Staggering to the finish

And so onto the final, ninth, round of the Kingston Invitational. After five days of battles I was far from the only one walking wounded, and though my theoretical draw in the morning had been a welcome relief I was still carrying seven tough games against tough players on my back. I can't particularly boast about this however, as my final opponent, 2127-rated Billy Fellowes, had played over 250 moves in round seven and then a long ending in round eight.

Whether because of his lower rating than my other opponents, an end-of-term feeling or a second wind upon returning to the fray, I was out to have some fun in this game and resolved that I wouldn't get it in another d3 Italian. The Sicilian has become a rare guest in my Black games this year, but first loves are ever the strongest, and this time I even got to play an Open Sicilian structure. I still felt at home, and made all the running in this game, but in the end it was simply played at the wrong end of the event:

[Event "Kingston Invitational"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.08.16"] [Round "9.18"] [White "Fellowes, Billy"] [Black "Young, Daniel J"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B53"] [WhiteElo "2127"] [BlackElo "2017"] [Annotator "Young,Daniel J"] [PlyCount "108"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.08.18"] {At last, the finish line was in sight. After a morning off I was raring to go for this one; my opponent, meanwhile, had lost a 250+ move marathon in round 7. Impressively he then followed that up by grinding out a rook ending, but how much did he have left in the tank?} 1. e4 {(1:30)} c5 {(1:30) I think it's a mistake to pigeonhole oneself and say, for example, "I'm a 1... e5 player; I have to play 1... e5." I don't plan to put my Sicilian experience to waste and am still using my old favourite sparingly. Nowadays it's largely reserved for must-win games, but in this case I saw his previous White games had been King's Indian Attacks save for a d3 Italian, and preferred to face the former.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 {Of course, I don't have a monopoly on opening surprises, but at least this was still familiar ground for me! Anyway it soon turns out that my opponent still wanted to avoid a major theoretical discussion.} cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 {Here I was braced for a Maroczy Bind after 6. Qd3 (e.g. Burton-Young, Major Open 2023), so} 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 7. Nc3 {came as something of a relief; this is an old-fashioned way of playing the position. White is banking on piece play supported by a lead in development, but Black is solid and has considerable long-term assets in the shape of a central pawn majority, the bishop pair and access to the half-open c-file. In a practical sense, I also felt very comfortable in an Open Sicilian structure.} Nf6 8. Bg5 e6 {Black has to accept a Scheveningen structure, since either ...e5 or ...g6 would be well met by Bxf6. This does weaken the d-pawn, however White can usually only win it by trading off his remaining bishop on f6: a risky decision in conjunction with his third move.} 9. O-O-O Be7 10. Kb1 $6 {(1:30) The main move is 10. Rhe1, which I faced in Lopez Gomez-Young, Gatwick 2016 - one of my best games. I've often wondered why White bothers centralising that rook when his chances in an Open Sicilian lie on the kingside. The next variation will provide part of the answer, though also White can try to force an early crisis with a quick e4-e5 that way.} O-O {(1:32)} 11. Qd3 {A thematic manouevre in this line, preparing his next move... which turns out to be tactically unsound. To me it also raises the obvious question of why White didn't just recapture on d4 with his knight in the first place.} Rc8 12. Nd4 $6 {This very obvious move was played instantly, but has the important defect of leaving White's bishop unguarded. Therefore White should have played the preparatory 12. Rhe1, and only then 13. Nd4.} Bd7 $2 {A perfectly logical move in strategic terms, preserving the bishop pair, activating the c8 rook and preparing to attack with ...a6 and ...b5. But tactically it is a lot less impressive: having done nothing but play natural developing moves, I could already have won a pawn here.