Games played by club members in the 2015-16 season

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35. Qais Conquers Codger (Old).

This is a decent example of Qais’s style – more interested in making threats than conventional ideas such as “develop your pieces” and “get your king safe”.
Fritz has him the best part of a pawn down for the whole game, since Fritz knows all about piece development and king safety.

  [Event "Bedford CC Division 2"]  [Date "2016.05.19"]  [White "Qais Karimi"]  [Black "Peter Gill"]  [Result "1-0"]   1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. c3 d6 4. Qb3 Nf6 5. f3 O-O 6. Ne2 Nbd7 7. Ng3 e5 8. d5  Nc5 9. Qc2 Bd7 10. b4 Na4 11. Nd2 b5 12. Nb3 c6 13. dxc6 Bxc6 14. Na5 Qc7 {  Peter's first mis-step. Bd7, leaving the c-file open for a rook, looks much  better.} 15. c4 Bd7 16. Bg5 bxc4 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Bxc4 Nb6 {Peter has his  eyes on invading down the c-file, but} 19. Bxf7+ $1 {put an end to everything.}

34. Idiot of the year award?

As part of the general call for games of the year, Gerry has nominated a new category and submitted a game for it! (Typically (?), it involves that recently departed Hickman bloke! )

   [Event "Div 2"]  [Date "2016.02.24"]  [White "Nolan, Gerry"]  [Black "Hickman, Neil"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "B06"]  [WhiteElo "150"]  [BlackElo "151"]  [Annotator "Nolan,Gerry"]  [PlyCount "26"]  [EventDate "2016.??.??"]   1. d4 g6 2. Nf3 d6 3. e4 {Haven't played an e4 game as White for years, but it  looked interesting.} Bg7 4. c3 Nd7 5. Be3 e5 6. Bc4 Ne7 {All fairly routine up  to here, but this is very problematic move that should have caused all sorts  of problems for Black.} 7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8. Ng5+ Kf6 {I'd expected Kg8, after  which Ne6 causes all sorts of mayhem.} 9. Qb3 {THe beginning of a sequence of  poor moves - I hadn't seen Qg8, which would have nullified most of my  advantage. Qf3+ was a much better option.} d5 10. exd5 Qg8 11. Ne4+ Kf5 {  Very bold. Now he's threatening my Knight.} 12. Ng3+ {I hadn't noticed that if  I play g4} (12. g4+ Kxe4 (12... Kxg4 13. Qd1+ Kh3 14. Qf3+ Kh4 15. Bg5#) 13.  Nd2+ Kd3 14. c4# {taking the Knight is impossible, so he'd have to take the  g-pawn, which loses anyway.}) 12... Kf6 13. Ne4+ Kf5 {Drawn by repetition -  well at least I saved my Knight!} 1/2-1/2

33. Losing the County Championship with style!

Steve Ledger was deposed as County Champion (by our own Paul Habershon) at the weekend but he still managed a pretty final round victory over the county captain. Steve himself takes up the story ….

My 3 year reign as Beds County champ had come to an end in round 4, when I left a mate in 1 on against Graham Borrowdale, in fact I had a fairly miserable CC this year with this last round game being the sole high point.

   [Event "Beds County Championship"]  [Site "MK"]  [Date "2016.05.10"]  [Round "6"]  [White "Steve Ledger"]  [Black "Kevin Williamson"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "D07"]  [PlyCount "69"]  1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c4 Bg4  4. cxd5 Bxf3 5. gxf3 Qxd5 6. e3 {continuing a theoretical battle Kevin and I  have had for several years, must have had this position half a dozen times  (difference being I didn't have my usual 20 minutes prep beforehand)} e5 7. Nc3  Bb4 8. Bd2 Bxc3 9. bxc3 {I thought Black was supposed to go ed cd Nf6 here but  Kevin tells me that is the "old line"} Nf6 {I assumed the reason black usually  played ed was to prevent c4 so .....} 10. c4 Qd6 11. d5 Ne7 {So White has 2xB v  2xN but his pawn structure is fragile and I wasn't sure where my King should end  up (especially as I want to play both Rb1 and Rg1 ... maybe it ends up on e2 ?  )} 12. Qb3 {apparently Rb1 is more usual but I wanted to keep 0-0-0 as an  option for later} O-O 13. Bh3 {Does this Bishop belong on g2, h3, e2 or d3 ? Who knows  but this looked like a nice Queen restricting diagonal} c6 14. Bb4 c5 15. Bc3 {I  suspect Black needs to play c6 and force White to play dc or take cd himself to try  and take advantage of the White King's lack of cover. White has a comfortable game now  with a plan of point everything at the e5 pawn or Black King.} b6 16. Rg1 Ng6 17.  Qb2 Rae8 18. O-O-O {That's that decided then, Ke2 was tempting but I didn't  want to have to spend time every move checking things like Nf4+. Can't really  see a plan for Black now} Re7 19. Bf5 a6 20. Rg5 {Provoking/forcing a weakening  of the K side ...} h6 21. Rg3 Nh4

Now find the spectacular winning move (or moves!) for White

  [White "Steve Ledger"]  [Black "Kevin Williamson"]  [FEN "5rk1/4rpp1/pp1q1n1p/2pPpB2/2P4n/2B1PPR1/PQ3P1P/2KR4 w - - 0 22"]   22. f4 {!! ... I was rather pleased with this move, forcing open the a1-h8  diagonal with fatal consequences to Black ... though less pleased to see that  Fritz finds the supposedly stronger Be6 !! with the same theme} (22. Be6 fxe6  23. Bxe5 Qd7 24. Bxf6 Ref7 25. Bxg7 Rxg7 26. dxe6 Qe7 27. Rd7 {is a tough line of which to be certain - Ed} ) 22... exf4 23.  Bxf6 fxg3  ({I audibly tutted here ! ... had been hoping for }23... Nxf5 {when the spectacular}  24. Rxg7+ Nxg7 25. Rg1 { brings things to a rapid conclusion.}) 24. Bxh4 Rb7 25. Bxg3 {Kevin finds the only way to,  sort of, keep the game going though does invite himself to be tortured by two  mighty Bishops} Qd8 26. Rg1 f6 27. Be4 f5 28. Bf3 b5 29. d6 Ra7 30. Be5 g5 {Yuk !  no real choice though} 31. Bd5+ Kh7 32. f4 {Have you ever seen two mightier Bishops ?  } g4  33. e4 ({Fritz, of course, finds }33. Rxg4  fxg4 34. Qc2+ Rf5 35. Qxf5# { in a nano-second now but, as  Karpov (I think) once said, if you see a win then play it, so}) 33... bxc4 34. exf5 Qb8 35. Qc2 {1-0 Kevin's flag  actually fell now but Fritz says +29 so it looks good for me !}

32. The oldest ever county champion ?

The clinching game!

   [Event "Beds. Championship"]  [Site "Open University"]  [Date "2016.05.08"]  [Round "6"]  [White "Whiteside, Rob"]  [Black "Habershon, Paul"]  [Result "0-1"]  [PlyCount "58"]  [EventDate "2016.05.08"]   1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 c6 6. c4 Nb6 7. exd6 exd6 8. O-O  Be7 9. b3 O-O 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bb2 Bf6 12. Nc3 d5 13. Ne5 Bxe2 14. Qxe2 Re8 15.  c5 N6d7 (15... Bxe5 $1 {is much better, winning a pawn.} 16. dxe5 N6d7) 16. f4  Na6 17. Qg4 Re7 18. Ne2 g6 19. Ng3 Bg7 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. f5 Re3 22. Qf4 Rae8  23. f6 Bf8 ({I did not realise I could play simply} 23... Bxf6 24. Qxf6 Rxg3)  24. Rf3 Rxf3 25. Qxf3 Bh6 26. Kh1 Re3 27. Qf2 Nb4 28. Qd2 Nd3 29. Kh2 Qc7 0-1

31. Triumph of wisdom over youth

Here is a nice little triumph of wisdom over youth, played in Division 2 – apologies to both players, neither of whom have given me permission to publish it!

   [Event "Bedford Div 2"]  [Date "2016.05.05"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Ben Pike"]  [Black "Nigel Staddon"]  [Result "0-1"]  [PlyCount "64"]   1. e4 c5 2. d4 d5 {not sure how sound this or the subsequent Queen moves are  but it serves to annoy the young gambiteer!} 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. c4 Qe4+  6. Be2 cxd4 7. Nbd2 Qf4 8. Nb3 Qc7 9. Nbxd4 Bd7 10. O-O e5 11. Nb3 ({either}  11. Nb5 Bxb5 12. cxb5 e4 13. Bg5 $5 exf3 14. Bxf3) ({or} 11. Nxe5 Qxe5 12. Bf3  Qc7 13. Re1+ Be7 14. Qe2 {look more fun for White - after the Knight retreat however,  its one way traffic}) 11... Be7 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Qc2 Nc6 14. a3 Rac8 15. Rac1  Rfe8 16. Rfe1 h6 17. Bh4 ({maybe} 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 18. Bd3 {is better, especially  given what happens over the next few moves}) 17... a5 18. Bg3 Nh5 19. Bh4 $2 (  19. Bd3) 19... Nf4 20. Bg3 Nh5 21. Bh4 Bxh4 22. Nxh4 {Knights on the rim are  dim? - well one of them is!} Nf4 23. Bf3 $2 {White has contrived to get his  pieces in a tangle - Nigel plays the next ten moves ruthlessly} a4 24. Nd2 Nd4  25. Qb1 g5 26. Be4 gxh4 27. Nf3 Nde2+ 28. Kh1 Nxc1 29. Rxc1 Bc6 30. Bf5 Bxf3  31. gxf3 Rcd8 32. Re1 Qe7 {and thats the way to deal with the Morra Gambit! -  White actually lost on time here but the fat lady is warming up in any event} 0-1

30. Top board struggle

The top board game in the C v D match was a tough struggle; White got an initiative, Black defended rather well; White went for one simplification too many and Black emerged with the better ending, but the “old Russian proverb” eventually reasserted itself.

 [Event "Bedford C v Bedford D"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.04.14"] [Round "?"] [White "Hickman, N."] [Black "Nolan, G."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A00"] [PlyCount "93"] 1. e4 d5 2. Nc3 $5 {Transposing into what the Americans call the Dunst and the Dutch the van Geet Opening. It is quite a lot better than it looks, but its main advantage is avoiding any Scandianavian theory Black might have looked up. } d4 3. Nce2 e5 4. Ng3 Nf6 ({I think Black might try} 4... Be6 {to obstruct White's preferred development}) 5. Bc4 Bd6 6. d3 O-O 7. N1e2 b6 8. O-O Ba6 $6 { I'm not convinced by this. The knight is going to be off-side and the white squares look weak.} 9. Bxa6 Nxa6 10. f4 $2 ({White could and should have taken immediate advantage by} 10. Nf5) 10... c5 11. fxe5 $2 (11. Nf5 $1) 11... Bxe5 12. Bf4 Ng4 13. Bxe5 Nxe5 14. Nf4 Nc7 15. Qh5 Ng6 16. Nf5 {Without doing anything very dramatic, White has developed quite a lot of pressure against the Black kingside. Gerry defends in impeccable fashion, in particular avoiding any weakening pawn moves.} Ne6 17. Nd5 Qg5 18. Qxg5 Nxg5 {At which point Gerry offered a draw. I declined because it seemed to me that White potentially had quite a bit of initiative} 19. h4 ({Interestingly, Fritz suggests} 19. a4 {with the idea of pressure on the Q-side while Black is occupied defending on the other side of the board}) 19... Ne6 20. h5 Ne5 21. Nfe7+ Kh8 22. Rf5 Ng4 23. Raf1 Nh6 ({Less committal than} 23... f6 {which Fritz prefers}) 24. R5f2 Rae8 25. Nf5 Ng4 26. Nd6 Nxf2 27. Nxe8 ({Or} 27. Rxf2 {when if Black tries to hang on to the material with} Ra8 (27... Nd8 $1 28. Nxe8 Rxe8) {there follows} 28. Nxf7+ Rxf7 (28... Kg8 $4 29. Ne7#) 29. Rxf7 $18) 27... Nxe4 28. dxe4 Rxe8 29. Rxf7 Ra8 {White really ought to be better here.} 30. Nc7 $4 {Quite absurd. Of course, taken in isolation, White's rook is better than Black's - but "all Rook endings are drawn"; and White's knight is so much better than Black's that exchanging the knights was ridiculous} (30. Re7 Ng5 31. Kf2 Rf8+ 32. Ke2 $16) 30... Nxc7 31. Rxc7 Kg8 32. b4 Re8 33. bxc5 Rxe4 34. c6 Re6 35. Rc8+ $2 {White has to do quite a lot of silly things to mess this ending up, and I manage to find most of them.} ({Bringing the king into the game with} 35. Kf2 {while the Black K remains bottled up wasn't exactly difficult}) 35... Kf7 36. c7 Rc6 { Black has got his rook into the "active" position, behind the passed pawn.} 37. h6 $6 Rxc2 ({Not, of course,} 37... gxh6 $4 38. Rh8 $1 {and wins}) (37... Kg6 38. hxg7 Kxg7 39. Kf2 Rxc2+ 40. Kf3 {and the White King is just active enough to catch the Black pawn and the ending is drawn.}) 38. hxg7 ({Fritz prefers} 38. Rh8 Rxc7 39. Rxh7 Kg6 40. Rxg7+ Rxg7 41. hxg7 Kxg7 42. Kf2 {But even Pal Benko says that you should only go into K + P endings if you are absolutely sure of the result. Being neither computer nor GM endgame composer, I keep the rooks on.}) 38... Kxg7 39. a4 a6 40. Kf1 b5 41. axb5 axb5 42. Rb8 $1 ({Better than} 42. Rd8 {It is important to finish up with the rook behind the Black pawn }) 42... Rxc7 43. Rxb5 Re7 {Cutting the king off, but by only one file.} ({No more promising is} 43... Rd7 44. Ke2 Kf6 45. Kd3) 44. Rd5 Re4 45. Rd8 Kf6 46. Kf2 h5 47. Rd5 {Gerry offered the draw. Despite the extra pawn it is impossible for Black to win.} 1/2-1/2

