[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Corbett, M."]
[Black "Parsons, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B06"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.11.27"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Be3 c5 4. c3 cxd4 5. cxd4 d5 6. e5 Nc6 7. Be2 Nh6 8. h3
Nf5 9. Nf3 Nxe3 10. fxe3 Bf5 11. O-O Bh6 12. Qd2 Bxb1 13. Raxb1 O-O 14. g4 f6
15. b4 fxe5 16. dxe5 d4 17. b5 Bxe3+ 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Barnett, M."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A09"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 {Just as he'd played last year, but now I preferred the look
of:} d4 3. d3 Nc6 {Fritz's preference too; after the game, Mike said folk
usually played 3...c5, but I'd rather get pieces developed.} 4. g3 g6 $6 {As
it turned out, my bishop would have been more use on the f8-a3 diagonal;
better to have played} (4... e5 5. Bg2 Nf6) 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. O-O Nh6 {So as not
to block the bishop's diagonal, which I then filled with pawns. The knight
just got in the way on f5.} 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Ne4 Nf5 9. Bf4 e5 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2
Qe7 12. a3 a5 {To hold up the advance of his pawns; I had thoughts about
playing to a4, but there's always a risk of Bb4, skewering queen and rook. My
bishop should have been on this diagonal, as I said.} 13. Rb1 Nd6 (13... a4 {
is better, according to Fritz. It's hard for him to attack this pawn, and I've
probably got time to sort out that black-squared diagonal. In fact, Fritz's
solution is to exchange the black-squared bishops; e.g.} 14. Ne1 Bh6 15. Nc2
Bxd2 16. Qxd2 Be6 {and Black's position looks much more promising than I
achieved.}) 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. b4 Be6 {Connecting my rooks; I wasn't sure
whether Bd7 was better.} 16. Ne1 {Opening up *his* long diagonal but also with
the useful idea of defending a3. I should have exchanged pawns now and started
trying to take over the a file.} Rfb8 17. Nc2 axb4 18. axb4 Ne7 19. Ra1 c6 {
All this time, Fritz has preferred Black; strange how quickly I contrived to
change that!} 20. f4 Rxa1 $2 {Bad idea. I had some thoughts about opening up
*my* long diagonal, against his (presumed) queen on a1. As it was, all I
achieved was to give him the a file. Better to have blocked the f file by} (
20... f5 21. fxe5 Bxe5) 21. Qxa1 b5 22. fxe5 fxe5 23. c5 Qd8 $2 {Yes, this is
the real blunder, probably rating ?? I was obsessed with challenging for the a
file. I now lose at least a pawn, not to mention the position. After} (23...
Qd7 {Fritz still rates Black as slightly better; e.g.} 24. Qa6 Nd5 25. Be4 Bf5)
24. Bg5 Ra8 25. Bxe7 {Yes, I had seen this, but couldn't see anything better.}
Qe8 26. Qb1 Qxe7 27. Bxc6 Rb8 {I can't really let him have *both* pawns; I
didn't keep the a file for long, did I?} 28. Na3 Bh3 $2 {Another poor choice,
letting him invade the white squares. If I wanted some counterplay, I could
have tried} (28... Bh6 29. Be4 Bh3 30. Bg2 Be3+ 31. Kh1 Be6) 29. Qb3+ Be6 $2 {
Although his rook on the seventh looks horrible, this move is worse than} (
29... Kh8 30. Rf7 Qg5 31. Qd1 Be6) 30. Bd5 Bxd5 31. Qxd5+ Kh8 32. Rf7 Qe8 {
Spineless; I should at least have tried for something with} (32... Qg5 33. Nxb5
Qe3+ 34. Kf1 e4 35. dxe4 d3 36. exd3 Qc1+ 37. Kg2 Qd2+ 38. Rf2 Qxb4 {which is
still lost, but not so ignominiously.}) 33. Qd7 Qxd7 34. Rxd7 e4 35. c6 Rc8 36.
c7 Bf6 37. Nxb5 {Not one of my better efforts.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Gonzalez, A."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Be2 Nc6 4. d4 Bf5 5. a3 e6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. Re1
Re8 9. c4 a6 10. c5 Bf8 11. b4 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 Bd3 14. N2f3 Bxe2 15.
