End of Season

Aberystwyth played our last match of the season on Tuesday 8 June against White Knights. It's been fun playing in the Dyfed Online League and, as here, in the Welsh Chess Union Online Open, though we were certainly outclassed in the latter with the exception of our captain and top board, Rudy van Kemenade. In this last match he duly delivered our only win, with a high-class performance against Allan Pleasants, winning a rook ending with an extra pawn where all the pawns were on the same side - a sure-fire draw for most of us, but Rudy kept up the pressure and induced his opponent's losing error. I was out of my depth against Adam May on the Black side of a Catalan, an opening I know little about, and after a couple of inaccuracies my position was hopeless. Tom Gunn tried a promising-looking combination against Tomasz Miga in a Queen's Gambit, giving up two pieces for a rook and two pawns, but it backfired, leavinng Black's bishope pair dominant, and Tom was soon defending passively against a crushing kingside attack. Finally, Sam Holman attacked without completing his development against Guto Neave's English Opening, and his exchange combination didn't work out, losing a piece. He fought on, surviving longer than Boards 2 and 3, but the odds were always against him. A 3-1 win to White Knights to finsh the season.

[Event "WCU Open Online 2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.06.08"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Pleasants, Allan J"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A22"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "2088"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,131,19,20,79,26,9,9,22,22,22,22,25,12,34,34,40,40,45,41,57,26,34,18, 33,25,60,44,85,68,129,85,95,45,104,49,52,54,117,60,64,61,61,44,58,56,104,73,73, 43,63,56,88,65,106,110,96,87,93,105,107,97,99,84,86,58,80,68,79,77,74,39,68,17, 38,31,96,37,50,44,55,49,49,36,44,31,88,-17,-1,34,34,57,90,87,117,118,118,121, 121,121,120,115,106,110,81,71,70,81,104,81,104,75,86,85,91,79,94,88,153,155, 173,173,203,211,198,167,962,414,992,1012,1012,1012,1012,1012]} 1. Nf3 { Avoiding Bl's Modern & Benko gambit lines} d6 (1... g6 {Allan's main response to 1 Nf3, his comment afterwards was that he felt under pressure from move 1!} 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. d4 Nf6 5. e4 O-O 6. h3 Na6 7. Bg5 e5 8. d5 {Van Kemenade-Pleasants, S Wales New Year open 2020,1-0}) 2. c4 (2. d4 Bg4 {is the Wade variation, a version of the Modern}) 2... e5 3. Nc3 Nf6 (3... f5 {main}) 4. d4 (4. g3) 4... exd4 (4... Nbd7 5. e4 Be7 {Old English, holds the cetre but a little passive. Iolo Jones used to employ it quite freqently.}) 5. Nxd4 Be7 6. g3 (6. e4 {considered , is a kind of Maroczy bind, but Wh may have to defend the e pawn, from a later Nc5 & Re8.