[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.04.23"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Patrick, D."]
[Black "Parsons, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B27"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Courier 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 c5 4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 d5 6. e5 Nh6 7. h3 O-O 8. Nc3
Nc6 9. Qb3 Nf5 10. Be3 Nxe3 11. fxe3 Be6 12. Ng5 Bh6 13. h4 Na5 14. Qb4 Bg4 15.
Be2 Bxe2 16. Kxe2 Rc8 17. Rac1 a6 18. e6 Bxg5 19. exf7+ Rxf7 20. hxg5 Rc4 21.
Qa3 b5 22. b4 Nc6 23. Qxa6 Qd7 24. Kd2 Rf2+ 25. Ne2 Qg4 26. Rhe1 Nxd4 27. Qa8+
Kg7 28. Rxc4 Rxe2+ 29. Rxe2 Qxe2+ 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.11.28"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Broadbent, R."]
[Black "Ursal, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B50"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2011.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2011.11.29"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 e6 6. Bb3 Be7 7. c3 b5 8. O-O
Qc7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 a5 11. Bc2 Bb7 12. Bf4 Nh5 13. Be3 Nf6 14. d4 cxd4 15.
cxd4 Nb4 16. Bd3 Bxe4 17. Bxe4 Nxe4 18. a3 Nd5 19. Qd3 Ndf6 20. Qxb5 Rab8 21.
Qe2 Qb7 22. Rab1 Rfc8 23. Qd3 Qb5 24. Qxb5 Rxb5 25. N1d2 Rc2 26. b4 Nc3 27. Ra1
axb4 28. axb4 Rxb4 29. Ra8+ Bf8 30. g3 Rcb2 31. Nf1 Rb8 32. Ra6 h6 33. Kg2 Ncd5
34. Bc1 Rc2 35. N1d2 Nb4 36. Ra3 Na2 37. Rb3 Rxb3 38. Nxb3 Rc3 39. Re3 Rc4 40.
Bd2 d5 41. Na5 Rc2 42. Rb3 Ne4 43. Be3 Nac3 44. Rb8 Nd1 45. Kh3 Ndxf2+ 46. Bxf2
Nxf2+ 47. Kh4 g6 48. Ne5 Rc7 49. Nb7 Kg7 50. Nd8 Be7# 0-1

[Event "Calderdale Individual Championship"]
[Site "Leeds"]
[Date "2011.12.12"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Sugden, D."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C06"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "68"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4
f6 9. Nf4 {My mobile Chessbase resource has nearly 1,200 games in it where
this line was played. There are still plenty of games in the critical lines
from 2011 so that suggests White still has some opportunities in this here.}
Nxd4 10. Qh5+ Ke7 11. exf6+ Nxf6 12. Ng6+ hxg6 13. Qxh8 Kf7 {There are still
just over 700 games in the base at this critical juncture. The mainline here 
(by about 40 games or so) is 14.Qh4.} 14. O-O {But, there are 300 or so games
where this move was played and again, many are from 2011 so White must be
finding some resources here.} e5 {This is the overwhelming choice in this
position. I found 4 games where Black had played} (14... Nh5 {Trying to trap
the queen but provided White now plays} 15. Nb3 $1 {it won't be possible
encarcerate her highness.} Nxb3 16. axb3 e5 17. Be3 Be6) 15. Nb3 {This the
mainline choice still with 163 games, 15.Nf3 was played 113 times and 15.Qh4
was played 40 times but with markedly less success than the two knight moves
which have both scored White 50%.} Nxb3 16. axb3 Bf5 {This seems very logical.
