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Exeter Junior Chess Club

Some of these pages are quite old; we have a new site for the

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[LINK] Devon Junior Chess Association.

Exeter Juniors 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 Exeter Gambits

Well, a loss for the juniors, but by the narrowest of margins, and against a team who were a bit stronger than they looked on paper. A couple of the Gambits players have had much higher grades in the past, and in the end I think experience told.

[Event "Exeter Juniors vs Gambits"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.23"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Earnshaw, Terry"]
[Black "Finch, Codie"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D02"]
[PlyCount "83"]
{Black couldn't get started in the opening and soon lost a piece.  Black then
really started playing, creating a counter-attack that was enough
to level the game, but a second inaccuracy let it slip.}
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 2... Nc6 {?! Natural, but not best in these
openings.  You want to play ...c5 or ...e5 to open a file for your Rooks, and .
..c5 is easiest.  So only play ...Nc6 after you have played ...c5.  I seem to
remember writing this down somewhere before...} (2... Nf6 3. e3 (3. Bf4 3... c5
$1) 3... Bf5 $1) 3. e3 Nf6 (3... Bg4 $1 {and you can expect to get in ...e5})
4. Be2 Bf5 5. a3 e6 6. Nbd2 Bd6 7. c4 O-O (7... e5 $2 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. e4) 8. c5
Be7 9. Nh4 Be4 10. f3 Bf5 11. Nxf5 exf5 12. b4 {
White's pawns are mobile and winning space.} 12... b6 {
Hitting back at the pawn wave, but creating some light-square holes.} (12... f4
$1 13. exf4 Nxd4) 13. Qa4 13... Qe8 $4 {Walking into a pin.} (13... Nb8 $1 {
may be best!}) 14. Bb5 $1 14... Rb8 15. Bxc6 Qd8 16. O-O bxc5 17. bxc5 h6 18.
Re1 Nh5 19. e4 fxe4 20. fxe4 dxe4 21. Nxe4 Bh4 22. g3 Bf6 23. Nxf6+ Nxf6 24.
Bf4 Ng4 25. Rad1 25... Rb2 $1 26. Qxa7 Nf2 27. Rd2 Nh3+ 28. Kf1 {
Black has fought back well to create some threats.} 28... Nxf4 $2 (28... Qxd4
$5 {is a nifty idea:} 29. Rxb2 (29. Rxd4 $4 29... Rf2#) 29... Qxb2 30. Re2 Qb1+
31. Kg2 (31. Bc1 Qxc1+ 32. Kg2 Ng5) 31... Nxf4+ 32. gxf4 Qg6+ 33. Kf2 33...
Qxc6 $1 {is about equal}) (28... Rxd2 $5 29. Bxd2 Qf6+ 30. Kg2 Qxc6+ 31. Kxh3
31... Ra8 $1 {picks up the Queen!}) 29. Rxb2 Ne6 30. d5 Nd4 31. Qa4 Nxc6 32.
Qxc6 Qc8 33. Kg2 Rd8 34. Rbe2 h5 35. Re8+ 35... Rxe8 $2 (35... Kh7 {
isn't a great position, but no need to volunteer for any more losses!}) 36.
Rxe8+ Qxe8 37. Qxe8+ Kh7 38. d6 cxd6 39. cxd6 f5 40. d7 h4 41. d8=Q f4 42. Qh5#
1-0
[Event "Exeter Juniors vs Gambits"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.23"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Finch, Taylor"]
[Black "Palmer, Eddie"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C55"]
[PlyCount "50"]
{In a less usual line of the Two Knights', White's manoeuvres were just
starting to show promise when a blunder appeared.} {Zelcic's 13.Nd2 c5 14.
Ne2!? looks interesting. Zelcic specialises in the Italian Game and has quite
a few interesting ideas up his sleeve, this certainly being one of them. The
fact that this is rather unexplored territory also makes it difficult for
Black to rely on established patterns of play.} 1. e4 1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 (7... Bc5 8. Be3 Bd7 9. Bxc6
bxc6 10. Nd2 Qh4 11. Nxe4 Qxe4 12. O-O Bb6 13. Re1 Qg6 14. Nb3 O-O 15. Bc5 {
