29 November 2018 - Swale Club Championship - Round Eight

Swale Club Chess Championship - Round Eight

Thursday 29 November 2018

White: Keith Nevols (163) - Black: Kevin French (95)

Sicilian Defence

1. e4 c5

2. Nc3 e6

3. f4 Be7

4. Nf3 d6

5. Be2 a6

6. O-O b6

It looked strange to see this played with .. a6. I had expected b5 with a plan to go to b4. 6. . Nc6 and then Nf6 with castles to continue developing would be a better plan.

7. d3 Bb7

8. Qe1

Part of the system I am playing with White is that I can attack the Black king wherever he ends up. At the moment though Black has delayed this so I am not sure where he is going.

8. .....   Nd7

9. Qg3

I could not resist this annoying move. Black must begin to get concerned over his development. I expected 9. .. Bf6 where the computer recommends 10. f5 exf5 and then 11. Qxd6 or a pawn sacrifice with 11. Bf4 Bxc3 12. bxc3 fxe4.

9. ....  g6

With his king still in the centre I decided the following was worth a punt - even if it lost me a pawn.

10. f5!? exf5

11. exf5 Ngf6?!

After 11. .. gxf5 I was debating between 12. Ng5 and 12. Qf4. Black however does not want to take the pawn.

12. fxg6 hxg6

13. Ng5

I considered 13. Bf4 but that walks into 13. .. Nh5.

13. .....  Rg8

I assumed the plan here was to play 14. ... Nh5 so that 15. Bxh5 gxh5 leaves the rook placed well.

14. Nge4

Now I need to get the bishops into the game, so after the expected 14. .. Ne5 I was considering 15. Bf4.

14. ....  d5?

But this is a mistake, which allows me to keep his king in the centre of the board.

15. Nd6+! Bxd6

16. Qxd6 Qb8?

If 16. ... Qe7 I had 17. Qc7 in mind. Black could try 16. .. d4 where White has the interesting 17. Re1 or 17. Bg5.

Black's mistake gives me a material advantage - which I nearly did not accept. Although removing the two knights seemed a good idea, I was unsure about letting a rook go, and briefly considered 17. Bf4, which would have been a big mistake, as after 17. .. Qxd6 18. Bxd6 d4, all White's advantage has gone. The king might get stuck in the middle, but without queens this is not so important.

Fortunately I kept with plan A.

17. Rxf6 Nxf6

18. Qxf6

I was confident now that the game was won. If Black had played 18. .. Qd8 then I was intending to keep the queens on with 19. Qf4. The move Black plays though ends the game immediately.

18. ... b5

19. Bg5 Qc7

20. Bf3 Bc8

21. Nxd5

The only way to stop immediate mate on e7 or d8 is 21. .. Qd7 and then 22. Re1+ will mate very soon, so Black resigned.

22 November 2018 - Swale Club Championship - Round Seven

Swale Club Chess Championship - Round Seven

Thursday 22 November 2018

White: David Page (143) - Black: Keith Nevols (163)

Scandinavian Defence

1. e4 d5

2. exd5 Qxd5

3. Nc3 Qa5

4. Bc4 Nf6

5. d3

I think 5. d4 is more aggressive with the possibility of d5 in some lines. (However, having said that, White succeeds in gathering some aggression in this game).

5. ....  c6

With the absence of a white pawn at d4, Black could consider 5. .... Nc6, but I did not want to risk the queen being caught offside. 5. ... e5 is another idea that could be considered, but I was keen to stick to what I know and set up the barricade as soon as possible.

6. Bd2 Qc7

7. Qe2 Bg4?!

In retrospect, a mistake. The idea was to force f3 which would block the development of the king's knight. However, this move just helps White keep a development advantage and build up an attack.

The bishop has to develop before e6 can be played so the immediate 7... Bf5 is better. Black cannot afford to waste time.

8. f3! Bf5

9. O-O-O e6

9. ... b5!? is interesting exploiting the shortage of squares enjoyed by the white bishop.

10. g4 Bg6

11. h4

Now it is beginning to look uncomfortable. The Black king is still stuck in the centre and unable to castle either side, and White can think about sacrifices on e6.

11. ....h5

I rejected 11. .. h6 on the grounds that a White h5 and/or g5 kept up the pressure, and, after a White g5, planned to use the f5 square to organise my defences.

