Too Good by 3½

With a limited pool of players to draw on, Aberystwyth has entered the Open section of the Welsh Chess Union Online League this session, so that our strongest player, Rudy van Kemenade, can take part. It is going to prove a tough challenge, as the match against 3½ Men on Tuesday 16th March showed. The disarming name belies a formidably strong team, with masters on the top two boards. Against FM Jonathan Blackburn Rudy deviated from his normal line in the Nc3 variation of the Petroff to avoid opening preparation, and soon found himself under kingside pressure. He was holding his own till an error meant that he must drop a piece - games can end very suddenly at this level. Adam Watkin-Jones's pawn sacrifice in a London System against CM Tim Kett didn't produce the hoped-for advantage: he was soon going backwards, and resigned on losing material. My French against Hugo Fowler produced a horribly cramped position, with White pressure all over the board. Losing a pawn did nothing to free the position and I limped into a hopeless ending before resigning. Tom Gunn looked to be doing OK against Duncan MacDonald's dangerous Blumenfeld Gambit, but his complicated combination was miscalculated, leaving him behind on material and with Black dominating the board. A 4-0 defeat was a painful introduction to this section of the league.

[Event "Wales Open Online 2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.16"] [Round "1.1"] [White "Blackburn, Jonathan LB"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2327"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,53,16,28,38,44,40,-21,73,36,44,33,33,31,41,12,10,-15,16,22,18,21,26, -14,1,27,22,15,14,6,6,6,29,-26,-25,-41,14,6,16,8,84,84,79,92,90,72,77,76,77,99, 231,231,220,209,209,209] Jonathan is an overwhelmingly 1 d4 player, though has ventured 1 e4 in some recent Titled Tuesday blitz chess.com events.} 1. e4 {FM} e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 (5... d5 {is what Wh had examined , noticing that Bl regularly played this in the Quarantine League on lichess, where both play for Welsh Dragons. In the chat he disclosed he had also looked at Bujnoch-Van Kemenade, Gibraltar Masters 2017,1-0.} 6. Qe2 Be7 7. Nxe4 dxe4 8. Qxe4 O-O 9. Bc4 Bd6 10. O-O Re8 11. Qd3 Qf6 12. Qc3 Qg6 13. d4 Nc6 14. h3 (14. Ng5 Rf8 15. Bd3 Bf5 16. Bxf5 Qxf5 17. a3 Rad8 18. Nf3 Qh5 { Hickman-Van Kemenade,S Wales International 2012,0-1})) 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nd7 {Bl decided to follow some other lines, avoiding specific prrepared analysis, & rely on general experience with the Petroff.