Keverel Chess

Posts Tagged ‘Gloucestershire chess’

The snow-delayed match between Somerset and Gloucestershire was finally played at Cheltenham last weekend, resulting in a win for the visitors by 11-5. Somerset thereby won the 1^st Division of the WECU Inter-county competition (the Harold Meek Cup) and now go forward to the National Stage Quarter-Finals to meet Lancashire at Bloxwich in a fortnight.

Somerset’s winners were Jack Rudd, Peter Chaplin, Andrew Footner, Chris Purry, Gerry Jepps, Chris McKinlay, Adrian Champion and team captain, Roger Knight. Gloucestershire’s two winners were Matthew Claypole and Pat Baker.

This was Somerset’s win from Bd. 5.

White: P. J. Meade (168). Black: A. F.  Footner (186).

Chigorin Defence [D02].

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bf4 Bg4 4.e3 f6 Usual here is an immediate 4…e6 but the text prepares the more assertive …e5. 5.Be2 e5 6.dxe5 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 fxe5 8.Bg3 e4 This advance gives Black a grip on the centre. 9.Be2 An interesting, if unpredictable alternative, was 9.Bh5+ g6 10.Nc3 and now if 10…gxh5 11.Qxh5+ Kd7 12.Nxd5 Bd6 13.Bxd6 cxd6 14.Qg4+ Ke8 15.Qg7 Qa5+ 16.Nc3 Qe5 17.Qxb7 Nge7 18.Qxa8+ Kf7 19.Qb7 Rb8 20.Qa6 Rxb2 21.Qa3 Rb4 22.0–0 leaving White the exchange and 2 pawns up. 9…Bd6 10.c4 Bxg3 11.hxg3 dxc4 12.Nc3 Nf6 13.Bxc4 Qe7 14.Qa4 14.0–0 would have prevented Black from castling on either side in the short term. 14…0–0–0 Preventing White from also castling long. 15.Bb5 Rd6 16.Bxc6 Rxc6 17.Rd1 a6 18.0–0 Qe5 19.Qd4 White would like to exchange pieces, but Black can see the weakness of the h-file. 19…Qh5 20.Nxe4 Ng4 21.Rfe1 Also not good enough is 21.Qd7+ Kb8 22.Rfe1 Rh6 23.Kf1 Rf8 24.Ke2 (24.Qxg7 Nxe3+ 25.Rxe3 Qxd1+ 26.Re1 Rh1#) 24…Nxf2+. 21…Rh6 0–1. White resigned. Play might have continued 22.Kf1 Nh2+ 23.Kg1 Nf3+ 24.Kf1 Nxe1 25.Qd7+ Kb8 26.Kxe1 Qg6 27.Rd4 Rh2.

Somerset resident Mickey Adams is currently playing in the Alekhine Memorial Tournament and after 5 rounds was lying 2^nd jointly with Boris Gelfand, Lev Aronian and Laurent Fressinet a half point behind Vachier-Lagrave.

In last week’s position, Evans played 1.Bc6! offering his queen, but if taken he had 2.RxB mate, and Black can’t take the rook because his queen is pinned.

Here is an Adams finish from 1998. How did Black (to move) force resignation with a 2-move combination?

Black to move and win.

The final scheduled round of the Inter-County competition was held on Saturday. Devon managed to get out a strong side and cruised past Gloucestershire at West Buckland, winning 11½-4½. The details were as follows (Devon names first):-

1. D. Mackle 0-1 J. Stewart; 2. J. K. Stephens 1-0 D.Lambourne; 3. S. J. Homer 1-0 J. Waterfield; 4. D. Regis 1-0 J. Jenkins; 5. P. Medina 1-0 P. J. Meade; 6. J. Leung ½-½ P. Dodwell; 7. K. J. Hurst 1-0 P. Denison; 8. A. W. Brusey ½-½ A. N. Walker; 9. B.W. Hewson ½-½ M. J. Ashworth; 10. J. Underwood 1-0 B. Whitelaw; 11. M. V. Abbott 0-1 G. A. Brown; 12. O. Wensley 1-0 R. J. Dixon; 13. A. S. Kinder 1- 0 M. Claypole; 14. M. Shaw 1-0 A. Richards; 15. W. H. Ingham 0-1 P. Baker; 16. B. G. Gosling 1-0 P. R. Bending.

