Auld Enemy

Our second match in the new Dyfed League was played against Cardigan at the familiar venue of the Emlyn Cafe, Tanygroes, on Tuesday 31st January. There were some new players involved but the rivalry between the two clubs and the setting in which it's played out remains the same. On top board, Murray Smith had a cagey draw in the Queen's Indian with Howard Williams; the tension dissipated early, leaving a level ending. Peter Windows's Sicilian against Ben Brewer was complex and double-edged; in the end, with both players short of time, White's kingside attack prevailed. Sam Holman dominated the game in a Ruy Lopez against Andre Benn; White's space advantage soon led to both material gains and a crushing attack. Samuel Raybone got back on terms in a Caro-Kann against Awne Osinga after dropping a piece early on, only to succumb in a difficult rook and pawn ending. A close match ended in a 2½-1½ wind for Cardigan.

Meanwhile we have held their first AGM of the new era. We have elected the following officers: Matthew Francis (Chair); Samuel Raybone (Secretary); Peter Windows (Treasurer); Murray Smith / Luis Sanchez (Joint Team Captains). We are currently holding our club nights upstairs at The Scholars pub in Aberystwyth on Tuesdays from 6.30 onwards (all welcome).

[Event "Dyfed League"] [Site "?"] [Date "2023.01.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Smith, Murray"] [Black "Williams, Howard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "2200"] [BlackElo "2340"] [PlyCount "50"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.02.08"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 {Queen's Indian Defence.} 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Qc2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Na6 11. Rac1 c5 12. Rfd1 Qd7 13. Bf4 c4 {Black's light-squared bishop is looking bad.} 14. Ne5 $16 Qc8 15. e4 (15. Qa4 Nc7 16. b3 Bd6 17. bxc4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qe6 $16) 15... Nb4 $14 16. Qe2 Qe6 17. a3 (17. exd5 Nfxd5 18. Qxc4 Nxc3 19. Rxc3 Bd5 20. Qb5 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Nd5 (21... Nxa2 22. Rc6 $16) 22. Rf3 $14) 17... Nd3 18. Nxd3 cxd3 19. Qxd3 dxe4 20. Qe2 Nd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Re1 f5 $11 23. f3 {Or White's light-squared bishop has no future.} Bf6 24. fxe4 Bxd4+ 25. Be3 Bxe3+ {Draw agreed. After the bishops come off, White can cling on to the isolated d-pawn or use the time Black takes to capture it to create threats elsewhere on the board.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dyfed League"] [Site "?"] [Date "2023.01.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Smith, Murray"] [Black "Williams, Howard"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E16"] [WhiteElo "2200"] [BlackElo "2340"] [PlyCount "50"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.02.08"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 {Queen's Indian Defence.} 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Qc2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Na6 11. Rac1 c5 12. Rfd1 Qd7 13. Bf4 c4 {Black's light-squared bishop is looking bad.