The Old Firm

Even in the online format, matches between Aberystwyth and Cardigan have something of the feel of an Old Firm rivalry, and the match in the Dyfed Online League on Tuesday 23rd February was no exception. Top boards Rudy van Kemenade and Howard Williams have had many fierce fights over the years, so it was only to be expected that this latest meeting would be a complex struggle. In a sharp King's Indian, Rudy went a pawn down and had to seek piece activity in compensation. Eventually the only way out was to give up a piece with the aim of eliminating all White's pawns, and, with Howard short of time and having to defend against mate threats, this was enough to earn Rudy the draw. In contrast, Adam Watkin-Jones's game against Ben Brewer was over quickly, as he overlooked a threat to his h pawn in a Slav, and resigned in disgust, though there was still plenty of play left. Once again I had some positional problems with my Dutch Stonewall, this time against Gareth Williams. When he offered a piece for a couple of pawns and an unbalanced position, I should probably have taken it, but I hadn't seen very far into the sequence and passed it up, after which the game settled into equality. Tom Gunn's Greek gift sacrifice in his Colle System wasn't sound, but Joshua Brewer didn't find the best defence, and the White attack broke though for the win. The match was drawn, 2-2.

[Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.23"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Williams, A Howard"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E97"] [WhiteElo "2340"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Cardigan"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,108,19,31,14,30,45,39,20,40,37,44,33,41,42,39,73,35,1,18,4,-25,101,60, 56,62,62,61,80,76,108,52,55,41,45,5,24,24,24,10,91,126,204,204,197,217,208,208, 208,90,80,80,86,61,92,74,77,86,79,83,87,92,127,101,99,59,47,70,85,7,22,73,72, 76,40,64,17,27,52,28,5,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,41,49,109,126,194,197,190,132,112,91, 91,91,109,109,94,94,74,74,69,69,69]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 (5. Bg5 c5 6. e3 cxd4 7. exd4 d6 8. Be2 Nc6 9. d5 Nb4 10. O-O Na6 11. Nd4 Nc5 12. Be3 {Williams-Pleasants, Dyfed Open 2020, 1-0}) (5. Bg5 d6 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Nc6 8. d5 Ne5 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Be2 Nd7 11. e4 f5 12. f3 c5 13. d6 Bf6 14. Bf2 exd6 15. Qxd6 Qe7 {Williams-Van Kemenade,Dyfed League 2015,1-0}) 5... d6 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O (7. d5 Na6 8. O-O Qe8 9. Nd2 Nd7 10. Rb1 f5 11. b4 Nf6 12. c5 f4 13. Ba3 Rf7 14. Nc4 Bf8 15. Na5 g5 {Williams-Van Kemenade,Dyfed League 2008,1/ 2-1/2}) 7... Nc6 (7... exd4 8. Nxd4 Nc6 9. Nc2 Re8 10. f3 Be6 11. Bg5 { Williams-Davis,WCPL 2016,1-0}) 8. Be3 {Gligoric variation} (8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Nd3 f5 11. Bd2 fxe4 12. Nxe4 Nf6 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Bf3 Bf5 15. Qe2 c6 16. dxc6 Nxc6 17. Bc3 Qb6 18. Rad1 {Williams-Botterill, Wales 1980,1-0}) 8... Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bh4 h5 (10... g5 {main}) 11. d5 (11. h3 {main} Nh6 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Rb1 a5 14. Qxd8 Nxd8 15. Nd5 Ne6 16. Rfd1 Rf7 17. Rbc1 Nf4 18. Bf1 Be6 {Vickery-Van Kemenade, Leeds-Huddersfield 1988,0-1}) 11... Ne7 12. Nd2 (12. h3 Nh6 13. Nd2 f5 14. f3 f4 15. b4 Nf7 16. c5 g5 17. Bf2 Nh6 { Tolatito-Hearthstones9, Playchess.com 2013,0-1}) 12... Nh6 13. f3 g5 {main} ( 13... f5 $5 {1.5-2,5}) 14. Bf2 f5 (14... Ng6 {alternative, 2 Wh wins, 2 draws, 1 Bl win}) 15. exf5 {1 win each} (15. c5 {3 Wh wins, 1 draw,1 Bl win}) 15... Nhxf5 16. Nde4 Ng6 17. c5 Nd4 (17... Nf4 18. cxd6 cxd6 19. Rc1 a6 20. a4 (20. Re1 Nd4 21. Bf1 g4 22. fxg4 Bxg4 23. Qd2 Bh6 24. Kh1 Nf3 25. Qe3 Nxe1 26. Qxe1 Rc8 {Saigin-Kalinichenko, Spartakiad Leningrad 1967,0-1}) 20... Kh8 { Yakovlev-Kochurov,RUS ch tm U18, Orsk 2002,1-0}) (17... Nf4 18. Kh1 Nd4 { LC0 & Houdini3}) 18. cxd6 cxd6 19. Nb5 Nxe2+ (19... Nxb5 {is what Bl meant to play, but found himself taking the B} 20. Bxb5 Nf4 $11 {Stockfish13}) 20. Qxe2 a6 {Stockfish13 doesn.t like this move} (20... Nf4 21. Qd2 Rf7 22. Nbxd6 Rd7 23. Nxc8 Rxd5 24. Qc2 Rxc8 25. Qb3 Kh8 26. Qxb7 g4 $16 {Stockfish13}) 21. Nbxd6 $18 Nf4 22. Qd2 g4 {Bl just has to keep going keeping pieces active in hope of some compensation} 23. fxg4 (23. Nxc8 {is worth consideration to deprive Bl of the B pair}) 23... Bxg4 24. Nxb7 {not liked by lichess Stockfish} (24. h3 Nxh3+ (24... Bd7 25. Kh2 (25. Nxb7 Qe8 26. Bc5 Qg6 27. Bxf8 Rxf8 28. Nbc5 Bxh3 29. Rf3 Bg4 30. Raf1 $18 {Stockfish13})) 25. gxh3 Bxh3 26. Rfe1 $18 {Stockfish13}) 24... Qxd5 25. Qxd5+ Nxd5 26. h3 Bf5 (26... Rab8 27. Nbc5 Be2 28. Rfb1 Nf4 29. Nd7 Bd3 30. Re1 Rxb2 31. Nxf8 Bxf8 $16 {Stockfish13}) 27. Nbd6 Bg6 {the Ns are a bit clumsy protecting one another, yes, but they both need the same squares. Bl was hoping to get a N to d4, while keeping the two Bs} 28. Rad1 Nf4 (28... Nb4 29. a3 Nc2 30. Rc1 Nd4 {Stockfish13- is a quicker route there}) 29. Kh2 Rab8 (29... Ne6 {original idea, but the K on h2 gave Bl some ideas of getting to the 7th}) 30. b3 Rb4 {another Engine dislike} (30... Ne6 31. Be3 Nd4 $16 { still possible, but Wh retains the pawn advantage, Bl's g7 B is trying to get out, but for the moment it is the usual staunch defenfer of the K}) 31. Rfe1 ( 31. Nc5 $1 a5 32. Be3 $18 {Stockfish13}) 31... Ne6 32. Bc5 {looks forcing, but Bl now has 2 Bs, which threaten to become active} (32. Kg1 $16 {Stockfish13}) 32... Nxc5 33. Nxc5 Rf2 {going for practical chances- the hyper-correct Engines dislike it, and Wh's reply} (33... Rd4 {was looked at by Bl , not thought forcing, but it is the Engine preference} 34. Ne6 Rxd1 35. Rxd1 Rf2 36. Nxg7 Kxg7 37. a3 Rb2 38. b4 Rb3 39. Nc4 e4 $11 {Stockfish13- the Wh pieces are in defensive positions}) 34. Nd3 (34. Nc4 Rxa2 35. Rd8+ Kh7 36. Rd7 Kh6 37. Ne6 $16 {Stockfish13-keeps Wh's advantage}) 34... Bxd3 35. Rxd3 Rxa2 (35... Rd4 36. Ne4 Rxd3 37. Nxf2 Rd2 38. Ne4 Rxa2 $11 {Stockfish13- most accurate sequence}) 36. Nf5 (36. Rg3 {Stockfish13-best execution of Wh idea} Kf8 37. Nc4 $14) 36... Bf6 $11 (36... e4 $2 {trying to get that ch in, fails} 37. Rg3 Rb7 38. Rxe4 $18 ) 37. Rd6 Kf7 38. Rc1 Rf4 {Bl is holding on- the B a key protector, & still hoping to get e4 in} 39. Rc7+ Kg6 40. Ne7+ Kg5 41. Nd5 (41. Rd8 Bxe7 42. Rxe7 Rf5 $11 {Stockfish13}) 41... Rff2 42. h4+ (42. Rxf6 Rxf6 43. h4+ Kf5 44. Nxf6 Kxf6 45. Rh7 Kg6 $11) 42... Kxh4 {other moves lose, Bl just has to go for getting rid of all Wh's pawns (with the odd mating possibility for either side} (42... Kg6 43. Kh3 $18 (43. Rcc6 Rxg2+ 44. Kh1 Rh2+ 45. Kg1 Rhg2+ 46. Kf1 Rgf2+ 47. Ke1 Rfe2+ 48. Kd1 Red2+ 49. Kc1 Rg2 50. Rxf6+ Kg7 {and it seems Bl still has a draw!}) 43... Rab2 44. Rb7 Rbd2 45. Rbb6 $18 {Stockfish13- careful to the end}) 43. Rxf6 (43. Nxf6 Rxg2+ 44. Kh1 Rh2+ 45. Kg1 Rag2+ 46. Kf1 Rf2+ 47. Ke1 Re2+ 48. Kd1 {running too far into the middle will lose, as then both Rs have extra space at both ends} (48. Kf1 {draws}) 48... Ra2 49. Rc4+ e4 $1 ( 49... Kh3 {draws} 50. Rd3+ Kg2 51. Rc2+ Rxc2 52. Kxc2 Rh1 {and the h pawn saves Bl}) 50. Rxe4+ Kg5 51. Rc6 Ra1+ 52. Rc1 Rh1+ 53. Kd2 Raxc1) 43... Rxg2+ 44. Kh1 Rgd2 (44... Rh2+ 45. Kg1 Rag2+ 46. Kf1 Rb2 {simplest- Wh must return to g1 immediately or lose, according to Stockfish13}) 45. Ne3 Rd3 $6 (45... Ra1+ {is the most accurate way to equality- it was considered by Bl} 46. Nf1 ( 46. Rf1 Rxf1+ 47. Nxf1 Rd3 48. Rc6 (48. Rb7 {Bl thought this might be fine for Wh, but then the Wh R is out of action} Kg4 49. Kg2 h4) 48... Rxb3 49. Rxa6 $11 ) 46... Rb1 47. Rc3 Re2 48. Kg1 Kg4 49. Rxa6 {looks tricky, but Stockfish13 is content that this is a drawn position}) 46. Rc4+ Kg5 (46... Rd4 $5) 47. Rf5+ Kg6 48. Rxe5 $6 (48. Rc6+ $1 Kg7 49. Rxe5 {gives Wh the winning edge} Kf7 ( 49... Rxb3 50. Nf5+ {in the game Bl is able to avoid this} Kf8 51. Rf6+ Kg8 52. Re8+ Kh7 53. Rh6#) 50. Rc7+ Kf6 51. Rce7 Rd6 52. Re8 Kf7 53. R5e7+ Kf6 54. Re4 $16 {but this still looks far from over}) 48... Rxb3 $11 49. Rc6+ Kf7 50. Rf5+ Kg7 51. Rc7+ Kg6 52. Rc6+ Kg7 53. Rc7+ Kg6 54. Rc6+ Kg7 {Wh had 3 mins left to Bl's 27} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.23"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Brewer, Ben"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D12"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1679"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "20"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Cardigan"] {[%evp 0,20,80,29,30,20,30,13,36,35,47,-2,10,18,19,19,19,15,15,0,4,-83,-78]} 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Bf5 {new to both players} 3. c4 c6 {transposing to a Slav looks safest} (3... e6 {has been played at elite GM level, but Bl needs tactics if Wh then goes for b7 with the Q} 4. Nc3 (4. Qb3 Nc6) 4... Nf6 5. Qb3 Nc6) 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 (5. Qb3 Qb6 6. c5 {main, when Bl can swap Qs or go to c7}) 5... Nf6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 {2550 games} 8. Be2 (8. Bd2 {main}) (8. g3 Nbd7 9. Bg2 dxc4 10. Qe2 Nb6 11. O-O {81 games, 55% for Wh, with such as Shirov, Aronian & Kramnik et al}) (8. Bd3) 8... Nbd7 9. Qc2 Qc7 (9... Bd6 10. h3 (10. g3) (10. Bd2 {42 games})) 10. Bd2 (10. h3) (10. g3) 10... Rxh2 {having missed this Wh decided resignation was in order before worse things happened. However.} (10... Rxh2 11. Rxh2 (11. Rg1 $15 {Stockfish13}) (11. O-O $15 {Stockfish13-Wh is only half a pawn down}) 11... Qxh2 12. Bf1 Ng4 $19 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Qd3 a6 15. Qe2 (15. e4 $11 {Stockfish13}) 15... Ngf6 16. O-O-O Qh5 17. Qd3 Ng4 18. Qe2 Qf5 ( 18... Ngf6 $15) 19. f3 Ngf6 20. g4 Qg5 21. e4 $18 {BaljKhaev-Filippov, RUS ch U10 Serpukhov 2001,1-0}) 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.23"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Williams, R Gareth"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A90"] [WhiteElo "1643"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Cardigan"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,82,22,22,29,-14,44,23,68,74,75,45,54,55,59,54,68,-5,21,12,19,6,51,64, 73,80,65,64,64,65,75,68,83,63,71,50,42,50,75,52,71,68,96,28,31,4,5,9,27,24,14, 16,14,12,12,20,24,9,36,44,39,40,44,44,49,46,60,65,67,58,58,60,64,17,6,2,1,0,0, 0,0,0,0,-14,0]} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 c6 (3... Nf6 {main} 4. Bg2 d5 (4... c6 5. Nh3 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d6 8. e4 e5 {M Jones-Francis, Dyfed League previous rd, 2021,1-0}) 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nh3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 Qe8 { Pinch-Francis, Dyfed Closed,2021,0-1}) 4. Bg2 d5 5. Qc2 Bd6 6. Nh3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. cxd5 $6 $146 {this looks a premature exchange, as Bl is able to retake with the e pawn, getting the e file & a less obstructed B,} (8. Bf4 {main}) (8. Nd2 Nbd7 9. cxd5 cxd5 {now forced , 3 Wh wins, 2 draws, 2 Bl wins}) (8. b3) 8... exd5 9. Nd2 (9. Bf4) 9... Na6 {well, the N can find a good square on e6} ( 9... Re8 {looks simplest} 10. Nf3 Ne4 $11 (10... Nbd7 $11 11. Qxf5 Re4 12. Qg5 Rxe2 $15 {Stockfish13})) 10. a3 Qc7 $6 {obstructs the N, & falls in with Whs plan anyway} (10... Nc7 11. Nf3 Ne6 $11) 11. Nf3 $16 Qe7 12. Bf4 Bd7 (12... Ne4 $5 13. Bxd6 Nxd6 14. e3 Nb8 15. b4 Nd7 16. Nf4 Nf6 17. a4 $16 { Stockfish13-looks a logical sequence for both sides}) 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. Nf4 Nc7 15. Nd3 (15. Rfc1) 15... Ne6 16. e3 Rac8 {feels a little strange, the pawn structure suggests Bl needs to play on the K side} (16... g5) (16... Be8 { both look worth a try}) 17. Nfe5 (17. b4 {should be ok as well}) 17... c5 $2 { positionally it leaves the centre very vulnerable} 18. Nxd7 Nxd7 19. Nxc5 { but this way gives Bl a chance- Wh had seen this, but 'was desperate for imbalance to try and win'} (19. dxc5 {gets to game continuation safely}) 19... Ndxc5 (19... b6 {is possible} 20. b4 {is what Wh intended, gettings two pawn for the piece} (20. Nb7 {requires a careful look as well, Rudy wondered about this at the time} Qe7 21. Qb3 Nf6 22. Bxd5 Nxd5 23. Qxd5 Rc7 24. Nd6 Rd8 25. Nxf5 Rxd5 26. Nxe7+ Rxe7 27. Rac1 $15 {Wh has 3 pawns for the piece}) 20... bxc5 21. dxc5 {Bl has a choice- return the piece for 2 pawns; or, Rudy barricade the pawns & go for K side attack} Qc6 22. Rad1 {Rudy had been looking to play g5 quickly , but there is a lot of pressure on Bl's d5 pawn} Nc7 (22... Nf6 23. Qxf5 $11) 23. Qd3 Nf6 24. Qxf5 Kh8 $15 {Stockfish13-but it is difficult finding forcing moves for Bl In summary, it looks like the piece sac does give Wh chances , if taken up}) 20. dxc5 Nxc5 21. Qd1 $16 (21. Rfd1 $18 {Stockfish13- the Queen pawn is a fatal weakness} Ne4 22. Qb3 Rfd8 23. Qxb7 a5 24. Bxe4 fxe4 25. Rd2 Rc7 26. Qb3 Rc5 27. Rad1 h5 28. Qa4 h4 29. b4 Rcc8 30. Rxd5 Qxd5 31. Rxd5 Rxd5 32. Qb3 Rcd8 33. bxa5 (33. Kg2) 33... h3 34. Kf1 $18 { Stockfish13- humans would feel more comfortable with the K on g2}) 21... Ne4 22. f3 $2 {ends the B activity on the long diagonal and weakens K side} (22. Qb3 Rc7 23. Rad1 Rd8 24. Rd4 Qe6 25. Rfd1 Rcd7 26. h4 b6 27. Qc2 $16 { Stockfish13, Bl remains under pressure; though no clear breakthrough showing}) 22... Nf6 $11 23. Rc1 Kh8 (23... Qb6 24. Qd4 Qxd4 25. exd4 Rc4 $11 {Stockfish13 }) 24. Qd2 Qb6 25. Qd4 (25. Kf2 $5 $11) 25... Qxd4 26. exd4 $11 {if anything, the d4 pawn is now more vulnerable than the d5 one} Rfe8 27. Kf2 g6 28. Rfd1 b6 29. Bf1 Rxc1 30. Rxc1 Re7 31. Bb5 $14 Kg7 32. Rc2 g5 (32... f4 33. g4 (33. gxf4 Nh5) 33... g5 34. Bd3 $11 {Stockfish13}) 33. Bd3 f4 34. gxf4 gxf4 35. a4 Ne8 { nothing much now for either side} 36. a5 bxa5 37. Rc5 Rb7 38. Rxa5 (38. Rxd5 Rxb2+ 39. Ke1 (39. Kg1 Nf6 40. Rxa5 Rd2 41. Rxa7+ Kh6 42. Ra3 Nd5 43. Be4 Rxd4 $11) 39... Rxh2 40. Rxa5 h5 41. Rxa7+ Kf6 42. Rh7 {remains equal as well}) 38... Rxb2+ 39. Be2 Nf6 40. Rxa7+ Kg6 41. Ra4 h6 $11 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.23"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Brewer, Joshua"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1481"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Cardigan"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 Bd7 {an usual idea; Bl it seems is aiming for rapid Q side pawn advances. There have been a couple of games Gunn-Osinga , Dyfed Major 2020 1/2-1/2 & Dyfed League 2020, 0-1, where a similar Q side advance happened, though with Bd7 a liitle later in these games} (3... Bf5 {as played in elite GM games eg Giri, is a good alternative to the main}) (3... e6) (3... Bg4 {another possibility, among lesser Gms, with just Firouzja among the top}) 4. c4 (4. Bd3 {main, carry on the Colle}) 4... e6 5. Bd3 (5. Nc3 {50 games,66 % for Wh}) 5... c5 6. cxd5 (6. O-O {1 Wh win, 2 Bl wins}) 6... exd5 7. O-O $14 c4 8. Bc2 Bd6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Re1 (10. e4 $14 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 Qc8 ( 12... Nc6 13. Qc2 Nb4 14. Qxc4 {wins a pawn, though Stockfish13 thinks only slight Wh plus since Bl gets a lot of piece play- Normally this kind of pawn sac is done by Wh, But here it is Bl with the lead in development.}) 13. Qc2 f5 14. Bd5+ Be6 15. Bxe6+ Qxe6 16. d5 Qe4 17. Qxe4 fxe4 18. Nd2 e3 19. fxe3 Rxf1+ 20. Kxf1 Nd7 $11 {Wh is behind in development with pawn weaknesses}) 10... a6 ( 10... Nc6) 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Ra7 {Bl wants that Q side pawn advance, but, it never gets there} (13... Nc6 14. Qc2 h6 15. Qxc4 Rc8 16. Qd3 $16) 14. Bxh7+ $2 {But the excellent position goes to Wh's head} (14. Qc2 h6 15. Qxc4 $18 {just picks off Bl's pride & joy}) (14. Ne5 {is considered even stronger by Stockfish13} Bc6 (14... Bxe5 15. Qh5 (15. dxe5 Bc6 16. Be3 Ra8 17. Bf5 $18) 15... g6 16. Qxe5 Re8 17. Bg5 Rxe5 18. Bxd8 Rb5 19. d5 $18 {The Bl pieces are tangled up on the K side while Wh threatens a rapid K side invasion} ) 15. Nxc4) 14... Kxh7 15. Ng5+ Kg8 16. Qh5 Bf5 {only move, clearly missed by Wh, but Bl should now be winning.} 17. Re3 (17. Bd2 $5) 17... Bg6 18. Qh4 f6 ( 18... Re8 {removes Wh's threat because of the backrank}) 19. Rh3 (19. Ne6 Qa5 20. Nxf8 Bxf8 21. b3 Nc6 (21... cxb3 22. Qg3 Qh5 23. Ba3 Nd7 $19) 22. bxc4 Qa4 $19 {the 2 pieces are better than the R}) 19... fxg5 {forced but should be winning} 20. Bxg5 Be7 $2 {miscounting or hoping that b5 has been played already?} (20... Qd7) (20... Qe8 21. Qh8+ Kf7 22. Rf3+ Ke6 23. Re1+ (23. Re3+ Kd5 24. Rxe8 Rxh8 25. Rxh8 b5 {Stockfish13-Bl's 2 pieces and Q side majority are winning assets}) 23... Kd5 24. Rxe8 Rxe8 $19) (20... Qa5 {all look fine for Bl}) 21. Bxe7 $18 Qe8 22. Qh8+ Kf7 23. Bxf8 Qe4 24. Qxg7+ Ke6 25. Re3 (25. Qe7+ {Stockfish13- the engine has worked out the mate- humans happily settle for winning the Q & thinking later} Kf5 (25... Kd5 26. Qd6#) 26. Rf3+ Qxf3 27. Qe5+ Kg4 28. h3+ Qxh3 29. gxh3+ Kh4 30. Be7+ Kxh3 31. Qg3#) 25... Qxe3 26. fxe3 Bd3 27. Qe5+ (27. Rf1 {the Engine ignores material & goes for mate- a far cry from the obsessively materialistic Sinclair Specrum chess engine from some 40 years ago} Kd5 (27... Bxf1 28. e4 Nd7 29. d5# {very elegant}) 28. Qe5+ Kc6 29. Qd6+ Kb5 30. a4+ Kxa4 31. Qb4#) 27... Kd7 28. Qxb8 1-0

1. e4?

