[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2014.10.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Breen, D."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D97"]
[WhiteElo "168"]
[BlackElo "156"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "124"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. d4 {So, I was told he played 1.Nf3 and rehearsed that; never mind, it'll
come in some day. When have I said that before? Almost every match; I'm minded
of the sketch in Not The Nine O'Clock News (I think), involving a Mastermind
contestant whose chosen specialised subject was to answer the question after 
(or was it before?) the present one (or it may have been The Two Ronnies). "It
was the Two Ronnies and the contestant was answering the previous question
which led to some entertaining juxtapositions of questions and answer very
much in their style." - Ed} Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 {Bother!
The Russian System - at least I know its name now - that Nick played against
me, back in the Summer Rapid Play games. I read up on it after that fiasco and
now I've forgotten it!} dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 c6 {In my game against Nick I
played 7... Nbd7 and got my knights in a muddle. I went home and looked at
Play the Grunfeld, by Yelena Dembo, where she recommends} (7... Nc6 {Yelena
examines no fewer than seven responses to this, including debunking my fear on
this occasion that the "obvious" response} 8. d5 $6 Na5 9. Qd3 {(say), the
alternatives are much the same} c6 {would result in my losing a piece, to} 10.
b4 $2 {which is, in fact, a blunder:} Nxe4 $1 11. Nxe4 Bxa1 12. bxa5 cxd5 13.
Ned2 Qxa5 $19) 8. Be2 Nbd7 {I did consider} (8... b5 {which Fritz 14 prefers,
because I thought it left my c pawn weak. However, active play is what I
needed, especially as White has yet to castle.} 9. Qb3 e5 10. dxe5 Ng4 11. O-O
Be6 12. Qc2 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 $11) 9. O-O Nb6 10. Qd3 Be6 11. b3 {(naturally)}
Qc7 {Again, I fought shy of} (11... a5 12. Ng5 Bg4 {when of course he's not
going to play 13.f3, taking his knight's best square away.}) 12. Ng5 Bd7 13. f4
h6 $6 {No need to drive it where it wants to go; better 13...c5 or 13...Rad8
at once.} 14. Nf3 $14 Rad8 15. Ne5 c5 16. d5 Be8 17. Bb2 $6 $11 {Dennis said,
after the game, that he should have played 17.Be3. Fritz agrees.} e6 18. Bf3
exd5 {Better to have first played} (18... Bc6 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. d6 Rxd6 $11 {
I have an extra pawn, though it's a ropy one, and maybe the open file; he has
the two bishops, more space and better pawn structure. It's finely balanced.})
19. Nxd5 Nbxd5 20. exd5 Bc6 21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. Be5 Qb6 23. Qc3 {That was eight
half-moves in succession that Fritz considers "best". Now, it prefers} (23. d6
c4+ 24. Qd4 Qxd4+ 25. Bxd4 Ne8 (25... Rxd6 $2 26. Bc5) 26. Rfd1 Rxd6 27. Bxg7
Kxg7 28. bxc4 $11) 23... cxd5 {Better} (23... Nxd5 24. Bxd5 cxd5 25. Bxg7 d4
26. Bxd4 cxd4 27. Qd3 Rfe8 $17 {followed by 28...Re3.}) 24. Rac1 Ne4 $6 {Too
clever; just defend the c pawn, by 24...Rc8. I had used much more time than he
had - Dave had warned me about this - and had about ten minutes left to his
almost an hour.} 25. Bxe4 Bxe5 26. fxe5 dxe4 {Missing} (26... c4+ 27. Kh1 dxe4
28. Qxc4 Rd4 $11) 27. Rf6 Rd3 $6 {Trying to be too clever, and losing one of
my "good" pawns as a result; better was simply} (27... Qb4 28. Qxb4 (28. Qxc5
Rd1+ 29. Rf1 Rxf1+ 30. Kxf1 Qd2 $15) 28... cxb4 29. e6 Kg7 30. Rf4 Rd6 {(with
a dangerous looking pawn like that around, I'm not sure I'd've thought of
either of Black's last two moves)} 31. exf7 Rd2 32. Rxe4 a5 $11) 28. Qc4 Qd8 {
Missing his reply till it was too late; I should have continued as I'd started,
with} (28... Rd4 29. Rxb6 Rxc4 30. Rxg6+ fxg6 31. Rxc4 e3 32. Rxc5 Rf2 $11) 29.
