[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Bak, A."]
[Black "Hamer, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.23"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. d3 d5 3. exd5 Nxd5 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. Ne2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8.
Nbc3 Nxc3 9. Nxc3 Be6 10. Bg5 Nd7 11. Qd2 Nf6 12. Rfe1 Qd7 13. a4 Rad8 14. a5
c5 15. Na4 Qc7 16. Qe3 Rc8 17. Bf4 Qxa5 18. Bxb7 Nd5 19. Bxd5 Bxd5 20. Nc3 Qd8
21. Nxd5 Qxd5 22. Qxe7 Bxb2 23. Rxa7 Bc3 24. Re4 Ra8 25. Bh6 Rfb8 26. Rxa8 Qxa8
27. Qxc5 Rb1+ 28. Kg2 Bg7 29. Bxg7 f5 30. Bh6 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Mulleady, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "156"]
[BlackElo "172"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "91"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A' "]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Bb5+ {Thanks to playing Andy L recently, I'd swotted
up a bit on the Scandinavian.} Bd7 4. Be2 {Fritz 14 actually prefers} (4. Bc4
Bg4 5. f3 Bc8 6. Nc3 c6 7. dxc6 Nxc6 {White's a pawn up, but castling may
prove difficult. I was happy with the line suggested in Attacking with 1.e4,
by John Emms.}) 4... Nxd5 5. d4 Bf5 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a3 {Emms gives} (8.
c4 Nb4 9. Na3 O-O 10. Bf4 {at which point Black should prevent Nb5, with 10...
a6 or 10...c6. I didn't see why Black should have all that counterplay.}) 8...
Nd7 9. c4 N5f6 10. Nc3 O-O 11. Nh4 $14 {Exchanging his more active bishop
seemed a good idea.} Bg6 $6 {Fritz prefers any of 11...Bg4, 11...Be4 or even
11...Re8.} 12. Nxg6 $16 hxg6 13. Bf3 $14 c6 14. Bf4 {This appealed to me,
keeping his queen and bishop off the b8-h2 diagonal, despite my bishop being
potentially a target; Fritz chooses this move too.} Nb6 15. Qd3 {I thought I
could get away with self-pinning the d pawn. Fritz prefers the less ambitious}
(15. b3 a5 16. Qd2 a4 17. c5 Nbd5 18. Nxa4 Nxf4 19. Qxf4 {though the backward
d pawn may prove to be a liability.}) 15... Qd7 16. Rfd1 {Fritz mildly prefers
the a rook here; I thought action was more likely to take place on the queen's
side. However, what if he'd played Fritz's preferred ...Nh5, hereabouts? Would
I have taken it, or retreated my bishop to e3? The king's side may have become
more significant, and I may have regretted my failure to play h3, to keep my
bishop on its nice diagonal.} Rfd8 17. b4 {Attempting to ensure that he can't
play c6-c5; also preparing b4-b5 myself, as d4-d5 looks difficult.} Rac8 $16 {
Fritz's choice of} (17... a5 18. Rab1 axb4 19. axb4 Ra3 20. Bc1 Raa8 {would
have reduced White's advantage.}) 18. Qe2 {I wanted to un-pin my d pawn and
also discourage both ...e5 and ...Nh5. I was fortunate in that this drew him
into a passive reply.} Qe8 {Actually, Fritz's more active suggestion of} (18...
Nh5 19. Be5 f6 20. c5 Nd5 21. Nxd5 cxd5 22. Bxh5 gxh5 23. Bg3 {looks pretty
good for White, to me.}) 19. Rac1 {Fritz wants me to play h3, at almost every
move. I felt more comfortable with the knight protected.} Rd7 20. Qa2 {Still
protecting c4 but now also looking towards d5 and possibly beyond. From b3,
the queen will be able to support b4-b5.} Rcd8 21. Be5 $14 {I didn't want to
quit this diagonal unless compelled to; Fritz prefers 21.Be3.} a6 (21... Nh7
22. c5 Nd5 23. Bxd5 exd5 24. Re1 Bg5 25. f4 Bh4 26. g3 Be7 $11) 22. Qb3 Nc8 {
So that he can play ...Bd6 to challenge my bishop, without losing a piece to a
fork on c5.} 23. d5 {This seemed to me to be the right opportunity to make
this push, but Fritz prefers any of} (23. b5 axb5 24. cxb5 Na7 25. a4 Bd6 26.
bxc6 Nxc6 27. Bxd6 Rxd6 28. Nb5 $16 {or}) (23. c5 Nd5 24. Nxd5 cxd5 25. c6 bxc6
26. Rxc6 Ra7 27. Rc2 $14 {(a curious retreat; most of us would play 27.Rdc1) or
}) (23. Na4 Nh7 24. Qc3 Bd6 25. Be2 g5 26. Nc5 Bxc5 27. dxc5 f6 28. Bb8 $14 {
and again I'm not entirely sure what White is up to; I'll stick with 23.d5.})
23... exd5 24. cxd5 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 cxd5 26. Rxd5 {I was focussed so closely on
d5 that I didn't see} (26. Bc7 Bg5 27. Rc5 Re7 28. g3 Rdd7 29. Rdxd5 Rxc7 30.
