Getting Back on the Horse

To continue the equine metaphor from my previous post, having fallen at the last fence in the Welsh Chess Union Online League, Aberystwyth had to get back on the horse in the next round of the Dyfed equivalent, in another match against Aberystwyth University, this time their B team. Accordingly we fielded a strong team, but the result, though not the whitewash of the previous match, was not as good as we hoped. Rudy van Kemenade used his experience in the Anglo-Dutch to build pressure against Cameron Westwood's weaknesses, first on d3, then on the kingside, and was clearly better when his opponent dropped a piece with a mouse-slip. Adam Watkin-Jones's game against Marcus Perry was another English, which went wrong for White when he missed a tactical point, leaving him material down with a worse position. I miscalculated my chances in another Dutch against Harry Fox, and all I got out of my intended kingside attack was a pawn deficit and a big loss of time. When he blundered just before the end I completely missed it, and made a blunder of my own in return. Tom Gunn won a couple of pieces early on in a Queen's Pawn Game against Patrick Bourne for a trouble-free win. A 2-2 draw was a slightly disappointing result.

[Event "DyfedL online:AberystwythSU-Aberystwyth"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.12.15"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Westwood, Cameron"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A25"] [WhiteElo "1675"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,52,18,-5,45,45,33,-13,30,19,23,29,25,-2,4,-7,-16,-9,-3,-3,-5,-78,4, -58,37,-30,-55,-80,-59,-65,-40,-56,3,-120,-36,-91,-43,-89,-125,-116,-85,-91, -124,-108,-122,-122,-80,-90,-75,-125,-154,-132,-141,-583,-577]} 1. c4 f5 { A10 English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense} (1... d6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. e4 e5 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nge2 {The Botwinnik System} O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. h3 Ne8 9. d3 f5 10. f4 {Westwood-J Van Kemenade, WCU U1800 online dec 2020,1-0}) 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. d3 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 d6 6. f4 (6. e4 {main} Nc6 7. Nge2 O-O 8. O-O h6 (8... e5 9. Rb1 a5 10. a3 Nh5 {Peacock-Van Kemenade, Bolton op 1997,1/2-1/2}) (8... e6 {Francis-Van Kemenade, Dyfed Closed 2014,0-1}) 9. h3 e6 10. exf5 gxf5 11. d4 e5 {Ellison-Van Kemenade, Isle of Man 2001,1/2-1/2}) (6. e3 O-O 7. Nge2 e5 8. O-O Nc6 9. Rb1 a5 10. a3 {another main line}) 6... Nc6 7. e3 (7. Nf3 e5 { transposes to 44 games}) 7... e5 8. Nge2 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. h3 (10. Nd5 Qd7 11. Nec3 {main moves}) (10. Rb1) 10... Kh8 {allows B to drop back to g8 if required } 11. Kh2 d5 {positionally desirable for Bl , but a bit too soon} (11... Qd7 12. Nd5 Nd8 13. Qc2 c6 14. Nxf6 Bxf6 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. Bd2 Qg7 17. Rab1 h5 { Kostic-Petrovic, YUG ch, women 1999,0-1}) (11... Bg8 {Stockfish12-R}) (11... e4 {Komodo10} 12. Nd5 $11 {Stockfish12-R}) 12. cxd5 (12. fxe5 Nxe5 13. Nf4 Bg8 14. cxd5 (14. Ncxd5) 14... g5 15. Ne6 Bxe6 16. dxe6 Qxd3 17. Qxd3 Nxd3 18. Rxf5 Rae8 19. Bd2 Rxe6 20. Nb5 c6 21. Nd4 Ree8 22. Bc3 $16 {Stockfish12-the Wh pieces are more actively placed than the Bl ones-R}) 12... Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. e4 Be6 {leaves the d3 as a target} (14... fxe4 15. Nc3 (15. dxe4 Bc4 { looked at by Bl is worse for Wh} 16. Qe1 exf4 17. gxf4 Qe7 $19 {Wh is way behind in development & his hanging pawns in the centre look precarious}) 15... Bg8 16. dxe4 Bc4 17. Rf2 Qxd1 18. Nxd1 Be6 $15 {Stockfish12-R}) 15. Be3 Qd7 ( 15... fxe4 16. dxe4 exf4 17. Nxf4 (17. gxf4 Bc4 18. Qe1 g5 $15) 17... Bc4 $15 { Stockfish12 still likes it , even with giving Wh an extra move-R}) 16. Qd2 (16. fxe5 {Stockfish12 thinks that Wh should now advance in the centre} Nxe5 (16... Bxe5 17. d4 $18) 17. Bc5 Rfe8 18. d4 Nf7 19. e5 (19. d5 Bxd5 20. Nc3 (20. exd5 Qb5 $17) 20... Be6 $11) 19... Rad8 $11 {Stockfish12}) 16... Rad8 (16... fxe4 17. dxe4 Qxd2 18. Bxd2 Bc4 $17 {Stockfish12- remains an option for Bl-R}) 17. Rfd1 Qf7 (17... fxe4 18. dxe4 Qxd2 {considered} 19. Rxd2 Rxd2 20. Bxd2 Rd8 21. Bc3 Bc4 22. Ng1 exf4 23. gxf4 Bxc3 24. bxc3 Rd3 $19) 18. exf5 (18. Nc3 { may be Wh's best bet here} exf4 19. Bxf4 Nb4 20. Qe2 h6 (20... Nxa2 21. exf5 gxf5 22. Re1 Rfe8 23. Nxa2 Bxa2 24. Qf2 b6 $15) 21. a3 Nc6 22. exf5 Bxf5 23. Bxc6 bxc6 24. Be5 h5 $15 {Stockfish12- the Wh K is a bit more exposed than the Bl one-R}) 18... Bxf5 19. Bxc6 {breaks up Bl's Q side, but the B is a key protector of the K-dangerous to exchange it if Bl keeps his wh square B.} Rxd3 20. Qc1 bxc6 (20... Rxd1 21. Qxd1 bxc6 22. fxe5 Bxe5 23. Bd4 Qf6 24. Bxe5 Qxe5 $17 {Wh has got rid of Bl's 2 Bs, bot on the open board, Bl's remaining B is far superior to the N, which is unable to threaten the Bl K,} 25. Qd2 Rb8 26. Nc3 Kg7 27. Qf2 (27. Re1 Rxb2) 27... h5 $17 {Stockfish12-R}) 21. Rxd3 Bxd3 22. Qd2 Be4 (22... Bxe2 23. Qxe2 Re8 $17 {Stockfish12;considered-R}) 23. Bc5 Re8 24. a3 (24. Nc3 Bd5 25. Bxa7 Kg8 26. Nxd5 Qxd5 27. Qxd5+ cxd5 28. Rc1 e4 29. Kg2 Bxb2 30. Rxc7 e3 31. Rc2 d4 32. Kf1 Bc3 $19 {Stockfish12}) 24... Qd5 $19 ( 24... exf4 {considered} 25. Nxf4 g5 26. Ne2 Qd5 27. Qxd5 Bxd5 28. Nc3 Rb8 29. Na4 a5 30. Re1 h5 $19 {Stockfish12- Bl's Bs control the board-R}) 25. Qxd5 cxd5 26. Bb6 {mouse-slip; however} (26. Bxa7 exf4 27. Nxf4 Ra8 {Stockfish12} (27... Bxb2 {looks simpler}) 28. Bc5 Rb8 29. Bb4 c5 30. Bxc5 Rxb2+ 31. Kg1 g5 { and all of Wh's pieces are badly placed}) (26. fxe5 Bxe5 27. Nd4 Kg7 28. Bxa7 Ra8 29. Bc5 Ra4 30. b4 h5 {and Wh is running out of moves}) 26... axb6 { Normal White resigns.} 0-1 [Event "DyfedOL:AberystwythSU,B-Aberystwyth"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2020.12.15"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Perry, Marcus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A25"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1428"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "40"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,40,19,-17,-27,-42,-20,-46,-38,-33,-11,-24,-23,-12,-11,-17,-9,-9,18,13, 28,15,56,34,21,13,66,-76,-76,-75,-74,-164,-131,-162,-183,-193,-196,-332,-132, -130,-97,-230,-251]} 1. c4 {3 wins, 4 draws for the Wh player with this-R} e5 { A20 English Opening: King's English Variation} 2. g3 (2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 d6 5. d4 exd4 6. exd4 Bg4 7. Be2 Be7 {Watkin-Jones vs Haigh, Dyfed League 2017,1/2-1/2}) 2... Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 (3... d5) (3... c6 {main lines-R}) 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e3 Nc6 $6 {(0.13 ? 0.67) Inaccuracy. c6 was best. Lichess at its usual pickyness'pricklyness- what it insists on is the 3rd most frequent response with some 500 games. The text it derides is the most popular with some 2,500 games, includingplayers like Adams & Movses} (5... c6 6. Nge2 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Nxd5 cxd5 9. d4 exd4 10. Nxd4) 6. Nge2 $6 {(0.67 ? 0.13) Inaccuracy. a3 was best. [again the text has 10 times more supporters than the lichess preference in distant second place-R]} (6. a3 Bb6 7. Nge2 d6 8. d4 h6 9. b4 exd4 10. exd4 a5) 6... d6 $6 {(0.13 ? 0.68) Inaccuracy. d5 was best. [..d5 in 4th place with 151 games as opposed to d6 with 1,500 +. This is the 4th such judgement on the trot. Sometimes it seems to be following what has worked a bit better in practice, but not always. The variation it gives has just a single game, won by Bl after 11 Qb3 (not Qa4 as given.) Indeed Stockfish12 & Fritz11 SE long before it, have a very slight preference for Wh after 11 Na4.-R} (6... d5 7. cxd5 Nb4 8. O-O Nbxd5 9. d4 exd4 10. Nxd4 c6 11. Qa4) 7. O-O a6 8. a3 (8. d4 { at once also-R}) 8... Ne7 (8... Ba7 {main- R}) 9. b4 (9. d4 {4 Wh wins, 3 draws,3 Bl wins -R}) 9... Ba7 10. d4 {28 games, 46 % for Wh-R} exd4 11. Nxd4 { Stockfish8 examined this position in 2018-R} Bg4 12. Qc2 Qd7 13. Bxb7 $4 { (0.83 ? -0.91) Blunder. Nce2 was best.} (13. Nce2) 13... c5 {overlooked by Wh-R } 14. Bxa8 cxd4 15. Ne4 $4 {(-0.83 ? -4.27) Blunder. Bg2 was best.[ The wh squares around the K are now fatally weak. Often it is well worth Bl's while to give up a b pawn & the exchange, to lure the B away from the K- here Bl even gets 2 pieces in the bargain; that can easily get into the pawn defences of the K.-R]} (15. Bg2 dxc3 16. Qxc3 h5 17. Bb2 h4 18. Qd3 h3 19. Bh1 Ng6 20. Rad1 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 Qg4 $17) 15... Rxa8 16. Nxf6+ gxf6 $19 17. Qe4 $6 {(-4.17 ? -5.39) Inaccuracy. f3 was best.[f3 at least would allow the QR to come to the aid of its K via a2-R} (17. f3 dxe3) 17... Re8 18. Qd3 $6 {(-5.50 ? -8.18) Inaccuracy. Bb2 was best. [it's gone anyway-R} (18. Bb2 Ng6 19. Qd5 Ne5 20. exd4 Bf3 21. dxe5 Bxd5 22. cxd5 fxe5 23. Bc1 Bd4 24. Rb1 Qa4) 18... dxe3 $2 { (-8.18 ? -4.60) Mistake. Nc6 was best.} (18... Nc6) 19. Bxe3 Nc6 20. Bxa7 $6 { (-5.37 ? -7.80) Inaccuracy. Qc3 was best.} (20. Qc3 Ne5) 20... Ne5 {Normal White resigns.