[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Hebden Bridge"]
[Date "2014.01.20"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Parsons, M."]
[Black "Broadbent, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A05"]
[Opening "Reti: 1...Nf6"]

1.Nf3 {Matthew has been moving into what he describes as "phase 2" of his
opening repertoire development. Basically that seems to mean that he won't
just be playing the London System but also the complex of English/Catalan/
Queens Gambit opening lines. These of course are highly flexible and could end
up becoming any number of different systems. Here the players end up in a
Grunfeld.} Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 {Of course this is a slightly unusual
move order for a Grunfeld. In the mainline Black normally hasn't played Bg7
before he's advance in the centre with d5 and White hasn't usually developed
his king's knight. This does mean that White has eliminated the option of
playing some of the Grunfeld lines where the king's knight does not go to f3.}
5.Qb3 {Is this called the Smyslov Variation? I can't remember.} c6? {This has
to be recorded as a mistake. Robert chooses a path that avoids the main idea
in this line of the Grunfeld which is to capture on c4, cede the centre to
White but then endeavour to undermine this set up from the flanks, for example
after} (5...dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 Bg4 8.Be3 {With the game move Robert's trying
to steer towards a Slav-type set up but in this position it just doesn't work
out very well.}) 6.cxd5 Nxd5?! {Did Robert get his ideas mixed up? This is the
continuation Black plays if White chooses to exchange pawns on the 5th move.
In this situation, with the White Queen already on b3 and the Black pawn on
c6, its not very effective at all.} 7.e4 Nxc3 8.bxc3 O-O {It's at this point
where we can see why Black's play is not as effective as it could be. The
point is that one of the main thematic ideas for Black in the Grunfeld is to
take aim at the White centre with the break c5. In this position that would be
a waste of a tempo and so Black has already limited his capabitlities.
Matthew, quite correctly appreciates that he has effectively gained a tempo on
the normal lines of the Grunfeld and he elects to use that tempo in the most
aggressive way he possibly could.} 9.h4 {Attack! Subjectively, this may not be
the best move available but, over the board, it's an excellent choice. Despite
apparently being safe behind his barracades the Black king is about to become
the subject of a withering attack.} Qc7 { This pretty much amounts to being a
red rag to a bull. It was possible to swallow his pride, accept the lost tempo
and play c5 here but that is a hard move to play having already played c6.
More plausible was the other alternative which would have been 9...Bg4} 10.h5!
{Quite right too! Matthew is going to be able to open the h-file because
Robert's f-pawn is pinned. Fritz still wanted Black to play c5 and counter
attack in the centre. White certainly doesn't have enough pieces developed to
kill Black's king just yet so why help him along?} Kh8? {So, Robert unpins it!
But this must be too slow, it's certainly highly provocative.} 11.hxg6 fxg6
{The computer already assesses White's advantage as being more than +4.00!!}
12.Ng5 {This is good but} (12.Nh4!! {The other mating threat is even more
compelling} Rf6 13.e5 Re6 14.Nxg6+ Rxg6 15.Qf7 Nd7 16.Bc4 e6 17.Qxg6 Nf8 {Is
utterly horrendous}) 12...h5 {Pretty much the only move but this is all rather
ugly.} 13.Be2! { A nice 'quiet' move} Bf6 {The light squared weaknesses on the
king's side already spell doom for Black. Fritz suggests} (13...e6 {trying to
shore things up but it's ugly... and futile. Simply} 14.g4 {is winning})
14.Nf7+ Kh7 15.Bxh5 {Who wouldn't go striaght for the jugular here? There is
nothing wrong with this move at all. Of course Fritz finds another, even more
clinical option in the form of} (15.e5! {accentuating the bind even further}
c5 {if} (15...Bg7 {then} 16.Ng5+ Kh8 17.Bxh5 {is vile}) 16.exf6 exf6 17.Nh6
cxd4 18.cxd4 {and White is a piece up and still maintains all the pressure})
15...gxh5 16.e5 {Very strong. Now Robert feels compelled to give back the
piece.} e6 17.Rxh5+ Kg6 18.Rh6+ Kxf7 19.Rxf6+ Ke8? {I guess Robert must have
been feeling pretty desperate hereabouts so it's natural to go towards the
centre where his undeveloped queen's side might yet offer some protection.
Incredibly the computer fancies his chances better going in the other
direction.} (19...Kg8 {and now White has nothing better than} 20.Rg6+ Kf7
21.Rh6 Rg8 {and in fact White, though he has much the easier game to play only
has two pawns for his piece and the flow of the attack has been staunched.
