Keverel Chess

Posts Tagged ‘Somerset 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.

In last Saturday’s round of the Inter-County Championship, Cornwall lost to Hampshire 3½ – 12½ at Gittisham, while at Norton Fitzwarren, in a closer match Somerset beat Devon by 9-7. The home team’s winners were Messrs Rudd, Buckley, Edgell, Krzyzanowski, Footner, Fewkes and Senior, while Devon’s victors were Messrs Sivrev, Medina, Brusey, Underwood and Kinder.

In contrast, Devon’s 2^nd team ran out comfortable winners by 7½ – 4½, with wins by Messrs Thynne, Ingham, Body and Stinton-Brownbridge.

This game from Board 8 showed White seeking to exploit his speed of piece development.

White: A. F. Footner (174). Black: B. W. Hewson (174).

Caro-Kann – Spielmann Var. [B11]

1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Qf3 e6 4.d4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Qxd4 6.Ne2 Qb6 7.N2c3 Nd7 8.Be2 Ngf6 9.Bf4 Nxe4 10.Nxe4 e5 11.Bd2 Nc5 12.Bc3 Qc7 13.0–0–0 Be6 14.Rhe1 Bd5 White is looking for something spectacular as he is fully developed while Black is not. 15.Nf6+!? He could also have tried 15.Rxd5 cxd5 16.Bb5+ Nd7 17.Ng5 threatening f7 and e5 17…0–0–0 18.Nxf7 d4 19.Bxd7+ Rxd7 20.Nxh8 Bd6 21.Bd2 and White is a piece up. 15…gxf6 16.Qxf6 Ne4 17.Qxh8 Nxc3 18.Bg4 Preventing castling and threatening e5. 18…Ne4 If 18…Nxd1 19.Rxe5+ Be6 20.Bxe6 Qd6 21.Bg4+ Kd8 22.Rf5 Ke7 23.Kb1 the threat is …Bh6+ winning the queen. 19.f4 Qe7 19…Nf2?? looking for the fork is answered by 20.Rxe5+. 20.Bf3 Qf6 21.Qxf6 Nxf6 22.Rxe5+ Kd7 Black now has 2 minor pieces for a rook, so White needs a move. 22…Be7 23.Rde1 Ng8 24.Bxd5 cxd5 25.Rxd5 23.c4 Bd6 24.cxd5 Bxe5 25.dxc6+ Kc7 26.fxe5 Ng8 27.cxb7 Re8 Black gets his rook out, but it must stay on the back rank to guard against the b7 pawn. 28.Rd4 Ne7 29.Rf4 White probes and Black must respond immediately as his time has almost gone. 29…Rf8 30.e6 f6 31.Rh4 Rh8 32.Rh6 Ng6 33.e7 Nxe7 34.Rxf6 h6 1-0 and Black’s flag fell, but he is lost anyway, being 3 pawns down. Play might have continued – 34…h6 35.Rf7 Re8 36.Rh7 Kd6 37.Rxh6+ Kc7 etc.

In an earlier game ending from Prague 1938, (given on 26^th Jan.) White pulled off a near-miraculous win after 1.Rc8+ Kh7 2.Rh8+ KxR 3.Qh6+ Kg8 (the pawn was pinned) 4.Qxg7 mate.

Last week’s game ended with White powerless against this combination: 1…Qh2+ 2.Kf1 Qh1+ 3.Ng1 Nd2+ 4.RxN QxN+ 5.KxQ Re1 mate.

This week’s 2-mover is another world premier by Dave Howard.

White to mate in 2

Dorset played Somerset II at Bradford Abbas earlier this month, in the 2^nd division of the West of England Inter-county tournament. There was a grade ceiling of 160, but even so, Somerset won fairly comfortably by 10½-5½ as they had the greater strength in depth. The details were as follows (Dorset names first).

1.P. Aston (151) ½-½ D. Freeman (156). 2.W. Legg (149) 0-1 P. Humphreys (154). 3.S. Blake (145) 1-0 C. McKinley (152). 4.M. Fielding (140) 0-1 A. Bellingham (147). 5.P. Errington ½-½ A. Champion (147). 6.C. Winch ½-½ L. Cutting. 7.P. Brackner ½-½ S. Wojcik (143). 8.P. Jackson ½-½ T. Wallis (142). 9.J. Kelly ½-½ R. Knight (139). 10.P. Bland (128) 0-1 T. West (u/g). 11.F. Fallon (124) 0-1 C. Strong (136). 12.N. Mackie (117) 0-1 M. Baker (133). 13.K. Spooner (113) ½-½ I. Stringer (131). 14.J. George (108) 0-1 R. Fenton (127). 15. S. Jones (106) 1-0 M. Cooper (126). 16. M. Kaye (95) 0-1 N. Mills (125).

