Games played by club members in the 2025-26 season

There follows (published or Game of the Season submitted) games played by Bedford Chess Club members between October 2025 and June 2026. Clicking on the links (if they exist) in the heading of each game accesses the source post for context. A GOTS shortlist will be drawn up from games on this page.

Paul Habershon v James Gardner

[Event "Bedford Club Championship"] [Date "2025.10.02"] [White "Habershon, Paul"] [Black "Gardner, James"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [PlyCount "91"] 1. e4 b6 2. Nc3 Bb7 3. d3 e6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 d5 6. exd5 exd5 7. Nh3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 Nbd7 10. Nf4 c6 11. d4 Bd6 12. Nd3 Re8 13. Bf4 Bxf4 14. Nxf4 Nf8 15. Qd2 Qd6 16. Nd3 N6d7 17. Qf4 Qxf4 18. Nxf4 f6 19. h4 Rad8 20. Bh3 Kf7 21. h5 g5 22. hxg6+ hxg6 23. a4 a5 24. Bf1 g5 25. Nd3 Ne6 26. Ne2 c5 27. dxc5 bxc5 28. b3 c4 29. Nb2 cxb3 30. cxb3 Ne5 31. Bg2 Ba6 32. Nc3 d4 {Letting slip much of Black's considerable advantage. Better is} (32... Nd4 33. Red1 Nef3+ 34. Bxf3 Nxf3+ 35. Kg2 Bb7 36. Nb5 d4) 33. Nb5 Re7 34. Nc4 Nxc4 35. bxc4 Bb7 36. Rxe6 Kxe6 37. Re1+ Kf7 38. Rxe7+ Kxe7 39. Bxb7 d3 40. Bd5 d2 41. Nc3 Rb8 $2 (41... Re8 $1 {Ready to stop the WK from approaching the d pawn.} 42. Bc6 Rc8 43. Bd5 Kd7) 42. Kf1 Rb3 43. Nd1 Kd6 44. Ke2 Ra3 45. Kxd2 Rxa4 46. Nc3 Rb4 47. Kd3 a4 48. Kd4 Rb2 49. Nxa4 Rxf2 50. c5+ Kd7 51. Nb6+ Kd8 52. Be6 f5 53. Ke5 f4 54. gxf4 gxf4 55. Nd5 Rc2 56. Kd6 Rxc5 57. Kxc5 f3 58. Ne3 Kc7 59. Bd5 Kd7 60. Bxf3 {under significant time pressure, Paul conceded the draw some moves later... }

2. Alex Potts v Peter Gill

[Date "09/10/2025"] [White "Alex Potts"] [Black "Peter Gill"] [Result "1-0"]     d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bg5 Be7 5 Nf3 0-0 6 e3 b6     {Nice move by black, the bishop has flexibility over whether it comes to b7 or a6, and it also supports a c5 advance to contest the centre - so I try and shut this down with a pawn trade.}   7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Bxe7 Nxe7   (8 ..Nxc3? {looks fun but would have been a big mistake after } 9 Bxd8 Nxd1 10 Be7 Re8 11 Ba3 {leaves the knight trapped.})   9 Bd3 Bb7 10 Bxh7+?!   {With best play, the computer says that this line favours black by about half a pawn. However, best play is difficult to achieve!}   10 ..Kxh7 11 Ng5+ Kh6 12 Qg4 g6??   {A double question mark seems harsh but the engine evaluation now flips from black having the edge to a forced mate in 9 for white - an opportunity I don't miss. Black had to find 12 ..Nf5 to prevent 13 Qh4+, but even then the danger is far from over.}   13 Qh4+ Kg7 14 Qh7+ Kf6 15 Nce4+ Bxe4 16 Nxe4+ Kf5 17 Qh3+   {This knight sacrifice is not strictly necessary, but it is the most forcing line and hence easiest to calculate. However, simply defending the knight with 17 f3 or 17 Qh4 were also sufficient.}   17 ..Kxe4 18 Qf3+ Kd3 19 Rc1 Nd5 20 0-0 {Castling into immediate resignation is definitely a new one for me!}

3. Daniella Dairi v Francesco Graf

   [Event "Beds League Division 2"] [Date "09/10/2025"] [White "Daniella Dairi"] [Black "Francesco Graf"] [Result "1-0"]     e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 d4 6. Ne2 e5 7. Ng3 g6 8. Bc4 Qe7 9. d3 b5 10. Bb3 a5 11. a4 b4 {Black has made a lot of pawn moves - he really needs to develop some pieces $1} 12. O-O Nf6 13. Bg5 Bg7 14. Rac1 h6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. c3 Bg5 17. Rc2 bxc3 18. bxc3 O-O 19. cxd4 exd4 20. Ne2 Bf6 21. Rc4 Rd8 22. Nf4 c5 $2 ({Black's position is horrible but this gives White a great position - instead he needs to grovel e.g.} 22… Ra6) 23. Rfc1 Nc6 {not really time for this either, maybe} (23… Kg7) 24. Nd5 $2 ({This gives Black a chance}   Rxc5 Ne5 25. Rxe5 Bxe5 26. Nxg6 {is overwhelming}) 24… Rxd5 25. exd5 Rb8 $2 (25… Ne5 $1) 26. Ba2 (26. dxc6 Rxb3 27. c7 {wins}) 26… Rb2 27. Bb1 Bg5 28. Rd1 Qb7 29. Bc2 Nb4 30. Qe2 {there have been a few inaccuracies over the last few moves but amazingly, its now about level $1} 30… Nxc2 {the end of a strong knight that missed its moments $1} 31. Rxc2 Rb1 32. Rxb1 Qxb1+ 33. Kh2 Qb8+ 34. g3 Qd6 35. Qe8+ Kg7 36. Qc6 Be7 37. Qxd6 Bxd6 38. Rb2 Kf6 39. Rb5 Ke5 40. Rxa5 Kxd5   Rb5 Kc6 42. Kg2 f5 43. Rb1 Bc7 44. Ra1 Kb6 45. a5+ Ka6 46. Rc1 Kb5 47. a6 Bb6 48. Re1 Kxa6 49. Re6 Kb5 50. Rxg6 Ba5 51. g4 fxg4 52. hxg4 c4 53. Rd6 Kc5   Rd7 $4 {now Black is winning, White should have taken h6 and pushed the g pawn} 54… cxd3 $2 (54… c3 $1) 55. Kf1 d2 $4 (55… Bd2 {looks very drawish}) 56. Ke2 Kc4 57. Kd1 {phew $1} 57… d3 58. f4 Bb4 59. Rh7 Kd4 60. Rxh6 Ke4 61. f5 Kf4 Rh8 $2 (62. Rg6 {and push them $1}) 62… Kxg4 63. Rb8 Kxf5 $2 (63… Be7 {probably draws}) 64. Rxb4 Ke5 65. Kxd2 Kd5 66. Kxd3 *

4. J.Hudson V S.Ledger

1. g3 c5 2. Bg2 Nc6 3. d3 g6 4. Nd2 Bg7 5. Ngf3 e5 6. O-O Nge7 7. e4 O-O 8. Re1 {Not quite sure why White played this as action usually follows on the f-file in these sort of positions}  d6 9. c3 h6 10. a4 Be6 11. Nc4 Qd7    {So we've reached a normalish sort of position (it appears 15 times on my database anyway) but I'm pretty happy already as I've developed all my pieces, tucked my King away and connected up my rooks whilst White still has 3 pieces on homebase.  The machine gives me a small edge to boot. The position is similar to the game we had when he went 1. Nf3 but then he went Nh4 and f4 which isn't really consistent with playing Re1 earlier. I have an obvious plan to expand on the K-side but wasn't really that sure what the White plan was. Don't like White's next 2 moves though. }   12. a5 f5 13. Qa4 Rac8    {I guess the White idea is a6 sometime,  to open up the g2 to a8 diagonal, or maybe b4 but I get in first and the Queen is just offside on a4.}   14. Nh4 f4 15. gxf4 exf4 16. Bf3 {Yuk ! ... gf is rarely a good idea in these positions and the Bf3,Ng2 set up is horrible for White} g5 17. Ng2 Ng6 18. Bh5 Nge5 19. Rd1   {I thought the end was nigh for White, around this point, but this hastens things and White is helpless now.}   Bg4 20. Nxe5 Bxe5 21. Bxg4 Qxg4 22. Kf1 Qh3 23. d4 cxd4 24. cxd4 f3          { 0-1 -} 25. dxe5   Qxg2+ 26.Ke1  Qg1+ 27. Kd2  Qxf2+  {and mate soon follows }

