, and a win would just be a bonus. 33.Kd3 Rxe3+?! I was surprised my opponent played this and though I was not winning fairly clearly [I was expecting 33...fxe3 which would have made it difficult for white to win 34.Ke2 then e.g. 34...d4 35.Rc8 Rf4 36.Kd3 Re4 37.Ke2] 34.Kd2 d4? this is technically a blunder, although I didn't think at the time I could trade rooks and judged it to be a likely draw, and maybe even a potential loss in some cases. It is interesting how often a pawn move turns out to be a critical mistake in endgames. Obviously you can't be afraid of making pawn moves but they seem the most hazardous kind of move, no doubt because of their committal nature. Having looked forward a few moves it appears that black's error was actually incorrectly allowing a lost pawn ending. It is well known that you have to be extremely careful about allowing or trading into a pawn ending because of how cut and dry they are. [34...Re8 was the correct move according to F 35.Rb3] 35.Rb3 White is still doing very well after this (F gives over a pawn to white) but trading rooks was apparently the best. I think that as I was in doubt I was sensible not to trade into the pawn ending, but it must have been possible to work out it was winning [35.Rxe3! e.g. 35...dxe3+ 36.Kd3 Ke5 37.c4 it is soon becoming clear the advantage white had from the beginning - 3 vs 1 pawn majority on the queenside - is now going to win the game 37...Kd6 38.g3 now it is over: if black takes then the white king will mop up the e and g pawns, and if black does something else allowing gxf4 gxf4, the passed pawns that will be on both sides of the board will be impossible for the black king to stop 38...Ke5 39.a4] 35...Kc6?! [35...Re7 apparently black has to retreat the rook] 36.Ra3?! F now only gives slightly more than half a pawn to white [36.Rxe3 as before, this is winning; 36.Rd3 would probably have been better if I was always to be intent not to trade rooks in this kind of position] 36...Kc5?! Again allowing the winning RxR [at first F suggests 36...Rxa3 but looking deeper I think it seems unhappy about it 37.bxa3 e.g. 37...b5 38.Ke2 Kd5 39.Kd1 Kc6 40.Ke1 Kd6 41.Kf2 Kd5 42.Kf3 Kc5 43.Ke4 Kc4 44.Kf5 Kc3 45.Ke5 Kd2 46.Kxd4 Ke2 47.c4 Kf2 48.cxb5 Kxg2 49.b6 f3 50.b7 f2 51.b8Q f1Q it is unclear whether white has a realistic chance of winning this against good defence 52.Qc8 Qf4+ 53.Kd5 Qd2+ 54.Ke4 Qf4+ 55.Kd3 Qg3+ 56.Kc4 Qf4+ 57.Kb5 Qe5+ 58.Kb4 Qe1+ 59.Kb3 Qb1+ 60.Ka4 Qd1+ 61.Ka5 Qe1+ 62.Kb6 Qe3+ 63.Kc7 Qc3+ 64.Kd8 Qh8+ 65.Kc7 Qc3+ 66.Kb7 Qb2+ 67.Kc6 Qc3+ 68.Kb7 Qb2+ 69.Kc6 Qc3+ 70.Kb7 Qb2+ In this case black can keep checking until the 50 move limit or a 3 fold repetition] 37.Ra5+ I oddly thought that my opponent had blundered and allowed R+ K moves Rxg5 for free, but overlooked the obvious b5, however it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it force the position to resolve a little, and clearly I was never going to see that RxR was a winning pawn ending for white and had made my mind up it was drawn or a dodgy looking pawn ending, and the following sequence turns out fine for white 37...b5 38.a4! white has this very pleasant move. I was anxious still about Rg3 and Rxg2+ then threatening to push the f pawn, but this turns out to be harmless 38...Rg3 the logical test for white 39.Rxb5+ Kc6 40.Rf5 there is no fight left in the position technically, although I still took my time and made sure to calculate carefully [F prefers 40.b3 giving a slightly better evaluation than the game move, but as a human the best computer move is not necessarily the best human move, and it's better to simplify and take the sting out of the position as long as it doesn't give up a winning advantage (or doesn't make the win more difficult) 40...Rxg2+ 41.Kd3] 40...d3 this is not good, but black's position is already hopeless [40...Rxg2+ was the most logical test to white 41.Kd3 e.g. 41...Kd6 42.a5 Ke6 43.Rf8 Rg1 44.Kxd4 Rd1+ 45.Ke4 Ra1 46.b4 Rb1 47.Rb8 white is still easily winnig but has to be a bit careful] 41.cxd3 Rxg2+ 42.Kc3 having spent most of the time at the board calculating if my king could get in front of black's threatened passed pawns and prever a loss, this was another such calculation, and I saw that I would have time to go via d4 to e3 and stop the black f pawn with my king and rook. The fact that black's king is cut off by my rook and therefore cannot prevent Kd4 is just salt in the wound for him. 42...Rg3 43.Kd4 Kb6 there are no good moves for black 44.b4 f3 45.Ke3 from about here on my opponent, (who had only about 5 minutes left on the clock compared to about 15 minutes), blitzed out his moves; I believe this was in the hope that I would also blitz out my moves and increase the probability of a blunder. I am too experienced for that however, and calmly took my time (but not too much time) on each move, double and triple checking to make sure there were no unexpected tricks from black. 45...Rxh3 46.Rxf3 Rh4 47.d4 g4 48.Rg3 Rh2 49.Rxg4 Rh3+ by about now it was slightly farcical, as I clearly wasn't rushing my moves and was up on the clock, but I suppose there is always the chance of a horrid stalemate if white is really stupid. I remember thinking that drawing such a position would be substantially worse than the average loss. At a couple of points in the remaining moves a smiled at some of the Kibitzers watching, but I wasn't really happy until the game was officially won. 50.Ke4 Rb3 51.Rg6+ Kb7 52.b5 Rb4 53.Ra6 Rc4 54.Kd5 Rc3 55.Rc6 Ra3 56.Ra6 Rc3 57.a5 Rc2 58.Rc6 Rh2 59.a6+ Ka7 60.Rc7+ Kb6 61.Rb7+ Ka5 62.a7 Rh5+ 63.Kc4 Rh8 64.Rb8 I had no doubt that black couldn't seriously drum up any threats since about move 49, but it still disturbed me a little since I expected black to resign. Since not playing for a couple of years this was the first win against a strong club player, and also after losing a lot of games against strong opponents already this year I was a bit low in confidence in my playing, so it was still a relief to finally win the game. Many of the endgame positions in this game could be analysed in great depth, and it's quite difficult to decide which lines to look at and how deeply. No doubt for this reason it is important to always try and think in terms of plans for both sides and use that as a guide, as it's impossible to calculate exhaustively all the variations to any depth in many of these positions. It seems white always had a much easier game because of the structural advantage, and the onus was on black to create active counterplay whereas white's advantage was permanent and therefore wouldn't have to worry about acting especially quickly or dynamically but playing methodically. One of the most interesting oversights in this game is the fact the RxR pawn ending was winning for white, and both players overlooked this about 3 times. Overall black put up a respectable defence for most of the game in a very difficult endgame position for him. On a side note it was nice to get revenge against an opponent who beat me two years previously in exactly the same opening with the same colours and in a game where he beat me in the endgame. 1–0

GAME 030 - Peter Dallas

2011-11-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

Edward Davies VS Peter Dallas

Cosham A vs Portsmouth A, 03.11.2011

The following was a sharp Sicilian type game in which I got a big advantage early on but managed to throw most of the advantage away in a few inaccurate moves, allowing my opponent strong counterplay, and meanwhile having got into bad time trouble. During my frantic time trouble towards the end, my opponent was playing fast as well - perhaps unwisely, as it is recommended to take your time if your opponent is in bad time trouble and you have lots of time - and I had a crushing attack after an inaccurate move by my opponent, however I failed to find the right continuation in the time scramble and went on to resign before losing on time at some point in the endgame after some frantic moves. This game is a good example of keeping things complicated and creating counterplay in an inferior position (from black's point of view) and also demonstrates how it is treacherous to fall too far behind on the clock even in a technically winning position.

16.Nf4

..31.Qe6

43.Qg5+

1.e4 g6 2.Nf3 I decided on a flexible and sound move. I didn't want to commit to d4 immediately in case of running into unfamiliar territory such as a King's Indian Defence, so I kept it an 'e4' game. 2...Bg7 3.Nc3 I still did not want to commit to any opening so this seems like a strong and logical general move leaving white plenty of options. 3...c5 Sicilian dragon (ish) transposition; an indication it will be a sharp game. 4.g3 I opt for a closed sicilian type approach, although the King's knight is usually developed to e2 so it is going to be sharped than usual. [4.d4 the most common; 4.Bc4 also good] 4...Nc6 5.Bg2 d6 6.d3 [or 6.0–0 ] 6...Bd7 An indication my opponent will use a Qc8 Bd7 setup to trade off my light squared bishop and weaken my king's castled position on the kingside (if I castle there) 7.Be3 Qc8 Fritz gave a tiny edge for black before this but prefers 7.Nf6, fully developing the minor pieces and preparing to castle. In fact the lack of development on the kingside for black is a critical factor in the game. 8.Qd2 [8.0–0 F is happy to castle and allow the bishop trade 8...Bh3 F says this is not even good for black, and nothing to white to worry about after: (F prefers 8...Nf6 ) 9.Bxh3 (9.Bg5 Bxg2 10.Kxg2 Nf6 is another option among several for white) 9...Qxh3 10.Nd5 threatening Nc7+ 10...Qd7 e.g. 11.d4 cxd4 12.Bxd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Nf6 14.Qd3 F thinks this is about equal; I don't think I'd be that happy long term as black's bishop is strong] 8...Rb8 I thought this looked a tad fishy, ignoring the development of the knight 9.h3 I decide to go for the plan h3 g4 then castle to avoid the trade of the bishop on g2. F doesn't like the move too much and preferred castling straight away, (which seems logical since black is a little behind in development. [9.0–0 Nf6 (9...Bh3 10.a3 e.g. 10...Nf6) 10.Bh6] 9...b5 not unsound, but still the lack of developing the King's knight is starting to play with fire a little perhaps 10.g4?! Fritz isn't keen on this. I think it's ok though, and there is a logical reason for it - avoiding the bishop trade. F now gives half a pawn to black. [F prefers 10.0–0 ; 10.a3 the other move F suggests; logically contesting the b4 square] 10...h5?! F flags this move up as well, restoring the evaluation to about equal [10...b4 the critical line according to F 11.Nd1 Nf6 This doesn't look too pretty for white, so I can see why F didn't like 10.g4 : ). Black's setup looks very neat here.] 11.g5?! Another questionable move according to F. Advantage black apparently (half a pawn). [F suggests 11.0–0–0 e.g. 11...Qa6 12.Kb1 Nf6 which would certainly lead to an insane game - usually Fritz's suggestions are a bit 'stodgy', but I suppose the dictates of the position mean 0–0–0 was the strongest option] 11...h4?! Deuce again according to Fritz. [11...b4 12.Nd1 Nd4 would have clearly been unpleasant for white 13.Nh4 e.g. (13.c3? bxc3 14.Nxc3 (14.bxc3 Bxh3 15.Bxh3 (15.cxd4?? even worse 15...Bxg2) 15...Nxf3+ 16.Ke2 Nxd2 17.Bxc8 Nxe4 18.dxe4 Rxc8 white is badly losing) 14...Bxh3) 13...Qa6 14.0–0 e6 this definitely looks a lot better for black] 12.d4 At last a move that the computer agrees with. [F also flirts with 12.0–0–0 b4 13.Ne2 e5 but ultimately prefers 12.d4] 12...b4 13.Ne2 c4 [F prefers 13...Na5 aiming at the c4 square so that e.g. 14.0–0–0 Nc4 is good for black 15.Qe1 a5] 14.c3 [F considers 14.Qd1 Na5 15.a4 b3 16.c3 e6; F also likes 14.Nf4 e6 15.a3 all complicated positions that could consume hours of analysis in their own right] 14...Qa6?! F doesn't like this and gives almost a pawn evaluation to white by now. I remember feeling I had been let off lightly to be able to castle for free now the queen bishop battery has been broken [alternatively 14...e6 this allows white to castle, but black completes development also 15.0–0 Nge7; 14...bxc3 is ok too 15.Qxc3 F likes recapturing with the queen, which to a human looks like a slightly risky move(15.bxc3 e5 16.d5 Na5 17.Qc2 for example 17...Ne7 (17...f5 lots of options) ) ] 15.0–0 f6? A definite mistake. Black still hasn't developed the kingside and this doesn't help. The main tactical problem is the gaping weakness on g6 allowing the following crushing move. [15...bxc3 is good; 15...e6 is also better, but F gives over a pawn to white here still. E.g.: 16.d5 exd5 17.exd5 bxc3 (e.g. 17...Ne5 18.Nxe5 Bxe5 19.cxb4) 18.Nxc3 Nb4 19.Bd4 Rh7 (19...Bxd4 20.Qxd4 Rh7 not nice for black) ] 16.Nf4 F gives white a 2 pawns advantage. 16...Qc8?! F doesn't like this. It's hard to suggest good moves though as the position is now extremely unpleasant for black. [F prefers 16...fxg5 17.Nxg5 bxc3 18.bxc3 Qc8 19.Nxg6 Rh6 attacking the knight 20.Nf4 Nf6 white has a much better position (2 pawns according to F) but it's an extremely sharp and complex position (in my opinion)] 17.Nxg6?! taking the pawn (and attacking the rook) straight away is inaccurate according to fritz. None the less, I felt confident I was clearly winning at this point. [17.d5 bxc3 18.bxc3 Nd8 19.Bxa7 fxg5 20.Nxg5 is it typical of the computer to refuse to take a pawn straight away and going for superior move orders however complicated they look. One thing to keep in mind is computers have zero fear of complications and only care about the numerical evaluation, whereas in human vs human games it is often stupid for the winner to go in for a complicated continuation to try and squeeze a little more advantage out at the risk of blundering when they already have enough advantage to win simply. This does not apply to this game however as I was not able to find any way to win the game simply at all.] 17...Rh5?! Understandable to move the rook, but this square does not look right. [17...Rh7 is not better though according to Fritz, e.g. 18.Qe2 Nd8 19.Nf4 Ne6 20.Nxe6 Bxe6 21.g6 Rh5 22.Kh2 Bd7 23.Rfc1; 17...Bxh3 F says this is the best move. White has to be very careful 18.Bxh3 (18.Nxh8?? Bxg2 19.Kxg2 Qg4+ 20.Kh2 Qxf3 21.Ng6 Qxe4 A super-complicated position that is muddy and definitely wasn't what white had in mind) 18...Qxh3 19.Qe2 Qg4+ (19...Rh7 20.Nf4 Qg4+ 21.Kh2 Nd8 22.Rg1 Qc8) 20.Kh2 Qxe4 21.Nxh8] 18.Kh2 F doesn't like this (but still gives white 2 pawns). My idea was to prepare Rg1 to use the rook on the opening g file (which seems a reasonable human move). [the computer goes for 18.Qe2 threatening a revealed attack on the rook, e.g. 18...bxc3 19.bxc3 fxg5 (19...Na5 20.Nfe5 Rh7 21.Nxd7 (21.gxf6 Nxf6 (21...Bxf6 22.Nxd7 Qxd7 23.Qc2 there are endless possible lines but all hopeless for black 23...e5 24.dxe5 Bxe5 25.f4 Rg7 26.fxe5 Rxg6 27.exd6 Qxd6 28.Rad1 (F gives white about 4 pawns, even though in material he is only one pawn up. The two knights are a joke compared to white's bishops in this position.); 21...dxe5 22.fxg7 Rxg7 23.Qh5) 22.Nxd7 Nxd7 23.Rab1) 21...Qxd7 22.f4) 20.Nxg5 Rh6 21.f4] 18...Rb5?! A mistake according to F. [F prefers 18...fxg5 19.Nxg5 bxc3 20.bxc3 Rh6 21.Nf4] 19.Nf4 My objective at this point is to try and win the game as simply as possible (if possible) but black turns out to have nasty counterplay which although losing in evaluation to the computer can be difficult for a human to deal with [19.Qe2 is stronger according to F, cranking up the pressure with threat of revealed attack on the rook 19...Nd8 and insanely complicated lines, but black clearly has a horrible position 20.e5 fxg5 a) 20...dxe5 21.Nfxe5; b) 20...fxe5 21.Nfxe5 (21.dxe5 bxc3 (21...dxe5 22.Nfxe5 Bxe5+ 23.Nxe5 Rh7 24.Nxd7 Qxd7 25.Qxc4) 22.bxc3 Rh7 23.exd6) ; 21.exd6 Rh6] 19...Rbxg5?! I felt sure this was wrong, and was getting more confident about the game situation with every move [19...Rh8 at least avoids immediate loss of the exchange 20.d5 Ne5 21.Nxe5 fxg5 (21...fxe5 22.Ng6 Rh5 23.Qe2 Rh7 24.f4) 22.Nfg6 Bxe5+ 23.f4 gxf4 24.Bd4 bxc3 25.Qxc3 Rh7 26.Nxe5 dxe5 27.Bxe5 A couple of examples of the many comlicated possibilities] 20.Nxg5 I was choosing between this and Nxh5; I think I went for Nxg5 since after Rx there is the threat of a releaved attack on the rook by the bishop when the f4 knight moves, and after fx the rook on h5 looks a little hopeless 20...Rxg5 21.Rg1 the computer agrees with this move; logically playing the rook on the open g file 21...e5 objectely there are no good moves so this is as good as anything. Whatever complicates the position the most is the best option for black 22.Nd5 a very nice move to be able to play, taking a great square with the knight at the same time as a revealed attack on the rook [F suggests 22.Ne2 bxc3 23.Nxc3 Bh6 24.dxe5 (24.Bxg5 a bad move according to F 24...Bxg5 25.Qd1 Nxd4 26.Nd5 looks good for white but very sharp) 24...dxe5 25.Nb5 Qb8 26.Nd6+ Ke7] 22...bxc3 23.bxc3 Rg6 [23...Rh5 prefers this slight, although it shouldn't make much difference now and the evaluation is about 5 pawns to white. The trick thing is, it seems like white has to open up the position to win, and this means potentially dangerous and sharp counterplay for black and more opportunities to blunder 24.dxe5 Nxe5 25.f4 Nd3 26.Bf1] 24.Bf3 logically threatening Bh5 pinning the rook and exposing the file to trade rooks and play on the g file 24...Rxg1 25.Rxg1 Kf8 26.Bg4?! I naturally wanted to simplify the position as much as possible and win the endgame a rook up, however F changes white's advantage from 6 pawns to 3 pawns here (which is still more than enough to win objectively, but cannot afford to play too many inaccurate moves in such a sharp position) [26.dxe5 it doesn't feel right giving the black knight the strong d5 square like this, but the position needs to be opened to deliver the advantage and make use of the bishops. This was kind of a case of wanting it all, and not being willing to give my opponent any perceived plus to his position, whereas sometimes you have to give back a little to take even more. 26...Nxe5 27.Bh5 full use is being made of all the pieces now and the position is totally crushing, and the nice knight on d5 is irrelevant to the overall disaster of black's position. 27...Qb7 28.Nxf6! Nf3+ (28...Nxf6 29.Qxd6+ Kg8 30.Rxg7+ Kxg7 31.Qxe5 despite both sides having a queen and two minor pieces, Fritz gives white a 20 pawn advantage! All moves lead to mate: 31...Qc8 a) 31...Qxe4 32.Qg5+ Kh7 33.Bf7 theatening Qh6# 33...Ng8 34.Qxg8#; b) 31...Qc6 32.Qe7+ Kh8 33.Bd4 Bf5 34.exf5 (34.Bxf6+ Qxf6 35.Qxf6+) ; 32.Qg5+ Kh7 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Qxf6+ Kg8 35.Qf7+ Kh8 36.Bd4#) 29.Bxf3 Nxf6 30.Qxd6+ Kf7 31.Bd4 the position is now a forced mate in all variations, the most obvious threat being Rxg7 then Qxf6 31...Be6 if this then 32.Bxf6 Kxf6 33.Qf4+ Ke7 34.Rxg7+; 26.Bh5 was also stronger than the game move according to F] 26...f5?! apparently giving white about 4 1/2 pawns advantage (instead of 3). From a practical point of view this move is pretty good I think as the position is complicated, which is exactly what black wants [F prefers 26...Bxg4 27.hxg4] 27.exf5?! another inaccurate move according to F [27.Bh5 I can't say I understand exactly why Fritz likes this much more, but it can be hard to see things from the point of view of a calculator] 27...Bxf5 the correct move according to F 28.f4?! A mistake according to F, dropping evaluation to under 2 pawns. Although this isn't a good move techically, it seems there should be several good move options for white here, as the advantage is such that it seems strange it is lost if the exactly right move is not played. [28.dxe5 Nxe5 29.Bh5 F suggests this, Morozevich style putting the bishop on an active diagonal that looks set to weave a mating net and letting the h pawn go 29...Bxh3 if bishop takes then 30.Nf4 Qd7 losing the bishop(if the bishop retreats, e.g. 30...Bd7 31.Qxd6+ forced mate in 7, e.g. 31...Ne7 32.Rxg7 Kxg7 33.Qxe5+ Kh7 34.Qxe7+) ; 28.Bxf5 wouldn't have been any better according to F, still just have 2 pawns for white or less 28...Qxf5; 28.Qd1 maybe a bit better than the game 28...exd4 29.cxd4; 28.Nb4 maybe worse than the game, e.g. 28...Nxb4 29.cxb4 Bxg4 30.Rxg4 Nf6 31.Rg1 Qf5 32.d5; 28.Bg5 maybe a bit better than the game move 28...exd4 29.Qe2 (29.cxd4 Bxd4 30.Ne3) 29...dxc3 (if 29...d3 then 30.Qf3) 30.Qxc4 and so on, with ridiculously complicated positions] 28...exd4 correct according to F; the move that white should not have allowed; now black has some pretty serious counterplay 29.cxd4?! I think I was playing panicky by here as I was already running low on time and things had not gone as swimmingly as planned; this is obviously a stupid move though and I should have traded the bishop instead of making it a bad piece and entombing it. This is another move in the process of rotting a winning position away. F gives white about 1.5 pawns here, (and from a human point of view the counterplay is not easy to deal with). [29.Bxd4 Nxd4 30.cxd4 e.g. 30...Bxg4 31.Rxg4 Nf6 32.Nxf6 Bxf6 black would probably have kept more pieces on to keep the game more complicated, but in any case white does not have a useless bishop like in the game] 29...Nh6 spot on according to F 30.Bxf5?! another mistake according to F [30.Be2 apparently better, not gifting black a strong knight on f5. A difficult move to see though, having to jettison the h3 pawn 30...Bxh3 31.f5! throwing the pawn to activate the dark squared bishop 31...Nxf5 32.Bf2 a super complicated position; according to F white is about 2.5 pawns up] 30...Nxf5 Now F gives white just over a pawn advantage. From a practical point of view I was drastically down on time, (I thought earlier this wouldn't matter with what was a technically winning position). Black now has serious compensation for the exchange and the position is far from trivial for white, so this was a disaster situation as my opponent had well over half an hour if I remember correctly and I was on my last couple of minutes before the time control (which was at 30 moves I think). 31.Bf2?! Now the time control has been reached I am seriously gutted with how the game has gone from a 'clear' win to a very possible loss (especially given that I was so far down on time). This move is a serious mistake according to F and the evaluation is now about equal. [31.Qc2 the bishop needn't be moved as it is defended by the knight and is a poor piece anyway. This threatens the c4 pawn and actively uses the queen.] 31...Qe6 Another spot on move by Peter 32.Nc7 also correct according to F 32...Qd7 [or 32...Qf7 pretty much the same] 33.d5 this is a bit more like it; threatening Ne6+ and after Qx, dxc6 and the white queen is active. Fritz gives white about half a pawn, but again, I was nearing chronic time trouble and my opponent had a lot of time so the situation was pretty dire for me still 33...Ncd4 the correct response according to F [after 33...Qxc7 34.dxc6 Qxc6 35.Qc2 white has very good play and black's counterplay no longer looks very scary (F gives white about 2 pawns advantage)] 34.Ne6+ [34.Bxd4 may have been better 34...Nxd4 (34...Qxc7 35.Bxg7+ Nxg7 36.Qc3 Qf7 37.Qxc4 easily winning for white; 34...Bxd4? 35.Ne6+ Ke7 36.Nxd4 winning for white) 35.Rxg7! (35.Ne6+? Qxe6! 36.dxe6 Nf3+ 37.Kh1 Nxd2 38.e7+ Kxe7 (38...Kf7? 39.Rxg7+) ) 35...Nf3+ 36.Kg2 Qxg7+ 37.Kxf3] 34...Nxe6 Not too bad, and black still has drawing chances (technically - actualy due to the clock he has serious winning chances) but there is a clever tactic that is even better [34...Qxe6! 35.Bxd4 (35.dxe6? Nf3+ 36.Kh1 Nxd2 and black should win) 35...Nxd4 36.dxe6 Nf3+ 37.Kh1 Nxd2 38.e7+ Kxe7 39.Rxg7+ Kf6 40.Rg8 Fritz says this is a draw, but I think black has a harder position unless he is very confident at endgame technique] 35.dxe6 Qxe6 36.Re1 F agrees - this activates the rook nicely 36...c3? a mistake according to F, and should lose a pawn, (evaluation from under a pawn to white to about 2.5 pawns) 37.Qc2? I return the favour and once again evaluation is not far from equal (about half a pawn to white) [37.Qxc3! Bxc3 (or 37...Qd7 38.Qf3 white has a much better position a clear exchange up) 38.Rxe6 now white should be cruising to a win] 37...Qd5 A good move according to F, although it also looks as some other queen moves [37...Qd7; 37...Qc8] 38.Qe2 Fritz agrees with white's move too; it is natural enough to threaten mate on e8 and to put the queen on a much more active position; for now the threat of the c3 pawn is not significant compared to piece activity for white 38...Qc6? a serious mistake according from F (evaluation from half a pawn to white to about 4 pawns to white) [38...Qf7 39.Qd3 Kg8 40.Rb1 although better for white, F still only gives white half a pawn] 39.Qc2? Returning the favour and missing the opportunity by repeating moves [39.Qe6! would have been pretty crushing (F: +4) threatening the knight and dominating the squares around the black king (actually stalemating the king from moving temporarily, which is usually a bad (or good) sign). 39...Ng3 (39...Qc5 can't be played due to 40.Qe8#) 40.Bxg3 hxg3+ 41.Kxg3 c2 white should win relatively easily 42.Qf5+ Kg8 43.Re7 Qc3+ (not 43...c1Q?? 44.Qf7+ Kh8 45.Qxg7#) 44.Kg4 Qf6 45.Rc7] 39...Qb5 [39...Qd5 was better according to F but still a slight plus for white (and not 0.00 as the computer dumbly evaluates due to the repeated moves, as white can play something else this time 40.Qa4 Qf7 41.Rb1 a little bit better for white according to F] 40.Rb1?! apparently inaccurate [40.Qe4] 40...Qd5 41.Qe2 F agrees with both of the player's last moves 41...Qc6?? a serious mistake; this immediately loses the game according to F (giving 12 pawns to white in evaluation) [41...Bh6 threatening Bx+ 42.Rb8+ Kf7 apparently about half a pawn to white] 42.Rb8+ devastating 42...Kf7 only move, other than giving up the queen for nothing 43.Qh5+! generous to give this an exclamation mark as it is easy to see with the positition in front of you, but in combination with 42.Rb8+ it is a killer 43...Kf6 44.Qg5+ Ke6 45.Qg6+ Bf6 all spot on so far from white according to Fritz. At this point I was in chronic time trouble, with about 2 minutes to finish the game, and I just couldn't find the winning moves from here on, and played inferior moves to avoid stalling and losing on time, but I knew soon that I had let it slip 46.Re8+? Given enough time on the clock this still would have been an easy win for white, (about 3.5 pawn advantage according to F), but I needed a checkmate soon realistically or I was going to inevitably lose on time [46.Rf8! totally crushing. This move was pointed out in the post game analysis by my teammate Ian Hardwick and he was spot on; it was hard for me to find this in the time trouble situation; it sometimes seems unintuitive to play a move that is not a check just in case you let your opponent back in, but I assume (at least I would like to think) I wouldn't have had too much trouble finding this with a bit more time to spare 46...Ne7 47.f5+ (47.Qxf6+ not as accurate 47...Kd7 48.Bxh4 Qe4 49.Qxc3) 47...Kd5 48.Qxf6 Qc7 having looked at this I don't feel quite as bad; I was expecting a forced mate but it looks like there never was one and I had to be satisfied with a crushing material advantage eventually leading to a win] 46...Ne7 47.f5+?? I already knew on the last move I had screwed it up a bit, but after this the position is at best equal [white should play the crushing 47.Bxh4 Kd7 if the king moves to d7 then 48.Qxf6 Kxe8? 49.Qxe7#] 47...Kd7 48.Qf7? [it would have been roughly equal after 48.Qxf6 Kxe8 49.Bxh4 Qe4 but inevitably I would have lost on time soon] 48...Qe4?! [48...c2 was pretty crushing 49.Qxf6 Kxe8 50.Bxh4 Qc7 51.Bg5] 49.Qxf6?! [49.Rf8 threatening Qe8+ 49...Qf4+ Fritz gives the repetition (49...Kc6?? 50.Qe8+ Kd5 51.Qb5#) 50.Kg2 Qe4+ 51.Kh2 Qf4+ 52.Kg2 Qe4+ 53.Kh2 Qf4+] 49...Kxe8 50.Qxc3 Qxf5?! It is better to take with the knight and activate the position more. It is remarkable that despite all of the huge tooings and froings of evaluation throughout the game, we now reach a very interesting endgame which really is roughly equal, (although I prefer white with a bishop in this open position). The only catch is that I had about 2 minutes left to finish the game and my opponent had at least 15 minutes, possibly half an hour or more, so I was inevitably going to either lose on time or fatally blunder. I don't have access to many of the remaining moves but I made every move almost instantly as my opponent moved. I eventually resigned with my flag due to fall any moment after I thought I had blundered, but thinking back to it we both had a pair of queens, and I had had just promoted to a queen and assumed I had blundered as it was connected to one of my opponents' queens, but it's counterpart was next to it so it was not en prise at all; I think this was a trick of the mind in chronic time trouble, but even if it was sound it would have been a complicated 2 queens each endgame and I would have had to lose on time soon. Still I should perhaps not have given up immediately until my flag had fallen. The real lesson for me from this game was not to get in time trouble in the first place, even if the position appears to be winning, as this game demonstrates how rapidly the evaluation can fluctuate one way or another in sharp positions. I was impressed with how well Peter played practically after I got a winning advantage from the opening, but creating difficult complications and playing on my time trouble; of course I have to take some of the credit for letting myself get into bad time trouble, but the counterplay that Peter created caused me a lot of difficulties and wiped the proverbial grin off of my face assuming I was in for an easy win. [50...Nxf5 F evaluates this as equal] 51.Qh8+ Kd7 52.Qxh4 white (in 10 or 15 moves) resigns 0–1