Rxg5 Nd6 {Actually, apart from having bishop against knight, I don't see that
this is a great improvement.}) 26... Rxd5 $2 (26... Bg5 27. Re1 Rxd5 28. Bxd5
Bf6 29. Qc3 Qd7 30. Bb3 Bxe5 31. Qxe5 $14 {and at least Black has got rid of
one of White's bishops.}) 27. Bxd5 $16 Bd6 $6 (27... Bh4 28. Bf4 b5 29. g3 Ne7
30. Re1 Bf6 31. Bc7 Rc8 32. Bd6 Rc3 33. Qa2 {While White's bishops are still
impressive, Black is managing to contest them.}) 28. Bb2 {It dawned on me that
I had a pair of bishops pointing at Black's king! I first considered 28.Bc3,
covering Re1, but then thought that my battery would be much stronger with the
queen in front.} Qd7 29. Rd1 {Restraining his bishop, and threatening Qc3 (so
why didn't I play that?)} Kf8 $6 {I understood that he wanted to break the pin
on his f pawn, but this should have made his position worse.} 30. Qf3 $6 {
Better was the obvious} (30. Qc3 f6 31. Qf3 Be7 32. Rd4 Nd6 33. Ba2 $18 {
followed by Qb3, which looks awful for Black.}) 30... Nb6 31. Bb3 Qe7 (31...
Qf5 32. Qc3 f6 33. g3 Be7 34. Rxd8+ Bxd8 35. Qd2 Bc7 (35... Be7 36. Qd4 Qb5 {
(the knight can't move because of Qd5)} 37. Qh4 Ke8 38. Bc2 {and White's
white-square dominance is beginning to tell.}) 36. Qc1 Bd8 37. Qd1 Bc7 38. Bc2
Qe6 39. Bxg6 {Again, the white squares will tell.}) 32. Qh3 $6 {Despite the
wholesale exchange, a while back, we were both getting short of time, and it
shows! Either 32.Qc3 or 32.g3 was called for.} Kg8 33. Qg4 $6 {I thought I was
making progress, but he kept finding answers...} g5 34. Qd4 $4 {...so I must
have panicked. I'd been aware of the possibility of discovered attacks, a few
moves ago, but the aged memory failed me. Fritz's suggestion, removing the
king from a black square, is} (34. Kf1 {and now Qd4 really *is* a threat.} Bf4
35. g3 Rxd1+ 36. Qxd1 Bc7 37. Qd4 Qf6 38. Qxf6 gxf6 39. Bxf6 {looks good
enough.}) 34... Bxh2+ {At a stroke, +2 is turned into -2; Black is winning now.
} 35. Kxh2 Rxd4 36. Rxd4 {At least I didn't resign on the spot. I was aware
that we had won two games, but was pessimistic about the other two. Fritz
prefers 36.Bxd4, but I felt this gave me slightly more promise of activity.}
Qe2 {We each made the time control with less than a minute to spare.} 37. Rd8+
Kh7 38. Bd4 Qh5+ $6 {For some reason, neither of us saw} (38... Nc4 39. g3 Qd3
{and I'm pretty well forced to swap bishop for knight, when the queen will
prove too much for the rook and lone bishop.}) 39. Kg1 Qg6 40. Kh2 {It took me
a while to see that my white-squared bishop was best placed where it was; now
the knight really can't move. In the circumstances, I'd be quite happy for him
to repeat moves.} Qc6 41. g3 {At last I played it!} Qf3 $4 {Pete's turn to
blunder; 41...f6 or 41...Kg6 would have maintained has advantage. He offered a
draw; should I accept? I was told the match score was 2-2; no, it really did
look as though I could win this.} 42. Bc2+ f5 43. Bxb6 {I spent some time,
making sure his queen couldn't fork two of my far-flung pieces. However, even
better was} (43. Rf8 Kg6 44. Bxb6 g4 45. Bd4 Qd5 (45... Kg5 46. Rxf5+ {wins, or
}) 46. Rxf5 {and the best he can do is to give back the queen for rook and
bishop; if he tries} Qa2 47. Rf6+ Kg5 (47... Kh5 48. Bg6+ Kg5 49. Rb6 {and 50.
Be3+.}) 48. Rg6+ Kh5 49. Be3 Qxc2 50. Rg5+ Kh6 51. Rc5+ {and 52.Rxc2.}) 43...
Qh5+ 44. Kg1 Qg6 $2 (44... Qf7 {lasts a lot longer, but he was now far shorter
of time than I was, so I may have managed to find something like} 45. Bc5 b6
46. Bxb6 Qf6 47. Bc7 g6 48. Rd7+ Kh8 49. Bb3 f4 50. Bc4 Qa1+ 51. Kh2 Qf6 52. g4
f3 53. Rd8+ Kh7 54. Bg8+ Kh6 55. Rd7) 45. Bd4 {Taking control of the long
diagonal again.} Qc6 $4 46. Bxf5+ {He has the choice between losing queen for
bishop or either of two one-move mates. I was lucky to get away with my
blunder and Hebden Bridge won the match!} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Cook, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C56"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. Nf3 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. Re1 d5 7. Bxd5 Qxd5 8.
Nc3 Qd8 9. Nxe4 $6 (9. Rxe4+ {Is correct.} Be7 10. Nxd4) 9... Be7 10. Bg5 f6 $1
{If this is possible then White's whole approach here is wrong.} 11. Nxf6+ $2 {
I spent ages on this move as sacrificing either of the knight or bishop looked
promising. I had great doubts though. Why didn't I back down and go for 11.Bf4
or Bd2? Because it's not in my nature! In fairness, as I discovered later when
I check my databases, several eminent players from history have found
themselves in the same boat as me and done the same thing I did here.} (11.
