[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.23"]
[Round "8.1"]
[White "Parsons, M."]
[Black "Allan, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A48"]
[Annotator "Matthew Parsons"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. h3 Qe8 8. Bh2
e5 9. c4 Nh5 $6 {This is Black's first error. The knight doesn't belong on h5
at all. Also Black's 'threat' to take on d4 is no danger and is actually the
wrong way for black to play. Over the next few moves White is able to improve
his position step by step to the point where he is completely winning.} 10. Nc3
c6 11. Qb3 Kh8 $6 {Played immediately and in error. I didn't put the queen on
b3 to attack f7.} 12. Qa3 $1 {These 'small' moves with the queen are hard to
see if you aren't familiar with White's intentions. It's unusual to use the
queen in this way, but White targets the main weak square in the Black camp -
d6.} Qe6 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Rfd1 Re8 15. Ne4 $1 {I'm pleased that the engine
seems to suggest this is the best move (though perhaps Ng5 as well) as I felt
the position was starting to offer great potential for White, but accuracy was
required.} Bf8 $6 {I feel this is incorrect. It seems like a good idea to
attack the queen and bring another piece to fight for d6, but I feel the
bishop is misplaced.} 16. Qc3 f6 17. c5 {After this move I feel White is
probably winning.} b5 18. b4 h6 19. Nd6 Bxd6 {I was surprised by this decision,
but it's already hard for Black to find decent moves.} 20. Rxd6 Qe7 21. Nh4 Nf8
22. Bg4 {There were perhaps better moves here, I'd seen the other options but
suffered from the 'too many good moves problem.' Anyhow Bg4 is good enough.}
Bxg4 23. hxg4 Ng7 24. Qc2 Kh7 25. Qe4 f5 $2 {A blunder. I wondered if John had
missed that after 25.Qe4 I was defending the knight on h4.} 26. gxf5 Qxh4 $4 {
It turns out he had... John played this move and resigned immediately after
realising what he had done.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.23"]
[Round "8.2"]
[White "Bak, C."]
[Black "Syrett, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B30"]
[Annotator "Chris Bak"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.01.24"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 {A pretty harmless move, but ever since I started
playing Open Sicilians I have dodged the possiblity of a Svenshnikov for no
reason in particular. Black has a number of attractive setups.} e5 {The most
principled reaction: white has done nothing to prevent black from occupying
the centre, so black occupies the centre. This creates the standard Sicilian
hole on d5, but it is not as potent for white as it is in open Sicilians
because the d-file is closed.} 4. Bc4 Be7 {The rule of thumb is knights before
bishops, but in this position is certainly an exception.} (4... Nf6 $2 5. Ng5
$16) 5. O-O Nf6 6. d3 d6 7. h3 {Preventing Bg4, which would be troublesome
because black's knight is ready to leap into d4 at any moment.} (7. Ng5 {is
the most popular continuation, the point being} O-O 8. f4 {where white can
build up on the kingside in the style of the Grand Prix attack.}) 7... Bd7 8.
Bg5 {Removing a defender of d5.} h6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 {Given that black has yet to
commit his king, I thought that he may have intended to recapture with the
g-pawn and start some play against my king. I was not particularly afraid of
this.} 10. Nd5 Ne7 $2 {It is unpleasant to face a knight sitting in your camp,
but the situation was not desperate enough to warrant a move like this.
Despite what I said in my last comment, opening a file towards your own king
is worrisome, but after some thought I decided that black had no realistic
attacking prospects.} (10... Be6 {is the move I expected and a much better way
to challenge the knight. White has plenty of choice here; I was thinking about}
11. Ne3 {but didn't see much in the position after} Bg5 {Most likely I would
have kept the knight on d5 and played an improving move like 11. c3.}) 11.
Nxf6+ gxf6 12. Nh4 $1 {An important move that maximises white's advantage.