Qxe2 Nc4 16. Nd2 Nxd2 17. Qxd2 g6 18. Bb2 Bg7 19. Qc2 c6 20. a4 Qc7 21. Nf3 Re4
22. Bd4 Rae8 23. h3 Nd7 24. Bxg7 Kxg7 25. Qb2+ f6 26. Nd2 R4e6 27. Re2 Qe5 28.
Qxe5 Rxe5 29. Nf3 Re4 30. Nd4 Rxd4 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.26"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Johnson, L."]
[Black "Sykes, N."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 {In the same fixture last year I played a different first move} (1...
e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nxe4 5. Bxf7+ Kxf7 6. Nxe4 d5 7. Neg5+ Kg8 8.
d3 h6 9. Nh3 Bd6 10. c3 Qf6 11. Be3 Kh7 12. Qe2 Rf8 13. Nhg1 Kh8 14. O-O-O d4
15. Bd2 dxc3 16. Bxc3 Qf4+ 17. Qe3 Qa4 18. Nxe5 Nxe5 19. Bxe5 Bxe5 20. Qxe5
Qxa2 21. f3 Bf5 22. Qc3 Qe6 23. Re1 Qg6 24. Ne2 Bxd3 25. f4 Bxe2 26. Rxe2 Rf6
27. Rc2 Rc6 28. Qd2 Ra6 29. Kb1 Qe6 30. b4 Qf6 31. Rb2 Rd8 32. Qc2 Qxf4 33. g3
Qd6 34. Re1 Rb6 35. Qc3 Qd3+ 36. Qc2 Qxc2+ 37. Kxc2 Rbd6 38. Kc3 Kg8 39. Re7
R6d7 40. Re5 Rd3+ 41. Kc4 b6 42. Kb5 a5 43. bxa5 bxa5 44. Kxa5 R3d5+ 45. Rxd5
Rxd5+ 46. Kb4 Kf7 47. Kc4 Rf5 48. Rb3 Kg6 49. h3 h5 50. Kd4 Rg5 {[%emt 0:00:01]
L Johnson /2-1/2 N Sykes/Calderdale League 1 2012}) 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 {What's
this no Anti-Sicilian! It is no secret to the players that know me that I am
very comfortable in the various Anti-Sicilian lines. This move makes me a
little nervous!} cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {The Najdorf Variation, this is
the opening I played almost exclusively in the first 10-15 years or so of
playing chess. However for the last few seasons (since 2008) I started playing
1...e5. This season I decided to go back to my first love!} 6. Bd3 $5 {Good
old Fritz gives this move a ?. It is hardly a bad move but it is a little odd.
This bishop usually goes to either e2 or c4.6.Be3 and 6.Bg5 are the most
popular moves in the Najdorf. By playing such an unusual 6th move Les at least
knew I would not be playing any theory I had remembered as I have never really
devoted any time to look at 6.Bd3} Nc6 {Against the main moves in the Najdorf
like; 6.Bg5, 6.Be3, 6.Be2, 6.Bc4, 6.f4 and 6.g3, Black usually moves the
e-pawn to eiher e6 or e5. Here however Black has other options such as the one
played. 6...Nc6 is recommended in the book 'Mastering the Najdorf'.6...Nc6
puts the question to the knight at once} (6... e6 {Recommended by Emms in
'Play the Najdorf Scheveningen Style'}) (6... g6 {Recommnded by Ftacnik in
'Grandmaster Repertiore 6 The Sicilian Defence'}) (6... e5 {Recommended by
Georgiev/Kolev in 'The Sharpest Sicilian 2012'}) 7. Nf3 {White has obviously
absolutely no intention of striving for an advantage out of the opening} (7.
