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.

[Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.16"] [Round "6.1"] [White "Van Kemenade, R."] [Black "Adams, Mark"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A02"] [WhiteElo "1999"] [BlackElo "2001"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "84"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,84,27,-30,6,13,30,-21,13,-26,-10,-33,-11,-13,44,-20,-6,-12,29,-13,-12, -27,-21,-45,-41,-40,-48,-59,-74,-62,-38,-157,-157,-149,-126,-231,-245,-245, -280,-280,-255,-310,-288,-275,-275,-348,-348,-360,-195,-314,-180,-242,-242, -255,-280,-325,-325,-360,-360,-354,-361,-349,-344,-368,-363,-363,-377,-383, -371,-391,-334,-353,-388,-405,-414,-414,-385,-388,-385,-431,-425,-1015,-1047, -1066,-1120,-1120,-1014]} 1. f4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. O-O Rb8 (6... e6 {main} 7. Nc3 Nge7 8. h3 O-O 9. g4 Rb8 {Van Kemenade-Afek, Monarch Assurance Isle of Man 2001,0-1}) 7. c4 a6 (7... e6 8. Nc3 Nge7 9. e4 O-O 10. g4 f5 11. gxf5 exf5 12. Nd5 Nd4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4+ 14. Kh1 b5 {Van Kemenade-Gibbons, WCPL 2016,0-1}) 8. Nc3 e6 (8... b5 9. Nh4 Bd7 10. cxb5 axb5 11. f5 Nf6 12. Bg5 Nd4 13. fxg6 hxg6 14. Rb1 Rh5 15. Bd2 Qc8 $19 { Stanke-Wippermann, Hamburg Junge op 2005,0-1}) 9. a4 Nge7 10. e3 (10. e4 O-O $15 {3 draws, 5 Bl wins}) 10... O-O 11. g4 f5 12. g5 (12. gxf5 Nxf5 13. Bd2 Nb4 14. Qe2 d5 $15 {KomodoDragon2}) 12... Bd7 13. h4 e5 14. Nd5 (14. h5 {carrying on with the pawn advance idea is a better bet} gxh5 15. Ne2 b5 16. axb5 axb5 17. Ng3 bxc4 18. dxc4 Be6 19. Nd2 h4 20. Nh5 Bh8 21. Qe1 h3 22. Bxh3 Ng6 $17 { though Wh retains Kingside play}) 14... Be6 (14... Nxd5 15. cxd5 Nb4 $17 { Stockfish14 & KomodoDragon2}) 15. e4 (15. Nf6+ {a promising pawn sacrifice according to both Engines} Bxf6 16. gxf6 Rxf6 17. b3 h6 18. Bb2 Rf7 19. d4 $14 {and the position open up for the 2 Bs}) 15... fxe4 16. dxe4 exf4 17. Bxf4 (17. Ra3 {is a lichess suggestion, backed by KomodoDragon2- Wh had underestimated the range of the Bl R coming to f4}) 17... Bxd5 18. exd5 Rxf4 $19 19. dxc6 bxc6 20. Qe2 (20. Bh3 Nf5 21. Bxf5 gxf5 22. Rb1 {suggested by KomodoDragon2, but it is a position with no prospects for Wh}) 20... Qd7 (20... Nf5) 21. Rae1 (21. Rab1 Rg4 22. Kh2 Nf5 23. Bh3 Ng3 24. Bxg4 Qxg4 25. Rg1 Be5 {KomodoDragon2, is not that appealing}) 21... Nf5 22. Qe6+ {attempting to get some R activity} ( 22. Bh3 {getting rid of the N given by Stockfish14 & KomodoDragon2} Qf7 23. Bxf5 Rxf5 {but then Wh is just going pawns down}) 22... Qxe6 23. Rxe6 Rxc4 ( 23... Kf7) 24. h5 $5 (24. Bh3 {both Engines} Rxa4 25. h5 Ng3 26. Rfe1 Rf4 27. R1e3 Nxh5 28. Rxd6 Rbf8 29. Ne5 {is a little better, but not enough}) 24... Ng3 25. Rfe1 Nxh5 26. Rxd6 {hoping