Noses in Front

Aberystwyth keeps finding ways to preserve our unbeaten record in the U1800 section of Welsh Chess Union Online League, On Tuesday 24th November we were outgraded on all boards but still managed a favourable result. The exchange variation of the French Defence is not as drawish as its reputation, at least at club level, and I was never quite comfortable with the open position in my game against Adrian Davies. However, he allowed things to resolve into equality and an early draw. James Cook played more agressively on the White side of another Exchange French attacking on Les Philpin's queenside. In an equal queenless middlegame with enough complexity to keep things interesting, James was able to exploit his opponent's back rank for the win. Tom Gunn played too passively against Huw Jones's Torre System, missing chances to break in the centre, and the white squares around his king became fatally weak, as White invaded to clinch the win. Sam Holman's game against Luke Williams began as a Najdorf Sicilian, but reached a middlegame typical of the Dragon, with players castled on opposite sides and a lot of complications. Sam emerged with an extra pawn and was able to create a winning passed pawn in the ending. After our 2½-1½ victory, and with our closest rivals, North Cardiff Panthers, drawing again, Aber is now in the sole lead with one round to play.

[Event "WCU Online U1800"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2020.11.24"] [Round "5.1"] [White "Davies, Adrian"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1676"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Morriston Buccaneers"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,53,19,38,30,51,38,23,26,-7,13,24,28,49,58,32,62,15,45,7,34,35,51,25, 72,61,72,59,61,52,53,53,58,63,61,70,71,67,61,17,30,25,17,29,26,17,18,5,83,13, 150,12,4,19,12,0]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 (3... Qxd5 4. c4 Qd8 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Nc3 Be7 {Davies-Horrell, WKO U1800 2014,1/2-1/2}) 4. Bd3 (4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Bd3 Ne7 6. O-O Bf5 7. Re1 Bg6 {Haigh-Francis, Dyfed League 2017,1/2-1/2}) 4... Nc6 (4... Bd6 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nge2 Ne7 7. Bg5 Qc7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bf4 Bf5 { Orton-Francis, Dyfed Closed 2010,1/2-1/2}) 5. Nf3 (5. c3 {main}) 5... Bg4 6. c3 Nf6 (6... Bd6 7. O-O Nge7 {main}) 7. O-O Be7 (7... Bd6 8. Re1+ {82 % for Wh}) 8. Bg5 (8. Bf4 {also}) 8... h6 9. Bh4 {1 Wh win, 2 draws, 4 Bl wins} (9. Bxf6 { 1 Wh win, 2 draws}) 9... O-O (9... g5 10. Bg3 Ne4 {0-3 ( into a Petroff. with Wh's QB misplaced, Bl's pawn advances with expose the Wh K)}) 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. Re1 (11. Qc2 {main}) 11... Nd7 {2 Wh wins, 1 Bl win} (11... Nh5 {aiming for f4, 2 Wh wins, 2 draws,3 Bl wins}) 12. Bxe7 Rxe7 13. Qc2 Nf6 (13... Bxf3 14. Nxf3 Nf6 15. Rxe7 Qxe7 16. Re1 Qd7 17. Ne5 Nxe5 18. dxe5 Ne8 19. Bf5 { Sramek-Trakaliuk, Orlova op 2011, draw agreed}) 14. Rxe7 Qxe7 15. h3 $14 (15. Re1 $14 Qd7 16. Ne5 Qe7 17. Qb1 Nxe5 18. Rxe5 Qd7 19. h3 Be6 20. Bf5 Qd6 21. Nb3 b6 