[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Parsons, M."]
[Black "Hamer, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2013.02.26"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 e6 6. O-O Bd6 7. Bg3 O-O 8. c4
dxc4 9. Nc3 Bxg3 10. hxg3 Re8 11. Nd2 Bxe2 12. Qxe2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Clarkson, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B08"]
[Annotator "Dave Shapland and Andrew Clarkson"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 {This is the fourth time in 12 months I've played against Andrew. Twice
in the league and twice in the Summer Team KO. All four games have been drawn
but not without some excitement along the way. The two of us have high
standards to live up to (in terms of entertainment rather than accuracy!)
based on our previous encounters. So, the first question for me in terms of
preparation was, which opening to play? Andrew is quite rightly completely
loyal to his Black repertoire of the Pirc against e4 and the Grunfeld against
d4 so I knew what to expect. It didn't take too long over the weekend to
decide that I'd have another go at his Pirc.} d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 {
A subtle and flexible move order which I employed after a great deal of
consideration over the weekend. Previously (the first time we played nearly
two years ago) I'd played 4.Be3 immediately and had found that met by the
tricky 4...c6 - waiting to commit to castling kingside. Then, more recently, I
tried 4.Be2 and 5.g4!? which is very commital. That also didn't go well and I
was probably lucky to draw the game.} Bg7 5. Be3 {And this was the point of my
previous move. At least Black has now played Bg7 so he is a little more
committed to 0-0 than he is after 4.Be3 c6 when sometimes the king stays in
the centre or even goes queen's-side. The other point is that, in the straight
Argentianian Attack (4.Be3 and 5.f3) I'm not convinced that the f3 move is all
that helpful. Better to get the knight developed to enable a central advance
at an early stage of the opening if conditions are right.} O-O {So far so good.
Now at least I felt I had a target to aim at - although I never even got close
to taking action against Andrew's king as it happens.} 6. Qd2 {Going for a
Yugoslav Attack-type set up. Of course there are big diffences (the centre is
closed not half open and my e4 pawn is slightly more vulnerable than if f3 had
been played but some themes are similar. The other move that is well worth
considering here for White (but which I didn't really research too heavily) is
6.h3.} (6. h3) 6... c6 {Andrew kindly emailed me some of his thoughts on the
game a few days after we played it and I've added them into this commentary.
He had something to say about the position here: "I had this position against
Jeff Horner, a FIDE Master, in a simul and managed to win so I was happy about
that. Also last Saturday for Lancashire against Yorkshire <180 my opponent
raced to play Be3, Qd2, Bh6, and I won that too!"} 7. O-O-O {Objectively this
move is fine but in this game I think it was premature. I knew Andrew would
probably play for Qa5 at some stage (rather than lines with Nbd7 and b5) and
so I think maybe 7.Bd3 or 7.Bh6 would have been a little more flexible as
White reserves the right to castle in either direction. Andrew plays the Pirc
in a very dynamic way and so probably I should have done the same and keep as
many options open as possible.} Qa5 {Here it is! I had expected this but,
foolishly, I hadn't decided how to meet it. I'd considered options, but I
should have decided before I'd castled as that would have given me a bit more
confidence in the ensuing positions.} 8. Bh6 {Thematic but probaly not that
dangerous. Andrew certainly wasn't afriad of the idea. It's popular and Black
needs to know how to meet it if he is to play the Pirc successfully. I wonder
if White shold take a little time out before wading into the bishop exchange
and put his king on b1.} Be6 {This just equalises but I must confess that I
hadn't considered it at all. I had expected 8...b5 or 8...Nbd7. Black now has
some unpleasant threats against a2 and these can't easily be ignored.} 9. Bxg7
{Fritz prefers} (9. a3 {but I just think that gives Black a target and
encourages him to play} b5 {although after} 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. e5 dxe5 12. dxe5
Nd5 {the computer gives White an edge. From a practical perspective Black must
be doing just fine here.}) 9... Kxg7 {Andrew's play has cunningly exposed the
downside to my choice of move order early in the opening. With no pawn on f3
to support my e-pawn my queen's knight is now over-worked guarding both a2 and
e4. Tactically this threat can be held at bay but sometimes the threat is