to have gained some play, but} Rg4 $1 {and Wh paused for a long think} 27. Red1 (27. Re2 {is one such variation} Nf4 28. Red2 Bxb2 29. Rxc6 Bc3 30. Rc2 Rb2 31. Rxb2 Bxb2 32. Ne1 Bc3 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 27... Rxb2 28. Rd8+ Bf8 29. R1d2 Rxd2 30. Rxd2 Nf4 31. Kh2 (31. Ne1 Rxg5 $19 ( 31... c4 $19 {KomodoDragon2})) 31... Nxg2 32. Rxg2 Bd6+ 33. Kh3 Rxg2 34. Kxg2 c4 {too many pawns & a N against a wideranging B} 35. Kf2 Bf4 36. Ke2 c5 37. Kd1 c3 38. Kc2 Bd2 39. a5 Kf7 40. Nxd2 cxd2 41. Kxd2 Ke6 42. Kc3 Kd5 {Normal- Wh's pawn sacrifices were in vain against Bl's very accurate defence} 0-1 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.16"] [Round "6.2"] [White "Jones, Ian Robert"] [Black "Watkin-Jones, Adam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "2007"] [BlackElo "1918"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "123"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,123,80,48,83,73,60,16,14,1,42,-58,-50,-38,-53,-51,-60,-75,-63,-71,-70, -70,-63,-77,-62,-57,-31,-38,-28,-42,-28,-20,-33,-58,-58,-58,9,29,78,104,117, 125,129,118,166,118,264,276,427,295,295,245,295,274,265,88,88,134,101,111,152, 168,193,78,69,-63,-18,-167,-167,-157,-161,-192,-179,-185,-196,-192,-181,-172, -183,-183,-211,-220,-218,-235,-218,-212,-169,-180,-172,-229,-218,-218,-226, -222,-218,-226,-224,-218,-206,-224,-204,-214,-200,-202,-181,-204,-209,-195, -139,-201,-134,-137,-142,-141,-45,-141,-33,-29,0,0,41,0,0,0,0,13]} 1. e4 b6 { new to both players according to databases} (1... e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 {Jones - Watkin-Jones, WCU Online Open 2, 2021,1-0}) 2. d4 Bb7 3. f3 (3. Bd3) (3. Nc3 {main lines}) 3... e6 4. Be3 c5 (4... d5) (4... Nf6 {main lines}) 5. c4 {offering a transposition to some kind of Saemisch} (5. c3 {main}) 5... cxd4 6. Bxd4 (6. Qxd4 $5) 6... Nc6 7. Be3 Bb4+ $17 {KomodoDragon2} (7... Rc8 8. Nh3 Qc7 9. Nd2 Nf6 {Jerome-Smyth,IECC 2000, 0-1}) (7... Nf6 8. Nc3 Bb4 9. Qb3 Bxc3+ 10. Qxc3 e5 11. Ne2 O-O 12. Ng3 Qc7 13. Be2 g6 14. O-O {Tukiran-Abdul Shukor, Johor International Challenge 2018, 1-0}) 8. Nd2 Nge7 9. a3 Bc5 10. Bxc5 bxc5 $17 {KomodoDragon2-Wh has a hole on d4, & Bl is better developed} 11. Bd3 Ng6 12. Ne2 O-O (12... Qg5 $1 {KomodoDragon2} 13. Qb3 Rb8 14. g3 Ba8 15. Qc3 Qe3 16. Bc2 Qxc3 17. bxc3 Na5 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 13. O-O Nge5 14. Bc2 Ba6 15. b3 d5 16. cxd5 exd5 17. exd5 Bxe2 {but this gives away Bl's advantage, easing Wh's position by swapping off those passive pieces} (17... Qxd5 18. Rf2 Qe6 $17 {KomodoDragon2}) 18. Qxe2 Nd4 $2 {compounds matters} (18... Qxd5 $11) 19. Bxh7+ Kxh7 20. Qxe5 $18 Re8 21. Qh5+ Kg8 22. Ne4 f5 (22... f6 23. d6 Re5 24. Qg6 Re6 25. Nxc5 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 