Bxf6 {Is even worse after simply...} gxf6 12. Nxf6+ Kf7 {and White has nothing
for his piece.}) 11... gxf6 12. Bxf6 {At least I thought that this was I cold
pick up the d-pawn and still try to apply some pressure. The problem is that
the position is open and Black can develop his piece quickly and harmoniously
so there really is no attack for White.} O-O 13. Bxe7 Nxe7 14. Qd3 {The rest
of this game is not really worthy of comment as my opponent simply does what
he needs to whilst I thrash about.} Ng6 15. Re4 Qf6 16. Rd1 Bf5 17. Qc4+ Qf7
18. Rexd4 Qxc4 19. Rxc4 Rad8 20. Re1 c6 21. c3 Rfe8 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. h3 Ne5
24. Nxe5 Rxe5 25. Rb4 b6 26. g4 Be6 27. Kf1 Bxa2 28. f4 Re7 29. Kf2 b5 30. Rd4
Bd5 31. f5 Re4 32. Rd2 Kf7 33. Rd3 a5 34. Rg3 a4 35. Rd3 Kf6 36. Kg3 Re2 37.
Kf4 Rf2+ 38. Kg3 Rxb2 39. c4 bxc4 40. Ra3 Rb3+ 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Sicilian Sveshnikov"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Gil Fresno, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 {After playing for over 20 years in the league it's nice to play a new
player!} c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Ndb5 d6 (6... Bb4 7.
a3 Bxc3+ 8. Nxc3 d5 {is a standard Four Knights Sicilian}) 7. Bf4 {After this
move both players knew a transposition to a Sveshnikov was inevitable} e5 8.
Bg5 a6 9. Na3 {This is now a standard Sveshnikov. however for some reaon it
took my opponent an extraordinary long time to reach this position} b5 (9...
Be6 {is the other main line albiet not as popular as the move played the main
line is} 10. Nc4 Rc8 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Nb6 Rb8 13. Ncd5) (9... Be7 {is also a
rare option and was seen in Nick Sykes v Neil Suttie, 4th October 2004 and
Nick Sykes v Paul Halstead, 27th Nov 1995}) 10. Nd5 (10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nd5 {is
the other big main line which is posibly more aggresive than the move played})
10... Be7 11. Bxf6 gxf6 $6 {this is a strange choice and not one I have seen
before} (11... Bxf6 {is far better when the main line is} 12. c3 O-O 13. Nc2
Bg5 {and was seen a game between two current HB players! Dave Shapland v Andy
Bak, 23rd March 2011}) 12. c3 (12. Qh5 {was the other move I considered and is
probably better}) 12... f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Nc2 O-O 15. Nce3 {The knight is
secure on d5 now, Black must play accurately not to be worse here} Be6 16. Qh5
{A standard square for the White Queen in the Sveshnikov} f5 {It's hard to
find a good plan for Black here (maybe a more season Sveshnikov player could
find one) but Black's 11th move has made development problematic} 17. Qh6 Bf6 {
I reckon Black would like to play ...Bg7 but of course the bishop on e6 is
hanging, A Queen move to protect the bishop such as ...Qc8 or ...Qd7 runs into
Nb6} 18. Bd3 {X-ray on h7, preventing ....f4} e4 {now f4 is also weak! Black's
position is full of holes and HIARCS asssess this position as clearly better
for White} 19. Bc2 Bxd5 20. Nxd5 Ne5 {eyeing the g4, d3 and c4 squares!} 21.
Ne3 {I thought this was a good move at the time preventing Ng4 and Nc4 but
HIARCS suggests it is not the best move} (21. O-O Ng4 $2 (21... Nc4 22. f3 Nxb2
$2 23. fxe4 $18) 22. Qh5 $18) 21... Nd3+ $6 {not the best, White's knight will
now be able to sit on d5 unopposed. However Black clock management had been
very poor and was running very short of time even at the early stage with 15
moves to make before the time control} 22. Bxd3 exd3 23. O-O {HIARCS suggests
White is clearly better here, I also thought over the board White's position
was much easier to play} f4 24. Qxf4 Bxc3 25. Qg4+ {all the best moves
according to HIARCS} Bg7 26. Nf5 $6 (26. Rad1 {when White is better possibly
due to his superior pawn structure}) 26... Qd7 $4 {an awful blunder in accute
time trouble} (26... Ra7 {was the move and although White is better but not
winning, although White still has a better position} 27. Nxg7 Rxg7 28. Qe6+ Kh8
29. Rad1 Qh4 30. Qxd6 {is the best Black can hope for}) 27. Nh6+ 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Leatherbarrow, A."]
[Black "Clarkson, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B08"]
[WhiteElo "1815"]
[BlackElo "1995"]
[Annotator "Clarkson,Andrew"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.01.19"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 d5 {One of eight
playable moves at club level. It always surprises the first player that Black
moves this pawn again so quickly. In Nunn's 1989 book, The Complete Pirc, this
move only merits a mention in a sentence. Indeed it might have been tried for
the first time the previous year in King,D-McNab,C.} 7. e5 Ne4 {I first tried
this in 1995 against none less than John Littlewood.....and lost.} 8. Bd3 (8.
