Chess Anniversarys » Hebden Bridge Chess Club

‘Game of the Decade’: Reader’s Poll

Jan 242020

This way to the polling station! Time for you to decide on your ‘Game of the Decade’. Photo: kcivey

We’ve reached the end of our short series covering some of the best, most interesting, exciting and memorable chess games played in Hebden Bridge or by Hebden Bridge Chess Club players. Now it’s time for us to reveal our short list and for readers to decide which one they think is their ‘Game of the Decade’.

Just as with the long list I really agonised over which games to select. There are so many factors to weight up and, in the end, the selection is subjective. The least I can do is explain the criteria that I used to weigh up the long list candidates so that readers can understand how I reached this short list of five games, even if they don’t agree with my choice.

How accurate was the play in general?: although there were some games on the long list in which the general standard of the play was not that high, I felt they merited inclusion because of one interesting moment or because they were particularly dramatic. However, those games have not been carried forward to the shortlist as I felt the games here should be considered as being ‘well played’ by the majority of our readership. All of the games on this short list would be torn to shreds by chess engine’s but we aren’t computers and so the engine’s assessment didn’t come into my thinking so much. It’s also fair to say that really complicated games tend to contain more moves that engines would class as ‘inaccurate’ but that, for us mere mortals, would be hard to criticize. So the complexity of the game was considered in conjunction with the standard of play.
Was the game was a genuine contest?: I eliminated some games from my consideration because I felt they were too one-sided. Sometimes even games that were well played by one player were ruled out because the defender had capitulated too easily or missed an obvious improvement
Was the game exciting or unusual in any outstanding way?: I felt all the games on this shortlist should have some exciting or interesting moments in them. That didn’t mean they had to be sacrificial, tactical or complicated but I felt they needed to have some kind of ‘X-factor’ in them.

Here then is my shortlist for readers to vote on:

[polldaddy poll=10495561]

In the game viewer below I have published the five shortlisted games again for those who wish to refresh their memory before making their decision.

This poll will be open for 1 week only. Everyone is welcome to vote (you don’t have to be a Hebden Bridge Chess Club member or even a UK resident!) Voting is anonymous and please note that you’ll only be allowed to vote once by the poll, so choose carefully! I’d also very much like to hear from any readers who would like to share the reasons for why they chose a particular game and whether or not they thought the right games made both the longlist and the shortlist. Do please leave comments at the end of this post and let everyone hear your opinions. You can post comments anonymously if you wish to.