29. English senior success (and defeat)

Paul scored (3/5) in the English Seniors. Typically modest, he shows us his loss.

This was when I lost in the following game. It’s worth a look just for the aesthetic formation of the four bishops on two occasions. It also ends in mate!

   [Event "English Seniors Championship"]  [Site "Harrow"]  [Date "2016.04.05"]  [Round "2"]  [White "Habershon, Paul"]  [Black "Burnett, Jim"]  [Result "0-1"]  [WhiteElo "2035"]  [BlackElo "2108"]  [PlyCount "76"]  [EventDate "2016.04.05"]   1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 Bf5 3. Bb2 e6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Be2 h6 6. O-O Be7 7. d4 O-O 8. c4 c6  9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. a3 a5 11. c5 Qc7 12. b4 axb4 13. axb4 b5 14. Qb3 Ne4 15. Nxe4  Bxe4 16. Nd2 (16. Ra3 Rxa3 17. Qxa3 Rb8 18. Ra1) 16... Bh7 17. f3 e5 18. e4  Rxa1 19. Rxa1 Bg5 20. exd5 $5 {An interesting offer of a piece.} Bxd2 21. dxc6  $2 {Already the wrong follow-up. Better is 21 Rd1.} (21. Rd1 Bg5 22. dxc6 Qxc6  23. dxe5) 21... Qxc6 22. d5 $2 {Again Rd1 is better.} Nxc5 $1 {Necessarily and  successfully returning material. Now White is struggling.} 23. bxc5 Qxc5+ 24.  Kf1 Bc2 {Don't you just love the General Synod on the second rank!} 25. Qa2 $4  {I thought I couldn't get away with 25 Qxb5 because of Rb8 skewering the  bishops, but I missed the following waltz which would leave me only a pawn  down.} (25. Qxb5 Qxb5 26. Bxb5 Rb8 27. Bc1 $1 Bc3 28. Ra3 Bb4 29. Ra2 Rxb5 30.  Rxc2 Rxd5) 25... Rd8 26. Bxe5 Rxd5 27. Bg3 Rd8 {I'm 'only' a pawn down in this  line too, but Black's extra pawn is different and a winner.} 28. Bf2 {The  bishop takes up a new seat in the pew.} Qc6 29. Qb2 b4 30. Bd4 Bc3 31. Qxc2  Rxd4 32. Ra6 Qe8 33. Qa4 Qe3 34. Ra8+ Kh7 35. Qc2+ g6 36. Qb3 Qc1+ 37. Kf2 Qe1+  38. Ke3 Qg1# 0-1

28. A funny thing happened on c6 !?

Joe explains how to “self-mate your queen in 9 easy moves”

   [Event "Bedford Club Division 2"]   [Date "2016.03.24"]   [White "Ben"]   [Black "Joe"]   [Result "1-0"]   [PlyCount "53"]     1. e4 d6 2. d4 e5 3. Nf3 exd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Bc4 Bg7 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. f3 { How about Black castling here? - Nope, I play } 7. … Nbd7 8. Be3 {Well, surely Black should Castle now? - No, I continue with } 8. … a6 {because it looks much better.} 9. Qd2{ Black can delay Castling for just one more move -right? - OK. I must continue with} 9. … b5 {Do you know, I felt quite smug here? Let me explain. Black will Castle next move and then expand on the Q-side since clearly White is going to Castle long and Black will then have a ready-made attack. So, I sat at the board and surveyed my handiwork, wondering just where White was going to place the Bishop. Though I didn’t quite understand why White was taking so long to make his move? Honestly, I really had not noticed the great big hole on c6 I had so brilliantly manufactured! There it was staring at me like a yawning chasm -but it must have been at least 10 minutes before I even spotted it… Stupid!! (numerous expletives deleted here! - Ed) } 10. Nc6 … {Here, I wished my Queen could have suddenly changed places with my King. Then, I could have gone home or maybe gone for a pint and I wouldn’t have had to make some rather pathetic and futile moves trying to save the game. Senility has most definitely set in!} 1-0.

27. A team decider

Michael was the first to finish in a close match against Luton, when he turned his game round in dramatic fashion.

   [Event "Beds. League Div 1"]   [Date "2016.03.17"]   [White "Botteley, Michael"]   [Black "D'Cruz, Damon"]   [Result "1-0"]   [PlyCount "53"]   [WhiteTeam "Bedford A"]   [BlackTeam "Luton"]     1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d3 Nf6 5. O-O e5 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. e4 O-O 8. Re1   d4 9. Nc4 Nd7 10. a4 f6 11. a5 b5 12. axb6 Nxb6 13. Ncd2 Be6 14. b3 a5 15. Nh4   Qd7 16. f4 a4 17. bxa4 Nxa4 18. Qf3 Nb6 $2 (18... Nb4 $1 {is easily winning   for Black.}) 19. Ba3 c4 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Nf5 Qd7 22. dxc4 Nxc4 23. Nb3 Nb4 $4   24. Nc5 Rxa1 25. Rxa1 Qf7 26. Nxe6 Qxe6 27. Qg4 {Black cannot cope with the   twin threats of Qxg7 ++ and Nh6+ winning the queen.} 1-0

26. Youth over experience in the county individual

An interesting struggle where Jan holds on during a difficult game to ultimately show better endgame appreciation (although time trouble probably had a part in this!).

   [Event "Beds County Championship"]  [Date "10/03/2016"]  [Round "3"]  [White "J.Laming"]  [Black "P.Rawcliffe"]  [Result "1-0"]  [WhiteElo "120"]  [BlackElo "146"]  [TimeControl "1hr 15min + 0 sec/move (+15min post move 35)"]   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 a6  8. Na3 Nf6 9. Be2 O-O 10. Be3 {More commonly played is 10Nc2...} Be6 11.  f3 Rc8 12. Nd5 Nd7 13. Rc1 {(?) An error. In hindsight, 13 Nxe7 Qxe7 14  Qd2 f5 , or perhaps the immediate 13 Qd2... or 13 0-0... were better options.  Now, 13...Bh4+ and 14...Bg5 will weaken the kingside, and maybe force good  trades for Black.} Bh4+ 14. g3 Bg5 15. Qd2 {Not a mistake, but 15 Nc2...  covers well. Also worthy of consideration was the delayed 15 Bxg5 Qxg5 16 Nc2...}  Bxe3 {TIME: 0:41 - 0:40} 16. Qxe3 {(?!) Another mistake. To me, 16 Nxe3  seemed to 'lose ground', but the Queen recapture allows Black far too much  freedom to play 16...Nd4.} Nd4 17. O-O Bxd5 18. cxd5 b5 {I was expecting  18...Rxc1 19 Rxc1 Qb6, which seemed to threaten more; especially on the  a7-g1 diagonal.} 19. Bd3 {Preparing Na3-c2 and ousting the d4-knight. Despite  Black's advantage, I can still hope to take advantage of the separation  of his minor pieces.} Qb6 20. Nc2 {It was important to be vigilant about  the threat of 20...Ne2+, whereby Black wins the White queen at the expense  of his knight.} Nxc2 {I personally think that the trade-off's benefit White,  as he has re-grouped on the c-file. Then again, the bishop is quite "caged".  TIME: 0:20 - 14:43 } 21. Qxb6 Nxb6 22. Rxc2 Rxc2 23. Bxc2 Rc8 24. Rf2 {24  Bd3... looks roughly the same.} Nc4 {Personally, I'd have advocated moving  the kingside pawns, e.g. 24...g6.} 25. Bd3 Nb6 {My idea here was to maybe  try something developmental such as Bd3-f1-h3, but more realistically,  a trade of rooks seemed to only favour me. To swap minor pieces now looked  drawish. TIME: 16:38 - 9:04} 26. Rc2 {If the trade on c2 is refuted, I  can challenge strongly for the c-file.} Rxc2 27. Bxc2 Nc4 28. b3 Na3 {(?!)  I expected 28...Ne3 followed by ...f5. Even 28...Nb6 doesn't seem too bad.  This on the other hand appears risky. } 29. Bd3 {Note the lack of squares  for the knight.} Kf8 (a5 {looks mandatory here to me, while Black still can - Ed}) 30. Kf2 Ke7 31. Ke3 Kd7 32. Kd2 {(?) I missed the  move 32 b4!...which would've held down all of Black's kingside.} Kc7 {(?)  An error that guarantees material loss. Best was 32...a5 33 Be2 Kc7 with  what looks to be an equal position. Judging by the clocks, the error was  probably by time-pressure, as Black only had 2 minutes to make the final  3 moves.} 33. Kc3 a5 34. b4 Kb6 35. Kb3 axb4 {Black can limit the loss  to a pawn, but as it turns out; that's all White needs. TIME: 9:38 (+15)  - 1:38 (+15)} 36. Kxb4 Nc4 37. Bxc4 bxc4 38. Kxc4 Ka5 {Whilst a pawn down,  I was seriously worried that Black might have a way to generate a zugzwang  and steal a draw. As it turns out, this pawn endgame is lost from here,  but White does have to be careful. Now endgame theory tells us that we  should put our opponent in zugzwang.} 39. f4 f6 40. h4 Ka4 {Putting White  in opposition. I'd expected 40...g6, and feared I'd carelessly allowed  an impending zugzwang, but afterwards saw that 40...g6 is parried with  41 fxe5 fxe5 42 g4 h6 43 Kb3 Kb5 44 g5 h5 45 a4+ 1-0 TIME: 0:20 - 13:33}  41. f5 h5 42. a3 {Had White lacked the a-pawn, then a draw would've occurred.  This temporary sacrifice forces Black to open the floodgates. } Kxa3 43.  Kb5 Kb3 44. Kc6 Kc4 45. Kxd6 Kd4 {TIME: 19:38 - 10:15} 46. Ke6 Kxe4 47.  d6 Kf3 48. d7 e4 49. d8=Q e3 50. Kf7 e2 {I was worried about one of those  positions where Black scrapes a drawn Queen v Pawn endgame, so to make  sure of the win, I played the boring un-stylish way. } 51. Qe8 Kf2 52.  Kxg7 e1=Q 53. Qxe1+ Kxe1 54. Kxf6 Kf2 55. Kg5 {Black resigns. TIME: 15:04  - 6:57} 1-0

25. Thrills and spills in the county individual

A topsy turvy game where both players missed opportunities.