Nxc6 bxc6 8. O-O g6 {and}) (7. Nde2 g6 {are the only option given in
'Mastering the Najdorf'}) 7... g6 {As Matthew ons pointed out all the games
played by Black in this fixture featured a fianchettoed K-bishop. this is
unusual as Matthew correctly pointed out my K-bishop hardly ever goes to g7.
However here I think it is the best move} 8. O-O Bg7 9. h3 {Preventing Bg4 or
Ng4} O-O {Obviously Black is it least equal here} 10. Ne2 {I thought Les might
have played this in order to play c3 and blunt the g7 bishop?} Nb4 (10... d5
11. exd5 Nxd5 {is thematic and strong}) 11. a3 {Well I was going to play...
Nxd3 anyway!} Nxd3 12. cxd3 b5 {This is kind of a dream position for Black.
However although White has no real activity, he also has no weaknesses to
attack} 13. Ra2 {Obviously planning to play the bishop to Bb2 at some point}
Bb7 14. b4 Rc8 (14... e5 {is preffered by the silicon monster}) 15. Rc2 {a
somewhat ugly was to get his bishop onto the open c-file} Qd7 16. Bb2 h5 $6 {
not a bad move, but perhaps a waste of time} 17. Qd2 Rxc2 18. Qxc2 Bh6 {
preventing the rook coming to c1} (18... Rc8 {maybe slightly more accurate.
Black's pieces are now becoming more active and Les admitted after the game he
felt a little uncomfortable here}) 19. Nfd4 {This is a waste of time as it
will have to retreat with its tail between its legs in a couple of moves} Rc8
20. Qb3 e5 21. Nf3 {Back we go} Qc7 {Black is playing all the right moves
according to Fritz, even so Black is only slightly better here} 22. Bc1 Bg7 23.
Be3 Qc2 24. Qxc2 Rxc2 25. Rc1 $2 {This is a mistake, however I didn't
capitilise on it!} (25. Re1 {protecting the knight is better when} Ra2 26. Bc1
d5 27. exd5 (27. Nxe5 dxe4 28. dxe4 Nxe4 29. Nd3 $17) 27... Nxd5 {looks very
nice for Black}) 25... Rxc1+ $2 (25... Rxe2 {I thought the knight was poisoned,
but it is actually safe to take it, I was looking at} 26. Rc7 Bxe4 27. Rc8+ Bf8
{but I overlooked that} (27... Kh7 $2 28. Ng5+ Kh6 29. Nxf7+ {wins for White})
28. Bh6 {fails to} (28. dxe4 Kg7 29. Ng5 Ra2 {Black is a pawn up}) 28... Bxf3
29. Rxf8+ Kh7) 26. Bxc1 {Les offered a draw here and I accepted despite Black
being better, as we were up in the match. Also as John Morgan said after
looking at the game "All the fun has gone out of theposition"} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Parsons, M."]
[Black "Morgan, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A46"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2012.12.04"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'A'"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 b5 3. e3 Bb7 4. Nf3 a6 5. a4 b4 6. c3 e6 7. Nbd2 Nc6 8. Nb3
Nd5 9. c4 Nxf4 10. exf4 Qf6 11. Qd2 a5 12. Be2 Be7 13. g4 h6 14. h4 Bd6 15. Ne5
g5 16. c5 Nxd4 17. Qxd4 Bxh1 18. cxd6 Qxf4 19. Qxf4 gxf4 20. f3 cxd6 21. Nc4 h5
22. Nxd6+ Ke7 23. O-O-O Bg2 24. g5 Bh3 25. Bd3 Kxd6 26. Bf1+ Ke7 27. Bxh3 Rhc8+
28. Kb1 Rc7 29. Rd4 e5 30. Rd5 d6 31. Bf5 Rca7 32. Be4 Ke6 33. Rb5 Rd8 34. Bd5+
Ke7 35. Nxa5 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Patrick, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A08"]
[WhiteElo "154"]
[BlackElo "162"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "117"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge ' A'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'A'"]

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. g3 Bd6 6. Bg2 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nh4
b5 9. f4 f6 10. c3 {Fritz and my opening book both suggest 10.Kh1 "Avoiding
any trouble along the g1-a7 diagonal." Fritz's engine, on the other hand,
prefers} (10. a4 bxa4 11. Rxa4 {which stymies his queen's side advance, albeit
my b pawn may become exposed.}) 10... Rb8 11. Ndf3 {Still trying to advance my
e pawn. Fritz prefers} (11. exd5 exd5 12. Nb3 c4 13. dxc4 dxc4 14. Nd4) 11...