In an open position Black surely wants a pair of bishops off the board. This
is the overwhelming choice on Chessbase too with 91 examples. 16...e4 is the
next most popular with 14 games but the success rate of that move is only 35%.}
17. Bxf5 gxf5 18. Qh3 {After this move we finally start getting into smaller
numbers on the Chessbase file. The mainline here seems to be 18.Bg5 (78 moves)
with some 2011 examples. Interestingly though Dave's choice, whilst much less
popular (7 examples) has scored much better for White (64%).} g6 19. Bg5 Bc5 {
Here is the first deviation from the Chessbase file!} (19... d4 {was played in
Van den Brande vs. Groffen, Belgian Championships 2009. The game concluded with
} 20. Rfc1 Bg7 21. b4 Qd6 22. Qb3+ Kf8 23. Bxf6 Bxf6 24. Ra5 Rd8 25. Rxa7 Qb6
26. Ra5 Bg5 27. Rca1 e4 28. g4 d3 29. Rd5 Bh4 30. Rxd8+ Qxd8 31. Qe6 d2 32. Rd1
Bxf2+ 33. Kxf2 Qd4+ 34. Kg2 e3 35. h3 f4 36. Qc8+ Kf7 37. Qxb7+ Ke6 38. Qc6+
Ke7 39. Qb7+ Ke6 40. Qa6+ Ke7 41. Qb7+ {and the game was drawn.}) 20. Bxf6 Qxf6
21. Rfd1 d4 22. Qd3 Kg7 23. Qb5 Bb6 24. Rac1 Rd8 25. Kh1 {I wondered if White
could try} (25. Rc8 $5 {with the idea that if} Rxc8 {then} 26. Qd7+ Qf7 27.
Qxc8 e4 {and White is still very much in the game.}) 25... e4 26. Qf1 Qd6 27.
f3 Rh8 28. f4 d3 29. g3 Qd5 30. Qg2 Rd8 31. h3 e3 32. Qxd5 Rxd5 33. Kg2 e2 34.
Re1 d2 0-1

[Event "Calderdale Individual Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.01.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Morgan, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B09"]
[WhiteElo "158"]
[BlackElo "173"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bc4 {All pretty main-line
so far; curious that Fritz 12's Openings Book gives this move a ? at the same
time as the engine gives it the highest score!} c6 ({Any of} 6... c5 7. dxc5
dxc5 8. Be3 Qb6) ({or} 6... Nc6 7. e5 Nh5 8. O-O $1 Bh6 {or 6...Nbd7, 6...Bg4
or 6...Bd7 appear more aggressive to me.}) 7. e5 {And we're out of Fritz's
book! As he's offering me space I felt I should take it.} Ne8 {Not in Fritz's
top three: Nd5, dxe5 and Nh5.} 8. Be3 {Fritz marginally prefers O-O but I
wanted to keep my castling options open.} b5 9. Bb3 {Fritz prefers Bd3 or Be2,
which seem like an admission that Bc4 was a mistake.} a5 10. a4 {I don't want
my bishop getting too much buried; plus I rather fancied counterattacking his
advanced pawns.} b4 11. Ne4 d5 12. Nc5 Na6 13. O-O {To retreat the knight or
not?} ({I gave some thought to} 13. Nd3 {as it's a good principle not to help
the player with less space by exchanging pieces. Why did I decide not to?
Chiefly, I felt it was time to tidy my king away.}) 13... Nxc5 14. dxc5 Ba6 15.
Re1 {Re1 or Rf2? I did consider that the latter would facilitate later
doubling my rooks, but I chose the former to over-protect my e pawn. As John
said afterwards, it kept him "honest" in the centre.} Qd7 16. Nd4 {Strongly
discouraging f6 or f5, when I've got Nxc6. I'm very happy if he plays e6,
somewhat blocking the centre, leaving me free to attack his b and a pawns.} ({
Fritz prefers} 16. Bd2 {though without any apparent intention of playing c3,
which seemed the obvious way to go, freeing my king's bishop and attacking his
pawns}) 16... Nc7 17. Bd2 {Preparing c3 and protecting e5, but leaving the
knight unprotected. If I'd played 15.Rf2 I could now have followed up with Qe1.
} Bc4 ({If he'd played} 17... Ne6 {I wonder whether I would have spotted} 18.
Qg4 Bc8 19. Nxe6 Qxe6 {and he's avoided the doubled e pawns..}) 18. c3 {Fritz
now considers Black as better, for quite a long time.} Bxb3 (18... bxc3 19.
