28 March 2019 - En Passant - Swale v Tunbridge Wells

En Passant - Swale v Tunbridge Wells - Board Two

Thursday 28 March 2019

White: Hugh Tassell (145) - Black: Keith Nevols (163)

Scandinavian Defence

1. e4 d5
2. exd5 Qxd5
3. d4 Nf6
4. Nf3 c6
5. c4

An unusual move order, delaying the development of the c3 knight, and advancing the c-pawn. The disadvantage is that, if I can prevent the d4 pawn from advancing, then it could become a target, because it has no pawns which can defend it.

5. ....  Qa5+
6. Bd2 Qc7
7. Bd3 Bg4
8. Bc3?!

I did not think this was a good square for the White bishop as it becomes blocked and slightly sidelined. But The engine says there is nothing wrong with this.

8. ....  e6
9. Nbd2 Nbd7
10. Qc2 Bd6

All the minor pieces were developed and I considered myself to have equalised.



11. O-O O-O
12. h3 Bh5
13. g3?!

There are a number of sensible White moves - 13. Rfe1, 13. a3, 13. b3 - but this was a surprise. White decides to be provocative. 

Black could look at a pawn sacrifice with 13. .. b5 14. cxb5 cxb5 15. Bxb5 and then he has a choice of 15. … Rab8, Bg6, Bxg3 or Nd5.

I did not consider that move - instead I decided to give up the bishop for three pawns, open up his King and getting an attack - which looked like good value.

13. ..... Bxg3!
14. fxg3 Qxg3+
15. Kh1 Qxh3+



16. Nh2

If 16. Kg1 Ng4 17. Rae1 Black could try 17. .. Qg3+ 18. Kh1 Nf2+ 19. Rxf2 Qxc2 and then it depends if White sees that after 20. Bxh7+! Kh8 21. Qd3 g6 22. Rg1! Kxh7 23. Rg2 the Black queen is trapped.

Or (after 16. Kg1 Ng4 17. Rae1) there is 17. ….  Ne3!? 18. Rxe3 Qh3+ 19. Nh2 Qxe3 and after bagging a pawn with 20. Bxh7+ Kh8 21. Bd3, White has two pieces for a rook and three pawns.

16. .....  Ng4

As played, Black can win the exchange.

17. Nf3

An alternative is 17. Ne4 with options to come to g5 and d6.

17. .....   Ne3
18. Qf2 Nxf1
19. Rxf1 Nf6

And here 19. .. Bg6 is recommended with the idea of 20. Bxg6 fxg6 opening up the f-file.  But it just seemed sensible to bring another piece in to the game.

20. Qg2 Qxg2+
21. Kxg2 Bg6
22. Bxg6 hxg6

The most natural recapture, keeping the king protected, and the pawn island together.



So the dust has cleared and White has a knight and bishop while Black has a rook and three pawns. Regarding my comment earlier about the pawn on d4, I did not now have enough pieces to attack it, nor was I able to exploit the open king. My active pieces had all gone, and, apart from castling, neither of my rooks had made any moves.

I decided on a plan to advance on the queenside and pile up down the d-file to prepare for c5.

23. Ng5 a5
24. Kf3

I did not think this was a good move as it blocks the h2 knight's re-entry to the centre.

24. .....  b5
25. b3 Rfd8
26. Ne4 Nxe4
27. Kxe4 b4

I think 27. ... a4! would have been better, opening up the a-file for the rook to exploit.

28. Be1 Rd7
29. Bg3 Rad8
30. Nf3 f6

I can't allow that knight to get to e5.



Black is doing a good job of keeping those pieces at bay, so what could White do? Perhaps 31. Bf2 to stop Black playing c5 next move.

If, after 31. Bf2, Black played 31. .. Kf7? then White could try 32. Ne5+!? fxe5 33. Bh4+ Kg8 34. Bxd8 Rxd4+ 35. Kxe5 Rxd8 36. Kxe6 and Black is two pawns up in a rook ending, but those pawns are doubled and White's king is far more active.

So perhaps, after 31. Bf2 then 31. . g5 is interesting, trying to manoeuvre the King to g6 via h7.

31. c5

This is the other way to stop Black playing c5. It has the advantage of grabbing the d6 square to interfere with Black's operations but the disadvantage of giving up the d5 square allowing Black to improve the rook.

31. .......  Rd5
32. Rh1 Ra8

Going back to the earlier plan of opening up the a-file, but 32. .. Rh5 is another good option. 33. Rxh5 gxh5 is good for Black.