mightier than the execution. Each invidual move in this opening is hugely
important. If I'd opted earlier for 8. Kb1 instead of 8.Bh6 then the weakness
on e4 would be more easily dealt with. Instead there are two potential
weaknesses for Black to pick at. I say this not because I regret the choice of
moves or move order, merely to illustrate that in this type of game each move
choice carries it's consequences for the postion.} 10. Qg5 {Thinking outside
the box. Black can't really accept the exchange of queens because then the
White knight get's to g5 and the Black bishop will be exchanged or lose a
tempo. Instead, Black is pretty much forced to advance his b-pawn.} b5 {"White
has several plausible moves making the choices and consequences difficult to
assess. It was easy for kibitzers to suggest the moves you did not play after
the event." Andrew Clarkson} 11. d5 {This was the point of my previous move. I
wanted to sharpen the position because I knew that Andrew would enjoy the
ensuing complications and emerse himself in them. The result? Zeintot! Aside
from getting a fun and entertaining position to play, there is a practical
aspect to my choice. Andrew's propensity to get into clock difficulties has
been the source of my salvation in previous encounters!} (11. e5 dxe5 12. dxe5
Nd5 13. Nxd5 Bxd5 14. a3 {doesn't look any better for White.}) 11... h6 {
Taking the opportunity to drive the queen back before taking further action in
the centre.} 12. Qe3 b4 {No better is} (12... cxd5 13. exd5 b4 14. dxe6 bxc3
15. Qxc3 Qxc3 16. bxc3 fxe6 {and the position is pretty much even.}) 13. dxe6
bxc3 14. Bc4 cxb2+ 15. Kxb2 {Andrew said after the game that he was surprised
by this move. He had expected me to hide my king behind the b-pawn after 15.
Kb1. I couldn't see much wrong with taking the pawn as I felt I could drop the
bishop back to block the b-file and/or play Ka1 to keep his majesty safe.} fxe6
{Interestingly, Fritz suggests that giving up a pawn to finish his development
and get the heavy pieces to the b-file is the best course of action to take.} (
15... Na6 16. exf7 Nc5 17. Nd4 Rab8+ 18. Ka1 Ng4 19. Qd2 Qxd2 20. Rxd2) 16.
Bxe6 Na6 {This looks like a perfectly sensible move. However, Fritz actually
prefers a similar but different line.} (16... Nbd7 17. Bxd7 Rfb8+ {The key
point in this line is that here, the White bishop cannot retreat to bung up
the b-file.} 18. Ka1 Nxd7 19. Nd4 Rb6 20. Rb1 Rab8 {and Black has a very
comfortable position to play here}) 17. Nd4 {For me this was a duel purpose
move. The first point was to activate a hitherto inactive piece. The second
was to bring the knight to a square where it could either be brought to b3 to
defend or spring into action on e6. That threat is something Andrew will have
to bear in mind. Naturally the computer finds a better line for White.} (17. e5
$1 {Just a single tempo is all White needs to cause Black some problems.} Nd5
18. Bxd5 cxd5 19. Nd4 {Only now this move as Black can't respond by pinnin ght
knight as he does in the game.} Rab8+ 20. Nb3 Qc5 21. exd6 exd6 {and now Fritz
assess the position as being equal.}) 17... Qe5 {This was one move in the game
that Andrew played quite quickly. It just looks like a "no-brainer" and indeed
it does lead him into a winning position, however, it seems that it didn't
quite lead him to the kind of advantage that he expected when he played this.
"This move seemed too good to be true! Perhaps it was. I guessed White would
have to resort to f4 but thought I would have a winning advantage regardless."
Andrew Clarkson} 18. Bb3 {This seemed correct as now I'm threatening to play
Ne6. In fact, playing f4 immediately was the best way to go.} (18. f4 Qxe4 19.
Rhe1 Qxe3 20. Rxe3 Rfb8+ 21. Bb3 Rb7 {and Fritz again says this is equal
despite Black's extra pawn.}) 18... c5 {Initiating a series of forcing moves.}
19. f4 cxd4 20. fxe5 dxe3 21. exf6+ Rxf6 {And now it seems that Black is just
better as he has an extra and passed pawn on e3. Will he be able to keep it
however?} 22. e5 $1 {The exclaimation mark is Andrew's on this occasion and
not mine. He added that this was "a fine resource in a difficult position for
White." The point of course is that Black doesn't really want to treble his
pawns on the e-file!} Rf2 23. Rhe1 Nc5 {Black could also try} (23... e2 {but
after} 24. Rd2 Rxg2 25. Rdxe2 Rxe2 26. Rxe2 Nc5 {it still doesn't look that
easy to win.}) 24. Bd5 {Trying to preserve the bishop and at the same time
hold onto the g-pawn. Better though was simply} (24. exd6 Nxb3 25. axb3 exd6
26. Rxe3 Rd8 {and these types of double rook endings are notoriously hard to
win.}) 24... Rb8+ 25. Kc1 e6 26. exd6 $2 {Objectively this is a bad move and
should lose. I did also consider the best move in the position which was 26.
