[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.03"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "Maroroa, Sue Y"]
[Black "Hebden, Mark"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2131"]
[BlackElo "2545"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. e5 Ne4 ({Hebden generally favours
the more usual move} 5... d5 {here but the text is perfectly respectable.}) 6.
Qe2 Nc5 7. Ng5 $5 {This is known but a bit unusual.} Ne6 8. Nxe6 dxe6 9. O-O {
Now we are out of the book and the players are on their own. Black has an
extra pawn but his position is slightly cramped and undeveloped, which I
suppose constitutes a degree of compensation for White.} Qh4 10. Nd2 Bd7 11.
Nf3 Qh5 12. c3 $5 {Playing someone rated more than 400 points above you can be
a daunting experience but White has decided she is going to take a positive
course of action, targeting Black's vulnerability along the d-file.} dxc3 13.
bxc3 Bc5 14. Rd1 O-O-O  ({The king proves to be too vulnerable on the
queenside, though it takes a truly inspired sequence of moves by White to
prove the point. Instead (and with the wonderful benefit of hindsight), one is
tempted to recommend} 14... a6 {or perhaps 14...h6, to stop the white bishops
coming to what prove to be strong squares.}) 15. Bg5 $1 Ne7 ({Here} 15... Be7 {
runs into the devastating} 16. Ba6 $3 {and I'll leave the reader's computer to
fill in the tactical details.}) ({The computer suggestion is to play} 15...
Rdg8 {but then White is liable to get a forceful attack against the bishop on
d7, either by playing Qd2 immediately or possibly the preparatory Bb5.}) 16.
Bb5 $1 c6 ({Not} 16... Bxb5 17. Qxb5 {when Black has to prop up his position
with the awkward} b6 {and suffer some horribly weak light squares around his
king. But something of the sort happens anyway.}) 17. Qc4 $1 b6 ({Again,
Black's dark-squared bishop can't afford to move away from the g1-a7 diagonal:
} 17... Ba3 $2 18. Ba6 $3 {and it is game over.}) 18. Bxe7 cxb5 19. Qe4 $1 Kb8
(19... Bxe7 20. Qa8+ Kc7 21. Qxa7+ Kc8 22. Rd6 $3 {is a gorgeous finish. The
king would last longer if it goes to c6 instead of c8, but the result would
still be the same after 22.a4, etc.}) 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 {Black has bought off
White's brilliant attack at the expense of the exchange for a pawn so White
still has to maintain the momentum.} 21. a4 bxa4 22. Rxa4 Qf5 ({White
threatens a mating attack with Rxa7, while} 22... Bxa4 {is answered by} 23.
Rxd8+ Kc7 24. Qa8 {winning.}) 23. Qh4 Rc8 24. Raa1 Bc6 25. Nd4 Qxe5 26. Nxc6+
Rxc6 27. Qxh7 Qf6 (27... Qxc3 28. Qg8+ Rc8 29. Qxf7 {brings the win a bit
closer for White.}) 28. Rd7 $1 {White puts her trust in her powerful
triumvirate of heavy pieces.} Bxf2+ 29. Kh1 Qxc3 30. Rad1  Qf6 $2 ({
The computer finds} 30... b5 $1 {, which is a better way to fortify Black's
position, with the bishop defending a7:} 31. Qg8+ Rc8 32. Qxf7 Bb6 33. Qxe6 Qc4
{and Black might yet frustrate White's winning chances.}) 31. Qe4 $1 {For the
second time in the game the queen lands on this square with devastating effect.
At this stage White still had around 17 minutes with increments to move 40 and
Black around 54 minutes.} Rc7 32. Rd8+ Rc8 33. R8d7 Rc7 34. Rd8+ {White wasn't
in time trouble but every little helps.} Rc8 35. Rxc8+ Kxc8 36. Qa8+ Kc7 37.
Qxa7+ Kc6 (37... Kc8 38. Rd7 {is terminal.}) 38. Qd7+ Kc5 39. Qd6+ Kb5 40. Qd3+
Kc6 41. Qd7+ Kc5 42. Rc1+ Kb4 43. Qd2+ Ka4 44. Rb1 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.03"]
[Round "9.7"]
[White "Speelman, Jon"]
[Black "Foisor, Veronica"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A30"]
[WhiteElo "2495"]
[BlackElo "2274"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Wood Green 1"]
[BlackTeam "Grantham Sharks 1"]