Fritz only awards White a half-pawn's advantage.}) 20.Rxf8+ Kxf8 {It's amazing
how human and silicone opinion can differ in this kind of position. Both
players doubtless thought that White was winning comfortably here. The
computer says it's level so the must be ways for Black to defend himself from
here.} 21.Ba3+ Ke8 22.O-O-O {Of course Black's big problem here is development
his queen's side pieces can't get out in any way that appears helpful.} Qf7
23.Rh1 Qg7? { This natural attempt to keep the White rook out of h8 turns out
to be the critical mistake. There was a brief opportunity for Robert to go on
the counter-attack.} (23...Qf4+! 24.Kb1 Qe4+ 25.Ka1 Na6 {and it's not so easy
for White to proove an advantage here.}) 24.Qb4! {A pretty finesse. Now the
white rook can go to h8 and will be invulnerable there.} Nd7? {Admittedly it's
the easiest to spot but Robert had one last chance to shore up his defences
and minimise his losses.} (24...c5! {It's very interesting to see the in the
engine analysis how many times this move was given as Black's best option
despite the fact that he'd already played c6! In this case it's not being
suggested to challenge the White pawn centre, the time for that is long gone,
in this case it's a sacrifice to allow the Black knight to reach c6. From this
square it can hold e7 and suddenly Black is defending the mate threates again
although White still has a big advantage with his three pawns for his knight.}
25.Qxc5 Nc6 26.Kb2) 25.Rh8+ {The point of his previous move. Now it's all
over.} Kf7 26.Qe7+ Kg6 27.Qh4 a6 (27...Nf6 {holds out a little longer but
Black will still be mated after, for example} 28.Bf8 Kf7 29.Bxg7 Nd7 30.Qh5+
Ke7 31.Qe8#) {#r} 1-0


[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Huddersfield"]
[Date "2014.04.09"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Tooley, D."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A46"]
[Opening "Indian: 2.Nf3 d6"]

1.d4 {There isn't much to say about the early moves in this game. I knew Dave
would play the Torre and spent a few minutes considering the best way to
create an unbalanced position against it. I thought a King's Indian type set
up would do the job and, although I didn't play my moves with the greatest
accuracy (well I'm not a KID player!) I nevertheless got a decent position due
to White's relatively passive set up.} Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 g6 4.Bg5 Bg7 5.e3 O-O
6.Bd3 Nc6 {Unusual, but White can't play d5 so why not?} 7.Nbd2 Qe8 8.O-O e5
9.Qc2 {Fritz gives} (9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Qb3 Bg7 11.Rfe1 b6 12.d5 Ne7 13.e4 c6 {and
Black is doing just fine here.}) 9...Nh5 10.Bb5 {Or again 10. Qb3 is an decent
option.} Bd7 11.Rfd1? {This is inaccurate and allowed me an opportunity that I
considered but passed up.} h6 {Better was} (11...Nxd4 12.cxd4 Bxb5 13.dxe5
dxe5 14.Qxc7 {Black has a solid advantage here but I didn't fancy the line for
some reason. I think that I felt it was a little too balanced in terms of both
structure and material. This wasn't the kind of middle game I played the
opening in the hopes of reaching.}) 12.Bh4 f5?! { This move is a bit too
loosening at this moment. It's not downright bad but it's certainly dubious.}
13.dxe5 {Dave could have inserted 13.Bc4+ Kh7 before exchanging on e5. I'm not
sure it makes a massive difference but Fritz likes it.} Nxe5 {According to the
computer it's marginally better for Black to play} (13...Bxe5 {but I didn't
want to exchange my king's bishop. As a Dragon player I have a pre-disposition
to preserve this piece if I possibly can.} 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Qb3+) 14.Nxe5 Bxe5
15.Bxd7 {No better is} (15.Qb3+ Kg7 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 {with equality.}) 15...Qxd7
16.Qb3+ Qf7! {Played after a long think. Of course there is no way to protect
my b-pawn, but I'd seen that a few moves ago and decided that I'd get
excellent counter chances if Dave went for that. Psychologically I think the
game move is interesting. Essentially White is being offered a dare. Black's
saying "If you want to play for a win you can have b7 and we'll see what