22. Nc1 c5 23. Ne2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Bxf5 25. Qxf5 Re8 26. Rxe8+ Nxe8 27. Qc8 Qe7 28. Nf4 $16 {Wolkow-Schuette, NRW ch U12, Bergneustadt 1999,1-0}) 15... Be6 16. Re1 Qd6 17. Ne5 Nd7 (17... Ne7 {Stockfish12}) 18. Nxc6 (18. f4 $16 { Stockfish12- gives Wh a reverse Petroff}) 18... Qxc6 19. Bf5 Bxf5 20. Qxf5 Nf6 21. Nf3 Qc4 (21... Re8 $11 {simplest}) 22. Qb1 (22. Re7 {Rudy- could be tried if Wh wants to try for a win} Qxa2 23. Rxc7 Qxb2 24. Ne5 Rf8 25. Nxf7 Qc1+ 26. Kh2 Rxf7 27. Rc8+ Rf8 28. Qe6+ Kh7 29. Rxf8 Qf4+ 30. Kg1 Qc1+ $11) (22. a3 { looks better than the text}) 22... Ne4 23. a3 f6 {Stockfish12 dislikes this weakening of the K side} 24. Qc2 (24. Nh4 $1 $18 {Stockfish12- Wh threatens to drive the N away, then come in with Re7} Re8 (24... Qb5 25. f3 Nd6 26. Re7 Re8 27. Rxc7 Qe2 28. Qg6 Qe1+ 29. Kh2 Re7 30. Rxe7 Qxe7 31. Qg4 $18) 25. f3 Nd6 26. Rxe8+ Nxe8 27. Qe1 Nd6 (27... Kf7 28. Nf5) 28. Ng6 Kh7 29. Ne7 Qb5 30. Qe6 Qe8 31. h4 Nc4 32. g4 Nxb2 33. g5 $18 {Stockfish12}) 24... Kf7 (24... Qc6 $11) 25. Nd2 (25. Nh4 $18 {Stockfish12} Qb5 26. c4 Qd7 27. cxd5 Nd6 28. Qg6+ Kf8 29. Re6 Re8 30. Qg4 $18) 25... Nxd2 26. Qxd2 Qb5 27. Qe2 $11 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCU Online U1800"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2020.11.24"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Cook, James"] [Black "Philpin, Les"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1476"] [BlackElo "1674"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Morriston Buccaneers"] {[%evp 0,119,33,33,33,30,33,30,30,30,30,23,55,63,63,63,73,41,54,14,87,73,76,78, 79,86,91,95,95,87,96,108,111,102,111,117,128,120,125,108,141,145,145,167,150, 140,165,178,204,126,143,152,129,107,60,61,44,43,52,64,43,60,60,42,140,64,105, 59,65,54,121,60,62,60,98,86,86,86,100,86,83,85,82,83,86,82,83,68,68,83,189,117, 124,124,317,340,333,342,353,358,357,358,770,811,811,621,636,643,657,569,571, 576,577,514,510,473,643,658,658,698,762,780]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 ( 3... Qxd5 4. c4 Qd8 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. Bd3 a6 {M Davies-Philpin, WCU U1800 online, sept 2020,0-1}) 4. Nf3 (4. Bd3 Nc6 (4... Nf6 5. Ne2 Bg4 6. Bg5 Be7 7. h3 {Cook-Griffiths, N Dyfed-S Dyfed ,2012,1-0}) 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. c3 { played on bd1 , Davies-Francis, 1/2-1/2}) 4... Nf6 (4... Bf5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 Nd7 7. O-O Be7 8. Qb5 c6 9. Qxb7 {Cook-Denham,Dyfed League 2012,1-0}) 5. Bd3 Bg4 6. O-O Be7 7. h3 Be6 (7... Bh5 8. Bf4 {main}) 8. Ng5 (8. Bf4) 8... Bd7 (8... Bc8 {1.5-0.5}) 9. c4 c6 10. Nc3 h6 11. Nf3 Be6 12. c5 $16 {Usually doubledged if tried too early, but Wh is wellplaced to support a Q side advance } O-O 13. Bf4 Nbd7 14. b4 a6 15. Re1 (15. a4 Re8 16. Qc2 Nf8 17. b5 $18 { though Abrantes-Felix, Brasilia State ch 2013,0-1}) 15... Re8 (15... Nh7 16. Bc2 Re8 17. Qd3 Ndf8 18. Ne5 Bf6 19. Na4 {Eames-Brouwer, Hastings Masters op 2019,1-0}) 16. a4 Nf8 17. b5 (17. Rb1) (17. Bc2 {alternatives}) 17... axb5 18. axb5 Rxa1 19. Qxa1 Qa8 (19... Bd7 20. Qa7 Ne6 21. Be5 Qc8 $16 {Stockfish12}) 