Back to bxa6

Aberystwyth faced our toughest test yet against Steynton A in the third round of the Welsh On-line League on Tuesday 13th October, outgraded on all boards by the strongest team in the U1800 section. In an unusual Dutch Defence with both players castled queenside, I walked into a strong attack as David Pinch threw forward the pawns in front of his king. He had only to play 21.bxa6 and my position would fall apart; instead he took extra time securing his own king's position and succumbed to my desperate counter-attack. Julie van Kemenade lost a pawn to a tactic against Martin C. Jones's Caro-Kann, but had reached a middle game where there was still plenty of play when he won the exchange, finishing the game soon after. Mark Paffard against James Cook was another win for the Caro-Kann; this time White could have won a piece in an exchange combination early on. Instead it was James, with his active piece play, who triumphed in the tactics. The longest game was on Board 4, another Dutch, where Tom Gunn held the advantage against Scott Hammett for most of the time, and continued to do so after giving up his queen for two rooks. In a complex struggle he missed several wins, including the beautiful 46.Rf1!, which I suspect very few club players would have found, and in the end had to settle for a draw. It was still a good result against a much higher graded player, and ensured that Aber won the match 2½-1½.

[Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.10.13"] [Round "?"] [White "David Pinch"] [Black "Matthew Francis"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteElo "1798"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "68"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] 1. d4 {David Pinch,1798} e6 {A40 Horwitz Defense; Matthew Francis, 1648} 2. Nf3 f5 $6 {(0.09 ? 0.74) Inaccuracy. d5 was best.} (2... d5 3. c4 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Bd6 6. Bxd6 Qxd6 7. Qc2) 3. Bg5 $6 {(0.74 ? -0.05) Inaccuracy. g3 was best.} (3. g3 {[main, but the text is an interesting option, played by Korchnoy amongt others-R]} Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. O-O Ne4 7. Qc2 Nc6) 3... Nf6 4. Nbd2 h6 $6 {(0.00 ? 0.85) Inaccuracy. Be7 was best.} (4... Be7 {[feels safer, & has elite GM supporters-R} 5. e3 O-O 6. c3 c5 7. Bd3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. O-O) 5. Bxf6 Qxf6 6. e4 {[71% for Wh- Bl's pawn structure looks cumbersome-R]} d6 (6... d5 {[looks worth a try to keep a closed position; 1-2-R]}) 7. Bd3 (7. exf5 exf5 8. Bc4 {[2-0; Stockfish12 now tries the very optimistic ...g5- but Bl is getting way behind in development-R}) 7... Be7 $2 { (0.00 ? 1.10) Mistake. g5 was best.} (7... g5 {[ I suppose so, but very risky-R]}) 8. e5 $6 {(1.10 ? 0.14) Inaccuracy. O-O was best.} (8. O-O Nc6 9. c3 O-O 10. Re1 Kh8 11. exf5 exf5 12. Nf1 Qf7 13. Qb3 Qxb3 14. axb3 Bd7) 8... Qf7 9. Qe2 Nc6 10. c3 Bd7 {[keeps options open; Stockfish12 seems onsessed with ... g5-R]} 11. O-O-O $6 {(0.36 ? -0.20) Inaccuracy. O-O was best.} (11. O-O { [Well I would go for Stockfish12's ..g5 now-R]} O-O 12. Rae1 g5 13. h3 Qg7 14. b4 g4 15. hxg4 fxg4 16. Nh2 h5 17. a4 Nd8) 11... O-O-O $11 (11... g5 $11 { [Stockfish12]}) 12. exd6 cxd6 13. Rhe1 Bf6 {[ this looked like an inaccuracy at the time, yet Stockfish12 second option, =-R]} (13... g5 $15 {(stockfish12]} ) (13... Rhe8 {[looks sensible-R]}) 14. Nc4 Be7 $2 {(0.01 ? 1.48) Mistake. Kc7 was best.} (14... Kc7 $11 {[Stockfish12]} 15. Bc2 g5 16. Kb1 Bc8 17. g3 Kb8 18. Ne3 Ne7 19. Nd2 Rhe8 20. Ba4 Bd7 21. Bxd7) 15. Qc2 $4 {(1.48 ? -0.31) Blunder. b4 was best.} (15. b4 {[given as winning by Stockfish12-R]}) 15... Kb8 (15... g5 $15 {[Stockfish12 is certainly consistent-R]}) 16. b4 $2 {(-0.21 ? -1.29) Mistake. Kb1 was best.} (16. Kb1 g5 17. Qe2 Rhf8 18. Nfd2 h5 19. f3 Rc8 20. g3 d5 21. Ne5 Nxe5 22. Qxe5+ Ka8) 16... Ka8 $4 {(-1.29 ? 1.94) Blunder. b5 was best.} (16... b5 $17 17. Na3 Nxb4 $15 {Stockfish12}) (16... Rc8 {considered by Rudy, looking at Q & K on same file (similar to b5 variation0 can lead to great complexities} 17. b5 Nd8 (17... Nb4 18. cxb4 Bxb5 19. Kb1 Bxc4 20. Bxc4 d5 21. Qa4 dxc4 22. Ne5 Qe8 23. Nd7+ Kc7 24. Qa5+ Kxd7 25. d5 e5 26. Rxe5 Qd8 27. Qb5+ Kc7 28. Rxe7+ Qxe7 29. d6+ Qxd6 30. Rxd6 Kxd6 31. Qxb7 $11 { Stockfish12-R}) 18. a4 Qf8 $15 (18... g5 $15 {both Stockfish12-R})) 17. b5 $18 Nb8 18. Qa4 a6 $2 {(2.01 ? 3.65) Mistake. Na6 was best.} (18... Na6 19. Qa5 Qe8 20. Kd2 Bxb5 (20... d5 21. Nce5 $18) 21. Rxe6 Bxc4 22. Bxc4 Qd7 23. Rde1 Bf6 24. Bxa6 bxa6 25. Qxa6 $18 {Stockfish 11 & !2}) 19. Nb6+ {Stockfish12} (19. Qa5 $18 {Stockfish12-R}) 19... Ka7 20. Nxd7 Rxd7 21. Kb2 $2 {(2.65 ? 1.24) Mistake. bxa6 was best. [Worried about a Bg5 ch, not a real problem, but Wh needs the b file-R]} (21. bxa6 b6 (21... Nxa6 22. Bxa6 bxa6 23. Qxd7+ {is check, so Bl has no time to insert a Bg5 ch}) 22. Bc4 Rc7 23. Bxe6 Qe8 24. Qxe8 Rxe8 25. Kb2 $18 {Stockfish12-The Bl structure is a positional mess-R}) (21. Bc4 {Stockfish12} Qg6 (21... d5 22. Ne5 Qe8 23. bxa6 $18) 22. bxa6 (22. Bxe6) (22. Rxe6) 22... b6 23. Rxe6 (23. Bxe6) 23... Qxg2 24. Bd5 Rc8 25. c4 Qxf2 26. Kb1 Rdc7 27. Rde1 Bf6 28. R6e2 {wins the Q-Stockfish12-R]}) (21. Kc2 {[should still be fine for Wh-R]}) 21... Bf6 22. Qb3 (22. Rb1 $18 {Stockfish12}) 22... Re7 (22... d5 $16 { best try- Stockfish12}) 23. Nd2 $6 {(1.37 ? 