Rxg6+ $16 Kh7 30. Rd6 Rxd6 31. exd6 Qxd6 32. Qxe4+ Kg7 $16 {I considered} (
32... f5 {but was afraid of} 33. Qb7+ {(33.Qc4 is Fritz's preferred move)} Kg6
34. Qxa7 {However} Re8 $14 {leaves my pieces much better placed and
co-ordinated than his; he can't play} 35. Qxc5 $2 (35. Rxc5 $4 Qd1+ 36. Kf2
Qe1+ 37. Kf3 Qe3#) 35... Re1+) 33. Qc4 $6 $11 {His turn to falter:} (33. Qg4+
Kh8 34. Qf5 Re8 35. Qxf7 Re2 36. Qxa7 {and I'm two pawns down, but with some
chances of holding on, due to my active pieces:} Qd5 37. Qb8+ Kh7 38. Qc7+ Kh8
39. Qg3 Qd4+ 40. Kh1 Rxa2 $16) 33... Qd4+ (33... Re8 34. Qg4+ {I missed my
chance, but I was hurrying to make the time control. I needed to activate my
rook:} Kf8 35. Rd1 Qe5 $11 {and Black's not looking too bad.}) 34. Qxd4+ cxd4
35. Kf2 $14 Rd8 $6 {Better} (35... Re8 {to keep his king out; e.g.} 36. Rc7 a6
37. Rc6 a5 (37... Re6 $2 {doesn't work, because although I get connected
passed pawns after} 38. Rxe6 fxe6 {he'll get two, widely separated passed
pawns; his king can hold mine but mine can't handle both of his pawns.}) 38.
Rc4 d3 39. Kf3 Re2 40. Ra4 f5 41. Rxa5 Kf6 42. h4 h5 43. Rd5 Rxa2 44. Rxd3 Rc2
$14 {Interesting! I should instinctively have played 44...Rb2 but this
threatens ...Rc3+ as soon as his rook leaves the third rank.}) 36. Ke2 $16 Rd6
{Trying to organise the defence of my pawns, but they're all too weak. At this
point, I set our clocks back 15 minutes: I had 17 and he had 1 hour and 3
minutes! Demoralising, isn't it, when you lose and your opponent has barely
used half his total time?!} 37. Kd3 Ra6 38. Rc2 Rd6 (38... f5 39. Kxd4 {Now I
should have abandoned the d pawn, by} Kf6 {and my king should have focussed on
the king's side. I was following the wrong strategy of taking my king to the
queen's side.}) 39. Rc4 Rf6 40. Rxd4 Rf2 41. Rg4+ Kf6 42. a4 a5 $6 {At least
this makes it fairly certain that his queen's side passed pawn will be the a
pawn, but I should have kept this pawn as far out of his king's reach as
possible. Fritz recommends} (42... h5 43. Rg3 Ke6 44. Re3+ Kd6 45. Rh3 Rb2 46.
Rxh5 Rxb3+ 47. Kc4 Rb2 48. g3 $16) 43. Kc4 Rf5 {Actually, even Fritz's
"improvements" aren't looking much better:} (43... Rb2 44. Rh4 Rxg2 (44... Kg5
45. g3 f5 46. Kb5 Rxb3+ 47. Kxa5 $18) 45. Rxh6+ Kg5 46. Ra6 Rc2+ 47. Kd4 $18)
44. Re4 (44. g3 Ke7 45. Rd4 Rf2 46. Rh4 $18) 44... Rf2 45. Rg4 (45. Kb5 Rb2 46.
Re3 $18) 45... Rf5 46. h3 Ke6 (46... h5 47. Re4 Rf2 48. Kb5 Kf5 49. Rh4 Rxg2
50. Kxa5 {and I don't like the look of those pawns.}) 47. Rh4 h5 48. g3 Kd6 (
48... Rg5 49. b4 axb4 50. Kxb4 Kd6 $16) 49. b4 axb4 50. Kxb4 Rg5 {I got there!}
51. g4 hxg4 52. Rxg4 Rh5 $14 53. h4 Kc6 $2 {Still on the wrong track; I should
have activated my only asset:} (53... f5 54. Rc4 (54. Rf4 Ke5 55. Rc4 Rh6 $11)
54... Ke5 55. a5 Rh8 56. Rc5+ Ke4 57. Kc3 Rh6 {and I'm actually drawing this!})
54. Rf4 f5 $2 {I knew instinctively this was bad, as it blocks my rook. I
don't care if he takes my f pawn, as long as I can have his h pawn in return;
then my king is close enough to the a file to ensure the draw:} (54... Rh6 55.
