[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Somerset, B."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B26"]
[WhiteElo "162"]
[BlackElo "175"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 {Thus far, exactly as
in our game, two years previously. Now Bill chooses a different line; he must
have known I'd been swotting up on 6...Rb8 7.Qd2, etc.} Nf6 7. h3 Bd7 {John
Emms, in Attacking with 1.e4, only considers 7...e5 and 7...O-O. Neither Fritz
14's engine nor its Openings Book rates this move either, so we're on our own
now!} 8. Qd2 {In a similar position, where Black has castled instead of 7...
Bd7, Emms says "Naturally 8.Qd2 is possible, but the idea of Be3-h6 is less
enticing when Black hasn't weakened his dark squares by moving the e7 pawn."
Instead, Emms switches to the alternative approach:} (8. f4 Rb8 9. Nf3 {
followed by castling on the king's side, and Black's knight on f6 is a target,
speeding up White's attack.}) 8... Rb8 9. Bh6 {There was no rush for this, but
at least I was being consistent.} O-O 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. Nge2 Qc8 {Inhibiting
White from castling on the king's side, but Fritz has reduced Black's small
advantage to zero.} 12. Nf4 $6 {Nice idea, protecting h3, but the knight can
be driven away. In addition, a knight on e2 can exchange his on d4. Why didn't
I consider 12.g4, I wonder, or 12.a3, Fritz's other preference? Black is
welcome to sacrifice a piece for two pawns on g4, whereupon I could have
castled queen's side in more safety, and thank him for opening up files
against his king! Later, I wondered whether I could simply have castled,
trusting that he wouldn't fancy opening the h file for me. Fritz doesn't think
so:} (12. O-O Bxh3 13. Nd5 Bxg2 14. Kxg2 Nxd5 15. exd5 Ne5 $17 {and Black's
king is in no more danger than White's.}) 12... h6 {Making sure he can drive
my knight away. The immediate} (12... g5 $2 13. Nh5+ Nxh5 14. Qxg5+ Kh8 15.
Qxh5 $16 {is not a good idea.}) 13. Nfd5 {The other knight was a tiny bit
better:} (13. Ncd5 b5 14. Nxf6 exf6 15. O-O $11 {and now} g5 $2 {would be a
seriously bad idea:} 16. Nh5+ $16 {followed by 17.f4, wherever Black's king
moves.}) 13... Nxd5 14. exd5 {Not exactly bad, but it drives his knight where
it wants to go.} (14. Nxd5 e6 15. Ne3 $11 {and now Black's knight can easily
be driven from d4; what's more, White can castle king's side.}) 14... Nd4 15.
O-O-O {No, this isn't the fatal blunder; it's actually Fritz's choice, giving
Black just -0.12.} b5 16. Kb1 $11 {Making room for the knight on c1; Fritz
prefers} (16. Rde1 e5 17. f4 Qa6 18. Kb1 b4 19. Ne2 Nxe2 (19... Nb5 20. fxe5
dxe5 21. Qe3 {and now White has the tiniest plus.}) 20. Rxe2 f6 21. b3 Rb5 22.
Qc1 Qa3 23. Qxa3 bxa3 $15 {Black's a lttle bit better, with almost all White's
pawns on white squares, and the pawn on a3 restricting White's king. If,
however, the rooks were to be exchanged, Black's a pawns would be very weak.})
16... b4 17. Ne2 Nb5 {This works very well for him, as I didn't defend
correctly, which often happens OTB as opposed to with a computer. Fritz prefers
} (17... Nxe2 18. Qxe2 Re8 19. g4 {(or either of the other two king's side
pawns)} e5 (19... Rb5 20. Qd2 Qa6 21. b3 Ra5 22. c3 bxc3 23. Qxc3+ Kg8 24. Rd2
$11) 20. dxe6 Rxe6 21. Qf3 $11) 18. f4 {There's little to choose between this
and Fritz's preferences of 18.g4, 18.h4 and 18.Rhe1. Fritz clearly isn't
worried about his queen's side attack.} Qa6 19. g4 {Fritz is happy with this
and my next move...} Qa5 20. Ka1 {..."walking deeper into trouble" was Bill's
accurate assessment, after the game, but I need to do something about 20...
