[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.12.17"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Keely, L."]
[Black "Clarkson, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B25"]
[WhiteElo "2020"]
[BlackElo "2140"]
[Annotator "Clarkson,Andrew"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2018.12.17"]
[WhiteTeam "Huddersfield 'B'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]

1. e4 d6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 c5 7. d3 Nc6 8. O-O
Rb8 9. Ne2 c4 10. h3 cxd3 {I have also tried} (10... b5 11. g4 cxd3 12. cxd3
Qb6+ 13. Kh1 Nd7 $15 {GRUPATNT1966_E (Serbia) - Andrew Clarkson / Playchess.
com / 2015 / 0-1 (32)}) 11. cxd3 Qb6+ {with a permanent eye on e3 and b2.} 12.
Kh2 e5 $146 {Surprisingly I cannot find an example of this, but I believe it
is correct and best. I planned a quick ...d5. Another plan is:} (12... Bd7 13.
Rb1 Rfc8 14. b4 a5 15. a3 axb4 16. axb4 Ra8 17. Bd2 Na7 18. e5 Nd5 19. Ng5 Bc6
20. Qb3 (20. f5 Ne3 21. Qb3 $1 $16) 20... e6 21. b5 Qxb5 22. Qc4 Qxc4 23. dxc4
Ne7 24. Rxb7 Bxb7 25. Bxb7 h6 26. exd6 hxg5 27. dxe7 {but White has a good
advantage. Ferri, S (2091)-Pegoraro,N (2072) Saint Vincent 1999 1/2-1/2 (53)})
13. f5 d5 {White would have liked} (13... gxf5 14. exf5 Bd7 $11) 14. fxg6 hxg6
15. exd5 Nxd5 16. Ng5 $2 {Backing down and making life very difficult for
White. White must follow his convictions with} (16. Nxe5 Bxe5 (16... Nxe5 17.
Bxd5 Rd8 18. Bb3 Bf5 19. d4 Rd7 $11) 17. Bxd5 Bf5 {The game is finely balanced
and any result is possible.}) 16... Ne3 17. Bxe3 Qxe3 {The Black Queen has
rather a good retreat square from here.} 18. Ne4 Rd8 19. Rf3 Qh6 {Facilitating
...Bg4.} 20. Rc1 $2 {Exactly the move I wanted to see. However, even} (20. Qc2
Bg4 21. Rff1 Bf5 {is of some advantage to Black.}) 20... Bg4 21. Nf6+ $4 {and
White is lost. I expected something along these lines} (21. Rf2 Nd4 22. Rc7
Bxe2 (22... Rbc8 23. Rfxf7 Rxc7 24. Rxc7 Bxe2 $17) 23. Rxe2 f5 24. Nc3 (24. Rf2
fxe4 25. Bxe4 Rf8 $17) 24... e4 25. dxe4 Nf3+ 26. Bxf3 Rxd1 27. Nxd1 f4 $1 {
all better for Black but not as good as the game continuation.}) 21... Bxf6 22.
Rxf6 Bxe2 23. Qb3 {It is not difficult to defend as Black.} Rf8 {Not} (23...
Qxc1 $4 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Rxg6 Rg8 26. Qf6+ Kh7 27. Be4 {mating.}) 24. Rf2 {
Even} (24. Re1 Qd2 25. Rxg6+ Kh7 26. Rf6 (26. Be4 $4 Bf3+) 26... Kg7 {will see
Black win.}) (24. Be4 {Another example is} Qxc1 25. Rxg6+ Kh8 26. Rf6 Bh5)
24... Qxc1 25. Bd5 {Yes, a triple attack on f7. But Bxf7 cannot hurt Black.}
Nd4 26. Bxf7+ Kg7 27. Qd5 Qc7 {Good enough to end the game.} (27... Qe3 $1 {is
better.}) (27... Bf3 $3 {Is for if you are feeling really sadistic.
Threatening mate on h1.} 28. Qxe5+ (28. Rxf3 Nxf3+ 29. Qxf3 Rxf7) 28... Kh7 29.
g4 Qh1+ 30. Kg3 Qg1+) 28. Rxe2 (28. b4 Rxf7 29. Rxf7+ Qxf7 30. Qxe5+ Kh7 31.
Qxb8 Qf2+) 28... Nxe2 {and White resigned.} 0-1

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.17"]
[Round "7.1"]
[White "Somerset, W."]
