[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.11.13"]
[Round "5.1"]
[White "Parsons, M."]
[Black "Hamer, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Golden Lion"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Be2 d5 6. O-O b6 7. a4 a5 8. Nc3 c6
9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nd3 Re8 11. Bf3 f5 12. Nxd5 e5 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 Bxe5 15.
Bxe5 Rxe5 16. Nc3 Qf6 17. Qd4 Nd7 18. Be2 Nc5 19. f4 Re6 20. Bc4 Kf8 21. Bxe6
Qxe6 22. Qh8+ Kf7 23. Qxh7+ Kf8 24. Qh8+ Kf7 25. Qd4 Qe7 26. Rfe1 Be6 27. Rad1
Qh4 28. g3 Qh3 29. Qd2 Rh8 30. Qg2 Qh5 31. h4 Ne4 32. Nxe4 fxe4 33. Qxe4 Bg4
34. Qxc6 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.11.13"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Bak, C."]
[Black "Clarkson, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A36"]
[Annotator "Chris Bak (CB)/Andrew Clarkson (AC)"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.11.14"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Golden Lion"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 c5 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. O-O
Rb8 (8... Ne8 {CB: ... is another common move, but perhaps less accurate
because white can play} 9. Be3 {without the preparatory h3.}) 9. h3 Nd4 $6 {CB:
We quickly repeated our game from the Team Lightning event at the end of the
previous season. I took a look at this line after that game and realised that
this move is dubious for a concrete reason. I was able to recall that reason
and gain what I thought was a substantial opening advantage. AC: Causing
myself a considerable amount of grief. It was still not too late for 9...a6} (
9... a6 {CB: ... is the correct move, not only to take away b5 from white, but
to prepare the break himself. The line continues...} 10. a4 Ne8 11. Be3 Nd4 12.
Rb1 {... with a double-edged middlegame.}) 10. Nxd4 cxd4 11. Nb5 {AC: Good
preparation by Chris as I have not faced this before, and he punishes my poor
'any move order will do' attitude. CB: Black has to misplace his queen to
avoid the loss of a pawn.} Qb6 $6 {AC: Not the best way to solve this problem,
but better players than myself have gone down the same path. I consumed a good
deal of time around here to prevent a complete disaster. I had originally
intended...} (11... a6 12. Nxd4 e5 13. Nf3 b5 14. b3 bxc4 15. bxc4 Nd7 16. Be3
Nc5 17. Qd2 Bb7 18. Rab1 Qc7 {... but couldn't be sure I had enough for the
pawn.}) 12. a4 {CB: This justifies white's aggressive knight thrust.} e5 {AC:
Other moves have been tried here but with little or no success.} (12... a6 13.
a5 Qc5 14. b4 $1 {CB: ... is a cute trick. Capturing the pawn loses instantly,
so black has to settle for} Qh5 {where white has a pleasant choice.} (14...
Qxb4 $4 15. Ba3 Qxa5 16. Bxd6 $18) 15. Qxh5 (15. Nxd4 Bxh3 16. Qxh5 Nxh5 17.
Be3 $14 {Stockfish doesn't evaluate this position as highly as the 15. Qh5
line, but I don't tend to trust engine evaluations completely in these types
of positions. The point is that white has a clear space advantage in both
lines.}) 15... Nxh5 16. Nc7 $14) 13. a5 Qa6 {CB: At first I thought this move
was impossible because Nc7 traps the queen. Once Qa6 was played I quickly
realised that the c6-square is safe.} 14. Bg5 {CB: I decide to play for the
outpost on d5.} Bd7 15. Bxf6 {AC: White can win the exchange with...} (15. Qf3
Ne8 (15... Bxb5 $4 16. cxb5 Qxb5 17. Bxf6) 16. Be7 {... but Black can carry on
with...} Bxb5 17. cxb5 Qxb5 18. Qe2 (18. Bxf8 Bxf8 19. Qe2 Rc8) 18... Rc8 19.
