"Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you." - Arnold Palmer

Monday 25 February 2013

4NCL Echoes: Mating By Two Knights

When I was walking around the playing room, just to stretch my legs during our match against Wessex, I had a quick look at the board where Jim Burnett (2143), my team mate from Worksop, where I appear from time to time as a guest, terribly suffered in an ending which is not quite common on our chess boards.
Jim's opponent, Malola Prasath (2076), gained a small advantage in the ending King, Bishop & Knight and pawns against King, two Knights and pawns.
Jim did not want to suffer and he decided to sort his problem radically and he sacrificed both light pieces and went for the ending King & Pawn vs King & two Knights. It was brilliant defensive idea but the move order should have been slightly different perhaps. Let's have a look at what happened in the game:



So was there anything what White could have done better? Well, like I said, the same idea, but several moves later...





Theory of this ending is very much connected with the name of Russian theoretician Alexey Troitsky who analysed similar positions quite extensively and came up with his idea of so called "Troitsky line"Troitsky established that if a pawn is blockaded (by one of the opponent's Knights) on a square no further forward than the line a4–b6–c5–d4–e4–f5–g6–h4, then stronger side can win the resulting endgame no matter where the other pieces are placed. However, the checkmate procedure is difficult and long. In fact, it can require up to 115 moves, so in competition often a draw by the fifty-move rule will occur first.
Since many of the wins when the pawn is blocked on or behind the Troitzky line require more than fifty moves (and thus would be draws under the fifty-move rule) Karsten Müller asked for the "second Troitsky line", which corresponds to where the knights can win without the fifty-move rule coming into effect. If defender's pawn is blocked by an attacker Knight on or behind one of the line, White can force a win within fifty moves. In details, read the article under this link, and also two volume article written by Karsten Müller (The Damn Pawn Part 1 & Part 2) for Chesscafe.com.
So have we learnt anything from this above mentioned game? Well, my opinion is that only player with two Knights can play for win and therefore no matter what theory says he can play until the draw according to 50 move rules can be claimed. In over-the-board game, a defender can slip any time, and only the defender is under double pressure - pressure from the position and pressure from the running time.

4NCL at Staverton Park: Pandora's Box Grantham Beat Wessex But Lost to Poisoned Pawns



It has been lovely weekend in the De Vere Hotel, Staverton Park at Daventry where round 5 and 6 4NCL, Division 1 & 2 were played.
In division 2 I had a pleasure to make my debut playing on board 7 for Pandora's Box Grantham and for the team I won 1 point by making two draws.
Saturday afternoon Pandora's Box beat Wessex after tough fight, alas, on Sunday was defeated by Poisoned Pawns.


Division 2a Round 5 Results



Pandora's Box Grantham
2119
  - 3½
Wessex
2090
231
w
Crouch, Colin S
im
2388
½ - ½
Yeo, Michael J
2155
232
b
Ross, Chris N
cm
2247
0 - 1
Lock, Gavin R
2173
233
w
Batchelor, Peter J
j
2306 j
½ - ½
Rutter, Nick J
2193
234
b
Burrows, Martin P
2147
1 - 0
Jenks, C Bruce
2135
235
w
Mangione, Claudio
2098
½ - ½
Simons, Martin J
2159
236
b
Birtwistle, Nigel
2148
½ - ½
Gregory, Keith DF
2047
237
w
David, Ivan
1777
½ - ½
de Coverly, Roger D
2019
238
b
Batchelor, Guy J
*
1848
1 - 0
Reid, Vaness
wf
1844



Division 2a Round 6 Results



Poisoned Pawns
2106
5-3
Pandora's Box Grantham
2119
221
w
Harley, Andrew D
fm
2234
½ - ½
Crouch, Colin S
im
2388
222
b
Swanson, Stephen
2253
½ - ½
Ross, Chris N
cm
2247
223
w
Byway, Paul V
fm
2157
½ - ½
Batchelor, Peter J
j
2306 j
224
b
Goodger, Martyn
2086
1 - 0
Burrows, Martin P
2147
225
w
McEwan, Ken B
2100
½ - ½
Mangione, Claudio
2098
226
b
Rosen, Daniel B
cm
2085
½ - ½
Birtwistle, Nigel
2148
227
w
McCorry, Robert T
2076
½ - ½
David, Ivan
1777
228
b
Sucikova, Svetlana
w
1860
1 - 0
Batchelor, Guy J
*
1848


All games in PGN are downloadable from 4NCL website.