White prevents Ng6-f4, fights for control of f5, and makes way for the queen
to leap to h5 or f3.} h5 13. f4 {Black is underdeveloped, his king is in the
middle, and he has two weak pawns on the f-file. All signs point towards
opening the position! On the other hand, this gives black some valuable time
to consolidate.} b5 {On this move and the next one I considered sacrificing a
piece, but couldn't convince myself that white would have enough compensation.}
14. Bb3 (14. fxe5 bxc4 15. exd6 Nc6 16. dxc4 Ne5 {is the reason I rejected the
sacrifice. White has three pawns for the bishop, black's pawn structure is as
bad as you can get, and his king will never be truly safe, but he has
excellent homes for both minor pieces (the bishop can sit on c6 or e6).
Looking at the position now, I'd take white, but it's hard for me to commit to
such positions over the board, especially when you are evaluating the final
positions in your head. Furthermore, this is not forced (for example, the
engine recommends 15..Ng6).}) 14... Qb6 15. Kh2 (15. fxe5 c4+ 16. Kh2 cxb3 17.
exf6 bxc2 18. Qxc2 Nc6 {I considered this to be worse for white than the
previous piece-down position. White only has two pawns for the piece, and
black's knight can settle on d4 or e5. I think if anybody's worse, it's white.
Stockfish confirms my evaluation, giving black a large advantage.}) 15... O-O-O
{Black has completed development and moved his king to relative safety. How to
proceed? White can either try to open the queenside with a4 or continue his
play in the centre by opening the f-file. I decided on the latter.} 16. fxe5
dxe5 17. Qf3 {Grabbing the pawn on f7 is also strong, and perhaps best, but I
didn't see much point in giving black a free move or two just to take a
backward doubled pawn. On the other hand, it does have the advantage of
preventing a rook landing on g8.} f5 {I saw this only after playing my last
move. Instead of passively defending the pawn, black gives it up to open the
long diagonal for his bishop.} 18. exf5 {I judged that it would be better to
keep the knights on. White does have a "dim" knight, and black's knight has
some potential, but I thought it was important to keep a stable defender on
the kingside, especially one that defends the potentially weak g2-square. It's
nice to see that the computer agrees with this assessment.} (18. Nxf5 $2 {
White gives up all of his advantage because of the following line:} Nxf5 19.
exf5 Bc6 20. Qf2 Rhg8 {and white is forced to advance the g-pawn.} 21. g3 (21.
Rg1 $4 {loses in various ways, the flashiest being} c4 $1 22. Qxb6 axb6 23.
dxc4 Rd2 {The black invasion is decisive.}) 21... h4 22. g4 {White's king
looks very tender!}) 18... Bc6 19. Qf2 f6 {Black saves a pawn but limits his
potential on the g-file. We both had around 20 minutes to time control, so the
moves were being played at a fast pace.} 20. a4 b4 21. a5 {I was very
optimistic at this point, seeing that I would be winning c5, but black's next
move revealed that it isn't without compensation.} Qc7 22. Qxc5 Rd4 23. Be6+ {
Defending f5 in preparation for my next move.} Kb8 24. Nf3 {At first sight
this loses a piece, but the rook will be loose after the discovered check.} e4+
25. g3 Rdd8 {White has navigated the complications well, and now has an
objectively winning position, but engine evaluations don't carry much meaning
in such a sharp and complex position. Analysing this phase of the game without
an engine has led me to believe that black has excellent practical chances.
It's very easy for white to go wrong. The main reason for this is that the
black king is surprisingly safe on b8, whereas white's king can potentially be
attacked on the g-file, on the h1-a8 diagonal, and on the second rank.} 26.
Qxb4+ Ka8 27. Nh4 {It's essential to prevent black from advancing the h-pawn.
One example of a knight on the edge of the board being a good piece!} exd3 28.
cxd3 $2 {The turning point. Objectively, white still has some advantage, but
from a practical point of view, black has the edge because he becomes the
aggressor. In time trouble it's much easier to attack than to defend.} (28. Rf2
{is the engine's top choice, a move I didn't consider when analysing at home.
White doesn't allow the black rook to access white's position so easily, makes
d2 harmless, and keeps control of the position. After} dxc2 29. Rxc2 Rd3 {we
reach the position in the game but with two extra tempi for white.} 30. Qf4 {
30. Qe1 is the most precise, but this is also enough to keep a winning
advantage.} Qxf4 31. gxf4 $18 {White's structure is ruined but the weak
g3-pawn now controls e5 and g5 which would otherwise be good squares for the
black knight.}) 28... Rxd3 {I was so focused on finding a way to meet Rhd8 and
Rd2+ that it took me some time to even notice the threat of Qxg3 checkmate!
Hence my next move, which is almost forced, could have been played immediately
and saved me some important minutes.} 29. Qf4 Qb7 {Sensibly keeping the queens
on.} (29... Qxf4 30. Rxf4 Rd2+ 31. Kg1 Rxb2 {At the time I thought this
endgame was extremely unpleasant, but looking at it with a cool head I quickly
see that white can win back the second rank with} 32. Rf2 {and convert the
extra pawn.}) 30. Rf2 Rhd8 31. a6 $4 {Until now both sides have played quite
accurately, but this is a losing blunder. Remarkably, allowing the queen to b6
gives black a winning position!} (31. Rg1 $16 {White has consolidated his
position by building a fortress around the king, and now that black can't
create any immediate threats, he can think about making some forward progress
with a move like Ng6.}) 31... Qb6 32. Raf1 {I didn't see black's next move
coming, but I thought it prudent to protect f2 once more.} R8d4 33. Qh6 Qc7 $4
{Black is no longer winning.} (33... Qb8 $1 {is the only winning move,
preventing Qf8+ and thus rendering white unable to prevent both Qxg3 and Rxh4.
Of course, neither player can be blamed for making these kind of subtle
mistakes with minutes on their clock.}) 34. Qf8+ Rd8 35. Qg7 Qd6 36. Ng2 Rb8
37. Nf4 Rd1 {I spent 7 of my newly-acquired 15 minutes in this position. I
thought I was dead lost. I couldn't see a way to avoid a decisive invasion or
loss of material. What I did see was a crafty tactical move, and after
calculating some lines, decided it was the best chance I had of staying alive.}
38. Bd5 $4 {Objectively, this loses, but the refutation is far from obvious. I
want to pat myself on the back and say this was a pretty good "swindle" move,
but the correct move (38. Rxd1) was so straightforward that playing this move
was completely unnecessary. On the other hand, it gives rise to a fascinating
variation which wouldn't have been revealed had I not played this move.} (38.
Qxf6 {is good enough for a draw.} Rxf1 39. Rxf1 Qd2+ 40. Kg1 Qe3+ {I saw up to
here in my calculations and figured that black would have at least a draw.
Indeed, this position is a forced repetition. White is forced to play} 41. Kh2
{and black has nothing better than to repeat.} (41. Rf2 $4 {loses to} Qe1+ 42.
Rf1 Qxg3+)) (38. Rxd1 Qxd1 39. Ng2 $18 {is easy. White has everything covered,
and the once irrelevant queen on g7 is ready to pick up some material.}) 38...
Rxd5 {The gamble pays off! To be honest, I didn't see this in advance. Black
wins two pieces for a rook and white's king remains exposed, so he's still
better, but white has succeeded in avoiding an immediate loss.} (38... Nxf5 {
I saw this after I played 38. Bd5. I assumed it was good enough to win, but
it's not so clear.} 39. Bxc6+ (39. Rxd1 Nxg7 40. Be4 {is the ultra-precise
computer line. Only this bishop move is correct. Everything else loses. Why? I
have no idea.}) 39... Qxc6 {The queen doesn't have many squares, which is why
I assumed black was winning, but she can sacrifice herself for two rooks:} 40.