happens. If not then please exchange queens because I believe in my endgame
chances." For a long time I considered moves like d5 or Kh8-Rab8 but then I
realised that in the lines where White takes on b7 my queen has much more to
offer on f7. I was already looking at the idea of g5-Nxg3-f4 as the battery of
queen and rook on the f-file look quite dangerous and, without the bishop on
the board the White king looks scantily protected.} 17.Qxb7 {If White is going
to decline the queen exchange then he might be better off improving his
knight's position and driving back the Black bishop first. Black can hardly
exchange on b3 as the half open a-file will be of more use to White than
Black.} (17.Nf3 Bg7 {and now White has the same choice to make as he did on
move 17 but his position has improved somewhat.}) (17.Qxf7+ {Exchanging the
queens gives nothing for White} Rxf7 18.Nf3 Bg7 {If anything Black is slightly
better here as the White bishop is pretty poor and if it relocates to g3 from
where it has better prospects, it will just get swapped off.}) 17...Rab8
18.Qxa7 {He might as well take the other pawn as well.} Rxb2 19.Nb3?! {I was
happy when I saw this. In my view the knight needs to be on f3 when I had
planned to play} (19.Nf3 g5!? {The point is that if Nxe5 then dxe5 and White's
bishop will be trapped, so} 20.Qa3 Rfb8 {and Black is better. } 21.Bg3 Bg7)
19...g5 20.Bg3 Nxg3 21.hxg3 f4 {Carrying through my plan. White can't avoid
the f-file being opened because he can't advance two pawns at the same time
and if he takes my f-pawn then the g-file opens instead.} 22.Qa3? {This has to
be classed as a mistake because it leads to a lost position by force.
Nevertheless, the refutation requires a certain amount of pluck, so it's not
too surprising that Dave may have missed or underestimated my next move.}
Rxf2!! {I'd been considering this move whilst Dave was pondering his last. I
decided it looked promising anyway but after Qa3 I almost felt compelled to go
for it. I couldn't figure out all the variations if the rook sacrifice was
accepted but it looked to me like the White king was going to go wandering if
he did take it so I just decided to go for it. With the engine to help me
calculate afterwards it looks like the move is sound, indeed, the best move
available.} 23.gxf4 {Of course the critical line involves accepting the
sacrifice. Does Black have enough?} (23.Kxf2 fxg3+ { This is the best move as
it forces checkmate. It was however, not the pawn capture that I'd decided I
would play if Dave took the rook. We'll come to 23.. .fxe3+ in the next
variation} 24.Ke2 Qc4+! {This was the move I didn't see in this variation.
It's of critical importance that the Black pawn on g3 will protect the rook's
invasion on f2.} 25.Rd3 Rf2+ 26.Ke1 Qxd3 27.Qa8+ Kg7 { and it's all over.})
(23.exf4 {was the other plausible move. In this instance Fritz recommends the
straight forward continuation} Rxf4! {Black insists on giving up the rook.}
24.gxf4 {Of course White doesn't have to take the sacrifice here either but
here's what happens if he does.} Qxf4 {is also going to be mate.}) 23...gxf4
{Once again Black could go for} (23...Rxf4! {Again, White can't take the rook
without getting mated so how about} 24.Qb2 Rh4 { Well, according to Fritz this
leads to mate in 10.}) 24.e4 {Dave is trying his best to keep the lines closed
but now I can leave him with no choice.} (24.Kxf2 {Now lets look at the line I
thought I'd play on the last move if White took the rook.} fxe3+ {Leaving
White little alternative but to take the pawn as anything else quickly gets
mated.} 25.Kxe3 Qf2+ 26.Kd3 Qg3+ {I'd seen this far in my calculations. Of
course if Dave had taken the rook on his 23rd move then I'd have just captured
a pawn on g3 and there would still be a Black pawn on g5 aswell. It makes no
difference to the outcome.} 27.Kc2 Qxc3+ {I hadn't been able to visualise at
the outset that I'd be able to capture here with check but of course I'd have
seen it if we got this far!} 28.Kb1 Rf2 { Threatening Qc2 mate. White can
block this with 29.Rd2 but after Rxd2 30.Nxd2 he loses his queen.}) 24...f3!
