[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.03.14"]
[Round "11.2"]
[White "Allan, J."]
[Black "Cook, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B08"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. h3 Nxe4 8.
Bxf7+ Rxf7 9. Nxe4 d5 10. Ng3 Qd6 11. c3 e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 14. Bh6
Bd7 15. Qd3 a6 16. a4 Re8 17. f4 Bf6 18. Rad1 Qc5+ 19. Kh2 c6 20. Rde1 Rfe7 21.
Rxe7 Qxe7 22. f5 gxf5 23. Nxf5 Bxf5 24. Qxf5 Qe5+ 25. Qxe5 Bxe5+ 26. g3 Bg7 27.
Bxg7 Kxg7 28. Rf2 Re4 29. a5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.03.14"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Mulleady, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C07"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2016.03.15"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 e6 {I didn't expect to play Pete as he'd only made one other appearance
this season. I guess we should regard it as a compliment that Tod brought a
stronger team to play against us than they did when they played away to
Halifax 'A' recently. Once I realised I'd be playing Pete I tried to recall
some of the work that I'd done a few years ago on the Sniper which was his
opening of choice for a few years though I was aware he had played other
things recently. I certainly didn't expect the French Defence.} 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
c5 {As Pete said afterwards he knew that 3...Nf6 was more popular but he felt
that this other mainline alternative was a better move. I tend to agree that
Black is less likely to lose in this line though in my opinion 3...Nf6 give
Black better winning chances if that's what he wants.} 4. Ngf3 {It's been a
long time since anyone's played this against me. I cold recall themes and idea
but not the exact move order. It turns out this is fine. 4.exd5 is more
frequently played.} cxd4 5. exd5 Qxd5 {More active and more interesting than 5.
..exd5 which is pretty turgid.} 6. Bc4 {This was basically the position I'd
been aiming for after Black's third move. White gets developed very quickly
but Black retains his share of control in the centre and his position is very
resilient.} Qd6 7. O-O Nc6 {I think that 7...Nf6 is more frequently played but
there's nothing wrong with the game move either.} 8. Nb3 Bd7 {I was pleased to
see this move as I had a feeling that it wasn't terribly accurate. Of course
it's one thing to feel it, it's entirely another to know how to take advantage
of it. From the way Pete had played the opening up to know it appeared that he
wanted to castle long. He did mention that he considered it a couple of times
when we talked after the game. I'd have been happy with that decision as I the
Black king must be more vulnerable on the queen's side now that the c-pawn had
been moved. What I'd been thinking was that with the game move, Black still
needs three more moves to castle short. Can White take advantage of that
slight delay?} 9. Nbxd4 {The standard plan to win back the sacrificed pawn.
This does give Black a chance to catch up with his development.} Nxd4 10. Nxd4
Nf6 11. Re1 {I was trying to best to find a direct way to refute Black's
decision to delay castling. It looks like I was searching for something that
doesn't exist but it's my nature to try and refute my opponent's ideas
directly. Fritz suggests that White does better to play more slowly with...} (
11. a4 {This should certainly discourage Black from going long.} a6 12. h3 h6
13. Re1 {... and the game continues. The engine awards White a slight edge.})
11... Be7 12. Bg5 $2 {A total brainwave by me. This loses a piece and compels
me to go in for a desperado attack that is highly unclear.} Qc5 {And here I
sank into a very long think. Possibly as long as half an hour, I'm not sure
but when I looked at the clock I think I only had 30 mins left after this move!
} 13. Bxf6 {The problem here was that when I calculated 12.Bg5 I had seen
Pete's response but thought I could play this game move and after 13...Qxc4
then 14.Bxe7 is good for White. I'd overlooked that he simply recaptures on f6
and now has a double attack on d4 as well as an attack on my bishop on c4. Oh
dear! After a good first half of the season some blunders of this type have
started to creep into my play. At least, after my visit to 'the tank' I
managed to find the most testing continuation here.} Bxf6 14. Bxe6 Bxe6 15.
