[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.25"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Khan, K."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A01"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2016.01.26"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge"]

1. Nf3 {Despite having beaten me with the White side of a Ruy Lopez in the
corresponding fixture last season, Karim clearly didn't want to to face the
possibility of another one (I did create all kinds of problems for him in the
opening.)} Nc6 {I'm guessing that if I'd played 1... c5 he'd have transposed
to a Sicilian, but I didn't want to make it too easy for my opponent to get
out of a Spanish so I wondered what he had in mind if I played this move and
flagrantly offered to transpose back into one. I had no intention of playing
the Bird's Variation as I had done last season.} 2. b3 {Interesting! Now we
have a Nimzo-Larsen on the board. Did Karim have any idea what to do in that
opening? Did I?! A little bit.} e5 3. Bb2 d6 4. d3 {I think e3 might be more
thematic, intending d4 but I'm not sure.} Be6 5. Nbd2 Be7 {I hadn't decided
yet whether or not to play f6.} 6. g3 Qd7 {So now the position has begun to
show it's character. I think that it is here abouts that I selected the wrong
plan. It's not that the path I chose was wrong, it just didn't really give me
enough chances to create imbalance in the position. I've been doing this
confidently all season but for some reason (perhaps becasue I failed against
Karim last time around) I held back. I thik this was my critical misjudgement
in this game.} 7. Bg2 Nh6 {There is nothing wrong with this move. But I wonder
if I should instead have been more aggressive and played...} (7... h5 {This
perhaps asks White more dificult questions than the game move. First of all,
where is he going to put his king. If he decides to go queen's side that is
going to take him a little while. If he goes king's side he has the prospect
of h4 to consider and if he plays h4 himself I'll probably go for broke with
g5!} 8. c4 {This is Fritz's recommendation. At least White can develop his
queen on c2 and has finally staked a claim to the centre. But Black is dong
just fine here and can press ahead with...} h4 9. gxh4 Bxh4 {Now if White
takes again on h4 that file will become half open for Black's rook. This looks
much more like the kind of position I should have been aiming to create and
have been managing to do for most of the season thus far.}) 8. d4 $1 {Good
move. It takes courage to make another pawn move like this when you've already
chosen to move it forward only one square. But Karim has realised that he is
going to get squashed if he doesn't fight for the initiaitive. He could have
castled or played e4 but neither of those moves would have given me any cause
for concern. Now Black has to make some important decisions rather than just
developing on auto pilot.} Bh3 9. O-O Bxg2 10. Kxg2 exd4 11. Nxd4 Bf6 {Aside
from my king's knight being a little bit offside, I was pretty happy with this
position. I have absolutely no weaknesses (apart from the d5 square which
White is not well placed to exploit without his light-squared bishop, and I
have some prospects for causing problems on the long diagonal.} 12. N2f3 Nf5
13. e4 Nfxd4 14. Nxd4 O-O {Again, this is rather tidy by my standards. Fritz
even advocates...} (14... h5 {here, and why not? Without that bishop on g2,
the Whitre king looks vulnerable.} 15. h4 O-O 16. c4 Rae8 {Black's position is
a picture of harmony, his heavy pieces are well centralised his knight and
bishop have good outposts and his queen is ready to spring into action. He's
even staked a claim to a king's side attack with h5. This agina looks more
like my cup of tea than the game position.}) 15. c3 Rfe8 16. Re1 Rad8 {I was
pleased enough with my position. I've equalised and have no weaknesses. The
only problem is, where is my lever to start an attack. I could see White had
strucutral deficiencies, but how to go about exploiting them?} 17. Qh5 {Pretty
much the first sub-optimal move in a relatively insipid game thus far. And
even after this the engine still thinks the game is pretty much level.} Re5 {
I thought this was my chance to get an edge.} 18. Qh3 $6 {This is definitely a
mistake. Again I felt that this was slightly inaccurate at the board but I
didn't find the right way to take advantage of it. Bets was...} (18. Qf3 {...
and now, although Black can press with...} d5 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. Re2 Rde8 21.
Rae1 Qe7 {... White is holding firm.}) 18... Qxh3+ {After this Black's edge is
really just symbolic. My other candidate move, keeping the queens on, was the
best choice and looks lke it gives Black a little more.} (18... Qe8 19. f3 g6
20. Kf2 {White scrambled to shore up his weaknesses. Now he can capture on d5
when Black breaks.} d5 21. exd5 Rdxd5 22. f4 {Seeking refuge in simplification.
} Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Bxd4+ {An important intermezzo to prevent damage to his pawn
structure and give the queen time to vacate the e-file.} 24. cxd4 Qd8 {... and
Black will be able to play and play against the isolated d-pawn. A long hard
struggle still lies ahead however.}) 19. Kxh3 Rh5+ $6 {I played this too
hastily as I'd spotted a whole bunch of tactics that a longer think would have
revealed to be illusory. Better was...} (19... Rde8 {... and now...} 20. f3 d5
21. Rad1 {Or} (21. Nxc6 bxc6 22. Rad1 h6) 21... Nd8 {... with a tiny advantage
to Black and a pretty lugubrious position.}) 20. Kg2 Ne5 {The threat to the d3
square is easily met and 21... Rxh2+ 22.Kxh2 Nf3+ is no threat at all. To
compound my faux pas I now realised that my rook on the fifth rank looks a
little vulnerable.} 21. Rad1 {Now it's White who has a small advantage.} a6 $2
{This felt too slow at the time but I played it anyway!} 22. Ne2 {Phew! Karim
appeared to have been thrown off by the turgid nature of the play too. Now was
the time for White to play vigorously.} (22. f4 $1 {Trying to ensnare the rook
on h5} Ng6 23. Nf5 Re8 24. Rd5 c6 25. Rdd1 {Not...} (25. Rxd6 Rxf5) 25... d5 {
... and now White has a winning advantage after...} 26. exd5 Rxe1 27. Rxe1 Rxf5
28. Re8+ Nf8 29. Ba3) 22... Nd7 23. Nf4 {The beginning of my problems in this
game. This rook now gets harried along the fifth rank.} Ra5 24. a3 Nb6 {
Already Black is in some trouble. Fritz wants to play 24... Rb5 25.b4 Rb6 26.
Nd5 Rc6 27.f4 which looks pretty horrible.} 25. Rd3 {An interesting idea which
I failed to graps the full significance of. Still, best was...} (25. b4 Ra4 26.
e5 dxe5 27. Rxd8+ Bxd8 28. Nd3 {... and it's clear to see that White's
superior pieces give him an advantage.}) 25... Rb5 $2 {I thought I'd seen
Karim's idea and could give up the exchange for a couple of pawns. My
assessment was flawed however. The position demanded that I hunker down.} (
25... Re8 26. f3 g5 27. b4 Rb5 28. Nh5 Bh8 {... is a mess but Black is still
right in it.}) 26. c4 Bxb2 27. cxb5 axb5 28. a4 bxa4 29. bxa4 Be5 {When I
played my 25th move I'd envisaged playing...} (29... Nxa4 {here. Now I noticed
that it would be impossible to make the connected passed pawns amount to
anything because White's pair of rooks are just too active. For example...} 30.
Rb3 Bc3 31. Reb1 {... and there's no way to hold on to the b-pawn.} Be5 32.
Rxb7 {White is winning comfortably here.}) 30. Nd5 Nxd5 31. exd5 g6 32. Rc1 Rc8
33. Rb3 {Similar to the last variation given but now White also has his a-pawn!
} c5 34. f4 Bd4 35. Rxb7 {The rest of the game is not worth much comment. I
tried to at least create some counter play but Karim, despite some
inaccuracies along the way, managed to see his way through to victory without
too many troubles.} g5 {Hoping for fxg5 and then maybe I could create a
fortress after Be5 (but probably not!)} 36. Rc4 {Losing some of his advantage
but White is still winning.} Re8 37. fxg5 Re2+ {I made a deeply cunning draw
offer here. Karim was visibly unhappy with his last few moves and I thought it
was worth a cheeky shot. At that moment all the games were still in play but
our board 1 was clearly winning and we were losing on board 5. Karim had a
long think and then rightly decided to decline the draw. Had he accepted the
match would have been tied so good on him.} 38. Kh3 Bg1 39. Rb3 f5 {
Desperation.} 40. gxf6 h5 41. Kh4 Rxh2+ {It's actually mate in 11 moves after
this according to Fritz!} 42. Kg5 Rg2 43. Kg6 {Time to stop. I felt I liked
the vigour I've been able to bring to previous games this season. Perhaps
leaving my structure so solid impaired my chances of creating imbalances.
Something to consider.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Sicilian Dragon"]
[Date "2016.01.25"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Corbett, M."]