{This is very strong. There's no need to move the rook. If White takes it he
is subject to the same blistering attack as seen in the previous notes.}
25.Kxf2 {This loses but anything else allows 25...Rxg2+ which just loses
slightly more slowly.} fxg2+ 26.Ke3 {Not} (26.Kxg2 Qf2+ 27.Kh3 Qg3#) 26...Qf3+
27.Kd2 Qxc3+ 28.Ke2 Qf3+ 29.Kd2 Bxa1 (29...Qf2+ 30.Kc1 Qe3+ 31.Kb1 Rf2 {and
Black is mating either via 32... Qxe4-Qc2, or if 32.Qa8+ then Kg7 and now
Black is also threatening Rb2 mate.}) 30.Qa5 Bc3+! {Forcing off the queens and
allowing the coronation of the g-pawn thus} (30...Bc3+ 31.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 32.Kxc3
Rf1 {White can't stop the pawn even by giving up material.}) {#R} 0-1


[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Hebden Bridge"]
[Date "2014.04.14"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Syrett, M."]
[Black "Webster, T."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C35"]
[Opening "KGA: Cunningham Defence"]

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Be7 4.Bc4 Bh4+ 5.g3 fxg3 6.O-O gxh2+ 7.Kh1 Qe7 8.Nc3
Nh6 9.d3 O-O 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.Bxh6 gxh6 12.Nxh4 Qxh4 13.Nxc7 Nc6 14.Nxa8 Ne5
15.Bd5 Kh8 16.Qe2 d6 17.Qxh2 Bh3 18.Be6 Ng4 19.Bxg4 Qxg4 20.Rf4 Bg2+ 21.Kg1
Qg5 22.Kf2 Rxa8 23.Rg1 Qc5+ 24.Kxg2 Qxc2+ 25.Kh1 Qxd3 26.Qxh6 Rg8 27.Qf6+ {#r}
1-0


[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "Hebden Bridge"]
[Date "2014.02.17"]
[Round "0"]
[White "Dickinson, K."]
[Black "Corbett, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B02"]
[Opening "Alekhine: 3.Bc4"]

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.Bc4 Nb6 4.Bb3 d5 5.a4 a5 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.gxf3 e6
9.d4 c5 10.Be3 cxd4 11.Bxd4 Nc6 12.Be3 Nxe5 13.f4 Nec4 14.Bxc4 Nxc4 15.Bd4 Qh4
16.b3 Nd6 17.Rg1 f6 18.Qe2 Qxh3 19.Nc3 Rc8 20.Nb5 Ne4 21.O-O-O Bb4 22.Rxg7
Qxb3 23.Qh5+ Kd8 24.Bb6+ Rc7 25.Bxc7+ Kc8 26.cxb3 {#r} 1-0


[Event "Calderdale Individual Championship"]
[Site "Hebden Bridge"]
[Date "2014.02.10"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Ursal.D"]
[Black "Burke.M"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E70"]
[Opening "King's Indian: 4.e4 d6"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.d5
Na5 10.Nc1 a6 11.Bh6 Ne5 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.b3 f5 14.Nd3 Nxd3+ 15.Bxd3 Bd7 16.O-O
Rb8 17.Rfe1 fxe4 18.Rxe4 Rf7 19.Rh4 Kg8 20.Ne4 b5 21.Ng5 Rg7 22.Qf4 Qf8 23.Qd2
bxc4 24.Rf4 Qd8 25.bxc4 Rb4 26.Qe1 Nb7 27.h4 Qe8 28.h5 gxh5 29.Ne6 Bxe6
30.Qxe6+ Kh8 31.Qh6 Kg8 32.Re1 Rb6 33.Rf5 Nd8 34.Rxh5 Nf7 35.Qe6 Rb7 36.Bf5
Kh8 37.Bg6 Kg8 38.Bd3 Kh8 39.Qh3 h6 40.Re6 Kg8 41.Bg6 Qa4 42.Bxf7+ Kxf7
43.Qf5+ Ke8 44.Rhxh6 Qd1+ 45.Kh2 Rg8 46.Re3 (46.Reg6! {This was the winning
continuation that Darwin overlooked in time-trouble. Surely he'd have found it
if he'd had a bit longer to think. THis move forces mate, for example} Rf8
(46...Kd8 {is the longest black can survive for after} 47.Rxg8+ Kc7 48.Ra8 Kb6
49.Qc8 Qd2 50.Qd8+ Rc7 51.Rb8+ Ka5 52.Qxc7+ Ka4 53.Qc6+ Ka5 54.Rb5+ Ka4
55.Qxa6+ Qa5 56.Qxa5#) 47.Qc8+ Kf7 48.Rf6+ exf6 49.Qxb7+ Ke8 50.Rh7) 46...Qd2
47.Qc8+ Kf7 48.Qe6+ Kf8 49.Re2 Qg5 50.Qc8+ Kg7 51.Rh7+ Kxh7 52.Qxb7 Qh4+
53.Kg1 Qd4+ 54.Kf1 Qd1+ 55.Re1 {#d} 1/2-1/2


[Event "Calderdale Individual Championship"]
[Site "Hebden Bridge"]
[Date "2014.03.10"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Leatherbarrow, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Opening "Scandinavian: 2...Qxd5 3.Nc3"]

1.e4 {Even though I was a few minutes late I took some time to consider what
my first move should be. The fact is that Andy was about the last person I'd
expected to play but the fact that both Pete Mulleady and John Allan were
missing had thrown us together. "At least", I thought "I have White". Then
came the quandry. I'd prepared extensively for Andy's Scandinavian last summer
for the Bridestones Holme Brew tournament but I couldn't remember much (if
any!) of that prep and hadn't had the chance to use it anyway as he had played
1...e5 and I ended up winning from a Philidor's Defence. Once I'd cleared my
head I decided that 1.d4, the only other opening move I'd ever seriously
