Rochester Championship - Round One
Thursday 18 July 2019
White: Keith Nevols (157) - Black: Andrew Gillard (105)
Sicilian Defence
The start of our summer tournament and a tough and very aggressive opponent.
1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 e5
A sort of stonewall defence which slightly limits Black's options as it will not be easy to play d5.
3. d3 Nc6
4. f4 Be7
4. .. Bd6 would be interesting as it would force White to close the position already with 5. f5. (5. g3?? exf4 6. Bxf4 Bxf4).
5. Nf3 d6
6. Be2 Bh4?!
The purpose of this is to get the bishop to h3 and attempt to disrupt the White defences.
7. g3
7. Nxh4 Qxh4 8. g3 and then castles is an improvement for White.
7. ..... Be7
If White castles here, 8. O-O can be met by 8. .. Bh3 but 9. Rf2 Nf6 10. Bf1 is fine.
8. Nd5 Bh3
I decide on a different way to expel the bishop but it involves exchanging a good knight for a bad bishop. This decision was mainly based on knowing that my opponent can be a dangerous attacker and so the fewer pieces he has to move to the kingside the better.
9. f5 closing the position might be interesting.
9. Nxe7 Qxe7
10. Ng5 Bd7
11. O-O h6
The engine considers that Black has a clear advantage after 11. .. exf4 12. Bxf4 Nf6.
I gave a lot of thought here to 12. Nxf7.
If 12. .. Kxf7 13. fxe5+ Ke8 14. Bh5+ Kd8 15. Rf7 is strong but I could not see anything after 13. .. Kg6.
And if 12. .. Qxf7 13. fxe5 Qe6 is again nothing. (14. exd6 O-O-O!).
So back we go.
12. Nf3 Nf6
13. c3
A double functioning move. This stops any idea of his playing Nd4, and, should Black be considering queenside castling, opens possibilities of b4 and/or a queen movement.
13. ..... O-O-O
I had expected this and thought Black's plan would be to play Rdg8 and push the kingside pawns.
14. f5
Closing the position and beginning to plan for my queenside attack.
14. ..... Rdg8
15. Kg2?!
I wanted to put the bishop on the g1-a7 diagonal and the purpose of Kg2 is so that the bishop gets a retreat square, after Ng4, and to defend the h2 square.
However, getting on with it by 15. b4! is better. Black just gains some time.
15. .....g5?
15. .. g6 was the move that worried me. I can keep the g-file closed and the rook on g8 has no work.
16. Be3 Ng4
17. Bg1 h5
18. b4
At last! And I had also seen how I could defend and close the kingside.
18. .... h4
19. h3 Nf6
20. g4
Job done! The kingside is closed and I can now take the initiative on the queenside .. or at least, so I thought.
20. ........Nh5!?!
A stunning surprise. Black sacrifices a whole piece to continue his attack. White could just play 21. Bh2 and capture the knight as an exchange, but after a bit of a think, I could see no reason not to accept the sacrifice.
21. gxh5 g4
22. hxg4 Rxg4+
23. Kh1 Rg3
I assumed this was to threaten Rh3+ which I could not see as a problem as Bh2 does a sturdy job and then I can contest the g-file with Rg1.
Black does not have the time to get his pieces over to the attack, so I went back to my plan.
24. bxc5 f6
25. Bh2 Rxh5?
Another sacrifice!
26. Bxg3
Slightly more accurate would be 26. Nxe5 with a discovered attack on the rook on h5.
26. .....hxg3+
27. Kg2 Qh7
28. Rh1
Now a whole rook up I am being cautious and aiming for exchanges to bring home the bacon.
28. ..... Rh2+
29. Nxh2 gxh2
30. Rxh2 Qg7+
31. Kh1 Ne7
32. Qg1 Nxf5
33. Qxg7 Nxg7
34. cxd6
Black now decided to resign.
Sicilian Defence
The start of our summer tournament and a tough and very aggressive opponent.
1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 e5
A sort of stonewall defence which slightly limits Black's options as it will not be easy to play d5.
3. d3 Nc6
4. f4 Be7
4. .. Bd6 would be interesting as it would force White to close the position already with 5. f5. (5. g3?? exf4 6. Bxf4 Bxf4).
5. Nf3 d6
6. Be2 Bh4?!
The purpose of this is to get the bishop to h3 and attempt to disrupt the White defences.
7. g3
7. Nxh4 Qxh4 8. g3 and then castles is an improvement for White.
7. ..... Be7
If White castles here, 8. O-O can be met by 8. .. Bh3 but 9. Rf2 Nf6 10. Bf1 is fine.
8. Nd5 Bh3
I decide on a different way to expel the bishop but it involves exchanging a good knight for a bad bishop. This decision was mainly based on knowing that my opponent can be a dangerous attacker and so the fewer pieces he has to move to the kingside the better.
9. f5 closing the position might be interesting.
9. Nxe7 Qxe7
10. Ng5 Bd7
11. O-O h6
The engine considers that Black has a clear advantage after 11. .. exf4 12. Bxf4 Nf6.
I gave a lot of thought here to 12. Nxf7.
If 12. .. Kxf7 13. fxe5+ Ke8 14. Bh5+ Kd8 15. Rf7 is strong but I could not see anything after 13. .. Kg6.
And if 12. .. Qxf7 13. fxe5 Qe6 is again nothing. (14. exd6 O-O-O!).
So back we go.
12. Nf3 Nf6
13. c3
A double functioning move. This stops any idea of his playing Nd4, and, should Black be considering queenside castling, opens possibilities of b4 and/or a queen movement.
13. ..... O-O-O
I had expected this and thought Black's plan would be to play Rdg8 and push the kingside pawns.
14. f5
Closing the position and beginning to plan for my queenside attack.
14. ..... Rdg8
15. Kg2?!
I wanted to put the bishop on the g1-a7 diagonal and the purpose of Kg2 is so that the bishop gets a retreat square, after Ng4, and to defend the h2 square.
However, getting on with it by 15. b4! is better. Black just gains some time.
15. .....g5?
15. .. g6 was the move that worried me. I can keep the g-file closed and the rook on g8 has no work.
16. Be3 Ng4
17. Bg1 h5
18. b4
At last! And I had also seen how I could defend and close the kingside.
18. .... h4
19. h3 Nf6
20. g4
Job done! The kingside is closed and I can now take the initiative on the queenside .. or at least, so I thought.
20. ........Nh5!?!
A stunning surprise. Black sacrifices a whole piece to continue his attack. White could just play 21. Bh2 and capture the knight as an exchange, but after a bit of a think, I could see no reason not to accept the sacrifice.
21. gxh5 g4
22. hxg4 Rxg4+
23. Kh1 Rg3
I assumed this was to threaten Rh3+ which I could not see as a problem as Bh2 does a sturdy job and then I can contest the g-file with Rg1.
Black does not have the time to get his pieces over to the attack, so I went back to my plan.
24. bxc5 f6
25. Bh2 Rxh5?
Another sacrifice!
26. Bxg3
Slightly more accurate would be 26. Nxe5 with a discovered attack on the rook on h5.
26. .....hxg3+
27. Kg2 Qh7
28. Rh1
Now a whole rook up I am being cautious and aiming for exchanges to bring home the bacon.
28. ..... Rh2+
29. Nxh2 gxh2
30. Rxh2 Qg7+
31. Kh1 Ne7
32. Qg1 Nxf5
33. Qxg7 Nxg7
34. cxd6
Black now decided to resign.
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