[Black "Sykes, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2
Nc6 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. h4 Rc8 11. Bb3 h5 12. O-O-O Ne5 13. Bh6 {Not the most
popular move but certainly playable. More usual is...} (13. Bg5 Rc5 14. g4 hxg4
15. f4 Nc4 16. Qe2 b5 17. h5 Nxh5 18. f5 Qa5 {and was seen in D Shapland - N
Sykes (Friendly Game) 17th Aug 2015}) 13... Bxh6 14. Qxh6 Rxc3 15. bxc3 Qa5 16.
Kb2 (16. Kb1 b5 17. g4 Qxc3 18. gxh5 Nxh5 {is more usual}) 16... Rc8 17. Qe3
Qc5 18. Rd2 $2 {This is not great and gives Black the initiative. Better is...}
(18. f4 Neg4 19. Qf3 a5 20. a4 $10) 18... a5 $1 {Black must play actively} 19.
a4 Bxa4 {It looks tempting to take the pawn, but much better was...} (19... b5
$1 20. axb5 Bxb5 21. Rb1 a4 22. Ba2 Bc4 $17) 20. Ka2 $2 (20. Ra1 Bd7 $15 {is
only a bit better for Black}) (20. Bxa4 $4 {would have, of course, been a big
mistake on account of...} Nc4+) 20... Bd7 21. Kb2 Qb6 {Threatening ...a4 or ...
Nc4} 22. Ka1 Qc5 23. Kb2 a4 $19 {Black is completely winning in this position}
24. Ba2 Qa5 $6 {Here Black plays a series of sub-optimal moves and slowly
loses the initiative. In these sharp lines where Black has sacrificed material
he must play accurately to keep the initiative otherwise it will peter out and
he will eventually become worse. This is basically what happens from this
point onwards.} (24... Be6 $1 {the idea is to get the c4 square for the knight}
25. Bxe6 $2 (25. Nxe6 $4 Qxe3) 25... fxe6 26. Kb1 Nc4 {Black should play for
mate on b2, for example} 27. Qe1 Qb6+ 28. Kc1 e5 29. Ne2 Qb2+ 30. Kd1 Ne3#) 25.
Rb1 Nc4+ $6 {Black could have kept the initiative with...} (25... a3+ 26. Ka1 (
26. Kb3 $4 Qa4#) 26... Rxc3 27. Qe2 Qc7 $17) 26. Bxc4 Rxc4 27. Ne2 a3+ $6 (
27... Rc5 {is best according to HIARCS}) 28. Ka1 b5 29. e5 dxe5 $6 (29... Ne8
$10 {I had seen this but I was trying too hard to win}) 30. Qxe5 Be6 $4 $18 {
I missed the fact my e pawn was en prise and the fact Rd8+ is nasty in some
lines. After a number of sub-optimal moves, and the simply bad 30...Be6, White
is now just winning.} 31. Rxb5 Qc7 (31... Qa7 $2 32. Rb8+ Kg7 33. Rdd8) 32.
Qxc7 Rxc7 33. Ra5 a2 34. Rd8+ Kg7 35. Rb8 $6 Rd7 {Better is...} (35... Bc4) 36.
Nd4 Bd5 37. Rb2 Rc7 (37... e5 $1 38. Nb3 e4 39. fxe4 Nxe4 $16) 38. Ra3 Bc4 39.
Rb6 Rd7 (39... Nd5 {is only a bit better for White, for example} 40. Rc6 Rxc6
41. Nxc6 Ne3 42. Kb2 Be6) 40. Nb3 Rd1+ $6 {Again...} (40... Nd5 $1 41. Rc6 Ne3
$10) 41. Kxa2 Rd2 42. Kb2 Rxg2 43. Ra4 $2 {Here Malcolm gives me a last chance
to save the game, but alas I simply wasn't good enough} Bd3 {Black is possibly
a bit better after the move...} (43... Nd7 $3 $15 44. Rb7 (44. Rbb4 Bxb3 45.
Kxb3 Nc5+) ({best is} 44. Rxg6+ Kxg6 45. Rxc4 Ne5 46. Re4 Nxf3 47. Rxe7 Nxh4 {
when Black is a bit better}) 44... Bxb3 45. Rxb3 Nc5) 44. Na1 {White now after
more inaccuracies from Black goes on to win!} Nd5 45. Rb7 Ne3 46. Rxe7 Nxc2 47.