}) 6... O-O 7. Bg2 {76% for Wh} c6 8. O-O Na6 9. Rb1 {deterring Nc5 & perhaps getting in b5} (9. b3 {79 % for Wh , is simpler eg} Qa5 10. Qd2 Qh5 11. Qg5 Qxg5 12. Bxg5 h6 13. Be3 $14 { Bevan-Robles, Wales-Mexico email, 2017,1-0}) (9. e4 {89%, also has attractions} ) 9... Nc7 10. Qc2 {2nd choice of KomodoDragon2} (10. e4 Re8 11. Re1 Ne6 12. Nf5 Bf8 13. b4 Qc7 14. Bb2 {Porras Mateo-Gonzalez Garcia, Barcelona La Lira op 2014,1-0}) 10... d5 11. cxd5 (11. Rd1 h6 12. Nf5 Be6 13. Bf4 Rc8 14. Rbc1 $16 { KomodoDragon2}) 11... Ncxd5 12. Nxd5 {Wh was content to to exchange a once moved N for a thrice moved one} cxd5 (12... Nxd5 {avoids the isolani} 13. Rd1 Nb4 14. Qa4 Bd7 15. Nf3 Qe8 16. Bg5 Nd5 17. Rd2 h6 $14 {but Bl has to sit and defend carefully} 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Qb3 Rab8 20. Rbd1 Rfe8 $14) 13. Rd1 Qa5 ( 13... Bd7 14. Nf5 Rc8 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Qd3 h6 17. Be3 $14 {KomodoDragon2}) 14. Qb3 Ne4 (14... Qb6 {might be Bl's best bet}) 15. f3 (15. Be3 {is the natural move} h6 (15... Nf6 16. a3 $16) 16. Qb5 Bd8 (16... Qxa2 $2 17. Ra1 Qc4 18. Qxc4 dxc4 19. Bxe4) 17. Qxa5 Bxa5 18. Nb3 Bb6 19. Bxb6 axb6 20. Rxd5 Nf6 21. Rd6 Rxa2 22. Nd4 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) (15. Bf4 Bd8 16. Rbc1 $16 {considered }) 15... Nf6 (15... Nc5 {should have been tried according to the Engine} 16. Qa3 (16. Qxd5 Rd8 17. Qc4 Be6 {the d4 N is pinned, missed by Wh} 18. Qc3 Qxc3 19. bxc3 Bxa2 20. Ra1 Bb3 21. Re1 Bf8 22. Ba3 $11) 16... Qxa3 17. bxa3 Re8 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 16. Bd2 Qa6 17. e3 Bd7 (17... Bc5 18. Rbc1 (18. Bc3 Re8 $11) 18... Bxd4 19. exd4 {leaves Bl with the problem QB}) 18. Bf1 Qa4 19. Qxa4 (19. Qxb7 $1 {KomodoDragon2} Rfb8 20. Qa6 (20. Qb3 $1 {one of those Engine ideas} Rxb3 21. axb3 Qa2 22. Bc3 {and the Q is trapped}) 20... Rxb2 21. Qxa4 Bxa4 22. Rxb2 Bxd1 23. Rb7 Bc5 24. Kf2 $16 {Bl's QB is still unfortunate}) 19... Bxa4 20. Rdc1 (20. b3 {and Wh has to think about Ba3}) 20... Rfc8 21. Nf5 Bf8 22. Bc3 Nd7 23. b3 Bc6 24. Nd4 $16 (24. Bh3 $5) 24... Re8 25. Kf2 Bc5 26. Bb2 (26. b4 $1 Bxd4 27. Bxd4 a6 28. Ra1 Ba4 29. Rc7 Bc6 30. a4 Nf8 31. b5 axb5 32. Bxb5 (32. axb5 Rxa1 33. Bxa1 Ne6 $19) 32... Rec8 33. Rxc8 Rxc8 34. Rb1 Bxb5 35. Rxb5 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 26... Bxd4 27. Bxd4 Ne5 28. Rc3 (28. g4) (28. a4) 28... f6 29. Rbc1 a6 30. a4 Re7 31. Ra1 (31. g4 Nf7 32. h4 Ree8 33. Bd3 $18 { KomodoDragon2- preparing for opening up the K sidewhile the Bl pieces remain passive. Oddly enough Rudy & Julie were looking at a game that day which featured a similar idea- tie Bl up on the Q side, then switch to the K side.}) 31... Be8 {(draw?)} (31... h5) 32. b4 Nc6 33. Bc5 Rf7 34. Rd1 (34. Bg2 Rc7 35. Rac1 Bf7 36. f4 Be6 37. g4 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 34... Ne5 35. Ra1 (35. a5 Bc6 36. Bg2 Rd8 37. f4 Ng4+ 38. Kg1 f5 39. Bb6 Rd6 40. Rdc1 Nf6 41. b5 axb5 42. a6 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) (35. f4 $1 Bxa4 36. Rxd5 Ng4+ 37. Kg1 Rc7 38. Bc4 Kh8 39. Rcd3 {and Wh controls the centre} Rcc8 40. Rd6 Nh6 41. Bd5 Rab8 42. Rd2 Rd8 43. Ra2 Bb5 44. Rxd8+ Rxd8 45. Bxb7 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 35... Rc8 36. Bh3 (36. a5) 36... Bd7 37. Bf1 (37. Bg2) 37... b5 (37... h5 $14) 38. axb5 (38. f4 $18 Nc4 ( 38... Ng4+ 39. Kg2 f5 40. Rac1 Ra8 41. a5 Rc8 42. Bd4 Rc4 43. h3 Nh6 44. Kf2 $18) 39. Bg2 Bc6 40. axb5 axb5 41. Rd3 Rd8 42. Rd4 f5 43. h3 Rfd7 44. Bf3 g6 45. g4 Kf7 46. gxf5 gxf5 47. Ra6 Bb7 48. Rh6 Kg7 49. Rh5 Rf7 50. Rg5+ Kf6 51. Rd1 {KomodoDragon2 Wh has definite K side chances}) 38... Bxb5 39. Bxb5 (39. Bh3 f5 40. Rd1 Bc4 41. f4 Nd7 42. Bd4 Rb8 43. e4 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 39... axb5 40. Ra5 (40. g4) (40. Rca3) 40... Rb7 41. Ra6 Nd7 {Bl has survived the worst with getting rid of his QB} 42. Rd6 (42. Bd4 Rxc3 43. Bxc3 Rc7 44. Bd4 Ne5 $11 45. Bxe5 fxe5 46. Ra5 Rc2+ 47. Kg1 d4 48. exd4 exd4 49. Rxb5 Rb2 { the R ending is drawn}) 42... Nxc5 43. bxc5 (43. Rxc5 Rxc5 44. bxc5 b4 45. Rxd5 b3 46. c6 Rc7 47. Rc5 b2 48. Rb5 Rxc6 49. Rxb2 h5 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 43... b4 44. Rc1 b3 45. Rxd5 b2 46. Rb1 Rbc7 47. Rxb2 Rxc5 48. Rxc5 Rxc5 49. e4 Kf7 50. g4 h5 {Fine(1941) as well as Mueller & Lamprecht (2001) recommend the advance of the h pawn to h5 as the best drawing method. The latter citing (p212) Botvinnik-Najdorf, Moscow Alekhine mem 1956,1-0, where Bl's h pawn was on h6, & Wh was able to force through the e pawn. "Is the attacker winning? Theoretically the answer is no, but in practice it is not at all easy to defend....just waiting passively is not sufficient" Mueller & Lamprecht 2001: 212} 51. Rb7+ (51. gxh5 $11 {KomodoDragon2 Endgame}) 51... Kg6 52. Kg3 (52. h4 hxg4 53. fxg4 $11) 52... hxg4 53. Kxg4 Rc4 (53... Rg5+ {expected by Wh- holds up h4} 54. Kf4 Rh5 55. Rb2 Kf7 56. Rc2 g6 57. Kg3 Rg5+ 58. Kf2 f5 59. h4 Rh5 60. Kg3 fxe4 61. fxe4 $11 {KomodoDragon2 Endgame}) 54. Kf4 (54. h4 f5+ 55. Kf4 fxe4 56. fxe4 $11 {Endgame tablebases}) 54... Ra4 55. h4 Ra5 56. Rd7 Rb5 57. Rd5 Rb7 (57... Rb1 $5) 58. h5+ Kf7 $6 {this looks like a slide into error, giving the Wh K space to move into. Bl had been under pressure all game & also short of time} (58... Kh6 {ties something to defend the h pawn} 59. Kg4 Rb1 60. f4 Rg1+ 61. Kf5 Rh1 {KomodDragon2 Endgame & Stockfish12} (61... Kxh5 62. Rd8 Kh4 63. e5 fxe5 64. Rh8+ Kg3 65. fxe5 {and now the move