Here Be Hyper-Accelerated Dragons

An Aberystwyth team missing our Board 4 took on Cardiff in the second round of the second Welsh Chess Union Online League on Tuesday 30th March. The opening of Rudy van Kemenade's game against Tom Brown was the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defence, which has to be a contender for most exotic opening name in chess. The game itself was less interesting, though, as a wholesale exchange of pieces in a position with symmetrical pawns led to an early draw. Adam Watkin-Jones played a noteworthy opening variation, too, a line of the Scandinavian which was under a cloud for years after a devastating win by Fischer, but is now apparently rehabilitated. Certainly it led to a good position for Adam, whose strong fianchettoed bishop and pressure on the White centre gave him the early advantage. The pressure continued after there were just heavy pieces and pawns left, and Sam Jukes eventually blundered in time trouble. I found myself facing a fierce attack from Jake Hurley against my English opening, having castled too soon. I have never like to do too much thinking at the beginning of the game, and my defence soon fell apart. With the default on Board 4, Aber lost the match 2½-1½.

[Event "WCU Online Open 2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.30"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Brown, Thomas"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B27"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "2165"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,51,5,23,128,109,140,154,186,126,116,66,62,24,64,64,64,59,61,59,74,57, 40,-5,34,37,23,4,-3,-5,-7,-4,-4,-4,-4,-2,-6,-9,-9,-9,-14,-18,-11,-11,-7,-4,15, -4,-4,-3,9,-4,-3,-3]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Bb5 { inaccurate- lichess} (5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Qa4 d6 7. e5 {is played for Wh by both players}) 5... Nc6 {main, Bl was relying on an old book by Donaldson mistake- lichess,this & preceding move, the only two comments it has on the game} (5... a6 6. e5 Nh5 (6... axb5 7. exf6 exf6 8. O-O Ra6 9. Bf4 Nc6 10. Re1+ Be7 11. Qe3 O-O 12. Nc3 d6 13. Nxb5 Be6 14. Nbd4 {Van Kemenade-Waterfield, S Wales op, Penarth 2012,0-1}) 7. Ba4 Nc6 8. Bxc6 dxc6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Nc3 Bg4 11. Ng5 Ke8 12. h3 Bd7 13. g4 Ng7 14. Bf4 $11 {Van Kemenade-Brown,S Wales Spring blitz 2017,1-0}) (5... Qa5+ 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Bxc6 dxc6 8. Bd2 Bg7 9. Nd5 Qd8 10. Nxf6+ Bxf6 11. Qxd8+ Kxd8 12. O-O-O Bd7 13. Bf4 Kc8 14. e5 {Van Kemenade-Thorpe, S Wales Open, Penarth 2012,1-0}) 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. Qxd8+ Kxd8 8. Nc3 {main} (8. e5 Nd5 $11 {yet results 4-4-1}) 8... Bg7 9. Bf4 Nh5 {both main} (9... Nd7 10. e5 ( 10. O-O-O Ke8 11. h3 e5 12. Be3 f6 13. Rd3 Bf8 14. Rhd1 Be7 