[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "London System"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Lewyk, I."]
[Black "Ursal, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D03"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.04.01"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bg5 e6 4. Nbd2 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. O-O b6 8. e4
dxe4 9. Nxe4 Bb7 10. Ng3 Rc8 11. c3 c5 12. Qe2 Re8 13. Rad1 cxd4 14. Nxd4 {The
game assessment of Fritz at this stage is equal but over the next few moves
Darwin gets himself into a bit of a twist.} Qc7 {Darwin was likely as not
looking for ways of maintaining the tension. If he was playing for a draw then
the straightforward...} (14... Nd5 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 {... was a safer bet. After
the game move Ig pounces on his opportunity.}) 15. Bb5 $1 {Suddenly Black's
pieces look poorly coordinated.} Bd8 {It looks like 15... Rcd8 would have been
a better way of trying to harmonise his pieces.} 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nh5 {The
pinned knight on d7 is now a big problem for Black.} Re7 18. Qg4 (18. Bxd7 Rxd7
19. Nxf6+ gxf6 20. Qg4+ Kh8 21. Qh4 Qd8 22. Rd3) 18... Kh8 19. Bxd7 Rxd7 20.
Nxf6 gxf6 21. Nb5 Qd8 22. g3 a6 23. Nd4 Rc5 24. Rfe1 Rcd5 25. Rc1 Rg5 26. Qh4
e5 27. f4 $2 {Black should be winning after this which allows an exchange
sacrifice that drives the White king into the open.} Rxd4 28. cxd4 Qxd4+ 29.
Kf1 Qd5 {This is slightly inaccurate and should allow White to level the game
again. Instead the most precise is...} (29... Qxb2 {With the same mate threat
but this time it's more difficult for White to wriggle. Fritz gives a long and
pretty much forcing sequence...} 30. Rc8+ {Hoping to divert the bishop so that
White has time to capture Black's rook.} Kg7 31. Rxe5 {A nice try. If instead.
..} (31. Re2 {...then...} Qb1+ 32. Kf2 Qf5 $1 {Turning the tables as now the
White queen is trapped!} 33. Rc7 Rh5 34. Rxb7 Rxh4 35. gxh4 Qxf4+ {... and
Black has enough pawns to counteract the queen for two rooks imbalance.}) 31...
Qb1+ 32. Kf2 Rxe5 33. Qg4+ Rg5 34. fxg5 Qxa2+ 35. Ke3 Bxc8 36. gxf6+ Kxf6 {and
now White can't take the bishpo because...} 37. Qxc8 Qe6+ {leaves Black with a
won king and paewn ending.}) 30. Red1 {Now Black really should be winning.
White had a houdini-like escape in the form of...} (30. Rxe5 $1 {Giving the
king some room to manouevre.} Qf3+ 31. Ke1 fxe5 32. Qxg5 {... and the game is
equal.}) 30... Qf3+ {if he hadn't been in such terrible time tourble Darwin
would surely have found...} (30... Qg2+ 31. Ke1 Bf3 {... which is winning.})
31. Ke1 Qe3+ 32. Kf1 Qf3+ {Again, Darwin had second to get to move 36
otherwise he could have had time to calculate...} (32... exf4 33. Rc3 Qe4 34.
Qxf4 Rf5 35. Qxf5 Qxf5+ 36. Ke1 {...looks the best White can hope for.}) 33.
Ke1 Qe4+ 34. Kd2 {A brave decision from Ig but the right one as the time
control gets close he realises he can't give Darwin the chance to spot the
better line mentioned above. So, the White king must run.} exf4 35. Qxf4 Rd5+
36. Kc3 Rc5+ 37. Kd2 Qg2+ 38. Kd3 Rd5+ {Black's last chance to play for a win
comes in the form of...} (38... Qd5+ 39. Ke3 Qe6+ 40. Kd4 Qe2 41. Rxc5 Qxd1+
42. Kc3 Qe1+ 43. Kd3 bxc5 44. Qb8+ Kg7 45. Qxb7 Qb1+ 46. Kc3 {... and this
must be winning for Black with some precise play required to convert.}) 39. Kc3
Rc5+ 40. Kd3 Rd5+ 41. Kc3 {And here the players agreed to a draw. This game
was decided by the clock in the end as I'm pretty sure Darwin would have found
a way to win this if he'd managed his clock a little better earlier on.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Bak, A."]