GAME 029 - Lawrence Pearman

2011-11-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

Lawrence Pearman vs Edward Davies

24th October 2011 - Southampton University B vs Passed Pawn B

This was my first game for Passed Pawn for about 3 years. I am usually confident against Bird's Opening as I feel that black has a lot of choice and can develop comfortably.

Position after ..25 0-0-0

1.f4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 Common variation of the unpopular bird's opening so far, but my next move is very rare and only found 8 games in the 4 million game database. Many moves are playable. 3...b6 Seems like a sound enough mehod of development. [3...g6 the most commonly played.; 3...Bg4 next most played in Fritz's opening book.; 3...c5; 3...e6; 3...Bf5] 4.Bb5+ I half expected him to play this, but I think it is pretty weak. [Fritz's (hereonin F) first move is Nc3 4.Nc3 ] 4...c6 F also suggests Bd7 I do not like this trade offer 5.Ba4? I believe my opponent played this quite quickly, and I believe it is a mistake allowing black to get in several free pawn moves, and F agrees giving black slight advantage after this. [5.Be2 much better place for bishop] 5...b5 6.Bb3 c5 I was quite pleased with the opening so far, with a strong wall of pawns. 7.c3 Doesn't look amazing but it does solve white's problem of threatened bishop and the bishop itself is quite a strong piece on c2, but he has problems with queenside development in the game. I found it hard to decide on the next move. I decided on reducing the number of moves it would take me to castle since my opponent can castle immediately at any time and currently I have to move a pawn and a bishop before I can castle. [F suggests 7.a3 putting the bishop on a2. Looking at this the diagonal a2 to f7/g8 is attacking much more important squares than on the c2 to h7 diagonal, and looks like a strong place for the white light squared bishop. 7...Nc6 (7...c4 8.Ba2 Nc6) ] 7...e6 [F suggests 7...Nc6 not worrying about developing to castle 8.0–0 Bg4 (8...Qd6 the kind of fearless (and mindless?) way a computer plays 9.d4 h5 crazy stuff, but I won't get side tracked into this) ; 7...g6 this was perhaps preferable] 8.0–0 Probably due to the amount of sound space black has, there are a lot of candidate moves. It will be interesting to have a quick look at all the feasible looking alternatives. [I looked at the possibility of 8.a4 after which I thought I could just take it, but this would be a mistake according to F 8...bxa4 (actually black is doing well after 8...b4 9.cxb4 cxb4 10.0–0 Bd6 F likes black's position here) 9.Bxa4+ Bd7 this doesn't look that bad but not great at the same time] 8...Be7 No doubt there were other options, but in lieu of any really strong ideas I decided to allow for castling [8...c4 9.Bc2 Nc6 10.Ne5 a) 10.Nd4 Qb6 (10...Nxd4 11.cxd4 Be7) ; b) 10.d4 Be7 (10...cxd3 11.Bxd3 a6 (11...Bd6 F suggests this as an option; I am sceptical about giving up the pawn like this 12.Bxb5 Bb7 13.c4) ) 11.Nbd2; c) 10.d3 Bb7; d) 10.Na3 Qb6; 10...Bb7 11.d4 Be7 (11...cxd3 12.Qxd3 Qb6) ; 8...Nc6 9.Ne5 Bd7; 8...g6 9.d3 There are many candidate moves in all of these kinds of variations and it seems to be largely a matter of personal preference; 8...Ba6 an interesting idea which I looked at in the game 9.d3 Nc6 (9...c4?! the following implies this is not great 10.dxc4 dxc4 (if 10...bxc4 then 11.Ba4+ Nbd7 12.Bc6 is anoying 12...Rb8 13.Ne5) 11.Qxd8+ Kxd8 12.Bc2 with what seems an obviously inferior situation for black) 10.c4 bxc4 11.dxc4 Bd6 not too bad for black] 9.d4 [9.Ne5 Qc7 10.d4; 9.a4 b4 10.cxb4 (10.d3 Nc6 11.Ne5 (11.Nbd2 there are simply too many sound possibilities for both sides to look into all the variations) 11...Nxe5 12.fxe5 Nd7 13.d4 Ba6) 10...cxb4 11.Ne5 Qd6 is pretty good for black 12.d4 Nbd7; 9.Na3] 9...a5 F doesn't like this move and preferred Nc6. Analysis of the pawn play is critical [9...b4 this can lead to white getting the 2 vs 1 majority on the queenside 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.cxb4 Bxb4 F evaluates this pretty evenly; 9...c4 10.Bc2 Nc6 11.Nbd2 (11.a4 b4 12.Ne5 Bb7 13.cxb4 Nxb4) ; 9...Ne4 10.Nbd2 Nd7] 10.a4 [10.Ne5 Qb6; 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.Nd4; 10.Na3 Ba6 In all these kind of variations there are still many candidate moves for each side and it's possible to over analyse all of these lines which the evaluation is roughly equal for(10...c4 11.Bc2 b4 12.Nb5 (12.cxb4? would be a blunder 12...axb4 13.Nxc4 (13.Ba4+ Rxa4 14.Qxa4+ Bd7 15.Qa8 bxa3 F -2.5; 13.Nb1 b3 crushing and wins) 13...dxc4 14.Ne5 Qd5) 12...0–0 e.g. 13.a4 b3 very odd position(13...bxa3 14.b3 (if 14.bxa3 then 14...a4 the knight is looking stranded 15.Rb1 (white cannot play 15.Bxa4 since this loses a piece to 15...Qa5 16.Bc2 Qxb5) 15...Bd7 F believes white to be doomed here) 14...cxb3 15.Bxb3 Bd7 is about equal) ) ] 10...c4 [F goes for 10...b4 11.Nbd2 (11.dxc5 Bxc5 looks pleasant for black 12.Nd4 (12.c4 0–0 13.Qe2 (13.cxd5? Nxd5 very strong for black) ) 12...0–0) 11...Ba6 (11...Nbd7) ] 11.Bc2 b4 12.Nbd2 F agrees with this [12.cxb4 axb4 13.Qe1 0–0] 12...b3 I was quite happy with this. Although e4 and expanding on the kingside is on for white, his rook is totally imprisoned on a1, and the pawn on a4 is weak and could be easy prey in an endgame [F's first choice 12...Nc6 13.e4 Bb7 (13...Qb6) 14.e5 Nd7 swings and roundabouts; F also likes 12...Bb7 I believe computers have a hard time evaluating these kind of semi closed positions with lots of candidate moves and still quite early in the opening without pieces directly attacking each other] 13.Bb1 Even so although happy about the queenside I was very concerned about the possible crushing attack that white could execute on the kingside, so I made the following move to prepare f5 and prevent f5 and such moves and bolster the position 13...Ng4 F isn't keen on this. I am preparing f5 and win time to do this by threatening the knight fork on e3, so it seemed logical to me and I felt more comfortable after f5 was played. Fritz prefers moves like 0–0 or Nc6 [13...0–0 14.e4 Nc6 15.Ne5 (15.e5 Nd7 F seems happy enough but I don't feel happy at all about the strong attacking potential of white against a fairly unguarded black king, but perhaps this is a superficial judgement as moves like f6 can unlock most of black's forces, (although this could also weaken the pawn chain and cause annoying weak pawns at the base of the chain leading to it potentially evaporating. The position feels entirely defesive for black, which I also consider a boring and unambitious choice. 16.Ng5 e.g. 16...h6 17.Nh7 Re8 18.Qg4 Nf8) 15...Qb6 16.exd5 exd5 17.Ndf3 roughly equal but I am not overjoyed about the weakened pawn chain; 13...Nc6 14.Ne5 Qb6 15.e4 0–0 16.exd5 exd5; F also doesn't mind 13...Bb7 ] 14.Qe1 F doesn't like this much [F 1st choice 14.Qe2 f5 (F to start with suggests this move, but after thinking for longer prefers the move I was preparing - f5 14...Nc6 ) ; 14.Re1 this seems quite logical freeing the f1 square for the knight 14...f5 I felt a lot happier by now, with a big space advantage and feeling a lot safer on the kingside 15.Ne5 (F prefers 15.Qe2 Qc7 however after thinking for longer decides it doesn't like Qe2 and prefers h3; 15.h3 Nf6 16.Ne5 0–0) 15...Nf6 I did not want to trade knights immediately as I perceived my development of the queenside pieces being difficult after fxe5 (15...Nxe5 F chooses this as its first move however 16.fxe5 Qc7 17.Qe2 0–0 as usual in this game, F is suggesting kingside casling as the best move often) 16.Ndf3 F agrees with white's move, not that there were many candidate moves 16...Ne4 after a while F puts this move first (16...0–0 F again wants to castle; I was not interested in committing to castle) 17.Bxe4 although F doesn't choose this, it seems a fairly logical idea to aid white's development and trade of some pieces in his cramped position (F suggests 17.Bd2 although I think it may struggle to evaluate such positions 17...0–0 18.Qe2 Bf6 F keeps changing its mind about moves and considers several candidates) 17...fxe4 (17...dxe4? is obviously bad after 18.Nd2) 18.Nd2 (18.Ng5 the only tenable move in F's opinion; the only other retreat is Nd2 as happenend in the game; this could have proven quite testing; the threat of Nf7 must be met 18...0–0 F's suggestion(18...Bxg5? would be disastrous according to Fritz 19.fxg5 Ra7) ) ] 14...f5 15.Ne5 Nf6 F doesn't like this, prefers trade (didn't quite a bit of anaysis on the 14.Re1 line forgetting I was not in the main game :S [15...Nxe5 16.fxe5 Qc7] 16.Ndf3 [16.Qh4 0–0 e.g. (16...Ng4?? 17.Qh5+ g6 18.Nxg6) 17.Ndf3 Qe8 18.Ng5 h6 19.Ngf3 Ne4; 16.Rf3 0–0 17.Rh3 Qe8 could spend ages analysing this variation among others] 16...Ne4 17.Bxe4 similar to the analysis I did for the wrong line - 14.Re1 instead of 14.Qe1 [17.Bd2 0–0 18.Qe2 Bd7] 17...fxe4 18.Nd2? F does not like this and gives over a pawn evaluation for black [18.Ng5 only tenable move according to F; the threat of Nf7 must be met 18...0–0 the critical variation (if 18...Bxg5?? the position breaks down for black, e.g. 19.fxg5 Ra7 20.Qh4 g6 21.Qh6 Rg8 22.Ng4) 19.Nh3 (19.Bd2 e.g. 19...Qe8 20.Qe2 Nc6 21.Nh3 Bb7 22.Nf2 h5 again, in these closed or semi closed positions it is possible to analyse ad infinitum) 19...Qe8 20.Nf2] 18...Qc7 F yellow flags this move and drops eval from about 1 pawn to black to half pawn to black [18...0–0 as usual it is this castling move F likes 19.Qe2 (19.Nb1 with the plan to develop the knight to a3 19...Qe8; 19.Qg3 Qe8 20.Nb1 many of these move orders are semi transpositional and do not seem to be extremely critical decisions; black has a big advantage whatever white plays here according to F) 19...Qe8 white has big problems with space and development 20.Rf2 (20.Nxe4 amazingly for a moment F showed this 20...dxe4 21.Qxc4 e.g. 21...Bf6 freeing up the LSB 22.Qxb3 Ba6 23.Nc4 Qh5 white has some compensation - and maybe in the particular position this would have been a good idea to comlicate the position - but I would feel very confident here with black a piece up; probably a good kamikazi attempt by white though) 20...Nd7 e.g. (20...Bh4 21.g3 Be7 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.Qxc4 Bd6 24.Qxb3 Bxe5 25.dxe5 Ba6 an very agreeable position for black) 21.Nf1 Nxe5 22.dxe5 h5 again there are so many possible variation in this position that it would be possible to get side tracked hundreds of times] 19.Qg3 F gives black a bit over half a pawn advantage by here [19.Nb1 the first choice of F, preparing development of knight on queenside 19...0–0 20.Na3 Ba6 e.g. 21.Qg3 (21.Nb5 Qb7 22.Qg3) 21...Nc6 22.Ng4 Kh8 23.Bd2 Qb6 24.Ne5 Nxe5 25.dxe5 Rf5 26.Rf2 as before there are hundreds of possible variations within this close pawn structure position] 19...Bf6 I still was not keen on kingside castling and wanted to develop pieces. I have to meet the threat Qxg7. F does not like this and drops evaluation to under half a pawn to black instead of about a pawn to black after 0–0 [19...0–0 e.g. 20.Nb1 Nc6 21.Na3 Ba6 22.Ng4 Kh8 F gives black about a pawn] 20.Re1 F yellow flags this also, returning the advantage to black again to about a pawn [20.Nb1 e.g. 20...0–0 21.Na3 Be7 (21...Ba6 22.Bd2 Bxe5 23.fxe5 Nd7 is about equal for example) 22.Nb5 Qb7 F is still showing lots of candidate moves and lots of transposing moves, so there is some scope for choice in the position. This position is certainly not looking a lot better for black any more and the development of the knight to b5 was strong for white] 20...Qe7 this also has the obvious cheap threat of Bh4 skewering the queen and rook, but also aims to develop the queenside pieces [again, F likes castling 20...0–0 21.Nb1 Bd7 22.Bd2 Bxe5 23.fxe5 Nc6 24.Na3 Ne7 25.Qh3 (25.Nb5 Bxb5 26.axb5 Qb7) ] 21.Qg4 Bd7 I wanted to develop my knight to c6 or d7 but felt I couldn't do either of these on the last move. F still gives black an edge here, but less than half a pawn. [21...0–0 F again prefers to castle, e.g. 22.Nf1 Nd7 23.Ng3 Nb6 (23...Nxe5 24.dxe5 Bh4 25.Rd1 Bxg3 26.Qxg3 Bd7) 24.Nh5 Bxe5 25.dxe5 Qf7; 21...Nd7 22.Nb1 (22.Nc6 this is what I was concerned about and thought it could be anoying 22...Qd6 but actually, after this it is harmless and has to retreat 23.Ne5 0–0) ] 22.Nf1 Nc6 F again prefers castling but I see the possibility for queenside castling after developing [22...0–0 e.g. 23.Ng3 Be8 24.Bd2 Nc6 25.Rf1 Rb8 F suggests this move; it seems like a nonsense move, like it is zugzwanged into playing it; even so F gives a bit under half a pawn to black] 23.Nxd7 [F prefers 23.Ng3 0–0 24.Rf1 Be8 25.Bd2 Rb8 to the same position as in the other variation] 23...Qxd7 I was happy with this as the strong knight on e5 has gone and now the e7 square is free for my knights on c6 24.Ng3 F concurs with this 24...Ne7 [F suggests 24...g6 e.g. 25.Bd2 Kf7?! why does the computer like this? (25...0–0–0 this looks interesting and leads to interesting possibilities 26.Ne2 (26.Rf1) 26...h5 27.Qh3 (27.Qxg6? the exchange is lost due to the queen trap threats 27...Bh4! 28.f5 e.g. (28.g3?? loses the queen 28...Rdg8; 28.Rf1?? loses the queen 28...Rdg8) 28...exf5 29.Nf4 Rdg8 30.Qe6 Qxe6 31.Nxe6 Bxe1 32.Bxe1 easily winning for black) 27...Kb7 with strong attacking potential for black and king safe fron the battlefield compared to white's king) 26.Qe2 h5] 25.Nh5 F aggrees with this move also. The threat on g7 must be met. 25...0–0–0 I must prefer to castle queenside here, although F puts the evaluation equal now, but maybe this is partly because it is such a hard position for the computer to evaluate because it is closed. I think this longside castling give black much better changes of winning as opposed to drawing and gives nice imbalance in the position [F suggests 25...0–0 and give an eval of over half a pawn to black 26.Bd2 Nf5 27.Re2 and as before the game is largely close and will entail slow maneuvring by both sides] 26.Nxf6?! F gives black a clear half a pawn again after this [F suggests moves such as 26.Qh3 the computer seems to be struggling evaluating these positions 26...Nf5 27.g4 Nd6 28.Bd2 (28.g5 Be7) ; as well as the farcical looking 26.Rd1 which just looks like the computer doesn't know what to do] 26...gxf6 F doesn't really seem to know what to do here 27.Kf2 I felt very confident about the position after my opponent started walking with his king as it looks like he has given up hope and trying to hide his king [27.Qh4 Nf5 28.Qf2 (if 28.Qxf6 then 28...Rhg8 preparing Rg6 29.Qe5 pathetic for white 29...Rdf8 (29...Rg6 after evaluating each option for white, it seems it dawns on Fritz that the position is hopeless 30.Re2 (30.Rf1) 30...Nh4 31.Kf1 (31.Rf2 Rxg2+! 32.Rxg2 Nf3+ 33.Kf2 Nxe5 34.dxe5 Rf8 35.Bd2 Kb7 36.Rag1 Kb6 37.Ra1 Qf7 threatening to penetrate on the light squares with Qh5 38.Rg3 Rg8 39.Rag1 Rxg3 40.hxg3 Qe8 easily won for black 41.Rh1 e.g. 41...Qxa4 42.Bc1 (42.Rxh7 Qa1 43.Ke2 Qxb2 44.Rh6 Qc2 45.Rxe6+ Kc5 46.Re8 b2 47.Rc8+ Kb5 48.Rb8+ Kc6 49.e6 Qd3+ 50.Kd1 b1R+ 51.