Rfc1 Rxc1+ 20. Rxc1 Qxa5 21. Rc8 Nc7 22. Bxf8 Bxf8 23. b4 Qb6 24. Qc2 Nb5)
15... Bxf6 16. Nc7 Qc6 17. Nd5 Bd8 {CB: Now black's queen and dark-squared
bishop are both misplaced. Black is clearly worse, but his position his solid
and free from weaknesses. White can seek play on both wings. I thought the
kingside offered the best chances to press.} 18. f4 Qc8 (18... Be6 19. f5 Bxd5
20. exd5 {CB: Understandably my opponent didn't want to face this. He can chop
off the d5-knight at any moment, so he doesn't have to rush it.}) 19. f5 f6 {
CB: Black stays solid and keeps the tension, asking white how he wants to make
progress.} (19... gxf5 $6 20. Qh5 {is an important tactical point.}) 20. fxg6
$6 {CB: After the game I was wondering where my advantage faded, and I thought
this was the moment. The computer agrees, claiming white's advantage drops
significantly but not completely. White should instead stay put and improve
his position with a move like 20. b4 or 20. h4, waiting for a better moment to
capture on g6 and letting black squirm.} (20. h4 $5 {AC: This is Fritz's
suggestion...} Kg7 21. Bh3 h6 22. Rf2 g5 23. Rh2 Rh8 24. Bg4 {... to continue
Black's misery.}) 20... hxg6 21. Qd2 Kg7 {AC: And I felt that I should be able
to hold the game even though the the match looked lost.} (21... Bxh3 $4 22. Qh6
{wins.}) 22. Qb4 Qc5 23. Qe1 Qc8 24. g4 {CB: The reason I placed my queen on
e1 was to try and make the following pawn sacrifice work...} (24. Rf2 Bxh3 {
Black doesn't have to do this, and probably shouldn't.} 25. Bxh3 Qxh3 26. Rh2 {
If the white queen were on d2, black would have Qxg3+. In this position black
has to settle for} Qg4 {but I didn't find a way to make an attack on the
h-file work. Black gets to attack first:} 27. Kg2 (27. Kf2 $4 {This attempt to
improve on 27. Kg2 by controlling e2 backfires tremendously after} f5 $19)
27... Rh8 28. Rxh8 (28. Qh1 $4 Qe2+ $19 {This is the reason I rejected the
line.}) 28... Kxh8 29. Qd2 {I didn't take this very seriously when calculating
at the board, but looking at it now, white's position looks excellent because
black's bishop and rook are stuck. However black's queen is well-placed and
prevents white's pieces from straying too far from the king.}) 24... Be6 25. b4
{CB: 25. Qg3 is better, to prevent the idea presented in the next variation.}
Qd7 ({I was a little worried about} 25... Bxd5 26. exd5 f5 {where black fights
to take over the initiative. The position could explode after} 27. c5 {and
it's anyone's game.}) 26. Ra2 Bxd5 27. exd5 Be7 {CB: 27..f5 may be better here
than on the 25th move.} 28. Qg3 Rh8 29. Be4 g5 {White is back to having a
large advantage according to the engine. Certainly he has more space and the
much better bishop. However, the advantage may be merely cosmetic. The
position is locked, both sides control different colour complexes, and it's
not clear how white can make progress. On the other hand, in such positions
there often exist surprising tactics if one side is not correctly mobilised.