0.54) Inaccuracy. Re3 was best.} ( 23. Re3 g6 (23... Rc8 $16 {gives Bl survival chances-Stockfish12}) 24. Rb1 b6 25. bxa6 Nc6 26. Ka1 Rb8 27. Qa3 d5 28. Qd6 Na5 29. Bb5 Nc4) (23. bxa6 Nxa6 24. Rb1 e5 25. Bc4 Qe8 26. Bd5 Qb8 27. Kc2 $18 {Stockfish12-R}) 23... d5 24. Nf3 Rc8 $14 {Bl is over the worst} 25. c4 (25. Rb1) 25... Nd7 $11 (25... g5 $11 { Stockfish12- consistent}) 26. Kb1 $6 {(0.73 ? -0.14) Inaccuracy. cxd5 was best. [Stockfish12 has this as first option, content now with =-R]} (26. cxd5 exd5) 26... e5 $11 (26... g5 $11 {of couse, as well- Stockfish12}) 27. Bxf5 $4 { (-0.24 ? -2.15) Blunder. dxe5 was best.} (27. dxe5 Nxe5 28. Nxe5 Rxe5 29. Rxe5 Bxe5 30. cxd5 Qf6 31. b6+ Kb8 32. Rc1 Rxc1+ 33. Kxc1 Bd6 $11) 27... dxc4 $19 28. Qa3 $2 {(-2.03 ? -3.38) Mistake. Qa4 was best.} (28. Qa4 exd4 29. Rxe7 Qxe7 30. Re1 Nb6 31. Rxe7 Nxa4 32. Bxc8 Bxe7 33. Nxd4 Bf6 34. Nf5 axb5 $19) 28... c3 $4 {(-3.38 ? -0.12) Blunder. exd4 was best.} (28... exd4 $19 29. b6+) 29. Kc2 $4 {(-0.12 ? -1.86) Blunder. dxe5 was best.} (29. dxe5 Bxe5 30. g4 Rc5 31. b6+ Kxb6 32. Nxe5 Nxe5 33. Ka1 Nc6 34. Rb1+ Rb5 35. Qxc3 Rxb1+) (29. bxa6 {also draws- Stockfish12}) 29... exd4 $19 30. Bxd7 $4 {(-2.02 ? -6.44) Blunder. Qb3 was best.} (30. Qb3 Qe8) 30... Rxd7 31. Rd3 Qc4 32. Ne5 $6 {(-5.19 ? -8.10) Inaccuracy. Qb3 was best.[Stockfish12 disagrees, thinks the text best try- but Wh is lost anyway-R]} (32. Qb3 Qc5) 32... Bxe5 33. Rxe5 Rd5 34. Re7 Rxb5 { Time forfeit Black wins on time.} 0-1 [Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.10.13"] [Round "?"] [White "Julie van Kemenade"] [Black "Martin C. Jones"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteElo "1641"] [BlackElo "1725"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "90"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,90,62,9,128,68,27,-6,40,-5,5,-19,16,-18,-9,-19,-36,-20,0,-37,-29,-26, -10,-17,-17,-2,-2,4,-1,-3,-5,-32,-23,-28,56,16,16,-32,6,3,27,20,20,-3,-6,-78, -23,-124,-97,-72,-72,-87,-91,-126,-100,-110,-100,-146,-100,-96,-68,-70,-80,-81, -87,-109,-99,-99,-86,-138,-130,-163,-120,-145,-154,-394,-394,-407,-409,-409, -409,-409,-417,-1567,-2409,-2843,-29972,-29973,-29974,-29997,-29998,-29999, -30000]} 1. e4 {Julie Van Kemenade, 1641} c6 {Martin C Jones, 1725} 2. d3 { B10 Caro-Kann Defense: Breyer Variation} d5 3. Qe2 Nd7 (3... dxe4) (3... g6) ( 3... e6 {main lines; lichess comments have been kept; sceptical remarks are labelled -R]}) 4. g3 (4. Nf3) (4. f4 {have been played-R}) 4... e5 $6 {(-0.05 ? 0.75) Inaccuracy. dxe4 was best. [Top choice of Stockfish12-R]} (4... dxe4 5. dxe4 e5 6. Bg2 Ngf6 7. Nf3 Bc5 8. O-O O-O 9. c4 Re8 10. h3 a5 11. Rd1) 5. Nf3 $6 {(0.75 ? 0.00) Inaccuracy. exd5 was best.} (5. exd5) 5... Bd6 6. Bg2 Ngf6 7. O-O $6 {(0.00 ? -0.60) Inaccuracy. exd5 was best.[ too dogmatic -R]} (7. exd5 cxd5 8. c4 O-O 9. cxd5 Nc5 10. O-O Bf5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Qxe5 Bxd3 13. Rd1 Bc2) (7. Nh4 O-O 8. Nf5 Bb4+ 9. c3 Ba5 10. O-O Bb6 11. b4 Re8 12. Nd6 Re6 13. Nxc8 Rxc8 14. Nd2 $14 {Haub-Vesterli, Copenhagen Challenge Ballerup 2012,1-0}) 7... O-O 8. Re1 (8. Nbd2 {transposes to 51 games in database}) 8... Qc7 $2 {(-0.82 ? 0.36) Mistake. Re8 was best.[ looks OK-R]} (8... Re8) 9. c4 $2 {(0.36 ? -0. 81) Mistake. exd5 was best.} (9. exd5 cxd5 10. c4 d4 11. Na3 a6 12. Bg5 Re8 13. c5 Nxc5 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Rac1 Qd8 $11 {(Stockfish12-R]}) 9... dxc4 (9... d4 { [ may be best, but Wh then has a King's Indian reversed setup-R]}) 10. dxc4 Nb6 {[In the end this works out in Bl's favour- but the N feels offside here somehow-R]} 11. Nc3 (11. Be3 $5 {-R}) 11... Be6 12. b3 Rad8 13. Bb2 h6 14. a3 { [This weakens the b3 square and is best avoided. In fact this turns out to be the major flaw in Wh's Q side structure in what follows-R]} (14. h3 $11 { [Stockfish12-wise precaution-R]}) 14... a5 $1 15. Qe3 $2 {(-0.16 ? -1.30) Mistake. Nd1 was best.} (15. Nd1 Nbd7) 15... Ng4 16. Qe2 Qe7 $2 {(-1.20 ? 0.00) Mistake. Bc5 was best.} (16... Bc5 {[agreed, looks like winning for Bl-R]} 17. Nd1 a4 18. b4 Bxc4 19. Qc2 Bd4 20. Bxd4 exd4 21. Nb2 Bb3 22. Qc5 d3 23. Qc3) 17. h3 Nf6 18. Nh4 Bc5 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. exf5 Rfe8 21. Ne4 Bd4 (21... Nxe4 $1 22. Qxe4 (22. Bxe4 Qg5 $19 {threats to g3 & d2-Stockfish12}) 22... Rd2 23. Re2 Rxb2 24. Rxb2 Bd4 25. Rba2 Bxa1 26. Rxa1 Nd7 $15 {Stockfish12- The Bl N is better than the B-R]}) 22. g4 $2 {(0.00 ? -1.34) Mistake. Nxf6+ was best.} (22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. Rad1 Bxb2 24. Rxd8 Qxd8 25. Qxb2 Nd7 26. Re3 Qb6 27. Qc3 Qc7 28. Qe1 Qb6 $11) 22... a4 $6 {(-1.34 ? -0.48) Inaccuracy. Nxe4 was best.} (22... Nxe4 23. Bxe4 a4 24. Bxd4 Rxd4 25. b4 Qh4 26. c5 Nc4 {and Wh is struggling to cling on} 27. Kg2 Red8 28. Red1 Nd2 29. Bc2 h5 $19 {[Stockfish12-R]}) 23. Qc2 $2 {(-0.48 ? -2.01) Mistake. Nxf6+ was best.} (23. Nxf6+ gxf6 24. Bxd4 Rxd4 25. Rad1 Rxd1 26. Qxd1 Rd8 27. Qb1 Rd4 $19 {[Wh's Q side is collapsing-R]}) 23... axb3 24. Qxb3 Nxc4 25. Nxf6+ (25. Qxc4 Bxb2 26. Rab1 Bxa3 {[Wh has lost the Q side-R]}) 25... gxf6 (25... Qxf6 {[leaves b7 loose-R]}) 26. Bxd4 Rxd4 27. a4 Ra8 28. Qc3 Qd8 29. Reb1 Qc7 $2 {(-2.17 ? -0.78) Mistake. Na5 was best.