Spring Forward, Fall Back

The second round of the Online Dyfed Closed was played on Tuesday 12 January with two Aberystwyth playerson on 1 and the other three on 0. My English Opening against Howard Williams did not give me any real attacking chances, but I held my own against a very strong opponent until I allowed my position to become too passive and he played a fine exchange sacrifice to break through in the centre with his pawns. It's strange how some players have lower-rated opponents who always cause them trouble. For me it was the late Jan Sendall, for Rudy van Kemenade it seems to be Martin Jones. In a complex position arising from a Pirc Defence, Rudy miscalculated a tactical sequence and ended up a piece down. Though he did his best to generate counterplay, there was no reprieve. So, with the two players who won last week losing this week, it was left to the others to salvage the honour of the club. Adam Watkin-Jones got a big advantage when Scott Hammett played inaccurately against White's tricky Nc3 line in the Dutch; Black never equalized and the threats quickly became too great. Tom Gunn had to negotiate a difficult knight ending against Mark Paffard after a Closed Sicilian; White's queenside pawn majority gave winning chances, but Tom managed to draw with his higher-rated opponent. Finally Sam Holman's Ruy Lopez brought a textbook kingside attack against Awne Osinga, a good recovery after his disappointingly quick defeat last week. Four Aber players are now on 1/2, with Tom on ½/2.

Congratulations to Tom, who is confirmed as Welsh Online U1500 Champion for his performance in the WCU Online League.

[Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.12"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "Williams, A Howard"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A36"] [WhiteElo "1648"] [BlackElo "2340"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "94"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,94,36,-29,38,43,66,8,10,8,11,1,-6,-25,-29,-13,-27,-19,24,-2,13,7,19,1, 1,-15,6,16,30,22,23,20,11,-37,-26,-21,-27,-28,-12,-33,0,-7,-6,-6,15,-14,30,23, 45,46,46,-8,8,-155,-12,-8,1,-14,-4,-4,-9,-53,-19,-20,13,-109,-58,-143,-129, -104,-109,-293,-60,-60,-93,-144,-133,-165,-128,-156,-89,-162,-169,-169,-185, -160,-160,-176,-194,-169,-202,-188,-214,-249,-445,-839,-1143]} 1. c4 g6 (1... Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. g3 (3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Nd4 {Heap-Williams, Dyfed League 2014, 0-1}) 3... Bb4 {A Robinson-Williams,Dyfed League 2015,0-1}) 2. Nc3 (2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 d6 4. e4 Nc6 5. d3 f5 6. Nc3 Nf6 {Francis-R Van Kemenade, Dyfed Closed 2014,0-1}) 2... Bg7 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 O-O 5. d3 d6 (5... c6 6. e4 e5 7. Nge2 d6 8. O-O Be6 9. b3 d5 {Bevan-Williams, Dyfed Open 2014,1/2-1/2}) 6. e4 c5 { most frequent} (6... e5) 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. O-O Ne8 (8... a6 9. h3 Rb8 { alternative plan}) 9. a3 (9. Be3 Nd4 10. Rb1) 9... Rb8 10. Rb1 Nc7 11. Be3 { 2 draws, 4 Bl wins} (11. b4 {main}) 11... Nd4 (11... Ne6 12. b4 {transposes to 30 games, 58 % for Wh}) 12. b4 b6 13. Nd5 $146 (13. h3 {2 wins each, 1 draw}) 13... Nxe2+ 14. Qxe2 Ne6 15. Qd2 Nd4 $11 16. Kh1 (16. h4 $5) 16... e6 17. Nc3 Bd7 18. b5 {aiming to get in an a pawn advance ? but then Wh shifts attention to the K side} Qe7 19. Bh6 (19. a4) 19... f5 20. Bxg7 Qxg7 21. exf5 gxf5 (21... Nxf5 $5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 22. Rbe1 $14 Rbe8 23. Ne2 e5 (23... Nxe2 24. Rxe2 f4 25. Be4 Kh8 $14 {Stockfish12}) 24. Nxd4 cxd4 25. Rd1 (25. f4 $16 {the pawn mass needs to be restained} Kh8 26. a4 Bc8 27. a5 $16 {Stockfish12}) 25... f4 $11 26. Rg1 $6 {Wh is now becomin too passive} (26. Bd5+ Kh8 (26... Be6 27. Bc6 Bd7 28. gxf4 Bxc6+ 29. bxc6 Qc7 30. fxe5 Qxc6+ 31. f3 dxe5 32. Rde1 $11) 27. f3 fxg3 28. Rg1 Qf6 29. Rxg3) 26... Kh8 (26... f3 $19 {Stockfish12} 27. Bf1 Rf6 28. Re1 Bf5 $19 {Wh's pieces have no way of getting out of the K side logjam, and Bl slowly prepares a breakthrough} 29. h3 Kh8 30. g4 Rg8 31. Rg3 Bc8 32. a4 Rg6 33. Ra1 Qe7 34. Qd1 h5 35. a5 Bb7 $19 {Stockfish12}) 27. gxf4 Rxf4 28. Be4 (28. Bd5) 28... Qf6 (28... Bg4) 29. f3 Bf5 30. Rde1 (30. Bd5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 30... Rf8 (30... Bxe4 31. fxe4 Rf2 32. Qg5 Qxg5 33. Rxg5 Rd2 34. Rg3 Rg8 35. Reg1 Rxg3 36. Rxg3 h5 37. h4 $11 {Stockfish12}) 31. Re2 Bg6 32. Bd5 (32. Bxg6 hxg6 33. Re4 Qg7 34. Qg2 $11 {Stockfish12}) (32. Reg2 $11 {Stockfish12, looks a simpler method of holding on.}) 32... Rxf3 $1 $19 {the exchange sacrifice liberates the central pawn mass} 33. Bxf3 Qxf3+ 34. Reg2 Bxd3 35. Qg5 Bg6 36. Qe7 Qf6 37. Qxf6+ Rxf6 38. Re1 d3 39. Rd2 e4 (39... Rf4) 40. Re3 Rf1+ 41. Kg2 Rc1 42. Kg3 Rxc4 {Rs are good attackers} 43. Re1 {but bad defenders} Kg7 44. Kf4 Kf6 45. Rb1 d5 46. Rb4 Rxb4 47. axb4 d4 0-1 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.01.12"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Jones, Martin C"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "1725"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "lichess.org"] [PlyCount "119"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,119,19,31,54,61,57,85,87,72,94,44,49,30,66,41,43,40,63,56,56,50,47,39, 39,20,19,21,25,10,19,5,4,27,31,31,90,1,152,144,393,397,389,400,458,466,461,460, 456,444,456,428,466,450,468,486,568,440,522,507,508,451,498,477,521,484,569, 492,507,402,437,454,454,391,418,349,353,351,354,331,331,343,327,336,441,456, 456,473,467,456,479,435,448,417,479,478,495,544,534,543,557,562,573,571,578, 584,631,648,660,631,630,684,681,693,857,858,889,836,942,677,1387,1762]} 