- Bedford C v Bedford D - Bedford Chess Club

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