[Black "Parsons, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Matthew Parsons"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. d4 d6 {I would like to put this game in context and explain why I played
this way. I still believe I can improve my chess and rating, and am trying to
follow the advice that most coaches give when a player hits a grading wall -
'to play openings out of your comfort zone.' I could continue to play what
I've been successful at over recent years game in game out, and my results
would be consistent. I would remain at the low to mid 190's grade and continue
to beat the same people in the same way over and over again. But to be honest,
that doesnt really interest me. I do believe I can push to 200 and a little
more if I open my game up and look at new positions. Everytime I've started
playing a new opening or line, I have always done so without referring to any
book or material on the system. I just start playing it and try to work things
out for myself. I might then refer to material later on. I have found this to
be a good way of improving my play.} 2. e4 e5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7
6. O-O Be7 {Bill is a good player, and not someone to be taken lightly. To be
honest I doubt I would lose to him if I played my normal stuff, and if did it
certainly wouldn't this be easy for him! But as I write above, such play is
not what I'm looking for at the moment. I've lost 2 games in recent weeks from
playing this line, one was against Phil Watson, who is a better player than me.
In that game I equalised when he forced things in the centre too quickly, but
he then outplayed me in a level ending. I had a looked at that game a little,
and hadn't found any obvious reasons why my play was incorrect, so decided to
repeat. It turned out that Bill had prepared for me by looking at that game,
and had found an improvement that I wasn't aware of. In this game he expertly
takes advantage of that.} 7. Re1 {In a recent game I played with this line
against Phil Watson, he took on c6 here, without first playing Re1. As Bill
rightly said after the game, and proved with his play, this does make a huge
difference.} O-O 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Qxd8 Raxd8 $2 (10... Rfxd8 11.
Nxe5 Bxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Nd3 f5 14. f3 Bc5+ 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 {I include this
line to indicate how the same play following taking on d8 with the other
king's rook leads to nothing for White - which is interesting.}) 11. Nxe5 Bxe4
12. Nxe4 Nxe4 {I offered a draw after this move. I was somewhat oblivious of
how dangerous my position was. I had seen 16.Bg5, but I had only analysed this
line (16.Bg5 Rd5 17.c4 Rd7, 18.Be7 Nd3 - which I felt was fine for Black). I
had totally missed how bad the position was if White played Be7 before playing
c4. Something else that coaches often say - 'mistakes are made when you dont
consider different move orders!'} 13. Nd3 f5 14. f3 Bc5+ 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 16. Bg5
Rd5 17. Be7 {Here dawned on my how screwed I was. It's not so much that I lose
an exchange, that wouldn't bother me so much if I could 1.) get the knight to
a good square, and 2.) keep my rook on the board without allowing both Whites
rooks entry to the seventh rank. But there is simply no way to achieve this. I
could have resigned here in good conscience, but I wasn't going home anytime
soon so decided to play the game out.} (17. c4 Rd7 18. Be7 Nd3 {... is the
line Matthew had assessed at move 12. [Ed.]}) 17... Nd7 {White's point is that
now if...} (17... Rf7 {... then...} 18. c4 {... and Black can't keep the
knight on c5 defended.}) 18. Rad1 c6 19. Rxd5 cxd5 20. Bxf8 Kxf8 21. Kf2 f4 22.
Re2 Kf7 23. Ke1 Kf6 24. Kd2 Ne5 25. Kc3 Nc6 26. Re8 g5 27. Rh8 Kg6 28. Rc8 h5
29. Rc7 g4 30. Rxc6+ bxc6 31. Kd4 Kf5 32. Kc5 h4 33. h3 gxh3 34. gxh3 Ke5 35.
b4 d4 36. a4 d3 37. cxd3 a6 38. a5 Ke6 39. Kxc6 Ke5 40. Kc5 {So, a totally
stuffing! Very appropiate with so close to Christmas. I will continue my
approach discussed earlier, and maybe will continue to lose a few games, but
this has always been my attitude towards improving in chess, which I think
I've shown is a successful strategy. Defeats are only bad if you don't reflect
on them with the right attitude and fail to learn from them. Thanks to Bill
for this lesson!} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.12.17"]
[Round "7.2"]
[White "Porter, R."]
[Black "Shapland, D."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D08"]
[Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "109"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 {Another Albin. I played this against Richard a couple of
seasons ago and he kicked my butt. No reason not to try it again though!} 3.
dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. g3 Bg4 (5... Nge7 6. Bg2 Ng6 7. O-O Bg4 8. Qa4 Qd7 {...
was the continuation we landed in last time around. Porter vs. Shapland,
Calderdale League 1, 2017. I went on to blunder quite early in that game and
quickly routed.}) 6. Bg2 Nge7 7. Nbd2 Ng6 8. O-O {We have a very similar
position to the game above except that White has played Nbd2 instead of Qa4.
I'm not sure this materially changes the assessment of the position. White is
slightly better.} Qd7 9. Nb3 {Interestingly, Fritz wants 9.Qa4 here but
Richard takes a different course which I think is marginally less effective.}
O-O-O 10. Bg5 {This move isn't usually particularly useful in the Albin. Black
often struggles to develop his king's bishop and so he has no problem
exchanging it.} Be7 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 {This position is level according to Fritz.
