[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.1"]
[White "Williams, W."]
[Black "Parsons, M."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[PlyCount "49"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.04.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. c3 d5 2. f4 c5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. d3 Qb6 8. Kh1
O-O 9. Qe1 d4 10. Na3 Be6 11. Ng5 Bd5 12. Bxd5 Nxd5 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. e4 dxe3 15.
Nxe3 Qd7 16. Ne4 Nxe3 17. Bxe3 b6 18. Qe2 Rad8 19. Rfd1 Qb7 20. Kg1 Rd7 21. Qf3
Rfd8 22. Nf2 e6 23. Kg2 Ne7 24. Qxb7 Rxb7 25. Kf3 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.04"]
[Round "12.2"]
[White "Ursal, D."]
[Black "Bak, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D48"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
a6 9. O-O c5 10. b3 Bb7 11. Qe2 Be7 12. Bb2 O-O 13. Rfd1 Qb6 14. Ne5 Rfd8 15.
Rac1 Rac8 16. f4 cxd4 17. exd4 Qxd4+ 18. Kh1 Qxf4 19. Nxd7 Rxd7 20. Rf1 Qg4 21.
Qxg4 Nxg4 22. Be4 Bxe4 23. Nxe4 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 f5 25. Rc8+ Kf7 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.3"]
[White "Morgan, J."]
[Black "Bak, C."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A37"]
[Annotator "Chris Bak"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.04.05"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 e6 6. e3 {I've not come across
this move order before. Usually white plays e3 in order to play Nge2. My first
instinct was to play d5, but in these positions I always try to avoid the kind
of simplified and completely symmetrical position that arrive after both sides
push their d-pawns. Thus I played more flexibly.} Nge7 7. O-O {Natural but
inconsistent. Now I'm in time to prevent d4.} (7. d4 {I wasn't sure how to
respond to this. As mentioned, I wanted to avoid the natural cxd4 followed by
d5. Black has some alternatives.} cxd4 (7... O-O {is possible. Black does not
fear d5 or dxc5 and keeps all his options open. However at some point he will
have to make a commitment in the centre.}) 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. exd4 d5 10. cxd5
Nxd5 11. Nxd5 exd5 {This is the symmetrical position I was talking about in a
previous comment. White can claim a tiny edge because he has the move, but
it's really nothing.}) 7... Nf5 8. b3 O-O 9. Bb2 Rb8 {9..d5 is natural and
best, but for some reason this move had completely left my mind. Instead I
prepared to break on the queenside.} (9... d5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 b6 {Black
has more central space but he lags behind in development. The position is
equal.}) 10. Na4 Bxb2 11. Nxb2 Qf6 {Keeping control of d4 and hoping to
provoke white's next move.} 12. Nd3 {The knight hits c5 but otherwise I
thought it was badly-placed. White's plan over the last few moves felt
artificial so I was quite happy with my position.} d6 13. Qc2 e5 {I didn't
spend much time coming up with this plan because it felt right. Black advances
in the centre, places the central pawns on the opposite colour of his
remaining bishop, and gains time. Furthermore, white's knights are far away
from the hole on d5.} 14. Qc3 Qe7 15. Nfe1 {Despite feeling I had played well
I was suddenly at a loss at how to proceed. White's pieces are
strangely-placed, but he is ready to break on both wings.} Bd7 {Connecting the
rooks and preparing to move the b-pawn.} 16. f4 f6 17. Nc2 {Black's best bet
is to stay put (meeting b4 with b6) and reorganise his army before taking
further action. Instead I embark on a faulty plan to push in the centre.} Ng7
18. b4 e4 19. Nf2 f5 $2 {The first big mistake of the game. Capturing on b4
first was necessary.} (19... cxb4 20. Nxb4 Nxb4 21. Qxb4 {Black is OK after 21.