} (12... Nxe4 $142 $1 {Sadly I have to admit that I never considered this option, although it does crop up very occasionally in Sicilian positions. The geometry of the position is very unfortunate for White; this combination only works because his bishop is hanging twice over on the h4-d8 diagonal, and because his 10th move means that} 13. Bxe7 Nxc3+ {is check.} 14. Qxc3 Qxe7 $17 {I've never had such inconsistent tactical vision within a single tournament: when I was on, I was really on, but when I was off...}) 13. f4 a6 14. Nf3 Bc6 (14... b5 $143 $2 {The move played gives White a chance to repeat, but pacifism didn't come into it; it's simply that Black has to clear the d-file. For example this move, or equally 14... Qc7, allows White to break through in the centre with} 15. e5 {, the point being} dxe5 16. Bxf6 {removing the guard of d7.} Bxf6 17. fxe5 $18) 15. Nd4 {(1:23)} Bd7 {(1:19)} 16. h4 {I would have had to repeat if that was what Fellowes really wanted, as the requirement to play good moves trumps macho considerations, but I was sure that as White with a rating plus he would keep playing.} b5 $6 {This natural expansion is a bit too slow. Black has an unstereotyped chance to make use of the hole created by White's previous move.} (16... Ng4 $142 {This knight can't easily be gotten rid of, since White has surrendered his light-squared bishop and the threat of ...Nf2 ensures that Black has time to anchor it with ...h5.} 17. Bxe7 (17. Qg3 h5 18. f5 {becomes very sharp after the stock sacrifice} Rxc3 $1 19. bxc3 {(immediately returning the exchange by taking with the queen can be considered)} e5 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Nb3 Rc8 22. Rh3 Bc6 $44 {: White's crumpled queenside, the weakness of e4 and the unassailable knight on g4 ensure Black ample compensation for the exchange, as White's attack has ground to a halt.}) 17... Qxe7 18. Rhf1 h5 19. Nf3 {Defending h4 and restoring the pressure on d6. Here Stockfish suggests that Black has several good moves, but to me the most 'on brand' Sicilian move is to ignore the d-pawn and activate the pieces with} Bc6 20. Qxd6 Qf6 {when Black gains counterplay on the d-file, for instance} 21. Qd2 Rfd8 22. Nd4 b5 $44 {, and White's extra pawn is hardly felt in the middlegame.}) 17. f5 $2 {Likewise, even though this move too is a typical way for White to get to grips with his opponent's pawn centre, it isn't incisive enough and Black can now bid for the initiative. The blunter 17. e5 is the way to go in this case.} (17. e5 $142 {I believed I could get away with allowing this whilst the d-file is obstructed by White's knight, however my position could have become very passive after} dxe5 18. fxe5 Ng4 (18... Nd5 $143 $6 {was my intention from memory, but} 19. Ne4 $16 {menaces Nd6 and leaves Black struggling to create any threats of his own as the enemy pieces start to gather near his king. It is more important to aim for counterplay against the e5 pawn, even at the cost of decentralising my knight.}) 19. Qg3 h5 {Black has at least won time to seal up the kingside with this now-familiar idea, though} 20. Ne4 Qe8 21. Rhf1 $14 {looks very hazardous to me despite the engine's relatively modest evaluation: all of White's pieces are active, ...h5 has compromised the position of the black king and I would be doomed to reactive defence.}) 17... b4 {Pushing White's knight away from the centre with tempo was obvious, but after} 18. Nce2 {I had a more difficult decision to make: Black needs to break out in the centre or he will be squashed, but with which pawn?} d5 $2 {Played after 12 minutes, this is the more ambitious move. If Black is doing really well in an Open Sicilian then ...d5 is usually the move to crown his play, because severing the link between White's kingside and his centre (the e4 pawn) is like pulling the rug out from under his feet. Unfortunately I overestimated my position in this case; White still has resources to fight this move, so I should have begun with the e-pawn instead.} (18... e5 $142 19. Nb3 {is a necessary retreat, however the knight is merely a target for the black a-pawn here.} (19. Nf3 $2 Bb5 20. Qe3 {was what I found more offputting, keeping pieces on the kingside and with ideas of Bxf6 which would now additionally bare the hole on d5. However, I retained a blind spot for} Ng4 $19 {, simply overloading White's queen which can't keep the e2 knight guarded whilst also preventing the fork on f2.