Games played by club members in the 2023-24 season

[Event "County Chess"] [Site "Newmarket"] [Date "2023.12.03"] [Round "?"] [White "James Gardner"] [Black "Stephen Orton"] [Result "1-0"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 a5 8. g4 Na6 9. Nge2 Nc5 10. Ng3 h6 11. Be2 Nh7 12. h4 Nxe4 13. Ncxe4 f5 14. gxf5 gxf5 15. Nh5 fxe4 16. Qd2 (16. Rg1 Rf7 17. Bxh6 Qxh4 18. Bxg7 Qxf2+ 19. Kd2 {Got to here and got a bit spooked by ideas of e3+ and Bf5 coming, but really should have just played this}) 16... Rf7 17. O-O-O Bf5 18. Rdg1 Kh8 19. Rg2 Bf6 (19... Bf8 20. Rhg1 Nf6) 20. Bxh6 e3 (20... Bxh4 21. Bg7+ Rxg7 22. Nxg7) 21. Qxe3 Qd7 {ideas of counterplay with Queen a4 so played to shut it down straight away although doubling rooks straight away stronger} 22. Bd3 (22. Rhg1 Qa4 23. Bd3 Bxd3 24. Qxd3 Qxa2 25. Qg6 Qxc4+ (25... Qa1+ 26. Kc2 Qa4+ 27. Kb1) 26. Kb1) 22... Re8 23. Rhg1 b5 {desperate for counterplay} 24. cxb5 (24. Nxf6 Nxf6 25. Bg7+ Rxg7 26. Qh6+ Rh7 27. Qxf6+ Rg7 28. Rxg7 {saw all these ideas but didn't put them together at right moment}) 24... Bxd3 25. Qxd3 e4 26. Nxf6 Nxf6 (26... exd3 27. Rg8+ Rxg8 28. Rxg8# {I believe this is called the Arabian checkmate $1}) 27. Qd4 (27. Qe3 {stronger, looking for Qh6+ later}) 27... Qf5 28. Rg6 {Now the idea is bg7+, winning the exchange, or if Kh7, then mate in 2 starting with Rh6+, also leaves the bishop covering f4} (28. Bg7+ Kh7 29. Qe3 {I missed Queen e3 in this line, was only looking at follow up rook moves}) 28... Re5 (28... Kh7 {missed this strong defensive idea but white remains better}) 29. Bg7+ Rxg7 30. Rxg7 Nxd5 (30... Rxd5 31. Rg8+ Kh7 32. R1g7+ Kh6 33. Qe3+ Kh5 34. Rh8+ Nh7 35. Rhxh7+ Qxh7 36. Rxh7+ Kg4 37. Qg3+ Kf5 38. Qg5+ Ke6 39. Re7# {would have been a nice finish, was hoping he'd fall for the trick of taking with the rook}) 31. R7g5 Qf4+ 32. Kb1 {Black resigned as rh5# is threatened and if you prevent it with the Queen then white liquidates in the centre with winning advantage} *