20. bxc6 bxc6 $18 {the c pawn is a permanent weakness} 21. Ne5 Qxa1 22. Rxa1 Bd7 23. Ra7 Rd8 24. Nxc6 (24. Be3 Ne8 25. Nxc6 {preferred by Stockfish12}) 24... Bxc6 25. Rxe7 Ne6 26. Be3 (26. Ne2 $18) (26. Be5 $18 {are better supports for the advanced R-Stockfish12. After the text, Wh needs to return the pawn to let the R out}) 26... Bd7 27. c6 (27. f4 Kf8 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29. f5 Ng5 30. Nb5 $11 {is playable though, as the 2 Bs are equivalent to R &N, plus Wh retains the c pawn}) 27... Bxc6 28. Ra7 $11 Rb8 (28... Ra8 $11 {simplest- the Wh R is better than the Bl one because it can call on the support of its pieces more effectively than Bl's, which are getting in each others way}) 29. Ra6 Be8 30. Bf5 $11 Rb3 31. Ne2 Ng5 (31... Nf8) 32. Ng3 (32. Bf4 $18 { Stockfish12}) 32... Kf8 33. Rd6 (33. Bf4 Bb5 34. Bd6+ Kg8 35. Ra8+ Ne8 36. Nh5 Bc6 37. Rc8 Bb5 38. Be5 f6 39. Bb8 Ne4 40. f3 Nc3 41. Bg6 Ne2+ 42. Kh2 Nxd4 43. Bxe8 $18 {Stockfish12- all of Wh's pieces join in on the attack}) 33... Rb4 ( 33... Nge4 34. Nxe4 Nxe4 35. Rxd5 Ng3 {Wh's backrank could be vulnerable} 36. Bc2 (36. h4 Nxf5 37. Rxf5 Rb5 38. Rf3 Rd5 {the presence of opposite colour Bs means that Wh cannot lift the occupation of the d5 square}) 36... Ra3 37. fxg3 Rxe3 $11 {Stockfish12}) 34. Ra6 Rb5 35. Bd3 (35. Bf4 $18 {Stockfish12 insists on this}) 35... Rb3 36. Bc2 Rb4 37. Ra8 Rb2 38. Bd3 Rb3 39. Bc2 Rb2 40. Bd3 Rb3 41. Be2 Nge4 42. Nf5 Rb1+ 43. Kh2 Rb2 44. Bf3 Nxf2 {this tries too hard, leaving the Bl K to come under fire again} (44... Nd2 45. Bf4 Nf1+ 46. Kg1 Rb1 47. Rb8 Ra1 48. g4 Ne3+ 49. Kh2 Nxf5 50. gxf5 Ra6 $14 {Stockfish12- Wh has retained the 2 Bs, but the K side pawns are isolated & immobile}) 45. Nd6 $18 ( 45. Bf4 $18 {is even better insists Stockfish12}) 45... N2e4 (45... Nd3 46. Bxd5 Re2 47. Nxe8 Nxe8 48. Bg1 Nf4 49. Bc6 {and Bl remains tied down while Wh prepares the advance of the d pawn}) 46. Bc1 (46. Bxe4 dxe4 47. d5 Ke7 48. Nf5+ Kd7 49. Bd4 (49. Ra7+) 49... Rb4 50. Bxf6 gxf6 51. Ng7 $18 {Stockfish12}) 46... Rb6 47. Nxe8 Nxe8 48. Ba3+ N4d6 49. Bc5 Rc6 50. Bxd5 Rc8 (50... Rxc5 {is about the best that Bl can manage here}) 51. Rxc8 Ke7 52. Bxd6+ Nxd6 53. Rc7+ Kd8 54. Rc1 (54. Ra7) 54... f6 55. Kg3 Nf5+ 56. Kf4 Nxd4 57. Bf3 (57. Rd1) 57... Ne6+ 58. Kf5 Nf8 59. Ra1 (59. Bc6) 59... Ke7 60. Ra7+ 1-0 [Event "WCU Online U1800"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2020.11.24"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Jones, Huw"] [Black "Gunn, Tom"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A46"] [WhiteElo "1617"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Morriston Buccaneers"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,73,30,23,23,-3,14,12,31,26,18,28,28,24,24,14,24,28,40,28,28,28,36,45, 117,23,36,26,59,41,101,73,87,76,140,157,157,139,157,139,244,244,250,250,250, 250,258,165,171,168,218,213,218,196,196,192,297,358,245,241,489,155,386,270, 270,228,387,383,1166,1169,29985,29986,29987,29988,29991,29992]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 3. Nf3 (3. e4 {main} Be7 (3... h6) 4. Bd3 h6 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. e5 