Nc3+, winning my queen. Fritz prefers} (20. b3 Nc3+ 21. Nxc3 bxc3 22. Qc1 Rb6
23. Ka1 Ra6 24. Qb1 Rb8 25. Bf1 Rab6 26. Qc1 e6 (26... Ba4 27. Qa3 $11 {so
Black tries to attack b3 with his bishop, from e6.}) 27. d4 exd5 28. dxc5 dxc5
29. f5 d4 (29... gxf5 $2 30. gxf5 Bxf5 31. Rxd5 $11 {and it's hard to say
whose king is in greater danger.}) 30. Bc4 {and the best Black can now do is}
Bb5 31. Bxb5 Qxb5 32. fxg6 Rxg6 $17 {Black's attack has been repulsed, but he
is a pawn up, and White's position still feels uncomfortable.}) 20... Rb6 21.
Be4 $4 {Probably worth the ?? as there's no way out for me now; I don't have
time for this. I was looking at 21.Nc1, but this gets into trouble on c3.
Fritz's move is} (21. Qc1 Ra6 22. Qb1 {(unlike the knight, the queen can
defend both a2 and b2; however, this position does not look comfortable)} Re8
23. Rhf1 $15 {At least Black's attack has stalled, and he must pay some
attention to the king's side.}) (21. Nc1 {would be more effective if White had
time to play 22.Nb3, 23.Rb1 and 24.Nc1; a strange looking position, but at
least the queen is a free agent. However,} Ra6 22. Rde1 {(almost anywhere off
d1 will do)} e6 (22... Nc3 23. a3 {Of course! I don't have to take the knight.
Black is definitely better; Fritz is taking a long time making its mind up,
but has settled on} Qa4 (23... bxa3 $4 24. Qxc3+ {and suddenly White is
winning!}) 24. Nb3 Nb5 25. Kb1 Nxa3+ (25... bxa3 $2 26. Re4 $14) 26. bxa3 Qxa3
$17 {and at least there's no mate.}) 23. Rhf1 Nc3 24. a3 Nxd5 $17 {Fritz rates
both 25.f5 and 25.Baxd5 equally, though I think most humans would get rid of
his knight, before it does any more damage.}) 21... Ra6 22. Nc1 Rb8 {Yes, he
could have played} (22... Nc3 {immediately. I couldn't see any way out at all,
though I suppose I still had the chance to see} 23. a3 {but now he wins the
exchange and is still attacking.} Nxd1 24. Rxd1 bxa3 $19) 23. c4 $2 {This is
"curtains", but I still hadn't seen White's resource of 23.Rde1 Nc3 24.a3.}
bxc3 24. bxc3 Nxc3 25. d4 Nxe4 {"At least I avoided being mated" I thought,
but Fritz sees} (25... Qb4 {It's mate in 6, e.g.} 26. Nd3 Qb3 27. Nb4 Rxb4 28.
Bb1 Nxa2 29. Bxa2 Rxa2+ 30. Qxa2 Qc3+ 31. Qb2 Qxb2#) 26. Qxa5 Rxa5 {and now
the only way I could see of continuing was to prevent 27...Nc3 by 27.Rd3 
(actually 27.Ne2 would do, but he still ends up a rook ahead after 27...Nf2).
So I picked up the rook and then spotted 27...Nf2. "Touched piece" and time to
resign. Bill played the attack really well, and (I hope) I have learned
something about defending such positions. The most important lesson is not to
get into them; none of this would have happened if I'd castled king's side.
However, Fritz would also have castled queen's side when I did, but would then
have made a better fist of it. One consolation is that the other four players
in our team all won; I was the "sacrificial lamb" on Board 1.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Chigorin Defence"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Sykes, N."]
[Black "Velosa, C."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[Annotator "Nick Sykes"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. Nf3 {I've been alternating between 1.Nf3 and 1.c4 this season. Usually it
doesn't really make any difference as the positions will often transpose. This
is one of the occassions where there is a difference as after 2.c4 e5 3.Nc3 f5
this is a position I'd prefer to avoid. As after 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 I'd rather
play 3.e3 instead of 3.Nf3 as I'd prefer to meet 3...f5 with 4.d4 avoiding 4 ..