to draw is either} Rf1+ {or} (65... Rg2) (65... Re1 66. Rg8 $1 $18)) 62. e5 Rxh5+ 63. Ke6 (63. Ke4 fxe5 64. fxe5 Rh1 $11) 63... fxe5 64. fxe5 Kg5 65. Kd6 Kf4 66. e6 Rh6 67. Kd7 g5 68. e7 Rh7 69. Kd8 Rh8+ 70. e8=Q Rxe8+ 71. Kxe8 g4 $11 {Nalimov Tablebases}) 59. Kf5 {KomodoDragon2 Endgame, after a spell of reflection, considers this winning, but , though Wh has improved chances, Bl can still hold} Ra7 60. f4 Re7 $2 {Definitely the losing move- putting the R into a passive position, that does not even hold up Wh's e5.} (60... Rb7 {keeps the R more active} 61. e5 {is too early, so Wh has to wait, But there seems to be just a couple of R pirouettes for both sides.} fxe5 62. fxe5 Ke7 $11 {Lomonosov Tablebases}) ( 60... Rb7 61. Ra5 Rc7 62. Ra6 Rb7 63. h6 (63. Rd6 {and the Engine keeps going round in circles}) 63... Rb5+ (63... g6+ 64. Kg4 $18) 64. e5 fxe5 65. fxe5 gxh6 66. Ra7+ Kg8 $1 {avoiding a mating net; is the only move to draw}) 61. e5 fxe5 $18 62. fxe5 Kf8 (62... Ke8 63. Kg6 Ra7 (63... Kf8 64. Rd8+) 64. Rb5 Rc7 65. Rb8+ Ke7 66. Kxg7 Ke6+ 67. Kg6 {mate in 24}) 63. e6 (63. Rd8+ Kf7 64. Rd7 { is an elegant way to win that the Engine gives}) 63... Ra7 (63... Re8 {lasts longest now} 64. h6 Kg8 65. hxg7 Kxg7 66. Rd7+ Kg8 67. Kf6 Rf8+ 68. Rf7 Ra8 69. Rg7+ Kh8 70. Rg5 Rf8+ 71. Ke7 Rf1 72. Ke8 Kh7 73. e7 Kh6 74. Rd5 Kg7 75. Kd7 { Lomonosov tablebases}) 64. Rd8+ Ke7 65. Rd7+ Rxd7 66. exd7 {Normal} 1-0 [Event "WCU Open 2 Online"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.06.08"] [Round "7.2"] [White "May, Adam J"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2004"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,45,16,13,21,20,31,-10,14,5,-9,-19,-5,-12,-1,-9,-21,-10,-2,1,31,16,77, 78,155,215,292,292,306,236,248,253,253,253,237,256,265,242,240,257,284,259,267, 267,698,707,706,715]} 1. d4 (1. c4 {Adam's main opening}) 1... d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 c5 {Matthew has played the Tarrasch in similar type positions before} (4... Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c5 (6... Nbd7 7. Qc2 b6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Qc6 Ba6 10. Nc3 Rc8 11. Bf4 Nb8 12. Qa4 Qd7 13. Qc2 Rfd8 {May-Sutton, 4NCL Div2, Online rd9, 2020,0-1}) 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Nc3 {May-Marin Marin,4NCL Div2 Online, rd3, 2021,1-0}) (4... Bd6 5. O-O O-O 6. c4 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Nbd2 Re8 9. e4 { May-Boyd, WCU Online Open 2020,1/2-1/2}) 5. O-O (5. c4 Nc6 6. O-O cxd4 7. Nxd4 Be7 8. e3 O-O 9. Nd2 Bd7 10. b3 Rc8 11. Bb2 a6 12. Qe2 Bc5 13. Rac1 Nxd4 14. exd4 Ba7 {Martin Jones-Francis, Dyfed League 2014,1-0}) 5... Nc6 6. c4 dxc4 { mainline Open Catalan} 7. Ne5 {described by MCDonald 2017:159 as "An aggressive and tricky move