 [Event "Beds. County Championship "] [Site "Open University"] [Date "2016.03.10"] [Round "3"] [White "Habershon, Paul"] [Black "Borrowdale, Graham"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A32"] [Annotator "Paul Habershon"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2016.03.10"] 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c5 4. e3 d5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Be7 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 a6 10. b3 {Not good. Better would be e4 to develop the QB to e3.} b5 11. Bd3 Bb7 12. Bb2 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Rc1 Rc8 15. Bb1 Qb6 16. Qd4 (16. Qc2 Qb7 17. f3 b4 {is dreadful for White.}) 16... Qb7 {Black could get a superior endgame with 16...Qxd4 but rightly goes for more.} 17. f3 Rfd8 18. Qh4 g6 (18... Rd2 $1) 19. Rfd1 Qb6 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. Nd1 Ne4 $1 {I thought he could not play this because of 22 Qxe7.} 22. Qe1 (22. Qxe7 $4 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 Qxe3+ 24. Kh1 Nf2+ 25. Kg1 Nxd1+ 26. Kh1 Qe1#) 22... Bb4 23. Nc3 Nxc3 (23... Nd2 $1) 24. Bxc3 Bc5 $2 25. Kf2 $2 {Missing Ba5!} Ba3 $2 26. Rd1 $2 {Missing Ba5 again! Both sides very short of time.} Bc5 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Qd2 Qxd2+ 1/2-1/2

Some comments from the original post:-

gb on March 14, 2016 at 2:43 pm said:Edit

Always good to see my efforts pulled apart!

At the time I thought white’s attempt to develop with 10 e4 could be answered by b5 followed by b4, winning the e-pawn, but as I haven’t got a board in front of me I can’t be sure.

I have to admit I thought that avoiding the queen exchange on move 16 gave black more chances than it actually did. I spent far too long looking for an elusive winning continuation, and blundered as a result.

Oh, and I would definitely have taken the smothered mate had Paul allowed it – that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, all too often consigned to the notes!

Nice website, by the way.
Neil Hickmanon March 11, 2016 at 8:17 pm said:Edit

Disdaining Philidor’s Legacy (note to 22 Qxe7?) has a certain classiness, as well…

Paul Habershon on March 12, 2016 at 11:29 am said:Edit

Yes, Neil, the trouble with the flashy Philidor thingy is that after 25 Kg1 it is an inferior mate in three, as opposed to the mate in two of the note.
Spike on March 11, 2016 at 8:37 am said:Edit

Always amusing when both players miss the same move more than once! Good save by White after a tough start though.

24. Good king hunting

When White snapped off Ravi’s b-pawn on move 7, he may not have suspected that his King would be forced to seek and fail to find refuge on a1 – a pretty attack.

  [Event "Bedfordshire v Norfolk"]  [Site "Newmarket"]  [Date "2016.02.28"]  [Round "?"]  [White "D.Dempster"]  [Black "Ravi Arulnandhy"]  [Result "0-1"]  [PlyCount "60"]  [EventDate "2016.??.??"]   1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. c4 g6 6. d4 Bg7 7. d5 b5 8.  cxb5 Qxb5 9. Nc3 Qa6 10. Bf4 Nd7 11. Qd2 Rb8 12. Rc1 Ngf6 13. e5 Ng4 14. exd6  exd6 15. b3 O-O 16. Kd1 Rb4 17. Be3 Rc8 18. Re1 Nxe3+ 19. Qxe3 Ne5 20. Nxe5  Bxe5 21. Qe2 Rd4+ 22. Kc2 c4 23. Kb1 Rd3 24. Na4 Rb8 25. Red1 Rdxb3+ 26. axb3  Rxb3+ 27. Nb2 Bxb2 28. Qxb2 Qa3 29. Qxb3 Qxb3+ 30. Ka1 c3 0-1

23. Game of three thirds

This was not so much a game of two halves as a game of three thirds; first third pretty much book, second third chaotic, as John Harbour aptly observed; final third the game runs like clockwork…

 [Event "MK C v Bedford D"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.02.11"] [Round "?"] [White "Hickman, N."] [Black "Solloway, C."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C18"] [Annotator "Hickman,Neil"] [PlyCount "55"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qc7 $5 {Slightly unusual move order. I tried the sharpest reply} 7. Qg4 f5 8. Qh5+ {"I may be forced to admit that the Winawer is sound, but I doubt it. The defense is anti-positional and weakens the K-side" wrote Bobby Fischer long ago. So it seemed sensible to try and weaken it a bit more.} g6 9. Qh4 $6 ({White should, apparently, play} 9. Qd1 Bd7 (9... cxd4 10. cxd4 Qc3+ 11. Bd2 Qxd4 12. Nf3 { when White has enough for his pawn - Sikorsky-Belchev, email 2013 (1-0 in 33)}) 10. Nf3 cxd4 11. cxd4 Ba4 12. Bd2 $16 {as in a game Judit Polgar-Short, Dos Hermanas 1997 (1-0 in 66)}) 9... cxd4 10. Qxd4 Nc6 11. Bb5 Bd7 $2 (11... Nge7 { is probably =/+}) 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. Nf3 Bb5 ({Black would have been better advised to attend to development with} 13... Ne7 {Stopping White from castling is all very well, but...}) 14. a4 Ba6 15. Ba3 Rc8 16. Kd2 {...this is, after all, the Winawer Variation, in one main line of which 10 Kd1 is "book"} h6 17. Bd6 Qa5 18. Bb4 Qb6 $4 ({This is a blunder after which it becomes very easy for White. Black should have played} 18... Qc7 {after which I intended} 19. Qxa7 {not so much for the pawn as for having b6 for my pieces. After the game it seemed as though the pawn was poisoned, but after} Ne7 20. Qe3 Nc6 21. Bd6 Qa5 22. Kc1 $1 ({we only looked at} 22. Nd4 Nxd4 23. Qxd4 $2 ({better in this line is} 23. Bb4 Nxc2 24. Bxa5 Nxe3 25. Kxe3 {but it's still =/+}) 23... Rc4) 22... Bc4 23. Nd4 Nxd4 24. cxd4 {White is doing fine}) 19. Qxb6 {Up to now the game has indeed been pretty chaotic, as John described it. But after this exchange the position becomes very clear-cut. Three minutes over this move, and then about three minutes for the rest of the game.} axb6 20. Nd4 Kd7 21. Rhb1 Ne7 22. Bxe7 $1 {Giving up the strong bishop for a large number of Black pawns} Kxe7 23. Rxb6 Rc4 24. Rxe6+ Kf7 25. Rf6+ Kg7 {Trying to save his g-pawn, Black loses his king. Mate is now forced.} 26. Ne6+ Kh7 27. Rf7+ Kg8 28. Rg7# 1-0

22. Division 1 clash

Chris and John slug it out …

  [Event "Bedford Division 1"]  [Date "2016.01.29"]  [White "Chris Hill"]  [Black "John Harbour"]  [Result "1-0"]  [PlyCount "44"]  1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 c6 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 h6 5.h3 Bf5 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Bd3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Qc7 [(e6)]9.0–0 e5 [(e6) ]10.e4 0–0–0?!{Very committing } 11.Qe2 g5 12.Be3 g4 {I was not sure about this but Fritz likes the idea} 13.hxg4 Nxg4 14.Nh4? [(d5 {first is best because after exd4 the black queen can aid the attack}) ]14...Ndf6? 15.d5 {now the queen is cut off from the action on the kingside} Nxe3 [(h5) ]16.Qxe3 Kb8 17.Nf5 Ng4 18.Qe2 h5 19.b4 Be7 20.a4? { a waste of a move, the immediate dxc6 should be played to prevent Bg5 freeing the bishop} Rdg8 21.dxc6 bxc6 22.b5! {The fight over the crucial d5 square must now be won by white} Nh6 [(Bd8)]23.bxc6 Nxf5 24.Rab1+ [(Nd5)]24...Ka8 {John and I thought this was a mistake but Fritz prefers this to Kc8} 25.exf5 [(Nd5) ] Qxc6 26.Nd5 (26.Qf3 Qxf3) Rg4!  {the only move to prevent the terminal move Qe4}  27.Qf3 {Fritz prefers f3, putting another piece en prise} e4 28.Qb3 Rhg8? (e3 {causes some complications but white is still clearly winning }) 29.Nxe7

21. 4NCL missed opportunity

I played this game today at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport, and missed a drawing chance.

 [Event "4NCL Div 2"] [Site "Birmingham"] [Date "2016.01.24"] [Round "4"] [White "Padilla Cabero, Pablo"] [Black "Habershon, Paul"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "2161"] [BlackElo "2050"] [Annotator "Paul Habershon"] [PlyCount "109"] [WhiteTeam "Brown Jack Witney"] [BlackTeam "MK Phoenix 1"] 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. g3 d6 4. exd6 exd6 5. Bg2 Nf6 6. Ne2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 d5 9. Nf4 Bf5 10. Re1 c6 11. Nd2 Nbd7 12. a4 Re8 13. Nf1 h6 14. Ne3 Bh7 15. Bh3 Bf8 16. Nfg2 Ne4 17. Nh4 Ng5 18. Bg2 Nf6 19. f3 Qd7 20. g4 Bd6 21. Nhf5 Bc7 22. Bd2 Ne6 23. Bb4 Nf4 24. Bf1 Re6 25. Qd2 Rae8 26. Qf2 Bb8 27. Bd2 Bxf5 28. Nxf5 Kh7 29. Re3 g6 30. Ng3 Rxe3 31. Bxe3 Re6 32. Qd2 Qc7 33. a5 a6 34. Ra3 Re7 35. Rb3 h5 36. g5 Ne8 37. Qb4 h4 $2 {I knew this was losing the exchange but I thought I would have compensation.} 38. Bxf4 Qxf4 39. Qxe7 hxg3 40. hxg3 Qxg3+ 41. Bg2 Ng7 42. Rxb7 Bf4 43. Qe2 Kg8 44. Qe7 Kh7 45. Kf1 Bd2 46. c3 Bxg5 47. Qxf7 Bh6 48. Re7 Qg5 49. Re2 Qc1+ 50. Kf2 Bg5 51. f4 Bxf4 $4 ({Missing a final chance to draw with } 51...Bh4+! 52 Kf3 Qd1 { with the idea of a perpetual with Qd3+. The White queen is peculiarly powerless to prevent this.}) 52. Kf3 Bg5 53. Re8 Qd1+ 54. Kg3 Qd3+ 55. Bf3 1-0

20. Lessons to be learnt
At first sight, there wasn’t much to say about the game that Nigel and I had in Division II. Black got a difficult opening and lost material, White won, apparently without too much fuss. But it turns out there were lessons for both players…

 [Event "Div II"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.01.21"] [Round "?"] [White "Hickman, N."] [Black "Staddon, J N."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B13"] [Annotator "Hickman,Neil"] [PlyCount "53"]  1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bf5 6. Qb3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Qxb3 8. axb3 e6 9. Nb5 Kd7 10. Ne5+ Kc8 11. Nxa7+ Rxa7 12. Rxa7 Bb4+ 13. Bd2 Bxd2+ 14. Kxd2 Ne4+ 15. Ke3 f6 16. Nf3 Kc7 17. Ra8 Rd8 18. c5 Nc6 19. Rxd8 Kxd8 20. Nh4 Bg6 21. Nxg6 hxg6 22. h4 $6 ({Lesson for White. While White has more material, it isn't doing anything. So simply} 22. Bd3 f5 {(forced otherwise the g-pawn falls)} 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24. Ra1 {and the rook, now in the game at last, can make its way over to g8 and start munching Black's king side. I was distracted by the fact that the knight was rather short of squares, and got greedy.}) 22... Nb4 23. f3 $4 (23. Rh3 Nc2+ 24. Kd3 $1 Nxf2+ 25. Kxc2 Nxh3 26. gxh3 {and White has rather messily emerged into a won ending.}) 23... Nc2+ 24. Kf4 Nf2 $2 ({Lesson for Black - a game isn't lost till it's won! White's king is short of squares, Black's knights are very actively placed, and White's king-side bits are still asleep. And it turns out that Black has a way to take advantage of all of this.} 24... g5+ $1 25. hxg5 e5+ $3 {The crucial point, difficult to see but making perfect sense once you have seen it. White's king needs to be denied the e5 square, and his own pawn can be forced to do the job.} 26. dxe5 fxg5+ 27. Kf5 {And now the only squares available to the king are ones which allow the fork} Ng3+ 28. Ke6 Nxh1 {and Black has slightly the better ending.}) 25. Rg1 Nd1 26. Bd3 Nxd4 27. Rxd1 {Lucky.} 1-0

19. What might have been

By ‘popular’ demand, I reluctantly share the following for which I can only apologise!