23. Ng5 Qxd5 24. Qh7+ (24. Rae1 $1 $18 {KomodoDragon2, brings in another piece & cuts off lines of a K escape}) 24... Kf8 25. Qg6 Kg8 26. Qh7+ Kf8 27. Qh8+ Qg8 28. Qh5 g6 29. Qh4 Re7 30. b4 Kg7 {Bl has escaped the worst, but is still losing} 31. bxc5 $18 Qc4 32. Ne4 $2 {trying to gain time for the attack, but Bl's next shows up the drawback} (32. Qh7+ Kf6 33. Qh6 {the only winning move apparently} (33. Ne4+ fxe4 34. Qh4+ Kf7 35. fxe4+ Nf5 36. Qh7+ Kf6 37. Rxf5+ gxf5 38. e5+ Rxe5 39. Qh6+ Kf7 40. Qh7+ Kf6 41. Qh6+ {repetition- is one of those precise Engine calculations}) 33... Qxc5 34. Kh1 Rae8 35. Rad1 Qe5 36. f4 Qc5 37. h4 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 32... Rf7 $19 (32... Ne2+ 33. Kh1 Rf7 $19 {is another version}) 33. Qe1 fxe4 34. Qxe4 Ne2+ 35. Kh1 Qxe4 36. fxe4 Rc8 (36... Rxf1+ {removing a pair of Rs looks simpler} 37. Rxf1 Rc8 38. Rd1 Rxc5 39. Rd7+ Kh6 40. g3 a5 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 37. Rfe1 Nc3 (37... Rf2) 38. h3 Rxc5 39. Re3 Re7 (39... a5) 40. Rc1 Na4 41. Rb1 Rc3 (41... Nb6 42. Kh2 Rce5 43. Rbe1 Nc4 44. Rc3 Rxe4 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 42. Rf3 Rec7 43. Rb4 Nb6 44. e5 Rxf3 45. gxf3 Rc4 (45... Rc5) (45... Nc4) 46. Rb5 Kf7 47. Ra5 Rc7 {this gives Wh hopes of holding as now the Bl R has gone over to passive defence} (47... Ra4 $1 48. Rc5 Rxa3 49. Kg2 a5 $19 {and the a5 pawn is a menace , especially with Bl's R now active-Rudy}) 48. Kg2 Ke6 49. h4 { Wh by now was living on increments} Nc4 (49... Kf5 $1 {removes the K from a timely ch by Wh.} 50. Kg3 Nc4 51. Ra4 Nxe5 $19 {KomodoDragon2}) 50. Ra6+ Kxe5 ( 50... Nb6 {repeating to go back to the Kf5 move is keeps more winning material on the board ( but Bl was now also running low on time)}) 51. Rxg6 Nxa3 $19 { but, compared to the note at move 49, the Bl forces are far more scattered rather than solidly holding the K side} 52. Kg3 Nc4 53. h5 Rh7 (53... Kf5 { the K needs to come back in defence} 54. f4 Rb7 55. Rg5+ Kf6 56. Kf3 Kf7 57. Kg4 Nd6 58. Ra5 Kg8 59. f5 Nf7 $11 {but after all, KomodoDragon2 thinks all Bl winning chances have gone, though Bl will surely not lose this}) 54. Ra6 (54. Kg4) 54... Nb6 (54... Kf5 $17) 55. Ra5+ Kf6 56. Kg4 Nc4 (56... Rg7+ 57. Kh4 Nc4 58. Ra6+ Kf5 59. h6 Rf7 60. Kh5 Ne5 61. Ra3 Re7 $17 {KomodoDragon2- but the a pawn will not be advancing against the active Wh R}) 57. Ra6+ Ke5 (57... Nb6 { keeps hopes alive,but} 58. f4 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 58. h6 (58. f4+ Ke4 59. Kg5 $11 {but looks even more dangerous for Bl}) 58... Ne3+ 59. Kg5 Nd5 60. Kg6 Rb7 61. h7 Nf4+ 62. Kh6 {Normal, Bl esigned but actually a draw is still there, KomodoDragon2 & Stockfish14 give} (62. Kh6 Rb8 63. Ra5+ Kd6 $11 {but simpler seems}) (62. Kh6 