Nxe6 fxe6 16. Rxe6+ {Here's the point. White get's two pawns and a strong
initiative in exchange for the piece. It shouldn't be enough but it's tricky.}
Kf7 {Well played Pete. This looks terribly scary but in fact it's Blacks best
way to play for a win. During my long think I calculated a couple of fairly
forcing lines quite deeply. What follows is not necessarily best but it
reflects what I was thinking about during the game.} (16... Be7 17. Qe2 Rc8 (
17... Kf7 {is a better try.}) 18. Re1 Rc7 19. Re5 {... and I'd worked out that
White can keep hitting the Black queen with the rook and a repetition is
inevitable because the queen can't remove herself from the a3-f8 diagonal and
the protection of the bishop.}) (16... Kf8 17. Qd7 Qxc2 18. Qxb7 Rd8 19. Rae1
Qxb2 20. Qxa7 {... is certainly better for Black but it's not at all simple
and White can create pressure by advancing the a-pawn whilst black must find a
way to untangle himself and develop his king's rook.}) 17. Qd7+ Kg6 {This is
the point. The Black king is herded off to a place where it looks fairly
exposed. This seemed the best I could hope for along with the couple of pawns
I'd bagged. Nevertheless the material advantage is still enough for Black to
win so I felt I had to keep trying to find complications and hope Pete went
wrong in the mess.} 18. Rae1 {My thinking was to prevent Black opposing me on
the e-file in an attempt to simplify. The engine suggests this move is not
best. In a brief post-mortem we analysed...} (18. Re3 {... which, from a
purely practical perspective looks more challenging for the defender. Black
now has to find...} h5 $1 {Black needs h6 as a flight square.} (18... h6 {
Appears to allow White to equalise after a line such as...} 19. Qd3+ Kf7 20.
Qd7+ Kg8 21. Qe6+ Kf8 22. Rd1 {... and the engine says White has enough
initiative to hold this.}) 19. c3 Kh6 {... and already the White attack has
fizzled out. Black will mobilse his rooks and should go on to win without too
much trouble.}) 18... Rhd8 19. Qxb7 Rab8 {Qxc2 was also good.} 20. Qf3 (20.
Qe4+ Qf5 21. b3 {was a way of trying to play an endgame with three pawns
against the bishop. Black should still win comfortably though after something
like.} Rd2 22. Qxf5+ Kxf5 23. R6e2 Rbd8 {... and it's obvious Black should win
at a canter.}) 20... Rxb2 21. g4 {There's no reason to hold back now. Any
chance I have is based on attacking that exposed Black king.} Qd5 22. Qg3 Rxc2
23. h4 h6 24. Qa3 {Trying to work the queen in somehow or take the a-pawn.} Qc5
$2 {Both of us were in time trouble now and it transpires that this is a
mistake.} (24... Kh7 {Now that the bishop is no longer pinned Black is
threatening to capture on h4 if Qhite takes on a7. All ideas with g5 are also
off the cards and so effectively, the White attack is over and Black is
winning.}) 25. Qf3 {Now the engine says this position is equal. What a shame
that both Pete and I were so short of time we didn't have longer to wallow in
this complex position a little longer.} Rdd2 $2 {Played swiftly and it looks
convincing, but it's a blunder that could have lost Peter the game.} (25... Kh7
26. g5 $1 {The point now is that Black can't play 26...hxg5 because it allows
27.Qh5+ followed by 28.Re8+ and it's mate!} Bxg5 {If the bishop removes itself
from the attack for example with...} (26... Bb2 $4 {then we have anopther back
rank mate with...} 27. g6+ Kg8) (26... Rd4 {this is a better move but it's
only good enough for a draw after a long forcing line that Fritz spits out at
me...} 27. gxf6 Rg4+ 28. Kf1 Rxf2+ 29. Qxf2 Qc4+ 30. Qe2 Qf4+ 31. Qf2 Qc4+ 32.
R6e2 Rf4 33. Qxf4 Qxf4+ 34. Rf2 Qc4+ {you get the idea!}) 27. R1e5 Rd1+ 28. Kg2
Qxf2+ 29. Qxf2 Rxf2+ 30. Kxf2 Bxh4+ {... and the material balance has changed
radically. Black nnow has two pawns for the exchange. The position is roughly
level but there is still plenty of life left in it.}) 26. Rxf6+ {Agonisingly I
missed a win here. This is the right idea but not quite the right move order.
I was down to about a minute at this point so I'm not going to beat myself up
for missing the win too much but it's a shame that my instincts weren't quite
as sharp as I needed them to be. The precise continuation was...} (26. Qe4+ $1
{This first....} Kf7 27. Rxf6+ $1 {Only now this sacrifice. The point is that
the Black king is now on f7 and that makes all the difference.} gxf6 {The
point of my play in the game was that Black can't take with the king as it's
mate after...} (27... Kxf6 28. Qe6#) 28. Qh7+ {Now the queen has access to h7
and with a series of checks, can conclude the game.} Kf8 29. Qxh6+ {White
collects the h-pawn first...} Kf7 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Qh8+ Kf7 32. Qe8+ {... then
forces Black to give up his queen for the last remaining White rook...} Kg7 33.