5. J Gardner vs T O’Brien

1. b3 c5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d6 4. Nf3 Bd7 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 Nf6 7. Be2 a6 8. O-O Nxd4 9. Qxd4 e5 10. Qd1 Be7 11. c4 Bc6 12. Nc3 O-O 13. a3 Qc7 14. Rc1 b6 15. b4 Qb7 16. f3 b5 17. e4 bxc4 18. Bxc4 Rac8 19. Qd3 Qb6+ 20. Kh1 Bb7 21. Rc2 Rc6 22. Rfc1 Rfc8 23. Bd5 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Qd8 25. Rxc6 Rxc6 26. Rxc6 Bxc6 27. Qxa6 Bxd5 28. exd5 Qc7 29. Qc6 Qa7 30. Qc8+ Bf8 31. Qc1 Qa6 32. Qd1 Qc4 33. h3 g6 34. Qd2 Be7 35. Kg1 Bd8 36. a4 Bb6+ 37. Kh1?? {catastrophic blunder - Kh2 is still +0.55 to White whereas Kh1 is -15.75 . Oh dear!} Qf1+ 38. Kh2 Qg1+ 39. Kg3 Be3 40. Qe2 Bf4+ 41. Kh4 Qb1 42. g3 g5+ 43. Kg4 h5+ 44. Kxh5 Qh7+ 45. Kg4 f5#

6. M Adam v Steve Ledger

[Event "ECCC 2025 Open"] [Date "2025.10.20"] [Round "2"] [White "M.Adam"] [Black "S.Ledger"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/2ibfR5RZvE/analysis?move=103"]   d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6 e6 6. Nc3 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 exd5 8. Qxd5 Nc6 9. Nf3 Rb8 10. e4 Be7 11. Bc4 O-O 12. O-O Rxb6 13. Bd2 d6 14. Bc3 Be6 15. Qd3 Qc8 16. Rad1 Bxc4 (16… Nb4) 17. Qxc4 Qe6 18. Qe2 Re8 19. Rfe1 Bf6 20. Qd2 Bxc3 21. Qxc3 h6 22. Nd2 Nd4 23. Nc4 Rb5 24. b3 Qf6 25. Qd3 Re6 26. Ne3 Qg5 27. Nd5 Rg6 28. g3 Kh7 29. f4 Qg4 30. Kg2 h5 31. Ne7 h4 (31… Rh6) 32. Nxg6 h3+ 33. Kf2 fxg6 34. e5 dxe5 35. Rxe5 Qd7 36. Qe4 Qg4 37. Re1 (37. Rg5 $1) 37… Nf5 38. Re8 Rb4 39. Qe6 Nh6 40. Qd6 Qf5 41. Qd8 Nf7 42. Qc7 (42. Qh4+) 42… Qd5 43. R8e7 Qg2+ 44. Ke3 Rd4 (44… Qxh2) 45. Re2 Qg1+ 46. Kf3 Qf1+ 47. Kg4 Nh6+ 48. Kg5 Nf5 49. Qc6 Rd6 50. Qxc5 Qf3 51. g4 Rd5 (51… Nxe7) 52. Qxd5 Qxd5 53. gxf5 Qxf5+ 54. Kh4 Qxf4+ 55. Kxh3 Qf3+ 56. Kh4 1/2-1/2

7. Steve Ledger v Rudi Hoerstmann

[Event "ECCC Open"] [Date "2025.10.21"] [Round "3"] [White "Stephen Ledger"] [Black "Rudi Hoerstmann"] [Result "1-0"] [Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/library/2xn1VWzFdx/analysis"]   1.b3 g6 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 Bg7 4. c4 c5 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nc6 7. d4 d5 8. Nbd2 Qa5 9. O-O Rd8 10. Qc1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bd7 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. Nxc6 Bxc6   15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16. Qb2+ f6 17. Rac1 b6 18. Bf3 Nb4 19. Bxc6 Nxc6 20. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Rd8 22. Qe2 b5 23. Na3 Rxd1+ 24. Qxd1 Qa5 25. Qc1 Nb4 26. g3 a6 (26… Nd3 {looks hard to counter}) 27. Qc5 $1 Qxa3 28. Qxe7+ Kh6 $2 (28… Kg8 {safer}) 29. Qf8+ Kh5 30. Qc5+ g5 31. Kg2 a5 $4 (31… Kg6 {draws}) 32. Qf5 $1 Kh6 33. Qxf6+ Kh5 34. h3 g4 35. hxg4+ Kxg4 36. f3+ Kh5 37. g4# 1-0

8. Steve Ledger v P Frendzas

[Event "ECCC"] [Site "?"] [Date "2025.10.22"] [Round "4"] [White "Stephen Ledger"] [Black "P Frendzas"] [Result "1-0"] [Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/51cGzGcSZ4/analysis"]     d4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 Bd6 4. e3 Nf6 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. Bd3 Bxf4 7. exf4 c5 8. c3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nc6 10. N2f3 Nxd4 11. Nxd4 Qc7 12. g3 e5 13. fxe5 Qxe5+ 14. Qe2 Re8   O-O Qxe2 16. Bxe2 Bd7 17. Rfe1 Kf8 18. Bd3 Rxe1+ 19. Rxe1 Re8 20. Rxe8+ Kxe8   f3 h5 22. Kf2 Ke7 23. Ke3 Ne8 24. h4 Nc7 25. Kf4 Kf6 26. g4 Ne6+ 27. Nxe6 Bxe6 28. a3 hxg4 29. fxg4 g6 30. g5+ Ke7 31. Ke5 Kd7 32. Bb5+ {and Black lost on time} 1-0

9. J Bollaart v Steve Ledger

     [Event "ECCC open"]   [Date "2025.10.24"]   [Round "6"]   [White "J Bollaart"]   [Black "S Ledger"]   [Result "0-1"]   [WhiteElo ""]   [WhiteUrl ""]   [WhiteCountry ""]   [WhiteTitle ""]   [Link "https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/4Pex3nnYQe/analysis"]   e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4 4. Bc4 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Nge2 e6 7. O-O Ne7 8. Nxd4 cxd4 9. Ne2 O-O 10. Bb3 d5 11. f4 dxe4 12. dxe4 Qb6 13. Kh1 Bd7 14. Ng3 Kh8 15. Rb1 Rad8 16. Qe2 Rde8 17. Bd2 Nc6 18. Bc4 Qc5 19. Bd3 a5 20. a3 f5 21. b4 axb4   axb4 Qb6 23. Qf2 Ne7 24. c4 e5 25. exf5 Nxf5 26. c5 Qc7 27. Ne4 Bc6 28. b5 Bd5 29. b6 Qb8 30. Nd6 Nxd6 31. cxd6 e4 32. d7 Re6 33. Bb4 exd3 34. Bxf8 Qxf8   Rfe1 Qe7 36. f5 gxf5 37. Rec1 Qxd7 38. Rc7 Rxb6 39. Rxb6 Qxc7 0-1

10. James Gardner V Richard Bodily

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Ne7 5. Nf3 f6 6. c4 a6 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. d3 Be6 9. Ba3 g6 10. Nc3 Bg7 11. Rc1 O-O 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. Na4 g5 14. Qc2 Rc8 15. Nc5 Bf7 16. h3 c6 17. Qd2 h6 18. Bb4 f5 19. d4 f4 20. dxe5 fxe3 21. fxe3 Nf5 22. O-O Re8 23. Nd4 Ng3 24. Rxf7 Kxf7 25. Qf2+ Kg8 26. Qxg3 Bxe5 27. Qg4 a5 28. Ba3 Qf6 29. Nd7 Qg7 30. Nf5 Qh8 31. Nxe5 Qxe5 32. Nxh6+ Kh7 33. Nf5 Kg6 34. Rf1 Rc7 35. h4 Rf7 36. Qxg5+ Kh7 37. Qh5+ Kg8 38. Nh6+

11. Paul Habershon V Ravi Arulnandhy

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Nh3 d4 7. Ne2 e5 8. O-O Be7 9. f4 Ng4 10. fxe5 Ngxe5 11. Nhf4 O-O 12. Nd5 Bg5 13. Nef4 Bh6 14. h3 Qd6 15. Qh5 Ng6 16. Nxg6 hxg6 17. Qh4 Bxc1 18. Raxc1 f6 19. Qf4 Ne5 20. Qd2 g5 21. c3 Nc6 22. Kh2 Be6 23. c4 Ne5 24. b4 b6 25. bxc5 bxc5 26. Rb1 Rfb8 27. Qc2 $2 ({ Black has had a distinct edge right from the opening but now White misses the chance of excellent and probably winning counterplay with} 27. Nxf6+ $1 gxf6 28. Rxf6 Nf7 (28... Rxb1 29. Qxg5+ Ng6 30. Qxg6+ Kh8 31. Qh6+ Kg8 32. Qg5+ Kh7 33. Rh6#) 29. e5 Qxe5 30. Rbf1 Kg7 31. Rxe6 Qxe6 32. Bd5) 27... Rxb1 28. Rxb1 Rb8 29. Ne7+ {Rather pointless} Kf7 30. Nd5 Bd7 31. Rxb8 Qxb8 {Black is now winning and Ravi finds a powerful finish} 32. Bf1 Qh8 $1 33. Qg2 g4 34. h4 g5 35. Be2 gxh4 36. gxh4 Qxh4+ 37. Kg1 g3 38. Qh1 Bh3 $1 39. Bf1 g2 40. Bxg2 Qe1+ 41. Kh2 Ng4+ 42. Kxh3 Nf2+