} (8... b6 {also examined by Wh, when} 9. h4 Bb7 10. h5 Nd7 11. Bd3 Nc5 12. Rh3 {turned disastrous for Bl in V Sivarajasingham-Van Kemenade,WCPl 2018,1-0}) 9. O-O-O Nf6 (9... Ne5) (9... c6 {other elite GM lines}) 10. Bd3 Be6 (10... c5 {main}) ( 10... Re8) 11. Nd4 Bd5 (11... Bd7 12. c4 Re8 13. f3 d5 {Caruana-Duda,Chess.com speed chess blitz, nov 2020,1/2-1/2. In the chat Jonathan indicated that he, as well as Rudy, had looked at some recent Caruana-Duda games}) (11... c5 12. Nf5 Rc8 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7 14. Bg5 Qd8 15. c4 b5 {Anonuevo-Siegrist, California State ch , 2003,1-0}) (11... Bxa2 12. b3 a5 {works in some earlier versions, but not in this one} 13. Kb2 a4 14. Ra1 $1 (14. Kxa2 axb3+ 15. Kxb3 d5 $11 { Bl regains the piece}) 14... axb3 15. cxb3 Bxb3 16. Nxb3 $18) 12. c4 (12. Nf5 Ne4 13. Qe2 Bf6 14. Qh5 (14. Nh6+ gxh6 15. Qg4+ Bg5 16. Bxe4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Bxe3+ 18. Qxe3 Qf6 19. Rd4 $16 {Stockfish13}) 14... Bc6 15. h4 g6 16. Nh6+ Kh8 17. Qg4 Qe7 18. h5 d5 19. Qh3 $18 {Cuccarini-Esposito,ITA CIN 18, ICCF 2018,1-0 }) 12... Be4 (12... Bxg2 {looks far too dangerous, though an Engine might survive} 13. Rhg1 Be4 14. Bh6 g6 (14... Bg6 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Bxg6 hxg6 17. Nf5+ Kg8 18. Qh6 Ne8 19. Rxg6+ fxg6 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Qh6+ Kg8 22. Rg1+) 15. Bxf8 Bxf8 16. Bxe4 Nxe4 17. Qf4 $16 {Stockfish13}) 13. f3 Bxd3 14. Qxd3 Nd7 ( 14... Re8 15. Nf5 Bf8 16. Bg5 g6 17. Nh6+ Bxh6 18. Bxh6 Nd7 19. Kb1 Qf6 20. Bc1 Re6 $14 {Stockfish13}) 15. Nf5 Bf6 (15... Ne5 {half expected by Wh; Bl was wary of then being kicked by f4} 16. Qd5 Bf6 17. f4 Ng6 18. g4 Ne7 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. Rhe1 Bh4 21. Bf2 Qf6 22. Bg3 h6 23. Kb1 $16 {Stockfish13}) 16. f4 Re8 (16... Nc5 $5 {considered by both}) 17. g4 g6 18. Nh6+ Kf8 19. g5 Qe7 (19... Bg7 {is forced according to Stockfish13} 20. c5 Bxh6 21. gxh6 Qf6 22. cxd6 cxd6 23. Rhe1 Re6 24. Qd2 Rae8 25. Bd4 Qh4 26. Bg7+ Kg8 27. Rxe6 Rxe6 28. Kb1 Qh5 $14 {Stockfish13}) 20. Rhe1 $18 (20. Bd4 Bxd4 21. Qxd4 Qe3+ $15 {hoped for by Bl}) 20... Bg7 21. Bf2 Qd8 (21... Nc5 22. Bxc5 Qxe1 23. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 24. Kd2 $18) 22. Qh3 (22. Rxe8+ Qxe8 23. Re1 Qd8 24. Bd4 {demanded by lichess analysis} Bxh6 25. gxh6 Qh4 26. Qe4 Kg8 27. Bc3 Qxh6 28. Qxb7 Rf8 29. Qxc7 $18) 22... Rxe1 23. Bxe1 (23. Rxe1 Nc5) 23... Qe7 (23... f5 {considered by both players- to prevent Ng4} 24. Bc3 {and Bl has to give ip the N}) (23... Bxh6 24. Qxh6+ Kg8 25. f5 Qf8 26. Qh3 Nc5 27. Bc3 Re8 28. Rf1 gxf5 29. Qxf5 Ne4 30. Bf6 Re6 31. Rg1 Qe8 32. b3 Nc5 33. Qh3 Re1+ 34. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 35. Kb2 Qe8 36. Qh6 Qf8 37. Qh3 Qe8 38. a4 $16 {Bl is holding on, but finding it difficult to find active moves }) 24. Bc3 Qe6 {Bl missed something, seeing it too late} (24... Re8 {appears to hold} 25. Bxg7+ Kxg7 26. c5 {Stockfish13} (26. Qc3+ f6) 26... f6 (26... Nxc5 27. Ng4 Ne4 (27... Nd7 28. Qc3+ f6 29. Qxc7) 28. Re1 h5 29. Nf6 $18) 27. cxd6 cxd6 28. Qc3 Qe4 29. Qd2 Re6 30. h4 Kf8 31. b3 $14) 25. Bxg7+ Kxg7 26. Qc3+ f6 27. Re1 {Normal- the Q has no squares, so a N must go} 1-0 [Event "Wales Open Online 2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.16"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Kett, Timothy"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "2246"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "46"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] 