consider playing, would be of no use to me as I hadn't the vaguest idea how to
meet any of the lines I can remember Andy playing. So, it had to be 1.e4 and
then have a serious think about what to do against his Scandinavian if he
played it.} d5 {In the same boat as I was, but probably having had a little
bit longer before the game started to consider how he'd proceed in the
opening, Andy made the best decision. Stick to what you know best when
preparation isn't possible. Afterall, Andy is very familair with the
Scandinavian and has a decent record with it. Why shouldn't he play it?}
2.exd5 Qxd5 {I was happy enough to see this move. I hadn't given much thought
to what I'd play against 2...Nf6} 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.Bc4 {I think this is the trendy
move of the moment although, according to my Chessbase app, the traditional
3.d4 is still by far the most popular move here. I used to automatically play
4.d4 in this position but I've become more aware of the plans involving White
developing pieces rapidly and reserving the right to delay the d-pawn advance
until he can decide whether or not it belongs on d3 or d4. I admit it though,
I was making this up as I went along. It's relevant to mention here too that I
also spent a few minutes considering 4.b4! But more of that later.} Nf6 5.Nf3
Bg4 {Andy said afterwards that he'd picked the most active line where Black
opts for swift piece development. Indeed, Black does get his pieces into the
game quickly and oddly, both sides have opted not to stake a claim in the
centre with their remaining d and e pawns. This sets the tone for a game that
turns out to be all about the pieces! The game move is slightly more popular
than 5.. .Bf5 according to the Chessbase app with 818 games as opposed to 528
games where 5... Bf5 was played.} 6.h3 {6.d4 is also playable of course. There
are opportunities to transpose back to d4 lines at almost every point in the
opening here. I was reserving judgement still as to whether or not I'd play d4
or go for d3. For the moment I decided that I wanted to resolve the pin on my
king's knight so...} Bh5 7.g4 {This is fairly commital but I decided to go for
it. My intention at this point was to castle queen's side and possibly advance
my pawn to g5.} Bg6 8.Qe2!? {Offering a pawn sacrifice. We're now down to just
13 games on my Chessbase app so I guess you could say we are venturing into
fairly obscure territory.} Nc6 {Again Andy choses the most active line aiming
to get his own pieces develop quickly too. Other moves that would have been
considered would be 8...c6 and 8...e6. Both of these are thematic Scandinavian
moves which aim to keep White's pieces at bay and prepare for Black to
complete his development. Of course there was also the matter of the hanging
c-pawn. Can Black afford to grab this?} (8...Bxc2 { Fritz seems to think not
and awards White a significant advantage after} 9.d3 Ba4 {and now the silicone
mind recommends going after the Black queen with a line like} 10.g5! Nfd7
11.Bd2 {and her Royal Highness is beginning to look very exposed.}) 9.Bb5
{After the game was over Alastair Wright asked me why I hadn't played} (9.a3
{aiming to trap the queen with b4 and Na4. I did briefly consider this move
but when Alistair asked me about it afterwards I couldn't remember why I had
rejected the idea. Now I remember... Black can castle anyway without any fear
of having her maj trapped as} O-O-O 10.b4? Nxb4 { and the White a-pawn is
unfortunately pinned. When I considered this variation with 9.a3 I wasn't
looking at trapping the queen only at preventing the Black knight from getting
to b4 from which outpost the c2 square looks very tasty. I soon realised that
a3 didn't stop this move at all and that the only way to prevent the knight
advancing to b4 was to pin it immediately. This train of thought brought me to
the game move which Andy told me afterwards is book.}) 9...O-O-O {In fact the
Chessbase app only has one game where this position was reached so maybe Andy
had his ideas mixed up. I wonder if usually White has played 8.d3 instead of
8.Qe2 when Black castles long. It turns out to be an important difference. All