12. Ramsey Dairi v Dixon Jones

   [Date "04/11/2025"] [White "Ramsey Dairi"] [Black "Dixon Jones"] [Result "1-0"] [PlyCount "41"]     e4 e6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bd3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 h6 { a pretty terrible 'novelty'  and following up with g5, h5 and f6 can't be a good idea. +5 to Ramsey after 10 moves !}6. e5 Nd5 7. Qg4 g5 8. h4 h5 9. Qg3 f6 10. Bg6+ Kf8 11. hxg5 f5 12. Bxh5 Nc6 13. g6 Kg7 14. Bg5 Qf8 15. c4 { perhaps a little loose and appears, at first glance, to give B some counter attacking potential though it does allow for the pleasing on the eye moves that follow} Qb4+ 16. Bd2 Qxc4 17. c3 b6 18. Be2 Rxh1 19. Bxc4 Rxg1+ 20. Ke2 Rxa1 21. Qh4  {Slightly strange to resign here, when you've just got 2R+N for a Q, but it appears that mate follows e.g } Kxg6 22.Qh6+ Kf7 23. Qh7+ Ke8 24. Qg8+ Ke7 25.Bg5+

13. Rishik Madhadi v Shiv Darmendra

  [White "Shiv"] [Black "Rishik"] [Result "1-0"]   d4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 d5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 cxd4 6. exd4 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Bb4 8. Qa4+ Nc6 9. Bb5 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Bd7 11. Ba3 Ne7 12. Ne5 Bxb5 13. Qxb5+ Nc6 14. Qxb7 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nd5 16. Qc6+ Qd7 17. Qxa8+ *

14. Ollie Lenton v Paul Habershon

[Event "Beds. v Cambs. (Bd 10)"] [Date "2025.11.09"] [Round "?"] [White "Lenton, Ollie (2011)"] [Black "Habershon, Paul (1957)"] [Result "0-1"] [PlyCount "68"] 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d6 3. d4 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. f3 b5 6. a3 a6 7. Qd2 Qc7 {I don't know a lot about the Pirc opening, but I think if Black castles too soon it encourages White's obvious plan of Bh6 to exchange bishops and h4 to open the h file. Thus I was in no rush to play Bg7 and O-O.} 8. Nge2 Nbd7 9. g4 { Threatening to embarrass the f6 knight with g5.} Nb6 10. Ng3 h5 11. g5 Nfd7 12. h4 (12. b3 {is probably better - to prevent Nc4.}) 12... Bg7 13. f4 Nc4 { Not the engine recommendation but I fancied the likely exchange of his f1 bishop to increase my influence on the white squares.} 14. Bxc4 bxc4 15. f5 { Better for White again now from being better for Black before my 13 Nc4.} Rb8 16. O-O $2 {White should certainly defend the b pawn with Rb1 first.} Rxb2 17. Qf2 Rf8 {I should finally have castled now but I was wary of Ng3xh5 after preparation such as Qe2. 17... Rf8 as played still gives Black the advantage.} 18. Qe2 Qa5 19. Nd1 $2 ({Better would be} 19. Qxc4 Rxc2 20. Rfc1 Rxc1+ 21. Rxc1 c5 22. Qa4 $11) 19... Rb8 20. Nf2 $2 {Now Black increases his advantage. Engine recommends c3 or Rf2. Typical amateur chess in complicated positions.} c5 21. e5 $4 ({Now the evaluation jumps to over +2.50 for Black.} 21. Qxc4 Qc7 22. Kg2 {is one of many continuations which weren't so bad.}) 21... cxd4 22. Bxd4 Bxe5 $1 {Much better than dxe5.} 23. Qxc4 Bxd4 $2 {I should have played the obvious Bxg3 but, short of time, I unnecessarily worried about White's tempo gaining Ne4.} 24. Qxd4 Qe5 25. Ne2 Qxf5 $6 {I don't think I saw Qxe2 but I am still +3.} 26. Ne4 Qg4+ 27. N2g3 Ne5 28. Rae1 Bb7 29. Qa7 Qc8 {Still short of time - very nearly played Qd7??} 30. Rf4 Kd7 31. Rb1 Qc7 {Just about untangled now.} 32. Qd4 Bxe4 33. Rxb8 Rxb8 34. Nxe4 Qb6 {Forcing the queen exchange and White has had enough with a hopeless endgame in prospect. Unfortunately, well outrated, Beds. lost the match 4.5-11.5.} 0-1

15. Marek Gladysz v Richard Bodily

 [Event "Luton B v Bedford B"] [Date "2025.11.11"] [White "Gladysz, Marek (1750)"] [Black "Bodily, Richard (1962)"] [Result "0-1"] [PlyCount "80"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. e3 Bxc3 4. bxc3 Nc6 5. Nf3 d6 6. Be2 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. d4 Bf5 9. Nh4 Bd7 10. g3 Nf5 11. Nxf5 Bxf5 12. Bf3 e4 13. Bg2 Re8 14. a4 b6 15. Ba3 Na5 16. c5 d5 17. cxb6 cxb6 18. Qe2 Nc4 19. Rfb1 Qd7 20. Bc1 Bg4 21. Qa2 h5 22. Bf1 Rac8 23. Rb4 Bf3 24. Rab1 g6 25. Rb5 Kg7 26. a5 bxa5 27. Rb7 Rc7 28. Qb3 Rec8 29. Qb5 Qe6 30. Rxc7 Rxc7 31. Qb8 Qd7 32. Qb5 Qe6 33. Qb8 Qd7 34. Qb5 Rc6 {Black has had a plus for most of the game and declines the repetition  ('against my usual instincts' - Richard Bodily).} 35. Bxc4 $4 {and gets an immediate reward with this White blunder, surrendering the white squares. Black converts accurately.} dxc4 36. Qe5+ f6 37. Qb8 Qh3 38. Rb7+ {A bit scary but Black is in control.} Kh6 39. Qf8+ Kg5 40. Rb5+ Kg4 0-1

16. James Gardner v Peter Hunt

   1.b3 b6 2. Bb2 Bb7 3. Nf3 e6 4. e3 Nf6 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. c4 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. Qe2 Nc6 12. Rd1 Qe7 13. Nc3 Rfd8 14. Ba6 Nb4   15.Bxb7 Qxb7 16. Ne5 Nbd5 17. Qf3 Bd6 18. Ng4 Nxg4 19. Nxd5 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Rxd5 21.Rxd5 Qxd5 22. Qxg4 Be5 23. Rd1 Qxd1+ 24. Qxd1 Bxb2 25. g3 g6 26. Qd7 Ba3 27. Qb7 Rd8 28. Qxa7 Bc5 29. a4 Rd3 30. a5 Rxb3 31. Qb8+ Kg7 32. a6 b5 33. Qe5+ *

17. Steve Ledger V John Sharp

1. d4 e5    {But, of course. John Sharp used this opening to beat both James and myself the season before last. I remembered that I'd had a quick look at the opening after my crushing defeat two years ago but I'd been expecting to play Tukpetov in this match so hadn't dusted off what I'd looked at previously ...... so how much could I recall ?}   2. dxe5 d6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bg5 Qd7 5. exd6 Bxd6 6. Nc3 Qg4 !?!?  { This bizarre looking move can actually be quite a nuisance to face when totally unprepared.}   7. h3 Qb4 8. Qc1  {and this is what I managed to dredge from the memory banks that I'd briefly looked at 2 years ago. h3 and a3  can both be quite useful moves to have played for free whilst kicking the black queen round the board.}    h6 9. a3 Qa5 10. Bf4    {And I shall claim to be 'just a pawn up' as I 've developed as many pieces as black has now.}   Nge7 11. Bxd6 cxd6 12. Qd2    {This really can't be any good for black as I now have an isolated pawn to target as well as being one up already. }   O-O 13. e3 a6 14. Bd3 Qh5    {And there goes queenie on her travels once again. I guess B's only chance is to try and keep me from castling as I'm reluctant to do with Q and B eyeing the castled king}   15. Ne4 b5 16. b4 f5 17. Nxd6 Qg6    {And so I've rounded up a 2 nd  pawn and get to harras/threaten to swap off the black bishop to boot. If 17..... Be6 then I can go c4 or Nb7 to Nc5.}   18. Nxc8 Qxg2 19. Nxe7+ Nxe7 20. Ke2   {John confessed after the game that he'd completely missed that I had Ke2. I momentarily feared that the idea was 20. Ng6 Rag1  21. Nf4+  exf4  22. Rae8+  which could have kept it a bit messy but then noticed tht I had Ne5 winning easily.  }    Qg6 21. Rag1 Qf6 22. Qc1 Rac8 23. Qa1 Rc3 24. Nd4 Rfc8 25. Qa2+ Kh8 26. Qe6 Qh4   {It really should be all over now, as I have an extra piece and pawn and B's king is in as much danger as mine. We were both down to a couple of minutes now though so care is still needed. I thought 27. Rxg7 probably worked now (the metal monster confirms that it does ! .... but being a piece up but with 2 or 3 minutes left I didn't take the risk.}   27. Qf7 g6 28. Ne6 Rg8 29. Nf4 Rc6 30. Rg3 Rg7 31. Qe8+ Kh7 32. Rhg1 Rc8 33. Qd7 Rcg8 34. Kd2 Qf6 35. Qe6 Qb2 36. Nxg6 Qxa3 37. Nxe7 Qxb4+ 38. Ke2 * 1-0.