Bc7 12. Be3 dxe4 {Fritz has been urging him to play c4, which is what I had
expected, though it allows me use of d4.} 13. dxe4 Qxd1 {This surprised me, as
it appears to surrender the only open file; things didn't work out quite that
way.} 14. Rfxd1 Bb6 15. Rd2 {This gets in my knights' way; better} (15. Rd6 {
e.g.} b4 16. Rad1 bxc3 17. bxc3 Na5 18. Bf1 {But better still}) (15. Bf1 {
which frees a square for the king's knight, as well as putting pressure on his
pawns; e.g.} c4 16. Bxb6 Rxb6 17. b3 Ba6 18. b4 {and now White may really be
able to exploit the d file.}) 15... h6 16. Ne1 (16. Bf1 {was still better.})
16... Na5 17. b3 g5 18. fxg5 {Fritz prefers simply 19.Nhf3, but not by much.
Here and on a number of other occasions, I gave him choices to attempt to use
up his time.} hxg5 {That's what I should have chosen; 18...fxg5 is tempting,
to open the f file, but it also gives e5 to my knight or pawn.} 19. Nhf3 Ng6 {
Fritz prefers} (19... g4 20. Nh4 {forcing my knight to the sidelines; or}) (
19... Bb7 {putting pressure on my e pawn.} 20. Rd7 Ng6 21. Bh3 Bxe4 22. Bxe6+ {
doesn't look to bad for White, IMHO.}) 20. Nd3 {Fritz prefers} (20. Bh3 Kg7 21.
Rad1 {or else}) (20. h4 gxh4 (20... g4 21. Nh2 Ne5 22. Nd3 Nxd3 23. Rxd3 c4 24.
Bxb6 Rxb6 25. Rdd1) 21. gxh4 {and I may actually get some where on the king's
side; or}) 20... c4 21. Bxb6 axb6 22. bxc4 {Yes, I know this gives his knight
a great square, but I thought I could counter that and I didn't care much for
the alternative} (22. Nc1 {I was wrong, of course; he's hardly going to
exchange on b3, and I can get my pieces disentangled, e.g.} Kf7 23. b4 Nc6 24.