} 14. Ne5 $16 Qc8 15. e4 (15. Qa4 Nc7 16. b3 Bd6 17. bxc4 dxc4 18. Qxc4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qe6 $16) 15... Nb4 $14 16. Qe2 Qe6 17. a3 (17. exd5 Nfxd5 18. Qxc4 Nxc3 19. Rxc3 Bd5 20. Qb5 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Nd5 (21... Nxa2 22. Rc6 $16) 22. Rf3 $14) 17... Nd3 18. Nxd3 cxd3 19. Qxd3 dxe4 20. Qe2 Nd5 21. Nxd5 Bxd5 22. Re1 f5 $11 23. f3 {Or White's light-squared bishop has no future.} Bf6 24. fxe4 Bxd4+ 25. Be3 Bxe3+ {Draw agreed. After the bishops come off, White can cling on to the isolated d-pawn or use the time Black takes to capture it to create threats elsewhere on the board.} 1/2-1/2 [Event "Dyfed League"] [Site "?"] [Date "2023.01.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Brewer, B.."] [Black "Windows, P.."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B21"] [WhiteElo "1679"] [BlackElo "1700"] [PlyCount "85"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.02.08"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {A fairly well-known anti-Sicilian line that doesn't seem to have a name.} g6 ({Avoiding the double-edged line with} 3... Nd4 $5) 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. f4 Nf6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. O-O Ne8 9. e5 Nc7 10. Qe1 b6 {Defending the pawn on c5, which is often a target.} 11. Ne4 Ne6 12. Be3 Nd4 13. Qd2 f6 14. Bxd4 cxd4 {Black has got rid of his doubled pawns and has the two bishops.} 15. a4 a5 16. Rae1 c5 17. Ng3 Qe8 18. b3 Qc6 19. Rf2 Be6 20. Qe2 Rae8 {"Put your rook on the line of the queen / No matter how many pieces intervene."} 21. Ne4 Bd5 22. Ned2 Bh6 {Black's bishops can't find much to do in the closed position.} 23. Nh4 Qd7 24. Ne4 $2 Bxe4 (24... fxe5 $1 25. fxe5 $2 Be3) 25. dxe4 Qc7 $2 (25... fxe5 $1) 26. Qg4 Qc8 (26... fxe5 27. f5 Be3 28. Nxg6 Bxf2+ 29. Kxf2 hxg6 30. Qxg6+ Kh8 31. Qh5+ {draws.}) 27. e6 f5 $2 (27... c4 28. f5 g5 {holds the king's position together.}) 28. Qe2 $2 (28. exf5 { and White's attack looks crushing.}) 28... Rf6 (28... Qxe6 29. exf5 Qxe2 { and Black's fine.}) 29. g4 (29. exf5 $1 gxf5 30. Nxf5 Rxf5 31. Qg4+) 29... Bg7 (29... fxg4 {Peter.} 30. Qxg4 Kh8 31. e5 Rxe6 $16) 30. gxf5 gxf5 31. Rg2 Kh8 32. Nf3 (32. exf5 $1 $16) 32... Rg8 (32... Bh6 33. exf5 Bxf4 34. Qe4 Qb8 35. Kh1 Ref8 $11) 33. Ng5 h6 34. Nf7+ Kh7 35. Kh1 Qc6 (35... Qxe6 $1 {forces the knight away and Black holds.}) 36. Qh5 Qa8 37. h3 Bf8 38. Ng5+ Kh8 39. Kh2 { Preparing to double rooks without having to worry about the pin on the long diagonal.} Qe8 40. Nf7+ Kh7 41. Reg1 Rgg6 (41... Rxg2+ 42. Rxg2 Qa8 43. Ng5+ Kh8 44. e5 $18) 42. Rxg6 Bg7 43. Rxh6+ {and Black resigns. White will win the queen next move with Ng5+.} 1-0 [Event "Dyfed LEague"] [Site "?"] [Date "2023.01.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Holman, S.."] [Black "Benn, A.."] [Result "*"] [ECO "C60"] [WhiteElo "1386"] [PlyCount "77"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.02.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Qf6 $6 {A very unorthodox defence to the Ruy Lopez, presumably to defend the e5 pawn. Booked-up players know that there's no danger since Black can regain it with Qd4 after the exchange and capture.