[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.10.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Webb, M."]
[Black "Ursal, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B20"]
[WhiteElo "177"]
[BlackElo "184"]
[Annotator "Webb,Matthew D"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 {I have only played Darwin once before in a lightening game which I lost.
I was eagar to play a decent game this time around, irrespective of my lack of
preparation before the game.} c5 2. a3 $5 {I think this came as a surprise to
my opponent, I have however played this line many times in internationational
competition with a high level of success. It should be noted that playing this
type of openning you need to be able to calculate accurately.} e6 3. b4 cxb4 4.
axb4 Bxb4 5. Bb2 {I have played this exact line countless times. White
sacrifices a pawn for a development advantage which usually results in a quick
assault on the Black king. This is certainly one of the most enjoyable lines
in the a3 Sicilian.} Nf6 6. e5 Nd5 7. c4 Ne7 (7... Nb6 {this allows the shock
factor move:} 8. Ra3 $1 {sacrificing the exchange in order to dominate the
dark-squares. I have never lost from this position!}) 8. Qg4 {Not sure this is
the most accurate but seems logical if my plan is to attack on the king side.}
(8. Na3 Nbc6 9. Nb5 O-O 10. Nf3 {this allows the breaking move:} d5 11. exd6
Bxd6 12. Bd3 Bc5 13. Bc2 e5 14. O-O {with an interesting struggle (for both
sides) ahead.}) 8... Ng6 9. h4 h5 10. Qg3 (10. Qe4 {worth considering, I did
however want this square for my knight, Nc3-e4-d6 ideas.}) 10... Nc6 11. Bd3
Nce7 (11... Rh6 {The computer loves this move but you can see why Darwin
dismissed this rather un-natural looking move.}) 12. Nf3 (12. Ra4 {A move I
briefly considered in the game... it's hard to fully see its purpose of it in
the following line:} Bc5 13. Ba3 (13. Nf3 Nf5 14. Bxf5 exf5 15. Nc3 f4 16. Qg5
Be7 17. Qf5 d5 {is looking good for black.}) 13... Qc7 14. Bxc5 Qxc5 15. Nf3 b5
$1 16. Ra5 Nf5 17. Bxf5 exf5 18. O-O Qxc4) 12... d6 13. O-O (13. Bxg6 {is
better.} Nxg6 14. Bc3 $1 Qb6 15. Bxb4 Qxb4 16. Nc3 (16. O-O Qxc4 17. exd6 Qg4
18. Rc1 $1 Qxg3 19. fxg3 O-O 20. Na3 Bd7 21. Nc4 Bc6 22. Nfe5 Nxe5 23. Nxe5 {
is fine for white.}) 16... Qxc4 17. Ra4 Qc5 18. O-O) 13... dxe5 14. Bxg6 Nxg6
15. Nc3 $5 {I decided to go for broke here. I've sacrificed material in order
to create some play. It would be rather illogical to start chasing back my
pawns!} (15. Nxe5 {I considered this but missed the ideas with Na3.} Bd6 16. c5
Bb8 17. Na3 Qxh4 18. Nxg6 Qxg3 19. fxg3 fxg6 20. Nc4 Bxg3 21. Nb6 $1 Rb8 22.
Rxa7 {is messy but looks easier to play for white.}) 15... Be7 16. Ne4 Bxh4 $2
{white has the chance to prove his material sacrifices were worth while...} 17.
Nxh4 Qxh4 18. Nd6+ $1 Kf8 19. Ba3 $4 {Darwin rightly pointed out after the
game that this move is a big mistake, allowing black to simply step out of
danger leaving him two pawns up for very very little.} (19. Qe3 $1 {Is the
correct continuation. Not to rely too much on computer assessment here Deep
Rybka does evaluate this position as slightly better for white {amazingly !}
Qd8 20. Rxa7 Rxa7 21. Qxa7 Kg8 22. Qb8 Ne7 23. Bc3 f6 24. c5 h4 25. Rb1 {who
would you rather be?} Kh7 26. Nf7 Qd3 27. Rxb7 Nc6 28. Qa8 h3 29. Rc7 Qb1+ 30.