Nxe4 dxe4 9. Ng5 {is another story.}) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 c5 10. Qd2 {White
plays the opening in a sound manner. On the night I was a little worried at
this point as I had lost to a 2100 player in the East Lancs League in 1996,
gaining no counterplay. I also recalled that John Nunn advocated a4 by White,
in his 1993 book New Ideas In The Pirc, which might give a lasting edge.
However, as I analyse the game now I am not so pessimistic.} (10. O-O Nc6 11.
Qd2 Qa5 12. Rfb1 a6 (12... cxd4 13. cxd4 Qxd2 14. Bxd2 b6 15. a4 $14 {as
stated by Nunn in 1993, and played in Barnes,S (2100)-Clarkson,A (1825) East
Lancs 1996 1-0 (29)}) 13. a4 Rb8 14. Qc1 Be6 15. Qb2 c4 16. Be2 Qc7 17. Qb6 Qd7
18. Bf4 h6 19. a5 g5 20. Bg3 Bf5 21. Qb2 Na7 22. Qc1 Nb5 23. Qd2 Rbc8 24. Re1
f6 25. Bf1 {Black is not worse here but was up against Bent Larsen so....
Larsen,B (2550)-Wolff,P (2500) London 1990 1-0 (41)}) (10. a4 {Was what I'd
expected} Nc6 11. O-O c4 12. Be2 {but it seems the ...f6 device to attack
White's centre is adequate.} f6 13. exf6 exf6 14. Qd2 Bf5 15. Rfb1 Qd7 16. Nh4
Be6 17. Bf1 Ne7 18. Qc1 g5 19. Nf3 Nf5 20. Bd2 Nd6 21. Qb2 Bf5 22. Be3 Rf7 23.
Be2 Bg6 24. Nh2 Ne4 {Metz,H (2275)-Schmaltz,R (2410) Germany 1994 0-1}) 10...
c4 11. Be2 Nc6 {I have also tried} (11... b5 12. O-O a5 13. a3 Nc6 14. Rab1 Rb8
15. Bh6 Qb6 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Ng5 Rb7 18. e6 f6 19. Nf7 Bxe6 20. Qh6+ Kxf7 21.
Qxh7+ Ke8 22. Qxg6+ Bf7 $19 {Guest-Clarkson,A / 3 minute internet blitz / 2014.
}) 12. O-O b5 {I played this as I remembered struggling with ...Qa5 lines in
the 1990's, but had forgotten that I had used it last year!} 13. Rfb1 Rb8 14.
a3 a5 {intending ...b4 in the future.} 15. Nh2 h5 16. Bf3 Be6 17. Bf4 Qd7 18.
Nf1 Rb7 19. Ne3 Rfb8 20. Rd1 b4 21. cxb4 axb4 22. axb4 Rxb4 23. Qe1 Rb2 24. c3
R2b5 25. Rdb1 Na5 26. Rxb5 Rxb5 27. Rb1 Nb3 28. Bd1 $2 {The first mistake of
the game. Now you might have been saying 'White should have done this or White
should have done that' but all the moves played up to here are amongst the top
choices of our silicon friends. At the board I had thought that White had
merely faffed around with his Knight and should have tried g4 for better or
worse. Whether that is the case would have to be tried on another night.} (28.
Rd1 $5 $11 {Says Fritz.}) 28... Bf5 {White was now very short of time but not
showing any particular sign of speeding up. Even after so many years at the
board I still found myself moving swiftly to try and exploit my opponent's
time trouble. I refused to spend time on...} (28... Nxd4 29. Ra1 Nb3 30. Ra3 d4
$17 {prefering to keep what I thought was an iron grip on the game with little
breathing space for White.}) 29. Rb2 {The question I had put to White in his
time trouble was} (29. Nxf5 $2 Qxf5 30. Bxb3 Rxb3 31. Rxb3 cxb3 $19 {when
White will have a very bad Bishop in an ending.}) 29... Bd3 {I had some quick
easy moves ready, ...e6 and ...Bf8. Again I shy away from...} (29... Nxd4 {as}
30. Ba4 {would make the game very double edged.}) 30. Ra2 e6 31. Be2 {I
doubted White would manage to play 36 moves. But he could try...} (31. g4 $5
$11) 31... Bxe2 {Fritz points out...} (31... Nc1 $5 32. Qxc1 Rb1 33. Qxb1 Bxb1
{but after} 34. Rb2 {a whole new type of game would develop.}) 32. Rxe2 {I
might have declined some tactical opportunities but still believe my choices
were the best under the circumstances. White's time had almost elapsed now. Or.
..} (32. Qxe2 Nc1 33. Ra8+ Kh7 34. Qf3 Rb1 35. Kh2 Qb7 $17) 32... Ra5 33. Nd1 {
But White's flag had already fallen. Play might have continued....} Ra1 34. Rc2
Bf8 35. Qe2 Qa7 {Black is better but there would still be a lot of work to do.}
0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Syrett, M."]
[Black "Smith, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E91"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'B'"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. c4 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 c6 6. Be2 Nbd7 7. O-O O-O 8. Bg5
Qc7 9. Rc1 e5 10. d5 Nc5 11. Qc2 a5 12. Rfd1 Ne8 13. Be3 f5 14. Bxc5 dxc5 15.