}) (19. Bxf6 Bxf6 20. Nf3 {is a better try but runs into the brilliant} d5 $3 {sacrificing the d-pawn to deflect White's queen from the defence of c2 and thereby gaining time for the attack.} 21. Qxd5 Qc7 22. Qb3 a5 $17) 19... Bb5 20. Qf3 a5 $17 {A good example of why I retain a liking for the Boleslavsky structure: Black is so active that White has no time to organise play against the nominally weak d5 square, and having a king in the crosshairs doesn't hurt either.}) 19. Ng3 $2 {"Playing White in the Sicilian is like riding a bicycle. You have to keep moving forward, otherwise you fall off." (Short) He cannot afford to miss a chance of fighting for the initiative in such a cut-throat position!} (19. e5 $142 {I thought I could afford to allow this move, since} Ne4 {is a good square for the knight and it threatens to win the exchange with ...Nf2, but White has powerful threats after} 20. Nf4 $1 {, simply ignoring Black's demonstration.} (20. f6 $143 $2 {is the more obvious attempt at forcing events, though whilst it's true that} gxf6 21. exf6 Bxf6 22. Ng3 Bxg5 23. hxg5 Nxg5 24. Nf3 f5 $15 {offers White good play for a pawn in view of Black's airy kingside, he is two pawns down...}) 20... Nf2 {The principled move leaves Black in a miserable position after} (20... Qe8 $142 {Computer defence, for whatever it's worth, follows the long forcing sequence} 21. fxe6 fxe6 22. Ndxe6 Nf2 23. Qxd5 Bc6 $8 24. Qd4 Nxd1 25. Bxe7 Qxe7 26. Nxf8 Ba4 27. Qd5+ Qf7 28. Qxf7+ Kxf7 29. b3 Nc3+ 30. Kb2 Kxf8 31. bxa4 $16 {, when, in a curious inversion of the 20. f6? line above, White's pawns may be shaky but they are at least still on the board, which is more than Black can say.}) 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. f6 Nxd3 (22... gxf6 23. Qg3+ Kh8 24. Nh5 $1 $18 {wins a piece}) 23. fxe7 Nxf4 24. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 25. g4 $16 {Even though Black has a pawn for the exchange, and there is a world in which e5 becomes weak, his bishop is now restricted by the central pawns and he is being squeezed on the kingside.}) 19... dxe4 $6 {Systematically breaking up White's centre, which isn't bad. However Black can do even better by pushing past.} (19... e5 $142 20. Nf3 {I overlooked the finesse} Ba4 {, gaining a tempo against c2. Then if} 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 {(21... Bxc2+ is also good, but this is simplest)} 22. Rc1 d4 $17 {when the usual attack with ...Bb5 and ...a5-a4 looms.}) 20. Nxe4 {(1:10)} e5 {(52)} 21. Nb3 $6 {White hastens to get bodies in front of his king, but as in lines considered above the knight is just a red rag to my a-pawn here. 21. Nf3 was safer.} Bb5 $6 {I believed this to be necessary to avoid being caught in a pin on the d-file, though in fact Black can trade on e4, thereby avoiding 23. Nxf6+ below.} (21... Nxe4 $142 22. Qxe4 {Since} f6 {attacks the bishop, Black doesn't need to fear} 23. Qd5+ Rf7 24. Qxd7 {, as} Qxd7 25. Rxd7 fxg5 26. h5 Rc4 $17 {spells trouble for White's kingside. It often happens in the Sicilian that if his attack is snuffed out, only weaknesses are left behind. For that reason, he correctly avoids the trade of queens on the next move.}) 22. Qe3 Qc7 23. Rc1 $2 {See the note to White's 19th move!} (23. Nxf6+ $142 {prevents the knight joining the queenside party as in the game.} Bxf6 (23... gxf6 {Fellowes might have rejected the capture on f6 because this creates a double attack on g5 and c2, but after} 24. Bh6 Qxc2+ 25. Ka1 {White threatens mate with 26. Qg3+, so Black has to instead give up the exchange with} Qxf5 26. g4 Qe6 27. Bxf8 Kxf8 $44 {Black has adequate compensation with the bishop pair and two pawns, however his task is complicated by his damaged king position.}) 24. Rc1 (24. Bxf6 $143 $2 {White has no threats if his bishop is exchanged, so this time Black can afford the time for} Qxc2+ 25. Ka1 gxf6 26. g4 Rfd8 $19 {with an extra pawn and a big positional advantage in light of his control of the open files.}) 24... Bd8 $1 {The best way to resolve the tension. Black now threatens to drive the bishop back and seal the kingside with ...f6, so White has no better than to develop Black's f8 rook for him.} 25. Bxd8 Rfxd8 26. h5 {This allows White to at least open some lines, however} f6 27. h6 g5 28. fxg6 hxg6 29. h7+ Kh8 $15 {favours Black because his kingside pawn roller will be an asset in the endgame whilst White's knight and c1 rook are passively placed.