Ne2 g4 25. Nfd4 Nxd4 26. Nxd4 Bd7 27. Rad1 Ne5 28. Ne2 Rb7 29. Nf4 {which
keeps his knight out of d3.}) 22... Nxc4 23. Re2 Rd8 24. Nb2 $6 {Obsessed with
dislodging his knight; either 24.Nb4 or Nd4 was better.} e5 25. Nxc4 {Not
actually a lot worse than 25.a4, in Fritz's view.} bxc4 26. Rd2 {I wanted to
challenge the d file but now, of course, my knight can't move. Either} (26. a4
g4 27. Ne1 {or}) (26. Rb2 Rd3 27. Rc1 {holds everything together.}) 26... Bb7
27. Bf1 {I was obsessed with material equality; I could finally have doubled
on the d file:} (27. Rad1 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Bxe4 29. Rd6 Kg7 30. Rd7+ Kg8 31. Rd6 {
keeps my pieces much more active.}) 27... Bxe4 28. Bxc4+ Kg7 29. Rxd8 $2 {
First serious error; I'm now in trouble. I should have simply played} (29. Rad1
Rxd2 30. Nxd2 {when I've no need to worry about} Rd8 31. Bb3 Bc6 32. Nc4 Rxd1+
33. Bxd1 Bd5 34. Nxb6 Bxa2 35. c4 {and my winning chances are as good as his.})
29... Rxd8 30. Kf2 {Better was} (30. Be2 g4 31. Ne1 {when he'll have to do
something about the g pawn, giving me time for Rd1.}) 30... g4 31. Ne1 Bf5 $6 {
Why not} (31... f5 32. Be2 Rh8 33. Kg1 Rc8 {and I'm being forced further on to
the defensive.}) 32. Ng2 Rd2+ 33. Kg1 Be4 34. Ne3 f5 35. a4 $6 {Who said I
defended well?} (35. Re1 {threatens 36.Nxg4 fxg4 37.Rxe4} Nf4 36. gxf4 exf4 37.
Nxg4 Rg2+ 38. Kf1 Rxg4 39. Rd1 {which looks defensible.}) 35... f4 {Fritz
suggests} (35... Nf4 36. gxf4 exf4 37. Nxf5+ Bxf5 38. a5 bxa5 39. Rxa5 {but
again I should be able to hold out.}) 36. Nxg4 fxg3 {Missing (this was the
last move before the time control; he had two minutes left, I think) the
following} (36... Bf5 37. Nf2 e4 38. g4 e3 39. gxf5 exf2+ 40. Kf1 Ne5 41. Bb5
Ng4 {and Black is winning.}) 37. hxg3 Rg2+ 38. Kf1 Rxg3 39. Nf2 {In my turn,
missing} (39. Be2 Bf5 40. Kf2 Rxg4 41. Bxg4 Bxg4 42. Rb1 Bd7 43. Rxb6 Bxa4 {
but I don't think Black can win this.}) 39... Bg2+ 40. Ke1 Rxc3 41. Bb5 Nf4 42.
Kd2 Rg3 43. Rg1 {Hoping that the pin would help me; he should have broken it
straight away.} Ra3 44. Nd3 Ra2+ 45. Kc3 {It's not often you can deliberately
walk into a knight fork! I did see} (45. Ke3 Re2# {or even 45,,,Nd5#}) 45...
Ne2+ 46. Kb3 Nxg1 47. Kxa2 Kf6 48. Bd7 {I thought this might hold us king up,
but Fritz prefers} (48. Nb2 {Of course! Targetting his b pawn.} Bd5+ 49. Nc4
Bxc4+ 50. Bxc4 {and we're much as we were.}) 48... Bd5+ 49. Kb2 {I'm more
concerned with stopping his e pawn than with going after his b pawn; this may
have been mistaken.} e4 50. Nb4 Ke5 {Now that was a pleasant surprise; I felt
much more comfortable with bishop against knight.} 51. Nxd5 Kxd5 52. Kc3 Ne2+
53. Kd2 {Wrong again, according to Fritz. Actually it's probably (!) right: go
after his b pawn, prepared to sacrifice bishop for e pawn.} (53. Kb4 Nd4 54.
Bh3 e3 55. Bf1 Ke5 56. Kc4 Nf5 57. Kb5 Ng3 58. Bc4 Kd4 59. Kb4 {and how is he
going to advance the e pawn without allowing Kb5? We live and learn!}) 53...
Nd4 54. Ke3 Nc2+ 55. Kd2 Na3 56. Be8 Kd4 57. Ke2 e3 58. Bg6 Nc4 59. Be8 {
Somewhere about here I offered a draw. He declined and played on, but didn't
find the way to force my king back. We repeated positions twice, or possibly
even three times, but I'd stopped recording moves. He was getting a bit
concerned about his clock and eventually took my a pawn (losing the knight),
to make sure he couldn't lose on time! Flawed, on both sides, but an
interesting struggle.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Clegg, R."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C06"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'A'"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. c3 c5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4
f6 {Robert and I have been here before. Twice. Two years ago I went for the
game continuation and was lucky to escape with a draw. Last year I played the
mainline continuation 9.exf6 and managed to secure a sizeable advantage from
the opening only to make a pigs ear of it later and lose. So, when we reached
this point in the game I had to decide again. Go for the crazy complexity of 9.