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. e3 Bg7 5. d4 cxd4 ({This seems to give White
a free game.} 5... d6 {has more of a track record amongst leading players.}) 6.
exd4 d6 7. d5 {Database stats show Black taking a major hammering (80:20),
wherever the knight goes.} Ne5 8. Nxe5 Bxe5 9. Be2 Bg7 ({Rather than lose a
tempo with the bishop, perhaps Black could consider playing} 9... h5 {and then
10...Nh6.}) 10. Be3 Nf6 11. O-O O-O 12. Qd2 Bd7 13. Rfe1 a6 {Black has rather
a cramped game as she can't get a ...b7-b5 or ...e7-e6 counter in.} 14. f3 Rc8
15. Rad1 Qa5  16. a3 (16. b4 $5 {is also playable as} Qxb4 $4 17. Rb1
Qa5 18. Bb6 {and Black has to give up a piece to save her queen.}) 16... Rfd8 {
The rook is a liability on this square.} 17. Bf1 Bf5 $2 18. Qf2 $1 {Now we can
see why White preferred the sneaky 16.a3 to 16.b4. The black queen is in
danger of being trapped with Bb6.} Qc7 (18... Nd7 {stops Bb6 but allows} 19. g4
{, winning a piece.}) 19. Bb6 Qd7 (19... Qb8 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. Rxe7 {is no
better.}) 20. g4 Re8 21. gxf5 Qxf5 22. Ne4 Nd7 23. Ng3 Qg5 24. Bd4 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.03"]
[Round "9.3"]
[White "Zhou, Yang-Fan"]
[Black "Arkell, Keith"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B17"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2461"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4rn2/5pk1/2pbpnp1/4N1Rp/3P3P/P7/1PBB2P1/6K1 b - - 0 37"]
[PlyCount "32"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Guildford 2"]
[BlackTeam "Cheddleton"]

 37... N8h7 $2 ({Black might have been better had he found Hiarcs's
sneaky} 37... Nd5 $1 {, threatening ...f7-f6, thus forcing} 38. Rg3 {and now}
Nd7 $1 {, exploiting the pin along the h2-b8 diagonal.}) 38. Rg3 Ng4 39. Bf4 c5
40. Nxg6 $1 fxg6 41. Bxd6 cxd4 42. Rb3 $1 {Now White's rook and bishop pair
work well together.} e5 43. Rb7+ Kh6 44. Re7 Rc8 45. Rc7 Re8 46. Re7 Rc8 ({
Amusingly, England's most famous rook-handler refuses the exchange of his most
treasured piece no fewer than four times on consecutive moves. Of course, the
decision was based not on sentiment but hard logic: after} 46... Rxe7 47. Bxe7
{, it seems almost certain that the two bishops will shepherd home one of the
queenside passed pawns before the slow-moving knights can emerge from their
stables.}) 47. Rc7 Re8 48. b4 {Even with the rooks on, Black has a hard job to
stop the pawns.} Nhf6 49. b5 Nd5 (49... Ne3 {changes nothing:} 50. b6 $1 Nxc2
51. b7 $1 {and White wins.}) 50. Rf7 $1 Nf4 51. b6 d3 52. Bxd3 Nxd3 53. b7 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.03"]
[Round "9.8"]
[White "Batchelor, Peter J"]
[Black "Cramling, Pia"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E11"]
[WhiteElo "2157"]
[BlackElo "2507"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "q5k1/5ppp/1Rb5/2p1r3/3p4/P3P1PB/2Q2P1P/6K1 w - - 0 23"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Grantham Sharks"]
[BlackTeam "Wood Green 1"]