Bf3. However, looking at the hanging flag on Andrew's clock and realising that
he still had 10 moves to make I decided to go for more complexity. As Andrew
himslef says: "I was not completely surprised by this and it is a bold attempt
to get a result with Black's flag rising."} exd5 27. Rxd5 Ne4 $2 {With this
move, played in great time pressure, Andrew pretty much missed his chance.
"Aaaaaargh! I lost sleep over this. Yes, I spent time looking at 27....Na4!
but failed to understand that it is the Black knight's control over b2 that
will win the game. I thought that control or occupation of c3 by the knight
would bring the win home. Besides which after 27...Ne4 the knight drops back
to catch the White d-pawn so that is what I played." Andrew Clarkson} 28. Rxe3
Rf1+ 29. Rd1 Rxd1+ 30. Kxd1 Nxd6 31. Re7+ {Suddenly White will get a second
pawn for his piece and although Black is still winning, it will be a long and
difficult task to bring home the bacon. Time Andrew didn't feel he had.} Kf6 {
And in this position, Andrew offered me a draw which I was of course delighted
to accept. The position should be a Black win but he still had to make 5 more
moves to make the time limit and then would only have 15 minutes to finish me
off. No easy task in a technical position. I should however, leave the last
words on this game to my opponent. "In the final position with not much time
left and the match decided I had to call it a day."} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Leatherbarrow, A."]
[Black "Tokeley, R."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B15"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2013.02.26"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. c3 Bd6 7. Bd3 O-O 8.
Ne2 Re8 9. O-O Qc7 10. Ng3 f5 11. Qf3 g6 12. Bh6 Bf8 13. Bxf8 Rxf8 14. Rfe1 Be6
15. c4 Rd8 16. Ne2 Nd7 17. Nf4 Nf8 18. d5 cxd5 19. cxd5 Bd7 20. Rac1 Qd6 21. b3
Rac8 22. g3 Rxc1 23. Rxc1 Rc8 24. Rxc8 Bxc8 25. Bc4 Nd7 26. Qc3 a6 27. a4 Nf6
1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.02.25"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Edwards, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A25"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 f5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. d3 Bc5 6. e3 f4 7. exf4 O-O 8. Nge2
exf4 9. Bxf4 Qe8 10. O-O d6 11. d4 Bb6 12. Nd5 Bg4 13. f3 Be6 14. Nxb6 axb6 15.
d5 Bf7 16. dxc6 bxc6 17. b3 d5 18. cxd5 Nxd5 19. Re1 Ne3 20. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 21. Kh1
Rad8 22. Qc1 Rd2 23. Nf4 Qf2 24. Rf1 Qd4 25. Rd1 Rxd1+ 26. Qxd1 Qf6 27. Rc1 Rd8
28. Qc2 g5 29. Nh3 Bd5 30. Qc3 Qg6 31. Qe5 h6 32. Re1 Bf7 33. Qc3 Rd3 34. Qc1
Qd6 35. Nf2 Rd4 36. Rd1 c5 37. Rxd4 cxd4 38. Ne4 Qd8 39. Bf1 d3 40. Qd2 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.03.04"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Broadbent, R."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B02"]
[WhiteElo "152"]
[BlackElo "154"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. e5 Ne4 4. Nxe4 dxe4 5. d4 exd3 6. Bxd3 Nc6 7. Bf4 {All
in Fritz's Openings Book, so far. I suppose he delays Nf3 to stop me pinning
it with ...Bg4.} g6 {I never considered Fritz's suggestion of} (7... g5 8. Bxg5
Qd5 9. Nf3 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Qxe5+ 11. Be3 {which does at least dispose of his e
pawn.}) 8. Qe2 $2 Qd4 9. Bg3 Qxb2 10. Rd1 Bg7 {Fritz prefers} (10... Bh6 11. f4
Nb4 12. Be4 O-O) 11. Nf3 Qc3+ 12. Kf1 {If he interposes} (12. Qd2 {I have} Nxe5
13. Bb5+ (13. Nxe5 Bxe5) (13. Qxc3 Nxf3+ 14. Ke2 Bxc3 15. Kxf3) 13... Nd7)
12... O-O 13. h3 Be6 14. Kg1 Bxa2 $6 {There's no rush to take this; better to
seize the open file while I have the chance:} (14... Rfd8 15. Kh2 Bxa2 16. Be4