Nxc2 Bxc2 48. Raa7 {A strange game. Black played the opening well up to a
point and got a big initaitive which at one point was a winning one. But then
for one reason or another simply couldn't maintain the initiative and then
missed many chances to save the game/make White work harder. Really makes me
realise what a pretty naff player I really am. Should I be playing positions
where I need to play accurately to keep the initaitive. I feel if Dave
Shapland had had this position after move 20 or so he would have won
comfortably. Problem is I can't stick to one opening as after 20 yrs + of
playing as I still don't know my style of play!!} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.25"]
[Round "8.3"]
[White "Farrar, G."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "136"]
[BlackElo "160"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Belgrave"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. f4 {Gordon said afterwards that this move often gained him
several minutes on the clock! It became a Reverse Stonewall Attack, without
all that much of the Attack. It was a new experience for me, and I'm relieved
to record that I found most of the natural-looking moves that Fritz 14 rates
the best.} d5 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 Nc6 {What about develping the QB to f5 first,
followed by the QN to d7, with a view to following its mate to f6 and e4? I
think a drawback with this is that the QB has no retreat to d7, after a White
Nh4. Fritz certainly didn't consider this idea to be valuable.} 5. c3 cxd4 {I
wanted to develop my QB before playing e7-e6, but was now concerned about 6.
dxc5, followed by 7.b4.} (5... Qd6 {Developing the queen like this (Fritz's
preference) or to b6 didn't cross my mind, and should have. Play might continue
} 6. Bd3 g6 7. b3 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Ba3 b6 $11) 6. exd4 {This recapture
surprised both Fritz and me; I harboured hopes of minority attacks that, I
suppose, did ultimately occur, in a way.} Bf5 7. Bd3 Ne4 {Fritz prefers any of
7...g6, 7...e6 or simply} (7... Bxd3 8. Qxd3 e6 9. O-O Qb6 {e.g.} 10. a4 Bd6
11. f5 exf5 12. Nh4 {My opponent may have preferred} (12. Qxf5 O-O 13. Bg5 Ne7
{followed by 14...Ne4, which looks OK for Black, unless White indulges in} 14.
Qh3 $2 Qxb2 15. Nbd2 (15. Bxf6 Qxa1 16. Qd7 Ng6 17. Qxd6 gxf6 18. Qxd5 Qxa4 19.
Qxb7 Rab8 $17 {and White's "attack" has got him nowhere.}) 15... Qxc3 16. Rac1
Qd3 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qd7 Qe3+ $17 {followed by 19...Qe6.}) 12... g6 13. Nxf5
gxf5 14. Qxf5 Be7 15. a5 Qb3 16. Bg5 Qxb2 17. Bxf6 Rg8 18. Qxd5 Bxf6 19. Rxf6
Ne7 20. Qxf7+ Kd7 {and this rather wild-looking position is likely to result
in White taking a draw by perpetual check.}) 8. O-O e6 9. Qe2 Be7 {Managing to
avoid} (9... Bd6 $2 10. Ng5 {and Black loses a pawn, e.g.} Nxg5 11. Bxf5 Ne7
12. Bc2 $14 {and the knight can only return to e4.}) 10. Nbd2 {Now is when it
would have been nice to play 10...Nbd7, though that allows 11. Nh4 and 12.Nxf5.
That needn't worry Black, as any subsequent exchange on e4 would undouble
those pawns and give a nice protected passed pawn. A good reason to have
preferred 6.cxd4.} Nxd2 {Better was} (10... Nd6 11. Bxf5 Nxf5 12. Ne5 Qc7 {
when it looks as though Black, not White will have better control of a number
of white squares. Black's bishop is also much better than White's; a White
knight on e5 can if necessary be chased away by a pawn, but not so a Black
knight on e4.}) 11. Bxd2 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Qd7 $6 {As it looks as if he means to
play f4-f5, why not simply play 12...g6? His bishop is in no position to
exploit those apparent "holes" on my king's side. I, on the other hand, might
block things up still further with f7-f5. Let him play Ne5 if he wishes; when
my knight and bishop are correctly placed, I can play Nd6 or f6 to e4,
exchange my bishop for his knight (if it gets in my way) and I've still got my
minority attack to get going. I chose a poor strategy!} 13. Ne5 Nxe5 {Pretty
well forced, and now I've obliged him by giving him the half-open f file.} 14.
