B&H 4 draw with Args.

The fourth team managed to keep their second division hopes alive last night by holding the Args. to a dramatic draw in spite of an overwhelming grading difference. Anthony (135) drew with Peter Farr (179) on top board and Kevin (117) beat Jim Graham (156) on board three. Joe and Arthur on boards two and four were also out-graded by nearly 40 points. We're now in a three-way fight to avoid relegation with two home matches still to go.

[Event "MSL Argumentatives v BHCC 4th"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.03.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Gee, Kevin"]
[Black "Graham, Jim"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]
[EventDate "2019.03.27"]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.c3 Qc7 7.h3 ( { Hiarc's opening book suggests } 7.Nbd2 ) 7...Bh5 8.O-O e6 9.Bg5 Be7 10.Bxe7 Ngxe7 11.Nbd2 Bg6 12.Bb5 O-O 13.Nh4 a6 14.Ba4 b5 15.Nxg6 hxg6 16.Bc2 Rfc8 17.Nb3 b4 18.Nc5 bxc3 19.bxc3 Na5 20.Qe2 Nb7 21.Na4 Nc6 22.Rab1 Ra7 23.Bd3 Qa5 24.Nb6 { At first glance this dangerous for the Knight, but it also looked interesting and gives my opponent something to think about. Besides I was a getting low on clock time and I couldn't see myself fighting to defend c3 for ages.

Update: I'm pleased to say the a quick look with the computer seems to agree with me, givng this variation +0.17 compared with about -0.7 for Bc2. } 24...Rc7 { I was surprised when Black played Ra7 earlier, and now vacating the back rank with the other rook seemed a mistake. I had noticed earlier that if my opponents KIng was forced to h7 the Bishops pin of g3 woud allow Qh5, but that couldn't happen ... could it? } 25.Rfc1 Nd6 26.f3 Rcb7 { Things are getting a bit desparare for white, but I hatched a possibly crazy plan that might save the day with a fork on c5 } 27.c4 Nxd4 28.Qe5 Qc5 { threatening a very nasty double-check } 29.Kh1 { low on time, this seemed prudent, what else? } ( 29.cxd5 Nxf3+ 30.Kf1 Qxc1+ 31.Qe1 Qxe1+ 32.Rxe1 Nxe1 33.Kxe1 Rxb6 ) 29...Rxb6 30.Rxb6 Qxb6 31.c5 Qb2 { low on time, just in time I saw Rb1 give me chances } 32.Rb1 Qc3 { I can't believe my luck :-) } ( { Black should have played } 32...Qd2 { allowing the queen to block on h6 , e.g. } 33.Rb8+ Kh7 34.Qh5+ Qh6 ) 33.Rb8+ Kh7 34.Qh5# 1-0

(This works if you paste the whole thing into an engine.)

Brighton and Hove win Knock Out final

A grading difference of 62 meant we needed 2½ to win the match (a drawn outcome is not possible in the KO, any more than unfinished games). Knock out matches usually go to the stronger team, in spite of the grading handicap - this year's results bear this out with only one upset in seven games. So 62 grading points - we were expecting more - was still enough to wipe us out. Most of the difference was on board one where Callum took on Feliks as black with a board difference of 43. Feliks was already struggling and two pawns down when the snatch of a particularly poisoned pawn led him into a trap and his queen was cornered. Robin narrowly lost a tricky and time-pressured ending on board two with a 20 point difference. Paul S. drew on board three, Michael H. lost on four and Jan won on five. We had 2½. A great result for Callum who is fast becoming one of our strongest players.

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[Event "KO Final"]
[Site "BHCC"]
[Date "14.5.15."]
[Round ""]
[White "Feliks Kwiatkowski"]
[Black "Callum Brewer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "209"]
[BlackELO "166"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Bc4 Ngf6 6. Ng5 e6 7. Qe2 Nb6 8.
Bd3 Be7 9. N1f3 O-O 10. O-O h6 11. Ne4 Nbd5 12. Nxf6+ Nxf6 13. c3 b6 14. Bf4
Bb7 15. Rad1 Qc8 16. c4 Rd8 17. Bb1 Ba6 18. b3 c5 19. Be5 cxd4 20. Nxd4 Qc5
21. Rfe1 Rac8 22. Qc2 g6 23. a4 Bb7 24. f3 Rd7 25. Kh1 Rcd8 26. Bxf6 Bxf6 27.
Nb5 Qe5 28. Rf1 Rxd1 29. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 30. Qxd1 a6 31. Na3 Qb2 32. Nc2 Qxb3 33.
Qf1 Bc6 34. h3 Bxa4 35. Kh2 Bc6 36. Qc1 Qxc4 37. Qxh6 Be5+ 38. Kg1 Bf4 0-1

Congratulations and thanks to everyone who's played in the KO this year. As well as last night's team that's Michael C., Terry, Rob, Mustapha and Seb (and me).