Qc5) 15. Kh2 Bd5 $6 {Not until I've played ...e6 or ...Rd8. Why move the
bishop at all? I could simply start pushing my a pawn.} 16. Be4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4
Rfd8 {His e pawn now becomes a thorn in my side, but if} (17... e6 18. Rd7 {
and his pieces are getting very active. Even so, I could let him have a pawn
back and still be ahead.}) 18. e6 f5 {This is, by a long way, Fritz's
preference, but it leaves my king's side open. I should now focus my attention
on his e pawn.} 19. Qe2 Nd4 {Not bad, but not such a good idea, as it turns
out; Fritz prefers} (19... Rxd1 20. Rxd1 a5 {Let him have the c pawn, or play
Rd7; who cares?}) 20. Nxd4 Rxd4 21. Rxd4 Bxd4 22. Rd1 c5 $6 {Looks obvious,
removing it from his bishop's attack and protecting mine. If I'd seen what was
coming, I'd have preferred} (22... c6 23. Rd3 Qc5 {followed by advancing my
queen's side pawns; surely an easy win.}) 23. Qb5 {I was going to give this an
! but Fritz prefers} (23. Rd3 Qa5 {or 23...Qa1, keeping control of e5.} 24. Qf3
Qb6 25. Rb3 Qc6 26. Rxb7 Qxf3 27. gxf3 Bf6 {which looks good enough to me.})
23... Qxc2 {I wrote ?? in my score book, but Fritz actually chooses this move!}
24. Qxb7 Re8 $4 {This is the major mistake; I can hold him off by} (24... Rf8
25. Rxd4 cxd4 26. Qxe7 f4 27. Bh4 Qf5 {which Fritz assesses as dead level; or})
(24... Qxd1 {while his queen is operating at long range.} 25. Qxa8+ Kg7 26. Qe8
Bf6 27. Qf7+ Kh6 28. Bf4+ g5 29. Qf8+ Kg6 {I actually considered}) (24... Qe4
25. Qxe7 Rf8 26. Bd6 Be5+ 27. Bxe5 Qxe5+ 28. Kg1 {but now he's winning instead.
}) 25. Qc6 {Of course! Both my bishop and rook are attacked.} Rd8 $2 {Suicide;
I had to accept the loss of the bishop with} (25... Rf8 26. Rxd4) 26. Qc7 Qxd1
$4 {Too late for this now, but I'd sooner go down with all guns blazing than
suffer the ignominy of losing my bishop. It's now mate in 4:} 27. Qxd8+ Kg7 28.
Qxe7+ Kh6 29. Bf4+ Kh5 {It always seems unsporting to resign the move before
mate; he deserved the pleasure:} 30. Qg5# {A salutary lesson in complacency,
or how to turn a win into a loss in half a dozen moves. Fortunately, boards 3
to 5 all won, so this mess didn't affect the match result.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2013.03.04"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Bendall, B."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B23"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "58"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2013.03.05"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 2. f4 {I think it was Nick Sykes who told me a few years ago that
Bruce "plays 2.f4 against everything". Indeed all three games in my database
where Bruce has White feature him playing 2.f4!} Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Nc3 a6 {I
always like to throw in this move because it means White will himself have to
play a3 or a4 in order to deploy his bishop to c4 and also it means that I
only need to be familiar with the Bc4 lines instead of those and the Bb5 lines
where play can take on a different character..} 5. a3 g6 6. Bc4 Bg7 7. O-O Nge7
8. Ne2 {Also possible was} (8. e5 O-O 9. Ne4 d5 10. exd6 Nf5 {and Black will
regain the pawn.}) 8... O-O 9. c3 {White is preparing to advance in the centre,
but, the story of this game, Black is one tempo ahead of him.} d5 $1 {Well
timed. This move secures Black an advantage as White's pieces become passively
placed.} 10. exd5 exd5 11. Ba2 Bf5 {This is ok but not the most accurate.
Better was} (11... Nf5 12. d4 cxd4 13. Nexd4 Qb6 {and Black has a comfortable
advantage.}) 12. d4 Qb6 {According to Fritz this hands back equality to White.
The engine prefers to close the position in order to retain Black's advantage.