that is likely to upset an unprepared opponent. However , if he defends well Black has more chances to equalize than after the more positional 7 Qa4"} (7. Qa4 {main, which can get complex if Bl goes for} cxd4 (7... Bd7 8. Qxc4 b5 {also}) 8. Nxd4 Qxd4 9. Bxc6+ Bd7) 7... Bd7 {best & main} 8. Na3 cxd4 9. Naxc4 {White has gambitted the pawn , but might regain it later. In the meantime his Ns are active, Bologan 2012 describes this as the critical position of the variation.} h6 $6 $146 {a move that Bl cannot afford to spend a tempo on, especially since Bg5 is not really a threat(though Bf4 is a standard placement in this line)} (9... Nd5 {is also dubious, but there are two quite respectable B moves that are the main continuations}) (9... Bc5 { 57% for Wh ( a not uncommon statistic)}) (9... Be7 {59% for Wh}) 10. Qb3 { Wh's other thematic idea in this line is to target the b pawn} (10. Bf4 $16 { KomodoDragon2}) 10... Qc7 $2 {walking into what Wh wants to play anyway.Bl needs to get his K to safety , so giving up the b7 pawn looks neccessary} ( 10... Bc5 11. Bf4 (11. Nd3 $5) 11... O-O 12. Qxb7 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Rc8 14. Rfd1 $14 {KomodoDragon2}) 11. Bf4 $18 Nxe5 (11... Nh5 {is what KomodoDragon2 gives as Bl's best bet} 12. Nxf7 Nxf4 13. Nxh8 Nxg2 14. Qf3 O-O-O 15. Nf7 Re8 16. Kxg2 $18) (11... Qc8 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Rac1 Nc5 14. Qf3 Qd8 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 $18 {KomodoDragon2- Bl is terribly underdeveloped & the d pawn is dead}) 12. Bxe5 Qc5 13. Bxb7 Rd8 14. Rac1 Qb5 15. Bc7 Qxb3 16. axb3 Be7 17. Bxd8 Bxd8 18. Rfd1 O-O 19. Rxd4 {the Rs dominate an open board} Be7 20. Ne5 Bb5 21. Bf3 ( 21. e3) 21... Rd8 $2 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. Rc8 {Normal} 1-0 [Event "WCU Open Online 2"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.06.08"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Miga, Tomasz"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1815"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,44,19,31,19,23,28,-16,-11,13,24,6,13,15,14,3,28,20,27,-16,16,-55,-69, -72,-28,-56,-53,-67,-11,-41,-37,-44,-51,-125,-141,-120,-113,-125,-84,-86,-79, -118,-44,-125,-167,-29999,-30000]} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 ( 4... c6 5. e3 Bd6 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. e4 {Gunn-Boyd, WCU Open 2 Online, rd5, 2021,0-1}) 5. e3 {encloses the QB; Wh is playing for Colle type positions. } (5. Bg5 {main} O-O (5... h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Qc2 b6 {Stuart-Miga, W Wales Major 2019,0-1}) 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Rc1 {Anderson-Miga, 4NCL div2 Online 2021, 1-0}) (5. Bf4 {are main line classical Queens Gambit