I know is that I was very happy to swap off the bishop for knight and damage
the pawn structure in front of the Black king.} 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.b4!? {This
idea was probably inspired by the earlier thought I'd had right at the
beginning of the game when I mentioned I had considered playing the gambit
line 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.b4!? I'd watched as Richard Boylan beat
Andy with that variation in the Huddersfield vs. Hebden Bridge 'A' match last
season. Someone afterwards said Nakamura's played it a few times before. I'd
say it was an interesting way to shake things up but no more than that. In
this position the move has extra bite because of White's threat to open the
b-file to get at the Black king. It probably should be mentinoned that Fritz
preferred another approach here with} (11.Ne5 Qb6 12.a4 a6 13.Ra3! {is a very
unusual and interesting rook lift. Typical computer move I suppose. This does
look dangerous for Black but it's a very quirky position.}) 11...Qb6 {Once
again Andy declines to accept the pawn offering. Once again he was almost
certainly correct to do so. After} (11...Qxb4 {Fritz gives a long forcing
sequence} 12.Ne5 (12.Rb1 {This was the move I had planned to play. It also
seems to give White an edge. One possible line might be} Qa5 13.Ne5 Be4 14.Nc4
Qc5 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Rb3 {Preparing Ba3.}) 12...Rd4 13.Qa6+ Qb7 14.Qxb7+ Kxb7
15.Rb1+ Kc8 16.Nxc6 Be4 17.Nxe4 Rxe4+ 18.Kd1 {and White stands a little
better.}) 12.Ne5 e6 13.b5?! {I was filled with the lust for battle by this
stage of the game and thought this move would keep Andy on the back foot. It
turned out alright but it's not sound.} cxb5 {This time Andy takes the pawn
and even though White can win this one back Black can now also grab the c2
pawn so it's a genuine pawn offer. Once more he made the correct decision.}
14.Rb1 {This isn't sound. I had a particular idea and was fortunate that Andy
fell in with it. The best continuation for White was} (14.Nxb5 {and now Black
should continue with} Bxc2! {Initiating an important threat ...Bd3!} 15.a4 a6
16.Nc3 Bg6 17.O-O {And Black is a pawn up. It's very doubtful White has enough
compensation for it. Fritz certainly doesn't think so.}) 14...a6 {This is fine
but even better was} (14...b4! {The best way to refute White's play. I suppose
it's not the most natural move considering the position of the Black King and
Queen.} 15.Rb2 { This is the kind of position computers love and humans are
poor at. The game is very concrete and rather obscure. Often the best move is
not the natural one. It makes for interesting but not necessarily high quality
chess.} Nd7 16.Nxg6 hxg6 17.a3 a5 {and White is really struggling to complete
his development. This factor now trumps the optical weakness of the Black
king.}) 15.Nxb5!? {Thus begins the phase of the game in which the White
knights take the starring role. First of all the queen's knight offers himself
up to open the b-file. This was the main idea behind my last two moves. If
Black can take the piece then the concept is unsound. I assumed that the
computer would find the correct path to defend but I felt I was going to get a
strong attack if Andy took the piece.} Bxc2 {Andy chooses to grab a pawn
rather than the knight. This is an understandable decision as taking the
knight and opening the b-file looks very scary indeed. However, Fritz of
course finds that Black can have his cake and eat it after} (15...axb5 16.Rxb5
Qd6 17.Ra5 {This was as far as I'd analysed the sacrifice line and I felt I
had good chances here. Just look at some of the lines Black will have to
navigate in order to secure his booty.} Nd7 18.Ra8+ Nb8 19.Qb5 (19.Ba3 Qb6
20.O-O Bxa3 21.Rxa3 Nc6 {and White's initiative is over}) 19...Qb6 20.Qa4 Kb7
21.Nc4 Qb4 22.Qa7+ Kc8 { isn't enough for the piece but it still looks pretty
frightening for Black.}) 16.Rb2 Bd3 {This was Andy's idea. He's won a pawn and
will now be able to exchange off a piece to try and reduce the pressure on his
king. Perhaps he undersestimated the strength and influence my remaining
knight will have or thought that this was the only line he had for salvation.