.e4 hitting the knight on f3. So after 1...Nc6 I'd prefer to play 2.d4 rather
than 2.c4} Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. e3 {Nowadays I play pretty low theory stuff with
White.} Nf6 (3... Bg4 {is more common}) 4. c4 Bg4 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bd2 (6. h3 {is
probably better and recommended in 'e3 Poison', it gives a few lines all seems
pleasent enough for White.} Bh5 (6... Bxf3 7. Qxf3 Bb4 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 O-O
10. O-O Re8 11. Bd2 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Ne4 13. Rfc1) 7. Be2 Bb4 8. Bd2 O-O 9. a3
Bxc3 10. Bxc3 Ne4 11. Rc1) 6... Ne4 7. Be2 Nxd2 8. Nxd2 (8. Qxd2 dxc4 {is okay
for Black}) 8... Bxe2 9. Qxe2 Bb4 10. cxd5 exd5 11. O-O O-O {The opening is
over and White has got a decent enough position, but nothing to get too
excited about. That's me with White these days.} 12. Rac1 a6 13. Nf3 Re8 14.
Qc2 {White has improved his position a bit and has a slight edge IMHO the
knight is not too well placed on c6 and will have to take a bit of time
improving its position. If the pawn was on c6 and the knight was on f6 all
would be well in Black's position I'm guessing} Qf6 $4 {Oh dear! we've all
been there} 15. Nxd5 Qd6 16. Nxb4 Qxb4 17. a3 Qd6 18. Qc5 Qf6 19. Rc2 Ne7 20.
Rfc1 {I can actually get away with...} (20. Qxc7 $1 {the rook can't attack the
queen and take the rook on c2 without him losing his other rook} Rec8 ({or} 
20... Rac8 21. Qd7) 21. Qxb7) 20... c6 21. Ne5 Nd5 {Black's main weakness is
b7 I was, over the next few moves, trying to attack it to provoke a weakness,
but unfortantely I drift and give Black some activity.} 22. Qc4 Rad8 23. Qb3
Re7 24. Nd3 h5 25. Nc5 h4 26. h3 {Sam Swain correctly spotted I could get away
with playing...} (26. Nxb7 Rb8 27. Rxc6 Qf5 28. R6c5 Rexb7 29. Qxd5) 26... Qg5
27. Qd3 f5 {Black is trying to drum up some activity, but really he is only
weakning his position and White too well coordinated for such wild aggression
too work.} 28. Qd1 Rxe3 $4 {I don't know what Carlos had seen here? Again this
sort of move shouldn't work when White has all his pieces protecting each
other. After...} (28... f4 {I'd planned to play} 29. e4 Nf6 30. Qd3 {and White
has a large advantage}) 29. fxe3 Nxe3 30. Qf3 (30. Qd2 {suggested by Bill
Somerset is even better}) 30... Nxc2 31. Rxc2 {White has a knight for a pawn
and should be enough to win} Rxd4 $2 32. Ne6 Rd1+ 33. Qxd1 Qe3+ 34. Kh1 Qxe6
35. Rc3 Qe4 36. Qd8+ Kh7 37. Qd1 b6 38. Rc1 g6 39. Qd7+ Kh6 40. Qxc6 Qe3 41.
Qc3 Qg5 {Carlos resigned not waiting for Qh8 mate} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Slav Defence"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Bedford, R."]
[Black "Scurfield, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D10"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. f3 e6 6. e4 Be7 (6... dxe4 7. fxe4
Nc6 8. Nf3 Bb4 9. Qd3) 7. e5 Nfd7 8. f4 Nc6 9. Nf3 O-O 10. Be2 (10. Bd3) (10.
a3) 10... f6 11. Be3 Qb6 12. Qd2 Rf7 13. O-O f5 (13... Qc7) 14. Kh1 Nf8 15. Bf2
(15. Ng5) (15. a3) 15... Ng6 16. Rab1 (16. h4) 16... Bd7 17. h3 Rff8 18. Rg1
Qd8 19. Bd3 Be8 20. Be3 a6 21. a3 b5 22. Rbf1 b4 23. axb4 Nxb4 24. Be2 Nc6 25.
