20 February 2020 - Swale Club Championship - Round Thirteen

Swale Club Chess Championship - Round Thirteen
Thursday 20 February 2020
White: Keith Nevols (157) - Black: Duncan Marsh (99)
French Defence

1. e4 e6

2. Qe2?!

My standard defence against the French - unambitious but allows me some thinking time.

2. ..... Nc6

3. Nf3 Be7

4. Nc3 a6?!

4. .. d5 is more in keeping with the French spirit.

5. g3 

The point of the Qe2 line is to set up a style of closed Sicilian/King's Indian attack style line, which I now proceed to develop.

5. .....Nb4

They always tell us not to move the same piece twice too early.

6. d3 Nf6

7. a3 Nc6

8. Bg2 e5

9. O-O d6

10. h3 

Possibly overcautious but no harm to defend against a possible Bg4 pinning the knight, or a Ng4 hitting the bishop once it arrives on e3.

10. .....O-O

I did wonder whether 10. ... h5 was playable. It's interesting but castling is better.

11. Be3 Be6

I have to think of a plan. The engine recommends 12. d4 or 12. Rad1. Instead I just decide to remove that well-placed bishop.

12. Ng5 Qc8

13. Nxe6 Qxe6

14. Kh2 

Security. Defending the h-pawn before commencing the offensive.

14. .......h6

I was pleased to see this. It is a slight weakness that I can play on and allows me to grab the initiative. 14. .. Nd4 is better for Black as I would need to reorganise to get rid of that knight.

15. Nd5 Qd7

16. f4 

This was the move I had been aiming for. But the engine recommends further preparation with Nxf6 and c3.

16. ...Nxd5

17. exd5 Nd4

18. Bxd4 exd4

19. Qf2 

Now the game is equal and the brief offensive has dried up. However the e-file is open. I plan now to just gently improve the position of my pieces and slowly advance.

19. ....Bf6

20. Be4 Rae8

21. Rae1 Qd8

22. Re2 Re7

23. Qf3 g6

24. h4 h5?

Inaccurate. Although 24. .. Bxh4 25. gxf4 f5 looks fun, probably just 25. .. Kg7 would keep things simple.

25. f5 Kg7

26. Rg2 

My plan is to further advance with Kh3 and then g4, but, fortunately for me, Black blunders.

26. ........Be5??

27. f6+

This loses at least a piece so Black resigned.