12. g5 Ng8

Forced. 12. .... Nfd7? loses a pawn to 13. Bxe6.

13. Re1!

Adding further pressure to the e6 square.

13. ...... Bf5

The engine recommends 13. ... Ne7. If 14. Bxe6 fxe6 15. Qxe6 Bf7 and Black is hanging on. If White plays 14. Nh3 then 14. .. Nd7 15. Nf4 Bf5 and castles.

I saw the upcoming sequence and thought it was enough to hang in there.

14. g6 Bxg6

15. Bxe6 Ne7

If 15. .... Be7 then 16. Nh3 - exploiting the fact that White does not yet have to retreat the bishop.

16. Bh3 Nd7

17. f4 O-O-O

Hurrah, got there. But my relief at getting the king castled passed quickly when  I saw White could play 18. Qf2!, hitting the a7 pawn. Black could not play 18. ... Kb8 because of 19. f5 and then 20. Bf4.

One possible line is giving up the a-pawn with 18. Qf2 Nf5 19. Qxa7 Bc5 20. Qa8+ Qb8 21. Qa5 - White is a pawn up and has some well placed pieces, although the king's knight is yet to join the party.

Another is to allow f5 with 18. Qf2 a6 19. f5 Bh7 20. f6! gxf6 21. Qxf6 Ng6 22. Qxf7 with strong pressure.

18. Nf3?!

Phew!

18. ... Kb8

19. Ng5 Nf6

20. Rhf1 Nf5?

A mistake. I played this automatically with relief that at last my pieces were finding good spaces. But Black should play 20. ... Ng4 21. Bxg4 hxg4 22. Qxg4 Nf5 with the white bishop exchanged and play for the pawn.

This just loses a pawn for nothing.

21. Bxf5 Bxf5

And here that dread moment hit me again when I saw 22. Qe5!

If 22. .. Qxe5 23. fxe5 and White will come out a piece up. If 22. ... Bg6 - Black's best defence - then 23. Qxc7+ Kxc7 24. f5 Bh7 25. Nxf7. And if 22. .. Be6 23. Qxc7+ Kxc7 24. Rxe6! fxe6 25. Nxe6+ and White comes out a pawn ahead.

22. Nxf7

For the second time in the game, I could breathe again.

22. .......  Bxd3!

This is the move I had been relying on when I played 20. .. Nf5. If 22. ... Qxf7 then 23. Qe5+ picks the piece back. Now 23. cxd3 Qxf7 and the position is equal.

23. Qe5 Bd6?

Going wrong in the complications. 23. .. Bxf1 is more accurate.

24. Nxd6 Bxf1

25. Nf7 Bh3

Wrong again ... 25. ... Rxd2 is better.

26. Nxh8 Rxh8

27. Qxc7+ Kxc7

28. Re7+ Kc8

29. Rxg7

The dust has cleared and White is a clear pawn ahead. The contest is now over whether White can get his passed f-pawn moving.

29. ....  Rf8

30. Rg3 Bf5

31. Rg5 Bg4

32. Re5 Nd7

Beginning a long manoeuvre to get the knight to the f5 square.

33. Re1 Nc5

34. Re5 Ne6

35. Re4 Ng7

36. Nd1 Nf5

I thought this was a good place for the knight allowing me to hit the h4 pawn and try to round it up.

37. Be1 Rg8

38. c3 Bxd1

Jumping in before the chance to play Ne3.

39. Kxd1 Rg4

40. Kd2 Nxh4

41. Bxh4

And with this move, and both of us low on time, White offered a draw which I gladly accepted. I was very fortunate to escape this game with half a point.

21 November 2018 - En Passant - Rainham v Swale

En Passant - Rainham v Swale - Board One

Wednesday 21 November 2018

White: David Barnes (161) - Black: Keith Nevols (163)

Dutch Defence

1. d4 f5

2. g3 Nf6

3. Bg2 e6

4. Nf3 Be7

5. O-O O-O

6. b3

White adopts a system where he delays c4 and sets up the double fianchetto.

6. .... d6

7. Bb2 Qe8

7. ... Nc6 would be a way to exploit the White delay in playing c4 as White would not have the d5 move available. If then 8. c4 Ne4 9. d5 Bf6!