*    *    *    *    *

PS The results posted below from the MSCL website use last year's grades which makes the grading difference 74 (with 49 on board one), whereas the results form is preset using the January grades. Rule changes to clarify this are apparently being sought at the MSCL AGM.

14 May		Brighton				Haywards_Heath
1	163	Brewer, Callum D	1	-	0	Kwiatkowski, Feliks J	212
2	163	Jones, Robin A	0	-	1	Boardman, Jeffrey	180
3	161	Selby, Paul R	½	-	½	Cole, Vivian J	169
4	152	Hamilton, Michael J	0	-	1	Faulkner, Martin J	161
5	129	Ten Sythoff, Jan	1	-	0	Fitzgerald, Neil A	120
grade diff:	-74		2.5		2.5
		Required to win:	2.5		3

Michael's draw with a grandmaster in a simul

In May 2013 Ray Keene gave a ten board simul at the Hove Club in Fourth Avenue. He won eight of these games while Sue Chadwick and Michael Cain did well to obtain draws.

Ray won the British Championship in 1971 and represented England in eight olympiads. He gained the title of grandmaster in 1976 and in 1985 was made an OBE for services to chess. He also has a strong Brighton connection and is an honorary member of our club. To date he is the only grandmaster ever to have represented the club in matches. He organised the Brighton international tournaments from 1979 to 1985 and the publicity from this may have helped our club when we were trying to stay at our premises in Pavilion Buildings. Ray has been chess correspondent of The Times since 1985 and has written over a hundred books. He is also an exceptional organiser and was involved in the organisation of the 1986, 1993 and 2000 World Championships.

I know from playing Ray on a few occasions when I was a young player that he has a highly original, hypermodern style which is difficult to cope with.

I enclose the score of his game against Michael Cain in the above-mentioned simul. Ray would of course have been under pressure to move almost immediately and it would have been difficult to calculate anything complicated. On the other hand this is another example of Michael reserving his best chess for these occasions:

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[Event "10 board simul in Hove"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "3.5.2013"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Raymond D Keene"]
[Black "Michael Cain"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ 4. Nc3 O-O 5. Bg5 d6 6. Qc2 Nbd7 7. e4 {This move does not seem to lead to any significant advantage for White. After 7 e3 b6 we have reached the position of the 7th game of the 2nd World Championship match between Kasparov and Karpov played at Moscow in 1985. 8 Bd3 gave White the better game.} e5 8.
d5{Black has a comfortable position after this move, though the alternatives 8 a3 and 8 dxe5 do not promise much for White.} Nc5 9. Nd2 Bxc3{9...a5 was an interesting alternative.} 10. bxc3 h6 11. Bh4 g5 12. Bg3 Nh5 13. Be2 Nf4 14. Bxf4
exf4{14...gxf4 would have given Black a more compact pawn structure. It might seem that such a move would have weakened the king position, but, if 15 g3 Qf6 16 Rg1 Kh8, and Black is quite safe.} 15. Nb3 b6{Black might have tried 15...Nxb3 16 axb3 f5, though 17 Bd3 would have been a little better for White.} 16. Nxc5{16 g4 was better preventing Black from playing f5 and planning h4 without having to worry about the reply g4.} bxc5 17. h4{A mistake which gives Black a definite advantage. 17 g4 could be met with Rb8. 17 h3 is safe and about equal.} g4 18. f3{This move does not seem to help White, but it would be difficult to suggest a good alternative.} f5{Over elaborate. Simply 18...g3 would have given Black a very good game. Now White can gain counterplay along the b1/h7 diagonal and also eventually down the e file.} 19. Bd3{Also to be considered is the complex variation 19 fxg4 fxg4 20 e5 Bf5 21 Bd3 Bxd3 22 Qxd3 Kg7 23 e6 f3! and if 24 g3 f2+ while 24 Qe4 can be met by h5 and if 25 0-0-0 (25 e7 Re8) Qf6. In these lines White must play very carefully and Black seems to have an advantage.} Qe7{Loses a tempo as Black moves the queen to the better square of f6 three moves later.} 20. O-O-O fxe4
21. Bxe4 Bd7{21...Rb8. Qf6 and g3 were all to be considered.} 22. Rde1 Qf6 23. h5{23 fxg4 Bxg4 with a small advantage for Black was also to be considered.} g3 24. Bg6 Rab8 25. Kd2{White naturally plays his king to a safe place. However, a critical line, which indicates that White's play down the e file balances the danger of Black's rooks down the b file, goes 25 Re2 Rb6 26 Bh7+ Kh8 27 Rhe1 Rfb8 28 Re7 Rb1+ 29 Qxb1 Rxb1+ 30 Kxb1 Qxc3 31 Bc2, which seems equal.} Rb6 26. Rb1 Bf5{A mistake which gives White a definite advantage. Black was better after 26...Rfb8.} 27.
Bxf5 Qxf5 28. Qxf5 Rxf5 29. Rxb6 cxb6 30. Kd3 Re5 31. Kd2{A mistake. 31 Rh4 would have given White a substantial advantage. After 31 Kd2 Black has the equalizing move 31...b5. 1/2-1/2