  [Event "Calderdale League Division 1"]  [Site "Hebden Bridge"]  [Date "2009.07.13"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Firth, D."]  [Black "Wedge, D."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A68"]  [Annotator "Wedge,David"]  [PlyCount "68"]  [EventDate "2009.??.??"]  [WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge A"]  [BlackTeam "Huddersfield A"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 {The Four  Pawns Attack variation of the Benoni Defence is an aggressive attempt to wipe  Black off the board.} Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Be2 Bg4 {This line blunts White's  attack by removing the knight on f3. The alternative 9...Re8 is more  double-edged.} 10. O-O Nbd7 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 a6 13. a4 c4 {One of my  favourite moves in this line. The c-pawn looks vulnerable but is actually a  strength in this position. This move also vacates c5 for the Black knight and/  or queen.} 14. Be3 Qa5 15. g4 Nc5 16. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 17. Kg2 Nd7 18. g5 Qb4 {  White's pawn storm looks dangerous, but this move initiates counterplay which  aims to demonstrate that White is over-extended.} 19. Qc2 b5 20. axb5 axb5 21.  Rxa8 Rxa8 22. e5 {Firth was still playing for a killer pawn-storm, but this  moves opens up White's position more than Black's.} dxe5 23. d6 Ra6 24. Bd5 Qc5  $6 {This move should have let White back into the game. The simple 24...Rxd6  wins.} 25. Qd2 {White misses his best chance...} (25. Qe4 Rxd6 26. Bxf7+ Kh8  27. Qa8+ Nf8 28. Ne4) 25... Rxd6 26. Bxf7+ Kf8 {Not...} (26... Kxf7 $2 27.  fxe5+ {When White gains the exchange and maintains a very strong attack.}) 27.  Qe2 Qc6+ {Now Black retakes the initiative.} 28. Kh2 Rd4 29. fxe5 Bxe5+ 30. Kg1  Kg7 {Stepping out of the discovered check.} 31. Be8 Qd6 $2 {31...Qe6 was  necessary here, to prevent Rf7+} 32. Bxd7 $2 {Again, White misses an  opportunity, this time in the form of...} (32. Rf7+ {Now the best Black can  hope for is...} Kh8 33. Rxd7 Qe6 34. Rxd4 Bxd4+ 35. Kg2 Qxe2+ 36. Nxe2 Bxb2 37.  Bxb5 {This is clearly winning for White.}) 32... Rd2 $1 33. Qe1 Bd4+ 34. Kh1  Qh2# 0-1   [Event "Calderdale League Division 1"]  [Site "Brighouse"]  [Date "2010.11.29"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Breen, D."]  [Black "Parsons, M."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A42"]  [Annotator "Shapland,David"]  [PlyCount "66"]  [EventDate "2010.??.??"]  [TimeControl "240+2"]   1. d4 g6 2. e4 {Taking the game back into a 'Modern' instead of allowing a  King's Indian, Benko or Benoni.} Bg7 3. Nf3 c5 4. c4 {On my database this is  the third most popular move in the position for White after 4.c3 and 4.Nc3.}  Nc6 {4... cxd4 is the most played move by some margin but Matthew chooses his  own path and encourage's Dennis to come at him.} 5. d5 Nd4 6. Nc3 d6 7. h3  Nxf3+ 8. Qxf3 Nf6 9. Bd3 Nd7 {An interesting choice this and very provocative.  Matthew seems to already have had his 13th move in mind at this juncture.} 10.  Bd2 Ne5 11. Qe2 Nxd3+ 12. Qxd3 O-O 13. O-O f5 {This is a really intersting  position! Black's bishop pair look like they have great potential. Fritz  assesses this position as being just about equal but I think White has the  harder position to play here.} 14. Rae1 f4 15. Qf3 Qe8 16. Nb5 {What would you  play as Black in this position? White's threat of Nc7 looks easy enough to  parry but the f-pawn is also threatened so it looks like the only way to  proceed is with 16...Qf7 although once White has replied with 17.Bc3 he looks  like he has a decent position. Are there any other options? Well, in this  position Matthew uncorked} g5 $5 {It's difficult to know which are the most  appropriate marks to append to this move. Is it an interesting try, dubious,  an out right error or a desperate throw of the dice? Let me suggest to you  that it is simply a very interesting rook sacrifice with compensation coming  in the form of a huge attack on the White king. It's worth pointing out that  it takes my (admittedly quite puny) engine several minutes to understand that  this move is playable for Black.} 17. Nc7 {Why would anyone not play the  knight fork? It looks like the engine thinks 17.e5 is the best move here but I  don't want to waste too much time diving into the myriad possibilities when  the game move is the natural one most of us would surely have plumped for.} Qg6  {This is Black's point. If White now captures on a8 Black will push the g-pawn  and start creating some mating threats. Is it sound?} 18. Nxa8 $2 {Obviously  this is the critical choice. As Steinitz is once supposed to have said "A  sacrifice is best refuted by accepting it". However, in this instance it  appears that the sacrifice cannot be accepted. Fritz suggests that the only  way for White to survive is by playing...} (18. e5 $1 {White vacates the e4  square for his queen to run to.} g4 19. hxg4 Bxg4 20. Qe4 Bf5 {0.34/0 and only  now should he consider capturing the pawn on f4, The chance to win the rook  has long gone though.}) 18... g4 $1 {Now Black has the advantage despite  White's extra rook.} 19. Qxf4 $2 {Is Black's attack really so strong that  White must give his queen up for two rooks? He could try something like...} (  19. Qa3 {and now after...} gxh3 20. g3 {-0.38/13} h2+ 21. Kh1 {Not...} (21.  Kxh2 $2 {when} Qh5+ 22. Kg1 Bg4 {looks very very dangerous for White.}) 21...  f3 {Black's attack looks extremely menacing. The engine says this is just  winning for Black.}) 19... Rxf4 20. Bxf4 gxh3 21. g3 h2+ 22. Kxh2 Qh5+ 23. Kg1  Bh3 {After this move Black gains some material back and its all over. The rest  is relatively trivial.} 24. Re3 Bxf1 25. Kxf1 Bd4 26. Rb3 Qh1+ 27. Ke2 Qxe4+  28. Kf1 Qb1+ 29. Kg2 Qc2 30. Rxb7 Qxf2+ 31. Kh3 h5 32. Kh4 Qe2 33. Kh3 Bg1 {A  very imaginative sacrifice by Matthew which even Fritz took a good deal of  time to assess with any degree of accuracy.} 0-1   [Event "Calderdale Individual Championship"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2014.03.10"]  [Round "5"]  [White "Shapland, D."]  [Black "Leatherbarrow, A."]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B01"]  [Annotator "Shapland,David"]  [PlyCount "63"]  [EventDate "2014.??.??"]  [SourceDate "2014.03.11"]   1. e4 {Even though I was a few minutes late I took some time to consider what  my first move should be. The fact is that Andy was about the last person I'd  expected to play that evening, but as two other players on the same score as  us decided to miss the last round, we had been thrown together. "At least", I  thought "I have White". Then came the quandry. I'd prepared extensively for  Andy's Scandinavian for a club tournament we'd played in over the previous  summer but I couldn't remember much (if any!) of that prep and hadn't had the  chance to use it anyway as he had played 1...e5 and I ended up winning from a  Philidor's Defence. Once I'd cleared my head I decided that 1.d4, the only  other opening move I'd ever seriously consider playing, would be of no use to  me as I hadn't the vaguest idea how to meet any of the lines I can remember  Andy playing. So, it had to be 1.e4 and then have a serious think about what  to do against his Scandinavian if he played it.} d5 {In the same boat as I was,  but probably having had a little bit longer before the game started to  consider how he'd proceed in the opening, Andy made the best decision. Stick  to what you know best when preparation isn't possible. Afterall, Andy is very  familiar with the Scandinavian and has a decent record with it. Why shouldn't  he play it?} 2. exd5 Qxd5 {I was happy enough to see this move. I hadn't given  much thought to what I'd play against 2...Nf6} 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Bc4 {I think this  is the trendy move of the moment although, according to my Chessbase app, the  traditional 3.d4 is still by far the most popular move here. I used to  automatically play 4.d4 in this position but I've become more aware of the  plans involving White developing pieces rapidly and reserving the right to  delay the d-pawn advance until he can decide whether or not it belongs on d3  or d4. I admit it though, I was making this up as I went along. It's relevant  to mention here too that I also spent a few minutes considering 4.b4! But more  of that later.} Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 {Andy said afterwards that he'd picked the most  active line where Black opts for swift piece development. Indeed, Black does  get his pieces into the game quickly and oddly, both sides have opted not to  stake a claim in the centre with their remaining d and e pawns. This sets the  tone for a game that turns out to be all about the pieces! The game move is  slightly more popular than 5.. .Bf5 according to the Chessbase app with 818  games as opposed to 528 games where 5... Bf5 was played.} 6. h3 {6.d4 is also  playable of course. There are opportunities to transpose back to d4 lines at  almost every point in the opening here. I was reserving judgement still as to  whether or not I'd play d4 or go for d3. For the moment I decided that I  wanted to resolve the pin on my king's knight so...} Bh5 7. g4 {This is fairly  commital but I decided to go for it. My intention at this point was to castle  queen's side and possibly advance my pawn to g5.} Bg6 8. Qe2 $5 {Offering a  pawn sacrifice. We're now down to just 13 games on my Chessbase app so I guess  you could say we are venturing into fairly obscure territory.} Nc6 {Again Andy  choses the most active line aiming to get his own pieces develop quickly too.  Other moves that would have been considered would be 8...c6 and 8...e6. Both  of these are thematic Scandinavian moves which aim to keep White's pieces at  bay and prepare for Black to complete his development. Of course there was  also the matter of the hanging c-pawn. Can Black afford to grab this?} (8...  Bxc2 {Fritz seems to think not and awards White a significant advantage after}  9. d3 Ba4 {and now the silicone mind recommends going after the Black queen  with a line like} 10. g5 $1 Nfd7 11. Bd2 {and her Royal Highness is beginning  to look very exposed.}) 9. Bb5 {After the game was over someone asked me why I  hadn't played...} (9. a3 {aiming to trap the queen with b4 and Na4. I did  briefly consider this move but when I was asked about it afterwards I couldn't  remember why I had rejected the idea. Now I remember... Black can castle  anyway without any fear of having her maj trapped as...} O-O-O 10. b4 $2 Nxb4 {  and the White a-pawn is unfortunately pinned. When I considered this variation  with 9.a3 I wasn't looking at trapping the queen only at preventing the Black  knight from getting to b4 from which outpost the c2 square looks very tasty. I  soon realised that a3 didn't stop this move at all and that the only way to  prevent the knight advancing to b4 was to pin it immediately. This train of  thought brought me to the game move which Andy told me afterwards is book.})  9... O-O-O {In fact the Chessbase app only has one game where this position  was reached so maybe Andy had his ideas mixed up. I wonder if usually White  has played 8.d3 instead of 8.Qe2 when Black castles long. It turns out to be  an important difference. All I know is that I was very happy to swap off the  bishop for knight and damage the pawn structure in front of the Black king.}  10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. b4 $5 {This idea was probably inspired by the earlier  thought I'd had right at the beginning of the game when I mentioned I had  considered playing the gambit line 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.b4!? I'd  watched as Richard Boylan beat Andy with that variation in the Huddersfield vs.  Hebden Bridge 'A' match in 2012. Someone afterwards said Nakamura's played it  a few times before. I'd say it was an interesting way to shake things up but  no more than that. In this position the move has extra bite because of White's  threat to open the b-file to get at the Black king. It probably should be  mentinoned that Fritz preferred another approach here with...} (11. Ne5 Qb6 12.  a4 a6 13. Ra3 $1 {is a very unusual and interesting rook lift. Typical  computer move I suppose. This does look dangerous for Black but it's a very  quirky position.}) 11... Qb6 {Once again Andy declines to accept the pawn  offering. Once again he was almost certainly correct to do so. After...} (11...  Qxb4 {Fritz gives a long forcing sequence} 12. Ne5 (12. Rb1 {This was the move  I had planned to play. It also seems to give White an edge. One possible line  might be} Qa5 13. Ne5 Be4 14. Nc4 Qc5 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Rb3 {Preparing Ba3.})  12... Rd4 13. Qa6+ Qb7 14. Qxb7+ Kxb7 15. Rb1+ Kc8 16. Nxc6 Be4 17. Nxe4 Rxe4+  18. Kd1 {and White stands a little better.}) 12. Ne5 (12. O-O Bxc2 13. Ne5 Bg6  14. d3 {was played in Shapland vs Batonyi, Bradford League 2017 and White went  on to win after a similar set of adventures to this game.}) 12... e6 13. b5 $6  {I was filled with the lust for battle by this stage of the game and thought  this move would keep Andy on the back foot. It turned out alright but it's not  sound.} cxb5 {This time Andy takes the pawn and even though White can win this  one back, Black can now also grab the c2 pawn so it's a genuine pawn offer.  Once more he made the correct decision.} 14. Rb1 {This isn't sound. I had a  particular idea and was fortunate that Andy fell in with it. The best  continuation for White was...} (14. Nxb5 {and now Black should continue with}  Bxc2 $1 {Initiating an important threat ...Bd3!} 15. a4 a6 16. Nc3 Bg6 17. O-O  {And Black is a pawn up. It's very doubtful White has enough compensation for  it. Fritz certainly doesn't think so but the position is a total mess.}) 14...  a6 {This is fine but even better was...} (14... b4 $1 {The best way to refute  White's play. I suppose it's not the most natural move considering the  position of the Black King and Queen.} 15. Rb2 {This is the kind of position  computers love and humans are poor at. The game is very concrete and rather  obscure. Often the best move is not the natural one. It makes for interesting  but not necessarily high quality chess.} Nd7 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. a3 a5 {and  White is really struggling to complete his development. This factor now trumps  the optical weakness of the Black king.}) 15. Nxb5 $5 {Thus begins the phase  of the game in which the White knights take the starring role. First of all  the queen's knight offers himself up to open the b-file. This was the main  idea behind my last two moves. If Black can take the piece then the concept is  unsound. I assumed that the computer would find the correct path to defend but  I felt I was going to get a strong attack if Andy took the piece.} Bxc2 {Andy  chooses to grab a pawn rather than the knight. This is an understandable  decision as taking the knight and opening the b-file looks very scary indeed.  However, Fritz of course finds that Black can have his cake and eat it after...  } (15... axb5 16. Rxb5 Qd6 17. Ra5 {This was as far as I'd analysed the  sacrifice line and I felt I had good chances here. Just look at some of the  lines Black will have to navigate in order to secure his booty.} Nd7 18. Ra8+  Nb8 19. Qb5 (19. Ba3 Qb6 20. O-O Bxa3 21. Rxa3 Nc6 {and White's initiative is  over}) 19... Qb6 20. Qa4 Kb7 21. Nc4 Qb4 22. Qa7+ Kc8 {isn't enough for the  piece but it still looks pretty frightening for Black.}) 16. Rb2 Bd3 {This was  Andy's idea. He's won a pawn and will now be able to exchange off a piece to  try and reduce the pressure on his king. Perhaps he undersestimated the  strength and influence my remaining knight will have or thought that this was  the only line he had for salvation. In any case it appears that he could still  have gone for...} (16... axb5 {This doesn't win a piece any more but after} 17.  Rxc2 Rd4 18. d3 Bb4+ 19. Kf1 {Black has an edge and is getting some momentum.  White is a pawn down and doesn't have enough compensation. In particular he'll  have real problems getting his king's bishop into the game.}) 17. Nxd3 axb5 18.  Ne5 {The knight simply returns to e5 with tempo, from where it will be able to  wreak havoc from an increasingly powerful set of outposts. First and foremost  it will create weaknesses in Black's centre and open another line of attack on  the Black king.} Rd5 {The only way to meet the dual threat of 19.Rxb5 and19.  Nxf7 forking the rooks.} 19. Nxf7 Rg8 {It was also possible to interject an  intermezzo in the form of...} (19... Nd7 {Now 20. Nxh8 is well met by Re5 so  White must castle} 20. O-O Rg8 {But the question is whether the knight is  better placed on d7 than it was on f6. Who knows?}) 20. O-O $1 {Finally, on  move 20, time to castle. The point is that White can't hope to put Black under  any more pressure without completing his development. The knight, queen and  rook can't do all the work on their own.} g5 $2 {I noticed Andy played this  move in slightly exasperated fashion. Black's task is certainly complicated  and his game is rather less easy to play than White's. There was a good deal  of calculation for me to do but the plan seemed simple enough - attack before  Black has time to re-group! Looking back at the game now I think that this  move was an important mistake. Andy's right to try and seek some counter play  by opening up the king's side but perhaps he should complete his development  first with for example} (20... Bc5 $1 {A very nice trick. White can't capture  on b5 because of the response Bxf2+. We now get another tricky and complex  forcing line} 21. Rb3 {Preparing Ba3} Rf8 22. Ng5 $1 {Now it's White's turn to  run the gauntlet. The knight is taboo because 22... Rxg5 runs into 23.d4! with  a discovered attack on the rook to win a piece.} h5 23. Qxe6+ {and I suppose  you could call the game balanced though it's in chaos!}) 21. d4 $1 {  Development seems to be all that matters. I also considered playing d3 but  then my queen's line of sight to the Black b-pawn is obscured and I didn't  want to release either of the two defenders Andy had tied to it's defence. On  d4 this pawn is not as vulnerable as it looks because the Black rook protects  b5 and the queen protects e6, so neither can move to capture on d4 without  concession. Black's weak pawns are a problem and they seem to lead to the king.  } h5 {Consistent at least. Black is taking a can opener to the king's side.  Now the final phase of the game has arrived with a foot race to see who can  reach the enemy king first.} 22. Bd2 {My idea was to try and over work the  queen. e3 didn't feel like the right square to develop the bishop to because I  wanted to keep the e-file open for my queen. Fritz suggests that this move,  and the idea behind it, is a mistake. However, once again, the refutation is  pretty difficult to find and so from a practical perspective at least, the  game move has to be a reasonable selection.} hxg4 23. Ba5 $1 Qa6 {Once again  Andy declines my generous offer! He could very well have accepted it but would  probably have ended up at least giving back the piece. We'll see why in a  moment.} 24. Rc1 {More accurate would have been the other rook move I  considered} (24. Rc2 $1 {Pretty much compelling Black to take the bishop as c7  is just too vulnerable.