It turns out that white has one at this very moment.} 30. Qf3 (30. c5 $1 {CB:
The armada of queenside pawns surges forward. The tactical justification is}
dxc5 (30... a6 {takes control of b5, slowing down the queenside rush, but
white now has a huge advantage. Moves like Qf3 and c6 come to mind.}) 31. bxc5
Bxc5 32. Rxf6 $3 {This works because the black rook moved from f8 to h8.} Kxf6
33. Rf2+ $18 {Qxe5+ will follow, winning one of the rooks back with an easily
winning position. I had seen the idea of pushing c5 at the right moment, but I
did not consider it in this position. Nor would I have seen the amazing rook
sacrifice.}) 30... Rh6 31. Bf5 Qc7 32. Rh2 {CB: Our team had already won the
match, so I offered a draw, which was promptly accepted.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.11.13"]
[Round "5.4"]
[White "Allan, J."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C84"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2017.11.15"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Golden Lion"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 {I decided before the game to play main line
variations if I found myself up against John. I gave very serious
consideration to playing the Classical Variation that I had employed in round
of of the Calderdale Individual Championship the previous week and it turned
out that would have been a better choice.} 4. Ba4 Nf6 {I was angling for the
Open Variation of the Spanish.} 5. Nc3 $5 {Oops! I had completely forgotten
that John sometimes employed the transposition to the Four Knights Game. This
was a nasty surprise even though it shouldn't have been. I don't know the Four
Knights very well at all and immediately felt rather uncomfortable which is
unuslay for me so early in the game.} b5 {If I had prepared myself properly (i.
e. actually taken a look at some of John's recent games instead of playing
based on my recollection of his repertoire) I could have found some
inspiration from Matthew Parsons' excellect win against him with Black from
last year's Calderdale Individual Championship. In that game Matthew played 3..
.Nf6 but then after 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.d3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 he got himself a perfectly
playable position and went on to win a very nice technical game where he
simply out played John positionally and in impressive style.} 6. Bb3 Be7 7. O-O
{Up until here both players have selected the most frequently played moves
after 5.Nc3 according to my online database.} O-O {This is the second most
frequently played. 7... d6 appears more often however.} 8. Nd5 Bc5 $6 {This
move didn't turn out well for me. In fairness there probably isn't that much
wrong with it. I'm preserving the bishop at the cost of a tempo and
threatening to play Nxe4. I thought that was justification enough but John's
next move poured cold water on my ideas. It wasn't too late to return back to
the mainlines here with...} (8... d6 {... and now the game might continue with.
..} 9. Re1 Na5 10. Nxe7+ Qxe7 11. d3 Nxb3 12. axb3 c5 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bh4 Qe6
15. Nd2 Bb7 {The game is dead level. Black's slight space advantage is
counter-acted by White's pressure on the a-file. I'd have been happy to reach
this position in the game.}) 9. c3 $1 {The best move in the position. White
simply prepares to take control of the centre with 10.d4} Nxd5 $2 {I lost my
nerve a little in this position. I should have followed my nose and gone for...
} (9... Nxe4 {After this White gets a favourable position but not a huge
advantage after...} 10. d4 exd4 11. cxd4 Be7 {Not...} (11... Bb6 $2 {... when
White gains a decisive advantage after...} 12. Qd3 Re8 13. Re1 Nd6 14. Bg5) 12.
Re1 Nf6 13. Nxe7+ Nxe7 14. Bg5 {White certainly has an advantage here but
Black is still on the board.}) 10. Bxd5 {I had expected...} (10. exd5 Na5 11.
Bc2 Bb6 12. Nxe5 {where again, White is a pawn to the good and has a
comfortable advantage. He should really win from here.}) 10... Rb8 11. Bxc6
dxc6 12. Nxe5 {Compared to the variation above, White has still won a pawn but
this time Black has gained the bishop pair so ithe situation is not quite so
serrious.} Qf6 {This turns out to be an error as it transpires the queen is
badlyk misplaced on this square. Best according to the engine was the
unnatural looking...} (12... Qe8 {Keeping some pressure on the e-file as well
as protecting the pawn on c6.} 13. d4 Bd6 14. Bf4 f6 15. Nd3 Bxf4 16. Nxf4 Qxe4
{Black has regained his pawn and has bishop against knight thought his
structure is certainly much weaker than White's. Fritz prefers White here but
not by a great deal.}) 13. d4 Bb6 14. Be3 Rd8 $6 {Another weak move although
it was tough to see how best to proceed. The problem Black has is his queen's
bishop which is unable to move as Bb7 would have been met by Nd7. Hence this
move seemd logical but I'd not considered John's next move.} 15. Qh5 {
Threatening Bg5.} Re8 {Something of an admission of guilt. The alternative was.