This battle for c5 is very typical.} 15... Rfe8 16. a4 Bf5 17. Rc1 Rab8 18. Re3
Bxc5 19. Nxc5 Rxb2 20. Qd4 Rxc2 21. Rxc2 Bxc2 22. h3 a5 23. Kh2 Bf5 24. Rg3 Qh6
25. f4 g6 26. Nb3 Ra8 27. Rc3 Qh4 28. Rxc6 Rb8 29. Nxa5 Qe1 30. Rc5 Be4 31. e6
c6 32. Nxc6 Re8 33. Ne7+ Kf8 34. Rc8 {1-0   Doghri,N -Matsuo,T [C56] Yerevan
(7), 1996 Line Two Knights' Defence-Modern Variation/ 0}) 8. Nxc6 (8. Bxc6 $1 {
is the right line, refusing to lose time after ...bxc6} 8... bxc6 9. O-O Bc5
10. f3 Ng5 11. f4 Ne4 12. Be3 12... Bb6 {
White would like to occupy c5, but it's hard to arrange.} 13. Nd2 {
The traditional move.} (13. Nc3 {is Dzindzichashvili's recommendation, though
there's no reason to think that it's much of an improvement.}) 13... c5 14. Ne2
$5 {A welcome departure from the traditional retreat to f3. Zelcic is an
expert in the Italian Game and has a few little wrinkles up his sleeve.} 14...
Nxd2 15. Qxd2 d4 16. Bf2 O-O 17. Qd3 ({
In the game Negi - Vakhidov, Pune (India) 2004 White tried} 17. c4 {
with a messy position resulting after} 17... f6 18. Bh4 Qe8 19. exf6 Qh5 20. g3
Rae8 21. Rae1 Bh3 22. fxg7 Kxg7 23. Rf2 {
. I wouldn't know where to start assessing this.}) ({
Another move worth considering is} 17. Ng3 {
, though so far there haven't been any practical examples.}) 17... Qe8 ({
Alternatively Black could have considered} 17... Bc6 {when} 18. Qh3 (18. f5
18... Qd5 $1 {is good for Black}) 18... Qd5 19. Ng3 {
looks intricate and unclear.}) 18. c3 Bb5 19. c4 Bc6 20. Ng3 20... Ba5 {
This bishop can be a bit of a problem piece in this line.} 21. Be1 (21. Ne4 $5
{is an interesting alternative.}) 21... Bb6 22. Bd2 f6 23. Rae1 fxe5 24. Rxe5
Qf7 25. b4 $5 {I'm not sure about this sharp move as it frees the bishop on b6.
} (25. Rg5 $5 {is worth considering with ideas of 26.Nh5 or 26.f5.}) 25... cxb4
26. c5 Ba5 27. a3 Rab8 28. Rfe1 28... Qa2 $4 {A serious mistake.} ({
Black should play} 28... Kh8 {with a murky position.}) 29. Rg5 $1 29... Rbe8 {
Losing, but I don't see a defence.} (29... Rf7 {is answered by} 30. Nf5 Rxf5 (
30... Qxa3 31. Nh6+ Kf8 32. Qxh7 {gives White a winning attack}) 31. Qxf5 Qf7 (
31... Qxd2 $4 32. Rxg7+ Kxg7 33. Re7+ Kg8 34. Qg5+ Kh8 35. Qg7#) 32. Qd3 {
, with an extra exchange.}) ({And} 29... g6 30. Rxg6+ hxg6 31. Qxg6+ Kh8 32.
Re7 {is a slaughter.}) 30. Rxg7+ $1 30... Kxg7 31. Nh5+ Kh6 32. f5+ Re3 (32...
Qxd2 {was the best chance, though White is winning after} 33. Qxd2+ Kxh5 34.
Rxe8 Rxe8 35. axb4 {etc.}) 33. Rxe3 Qxd2 34. Re6+ Kxh5 ({Or} 34... Kg5 35.
Qxd2+ Kxf5 36. Qh6 {with a mating net.}) 35. Qxd2 {Black's position is
absolutely hopeless. 1-0 Zelcic,R-Ivic,M/Goodbye Summer Open 2004/[Nigel
Davies]}) 8... bxc6 9. Bd3 Nc5 10. Nc3 Be7 11. O-O O-O 12. Be2 f6 13. f4 fxe5
14. fxe5 Bf5 15. Bf4 Bg5 16. Bg3 (16. Qd2 $1) 16... Ne4 17. Nxe4 Bxe4 18. Rxf8+
Qxf8 19. Bg4 (19. Qd4 $5 19... c5 20. Qc3) 19... Qe7 20. e6 Be3+ 21. Kh1 Bc5
22. Qe2 Rf8 23. c4 g6 24. b3 Qf6 25. Bxc7 $4 (25. Rc1 $1 $14 {
and Black is a bit loose.} 25... Bb6 26. b4 $1) 25... Qxa1+ 0-1
[Event "Exeter Juniors vs Gambits"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.23"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Aldwin, Brian"]
[Black "Whittington, Reece"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A01"]
[PlyCount "120"]
{A slow opening led to a middle game that looked as if it was going nowhere,
but Black found a win of a pawn and swapped off into an endgame.  White got a
bind, enough to hold the position, but let it go, and after a couple more