.f5 or 21..Bc6.}) 20. bxc5 $6 (20. b5 Nd8 {I didn't think position was bad for
black because it seems all six minor pieces are badly-placed. However
Stockfish thinks white is borderline winning after} 21. d3 exd3 22. Qxd3 $16 {
Suddenly white is ready to play e4 which gets rid of his backwards pawn and
activates some of his pieces. Black will have to defend for a long time.})
20... dxc5 $14 21. d3 exd3 22. Nxd3 {White is a little better, but this is
more preferable for black than the position in the previous variation.} b6 23.
Bd5+ Kh8 24. Rae1 Qf6 25. Qxf6 Rxf6 26. e4 fxe4 27. Rxe4 {After some
simplification we reach an endgame. I thought I was a little worse because
white is better-coordinated and has more active pieces, but I didn't think it
would be too challenging to hold.} Nf5 28. Rfe1 Ncd4 $2 {It's always desirable
to play the most active moves, especially in time trouble. However this is too
soon. Black has to challenge the e-file, so 28..Rff8 is the best move. One
reason I did this is because I failed to notice that the bishop would cover f3
after the e4-rook moves.} 29. Nxd4 $16 Nxd4 $2 30. Re7 $18 {White has
infiltrated and has a winning position.} Bc6 {I thought that this was the only
way to stay in the game, but it is insufficient.} 31. Bxc6 $2 {Both players
are making mistakes in time pressure. A lucky escape for black.} (31. Ne5 {I'm
not sure if either of us noticed that the knight defends f3 from its ideal
post on e5. As they say, backward moves are very hard to spot!} Bxd5 32. cxd5
$18 {is overwhelming.}) 31... Nxc6 32. Re8+ {32. Rc7 is the last chance to
play for something, but black should be able to defend by Rbf8 followed by
R8f7.} Rxe8 $11 33. Rxe8+ Kg7 34. Ne5 Nxe5 35. Rxe5 (35. fxe5 Rf5 {it looks
good to create a passed pawn but this doesn't increase white's winning chances.
The white rook is in front of the passed pawn - the worst location - and the
black king is very close. White will soon have to give this pawn up for a7 or
h7 with a dead equal ending.}) 35... Kf7 36. Rd5 Ke7 {Time control reached. I
offered a draw. My opponent accepted after some thought. We both came to the
conclusion that the endgame is very drawish. However, a brief post-game
analysis revealed that this is far from a trivial draw. The most important
point is that king and pawn endings with the pawn structure as it is are
winning for white because he is able to create a passed pawn while black
cannot. I had not made this observation, nor had my opponent (I think).
However black can offer the exchange of rooks by Rf5 without risking entering
a lost endgame, and this is probably how he should play. Or he can shuffle
with his king on e6 and d6 where it's not clear that white can make progress.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.4"]
[White "Porter, R."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D09"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. g3 Nge7 6. Bg2 Ng6 7. O-O Bg4 {
Taking the gambit pawn back immediately is probably best.} (7... Ngxe5 8. Nxe5
Nxe5 9. Nd2 Be7 10. Nf3 {... is one of the lines Fritz gives. White's
advantage is microscopic.}) 8. Qa4 Qd7 9. Rd1 O-O-O 10. Nc3 Ngxe5 $4 {Dreadful.
Correct was...} (10... Bxf3 11. Bxf3 Ngxe5 12. Bg2 {... and the game continues.
White is better but it's  not anywhere near decisive yet.}) 11. Nxe5 {The rest
needs no commentary. It's a slaughter.} Nxe5 12. Qxa7 Qd6 13. Bxb7+ Kd7 14.
Rxd4 Ke8 15. Rxd6 Bxd6 16. c5 Be7 17. Bf4 Ng6 18. Bxc7 Rd4 19. Bc6+ 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.5"]
[White "Scurfield, S."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C50"]
[WhiteElo "141"]
[BlackElo "154"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {It's funny how many people avoid Alekhine's Defence!} e5 {
Timothy Taylor, in Alekhine Alert!, makes the point that White has already
given up his most promising openings, after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3.} 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bc4
Bc5 {Giuoco Piano this time; I'm going to have to swot up on these openings.
Fritz 14's Openings Book gives his 4.Bc4 a ?, which is ridiculuous, IMHO.} 5.