Rxh7+ 63. Kxh7 Nh3 64. Kg6 Kf4 65. Rxa7 Kxf3 {and it should be a draw, as the Bl K is not in a corner, nor seperated from his N}) 1-0 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.16"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Francis, Matthew"] [Black "Waterfield, John"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B34"] [WhiteElo "1648"] [BlackElo "2078"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "99"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,99,39,48,97,77,93,49,120,62,97,50,77,52,45,50,51,-9,-11,-12,-17,-26, -23,-32,-32,-32,17,-19,-4,-172,-74,-79,-30,-22,-18,-2,-81,-114,-96,-94,-94,-90, 136,-134,-132,-176,-154,-262,-133,-133,-98,-68,-59,-96,-100,-100,91,19,130,134, 142,146,144,151,134,157,155,149,162,171,172,-396,-401,-398,-404,-409,-386,-384, -341,-342,-342,-343,-337,-383,-343,-390,-474,-696,-1176,-1252,-1174,-1282, -1292,-1292,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0]} 1. e4 g6 2. d4 (2. d3 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3 e5 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Nge2 c6 8. O-O Be6 9. h3 h5 {Francis-Waterfield, Dyfed Open 2016,1-0}) 2... Bg7 3. Nf3 c5 {The Sniper} (3... d6 4. Bc4 c6 5. O-O Nf6 6. Qe2 O-O 7. e5 {Francis-Pleasants, WCU Online 3 rd1, 2021,0-1}) 4. Bc4 (4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Be3 {leads to a standard Dragon var}) (4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 d5 {to a Gurgenidze Caro-Kann}) (4. dxc5 Qa5+ 5. Nc3 (5. c3 Qxc5 6. Be3 Qc7 {main}) (5. Bd2 Qxc5 6. Bc3 Nf6 7. Bd4 Qc7 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. Nd5 { Villiers-Waterfield, BCF, Llandudno 2017,1-0}) 5... Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qxc3+ 7. Bd2 Qxc5 8. Bd3 {53% for Wh}) 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 (5... Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. O-O Nxe4 8. Qd3 Nxc3 9. bxc3 d5 {Poves-Waterfield, 4NCL 2019,0-1}) 6. Nxc6 (6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 {is an Accelerated Dragon, with some 27,000 games}) 6... bxc6 7. O-O d6 8. Qf3 (8. Nc3) 8... Nf6 9. Nc3 (9. e5 dxe5 10. Qxc6+ Bd7 {2-3-6}) 9... O-O 10. Bg5 Qa5 {1-3} (10... Bg4 {1-1-4}) 11. Qe3 $146 (11. Qg3 $11 {Cloud Engines, 1-1}) (11. Bxf6) (11. h4) 11... Rb8 (11... Ng4 12. Qd2 Re8 13. Bb3 Rb8 14. Rad1 Ne5 $15 {KomodoDragon2}) 12. Bb3 Ba6 13. Rfe1 Rb7 14. Ne2 $2 (14. Rad1 $11) 14... Ng4 (14... Nxe4 $19) 15. Qf4 Ne5 (15... Bxb2 16. Rab1 Bf6 17. Bxf6 Nxf6 $17 {KomodoDragon2}) 16. Qh4 Qc7 (16... c5 17. Bd5 Rxb2 $17 {KomodoDragon2}) 17. f4 Nc4 18. f5 $14 Bxb2 19. fxg6 (19. Rad1 Na5 20. Kh1 Nxb3 21. axb3 Bxe2 22. Rxe2 f6 23. Bh6 Rd8 24. Re3 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 19... hxg6 20. Rad1 Be5 ( 20... Na5 $11) 21. Bh6 (21. Rd3 $16 {KomodoDragon2}) 21... Rd8 (21... Bg7 $15) 22. Qg4 (22. Bg5 Kg7 23. Bh6+ Kg8 24. Bg5 {repetition- KomodoDragon2}) 22... d5 23. h4 Qb6+ (23... Qd7) 24. Kh1 Ne3 25. Bxe3 Qxe3 26. exd5 (26. h5 $5 Kg7 $17 { KomodoDragon2}) 26... cxd5 (26... c5) 27. Bxd5 Kg7 (27... Rb6 28. c4 Bc8 29. Qf3 Qxf3 30. Bxf3 Rxd1 31. Rxd1 Be6 $19 {KomodoDragon2- the Wh pawns easy targets}) 28. Ng1 (28. Nd4 $1 $18 {exploits the Q position} Qxe1+ (28... Qf4 29. Qxf4 Bxf4 30. Bxb7 Bxb7 31. Ne6+ fxe6 32. Rxd8 $18) 29. Rxe1 Rxd5 30. Nf5+ Kh8 31. Qf3 Rdb5 32. Nh6 Rb1 33. Nxf7+ Kg7 34. Qf2 Bf6 35. Nd8 $18 { KomodoDragon2, though the position remains tricky to play for both sides}) 28... Qg3 $2 (28... Qc3 29. Bxb7 Rxd1 30. Qxd1 Bxb7 31. Nf3 Bf6 $11 {as Tarrasch maintained years ago, 2 Bs are often the equal over the less coordinated R & N}) 29. Qxg3 Bxg3 30. Bxb7 Bxb7 (30... Rxd1 {as advocated by lichess is a little better} 31. Rxd1 Bxb7 32. Rd7 Be4 33. Rxe7 Bxc2 34. Rxa7 Bxh4 {KomodoDragon2, but the a pawn should provide a Wh win in the end}) 31. Rxd8 Bxe1 32. Rd7 Bc6 33. Rxe7 Bxh4 34. Rxa7 Bf2 35. Nh3 $2 (35. Rc7 $18) 35... Bxa7 $132 {and the cry of anguish could be heard across Aberystwyth} 36. Nf4 Kf6 (36... g5) 37. Nd3 Be4 38. Kh2 Bxd3 39. cxd3 Ke5 40. Kg3 f5 41. Kh4 Be3 ( 41... Kf4 $1 $18 {is the clearest}) 42. a4 Kd4 {Bl does not need this pawn, as the B stops both d pawn and a pawn} (42... Kf4 $1 {gets a pawn though}) 43. a5 Kxd3 44. a6 g5+ (44... Ke2 45. Kh3 g5 46. Kh2 Kf2 {will soon force a pawn through}) 45. Kg3 (45. Kh5 {lasts longer, but no need for lichess to label the text move as a blunder}) 45... Kc4 (45... Ke2 46. Kh2 Kf2 47. Kh1 Ba7 48. Kh2 Bb8+ 49. Kh1 g4 {is the exact Engine line}) 46. Kf3 f4 $2 {Bl should refrain from pawn moves, until the K position is maximised and it is clear which one needs to move first} 47. g3 $11 Kb5 48. a7 Bxa7 49. gxf4 gxf4 50. Kxf4 $11 { Normal, the reaction from Somerset is unknown.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "WCU Online Open3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.15"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Hughes, Anthony"] [Black "Holman, Sam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A25"] [WhiteElo "1942"] [BlackElo "1386"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,57,16,-12,-20,-8,-10,-32,16,-6,4,0,33,-34,-30,-11,18,27,41,59,49,20, 22,43,46,33,19,21,61,32,184,222,222,297,262,355,406,406,508,510,599,616,635, 507,485,513,647,502,732,724,730,701,1030,1376,1391,1186,1457,1223,29999,-30000] } 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 f5 (3... g6 {main}) 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d3 h6 (5... Bb4) (5... Bc5 {main lines}) 6. e4 (6. e3 d6 7. Nge2 g5 8. Nd5 (8. h4 {1-2-1}) 8... Bg7 9. Nec3 