Rc4+ Kb6 {and it's hard for him to make progress, though it would probably
have taken so long that I'd've lost on time anyway.}) 55. a5 Kb7 $2 {I could
simply shuffle my rook up and down the h file.} 56. Kb5 Ka7 $2 {and again.} 57.
a6 $2 {My king is now so far away that he could have abanoned the a pawn and
headed for my f pawn.} Kb8 $2 58. Kb4 $2 Ka7 {These were the last moves I
recorded, as I only had a couple of minutes left. I'd tried for a while
writing both moves down while he was thinking, but even that was distracting.
So I relied on him, as I could see he was writing them down. What I didn't
realise was that a) neither of us would be able to read his writing and b) the
moves he appeared to have written didn't make sense!} 59. Ka5 Kb8 (59... Rh6 {
please! Then can my king get back in time?} 60. Kb5 Rxa6 61. Rxf5 Rh6 62. h5
Kb7 63. Rc5 Rd6 64. Kc4 Rd2 65. Rd5 Rh2 66. Kc5 Kc7 67. Kd4 Kc6 68. Ra5 Rh4+
69. Ke3 Kd6 $11 {Those can't surely have been White's best moves, though I
seemed to be following Fritz's preference, each time. Anyway, this looks
totally drawn, as Black's king is nearer than White's.}) 60. Rb4+ $2 {There I
was, mentally kicking myself for my "blunder" of 59...Kb8, letting him have
this check, when actually it was a devious ploy, drawing him into the wrong
line. Unfortunately, I didn't know it:} Ka8 $2 (60... Ka7 {and now the best he
could do was take the rook back to f4 and think again, as} 61. Rb7+ Ka8 {
leaves him unable to save his h pawn:} 62. Rb4 f4+ 63. Kb6 Rxh4 $11 {As long
as I take care not to get mated, my f pawn might prove more threatening than
his a pawn.}) 61. Kb6 Rh6+ 62. Kc7 $2 {He's finally decided to go after my f
pawn, but this isn't the way to do it. Correct was} (62. Kc5 Rxa6 63. Kd5 f4 {
(or my king will never escape)} 64. Rxf4 Kb7 65. Ke5 Kc8 66. Kf5 Kd8 67. h5 Ke8
68. Kg5 {My king is too far away and he'll be able to construct a shelter for
his king, while the pawn queens.}) 62... Rh7+ $2 {Entirely missing the
alternative (but my time was running down fast). After this, I can't even
decipher his king's next move. I remember a) that my king took his pawn on a6 
(but Dennis never recorded ...Ka7; b) his king and rook combined to capture my
f pawn; c) I got my rook behind the h pawn, in approved fashion; d) he
advanced the pawn to h6 (or was it h7?); e) my king reached the e file, I
think; f) his rook was over on a7 or a8; and g) my flag fell at about 75 moves.
A comedy of errors; at least we won the match!} (62... Rg6 $1 {which threatens
63...Rg4. I don't mind if he exchanges:} 63. Rf4 Rg4 64. Rxg4 (64. Rxf5 Rxh4 {
is drawn.}) 64... fxg4 65. h5 g3 66. h6 g2 67. h7 g1=Q 68. h8=Q+ Ka7 69. Qh6 (
69. Qb8+ Kxa6)) 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "King's Indian Defence"]
[Date "2014.10.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Broadbent, R."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C61"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2014.10.28"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 {Besides the fact that I'm a stubborn so and so
and wanted to stick to my guns (see my last result in Calderdale against Karim
Khan) there was another practical reason for choosing Bird's Variation for
this game. The last two times I played Robert with Black I went for the
Classical Variation with 3... Bc5. He must have been expecting that whether
he'd prepared for it or not and so, just for surprise value, this was a useful
occasion to deploy the Bird's.} 4. Nxd4 exd4 5. O-O {Karim played 5.d3 and 6.
Bf4?! Robert plays in a more orthodox and straight-forward fashion.} Bc5 6. d3
{Again a sensible move. Also possible is...} (6. Bc4 {With the threat of Qh5
so Black plays...} h5 7. d3 d6 {with a perfectly playable position for Black.})
6... h5 7. Nd2 c6 8. Bc4 {White can also try...} (8. Ba4 d6 9. Re1 Nf6 {and
again Black is ok here.}) 8... d5 9. exd5 cxd5 10. Bb5+ Kf8 11. Re1 $1 {
Because the bishop didn't retreat voluntarily to a4 it is now in mortal danger.