} (29... Na5) (29... Qd7 $19 {preferred by Stockfish12-R]}) 30. Rb4 Na5 (30... b5 $19 { Stockfish12-R]}) 31. Rab1 $6 {(-1.44 ? -2.28) Inaccuracy. Rxd4 was best.} (31. Rxd4 exd4 32. Qxd4 Nb3 33. Qxf6 Nxa1 34. Qxh6 f6 35. Qxf6 {Wh nearly has a perpetuual} Qg7 36. Qd6 Rf8 $1 (36... Rxa4 37. f6 $11) 37. Qd3 {[and, amazingly, though Bl is a R up, Stockfish12 considers this a level position- Wh has dangerous pawns, a lurking B & the Bl N is miles away-R]}) 31... Rad8 $19 {Bl controls the centre & Wh is unable to break through to b7-R]} 32. Qc2 Rxb4 (32... c5) 33. Rxb4 Qd6 $6 {(-2.48 ? -1.84) Inaccuracy. Qe7 was best.} ( 33... Qe7) 34. Rb1 Kg7 35. Kf1 $6 {(-1.96 ? -3.20) Inaccuracy. Qc3 was best. [yes, but Wh is losing anyway-R]} (35. Qc3 Qd3) 35... Rd7 $6 {(-3.20 ? -2.36) Inaccuracy. Qa3 was best.} (35... Qa3) 36. Qc3 Qd4 37. Qxa5 $4 {(-2.39 ? -11. 50) Blunder. Qxd4 was best.} (37. Qxd4 Rxd4 38. Ra1 h5 {is scarcely appealing either-R]}) 37... Qd3+ 38. Kg1 Qxb1+ 39. Kh2 Qd1 40. Qb4 Qd2 41. Qb6 $2 { (-7.66 ? Mate in 11) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Qxd2 was best.} (41. Qxd2 Rxd2 {[and Wh can resign-R]}) 41... Qf4+ 42. Kg1 Rd1+ 43. Bf1 Qc4 44. a5 $6 { (-67.77 ? Mate in 2) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kh2 was best.} (44. Kh2 Qxf1 45. Kg3 Rd3+ 46. Qe3 Rxe3+ 47. fxe3 Qe2 48. e4 Qxe4 49. Kf2 Qxa4 50. Ke2 Qc2+) 44... Qxf1+ 45. Kh2 Qg1# {Normal Black wins by checkmate.} 0-1 [Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.10.13"] [Round "?"] [White "Mark Paffard"] [Black "James Cook"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B15"] [WhiteElo "1608"] [BlackElo "1476"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,52,39,19,59,49,69,32,32,36,28,35,31,40,40,-1,-7,3,18,-6,4,13,19,1,16, 4,7,-15,-9,-10,-6,-26,23,94,248,7,0,-115,-148,-148,-131,-253,-260,-260,-261, -253,-259,-498,-522,-511,-511,-533,-537,-1245,-1247] Mark Paffard 1608} 1. e4 c6 {James Cook, 1476} 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 {B15 Caro-Kann Defense: Tartakower Variation} 6. Nf3 (6. c3 {main} Bd6 7. Nf3 Qe7+ ( 7... O-O) 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nh4 Be4 13. f3 Bg6 14. Nxg6 hxg6 {Narayan-Taylor vs Cook, Dyfed League 2019,1-0}) (6. h3 Bf5 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 Bd6 9. Qe3+ Kd7 10. Qb3 Qe7+ 11. Ne2 Re8 12. Qxb7+ Bc7 13. Be3 {Llywelyn-Cook, Dyfed League 2012,1-0}) 6... Bd6 7. Be2 (7. Bd3) 7... O-O 8. O-O Re8 {still in elite GM territory} 9. Bd2 (9. Re1) (9. Be3 {main lines}) 9... Bf5 (9... Bg4 {0.5-3.5}) 10. Re1 Nd7 11. c4 Qc7 (11... Nf8 {Stockfish12; aiming for f4}) 12. h3 (12. g3) 12... Be4 13. Be3 Rad8 14. Bd3 Bb4 (14... f5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 15. Rf1 (15. Bxe4 Bxe1 16. Qc2 Ba5 17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Bd3 c5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 15... Nb6 {cuts off the B} (15... f5 $15) 16. c5 $18 Bxf3 17. Qxf3 (17. cxb6 {Stockfish12; a difficult move to see & calculate accurately } Qg3 18. Qxf3 Qxf3 19. gxf3 axb6 20. a4 {and Wh remains a piece up}) 17... Nd5 $11 18. a3 $2 {not looking at Bl's possibilities} (18. Rad1 {holds everything}) 18... Nxe3 19. fxe3 Bd2 $19 20. Qf5 (20. e4 Rxd4 $19 {is better than what follows}) 20... Bxe3+ 21. Kh1 g6 22. Qxf6 Bxd4 23. Qg5 (23. Qh4 Bxb2 24. Rad1 Rd7 $19) 23... Be3 24. Qf6 Rxd3 {the attacker has turned intobeing a target} 25. Rf3 Bd4 26. Qg5 (26. Qd6) 26... Rxf3 {Normal White resigns.} (26... Rxf3 27. gxf3 Re2) 0-1 [Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.10.13"] [Round "?"] [White "Tom Gunn"] [Black "Scott Hammett"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1590"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,117,61,42,52,77,63,63,57,31,38,28,28,12,7,-11,-6,-34,19,0,25,35,47,59, 71,3,105,105,108,108,127,127,127,127,127,132,135,101,70,87,121,73,115,38,38,29, 31,17,36,-2,40,36,36,19,41,38,43,33,458,516,516,537,545,397,397,248,269,61,46, 87,110,48,57,-12,78,112,112,-89,19,-163,-82,-56,-36,-35,-57,-80,71,170,128,243, 243,234,308,451,437,305,29989,664,29989,488,29981,1058,29985,29986,29987,29984, 29985,29303,29987,1137,29999,1078,1724,1724,29983,1155,2169,29982,29985,1181]} 1. d4 {Tom Gunn,1398} f5 {Scott Hammett, 1590 A80 Dutch Defense} 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 {Has been played at elite GM level} (3. g3 {main}) 3... e6 4. Bd3 {main, fighting for control over the e4 square, which Ben's Be2 doesn't immediately do in the note below.} (4. c4 Be7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O b6 7. Nc3 Bb7 8. b3 a6 9. Bb2 d6 10. Nd2 Nc6 11. Bf3 Rb8 12. d5 $16 {B Brewer-Hammett, Dyfed League 2018, 1-0}) 4... b6 5. Nbd2 Bb7 6. O-O Be7 7. c4 {Stockfish12} (7. Re1) (7. Qe2 { main lines}) 7... O-O 8. Qc2 Na6 {main, & scores 1-4; though in the game the N remains offside here} (8... c5 {main, challenges the centre}) 9. a3 d6 { Too slow. Worse even in that it undermines support for the e6 pawn, which in turn supports f5,With this pawn structure Bl is better having the N on d7 rather than a6. Stockfish12 pounces} (9... c5 {though is indicated- it prevents b4 & adds pressure to the centre. It succeeds in practical play 1-3 to Bl, though Stockfish12 awaits events with} 10. Re1 $14 (10. d5 Nc7 11. e4 $14 {also possible-Stockfish12; Wh will not be able to advance much further & the position will settle down to something like a Benoni blocked centre.