O-O {Szymanski-Van Kemenade, 4NCL 2019,0-1}) 6... d6 (6... g6 7. exf5 gxf5 8. Nd5 Bg7 9. Nxf6+ Qxf6 10. Qh5+ (10. Bd5 Nd4 11. Be3 c6 12. Bxd4 cxd5 13. Qe2 O-O 14. Bc3 d4 15. Bb4 Re8 {Hughes-Van Kemenade, WCU blitz ch online ,2020,0-1}) 10... Qf7 11. Qxf7+ Kxf7 {Gibson-Van Kemenade, Wld ch Seniors, Prague 2020, 1/2-1/2}) 7. Nge2 g5 {may be a little risky if Wh has not yet 0-0} (7... g6 {Heap-Van Kemenade, Dyfed Closed 2014, 0-1; Dyfed Closed 2016,1/2-1/2}) 8. h4 Rg8 (8... g4 9. Be3 Bg7 10. Qd2 Qd7 11. Nd5 Qf7 12. Nec3 Nd4 {Kutsanyan (2272)-Sabirov (1948), Moscow open 2019,0-1}) 9. hxg5 hxg5 10. Nd5 (10. exf5 Bxf5 11. Qb3 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 10... f4 11. Bd2 Be6 (11... Bg7 ) 12. Qb3 Rb8 13. O-O-O {looks a little dangerous as Bl has chances of opening up the Q side, but it seems Wh has enough control over the centre} a6 14. d4 Bg7 {missing the Wh threat} (14... Ng4 {looks promising but Wh makes use of superior delopment} 15. Bh3 (15. Rh7 Rg7 16. Rh8 {also promising}) 15... Bxd5 16. cxd5 Nxf2 17. dxc6 Rg7 18. cxb7 Nxh3 19. Rxh3 c5 20. dxe5 Rgxb7 21. Qg8 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 15. Nxf6+ Qxf6 16. d5 $18 f3 17. Qxf3 Rf8 18. Qxf6 Bxf6 (18... Rxf6 $5) 19. dxe6 Nd4 (19... Nd8 $5) 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. f4 (21. Rh7) 21... gxf4 22. gxf4 Ke7 23. f5 (23. Rh7+) 23... b5 24. Rh7+ Ke8 25. Rxc7 (25. e5 $1) 25... d3 26. e5 Bxe5 27. Bc6+ Kd8 28. Ba5 Bd4 29. e7# {Normal} 1-0 [Event "WCU Online U1800 3"] [Site "lichess.org"] [Date "2021.12.16"] [Round "6.4"] [White "Gunn, Tom"] [Black "Szakmany, Bence"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E11"] [WhiteElo "1398"] [BlackElo "1631"] [Annotator "kemen"] [PlyCount "145"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [TimeControl "2700+15"] {[%evp 0,145,15,41,12,-25,-17,4,12,12,33,21,19,36,34,36,20,22,22,23,17,19,26,7, 25,23,26,29,33,13,33,33,32,10,62,-31,24,46,51,52,33,26,72,18,295,261,285,239, 229,229,219,220,220,216,219,220,217,202,193,213,211,198,208,185,197,197,202, 170,238,235,200,196,197,184,184,191,194,179,183,165,181,183,224,246,228,188, 192,180,191,147,190,176,163,170,186,180,166,194,181,228,227,181,175,181,220, 154,173,143,214,244,197,160,173,199,198,213,264,215,260,205,194,196,206,223, 293,295,300,292,300,313,350,285,541,616,626,633,667,677,687,687,1774,541,533, 962,1244,1282,1312,1312]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 (3. Nc3 Bb4 {previous games by Bl, 2-1-1}) 3... d5 (3... c5 4. d5 b5 {Gunn-MacDonald, WCU Online Open 2, 2021,0-1}) 4. Nc3 Bb4 (4... c6 5. e3 {Gunn-Boyd, WCU Online Open2, 2021,0-1}) (4... Be7 5. e3 {Gunn-Miga, WCU Online Open 2, 02021,0-1}) 5. Bd2 ( 5. Bg5) (5. cxd5) 5... O-O 6. e3 a5 (6... b6) (6... c5 {main lines}) 7. Bd3 (7. cxd5 