Black wins material after, for example...} Ne7 {Not making the mistake I'd
made against Karim of leaving this knight at home for a too long. It helps
that in this position White can't play Bg5 and pin my knight.} 12. Nf1 $2 {
This is a mistake. The knight is too passive here. It would be better placed
on f3 or b3. If White is worried about Bg4 he need only interject the move h3.
Now, despite my overlooking of the best move for Black in this position, I was
able to develop a comfortable advantage.} Bg4 {Thematic and irritating for
White because the queen blocks in the dark squared bishop on d2. However, I
missed an even stronger move.} (12... Qa5 $1 {Because the bishop didn't
retreat voluntarily to a4 it is now in mortal danger. Black wins material
after, for example...} 13. c4 dxc3 14. Ba4 c2 $1 15. Bxc2 Bg4 16. Re2 {winning
the exchange.}) 13. Qd2 Qb6 {I was planning to use the sixth rank to maneouvre
my pieces to prime locations.} 14. Ba4 Rh6 {Why not? Rc8 might be a stronger
move but as usual I like a direct approach.} 15. a3 {15.h3 would also have
been sensible but Black was threatening to play moves like Rc8 and Bb4 which
carries a real punch. It's amazing really, if you turned the board around and
painted the pieces in the opposite colours you'd think that White had done
quite well out of the opening to get this position by move 15. Needless to say
I was more than satisfied to get to this position with Black!} Rg6 16. Kh1 {I
think I had a decent think at this point in the game. Black has managed to
accrue a solid advantage but it's not going to be easy to find a way in to
White's defences. In such circumstances you look at your pieces and try to
decide which ones most urgently require relocation in order improve their
usefulness. Then you try to identify the ideal squares for them to head for.
In this position I figured that I'd like my queen's rook on e8 (which it
currently can't occupy) or c8 and I'd like my knight to go to f5 at some stage.
I also thought my dark squared bishop could do more work on d6. So...} Bd6 17.
f3 {17.h3 was also possible and probably better.} Be6 18. Qf2 {White is really
struggling to activiate his pieces. At least now his king position is solid
and he can try to deveop his queen's bishop.} Nf5 {Often in this line of the
Bird's White plays f4 and Black can try to establish a knight on e3. In this
game White has played f3 but the idea for Black is just the same. Of course
Ne3 is just a pipe dream at the moment but if some of the pieces get traded
off it could happen. From it's current outpost the knight can also support the
advance h4 and try to increase the pressure on the White king's position.} 19.
b4 {Fritz liked 19.g3 better but it's easy to understand why White would want
to try something a little more dynamic.} a5 $5 {Why not? There are some
mischievious tactics in the air on the a-file. Had Robert seen them all? I
guessed he hadn't or he wouldn't have played b4. Had he found a solution that
I hadn't seen? When you're on a losing streak you can get a bit paranoid about
these types of things.} 20. c3 $2 {This compunds White's problems. That said,
Fritz's preference doesn't exactly look like a bed of roses.} (20. Bd2 axb4 21.
axb4 Rc8 {Leaves White in big trouble.}) 20... axb4 21. axb4 Qc7 22. cxd4 {
Robert choses to give up the piece and try for counter play. Problem is he's
starting from a low base on that front. Little better was...} (22. c4 dxc4 23.
dxc4 Bxb4 24. Bd2 Bc5 {And Black is bossing it.}) 22... b5 23. Bd2 bxa4 24.
Rec1 {This was White's idea. Give up the bishop for a pawn and try to activate
his rooks to get some counter play.} Qb6 {White can't defend d4 so now he
raises the stakes even further, gambiting a whole rook to get some connected
passed pawns. It's an act of desperation but it's a practical choice and
forces Black to carefully consider how to proceed.} 25. Rc5 Bxc5 26. dxc5 Qb5 {
The problem White has with his approach is that, aswell as now being a whole
rook down for just a pawn, his position is still rather passive and riddled
with structural weaknesses. Black still has the initiative.} 27. Ra3 {
Blockading the a-pawn and protecting d3.} d4 $1 {This felt like an important
move because now Black I can activate the bishopon e6 in a really useful way.