[Black "Somerset, W."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E16"]
[PlyCount "141"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 d6 8.
O-O c5 9. Re1 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxg2 11. Kxg2 d5 12. Qa4+ Qd7 13. Qxd7+ Nbxd7 14.
Rac1 Nc5 15. b4 Na6 16. a3 dxc4 17. Rxc4 Kd7 18. Rec1 Rhc8 19. Rxc8 Rxc8 20.
Rxc8 Kxc8 21. Nc6 Nc7 22. Nc4 Nfd5 23. Kf3 f6 24. Ke4 b5 25. Nd2 a6 26. Nd4 Kd7
27. N2b3 g6 28. h4 Ke7 29. Nc5 Nc3+ 30. Kd3 Nb1 31. a4 Na3 32. a5 Nc4 33. Nc6+
Kd6 34. Nb8 Ne5+ 35. Kc3 Nc6 36. Nbxa6 Nd5+ 37. Kb3 Nd4+ 38. Ka3 Nxe2 39. Nd3
Nd4 40. Nac5 e5 41. Ne4+ Kc7 42. Kb2 f5 43. Nc3 Nxc3 44. Kxc3 Nc6 45. Nc5 Kd6
46. Nd3 Kd5 47. Nc5 Nxa5 48. Ne6 Kxe6 49. bxa5 Kd6 50. Kb4 Kc6 51. a6 Kb6 52.
a7 Kxa7 53. Kxb5 Kb7 54. Kc5 Kc7 55. Kd5 e4 56. Ke6 Kd8 57. Kf7 Kd7 58. Kg7 Ke6
59. Kxh7 Kf6 60. Kg8 g5 61. h5 f4 62. h6 e3 63. h7 exf2 64. h8=Q+ Kf5 65. Qh3+
Ke4 66. gxf4 gxf4 67. Qf1 Kf3 68. Kg7 Kg3 69. Kf6 Kh2 70. Kf5 f3 71. Kf4
1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Williams, W."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B10"]
[WhiteElo "156"]
[BlackElo "180"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 c6 2. c4 e6 {John Emms, in Attacking with 1.e4, says "a strange looking
move, but it's not so bad."} 3. Nc3 {Emms, but not Fritz 14, gives} (3. Nf3 d5
4. cxd5 exd5 5. exd5 cxd5 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. Qe2+) 3... d5 4. cxd5 {The trouble is,
I'd not met a Caro-Kann for a while, and I seem to have forgotten anything I
thought I knew! Why not simply play 4.d4, and make him exchange if he wants
to? At the very least, I'll have rather more space than him. (That would
transpose into the Marshall Gambit of the Semi-Slav which is usually reached
after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 e6 4.e4 with very complicated and sharp play - Ed)}
cxd5 5. e5 $6 {A flawed idea, OK if he'd let me follow up with 6.d4...} d4 $15
6. Qa4+ Nc6 7. Nb5 Bc5 $6 {Not so good, according to Fritz, but I didn't spot
the best reply. Fritz gives} (7... Bd7 8. Nf3 a6 9. Nbxd4 Nxe5 10. Qb3 Qc7 $15
{White's d pawn is likely to prove a liability rather than an asset.}) 8. Nf3 (
8. b4 Be7 (8... Bxb4 $6 9. Ba3 Bxa3 10. Qxa3 {and he can't prevent 11.Nd6+.}
Nge7 11. Nd6+ Kf8 12. Nf3 Kg8 13. Bb5 $14) 9. Nf3 Bd7 10. Qb3 $11 {Oh good,
White's managed to equalise!}) (8. f4 {has the merit of supporting White's e
pawn, but leaves holes in White's position:} Nh6 9. Qc4 Be7 10. Nf3 Nf5 11. Bd3
a6 12. Na3 Nb4 $17) 8... Nge7 9. a3 $6 {Too slow and takes away the knight's
retreat square. It's only real merit lies in keeping Black's knight out of b4,
but I'm creating plenty of white square weaknesses instead. What a pity I
didn't think of...} (9. Qc2 {...a move before I did; 9...Bb6 allows 10.Nd6+,
so Fritz's choice is} Qb6 10. Nc7+ Qxc7 11. Qxc5 {and White has disposed of
his vulnerable knight. Unfortunately} b6 12. Qd6 Qxd6 13. exd6 Nf5 14. b3 Bb7 {