2013 is but a few days away, bringing with it the return of the British Championships to the Riviera Centre, Torquay, 27^th July – 10^th August, for the 4^th time in 15 years. Even in a “normal” year Torquay attracts around 1,000 entries, but as it will be the 100^th championship, there are bound to be a few added extra activities attracting even more players, so it will be important for westcountry players not to leave entering until the last minute. Although entry forms are not yet out, it is likely that many of the top players will not be passing up the chance of becoming the 100 British Champion, providing it doesn’t clash with tournaments abroad. Among them, Taunton’s Michael Adams would have to be favourite.

This, too, will be an opportunity for qualifiers from the local congresses to rub shoulders with the GMs. The next opportunity to win a qualifying place will be at the WECU Junior event in Swindon in February; then the WECU Congress in Exmouth over the Easter weekend, followed by Frome in May.

In last week’s ending from the London Chess Classic, Mickey Adams played Bh3+! And whether White takes it or not, Black will mate on h1.

This is another original composition from reader Dave Howard for you to puzzle over this holiday period, should you manage to get a few quiet minutes to yourself. It’s a 3-mover this time, but he tells me it’s not too difficult. White to move and mate in 3.

White to move & mate in 3.

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:- 

The Westcountry’s two remaining teams in the Inter-County Championship were both eliminated in the Semi-Finals on Saturday. In the Open Section, Somerset were edged out by Middlesex 7½-8½ with a remarkable set of individual results. Of the 16 games, Somerset won the top 8 boards by 6½-1½, but could only muster 2 draws on boards 9 – 16.

In the Minor Counties competition, Hampshire lost 7-9 to Hertfordshire, their only winners being Mike Yeo, Dominic Tunks and Andy Manning.

Time now to look forward to next season’s matches, which have been scheduled as follows:

Sun. 16^th Sept. 2012: Inter-County Jamboree at Taunton.

Sat 20^th Oct. 2012 – Rd. 1: Glos v Cornwall: Devon v Dorset & Somerset v Hants.

Sat. 1^st Dec. 2012 – Rd. 2: Devon v Cornwall; Hants v Glos & Dorset v Somerset.

Sat. 19^th Jan 2013 – Rd. 3: Hants v Devon; Glos v Somerset & Cornwall bye.

Sat. 9^th Feb 2013 – Rd. 4: Cornwall v Hants; Somerset v Devon; Glos bye.       

Sat. 9^th March 2013 – Rd. 5: Devon v Glos; Dorset v Hants & Cornwall v Somerset.

In spite of their recent Quarter-Final loss to Surrey, Devon were first to register a win with this miniature. The moral is that if one is going to stray from the beaten track of known theory, one should be all the better prepared.

White: Dr. D. A.Toms (153). Black: M. Turowski (141).

Scandinavian Defence [B01].

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qe5+ 3…Qa5 is almost always played here. 4.Qe2 As White was already a half hour behind on the clock having arrived at the venue late, he was happy to speed up the simplifying process. 4…Qf6? Unsurprisingly, there is no game on record where this move has been made – it has little to commend it. 5.Nf3 Bg4? White is unsure what’s going on here, but is happy to play along and see where it leads 6.Qb5+ Bd7 Another golden rule broken – unnecessarily moving the same piece twice in the opening. 6…Qc6 allows 7.Ne5 Qxb5 8.Nxb5 Na6 9.Nxg4 winning a piece. 7.Qxb7 Bc6??  8.Qc8# 1–0.

Last week’s problem was solved by 1.Rh2+! Kf3. 2.Rf2 mate.

This position arose earlier this year in a game between Stuart Conquest (W) and Bath’s David Buckley. Both players have lost only a pawn each, but Black’s defence is in a terrible tangle. How did Conquest take full advantage?

White to play and win quickly.

This game, part of Somerset’s recent dramatic win over Yorkshire, has everything – sacrifices, combinations and a cross-country king hunt.

White: Rhys Cumming (188). Black: J. Arnott (206).

French Defence-Tarrasch Var. [C05]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 Qb6 8.g3 cxd4 9.cxd4 Bb4+ 10.Kf2 If 10.Bd2 Nxd4 11.Rc1. 10…f6 11.Kg2 0–0 12.Nh3 fxe5 13.fxe5 Rxf3 14.Qxf3 Nxd4 15.Qf4 Nc6 16.Bd3 Ndxe5 White’s pawn centre has collapsed, leaving Black with 2 central passed pawns, but his “French bishop” is holding back completion of his development, giving White the chance of a lightning attack. 17.Bxh7+ This move is called a “Greek Gift”, possibly after the saying “Beware Greeks bearing gifts”, though often the defender has little choice but to accept, as here. 17…Kxh7 18.Ng5+ Kg8 19.Qh4 Qd4 20.Qh7+ Kf8 21.Rf1+ Ke7 22.Qxg7+ Kd6 23.Bf4 Qxb2+ 24.Kh1 Bc3 25.Rab1 Qe2 26.Nf7+ Kc5 27.Qf8+ Kd4 28.Bxe5+ Nxe5 29.Rf4+ forcing the king ever onwards. 29…Kd3 30.Nxe5+ Qxe5 31.Qc5 Bd7 It’s a bit late now, as White has a forced mate. 32.Rf3+ Kc2 33.Qg1 Be1 34.Rxe1 35.Qf2 1–0.