Re7+ Qxe7 34. Qxe7+ Kg8 35. Qxf6 {Critically, White holds the f2 square and so
Black is now lost.} Rxa2 36. h5 {... and the best Fritz can find for Black
here is to give back the two rooks for the queen and pawn on f2 but that just
leaves him with a lost king and pawn ending.}) 26... gxf6 27. Qe4+ {This is
where my move order lets me down. The king comes to g7 and guards the h7 entry
square.} Kg7 28. Qb7+ {White doesn't have time for 28.Qe8 unfortunately.} Kf8
29. Qb8+ {Nor do I now have time for 29.Qh7 here.} Qc8 30. Qb4+ {Now it's all
over. White's attack has been repulsed and he's a rook down. We carried on out
of momentum for a few more moves as we were both in terrible time trouble by
this stage.} Kg8 31. Qe7 $2 {At least this puts me out of my misery quickly.}
Qxg4+ 32. Kh1 Qxh4+ 33. Kg1 Qxf2+ {I resigned here. This was a really
interesting game. Pete bravely and accurately when he was forced to do so but
I was still given one chance and I missed it. Such is the way of things when
you are up against the best players in the league.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.03.14"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Clarkson, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "160"]
[BlackElo "173"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "100"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2 b5 6. f3 {Fritz 14 and John Emms
in Attacking with 1.e4, both give} (6. Bd3 Nbd7 7. Nf3 {Now Emms has} e5 {or} (
7... Bg7 8. Bh6 {achieving White's object in many of these lines.}) 8. dxe5
Nxe5 9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. h3 {and White no longer wants to exchange Black's KB, as
he's blocked it in.}) 6... Qa5 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. h4 {After the game, Andrew
correctly remarked that White had a number of possible approaches, but that I
had mixed several! More consistent was} (8. Nge2 Bg7 (8... b4 9. Nd1 {and
Black's pawns may have advanced too far.}) 9. O-O {followed by striking
against Black's queen's side.}) 8... h5 9. Nh3 Nb6 10. d5 $2 {Effectively, the
game is now lost. Having started on king's side activity, I should have
continued with} (10. Ng5 Nc4 11. Bxc4 bxc4 12. Rb1 Rb8 13. O-O Bg7 14. b3 $11)
10... b4 {Of course!} 11. Ne2 (11. Nd1 cxd5 12. a3 dxe4 13. fxe4 {and at least
I may get my pawn back.}) 11... cxd5 12. Bxb6 $2 {Making matters worse by
horribly weakening the black squares in my position.} axb6 13. O-O $2 {And
even worse; at least 13.Ng5 would have avoided the ignominious mess on my
king's side.} Bxh3 14. gxh3 Bh6 15. Qe1 dxe4 16. fxe4 O-O 17. Kh1 {Getting my
king off the black diagonal and with some folorn hope of achieving something
on the g file; clutching at straws, indeed!} d5 {I was slightly relieved that
it might now be harder for his queen to cross to the king's side.} 18. e5 Ne4
19. Ng3 $4 {This should have lost immediately; Fritz gives} (19. Nf4 b3 20.
Nxd5 Qxd5 21. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 22. Bxe4 Ra4 {and White's still losing.}) 19... Bg7 (
19... Bd2 {forces immediate resignation; I suppose I should be grateful to
Andrew for at least keeping me occupied for the rest of the evening.}) 20. Nxe4
dxe4 21. Bxe4 {Fritz prefers} (21. Qxe4 Qxe5 22. Rae1 Qxe4+ 23. Rxe4 Rxa2 24.
Rxe7 Rxb2 25. Bc4 Rxc2 26. Bxf7+ Kh7 {and even after} 27. Bxg6+ Kxg6 28. Rg1+
Kf6 29. Rexg7 Rc3 {Black's b pawns will win it.}) 21... Rad8 22. a3 {Now that
my position is hopeless, I seem to come to my senses and play mostly quite
reasonable moves. I'm not sure that there's much more to be said; Andrew
completed his win, very nicely.} Qxe5 23. axb4 Rd4 24. Bg2 Qxe1 25. Raxe1 Bf6
26. Re4 Rfd8 27. Rff4 Rd1+ 28. Rf1 R1d2 29. Rc4 Bxb2 30. Be4 Bf6 31. Bd3 Rd4
32. Rf4 Rxf4 33. Rxf4 Be5 34. Rf3 Bd6 35. b5 Kg7 36. Kg1 f5 37. Kf1 e5 38. Rf2
Rd1+ 39. Kg2 Bc5 40. Re2 Bd4 41. Bc4 e4 42. Bd5 Kf6 43. c4 Ke5 44. Bc6 Kf4 45.
Bd5 Rg1+ 46. Kh2 Kf3 47. Rd2 Bc5 48. Rb2 Re1 49. Rb3+ Kf4 50. Kg2 Ke5 {The f
pawn will queen; I can't even go after his g pawn, as Black always has ...Rg1+.
Not quite my worst game ever, but quite a strong candidate for the title!} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "French Defence"]
[Date "2016.03.14"]
[Round "11.5"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Patrick, D."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C11"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 {Fully expected!!} 3. Nc3 {I've played...} (3. Nd2 {many
times but recently I've prefered 3.Nc3}) 3... Nf6 {As far as I know Dave has
never played...} (3... Bb4) 4. e5 {The other main move is...} (4. Bg5 {when
Black can play either} Be7 {or} (4... Bb4 5. e5 h6 6. exf6 hxg5 7. fxg7 Rg8 8.