} Qxa5 25. Qxe6+ Kb8 $1 26. Qxf6 Qb6 27. Qxb6+ cxb6 28.  Re1 {What a strange position! Black has two sets of doubled pawns and White  has four isolated pawns. Critically though White's rooks are better positioned  than Black's and that bishop on f8 still hasn't moved. Nevertheless Fritz  considers this position to be level.}) 24... Qxa5 {Andy couldn't be expected  to resist temptation for ever. Perhaps he felt he had no alternative.  Certainly with still 12 moves left before time control both of us were down to  a couple of minutes on the clock and the position was still monstrously  complicated. Perhaps Andy's best bet was to keep it that way and hope I  overstepped the time limit or blundered before getting to it.} 25. Qxe6+ Rd7 {  Probably no better now was} (25... Kb8 26. Qxf6 Ba3 27. Ne5 {Threatening a  deadly fork on c6.} Qb6 28. Qf7 {and all four rooks are under attack!}) 26. Ne5  $5 {Electing not to take the piece back in favour of playing for mate. Sound?  Barely. Fun? Most definitely! I was proposing to land my superhero knight on  c6 from which outpost it completely dominates the position. The natural (and  easy move) would have been} (26. Qxf6 {winning back the material. White still  maintains a strong attack after this with} Ba3 27. Qe6 gxh3 28. Nd6+ $1 {There  are pins and skewers everywhere.} Bxd6 29. Qxg8+ {should be winning but it's  still terribly complicated due to that passed h-pawn of Black's}) 26... Rgg7 {  Trying to untangle the thicket of king's side pieces. I'd also spent some of  my precious remaining minutes analyzing what I considered to be the most  direct effort to refute my idea...} (26... Ba3 {This move leads to incredible  complications but the line is actually fairly forcing} 27. Nc6 Qb6 28. Rxb5 $1  {One of the key ideas behind landing the knight to c6. The b-pawn can be taken  and if Black recaptures there is a fork on a7. In this line Black probably  does best to give up the queen for as much material as he can get his hands on.  } Qxb5 29. Na7+ Kb7 30. Rxc7+ $1 {The rook is lost anyway so White sets up one  more forking formation on c7 and a3.} Rxc7 31. Nxb5 Rc1+ 32. Kg2 {White will  win back the knight or the bishop.} Rc6 33. Qf7+ Ka6 34. Nxa3 {and it's all  over bar the shouting. Black's king and pieces are too exposed in this  position and the White queen is all powerful. She has so many targets to go  for.}) 27. Nc6 Qa3 $2 {Time pressure was beginning to tell for Andy as well by  now and neither of us had sufficient time to calculate the spiralling vortex  of variations. I was instinctively most concerned about...} (27... Rge7 {which  is the computer's recommendation as it happens and might just save the day.  Now White is compelled to restore material parity and we go off on another  odyssian forcing line which I should emphasise I did not analyse during the  game. This one is all Fritz.} 28. Qxf6 Re1+ 29. Kg2 $1 {White can afford to  step away. Remember the Black queen is enprise! Now so is the White rook on c1.  } gxh3+ $1 30. Kxh3 Qa3+ {Black scrambles to get all his pieces to safe  squares and keep the White king on the ropes.} 31. Rb3 Rh7+ 32. Kg2 Rh2+ $1 {  That queen was enprise again and so too the Black rook on e1. Black manages to  deflect the White king to another square where it can be checked by his queen.  Beautiful!} 33. Kxh2 Qd6+ {The point. Phew! Black gets the queens off the  board.} 34. Qxd6 Bxd6+ {and with this check he wins back his missing rook.} 35.  Kg2 Rxc1 {Now Black is going to be "just" a pawn down.} 36. Na7+ Kd7 37. Nxb5 {  A very pretty line full of twists and turns. The likely outcome after all of  that? Probably a draw. Well, it would have been a fitting result if both  players had found all those moves!}) 28. Rcb1 {Simple and very strong. The  mating threats on the b-file now are irresistable Black's extra piece is  irrelevant.} b4 {What else was there?} 29. Nxb4 {Perhaps it's worth  documenting the journey taken by this workaholic knight during the course of  the last 29 moves. Nf3-e5-d3-e5-f7-e5-c6-b4 and he's heading back to c6 again  if he doesn't get captured.} gxh3 {A last throw of the dice to try and cause  confusion. I'm glad Andy took the aesthete's path and didn't take the knight  as it would have robbed it of seeing out the game and taking it's  well-deserved standing ovation. Grabbing the knight doesn't change the outcome  in any case...} (29... Bxb4 30. Rxb4 Qxb4 31. Rxb4 {and even I could have made  5 sensible moves to get to time-control with a winning advantage from this  position.}) 30. Nc6 {He's back! Having made almost one third of all the White  moves so far in the game.} h2+ 31. Kxh2 Bd6+ {Let's just be clear that none of  the multiple checks Black has at his disposal are of any salvation to him. I  think the eager kibitzers tried all of them afterwards! Here we go then, one  at a time...} (31... Qd6+ 32. Kg1 $1 {White can give up the queen and it's  still mate on b8.}) (31... Rh7+ 32. Kg1 Rh1+ 33. Kxh1 {and h3 is covered by  the White queen.}) (31... Ng4+ 32. Kg1 {and once more the g1 square is the  White king's refuge.}) 32. Kg2 {Just to be different. Kg1 also works. It's  forced mate now and so Andy resigned. This was a real monster of a game with  neither player backing down from the melee. I guess that games like this are  the reason I both love and play chess. The year or two you might have between  contests of this nature are just for practice!} 1-0   [Event "Calderdale League 1"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2014.09.22"]  [Round "1.1"]  [White "Bak, A."]  [Black "Eagleton, G."]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "B97"]  [WhiteElo "174"]  [BlackElo "179"]  [Annotator "Andy Bak"]  [PlyCount "71"]  [EventDate "2014.??.??"]  [WhiteTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]  [BlackTeam "Huddersfield"]   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Qd2  Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. e5 h6 (10... Nfd7 {Paul Keres demolished this move order  (note the lack of ...h6 Bh4)} 11. f5 Nxe5 12. fxe6 fxe6 13. Be2 Nbc6 14. Nxc6  bxc6 15. Ne4 d5 16. O-O Qa4 17. Bh5+ Kd7 18. Rxf8 {1-0 (18) Keres,P-Fuderer,A  Gothenburg 1955}) 11. Bh4 Nfd7 (11... dxe5 12. fxe5 Nfd7 {I remembered this  being the main line, so when he didn't take on e5, I tried to figure out what  the significant difference was.} 13. Ne4 Qxa2 14. Rd1 Qd5 15. Qe3 Qxe5 {This  is one of the main lines, so Black has won a couple of extra pawns but has  lost a couple of tempi for development compared to the game.}) 12. exd6 (12. f5  {Might be how Keres would have responded to this move.} Nxe5 13. fxe6 fxe6 {In  most of these Poisoned Pawn lines, the computer is pretty consistently giving  Black a -1.2 edge or so, but in this line even the computer starts to drift  towards 0.0, indicating that White has some very serious play for his pawn.}) (  12. Ncb5 {This was the only other game I could find on the database with 11...  Nfd7.} axb5 13. Nxb5 Qc5 14. exd6 Na6 15. Be2 Nf6 16. Bf3 Nd5 17. Bf2 Qc4 18.  Bd4 Bd7 19. Be2 Qc6 20. O-O Bxd6 21. c4 Bb4 22. Qd1 Nf6 23. Rxb4 Nxb4 24. a3  Nbd5 25. cxd5 exd5 26. Rf3 Ne4 27. Bxg7 Rg8 28. Be5 Ra5 29. Rb3 f6 30. Bd4 Ke7  31. Qe1 Ra4 32. Bd3 Rc8 33. Na7 Rxa7 34. Bxa7 Qa4 35. Rxb7 Qxa3 36. Bf1 Rc1 37.  Qe2 Kd8 38. Bd4 Qa4 39. Bb2 Rd1 40. Rb6 Rb1 41. Bxf6+ Kc7 42. Ra6 Qc4 43. Be5+  Kb7 44. Qxc4 dxc4 45. Ra1 Rxa1 46. Bxa1 Nd2 47. Be2 Bf5 48. Kf2 Kc6 49. Ke3 Nb3  50. Bg7 Kc5 51. g4 Bb1 52. Bc3 Kd5 53. Bf3+ Kc5 54. Be4 Ba2 55. g5 hxg5 56.  fxg5 Nc1 57. g6 {1-0 (57) Csiba,D (2169)-Pagerka,M (1998) Slovakia 2009}) 12...  Qxd6 13. Ne4 (13. Bc4 Nc6 {This was the move that worried me most, as I'd have  to play Bf2 to avoid the exchange of queens, although this might be a decent  line as Black's development is a bit bottled up.} (13... Nb6 14. Ne4 Qc7 15.  Be2) 14. Bf2) 13... Qd5 14. Qe3 {I felt that this had to be OK for me as I had  similar play to the main line, just with two extra pawns.} Nc6 (14... Bc5 {  Although I thought ...Nc6 was strong, I was also considering that he might  play this.} 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 {Threatening ...Qe4.} 16. Be2 {and I didn't look  much further than this, thinking that if he chose to play it, then I'd just  have to start calculating!}) 15. Rd1 Nxd4 (15... Bc5 {This again was possible.}  16. Nxc5 (16. Nxe6 Qxd1+ (16... Bxe3 17. Nc7+ Kf8 18. Nxd5) 17. Kxd1 Bxe3 18.  Nc7+ Kf8 19. Nxa8 Bxf4 {I thought that this was pretty bad, Black is still a  pawn up, White's pieces are uncoordinated and the queens have come off.}) 16...  Qxc5 17. Be2 {and Black can continue to exchange pieces if he wishes.}) 16.  Rxd4 Qa5+ 17. Rd2 {This is a move that occurs in some of the main lines of  this variation and it seemed to make sense here as it prevents ...Bc5.} (17. c3  {This is the "normal" move, but I felt that after} Bc5 18. Nxc5 Qxc5 {that  White's initiative was not as good as Black has managed to exchange some  pieces, although if I had seen Black's response in the game, I might have  still gone for this.} (18... Nxc5 19. Rd8+ Qxd8 20. Bxd8 Kxd8 21. Qxc5) 19. Be2  O-O 20. O-O b5 {etc}) 17... Ba3 {For some reason I had overlooked this and it  completely caught me by surprise. Having said that I wasn't too worried as  although I'm losing the exchange, my initiative is still pretty strong.} (17...  Bc5 18. Nxc5 Nxc5 19. Qxc5 Qxc5 20. Rd8#) (17... Bb4 18. c3) 18. Qg3 (18. Qd4  O-O {The computer thinks Black is safe after this.}) 18... g5 (18... Bc1 19.  Qxg7 Bxd2+ 20. Kd1 {and the threats of taking on h8 and Nd6# are too much to  handle.}) (18... O-O $1 19. c3 f5 20. Nf2 e5 {The computer finds the best  defence, playing actively against White's vulnerable king and misplaced pieces.  }) 19. fxg5 Bc1 20. Nd6+ {This was based on a miscalculation.} (20. Be2) (20.  Bd3 Bxd2+ 21. Nxd2 Qe5+ {I wanted to avoid trading queens at all costs.}) (20.  Kd1 Bxd2 21. Nxd2 {Is similar to the game except Black's queen is on a5  instead of d5, an difference which is probably in White's benefit.}) (20. g6 {  I saw this move during the game but I didn't want the queen exchange after.}  Bxd2+ 21. Nxd2 Qe5+ 22. Qxe5 Nxe5 {The following moves are all from the  computer trying to allow White to bail out to a slightly worse endgame.} 23. g7  Rg8 24. Ne4 f5 (24... Rxg7 25. Bf6 Rg4 26. Nd6+ Kd7 27. Bxe5) 25. Nf6+ Kf7 26.  Nxg8 Kxg8 27. Bf6 Ng4 28. Bb2) 20... Kf8 21. Nc4 (21. Qf2 {This was my  intention, intending to meet ...Bxd2 with Kd1, however} Qxd2+ {I forgot that  Black could take this way as the knight is no longer covering d2.} 22. Qxd2  Bxd2+ 23. Kxd2 {and Black is a rook up.}) (21. Bd3 Qxd2+ 22. Kf1 Qf4+) 21...  Bxd2+ 22. Kd1 (22. Nxd2 Qe5+) 22... Qd5 23. Nxd2 b5 (23... hxg5 {This is what  I was expecting and the computer agrees that this is a superior move.} 24. Bxg5  {when one of my attacking units has been swapped off.}) 24. Bd3 {White does  have some compensation for the material deficit but it is long lasting and it  is hard to analyse each line to a conclusion, particularly as the engine  evaluations keep changing as you go deeper into the lines. Having said that,  it seems as if 24.g6 might have been my best try.} (24. Be2 {This cuts off the  escape square for my king along the 2nd rank.} Qe5 25. Qf3 Qa1+ 26. Nb1 Qxb1+  27. Kd2 Qxh1 28. Qxa8 Nb6 29. Qc6 Qg1) (24. c4 {This might have been worth a  try, but I didn't really consider it too much as I felt that I needed to  develop the rest of my pieces.} Qe5 25. Qf3 Qa1+ 26. Ke2 Ra7 27. g6 f6 {and  White is still struggling to develop and there is no immediate breakthrough.})  (24. g6 {This move is probably the most accurate.} Qh5+ (24... Rg8 25. Qa3+ Nc5  (25... Kg7 26. gxf7 {This causes Black problems as he can't play ...Kxf7 due  to Qe7+} Rf8 27. Qg3+ Kxf7 28. Bd3 {and all White's pieces are involved in a  decisive attack.}) 26. Bf2 Rxg6 27. Qxc5+ Qxc5 28. Bxc5+ {with probably a  level endgame.}) 25. Kc1 Qxg6 26. Qd6+ Kg7 27. Bd3 Qg4 28. Qe7 {The computer  assesses this position as +0.00 as it thinks White's pressure is adequate  compensation.} Re8 {This is how Houdini wants to diffuse the attack.} 29. Qxe8  Qxh4 30. Be4 Rb8 $11) 24... Nc5 $2 {After this, apparently White is winning.} (  24... hxg5 {Once again the computer thinks this is best.} 25. Be4 gxh4 26. Qa3+  Qc5 27. Qxc5+ Nxc5 28. Bxa8 $17) 25. g6 $1 {Forcing weaknesses in Black's camp.  } Rg8 {I thought this was forced, but apparently ...Qd4 is also a move but not  any better than the game continuation.} (25... fxg6 {Opening up the king leads  to forced mate.}) 26. Rf1 {After this, Black is on top again. Black's 24th and  this move made the computer evaluation swing by about 7 points each.} (26. Qf4  $1 {I was looking at this move in other lines so I'm disappointed that I  missed this move here, attack both h6 and f7.}) 26... f5 27. Rf3 Bd7 {At this  point I was really stuck for a decent plan as Black is controlling the centre  really well. I had seen the plan I eventually chose some moves ago but I  didn't really believe that it would be particularly effective, but I didn't  see anything better.} (27... Bb7 {This is what I had expected but the text  looks more safe.}) 28. Qf4 {I spent 6 minutes on this move leaving myself with  about 1 minute remaining for the last 8 moves. Greg wasn't in much better  shape with a little over 2 minutes. With both of us getting so short on time,  I wanted to force my opponent to meet as many concrete threats as I could.} (  28. c4 {Again this looks like an interesting alternative.} Qd4 {This neat  sidestep creates threats and doesn't allow the bishop to get active.}) (28. Bf6  {I looked at this at the computer thinks this is best, but I couldn't really  make a decisive breakthrough work.} Bc6 {Black's pieces control the centre  very well and it's difficult for either side to do anything.}) 28... Rxg6 29.  g4 Kg8 30. gxf5 exf5 31. Rg3 {Just trying to exchange off some defenders to  open lines.} Rxg3 32. Qxg3+ Kf7 33. Qe3 {Attacking h6 and e7. Both of us were  just playing moves to try and get to time control.} Qh1+ 34. Bf1 Qd5 35. Qe7+  Kg8 36. Bf6 {At this point either one or both flags had fallen and we decided  to agree a draw as it was unclear what had happened in the time scramble. A  crazy game!} 1/2-1/2   [Event "Calderdale Flood Relief Simul"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2016.02.07"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Gormally, D."]  [Black "Morgan, J."]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B00"]  [Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]  [PlyCount "80"]  [EventDate "2016.??.??"]   1. d4 b5 2. e4 a6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. Bd3 e6 5. O-O c5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7  9. d6 $2 {It looks like this might be a pawn push too far. Instead White is  better after...} (9. dxe6 dxe6 10. c4 bxc4 11. Bc2 Nc6 12. Rd1) 9... Ng6 10. e5  Bxf3 $1 {Is this the move that Danny missed?} 11. gxf3 {White can't recapture  with the queen as after...} (11. Qxf3 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Bxd6 {White is two pawns  down with no compensation.}) 11... Nd5 12. Qe4 {White is in fairly big trouble  here already. Alternatively...} (12. Kh1 {... was tried but didn't turn out  well after...} f6 13. Bxg6+ hxg6 14. Qd3 Kf7 15. Rg1 g5 16. Nd2 Bxd6 17. f4  Nxf4 {and Black won in Afek-Basman, Biel Open, 1979 because...} 18. Qxd6 Rxh2+  19. Kxh2 Qh8+ 20. Kg3 Qh3#) 12... Bxd6 {One of Danny's YouTube channel viewers  pointed out a surprising and pretty checkmate after...} (12... f6 $2 13. Qxg6+  $3 hxg6 14. Bxg6#) 13. exd6 f5 14. Qe1 {Now White is on terrible trouble. Can  Black finish off his illustrious opponent?} Ngf4 15. Bxf4 Nxf4 {The threat of  Qg5+ is huge. White doesn't have time to rescue his bishop and must give back  the material.} 16. Kh1 Nxd3 17. Qe3 c4 {This is fine, but possibly even better  was...} (17... Nxb2 18. Qxc5 Rc8 19. Qe3 Qf6) 18. b3 Qh4 19. Nd2 O-O 20. bxc4  bxc4 21. Rab1 Rf6 {The right idea but this is even more effective after first..  .} (21... f4 $1 22. Qb6 Rf6 23. Rg1 Nxf2+ 24. Kg2 Nh3 {... and Black has a  winning advantage.}) 22. f4 {Danny decides it's best to give up a pawn to give  the White queen access to g3.} Nxf4 23. Qg3 Qh6 24. Nxc4 Rc8 $2 {Unfortunately  this is one of those compicated positions where, despite having a significant  advantage, Black is in danger of frittering it all away by playing just one  very natural looking move. Attacking the knight looks like a sensible thing to  do here but infact this move simply drive the knight to a better outpost from  where it prevents Rg6. Instead, time was of the essence for Black who needed  to play...} (24... Rg6 {... at once.} 25. Qf3 Re8 {Now Black is aiming to  force some favourable simplification whilst maintaining control or the  position.} 26. Rg1 Rxg1+ 27. Rxg1 e5 28. a3 Qe6 29. Ne3 Rf8 30. Ng2 Nxg2 31.  Qxg2 g6 {... and it looks like White has too many weak pawns here to me.}) 25.  Ne5 {After this move the engine even suggests that White has equalised  immediately. Our visiting Grand Master does not need a second invitation to  salvage the game although there a few twists still to come.} Ne2 $2 {In the  space of just two moves Black has seen a winning advantage transform into a  lost position. More resiliant but still tough was...} (25... Nh5 26. Qf3 Rff8  27. Nxd7 Rfd8 28. Nb6 Rb8 29. Qc6 {... and Black is still fighting.}) 26. Qf3  Nf4 27. Nxd7 Rg6 {It looks like John was hoping that he'd be able to press  home an attack after giving up the d-pawn. It's a forlorn hope.} 28. Rb8 {This  looks like a good practical choice even if the engine's assessment after this  is once again 'equal'. I think we can forgive Danny for overlooking the very  beautiful finishing touch...} (28. Qc6 $3 {Now the best the engine can find is  very long forcing sequence that isn't that hard to spot once you're in it.}  Qxh2+ (28... Rxc6 $2 {Reveals the point of White's last move...} 29. Rb8+ Kf7  30. Rf8# {A very unusual mating configuration!}) 29. Kxh2 Rh6+ 30. Kg3 Rxc6 31.  Rb8+ Kf7 32. Rf8+ Kg6 33. Ne5+ Kg5 34. Nf3+ Kh5 35. Rh1+ Kg6 36. Ne5+ Kg5 37.  Nf7+ Kg6 38. Rxh6+ gxh6 39. Ne5+ Kg7 40. Nxc6 Kxf8 41. Kxf4 {Wins for White.})  28... Rxb8 29. Nxb8 e5 {This time it is John's turn to miss a surprising  resource. He could have forced a draw with the precise...} (29... Rg2 $3 30. h3  {To his great credit, Danny had seen this saving line and had calculated what  he thought was a winning reposte instead of this move...} (30. Qxg2 {Danny  thought this was winning for White after...} Nxg2 31. d7 Qf6 {but he admitted  that during the game he'd overlooked 31...Qd2! which saves the day and wins  for Black.} 32. Nc6 {is a win for White.}) 30... Nxh3 31. Kxg2 Nf4+ 32. Kg3  Qg5+ 33. Kh2 Qh4+ {with a draw by perpetual check.}) 30. d7 {Having missed a  further opportunity to save himself, Black is now consigned to defeat with  ruthless efficiency.} Rd6 31. Rd1 Nd3 {This looks like desperation.} 32. Rxd3  Qc1+ {Looks dangerous but White has it all covered.} 33. Kg2 Qg5+ 34. Qg3 Qf6  35. Rxd6 Qxd6 36. Qg5 Qd5+ 37. f3 Qxa2+ 38. Kh3 {Black has had his last throw  of the dice. There are no more checks.} Qd5 39. d8=Q+ Qxd8 40. Qxd8+ Kf7 {A  very interesting game with some surprising twists and turns. 1-0} 1-0