We just have a game of chess.} 12. Qd2 Ngxe5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Na5 $6 {The
engine is not a fan of this move and changes it's assessment in Black's favour.
Instead it recommends...} (14. c5 d3 15. exd3 Nxd3 16. Qa5 Kb8 17. Bxb7 Kxb7
18. Qb5+ Ka8 19. Qc6+ {Forcing a draw by repitition.}) 14... c6 15. f4 {
Natural, and I had expected this response. But I felt it was loosening too and
so didn't mind provoking it.} d3 16. e3 Nd7 17. b4 {Richard finds the most
promising continuation. If he takes the pawn I had calculated...} (17. Qxd3 Nc5
18. Qa3 Rd3 19. Qb4 Qxe3+ 20. Kh1 Rd7 21. Rae1 Qd4 {... and Black appears to
be rather better here.}) 17... Be2 $6 {This is a bit too hasty. I should have
completed my development first with...} (17... Rhe8 {White still can't take
the pawn without allowing a similar line to above as 18.Qxd3 Nc5 attacks the
queen twice.} 18. e4 {And only now...} Be2 {... retaining a slight edge.}) 18.
Rfb1 {Quite natuarally, Richard winds up for a big attack on my king.} Rde8 {
This move might look a bit mysterious. Not when you recognise White's threat
is to play 19.Bxc6! bxc6 20.Nxc6... However, I could also have tried...} (18...
Nf6 {Now I think Bxc6 would be well met by Ne4.} 19. c5 Ng4 20. Nc4 {... is
probably better than the game move.}) 19. e4 {Now the position is assessed as
pretty much level again by Fritz.} Qd6 $2 {This isn't a great move though. It
sets me up for a nasty tactic which we'll see in a moment. It looks as though
Black needs to continue in a more active fashion. I hadn't even considered
Fritz's first choice move.} (19... g5 20. Qe3 Kb8 {I'm not going to analyse
any further than that as it's hugely complicated and the options are diverse.})
20. Qe3 c5 {I realised not...} (20... Kb8 21. e5 Qc7 22. b5 {... and White has
a huge attack.}) 21. Nxb7 $1 {Of course! The knight is invulnerable due to 21..
. Kxb7 22.e5+ and the queen is lost.} Qd4 {There is nothing better for Black
than to give up the exchange as well!} 22. Qxd4 cxd4 23. Nd6+ Kd8 24. Nxf7+ Kc7
25. Nxh8 Rxh8 26. Kf2 {The dust has settled and my mistake has cost me dear.
White is totally winning and should convert simply enough.} Nf6 27. h3 {He
doesn't want to allow Ng4-e3! Now 28.Bf1 or Bf3 simplifies so...} Bh5 28. Rd1 {
This surprised me a great deal. Admitedly, Richard was short of time and is
still easily winning, but there was no real need to give back the exchange. 28.
g4 was what I'd expected and after that 29.Rd1 Bxc4 30.Bf1 deals with the
d-pawn I think.} Bxd1 29. Rxd1 Rb8 30. a3 a5 31. b5 Kb6 {Trying to at least
get my king into the fight. White is still winning this comfortably but at
least the material deficit will only be a pawn now.} 32. e5 Nd7 33. Rxd3 Kc5
34. Bd5 Nb6 35. a4 $6 {With no little pressure on his clock, RIchard finally
stumbles a little bit just before time control. Admittedly it wasn't easy to
find the right continuation.} (35. Bc6 h6 36. Rd1 Nxc4 37. Ke2 {White's king's
side majority is the key to victory. The e-pawn will become very fast indeed
and with the e8 square protected Black will find it very hard to stop.}) 35...
Nxa4 36. Ra3 Kb4 {With time control reached I now felt a lot more happy with
my position. Yes, I was two pawns down but at least I was active and I felt I
could find some counter play. White has to play precisely to convert his
advantage. That's never easy when you only have 15 minutes on the clock to see
out the game.} 37. Ra1 Nc3 38. e6 a4 39. e7 $2 {This is the crucial error. I
guess Richard thought that he could defend the e-pawn and then play Bc6 at his
leisure but infact the correct move order as to first play...} (39. Bc6 d3 40.
