Following the loss to Kingston, Epsom's remaining league matches were mostly just for fun, although we did want to make sure of finishing second to have a chance at promotion. First up, we were at home to Guildford 3, much the weakest team in the division. For me, this was slightly personal - Wallington were relegated at the eleventh hour because Guildford had a change of heart on which division to enter this season, and seeing the relative strength of the two teams has been rather galling.
Anyway, I had a big rating advantage and the white pieces against Peter Horlock (1662) so was obviously aiming to win. The position quickly became sharp, but my opponent took too many liberties and was punished:
[Event "Surrey League Div. 2"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2022.03.07"]
[Round "4.3"]
[White "Young, Daniel J"]
[Black "Horlock, Peter J"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2000"]
[BlackElo "1662"]
[Annotator "Young,Daniel J"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2022.??.??"]
[SourceVersionDate "2022.03.07"]
[WhiteTeam "Epsom 1"]
[BlackTeam "Guildford 3"]
{Epsom were heavy favourites for this one, at home against the division
minnows - I was on board three below two IMs. Time control: 75 minutes for all
moves + 10 seconds/ move.} 1. e4 {(1:15)} d5 {(1:15) This move ended my
preparation for the game. I haven't faced a Scandinavian for a while, but I
could remember my chosen line well enough.} 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6
5. Bd2 c6 6. Bc4 {Besides plain development, this move introduces Nd5 ideas.
Therefore Black chose to follow through on his previous move with} Qc7 {
. The alternative is 6... Bf5, which I faced in Young-Spiller, Bristol League
2014 - neither has scored well for Black.} 7. Nf3 e6 $6 {This was new to me,
but I was happy to see it. In the first seven moves Black has given up his
pawn centre, moved the queen three times and locked his light-squared bishop
inside the pawn chain: isn't this rather a lot to give up for a 'solid'
position? True, I know from years of painful experience that the Scandinavian
is a resilient beast, but there are limits.} 8. Qe2 Nbd7 {Now White faces a
difficult decision.} 9. O-O-O $6 {After eight minutes' hesitation, and
probably the wrong choice. I've long held that +/= is an illusory evaluation
in this structure; if White does not take incisive action quickly then Black
will be safe behind his carapace. Therefore I was aiming to win the game
quickly - another mark against Black's 7th move is that the light-squared
bishop is cut off from the e6 square once the b8 knight inevitably goes to d7,
which creates sacrificial motifs. Castling long feels consistent with this
approach, but I believe it is imprecise because White now loses some freedom
of action on the queenside.} (9. Bxe6 $143 $2 {is the move that should be
analysed first, but Black is still able to repel boarders at this point:} fxe6
10. Qxe6+ Be7 11. Ng5 Rf8 $17 {and there is no follow-up. Evidently then the
attack needs more fuel, and White should develop his pieces before lashing out.
}) (9. O-O $142 {is unpretentious and probably stronger than the text. I knew
that simple development with} Be7 {wouldn't cut it for Black, but we should
check this first - White's setup isn't as innocuous as it looks.} (9... Nb6 {
was the move I feared, but this is why White should castle kingside - after}
10. Bd3 Nbd5 11. Nxd5 cxd5 12. Rac1 $16 {White will follow up with c2-c4,
catching the black queen in the open and reaching a sort of Panov-Botvinnik
position several tempi ahead.}) (9... b5 {is also less effective than in the
game.} 10. Bd3 b4 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Nf6 13. Qh4 {Black has no counterplay
