Pieces Against Pawns

It was not really to be expected that Aberystwyth would continue the exceptional results of the last couple of matches, but we have undoubtedly been competing well in the Open Section of the Welsh Chess Union Online League this time, and came close to drawing our latest match, against Pontyfenni. Rudy van Kemenade's attacked on the kingside in a Bird's Opening against Mark Adams, but a flurry of exchanges left Black with the initiative enabling him to grab several pawns, leading to a winning endgame. Adam Watkin-Jones's Owen's Defence gave him a good position against Ian Jones, but he went wrong in the middlegame allowing an attack that should have been decisive. White's miscalculation gave Adam a piece, but stopping the enemy pawns was a challenge, and he eventually resigned in a position where a draw was still in fact possible. I emerged an exchange up against John Waterfield from a series of complications in a Modern Defence, but then hung a rook. Black was now a piece up, but again the ending needed some care, and his return error gifted me a lucky draw. Sam Holman's kingside attack against Anthony Hughes's English Opening was a bit premature. White was able to counter in the centre, and when he won a piece with a pawn fork the end followed quickly. A 3½-½ defeat could have been an impressive 2-2 draw if Adam and I had taken our chances.

Tom Gunn's Queen's Gambit game against Bence Szakmany in the U-1800 match between Cardigan and North Cardiff Panthers was yet another example of a difficult ending between an extra piece and extra pawns. This time it was Tom with the extra piece and after long manoeuvring he managed to bring home the win.

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More than Respectable

After my last post suggesting that Aberystwyth were putting up an unexpectedly good fight in the Open Section of the Welsh Chess Union Online League, our match against Morriston on Thursday 9th December confirmed our good form. On top board, an interesting Budapest Gambit game was in prospect when Rudy van Kemande's opponent, Moss McCarthy, dropped a rook and resigned at once. It turned out that both players were too hasty: White could have trapped Black's queen after the capture, forcing her to give herself up for the second rook, leaving an unclear position, while Rudy had overlooked a winning alternative. Adam Watkin-Jones won a piece with a fork in an irregular opening against Chris Howells, who was unable to find any counterplay, and lost further material before resigning. I have recently taken up the Caro-Kann, inspired by Levy Rozman's Gotham Chess YouTube Channel: of his recommended line against the Advance Variation, he says, "You WILL win White's centre pawns, often!" and that's exactly what happened in my game against Francisco Marin, next time I'll remember to take both of them, but one was enough on this occasion. Sam Holman's game against Duncan Williams followed a line played several times in the recent World Championship match between Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi. Black won a pawn in the centre but overlooked White's threats on the kingside and Sam broke through to give mate. 4-0 to Aber was an outstanding result.

[Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.09"] [Round "5.1"] [White "McCarthy, Moss"] [Black "Van Kemenade, R."] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A52"] [WhiteElo "1989"] [BlackElo "1999"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "40"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] {[%evp 0,40,16,20,33,-28,12,17,21,13,13,-22,23,-10,6,-20,-18,-12,-15,-20,-31, -24,-6,-31,-16,-21,-38,-34,-31,-47,-37,-27,-14,-27,-27,-14,-8,-39,-23,-47,-33, -243,32]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. e3 (4. Bf4 Bb4+ 5. Nc3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Qe7 8. Qd5 f6 9. exf6 Nxf6 10. Qd3 d6 11. e3 O-O 12. Be2 Kh8 13. O-O {MCCarthy-J Van Kemenade,West Wales Open 2018,1-0}) 4... Nxe5 5. Nh3 ( 5. f4 Nec6 6. Nf3 Bc5 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bd3 Re8 9. Kf2 h6 {Llewellyn-Van Kemenade, WCPL 2019,1/2-1/2}) (5. Nc3 g6 6. b3 Bg7 7. Bb2 O-O 8. Nf3 Nbc6 9. Be2 Re8 10. O-O d6 {Dudiefa-Van Kemenade,Coventry 2005,0-1}) 5... g6 (5... d6 6. Nf4 g6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8. Be2 a5 9. O-O O-O 10. e4 c6 11. Be3 Qe7 12. Rc1 f5 {Varley-Van Kemenade,S Wales International 2008,1-0}) 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Nf4 O-O 8. Be2 d6 9. O-O (9. Bd2 a5 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Qc2 Nc5 12. f3 f5 13. Nd3 Ne6 {M Davies-Van Kemenade, West Wales Open 2007,1-0}) 9... Nbd7 10. Qc2 a5 11. b3 Nc5 12. Bb2 Bf5 $146 {Cloud Engines} (12... b6 13. Rad1 Bb7 14. Nfd5 f5 15. Qd2 Re8 16. f4 Nf7 17. e4 c6 {Llewellyn-Van Kemenade, WCPL 2009,0-1}) (12... c6 {main, 3.5-0.5 }) (12... a4 {KomodoDragon2; Lanin-Akrill, ICCF 2016,1/2-1/2}) 13. e4 Bd7 14. Nfd5 c6 (14... Nc6 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 15. Ne3 f5 16. exf5 gxf5 17. f4 Ng6 18. Ncd1 (18. Rad1 $14 {KomodoDragon2}) 18... Qe7 19. Bxg7 (19. g3 a4 20. b4 Ne4 $14 {KomodoDragon2}) 19... Qxg7 20. g3 $2 (20. Qc3 Rf7 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 20... Qxa1 {both players thought that Wh had just dropped a R, but matters are not that simple} (20... Qxa1 {Wh should have continued with} 21. Nc3 Qxf1+ 22. Kxf1 Rae8 23. Qd2 Rf6 24. Bf3 {KomodoDragon2 gives this as winning for Wh, but perhaps with 2 Rs for a Q, Bl should have continued till move 136 to win as in Carlsen-Nepomniachti, Wld Ch 2021,1-0}) (20... Nxf4 $1 $19 {is the correct way to exploit Wh's last, as the Engines indicate.} 21. Bf3 (21. Rxf4 Qxa1 $19) 21... Nh3+ 22. Kh1 f4 23. gxf4 Qxa1 24. Nc3 Qxf1+ 25. Nxf1 Rxf4 26. Bg2 Raf8 $19 (26... Nd3 $19 {KomodoDragon2- as compared with the immediate capture of the R, Wh's K side has been shattered})) 0-1 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.09"] [Round "5.2"] [White "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Black "Howells, Chris"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "1918"] [BlackElo "1835"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,67,80,62,54,-17,20,-22,0,4,40,25,30,43,34,45,42,42,31,41,90,69,70,48, 83,58,53,55,52,32,2,13,36,22,40,33,12,5,7,1,-7,-10,20,-100,-10,-29,67,1,1,5, 253,247,480,486,464,407,452,446,442,463,600,627,728,769,774,937,937,1065,1155, 1196]} 1. Nf3 Nf6 (1... d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bf5 4. O-O e6 5. d3 Nbd7 { Dixon-Howells, S Wales New Year Open, 2017,1/2-1/2}) 2. c4 d6 3. e3 (3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. O-O O-O 6. Nc3 Nbd7 7. d3 e5 8. Rb1 {Watkin-Jones - Buttell, Dyfed League 2019, 1-0}) (3. d4 {main}) 3... e5 4. d4 Nbd7 5. b3 c6 6. Be2 e4 ( 6... Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Bb2 e4 9. Nfd2 d5 10. Nc3 Re8 {2-7}) 7. Nfd2 d5 { usually Bl responds to d4 openings with e6 & d5 lines. Here the opening has transposed to a Reversed King's Indian Attack against a French.} 8. O-O (8. Ba3 Qa5 9. Bxf8 Nxf8 10. c5 b6 11. cxb6 axb6 12. Qc2 Bd7 {Morozova-Petrenko, Centracoop op, Eforie Nord 1999,1/2-1/2}) (8. a3 Bd6 9. Nc3 a6 (9... Nf8 10. f3 exf3 11. Bxf3 {Ivekovic-Bosnjak, CRO ch U17, Vukovar 2013,1/2-1/2}) 10. c5 Bc7 11. Qc2 O-O {Khaitov-Iuldachev, Tashkent Hokim Cup 2009,0-1}) 8... Bd6 9. Nc3 Bb8 $6 {trying to get in Qc7, but it is an awkward rearrangement} (9... a6 10. f3 Bb4 11. Bb2 exf3 12. Bxf3 O-O 13. cxd5 Bxc3 14. dxc6 Bxb2 15. cxb7 Bxb7 16. Bxb7 Ra7 17. Rb1 Bxd4 18. exd4 Rxb7 {Schwarz-Neumann, Wuerttemberg ch Seniors , Ellwangen 2002,0-1}) 10. cxd5 (10. Ba3 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 10... cxd5 11. f4 exf3 (11... Bd6 $11) 12. Nxf3 O-O 13. Bd2 a6 (13... Re8 $15) 14. Rc1 b5 15. b4 Bb7 {the B looks a bit bad here, even if it does support a Ne4} (15... Nb6 $15 {KomodoDragon2}) 16. a4 bxa4 17. Nxa4 Ne4 18. Be1 Qe7 19. Bd3 Ndf6 20. Qe2 (20. Bh4 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 20... Re8 21. b5 $6 {gives Bl's B more scopeand gets rid of a backward Bl pawn; and also lets the Engine indulge in some tactics} axb5 (21... Qa3 22. Bd2 Nxd2 23. Qxd2 axb5 24. Nc5 Bc8 25. Rb1 Bd6 $17 { KomodoDragon2}) 22. Bxb5 Rc8 $2 {Bl misjudges} (22... h6 23. Nc5 $11) 23. Rxc8+ Bxc8 24. Nb6 Ra3 25. Nxc8 Qc7 26. Bb4 $18 {the remaining Bl pieces are all on the wrong squares for cooperation} Rb3 27. Ne7+ Kh8 28. Ne5 g6 29. N7c6 Rxb4 30. Nxb4 Nc3 31. Qd3 Nfe4 32. Nxd5 Nxd5 33. Qxe4 f6 34. Qxd5 {Normal} 1-0 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.09"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Marin Marin, Francisco"] [Black "Francis, Matthew"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "1832"] [BlackElo "1648"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,88,39,37,74,74,74,64,64,46,47,38,72,-7,12,-10,28,-40,-15,-15,-12,-15, -39,-62,-63,-64,-59,-63,-57,-97,-83,-108,-110,-130,-92,-144,-107,-113,-134, -156,-107,-125,-141,-169,-180,-194,-206,-206,-144,-184,-152,-209,-199,-257, -211,-286,-286,-297,-303,-304,-259,-260,-261,-261,-247,-255,-181,-187,-187, -197,-187,-188,-200,-206,-196,-206,-185,-195,-196,-206,-221,-215,-246,-278, -288,-275,-288,-314,-323,-323,-323]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 (3... Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 (5. Bd3 Ne7 6. Bg5 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 h6 8. Be3 Nd7 9. Nc3 {Marin Marin-Keene , WCU Online Open3, rd1, 2021,1/2-1/2}) 5... Ne7 6. O-O Ng6 7. Re1 Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd7 10. Nf1 {Marin Marin-Southcott, 4NCL Online rd1, 2021,1/2-1/2}) 4. c3 Nc6 {main} (4... cxd4 5. cxd4 Bf5 6. Nc3 Nc6 7. Nf3 e6 8. Bg5 Qb6 9. Qd2 h6 10. Be3 Bb4 11. Be2 Nge7 12. O-O O-O {P Jones-Francis, Dyfed Online closed, nov 2021,1-0}) 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Nge7 (7... Bxf3 8. Bxf3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Qb6 {106 games, 29 % for Wh, Bl has a good French setup minus the bad B}) 8. Bg5 (8. Nbd2 {main}) 8... Qb6 $11 {0.5-6.5, Wh's setup is rather passive} 9. Nbd2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Nf5 11. Nb3 (11. Be3 Bb4 12. Nb3 $15 { 1 Wh win, 2 draws,1 Bl win}) 11... Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Nfxd4 $19 {the key pawn has fallen} 13. Nxd4 Qxd4 14. Qb3 Qb4 15. Qxb4 Bxb4 16. a3 (16. Bf4) 16... Ba5 17. Rac1 O-O (17... Nxe5 {is quite safe}) 18. Bf4 Bc7 19. Rfe1 Rac8 (19... f6) 20. Bg3 Bb6 (20... Nd4) 21. b4 Nd4 22. Bg4 Nc2 23. Red1 Rc7 (23... Nxa3) 24. Bf4 Nxa3 25. Be2 (25. Rxc7 Bxc7 26. Ra1 Nc4 27. Rxa7 Bxe5 28. Be3 Rb8 { KomodoDragon2}) 25... Rfc8 26. Bd3 Nc4 27. h3 Nb2 28. Rxc7 Rxc7 29. Rd2 Nxd3 ( 29... Rc1+ 30. Bf1 Nc4 31. Ra2 Rb1 {ties Wh down, KomodoDragon2}) 30. Rxd3 h6 31. Kf1 Rc4 32. Bd2 Rd4 33. Rxd4 Bxd4 34. f4 f6 (34... g5 $5) 35. exf6 Bxf6 36. Ke2 Kf7 {the K entry decides} 37. Kd3 Ke7 38. Be3 a6 39. Bc5+ Kd7 40. g4 Be7 41. Bd4 g6 42. Bg7 h5 43. Bc3 hxg4 44. hxg4 Kc6 {Normal} 0-1 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.09"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Holman, Sam"] [Black "Williams, Duncan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C88"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [BlackElo "1752"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "63"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,63,80,4,89,-8,53,-27,45,-92,-38,-109,-3,-116,-90,-90,-18,-117,-55,-69, -20,-41,-23,-75,-63,-97,-97,-88,-72,-76,-3,-18,34,24,35,35,24,-33,-24,2,-8,-21, 9,6,-4,-6,-3,-7,22,-20,31,-131,-78,-75,-75,-105,-87,-83,-90,-90,29991,29992, 29997,29998,29999,-30000]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a4 {a main anti-Marshall line, that has feutured several times in the Nepomniachti-Carlsen match, with Wh gaining an edge but not enough.