Ng5 Qd7 26. g4 h6 27. Nf3 fxg4 28. Rxg4 h5 29. Rg2 Nh4 30. Nxh4 Bxh4 31. Rfg1
g6 32. Bxh5 (32. Rxg6+ Bxg6 33. Rxg6+ Kh7 (33... Kh8 34. Rh6+ Kg7 35. f5 Rxf5 (
35... exf5 36. Bxh5 Rh8 37. Qg2+ Kf8 38. Rxh8+) 36. Bd3) 34. Bd3) 32... Qg7 33.
Bxg6 Kh8 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.2"]
[White "Cook, P."]
[Black "Syrett, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A09"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Golden Lion"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Na3 Nf6 4. Nxc4 e6 5. g3 Bd7 6. Nfe5 Nc6 7. Bg2 Nxe5 8.
Nxe5 c6 9. O-O Bd6 10. Nc4 Bc7 11. d4 Nd5 12. e4 Nb6 13. Na5 Rb8 14. Qe2 e5 15.
Be3 O-O 16. Rfd1 Qe7 17. Rac1 exd4 18. Bxd4 Rfe8 19. Qd2 Bg4 20. f3 Bh5 21. b3
Be5 22. Bc5 Qf6 23. Qf2 Red8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. f4 Bd4 26. Bxd4 Rxd4 27. h3 h6
28. g4 Bg6 29. f5 Bh7 30. Nxb7 Rd7 31. Na5 Qg5 32. Rxc6 Rd1+ 33. Kh2 Rd2 34.
Qg3 g6 35. Nc4 Nxc4 36. Rc8+ Kg7 37. bxc4 Qe7 $4 {Allowing 38.Qc3+} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "Ruy Lopez"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Shapland, D."]
[Black "Gledhill, P."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B87"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[PlyCount "107"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2018.01.30"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 {Playing classically instead of selecting my 'obscure' option
2.a3 which I've played with a good degree of success - I'm as yet undefeated
with it. On this occasion I was curious to see what Paul's pet line was.} d6 3.
d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 {I knew Paul played the Sicilian before the match,
but not which variation he preferred...} a6 {So, it's a Najdorf. I'd decided
in advance which variation I'd choose though I hadn't specifically prepared or
rehearsed it - my first mistake!} 6. Bc4 {I haven't played this for a very
long time in a serious game. It's proabably too sharp a line to essay without
any degree of prep.} b5 7. Bb3 e6 8. Qf3 {I think that 8.0-0 is the correct
move order.} Bb7 {Paul responds to my erroneous move order in the correct
fashion as White was threatening to play 9.e5} 9. O-O Be7 $6 {It turns out
that this is dubious here. I didn't think it was possible for Black to advance
his b-pawn here, but with the game move order played, it turns out it is
Black's best move.} (9... b4 {If Paul had gone for this I had planned to play..
.} 10. Ba4+ {... and now...} Nbd7 11. Nce2 Nxe4 12. a3 {I doubt I'd have
played this move. It's the engine's choice. Now things get very complicated
very quickly!} (12. Ng3 {This is a more 'human' choice but it doesn't get
White anywhere after...} Nec5 13. Bc6 Qb6 {Again with complex play but this
time it isn't so clear that White has any compensation for his sacrificed pawn.
Black looks better here.}) 12... d5 13. axb4 Bxb4 14. Qb3 Qb6 15. Be3 a5 16. c3
Bc5 17. Qxb6 Bxb6 18. Nxe6 fxe6 19. Bxb6 {... and White has an edge but
nothing more.}) 10. Qg3 {Because Black has played an incorrect move order so I
should play...} (10. Bxe6 $5 {This is highly thematic. I did consider playing
it but I rejected it as being the kind of speculative sacrifice I ought not to
be playing anymore. I turns out to be the best move in the position.} fxe6 11.
Nxe6 Qd7 12. Nxg7+ {Three pawns for the piece and a loose Black king offer
White more than enough compensation for the invested bishop.} Kd8 {Fritz now
gives the following line as an example of how play could unfold...} 13. Rd1 Rg8
14. Nf5 Qe6 15. Nd4 Qg4 {Even with the queens off the board, White has plenty
of play.} 16. Qxg4 Nxg4 17. Bf4 b4 18. Ne6+ Kc8 19. Na4 Nd7 20. Bxd6 {... and
White is slightly better here though whether it's enough to win is a different
matter!}) 10... g6 {10... b4 was still possible and possibly best.} 11. Bh6 {
Nothing much wrong with this. Black is prevented from castling and this will
cause him great discomfort in the middle game. Fritz preferred the solid 11.f3
however.} Nbd7 {Again, 10... b4 was the best option. Easy to understand why
Paul didn't play it here though as it produces a very confusing and messy
middle game which looks pretty scary for Black if you aren't a computer.} 12.