  [Event "Leighton Buzzard A v Bedford A"]  [Date "2016.01.19"]  [White "Steve Pike, board 5"]  [Black "Peter Hunt"]  [Result "1/2-1/2"]  [ECO "B02"]  [WhiteElo "168"]  [BlackElo "170"]  [Annotator "Pike,Steve"]  [PlyCount "44"]   1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nxd5 4. Bc4 e6 5. Nf3 Be7 6. d4 Nc6 7. O-O Nxc3 8.  bxc3 O-O 9. Re1 b6 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Qe2 Bf6 12. Rad1 Qe7 13. Bd3 {In an effort  to try to understand where I burn time, I have started recording my clock.  The first dozen moves have taken 14 mins, this move took 14 mins on its own! -  think I was obsessed at trying to put something on 5th rank but this retreat  is better.} Rac8 14. Bg3 $2 ({8 minutes to come up with that master stroke -  the rather naff idea is 15.Qe4 16.Qg4 17.d5 but (as I realised when I had the  bishop in my hand!) why not just} 14. d5 {straight away as} exd5 15. Bxh7+ {  the move i missed} Kh8 (15... Kxh7 16. Qd3+) 16. Qd3 Qd8 17. Qf5) 14... Rfd8  15. d5 $6 {having missed it before, I was determined to try to make it work  anyway (emotional nonsense of course!)} Rxd5 16. Bxh7+ Kh8 $2 (16... Kf8 17.  Rxd5 exd5 18. Qd3 Qc5 {and Black is slightly better}) 17. Rxd5 exd5 18. Qd3 Qf8  {the other reason why this version is worse - Black's 14th makes space for  this move - White is still wining though} 19. Qf5 g6 20. Qxf6+ $2 ({the move  played is ok but} 20. Qh3 Qg7 (20... Kg7 21. Bf4 g5 22. Nxg5) 21. Bxg6+ Kg8 22.  Bf5 {is clearly winning - no excuse for not playing it, just poor analysis})  20... Kxh7 21. Ng5+ $2 {impetuous nonsense} ({There is no hurry, moves like}  21. Re3 {are strong because Black struggles to find moves e.g.} Qg7 (21... Re8  $2 22. Qh4+ Kg7 23. Bf4 Qh8 24. Rxe8 Qxe8 25. Bh6+ Kg8 26. Qf6) 22. Ng5+ Kg8  23. Qf3 {and now what does Black do? - all his pieces need to stay where they  are!}) 21... Kg8 22. f4 $2 {advantage over!} (22. h3 {creating a luft and  asking Black to make a move are still (even after the previous two  sub-standard moves!) probably good for White (although no longer winning)})  22... Qg7 {and Peter offered a draw (accepted) which is probably quite  generous as I have spent 45 minutes on the last 10 moves and after the queen  exchange can only look forward to a miserable endgame defending a splintered  queenside in time trouble!} 1/2-1/2

18. “Nice ideas” in the McCutcheon

Not quite as bad a game as I (NH) first thought, and quite a nice little idea “in the notes” though I’m slightly annoyed with myself for missing it:

  [Event " MK C v Bedford D "]  [Site "OU"]  [Date "2016.01.07"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Heath, A."]  [Black "Hickman, N."]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "C12"]  [Annotator "Hickman,Neil"]  [PlyCount "64"]   1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 {The McCutcheon variation, against  which I had an uncomfortable time against Whiteside of Milton Keynes last year,  so thought I'd give it a try as Black} 5. e5 h6 6. Bd2 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 $5 ({  Playable, but curiously, the best move here is thought to be} 7. bxc3 {  accepting the doubled pawns. The recapture with the bishop got a bad  reputation after Fischer got heavily beaten by Petrosian early in his career  after 7 Bxc3. There seem to be two arguments against the bishop recapture -  White can't preserve the two bishops anyway, as Fischer-Petrosian showed; and  after Qg4 which White normally plays Black can simply castle because White  doesn't threaten Bxh6}) 7... Ne4 8. Qf3 c5 9. Bb5+ $6 {This, on the other hand,  must be a mistake. It gets rid of Black's problem piece and advances his  development} Bd7 10. Bxd7+ Qxd7 ({Fritz is rather insistent that} 10... Nxd7 {  is preferable, but I wanted this knight on c6 to pressure the centre}) 11. Ne2  Nc6 12. Rd1 $6 ({I really don't like this.} 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. O-O Ne4 {and  Black may be a touch better but nothing significant.}) 12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 {  White ends up with the doubled pawns anyway. But there is worse to come.} cxd4  14. cxd4 Na5 {There is a tasty backward pawn on the c-file, and it is  important to keep it that way.} 15. Nc3 O-O 16. O-O Rac8 17. Rd3 Rc4 18. Rb1 a6  $1 {Nimzowitsch went on at length about "prophylaxis" and this move is a case  in point. Black must not allow the knight to go to b5 and d6} 19. Rb2 b5 $2 ({  Very superficial. After what is frankly the obvious move} 19... Rfc8 {moving  the N away drops the c-pawn but after the inevitable ...Qc7 Black would  inevitably win material anyway}) 20. Ne2 $1 Rfc8 21. Ra3 $2 ({White lashes out  but only succeeds in putting his rook on an awkward square.} 21. c3 {was  unattractive but necessary}) 21... Qc7 $6 ({Irritatingly, Fritz points out  that Black could win out of hand by} 21... Rxc2 {because after} 22. Rxc2 Rxc2  23. Rxa5 $4 Qc7 $1 {with a poisonous double threat of taking the R and mating  after ...Rc1+. But although I am annoyed that I missed that idea, Black does not need to take chances or do anything flashy; the pressure down the c-file is going to win so long as Black ensures that White gets no counter-chances.}) 22. h3 Rc6 {Simply freeing the N to occupy the outpost. The problem with Ra3 was that Black could deal with the threats to the N and the RP one after another rather than having to deal with them at the same time} 23. Qd3 $4 {I never did find out what the idea of this move was.} Nc4 {Of course. White could resign with a clear conscience.} 24. Rab3 Nxb2  25. Rxb2 Rxc2 26. Rxc2 Qxc2 27. Qe3 Qxa2 28. f4 Rc2 {The simplest winning idea is to push the Q-side pawns and at a suitable moment simply exchange down into a very straightforward pawn ending. Fritz has this position at about +20 for  Black} 29. Kf1 b4 30. f5 Rxe2 31. Qxe2 Qxe2+ 32. Kxe2 exf5 0-1

17. Top seed clash
Notes by Paul.

   [Event "Bedford Club Championship"]   [Site "?"]   [Date "2016.01.07"]   [Round "?"]   [White "Ledger, Stephen"]   [Black "Habershon, Paul"]   [Result "1-0"]   [PlyCount "111"]     1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. f4 c6 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O b5 8. Kh1 a6   9. Be3 Bb7 10. Qe1 Nbd7 11. e5 dxe5 12. dxe5 Nd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5 14. Qb4 e6 $2 {   It was necessary to find 14...Nb8!} 15. a4 Re8 16. axb5 Bf8 17. Qb3 a5 18. c3   Nc5 19. Bxc5 Bxc5 20. Ra4 Qc7 21. Nd4 Reb8 22. Rfa1 Bc8 23. Qa2 Bb6 24. Nc6 Rb7   25. b4 Bd7 26. bxa5 Be3 27. Qe2 Bc5 28. Nb4 Qc8 29. h3 Qe8 30. a6 Rb6 31. Ra5   Qe7 32. Rb1 Qh4 33. Qf3 Qe7 34. Nc2 Rbb8 35. Nd4 Bb6 36. Ra2 Rc8 37. Rb3 Rc7   38. Kh2 Qe8 39. Be2 Rb8 40. Qd3 Ba7 41. Nc2 Rc5 42. Rab2 Bb6 43. Ne3 Qc8 44.   Ng4 Qc7 45. Nf6+ Kg7 46. Qg3 Rc8 47. Qh4 h6 48. Rc2 d4 49. c4 Bxb5 50. Ne4 Rd5   51. Rcb2 Bxc4 52. Bxc4 Qxc4 53. Rxb6 d3 54. Qf6+ Kg8 55. Nd6 Rxd6 56. exd6 1-0

16. The incredible emptying d-file

Well it was short and I won without any obvious clangers so it might as well be my publication for the season.

  [Event "MK C v Bedford D"]  [Site "OU"]  [Date "2016.01.07"]  [White "Steve Pike, board 1"]  [Black "Colin Solloway"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "C01"]  [BlackElo "143"]  [Annotator "Pike,Steve"]  [PlyCount "41"]   1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. exd5 exd5 5. Qf3 {Larsen-Portisch, Amsterdam  1964 - game 1 in the first book I ever bought in 1975. It's a half-baked  attempt to "move order" your opponent in the exchange French - objectively not very good but easy to follow in Portisch's footsteps} c6 (5... Nc6 6. Bb5 Nge7 7.Bf4 O-O 8. O-O-O Na5 $2 {was the Portisch errant path}) 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. Bg5 Be7 8. h3 Nbd7 9. Nge2 h6 10. Bh4 O-O 11. O-O-O { so this is the caveman position I had in mind but is it the usual superficial nonsense? Does White really have a meaningful kingside attack and, if not, is there a defence to Black just throwing his a and b pawns at the naively castled king? - no and no probably!} a5 12. g4 g5 13. Bg3 (13. Bxg5 $5 hxg5  14. Qf5 {is worthy of consideration but I gave it none!}) 13... a4 14. Be5 ({Fritz hasn't liked it much so far and thinks this is rubbish - it now prefers} 14. h4 {which I liked the look of but was concerned about the g pawn - Fz has no such qualms}) 14... c5? {an interesting idea but it's amazing how quickly the d file clears!} 15. Nxd5 Nxe5 (15... Nxd5 {is best but not what Black had in mind one move ago}) 16. Nxf6+ Bxf6 17. dxe5 {and suddenly 18.Bh7+ will leave the White Rook and Black Queen staring at each  other} Qc7 ({all tactics are fortunately working for White but best was probably} 17... Bg7 {when after} 18. Bh7+ Kxh7 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20. Qxf7 Rf8 21. Qe7 {White is clearly better but at least the game is still in progress}) (17... Bh8 {or e7 is hopeless -} 18. Qe4 f5 19. exf6) (17...Bxe5 { runs into } 18. Bh7+ Kxh7 19. Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Qe4 { and the bishop falls as well } ) 18. Qe4 Re8 (18... Rd8 {is a bit better but not much} 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. exf6 Ke8 21.  Bb5+ Bd7 22. Qh8#) 19. Qh7+ Kf8 20. exf6 Rxe2 21. Qh8# 1-0

15. Richard at Christmas

I would describe this as a typical game of mine around Christmas time, aggressive, not always sound and careless which should have cost me.

   [Event "Bedford A v Kents Luton"]  [Site "Luton"]  [Date "2015.12.14"]  [White "RT Bodily, 171."]  [Black "P Montgomery, 156."]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B07"]  [PlyCount "53"]1. e4 d6  2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Qe2 O-O 6. e5 dxe5 {I don't play the Modern/Pirc but not sure about this, it opens up lines for white's better developed pieces.} 7. dxe5 Ng4 8. Nf3 Nc6 {Pressuring e5. I didn't like the look of 9.Bf4 Nd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 so pushed on the e pawn which is destined for greatness} 9. e6 f6 {A definite mistake which although closing the position leaves white with better chances - f5 would have been better if black wanted to push the f pawn, although he is very cramped} 10. Bf4 Nd4 11. Nxd4 Qxd4 12. Bxc7 Nxf2 {I'd overlooked this but after the obvious reply white is much better} 13. Rf1 Qc5 14. Bg3 {Over confidence now creeps in, I assumed I was simply winning a piece} Ng4 15. Qxg4 f5 16. Qe2 Bxc3+ 17. bxc3 b5 18. Bb3 Qxc3+ 19. Kf2 f4 {I cannot now play 20. Bh4 as Qd4+ wins for black! Fortunately I have} 20. Kg1 fxg3 21.Rxf8+ Kxf8 22. Rf1+ Kg8 23.Qe4 {Over-confidence again, I thought that this was winning, looking at it now, 23 Qxb5 is much better} gxh2+ {A mistake 23...Qc5+ 24. Kh1 Rb8 was much better as 25. Qf4 is met by Qf5 as the Rf1 is not protected by the K} 24. Kh1 Rb8 25. Qf4 Qf6 26. Qxf6 exf6 27. e7+ {An entertaining if not altogether sound game} 1-0

14. Neil’s Nightmare (Part 2)
A classic Harbour-Hickman struggle with chances for, and blunders by,
both sides, and Harbour “luckily” coming out on top in the end.