fxe5 O-O {From this point on, I was looking for ways to achieve} (14... f6 15.
exf6 gxf6 {with a view to a central pawn advance. However, I saw that this
failed, to} 16. Rae1 $16 {as I just don't have time to castle queen's side,
get my rook to e8 and my bishop out of the way, before a pawn falls. Fritz's
best of a bad bunch, at this point, is} Kf7 {which looked ghastly:} 17. Rf2
Rae8 18. Bh6 f5 {(so much for advancing with e6-e5!)} 19. Qh3 Rhg8 20. Bf4 {
and the h pawn is going.}) 15. Rf3 f5 {I felt I simply had to; after all, he
might not take it!} 16. exf6 Rxf6 {I want as many pieces off as possible.} 17.
Rxf6 Bxf6 {I still didn't feel I could risk} (17... gxf6 18. Bf4 {when I
certainly can't contest e5 with} Bd6 $4 19. Qg3+) 18. Re1 b5 {So, I've a
backward e pawn. However, he has the wrong-coloured bishop with which to
attack it, and not many pieces with which to attack my king. I have read that
one can usually defend one weakness; a second one makes the difference. I am
not the sort of player who enjoys sitting passively waiting for the axe to
fall: let's see if I can generate some counter-play.} 19. Qh3 {I should have
chosen 19.a3, making it much harder for my minority attack (such as it is) to
progress. However, after 19...a5, I planned to defend the e pawn by Ra6, which
at least gives the rook scope to support my queen's side pawns.} Re8 20. Bf4 {
I think these last two moves have taken his eye off the ball...} b4 {... as
Fritz now rates the position as dead level. I didn't feel that mine was quite
that good, but at least I had some prospects of play.} 21. Be5 {Now Fritz
rates the position just in the negative...} bxc3 {...if I had instead played} (
21... Bxe5 22. Rxe5 Qa4 {I didn't think of this, being mostly concerned with
my own defence. Fritz now gives} 23. Qh5 (23. Rxe6 $4 {loses to} Qd1+ 24. Kf2
Qd2+ 25. Kg3 Qg5+ 26. Kf2 Rf8+ $19 {and White is in serious trouble; how
easily the tables may be turned! A pity I can't claim to have seen this.})
23... g6 24. Qe2 Qxa2 25. h3 {is dead level, after any of} (25. Rxe6 $4 Qb1+
26. Kf2 Qf5+ {wins the rook.}) 25... Qb1+ (25... bxc3 26. Rxe6 Rf8 27. Re7 Qb1+
28. Kh2 Qf5 29. bxc3 a5) (25... Kf7 26. Qf1+ Kg7 27. Qb5 Rf8 28. Qxb4 Qb1+ 29.
Kh2 Qc1) 26. Kh2 Kg7 27. Rxd5 exd5 28. Qxe8 Qxb2) 22. Qxc3 Rc8 {This is
actually only fractionally worse than} (22... Bxe5 23. Rxe5 Rc8 24. Qd2 Rc6 {
followed by 24...Qc8 or 24... Qf7; his rook is far less threatening on e5 than
his queen.}) 23. Qg3 Kh8 {Still hoping he'd exchange on f6, giving me my
central pawn mass. I should have played} (23... Bxe5 24. Qxe5 Rc6 {and it's
hard for him to make progress. Thanks to being allowed to play b7-b5-b4, I
have an open file to play with.}) 24. b3 {Presumably he's trying to secure his
queen's side pawns. He'd have done better to attack with them, by} (24. Bxf6
gxf6 25. b4 Rc4 26. a3 a6 (26... Rxd4 $2 27. Qf2 Rd3 28. Qxf6+ Qg7 29. Qd8+ Qg8
30. Qd6 {The e pawn is doomed and Black must be careful not to get his queen
pinned:} Rd2 31. g3 Qg4 32. Qf8+ Qg8 33. Qh6 Rc2 34. Qf6+ Qg7 35. Qxe6 $18 {
and the d pawn is lost too, as the rook must cover c8.}) 27. Qh3 Rc6 28. a4 $14
{Black's king can't easily help, as this risks losing the h pawn, so those
central pawns may never get to advance.}) 24... Rc2 25. a4 {He would have done
better to focus on the f file, by 25.Rf1 or 25.Qf3.} Qc8 $2 (25... Bxe5 26.