 23. Bf1 $1 {White used around 9 of his remaining 15 minutes on this
move but it is probably the right choice.} dxe3 24. fxe3 Bf3 25. Rb5 Qa7 ({
After the queen move, Black's time was down to 13 minutes for the final 15
moves.} 25... Rxe3 $5 26. Qxc5 Re8 27. Ra5 Qd8 {might have held out more
winning chances for Black, though objectively it's not much more than level.})
26. Qc3 Qc7 {Black soaked up a further 9 minutes which she could ill afford on
this move.} 27. Qa5 $5 {The position is level as far as the computer is
concerned but White can line up a few back-rank cheapo threats to push Black
further into time trouble.} Qd6 28. Qa6 $5 Bc6 {One of five adequate moves but
it used up a further 2 minutes, leaving just 2 minutes 11 seconds (plus
increments) to play with.} 29. Rb6 $1 {This doesn't win but restricts Black's
choice to just one safe move, which probably requires more than two minutes'
worth of calculation and checking, even for an experienced GM.} Re6 $4 (29...
Qd2 $1 {holds, somewhat improbably. If White then tries to exploit Black's
time pressure with} 30. Qa8+ $5 {Black can dodge the cheapo with} Be8 $1 {and
actually White could be in a bit of trouble.}) 30. Qc8+ $1 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.03"]
[Round "9.1"]
[White "Suarez Real, Alberto"]
[Black "Hawkins, Jonathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B17"]
[WhiteElo "2398"]
[BlackElo "2518"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Guildford 2"]
[BlackTeam "Cheddleton"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Ng5 Ngf6 6. Bd3 e6 7. N1f3 Bd6 8.
Qe2 h6 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Qc7 11. O-O b6 12. Qg4 Kf8 13. b3 Bb7 14. Bb2 Nf6
15. Qh3 Nd5 16. g3 Nb4 17. Be4 f5 {It's starting to look hairy but we're still
in known territory.} 18. Ng5 Qe7 19. Nxe6+ $5 Qxe6 20. Bxf5 {It's fairly
obvious that White has some play for the piece but exactly how much is hard to
judge.} Qf7 21. Rae1 Re8 22. Re6 $1 ({This looks like a distinct improvement on
} 22. c4 h5 23. a3 Na6 24. Be6 Rxe6 25. Qxe6 Rh6 {, which was played in
Aabling Thomsen-Palo, Danish Team Championship, in March 2014, and which Black
went on to win.}) 22... Rxe6 23. Bxe6  Qf6 $2 ({This costs Black the
game and a GM norm:} 23... Qe7 $5 {would prevent White's next move and also
give Black a modicum of control along the e-file:} 24. Re1 Nd5 25. c4 Nf6 26.
Qf5 {, etc, though it would be by no means a comfortable defence.}) 24. Bc8 $1
{Effectively buying a tempo to take control of the e-file.} Ba8 ({Alternatives
aren't much better:} 24... Qe7 25. Bxb7 Qxb7 26. Re1 $1 {is also very
unpleasant, for example} Be7 27. Qf5+ Kg8 28. Qe6+ Kf8 29. c4 {and Black is
powerless to hold back White's attack.}) 25. Re1 Nd5 (25... Be7 26. Qd7 Qd6 27.
Qxa7 {is hopeless.}) 26. Re6 Qd8 27. Qf5+ Nf6 (27... Kg8 28. Rxd6 $1 Qxd6 29.
Be6+ {is a simple win.}) 28. d5 $1 {Intensifies pressure on f6 to screaming
point. There is nothing to be done.} Kf7 ({After} 28... Qxc8 {, either ook or
bishop capture on f6 wins.}) 29. Rxf6+ {The computer finds more immediate ways
to win but this is perhaps the way that most appeals to the human brain for
its lack of complexity.} gxf6 30. Be6+ Kg7 31. Qg4+ Kf8 32. Qg6 Qe7 33. Bxf6
Qh7 34. Qg4 cxd5 (34... Rg8 {leads to a mopping-up exercise:} 35. Bxg8 Qxg8 36.
Qc8+ Kf7 37. Qe6+ Kf8 38. Qxd6+ Kf7 39. Qe6+ {and wins.}) 35. Bxh8 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.04"]
[Round "10.2"]
[White "Shirov, Alexei"]
[Black "Williams, Simon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B84"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2463"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Wood Green 1"]
[BlackTeam "Cheddleton"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. Be2 Be7 8. f4
O-O 9. g4 $5 {The first major game in which this aggressive advance was played
here was Shirov-Kasparov, Linares 2001, which ended in a draw. Nigel Short has
also played it a few times.} b5 ({Kasparov played} 9... d5 {in this position.})
10. g5 Nfd7 11. a3 Bb7 12. Rg1 Nc6 (12... Nc5 13. f5 Kh8 14. Bd3 Nc6 15. Qh5 g6
{was played in the Reykjavik rapidplay game Short-Kasparov in 2004, which
Black won, but White got a very promising attack along the way.}) 13. f5 Nxd4
14. Qxd4 d5 15. fxe6 fxe6 (15... Bc5 $5 {looks tempting but it's always easy
sacrificing other people's pawns. Even so,} 16. exf7+ Rxf7 17. Qd2 Qb6 {looks
better than the game for Black.}) 16. exd5 Bc5 17. Qd2 Qb6 18. Bxc5 Nxc5 (18...
Qxc5 19. O-O-O exd5 20. Nxd5 {just looks like Black is a pawn down for not
very much.}) 19. O-O-O Rad8 (19... exd5 20. Nxd5 Qe6 21. Bg4 {also seems
better for White.}) 20. b4  Bxd5 $5 ({Black, typically, opts for
active defence via a sacrifice. If} 20... Na4 21. Nxa4 bxa4 22. d6 {leads to a
solid advantage for White.}) 21. bxc5 Qxc5 22. Nxd5 Rxd5 (22... Qxa3+ 23. Kb1
Rxd5 24. Bd3 {transposes.}) 23. Bd3 Qxa3+ 24. Kb1 Rc8 (24... Rd4 {would be a
great move but for the annoying} 25. Bxh7+ {, picking up the rook.}) 25. Qe1
Qd6 26. Bxh7+ $5 {Interesting: computers opt to grind out a win with the extra
bishop for pawns, but Shirov prefers to give back the piece for the pawns and
a powerful initiative.} Kxh7 27. Rxd5 Qxd5 28. g6+ Kg8 29. Qh4 Rc4 ({After} 
29... Qd2 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Qh8+ Ke7 32. Qxg7+ Kd6 33. Qb2 {, White is probably
winning eventually, though it's not easy.}) 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Qh8+ Ke7 32. Qxg7+
Kd6 33. Qf8+ Kc7 34. g7 Qd4 $1 {Making White's task as hard as possible.} 35.
Qe7+ Kb6 36. g8=Q Rb4+ 37. Qxb4 {Forced, otherwise it is mate in two.} Qxb4+
38. Kc1 Qf4+ 39. Kd1 Qf3+ 40. Kd2 Qf2+ (40... Qf4+ {makes things a little
harder.}) 41. Kc3 Qe3+ 42. Kb2 Qd4+ 43. c3 Qd2+ 44. Kb3 Qd5+ 45. Kc2 Qa2+ 46.
Kc1 Qa3+ 47. Kd2 (47. Kd2 {The checks run dry after} Qd6+ 48. Ke1 Qe5+ 49. Kd1
Qd6+ 50. Kc2 Qxh2+ 51. Rg2 {, etc.}) 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.04"]
[Round "10.113"]
[White "Jones, Gawain CB"]
[Black "Fernandez, Daniel H"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2380"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Guildford 1"]
[BlackTeam "e2e4.org.uk 1"]