O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 {I wanted to break the symmetry, and knew all too well that
the annoying 7.Bg5 was coming next. Fritz actually agrees with my choice.} 7.
a3 d6 {I did consider 7...a6, 7...a4 and 7...Qe7, but thought I'd KISS.} 8. Qe1
$6 {Especially in view of his next move, I think his plan was to move the
king's knight, advance f2-f4 and play Qg3; things don't quite work out as
planned!} Bg4 {Quite happy to exchange on f3 and institute my own king's side
attack.} 9. Nd2 $2 {White's effectively lost, from here on; his pieces get
into a fearful tangle.} Nd4 {None of this warrants any !, as it's all so
obvious. Never mind the exchange; 10...Nxc2 would win his queen, as things
stand.} 10. Bb3 b5 {My initial thought was to harrass this knight, with a view
to ...Be2, winning the exchange.} 11. Kh1 a5 {Rather than 11...b4, chasing his
bishop away seemed an even better idea.} 12. f3 a4 13. fxg4 {Fritz prefers} (
13. Ne2 axb3 14. Nxd4 exd4 15. fxg4 bxc2 $17 {White's only a pawn down, though
Black's pawn on c2 may prove tricky to hang to. However, I'd still rather be
Black, as White's g pawn is under threat and there's still b5-b4, as White's a
pawn is pinned.}) 13... axb3 14. Nxb3 (14. g5 Nxc2 15. Qe2 hxg5 16. Rb1 {saves
the rook, but} Nd4 17. Qd1 c6 18. Nxb3 Ne6 $19 {still leaves Black much better.
}) 14... Nxc2 15. Qh4 {After the game, Sam wondered whether 15.Qg3 might have
given him more chances on the king's side. Fritz prefers trapping Black's
knight, by} (15. Qd1 Nxa1 16. Nxc5 dxc5 17. g5 Nd7 {I think I'd have been more
likely to see} (17... Nh7 18. gxh6 g6 19. Be3 b4 20. axb4 cxb4 21. Nd5 $19 {
and now the knight's protected and has hopes of escaping by ...b4-b3 and ...
Nc2.}) 18. gxh6 g6 19. b4 $19 {ensures that White wins the knight, but Black
is still winning.}) 15... Nxa1 {Played after I realised that, after 16.g5 Nh7!
(I think that this retreat is not that obvious; clearly Sam had missed it),
White's attack dissolves. Prior to this, I did ponder on "playing it safe", by}
(15... Be3 16. Bxe3 Nxe3 17. Rf3 {but realised I'd be left with almost no
advantage; would I have seen Fritz's preferred} d5 (17... Nexg4 $2 18. h3 {and
the knight has no retreat.} Nxe4 19. Qxg4 f5 20. Qg6 Rf6 21. Qh5 Nxc3 22. bxc3
Qd7 23. Rff1 $14) 18. Rxe3 d4 19. Rh3 dxc3 20. bxc3 Nd7 $15 {I wonder?}) 16.
Nxc5 dxc5 17. Bxh6 {Desperation; he's still not seen} Nh7 $1 {and now White's
losing a whole rook.} 18. g5 gxh6 19. Qxh6 Qxg5 {One of my easier games, and
very much quicker to analyse. It's only short, but I gain some satisfaction
from discovering that, for once, Fritz agrees with (almost) all my moves!} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.1"]
[White "Hamer, M."]
[Black "Allan, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B41"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.04.10"]
[WhiteTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. e4 e6 7. a3 Qc7 8. Be3
Be7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O d6 11. Rc1 Bd7 12. f3 Rac8 13. Qd2 Qb8 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15.
Bf1 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 b5 17. cxb5 axb5 18. Na2 e5 19. Be3 Be6 20. Nb4 Qb7 21. Qe1
d5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. exd5 Rxc1 24. Rxc1 Qxd5 25. Be2 e4 26. Rd1 Qa8 27. Rxd8+
Qxd8 28. fxe4 Nxe4 29. Bxb5 Qd5 30. a4 Qe5 {The rest of the game is not
recorded but White went on to win.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.3"]
[White "Clarkson, A A."]