I did in deed consider playing 12...c4 but such murky positional meanderings
are not my style and so often in chess playing a position you are comfortable
with is more important than the objective theoretical assessment of the
situation.} (12... c4 13. Ng3 Bg4 14. h3 Be6 {Is Fritz's recommendation. White
will probably base his play around the e5 square and Black on f5-e4-d3.
White's queen's bishop apears to be quite bad but Black's advantage is pretty
minimal.}) 13. Re1 Rac8 14. Kh1 Rfe8 {Fritz is still keen on closing the
position. I just wanted to complete my development and see what ideas Bruce
had for improving his position as I felt White was on the back foot.} 15. Ne5 {
This is logical play from Bruce. The e5 is square is his trump card and he
should put a knight on there at some point. The computer preferred a different
approach to soften up the Black centre first with} (15. dxc5 Qxc5 16. Ng3 Bg4
17. h3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qb5 {And Black contiues to hold an edge although at least
White as an isolated d-pawn to take aim at.}) 15... Nxe5 {Now my turn to chose
the wrong path. Black also had an opportunity to damage his opponents
structure with the line} (15... cxd4 16. cxd4 {Seems better than} (16. Nxd4
Nxe5 17. fxe5 Be4 18. Nf3 Rcd8 19. Qb3 Qxb3 20. Bxb3 {but in fact after}) 16...
Be6 $1 17. Bd2 Nf5 18. Bc3 {Black is much better off.}) 16. dxe5 {For some
reason I hadn't given this move much consideration as I had blithely assumed
Bruce would capture with the f-pawn. This capture is much stronger and he gets
some decent and dangerous counter play in the centre after this.} Red8 17. Ng3
d4 {Bold or rash? Who knows? I just instinctively felt that if the position
opened up I stood slightly better because my pieces were beter coordinated and
my development more advanced. Fritz thinks d4 is ok but prefers the main
alternative which I did spend some time considering.} (17... Be6 {and now
Fritz gives a wild line that I certainly hadn't imagined in my calculations}
18. b4 cxb4 19. Be3 d4 $1 20. Bxd4 b3 $1 {Giving up the exchange for a huge
passed pawn on a2.} 21. Bxb6 Rxd1 22. Rexd1 bxa2 23. Ne2 {and Fritz assesses
this position as equal. Maybe, but I'd bet two human players wouldn't play
this to a draw. It's way too unbalanced!}) 18. Nxf5 Nxf5 19. e6 {Bruce had
staked all his hopes on the play he'd get after this move. It's certainly
tricky and looks very dangerous.} c4 $1 {The first in a series of moves that
required some very precise calculation and a few drops of cold blood. After a
bit of a think I managed to convince myself that Bruce's attack wasn't
dangerous enough to merit a purely defensive posture and so I decided that I
should counter attack. This move is both defensive (it blocks the bishop on a2
out of the game) and attacking (as now dxc3 or even d3 are threatened). Fritz
suggests an even more hair raising line in the form of} (19... dxc3 $5 {I did
consider this but, from a practical point of view, it felt like this might
disolve the tension a little too soon. I also couldn't calculate as far as
Fritz into the future. how could I possibly figure out all of the continuation
below?} 20. exf7+ Kf8 21. Re8+ Rxe8 22. fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 23. bxc3 Bxc3 {and White
is now threatening the rook and also Re1+ so} 24. Rb1 Qf6 25. Bd2 Rd8 {winning
a piece.}) 20. Qa4 Qc5 $1 {Again other moves were possible but I was trying to
find multi-purpose moves that both developed my attacking potential and
restricted White's attacking chances. I had already spotted the tactical motif
that seals the game which is why I'd selected this square for the queen. In
some lines it may be possible to land the queen on h5. One final benefit of
this move is that the queen covers e7 so that White can't advance his pawn to
this square.} 21. Bd2 {The threat was 22...bxc3 23.bxc3 and then Bxc3 forking
the White rooks. At this stage I had a longish think because I could sense
that I was on the verge of winning and was convinced I'd seen the mechanism
that I'd use to win. Finding the most accurate move order and ensuring that
White had no counter play was the critical aspect of my calculations.} (21.
exf7+ Kxf7 22. Bd2 {does not really improve at all on the game variation where
Bruce selected Bd2 immediately.}) 21... dxc3 {Fritz suggests the alternative
line} (21... fxe6 22. Rxe6 dxc3 23. Bxc3 Bxc3 24. bxc3 Rd5 {threatening 25...