} Nh5 12. g3 g6 13. Re1 Ng7 14. Rb1 b5 15. b3 fxe4 16. Bxe4 exd5 17. cxd5 d6 $11 { Stockfish12- with play for both sides})) 10. Re1 {even after this natural move by Wh, Stockfish12 has trouble finding moves for Bl that it doesn't assess as losing,} (10. e4 $18 {Stockfish12} fxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 Bxe4 13. Qxe4 Qd7 14. Re1 {and e6 falls without compensation}) (10. b4 $18 {may be even stronger-Stockfish12- the Wh pawn advances will create holes in Bl's structure} d5 (10... c5 11. bxc5 bxc5 12. d5 {destroys the centre} exd5 13. Bxf5 Nc7 14. Ng5 h6 15. Be6+ Nxe6 16. Nxe6 $18) 11. c5 c6 12. Nb3 Qc7 13. Ng5 Qc8 (13... Bc8 14. Nxe6 Bxe6 15. Bxa6 $18) 14. Bb2 h6 15. Nf3 Qe8 16. Qe2 Nb8 17. Rfc1 { and Wh will soon break through on the Q sidelong before there is any hope of K side counterplay by Bl}) 10... Qe8 (10... d5 {at least holds up e4 for the moment, though} 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. Ne5 Bf6 13. Ndf3 $18 {Stockfish12- the Wh pieces infiltrate the Q side, while both c7 & e6 are targets}) 11. b4 $18 { developing , but Wh can cause more immediate problems for Bl with} (11. e4 $1 $18 {Stockfish12; opens up lines against the Q, and, as in an earlier note, e6 drops off soon. Rudy was expecting this move, which is the whole basis of Wh's Colle type setup.}) 11... Qg6 $6 {this looks at Wh's K, but then there is a B looking at the Q.} (11... Qh5 {is better, but still} 12. e4 $18) 12. Bb2 (12. d5 $1 $18 {Rudy & Stockfish12, breaks up Bl's co-ordination} exd5 (12... Rae8 13. e4 fxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Qh5 16. dxe6 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 {and Wh is a clear pawn up with Bl's N in trouble}) 13. Bxf5 Qh5 14. Nf1 Ne4 15. Be6+ Kh8 16. cxd5 $18 Bxd5 $2 17. g4 $18 {Stockfish12}) 12... Bxf3 (12... Be4 { Stockfish12-is a better way to prevent Wh's e4, as it removes the terrible Wh B, though} 13. h3 Nb8 14. d5 e5 15. Bxe4 fxe4 16. Nh2 {is still in Wh's favour- There is no real threat against the Wh K, while Wh prepares to open the Q side with c5.}) 13. Nxf3 Ne4 14. c5 $18 Nb8 15. cxd6 (15. cxb6 {is more accurate, leading to a Q side invasion} cxb6 16. Qc7 Qe8 17. Rec1 Rf7 18. Qb7 Nd7 19. Bb5 Bf8 20. Rc7 Nef6 21. d5 $1 e5 22. Ng5 Re7 23. Bc6 $18 {and the Bl pieces are just sitting bunched in a puddle}) 15... Bxd6 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 c5 18. Bxe4 (18. f3 Ng5 19. Kh1 $18 {Stockfish12- the 2 Bs, especially the wh one are far superior to the Ns & Wh will son invade the wide open Q side.}) 18... fxe4 19. bxc5 bxc5 (19... Rc8 20. Qa4 bxc5 21. Rac1 {keeps the pawn, but what will Bl's N do?}) 20. Qxc5 (20. Qa4 $1 $18 {even stronger-Stockfish12}) 20... Qf5 21. Qc2 (21. Rf1 {is preferable as the Wh Q is very well placed where she is- the R may look passive, but is holding up a Q & R}) 21... Nd7 $16 22. Rac1 (22. Rf1) 22... Rac8 (22... Nc5 $11) 23. Qd2 Nc5 24. Rc3 Nd3 (24... Rcd8 25. Qe2 Nd3 26. Rf1 Qg6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 25. Rf1 (25. Rxc8 {relieves a bit of pressure}) 25... Rb8 (25... Rcd8) 26. Rc2 Rfd8 (26... Rf7 $11) (26... g5 $11 {both Stockfish12}) 27. Bd4 $16 {Wh's Q is now free to roam again} Nxe5 28. Qc3 Rdc8 $2 (28... Nd3 29. Bxa7 $16 {the a pawn is now a major player}) 29. Qxc8+ Rxc8 30. Rxc8+ $18 Kf7 31. Rc7+ (31. Rc5 {seen by Rudy-wins the N- there is no perpetual, & the 3 pieces plus a pawn win comfortably.} Nf3+ 32. gxf3 e5 (32... Qh3 33. Rc7+ (33. fxe4 $2 Qg4+ {and Bl escapes with a perpetual}) 33... Ke8 34. Rxg7 {covers the g file})) 31... Kg6 32. Rxa7 (32. h3 {Stockfish12- a cool move, prevents Qg4 & encourages the N to move away.} Kh6 33. Bxe5 (33. Rc5 {still works, but a little trickier now} Nf3+ 34. gxf3 Qxh3 35. Be5 exf3 36. Bf4+ Kg6 37. Rg5+ Kf6 38. e4 {prevents ...Qf5} Qh4 39. Be3 Qxe4 40. Re1 { and the 3 pieces will combine against the K-Stockfish12}) 33... Qxe5 34. Rxa7 Qc5 35. Ra6 Qc4 36. Rb6 {and the Rs willcome together and nurture the a pawn to its destination, while the Wh K structure remains intact}) 32... Qg5 33. Rb1 (33. Bxe5 Qxe5 34. a4 $18 {simplest; the text gives Bl more chances}) 33... Nf3+ $16 34. Kh1 Nxd4 35. exd4 Qd2 36. Rab7 (36. Ra6 Kf5 37. Kg1 $16) 36... Qxd4 (36... Qxf2 37. Ra1 Qxd4 38. Rbb1 {the Rs have been driven to passivity, and the Bl e4 pawn may just hold in many lines, Bl holds up the a pawn, harasses the rear R when they become seperated in search of activity, & concentrates on opening up the Wh K side} Qd2 39. a4 Qa5 40. Rb3 Kf6 41. Rf1+ Ke7 42. Rb7+ Ke8 43. Ra1 e3 44. Rbb1 e2 45. Re1 Qa6 46. Ra2 h5 47. h3 Qc4 48. Rexe2 Ke7 49. a5 g5 50. a6 Qc1+ 51. Kh2 Qc7+ 52. g3 h4 53. Rg2 hxg3+ 54. Rxg3 Qc4 55. Rga3 Qf4+ $11 {and the Wh K has been opened to a perpetual- Komodo14 Endgame}) 37. R7b4 (37. R7b2 $16) 37... Qxf2 38. a4 $16 e3 39. Rg1 $6 (39. Ra1) 39... e2 (39... Qa2 {Bl should get behind the pawn, with thanks}) 40. Rbb1 h5 41. a5 h4 42. h3 Kf5 (42... Qa7 