in this version with my king safely tucked away on g1. Here too, completing
development is a struggle, for example} Be7 14. Rfe1 $16 O-O $2 15. Bg5 {
and h7 will fall, for} h6 16. Bxh6 gxh6 17. Qxh6 {gives White a winning attack
with Re5-g5.}) 10. Rfe1 $16 {White has a big advantage here because the
situation is transformed over the 9. Bxe6? line - now if} O-O $2 11. Bxe6 $1 {
wins a pawn, as} fxe6 12. Qxe6+ Rf7 13. Ng5 {and Black collapses.} Ne5 14. Qxe5
$18 {I was able to find all of this at the board, since I remembered analysing
a similar variation in the notes to Young-C. Summerscale, 4NCL 2016.}) 9... b5
$1 $146 {Horlock played this very quickly, and indeed why not hit the bishop
with gain of tempo? I was surprised to discover that in 10 previous games this
was never played - but the move needs to be followed up correctly. This move
is strong because it destabilises my queenside pieces, not as the prelude to
an attack.} 10. Bb3 {(56) Riskier than 10. Bd3, since it only seems to egg
Black on, but I wanted to keep the pieces on and give Horlock more chances to
go wrong.} (10. Bd3 $144 {makes the right path for Black more obvious. He can
simplify with} b4 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Nf6 $11 {, and has now diluted both
his cramp and White's attacking chances. Importantly, if} 13. Qh4 a5 {Black
gains counterplay on the queenside. Compare this with the 9. O-O b5 variation
above.}) 10... a5 $2 {(1:05) Accepting the dare! Chasing the bishop is
tempting when it involves throwing pawns towards my king, but with White so
far ahead in development giving him even a single tempo has far-reaching
consequences and had to be considered carefully. Sadly for Horlock, he played
this instantly and is now caught on the rebound as White seizes back the
initiative.} (10... b4 $142 {is still the right way to go. After} 11. Na4 (11.
Ne4 {sets no problems -} Nxe4 12. Qxe4 Nf6 13. Qh4 Be7 14. Bf4 Qd8 $11 {
followed by ...Nd5 gives Black a solid position in which his queenside
possibilities haven't gone anywhere.}) 11... Bd6 {, the game is still full of
life following} 12. g4 $5 $11 {, however Black's chances can only have been
improved by driving the a4 knight to the edge of the board, and he also has a
base for his pieces on d5.}) 11. d5 $1 {All in accordance with ancient
principles: Black launches a premature flank attack without developing his
pieces, and so White strikes out in the centre to open lines.} Nc5 (11... a4
$143 $4 {Black is too late to trap the bishop -} 12. dxe6 axb3 13. exd7+ {
is a double check, so Black has to take with the king and allow} Kxd7 14. Bf4+
$18) (11... cxd5 $6 12. Bxd5 Nxd5 $6 {gives White yet another tempo, which
soon proves too much:} (12... Rb8 {is the best try, however} 13. Nxb5 Rxb5 14.
Bxe6 $1 {should be a winning zwischenzug, as if the rook retreats then White
wins with Bxd7++ and Bxa5+.} fxe6 15. Qxb5 $18 {Black's centre is wrecked and
he remains behind in development with a weakling on e6.}) 13. Nxd5 Qc6 14. Bf4
{, targeting c7 as in the game. The initiative just keeps rolling, as} Ra7 15.
Qe4 $18 {now threatens Nf6+, and} Bb7 16. Qd4 {threatens Nc7+ if the hanging
rook moves, so Black loses material.} Qxd5 17. Qxa7) 12. dxc6 {There's no
longer any point being sharp for the sake of it, so I chose to capture this
way, undermining the base of Black's queenside pawn chain. (12. dxe6 is also
good though.) Now he can only choose between losing a pawn on b5 or, as in the
game, giving me a crushing initiative to cling onto it.} Nxb3+ $6 {This too
was played straight away - it feels good to simplify when under attack, after
all. But the bishop wasn't contributing much and the knight will certainly be
missed from the queenside...} (12... a4 {is met simply by} 13. Nxb5 Qxc6 14.