Meanwhile, knowing their opponents are capable of unexpected wins against any team that under-estimates them, Somerset took no chances against Cornwall and fielded a strong side at Exminster, eventually winning 9-3 over a 12 board match. The details were as follows (Cornish players 1^st):- 1. J. F. Menadue 0-1 J. Rudd. 2. M. I. Hassal 1-0 P. Krzyzanowski. 3. R. Kneebone ½-½ D. LIttlejohns. 4. S. Bartlett ½-½ A. V. Wong. 5. J. Wilman 0-1 P. Chaplin. 6. G. Trudeau 0-1 A. Footner. 7. C. Sellwood 0-1 D. Painter. 8. 8. D. J. Jenkins ½-½ C. Purry. 9. M. Hill 0-1 J. E. Fewkes. 10. D. R. Jenkins ½-½ N. Senior. 11. C. Long 0-1 G. N. Jepps. 12. P. Spargo ½-½ D. Peters.

Apparently, the Hants vs Dorset match was not played due to a misunderstanding over the start time – another disruption to this season’s carefully planned programme of matches.

(Since going to press, it’s emerged that the Dorset team turned up at the venue for a 1 p.m. start, as defined in an e-mail, by the Dorset captain. As no Hants players had shown by 2 p.m. Dorset left for home. 5 minutes later, Hants players started arriving for a 2.30 start. Sodd’s Law, once again demonstrating that if a thing can go wrong, it probably will.) 

The West of England Congress at Exmouth starts a week on Friday and the entry limit is almost reached. Enquiries about late entries to Alan Crickmore on 01752-768206 or e-mail plymouthchess@btinternet.com.

Last week’s problem was solved by under-promoting the pawn to a bishop, forcing Black’s king to d8 and then Rd4 is mate.

The British Solving Championship was held recently at Eton College, and was won by Colin McNab ahead of the usual winners, Nunn and Mestel. Paignton’s Jon Lawrence came a respectable 13^th out of 35 competitors. This one, by Charles Kemp, was one of the three 2-movers in the competition, worth 5 points each. It was first published in Plymouth’s Western Daily Mercury in 1919.

White to mate in 2.

The recent Hampshire-Gloucestershire match was closely contested, though the final result was kept in some doubt for almost a week after the event, as the outcome of one game was disputed by both players. Eventually, the Gloucestershire player conceded without it having to go to a neutral arbiter, which gave the match to Hampshire  by 9-7. The details were (Hants names first):-

1.J. Tambini (203) ½-½ J. Stewart.

(199) 2.I. D. Thompson (199) 1-0 N. Hosken (196). 3.D. Tunks (193)½-½ D. Lambourne (180) 4.S. Knox (174)½-½ J. Waterfield (175) 5.D. Fowler (174)1-0 J. Jenkins (170) 6.P. Cooper (169)1-0 P. J. Meade (169) 7.I. Stipcevic (165) 0-1 I. Pickup (166) 8.F. McLeod (164)½-½ P. Dodwell (163) 9.M. Buckley (160)½-½ P. Denison (162) 10.G. Jones (153)1-0 G. Taylor (154) 11.R. Ashmore (150) 0-1 M. Claypole (149) 12.D. Thompson (147) 0-1 M. Ashworth (148) 13.C. Priest (147)½-½ R. Dixon (142) 14.H. Grieve (146) 1-0 P. Baker (140) 15.T. Chapman (145)½-½ A. Richards (139) 16. Miss G. Moore (145)½-½ J. Lightowler (136).

Last month’s Seniors’ Congress in Exmouth will feature in the January edition of Chess when one of the joint winners, Norman Stephenson, will analyse some games. In Round 4 he beat Mike Yeo, who then had to win his last game to feature in the prizelist, where he faced local player, David Toms.

White: D. A. Toms. Black: M. J. Yeo  1.e4 Nf6 Alekhine’s idea, but White declines the invitation to advance his pawn.2.d3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 Bc5 6.Bg2 Bg4 7.0–0 dxe4 8.dxe4 Qe7 9.c3 a5 10.Qc2 0–0 11.Nc4 Bh5 12.Be3 Rfd8 13.Rad1 Ng4 14.Bxc5 Qxc5 15.Rxd8+ Rxd8 16.Qe2 b5 17.Ncd2 f6 18.Nb3 Qb6 19.h3 Nh6 20.Rd1 Nf7 21.g4 Bg6 22.Nh4 Nd6 23.Nxg6 hxg6 24.Qf3 Nc4 This knight proves a real nuisance. 25.Qe2 Rxd1+ 26.Qxd1 Nxb2 27.Qd5+ Kh7 28.g5 Ne7 29.Qd7 Ng8 30.Bf1 a4 31.Nd2 Nd1 32.Qg4 Qxf2+ 33.Kh1 Ne3 34.Qe2 Qf4 35.Bg2 fxg5 36.Nf3 Nf6 37.Nxe5 With the idea that if 37…Qxe5 then 38.Qxe3, but 37…Nxg2 wins a piece. 38.Qxg2 Qxe5 39.c4 Qxe4 40.Qxe4 Nxe4 41.cxb5 Nc3 42.Kg2 Nxa2 0–1

In last week’s position, Kitto’s move was simply e2, cutting off the White king’s flight square and making the unavoidable Qxh2 a mating move.