33. Bd6 a4
34. Nd2 axb3
35. axb3 Ra2
36. Nc4 Rg5

Seeking some co-ordination between the rooks. 36. .. Rh5 might have been better but then I could not have got the rook to the h2 square, covered by the White bishop. On the other hand, though, it would have ended White's domination of the h-file.

37. Nb6!

At the time, I was not sure what this move was for, but it clears the c4 square for the king, and threatens to come forward to c8 and cause mischief.

37. .....  Rb2?

37. .. Rh5 or 37. … Rgg2 would both have been improvements.



Now White's best would be 38. Kd3! to answer 38. .. Rxb3+ with 39. Kc4 Rb2 40. Nc8! with the plan to come to e7, and meeting 40. …. Kf7 with 41. Rh8. 

So Black would have to meet 40. Nc8 with 40. .. Rh5 then 41. Ne7+ Kf7 42. Rd1 or Re1 followed by Nxc6. I am not sure I could have won that position.

After 38. Kd3! better moves for Black would be 38. … Rh5 or 38. .. Rgg2.

At this stage, a rumpus kicked off on the neighbouring board, and White blunders.

38. Rh3??

As my opponent was the opposition team captain, we agreed to stop the clocks to resolve the rumpus.

The game next to us had reached a time scramble, and with both sides in the last five minutes, they did not write down the moves as is allowed. Upon reaching Black's 35th move (the time control adding 15 minutes for the rest of the game), Black stopped the clocks so that both sides could catch up on their scoresheets. White was not happy with that, and claimed a time penalty.

I asked my team mate, playing White, to continue the game and we would sort it all out afterwards. He refused. Tempers were raised, and White left the room. The situation was that Black was a pawn up but it was not yet a decisive advantage. The captains - both of whom were still in the middle of their own games - tried to calm things down, and eventually decided to call the game a draw.

(I checked afterwards. Black was right to stop the clocks but perhaps he should have asked White first. White was wrong to claim a time penalty - there is no such penalty in this situation. I think what should have happened is that Black was given a warning and the clocks then restarted. If White did not come back (as he did not) he would have lost on time).

Visibly distressed, my opponent returned to the game and restarted my clock.

38. ......  Rg4
39. Bf4 g5
40. Nc8 Rxf4+

White then resigned. 

(The engine says it is mate in ten! But the win of a rook would suffice. If you are interested, one of the checkmates is 41. Ke3/d3 Rxb3+ 42. Kd2 Rxh3 43. Ke1 Rxd4 44. Na5 (44. Nd2 Ra3 is another way) b3 45. Nxc6 b2 46. Nxd4 b1=Q 47. Kf2 Qe4 48. Nf3 Rxf3 49. Kg1 Qg4+ 50. Kh1 Rh3++).

Not counting the top two boards, we were 3-1 up, so, in view of the distraction, I offered to make the game a draw, and my opponent agreed. Quite kind of me, I thought, and a bit annoying as I thought I had played quite well.

Agreed draw

Swale v Tunbridge Wells

Stefan Mocanu (158) 1/2-1/2 Russell Goodfellow (151)

Keith Nevols (163) 1/2-1/2  Hugh Tassell (145)
Keith Hyde (162) w/o-def Default

Rob Woolacott (132) 1-0 Stephen Bond (124)

Tyrone Jefferies (119) 1/2-1/2 Richard Woodfield (117)

Kevin French (95) 1/2-1/2 James Robertson (104)

Swale 4-2 Tunbridge Wells

18 March 2019 - Stevenson - Weald of Kent v Swale

Stevenson - Weald of Kent v Swale - Board Two

Monday 18 March 2019

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

Dutch Defence

1. d4 f5
2. c4 Nf6
3. Nc3 e6
4. Nf3 Be7

4. .. Bb4 is an idea which I might try with this move order. If 5. Bd2 O-O 6. a3 Bxc3 7. Bxc3 d6 then the bishop looks slightly out of place, or 5. Bg5 and either 5. …. O-O 6. Qb3 Bxc3 7. Qxc3 h6 or 5. .. Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 O-O.

5. g3 O-O
6. Bg2 d6
7. O-O a5

The standard Leningrad Dutch with 7. … a5 as recommended by GM Simon Williams.

8. Qc2

White chooses an aggressive option, the plan being to force through a White e4.