18. Callum Shields v Thomas Evans

[White "Callum Shields"][Black "Thomas Evans"]1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Bb5 Bd7 7. Nbd2 Be7 8. h4 a6 9. Bd3 Bc8 10. h5 h6 11. Ne5 Bd6 12. Qf3 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Nd7 14. Qg3 Kf8 15. Nf3 f6 16. exf6 Qxf6 17. Bd6+ Ke8 18. Bg6+ Kd8 19. Bc7+ *

19. Alex Potts v Dave Wells

 [Date "2025.11.27"] [White "Alex Potts"] [Black "Dave Wells"] [Result "1-0"]   e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 d6 7. Qb3 Nxd4 $2 (7… Qd7 {is apparently best}) 8. Bxf7+ Kf8 9. Nxd4 exd4 10. O-O Bxc3 $2 11. Nxc3 dxc3   Bxg8 ({swapping the knight is fine but} 12. e5 {looks even more fun $1}) 12… Rxg8 13. Ba3 Qf6 14. Rfe1 (14. e5 $1 {is still fun}) 14… Qe5 15. Rad1 b6   Re3 (16. f4 $1 {now or asap is very good for White}) 16… Be6 17. Qc2 c5 18. Rxc3 (18. f4) 18… Ke7 19. Bb2 {keeps the screw turning $1} 19… Qh5 20. Rcd3 Rgd8 21. Qd2 d5 $2 {desperation $1} 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. Rxd5 Rxd5 24. Qxd5 Qxd5 25. Rxd5 g6 26. f4 Rd8 $2 27. Rxd8 $2 (27. Bf6+ {finishes the game on the spot, swapping Rooks is still wining but care is needed with so few pawns}) 27… Kxd8 28. Kf2 Ke7 29. Ke3 Ke6 30. Ke4 a6 31. g3 (31. g4 {is better, create a passer before Black starts making trouble on the queenside}) 31… b5 32. a3 {wrong side} 32… a5 33. Be5 (33. a4 {is nice, making the pawns harder to push}) 33… b4   axb4 cxb4 35. Kd4 (35. g4 {is better}) 35… Kf5 36. h3 h6 37. g4+ Ke6 38. Bc7 a4 39. Ba5 b3 40. Kc3 h5 41. Kb2 Kd5 42. Bc3 Ke4 43. gxh5 $2 (43. f5 {wins at a canter} 43… gxf5 44. gxh5) 43… gxh5 {and suddenly it's a draw $1} 44. Be5 Kf5 45. Ka3 Ke4 $4 (45… h4 {Seals the peace deal} 46. Bc7 Ke4 47. Bb8 Kf5) 46. Kxa4 {and this was White keeps his h-pawn} 46… b2 47. Bxb2 Kxf4 48. h4 $1 {Securing the potential queen} 48… Ke4 49. Bf6 Kf5 50. Bg5 Ke4 51. Kb4 Kd4 52. Bf6+ Ke4 53. Kc4 Kf5 54. Bd8 Ke4 55. Be7 Ke5 56. Kd3 Kf4 57. Kd4 Kf5 58. Ke3 Ke5 59. Bg5 Kf5 60. Kd4 Ke6 61. Ke4 Kf7 62. Kf5 Kg7 63. Bc1 Kf7 64. Kg5 {well played but nearly threw it away after all that hard work $1} 1-0

20. James Gardner v Ozan Senturk

[White "James Gardner"] [Black "Ozan Senturk"] [Result "1-0"] 1. b3 Nf6 2. Bb2 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. c4 d6 5. d4 Nbd7 6. g3 c6 7. Bg2 Qc7 {little bit passive/slow} 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 e5 10. e4 exd4 11. Nxd4 Re8 12. Qd2 Nc5 13. Rae1 a5 14. h3 {preparing f4 later} 14... a4 15. b4 a3 16. Ba1 Na6 (16... Na4 17. Nb1) 17. Na4 (Rb1 {better with the action now firmly on the queenside, better to abandon f4 ideas for now and bring the rook to the queenside which allows the f1 rook to go to e1 and defend e4}) 17... Bd7 18. c5 {tricky trying to work out b5 or c5} 18... dxc5 (18... Nxc5 19. Nxc5 dxc5 20. bxc5) 19. bxc5 Be6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 {Rook takes clearly much better $1} 21. Qc2 e5 22. Rd1 Kh8 23. Qc3 Nd7 24. f4 Re7 (24... exf4 25. Qxg7#) 25. f5 gxf5 26. Rxf5 (exf5 {better and certainly good for opening my g2 bishop. Just wasn't sure if it was helping him by opening up his g7 bishop}) 26... b5 {bad but a tough position} 27. cxb6 Nxb6 28. Nc5 Nb8 29. Qb3 N8d7 30. Ne6 Qa7 31. Nxg7 Kxg7 (31... Nd5+ 32. Kh2 Ne3 33. Rxd7 Rxd7 34. Bxe5 Rxg7 35. Bxg7+ Qxg7 36. Qxe3) 32. Kh2 Qa4 33. Qe3 $3 Rae8 (33... Qxd1 34. Qg5+ Kh8 35. Qxe7 Qxa1 36. Rf7 {and mate is unstoppable}) 34. Qg5+ Kh8 35. Rdf1 Rg7 36. Bxe5 $3 Nxe5 (36... Rxe5 37. Rf8+ Nxf8 38. Rxf8+ Rg8 39. Qxg8#) 37. Rf8+ 1-0

21. Dexter Lazard v Alex Potts

[White "Dexter Lazard"] [Black "Alex Potts"] [Result "0-1"]1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 {I was pleased to see this move as I'd just coincidentally played another game in the Petrosian variation of the Grunfeld the previous week, and had had a look at some of the ideas after the game. So I was probably more prepared for this position than my opponent.} Ne4 6. Bf4 ({For those not versed in this opening, the d5 pawn is safe, as } 6 Nxd5?? Nxg5 7 Nxg5 e6{ with a double-attack on both knights.}) Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. e3 O-O 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. cxd5 Qxd5 11. e4 {This is too aggressive from white, opening up the centre and weakening himself along the long dark-squared diagonal is surely not worth it just to kick the queen. Castle first!}Qd8 {So the d4 pawn is attacked four times and defended only twice. White would love to be able to move his pawn back to e3, but pawns can't go backward! The engine actually wants white to give up his rook with 12 d5, but no human is ever going to play that move.} 12. Bb5 {White must have been relying on this move to add one more defender to d4 while threatening to remove one of my attackers, where it looks like he is holding his centre together. However...} Nxd4 {I'll just use the attacker before it can be removed! All of white's weaknesses – the long diagonal, his uncastled king, and his loose bishop – work in concert to enable this tactic.}13. cxd4 Qa5+ 14. Qd2 Qxb5 15. a4 Qc4 16. Rc1 Qxa4 17. Rxc5 b6 18. Rc7 Qa1+({My only real inaccuracy of the game. The engine reckons I should give back the pawn here and commit fully to the plan of keeping white's king stuck in no-man's land with 18 ...Ba6. (Especially since this was the main purpose of 17 ...b6.) Here I focused too much   on holding on to the material, in general I'd much rather have a material advantage where I can turn the screw and maybe eventually win an endgame, than a theoretically larger dynamic advantage which requires precise play. In this case, however, it isn't too hard to calculate that something like} 18 ...Ba6 19 Rxe7 Rfc8 20 h4 Bf8 21 Re5 Bb4 {is completely winning for black.} )19. Rc1 Qa6 20. Qb4 Bg4 21. Ne5 {Oops!} Qe2# {A tad anticlimactic, but to be fair black was much better anyway.}0-1

22. Robert Whiteside v Jack Hale

[Event "Beds. League"] [Date "2025.12.12"] [White "Whiteside, Robert"] [Black "Hale, Jack"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "Paul Habershon"] [PlyCount "85"] [WhiteTeam "MKA"] [BlackTeam "Bedford A"] 1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. cxd4 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be2 g6 8. O-O Bg7 9. exd6 Qxd6 10. Nc3 Nxc3 {O-O or Bf5 look better, keeping White's Q pawn isolated.} 11. bxc3 O-O 12. a4 Re8 13. Ba3 Qc7 14. Qb3 e5 15. d5 Na5 16. Qa2 e4 17. Nd4 a6 18. Rac1 Bf8 19. Bb4 Bd6 20. Bxd6 Qxd6 21. c4 b6 22. g4 $2 {What's this about? Black now clearly better.} Qf4 23. Qb2 Rb8 24. h3 h5 25. Rc3 e3 26. Rxe3 Rxe3 27. fxe3 Qg3+ 28. Kh1 Qxh3+ 29. Kg1 Qxe3+ 30. Kg2 Bxg4 31. Bxg4 hxg4 32. Ne6 {Desperation!} fxe6 33. Qf6 Qh3+ $2 {Back to equal. Better to protect g6 with} (33... Qe4+ 34. Kh2 g3+ $1 35. Kxg3 Nxc4 36. Qf7+ Kh8 37. Qf6+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ Kh6) 34. Kg1 Qe3+ 35. Rf2 $2 g3 $2 (35... Rb7 $1 36. dxe6 g3 37. Qxg6+ Rg7 38. Qe8+ Kh7 39. Qh5+ Qh6) 36. Qxg6+ Kh8 37. Qf6+ Kh7 38. Qf7+ Kh8 39. Qf6+ Kh7 40. Qf7+ Kh6 41. Qf6+ Kh5 42. Qf7+ Kh6 43. Qf6+ 1/2-1/2