Rfe1 e5 $2 {This weakens the a2-g8 diagonal and provides White with a target.
12... b4 was still the best move.} 13. Nf3 {Threatening 14.Ng5. Now Black has
to defend precisely to have any chance of staying alive.} Nh5 14. Qg4 Nc5 $1 {
Well played. Of course I'd been hoping for...} (14... Nhf6 {When White can
simply ignore the threat on his queen to instate a mating threat.} 15. Ng5 $1
d5 16. Qf3 {This is winning for White and the best Fritz can find for Black
goes...} Bf8 17. Nxd5 $1 Bxh6 18. Nxf7 $3 Kxf7 19. Nxf6+ Ke7 20. Rad1 {This is
deadly.}) 15. Bd5 {After the game quite a few kibitzers complimented me on
this move, but infact, natural though it appears to be, it loses White all of
his advantage! Best was...} (15. Nd2 Bf8 16. Bg5 Be7 17. h4 O-O 18. Nd5 {...
and this is just an equal middle game where Black has solved his most
troubling problem - king safety.}) 15... Nf6 {Again, accurate play from Paul.
The game is level again.} 16. Qh3 Bxd5 17. Nxd5 Ncxe4 $2 {This natural move
turns out to be a mistake.} 18. Nxf6+ {It's not that surprising that we both
missed the refutation of Black's last move. It's a pretty involved tactical
sequence that is child's play for the engine but much harder to calculate for
a carbon-based life form!} (18. Nxe7 $1 Qxe7 19. Qh4 $1 d5 (19... g5 {... is
the alternative when...} 20. Nxg5 Nc5 21. f4 O-O-O 22. b4 Na4 23. fxe5 dxe5 24.
Ne4 $1 Nd5 25. Qxe7 Nxe7 26. Bg7 Rhg8 27. Bf6 Rd7 28. Bxe5 {... and White has
picked up a pawn and maintains the initiative.}) 20. Bg7 Rg8 21. Bxf6 Qxf6 22.
Rxe4 $1 {... the key move in the variation but it's very hard to see this at
move 18.} g5 23. Qxh7 Rh8 24. Nxe5 $1 {... and you'd have to have calculated
this at move 18 too!} dxe4 25. Qxe4 Rc8 26. Ng6+ Qe6 27. Qxe6+ fxe6 28. Nxh8 {
A piece and two pawns ought to be enough!}) 18... Nxf6 19. Rad1 {It looks like
19.a4 was a better bet but the game move seems very natural too. Why not
centralise. Again, Black has to be precise here.} Qd7 $1 {White doesn't have
time to play 20.Nxe5.} 20. Qh4 $2 (20. Qg3 {... is correct with a level
endgame after.} Nh5 21. Nxe5 Nxg3 22. Nxd7 Kxd7 23. fxg3) 20... Ng8 $2 {We'd
both overlooked...} (20... Qg4 $1 {Forcing favourable simplifications for
Black.} 21. Qxg4 Nxg4 22. Bd2 Rc8 23. h3 Nf6 24. Bb4 Rc6 {Black is just a pawn
up here.}) (20... Ng4 {... is less good but still fine for Black.} 21. Bg5 f6
22. Nxe5 Nxe5 23. Bxf6 Kf7 24. Bxe7 Qxe7 25. Qxe7+ Kxe7 26. f4 {... is equal.})
21. Qe4 {Once again, White has a winning advantage.} Qc8 22. Bg7 Nf6 {Paul
keeps finding the most resilient defence under great pressure... and I keep
missing the correct winning procedures!} 23. Bxf6 {This is fine, but the most
clinical was the cunning retreat...} (23. Qe2 $1 {Essentially a very clever
waiting move which forces Black to move his rook whereon he loses the right to
castle! A crucial difference to the game.} Rg8 24. Bxf6 Bxf6 25. Rxd6 {With
the Black King in the centre White is much better.}) 23... Bxf6 24. Rxd6 Bg7 {
White is better here but suddenly the correct path is not so easy to find.} 25.