Qb7+ Rxb7 41. axb7+ Qxb7 42. Rxd1 {Stockfish gives 0.00, but in a practical
game, I'd definitely take white.}) (38... Rxf1 {I suspected that black would
be winning here, but I wasn't sure because I was unable to calculate
everything to the end. After} 39. Bxc6+ {it turns out that black has a
study-like win requiring two very precise moves. If you fancy a challenging
tactics problem, stop here and try to work everything out.} Qxc6 $1 {Only this
recapture wins.} (39... Nxc6 $2 {During the game I thought this was the winner,
but white stays alive.} 40. Rxf1 Rxb2+ $2 {40..Ne5 is best, with approximate
equality.} 41. Kh1 Qd2 42. Qg8+ Nb8 43. Qd5+ {I had actually seen this line
during the game, but I missed the fact that the queen was defended by the
knight!}) 40. Rxf1 Rxb2+ 41. Kg1 {I didn't calculate any further than this.
Black has forced mate, but he has to be very precise!} Qc2 $4 {It might
surprise you that white can survive this position. The defense is not obvious.
If you haven't found it already (or haven't tried), it's a good exercise to
try and find it.} (41... Qc5+ $1 {is the second precise move.} 42. Kh1 Qc2 {
Now we see the point of black's moves. Keeping the knight on e7 prevents the
Qg8+/Qd5+ defense...} 43. Qf8+ Nc8 44. Ne2 {...and inserting 41..Qc5+ allows
the following:} Qc6+ {Note that if the king were on g1, black would not be
able to check because the white queen controls c5.} 45. Kg1 Rxe2 {Black will
deliver checkmate in a few moves.}) 42. Qf8+ Nc8 43. Ne2 $1 Kb8 44. Rc1 $1 {
White comes out on top.}) 39. Nxd5 Bxd5 40. Rd1 $4 {Anticipating Rg8, but not
anticipating much else.} (40. Qh6 {sidesteps Rg8 and keeps an eye on the
h-pawn. The position is roughly level and still quite sharp.}) 40... Rg8 {I've
bombarded you with enough variations, so I'll just say that black had many
better options, the strongest being 40..h4.} 41. Rxd5 Qxd5 $2 {Both 41.. Qc7
and 41..Qb8 keep the position level.} 42. Qxe7 Qc6 {After a long period of
suffering, the tables have turned. It is now black who has to babysit a
tremendously weak king. This, combined with his two-pawn deficit, means that
white is completely winning. The rest of the game is given without comment.}
43. Qe6 Rc8 44. Re2 Kb8 45. h4 Qb6 46. Kh3 Qc7 47. Re3 Qc6 48. Rb3+ Ka8 49.
Qxc6+ Rxc6 50. g4 hxg4+ 51. Kxg4 Rxa6 52. Kh5 Ra5 53. Kg6 {Black's flag fell
in a lost position.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.23"]
[Round "8.3"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Leatherbarrow, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 Nc6 2. Nf3 e5 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 6. Bd5 {This is the only
way for White to try for any sort of advantage after Black's last move. The
main point of the move is primarily to prevent Black from breaking with d5
rather than to attack the knight on e4 which can easily take up residence on
e6 via c5.} (6. O-O {Is an attempt to steer the game back to the mainline of
this variation after...} d5 {But Black does not have to acquiese and can
instead play...} (6... Be7 7. Bd5 Nc5 8. c3 {...with a position similar to the
game.}) 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. Bxc6 bxc6 9. Nxd4 Bc5 {Is a key continuation for this
variation.}) 6... Nc5 7. c3 {Offering a pawn to activate his game.} Ne6 {
Obviously taking the pawn is critical. play might continue with something like.