23. James Gardner v Nick Collacott

[Event "Bedford Club Championship"] [Date "2025.12.18"] [White "Gardner, James"] [Black "Collacott, Nick"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A01"] [Annotator "Fritz 17/Paul Habershon"] [PlyCount "51"] 1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 a6 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e4 6. Ne5 Bd6 7. f4 Qe7 8. Ng4 Nh5 9. Nf2 Nf6 10. g4 O-O 11. g5 Ne8 12. Nc3 f5 13. Nd5 Qf7 14. c5 Bxc5 15. Bc4 Kh8 16. Nxc7 $4 (16. Nb6 $1 {comfortably wins the exchange as Black's d5 response doesn't work.}) 16... d5 $1 17. Bxd5 $2 (17. Nxa8 dxc4 18. h4 { Black is only slightly better after} Be6) 17... Qxc7 18. Qh5 Ne7 $4 {Throwing away a decisive advantage.} ({The hard to see} 18... Bxe3 $1 {is winning after} 19. dxe3 (19. g6 Bxf2+ 20. Kxf2 Qxf4+ 21. Ke1 h6) 19... Qa5+ 20. Ke2 Qxd5 21. g6 Qg8) 19. Bf7 Rxf7 20. Qxf7 Bd7 21. Rc1 Qb6 22. Qf8+ Ng8 23. Rxc5 Qg6 24. h4 Qh5 25. Rc7 Rd8 26. Rxb7 1-0

24. Rob Whiteside v James Gardner

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 d5 4. Bb5 Bd6 5. f4 Qe7 6. Nf3 f6    {I've actually had this position with W and reckon 7. Nc3 is better than grabbing the 'hot' pawn.}   7. fxe5 fxe5 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. Nxe5 Qh4+ 10. g3 Qg5 11. Nf3 Bxg3+ 12. Ke2 Bg4 13. hxg3 Nf6    {Computer is still relatively happy with W but, then again, it can defend perfectly !! It prefers 14. Ke1}   14. Kf2 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Ng4+    {Ng4+ is a mistake, apparently, and W is +2.}   16. Ke1 Rf8 17. Qe2 Rf2 18. Qa6 Kd7 19. Rxh7 Rf7 20. c4    {No, no, no ..... disastrous and loses straight away .... as long as you've seen what comes next.  Something like Bd4 is, supposedly, not too bad for W. However ....}   ......Nxe3 21. cxd5 Qxg3+ 22. Ke2 Qf2+   0-1

25. Steve Pike v George Ward

[Event "Bedford B v Mk B, Beds League"] [Date "2026.01.29"] [White "Steve Pike"] [Black "George Ward"] [Result "1-0"]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. d4 Bd7 5. O-O Be7 6. dxe5 Nxe5 7. Bxd7+ Nxd7 8. Nc3 Ngf6 9. Re1 O-O 10. Bf4 Nh5 11. Be3 Nb6 12. Qd3 Nf6 13. Rad1 Ng4 14. Bf4 {{not too bad so far, quite restrained from me, a bit passive from him, not many tops but no blunders according to the 'fish}} 14… f6? {a bit  committal} 15. Nd4 (15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5+ Kh8 17. Qe6 {Is also tempting}) 15… Rf7 16. Qg3 Ne5 17. Nf5 Ng6 18. h4 Kh8 19. Bc1 {switching plans now, more thematic is }} (19. h5) 19… Bf8 20. f4 {third different plan in 3 moves $1} 20… Ne7 21. Nd4 Qc8 22. b3 {yet another plan} 22… Ng8 {confused by all the plans $1 Maybe time to try} (22… d5) 23. a4 g6 {another iffy pawn move}   a5 Nd7 25. Ne6 Nh6 {black's pieces are not well-placed} 26. Bb2 Kg8 $2 {not best} 27. h5 Re7 28. Nxf8 Qxf8 (28… Nxf8 29. Nd5) 29. hxg6 Rg7 30. Qh3 $1 Rxg6 {hard to defend both knights, but this approach generates surprising counter-play} 31. Qxd7 Ng4 32. Rd3 (32. Nd5 {looked a bit risky but} 32… Qh6   Ne7+ Kh8 34. Nxg6+ {seems ok}) 32… Rd8 33. Qf5 {ok I think but} (33. Qxc7 {may be objectively better}) 33… c6 34. e5 {showing surprising lack of understanding of the position $1} 34… d5 35. exf6 {this is actually ok but I certainly didn't know that at the time $1} 35… Qc5+ 36. Ree3 Nxe3 37. Qe6+ Kh8   Ne4 $4 ({I was a bit worried about} 38. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 39. Rxe3 d4 {but obviously} 40. f7 {is more than good enough $1 I was very pleased with my knight move - I couldn't see how black could save his queen and survive the discovered check - but it takes the evaluation from +6 to -5 $1}) 38… Rxg2+ 39. Kh1 Rh2+ $4 ({Black also thinks he needs to keep checking but} 39… Qxc2 40. f7+ Qxb2 41. Qe8+ Rxe8 42. fxe8=Q+ Rg8 43. Qe5+ Qxe5 44. fxe5 Ng4 {and black is winning easilly}) 40. Kxh2 Nf1+ 41. Kh3 Qxc2 42. f7+ Qxb2 43. Qe8+ Rxe8 44. fxe8=Q+ Kg7 Qe7+ Kh6 {Obviously this is curtains but black can only give up his queen to avoid mate} 46. Qg5# 1-0

26. Sumit Bhalla v Rob Walker

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 Bg7 5.Qd2 00 6.000 a6 7.Bh6 b5 8.Bxg7 Kxg7 9.a3 Bb7 10.f3 Nbd7 11.h4 c5 12.g4 b4 13.Nb1 a5 14.h5 gxh5 {this doesn't look right - the engine recommends cxd4} 15.g5 Ne8 16.Rxh5 Rh8 17.Qf4 cxd4 18.Bc4 Ne5 19.Bb3 Qb6 {should play d3 straight away} 20.Ne2 d3 21.Rxd3 Nxd3+ 22.cxd3 Qc7+ 23.Kd2 e6 24.Rh6 e5 25.Qh2 Qe7 {starting to go wrong now - should play Rc8, which threatens to win with a4!} 26.Qh5 Nc7 {now struggling - d5 is necessary} 27.Ng3 Bc8 28.Nf5+ Bxf5 29.exf5 {f6 would win now} Qf8 30.f6+ Kg8 31.Ke3? {Rg6+ wins} Ne6? {d5 is necessary} 32.g6? {letting me off the hook - Bxe6 leads to mate} Qxh6+! {and suddenly all my troubles are over} 33.Qxh6 hxg6 34.Qxh8+ Kxh8 35.Nd2 Kg8 36.Nc4 a4 37.Bd1 bxa3 38.bxa3 Ra6 39.Ke4 Nc7 40.Nb2 Nb5 41.Ke3 Nxa3 42.Nxa4 Nb5 43.Bb3 Nd4 44.Bd1 d5 45.Nc5 Rxf6 46.Nd7 Re6 47.Nc5 Re7

27. Brian Valentine v Ramsey Dairi

[White "Brian Valentine"] [Black "Ramsey Dairi"]1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Qa4 d6 7. e5 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Qd4 9. Nxc6 Qxa4 10. Nxa4 bxc6 11. b3 Bf5 12. Ba6 Bg7 13. Bb2 O-O 14. O-O-O Bh6+ 15. Kb1 Ne4 16. Bd4 Rfd8 17. f3 Nd2+ 18. Rxd2 Bxd2 19. Bc5 h5 20. Bb7 Rab8 21. Bxc6 Bb4 22. Bxa7 Rbc8 23. Be4 Bxe4 24. fxe4 Rd2 25. c3 Bd6 26. g3 Be5 27. Nb6 Rxc3 28. Nc4 Rxc4 29. bxc4 Rb2+ 30. Kc1 Rxa2 31. Bg1 Ra1+ 32. Kd2 Bd4 33. Bxd4 Rxh1 34. h4 f6 35. Ke2 e5 36. Bf2 Kf7 37. Kf3 Rc1 38. g4 Rc3+