mistakes found Black far ahead.  In the end, Black's willingness to keep going
and find new ideas at the board was more important than finding the most
accurate move.} 1. b3 d5 2. g3 e5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. Bb2 Nf6 5. d3 Bd6 6. e3 Be6 7.
Ne2 O-O 8. Nd2 Re8 9. Rc1 Qe7 10. O-O Ba3 11. Rb1 Bxb2 12. Rxb2 Rad8 13. c3 Qd7
14. Nf3 14... e4 {Forcing open some lines.} 15. Ng5 15... h6 $2 {
Forcing White to play a move now that he would have to play anyway.} (15...
exd3 $1) 16. Nxe6 Qxe6 17. Nf4 Qe7 18. d4 {Shutting them again!} 18... g5 19.
Nh5 Rd6 20. f4 $2 20... exf3 $1 21. Bxf3 $2 (21. Qxf3 21... Nxh5 $1 22. Qxh5
Qxe3+ 23. Rbf2 Nd8) 21... Qxe3+ $19 22. Rbf2 Nxh5 (22... Qxc3 $1) 23. Bxh5
23... Rf8 $6 {Defending from behind is always a sorry job for a Rook.} (23...
Rf6 $1) 24. Qf3 Qxf3 25. Rxf3 f6 26. Rf5 (26. Bg4 $11 {
and Black's extra f-pawn is going nowhere.}) 26... Ne7 27. R5f3 Kg7 28. g4 Ra6
29. Re3 Nc6 30. a4 Ra5 31. Be8 Ra6 32. Bxc6 $2 {
Swapping a great Bishop for a poor Knight.} 32... Rxc6 33. Rfe1 33... Kg6 $2 {
The key task is to get the extra pawn to mean something.} (33... f5 $1 34. Re7+
Rf7 35. gxf5 Rxc3) 34. h3 Rd6 (34... f5 $1) 35. Kg2 35... h5 $2 36. Kg3 36...
h4+ $6 {Black will have to avoid being stuck with a backward g-pawn now, and
White has hopes of another blockade.} 37. Kg2 Rc8 38. b4 b6 39. Re6 (39. Re7)
39... Rxe6 40. Rxe6 40... c5 $1 41. bxc5 bxc5 42. Rd6 cxd4 43. cxd4 Rc4 44.
Rxd5 Rxa4 45. Rd7 a5 46. Ra7 Rxd4 47. Rxa5 Rd2+ 48. Kf3 $2 (48. Kg1) 48... Rh2
$1 49. Ra4 Rxh3+ 50. Kg2 Rg3+ 51. Kh2 Rf3 52. Kg2 52... Rf4 $1 53. Ra3 Rxg4+
54. Kh2 f5 55. Ra6+ Kh5 56. Rf6 Rf4 57. Kg2 Kg4 58. Rh6 Rd4 59. Rf6 Rd2+ 60.
Kh1 Kg3 0-1
[Event "Exeter Juniors vs Gambits"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2012.11.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Scholes, Richard"]
[Black "Keat, Sam"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[PlyCount "46"]
{An intense few moves, with White agreeing a draw when an advantage on the
board was paired with a disadvantage on the clock!  As you grow in experience
it's easier to decide on a plan in a familiar opening.} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4
cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 {
Fischer's favourite line against the Najdorf.} 6... Nc6 7. Nf3 $6 {
Wasting time.} (7. Bb3 {or}) (7. f4 {are the usual ways of continuing.}) 7...
g6 8. Ng5 (8. e5 dxe5 9. Qxd8+ Nxd8 10. Nxe5 Bf5 11. Bb3) 8... e6 9. O-O Bg7
10. Re1 O-O 11. Bf4 11... e5 {Oddly, it's often very hard for White to prove
that Black's backward pawn in the Najdorf is a weakness.} 12. Bg3 Nd4 13. f4 $5
13... exf4 (13... Qb6) 14. Bxf4 {
For example, in this case White's e-pawn is also isolated.} 14... Ne8 15. e5 $5
{White's more active pieces will be able to use the cleared central squares.}
15... dxe5 16. Bxe5 Qxg5 17. Bxg7 Bh3 (17... Nxc2) 18. Bd5 Nxg7 19. Qxd4 Rad8
20. Qe5 20... Ne6 {
Now, I can't quite decide from the score sheets if this is the right position.}
21. g3 ({...but if it is, I'm surprised we didn't see} 21. Qxg5 $1 21... Nxg5
22. gxh3 $1) 21... Qe7 22. Rad1 Qb4 23. b3 (23. Ne4 $1 $16 {
fastening onto the weak dark squares}) 23... Rfe8 (23... Rfe8 {and again} 24.
Ne4 $1 $16 {However, my intended continuation} 24... Rf8 25. Nf6+ Kh8 26. Nd7+
$6 (26. c4 $1) (26. Kh1 $1) 26... f6 27. Nxf6 $2 {
leads to trouble for White after} 27... Qb6+ $1 28. Kh1 28... Ng7 $1 29. Ne4
29... Rf5 $1) 1/2-1/2
Class: