Closed Reopens

On Tuesday 5 January five Aberystwyth players took part in the first round of the online version of the popular Dyfed Closed tournament normally held over a weekend in November. Rudy van Kemenade had an easy time against John Miller's French, regularly picking up loose material for an early victory. Adam Watkin-Jones played rather passively in a Pirc against Robert Lovegrove, and came under pressure in a queenless middlegame. resigning somewhat prematurely after dropping a pawn. Tom Gunn fell victim early on to Martin Jones's marauding knight in a Queen's Pawn Game. Sam Holman's Slav against Ben Brewer was an exciting struggle from the first, with both players making mistakes, but ended abruptly when Sam allowed a mate in one. In the longest game of the first round I had Black in a French Exchange against Awne Osinga. There was a protracted period of rather pointless manoeuvring in the middle game, but the bishop ending was more exciting, as White missed a chance to go a pawn up, then pressed too hard for a win in a dead drawn position, allowing a neat finish. Two Aber players are on 1, and three on 0.

[Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.05"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Miller, John S"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "1549"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {an automatic move, Wh had actually prepared a different line!} 1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 (2... c5 {J Van Kemenade-Miller, 6-0}) 3. Qe2 d4 (3... Ne7 4. Nf3 c5 { J Van Kemenade-Miller, Dyfed League 2016,1/2-1/2}) (3... Nf6 {main}) 4. Nf3 (4. g3 e5 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. Bg2 Bg4 7. Nbd2 Nc6 8. h3 Be6 9. O-O f6 10. Ne1 {J Van Kemenade-Miller, Dyfed League 2019,1-0}) 4... c5 5. g3 Nc6 6. e5 {main , 72 % for Wh in databases; a position Rudy has played a number of times in internet games} (6. Bg2 e5 {47% for Wh} 7. h3 Nge7 8. Nbd2 Qc7 9. a4 f6 10. Nc4 Be6 11. Nfd2 {J Van Kemenade-Miller, N Dyfed-S Dyfed 2014,1/2-1/2}) 6... Nge7 7. Bg2 Bd7 (7... Ng6) (7... Nd5 {main lines}) 8. O-O Nd5 9. c4 {Stockfish12} (9. Re1 Be7 10. Nbd2 Qc7 $11 {though 1-3 in actual games}) 9... Nc7 {perhaps a bit passive, though it can support .. b5, often played by Bl to get Q side play} ( 9... dxc3 10. bxc3 Be7 11. c4 Nb6 12. Nc3 O-O $16 {Stockfish12; may give Bl better chances, though the B on d7 obstructs the d file for Bl}) 10. h4 (10. Nbd2 Be7 11. Ne4 O-O 12. g4 $16 {threatening g5 & a sacrifice on f6 is givenn by Stockfish12}) 10... Be7 11. a3 {in case Bl has ideas of 0-0-0, but a bit slow} (11. Bf4) 11... O-O 12. Nbd2 f5 {Stockfish12} 13. exf6 Bxf6 {leaves a number of weak squares} (13... gxf6 14. b4 cxb4 15. axb4 Bxb4 16. Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Qg4+ Kh8 18. Qxd4 $18 {Stockfish12- but at least Wh does not get the standard K side attack}) 14. Ne4 $18 e5 {drops a pawn, but, perhaps more importantly, exacerbates the wh square weaknesses} (14... Be7 15. Bf4 $18 {Stockfish12}) ( 14... b6 15. b4 $18 {Stockfish12}) 15. Nxc5 Bf5 (15... Rb8 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. Nd2 b5 18. cxb5 Rxb5 19. Qe4 Nd8 20. Nc4 $18 {Stockfish12- Wh is a pawn up and the f6 B is a spectator}) 16. Nxb7 Qc8 (16... Qe7 17. Ng5 {and the N on b7 escapes}) 17. Nd6 Qd7 18. Nxf5 Qxf5 19. Ng5 (19. Nd2) (19. Nh2 {keeps the N}) 19... Qd7 (19... Bxg5 {had to be tried- even though Wh keeps 2 useful Bs}) 20. Nxh7 (20. Qe4 {also, Stockfish12 slightly prefers it} Bxg5 21. Bxg5 Ne7 22. Rae1 $18) 20... Kxh7 21. Qe4+ Kg8 22. Qxc6 Qe7 23. Qe4 (23. b4) (23. Bd2) 23... Rab8 24. Bd2 {the Bs control the board} Ne6 25. Bb4 (25. Qg4 {Stockfish12}) 25... Nc5 26. Qd5+ Kh8 27. Bxc5 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.05"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Lovegrove, Robert"] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "1500"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,50,32,30,89,64,91,87,74,61,90,78,78,0,-5,15,-4,-4,-2,-15,-16,-2,-18,5, 9,10,28,25,27,26,43,49,51,50,43,48,62,36,85,82,80,77,107,105,91,85,97,93,88,87, 203,96,170]} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Bc4 (4. Be3 Nf6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. c3 e5 7. dxe5 Nxe5 8. Nxe5 dxe5 9. h3 O-O 10. O-O Nh5 {Orton vs Watkin-Jones, Dyfed League 2018,0-1}) (4. Nc3 {main}) 4... c6 (4... Nf6) (4... e6) 5. Bb3 Nf6 6. e5 (6. Qe2 {main}) 6... dxe5 7. Nxe5 O-O 8. O-O Nbd7 9. Bf4 $146 {no consesus about alternative moves played here} (9. Nc3 $14 {Stockfish12}) 9... Nh5 (9... Nd5 {also}) 10. Nxd7 Qxd7 11. Be3 Qf5 (11... c5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 12. Nd2 Rd8 (12... Nf4 13. c3 Nd5 14. Re1 Nxe3 15. Rxe3 e6 16. Nc4 b6 $11 { Stockfish12}) 13. c3 Be6 14. Qf3 (14. Bxe6 Qxe6 15. Re1 $14 {Stockfish12}) 14... Bd5 (14... Bxb3 15. axb3 Qxf3 16. Nxf3 Nf6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 15. Qxf5 gxf5 {the pawn structure is just a little unstable for Bl} 16. Bd1 (16. g3) ( 16. Nc4) 16... Nf6 17. Re1 Be6 18. Bc2 (18. Nf3 $14) 18... h6 19. Nf3 Nd5 20. Bd2 (20. Nh4 f4 21. Bd2 c5 22. Nf3 cxd4 23. Nxd4 Bg4 $11 {Stockfish12}) 20... Rd7 {Stockfish12} (20... a5) 21. Ne5 (21. Nh4 $16 {Stockfish12} f4 22. Nf5 (22. Ng6 c5 23. Ba4 Rdd8 24. dxc5 Nb6 25. Nxe7+ Kh8 26. cxb6 Rxd2 27. Ng6+ fxg6 28. Rxe6 Rxb2 29. Bb3 a5 30. h4 $16 {a wild Engine variation}) 22... Bf8 23. Nh4 $16 {Stockfish12}) 21... Rdd8 22. Ng6 fxg6 {Bl is best leaving this alone, even though it unites the pawns, the Wh central pressure increases} (22... a5 $14) 23. Rxe6 Kf7 24. Rae1 $16 Rd7 25. Bb3 (25. g4 $18 {Stockfish12; breaks open the K side, while Bl's QR is still AWOL}) 25... Bf6 $2 (25... Re8 26. h3 $16) (25... Bf6 26. Bxh6 {wins a pawn; resignation looks a bit early, but the B can't be trapped and Bl will continue to suffer in a passive position a pawn down} g5 27. f4 g4 28. Bc2 (28. Bg5 Rd6 29. Rxe7+ Bxe7 30. Rxe7+ Kg6 31. Re5 Rf8 32. Bc2 {Stockfish12- the 2 Bs outgun the R & N}) 28... Kg6 29. Bg5 Nc7 30. R1e5 Nxe6 31. Bxf5+ Kg7 32. Rxe6 $18 {Stockfish12}) 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.05"] [Round "1.6"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Jones, Martin C"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D04"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1725"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "36"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,36,19,31,25,26,45,6,15,5,30,3,23,6,10,-16,16,-33,-33,-55,-53,-421, -435,-435,-459,-467,-371,-371,-352,-360,-348,-414,-415,-443,-467,-534,-458, -706,-736]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Bd3 O-O 5. O-O d5 (5... d6 {main} 6. c4 Nbd7 7. Re1 e5 8. Nbd2 Ng4 9. h3 Nh6 10. d5 f5 11. e4 f4 {Gunn-Millere, Dyfed League 2020,0-1}) 6. c4 (6. Nbd2) 6... c5 (6... c6 {main, is a Shlechter-Grunfeld}) 7. cxd5 (7. Nc3 {transposes to a Grunfeld line}) 7... Nxd5 8. dxc5 (8. Nc3 $11 {back to Grunfeld}) 8... Nb4 {1 draw, 3 Bl wins} 9. Bc2 (9. Be4) (9. Be2 {played}) 9... N8a6 10. Qd2 $2 (10. a3 Qxd1 11. Bxd1 Nd3 12. Nc3 Naxc5 $19 {the Wh pieces are passively placed compared with Bl's}) 10... Qxd2 11. Nbxd2 Nxc2 12. Rb1 Ncb4 (12... Nxc5) 13. a3 Nd3 14. b4 Bd7 (14... Rd8) 15. Nc4 Bb5 (15... Be6) 16. Nfd2 Rfd8 17. Rd1 Rac8 18. Nb2 Nxc1 {a N must fall} 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.05"] [Round "1.7"] [White "Brewer, Ben"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D15"] [WhiteElo "1679"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "35"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,35,25,28,14,-17,20,-3,4,10,10,21,-3,-1,11,26,19,40,63,41,101,143,123, 75,163,189,182,-52,6,31,235,284,255,141,144,144,29999,-30000]} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bf5 {main} 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bg2 (6. Nh4 {main, a more recent fashion}) 6... Bb4 (6... Nbd7) 7. O-O dxc4 (7... O-O) 8. Ne5 Nd5 (8... O-O) ( 8... Nbd7 {are safer lines}) 9. e4 $18 {Cloud Engines} (9. Bd2 Nb6 10. e4 Bg6 11. Nxg6 hxg6 12. d5 {Ambroz-Dostal,CZE ch tm 2006,1-0}) 9... Nxc3 (9... Bxc3 10. exf5 Ba5 11. fxe6 fxe6 12. Qh5+) 10. bxc3 Bxc3 11. Rb1 (11. exf5 $1 $18 { Stockfish12}) (11. Ba3 $18 {Stockfish12}) (11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. Rb1 $18 { Stockfish12}) 11... Qxd4 (11... Bg6 {is better, though} 12. Be3 b5 13. h4 $18 { Stockfish12}) 12. Nxf7 $1 $18 {Stockfish12 top choice} (12. Ba3 $18) (12. Rxb7 $18) 12... O-O 13. Nd6 $2 {lets Bl off the hook} (13. exf5 $1 Rxf7 14. fxe6 Rxf2 15. Qxd4 Rxf1+ 16. Kxf1 Bxd4 17. Rxb7 $18 {Bl's pieces are uncoordinated (though nominally half a pawn up)}) (13. Qxd4 Bxd4 14. exf5 Rxf7 15. fxe6 Re7 ( 15... Rf6 16. Rxb7 $18) 16. Rd1 Rxe6 (16... Bb6 17. Rxb6 $18) 17. Rxd4 $18) 13... Bg6 (13... Qxd1 $19 {Stockfish12} 14. Rxd1 Bg4 15. f3 (15. Rf1 b5 $19) 15... Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Rxf3 17. Nxc4 (17. Rxb7 Rd3 $19) 17... b5 18. Nd6 Na6 19. Kg2 Rff8 {now Bl is 2 safe pawns up and ready for piece action}) 14. Rxb7 Qc5 { to hold on to the c pawn, but Bl is playing 2 pieces down} (14... Rd8 15. Qxd4 Bxd4 16. Nxc4 Nd7 $14 {Stockfish12}) 15. Be3 Qa3 16. Qc2 (16. Bh3 $18 { Stockfish12}) (16. e5 Bxe5 17. Nxc4 Qa6 18. Qb3 $18 {Stockfish12}) 16... Qxd6 17. Qxc3 Qd3 $2 {Bl has controlled the long diagonal for a long time, so forgets this is no longer the case} (17... Nd7 18. Qxc4 $18 {and the 3 isolated pawns will prove impossible to hold, even though on paper material is equal.}) 18. Qxg7# 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.05"] [Round "1.8"] [White "Osinga, Awne"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1343"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "160"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,160,16,48,67,33,37,23,39,39,26,33,18,11,19,-17,3,-23,26,15,34,47,55, 55,44,10,34,37,16,14,77,71,104,54,58,20,4,-37,9,-25,-31,-22,-10,-50,-18,-12,5, -49,4,-34,-34,-50,-12,-4,-6,7,20,-6,-6,-6,6,-6,22,17,22,11,29,37,49,55,58,8,21, 27,55,1,44,50,58,2,0,-12,-11,-11,0,0,0,-85,-44,-41,-40,-51,-56,-55,-17,-19,-2, -2,20,66,69,77,78,81,78,81,99,34,67,18,41,68,71,32,11,32,32,32,0,0,0,0,0,-38, -28,-33,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,-519,-515,-508,-465,-884,-881,-937,-947,-947, -990,-990,-1010,-1006,-1236,-1407,-1925,-2228,-29980,-29987,-29990,-29995, -29996,-29997,-29998,-29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 (4... Bd6 {main} 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bd3 Ne7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Bxf5 Nxf5 9. Re1+ Ne7 10. Ne2 O-O 11. Bf4 Bxf4 12. Nxf4 Nd7 {Osinga-Francis, Dyfed League 2014, agreed drawn on move 29}) 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Bg5 h6 (7... Bg4) 8. Bh4 c6 (8... Bg4 {main}) 9. Re1 Nbd7 10. Nbd2 Qb6 $146 (10... Qc7 11. c3 {2 Wh wins, 4 draws, 2 Bl wins}) 11. Rb1 Qc7 12. Nf1 (12. c4 $16 {Stockfish12- Bl's entire Q side lies undeveloped, so Wh can open up with tactics in the centre}) 12... b6 (12... Re8) 13. Bg3 Bxg3 14. Nxg3 Qd8 15. c3 (15. Ne5 $16 {Stockfish12}) 15... c5 16. Rc1 (16. Ne5 $16 {Stockfish12}) 16... Bb7 17. Bb1 (17. Qd2 $18 { Stockfish12- Wh has a lot of forces aimed at the K, & a N getting to f5 will presage a winning N sacrifice or two ( also the Wh Rs are ready to join in)}) 17... Re8 18. Qd2 (18. Ne5 $16 {any exchange on e5 drives away the f6 defender- in the meantime a N on e5 is a coniuous threat against f7}) 18... Qc7 19. Re2 (19. Nh4) 19... Rxe2 20. Qxe2 Re8 21. Qd3 cxd4 (21... Qf4 22. Rd1 g6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 22. Nxd4 {the d pawn is a permant weakness now, though , as usual, there is a bit of piece activity to compensate} (22. Qxd4) 22... Nc5 23. Qd1 (23. Qf3) 23... Qe5 (23... Nfe4) (23... Qf4) 24. Nf3 Qf4 25. Qc2 Nce4 26. Ne2 Qc7 27. Ned4 Ba6 28. h3 {Bl has nothing much, but at