In any case it appears that he could still have gone for} (16...axb5 {This
doesn't win a piece any more but after} 17.Rxc2 Rd4 18.d3 Bb4+ 19.Kf1 {Black
has an edge and is getting some momentum. White is a pawn down and doesn't
have enough compensation. In particular he'll have real problems getting his
king's bishop into the game.}) 17.Nxd3 axb5 18.Ne5 {The knight simply returns
to e5 from where it will be able to wreak havoc on an increasingly powerful
set of outposts. First and foremost it will create weaknesses in Black's
centre and open another line of attack on the Black king.} Rd5 {The only way
to meet the dual threat of 19.Rxb5 and19.Nxf7 forking the rooks.} 19.Nxf7 Rg8
{It was also possible to interject an intermezzo in the form of} (19...Nd7
{Now 20. Nxh8 is well met by Re5 so White must castle} 20.O-O Rg8 {But the
question is whether the knight is better placed on d7 than it was on f6. Who
knows?}) 20.O-O! {Finally, on move 20, time to castle. The point is that White
can't hope to put Black under any more pressure without completing his
development. The knight, queen and rook can't do all the work on their own.}
g5? {I noticed Andy played this move in slightly exasperated fashion. Black's
task is certainly complicated and his game is rather less easy to play than
White's. There was a good deal of calculation for me to do but the plan seemed
simple enough - attack before Black has time to re-group! Looking back at the
game now I think that this move was an important mistake. Andy's right to try
and seek some counter play by opening up the king's side but perhaps he should
complete his development first with for example} (20...Bc5! {A very nice
trick. White can't capture on b5 because of the response Bxf2+. We now get
another tricky and complex forcing line} 21.Rb3 {Preparing Ba3} Rf8 22.Ng5!
{Now it's White's turn to run the gauntlet. The knight is taboo because 22...
Rxg5 runs into 23.d4!} h5 23.Qxe6+ {and I suppose you could call the game
balanced though it's in chaos!}) 21.d4! {Development seems to be all that
matters. I also considered playing d3 but then my queen's line of site to the
Black b-pawn is obscured and I didn't want to release either of the two
defenders Andy had tied to it's defence. On d4 this pawn is not as vulnerable
as it looks because the Black rook protects b5 and the queen protects e6 so
neither can move to capture on d4 without concession. Black's weak pawns are a
problem and they seem to lead to the king.} h5 {Consistent at least. Black is
taking a can opener to the king's side. Now the final phase of the game has
arrived with a foot race to see who can reach the enemy king first.} 22.Bd2 {
My idea was to try and over work the queen. e3 didn't feel like the right
square to develop the bishop to because I wanted to keep the e-file open for
my queen. Fritz suggests that this move, and the idea behind it, is a mistake.
However, once again, the refutation is pretty difficult to find and so from a
practical perspective at least, the game move has to be a reasonable
selection. } hxg4 23.Ba5! Qa6 {Once again Andy declines my generous offer! He
could very well have accepted it but would probably have ended up at least
giving back the piece. We'll see why in a moment.} 24.Rc1 {More accurate would
have been the other rook move I considered} (24.Rc2! {Pretty much compelling
Black to take the bishop as c7 is just too vulnerable.} Qxa5 25.Qxe6+ Kb8!
26.Qxf6 Qb6 27.Qxb6+ cxb6 28.Re1 {What a strange position! Black has two sets
of doubled pawns and White has four isolated pawns. Critically though White's
rooks are better positioned than Black's and that bishop on f8 still hasn't
moved. Nevertheless Fritz considers this position to be level.}) 24...Qxa5
{Andy couldn't be expected to resist temptation for ever. Perhaps he felt he
had no alternative. Certainly with still 12 moves left before time control
both of us were down to a couple of minutes on the clock and the position was
still monstrously complicated. Perhaps Andy's best bet was to keep it that way
and hope I overstepped the time limit or blundered before getting to it.}
25.Qxe6+ Rd7 {Probably no better now was} (25...Kb8 26.Qxf6 Ba3 27.Ne5 {
Threatening a deadly fork on c6.} Qb6 28.Qf7 {and all four rooks are under
attack!}) 26.Ne5!? {Electing not to take the piece back in favour of playing
for mate. Sound? Barely. Fun? Most definitely! I was proposing to land my
superhero knight on c6 from which outpost it completely dominates the
position. The natural (and easy move) would have been} (26.Qxf6 {winning back
the material. White still maintains a strong attack after this with} Ba3
27.Qe6 gxh3 28.Nd6+! {There are pins and skewers everywhere.} Bxd6 29.Qxg8+ {
should be winning but it's still terribly complicated due to that passed
h-pawn of Black's}) 26...Rg7 {Trying to untangle the thicket of king's side
pieces. I'd also spent some of my precious remaining minutes analyzing what I
considered to be the most direct effort to refute my idea} (26...Ba3 {This
move leads to incredible complications but the line is actually fairly
forcing} 27.Nc6 Qb6 28.Rxb5! {One of the key ideas behind landing the knight
to c6. The b-pawn can be taken and if Black recaptures there is a fork on a7.