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 52.Ke2 Kd6) 42...Qa2 43.f5 a4 this looks a bit of a risky way of converting the advantage, unless you are a computer 44.fxe6 a3 45.e7 axb2 46.Bxb2 (46.e8Q?? bxc1R#) ) 31...Rdg8) ) ] 27...h5 a natural move 28.Qh3 [28.Qe2 Nf5 29.Kg1; 28.Qh4 Nf5 29.Qxf6 Rdf8 (29...Rdg8 at first F gives this before it finds the Rdf8 move, although the position is ultimately disastrous for white and F soon evaluates as 5 pawns of more for black anyway 30.Rg1 Rh6 31.Qe5 Qd8 32.Ke2 Qh4 F has masterfully removed any squares for the white queen so it is trapped; white is doome, e.g.: 33.Bd2 Qxh2 34.Kf1 Rhg6 35.Re1 Kb7 F cooly plays this king move(35...Kd7 is also fine; 35...Ng3+ although it is totally winning, it is interesting to see what different methods there are to technically execute the win 36.Kf2 Kd7 37.f5 Rf8 typical of fritz, white is now in zugzwang and has no sensible moves to prevent losing) ) 30.Qe5 Ng7! threatening to trap the queen 31.Qg5 (31.f5?? Rxf5+) 31...Nf5 amazingly preventing the queen from retreating in any way] 28...h4 F is actually suggesting Ra3 here; I think it must have no hope in the position [28...Nf5 was much stronger than the game move according to F, giving 2 pawns to black instead of 1 29.g3 e.g. 29...Rdg8 30.Bd2 Rg4 31.Rg1 Qg7 32.Raf1 h4 33.gxh4 Rhxh4 34.Rxg4 Rxg4 35.Rh1 a) 35.Ke1? Rh4; b) 35.Qh5 Rh4 36.Qe8+ (36.Rg1 Qxg1+ 37.Kxg1 Rxh5) 36...Kc7 37.Qxe6 Rxh2+ forced mate in 12 38.Ke1 Qg2 39.Qf7+ Kd8 40.Qxd5+ Ke7 41.Qc5+ Nd6 42.Qc7+ Ke8 43.Qc6+ Kf7 44.Qd7+ Kg6 45.Qg4+ Qxg4 46.Rf2 Rh1+ 47.Rf1 Qg3+ 48.Ke2 Qg2+ 49.Kd1 Rxf1+ 50.Be1 Qc2#; ] 29.Bd2 [29.Ra3 Nf5 30.Kg1 Kc7 31.Bd2 Kd6 32.Re2 Rh7 33.Ra1 Rg8 34.Be1 Qg7 35.Bf2 Qh8 36.Kf1 Ng3+ 37.Ke1 (37.hxg3 hxg3 38.Qxh7 Qxh7 39.Bg1 Qh1 40.Rd1 Rh8 41.Ke1 (41.Red2 Rh5 42.Re2 e5 43.dxe5+ fxe5 44.fxe5+ Kxe5) 41...Qxg1+ 42.Kd2 Rh1 (42...Qh2 43.Rf1 Qh5 44.Rg1 Qe8 45.Ra1 Rh2 zugzwang for white; neither rook can move without losing a pawn and the king can't move without losing rook due to skewer, and moving f pawn will lead to an easy win for black as well) ) 37...Nxe2 38.Kxe2 Rhg7] 29...Rdg8 30.Rg1 F flags this up, however it all ultimately leads to the same loss unless black makes a major error [30.Rf1 Nf5 31.Ke1] 30...Nf5 31.Ke2 Rh6 preparing to double rooks on g file at an appropriate time [F slightly prefers 31...Rh7 ] 32.Be1 Kc7 [32...Rgg6 33.Bd2 Kb7 34.Rh1 Qg7 black has time to maneuvre the pieces at leisure and prepare the breakthrough] 33.Kd2 Kd6 with the idea of making the queen and knight free to move, and also feels like a nice place for the king before opening up the position 34.Bf2 Qg7 35.Rad1 perhaps planning to let the king in past the rook, but this isn't even a safe place as the black queen can take the a4 pawn and either mate the white king of destroy the defence. At the same time there isn't much white can do and his moves are basically waiting moves 35...Rg6 I finally make the decisive decision to break through and F concurs with this move 36.g3 [if 36.Bxh4 then 36...Nxh4 (or even the immediate 36...Rxg2+ 37.Rxg2 Qxg2+ 38.Qxg2 Rxg2+ 39.Kc1 Rc2+ 40.Kb1 Nxh4) 37.Qxh4 leads to mate 37...Rxg2+ 38.Rxg2 Qxg2+ 39.Ke1 Qg1+ 40.Kd2 Rg2+ 41.Kc1 Rc2+ 42.Kb1 Qxd1#] 36...hxg3 37.Bxg3 Nxg3 [F comes up with this clever line 37...Rh8 38.Qg2 Nh4 39.Qf2 (39.f5+ Kc6 40.Qf2 Nf3+) 39...Nf3+] 38.Rxg3 [38.hxg3 is no different 38...Rxg3 39.Rxg3 Qxg3 40.Qxg3 Rxg3] 38...Rxg3 39.Qxg3 [39.hxg3 no different 39...Qxg3 40.Qxg3 Rxg3] 39...Qxg3 40.hxg3 Rxg3 41.Re1 e5 [41...Rg2+ leads ultimately to the same result 42.Re2 (42.Kc1 e5 43.fxe5+ fxe5 44.Kb1 exd4 45.cxd4 Rh2 46.Rg1 Ke6 47.Kc1 Rc2+ 48.Kb1 Re2 49.Kc1 (49.Rg6+ Kf5 50.Rg1 (50.Ra6 Re1#) ) ) ] 42.fxe5+ fxe5 43.Re2 exd4 [F prefers 43...Ke6 ] 44.exd4 Rg1 [44...Rd3+ 45.Ke1 Rh3 46.Rg2 Ke7 47.Ke2 (47.Rg7+ Kf6 48.Rg2 (48.Ra7 Rh2 49.Rxa5 Rxb2 50.Rxd5 Rh2 51.Rd6+ Kf5 52.Rd8 e3 53.a5 Ke4 54.Rg8 Kd3 55.Kf1 e2+ 56.Kg1 e1Q+ 57.Kxh2 Qh4+ 58.Kg2 b2 59.Rb8 Qg4+ 60.Kh2 Qf4+ 61.Kg1 Qxb8 62.Kg2 b1Q 63.a6 Qe1 64.a7 Qbg3#) ) ] 45.Re1? This leads to a lost pawn ending which simplifies matters for black in theory [45.Rh2 Ke6 46.Ke3 Kf5 47.Rf2+ (47.Rh5+ Kg4 48.Rxd5 Re1+ 49.Kf2 Rb1 50.Ke3 Rxb2 51.Rxa5 quite a complicated situation; F gives black a couple of pawns evaluation, but in practice I can imagine this being potentially difficult 51...Rb1 52.Kxe4 b2 53.Rb5 Re1+ 54.Kd5 b1Q 55.Rxb1 Rxb1 56.Kxc4 Kf5 57.Kc5 F gives about 3 pawns advantage for black, although with any technical slip ups I'm sure its possible to bodge it or even get in trouble for black - this kind of position warrants deep analysis in its own 57...Ra1 luring the king across in order for the black king to come nearer to the pawns 58.Kb5 Ke6 59.a5 Kd6 60.Kb4 (60.a6 Rb1+ 61.Kc4 Kc6) 60...Kd5 61.Kb5 Rb1+ 62.Ka6 Kc6 63.Ka7 Rb7+ 64.Ka8 Rg7 65.c4 Kc7 66.Ka7 Rd7 67.Ka6 Kc6 68.d5+ Kc5 69.d6 Kc6 only one legal move for white 70.c5 Rg7 71.d7 Rg8 72.Ka7 Rd8 73.a6 Rxd7+ 74.Kb8 Rf7 75.Ka8 Kxc5 76.Kb8 Kc6 77.Ka8 Kb6 78.a7 (78.Kb8 Rf8#) 78...Rf8#) ] 45...Rxe1 46.Kxe1 Ke6 47.Kf2 Kf5 48.Ke3 Kg4 49.Kf2 Kf4 50.Ke2 e3?? This is a ridiculous move and should lead to a draw, and was the only real blunder in this game by black, but luckily my opponent resigned in this position. This was the just result in the game as black has been clearly winning, and at the time of the game I was on the away team and in the venue the lights went out around the time of the move and this was quite distracting, although I do not remember if it was before or after the lights went out, but in any case I was stupid to play that move so hastily, but I feel the final result was just and hope that in most game situations I would not have made that blunder and would have taken my time.[50...Kg3 51.Ke3 Kg2 52.Ke2 Kh3 53.Kf1 Kg3 54.Ke2 (54.Ke1 Kf3 55.Kf1 e3 56.Kg1 (56.Ke1 e2 57.Kd2 Kf2) 56...e2) 54...Kg2 having triangulated or maneuvred to get the opposition 55.Ke3 Kf1 56.Kd2 Kf2 57.Kd1 e3] 0-1

2011/12 Season Hitherto

2011-11-12T02:26:00.000-08:00

After a couple of years off of serious chess I played in the Open section of the Spectrum Fareham Congress, which on paper was a disaster for me (+0 =0 -5) but I was happy with how I played for much of the games. Had more solid results in the first few leagues games for Portsmouth/Southampton leagues, and had a much better result in my next tournament the Hampshire Open, (+1 =2 -2), against equally strong opposition as the Fareham tournament.

24th September 2011 loss vs Oliver Gill 184
24th September 2011 loss vs Ricky Vaja 128

24th September 2011 loss vs Mark Broom 196
25th September 2011 loss vs David Deacon 169
25th September 2011 loss vs Richard Bryant 178

12th October 2011 draw vs Steve Smith 149

24th October 2011 win vs Lawrence Pearman 122

29th October 2011 loss vs Mark Wallace 152

3rd November 2011 loss vs Peter Dallas 141

5th November 2011 loss vs Andy McDougall 193

5th November 2011 loss vs David Dawson U

5th November 2011 draw vs Joe Coburn 156

6th November 2011 win vs Doug Butcher 160

6th November 2011 draw vs Richard Edney 158

Despite the large number of losses, I was encouraged by my play, knowing I was dominating the games in all games against players graded in the 140s or lower, and putting up good resistance against some high graded players between 170s and 190s with good opportunities, (e.g. for drawing a difficult position or having got a promising position out of the opening). There have been some stinking losses - e.g. my games against David Deacon, Oliver Gill, and especially David Dawson, but most of the losses were good struggles, and in a couple of cases I was clearly winning but bodged the game in time trouble. Time management is an important practical skill in a human vs human game, and it is one of those things that can be rusty after a break from playing but starts to improve after a few games into the season. (Some players seem to like to be up on the clock and don't take much care over choosing their opening moves, but I have always considered this a weak approach).

Recommencement

2011-11-12T02:21:00.000-08:00

I intend to add some more chess analysis on this blog.

GAME 028 - Mike Lambshire

2008-06-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

Edward Davies - Mike Lambshire

Solent Rapidplay (1.2), 06.06.2008.

I have done some research and found that my opponent - who has returned to chess after a break - was last rated ECF 196, and this explains why I had such difficulty and also why my opponent was so fast and insightful in the after-game analysis.

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 e5 Rare. [3...Bg4 4.Be2 e.g. 4...Nc6 5.d4; 3...Nc6 4.d4 (or 4.Nc3 Qa5 (4...Qh5 5.Nb5) 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.0–0) ; 3...Nf6 4.Nc3 Qa5 can transpose to main line, however there are interesting independent lines 5.d4 (5.Be2 c6 6.h3; 5.Bc4 c6 6.d4; 5.g3 c6 6.Bg2) ] 4.Nc3 Qa5 [maybe 4...Qd6 is perhaps better.] 5.Be2 A tad passive. [We looked at 5.Bc4 after the game, and decided it was strong.; 5.d4 can't be bad. 5...Bg4 (5...exd4 6.Qe2+ Probably the most interesting. (6.Nxd4 Bb4 7.Bd2 Qe5+ 8.Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.Bxe2) 6...Be7 7.Nxd4 c6 8.Bf4 Na6 9.0–0–0) 6.Be2 Nc6 7.0–0] 5...Nc6 6.0–0 Bg4?! Tactically dubious. 7.Nxe5 It takes Fritz surprisingly long to decide on this. First it suggests Re1 but then changes to this after a while. I could see that whatever happened I'd be at least equal so I gave this a try, especially as it may shock my opponent a bit. [7.d4 After a couple of minutes, Fritz changes to this move. 7...0–0–0 8.Nxe5 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 Nxd4 A complicated position, e.g.: 10.Qh5 Bb4 11.Qh3+ f5 12.Nf7 Nf6 13.Nxh8 Rxh8 14.Bd2 Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Ne2+ 16.Kh1 Nxc3 17.bxc3 Ne4 This must be significantly better for white.] 7...Bxe2 [7...Nxe5 8.Bxg4 Nxg4 9.Qxg4 Good pawn up and prevents castling.; 7...Qxe5 8.Bxg4 Good pawn up and threatening Re1, (also bishop pair).] 8.Qxe2 Qxe5 [8...Nxe5 9.d4 e.g. 9...Ne7 10.dxe5 0–0–0 A good extra pawn. 11.Bg5 Kb8 Crushing for white according to Fritz.] 9.Qxe5+ Nxe5 10.Re1 f6 During the game I thought there may have been a better move for black. [10...0–0–0 11.Rxe5 Ne7 12.d3 Nc6 might be better, with the knight heading for d4, e.g. 13.Rf5 Nd4 14.Rxf7 Nxc2 15.Rb1 Rd7 16.Rxd7 Kxd7 17.Bd2 a6 18.a3 Be7 19.g3 Rf8 I'm not sure what's going on here but white is a pawn up.] 11.d4 0–0–0 12.dxe5 fxe5 [12...Bb4 This definitely looks to be black's best defence. 13.Bf4 The alternatively are too weak. (13.e6? a poor decision 13...Ne7 14.Bf4 g5 15.Bg3 Rhe8; 13.exf6 better than 13.e6, but doubtful the best 13...Nxf6 14.Bg5 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Rd5 16.Be3 White's material advantage looks negligible now that his structure is severely weakened.; 13.Re3?? trying to protect the q-side pawn structure fails 13...Bxc3 with Rd1# threatened.) 13...Bxc3 14.bxc3 fxe5 15.Rxe5 Nf6 16.Rae1] 13.Rxe5 It was pleasant to play quite a long forcing variation (starting on move 7) probably unexpected to my opponent. This final detail - with Nf3 covering d1 was however not forseen and was a nice surprise. 13...Nf6 [Again, 13...Bb4 appears to be better. The idea is very good; threatening to remove the guard against back rank mate, and threatening a major weakening of the white q-side pawns. 14.Be3 Nf6 (14...Bxc3 this seems more logical to me 15.bxc3 Nf6 16.Bd4 Rhe8 17.Rae1 Rxe5 18.Rxe5 b6 preparing c5 (not 18...c5?? immediately since 19.Rxc5+) 19.Kf1 c5 20.Be3 Ng4 21.Re7 Nxe3+ 22.fxe3 (22.Rxe3 less active rook) 22...Rd2 23.Rxg7 Rxc2 24.Rxh7 Rxc3 25.g4 Rxe3 26.g5 Re6 27.Rxa7 c4 28.Ra3 Kd7 29.h4 Obviously white is the one with winning chances.) ] 14.Bg5 Bd6 15.Re6 I didn't want to give anything back by playing passively, but a rook in a place like this is in danger of being trapped if white is stupid enough, as happened in the game. [15.Re2 Rhe8 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Rxe8 Rxe8 liquidating.. however there is some concern that the bishop will be superior to the knight in this wide open position. 18.Kf1 inviting the Fischer blunder 18...Be5 (18...Bxh2? 19.g3 Rd8 20.Ke2 Fritz sees no hurry in capturing the bishop, since Rh1 will do the job, and this keeps the black rook out of the 7th rank. However, in a practical situation I would probably use the king to capute the bishop to prevent anything silly from potentially happening. 20...Re8+ 21.Kf3 Rd8 22.Rh1 Rd2 23.Rxh2 Rxc2 24.Nd1 Rd2 25.Rh1 Rd5) ] 15...Rde8 [15...Rhe8 similar 16.Rxe8 Rxe8 17.Kf1 Kd7 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.Nd5 Be5 20.Rd1 Kc8 21.c3 c6 22.Nb4] 16.Rae1 Rxe6 17.Rxe6 Ng4 The next move took a while to decide. I'd like to kick the knight back but h3 allows Nh7 or Bh7+, but now that I look at it, these both seem bad. [Objectively 17...Kd7 may be better, but my oppoenent's move is more potentially trappy. 18.Re1 Rf8 19.g3 h6 20.Bd2 There doesn't seem to be scope for black tricking the opponent.] 18.g3 this isn't a bad decision, removing any back rank problems. [18.h3 in retrospect there was no threat of Nh2 or Bh2, but Ne5 proves problematic leaving white unlikely to be able to win. 18...Nh2?? This has many refutations. a) 18...Ne5! threatening Kd7. The rook looks in trouble. 19.Bf4 Nf3+ (19...Kd7? is no good 20.Rxe5) 20.gxf3 Bxf4; b) 18...Bh2+?? 19.Kh1 winning a piece.; 19.g3?? (19.Rxd6 cxd6 20.Kxh2 +-; 19.f4 this also refutes the move 19...h6 20.Bh4 Bxf4 21.Ne2 Bd6 22.Bg3 Bxg3 23.Nxg3 Ng4 24.hxg4; 19.Nb5 the strongest refutation according to Fritz 19...Bc5 20.Kxh2 +-) 19...Nf3+ 20.Kg2 Nxg5; 18.Re4 Fritz marginally prefers this, e.g.: 18...Nf6 19.Re2 Kd7 20.Nb5 Bc5 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Nc3 c6 23.g3 Bd6 white definitely has some good winning chances in this endgame.] 18...Rf8 I was getting concerned about the pressure on f2 which was one of the main motivations of my hasty next move, (I spent a while deciding on it but played it too hastily without checking forced variations). [18...Ne5 fritz is torn between this and the game continuation. This seems logical, imprisoning the rook, but it doesn't seem to lead to much. 19.Bf4 Nf3+ 20.Kg2 Nd4 21.Re4] 19.Ne4?? [19.Re2 is absolutely fine. 19...Be5 20.Kg2 Bxc3 21.bxc3 h6 22.Bd2 Kd7 23.c4 Rf5 24.Bc3 ...] 19...Kd7 I instantly knew I was lost, but spent a minute or two looking again and again for any unexpected escape, such as Nc5+ or Rxd6, but nothing works so I resigned. A very frustrating loss, although my strong, (or very strong), opponent had me under some pressure trying to not squander my advantage in the technical stage. After the game it became clear very quickly that my opponent was much stronger than I am used to and corrected me instantly on any suggestions I made that were wrong, (and I could see he was right every time, tactically and positionally). Therefore it is a shame I didn't win this since I get the feeling my opponent was very strong and that I did well to find the earlier forced variation from move six that gave me the advantage. (I was very tired from exams and out of practice for the same reason, so hopefully this lack of technical strength in this game and others on the same day was a product of this factor). 0–1