‘Games of the Decade’: Part 3

Anniversarys No Responses »

Jan 232020

It’s Black to play in this position from Ursal vs. Leatherbarrow. What would you play here? Find out what Andy did in the game viewer below.

This is the third part of the series in which we’ll be featuring the final five games that made it onto my long list. After having had five games from 2014 in our last post, this time the games span out over a longer time frame from 2016 to 2018.

I also want to mention that I’m using a different game viewer in this post. Several readers had been in contact with me to say that they had not always been able to see the Chess Tempo game viewer that I had been using. I’m not sure what was causing the problem as it wasn’t a universal one, but that game viewer was no longer being updated or supported so I guess it was going to break down at some point anyway. The ‘new’ viewer is in fact one that I was using quite some time ago. I’ve tinkered around with the display to try and optimize it. I hope it works for everyone.

Please note that, when more than one game is included in the viewer, you need to click on the bar above the board to reveal a drop-down list and select the game you want to view. Otherwise, the viewer is set to automatically play through the games in turn.

Right! On with the show.

10.) Gormally vs. Morgan, Hebden Bridge Flood Relief Simul, 7^th February, 2016

Many readers will have happy memories of our fund raising simul for flood relief with GM Danny Gormally back in 2016. I know I do – primarily because I beat him of course! It was a tough day at the office for the GM as he ended up losing a small handful of games against what he acknowledged was a pretty strong field of club players.

I could have featured several games from this event. All of Danny’s defeats could have qualified as ‘memorable giant-killings’ despite the fact that they were simul games. However, in the end I decided that I should feature the game that he picked out as the ‘best game’ of the simul.

John Morgan acquitted himself most nobly in this one. For a start, he had the courage of his conviction to play his favorite St George’s Defence (1…b5) against the GM. Secondly, he was quick witted enough to spot when Danny’s aggressive play tipped into over-extension and he punished him effectively. In fact, after John had played his 14^th move Danny was strategically lost already.

The question then became whether John could be accurate enough to finish the GM off. Unfortunately, he missed a couple of opportunities to finish his illustrious opponent off and Danny slowly clawed his way back into the game. By move 25 he had managed to equalise. John missed one last rather difficult and very beautiful saving chance and goes down swinging. A cracking game of heroic failure fully worthy of it’s space in our list.

  [Event "Calderdale Flood Relief Simul"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2016.02.07"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Gormally, D."]  [Black "Morgan, J."]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B00"]  [Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]  [PlyCount "80"]  [EventDate "2016.??.??"]   1. d4 b5 2. e4 a6 3. Nf3 Bb7 4. Bd3 e6 5. O-O c5 6. c3 Nf6 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7  9. d6 $2 {It looks like this might be a pawn push too far. Instead White is  better after...} (9. dxe6 dxe6 10. c4 bxc4 11. Bc2 Nc6 12. Rd1) 9... Ng6 10. e5  Bxf3 $1 {Is this the move that Danny missed?} 11. gxf3 {White can't recapture  with the queen as after...} (11. Qxf3 Nxe5 12. Qg3 Bxd6 {White is two pawns  down with no compensation.}) 11... Nd5 12. Qe4 {White is in fairly big trouble  here already. Alternatively...} (12. Kh1 {... was tried but didn't turn out  well after...} f6 13. Bxg6+ hxg6 14. Qd3 Kf7 15. Rg1 g5 16. Nd2 Bxd6 17. f4  Nxf4 {and Black won in Afek-Basman, Biel Open, 1979 because...} 18. Qxd6 Rxh2+  19. Kxh2 Qh8+ 20. Kg3 Qh3#) 12... Bxd6 {One of Danny's YouTube channel viewers  pointed out a surprising and pretty checkmate after...} (12... f6 $2 13. Qxg6+  $3 hxg6 14. Bxg6#) 13. exd6 f5 14. Qe1 {Now White is on terrible trouble. Can  Black finish off his illustrious opponent?} Ngf4 15. Bxf4 Nxf4 {The threat of  Qg5+ is huge. White doesn't have time to rescue his bishop and must give back  the material.} 16. Kh1 Nxd3 17. Qe3 c4 {This is fine, but possibly even better  was...} (17... Nxb2 18. Qxc5 Rc8 19. Qe3 Qf6) 18. b3 Qh4 19. Nd2 O-O 20. bxc4  bxc4 21. Rab1 Rf6 {The right idea but this is even more effective after first..  .} (21... f4 $1 22. Qb6 Rf6 23. Rg1 Nxf2+ 24. Kg2 Nh3 {... and Black has a  winning advantage.}) 22. f4 {Danny decides it's best to give up a pawn to give  the White queen access to g3.} Nxf4 23. Qg3 Qh6 24. Nxc4 Rc8 $2 {Unfortunately  this is one of those compicated positions where, despite having a significant  advantage, Black is in danger of frittering it all away by playing just one  very natural looking move. Attacking the knight looks like a sensible thing to  do here but infact this move simply drive the knight to a better outpost from  where it prevents Rg6. Instead, time was of the essence for Black who needed  to play...} (24... Rg6 {... at once.} 25. Qf3 Re8 {Now Black is aiming to  force some favourable simplification whilst maintaining control or the  position.} 26. Rg1 Rxg1+ 27. Rxg1 e5 28. a3 Qe6 29. Ne3 Rf8 30. Ng2 Nxg2 31.  Qxg2 g6 {... and it looks like White has too many weak pawns here to me.}) 25.  Ne5 {After this move the engine even suggests that White has equalised  immediately. Our visiting Grand Master does not need a second invitation to  salvage the game although there a few twists still to come.} Ne2 $2 {In the  space of just two moves Black has seen a winning advantage transform into a  lost position. More resiliant but still tough was...} (25... Nh5 26. Qf3 Rff8  27. Nxd7 Rfd8 28. Nb6 Rb8 29. Qc6 {... and Black is still fighting.}) 26. Qf3  Nf4 27. Nxd7 Rg6 {It looks like John was hoping that he'd be able to press  home an attack after giving up the d-pawn. It's a forlorn hope.} 28. Rb8 {This  looks like a good practical choice even if the engine's assessment after this  is once again 'equal'. I think we can forgive Danny for overlooking the very  beautiful finishing touch...} (28. Qc6 $3 {Now the best the engine can find is  very long forcing sequence that isn't that hard to spot once you're in it.}  Qxh2+ (28... Rxc6 $2 {Reveals the point of White's last move...} 29. Rb8+ Kf7  30. Rf8# {A very unusual mating configuration!}) 29. Kxh2 Rh6+ 30. Kg3 Rxc6 31.  Rb8+ Kf7 32. Rf8+ Kg6 33. Ne5+ Kg5 34. Nf3+ Kh5 35. Rh1+ Kg6 36. Ne5+ Kg5 37.  Nf7+ Kg6 38. Rxh6+ gxh6 39. Ne5+ Kg7 40. Nxc6 Kxf8 41. Kxf4 {Wins for White.})  28... Rxb8 29. Nxb8 e5 {This time it is John's turn to miss a surprising  resource. He could have forced a draw with the precise...} (29... Rg2 $3 30. h3  {To his great credit, Danny had seen this saving line and had calculated what  he thought was a winning reposte instead of this move...} (30. Qxg2 {Danny  thought this was winning for White after...} Nxg2 31. d7 Qf6 {but he admitted  that during the game he'd overlooked 31...Qd2! which saves the day and wins  for Black.} 32. Nc6 {is a win for White.}) 30... Nxh3 31. Kxg2 Nf4+ 32. Kg3  Qg5+ 33. Kh2 Qh4+ {with a draw by perpetual check.}) 30. d7 {Having missed a  further opportunity to save himself, Black is now consigned to defeat with  ruthless efficiency.} Rd6 31. Rd1 Nd3 {This looks like desperation.} 32. Rxd3  Qc1+ {Looks dangerous but White has it all covered.} 33. Kg2 Qg5+ 34. Qg3 Qf6  35. Rxd6 Qxd6 36. Qg5 Qd5+ 37. f3 Qxa2+ 38. Kh3 {Black has had his last throw  of the dice. There are no more checks.} Qd5 39. d8=Q+ Qxd8 40. Qxd8+ Kf7 {A  very interesting game with some surprising twists and turns. 1-0} 1-0

11. Cook vs. C.Bak, Calderdale League 1, 17^th October, 2016

The younger of the two Bak brothers has played fewer games for Hebden Bridge than Andy and his style of play is rather different. Chris admits that he prefers slow burning positional squeezes rather than the percussive tactical play and attacking flair that is the hallmark of Andy’s style.

This game is a good example. Phil Cook is not an easy man to beat, especially with the White pieces. In fact, I can only think of one other occasion that this happened and that was in the final round of the Calderdale Individual Championship 2016-17 against Matthew Parsons, and Phil already had the title in the bag by that point. There must be others, but I haven’t witnessed them.

In this game a curious position arises from an English opening in which the White king ends up on d1 and Black castles long behind a shattered pawn structure and with White controlling the b-file. In the middle game, Phil finds a creative way to double his rooks on the open d-file but Chris strikes back in the centre.

I think time pressure had an impact on the quality of the play in this game from as early as move 20 and both players commit some errors. In particular, on the last move before time control and under extreme pressure, there is a case of double blindness as both men miss a straight-forward tactic that would have sealed the game for Black. Instead they bound on into an intricate and interesting rook, piece and pawns ending in which Chris slowly out plays his opponent and runs the gauntlet of a second time scramble to secure a very nice victory.