   [Event "Christmas Friendly"]  [Date "21st Dec 2015"]  [White "John Harbour"]  [Black "Neil Hickman"]  [Result "1-0"]  1. a3 {Of course. By the way, those still puzzling over Steve's Christmas tree puzzle should look away now.}  a5 2. f3 Nf6 3. Kf2 Ng4+ 4. Kg3  Ne3 5. dxe3 e5 6. Bd2 Qe7 7. Bb4 axb4 8. axb4 Qc5 9. bxc5 Bd6 10. cxd6 Nc6 11.  Na3 Ne7 12. dxe7 d5 13. h4 g5 14. hxg5 e4 15. f4 Bd7 16. Kh4 Be6 17. g4 Bf5 18.  gxf5 Rg8 19. Kg4 Rg6 20. Nb5 Rxa1 21. Nf3 Rxd1 22. Nh4 Rxf1 23. Nf3 Rxh1 24.  Nh4 Re6 25. fxe6 Rd1 26. Kf5 c5 27. Ke5 c4 28. Ng6 c3 29. bxc3 Rb1 30. Na7 Rb6  31. Nc6 Rb3 32. c4 Rc3 33. c5 Rd3 34. c3 Rd4 35. cxd4 f5 {After playing this  move Neil spotted that it was mate in two and resigned.Since you got this far you are hereby challenged to beat Neil in a similar fashion, but more quickly.}

13. Neil’s Nightmare
They say you learn more from your losses than from your wins, from which I
must try to take comfort following my part in the Bedford D v MKC debacle.
With one hiccup I build up a pretty solid advantage which I keep almost to the
end of the game, but sensible defence by Colin Solloway underlines how
difficult it can sometimes be to win “won” games.

   [Event "Bedford D v MKC"]  [Date "2015.12.10"]  [White "Colin Solloway"]  [Black "Neil Hickman"]  [Result "1-0"]  [PlyCount "91"]  1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 {The  Steinitz Countergambit. See Game 85 in "Mr Fletcher's Gambits"} 3. e3 e6 4. c3  Nf6 5. Nd2 Nc6 6. Ngf3 cxd4 7. exd4 Bd6 8. Bg3 O-O 9. Bd3 Nh5 $5 {The position  essentially seems to call for a minority attack on the Q-side, but I wanted to  clarify the situation on the K-side first. Exchanging on g3 didn't appeal  because it seemed to me that the open f-file would help White - but I was  prepared to accept that if I also got the two bishops.} 10. Be5 $4 ({An  outright blunder, though I failed to realise this. And given the way the game  proceeds,} 10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. g3 {makes more sense}) 10... f6 $4 ({Missing the  fairly straightforward} 10... Bxe5 $1 11. Nxe5 (11. dxe5 Nf4 12. Bf1 Qc7) 11...  Nf4 12. Qf3 Nxe5 13. dxe5 Qg5 {when in either line the e-pawn drops and White  doesn't really have any compensation for it}) 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. g3 g6 13. O-O  e5 14. Be2 e4 15. Nh4 Ng7 16. Bg4 $2 f5 17. Bh3 $2 (17. Be2 f4 {is admittedly  not lovely either - Fritz reckons the least bad way for White to untangle his  bits is} 18. Ng2 $5 f3 19. Nxf3 exf3 20. Bxf3) 17... g5 18. Nxf5 Bxf5 19. Bg2 {Fritz has this at -3.75, in other words Black having the better position as  well as the extra material. White's approach is quite sensible - get his bits  on good squares, don't do anything too rash, and leave it to Black to prove  his advantage.} Qe6 20. Qb3 b6 21. Rae1 Rad8 22. Re3 Kh8 $2 ({Over-complicating  things. Simply} 22... Bh3 {both attacking the king's defenders and looking to swap off while material to the good;} 23. Bxh3 ({Fritz reckons the best for White is} 23. Rxe4 dxe4 24. Bxh3 Qxb3 25. axb3 {which says it all really}) (23. f3 Na5 24. Qd1 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Nf5 26. Re2 exf3+  27. Rxf3 (27. Nxf3 Ne3+) 27... Qg6) 23... Qxh3 {and if White seeks to exploit  the pin on the d-pawn simply} 24. Nxe4 Na5 25. Qb4 dxe4) 23. Rfe1 Bh3 24. f3  Bxg2 25. Kxg2 Na5 26. Qd1 Nf5 27. R3e2 Nc4 $4 ({I'd been trying to find a  flashy way through and now was the time for} 27... Nh4+ $1 28. gxh4 (28. Kg1  Nxf3+ 29. Nxf3 Rxf3) 28... exf3+ 29. Nxf3 Qg4+ 30. Kh1 Qxf3+ 31. Kg1 gxh4 32.  Rg2) 28. fxe4 $1 ({Avoiding} 28. Nxc4 $4 exf3+ {winning the exchange in view of  } 29. Kxf3 Nh4#) 28... dxe4 29. Nxc4 Qxc4 30. Rxe4 Qd5 $2 ({Over-complicating  again. Simply} 30... Qxa2 {when the fact that the b-pawn is en prise keeps  White on the back foot}) 31. Kg1 Qd6 $2 32. Qg4 h6 33. Re6 Qd5 34. a3 Qb3 $4 ({With the time control looming, Black finally implodes. Simply} 34... Rd6 {keeps a bit of advantage.}) 35. Qe2 (35. Qh5 {is actually clearly winning, but  it is more important to make the time control}) 35... Qd5 36. Qc2 Rd6 37. R6e5  Qf7 38. Qd2 Rf6 39. Qd3 Qh5 40. d5 Qh3 41. Re8 Ng7 $4 ({With time running out  in the blitz finish Black misses his chance. I spent most of my remaining time  looking at} 41... Nh4 $1 {but rejected it on account of} 42. Rxf8+ Rxf8 43.  Qd4+ Kg8 44. gxh4 {missing} Rf4 $1 {with mate or win of the queen}) 42. Rxf8+  Rxf8 43. d6 Qd7 44. Re7 Qd8 $4 (44... Qf5 45. Qxf5 Nxf5 46. Rxa7 Nxd6 {and  Black's still alive}) 45. Qd4 Kg8 46. Qxg7# 1-0

12. Paul vs Suffolk
Unusually one of my games actually reached mate, probably because I was down to 15 second increments with the time control at move 36. I might not have made it.

   [Event "Bedfordshire vs Suffolk"]  [Date "2015.11.29"]  [White "Paul Habershon (181)"]  [Black "Mark Levine (e183)"]  [Result "1-0"]  [PlyCount "69"]1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nxd5 exd5 5. d4 d6 6. Nf3 Be7 7. h3 O-O 8. Bd3  Nc6 9. c3 Be6 10. Qc2 h6 11. Bf4 dxe5 12. dxe5 d4 13. O-O-O Qd5 14. Nxd4 Nxd4  15. Bh7+ Kh8 16. Rxd4 Qxa2 17. Ra4 Qb3 18. Be4 Qxc2+ 19. Kxc2 c6 20. Be3 a6 21.  Bb6 Rac8 22. Rd4 Bd8 23. Bxd8 Rfxd8 24. Rhd1 Rxd4 25. Rxd4 g6 26. f4 Kg7 27. g4  Re8 28. Rd6 Bc8 29. Kd3 g5 $2 30. f5 {Now if 30...Rxe5 31 Rd8 wins the bishop.}  h5 31. gxh5 Rxe5 32. f6+ Kh6 33. Rd8 {Now there is a mating net.} g4 34. h4 $1  Rxe4 35. Rh8# 1-0

11. Gerry vs Norfolk
I sat down at board 14 against Norfolk and you can imagine my feelings to see my opponent was a teenager with a 161 grading and I had the black pieces! I always fear young opponents, as they tend to be tactically very clued up and full of new opening theory. This guy proved the exception to the rule and his tactics were sharp but dubious. The result was a really interesting game with lots of opportunity to go wrong, but which worked out well in the end.

   [Event "Bedfordshire v Norfolk"]  [Date "2015.11.29"]  [White "Saravanan, Karthik"]  [Black "Nolan, Gerry"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B01"]  [Annotator "Nolan,Gerry"]  [PlyCount "73"]  1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. Nf3 Bf5 5. c4 Nf6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8.  Nc3 O-O 9. Qb3 Qc8 10. Be3 Nbd7 {Looking to get some centre play going with c5.  } 11. h3 {The idea here seems to be to swap off the Bishop on f5.} c5 12. Nh4  Be4 {I was looking to get a Knight on c5, so the Bishop swap at e4 guarantees  me a Knight there, as the Knight on h4 is loose.} 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bf3 {  This is a poor move that gives Black a big advantage after cxd, where White  has two pieces en prise to my one.} cxd4 15. Bxe4 dxe3 (15... Nc5 16. Qc2 dxe3  17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Nf3 f5 19. Bg6 exf2+ 20. Rxf2 Ne4 21. Re2 Bc5+ 22. Kh1 Ng3+  23. Kh2 Qc7 24. Ne5 Bd6 25. Rae1 Nxe2 26. Qxe2 Bxe5+ 27. Qxe5 Qxe5+ 28. Rxe5  Rf6 {would be another interesting option, but I thought my approach was  simpler.}) 16. Qxe3 {I'm not sure he noticed that the Knight was at risk, but  retiring the Knight brings its own problems.} (16. Nf3 exf2+ 17. Kxf2 Nc5 18.  Qc2 f5 19. Bd3 e5 20. Nxe5 Ne4+ 21. Bxe4 Qc5+ 22. Ke2 Qxe5 {A better option  might have been:}) (16. Bxb7 exf2+ 17. Kh1 Nc5 18. Bxc8 Nxb3 19. axb3 Rfxc8 20.  Nf3 Bc5 {but White will struggle to deal with the Pawn on f7, as well as  protecting the Queenside Pawns.}) 16... Bxh4 17. Bxh7+ {The idea being KxB,  Qe4+ recovering the piece. So the next few Black moves are designed to prevent  that happening} Kh8 18. Bc2 Qxc4 19. Bd3 Qd5 20. Rfd1 Nf6 {I was concerned  about sneaky mate threats on h7 and I thought this would put paid to that idea  once and for all.} 21. g3 Bg5 22. f4 Bh6 23. g4 {This looks reallly dangerous,  but I don't think he had noticed the next obvious move.} e5 24. Bf5 (24. Qxe5  Qf3 25. Qe2 Qxf4 {might have been a better option, that saves an immediate  pawn loss.}) 24... Bxf4 25. Qf2 {Heading for h4 as a last resort.} Qb5 26. Qh4+  Kg8 27. g5 {Logical, but a move too late.} Be3+ 28. Kh1 Qc6+ 29. Kh2 Qf3 30.  Rf1 Bf4+ 31. Kg1 Qh5 (31... Qe3+ 32. Kh1 Bg3 33. Qc4 Rad8 34. Qc3 Qxg5 35. Rg1  Qxf5 36. Qxg3 Nh5 37. Qg4 {might have been a better option, but I wanted to  try and force an immediate swap of Queens, so the extra piece and Pawn could  be put to good use.}) 32. Rxf4 {Doesn't really help, but retiring the Queen  would lose a Pawn and the Bishop.} ({and swapping the Queens gives a similar  outcome} 32. Qxh5 Nxh5 33. Bg4 Ng3 34. Rfd1 Bxg5 35. Rd5 f5 36. Bd1) 32... exf4  33. Qxf4 Nd5 34. Qd2 Qf3 {Protecting the Knight, attacking the Bishop and  planning to swap Queens with Qe3+} 35. Rf1 Qe3+ 36. Rf2 Qxd2 37. Rxd2 {and  White resigned, being a Rook down with no saving options.} 0-1