} 4. Nc3 a6 5. Ba4 Bc5 6. O-O (6. Nd5 $1 {forces the queen back, giving White a dominant position.}) 6... Nge7 7. d3 h6 8. Nd5 {Now the knight can be taken.} Nxd5 9. exd5 Ne7 10. Re1 Bd6 {The bishop looks awkward here.} 11. c4 c6 12. dxc6 bxc6 (12... dxc6 {is the more natural recapture, letting the light-squared bishop out. Black's development is slow.}) 13. Rb1 O-O 14. Bc2 Ng6 15. b4 Bb7 16. c5 {The light-squared bishop isn't coming out that way.} Bc7 17. Bb2 Qf4 (17... d5 $1 $14 {The queen isn't in immediate danger.}) 18. Re4 $16 Qf5 19. d4 $1 {White's position is looking formidable, and the Black queen is still a target.} exd4 (19... Qe6 {was necessary, abandoning the pawn and the centre to keep the king and queen relatively safe. Black's position is still horrible, though.}) 20. Qxd4 f6 21. Re2 Qh5 22. Qd3 f5 23. Qxd7 Be5 24. Bxe5 Nxe5 25. Rxe5 {White has won a piece, and the attack continues.} Bc8 26. Qc7 {Ignoring the free pawn to line up a battery against the king.} Kh8 27. Re7 Qg6 28. Ne5 Qf6 29. Rb3 Be6 30. Rg3 Rg8 31. h3 {A precaution. White has plenty of time.} Raf8 32. Ng6+ Kh7 33. Nxf8+ Qxf8 34. Rxe6 Kh8 35. Bxf5 {Not sure I see the point of this but White can afford the material.} Qxf5 36. Qxc6 Rf8 ( 36... Qf4 {Defending the h6 pawn.}) 37. Rxh6+ gxh6 38. Qxh6+ Qh7 39. Qxf8+ { and Black resigns.} * [Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "2023.01.31"] [Round "?"] [White "Osinga, A.."] [Black "Raybone, S.."] [Result "*"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteElo "1343"] [BlackElo "1100"] [PlyCount "105"] [SourceVersionDate "2023.02.10"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 {The exchange variation of the Caro-Kann. } Nc6 5. c3 Bg4 6. Be2 Nf6 7. h3 Bh5 8. O-O e6 9. Bf4 Bd6 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 $11 11. Nbd2 Qc7 12. Ne5 Bxe2 13. Qxe2 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7 15. f4 Qb6+ 16. Kh2 O-O (16... Qxb2 17. Rab1 Qxc3 18. Rxb7 Qc6 19. Rfb1 O-O $15 {but Samuel understandably prefers to finish his development.}) 17. b3 f6 18. c4 Rae8 19. Nf3 dxc4 20. Qxc4 Rc8 21. Qd3 f5 $4 22. Qxd7 Rfd8 (22... Rcd8 23. Qe7 Rde8 24. Qh4 h6 25. Qe1 Qc7 26. Kg3 Rc8 27. Rf2) 23. Qe7 Re8 24. Qh4 h6 25. Qe1 Rc2 26. Kg3 Rec8 27. Rf2 Qa6 28. Rxc2 Rxc2 29. a4 Qd3 30. b4 g5 31. Kh2 $4 {Giving the material back.} (31. fxg5 hxg5 32. Qd1) 31... Qxf3 32. Qg3 Qxf4 33. Qxf4 gxf4 {Now it's rook ending, where Black seems to have the advantage.} 34. Kg1 Re2 35. Rc1 b6 { Looks a bit slow.} (35... Rxe5 36. Rc8+ Kf7 37. Rc7+ Kf6 38. Rxb7 a5 {and Black is more active than in the game..}) 36. Rc8+ Kf7 37. Rc7+ Kg6 38. Rxa7 Rxe5 39. Rb7 Re1+ 40. Kf2 Ra1 41. Rxb6 Rxa4 42. Rxe6+ Kf7 $2 (42... Kg5 $1 { The king must go forward.}) 43. Rb6 Ra2+ 44. Kf3 Ra3+ $2 {Instead, Black invites the enemy king to advance. The rook on the second rank was threatening the g2 pawn, but now it's doing nothing.} (44... Rb2) 45. Kxf4 Ra2 46. Kxf5 Rxg2 47. Rb7+ Kf8 48. Kf6 Re2 $2 (48... Rf2+ 49. Kg6 Rg2+ 50. Kh5 {and Black is still in the game.} (50. Kxh6 Rh2 $11)) 49. Rb8+ Re8 50. Rxe8+ Kxe8 51. Kg6 h5 52. Kxh5 Kd7 53. Kg6 {and Black resigns.} * /