1. d4 g6 2. e4 Bg7 3. Nc3 a6 4. h4 b5 ({Most practitioners of this offbeat
Modern Defence line opt to stop White's pawn advance with} 4... h5 {here, as
played by Simon Ansell against Gawain Jones's wife Sue Maroroa in Bunratty a
couple of years ago.}) 5. h5 Bb7 6. Bg5 d6 ({If} 6... h6 {, White has time for}
7. hxg6 {, the point being that} hxg5 $2 {loses to} 8. Rxh8 Bxh8 9. Qh5 $1 {,
regaining the piece with interest.}) 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. a4 b4 9. Nd5 Ngf6 ({At
first glance, it's not obvious why Black can't play} 9... Bxd5 10. exd5 Nb6 {
but after} 11. Qd3 Nxd5 12. Qc4 Nb6 13. Qxb4 {, White regains his pawn with a
positional edge.}) 10. h6 Bf8 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Nxf6+ exf6 13. d5 Be7 {Black
has two bishops but they are currently blocked behind pawns, so White stands
slightly better. However, the light-squared bishop soon gets into the game.}
14. Qd4 c5 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Bc4 O-O 17. a5 Qc7 18. O-O Bd7 19. Qd3 Qc5 ({It
looks better to play} 19... Rfc8 $5 {first as} 20. Bxa6 Qxc2 {equalises.
Instead of capturing on a6, White could support the bishop with 20.b3 but it
doesn't look like much of an advantage.}) 20. Rfd1 f5 ({Black can still
consider} 20... Rfc8 $5 {. White could now capture the a6 pawn with impunity,}
21. Bxa6 {, but after} Rc7 $1 {Black has some play for the pawn.}) 21. e5 $1 {
After this, White seems to get the edge.} Bc6 22. exd6 Bf6 23. Bxa6 Be4 (23...
Bxf3 24. gxf3 Bxb2 25. Ra2 Bf6 26. Qb5 {gives White a viable material advantage
}) (23... Bxb2 24. Ra2 Ba3 25. Bc4 Be4 26. Qe2 {is also good for White.}) 24.
Qc4 Qa7 25. Bb5 Rfc8 26. Qxb4 Bxf3 27. gxf3 Rxc2 28. Rd2  Bc3 $2 ({
It's tempting to try this tactic but sadly for Black it loses by force.
Instead,} 28... Qc5 29. Qxc5 Rxc5 {and now it's interesting to see what the
computer finds -} 30. Ba6 $3 {- which I would be surprised if any human would
venture in practical play, all the way up to Carlsen and Kasparov. I leave the
reader to look in wonder upon it.}) 29. Qxc3 $1 Rxc3 30. bxc3 {Now it's just
Space Invaders, with the black queen and rook vainly trying to beat off the
advancing pawns.} Qb7 31. Bf1 Rd8 (31... Qd7 {puts off the evil hour but can't
save Black.}) 32. a6 Qxf3 33. a7 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.04"]
[Round "10.148"]
[White "Maroroa, Sue Y"]
[Black "Regan, Natasha K"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2131"]
[BlackElo "2057"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "k1r4r/ppQ4p/q2PP1p1/8/4Nb2/P4P2/1P5P/1K1R3R w - - 0 26"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "White Rose 1"]
[BlackTeam "Barbican 4NCL 2"]

 26. Qxc8+ $1 {Other moves also win but sacrificing a queen is a more
attractive proposition here.} Rxc8 27. d7 Qxe6 28. d8=Q Rxd8 29. Rxd8+ Bb8 30.
Rc1 $1 a5 31. Rcc8 Qh3 32. Rxb8+ Ka7 33. Nd6 $1 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.04"]
[Round "10.134"]
[White "Zhou, Yang-Fan"]
[Black "Roberson, Peter T"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2478"]
[BlackElo "2395"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/6p1/2n1p3/P5q1/1Q2P2p/8/1PPNr3/1K1R4 w - - 0 35"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Guildford 2"]
[BlackTeam "Grantham Sharks 1"]