Qxe5 Rc6 27. b4 h6 28. h3 a6 29. Rb1 Qe8 30. b5 axb5 31. axb5 Rb6 {Black's
position is passive, but still holding together.}) 26. Qf4 $6 (26. Bxf6 gxf6
27. Qe3 Qg8 28. g3 Rc6 29. b4 Qg4 30. b5 Rc7 31. Qf4 Qxf4 32. gxf4 Re7 33. f5
e5 34. dxe5 fxe5 35. f6 Re6 36. a5 e4 37. Rc1 Rxf6 38. Rc8+ Kg7 39. Rc7+ {and
wins. Black cannot exchange rooks, as his king is too far from the queen's
side. After 40.Rxa7, White's pawns become unstoppable.}) 26... Bxe5 27. Qxe5 {
Now his queen's on e5, which I like less well than his rook. Fritz, however,
rates the position as totally equal.} Rc6 {OK, but simpler was 27...Rc1, also
preventing Qxe6. After the exchange of rooks and h7-h6, my queen is free to
roam, and the game will surely be drawn.} 28. h4 Kg8 {With the intention a) of
avoiding back rank mates and b) coming to the defence of my e pawn. However,
h7-h6 was a better way of achieving the former object, the e pawn is in no
immediate danger, and I should have played 28...a5 to halt his queen's side
pawns.} 29. Qg5 Qd7 {Mistakenly concerned to prevent his queen's incursion on
e7. However, after} (29... a5 30. Qe7 {achieves precisely nothing:} Rc1 31.
Rxc1 Qxc1+ 32. Kh2 Qf4+ {with perpetual check. Indeed, the momentum is now
with Black: if White tries too hard to avoid the checks, he may find pawns
such as his d pawn going with check.}) 30. Rc1 Rc7 {30...a5 was still the move.
} 31. Qf4 Rxc1+ {I'd wanted him to exchange rooks on c7, giving me the black
squares, but didn't fancy retreating with 31...Rc8.} 32. Qxc1 Kf7 {I could now
have seized some black squares, with} (32... Qd6 33. Qc8+ Kf7 34. Qb7+ Kf6 35.
Qxa7 Qg3 36. Qa5 {(to avoid an immediate perpetual check)} Qe3+ 37. Kh2 Qxd4
38. Qd8+ Ke5 39. Qg5+ Kd6 {It's still equal, though now both Black's pieces
are the better placed.}) 33. Qc5 Kf6 {My king is getting a trifle
over-adventurous; I was concerned to reach the time control, with only a
couple of minutes left.} 34. Qf8+ Kg6 35. g4 e5 {At last! His attempts to
corrall my king have now left his exposed.} 36. Qf3 e4 {I did wonder whether
the less attractive 36...exd4 would prove to be better; in fact, it made no
difference. In his attempts to press home his initiative, Gordon had been
using more time than me, in the latter part of the game; we made it to 36
moves with just 1 minute each remaining. I suspect that we may both have been
thinking "Oh no! 16 minutes to complete a queen and pawn ending!"} 37. Qf4 h6
$2 {This is, in fact, a serious mistake, and I should have been punished for
my failure to play a7-a5. At least I managed not to try to exchange queens by
37...Qf7?? 38.Qg5#! Fritz gives} (37... h5 38. Qg5+ Kh7 39. Qxh5+ Kg8 {and now
my king is safe enough and his will be exposed to multiple checks.}) 38. h5+ $2
(38. b4 $1 {when 38...Qxa4?? 39.Qf5#. The best I can do is} h5 (38... Kh7 $4
39. Qf5+ {forces the exchange of queens when, as before, my king is too far
away from the queen's side.}) 39. Qg5+ Kf7 40. Qxh5+ Ke7 41. Qe5+ Kd8 42. Qg5+
Ke8 43. b5 {and Black will do well to survive.}) 38... Kh7 39. b4 Qxa4 {
Seizing my chance. He can't mate me, and he's welcome to my d pawn, as I'll
have lots of checks and could even end up picking up his advanced king's side
pawns. Who knows, Black could even win!} 40. Qf5+ Kh8 {I was kidding, of
course, as he too can take perpetual check; we agreed a draw, which was, I
think, a fair result. I never had a sniff of a win, though neither,
realistically, should he have had. This Stonewall is, as its name suggests,
very solid, but also unambitious, particularly when played as White, IMHO.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Kerrane, J."]