Geoffrey's excellent result in British Seniors

Geoffrey James recently came second in the British Seniors at Aberystwyth with 5.5 points out of 7. This was his highest score in the competition, though in 2009 he came first equal in the event with 5 points. Geoffrey is the club's longest serving member having first enlisted in about 1960. He is at present the club treasurer, but has also carried out the duties of secretary and match captain in the past. He has won the county championship seven times and the club championship a record seventeen times. He has also made over 400 appearances for Sussex, second only to John Cannon of Horsham in county history. Geoffrey has kindly supplied notes to his win in round 6 of the British Seniors:

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[Event "British Seniors at Aberystwyth"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "31.7.2014"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Geoffrey H James"]
[Black "Tom Bimpson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Be3 Qb6 5. Rb1 Ng4 6. Bg5 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. Bh4
Nd7 9. Be2 Qc7 10. h3 Ngf6 11. O-O Be7 12. a4 O-O 13. Qd2{13 b4 with a Q-side push might be stronger as in James v Har-Even Greece 2011} a6 14. Ra1 b6 15.
Bg3 Kh7 16. Nh4 g6 17. Kh1 Bb7 18. f4 b5 19. fxe5 dxe5 20. dxe5 Nxe5 21. Qf4
Nfd7 22. Bg4 Bg5{Stronger is 22...f5 23 exf5 g5 24 Qe4 c5 25 Nd5 Bxd5 26 Qxd5 gxh4 27 f6 Bxf6 with equality} 23. Qf2{If 23 Qxf7+ Rxf7 24 Rxf7+ Nxf7 25 Bxc7 Nf6 26 Nf3 Ng4 27 hxg4 and Black is O.K.} Nxg4 24. hxg4 Qb6 25. Nf3 Qxf2 26. Nxg5+ hxg5 27.
Rxf2 f6 28. Rd1 Rf7{28...Bc8 is forced.} 29. e5{The winning move} Nf8 30. Ne4 Ne6 31. Rd6 1-0

Resourceful play by Michael Cain

Ezra Kirk gave a simultaneous display at the club on 21st June and did not lose a single game. He took on eleven players and was held to a draw by Michael Cain and Arthur de Silver, but defeated everyone else. In the 2012-13 season he won against grandmasters Keith Arkell and Tony Kosten to establish himself as the highest rated player in the country for his age. More recently he has played little competitive chess as he has been taking several exams. He is already a FIDE master and plans to spend a year entering chess competitions to try to become an international master before going to university. We wish him the best of luck in his quest, though he probably has the potential to become not just an international master but also a grandmaster. I enclose the score of Ezra's game against Michael Cain in the recent simul. It is very difficult playing eleven players at the same time particularly when one is expected to make every move very quickly. However, we must also give credit to Michael for a resourceful display. Michael seems to produce his best chess in simultaneous displays as he also drew last year with grandmaster Ray Keene in this form of chess. On other such occasions he has given Nigel Short and Luke Rutherford very good games before eventually losing.

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[Event "11 board simul in Hove"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "21.6.2014"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ezra G Kirk"]
[Black "Michael Cain"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]
[A10]