Nxe5 (25. Rc6 {... is best according to the engine.} Qf5 {This is the best
Fritz can find and now White has three possible routes to the full point.} 26.
Qb4 {This is probably the most difficult one to calculate. White starts by
continuing to keep the Black king in the centre. The alternatives were...} (26.
Qxf5 {Simply swapping off, creating a structural weakness and then winning a
pawn.} gxf5 27. Nxe5 O-O {... should be enough to win. Or...}) (26. Re6+ $1 {
Clever.} Qxe6 27. Qxa8+ Ke7 28. Qb7+ Qd7 29. Qxa6 f6 {... also looks
appetising for White.}) 26... a5 27. Qd6 Rd8 28. Qa3 b4 {Finally enabling
himelf to castle and the cost of a pawn.} 29. Qxa5 O-O {... with advantage to
White.}) 25... O-O {This must have been a huge relief for Paul. Optically
White looks much better here, but, with the heavy pieces connected on the back
rank, black is able to generate counterplay very quickly in the event of White
playing even slightly inaccurately. It didn't take long for me to oblige.} 26.
Nc6 $6 {Giving up a critical advantage yet again! I was worried about pins on
the e-file but I should have been able to find the correct method of
consolidating with...} (26. c3 $1 {A critical move to shore up the queen's
side. Now on...} Re8 {White has...} 27. f4 $1 Qc5+ {What I'd missed in my
calculations was that Black can't play...} (27... f6 $2 {... on account of...}
28. Qd5+ {White is forcing mate here. See if you can calculate all the
variations. The longest is mate in 12!}) 28. Qd4 Qxd4+ 29. Rxd4 Bxe5 30. fxe5 {
White is able to hold onto his extra pawn here after...} Re6 31. Kf1 Rae8 32.
Rd6 f6 33. Rxe6 Rxe6 34. exf6 Rxf6+ 35. Ke2 {This should be winning but of
course there is a great deal of work to do and one false move will enable
Black to draw.}) 26... Kh8 {Paul's turn to miss a tactic. He can equalise on
the spot with...} (26... Re8 27. Ne7+ Rxe7 28. Qxe7 Bf8) 27. c3 {This time I
found it.} Re8 28. Qxe8+ {I figured this should give me a straight forward
advantage in the endgame. My judgement was sound but my subsequent technique
was not! 28.Ne7 was also much better for White.} Qxe8 29. Rxe8+ Rxe8 30. Kf1
Bf8 31. Rd7 {So far so good. Possibly even more sensible would have been...} (
31. Rd8 Rxd8 32. Nxd8 Kg7 {White can play this forever with the extra pawn but
good technique is still required in order to seal the deal. This was something
sorely lacking in what followed in the game.}) 31... Kg8 {I'd seen when I
simplified the game that White should be able to hoover up one of the Black
queen's side pawns and that would be sufficient to win. However, White has to
be careful to limit Black's counter play} 32. Ra7 {This is ok, but maybe 32.g3
would have been more prudent.} Bh6 33. Nb4 {Slight inaccuracies are seeing my
advantage slowly ebb away. Best here was...} (33. Nd4 Bc1 34. Rxa6 Bxb2 35.
Nxb5 Rc8 36. a4 Bxc3 {... and the passed a-pawn should see the job done for
White.}) 33... Rd8 34. b3 {Taking the a-pawn was best here, prefereably with
the rook.} Rd1+ 35. Ke2 Rd2+ 36. Kf3 Bf8 37. Rxa6 Bc5 {Black is playing fairly
easy to find natural moves trying to keep active. I should have been aiming to
liquidate down to a single White pawn on the queen's side ASAP but for some
reason I couldn't find the right way and was getting paranoid about Black's
activity.} 38. Kg3 $2 {Total rubbish! I was thinking that if 38... Rxf2 then
39.Nd3 should enable me to simplify advantageously. I was doubly wrong! First
of all as 39.Nd3 doesn't work and second of all because Black could just play
38...Bxf2+!!} Rxf2 {Paul missed Bxf2+ as well. Oh dear!} 39. Nd3 {It turns out
that 39.Rc6 is best here, but I had mentally charted my course to success and
bowled on.} Rf5 40. Nxc5 {40.c4 was the best move here.} Rxc5 {It was only now
that I realised Black would capture on c3 with check and so my planned move of
41.a4 would not be a success.} 41. c4 bxc4 42. bxc4 Rxc4 43. a4 {All right,
White has a passed and fast a-pawn, but it's not enough to win with correct
defence by Black. This game should now be a draw.} h5 44. Ra7 Kg7 45. a5 Ra4
46. a6 g5 47. Ra8 Kf6 48. a7 Ra3+ 49. Kf2 {The only principle that Black needs
to worry about is not allowing the White rook to move from a8 with check.