43. Ra1 Qa6 $11 {Komodo14 Endgame}) 43. a6 $18 Kf4 44. Ra1 Qa7 45. Rge1 Kg3 (45... Ke3 46. Ra2 $18 {in this line of play the Q can no longer protect the advanced e pawn}) 46. Rxe2 (46. Rf1 $1 {the Engine finds the lovely tactic- endgames are not just about slow manouevres, but ashould be a rich source of tactical opportunities.Mate is threatened, so Bl loses the Q} exf1=Q+ 47. Rxf1 Qa8 48. Rf3+ Qxf3 49. gxf3 Kxh3 50. a7 Kg3 51. a8=Q) 46... Kf4 47. Rxe6 Kg3 48. Re7 {this is still winning- Bl cannot take the R, however} (48. Rf1 $1 {threatens mate in 2 different ways. The Bl K is in a awkward spot, but then trying for a mate was Bl's only chance of holding the game against the steady progression of the a pawn} Qf2 49. Rxf2 (49. Rg6+ { wins a Q, but getting a new Q wleads to a faster mate})) 48... Qd4 49. Rae1 ( 49. Rf1) 49... g5 50. a7 Qd5 51. R1e3+ Kf2 52. Re2+ (52. Rf3+ Qxf3 53. gxf3 { and it's over}) 52... Kg3 53. R7e3+ (53. Re8) 53... Kf4 54. Re4+ (54. Rf3+) 54... Kg3 (54... Kf5 55. Re5+ Qxe5 56. Rxe5+ Kxe5 57. a8=Q) 55. Re8 (55. Rg4#) 55... Qd1+ 56. Re1 Qd5 57. R1e2 (57. a8=Q {protects g2}) 57... Qd1+ 58. Re1 Qd5 59. R1e2 {Normal The game is a draw. Qd1 will repeat the position 3 times. Normally the player needs to claim, here the lichess engine does it.} 1/2-1/2

3/4 Time

Aberystwyth had another good result in the second round of the Welsh On-line League on Tuesday 29th September when we played De La Beche Rooks. On Board 1 my Stonewall Dutch position was soon invaded by Alan Fisher after I weakened it by exchanging dark-squared bishops. When White missed a mating attack I found myself, much to my surprise, still in the game, but I had used a lot of time and failed to save the draw in the rook ending that followed. James Cook went a pawn down playing the Alapin against Peter Smith's Sicilian, but Black got in a tangle that eventually caused him to drop a piece. The game became very unbalanced as James sought to hold back Black's advancing pawns with his knight, but eventually settled into a draw. Once again, Boards 3 and 4 came up with the goods for Aber. Tom Gunn was in some trouble with his Kan Sicilian against Vaughan Thomas, who had an extra pawn and a better development. But White played too passively, allowing Tom to win back the material and get the upper hand in the ending before eventually winning on time. Sam Holman had arrived at a level middle game position in a Ruy Lopez Steinitz against David Belochkin when his opponent started giving away pieces, after which the win was straightforward. A win to Aber by 2½-½. Our next match will be against the very strong Steynton A team on Tuesday 13th October.

[Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Alan Fisher"] [Black "Matthew Francis"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A90"] [WhiteElo "1571"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "163"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,163,19,-12,7,-22,21,32,38,38,82,79,54,70,79,90,52,56,40,17,58,43,47, 49,49,33,47,49,66,57,93,84,81,72,105,89,85,82,83,86,80,98,103,90,94,94,108,70, 90,58,85,93,93,98,90,105,119,129,216,223,231,275,269,269,309,281,376,171,176, 184,197,200,745,756,29995,32,32,0,0,0,0,0,0,-1,0,-14,0,0,0,0,0,-19,-35,0,0,0, 58,69,77,78,34,60,53,44,70,54,53,37,42,41,40,0,154,96,125,126,748,1015,1910, 527,527,29,119,114,126,131,131,114,106,108,119,119,113,119,119,119,119,119,119, 119,141,157,176,185,228,239,267,255,485,485,493,495,507,507,517,495,495,495, 527,527,537,537,537,547,547,547] Alan Fisher,1571} 1. c4 e6 {A13 English Opening: Agincourt Defense , Matthew Francis 1648 -R} 2. g3 f5 $6 {(0.05 ? 0. 95) Inaccuracy. d5 was best. [ I have left in the lichess rather odd comments about openings; my annotations are labelled -R. This one can safely be ignored. Matthew has not previously played the Stonewall Dutch, the Leningrad a couple of times. -R]} (2... d5 3. cxd5 exd5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. Nf3 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. a3) 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Nf3 d5 6. d4 (6. cxd5 {has been more popular, not that Wh has done very well with it-R}) 6... Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. cxd5 (8. Qc2) (8. b3) (8. Bf4 {main lines-R}) 8... exd5 9. Bg5 Qe8 10. e3 (10. Bxf6 {main, looks a logical follow-up; though eliminating Bl's e6 pawn helps Bl rather than Wh}) 10... Ne4 {25 % for Wh} (10... Nbd7 {21.4 % for Wh}) 11. Bf4 Bxf4 $6 {(0.48 ? 1.23) Inaccuracy. Be7 was best.} (11... Be7 {1 draw, 2 Bl wins; leaves the f4 B as a target with g5 to come-R} 12. h4 h6 13. a4 Nd7 14. Qc2 g5 15. Bc7 Bf6 16. a5 Qh5 17. Rfb1 Re8 18. Ne2) (11... Qe7 $14 {preferred by Komodo14 MC-R}) 12. exf4 Nd7 13. Re1 (13. Qb3 $14 {Komodo14 MC}) 13... Qf7 (13... Qd8 14. Qc2 Re8 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. fxe5 Nxc3 17. Qxc3 Be6 18. Qd2 $16 {Komodo14 MC}) 14. Rc1 Ndf6 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. a3 (16. Na4 {Komodo14 MC}) 16... Qa5 17. f3 Nxc3 18. Rxc3 Bd7 19. Rce3 {Wh has an entrenched N on e5, & a possibility of a minority Q side advance.Bl is solid, but has few attacking chances.