declined}) 5... O-O 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 c5 8. O-O cxd4 (8... Nc6 {main}) 9. Nxd4 (9. exd4 {main, releases the QB}) 9... Nbd7 (9... a6) (9... Qc7) (9... e5 {main, have all given Bl good results}) 10. Bxe6 $2 {although getting 2 pawns & exchange for the 2 pieces, this is unwise. Wh loses his two best placed pieces, the Bl pieces can swing into action swiftly against the denuded Wh K. Meanwhile Wh's Rs are out of action, with no open lines, & they are bad defenders.} (10. b3) (10. e4 { both look sensible ideas}) 10... fxe6 11. Nxe6 Qa5 (11... Qb6 12. Nxf8 Nxf8 13. h3 Be6 14. b3 Rd8 15. Qf3 Qc6 $6 16. Qxc6 bxc6 17. Bb2 Rd2 18. Na4 Ne4 19. Rad1 $14 {Lacoma-Lamas, Zaragosa La Salle Op 1990,0-1- Bl has not made the best use of his chances for a decisive K side attack.}) 12. Nxf8 Nxf8 13. Bd2 {driving the Q to where she wants to be} (13. e4 $1 $11 {Wh must get both his Rs into the game}) 13... Qg5 (13... Be6 $11 {Deep Fritz13 & KomodoDragon2}) 14. Ne2 { Wh is too slow} (14. e4 $11 {gains space}) 14... Bg4 (14... Be6 $11 {Deep Fritz13}) (14... a5 15. Ng3 a4 $11 {restraining the Q side -KomodoDragon2}) 15. f3 Be6 16. Ng3 (16. e4 $1 $11 {just has to be played}) 16... Bc5 $17 (16... Rd8 $17 {both Engines}) 17. f4 $2 {losing control over the wh squares, as well as inviting the Bl Q to come even closer} (17. Kh1 Rd8 18. Qe2 Qe5 $15 { KomodoDragon2}) (17. Qc2 Rc8 18. Ne4 {is Deep Fritz13 idea for Wh, which KomodoDragon2 considers is winning for Bl in several ways} Qg6 (18... Nxe4 19. Qxe4 Rd8 20. Be1 Bd5 21. Qg4 Qxg4 22. fxg4 Bc4 23. Rf5 b6 24. Kh1 Ng6 25. h3 Bxe3 $19) 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 20. Qc3 Qxc3 21. Bxc3 Bxe3+ $19) 17... Qh4 $19 { Deep Fritz13 only considers this as a definite plus for Bl- but it is all over. Every single Bl piece can join in the fun, while all Wh pieces bar the N are ineffective} 18. Qe1 (18. Rf3 Bd5 $19 {going a piece down is the best both Engines can suggest}) 18... Qh6 {an understandable decision, but it does allow Wh to reorganise the defences} (18... Rd8 $1 {both Engines} 19. Ne4 Qxe1 20. Nxf6+ gxf6 21. Bxe1 Bxe3+ 22. Kh1 Bd5 $19) 19. Kh1 (19. Rc1 {making use of a R} Bb6 20. a4 a5 21. Kh1 Qh4 22. e4 $11 {Komododragon2}) 19... Bc4 (19... Rd8 20. Rc1 Bb6 21. a4 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 20. Rg1 $2 {a final error, the R just entoms the K} (20. Rf3 $1 {guards the N and now e4 is coming! An interesting divergenge between the Engines. Deep Fritz13 retains a slight Bl advantage, while KomodoDragon2 has a definite plus for Wh . I go for this latter view as the Wh pieces get very active after the centre pawns roll forward, with Wh's B & Rs back in the game}) 20... Ng4 $19 21. h3 Bd5 22. Qe2 (22. e4 {is the only move to survive, both Engines., when there is , strangely enough a narrow path to a Bl win.