} 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2020.12.15"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Fox, Harry"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A85"] [WhiteElo "1400"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "U. C. Aberystwyth B"] [BlackTeam "Aberystwyth"] {[%evp 0,65,26,37,20,-22,40,46,41,30,26,7,7,7,5,6,3,-25,-25,-21,-25,-34,-28, -25,-24,-24,15,-11,10,30,5,5,26,27,64,64,54,61,109,78,142,93,94,53,20,49,90,7, 120,121,163,170,176,185,185,189,193,147,167,127,136,110,110,-167,695,697,716, 648]} 1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 (4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Bd2 O-O 6. d5 $5 d6 7. Ng5 e5 $15 {B Brewer-Francis, Dyfed L Online rd1,2020,0-1}) 4... Bb4 (4... Be7 {main}) 5. Qd2 (5. e3) (5. Qc2) (5. Nf3 {mainlines}) 5... O-O (5... h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Bd3 b6 9. a3 Bxc3 10. bxc3 Bb7 11. f3 c5 12. Ne2 d6 { Garaschuk-Nalivajko, UKR ch U20 2004,0-1}) 6. e3 (6. f3 Qe8 7. Bf4 d6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Qxc3 Nbd7 10. e3 e5 11. Bg5 Qg6 12. Nh3 a6 13. b4 b6 14. d5 Nh5 { Garcia de Murcia-Yafimchyk, San Pedro del Pinatar op 2010,0-1}) 6... b6 7. Nf3 d6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. a3 Bxc3 11. Qxc3 Qe8 (11... Ne4 12. Bxd8 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Raxd8 $17 {Komodo10 & Stockfish12}) 12. Bxf6 Rxf6 13. b4 Rd8 {a waiting move, but the R doesn't seem well placed on this square} (13... Be4) (13... Rh6 {both Stockfish12}) (13... Rc8 {Rudy- perhaps hindsight, but anticipates Wh's indicated c5 thrust}) 14. c5 dxc5 (14... Bd5 {Stockfish12}) 15. bxc5 Bd5 16. O-O Rh6 (16... Rc8 {Stockfish12}) 17. cxb6 cxb6 18. Qc7 $16 Rc8 19. Qxa7 Rc2 20. Rd2 (20. Rfe1 $18 {Stockfish12 & Komodo10}) 20... Rc8 (20... Rxd2 21. Nxd2 Bxg2 22. Kxg2 Qg6+ 23. Kh1 Rxh2+ 24. Kxh2 Qh6+ {is a perpetual- a typical Engine find}) 21. Ra1 (21. Qa4 $18 {Stockfish12}) (21. Bb5 $18 {Komodo10- also Stockfish12 but not rated as high as above line} Bxf3 22. Qxd7 Qxd7 23. Bxd7 Rg6 24. g3 Rd8 25. Ba4 Ra8 26. Bd1 Bd5 (26... Bxd1 27. Rfxd1 Rxa3 28. Rb2 $18) 27. a4 $18) 21... Qd8 22. Qa4 Nf6 23. Ne5 (23. Rc2 $18 {both Engines}) 23... Ne4 (23... Ra8 24. Qb4 Ne4 $11 25. g3 {Wh must give up an exchange to protect the K} (25. Rc2 $2 Qh4 $19) 25... Nxd2 (25... Nxf2 $11) 26. Qxd2 Qd6 $11) ( 23... Bxg2 {is given by Komodo10 as leading to a slight edge for Bl, but Stockfish12 disagrees} 24. Kxg2 Ne4 25. Nf3 Nxd2 26. Nxd2 Qg5+ 27. Kh1 Qh4 28. Nf3 Qxf2 29. Qd7 Rf8 30. Rg1 Rf7 31. Qd8+ Rf8 32. Qg5 Rg6 33. Rg2 Qxg2+ 34. Kxg2 Rxg5+ 35. Nxg5 $14 {Stockfish12- the 2 pieces look far more effective than the R , as the potential passed b pawn will not get far}) 24. Rc2 Nc3 ( 24... Rxc2 {does give Bl more chances of Wh going wrong, but it's a quite tricky line} 25. Qxc2 Bb3 {Stockfish12 lures the Q away from protecting f2} ( 25... Rxh2 {gone for straight away by Komodo10, when} 26. Ba6 Rh6 27. Rc1 Nd6 28. Be2 {should be winning for Wh-Stockfish12}) 26. Qc1 $1 (26. Qxb3 Qh4 $19) 26... Rxh2 27. Nf3 Rh6 28. Bc4 Ba4 29. Rb1 $18 {Stockfish12- so the sacrifice of the a pawn to lure the Wh Q out of position should have given possible chances for Bl}) 25. Qd7 $18 {ends Bl's attacking chances, but the with only a pawn down & B vs N, the game is not yet over} Qxd7 26. Nxd7 Nxe2+ 27. Rxe2 b5 28. Nb6 (28. Ne5 {looks better}) 28... Rc3 (28... Rd8) 29. Rb2 (29. Nxd5 { logical followup to previous move, when ahead swap pieces, not pawns} exd5 30. Rb2 Rb6 31. g3 $18) 29... Bc6 