..} (15... h6 {... but after this White can just sit on the position and
slowly improve whilst Black sits passively. This is archetypal Spanish Torture!
} 16. f4 b4 17. Rf3 bxc3 18. bxc3 {Is an example of how grim this line could
become.}) 16. Qe2 {This move really surprised me as it pretty much lets Black
off the hook for his lost tempi. After the game, a few players suggested White
should try...} (16. Bg5 {... with the idea that after...} Qe6 17. f4 f6 {...
White can play...} 18. f5 {... when it seems Black is lost because the queen
can't maintain contact with the rook. However, this over looks.} Qxe5 {Which
means White would probably have to first play 16.Kb1 before intiating this
plan and that gives Black just enough time to consolidate.}) (16. Rae1 {Is the
engines suggestion after which it can see nothing better for Black then a
tactical try which I'd spotted and considered in the game...} Re7 17. Bg5 Rxe5
18. dxe5 Qxe5 19. Qh4 Be6 {We looked at a similar line to this after the game
and quickly concluded Black had nothing like enough for the exchange.}) 16...
c5 {Aiming to take advantage of the White knight's slight discomfiture in
order to final liberate my pieces.} 17. f3 {I was again a little surprised
that John didn't play more aggressively but he has no real need to. His
position is simply better and he can afford to consolidate. He's just a pawn
up for nothing.} Be6 $5 {I thought this was a clever move as now 18.Nc6 
(aiming for 19.d5! next move) is well met by the intermezzo 18...Bc4! So John
now felt the need to play his next move.} 18. b3 {Reinstating the threat of
Nc6. But perhaps White could do better and prove that Be6 was dubious by
following up with...} (18. Rfd1 Rbd8 19. f4 cxd4 20. cxd4 {Simply continuing
to improve his control of the cente. Now Black must lose yet another tempo...}
Bc8 {... and White looks well placed.}) 18... cxd4 19. cxd4 c5 {This was the
point behind my idea. Now at least I've removed my weakling doubled c-pawns
and given myself some room for manoeuvre.} 20. dxc5 Bxc5 21. Bxc5 Qxe5 {By now
I felt that I had some practical chances to hold the position. There are
opposite coloured bishops on the board and enough open files to suggest that a
mass exchange of heavy pieces could possibly be arranged. Naturally, White
could justificably continue to play this position for a very long time but at
leasts I felt like I had a chance to save half a point.} 22. Qf2 Rbc8 23. Rac1
Red8 24. Be3 {And, with the match already won, John felt no need to grind on
any further and offered me a draw. He would certainly have been entitled to
continue for a long while yet.} (24. Bb6 {Is the best the engine can come up
with after a reasonable think.} Qf4 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. Rd1 f6 27. Qe2 Kf7 {This
line preserves White's advantage but Black has improved his position
significantly and it won't be easy for White to convert.}) 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.11.13"]
[Round "5.5"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Innes, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C24"]
[WhiteElo "162"]
[BlackElo "143"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "41"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Golden Lion"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Nf3 d5 5. Bb3 Bd6 6. exd5 {Johm Emms, in
Attacking with 1.e4, writes "This move looks quite promising", giving it !?}
cxd5 {Fritz 14's preferred move, but Emms dismisses this in a note, favouring
6...Nxd5. Certainly Black's impressive centre proves to be all but impossible
to maintain.} 7. O-O Bg4 $6 {Over-ambitious, IMHO. Fritz prefers any of 7...
Nc6, 7...O-O or 7...Be6, marking all three lines as 0.00.} 8. h3 {Fritz takes
away most of my edge, but only if the bishop retreats to e6. I thought he was
far more likely to either capture my knight or, most probably, play as he did.