28. James Gardner v John Sharp

[White "James Gardner"] [Black "John Sharp"]1.Nf3 e6 2. b3 Nf6 3. Bb2 d5 4. e3 Bd6 5. d4 Ne4 6. Bd3 f5 7. a3 O-O 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 Nd7 10. Qc2 Qe7 11. O-O Qf7 12. Ne2 Qh5 13. Ne5 Qh6 14. Qc1 Ndf6 15. f3 Ng5 16. a4 Re8 17. a5 a6 18. Qd2 Nd7 19. g3 (19. f4 Ne4 20. Bxe4 fxe4 21. Ba3 Bxa3 22. Rxa3 Nxe5 23. fxe5 Bd7 24. c5 Rf8 25. Raa1 Qg5 26. Rf4 Rxf4 27. Nxf4 Rf8 28. Qb4 Bc8 29. Rf1 h5 30. Qb6 h4 31. Qc7 h3 32. g3 Qg4 33. Qe7 Rf7 34. Qh4) 19… Nf6 20. Nf4 Nf7 21. h4 (21. Be2 g5 (21… Nd7 22. Nfd3) 22. Nfd3) 21… Nd7 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. cxd5 exd5 24. Bxf5 Nf6 25. Bxc8 Raxc8 26. Kg2 g5 27. hxg5 Qxg5 28. Rh1 (28. Ba3 Bc7 (28… Rg8 29. Bxd6 Qxg3+ 30. Kh1 Rg5 31. Qh2)) 28… Rg8 29. Rh3 Rg7 30. Rah1 Rcg8 31. Kf2 h5 32. Bc1 Qf5 33. Rxh5 Nxh5 34. Rxh5 Rg5 35. Rxg5 Rxg5 (35… Qxg5 36. g4 Qh4+ 37. Ke2 Qh2+ 38. Kd1 Qh1+ 39. Ke2 Bxf4 40. exf4 Re8+ 41. Kd3 Qxf3+ 42. Kc2) 36. g4 Qb1 37. Nh5 Qxb3 38. e4 Rxh5 39. gxh5 dxe4 40. Qe3 Qc2+ 41. Kf1 Qc4+ 42. Kg2 exf3+ 43. Qxf3+ Ke8 44. Qe4+ Kd7 45. Qh7+ Be7 46. Qf5+ Kd8 47. Be3 Qe2+ 48. Bf2 Bd6 49. h6 Qe8 50. h7 1-0

29. Jack Hale v Ravi Arulnandhy

 [Date "2026.02.26"] [White "Jack Hale"] [Black "Ravi Arulnandhy"] [Result "0-1"]     d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. h3 O-O   Bd3 Re8 10. O-O c4 11. Bc2 b5 12. a3 a6 13. Be3 {quite passive but the idea is to oppose on the long diagonal} 13… Nbd7 14. Bd4 Qc7 15. Re1 Bb7 16. Qd2 Rad8 {Bad - should play Re7 as this is a wasted move} 17. Rad1 Re7 18. g3 Rde8   Kg2 Nc5 {Why go to the trouble $2} 20. Bxc5 Qxc5 {Black dominates the dark squares} 21. Qe3 Qc7 {White queen will have to go back because of the pin on the e-file} 22. Qd2 Nd7 23. Nh2 Nc5 24. f3 Qd7 25. Ng4 h5 26. Nf2 a5 27. Ra1 Ra8 28. h4 $2 Ree8 {No need for h4 but Jack was running short of time} 29. Reb1 b4 30. axb4 $2 axb4 {Better not to open the a-file} 31. Rxa8 Rxa8 {otherwise hard to guard the b pawn} 32. Ne2 Qb5 33. Nd4 Qb6 34. Rd1 Ra2 35. Nc6 Rxb2 {Jack was short of time} 36. Qf4 Rxc2 37. Qxd6 Nxe4 $2 {No excuse for this - I had seen Ne7+ and intended Rf2+ but thought this looked more flash} (37… Rxf2+ 38. Kxf2 Nd3+   Kg2 Qf2+ 40. Kh1 Qxf3+ 41. Kh2 Qe2+ 42. Kg1 Qxd1+ 43. Kh2 Qe2+ 44. Kg1 Ne1   Qd8+ Bf8 46. Ne7+ Kh7 47. Qxf8 Qg2# {looks ok $1}) 38. Ne7+ Kh7 39. Qxb6 Nxf2   Qxf2 $4 (40. Rf1 {looks to steady the ship}) 40… Rxf2+ {Jack thought this was winning an wanted to avoid complications in time trouble. I can't save the white bishop. Move rook out of danger and white wins} 41. Kxf2 c3 42. d6 c2 43. Re1 b3 44. d7 b2 45. d8=Q c1=Q 46. Qg8+ $2 Kh6 {King surprisingly safe here $1} 47. g4 Qxe1+ {Need to watch out as g5++} 48. Kxe1 b1=Q+ 49. Kd2 Qb2+ 50. Kd3 Qc3+   Ke2 Bxf3+ 52. Kf1 Qd3+ 53. Kf2 Bd4+ {Finally the Bishop gets involved $1} 0-1

30. Nick Collacott v Aleksandar Juhasz

  [White "Nick Collacott"]  [Black "Juhasz, Aleksandar"]  [Result "1-0"]  [Opening "Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Orthodox Defense"]  d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 c6 6. e3 O-O { D37 Queen's Gambit Declined: Harrwitz Attack, Orthodox Defense } 7. h3 Re8 8. c5 Nbd7 9. Bd3 Nf8 10. O-O Ng6 11. Bh2 b6 12. b4 bxc5 13. bxc5 Qa5 14. Qc2 Ba6 15. Rab1 Ne4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bxe4 Bxf1 18. Rxf1 Rac8 19. Rb1 h6 20. Bxg6 fxg6 21. Qxg6 Qxa2 22. Be5 Bf8 23. Rb7 { White wins. } 1-0

31. Julian Hudson v Mike Botteley

 1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 g6 4.0–0 Bg7 5.d3 Nc6 6.c3 e5 7.e4 Nge7 8.Nbd2 0–0 9.Nh4 g5 10.Nhf3 Ng6 11.Nc4 h6 12.Ne3 Nce7 13.h3 Be6 14.Nh2 Qd7 15.Qh5 Kh7 16.Nhg4 f6 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Bf7 19.Ne3 Nh4 20.Qe2 Nxg2 21.Kxg2 f5 22.c4 f4 23.Qg4 Qxg4 24.Nxg4 Bg6 25.Rd1 fxg3 26.fxg3 e4 27.Nf2 exd3 28.Nxd3 Rae8 29.Nf2 Re2

32. Steve Ledger v Julian Hudson

   [White "Steve Ledger"]   [Black "Julian Hudson"]   [Result "1-0"]   1. b3 d6 2. Bb2 Nd7    { I like to punt 1.b3 now and again just to make myself less predictable. d6 and Nd7 is a new one on me, guess Black is determined to play a Kings Indian setup come what may.}   3. e3 Ngf6 4. c4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. g3 O-O 7. Bg2 e5 8. Nge2 a5 9. d4 c6 10. O-O Qc7   {Standardish KI set up from Black though my bishop is on b2 and knight on e2 from the White perspective. Now to come up with a plan and decide where to put my queen and rooks (!)}   11. Qd2 Re8 12. Rad1 Rb8   {Black's last 3 moves seem to have determined my plan for me so ....}   13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Ba3 Ra8 15. Bd6 Qd8      {figured I must be doing OK if Black has gone Qc7 then Qd8 and Rb8 then Ra8 !!   Still need a plan though so I figured Black is a bit tied up and probably needs to trade his dark squared bishop, which he never really wants to do, so f4 seems the way to go from White. Better prepare it first though ( an unusual degree of patience from myself 🙂- ) }   16. h3 Re6 17. Kh2 Bf8 18. Bxf8 Qxf8   {Not convinced by Re6. Presumably the idea was to allow Ne8 to kick the B but it is still raking down should it retreat to a3 ..... so B decides on Bf8 4 moves after he could have first played it.}   19. f4 Nc5 20. f5 gxf5 21. Rxf5 Qh6   {I'd missed the idea of gxf5 ( very rarely a good idea ) and Qh6. Black now threatens the e3 pawn directly as well as Ng4+. As I'd allowed him a good knight on c5 as well as missed Qh6 I was a bit concerned that having opened things up it was about to backfire. Hopefully Qd8+ ideas and an open g file will give Black things to worry about.}   22. e4  {   Computer evaluation has generally been between +0.5 and +1 to me but now, for the only time this game, it goes to -0.1.  }   .....Qxd2 23. Rxd2 Kf8 24. Nc1 Ke7 25. Nd3    {Black played Kf8 & Ke7 quite quickly. It has a certain logic to centralise the king and protect a couple of pieces but it also seems to entomb those same Black pieces. I decided to use those 2 moves to swap off Black's only nice piece on c5.}   .....Nxd3 26. Rxd3 Bd7   {And the bishop finally gets to move but White is doing very nicely now and Black's pieces are really short of squares and getting in each other's way.}   27. Na4    { Julian said he'd missed this and had a long think now. I was looking at  27 .... Rd6  28. Rxd6 Bxf5  29. Rxf6  Kxf6  30. exf5 then either Kf5 or Rd8.   Despite having B+N for R+p  I decided I didn't really like the resultant position as B had a passed pawn and a more active K. Computer seems happy enough though and has me as +1.  I may well have played 28. Rxe5+  when after 28 .... Be6  Black has at least developed his pieces and my rook may become short of squares.   I certainly wasn't expecting 27 ..... b6, I guess it was desparation to stop Nc5. }   ......b6 28. Nxb6 Rb8 29. c5 Rb7 30. g4 Be8 31. Nc4 Nd7 32. Nxa5 Nxc5 33. Nxb7 Nxd3   {Now I get to activate my last piece whilst Black's pieces really aren't well positioned at all.}   34. Bf1 Nf4 35. Nc5 Rd6 36. Rxe5+ Kf8 37. Rf5 Ng6 38. a4 f6 39. a5   1-0  {Black actually lost on time here but his position is hopeless }