The Dyfed Online League resumed on Tuesday 16th February after its winter break, and Aberystwyth resumed its campaign with a draw against Steynton A. Adam Watkin-Jones. playing White against David Pinch, could heve been in trouble early on when he missed the fact that his queen was overloaded. Fortunately for him, Black missed it, too, and he won a pawn with a dominant game, where he could have made more of the weaknesses round his opponent's king, but chose to trade off into a won ending instead. My Dutch defence against Martin Jones landed me with a pawn weakness, and no sooner had I managed to neutralize White's pressure than I allowed a tactic that left him with two powerful bishops against my rook, after which he had all the play. Tom Gunn set a new record by making a mouseslip on the first move against Mark Paffard; 1.e4 is not normally considered a blunder, but it can be disconcerting when you had intended to open with a Colle System. Instead it was a Sicilian, and White went wrong early on, allowing a devastating double attack on his f and h pawns. Sam Holman's middlegame from his Modern defence against Robert Lovegrove was roughly even, with potential for both sides, when White overlooked an attack on a knight, and more material losses soon followed. The result was a 2-2 draw.

[Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.16"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Pinch, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A41"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1798"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Steynton A"] {[%evp 0,105,19,12,61,66,111,38,26,29,63,44,44,25,53,40,15,8,74,76,66,-310,67, 56,56,54,45,64,61,46,76,176,176,176,176,168,168,168,179,147,200,105,111,131, 134,129,139,137,176,152,271,102,103,105,105,98,100,90,99,94,90,105,101,97,102, 106,116,131,131,131,131,136,136,131,183,200,200,200,200,206,201,171,165,165, 200,101,96,97,142,145,162,153,157,160,160,168,295,262,341,374,371,481,1092, 1314,1362,1378,2190,29982]} 1. Nf3 {Colours were reversed in a previous encounter in 2018,0-1} d6 2. d4 (2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. O-O e5 5. e4 Ne7 6. d4 exd4 7. Nxd4 Nbc6 8. c3 O-O {Abraham-Pinch, WCU online U1800,2020,1-0}) 2... g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 e6 {going for a Hippo} (4... Nf6 {main line King's Indian}) 5. O-O Ne7 6. b3 $146 (6. c4 $14 {main}) 6... c5 $11 {FatFritz2} 7. Bb2 O-O (7... Nbc6 8. Qd2 Nf5 9. c3 cxd4 10. cxd4 d5 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. Nc3 O-O 13. e3 $11 {FF2} ) 8. Qc1 (8. c4 $16 {FF2- gains extra space & the Q can go to d2, a more active square}) 8... Nbc6 9. dxc5 dxc5 10. Rd1 $2 {This should lose because of the overload on the Q (White nearly resigned on the spot)} (10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. Qb2+ f6 12. c4 $16 {FF2}) 10... Qc7 (10... Bxb2 $1 $19 11. Rxd8 Bxc1 12. Rxf8+ Kxf8) 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. c4 b6 (12... Bd7 {is safer}) 13. Nc3 a6 14. Qb2 Kg8 $2 (14... f6 {needs to be played, when FatFritz2 continues with} 15. g4 h6 16. h4 e5 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. cxd5 Nd4 19. Nh2 Qd6 20. a4 (20. e3 Nb5 21. a4 Nc7 22. g5 $16 {Bl has a shaky structure on both sides of the board}) 20... h5 21. e3 hxg4 22. exd4 cxd4 23. Rac1 Bd7 24. f3 gxf3 25. Nxf3 $16 {FF2}) 15. Ne4 $18 e5 16. Nf6+ Kg7 17. Nd5 (17. Nxe5 {wastes Wh's advantage} Qxe5 18. Qxe5 Nxe5 19. Bxa8 Kxf6 $11) 17... Nxd5 18. cxd5 Nd4 19. Nxd4 (19. d6 $1 {is much stronger-Stockfish12 & FatFritz2} Qb8 20. Nxe5 f6 21. Rxd4 $1 {Engine dynamism- the N is Bl's best piece ( though humans would rather like their own N as weell)} (21. Nc4 Bb7 22. e4 {is more human touch}) 21... cxd4 22. Qxd4 fxe5 23. Qxe5+ Rf6 24. Bxa8 Qxa8 25. Qe8 Qd5 {it seems that Bl must return the piece} (25... Rf8 26. d7 Bb7 27. Qe7+ Kg8 28. Rc1 Qd8 29. Qd6 {and Bl is tied down, but it takes quite a bit of seeing ahead & judgement} a5 30. Rc7 Ba6 31. Qe6+ Kg7 32. Ra7 Bb5 33. Qe5+ {picks off the B} (33. h4)) (25... Bb7 26. d7 Rf8 27. Qe7+ Kg8 28. Rc1 {transposes}) 26. Qxc8 Qxd6 27. Rc1 {and Wh is 2 clear pawns up, with a safer K}) 19... exd4 20. e3 (20. d6 {still Engine recommended} Qb8 21. e3 Ra7 22. exd4 Kg8 (22... c4 23. bxc4 Qxd6 {doesn't look too good for Bl either}) 23. dxc5 bxc5 24. Qe5 Bg4 25. Rd2 Qb4 26. Qe3 {FF2- Bl has split Q side pawns & the pawn is more powerful on d6}) 20... Qd6 21. exd4 cxd4 22. Rxd4 Kg8 23. Qd2 (23. h4 $1 {FF2 & Rudy- a useful move to have in- it gives the K safety from backrank threats & also threatens to advance further}) 23... Ra7 24. Rc1 Re7 (24... Bd7 {needs to be played here}) 25. Re4 (25. Rc6 $1 { Stockfish12 & FatFritz2, while having h4 in already, there is no real way in for Bl on the backrank} Qe5 26. d6 Qe1+ 27. Bf1 Qxd2 (27... Bh3 28. Rc1 { and Bl loses material( but it takes a clear head to check this out}) 28. Rxd2 Ra7 (28... Rb7 29. Bxa6) 29. Rxb6 {and Bl has little to play for}) 25... Rxe4 26. Bxe4 Bb7 (26... Bd7 {as a reserve blockader, keeps the B a bit more active- it can be quite difficult to convert an extra pawn that is central, because an outside one can be sacrificed to lure pieces offside}) 27. Qd4 (27. h4 {Rudy & FF2 still a good idea- probing on all sides of theboard}) 27... Re8 28. f4 {neither Stockfish12 nor FF2 like this move- both still want h4 instead} Re7 (28... Bc8 {FF2 goes for the weakened K side} 29. Rc6 Qa3 30. Rc2 Bh3 31. Kf2 Rc8 32. Re2 Qd6 $16) 29. Kf2 Re8 30. Bf3 $16 Re7 31. Rc2 Re8 32. b4 (32. g4 $16 {both Engines- by launching an attack on the Bl K they are seeking to force Bl to exchange some pieces}) 32... Re7 (32... h5) 33. a3 $18 Re8 34. Re2 Rxe2+ (34... Rd8 35. Qe5 $18) 35. Kxe2 f6 36. Qe4 Bc8 (36... Kf8 37. Ke3 $18) 37. Qe8+ Qf8 38. Qc6 Qd8 39. d6 {It could have gone there 20 moves ago say the Engines} Bd7 40. Qd5+ (40. Qc4+ Kg7 41. Qxa6 {picks up an extra pawn as insurance}) 40... Kf8 41. Kd2 Qe8 42. Qa8 (42. Be2 a5 (42... b5 {cedes the c5 square for K entry}) 43. Qd4 Qd8 44. g4 axb4 45. axb4 h6 46. h4 {FF2 -and Bl is running out of moves} Be6 47. f5 gxf5 48. gxf5 Bxf5 49. Bc4 Kg7 50. Qd5 Bg6 51. d7 $18 {FF2}) 42... Qxa8 43. Bxa8 g5 {doesn't help, but the Wh K is coming in anyway} (43... Ke8 44. Ke3 (44. Bd5 {ties down the BBl B}) 44... Bb5 45. Kd4 Kd7 46. Kd5 Ba4 47. Bb7 Bb3+ 48. Kd4 Kxd6 49. Bxa6 {and Bl has to watch that his K side pawns don't disappear}) 44. Ke3 h6 45. fxg5 fxg5 (45... hxg5 46. h4 {gives Wh a distant runner, though the text cedes e5}) 46. Kd4 Kg7 47. Ke5 a5 48. Bd5 axb4 49. axb4 Kf8 50. Be6 Ke8 (50... Ba4 51. Kf6) 51. Bxd7+ Kxd7 52. g4 b5 53. Kd5 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.16"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Jones, Martin C"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A91"] [WhiteElo "1725"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "107"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Steynton A"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] 1. d4 e6 (1... d6 2. g3 f5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nc3 g6 5. Nh3 {Carlsbad System} Bg7 6. Nf4 O-O 7. h4 {Jones-R Van Kemenade,Dyfed League 2015,0-1}) 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 c6 (4... Be7 5. Nh3 O-O 6. Nf4 d6 7. Nc3 a6 {Jones-Miller, Dyfed League 2019,1-0}) (4... d5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nh3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 Qe8 9. Bg5 Nbd7 { Pinch-Francis, Dyfed Online Closed 2021,0-1}) 5. Nh3 (5. Nf3 d5 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Rb1 Nbd7 9. b4 Ne4 10. Qc2 Ndf6 {Brown-Francis,Dyfed Open 2017,1/ 2-1/2}) 5... Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 d6 {%0%} (7... d5 {main, 65% for Wh}) 8. e4 e5 {main} (8... fxe4 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 (9... e5) 10. Bxe4 Nd7 11. Qc2 Nf6 $14 { 4 draws}) 9. d5 {2 Wh wins, 2 draws, 1 Bl win} (9. dxe5 dxe5 $11 {main, 42 % for Wh}) (9. exf5 Bxf5 10. Ng5 $11 {70% , 3 Wh wins, 1 draw, 1 Bl win}) 9... Qe8 $146 (9... cxd5 10. exd5 {Cloud Engines; not yet played} Na6 $11 (10... h6 $11)) 10. f4 $16 {FatFritz2} Ng4 11. exf5 (11. Nf2 $18 {FF2}) 11... Bxf5 12. Nf2 Nxf2 13. Rxf2 exf4 14. Bxf4 c5 $2 {weakens d6} (14... Qd7) 15. Nb5 $18 Qd7 16. Qb3 (16. Qf1 {FF2} Na6 17. Re1 Rad8 18. Rxe7 Qxe7 19. Bxd6 Rxd6 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 21. Rxf5 $18) 16... Na6 17. Re1 Nb4 (17... Rf7) 18. Bf1 (18. Rxe7 $1 Qxe7 19. Bxd6 Qe1+ 20. Rf1 Qe2 21. Qf3 $1 (21. Bxf8 Rxf8 22. Bf3 Qd3 23. Re1 Bd7 24. Be4 Qxb3 25. axb3 Bxb5 26. cxb5 Rd8 27. Ra1 a6 28. bxa6 Nxa6 29. Ra5 $16) 21... Qxc4 22. Nc7 Qd4+ 23. Qf2 Qxf2+ 24. Rxf2 Rac8 25. Bxf8 Rxf8 26. d6 $18 {FF2}) 18... Rf7 (18... a6 19. Rxe7 Qxe7 20. Nxd6 Bg6 21. Re2 Qf6 22. Re6 Qd4+ 23. Qe3 Nc2 24. Qxd4 cxd4 25. Be2 d3 26. Bd1 $14 {FF2}) 19. a3 Na6 20. Rfe2 (20. h4 Bf8 21. Re6 $1 Bxe6 22. dxe6 Qxe6 23. Bg2 Rf5 24. Qd3 (24. Bxb7 Rb8 25. Qf3 Rxb7 26. Qxb7 d5 27. cxd5 Rxd5 28. Nc3 $16) 24... Rd8 25. Be4 g6 26. Bxb7 Nb8 27. g4 $18 {FF2}) 20... Nc7 (20... g5 21. Rxe7 Rxe7 22. Rxe7 Qxe7 23. Qe3 Re8 24. Qxe7 Rxe7 25. Bd2 (25. Bxg5 Re1 $11) 25... Rd7 26. Bxg5 $16 {FF2- the Bl pieces have little scope or cordination and Wh picks up more pawns}) 21. Nc3 (21. Rxe7 {The Engine insists it has to be played} Rxe7 22. Rxe7 Qxe7 23. Nxd6 (23. Bxd6 Qe4 24. Bxc7 a6 25. Nd6 Qd4+ 26. Kg2 Qd2+ {turns out to be a draw}) 23... Bg6 24. Nxb7 Ne8 25. d6 Qe4 26. Qe3 Qxb7 27. Bg2 Qxb2 {best it seems, the d pawn is a danger} 28. Bxa8 Qb1+ 29. Kg2 Qc2+ 30. Kh3 Qxc4 31. g4 $18 (31. d7 Bf5+ $11)) 21... Bd3 $2 {Bl overpresses, forcing Wh to play a winning move} (21... b6 $11) (21... Raf8 22. Qxb7 Bf6 $11) 22. Rxe7 Rxe7 23. Rxe7 Qxe7 24. Bxd3 $18 {the Bs are too powerful and d6 is still weak, though somehow it is still there 30 moves later, but, just about to drop off} Qe1+ 25. Bf1 (25. Kg2 { a solitary Q does nothing}) 25... Rf8 26. Qd1 Qe7 27. Qe2 Qf6 28. Qe3 (28. Ne4 {collects d6}) 28... Re8 29. Qd2 (29. Ne4 Qxb2 30. Qd3 {ditto}) 29... h6 30. Kg2 (30. h4) 30... g5 31. Be3 Qe5 32. Bf2 Rf8 33. Qe3 (33. Bd3) 33... Qf6 34. b4 b6 35. bxc5 bxc5 36. a4 (36. Ne4 Qe7 37. Be1 Rb8 38. Bc3 {FF2- and the Bl K is in the firing line}) 36... Kh8 37. Ne4 Qe5 38. Bd3 (38. Be1) 38... Ne8 39. h4 (39. Be1 {FF2}) (39. Nxc5 Qxe3 40. Bxe3 dxc5 41. Bxc5 Rf7 42. Bg6 Rc7 43. Bd4+ Kg8 44. Bxe8 $18 {FF2}) 39... Nf6 40. Nxf6 (40. Nxd6 {FF2} Qxd6 41. Qxc5 Qxc5 42. Bxc5 Rc8 43. Bd4 Kg7 44. hxg5 hxg5 45. c5 $18 {2 Bs are often better than R &N, & here Wh has 2 terrible pawns}) 40... Qxf6 41. hxg5 (41. Be1) 41... hxg5 42. Qe2 (42. Be1 Rf7 43. Bd2 Rg7 44. Qe8+ Rg8 45. Qh5+ Kg7 46. Bxg5 $18 { FF2}) 42... Kg7 43. g4 (43. Be1 Rb8 44. Bc2 Kf8 45. Qd3 Qf7 46. Bc3 g4 47. Qe3 Qf3+ 48. Qxf3+ gxf3+ 49. Kxf3 $18 {FF2}) 43... Qf7 44. Bf5 Qf6 45. Qe6 (45. Be1 {FF2 insists still best}) 45... Qxe6 46. dxe6 Kf6 47. Kf3 Ke7 48. Ke4 Rd8 49. Kd5 Rc8 50. Bg3 Rd8 51. Bf2 (51. Bh2) 51... Rb8 52. Bg3 Rb6 53. a5 Ra6 54. Bh2 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.16"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Paffard, Mark"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B46"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1608"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Steynton A"] {[%evp 0,36,19,38,40,41,41,32,50,22,81,63,88,56,68,51,46,38,36,17,36,1,39,-119, -120,-419,-288,-288,-297,-328,-323,-323,-323,-648,-400,-481,-514,-29997,-29998] } 1. e4 {a mouse-slip; Wh had intended d4} c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 {main, 233076 games. Oddly enough it is not a move that Bl has faced in Dyfed.} (3. d3) (3. c4) 3... cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 (5... Bb4 6. Bd2 Qc7 7. Bd3 {Orton-Gunn, February Rapid 2021,0-1}) 6. Bd3 {main} (6. Be2 Bb4 7. Qd3 Nf6 8. Bd2 b5 9. O-O Bb7 10. Ncxb5 axb5 11. Bxb4 Bxe4 {Thomas-Gunn, WCU online U1800,2020,0-1}) 6... Nc6 (6... Nf6) 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. O-O Nf6 9. Kh1 (9. Qe2) (9. f4 {main lines}) 9... d5 (9... Be7 {alternative}) 10. Re1 $146 {this should still be =} (10. f4 {120 games}) (10. Qe2 {20 games}) 10... d4 11. Ne2 $2 {but this loses!