} Nf2+ $1 {other moves lead only to a level position, or even risk losing} (22... Bc6 23. Rf1 Qh4 24. b4 Bb6 25. a4 Nf2+ 26. Kh2 Ng4+ $11) (22... Bxg1 23. Nf5 Qe6 24. exd5 Qxf5 25. hxg4 Qxg4 26. Kxg1 $14) (22... Re8 23. Rf1 Nf6 24. f5 g5 25. fxg6 Qxg6 26. Rxf6 Qxf6 27. Nh5 Qg6 28. Nf4 Rxe4 29. Nxg6 Rxe1+ 30. Rxe1 Nxg6 31. Be3 Bxe3 32. Rxe3 Bxa2 33. Ra3 Bd5 34. Rxa7 Nh4 35. Kh2 Nxg2 36. Ra5 Nf4 37. Kg3 Nh5+ 38. Kh4 Nf6 39. Kg5 Kg7 $15 {the 2 pices are better than the bare R, but Wh's K is active}) 23. Kh2 Re8 24. Nf5 Qg6 25. Be3 Nxe4 26. Nh4 Qf7 27. Bxc5 Nxc5 28. Qg3 Ne4 29. Qf3 Qf6 30. g3 Qxb2+ (30... Bc6 $19) 31. Qg2 Qf6 32. Rad1 Bc6 $19 {Wh has lost the 2 extra pawns, so the pieces outweigh the R. Even so, there seis plenty of play left, but Bl will find it much easier than Wh ( that B on c6 is a real menace to Wh's K)}) 22... Qxh3# {Normal} 0-1 [Event "WCU Open 2 Online"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.06.08"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Neave, Guto"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A16"] [WhiteElo "1659"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,65,19,-12,-10,-24,47,3,19,26,26,3,74,64,71,52,48,50,13,-1,47,62,60,60, 234,128,178,117,361,335,405,485,516,502,506,433,444,457,467,444,530,457,541, 464,473,494,505,517,542,540,589,595,620,607,626,556,625,630,631,638,648,790, 813,558,669,746,899,930]} 1. c4 Nf6 (1... e5 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. Nf3 Bg4 7. O-O Be7 8. h3 Bh5 9. Kh2 O-O {Neave-Callum Smith, WCU U1800 Online 2020,1/2-1/2}) (1... c5 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d6 5. d3 Nf6 6. e4 O-O 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. O-O a6 9. Rb1 {Francis-Holman,Dyed March Rapid Online 2021,1-0}) 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 d5 (3... Bg7) 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 {a bit risky, leaving a hole on d3, but Bl fails to find the best response} (5. Bg2) (5. Qa4+ ) 5... Nf6 {leaves Wh in control of the centre} (5... Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. d4 ( 7. Bg2 O-O {2 draws, 6 Bl wins is not much better}) 7... c5 {is a standard Grunfeld setup for Bl, where Wh has played the unusual g3 and scores badly after the normal response} 8. Be3 {with 1-9}) (5... Nb4 {more direct} 6. d3 (6. d4 Qxd4 {Mammadov-Kultiyasov, Bialystok Zamenhof mem rapid ,2016,0-1}) 6... Bg7 7. a3 N4a6 8. Nge2 Nc6 9. Be3 Ne5 10. Nc1 Ng4 11. Bg2 Nxe3 12. fxe3 O-O 13. O-O c5 $17 {Garcia-Maga, Manila PGMA cup 2006,1/2-1/2}) 6. d4 Bg7 (6... c6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nge2 {7 Wh wins, 2 draws, 1 Bl win}) 7. Bg2 O-O 8. Nf3 (8. Nge2 $14 { 2 Wh wins, 3 draws}) 8... c5 {Bl must challenge the centre} (8... c6 9. O-O { transposing to 106 games, gives Bl worse results with 76% for Wh}) 9. dxc5 $146 (9. d5 e6 10. O-O exd5 11. exd5 $16 {3 Wh wins, 2 draws}) (9. O-O cxd4 10. Nxd4 Nxe4 {destroys the centre, 1 wh win, 1 draw, 4 Bl wins}) 9... Qa5 (9... Qxd1+ $1 10. Nxd1 (10. Kxd1 Na6 (10... Rd8+ 11. Ke2 Be6 12. Be3 Bc4+ 13. Ke1 Ng4 $15) 11. Ke2 Nxc5 $17) 10... Nxe4 $17 {KomodoDragon2}) 10. O-O Rd8 (10... Qxc5 11. h3 $14) 11. Qb3 Ng4 $2 {neglecting development, the Q side languishes} (11... Nc6 12. Ng5 e6 (12... Rf8 {is safer} 13. a4 Qxc5 14. Be3 Nd4 15. Bxd4 Qxd4 16. Rfd1 Qe5 17. Nf3 Qh5 18. e5 Ng4 19. Nd5 Be6 20. Qxb7 Rab8 21. Nxe7+ Kh8 22. Qxa7 Rxb2 23. Rf1 Bc4 24. Nc6 Bd5 (24... Bxf1 25. Rxf1 $14) 25. Ncd4 Nxe5 26. Nxe5 Qxe5 $11) 13. e5 Ng4 14. Qb5 Ngxe5 15. Nge4 Qxb5 16. Nxb5 h6 17. Ned6 Nd3 18. Be3 Nxb2 19. Rab1 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 12. Bf4 $18 (12. Nd5 Nc6 13. h3 Nge5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15. Rd1 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 12... Qxc5 13. Rac1 (13. Nd5 { immediately invades the Q side} Be6 (13... Na6 14. Rac1) 14. Qxb7 Nd7 15. Rad1 $18 {Bl has no particularly good moves} a5 16. h3 Nge5 17. Nxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe7+ (18. Be3 Bxd5 19. Qxa8 Rxa8 20. Bxc5 Bxa2 21. f4 $18) 18... Kh8 19. Be3 Qc4 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Qb6 Rf8 22. f4 $18 {KomodoDragon2; and Bl is in trouble}) 13... Na6 (13... Qb6 14. Qa3 Nc6 15. h3 Nf6 16. e5 Nd5 17. Nxd5 Rxd5 18. Ng5 Rd8 19. Bxc6 bxc6 20. Qxe7 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 14. Nd5 $18 Qa5 15. Bd2 {Wh has several choices, the Bl pieces are awkwardly placed} (15. Nxe7+ Kh8 (15... Kf8 16. Nxc8 Raxc8 17. Rxc8 Rxc8 18. Bh3 h5 19. Bxg4 hxg4 20. Qxb7 Re8 21. Ng5 $18) 16. Qxf7 Rf8 17. Ng5 Qxg5 18. Qxf8+ Bxf8 19. Bxg5 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) (15. Ng5 Re8 16. Nc7 Nxc7 17. Qxf7+ Kh8 18. Rxc7 Qb5 19. Rxe7 Rxe7 20. Qxe7 Qd7 21. Qxd7 Bxd7 22. Rd1 $18 {Komodo/^ragon2}) 15... Nc5 (15... Rxd5 16. Bxa5 Rxa5 { could be worth a try}) 16. Bxa5 (16. Qc4 Qa6 17. Qxc5 $18 {KomodoDragon2, even stronger as Wh retains more attackers}) 16... Nxb3 17. Bxd8 (17. axb3) 17... Nxc1 18. Rxc1 {Bl is just a piece down, & still behind in development ( while the unfortunate N on g4, the cause of Bl's developmental woes, remains out on a limb)} Be6 19. Bxe7 Re8 20. Ba3 f5 21. Nf4 Bxa2 22. exf5 gxf5 23. h3 Nf6 24. Nh4 b5 25. Nxf5 a5 26. Nxg7 Kxg7 27. Bc5 (27. Rc7+ {first}) 27... Kf7 28. Ra1 Bc4 29. Rxa5 Ne4 30. Ra7+ Kg8 31. Be3 (31. Bxe4 Rxe4 32. Nh5) 31... Nd6 (31... Nxg3 $5 {regains a pawn, but Bl is too far behind}) 32. Nh5 Nf5 33. Nf6+ { Normal} 1-0