8. .....  Nc6

The best reply. Now 9. e4 can be met with 9. .. Nb4 10. Qe2 fxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 e5 (if I could remember this far) 13. dxe5 Bf5 14. Qxb7 Rb8 15. Qa7 Be4.

9. a3



Now I tried hard to remember the theory here ….

9. ...….d5?!

.. and chose the wrong move. Williams recommends 9. .. e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Rd1 Qe8 and 12. Nd5 Bd8 or 12. Nb5 Bd8 13. Be3 Rf7 intending Rd7.

But at least I am playing to the intention of delaying a White e4.

10. cxd5 exd5
11. Bf4

11. Qb3 is another way to take advantage, but this develops a piece.

11. ...…  Ne4
12. Nb5 Nd6

The opening of the c-file has given White the better position and now I have to put together a defence, ideally without the d-pawns being isolated and doubled.

13. a4 Be6
14. Ne5 Ra6

I was quite pleased with this move, although it is fairly obvious. White keeps the tension up but Black is quite solid at the moment.

The engine now recommends 15. h4 which would secure the position of the bishop on f4 as well as prevent Black's counterplay on the kingside.

15. Qd3?!

This is a wasted move and gives Black a chance to organise with 15. .. Nb4 16. Qc3 Ne8! and with c6 and maybe g5 to come.

15. ......  g5?

But Black misses the chance.

16. Nxc6 Rxc6
17. Be5 Nc4
18. b3 Nxe5
19. dxe5



White threatens Nd4 and then Nxe6 and the d5 pawn drops with loss of material. I thought my reply was forced, as well as hitting the e5 pawn by X-ray, but 19. .. Rb6 20. Nd4 Bc8 is perhaps a stronger defence.

19. .....  Rc5

The intention was to meet 20. Nd4 with 20. .. Qd7 but then 21. f4! is good for White. I was quite relieved to see the White move.

20. Rfc1 Rxc1

Eager to exchange off the oddly-placed rook, but 20. .. f4 would be a way to try to regain the initiative.

21. Rxc1 c6
22. Nd4 Qd7

Now I felt some relief that the defence had been sorted out, and the position even, so it was time to try to make some space on the kingside.

23. f4 g4?!

Thinking of h5, but 23. .. Ba3 24. Rf1 Bc5 25. fxg5 Qc7! would have been a good temporary pawn sacrifice (26. Qe3 Re8).

24. e3

With the centre now closed then 24. Kf2! with Rh1 would have been strong.

24. .....  h5
25. h4

The engine now rates the position as dead even and recommends wither Bb4, Ba3 or Kg7 with a handshake close by.

25. .....  gxh3?

… but I still want that win.

26. Bxh3 Kh8


27. Kh2?

Missing 27. Qe2 winning a pawn and, very likely, the game. But by now we were both very short of time.

27. …..  Bd8
28. Nf3

28. Qe2 is still strong.

28. ….  Qg7
29. Rg1 Qh6
30. Qd1

White has temporarily relieved the pressure from the f5 pawn, but Black must not do likewise in defending it. 30. .. c5 or 30. .. Bb6 are ways to counter.

30. .....  Rg8??

A blunder .. but my luck holds.

31. Rg2?

31. Nd4 and the Black queen is overloaded. If, for example, 31. .. Rf8 then 32. Nxe6 Qxe6 33. Qxh5+.

31. …..  h4
32. Nxh4 Bxh4
33. gxh4 Rxg2+
34. Kxg2 Qxh4

And now we have an even position and Black, without knowing it, has escaped..

35. Qe2



White looked at 35. .. d4 here, which I did not see. 36. exd4 Bd5+ 37. Kh2 Qxf4+ wins for Black so White's best is 36. e4 Qxf4 37. Qh5+ forcing a draw.

Whereas the computer recommends 35. .. Kg7 followed by .. Kg6 protecting the f-pawn, followed by d4.

35. …… Qh7

The time limit had been reached, the rest of the players had finished, and so I offered a draw which was accepted.

From my point of view, a poor game where I just hung on and then nearly lost due to over-ambition.