Ke3 Kxc4 41. e7 Nd5+ 42. Bxd5+ Kxd5 43. Rxa4 {... and the rest really is easy.}
) 39... Re8 40. Re1 Nxd5 {I guess this is what he missed. After the game a
couple of kibitzers suggested Black might even be winning if he keeps the
knights on after...} (40... d3 41. Bf7 {41.Bc6 leads to the same thing
basically.} d2 42. Bxe8 dxe1=Q+ 43. Kxe1 a3 {Not...} (43... Nd5 {as...} 44. b6
$1 Nxb6 45. Bf7 {wins.}) 44. Bf7 a2 45. e8=Q a1=Q+ 46. Kf2 {Ultimately, White
still has two extra pawns here and the Black king is probably more vulnerable
than the White king. So, attractive though this looks, White is still winning.}
) 41. cxd5 Kxb5 {Now it is no longer clear that White is able to win this
position.} 42. d6 Kc6 43. Rd1 Kxd6 44. Rxd4+ Kc5 45. Rxa4 Rxe7 {Is this a
theorectical draw? I'm guessing so. However, Richard is quite justified in
playing on. He has the extra material and as both our clocks ran down, there
was always a chance of me making a blunder.} 46. Kf3 h6 47. Ra6 Kd5 48. g4 Rc7
49. Ra3 Ke6 50. g5 hxg5 51. fxg5 Kf5 52. h4 Rc4 {Now Fritz says it's 0.00.} 53.
Ra5+ Kg6 54. Ra6+ Kh5 55. Ra7 {Richard offered me a draw here and of course I
accepted. Lucky escape or tenascious defence? Maybe a little bit of both.}
1/2-1/2

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.12.17"]
[Round "7.3"]
[White "Velosa, C."]
[Black "Leonard, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C48"]
[WhiteElo "139"]
[BlackElo "173"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {Another "Alekhine Declined".} e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Bc5 5. d3
d6 6. Bg5 h6 7. Be3 Bxe3 8. fxe3 Ng4 {Thus far, Fritz 14 is happy with our
moves. Here, it thinks I should simply castle, though this move is almost as
good.} 9. Nd5 Be6 10. Qd2 {He could also have chased my knight away by} (10. h3
{I'd been contemplating} Bxd5 {to which the correct reply is} 11. hxg4 Be6 12.
g5 $11 {and neither of us will be castling king's side!}) 10... f5 {This had
been my intent with 8...Ng4, apart from the possibility of tempting him into
h2-h3, which I thought would leave some inviting holes on his dark squares.}
11. Nc3 Nf6 $6 $14 {This retreat achieves nothing, as he's never going to let
me play 12...fxe4. Best was to take on e4 and castle.} 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. O-O
Bd7 {I was expecting him to play 14.d4, and didn't want my queen's knight
still to be pinned. I'd decided I didn't really want to castle king's side, as
my king's position looks the more draughty. OTOH, I thought I could get an
attack on his king going, quicker than he on mine.} 14. e4 $6 $11 {Fritz too
expected 14.d4.} Qe7 $6 $14 {Giving him his advantage back. Fritz still wanted
me to castle, maybe preceded by a7-a6.} 15. Rad1 $6 $11 (15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5
Nb8 17. Nd4 $1 Bxb5 18. Nxb5 c6 19. dxc6 Nxc6 20. Qf2 $16 {I can't castle
either side, at least for the present, and the centre is no place for my king.}
) 15... O-O-O {Finally! Fritz seems OK with this too.} 16. Bc4 {I'm not sure
what this was about, apart from preventing my rook from going to g8; maybe
that was it.} g5 {Fritz would have prepared with 16...Rdf8, which would also
have made d8 available to my knight, unlike in the note to his 18th move.} 17.
Nd5 Nxd5 18. Bxd5 $6 $15 {Counterintuitively, Fritz prefers} (18. exd5 Nd4 {18.
..Nb8 19.Qe3 gives him the a7 pawn, or weakens my king's position. His attack
would look to be quicker than mine, in this case.} 19. Nxd4 exd4 {(strange
position!)} 20. Qf2 Qg7 21. c3 $11) 18... Rdf8 {Fritz prefers the other rook,
in case White starts opening up the centre, I guess. Also 18... Kb8, to cover
the a7 pawn.} 19. Qc1 $6 {Understandably, he wants to free d2 for the knight,
and doesn't fancy creating weaknesses by h2-h3, though Fritz is less unhappy
with that. Either e2 or e3 was a better place for his queen but, most of all,
Fritz wants him to play Bxc6, as his bishop is likely to play no part on the
king's side.} Rf4 {Fritz prefers an immediate} (19... g4 20. Bxc6 {else 20.Nd2
Nd4-/+} Bxc6 21. Nd2 d5 $15 {Maybe this was why Fritz favoured 18...Rhf8.}) 20.
Nd2 $2 $17 {This assists my attack; I can now have my bishop on g4.} Nd4 21.
Rde1 Bg4 22. Kh1 Rhf8 {Fritz prefers} (22... c6 23. Bb3 Be2 24. Rxf4 gxf4 $17 {
with a promising attack. After the game, Matthew Parsons suggested playing my
queen to h5. Here appears to be a possible point at which to try this
manoeuvre, though Fritz doesn't rate it:}) (22... Qe8 23. c3 Ne2 24. Qc2 {(it
becomes important for the queen to cover the second rank)} c6 25. Bc4 Qh5 {
threatening 26...Ng3+} 26. Rxf4 gxf4 27. d4 Re8 28. Nf1 Ng3+ 29. Nxg3 fxg3 30.
h3 Rf8 31. Rf1 Rxf1+ 32. Bxf1 Qg5 {(most humans would play 32...Be6, which is
next best)} 33. dxe5 dxe5 $17 {followed by ...Qf4 and Black certainly exerts
pressure. However, this isn't in fact a whole lot better than play on the f
file, if I'd played correctly.}) 23. c3 Ne2 24. Qb1 Rf2 {Quite apart from
advancing the attack, White was threatening 25.Nf3, trapping my knight.} 25.
Rxf2 Rxf2 26. Rf1 Rf4 $2 {If I must retreat, 26...Rf6 was better, as this
denies f4 to my knight. I mistakenly rejected} (26... Qf6 {as I thought I'd be
left with little to show for my attack, after} 27. Qe1 Rxf1+ 28. Nxf1 (28. Qxf1
{is worse, after} Qxf1+ 29. Nxf1 Nf4 30. d4 exd4 31. cxd4 Be2 32. Nd2 $17 {and
White will lose a pawn.}) 28... Qf4 $15 {Black can surely gain a lasting
advantage from White's disorganised pieces.}) 27. Qe1 (27. g3 Rxf1+ 28. Qxf1
$11 {and now White owns the f file.}) 27... c6 {27...Qf6 was still the move.}
28. Bb3 Qf6 $11 {28...Rxf1+ allows me to extricate my knight, to f4.} 29. Bd1
Rxf1+ 30. Nxf1 h5 $2 {I thought there was nothing I could do to save the
knight. I looked at 30...Bf3, but he'll simply take the knight. Alas! I didn't
see} (30... Qf3 $1 31. h3 (31. gxf3 $4 Bxf3#) 31... Ng3+ 32. Nxg3 Qxd1 33. Qg1
Be2 34. d4 Qxg1+ 35. Kxg1 exd4 36. cxd4 (36. Nxe2 $2 d3 37. c4 dxe2 $15) 36...
Bc4 $11 {and I should at least draw; we should still have lost the match.}) 31.
Bxe2 $18 Bxe2 {Nothing much matters now; I could have resigned at once, but
attempted to muddy the waters. Perhaps he'll lose on time; no chance. Carlos
is an experienced campaigner.} 32. Qxe2 g4 33. Kg1 Qg5 34. Qe3 Qf6 35. Ng3 h4
36. Nf5 h3 37. Qh6 {What a waste of a good position! As Carlos said, he was
losing, at around move 20.} 1-0

[Event "Calderdale League 1"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.12.17"]
[Round "7.4"]
[White "Webster, V."]
[Black "Swain, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D31"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.01.13"]
[WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]
[BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. a3 Nf6 4. e3 c6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. Nge2 dxc4 7. Ng3 b5 8. Be2
O-O 9. O-O Bb7 10. e4 e5 11. d5 a6 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bxf6 Qxf6 14. Nf5 Bc5 15. b4
Bd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. Nd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 d3 20. Bf3 Qd6 21. Re1
Nd7 22. Re4 Ne5 23. Rh4 Qf6 24. Rh3 Nxf3+ 25. Rxf3 Qd4 26. Rg3 Rfe8 27. Ra2 Re5
28. Rd2 Rae8 29. Kf1 Qxd5 30. f4 Re3 0-1

[Event "Calderdale Individual Championship"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.01.07"]
[Round "3.2"]
[White "Leonard, P."]
[Black "Porter, R."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B24"]
[WhiteElo "173"]
[BlackElo "160"]
[Annotator "Leonard,Pete"]
[PlyCount "119"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Nge7 5. d3 {Richard has left "my" book -
John Emms' Attacking with 1.e4 - but I saw no reason not to continue as usual.}
g6 {This leaves a lot of dark-square holes; I should have thought that 5...d5
was more consistent with his play so far.} 6. Be3 b6 7. Qd2 Bg7 8. Bh6 O-O 9.
h4 f6 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. h5 g5 12. h6+ {Given what happened much later, this
could be said to be a far-sighted move; in fact I just wanted to prevent h7-h6.
Amazingly, Fritz 14 has approved each of my moves thus far, but now it prefers}
(12. e5 h6 {(neither capture on e5 is attractive; a point that I missed)} 13.
f4 {(or 13.exf6+ followed by 14.f4)} gxf4 (13... g4 $2 {loses this pawn:} 14.
exf6+ Kxf6 (14... Rxf6 15. Rh4 $16) 15. Ne4+ Kg7 16. Nf2 $16) 14. exf6+ Rxf6
15. gxf4 $14 {followed by 16.O-O-O; Black's king is much more exposed than I
managed to achieve. In addition, my knights can move!}) 12... Kh8 13. O-O-O {
13.e5 was still possible.} d5 14. f4 d4 15. Nce2 $6 {I now get my pieces badly
cramped:} (15. Nb5 {was better, as the knight can prove quite useful in
defence from a3. In addition, if Black continues} g4 {e2 is available to the
queen:} 16. Qe2 a6 (16... f5 $6 {at once allows} 17. e5 {with a magnificent
square for my knight on d6.}) 17. Na3 f5 18. exf5 exf5 19. Nc4 {and the knight
can occupy e5 instead. It is true that my other knight looks a rather sorry
piece (a result of my failure to play e4-e5), so Fritz scores the position as
0.00.}) 15... g4 16. f5 $2 $15 {Desperation, so soon! My position is cramped
but not bad; I should have played 16.Kb1. My queen's knight can come to c1,
making room for the other on e2. My rook can go to h4, or h5 hindering Black's
advance by putting pressure on c5. Then it may be time to advance in the
centre.} exf5 17. exf5 Bxf5 18. Nf4 {Hoping to reach e6, or perhaps g7 via h5;
neither of these good things happened. My one consolation, though it didn't
occur to me till later, is that Richard spent a fair amount of time
considering his moves, hereabouts.} Qd7 {18...Qd6 would allow 19...Bd7 and 20..
.f5, consolidating his king's side.} 19. Nge2 Rac8 {Fritz prefers 19...Rae8,
aiming to occupy the open file. Richard has designs on my king, which I
facilitated...} 20. Kb1 Ne5 21. Rdf1 $2 $17 {...like this. How did I not
realise what was coming?} (21. Rhf1 c4 {is still good for Black, but my
position is more defensible. Even with my rook on d1, Fritz doesn't like} 22.
dxc4 $4 Nxc4 23. Qxd4 Qb5 $19) 21... c4 22. Be4 $2 {After the game, Richard
said that this move had been a good resource; we were both mistaken in this!
The best I can do is} (22. Ka1 cxd3 23. cxd3 Rc5 24. Qb4 Nxd3 25. Qxd4 Qb5 26.
Nxd3 Qxd3 $17) 22... Bxe4 $2 {Missing (but maybe he was feeling a bit of time
pressure)} (22... cxd3 23. Bxd3 Bxd3 24. Nxd3 Nf3 $19) 23. dxe4 d3 $6 (23...
Nf3 {apparently leaves me with nothing better than} 24. Rxf3 gxf3 25. Nxd4 Rfd8
26. Rd1 $19) 24. cxd3 $2 (24. Rd1 N7g6 25. cxd3 Nxf4 26. Nxf4 cxd3 27. Qb4 (27.
Nxd3 $2 {loses to} Rcd8 {but curiously not} (27... Rfd8 $2 28. Qf4 Nxd3 29.
Qxf6+ Kg8 30. Qg5+ {with perpetual check, as} Kf8 $4 31. Rhf1+ {gives mate in
13 or fewer moves.}) 28. Nxe5 Qxd2 29. Rxd2 Rxd2 30. Nxg4 Rc8 $19) 27... Rfd8
28. Nd5 Rc4 $17) 24... cxd3 25. Nc3 {Fritz slightly prefers} (25. Rd1 Rc2 {
(there is no way a human would allow this!)} 26. Qb4 Rfc8 27. Nc3 N7g6 $17)
25... Nc4 26. Qf2 {(with faint hopes of a swindle on f6)} d2 {Now was the
point for Richard to play} (26... Na3+ $1 27. bxa3 (27. Ka1 Rxc3 {winning
easily, as} 28. bxc3 {fails to} Nc2+ 29. Kb2 Qb5+ 30. Kc1 Na3 31. Rd1 Qb1+ 32.
Kd2 Nc4+ 33. Ke1 d2+ 34. Qxd2 (34. Ke2 Qxe4+ 35. Kf1 Qxh1+) 34... Qxe4+ 35. Qe2
Qxh1+ {and Black is winning comfortably, in all lines.}) 27... Rxc3 $19 {and
surely White's king is doomed.}) 27. Nfd5 $2 {Trying to a) block his queen
from supporting the monstrous d pawn, b) bring another piece to my king's aid
and c) keep the possibility of a swindle on f6 alive. This should only have
made matters worse, though 27.Rd1 Qd6 -+ still doesn't leave White with much
hope.} Nxd5 28. exd5 Na3+ $2 $15 {Too late!} (28... Qd6 29. Ka1 Qe5 30. Rb1
Rfd8 $19 {and White could easily resign.}) 29. Ka1 Rxc3 (29... Nc2+ 30. Kb1
Rxc3 31. bxc3 Qxd5 32. Rd1 (32. Kxc2 $4 d1=Q+ 33. Rxd1 Qxa2+ {and 34...Qxf2
wins.}) 32... Na3+ 33. Ka1 Nc4 $15 {keeps some advantage.}) 30. bxc3 Qxd5 31.