I wanted to be able to shut off his bishop immediately, if necessary.} Bh5 $6
$14 {Now the bishop can't defend his centre.} 9. Nc3 {My turn to get in
Fritz's bad books; the machine simply accepts the offered pawn, by} (9. g4 Bg6
10. g5 Nfd7 11. Bxd5 $14) 9... Nc6 $2 (9... d4 {was necessary; Fritz continues
with} 10. Nd5 {I was leaning towards} (10. Nb5 Nc6 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nxd6+ Qxd6 {
when I may or may not have spotted} 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. f4 Nc6 15. Qe1+ {
(covering g3) followed by f4-f5, regaining the piece. White has two bishops
against two knights, in an open position, and Black's advanced d pawn looks
more of a liability than an asset.}) 10... Nxd5 11. Bxd5 Nc6 $11) 10. Nxd5 {
Why not take the pawn? "Money in the bank." Much less good if I hadn't played
8.h3.} Nd4 11. g4 Bg6 $2 {Least bad is} (11... Nxb3 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. axb3 Bg6
14. Bg5 Qe6 15. d4 e4 16. d5 Qd7 17. Nh4 $14 {White's still that pawn up,
Black's e pawn may become a target and White's queen side pawns look ready to
roll. Even so, at least Black can castle.}) 12. Nxd4 {Even stronger was} (12.
Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Nxd4 exd4 14. f4 h6 15. f5 Bh7 16. Re1+ $18 {Black still won't
be able to castle, his QB is out of play and his king looks vulnerable.}) 12...
exd4 {He has to get rid of my other knight first:} (12... Nxd5 13. Bxd5 exd4
14. f4 f6 15. Bxb7 Rb8 16. Bd5 $16 {Even so, White's now two pawns up, with a
promising attack.}) 13. Re1+ {Fritz prefers} (13. Nxf6+ Qxf6 14. f4 h6 15. f5
Bh7 {and now 16.Qe1+, where most humans would use the rook. I preferred to
keep my knight, and 13.Re1+ forces his king to move.}) 13... Kf8 14. Bg5 {Now
Fritz prefers} (14. Nf4 {presumably planning to remove that defender of f7.
Play might continue} Qc7 15. Qf3 Qc6 16. Qxc6 bxc6 {when any of 17.Re2, 17,Bd2
or 17.Kg2 is +-.}) 14... h5 {His best try to prevent 15.Qf3 is} (14... h6 {but
White simply plays} 15. Bh4 h5 16. Bg5 {and we're back in the game, a move
later.}) 15. Qf3 hxg4 16. hxg4 Bh2+ (16... Qd7 17. Nxf6 gxf6 18. Bxf6 Rh7 19.
Bd5 Rb8 {defends for a bit longer.}) 17. Kg2 Qd6 {I expect he'd like to play ..
.Bg1 and ...Qh2+, but I'm not about to give him the chance (even so, I don't
think it works, as White's queen covers the important white squares).} 18. Nxf6
gxf6 19. Bxf6 Kg8 {This is Fritz's choice too, avoiding 20. Be7+. With no
immediate prospect of mating him, I thought it best simply to cash in.} 20.
Bxh8 Kxh8 21. Rh1 {My shambles against Dave Keddie is becoming a distant (not
too distant, I hope) memory.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "English Opening"]
[Date "2017.11.15"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Tooley, D."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A10"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Huddersfield 'A'"]

1. c4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. b3 Nc6 5. Be2 b6 6. Bb2 Bd6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. O-O
Bb7 9. d4 a6 10. d5 Ne5 11. dxe6 dxe6 12. Nd4 Qe8 13. f3 Rd8 14. Qe1 c5 15. Nc2
Qg6 16. Rd1 Qh6 17. f4 Neg4 18. Qg3 Be4 19. Rc1 Nh5 20. Qh3 Bxc2 21. Rxc2 Nxe3
22. Qxe3 Nxf4 23. h3 Rf6 24. Bc1 Nxe2+ 25. Rxe2 f4 26. Qf3 Rf5 27. Re4 Qf6 28.
Rfe1 Rf8 29. Rxe6 Qd4+ 30. Kh1 Be5 31. Nd5 Kh8 32. Ne7 Rg5 33. Nc6 1-0