} (11. Nb1 $11) (11. Na4 $14) (11. e5 Nd7 12. Ne4 $16 {FatFritz2} Nxe5 (12... Qxe5 13. f4 Qd5 14. f5 e5 15. b3 h6 16. Bc4 Qa5 17. Bd2 Qc7 18. c3 $18 {Wh gets a massive lead in development}) (12... c5 13. c3 c4 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. exd6 Qxd6 16. Bxc4 Bb7 17. Bf1 Qd5 18. c4 Qc5 19. Bf4 O-O 20. b4 Qa7 21. Qg4 $18 {FF2}) 13. Bf4 $18) 11... Ng4 12. Kg1 (12. Bf4 {may be best under the circumstances} Qxf4 (12... Nxf2+ 13. Kg1 Qxf4 {transposes} (13... Nxd1 14. Bxc7 Nxb2 $19 15. e5 Nxd3 16. cxd3 c5 17. Bb6 Rb8 18. Rab1 Kd7 19. Ba7 Rb7 20. Rxb7+ Bxb7 21. Rb1 Bc6 22. Rb8 Kc7 23. Ng3 Bb5 24. Ne4 Bxd3 25. Nd6 f6 {and Bl emerges with even more pawns}) (13... e5 14. Kxf2 exf4 15. Kg1 Qe5 $17 {but Wh gets a bit of play })) 13. Nxf4 Nxf2+ 14. Kg1 Nxd1 15. Raxd1 {and Wh is only a pawn down}) 12... Qxh2+ 13. Kf1 Qh1+ 14. Ng1 Nh2+ 15. Ke2 Qxg2 16. c4 (16. Kd2 Qxf2+ 17. Qe2 { FF2 best for Wh}) (16. Qd2 e5 17. Kd1 Ng4 18. Rf1 Be7 19. c3 Bh4 {wins f2 anyway}) 16... Be7 (16... Bb4 {FF2-cuts off the K}) 17. a3 (17. e5 Bh4) 17... e5 18. Qd2 (18. Kd2 Bg4 19. Ne2 f5 {FF2-lasts a little longer, but Bl has all the fun}) 18... Bg4+ 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.16"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Lovegrove, Robert"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B08"] [WhiteElo "1500"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Steynton A"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,78,28,25,69,77,83,64,64,64,72,54,40,36,38,42,129,113,130,69,77,37,34, 35,46,35,69,70,68,25,55,20,36,21,43,-290,-290,-297,-260,-296,-280,-286,-315, -310,-271,-320,-246,-348,-350,-438,-441,-465,-472,-456,-479,-469,-436,-509, -450,-450,-437,-430,-455,-457,-463,-459,-450,-450,-464,-561,-439,-543,-455, -460,-468,-537,-528,-550,-526,-1039,-1085]} 1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bc4 (5. Be2 {main}) (5. h3) 5... O-O 6. O-O (6. Qe2) (6. h3) 6... Bg4 ( 6... c6) (6... Nxe4 {main lines}) 7. h3 Bd7 {27 games, unusual, because Wh often plays h3 earlier anyway & then Bd7 is not a common response either} (7... Bxf3 {404 games}) 8. Re1 (8. e5 {Cloud Engines ,3 Wh wins, 1 draw, 2 Bl wins- FatFritz2 & Stockfish12 consider Wh to be winning}) 8... Nc6 9. a3 $146 { a bit slow, allows Bl to hit back in the centre} (9. e5 $18 Ne8 10. Bg5 {2-0} Na5 (10... dxe5 11. dxe5 Qc8 12. Nd5 {Branca-Kun, HUn ch tm 2007,1-0}) 11. exd6 {Czech-Kessler, Saarland ch 2004,1-0}) 9... e5 10. d5 {this Blocks the B onto a dead diagonal- compared to a King's Indian Wh is 3 tempi down on the normal counterplay he gets with c5- here he has to move B, N & pawn to do so. Meanwhile Bl comes down the K side} (10. dxe5) 10... Ne7 (10... Nd4 {is also quite good here}) 11. Bg5 Nh5 (11... h6) (11... Kh8 {are good alternatives- preparing for f5}) 12. Qd2 Re8 {the R does not belong here, it needs to support f5. Bl need not fear the exchange on his g7 B as Wh loses too much time in the process ( & quite often it remains a bad B, though a marvellous protector of the K. Although , if it does break out, then it can be deadly)} ( 12... f6 13. Bh6 Bxh6 14. Qxh6 Kh8 15. Qd2 g5 16. Nh2 Nf4 $17 {FF2-stormclouds are gathering near the Wh K-the R is now coming to g8}) 13. Rad1 {The Engine considers it level, but what is the Wh R doing on a solidly closed file.?About the only thing it inhibits is Bl playing c6, but Bl has no interest in moving pawns on the Q side, which would also liberate Wh c4 B} (13. a4) 13... a6 { Bl should have no interest in moving Q side pawns which creates hooks f or Wh to open up lines for his Rs} (13... f6 14. Be3 Rf8 15. g4 f5 16. gxh5 f4 { and Bl's K side offensive is underway} 17. Ng5 Kh8 18. Ne6 Bxe6 19. dxe6 gxh5 { and there will be trouble on the g file, requiring accurate defence}) 14. b4 b5 15. Be2 Nf4 {a standard pawn sacrifice to open up lines for the B, ( Here Wh fails to notice that he is sacricing a N)} 16. Bxf4 (16. Bf1 {looks better & on the previous move}) 16... exf4 17. Qxf4 $2 (17. Nb1 g5 18. Nxg5 Ng6 { gives Bl excellent play with control over e5- FF2 returns the e pawn to gain some space} 19. Nf3 (19. h4 Be5 20. Nf3 Nxh4 $19 {is worse}) 19... Rxe4 20. c4 $11 {FF2}) 17... Bxc3 $19 18. Rf1 Bg7 19. Rfe1 Nc8 20. c4 bxc4 21. Bxc4 Qf6 22. Qe3 Qc3 23. Rc1 Qxe3 24. Rxe3 Bh6 {a R is a R, especially since there are no Wh pieces left to come down the long diagonal} 25. Rce1 Bxe3 26. Rxe3 Nb6 27. Bb3 Kg7 28. e5 Bb5 (28... dxe5 {is simpler}) 29. e6 fxe6 30. dxe6 Bc4 31. Bxc4 Nxc4 32. Rc3 d5 33. Nd4 Kf6 34. f3 h5 35. Kf2 h4 36. f4 Rac8 37. Kf3 c5 38. bxc5 Rxc5 39. Nb3 Nd2+ 0-1

A Rapid Break

Taking advantage of a gap between other online events, there was a one-day rapidplay tournament played on Tuesday 9th February. Aberystyth's Rudy van Kemenade was the winner with 5/5, with Adam Watkin-Jones second on 4/5, beating Steynton's Scott Hammett on tiebreak. Of the other Aber players, Tom Gunn and I scored 3 and Sam Holman scored 2. The event was great fun - thanks to David Pinch for organizing it. Here are the games of the Aber players.

[Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "1"] [White "Miller, John S"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "1549"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "82"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [TimeControl "600+5"] {[%evp 0,82,19,31,14,23,31,33,42,22,22,6,12,6,0,7,40,42,34,-7,0,1,7,26,48,-2, 19,-5,4,-66,-39,-69,-85,-70,-60,-190,-177,-227,-212,-220,-236,-270,-237,-345, -321,-345,-331,-335,-300,-353,-334,-328,-318,-325,-297,-359,-272,-435,-231, -315,-168,-168,-168,-273,-324,-319,-264,-275,-277,-341,-228,-363,-272,-374, -203,-382,-372,-372,-366,-483,-466,-502,-477,-485,-497]} 1. d4 Nf6 {A45 Indian Game} 2. Bf4 (2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 Na6 { Miller-Van Kemenade, Dyfed League 2014,0-1}) 2... d6 3. e3 g6 4. Nd2 (4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. h3 Nbd7 7. c3 Re8 8. O-O e5 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Bh2 Qe7 { Miller-Morcom, Dyfed League 2018,0-1}) (4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h3 O-O 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O Nd7 8. c4 e5 9. Bh2 f5 10. Nc3 g5 11. d5 Ncb8 12. Rc1 h5 {Robinson-Van Kemenade, WLS ch 2015,0-1}) 4... Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ngf3 Nd7 8. h3 e5 9. dxe5 (9. Bh2) 9... dxe5 10. Bh2 (10. Bg3) 10... f5 (10... Qe7) (10... Nc5 11. Nc4 Qe7 12. O-O Rd8 13. Qc1 Bf5 {Bullen-Rudd, GBR ch, Aberystwyth 2014,0-1} ) 11. O-O g5 {Piankov-Van Kemenade, Arena blitz 2020,0-3} 12. Bc4+ (12. Nc4 Qe7 13. Qb3 Kh8 14. Rad1 h5 15. Nfd2 g4 {Humphreys-Balmelle, IECC email 2014,0-1}) 12... Kh8 13. Qc2 (13. Ne1 Qe7 14. Qc2 h5 15. f4 gxf4 16. exf4 e4 { Arencibia-Robledo, Speed chess Swiss, chess.com 2020,0-1}) (13. e4 f4 14. Nb3 h5 15. Nfd4 Nf6 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. f3 Qe7 {Baichik-Barcud9, lichess 2020,0-1}) ( 13. g3 Qf6 14. Kg2 Nb6 15. Be2 Be6 {Petersen-Bekker Jensen, DAN ch tm 2002,0-1} ) 13... h5 14. Be6 g4 (14... Qf6 $17 {Stockfish12}) 15. Ne1 (15. Bxf5 gxf3 16. Nxf3 Qf6 $17 {Stockfish12}) 15... Qf6 16. Bxd7 Bxd7 $19 17. e4 f4 18. g3 gxh3 ( 18... Rad8 $19) (18... Bh6 $19) 19. Nef3 Bh6 (19... Bg4) 20. Nh4 Rg8 {It's just piling everything in against the K & see what gives} 21. Nf5 Bxf5 (21... h4) 22. exf5 h4 (22... Ne7) (22... e4) 23. Ne4 Qxf5 24. Qe2 Raf8 (24... f3) 25. Kh1 f3 (25... hxg3 26. fxg3 f3 27. Qc2 Rg4 28. Rae1 Bd2 {Stockfish12- a motif that Bl misses over the next few moves as well}) 26. Qd3 Rd8 (26... hxg3 27. Bxg3 h2) 27. Qc4 Rg6 (27... Rg4 28. Rae1 Bd2) 28. Rad1 Rdg8 (28... Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Rg4 30. Re1 Bd2) 29. Rg1 Nd4 (29... Rg4 {etc}) 30. cxd4 Qxe4 31. Rde1 (31. g4 $15) 31... Qxd4 32. Qxd4 exd4 $19 33. Rd1 c5 {the centre pawns are too strong} 34. b3 Re6 35. Rd3 Rf8 (35... Be3 36. Rf1 Bxf2 37. Rxf2 Re1+ 38. Bg1 hxg3) 36. g4 Re2 37. g5 Bg7 38. Rf1 Rf5 39. g6 b5 40. Bd6 c4 41. bxc4 bxc4 { Normal White resigns.} (41... bxc4 42. Ra3 a5 $19) 0-1 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "1"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,59,39,31,31,33,28,43,12,46,59,44,55,70,57,31,60,65,23,39,59,30,74,80, 77,77,27,15,1,3,17,11,17,-8,-1,-1,6,-14,18,-16,-37,-35,-35,-125,-60,-60,-3,11, 426,132,114,98,769,-47,886,2083,2632,29988,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 {new to both players} Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. c3 (7. Bd3 {main}) 7... c5 8. Bb5+ {uncommon to swap off Bl's QB this early in a French; the position now resembles a CaroKann} (8. Ne5) (8. Be3 { both elite GM lines}) 8... Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 (9... Qxd7 {main}) 10. Qa4 $146 ( 10. O-O {1.5-2.5}) (10. d5 $14 {Cloud Engines}) 10... Bd6 (10... cxd4 $11 { Stockfish12}) 11. dxc5 Bxc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Bg5 f6 14. Rad1 Nb6 15. Qe4 Qe7 16. Bh4 (16. Be3 $11) 16... Rad8 17. b4 Bd6 18. Nd4 e5 (18... Rfe8 $11) 19. Nb5 ( 19. Nf5 $14) 19... Bb8 $15 20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. f4 $2 a6 (21... Qe8 $19 { Stockfish12= protects the Q , thus atacks N & P} 22. Na3 Nd5 23. fxe5 Bxe5 24. Qf3 Nxc3 $19 {Stockfish12}) 22. Nd4 Ba7 {aims at the K, but buries the B} ( 22... Rd7 $1 {Stockfish12- protects Q} 23. Nf5 Qe6 24. h3 (24. fxe5 Qxe5 25. Qxe5 Bxe5 $19 {the Bl pieces are too active & Wh loses Q side pawns}) 24... Qc4 25. Qf3 exf4 $17) 23. fxe5 (23. Kh1 $14) 23... Qc7 $2 (23... Nd5 $17) (23... Na4 $17) 24. Kh1 $18 (24. exf6 $18) (24. Qg4 $18) 24... Re8 25. e6 (25. Nf5 { is even stronger, as Bl is missing several pieces on the Qside, miles away from their K} Rxe5 26. Qg4 $18 (26. Nh6+ gxh6 27. Qg4+ Rg5 28. Bxg5 hxg5 (28... fxg5 {is worse} 29. Qe6+) 29. Rxf6 Qe5 30. Re6 Qd5 31. Re7 $18) 26... Bb8 27. Bg3 $18 (27. Bxf6 $2 Rxf5 $19)) 25... Qxc3 26. e7 (26. Qxb7 {Stockfish12- threatens a nasty f7 ch, seen by kibitzer}) (26. Bxf6 $18 gxf6 27. Qxb7 {mating }) 26... Nc8 (26... Qc4 $11 {Stockfish12 & Kibitzer-stops ch & hits R}) 27. Qe6+ Kh8 28. Bxf6 $1 {forces mate, whether taken or not} gxf6 29. Qxf6+ Kg8 30. Qf8+ 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "1"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Paffard, Mark"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A47"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1608"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,71,34,34,17,17,20,5,39,35,8,-3,5,8,17,6,10,9,8,17,17,-29,-17,-31,-17, -21,-21,-25,-30,-33,-35,-37,-48,-48,-45,-51,-25,-48,-46,-47,-38,-45,-27,-46,0, -46,44,-35,-53,-53,35,25,9,12,232,161,187,117,553,553,612,833,833,833,963,989, 990,1011,1179,1077,1450,1162,1221,1262]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 (2... b6 3. e3 Bb7 4. Bd3 Ne4 5. O-O d5 6. c4 e6 7. cxd5 exd5 8. h3 Nd7 9. Nc3 Be7 {Gunn-Paffard, Dyfed Major 2020,1/2-1/2}) 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. Nbd2 Be7 (5... c5) (5... d5) 6. O-O d6 7. a3 $146 (7. b3) (7. e4) (7. Qe2) 7... O-O 8. b4 Nbd7 9. Bb2 { an extended Rubinstein set up (usually with b3)} c5 10. c3 (10. c4 {gains space }) 10... d5 11. Re1 c4 12. Bc2 b5 13. e4 {the usual response to a Bl Q side advance, though the b2 B is not well placed} dxe4 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. Bxe4 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 Nf6 {Stockfish12 even considers that Bl is winning in this position (a5 comes quickly) as c3 will be much weaker than b5. but this looks overoptimistic} 17. Re1 Bd6 (17... a5) 18. Bc1 h6 (18... Qc7 19. Bd2 a5 $19 { Stockfish12}) 19. Bd2 Qc7 20. h3 Rfd8 (20... a5) (20... Nd5) 21. Qc1 Nh7 { not sure what the N is doing here} 22. Re4 (22. a4 a6 23. Ne5 $11 {Stockfish12} ) 22... Kh8 23. Bxh6 gxh6 24. Qxh6 {the sacrifice should not be sound, though the initiative is an important factor in rapid & blitz, and the defender usually needs to more accurate than the attacker} Bf8 (24... Rg8 $1 $19 { Stockfish12- Engines are very exact in defence}) 25. Qh5 $16 Rd5 26. Ne5 Rxe5 ( 26... f6 {other moves actually lose} 27. Nf7+ Kg8 28. Qg4+ $1 Ng5 (28... Kxf7 29. Qxe6+ Kg6 30. Qxd5 $18) 29. Nxg5 Rxg5 30. Qxe6+ Qf7 31. h4 $16 { Stockfish12- Wh has 3 pawns for the piece- Bl's B has little scope & his Rs are disconnected}) 27. Rxe5 (27. dxe5 {even stronger, the R threatens to come to h4 or even g4 While the other R can use the d file}) 27... Bg7 28. Re4 (28. Rxb5) 28... Qc6 (28... Kg8 29. Qxb5 $18 {but doesn't lose a piece}) 29. Rh4 Kg8 30. Qxh7+ Kf8 31. Rg4 Ke7 (31... Bf6 32. Qh6+ Ke7 33. Rf4) 32. Rxg7 Rf8 33. Re1 a5 34. Re5 axb4 35. axb4 Qa6 36. Rc5 (36. d5) 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "1"] [White "Holman, Sam"] [Black "Leah, Howard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C41"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1547"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,91,31,31,31,31,31,24,70,48,45,29,19,24,24,26,8,8,8,2,-10,-43,12,-22, -27,-35,-69,-62,-64,-127,-128,-166,-81,-81,-88,-115,-81,-120,-150,-193,79,0, 340,5,0,0,0,0,114,-40,235,235,898,918,1059,1058,1058,1101,1188,1198,1205,1219, 1233,1269,1271,1239,1265,1206,1206,1008,1027,1027,1231,1246,1246,1175,1243, 1273,1313,1564,29991,29992,29997,29998,29999,29994,29999,29996,29997,29996, 29999,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 {Petroff?} 3. Nc3 {3 or 4 Ns?} d6 {Philidor -new to both players (databases)} 4. h3 (4. d4) 4... Be7 5. Bc4 c6 6. Bb3 O-O 7. d4 Nbd7 8. Be3 {54 games} (8. O-O {207 games}) 8... a5 (8... b5 { main}) 9. a3 b5 10. O-O (10. d5 {o.5-2.5}) 10... Qc7 11. dxe5 (11. d5) (11. Nd2 ) 11... dxe5 12. Qe2 Nc5 (12... Ba6 $17 {Cloud Engines} 13. Nd1 (13. Nb1) 13... Nxe4 $19 {Hess-Kuipers, Hilversum op 2016,0-1}) 13. Bxc5 Bxc5 $17 14. Rad1 Ba6 $19 15. Qe1 Rad8 (15... Qe7 $19) (15... b4 $19 {both Stockfish12}) 16. Rxd8 Rxd8 17. Ng5 Rd7 18. Kh1 b4 19. Na4 Be7 $2 (19... Bd4 $18) (19... Bf8 $19) 20. Bxf7+ (20. Nxf7) 20... Kf8 $2 (20... Kh8 $11) 21. Be6 (21. Ne6+ {wins Q}) 21... Rd6 (21... Bxf1 $11) 22. f4 (22. Nc5 Bxf1 23. Ba2 Qb6 24. Nge6+ Kf7 25. Qxf1 $11 {Stockfish12}) 22... Bxf1 23. Qxf1 (23. fxe5 Rd2 24. Qxf1 Qxe5 25. Nf3 Qxe6 26. Nxd2 bxa3 27. bxa3 Bxa3 28. Qc4 $11 {Stockfish12}) 23... exf4 24. e5 Rd5 ( 24... h6 25. exd6 Qxd6 26. Nh7+ Nxh7 27. Bb3 Nf6 $17 {Stockfish12}) (24... Rd1 25. Qxd1 Qxe5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 25. Bxd5 $18 Nxd5 26. Ne6+ {second time round} Kf7 27. Nxc7 Nxc7 28. Qxf4+ Kg8 29. axb4 axb4 30. Qc4+ Kf8 31. Qxc6 Ne8 32. e6 (32. Qe6) 32... Nd6 33. Qf3+ (33. Nb6 {mating}) 33... Bf6 34. g4 Ke7 35. Nc5 Nc4 36. Qb7+ Kd6 37. Qxb4 (37. Ne4+ Kxe6 38. Qc6+ Ke5 39. Qxc4) 37... Nxb2 38. Ne4+ Ke5 39. Nxf6 Nd1 40. e7 gxf6 41. e8=Q+ Kd5 42. Qd2+ (42. Qee4# {mutal support}) 42... Kc4 43. Qc8+ Kb5 44. Qd3+ (44. Qb7+ Kc5 45. Qdb4# {and again}) 44... Kb6 45. Qb3+ (45. Qda6#) 45... Ka5 46. Qa8# 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Lovegrove, Robert"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "1500"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [TimeControl "600+5"] {[%evp 0,49,19,38,25,7,30,29,28,3,3,8,3,11,20,4,16,-27,-5,-13,1,-31,-5,-22,1,6, 19,16,22,21,24,-15,93,3,10,43,43,51,56,62,63,-101,22,50,456,460,460,819,29995, 29996,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 {C70 Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation} 5. Bb3 Nf6 (5... Na5 {is quite a playable variation, even though GM Donner specialised in losing with it in under 20 moves}) 6. O-O {main} (6. Ng5 {could try to exploit Bl's move order} d5 7. exd5 Nd4 {is a promising gambit line for Bl} (7... Nxd5 8. Nxf7 {90 % for Wh, a variant of the Fried Liver Attack} (8. Qf3 Be6 9. Nxe6 fxe6 10. Nc3 {96% for Wh })) 8. d6 Nxb3 9. dxc7 Qxc7 (9... Qd5 10. axb3 Qxg2 11. Qf3 Qxf3 12. Nxf3 Bb7 13. Ke2 {1 draw, 3 Bl wins}) 10. axb3 {2 Wh wins, 2 draws, 3 Bl wins [ Rudy did have a win in a blitz game on playchess.com in 2014 with this , but it was on time in an inferior position)}) 6... Bc5 {Neo-Archangelsk} (6... Be7 {main}) ({Archangelsk var} 6... Bb7) 7. d3 (7. c3) (7. a4) 7... O-O (7... d6 {main}) 8. c3 d6 9. h3 (9. Bg5 {has been explored by the elite GMs} h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg4) 9... h6 10. Re1 Bb7 {back to Archangelsk lines} (10... Re8 {main}) (10... Bb6 {withdrawing the B from a d4 strike also popular}) 11. Nbd2 Qe7 {looks inexact as a N arriving on f5 will gain a tempo (& they are headed there)} ( 11... Re8) (11... Bb6 {main lines}) 12. Nf1 (12. Nh4 {aims a g6 as well, but Bl need not fall for it} Nd8 13. Nf5 (13. Ng6 $18 {looks simpler}) 13... Qd7 14. Qf3 Kh7 15. Nf1 {Cartelle Cudilleiro-Tenreiro, Ferrol op 2002,1-0}) 12... Nd8 13. Ng3 (13. Be3 {but the Wh QB has a natural target on h6} Bxe3 14. Nxe3 Qd7 15. Qe2 Ne6 16. Bxe6 Qxe6 17. Nf1 Nd7 18. Ng3 $14 {Botalova-Samoilova, Wld ch tm Silent (women) 2006,1-0}) (13. g4 {lets a N in on f4}) 13... Ne6 14. Nf5 Qd7 (14... Qd8) 15. N3h4 (15. d4 exd4 16. cxd4 Bb4 17. e5 $18 {Stockfish12}) 15... d5 (15... Kh8 16. d4 exd4 17. cxd4 Bb4 18. d5 $18 {Stockfish12} (18. Re3 $16)) 16. d4 exd4 17. e5 Ne4 18. cxd4 (18. Bxh6 $18 {Stockfish12} Nxf2 (18... gxh6 19. Qh5 (19. Rxe4)) 19. Kxf2 dxc3+ 20. Kg3 Kh7 21. Bxg7 Nxg7 22. Bc2 Kh8 23. Kh2 {the Bl K's defences are down}) (18. Rxe4 dxe4 19. Bxh6 g6 20. cxd4 Nxd4 21. Qg4 Kh7 22. Rd1 $18 {Stockfish12- every Wh piece piles in against the K}) 18... Bb4 19. Rxe4 {once the prime defender of the K is removed Wh has many ways to force the win. Though the 'sacrifice' was played on purely positional grounds without having to examine any ensuing complications- they will appear of their own accord} (19. Nxh6+ $18) 19... dxe4 20. d5 $18 (20. Qg4 $18) (20. Bxh6 $18) (20. Nxh6+ $18) (20. Qh5 $18) 20... Rad8 {protects the Q ( after a Qg4, Wh has a Nxh6 winning her} 21. Qg4 (21. Bxh6 $18 {may be strongest- it is what the B has been waiting for ( and it's not even sacrifing a piece as Wh can get it back at leastk}) (21. Nxh6+ $18) (21. Qh5 $18) 21... Ng5 (21... h5 22. Nh6+ (22. Qxh5 Bxd5 23. Bxd5 Qxd5 24. Bh6 Qxe5 25. Bxg7 { wins the Q}) 22... Kh7 23. Qxh5 (23. Qxe4+ g6 24. Qxb4 {adequate}) 23... g6 24. dxe6 $1 {(other moves allow Bl to hold)} gxh5 25. exd7 Rxd7 26. Be3 {and the Bl K remains at risk}) 22. Bxg5 hxg5 23. Qxg5 f6 (23... g6 24. d6 {and Stockfish12 gives up the Q to delay mate} (24. e6 {intended by Wh} fxe6 25. dxe6 Qh7 26. Qxd8 $18 {Stockfish12})) 24. d6+ Rf7 25. Qxg7# {Normal White wins by checkmate.} 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Jones, Martin C"] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "1725"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 (6... e6 7. Bc4 Nc6 8. O-O Be7 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 dxe5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Qxd1 13. Rxd1 Bd7 14. Rb1 Rc8 {Jones-Heap,Dyfed League 2015,1-0}) 7. Bc4 Nb6 8. Bb5 dxe5 9. Bxc6+ (9. Nxe5 {main} Bd7 10. Nxc6 Bxc6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. O-O g6 13. Nc3 Bg7 14. Be3 O-O 15. Rc1 Nd5 16. Ne4 Qb6 17. b3 Rad8 18. Rc5 e5 {Jones-AH Williams, Dyfed League 2015,0-1}) 9... bxc6 10. Nxe5 c5 $146 {second choice of Stockfish12} (10... Ba6 {Stockfish12-34% for Wh}) (10... Bb7 {33% for Wh , main lines}) 11. Be3 cxd4 12. Bxd4 Bb7 (12... Qd5 13. O-O Bb7 $11 {Stockfish12} ) 13. O-O (13. Nc3 $16 {Stockfish12} Bxg2 $2 14. Rg1 $18 Nd7 (14... Bb7 15. Qb3 e6 16. Qb5+ $18) (14... Bd5 15. Bxb6 $18) 15. Rxg2 $18 {Stockfish12}) 13... Qd5 14. Nf3 e6 15. Nc3 Qf5 16. Qe2 $11 Bxf3 (16... Be7) 17. Qxf3 Qxf3 18. gxf3 O-O-O $11 19. Rfd1 Be7 20. Rac1 Kb7 21. Nb5 Rc8 22. Be5 (22. Kf1) 22... Nd5 ( 22... Rhd8 $15) 23. a4 $6 {splits the pawns on the Q side} a6 (23... f6 24. Bd4 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 a6 26. Nc3 Nb4 $17 {Stockfish12}) 24. Nd6+ Bxd6 25. Bxd6 Rxc1 ( 25... Rhd8) 26. Rxc1 Rc8 (26... Rd8 27. Bg3 Rc8 $17) 27. Rxc8 Kxc8 28. b4 (28. Kf1 $11 {the K is needed on the Q side to protect the pawn}) 28... Kd7 $19 29. Bc5 (29. Bf8 g6 30. Kf1 Nc3 $19) 29... Nc3 30. a5 Kc6 {the pawns are dead as they are no longer mobile on either side of the board, so the B is inferior to the N(as well as the K being too late in the centre} 31. Kf1 Nd5 32. Ke2 Kb5 33. Bf8 g6 34. Bh6 Nxb4 35. Bd2 Kxa5 36. Kd1 Ka4 37. Kc1 a5 (37... Kb3) 38. Kb2 Nd3+ (38... e5) 0-1 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "Jones, Huw"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "1648"] [BlackElo "1617"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,47,19,-13,-41,13,19,4,34,-2,9,8,40,40,63,50,63,52,55,-3,43,28,94,35, 78,77,63,47,71,110,110,79,307,136,166,207,168,266,262,108,119,98,599,97,29989, 0,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. c4 d6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 f5 {the position appears to be new to both players} 4. e3 Nf6 5. Bg2 c6 (5... Be7) (5... g6) 6. d4 (6. Nge2) 6... e4 7. Nge2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. d5 (9. f3 $11 {alternative, 5 Wh wins, 3 draws & 6 Bl wins}) 9... a5 $146 (9... c5 $14 {2 Wh wins, 7 Bl ones}) 10. b3 (10. f3) 10... g5 {loosening- Bl does better to bring some more pieces into play. Such an advance fits better with a closed centre after c5} (10... Na6) ( 10... Nbd7 {follows the sense of the previous move}) 11. Bb2 (11. dxc6 bxc6 12. Nd4 $16 {Countering in the centre is the usual antidote to a side attack}) 11... Na6 (11... c5) 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. Nd4 $18 Qc7 14. f3 Nc5 15. fxe4 Ncxe4 ( 15... Nfxe4) 16. Nxe4 (16. Nxf5 $1 Bxf5 17. Rxf5 {Stockfish12-breaks into Bl's K side}) (16. Rxf5 $18 {Stockfish12-is also very powerful}) 16... Nxe4 17. Bxe4 (17. Nxf5 Bxf5 18. Bxe4 $18 Bxe4 19. Qd4 Bf6 20. Rxf6 $18 {Stockfish12}) 17... fxe4 18. Rxf8+ (18. Qh5 $1) 18... Bxf8 19. Qh5 Qg7 20. Rf1 {Bl has a very exposed K} c5 (20... Bd7 21. Nb5 (21. Rf2 Qg6 $14) 21... Be8 22. Bxg7 Bxh5 23. Nc7 Ra7 24. Rxf8+ Kxg7 25. Ne6+ Kg6 26. h3 $18 {Stockfish12}) 21. Nf5 (21. Rxf8+ Kxf8 22. Ne6+ Bxe6 23. Bxg7+ Kxg7 24. Qxg5+ $18 {but there is better}) ( 21. Nb5 Qg6 22. Qd1 Be6 23. Rf6 $18) (21. Ne6 Bxe6 22. Bxg7 Bxg7 23. Qxg5 $18) 21... Qxb2 (21... Qg6 22. Qg4 Rb8 23. Qxe4 Qe6 {limiting the immediate damage to one pawn, though there must be a second wave of attack that will break through}) 22. Qxg5+ (22. Nh6+ $1 Kh8 (22... Bxh6 23. Qe8+ Kg7 24. Qf8+ Kg6 25. Qf7#) 23. Rxf8+ Kg7 24. Rg8+ Kf6 25. Qf7+ Ke5 26. Rxg5+ Bf5 27. Rxf5# {it it easy to find mates using an engine}) 22... Bg7 $2 (22... Kh8 23. Qd8 (23. Nh6 $2 Be6 $19) 23... Bb7 24. Qd7 Bc8 25. Qd8 Bb7 {and Bl has a miracle save-Stockfish12}) 23. Nh6+ Kh8 24. Qd8+ 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Hammett, Scott"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A03"] [WhiteElo "1590"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "92"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,92,45,-7,-7,-27,-19,-8,-2,-6,-10,-3,-3,-10,-1,3,9,-61,-24,-251,-14, -268,-5,-22,-31,-93,-25,-225,-225,-201,-215,-202,-151,-316,-352,-358,-192,-276, -213,-369,-309,-320,-321,-338,-338,-340,-337,-336,-334,-379,-390,-404,-369, -460,-361,-376,-360,-380,-136,-171,136,118,207,205,208,145,170,136,297,107,214, 168,151,172,171,184,288,227,289,290,506,258,284,280,245,238,268,263,802,863, 878,878,884,969,29999]} 1. f4 d5 (1... Nf6 2. b3 d5 3. Nf3 c5 4. Bb2 Nc6 5. e3 e6 6. Bb5 a6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. O-O Bd6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Ne2 Bb7 11. Ng3 Re8 $11 { Hammett-Holman, Dyfed Major 2017,1-0}) 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 (3. b3 $5 Qf6 4. Nc3 Qxf4 5. e3 Qd6 6. Bb2 Nf6 7. Bb5+ c6 8. Be2 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. d3 Qc7 11. Qe1 { Hammett-Finlay, Dyfed League 2015,1-0}) 3... Nf6 4. b3 Bd6 (4... Be7 5. Bb2 Nc6 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. Ne5 {Hammett-Finlay, Dyfed Minor 2011,1-0}) 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Be2 c5 (6... Nc6 7. O-O Ng4 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Bxc6 Bxc6 10. Qe2 f5 { Pinch-Hargreaves, IECC 2017,0-1}) 7. O-O Nc6 8. d3 $6 {this can lead to problems on e3} (8. Ne5) (8. Qe1 {main lines}) 8... Qc7 (8... d4 9. exd4 cxd4 $19 {Stockfish12, 0-2}) 9. Nbd2 $2 b6 (9... Ng4 $19 {picks up an exchange & a pawn}) 10. a3 Bb7 (10... Ng4 $19) 11. Qe1 d4 12. exd4 (12. Nc4 Nd5 13. exd4 Nxf4 14. dxc5 Bxc5+ 15. d4 Nxd4 16. Nxd4 Rad8 17. c3 b5 18. Ne3 e5 19. Rc1 a6 20. Rf2 Ba7 21. Bf1 exd4 22. cxd4 Qb8 $17 {Stockfish12}) 12... cxd4 $19 (12... Nxd4 $19) 13. Ne5 (13. g3 Nd5 14. Nc4 Be7 15. Nfe5 Nxe5 16. fxe5 Nc3 17. Bf3 Bxf3 18. Rxf3 Rad8 $19 {Stockfish12-Bl will eventually break through at c2 or the centre} 19. Bxc3 dxc3 20. Rf4 (20. Qxc3 $2 b5 $19 (20... Bc5+ 21. Kg2 Bd4 $19)) 20... b5 21. Nd6 Bxd6 22. exd6 Rxd6 $19) 13... Nxe5 14. fxe5 Bxe5 $19 15. Nf3 Bf4 (15... Bxf3 16. Rxf3 Bxh2+ 17. Kh1 Nh5 18. Rh3 Ng3+ 19. Kxh2 Nxe2+ 20. Kh1 Nf4 21. Rf3 Ng6 22. Bxd4 Qxc2 $19 {Wh is 2 pawns down with 3 pawn islands & no real chance of a K side attack}) 16. Qd1 (16. Bxd4 e5 17. Bf2 Qxc2 $19 ( 17... Rae8 18. Qd1 Ng4 $19 {Stockfish12})) 16... Be3+ (16... Ng4 17. Bxd4 Bxh2+ 18. Kh1 Rad8 {and Wh has to shed pieces to avoid being mated} 19. Qd2 (19. Bb2 {a natural try} Rd5 20. Ne5 Ne3 21. Qd2 Bxe5 22. Qxe3 Bxb2 23. Rae1 Bd4 24. Qh3 Rg5 25. Bf3 Bxf3 26. Rxf3 Qxc2 {is horrible}) 19... Bxf3 20. gxf3 Qg3 21. Qg5 Nf2+ 22. Bxf2 Qxg5 23. Kxh2 Qe5+ 24. Bg3 Qxe2+ {the line Stockfish12 suggests at first , looks even worse.}) 17. Kh1 e5 {obstructs the line of fire of the Q ( though perhaps an e4 can rectify this)} (17... Ng4 $1 18. h3 (18. g3 Rac8 19. Bc1 Qe5 20. Kg2 Bxc1 21. Rxc1 Ne3+ {Wh's position has too many holes, especially e3}) 18... Bxf3 (18... f5 {also}) 19. hxg4 Bd5 20. Qe1 f5 21. g5 f4 22. Bf3 Qxc2 23. Bc1 Rac8 24. Bxd5 exd5 25. a4 Qxd3 $19 {Stockfish12-the Wh pieces are helpless}) 18. Bc1 Ng4 (18... Nd5 {also} 19. Nh4 Bxc1 20. Qxc1 Ne3 21. Bf3 f5 $19) 19. c4 Nf2+ (19... dxc3 {looks simplest, the c pawn will be deadly} 20. Qe1 Bf4 21. Ra2 Bd5 22. Rc2 Rac8 {and again Wh is running out of sensible moves}) (19... Rae8 {Stockfish12 second choice, just piling on the pressure}) 20. Rxf2 Bxf2 21. Qf1 Be3 22. Bxe3 dxe3 $19 23. Re1 f5 24. Bd1 f4 25. Qe2 Qe7 (25... Rad8 {aims at the backward pawn, & encourages the B to go to c2, becoming a big pawn. Stockfish12 is an exemplar at bringing in every single piece to contribute to a maximal attack}) 26. Rf1 Rf5 27. b4 Rh5 28. Qb2 Bxf3 {Bl now proceeds to selfdestruct- if something like this is to work then the QR needs to part of it.} (28... Rd8) (28... e4) 29. Bxf3 Rxh2+ $2 { suddenly noticing that both Rs are attached- Bl had clearly planned on Qh4 next } (29... e4 {is still winning} 30. Bxh5 (30. Bxe4 Rd8 $19) 30... exd3 {2 connected passed pawns on the 6th are stronger than a R}) (29... Qe8 30. c5 Rg5 31. Bxa8 Qxa8 32. Rc1 Rg6 {and returning the exchange leaves Bl with a winning protected passed e pawn}) (29... Qh4 {the original idea, could have been tried, as Wh might not have found} 30. g4 $1 {the only move to win} (30. g3 Qh3 31. Qe2 e4 32. Bxh5 exd3 33. Bf7+ $1 (33. Qg2 Qxg2+ 34. Kxg2 fxg3 35. Kxg3 Rc8 $11) 33... Kxf7 34. Rxf4+ Kg8 35. Qxe3 $16) 30... fxg3 31. Bxa8 Qxh2+ 32. Qxh2 Rxh2+ 33. Kg1 Rf2 34. c5 $18 {Stockfish12 finds allsorts of little nuances}) 30. Kxh2 $18 Qh4+ 31. Kg1 Re8 32. Qe2 (32. c5 $18 {the Wh K is safe & the e3 pawn no danger either}) 32... Kh8 33. Be4 Re6 34. Qf3 (34. Qxe3 {ends all Bl hopes}) 34... g5 35. Qh3 Qxh3 36. gxh3 h6 37. Kg2 {the Bl pawn mass is not going anywhere} b5 38. c5 Kg7 39. Kf3 Kf7 40. Rg1 Ke7 41. h4 gxh4 42. Rg4 Kd8 43. Rxh4 Kd7 44. Bf5 Ke7 45. Bxe6 Kxe6 46. Rxh6+ Kd5 (46... Kd5 47. Rd6#) 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "2"] [White "Williams, R Gareth"] [Black "Gunn, Tom"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B20"] [WhiteElo "1643"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,79,28,28,109,13,38,-36,26,27,23,10,21,8,30,28,22,18,19,3,20,-8,19,-14, -15,-26,-16,-60,-16,-49,0,6,42,5,49,39,34,7,18,-1,9,19,16,28,29,15,17,21,27,8, 9,6,24,2,36,33,54,42,125,35,30,19,99,120,124,118,121,123,302,338,367,326,1088, 1375,1390,1148,1212,1407,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 c5 2. a3 {an enterprising move, in some lines threatening a gambit, has been employed by Carlsen ( & other elite GMs) in blitz games, 3-0} (2. b4 {is the immediate Wing Gambit}) 2... e6 (2... g6 3. b4) 3. g3 {back to positional lines , where a3 may or may not be an asset (1.5-0.5)} (3. b4 {main}) (3. Nf3) 3... b6 4. Nf3 Bb7 5. d3 d6 (5... Nc6 6. Bg2 d6 7. O-O {0.5-1.5}) 6. Bg2 Nd7 7. O-O Ngf6 8. Re1 Be7 9. Nbd2 (9. b4 O-O 10. Bb2 Qc7 11. Nbd2 Rac8 12. c4 {Cori-Caceres Vasquez, American Continental 2015,1-0}) 9... O-O 10. Nf1 (10. c3 {transposes to 24 games,56% for Wh}) 10... Re8 (10... Qc7 11. Bf4 Ne5 12. Bxe5 dxe5 13. Ne3 Rfd8 $15 {Lamb-Gabriel, Leipzig VfB op 2005,1-0}) 11. c3 Rc8 12. Bg5 (12. c4) 12... h6 13. Be3 Bf8 $11 (13... c4 $15) 14. h3 (14. c4) 14... e5 (14... c4 15. dxc4 Bxe4 $17 {Stockfish12}) 15. c4 a6 16. a4 Bc6 (16... Nb8 $11 {reroutes the N to d4}) 17. b3 b5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Nh4 bxc4 (19... Ra8) 20. bxc4 Ra8 21. Qe2 Qc7 22. Reb1 Rxa1 23. Rxa1 Ra8 24. Qb2 Rxa1 25. Qxa1 Qb7 $11 26. Nf5 Nb6 (26... Qa8 $11) 27. Qa5 Na4 28. Qd8 Qd7 $2 (28... Ne8 $11) 29. Qb8 (29. Nxh6+ gxh6 30. Qxf6 $18) 29... Qb7 30. Qd8 Qd7 31. Nxh6+ {second time round} gxh6 32. Qxf6 $18 Nb2 33. Bxh6 Bxh6 34. Qxh6 Nxd3 35. Ne3 Bb7 36. Nf5 f6 37. Qxf6 Nb2 38. Ne7+ ( 38. Bf3 {mating}) 38... Kh7 (38... Qxe7 $5) 39. Qg6+ Kh8 40. Qg8# 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "3"] [White "Hammett, Scott"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A02"] [WhiteElo "1590"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [TimeControl "600+5"] {[%evp 0,52,19,-30,4,-6,8,-12,5,-7,-10,-17,-14,-14,-18,-19,15,6,17,15,7,1,2, -48,-58,-80,-79,-79,-79,-113,-107,-85,-96,-120,-64,-89,-83,-149,-168,-184,-175, -179,-167,-136,-198,-207,-213,-201,-207,-803,-827,-925,-1000,-1012,-816]} 1. f4 {A02 Bird Opening, Scott's main weapon} (1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 d6 4. Bc4 h6 5. d3 g5 6. h4 Bg7 {Hammett-R Van Kemenade, Dyfed League 2012,0-1}) (1. d4 Nf6 2. e3 g6 3. Bd3 Bg7 4. f4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O Nc6 7. c3 a6 8. Nbd2 e5 { Hammett-R Van Kemenade,Dyfed Closed 2019,1/2-1/2}) 1... d6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 g6 (3... c6 4. Be2 Nbd7 5. O-O Qc7 