Kh2 hxg2 31. Kxg2 Qe4+ 32. f3 Qe2+ 33. Kg3 Qe1+ 34. Kg2 Qe2+ 35. Kg3 Qe1+ {is
one forced drawing line given. I saw most of this of course but was after more.
.. hahahaha}) 19... Kg8 20. Qb3 Nf4 {Darwin finishes off the game in style.}
21. g3 $2 Qh3 $1 22. Qf3 h4 23. Rfe1 hxg3 24. fxg3 Qh2+ 25. Kf1 Rh3 26. Qf2
Qh1+ 27. Qg1 Qf3+ {One important thing to remember when you play in this
manner is once you decided to 'go for it' you should never backtrack. You can
put a computer to a game like this and it will tell you you're virtually lost
the whole way through. You should remember your opponent is NOT perfect
calculating machine, you should try to line up as many problems and lines to
analyse as possible to allow them to go wrong! Unfortunately in this game my
own calculations were not as accurate as I feel they usually are. Darwin
understood the middle game dynamtics much more clearer than I did so the
result was more than justified.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.10.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Parsons, M."]
[Black "Somerset, W."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A48"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Be2 d6 6. O-O c5 7. c3 Qb6 8. Nbd2
cxd4 9. exd4 Be6 10. Ng5 Bf5 11. Nc4 Qd8 12. a4 h6 13. Nf3 Nd5 14. Bg3 Nc6 15.
Qb3 Rb8 16. Nxd6 Nxc3 17. bxc3 exd6 18. Qa3 Re8 19. Bb5 a6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21.
Bxd6 Rb7 22. Rfe1 {Unfortunately the rest of the scoresheet was not legible
and I had to give up here. If I can get a fresh copy of the whole thing I will
re-publish this database. Suffice to say that Matthew has succeeded in gaining
a pawn and seemed to be well on the way to converting his advantage until, in
an opposite bishops ending something went badly wrong and he ended up two
pawns down and defeated.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.10.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Bak, A."]
[Black "Velosa, C."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B00"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 b6 2. d4 Bb7 3. Nc3 e6 4. Bd3 Bb4 5. Nge2 Nf6 6. O-O d5 7. e5 Nfd7 8. Ng3
Ba6 9. Qg4 g6 10. Rd1 Be7 11. Nce2 c5 12. c3 Bxd3 13. Rxd3 Nc6 14. Qf4 Qc7 15.
Qe3 c4 16. Rd1 Na5 17. Qf3 Qd8 18. Nf1 Bg5 19. Ne3 O-O 20. Qg4 f5 21. Qf3 Qe7
22. g3 Rf7 23. Nxd5 exd5 24. Qxd5 Rd8 25. Bxg5 Qxg5 26. e6 Re7 27. exd7+ Kg7
28. Nf4 Qf6 29. Qf3 Rdxd7 {White has an extra and passed pawn and seems to be
very well placed to go for the full point. But hang on a moment...} 30. Nd5 $2
{Played to the sound effect of a sliding trombone and drum roll!} Qc6 {Ouch!
On such small matters do the course of matches turn.} 31. Re1 Rxe1+ 32. Rxe1
Qxd5 33. Re7+ Kf6 34. Qxd5 Rxd5 35. Rxa7 h5 36. b3 cxb3 37. axb3 Nxb3 38. Rc7
b5 39. Rc6+ Kg7 40. f4 Nd2 41. Kf2 Ne4+ 42. Ke3 Kf7 43. Kd3 Rd6 44. Rc7+ Ke6
45. Rg7 Kf6 46. Rc7 Ke6 47. Rg7 Kd5 48. Rc7 Rc6 49. Rd7+ Nd6 50. Rg7 Ne4 51.
Rd7+ Rd6 52. Rc7 Rc6 53. Rd7+ Rd6 54. Rc7 Ke6 55. Rg7 {This was the point at
which Andy calimed a draw by threefold repetition. In fairness Carlos was very
short of time and struggling to make progress and so maybe a draw was a fair
result after Andy's strong play early in the game.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.10.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Ibbitson, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C04"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 {I had expected the Guimard Variation from Tony.