8. c4 a5

9. Nc3 Qh5

And so we begin. The standard plan of kingside attack.

10. Qc2

The engine prefers the interesting plan 10. Ne1 and then Nd3 to hold up the Black development.

10. .....  Nc6

This is now possible because 11. d5 can be met with 11. .. Nb4. Hence White's next move.

11. a3 e5!?

My plan begins with a pawn sacrifice to get the queen's bishop involved in the action. 11. ... Bd7 might be more conservative.

12. dxe5 dxe5

13. Nb5 f4!?

14. gxf4

If 14. Nxc7 Bf5 15. Qc1 Rac8 16. Nb5 e4 and I have some good play for the pawn.

14. ....  Bf5

15. Qc1 e4

Just clunking chess, as might be said. I want to checkmate the White king. 15. ... exf4 16. Qf4 would obviously be a big mistake - White is a straight pawn up with active pieces.

16. Ne5 Nxe5

17. fxe5 Ng4?

17. .. Qg6 is a better move, making 18. exf6 not possible due to 18. ... Bh3. But I did not see that. 17. .. Ng4 is inferior, hoping White will slip up.

18. h3 Bg5

19. Qc3?!

19. e3 is the best move. I was not too worried about this move, as both of us thought it would cut the White queen off from the defence. Black could then go for 19. .... Nxe3!? 20. fxe3 Bxh3 and after Bxg2 has chances to force a draw by perpetual check.

Another move could be 19. Qe1 adding defence to f2, preventing the rook on a8 from moving,  and reminding Black that his c7 pawn is still under attack.

White's move is based on a lateral defence across the third rank but discards his advantage and Black's gamble holds up.

19. ....  Bf4

20. e3?

Failing to justify the last move. 20. e6! was a good way to keep the pawn lead for a little while at least. Now the White queen is cut off and he must tread carefully.

20. ....  Bh2+

21. Kh1 Bxe5

I have a few seconds thought to 21. .. Nxe5? which would have been a blunder. 22. Kxh2 Nf3+ 23. Bxf3 Qxh3+ 24. Kg1 and here 24. ... exf3 does not win because White can mate on g7 so he has to play 24. ... Rf6 and after 25. Bg2 Rg6 26. Qxg7+! Rxg7 27. Bxg7 Qh4 28. Be5, White has a rook and two pieces for the queen.

21. .... Bxe5 was clearly more natural, which also defends the c7 pawn which has been under attack for eight moves, and the Black pieces are co-ordinating nicely. I just had to try to find the knockout punch, or liquidate into a better ending.

22. Qc2

What should Black play here? 22. ... c6 looks promising, finally protecting the pawn and after 23. Nd4 Bd7 24. Kg1 Nf6 - two tactical retreats but keeping White under pressure.

But 22. ... Ra6! is interesting - a move I did not spot but my opponent did.
23. Bxe5 Nxe5 and if 24. Nxc7 then 24. ..... Bxh3! wins (25. Nxa6 Nf3! 26. Qxe4 Bxg2+ 27. Kxg2 Qh2 mate), or 24. Qd1 then simply 24. .. Qh4 (25. Qd5+ Re6! 26. Nd4 (otherwise ... c6) Bxh3 and it gets exciting) - or to avoid excitement - 24. ... Rh6.

Instead, I could not see anything better than to consolidate.

22. ....  Bxb2?

23. Qxb2 Nh6

24. Qe5!

A good redeployment to add to the defence.

24. .... Rae8

25. Qh2

25. Qg3 looked slightly more accurate. I was concerned about 25. Qd5+ and the queenside pawns falling apart.

25. ......  c6

26. Nd4 Bc8

So where are we now? Material is level. Black's attack has run out of steam and he has a number of weak pawns around. However, White has to still be wary of an attack on his king from a rook swinging over. The engine classes the position as level.

27. Ra2

This odd looking move surprised me but the engine says it is the best. It wants to come to the d-file but Rad1 would lose a pawn to Rxf2. I did not like that knight on d4, which was doing quite a good job, and considered 27. ... c5 but thought that would only help it on the way to a better square with 28. Ne2 where it could think about either Ng3 or Nf4.

So I took the more direct route to improve the position of my own knight.

27. ......  Nf5

28. Nxf5

I had expected 28. Ne2 Nh4 29. Ng3 Qf7 and I would think again.