least control over e4 has held of a Wh K side assault} Nc5 29. Qd2 Nfe4 30. Qe3 (30. Re1 Kf8 31. Qd1 Qf4 32. Re3 $14 {Stockfish12}) 30... Qd8 31. Re1 Nf6 32. Qd2 Rxe1+ 33. Qxe1 Nce4 (33... Qe8 34. Qd2 Nfe4 $11) 34. Nc6 (34. Ne5 Bb7 35. f3 Nd6 36. Bd3 $14 { Stockfish12}) 34... Qc7 35. Nce5 (35. Nfd4) 35... Qd6 36. Bc2 Nc5 37. Ng4 Nce4 (37... Bd3 38. Nxf6+ Qxf6 39. Bxd3 Nxd3 40. Qd2 Qg6 41. Nd4 $11) (37... Nxg4 $2 38. Qe8+ Qf8 39. Bh7+ Kxh7 40. Qxf8 $18) 38. Nxf6+ Nxf6 39. Nh2 {trying for a Ng4 again, but it releases the d5 pawn from its ssseclusion} (39. Qe3 $14) (39. Qe5 Qxe5 40. Nxe5 $14 {looks even simpler}) 39... d4 $11 40. Ng4 (40. cxd4 Qxd4 41. Qc1 Bb7 42. Bb3 Qe4 43. Nf3 $11 {Stockfish12}) 40... d3 $5 {double-edged- the pawn might be a winning assett or a weakness that gets lost} (40... dxc3 41. Nxf6+ gxf6 (41... Qxf6 $2 42. Qe8#) 42. Qxc3 $11) 41. Nxf6+ Qxf6 42. Qe8+ Kh7 43. Qe4+ (43. Bb3 d2 44. Qd7 Qf4 45. Bc2+ g6 46. b3 Kg7 47. Bd1 Qg5 48. g3 Qf6 49. Qxd2 $16 {Engines love living on the near edge of disaster}) (43. Bd1 $11) 43... Qg6 44. Qxg6+ Kxg6 45. Bb3 d2 (45... h5 46. f3 Kg5 47. g3 h4 48. Kf2 f6 49. gxh4+ Kxh4 50. Ke3 Bb7 51. f4 Kg3 52. Bd1 Bg2 $17 {the centre pawn is sacrificed to allow K entry on the K side}) 46. Bd1 Kf5 (46... h5) 47. f3 Kf4 ( 47... h5) 48. Kf2 g5 49. g3+ Ke5 50. Ke3 Bf1 (50... Bc4 51. a3 (51. b3 Be6) 51... Be6 52. h4 gxh4 53. gxh4 Ba2 54. Kxd2 Kf4 55. b3 Bb1 56. b4 Kg3 57. h5 Kf4 58. c4 Bf5 59. Kc3 Ke5 60. Ba4 Be6 61. c5 f5 $14 {Stockfish12-possibly with holes in there somewhere}) 51. h4 $18 gxh4 52. gxh4 Kf5 53. Kxd2 (53. Bc2+ {Stockfish12} Ke5 54. f4+ Kd6 55. Kxd2 $18 {the Bl K has been driven back}) 53... Kf4 $11 54. Bb3 (54. Ke1 Bc4 55. b3 Bd3 56. Kf2 $11) 54... f6 55. Bd5 h5 (55... Kg3 56. h5 Bb5 57. b4 Be8 58. c4 Bxh5 59. c5 bxc5 60. bxc5 Bg6 $11) 56. b4 (56. Ke1 Bb5 57. Kf2 $18 {Stockfish12}) 56... Kg3 $11 {Wh has twice allowed the Bl K unnecessary activity} 57. c4 {this comes close to winning, but, it transpires, just a tempo short} Kxh4 58. c5 bxc5 59. bxc5 Ba6 (59... Kg3 60. Ke3 Bh3 61. f4 h4 62. c6 Bc8 $11 {Stockfish12}) 60. Be6 (60. Bf7 Kg5 61. Ke3 Bb5 62. Bd5 h4 63. c6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 60... Kg3 61. Ke3 Bb7 62. Bd7 h4 63. c6 Ba6 64. c7 h3 65. f4 h2 66. Bc6 Bc8 $11 67. a4 a5 68. Kd4 $2 {a final attempt at winning, but Wh , at the end of a long game, has overlooked the role of a hitherton neglected part of the board- the f pawn} (68. Bh1 $11) 68... Kxf4 $19 69. Kc5 Ke3 70. Kb6 f5 {rejoicing in its liberation} 71. Kxa5 ( 71. Ka7 f4 72. Kb8 Bf5 73. c8=Q Bxc8 74. Kxc8 f3 75. Bxf3 Kxf3 76. Kb7 h1=Q 77. Ka6 {is far too slow}) 71... f4 72. Kb6 f3 73. Bb7 Bf5 (73... Bxb7 74. Kxb7 f2 75. c8=Q h1=Q+ {also works, but needs a lot of careful calculation, best left to Engines if it can be avoided}) 74. a5 h1=Q 75. a6 Qb1+ 76. Ka7 f2 77. Kb8 f1=Q 78. a7 {2 Qs down, but , Wh is still alive} Qxb7+ {ends it all} 79. Kxb7 Qb5+ 80. Ka8 Be4# 0-1