  [Event "Beds CC Div 1"] [Date "2023.11.23"] [White "Mike Botteley"] [Black "Rob Walker"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [Annotator "Tactical Analysis 5.2 (11s)"] [PlyCount "80"]   {[%evp 9,80,34,33,29,29,31,33,8,10,-22,39,7,20,-1,1,-44,-26,-18,0,-56,-40,-109, -62,-92,-68,-54,-17,-19,-66,-66,-17,-190,-115,-216,-89,-266,-440,-456,-266, -232,-195,-365,-363,-540,-533,-526,-416,-419,-492,-404,-565,-543,-430,-467, -454,-463,-464,-492,-456,-472,-480,-452,-476,-629,-643,-608,-431,-585,-486, -485,-488,-491,-413]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d6 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Qd2 O-O 6. O-O-O Nc6 7. Nf3 a6 8. d5 {White is slightly better.} Na7 {[%cal Oa7b5]} 9. Kb1 (9. Bg5 $142) 9… b5 (9… Nb5 $11) 10. a3 (10. Bg5 $14) 10… c5 $11 11. dxc6 Nxc6 12. Nd4 (12. Bg5 $11) 12… Nxd4 13. exd4 Qb6 14. f3 (14. Bg5 $11) 14… Bd7 15. g4 ({Better is} 15. Bg5 $1 $15) 15… b4 ({Black should play} 15… a5 $1 $17 {aiming for …b4.} 16. g5 b4 $1 17. gxf6 bxc3 18. Qxc3 Bxf6) 16. axb4 $15 Qxb4 17. Ne4 Qb6 (17… a5 $15 {was preferrable.} 18. Nxf6+ Bxf6) 18. Nxf6+ $11 Bxf6 19. h4 Rab8 $40 {[%mdl 128] Black is up to no good.} (19… Rfc8 $15   Qd3 Rab8) 20. c3 $2 {[#] Black keeps a firm grip on the game.} (20. b3 $11 {and White stays safe.}) 20… Ba4 (20… Qb3 $1 $19 {Threatens to win with … Rfc8.} 21. Re1 Be6 22. Rxe6 fxe6) 21. Bd3 (21. Re1 $17) 21… Bb3 (21… Bxd1 $19 {is more deadly.} 22. Rxd1 Bxh4) 22. Rde1 $2 (22. g5 $17 {only move.} Bg7 Rde1) 22… Qa5 $19 23. Re4 Bd5 ({But not} 23… e5 $2 24. dxe5 dxe5 25. g5 ) (23… Qa2+ $142 24. Kc1 Qa1+ 25. Bb1 Rfc8) 24. b4 Bxe4 25. Bxe4 Rfc8 { White must now prevent …Rc4.} 26. Be3 (26. g5 $142 Bg7 27. Kb2) 26… Qa3 27. Rc1 a5 {[%cal Ba6a5,Ba5b4,Bb4a3][%mdl 32]} 28. Qb2 axb4 29. Qxa3 bxa3+ 30. Ka2 {Black is clearly winning.} Rc7 {And now …Rb2+ would win.} 31. Rc2 Rbc8 32. g5 Bg7 33. Kb3 a2 34. Kxa2 Rxc3 35. Rxc3 Rxc3 {KRB-KB} 36. Bf2 e6 {[%cal Be7e6, Be6e5][%mdl 32]} 37. Kb2 Rc8 {Hoping for …Rc4.} 38. Be3 d5 39. Bd3 e5 40. Bd2 f5 {Weighted Error Value: White=0.47/Black=0.43} 0-1

  [Event "Bedford Division 1"] [Date "2023.11.09"] [White "James Gardner"] [Black "Paul Habershon"] [Result "1-0"]   d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 Nf3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nc6 6. Nc2 Be7 7. g3 O-O 8. Bg2 d6 O-O Bd7 10. b3 Qc7 Bb2 Rac8 12. h3 Rfd8 13. e4 a6 14. Qe2 Ne5 15. Nd4 Qa5 16. Rfc1 Nc6 17. Nc2 (17. Nxc6 Bxc6 18. Nd5 {is interesting}) 17… Ne8 18. a3 Bf6 19. b4 Qc7 20. Bf1 Qb8 21. Kg2 Ne5 22. Ne3 Nc6 23. Ng4 Be7 Rd1 h5 25. Ne3 g6 26. f4 Bf6 27. Rd2 b5 28. Qd1 Qb6 (28… Ne7 29. Rc1 Bc6 {looks like a better plan for Black}) 29. c5 (29. Ncd5 {works well now, it causes the win when played later but Black had opportunities}) 29… dxc5 30. Ncd5 exd5 31. Nxd5 Qb7 (31… Bxh3+ Kxh3 Rxd5 33. exd5 Bxb2 34. Rxb2 Nd4 {leaves everything in the balance}) 32. Nxf6+ Nxf6 33. Bxf6 Bxh3+ (33… Nd4 {is a better try}) 34. Kxh3 {and now White finishes off with consummate efficiency} Rxd2 Qxd2 cxb4 36. f5 Kh7 37. axb4 Ne7 38. Bg2 Ng8 39. Bb2 Rc4 e5 Qc8 41. Rf1 Nh6 42. e6 Nxf5 43. Qd7