28. ......  Rxf5

29. Rd2 Qf7

Part of a plan to readjust the position of the rooks and queen, although this eases the pressure on h3. Playing Rg5 or Rf6, reopening the Bc8 diagonal to h3, would have kept some pressure on.

30. Kg1 Rg5

31. Kh1 Rh5

32. Kg1



32.. ....... Bxh3?

Based on a faulty calculation, I thought this was a temporary piece sacrifice, but the game is not over yet.

32. .. Qg6 is a better move, forcing 33. Kh1 and then 33. .. Qh6! 34. Qd6 Bxh3 35. Qxh6 Bxg2+ 36. Kxg2 Rxh6. Black would be a pawn up although White's rooks could develop activity so there would be a lot of the game to go.

33. Bxh3 Qf3??

The second part of the double whammy. 33. ..Qg6+ 34. Kh1 Qh6 35. Kg2 Rg5+ 36. Kh1 Rh5 would have forced a draw.

34. Bg2

For some reason I have overlooked that this was possible.

34. ...  Rg5

And here I saw 35. Rfd1, giving White a bolt hole, allowing Kf1 breaking the g-file pin. While he was thinking, I studied hard but could not find anything. I am simply a piece for a pawn down.

35. Kh1?

Well, that was a piece of luck.

35. ......  Qf5

36. Bh3?

Kg1 and Rfd1 still win.

36. .......  Qf3+

37. Bg2 Qf5

38. Bh3 Qf3+

And as 39. Bg2 would be a three-time repetition, we shook hands on a draw.

What a relief!! A dramatic game but I thought a fair result.

Rainham v Swale

David Barnes (161) 1/2-1/2 Keith Nevols (163)

Chris Marshall (146) 1/2-1/2 David Page (141)

Robert Springett (134) 0-1 Rob Woolacott (132)

Constantine Tucker (130) 0-1 Tyrone Jefferies (119)

Stephen Pike (128) 1-0 Vytautas Gedminas (116)

Gary Clifford (109) 1-0 (def) Andrew Gillard (113)

Rainham 3-3 Swale

15 November 2018 - En Passant - Swale v Maidstone

En Passant Cup - Swale v Maidstone - Board One

Thursday 15 November 2018

White: Keith Nevols (163) - Black: Robert Lane (148)

 Caro-Kann Defence

My original opponent did not appear and so, after 29 minutes (the game is forfeited after 30)  the opposing captain stepped in, having lost that time on the clock.

1. e4 c6
2. Ne2

This move has done well for me so far with 2.5 out of 3.

2. ....  d5
3. e5 c5
4. d4 Nc6
5. c3 Qb6

A change from 5. .. e6 which he played against me when we had last met. But this is beginning to look quite French-ish anyway.

6. dxc5 Qxc5
7. Be3 Qa5




8. Nd4!?

The engine recommends 8. b4 Qc7/d8 9. f4 but I did not like the look of that., nor did I particularly like 8. f4.

I was drawn to this pawn sacrifice with 8. .. Nxe5 9. Nb3 Qd8 10. Bb5+ Nc6 11. Nd4 and 11. .. a4 12. Nxc6 or 11. ... Bd7 12. Qa4 (which is not so good after 12. .. a6 13. Nxc6 axb5 14. Nxd8 bxa4 15. Nxb7 Rb8 or 12. .. a6 13. Bxc6 bxc6!).

Black decided not to take any chances.

8. .....  e6
9. Nxc6 bxc6
10. Nd2

With an eye on the c5 square.

10. ....  Ne7
11. Nb3 Qc7
12. f4

This move had to come sooner or later, both to defend the e5 pawn but also to be able to drop the bishop back and patrol c5.

12. ....  Nf5
13. Bf2 Be7
14. Nc5

Landing on the desired square. Now 14. .. Bxc5 15. Bxc5 prevents Black castling and gives White the advantage.

14. ......  O-O

14. .. g5! is good. Obviously not 15. fxg5 Qxe5+. Probably White has to play 15. g3 and then Black can think of ideas around Rb8, f6 or gxf4 to give White some concern.

15. Bd3

Although the White knight looks impressive on c5, it is still not clear what it intends to do there. I was still unsure about a plan, and also what to do with my king. I wanted to leave the option of g4 open.