1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 {B07 Pirc Defense} (3... c6 4. Nf3 Qc7 5. Bf4 Nh5 6. Be3 Nd7 7. h3 Nhf6 8. Bd3 e5 9. Qe2 Be7 10. g4 Nf8 11. O-O-O Ne6 {Jones-J Van Kemenade, Dyfed League 2016,0-1}) (3... Nbd7 4. Nf3 e5 5. Be3 c6 6. Qd2 Be7 7. Be2 h6 8. h3 Qc7 9. O-O Nf8 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. a3 g5 {Jones-R Van Kemenade, Dyfed League 2016,1-0}) 4. Be3 (4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. Qd2 Bg4 7. Be2 Nc6 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. O-O-O {Jones-A H Williams, Dyfed League 2017,0-1}) 4... c6 5. f3 b5 6. Qd2 b4 (6... Nbd7 {main} 7. g4 (7. O-O-O) (7. Nh3 Nb6 8. Nf2 a5 9. Rd1 Ba6 10. Nb1 Nc4 11. Bxc4 bxc4 12. c3 Rb8 13. Na3 d5 14. O-O e6 15. e5 Nd7 {G Shaw-R Van Kemenade, Merseyside-Yorkshire 1981,1/2-1/2 })) (6... Bg7) 7. Nce2 (7. Nd1 {also}) 7... a5 8. g4 {main} h5 9. g5 Nfd7 10. h4 Nb6 (10... c5 11. f4 Bb7 12. Bg2 Bg7 13. O-O-O O-O 14. dxc5 dxc5 15. Bxc5 { Meftahi-Graa, Monastir Subsidiere op 2014,1-0}) 11. Ng3 Ba6 (11... Qc7 12. Qf2 N8d7 13. f4 c5 14. f5 Bg7 15. Nh3 cxd4 16. Bxd4 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Ne5 $15 { Schneider-Javakhishvili, BundesLiga frauen 2017,0-1}) 12. Bd3 (12. Bxa6 $11 { Stockfish12} Nxa6 13. Qf2 Bg7 14. N1e2 Nc4 15. Bc1 c5 16. Rb1 cxd4 $19 { Dirican-Ceylan, TUR ch tm 2018,0-1}) 12... Bg7 $17 {Stockfish12} (12... c5 $15 {Stockfish12}) (12... Nc4 13. Bxc4 Bxc4 14. a3 {leaves a vulnerable a5 pawn} bxa3 15. b3 Ba6 16. Rxa3 Bg7 17. Rxa5 c5 18. dxc5 Qc8 19. N1e2 Nc6 20. Ra4 O-O 21. Kf2 Rd8 22. Qc1 dxc5 23. Bxc5 Ne5 $14 {Stockfish12- the Bl pieces have lots of play- whether it is enough for two pawns though?}) (12... d5 13. N1e2 dxe4 (13... e6 $11 14. b3 Nc4 15. bxc4 dxc4 16. f4 cxd3 17. cxd3 Bg7 18. f5 c5 $11 {Stockfish12}) (13... Bg7 14. e5 e6 15. b3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 (16. cxd3 $5) 16... N8d7 17. Nf4 Qe7 18. O-O c5 $11 19. Nfxh5 {is not so good now} gxh5 20. f4 cxd4 21. Bxd4 Nc8 22. Qe2 Nb8 23. Nxh5 Nc6 24. Bf2 Kf8 $17 {Stockfish12}) 14. fxe4 Bg7 15. e5 O-O 16. Nxh5 gxh5 17. Nf4 Nd5 18. Nxh5 Qc8 19. O-O-O $16 { Stockfish12}) 13. N1e2 Qc8 {deterring 0-0} (13... c5 14. c3 O-O $17 { Stockfish12}) (13... O-O $17 {Stockfish12}) 14. Rd1 (14. f4 c5 15. c3 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 Qa6 17. Rd1 Qxd3 18. Rxd3 N8d7 $11 {Stockfish12}) 14... d5 $15 {Blocks any Wh action down the d file. ,With Wh having 0-0-0 instead of Rd1, the Bl Q still on d8 and the Ns on g1 & Nbd7 & B still on f8; Bl to move played e6 now in Tolnai-Chernin, AUT ch tm, , 0-1 1994. Marin 2017:244 claims a slight advantage for Bl in this position as Wh has no K real K side chances while Bl has plenty on the Q side} 15. Nf4 (15. Kf2 $5) 15... N8d7 (15... dxe4 {is an initial Engine recommendation, which just leads to messy position. Instead Bl was considering ...e6 as an alternative} 16. Bxe4 (16. fxe4 c5 17. dxc5 Na4 18. Bxa6 Rxa6 19. Nd5 Be5 20. Bf4 Nd7 21. O-O $11 {Stockfish1`12}) 16... Nc4 17. Qc1 Nd6 18. Nxg6 Nxe4 19. Nxe7 Kxe7 20. Nxe4 Re8 21. Kf2 $11 {Stockfish12}) ( 15... e6 16. O-O Nc4 17. Bxc4 Bxc4 18. Rfe1 Nd7 $11) 16. b3 {keeping Bl out of c4, but leaves a hole on c3, that Bl tries to exploit.But it contains a flaw. A recommendation when looking a tactical sequence is to try and look one move further on from the concluding point, to check out any subsequent possibility for the other side. The position now reached is highly complex} (16. e5 { is more dynamic, as Bl needs to be careful} Nc4 (16... e6 {allows a dangerous sacrifice} 17. Nxe6 fxe6 18. Bxg6+ Kd8 19. b3 $18 {Wh will push pawns on the K side}) (16... Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Nf8 (17... e6 18. Nxg6 fxg6 19. Qxg6+ Kf8 20. Nxh5 {is evemn more dangerous for Bl})) (16... Nf8 17. b3 e6 18. Rc1 Bxd3 19. Nxd3 Nfd7 20. O-O $14 {Stockfish12}) 17. Bxc4 dxc4 18. e6 Nb6 19. exf7+ Kxf7 20. c3 Nd5 21. O-O Rf8 $11 {Stockfish12}) 16... e5 (16... c5 {considered By Bl} 17. Bxa6 (17. exd5 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 c4 19. Qe4 O-O 20. O-O Qc7 $11 {In Stockfish12 eyesbut Bl has still to regain the pawn}) 17... Rxa6 18. exd5 c4 19. O-O Qa8 20. d6 exd6 21. d5 O-O $11 {Stockfish12}) (16... dxe4 17. Bxe4 (17. fxe4 c5 $17 ) 17... Nd5 18. Nxg6 (18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. Bxd5 Ra7 $11) 18... fxg6 19. Bxg6+ Kd8 20. Bxh5 N7b6 21. Bg4 Qc7 22. Kf2 Nxe3 23. Qxe3 Nd5 $11 {Stockfish12; again, not all clear- the = here is not that it's level, but that both sides have chances.}) (16... Bxd3 17. cxd3 (17. Qxd3 e5 18. dxe5 Bxe5 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. O-O Nxe3 21. Qxe3 O-O $11) 17... e6 18. O-O Qb7 19. Rde1 $14 {Stockfish12}) 17. dxe5 Nxe5 (17... Bxe5 {which Wh was expecting, leads to equality} 18. Bxa6 Qxa6 19. Kf2 O-O 20. exd5 Bxf4 21. Bxf4 Nxd5 $11 {Stockfish12}) (17... Bxd3 18. Nxd3 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Qf2 Nd7 21. f4 Bc3+ 22. Kf1 O-O 23. Kg2 $11 {Stockfish12 }) 18. Qf2 (18. Bxa6 Qxa6 19. Qe2 O-O 20. Qxa6 Rxa6 21. Kf2 Rc8 22. Rhe1 $16 { Stockfish12}) 18... d4 $2 {a combination that has a hole in it.} (18... Nxd3+ 19. cxd3 Bc3+ 20. Kf1 Nd7 21. Kg2 O-O 22. d4 $16) (18... Bxd3 19. Bxb6 (19. cxd3 d4 20. Bxd4 Nxf3+ 21. Qxf3 Bxd4 22. Nge2 Bg7 23. d4 O-O 24. O-O $14 c5 ( 24... a4) 25. Rc1 c4 26. bxc4 Nxc4 27. Rf2 Nd2 28. Qd3 Qg4+ 29. Rg2 Bxd4+ 30. Nxd4 Qxf4 31. Rxd2 Rac8 32. Rf1 Qxh4 33. Nf3 Qg4+ 34. Rg2 Qf4 $14 {Stockfish12} ) 19... Bb5 20. Bc5 Qb7 21. Qe3 O-O-O 22. Kf2 Rhe8 $11 {Stockfish12}) 19. Bxd4 Nxf3+ (19... Bxd3 20. Bxb6 Bb5 21. Bc5 $18) 20. Qxf3 Bxd4 21. Bxa6 $18 Bc3+ ( 21... Qg4 22. Qxg4 Bc3+ 23. Kf2 hxg4 24. Bb7 Rd8 25. Bxc6+ Ke7 26. Nd5+ { is not much better for Bl}) 22. Qxc3 {the reply Bl had missed when playing 16.. .e5} bxc3 (22... O-O 23. Bxc8 bxc3 24. Bb7 {is worse}) 23. Bxc8 Rxc8 24. Ke2 { and Wh is a piece up. In what follows Bl tries to eliminate as many pawns as possible, but in vain} O-O (24... Ke7 $5) 25. Rhe1 (25. Rd6) 25... c5 26. Rd6 Rb8 27. Red1 (27. Nxg6 {returning the piece for extra pawns, is Stockfish 's second recommenadation} fxg6 28. Rxg6+ Kf7 29. Rd6 Kg8 30. Nxh5 {and the Wh pieces dominate the board, as well as 3 extra pawns}) 27... c4 (27... a4 $5) 28. Nd5 Nc8 (28... Nxd5 29. R1xd5 a4 30. bxc4 Rb2 31. Kd3 Rxa2 32. Rd8 $18) 29. Nf6+ Kg7 30. Rc6 (30. Ngxh5+) 30... cxb3 31. axb3 Rb4 32. Nd5 Rb5 33. Nxc3 Re5 34. Rd5 Ne7 35. Rxe5 Nxc6 36. Rd5 Nb4 37. Rd2 Rc8 38. Nd5 Nxc2 39. Kd1 (39. Nf1 ) 39... Na1 40. Rb2 Rb8 41. b4 a4 (41... axb4 42. Rb1 {loses a N}) 42. Ra2 Nb3 43. Rxa4 Nd4 {perhaps Wh will drop an h pawn?} 44. Ra3 Nb5 45. Rf3 Nd4 46. Rf2 Re8 (46... Ra8 $5) 47. Kd2 Rc8 48. Kd3 Ne6 49. b5 Nc5+ 50. Kd4 Nb3+ 51. Ke5 Re8+ 52. Kd6 Re6+ 53. Kc7 Nc5 54. b6 Na6+ 55. Kb7 Nc5+ 56. Ka7 Rd6 57. Rc2 Rd7+ 58. Kb8 Rd8+ 59. Kc7 Rd7+ 60. Kc8 {There is no perpetual. Normal Black resigns. } 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.12"] [Round "2.7"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Hammett, Scott"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A83"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1590"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 e6 {a dangerous line as Bl lands up with a porous K side} (3... d5 {main} 4. e3 e6 5. Nh3 (5. Nf3 {main}) 5... Be7 6. Nf4 {IC Jones-Hammett, Dyfed League 2017,1-0}) 4. e4 (4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e3 d5 6. Bd3 c6 7. Qf3 Bd6 8. Nh3 O-O 9. a3 Bd7 {Chadaway-Hammett, Dyfed Major 2020, 0-1}) 4... fxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. Qh5+ (7. Nf3 {main} O-O 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. c3 d5 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. Qe2 Bd7 12. O-O {Hurn-Hammett, Dyfed Major 2020,1-0 ( 68 % for Wh from this position)}) 7... g6 8. Qh6 Qe7 9. Nxf6+ Qxf6 10. O-O-O $16 ( 10. Nf3 {more frequent}) 10... Nc6 11. Nf3 Qf8 (11... d6) (11... Ne7 {main lines}) 12. Qd2 $18 (12. Qe3 {Cloud Engines} Ne7 13. Bc4 Nf5 14. Qe2 Qh6+ 15. Kb1 O-O 16. d5 d6 17. dxe6 Ne7 18. h4 $18 {Dauner-Mertens, Baden ch , Hockenheim 1994,1/2-1/2}) 12... Ne7 13. Bc4 c6 14. Rde1 (14. h4 {also}) 14... d5 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. Ne5 {Wh controls the centre & Bl has a horribly bad B} O-O-O 17. Re3 Nf5 18. Bxf5 (18. Rf3 {is also very effective}) 18... exf5 {other captures are equally bad} 19. Qa5 Kb8 20. Ra3 a6 21. Qb6 Kc8 (21... Ka8 22. Rb3 Rb8 (22... Bc8 23. Nxc6) 23. Nxd7) 22. Rb3 1-0 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.12"] [Round "2.9"] [White "Paffard, Mark"] [Black "Gunn, Tom"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "1608"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 (3... a6 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. f4 d6 7. Nf3 Nd4 8. O-O {Paffard-Dwain Jones, WCU Online U1800,2020,1-0}) 4. Bg2 (4. exd5 exd5 5. Bg2 {main}) 4... dxe4 (4... Nf6 5. d3 d4 6. Nce2 Nc6 7. Nf3 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. c3 e5 $15 {Paffard-Rafferty,Dyfed Online League 2020,0-1}) (4... d4 5. Nce2 Nc6 {main}) 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. d3 Nf6 7. Be3 Nbd7 (7... Nd5) (7... Nxe4) 8. Ne2 (8. Nxf6+ Bxf6 9. c3 O-O 10. Nf3 Rb8 11. O-O b5 {Hild-Guichard, FRA ch tm (women) 2011,0-1}) 8... O-O 9. O-O (9. N2c3 Rb8 10. a4 Nxe4 11. dxe4 Ne5 12. Qe2 { Doelzlmueller-Nindl, SLBW 1994,1/2-1/2}) 9... Rb8 10. h3 (10. Qc1 Qc7 11. Nf4 e5 12. Nh3 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 Nf6 14. Bg2 Be6 15. Ng5 Bd5 16. Ne4 Nxe4 17. dxe4 Bc6 18. Qe1 Bb5 {Zavec-Riznar, SLO ch women 1992,0-1}) 10... b6 (10... b5 $15 { Stockfish12}) 11. c3 Bb7 12. Nxf6+ Nxf6 13. Bxb7 Rxb7 14. Qc2 Rd7 $17 15. Rad1 Qc7 (15... Nd5) 16. d4 Rfd8 (16... Nd5 17. Bc1 Rfd8 $17 {Stockfish12}) 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Rxd7 Rxd7 20. Rd1 Nd5 (20... Rxd1+ $11) 21. Qd3 Qc7 22. Qb5 Nf6 (22... Kf8 $11) 23. Rxd7 Qxd7 24. Qxd7 Nxd7 $11 {Wh does have a Q side majority, but probably not enough to guarantee a winas it's a c pawn} 25. Nd4 Kf8 (25... Nc5) 26. b4 a5 {this , though ,is dangerous. It allows Wh to gain a potential passed a pawn. And Ns have the most difficulty holding R pawns} ( 26... a6) 27. a4 (27. Nc6 {gives better chances, as Bl needs to find a N sacrifice} axb4 28. cxb4 Ke8 29. a4 Nf6 30. Kg2 Nd5 31. a5 Nxb4 $1 32. Nxb4 bxa5 33. Nc2 Ke7 $11 34. Kf1 f5 35. Ke2 Kf6 36. Kd3 e5 37. Ne3 a4 38. Nc4 h5 39. f4 exf4 40. gxf4 g5 41. Ke2 g4 (41... h4 42. Kf3 gxf4 43. Kxf4 Kg6 $11) 42. h4 Ke6 $11 {Stockfish12}) 27... axb4 (27... Ne5 $11 28. Kf1 Ke7 29. Ke2 Kd6 30. f4 Nc4 31. Kd3 Kd5 $11 {Stockfish12}) 28. cxb4 Ke8 29. Kf1 $16 Kd8 30. Ke2 Kc7 (30... Ne5) 31. f4 (31. Nf3 {may be worth a try to see if the outside passed pawn can be given up to let the Wh K & N into the K side; though it looks as if Bl can hold} b5 (31... Kd6 32. Ng5 h6 33. Nxf7+ Kd5 34. Kd3 $18) (31... h6 32. Kd3 Kc6 33. Kc4 e5 34. Nh4 g6 35. Ng2 f5 36. Ne3 Nf6 37. f4 e4 38. g4 fxg4 39. hxg4 b5+ 40. axb5+ Kb6 41. Kd4 Kxb5 42. Ke5 Ne8 43. Kxe4 h5 (43... Kxb4 44. Ke5 $16) 44. g5 Kxb4 45. f5 gxf5+ 46. Nxf5 Kc5 $11 {- Nalimov endgame tablebases ( though Komodo14 still has a definite plus for Wh. In practice giving up the distant passed pawn gives Wh all sorts of winning chances with little risk of landing up with a loss.