Be7 7. Nf3 d5 8. c3 c5 {Jones-Lutchman Singh, Tom Weston Major open, 2017,1/2-1/2}) 3... Be7 (3... c5) (3... h6) (3... d5 {other main lines}) 4. Nbd2 {main} O-O ( 4... d5) 5. e4 d6 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. h3 (7. O-O) 7... c5 8. c3 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Qe2 Re8 (10... e5 {stakes a claim in the centre}) (10... Ne8 11. Be3 Nc7 12. Nh2 {Huettemann-Siegl, Dresden ZMD op 2010,1-0}) 11. Rad1 Qc7 12. Bf4 (12. e5 $16 {Stockfish12}) 12... Rad8 (12... e5 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Bh2 Rac8 15. Nc4 Bf8 16. Rd2 a6 (16... b5) 17. Rfd1 b5 18. Ne3 c4 19. Bc2 g6 {Perdikis-Zeniou, CYP ch 1988,1-0} (19... Nc5 $19 {Stockfish12})) (12... cxd4 13. cxd4 e5 (13... Rac8 14. a3 Bf8 15. e5 dxe5 16. dxe5 Nd5 17. Bxh7+ $2 (17. Bg3 $18 {Stockfish12}) 17... Kxh7 18. Ng5+ Kg8 19. Qh5 N7f6 $19 {Cheslavskij-Jennings, London Chess Classic 2015,0-1}) 14. dxe5 dxe5 15. Bg5 h6 $11 {Werrn-Simon, Ruhrgebiet Verbandsliga 2012,1-0}) 13. Bh2 Bf8 14. a3 (14. e5 $18 {Stockfish12}) 14... h6 15. e5 $18 Nh7 16. Ne4 (16. Nc4) 16... Bxe4 17. Qxe4 f5 (17... g6 {looks better, but Bl's pieces remain in passive postions with no counterplay against Wh's space advantage}) 18. exf6 (18. Qe2 $18 {also}) 18... Nhxf6 19. Qe2 e5 { too late & now this leaves Bl with all his pawns on the colour of his remaining B. It also opens up the position for the Wh Bs to exploit.} 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. Bc4+ (21. Nh4) 21... Kh8 22. Nh4 g5 23. Ng6+ (23. Nf5 {may be even better}) 23... Kg7 24. Nxf8 {usually one would leave such a bad B well alone, though here it does act as some kind of protector of the K. Anyway Stockfish12 takes it.} Kxf8 25. Qf3 (25. Bb5) 25... Kg7 26. Rfe1 Re7 27. Qf5 Qc8 28. Rd6 ( 28. f4 {destroys Bl's pawn cover}) 28... Rf8 29. Red1 (29. h4) 29... Nb8 30. Qd3 (30. Be6) (30. Re6) 30... Rd7 31. Rxd7+ (31. Bxe5 {simplest; as in the game on bd2 (Cook-Philpin, 1-0) the 2 Bs on the open board outgun the two Ns}) 31... Nbxd7 32. Bb5 Rd8 33. Bxe5 a6 34. Bxd7 Qb7 35. Bxf6+ Kxf6 36. Qd6+ Kg7 37. Qe7+ 1-0 [Event "WCU Online U1800"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2020.11.24"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Holman, Sam"] [Black "Williams, Luke"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B94"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1500"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "111"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "Morriston Buccaneers"] {[%evp 0,111,19,38,40,41,66,77,66,55,55,20,79,39,64,-24,30,24,24,45,33,-18,-14, -56,-24,-35,-12,-8,42,-21,-38,-48,-14,-83,-52,-56,-19,-10,-78,-40,-21,-42,-42, -40,-47,-69,-54,-280,-287,-384,-204,-218,28,31,41,41,40,54,54,54,46,51,51,48, 53,10,66,33,51,52,57,38,44,43,30,53,80,53,92,56,93,78,143,57,171,78,122,77,138, 163,219,218,307,183,200,200,275,325,1449,442,659,1001,998,1010,1017,1028,1083, 1214,1279,1391,1867,1300,1524,1914]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 (5... g6 6. Be3 a6 7. Be2 Bg7 8. f3 O-O 9. Qd2 Nc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. O-O-O Qa5 {Rafferty-Williams, WCU U1800 