and Black's pawn on d4 is more likely to survive than White's on d6.}) 9... O-O
10. Qc2 Bb6 11. Qe4 {A misplaced sense of activity, when I should have given
my knight breathing space by} (11. a4 a6 12. Na3 Ng6 13. Nc4 Bc7 14. Be2 $17 {
However, Black can simply take the e pawn and White is struggling to complete
his development.}) 11... Ng6 12. Bd3 $2 {I did consider} (12. h4 {but thought
I really should try at least to get castled. Fritz continues} f5 {(or 12...f6)}
13. exf6 Rxf6 14. h5 Rf4 15. Qe2 Nh4 16. Rxh4 Rxh4 17. Nxh4 Qxh4 {and White's
position is still something of a shambles.}) 12... a6 13. Nd6 Ncxe5 {Even
nastier was} (13... f5 {when I can't take the pawn, so} 14. Qe2 Nf4 15. Qf1
Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Qxd6 $19) 14. Nxe5 Qxd6 15. Nc4 $6 {I mistakenly thought "At
least I'll have the bishop pair"; I should have removed his knight, before it
could do any damage.} (15. Nxg6 hxg6 16. O-O f5 17. Qe2 {and Black has much
the better of it, but isn't yet overwhelming me.}) 15... Qc7 16. Nxb6 Qxb6 17.
h4 $2 {Too late for such thoughts; I should have got my king into something
approaching safety.} f5 18. Qe2 {Now I saw that, whether my queen goes to e2
or f3, his knight can fork it and my bishop, leaving me vulnerable on the
white squares. Interestingly, doing this isn't Fritz's best line for Black, in
either case.} Nf4 {Good enough, but Fritz offers either} (18... e5 19. Bc4+ Be6
20. Bxe6+ Qxe6 21. d3 e4 22. O-O Nxh4 {Another pawn's gone, thanks to 17. h4,
there are threats to my king and those central pawns look menacing.
Alternatively}) (18... Qc6 19. Qf3 {(better to have played there, last move)}
Qxf3 20. gxf3 Bd7 21. Be2 Nf4 22. d3 Nxe2 23. Kxe2 Rac8 {followed by invading
on c2.}) 19. Qf3 Nxd3+ {You can only win once, but Fritz rates} (19... Qc7 20.
g3 (20. Be2 d3 21. Bxd3 b5 $19) 20... Nxd3+ 21. Qxd3 Qe5+ 22. Qe2 Qd5 23. O-O
f4 $19) 20. Qxd3 e5 21. b4 {Desperately trying for some air. At this point,
only my queen has done anything; my moves appear to have been those of a
beginner, although I thought I had good reasons for my choices.} e4 22. Qg3 f4
23. Qg5 {Some small relief in finding that Fritz agrees with this sequence; I
thought I may have been about to lose my queen!} h6 {Fritz gives} (23... Bd7
24. Qd5+ Be6 25. Qc5 Qxc5 26. bxc5 {when my development is no further forward
and I'm about to lose another pawn.}) 24. Qh5 $6 {Better was} (24. Qe5 Qg6 25.
Bb2 Bd7 26. Qxd4 Rad8 27. h5 Qg4 {but Black is still much better.}) 24... Be6 {
Matthew Parsons, kibitzing, will be pleased to know that Fritz prefers an
immediate} (24... f3 25. g4 Qe6 26. Qc5 Qxg4 27. Bb2 Be6 28. Bxd4 Qg2 29. O-O-O
Rac8 30. Rhg1 Rxc5+ 31. bxc5 Rd8 32. Rxg2 fxg2 33. Be3 Bg4 34. Rg1 Bf3 $19) 25.
O-O {My last chance to do this, though my king's anything but safe here.} e3 {
Fritz prefers} (25... Bc4 26. Re1 Qe6 27. Bb2 Rad8 {and the pawns will advance;
they did, anyway!}) 26. fxe3 {It didn't occur to me to play} (26. Bb2 Bc4 27.