..} (7... dxc3 8. Nxc3 Be7 9. Be3 O-O 10. Qe2 {...and the engine assesses this
position as equal.}) 8. O-O $6 {Failing to learn the lesson from my game last
time with Beaky. In this line White should generally take the pawn back as
soon as Black offers it. In this instance White will hold a strong central
position even after Black liberates his game with the pretty-much forced...} (
8. cxd4 d6 9. O-O dxe5 10. dxe5 Bc5 11. Nc3 {White is doing well here. He has
more space, maintains a development advantage and, what's more, it won't be
easy for Black to get his queen's bishop into play unless it goes to the
passive square, d7.}) 8... Be7 9. Re1 {The truth is that I'm still learning
how to pay this variation and need more games to familiarise myself with some
of the ideas. Recapturing on d4 was again best here. In fact it was probably
even better now that Black has played Be7 as compared to the line given above
his king's bishop is also a little passive.} d3 {An interesting idea from Andy.
Rather than keeping the pawn and offering me an active position and the
initiative in exchange he choses to give it back arguing that my pawn on c3 is
not helpfully placed. It's a fair point.} 10. Qxd3 {In fact the engine likes
White's position after this but as always, accurate moves need to be found to
prove that and this position is tricky.} d6 {Also possible was simply 10...0-0}
11. Nbd2 {This offers White nothing at all really. I'd have had a better
chance at keeping an edge if I'd played...} (11. exd6 Qxd6 12. Na3 O-O 13. Nc4
Nc5 14. Qd1 Qd8 15. Be3 Be6 {... and White is certainly better here though
whether it's enough to win is another matter.}) 11... Nxe5 12. Nxe5 dxe5 13.
Qe4 c6 14. Bxe6 Bxe6 15. Nf3 $2 {This move is not great. Having spent about 20
minutes on my 11th move I was suddenly feeling like I should try to speed up a
bit with still 20 moves to make before time control and only 25 minutes left
to make them! But this was hasty and allows Black the opportunity to keep his
pawn.} O-O {I think that I'd idiotically considered that if now...} (15... f6 {
...then...} 16. Bf4 {...but of course this is rubbish as...} Bd5 {...wins a
piece!}) 16. Nxe5 {Relieved I grabbed back the pawn and felt I had some
chances to create complications just as I had done a few weeks ago from an
inferior position.} Bf6 17. Bf4 Bxe5 {Safety first from Andy. This seemed to
be his modus operandi for this game. Why not? He could have kept the extra
pieces on if he'd felt inclined to of course.} 18. Bxe5 Qg5 $5 {This came as a
total surprise to me. Suddenly an agressive and active move. I'd expected
maybe Qb6 or Re8. I took a few minutes to adjust to the new reality and
thought I could try to exploit Andy's idea.} 19. Re3 {The idea was to threaten
Rg3 and also Rae1 with a growing initiative. I suspect Andy hadn't foreseen
this idea. Regardless he responded with a sound idea that nips all my
aspirations in the budd.} Bd5 {Forcing the exchange of queens.} 20. h4 Qg6 21.
Qxg6 hxg6 22. a4 {With the queens off I tried to figure out if I had any
winning chances at all in the endgame. I figured I had to try and keep the
rooks on whilst the opposite coloured bishops were on the board. I also
thought I needed to expand on the queen's side and get my pawns on dark
squares in order to fix Andy's on the light squares.} a6 23. Rae1 Rfe8 24. Bd4
{White can't avoid the exchange of a pair of rooks but at least he controls
the e-file for now.} Rxe3 25. Rxe3 Be6 26. Bb6 {Trying to keep his rook out of
any sort of active post.} Kf8 27. Kh2 {My idea (and the only reason I hadn't
already accepted or offered a draw) was to try and infiltrate my king to the
Black queen's side via the long Black diagonal. I also wanted to try and fix
the Black pawn on g7 if I could as it is a potential target. It seemed to me
like I could carry on playing for a win with almost no risk of losing so why
not continue and ensure that Andy defends himself to earn his draw?} Rc8 28. b4
Re8 29. Bc5+ Kg8 30. Rd3 Bd5 31. Re3 {Pretty much every move available here is
a draw with correct play. I chose to exchange rooks as I still felt I could
play for a win and force Andy to find the correct defensive ideas in the
opposite coloured bishops ending.} Rxe3 32. Bxe3 b5 33. a5 f6 34. g4 {Played
to allow the king to advance without leaving the g-pawn vulnerable. I also
wanted to try and play g5 to fix the doubled Black g-pawns in position.