} (8. h3 Bb7 9. c3 $6 d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. Rxe5 Nf4 { and Bl had a boosted Marshall Gambit, Holman-Williams. WCU Online Open 2, 2021, 0-1}) 8... Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 (10. Nc3 {alternative}) 10... Nd7 (10... Na5) 11. Nf1 (11. c3 {main in GM practice}) 11... Nc5 12. c3 (12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 {2 Wh wins, 2 draws, 2 Bl wins}) 12... Nxb3 13. Qxb3 Na5 14. Qc2 c5 15. Ne3 Re8 (15... g6 16. b4 cxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Nd5 f6 19. Be3 Rf7 {Holder-Hersvik, NOR ch tm 2002,0-1}) (15... c4 16. d4 Nb3 17. Ra2 exd4 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. cxd4 Bf6 20. d5 Qd7 21. Bd2 {Gruau-Chesters, 4NCL Online 2021,1-0}) (15... Qd7 $11 { several Engines}) 16. Bd2 c4 17. axb5 axb5 18. d4 (18. dxc4 Nxc4 19. Qd3 Nxe3 20. Bxe3 Bc6 21. b4 f5 $15 {KomodoDragon2- the Bs support pawn advances}) (18. Rad1 Nb3 19. Bc1 Nc5 20. dxc4 Bxe4 21. Qe2 bxc4 22. Qxc4 Ra4 23. Qe2 Qa8 $15 { KomodoDragon2}) 18... Nb3 19. Rxa8 Qxa8 20. d5 Bf8 21. Nf5 Qa2 (21... Bc8 $17 { KomodoDragon2}) 22. Be3 $11 Qa5 23. Qe2 Qc7 24. h4 (24. Nd2) 24... Nc5 (24... Bc8 25. h5 Bxf5 26. exf5 Qc8 27. f6 gxf6 28. Nh4 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 25. h5 $5 (25. Bxc5 Qxc5 26. h5 g6 27. hxg6 hxg6 28. N3h4 $16 {KomodoDragon2- despite the exchange of Wh's usual attacking KB, Wh has promising chances on the K side with the Q & 2Ns. Bl really needs to bring his QB back into the game & swap off one of the Ns}) 25... Nxe4 26. Bb6 Qxb6 27. Qxe4 Qc5 {Bl has weakened Wh's centre, but now the Q should go back to strengthen the K side defences, and leave the d pawn till later} (27... Qd8 $17 28. N5d4 Bxd5 29. Qxd5 exd4 30. Rxe8 Qxe8 31. Nxd4 Qe1+ 32. Kh2 Qxf2 33. Qxb5 Qf1 34. Qf5 Qc1 35. Ne6 g6 36. Qf4 Qxf4+ 37. Nxf4 Bh6 38. Nd5 Bc1 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 28. Ng5 $11 g6 29. hxg6 hxg6 (29... fxg6 {had to be played it seems, when} 30. Nxh7 Kxh7 31. Qh4+ Kg8 32. Qf6 Qxd5 33. Qxg6+ Kh8 34. Qh5+ {is a perpetual}) 30. Qh4 $18 {Bl's pieces are all on the wrong squares to protect their K} Bg7 31. Qh7+ Kf8 32. Qxg7# { Normal} 1-0

Respectable

Fears that Aberystwyth would be totally outclassed by the very strong teams in the Open Section of the Welsh Chess Union Online League haven't materialized in the matches so far. After our excellent win the previous week, we put up a fighting performance against White Knights on Thursday 25 November. Rudy van Kemenade's King's Indian Attack against Alan Young led to a blocked position in which the White pieces were getting in each other's way. Black had the initiative but couldn't find a way through with time getting short and settled for a draw by repetition. Adam Watkin-Jones played rather passively against Allan Pleasants in another hypermodern-type opening, and was soon tied down to the defence of his queenside against White's advancing pawns, resigning when the attack broke through. I took advantage of Adam May's vulnerable kingside with an unexpected tactic in a Caro-Kann Two Knights; there was only a draw there with best defence, but he didn't find the right moves and his position collapsed. Tom Gunn was comfortable in a Queen's Indian against Thomasz Miga till he allowed White's previously blocked central pawns to roll forward, when they proved to be unstoppable without material loss. A 2½-1½ defeat was a respectable result for Aber.

Playing for Cardigan against Peter Smith of De La Beche Rooks, Aberystwyth's Sam Holman managed to win his opponent's queen in a King's Indian Defence, but by that time White's attack in the centre and on the kingside was overwhelming, and mate soon followed.

[Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.11.25"] [Round "4.1"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Young, Ala J"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A08"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "2144"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,64,19,29,23,-8,10,-10,-10,2,0,-10,-6,-4,-6,-4,-13,-25,-35,-27,-8,-11, -7,-31,-34,-10,-10,-10,10,0,9,-60,-51,-38,-43,-144,-161,-143,-152,-143,-97, -164,-114,-143,-68,-117,-117,-152,-102,-112,-52,-86,-64,-64,-92,-89,-31,-32, -37,-29,-34,-34,-31,-33,-31,-39,-47]} 1. Nf3 (1. f4 d5 {Van Kemenade-Young, 0. 5-1.5}) 1... d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. O-O e5 5. d3 Nf6 6. e4 dxe4 7. dxe4 { the central swap is anodyne for Wh in the King's Indian, and here the KID player has an extra move. Though, as an e4 player, Alan has not faced a full King's Indian Defence before} Bg4 (7... Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Nd4 (8... Bg4 9. c3 { and it is possible for Wh to exploit the holes on d5 and f5 before Bl's K B can get active, 64% for Wh}) 9. Nxd4 cxd4 10. c3 {2 Wh wins, 4 draws}) 8. c3 Be7 9. h3 (9. Nbd2) 9... Bh5 10. Qe2 O-O 11. Rd1 (11. Nbd2 Qc7 $14 {5-3-2} 12. g4 Bg6 13. Nh4 {is better than Wh got later- 2.5-0.5}) 11... Qc7 12. Na3 a6 13. Nc4 Rad8 14. Rxd8 (14. Bg5 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 14... Rxd8 15. g4 (15. a4 b5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Ne3 c4 (17... Nxe4 18. Qxb5 $18) 18. Nf5 Bg6 19. N3h4 Bc5 20. Bg5 Ne7 21. Bxf6 gxf6 22. Nxe7+ Qxe7 23. Bf3 Rd3 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 15... Bg6 16. Nfd2 Qd7 17. Bf1 {too defensive- Wh wished to preserve Qs for a K side attack, but the Wh pieces now get in each other's way} (17. a4 $14 Qd3 18. Qxd3 Rxd3 19. Bf1 Rd8 20. f3 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) (17. Ne3 Na5 (17... Qd3 18. Qxd3 Rxd3 19. Bf1 Rd8 20. f3 Nd7 21. a4 $16 {KomodoDragon2})) 17... b5 $17 18. Na3 ( 18. Nb6 Qc7 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Rxd5 21. Bg2 Rd3 22. Ne4 c4 $17) 18... c4 19. Nc2 h6 (19... h5 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 20. f3 (20. a4 {liberates the R}) 20... Nh7 {threatening to invade on f4} (20... Bc5+ 21. Kh1 h5 $17 {KomodoDragon2}) 21. Ne3 Nf6 (21... Ng5 $19 22. Nd5 {is no real threat} Bc5+ 23. Kh1 Ne7 $19) ( 21... Bc5 22. Kh1 Ng5 {transposes}) 22. Kh1 (22. b4) 22... Bc5 23. Nf5 (23. a4) (23. Bg2) 23... Bxf5 24. exf5 e4 {opening up the position for Bl's better developed pieces} 25. Nxe4 (25. fxe4 Re8 26. b3 (26. Bg2 Ne5 {Wh's pieces are very badly placed}) 26... Nd4 $1 27. Qg2 Nc2 28. Rb1 Ne3 29. Qf3 Nxf1 30. Nxf1 Nxe4 31. Be3 Bxe3 32. Qxe3 cxb3 33. axb3 Ng5 $19 {Wh's position is just too porous}) 25... Nxe4 26. fxe4 (26. Qxe4 Re8 27. Qc2 Re1 $19) 26... Qd1 {Bl was happy to play this} 27. b4 Be3 {the B becomes a target here} (27... Be7 28. a4 Bf6 29. Qxd1 Rxd1 30. Bb2 Rd2 31. Bc1 Rc2 32. axb5 axb5 33. Bxh6 Bxc3 34. Ra8+ Kh7 35. Be3 Bxb4 $19) 28. Qxd1 Rxd1 29. Bb2 (29. Bxe3 {gets 2Bs for R&N, which often can hold- but here the Bs , especially the wh one, are passive} Rxa1 30. Kg2 Rxa2+ 31. Kf3 Rc2 $19) 29... Rd2 (29... Rd8 $1 {KomodoDragon2} 30. Bc1 Bxc1 31. Rxc1 Rd2 32. a4 bxa4 33. Ra1 Ne5 34. Bg2 Rc2 35. Ra3 f6 $19 {is a very dispiriting position for Wh to defend} 36. Kh2 Kf8 37. Kg3 Ke7 38. Bf3 Rd2 39. Bg2 Kd8 40. Bf1 Rc2 41. Rxa4 {maybe} Rxc3+ 42. Kf2 Rb3 43. Rxa6 c3 44. Ra8+ Kc7 45. Ra7+ Kb6 46. Ra6+ Kb7 47. Ra1 Nc6 {Wh's B is close to useless}) 30. Bc1 Rd1 31. Bb2 Rd2 (31... Rd8 {though Bl was running short of time, so went for the repetition}) 32. Bc1 Rd1 {Normal} 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.11.25"] [Round "4.2"] [White "Pleasants, Allan J"] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A04"] [WhiteElo "2088"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,43,16,16,56,0,47,24,35,19,19,41,25,10,6,6,7,18,7,3,42,30,34,7,45,44, 62,69,68,56,52,52,69,68,64,47,47,73,154,140,150,153,153,188,180,87]} 1. Nf3 c5 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 (4. O-O Nc6 {Pleasants 1-1-1}) (4. c4 Nc6 5. Nc3 e5 6. O-O Nge7 7. Ne1 {May- Watkin-Jones,WCPl 2017,1-0} (7. d3 d6 8. Rb1 O-O 9. a3 Rb8 {B Brewer- Watkin-Jones, Dyfed League 2018,1/2-1/2})) 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nxc6 (6. Nb3 {is an alternative plan}) 6... bxc6 7. O-O Nf6 (7... Rb8 8. Nd2 Nf6 9. Nb3 Qc7 10. Bd2 d6 11. Ba5 Qb7 {4 draws, 1 Bl win}) 8. c4 O-O 9. Nc3 Ba6 (9... Rb8 {main} 10. Qc2 c5 11. Bf4 d6 {5 wins each}) 10. Qa4 Qc8 {3-3-3} ( 10... Bb7 {3-4-4}) 11. Rd1 (11. Rb1) 11... Bb7 (11... Rb8 12. Bf4 Rxb2 13. Qa3 Rc2 {Fernandez Gil-Lopez Heras, Tres Cantos op 2010,0-1}) (11... e6 12. e4 Ne8 13. Bf4 f5 14. Rd2 Bxc3 15. bxc3 fxe4 16. Bxe4 d5 {Strom Engdahl-Bellon Lopez, Gothenburg Kvibergspelen 2018,0-1}) 12. c5 $16 {KomodoDragon2} Qc7 (12... Rd8 13. Bf4 Nh5 14. Be3 a5 15. Rac1 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 13. Bf4 $18 e5 (13... Qc8 $5) 14. Be3 a5 15. Rd2 h6 (15... Ng4 {an idea of Rudy fails to} 16. Qxg4 $2) 16. Rad1 Rfd8 17. h3 (17. Qh4 g5 18. Qa4 Re8 19. h4 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 17... Rab8 18. g4 Nd5 (18... Ne8 19. Ne4 Ba6 20. a3 Qb7 21. h4 Bb5 22. Qc2 Qa6 23. g5 h5 24. Rxd7 Rxd7 25. Rxd7 Bxe2 26. Nd6 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Bxd5 Bxd5 21. Rxd5 Rxb2 22. c6 {Normal} (22. Rxd7 Rxd7 23. Rxd7 (23. Qxd7 Qxd7 24. Rxd7 Rc2 {the c pawn must be stopped} 25. Rd2 Rc4 26. Rd8+ Kh7 27. Rc8 e4 28. Rc7 a4 29. Rxf7 $18) 23... Rb4 24. Qxb4 Qxd7 25. Qb8+ Kh7 26. Qd6 $18 { KomodoDragon2}) (22. c6 d6 23. Rxa5 Rc8 24. Rc1 e4 25. Ra7 Qd8 26. Qxe4 Be5 27. Rd7 Qf8 28. a4 $18 {KomodoDragon2- is not much fun for Bl}) 1-0 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.11.25"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "May, Adam J"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "1648"] [BlackElo "2004"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,81,29,18,70,70,59,40,24,28,28,17,26,32,23,23,36,39,43,45,17,12,48,36, 36,15,15,-11,-15,-15,72,-2,25,17,37,-37,4,-55,20,-106,-120,-120,-149,-161,-90, -75,413,413,457,451,459,451,560,666,879,915,1059,1088,1073,1046,1021,1037,1038, 907,907,1026,1026,1021,1070,676,896,866,960,1110,1159,1153,1227,1314,2076, 29054,29983,29984,29987,29986]} 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 {avoiding prepared lines against} (3... Bg4 {main, 1-2 May}) 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Qe2 (5. Nxf6+ {main}) 5... Nxe4 6. Qxe4 Nd7 7. Bc4 Nf6 8. Ne5 {keeps the QB in} e6 9. Qe2 b5 10. Bb3 {43% for Wh} (10. Bd3 {55% for Wh}) 10... Qc7 11. d4 Bd6 12. O-O O-O 13. h3 $146 {may not be necessary and could be a useful square for a R to go to in a little while} (13. c3) (13. Bf4) (13. Re1 {main lines, playing moves that part of a K side build-up}) 13... Bb7 (13... c5 14. c3 a5 $11 { KomodoDragon2}) 14. c3 (14. Nd3 {is possible}) 14... Kh8 15. Bc2 a6 (15... c5 { is more dynamic} 16. Bg5 (16. Qxb5 cxd4 17. cxd4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Qxc2 $17) 16... Rac8 17. Bd3 Ba8 18. Bxb5 Ne4 19. Be3 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Qb7 21. Ba6 Nxc3 22. Qg4 Qxa6 23. bxc3 Bd5 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 16. Bg5 c5 17. f4 Rac8 (17... Ng8 18. Bxh7 Kxh7 19. Qh5+ Nh6 20. Ng4 f6 21. Bxh6 Qf7 22. Qh4 gxh6 23. Qxh6+ Kg8 24. Rae1 cxd4 25. f5 exf5 (25... Qg7) 26. Rxf5 Qg7 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) (17... cxd4 18. cxd4 Rac8 19. Rac1 Qb6 20. Rcd1 Qc7 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 18. Rac1 (18. Rae1 cxd4 19. Qd3 Ne4 20. Rxe4 Bxe4 21. Qxe4 f5 22. Qe2 dxc3 23. bxc3 b4 24. c4 Bxe5 25. fxe5 $18 (25. Qxe5 $16 {KomodoDragon2})) 18... Bd5 (18... cxd4 19. cxd4 Qb6 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 19. b3 (19. f5 $11) (19. Bxf6 gxf6 20. Bxh7 Kxh7 21. Qh5+ (21. c4 $1 bxc4 22. Qh5+ Kg7 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Qh4+ Kg7 25. Qg3+ Kh7 26. Ng4 Be7 27. Qh4+ Kg8 28. Rc3 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 21... Kg7 22. Qg4+ $11) 