33. Aleksandar Juhasz v Steve Pike

[Event "Bedford B v Luton B bd 5"] [Date "2026.03.26"] [White "Aleksandar Juhasz"] [Black "Steve Pike"] [Result "0-1"] 1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. c3 Bd6 7. h3 Bh5 8. Be3 Nge7 9. Nbd2 Qd7 10. Qc2 O-O-O $6 {computer not keen but this preciptates the chaos that follows $1} 11. O-O Rde8 12. Nh4 Bg6 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Bb5 $4 {White took a while to make this move so I had already been considering the rook sac but this makes it worse still} 14… Rxh3 $1 15. Rfe1 (15. gxh3 $2 Qxh3 16. Rfe1 Rh8 {leads to mate}) 15… Reh8 $1 16. Kf1 Rh1+ $6 ({the engine prefers} 16… Rh2 {but I'm looking to crystalise an advantage}) 17. Ke2 Nxd4+ {I like this position $1} 18. Bxd4 Qxb5+ 19. c4 Rxe1+ ({My move was ok but} 19… Qe8 20. Rxh1 $6 Nc6+ $1 {is very nice $1}) 20. Rxe1 dxc4 21. a4 $6 Qf5 ({I really wanted to play} 21… Nf5 $3 {here but my brain was hurting}) 22. Qxc4 Qg4+ 23. Nf3 $6 Nc6 24. Rd1 Re8+ $6 ({not best,} 24… Qe4+ {looks better}) 25. Kf1 Ne5 $6 (25… Be5 26. Qe2 Rh8 {better but I would still hope to win the endgame after my move}) 26. Bxe5 $4 (26. Qe2 Re6 {is good for me but there's still work to do}) 26… Qxc4+ $1 0-1

34. Stephen Law v Paul Habershon

[Event "Leighton Buzzard A v Bedford A"][Date "2026.04.14"]     [White "Law, Stephen"]   [Black "Habershon, Paul"]   [Result "0-1"]   [ECO "B07"]   [WhiteFideId "-1"]   [BlackFideId "-1"]   [PlyCount "82"]   [GameId "2299463217496088"]   1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 c6 5. Qd2 b5 6. f3 a6 7. g4 Nbd7 8. Nge2 Nb6 9. Ng3 Qc7 10. g5 Nfd7 11. f4 Bg7 12. Qf2 Bb7 13. Be2 b4 14. Nd1 c5 15. c3 bxc3 16. Nxc3 O-O 17. O-O f6 18. Bg4 fxg5 19. Be6+ Kh8 20. f5 cxd4 (20... Nc4 $1 21. Bxc4 cxd4 22. Bxd4 Qxc4 23. Bxg7+ Kxg7) 21. Bxd4 Bxd4 22. Qxd4+ Ne5 23. fxg6 hxg6 24. Qd2 $2 (24. Qe3) 24... Nf3+ 25. Rxf3 Rxf3 26. Nf5 $2 {missing the forthcoming pin of the e pawn} Qc5+ $1 27. Kh1 Rxf5 28. Bxf5 Qxf5 29. Qd4+ Qe5 30. Qxb6 Bxe4+ 31. Kg1 Rf8 32. Re1 Rf4 33. Nxe4 Rxe4 34. Rxe4 Qxe4 35. b4 Qb1+ 36. Kg2 Qxa2+ 37. Kg3 Qe2 38. Qd4+ Qe5+ 39. Qxe5+ dxe5 40. Kf3 ({if} 40. Kg4 e4) 40... Kg7 41. Ke4 Kf6 0-1

35. Richard Bodily v Tommy O’Brien

[Event "Beds. League Div 1"]   [Date "2026.04.21"]     [White "Bodily, Richard"]   [Black "O'Brien, Tommy"]   [Result "1-0"]   [Annotator "Paul Habershon"]   [WhiteFideId "-1"]   [BlackFideId "-1"]   [PlyCount "35"]   [GameId "2301747268087830"]   [WhiteTeam "Bedford B"]   [BlackTeam "Luton A"]   1. e4 c5 2. b3 d6 3. Bb2 Nc6 4. Bb5 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Nf3 a6 7. Bxc6 Bxc6 8. Qe2 e5 9. d3 Be7 10. O-O Qd7 11. a4 h6 12. Nd2 O-O 13. Nc4 Bd8 14. f4 Bc7 $2 ({Richard quite rightly identifies this as a big error; simply play} 14... exf4 15. Rxf4 d5 {with equality.}) 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. Ne3 (16. Rxf6 $1 {can be played immediately} gxf6 17. Rf1 Rae8 18. Qh5 f5 19. Rxf5 Re6 20. Ne2 f6 21. Bc1 {- not easy!}) 16... b5 17. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 18. Nf5 1-0

36. Eustace Onyeji v Steve Pike

[Event "Bedford B v Luton A"] [Date "2026.04.21"] [White "Eustace Onyeji"] [Black "Steve Pike"] [Result "0-1"]   1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bd2 Nc6 6. Nge2 Bg4 7. Na4 {questionable $2} 7… Bd6 8. c3 Nf6 {I play this delayed exchange stuff myself against the French Winawer sometimes but I doubt White had this position in mind at move 4!} 9. Qc2 Qe7 {computer not keen but it gives White scope to go wrong}   10.f3 Bh5 11. Kf2 O-O 12. Nf4 Bg6 13. Nxg6 fxg6 14. Re1 $4 (14. Kg1 {Isn't a nice pill to swallow but it's probably the only practical way of proceeding.  The move played loses on the spot $1}) 14… Ng4+ 15. Kg1 Qh4 $1 16. g3 Bxg3 $1 ({the move played is best but the engine's second choice is also fun -} 16… Nxd4 $3 17. gxh4 Nxf3+ $1 18. Kg2 Nxe1+ 19. Bxe1 Ne3+ $1  ) 17. Re2 $6 Rxf3 (17… Bf2+ 18. Kg2 Rxf3 $3 19. Kxf3 Nxh2+ 20. Rxh2 Qg3# {is better really but it's just choosing ways to win}) 18. hxg3 $2 {this is just a cute way to resign but there are no good choices e.g.} (18. Bg5 Qxg5 19. hxg3 Rxg3+ 20. Bg2 Rxg2+ 21. Rxg2 Qe3+   22.Rf2 Qg3+ 23. Rg2 $2 (23. Kf1 Ne3+) 23… Qe1#) 18… Rxf1+ $1 0-1

37. James Gardner v Adam Heath

1.b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 a6 4. Nf3 d6 5. d4 Bg4 6. d5 Nce7 7. c4 f5 8. Be2 Bxf3 9. Bxf3 Nf6 10. Qc2 Qd7 11. Nc3 g5 12. h3 Bg7 13. O-O-O (13. g4 fxg4 (13… e4 14. Be2 Ng6 15. O-O-O Nh4 16. gxf5 Nxf5) 14. hxg4 Nxg4 15. Ne4 h6 16. Qe2 Nf6 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Bg4 Qd8 19. f4 O-O 20. Qh2 Bg7 21. fxg5 hxg5 22. Qh7+ Kf7 23. Bh5+ Kf6 24. Rf1+ Nf5 25. Qxf5+ Ke7 26. Qe6#) 13… O-O-O (13… b5 14. cxb5 axb5 15. b4 O-O 16. Be2 Rab8 17. g4 fxg4 18. hxg4 Nxg4) 14. g4 (14. b4) 14… h6 15. gxf5 Qxf5 16. Qxf5+ Nxf5 17. Bg4 Nxg4 18. hxg4 Ne7 19. Ne4 Rhf8 (19… Ng8) 20. Rh3 Ng8 21. f3 Nf6 22. Ng3 Rf7 23. e4 Rh8 24. Kc2 Ng8 25. Rf1 Ne7 26. Kd2 Rh7 27. Ke3 Bf8 28. Bc1 Kd7 29. Rfh1 Rf6 30. Ke2 Rg6 31. Rh5 Rf7 32. Be3 Rgf6 33. Rf1 Rg6 34. b4 Ng8 35. Nf5 Nf6 36. Rh2 Ng8 37. Rfh1 Rgf6 38. c5 Ne7 39. Rc1 (39. cxd6 Nxf5 40. gxf5 Bxd6 (40… cxd6 41. Kf2 Ke8 42. Rc1 Rd7 43. Rc8+ Kf7 44. Kg3 Kg8 45. Rhc2 Rff7 46. Kg4 Kh7 47. Rb8 Rc7 (47… Bg7 48. Rcc8 Rfe7 49. Bb6 Rf7 50. Kh5 Rfe7 51. a4 Rf7 52. b5 axb5 53. axb5 Rfe7 54. Ba5 Rf7 55. b6 Rfe7 56. Rc7 Rf7 57. Rbxb7 Rxc7 58. bxc7 Rf8 59. Rb8))) 39… Ng8 40. c6+ bxc6 41. Rxc6 Ne7 42. Rxa6 Nxf5 43. exf5 Bg7 44. Kd3 Rf8 45. a4 Rb8 46. b5 Rff8 47. Kc4 (47. Ra7 Ra8 48. b6 Rxa7 49. bxa7) 47… Ra8 48. Rxa8 Rxa8 49. Kb4 Kc8 50. a5 Kb7 51. a6+ Kc8 52. f6 Bf8 53. Ka5

