A new life

 After the last game, darkness came upon us again and any thought of OTB chess returning went into deep freeze. For a time I wondered if I would be coming back: my work takes up more and more of my time, and so I was focussing on hobbies where I don't feel the same pressure to perform to a particular level. In particular, tennis is a similarly elegant game but one where each point stands alone, so you don't spoil hours of good work with one bad move and there are moments to enjoy even when you're being outplayed. (Plus I get some exercise...)

On the other hand, chess was my life for so many years, and it would be a shame to put that to waste. So when I was contacted by my successor as CSC researcher to tell me about the rapidplay they were running for ChessFest, I was still just about interested enough to give it a go. Mostly this was out of curiosity to see what level I could reach playing chess as one hobby among several: as mentioned in the last post I was still playing online bullet out of inertia, but I don't regard that as real chess and I had no warm-up games under my belt, no prepared openings, no tactics training - nothing. Combined with the outdoor location under a canopy in Manchester Square Garden, and a lot of familiar faces, it felt like a mini-holiday of sorts.

Unusually, the tournament was organised as a single-section open - in general this is an idea I support since it gives greater variety of opponents, but I have to concede that I got a lot of mismatched pairings. In truth only one of the games is really worth looking it, but fittingly it was the first one. I was repaired to play Paul Heaton, rated close to me at 1992 - a harder pairing that I expected, which made me even keener to play a calm game. However, seasoned readers will know that playing dull games on demand never was my strong point...

[Event "ChessFest Rapid Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2021.07.17"] [Round "1.28"] [White "Young, Daniel J"] [Black "Heaton, Paul"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B99"] [WhiteElo "2028"] [BlackElo "1992"] [Annotator "Young,Daniel J"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2021.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [SourceVersionDate "2021.07.17"] {After 16 months of staring into the void, this was a hint of light: my first OTB game since before the pandemic, and also the first rated game I've played outdoors - thankfully under a canopy, since it was a scorching July day. Since it was a single-section open I was expecting a big rating advantage for the first round, and I just wanted a simple game to get back into the swing of things - no fancy stuff! However, my opponent didn't turn up so I was repaired with someone around my own rating. It also bears mentioning that the time control was very fast for a rapid tournament: 15 minutes + 5 seconds/move.} 1. e4 {Flank openings are still a part of my repertoire after my experiments in 2019-20, but since I was out of practice it was an easy decision to fall back on old reliable. If only I'd known what was coming!} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 {Again sticking with what I know... or at least used to. Thankfully Heaton stuck with the old main line, which I can still remember well.} e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nbd7 10. g4 b5 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. g5 Nd7 13. f5 {Although both sides have plenty of ways to differ along the way, this is a key branching point in a thematic Najdorf position: Black's long-term prospects are excellent thanks to the central pawn majority, half-open c-file and onrushing queenside pawns - so my goal is that he doesn't survive long enough to enjoy them.} Nc5 {The traditional choice, defending e6 actively. Personally I've never quite believed it, since I feel that Black's first priority should be to develop rather than move pieces away from the kingside - even if it does work, it's one of those chaotic lines that gives the black side of the Najdorf a more hair-raising reputation than it really deserves. I've long preferred 13... O-O, which now seems to be the dominant move at master level; 13... Bxg5+ is also playable though Black's defence is often a little lifeless.} 14. f6 {Typical Najdorf play: White wants to force an immediate crisis.} gxf6 15. gxf6 Bf8 16. Rg1 {I knew this move and the basic ideas thereafter, but I have to confess I'd never seriously studied this hoary tabiya before writing these notes - after 12 years this was the first time I'd faced it! The position turns out to be more rational than I thought: fundamentally White is playing around how few developing moves Black has, and his inability to safely castle on either side.} h5 {A prophylactic move, keeping White's queen out of h5. Of course it doesn't directly help Black's development, but then little else does...} (16... Bh6+ $2 {might seem a useful move with tempo, but instead just gives me a helpful variation to demonstrate how quickly things can unravel: the bishop is stuck on its starting square because it has to defend d6, and anyway Black is never going to castle kingside now.} 17. Kb1 Bd7 {Not even this will stop} 18. Bxb5 $1 {, since} axb5 $2 {quickly loses to} 19. Ndxb5 Bxb5 20. Nxb5 Qa5 21. Nxd6+ Kf8 22. a3 { Now Qh5 is threatened, and after} Qc7 23. e5 Rd8 24. Rg7 $1 {(a thematic move we will see again and again) Black collapses.} Bxg7 25. fxg7+ Kxg7 26. Qf6+ $18 ) (16... Bd7 {is a better try but shows another benefit of} 17. Rg7 {: the attack on f7 catches the black king in the centre. So the obvious question is what happens if the sacrifice is accepted.} Bxg7 {(the usual move, but 17... h5 can also be considered, transposing to the 17... Bd7 variation below)} 18. fxg7 Rg8 19. e5 O-O-O {Black's big hope, but really the queenside is too open for his king to be safe here.} (19... d5 20. Qf6 {is more than enough positional compensation for the exchange: Black's king is stuck in the centre and his position is cut in two by the fixed central pawn chain. White breaks through after} Rc8 21. Bd3 Nxd3+ 22. Rxd3 b4 23. Rf3 $18) 20. exd6 Qb6 (20... Qxd6 $2 {opening the centre completely is asking for too much. One nice way to win from here is} 21. Nxe6 $1 Qxe6 22. Qa8+ Kc7 23. Qa7+ Nb7 {(23... Kc8 24. Nd5 is similarly crushing)} 24. Nd5+ Kd6 25. Qb6+ Ke5 26. Re1+ Kxd5 27. c4+ $1 {, nicely closing off the last line of escape.} bxc4 28. Bg2+ $18) 21. Ne4 (21. Qxf7 $2 {White still has to be careful not to let off the throttle - this is too hasty and allows Black to regain the initiative with} b4 22. Nce2 {(Nd5 is pointless now that the Black king is out of the centre)} Qxd6 23. Bh3 $44 { Black's king is open, but he has completed development and he does have a material advantage...}) 21... Nxe4 (21... Bc6 {is an older move with plenty of games in the database, but it now seems established that White is winning after } 22. Nxc6 Qxc6 23. Qc3 Qxe4 24. Qxc5+ Kb8 25. Qc7+ Ka8 26. Qxf7 $18 {- two advanced passed pawns and an open enemy king for an exchange are a great deal. Black's queen is paralysed by the need to protect the long diagonal.}) 22. Qxe4 Qxd6 23. Qa8+ Qb8 24. Qxa6+ Qb7 {(not 24... Kc7? 25. Rd3)} 25. Qa5 $16 { White is close to winning here, since his rook is coming to the third rank and the b-pawn is vulnerable.}) 17. Rg7 {Hopefully this isn't a surprise by now - indeed, the rook is immune from capture this time. Whilst this has long been the mainline, I think the move might be out of date now.} (17. a3 {is the hotness nowadays, and has a score of 68.9 percent from over 400 games in the database. At first sight it doesn't seem very principled at all: wasting time on prophylaxis is usually the last thing White wants to do in an Open Sicilian, and especially by moving a pawn in front of the king. But the reasoning is brutally straightforward: since Black has so few normal moves his play tends to come down to pushing ...b4 to provoke the Nd5 sacrifice and hoping to cling on somehow. If that idea is taken away then what does he have left?} Rb8 { A normal response to a3 in the 6. Bg5 Najdorf, doubling down on the ...b4 push which will hit harder now that it has something to latch onto. However, White has a tactical possibility:} 18. e5 Bb7 (18... dxe5 $4 {loses to} 19. Qc6+ Qxc6 20. Nxc6 {, threatening mate as well as the rook.}) 19. Qg3 d5 {Shutting lines is the safest policy, however White's space advantage in the centre and on the kingside is now fixed; with a bad bishop on b7 and a good knight on d4 the position starts to resemble a French that favours White. It's no longer so necessary to rush, and after} (19... dxe5 {as usual, Black should think twice about opening the centre with his king there -} 20. Ncxb5 axb5 $2 (20... Qb6 { is objectively best, though following} 21. Qxe5 Rc8 22. Kb1 $16 {I suspect that despite the open lines to White's king, Black may well just be a pawn down.}) 21. Bxb5+ Nd7 {has a touch of Opera Game to it and duly loses to} 22. Nxe6 fxe6 23. f7+ Kd8 24. Bxd7 Qxd7 25. Qxe5 $18 {winning everything.}) 20. Kb1 Ba8 {intending ...b4, White can even consider} 21. b4 $5 Nd7 22. Re1 $16 { , continuing the policy of denying Black any productive moves.}) 17... b4 { I think this is Black's best move - strange as it is to say, he can't really improve his position so he may as well go in for this before White can prepare his reply any further.} (17... Bb7 {Just to reinforce the point that Black can't develop normally, this bishop too is stuck defending a central pawn, and White can make good use of a spare move: after} 18. Bh3 {castling would lose material to 19. Nxe6, and} b4 19. Nd5 exd5 20. exd5 Kd8 21. Re1 $18 {is outright winning now that the king's escape via c8 has been cut off. Find a move for Black!}) (17... Bd7 {is sturdier, however Black's knight can make better use of this square (see the note to his 19th move).} 18. Bh3 b4 19. Nd5 exd5 20. exd5 Bxh3 21. Re1+ Kd8 22. Qxh3 {Black can defuse the threat of Nc6+ with} Qd7 {, but even the queen trade is good for White since} 23. Qxd7+ Nxd7 24. Rxf7 $14 {picks up a second pawn and leaves Black with logjammed pieces once more.}) (17... Bxg7 $4 {And finally, the reason the rook can't be captured is that d6 becomes exposed again:} 18. fxg7 Rg8 19. Ndxb5 axb5 20. Nxb5 Qa5 21. Nxd6+ $18 {, followed by the conquest of f7.}) 18. Nd5 {If you even thought about putting the knight anywhere else, this probably isn't the opening for you. And I don't mean to brag by that: a big part of the reason I don't play 1. e4 universally any more is that I'm not comfortable with going all-in and losing control of a position like this, and in Open Sicilians especially I'm often left with no choice. As I said earlier, I really wanted a quiet start to my second chess life, but having come this far there is no turning back.} (18. Nce2 $143 $2 {Just to prove the point,} e5 {immediately takes over the game for Black now that there is nothing to capitalise on the weakening of d5, and after} 19. Nf5 Bxf5 20. exf5 (20. Qxf5 Rc8 21. Kb1 Ne6 22. c3 Bxg7 23. fxg7 Nxg7 24. Qf6 Kf8 25. Bh3 $15 {White's grip on the light squares is not enough to make up for the exchange, since his knight is also out of the game and his king is compromised.}) 20... Rc8 {- threatening ...e4 followed by ...Nd3+, winning quickly -} 21. Ng1 Nd7 22. Rg2 $15 {, White's offensive is consigned to memory and his pieces are now miserably passive, with f6 doomed to fall.}) 18... exd5 {Black hardly has a choice either, since he can't tolerate a knight sitting on d5 with impunity whilst his pieces are virtually confined to the back two ranks. And so the centre is opened: obviously an important achievement for White (see the note to my 13th move) but is it enough for a piece? This position has of course been analysed very deeply and sadly I have to admit that the answer seems to be 'yes, but no more'.} 19. exd5 b3 $4 {In theory, anyway. In an unusually fast rapid game things are different, and I guess Heaton was suffering from sacrificial shock since he immediately makes a losing move: he cannot afford to give White free tempi in such a position.} (19... Nd7 $142 $8 {This is established as the only defence, which is perhaps a hint about the merit of 13... Nc5. The intention is to seal the e-file with ...Ne5, and this can only be dealt with by simplifying.} 20. Nc6 Bb7 21. Bh3 (21. Re1+ Ne5 22. Nxe5 dxe5 23. Bh3 Qd6 { White can win two pawns back after} 24. Qf5 Bc8 25. Qxe5+ Qxe5 26. Rxe5+ Kd8 27. Bxc8 Rxc8 28. Rxf7 {, however} Rc7 $15 {flushes out one of the rooks, and with White's three extra pawns scattered they will be outweighed by Black's bishop.}) 21... Bxc6 22. dxc6 Ne5 23. Bd7+ Kd8 {I think the safest choice here is} 24. Qb3 {, eyeing up the b-pawn as well as Rxf7; this leads to a draw after } (24. Qe4 {is the older move, keeping the game going with} Qb6 25. Be6 Kc7 { (26. c7+ was threatened)} 26. Bxf7 Nxc6 27. Kb1 $44 {. White is just active enough to hold the balance according to the computer, but personally I'm not sure I want to test the claim since Black's development problems are largely behind him.}) 24... Bxg7 25. fxg7 Rg8 26. Qxb4 Ke7 27. Qh4+ f6 28. Rf1 Nxd7 29. cxd7 Kxd7 30. Rxf6 Rxg7 31. Qh3+ Kd8 32. Qh4 $11 {, and the board is too open for Black to hide his king.}) 20. Re1+ {All it takes is one bad move and White's position plays itself. 20... Kd8 21. Nc6+ wins immediately so Black has to return the piece, but the e-file cannot be kept closed for long.} Ne6 21. axb3 $6 {The only sign in the game of how nervous I felt playing it - there's no reason to be so lily-livered.} (21. dxe6 $142 {Frankly I can't explain why I didn't play this beyond vague unease, but any analysis shows that Black wins after} bxa2 22. exf7+ Kd8 23. Re8+ Kd7 24. Bh3# {Luckily the position is so good that I can afford to pass for a move and still be completely winning, but it's not something I want to make a habit of.}) 21... Bxg7 22. fxg7 Rg8 23. dxe6 fxe6 24. Qxa8 {24. Nxe6 might have been even better. Still, Black didn't have anything else.} e5 25. Bxa6 Kf7 26. Bc4+ {White wins another full rook (26... Kxg7 27. Rg1+) so Black resigned here. This was a confidence-boosting game to win, even if it was decided the moment it left (half-remembered) theory. My main fear coming back is that everyone else will have used the break far more profitably, and this showed I can still beat people of my own strength.} 1-0