Weald of Kent v Swale

Adam Dakin (171) 0-1 Stefan Mocanu (158)

James Hart-Dyke (146) 1/2-1/2 Keith Nevols (163)

Richard Roots (125) 0-1 Keith Hyde (162)

Oleg Lyakh (116) 0-1 Rob Woolacott (132)

David Warwick (109) 0-1 Vytautas Gedminas (116)

Julian Squiers (86) 0-1 Andrew Gillard (113)

Weald of Kent 0.5-5.5 Swale

14 March 2019 - Stevenson - Swale v Rainham

Stevenson - Swale v Rainham - Board Two

Thursday 14 March 2019

White: Keith Nevols (163) - Black: Trefor Owens (167)

Sicilian Defence

A former club team-mate and familiar foe. And a closed Sicilian.

1. e4 c5

2. Nc3 Nc6

3. f4 d6

4. Nf3 g6

5. Be2 Bg7

6. O-O a6

7. Qe1 

Sticking with the system that I know.

7. …...Bg4

An unusual deployment of the bishop.

8. h3 

As I played this, I saw that Black could play 8. .. h5!? - the sort of move which might appeal to my opponent who liked mixing things up. But I think I can just about survive.

8. .. h5 9. hxg4 hxg4 10. Nh2 Bd4+ and I was debating with 11. Rf2, which actually loses to 11. .. g3, so forcing 11. Kh1 and hanging on grimly. But I would be more likely to decline the sacrifice with 9. Nh2 or 9. d3.

8. .....  Bxf3

9. Bxf3 Nd4

10. Bd1 Nh6

10. … e6 and Ne7 might have been a better way to deploy the knight, perhaps following with Nec6. I now decide to eject the knight.

11. d3 f5

Slightly loosening the squares around the black King. I gave a lot of thought to 12. exf5 Nhxf5 13. g4 or 12. .. gxf5 13. Nd5. Instead I continued with the idea, which happens often in this opening, of playing Ne2 and c3 to kick the knight and then moving the bishop onto a good diagonal.

12. Ne2 Qb6

13. c3 Nc6

14. Kh1 

14. Be3 Qxb2 15. Bb3 would have been an interesting pawn sacrifice, but caution is the watchword.

14. .....   Qc7

Despite all my pieces being on the back row except one - and that is on e2 - the engine states I am much better here.

15. Bb3 Qd7

16. Be3 

If 16. exf5 then Black could consider a pawn sacrifice himself with 16. .. d5 17. fxg6 hxg6.

16. ……  Na5

17. Bc2 Qc7

18. Bg1 

18. Qf2 was a stronger move, but I am thinking I have the advantage now, if I can open up the centre.

18. .....  Rd8

19. Rb1 

A cautious move, coming off the diagonal and defending the b2 pawn.

19. …..  O-O

20. d4 fxe4

21. Bxe4 d5

22. Bc2 c4

I was pleased to see this move, closing down the centre, and now allowing my eyes to focus solely on the kingside.

23. f5

23. Bh2 was my first thought but I was concerned that if Black put a piece on the f5 square I would never be able to break through, and so the best move was to play f5 myself, even if losing a pawn in the process. 23. .. Nxf5 24. Nf4 was the point.

A better move would be 23. g4 and then either 23. .. e6 24. Bh2 or 23. .. Qd7 24. f5 gxf5 25. g5 Nf7 26. Qg3 keeping up the pressure.

23. ….  g5

24. Ng3 

With an eye on the h5 square, and a plan to bring the queen in to the attack, although 24. h4! is stronger.

24. .....  Nc6

25. Qe6+ Kh8

26. Nh5 Bf6

Black continues to defend well. I thought I had a win but could not see it. Meanwhile, in the match, four games had finished and we were 2.5-1.5 up with at least a draw on the other outstanding game, so I knew that a draw here where would win the match for us.

27. Bh2 Qd7

28. Qe3 

Thinking of h4 or Qf3.

28. ...…  Qe8

29. Nxf6? 

Losing some advantage - either 29. g4 or 29. Qf3 would have been better.

29. …..  exf6

30. Qf3 Qf7

31. Rbe1 Rfe8

32. Bg3 Ng8

And Black now offered a draw. My plan had been to play 33. h4 although 33. Re6 is strong with 33. Rxe6 34. fxe6 Qxe6 35. Qh5. However, not only was I mentally exhausted, but the draw would have won us the match (although as it turned out, we would have won the match anyway) so I accepted.

However, I now regret that decision - especially as I have never beaten Trefor before - and wish that I had continued 33. h4 to see what would happen next.