10. Pins Galore!
Gerry’s notes on his Division 2 clash with Nigel.

   [Event "Division 2"]  [Date "2015.11.26"]  [White "Staddon, Nigel"]  [Black "Nolan, Gerry"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "B01"]  [Annotator "Nolan,Gerry"]  [PlyCount "96"]1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8.  O-O O-O 9. Be3 Nbd7 10. Qb3 Bxc3 11. bxc3 b6 12. Rfd1 Qe7 13. Bf4 c5 {All  fairly standard up to here.} 14. dxc5 {This move is a downturn in fortunes for  White. The threat of Bd6 was concerning me, but even allowing it to happen by  playing Nxc5 would still have kept Black looking ok. As it was, I opted for  what I considered a more agressive way forward. Komodo is happy with either  option.} e5 15. Be3 Nxc5 16. Qa3 {Komodo prefers Qc2, but this creates a pin  against the Black Queen, which turned out to be useful later.} Rac8 17. h3 Bh5  18. g4 {This gets rid of the awkward pin against the Bishop on e2, which  featured in a few variations as useful for Black, but Komodo doesn't like it  and it causes a lot of Pawn weaknesses in front of the King.} Bg6 19. g5 {  This looks to disrupt Black, but actually helps by creating further weaknesses.  The intention is to enable Rd5 and attack the e-Pawn plus double the Rooks,  but there's enough counterplay to overcome those threats.} Nh5 20. Rd5 f6 21.  Rad1 Nf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 {The threat against the loose Bishop returns to haunt  White!} 23. Re1 Be4 {Dreadful move that gives up the advantage completely. Now  I end up with my own Bishop pinned, after failing to move my Queen to a more  sensible square, like c7 etc.} 24. Bd3 f5 {With the Bishop and Knight both  pinned against the Queen, Black is heading for problems.} 25. Re5 ({This looks  useful, but Komodo recommends the wilder option that leads to a forced draw,  wiping out Black's advantage:} 25. Rxf5 Rxf5 26. Bxe4 Qf7 27. Bxf5 Qxf5 28.  Qxa7 Qxh3 29. Re7 Kh8 30. Qc7 Qg4+ 31. Kf1 Qh3+ 32. Kg1 Qg4+) 25... Qb7 26.  Bxe4 fxe4 27. Nd4 Nd3 ({Another poor move, going for the immediate material  gain, but ignoring much better opportunities:} 27... Qd7 28. Kh2 f3 29. R1xe4  Qd6 30. Re3 Rce8 31. Nc6 h5 32. Re1 Qxc6 33. Rxe8 Rxe8 34. Rxe8+ Qxe8 35. Qc1  Qe2 36. Kg1 Ne4) 28. R1xe4 Nxe5 29. Rxe5 Rfe8 30. Qd6 Rcd8 31. Rxe8+ Rxe8 32.  Qd5+ Qxd5 33. cxd5 Re1+ {Failing to notice the far more effective Re5 which  wins an immediate Pawn. Still, I figured the King could stop the White d-Pawn,  but this move just forces the White King onto a better square.} 34. Kg2 Rc1 35.  Kf3 Kf7 36. Kxf4 Ke7 37. f3 {Nf5 might have been a better option, but the  Black King can cope with the passed pawn and the rest of White's Pawns are  ripe for capture.} g6 38. h4 Kd6 39. Ne6 Kxd5 40. Nf8 Rxc3 41. Nxh7 Rc4+ {  The Rook will keep the White King away from useful squares while the Black  King can always reach the g-Pawn and prevent any problems there.} 42. Kg3 Ke5  43. Nf6 Ra4 44. f4+ Rxf4 45. Ng4+ Kf5 46. Ne3+ Ke4 {No more immediate checks  now, so it's just a matter of time.} 47. Ng4 Rf3+ 48. Kg2 Ra3 {The end.}

9. Derby action
Apart from move 14, I thought I played okay in this game. However it doesn’t take long to prove that I didn’t. Still, the game was quite instructive and I’ve learnt a few things from it.

   [Event "Beds League"]  [Site "Bedford"]  [Date "2015.11.19"]  [White "Collacott, Nick"]  [Black "Habershon, Paul"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "D37"]  [PlyCount "51"]  [SourceDate "2015.11.20"]  [WhiteTeam "Bedford B"]  [BlackTeam "Bedford A"]1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5.  Bf4 c6 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 Nbd7 8. c5 b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 Bb7 11. h3 Qc8 12. O-O  Ba6 13. Bxa6 Qxa6 14. Bc7 $2 {Bizarre.} (14. Rb1 {Was played in a couple of  games, most recently Cheparinov-Georgiev, 2012. Obviously we were both aware  of this game, but decided to deviate as that encounter ended in a draw.}) 14...  Rfc8 15. Bh2 axb4 16. axb4 Qc4 17. Qd2 Bd8 (17... Qxb4 {was the move I was  expecting in the game. I thought at the time that black was just much better  but the engine declares it not so clear.} 18. Rxa8 Rxa8 19. Rb1 Qa5 20. Bc7 $1  {The return of the bishop to this square is something I missed in the game.}  Bd8 21. Bxd8 Rxd8 22. cxb6 Rb8 (22... Nxb6 {Doesn't work after} 23. Nxd5 {  (also missed).}) 23. Ne4 {Doubt I'd have seen this.} Qxd2 24. Nexd2 Rxb6 25.  Rxb6 Nxb6 26. Ne5 $11) 18. Qb2 Qd3 19. Rfd1 Qf5 20. Ra3 (20. b5 $1 {This  thematic advance is the engine move. After burning up lots of time in the  opening thinking about it, obviously I don't consider it here.} cxb5 (20...  bxc5 {Opening the b-file for white's queen isn't desirable either} 21. bxc6  Rxa1 22. Rxa1 Rxc6 23. Qb7 $18) 21. Nxb5 {Hitting the d6-square.} Ne4 22. Rxa8  Rxa8 23. c6 {Black's pieces provide the advancing pawn with several tempi.}  Ndf6 24. c7 Be7 25. Na7 $18) 20... Ne4 21. Rda1 Rxa3 22. Qxa3 Nxc3 (22... Bf6 {  to create a bit of space for the rook would have allowed black to continue.})  23. Qa6 {The lack of space and weak back rank mean it's all over.} Kf8 24. Qxc8  Ke8 25. Bc7 Qf6 26. Ra8 {And as we both saw it was mate in 7, black resigned.}

8. Top board clash
My game against James Alexander seems to have been quite a reasonable one until the last move before the time control…

   [Event "Bedford D v OU"]     [Date "2015.11.12"]   [White "Alexander, J O'D."]   [Black "Hickman, N."]   [Result "1/2-1/2"]   [ECO "A26"]   [Annotator "Hickman,Neil"]   [PlyCount "76"]     1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 {No opening preparation at all before this game; so I decided to try and play a Closed Sicilian a move in arrears. The idea seems vaguely playable but I really ought to learn something a bit more effective.} 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Nf3 Nge7 {The first break with symmetry, and not a marvellous one} 7. O-O Bg4 8. h3 {Unless White does this at once,   the line up of the Q on d7 and the B going to h3 may prove awkward for White} Bd7 9. e4 {If I had White, I think I'd be feeling that an awful lot of pawns were getting onto White squares, somehow.} ({This position has been reached in master play, apparently -} 9. Rb1 a5 10. a3 Qc8 11. Kh2 h5 12. b4 h4 $6 13. g4 $2 axb4 14. axb4 Bxg4 $5 {and Black won in 31, with a bit of help from his opponent - Irwanto,S-Tedy,S Jakarta 1997} 15. hxg4 h3 $1 16. Bh1 e4 $1 17. Nxe4 Qxg4 18. b5 Ne5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5+ 20. f4 Bg7 21. Bf3 Qe6 22. b6 c5 23. Be3 f5 24. Nxc5 Qxe3 25. Bxb7 Ra2 26. Bf3 Ra5 27. b7 Kf7 28. Kh1 Rb8 29. Qe1 Kf8 30. Qh4   Ra7 31. Qxh3) 9... O-O 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne7 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bd2 (13. Be3 {is more accurate, but it was very hard to see that at this stage}) 13... c6 14. dxc6 bxc6 $5 {At first sight, this pawn is backward. But it is well defended by the B on d7 and after a bit of regrouping I am going to be able to control c5 so that it will be able to advance. And after that happens I think Black is doing quite well on the Q-side.} 15. Kh2 d5 16. Qc1 Kh7 17. Bc3 $6 {I didn't get to ask James what this move was for. It seems to be intended to force ...d4 before attacking the "backward" c-pawn, but I think the pawns piling up on the white squares are more significant.} d4 18. Bb4 Re8 19. a3 Qc7 20. Bc5 Nc8 $1 {Silman would approve. Black has worked out where the N needs to be, and that accounts for the next three moves.} 21. Nd2 Nd6 22. Nc4 Nb7 $1 $15 23. Bb4 c5 (23... a5 {may be more accurate}) 24. Bd2 Nd6 {Now the N needs to turn its attention to the next square on the pawn's journey...} 25. Nxd6 $6 Qxd6 26. f4   $1 {Fritz doesn't particularly like this move, but I think that with what is going on on the Q-side and the bad KB, unless White attacks pretty hard on the K-side he is going to be appreciably worse.} Be6 $6 (26... Rac8 $1 {and if} 27. fxe5 Qe6 $1) 27. Rf3 h5 $5 ({Again, the thematic} 27... Rac8 {is promising, e.g.} 28. f5 gxf5 29. exf5 Bd5 $1 30. Rf2 Bxg2 31. Rxg2 Qa6 {and Black is   winning on the white squares}) 28. Qf1 f5 $6 (28... exf4 29. Bxf4 Qa6 {is -/+ according to Fritz}) 29. fxe5 Bxe5 30. Bf4 fxe4 (30... h4 $5 $17 {says Fritz}) 31. Bxe5 Qxe5 $11 32. dxe4 $2 ({A mistake, though neither of us realised at the time.} 32. Rf4 $1 {forces Black to find} e3 $1 33. Bxa8 Rxa8 {when the passed pawn and the white squares are sufficient for the exchange. Fritz wants to play} 34. Re4 Qg7 $3 35. Rxe6 Rf8 36. Qc1 Rf2+ 37. Kg1 Qc7 38. Rxe3 dxe3 39. Qxe3 Rxb2 {when I am reminded of a comment of Hartston's many years ago - "Funny way to reach a drawn endgame"...}) 32... Rab8 33. Qf2 h4 $6 ({Looks promising, but isn't quite good enough} 33... c4 {seems to be the move, with   the idea that when Black plays ...d3 threatening ...Rxb2, the d-pawn is defended.}) 34. Kh1 $4 {Fritz reckons this is a lemon, too.} hxg3 35. Rxg3 (35. Qxg3 $4 Qxg3 36. Rxg3 Rxb2 {and there is no way White can resist the united pawns.}) 35... d3 $4 ({What saves White is the fact that we are at move 35. I had about 7 minutes to the time control and couldn't quite work out the   consequences of} 35... Rxb2 $1 36. Qxb2 Qxg3 37. Qb7+ Kh6 38. Qxa7 Bxh3 {when in fact after} 39. Ra2 Rf8 {White can resign}) ({In the post-mortem we looked at} 35... c4 {which looks promising, but after} 36. Rf1 {there seemed to be an   awful lot of lines in which Black got mated}) 36. Rxd3 Rxb2 37. Qh4+ {James offered a draw. I declined, feeling I was still better. Fritz agrees, but would probably cope better that I would with having 19 minutes for all the rest of the moves.} Kg7 38. Rad1 Rb7 {Black is still a bit better, largely because of the bad bishop, but most of the advantage has gone and I decided   discretion was the better part.} 1/2-1/2

7. Harbour arrives in Division 1!
Inspired by Anderssen’s 1858 heroics (Miles’ 1980 heroics, more like), John shows he is not there to make up the numbers against the strongest player in the competition.