Bc4 $16 {, when White rescues his bishop and has won a pawn into the bargain})
(12... Be7 $142 {is relatively best, so that} 13. Nxb5 Qxc6 14. Bc4 O-O {
at least lets him get castled and play a game. Nevertheless,} 15. Nfd4 $16 {
offers White pawn odds as well as an initiative.}) 13. axb3 b4 $2 {Black can
hardly be blamed for trying this since the objectively better 13... Be7 is
clearly hopeless. However, White's initiative is far too strong for him to get
away with this luxury.} 14. Nb5 $18 Qxc6 {So far, so good then. After all the
finesse of the flank openings, I was enjoying the change of pace and already
have a winning position - when I reached this point in my calculations I
didn't deem it necessary to look any further. But why did I choose to invest
my valuable annotation time on what is looking like a one-sided crush? Because
my play in the second half of the game exhibits some ghosts from the past:
effortlessly building winning positions through better understanding of
dynamics is one of my greatest strengths, but my execution of those positions
has often been less convincing.} 15. Bf4 $6 {(25) Activating the bishop,
discovering a rook onto the d-file and threatening Nc7+. I played this move
after 17 minutes: there were a lot of options! However, it's more natural to
gain a tempo on the enemy queen and it also turns out to be stronger.} (15.
Nfd4 {was my other candidate. I expected} Qb6 {and avoided this on account of}
(15... Qe4 {does not work because of} 16. Nc7+ Kd8 17. Qxe4 Nxe4 18. Nxa8 Nxf2
$18 {and White will emerge a piece ahead.}) 16. Bf4 Nd5 {but overlooked} (16...
Ba6 17. Qe5 $18 {transposes to the 15... Ba6 variation below.}) 17. Nxe6 $1 {
to exploit the pin along the e-file.} Bxe6 18. Rxd5 $18) (15. Ne5 $142 {
was strongest of all though, winning quite directly:} Qb6 (15... Qc5 {allows
the spectacular} 16. Be3 $3 Qxe5 17. Qc4 $18 {with the unstoppable threats of
Qc6+ and Nc7+}) 16. Be3 Qb7 (16... Bc5 17. Nd6+ $18 {Needless to say, all the
tactics favour White since he been developing efficiently.}) 17. Qc4 $18 {
The invaders are swarming all over Black's queenside, and he is never going to
get out of the opening alive.}) 15... Nd5 $4 {(50) A tactical oversight which
effectively ends the game as a contest, although I managed to prolong it a
little longer by getting my pieces tangled up. This was the defence my move
order was designed to prevent; I was expecting 15... Ba6, and once again my
calculation was disappointing.} (15... Ba6 $142 16. Nfd4 Qb6 {16... Bxb5 fails,
so this much was easy to find. I couldn't see a haymaker here, but among
multiple good moves the easiest is also the most elegant -} (16... Bxb5 17.
Nxb5 $18 {wins material on account of} Rc8 $2 18. Na7) 17. Qe5 {, getting out
of the pin and piling up on the c7 square. I saw this move, but not that} Nd5 {
loses to the now-familiar combination} (17... Rc8 {meets an equally violent
fate -} 18. Nxe6 $1 {(I didn't need to look for this, since 18. Nc7+ wins the
exchange, but in analysis we can have some fun and this is much stronger)} Qxe6
(18... fxe6 19. Nd6+ Bxd6 20. Qxe6+ $18 {is a decisive intermezzo}) 19. Nc7+
Rxc7 20. Qxc7 $18 {, and the impending arrival of White's final piece spells
the end for Black's scattered forces.} Be7 21. Rhe1 Nd5 22. Qxa5) 18. Nxe6 $1
fxe6 19. Rxd5 $18 {, winning a pawn and retaining an overwhelming lead in
development.}) 16. Rxd5 {One of our lower-team players was very impressed by
this move and raved about it to me afterwards, but of course the key variation
is only one move deep (16... Qxd5 17. Nc7+). A reminder to keep a sense of
perspective when contemplating our tactical inferiority in the face of the
silicon overlords, I suppose.} Ba6 {The only chance, but White just needs to
tidy up his loose pieces and Black can resign. I was sure there should be an
easy way to do it, but failed to find anything natural and had to resort to
the artificial} 17. Rg5 $6 {. Of course, White can do better than this.} (17.