}) 23... Nd5 24. Qf3 f6 25. Bd2 {(58)} Rfd8 $17 {(40) Beyond merely developing the final piece, this is a good controlling move, preventing the discovered attack that would follow after, for example, 25... a5?! 26. Ng5. With a grip on the centre and White's pieces drifting into passivity, Black's advantage borders on decisive.} 26. g4 a5 27. g5 a4 28. Na1 Qb6 {Lining up on the same file as White's king, so that ...Nc3+ ideas start to crop up, and also taking aim at the ill-defended b2 square.} 29. Rhg1 {White is out of time, and I felt that this should be the moment to strike. Unfortunately it was here that things started to go wrong again. I'd originally intended to play 29... Qd4, with the idea of 30... a3, but in my excitement, exacerbated by slight time trouble, I managed to flip the move order and involuntarily started with} a3 $6 {, which was very annoying after 7 minutes' thought! The move played is not bad, but it releases the cornered knight from its prison prematurely.} (29... Qd4 $142 {would indeed likely have won in short order, and I was all the more frustrated when Fellowes suggested 30. c3 in the postmortem, which I'd already seen loses instantly to 30... Bd3+. Stockfish tries} 30. Rce1 {to clear the c1 square for his bishop to defend b2, when the most incisive is} b3 $1 {(30... a3 as originally planned is also strong)} 31. gxf6 (31. axb3 a3 $1 {forces all the lines open, after which} 32. bxa3 Bxa3 $19 {crashes on the dark squares - if} 33. Bc1 Bxc1 34. Rxc1 Ra8 {mates thanks to the trapped knight in the corner.}) 31... Nxf6 32. Qg2 bxa2+ 33. Kxa2 {Now the engine comes up with a peculiar way to shut down the last remnants of White's counterplay on the kingside,} g6 $1 34. fxg6 h5 35. Nxf6+ Bxf6 {, after which the g-file remains closed and the white king's position is hopeless.} 36. Bc1 Bc4+ 37. Kb1 a3 $19) 30. bxa3 {(40)} Nc3+ $6 {(17) Now Black is getting really carried away - this pawn sacrifice to open more lines is logical but far from necessary.} (30... bxa3 $142 {I didn't like that this allowed} 31. Nb3 {, when the knight is hard to dislodge and 32. Ba5 is threatened. That one-move threat is easily sidestepped though, and} Rd7 $17 {leaves Black well in command. The b3 knight is heroically sealing the b-file, but cannot do anything active. Without counterplay, White's king will remain suspiciously placed.}) 31. Bxc3 bxc3 32. Nb3 Qa6 $6 {Typically direct, going straight for the a3 pawn. This shouldn't work as planned though because my king needs to clear off the g-file (32... Kh8) first of all.} 33. Nxc3 $6 {Now my idea is justified. Black regains the initiative, and with two strong bishops as well as the questionable state of White's king, the material deficit is of no real importance.} (33. gxf6 $142 Bxf6 34. Nxf6+ Qxf6 35. Rg3 $15 {shows why the king should have gotten out of the pin first - Black's queen has been relegated to blockading the f-pawn, making it harder to exploit the weaknesses on White's queenside.}) 33... Bc6 34. Qe3 Qxa3 35. Rcd1 {(31)} Qb4 $6 {(9) This is not the right moment to recentralise the queen. To keep White's counterplay under control it is more helpful to maintain the pressure on a2.} (35... Rf8 $142 $1 {Paradoxically the safest route to the goal is to abandon the open file. Then White apparently has nothing better than} 36. gxf6 (36. Nd5 $143 $2 {The point of Black's play is that this raid loses to} Bxd5 37. Rxd5 Ra8 {, and White can't defend a2 since his knight is pinned.}) (36. Rg3 {Slower moves can be met by} Kh8 {, and only when Black is fully prepared will his queen step back into the centre.} 37. Rf1 Qb4 $19) 36... Bxf6 37. Qc5 {(or 37. h5 e4! showcases the power of Black's bishops)} Qxc5 38. Nxc5 Bxh4 $17 {, leaving Black with good winning chances in view of his bishop pair and outside passed pawn.}) 36. Rxd8+ Rxd8 37. Rd1 $2 {White is even willing to give up his material advantage to simplify, but this should have led to a lost ending.} (37. g6 $142 h6 38. h5 $15 {is much more resilient: now Black's king is boxed in and he can't easily get at the White pawns without allowing counterplay, for example} Qh4 $4 39. Qb6 Rd6 40. Qb8+ Bf8 41. Qc7 {and Black lacks a good answer to the threat of Qf7+.}) 37... Rxd1+ 38. Nxd1 Qxh4 39. gxf6 Qxf6 {Just as in the 35... Rf8 variation above, once White's g-pawn is exchanged and the position starts to simplify, it tends in Black's favour. The bishop pair is at its strongest in the endgame, and they can easily deal with a runaway a-pawn whereas the h-pawn is a different matter for White.