Bxc3 Bxb3 20. Nxb3 Ne6 21. Nxa5 Nxf4 22. Nc4 Qf5 23. Nb6 {looks promising to
me; no, I didn't see this far ahead!}) 19. Qxb3 bxc3 20. Qxc3 {Protecting c5
but chiefly avoiding his Rfb8 gaining a tempo.} Ne6 {Now I saw an opportunity
to shut his bishop in, leaving me a piece up on the queen's side.} 21. Qh3 Rfd8
{OK, go for it.} ({I was so busy focussing on Nxd4 or Nxf4 that I didn't
notice that this} 21... Nxc5 {defends the queen! (blushes) Fortunately} 22.
Qxd7 Nxd7 23. Nxc6 {leaves me nicely ahead.}) 22. Nxe6 Qxe6 ({Why not} 22...
fxe6 {keeping the queens on? Especially if he can advance the d pawn without
losing it, d5 will be a wonderful square for his queen.}) 23. Qxe6 fxe6 24.
Reb1 {Preparing 25.b4 axb4 26.Rxb4 when the rook also guards f4 and my bishop
blocks his d pawn. John has other ideas!} g5 25. b4 {I felt it was important
to keep up my momentum.} gxf4 26. Bxf4 Rf8 ({I wonder whether} 26... axb4 {was
better? After} 27. Rxb4 Ra5 28. Rb6 {can I make headway?} Rxc5 29. a5 d4 30. a6
{Yes, it would appear so, though he wasn't forced to take this route.}) 27. g3
Rf5 (27... axb4 28. Rxb4 Ra5 29. Rb6 Rc8 30. Bd2 Bxe5 31. Bxa5 Bxa1 32. Bb4 {
is given as good for Black by Fritz, but my king can oppose his pawns and only
his rook can oppose mine.}) 28. b5 Bxe5 ({Fritz (and someone after the match)
suggests} 28... cxb5 29. axb5 {but those pawns look awfully dangerous to me.
Two pawns on the sixth against a rook? Almost!}) 29. Bxe5 Rxe5 30. b6 ({Fritz
prefers} 30. bxc6 {but I preferred my protected, passed, pawn. I couldn't and
still can't see any clever wins after} Rc8 31. Rb5 Rxc6 32. Rxa5 {does give me
two passed pawns, but they aren't connected and they are significantly further
back than b6.}) 30... d4 31. Rc1 {Here I should have liked my king's rook on
f2, when it could have gone to d2, c2 or b2 as required.} ({Fritz wants} 31.
Rd1 {OK, I didn't need to defend my c pawn: after} Rxc5 32. Rxd4 {he's lost
his advanced pawn and can't get behind my b pawn, but he isn't compelled to
take my c pawn. What about 31...Rd5 and advancing his e pawn?}) 31... d3 {
Tempting, but I think it's got too far advanced. Mind you, there are some
nasty traps, particularly if it gets to d2, even with my king close at hand.}
32. Ra2 Rd8 33. Rd2 {No further!} Red5 ({Perhaps} 33... Re4 {was better. I
think I should have played} 34. Rc3 {and we probably end up in the same place.}
) 34. Rc4 {Trying to cover everything, but my way forwards is to go for his d
pawn.} Rf8 35. Rc3 Rfd8 36. Kf2 Rf5+ {This just drives me where I want to go;
perhaps he should get his own king into play.} 37. Ke3 Re5+ 38. Kf4 Red5 39.
Ke4 {In the last few moves I've gained an advantage. My king is in play and
his is not and my b pawn is still there menacing him.} Rd4+ 40. Ke3 Rxa4 41.