Bd3 Rxg7 {as seen in M Huett - N Sykes (Tod B v HB A) 16th Mar 2015}) 5. e5
Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 a6 8. Nf3 c5 {as seen in N Sykes - D Tooley (Cald v
Hudd) 11th Feb 2015}) 4... Nfd7 5. f4 {Also possible is...} (5. Nce2 c5 6. c3
Nc6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Nf3 f6 9. a3 Be7 10. h4 {was seen in N Sykes - D Patrick (HB
B v Courier) 4th April 2005}) 5... c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 {This is the tabiya
for this position, Black has many different options here} a6 8. Qd2 b5 9. dxc5
{The other big main line is...} (9. a3 Bb7 10. Ne2 (10. Be2 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4
12. Bxd4 Rc8 13. O-O Bc5 {was seen in N Sykes - A Leatherbarrow (Summer Rapid)
25th Aug 2014}) 10... f6 11. c3 Be7 12. g3 O-O {was seen in A Leatherbarrow -
D Patrick (HB B v Courier) 19th Sep 2011}) 9... Bxc5 10. Bd3 $5 {More common
is...} (10. Bxc5 Nxc5) 10... Qb6 {I was hoping for...} (10... d4 $6 11. Nxd4
Nxd4 {No better is...} (11... Bxd4 12. Bxd4 Nxd4 13. Be4 Nxc2+ 14. Qxc2 Ra7 $16
) 12. Ne4 Qh4+ 13. Bf2 Qg4 $16 {However Dave told me he had played 10...d4 in
a recent game and lost! That's the one huge advantage Dave has over me, he has
masses of experience that I don't have, particularly in this opening}) 11. Bf2
Nb4 $5 {I've not seen this before! I was expecting either} (11... Bb7 {or...})
(11... Bxf2+) 12. O-O Nxd3 13. Qxd3 Bxf2+ 14. Rxf2 Nc5 15. Qd4 b4 16. Ne2 Na4 {
I wasn't expecting this. I thought White must be better without queens on the
board} 17. Qxb6 {I had also looked at...} (17. b3 Qxd4 18. Nexd4 Nc3 {I think
this is no better or worse than the game continuation}) 17... Nxb6 18. b3 Bb7
19. a3 {I was unsure what move was best here} (19. c3 {was the other move I
thought of playing} bxc3 20. Rc1 Rc8 21. Nxc3 O-O 22. Rfc2 {was looked at
after the game and we both thought White was a bit better here}) 19... bxa3 20.
Rxa3 Rc8 21. Ned4 Nd7 22. Rf1 $6 {Up until now White has played the opening
very well, this is the first inaccuracy accoriding to HIARCS, White had a much
better move in} (22. f5 $1 O-O 23. Ng5 Nxe5 24. fxe6 fxe6 25. Rxf8+ Kxf8 26.
Nxh7+ Kg8 27. Ng5 Nc6 28. Ngxe6 $16 {White is better}) 22... Ke7 23. Raa1 {
Also strong again here was...} (23. f5 $1) 23... Nc5 24. Rfc1 (24. f5 {Here is
is again, this is supposed to be White's best}) 24... Ne4 25. c4 $2 {This is a
mistake and now White has a difficult position} (25. Ra4 {White is a bit better
}) (25. Ne1 Rhe8 26. Nd3 {and again White is a bit better}) 25... dxc4 26. bxc4
Nc5 27. Rc3 Rhd8 {Black is better now} 28. Kf1 Rd7 29. Ke2 Rdc7 30. Rac1 (30.
f5 {not this move again!!!!}) 30... Na4 31. R3c2 $2 {This is a blunder that
costs White the game I missed the next move for Black} (31. Rb3 Nc5 32. Ra3 {
and Black is a bit better but not much more}) 31... Be4 $1 {It's game over now
really and Dave plays the rest of the game very accurately} 32. Rd2 {I looked
at...} (32. Ra2 Rxc4 33. Rxc4 Rxc4 34. Ke3 {which might be a better option for
White}) 32... Rxc4 33. Rxc4 Rxc4 34. Ke3 Bd5 35. Rd3 (35. Nf5+ exf5 {better is.
..} (35... Kf8 36. Nd6 Rc3+ 37. Ke2) 36. Rxd5 Re4+ 37. Kd2 Rxf4 38. Ra5 Rg4 39.
g3 h6 40. Rxa6 {Gives Black a harder time}) 35... Nc3 36. Nd2 Rc8 37. g4 a5 38.
Ne2 Nd1+ 39. Kd4 Rc2 40. Nf1 Rc4# 0-1

