Catching Up 4

Last instalment of my catching-up posts. Normal service will resume next year.

Carmarthen 1-3 Aberystwyth B Tanygroes, 5th December 2016

Paul Orton 0-1 Robert Wright

Richard Thomas 1-0 Anthony Geraghty

Robert Narayan-Taylor 0-1 Conor McEwan

Default 0-1 A.N.Other

[Event "DyfedLeague:Carmarthen-AberystwythB"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.12.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Wright, Robert"] [Black "Orton, P."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "1906"] [BlackElo "1588"] [Annotator "Rudy"] [PlyCount "35"] [SourceDate "2016.12.07"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 (2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O d6 6. h3 Nf6 7. Re1 e6 $6 8. e5 Nd7 9. exd6 Bxd6 10. Na3 $16 {R van Kemenade- Leah, Dyfed Closed, 2010, 1-0}) 2... Nc6 3. f4 e6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb5 a6 {a dubious move, losing a tempo as Wh is quite prepared todouble Bl's pawns anyway, as in the game cited above} (5... Nge7 {main, prepares a6}) (5... Nf6 6. e5 Nd7 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. d3 { has been played frequently}) (5... d4 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. Ne2 Nf6 8. d3 {and Bl has very weak c pawns, though also played}) 6. Bxc6+ bxc6 7. d3 g6 {a bit slow, leaving front c pawn at risk} (7... Nf6) (7... Be7) (7... Bd6) 8. Qe2 (8. O-O Bg7 9. Qe1 {main, Wh threatens a pawn sac on f5 to liberate the QB, & the Q often goes to h4}) 8... Bg7 9. O-O (9. e5 $16 {Cloud Engines} Nh6 10. Qf2 Bf8 11. h3 f6 12. g4 Nf7 13. Bd2 fxe5 14. fxe5 Qc7 15. O-O Bg7 16. Qxc5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. Rae1 Bxc3 (18... Bd4+ 19. Qxd4 Qg3+ $11 {Komodo10}) 19. Bf4 Qa7 20. Qxa7 Rxa7 21. bxc3 {Loewe-Deacon, m London 1851, 1/2-1/2}) 9... Ne7 10. Qf2 (10. Rb1 Qb6 11. Na4 Qb4 12. b3 $16 {Lee-Rupel, Washington State ch Seatlle 2014,1-0}) 10... d4 {fixes the pawn structure which favours Wh's Ns} (10... c4 $5 {Cloud Engines}) (10... Qa5 11. Bd2 d4 12. Ne2 Qc7 $16 {Hoyos-Bustamente, COL ch Universities Bogota 2015,1-0}) 11. Na4 $18 Qd6 (11... Qa5 12. b3 O-O 13. Ba3 {Hickl-Yousif, Thessaloniki ol 1988, Bl resigned, 1-0}) 12. e5 Qc7 13. Nxc5 Qb6 (13... O-O {Deep Fritz13 & Komodo10}) 14. Ne4 Nf5 $2 (14... O-O {both}) 15. g4 (15. b3 {even