Qd2 Rf6 16. Bd3 f4 17. Be2 Bg4 18. Ng5 Bxe2 19. Qxe2 Qe7 20. Rd3 Nd6 21. b3 Bh6
22. Nf3 g5 23. dxc6 bxc6 24. Rcd1 g4 25. Nh4 f3 26. gxf3 gxf3 27. Rxf3 Rxf3 28.
Qxf3 Qxh4 29. Rxd6 Rf8 30. Qg3+ Qxg3+ 31. hxg3 Bg7 32. Rxc6 Rd8 33. Nd5 Bf8 34.
Ra6 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bamford, N."]
[Black "Jacobs, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B08"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Courier 'B'"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h3 O-O 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. Ne2 c5 8. Ng3
cxd4 9. Nxd4 Ne5 10. O-O Bd7 11. Be2 Qc8 12. Kh2 a6 13. a4 Nc6 14. c3 Rd8 15.
Bd2 Qc7 16. f4 e5 17. Nc2 exf4 18. Bxf4 Ne5 19. Bg5 Ne8 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. Ne3
Be6 22. Nd5 Bxd5 23. exd5 Nc4 24. Bxc4 Qxc4 25. Qf3 f5 26. Rfd1 Be5 27. Kh1 Nf6
28. Rd3 Re8 29. Nf1 Ne4 30. Rdd1 Qc5 31. Rac1 Nf2+ 32. Kg1 Nxd1+ 33. Kh1 Nf2+
34. Kg1 Nd3+ 35. Kh1 Nxc1 36. Ne3 Bxc3 37. Nxf5 Re1+ 38. Kh2 Be5+ 39. Ng3 Qg1#
0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kerrane, J."]
[Black "Milton, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Shapland,David"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'C'"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e5 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. d3 Nc6 7. Nf3 Be7 8.
O-O O-O 9. a3 a5 10. Qc2 h6 11. Rd1 Bf5 12. e4 Be6 13. Be3 Bf6 14. Ne2 Nd4 15.
Nexd4 exd4 16. Bf4 c6 17. Be5 Bg4 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. Qe2 Bxf3 20. Bxf3 Nd7 21.
Bg2 c5 22. f4 Rae8 23. Re1 b6 24. e5 Qd8 25. Bd5 Re7 26. e6 fxe6 27. Bxe6+ Kh8
28. f5 {[%emt 0:00:34] Draw agreed on move} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Deravairere, R."]
[Black "Logan, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B01"]
[PlyCount "34"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.01.27"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'C'"]

1. e4 d5 2. d3 dxe4 3. dxe4 Bd7 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. a3 Nf6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Bb5 Be7 8.
Nf3 h6 9. Bxc6 hxg5 10. Bxb7 Rb8 11. Ba6 Rxb2 12. Rb1 Qb8 13. Qc1 Rxb1 14. Nxb1
Nxe4 15. O-O g4 16. Nfd2 c6 17. Nxe4 Qxh2# 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.19"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Dodd, T."]
[Black "Webster, T."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B30"]
[PlyCount "48"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'C'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Na5 5. b3 Nxc4 6. bxc4 Qa5 7. Bb2 Qb4 8.
Rb1 Qxc4 9. d3 Qb4 10. O-O a6 11. a3 Qa5 12. Ne5 Bd6 13. Qh5 Nh6 14. Nc4 Qc7
15. Qg5 Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Bf4 17. Qxg7 Rg8 18. Qxh7 b5 19. Bc1 Qd8 20. Bxf4 Qh4+
21. Kg1 Qxf4 22. Kh1 bxc4 23. Ne2 Qg5 24. f4 Qxg2# 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Patrick, D."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B04"]
[WhiteElo "162"]
[BlackElo "156"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Courier 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 {"Dave Patrick will play 2.Nc3 against Alekhine's Defence." No
he didn't, but this wasn't the root of my troubles.} Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5
5. Nxe5 g6 {The Classical Kengis System; at least, that's what Nigel Davies'
book says. Everyone else drops the names of openings and defences, left, right
and centre, so why shouldn't I?} 6. c4 {Here's an example of why engines are
sometimes not the best guide to openings: Fritz 14's Openings Book gives this
a ? while the engine's analysis makes it its favourite move at += (0.32) and 6.
Bc4 isn't one of its top three moves! Nigel Davies says "...the space-gaining
6.c4 needs very accurate handling by Black." Not exhibited by me in this game.}
(6. Bc4 c6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Bb3 {is the main line of the Kengis,
according to Davies, and now 9...Be6 is probably his preference, though 9...
Nd7 is Fritz's.}) 6... Nb6 7. Nc3 Bg7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Qd2 $6 {Book, to this
point, but now I missed an opportunity to equalise.} N6d7 {I chose this knight
as I want the other on c6, but not at the expense of doubled isolated pawns.} (
9... Bxe5 {Counter-intuitive, exchanging this bishop.} 10. dxe5 Qxd2+ 11. Bxd2
Nc6 {and Fritz rates the position as equal.}) 10. f4 $6 {Given how cramped
Black's pieces are, I agree with Fritz's choice of withdrawing the knight, to
f3 or even g4.} Nxe5 11. dxe5 {Yes, this is the right recapture; I liked the
look of} (11. fxe5 c5 12. d5 Nd7 13. e6 fxe6 $15 {White is lagging in
development, e.g.} 14. dxe6 Nb6 15. Bxc5 Bxe6 $17 {and White's king looks a
bit exposed.}) 11... Qxd2+ 12. Bxd2 f6 $2 {The first of several elementary
errors; having considered 13.Nb5, how on earth did I miss his obvious reply?}
13. Nd5 Na6 {Relatively least bad was} (13... Nc6 {guarding e7 and giving my
queen's rook breathing space. Why didn't I look at this either?} 14. exf6 Bxf6
15. Nxc7 Rb8 16. O-O-O Bg4 17. Re1 Rbd8 18. Nd5 Bg7 {White has won a pawn, but
he has yet to complete his development and Black's pieces have promising
activity. At least I correctly discarded}) (13... fxe5 14. Nxc7 exf4 15. Nxa8
Bxb2 16. Rb1 Be5 17. Rb5 {(I didn't get this far, but I was pretty sure
White's knight would be able to escape)} Bd6 18. c5 Be5 19. Bc4+ Kg7 20. Bd5
$18) 14. Nxe7+ Kf7 $6 {I did realise that 14...Kh8 was probably better; as the
game progressed, my king got in the way of the rook.} 15. Nxc8 Raxc8 16. exf6
$6 {Marginally ?! but Fritz prefers any of 16.f5, 16. O-O-O and 16.g3.} Bxf6 $2
{I obligingly turned his previous move into a good one; I knew the instant I
played it that I'd missed an opportunity for some counterplay with} (16...
Rfe8+ 17. Kd1 Bxf6 18. Kc2 Rcd8 {White's still better but Black does have some
compensation.}) 17. O-O-O $16 {Black has nothing for the pawn and White has
the two bishops, to boot.} Rcd8 18. g4 {This surprised me (surprised Fritz
too!); it took me a long time to see what he was up to. I suspect he wouldn't
have done the same, if I'd played 14...Kh8.} Nc5 19. g5 Bg7 {If I'd played 19..
.Bd4, White's last two moves would have halved his advantage.} 20. Bb4 Rxd1+
21. Kxd1 Rd8+ {Obvious, but} (21... b6 {was better. Even for doubling my pawns,
he's not going to give up his bishop pair, plus leaving us with
opposite-coloured bishops.} 22. Kc2 (22. Bc3 $2 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Ke7 $17 {and,
all of a sudden, White's lack of development has turned a winning position
into a losing one.}) 22... Ke7 23. Bd2 Ne6 24. Bh3 Nxf4 {and I've safely
regained my pawn.}) 22. Kc2 Ne6 23. Bg2 Nd4+ $2 {Wrong piece!} (23... Rd4 24.
Re1 Rxc4+ 25. Kb3 Rd4 {(to prevent 26.Bd5)} 26. Bxb7 a5 27. Ba3 a4+ 28. Kc2 c5
29. Bg2 {White is still better, but Black is still fighting. I suppose I did
at least avoid}) (23... Nxf4 $4 24. Rf1 Be5 (24... Rd4 25. Bc3 {is even worse:}
Ke7 26. Bxd4 Nxg2 27. Kd3 Bxd4 28. Kxd4 $18) 25. Bd2 {when I must give up the
exchange.}) 24. Kb1 {One check and that's the end of my counterplay.} c6 25.
Re1 Nf5 $6 {Again I picked the worst move. We agreed after the game that 25...
Re8, allowing White to swap rooks, looked to give Black a slow painful death
against the bishop pair. I could have tried} (25... Ne6 26. Bf3 Bf8 27. Bc3
Nxf4 28. Rf1 Kg8 29. Bxc6 bxc6 30. Rxf4 Rd1+ 31. Kc2 Rh1 32. h4 c5) 26. Bh3 Rd4
$4 {A final blunder; I could have struggled on after} (26... a5 27. Bxa5 Rd4 {
and the bishop no longer covers e7. However} 28. Bc7 Rd2 29. Be5 Bxe5 30. Rxe5
Nd4 31. a4 Rxh2 32. Bc8 {and the a pawn should settle things.}) 27. Bxf5 gxf5
28. Re7+ Kg8 {Still in the dark, only now did I realise that 28...Kg6 29.Bc3
lost a piece. Perhaps I could wriggle out with 29.Bc3 Bf8; but that wasn't
what he had in mind!} 29. Rxg7+ $1 {Finishing things off very simply: 29...
Kxg7 30.Bc3 c5 31.Bxd4 cxd4 32. Kc2 and the K&P endgame is hopeless. What a
feeble effort! Not the same person who beat Pete Mulleady a week ago.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Morgan, J."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A29"]
[Annotator "Dave Shapland"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Courier 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nb6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8.
d3 O-O 9. Be3 Be6 {Nothing much to say about the opening. I just wanted a
solid position. I got one.} 10. a3 f5 11. b4 Bf6 12. Rc1 Nd4 13. Nd2 c6 14. b5
Nd5 15. bxc6 Nxc6 {15... Nxe3 might well have been better. Now White has the
chance to take all the fun out of proceedings and simplify down to an equal
ending.} 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Bxd5+ Qxd5 18. Qb3 Qxb3 19. Nxb3 Rac8 {So it's to
be an endgame then. John fell into a long think at this point and didn't seem
all that happy with his position. However, I know him to be a good endgame
player so I wasn't greatly optimistic of my chances in a plainly equal ending.}
20. Nc5 {Even though I had plenty of time to consider what John would play for
some reason this move didn't even enter my head! I guess I'd automatically
disgarded it on account of the logical response ...b6. Only now did I see that
21.Nd7 would cause me a problem.} Rf7 {Interesting was the temporary pawn
sacrifice...} (20... f4 $5 21. gxf4 exf4 22. Bxf4 Nd4 23. Rfe1 Be7 24. Nxb7 Rc2
25. Rxc2 Nxc2 {and although objectively the position is equal, once Black wins
White's a-pawn and gets a 'passer' of his own, it could be interesting.}) 21.
a4 f4 $6 {I thought I'd seen a tactical justification for this pawn sacrifice.