online, 02020,0-1}) 6. Bg5 Nbd7 (6... e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. Be2 Be7 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. O-O-O Qd7 12. h3 { Holman-Corrigan,Dyfed Closed 2016,1-0}) (6... e6 {main}) 7. f4 g6 (7... Qc7) 8. Qf3 Bg7 9. O-O-O O-O 10. f5 $146 (10. g4 {main}) 10... Ne5 $11 11. Qh3 (11. Qg3 ) 11... Re8 (11... b5) 12. Be2 Qa5 13. Kb1 (13. Nb3 Qd8 14. Bf4 Nfd7 15. fxg6 hxg6 16. Qg3 b5 17. h4 $16 {Stockfish12- the Wh attack develops faster than the Bl one on the other side}) 13... b5 14. Qe3 (14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nd5 Bg7 16. Qh4 Ra7 17. Rhf1 $14 {Stockfish12}) 14... Bb7 15. a3 {this is best left- pawn moves on the side where under attack usually leave some other weakness behind. ere , it provides a target for a b4 move opening the b file; or the Stockfish12 line} Rac8 $19 (15... Rec8 {threatening Rxc3, even stronger-leaves the other R to go to b8}) 16. Nb3 Qc7 (16... Rxc3 $1 {Stockfish11} 17. Nxa5 ( 17. bxc3 Qxa3 18. Rd4 Nc6 19. Rhd1 (19. Rd3 b4 $19) 19... Nxd4 20. Rxd4 Bxe4 { threat Qxb3} 21. Rxe4 Nd5 {wins the Q; Stockfish12}) 17... Rxe3 18. Bxe3 Bxe4 19. fxg6 hxg6 $19 {Bl's central pawn mass is superior to the exchange , as the Wh Rs have little future.}) 17. Rd2 Nc4 (17... Rb8 $19 {Stockfish12- ready for ...b4}) 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. Nd4 Qa5 (19... Qb6 $19) (19... Rb8 $19) 20. Re2 (20. Ka2 $15) 20... Ng4 (20... Rb8) 21. Qd2 Qc5 (21... Qb6 {is where the Q belongs}) 22. h3 Nf2 23. Ne6 (23. Rxf2 Bxd4 24. Re2 Qe5 $17 {Stockfish12}) 23... fxe6 $19 24. Be3 Nxe4 (24... Bxc3 $1 {Stockfish12- even stronger} 25. Bxc5 (25. Qxc3 Nxe4 $19) 25... Bxd2 26. Bxf2 c3 $19 {emerging with an extra piece and a still virulent attack}) 25. Nxe4 c3 $2 {leaves a piece hanging at the end of the line; almost any Q move would win for Bl} (25... Qd5 $19) (25... Qe5 $19) ( 25... Qxf5 $19) (25... Qc6 $19) 26. Nxc5 cxd2 27. Nxb7 $18 {now Wh is the one with an extra piece for the moment ; but it is the extra pawns that will count} Rb8 28. fxe6 Rxb7 29. b3 Rf8 30. Bxd2 Rb5 31. Rhe1 Be5 32. Bg5 $6 {attacks a loose pawn, but the piece itself also is put on an unprotected square} (32. Ka2 $18 {prepares to roll forward with the Q side majority}) 32... Rb7 (32... Bg3 33. Bxe7 Re8 34. Bf6 Bxe1 35. Rxe1 Rf5 36. Bd4 $11 {Bl has regained some material- & it's not that the position is level, but that both sides would have chances}) 33. g4 (33. Bc1 $18) 33... Kg7 (33... Rf3 $5) 34. Bc1 Rb5 35. Bb2 Bxb2 36. Kxb2 Rf3 37. Re3 Rf2 38. R1e2 Rf1 39. a4 Rc5 40. b4 Rd5 41. Kc3 ( 41. Rd3 {Stockfish12} Rxd3 (41... Rg5 $2 42. Rxd6 $18) 42. cxd3 $18) 41... Rf4 42. Re4 Rf8 43. R2e3 (43. Rd4) 43... Rc8+ 44. Rc4 Rxc4+ {makes life a little easier for Wh} (44... Re8 45. Rf3 Re5 46. Rc6 a5 47. b5 Rxe6 48. Ra6 {though is scarcely inspiring}) 45. Kxc4 Rg5 46. c3 (46. Rf3 h5 47. Rf7+ Kh6 48. gxh5 Rxh5 49. Rxe7 {()tockfish12}) 46... Kf6 47. b5 axb5+ 48. axb5 d5+ 49. Kb4 (49. Kd4) 49... Re5 50. Rxe5 Kxe5 51. Kc5 (51. b6 Kd6 52. Kb5 {is also fine}) 51... Kxe6 52. Kc6 (52. b6 Kd7 53. Kxd5 {also}) 52... d4 53. cxd4 Kf6 54. b6 e5 55. dxe5+ Kxe5 56. b7 1-0