GAME 027 - Bob Treloar

2008-06-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

Bob Treloar VS Edward Davies

Portsmouth Club Championship 07–08, Round 1.

1.e4 c6 This was the first of eight rounds of Portsmouth Chess Club Championship 2007/8 season, which I eventually won with a score of 6.5/8 (5 wins and 3 draws). I got to a bad start, allowing a stalemate in a won position in the first round, (this game), and then overlooked a tactic against Simon in the second round, (though Simon has trapped me tactically many times so this wasn't surprising in hindsight), but managed to draw an unfavourable position. Apart from that, I won in six out of seven of the remaining rounds, drawing only to top seed Richard McMaster (ECF 158), so overall it was a great tournament for me, and of course meant a lot to be club champion. 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.gxf3 I have already analysed this variation earlier on the blog so I'll focus on middlegame onwards. 5...e6 6.Rg1 Actually Fritz seems to quite like white's position, but I don't think I'd consider the open file enough compensation for the pawn structure, although in fairness both bishops can develop unimpeded. 6...Nd7 7.d4 Ne7 [7...Ngf6 I dont' really understand how Fritz can like this 8.e5 Nh5 9.Qd3 c5 10.Be3 c4 Is the h5 knight strictly bad here? g6, Ng7 suggests itself. 11.Qd2 Bb4 12.Be2 Qa5 13.f4 g6 14.a3 0–0–0 15.0–0–0 Bxc3 16.Qxc3 Qxc3 17.bxc3 Ng7 A very odd but interesting looking position. In evaluating this as equal, maybe Fritz overrates it's bishop pair. However I think white's main advantage is meant to be in the two open files for his rooks, whereas black's advantages are technically better pawn structure and knights in a closed position. In fact white's bishops look hopeless at the moment, but they can probably come into play on the kingside after f5 for example.] 8.Be3 [8.Qd3 Ng6 9.Bd2 both sides develop their pieces for a while] 8...Ng6 9.Qd2 Queen bishop battery seems natural. 9...Qc7 It seems I wanted to cover f4, but white can play f4 anyway. Therefore the queen looks more active on b6 or a5. [9...Bb4 maybe pinning knight could be useful. 10.0–0–0 Qa5 11.Kb1 (11.a3 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 Qxc3 13.bxc3 Almost the same as a recent position. The same debate applies.) 11...0–0 12.Bd3 These are all alternative lines that could result in many interesting games.; 9...Qa5 this is a lot less passive. 10.a3 (10.0–0–0 Bb4 11.a3 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 Qxc3 13.bxc3) 10...Bb4 11.0–0–0 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 Qxc3 13.bxc3 Yet again we have this odd position.] 10.f4 Fritz yellow flags this move. [10.0–0–0 0–0–0 11.Bd3 Be7 12.Kb1 Kb8 An interesting starting point.] 10...dxe4 [F1: 10...Bb4 the critical move 11.e5 (11.f5 exf5 12.exf5 Nh4 13.Qe2 (13.Be2 Nxf5) 13...Nxf5?? 14.Bf4+) 11...0–0 12.0–0–0 Qa5 13.a3 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 This again.] 11.Nxe4 0–0–0 [11...Nb6 12.c4 Nh4] 12.0–0–0 Fritz assesses this as roughly equal. I felt I had something tangible due to white's pawn weaknesses though. 12...h6?! This gets a yellow flag from fritz. I wanted to control g5 and prevent the knight going to g5 after attacking it with f5. [12...Nf6 13.Nxf6 gxf6 14.Bc4 f5 interesting, and fritz likes this for black] 13.Bd3 [13.Kb1 Be7 14.Bd3] 13...Nh4 Aiming for f3 fork, and assuming this is covered, heading for f5 instead. 14.Qe2 Nf5 Judging by fritz's 'body language' there are several candidate moves. However my opponent's choice is not one of these and gets a yellow flag for giving away a pawn without justification. 15.Bd2? [15.c3 e.g. 15...Nb6 16.Kb1 Nd5 17.Ng3; 15.c4 e.g. 15...Kb8 16.Kb1 Nb6 17.Qe1 Be7 18.Qc3; 15.Nd2 Nf6 16.Nf3 Nd5 17.Ne5 Kb8 18.c4 Ndxe3 19.fxe3 Rg8 20.Kb1 g6 I would now personally say black is a bit worse.; 15.Ng3 Nxg3 16.fxg3 Kb8 17.Kb1 Nb6 The resulting positions seem to have many branches too.] 15...Nxd4 I assume my opponent didn't see I would win a pawn and attack the queen at the same time. 16.Qe3 c5?! Inaccurate according to fritz. In fact I can't entirely retrace my reason for playing this. It doesn't seem very wise to open up the pawns in front of my king and the knight can be pushed away by c3 leaving a pawn on c5. This pawn blocks my DSB. [16...Nc5 17.Nxc5 Bxc5 18.Qe5 Qxe5 19.fxe5 g6 A markedly different continuation to 16..Nb6. 20.Be3 Be7 21.f4 Kc7; 16...Nb6 the computer likes this and 16...Nc5. 17.Ba5 Nf5 18.Qf3 Rd5 19.Bxb6 Qxb6 20.Nc3 Ra5 similar to later in the game 21.Be4 I definitely prefer black here. 21...g6] 17.Nc3 [17.Kb1 Nb6 18.Ba5 Kb8 19.Bc4 Bd6 All of these lines seem complicated and with many options and could be analysed for hours.] 17...g6 I want to develop my bishop, also conveniently pointing to white's kingside where I have some potential play. [or 17...Nf6 18.Nb5 Nxb5 19.Bxb5 a6 20.Be2 Another many branched position. However I think white's very weakened queenside pawns put this in black's favour on balance.] 18.Rg3 Fritz doesn't like this, but there is no immediate problem. [18.Nb5 Nxb5 19.Bxb5 Bg7 20.Kb1 Kb8] 18...Bg7 consistent with my previous move, though at first fritz suggests Nb6. [18...Nb6 19.Kb1 Bg7] 19.Nb5 Nxb5 20.Bxb5 Qb6 this is fine. The nasty threat of mate on b2 pins the bishop. [20...Nb6 21.Be2 (21.Ba5 this pin is irrelevant after: 21...Bxb2+ 22.Kxb2 (22.Kb1 Rxd1+ 23.Kxb2) 22...Rxd1) 21...Kb8 22.Kb1 Black's long-term pawn structure advantages increasingly are factoring in.] 21.Qb3 Forced. 21...Qc7? According to Fritz this spoils everything and puts the position back to roughly equal. 22.Qa4? Returns the favour, and we are back to –1.00 approximately. [22.f5 Nf8 (22...exf5 23.Qxf7 Bd4 24.Rxg6 A disaster for black.) 23.Qa4 a6 24.Bd3 (24.Ba5?? doesn't work after 24...Rxd1+ 25.Kxd1 axb5 e.g. 26.Qxb5 Qe7 27.fxg6 Nxg6 28.Kc1 Be5 winning for black.) 24...Kb8 25.fxg6 Nxg6 26.Bxg6 (26.Ba5 b6 27.Bd2 Be5 28.Re3 a5 Not exactly to plan for black but still and interesting game.) 26...fxg6 27.Rxg6 Rd4 28.Qb3 c4 29.Qe3] 22...a6 [F1: 22...Nf6 23.Bd3 Qb6 24.Qb3 Qxb3 25.axb3 Nd5 26.c3 black is easily better; a pawn up and a better pawn structure.] 23.Bd3 [23.Ba5 is no good, losing a bishop pair for a rook 23...axb5 24.Bxc7 bxa4 25.Bxd8 Rxd8 –+] 23...Rhe8 maybe not the strongest, but ok [23...Bd4; 23...Nb6 24.Qa3 Bd4 25.Be3 Almost at every point there are numerous alternatives though.] 24.Ba5 I recall I had originally overlooked this reply and initially assumed I had blundered. It turns out not to be a problem though. 24...Nb6 25.Qe4 [25.Qb3 Qxf4+ 26.Rd2 Nd5 I wouldn't be so quick to play down an exchange like this. 27.Rg4 (27.Bxd8 Rxd8 28.Rg4 Qd6 29.Kb1 Qh2 30.c3 b5 Maybe computers like playing this way when they have the advantage, but how many humans do? 31.Qa3 Kb7 32.Be4 There are 32...Qxh3 33.Rg1 There are so many possibilities that such a position could be analysed forever practically. However this game will probably never occur again in the history of mankind so it isn't particularly relevant other than out of general interest.) ] 25...Rd4 The best move it would seem. A situation where the rook truly seems to belong on a square. [25...c4 initially fritz suggests this move, but it soon warms to 25...Rd4. 26.Bxb6 Bxb2+ 27.Kxb2 Qxb6+ 28.Kc1 cxd3 29.Rgxd3 Black is clearly much better here. 29...Rxd3 30.Rxd3 Rd8 31.Rc3+ Kb8 32.Qe5+ Ka7 33.Qe3 (33.Qe2 Rd5 fritz doesn't seem to know what to do 34.Qe3 Qxe3+ 35.fxe3 Kb6 36.a3 Rc5 Black should expect to win the rook ending, but only 1 pawn up it is not a foregone conclusion.) 33...Rd5] 26.Qe3 [26.Qe1 a better defence 26...c4 (26...Ra4 .. an example of some of the ridiculous tactics in this position: 27.Kb1 Bxb2 28.Bxa6 bxa6 29.Rb3 Bf6 30.Bxb6 Qxf4 31.Bxc5 Rd8 32.Rxd8+ Kxd8 33.Rb7 Ke8 34.Qh1 Qe4 There are scores of such lines.) 27.Be2 Rxd1+ 28.Bxd1 Qxf4+ 29.Qd2 Qxd2+ 30.Bxd2 Nd5 31.Be2 b5 great for black] 26...Ra4! I successful ly choose the best move in this maze of possibilities. The double threat of RxBa5 and Rxpa2 is natural enough, though usually the rook would seem offside in such a place with bishops swarming around. It all comes down to analysis in the end though. 27.Bxb6 Qxb6 White is coming under a monstrous attack, with heavy pieces and a fianchettoed bishop all openly aimed at the king's pawn cover. 28.Kd2 [no better is 28.c3 Rxa2 29.b4 Bd4 (29...Bxc3 justs leaves a totally winning endgame 30.Qxc5+ Qxc5 31.bxc5 Rxf2 32.Be4 Bf6 33.c6 b5 34.Rf3 Rxf3 35.Bxf3 Rd8 –++ Not even the opposite bishops can make up for three pawns down where the pawns are all good.) 30.Qf3 Rxf2] 28...Rd4? This is actually a bit weak, but black is still winning. I wanted to bring my rook back to the centre and also threatening c4. [28...Bd4 29.Qf3 c4 30.b3 (30.Be2 Qxb2 (30...Rd8 31.Ke1 Qxb2) 31.Ke1 Rd8 32.c3 Ra3 33.Kf1 Rxc3 34.Qe4 Rc1 35.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 36.Kg2) 30...Rxa2 31.bxc4 e5 32.Qg4+ Kc7 33.Be4 h5 34.Qg5 Qb4+ 35.Ke2 Qxc4+; 28...Rxa2 also good. 29.Ke1 Rxb2 30.Kf1 Rd8 31.Kg2 Kb8] 29.Rb1? Hopeless. But finding good defences is not easy here. This allows black to win a piece to go with his crushing attack. [29.Kc1 was a decent attempt at defence] 29...c4 This is the last recorded move I have since I was in time trouble and stopped writing down my moves in the final minutes. The game ended when I was in the process of queening a pawn in a position of with pawns on both sides where I had a rook or something of that kind, and I had about two minutes left. This was plenty to safely mate, but I rushed (perhaps I can also blame spectators for watching and putting me off :) )- and when I queened the pawn I realised I had just played a stalemate. This was early in the season and I would say remains the worst moment of my chess season, even compared to some losses. This is probably the worst and most textbook stalemate blunder I have ever played - especially in a rated longplay game - and I was anoyed with myself for weeks, (if not months), afterwards. It certainly taught me a lesson in watching out for stalemates; I thought I already knew this but I suppose you don't really learn not to play with fire until you get burnt. Generally speaking this game had a massive number of variations and starting points all the way through, perhaps due to the fact the forces weren't interlocked much and there were many options for both sides in positional and tactical situations. Sometimes it feels like a game is quite specific when analysing and there are not too many variations comparatively, whereas the analysis of this game seemed like a gulf of different variations and starting points. ½–½

GAME 026 - Richard McMaster

2008-03-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

McMaster,Richard (158) - Davies,Edward (113) Portsmouth Club Champ Rd4, 16.01.2008