[Black "Syrett, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B71"]
[WhiteElo "2005"]
[BlackElo "1878"]
[Annotator "Clarkson,Andrew"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2017.04.03"]
[WhiteTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 d6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8.
e5 Bg4 9. Be2 Bxe2 10. Qxe2 dxe5 11. fxe5 Nd5 12. e6 {I found that I had tried.
..} (12. Bd2 {in an internet blitz game back in 2012.}) 12... fxe6 {In the
Ultimate Dragon volume 2, Gufeld & Stetsko quote...} (12... f5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5
14. Bg5 {'and by creating an outpost on d7, White prepares a Rook invasion.' 
(M. Euwe).}) 13. Qxe6 {missing the strongest continuation. I did intend
playing Qe5, but only after this capture.} (13. Qe5 Nf6 (13... Rg8 $2 14. Qxe6
$16) 14. O-O Bg7 15. Qxe6 Qd6 16. Qc4 Rf8 17. Bf4 Qd7 18. Rad1 Qb7 19. Be5 Rf7
20. Ne4 Qb6+ 21. Kh1 Nd5 22. Bxg7 Rxg7 23. Rxd5 cxd5 24. Qa4+ Kd8 25. Rf8+ Kc7
26. Rxa8 Kb7 27. Qe8 Qc7 {Ginzburg,M (2274)-Bjelke,J (2087) Panormo 2001 1-0})
13... Qd7 14. Qxd7+ {Played after some thought. The isolated pawns should be a
long term weakness for Black. My original intention had been...} (14. Qe5 {but
this is of no advantage to White, unlike playing it at move 13.} Rg8) 14...
Kxd7 15. Bd2 Bg7 16. O-O-O Kc7 {Or...} (16... Rhf8 17. Ne4 Ke8 18. Rhe1 $14) (
16... Kc8 {was actually played in Dodge, Robert-Mozota,Jose / Cserve email
1996 / 1-0 (44).}) 17. Rhe1 e5 (17... Bxc3 18. bxc3 {I was also looking at...}
(18. Bxc3 Nxc3 19. Rxe7+ Kb6 20. bxc3 Rae8 21. Rdd7 Rxe7 22. Rxe7) 18... Rae8
19. c4 $16) 18. Ne4 Rae8 19. c4 Nb6 {Fritz suggests...} (19... Nf6 20. Ba5+ Kb8
21. Nd6 Re7 22. Kc2) 20. Ba5 Kb8 21. b3 Rd8 22. Rxd8+ {I rushed this a little,
and should have improved my position first. A far better move is...} (22. Kc2 {
when Black's plan to squirm out of the pin on his Knight fails.} Rhf8 23. Rxd8+
Rxd8 24. c5 Rd5 25. Nc3 Rxc5 26. Bb4) 22... Rxd8 23. c5 {A false move that had
been spotted by Martin earlier. My advantage was not so good now.} (23. Kc2 {
keeps everything under control.}) 23... Rd5 24. Rf1 {If the White Rook
penetrates to the 7th rank then there will be serious mating threats. Martin
had correctly seen that...} (24. cxb6 Rxa5 25. bxa7+ Rxa7 {kept Black's
survival chances alive.}) 24... Nd7 25. b4 {This was a difficult move to make.
The Bishop no longer controls d2, and may well be shut out of the game. I was
now counting on my Rook reaching f7 to cause Black some distress, or at least
bouncing the Bishop down to d8.} Rd4 26. Nd6 {I was already fixating on mating
threats against the Black King. White should go for...} (26. Rf7 {straight
away.} Rxe4 (26... Bh6+ 27. Kc2 Rxe4 28. Rxd7 Re2+ 29. Kb3 Bc1 (29... Rxg2 $4
30. b5 $1)) 27. Rxd7 $16) 26... Nf6 27. Kc2 e4 28. Bd8 {The game is finely
balanced, and a mistake by either player could cost the point. People who had
finished their games were now taking a keen interest.} Nd5 29. Rf7 {Both
players have reason to be fearful about the safety of their King, besides
having some optimism about their own attacking prospects.} Bh6 {Watching on,
Dave Patrick had thought that...} (29... Ne3+ {would be too much for White.