Rfc1 exf2+ 28. Kxf2 f3 29. gxf3 Qc7 30. Kg2 Rae8 31. Re1 Be2 {which is still
winning, though not so quickly.}) 26... dxe3 27. dxe3 Bc4 28. Re1 {Slightly
better is} (28. Rf3 {At least it prevents f4-f3; Fritz gives} Qf6 (28... Be2 $6
29. Qd5+ Kh8 30. Rf2 {and Black's advantage has been reduced considerably.})
29. Rb1 Qe6 30. Bb2 Be2 (30... fxe3 31. Re1 e2 32. Qe5 Qg4 33. Qd4 Qxd4+ 34.
Bxd4 Rxf3 35. gxf3 Rf8 36. Kf2 Rf4 37. Bc3 Rxh4 38. Rg1 Rh2+ 39. Rg2 Rxg2+ 40.
Kxg2 {White has blockaded the e pawn, but the h pawn will settle matters.}))
28... Rae8 29. Qc5 Qe6 30. Bd2 $2 {I did wonder whether} (30. e4 {was better;
it was, though Black is still winning, as he has been for most of the game.} f3
31. Qf2 {is the difference between the two variations, though Black has} Qg4
32. Bb2 Re6 33. g3 Be2 34. Kh2 Rxe4 {and Black can tie White in further knots
by transferring his queen to the b8-h2 diagonal and pressuring White's g pawn.}
) 30... f3 {It would be quite reasonable to resign now (if not sooner) but one
tends to play on for the sake of the team; "while there's life there's hope",
though not much.} 31. gxf3 Rxf3 {Mate is now inevitable; another consequence
of 17.h4.} 32. Qd4 Ref8 33. Bc3 Rg3+ 34. Kh2 {Having gone so far, I think it's
unsporting to deny one's opponent the pleasure of administering the coup de
grace.} Qh3# {Not one of my better efforts.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Ruy Lopez"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Scurfield, S."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C95"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 e5 {Before the match I'd expected to play Richard Porter and his Siclian
Kan. But, at the board I did expect this move as I'd remembered Sam played it
against Andy Leatherbarrow last season and again against Dave Shapland two
years ago} 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 {Andy played} (3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 Qf6
6. Qf3 Qxf3 7. gxf3 dxc6 {and the game ended not long after in a very
uneventful draw}) (3. Bc4 {Was Dave's choice} Nf6 4. d4 Nxd4 $6 5. Nxe5 Ne6 6.
O-O Bc5 7. Qf3 O-O $10 {and Sam managed to win after Dave blundered later})
3... a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Re1 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 {A huge
Tabiya for the Closed Ruy Lopez and my third game from this position already
this year, my previous two games yielded two really nice wins against Karim
Khan and David Gray} Nb8 {This is the popular Breyer Variation} (9... Na5 {is
the Chigorin and was played by David Gray in the aforementioned game}) (9...
Bb7 {is the Zaitsev}) 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3
g6 15. Bg5 h6 16. Bd2 Bg7 {This is all very much main line. I have actually
had this position before against former Hebden Bridge A team player Dave Wedge}
17. d5 (17. Nh4 c5 18. d5 Nb6 19. Qc1 Kh7 $10 {was Dave Wedge - Nick Sykes
20th Sep 2004}) (17. a4 c5 18. d5 c4 19. b4 cxb3 20. Bxb3 {Is the main line})
17... c5 18. dxc6 (18. b3 {I thought of this move too and both players agreed
this would have been White's best way to progress. This prevents the knight
coming to the Q-side and gives White the option of closing the position if
Black advances his pawns on the Q-side}) 18... Bxc6 19. Be3 $6 {This doesn't
set enough problems for Black and allows him to equalise to easily} (19. a4 {
maybe White's best way to proceed}) 19... Nc5 20. Bxc5 dxc5 21. Qe2 Qc7 $10 {
HIARCS gives this position is dead level. Not a very inspiring game, but given
my recent last couple of games I was happy just to play it a bit safe} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "London System"]
[Date "2015.03.30"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Velosa, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2015.03.31"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 b6 {It hink that it's relly important that, on the occasions when you do
know what you'r opponent is going to play, that you decide in advance how you
are going to approach the game even if you don't spend loads of time preparing.
