11 February 2019 - Harvey - Weald of Kent v Swale

Harvey - Weald of Kent v Swale - Board One

Monday 11 February 2019

White: Keith Nevols (163) Black: James Hart-Dyke (146)

Sicilian Defence

1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 Nc6
3. f4 g6
4. Nf3 Bg7
5. Be2 a6
6. O-O d6

Black meets my closed Sicilian with a solid mixture of set ups.

7. Qe1 e6
8. d3 Nge7



So now I have prepared my troops in the familiar formation. The engine recommends 9. Be3 here, meeting 9 .. Qb6 with 10. Rb1 and considering expanding on the queenside. On the other hand, I had my eye down the f-file with Black having not yet castled.

9. Ng5

The intention is to think about (as at this stage I had no definite variations in mind) playing f5. The immediate aim was to create a further weakness in the Black kingside.

9. .....  f5

Black must have been concerned about a White f5, so he gets in first.

10. Bd1

Defending c2 to preempt Nd4 as well as slightly open the e-file towards Black's king. I need to know where he will put His Majesty so I can prepare a plan.

10. ...  h6
11. Nf3 Nd4
12. Ne2

12. e5 would have fixed the weakness on e6. Black might have replied by dropping the knight back with 12. .. Ndc6.

The point of 12. Ne2 is to follow up with c3 which will cover the d4 square, strengthen the defence along the long a1-h8 diagonal, as well as opening up the d1-a4 diagonal for the bishop.

12. ....   Nxf3
13. Rxf3 O-O
14. c3 Nc6

The engine recommends 14. .. fxe4 15. dxe4 Qb6 with an edge for Black. After 16. Kh1 Bd7 Black could create an initiative on the queenside.

15. Bc2

If Black now takes fxe4 then after dxe4, White has interesting possibilities towards the g6 square.

While White is still trying to find good squares for his pieces, Black does likewise.

15. .....  b5
16. Be3 Qe7
17. Qf2?!

A bad square for the queen.

17. ...... Bb7

17. ... g5! is an alternative and then 18. exf5 g4 19. Rg3 exf5 and White might struggle to free the rook.

18. Rg3 Kh7

18. ... fxe4 19. dxe4 Ne5! exploits the f-file pin. 20. Qe1 Nc4 21. Bc1 and Black can think about 21. .. Qe8 or 21. ... Qf6.



I gave a lot of thought to 19. e5 at this point, to undermine the support of the pawn at c5. Instead I chose an inferior plan based around advancing to d4.

19. exf5 exf5
20. d4 cxd4
21. Nxd4 Nxd4
22. Bxd4 Be4

The purpose of the exchanges were to isolate the pawn on d6 as a weakness. However the Black position is solid enough.

23. Bb3

Not 23. Bxe4 giving Black a passed pawn on the e-file.

23. .....   Rac8?!

I was slightly surprised at this and accepted the invite to open the a-file. However I must not forget that my rooks are unconnected. The piece on g3 needs to be brought back to the game.

24. a4! d5?!

A strategic error? A central pawn on the same colour as the bishop, which also blocks Black's ability to defend towards the a8 square.

25. axb5 axb5
26. Bxg7

The engine recommends 26. Ra6 Bf6 27. Qd2 adding pressure.

26. .....   Qxg7
27. Rh3?

This gives up the a-file and White's advantage. 27. Qb6 is better keeping Black on his toes.

27. .....  Ra8
28. Rd1 Rf7

The engine states that, after 28. .. Rfd8 and 29. ... Qa7, the position is equal. White can hold off the rook advances and target the weak Black pawns.



29. Qc5 Rfa7
30. Re3

Galloping back to help out, although there is nothing wrong with 30. Bxd5 but I was nervous about allowing counterplay.

30. .....  Ra1
31. Ree1 Rxd1
32. Rxd1 Qa7

I was relieved to see the rooks, and now the queens come off, as I can now win a pawn and have the better ending.

33. Qxa7 Rxa7
34. Bxd5

Black had planned to play 34. ... Rd7, but had overlooked 35. Bg8+ winning the exchange.

34. .....  Bc2
35. Rd2 Ra1+
36. Kf2

My plan is now to centralise the king and try to get those queenside pawns moving. It is difficult for the Black king to get involved due to the weakness of his second rank.



36. .....  Ba4??

A blunder.

37. Ke3??

... but in time pressure I overlook 37. b3 winning a piece. After 37. .. b4 38. bxa4 bxc3 39. Rc2 Rxa4 40.Ke3, then White can round up the Black c-pawn. However, the end will not necessarily be nigh, as if Black can exchange off the kingside pawns, then rook and bishop v rook is very hard work to win.

37. ......  Bd1
38. Kd4 b4
39. cxb4 Ba4
40. Kc5 Be8

At this stage I picked up my white Bishop and, to the nervousness of my team mates watching, placed it on c6. Before letting go, I noticed that Black could then just win the bishop with Rc1+. Deciding that would not be too clever, I lifted it and placed it elsewhere.

41. Bf3

As a result of my near blunder, Black gets a pawn back.

41. .....  Rc1+
42. Kb6 Rc4
43. b5 Rxf4
44. Kc5 Ra4
45. Bc6

Now it is safe to play this move.

45. ........  Bf7
46. Rd7 Rc4+??

The end comes quickly.

47. Kb6 Kg8
48. Rxf7

Black now resigned an interesting game.

Weald of Kent v Swale

James Hart-Dyke (146) 0-1 Keith Nevols (163)

Oleg Lyakh (116) 0-1 David Page (141)

David Warwick (109) 1-0 Tyrone Jefferies (119)

Mark Horner (103) 0-1 Vytautas Gedminas (116)

Julian Squiers (86) 1/2-1/2 Andrew Gillard (113)

Geoffrey Broadhead (75) 0-1 Anthony Fletcher (86)

Weald of Kent 1.5-4.5 Swale