Perhaps I shouldn't have been playing a 6. Bg5 Najdorf in my first game back, but then neither should my opponent! The main thing I learned from this tournament was that no, not everyone else is now underrated by 400 points, and I already had a lengthy catalogue of quick wins in this opening caused by Black playing it too casually. Realistically, if you're going down the rabbit hole with 13... Nc5 then you need to know about 19... Nd7 - as I have argued, the Najdorf can be played with little book knowledge, so to me this is a signal that there are better systems for Black.

In the very next game I dropped a piece in a dead level position to an exceedingly obvious two-mover, which was closer to my expectations, but I managed to recover to 4/6 after that largely thanks to the pairings, albeit I played competently if unremarkably. Maybe if the tournament had gone badly that really would have been the end, but we'll never know. Instead it convinced me - alongside the events described in the last post - that chess has a place alongside other interests. In short, I am trying to be realistic: the 64 squares are no longer my life, but I flatter myself that in writing about my most interesting games I can draw some enjoyment and instruction from them, hopefully for the reader too. Maybe that won't be every single one any more - I'll see how I feel - but analysing games is probably the most efficient way for me to keep, if not my hand in, then at least a few fingers. Sometimes I fondly dream that I will be able to retire one day, and then I can deal with the missing FM title...

In the meantime though, I will have to settle for moving onto a game I played earlier this week (!!) in the Epsom club championship.