38. Mike Botteley v Andrew Bowler

[Event "Beds. League Div 1"] [Date "2026.04.30"] [Round "?"] [White "Botteley, Mike"] [Black "Bowler, Andrew"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "Mike Botteley"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "83"] [GameId "2305811270828066"] [WhiteTeam "Bedford B"] [BlackTeam "Milton Keynes B"]   1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. cxd5 exd5 6. O-O Nf6 7. d4 c4 8. Nc3 Bb4 {This seems to be an error. Black said he thought this was the 'theoretical line' but mixed up his move order.} (8... Be7 {seems better.}) 9. Bg5 Bxc3 10. bxc3 h6 11. Bxf6 Qxf6 12. Nd2 Be6 13. e4 Ne7 {The position looks really bad for Black now but it's far from obvious what the best line should have been instead of 9...Bxc3. Perhaps even losing time by moving the bishop back to e7.} 14. Rb1 O-O ({Attempting to save the b pawn with} 14... b6 {is no good after} 15. Qa4+ Bd7 16. Qa3 O-O 17. exd5) 15. Rxb7 Bc8 16. Rc7 Qd6 17. Rc5 Ba6 18. exd5 Rab8 19. Qa4 Rfc8 20. Nxc4 Bxc4 21. Qxc4 Rd8 22. Qa4 Qb6 23. Re1 Nc8 24. Re8+ Kh7 25. Rxd8 Qxd8 26. Be4+ {Attempting to weaken squares around the black king. Black must be mindful of captures on g6 and h5 from now on.} g6 27. Qc2 Nd6 28. Rc6 Qe7 29. Bd3 Rd8 30. Kg2 h5 31. h4 Qd7 32. c4 Rb8 33. Qd2 Rb7 34. Qf4 Ne8 35. Qg5 Ng7 36. Qe5 Qg4 {Some sort of active play must be attempted otherwise the central pawns will just roll forward.} 37. Be2 Qf5 38. Qxf5 Nxf5 39. Ra6 Nxd4 40. Bd3 Rb2 41. Ra3 Rd2 42. c5 1-0

39. Jack Hale v Steve Ledger

[Event "Beds CC 2026, Rd 2"] [Date "05/02/2026 "] [White "Jack Hale"][Black "Steve Ledger"]   1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. e3      {I've been playing the Benko, on and off, for decades and this is a fairly unusual response, in my experience, although it appears to be the 3 rd  most popular response according to the ChessBase Livebook so maybe young Jack keeps up with current trends more than I do.}   .....axb5 6. Bxb5 Qa5+ 7. Nc3 Bb7 8. Bd2 Qb6 9. Qb3 e6 10. e4   {I was reasonably confident that this was still theory, that I'd chosen to play, back in the day but now I had to take a deep breath and REALLY hope I was remembering things correctly or I'd look very silly in a few moves time.    }   .....Nxe4 11. Nxe4 Bxd5 12. Qd3 Qb7 13. f3 c4 14. Bxc4 Bxc4 15. Qxc4 d5 16. Qc2 dxe4   {Phew, I hadn't given a piece way after all !  After the next couple of moves I shall claim to be a pawn up though still a little nervous that Jack/Stockfish may know what to do next more than I. }   17. Qxe4 Qxb2 18. Rb1 Qxa2 19. Ne2 Nd7 20. O-O   {I think this is wrong as it allows Black to play Bc5+ and castle and so be "just a pawn up" albeit all the Ps are on the same side of the board so it may not be that easy to win. Stockfish prefers Nc3 and prevent me completing development for a while.}   ....Bc5+ 21. Kh1 O-O 22. Rbd1 Nf6 23. Qh4 Rfd8 24. Nc3 Qc2 25. Qf4   {As well as the extra pawn, Black's pieces are better placed and White's are struggling to defend each other. +3 to me and I am confident now.}   ....Rac8 26. Ne4 Nd5 27. Qg3 Ne3 28. Bc3 Bf8 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Rg1 Rd1 31. h3   {Unfortunately for White, he doesn't have time to play this natural looking move. Black is eyeing a mate threat on g2.}   ....Rxg1+ 32. Kxg1 f5 33. Nf6+ Kh8 34. Nd7 f4 35. Qf2 Qd1+ 36. Qe1 Qxd7 37. Kh2 Qd3

40. Jack Hale v James Gardner

[Event "Division 1"] [Date "2026.05.21"] [White "Jack Hale"] [Black "James Gardner"] [Result "1-0"] [Link " https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/pgn/4TcC7dUzYE/analysis "]   1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. e4 e6 5. Nf3 Ne7 6. Be3 b6 7. Qd2 h6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O {A surprise, castles queenside looks natural but this is still decent advantage for white of course with the big center} 9... Nd7 10. Rfd1 f5 {thematic break in the hippo when pawns are on e4, d4 and c4} 11. Bd3 (11. d5 e5 12. exf5 Nxf5 13. Bd3 {best, due to annoying pressure on light squares and white's knight coming to e4}) 11... Nf6 12. Qc2 {not great because now black can castle without hanging the h6 pawn} (12. e5 Ne4) (12. exf5 Nxf5 13. d5 e5) 12... O-O 13. Rab1 $6 {Looks very slow} 13... Nh5 $6 (13... g5 14. exf5 Nxf5 15. Bxf5 exf5 16. Qxf5 Qe8 {really interesting and dangerous pawn sacrifice that computer finds, black has two bishops with one unopposed on b7, open f-file and queen coming to h5.}) 14. Ne2 $6 f4 $2 {completely didn't understand that this wasn't actually a great pawn structure for black, looks promising} 15. Bd2 g5 16. h3 Qe8 17. d5 $6 e5 18. Nc3 {Looked slow, expected b4 or even immediate c5 followed by b4} (18. c5 bxc5 19. b4 c4 20. Qxc4) 18... a5 {figured I'd stop b4 but not the best. a6 better to stop knight b5. Also could have played direct Queen g6. Spent ages trying to decide on a plan $1} 19. Be2 {starts a very classy defensive setup} 19... Qg6 20. Nh2 Nf6 21. Be1 $6 {not necessary, better to play f3 or Nb5 straight away} 21... h5 22. f3 Kh8 ({Should have played like this, which I did consider} 22... Bc8 23. Nb5 g4 24. Nxc7 gxh3 25. Bf1 Rb8) 23. Nb5 Rac8 $6 (23... Rfc8) 24. b4 axb4 25. Rxb4 {completely underestimated rook takes and swinging to a file, hence why Rfc8 was better on move 23.} 25... Rf7 {covering c7, anticipating the game continuation...} 26. Ra4 Neg8 27. Ra7 Rb8 $1 28. Qa4 $6 Nd7 {Reacting to threat of Rxb7 and Qa8} (28... g4 29. Rxb7 gxh3 30. Bf1 Rxb7 31. Qa8 Nxe4 32. Qxb7 Ng3 33. Rd2 e4 34. fxe4 f3 35. Qc8 Nxf1) 29. Bf2 (29. Nxc7 $4 Nc5 $1 30. Qb4 Rxc7) 29... Nc5 30. Bxc5 bxc5 31. Rb1 {another very good, accurate move} (31. Rxb7 Rxb7 32. Qa8 Rb6 $1 {Rook now finds a square in this line}) 31... Bc8 32. Ra8 Rxa8 33. Qxa8 Rf8 34. Qc6 g4 35. hxg4 hxg4 36. Qxc7 $1 gxf3 ({low on time was trying to make an h file mate work but just couldn't see how to arrange the rook and queen on the h file before white crashes through with counterplay} 36... g3 37. Nf1 $1 Rf6 38. Qxc8 Qh7 39. Qh3 Rh6 40. Nxd6 Rxh3 41. Nf7# $1 {one sample amazing line showing why even with best play black can't arrange the attack in time, not that I saw this of course $1}) 37. Bxf3 Bh3 38. Rb2 Qg3 $6 {desperation now on seconds} 39. Nf1 Qg5 40. Nxd6 {everything collapses now, sped up by this tactical oversight on low time} 40... Rf6 41. Nf7+ Rxf7 42. Qxf7 Nf6 43. Rb8+ Kh7 44. Rb7 {clean way to finish it} 44... Bxg2 45. Qxg7+ Qxg7 46. Rxg7+ Kxg7 47. Kxg2 {a very well played game considering how the position looked on move 21 - pawns storming the king and lots of black pieces ready to join the attack. Somehow though, Jack managed to tiptoe in on the queenside and force a collapse of the black position first. Kudos to my opponent $1} *