6. b3 e5 7. Ng5 h6 8. Nxf7 $5 {Hammett-J Van Kemenade, Dyfed League 2011,0-1}) 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2 O-O 6. Be2 Nc6 (6... c5 { main}) 7. O-O e5 8. fxe5 Ng4 9. h3 {weakens the K side,12 % for Wh} (9. Na3 Ngxe5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rb1 Bf5 12. Nc4 Qe7 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bxe5 Qxe5 15. Bg4 Be4 16. Bf3 d5 {Mulleady-Van Kemenade, Leyland Fide open 2011,0-1}) (9. Nc3 { 40% for Wh}) 9... Ngxe5 10. Nxe5 (10. d4 Nxf3+ {18 % for Wh}) 10... dxe5 { 0-5 ; level according to Stockfish12, but Wh players are facing a much more open position than they are used to} (10... Nxe5 {main, also level but 1 Wh win, 1 draw, 9 Bl wins}) 11. Rf2 (11. Bc4) (11. Bf3) (11. a4 {all been tried}) 11... Qg5 $15 {The Bl pieces can get to the K side quicker than the Wh ones} 12. Bg4 (12. Nc3 Bxh3 13. Ba3 Bf5 (13... Rfe8) 14. Bxf8 Rxf8 $15 {is stockfish12- Wh's QR is out of the battle on the K side}) 12... f5 $17 13. Be2 Be6 14. Bc4 (14. Bb5 $5 Nb4 (14... f4 15. Bxc6 bxc6 16. exf4 Rxf4 17. Rxf4 exf4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 $17 {Wh is facing a difficult defence}) 15. Nc3 c6 16. Bf1 Rad8 $17) 14... Bxc4 15. bxc4 Rad8 $19 (15... f4 $19 16. exf4 Rxf4 17. Rxf4 exf4 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Nc3 Qc5+ 20. Kh2 Qxc4 $19 {Stockfish12}) 16. Qe2 Rd7 (16... Rfe8 $19 {Stockfish12-it's difficult to see where the Wh pieces are going to, while Bl retains a number of possibilities}) 17. d3 (17. Nc3 e4 18. d4 exd3 19. cxd3 Nb4 20. Rd1 Re8 21. Rf3 Qd8 {and the Wh centre is close to collapse} 22. Nd5 { leads to some complications} Nxd5 23. cxd5 Rde7 (23... Rxd5 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Qb2+ Rde5 26. Qxb7 Rxe3 27. Rxe3 Rxe3 28. Qxa7 {appears to hold for Wh}) 24. Bxg7 Rxg7 25. e4 Qxd5 26. Qc2 fxe4 27. dxe4 Qe6 $17 {Stockfish12} (27... Qxe4 $2 28. Qxe4 Rxe4 29. Rd8+ Re8 30. Rxe8#)) 17... Bh6 $19 18. Kh1 (18. Bc1 { looks bad} e4 (18... Nd4 19. Qf1 e4 $17) 19. Nc3 Qg3 20. Nd5 Ne5 {and the end is nigh} 21. Ba3 Rxd5 22. cxd5 Bxe3 23. Bxf8 Nf3+ 24. Kf1 Nd4 25. Qxe3 Qxe3 26. Bc5 exd3 27. c3 d2 28. Bxd4 Qd3+ 29. Kg1 d1=Q+ 30. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 31. Kh2 Qd3 { Stockfish12 having fun}) (18. Nc3 Qxe3 19. Nd5 {at least gets some development, but} Qxe2 20. Rxe2 Bg7 $19 {should be quite comfortable for Bl}) 18... Qxe3 19. Qxe3 Bxe3 20. Re2 Bd4 (20... Bf4) (20... Bg5) 21. Bxd4 (21. Nc3 $5) 21... Nxd4 22. Rf2 e4 23. dxe4 fxe4 24. c3 $2 (24. Rxf8+ Kxf8 25. Na3 Ne6 26. Re1 Nc5 { leaves Wh a pawn down with his q side in a mess}) 24... Rxf2 25. cxd4 Rf1+ 26. Kh2 Rxd4 {Normal White resigns.} (26... e3 {even stronger}) 0-1 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "3"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Williams, R Gareth"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D06"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1643"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,65,79,63,18,-17,8,-39,76,52,33,42,42,21,124,186,184,181,167,173,211, 203,210,210,205,231,202,180,228,222,222,228,242,239,247,259,248,249,256,262, 250,247,294,268,301,309,311,318,318,335,365,361,379,379,359,375,381,378,394, 388,411,394,400,460,556,801,922,1428]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 {the American Defence, its inadequacies shown up in AH Williams-J Brewer, Dufed Online Closed rd5, where the Wh control over the centre led to a decisive Bxh7 sacrifice} 3. cxd5 (3. Nc3 {common in the Dyfed League just leads to a normal QGD}) 3... Nxd5 4. e4 Nf6 5. Nc3 {84% for Wh, as in above mentioned game} e5 { an interesting gambit, gives Bl some fighting chances, though Wh still scores 72%} (5... e6) 6. Be3 (6. dxe5 Qxd1+ 7. Kxd1 Ng4 8. Nd5 (8. Ke1 Bc5 {0.5-2.5}) 8... Kd7 9. Nh3 c6 10. Nc3 Nxe5 {Steinitz-Gunsberg, wld ch 1891, 1/2-1/2}) (6. Nf3 {main, scores 79% for Wh}) (6. d5 c6 7. Bg5 {65% Wh}) 6... c6 $146 { doesn't look right in a sharp position} (6... exd4 {2 draws, 1 game each}) ( 6... Bb4 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. d5 {3-0}) (6... Ng4 7. Nf3 {0.5-1.5}) (6... Bd6 7. dxe5 Bxe5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. O-O-O+) 7. dxe5 Qxd1+ 8. Rxd1 Ng4 9. Bf4 $18 {Stockfish12 } Bb4 (9... Bc5 10. Bg3 Nd7 11. Nf3 {Stockfish12}) 10. h3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nh6 12. Nf3 Be6 13. Rd2 Na6 (13... Nd7 14. Nd4 O-O-O 15. Be2 $18 {looks a bit better for Bl than the text}) 14. Bxa6 bxa6 15. O-O (15. Bxh6) 15... Rd8 16. Rfd1 (16. Nd4) 16... Rxd2 17. Rxd2 O-O 18. Nd4 Bd7 (18... Bc4 19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Nxc6 Re8 21. f4 $18) 19. Nb3 {Wh should be winning comfortably with Bls shattered pawns and inactive pieces} (19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Nf5 {Rudy & Stockfish12 }) 19... Be6 20. Nc5 a5 (20... Nf5 {is the best Stockfish12 can suggest for Bl here!}) 21. a4 (21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Bxh6 gxh6 23. Rd6) 21... Kh8 (21... Nf5 { again !}) 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. Bxh6 gxh6 24. Rd6 Rb8 25. Rxe6 Rb1+ 26. Kh2 Ra1 27. Rxc6 (27. f4 {Stockfish12}) 27... Rxa4 28. f3 (28. f4 Rxe4 29. Kg3) 28... Kg8 29. Kg3 Ra1 30. Kf4 a4 31. Kf5 (31. e6) 31... Kf8 32. Kf6 Ke8 33. e6 (33. e6 Rd1 34. e7 Kd7 35. Rc4 Rb1 36. Rd4+ Kc7 37. e8=Q {mating soon}) 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "3"] [White "Orton, Paul"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "1612"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,59,30,31,50,38,32,36,37,46,56,46,52,48,49,42,25,50,39,41,42,50,53,9, 67,60,53,12,30,11,11,-6,18,4,14,11,-2,-6,-1,-22,-4,-10,-6,-8,-6,-12,-12,-19,15, -17,-8,-13,360,-28,-14,-14,-7,-92,0,0,383,383]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 (5. Bd3 Ngf6 6. Qe2 Be7 7. Nf3 O-O 8. Bg5 c5 9. Nxf6+ Nxf6 10. Rd1 Qa5+ 11. c3 cxd4 12. Bd2 b6 13. Bb1 Bb7 14. cxd4 Qd5 15. O-O {Orton-V Sivarajasingam, S Wales Int 2019,1/2-1/2}) 5... Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ (6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 b6 9. c4 Bb7 10. b3 {Orton-Philips, Dyfed Closed 2007,1/2-1/2}) 6... Nxf6 7. Bd3 {main} (7. c3 c5 8. Bb5+ Bd7 9. Bxd7+ Nxd7 10. Qa4 { Watkin-Jones vs Francis, rd1 February Rapid 2021,1-0}) 7... c5 8. O-O (8. dxc5 {main, text scores a little better for Wh}) 8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 Be7 {70% for Wh} (9... Bc5 {56% for Wh}) 10. c3 O-O 11. Bg5 (11. Re1) (11. Qe2) 11... Nd5 (11... Qd5 {main}) 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Qd2 (13. Re1) (13. Qf3) 13... b6 14. Rae1 (14. Rfe1 Bb7 15. c4 Nf6 16. Rad1 Qc7 17. Qg5 Rad8 18. Qh4 Qc5 19. Nb3 Qh5 20. Qf4 Rfe8 21. Be2 $2 Rxd1 (21... Qxe2 $19) 22. Bxd1 {Hersvik-Bjerke, NOR ch open , Oslo 2004,1-0}) 14... Bb7 15. Be4 Qd7 16. f3 Nf6 17. Bxb7 (17. Bc2) 17... Qxb7 18. Rf2 Rfd8 $15 19. Qf4 Rac8 20. Rfe2 Qd5 (20... b5 $17 {starts a minority attack to leave Wh with a weak Q side pawn}) 21. Nb3 Rc4 22. Qe3 Qd6 (22... Qb5 23. Nd4 $11) (22... Qb7 23. Rd2 $11) 23. Rd2 Qc7 24. Red1 Rxd2 25. Rxd2 Nd5 $2 (25... g6) 26. Qd3 (26. Rxd5 $18) 26... h6 (26... h5) 27. Nd4 Qc5 28. b4 (28. Kf1) 28... Qc8 29. Nb5 Nxc3 $2 (29... Rf4 30. g3 Rf6 31. Nxa7 Qxc3 32. Qxc3 Nxc3 $11) 30. Nd6 $18 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "3"] [White "Holman, Sam"] [Black "Pinch, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1798"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] 1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. f4 e6 {there is agreement in the Hippo theory books that this is a very dangerous system to play it against , with one suggesting going into a Pirc with} (4... Nf6) (4... a6 {has been championed over the years by Tiger Hillarp Persson Spassy has played the Bl side several times as have some other GMs}) (4... c6 {is another GM way}) 5. Nf3 b6 (5... Ne7 {main, but many transpositions are possible}) (5... a6 {prepares b5 if Wh will allow it}) 6. Bc4 (6. Bd3) 6... Bb7 7. Be3 (7. O-O {even has 2 Wh wins , 1 draw & 6 Bl wins!}) 7... Nd7 (7... Nf6 {might be worth a try}) 8. Qd2 (8. O-O {main}) 8... Ne7 9. h4 $146 {it is one of Stockfish12's alternatives} (9. O-O-O {1.5-0.5}) 9... h5 10. O-O-O a6 (10... Nf6 {looks useful- it stops g4 and prepares to srike with d5 ( & attacks e4)}) 11. Ng5 (11. d5 $16 {Stockfish12}) 11... b5 $6 (11... d5 {Bl must strike in the centre before Wh gets back onto it. if the e pawn exchanges then the Wh QB is rather hemmed in by its own pawns, akin to Bl's strategy in a Gurgenidze CaroKann ( where Bl has fianchettoed his KB) There were related complexities in M Jones-Van Kemenade, Dyfed Online Closed rd2,1-0} 12. exd5 exd5 13. Bd3 Nf6 14. f5 Nxf5 15. Rhe1 ( 15. Bxf5 gxf5 16. Rdf1 Qd7 17. Ne2 O-O-O $11) 15... Ne7 $11 {Stockfish12}) 12. Bb3 (12. Bxe6 $18 {Stockfish12- a stock sacrifice in these kind of positions} fxe6 13. Nxe6 Qc8 14. Nxg7+ Kf7 15. d5 Kxg7 16. Bd4+ Nf6 17. f5 $18 (17. e5 dxe5 18. fxe5 Ng4 19. e6+ $18)) (12. f5 {Stockfish12} bxc4 (12... gxf5 13. Bxe6 ) 13. fxe6 O-O 14. exf7+ Rxf7 15. Nxf7 Kxf7 16. Bg5 $18 {is rather unpleasant for Bl as well}) 12... O-O {this looks too dangerous} (12... d5 {had to be tried} 13. f5 exf5 (13... gxf5 14. exd5 Bxd5 15. Bxd5 exd5 (15... Nxd5 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. Rhf1 $18) 16. Bf4 $16) 14. e5 Nf8 15. Qf2 Ne6 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. Ne2 $16 {Bl has a horribly bad QB and will have trouble finding activity for his other pieces as well.}) 13. f5 (13. g4 $18 {Stockfish12-opens up everything around the Bl K}) 13... d5 (13... exf5 14. e5 d5 15. e6 f6 16. Nf7 Rxf7 17. exf7+ Kxf7 18. Bh6 $16 {Stockfish12}) 14. fxe6 $18 b4 15. Nxd5 (15. exf7+) 15... Bxd5 16. exd5 Nf6 17. exf7+ Kh8 18. Ne6 (18. Bf4) (18. Rhf1) 18... Qd6 19. Nxf8 (19. Bf4) (19. Nxg7 {the B looks more important as a defender of the K than the R}) 19... Bxf8 20. Bf4 Qb6 21. Be5 (21. Rhe1) 21... Bg7 22. Kb1 (22. Rdf1) 22... a5 23. d6 (23. Qg5) 23... cxd6 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Qh6# 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "3"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Jones, Martin C"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1725"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,77,27,27,24,18,29,9,27,-21,-18,-16,15,8,-1,-9,-12,-10,20,-6,24,21,24, 2,19,14,37,37,58,29,22,22,94,17,22,28,44,45,46,55,43,17,42,26,19,30,46,39,48, 37,57,-15,6,23,16,-5,0,-23,-23,-23,0,-22,-18,-26,15,31,23,24,134,146,297,324, 534,517,532,530,1126,1166,1453,1779]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 (2... g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Bd3 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. c4 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5 $6 Nb4 {Gunn-Jones, Dyfed Online Closed rd1,0-1}) 3. e3 {oddly enough, this position appears to be new to both players} c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Bd3 b6 6. O-O Bb7 7. Nbd2 d5 8. Re1 (8. Qe2) ( 8. Ne5) 8... cxd4 (8... Be7) (8... Bd6) (8... Qc7) 9. cxd4 (9. exd4 {is the normal response here, as Wh gets an outpost at e5 and then 0-0 looks a bit double-edged for Bl (who lacks Q side counterplay)}) 9... Be7 10. a3 O-O 11. b4 (11. e4 dxe4 $19 {the d pawn drops, 1-2}) 11... Rc8 (11... g6 12. Bb2 a6 13. Rc1 Qd7 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Nd5 $16 {Nielsen-Eriksson, Helsingor Xtracon op 2016,0-1}) 12. Bb2 (12. Nb3 Qd7 13. b5 Nb8 14. Bd2 Rc7 15. Ne5 {Olsen-Knutsen, Finnmark ch,Karasjok 2002 1/2-1/2}) 12... h6 13. Rc1 Re8 14. Ne5 (14. Qa4 $14) 14... Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd7 (15... Rxc1 16. Qxc1 Nd7 17. Qb1 $11) 16. f4 (16. Qa4 Ra8 17. Bb5 $18 {Stockfish12}) 16... Rxc1 17. Qxc1 Qc8 18. Qb1 (18. Bb5 $16) 18... Qb8 19. Rc1 Rc8 20. Nf3 a6 (20... a5 $14) 21. Rc2 (21. Rd1 $16 {Wh retains some possibility of a K side attack}) 21... Rxc2 22. Qxc2 Qc8 23. Qxc8+ Bxc8 24. Nd4 b5 {a defintely bad QB} 25. g3 (25. Nc6 {starts promising, but probably not forcing enough. Wh can just wait as the Bl pieces have nothing much they can do} Bf8 26. Bd4 Bb7 27. Na5 Ba8 28. f5 Be7 $11) 25... Nb6 26. Nc6 Bf8 27. Kf2 Nc4 28. Bc1 Bb7 29. Nd4 g6 30. Kf3 Be7 31. e4 dxe4+ (31... g5 $11) 32. Bxe4 Bxe4+ 33. Kxe4 a5 {this loses a pawn on the Q side} (33... Bd8 { Bl still has to wait}) 34. Nc6 {Bl must lose a piece one way or another} (34. bxa5 Nxa5 35. Nxb5 $18) 34... Bf8 35. bxa5 Bxa3 (35... Nxa5) 36. Bxa3 Nxa3 37. Kd4 (37. a6 Nc4 38. Kd4 Nb6 39. a7 b4 40. Kc5 Na8 41. Nxb4 {and the Bl N is lost}) 37... Kf8 38. Kc5 Ke8 39. a6 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B51"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [TimeControl "600+5"] {[%evp 0,45,19,38,40,41,66,55,56,39,39,28,14,3,10,5,28,-7,8,-2,19,22,17,-26, -20,-37,-38,-47,-15,-40,-40,-79,-48,-61,-61,-92,-188,-174,-18,-26,-57,-47,-16, -16,30,38,295,344]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 (2... e6) (2... Nc6 {have been Adam's previous choices-R}) 3. Bb5+ {B51 Sicilian Defense: Moscow Variation} Nc6 $6 { (0.00 ? 0.59) Inaccuracy. Bd7 was best.} (3... Bd7 4. Qe2 Nf6 5. Bxd7+ Qxd7 6. O-O e6 7. Rd1 Nc6 8. d4) 4. O-O Bd7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 a6 7. Bf1 Bg4 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 e6 {Strangely enough , in some 20 years of playing this line, this particular move has not been played against Rudy-R} (9... g6 {main-R}) 10. d3 Be7 11. a4 {a waiting move, but loses a valuable tempo. 3 draws, 3 Bl wins. Getting on with development with Nd2, main, makes more sense} (11. Qg3 O-O 12. Nd2 (12. Bh6 Ne8 13. Be3 {have been played-R})) (11. g4 O-O 12. Bg2 Nd7 13. Nd2 Bg5 14. Qe2 e5 15. Nf1 Re8 16. Ne3 Nf8 17. Nd5 Bxc1 18. Raxc1 Ne7 19. Ne3 Ne6 20. Qf3 Ng6 {Janik-Hracek, EU ch blitz 2017,0-1}) 11... O-O 12. g4 $6 {getting the initiative is important in blitz & rapid play, but this is over-ambitious-R } (12. Nd2) 12... Nd7 $15 13. Qg2 Bh4 14. Rd1 $6 {(-0.49 ? -1.43) Inaccuracy. Be2 was best.} (14. Be2 Nde5) (14. Be3 Nde5 15. Nd2 f5 16. exf5 exf5 17. gxf5 Rxf5 18. d4 cxd4 19. cxd4 Ng6 20. Qg4 Qf8 21. Ne4 $11 {Stockfish12-R}) 14... f5 $17 {Bl has a lead in development & targets on the K side-R} 15. exf5 exf5 16. Qd5+ $6 {(-1.53 ? -2.65) Inaccuracy. gxf5 was best.