Rb3 (41. Rcxd3 {is better:} Rxd3+ 42. Rxd3 Rb4 43. Rd4 Rb2 44. Rd7 Kf7 45. Rc7
Rxh2 46. Rxc6 Rb2 47. Rc7 a4 48. Ra7 Rb4 49. b7 {and a pawn is going to queen.}
) 41... e5 42. Rdxd3 {Time to take that pawn!} Rb8 43. Rd7 (43. Ra3 {is rated
much better by Fritz, but after, say} Rc4 44. Rxa5 Kf7 45. Rd7 Ke6 46. Raa7
Rxc5 47. Rxe7+ Kf6 48. Rf7+ Ke6 49. Rae7+ Kd6 50. b7 {I don't quite see how
White is going to queen that pawn. The difference is that now Black's king has
the better position.}) 43... Kf7 44. Rc7 Ke6 45. Rxc6+ ({Fritz suggests} 45. b7
Rb4 46. Rxb4 axb4 47. Ke4 Kf7 (47... b3 48. Rxc6+ Kd7 49. Rb6 Kc7 50. Rxb3 Rxb7
51. Rxb7+ Kxb7 52. Kxe5 {wins}) 48. Kd3 Ke6 49. Kc4 e4 50. Kxb4 e3 51. Kc3 Kd5
({But what about} 51... Rd8 52. Rxc6+ Kf7 53. Rb6 e2 54. Rb1 Rd1 55. Rxd1
exd1=Q 56. b8=Q {and I'm going to have a time of it, avoiding perpetual check.}
) 52. Rxe7 Kxc5 53. Rxh7 e2 54. Kd2 Re8 55. Ke1 Kd6 56. Rf7 {which should be
good enough.}) 45... Kd5 46. Rc7 Kc4 {John said afterwards he thought that
this is where he went wrong.} ({Fritz suggests} 46... Re4+ 47. Kd3 Rd4+ 48. Kc2
{but after, say} a4 49. Rc3 Re4 50. Kb2 Re2+ 51. Ka3 Rxh2 52. b7 Rh1 53. c6 {
and I think the pawns are unstoppable.}) 47. Rb1 Rb4 48. Rc1+ ({And now I
should have played} 48. Ra1 {e.g.} a4 49. Ke4 Kb5+ 50. Kxe5 Rb2 51. b7 Rxh2 52.
Rc8 Rxb7 53. Rb1+ Kc4 ({If} 53... Ka6 54. Ra8+ Ra7 55. Rb6+ Ka5 56. Rxa7#) 54.
Rxb7 {No, I didn't see all this, either!}) 48... Kb5 (48... Kd5 {was better; I
think I should have played} 49. Rd7+ Ke6 {and I'm not sure where next:} 50. Ra7
a4 51. Rc3 e4 {The possibilities are almost endless!}) 49. b7 {Now I don't
think he can stop my pawns.} a4 50. c6 a3 51. Rc8 a2 52. Rxb8 Rb1 {One last
chance: shall I take his rook?} 53. Ra8 {Not after all that effort! That has
to be one of the toughest, but also most satisfying games I have ever played;
who says endgames are dull! By highlighting all the missed opportunities, for
both players, analysis can somewhat take the gilt off the gingerbread.
Nevertheless, I have found it interesting; despite all the game's defects,
they can't take the result away from me!} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.04.02"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Whitehouse, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B43"]
[Annotator "Sykes, Nick"]
[PlyCount "129"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Brighouse"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 (6. Ndb5 Qc6 7. e5
Ne4 8. Nxe4 Qxe4+ 9. Qe2 Qb4+ 10. c3 Qa5 $16) 6... a6 7. O-O b5 8. Re1 b4 9.