Nf4 or play it safe and go for the mainline. If I'd had the chance to prepare
for the game I'd have picked 9.Nf4 but I hadn't expected to play Robert so did
I dare go for it without a refresher course?} 9. Nf4 $5 {In the end I just
decided that this was the line I knew best and so I should go with it and see
what Robert had in mind.} fxe5 $5 {This was not what I had expected at all!
The smirk that Robert could not conceal from his face told me that he'd
prepared this line in advance. Afterwards he told me that he'd come up with
and prepared the idea himself and had been unable to find any games where this
move had been played. I have no doubt that this is true but I have since been
able to find about a dozen games where this continuation was chosen. For the
record (again) the mainline continuation here begins with a long forcing
sequence.} (9... Nxd4 10. Qh5+ Ke7 11. exf6+ Nxf6 12. Ng6+ hxg6 13. Qxh8 Kf7
14. Qh4 e5 15. Nf3 Nxf3+ 16. gxf3 Bf5 17. Bxf5 gxf5 18. Bg5 {and only now does
the game begin. My record with this variation isn't too bad having won 3, lost
1 and drawn another 3 times over the board and in correspondence games online.}
) 10. Qh5+ {This move grants Black the opportunity to execute his main idea. I
quickly observed that if White played into the mainline given above then he
would be doing so one pawn down on the usual continuation. That was Robert's
point. After about a 15 minute think I decided that I should try and dislodge
the king anyway and then deviate from the forcing sequence in order to try and
gain some compensation from the pawn. I did of course consider what turns out
to be the critical continuation and also the line Robert had spent the most
time analysing at home...} (10. Nxe6 {This preserves material parity and
forces the Black queen into action.} Qb6 {Pretty much the only option given
that the queen must protect the c7 square. Robert told me afterwards that this
was what he'd expected. I found 15 games that reached this position and in 9
of these White now continued with 11.Qh5+. Statisitcally it doesn't look like
White has done too well with this so perhaps the other move (for which I can
find 6 games) is a more sensible approach.} 11. O-O {after this move I reckon
Black has three decent candidate moves. 11...Nxd4 grabbing the extra pawn
again. 11...Nf6 putting paid to White's possible plan of Qh5+ and 11... e4
which puts the question to the White bishop. I'll need to do some more
research into al three of thee lines to try and figure out the best methods of
proceeding.}) 10... Ke7 11. Qg5+ {This is in fact the first "new" move that
takes me away from my database. It also took Robert away from his preparation.
Continuing blindly with the standard plan here would have been ill advised and
alow Robert to demonstrate fully the point of his move order.} (11. Ng6+ $6
hxg6 12. Qxh8 e4 {and Black has an extra pawn on the stem variation given
above. Not only that but it's on a very good square on e4! This doesn't look
appetising at all for White.}) 11... Kd6 $1 {Out of his preparation he may be
but Robert calculated the correct way to play here. This move takes some guts
to play but it's totally sound White is pretty much forced to simplify and
that will allow Black to preserve his extra pawn. Can White get enough
compensation is now the key question? I'd already worked out that alternatives
to the game move didn't look good for Black. For example} (11... Kf7 12. Qh5+
g6 (12... Ke7 13. Qg5+ {WIth a draw if both players acquiese.}) (12... Kg8 13.