In this line Black probably does best to give up the queen for as much
material as he can get his hands on.} Qxb5 29.Na7+ Kb7 30.Rxc7+! {The rook is
lost anyway so White sets up one more forking formation on c7 and a3.} Rxc7
31.Nxb5 Rc1+ 32.Kg2 {White will win back the knight or the bishop.} Rc6
33.Qf7+ Ka6 34.Nxa3 {and it's all over bar the shouting. Black's king and
pieces are too exposed in this position and the White queen is all powerful.
She has so many targets to go for.}) 27.Nc6 Qa3? {Time pressure was beginning
to tell for Andy as well by now and neither of us had sufficient time to
calculate the spiralling vortex of variations. I was instinctively most
concerned about} (27...Re7 {which is the computer's recommendation as it
happens and might just save the day. Now White is compelled to restore
material parity and we go off on another odyssian forcing line which I should
emphasise I did not analyse during the game. This one is all Fritz.} 28.Qxf6
Re1+ 29.Kg2! { White can afford to step away. Remember the Black queen is
enprise! Now so is the White rook on c1.} gxh3+! 30.Kxh3 Qa3+ {Black scrambles
to get all his pieces to safe squares and keep the White king on the ropes.}
31.Rb3 Rh7+ 32.Kg2 Rh2+! {That queen was enprise again and so too the Black
rook on e1. Black manages to deflect the White king to another square where it
can be checked by his queen. Beautiful!} 33.Kxh2 Qd6+ {The point. Phew! Black
gets the queens off the board.} 34.Qxd6 Bxd6+ {and with this check he wins
back his missing rook.} 35.Kg2 Rxc1 {Now Black is going to be "just" a pawn
down.} 36.Na7+ Kd7 37.Nxb5 {A very pretty line full of twists and turns. The
likely outcome after all of that? Probably a draw. Well, it would have been a
fitting result if both players had found all those moves!}) 28.Rcb1 {Simple
and very strong. The mating threats on the b-file now are irresistable Black's
extra piece is irrelevant.} b4 {What else was there?} 29.Nxb4 {Perhaps it's
worth documenting the journey taken by this workaholic knight during the
course of the last 29 moves. Nf3-e5-d3-e5-f7-e5-c6-b4 and he's heading back to
c6 again if he doesn't get captured.} gxh3 {A last throw of the dice to try
and cause confusion. I'm glad Andy took the aesthete's path and didn't take
the knight as it would have robbed it of seeing out the game and taking it's
well-deserved standing ovation. Grabbing the knight doesn't change the outcome
in any case.} (29...Bxb4 30.Rxb4 Qxb4 31.Rxb4 {and even I could have made 5
sensible moves to get to time-control with a winning advantage from this
position.}) 30.Nc6 {He's back! Having made almost one third of all the White
moves so far in the game.} h2+ 31.Kxh2 Bd6+ {Let's just be clear that none of
the multiple checks Black has at his disposal are of any salvation to him. I
think the eager kibbitzers tried all of them afterwards! Here we go then, one
at a time} (31...Qd6+ 32.Kg1! {White can give up the queen and it's still mate
on b8.}) (31...Rh7+ 32.Kg1 Rh1+ 33.Kxh1 {and h3 is covered by the White
queen.}) (31...Ng4+ 32.Kg1 {and once more the g1 square is the White king's
refuge.}) 32.Kg2 {Just to be different. Kg1 also works. It's forced mate now
and so Andy resigned. This was a real monster of a game with neither player
backing down from the melee. I guess that games like this are the reason I
both love and play chess. The year or so one has between contests of this
nature are just practice :)} {#r} 1-0