I've played against Carlos's Owen's Defence once before and went for a
slightly different approach to the one I adopted for this game. There are a
myriad of different tries I opted to try and transpose into a line of the
French that I felt comfortable playing against.} 2. d4 Bb7 3. Nd2 {This was my
idea. Usually Black plays e6 early on in the Owen's and so I felt that if I
played this way I could encourage Carlos to play e6 and d5. The aim was to
reach a position similar to the line of the French Tarrasch which goes 1.e4 e6
2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 b6!? Of course there was always a chance that Carlos wouldn't
play d5 at all but in this instance I just felt that would be better for White.
} e6 {As I'd expected.} 4. Ngf3 {4.Bd3 would also be consitent with the
Tarrasch and would have allowed me to opt for Ne2 if I'd wanted to. However, I
thought there may be some lines where White might like to play Bb5 rather than
Bb3 so I went for this set up.} c5 {This didn't surprise me at all. I thought
maybe 4... Nf6 would have been the other possible means of avoiding playing d5.
} 5. c3 (5. dxc5 Bxc5 6. Bb5 Nf6 {Was another way to play but in my view that
doesn't seet Black too many challenges and over releases the central tension
too early in the game to hope for anything much of an advantage. I wanted a
slow-burning position with a small but enduring amount of pressure.}) (5. e5 {
Fritz likes this early advance of the e-pawn and gives...} Nc6 6. Nc4 cxd4 7.
Nxd4 Nxd4 8. Qxd4 {but again, this wasn't the kind of position I was looking
for. objectively White may have an edge but he'll have to play very accurately
to maintain it. The play is all based on preventing Black from breaking out
with d5.}) 5... Nf6 {Again, this was no surprise. I'd suspected Carlos would
try to avoid d5 if he could. That would take the game into more orthodox
territory and it's not his style.} 6. Bd3 {Black's last forces White to defend
the e-pawn or advance it. I shold have advanced it had Black put a pawn on d5
already but here I didn't much fancy the variation Fritz gives...} (6. e5 Nd5 {
This is the benefit of not having played d5.} 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Ne4 O-O 9. Nxc5
bxc5 10. Bd3 Qc7 11. O-O {and now we can see the disadvantage of not having
played d5. If Black pushes his d-pawn forward then it will be exchanged and
his c-pawn left weak. That means he'll probably have to break with...} f6 {
Instead.} 12. Qe2 Nc6 13. exf6 Rxf6 {And Black has succeeded in activiating
his pieces and has almost completed his development. However, he has the kind
of structural weaknesses in his position that White was aiming to create in
the opening and that will leave him vulnerable as the game progresses.}) 6...
Qc7 7. O-O {Again, 7.e5 here was a serious alternative. Again I opted for
simple play over trying for anything over-ambitious in the opening phase.} Nc6
8. Qe2 {I couldn't decide between this move and 8.Re1. I think Re1 was better
with hindsight. My small advantage is diminishing. After Re1 we might see
something like...} (8. Re1 Be7 9. e5 Nd5 10. dxc5 bxc5 11. Nc4 O-O 12. Bg5 f6
13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Be4 {... and White is still a little bit better.}) 8... cxd4
9. cxd4 Nb4 $5 {Carlos had a good think before he played this and he surprised
me with it. I thought Be7 might come instead but Fritz likes this move too and
it causes White a little bit of irritation. There's no doubt that after this,
Black has equalised and White is somewhat tangled up and will have some issues
completing his development.} 10. Bb5 Be7 {10... Rc8 and a6 must also have
crossed Carlos's mind. Sensibly he opts to complete his development which just
highlights the difficult position White is in. I very much wanted to get my
queen's bishop into the game so that I could contest the c-file, but that
seems a long way away.} 11. e5 {I spent a long time on this move. It was a
tough choice. I didn't really want to force Carlos' knight to a better square
on d5 but I thought the best way to solve my development headache would be to
put my queen's knight on e4 and then develop my own queen's bishop followed by
Rac1. Fritz actually gives this move as best, so although I felt uncomfortable
playing it, I think this was the right decision.} Nfd5 12. Ne4 Qc2 {I hadn't
expected this but it's the best move in the position. If Black let's White
consolidate then he'll get back into trouble again. This move will force some
simplification.} 13. Bg5 {This was another tough decision but again gthe
engine seems to approve. I spent a long time considering...} (13. Bd2 {but I
was afraid of...} Nf4 {Fritz now gives...} 14. Nd6+ Bxd6 15. Bxf4 Qxe2 16. Bxe2
Be7 17. a3 Nd5 18. Bd2 {... as equal. I'm glad I didn't go for this though as
the position looks a little bit sterile now. I don't fancy much my chances of
playing for a win.}) 13... Qxe2 14. Bxe2 f6 {I hadn't anticiapted this move.