  [Event "Calderdale League Div 1"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2016.10.17"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Cook, P."]  [Black "Bak, C."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A36"]  [Annotator "Chris Bak"]  [PlyCount "128"]  [EventDate "2016.??.??"]  [WhiteTeam "Todmorden 'A'"]  [BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'A'"]   1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. a3 {White chooses a flexible  approach, opting to expand on the queenside before defining his central  configuration. I've looked at this in the past and I believe the best remedy  is to continue development as normal.} e6 {I like going for a Nge7 setup in  the symmetrical English. This is not bad but the weakening of the dark squares  does invite white's next move.} (5... d6 {has the benefit of forcing white to  play} 6. Rb1 {if he wishes to go for a quick b4, and then black can continue  with} e6 7. b4 Nge7 {and white doesn't have the option of wrecking black's  pawn structure as in the game.}) 6. b4 {This pawn sacrifice is sound when  black has his pawns on e6 and g6. I am familiar with the ideas because I play  a similar gambit arising from the Grand Prix Attack. If black grabs the pawn,  white will have a dangerous initiative on the dark squares giving him more  than enough compensation. In the Sicilian version, black has several good ways  to decline the gambit, such as b6 and d5, but neither move is possible in this  position because of white's light-squared bishop.} d6 (6... cxb4 $2 7. axb4  Nxb4 8. Ba3 Nc6 (8... Bf8 {is more precise but white's activity and  development gives him more than enough compensation for the pawn.}) 9. Nb5 Bf8  10. Bd6 {This is the main idea. White threatens to win the queen, so black is  compelled to trade bishops.} Bxd6 11. Nxd6+ Kf8 {A glance will tell you that  white is much better.}) (6... Nxb4 {is the strongest response and something I  considered, but it felt too risky to play considering my opponent likely knew  he what he was doing a lot more than I did.} 7. axb4 cxb4 {White should give  the piece back with a move like 8. d4, leading to an equal position, but what  if he goes for more?} 8. Nb5 $2 Bxa1 9. Qa4 Bf6 10. Qxb4 {Black is going to  suffer on the dark squares, but compared to the 6.. cxb4 line, black has an  extra exchange and white's counterattack is not as fast. For these reasons,  black is objectively much better, but the position is quite sharp so I'd say  all three results are on the table.}) 7. bxc5 dxc5 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 {I considered  my position to be a tiny bit worse. White has given up his valuable bishop but  he will enjoy a long-term structural advantage. Black has the bishop pair and  small initiative: currently he has the positional "threat" of Bxc3, returning  the favour.} 9. Rb1 {White lays claim to the b-file, allowing black to carry  out his idea. I was happy to see this; if I was on the other side, I would  relish at the opportunity to keep a healthy pawn structure and play against  the c-pawns throughout the midldegame.} ({I anticipated something like} 9. Bb2  Rb8 10. Rb1 Ne7 11. Nf3 Nf5 {where black's active pieces and central control  should offset the structural weakness.}) 9... Bxc3 10. dxc3 Qxd1+ 11. Kxd1 {I  did not deem white's control of the b-file to be important because black  controls b7 and b8. I thought black has a small edge here because of his  slight initiative and white's awkward king placement.. Opposite coloured  bishops appeared} Nf6 12. Be3 {I missed this move. White defends against Ne4  while threatening the c5-pawn.} Ba6 13. f3 {I thought this was a waste of time.  It also blocks the knight's natural development square.} (13. Nf3 {makes more  sense.} Ne4 (13... Bxc4 14. Ne5 $14 {and white takes over the initiative.}) 14.  Kc2 Bxc4 15. Rhe1 {It looks like white has lost a pawn and gone passive, but  one of Ne5 and Rb7 is coming, which is enough to keep the balance.} f6 16. Rb7  O-O $11) 13... Bxc4 14. Bxc5 O-O-O+ 15. Ke1 {I intended 15..Rd7, covering e7  and a7, but then I spotted a third threat of Bd4, forcing me to change plans.}  Nd5 16. e4 {I was pleased to see this move. White gains space, but loosens his  position at the same time. There was nothing wrong with grabbing the a-pawn,  but black has sufficient compensation.} Nc7 (16... Nxc3 17. Rc1 Rd3 {I spent  some minutes investigating 18. Rxc3 and 18. Bd4 before spotting} 18. Bb4 {  simply attacking and winning the pinned piece.}) (16... Nb6 {is more accurate,  blocking the b-file. The pawn is poisoned.} 17. Rb4 (17. Bxb6 $4 axb6 18. Rxb6  Bb5 $19) 17... Ba6 18. Ne2 $15) 17. h4 {A clever multi-purpose move. I was  already under 20 minutes, so I had to pick up the pace.} h6 {Preparing to meet  18. h5 with 18.. g5, but missing white's main intention.} 18. Rh2 $1 {Suddenly  white is going to achieve doubled rooks on the b-file very quickly. It's by no  means the end of the world for black, but I wasn't prepared for the unusual  rook manoeuvre.} Rd3 {A good response.} 19. Rhb2 Rhd8 $6 {A poor response. 19..  Na6 is better to prevent the check on b8.} 20. Be7 Re8 $11 ({Of course, not}  20... R8d7 $4 21. Rb8#) 21. Bf6 {Black's position is growing more and more  difficult.} Na6 $2 {A large error that went unpunished.} (21... e5 22. Rb8+ Kd7  23. Rxe8 Nxe8 {Forced.} 24. Bxe5 {and I failed to see any compensation. c3 and  f3 are secure, and black's pieces are awkwardly-placed.}) 22. Rd2 $2 {Throwing  away the advantage. I'm not sure why white rejected 22. Rb7. Maybe he saw some  ghosts on the d-file.} (22. Rb7 e5 23. Rxa7 {marks the successful  implemenation of white's plan starting with 18. Rh2. I don't imagine I would  have survived this position.}) 22... e5 23. Rxd3 Bxd3 24. Rd1 Nc5 {We are now  in the time trouble phase of the game, with approximately 10 minutes each to  reach move 36. Remarkably the quality of play is a little better than it has  been on the previous few moves.} 25. Bg7 h5 26. Nh3 Bc4 27. Nf2 Kc7 28. Bf6 Nd7  {I intended this move anyway, to free the rook. It's nice to gain some time in  the process.} 29. Bg5 Rb8 {Now I was very happy with my position. Stockfish  agrees, giving black a large advantage. White hasn't done anything egregious  in the rush, but I have managed to gradually outplay him.} 30. Be7 Rb2 $6 {  Giving up most of the advantage.} (30... Rb3 {is more precise. The point is}  31. Rc1 Rb2 {where white cannot block the second rank with his rook. Such  subtleties are hard to find in general, never mind with minutes on the clock!})  31. Bd6+ Kb6 32. Rd2 Rb1+ 33. Rd1 Rb2 34. Rd2 Rb3 35. Nd3 Rxc3 $15 36. Bxe5 $4  {A fatal mistake at the time control. Unfortunately, we were playing with  analog clocks. I knew I had under a minute left, but without knowing the  seconds, I just played a move instantly.} Nxe5 $4 {I return the favour. The  battle continues. 15 minutes were added to both of our clocks. Unlike the  kibitzers, and possibly my opponent, I was completely oblivious to the fact I  could have won a piece, and the game, on the spot.} (36... Rxd3 {is the  knockout blow.}) 37. Nxe5 Be6 {Although material is now level, I still  intended to play for a win. Black is more active, and he has the better minor  piece.} 38. Rd3 {White might have thought simplification will ease the defense,  but I don't believe this is true.} Rxd3 39. Nxd3 {Now I'm definitely playing  for a win! Even if it is objectively equal, black is going to have all the fun.  } Kb5 40. Nb2 $6 {Still playing quickly on the adrenaline of the time scramble,  I missed this obvious defense. So black isn't winning the a3-pawn by force as  I first suspected. Remarkably, this move is imprecise.} (40. Kd2 $1 {White can  use a study-like idea to save the ending. He allows black to capture the  a4-pawn!} Ka4 41. Nc5+ Kxa3 42. Nxe6 fxe6 43. Kc3 $11 {Black's king can never  escape the a-file. White's pawns promote themselves, which means black will  have to force a repetition to save the game, for example} Ka4 44. Kc4 Ka3 45.  Kc3) 40... Kc5 41. Kd2 Kd4 {I thought it would be smooth sailing from here,  but the knight proves its worth as the trickiest piece in the game.} 42. Nd3 c5  43. Nf4 Bb3 44. Ne2+ Kc4 $4 {Overambitious. The king needs to keep the  kingside pawns in check. 44.. Ke5 is equal.} 45. Nc3 $4 {My theory as to what  happened here is that because black is acting as the aggressor, we both  adopted these roles, and so didn't consider that white (the defender) had any  chances at winning the game. Chess psychology is a strange thing!} (45. g4 $142  {is winning. If black captures, then white gets a passed h-pawn. If he doesn't,  white captures and plays Ng3/Nf4, getting a passed h-pawn. It seems black does  not have enough resources to stay in the game.}) 45... a5 46. Ne2 Ba4 47. Nc1  Bd7 48. Nd3 Kd4 49. Nc1 a4 50. Ne2+ Kc4 51. Nc1 Bh3 {White has missed his  chances to create counterplay on the kingside. Black now has an ideal position.  White is completely passive, but it isn't obvious how black can break through.  The principle of two weaknesses kicks in. The a3-weakness isn't enough. Black  needs to create a target elsewhere, in order to stretch the defensive  resources beyond the breaking point.} 52. Nd3 Bg2 53. Ne1 (53. Ne5+ {had to be  tried, but I was confident of my chances after} Kb3 54. Nxf7 Bxf3 {Black  should be winning, but white has become active, and anything could have  happened in the ensuing time scramble.}) 53... Bh1 54. Kc2 {it looks like  white has everything covered. And he does, if he didn't have to make moves!} f6  {Zugzwang. It's time for white to give something up. Glancing at my clock, I  saw that I had some amount of time between 0 and 120 seconds.} 55. Kb2 Kd4 56.  Kc2 Ke3 57. Nd3 c4 {If I allowed Nxc5, the knight would defend e4 and attack  a4. Instead I force the knight on a much slower path, gaining a lot of time.  It probably doesn't matter here, but in many endgames even a single tempo can  make all the difference.} 58. Nb2 Bxf3 59. Nxc4+ Kxe4 60. Nb2 Kf5 61. Nxa4 Kg4  62. Kd3 Kxg3 63. Ke3 Ba8 64. Nc5 Kxh4 {I don't remember the remaining moves,  but they are not important. I started pushing my pawns and my opponent's flag  fell first. I didn't bother to check how many seconds I had left!} 0-1

12.) Ursal vs. Leatherbarrow, Halifax, 13^th February, 2017

When Darwin Ursal first started playing for Hebden Bridge in 2010-11 I gave him a nickname: ‘Draw-Win’ Ursal. That was simply because he never lost and usually won. So, it’s fair to say that finding a Calderdale game in which he was on the losing side is like finding a hen’s tooth! Here then is a hen’s tooth extracted with great effort by Andy Leatherbarrow.

The key moment of the battle comes on move 20 when Andy digs deep and plays an instinctive piece sacrifice to get Darwin’s king out in the open. The position is very complicated, and Andy couldn’t possibly have calculated everything, but his bravery and gut feel are rewarded as he gets a huge attack on the king with his queen and rook whilst Darwin’s pieces are largely by standers.

Andy can’t find the killing blow immediately but patiently probes and pushes the White king around until he can find something concrete. Darwin’s defensive task proves impossible and he finally caves in. A fascinating sacrifice which is well worth of further study and exploration and is excellent calculation practice!

  [Event "Calderdale League 1"]  [Site "Hebden Bridge"]  [Date "2017.02.13"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Ursal, D."]  [Black "Leatherbarrow, A."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "A46"]  [Annotator "Leatherbarrow,Andy"]  [PlyCount "84"]  [EventDate "2017.??.??"]  [WhiteTeam "Halifax 'A'"]  [BlackTeam "Hebden Bridge 'B'"]  [TimeControl "240+2"]   1. d4 {Playing the top graded players in the league is always a good challenge,  Darwin plays a very dynamic and aggressive game, before this game he had  beaten me or I had managed to draw an odd game, all interesting encounters.  Here I follow an opening idea and play my first ever Tarrasch Defence. Then  take an opportunity that comes along.} Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 e6 4. c4 a6 5. a4 d5  6. Bd3 Nc6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O O-O 9. cxd5 exd5 10. Qc2 Qd6 11. Bd2 Bg4 12. Be2  Rac8 13. Qb3 d4 14. exd4 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. Bb4 Bc5 17. Bxc5 Rxc5 18. Bxg4  Nxg4 19. g3 Qc6 20. f3 {Inspiration or leap of faith. Sometimes you look at a  position and think that a move should be played just because it feels right.  My next move was such an occasion.} Nxh2 21. Kxh2 Rc2+ 22. Kh3 (22. Kg1 Qc5+  23. Kh1 Qh5+ 24. Kg1 Qh2#) 22... Qh6+ 23. Kg4 Qg6+ 24. Kf4 Qf6+ {It's really  hard to calculate, but there is a forced mate here. (Dave)} (24... Qd6+ 25. Kg4  Qd7+ 26. Kh4 Rh2+ 27. Kg5 h6+ 28. Kf4 Qd4+ 29. Kf5 Rh5#) 25. Kg4 h5+ 26. Kh3  Qf5+ 27. g4 hxg4+ 28. Kg3 Qh7 29. Nd2 Qh3+ 30. Kf4 Qh2+ 31. Kxg4 Qg2+ 32. Kf4  Qxd2+ 33. Kg3 Qd6+ 34. Kg4 Qg6+ 35. Kh3 Qh5+ 36. Kg3 Qh2+ 37. Kg4 Rg2+ 38. Kf5  Qh5+ 39. Ke4 Re8+ {Finally getting my last piece into the game.} 40. Kd4 Rd8+  41. Kc4 Qd5+ 42. Kb4 Qd6+ {Maybe my best kinghunt game which brings to mind a  book I had as youth.} 0-1

13.) Cook vs. Porter, Calderdale League 1, 27^th of November, 2017

We’ve just seen Phil Cook losing a game. It wouldn’t be at all fair to omit an example of the three time and reigning Calderdale Champion’s work. With that competition now defunct, he may end up keeping the trophy and the title forever!

