[Event "Ashby 1 v Wigston 2"] [Site "Ashby"] [Date "2023.11.16"] [White "Andy Morley"] [Black "Richard Vann"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B13"] [Opening "Caro-Kann: Panov-Botvinnik Attack"] {We have played several games, and I lost last time, in this line. In the previous game, he played c4-c5 at some point, and I couldn’t get out of a bind and was gradually ground down.} 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 {Seemingly an innocuous swap to an even game} 4.c4 {The Panov-Botvinnik attack. The open files and diagonals can make it sharp.} Nf6 5.Nc3 {Not 5Nf3 Nf6 6 Nc3, Bg4! The Bishop on c8 here avoids being boxed in. Drawish.} Nc6 6.Bg5 Be6 {What I had prepared earlier. It looks so weird that W spent some time here, and for the next few moves.} 7.c5 {Before the game, I was wondering about his move 7 reply, as 7.Bxf6 and 7.cxd5 are possible. This and the next two moves were prepared} Ne4 8.Bf4 g5 {An engine idea. Not my style, but W uses up his time} 9.Be3 f5 {B continues to be a little provocative} 10.Nxe4 dxe4 11.Qh5+ {Out of preparation. This is about 12th on engine preference and listed as -1. But it surprised me. Totally unexpected} Bf7 12.Qxg5 Rg8 {Here Qd7 is best, embarrassing the W queen. Missed that} 13.Qxf5 e5 {Desperation by me} 14.dxe5 Qa5+ 15.Bd2 Qxc5 16.Rc1 Qb6 17.e6 Bg6 {NB 17.Bc4 (+2) is much better. We both missed that} 18.Qb5 Qc7 {Minutes left: White 11, Black 53. Hence keep Q’s on!} 19.Nh3 Rd8 {Nearly played ...a6 here, but Rd8 is more Morphy} 20.Be2 Rxd2 {BAM!!!} 21.Kxd2 {Crash!! I was confident B was better, due to the attack} Bh6+ 22.Kc3 a6 {Time left in minutes: 3; 36. Some players get into clock problems, hence my plan for this game was to make it difficult for Morley to find the right move} 23.Qc5 b6 24.Qc4 {Qd5 is =, everything else -3 (B much better) ...b5!! ( - 4) Missed that!} Qe5+ 25.Kc2 e3+ 26.Kd1 {Amazingly 26 Bd3! is +2 for W. We both missed that!} Qd6+ 27.Ke1 exf2+ 28.Kxf2 {Kf1 is equal, but no-one would want an enemy pawn on f2! How convenient that the f file is open. Why’s that?} Rf8+ 29.Bf3 Qd2+ 30.Qe2 Be3+ {A lucky resource. One of the few moves I saw in advance.} 31.Kg3 Qd6+ {This looks like we’re near the end of the King hunt!} 32.Kh4 Qd4+ {Time left in minutes 1.5; 12.} 33.g4 Ne7 34.Ng1 {He slammed the clock button with only 1 second left! A few players were stood round, intrigued. This is now -9, but 34...Bd3! is even better.} Bxc1 35.Qxa6 {Gobbling pawns on the Q-side now. Find the mate in 7!} Qf2+ 36.Kh3 Rxf3+ 37.Nxf3 Qxf3+ 38.Kh4 Nf5+ 39.gxf5 Qf4+ {But 39....Qf2+, and mate in two. Missed that!} 40.Kh3 Bxf5+ 41.Kg2 Be4+ 42.Kh3 Bf5+ 43.Kg2 Qe4+ 44.Kf2 Qe3+ 45.Kg2 Be4+ {But 45... Bh3 mate. Missed that as well !!!But 45... Bh3 mate. Missed that as well !!! One of the most complicated games I’ve played. My preference is to put a positional boa constrictor on my opponent. To be honest, it was the clock that got him. As planned.} {#R} 0-1

[Event "Market Harborough 3 v Ashby 3"] [Site "Market Harborough"] [Date "2023.11.21"] [White "Gibbison, Robert"] [Black "Cherrington, Josh"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [Opening "Russian-Three Knights Game"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.Bc4 Nxe4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Nxe4 d5 7.Nc3 e4 8.Ng1 Qg5 9.g3 Bg4 10.d3 Qh5 11.Qd2 exd3 12.Qxd3 Re8+ 13.Nce2 Bb4+ 14.c3 Rxe2+ 15.Nxe2 Re8 16.Be3 Bc5 17.Nf4 Bxe3 18.Nxh5 Bc1+ 19.Qe3 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Bxh5 21.O-O+ Kg8 22.Rf5 Bg6 23.Rxd5 Rxe3 24.Kf2 Re7 25.Rad1 Kf7 26.g4 Ke6 27.Kg3 Bf7 28.R5d2 g5 29.a3 {Made many blunders in pursuit of an attack, going for piece sacrifices where I didn't need to and stuff like that. Also agreed on a draw in a better position.} {#d} 1/2-1/2