30. a4 $6 (30. Nc8 Bxg2 31. Kxg2 Rxc8 32. Rxb5 $18 {Stockfish12}) (30. g3 {Komodo10} e5 31. a4 $18 {now it's possible} (31. dxe5 Be4 32. Rxb5 Rhc6 {gives Bl play as Wh must return a pawn} 33. f3 Bxf3 34. Nd5 Bxd5 35. Rxd5 Rxe3 36. Ra2 $14)) (30. h3 {looks simpler so as not to worry about snap mates} Rg6 31. g3 e5 32. a4 Be4 33. Rxb5 exd4 34. exd4 Rd6 35. d5 Rh6 36. Rb4 (36. Kh2 Rc2 $19) 36... Rxh3 37. Rxe4 fxe4 38. d6 e3 39. Kg2 Rh6 40. d7 Rd3 41. Ra3 Rd2 42. Rxe3 Rxb6 43. Re8+ Kf7 44. d8=Q Rxd8 45. Rxd8 Rb4 $11 {in all of this the N on b6 is at risk, though in the end it does support the d pawn's journey}) 30... bxa4 31. Nxa4 $2 {this should lose the game} (31. Rb4 Rb3 32. Rxb3 axb3 33. Ra3 e5 34. Rxb3 exd4 35. exd4 Rd6 36. Rb4 g5 $14) 31... Rf6 $2 {and this definitely does} (31... Bxa4 $19) 32. Nxc3 Rf8 33. g3 ( 33. Rb6) 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online League"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2020.12.15"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Bourne, Patrick"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D07"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1000"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2020.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Aberystwyth"] [BlackTeam "U. C. Aberystwyth B"] {[%evp 0,53,35,25,20,12,109,15,15,4,53,20,24,21,9,15,52,46,303,287,298,293,287, 255,323,321,308,326,423,304,370,387,682,692,735,686,697,723,736,694,747,729, 758,716,726,740,746,737,888,931,1128,931,29997,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 Nc6 {The Two Knights Tango} 3. e3 (3. c4) (3. d5) (3. Bf4) 3... d5 4. c4 h6 {only found in internet games, 4 Wh wins, 1 draw, 1 Bl win} (4... e6) (4... Bg4 {is a variant of Chigorin Defence}) 5. Bd3 (5. Nc3 {transposes to many more games}) 5... Bg4 $146 (5... e6 {1.5-2.5}) (5... e5 $11 {Stockfish12} 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. dxe5 dxc4 8. Qa4+ c6 9. Bxc4 Ng4 10. O-O Nxe5 11. Be2) 6. O-O e6 7. Nbd2 Bd6 (7... Be7 {Stockfish12}) 8. c5 Nb4 $2 {attempting complications, but it is usually unwise for Bl (often behind in development) to engage in these too early- especially with a K still in the middleto engage in these} 9. Qa4+ $18 {the loose N costs a piece} Nc6 10. cxd6 cxd6 11. Bb5 (11. Ne5 { Stockfish12 has seen a tactic that Wh also follows later} dxe5 12. dxe5 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Bxe4 Bf5 {the B is loose} 15. Bxc6+ bxc6 16. e4 Bg6 17. Qxc6+ Kf8 18. Qd6+ Kg8 19. Qxd8+ Rxd8 20. Be3 Bxe4 21. Bxa7 {and the Q side pawns win comfortably}) 11... Nd7 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qxc6 O-O 14. Qa4 {retuning the Q back to base, with an eye to what Bl might try next} (14. Qxd6 Nb6 15. Qg3 { has the same plan of return}) 14... e5 $6 15. dxe5 dxe5 $2 (15... Bxf3 { bails out the additional piece, but all exchanges help Wh}) 16. Qxg4 Nf6 17. Qa4 (17. Qg3) 17... e4 18. Nd4 Qd6 19. Qd1 (19. h3) 19... h5 20. h3 Rfe8 21. f4 {gives Wh a bit more space on the K side} Qc5 22. N2b3 Qb6 23. Bd2 Nd7 (23... g6) 24. Qxh5 {the Q returns} Kf8 25. Nf5 (25. Qh8+ Ke7 26. Qxg7) 25... Nf6 ( 25... Kg8) 26. Qh8+ Ng8 27. Qxg7# 1-0