Pandora’s Box Grantham vs Wessex
4NCL Division 2a De Vere, Staverton Park, Daventry, ENG
23.02.2013


Crouch,Colin S (2388) - Yeo,Michael J (2155)
(5.31)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 e6 4.e4 d5 5.Nc3 dxe4 6.fxe4 e5 7.Bg5 h6 8.dxe5 Qxd1+ 9.Rxd1 hxg5 10.exf6 Nd7 11.Nd5 Bd6 12.Nf3 c6 13.c5 Nxc5 14.e5 Bb8 15.b4 Nd7 16.Ne7 Bxe5 17.Bc4 Bxf6 18.Nxc8 Rxc8 19.Bxf7+ Kxf7 20.Rxd7+ Ke6 21.Rxb7 g4 22.Nd2 Bd4 23.Nb3 Bb6 24.Kd2 Rc7 25.Rxc7 Bxc7 26.h3 Kd5 27.Kd3 Bd6 28.a3 Bf4 29.Nc5 Re8 30.hxg4 Re3+ 31.Kc2 Kc4 32.Kb1 Rxa3 33.Rh3 Re3 34.Rf3 g5 35.Rxe3 Bxe3 36.Nd7 Kxb4 37.Kc2 a5 38.Ne5 c5 39.Kd3 Bf4 40.Nc6+ Kb5 41.Na7+ Kb6 42.Nc8+ Kc6 43.Kc4 a4 44.Ne7+ Kd7 45.Nd5 a3 46.Kb3 Bc1 47.Nc3 Kc6 48.Kc2 Bb2 49.Ne4 c4 50.Kb1 c3 51.Nxg5 Bc1 52.Nf3 Kd5 53.Ne1 Bb2 54.Nc2 Ke4 55.g5 Kf5 56.Ka2 Kxg5 57.Nxa3 Bxa3 58.Kxa3 Kg4 59.Kb3 Kg3 60.Kxc3 Kxg2
½-½


Lock,Gavin R (2173) - Ross,Chris N (2247)
(5.32)

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bg5 c5 4.e3 b6 5.Nbd2 Be7 6.c3 0-0 7.Bd3 Ba6 8.Bxa6 Nxa6 9.0-0 Re8 10.Ne5 Nd5 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.a4 d6 13.Nd3 cxd4 14.exd4 Nac7 15.Re1 a6 16.f4 Qd7 17.Qf3 b5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rf1 f5 20.h3 Qc6 21.Kf2 Qb6 22.Kg3 Ra6 23.Rfe1 Qa7 24.Rxa6 Qxa6 25.Kh2 Qa8 26.Re2 Nb6 27.Kg3 Ncd5 28.Kf2 Qc8 29.Kg1 Re7 30.Kh2 Qa6 31.g4 Qa7 32.Kg3 Qd7 33.Kg2 Rf7 34.g5 Re7 35.h4 Qc6 36.Kg3 b4 37.cxb4 Nc4 38.Nxc4 Qxc4 39.Nf2 Qxd4 40.Rc2 Re8 41.Nd3 Ne3 42.Rc3 Ng4 43.Kg2 e5 44.fxe5 dxe5 45.Qc6 Ne3+ 46.Kf3 e4+ 47.Kg3 Re7 48.Nf4 Qd2 49.Qa8+ Kf7 50.Qa2+ Ke8 51.Qg8+ Kd7 52.Qc8+ Kd6 53.Qc5+ Kd7 54.Qc6+ Kd8 55.Qc8#
1-0