Nce2 (9. e5 bxc3 10. exf6 gxf6 11. Rb1 $16) 9... Bb7 10. Ng3 Nc6 11. Nf3 Bc5
12. Be3 Bxe3 13. Rxe3 h5 $1 14. Nd2 $6 (14. h3 $11) 14... Ng4 15. Re1 h4 $2 (
15... Nxh2 $1 16. Nxh5 $17) 16. Qxg4 hxg3 17. Qxg3 Qxg3 18. hxg3 Ke7 19. f3 Rh6
20. Kf2 g5 21. Nb3 d6 22. a3 bxa3 23. Rxa3 Nb4 24. Na5 Nxd3+ 25. cxd3 Bc8 26.
Rc3 Bd7 27. Rc7 Rhh8 28. Rec1 Rhc8 29. Rxc8 (29. Nc6+ Ke8 30. Rh1 Rxc7 31. Rh8#
) 29... Rxc8 30. Rxc8 Bxc8 31. Ke3 e5 32. d4 Bd7 33. dxe5 dxe5 34. f4 gxf4+ 35.
gxf4 exf4+ 36. Kxf4 Kf6 37. g4 Be6 38. b4 Kg6 39. Nb7 Bc8 40. Nc5 f6 41. Na4
Bd7 42. Nb6 Be6 43. Nd5 Bd7 44. Ne7+ Kf7 45. Nf5 Kg6 46. Nh4+ Kf7 47. Nf3 Ke7
48. e5 fxe5+ 49. Nxe5 Be6 50. g5 Kd6 51. Ke4 $6 (51. g6 $1 Ke7 52. Kg5 Bg8 53.
g7 Ke6 54. Nc6 Kf7 55. Kh6 Ke6 56. Kg6 Kd7 57. Nb8+ Ke7 58. Nxa6 {wins for
White}) 51... Kc7 52. Kd4 (52. g6 $1) 52... Kb6 53. g6 Bg8 54. Nd7+ (54. Nf7
Kb5 55. Nh6 Bb3 56. g7 Kc6 57. Ke5 Kd7 58. Kf6 Ke8 59. Ng4 Bg8 60. Ne5 Kd8 61.
Nd3 Kd7 62. Nc5+ Kc6 63. Nxa6) 54... Kb5 55. Kc3 $2 {This thows it away, the
win is below, at this stage the wins involved long variations based on trying
to get the knight on the light squared diagonal to block the bishop} (55. Nf6
Bb3 56. Ke5 Kxb4 57. Kd6 Kc3 58. g7 Kd4 59. Ng4 Bg8 60. Ke7 a5 61. Kf8 Bd5 62.
Nh6 a4 63. Nf7 a3 64. g8=Q a2 65. Qg7+) 55... a5 56. bxa5 Kxa5 57. Kd4 Kb5 58.
Ke5 Kc6 59. Nf8 Kc7 60. Kf6 Kd6 61. g7 Kc7 $4 {This allows me to get the
knight on the light squared diagonal to block the bishop and queen the pawn} (
61... Bd5 $1 62. Ng6 Kd7 $11) 62. Ke7 Kc8 63. Ng6 Kc7 64. Kf8 Bc4 65. Nh8 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.01.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Webb, M."]
[Black "Mulleady, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B06"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.01.24"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 c5 4. Be3 cxd4 5. Bxd4 Bxd4 6. Qxd4 Nf6 7. Nd5 Nc6 8.
Nxf6+ exf6 9. Qd6 Qa5+ 10. c3 Qe5 11. Qxe5+ fxe5 12. O-O-O O-O 13. Bc4 Kg7 14.
g4 d5 15. exd5 Bxg4 16. dxc6 Bxd1 17. cxb7 Rab8 18. Kxd1 Rxb7 19. Kc2 f5 20.
Nf3 Kf6 21. Rd1 e4 22. Rd6+ Kg7 23. Nd4 Kh6 24. Bd5 Re7 25. Kd2 Kh5 26. c4 Kg4
27. c5 Rb8 28. Nc6 Rxb2+ 29. Kc3 Reb7 30. Ne5+ Kf4 31. Bxb7 Rxf2 32. Re6 Rxa2
33. c6 Ra5 34. Kd4 Ra1 35. c7 Rd1+ 36. Kc5 Rc1+ 37. Nc4 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.01.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Morgan, J."]
[Black "Leatherbarrow, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A39"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.01.26"]
[WhiteTeam "Courier 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8.