Rd1 Nc4 32. Qd4 $2 $19 {Still eyeing f6, but White can't afford to swap queens.
Fritz prefers} (32. Qe2 f5 33. Rhf1 b5 34. Rf4 Qd6 35. Qf2 $17 {White is still
going to be compelled to exchange queens, and almost certainly to give the
exchange back, for the d pawn. After this, in the R&P ending, White will have
four weak pawns to Black's five, more solid, ones.}) 32... Qxd4 33. cxd4 Kg8 {
Richard was now very short of time. He's still winning comfortably, but why
not go after my only positive feature, my d pawn?} (33... Rd8 34. Rh2 Rxd4 35.
Re2 Kg8 36. Kb1 f5 {Again, it's about time to resign.}) 34. Kb1 {34.Rh2 would
ensure I kept my d pawn.} Rd8 35. Kc2 Ne3+ $2 $17 {Richard's flag was hovering,
or I'm sure he'd have played} (35... Rxd4 36. Kc3 Re4 37. Kd3 f5 $19) 36. Kd3 {
I had the time to avoid 36.Kxd2? when I lose the d pawn after all.} Nxd1 {Made
it! From memory, I now had 30+ minutes and Richard 15 and a few seconds.} 37.
Rxd1 Kf7 38. Rxd2 Kg6 39. Rh2 $6 {Interesting! This seemed obvious, as my h
pawn seemed to me to be my only chance of survival. Fritz prefers at least
three alternatives, chiefly} (39. Re2 Kxh6 40. Re7 Ra8 41. d5 f5 42. d6 Rd8 43.
d7 Kg6 {Black's king's side pawns should be enough; let's see} 44. Kd4 f4 45.
gxf4 g3 46. Ke3 h5 47. Kf3 h4 48. a4 a6 49. Re6+ Kf7 50. Rh6 Rxd7 51. Rh7+ Ke6
52. f5+ Kd6 53. Rxh4 Ke5 54. Kxg3 Rd3+ 55. Kf2 Rd6 {A lot of pawns have gone;
is White's king really too far away from the queen's side?} 56. Ke3 Kxf5 57.
Rh2 {Well! Fritz doesn't seem very good at endings; this is surely drawn.})
39... Rd5 {It seems to me that Black should first obtain a passed pawn on the
queen's side, startiing with} (39... Rd7 {to safeguard his rearmost pawns,
then play might go} 40. Kc4 f5 {Clearly Fritz disagrees with me, as it is
pursuing operations on the king's side. Where is this leading?} 41. Rf2 Rc7+
42. Kd3 {White can't allow Black's rook to reach c3, which would force Rf2 and
enable Black's king to capture the h pawn without losing the f pawn.} Rc1 43.
d5 Rd1+ 44. Kc4 Kg5 45. Rf4 {White is close to zugzwang; he can play a2-a3-a4
while Black shuffles his king between g5 and g6. Now} Rd2 46. a3 Kf6 {(Black's
life would be much easier if he'd simply taken White's d pawn when he had the
chance!)} 47. Rf1 Rc2+ 48. Kd3 Rg2 49. d6 Rxg3+ 50. Ke2 Ke6 51. Rxf5 Rxa3 52.
d7 Kxd7 53. Rf7+ Ke6 54. Rxh7 Kf6 55. Rg7 Rh3 56. Rxa7 Rxh6 {Some expert will
put me straight, no doubt, but I can't see how White cannot be winning now.})
40. Ke4 $6 $17 {Yet another inaccuracy; Fritz prefers} (40. Kc4 Rf5 41. d5 Kf7
42. a4 $15 {White is well on the way to eliminating Black's queen's side pawns,
improving his drawing chances.}) 40... Ra5 41. d5 Ra4+ {I quite understand why
he would drive my king back, but Fritz prefers} (41... f5+ 42. Ke5 Ra3 43. Rg2
Re3+ 44. Kd6 Kxh6 {Nailing White's other hope; the d pawn is still dangerous,
though.} 45. Kd7 Kg6 46. d6 h5 47. Rd2 Kf7 {Black's advantage has shrunk to =/
+ and the d pawn seems to balance Black's material advantage.}) 42. Ke3 Kf7 {
Best was} (42... f5 43. Rd2 Kf6 44. d6 Re4+ 45. Kf2 Re8 46. Rc2 Rd8 47. Rc7
Rxd6 48. Rxh7 Rd2+ 49. Kg1 {(to prevent ...Rh2)} Kg6 50. Rxa7 Kxh6 51. a4 Rb2 {
Again this is looking very drawish; it goes to show how tricky R&P endings are.
}) 43. Rc2 {I'd be tempted to award myself an ! for this, if only to reflect
how close I came to missing it. I was racking my brains how to get my rook to
g7 via the h file; his king and pawns combined were never going to allow this
to happen. I suddenly realised that anywhere on the seventh rank would do.} Ke7
$4 {Just this one move loses it for Richard. If he'd gone back to g6, would I
have aimed for repetition with Rh2? I did have substantially more time than
him; I hope I'd have realised the potential of 44.d6, as his rook is badly
misplaced.} (43... Ra3+ 44. Ke2 (44. Kf4 Rd3 45. Rc7+ Kg6 46. Kxg4 Rxd5 47.
Rxa7 Rd4+ 48. Kh3 Kxh6) 44... b5 45. Rc7+ Kg6 46. d6 Rxa2+ 47. Ke3 Ra6 48. d7
Rd6 49. Rxa7 Kxh6 50. Kf4 Kg6 51. Kxg4 h5+ 52. Kh3 b4 53. Rb7 Kg5 54. Rb5+ f5
55. Rxb4 Rxd7 {All variations appear to me to be drawn, despite Fritz's =/+.})
44. Rc7+ Kd6 45. Rxh7 Rxa2 $2 {His rook is now doomed, after my next couple of
moves. There is nowhere for his king to hide, and it can't reach the safety of
a7, b7 or g7. Actually, he could play it to b5 via c5, but that leaves my d
pawn free to advance. His best try was} (45... f5 46. Rg7 {Fritz regards} (46.
Rh8 {as less effective, after} Re4+ 47. Kf2 Re7 48. h7 Rd7 49. Ke3 Kxd5 50. Kf4
b5 51. Kxf5 a5 52. Kxg4 b4 53. Kf5 a4 54. g4 b3 55. axb3 axb3 56. g5 b2 57. Rb8
Rxh7 58. Rxb2 {though I think this should be a straightforward book win.})
46... Re4+ 47. Kf2 Rc4 48. h7 Rc2+ 49. Ke3 {49.Kg1 is no good, as Black will
just keep checking.} Rh2 50. Kf4 Rh5 51. Rxa7 Kxd5 52. a4 {Fritz scores this
as +- (2.42) but seems to have no idea how White should go about winning it. I
need someone with actual endgame knowledge to comment on all this.}) 46. Rh8
Kxd5 47. h7 Rh2 48. Rd8+ Kc4 49. h8=Q Rxh8 50. Rxh8 a5 51. Ra8 {Fritz
preferred 51.Kd2 or 51.Rc8+, but I don't think much of its opinion at the
moment. It seems to me that this move forces his king to move across, if he
wants to advance his pawns, while simultaneously putting my rook where it
needs to be.} Kb4 52. Kd3 a4 53. Kc2 b5 54. Rf8 Ka3 {Here, Fritz favours 54...
Kc4 or 54...Kc5, presumably in a vain attempt to stop White's g pawn. No human
would do this; Black's best chance is for White to misjudge Black's queen's
side pawns.} 55. Rxf6 b4 56. Rf4 {Here I was simply interested in freeing my g
pawn, after which I should even be willing to sacrifice my rook for his
remaining pawns. I am willing to defer to Fritz's greater skill, though not to
its counting ability:} (56. Rb6 {is apparently mate in 3 (sic):} b3+ (56... Ka2
57. Rxb4 {as below.}) 57. Kb1 b2 58. Kc2 {Now it says mate in 4, but spends a
lot of time checking on b1 and b2. How about this?} b1=Q+ (58... Ka2 59. Rxb2+
Ka3 (59... Ka1 60. Rb1+ Ka2 61. Rb4 {and mate in 2.}) 60. Rb5 Ka2 61. Rb4 {is
the same.}) 59. Rxb1 Ka2 60. Re1 {or 60.Rb4 again.} Ka3 61. Re4 Ka2 62. Rxa4#)
56... b3+ 57. Kb1 {Again 57.Kc3 leads to mate, but I just wasn't prepared to
risk a miscalculation, resulting in his pawn queening, or stalemate. You only
have to win a game once!} b2 58. Rxg4 Kb3 59. Rg8 {Mission accomplished; now
get the rook behind the pawns again.} a3 60. Rb8+ {Richard's flag fell here,
though he said he was about to resign anyway. A very interesting and
instructive game, despite the mess I made of the middle game. Confirmation of
just how difficult R&P endings are.} 1-0