Nfd4 $142 $1 {does the trick. I looked at this, but after} Qxd5 18. Nc7+ Kd7 {
I missed the quiet move} 19. Qd2 $1 {when everything remains hanging and
Black's king is stranded in the open, so his temporary material advantage has
no relevance.} (19. Nxd5 $2 $18 {should actually win too, but I added to the
catalogue of oversights here:} Bxe2 20. Nb6+ {passed me by, winning a piece.}
Ke8 21. Nxa8 {Stockfish is obviously aghast at trading down into an ending,
but if I'd calculated this accurately I would have headed for it without
hesitation.})) 17... Be7 18. Nfd4 Qb6 19. Rg3 $6 {Missing yet another forced
win, though admittedly the damage is mainly to have missed out on some pretty
variations.} (19. Nxe6 $142 $3 {Since Black's queen is still tormented by Nc7+
threats. With that defence ruled out, his kingside is ripped open and Black
can't last long.} fxe6 (19... Bxg5 {Allowing a discovered check can't be good:}
20. Nxg5+ Kf8 21. Re1 Qd8 22. Ne6+ $1 fxe6 23. Qxe6 $18 {followed by Bd6+
(illustrating the power of opposite bishops in the middlegame).}) (19... Bxb5 {
merely loses material to} 20. Nxg7+ Kf8 21. Rxb5 $18) 20. Rxg7 {Removing
Black's defence of the e8-h5 diagonal. Neither of the captures on b5 work:}
Qxb5 (20... Bxb5 {loses the other bishop to} 21. Qh5+ Kd8 22. Rd1+ Kc8 23. Rxe7
$18 {, with mate in eleven.}) 21. Qxe6 Qd7 22. Qf7+ Kd8 23. Rg8+ Rxg8 24. Qxg8+
Qe8 25. Rd1+ $18 {, winning the queen. It's a shame to have missed these lines,
but I don't think I could seriously expect myself to see them to the end -
when down to the last 10 minutes, efficiency is the name of the game.}) 19...
O-O {The computer will tell you that Black should simplify with 19... Qxd4,
but owing to my time trouble that was just what I was hoping for - Black would
be a piece down for nothing at the end of the line. With the move played,
Black finally completes his development, but his pieces are far away from his
king and it's time to move in for the kill.} 20. Qe5 {(4)} f6 {(24)} 21. Qc7 {
More ambitious than my original intention, which was to return a little
material to simplify - there was no need to do that but nevertheless 21. Qxe6+
as planned was at least as good.} (21. Qxe6+ $144 Qxe6 22. Nxe6 Bxb5 {I had 23.
Nxf8 in reserve at the end of the line when visualising it on move 20,
emerging an exchange and pawn to the good, but if it had landed on the board I
would presumably have noticed} 23. Rxg7+ Kh8 24. Rxe7 $18 {with a piece and
two pawns in the bank instead.}) 21... Qc5 $2 {Black's refusal to simplify
results in the game ending with a burst of one-sided tactics.} 22. Rxg7+ $1 Kh8
(22... Kxg7 23. Nxe6+ $18) 23. Rxe7 {(I stopped recording)} Qxc7 24. Nxc7 Ra7
25. Nc6 Rxc7 26. Bxc7 e5 27. Rd1 {, and at last Black resigned. I was able to
bounce back from the disappointment against Barlow a few days earlier, and
Epsom won 6.5-0.5. Ultimately I just overpowered my opponent, but the
conversion still left a lot to be desired - no matter how overwhelming a
positional advantage, it will always be necessary to resort to calculation
sooner or later, and this remains one of the shakier areas of my game.} 1-0
Mission accomplished then - Epsom won this match, as well as our last one against Streatham, convincingly, so I was a runner-up in two divisions! For myself, the first game after a loss is always an important one, lest I convince myself I'm on a bad run of form which always becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Hopefully the notes show that there is some value in analysing even very one-sided victories; there is something to learn from every game. In this case, I understood the position better - specifically that even in a solid position one can't keep wasting time when the other side is far ahead in development - and got a winning position within 14 moves. But I missed win after win for the rest of the game, showing that my old illness still persists even if the quieter openings have masked it to an extent. I was totally blind to the Nxe6! resource that crops up in many variations, and I'm frustrated by how much I missed on moves 15 and 17 despite investing a lot of time in them both. On this occasion I had a lot of margin for error, but obviously that isn't always the case.
Next time we will pick up the action at the March 4NCL weekend, and a hard-fought struggle that proved a major shot in the arm.
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