1.c4 c6 2.Nc3 Nf6 [2...d5 3.cxd5 (3.d4 main line slav 3...Nf6 4.Nf3 main line slav position from Bill Partridge game 2 2008 4...Bf5 Very much a sideline; there are several much more common moves. a) 4...e6 interesting, in the latest "world championship" tournament in 2007 there were eight games played in this variation including a variety of different players, and black didn't lose any games with it, drawing six and winning two; I think this displays that it is very solid at the top level 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Ne5 (9.Be2 Bb7 10.h4 g4 11.Ne5 Rg8 12.Nxg4 Nxg4 13.Bxg4 b4 14.Na4 c5 15.d5 exd5 16.exd5 Qxd5 17.Qxd5 Bxd5 18.0–0–0 Rxg4 19.Rxd5 Nd7 20.Re1+ Kd8 21.Red1 Rd4 22.R1xd4 cxd4 23.Rxd4 Rc8 24.Bd6 Ke8 25.Re4+ Kd8 26.Bxf8 Nxf8 ... eventually a draw; Grischuk 2726 - Anand 2792) 9...h5 10.h4 g4 11.Be2 Bb7 12.0–0 Nbd7 13.Qc2 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 Bg7 15.Rad1 0–0 16.Bg3 Nd7 17.f3 c5 18.dxc5 Qe7 19.Kh1 a6 20.a4 Bc6 21.Nd5 exd5 22.exd5 Be5 23.f4 Bg7 24.dxc6 Nxc5 25.Rd5 Ne4 26.Be1 Qe6 27.Rxh5 f5 28.Kh2 Rac8 29.Bb4 Rfe8 30.axb5 axb5 31.Re1 Qf7 32.Rg5 Nxg5 33.fxg5 Rxc6 34.Bf1 Rxe1 35.Bxe1 ... 0–1; Arionian 2750 - Anand 2792; b) 4...dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 (6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.0–0 Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 10.e4 0–0 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Bg6 15.Ng5 Re8 16.f4 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 f5 18.Be3 Nf8 19.Kh1 Rc8 20.g4 Qd7 21.Rg1 Be7 22.Nf3 Rc4 23.Rg2 fxg4 24.Rxg4 Rxa4 25.Rag1 g6 26.h4 Rb4 27.h5 Qb5 28.Qc2 Rxb2 29.hxg6 h5 30.g7 hxg4 31.gxf8Q+ Bxf8 32.Qg6+ Bg7 33.f5 Re7 34.f6 Qe2 35.Qxg4 Rf7 36.Rc1 Rc2 37.Rxc2 Qd1+ 38.Kg2 Qxc2+ 39.Kg3 Qe4 40.Bf4 Qf5 41.Qxf5 exf5 42.Bg5 a5 43.Kf4 a4 44.Kxf5 a3 45.Bc1 Bf8 46.e6 Rc7 47.Bxa3 Bxa3 48.Ke5 Rc1 49.Ng5 Rf1 50.e7 Re1+ 51.Kxd5 Bxe7 52.fxe7 Rxe7 53.Kd6 Re1 54.d5 Kf8 55.Ne6+ Ke8 56.Nc7+ Kd8 57.Ne6+ Kc8 58.Ke7 Rh1 59.Ng5 b5 60.d6 Rd1 61.Ne6 b4 62.Nc5 Re1+ 63.Kf6 Re3 0–1; Topalov 2813 - Kramnik 2743; world championship game 2006) 6...Na6 (6...e6 7.f3 c5 8.e4 Bg6 9.Be3 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Qxd4 11.Bxd4 Nfd7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bxc4 a6 14.h4 Rc8 15.Ba2 h6 16.Rc1 Rg8 17.Ke2 Bc5 18.Bxc5 Rxc5 19.Nb1 Ke7 20.Rxc5 Nxc5 21.h5 Bh7 22.Rc1 Nd7 23.Nd2 g6 24.hxg6 Rxg6 25.Kf2 Rg5 26.Rc7 b5 27.a5 Rc5 28.Rxc5 Nxc5 29.Ke3 Kd6 30.b4 Nd7 31.Nb3 e5 32.Nc1 f5 33.Nd3 fxe4 34.fxe4 Nf6 35.Nc5 Bg6 36.Bb3 Ng4+ 37.Kd2 Nf6 38.Bc2 Kc6 39.Bd3 Nd7 40.Nxa6 Bf7 41.Be2 h5 42.g3 Bg6 43.Ke3 Bf7 44.Kd2 Bg6 ... 1–0; Aronian 2759 - Kramnik 2772) 7.f3 Nd7 8.Nxc4 e5 9.e4 exd4 10.Nb5 Bb4+ 11.Bd2 0–0 12.Nxd4 Bxe4 13.Bxb4 Nxb4 14.fxe4 Qh4+ 15.Kd2 Qxe4 16.Kc3 Nd5+ 17.Kb3 Nc5+ 18.Ka3 Rad8 19.Qd2 Nf4 20.Rd1 Nfe6 21.Nxe6 Rxd2 22.Nxc5 Qe7 23.Rxd2 Qxc5+ 24.Ka2 Qb4 25.Rc2 Qxa4+ 26.Kb1 b5 27.Nd2 c5 28.Be2 c4 29.Rhc1 Qb4 30.Bf3 a5 31.Ka1 Rd8 32.Nb1 g6 33.Na3 Qc5 34.Kb1 a4 35.h3 Rd3 36.Rc3 Rxc3 37.Rxc3 Qf5+ 38.Nc2 b4 39.Rxc4 b3 40.Kc1 Qg5+ 41.Kb1 bxc2+ 42.Kxc2 Qb5 43.Rc3 h5 44.g4 h4 45.Bd1 Kg7 46.Kc1 Qf1 47.Rf3 Qg1 48.Ra3 Qh1 49.Kd2 Qd5+ 50.Kc1 Qc4+ 51.Kb1 Qf1 52.Kc1 Kh6 53.Rf3 Qc4+ 54.Rc3 Qf4+ 55.Kb1 Qf1 56.Kc1 Kg5 57.Rf3 Qc4+ 58.Kb1 Qd5 59.Rc3 Qxd1+ 0–1; Radjabov 2729 - Kramnik 2766; blindfold rapid; c) 4...a6 5.cxd5 (5.e3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.0–0 0–0 8.a4 Be6 9.Ng5 Bc8 10.Qb3 b6 11.Bd2 e6 12.Nf3 Nbd7 13.cxd5 exd5 14.a5 b5 15.Rfd1 Re8 16.Rac1 Bf8 17.Na2 Bb7 18.Bb4 Bh6 19.Rc2 Ne4 20.Nc1 Re6 21.Nd3 Qf6 22.Nfe5 Nxe5 23.dxe5 Rxe5 24.Nxe5 Qxe5 25.Bf3 Re8 26.Bxe4 Qxe4 27.Bc5 Bg5 28.Qd3 Qe6 29.Bd4 Be7 30.Rdc1 h5 31.Qd2 Bd6 32.b4 f6 33.Qd3 Kf7 34.Bc5 Bb8 35.f3 Bc8 36.Re2 h4 37.Qc3 h3 38.g3 Bd7 ... draw; Gelfand 2733 - Kamsky 2705) 5...cxd5 6.Qb3 Nc6 7.Bg5 e6 8.e3 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Bd3 Bd6 11.0–0 0–0 12.Rac1 b5 13.Bb1 Bd7 14.Qc2 g6 15.Qd2 Rac8 16.Rfd1 Rc7 17.Qe1 b4 18.Ne2 a5 19.Qd2 Rfc8 20.Ne1 a4 21.Nd3 Na5 22.Rxc7 Rxc7 23.Rc1 Nc4 24.Qe1 Qd8 25.g3 Bb5 26.h4 g5 27.hxg5 hxg5 28.Kg2 Qc8 29.Ng1 f6 30.Qd1 Be8 31.Nf3 Bh5 32.Rc2 Bg6 33.Re2 g4 34.Nh4 Be4+ 35.Kh2 f5 36.Ne1 Nxe3 37.Rxe3 Rc1 38.Qd2 Rxb1 39.Rxe4 dxe4 40.Qg5+ Kf7 0–1; Ivanchuk 2729 - Topalov 2801; d) 4...g6 much less popular at the top level 5.e3 Bg7 6.Be2 0–0 7.0–0 Nbd7 8.b3 a6 9.Bb2 b5 10.Ne5 Bb7 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Nd3 Ne4 13.f3 Nd6 14.Qd2 Rc8 15.Rac1 Qb6 16.Kh1 Rfe8 17.Nf4 e6 18.Bd3 Rc7 19.Nce2 Rec8 20.Rxc7 Rxc7 21.Bc3 Qa7 22.Bb4 Bf8 23.Bb1 Ne8 24.Bxf8 Nxf8 25.Nd3 Qb6 26.Nc5 Nd7 27.b4 Nd6 28.Bd3 Nb8 29.e4 Nc6 30.a3 Ne7 31.Qf4 Bc8 32.Nc3 Ne8 33.Re1 Qd6 34.e5 Qb6 35.h4 Ng7 36.g4 Ra7 37.h5 Qd8 38.Kg2 Nc6 39.Rh1 g5 40.Qe3 h6 41.f4 f6 42.exf6 Qxf6 43.fxg5 hxg5 44.h6 Qxd4 45.Qxd4 Nxd4 46.hxg7 Rxg7 47.Re1 Rf7 48.Rf1 Nc6 49.Rxf7 Kxf7 50.Kf2 Ke7 51.Ne2 e5 52.Bf5 Bxf5 53.gxf5 a5 54.Nc3 axb4 55.Nxd5+ Kf7 56.axb4 Nxb4 57.Nxb4 Kf6 58.Ne4+ Kxf5 A remarkable position 59.Ke3 g4 60.Nd3 Ke6 61.Nb4 Kf5 62.Nd5 Ke6 63.Nc7+ Kd7 64.Nxb5 Kc6 65.Nbc3 Kb6 66.Kf2 Ka5 67.Nd5 Kb5 68.Ne3 Kb4 69.Kg3 Kb5 70.Kxg4 Kb4 71.Kf5 Kb5 72.Ke6 Kc6 73.Ke7 Kc7 74.Ke8 Kc8 75.Nd5 Kb7 76.Kd7 Ka6 77.Kc6 Ka5 78.Kc5 Ka6 79.Kc6 Ka5 80.Ne3 Kb4 81.Kb6 Ka4 82.Nd5 Kb3 83.Kb5 Kc2 84.Kc4 Kd1 85.Kd3 Ke1 86.Ndc3 Kf1 87.Nd1 Kg2 88.Ndf2 Kf3 89.Nh1 Kg4 90.Nhg3 Kf3 91.Kd2 Kf4 92.Ke2 Kg4 93.Ke3 Kh3 94.Nf5 Kg4 95.Ng7 Kh3 96.Nh5 Kg4 97.Nhg3 Kh3 98.Kf3 Kh4 99.Nf5+ Kh5 100.Ne7 Kh4 101.Nd5 Kh5 102.Kg3 Kh6 103.Kh4 Kg6 104.Kg4 Kh6 105.Ne7 Kg7 106.Kf5 Kh6 107.Ng8+ Kg7 108.Ngf6 Kf7 109.Nd5 Kg7 110.Ke6 Kh6 111.Kf6 getting dangerously close to the 50 moves rule; no pawn moves or piece trades since move 70 111...Kh5 112.Ne3 Kh6 113.Ng3 Kh7 114.Nef5 Kg8 115.Ke7 e4 finally 116.Nh5 e3 117.Nf6+ Kh8 118.Kf7 black resigns, with to follow: 118...e2 119.Ne7 e1Q 120.Ng6# an amazing display of technique (although I have no idea if it was efficient or not by super-gm standards); 5.cxd5 (5.e3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.0–0–0 Qxb3 12.axb3 Nbd7 13.h3 a6 14.Kb1 0–0–0 15.g4 Bc7 16.Bg2 Ne8 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.e4 dxe4 19.fxe4 e5 20.Nd5 exd4 21.Rhf1 Ne5 22.Bf4 f6 23.Rxd4 Nc6 24.Rc4 g5 25.Bxc7 Nxc7 26.Rfc1 Rd6 27.Ne7+ Kd7 28.e5 fxe5 29.Nf5 Rf6 30.Rd1+ Nd4 31.Nxd4 exd4 32.Rcxd4+ Kc8 33.Rd7 Rg8 34.Be4 Kb8 35.Rd8+ Rxd8 36.Rxd8+ Ka7 37.Rd7 Kb6 38.Rxg7 Re6 39.Bf5 Re1+ 40.Kc2 Re2+ 41.Kc1 Rh2 42.Rg6+ Kc5 43.Be4 b5 44.Bb7 Kb4 45.Rxg5 Rxh3 46.Re5 Rg3 47.Kc2 Ka5 48.g5 Kb6 49.Be4 b4 50.g6 Nb5 51.Rd5 Kc7 52.Rd2 a5 53.Rg2 Nd4+ 54.Kd1 Rxg2 55.Bxg2 Ne6 56.Kd2 Kd6 57.Kd3 Nf4+ 58.Kc4 Nxg6 59.Kb5 draw; Sasikiran 2642 - Hector 2513) 5...Nxd5 6.Qb3 (6.e3 e6 7.Bc4 Nd7 8.0–0 Be7 9.Qe2 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.Bb3 0–0 12.e4 Nxc3 13.bxc3 ... draw; Ivanisevic 2563 - Radibratovic 2328) 6...Qb6 (6...Nxc3 7.bxc3 Qb6 8.Nd2 Nd7 9.e4 Qxb3 10.axb3 Bg6 11.f4 e6 12.Bd3 f6 13.0–0 a6 14.f5 Bf7 15.fxe6 Bxe6 16.Nc4 Bxc4 17.Bxc4 Bd6 18.b4 0–0–0 19.Ra2 Rhe8 20.Re2 Re7 21.Bd3 h6 22.Rf3 Kc7 23.Bd2 b5 24.Be1 Ra8 25.Ra2 Kb7 26.Bh4 g5 27.Bg3 Bxg3 28.hxg3 Kb6 29.g4 Ree8 30.Rh3 Rh8 31.Kf2 ... draw; Stocek 2566 - Vokac 2506) 7.Qxb6 Nxb6 8.e4 Bg6 9.Bf4 e6 10.Bd3 Be7 ... 1–0; Bill Partridge - Edward Davies; 2008) 3...cxd5 4.e3 (4.d4 another main line transposition) ] 3.e4 d6 [3...d5; 3...e5] 4.d4 e5 5.d5 c5 [5...Be7; 5...cxd5] 6.f3 Be7 7.Be3 0–0 8.Qd2 Nbd7 9.g4 a6 10.Bd3 Ne8 11.Nge2 Nc7 12.Ng3 Bh4 13.0–0–0 Rb8 14.Nf5 Be7 15.h4 b5 16.h5 bxc4 17.Bxc4 Nb6 18.Bd3 Nb5 19.Nxb5 axb5 20.Rdg1 Ra8 21.Bh6 gxh6 22.Nxe7+ Qxe7 23.g5 hxg5 24.Rxg5+ Kh8 25.Rhg1 f6 26.Rg7 Qxg7 27.Rxg7 Kxg7 28.Bxb5 Bd7 29.Bxd7 Nxd7 30.f4 Rxa2 31.Kb1 Rfa8 32.fxe5 Nxe5 33.h6+ Kf7 34.Qg2 Ra1+ 35.Kc2 Rg8 36.Qh3 Ng4 ½–½ Black is technically winning here (with 2 rooks and a knight for the queen) but as much as I wanted to, I was unable to play on to win this in the mutual time trouble, as my opponent had some dangerous checks (possible winning a rook if I'm not careful) and even some potential mating threats. If there were a 40 move time control for example, black would win easily, however if there were a longer time control my opponent may not have played the sacrifice so hastily for example.

GAME 025 - Didier Dominguez

2008-03-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

Davies,Edward - Dominguez,Didier
Portsmouth Congress Major 2008 Feb (1), 15.02.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nc6 [2...Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Bg5?! I had real difficulty remembering how to counter this c6 d5 plan of black's and couldn't work it out over the board. I quickly read the Bishop's Opening book of Gary Lane's in the summer about six months ago. a) 4.Nf3 the usual move 4...d5 (4...Be7 5.0–0 d6 6.a3 (6.c3 0–0 7.Bb3 Qc7 8.Re1 Nbd7 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.Bc2 Ne6 11.Nf1 Re8 12.Ng3 Bf8 Ruy Lopez style manouvrings by white 13.h3 g6 14.d4 Bg7 15.Be3 Bd7 16.Qd2 Rad8 17.Rad1 Bc8 18.Qc1 c5 0–1 eventually; Areshchenko 2660 - Mamedyarov 2699; 6.a4 0–0 7.Re1 Nbd7 8.Nc3 Nc5 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 a5 11.Bf4 Ng4 12.Be2 Nf6 13.Bf3 Re8 14.Qd2 g6 15.h3 Nfd7 16.Rad1 Bf8 17.g4 Qb6 18.Bg2 Ne5 19.b3 Qb4 20.Nde2 f6 21.Be3 h5 22.f4 Nxg4 23.hxg4 Bxg4 24.Qc1 f5 25.Rd4 Qb6 26.Qd2 Qc7 27.Bf2 Re6 28.Rc4 Rae8 ... 0–1 eventually; Kharlov 2593 - Topalov 2737; 6.Bb3 Nbd7 7.c3 Nf8 8.Re1 Ng6 9.Nbd2 0–0 10.d4 h6 11.Nf1 Re8 12.Ng3 Bf8 13.h3 Qc7 14.Be3 b6 15.Bc2 Ba6 16.b3 Rad8 17.Qb1 Bb7 18.a4 ... draw eventually; Fedorov 2575 - Kramnik 2772) 6...0–0 7.Ba2 Nbd7 8.Re1 b5 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.h3 a5 11.Nf1 Be6 12.Bb1 ... drawn after a long game; Bruzon 2667 - Volokitin 2662) 5.Bb3 Bd6 (5...Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 0–0 10.0–0 Qa5 11.c3) 6.Nc3 (6.exd5 Nxd5 7.0–0 0–0 8.h3 (8.Re1 Nd7 (8...Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.g4 Bg6 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.Rxe5 Nd7 13.Re1 Qh4 14.Qf3 Rae8 15.Rf1 h5 16.Nc3 Nxc3 17.bxc3 Kh7 18.gxh5 Qxh5 19.Qxh5+ Bxh5 20.Ba3 Rh8 21.Rfe1 Ne5 22.Kg2 Nf3 23.Re3 Nh4+ 24.Kf1 Nf3 25.Bd6 g5 26.d4 Kg6 27.c4 Nxd4 28.c5 Bf3 29.Ke1 Nf5 30.Rxe8 Rxe8+ 31.Kd2 Re2+ ... 0–1; Alekseev 2639 - Shirov 2720) 9.Nbd2 Bc7 10.Ne4 h6 11.Bd2 Kh8 12.Ng3 a5 13.a3 f5 14.Qc1 f4 15.Ne4 ...draw after 72 moves; Kobalia 2639 - Motylev 2642) 8...Bf5 9.Bg5 f6 10.c4 fxg5 11.cxd5 Kh8 12.Nh2 Nd7 13.Nc3 Nc5 14.Bc2 cxd5 15.Nxd5 Rc8 16.Ng4 Bb8 17.Nge3 Bg6 18.Rc1 Qd6 draw; Alekseev 2679 - Sakaev 2633) 6...dxe4 7.Ng5 0–0 8.Ncxe4 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 a5 10.Qh5 Bb4+ 11.Kf1 Be7 12.a4 Nd7 13.h4 Nc5 14.Nxc5 Bxc5 15.Qxe5 Bd4 16.Qg5 Qb6 17.Be3 ... 0–1; Fedorov 2599 - Shirov 2706; b) 4.Qe2 rarely played alternative 1 4...Bc5 (4...d5 5.Bb3 Nbd7 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Nc3 d4 8.Nb1 Nc5 9.0–0 Nxb3 10.axb3 c5 11.h3 b5 12.Nh2 Nd7 13.f4 f6 14.f5 Qe7 15.Nd2 Nb6 16.Ndf3 a5 17.g4 h6 18.Nh4 Rg8 19.Ng6 Qc7 20.Bd2 a4 21.bxa4 bxa4 22.h4 c4 23.g5 hxg5 24.hxg5 Ba6 25.gxf6 gxf6 26.Ng4 Qf7 27.Nh6 Rxg6+ 28.fxg6 Qxg6+ 29.Qg4 Qxg4+ 30.Nxg4 cxd3 31.Rxf6 Kd7 32.cxd3 Bxd3 33.Bb4 Nc4 34.Bxd6 Rg8 35.Bb4 Rxg4+ 36.Kh2 Bc2 37.Raf1 Bxe4 38.Ra6 Ne3 39.Rf7+ Kc8 40.Raa7 Rg2+ 41.Kh3 Rg8 42.Rac7+ Kb8 43.Bd6 Bf5+ 44.Kh2 Nf1+ 45.Kh1 Be4+ 0–1; Movsesian 2645 - Navara 2663) 5.Nc3 0–0 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Re8 8.Nf3 d6 9.h3 Be6 10.Bxe6 Rxe6 11.g4 Qb6 12.0–0–0 Bd4 13.Qd2 Qa5 14.a3 Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Qxc3 16.bxc3 Nbd7 17.c4 d5 18.g5 hxg5 19.Nxg5 Rd6 20.f4 Nh5 21.fxe5 Nxe5 22.c5 Rd7 23.exd5 Rxd5 24.Ne4 Nf3 25.Bf2 Re8 26.Rhf1 f6 27.Bg1 Nxg1 28.Rxg1 Re7 29.Rde1 Kf8 30.Ref1 b6 31.cxb6 draw; Zvaginsev 2659 - Kosteniuk 2516; c) 4.Bb3 rarely played alternative 2 4...d5 5.Nf3 Bb4+ (5...Bd6 6.exd5 (6.Nc3 Mitkov seems to subsequently have dumped this move for 6.exd5 6...dxe4 7.Nxe4 Nxe4 8.dxe4 Qe7 9.Ng5 0–0 10.Nxh7 Kxh7 11.Qh5+ Kg8 12.Bg5 Qd7 (12...Qc7 13.Rd1 Nd7 14.Rd3 Nc5 15.Rg3 Be7 16.Bh6 Bf6 17.Qg6 Qa5+ 18.c3 Qd8 19.Bxg7 Nxb3 20.Qh6 Qd2+ 21.Qxd2 Nxd2 22.Bxf6+ Kh7 23.Kxd2 Kh6 and white won; Mitkov 2547 - Gabriel 2564) 6...cxd5 (6...Nxd5 7.0–0 0–0 8.Re1 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nb6 11.Nd2 N8d7 12.Ne4 Be7 13.Bd2 a5 14.a3 Qc7 15.Rad1 a4 16.Ba2 Rae8 17.Ng3 Nc8 18.Qg4 b5 19.Nf5 g6 20.Nxe7+ Nxe7 21.Bh6 Nf5 22.Bxf8 Rxf8 23.c3 c5 24.Qe2 Qb6 25.Bb1 Nd6 26.d4 exd4 27.cxd4 c4 28.Qe7 Rd8 29.h4 h5 30.Re3 Nf8 31.Qe5 Ne8 32.Rf3 Nh7 33.d5 Nhf6 34.d6 Ng4 35.Qe7 Nxd6 36.g3 Qb8 37.Bc2 Kh8 38.Rf4 1–0; Mitkov 2552 - Mikhalchishin 2518) 7.0–0 Nc6 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Nc3 Qa5 10.Bd2 Qd8 11.Bg5 Qa5 12.Qe1 d4 13.Nb1 Qxe1 14.Rxe1 Nd5 15.Na3 Bxa3 16.bxa3 f6 17.Bd2 0–0–0 18.Kf1 Rhe8 19.Rab1 Rd7 20.Ng1 g5 draw; Mitkov 2563 - Roussel Roozmon 2430) 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Qxd2 dxe4 8.Nxe5 0–0 9.Nxf7 Rxf7 10.dxe4 Qe7 11.Bxf7+ Kxf7 12.f3 Be6 13.Nc3 Nbd7 14.Qe3 Nb6 15.b3 Qa3 16.0–0 Re8 17.Rad1 Nbd7 18.Rd2 Qc5 19.Qxc5 Nxc5 20.Rfd1 Ke7 21.Rd4 Bc8 22.Ne2 Rf8 23.R4d2 ... draw; Mitkov 2565 - Perez 2385; d) 4.Nc3 even rarer 4...d5 5.Bb3 Bd6 6.Nf3 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Nxe4 8.dxe4 h6 9.h3 Na6 10.c3 Nc5 11.Bc2 a5 12.Be3 Qe7 13.Qd2 Ne6 14.0–0–0 Bc7 15.g3 Bd7 16.Nh4 g6 17.Bxh6 0–0–0 18.Be3 Nf4 19.gxf4 Qxh4 20.fxe5 Bg4 21.hxg4 Rxd2 22.Rxh4 Rxd1+ 23.Kxd1 Rxh4 24.Bb3 Rxg4 25.Bxf7 Kd8 26.f4 g5 27.fxg5 draw; Vitiugov 2592 - Polak 2510; 4...d5 5.exd5 cxd5 6.Bb3 Bg4 7.f3 Be6 8.Ne2 Be7 9.c3 Nc6 10.Nd2 0–0 11.Bc2 d4 12.c4 Ne8 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Ng3 Nd6 15.Qe2 Rc8 16.Qxe5 Nef5 17.Nxf5 Nxf5 18.Nf1 Qg5 19.Ng3 Bd7 20.0–0 Rfe8 21.Qd5 Bc6 22.Qxf5 1–0; Edward Davies - P. Groth; a lucky escape] 3.d3 Bc5 [3...Nf6 main move] 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.h3?! not a usual move, however one high level example is in my database [5.c3 there were many games contested at a very high level in this line (as a variation of the italian game) 5...a6 (5...d6 6.Bb3 a6 7.0–0 0–0 8.h3 Ba7 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Re1 Bxb3 11.Qxb3 Rb8 12.Nf1 Qd7 13.Ng3 Rfe8 14.Bd2 h6 15.Rad1 Qe6 16.Be3 Bxe3 17.Rxe3 Qxb3 18.axb3 d5 19.Ree1 Rbd8 20.Kf1 a5 21.Nh2 h5 22.Nf3 g6 23.h4 ... 0–1; Bacrot 2695 - Aronian 2750) 6.Bb3 0–0 (6...Ba7 7.0–0 d6 8.h3 h6 9.Re1 g5 10.Nh2 g4 11.hxg4 Rg8 12.Qf3 Qe7 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Bxg4 15.Nxg4 Nxg4 16.Qh3 Nd8 17.Nd2 Ne6 18.Re2 0–0–0 19.Rf1 Kb8 20.Nf3 h5 21.Qh4 f6 22.Nh2 Rdf8 23.Rf5 Nxh2 24.Qxh2 h4 25.Bxe6 Qxe6 26.c4 Rh8 27.Ref2 Rh6 28.Qh3 Rg8 29.R5f3 Qe7 30.Kf1 Rg5 31.Ke2 Qg7 32.Qh1 Rhg6 33.Kf1 Rg3 34.Qxh4 Rxg2 35.Rh3 Ka7 36.Rh2 Rg1+ 37.Ke2 Rb1 38.Kf3 Re1 39.Qh3 a5 40.Rfg2 Rf1+ 41.Ke2 Rb1 42.Kf3 Rf1+ 43.Ke2 Rg1 44.Rxg1 Rxg1 45.Kd2 Rb1 46.Kc3 Qg1 47.Qg2 Rc1+ 48.Kb3 Qd1+ 49.Ka3 Qxd3+ 50.b3 Rxc4 51.Rh7 Qc3 0–1; Adams 2734 - Shirov 2699; (Candidates 2007)) 7.0–0 Ba7 8.Re1 d6 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Be6 12.Be3 Bxb3 13.Qxb3 Qd7 14.Bxa7 Rxa7 15.Ng3 Ne7 16.d4 Ng6 17.Rad1 Qc6 18.Nh2 Raa8 19.Ng4 Nxg4 20.hxg4 Rad8 21.Nf5 exd4 22.Nxd4 Qc5 23.Qxb7 Rb8 24.Qxa6 Rxb2 25.Re2 Rxe2 26.Nxe2 Qg5 27.Qc6 ... draw in 81 moves; Alekseev 2716 - Jakovenko 2710; 5.Nc3 d6 (5...h6 6.Be3 Bxe3 7.fxe3 d6 8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.Bxd5 0–0 10.0–0 Ne7 draw; Andrei Sokolov 2584 - Tkachiev 2682) 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Nd5 Qd8 9.c3 a6 10.d4 Ba7 (10...exd4 11.cxd4 Ba7 12.h3 0–0 13.0–0 draw; Minasian 2595 - Asrian 2634; yet another grandmaster draw after 5.Nc3) 11.Ne3 (11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Qh5 0–0 14.Qxe5 Re8 15.Qf4 Qd6 16.Qxd6 Rxe4+ 17.Ne3 cxd6 18.Bd5 Re5 19.0–0–0 Bxe3+ 20.fxe3 Rxe3 21.Rhf1 Be6 22.Bxb7 Ra7 23.Bd5 a5 24.Bxe6 Rxe6 25.Rd2 a4 26.Kc2 g5 27.Rf5 Kg7 28.Rfd5 Ra6 29.Kd3 f6 30.Kc4 Rb6 31.Ra5 Re4+ 32.Kd3 Rg4 33.Rf2 Kg6 34.h3 Rh4 35.Raf5 Rf4 36.R5xf4 gxf4 37.Ke4 Kg5 38.Rd2 f5+ 39.Kf3 Rc6 40.a3 Rb6 41.h4+ Kxh4 42.Kxf4 d5 43.Rd3 1–0; Short 2687 - Aleksandrov 2659) 11...0–0 12.0–0 Qf6 13.Nd5 Qd8 14.Ne3 Qf6 15.Nd5 draw; Nisipeanu 2687 - Aleksandrov 2659; 5.0–0 0–0 6.Nbd2 a6 7.c3 d6 8.Bb3 b5 9.h3 Bb6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Nf1 Ng6 12.Ng3 c6 13.d4 Bc7 14.Be3 d5 15.Bg5 Qd6 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 18.f4 Qd6 19.e5 Qc5+ 20.Kh1 Ne8 21.Bc2 g6 22.Nh5 Be6 23.f5 gxf5 24.Qd2 Kh8 25.b4 Qb6 26.Nf6 Bd8 27.Be3 Qc7 28.Bc5 Be7 29.Bxe7 Qxe7 30.Qh6 1–0; Nisipeanu 2707 - Moreno 2022; 5.Bb3; 5.Bg5; 5.Be3; 5.Nbd2; 5.Qe2] 5...d6 [5...0–0 6.Bg5 d6 7.Nc3 Be6 8.Bb3 h6 9.Bxf6 draw agreed; Borges 2435 - Gonzalez 2421] 6.Nc3 Na5 7.Bb3 Nxb3 8.axb3 a6 9.Qe2 h6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Be6 12.0–0–0 Qe7 13.Rhf1 0–0–0 14.Qf2 Kb8 15.Nh4 Qf8 16.Nf5 Ng8 17.g4 Ne7 18.Qg3 f6 19.d4 Rg8 20.d5 Bd7 21.Rd2 Qf7 22.Rdf2 Rdf8 23.Qh4 Qe8 24.Qg3 Bc8 25.Kb1 b5 26.Qf3 Bd7 27.b4 Nc8 28.Qd1 Nb6 29.b3 Qc8 30.Ne7 Qe8 31.Nxg8 Rxg8 32.Qe2 Qc8 33.Kb2 Qb7 34.Ra1 Ka7 35.Nxb5+ Bxb5 36.Qxb5 Kb8 37.Qxa6 Qxa6 38.Rxa6 Kb7 39.Ra5 Rb8 40.c4 Kc8 41.Kc3 Kd7 42.b5 Kc8 43.b4 Kd7 44.Rfa2 Nc8 45.Ra1 Kd8 46.R5a2 Kd7 47.h4 Kd8 48.g5 fxg5 49.hxg5 h5 50.g6 Ne7 51.Rh2 Nxg6 52.Rxh5 Nf8 53.Rg1 g6 54.Rh8 Ke7 55.Rxg6 Nxg6 56.Rxb8 Kd7 57.b6 Ne7 58.b7 Nc6 59.dxc6+ Kxc6 60.b5+ Kc5 61.Rc8 d5 62.Rxc7+ 1–0