Provided he remebers this White can't win. In fact, as the game was played,
Black even has the chance to play for a win!} Kf5 50. Ke2 f6 51. Kd2 h4 52. h3
$2 {This is an error and now Black should win!! Correct was...} (52. Kc2 Ra2+
53. Kd3 Kf4 54. Kc4 f5 55. Kb4 Rb2+ 56. Kc5 Ra2 57. Kb5 Rb2+ {This is a draw.})
52... Kf4 53. Ke2 f5 {Missing his chance! Probably Paul was so relieved to
have saved a draw that he wasn't looking for a win. If he had been, and he'd
had enough time to calculate it, he might have snatched victory with...} (53...
Kg3 54. Kf1 (54. Rf8 Rxa7 55. Rxf6 Kxg2 56. Rf5 Re7+ 57. Kd3 Rg7 {This should
be a win for Black but there is still some work to do to secure it.}) 54...
Ra1+ 55. Ke2 Kxg2 {This is a stone cold win for Black!}) 54. Kd2 {Realising
that I couldn't win and might well lose I offered Paul a draw. In this final
position it is actually a draw. I'm playing really badly at the moment. A host
of opportunities were passed up in this game some tough ones to find but the
endgame should have been winning comfortably and I played it dreadfully.
Another lucky escape in the end.} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Connor, M."]
[Black "Kerrane, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E01"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Golden Lion"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 c6 5. Qc2 Bd6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Rd1
Qe7 9. e3 dxc4 10. Qxc4 Nb6 11. Qc2 e5 12. b3 Bg4 13. dxe5 Bxe5 14. Nc3 Nbd5
15. Bb2 Nxc3 16. Bxc3 Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Nd5 18. Qd4 Nf6 19. h3 Be6 20. e4 Rfd8 21.
Qe3 Bd7 22. Re1 Re8 23. Nd2 Be6 24. Rac1 Qd7 25. Kh2 Bd5 26. Qc3 Be6 27. f4 Qe7
28. e5 Nd5 29. Qf3 Qd7 30. Nc4 Rf8 31. Nd6 f6 32. Nc4 Rad8 33. exf6 Rxf6 34.
Ne5 Qc7 35. Nd3 g5 36. Qh5 gxf4 37. gxf4 Bf7 38. Bxd5 Rxd5 39. Rg1+ Kh8 40. Qg4
Rg6 41. Qf3 Rf6 42. Rg4 Bh5 43. Qxd5 cxd5 44. Rxc7 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.01.29"]
[Round "9.5"]
[White "Turu, M."]
[Black "Bamford, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Golden Lion"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d6 3. h3 h5 4. Be2 Nc6 5. d4 e5 6. Nf3 exd4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8. Bg5
Qe7 9. Bb5 Ne5 10. Nd5 Qd8 11. Bxd7+ Qxd7 12. Bxf6 c6 13. Bxe5 dxe5 14. Nxc6
bxc6 15. Nc3 Qb7 16. Rb1 Rd8 17. Qf3 Bb4 18. O-O O-O 19. Qxh5 Rfe8 20. Qf3 Rd6
21. Rbd1 Rf6 22. Qe2 Rg6 23. Rd3 Qc8 24. Rfd1 Bc5 25. Na4 Be7 26. Rg3 Rxg3 27.
fxg3 Qe6 28. b3 Qh6 29. Qd2 Bg5 30. Qe2 Be3+ 31. Kh2 a5 32. Rd3 Ba7 33. Qf1 Qg6
34. Rd7 Be3 35. Qd3 Qg5 36. Qf1 Qg6 37. Qf3 Bh6 38. Qd3 Kh7 39. Rd6 Qh5 40.
Rxc6 Qg5 41. Qf3 1-0