Here Black could play 15. .. Rb8 16. Qe2 Qa5 and begin an attack on the queenside.

15. .... g6?!

This move surprised me. I assumed the idea was Bf8-g7 but this seemed quite slow. It did, however, combined with the knight on f5,  give me targets for a kingside attack.

16. Qe2!

Adding further defence to e5 in case of g4 and f5, defending the b2 pawn, and glancing at a6 in case I wanted to do something there. Quite a multi-purpose move.

16. .. Rd8
17. g4!

Well, why not?

17. .....  Ng7
18. h4 a5

The engine fearlessly pumps out 18. .. h5. I might have replied with 19. Kd2 (not 19. O-O-O Qa5) preparing Rag1. I thought, from the Black point of view, that the a5 square would be better used for the Black queen.

19. h5 a4
20. hxg6 fxg6

After 20. .. hxg6 21. Bd4 and the queen will come to the h-file with devastating effect.



21. Bd4

Another multi-purpose move - to threaten to bring the bishop into the attack with f5 and aim to move the pawn from the e5 square, if I get the chance, and also to clear a space for the queen to move over to the h-file.

Now if 21. .. Ra5 then 22. Qf2 holds the knight on c5, which is in danger of getting cut off, and I can see if I can work up something around f5, or O-O-O bringing the other rook into play.

21. ....  Kf7??

But I did not understand this at all. Black sacrifices a pawn.

22. Rxh7 Bxc5?
23. Bxc5 Rg8

Now 24. Bxg6+ Kxg6 25. Qh2 and there is no decent way to stop Qh6+ Kf7; Qh5 mate. But I did not see this. However the way I chose is good enough.

24. Qc2

If 24. .. Ke8 25. Bxg6+ Kd8 26. Qf2 and White is two pawns up with a large advantage. Instead Black goes down to a mate in one, and ends a satisfying game.

24. ......  g5?
25. Bg6 mate


Swale v Maidstone

Keith Nevols (163) 1-0 Robert Lane (148)

Keith Hyde (162) 0-1 David Heath (146)

David Page (141) 1-0 Robert Thompson (139)

Rob Woolacott (132) 0-1 Peter Dirmauskas (135)

Dennis Simpson (120) 1-0 Stefan Sainiuc (133)

Vytautas Gedminas (116) 1-0 Ian Clark (125)

Swale 4-2 Maidstone

8 November 2018 - En Passant - Swale v Hastings

En Passant - Swale v Hastings - Board One

Thursday 8 November 2018

White: James Wheeler (160) - Black: Keith Nevols (163)

Dutch Defence

As I drove to the club for this game, I felt the car was not quite right. Stopping under a street lamp I saw that I had a flat tyre. Grr! So I drove back home and then walked very fast to the club (just over a mile) to get there in time. Not great preparation. The ill wind was that for once I was able to have a beer with the game.

1. d4 f5
2. Bg5

Against this move, I had learnt a system involving 2. ... h6 3. Bh4 g5 4. e4 Rh7!? but could not remember the theory so I played what I thought would be a safer system.

2. .... Nf6?!
3. Bxf6 exf6

The problem is that I was not sure how to defend the f-pawns.

4. Nd2 d5
5. e3 Bd6

My plan is to play f4 and get rid of the awkward pawn.

6. Qf3!?

Ouch! This was already looking unpleasant.



6. .....  c6
7. Bd3 Qe7?

A bad pawn sacrifice. I was hoping to get some development for the pawn and gain time for a counter attack, but 7. .. g6 is simple enough. I was afraid of 8. c4 opening up the centre and diagonals while my king was far from safety.

8. Bxf5 Bxf5
9. Qxf5 Na6

When the knight ends up out here, you know things are not going well.

10. Nf3 g6
11. Qd3

It is clear here that Black is simply a pawn down so I try to get some counterplay by hitting the queen.

11. ....  Nb4
12. Qb3 a5

With the white queen posted on b3, I did not feel comfortable about castling on either side. The engine recommends 12. ... b5 to prevent a White c4 and meeting 13. a4 with 13. . Rb8.

13. a3 a4??

A blunder.