[Event "Leicestershire Chess League Division 3"] [Site "Market Harborough"] [Date "2023.10.24"] [White "Gerrard, Tom"] [Black "Gibbison, Robert"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1594"] [BlackElo "1593"] [ECO "C30"] [Opening "King's Gambit: 2...d6 3.Nf3"] 1.e4 e5 2.f4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.O-O {If Nxe4, Bxf7+ Kxf7, Ng5+ Nxg5, fxg5+ followed by Qxg4} Be7 6.d3 c6 7.fxe5 dxe5 8.Nbd2 {Missed a tactic here! Bxf7+ Kxf7, Nxe5+ wins back the piece and two pawns. I'm annoyed I missed it because it's quite a thematic idea in this opening.} O-O 9.Qe1 Bxf3 10.Nxf3 Nbd7 11.Qg3 Nh5 12.Qg4 g6 13.Bh6 Ng7 14.Ng5 Bf6 15.Rf3 b5 16.Bb3 Nc5 {Felt like it was now or never to attack with the knight temporarily leaving it's defense of f6 and the bishop about to be removed.} 17.Bxf7+ Rxf7 18.Nxf7 Kxf7 19.Rxf6+ Qxf6 20.Rf1 {This was what I was hoping for when I played Bxf7+. (If 19...Kxf6, Bg5+ wins the queen anyway.)} Qxf1+ 21.Kxf1 Rf8 22.Ke2 Kg8 23.b4 Nce6 24.c3 Rf7 25.g3 {Maybe a little cautious but wanted to make sure black had no counterplay.} Rc7 26.Bxg7 Nxg7 27.Qg5 Ne6 28.Qxe5 Re7 29.Qb8+ Kf7 30.Qc8 Rc7 31.Qa6 Ke7 32.a4 bxa4 33.Qxa4 Kd6 34.b5 cxb5 35.Qxb5 Ke7 36.Qb4+ {Just making sure I definitely don't get forked...} Kf6 37.d4 h6 38.d5 Nc5 39.Qb8 Rd7 40.Qf8+ Ke5 41.Qf4# {First classical game I've won since July!} 1-0

[Event "LRCA league 2023/24 - Ashby 4 Vs Market Harborough 4"] [Site "Ashby ivanhoe club"] [Date "2023.11.30"] [White "Cherrington, Josh"] [Black "Curran, David P"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1475"] [BlackElo "1616"] [ECO "B22"] [Opening "Sicilian: Alapin, 2...e6 3.d4"] {Note that the ratings shown are ECF ratings at the time of play. This game between myself and David turned out to be a somewhat closed and positional game, from a "French style alapin sicilian", quickly opening up near the end.} 1.e4 c5 2.c3 {The alapin sicilian is my favourite line to play, as it's easy to learn the thematics behind it, and somewhat easy to play if black doesn't know how to handle it.} e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.cxd4 d5 5.e5 {The structure is now that of an advanced French defence.} Bd7 6.Nc3 a6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Bd3 Nge7 9.Be3 Ng6?! {This move is not bad, as black has been forced into playing such by the pawn on e5 blocking the knight's traditional development.} 10.a3 Be7 11.O-O?! {I decide not to delay casting any longer as my kingside defence is more than adequate.} O-O 12.Ne2 Nh4 13.Nxh4 {This trade is good for white, as it leaves the Bishop misplaced and makes it a target.} Bxh4 14.f4 {Here I am trying to create an attack.} f5 {Black closes the F file down, as en-passant would not benefit white here.} 15.Rc1 Be8 16.Kh1 {This is a safe square for the king.} Bh5 17.Qd2 Bxe2? {This trade is somewhat good for white, as white has much better piece placement at the kingside.} 18.Bxe2!? {Taking with the Bishop was not the best move. This leaves the queen blocked out of my future attack potentially.} Kh8?! 19.Rf3 {This rook lift tries to begin an aggressive advance.} Qd7 20.Rh3 {The Bishop must retreat.} Bd8 21.g4 g6 {This is a mistake as the g-file will be soon forced open / half open. This makes way for White's pieces to attack Black's king.} 22.Rg1?! Rg8? {This is a mistake according to chess.com, however front a human perspective, it looks fine until you see why it is inaccurate. Such is demonstrated in the game.} 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Rxg8+ {This lures Black's king to an open file for white to win a tempo after Kxg8.} Kxg8 25.Bh5! {The Bishop joins the attack.} Ne7?? {Ne7 is somewhat of a bad error as it allows White's queen to the kingside to soon harass the black king.} 26.Qg2+! Kh8 27.Bf7 Bb6!? {This move allows mate in 4 after Qg5.} 28.Qg5! Qb5? {My opponent said that he concentrated on a more advanced checkmating sequence so overlooked mate in 1.} 29.Qf6# {White delivers checkmate, in a game played with >90% accuracy from white, according to chess.com's game review. Black also played a very good game, however white was a bit more forcing and ahead with a developing attack.} 1-0