19... cxd4 20. cxd4 Ba3 (20... Ng8 $17) (20... Qc3 21. Kh2 (21. Qf2 Nh5 22. f5 Qg3 $19) 21... Qb2 22. Bd3 Qxe2 23. Bxe2 Kg8 $17 {KomodoDragon2}) 21. Bxf6 gxf6 (21... Bxc1 22. Bxh7 gxf6 23. Qh5 Be3+ 24. Kh1 Bxg2+ 25. Kh2 Kg7 26. Qg4+ Kxh7 27. Qh5+ $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 22. Qh5 f5 (22... Qxc2 $1 {KomodoDragon2 claims a hold} 23. Rxc2 Rxc2 24. Nf3 Bc1 25. Ne1 Be3+ 26. Kh1 Rxa2 27. Qh6 Rg8 28. Qxf6+ Rg7 29. Qd8+ Rg8 30. Qf6+ $11) 23. Bxf5 $1 $18 {clearly missed by Bl} exf5 24. Rxc7 Rxc7 25. Qxf5 Be6 (25... f6 26. Nd7 Rf7 27. Nc5 Bc6 28. Re1 $18 { KomodoDragon2}) 26. Qf6+ Kg8 27. Rf3 Rc1+ 28. Kh2 Rfc8 29. Rg3+ Kf8 30. f5 Rf1 (30... Bd5 31. Re3 $1 Ke8 (31... Kg8 32. Qg5+ Kh8 (32... Kf8 33. Nd7#) 33. Rg3 {mating- KomodoDragon2})) 31. Qg7+ (31. Nc6 $1 {KomodoDragon2} Ke8 32. Rg8+ Kd7 33. fxe6+ Kxc6 (33... fxe6 34. Qg7+) 34. Rxc8+ Kb7 35. Qd8 Rc1 36. Rb8+ Kc6 37. Rb6# (37. Qd7#)) 31... Ke7 32. fxe6 Rcc1 33. Rf3 Rxf3 34. Nxf3 (34. gxf3 Rc2+ 35. Kg3 Kd8 36. exf7 {is quicker}) (34. exf7 $1 {KomodoDragon2} Ke6 35. gxf3 Kd5 36. Qg4 Rc2+ 37. Kg3) 34... Bd6+ (34... Kxe6 35. Ng5+ Kd5 36. Qe5+ (36. Qxf7+) 36... Kc6 37. d5+ Kb7 38. d6 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 35. Ne5 Bxe5+ 36. Qxe5 (36. dxe5 Rf1 37. exf7 Rxf7 38. Qh6 $18 (38. Qxf7+ Kxf7 39. Kg3 Ke6 40. Kf4 $18 {is fine as well})) 36... f6 37. Qf5 (37. Qc5+ Rxc5 38. dxc5 b4 39. Kg3 Kxe6 40. Kf4 {is another easy K & P game, should Wh feel inclined}) 37... Rd1 38. d5 (38. Qd5) 38... b4 39. Qxh7+ Kd6 40. Qd7+ Ke5 41. e7 {Normal} 1-0 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.11.25"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Miga, Thomasz"] [Black "Gunn, Tom"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "1815"] [BlackElo "1398"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,81,19,31,14,30,28,4,27,14,14,9,12,13,24,29,29,26,26,32,35,23,29,23,33, -1,11,-15,6,-25,-4,-50,-7,-46,-37,-17,-12,-29,-3,-11,-24,-29,-26,-65,21,8,-8, -3,-3,0,-7,-12,-14,-15,37,25,29,25,33,24,27,0,8,-21,0,13,21,30,30,0,38,27,27, 22,44,48,64,43,217,256,241,250,467,461]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 (3. a3 Be7 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd3 d6 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. e4 e5 8. c3 Re8 {Thacker-Gunn,Dyfed Major 2020,0-1}) 3... b6 4. g3 Bb7 (4... Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 c6 8. Qc2 d5 9. O-O O-O {Miga-Coles, 4NCL Online 2020,0-1}) 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 c5 (6... Bxd2+) (6... Be7 {main lines}) 7. Bxb4 (7. O-O) 7... cxb4 8. O-O O-O 9. Nbd2 d6 10. Qc2 (10. Re1) (10. Qb3) 10... Nbd7 11. e4 e5 12. d5 Qc7 (12... Rc8 13. Ne1 a5 14. a3 bxa3 15. bxa3 Ba6 16. a4 Qc7 17. Rc1 b5 {Krajewski-Misiuga, POl ch tm 2002,0-1}) (12... Nc5 13. Ne1 Qe7 14. Nb3 Nfd7 15. Nd3 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Rae8 17. Qe3 Bc8 18. Bh3 Qd8 19. Rae1 a5 20. Nd2 Nc5 {Mitchenko-Kononenko, Rodatychi op 2006,0-1 The control over c5 restrains Wh's centre}) 13. Rac1 ( 13. a3 $14 {Stockfish14 & KomodoDragon2}) 13... a5 14. Ng5 h6 (14... Nc5 $15 { both Engines}) 15. Nh3 {the N is a little out of play here} (15. Ngf3) 15... Nc5 16. Nb3 (16. f3 {both Engines}) 16... Nxb3 17. axb3 Rac8 (17... Qc5 $17) ( 17... Nd7 $17) 18. f4 $11 exf4 19. Nxf4 {puts the N on a better square than h3, but it does not appear to have that many good squares to go to. In the meantime Wh has ceded control over e5, which Bl can occupy, thus keeping Wh's B as a rather bad one. Wh might have to sacrifice a pawn on e5 in order to activate it. Hence, Bl must put a piece onto e5 to keep the Wh pawns immobile} (19. gxf4 $11 {both Engines}) 19... Rfe8 20. Rce1 (20. Rfe1) 20... Qc5+ (20... b5 $1 $19 {both Engines; Wh needs the B to be able to come to f1 to support c4} 21. Rc1 bxc4 22. bxc4 Ba6 23. b3 a4 $19) 21. Kh1 Qc7 (21... b5 $19) 22. Qf2 ( 22. Ne2 $11 {the N will have some threats when it gets to the outpost