  [Event "Division 1"]  [Site "Bedford"]  [Date "2015.11.05"]  [White "John Harbour"]  [Black "Steve Ledger"]  [Result "1-0"]  [WhiteElo "143"]  [BlackElo "195"]  [PlyCount "65"]  1. a3 {This was the extent of my opening preparation - deciding to play as  Black with an extra move. } d5 2. d3 Nf6 3.  Bg5 Nbd7 4. Nf3 h6 5. Bh4 c6 6. c3 g5 7. Bg3 Nh5 8. Nbd2 Bg7 9. e4 Nxg3 10.  hxg3 dxe4 11. dxe4 Nc5 12. Qc2 a5 13. Rd1 Qc7 14. Be2 {Maybe Bc4 is better  here, heading to a2 and perhaps b1. [Fritz prefers Be2.]} O-O {I looked at  ideas based on 15.e5 and 15.Nxg5, but they get nowhere after Rfd8. I didn't  really believe that Steve would have allowed such cheapos to work.} 15. O-O a4  16. Nc4 e5 {I was surprised by this. Black's kingside is getting full of holes.  } 17. Ne3 b5 18. Nd2 Be6 19. Bg4 Bxg4 20. Nxg4 Rad8 21. Nf3 Qe7 22. Ne3 Qe6 23. Nf5 Rfe8 24. Qe2 {A big decision. I can lop the  bishop off, exchange the rooks and go into a Q+N ending. I decided that I was  slightly worse in that ending, so let the bishop get away.} Bf8 25. Nh2 Nb7 26.  Ng4 Nd6 27. Nge3 Nxe4 {Oh dear, or words to that effect. The rabbit blunders a  pawn. The thought of resigning crossed my mind to save myself an hour or two  of hard work before the inevitable result.} 28. g4 Nd6 29. Ng3 Rd7 30. Qf3 Rc8  31. Nh5 Bg7 32. Rd2 e4 {I felt at the time that this gave me a chance to  exploit the pin on the d-file to win this loosened pawn. [Fritz disagrees,  seeing Rd2 as a blunder and ...e4 as the best move.]} 33. Qe2 Rcd8 34. Rfd1 Be5  35. Nc2 {[Fritz gives this the red blob.]} Bf4 {[Steve misses his chance, and  Fritz's evaluation shifts from -2.5 to +2.0]} (35... Nc4 36. Rxd7 Rxd7 37. Rxd7  Qxd7 38. Qxe4 Qd1+ 39. Ne1 f5) 36. Nd4 Qc4 37. Nxf4 {[Black's ahead again  after this. Nf6+ was the move.] I didn't even consider the possibility. There's  no excuse for this, as we've just passed the time control and we were playing  with increments, getting an extra 30 seconds a move.}  } gxf4 38. Qe1 e3 39. fxe3 Ne4 40. Rd3 c5 41.  exf4 Nf6 (41... cxd4 42. Qxe4 dxc3 43. Rxd7 Qxe4 44. Rxd8+ Kg7 {is the narrow  path that Fritz treads to keep Black ahead. Tough to see for mere humans.}) 42.  Qh4 cxd4 43. Qxf6 Rd6 44. Qe5 Re6 45. Qf5 Rd5 46. Rxd4 {The tactics have  worked out in my favour, and when I saw that this move works I also realised for the first time that I had won three pawns in the last ten moves, and might actually be winning.} Rxf5 ({[Fritz disagrees, giving the position an evaluation of 0.00 with lines such as this]} 46... Rxd4 47. Rxd4 Re1+ 48. Kh2  Qf1 49. Rd8+ Kg7 50. Rd3 Qh1+ 51. Kg3 Re2 52. Qd5) 47. Rxc4 bxc4 48. gxf5 Rb6  49. Rd4 Rxb2 50. Rxc4 Rb3 51. Rxa4 Rxc3 52. Ra5 Kg7  53. Kh2 Kf6 54. g3 Rc1 55. Kh3 h5 56. Re5 Ra1 57. Ra5 Ra2 58. Ra7 Kxf5 $2 {This helps White. If we get to the position with Pa7 and Ra8, Black will miss the shelter of his f-pawn. Plus I've now got another passed pawn. Later: in fact this is the losing move. If Black keeps this pawn then when White wins Black's rook on a8, Black's king and pawn will be heading for their own touchdown on f1.} 59. Rxf7+ Kg6 60. Ra7 Kf5 61. a4 Rc2 62. Ra8 Ra2 63. a5 h4 64. Rf8+ Kg6 65. Rg8+ Kf7  66. Rg5 hxg3 67. Kxg3 Kf6 {Down to 6 pieces, so the endgame tablebases know the truth. It's mate in 33 if White plays the best move - Rc5.} 68. Rb5 Ra1 69.  Kf3 Rf1+ 70. Ke4 Re1+ 71. Kd4 Rf1 72. f5 Rf4+ 73. Kc5 Rxf5+ 74. Kb6 Rf1 75. a6  Re1 76. a7 Re6+ 77. Ka5 Re1 78. Rb8 Ra1+ 79. Kb6 Rb1+ 80. Kc5 1-0

6. A cry for help!?
Notes (and title) by Peter.

  [Event "Milton Keynes C"]  [Date "2015.10.29"]  [White "John McKeon"]  [Black "PSG"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "B06"]  1.d4 g6 2.e4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 Nd7 5.Qd2 e5 6.d5 Ngf6 7.Bh6 Bxh6 { I don't recall ever seeing this before - White usually waits for Black to castle. } 8.Qxh6 Ng4 9.Qg7 Qf6 { I considered Ke7 at this point in the hope of trapping the black Queen but couldn't see 10 Nf3 Rg8 11 Qxh7 g5! which is at least interesting. } 10.Qxf6 Ngxf6 { I felt reasonably comfortable. I was hoping to play f5 at some point and then double on the f file. } 11.Be2 Nc5 12.f3 Bd7 13.O-O-O O-O-O 14.Bb5 Nh5 15.Nge2 f5 16.Bxd7+ Rxd7 17.g4 { Black was already a little better but now White drops a pawn. No need to think any more! } 17...fxg4 18.fxg4 Nf6 19.h3 Ncxe4 { I started to congratulate myself on starting the season with two wins in a row. Maybe I would get back to the days when I used to hack it with Division 1 types like Chris and John. } 20.Rdf1 { Whoops - as I hadn't bothered to think at all I hadn't looked even this far ahead! Too late now because at this point my brain completely disappeared. Obviously not 20....Rf8 21 Nxe4 but I didn't notice that the Knight, covered by the e5 Knight and was not in immediate peril. Honestly! } 20...Nxc3 { Played with no thought whatsoever – now the f5 Knight was in peril! Instead 20.....R2d1 makes a cosy place for the Knight and enables Black to contest the f file with a Rook on f1 defended by the Knight and the other Rook. } 21.Nxc3 Ne8 { By now I was assuming I'd lose, and just hoping for swindles. But why? With the extra pawn I was still slightly better - computer says so. } 22.Rf2 h5 23.g5 Ng7 { Not better after this - but still level. Rg8 would have kept me slightly ahead. } 24.Rf6 Nf5 25.Rxg6 Rg7 { Now I am worse. Ng3 or Nh4 keeps me chances. } 26.Rxg7 Nxg7 27.Rf1 h4 28.Rf7 Nh5 29.Ne4 Nf4 30.c4 Nxh3 { Even after all the abysmal moves I had played I could still have played on if I'd left my Knight where it was - even as I moved it I realised that there would be no defence to g6, g7. But then I'd been expecting to lose since move 21. Should anyone come across my missing brain would they be kind enough to return it? }

5. Knights on the rim …
A solid game by White, finished prettily. Notes by Chris..

  [Event "Division 1"]  [Site "Bedford"]  [Date "2015.10.22"]  [White "Chris Hill"]  [Black "Marc Obi"]  [Result "1-0"]  [WhiteElo "162"]  [BlackElo "163"]  [PlyCount "57"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qe7 7. a3 Bxd2+ 8.  Qxd2 Ne4 9. Qc2 d5 10. O-O Nd7 11. Nc3 Ndf6 12. Ne5 O-O 13. Rac1 Rac8 $2 {Nc3  and c5 are necessary - Equal per Fritz} 14. Nxe4 Nxe4 15. cxd5 exd5 16. Nc6  Bxc6 $2 {better to give up the a pawn} 17. Qxc6 Rfd8 {missing} 18. Bh3 $1 {The  bishop controls the game and in particular the c8 square from now on} Rb8 19.  Qxc7 Qf6 20. Qe5 $2 (20. e3 {is more solid}) 20... Qxe5 21. dxe5 Nd2 22. Rfd1  Nc4 {winning back the pawn but at great cost} 23. e6 $1 Nxb2 24. Rd4 $2 (24. e7  $1) 24... Nc4 $2 ({Missing the last chance to play} 24... fxe6) 25. e7 $1 Re8  26. Rxd5 Nxa3 $2 (26... b5 {holds for a little longer}) 27. Rc8 $1 {winning at  once} Rbxc8 28. Bxc8 f5 29. Be6+ 1-0

4. The CvD top board 1 clash
An interesting game that shows how small advantages can cause increasing problems and grow much bigger – notes by the winner.

  [Event "Bedford D v Bedford C"]  [Date "2015.10.22"]  [White "Nolan, Gerry"]  [Black "Hickman, Neil"]  [Result "1-0"]  [ECO "D52"]  [WhiteElo "151"]  [BlackElo "154"]  [Annotator "Nolan,Gerry"]  [PlyCount "81"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. e3  c6 6. Nf3 Qa5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qb3 Bb4 9. Rc1 {All fairly bookish up to here,  with Komodo giving it as equal.} N7b6 {Komodo isn't keen on this. The  intention is to swap the Knight and then play Nd5, maintaining the pressure on  c3.} 10. e4 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bd6 12. e5 {I wanted to avoid Black being able to  play e5 and then Be6, pressurising the a-Pawn, plus I thought this would  bottle up the white-squared Bishop. Komodo prefers a simple Be2, or Bd2.} Ba3  13. Rb1 c5 14. Bd2 ({A far better option would have been:} 14. Qb5+ Qxb5 15.  Bxb5+ Bd7 16. Bxd7+ Kxd7 17. Rb3 h6 18. Bd2 Nc4 19. Rxb7+ Ke8 {etc.}) 14... O-O  15. Bb5 {This virtually forces the win of a pawn.} c4 16. Bxc4 Nxc4 17. Qxc4 b6  18. Qb3 Be7 {Komodo prefers Qa6 to impede castling, but this move eliminates  any problems with a potentially loose Bishop.} 19. c4 Qa6 20. O-O Bd7 21. Bb4 {  This is a bit dubious as it gives up the a-Pawn, but I wanted to get rid of  the black-squared Bishop and by taking the a-Pawn, Black's Queen is a bit out  of the game and helps me get my Rooks onto better squares.} Bxb4 22. Qxb4 Qxa2  23. Ra1 Qc2 24. d5 Rfc8 {Komodo prefers a5, to get the pawn onto a safe square,  as it soon becomes a problem on a7.} 25. Rfc1 Qe4 26. Qe7 Be8 27. d6 Qc6 28.  Rxa7 Rxa7 29. Qxa7 f6 ({According to Komodo the following would have been a  better option.} 29... Ra8 30. Qe7 b5 31. Nd2 Ra2 32. Nb3 Ra8 33. Qc7) 30. Qe7  Qd7 31. exf6 gxf6 32. Qxf6 Qxd6 33. h4 {Trying to avoid sneaky back-rank  possibilities and thinking of advancing the Pawn further.} b5 {Komodo much  prefers Bg6, to shore up the Kingside a bit more. This move pushes the  evaluation to around 5.0 in favour of White.} 34. Qg5+ Kh8 35. cxb5 Rb8 {  Komodo much prefers the exchange of Rooks, with this move making the  evaluation dramatically worse.} 36. Qf6+ Kg8 37. Ng5 (37. Ne5 Rb7 38. Rc8 Qe7  39. Qxe7 Rxe7 40. b6 h6 41. Rc7 {would have been a much better option.}) 37...  Rxb5 38. Nxe6 Rb7 39. Qg5+ Kh8 40. Re1 {With the dual purpose of defending the  Knight and possible uncovered attacks on the Bishop.} Re7 {Looks like the  Knight is a goner, becasue of the pin on the Rook on e1, but...} 41. Qf6+ {and  mate next move, as the Rook is blocking the key f8 square.} 1-0

It’s always interesting to hear what the opposition thought – Neil subsequently made a few points from his perspective:-

I am not sure I quite agree with Gerry at two or three points in our game.
Gerry saw 12 e5 as bottling up the white square bishop – I saw it as potentially offering some tasty white squares. Wouldn’t it be boring if such questions had clear answers?
Fritz suggests 18…Bb7 aiming for the white squares. I think that was more to the point and indeed after 19.c4 Qa6 20.Qd3 Bxf3 (swapping the white squares for a pawn weakness) 21.gxf3 (21.Qxf3? Rac8 and the c-pawn drops) 21…f6 Black seems to have equalised.
I don’t agree at all that 21 Bb4! was dubious. Getting rid of the two bishops and decentralising the BQ is worth more than the pawn.
24 d5! is very strong. I agree with Gerry that 24…a5 is a better idea than the move I played – at least with a passed pawn with a rook behind it, Black will have a useful imbalance to work with, though White seems clearly better after 25.Qxb6 Qxc4 26.d6 a4.
And the rest is just too horrible to discuss…

3. A Captain’s Innings

The new B team captain plays decisively to hold Leighton Buzzard A.