Batchelor,Peter J (2127) - Rutter,Nick J (2193)
(5.33)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.g3 Bf5 5.Bg2 Nbd7 6.Nbd2 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.b3 Ne4 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Nxe4 Bxe4 11.Nd2 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 a5 13.a3 b5 14.e4 bxc4 15.bxc4 Qb6 16.Bc3 Qa6 17.exd5 exd5 18.Re1 Bf6 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Qf3 Nb6 21.Nb3 a4 22.Nc5 Qc8 23.Reb1 Nd7 24.Rb5 Qc6 25.Rab1 Rfb8 26.Rxb8+ Rxb8 27.Rxb8+ Nxb8 28.Qd1 Be7 29.Qxa4 Qxa4 30.Nxa4 Bxa3 31.Nb6 f6 32.Nxd5 Kf7 33.Kf3 f5 34.Ne3 g6 35.Nc4 Be7 36.Ke3 Nd7 37.d5 Bd8 38.Bd4 h6 39.Kd3 g5 40.Nd6+ Kg6 41.Nb7 Bf6 42.d6 Kf7 43.Kc4 Ke6 44.f3 Be5 45.Bc5 Bf6 46.f4 h5 47.Be3 gxf4 48.Bxf4 Ne5+ 49.Kc5 h4 50.Bxe5 Kxe5 51.d7 hxg3 52.hxg3 f4 53.gxf4+ Kxf4 54.Kd5 Kf5 55.Nd6+ Kg6 56.Ke6 Bd8 57.Nf7 Ba5 58.Ne5+ Kg7 59.Ke7 Bb4+ 60.Ke6 Ba5 61.Ke7 Bc7 62.Nf7 Ba5 63.Nd6 Kg6 64.Nb7 Bc7 65.Ke6 Bb6 66.Kd6 Kf7 67.Kc6 Ke7 68.Nd6 Ba5 69.Ne4 Ke6 70.Nc5+ Ke7 71.Na6 Kd8 72.Nb8 Bc7 73.Na6 Ba5 74.Nc5 Ke7 75.Na6
½-½


Jenks,C Bruce (2135) - Burrows,Martin P (2147)
(5.34)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 h6 4.Bxf6 Qxf6 5.e4 d6 6.Nc3 Nd7 7.Qd2 Qd8 8.Bc4 Be7 9.h4 c6 10.Ne2 d5 11.exd5 exd5 12.Bd3 Nf6 13.Ng3 Be6 14.Nf5 Bxf5 15.Bxf5 g6 16.Bd3 Qc7 17.Ne5 Bd6 18.0-0-0 0-0-0 19.Rde1 Rde8 20.f4 c5 21.dxc5 Bxe5 22.fxe5 Rxe5 23.Rxe5 Qxe5 24.Re1 Ne4 25.c6 bxc6 26.Qa5 Qf4+ 27.Kb1 Qc7 28.Qa6+ Kb8 29.Bxe4 Re8 30.Re3 Rxe4 31.Rxe4 dxe4 32.a4 Qd6 33.Qc4 Qd1+ 34.Ka2 Qd5 35.Kb3 f5 36.Qxd5 cxd5 37.Kc3 f4 38.Kd4 g5 39.hxg5 hxg5 40.b4 g4 
0-1


Mangione,Claudio (2098) - Simons,Martin J (2159)
 (5.35)

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 Nd7 4.Nc3 e5 5.g3 Ngf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 c6 10.e3 Re8 11.Bg2 Qc7 12.b3 a6 13.Bb2 b5 14.cxb5 axb5 15.d5 b4 16.dxc6 bxc3 17.cxd7 Nxd7 18.Rc1 Rxa2 19.Bxc3 Qa7 20.Ra1 Rc8 21.Bb4 Nf6 22.Rxa2 Qxa2 23.Qb1 Qxb1 24.Rxb1 Bf8 25.Ba5 d5 26.b4 Bd6 27.b5 Kf8 28.b6 Re8 29.Rb5 e4 30.g4 h6 31.b7 Rb8 32.Bc3 Ke7 33.Bd4 Re8 34.f3 Kd7 35.fxe4 dxe4 36.g5 hxg5 37.Rxg5 Rb8 38.Rxg7 Ke6 39.h4 Rxb7 40.Bh3+ Ke7 41.Bf5 Rb8 42.Kg2 Ra8 43.Rg5
½-½


Gregory,Keith DF (2047) - Birtwistle,Nigel (2148)
 (5.36)

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 0-0 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.0-0 d6 8.d3 h6 9.Nbd2 e5 10.a3 Be6 11.Rb1 Qd7 12.Re1 Bh3 13.Bh1 Rae8 14.e4 Ng4 15.Nh4 Ne7 16.f3 Nf6 17.Nf1 Nh7 18.b4 g5 19.Ng2 f5 20.exf5 Bxf5 21.Nge3 Bg6 22.Bg2 b6 23.Qe2 Nc6 24.Nd5 Nf6 25.Nfe3 Nd4 26.Qd1 Bf7 27.Nc3 Be6 28.Ne4 Nf5 29.Nxf5 Bxf5 30.Qe2 Rd8 31.Rbc1 Rf7 32.Rf1 Qe7 33.Nf2 Rff8 34.Rfe1 Qf7 35.Ne4 Rfe8 36.Qc2 Kh8 37.Nf2 Qg6 38.Ne4 Qf7 39.Nf2 Bg6 40.Bc3 Rc8 41.Qb2 Bh5 42.Ne4 Red8 43.Rb1 Ng8 44.Bh3 Ra8 45.Bg2 Rac8 46.Bh3 Ra8
½-½