    [Event "Bedford Division 2"] [Date "2023.11.09"] [White "Richard McMorran"] [Black "Lucian Cox"] [Result "0-1"]   Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 d4 d6 5. c4 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. d5 a5 e4 Nc5 10. Re1 Ne8 11. Be3 Na6 12. Qd2 f5 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. Ng5 Bh6 15. h4 Nb4 Be4 Bxe4 17. Ncxe4 Ng7 18. a3 Na6 19. Qd1 Qe7 20. Rc1 Nf5 Bd2 Nd4 22. Rb1 Nc5 23. Nxc5 dxc5 24. Bf4 Bxg5 25. hxg5 (25. Rxe5 Nf3+ Qxf3 Qxe5 27. Bxe5 Rxf3 28. hxg5 {is an interesting alternative}) 25… e4 f3 Qd7 27. Rxe4 Rae8 28. Kg2 Rxe4 fxe4 Re8 30. Qd3 Qg4 Re1 Rf8 32. Qe3 $2 {a moment's madness?} (32. Rf1 {… swap the bits off and push the pawns should work}) 32… Nc2 33. Qd2 Nxe1+ Kf2 Nf3 35. Qe3 Ne5 36. Kg2 Rxf4 37. Qxf4 Qxf4 38. gxf4 Nd3 (38… Nxc4 {might have saved time but Lucian knows what he's doing (I think!)}) 39. f5 Kf7 40. f6 a4 Kf3 Ne5+ 42. Kf4 Nxc4 43. e5 c6 44. e6+ Ke8 45. Ke4 cxd5+ Kxd5 Nxb2 47. Kxc5 b6+ 48. Kc6 Nc4 49. Kb5 (49. f7 Ke7 50. f8=Q Kxf8 51.Kd7 {looks scary but the knight can defend})  Nxa3+ 50. Kxa4 Nc2 e7 Nd4 52. Kb4 Ne6 53. Kb5 Nxg5 54. Kc6 Ne4 *   

   [pgn]   [Event "Bedford Division 2"] [Date "2023.11.17"] [White "Steve Pike"] [Black "Ramsey Dairi"] [Result "*"]   1.e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Bc4 a6 7. O-O Nge7 8. Bg5 f6 9.Be3 b5 10. Bb3 Ng6 11. Qe2 Be7 12. Rfd1 O-O $2 {bit careless but Black defends well from here} 13.Bxe6+ Kh8 14. Rac1 (14. Bf5 {might have saved a lot of problems for me later although the move played is sound enough}) 14… d6 15. Bb3 Na5 16. Bd5 Bb7 17. Nd4 (17. Bxb7 Nxb7 18. Nd5 {is simple and strong}) 17… Qd7   18.Be6 Qd8 19. Nd5 Nc4 20. Nxe7 Qxe7 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. f3 {and I have thrown the advantage away in 3 moves!} d5 23. Nf5 Qe6   24.Nd4 Qe5 25. exd5 Bxd5 26. Bf2 {floundering badly} Nf4   27.Qd2 Nd3 28. Rc2 Rfe8 29. Qc3 Qg5 30. b3 Nf4 (30… Nxf2 {better}) 31. Bg3 cxb3 32. axb3 Rac8 $2 (32… h6 {solves the problem that Ramsey's move highlights}) 33. Qxc8 Rxc8 34. Rxc8+ Bg8   35.Re1 Qd5 36. Bf2 Nd3 37. Ree8 Ne5 38. Rxg8+ Qxg8 39. Rxg8+ Kxg8   40.Kf1 Kf7 41. Ke2 Ke7 42. Ke3 Kd7 43.  Ke4 Ng6 44. Bg3 *

  [Event "European Team Championships"] [Date "2023.10.02"] [Round "2"] [White "A Jusufi"] [Black "Steve Ledger"] [Result "0-1"]   e4 c5 2. Nc3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Nc6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 3. f4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} g6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 4. Bb5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Nd4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 5. Nf3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Bg7 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 6. Bc4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} e6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 7. O-O {I think White's starting to drift from here, probably e5 is necessary to shut stuff down - Ed[%clk 0:00:00]} Ne7 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 8. Ne2 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Nxf3+ {[%clk 0:00:00]} 9. Rxf3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} O-O {[%clk 0:00:00]} 10. c3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} d5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 11. Bd3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} b6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 12. Qe1 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Bb7 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 13. e5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} d4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 14. Rh3 {Rg3 is better but Black is definitely on the front foot anyway[%clk 0:00:00]} Qd5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 15. Qf2 {[%clk 0:00:00]} c4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 16. Bb1 {[%clk 0:00:00]} d3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 17. Nd4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Nf5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 18. Nxf5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} exf5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 19. b3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} b5 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 20. Ba3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Rfe8 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 21. Re3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} f6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 22. bxc4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} bxc4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 23. exf6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Bxf6 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 24. Bb2 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Re4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 25. a4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Rxf4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 26. Rxd3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} cxd3 {[%clk 0:00:00]} 27. c4 {[%clk 0:00:00]} Rxf2 {[%clk 0:00:00]} *