Ng3+!! so} 25. Re5 Rxe5 26. fxe5 Qxe5 27. Bxc4+ Kh8 28. Bf1 Qxc3 {and Black is
winning.}) 22. Bxc3 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Rd2 $1 {I did consider 23...Rd5 as well with
the idea mentioned in the note above. However, I saw that 24.Re5 defends the
mate and it was mate that I was playing for so this move seemed more effective.
The Black queen is threatening to come to f2 and the knight to g3. The only
question is whethe White can rustle up counter play with his advanced e-pawn
and the a2-g8 diagonal. I thought not.} 24. Re5 $2 {I think now that this move
was the critical error although at the time I thought it was a decent move.
The point is that White effectively wastes a tempo because the Black queen
wants to come to f2 anyway and once she has White has a sword of Damocles
hanging over his head. Instead it would have been better to initiate his
counter play immediately with} (24. exf7+ Kxf7 {and only now that the a2-g8
diagonal has been cleared should White go for} 25. Re5 $1 Qc7 {the point being
that now 25...Qf2? would be well met by 26.Bxc4+. Instead, Black must
consolidate his advantage after} 26. Re4 Nd6 27. Rd4 Rxd4 28. cxd4 Re8 {and
although the material is evenly balanced Fritz assesses Black as being the
equivalent of two pawns to the good. It's not hard to see why when you note
the confluence of White pieces on the a-file!}) 24... Qf2 $1 {Effectively the
winning move. White can only huff and puff now. The Black house will remain
standing.} 25. exf7+ Kg7 $1 {Any other move allows White to at least draw, if
not even win as Fritz will now demonstrate.} (25... Kxf7 {allowing the
critical check on c4} 26. Bxc4+ Kg7 27. Be2 Ne3 28. Bf3 Nxg2 29. Qb4 Qxf3 30.
Qe7+ Kh8 31. Qf6+ {with perpetual check.}) (25... Kf8 26. Qe8+ $1 {wins the
exchange} Rxe8 27. fxe8=Q+ Kg7 28. Re7+ {gives the exchange back to prosecute
his attack} Nxe7 29. Qxe7+ Kh6 30. Qf8+ Kh5 31. Rg1 $1 {Very nice! Black
doesn't have time to capture the bishop as otherwise 31...Rxa2 32.g4+! Kh4 33.
Qh6 is mate.} Kg4 32. Bxc4 {retaining his extra piece and simply winning.}) 26.
Rg1 {He has to defend the mate threat because he can't mate himself.} Ng3+ $1 {
Fairly obvious but still attractive and very satisfying to have successfully
angled for this move from 6 or 7 moves out. Of course the White bishop was
hanging too but it's heavily poisoned} (26... Rxa2 $4 27. Re8 $1 {With the
deadly threat of both f8=Q+ and Qd7. White is winning now.} Qc5 28. Qd7 Qf8 29.
Rxf8 Rxf8 30. Qxb7 Rxf7 31. Qxa6 {is elementary.}) 27. hxg3 Qxg3 {Only now
does the real benefit of shutting out White's queen and bishop truly make it
self manifest. White can check, but he can't mate.} 28. f8=Q+ Rxf8 {and here
Bruce realised that he couldn't check on d7 with his queen. The game is up.}
29. Re7+ Kh6 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Shredder for iPad"]
[Date "2013.03.04"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Grandage, R."]
[Black "Sykes, N."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B13"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bb5 a6 6. Ba4 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 b5 8.
Bb3 Nf6 9. O-O b4 10. Ne2 Bg4 11. Qd3 e6 12. c3 bxc3 13. bxc3 Be7 14. a4 Rb8
15. Bc2 Bf5 16. Qd2 Bxc2 17. Qxc2 O-O 18. Ba3 Rfc8 19. Bxe7 Nxe7 20. Rfc1 Rc7
21. Nd2 Rbc8 22. Nb3 Qb6 23. Nc5 Nd7 24. Nxd7 Rxd7 25. Rcb1 Qc6 26. Qb2 Rdc7
27. Qb6 Qc4 28. Qb2 Nf5 29. g3 Nd6 30. Qc2 Ne4 31. Rb3 g6 32. Raa3 Qc6 33. f3
Nd6 34. Nf4 Nc4 35. Ra1 Na5 36. Rba3 Qb6 37. Ne2 Rb7 38. Rd1 Nc4 39. Ra2 Ne3
40. Qd2 Nxd1 41. Qxd1 Qb3 42. Qa1 Qb1+ 43. Qxb1 Rxb1+ 44. Kg2 Rcb8 45. Kf2 R8b2
46. Ra3 Rc1 47. Ke3 Re1 0-1