Swale v Rainham

Stefan Mocanu (158) 0-1 Martin Taylor (222)

Keith Nevols (163) 1/2-1/2 Trefor Owens (167)

Keith Hyde (162) 1/2-1/2 David Barnes (161)

David Page (141) 1-0 Robert Springett (134)

Rob Woolacott (132) 1-0 Paul Foster (123)

Tyrone Jefferies (119) 1-0 Gary Clifford (109) 

Swale 4-2 Rainham

7 March 2019 - En Passant - Swale v Rainham

En Passant - Swale v Rainham - Board One

Thursday 7 March 2019

White: Keith Nevols (163) - Black: Andrew Waters (161)

Alekhine Defence

1. e4 Nf6

The Alekhine Defence. Don't know much about this, except that the main line is 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6, with the plan to allow White the centre and Black intends to undermine it.

Lacking the knowledge to go into this, I play the second most common reply.

2. Nc3 e5
3. d3

Too cautious. 3. Bc4 and 3. Nc3 were developing better.

3. .....  Bb4
4. Bd2 d5

Already Black has equalised. Maybe he's even better.

5. exd5 Nxd5
6. Nxd5 Bxd2+
7. Qxd2 Qxd5



Somebody more adventurous than I might consider 8. Be2 in this position with 8. ... Qxg2 9. Bf3 Qg6 10. O-O-O and intending to use the g-file for an attack.

Having ruled out 8. Be2 I also did not like 8. Ne2 or 8. Nf3, and I was concerned about some rapid Black expansion with O-O, f5-f4. The engine likes 8. Be2 but also 8. Nf3.

However, I found an idea I could not resist.

8. Qg5!?

The idea was to threaten something, and then develop the king's bishop while defending g2. Sometimes I like to congratulate myself for some creativity, even if it is not the best.

8. ......  O-O
9. Be2 Nc6

9. .. h6 would force the queen to move again, and after 10. Qg3 Nc6 11. Bf3 Qa5+ Black could get a strong initiative.

10. Bf3 Qa5+

10. ... Qb5 was concerning. I had not yet worked out how I was going to defend the b-pawn. One option is a double pawn sacrifice  with 11. Ne2 Qxb2 12. O-O Qxc2 13. Rac1 Qxd3 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qxe5.

11. Qd2 Qxd2+?!

I was relieved to see this. Black had not used his large advantage. Now we enter the ending.

12. Kxd2 Nd4
13. Bd1

Deciding to preserve the bishop and entering a same coloured bishop ending. 13. g3 is another idea, forcing Black to take 13. .. Nxf3 if he wanted a bishop v knight ending.

13. ......  c5
14. Ne2 b6
15. Nxd4 exd4

And now we are equal - or at least I might be better.



16. Bf3 Rb8
17. Rhe1

Grabbing an open file is perfectly normal, but 17. a4 might have been something to think about. to try to get a weakness on the queenside.

17. .....  Bb7
18. Bxb7 Rxb7

At this point, Black offered a draw. I declined hoping to make something of my small advantage. (IN which case I ought to now be thinking of a4 or h4).

19. Re4 f6

A good defensive move intending to power up on e7, exchange rooks and enter a drawn king ending.

20. Rae1 Kf7
21. f4

My eye is on the e6 square. I want to get the pawn to f5 and the rook to e6.

21. ....  g6
22. g4 Rd8
23. b3

Unable to make any progress, I decide to give the queenside a go.

23. .....   R8d7
24. a4 Re7

25. Ra1 is now possible but Black could counter with 25. .. f5 26. Rxe7+ Rxe7 27. gxf5 gxf5 28. a5 Re3. The game would then be more open. But, having had bad experiences with open rook endings,  I decided to keep it safe.

25. R1e2 Rbd7
26. Kc1 Rxe4
27. Rxe4 Re7
28. Kd2 



28. ….   a6
29. Ke2

Black could now think about 29. .. b5 and seeing if there would be any advantage in a king ending.

29. ....  f5
30. Rxe7+ Kxe7
31. gxf5 gxf5
32. Kf3 b5
33. axb5 axb5

And now it is dead even.

34. Kg3 Kf7
35. Kh4 Kg6
36. Kg3 Kh6

Here we shook hands to end not one of the most exciting games ever.

Swale v Rainham

Keith Nevols (163) 1/2-1/2 Andrew Waters (161)

Keith Hyde (162) 0-1 David Barnes (161)

Rob Woolacott (132) 0-1 Chris Marshall (146)

Tyrone Jefferies (119) 1/2-1/2 Robert Springett (134) 

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

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

Swale 2-4 Rainham