Nxe6 Qf6 14. Nc7 {and White seems to be doing ok.}) 13. Bxg6+ Kg8 {Of course
not} (13... hxg6 $4 14. Qxg6+ Ke7 15. Qxe6#) 14. Nxe6 Qe7 15. Nc7 {and the
complications are wild but I think White is doing well.}) 12. dxe5+ {I
couldn't really see an alternative to this move. White simply can't allow
Black to play e4. The fact is that once Robert found 11...Kd6! he was just
better. Accurate play would be required to prove his advantage but I'm not
sure White has enough compensatrion for the pawn in this line.} Ndxe5 {
Naturally it has to be this knight as the queen's knight stands guard over her
majesty.} 13. Qxd8+ {This queen exchange doesn't turn out well for White so it
mustbe a mistake. I felt that, despite being a pawn down, that I had enough
active play to compensate. Unfortunately I'd overlooked some tactics. I spent
a long time trying to evaluate what happens after} (13. Qg3 {This seemed like
the best way to preserve the tension. Now I figured the most logical move for
Black would be} Qf6 {The only compensation White has is the uncomfortable
position of the Black king. Black must rectify that issue swiftly or be swept
aside. If he does sort it though he can look forward to a better game with his
extra passed pawn on the d-file.} 14. O-O Kc7 15. Nf3 Nxf3+ 16. Qxf3 {and
Black is beginning to unravel his pieces.}) 13... Nxd8 14. Nb3 $2 {This loses
a piece which is a shame because I'd been relying on this move to give me some
activity when I planned the queen exchange. I guess I had been so focused on
finding activity for myself that I hadn't considered fully Robert's active
options. Infact White is forced to play} (14. Be2 {and now there is no
compenstaion for the pawn at all. Black is just better and in the end game his
king is actually quite well placed.} Ndc6 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Be3 b6 17. O-O Bb7)
14... g5 $1 {Simple but I didn't see it coming. The rest is just bluster from
me and Robert being careful not to allow me any counter play which he does
very effectively.} 15. O-O gxf4 16. Bxf4 Ndf7 17. Rfe1 Bg7 18. Rac1 {I was
trying to tie the Black king to the defence of the knight on e5 but I don't
have enough time for the Nd4-f3 manouevre.} Bd7 19. Nd4 Ke7 {Stepping away
before the knight gets to f3. Now the king is safe and Black can begin
activating his game.} 20. Bb1 Rac8 21. Rcd1 {I was just trying to keep
material on the board.} Rc4 $1 {A good move. White has to back track and loses
more momentum.} 22. Ne2 Ng6 23. Bc1 Rhc8 24. b3 R4c7 25. h4 {Pure desperation!}
Be5 26. h5 Nf8 27. Ba3+ Bd6 28. Bb2 $2 {This time I had to exchange. Now
Robert applies the finishing touches with precision.} Bb4 29. Rf1 Bb5 30. Ng3
Bxf1 31. Kxf1 Nd6 32. f4 Nb5 33. f5 Nc3 34. Bxc3 Rxc3 35. Bd3 Rc1 36. Ke2 Rxd1
37. Kxd1 Rc3 38. Ke2 e5 {Time to resign. A very well played game from Robert.
Lots for me to learn about this side-line but I'm pretty confident I've
already found the improvements I need to play this line with confidence in
future...} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Hughes, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B36"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'A'"]

{Against the majority of players in the Calderdale Evening League I am pretty
confident I can get good position out of the opening, as I usually know by
openings pretty well. However against Peter Hughes my main strength is
nullified as Peter has very good opening preparation himself!} 1. e4 c5 {I had
expected the Sicilian Defence, I play with Peter for Calderdale in the
Huddersfield League and have seen him playing the Dutch Defence. My experience
with White is not so vast so I was sure Peter would know a lot more about it
than me hence my choice of 1.e4} 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 {Peter opts
for the Accelerated Dragon} 5. c4 {Here I choose a different move to what we
played a few years ago.} (5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. O-O O-O 9. Bb3 d6
10. h3 Bd7 11. Qd2 Nxe4 12. Qd3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Rac8 14. Nxc6 Rxc6 15. Rab1 a6
16. Qe4 Qe5 17. Qxe5 Bxe5 18. Bd5 Rxc3 19. Rxb7 Bb5 20. Re1 Rxc2 21. Rxe7 Kg7
22. Bb3 Rcc8 {N Sykes 1/2-1/2 P Hughes/2009}) 5... Nf6 6. Nc3 {I figured the
Maroczy Bind was a safe choice and is usually very hard to break down} d6 7.