-R} Be8 20. b4 Qd8 21. Qc2 g6 (21... Nd7 {Komodo14 MC wants to eliminate Wh's best piece-R}) 22. Nd3 b6 {This weakens the Q side. Perhaps Bl's best plan here is to try to get in Nd7-then b5, Nb6, & Nc4 with counterplay} 23. Bf1 $6 {(1.84 ? 1.20) Inaccuracy. Ne5 was best.} (23. Ne5 a5) 23... a5 24. Qb2 Rf7 (24... axb4 {is the logical consequence of the last move- seeking R activity-R} 25. axb4 Rf7 26. Ne5 Rc7 27. Rc1 Qd6 $14 {Komodo14 MC}) 25. Ne5 Rfa7 $6 {(1.65 ? 2.24) Inaccuracy. Rc7 was best.} (25... Rc7 26. bxa5 bxa5 27. Qc3 c5 28. dxc5 d4 29. Qc4+ Qd5 30. Qxd5+ Nxd5 31. Bc4 Rxc5 32. Rd3) 26. b5 {Komodo14 MC considers Wh now winning} cxb5 27. Bxb5 Bxb5 $6 {(2.16 ? 3.02) Inaccuracy. Rb8 was best. [Wh is winning in all lines- Komodo14 MC-R]} (27... Rb8 28. Rc3) 28. Qxb5 Rg7 29. Nc6 Qd6 $6 { (3.71 ? 5.29) Inaccuracy. Qf8 was best.} (29... Qf8 30. Qxb6) 30. Re6 Qf8 31. Ne7+ Kh8 32. Nxd5 Nxd5 $6 {(4.97 ? 6.98) Inaccuracy. Ng8 was best. [No real difference according to Komodo14 MC-R]} (32... Ng8 33. Nxb6) 33. Qxd5 $4 { (6.98 ? 2.54) Blunder. Re8 was best.[ Agreed Re8 gives bigger advantage, but Wh's move keeps the win in hand-R]} (33. Re8) 33... Rd8 34. Qb3 (34. Qe5 { Komodo14 MC}) 34... Rgd7 35. Qxb6 Qxa3 $4 {(2.79 ? 13.01) Blunder. a4 was best. } (35... a4 36. Qa5) 36. Re8+ Rxe8 $6 {(11.42 ? Mate in 3) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kg7 was best.} (36... Kg7 37. Rxd8 Rf7 38. Qe6 Qb4 39. Rd7 Qxe1+ 40. Qxe1 Rxd7 41. Qxa5 Kf7 42. Qc5 h5 43. d5) 37. Rxe8+ $4 {(Mate in 3 ? 0.00) Lost forced checkmate sequence. Qf6+ was best.} (37. Qf6+ Rg7 38. Rxe8+ Qf8 39. Rxf8#) 37... Kg7 38. Qe6 Qa1+ (38... Qd6 $11) (38... Rb7 $11 {both Komodo14 MC} ) 39. Kg2 Qxd4 $11 40. Qg8+ (40. Re7+ {Komodo14 MC} Rxe7 41. Qxe7+ Kh6 42. Qf8+ Qg7 43. Qa3 Qa7 44. Qf8+ Qg7 $11 (44... Kh5 45. h3 $18)) 40... Kh6 41. Qf8+ Qg7 42. Qa3 Rd2+ 43. Kh3 Qb2 44. Qf8+ Qg7 45. Qxg7+ Kxg7 46. Ra8 Ra2 $11 (46... Rd5 $11) (46... Kf7 $11) (46... Rd3 $11) (46... Kf6 $11) (46... h5 $11 {All Komodo14 MC}) 47. Ra7+ Kh6 $6 {(0.00 ? 0.72) Inaccuracy. Kg8 was best.} (47... Kg8 48. g4 fxg4+ 49. fxg4 h6 50. f5 g5 51. Ra6 Kg7 52. Kg3 Ra3+ 53. Kg2 Ra2+) 48. g4 fxg4+ 49. fxg4 g5 $11 (49... Ra3+ 50. Kh4 g5+ 51. fxg5+ Kg6 $11 { also, Komodo14 MC , seen by Rudy}) 50. f5 $4 {(1.70 ? 0.00) Blunder. Ra6+ was best. [Honestly, why a blunder, either way it's still a level position-R]} (50. Ra6+ Kg7 51. fxg5 Ra3+ 52. Kh4 Ra2 53. h3 Ra3 54. Ra8 Kf7 55. Rc8 Rd3 56. Rh8 Kg7 {assessed as = by Komodo14 MC}) 50... a4 $11 (50... Rc2 51. Rxa5 Rc3+ 52. Kg2 Rc2+ {holds comforably- Komodo14 MC/ perpetual or Wh loses pawns on the K side-R}) 51. Kg3 Ra3+ 52. Kf2 Ra2+ 53. Ke3 Rxh2 54. Rxa4 Rh3+ (54... Rb2 $11 { looks safest -R}) 55. Kd4 Rf3 (55... Rb3 {safer, -R}) 56. Ke5 Kg7 57. Ra7+ Kg8 $4 {(0.00 ? 154.14) Blunder. Kh6 was best. A losing move, so this is a blunder} (57... Kh6 $11 58. Kf6 Rb3 59. Rd7 Rb6+ 60. Ke5 Rb5+ 61. Kd6 Rb6+ 62. Kd5 Rb4 63. Ke6 Rxg4 64. f6 {Stockfish10 stops here} Re4+ 65. Kf7 Rf4 66. Ke6 Re4+ $11 {Komodo14 MC}) 58. Kf6 {mating net-R} h5 59. Kxg5 (59. Kg6 $1 {Komodo14 MC} Kf8 60. gxh5 (60. f6) 60... Rb3 61. h6 Rb6+ 62. f6 {Bl's g pawn is too slow}) 59... hxg4 $6 {(59.33 ? Mate in 27) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kf8 was best.} ( 59... Kf8 60. f6 h4 61. Kg6 {and Bl has to give up the R-R}) 60. Kxg4 $4 { (Mate in 27 ? 0.00) Lost forced checkmate sequence. Kg6 was best. [This is now a book draw as the Bl K, although on the back rank, is in front of the pawn-Nalimov tablebases will play this perfectly- R]} (60. Kg6 Kf8 61. f6 Ke8 62. f7+ Kf8 63. Ra8+ Ke7 64. Re8+ Kd6 65. f8=Q+ Rxf8 66. Rxf8 Ke5) 60... Rf1 ( 60... Rb3 {the simplest is that the R will cover the third rank(which prevents the Wh K from getting there), then when the pawn goes to f6, the R goes to the rear & keeps checking the K, which has no place to hide.-R}) 61. Kg5 Rg1+ 62. Kf6 {still a draw, but Bl needs to be more careful now-R} Rf1 63. Rg7+ Kf8 64. Rc7 Ke8 $4 {(0.11 ? 65.56) Blunder. Kg8 was best.} (64... Kg8 {Bl needs to go to the short side of the pawn, so that the Wh R has less space to operate in-R} 65. Rg7+ Kf8 66. Ra7 Kg8 67. Ra8+ Kh7 68. Re8 Rb1 69. Re2 Kg8 70. Re6 Rb2 71. Re8+) 65. Rc5 (65. Ra7 {is the simplest way to win, it forces the Bl K away from the pawn, so that Wh can then get the Lucena position (building a cover for the K after the pawn is forced to f7)-R}) 65... Rf2 (65... Ra1 {is worth a try, keeping behind the Wh pawn should be a dead end-R}) 66. Ke6 $4 {(65.10 ? 0.11) Blunder. Rc8+ was best.} (66. Rc8+) 66... Kf8 {and its = again-R} 67. Rc4 Re2+ 68. Kf6 Ke8 $4 {(0.57 ? 63.43) Blunder. Kg8 was best.} (68... Kg8 $11 { only move-R}) 69. Rc8+ Kd7 70. Rf8 {other R moves look better, as they don't occupy the square the pawn needs to get to, but Wh can afford the loss of time-R} Rf2 $4 {(3.48 ? 66.97) Blunder. Kd6 was best.} (70... Kd6 71. Rd8+ { [but Wh is still winning-R]}) 71. Kg7 Rg2+ 72. Kf7 Rf2 73. f6 Rg2 74. Ra8 (74. Rg8 {even better-R}) 74... Rg3 75. Kf8 Ke6 76. Ra6+ $4 {(66.33 ? 3.28) Blunder. f7 was best.[it really doesn't matter-R]} (76. f7) 76... Kd7 77. f7 Rg4 78. Ra3 Rf4 $6 {(12.78 ? Mate in 23) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Rg2 was best.} ( 78... Rg2 79. Rd3+) 79. Rd3+ (79. Rg3 {quickest, but there are several ways-R}) 79... Ke6 80. Ke8 Rxf7 81. Re3+ Kf6 82. Rf3+ {Normal Black resigns.