O-O a6 9. e3 e6 10. Qa4 Rb8 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. b3 Nxd4 13. exd4 d6 14. Ba3 Rd8 15.
c5 b5 16. Qb4 d5 17. Ne2 a5 18. Qe1 b4 19. Bc1 Qc6 20. Bf4 Rb7 21. Rac1 Re8 22.
Be5 Rd7 23. Nf4 Ba6 24. Bf1 Bxf1 25. Qxf1 Rb7 26. Nd3 Nd7 27. Bxg7 Kxg7 28. f4
Ra8 29. Ne5 Nxe5 30. fxe5 a4 31. Qf6+ Kg8 32. Rf1 axb3 33. axb3 Rc7 34. Ra1 Ra3
35. Qd8+ Kg7 36. Qf6+ Kg8 37. Qd8+ Kg7 38. Qd6 Qb7 39. Rxa3 bxa3 40. b4 Rd7 41.
Ra1 Qxb4 42. Rxa3 Rxd6 43. exd6 Qxa3 44. d7 Qa5 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.03.05"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Syrett, M."]
[Black "Oliver, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B08"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Huddersfield 'B'"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Bg5 b5 8. a3 h6
9. Bf4 Nh5 10. Be3 Nd7 11. Qd2 Kh7 12. Rad1 Bb7 13. Rfe1 a6 14. Qc1 Qc7 15. Nh4
Nhf6 16. f4 e5 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. f5 c5 19. Nd5 Nxd5 20. exd5 Qd6 21. Bd3 e4 22.
Bxe4 Kg8 23. Bxh6 Bd4+ 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Bxf8 Qxf8 26. Qg5 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.01.23"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Clegg, R."]
[Black "Sugden, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A58"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Courier 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. c4 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nf3 g6 7. g3 d6 8. Bg2
Bg7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Re1 Qb6 12. Rb1 Rfb8 13. b3 Ng4 14. Qc2 Nge5
15. Nd2 Qa5 16. Bb2 c4 17. h3 cxb3 18. Nxb3 Qc7 19. Ba1 Nb6 20. Qe4 Nbc4 21.
Rbc1 Rb4 22. Kh2 Rab8 23. Qc2 Na3 24. Qd1 Rc4 25. Nd2 Rc5 26. Nb3 Rc4 27. e3
Qb6 28. Bf1 Rcc8 29. Na4 Qa7 30. Bd4 Qa8 31. Rxc8+ Bxc8 32. Nb6 Qb7 33. Be2 Qc7
34. Nxc8 Rxc8 35. Qd2 Nac4 36. Qc3 Qb7 37. Rc1 Nb6 38. Qb4 Rxc1 39. Nxc1 Qc7
40. Qxb6 Qxc1 41. a4 Qc2 42. Qb5 Qf5 43. Kg2 Qe4+ 44. f3 Qc2 45. a5 Nd7 46.
Bxg7 Kxg7 47. a6 Qa2 48. Kf2 Nc5 49. e4 h5 50. e5 Qxd5 51. exd6 Ne4+ 52. fxe4
Qd4+ 53. Kf3 Qxd6 54. a7 Qa3+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.03.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kerrane, J."]
[Black "Milton, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E07"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'C'"]

1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. cxd5 exd5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. d4 c6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8.
O-O O-O 9. Bf4 Re8 10. Rc1 Ne4 11. Nxd5 Bd6 12. Bxd6 Nxd6 13. Nf4 Nf6 14. e3
Bg4 15. Qb3 Nfe4 16. Rfd1 Ng5 17. e4 Nxf3+ 18. Bxf3 Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Rxe4 20. d5
g5 21. dxc6 gxf4 22. cxb7 Rb8 23. Rxd6 Qe7 24. Rc8+ 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Shredder for iPad"]
[Date "2012.02.20"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Bamford, N."]