1. c4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. d4 c6 4. Nc3 d5 {Sometimes called the Grunfeld-Slav Defence.}5. g3 {Not the best. If White wants to fianchetto his White-squared bishop, it is better to play 5 cxd5 first.} dxc4 {Correct, giving Black an advantage.} 6. a4 {To stop Black playing b5. If 6 Bg2 Nf6 7 0-0 0-0 8 e4 b5 or Bg4 are both better for Black.} Bg4 {The best move is probably 6...c5 attacking the White centre. If 7 dxc5 Qxd1+ 8 Nxd1 Na6 with the better game. If 7 d5 Bxc3+! 8 bxc3 Nf6 is also strong for Black. Finally if 7 e3 Nf6 8 Bxc4 0-0 9 0-0 Bg4 is still better for Black.} 7. Ne5 {Black gets a definite advantage now. Better was 7 e3.} Bxe5 8.
dxe5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 f6 {Better was 9...Nd7 and, if 10 Bf4, then f6. In this line 11 exf6 could be met with e5.} 10. exf6 exf6 {Better was the developing move 10...Nxf6 with an advantage.} 11. e4 {A mistake which loses a pawn for nothing. Better was 11 Bf4.} Bf3 12. Rg1 Bxe4 13. Bxc4 Nd7 14.
Nc3 Bf3 15. Bf4 {Better was probably 15 Be2.} O-O-O 16. Kf1 {Again Be2 seems to be the best chance.} Re8 {The correct move was 16...g5 and if 17 Bd6 Nh6 18 Be6 Rhe8 19 Re1 Ng4 with a strong position.} 17. g4 {Better was 17 h4 to stop Black playing g5.} Ne5 {17...g5 was very strong. Now the game is more or less level.} 18. Bxe5 {White should have played 18 Re1 so that Black would have had to lose a tempo to break the pin by moving his king. After 18...Kd7 or Kd8 White could then have played Bxe5. This might seem similar to the game but White would benefit from his rook on e1.} Rxe5 {18...fxe5 was better and would have given Black a definite advantage. The f6 square would have been vacated for the Black knight and there was the potential to play e4.} 19. Rg3 Bd5 20.
Bxd5 cxd5 21. f4 Re6 22. Nxd5 Ne7 {The game now looks drawish.} 23. Nc3 {Possibly Ezra decided against exchanging knights as he still hoped to win the game. However, it could be argued that a Black knight on c6 would have been stronger than a White knight on c3 in this type of position.} Rd8 24. Rc1 {24 Re1 would have been more or less level.} Kb8 {24...Nc6 looks better.} 25. Rc2 {Again 25 Re1 was a safe drawing line.} Rd4 26. Rf3
Nd5 {26...a6 might have given Black an edge. The exchange of knights brings about a similar position to what might have happened if White had played 23 Nxe7.} 27. Nxd5 Rxd5 28. Rfc3 {Surprisingly this move seems to give Black an advantage as White has difficulty defending his pawns. 28 b3 looks better.} a5 {Much better than 28...a6 as it establishes a bind on White's queen side pawns and gives the Black king a little more space.} 29. Rc4 {29 b3 might still have been the best move.} h5 {Not the best move. Black could have got an advantage by 29...Rd1+ 30 Kf2 Rb6 because of the weakness of the White pawn on b2.} 30. h3 {30 f5 gxf5 31 gxh5 would have taken all the pressure off White.} h4 {Black could have played 30...hxg4 31 hxg4 Rd1+ 32 Kf2 Rb6 with perhaps a slight advantage - cf. my note to Black's 29th move. 30...h4 is a bold move with the potential for Black to seize control of the third rank with his rooks. White must now play very carefully.} 31. Kg2 {This seems to be a mistake. White should play 31 Rc8+ Ka7 32 R2c5. If then 32...Rd1+ 33 Kf2 Rd2+ 34 Kf3 Rxb2 35 Rxa5+ Kb6 36 Rac5, which looks drawish.} Re3 32. Rc8+ Ka7
33. R8c5 {33 Rf8 and 33 Rg8 both lead to complex variations in Black's favour.} Rdd3 34. Rxa5+ Kb8 35. g5 f5 36. Rb5 {36 Rac5 also comes into consideration, though here also White is in difficulties.} Rxh3 37. Rc6 {This move seems to lose. White may be able to draw by 37 Rc3 Rhg3+ 38 Kh2 Rd2+ 39 Kh1 Rxb2 40 Rxb2 Rxc3 41 a5 and if 41...Rc5 42 Rb6 Rxa5 43 Rxg6 Ra4 44 Re6 Rxf4 45 Re1. As Black's king is a long way away from White's passed pawn and White has a threat of Rg1, the position may be drawn.} Rhg3+ {It appears that this move wins for Black. A rather amusing finish would be 38 Kf2 h3 39 Rxg6 h2 40 Rg8+ Kc7 41 Rg7+ Kd8 42 Rbxb7 hi=N+, which mates in a few moves. White could play 42 Rg8+ and try to keep checking, but eventually Black's king escapes from the checks and his 'h' pawn will prove to be the decisive factor e.g. 42...Kd7 43 Rg7+ Ke8 44 Rg8+ Kf7 45 Rh8 Rh3 etc. Also if 42...Kd7 43 Rxb7+ Kc6 44 Rh7 Rh3 etc. These lines were not tested in practice as a draw was agreed.} 38. ½-½
1/2-1/2

Paul plays a captain's part.