} 1-0 [Event "Casual Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "James Cook"] [Black "Peter Smith"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "1476"] [BlackElo "1485"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,121,80,11,103,16,54,38,88,71,96,96,96,43,56,42,63,50,53,53,54,45,45, 69,74,74,74,74,79,62,62,64,114,0,0,-11,0,0,5,0,19,-64,-51,-51,-42,-43,-43,-40, -55,-113,-54,-90,0,0,23,20,20,20,20,16,20,22,61,13,13,19,22,25,44,50,146,147, 145,145,154,148,150,148,151,0,11,0,203,211,211,32,146,169,178,178,178,178,178, 178,178,179,179,177,174,91,232,227,227,227,226,24,31,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0, 0,0,0,0] James Cook} 1. e4 c5 {Peter Smith,1485} 2. c3 d6 (2... d5) (2... Nf6 { main lines}) 3. d4 cxd4 (3... Nf6 {main}) 4. cxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bc4 { an aggressive move} (6. Nf3 {main, more flexible & scores better for Wh}) 6... e6 (6... b5 7. Bb3 Bb7 8. f3 e6 9. d5 exd5 10. Nxd5 Nxd5 11. Bxd5 Bxd5 12. Qxd5 $16 {Cook-Finlay, Dyfed Closed 2011,1/2-1/2}) 7. Nf3 Be7 8. d5 (8. O-O O-O { with an edge for Wh, most frequent then is} 9. e5) (8. Bd3 {Komodo14 MC, takes aim at h7and avoids a Q swap after e5}) 8... e5 9. O-O O-O 10. h3 (10. a4 { 1 game each}) 10... b5 (10... Nbd7 11. Bg5 {2-0}) 11. Bd3 Nbd7 {the position bears resemblance to one reached via a Ruy Lopez} 12. b4 (12. Be3) 12... Bb7 ( 12... Nb6 {2-2}) 13. a4 $16 Qc7 14. Ra3 (14. Bd2 {Komodo14 MC}) 14... bxa4 15. Nxa4 Nb6 16. Qc2 {doesn't feel right, as the Bl Q could be a bit of a target where she is,} (16. Nxb6 Qxb6 17. Be3 Qc7 18. Qb3 h6 19. Nd2 $16 {Komodo14 MC, Wh has significant Q side pressure}) 16... Qxc2 17. Bxc2 Nxa4 (17... Nfd7 $11) 18. Rxa4 Rfc8 $11 {Bl has gained time to control the c file} 19. Bd3 Rc3 20. Ra3 (20. Rd1) 20... Rac8 21. Rxc3 Rxc3 22. Bb1 (22. Rd1 {appears to get compensation for the pawn loss} Rb3 23. Bc2 Rxb4 24. Ba3 Rc4 25. Rb1 Rxc2 26. Rxb7 Bf8 27. Rb8 Nd7 28. Ra8 Nb6 29. Rxa6 $11 {Komodo14 MC}) 22... Rc4 23. Nd2 (23. Re1 Rxb4 24. Bd2 Rb6 25. Be3 Rb2 26. Rc1 $11 {Komodo14 MC}) 23... Rxb4 24. f3 {shores up e4, but creates bad bl square weaknesses} (24. Bc2 $11) (24. Rd1 $11) 24... Ne8 (24... Nd7) 25. Bd3 Nc7 (25... Rd4 $15) 26. Ba3 (26. Nc4 $11) 26... Rd4 27. Rb1 Rxd3 28. Rxb7 Rxa3 29. Rxc7 $11 {and Wh has gained counterplay after the Bl pieces were on sightly the wrong squares} Bf8 30. Nc4 Ra2 (30... Ra1+ 31. Kh2 g6) 31. Nb6 g6 (31... f6 32. Ra7 $11 {Komodo14 MC}) 32. Rc8 Kg7 33. Re8 a5 (33... f6 {survives for Bl} 34. Nd7 Kf7 35. Rxf8+ Ke7 36. Rh8 Kxd7 37. Rxh7+ Ke8 38. Kh2 a5 {Komodo14 MC}) 34. Nd7 $16 a4 35. Rxf8 a3 36. Ra8 Ra1+ 37. Kh2 a2 {it's difficult finding a good square for the N} 38. Kg3 ( 38. g4 {Komodo14 MC, trying to force Bl into zugzwang} h6 39. Kg2 g5 40. Ra3 Kg6 41. Ra7 Kg7 42. Ra6 Rb1 43. Rxa2 Rb7 44. Nxe5 dxe5 45. Kg3 Rb3 46. Rd2 Kf8 47. Rh2 $16 {Wh retains good winning chances}) 38... h6 39. f4 $5 {a piece up, Wh needs to keep as many pawns on as possible} (39. h4) 39... exf4+ $11 40. Kh2 (40. Kh4 $5) (40. Kxf4 $2 Rf1+ {and promotes}) 40... Re1 (40... Rb1 $1 { Komodo14 MC} 41. Rxa2 Rb7 42. g3 fxg3+ 43. Kxg3 Rxd7 $17 {and Bl has good winning chances as the Wh pawns are split in addition to being one down}) 41. Rxa2 Rxe4 42. Rd2 (42. Ra6 $18 {frees the d pawn to advance}) 42... Re7 (42... Rb4 $1 43. Re2 Rb7 44. Re7 g5 $11 {the Wh pieces are tied down}) 43. Nb6 $18 { the N has escaped} Kf6 44. Nc4 Rd7 45. Re2 g5 46. Kg1 h5 47. Kf2 g4 (47... Kf5) 48. hxg4 (48. h4 $1 {keep as many pawns on as possible- Bl will be unable to attack h4, while Wh can easily target or threaten to target h5} Kf5 49. Re8) 48... hxg4 49. Nd2 (49. Re8 {is a better try, the text releases the Bl R from duty}) 49... Re7 (49... Ra7 $14 {Bl should swap pawns, but not pieces}) 50. Rxe7 Kxe7 51. Ne4 (51. Nc4 $18 {ties the Bl K to d6 while giving the Wh K a bit more space.}) 51... f5 52. Nc3 (52. Nd2 Kf7 53. Nc4 {is still the square- it prevents the Bl K from getting to e5.}) 52... Kf6 $11 53. g3 Ke5 54. gxf4+ Kxf4 55. Ne2+ (55. Nb5) 55... Ke4 56. Kg3 Kxd5 57. Kf4 Ke6 58. Ng3 (58. Nd4+) 58... d5 59. Nxf5 d4 60. Nxd4+ Kd5 61. Kxg4 {Normal} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Vaughan Thomas"] [Black "Tom Gunn"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B43"] [WhiteElo "1217"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "106"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,106,25,11,65,51,62,63,38,35,69,61,96,86,82,82,68,58,130,72,212,217, 218,215,288,181,386,347,454,369,493,186,184,191,191,114,128,78,94,70,117,70,79, -29,-4,-47,-35,-67,-73,-64,-67,-92,-89,-94,-77,-82,-74,-82,-75,-60,-55,-71,-50, -50,-39,-34,-39,-39,-23,-41,-15,-43,-28,-25,-18,-80,-78,-81,-78,-78,-65,-76, -68,-80,-9,-81,-88,-95,-124,-162,-151,-235,-290,-337,-337,-337,-361,-397,-421, -538,-634,-666,-707,-814,-838,-1151,-1293,-1334,-1374] 1217} 1. e4 {Vaughan Thomas, 1217} c5 {Tom Gunn} 2. Nf3 e6 (2... Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 { Reynolds-Gunn, Dyfed Closed 2019,0-1}) 3. d4 (3. c3 b6 4. Bc4 Bb7 5. d3 d5 { Greenwood-Gunn, Dyfed Closed 2019,0-1}) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 {B43 Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation} Qc7 6. Be2 (6. Bd3 {main}) 6... Bb4 (6... Nf6) (6... b5) (6... Nc6 {main lines}) 7. Qd3 {agrressive, but the Q can also get exposed here} (7. Bd2) (7. O-O) 7... Nf6 8. Bd2 (8. O-O) 8... b5 (8... Nc6 {main, most flexible; where else is the N going?}) 9. O-O Bb7 {a natural move after the last, but Bl needs to do something about the loose B on b4 (now the Wh K has moved).} (9... Bc5) (9... Be7) (9... Bxc3 {have all been played}) 10. Ncxb5 $18 axb5 11. Bxb4 Bxe4 (11... Bc6 $5 12. Nxc6 Nxc6 13. Bd6 $18 {Komodo14 MC, looks worse than the game with the Bl K stuck in the middle.}) 12. Qd2 (12. Nxb5 $18) 12... Nd5 13. Nxb5 {Wh is fully developed, Bl is not & struggling} Qb6 14. a3 (14. a4 Nxb4 15. Qxb4 {and Bl must lose more material}) 14... Nxb4 15. axb4 (15. Qxb4 $18 {prevents 0-0}) 15... O-O 16. Rxa8 (16. c4) 16... Bxa8 17. Na3 {puts the N on an inferior square} (17. c4 $18) ( 17. Qd6 $18) 17... d5 (17... Nc6) 18. Bf3 Rc8 19. Rc1 (19. c3 {at once avoids locking in the R. Rs should rather be used to attacking weak pawns rather than defending them.}) 19... Nd7 (19... Nc6 20. c3 Ne5) 20. c3 Ne5 21. Qe2 (21. Be2) 21... Nxf3+ 22. Qxf3 Qxb4 $11 {taking advantage of the passive R} 23. Rc2 Qb3 24. Qd3 {the Wh pieces are getting in each others way} Bc6 25. Qd2 Ra8 (25... e5 $5) 26. h3 Qb7 (26... h6 {a useful precaution}) 27. f3 Rb8 28. Qf2 (28. c4 { Wh needs a bit of activity}) 28... Ba4 29. Rd2 Bb3 30. Re2 (30. Qc5 $5) 30... Kf8 31. Rd2 (31. f4 $11 {holds up the Bl pawn mass & looks at the K}) 31... Ke8 32. Nc2 Bxc2 33. Rxc2 Kd7 34. Qe2 {Wh has been going passive after the activity of Nxb5} (34. Qg3 $11 {hoping for something on the K side}) 34... Qb5 35. Qd2 Ra8 36. Kh2 Qc4 37. Qd4 (37. Qg5 {looks better}) 37... Qxd4 38. cxd4 $15 Ra4 39. Rd2 {again the R has landed up defending a weak pawn} Kc6 40. Kg3 Kb5 41. Kf4 (41. Rc2 Rc4 42. Rd2 Kb4 {probably transposes}) 41... Kb4 42. Ke3 ( 42. Rc2 Kb3 43. Rc7 {with activity looks like Wh's last hope}) 42... Kb3 $17 43. f4 Ra2 {Wh has been outplayed} 44. g4 Rxb2 45. Rxb2+ (45. Rd1 {more of a fighting chance}) 45... Kxb2 $19 46. Kd2 Kb3 47. Kd3 Kb4 48. h4 g6 49. g5 Kb3 50. Kd2 Kc4 51. Ke3 Kc3 52. f5 exf5 53. Kf4 Kxd4 {Time forfeit Black wins on time.} 0-1 [Event "Rated Classical game"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.09.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Sam Holman"] [Black "David Belochkin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C84"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1000"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,59,19,38,25,7,30,29,68,22,37,9,13,-32,-17,-16,-13,-28,-22,-18,-18,-15, 13,30,74,44,137,65,64,64,144,66,68,58,41,35,41,27,44,34,89,-12,360,347,757,735, 1051,1063,1062,985,994,1018,1344,1001,1096,1254,1254,1068,1132,1178,29999, -30000]} 1. e4 {Sam Holman} e5 {David Belochkin,1000} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 { C62 Ruy Lopez: Steinitz Defense} 4. O-O Be7 5. c3 Nf6 6. d3 (6. Re1) (6. d4 { main lines-R, other comments are lichess analysis}) 6... Bd7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Re1 a6 9. Ba4 b5 10. Bb3 (10. Bc2 {main, a matter of choice-R}) 10... a5 (10... Na5 {main}) 11. a4 (11. Nf1 {played 3 times}) 11... bxa4 12. Bxa4 d5 $6 {(1.32 ? 2. 00) Inaccuracy. Qb8 was best.} (12... Qb8 13. Nc4) (12... Na7 13. Bb3 Nb5 14. Nf1 c6 15. Bg5 h6 16. Be3 c5 17. Qd2 Nc7 18. Ra2 {Ayman-Redondo Terron, Djerba Women Online, lichess 2020,1-0 -R}) 13. Nf1 $6 {(2.00 ? 1.18) Inaccuracy. exd5 was best.} (13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. Nxe5 {wins a key pawn-R}) 13... dxe4 14. dxe4 Nb8 $6 {(1.14 ? 1.96) Inaccuracy. h6 was best.} (14... h6 15. N1d2 $16) 15. Bxd7 $4 {(1.96 ? 0.34) Blunder. Nxe5 was best. [exaggeration, it's just that Wh can win a pawn instead-R]} (15. Nxe5 Bxa4 16. Qxa4 Qe8 17. Qc4 a4 18. Nf3 Qc6 19. Qe2 Bc5 20. e5 Re8 21. Ne3 Nd5) 15... Nbxd7 16. Ng3 Bc5 17. Bg5 Qe8 18. Nf5 Ng4 (18... h6 {Komodo14 MC}) 19. Re2 (19. N3d4 $5 { Komodo14 MC}) 19... Ndf6 $6 {(0.42 ? 1.14) Inaccuracy. Qe6 was best.} (19... Qe6 20. h3) 20. h3 $4 {(1.14 ? -1.12) Blunder. Bh4 was best.} (20. Bh4 Nh5 21. Ne1 Qc6 22. Nd3 Rfe8 23. Qd2 Nf4 24. Nxf4 exf4 25. Qxf4 Ne5 26. Bg3 f6) (20. Qd3 $14 {preferred by Komodo14 MC}) 20... Nxe4 $4 {(-1.12 ? 5.23) Blunder. Nxf2 was best.} (20... Nxf2 21. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 22. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 23. Kg1 $11 { Komodo14 MC}) 21. hxg4 $18 a4 $6 {(5.40 ? 11.04) Inaccuracy. Nxf2 was best. [Yes, it is better to get something for it rather than lose a N outright-R]} ( 21... Nxf2 22. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 23. Kxf2 f6 24. Bd2 g6 25. Nh6+ Kh8 26. Qb3 a4 27. Qc4 Rb8 28. Rb1) 22. Rxe4 Rd8 {Bl has lost control over the position-R} 23. Bxd8 Qxd8 24. Qxd8 Rxd8 25. Rxe5 Ra8 (25... Bd6 {[at least keeps the B, but Bl is too much material behind-R]}) 26. Rae1 (26. Rxc5) (26. Rxa4) 26... g6 (26... Bf8 $5) 27. Nh6+ Kg7 28. g5 Bd6 29. Re8 Ra5 $6 {(18.65 ? Mate in 1) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Rxe8 was best.[ It's dead-R]} (29... Rxe8 30. Rxe8) 30. Rg8# {Normal White wins by checkmate.} 1-0