 35. Qc4 $2 ({One of those 'what if' moments. Had White played} 35. Qd6
$1 {, he might well have gone on to a GM norm. The a-pawn cannot be taken:}
Nxa5 36. Qxe6+ Kh7 37. Nf3 $1 {and the queen doesn't have any good squares.})
35... Rxd2 $1 36. Rxd2 Qxd2 37. Qxc6 (37. Qxe6+ {seems more natural but} Kh7
38. Qxc6 Qe1+ 39. Ka2 Qxa5+ 40. Kb1 h3 {also looks bleak.}) 37... Qe1+ 38. Ka2
Qxa5+ 39. Kb1 Qe5 $1 {Defending e6 and also shielding the advance of the
h-pawn. It takes time but now everything is flowing in Black's direction.} 40.
Qd7 Kh7 41. Qd3 Qg3 42. Qd1 Kg6 43. Qd7 Qg4 44. b4 h3 45. Qd6 Kh7 46. Qe5 Qh4
47. Qh2 g5 48. Ka2 Kg6 49. b5 Qxe4 50. Qxh3 Qa4+ 51. Kb2 Qxb5+ 52. Kc1 Qc4 53.
Kd2 Qd4+ 54. Ke2 Qe4+ 55. Kd2 g4 56. Qh4 Qf4+ 57. Ke2 Qf3+ 58. Kd2 g3 59. Qh8
Qf2+ 60. Kd3 Qf3+ 61. Kd2 Qd5+ 0-1

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.04"]
[Round "10.183"]
[White "Milliet, Sophie"]
[Black "Greet, Andrew N"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C14"]
[WhiteElo "2390"]
[BlackElo "2435"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2q1rr1k/1pp1n2p/2n1p1pP/p1QpP1N1/P2P1P2/3P2N1/1P6/1KR2R2 w - - 0 33"]
[PlyCount "11"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "3Cs 1"]
[BlackTeam "Wood Green HK 2"]

{diag} {A long manoeuvring game led to this situation, which can best be
described as 'unclear':} 33. f5 $5 {Jettisoning her backward pawn and hoping
for a breakthrough.} Nxf5 34. Nxf5 {Now Black has three ways to recapture, but
he chooses far and away the worst.} Rxf5 $4 (34... exf5 $2 35. Qxd5 {wouldn't
be great either, it has to be said}) (34... gxf5 {leaves the g-file looking a
bit breezy but there appears to be no tactical means of exploiting it. Black
would have an extra pawn and, more importantly, a rook on f8 to stop the white
knight monkeying about on f7.}) 35. Rxf5 gxf5 (35... exf5 36. Qxd5 {is also
terminal.}) 36. Nf7+ $1 Kg8 37. Rg1+ $1 Kxf7 38. Rg7# 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.04"]
[Round "10.185"]
[White "Qiu, Tong"]
[Black "Houska, Jovanka"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2307"]
[BlackElo "2410"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r2r2k1/1q3pp1/2p2b1p/2nn1N1P/1pQ2PP1/pP6/P3N3/1KB2R1R b - - 0 32"]
[PlyCount "13"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "3Cs 1"]
[BlackTeam "Wood Green HK 2"]

{diag} 32... Ne4 $1 33. Kc2 (33. Qxe4 Re8 34. Qc4 Rxe2 $1 {regains the piece
and effects a powerful breakthrough.}) 33... Ndc3 34. g5 {There's nothing
better.} Qd7 35. Ne3 (35. Nxc3 Nxc3 36. Nh4 {keeps the game going but it's
pretty hopeless anyway.}) 35... Qd2+ $1 36. Bxd2 Rxd2+ 37. Kc1 Nxe2+ 38. Qxe2 (
38. Kb1 Rb2+ 39. Ka1 N4c3 {takes a bit longer but is still mate.}) 38... Bb2+ (
38... Bb2+ 39. Kb1 Nc3# {mate.}) 0-1