David,Ivan (1777) - de Coverly,Roger D (2019)
(5.37)

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Be2 0-0 5.h3 d6 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0 b6 8.Nbd2 Bb7 9.c3 Nbd7 10.a4 a6 11.Re1 Rc8 12.Qb3 Qc7 13.Bh2 Qb8 14.Bf1 Qa8 15.Red1 Ne4 16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Nd2 Bc6 18.f3 Qb7 19.Nc4 d5 20.Nd2 e5 21.dxc5 Nxc5 22.Qc2 Rfd8 23.b4 Ne6 24.b5 axb5 25.axb5 Be8 26.e4 Qc7 27.exd5 Qc5+ 28.Kh1 Nd4 29.Qe4 Qxc3 30.Bxe5 Bxe5 31.Qxe5 Nxb5 32.Qg5 f6 33.Qf4 f5 34.Rac1 Qxc1 35.Rxc1 Rxc1 36.Kh2 Rc5 37.Qb4 Nd6 38.Qxb6 Rcc8 39.Qd4 Bf7 40.Nc4 Nxc4 41.Bxc4 Rd6 42.h4 Rcd8 43.h5 gxh5 44.Qh4 Bxd5 45.Qg5+ Kh8 46.Bxd5 Rxd5 47.Qf6+ Kg8 48.Qg5+ Kf8 49.Qf6+ Kg8
½-½


Reid,Vaness (1844) - Batchelor,Guy J (1848)
(5.38)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qb3 c5 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.Nf3 Ne4 7.e3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bxc5 9.Bd3 Qe7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qc2 h6 12.Kh1 e5 13.Nd2 d6 14.e4 Qh4 15.Nb3 b6 16.f4 f6 17.f5 Qh5 18.Rf3 Qf7 19.Rg3 Kh7 20.Be2 Rh8 21.Bd2 Ba6 22.Qd1 Ne7 23.Qf1 Kg8 24.Rd1 Kf8 25.Bc1 Rd8 26.Nxc5 bxc5 27.Ba3 Qe8 28.Rh3 Qc6 29.Re3 Nc8 30.Bc1 Ke7 31.Qf3 Nb6 32.Qg4 Rhg8 33.Rg3 Bxc4 34.Bxc4 Nxc4 35.Qh4 Qe8 36.Rg6 Qf7 37.Qf2 Rb8 38.Qc2 Nb6 39.Qd3 Rbd8 40.Qa6 Rd7 41.Qe2 Rh8 42.h3 Kd8 43.Rg3 Qc4 44.Rgd3 Kc7 45.Kh2 Rhd8 46.R1d2 Kc6 47.Qe1 Na4 48.Rg3 Rb8 49.Rgd3 Kc7 50.Qd1 Rbd8 51.Qf3 Nb6 52.Rb2 Qa6 53.Rd1 Na4 54.Rb3 Qc4 55.Re1 Nb6 56.Ra3 Kc6 57.Be3 Qd3 58.Rd1 Qb5 59.Rb3 Qa4 60.Rd2 Nc4 61.Re2 Rb7 62.Rxb7 Kxb7 63.Bf2 Qd1 64.Qh5 Kc6 65.Qf3 Rb8 66.Qh5 Kb6 67.Qf3 Ka5 68.Bg1 Rb2 69.Rf2 Qxf3 70.Rxf3 Ka4 71.Rg3 Rb7 72.Be3 Ka3 73.Bc1+ Kxa2 74.Rg6 Rf7 75.g4 Kb1 76.Bxh6 gxh6 77.h4 Nd2 78.Rxh6 Nxe4 79.Rh8 Nxc3 80.g5 fxg5 81.hxg5 Rxf5 82.g6 Rg5
0-1


Poisoned Pawns vs Pandora’s Box Grantham
4NCL Division 2a De Vere, Staverton Park, Daventry, ENG
24.02.2013