} (16. gxf5 Rxf5 17. f4 Qe7 18. Nd2 Rxf4 19. Qd5+ Rf7 20. Ne4 Raf8 21. Qxd6 Qd8 22. Bg2 {this is lichess analysis & Stockfish 12 considers Wh to have gained equality. However lichess next move- at the limit of its calculation , seems to be a blunder-R} Ne7 23. Bg5 $1 {is Stockfish12 response; claiming a win for Wh-R}) 16... Kh8 17. Qxd6 $4 {(-2.38 ? -5.10) Blunder. g5 was best. ( pawn hunting by a Q on her own seldom leads to much joy-R)} (17. g5) 17... fxg4 (17... Qe8 $19 {considered by Adam - is winning for Bl.But Stockfish in addition has 2 even better lines-R}) (17... Rf6 18. Qh2 (18. Qd5 Ne7 19. Qxb7 Rb8 20. Qg2 fxg4 21. Be3 gxh3 22. Qxh3 Nd5 23. Bg2 Nxe3 24. fxe3 Bf2+ 25. Kf1 Ne5 {and the Wh K is running out of protection-R})) (17... Bxf2+ $1 18. Kh1 (18. Kxf2 Qh4+ 19. Kg1 fxg4 20. Qh2 gxh3 21. Bxh3 Nde5 $19 {Wh has 4 useless pieces sitting on the Q side}) 18... Qh4 19. Qxd7 (19. Qf4 g5 20. Qxg5 Qg3 21. gxf5 Qf3+ 22. Qg2 Qxd1 $19) 19... Qg3 20. Bg2 Ne5 21. Qc7 Rf7 22. Qd6 fxg4 23. Nd2 gxh3 24. Be4 Qg4 25. Rf1 Be3 { & it's mate in 5-Stockfish12-R}) 18. Be3 Nde5 $4 {(-5.01 ? 0.11) Blunder. Qe8 was best.} (18... Qe8 19. Nd2 {so far lichess- Stockfish12 continues} g3 $1 20. Ne4 gxf2+ 21. Kh1 (21. Bxf2 Bxf2+ 22. Nxf2 Qe3) 21... Nde5 22. Bxc5 Qh5 23. Bg2 Be7 24. Qe6 Bxc5 25. Nxc5 Rae8 26. Qd5 Rf3 {and the Q has to be given up to delay mate.-R}) 19. Qxd8 {Wh was more than happy to swap off Bl's best attacker } Raxd8 20. Bxc5 $11 Rf5 21. Be3 (21. b4 $16 {allows the QR to defend f2- at last some justification for that a4 move-R}) 21... Rdf8 22. d4 $16 Nc4 $4 { (0.41 ? 5.51) Blunder. Ng6 was best.} (22... Ng6 23. hxg4 Bxf2+ 24. Kh1 Rf3 25. Bxf2 Rxf2 26. Nd2 Nce7 27. Nc4 Nh4 28. d5 (28. Re1 $16 {Stockfish12}) 28... Nxd5 29. Rxd5 {lichess analysis- Stockfish12 judges this to be dawn after} Rxf1+ 30. Rxf1 Rxf1+ 31. Kh2 h6 {R}) 23. Bxc4 {Normal Black resigns.} 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Lovegrove, Robert"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B22"] [WhiteElo "1500"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,57,28,14,57,65,99,7,93,84,103,93,80,68,57,65,57,1,58,53,18,42,15,9,44, 44,56,44,44,56,16,19,90,90,235,105,105,79,94,94,200,194,540,439,466,296,446, 469,472,484,499,575,578,294,314,345,343,333,389,367]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 d6 3. c3 g6 (3... Nf6) (3... Nc6) 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Bg7 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O a6 (8... Nc6 {main} 9. h3) 9. a4 Bg4 (9... Nc6) 10. Be3 (10. h3 {only move played here, 3-1}) 10... Nc6 11. h3 Bd7 12. b3 {this can become a weakness} (12. Qd3 { by transposition} Rc8 13. d5 Nb4 14. Qe2 Nc2 15. Rac1 Nxe3 16. fxe3 Bh6 17. Nd2 Qb6 18. Nd1 Bxa4 $19 {Suran-Koci, CZE ch U12, Hrdonov 2013,1/2-1/2}) (12. Rc1 $16 {Stockfish12}) 12... Na5 13. Bd3 Rc8 14. Rc1 Qb6 15. e5 (15. Nd2 $16) 15... Ne8 (15... Rxc3 {is one of those opportunistic Engine tactics} 16. Rxc3 Nd5 17. Rc1 dxe5 18. b4 (18. dxe5 Nxe3 19. fxe3 Nxb3 20. Rc3 Nc5 {and with the weak pawns, Bl has enough for te exchange}) 18... Nc6 19. a5 Nxe3 20. axb6 Nxd1 21. Rfxd1 exd4 $11 {Stockfish12}) 16. Nd5 $18 (16. b4 $1 $18 Qxb4 (16... Nc4 17. Nd5) (16... Nc6 17. d5) 17. Nd5 Rxc1 18. Qxc1 Qxa4 19. Qc3 Bc6 20. Nxe7+ Kh8 21. Nd2 dxe5 22. dxe5 Nc7 23. Bb6 $18 {Stockfish12}) 16... Rxc1 (16... Qd8 { a bit better} 17. Bg5 Rxc1 18. Qxc1 f6 19. exf6 exf6 20. Be3 Be6 21. Nf4 Bf7 22. b4 Nc6 23. Bxa6 Nxb4 24. Bxb7 $18 {Stockfish12}) 17. Nxe7+ (17. Nxb6 Rxd1 18. Rxd1 Bf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5 20. b4 Nc6 21. Nd7 {wins an exchange-Stockfish12}) 17... Kh8 18. Qxc1 (18. Bxc1) 18... dxe5 (18... Qxb3) 19. Nxe5 Nxb3 $2 (19... Qd6) 20. Qa3 (20. Nxd7 $18) 20... Bf5 21. Bxf5 gxf5 22. Nd7 (22. Nd5 Qd6 23. Qxb3) 22... Qe6 23. Nxf8 Bxf8 24. Ng6+ fxg6 25. Qxf8+ Qg8 26. Qxg8+ (26. Qe7) 26... Kxg8 27. Rb1 Na5 28. Bd2 (28. Rb6) 28... Nc6 29. d5 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Orton, Paul"] [Black "Gunn, Tom"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B95"] [WhiteElo "1612"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,80,8,34,66,56,68,51,36,27,64,77,68,64,103,73,67,62,225,42,37,14,17,-7, 56,13,20,-1,14,-15,-9,-32,28,-29,-35,-56,0,-21,-27,-35,9,-9,-22,-43,41,-20,-8, -35,-8,3,19,9,2,0,0,-12,-18,-15,19,-27,-25,-28,-15,-332,-350,-375,-375,-375, -290,-287,-297,-338,-292,-394,-351,-367,-371,-388,-387,-391,-388,-613,-644]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 {It seems that Paul has not faced this move before!} 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Bb4 (5... Qc7 {main} 6. Be2 Bb4 7. Qd3 Nf6 8. Bd2 b5 9. O-O Bb7 10. Ncxb5 axb5 11. Bxb4 Bxe4 {Thomas-Gunn, WCU Online U1800 2020,0-1}) 6. Bd2 Qc7 (6... Nc6) (6... Nf6) 7. Bd3 Nf6 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 (9. a3 {main}) 9... Be7 10. Qe2 (10. Re1) (10. Kh1) 10... d6 11. Rae1 e5 $146 (11... Bd7 {1 game each}) (11... b5 {0.5-1.5}) (11... Nbd7 {Cloud Engines}) 12. Nf5 Bxf5 13. exf5 Nbd7 14. h4 {loosens Wh's K side more than the threat to Bl's- though Bl needs to react in the centre} (14. Bc4 b5 15. Bb3 b4 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Ne4 $16 { Stockfish12- Wh's B is a better piece}) 14... Rfe8 (14... d5 15. Bxf6 Nxf6 16. Qxe5 Bd6 17. Qd4 Bc5 18. Qe5 Bd6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 15. Qf3 (15. Bxf6 Nxf6 16. g4 {virtually forces Bl to sacrifice a piece to stop the K side being overwhelmed} Rad8 17. g5 d5 (17... Nd7 18. Nd5 Qc5 19. Be4 $18) 18. gxf6 Bxf6 19. f3 Bxh4 20. Rb1 Qc6 21. Qg2 Rd6 22. Qg4 Rh6 23. Kg2 Bf6 24. Rh1 Rxh1 25. Kxh1 e4 26. fxe4 Bxc3 27. bxc3 dxe4 28. Be2 Qxc3 29. Rxb7 Qxc2 $11 { Stockfish12 -means both sides have chances}) 15... Bf8 (15... Qc6 $11) 16. Nd5 (16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Ne4 Be7 18. g3 Rad8 19. Nxf6+ Bxf6 20. Be4 $16 {Stockfish12} ) 16... Nxd5 17. Qxd5 Qc6 (17... Nb6 18. Qf3 d5 $11) 18. Qxc6 (18. Be4 $16 { keeps a Wh grip on d5}) 18... bxc6 $11 19. c4 f6 (19... d5) 20. Bd2 Nc5 21. Bc2 Rab8 (21... a5) 22. b3 (22. b4 Nd7 23. Rc1 Rec8 24. Rfd1 $18 {keeps the Bl centre under restraint and has lurking Bs. But then Stockfish has a built-in high 'comtempt' factor- always looking to play that which maximises the possibility of a win. Most humans would not give such a clearcut answer here}) 22... d5 23. b4 (23. cxd5 cxd5 24. Rc1 $14) 23... Nd7 (23... Ne4 24. Bxe4 dxe4 25. Rxe4 Red8 26. Re2 Bxb4 $11 {Stockfish12}) 24. cxd5 cxd5 25. Bb3 Bxb4 (25... Nb6) 26. Bxd5+ Kf8 27. Bxb4+ Rxb4 28. g3 (28. Rc1 $16) 28... Rd8 (28... Rd4 $11 ) 29. Re2 (29. Rc1 Rd4 $11) 29... Nc5 30. Rd1 (30. Bg2) 30... Na4 (30... Rd4 $17) 31. Ree1 $2 (31. Rc2 Rd4 32. Rxd4 exd4 33. Be4 d3 34. Rd2 Nc5 35. f3 Rd4 36. Kf2 Nxe4+ 37. fxe4 Rxe4 38. Rxd3 Ra4 39. a3 $11) 31... Nc3 $19 32. Rd2 Rxd5 33. Rc2 Rd1 (33... Nb5) 34. Rxd1 Nxd1 35. Rd2 Nc3 36. Rc2 Rc4 37. Kg2 Ke7 38. Kf3 Kd6 39. Rd2+ Rd4 40. Rxd4+ exd4 0-1 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "4"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "Paffard, Mark"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "1648"] [BlackElo "1608"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,49,19,-12,11,16,11,0,-8,-3,16,-15,15,5,39,17,23,13,23,13,31,26,32,28, 32,20,45,-1,-5,-7,-25,-43,-52,-47,-64,-76,-73,-102,-131,-122,-137,-131,-63,-61, -14,-13,14,12,107,74,749,768]} 1. c4 c5 {neither player seems to have gone down this route before} 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 Nc6 (3... d5 {main}) 4. Bg2 e6 5. e4 a6 6. d3 e5 (6... Be7) 7. Nge2 d6 8. O-O Be7 9. f4 {3 Wh wins, 1 draw, 1 Bl win } Bg4 10. h3 Bxe2 11. Nxe2 O-O (11... h5 12. Nc3 exf4 13. Bxf4 Qd7 14. Bg5 Ng8 15. Be3 Bf6 16. Nd5 Qd8 17. Rb1 Bd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd4 19. b4 $18 {Becker-Kreie, GER Seniors, Dresden 2012,0-1}) 12. Be3 (12. f5 $14 {Stockfish12- 0.5-1.5}) 12... Nd4 13. Bxd4 (13. Nc3) 13... cxd4 14. g4 Nd7 $17 15. Ng3 exf4 16. Rxf4 ( 16. Nh5 $5) 16... Bg5 $19 (16... Ne5 $19) (16... g6 $19 {Stockfish12 assessment based on Wh having lost control over the bl squares and a bad B on g2 (which would become fatal if Bl can swap his B for the Wh N)}) 17. Rf1 g6 18. b3 {and now all pawns on a wh square} Ne5 19. Ne2 Be3+ 20. Kh1 b5 (20... Nxg4 $19 {simplest}) 21. Nf4 Qh4 (21... Bxf4 {surely} 22. Rxf4 Rb8 {and Bl is winning all endgames & probably some middlegames as well}) 22. Nd5 Rac8 (22... Bg5) 23. Qe2 (23. Nxe3 dxe3 24. Qe2 bxc4 25. d4 Nd7 26. bxc4 h5 27. gxh5 Nf6 28. Qe1 Qxe1 29. Rfxe1 Rxc4 30. hxg6 Rxd4 31. gxf7+ Rxf7 32. Rxe3 $11 {the Wh pawns still impede the B}) 23... h5 $6 (23... Qg3 $15 24. Nxe3 Qxe3 25. Qxe3 dxe3 26. Rfd1 Rfe8 $15) 24. gxh5 (24. Nxe3 dxe3 25. gxh5 Qxh5 26. Qxe3 $16 { Wh's centre pawns are becoming mobile, releasing the B behind them}) 24... Qxh5 $2 (24... Bg5 $11) 25. Nf6+ 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E90"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [TimeControl "600+5"] {[%evp 0,44,14,14,25,39,73,37,37,35,45,35,25,7,-3,-16,17,-19,-3,-1,-5,-5,16,16, 24,18,35,8,16,-40,4,4,12,-15,-8,-61,-76,-82,-16,-68,38,-6,133,-311,-306,-535, -506]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 {E60 King's Indian Defense: Normal Variation, King's Knight Variation} (3. e3 {usually Wh has gone for a Colle, but was in search of a more open game}) 3... Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 (6. Be2 {main} ) 6... Bg4 (6... e5) 7. O-O (7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nc6 9. Be3 (9. Ne2 Nd7 10. Qe3 e5 11. d5 Nd4 12. O-O f5 {Iolo Jones-Van Kemenade,Dyfed League 2009,1/2-1/2}) 9... Nd7 {is similar} 10. Ne2 $2 Nde5 $1 {following a personal recommendation from Bent Larsen, about how to respond to 6 Bd3} 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Nxd3+ 13. Kf1 Nxb2 {Finlay-Van Kemenade, Finlay-Van Kemenade, Aberystwyth club game 2012,0-1}) 7... Nc6 8. Be3 Bxf3 {perhaps a little early} (8... e5 {main} 9. d5 Nd4 10. Be2 {33% for Wh}) (8... Nd7 9. Be2 e5 {33 % for Wh} (9... Bxf3 10. Bxf3 e5 {33% for Wh})) 9. Qxf3 Nd7 10. d5 (10. Ne2 {hoped for , but Wh did not wish to be retreating} Nde5 (10... e5 {1 game each found in databases}) 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Nxd3 $19) 10... Nce5 (10... Nd4 11. Qd1 c5 $11 {0-2}) 11. Qe2 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 {Wh has quite a reasonable position here & 2-0} c5 (12... c6 {Cloud Engines}) 13. f4 a6 14. f5 $6 {looks attacking, but cedes the bl squares} (14. a4 $14 {awaiting events}) 14... Ne5 (14... Qa5 $17 {Stockfish12}) 15. Qe2 Rb8 16. fxg6 hxg6 17. b3 Qd7 (17... b5 18. cxb5 Qa5 $19 {Stockfish12}) 18. Qd2 (18. a4 Ng4 19. Bd2 Bd4+ 20. Kh1 Kg7 $19 {Bl controls the centre & is coming down the h file or b file}) 18... Rfe8 {an unneccessary precaution to keep the bl B} (18... Ng4 19. Kh1 Nxe3 20. Qxe3 b5 $19) 19. Qf2 $2 (19. a4 $5) 19... f5 { aiming for a tactic, but weakening the K side} (19... Ng4 {wins immediately} 20. Qxf7+ Kh7 21. Bg5 Rf8 22. Qxe7 Qxe7 23. Bxe7 Bd4+ 24. Kh1 Nf2+ 25. Rxf2 Rxf2) (19... b5 $19 {is a positionally winning line}) 20. exf5 (20. h3 $11 { Stockfish12, both sides still have chances} Nxc4 (20... Rf8 21. Qg3 b5 22. Bf4 Qe8 23. cxb5 axb5 24. exf5 Rxf5 25. Ne4) 21. bxc4 Bxc3 22. Rad1 Be5 23. Bf4 { and Wh gets a lot of play if Bl avoids swapping the B} Bg7 24. Qg3 $16) 20... Ng4 (20... Qxf5 $17) 21. Qd2 (21. Qh4 $1 {Stockfish12- provides a miracle save} gxf5 (21... Nxe3 22. fxg6 Nf5 23. Qh7+ Kf8 24. Rf2 e6 25. Raf1 Re7 26. dxe6 { would be fatal for Bl}) 22. Bd2 Bd4+ (22... Bf6 23. Qg3 Be5 24. Bf4 Bd4+ 25. Kh1 e5 26. dxe6 Rxe6 27. Rac1 Qg7 28. Nd5 Re2 29. h3 Nf2+ 30. Kh2 Qxg3+ 31. Bxg3 Kf7 $11 {Stockfish12}) 23. Kh1 e5 24. Qg5+ Qg7 25. Qxg7+ Kxg7 26. Rxf5 Nf2+ 27. Rxf2 Bxf2 28. Ne4 Rf8 29. Nxd6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 21... Nxe3 $19 22. Qxe3 Bd4 {Normal White resigns.} 0-1 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Lovegrove, Robert"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1500"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,65,19,28,37,37,15,5,28,0,2,2,10,12,20,6,17,0,38,14,64,12,32,27,27,-20, -2,-19,-19,-33,-33,-49,332,52,158,-61,0,-244,-240,-240,-177,-29989,-274,-364, -368,-29991,61,57,173,47,206,193,295,282,261,261,564,578,577,581,586,587,605, 625,639,595,29975,29982]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3 Bc5 6. O-O Nf6 {the Neo-Archangelsk} 7. c3 {main} (7. d3 O-O 8. c3 d6 9. h3 h6 10. Re1 Bb7 11. Nbd2 {Van Kemenade-Lovegrove February Rapid rd2 2021,1-0}) 7... d6 8. a4 (8. d4 Bb6 9. a4 (9. h3)) 8... Be6 $146 (8... Rb8) (8... Bg4) (8... Bb7) 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. axb5 (10. Qb3 b4 11. Qxe6+ $16 {Deep Fritz13}) (10. d4 Bb6 11. Qb3 O-O 12. Qxe6+ Kh8 13. Be3 $16 {Stockfish121}) 10... axb5 11. Rxa8 Qxa8 12. Qb3 Ke7 (12... Kd7 13. Qxb5 Nxe4 14. d4 exd4 15. cxd4 Bb6 16. Nc3 Nxc3 17. bxc3 Qa5 18. Qb1 $14 {Stockfish12}) 13. d4 (13. Qxb5 Rb8 14. Qd3 (14. Qe2 Qa2 $11) 14... Nd8 15. Qc2 Qxe4 16. d3 Qc6 17. Re1 Bb6 18. h3 h6 19. Nbd2 $14 { Stockfish12}) 13... exd4 14. Ng5 Nd8 15. Qxb5 (15. cxd4 Bxd4 16. Na3 Bc5 $11 { Stockfish12}) 15... Nxe4 $2 (15... e5 $15) (15... Qb7 $11) 16. Re1 (16. Nxe4 Qxe4 17. Bg5+ Kf7 18. Qd7+ Kg6 19. Bxd8 $18 {Stockfish12}) (16. b4 $18 { next move takes on e4}) 16... Nxf2 $2 {life can get complicated after this} ( 16... Nf6 $15 {Stockfish12}) 17. cxd4 (17. b4 Bb6 (17... Qc6 18. Qxc6 Nxc6 19. bxc5) 18. Nxe6 $18 {Stockfish12}) (17. Kxf2 dxc3+ 18. Kg3 Rf8 19. Nf3 $18 { Stockfish12}) 17... Bxd4 18. Be3 (18. Qc4 c5 19. Nxe6 Nd3+ 20. Nxd4+ Nxe1 21. Qe2+ Kd7 22. Qg4+ Kc7 23. Nb5+ Kb6 24. Nxd6 Qxg2+ 25. Qxg2 Nxg2 26. Kxg2 Kc6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 18... Bxe3 19. Rxe3 Ng4 $19 (19... Nd1 $19 20. Ra3 Qc6 21. Qxc6 Nxc6 $19 {Stockfish12}) 20. Re1 $2 (20. Ra3) 20... Rf8 $2 {missing the Philidor theme} (20... Qa7+ {mating} 21. Kh1 Nf2+ 22. Kg1 Nh3+ 23. Kh1 Qg1+ 24. Rxg1 Nf2#) 21. Nxe6 (21. Nh3) 21... Nxe6 22. Qc4 (22. Qg5+ Nf6 23. Qxg7+ Rf7 24. Qg3 Nd5 $19 {Stockfish12}) 22... Qc8 (22... Qa7+ {and the smothered mate is still there}) 23. Qxg4 g6 (23... Qd7 $11) 24. Nc3 (24. Qh4+ g5 25. Qxh7+ Rf7 26. Qg6 $18 {Stockfish12}) 24... c6 (24... Rf5 25. Qh4+ Kf7 26. Qxh7+ Ng7 $11 { Stockfish12}) 25. Qh4+ Ke8 26. Qxh7 Qd7 27. Qxg6+ Qf7 $2 (27... Ke7 28. h3 $18 {Stockfish12-best try}) 28. Rxe6+ Kd7 29. Rxd6+ Ke7 30. Qxf7+ (30. Nd5+ cxd5 31. Qxf7+ Kxf7 32. Rxd5 $18) 30... Rxf7 31. Rxc6 Kd7 32. Ra6 Kc7 33. Ra7+ 1-0 [Event "February Rapid Swiss"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Holman, Sam"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] {[%evp 0,66,19,38,30,40,43,15,27,17,21,1,1,8,3,-51,-17,-65,-59,-60,-59,-70,-53, -75,-43,-100,-71,-82,-46,-49,72,68,70,16,56,59,84,-1,74,74,72,81,121,65,62,65, 64,119,106,106,110,110,141,119,430,148,148,109,133,110,110,106,106,-84,-105, -105,-116,-162,13]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 (4. c3 {supporting the centre is the normal procedure, Sam has had a win, draw & loss with it; Matthew 2 draws & a loss against it}) (4. Qg4 cxd4 5. Nf3 {gambits the pawn, as in a famour Zugzwang game by Nimzowitch.