1. d4 d5 {FM} 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 c5 {new to both in my databases} 4. e3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bd3 (6. Nbd2 {main}) 6... Bd6 7. Bg3 Qe7 (7... O-O {main}) 8. Ne5 (8. Nbd2 {transposes to 65 games}) 8... Bxe5 9. dxe5 Nd7 10. O-O {an interesting pawn sac, but Wh does not quite get enough for it} (10. f4 {looks fine for Wh, 5-1-2}) 10... Ndxe5 11. f4 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 O-O $19 (12... f5 $19 { Stockfish13-prevets any Wh ideas}) 13. Nd2 (13. f5 {never quite works for Wh} exf5 (13... f6) 14. Qxd5 Be6 (14... Rd8 15. Qf3 Rd3 16. Qf2 Be6 17. Nd2 Rad8 18. Nf3 h6) 15. Qf3 Bc4 16. Rd1 Rad8 17. Nd2 Bd3 {Bl controls the board}) 13... b6 14. Nf3 (14. e4 {may be best try, though Bl has several good responses} dxe4 (14... d4 $19) (14... f6 15. exd5 Rd8 16. Rfe1 Rxd5 17. Qe2 Bb7 18. Nc4 Re8 $19 (18... Ba6 $19)) 15. Nxe4 Rd8 $19) 14... f6 15. Rfe1 Bb7 16. f5 Rad8 17. Bf2 { instead of feeling liberated, the B insists on being bad} (17. fxe6) 17... e5 18. Nd2 e4 19. Qe2 Ne5 20. Nb3 Bc8 21. g4 (21. Qh5 $5 Qf7 22. Qxf7+ Rxf7 23. Nc1 Bxf5 {and Bl has an all=powerful centre}) 21... Nf3+ (21... h5 {going for the K- Stockfish13 considers the N a better piece than a Wh R}) 22. Kh1 Nxe1 23. Rxe1 Bb7 {Normal} 0-1 [Event "WCU Open Online 2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.16"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Fowler, Hugo"] [Black "Francis, Mathew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C02"] [WhiteElo "1921"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "97"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nge7 (5... Qb6) (5... Bd7 {main lines}) 6. Be3 {looks a bit clumsy} (6. Bd3) (6. Na3) (6. a3 {main lines}) 6... Nf5 7. Bd3 cxd4 {main} (7... Nxe3 {lichess analysis insists this must be played } 8. fxe3 Be7 {40 % for Wh in 27 games} (8... Qb6 {1-2-3})) 8. cxd4 {53% for Wh } Bb4+ (8... Be7) (8... Nxe3 {main lines, 51 % & 58% for Wh}) (8... Qb6 {48 %}) 9. Nc3 Qa5 (9... Nxe3 10. fxe3 O-O 11. O-O $14 {when} f6 12. exf6 Rxf6 $14 { 2 draws, 1 Bl win} (12... Qxf6 $11 {preferred by Stockfish13})) 10. Qd2 (10. Qb3 O-O 11. O-O Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nxe3 13. fxe3 a6 14. Bxh7+ $18 {Niecko-Miodonski, POL cup blind,Dzwirzyno 2019,1-0}) 10... O-O 11. O-O Bd7 12. Rac1 f6 (12... Nce7 13. a3 Bxc3 14. Rxc3 Bb5 15. b4 Qa6 16. Bxb5 Qxb5 17. Bg5 h6 $11 { Boudreau-Fecteau,Montreal Montcalm op 2003,1-0}) (12... Nxe3 13. fxe3 Be7 $14 { Stockfish13}) 13. exf6 (13. Bxf5 exf5 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Rxc3 Qd8 16. exf6 Qxf6 17. Bf4 $18 {Stockfish13}) 13... Rxf6 14. a3 Bxc3 (14... Nxe3 15. fxe3 Be7 16. e4 dxe4 (16... Rxf3 17. gxf3 Nxd4 18. Rcd1 $16) 17. Nxe4 Qxd2 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6 19. Nxd2 Bxd4+ 20. Kh1 Ne5 21. Be2 Bxb2 22. Rc7 Bc6 23. Nc4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Re8 25. Rc8 $16 {Stockfish13}) 15. Rxc3 $18 Qb6 