I'd expcted that maybe...} (14... Nf4 {... would be most likely. Maybe Carlos
had seen this line Fritz gives which I had not considered...} 15. Nd6+ $1 Bxd6
16. Bxf4 Be7 {... and White retains a compact structure with a space advantage.
The position is equal though.}) 15. Bd2 O-O 16. a3 Nc6 {This is better the
risky...} (16... Nc2 $6 {I thought this looked dodgy although I couldn't
figure out all the permutations. Fritz assesses...} 17. Rac1 Nf4 18. Nxf6+ $1
Rxf6 19. Bxf4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Rxf4 21. Rc7 Bd5 22. Rd1 {... and White is just a
tiny bit better owing to the weaknesses in Black's structure.}) 17. Rac1 fxe5
18. dxe5 Nf4 {This had to come some time or other.} 19. Bb5 {19.Bxf4
immediately was also good but I wanted to re-apply pressure to that weak pawn
on d7. The engine thinks this move is an error though.} Nd4 $2 {This is the
critical moment of the game. Carlos was already getting into pretty bad time
trouble here and we had both spent an awful lot of time on our first dozen or
so moves. Although the position has simplified there is still plenty of danger
for both sides and this move exposes the Black d-pawn unnecessarily. Instead
Black could have seized an advantage at this very moment.} (19... a6 {... was
the move to try and exploit White's last. Now there could follow...} 20. Bxf4
axb5 21. Bg5 b4 22. axb4 Bxg5 23. Nexg5 Nxb4 {The computer prefers Black by
half a pawn here but I'm not convinced it's that straight forward.}) 20. Nxd4
Bxe4 21. Bxf4 Rxf4 22. Rfd1 {For the life of me I can't remember why I didn't
think I could take the d7 pawn at once. I think I was getting spooked
unjustifiably about the discovered attack on my knight. That said, the best
Fritz can find for Black here is...} (22. Bxd7 Bxg2 {But now White wins a
second pawn with tempo.} 23. Bxe6+ Kf8 24. Kxg2 Rxd4 25. Rc7 {...and take the
seventh rank, a decisive blow.} Rd2 26. Rfc1 Rad8 {There was a mate threat...}
27. R1c4 {and White is winning this comfortably.}) 22... Raf8 {Carlos chooses
activity over passive defence. I don't blame him. The alternative didn't look
much fun after...} (22... Rd8 23. g3 Rf7 24. Rc7 Bf8 25. Rxa7 {... and White
must have a winning advantage here provided he plays it right.}) 23. f3 Bd5 24.
b4 {Now I was getting low on time too and so I was seeing ghosts. Again I
could have grabbed the pawn. I needn't have worried about Bc5, pinning the
knight if I'd found...} (24. Bxd7 Rxd4 {Infinitely better than 24...Bc5
immediately.} 25. Rxd4 Bc5 26. Rxc5 bxc5 27. Rd2 {... and White's advantage is
based on his extra pawn and better structure though there is still much to do.}
) 24... a5 {In time trouble this must have been the obvious choice but with a
bit longer Carlos might have found the cunning...} (24... Bg5 $1 {Now 25.Bxd7
is met well by 25...Rxd4! 26.Rxd4 Bxc1 and Black is a piece up. So instead...}
25. Rc3 {White must protect the e3 square and now Black defends with...} R4f7 {
After this White's advantage is minimal.}) 25. Bxd7 {Finally!} Kh8 26. Bxe6 {
Missing a nice finesse in my zeintot.} (26. g3 {Amazingly the Black rook is
pretty much trapped. If it goes to f7 then...} R4f7 (26... Rxf3 {Giving up the
exchange is probably best here.} 27. Nxf3 Bxf3 28. Rf1) 27. Bxe6 Bxe6 28. Nxe6
Re8 29. Rc7 {With a really dominating position and two extra pawns.}) 26...