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.05"]
[Round "11.5"]
[White "Hammer, Jon Ludvig"]
[Black "Edouard, Romain"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D20"]
[WhiteElo "2647"]
[BlackElo "2670"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Wood Green 1"]
[BlackTeam "Guildford 1"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 {Jon Ludvig also has to have some credit for playing
enterprising chess. This is often the precursor to some fisticuffs.} b5 {Now
it's a real gambit.} 4. a4 c6 5. axb5 cxb5 6. Nc3 { On his Facebook
page, Roger Emerson set this position as a puzzle for his readers (knowing
full well that Romain Edouard and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave would see it and
proceed to tease each other). He posed the question: "how should Black defend
his b-pawn?" MVL shot back an answer: "Black's position is hopeless no matter
what. But let's say there is only one move giving some practical chances."
Romain Edouard retorted: "Too deep for you, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
#NoCreativityAround".} a6 $5 ({Sokolov played} 6... Bd7 {against Ponomariov in
2007 but eventually lost. The text move only pretends to defend the b5 pawn.})
7. Nxb5 axb5 ({Black gives up the exchange. A few people have tried} 7... Bb7 {
but most of them have lost as White will soon be a pawn up.}) 8. Rxa8 Bb7 9.
Ra1 e6 10. Be2 ({Defending the e4 pawn with} 10. f3 {seems logical but perhaps
White was worried it would cramp his kingside development, or expose him to
threats from a queen and bishop battery on the h2-b8 diagonal.}) 10... Nf6 11.
Nf3 Nxe4 12. O-O Qd5 13. Ne1 ({Perhaps White's needs to react a bit quicker
here with} 13. b3 $5 {, when} Nc3 {may be answered by} 14. bxc4 {, etc.}) 13...
Nc6 14. Nc2 (14. Be3 Bd6 15. Bf3 O-O 16. g3 f5 {was played in
Genzling-Donchenko in France last March and also won by Black.}) 14... Bd6 15.
Bf3 Bb8 16. Re1 f5 17. Bxe4 fxe4 18. Qg4 O-O 19. Qxe4 Qxe4 20. Rxe4 e5 21. dxe5
Bxe5 { White has done a pretty good job of liquidating down to a
position where his exchange should be worth its true value but he now misses
his best shot.} 22. Rb1 (22. Re1 $1 {, with the idea of transferring the rook
to the open d-file, is better. If} Rd8 {, White can play} 23. Bg5 {with gain
of tempo and then defend the b2-pawn next move.}) 22... Bf6 23. Re2 Bc8 24. b3
Bg4 $1 25. Kf1 $2 ({White seems to have been bluffed out of playing the natural
} 25. f3 {, which is better than the text. Then} Bf5 26. Be3 Bd3 (26... Nb4 27.
Nxb4 Bxb1 28. bxc4 bxc4 29. Nd5 c3 30. Bc5 Rc8 31. Nxf6+ gxf6 32. Ba3 {looks
tenable for White}) 27. Rd2 Re8 {could pose a few problems for White but
should ultimately be tenable.}) 25... c3 26. Be3 Ra8 $5 {Not wanting to
release the pressure by taking on e2.} 27. Bc5 (27. f3 Bf5 28. Rd1 {is OK
according to computers but looks a little hard to defend for a human.}) 27...
Ra2 28. f3 $2 ({When White finally plays the move it turns out to be a blunder.
Instead} 28. Re8+ Kf7 29. Rf8+ Kg6 30. Rc1 {seems to be safe enough, in the
short term anyway.}) 28... Bf5 29. Rc1 Bd3 {} 30. b4 ({Moves such as} 
30. Kf2 {lose to} Bxe2 31. Kxe2 Na5 $1 {when the threat of Nxb3 forking rook
and bishop is decisive.}) 30... Bg5 $1 {The cluster of pins and overloaded
defences spells doom for White.} 0-1