This game is from the Calderdale League and I think it is quite typical of Phil’s style and qualities. Of course we expect to see his trade mark English Opening but Richard’s choice of response (to play d5 and d4 quite quickly, provokes Phil into playing 3.b4!? and this induces Richard to gambit the d-pawn. From there on in Phil plays deceptively simple and sensible chess to increase his control in the centre, open the b-file, improve the position of his pieces and limit Black’s counter play.

By move 30, White’s position is a picture of harmony whilst Black’s is a sad tangled mess. Richard hit’s out in desperation, trying to complicate proceedings but he is in no position to do so and Phil ends up with four extra pawns and a positional bind.

This one is a bit of a crush, but it’s a model in how to exploit eccentric opening play.

  [Event "Calderdale League 1"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2017.11.27"]  [Round "6.2"]  [White "Cook, P."]  [Black "Porter, R."]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "A09"]  [Annotator "Shapland,Dave"]  [PlyCount "85"]  [EventDate "2017.??.??"]  [WhiteTeam "Golden Lion"]  [BlackTeam "Halifax 'A'"]   1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 d4 3. b4 $5 {An interesting move but very logical. White  prevents c5 and prepares Bb2 to put the extended Black d-pawn under immediate  pressure.} g6 4. Bb2 a5 $2 {I'm assuming that Richard must have forgotten that  when White captures on d4 he does so with a tempo and so Black will not have  time to capture on b4.} 5. Bxd4 Nf6 6. b5 {... and White is just a pawn up. Ok,  so Black has blundered early on and is already much worse. Witness now though  the deadly efficiency with which Phil dispatches his victim.} Bg7 7. d3 O-O 8.  g3 Re8 9. Nbd2 b6 {Another dubious move. Black wants to oppose the White  bishop that will come to g2, however, he may have been better served by trying  to stake a claim to the centre after...} (9... Nbd7 10. Bg2 e5 {White is still  a pawn up here but it feels like Black is resisting a bit more after these  moves.}) 10. Bg2 Bb7 11. O-O a4 12. Bc3 c5 {After this, Black's backward  b-pawn will become a permanent weakness.} 13. bxc6 Bxc6 14. Rb1 Nbd7 15. d4 {  Shutting down any possibility of Black playing e5.} e6 16. Qc2 Ra6 17. e4 {  Phil has simply put his pieces on good squares and taken his chance to expand  in the centre. Meanwhile, Black is floundering to find moves that will improve  his position.} Qa8 18. Rfe1 Rc8 19. Qd3 {Removing the queen from harms way on  the c-file to a slightly better square from which she to exert her influence.}  Bb7 20. Bb4 Rd8 21. Be7 {The more Black wriggles, the tighter the noose  becomes.} Re8 22. Bd6 Rd8 23. Qe3 Ne8 24. Be7 Rc8 25. e5 Nb8 {Black is going  backwards trying to get his pieces into decent positions but it's not working.}  26. Qf4 {Note how the White queen has crept one square at a time to  c2-d3-e3-f4 and is now in prime position to attack the Black king via f7.} Ra5  {Why not...} (26... h6 27. Ba3 Nd7) 27. Rxb6 {Picking up a second pawn and  Black's position has not really improved as a result!} Qa7 28. Bc5 Nd7 {Hoping  to pick up a pawn and damage White's imposing pawn centre, but Richard has  missed an intermezzo.} 29. Ng5 Bxg2 {No better is...} (29... Nxc5 30. Qxf7+ Kh8  31. Bxb7 Qxb6 32. Bxc8) 30. Qxf7+ Kh8 31. Rxe6 Raxc5 32. Rxe8+ Rxe8 33. Qxe8+  Nf8 34. Kxg2 {Now White is four pawns up!} Rc7 35. d5 Re7 36. Qd8 Rd7 37. Qc8  Rc7 38. Qg4 h6 {Finally, Richard manage to stir up some complications. It's  far too late though and Phil has it all under control anyway.} 39. Ne6 h5 40.  Qh3 Rf7 41. Re2 Bxe5 42. Nxf8 Rxf8 43. Qe6 {Phil is about to pick up another  Black pawn. Richard had had enough of this one..} 1-0

14.) Patrick vs. Clarkson, Calderdale League 1, 15^th of January, 2018

Sometimes a game stands out because of one unusual feature or motif. This game is a case in point. How many games have you seen when one player’s king could justifiably be dubbed ‘Man of the Match’? In his notes to this one Andrew Clarkson quite justifiably awards his king the MVP prize and when you take a look at this game, you’ll see why.

The game doesn’t start out in a way that would suggest it would become so remarkable. Dave chooses an unusual, but perfectly playable variation of the Pirc Defence to test Andrew with. Both players develop sensibly and then a crisis comes in the centre of the board as Andrew breaks thematically with 12…c5 and Dave responds in kind 13.e5 and a mass simplification occurs.

If this doesn’t sound promising so far then the endgame really makes up for it. Both players have six pawns and two rooks but Dave has a bishop against Andrew’s knight but he also has doubled and isolated c-pawns and this proves to be the decisive factor in the outcome. Dave forces off another pair of rooks thinking that he can at least hold the position. It’s at this point that Andrew executes a remarkable winning plan as he marches his king across the open board from g8 to collect one of Dave’s loose c-pawns before turning tail and racing back to g7.

In the final act, Andrew manages to exchange the final pair of rooks to enter a knight versus bishop ending in which he has an extra pawn. He then frog-marches his king all the way back to pick up Dave’s pawn on a2 in order to win the game. Of course, there are some improvements in play that both sides could have made here but this is a fairly unusual endgame to be sure.

  [Event "Calderdale League 1"]  [Site "?"]  [Date "2018.01.15"]  [Round "8.3"]  [White "Patrick, D."]  [Black "Clarkson, A."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B08"]  [Annotator "Clarkson,Andrew"]  [PlyCount "132"]  [EventDate "2018.01.15"]  [WhiteTeam "Belgrave 'A'"]  [BlackTeam "Golden Lion"]   1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 {Everybody knows  that I play the Pirc defence, and there is no end to the different systems  that opponents play. David's choice is as good a try as any, particulary as I  had never faced this over the board before!} Bg4 7. Qd2 c6 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Bxf3  Qa5 {Having played this Black must always be aware of the possibilty of Nd5 by  White.} 10. O-O {Here is a practical example from the opening.} (10. Bh6 e5 11.  Bxg7 Kxg7 12. g4 exd4 13. Qxd4 Qe5 14. Qxe5 dxe5 15. O-O-O Na6 16. g5 Ne8 17.  Rd7 Nc5 18. Re7 Ne6 19. Rxb7 Nxg5 20. Bg2 Nd6 21. Rd7 Rfd8 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23.  Rd1 Ne6 24. Ne2 Kf8 {Kolbert,E (2158)-Milenkovic,S Serbia 2006 0-1 (47)}) 10...  Nbd7 11. Rad1 Rfe8 {I spent too long looking at} (11... c5 12. e5 cxd4 13. exf6  dxc3 14. fxg7 cxd2 15. gxf8=Q+ Kxf8 16. Bxd2 {but could not assess in my  mind's eye whether this was good for Black. Fritz says Black is doing well.})  12. Rfe1 c5 {Now with no 15.gxf8+..., I was prepared to take a punt.} 13. e5 $2  {David takes the bull by the horns and decides to test the validity of 12...c5.  I would be lying if I said I was certain that Black would come out on top.} (  13. dxc5 Qxc5 14. Qe3 $11) 13... cxd4 14. exf6 dxc3 15. Qxc3 {I had not  expected this and wondered whether I had made a miscalculation. White could  try the same structure as the game but with Queens still on the board. This is  what I expected} (15. bxc3 Bxf6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Bxb7 Rab8 18. Rb1 Qxa2 19.  Ra1 Qc4 20. Ba6 (20. Rxa7 $2 Qc7 21. Rb1 Ne4 $17) 20... Qc5 {but Black is  still better.}) 15... Qxc3 {I almost played} (15... Qxg5 16. fxg7 Rac8 17. Qb3  b6 {but this is nowhere near as good as the game continuation.}) 16. bxc3 Bxf6  {The Black Knight will prove to be superior to the White Bishop.} 17. Bxf6 Nxf6  18. Bxb7 {David had believed that he would be OK from here, but that was not  the case.} Rab8 19. Rb1 Kf8 20. c4 Nd7 21. Bc6 Red8 $1 22. Rxb8 {I could  already envisage my Knight on c5, Rook on c7, followed by the targeting of c4  and c2. After the game David wished that he had tried the Rook ending with} (  22. Bxd7 Rxb1 23. Rxb1 Rxd7 24. Rb8+ Kg7 {but I would have been equally happy  with this.}) 22... Nxb8 23. Ba4 Na6 24. Rb1 Nc5 25. Bc6 Rc8 26. Bf3 Rc7 27.  Rb8+ Kg7 {and I already had the notion of an outrageous robbery being carried  out by my King.} 28. Ra8 $2 {Far too passive. But} (28. Rb5 Kf6 29. Kf1 Ke5 30.  c3 f5 31. Ke2 Kf6 32. g3 Na4 33. Kd3 Nb6 34. Rb4 e5 35. Bd1 Nd7 {illustrates  White's difficulties.}) 28... Kf6 29. Kf1 Ke5 30. Ke1 Kd4 31. Kd2 Kxc4 {Having  carried out this remarkable theft I determined to run back as quickly as  possible to g7.} 32. Rb8 Kd4 33. Rf8 e6 34. Rb8 Ke5 35. Rb4 Kf6 36. Rh4 {  Really?} Kg7 {The time control has been reached. White now had 22 minutes to  complete the game and Black 30 minutes.} 37. c4 $2 {The White Rook is in  danger of being trapped now.} (37. Rd4 Rd7 38. Ke3 Kf8 {and the game continues.  }) 37... e5 38. Bd5 f5 39. g4 {By way of illustration} (39. f4 e4 40. g4 h6 41.  gxf5 gxf5 {and the White Rook seems to be incarcerated.}) 39... g5 $2 {Worth a  question mark, as I fail to see the correct way to embarrass the White Rook.  It also nearly costs the full point. Fritz points out} (39... f4 40. g5 Rc8 41.  Rg4 Rb8 42. Kc2 Na4 43. f3 Rb2+ 44. Kd3 Rxa2 45. Rg1 Rh2 {with advantage.}) 40.  Rh5 Kg6 41. h4 h6 42. hxg5 hxg5 43. f3 $2 ({White must remain active to have  any hope of survival.} 43. Rh8 {Instead} Ne4+ (43... fxg4 $4 {and I believed  White could draw.} 44. Rg8+ $11 Kf6 (44... Rg7 45. Rd8 Rd7 46. Rg8+ Kf5 47.  Rf8+ Kg6 48. Rg8+ Kh5) 45. Rf8+ Kg7 46. Rg8+ Kh6 47. Ke3 Rg7 48. Rh8+ Kg6 49.  Rd8) 44. Bxe4 fxe4 45. Rd8 Rc6 46. Ke3 Kf6 {sees a Rook ending that White  might hold.}) 43... fxg4 44. fxg4 Rh7 {The Rooks come off and Black's  prospects look very promising.} 45. Rxh7 Kxh7 46. Ke3 Kg6 {The Black King sets  off to attack the White pawn on a2.} 47. Bc6 Kf6 48. Bd5 Ke7 49. Bc6 Kd8 50.  Kd2 Kc7 51. Bd5 Kb6 52. Kc3 Ka5 53. Kb2 Nd3+ 54. Kc3 {If} (54. Kb3 Kb6 55. Kc3  Nf2 56. Bf3 e4 57. Be2 Kc5) 54... Nb4 55. Be6 Ka4 56. Kb2 {White could try  active defence with} (56. c5 dxc5 57. Kc4 e4 58. Kxc5 e3 59. Bc4 Nc2 60. Kd5  Kb4 61. Bf1 {but after} Ka3 62. Bc4 a5 63. Ke4 a4 64. Kf3 Kb2 65. Ke2 a3 66.  Bd3 Nb4 {the Knight triumphs over the Bishop.}) 56... Na6 57. Kc3 {There are  plenty of alternatives for White but there should only be one result.} (57.  Bd7+ Kb4 58. Be6 Nc7 59. Bf7 a5 60. a3+ Kc5 ({A good illustration of why it is  worth carrying on in 'lost' positions would be} 60... Ka4 $4 61. Bg6 {  hilarious,}) 61. Kc3 e4 62. Bg8 d5 63. cxd5 Nxd5+) 57... Nc5 58. Bg8 Ka3 59.  Bf7 a5 60. Bg6 Kxa2 {The Black King is without doubt 'man of the match'.} 61.  Bc2 Ka3 62. Bb1 {Nothing can save White.} (62. Bg6 a4 63. Be8 Ne4+ 64. Kd3 Nf2+  65. Kc3 Nxg4 {winning.}) 62... Na4+ 63. Kd3 Kb2 64. Bc2 Nc5+ 65. Kd2 a4 66.  Bxa4 Nxa4 0-1

In my final post of this series tomorrow I’ll be launching a poll for readers to choose their favorite game from a shortlist of 5 games selected by me.