Somerset now face Middlesex in the Semi-Final on June 9^th.

Last week’s game ended thus: 1.Rh7+! after which if (a) 1…KxR 2.Rb7+ wins the queen, or (b) 1…Kg5 2.h4+ Kf5 3.Rf3+ and again the check allows BxQ next move, and Black has nothing left.

This week’s 2-mover is the starter problem for the 2012-13 British Solving Championship. Work out White’s only move (the key) that leaves Black unable to avoid mate next move. Send the solution to Paul Valois, 14, Newton Park Drive, Leeds, LS7 4HH, together with a cheque or postal order for £3 made payable to British Chess Problem Society. Please provide an e-mail address if you have one. All entries should be postmarked no later than 31^st July 2012. Don’t forget to mention that you saw the position in this paper. After the closing date, all competitors will receive the solution and a free copy of The Problemist. Those who got the correct solution will also receive the Postal Round, comprising 8 positions of slightly greater difficulty and variety. In due course, the best competitors from the postal round will be invited to the Final at Eton College in February 2013 at which the prize fund will be about £1,000.

White to mate in 2 moves.

After the earlier matches this season in which Devon beat Cornwall (11½-4½) and Hampshire beat Devon (10-6), simple logic would dictate that a Hants-Cornwall match should be a very one-sided affair. Yet the Cornish are always capable of turning the logic of the chessboard on its head, and they beat Hampshire 7-5 at Gittisham Village Hall last Saturday, thanks to wins by Robin Kneebone, Gary Trudeau, Theo Slade, Colin Sellwood and David Jenkins, backed up by draws from Messrs Hassall, Retallack, Bartlett and Wilman. Hampshire’s three winners were Ian Thompson, Tom Anderson and Lawrence Pearman.

As reported last week, Theo Slade became the West of England U-12 Champion the previous weekend, and was not overawed on this occasion by making his debut on Board 7. This was his game in which he exploits his opponent’s unwise captures.

White: C. Priest (151). Black: T. Slade (147).

Queen’s Bishop Opening [D02].

1.d4 e6 2.Bf4 d5 3.Nf3 Bd6 4.Bxd6 Qxd6 5.e3 Qb4+ 6.Nc3 Qxb2 7.Nb5 Qb4+ 8.c3 Qe7 9.Qa4 c6 10.Nxa7 A very dangerous move – trying to grab cheap pawns like this often rebounds. 10…Bd7 11.Ne5 f6 12.Nxd7 Qxd7 13.Rb1 13.Na6 Now the jackdaw knight is trapped. 14.Nxc6 Nc7 If 14…bxc6 15.Bxa6. 15.Qc2 bxc6 16.Bd3 f5 Sealing off the centre from White’s attacking pieces and freeing f6 for his knight. 17.0–0 Nf6 18.Rb7 With the centre sealed, White must try to dominate the b-file in order to generate some activity. 18…0–0 19.Rfb1 Ne4 20.c4 Nd6 21.R7b6 Rfc8 22.c5 Ndb5 23.Qb3 Ra3 24.Qc2 Now another piece is trapped. 24…Na8 25.R1xb5 cxb5 26.Bxb5 Qe7 27.Rd6?? The rook can be taken for nothing, but Black doesn’t spot this at first. 27…Ra7 28.a4? Clearly White doesn’t notice the danger either, but Black needs no second invitation. 28.Ra6 would avoid further unequal loss of material. 28…Qxd6 White resigned in view of 29.cxd6 Rxc2.

Meanwhile, at Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset I comfortably overcame Devon I by 10½-5½, even though two Somerset players failed to turn up and reserves had to be drafted in at the last minute, both of whom won their games. By way of compensation, Devon’s 2^nd team won equally comfortably (10-6) and thereby retained the Wayling Cup. More details next week, together with the results from the East Devon Congress which continues today in Exeter.

Last week’s 2-mover by Dave Howard was solved by 1.Ng8!

The British Solving Championship was held last weekend at Eton College and the new Champion is the Scottish GM Colin McNab (61/65 pts), followed by J. Mestel (59) and J. Nunn (56). The best non-seeded competitor was David Hodge. This 2-mover is one of the problems used in the competition.

White to play & mate in 2.

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.