Bb3 will be a real problem for White. In addition, this move hampers White's
queen and knight.} 28. Ng3 {Exchanging pieces doesn't really help White but at
least he's trading a good Black piece for his most passive particpant. He's
also taking urgent action to prevent a future Ne3 by me.} Nxg3+ 29. hxg3 Rd8 {
I had started to calculate all kinds of crazy attacking ideas at this point
but then I thought 'No, there's no need. Hold the position together and wait
for him to 'do' something.' It was the right decision, especially bearing in
mind the way in which I've thrown away a few recent games by being
overambitious.} 30. Qe2 Bb3 {Such an annoying move for White. Now the rook is
completely useless and the e-file has been opened.} 31. Qe4 {Even Friz can't
fid a useful plan for White here. The rest of the game is just mopping up and
taking care not to let those b and c pawns become a problem.} Qb8 32. Qf4 {He
can hardly allow Qxg2 and playing f4 would completely entomb his bishop.} Qxf4
33. Bxf4 Re6 34. b5 {Here it comes. White's last roll of the dice.} f6 35. g4
g5 36. Bd2 {I think it was only at this point Robert realised that if he
played...} (36. Bh2 {then...} Re1+ 37. Bg1 {Is winning easily for Black.})
36... hxg4 37. c6 g3 {Black just has to keep an eye on the passers now. If
necessary I was perfectly happy to give up a rook for the White bishop and one
of those pawns.} 38. Ra1 Rc8 39. Ba5 Re5 $1 {Pretty much puts the kybosh on
everything White was dreaming of.} 40. b6 Rxc6 41. Rc1 {A generous bit of
humour from my opponent because...} (41. b7 Rb5 {Is the end of his hopes so,
instead, he self destructs by way of a compliment.}) 41... Rxc1+ 42. Be1 Rcxe1#
{Finally a 'W' for me this season!} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Vienna Game"]
[Date "2014.10.27"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Bendall, B."]
[Black "Sykes, N."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C29"]
[Annotator "Sykes, Nick"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Brighouse"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 {This is the third time I have played Bruce, having drawn as White and
won as Black in our previous two encounters} e5 (1... c5 2. f4 d5 3. e5 Nc6 4.
Nf3 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 e6 {was played in our last encounter when Black
scored a comfortable victory in Bruce Bendall - Nick Sykes (Brighouse v HB A)
30th Sep 2013}) 2. f4 d5 3. Nc3 (3. exd5 exf4 {is the normal King's Gambit})
3... Nf6 {Transposing to a Vienna Game} 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Nxe4 $6 (5. Nf3 {is
the main move is the Vienna Gambit}) (5. d3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. Nf3 Nc6 8. d4
Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O {and Black might already be a bit better and went on to
score a nice win in Nick Hudson - Nick Sykes (Brighouse v HB A) 20th Nov 2011})
5... dxe4 6. d4 exd3 7. Bxd3 Nc6 8. Nf3 Bc5 9. c3 O-O 10. Bxh7+ $2 {I thought
this would be played and thought it was a good move for White however it turns
out it is a big error} Kh8 $2 {I didn't even consider the king coming to g6!
Hence why I'm only a 150 grade!} (10... Kxh7 $1 11. Ng5+ (11. Qc2+ Kg8 12. Ng5
g6) 11... Kg6 12. Qc2+ Bf5 13. Qe2 Re8) 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Be4 {Now I'm in for
a misreable defence. Not what I am especially good at!} Bd7 (12... f6 $1 13.
exf6 $2 (13. Bxc6 bxc6 14. exf6 Re8+ 15. Kd1 gxf6 {HIARCS reckons Black is
okay here?}) 13... Re8 {wins for Black}) 13. Bf4 Re8 14. O-O-O Rad8 {White is
a pawn up with a bit of pressure! I really wasn't enjoying this} 15. Ng5 Kg8
16. Rd5 (16. Bh7+ Kf8 17. Rhf1 $18) 16... Bb6 17. Rhd1 Bg4 18. R1d3 Rxd5 19.
Bxd5 Nd8 20. h3 Bf5 21. Be4 Bxe4 22. Nxe4 Nc6 23. Rg3 Kf8 (23... Nxe5 $4 24.
Nf6+) 24. Ng5 Kg8 25. Nf3 Ne7 26. Rg4 Nd5 27. Kd2 $2 c6 (27... f5 $1 28. exf6
Nxf6) 28. Bh6 g6 29. c4 Nc7 30. Bg5 Ne6 31. Bf6 Bd8 (31... Ng7 {puts up more
of a fight}) 32. h4 Ng7 $2 {Bruce was very short of time here and I was
playing quickly to try and put him under pressure} (32... Bxf6 33. exf6 Nc5 {
And White is better but by no means winning}) 33. Rd4 Bxf6 34. exf6 Ne6 {Here
Bruce lost on time. Bruce played quite well after I played the poor 10...Kh8.
I I just tried to cling on (not my strong point) fortunately Bruce played it
too slowly. I doubt I will get this lucky again all season} 0-1