exd5 8. Bd3 b6 {Firouzja-Carlsen, lichess bullet feb 2021,0-1}) 7... dxc4 (7... b6 {main}) 8. Bxc4 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. a3 (10. Qe2 {GM line, 1-5-1}) 10... Be7 (10... Bxc3 {2 draws}) 11. Re1 $146 (11. Qe2 $11 {Cloud Engines ; 0-1}) ( 11. Rc1 {1-0}) 11... Ne4 (11... c5 $11 {KomodoDragon2}) 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. Rc1 c6 14. Be2 Nd7 15. Bc3 Nf6 16. h3 (16. Ne5 $14 {KomodoDragon2}) 16... b5 $6 { creates a potential weakness on the c file} (16... Bd5 $11) 17. Nd2 (17. Ne5) 17... b4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. axb4 axb4 20. Bd2 $11 Ra2 21. Qc2 (21. Qb3) 21... c5 $2 {the wrong order} (21... Nxd2 22. Qxd2 c5 $11 {Cloud Engines}) 22. Qxe4 $18 Rxb2 23. Rc2 (23. Red1) 23... Rxc2 24. Qxc2 cxd4 25. exd4 (25. e4 $5) 25... Qxd4 26. Be3 Qd7 {Bl has 2 pawns for the piece, but they are static. On the other hand there are few weaknesses for Wh to attack , other than the b4 pawn} 27. Rd1 Qb7 28. Rb1 Rc8 29. Qb3 Rd8 30. Bf3 Qa6 31. Qc2 (31. g3 {secures Wh's K side}) 31... Qb5 32. Be2 Qe5 33. Qb2 Qb8 34. Bd2 Qc7 35. g3 Bc5 36. Kg2 Qb6 37. Be1 h6 38. Qc2 Be7 39. Qe4 Rd4 40. Qc2 Bf6 41. Qa4 Be7 42. Ra1 Bf8 43. Qa5 Qd6 44. Rb1 g6 45. Bf3 e5 46. Qa2 (46. Qa8 $5) 46... e4 47. Be2 h5 48. h4 Qc6 49. Kg1 {none of this is at all clear as to how Wh can make use of his piece ahead} Qd7 (49... e3 $5 {KomodoDragon2}) 50. Qb3 Bc5 51. Qc2 Qf5 52. Rc1 Rd5 53. Kg2 g5 {but any pawn advances on the King's wing should make it easier for Wh to find a way in.Bl looks best just sitting tight.} 54. hxg5 Qxg5 55. Rd1 ( 55. Qxe4 {should work out well for Wh according to the Engines} Qxc1 56. Qxd5 Qxe1 57. Qg5+ Kh8 (57... Kf8 58. Qxc5+) 58. Qxh5+ Kg8 59. Qg5+ Kh8 60. Qxc5 Qxe2 61. Qf8+ Kh7 62. Qxf7+ Kh6 63. Qf4+ Kh5 64. Qxb4 {and the two connected pawns should win- mate in 38 with best play}) 55... Rxd1 56. Bxd1 Qd5 57. Qd2 Qe5 58. Qh6 e3 59. Qxh5 (59. Bc2 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) (59. f4 Qe4+ 60. Kh2 e2 61. Qg5+ Kh8 62. Bb3 Bg1+ 63. Kxg1 Qe3+ 64. Kh2 Qxb3 65. Qxh5+ Kg7 66. Qxe2 $18 {KomodoDragon2}) 59... Qxh5 60. Bxh5 exf2 61. Bxf2 {with the exchange of Qs the game has clarified- Wh needs to safeguard his remaing pawn, while ganging up on the b4 pawn.} Bd6 62. Bd4 Kf8 63. Bd1 Ke7 64. g4 Ke6 65. Kf3 {bringing the K up in an endgame is usually an excellent idea} (65. Bc2 {putting the B on f5 & keeping the Bl's f pawn under restraint, looks a winning plan- Rudy}) 65... f5 66. Bb3+ Ke7 67. gxf5 {natural} (67. g5 {is an Engine preference}) 67... Kf8 68. Ke4 Ke8 69. Kd5 Ke7 70. Bc5 {mate in 12, but simplifies drastically} (70. f6+ {mate in 11 , Lomonosov}) (70. Kc6 {mate in 9, Lomonosov} ) 70... Bxc5 71. Kxc5 Kf6 72. Bc2 b3 73. Bb1 {Normal} 1-0