This ending is from the game Steve Murray vs Tony Corkett at Guernsey 2002. Black is a piece up, but how does he make that pay in just two moves?

Black to play and win.

Last weekend saw the start of the new Inter-County season, with Somerset drawing 8-8 against Hampshire, and Cornwall losing by the odd point to Gloucestershire.

Somerset names first in each pairing:  

1. J. Rudd 1-0 J. Tambini; 2. D. Buckley 0-1 M. Yeo; 3. P. Krzyzanowski1-0 I. Thompson; 4. D. Littlejohns½-½ D. Tunks; 5. A. Wong 0-1 A. McDougall; 6. P. Chaplin 1-0 O. Gill; 7. A. Footner 0-1 W. McDougall; 8. D. Painter ½-½    D. Fowler; 9. C. Purry ½-½ S. Knox; 10. N. Senior 0-1 C. Bellers; 11. J. Fewkes ½-½ P. Cooper; 12. G.Jepps 1-0 I. Stipcevic; 13. C. McKinley ½-½ F.McLeod; 14. S. Pickard 0-1 R.Marsh; 15. A. Champion ½-½ T. Davis; 16. R. Knight 1-0 S. Smith. Totals 8-8.

Glos names first in each pairing.

1. D. Lambourne ½-½ J. Menadue; 2. J. Jenkins 0-1 M. Hassall; 3. P.Meade 1-0 L. Retallack; 4. D. Vaughan ½-½ S. Bartlett; 5. P. Dodwell 0-1 J. Wilman; 6. P. Denison 1-0 G.Trudeau; 7.G. Taylor (154) 0-1 C. Sellwood; 8. M. Claypole ½-½ J. Nicholas; 9. M. Ashworth ½-½ D. J. Jenkins; 10. R. Dixon 0-1 C. Reeves; 11.A. Walker ½-½ C. Long; 12. P. Baker 1-0 D. R. Jenkins; 13. A. Richards ½-½ A. Barkhuysen; 14. P. Bending ½-½ P. Spargo; 15.I. Blencowe ½-½ D. Lucas; 16. double default. Totals 7-8.

Rudd’s game featured a finely-calculated ending by White.

White. J. Rudd (220). Black: J. Tambini (203).

Nimzowitsch Defence [B00]

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 e5 3.dxe5 Nxe5 4.f4 Nc6 5.Bc4 Bb4+ 6.c3 Ba5 7.Nf3 Bb6 8.Na3 d6 9.Qe2 Qe7 10.Bd3 Nf6 11.Nc4 0–0 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.0–0 Re8 14.Re1 d5 15.e5 Ng4 16.h3 Qc5+ 17.Kf1 Nh6 18.Be3 Qf8 19.Qc2 g6 20.g4 f5 21.exf6 Qxf6 22.f5 Nf7 23.g5 Qd6 24.Bf4 Nfe5 25.Nxe5 Nxe5 26.Qh2 Qf8 27.Rxe5 Rxe5 28.Bxe5 Bxf5 29.Bxf5 Qxf5+ 30.Kg1 Qxg5+ 31.Qg3 Qxg3+ 32.Bxg3 c6 33.a3 Kf7 34.Rf1+ Ke6 35.Bh4 Ra4 36.Bg5 Re4 37.Kf2 Kf5 38.Bd2 g5 39.Kg3+ Kg6 40.Re1 Rxe1 41.Bxe1 Kf5 42.Kf3 h5 43.a4 g4+ 44.hxg4+ hxg4+ 45.Ke3 Ke6 46.Bg3 Kd7 47.Kd4 Ke6 48.b4 Kd7 49.a5 c5+ 50.Kxd5 Kc8 51.Ke6 cxb4 52.cxb4 bxa5 53.bxa5 b5 54.a6 If 54.axb6 Kb7 ensuring a draw. 54…b4 55.Kd5 b3 56.Kc6 b2 57.a7 1–0.