Rxd4 {This was what I'd missed as we both scrambled for move 36 still some
distance away!} 27. Bxd5 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Rd8 $6 {Carlos was in desperate time
trouble here and was playing his moves almost instantly. It looks sensible to
pin the bishop but Black has no way of exploiting the pin and now White can
improve the pawn structure and keep both his extra pawns. After the game we
looked at the most resiliant option...} (28... axb4 29. axb4 Bxb4 30. Kf2 g5
31. Ke3 Bc5+ 32. Kd3 Rf5 33. Re1 Rf4 34. Be4 Rf7 35. Kc4 Re7 36. Kd5 {and
White is certainly better but can he win? He probably needs to keep the rooks
on if he's to have any chance. At least he has an active king in this position.
It might well be winning but there will be a lot of hard work to do here.}) 29.
bxa5 bxa5 30. a4 {Of course it's important to take my pawns off the dark
squares.} g6 31. Kf1 Kg7 32. Ke2 Bg5 33. g3 Rb8 34. f4 Rb2+ 35. Rd2 Rxd2+ 36.
Kxd2 Be7 {These last moves were played in a hurry and we made time control
with less than a mintue left each. The dust has settled and White is two pawns
up. But is this endgame won? The presence of opposite coloured bishop and now,
the absence of the rooks, must cast some doubt on the verdict.} 37. Ke3 Bc5+
38. Ke4 h5 {Now Black's pawns are on light squares. I wanted to try and keep
them there for a moment.} 39. h3 Kf8 40. Bc4 Ke7 41. Bb5 Bb4 42. Bc4 {I took a
few moves to re-orietate myself to the new environment. Of course the engine
quickly identifies the best way to proceed. It was going to take me a little
bit longer.} (42. g4 hxg4 43. hxg4 Kf7 44. Bc4+ Kg7 45. f5 Kh6 46. f6 Bc3 47.
Kd5 Kg5 48. Ke6 {is winning for White.}) 42... Be1 43. Kf3 Bc3 44. Bd3 {This
is one way to do it. 44.g4 aso worked I think.} g5 {After the alternative move.
..} (44... Kf7 {I had intended to play...} 45. e6+ Kxe6 46. Bxg6 h4 47. g4 {
And this is starting to look promising for a White win if he can play g5-Kg4
and f5 when needed. Black will be hard pressed to keep the passed pawns at bay
and also keep the h-pawn safe.}) 45. fxg5 Bxe5 46. Bg6 {This was the point of
my play. Now Black has to give up another pawn.} h4 47. gxh4 {An unusual
constellation of pawns has emerged on the g and h-files. 'Surely this should
be enough' I thought. But it still isn't absolutely straightforward.} Kf8 48.
Kg4 Kg7 49. h5 Bc3 50. Be4 Bd2 51. h4 Be3 52. h6+ Kh8 53. h5 Bd2 54. Kf5 Be3 {
As I was also now down to my last few minutes on the clock, I stopped
recording moves here but the rest of the game went something (but not exactly)
like this...} (54... Be3 55. Bd5 Kh7 56. Bf7 Bc5 57. Bg6+ Kg8 58. h7+ Kh8 59.
Kf4 Bb4 60. Be4 Bd2+ 61. Kg4 Bc3 62. g6 Bd2 63. Bd5 Be3 64. Bg8 {This was the
position I'd been aiming for. The h-pawn prevents the Black king from straying
away from h8. The bishop protects h7 so that the g-pawn can advance and so now
Black's bishop is tied to preventing the advance h6-g7 mate. This means the
Black bishop is over worked and my king can stroll over to the Black a-pawn.
Would this game still be won for White without the a-pawns? Maybe not.} Kg7 65.
Kf5 Bh6 66. Ke4 Kh8 67. Kd5 Bd2 68. Kc6 Be3 69. Kb5 Bd2 70. h6 {It was in a
position something like this that Carlos resigned. If the game had continued
then it could have gone something like this...} Bxh6 71. Kxa5 Bd2+ 72. Kb5 {...
and the Black bishop remains over worked. this time the White king would like
to head back to f7 and support the move g7 mate. Black can't stop this plan
and the passed a-pawn.} Bh6 73. a5 Be3 74. Kc6 Kg7 75. Kd6 Bd4 76. a6 Kh8 77.
Ke6 Bf6 {White has to look out for stalemates here. No need to panic.} 78. Kf7
Bd4 79. a7 {... and White will mate or queen on a8. An interesting endgame!})
1-0