Harley,Andrew D (2234) - Crouch,Colin S (2388)
(6.221)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.b3 h5 11.Ne4 c5 12.Bb2 Bd7 13.Rfe1 Bc6 14.Rad1 Be7 15.Nf6+ Kf8 16.Nd5 Rh6 17.c4 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 Ra6 19.a4 Rb6 20.Rd3 Rd8 21.Red1 Ke8 22.Rxd8+ Bxd8 23.Rd3 Re6 24.Kf1 c6 25.Nd2 Bc7 26.f4 g5 27.g3 gxf4 28.gxf4 Bd8 29.Ne4 b6 30.Ng3
½-½


Ross,Chris N (2247) - Swanson,Stephen (2253)
(6.222)

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 Nd7 6.h4 h5 7.0-0-0 b5 8.f3 Bb7 9.Nh3 Rc8 10.Kb1 c5 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Bd4 Bxd4 13.Qxd4 Nf6 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Qc7 16.Rd2 Ncd7 17.Qd3 Qc5 18.Qb3 Rb8 19.Nf4 a5 20.a3 0-0 21.g4 a4 22.Qb4 Qxb4 23.axb4 hxg4 24.fxg4 Ne5 25.g5 Ne4 26.Rg2 Nf3 27.Kc1 a3 28.bxa3 Kg7 29.Rh3 Ne5 30.Re3 f5 31.gxf6+ Nxf6 32.Be2 Kh6 33.Ne6 Rg8 34.Nf4 Rbf8 35.Bxb5 Nfg4 36.Re4 Nf6 37.Re1 Nfg4 38.Ne6 Rf3 39.Kb2 Ra8 40.a4 Ne3 41.Rge2 N3c4+ 42.Kc1 Ra3 43.Kb1 R3xa4 44.Bxa4 Rxa4 45.c3 Ra3 46.Rxe5 Nxe5 47.Kb2 Ra8 48.Re4 Kh5 49.Nf4+ Kh6 50.c4 Ra4 51.Kb3 Ra1 52.c5 Rb1+ 53.Kc2 Rf1 54.c6 Rf2+ 55.Kc3 Rf3+ 56.Kc2 Rf2+ 57.Kb3 Rf3+ 58.Ka4 g5 59.hxg5+ Kxg5 60.Ne6+ Kg6 61.b5 Rf1 62.c7 Nd7 63.Ka5 Rc1 64.Ka6 Rxc7 65.Rg4+ Kf5 66.Nxc7 Kxg4 67.b6 Kf5 68.b7 Kf6 69.Ne6 Ke5 70.Nc7 Kf6 71.Kb5 Ke5 72.Kc4 Nb8 73.Kd3 Nd7 74.Kc3 Nb8 75.Kd3 Nd7 76.Kc3 Nb8 77.Kc4 Nd7 78.Ne6 Kf6 79.Nd4 Ke5 80.Nc6+ Kf6 81.Nd8 Ke5 82.Ne6 Nb8 83.Nf8 Kf6 84.Kd4 Kf7 85.Ne6 Kf6 86.Ke4 Nd7 87.Kf4 Nb8 88.Nf8 Kf7 89.Nh7 Kg7 90.Ng5 Kf6 91.Ne4+ Kg6 92.Nd2 Kf6 93.Ne4+ Kg6 94.Ng5 Kf6 95.Ne6 Nd7 96.Nd8 Nb8 97.Ke4 Nd7 98.Kd4 Nb8 99.Nc6 Nd7 100.Ke3 e6 101.Kd4 Kf5 102.Ne7+ Kf6 103.Nc8 exd5 104.Kxd5 Nb8 105.Kxd6 Na6 106.Kc6 Ke6 107.Kb6 Nb8 108.Kc7
½-½


Byway,Paul V (2157) - Batchelor,Peter J (2127)
(6.223)

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.d4 Ne4 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.Ne1 Bxg2 10.Nxg2 d5 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nf4 Qd7 13.e3 Rd8 14.Qe2 c5 15.dxc5 Bxc5 16.b3 e5 17.Ng2 Nc6 18.Bb2 a5 19.Rfd1 Qe6 20.Rxd8+ Nxd8 21.Ne1 e4 22.Nc2 Nc6 23.Nd4 Bxd4 24.Bxd4 a4 25.Qb2 Nxd4 26.Qxd4 axb3 27.axb3 Rxa1+ 28.Qxa1 h6 29.Qd1 g6 30.b4 b5 31.h4 Qc4 32.Qd2 Kg7 33.Qd6 Qc3 34.Qe7 Qd3 35.Kg2 Qd5 ½-½


