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