Last week’s position ended with Black’s unanswerable combination 1…Qh1+ 2.Bxh1 Nh2+ 3.Ke1 Rg1+.

Here’s an ending from Wenman’s little book “100 Remarkable Endings” in which the great American master, Marshall loses in 14 moves to Alapin (W). What remarkable 2 move combination did White play to force the win?

White to play and win.

At the weekend the first blows were traded in this year’s Inter-County Competition, with Somerset and Hants meeting at Mere. while Gloucestershire met Cornwall at their usual venue of Exminster Village Hall.

Both matches were very tightly contested, with the first match ending in an 8-8  draw, and Cornwall losing by the odd point to Gloucestershire. This may presage a series of close encounters for the rest of the season.

Next weekend, Devon II meet Dorset in an U-160 match at Luppitt. Will this one go down to the wire?

Full details are as follows:- 

As reported briefly last week, Somerset had a comfortable win by 11½-4½ over Gloucestershire at Clevedon, losing only one game in the process. Somerset’s winners were Jack Rudd, Jim Sherwin, Terry Stuttard, Darren Freeman, Gerry Jepps, Adam Musson, David Peters and Neville Senior. Their opponent’s sole winner was John Waterfield.

Unfortunately, most of the game scores from the match have been dispersed or disposed of already, so are effectively lost, but this one from Board 1 was kindly sent in by the winner.

White: J. Rudd (213). Black: J. Stewart (195).

Giuoco Piano [C54]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 The Italian Opening, often known as the Giuoco Piano (Quiet Game), whose popularity at the top level was overtaken in the 19th century by the Ruy Lopez.  4.0–0 d6 5.c3 Nf6 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb6 8.Nc3 0–0 9.Bg5 h6 10.Be3 Black sees a way to win a central pawn in the short term. 10…Nxe4 11.Nxe4 d5 12.Bd3 dxe4 13.Bxe4 Ne7 14.Ne5 Nd5 15.Qf3 Be6 16.a4 Threatening to win the bishop and giving to rook a row to exploit. 16…c6 17.Ra3 f5 18.Bb1 f4 Winning another pawn. 19.Bd2 Bxd4 20.Re1 Bxe5 21.Rxe5 Qf6 22.Qe4 Rae8 23.Rf3 Bd7 24.Qh7+ Kf7 Already a pawn down, White sacrifices the exchange to break open Black’s kingside. 25.Rxd5 cxd5 26.g3 26.Rxf4 falls to 26…Re1+ 27.Bxe1 Qxf4. 26…Qxb2 27.Bc3 Qc1+ 28.Kg2 Ke7 29.Qxg7+ mission accomplished, but White is still materially down. 29…Kd8 30.Bf6+ Kc8 30…Rxf6 avoids the loss of the queen and would leave Black two pawns up. 31.Qxf6+ Re7 32.Bg6 and Black’s f-pawn would drop as well. 31.Rc3+ Qxc3 32.Bxc3 d4 33.Qxd4 Bc6+ 34.Kh3 Bd7+ 35.Kh4 Rg8 36.Bf5 A little trick to swap off bishops. 36…Bxf5 37.Qc5+ Kb8 38.Qxf5 fxg3 39.hxg3 Ka8 40.Bd4 Rg5 41.Qd7 Reg8 42.Be3 R5g6 43.Qd4 Ra6 44.f4 Rb6 45.f5 45.Qd5 at this stage has no force after 45…Rbg6. 45…Ra6 46.g4 Two rooks are often slightly stronger than a queen, but this one is beautifully positioned and is supported by a strong bishop, inviting the fatal error. 46…Rb6?? 47.Qd5 1–0 This time it works and both rooks are attacked.

However, earlier in the season Somerset had lost 10½-5½ to Hampshire, who in turn lost to Gloucestershire 10-6, so it has clearly been almost impossible to predict results this year.

The West of England Junior Championships will be held in two weeks in Swindon. Late entries should go to Bev Schofield, 69,The Mall, Swindon, SN1 4JA
Tel: 01793-487575.

Shortly after that there is the 37^th East Devon Congress starting on 2^nd March at its usual venue. Enquiries to Alan Maynard on Tel: 01363 773313 or email: a.maynard@tesco.net

Last week’s problem was solved by 1.Qe4+ Nxe4 (forced) 2.Pxe4 mate (the bishop must remain on f5 in order to keep the net tight).

Here’s a similar 2-mover.

White to mate in 2.