It runed out to be an illusion, but it was one that my opponent seemed to
believe too. Either 21... Rfc7 or 21... b6 would have been more circumspect.}
22. gxf4 exf4 23. Bxf4 Bb2 {This was the point of my sacrifice. Suddenly the
play takes a rather tactical character and the piece play is complex.} 24. Rc2
{This was what I'd hoped for, though as it turns out it's fine for White.
Better though was a move I hadn't considered as I thought White had to
maintain contact with his knight on c5.} (24. Rb1 Rxf4 25. Rxb2 b6 26. Ne4 Nd4
{and White is simply a pawn up.}) 24... Be5 $2 {This doesn't work. 24...Bd4
was better but Black would still have been worse.} 25. Bxe5 Nxe5 {This was my
real point. It looks like the White knight is pinned. However, there are
several ways from him to diffuse this threat.} 26. d4 $2 {Natural but mistaken.
} (26. Rcc1 {In my view this move is hard to spot as it involves a slightly
unnatural rook retreat. However, after this White has an extra pawn and the
White knight can move whenever it likes.}) (26. Rfc1 {Is even better} Rfc7 27.
Rc3 {and the White knight will come to e4 and protect the rook on c3.}) 26...
Ng6 27. Rfc1 Rfc7 28. Rc3 Nf4 $1 {Now we see that the tempo White 'gained'
when he played d4 actually helped his opponent. The threat of the family fork
gives Black another tempo to get his knight onto d5.} 29. Kf1 Nd5 {And now,
when the rook moves, the knight on c5 really will be pinned!} 30. Rf3 b6 31. e4
$1 {Good players always manage to find the most annoying ways to cause you
difficulties. This advance allows White to play on with some hopes for a while
longer.} Ne7 32. Rfc3 bxc5 33. dxc5 Nc6 {They say knights are great blockaders.
Time to put it to the test!} 34. Ke2 Rf8 35. Rd1 Rcf7 36. f3 Ne5 37. Rf1 Rf6 {
From here the rest should have been pretty easy. However, I got impatient and
thought a saw a direct way to finish the game off. When have I ever been known
to be impatient before?!} 38. Rf2 Rb8 39. Ke3 Rb4 40. h3 g5 41. a5 h5 42. a6 g4
$2 {Here's the impatience. White could have actually equalised here but by now
John was in timetrouble and he'd have no opportunity to really think things
through at all from here on in. That gave me the impetus I needed to round the
game off.} 43. hxg4 $2 {Usually the defender would want to avoid exchanging
pieces but here, with the capture of a third pawn, it makes sense.} (43. fxg4
$1 Nc4+ {Not...} (43... Rxf2 $2 {Which was certainly what I'd have played as
this was the whole point of playing g5-h5-g4!!} 44. Kxf2 Nc6 45. gxh5 Rxe4 {
And Fritz says it's level. Will Black really be able to nurse that a-pawn home
to win?})) 43... hxg4 {Now Black is winning comfortably again.} 44. f4 Nc6 {
Nc4+ was the best way to win it.} 45. Rg2 Rg6 46. f5 Rg7 47. Kf4 Kf8 48. f6 Rg6
49. Kf5 Kf7 50. Rd3 $2 Rxf6+ 51. Kxg4 $2 Ne5+ {The clock was forcing these
last few errors.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Tarrasch Defence"]
[Date "2015.01.26"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Cawston, J."]
[Black "Sykes, N."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D34"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Courier 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. Nf3 {Dave Shapland had already played Black against John earlier this
season and he had opened 1.d4 with a subsequent 2.c4. I had planned to play
the Tarrasch where the main line goes} (1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5
exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 {However as you will
see the advantage of playing the Tarrasch is that it is pretty move order
proof and can be played against openings such as the English and the Reti as
can be seen in this game}) 1... d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. O-O Nc6 6.
cxd5 exd5 7. d4 Be7 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Bg5 {and there we are, via a Reti we have
arrived in what could be described as the absolute main line of the Tarrasch} (
9. dxc5 Bxc5 {is another popular variation where White usually chooses between}
10. Bg5 {or} (10. Na4)) 9... c4 (9... cxd4 10. Nxd4 h6 {Is probably more
popular than the variation played, however 9...c4 was recently recommended by
Aagaard/Ntrilis is their comprehesive book on the Tarrasch}) 10. Ne5 Be6 {This
is a huge tabiya for the Tarrasch} 11. e4 $2 {Coincidently for the second game
in a row my opponent makes a dubious 11th move and subsequently gets a
difficult position from the opening. The ? is from Aagaard/Ntrilis} Nxe4 $1 {
After a long think I found the best reply, I also analysed} (11... dxe4 {is
also good for Black} 12. Nxe4 Nxd4 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nxf6+ gxf6 15. Nf3) (11...
Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Bxe7 Qxe7 15. Bxe4 {is also fine for Black
}) 12. Nxc6 (12. Nxe4 Bxg5 {and Black is a pawn up for free!} 13. Nxg5 Qxg5 14.
f4 Qd8 $17 {is given by Aagaard/Ntrilis but is better for White than what was
played in the game}) 12... bxc6 13. Bxe7 Nxc3 14. Bxd8 Nxd1 15. Be7 Nxb2 ({of
course I wasn't going to play} 15... Rfe8 16. Ba3 $1) 16. Bxf8 Kxf8 17. Rfc1
$17 {Amazingly this is all given by Aagaard/Ntrilis! They assess this
positioin as clearly better for Black saying "Black has two pawns for the
exchange and the better pieces. It is hard for White to get the rooks
activated quickly so his aim must be reduced to fighting for a draw." This
sums up how I felt in this position. What is also amusing is they give an
example of how to play this as Black quoting a game where the very active 200
grade Yorkshire League player Jim Burnett was playing White!!} Bf5 (17... Rb8 {
is given by Aagard/Ntrilis however the move played, denying the White rooks
the b1 square is also logical}) 18. Bf3 Re8 (18... Rc8 {planning ...c5 is a
good plan} 19. g4 Bg6 20. a4 c5 21. Bxd5 cxd4 22. Ra2 Rb8 $19) 19. a4 {
Possibly to play Ra2} Be4 20. Bg4 (20. Bxe4 Rxe4 21. Rab1 Nd3 {and the d-pawn
falls} 22. Rc2 Rxd4 23. Rb7 a5 24. Ra7 Re4 25. Rxa5 Ke7 {is one line but again
HIARCS assess the position os clearly better for Black}) 20... f5 21. Be2 (21.
Bh3 g6 {is not better nor worse according to HIARCS}) 21... Nd3 (21... a5 {is
the computers favourite move}) (21... Ke7 {is a move I quite like though
planning to play ...Kd6 then ...c5}) 22. Rc3 f4 $6 {Possibly not the best} (
22... Nb4 {is the computers favoutite move, but I cannot see why?}) 23. f3 Bg6
24. Ra2 fxg3 (24... c5 $1 25. dxc5 Nxc5 26. gxf4 Bf7 {and the pawns will give
White a massive headache so Black's position is much better}) 25. hxg3 Nb4 (
25... Ke7 26. Bxd3 Bxd3 27. Rb2 Kd6 {is another plan again with the aim of the
very strong ...c5}) 26. Rd2 Re7 (26... a5 {should have been played here, but I
felt it was not active enough at the time}) 27. a5 Ke8 {I want to play my king
to g6 without allowing the check on e3, I should have found this plan earlier
though!!} 28. Bd1 Nd3 29. Re2 Rxe2 {I wasn't against a swap of rooks in this
position I thought it would make White's life more difficult} 30. Bxe2 Ke7 $6 {
Again...} (30... c5 $1 {and White is busted according to the computer. I did
very quickly look at this but thought "Well I might as well march my king to
d6 first."} 31. dxc5 Kd7 32. Kf1 Kc6 $19 {the difference being White's king is
further away from the action}) 31. Kf1 Kd6 {Again...} (31... c5 $1) 32. Bxd3
Bxd3+ 33. Kf2 c5 {Hooray! Finally I play the move that has been crying out to
be played but far to late. HIARCS assesses the position as Black having a
clear advantage. I think White's position is very difficult to play and he
must play very accurately to not lose} 34. Ke3 Kc6 $2 {This is a blunder and
HIARCS actually has this as dead level if White plays correctly} 35. Rc1 (35.
a6 Kb5 $10) 35... Kb5 36. Ra1 {Andy Bak suggested it would be hard for Black
to make progress if he kept the rook on c1} (36. f4 {Black should not play}
Kxa5 $4 (36... h5 37. Rh1 Bg6 {and Black is much better} 38. f5 Bxf5 39. Rxh5
Be4 40. dxc5 c3 41. Rh8 Kxa5 42. Ra8 a6 43. c6 c2 44. Kd2 Kb6 45. c7 Kxc7 46.
Rxa6 Kb7 47. Rd6 {is VERY tough, Black is better but he will have to work very
hard to win this I think}) 37. dxc5 {gives White the advantage!} Kb5 38. Kd4
Be4 39. Ra1 a6 {Black's pawns are going nowhere}) 36... Bg6 37. g4 $4 {This is
the losing move} (37. Rc1 {as Andy Bak suggested and Black has the advantage
but it's hard to win}) 37... c3 $1 38. f4 Be4 (38... Kc4 {is even better} 39.
Ra4+ Kb3 40. Ra1 cxd4+ 41. Kxd4 Kb2 42. Rg1 c2 43. Kxd5 c1=Q 44. Rxc1 Kxc1 {
and Black's extra piece will be enough to win} 45. f5 Bf7+ 46. Kd6 Kd2 47. Ke7
Bc4 48. Kf8 g5 49. fxg6 hxg6 50. g5 Kc3 51. Kg7 Kb4 52. Kxg6 Kxa5) 39. a6 Kc4 {
Also good is...} (39... Bc2 $1 40. Rc1 Kc4 41. Rxc2 cxd4+ 42. Kf3 d3 {wins})
40. dxc5 Kxc5 41. Rc1 (41. Ra5+ Kb4 42. Ra1 Kb3 {is not much better and still
losing for Black}) 41... Kc4 {The rest is a formality!} 42. f5 Kb3 43. Kd4 c2
44. Ke3 Kc3 45. Ke2 d4 46. Ke1 d3 47. Ra1 d2+ 0-1

