Codger Has Fun... - Bedford Chess Club

So while my former clubmates were enjoying Super Thursday, I wandered along to Wymondham Chess Club, which meets in a room over a pub and is charged no rent for its premises on the basis that chess players drink a lot of beer… This was my second game of the evening against Lee Clarke, an interesting young player rated 134, who had squashed me fairly convincingly with Black after 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Ne7!? In the present game I had been outplayed as Black in a Giuoco Piano and resorted to a somewhat desperate sac of knight for two pawns. Slightly casual play by White had allowed me to gather a third pawn. I decided to try and emulate Boris Spassky against Larsen. Or something…

 [Event "Casual game"] [Site "Wymondham"] [Date "2016.06.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Clarke, Lee (134J)"] [Black "Hickman, N."] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Hickman,Neil"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "5r2/1p4k1/1p4pN/2p1qp2/4pRP1/2PpQ2P/1P3RK1/r7 b - - 0 0"] [PlyCount "27"]  1... Re1 $5 {An extremely violent way of breaking the queen blockade, ultimately based purely on the maxim that two united pawns on the sixth are worth a rook. The combination turns out to have plenty of holes in it, but over the board Black gets lots of play, and the problems White faces are too much.} 2. Qxe1 e3 3. R2f3 $2 ({The way to refute a sacrifice is often to be prepared to give some of the material back; and after} 3. Nxf5+ gxf5 4. Rxf5 Qe4+ 5. Kg3 Rxf5 6. Rxf5 e2 7. Kf2 {Black has run out of steam according to Fritz}) 3... e2 $2 (3... d2 {which I rejected because it allowed White to re-establish the blockade} 4. Qe2 Kxh6 {and Black does have full compensation for the material, e.g.} 5. gxf5 Rxf5 6. Rxf5 gxf5 7. Rxe3 (7. Rf1 Qe4+) 7... Qd5+ 8. Kh2 d1=Q 9. Re6+ Kh7 10. Re7+ Kg8 11. Re8+ Kf7 12. Re7+ (12. Qe7+ $4 Kg6 {and the Black K escapes}) 12... Kf6 13. Re6+ Qxe6 14. Qxd1 $17) 4. Kf2 $6 (4. Rxd3 {is playable, which I hadn't appreciated before pushing the e-pawn, because after} Qxf4 5. Rd7+ $1 {of course} Kxh6 $4 6. Qh4#) 4... Rd8 $6 (4... Kxh6 5. gxf5 g5 6. Rg4 c4 {when Fritz reckons White is winning but I know which colour I'd rather have}) 5. Qd2 {And White has re-established the blockade after all} c4 ({Fritz proposes} 5... Re8 6. Ke1 Ra8 7. Nxf5+ gxf5 8. Qc1 d2+ 9. Kxd2 Rd8+ 10. Ke1 Rd1+ 11. Qxd1 exd1=Q+ 12. Kxd1 fxg4 13. Rxg4+ Kh6 {and as Bill Hartston once remarked, "Funny way to reach a drawn ending"!}) 6. Nxf5+ gxf5 7. Rxf5 $4 (7. gxf5 $1 Kf7 $1 ({not} 7... Kf6 $4 8. Rg4 {when there is the threat of a deadly queen check on h6}) 8. Rg4 Qh2+ 9. Rg2 Qh1 10. Rg1 Qh2+ {would have led to the draw which would have been the fair result}) 7... Qh2+ {Now I was able to work it out all the way to a forced win} 8. Ke3 Qg1+ ({There was still scope for messing it up with} 8... Re8+ 9. Kd4 Qd6+ 10. Rd5 {when somewhat fortuitously White only seems to have a perpetual}) 9. Kf4 e1=Q {The crucial point is a curious double self-block by the king - the rooks are effectively no longer doubled just when it would be useful for them to be, and the queen cannot check on g5} 10. Rg5+ Kf6 11. Rf5+ Ke6 12. Re3+ Qexe3+ {Simplifying down into an easily won ending at last} 13. Qxe3+ Qxe3+ 14. Kxe3 d2 {The position envisaged at move 7. White cannot stop the pawn without giving up his rook for it.} 0-1