But after} 30. Kb3 ({Not} 30. Kc3 $4 Rd3#) 30... Rd3+ 31. Ka4 Nc2 {and the
show is not over. White has two possible moves to keep things on a knife edge.}
32. Bc7+ (32. Nc4 Rxd8 33. Rxg7 e3 34. Na5 Nd4 35. Re7 e2 36. Nb3) 32... Ka8
33. Nc4 e3 34. Re7) 30. Rxh7 {Inviting the Black forces to attack the White
King.} Bd2 {You might criticise this but what else? Martin had a lot to
consider. Here are the alternatives:} (30... Rd2+ 31. Kb3 Rd3+ 32. Ka4 Bf4 (
32... Nc3+ 33. Ka5 Nd5 34. a4 $1) (32... Bc1 33. Bc7+ Nxc7 34. Rh8+ Ne8 35. b5
$1) 33. Bc7+ Nxc7 34. Rh8+ Ne8 35. Rxe8+) (30... Ne3+ $2 31. Kb3 Rd3+ 32. Ka4
Nc2 {fails to} 33. Bc7+ Ka8 34. Rh8+ Bf8 35. Rxf8#) (30... e3 31. Rh8 {is a
very serious mate threat. For example} Rd2+ 32. Kb3 Rb2+ 33. Ka3 Rf2 34. Rxh6
e2 35. Rh8 {still threatens mate.}) 31. Ba5 {Not the best.} (31. Bc7+ $1 {I
had been unaware of this clever device.} Nxc7 32. Rh8+ Ne8 33. Rxe8+ Kc7 34. b5
$1 {and White is winning.}) 31... Ne3+ $4 {Martin cracks under the pressure.
Black only has...} (31... a6 32. Rh8+ Ka7 33. Re8 {and again a number of murky
choices which all seem to favour White.} Bxb4 (33... e3 34. a3 Be1 35. Bb6+
Nxb6 36. Rxe3 Nc4 37. Rxe1 Nxd6 38. cxd6 Rxd6 39. Re5) (33... Nxb4+ {This
appears to be Black's best shot here.} 34. Bxb4 Bxb4 35. Nxe4 Bxc5 36. Kc3 Rd5
37. Re6 Bd4+ 38. Kc4 Kb6 $11) 34. Bxb4 Rxb4 35. Rxe4 Rxe4 36. Nxe4 Ne3+ 37. Kd3
Nxg2 38. Kd4 {and I would have been happy to test Black in this ending.}) 32.
Kb3 Rd3+ 33. Ka4 Bc3 (33... Rxd6 34. cxd6 {is hopeless.}) 34. Re7 {Forcing
resignation but missing the mate that had been the whole idea behind Rf1 and
Rf7.} (34. Re7 {Giving up the exchange with} Rxd6 (34... a6 {Where I had seen..
.} 35. Re8+ Ka7 36. Bb6#) 35. cxd6 {is no salvation for Black.}) (34. Rb7+ {
Mate is guaranteed after this.} Ka8 35. Bc7 a5 (35... Rxd6 36. Rb8#) 36. Rb8+
Ka7 37. Nc8+ Ka6 38. Rb6#) 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.04.03"]
[Round "12.5"]
[White "Innes, D."]
[Black "Kerrane, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C02"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 Bd7 7. O-O cxd4 8. cxd4
Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 Qb6 11. Kh1 Ne7 12. f4 g6 13. Qe2 a6 14. a4 Bg7 15.
Rf3 Nc6 16. Be3 Nd4 17. Qf2 Qb4 18. Bxd4 O-O 19. Bc5 Qa5 20. Bxf8 Bxf8 21. h4
h5 22. Qe2 Rc8 23. Rg3 Kh7 24. Qxh5+ Bh6 25. Rxg6 fxg6 26. Qxg6+ Kh8 27. Qh7#
1-0