  [Event "Bedford B v Leighton Buzzard A"]  [Site "Bedford"]  [Date "2015.10.15"]  [Round "?"]  [White "Taylor, Alex"]  [Black "Law, S."]  [Result "1-0"]  [PlyCount "75"]  [EventDate "2015.??.??"]   1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. f3  O-O 6. Qd2 c6 {last book move} 7. g4 Qa5 8. Nge2 b5 9. Ng3 Nbd7 10. h4 (10. a3  $5 $14) 10... b4 $11 11. Nd1 c5 12. c3 cxd4 ({Fritz suggests} 12... bxc3 13.  bxc3 Rb8 14. h5 {gives Black a small edge}) 13. cxd4 $11 h5 14. Be2 hxg4 15.  fxg4 Bb7 16. Nf2 d5 17. e5 Ne4 18. Nfxe4 dxe4 19. Bc4 ({Fritz gives this a ??,  preferring} 19. h5 Nxe5 20. h6) {According to the Iron Monster Black has a  small plus over the next few moves. It was certainly hairy after...} 19... Nxe5  ({but positively terrifying after} 19... Bxe5 $3 20. dxe5 Nxe5 21. Qe2 (21. Be2  Rfd8 22. Qc2 Rac8) 21... Nd3+ 22. Bxd3 exd3 23. Qxd3 Rfd8 {imvho - Ed}) 20.  dxe5 $15 Qxe5 (20... Bxe5 $142 21. Nf1 Rad8 $11) 21. Ne2 $16 a5 22. O-O {I was  a bit anxious about my king in the centre, but Fritz prefers} (22. Rd1 Qc7 23.  Qc2 Bc3+ 24. bxc3 Qxc4 $18) 22... Rad8 (22... Rac8 23. b3 Rfd8 24. Bxf7+ Kh7  25. Qe1 Qxa1 26. Qxa1 Bxa1 27. Rxa1 $11) 23. Qe1 (23. Bxf7+ Kh7 24. Qc2 Qxb2  $16) 23... Bd5 {I had expected Qxb2, and after this move things sort of calmed  down and I felt a bit better, although I still had to sort my pieces out!} 24.  Bxd5 $16 Rxd5 25. Rb1 Qe6 26. Qg3 Qd7 27. Nf4 Be5 28. Qg2 $18 Bxf4 (28... Rd6  29. h5 $18) 29. Rxf4 (29. Bxf4 Rd3 30. Rbe1 Qd4+ 31. Kh2 b3 32. axb3 Rxb3 33.  Rxe4 Qxb2 $18) 29... Re5 (29... Rd1+ 30. Rxd1 Qxd1+ 31. Kh2 e5 $18) 30. Rxe4  Qd3 31. Rxe5 Qxb1+ 32. Kh2 Qxa2 33. Rxe7 Rd8 34. Qf2 Qd5 35. Bg5 {Fritz much  prefers Richard's suggestion of Qf6 when white forces the queens off and mops  up the queenside pawns.} a4 36. Qf6 ({The flashy} 36. Rxf7 {loses to} Qxf7 37.  Qxf7+ Kxf7 38. Bxd8 a3 $1 {when one of the pawns queens}) 36... Rc8 37. Re2 Rc6  $4 (37... Qc4 38. Rf2 Qc7+ 39. Bf4 Qd8 40. Qxd8+ Rxd8 $18) 38. Re8+ 1-0

2. Nice pair of bishops!

My game in the 2015 Fleming Trophy match wasn’t terribly profound – reasonable positional play followed by a blunder by the opponent – but had its instructive aspects.

  [Event "Beds v Bucks (Fleming Trophy) Board 12"]   [Site "Milton Keynes"]   [Date "2015.09.13"]   [Round "?"]   [White "Finn, P."]   [Black "Hickman, N."]   [Result "0-1"]   [ECO "C08"]   [Annotator "Hickman,Neil"]   [PlyCount "68"]   1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. dxc5 $6 ({A rare line.} 4. exd5 {is most usual, with 4 Ngf3 also fairly respectable}) 4... Bxc5 5. Nb3 Bd6 6. exd5 exd5 7. Nf3 ({Not, of course,} 7. Qxd5 $4 Bb4+ {, a familiar motif in the French}) 7... Nf6 8. Bg5 {Interestingly, White played this move, put the bishop back on c1, thought some more, decided to play it anyway} Be6 9. Qd4 Nc6 10. Bb5 O-O $1 11. Bxc6 {I suspected White might be tempted by this} bxc6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 $1 {White was tempted by the doubled pawns, but the other imbalance in the position is that Black has two bishops against two knights. Black wants the queens out of the way so as to avoid cheapos on the weak squares.} 13. Qxf6 gxf6 14. O-O-O c5 $1 {This is the position I had aimed for at move 10. The key to playing with two bishops against two knights is using the pawns to deny the knights the squares they need.} 15. c3 a5 16. Nbd2 d4 17. c4 {"Trying to keep the position closed" - but at the cost of allowing Black a protected passed pawn which, much later, will prove decisive.} Bf4 18. g3 Bh6 {I had been able to play quite quickly up to here, and as White had arrived 20 minutes late, I was a long way ahead on the clock. Over the next six moves I took 35 minutes. While I felt I had the better position, how to convert it into a win was not immediately obvious.} 19. Kb1 Bf5+ 20. Ka1 a4 $1 {As before, the knight must be denied the b3 square.} 21. Nh4 Bd3 22. f4 Rfe8 {I think ideally Black wants to swap one pair of rooks and park the remaining one on e2} 23. Rhe1 f5 24. Nhf3 Be2 25. Rc1 Re3 {With the idea of doubling the rooks on the e-file.} (25... a3 26. b3 Bg7 {was another, possibly better, idea. But kicking the f3 knight reaps an unexpected reward}) 26. Ne5 $4 Rxe5 $1 ({It is easy to overlook moving the rook backwards. And it was only after deciding that} 26...f6 27. Nd7 {was going nowhere that it dawned on me that the e3 rook could come back down the file.}) 27. fxe5 Bxd2 {White could have spared himself the rest, I think.} 28. Rxe2 Bxc1 29. Rf2 Be3 30. Rxf5 d3 31. Rf1 Re8 {"Passed pawns must be pushed" - but keeping the pawn in reserve proves to be a good idea} 32. b3 $6 ({I suppose he had to try} 32. Rd1) 32... axb3 ({Inaccurate, apparently. } 32... Bd4+ 33. Kb1 axb3 {forces mate, according to Fritz}) 33. axb3 ({White could avert mate by} 33. Kb2 {but not, of course, the loss of the game}) 33...Bd4+ {Back on track.} 34. Kb1 Ra8 {It is mate in two, with the d3 pawn cutting off a flight square.} 0-1

1. Mayhem in the season opener
Peter confounds the rating system and Richard gets a bit lucky!

   [Event "Open"]  [Site "Bedford"]  [Date "2015.08.20"]  [White "Peter, Housden"]  [Black "Richard, Bodily"]  [Result "0-1"]  [ECO "E14"]  [WhiteElo "108"]  [BlackElo "171"]  [PlyCount "65"]  [EventDate "2015.??.??"]   1. d4 c5 2. e3 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. c4 b6 5. Nc3 Bb7 6. Bd3 d5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Be7  9. dxc5 Bxc5 {All standard so far, but this gives white tempo which he uses  well. bxc5 is better} 10. b4 Be7 11. Qc2 Rc8 12. Bb2 O-O (12... dxc4 13. Bxc4  Nxb4 14. axb4 Rxc4 15. Rxa7 {must be a better choice for black, i thought that  i'd castle first, not wanting any surprises.}) 13. Rad1 a5 14. cxd5 exd5 15. b5  Nb8 16. Qb1 Nbd7 17. Nd4 Re8 18. a4 Bf8 {I felt a lot happier now, continuing  to improve my pieces and control over e4 but overlooked threats on the  queenside and in the centre.} 19. Nce2 (19. Nc6 Bxc6 20. bxc6 Rxc6 21. Nxd5  Nxd5 22. Bxh7+ {looks like a promising alternative - Ed}) 19... Nc5 20. Bc2  Nfe4 21. Nf4 g6 {A mistake, intending Bg7 but weakening the kings position,  better was Bd6 and play on the king side.} 22. Nc6 Bxc6 23. bxc6 Rxc6 24. Nxd5  Rd6 {Black continues to grovel in a worse position, with disaster looming but  Peter now misses his best chance} 25. f3 (25. Bxe4 Nxe4 26. Qd3 {was the  strong alternative}) 25... Rxd5 26. Rxd5 {Taking on e4 was better, this forces  black's queen to a strong central square} Qxd5 27. fxe4 Nxe4 {I now thought i  had a decisive edge, simply neutralise the dark square bishop, how wrong could  i be} 28. Ba1 {A good move, at the time, i thought this was winning. All i  could see were horrible threats of Qb2 and Bb3 and then taking on f7. The mate  threat on h8 is particularly difficult to meet. I spent most of my remaining  time on the reply which was out of desparation and contained what i thought  was a cunning trap.} Bc5 29. Re1 ({I had hoped for} 29. Qb2 {threatening mate  which fails to} Bxe3+ 30. Kh1 Ng3+ 31. hxg3 Qh5#) 29... Qd2 30. Bxe4 Bxe3+ {A  bad error, simply Re4 maintains the advantage. The move played places my  remaining pieces on poor squares} 31. Kh1 Rxe4 32. Rd1 {Oh dear! All i could  see here was my queen attacked and unable to move without mate and the rook  also attacked} Rb4 {Both of us were now down to our last 5 minutes. I thought  this rather good, saving the rook and forcing the queens off but it is a  losing blunder.} ({Much better is} 32... Re8! $1 33. Rxd2 Bxd2 {which regains  the Queen with an easy win. This retreating rook move is hard to see and never  occurred to me during the game.}) {Peter clearly thought Rb4 good enough and  spent all his remaining time unable to find a reply, so Black wins on time,  but as pointed out immediately after the game by Peter Gill,} 33. Qc2!! {wins  for White! Black has no sensible reply and must lose the queen for a rook.} 0-1

2 Replies to “Games played by club members in the 2015-16 season”

Gerry N says:

January 8, 2016 at 3:16 pm

Not often a solid French defence gets wiped out. Great game Steve.

Neil says:

October 31, 2015 at 7:40 pm

I am not sure I quite agree with Gerry at two or three points in our game.
Gerry saw 12 e5 as bottling up the white square bishop – I saw it as potentially offering some tasty white squares. Wouldn’t it be boring if such questions had clear answers?
Fritz suggests 18…Bb7 aiming for the white squares. I think that was more to the point and indeed after 19.c4 Qa6 20.Qd3 Bxf3 (swapping the white squares for a pawn weakness) 21.gxf3 (21.Qxf3? Rac8 and the c-pawn drops) 21…f6 Black seems to have equalised.
I don’t agree at all that 21 Bb4! was dubious. Getting rid of the two bishops and decentralising the BQ is worth more than the pawn.
24 d5! is very strong. I agree with Gerry that 24…a5 is a better idea than the move I played – at least with a passed pawn with a rook behind it, Black will have a useful imbalance to work with, though White seems clearly better after 25.Qxb6 Qxc4 26.d6 a4.
And the rest is just too horrible to discuss…

2 Replies to “Games played by club members in the 2015-16 season”

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