Paul Batchelor has shown great loyalty to the club by serving as first team captain for nearly fifteen years. It is no easy job to be a team captain. Boards have to be arranged, clocks set at the correct rate, refreshments arranged and teams selected. If any incident occurs in a match, the captain has to be on the spot even if he/she is concentrating on his/her own game. Paul is also the county U-180 captain, a post which he first undertook in 2009. As his grading is nowadays over 180, he cannot play in this team, although he still organises the players. Paul also helps Dix Roberts, the Open team captain, and plays himself in the first team. The improvement in his play is reflected in the fact that he won the Brighton CC Championship in 2010. In the recent McArthur Cup final against Hastings Paul played a captain's part by winning on board three against Ollie Willson, a very promising junior who won the British U-16 Championship last year. Paul had a won game by about move fifteen and he did not allow his opponent to obtain any significant counterplay. I enclose the score of this excellent win

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[Event "McArthur Cup final"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "10.05.2014"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Paul A Batchelor"]
[Black "Ollie Willson"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 {The Veresov System named after Bussian master, Gavriil Veresov, who lived from 1912 to 1979. The opening is less explored than the regular Queen's Gambit lines.} d5 3. Bg5 Bf5 {A playable move, though 3...Nbd7 is the main line.} 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 c6 6. Nge2 Nd7 7. Ng3 Bg6
8. h4 h6 {This move gives White space on the king's side. 8...h5 is better and if 9 Be2 Qb6 10 Rb1 0-0-0. White could then capture the 'h' pawn, though Black would have compensation because of his play down that file.} 9. h5 Bh7 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 Qa5 12. O-O Nb6 {12...0-0-0 is better. After the move played the knight and queen get in each other's way.} 13. b3 {Most strong players would make this move, but better is 13 a3. If then 13...Nc4 14 b4 (14 b3 also gives White a good game) Qc7 15 e4 0-0-0 16 b5 Nb2 17 Qe2 Qa5 18 Qg4+ Kb8 19 Nge2 Na4 20 Qh3 is a complex line which gives White a strong initiative.} Bb4 {Not the best. 13...Ba3 would stop a3 possibilities for White and allow Black to castle safely on the king's side.} 14. Nce2
Qb5 {A mistake as the queen is now shut out of the game for a number of moves. Better was 14...0-0.} 15. Qf5 {White is probably now in a winning position as Black cannot castle on the king's side because of Qg4.} Nd7 {Planning to castle on the queen's side, but the king will not be safe there. 15...Ba3 was to be considered followed by Rg8 and Kf8.} 16. Qg4 {An amazing computer suggestion is 16 Rfb1 planning a3 and c4. There does not seem to be any good line against this.} Bf8 17. Rfc1 O-O-O 18. c4 dxc4 19. bxc4 Qg5 20. Qf3
g6 21. Nf4 Re8 {21..gxh5 gives more practical chances.} 22. c5 {A fine move restricting Black's counterplay.} f5 23. Rab1 {More decisive might have been 23 Qd1 and if 23...Rxe3 24 fxe3 Qxg3 25 Qb3 Bxc5 26 dxc5 Ne5 27 e4 Qxf4 28 Rab1 winning.} Qf6 {Black might have done better with 23...Qg4 exchanging queens but losing a pawn.} 24. Nd3 {Better 24 Qd1 followed by Qb3 or Qa4.} Qe6 {Black might have done better with 24..f4 giving up a pawn.} 25. Rb3 {The obvious move and clearly good. It is possible that 25 Rc3 was slightly better putting one rook on the 'a' file and other on the 'b' file. If 25...Qxa2 26 Qd1 is unpleasant for Black.} Nb8 {Passive, but it is difficult to find a better move. Perhaps 25...Kc7 could have been tried to transfer a rook to b8. White could force the king back by 26 Qf4+, but the queen has better squares than f4.} 26. Rcb1 Re7
27. Nf4 Qf6 28. d5 {A good move but 28 Qe2 followed by 29 Qb2 might have been more decisive.} Rg8 29. d6 Rd7 30. Nd3 {30 e4 might have been a little better.} Na6 {A mistake which gives White a quick win. Better was 30...Qe6.} 31. Rxb7 Rxb7 32. Qxc6+ Rc7 33.
d7+ Kd8 34. Qxf6+ 1-0

:

Fine win by Callum at Hastings

One might have expected that 13 year old Callum Brewer would have found the opposition daunting at his first Hastings Masters tournament, but instead he did well to score four points out of nine. His best game was in the first round, when he completely outplayed the Norwegian player, Joar Pettersen. I enclose the moves of this excellent win:

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[Event "Hastings Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "28.12.2013"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Joar G Pettersen"]
[Black "Callum D Brewer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Bb4+ {The Bogo-Indian Defence named after Russian grandmaster, Efim Bogoljubov (1889-1952), who challenged Alekhine twice for the World Championship in 1929 and 1934, but lost on both occasions.} 4. Bd2 {A more critical line is 4 Nbd2 to try to keep the two bishops.} a5 5. Nc3 b6 6. g3 {If White wanted to fianchetto this bishop, it was probably better to have done it a move earlier. 6 e3 seems better.} Ba6 7. b3 d5 8. cxd5{If 8 Bg2 Black can play 8...dxc4 9 bxc4 Bxc4 and if 10 Ne5 Bd5 with a safe position.}
exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1 Ne4 12. Nxe4 dxe4 13. Ng5 {A mistake which puts this knight effectively out of play. White cannot play 13 Ne5 because 13...Bxd2 14 Qxd2 Rxe5 wins a piece. However, White could have done better with 13 Bxb4 axb4 and then 14 Ne5.} Bb7 14. Bxb4
axb4 15. h4 Nd7 16. Qc2 Nf6 17. Rec1 Re7 18. e3 Qd6 19. Bf1 {White is running out of ideas. Black has a bind over the position, which makes it difficult for White to form a plan.} h6 20. Nh3 Nd5
21. Bg2 f5 {Surprisingly this natural-looking move may not be best as it weakens the g6 square. White was not threatening to capture on e4 as Nxe3 would then have been a good reply. 21..Ra3 would have been very good for Black.} 22. Kh2 {Better for White was 22 h5 to try to hold up Black's g5 plan, though Black was still much better.} Kh8 {At this stage of the game it is not entirely clear where the Black king is best placed. Black could again have played Ra3, but the most critical move was 22...g5. Wild complications arise in the variation 23 hxg5 hxg5 24 Nxg5 f4! It would probably be beyond the human mind to calculate these lines with certainty in over-the-board play, but it appears that Black would have been winning in all variations.} 23. Rg1 {Again 23 h5 seems to have been the only chance.} Qf6 {Good enough, though Black could have played an immediate 23...g5 since 24 hxg5 hxg5 25 Nxg5 Rg8 looks like a clear win.} 24. Bf1 {If now 24 h5, Black wins by Qf7.} g5 25. hxg5 hxg5 26. Bc4 {26 Rh1 would have given more chances.} g4 {This fine move had to be calculated carefully.} 27.
Bxd5 Qh6 {Not 27...Bxd5 when 28 Nf4 brings White back into the game.} 28. Rh1 Rh7 {A very nice finish with White now losing a piece. A very mature game by one so young.} 0-1

How Dona toppled a giant!

Dona Strauss lived in Hull for many years before she came to Brighton. In 1996 Michael Adams, who is one of the best players in the world, came to the Yorkshire city to give a simultaneous. Out of forty one games he lost only three, one of which was against an inspired Dona. We must make allowance for the fact that the grandmaster was taking on so many players at the same time, but Dona deserves credit for enterprising play. The game was published in the Hull Chess Club magazine (November/December 1996 issue) with annotations by club champion, Stuart Brown, but computer analysis has come a long way since 1996. I have tried therefore to update his comments. Please contact me, if you want a game published on the club website.

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[Event "41 board simul at Hull"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "04-11-1996"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Michael Adams"]
[Black "Dona Strauss"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]
[B01]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. c4 e6 {The Icelandic Gambit, in which the Black player hopes that good piece development and pressure on the d4 square will provide compensation for the pawn sacrificed.} 4. dxe6 Bxe6 5. Be2 {A cautious move, which does not contest Black's pressure on the d4 square. 5 d4 or Nf3 are more normal.} Bc5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. d3 O-O {A sound move. Also to be considered was 7...Qe7 followed by 0-0-0.} 8.
O-O Nd4 {8...Re8 may have been more accurate to meet 9 Be3 with Bxe3 10 fxe3 Bg4 with approximate equality. After 8...Nd4 White could probably have gained an advantage.} 9. Nxd4 Bxd4 10. Nc3 {Better was 10 Nd2 followed by 11 Nb3 or f3 challenging the d4 square.} c6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Qd2 {We do not know if Michael deliberately sacrificed the pawn back to gain development. White is struggling to gain an advantage because of Black's occupation of the d4 square. He could have tried 12 Qb3 b5 13 Bf3 Rc8, but Black's position was solid.} Bxe3 13. fxe3 Bxc4 14.
Kh1 {A cautious move. 14 Rf3 was a little better.} Be6 15. Rf4 Qe7 16. Raf1 Nd5 {16...Rad8 looks better. The knight on d5 might become a catalyst in allowing White to advance his central pawns - as actually happened in the game.} 17. R4f3 Rad8 18. d4 {White naturally tried to advance his central pawns, though they soon came under attack. 18 Rg3 might have been a little better.} c5 19. e4 Nf6 {The clearest path to equality seems to have been by playing 19...cxd4 20 Nxd5 Bxd5 21 exd5 Qxe2 22 Qxd4 f6. In this line 21 Bb5 can be met with 21...Bc6 with complex play, which is in Black's favour.} 20. d5
Nxe4 {The crucial point in the game. 20..Bd7 was playable with perhaps a slight advantage for White. Instead Dona plays a bold and imaginative move, which probably came as a great surprise to her illustrious opponent. The complex variations might have been in White's favour, but Michael would not have had the time to enter into complicated calculations.} 21. Nxe4 {A losing move. Stuart Brown in the Hull CC magazine gives as his main line 21 Qf4 Bxd5 22 Nxd5 Rxd5 23 Bc4 Nf6 24 Bxd5 Nxd5 25 Qxf7+ Qxf7 26 Rxf7 Ne3 with a draw as White has no good move for his rook on f1. Stuart does not consider other queen moves for White. 21 Qd3 loses against 21..Nxc3 and 21 Qe3 is met by 21...Bg4 22 Rxf7 Qg5 with the better game for Black, but more challenging is 21 Qc2. Black's best reply would seem to be 21..Bg4 when 22 Rxf7 Qh4 23 Nxe4 Bxe2 24 Qxe2 Qxe4 25 Qxe4 Rxe4 26 Rxb7 h5 27 Rxa7 Rxd5 28 h3 Re2 is more or less equal. More dangerous for Black is 24 Rxg7+ Kxg7 25 Qc3+ Kg6 26 Rf6+ Kh5, but amazingly Black's king cannot be mated!} Bxd5 {White is now lost in all variations and Dona mops up in convincing style.} 22. Nf6+ Qxf6 23. Rxf6 Bxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Rxd2 25. Rxf7 Rexe2+
26. Kg3 Rg2+ 27. Kh4 Rxh2+ 28. Kg4 Rdg2+ 0-1

