Saturday 30 January 2010

Surviving a storm

The East Cheshire B team recently had a great result against Macclesfield A, securing a draw against a higher-rated team. David Taylor's win was a key part of that result and he has sent us the game with his comments:

White: Marc Jouannet (Macclesfield, 127) Black: David Taylor (130)
Opening: d4 d5 "unusual lines".
1. d4 Nf6
2. Nc3 d5
3. Bf4 e6
4. Qd2 Be7 (I thought about Bd6, but it turns out that the black squares will be crucial)
5. 0-0-0 0-0
6. f3 (uh oh! He's planning a K-side pawn storm! All his moves have been reflex actions, he's done this before...)
Nbd7
7. g4 (here we go!) Nb6 (I better make room for the K-side knight, and Nc4 could be useful later)
8. e4 (damn! now he can take on c4)


8. ... c5 (Counterattack on the Q-side must be essential; have I got time?)
9. e5 fNd7 (now my king is looking lonely)
10. h4 (as expected; note that Bxh4 11. Qh2 looks terminal)
cxd4
11. Nb5


11. a6 ( decided I don't mind 12. Nd6 because BxN 13. exB f6 looks good for black; then he can't take on d4 because of e5)
12. Nxd4 Nc4 (I must try and control those black squares on d2 and e3!)
13. Bxc4 dxc4
14. Nh3 (Rated poorly by Fritz, it worried me because my e6 is looking at possibly 2 knights planning to take and fork Q and R, after 15. Ng5. I could defend via Nc5, but I want to control d2 and e3 from a Nd5... so....)


14. ... Nb6 (& defend e6 with my bishop)
15. Bg5 Nd5 (I got there! Now I'm thinking of ....c3!)
16. Qe2? (at last, he's blundered!)


16. ... c3!
17. b3?? (Fritz scores this position as -12. You can see why: his Q-side black squares have been abandonned)
Qa5? (Bxg5+ is better, but Qa5 is still winning)
18. a4? (Fritz score now at -22 ... he had to play Rd3 when if I take on g5, he must play Kd1)



18. Qc5 (Fritz still reckons Bxg5+ should be played first)
19. Bxe7 Qxe7
and black resigned. He can't stop mate after the impending .....Qa3+
Lessons learned: Don't open the h-file whatever you do, if you have castled 0-0 and he has castled 0-0-0.
Counterattack a.s.a.p. when your king is being stormed.
Stay positive when the missiles are pouring in!
A castled king can be securely trapped by a pawn on the 3rd (or 6th) rank.


Friday 29 January 2010

Killing the King's Indian

Last summer our number 1 board John Reed showed us his system against that pesky King's Indian. Just to prove that he practises what he preaches here is a recent crush against a strong opponent. Comments by John.

John Reed - Hubert Pierrard (1982)

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 Bg7
4. e4 d6
5. Bg5 (of course)


5. ... Nbd7
6. f4 h6
7. Bh4 c6 (slow but allows Qb6 or Qa5 . The problem for White in Bg5 is always the black squares on the Q side and centre))


8. Nf3 0 -0
9. e5 de5
10. fe5 Ng4 ( not bad Nh5 may be better)


11. e6 !? (introducing huge complications. Blacks pawns are a mess. Is his Knight good or bad on g4?)
11. ... Nb6. (better to take fe6. Then not 12 Bd3 because of e5! better 12 Qe2 ! e5 ! 13. 0-0-0-! . very hard to find this over the board )
12. ef7 Rf7
13. Qd2 (keep the Knight out )


13. ... Qd6 ( with the idea of Qe6 +, better Qd7 as Q now vulnerable )
14. 0-0-0 ! Qb4 (better Qf4 but Black is now worse )
15. h3 (go away ) Nf6 ( disaster. only way to keep game alive was to give this up)


17. Ne5 Na4 (desperation)
18. Nf7 (why not?) Bf5
18. Na4 Qa4
19. b3 Qa3+
20. Qb2 Qa5 ( he had to swap but its terrible now)


21. Be1 (guards the dark squares ) Qc7
22. Ne5 ( a whole rook up ) h5
23. Bd3 ( finally get the bishop out) Ne4
24. g4 (oh dear) Bh6+
25. Kb1 1-0


So another King's Indian bites the dust thanks to John's unusual system. Just be prepared to play sharply if you want to get the best out of it!

Wednesday 13 January 2010

Double Discovered Check

Well finally I have a chess game worth blogging about! Here are the highlights of my game against Lysons of Denton last night.

1. White has just played 12. Bb2. Can you see a shot that I missed?

I played 12. ... a6 but 12. ... Ne5 would have ruined his kingside pawns.

2. White has just played 21. a4? What did I play?

21. ... Ne5! wins a pawn, as does 21. ... Nxc5!

3. We then reached the following position with Black to move. What should the plan be?

The problem is that if Black swaps queenside pawns and the Queens the position will probably be drawn. Therefore I decided to use my extra kingside pawn to storm his king.

26. ... b4 would have been good but I began the storm with 26. ... e5.

4. I then got the below position with Black to move. It is useful to know some of the cast iron rules of chess. One is that in double discovered check you have to move your king. Knowing this rule allowed me to bash out the winning move in time trouble. What was it?


33. ... Rxg3+ wins the house.