14. Qc3??

White misses 14. axb4. If Black replies 14. .... axb3 then 15. Rxa8+ Kd7 16. Rxh8 bxc2 17. O-O and White has two rooks and a knight for the queen - a decisive lead.

14. ....  Na6

OK, we are just about still alive.

15. O-O O-O
16. Qd3



White's sixth queen move out of 16. A recce of the position shows White is a clear pawn up and Black has no compensation for it. Now 16. .. Nc7 is best bringing the piece back from its 'dim rim' into the centre. But instead I go for a kingside counter.

16. ....  f5
17. c4 g5
18. g3 g4
19. Nh4 dxc4?

Bringing the knight to the centre and losing another pawn. Black should have played 19. .. Qe6

20. Nxc4 Bc7
21. Nxf5

The game is resignable now, but Black moves on.

21. ...  Qf6
22. e4 Rad8
23. Qe2 h5



24. f3! b5
25. Nce3

25. fxg4 is also a way to win. 25. ... bxc4 is simply met by 26. Qxc4+picking up the knight om a6, whereas 25. .. Rxd4 

25. ....  Bb6

Hoping to make something of the diagonal towards the king.

26. fxg4 Bxd4
27. gxh5

White is now three pawns up.

27. ......  Qg5
28. Nxd4 Rxf1+
29. Rxf1 Rxd4
30. Rf5 Qe7
31. Qg4+ Kh8
32. Rf4 Nc5
33. Nf5 Resigns

A nice finish by White but a truly dreadful game by Black. My fourth defeat in seven.



Swale v Hastings

Keith Nevols (163) 0-1 James Wheeler (160)

Keith Hyde (162) 0-1 Henry Cove (159)

David Page (141) 1/2-1/2 Andrew Cload (135)

Dennis Simpson (120) 1-0 Marc Bryant (131)

Tyrone Jefferies (119) 1/2-1/2 Gary Wilson (119)

Vytautas Gedminas (116) 1-0 Martin Fletcher (110)

Swale 3-3 Hastings

4 November 2018 - En Passant - Hastings v Swale

En Passant - Hastings v Swale - Board One

Sunday 4 November 2018

White: Stephen Blewitt (162) - Black: Keith Nevols (163)

Caro-Kann Defence

A long trek to Hastings where they have a beautiful club and yet I have never yet won there! And with only 1.5 out of my last five games, my confidence was not too high.

1. e4 c6

A Caro-Kann so I enter the Ne2 variation that I have learnt a little about.

2. Ne2 d5

3. e5 Bf5

Now I am thinking, will I get the chance to repeat that pawn sacrifice that worked so well for me before?

4. Ng3 Bg6

5. h4 h6

Yes, I will!!

6. h5 Bh7

7. e6!?

I had seen a video on a Chessbase DVD about playing Ne2 against the Caro-Kann and it mentioned this pawn sacrifice. I had tried it out once and got a good victory. Here, against tougher opposition, I thought why not try again?

7. ......fxe6

The point of the sacrifice is to restrict Black's kingside. The kings' bishop simply cannot move. On the one side there is a pawn on e7 which is blocked by a pawn on e6. On the other side, a pawn on g7 is restricted by the White pawn on h5. And if the black bishop cannot move, then the rook is also blocked in.



White must now build up quickly while Black seeks to untangle himself.

8. d4

I wonder if a good move for Black might be to immediately sacrifice back with 8. .. e5!? 9. dxe5 e6.

8. .....  Qd6

9. f4

To clamp down on the e5 square. The longer I can prevent those e-pawns from moving, the more Black will be restricted.

9. ........  Nf6

Black could try 9. ... c5 when White could consider 10. c3 or 10. Bd3.

10. Bd3 Nbd7

11. Bxh7 Nxh7

I think Rxh7 is more accurate as Black has to waste a tempo getting the knight back to the centre.

12. Qd3 O-O-O

The first time I played this opening, Black put his king on d7 and it was not that easy to get to him. The queenside looks a little more open so I was not too concerned to see the king go there.  But the first thing I wanted to do was to keep the bind on the e-file with a rook on e1.

13. O-O Nhf6

14. Re1



OK, job done. Now it is time to develop the queenside.

14. ....   c5

15. c3

The engine suggests 15. Bd2 with 15. .. cxd4 16. Qxd4 Kb8 17. Bb4, although White then has to ask himself what is that bishop doing, or 15. a4!? expanding on the queenside, with 15. . c4 16. Qe3 or 15. .. Kb8 16. Nc3.