Ultimately I realised that if I could somehow get my king to b6 or b7 then I
have a good chance of creating a passed pawn over on the queen's side.} Kf7 35.
Kg3 Ke6 36. Bd4 Be4 37. Kf4 Bc2 38. g5 Bb1 39. Ke3 Kf5 40. f4 Bc2 41. Bc5 fxg5
{I had been hoping Andy might be angling for...} (41... Kg4 {After this I
thought my winning chances might improve with a line such as...} 42. gxf6 gxf6
43. Be7 Kxh4 44. Bxf6+ Kg4 45. Bg5 {With the idea of now trying to get my king
to that b6 square. However, with accurate play Black is still holding here.} c5
$1 {Black needs to find this accurate move which momentarily prevents the
White king from getting to d4. If not this then it looks like it might be
curtains following a sample line such as...} (45... Kf5 46. Kd4 Ke6 47. Kc5 Kd7
48. Kb6 Kc8 49. Ka7 c5 50. Bf6 Kc7 51. Kxa6 Bd3 52. Be5+ Kc6 53. Ka7 cxb4 54.
cxb4 {White is winning here.}) 46. bxc5 {White has to take to get his king in.}
Kf5 {Suddenly the Black king is getting back just in time.} 47. c6 Ke6 {...
and this is only a draw.}) 42. hxg5 Ke6 43. Kd4 Kd7 44. Bf8 {Ok, so White is
going to win a pawn, unfortunately, it makes no difference to the result.
White has no way to make progress on the king's side and the Black king is
defending on the queen's side.} Kc8 45. Kc5 Kb7 46. Bxg7 Bd3 47. Kd4 {Here I
finally gave up any hope that Andy might make an error so it was time to offer
the draw. When 'simple' endings such as this still have some hidden depths I
can see why Carlsen is happy to grind and grind for ages when he has only a
small advantage but no risk of losing. Kudos to Andy for defending accurately
when he needed to and earning his half point.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.23"]
[Round "8.4"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Kerrane, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C00"]
[WhiteElo "154"]
[BlackElo "133"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 e6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. g3 {The more usual move order, given in John
Emms' Attacking with 1.e4, has 4.Ngf3 first, but I don't think there is
anything wrong with this.} Nc6 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. Ngf3 Be7 7. O-O b6 8. Re1 Bb7 9.
Nf1 $2 {John asked, afterwards, if this was a known trap, and that my e pawn
was "poisoned". No! This is just a simple blunder, due to my playing by
ill-recalled rote. 9.e5 Nd7 10.Nf1 is "the more traditional method for White",
according to Emms, who recommends 10.c4!?} dxe4 $17 10. dxe4 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Nxe4
12. Bf4 {Trying to control some squares on his side of the board. Fritz 14
doesn't rate this, preferring any of 12.Be3, 12.a4 or 12.c3. However, my move
is only inferior if Black responds aggressively, driving the bishop back with
12...g5.} Nf6 $6 {Consolidating, but Fritz has removed half his advantage.} 13.
Ne5 {Fritz prefers 13.Ne3, but I wanted to put overt pressure on him.} Na5 {
Interestingly,} (13... Nd5 {is the best move here, according to Fritz. If
White plays to regain his pawn, by...} 14. Bxd5 exd5 15. Rxd5 $2 {...he loses
the exchange to} Nd4 16. Rd7 $4 Ne2# $1) 14. Bxb7 {I reckoned his bishop was
at least as strong as mine, and this does place his knight on a poor square.