Be2 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 Bg7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qd2 Be6 11. Rc1 Qa5 {This is all theory
that has been played many times (To be honest I was making it up). Knowing
Peter as I do and his excellent opening knowledge I would think he is aware of
this position from his home preparation} 12. O-O (12. f3 {is by far the most
popular move in this position}) 12... Rfc8 13. b3 a6 14. f3 b5 {Black has
played the position well and has equalised. I must say that this is the best
way I have seen Black handle this position in my games as White in this line.
However this is still all theory!} 15. cxb5 (15. Nd5 {is what has been played
before then} Qxd2 16. Bxd2 Nxd5 17. cxd5 Bd7 18. Rxc8+ Rxc8 19. Rc1 Bd4+ 20.
Kf1 Rxc1+ 21. Bxc1 {is level and dull!!}) 15... axb5 {Now I have a tough choice
} 16. Rc2 $6 {not the best move and this gives Black some initiative} (16. Nxb5
Qxd2 17. Bxd2 Rxc1 18. Bxc1 Rxa2 19. Bc4 Bxc4 20. bxc4 {maybe a bit better but
Black is still fine here}) 16... Rxc3 $1 17. Qxc3 Qxc3 18. Rxc3 Ng4 {This is
the point behind Blacks 16th move, he will regain the exchange with a better
position} 19. fxg4 {the best move I think when you look at the alternatives} (
19. Rd3 Nxe3 20. Rxe3 Bd4 21. Kf2 Rxa2 {is awful for White, so I avoided this!!
}) (19. Bxb5 Bxc3 20. fxg4 Rxa2 21. Rc1 Bd2 22. Bxd2 Rxd2 23. Bc4 Bxg4 {and
Black wins a pawn}) 19... Bxc3 20. Rc1 b4 $6 (20... Rxa2 21. Rxc3 Rxe2 22. Kf1
Ra2 {and Black is a pawn up, bit will have to work hard for the win}) 21. Rc2
f6 22. Bf3 Ra5 {Here Peter offered a draw and I accepted, the position is now
level!} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.12.03"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Leatherbarrow, A."]
[Black "Thompson, G."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B50"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. d3 d6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1
a6 9. a4 Qc7 10. d4 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Qxd4 Rd8 13. Be3 Ng4 14. Qb6 Qd7 15.
Bf4 e5 16. Be3 Nf6 17. Rad1 Qe6 18. Nd5 Nxd5 19. Rxd5 Qf6 20. h4 h6 21. b3 Rb8
22. c4 Bg4 23. Qb4 Be6 24. Bb6 Rd7 25. Rdd1 Bg4 26. Rd5 Be6 27. Rd2 Rc8 28. Qc3
Bg4 29. Qe3 Rc6 30. a5 Bd8 31. Bxd8 Rxd8 32. Rc1 Rdc8 33. f3 Be6 34. Rcd1 Qe7
35. Kh2 Qc7 36. Bh3 Bxh3 37. Kxh3 Rd8 38. Rd5 Qd7+ 39. Kg2 Qe6 40. Qd3 Qf6 41.
c5 g5 42. hxg5 hxg5 43. Rxd6 Rcxd6 44. cxd6 Qe6 45. d7 Kf8 46. Qd2 Qxb3 47.
Qd6+ Kg7 48. Qxe5+ Kf8 49. Qc5+ Kg7 50. Qxg5+ Kf8 51. Qxd8+ 1-0