[Black "Sykes, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C61"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "71"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 $5 {Introducing the highly idiosyncratic Bird's
Variation. It is most unusual and a rather good way to throw a hardened
Spanish player off their game right from the earliest stages of the conflict -
especially if you are a fan of something a little bit offbeat. In my view this
was a great practical choice by Nick.} 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O {This move is the
predominent choice in opening praxis. White can go for more direct
alternatives but this isn't the kind of opening variation that can just be
knocked down with a neanderthal approach such as} (5. Qh5 c6 6. Be2 Nf6 {and
White has nothing meaningful to show for his early aggression.}) 5... Bc5 {The
other major alternative here seems to be 5...c6 although I've also seen the
VERY offbeat} (5... h5 $5 {before. In fact I believe Bird himself utilised it.
Black's idea is to prevent Qh5 and prepare for Bg4 at some point. Play can now
continue with} 6. c3 Bc5 7. cxd4 Bxd4 8. Nc3 c6 9. Bc4 Nf6 10. Ne2 Bb6 11. e5
d5 {with sharp play in a messy position.}) 6. d3 {A perfectly natural choice
although to an extent, by playing this move White has fallen in with Black's
plan here. The point behind Black's 5th move was to wait for White to
voluntarily cut off his king's bishops's retreat to the e2 square before
kicking it with c6. From a White perspective it seems sensible to get on with
development by allowing the queen's bishop out and vacating the d2 square for
the knight. There are of course a myriad of other tries but as an example of
how tricky it can be for White to develop naturally a continuation such as} (6.
c3 {Aiming directly to uproot the thorn in his flesh on d4.} c6 {Of course
Black isn't going to exchange on c3 and allow the knight to develop there!} 7.
Ba4 Ne7 8. d3 {or 8.b4 but it still isn't easy for White to get himself sorted.
}) 6... c6 7. Bc4 {After the alternative} (7. Ba4 {Black simply continues to
develop with} Ne7) 7... d5 8. exd5 cxd5 {It looks very anti-positional for
Black to go for a variation that has left him with doubled and isolated pawns
on the d-file. True enough but observe how difficult these little men make it
for White to complete his development naturally whilst Black has every
opportunity to organise his own troops actively.} 9. Re1+ Kf8 $5 {Ask any of
the engines what to do here and they'll tell you to play 9...Ne7 or 9...Be6.
There's nothing wrong with those but this move is more in the spirit and
character of the opening. Nick is envisaging playing f6 or h5 at some point in
order to allow his rook into the game so this sidestep isn't quite as crazy an
idea as it looks.} 10. Bb5 {It looks quite natural for Neil to play this move
as it comes with a threat - 11.Re8+. However, the threat is fairly easily
parried and the engines believe this bishop belongs on the a2-g8 diagonal in
the long term. For example} (10. Bb3 Nf6 11. h3 Kg8 {with approximately half a
pawn's advantage according to Fritz 11.}) 10... Ne7 11. Bg5 f6 {It is also
possible to play 11...h6 but that move gives White the option to exchange off
the Black knight and it isn't clear that he should be encouraging such a move
despite the fact that it leaves him in possession of a bishop pair.} 12. Qf3 $2
{An active move but it's a mistake because now Nick can win some material.
Instead White must take action to preserve his b-pawn with a contnuation like}
(12. Bd2 Qb6 13. Na3 a6 14. b4 Bd6 15. Ba4 {and we have an even, and very
messy, position.}) 12... Qb6 $1 13. c4 a6 $1 {Why would Black capture en
passant?} 14. Ba4 h6 {Fritz prefers 14...h5!? here.} 15. Bc1 {Neil's bishop is
forced to make an ignomineous retreat to hold the queen's side together. Next
his queen will make a similar concession.} Qb4 16. Qd1 dxc4 17. a3 $1 {This
smart intermezzo enables Neil to escape unscathed from his slightly
over-ambitious attempts to attack the Black king directly.} Qb6 18. Ra2 $2 {
But this is a crucial error that hands Nick a potentially winning advantage.}
Bf5 {This is good but even better according to the engines was} (18... cxd3 $1
{The true d-pawn, embarrassed by it's next door neighbours advanced postion on
his own file rectifys the anomaly by performing a nifty overtaking manouevre!
The point here being that 19.Qxd3 runs into Bf5 winning a piece.} 19. Nd2 Be6
20. Ra1 Rc8 {and now Fritz can find nothing better for White than} 21. b4 Bd6
22. Rxe6 Bxh2+ 23. Kxh2 Qxe6 {and Black has a small edge according to both of
my kibbitzing engines.}) 19. dxc4 $2 {Missing the point. Essential was} (19. b4
cxb3 20. Bxb3 Rc8 {and again Black maintains a small but comfortable advantage.
}) 19... Bxb1 20. Ra1 Bg6 {Nick misses an opportunity to cement his material
advantage by exchanging off some pieces via the clever continuation} (20... d3
$1 21. Be3 Bxe3 22. Rxe3 Nf5 $1 23. Re4 Bc2 24. Bxc2 dxc2 25. Qxc2 Rd8 {and
Black is a clean knight for a pawn up.}) 21. b4 $1 {Neil plays resourcefully
to maintain the equilibrium as best he can.} Bd6 22. c5 Bxh2+ 23. Kxh2 Qc7+ 24.
g3 $1 {This apparently essential defensive move contains a hefty drop of
poison.} Rd8 $2 {It's Nick's turn to miss the point. Unfortunatley on this
occasion, it's a decisive error. He had to pre-empt the cross fire of White's
bishop pair by playing} (24... Be8 25. Bxe8 Rxe8 26. Qxd4 Nc6 27. Rxe8+ Kxe8
28. Qg4 Kf7 {and with material parity restored it is White who now holds the
winning chances.}) 25. Bf4 {Having advanced prematurely and then retreated to
defend b2 the bishop now returns to the attack with decisive effect!} Qc8 26.
Bd6 {Nick can't defend or move the knight on e7 so now he is forced to give up
the exchange leaving Neil with a huge passed pawn on d6.} Rxd6 27. cxd6 Nc6 28.
Bxc6 Qxc6 29. Qxd4 {Neil's advantage is now both material and positional.
Nick's rook on h8 is now an embarrassment to him and the game doesn't last
much longer.} Be8 30. Rac1 Qb5 31. Qc5 Qxc5 32. Rxc5 Bc6 33. Re7 h5 34. a4 h4
35. b5 hxg3+ 36. Kxg3 {It's all over. A very interesting game played by both
players. Neil played resourcefully and Nick can only be happy with the status
of his opening experiment.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2011.09.19"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Wedge Roberts, M."]
[Black "Morgan, J."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B07"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2011.09.20"]
[SourceDate "2011.09.20"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge B"]
[BlackTeam "Courier A"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. Bd3 Qa5 6. f4 Bg7 7. h3 O-O 8. g4 e5
9. dxe5 dxe5 10. f5 Rd8 11. Qe2 b5 12. Bd2 b4 13. Nd1 Ba6 14. Nf3 Bxd3 15. cxd3
Qb5 16. Nf2 Na6 17. Be3 Nd7 18. O-O Ndc5 19. Rfd1 b3 20. a3 Rd7 21. Rac1 Rad8
22. Ne1 Na4 23. Rc4 Bf8 24. Rdc1 c5 25. Kh1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.04.30"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Somerset, W."]
[Black "Blinkhorn, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D08"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.05.03"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. a3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Nge7 6. b4 Ng6 7. Bb2 Be6 8. Nxd4
Be7 9. Nxc6 Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 bxc6 11. e3 O-O 12. Bd3 Rfd8 13. Ke2 Rd7 14. Rc1
Rad8 15. Be4 Bg5 16. Bxc6 Rd3 17. Ba4 Bg4+ 18. Ke1 Nh4 19. Bc2 Nxg2+ 20. Kf1
Nxe3+ 21. fxe3 Bh3+ 22. Ke1 Bh4+ 23. Ke2 Bg4+ 24. Kf1 Rxe3 25. Nc3 Rd2 26. Ne4
Ree2 27. Nxd2 Rf2+ 28. Kg1 Rxd2 29. Bc3 Re2 1-0