at f5}) 22... Re7 23. Nd3 Rce8 24. Qd4 Nd7 25. Qf2 Ne5 (25... Bc8 $17 {both Engines}) 26. Nxe5 dxe5 $2 {a positional error} (26... Rxe5 $15 {has to be correct, to keep the Wh pawns barricaded}) 27. Rd1 (27. Bh3 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) (27. Rc1 $16 {Stockfish14}) 27... Qd6 28. Rc1 Rc8 29. Qe2 (29. Bh3 {both Engines}) 29... Rf8 (29... Rc5 $14 {both Engines}) 30. c5 {in turn Wh mixes things unnecssarily } (30. h4 {keeps more control}) 30... bxc5 $15 31. Rf5 Bc8 (31... Rc7 $15 { prevents invasion -both Engines}) 32. Rf2 f6 (32... Rc7 $15) 33. Qb5 $11 Rc7 34. Qxa5 Bd7 (34... f5 35. exf5 Bb7 36. Rd1 Ra8 37. Qb5 Ba6 38. Qa4 Bb7 39. Qb5 Ba6 $11 {both Engines}) 35. Rfc2 Rfc8 (35... f5 36. Rxc5 Rxc5 37. Qxc5 Qxc5 38. Rxc5 fxe4 39. Bxe4 Bf5 40. Bxf5 Rxf5 $11 {both Engines} 41. Rb5 Rf2 42. Rxb4 Rd2 43. Re4 Rxb2 44. Rxe5 Rxb3 45. Kg2 Kf7 {a centre paw is more easily blocked sas the K remains near to its own pawns, and Bl's R is active}) 36. Bf1 Kf8 37. Ra1 Ke7 (37... f5) 38. Qa6 $18 {Bl finds out that the d5 pawn is insufficiently barricaded- life would be very different if Bl had a N rather than a B} Be8 (38... Qxa6 39. Rxa6 Kd8 40. Rc1 $18 {best try- but the Bl pieces are huddled to gether kept in check by that protected passed pawn}) 39. Qxd6+ Kxd6 40. Ra6+ Ke7 41. d6+ {Normal- punishment for moving his own pawn from d6 earlier.} 1-0 [Event "WCU Online U1800 B"] [Site "Lichess"] [Date "2021.11.25"] [Round "4.4"] [White "Smith, Peter"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E70"] [WhiteElo "1485"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "De La Beche Rooks"] [BlackTeam "Cardigan"] {[%evp 0,55,20,20,28,-8,45,43,32,59,59,48,42,66,49,55,111,87,81,52,82,50,72,64, 112,103,162,167,170,157,184,182,216,142,315,263,238,238,377,470,470,449,712, 907,980,621,583,696,707,445,518,562,702,718,845,1281,29999,-30000]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 O-O {this is playable, but in some lines Bl must be prepared to give up a pawn or two to break up the Wh centre before it rolls over the defences.} (4... d6 {main}) 5. e5 (5. Nf3 {main}) 5... Ne8 6. f4 d6 7. Nf3 b6 {this is too slow} (7... c5 $1 8. dxc5 Nc6 {or} (8... Qa5 {are how Bl needs to use his lead in development, when Wh must play carefully to stay afloat at about the 50% level})) 8. Bd3 {4 Wh wins, 2 draws, 1 Bl win} Bb7 9. O-O (9. Be4 {2 draws, 1 Bl win}) (9. h4 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 9... Nd7 (9... c5 10. d5 $18 {2-0}) 10. Qe2 (10. Re1 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 10... c5 (10... Bxf3 11. Rxf3 c5 {is a better attempt at breaking up the centre- Cloud Engines} 12. d5 dxe5 13. f5 $14) 11. d5 $18 dxe5 12. fxe5 {the central pawns are very powerful- they have several ways of advancing to dislocate the Bl position} Qc7 13. Bf4 Qc8 14. Rae1 (14. Ng5 $1 {Stockfish14 & KomodoDragon2, virtually force Bl to create further weaknesses with} h6 {before Wh can sling in an e6 as well} 15. Nf3 $18 {Bl has scarcely any good moves}) 14... Nc7 15. Qe3 (15. e6 fxe6 16. Bxc7 Qxc7 17. Qxe6+ Kh8 18. Nb5 Qc8 (18... Qd8 19. Ng5) 19. Qxe7 {there are too many Bl pieces stuck on the Q side, while Wh has several ways of breaking open Bl's K position even further}) 15... Re8 16. Ng5 (16. e6 $1) 16... b5 17. e6 Bd4 {Bl wins the Q, but at a ruinous cost} 18. exf7+ Kh8 19. fxe8=Q+ Qxe8 20. Bxc7 b4 21. Qxd4+ (21. Rf7 $1 {KomodoDragon2}) 21... cxd4 22. Nb5 (22. Rf7 $1) 22... Nc5 23. Be5+ (23. Rf7 {still prefered by the Engine, but Wh is comfortably ahead, with all his pieces joining in ( as opposed to the Bl stays on the Q side}) 23... Kg8 24. Be2 (24. Nc7) (24. Bxd4) (24. Bd6) 24... d3 25. Bg4 (25. Nc7) (25. Rf7) 25... Bxd5 26. Nc7 (26. cxd5 {also fine}) 26... Qa4 27. Nxd5 b3 (27... Qe8 {best- when KomodoDragon2 gives a mate in 8} 28. Bd4 e6 29. Bxe6+ Nxe6 30. Rxe6 Qxe6 31. Nxe6 h5 32. Ne7+ Kh7 33. Rf7+ Kh6 34. Be3+ g5 35. Bxg5#) 28. Nxe7# 1-0