}) 4... cxd4 (4... Nc6 {main}) 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nxc6 {35 % strengthens Bls centre- the whole line is not very convincing} (6. Bb5 {main 19% for Wh}) 6... bxc6 7. f4 {protects e5, but weakens K side} (7. Bd3 {main, develops,42% for Wh}) 7... Bc5 {0.5-4.5} (7... Nh6 {0-2}) (7... Ne7 {0-1}) 8. Qe2 $6 {to be able to play Be3 at some point, but obstructs the KB} Ne7 $19 9. Nd2 {to block the b file, but Wh is falling behind in development} O-O 10. Nb3 Bb6 11. Be3 Nf5 (11... c5 $19) 12. Bxb6 Qxb6 (12... axb6 {has its points as well, holds up 0-0-0 & reinforces the centre}) 13. O-O-O c5 $19 (13... a5 $19) 14. g4 c4 $2 {a bad decision, it allows Wh to block the b file onto his K, and open the g file onto the Wh K.} (14... Ne7 $19 ) 15. gxf5 $18 cxb3 16. cxb3 (16. axb3 {looks more harmonious & a better pawn structure for any endgame} exf5 17. Bg2 Bb7 (17... Be6 18. Bxd5 $18) 18. Rhe1 Rac8 19. Kb1 $18 {Stockfish12}) 16... Bb7 (16... exf5 17. Bg2 Be6 18. Kb1 Rfd8 {because of the open c file, Bl has time to defend d5}) 17. f6 $18 d4 18. Qg4 ( 18. Rg1 g6 19. Qd3 Kh8 20. h4 Rg8 21. Kb1 $18 {Stockfish12-and Wh will breakthrough on the K side- Stockfish12 decines taking on d4 as that gives up Wh's best attacker against g7 & h7}) 18... Rac8+ 19. Kb1 Be4+ 20. Bd3 Bg6 21. f5 (21. h4 $18 Bxd3+ 22. Rxd3 g6 23. h5 Qc6 24. Rdd1 d3 25. hxg6 fxg6 26. Qh3 Qc2+ 27. Ka1 Rf7 28. Qxd3 $18 {Stockfish12}) 21... exf5 22. Bxf5 gxf6 (22... Rc5 23. Bxg6 hxg6 24. Qxd4 Re8 25. a4 (25. Rhe1 gxf6 $11) 25... Rcxe5 26. Qxb6 axb6 27. Rhf1 R5e6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 23. h4 Kh8 (23... h5 24. Qf3 fxe5 25. Rhg1 Kh8 (25... Kh7 26. Qxh5+) 26. Rg5 Qc6 27. Qd3 Rg8 28. a3 $18 {Stockfish12} ) 24. h5 Bxf5+ 25. Qxf5 $18 Qc6 (25... fxe5 26. Qxe5+ f6 27. Qxd4 Qxd4 28. Rxd4 Rf7 29. h6 $18 {Stockfish12, though Bl must retain some drawing chancesas Wh's Q side pawns are a bit clumsy}) 26. Rhg1 (26. Rc1 $1 Qa6 27. Qxf6+ Qxf6 28. exf6 Rcd8 29. Rc7 a6 30. Rc6 a5 31. Rc5 Rd6 32. Rf1 d3 33. Rxa5 d2 34. Rd1 Rxf6 35. Rd5 $18 {Stockfish12-now the Q side pawns will be decisive}) 26... fxe5 ( 26... Qe6 $5 27. Qxf6+ Qxf6 28. exf6 {similar to above note}) 27. Qxe5+ (27. Rc1 $18 {Stockfish12- is the clearest- Bl must give up the Q to hold off immediate loss} Qe6 28. Qg5 $1 Rxc1+ (28... Rg8 29. Rxc8) 29. Kxc1 Qc6+ 30. Kd2 {and now the best try is} Qg6 31. hxg6 fxg6 32. Qh6 Kg8 33. Rc1 {when it is over soon}) 27... f6 28. Qe7 (28. Qxd4 $18 {simplest- the pawn left on turns out to be Bl's saviour}) 28... Rg8 (28... Qc2+ 29. Ka1 Qc7 30. Qb4 Qc5 31. Qd2 Qxh5 32. Qxd4 $18 {Stockfish12-but again, Bl must surely have some holding chances- material is level, Bl's pawns are wqeak- But Wh has doubled pawns, though his K is safer}) 29. Rxg8+ (29. a4 $18) 29... Rxg8 30. Rf1 (30. a4 $18) (30. a3 $18) 30... d3 31. Qe1 (31. a4 $18) (31. a3 $18) 31... Qc2+ 32. Ka1 d2 $19 33. Qd1 (33. Qb1 {is better, though} Qc5 34. a3 Rd8 35. h6 Qe3 36. Ka2 Qxh6 $19 {Stockfish12}) 33... Rc8 {and Wh resigned, though he has been given the chance of a draw} (33... Rc8 34. Qxc2 Rxc2 35. Kb1 Rc5 36. h6 Rc6 37. Rd1 f5 38. Rxd2 Rxh6 39. Rd8+ Kg7 40. Rd7+ Kg6 41. Rxa7 $11) (33... Qd3 $1 $19 { Stockfish12- would have forced the win as the R can now come to c1} 34. Qb1 Qe3 35. a4 Rc8 36. Qf5 Rc1+ 37. Ka2 Rxf1 38. Qxf1 Qd4 39. Qd1 Kg7 {and the Bl K will join in, and/or the f pawn comes through}) 0-1

Changing Places

The last round of the Dyfed Online Closed tournament, played, mostly, on Tuesday 2nd February, saw the Aber players changing places, though Cardigan's Howard Williams continued his serene progress to the title. I got a strong attack against Bill Hewitt with my English opening, but wasn't sure how to continue. After a long think, I took the wrong option and the game changed quickly with his pieces invading the weaknesses in my position instead of the other way round. Adam Watkin-Jones had a lot of pressure against Mark Paffard's backward pawn in a Closed Sicilian, and White's pieces were so tied down to its defence that they were unable to respond when the attack switched to the king. Rudy van Kemenade emerged with a superior development from his Vienna / Bishop's Opening, and when Scott Hammett missed the threat to a piece, Black's collapse was sudden. Tom Gunn had the edge against David Pinch in a Queen's Pawn Game in which the players were castled on opposite sides. Black's attack got though first, but he missed the winning line and settled for a draw against his higher-rated opponent. Sam Holman was under pressure from Gwyn Jones in another Queen's Pawn Game, but White was unable to deal with an unexpected counter-threat, losing a piece, though the ending was still hard work for Black. Howard Williams won the tournament with 5/5, with Martin Jones second on tie-break above Bill Hewitt, both on 4. Adam was Aber's highest-placed player with 3½. Rudy and I finished on 3, Tom on 2½ and Sam on 2.

[Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.02"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "Hewitt, William"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "1914"] [BlackElo "1949"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,80,19,-18,-9,-12,32,14,12,26,5,-13,13,-21,-25,-15,-17,-17,-4,-17,-4,1, 10,5,16,11,-15,8,12,-15,5,-7,-7,-30,-33,-27,11,10,13,25,26,10,52,38,39,58,69, 60,62,100,111,142,142,46,61,-25,-41,-167,-182,-183,-174,-170,-177,-181,-203, -328,-316,-311,-293,-318,-245,-290,-313,-1565,-395,-876,-447,-440,-453,-563, -623,-679,-861]} 1. c4 Nf6 (1... g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 d6 4. e4 Nc6 5. d3 f5 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O e6 9. exf5 gxf5 10. Rb1 a5 11. Nf4 Nd4 12. Nh5 Nxh5 13. Qxh5 c6 14. Bh6 Qf6 15. Bxg7 Qxg7 16. Rfe1 Bd7 {Francis-R Van Kemenade, Dyfed Closed 2014,0-1-(other notes by Bill)-R}) 2. Nc3 (2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nf3 Bd6 8. O-O a6 9. Re1 O-O 10. e4 $5 { Francis-Leah, Dyfed Closed 2014, 0-1-R}) 2... g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Nge2 c5 {main-R} (6... e5 7. d3 h6 {1-0 (33) Morris,C (2149)-Hewitt,W (2061) WCPL: 2015}) 7. d3 (7. O-O Nc6 {½-½ (45) Heap,G (2111)-Hewitt,W (1990) Fishguard 2020}) 7... Nc6 8. O-O a6 (8... Ne8 {0-1 (47) Francis,M (1648) -Williams,A (2340) Dyfed Online Closed 2021}) 9. a3 (9. h3 {I've had before in a few rapid games [main-R]}) 9... Rb8 10. Rb1 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. b4 Ba6 ( 12... c4 13. dxc4 bxc4 14. h3 {1-0 (35) Chesters,G-Thomas,B (1790) Cardiff 2014 }) (12... cxb4 {main- with this and earlier variants the players are deep into elite GM practice-R}) 13. h3 Nd7 14. f4 (14. Be3 Nd4 15. f4 (15. Qd2 {main - though we are now out of the GM activity-R})) 14... Nd4 15. Kh1 {I later found games where two other moves were played [both slightly preferred by Stockfish12-R]} (15. Be3 e5 {0-1 (43) Egeli,P-Salo,H (2240) Gausdal 1991}) (15. Kh2 e6 {1/2-1/2 (32) Csom,I (2455) -Enders,P (2470) Budapest 1995}) 15... e6 16. Nxd4 cxd4 17. Ne2 f5 {Played to prevent f4-f5, but it just causes too many weaknesses. It's often necesary in closed Sicilian positions, but with the white queen having b3 it's a poor choice.} (17... Bb7 $15 {Stockfish12-R}) 18. exf5 gxf5 19. Qb3 Re8 {Even if black breaks the pin on the e-pawn, ...e5, fxe5 and the f5 pawn drops} (19... Kh8 {Fritz16, is interesting, it gives black an open e-file and some counterplay. What it's really saying, black is better off without that pawn on e6![Stockfish12 also gives Kh8, but slightly prefers the text- with both continuations it gives Wh a definite plus-R]} 20. Qxe6 Re8 21. Qa2 Nb6) 20. Bb2 Qb6 21. Rbc1 {White is invading on the c-file and black has weak pawns on d4 & e6. I felt here I could be quickly squashed without any play } (21. g4 {Stockfish12 decides that a K side assault is the best way to take advantage of the f5 weakening, especially since several Bl pieces are hanging around on the Q side, plus e6 ties a R up temporarily-R} Kh8 22. Rf2 $16 { Stockfish12 also starts off with Rf2 first-R}) 21... Bb7 22. Bxb7 Qxb7+ 23. Kh2 Qb6 24. Rc2 {Stockfish12, after a bit of a pause considers Wh to be winning now-R} Kh8 {Black has to create counterplay} (24... Re7 25. Ng1 {bringing the N into position as well- the Engine is maximising all of the pieces before plunging in-R} Nf8 26. Rfc1 Qa7 27. Nf3 h6 {and Bl is clinging on- according to Stockfish12. though Wh retains excellent prospects with either Rc6 or Rg2-R} ) 25. Rfc1 e5 26. Rc6 {Played after about 10 minutes thought, both c6 and c7 seem very inviting squares} (26. Rc7 $1 Rb7 (26... Nc5 27. Qf7) 27. R7c6 Qd8 28. Qd5 {I didn't like the look of this at all for black. [Stockfish12 assesses this as winning for Wh, with Rxd6 even stronger-R]}) 26... Qb7 { [and Stockfish12 now thinks it is level- whether Rc7, Qf7, Qd5 or QC2 are played} 27. Rc7 (27. Qf7) 27... Qf3 {After the game Matthew said this had surprised him and now black has some activity. We're at a critical point now where things turned surprisingly quickly. [Note how the passive N gives Bl an escape route-and how Stockfish12 in earlier variations put it into a better post before attempting R invasions-R]} 28. Qd1 {[after this retreat, Stockfish12 has Bl winning in all lines} (28. Ng1 Qf2+ 29. Kh1 {Is what I expected & I hadn't decided what to do next} exf4 {was my first choice but white can draw immediately} (29... Rbd8 {was the next thought, I wasn't too keen at the time, as white has plans such as Qf7, but Fritz says it's "equal" [ as does Stockfish-R]}) 30. R1c2 (30. Rxd7 $2 fxg3 31. Rc2 g2+ 32. Kh2 Be5#) 30... Qf1 31. Rc1 {is a draw} (31. Rxd7 Re1)) 28... Nf6 29. R7c2 Nd5 {all of a sudden the weak d5 square is a massive outpost} 30. Nc3 (30. Qh1 Qf2+ 31. Qg2 Qxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Ne3+) 30... Qxd1 31. Nxd1 exf4 32. Rc6 Re2+ 33. Kg1 Be5 34. Kf1 Rh2 (34... f3 $1 {[Stockfish12-R]}) 35. gxf4 Nxf4 36. Rxd6 Nxd3 $2 (36... Bxd6 37. Bxd4+ Kg8) (36... Rh1+ 37. Kf2 Rg8 {Stockfish12- and Wh can only delay the by giving up both Rs to make it a mate in 10-R}) 37. Rdc6 Nxb2 {simplest- Stockfish12 goes for the mate with both Rs-R} 38. Nxb2 Rxb2 39. Re6 Bf4 40. Rc5 d3 (40... Be3 {Stockfish12-R It is quite instructive to see how swiftly one inaccurate move in pursuit of the win can transform into a losing position. One just has to keep the momentum going _R}) 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.02"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Paffard, Mark"] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B24"] [WhiteElo "1608"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,48,34,46,56,66,52,18,16,12,19,-27,-21,-36,-25,-27,-25,-38,-28,-28,1, -35,-54,-68,-55,-68,-24,-31,-34,-34,50,-35,-46,-81,-79,-74,-85,-93,-80,-78,-91, -246,-231,-292,-300,-464,-470,-560,-560,-1691,-2387]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nd5 {a bit early to be making 2nd moves with the same piece - Wh has scored only 37% with this} (5. d3 {standard, which has yielded Mark 2 wins, 4 draws & 3 losses}) (5. Nf3 e5 {Orton-Watkin-Jones, Dyfed League 2016, 0-1}) 5... e6 6. Ne3 Nge7 7. Ne2 (7. f4 $5) (7. d3 $5) 7... O-O (7... d5 { 1 draw, 2 Bl wins}) 8. O-O d5 $15 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. c3 (10. d3 {looks better}) 10... Nxe3 (10... Nde7) 11. fxe3 (11. dxe3 $15 {at least leaves the pawn structure balanced, though Bl retains a lead in development}) 11... e5 $19 12. b3 Re8 (12... Be6) 13. Ba3 Qa5 14. Bb2 c4 {Wh now suffers in a similar way to Williams-Jones in the same round with a fatally backward d pawn, providing no scope for the Wh pieces} 15. b4 Qc7 16. Qc2 Be6 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. Rfe1 Rd7 19. a4 Red8 20. Nc1 Bf5 21. e4 Bg4 22. Ne2 Qb6+ (22... Bh6 {Rudy, kibitzing, also very powerful.}) 23. Kf1 Rd6 24. h3 Rf6+ {Wh has to start by giving up a N} 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.02.02"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Hammett, Scott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C28"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "1590"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,29,19,38,25,11,18,24,24,-18,23,18,26,24,34,6,20,12,18,-3,8,19,96,96, 96,96,369,376,635,716,2645,3147]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 (2. Nf3 f5 {allows Bl to play their favourite Latvian Gambit-R}) 2... Nc6 (2... Bc5 3. Nd5 $6 Nf6 4. Bc4 c6 5. Nc3 d5 {should have been fine for Bl in Hefin Jones-Hammett, Dyfed Major 2019,1-0}) (2... Nf6 3. f4 Bb4 (3... d5 {main}) 4. Nf3 (4. fxe5 $1 $16) 4... Bxc3 5. dxc3 Nxe4 6. fxe5 f5 7. Bc4 $16 {Francis-Hammett,Dyfed League 2014,1-0} ) (2... f5 3. Nf3 {transposition, 1.5-3.5 Hammett} (3. exf5 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qe3+ Qe7 7. Bc4 Qxe3+ 8. Bxe3 Bb4 9. Nge2 d5 10. Bd3 { Scott-Hammett,Dyfed Major 2017,1-0})) (2... Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 7. Qf3 f5 8. Qd5 Qe7 9. Nxc7+ Kd8 10. Nxa8 b6 {is the exciting Frankenstein-Dracula variation}) 3. Bc4 Nf6 {main} 4. d3 Bb4 (4... Na5 { alternative}) 5. Nge2 {C28 Bishop's Opening: Vienna Hybrid, Hromádka Variation} d5 6. exd5 Nxd5 7. O-O (7. a3 {can lead to complex positions- Wh is trying to get the Q to h5 early-R} Nxc3 (7... Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. O-O (10. Qh5)) 8. Nxc3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 O-O 10. O-O (10. Qh5)) 7... Nxc3 {though the second most common move it looks like a positional inaccuracy- Wh gets a strenghtened cenre & the B has to move again-R} (7... Be6 {maintains the centre posting & can be found in elite GM practice-R}) (7... Bxc3 8. Nxc3 (8. bxc3 {looks quite playable, though Wh has 2 Bs & the standard f4 break}) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 O-O 10. f4 (10. Qh5 {have both been positions easier to play for Wh, with good results-R})) 8. bxc3 Be7 (8... Bd6 {main eg Nakamura-Firouzja, chess.com Bullet blitz KO Dec2020,1/2-1/2}) 9. f4 (9. Ng3 {2 Wh wins, 2 draws, 1 Bl win- infiltrates on the wh squares-R}) 9... Bc5+ {the third time the B has moved in the space of 9 moves- Bl is falling behind in development now} ( 9... O-O {2 Wh wins, 2 draws, 1 Bl win as well}) (9... Na5 {looks a good idea} 10. Bb3 Nxb3 11. axb3 exf4 12. Nxf4 O-O 13. Qf3 $11 {Garcia Blanco-Batsiashvili, Vecindario Montalvo memorial nov 2020, 0-1-R}) 10. Kh1 exf4 $2 {(0.34 ? 1.62) Mistake. O-O was best.} (10... O-O 11. f5 Na5 12. Bb3 Nxb3 13. axb3 Bd6 14. f6 $16 {Brenke-Klapp, GER corr 1991,1-0-R}) 11. Nxf4 O-O 12. Qh5 {Wh is far better developed- the Bl Q side has trouble coming to the aid of their K. Stockfish12 already considers Wh is winning-R} Qf6 $4 {(1.80 ? 6.42) Blunder. Bd6 was best. [ one needs to look at the whole board , not just one corner of it-R]} (12... Bd6 {lichess analysis} 13. d4 Qd7 14. Bd3 h6 15. h3 Ne7 16. a4 b6 17. c4 Rb8 18. a5 (18. Bd2 $18 {Stockfish12}) (18. Rf3 $18 { Stockfish12}) 18... Nf5 19. Ne2 $16 {but with pieces still stuck on the Q side, Bl is unlikely to last long-R}) 13. Qxc5 g5 {Trying to recover the piece, but fatally weakening the K side-R} 14. Ba3 Qd6 $2 {(9.56 ? Mate in 7) Checkmate is now unavoidable. Qe7 was best.} (14... Qe7 15. Qxe7) 15. Qxg5+ {Normal Black resigns.} (15. Qxg5+ Kh8 (15... Qg6 16. Nxg6) 16. Bxd6 Bg4 17. Ng6+ hxg6 18. Rxf7 Rxf7 19. Bxf7 Kh7 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Qh6# {It is , of course a series of Engine moves that provide the quickest mate. Humans would take things more slowly & simply-R}) 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.02"] [Round "5.7"] [White "Pinch, David"] [Black "Gunn, Tom"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A46"] [WhiteElo "1798"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,64,5,5,25,25,25,13,19,-5,11,-45,35,42,59,26,29,29,29,8,14,16,6,-13,-5, -14,2,-21,-25,-32,0,5,11,-14,1,-36,-14,-59,-45,-80,-37,-96,-38,-15,-23,-18,-27, -27,-20,-24,-34,-34,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. d4 Nf6 (1... e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. Bg5 Nf6 4. Nbd2 {Pinch-Francis, WCU Online U1800,2020,0-1}) 2. Nf3 { a new departure here for Wh, who has played} (2. c4 {&}) (2. Bf4) 2... e6 3. Bg5 (3. a3 Be7 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d6 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. e4 e5 8. c3 Re8 { Thacker-Gunn, Dyfed Major 2020,0-1}) (3. c4) (3. e3 {main}) 3... h6 (3... c5 { main}) 4. Bh4 b6 (4... c5) 5. e4 $6 (5. e3) (5. Nbd2) (5. c4 {main lines}) 5... Be7 (5... g5 {wins a pawn} 6. Bg3 (6. Nxg5 hxg5 7. Bxg5 Be7 {is unsound, even though Wh managed a win & a loss}) (6. e5 gxh4 7. exf6 Qxf6 $17 {the score of 1.5-2,5 flatters Wh ( Bl gets 2 very active Bs)}) 6... Nxe4) 6. e5 (6. Bd3 Bb7 {1.5-2.5. though} 7. Nbd2 {then transposes to 53 games where Wh got over 50%}) 6... Nd5 (6... Ne4 {Deep Fritz 13 & Stockfish12}) 7. Bxe7 (7. Bg3 $16 { Stockfish12}) 7... Nxe7 $11 (7... Qxe7 8. c4 $16) 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. Nbd2 (9. Nc3 { looks more active ( & provides a securer home if 0-0-0 is being considered)}) 9... O-O 10. Qe2 d6 (10... c5 11. dxc5 bxc5 12. O-O $11 {Stockfish12}) 11. c3 ( 11. O-O-O $14) 11... dxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd7 13. Ndf3 Nd5 14. Nxd7 (14. g3 Nxe5 15. Nxe5 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Bxh1 17. f3 c5 18. Kf2 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Rc8 $11 {Stockfish12}) 14... Qxd7 (14... Nf4 {Stockfish12 finds a neat Zwischenzug (inbetweeny)} 15. Qd2 Nxd3+ 16. Qxd3 Qxd7 17. O-O Qd5 $15) 15. Ne5 Qc8 (15... Qe7) 16. Qd2 (16. O-O-O c5 17. Bc2 Rd8 18. Kb1 $11 {Stockfish12, though the Wh K could land up in a draught}) 16... Nf6 (16... c5 {holds up 0-0-0 for the moment} 17. Bc2 (17. O-O Qc7 18. Rfd1 cxd4 19. cxd4 Qe7 $15) 17... Rd8 18. O-O-O Qc7 $11 { Stockfish12}) 17. O-O-O {It is actually a bit easier for Bl to open lines because there is more space to defend on the Q side.Though Wh does havre possibilities for g4-g5} c5 {getting on with his own attack} (17... Bxg2 $2 { just exposes the Bl K} 18. Rhg1) 18. dxc5 Qxc5 19. f4 (19. Rhe1 Qd5 20. g4 Qxa2 21. g5 hxg5 22. Qxg5 Qa1+ 23. Kc2 Qa4+ 24. Kb1 Ne4 25. Qc1 f6 26. Ng6 Rfd8 27. Bc2 Qc4 $11 {Stockfish12}) 19... Rfd8 (19... Qd5 $15 {gives Bl good chances, Wh must respond accurately to try and hold} 20. Rhe1 (20. Kb1 Qxg2 21. Qe3 Rad8 22. Rhg1 Qxh2 $17) (20. c4 Qxg2 21. Qe3 Rad8 $17) 20... Qxg2 (20... Qxa2 21. Bb1 Qa4 22. g4 {gives Wh chances, though} Be4 23. Bxe4 Nxe4 24. Qd4 Qxd4 25. Rxd4 Nc5 26. Kc2 $11 {though Bl remains a pawn up}) 21. Re2 Qd5 22. Kb1 Rfd8 $17 {Bl's control over the centre means Wh has no time to exploit the g file}) 20. Qe2 (20. Rhe1) 20... Rac8 $17 (20... Nd5 $19 {Stockfish12} 21. Qe4 (21. g3 Nxc3 22. bxc3 Bxh1 23. Rxh1 Qxc3+ 24. Kb1 (24. Qc2 Qa1+ 25. Qb1 Qd4 $19) 24... f6 25. Be4 fxe5 26. Bxa8 Rd4 27. Qb2 Rb4 $19) (21. Rhf1 Ne3 $19) (21. Rdf1 Nxc3 22. bxc3 Qxc3+ 23. Qc2 Qxc2+ 24. Kxc2 Bxg2 $19) 21... f5 22. Qf3 Qe3+ 23. Qxe3 Nxe3 24. Rd2 Nxg2 25. Rf1 g5 26. fxg5 hxg5 27. Rg1 Kg7 28. Rgxg2 Bxg2 29. Rxg2 Kf6 30. Re2 Rd5 $19 {Stockfish12}) 21. Rhe1 Nd5 $15 22. g3 (22. Bc2 Nxf4 23. Qf1 g5 24. g3 Bg2 25. Qa6 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Nd5 $17 {Stockfish12}) 22... Nxc3 $19 23. bxc3 Qxc3+ 24. Kb1 (24. Bc2 Qa1#) (24. Qc2 Qa1+ 25. Kd2 Rxc2+) 24... Rd4 25. Bc2 Rb4+ (25... Be4 $1 {Stockfish12-is the winning sequence} 26. Qxe4 (26. Bxe4 Rb4+ 27. Qb2 Qxb2#) (26. Nc6 Bxc2+ 27. Qxc2 Qxc2+ 28. Kxc2 Rxc6+ 29. Kb3 Rcd6 {Bl is 2 pawns up with a more active R as well}) 26... Rxe4 27. Bxe4 g5 { and although Wh has 3 pieces for the Q, the Wh K remains exposed} 28. Re2 Qb4+ 29. Ka1 Qa4 30. Rdd2 Rc1+ 31. Bb1 Rd1 32. Rxd1 Qxd1 33. Rb2 gxf4 34. gxf4 Qd4 35. Nd3 h5 36. Bc2 Kf8 37. a3 h4 38. Ka2 Qd5+ 39. Ka1 b5 40. Bb1 h3 {the Wh pieces are huddled together while Bl slowly advances pawns ( however this is the kind of position where Engines are indefatigable, while humans easily lose the plot)}) 26. Bb3 Be4+ {this way guarantees a draw against a higher rated opponent} 27. Qxe4 Rxb3+ 28. axb3 Qxb3+ 29. Ka1 Qa3+ 30. Kb1 Qb3+ 31. Ka1 Qa3+ 32. Kb1 Qb3+ 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.02.04"] [Round "5.8"] [White "Evans, Gwyn"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "1192"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,120,69,22,27,8,90,34,34,32,22,-9,-11,-15,2,-5,-6,-36,-7,-22,-11,-45, -38,-82,-47,-83,-76,-146,7,7,49,49,47,-29,78,-80,-84,-322,-311,-311,-296,-292, -275,-312,-311,-321,-317,-310,-304,-304,-260,-411,-398,-398,-282,-333,-306, -308,-289,-330,-289,-489,-510,-626,-653,-29995,-371,-383,-391,-408,-408,-449, -325,-370,-357,-365,-357,-342,-303,-342,-320,-338,-361,-383,-149,-1020,-799, -794,-212,-268,-276,-282,-283,-331,-321,-325,-284,-300,-312,-369,-359,-381, -304,-313,-350,-459,-492,-583,-511,-583,-481,-547,-614,-818,-735,-812,-972, -972,-962,-962,-993,-1003,-1013]} 1. d4 (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. g3 a6 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. a3 {Evans-Holman,Dyfed League 2019,0-1}) 1... Nf6 2. Nc3 {A Veresov?} g6 3. Bg5 (3. e4 {becomes a Pirc}) 3... Bg7 4. e3 {a restrained move, but it blunts the g7 B. Quite often found in main Veresov lines where Bl has played ...d5 (which of course he still could do.} (4. e4 {main, becomes a Pirc}) 4... O-O 5. Bxf6 {looks too early-Wh can at least wait for Bl to play h6(slightly weakening is g6 (& Wh has a B coming to d3). Besides a Bl B on f6 helps attack the centre with e5.} (5. Nf3 d6 {65 games} (5... d5 {325 games})) (5. Bd3) 5... Bxf6 6. Nf3 d6 {1 Wh win, 1 draw, 2 Bl wins} (6... c5 7. Ne4 Qb6 {has been reached by transposition from games where Bl committed to c5 too early, thus encoraging Wh into Bxf6.4 Wh wins, 11 draws, 2 Bl wins.}) 7. h3 (7. h4 $5 { Fritz11 SE & Stockfish12}) 7... b6 {two Bs on the long diagonals, waiting for something to move out of place.} (7... Nd7 8. Ne4 Bg7 9. c3 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Bb5 c6 12. Bc4 b5 13. Bd3 f5 14. Nd6 e4 {Yotsaphonh-Teh, Vientiane op, 2018,0-1}) (7... Bg7 $15 {Stockfish12- keeping options open}) 8. Nd2 Bg7 9. Qf3 c6 10. Bd3 Bb7 (10... d5 $17 {Stockfish12- the centre pawns will roll forward, forcing the Q to give way}) 11. g4 (11. h4 e5 12. O-O-O $11 {Stockfish12- here that does not mean level, but that both sides have chances}) 11... Qc7 (11... d5) 12. Nde4 (12. h4 c5 13. Be4 Bxe4 14. Qxe4 Nc6 15. d5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Ne5 17. Qg2 Qd7 18. g5 f5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 12... Nd7 $19 {Stockfish12's judgement rests on the the ability of the Bl central pawn mass to surge forward under the remote support of both Bs. Thus stifling any real K threat , while at the same time threatening the Wh pieces , boxed in a little( Ns are are not at the best placed defending one another, as they need the same squares to move to- they are far more dangerous when side by side)} 13. h4 (13. O-O d5 14. Qg3 e5 15. Nd2 Rac8 $19 {Stockfish12}) 13... f5 $2 {However this is the wrong pawn advance- which gives Wh all sorts of tagets on the K side, while Bl's Q side slumbers.} (13... d5 14. Qg3 e5 15. Ng5 Rac8 16. h5 exd4 17. Qh3 Nf6 18. hxg6 hxg6 19. Ne2 dxe3 20. O-O-O exf2 $19 {Stockfish12-Wh attack has been helfd off, and the Bl pawns will resume their forward march}) 14. Ng5 $18 fxg4 15. Qxg4 Nf6 (15... c5 $5 16. Be4 (16. Qe6+ Kh8 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 cxd4 19. Ne6 $4) 16... Bxe4 17. Qe6+ Kh8 18. Ncxe4 Rf5 19. h5 {Stockfish12- and the opening of the h file will decide (in the meantime Wh picks up an exchange as well)}) 16. Qh3 {looks ok, but gives Bl a chance to challenge before the h file breaks open } (16. Qe6+ Kh8 17. h5 {breaks through quickly} Bc8 18. Qb3 (18. Nf7+ Kg8 19. Nh6+ Kh8 {is only a draw, as if Wh tries for a smothered mate with Qg8ch, the N rather than the R can capture}) 18... d5 (18... Nxh5 19. Nxh7 {destoys all of Bl's cover}) 19. hxg6 Bg4 20. Ne2 (20. Nxh7 Bf3 21. Kd2 $18) 20... h5 21. Nf4 Kg8 22. c4 $18 {Stockfish12- Bl's position is riddled with holes, Wh's problem is which of about 10 ways will be the best}) (16. Qg2 {is also a better placing, Bl must cede the exchange at least, as} Qd7 17. Nxh7 $1 Kxh7 ( 17... Nxh7 18. Qxg6 Nf6 19. Rg1 Rf7 20. h5 Kf8 21. h6 Bh8 22. O-O-O e6 23. e4 { and Bl will have trouble with his K in the centre}) 18. Qxg6+ Kh8 19. Rg1 e6 20. Ne4 Qf7 21. Nxd6 Qxg6 22. Rxg6 Bc8 23. Ke2 a5 24. Rag1 Ra7 25. h5 Nh7 26. c3 c5 27. Nxc8 Rxc8 28. Rxe6 {Stockfish12- Wh has 4 pawns for a piece, with the Bl pieces scarcely doing anything}) 16... Qd7 $6 {this lures Wh into an error, but it is not the best according to Stockfish12} (16... Qc8 17. Qe6+ ( 17. h5 Qxh3 18. Rxh3 gxh5 (18... Nxh5 19. Nxh7 $1 Kxh7 20. Rxh5+) 19. Nce4 $14) 17... Qxe6 18. Nxe6 c5 19. Rg1 $14) 17. Ne6 $6 (17. Qxd7 Nxd7 18. h5 $18 { Stockfish12- there will soon be 5 Wh pieces joined in a K side offensive, wile Bl 's QB & R are unable to come to the aid of their K}) 17... Bc8 {difficult to have seen coming since Wh has been taking over the Q side, but there is as yet no need for Wh to panic (but humans do when there is the unexpected. The best advice is -not to answer immediately, but just take a brief walk before returning to the board- though in this case Wh spent 6 mins thinking about thee position)} 18. Qf3 $2 (18. Ng5 {Wh also has a backward move} Qxh3 19. Nxh3 {perhaps Wh missed this further retreat?} c5 $15 {the 2 Bs give Bl the dge , but it's much better than going a piece down}) (18. Nxf8 Qxh3 19. Rxh3 Bxh3 { and the N is trapped}) 18... Qxe6 $19 19. Qxc6 Bd7 20. Bc4 d5 21. Qxe6+ Bxe6 22. Be2 Bf5 (22... Ng4) 23. O-O-O (23. h5 Nxh5 24. Nxd5 Rae8 25. Nc3 Nf6 { looks a better try, though Wh only has a pawn for a piece}) 23... Rac8 24. Rdg1 h5 25. Bd3 Bxd3 26. cxd3 Kh7 27. Rg2 b5 (27... Ng4 28. Rhg1 e6) 28. a3 Ng4 29. Kd2 e6 {playing safe} (29... Nxf2 30. Rhg1 (30. Rf1 Ne4+) 30... Ng4 31. Nxd5 Bh6 32. Re1 a5 $19) 30. Nxb5 Rb8 31. Nc7 Rxb2+ 32. Kc3 Rbxf2 (32... Rfb8 { forces mate-Stockfish12}) 33. Rxf2 Rxf2 34. Nxe6 (34. e4 e5 35. exd5 exd4+) 34... Nxe3 35. Rb1 Nf5 36. Rb7 Kh6 37. Nxg7 Nxg7 38. Rxa7 Rf6 (38... Nf5 { Rudy- running the h pawn looks simplest- Stockfish12 provides a few wrinkles} 39. Rf7 g5 40. hxg5+ Kg6 41. Rf6+ Kxg5 42. Rf8 h4 43. Rg8+ Kh5 44. Rh8+ Nh6 45. Kb4 h3 46. Re8 Nf5 47. a4 h2 48. Re1 Ng3 49. Kc5 Rf1 50. Re8 Kh4 51. a5 h1=Q $19) (38... Rf8 {with sililar themes preferred by Stockfish12}) 39. Rd7 Ra6 { the a pawn is miles away from Queening- the Bl R can stop it at many points, so Bl is best getting on with eliminating the Wh h pawn & running his own} ( 39... Nf5) 40. Kb4 Nf5 41. Rxd5 Ne3 (41... Nxh4 {must surely be simplest- the Wh scattered pawns are too far back to be a danger}) 42. Ra5 (42. Rd8) 42... Nc2+ (42... Rxa5 43. Kxa5 g5 44. hxg5+ Kxg5 {and the h pawn is unstoppable}) 43. Kb5 Rd6 (43... Rxa5+ 44. Kxa5 Nxd4 45. Kb4 g5 {is simplest}) 44. Kc5 Rxd4 45. a4 Rxh4 46. Ra7 Rd4 47. a5 h4 48. a6 Rxd3 {may as well, though the pawn is harmless} 49. Rb7 Ra3 50. a7 Kg5 (50... g5) 51. Kb6 h3 52. Rh7 Kg4 53. Kb7 Rb3+ (53... g5 54. a8=Q Rxa8 55. Kxa8 Kg3) 54. Kc8 Rc3+ 55. Rc7 Ra3 56. Kb8 h2 57. Rh7 Kg3 58. a8=Q Rxa8+ 59. Kxa8 Kg2 60. Kb7 h1=Q 61. Rxh1 Kxh1 62. Kc6 Kg2 ( 62... g5) 63. Kd5 Kf3 64. Ke5 g5 {[Sam's comment-Not my best game, but I won, so that's good]} 0-1