Burrows,Martin P (2147) - Goodger,Martyn (2086)
(6.224)

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d6 3.Nf3 Be7 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Nc3 0-0 7.0-0 Re8 8.Re1 Bf8 9.Bg5 c6 10.a4 Nbd7 11.Ba2 h6 12.Bh4 Ne5 13.h3 Ng6 14.Bg3 Qa5 15.Qf3 Ne5 16.Qe3 Bd7 17.Kh1 Ng6 18.f4 Qb4 19.Nf3 d5 20.Ne5 Nxe5 21.fxe5 Nxe4 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.Qxe4 Qxe4 24.Rxe4 Rad8 25.Rf1 Be6 26.Bxe6 Rxe6 27.Ref4 Rd7 28.R4f3 g6 29.Rd3 Rxd3 30.cxd3 Bc5 31.b3 Bd4 32.Re1 Kf8 33.Re4 Bc3 34.Kg1 Ke8 35.Kf2 c5 36.Ke2 Kd7 37.Bf2 b6 38.Bg3 Kc6 39.h4 h5 40.Kf3 Kd5 41.Bf4 Bxe5 42.g4 hxg4+ 43.Kg3 f5 44.Rc4 Bxf4+ 45.Kxf4 Re1 46.Kg5 g3 47.Rc2 Rf1 48.Kxg6 f4 49.Rg2 Rf2 50.Rg1 f3 51.h5 Rg2 52.Rf1 f2 53.h6 Rh2
0-1


McEwan,Ken B (2100) - Mangione,Claudio (2098)
(6.225)

1.d4 g6 2.e4 d6 3.Be2 Bg7 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qxd8+ Nxd8 8.Na3 Ne6 9.g3 Bd7 10.Be3 f6 11.Nd2 Bh6 12.Nc2 0-0-0 13.0-0-0 Bxe3 14.Nxe3 Ne7 15.Nb3 Ng5 16.f3 b6 17.h4 Nf7 18.Rd2 Be6 19.Rhd1 c6 20.Bc4
½-½


Birtwistle,Nigel (2148) - Rosen,Daniel B (2085)
(6.226)

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.c4 d6 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nge2 e5 6.d5 Nce7 7.Ng3 f5 8.exf5 Nxf5 9.Nxf5 Bxf5 10.Bd3 Qd7 11.0-0 Ne7 12.Bxf5 gxf5 13.Qb3 Qc8 14.Bg5 Ng6 15.Qb5+ Kf7 16.Bd2 h5 17.c5 a6 18.Qc4 Bh6 19.Bxh6 Rxh6 20.cxd6 cxd6 21.Qb4 Nf4 22.g3 Rg6 23.Kh1 Nd3 24.Qh4 Nxb2 25.Qxh5 Qd7 26.Rab1 Rc8 27.g4 fxg4 28.Ne4 Kg7 29.Ng3 Rc2 30.Nf5+ Kf6 31.Nh4 Rg7 32.Qh6+ Kf7 33.Qh5+ Kf6 34.Qh6+ Kf7 35.Qh5+
½-½


McCorry,Robert T (2076) - David,Ivan (1777)
(6.227)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bc4 Ngf6 6.Ng5 e6 7.Qe2 Nb6 8.Bb3 h6 9.N5f3 c5 10.dxc5 Nbd7 11.Be3 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qc7 13.Ba4 Bxc5 14.Ne5 0-0 15.Ngf3 Bd6 16.Bxd7 Nxd7 17.Bc3 b5 18.Nxd7 Bxd7 19.a3 a5 20.0-0 b4 21.Be5 Rab8 22.Bxd6 Qxd6 23.Rfd1 Qc7 24.axb4 axb4 25.Ne5 Bb5 26.Qe4 Rfc8 27.Rdc1 Be8 28.h3 f6 29.Nd3 Qc4 30.Qxc4 Rxc4 31.c3 bxc3 32.Rxc3 Rc6 33.Rxc6 Bxc6 34.Rc1 Bd5 35.Rc3 e5 36.f3 Bf7 37.b4 Bg6 38.Rb3 Bxd3 39.Rxd3 Rxb4 40.Rd7 h5 41.g3 Rb2 42.Ra7 Kh7 43.h4 Kh6 44.Ra6 Rd2 45.Rb6 Kg6 46.Rb7 f5 47.Rb6+ Kf7 48.Rb7+ Kf6 49.Rb6+ Ke7 50.Rb7+ Rd7 51.Rb6 Rd6 52.Rb7+ Kf6 53.Ra7 g6 54.Kf2 e4 55.fxe4 fxe4 56.Ra5 Re6 57.Ke3 Re5 58.Ra6+ Kf5 59.Rb6 Rd5 60.Ke2 Rd3 61.Kf2 Rf3+ 62.Kg2 Ra3 63.Rb5+ Kf6 64.Rb6+ Kf5
½-½