Fritz prefers} (14. Bd2 {aiming to shatter his queen's side pawns, but Black
seems OK to me after} Bxg2 15. Kxg2 Nb7) 14... Nxb7 15. Nc6 {Fritz prefers 15.
Ne3, though not by much. I wanted to keep up what pressure I could, and also
to prevent 15...Bd6.} Nd5 $2 {John was distracted by his responsibility for
the junior team, who were playing a handicap match at the same time. This
looks good, blocking the d file and forcing my bishop to move, but fortunately
I spotted} 16. Rxd5 $1 exd5 17. Re1 O-O $2 {Better was} (17... Kd7 18. Rxe7+ (
18. Nxe7 $2 Rhe8 {and Black is back to winning.}) 18... Kxc6 19. Rc7+ Kb5 20.
Rxb7 Rhf8 {Black's king may feel a trifle vulnerable, but at least he hasn't
lost any pawns.}) 18. Nxe7+ Kh8 19. Nxd5 {Money in the bank! This is my style
of play.} Rad8 $6 {Better to challenge my rook on the e file.} 20. Re7 {
Playing aggressively has worked well, so far; I certainly didn't like the look
of} (20. Nfe3 Rfe8 {though either 21.Rd1 or 21.Kf1 avoids any trouble with the
pin.}) 20... Rxd5 {Losing another pawn; Fritz prefers} (20... Na5 21. Nfe3 Nc6
22. Rc7 Rc8 {though White is still winning.}) 21. Rxb7 f6 {If he'd played
Fritz's preference of 21...Ra8, I planned to take the f pawn, and maybe put
pressure on g7.} 22. Rxa7 b5 23. Ne3 {The knight covers a lot of useful
squares; it's a long time since my ill-judged 9.Nf1?} Rd2 24. h4 {I thought he
might be after playing 24...g5, hassling my bishop; Fritz would have ignored
this and simply played 24.Ra5.} h6 {It looks as if that was what John was
intending!} 25. h5 {This puts a stop to his g7-g5.} Rg8 26. Rc7 {Another pawn
is going, after 26...c4 27.Rc5 Ra8 28.a3. I felt sorry for John; chess is a
single-minded game, and even being captain of one's own team can be a
distraction.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Sicilian Dragon"]
[Date "2017.01.23"]
[Round "8.5"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Bamford, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B76"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "45"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 {The Dragon....One of my
favourites as both colours. I was looking forward to the battle ahead} 6. Be3 (
6. f4 {is the Levensfish and has been seen in a couple of exciting games with
Andrew Clarkson and Dave Shapland}) (6. Be2 {is the Classical and have played
it a quite a few games with either colour}) 6... Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9.
Bc4 {The most critical and aggressive move another big move is...} (9. O-O-O {
and I have played this with colours too}) 9... a6 $6 {Not the best, instead} (
9... Bd7 {is most frequently seen and then after} 10. O-O-O {a bloodthirsty
battle is inevitable. I've had this position with both colours too a few times
in the last couple of years}) 10. O-O-O {GM Rep The Sicilian II book gives} (
10. Bb3) 10... Bd7 11. h4 b5 12. Bb3 b4 {Driving the knight to a good square}
13. Nd5 Na5 14. Qxb4 Nxb3+ 15. Nxb3 (15. axb3 {is also fine}) 15... Rb8 16. Qa5
Qxa5 $2 (16... Nxd5 17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 18. exd5 {is best for Black, but gives
White a nice positional advantage in my opinion}) 17. Nxe7+ $1 {A nice and
thematic intermezzo} Kh8 18. Nxa5 Ng8 19. Rxd6 Bxb2+ 20. Kd2 Nf6 $2 {a poor
move but Black is just going to be two pawns down whatever he plays} 21. Nc4 $1
Be6 22. Nxb2 Rxb2 $2 ({best for Black is} 22... Rfd8 23. Rxd8+ Rxd8+ 24. Nd3 {
but still White is a piece and two pawns up}) 23. Bd4 {And Black is losing
even more material} 1-0