GAME 024 - Ian Matthew

2008-03-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

Ian Matthew - Edward Davies Hampshire Open 2007

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.f4 e6 7.Nf3 Nd7 [7...Bd6 8.Bc4 Ne7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Qe2 c5 11.Be3 Qc7 12.c3 Nd7 13.Ng5 cxd4 14.cxd4 Nf6 15.Rac1 Qa5 16.Kh1 h6 17.Nf3 Nf5 18.Nxf5 Bxf5 19.Ne5 Rad8 20.Bb3 Nd5 21.Qf3 Nxe3 22.Qxe3 Bb4 23.Rcd1 Qb6 24.g4 Bh7 25.f5 Be7 26.Nxf7 Rxf7 27.Bxe6 Kf8 28.Bxf7 Kxf7 29.Rfe1 Bf6 30.Rd3 Bg8 31.Kg2 Kf8 32.b3 Bd5+ 33.Kg3 Qd6+ 34.Qf4?? oops 34...Bh4+ 0–1; Vargic 2316 - Saric 2473] 8.Bc4 [8.h4 the following game played by no less than former European champion Nisipeanu 8...h5 (8...h6 9.h5 Bh7 10.Bd3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Qc7 12.Ne4 Ngf6 13.Bd2 0–0–0 14.0–0–0 c5 15.Nxf6 Nxf6 16.Qa3 Kb8 17.Qa4 Rc8 18.Kb1 cxd4 draw; Martin del Campo 2442 - Volzhin 2556) 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Qc7 11.Ng5 Nh6 12.Nxh5 0–0–0 13.Bd2 Nf5 14.Nxf7 Nc5 already white is completely doomed 15.Qxf5 exf5 16.Nxh8 Qe7+ 17.Kf1 Ne4 18.Be1 Qe8 0–1; Marino 2101 - Nisipeanu 2611; 8.c3 Ngf6 9.Bc4 Bd6 10.Qe2 0–0 11.Ne5 c5 12.h4 cxd4 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.h5 g5 15.h6 g6 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.Qxe4 Nf6 18.Qxd4 Bxf4 19.0–0 Qxd4+ 20.cxd4 Rac8 21.b3 Bxc1 22.Raxc1 Ng4 23.Rce1 Nxh6 24.d5 exd5 25.Bxd5 Rc7 26.Re5 Kg7 27.Rfe1 Rd8 28.Bc4 Nf5 29.g4 Nh4 30.Kf2 Rd2+ 31.Kg3 b5 32.Rxb5 Rg2+ 33.Kh3 Rxa2 34.Rf1 f5 35.Rb8 Re7 36.Rg1 f4 0–1; Papastravropoulos 2211 - Khenkin 2633] 8...Bd6 [8...Ne7 9.Ng5 h6 10.N5e4 Nf5 11.Nxf5 Qa5+ 12.c3 Qxf5 13.Bd3 Qd5 14.Qe2 0–0–0 15.c4 Bb4+ 16.Kf2 Qh5 17.Qxh5 Bxh5 ... black eventually loses a long game 2188-2131] 9.0–0 Qc7 10.Ng5 h6 11.Nxf7 Bxf7 12.Nh5 Rh7 13.Qd3 Ngf6 14.Bxe6 Bxh5 0-1

GAME 023 - Trevor Dickerson

2008-03-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

Davies,Edward (113) - Dickerson,Trevor (99)
Hampshire Open 2007 Rd II, 03.11.2007

1.e4 e6 2.b3 d5 [2...b6 3.Bb2 (3.c4 this move did not work at all for Cicak - a 2530 rated player - who lost against a 2225 3...d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 Ne7 6.Nf3 Ng6 7.d4 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Be7 9.Nc3 0–0 10.h4 c5 11.h5 cxd4 12.Nb5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bf6 14.f4 Bh4+ 15.Ke2 Nc6 16.Kf3 Qe7 17.Bd3 Qxe5 18.Rxh4 Qf6 19.Kg3 Ne7 20.Bb4 Re8 21.Nd6 Ng6 22.hxg6 Re3+ 23.Qf3 Rxf3+ 24.gxf3 fxg6 25.Rah1 h6 26.Nxc8 Rxc8 27.Rg4 g5 28.Re1 a5 29.fxg5 hxg5 30.Be7 Qf7 31.Bxg5 Rc3 32.Rd1 Qe6 33.Bf4 Rxd3 34.Rf1 Rc3 35.Bd2 Qe5+ 36.Bf4 Qe2 37.Rf2 Qe6 38.Rg5 d3 39.Re5 Qg6+ 40.Rg5 Qe6 41.Be5 Rc2 42.Rf1 Qh6 0–1; Cicak 2530 - Johansson 2225) 3...Bb7 4.Qe2 c5 (4...a5 the following game is quite crazy positionally 5.a3 a4 6.b4 c5 7.b5 d6 8.f4 Nd7 9.Nf3 Ngf6 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Nd5 12.g3 h5 13.h4 Ne7 14.Bh3 g6 15.0–0 Nf5 16.Bxf5 gxf5 17.d3 Bh6 18.Nbd2 Rg8 19.Kf2 Bd5 20.Rg1 Qc7 21.Nf1 Rd8 22.Re1 c4 23.Bd4 cxd3 24.cxd3 Bxf3 25.Qxf3 Nc5 26.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 27.Kg2 Qd5 28.Nh2 Qxf3+ 29.Nxf3 Rxd3 30.Rd1 Rxa3 31.Ra1 Rxa1 32.Rxa1 Rg4 33.Rd1 Be3 0–1; Wisnewski 2409 - Meister 2488) 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.0–0–0 Nd4 7.Qe1 Ne7 8.Nb5 Nec6 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Nf3 Bc5 11.c3 dxc3 12.dxc3 Qe7 13.Kb1 Ba3 14.Bb5 Bxb2 15.Kxb2 0–0 16.Qe3 a6 17.Bd3 b5 18.Bc2 d6 19.Qd3 Ne5 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.Rxd6 Ng4 22.Rd2 Rac8 23.h3 Nf6 24.Re1 Rc5 25.Re3 Rfc8 26.Nd4 Kf8 27.f3 Ke7 28.b4 R5c7 29.a4 Bc6 30.Nxc6+ Rxc6 31.axb5 axb5 32.Red3 R8c7 33.Bb3 g5 34.Rd1 Nh5 35.Rc1 Nf4 36.Rd2 h5 37.Bd1 Ra6 38.Bb3 Rac6 39.Bd1 draw; Hassan 2353 - Labib 2439] 3.exd5 For a little while I thought this made for a slightly more interesting version of the exchange variation, which is probably true, but I still find it stultifying for white and difficult to get any interesting play, and even tough to hold the balance sometimes. The gambit-offering line is probably the way to go. [3.Bb2 Nf6 a) 3...Nc6 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qe2+ Qe7 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Nc3 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 a6 11.Nxd5 0–0–0 12.Bxc6 Bxc6 13.Ne3 Rg8 14.Rhg1 Bh6 15.Rad1 Rde8 16.g4 Bf4 17.h3 Bd7 18.Kf1 h5 19.Nd5 Bc6 20.Nxf4 Bxf3 21.Re1 Rxe1+ 22.Kxe1 hxg4 23.hxg4 Re8+ 24.Kf1 Re4 25.Nh5 Be2+ 26.Kg2 Rxg4+ 27.Ng3 Bb5 28.f3 Bc6 29.Rf1 Rf4 30.Ne2 Rh4 31.Kg3 Rh5 32.Kf4 Rh2 33.Ke3 Rh3 34.c4 a5 35.d4 b6 36.d5 Bd7 37.Rg1 Kd8 38.Rg2 Ke7 39.Ng3 Rh4 40.a4 Kf8 41.Ne4 Ke7 42.Rd2 f5 43.Nc3 Kd6 44.Rg2 Ke5 45.Ne2 f4+ 46.Kd3 Rh1 47.Ng1 c6 48.dxc6 Bxc6 49.Rg5+ Kf6 50.Rg8 Ke5 51.Rg2 Be8 52.Kc3 Bc6 53.Rg5+ Kf6 54.Rg4 Ke5 55.Rg2 Ba8 56.Rg7 Kf6 57.Rg2 Ke5 58.b4 axb4+ 59.Kxb4 Bc6 60.a5 bxa5+ 61.Kxa5 Kd4 62.Kb4 Ke3 63.Re2+ Kd3 64.Rg2 Ke3 65.Re2+ Kd3 66.Rg2 Ke3 and at long last they actually agree to a draw ; ) Karasev 2420 - Poliakov 2268; b) 3...dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.g4 (5.Qe2 Bb4 (5...Be7 white wins against a much higher rated player here 6.0–0–0 Bd7 7.g4 Bc6 8.Bg2 0–0 9.h4 Nd5 10.Nh3 f5 11.gxf5 exf5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Nf4 Qf7 14.Nh5 g6 15.Rdg1 Nd7 16.Qe3 Bd6 17.Bf1 f4 18.Qh3 Be5 19.Bxe5 Nxe5 20.Qc3 Rae8 21.Rg5 Qe7 22.Rhg1 Kh8 23.d4 exd3 24.Bxd3 gxh5 25.Rxh5 Rf6 26.Qxe5 1–0; Luberti 2205 - L'Ami 2476; 5...Nbd7 6.Nxe4 Be7 7.Nf3 0–0 8.g3 Nxe4 9.Qxe4 Bf6 draw agreed; the fact that this game was played in a memorial tournament makes this shameful in my opinion; Podinic 2415 - Kosic 2489; 5...Nc6 6.Nxe4 Nxe4 7.Qxe4 Qd5 8.Qxd5 exd5 9.0–0–0 f6 10.Ne2 Bf5 11.Ng3 Bg6 12.Re1+ Kd7 13.a3 Bc5 14.f4 Rae8 15.Be2 Bd4 16.Bf3 Bxb2+ 17.Kxb2 Ne7 18.Re2 c6 19.Rhe1 Kd8 20.Bh5 Nc8 21.f5 Rxe2 22.Rxe2 Be8 23.Rf2 Nd6 24.d3 Ke7 25.c4 Bxh5 26.Nxh5 Kf7 27.cxd5 cxd5 28.g4 Re8 29.Nf4 Re5 30.Rc2 Ne8 31.Rc5 Ke7 32.Kc3 Kd6 33.Rc8 Kd7 34.Rb8 Kc7 35.Ra8 a6 36.a4 Kd7 37.h4 h6 38.h5 Re3 39.Rb8 Nd6 40.Rg8 Ne8 41.Ne6 Rg3 42.Nxg7 d4+ 43.Kb4 Nd6 44.Ne6 Nxf5 45.Nc5+ Kc7 46.Ne4 Rg1 47.Nxf6 Nd6 48.Kc5 b6+ 49.Kd5 Nb7 50.Rg7+ Kc8 51.g5 Rf1 52.gxh6) 6.0–0–0 Qe7 7.Kb1 Bxc3 8.dxc3 Bd7 9.g4 h6 10.Bg2 Nc6 11.Bxe4 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 0–0–0 13.Ne2 e5 14.Ng3 Be6 15.f3 Rxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Rd8 17.Qe2 f6 18.h3 Qf8 19.Rxd8+ Nxd8 20.Bc1 Bd5 21.Qd3 Bc6 22.h4 Ne6 23.Nh5 Qf7 24.Qf5 Qd7 25.a4 b6 26.Kb2 Kb7 27.Ng3 Qc8 28.Be3 Bd5 29.f4 Nf8 30.g5 hxg5 31.hxg5 Qe6 32.gxf6 gxf6 33.fxe5 Qxf5 34.Nxf5 fxe5 35.c4 Be6 36.Ng3 a6 37.Kc3 Nd7 38.Ne4 Bf5 39.Ng3 Bg6 40.Bg5 Kc6 41.Be7 Nc5 42.Bg5 Ne6 43.Be3 Kd6 44.Ne2 c5 45.Kd2 Bh7 46.Bh6 Bg6 47.Be3 Ng7 48.Ng3 Kc6 49.Bh6 Ne6 50.Ne2 Bh5 51.Ng3 Bg4 52.Nf1 draw Kapnisis 2393 - Berelovich 2533) 5...Bd7 (5...h6 6.Bg2 Bd7 7.Nxe4 Nxe4 8.Bxe4 Bc6 9.Qe2 Bxe4 10.Qxe4 Qd5 11.Qxd5 exd5 12.Ne2 Nc6 13.Nf4 0–0–0 14.0–0–0 d4 15.Rde1 Bd6 16.Nd3 h5 17.g5 Rhe8 18.f4 g6 19.Kd1 Kd7 20.h3) 6.Bg2 Bc6 7.Qe2 h5 8.g5 Nd5 9.Nh3 Nxc3 10.Bxc3 Qd5 11.g6 fxg6 12.Qe3 Qf5 13.Ng5 Bc5 14.Nxe6 Qxe6 15.Qxc5 Nd7 16.Qg5 Qf5 17.Qg3 h4 18.Qe3 h3 19.Bf1 Nf6 20.Rg1 Nd5 21.Qd4 0–0–0 22.Qxg7 e3 23.fxe3 Nxe3 24.dxe3 Rhf8 25.Bxh3 Qxh3 26.Bd4 Qxh2 27.0–0–0 Be4 28.Kb2 Rf2 29.Ka1 Rxc2 30.Bb2 Rcd2 31.Rc1 Rxb2 32.Qxb2 Rd2 33.Rxc7+ Kxc7 34.Qg7+ Kb6 The gambit didn't work for Gelashvili. 0–1 Gelashvili 2506 - Socko 2559; 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Qg4 (5.g3 c5 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.f4 f5 8.exf6 Nxf6 9.Nf3 Be7 10.0–0 0–0 11.Qe2 c4 12.d4 cxd3 13.cxd3 Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Ng4 15.d4 Bf6 16.Nc3 Nh6 17.Na4 Qb4 18.Rad1 Nf5 19.Bc3 Qd6 20.b4 b6 21.b5 Nd8 22.Be1 Qa3 23.Nc3 a6 24.Rd3 axb5 25.g4 Nxd4 26.Nxd4 Bxd4 27.Nxd5 Qc5 28.Bb4 Qc4 29.Ne7+ Kh8 30.Qe4 1–0 Bhat 2396 - Thompson 2208) 5...c5 6.f4 f5 7.Qg3 g5 8.Be2 Bh6 9.Nh3 g4 10.Nf2 Bg7 11.h3 h5 12.hxg4 hxg4 13.Rxh8+ Bxh8 14.Qh2 Bg7 15.Qh5+ Kf8 16.Nc3 a6 17.0–0–0 Qe8 18.Qh7 Nc6 19.Rh1 Ne7 20.Ncd1 draw agreed; Mastrovasilis 2386 - Potkin 2420] 3...exd5 [3...Qxd5?! I can't see how this can be any good, although it does keep the pawns from being symmetric and avoids an exchange variation pawn structure 4.Bb2 Qd8 5.g3 I probably shouldn't have gone in for this, and my opponent finds the natural plan to counter this fianchetto 5...Bd7 6.Bg2 Bc6 7.Bxc6+ Nxc6 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Qe2 0–0 11.0–0–0 Nd5 12.h4 Bf6 13.Nxd5 Bxb2+ 14.Kxb2 exd5 15.d4 Re8 16.Qd3 h6 17.Rhe1 Qf6 18.Re3 Rxe3 19.Qxe3 Qe6 20.Qxe6 fxe6 21.Ne5 Nxe5 22.dxe5 Rf8 23.f4 eventually a technically drawn rook ending occured with black having the pawn and rook against a rook, but I (white) lost as I was unable to draw this ending at the board ... 0–1 Edward Davies - Peter Williams 2007] 4.Bb2 c6 [4...Nf6 5.Nf3 (5.Qe2+ Be6 6.Nh3 Bc5 7.Ng5 0–0 8.Nxe6 fxe6 9.Nc3 e5 10.Na4 Bd6 11.g3 Nbd7 12.Bg2 c6 13.0–0 Qa5 14.c4 d4 15.Bxd4 exd4 16.Qe6+ Rf7 17.Qxd6 Qxd2 18.Qf4 Qb4 draw; Bezgodov 2561 - Airapetian 2336) 5...Be7 a) 5...Bd6 6.Be2 0–0 7.0–0 h6 8.Ne5 Bf5 9.f4 Nbd7 10.d3 c6 11.Nd2 Qb6+ 12.Kh1 Rae8 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.Bg4 g6 15.Bxf5 gxf5 16.Qh5 Re6 17.Qxf5 Nc5 18.Bf6 Rb8 19.Qg4+ Kf8 20.Bg7+ Ke8 21.f5 Re7 22.Bf6 Re3 23.Qg8+ Bf8 24.Bd4 Re7 25.Rae1 Qa5 26.b4 Qxb4 27.c3 1–0; Sudakova 2391 - Bystryakova 2191; b) 5...Nc6 6.Be2 Bd6 7.0–0 0–0 8.d3 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Re8 10.Re1 Nd7 11.Nd4 Bxe2 12.Nxe2 (not 12.Rxe2? Bxh2+ 13.Kxh2 Qh4+ 14.Kg1 Nxd4) 12...Nce5 13.Ng3 Qg5 14.Bd4 Ng4 15.Nf3 Qh6 16.h3 Nge5 17.Nf5 Qf4 I was sweating a little here 18.Nxd6 cxd6 19.Nxe5 dxe5 20.Be3 Qh4 21.d4 e4 22.c4 now I was doing ok, but I was down on time and had the feeling I was doing worse 22...f5 23.Qd2 Qf6 24.cxd5 Nb6 25.Bf4 Nxd5 26.Be5 Qf7 27.Rac1 Rad8 28.Qa5 Rd7 29.Qxa7? I could add another ? for the fact that I didn't see the point of this yet I played it anyway. Had I seen the obvious point that my opponent diverted the queen to get her knight into d3 then I'd have avoided it like the plague. Things only got worse after this. This was a classic case of making a bad decision when down on time and worn out through a tough game; I knew my opponent would not just offer a pawn for nothing, and I couldn't see the point of it so I took it anyway. But being worn out I should have assumed there was a point to it and played something safe since if I were less tired I would be more likely to see the reason that I could or couldn't take the pawn. I took it just because I couldn't see why not to, but this is a bad idea - as I have now learnt from practice - when you are not on top form. 29...Nb4! good stuff; easily compensates for the pawn 30.Rc4?! Nd3 31.Re2?? Nxe5 32.dxe5 b5 ok, time to resign; it's been quite a tiring tournament (game 6 out of 6); 0–1; Edward Davies - Anandajeyarajah; 6.Be2 0–0 7.0–0 Bf5 8.d3 h6 9.Nbd2 c5 10.Ne5 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Nf3 Re8 13.Ne5 Qc7 14.h3 Nd7 15.Bg4 Bxg4 16.Nxg4 h5 17.Ne3 Bf6 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.Qd2 Re6 20.Rae1 Rae8 21.Nf5 g6 22.Rxe6 Rxe6 23.Nh4 Kg7 24.Nf3 Qe7 25.Re1 Rxe1+ 26.Nxe1 Qe5 27.a4 d4 28.Nf3 Qd6 29.Qg5 Nd5 30.Qd2 f6 31.Kf1 Qe7 32.Qe1 Kf7 33.Nd2 Nb4 34.Qd1 f5 35.Nf3 Kg7 36.Qd2 Nd5 37.Ng1 Qe5 38.Ne2 Kh7 39.Qa5 Qe7 40.Qa6 Nb4 41.Qc4 Nd5 42.c3 dxc3 43.Nxc3 Qd6 44.Ne2 Kg7 45.Qa6 Qd7 46.Qc4 Qd6 47.d4 cxd4 48.Qxd4+ Kh6 49.Qh8+ Kg5 50.Nd4 f4 51.h4+ 1–0; Holzer 2287 - Kamarit 2144; 4...Qe7+ 5.Qe2 Qxe2+ 6.Bxe2 Nc6 7.Nc3 Be6 8.Nf3 0–0–0 9.0–0 Be7 10.Nb5 Bf6 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.Nbd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Bd7 14.b4 Ne4 15.Rfd1 Rhe8 16.Bd3 g6 17.f3 Nd6 18.Re1 c6 19.Kf2 b6 20.c3 c5 21.Rxe8 Bxe8 22.Nc2 Bc6 draw; Kahn 2334 - Kosic 2507] 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Be2 Nf6 7.Ne5 Be6 8.0–0 Be7 9.d3 0–0 10.Nd2 Nfd7 11.Bg4 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Bf6 13.d4 Nd7 14.f4 Nxe5 15.fxe5 Be7 16.Be2 Qb6 17.c3 Rac8 18.b4 a5 19.a3 axb4 20.axb4 Ra8 21.Qc2 Ra7 22.Nb3 Rfa8 23.Rxa7 Rxa7 24.Nc5 Bxc5 25.bxc5 Qa5 26.Qb2 Qa2 27.Qb6 Qa5 28.Qb2 Qa2 29.Rb1 Qxb2 30.Rxb2 Ra1+ 31.Kf2 Bc8 32.Kg3 Ra7 33.Bg4 Be6 34.h4 Kf8 35.Bxe6 fxe6 36.Kf4 Ke8 37.g4 Kd8 38.Ke3 Ke8 39.g5 Ke7 40.h5 Ke8 41.g6 hxg6 42.hxg6 b5 43.cxb6 Ra6 44.Kd3 1–0