[Event "Ashby 1 v Kirby Muxloe 1 board 2"] [Site "Ivanhoe Club, Ashby."] [Date "2024.02.01"] [White "Vann, Richard"] [Black "Dalley, Kevin"] [Result "1-0"] [WhiteElo "1946"] [BlackElo "1873"] [ECO "A22"] [Opening "English: Bremen, Smyslov System"] 1.c4 {My usual English. Now Black has a variety of systems, but Kevin chooses a popular one. I suspect he is now in his preparation.} e5 {The most active reply, leading to quick development.} 2.Nc3 {My usual second move, but 2 g3 and Nf3 and d3 and e3 come into consideration. Because 1 c4 is slightly passive, White does not hope to get an advantage from the opening. Just a playable game in White's preferred style.} Nf6 3.g3 Bb4 {Quite awkward for White. To allow doubled c pawns or not. That is the question. It is similar to a Nimzo, and I saw Botvinnik once play Qc2, so that's what I played here.} 4.Qc2 {4 Bg2 was the alternative, then 4...Bxc3 5 bxc3 leads to a different game. But after the trouble I had here, will have a look at the 4 Bg2 line in more detail.} O-O 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.e3 Bxc3 7.Qxc3 d5 {At this point I saw my problems more clearly. Black is way ahead in development and worse still, I may get a a backward d pawn, and even worse than that, if Black can play d5 -d4-d3 supported by e5-e4, then W is positionally lost. Or that's what I thought. Note the normal move 8 d4 looks bad after exd4, exd4 Re8+! Hence I needed to keep the position closed to suppress the activity of the Black pieces.} 8.d3 Re8 {Looks good on that file, but the innocuous -looking 8...Bf5 is almost winning. I was glad to see Re8 as now I switch to a Botvinnik-type set up with c4+d3+e4.} 9.e4 dxe4 {Kevin avoids completely blocking the centre with 9..d4 leading to a closed position. Such a closed position I would play as Black here, even though the advantage is slight.} 10.dxe4 Qd4 {I half expected this, and I had a reply.} 11.Ne2 {this refutes 10...Qd4 and leaves me with a level position.} Qxc3+ 12.Nxc3 Nd4 {Maybe Kevin thought this would create problems for me, True d4 is a strong point for Black but I can work around that. I felt quite comfortable here.} 13.O-O c6 14.Bg5 {My plan is to play f3, Kf2 (getting out of a possible N check), Ne2, Be3, Rs on d1 and d2 to counter the N on d4.} Bg4 {Helps me, as I gain a tempo in enacting my plan.} 15.f3 Be6 16.b3 Nd7 {The start of an intriguing knight journey. You may pause here to guess what it is.} 17.Rac1 Nf8 18.Be3 Rad8 19.Rfd1 Bc8 20.Kf2 Nfe6 {So the Black plan is clear: to over-protect d4, and if one N is swapped, the other will take its place.} 21.Rd2 Rd6 {Immediately I felt this was a mistake. If Rd7 instead, it's covered by Bc8, and then after Red8, the Nd4 can move if required.} 22.Rcd1 {At this point I had a fixation on swapping down to a Good Knight v. Bad Bishop endgame.} Red8 23.Bh3 {Here's the first move of the plan. I threaten Bxe6 and Black cannot preserve a N by Nxe6 as the Rd6 is hanging.} Kf8 {The King rushes in. My plan will not work with K on e7, hence I cannot delay even one move.} 24.Bxe6 Bxe6 25.Bxd4 {Here I went wrong. 25 c5 was considered, but I assumed Black would play a7-a5-a4 wrecking my queenside. But the line is quite simple: 25 c5 R6d7 26 Bxd4 Rxd4 27 Rxd4 exd4 28 Ne2 d3 29 Nf4 and the d3 pawn is lost, and my Q-side is safe, and Black has no counter play. The skill of chess is to get a small advantage, no matter how slight, and then allow your opponent absolutely no counter play.} Rxd4 26.Rxd4 exd4 27.Ne2 c5 28.Nf4 Ke7 29.Nd3 {So this is my Good N v Bad B plan achieved. One flaw. The N (or R or K) must stay on d3 to block the P on d4. However I noticed at this point, I do have another advantage, ie 4 v 3 on the King side. Hence the aim was to push those 4 pawns and hope the passer would win.} b6 30.h4 {We are now in a fiendishly difficult pawn battle. I thought I had the initiative, but Fritz thinks it's even or better for Black. It suggests moves like 30...f5 or ...a5.} f6 31.g4 g6 32.g5 {I am trying to keep hold of the black squares, but the position is equal.} Rf8 33.Kg3 Kd6? {Overlooking my next two moves. Here ...f5 is so level we could have agreed a draw.} 34.gxf6 Rxf6?? {So Black blunders, counterbalancing my blunder in our previous game.} 35.e5+ {#r} 1-0