He's been playing it for years. I only had the chance to have a fairly brief
look at some of the ideas over the weekend referring to my ever trusty tome on
the Tarrasch by Lev Psahkis. It hasn't let me down yet.} 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7
6. c3 $5 {This move order is unusual but not entirely illogical. Infact my
brief look at my opening book on the Tarrasch Variation recommended this move
order as a good one. Some of the alternatives include} (6. Bb5 a6 7. Bxc6 bxc6
8. Nb3 c5 9. Bg5 Be7 {Which is fine for White.}) (6. Bd3 $5 {is in interesting
idea which transposes back into something like a normal Tarrasch position after
} Nb4 7. Be2 c5 8. c3 Nc6 9. O-O Qb6 10. Nb3 a5 11. dxc5 Qc7 12. Bf4 Nxc5 13.
Nbd4 Bd7 14. Nb5 Qb6 15. Be3 Qd8 16. c4 dxc4 17. Bxc4 {with advantage to White
as given in my version of Chessbase.}) 6... f6 {This is the most common reply
in my Chessbase. Psahkis only gives the move 6...f5 in his book but many of
the positions in this variations transpose between one another and are fairly
similar. I felt I had a reaonable idea of what was going on.} 7. Bb5 {7.exf6
is the most common move here but Psahkis says he can't see why. He doesn't
believe that relieving the tension in the centre so early does White any
favours. I don't see any reason to disagree with him as opening up the centre
only helps Black to free his game. My game choice is the second most popular
choice in Chessbase.} Be7 {7... fxe5 is the most common move in the position.}
8. h4 $5 {Here is the first true departure from the opening book. Usually
White castles in this position. This pawn thrust may seem very bold or very
eccentric but it is fairly well motivated in fact. I recollected that Psahkis
had mentioned that White often played this move at some stage in this line
whether and that it was a useful attacking move. The ideas are simple:
developing my king's rook to g3 via h3 and then walking my king to g1 if
necessary. Alternatively castling kingside would not be bad either if Black
decided to do the same. However, the main purpose behind h4 was to strengthen
the g5 square in the event of Black capturing on e5. There was also the
possibility of advancing the pawn further if Black did go for short castling.}
a6 {Understandably Black wants to liquidate in the centre in order to free his
game. White is now forced to exchange on c6 or lose a pawn on e5.} 9. Bxc6 bxc6
10. Nb3 {At the time I was quite pleased with this move and my position here.
Now I'm not so sure. White is wanting to play Na4 at some point or if Black
plays c5 maybe exchange on f6 and then take twice on c5. One thing is for
certain the position is opening up and both sides must be ready for some sharp
play.} a5 $1 {Well played! Snuffing out White's queen's side play and pretty
much forcing a4 in reply. I'm not sure I'd have played Nb3 if I'd given
serious consideration to this reponse even though it is totally logical.} 11.
a4 c5 12. Be3 {I may as well at least finish my development now that the
knight is on b3.} c4 {Again logical. Black can play the c5 break again in a
moment so why not take a moment to gain space and drive the White knight
backwards?} 13. Nbd2 {13.Nc1 intending Ne2-f4 and threatening the Black e-pawn
was also worth considering and I did so. In the end though I decided to try
and free the e5 square for my king's knight so that I could then support it
with Ndf3.} c5 {Tony waste's no time and why should he? Black's positions is
unravelling nicely and the White pawn centre can't maintain it's form under
the bombardment.} 14. exf6 Bxf6 {I had something surprising planned in the
event of} (14... gxf6 {and now I thought} 15. Ne5 $5 {would be interesting.
But now} Nxe5 $1 {and not} (15... fxe5 $2 16. Qh5+ Kf8 17. Bh6+ Kg8 18. Rh3 {
is murderous.}) 16. dxe5 {and White can't capture on c5 after all so instead}
O-O 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Bg5 Rf7 19. Nf3 {Looks pretty even and very messy but
Black is doing pretty well here I think.}) 15. Ne5 {Not best as now Black does
serious structural damage to White's pawn centre and the game becomes very
unbalanaced.} (15. Ng5 {Might well be better.}) 15... cxd4 16. Nxd7 {Forced of
course.} Qxd7 17. cxd4 Ba6 {This looks nice as it seems to prevnt White from
getting his king to safety but even better was} (17... Rb8 $1 18. Ra2 O-O 19.
Nf3 {and it looks tricky for White to hold on. Black's two bishops are very
strong.}) 18. Nf3 Qc7 {Rb8 was still best.} 19. Rc1 Rc8 {Tony had overlooked
the point of my last move I think.} 20. O-O $1 {With this move White has
equalised again. The point of course is that 20...c3 is well met by 21.Rxc3
and then Re1.} Qb7 21. Rb1 {And now c3 runs into bxc3 winning a tempo to
secure the king's rook again.} Qc7 22. Re1 O-O {Having stabilised my position
I felt that I had the chance to struggle for the iniative. I couldn't decide
whether to put the knight or the bishop on g5.} 23. Ng5 {The wrong choice. It
would have been better to exchange off the bishops in order to clear the e5
square for my knight. Fritz suggests something like.} (23. Bg5 Rce8 24. Re3
Bxg5 25. hxg5 Rf4 26. Ne5 Ref8 27. g6 {and White definitely has a pull.
Black's bad bishop is still rather bad and White's knight is on a superb
outpost.}) 23... Bxg5 24. Bxg5 Qf7 {And now I got the jitters about my f2
square. I didn't fancy playing 25.f3 and 25.Qe2 would have been a mistake in
view of 25...c3 so, what to do?} 25. Be3 {This leads to a series of exchanges
and simplifications.} c3 26. bxc3 Rxc3 27. Qd2 Rfc8 {I think it was at this
point (certainly it was around about here) that Tony offered me a draw. Under
normal circumstance I think I would have been tempted to accept but with the
match situation in the balance I didn't know whether a half point would be
enough (as it turned out I was right) so I decided to play on even though I
sensed the position was about equal. In fact Fritz thinks White is slightly
better after the rooks come off.} 28. Rec1 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 30. Qxc1 {
White's edge is minimal and based solely on the fact that he has the
initiative and can create threats first. So often in queen endings the
intiative is vital.} Qd7 {By now we were both blitzing to get to time control
so it was really just a matter of trying not to blunder. Naturally the
computer finds the most accurate and thinks that 30...Bc4 immediately was
Black's best move.} 31. Qc2 {After some thought the computer assesses} (31. Qc5
{to be best but even here Black looks like he can defend with} Bb7 32. Qxa5 Bc6
33. Bf4 Bxa4 34. Be5 Qb5 35. Qc7 Qd7 36. Qb8+ Qe8 37. Qb4 {and although Fritz
score White as half a pawn ahead I think it will be rather difficult to make
progress.}) 31... Bc4 32. Bd2 Qc7 33. Qc3 Qb6 34. Qxa5 Qxa5 35. Bxa5 Kf7 $2 {
With time control looming Tony makes a small error. If he'd played 35...Bb3
then I can't defend the pawn and would have had to concede the draw at once as
there is no hope of making progress. Instead he activates his king. At the
time I thought this might be a decisive mistake but it turns out that this
isn't a critical error. The game should still be drawn because of the opposite
coloured bishops. The real point is that, with an extra passed pawn on the
board White can carry on playing for a win without any fear of losing and
Black can't afford any slip ups at all.} 36. Bc7 Ke7 37. f4 g6 38. Kf2 Kf6 39.