GAME 022 - Bob Treloar

2008-03-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

Bob Treloar - Edd Davies
Portsmouth Chess Club Championship 2007/8 Round 1

1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.gxf3 e6 [5...Nf6 6.d4 e6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Rg1 g6 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0–0–0 Qa5 11.a3 0–0–0 12.Kb1 b6 13.Qc1 b5 14.Qd2 Kb7 15.Bd3 Nb6 16.Ne2 Qa6 17.Nc1 Nc4 18.Qc3 Nd7 19.Nb3 Ka8 20.Nc5 Qb6 21.Nxd7 Rxd7 22.Bxc4 bxc4 23.Ka2 Qa6 24.Bd2 Rb8 25.Qa5 Qc8 26.Rb1 Rb5 27.Qa4 Rdb7 28.b4 Qb8 29.Bg5 Bxg5 30.Rxg5 Qf4 31.Rg3 Qd2 32.exd5 cxd5 33.Rg4 h5 34.Rh4 Qg5 0–1 Paci 2275 - Moloney 2208] 6.Rg1 [6.d4 Nf6 (6...Qh4 7.Be3 g6 8.Qd2 Bh6 9.0–0–0 Nd7 10.f4 f5 11.e5 Ne7 12.Ne2 Nc8 13.Ng1 b5 14.Nf3 Qe7 15.Qc3 Ncb6 16.Qxc6 a6 17.h4 0–0 18.h5 Rfc8 19.Qd6 Qxd6 20.exd6 Bg7 21.hxg6 hxg6 22.Ne5 Nf8 23.Bd2 Bf6 24.Ba5 Bd8 25.Rd3 Nc4 26.Bb4 Bb6 27.d7 Nxe5 28.fxe5 Rc7 29.Rdh3 1–0 Preuschoff 2171 - Dresden 2237) 7.Be3 Nbd7 (7...Be7 8.Rg1 g6 9.Qd2 Qa5 10.Be2 Bb4 11.e5 Nfd7 12.0–0–0 c5 13.a3 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 Nc6 16.f4 c4 17.h4 h5 18.f5 exf5 19.e6 Nf6 20.Bf3 Ne4 21.Bxe4 fxe4 22.exf7+ Kxf7 23.Rg5 Rad8 24.Rdg1 Ne7 25.Bf4 Rhg8 26.R5g2 Nf5 27.Bg5 Rd6 28.Kb2 Re8 29.Rf1 Rde6 30.Rgg1 Kg7 31.Ka2 Rb6 32.Rb1 Ree6 33.Bd8 Rxb1 34.Rxb1 b6 35.a4 Rd6 36.Bg5 Kf7 37.a5 Ke6 38.Bf4 Rc6 39.a6 Nxh4 40.Bb8 b5 41.Rxb5 Rxa6+ 42.Kb2 Rb6 0–1 Wajdy 2074 - Ismail 2328) 8.Qd2 Bb4 9.Bd3 Qa5 10.0–0 0–0 11.a3 Bxc3 12.Qxc3 Qxc3 13.bxc3 b5 14.a4 a6 15.Ra3 Nb6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Rfa1 Rxa3 18.Rxa3 Ra8 19.Rxa8+ Nxa8 20.Kf1 Nb6 21.Ke1 g6 22.Bh6 Na4 23.Bg5 Ne8 24.Bd2 f5 25.h4 Nd6 26.e5 Nc4 27.Be2 Kg7 28.f4 Na3 29.Kd1 Nb1 30.c4 bxc4 31.Kc1 Nbc3 32.Bf3 Nb5 33.Be3 Kf7 34.Kd2 h5 35.Kc1 Ke7 36.Kb1 Kd7 37.Kc1 Kc7 38.Kb1 Kb7 39.Kc1 Ka6 40.Be2 Nbc3 41.Bf3 Kb5 42.Bd2 Kb4 43.Be3 Ka3 44.Bd2 Ka2 45.Be3 Nb5 0–1 Bezler 2242 - Freitag 2397 ; an extremely interesting and instructive game] 6...Nd7 7.d4 Ne7 [7...Ngf6 8.e5 Nh5 9.f4 g6 10.Ne2 Qh4 11.f5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Bc5 13.Ng3 exf5 14.Qf3 Ng7 15.Bd2 Ne6 16.0–0–0 Qa4 17.c3 Qxa2 draw Depasquale 2337 - Froehlich 2367] 8.Be3 Ng6 9.Qd2 Qc7 10.f4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 0–0–0 12.0–0–0 h6 13.Bd3 Nh4 14.Qe2 Nf5 15.Bd2 Nxd4 16.Qe3 c5 17.Nc3 g6 18.Rg3 Bg7 19.Nb5 Nxb5 20.Bxb5 Qb6 21.Qb3 Qc7 22.Qa4 a6 23.Bd3 Rhe8 24.Ba5 Nb6 25.Qe4 Rd4 26.Qe3 Ra4 27.Bxb6 Qxb6 28.Kd2 Rd4 29.Rb1 c4 30.Ke1 Several more moves were played, and black was winning the game with several pieces vs a king and pawns, although the game was drawn as black stupidly allowed a stalemate, (even though this was in time trouble I still feel a shiver of horror when I think of this game played near the beginning of the season).

GAME 021 - Andy Mills

2008-03-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Davies,Edward - Mills,Andy
Portsmouth League 07/08, 05.10.2007

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 [4...g6 is much more common.] 5.Nge2 [5.d3 g6 6.f4 Bg7 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 0–0 10.0–0 Rc8 11.g4 e6 12.f5 Nd7 13.Qg3 Be5 14.Qf2 Bd4 15.Be3 Qb6 16.Ne2 Bxe3 17.Qxe3 Nd4 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Qh6 Rxc2 20.b3 Qb5 21.f6 Nxf6 22.Rxf6 Qxd3 23.Raf1 Rxa2 24.R6f3 Qc2 25.R1f2 Qb1+ 26.Rf1 Qc2 27.R1f2 Qb1+ 28.Rf1 draw Larino 2450 - Narciso 2537] 5...g6 6.d3 [or 6.0–0 ] 6...Bg7 7.0–0 [7.Be3 0–0 (7...Ng4 8.Bd2 0–0 9.h3 Nf6 10.0–0 Rb8 11.Qc1 white manages still to carry out this plan 11...b5 12.Bh6 b4 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Nd5 e5 15.a3 a5 16.axb4 axb4 17.c3) 8.h3; 7.h3 a6 8.Be3 Bd7 9.0–0 b5 10.Qd2 h5 11.f4 e5 12.fxe5 Nxe5 13.Bg5 Be6 14.Qf4 Ned7 15.Qxd6 Qb8 16.Qxb8+ Rxb8 17.Nf4 Nh7 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.Bf4 Bd4+ 20.Kh2 e5 21.Bd2 Nhf6 22.Rae1 b4 23.Nd1 Ng4+ 24.Kh1 h4 25.c3 bxc3 26.bxc3 hxg3 27.cxd4 cxd4 28.Rf3 Rb1 29.Rxg3 Rxd1 30.Rxg4 Rxd2 31.Rxg6 Rxa2 32.Rc1 Kf7 33.Rg5 Rg8 34.Rf1+ Nf6 35.Rxg8 Kxg8 36.Rxf6 a5 37.h4 a4 38.Bh3 Ra1+ 39.Kg2 Rd1 40.Be6+ Kg7 41.Rf3 a3 42.Bc4 Rd2+ 43.Kg3 a2 44.Rf7+ Kg6 45.Ra7 1–0; Edward Davies - Joe Coburn 2007] 7...0–0 8.h3 [8.Bg5 h6 9.Be3 Ng4 10.Bd2 seems a very strange way to play 10...Nd4 11.Nxd4 cxd4 12.Ne2 Qb6 13.h3 Nf6 14.c3 dxc3 15.Bxc3 Bd7 16.Kh2 a5 17.f4 a4 18.a3 white hasn't played in the spirit of the closed sicilian] 8...Bd7 [8...Rb8 9.f4 (9.Be3 b5 10.Qd2 (10.a3 Bd7 11.f4 a5 12.a4 b4 13.Nb5 Ne8 14.Rb1 Na7 15.c4 bxc3 16.Nxa7 cxb2 17.e5 Qb6 18.Nb5 Bxb5 19.axb5) 10...b4 11.Nd1 a5 (11...Ne8 12.a3 a5 13.axb4 axb4 14.d4 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Bd7 16.Nxc6 Bxc6 17.Re1 Nc7 18.Bh6 Bxh6 19.Qxh6 Ne6 20.Ne3 Nc5 21.Ng4; 11...e5 12.c3 a5 13.f4 exf4 14.gxf4 Bd7 15.Nf2 Ne8 16.d4 cxd4 17.cxd4 d5 18.e5 Nc7 19.Nd3 Ne7 20.Ng3 h5 21.Nc5) 12.Bh6 Nd4 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.f4 e5 15.Kh2 Nh5 16.f5 h6 17.Ne3 Nf6 18.a3 Bd7 19.axb4 Nxe2 20.Qxe2 axb4 21.Ra7 Ra8) 9...Nd7 10.g4 b5 11.Ng3 b4 12.Nce2 a5 13.f5 Qb6 14.Kh1 c4 15.Nf4 cxd3 16.cxd3 Ba6 17.g5 Qb5 18.Qg4 Nce5 19.Qh4 Bb7; 8...Ne8 9.Be3 Nd4 10.g4 (10.f4 f5 11.Rb1 a5 12.a4 Nc7 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Kh2 Rb8 15.Ng1 Bd7 16.Nf3 Bc6 17.Qd2 Qd7 18.Rbe1 Rbe8) 10...Bd7 11.Ng3 b5 12.Nd5 e6 13.Nf4 b4 14.Qd2 Rb8 15.Rab1 Nc7 16.c3 bxc3 17.bxc3 Ncb5 18.Rfc1 (18.cxd4 cxd4) 18...Nc6 19.Nfe2; 8...Nd4 9.Be3 (9.Nxd4 seems unintuitive 9...cxd4 10.Ne2 Nd7 11.f4 f5 12.Kh2 Kh8 13.exf5 gxf5 14.c3 dxc3 15.bxc3 Qa5 16.Be3 Nc5 17.Bd4 e5 18.Be3 Be6) 9...Ne8 10.Kh2 Bd7 11.Qd2 Rc8 12.Nd1 Bc6 13.Ng1 d5 14.c3 Ne6 15.exd5 Bxd5 16.f3 Nd6 17.Nf2 Nf5 18.Ng4 Qd6 19.Ne2; 8...Nd7 9.Rb1 Rb8 10.a3 a6 11.Bg5 b5 12.b4 Re8 13.Qd2 Nd4 14.Nxd4 cxd4 15.Ne2 Bb7 16.c3 dxc3 17.Nxc3 Nb6 18.Bh6; 8...a6 9.Be3 Be6 (9...e6 10.Qd2 Qc7 11.Bh6 Rb8 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.g4 b5 14.Ng3 Nd4 15.f4 Bb7 16.f5 d5 17.g5 Qxg3 18.gxf6+ Kxf6 19.fxe6+ Kxe6 20.exd5+ Kd7 21.Ne4 ... 2101 - 1934) 10.Nf4 Rc8 11.Nxe6? fxe6 12.Qd2 b5 13.Bh6 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 Nd4 15.Qd2 Nh5 16.Ne2 Nf3+ 17.Bxf3 Rxf3 18.Kg2 Qf8 19.Ng1 Rf6 20.f4 Qh6 21.Nf3 Rcf8 22.e5 Rf5 23.Kh2 dxe5 24.g4 Qxf4+ 25.Qxf4 Rxf4 26.gxh5 Rxf3 27.Rxf3 Rxf3 28.Kg2 Rf5 29.hxg6 hxg6 30.Rf1 Kg7 31.Rf3 g5 32.Kf2 Kg6 33.Ke3 Rf4 34.a3 Kh5 35.Rxf4 exf4+ 36.Kf3 Kh4 37.b4 cxb4 38.axb4 Kxh3 39.c4 g4+ 0–1; Edward Davies - P. Hurn; 2007; 8...Be6 9.f4 Qc8 10.g4 Ne8 11.f5 Bd7 12.Ng3 Qc7 13.Bf4 e5 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.Be3 Nf6 16.Bg5 h6 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Bxh6 Re8 19.Be3 Bg5 20.Qd2 Bxe3+ 21.Qxe3 g5 22.f6 Nd4 23.Qxg5+ 1–0; Edward Davies - Chris G...; 2008] 9.Be3 [9.g4 e5 10.Ng3 Ne8 11.Be3 Nc7 12.f4 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5 14.Qd2 Ne6 15.Be3 Bc6 16.Nd5 b5 17.Rf2 b4 18.Raf1 Nd7 19.g5 Bxb2 20.Nf6+ Kh8 21.h4 Be5 22.Nf5 Nxf6 23.Nh6 Ng8 24.Nxf7+ Rxf7 25.Rxf7 Be8 26.R7f3 Qa5 27.Bh3 Qxa2 28.Qg2 d5 29.h5 gxh5 30.Rf6 Ng7 31.Rf8 0–1 Oberst 2284 - Reich 2378; 9.f4 Rb8 10.g4 b5 11.Ng3 Ne8 12.f5 Nc7 13.g5 Nd4 14.h4 b4 15.Nce2 Ncb5 16.h5 Nxe2+ 17.Nxe2 Nd4 18.Ng3 Qe8 19.Be3 Nc6 20.Rb1 Rb6 21.Qg4 Ra6 22.Qh4 Rxa2 23.f6 Bh8 24.Bh3 Ne5 25.Rf4 b3 26.cxb3 Nxd3 27.hxg6 fxg6 28.Bxd7 Qf7 29.fxe7 1–0 Melekhina 2099 - Coleman 2201] 9...Rb8 [9...a6 10.Qd2 Re8 11.Rae1 b5 12.f4 b4 13.Nd1 Rc8 14.f5 Ne5 15.g4 Bc6 16.Ng3 a5 17.g5 Nfd7 18.c3 Bb7 19.Nf2 Ba6 20.h4 Rb8 21.h5 a4 22.c4 Qc7 23.Qe2 b3 24.a3 Rbd8 25.Nh3 Nc6 26.Nf4 Nd4 27.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 28.Kh1 Ne5 29.Nd5 Qa7 30.hxg6 hxg6 31.f6 Kh7 32.Bf3 Nxf3 33.Qxf3 exf6 34.gxf6 Bc8 35.Nf5 Bxf5 36.exf5 Rh8 37.Kg2 Qb7 38.Rh1+ Kg8 39.Ne7+ 1–0 Buxade 2202 - Ercan 2075; 9...Ne8 10.Qd2 Nd4 11.f4 Bc6 12.Rae1 Nc7 13.Bxd4 cxd4 14.Nd5 Rc8 15.f5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Na6 17.fxg6 hxg6 18.h4 Qc7 19.Rc1 Qb6 20.h5 Qxb2 21.Bh3 gxh5 22.Bxc8 Rxc8 23.Qg5 Qxa2 24.Nf4 f6 25.Qg6 Nc7 26.Rce1 Kf8 27.Rxe7 1–0 Abasov 2194 - Gasparian 2204; 9...Qc8 10.Kh2 h6 11.Qd2 Kh7 12.f4 e6 13.g4 Ng8 14.Ng3 Nd4 15.Nd1 Ba4 16.c3 Nc2 17.Rc1 Nxe3 18.Nxe3 Rb8 19.f5 Qd7 20.h4 Bc6 21.g5 f6 22.fxg6+ Kxg6 23.h5+ Kh7 24.g6+ Kh8 25.Rf2 Qe7 26.Rh1?? f5 27.exf5? Qh4+ 28.Kg1 Qxg3 29.Rh3 Qg5 30.Kh1 exf5 31.Bxc6 bxc6 32.Rg2 Qe7 33.Nc4 Qe6 34.Re3 Qd7 35.Rge2 f4 36.Rf3 Qg4 37.Rff2 Qxh5+ 38.Rh2 Qd5+ 39.Kg1 Rbe8 40.Rxe8 Rxe8 41.Qxf4 draw (luckily for white); Edward Davies - Simon Roberts] 10.Qd2 b5 11.Bh6 (draw Insua 2213 - Baena 2110). Without intending to sound preachy, the game was just getting started. 11...a5 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.f4 b4 14.Nd1 Nd4 15.Ne3 Nxe2+ 16.Qxe2 e6 17.g4 Ne8 18.g5 f6 19.h4 Qc7 20.h5 Bc6 21.Bf3 Rd8 22.Qh2 fxg5 23.fxg5 d5 24.e5 d4 25.Bxc6 Rxf1+ 26.Rxf1 Qxc6 27.Ng4 gxh5 28.Qxh5 1–0

2007/8 Chess Season

2008-03-12T07:54:00.001-07:00

Quite good start to the season, but in the process of messing it up around the end and probably not going to hit 130 average any more. Last two games lost and drew in won positions.

5th October 2007 win vs Andy Mills 118
23rd October 2007 draw vs Jamie Wilson 137
31st October 2007 draw vs Bob Treloar 99
2nd November 2007 loss vs Chris Sidle u
3rd November 2007 win vs Trevor Dickerson 99
3rd November 2007 loss vs Peter Williams 144
3rd November 2007 win vs Ian Matthew 129
4th November 2007 win vs Joe Coburn 139
4th November 2007 draw vs David Deacon 119
7th November 2007 draw vs Simon Roberts 106
8th November 2007 draw vs Dominik Tunks 173
14th November 2007 draw vs B. Smith 93
29th November 2007 loss vs Bill Partridge 139
19th December 2007 win vs Dave Black 133
16th January 2008 draw vs Richard McMaster 158
23rd January 2008 win vs Paul Eyles 96
9th February 2008 draw vs C. Reeves 111
13th February 2008 win vs Darren Radford 113
15th February 2008 win vs Didier Dominguez u
16th February 2008 loss vs P. Hurn 138
16th February 2008 loss vs Bill Partridge 139
16th February 2008 win vs Paul Smith 130
17th February 2008 draw vs S. Gonem 135
17th February 2008 loss vs Anandajeyarajah 116
22nd February 2008 win vs P. Groth u
1st March 2008 win vs Chris G. 96
8th March 2008 loss vs Warren Legg 125
11th March 2008 draw vs J. Kalber u
8th April 2008 draw vs David Deacon 119
9th April 2008 win vs Barrie James 83
....win vs Brian Cochran 90
....win vs Pascal Fallas 113 (Played in June so I think this counts as 2008/9 season).

GAME 020 vs Dominik Tunks , January 2007

2007-09-02T03:37:00.001-07:00

Dominik Tunks vs Edward Davies
Portsmouth vs Emsworth Rapid League

1.Nf3 d5 [1...Nf6 is less committal and a bit more common.] 2.b3 semi off-beat, though still a commonly played system. Tony Miles was the loyalest Grandmaster to this line, with 5 games in the Fritz database, in the 4 games against 2500+ rated opposition he never lost (+1, =3). Other noteworthy games: David Norwood beat Sofia Polgar with white, Korchnoi gave it a try in 2003, Radjabov beat Beliavsky with it in 2002, and Smyslov used it in 1973. Conquest played this in 1998, though this is no surprise given Conquest's reputation for playing just about every opening under the sun. Sokolov beat Blatny against it in 1997 with black, and Ivanov beat Bezgodov against it in 1997 with black. [2.d4; 2.g3; 2.c4] 2...Nf6 [equally popular: 2...Bg4 ; and: 2...c5 ] 3.Bb2 Bf5 [3...Bg4 4.e3 e6 5.h3 (5.Be2 Nbd7 6.d3 Bd6 7.Nbd2 c6 8.Nh4 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 0–0 10.g3 Re8 11.0–0 Qa5 12.a3 Rad8 13.e4 e5 14.Kh1 Qa6 15.f3 Bf8 16.Rae1 g6 17.Qg2 Bg7 18.g4 Nf8 19.f4 exf4 20.Rxf4 Nxe4 21.Bxg7 Nxd2 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Qxd2 Ne6 24.Bf6 Nxf4 25.Qxf4 c5 26.Nf3 d4 27.Kg1 Qe6 28.Ne5 h6 29.h4 Kh7 30.Kf2 b5 31.Kg3 a5 32.g5 h5 33.Qf3 Kg8 34.Qc6 Qxc6 35.Nxc6 Ra8 36.Kf4 Ra6 37.Nb8 Re6 38.Be5 a4 39.bxa4 bxa4 40.Nd7 Rc6 41.Nf6+ 0–1, Blatny - Sokolov, 1997. I assume either white lost on time here, or Fritz has the wrong result, as white is winning.) 5...Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Be7 7.g3 c5 8.Bg2 Nc6 9.0–0 0–0 10.d3 Nd7 11.Qe2 Bf6 12.c4 Bxb2 13.Qxb2 Nf6 14.cxd5 exd5 15.Nd2 Rc8 16.Nf3 Qb6 17.Rfd1 Rfd8 18.Rac1 Rc7 19.d4 c4 20.Ne5 cxb3 21.Qxb3 Qxb3 22.axb3 Rdc8 23.Nd3 Ne7 24.Rxc7 Rxc7 25.Ra1 b6 26.b4 Ne4 27.Nf4 g5 28.Nxd5 Nxd5 29.Bxe4 Nxb4 30.d5 Rd7 31.Rd1 Rd6 32.Bg2 f5 33.g4 fxg4 34.e4 Nc6 35.Ra1 Ne5 36.Rxa7 gxh3 37.Bxh3 g4 38.Bg2 Rd7 39.Ra8+ Kf7 40.Bf1 Rc7 41.Bb5 Rc5 42.Be8+ Kf6 43.Kg2 Rc4 44.Rb8 Rxe4 45.Rxb6+ Kf5 46.Rh6 draw, Smyslov - Savon, 1973; 3...c5 4.e3 e6 5.d4 Bd6 6.Nbd2 0–0 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.a3 Qe7 9.c4 cxd4 10.exd4 b6 11.0–0 Bb7 12.Re1 Rfd8 13.h3 Rac8 14.Qe2 dxc4 15.bxc4 Qf8 16.Ng5 Re8 17.Nde4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 g6 19.Qh4 h6 20.Ne4 Be7 21.Nf6+ Bxf6 22.Qxf6 Qg7 23.Qxg7+ Kxg7 24.d5+ Kg8 25.dxc6 Bxc6 amazingly Beliavsky plays on instead of resigning to Radjabov 26.Rac1 Rcd8 27.Bf1 f5 28.Rcd1 Kf7 29.Be2 Be4 30.Rxd8 Rxd8 31.Rd1 Rxd1+ 32.Bxd1 Bc6 33.f3 Ke7 34.Be5 Kf7 35.Kf2 a6 36.Ke3 b5 37.Kd4 bxc4 38.Kxc4 Bb5+ 39.Kb4 Bf1 40.g3 Bxh3 41.Be2 Bg2 42.Ka5 g5 43.Kxa6 h5 44.a4 Kg6 45.a5 f4 46.gxf4 1–0, Radjabov vs Beliavsky, 2002, in this ridiculous case of disrepect to Radjabov; 3...c6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3 (5.Be2 Nbd7 6.d3 e6 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 Bd6 9.Nd2 Qe7 10.0–0 Ba3 11.Qc1 Bxb2 12.Qxb2 0–0 13.c4 Rfd8 14.Be2 h6 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Rc2 e5 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.Rfc1 Rxc2 19.Rxc2 Nb8 20.b4 a6 21.a3 Nc6 22.Nb3 d4 23.exd4 exd4 24.Bf1 h5 25.Nc5 Ne5 26.Re2 Qc7 27.Qd2 Ned7 28.Nxd7 Qxd7 29.g3 Qa4 30.Qc1 Re8 31.Rxe8+ Qxe8 32.Bg2 Qe2 33.Qc8+ Kh7 34.Qf5+ Kg8 35.Bxb7 h4 36.g4 Qb2 37.g5 Nh5 38.Kg2 g6 39.Qe5 1–0, Miles - Godena, 1999) 5...Bxf3 6.Qxf3 Nbd7 7.d4 e6 8.Nd2 Qa5 9.Bd3 Bb4 10.Qe2 0–0 11.a3 Bc3 12.b4 Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Qc7 14.c4 Nb6 15.Rc1 Nxc4 16.Bxc4 dxc4 17.Rxc4 a5 18.0–0 axb4 19.Rxb4 Nd5 20.Rb3 f5 21.Re1 Rf6 22.Bc3 Rg6 23.Qb2 b5 24.Bb4 Qd8 25.Qe2 Nxb4 26.Rxb4 Rxa3 27.Rb2 Qd5 28.f4 Rc3 29.Rc2 Rxc2 30.Qxc2 b4 31.Kh2 b3 32.Qb2 Qe4 33.g3 Qd3 34.Qe2 Qc3 35.Rd1 Rf6 36.Qd3 Qb2+ 37.Rd2 Qc1 38.Rd1 b2 39.g4 Rf8 40.Qb3 b1Q 41.Qxb1 Qxe3 42.Qd3 Qxf4+ 43.Qg3 fxg4 44.hxg4 Qxg3+ 45.Kxg3 Rd8 46.Re1 Kf7 47.Re4 Rd5 48.Rf4+ Ke7 49.Kf3 e5 0–1, Taimanov - Tunik, 1995; 3...e6 4.e3 Be7 (4...c5 5.c4 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 Bd6 8.0–0 0–0 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.d3 a5 11.Qc2 Ba6 12.Re1 Re8 13.Nbd2 Rb8 14.e4 Bxd3! So starts a tactical sequence leaving a queen for 3 minor pieces imbalance. 15.Qxd3 dxe4 16.Bxf6 Bxh2+ 17.Nxh2 Qxd3 18.Bg5 h6 19.Be3 a4 20.Nhf1 axb3 21.axb3 Ra8 22.Rac1 Re5 23.Bf4 Rf5 24.Rxe4 Ra2 25.Be3 white has to hope his pieces coordinate in the small space available; admittedly it is easy for me to say this knowing the result of the game 25...Rc2 26.Rxc2 Qxc2 27.Rc4 Qd3 28.Bxc5 Re5 29.Be3 Qd7 30.Nf3 Rd5 31.N1d2 f5 32.Ra4 c5 33.Rc4 Qd6 34.Bf4 Qe6 35.Rc1 g5 36.Be3 Qd6 37.Re1 g4 38.Nc4 Qf6 39.Nfd2 f4 40.Ne4 Qf5 41.Bc1 Rd4 42.Ncd2 Qe6 43.Kf1 f3 44.Re3 Qa6+ 45.Kg1 Qe2 46.Kh2 Qd1 47.Rc3 Rxe4 48.Nxe4 Qf1 49.Kg3 fxg2 50.Kf4 g1Q 0–1, Bezgodov - Ivanov, 1997. An awesome game.; 4...Bd6 5.c4 0–0 6.d4 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Be2 Nc6 10.0–0 Bb6 11.Na3 Ne4 12.Nb5 Re8 13.Nbd4 Qd6 14.Rc1 Bg4 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.Bg4 c5 18.Bxd7 Qxd7 19.Ne2 Rad8 20.Qd3 Qf5 21.Rcd1 Bc7 22.f3 Qh5 23.Nf4 Bxf4 24.exf4 Nf6 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Qb5 Rc8 27.b4 Qf5 28.bxc5 Rb8 29.Qd3 Qxd3 30.Rxd3 Rb2 31.Kh1 Ree2 32.Rg1 Rec2 33.Rxd5 Rxa2 34.h4 Kg7 35.Kh2 Ra5 36.Kh3 Raxc5 37.Rd8 R2c4 38.Ra1 a5 39.Kg3 a4 40.Ra8 Rf5 41.R1xa4 Rfxf4 42.R4a7 Rxh4 43.Re8 Ra4 44.Rb7 draw, Kortschnoi - Sadvakasov, 2003) 5.d4 Ne4 (5...0–0 6.Nbd2 (6.Bd3 b6 7.0–0 Bb7 8.Nbd2 Nbd7 9.Ne5 Ne4 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.c4 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 dxc4 13.Bxc4 c5 14.Qe2 Qc6 15.Qg4 Bf6 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 17.Rac1 Qe8 18.Bf1 draw, Miles - Nogueiras, 2001) 6...b6 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.0–0 c5 9.Ne5 Nc6 10.a3 cxd4 11.exd4 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Ne4 13.Qe2 draw, Miles - Luther, 2000) 6.Bd3 f5 7.Ne5 0–0 8.f3 Bb4+ 9.Ke2 Nd7 10.Nxd7 draw, Miles - Slobodjan, 1999] 4.e3 [4.g3 e6 5.d3 Be7 6.Nbd2 0–0 7.Nh4 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.g4 Nfd7 10.Ng2 Bg6 11.e3 e5 12.Qf3 c6 13.h4 h6 14.Qg3 Re8 15.Be2 Bb4 16.a3 Bxd2+ 17.Kxd2 c5 18.f4 exf4 19.Nxf4 Nf8 20.g5 hxg5 21.hxg5 d4 22.exd4 cxd4 23.Qh2 Bh7 24.g6 fxg6 25.Bf3 Re5 26.Bxb7 Nc6 27.Bxc6 Rc8 28.Qg2 g5 29.Bd5+ 1–0, David Norwood - Sofia Polgar, 1995] 4...e6 5.Ne5 Be7 According to Fritz, black is easily equal. 6.f4?! [F1: 6.Bb5+ Nbd7 7.0–0; 6.Bd3 Bxd3 7.Nxd3 c5] 6...Nbd7 7.Be2 [Again, Fritz prefers: 7.Bd3 ] 7...c6 This isn't bad, opening a path for the queen and keeping a good pawn structure, but it is hardly the most ambitious. [F1: 7...Nxe5 8.fxe5 Nd7 9.0–0 0–0] 8.0–0 [8.g4 is interesting 8...Be4 9.0–0 Nxe5 10.Bxe5 h6 11.d3 Bg6 12.Bd4 c5 13.Bb2 Qd7 14.Qd2] 8...h6 Anticipating g4. [8...Nxe5 9.Bxe5 Bd6 10.Bb2 Bg6] 9.d3 [9.Nf3 0–0] 9...Qc7 Preparing 0–0–0. 10.Nd2 [10.g4 Bh7 11.Nxd7 Nxd7 12.Bxg7 Rg8 looks quite good for black] 10...Nxe5 11.Bxe5 [11.fxe5 Nd7 12.Nf3 0–0 13.c4 dxc4 14.bxc4 Rad8] 11...Bd6?! inaccurate according to Fritz [11...Qb6 12.Bd4 Bc5 13.Nf3 Bxd4 14.Nxd4 Fritz seems to like trading pieces and simplifying. 14...0–0] 12.Bxf6? A bad positional blunder according to Fritz. [12.e4 Bg6 13.Bxd6 Qxd6 14.e5 Qc5+ 15.Rf2 Nd7 =; 12.Nf3 Bxe5 13.Nxe5 g5 14.d4 =] 12...gxf6 13.e4? Another positional blunder just as serious as the last according to Fritz. [13.Nf3 0–0–0 14.c4 Rhg8 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Nd4 Bh3 17.Bf3 Bc5 18.Kh1 Bxd4 19.exd4 Bf5 A typical line for Fritz, where black is a pawn up and may have some winning chances with considerable technique.] 13...Bh7 14.g3 [Fritz opts to try and get counterplay 14.c4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.dxe4 Bxf4 17.h3 Be3+ 18.Kh1 Qe5 black has great piece dominance in the centre.] 14...Bc5+ [F1: 14...0–0–0 15.Qc1 Bc5+ 16.Kh1 Be3 17.exd5 cxd5 18.c3 Kb8] 15.Kg2 [15.Kh1] 15...0–0–0 16.exd5 exd5?! The incorrect way to recapture. Black is still well over a pawn up in evaluation, but it is clear that forcing through the white kingside is not going to be as easy with this pawn structure as with the pawn structure after cd. I instinctively wanted to keep my c pawn as pawn cover for the king, but this was naive as the clump of pawns that could be utilised to rip open the white kingside easily outweigh this factor of pawn cover for the black king, and black's initiative against the enemy king is much greater than any initiative white has against the black king. Also the black king still looks quite well covered just by the a and b pawns in the resulting position after cd. As is often the case, the key moves in a game are those committal pawn moves quite deep into the middlegame which dictate the resulting strategy of the game. [16...cxd5! Black's king is still a long way from being in danger of enemy counterplay in the immediate future, and black has superb chances to tear open the centre with advantage.] 17.Nf3?! [17.Rb1 Bb4 18.a3 Bc3 19.b4] 17...Be3 I assume this felt positionally strong to me at the time, but it seems a bit planless. [17...Bb4 is a good idea, planning to blockade the queenside counterplay due to white's lack of dark square force. 18.Nd2 Rhe8 19.a3 Bc3 20.b4] 18.Nh4 [18.c3] 18...Rhg8 [18...d4 in hindsight it is not difficult to see how natural it is to play this move, cementing the intefering bishop on e3.] 19.Bg4+ Kb8 20.Qf3 [20.Bf5 Bg6 21.d4 c5 22.dxc5 Qxc5 23.Nxg6 fxg6 24.Be6 Rh8 25.Qd3 d4 things still looks very good for black, but white is having a good go at defending] 20...d4 I don't miss my opportunity to play d4 this time. 21.Bf5 Bg6 22.c4 [22.b4 Rde8 23.Kh1 Bd2 24.Be4 Bxe4 25.dxe4 Bxb4; 22.Nxg6 fxg6 23.Be6 Rge8 24.f5 gxf5 25.Bxf5 Qa5 26.Bg6 Qd2+ 27.Kh1 Re6] 22...Qa5 23.Bxg6?! [23.b4 Qxb4 24.Rab1 Qc5 25.Nxg6 fxg6 26.Be4 Rd6] 23...fxg6 24.Kh1 Rde8 [24...f5 was better, preparing g5 25.Rae1 Qd2 26.Qe2 Qc3 27.Qd1 Rd7 28.Ng2 Re8 29.Re2 Rde7 30.Qc2 Qb4 31.Qb2 h5] 25.Ng2 Re7?! A bit of a do-nothing kind of move, which doesn't really put my opponent under any pressure. Even though I didn't see the benefit of Qd2, something like f5 would still be better, making concrete action on the kingside. [25...f5 26.Rae1 Bd2 27.Re2 Bb4 28.Nh4 Qd8 29.Qf2 Rxe2 30.Qxe2 Re8 31.Qc2 Qd6 32.Nf3 Re3 33.Qd1 Bc3 34.Ne5 g5 35.Qh5 Qe6 36.Qf7 Qxf7 37.Nxf7 gxf4 38.Rxf4 Rxd3 39.Rxf5 Rd1+ 40.Kg2 Ra1 41.c5 b6 42.Rf6 bxc5 43.Rxc6 Rxa2+ black has a much superior endgame] 26.Qd1 [26.f5 g5 27.Qh5] 26...Qd2 Not bad, depending on what plan black has. [26...Qc3 27.a3 Rge8 28.b4 f5] 27.Re1 Qxd1?! Black still almost a pawn advantage according to Fritz, but the technical exercise is not trivial. [27...Qc3 28.Rc1 Qb4 29.Nxe3 dxe3 30.d4 Rd8 31.Qf3 Rxd4 32.Rxe3 black is still a bit better, but winning is another thing; 27...Qb4 this looks to be the best choice for black 28.Nxe3 Rxe3 29.Rxe3 dxe3 30.Qe2 Qc3 31.Rf1 Re8 32.Kg2; 27...Rgg7 28.Nxe3 dxe3 29.Re2 Qc3 black has all but lost his advantage] 28.Raxd1 Rge8 29.Re2 c5! This is definitely not the right move, basically gifting white the lever b4 and making no active play. [29...g5 this is much better, increasing options and tension on the kingside and prophilactically restricting the knight from h4 and g6] 30.Rde1 Kc7? This really is poor. g5 here would keep an advantage for black. Now the position is about equal, although black has to be careful and white may get a slight advantage. [30...g5 31.a3 b6 32.f5 Kc7] 31.Nxe3 Rxe3? I was aware that I would drop a pawn with dxe as well, so this wasn't so obviously to me as being a blunder, but it is. [31...dxe3 32.Kg2 b6 33.g4 (33.Kf3 Rd7 34.Rd1 (34.Rxe3 Rxd3! 35.g4) 34...Rd4 35.Rxe3 Red8) 33...f5 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Kf3 Rd8; Fritz points out that 31...Kc6 can be played first 32.Kg2 dxe3] 32.Rxe3 dxe3 At around this point my opponent was in severe time trouble, whereas I still had a good few minutes, and having a bad position, inevitably going a pawn down when the white king walks to f3, I made the sporting decision and offered my opponent a draw, which he gladly accepted, (and with a look of surprise, or almost perplexion, as though he was certain he was going to lose on time). I would rather not win a game in such a way, as I am confident enough in my abilities to win by playing good moves. Draw agreed.