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.05"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Jones, Gawain"]
[Black "Laznicka, Viktor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B19"]
[WhiteElo "2650"]
[BlackElo "2673"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Guildford 1"]
[BlackTeam "Wood Green 1"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nf3 Nd7 7. h4 h6 8. h5
Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 13. Kb1 O-O 14. Ne4 c5
15. g4 {Poignantly, this aggressive thrust was first played at the top level
by the late, great Vugar Gashimov back in 2002. It's become very fashionable
in recent years and is of course very sharp.} Nxg4 16. Qe2 Qb6 17. Ne5 ({In
last year's Indian Championship, Parimarjan Negi tried} 17. Nh4 f5 18. Ng6 Rf7
19. f3 fxe4 20. fxg4 {against Thejkumar. The game ended in a draw. Otherwise,
players have nearly always opted for the text.}) 17... Ndxe5 (17... Ngxe5 {has
seen three white wins out of three after} 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. Rhg1 {and the
kingside attack proves too formidable.}) 18. dxe5 f5 19. Nc3 $5 ({New move.
The four previous GM games to reach this position continued} 19. exf6 Nxf6 20.
Rdg1 Nxe4 21. Qxe4 Bf6 {when Black was in the game.}) 19... Qa6 {Black is
obliged to offer this queen exchange as otherwise White plays f3 and the
knight is embarrassed.} 20. Nb5 {White offers a second pawn to be rid of the
black knight and open up the g-file to heavy piece play.} Nxf2 (20... Nxe5 {is
the only alternative but then} 21. Qxe5 Qxb5 22. Bxh6 $1 {. Although Black can
hang in there with} Bf6 $1 23. Qxe6+ Kh8 24. Bc1 Rae8 25. Qd6 Rd8 26. Qg3 Rxd1
27. Rxd1 {, White still has a solid plus.}) 21. Qxf2 Qxb5 22. Qg3 $1 (22. Rhg1
{runs into} f4 $1 {and a secure blocking square for the bishop on g5.}) 22...
Kh8 ({The Speelman v1 engine was now in full flow and suggested something like
} 22... Rad8 23. Rdg1 g5 $1 24. hxg6 Rxd2 25. Rxh6 Rfd8 26. Rh8+ Kg7 $1 27.
Rh7+ Kg8 {, which seems to hold, but he was dismissive of the move played.})
23. Rhg1 Rf7 24. Qg6 Qe8 25. Bf4 (25. Qxe6 $2 {allows Black to relieve the
siege with} Bg5 $1 {, securing the better game.}) 25... Bf8 26. Bxh6 Rd7 27.
Rxd7 (27. Qxe8 Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Rxe8 29. Bf4 Kh7 {gets Black out of gaol.}) 27...
Qxd7 28. Bg5 Qe8 {Else 29.h6 is strong.} 29. c4 $1 {A subtle move, further
cramping Black's position, particularly the bishop, which is trapped behind
the c5-pawn. Hereabouts, Jon Speelman was talking in terms of this being close
to winning for White, while engines give it as equal.} a6 (29... Qxg6 30. hxg6
{is similar to the game, with the white rook able to progress to d7 without
impediment and Black unable to get his pieces to active posts.}) 30. Rd1 b5 31.
Qxe8 Rxe8 32. Rd7 {[diag] Engines still tend to say 'equal' here, or 'slightly
better for White' once given a bit more time, perhaps balancing White's pawn
minus against his superior piece configuration, but it's much more serious
than that for Black. The organic engine at my elbow was now firmly in the 'win
for White' camp, though as a Wood Green player he was hoping he was wrong.}
bxc4 33. Kc2 Ra8 {Black was now down to 8 minutes, while White still had 48
minutes at his disposal.} 34. a4 Kg8 35. Rb7 f4 ({I shouldn't be too
dismissive of digital engines as they come up with ingenious ideas in
apparently dead positions. Here Hiarcs suggests} 35... c3 $5 36. Kxc3 c4 $5 {
to give the bishop a bit of breathing space. But that wouldn't end the torture,
of course. Instead Black tries to break out with his rook.}) 36. Bxf4 Rd8 37.
a5 Rd4 38. Bd2 Rh4 39. Rb6 Rxh5 40. Rxa6 g5 (40... Rxe5 41. Ra8 Rf5 42. a6 Rf7
43. a7 Kh7 44. Kc3 {takes slightly longer but Black's position is still
hopeless. The bishop can't move because of Rh8+ and a8Q.}) 41. Rxe6 g4 42. a6
Rh1 43. Re8 c3 44. Kxc3 Rh7 45. e6 g3 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.05"]
[Round "11.1"]
[White "Snuverink, Jochem"]
[Black "Burrows, Martin P"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C16"]
[WhiteElo "2338"]
[BlackElo "2168"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/2p2p2/4kP1p/pp1pP3/3P4/P1PP1KRr/8/8 b - - 0 36"]
[PlyCount "32"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Kings Head 1"]
[BlackTeam "Grantham Sharks 2"]

{[diag] Black to play - to exchange or not to exchange?} 36... Rh1 $6 ({Not an
easy choice, especially a handful of moves before the time control, but he
should have gone for it, if only to make subsequent play less complex:} 36...
Rxg3+ $1 37. Kxg3 c5 $1 38. dxc5 Kxe5 39. d4+ Kxf6 40. Kf4 {and it leads to a
draw, with the black king tied to defending against a c-pawn advance while the
white king has to dodge back and forth to keep the f- and h-pawns from
promoting.}) 37. Rg8 $1 Rf1+ (37... Rc1 {could still be defensible but} 38. Rc8
$1 Rxc3 $2 39. Kf4 $1 {is a sneaky trick, e.g.} Rxd3 40. Re8+ Kd7 41. Re7+ Kc6
42. e6 $1 {and White wins.}) 38. Ke3 Ra1 (38... h5 $1) 39. Kf4 Rf1+ 40. Ke3 Ra1
41. Rb8 h5 42. Kf4 $1 {Now it's starting to look terminal.} Rf1+ 43. Kg5 Rf5+
44. Kh4 Rf3 45. Kg5 Rf5+ 46. Kh6 $1 {It looks dangerous to put the king this
side of Black's passed pawn but White has calculated accurately.} h4 47. Re8+
Kd7 48. Re7+ Kd8 49. Rxf7 h3 50. Rh7 h2 51. Kg6 Rf2 52. e6 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.05"]
[Round "11.7"]
[White "Okike, David C"]
[Black "Summerscale, Claire E"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C41"]
[WhiteElo "2159"]
[BlackElo "1941"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/8/p2p2p1/2pPp2p/Pp2P2P/1P4P1/2PNK3/2b5 b - - 0 43"]
[PlyCount "12"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Kings Head 1"]
[BlackTeam "Grantham Sharks 2"]