stronger} Bb7 (15... h5 16. Ba3 $18 {Komodo10}) 16. Ba3 $18 { Deep Fritz13}) 15... Ne3 16. Nd6+ Ke7 (16... Kd7 17. Bxe3 dxe3 18. Qe2 $18 { both Engines}) 17. Nxd4 Nxg4 $2 (17... c5 18. Bxe3 cxd4 19. Bxd4 Qc6 20. Bc5 Kd7 21. Nxf7 $18 {both Engines}) 18. N4f5+ 1-0 [Event "DyfedLeague:Carmarthen-AberystwythB"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.12.05"] [Round "?"] [White "Thomas, Richard"] [Black "Geraghty, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "1568"] [BlackElo "1567"] [Annotator "Rudy"] [PlyCount "147"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [SourceDate "2016.12.07"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e3 c6 4. c4 (4. Bd3 {main}) 4... Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Qb3 ( 6. Nh4) (6. Bd3) 6... Qc7 (6... Qb6 {main}) 7. cxd5 (7. Bd2 {main, keeps options}) 7... exd5 8. Bd2 Bd6 (8... Nbd7) 9. Be2 (9. Rc1 a6 (9... Qe7) (9... Qb6 {main; all counter Nb5 threat})) 9... O-O (9... Nbd7 {6 games}) 10. Rc1 a6 11. h3 (11. O-O Nbd7 12. a3 Rae8 {Demac-Kvisla, NOR ch U20 , Bergen 2005,0-1}) 11... Nbd7 12. O-O Ne4 $2 {loses a key pawn} (12... Rfe8 13. a3 (13. Nh4 Be6 14. Qc2 Nf8 15. f4 Rad8 16. Nf5 Bxf5 17. Qxf5 Qd7 $11 {Thomi-Palte, Biel op (women) 1991,0-1}) (13. Rfd1 Nf8 14. Be1 Qe7 15. Nh4 Be6 16. Qc2 g6 $11 { Iron-Ephemera, ICS chessnet 1999,1-0}) 13... h6 14. Qa2 Nf8 15. b4 Qe7 $15 { Lenaerts-Stern, Limburg op Maastricht 2010, 1-0}) 13. Nxd5 $16 Qb8 14. Nc3 Ndf6 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Bb4 Bxb4 17. Qxb4 a5 18. Qe7 Re8 19. Qh4 Re6 20. Ne5 Rh6 21. Qe7 (21. Qf4 Rf6 22. g4 Bg6 23. Qh2 $16 {Komodo10}) 21... Qf8 (21... Nd6 22. Bc4 Qf8 $16 {Komodo10; keeps B pawn protected}) 22. Qxf8+ (22. Qxb7 $18 { Komodo10} Rb8 23. Qc7 Rc8 (23... Rxb2 24. Rb1 Rb4 25. Bd3 $18) 24. Qxa5 Ra8 25. Qe1 Rxa2 26. Bc4 Rxb2 27. Nxf7 $18 {Komodo10}) 22... Rxf8 (22... Kxf8 {keeps the a pawn protected}) 23. Bd3 $18 Nd6 24. Bxf5 Nxf5 25. Rc5 {threatens Nxc6 as well as the a pawn} Ne7 26. Rxa5 f6 27. Ng4 (27. Nd7 Rd8 28. Nb6 Nd5 29. Nxd5 cxd5 30. Rb5 Rd7 31. Rc1 $18 {2 pawns up & Bl's R on h6 is misplaced}) 27... Rg6 28. f4 {creates a weakness on e3} (28. Nh2 Nd5 29. Nf3 {puts the N on a better square}) 28... f5 29. Ne5 Rd6 30. Ra7 (30. g4 {Komodo10}) 30... Rb8 31. Rc1 Nd5 32. Kf2 g6 33. a3 Nf6 34. Nc4 Re6 35. Na5 Re7 $2 {loses another pawn} (35... Ne4+ 36. Ke2 Nd6 37. Rc5 $18) 36. Nxc6 Rc7 37. Nxb8 Rxc1 38. Rxb7 {4 pawns up} Rc2+ 39. Kf1 Ne4 (39... Nd5 40. Rb3) 40. Na6 (40. Nd7) 40... Ng3+ 41. Kg1 Re2 42. Rb3 (42. Nc5 Rxe3 $2 43. Kf2) 42... h5 43. Nc5 $2 (43. h4 $18) 43... Kf7 (43... h4 $1 $11 {threatens mate} 44. Nd3 Rd2 45. Ne1 Rd1 46. Kf2 Ne4+ 47. Ke2 Rd2+ 48. Kf1 (48. Kf3 Rf2#) 48... Ng3+ 49. Kg1 Rd1 50. Kf2 Ne4+ { repetition}) 44. Nd3 Kg7 45. Rb7+ (45. h4) 45... Kf6 46. Rb3 h4 $11 47. Rc3 ( 47. a4 Rd2 48. e4 fxe4 49. Ne5 Kf5 50. Ng4 Kxf4 51. Ne3 Ne2+ 52. Kf1 Nxd4 53. Ra3 Rxb2 $11 {Komodo10}) 47... Rxe3 $2 (47... Rd2 48. Ne1 Rd1 49. Kf2 Ne4+ 50. Ke2 Rd2+ {draws as above}) 48. Kf2 Re7 (48... Re6 49. d5 Rd6 50. Rc6 $18) 49. Ne5 $2 (49. Rc6+ Kg7 50. Ne5 $18) 49... Ne4+ 50. Ke3 Nxc3 51. bxc3 Ra7 $11 52. Nc4 Ke6 53. Kd3 Rb7 (53... g5 $1 {Komodo10; the R must get the vulnerable pawns before Wh can organize his pawn advance} 54. Ne5 Rg7 55. Nf3 g4 56. hxg4 Rxg4 57. a4 Rxg2 58. Nxh4 Rg4 59. Nf3 Rxf4 60. Ke3 Re4+ 61. Kd3 Rg4 62. a5 Rg2 63. Kc4 Ra2 64. Kb5 f4 {Komodo10 claims =, but almost impossible for humans to assess or calculate. Wh must have good practical chances of a win; though that f pawn can be dangerous in the absence of Wh's K ( the price paid for keeping the a pawn alive)} 65. a6 Kd6 66. Ng5 (66. Kb6 Rb2+ 67. Ka5 (67. Ka7 Rb5 68. Ka8 Kc7 69. Ka7 Ra5 $19 {Komodo10}) 67... Kc7 $19) 66... Ra3 67. Ne4+ Kc7 68. d5 f3 69. d6+ Kd7 70. Kb6 Rb3+ 71. Kc5 Ra3 72. Kb6 Rb3+ $11 73. Kc5 (73. Ka5 Kc6 74. d7 Rb5+ 75. Ka4 Rd5 76. Nf6 Rxd7 77. Nxd7 f2 $19 {Komodo10})) (53... Rg7 54. Ne3 g5 $11 {Komodo10}) 54. a4 Rb1 (54... g5 $11) 55. a5 $14 Kd7 $2 { makes life easier for Wh, who now wipes out Bl's last remaining pawns} (55... Kd5 56. Ne3+ Kc6 57. Nc2 Kc7 58. a6 Kb6 59. Nb4 Rg1 60. c4 Rxg2 61. d5 $16 { Komodo10}) 56. Ne5+ Kc7 57. Nxg6 $18 Ra1 58. Nxh4 Rxa5 59. g4 $1 fxg4 60. hxg4 {now the R has no counterplay} Kd7 61. Ke4 (61. c4) 61... Ke6 62. g5 {there are lots of ways of advancing the pawns} Rb5 $14 63. f5+ Kf7 64. c4 Rb1 65. Nf3 Rb4 66. f6 Kg6 67. Kd5 Rb3 68. Ne5+ Kxg5 69. f7 Rb8 70. Nd7 Rd8 71. Ke6 Kg6 72. f8=Q Rxf8 73. Nxf8+ Kg7 74. Ke7 1-0 [Event "DyfedLeague:Carmarthen-AberystwythB"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.12.05"] [Round "?"] [White "McEwan, Conor"] [Black "Narayan-Taylor, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D91"] [WhiteElo "1300"] [BlackElo "1505"] [Annotator "Rudy"] [PlyCount "119"] [SourceDate "2016.12.07"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bg5 Bg7 4. c4 d5 (4... O-O) (4... d6 {more usual}) 5. e3 c6 {its a Schlechter-Gruenfeld, a cross between a Gruenfeld & a Slav} 6. Nc3 Qa5 (6... O-O) (6... Bg4 {alternatives}) 7. Bxf6 {the B runs from the Queen's gaze} Bxf6 8. Be2 (8. cxd5 {takes away any ideas of c5 by Bl} cxd5 9. Qb3 e6 { main}) 8... O-O 9. O-O Re8 {aiming to play e5} (9... dxc4 10. Bxc4 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 (11... Bc8 {2 games}) 12. Qxf3 Nd7 {7 games}) 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Qb3 e6 { causes a logjam on the Q side} (11... Rd8 12. Rac1 Nc6 13. Bb5 Be6 $11 { Khozhaya-Kurochka, RUS ch U18 girls, Dagomys 2004,0-1}) 12. Qb5 Qxb5 {lets the N in} (12... Qd8 $11) 13. Nxb5 Re7 14. Rac1 (14. Ne5 Nc6 15. f4 $14 {Komodo10}) 14... Nc6 15. Nd6 (15. g4 $5 {Komodo10;constricting Bl on both sides}) 15... a6 (15... Rd7 16. Nxc8 Rxc8 17. Rc3 Bd8 18. Rfc1 $11 {Komodo10}) 16. a4 (16. Ne5 Bd7 17. f4 Be8 18. a3 $14 (18. g4 $14 {Komodo10})) 16... Kf8 17. b4 Rd7 18. Nxc8 Rxc8 19. b5 Na7 $2 {loses a vital Q side pawn} (19... axb5 20. axb5 Ne7 21. g4 h6 $11 {Komodo10}) 20. bxa6 b6 (20... bxa6 21. Bxa6 {is safer as then Wh has an a pawn extra not quite so far advanced}) 21. Rxc8+ Nxc8 22. Rc1 Nd6 23. Rc6 $18 Nc4 24. Bxc4 dxc4 25. Rxc4 {the c pawn is possibly more dangerous, but Komodo10 deals with it by using the K} (25. Kf1 $1 c3 26. Ke2 c2 27. Kd2 Ra7 28. Rxb6 Rc7 29. Rb8+ Kg7 30. Kc1 Be7 31. Rb3 Bd6 32. Ne1 Rc4 (32... Ra7 33. Rb6 Bxh2 34. Kxc2 $18) 33. a7 Rxa4 34. Rb7 Ra2 35. Nxc2 $18 {Komodo10}) 25... Ra7 26. Rb4 (26. Kf1 Rxa6 27. Nd2 {saves time}) 26... Rxa6 27. Kf1 Be7 28. Rb3 {allowing the swap of pawns gives the Bl R more freedom of action} (28. Rc4 {cuts off the Bl K , while letting the Wh K advance}) 28... Rxa4 29. Ne5 { to use the f3 square for his K} (29. Rxb6 {simplest} Ra1+ 30. Ne1 Bd8 31. Rb8 Ke7 32. Rb7+ Kd6 33. Ke2 $16 {Komodo10}) 29... Ra1+ 30. Ke2 Bd6 31. Nd7+ (31. Rxb6 Ra2+ 32. Kf3 Bxe5 33. dxe5 Ra5 34. Kf4 Ra2 35. Kg3 g5 $14 {there are technical problems with the pawns all on the same side}) 31... Ke7 32. Nxb6 Ra2+ 33. Kf3 Bxh2 $11 34. Nc4 Bg1 $2 {hoping for a pawn, but the B is in grave danger here.} (34... Bc7 $11) 35. Rb2 $18 Ra4 (35... Rxb2 36. Nxb2 g5 37. g3 { and the B is trapped- though Komodo10 thinks this is the best Bl can do}) 36. Nb6 (36. Ne5 $1 f6 (36... Ra1 37. Rb7+ Kf8 38. g3 Kg8 39. Rxf7 $18 {Komodo10}) 37. Rb7+ Ke8 38. Ng4 f5 39. Nf6+ Kd8 40. Rb1 Bh2 41. g3 $18 {Komodo10}) 36... Ra1 37. g3 h5 (37... Rc1 38. Kg2 e5 39. dxe5 Ke6 40. Rb4 Kxe5 41. Nc4+ Kf6 42. Nd2 $18 {Komodo10}) 38. Nc4 (38. Kg2 $18) 38... h4 39. Kg2 hxg3 40. Kxg3 $18 f5 41. Kg2 g5 42. Nd2 (42. Rb7+ Kf6 43. Rh7 g4 44. Rh6+ Ke7 45. Rh1 Ra4 46. Ne5 { another way; Komodo10}) 42... g4 (42... f4 {cuts down on the number of pawns remaining}) 43. Rb1 (43. Nb1) (43. Nf1) 43... Ra2 44. Rd1 Bxf2 45. Kxf2 $16 Kf6 46. Kg3 (46. Ke2 Kg5 47. Rb1 $16 {Komodo10}) 46... Kg5 (46... Ra3 $1 $14 47. Kf4 (47. Kf2 f4 48. exf4 Kf5 49. Ke2 g3 50. Nc4 Rc3 51. Nd2 g2 52. Rg1 Rg3 53. Kf2 Rd3 54. Ke2 Rxd4 55. Rxg2 Rxf4 $11 {Nalimov tablebases}) 47... Rd3 48. Ne4+ fxe4 49. Rg1 Rd2 50. Rxg4 Rh2 51. Kxe4 $14 {a likely draw with pawns all in the centre}) 47. Nc4 Rc2 48. Ne5 Rc3 49. Re1 $2 (49. Nd3 $1 Ra3 50. Rd2 Rc3 51. Kf2 Kf6 52. Ke2 Ra3 53. Rb2 $18 {Komodo10}) (49. Rd3 Rc1 50. Ra3 $18 (50. Nd7 $18 {Komodo10})) 49... f4+ $11 50. Kf2 (50. Kg2 Rxe3 51. Rxe3 fxe3 52. Kg3 e2 53. Kf2 g3+ 54. Kxe2 Kf4 55. Kf1 Ke4 56. Nc6 Kd5 $11 {Komodo10}) 50... f3 $2 { like the B move to g1, this is perhaps a mistaken way to try & win, when there was a draw to be had} (50... Rc2+ $1 {Komodo10, saves the game} 51. Re2 (51. Kg1 f3 52. Rb1 Kh4 {and there is the threat of a mating net, hence} 53. Nxg4 ( 53. e4 Kg3 54. Nd3 Rd2 55. Ne5 Rg2+ 56. Kf1 Rh2 $19) (53. d5 exd5 54. Rb4 Rc1+ 55. Kf2 Rc2+ 56. Ke1 Rc1+ 57. Kd2 f2 58. Rxg4+ Kh5 59. Rf4 f1=Q 60. Rxf1 Rxf1 61. Kd3 $11) 53... Kxg4 54. Rb5 Re2 55. Re5 Kg3 56. Rg5+ $11 (56. Kf1 Rf2+ 57. Ke1 Ra2 58. Rg5+ $11 {Komodo10})) 51... fxe3+ 52. Kxe3 Rxe2+ 53. Kxe2 Kf4 54. Kf2 Ke4 {and the last pawn goes}) 51. Rg1 (51. Kg3 {even clearer, though may well transpose}) 51... Rc2+ 52. Kg3 f2 (52... Kf5 53. Nxg4 Ke4 54. Rf1 Rg2+ 55. Kh3 Re2 56. Ra1 $18 {Komodo10}) 53. Rf1 Re2 54. Nxg4 {everything covered} e5 55. Rxf2 (55. dxe5 {simplest} Ra2 56. Rxf2 Ra4 57. Rf4) 55... Rxf2 56. Nxf2 exd4 57. e4 (57. exd4) 57... Kf6 58. Kf4 Ke6 59. Nd3 Kd6 60. Kf5 1-0