‘Games of the Decade’: Part 2

Anniversarys No Responses »

Jan 122020

Maybe the craziest position of the decade? This is from Syrett vs. Webster. White just played 7.Kh1. Find out how this happened and what came next in the game viewer at the end of this post.

Today’s post covers five more games from the archive that made my ‘long list’ for Hebden Bridge’s ‘Game of the Decade’. Interestingly, all five of today’s games were played in 2014. It seems that this was a vintage year for interesting and exciting chess games in the Calder valley. Was it something in the water I wonder? Who knows?
As with Friday’s post, I’m going to give a short description of each game and why I selected it plus, at the end of the post, all the games are published with some notes.

5. Dickinson vs. Corbett, Calderdale League 2, 17th of February, 2014

The 17th of February, 2014 should be memorialised in our collective psyches in the same way that the dates of some of England’s most famous battlefield triumphs are memorialised. Why? Well, the date marks what amounts to the most improbable, unlikely and surprising match result ever in the Calderdale League. That’s not hyperbole. The occasion in question was our Hebden Bridge ‘D’ junior team, without a win to their names approaching the end of the season and rooted to the foot of the table, hosting Belgrave ‘B’ who were top of Division 2 and undefeated. No one expected anything other than a rout for the hugely out-gunned home side and yet the juniors triumphed 3 – 2.

This game from board 2 was my pick of three startling wins by our juniors but I should also mention that Dan Crampton beat Gordon Farrar and Dylan Leggett defeated Angel Gonzalez (both excellent wins) in a blood bath where all five games were decisive. I felt compelled to pick one game from this match and I chose this one primarily because of the dramatic turning of the tables at the end. Karl Dickinson was being comprehensively dismantled by Malcolm Corbett whose main problem appeared to be choosing between the different ways to win the game. In the end the one he chose back fired horribly and Karl found the narrow path he needed to tread to force victory. The only shame is that he missed a very beautiful checkmate right at the end which would have crowned his startling achievement. But this game is certainly the most memorable giant-killing of the past decade.

6. Shapland vs. Leatherbarrow, Calderdale Individual Ch. – Round 5, 10th of March, 2014

Let’s get this one out of the way as it’s one of mine! Generous colleagues suggested a few of my own games as candidates but not this one. However, when I weighed them all up, I felt this game was the most special and I remember a lot of the kibitzers after the game remarking on how interesting it was. It’s hard to disagree, this is a most unusual game. It should also be said that Andy played a full part it too, competing with creativity and bravery in a game that was ultimately a bit of a dead rubber for both of us as neither of us could challenge for the Championship in the final round.

The game develops out of a Scandinavian Defence and, in a moment of improvisation, I decided to play on both sides of the board rather than in the centre. This makes for a very unusual and chaotic position but somehow, I always felt that I managed to maintain the initiative. This is one of those games with a dizzying complex of variations some of which the players considered and calculated and others that were unearthed with the help of an engine afterwards. I’m relatively satisfied however, that both of us played the game well enough for it to be on this list and as your archivist, I have to permitted one indulgence surely?!

7. Syrett vs. Webster, Calderdale League 1, 14th of April, 2014

Another game made memorable by its total mayhem. I seem to recall that I was playing in another match at the Trades Club on the night in question, took an early walk to see what was happening on the other boards and nearly fell over with surprise when I saw this one. By the time Martin had played his seventh move he was missing his f, g and h-pawns and Tom had a pawn on h2 that the White king was taking shelter behind. On move 7 mark you!

That this position is reasonably well known in King’s Gambit theory is bye the bye, there aren’t many players that would agree to reach this position in a serious game. If White has the audacity to play the King’s Gambit, generally Black players will try to spoil his fun in some way by declining it or playing the Falkbeer Counter Gambit. Here though we have a full-blooded King’s Gambit Accepted – a rare jewel that both Martin and Tom immerse themselves in to the full.

To be fair, this game is rather one-sided after Tom makes a couple of mistakes early on. It gallops on in a similar vein with some striking moments along the way before Martin finally finds a route through to Tom’s king. This game can be torn to shreds under the scrutiny of an engine, but that’s rather missing the point. It’s pure entertainment from start to finish.

8. A.Bak vs. Eagleton, Calderdale League 1, 22nd of September, 2014

I was keen to have a feisty draw on the long list, and this is one of the feistiest I can remember. It’s more chaos and complexity but is different from the previous two games in that this one is rather more theoretical in nature as the platform for it is one of the most heavily analysed branches of the Najdorf Sicilian, the infamous Poisoned Pawn variation.

The game develops much as you’d expect it to with Black collecting White’s b2 pawn at the cost of giving his opponent a serious development advantage. With his queen getting kicked around, Greg fights to find ways to simplify the position whilst Andy strives to keep pieces on and open lines towards the Black king.

I remember both players got into serious time trouble in this game, which is no surprise when you consider the level of complexity they were dealing with. However, neither man backs down and both play some creative and resourceful chess. Later in the game Greg plays an inaccuracy that hands Andy the advantage but he in turn fails to find the most effective way to prosecute his attack and the game hurtles on.

At the end, realizing that both their flags had fallen and not knowing who’s had dropped first, the exhausted fighters agreed to a draw. A game full of fight and commitment.

9. Sykes vs. Clegg, Calderdale League 1, 6th of October, 2014

‘And now’, as Monty Python famously said, ‘for something completely different! Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of excitement to enjoy here, but this is a silky smooth and predominantly positional win from Nick where all the tactics fall into place for him behind his single-minded strategy. It’s a classic win against Robert’s King’s Indian Defence with White attacking on the queen’s side and trying to break through before Black can get to his king.

The fact that the result never seems to be in doubt should not disguise the fact that Robert played quite well himself in this game, it’s just that Nick played pretty much perfectly to best him. At the end White is just a pawn up but the position is completely winning.

A really fine effort from both players which bestows even more kudos on the winner.

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Celebrating Hebden Bridge’s ‘Games of the Decade’: Part 1

Anniversarys 7 Responses »

Jan 102020

It’s traditional to celebrate special occasions with a display of fireworks. As this website celebrates its tenth anniversary and marks the and of the 21st century’s teenage years, we have a fireworks display of our very own. 14 of the best and most exciting games played by Hebden Bridge players or in Hebden Bridge over the last ten years. Photo: Robert Hensley

Dear reader,

As the calendar flips inevitably over to the beginning of another new year the natural tendency of many writers, historians, commentators, journalists, philosophers, TV presenters, sociologists, pundits and yes, even chess players, is to turn back to reflect on the events of the previous year to try an identify the important moments of interest for them. As 2019 ended and we entered a new decade, we had even greater cause to reflect than usual.

Now then seems an appropriate time for us to think back over the last ten years of recording chess events in Calderdale and of course Hebden Bridge in particular. This little website started life just over ten years ago itself. The 10th of September, 2009 was the date of the first post to be exact. I initially set it up as a personal chess blog but quickly moved it on to become a website for the chess club, reporting on the matches and exploits of our players and our friends and rivals participating in Calderdale chess.

Recently I was trying to think of a suitable way to celebrate reaching such a landmark anniversary. I don’t know how many posts there are on this website or how many games I’ve published here, but I’ve invested an enormous amount of time into documenting our club’s activity, recording our successes and failures, greeting our new members and remembering some who are no longer with us. I felt like I ought to do something to celebrate.

It was then that it struck me that the website’s 10th anniversary and the passing of the present decade might enable me to run something like a ‘Best Games’ poll to enable us to enjoy again some of the most accurate, complicated, tense, stressful, beautiful, competitive and entertaining games from the first ten years of this website’s existence.
Making that decision was the easy part. I then had the dilemma of deciding which games to select and trying to figure out which deserved a place in the pantheon of the ‘greatest’ of the past ten years. When I reflect on my own games from that time there have been so many memorable and interesting battles that I could probably make a very long list of my own efforts quite easily. It was going to be too hard a task to compile a list of candidate games on my own. So, I reached out to club colleagues from the past ten years and some of the strongest players from other clubs in Calderdale to ask for suggestions.

I expected a few suggestions primarily from current team-mates and a few players who I see regularly. What I got was an unexpectedly enthusiastic response, both to the concept of a ‘Games of the Decade’ list and also contributions suggesting games for the list. In fact, I got so many suggestions that I realised I would quickly have to set out some entry criteria to help me home in on a longlist to present to you. Here are those criteria:

First of all I decided that all the games on the list must include at least one Hebden Bridge Chess Club combatant and have been played in a Calderdale Evening Chess League competition or have been played in by two non-club members in Hebden Bridge under the auspices of the club, for example in the Calderdale Individual Championship.
Secondly, after some agonising, I decided that I would only allow individuals to appear in the list once as a game winner, meaning they could only feature in a second or third game if they were on the losing side. This criteria has enabled me to showcase the best endeavors of a pretty broad range of players, some of whom are no longer active in the league.
Finally, I would only allow games that had been played between 2009 and the present day.

Using those guidelines, I was able to whittle down the list of candidates I had received, but I still had rather a lot, and, in some cases, players were appearing in multiple games. The next job then was to go through the games again myself, often having to decide which of a number of candidate games suggested for a particular player were my favorites. I use the word ‘favorite’ very specifically because I didn’t really feel that I could be the sole arbiter for the ‘best game’.

And that brings me to the final dilemma. After much soul searching and contemplation, I have created what still amounts to a longlist of 14 of my favorite games that I’d like to celebrate again with you. There’s that word ‘favorite’ again. I’ve used it because I think this will ultimately be more of a popularity contest than a judgment of quality. If we were only aiming to seek out the best on the basis of the ‘most accurately played’ game, then we’d probably end up selecting a contest between two of the strongest players in league that ends up as a draw with some relatively hard to understand strategic manoeuvring along the way.

My list of 14 still has plenty of games played by the strongest players in the league, but we’ve also got a few games that are not, and they deserve their place on this list in my opinion. Some games are extraordinarily complicated and that usually means that the accuracy levels go down and the number of mistakes (at least from a chess engine’s perspective) go up. Others are memorable because they involve high stakes or high drama and were played under the greatest competitive pressure. Others still are on the list for aesthetic reasons because there is something strikingly beautiful about them. There are also some games that are outstanding for technical reasons and that can therefore be considered as instructive. What they all are, I hope, is entertaining.

I’ll present all 14 games over the course of three posts and then in a fourth post I’ll give you my shortlist of five games and present a poll to ask readers to choose their favorite which will be crowned ‘game of the decade’. You can do so on any or all of the grounds given above. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ to everyone who took the time to reflect on their games and the games of others and send me their suggestions. Every game was considered but ultimately this initial long list is my own selection so I apologise if my opinion doesn’t reflect your own.

Without further ado then, let’s rip the lid gleefully off pandora’s box and take a look at our first four games as we progress through the list in chronological order.

Game 1: D.Firth vs. D.Wedge, Calderdale Team Knockout Competition, 13th July, 2009

This first game actually predates the website but it fits the entry criteria and I was keen to have an example of Dave Wedge’s play in the list as he was, without doubt, the strongest player at the club at the turn of the decade. Here, Dave faces Huddersfield’s top board of the day who plays the most aggressive and uncompromising set up against the Modern Benoni. Dave knows how to handle this and sets about neutralising White’s attack before going on the counter offensive. His opponent continues to hit out and go for the kill as the position opens up and becomes very complicated.

I’m guessing that the end of this game was played in mutual time pressure as both players miss chances that I’d have expected them to spot with time in hand. However, aside from a moment at the very end when Dave allowed his opponent a gilt-edged chance to steal the game that was in turn overlooked, this was a typically fearless win for Dave in fine counter attacking style.

Game 2: Breen vs. Parsons, Calderdale League 1, 29th November, 2010

Matthew has been one of the dominant players in the Calderdale League for much of the last ten years. That being the case it was no surprise to find that there were a significant number of his games that could easily have made it into this collection. There were several that made my ‘Parsons shortlist’, but in the end I picked this one as my personal favorite because the sacrificial idea that swings the game is, in my opinion, quite hard to concieve.

Using one of his favorite weapons with Black, the Sniper, Matthew plays ambitiously and creates a very double-edged position against Dennis Breen of Brghouse. The critical moment comes at move 15 when Matthew invites Dennis to invade on the queen’s side with his knight via b5 to c7 in order to give himself the time to launch a king’s side attack from what seems an unlikely position. Even the chess engines take quite a long time to figure out that this approach is viable. Dennis misses what amount to a couple of pretty difficult chances to improve his play and Matthew sweeps him aside. I find this to be a highly creative and powerful performance.

Game 3: Webb vs. Ursal, Calderdale League 1, 8th October, 2012

Two of the strongest players in the league at the time go toe to toe in this slugfest. Matty Webb opts for the offbeat Mengarini Variation (2.a3!?) against Darwin Ursal’s Sicilian Defence. He’s hoping to confuse Darwin with such an unusual variation and, early in the game, the strategy appears to be paying off as the game develops down an unorthodox route. Darwin weathers the early storm however and, when Matty goes astray he takes his chance to initiate a ferocious counter-attack that quickly lands him the full point.