{[diag] Black to play - capture or not?} 43... Bxd2 $2 ({This time it is
better to opt out and play} 43... Kf8 44. Nc4 Ke7 45. Kf3 Kd7 {when it seems
unlikely that White could make progress.}) 44. Kxd2 Kf7 45. c3 $1 {By simple
Holmesian deduction, you can work out that this is the only move to make
progress, and it does.} bxc3+ (45... Ke7 46. cxb4 cxb4 47. Kd3 Kd7 48. Kc4 Kc7
49. Kxb4 Kb6 50. a5+ Kc7 51. Kc4 {and it's simple to see that the b-pawn
advances to b5 and eventually the a-pawn will be used as a decoy to win the d-
and e-pawns.}) 46. Kxc3 Ke7 47. b4 $1 Kd7 48. bxc5 dxc5 49. Kc4 (49. Kc4 Kd6
50. a5 {and zugzwang consigns Grantham Sharks 2 to the basement.}) 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.05"]
[Round "11.3"]
[White "Tan, Justin"]
[Black "Pinter, Gabor"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B42"]
[WhiteElo "2363"]
[BlackElo "2353"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Oxford 1"]
[BlackTeam "Cambridge University 1"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. O-O d5 8.
Nd2 Nf6 9. b3 Be7 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Qf3 Bb7 12. Rae1 Qa5 {Forking the knight and
a-pawn.} 13. Re2 Qxa2 $2 ({Too greedy.} 13... h6 14. e5 Nh7 {doesn't look too
bad.}) 14. Bc3 Qa3 {Black has to expend another tempo on a queen move because
of the threat of Ra1 winning the queen.} 15. e5 Ne4 $2 ({An attempt to blunt
the effect of White's light-squared bishop but it only succeeds in making
things much worse. Black should sweat it out with} 15... Ne8 {when} 16. Ra1 Qc5
17. Ra4 {is perhaps not as scary as it looks.}) 16. Bxe4 (16. Rxe4 dxe4 17.
Nxe4 {also wins.}) 16... dxe4 17. Nxe4 Bd8 ({A desperate throw such as} 17...
f5 {loses to} 18. exf6 gxf6 19. Qg4+ {and a routine attack}) (17... Rad8 {at
least has the merit of setting a cheapo but} 18. Re3 (18. Ra1 $4 Qxa1+ 19. Bxa1
Rd1+ {and mate next move}) 18... Qa2 19. Qe2 {completes the encirclement of
the black queen.}) 18. Rd2 (18. Nd6 Rb8 19. Qe3 {is another way to trap the
queen}) ({while} 18. Ra1 Qe7 19. Nf6+ $1 {wins much as in the game.}) 18... Qe7
19. Nf6+ $1 (19. Nf6+ Kh8 20. Qh5 h6 (20... gxf6 21. exf6 Qe8 22. Rd4 {
followed by Rh4 and Qxh7 mate}) 21. Rd7 Qc5 22. Rxf7 {wins.}) 1-0

[Event "4NCL Division 1"]
[Site "Hinckley Island"]
[Date "2014.05.05"]
[Round "11.4"]
[White "Dickenson, Neil F"]
[Black "Bisby, Daniel L"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2306"]
[BlackElo "2310"]
[Annotator "Saunders,John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1qr1n2k/3b3p/Q4p1P/3Pp1p1/pPNbP1P1/6R1/N3BP2/4K3 w - - 0 45"]
[PlyCount "16"]
[EventDate "2014.05.??"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[WhiteTeam "Oxford 1"]
[BlackTeam "Cambridge University 1"]

{[diag] Though White is a pawn up, Black might consider he has adequate
compensation. But has he?} 45. Na3 $2 ({It's not easy to spot but the computer
identifies} 45. Rf3 $1 {as a real chance to win. The threat is simply to take
on f6 with the rook and there is no obvious defence.} Kg8 ({After} 45... Bxg4
$4 46. Rxf6 {wins instantly}) 46. Rxf6 Qb5 (46... Bb5 {allows mate in two after
} 47. Qe6+) 47. Rg6+ $1 hxg6 48. Qxg6+ Kh8 49. h7 Ng7 50. Nd6 Be8 51. Bxb5 Bxg6
{... OK, a horrendous line for a human to calculate but technically a missed
chance.}) 45... Nd6 46. Rf3 {Now it's not so effective.} Rf8 47. Nc4 Nxe4 48.
Bd3 $2 ({Now Black finds a neat tactic to win.} 48. Ne3 {, to block the g1-a7
diagonal, was needed.}) 48... Nxf2 $1 49. Rxf2 e4 $3 {A killer move, opening
the b8-h2 diagonal for a queen invasion whilst at the same time providing
another defender for f6.} 50. Rg2 exd3 51. Qd6 Qe8+ 52. Kd2 (52. Kd1 Bxg4+ 53.
Kd2 Bf3 54. Rh2 Bg1 {is one way to win.}) 52... Bb5 $1 {Ensuring a queen
invasion on either e2 or e3.} 0-1

