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