Kf3 h5 40. a5 Kf5 41. Ke3 Bf1 42. g3 Kg4 $2 {It turns out that only this move
is the critical error. Tony overlooked that my g-pawn is actually invulnerable
and by going after it he gives my king the time it needs to penetrate the
position on the queen's side with decisive effect. Instead, Black can still
draw by playing} (42... Kf6 $1 {He has to plug the hole on c5. With the bishop
covering b5 it will be impossible for White to make progress.} 43. Kd2 Ke7 44.
Kc3 Kd7 45. Be5 Kc6 46. Kb4 Be2 {and it's a draw.}) 43. Kd2 {Tony must have
expected 43.Kf2 and it's a draw. This must have been something of a surprise
for now my king has enough time to get to c5 so the advantage is a winning one.
} Bc4 {Only now did Black realise that after} (43... Kxg3 $2 {White can play}
44. f5+ {and a single tempo from the discovered check is enough for White to
win the game.}) 44. Kc3 Kf3 45. Kb4 Bd3 46. Kc5 {Having arrived at the
critical entry square the White king can either go to b6 and support the
advance of the a-pawn or go to d7 to try and scoop up the e6 pawn depending on
how Black plays it. Now, finally, it's all over.} Ke4 47. Be5 Kf3 48. Kb6 Kxg3
49. f5+ Kxh4 50. f6 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.10.08"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Yousif, O."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. d4 {Well here I was before the game working out who I might be playing.
John aldrige had played the last two games for Halifax on Board 5 and I was
wondering in the car on the journey over to Hebden Bridge whether to play 1.e4
and take on his Dragondorf or 1.d4 and take on his Semi-Slav/Triangle. What's
this! John Aldridge wasn't around, maybe I was playing Adrian Dawson who I saw
mingling around, quick adjustment...Sicilian Lowenthal or the Grunfeld. But
no! I have to play an unknown quantity. Playing new players always makes me
feel a bit uneasy, not knowing what to expect and grading wise I had
everything to lose and nothing to gain!!} d5 2. c4 Nf6 $5 3. Nc3 (3. cxd5 Nxd5
4. Nf3 {is the best way to take advantage of Black's unusual move order,
however I was happy to play into a more main-line defence}) 3... e6 4. cxd5
exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Qc2 {A standard Exchange Queen's Gambit Declined variation}
Nc6 {Fritz thinks this is level! I don't believe so!!} (6... c6 7. e3 O-O 8.
Bd3 Nbd7 {is the standard response}) 7. e3 a6 {I was expecting} (7... Nb4 {when
} 8. Qd2 Bf5 9. Rc1 O-O 10. a3 Nc6 {develops the problem light squared bishop})
8. a3 {preparing Bd3} b5 $2 {This just loses a pawn} 9. Nxb5 Bb7 ({not} 9...
axb5 10. Bxb5 O-O 11. Bxc6 Ra6 12. Nf3 {when White loses another pawn}) 10. Nc3
h6 11. Bh4 O-O 12. Bd3 Na7 {preparing ...c5} 13. Na4 {preventing the ...c5
break} (13. Nf3 c5 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. O-O {is better according to Fritz}) 13...
Nd7 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Rc1 Qg5 16. Bf1 {This looks odd, however I felt after
Nf3 I would get a tempo back hitting the queen on g5} c5 17. Nf3 Qe7 18. Nxc5 {
Now Black is two pawns down} Rac8 19. b4 Rc7 20. Be2 Rfc8 21. O-O Nf6 22. Qb2
Rc6 23. Ne5 Rb6 24. Nxb7 Rxc1 25. Rxc1 Qxb7 26. Qc3 Ne8 {Preventing Qc7} 27.
Bf3 f6 28. Nc4 $1 {I had seen this after I played 27.Bf3 and kind of hoped he
would play 27...f6} Re6 (28... Nb5 29. Qb2 Re6 30. Na5 Qd7 31. Bg4 {is no
better}) 29. Na5 Qd7 30. Bg4 {This shows the point of Bf3 now the rook is lost}
Qe7 31. Bxe6+ Qxe6 32. Qc5 Qd7 33. Nc6 Nb5 34. Ne7+ Kf7 35. Nxd5 {Black now
lost on time in a lost position} 1-0