[Black "Bamford, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E01"]
[PlyCount "59"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2016.02.04"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 c6 4. Nc3 d5 5. d4 Bb4 6. Bg5 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 h6 8. Bf4
Nbd7 9. Qb3 Nb6 10. c5 Nc4 11. Nf3 g5 12. Bc1 Qa5 13. Nd2 Nxd2 14. Bxd2 Qa6 15.
Bf1 b5 16. e3 Qb7 17. Bg2 Qe7 18. f4 Rg8 19. Qc2 a5 20. O-O Bb7 21. e4 dxe4 22.
Bxe4 Nxe4 23. Qxe4 f5 24. Qe2 O-O-O 25. fxg5 hxg5 26. Rxf5 Kd7 27. Re5 Rdf8 28.
a4 Ba6 29. axb5 Bxb5 30. c4 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Curry, L."]
[Black "Exall, F."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C49"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. O-O Qe7 6. d4 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Nxe4 8.
Re1 Nxc3 9. Qd3 Qb4 10. d5 Nxb5 11. dxc6 d6 12. Qd5 Be6 13. cxb7 Bxd5 14.
bxa8=Q+ Bxa8 15. Be3 e4 16. Ng5 O-O 17. Rab1 Qc3 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. Kf1 a6 20.
Bg5 Re8 21. f3 Bc6 22. a4 Nd4 23. Rxe8+ Bxe8 24. Kf2 Qxc2+ 25. Ke3 Nf5+ 26. Kf4
Qxb1 27. g4 g6 28. h4 d5 29. gxf5 gxf5 30. Ke3 Qd1 31. f4 d4+ 32. Kf2 d3 33.
Ke3 Qe2+ 34. Kd4 d2 35. Kc3 d1=Q 36. h5 Qec2+ 37. Kb4 Qd4+ 38. Ka5 Qdxa4# 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.18"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Leggett, M."]
[Black "Crampton, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. d3 O-O 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8.
Nd5 Qd8 9. O-O d6 10. Qd2 Nd4 11. Qe2 Nxe2+ 12. Kh1 Nd4 13. Nd2 Qg5 14. Nb3
Nxb3 15. axb3 c6 16. Nc7 Rd8 17. c3 d5 18. exd5 cxd5 19. Bxd5 b6 20. d4 Bd6 21.
Nb5 Bb7 22. Bc4 Qxg2# 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.01.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Hadari, J."]
[Black "Dodd, T."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C21"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'C'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 e5 2. d4 f6 3. dxe5 fxe5 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Qd3 Bc5 6. Qb3 Nxe4 7. Bf7+ Kf8 8.
Nf3 Qe7 9. O-O Qxf7 10. Qxf7+ Kxf7 11. Nxe5+ Ke8 12. Be3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Rf8 14.
Rxf8+ Kxf8 15. Nc3 Nc6 16. Nxe4 Nxe5 17. Rf1+ Kg8 18. h3 d5 19. Nc5 b6 20. Nd3
Nxd3 21. cxd3 Be6 22. e4 dxe4 23. dxe4 Rf8 24. Rc1 c5 25. Rb1 a5 26. a3 c4 27.
b4 cxb3 28. Rxb3 Bxb3 29. e5 Re8 30. g4 Rxe5 31. h4 b5 32. Kf2 b4 33. axb4 axb4
34. Kf3 Ra5 35. Ke3 Bd5 36. Kd4 b3 37. Kc3 Rb5 38. Kb2 Rc5 39. Kb1 Rc2 40. Ka1
Ra2+ 41. Kb1 b2 42. Kc2 Be4+ 43. Kb3 b1=Q+ 44. Kc4 Qd1 45. Kb4 Qc1 46. Kb3 Rb2+
47. Ka3 Qa1# 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.02.01"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Brown, A."]
[Black "Randhawa, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C01"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2016.02.06"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'D'"]

1. e4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Bb4 5. Qe2+ Qe7 6. Bd2 Qxe2+ 7. Bxe2 c6
8. Ne4 Bxd2+ 9. Nxd2 Nf6 10. Ngf3 Nbd7 11. O-O O-O 12. Bd3 h6 13. Rfe1 Re8 14.
Rxe8+ Nxe8 15. Re1 Kf8 16. c3 a5 17. a3 g6 18. b3 b5 19. Bc2 a4 20. b4 Nd6 21.
Re3 Ba6 22. Kf1 Re8 23. Ke2 Nb6 24. Ne5 1/2-1/2