15. ....  Kb8

16. Qe2

After considering 16. Na3, I decided to take the pawn back.

16. f5 is an idea I did not consider. If 16. .. e5 17. dxe5 Nxe5 18. Qf1! and Bf4 is coming, but simply 16. .. exf5 17. Nxf5 and after the queen moves away, White has a loose pawn on h5 and has helped Black to untangle.

16. .....  Rc8!

Pre-empting the opening of the c-file with the possibility of an initiative. This also stops 17. Qxe6 due to 17. .. Qxe6 18. Rxe6 cxd4.

17. Na3 a6

If 17. ... cxd4 18. cxd4 Qb6 and the queen is well placed, but White could try 17. ... cxd4 18. Nb5! Qb6 19. Nxd4 keeping the c-file closed.

Black decides to return the pawn in exchange for keeping the knight away.

18. Qxe6 Ne4

19. Qxd6 Nxd6

20. Nc2

The position is now equal, but Black still has the problem of his bishop on f8 to resolve. If 20. .. Re8 then 21. f5.



20. .... Nf6

White should play 21. f5 and Bf4 but it is an idea that I will come back to. I just want to resolve a bit of tension first.

21. dxc5

I have successfully avoided the opening of the c-file and now, if I can keep the pawn on e7 quiet, he also has an exposed pawn on d5 for me to have a look at.

21. .....   Nde4?!

The immediate 21. .. Rxc5 is slightly better. I am only too pleased to exchange my spectating knight on g3 with one of his which is well placed in the centre.

22. Nxe4 Nxe4

23. Nd4

Heading for e6.

23. ....  Nxc5

24. f5!

Keeping the bind - the black bishop is still unable to move. Having said that, it is time my own queenside did some work too.

24. ....  Ne4

25. Bf4+ Ka7

I wonder why not 25. .. Ka8 - perhaps because Black feared Ne6 and Nc7+. But on a7 I have the possibility of another hit on the king.

26. Rad1 Nf6

27. Ne6

Now I am clearly dominant - rooks well placed, Black still tied up on the kingside and with a weak pawn on d5.

27. ....  Nxh5

28. Be3+ Kb8

29. Rxd5 g5?

Right idea but wrong timing. 29. .. Nf6 first and then Rg8.

30. fxg6 Nf6

31. Rd4

I was quite proud of this move which restricts the black knight and prevents Ng4. However White has 31. Rc5! with the threat of g7 winning on the spot. So 31. .. Rxc5 is forced with 32. Bxc5 and an additional treat of Nxf8 and Bxe7, or even in some lines Rd1 coming to d8.

31. ....  Rg8

32. Nxf8

Goodbye sweet bishop. It was not much of a life.

32. .... Rgxf8

33. g7

Still winning but 33. Bf4+ Ka8 34. Rxe7 is stronger.

33. .....  Rfe8

34. Bxh6 e5

At last Black gets to move this pawn. I am two pawns up but Black's pieces were beginning to be better placed and my bishop on h6 seemed out of it. I was not sure how I could get the g7 pawn to the end, and began to wonder if I had blown this. If I could swap a pair of rooks, I would be happier.



35. Rd6 Ng8

36. Bg5 Rc7

37. Rd8+ Rc8

38. Rd5

Before I seek an exchange, I might as well win another pawn.

38. ....  e4

39. Rd4 e3

40. Rd3

I preferred this to 40. Rxe3 Rxe3 41. Bxe3 as I wanted to keep that knight on g8.

40. ... e2

41. Rd2 Resigns

And, to my relief, Black resigned.

After my recent run of bad form, I was delighted to get this win over a strong opponent from a strong club, and we also won the match.

Hastings v Swale

Stephen Blewitt (162) 0-1 Keith Nevols (163)

James Wheeler (160) 0-1 Keith Hyde (162)

Chris Hann (145) 1-0 Rob Woolacott (132)

Marc Bryant (131) 1-0 Tyrone Jefferies (119)

William Stock (117) 0-1 Vytautas Gedminas (116)

Keith Hossack (111) 1/2-1/2 Andrew Gillard (113)

Hastings 2.5-3.5 Swale