16. b4 Rff8 17. Rc5 (17. b5 Na5 18. Ne5 $18 {Stockfish13}) 17... a6 18. Rfc1 Rac8 19. h3 (19. Bf4) 19... Nce7 20. Ne5 Bc6 {the B is now a big pawn, waiting for wh to decide on when to exchange for a breakthrough} (20... Rxc5 21. bxc5 Qc7 22. Rb1 $18 {Stockfish13}) 21. Qe2 Nd6 22. Qg4 (22. Bg5 Rce8 23. Bxe7 Rxe7 24. Nxc6 bxc6 25. Rxc6 Qd8 26. Rxa6 { Stockfish13-is an immediate forcing line}) 22... Ndf5 23. Bg5 Rfe8 24. Bxe7 ( 24. Qh5 {to tempt} g6 25. Qg4 $18 {Stockfish13- the advance of the h pawn will be fatal}) 24... Rxe7 25. Bxf5 (25. Rxd5 $18 {Stockfish13} Rf8 26. Nxc6 exd5 27. Nxe7+ Nxe7 28. Qh5 g6 29. Qe5 Nc6 30. Qe6+ Kg7 31. Rc5 Rf7 32. Rxd5 $18) 25... exf5 26. Qxf5 {Wh is just a pawn up with a wonderful N vs a terrible B} Rf8 27. Qg5 (27. Nxc6 bxc6 28. Rxc6 Rxf5 (28... Qxd4 29. Rc8 Ref7 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Rc8 Rxc8 32. Qxc8+ Kf7 33. Qxa6 $18 {which the Engine reckons as simple, though humans would be concerned at the speed of the d pawn, since Qs can assist their advanced pawns forward quite rapidly} Qa1+ 34. Kh2 Qe5+ 35. g3 d4 36. a4 Qd5 37. Qd3 Qd6 38. a5 Qxb4 39. a6 Qc5 40. Qf3+ Ke6 41. Qb3+ Kf6 42. Kg2 Qa5 43. Qf3+ Ke6 44. Qc6+ Ke5 45. Qb7 d3 46. Qxg7+ Kd6 47. Qh6+ Kc7 48. Qxh7+ Kb6 49. Qxd3 {everything under control- & very simple})) 27... Re6 28. Qg3 (28. R1c3 Ref6 29. Rg3 Qc7 30. Nxc6 bxc6 31. Qxd5+ Kh8 32. Qe5 $18 { Stockfish13}) 28... Ref6 29. R1c2 Rf4 {at this point , Bl looked to getting a bit of counterplay against the pawns and Wh's rate of play had slowed} 30. Nf3 (30. Re2 {Stockfish13 relies on piece activity} Rxd4 $2 31. Nxc6 bxc6 32. Re7 Rf7 33. Re8+ Rf8 34. Rxf8+ Kxf8 35. Qd6+ Kf7 36. Qd7+ Kf8 37. Rxc6 $18) 30... Qd8 31. Rd2 Bb5 (31... Re4 $5) 32. Qg5 {a good, practical decision- also Stockfish13} R4f5 33. Qxd8 Rxd8 34. Rc7 (34. Ne5 {even stronger}) 34... Bc6 ( 34... Rd7 35. Rdc2 Rxc7 36. Rxc7 Rf7 37. Rc5 {wins d5 &/0r Q side pawns, as} Rd7 $2 38. Rc8+ Kf7 39. Ne5+) 35. Ne5 Rf6 36. Nxc6 (36. Rc2) 36... bxc6 37. Ra7 Rff8 (37... Re8 38. f3 Re1+ 39. Kf2 Rc1 40. Rxa6 $18) 38. Rxa6 Ra8 39. Rxa8 Rxa8 40. Ra2 (40. Rd3 Kf7 41. Re3 {Stockfish13- & Wh's K goes to support the a pawn}) 40... Kf7 (40... Ra4 {was worth a try, though inadequate in the end}) 41. Kf1 Ke6 42. Ke2 Kf5 43. Kd3 g5 {if Bl does nothing on the K side, Ww just advances on the Q side. If there is a K side demonstration, then it just opens lines for Wh} 44. a4 h5 45. a5 g4 (45... Ra6 46. Re2) 46. hxg4+ hxg4 47. a6 Ke6 48. Ke3 Kf5 49. a7 {Normal} (49. a7 Re8+ 50. Kd3 Ra8 {one of the problems with Engines is they like sitting on an advantage & looking for some miniscule extra, without moving in for the kill- unless there is a forced mate available. Her, showing 12+ we have to nudge the Engine into actually coming to a conclusion rather than just moving the R & K up and down} 51. Ra3 Kf4 52. Kc2 Ke4 53. Kc3 Kf4 54. b5 cxb5 55. Kb4 Ke4 56. Kc5 b4 57. f3+ gxf3 58. gxf3+ Kf4 59. Kxb4 Kg3 60. Kc5 {Stockfish13 nudged}) 1-0 [Event "WCU Open