15. a4 Kd8 16. Nd2 Kc7 {Van Kemenade-Mavreas,EU Cup, Rhodes 2013,0-1}) 10... h6 11. O-O-O g5 12. Bg3 Ke8 13. Rhe1 Nc5 14. Nd4 Be6 15. b4 Nd7 16. Nxe6 fxe6 17. b5 {Van Kemenade-di-Vetta, S wales New Year 2019,1-0}) 10. O-O-O+ Ke8 11. Be5 (11. Be3 Bxc3 (11... e5 {3 draws}) 12. bxc3 $11 {though 1.5-0.5}) 11... Bg4 (11... f6 { main, & expected by Wh, 1 Wh win 6 draws}) 12. Bxg7 Nxg7 13. Rd3 Bxf3 14. Rxf3 e5 (14... Rd8 15. Rd1 {Perez Garcia-Alonso Matinez, Villa de Allbox op 2002, draw agreed}) 15. Rd1 Ke7 16. Rfd3 Rhd8 17. Rxd8 Rxd8 18. Rxd8 Kxd8 19. Kd2 { [draw?]} Ne6 20. Ne2 (20. Nd1 Ke7 21. Ne3 $11 {Stockfish13 in search of symmetry}) 20... Ke7 21. g3 f5 22. Ke3 Nc5 23. Nc3 (23. exf5 gxf5 24. f4 e4 25. Kd4 Kd6 26. h3 h5 27. Ke3 {still drawn- Stockfish13, as} Kd5 $2 28. Nd4 { loses a pawn & the game}) 23... Ne6 24. Ne2 Nc5 25. Nc3 Ne6 26. Ne2 {Normal} 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCU Online Open2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.30"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Jukes, Sam"] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B01"] [WhiteElo "1991"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,96,16,28,20,34,34,52,92,92,117,115,98,81,73,71,71,77,88,52,45,42,28,5, 5,17,16,8,17,22,25,18,14,16,31,23,27,6,6,6,5,-29,4,-29,-44,-17,-17,-39,-68,-47, -47,-119,-119,-129,-81,-87,-30,-82,-86,-139,-139,-192,-192,-192,-142,-148,-107, -104,-102,-149,-131,-100,-99,-116,-99,-116,-104,-135,-114,-136,-117,-143,-136, -208,-215,-223,-238,-266,-307,-307,-328,-333,-404,-1014,-1016,-1156,-1230, -1190,-400]} 1. e4 d5 ({has been Bl's main} 1... c5) 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd8 4. d4 g6 (4... Nf6 {main} 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. Be3 {Jukes-Zeidler, Dyfed Open 2018,1/2-1/2} (8. h3 {Jukes-Sagues, 4 NCL 2019,1/2-1/2})) 5. Nf3 (5. Bf4 Bg7 6. Qd2 Nf6 7. O-O-O {was Fischer-Robatsch, Varna Ol 1962,1-0 , deterred many from this line, but has been brought back by GMs}) 5... Bg7 6. Bc4 Nf6 (6... Nh6 {main}) 7. h3 (7. O-O {eg by Carlsen & Caruana}) 7... O-O 8. O-O a6 9. Bg5 {lichess he says inaccurate, instead wants} (9. Ne5 {neither have been played before}) (9. a4 {main, 70 % for Wh, though Duda & Nakamura have been succesful against GMs from here as Bl}) 9... b5 10. Bd3 Bb7 11. Re1 Nc6 $11 12. Ne2 Nb4 13. Nf4 h6 14. Bxf6 exf6 {appoved of by Stockfish13} 15. Be4 Bxe4 16. Rxe4 Nd5 17. Nxd5 Qxd5 18. Re7 c5 19. c3 (19. dxc5 $11) 19... Rad8 {Bl's pieces seems a little better co-ordinated} 20. Qe2 cxd4 21. Nxd4 f5 { Stockfish13- brings the QR into play} 22. Nc2 (22. a4 $11) 22... Bf6 $15 23. Ra7 {given as a blunder by lichess, since it leaves the centre to Bl's heavy pieces; looks like} (23. Re3 {was needed, though} Bg5 24. Nb4 Qa8 25. Rd3 a5 26. Nc2 Rxd3 27. Qxd3 Rd8 28. Qxb5 Rb8 29. Qe5 Rxb2 30. Ne3 Qc6 (30... Qe4) 31. c4 Re2 $15 {is uncomfotable for Wh}) 23... Rfe8 $19 24. Qf1 Qd2 {regarded as inaccurate by lichess,analysis which wants} (24... Qe6 25. Nb4 Qe4 (25... Bh4 { Stockfish13}) 26. Nxa6 Rd2 27. Nc5 Qc6 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qxe1 Qxc5 30. Rxf7 Kxf7 31. Qxd2 $19 {However it must be pointed out that the Stockfish13 here disagrees with every single move of this variation, starting from the first one, & suggests that Bl has better moves available! ( and various other ideas for Wh as well)}) (24... Qd6 {Stockfish13} 25. Nb4 (25. Re1 Rxe1 26. Qxe1 Qd1 27. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 28. Kh2 Be5+ 29. g3 Rd2) 25... Bh4 26. Rxa6 Qf4 27. Kh1 (27. g3 Bxg3) 27... Rd2 28. Nd3 Qc4 29. Rd6 Bxf2 $19 {Stockfish13}) (24... Re6 { Rudy kibitzer idea} 25. Nb4 Qd2 26. Rxa6 Rxa6 27. Nxa6 Qxb2 28. Rb1 Qxc3 29. Qxb5 Rd2 $19 {Stockfish13}) 25. Rxa6 Qxc2 26. Rxf6 Qxb2 $2 (26... Re2 $19 { given by both Engines} 27. Qb1 Rxf2 28. Qxc2 Rxc2 29. Kh2 Rxb2 30. Ra6 f4 { Stockfish13-and Wh is helpless}) 27. Rb6 $11 Re2 28. Rb1 Qxa2 29. R6xb5 $6 (29. Re1 $11) 29... Rdd2 30. Rb8+ (30. Ra1 {is better, but Bl is winning with either } Qe6 {or} (30... Qc2 31. Rc1 Rxf2 32. Rxc2 Rxf1+ 33. Kxf1 Rxc2 {Stockfish13})) 30... Kg7 31. Ra1 Qc2 32. Rc1 Qe4 (32... Rxf2 $19) (32... Qa2 33. Ra1 Qd5 34. Rb4 Qe5 35. Rd4 Rc2 36. Rad1 f4 $19 {lichess & Stockfish13- usin the front doubled pawn as a battering, with the rear one sheltering its own K} 37. R4d3 g5) 33. Rb4 Qc6 (33... Qe6 {Stockfish13}) (33... Qe5 34. Rd4 {Rudy & Stockfish2nd line}) 34. Re1 Rxe1 (34... Rxf2 {the Engines are confident that the Q & pawn mass is sufficient to overcome the power of 2 Rs; humans might well hesitate} 35. Qxf2 Rxf2 36. Kxf2 Qxc3 37. Reb1 f4 38. Kg1 Qe3+ 39. Kh1 f3 40. R4b3 fxg2+ 41. Kxg2 Qg5+ 42. Kf1 Qd5 43. R1b2 g5 $19 {Stockfish13}) 35. Qxe1 $11 Qxc3 36. Rc4 {by now Wh was living on increments} Qb2 37. Rc8 Re2 38. Qf1 Qe5 39. Rc1 f4 40. f3 $2 {under pressure, opening up the K side} (40. Qd1 { still holdingas} f3 (40... g5 {and Wh remains under pressure}) 41. gxf3 { looks horrible yet survivable}) 40... Qb2 {inaccurate, though it induces a blunder} (40... g5 $17) 41. Rb1 (41. Re1 Rc2 42. Kh1 g5 {and there is not yet a breakthrogh, but, under incremental pressure things can easily go wrong in a passive position}) 41... Rxg2+ 42. Qxg2 (42. Kh1 {is actually a little better, but there is no time for lengthy calculation}) 42... Qxb1+ 43. Kh2 Qe1 44. Qb2+ Kh7 45. Qg2 h5 (45... Qg3+ {is enough, but increasing the pressure even better} ) 46. h4 Qxh4+ 47. Kg1 Qe1+ (47... Qg3) 48. Kh2 h4 {Normal; a tricky game for both sides with all the heavy artillery on manouevres} 0-1 [Event "WCU Online Open2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.03.30"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "Hurley, Jake"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A21"] [WhiteElo "1648"] [BlackElo "1829"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,38,19,-16,-33,-14,36,-42,41,-17,33,32,22,1,12,17,30,6,33,80,76,35,54, -169,36,-256,-256,-269,-298,-671,-703,-660,-812,-812,-826,-776,-886,-885,-893, -916,-977]} 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bc5 (2... Nc6 3. g3 f5 4. e4 d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. Bg2 g6 7. Nge2 Ne7 8. f4 c6 9. O-O Bg7 10. fxe5 dxe5 $15 {Francis-Van Kemenade,Dyfed March rapid, 2021,0-1}) 3. g3 (3. Nf3 Nc6 4. e3 {main} (4. g3 a6 5. Bg2 Ba7 6. O-O h5 7. d3 h4 8. Bg5 (8. Nxh4 $5 {Stockfish13 reckons that} Rxh4 9. gxh4 Qxh4 10. Nd5 {is unsound}) 8... f6 9. Be3 Bxe3 10. fxe3 hxg3 11. hxg3 d6 12. d4 Bh3 $11 {MacDonald-Hurley, WCU Online Open 2020,0-1})) 3... a6 (3... Nf6 {main}) 4. Bg2 Ba7 {unusual, only 1 blitz antecedent} 5. e3 (5. d3 Nc6 {3 games,1 result each way}) 5... Nc6 6. Nge2 d6 {transposing to 607 games} 7. O-O (7. d4 { 47% for Wh}) 7... h5 {181 games, 31 % for Wh} 8. h4 {15 games, 17 % for Wh} (8. h3 {preferred by lichess, 38 games , 41% for Wh}) (8. d4 {97 games, 29% for Wh} ) (8. Nd5 {15 games, 50%}) 8... g5 9. hxg5 Qxg5 $17 (9... h4 {0-3}) 10. d4 { mistake according to lichess, who wants instead} (10. Nd5 Qd8 (10... Kd8 11. f4 exf4 12. Rxf4 Be6 13. Qe1 Nh6 14. b3 Ne5 15. Bb2 Nhg4 {Dragnea-Negulici, ROM ch U10, Voineasa 2010,0-1}) 11. d4 (11. f4 h4 12. f5 Nf6 13. Qe1 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Nb4 15. Be4 Rg8 {Miloradovic (2056)-N Pert (1537) EU Cup online women, rapid , dec 2020,0-1})) 10... h4 $17 {unanimous choice of Cloud Engines but, inaccurate according to lichess, which insists on} (10... Bg4 {when Stockfish13 gives} 11. Qa4 Bd7 12. dxe5 h4 (12... dxe5 13. b4 $11) 13. exd6 cxd6 14. Ne4 (14. e4 $2 Qg4 $19 (14... Qh5 $19)) 14... Qe7 15. Nf4 O-O-O 16. Nd5 Qf8 $15 {Stockfish13}) 11. e4 {blunder says lichess} (11. Nd5 Qd8 {lichess} (11... Bb8 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qd3 Nce7 14. e4 Qh5 15. Rd1 hxg3 16. Nf6+ { Marin-(2124)-Ciungan (1772) ROM ch women Targa Mures 2014,1-0}) 12. Nec3 $17 { Cloud Engines}) (11. f4 exf4 12. gxf4 Qg7 13. Kh2 Nf6 14. Bf3 Qh7 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. cxd5 Nd8 17. Bd2 Bf5 {Wiwantanadate(2035)-Djokic(2227), Titled Tuesday blitz 2021,0-1}) 11... Qg7 {mistake says lichess ( though selected by a 2500 player)} (11... Qh5 12. Nf4 {says lichess, this time supported by other Engines }) 12. Be3 {mistake, lichess, still wants} (12. Nd5 hxg3 {Bl is still winning, a Stockfish12 examined this position a few days ago}) (12. Bh1 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. Kg2 hxg3 15. fxg3 Bh3+ {Chen (1719)-Rychagov (2545)-PNWCC online blitz 2020,0-1}) 12... exd4 13. Nd5 dxe3 14. Nxc7+ Kd7 15. Nxa8 exf2+ 16. Rxf2 hxg3 17. Nxg3 Qxg3 18. Qf3 Bxf2+ 19. Qxf2 Rh1+ {Normal} 0-1