The engine assessment will tell you there were a number of better moves available to the combatants in this game, but, as Matty says in his game commentary, ‘your opponent is NOT a perfect calculating machine, you should try to line up as many problems and lines to analyse as possible to allow them to go wrong!’ Unfortunately for him, in this encounter it was Darwin who calculated more accurately.

This was a heavy weight encounter with lots of interesting ideas in it and it also has Darwin’s finger prints all over it. He often sails quite close to the wind in his games, but he often ends up coming out on top even from seemingly desperate situations.

Game 4: Leonard vs. Sugden, Calderdale Individual Ch. Round 4, 2nd November, 2013

A good king hunt is always a pleasure to witness and this game made my list primarily because of the stylish way Pete concludes it. The game builds quite slowly to begin with as Pete deploys his favourite Bishop’s Opening against 1…e5 and Dave responds with a critical set up for Black. Pete proceeds to use strategic ideas commonly seen in the Ruy Lopez to initiate a dangerous king’s side assault and Dave is unable to find the antidote.

At the end Pete finds some attractive tactics to draw Dave’s king out of his lair and then hunts him across the board to check mate him. That Pete was able to find these ideas in the pressurised situation of the fourth round of the Calderdale Individual Championship is all-the-more impressive. This game made a big impression on me at the time and it was a pleasure to re-discover it again as I researched games for this poll.

You’ll find all four of the games mentioned above in the game viewer below with notes by the combatants (mostly). I hope you will enjoy these and the subsequent games to come in two further posts.

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A Dragon for Saint George

Intermezzo's Game Archive No Responses »

Apr 242012

Yesterday was an auspiscious day for Dragons - Saint George's day in the Chinese year of the Dragon. This image was sourced from Frank Wuestefeld's Flickr photostream

For the last two years this site has made a point of celebrating the advent of the national day of our patron Saint with a game from my Sicilian Dragon archive. Yesterday was the 23rd of April and so we will once again acclaim Saint George with a dragon!

Of course 2012-13 is the Chinese year of the Dragon and so it seemed appropriate to recognise this with today’s image choice. There is also a line dubbed the “Chinese Dragon” in the opening variation. Indeed it is mentioned in the notes to today’s game.

Readers will find that the game below includes extensive notes and aims to cover some of the strategic ideas behind the opening as well as the tactical themes that recur all too often. It has been my aim to try and provide some basic coverage of the ideas to those who may wish to start playing the mainline of this opening with White or Black. However, if you just want to play through a lively game with plenty of tactical cut and thrust then I don’t think this game will disappoint you.

It occured to me that, between the two previous articles and this new annotated game, there must now be a fair amount of theoretical ground covered. So, for ease of reference, here are the links to the two previous items should you chose to delve deeper into this complex but rewarding opening variation. I’ve updated both articles with the Chesstempo game viewer so that the games can be downloaded as well as enjoyed on the page.

Dragon Day – 24/04/2010
Come On and Do the Conga – 23/04/2011

These first two games both featured White wins (well Saint George did kill the Dragon after all!) but in todays effort Black manages to hold a draw in a complicated battle.

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Learn French Idiot!

Anniversarys, Chess History, Duchess of Blunderboro, Humour No Responses »

Feb 152012

Continuing with the recent anniversary theme, today we acknowledge a recent significant birthday for one of the game’s true titans.

The 10th Chess World Champion, Boris Spassky celebrated his 75th birthday on the 30th of January. I’m not going to regurgitate his wonderous achievements or indulge in any sentimental recollections about the ‘good old days’ here – well, not much anyway! There are plenty of folks out there better qualified to do that than I. Chessbase being just one example.

Boris was disappointed to see that, once again, his wife had ordered a chessboard-shaped birthday cake with pieces for candles

What I will say is that I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Spassky and my feelings were reinforced when I saw the recent celluloid about Bobby Fischer. It seemed to me that Fischer was able to complete his match with Spassky in ’72 due in no small part to the Russian’s patience, generosity and sportsmanship. Spassky wanted to play that match and he put up with Fischer’s shenanigans despite the fact that they undoubtedly had an adverse effect on his psychological equilibrium and therefore his playing standard.

I could re-publish any number of Spassky’s great masterpieces. The one against Bronstein (Leningrad 1960) or the one against Larsen (Belgrade 1970) are the ones that most readily spring to mind and get trotted out whenever his masterpieces are considered. However, I’ll resist the temptation in order to bring you a less prominent encounter that may have escaped your attention.

Spassky’s 16th move of the first game in viewer at the bottom of this post was adjudged by Tim KrabbÃ© to be the most fantastic of all “The 110 Most Fantastic Moves Ever Played” back in 1998. The game was played in the 1959 Russian Championship play-off in which Spassky and his opponent, Yuri Averbakh were competing with Mark Taimanov. I’ve put the whole game into the viewer but move 16 is the point at which Spassky (playing Black), after sadly reflecting on the misery of his situation, decided that 16…Nc6! was required. On his website KrabbÃ© annotates this move as follows:

About his #1 greatest move, Spassky wrote to me: I have played 16…Nc6 because I did not see any other practical resources because my position was so passive. I was very surprised that Yuri Averbakh was thinking about 1 hour (!!) (55 min.) I considered that after 17.dxc6 bxc6 18.h6! Bh8 White would have two pieces up and they could manage the win very easy. Mark Taimanov: “I would rather resign the game than to make such a move…

It would be greatly amiss of me not to add that Spassky’s opponent in this game, Yuri Averbakh, was 90 on the 6th of February! I believe he is currently the oldest living Grandmaster. Chessbase also has a nice tribute and interview with him on their website.

To end this appreciation I would like to set straight a record that was recently made public by Vladimir Kramnik. I was listening to the Full English Breakfast podcast last week in which Macauley Peterson interviewed Vlad right after his win in the London Chess Classic. At one point in the interview Kramnik was talking about living in Paris (were Spassky also resides) and the fact that he hadn’t yet learnt French. He recounted thisanecdote about his illustrious countryman.

He’s been living in France since ’73 or’74 and actually his French is still not great. Once I visited him at his place and he had a big sign on the door of his bureau cabinet in Russian which was saying ‘Learn French idiot!’
— Vladimir Kramnik interviewed by Macauley Peterson for the FEB

Readers may think nothing of this apparently amusing story but, in yet another exclusive for this website, I can now reveal the true and rather more poignant origin of that handwritten note. At the beginning of last week I was alerted to the Kramnik interview by our erstwhile guest columnist, Lady Cynthia Blunderboro, who sent me this e-mail.

Dear Intermezzo,
Perhaps you will have come across the recent interview of Vladimir Kramnik by the chaps at the Full English Breakfast. In it he mentions a note stuck to Boris Spassky’s bureau cabinet that he naively assumes must have been written by Spassky himself and refers to his failure to learn the language of his nation of residence.
Setting the record straight, Lady Cynthia Blunderboro
I say “naïve” because Kramnik clearer failed to consider some plain facts which point to the true origin and nature of the note, which I should add, I witnessed being written with my own eyes.
First of all, the note is, as I mentioned above, handwritten and if Kramnik had given it any more than a perfunctory glance he could not have failed to notice that the handwriting was not Spassky’s. Secondly, if he had taken a further moment to inspect the note he wouldn’t have missed the familiar size and stock of the paper which is clearly a score sheet from a chess game. Finally, if he had been minded to consider a potential alternate meaning for the three words in the note he might have deduced that the word “French” could in fact refer to the chess opening of that name and not the language.
The tragic truth behind that note must cause poor Spassky to suffer a pang of anguish every time he reads it. In 1977 he had qualified to play in the final Candidates Match of the World Championship cycle against Viktor Korchnoi, for the right to play Karpov. The match was played in Belgrade just a year after Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union. The bad blood between Viktor and the Soviet bureaucracy was just beginning. In fact some of the antics and psychological chicanery that distinguished the subsequent World title matches between Karpov and Korchnoi originated from the acrimonious dÃ©nouement of this Belgrade encounter.
The match started very badly for Boris who went five games behind. The main instrument of his agonies was Korchnoi’s use of the French Defence which Spassky for some reason found very challenging to overcome. In seven games across the match where Korchnoi played the French Spassky managed a score of only +1, =2, -4. Desperate for a break, in game 10 Spassky suddenly decided to consider his moves in his designated “relaxation box”, using a large demonstration board to analyze his moves. He would only go to the board to play his moves, record them and press the clock and then return to his box. This tactic drew a protest from Korchnoi, but he was clearly unnerved and Spassky fought his way back almost to equality in the match winning games 11, 12, 13 and 14 by which time Korchnoi had begun mimicing Spassky’s behaviour to no avail.
Belgrade 1977. Spassky is the one in the sun visor!
The match descended into farce and relations between the two men had become very poor. By the time they played the 17th game Spassky had returned to consider his moves at the board but had taken to wearing a silver sun visor and sunglassed underneath a pair of goggles. He lost that game (probably because he couldn’t see properly!) and Korchnoi now needed only one more point to win the match. Fittingly, in game 18 (the second game in the viewer at the bottom of this post) Korchnoi deployed the French once more and Spassky tried the Advance Variation.
I was lucky enough to be sitting in the front row of the auditorium when this game was played and I can assure you the atmosphere was very tense indeed. Eventually Korchnoi overcame his opponent and when the formality of swapping and signing each other’s score sheets arrived I noticed Korchnoi turn his sheet over and scribble something on the back of it before passing it to Spassky. I saw that Boris took a look at the note and immediately turned pale with anger before leaving the stage humiliated.
Later on that evening, at a party held in honour of Korchnoi’s success, I got the opportunity to ask Viktor what he had written on that score sheet that had obviously distressed Spassky so deeply. Korchnoi chortled and said,
“Learn French idiot!”
I hope that this e-mail will go some way to redressing the inaccuracy of Kramnik’s statement which was in no way intentional on his part. How could he have known that this note of admonition was in fact a spur to drive Spassky’s opening studies and not his linguistic deficiency?
See you soon,
Cynthia

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Come on and do the conga!

Intermezzo's Game Archive No Responses »

Apr 232011

Today is St.George’s Day and so it only seems right that this blog celebrate the occasion by offering up a Dragon to be slain! Of course I’m talking about the chess variation rather than the mythical beast itself. I count myself as something of a Sicilian Dragon aficionado and have played the opening numerous times with both sets of pieces. In the game I’m presenting for examination today I was playing with White in an online correspondence tournament in which all games played had to be Dragons. My opponent chose to play a line called the Soltis Variation (it’s named after the American GM who is credited with introducing it into high level chess) and things got very interesting there after. In fact this game also features the only occurance I think I’ve ever come across in a genuine game where one player has ended up with quadrupled pawns so, to me, it is something of a collectors item.

The Soltis variation (characterised by 11…h5) is reputable and very sound. Recommendations don’t come any higher than that of ex-World Champion Garry Kasparov who, in his title match against Viswanathan Anand in 1995, chose to defend this line of the Dragon after a series of set-backs with his beloved Najdorf variation. I can remember the shock waves this switch caused amongst commentators at the time of the match. It was a huge change in strategy from Kasparov but, as always with him, it was a practical decision and it worked. Anand was caught off guard, lost in the first game that the Soltis was played and the momentum of the match changed decisively.

I hope readers will enjoy this little sojourn into Dragon theory…

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Dragon Day

Intermezzo's Game Archive 2 Responses »

Apr 242010

Could there ever be a better excuse for me to post a Sicilian Dragon game than to celebrate yesterday — St George’s day? As patron saint of England, (and also of various other nation including Georgia I believe) St George has a special place in the heart of every Englishman. However, if you mention St George and the Dragon to a chess player their mind will also turn to the well-known variation of the Sicilian Defence. The Dragon is notorious for being a double-edged and tactically complex variation which has been analysed in great depth, sometimes to the point where it was in danger of extinction. However, Dragon enthusiasts are die-hards who love their pet and fight courageously to protect it.

My own history with the opening goes right back to point when I first started to learn the rules and play of the game. I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for myths and legends and so as soon as my tutor told me that there was an opening called the Dragon I knew it would end up in my repertoire. I learned the line, played it over the board when I could and, occasionally, I would cheer from the sidelines when the opening made an appearance at the very top flight of Grand Master chess — most illustriously when Kasparov used it to great effect in his World Championship match with Anand in 1996. (I wonder if Topalov will give it a shot in his match with Anand which starts today?)

My understanding and appreciation of the Dragon stepped up to another level when I started to use it in correspondence chess on the Red Hot Pawn web site. To play this opening in correspondence requires a much deeper familiarity with the myriad variations than playing it over the board. I’ve entered several “Dragon Thematics” online and in the later stages of these competitions the level of play is extremely high, much too high for me, but I’ve learned a lot by playing in them.

This Dragon loving is all very well but yesterday was St George’s day so I can’t possibly publish a win for black. Instead, much as it pains me to do so, I will give you an interesting win for white. Playing in thematic tournaments means playing against each opponent with both colours and so even the most ardent Dragon funs must face, and try to defeat, their own beloved favourite. To begin with this feels a little bit odd but once you have grasped the opportunity to play the lines that you find most uncomfortable facing with the black pieces it becomes a great deal of fun. I hope readers will enjoy today’s excursion into the wonderful and crazy world of the Dragon.

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