 

Pretty mate by John Henshaw

John gained a vital win for the first team in our recent match against Horsham 1. This season in the Mid-Sussex League he has scored 8/9 which makes him a contender to hold the tankard for a year, which is awarded for the highest individual score in the division. Not everyone knows that John won the county championship in 1972 and regularly played on a high board for the club and Sussex for many years. He took a break from chess in 1996 and it is no coincidence that the first team has fared better in the three seasons since he returned to the game. In this game an attractive sacrifice on move 26 allows penetration on the black squares. John has kindly supplied the comments to the game.

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[Event "Mid-Sussex League"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "20.03.2014"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ian S Comley"]
[Black "John C Henshaw"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]
[20.03.2014]

1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Nge2 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d3
a6 9. a3 Rb8 10. Rb1 b5 11. cxb5 axb5 12. b4 cxb4 13. axb4 Bd7 {White's variation is extremely solid - albeit drawish. It is difficult for Black to inject any dynamics/asymmetry in the set-up he has adopted.} 14. Bg5{?! Better I think is 14 h3 with Be3 & Qd2 and/or f4 & f5.} h6 {?! This does weaken both h6 and g6, but I wanted to avoid Qd2 with Bh6 to follow.} 15.
Bd2 Kh7 {Will be needed anyway.} 16. Qb3 {?! Not really relevant. 16 h3 with f4 & f5 to follow looks better. 16 d4 is also playable.} Ne5 {!? Trying to exploit the slight lack of co-ordination of White's pieces, but also risking speeding up f4-f5.} 17. Nd4 {The computer might prefer 17 Qc2, but this is more human.} Qb6 {17...Nd3 is fine, but I didn't want to give White a passed b-pawn after 18 cNb5.} 18. Be3 {?! cNe2 definitely better.} Neg4 19. Nc2 Nxe3 20. fxe3 {? 20 Ne3 - but Black is very comfortable then.} Be6 {OK but bRc8 is better.} 21.
Nd5 Bxd5 22. exd5 Rbc8 {The idea of Be6 was to dominate the Black squares.} 23. h3 {? But here 23 d4! holds albeit Black has reasonable chances after 23...Rc7 & fRc8.} Nh5 {! White's position falls apart quickly.} 24. g4 Rc3 25. Qa2 Rfc8 26. Rf2 Rxc2 27.
Rxc2 Qxe3+ 28. Kh1 Ng3+ 29. Kh2 Be5 {This was the idea when I played Nh5, but 29...Rc2 30 Qc2 Qf4 is brutal but effective.} 30. d4 {If 30 Rc8 Ne2+ 31 Kh1 Qg3. 30 d4 delays the end. White sportingly allows a mate.} Bf4 31. Rf2 Ne2+ 32. Rxf4 Qxf4+
33. Kh1 Rc1+ 34. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 35. Kh2 Qg1# 0-1

Fireworks from Michael Hamilton

Rapidly improving Michael recently won an exciting game in the Brighton 3 v Horsham 2 match. Faced by a very experienced opponent in Peter Harbott, he sacrificed a bishop, then a rook and finally a rook for a bishop before mating the enemy king. The comments in the enclosed game are Michael's and mine and are based on computer analysis. If members of the club want a game published on the blog, please contact me.