}) 32. a5 e5 33. Ng5 Nf6 34. Nxf7 Nd5 35. Nxe5 Nxb4 36. Kd2 Kb7 37. Kc3 Nd5+ 38. Kd4 Ne7 39. Kc5 Ka6 40. Kd6 Nc8+ 41. Ke6 Kxa5 {very difficult to envisage or calculate correctly- Stockfish12 says level-Komodo14 Endgame gives a definite plus for Wh} 42. h4 Kb4 (42... b4 43. Nc6+ Ka4 44. Nxb4 Kxb4 45. Kf7 Kc4 46. Kxg7 h5 47. Kg6 $18) 43. h5 Kc5 44. Kf7 g5 45. Kg8 $18 {Komodo14 Endgame}) 31... e5 (31... Nf6) 32. Nb5+ Kc6 33. Kd3 exf4 34. gxf4 {though with the Wh K side pawns split it is now the Bl N that threatens to harvest there} Nf6 $11 35. Nd4+ Kd5 36. Nf5 g6 (36... Nh5) 37. Ne3+ Kc6 38. Kd4 h5 $2 (38... b5 39. a5 Kd6 40. a6 Kc6 41. f5 Ne8 $11 (41... Kb6 42. Ke5 $18)) (38... Nd7 39. Ng4 f6 40. h4 h5 41. Ne3 Nf8 42. f5 gxf5 43. b5+ Kd6 44. Nxf5+ Kd7 45. Ng7 Kd6 46. Nxh5 Ng6 47. Nxf6 Nxh4 $11) 39. Ke5 (39. Nc4 $18 {as the f pawn is lost.} Nd7 {keeps the K out for the moment but allows a winning N swap} (39... Kc7 40. Ne5 Kd6 41. Nxf7+ Ke6 42. Ng5+ (42. Ne5 Nd5 43. Nxg6 (43. a5 {also}) 43... Nxb4 44. Kc4 Nd5 45. f5+ Kd6 46. Kd4 { Zugzwang-Komodo14 Endgame})) 40. Ne5+ Kc7 41. Nxd7 Kxd7 42. Ke5 Ke7 43. a5) 39... Nd7+ 40. Kd4 (40. Ke4 Nf6+ 41. Kd4 Nd7 42. h4 Kd6 43. Nc4+ $18 {Komodo14 Endgame}) 40... Nf6 (40... b5 $11) 41. Ke5 (41. Nc4 $18) (41. b5+ Kb7 42. Nc4 Ne8 43. Ke5 $18) 41... Nd7+ 42. Kd4 Nf6 {twice repeated position, but Wh still can win with Nc4 or b5} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dyfed Online Closed"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.01.12"] [Round "2.10"] [White "Holman, Sam"] [Black "Osinga, Awne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C66"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1343"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. h3 {cautious , avoiding a B pin} (4. d4 {main} ) (4. O-O {next, Holman vs Tegwyn Jones,Greenwood, Belochkin, 3-0}) (4. c3 { next, J van Kemenade -Osinga 3-0, Leah -Osinga ,1-0; Corrigan-Osinga 0-1}) 4... Bd7 5. c3 (5. O-O) 5... Nf6 6. d3 h6 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 {a standard slow Ruy Lopez structure} a6 10. Ba4 Qc8 {there is no real threat in a sacrifice on h3; 4 Wh wins, 1 draw} (10... Nh7) (10... b5) (10... Re8 {main lines}) 11. Nf1 Nd8 $146 (11... b5 12. Bc2 {5 Wh wins, 1 draw} Nd8) 12. Bb3 ( 12. Bc2) 12... Be6 13. Bc2 $16 {the coming Wh K side attack has lots of potential, in which the lurking wh B plays a key role,along with threats of N invasion} c5 14. Ng3 (14. d4 $16) 14... Nc6 15. Be3 {An imprecision. This B is best left looking at h6 from a distance, It is not needed to enforce d4 , & the tempo loss allows Bl to strike in the centre first} (15. d4 $14) 15... Nh7 (15... d5 $11 {and the Bon e3 itself becomes a target for a pawn advance to d4 , or after exd5, Nxd5.}) 16. d4 $16 {back on course} exd4 17. cxd4 cxd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Rd8 (19... Bf6 20. Nh5 Be5 21. f4 Bxd4+ 22. Qxd4 Qc5 23. Qxc5 dxc5 24. f5 Bc4 25. e5 $16 {Stockfish12}) 20. Rc1 $18 (20. Nh5 $18 { forces weakening of the K side}) 20... Qd7 21. Qd3 (21. Nh5 {Stockfish12} g6 22. Nf4 Nf8 23. Qd2 Kh7 24. Bc3 Rac8 25. Qd4 $18 {the Bl pieces are just huddled together, while Wh brings more and more into the attack}) 21... Nf8 ( 21... Qb5 {Stockfish12} 22. Qxb5 (22. Qd2 Bf6 (22... Bxa2 23. b3 {traps the B}) 23. Ne2 Bxd4 24. Nxd4 Qxb2 25. e5 Kh8 26. Nxe6 fxe6 27. exd6 Qxa2 28. Red1 $14) 22... axb5 23. a3 $16) 22. Nf5 (22. Nh5 {is also very powerful} g6 (22... f6 23. Qg3) 23. Nf6+ Bxf6 24. Bxf6 Rdc8 25. Qd2 Kh7 26. Bc3 Qe7 27. Qd4 f6 28. a4 Kg7 29. Rcd1 $18 {the Bl position has too many weaknesses to survive for long}) (22. Bxg7 {seems to work as well. but Wh has to be playing on trust in his judgement rather than a clearcut long analysis} Kxg7 23. Nh5+ Kg8 24. Qc3 $1 { better than Qd4} f6 25. Qg3+ Kf7 26. e5 fxe5 27. Qg7+ Ke8 28. Bg6+ Nxg6 29. Qxg6+ Bf7 30. Ng7+ Kf8 31. Qxh6 Kg8 32. Rc3 Bf8 33. Rg3 Bg6 34. Rxg6 Bxg7 35. Re4 Qf7 36. Reg4 Rd7 37. Rxg7+ Qxg7 38. Rxg7+ Rxg7 39. Qxd6 {Stockfish12-and the Q with the advancing K side pawns will outweigh the Rs}) 22... Bxf5 23. exf5 f6 {the usual problem against 2 Bs- block one & the other comes in} (23... Bg5 {though seems not much better} 24. Qg3 Nh7 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 26. h4 f6 27. Bb3 Rac8 28. hxg5 hxg5 29. Rcd1 Rc5 30. Bd5 Nf8 31. Qe3 Rdc8 32. Qe7+ Qxe7 33. Rxe7+ Kh6 (33... Kh8 34. Rd3) 34. Rf7 Nh7 35. Rd3 g4 36. Rd4 Rg8 37. Rxb7 $18 { the Bl pieces remain in inferior postions to their Wh counterparts}) 24. Bb6 ( 24. Qe4 Re8 (24... d5 {Stockfish12 gives up a piece as best try for Bl}) 25. Qd5+ Kh8 26. Bb3 Nh7 27. Bb6 Rac8 28. Rxc8 Rxc8 29. Qf7 Re8 30. h4 { Stockfish12- Zugzwang, a position that returns in later developments}) 24... Rdc8 25. Qd5+ (25. Qe4 Re8 26. Qd5+ Kh8 27. Bb3 Nh7 28. Rc7 $18 {Stockfish12}) 25... Kh8 26. Bb3 Nh7 27. Rxc8+ Rxc8 28. Kh2 (28. Qf7 {wins quickly} Re8 29. h4 d5 30. Qxd5 {and Zugzwang- Stockfish12}) 28... Rf8 29. Rc1 (29. h4) 29... Bd8 30. Bxd8 (30. Bc5 Bc7 31. Be3 Bb8 32. Bb6 Ng5 33. f4 Nf7 34. Qe6 Qb5 35. Rc8 $18 {Stockfish12}) 30... Rxd8 31. Qe6 Ng5 32. Qd5 (32. Qxd7 Rxd7 33. Rc8+ Kh7 34. Bg8+ Kh8 35. Bf7+ Kh7 36. Bg6#) 32... Qe7 33. h4 Nh7 34. Qe6 Qf8 35. Rc7 Re8 36. Qd5 (36. Qd7 {also}) 36... b6 37. Qb7 (37. Rf7 Qg8 38. Qxd6 Ra8 (38... Rb8 39. Qc7) 39. Rb7 Qd8 40. Qg3 Qf8 41. Rxb6 $18 {Stockfish12-the Bl pieces are stationary}) 37... Rb8 38. Qxa6 d5 39. Qa7 d4 40. g3 (40. Rxg7 {overloaded Q} Qxg7 41. Qxb8+ Nf8 42. Qxb6) 40... d3 41. Rf7 Qg8 42. Rxg7 Qxg7 43. Qxb8+ Nf8 44. Qxb6 Nd7 45. Qd4 (45. Qd8+ Kh7 46. Bg8+ Qxg8 47. Qxd7+ Qg7 48. Qxd3 { Stockfish12- Wh has too many pawns for Bl to survive}) 45... Ne5 46. Bd1 (46. Qd5) 46... h5 47. Bxh5 (47. b4 {running the distant pawns}) 47... Qh6 48. Bd1 ( 48. Qd8+ Kg7 49. Qe7+ Kg8 50. Qe8+) 48... Qf8 49. f4 1-0