Online2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.16"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "MacDonald, Duncan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1849"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,52,28,26,21,27,38,4,13,42,25,28,19,23,65,39,47,53,42,42,44,18,27,36, 42,42,49,44,50,35,32,-187,-170,-198,-198,-199,-177,-203,-190,-242,-212,-225, -253,-305,-232,-272,-215,-239,-72,-151,-141,-237,-249,-558,-685]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 c5 4. d5 b5 5. dxe6 {accepting the Blumenfeld gambit can be risky-Bl gets a lovely centre foar a half pawn investment ( the 2 to 1 Q side majority is of less significance, as the ending is a long way away} (5. Bg5 { main}) 5... fxe6 6. cxb5 Be7 {not the most common, but it gives Bl a plus score } (6... d5 7. e3 {main} (7. Nc3 Nbd7 8. e4 {56% for Wh})) (6... a6 7. e3 (7. bxa6 Bxa6 {gives Bl a good Benko type position})) (6... Bb7 7. e3 {main, but} ( 7. g3 {scores 75% for Wh})) 7. e3 (7. g3 $5) 7... Bb7 {Alburt used to start with6...Bb7} 8. Nc3 (8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O {developing without disclosing where the QN will go , as yet}) (8. Nbd2 {Karpov-Rogers, Cap D'Agde rapid 1998,1-0}) 8... O-O 9. Be2 d5 10. O-O Qc7 (10... Nbd7 {when} 11. b3 {1 draw, 3 Bl wins} ( 11. a4 {1-0}) (11. Ng5 {1-0}) (11. Qc2 {1-0})) 11. b3 (11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. b3 a6 { Guerrero-Gonzalez Vargas, Bogota McGregor op 2013,1/2-1/2}) 11... Nbd7 12. Bb2 Ng4 (12... Rad8 13. Qc2 (13. Rc1) 13... Ng4 (13... d4 $15) 14. h3 Ngf6 15. Rfd1 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Nd4 Rxf2 18. Kxf2 (18. Nxe6 $18) 18... Qh2 $19 { Gryniakow-Niemiec, POL ch tm 2009,1/2-1/2}) 13. g3 Bf6 14. Rc1 $16 Rad8 (14... Nge5) 15. Ng5 $2 {a tactic that rebounds on Wh} (15. Ba3 $18 Bxc3 16. Rxc3 Nge5 17. Nxe5 Qxe5 18. Qc2 d4 19. f4 Qd5 20. Bf3 Qd6 21. exd4 Qxd4+ 22. Kg2 Bxf3+ 23. Rfxf3 $18 {Stockfish13}) (15. b4 c4 16. Nd4 Bxd4 17. Qxd4 Ngf6 18. f4 Rf7 19. a4 $18 {Bl's centre is immobilized}) 15... Nxe3 (15... Nxf2 $19 {is also possible} 16. Nxe6 Nxd1 17. Nxc7 Nxb2 18. N3xd5 Ne5 19. Rxc5 Nbd3 20. Nxf6+ Rxf6 21. Rxf6 gxf6 22. Ne6 Nxc5 23. Nxd8 Bd5 $19 {Stockfish13}) 16. Nxe6 Nxd1 17. Nxc7 Nxb2 18. Ne6 (18. N3xd5 Be5 19. Rc2 Nf6 20. Ne7+ Kf7 21. Nc6 Bxc6 22. bxc6 Bxc7 23. Rxb2 Rd4 $19) 18... d4 19. Nxf8 dxc3 (19... Kxf8 20. Nb1 d3 21. Bd1 Bd4 $19 {Stockfish13}) 20. Nxd7 (20. Ne6 Re8 21. Rfe1 Rxe6) 20... Rxd7 $19 {Bl's pieces control the board} 21. Rfe1 Kf7 (21... Rd2) 22. Bg4 Rd6 23. Re3 Bg5 (23... Rd3 $19) (23... Nd3 24. Rc2 Bg5 $19) 24. f4 (24. Rexc3 Bxc1 25. Rxc5 Nd3 26. Rc7+ Kf6 27. Rxb7 Ba3 28. Rxa7 Bc5 29. Rd7 Rxd7 30. Bxd7 Bxf2+ 31. Kg2 $17 {Wh has some survival chances-Bl has few pawns, & the Bl h pawn is the wrong colour. The Wh Q side pawns will not be able to advance crossing the bl squares, but it will be tricky for Bl to actually get rid of them}) 24... Bf6 25. Kf1 (25. Rcxc3 Bd4) (25. Rexc3 Nd3 26. R1c2 Nb4 27. Rxc5 Nxc2 28. Rxc2 (28. Rc7+ Kg6 29. Rxb7 Rd2) 28... Bd8) 25... Nd3 26. Rd1 c2 {Normal} 0-1