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[Event "Mid Sussex League Div 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "08.04.2014"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Peter Harbott"]
[Black "Michael J Hamilton"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 {A rather drawish way to play against the French
Defence} 3... exd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Bd6 6. h3 {White's opening moves signal
that he is aiming for a simple, quiet position with everything under control.
With 6.h3 White wants to prepare Nf3 without allowing any Bg4 pins. However,
delaying development can be surprisingly risky in the French Exchange due to
the rather open pawn structure.} 6... Nf6 7. Nf3 O-O 8. O-O Ne4 {This and
Black's next move form an ambitious plan to unsettle White.} 9. Re1 f5 10.
Qb3 Kh8 11. Kf1 {This puts the king on the vulnerable 'f' file. Better 11
Nbd2.} 11... Ne7 {Better 11...Na5} 12. Ne5 {White is in trouble after this. 12
c4 was better.} 12... c5 {A good move, but 12...Bxe5 13 dxe5 Ng6 was even
better.} 13. Bxe4 {Opens the 'f' file for Black, which cannot be healthy.
Better 13 Qd1, though White has a poor position.} 13... fxe4 14. Bg5 Bxe5 {A
good move, but probably better (although leading to complex variations) was
14...Qe8. If 15 Bxe7 Qxe7 16 Qxd5 Qh4 17 Re2 Bxe5 followed by Bg4 wins for
Black. White also has 17 Nf7+ Rxf7 18 Qxf7 Bxh3 19 Nd2 Rf8 20 Qxf8+ Bxf8 21
gxh3 Qxh3+ when Black is probably winning. 14...c4 and Be6 are also very good
for Black.} 15. dxe5 Bxh3 {A splendidly imaginative sacrifice, but
unfortunately White does not have to take the bishop. 15...h6 and Rf5 were
both strong for Black.} 16. gxh3 {This seems to lose. The correct move was 16
Qxb7, when 16...Rf7 (16...Bd7 17 e6)17 gxh3 Qf8 (17...Rb8 also seems to lead
to a draw)18 Bxe7 Rxf2+ 19 Kg1 Rg2+ is a draw. White can also try 18 Nd2 h6 19
Be3 (19 Bh4 e3! and 19 Bxe7 Rxf2+ 20 Kg1 Qf4 winning)Nf5 20 Bxc5 Rxb7 21 Bxf8
Rxf8 with a slight advantage for Black and 18 Kg1 Ng6 19 Qxd5 Rf5 with
compensation for the material sacrificed.} 16... Qd7 17. c4 Rf3 18. Re3 Qxh3+
19. Ke1 Qh1+ 20. Ke2 Rxf2+ {Another pretty sacrifice.} 21. Kxf2 Rf8+ 22. Kg3
Nf5+ 23. Kf2 Nd4+ 24. Kg3 Qg1+ 25. Kh4 Nxb3 26. Rxb3 h6 27. Bd2 d4 28. Rg3
Qh2+ 29. Rh3 Rf4+ {A final sacrifice.} 30. Bxf4 Qxf4+ 31. Kh5 Qg5# 0-1

Using the Game Viewer to post games on the blog

I have used the game viewer on the Resources page of the website to post one of the games Michael linked to in his post below. This can be done by anyone if you click on IMPORT PGN to load the game from your chess programme, then copy the embed code which appears in the box on the game viewer and paste it into your blog post. You need to look at Options before you publish and click on Interpret typed HTML and then publish even though it looks like a white box on the edit page.

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[Event "Sample Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date ""]
[Round "?"]
[White "Nadya Samova"]
[Black "Michael Cain"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteELO "?"]
[BlackELO "?"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. c5 Be7 7. Nf3 O-O 8.
Bd3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. Na4 bxc5 11. bxc5 Ba6 12. O-O Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Nc6 14. a3
Nd7 15. Bf4 f6 16. Rfe1 e5 17. dxe5 Nxc5 18. Nxc5 Bxc5 19. exf6 Rxf6 20. Bg5
Rxf3 21. Qxf3 Qxg5 22. Qc3 Nd4 23. Rad1 Ba7 24. Rxd4 Qf6 25. Red1 Rf8 26. Qd2
Bxd4 27. Qxd4 Qxd4 28. Rxd4 Rd8 29. Kf1 Kf7 30. Ke2 g5 31. h4 h6 32. hxg5
hxg5 33. Kd3 Kf6 34. Ra4 Ra8 35. g3 Ke5 36. Ke3 Ra6 37. Rg4 Kf5 1/2-1/2