Batchelor,Guy J (1848) - Sucikova,Svetlana (1860)
(6.228)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.Bf4 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Bxd3 6.Qxd3 Nbd7 7.Nbd2 c5 8.c3 Be7 9.Ne5 0-0 10.h4 Rc8 11.Ndf3 Nb6 12.Bg5 cxd4 13.exd4 Nc4 14.Nxc4 Rxc4 15.Ne5 Rc8 16.0-0-0 Ne4 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Qe3 Rxc3+ 19.bxc3 Qa3+ 20.Kb1 Nxc3+ 21.Kc2 Rc8 22.Kd2 Qxa2+ 23.Kd3 Nxd1 24.Rxd1 Qc2#
0-1

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Friday 22 February 2013

An Interesting Bishop Ending: Analysis Continues

Ending Analysis
In one of my previous posts I analysed an interesting Bishop ending from the game David vs Mort with the scenario "Bad vs Good Bishop". Some new ideas were suggested in the critical position (see diagram). If you want to get more click here.

Thursday 21 February 2013

NCA League: Grantham-1 Beat Mansfield-1

Last night, Grantham-1 hosted Mansfield-1. The match was tight nearly down to the wire. The games on top boards were very tough, and the game on the board two became a little drama in time trouble where both players, Nigel Birtwistle and Jim Burnett, played "to the Kings". Technical draw was claimed when only 2 seconds left on Nigel's clock!!!


Grantham-1
3½:1½
Mansfield-1
Mangione C
199
½:½
Tait JA
203
Birtwistle N
184
½:½
Burnett J
197
Payne N
180
1:0
Morrison KGE
170
Prior S
186
½:½
Cantrill CS
166
David I
167
1:0
Wagenbach JJ
144


Claudio Mangione, playing with Black against Jonathan Tait, suffered a bit in the Modern Defence. In the Queenless middlegame White was definitely better. Then he came up with excellent move 34. Nd6! Three moves later Jonathan failed to find the best continuation and Claudio equalised. Then probably both players run short of time and the game looked like a roller coaster ride. Jonathan made a serious mistake an his position was very likely lost. Several moves later Claudio returned the favour and his position became lost. Finally, Claudio miraculously escaped from defeat. By the whisker but very intersting game!




Grantham got the edge when Nick Payne overplayed Kenneth Morrison. Nick, playing Black, had face up to Alapin Variation of Sicilian, he chose for aggressive set up with 2...d5 followed by 5...e5?!. The game took 18 moves only, because in worse position Kenneth blundered Bishop.



Chris Canthrill played against Steve Prior very good chess and in French Defence he obtained a promising position, however, he missed his chance to play for more around the move 23. And then it was Steve's turn to fight for an advantage. And he did so and achieved massive positional advantage if not even winning position. Alas, he did not find the strongest possible continuation and the game eventually ended up draw in opposite coloured Bishops and Rooks ending.




I played against Janos Wagenbach who played with White pieces a very solid opening. Fianchettoing his light-squared Bishop he played for a solid position. Both player then complicated the game. In move 14, Janos chose for queenside expansion overlooking much better option which would have led to destruction of Black's position.
Then, to eliminate Black's pressure along c-file, Janos decided to exchange all heavy pieces and on the board an interesting ending appeared. Having had Bishop pair and Knight Black played against two Knights and Bishop. However, because of closed character of the position it is very difficult to claim any substantial advantage for Black. From the move 50 on, both player were short of time. Under time pressure Janos made several weak moves and finally he blundered a Knight and eventually lost the game.