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EJCC 2-2 Seaton

Another close match which could have gone either way.

Some homework study may be required!

{Some simple tactics decided this game. In fact, they are the tactics most often missed in junior games: discovered check, outnumbered, undermining.}

[Event "EJCC vs Seaton"]
[Site "Heavitree Social Club"]
[Date "2013.04.05"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Marsh, Bryan"]
[Black "Hafstad, Leif"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[PlyCount "85"]
1.e3 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 (2... e4 3. Nd4) 3. c3 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Qe2 Bf5 6. Nbd2 Bc5 7.
d4 Bb6 8. dxe5 Ng4 9. h3 Ngxe5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 Bxe4 13. Qxe4
Qe7 14. Bf4 (14. Qxb7 {is very dangerous:} 14... Nf3+ $1 15. Kd1 Rd8+ 16. Kc2
Ne1+ 17. Kb3) 14... Nc6 15. Qxe7+ Nxe7 (15... Kxe7 $1 {
would keep the King active for the endgame.}) 16. Rd1 O-O 17. g4 $2 {
White is not finishing off development.} 17... Rfe8 18. Bc4 18... Ng6+ {
A deadly discovered check} (18... Nd5+ $1 {
This discovered check is also very strong.} 19. Be3 19... Rxe3+ $1 ({
after the game we looked at} 19... Bxe3 $5 {which is natural but not accurate}
20. fxe3 $2 (20. Rxd5 $1 {keeps White alive}) 20... Nxe3 21. Rd4 Nc2+) 20. fxe3
Nxe3 21. Bd3 Nxd1 22. Kxd1 Rd8 23. Kc2) 19. Be3 19... Bxe3 {
The Bishop is outnumbered.} 20. fxe3 Rxe3+ 21. Kf2 {Now Black is winning, but
soon loses his way. What you do next is what I call 'trying to win' - you're
already winning, you can stop trying, just win!} 21... Re4 22. Bd3 Rf4+ (22...
Re7 $1) 23. Kg3 {The Rook depends on the Knight, but the Knight is attacked.}
23... Rd8 $4 {White has exactly one legal capture in this position.} (23... Ra4
24. Bb1 Re8 25. Rd7 Rc4 26. Bd3 Rc5 27. Bxg6 hxg6 28. Rf1 28... f6 {
and Kf8 and Re7 should untangle}) 24. Bxg6 $1 {Undermining the Rook on f4, and
in fact winning a whole Rook because of the discovered attack on d8 and mate
threat on the back rank.} 24... Rxd1 25. Rxd1 {
and because of the mate threat, Black can't save the Rook.} 25... fxg6 26. Kxf4
Kf7 27. Rd7+ Kf6 28. Rxc7 g5+ 29. Kg3 b5 30. Rxa7 h6 31. Rb7 g6 32. Rxb5 h5 33.
gxh5 gxh5 34. a4 h4+ 35. Kg4 Kg6 36. a5 (36. Rb6+ Kg7) 36... Kf6 37. a6 Ke7 38.
a7 Kd6 39. a8=Q Kc7 40. Qb7+ Kd6 41. Qa6+ Kc7 42. Rb7+ Kc8 43. Qa8# 1-0

{WARNING: This next game contains uncut scenes of graphic chess violence. The part of Ming the Merciless was played by Taylor Finch.}

[Event "EJCC vs Seaton"]
[Site "Heavitree Social Club"]
[Date "2013.04.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Finch, T."]
[Black "Haines, Matthew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[PlyCount "62"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 2... Qxd5 {
A solid if unexciting defence.} 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd2 {Early, but OK.}
5... c6 6. Nf3 Bf5 7. Bc4 (7. Ne4 $5 {makes a mess of Black's pawns} 7... Qb6
8. Nxf6+ exf6) 7... e6 8. O-O Bb4 9. a3 Bxc3 10. Bxc3 {White has the famous
two Bishops, but it's not a position that favours the Bishops very much. The
game now enters a characteristically murky phase.} 10... Qc7 11. Re1 O-O 12.
Qd2 Nbd7 13. Rad1 Be4 14. Ne5 Bd5 15. Bd3 $1 {Correctly avoiding exchanges.}
15... b6 16. Bb4 Rfd8 17. b3 (17. c4 $1 {can actually be played immediately:}
17... c5 18. cxd5 cxb4 19. Nxf7 $1) 17... a5 18. Be7 $1 18... Re8 19. Nxd7 (19.
Bxf6 $1 {is the right move order} 19... gxf6 20. Nxd7 Qxd7 21. c4) 19... Nxd7
20. Bg5 (20. Bh4 $5 {
idea Bg3 is similar, but doesn't tempt Black to advance the pawns.}) 20... f6
21. Bf4 21... Qb7 $4 (21... e5 {was essential}) 22. c4 $1 {Netting a Bishop.}
22... Bxg2 23. Kxg2 23... c5+ $6 24. Be4 $1 {Picking up the Exchange on top.}
24... Qa7 25. Bxa8 Qxa8+ 26. Kg1 e5 27. dxe5 Nxe5 28. Bxe5 fxe5 29. Qd5+ $1 {
Spotting a chance to swap Queens.} 29... Qxd5 30. Rxd5 e4 31. Rd6 Re5 1-0

{A great fightback after losing your way in an unfamiliar opening.}

[Event "EJCC vs Seaton"]
[Site "Heavitree Social Club"]
[Date "2013.04.05"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Welch, Hazel"]
[Black "Whittington, Reece"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E60"]
[PlyCount "82"]
1. d4 Nf6
2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. g3 4... d6 {A King's Indian Defence. You should know a
bit about this from facing it as White.} (4... d5 {
is the Grunfeld move, of course.} 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nb6) 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O
6... Bf5 $6 (6... Nbd7 {
is usual here; you don't usually know where the Bishop belongs.}) 7. Nc3 (7.
Qb3 $1) 7... Nbd7 8. Bg5 $6 {Same problem!} (8. Nh4 $1 8... c6 9. Nxf5 9...
gxf5 $16) 8... h6 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. e3 Re8 11. Rc1 c6 (11... e5 $1 {
is the King's Indian approach, blockading on the dark squares.}) 12. b4 Rc8 13.
Qb3 13... d5 $5 14. Nd2 14... e5 $5 {I thought this might lose a pawn, but it
just hangs on. Well done if you spotted everything you needed! But it looks
a risky choice, and there are easier ways to play chess...} 15. cxd5 cxd5 (
15... exd4 $1 16. exd4 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 17... Be6 $1 {
was one thing I had missed while watching}) 16. Nb5 (16. Nxd5 $5 {
looks as though it wins a pawn, but it doesn't, not quite.} 16... Nxd5 (16...
Rxc1 17. Rxc1 (17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Rxc1 exd4) 17... exd4 18. exd4 Nxd5 19. Bxd5
Be6 20. Re1 Bxd5 21. Rxe8+ Qxe8 22. Qxd5 Qe1+ 23. Nf1 Qxb4) 17. Bxd5 Be6) 16...
a6 17. dxe5 Rxc1 18. Rxc1 18... Ne4 $5 {Again, a bit complicated!} (18... Rxe5
19. Nd4 {is not great for Black (IQP) but fairly solid}) 19. Nxe4 19... dxe4 {
Is this the right position?} 20. Nd4 (20. Nd6 $5 20... Re7 21. Qd5 $1) 20...
Rxe5 21. Nxf5 21... gxf5 {
White has good chances here, but hesitates for several moves.} 22. Bf1 (22. Rd1
$1) 22... b5 23. a4 (23. Rc6 $1) 23... Qb6 24. a5 ({
I got interested in the idea of} 24. axb5 24... axb5 {
when the b5 pawn might be weak on a light square that your Bishop can't defend.
}) (24. Rc8+ $5) 24... Qb7 25. Be2 25... Qd5 $6 {
That Queen was doing a grand job in defence.} 26. Qc2 (26. Qxd5 $1 26... Rxd5
27. Rc6 $1 27... Rd2 28. Bh5 Rb2 29. Rxa6 Rxb4 30. Ra7 f6 31. Rb7) (26. Rc8+ $5
) 26... Re6 27. Bh5 27... f4 $5 28. Qc7 $4 {
Missing one of the points of Black's last move.} (28. Qc8+ $1 28... Bf8 29. Rc5
$1 {when Black has many worries but some prospects of counterplay, e.g.} 29...
Qb3 30. gxf4 $2 30... Rg6+ $1 $11) 28... Qxh5 $1 {with an extra piece} 29. Qxf4
Qe5 30. Qh4 Bf8 31. Rc8 Kg7 32. Qg4+ Qg5 33. Qd1 Qe5 34. Qd8 {
Hoping to trap the black King in a mating net.} 34... Bxb4 35. Qh8+ Kg6 36.
Rg8+ Kh5 37. g4+ Kh4 38. Qh7 38... Kh3 $1 {Black shows that White also needs
to worry about mate threats! In fact, the white King cannot be saved.} 39. Qg7
Qxh2+ 40. Kf1 Qh1+ 41. Ke2 Qe1# 0-1

{In a line you hadn't faced before, you struggled to find a way to complete development and be able to keep going forward. In the end, the squares you lost on the board were less important than the minutes you lost on the clock.}

[Event "EJCC vs Seaton"]
[Site "Heavitree Social Club"]
[Date "2013.04.05"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Keat, Sam"]
[Black "Alexander, Ken"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B18"]
[PlyCount "59"]
1. e4 1... c6 {A solid if unexciting defence.} 2. d4 (2. Nf3 {is a tricky line:
} 2... d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Ne5 Bh7 8. Qh5 g6 9.
Bc4 e6 10. Qf3) 2... d5 3. Nc3 (3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 {is the system I recommend;
IQP positions usually arise, which are easier to understand and play. Once
you get the hang of them, you can steer for them if you don't know what else
to do.}) 3... dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. f3 {That doesn't contribute to development
and, as it steals the bext square from the Ng1, may even slow you down.} (5.
Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 (7. Nh3 Nf6 8. Nf4 Bh7) 7... Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3
10. Qxd3) 5... e6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Qd3 {Stepping into a pin.} 8... Qa5+
9. Bd2 Qc7 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. Qe2 O-O-O 12. g4 {
White needs to make progress somehow, and this looks the best way.} 12... Bg6
13. g5 (13. Nh3 {makes sense now}) 13... Nh5 (13... Nxe4 14. fxe4 14... Nb6 $1
{discovering an attack on d4, and also threatening to distract the overloaded
Queen by} 15. c3 Nxc4 16. Qxc4 16... Bxe4 {trapping the Rh1.}) 14. Nh3 Nb6 15.
Be3 Nd5 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Nc3 17... Bd6 {Controlling f4} 18. Qd2 Rhe8 19. Rde1
Bf5 20. Nf2 Bf4 21. Nd3 {Black now finds a clear line to force a win of a pawn.
} 21... Bxe3 22. Rxe3 Rxe3 23. Qxe3 Bxd3 24. Qxd3 Qf4+ 25. Kb1 g6 26. h4 Re8
27. Ne2 Qe3 28. Qxe3 (28. Nc1 $1 {is best, but not easy to spot.}) 28... Rxe3
29. Re1 $4 29... Nf4 $1 30. Kc1 {and White's flag fell.} 0-1
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