} 40. Qd3 {(24)} h6 $6 {(8) Not adjusting to the new situation: I was still treating this as a middlegame and so played this modest move primarily to give my king luft. However, in the endgame, passed pawns must be pushed, and so the h-pawn should have advanced two squares. I realised this a move later, but I couldn't have the lost tempo back...} 41. Ne3 h5 $2 {... and this is terribly careless, overlooking White's one active idea. Here, and on the next move when White undeservedly gives me a reprieve, I should have taken control of the d-file with 41... Qd6 when the position should still be winning despite my loss of time.} 42. a4 $2 h4 $2 43. Nd5 {Better late than never! Black has to unwillingly part with the more active of his bishops, which allows the a-pawn to become a truly significant factor.} Bxd5 $8 {Black can even lose if he is careless: 43... Qf7?? 44. Nxe7+ Qxe7 45. Qc4+.} 44. Qxd5+ Kh7 45. Qf3 $2 {(21) Both sides are wasteful with tempi! White is aiming for h5 but gives me a final chance to win the game.} (45. a5 $142 {simply pushing the a-pawn is the way to draw, as Black can only stop it with his queen.} Qxf5 46. Qh1 Qf6 47. Qb7 h3 48. Qh1 Qh6 {Now White has the diversionary} 49. a6 Qxa6 50. Qxh3+ $11 {and Black's king won't be able to escape the checks. In principle, this is also White's salvation in the game continuation, but not without me missing a big chance along the way.}) 45... Qg5 $2 {(7)} (45... e4 $142 $1 {disrupts White's guard of the h-pawn long enough for it to break through. I didn't consider it at this point since I was fixated on stopping} 46. Qh5+ {, but whilst my queen and bishop are in attendance there is no perpetual.} (46. Qxe4 $6 {loses quickly to} h3 47. Qg4 h2 48. Qh5+ Qh6 $19 {and the h-pawn promotes}) 46... Kg8 47. Qe8+ Qf8 48. Qb5 {In this way White can restore his queen to the defence, however his knight is too slow to stop the h-pawn. On} h3 49. Qc4+ Qf7 50. Qxe4 h2 51. Nd2 Bf6 52. Nf1 {Black has} Qh5 $19 {, threatening not only ...h1=Q but also ...Qd1+ winning the knight.}) 46. a5 Bf6 47. a6 {Now I am actually forced to find} e4 $8 {to save the game: I was seeing all the right ideas in this game, but never at the right time! By giving up a pawn I can get my h-pawn back ahead in the race, so that White must give a perpetual after all.} 48. Qxe4 h3 49. Qe2 Qg1+ 50. Ka2 {(21)} h2 {(2)} 51. Qh5+ Kg8 52. Qe8+ Kh7 53. Qh5+ Kg8 54. Qe8+ Kh7 {A head-spinning game. I understood the position a lot better than my opponent, but squandered too many chances. So I finished the tournament on 3.5/9 and a 2135 performance, which I would have taken beforehand but was slightly disappointing given what might have been.} 1/2-1/2

This was a weird game, and even the post mortem was unusual since I did most of the talking. I left it feeling that I'd understood the position a lot better, but once it came down to calculation he saved himself rather effortlessly. Maybe not surprising since I've been playing these positions since before he was born...

Compelling White to take positive action is a major draw to the Open Sicilians, and this game is a good demonstration that if he tarries Black can quickly take over. 17. f5?, 19. Ng3? and 23. Rc1? were all too passive, and I was able to take the initiative merely by playing natural moves. The position after 28. Na1 looks simply tragic for White. However, I failed to win this game because of too many oversights, starting as early as move 12 when I failed to imagine that a ...Nxe4 combination might actually work. 18... d5 was a miscalculation, since 19. e5 Ne4 20. Nf4! could have changed the narrative completely. 41... h5? could easily have been avoided if I hadn't rushed and instead considered White's only possible counterplay. Most painful of all was 29... a3?!: not that bad a move, but I'd always intended to play 29... Qd4 which proves to be much stronger. All told it was an exciting but deeply flawed game.

How do I sum up the Kingston Invitational? I'm glad I was able to play - it was a slickly-run event, there were doughnuts for everyone and it is a fantastic learning opportunity to face stronger opponents in every single round. I won a couple of good games, and it is always nice to beat 2200+ players. Nevertheless I find myself in the unfamiliar territory of being a bit disappointed with a 2135 performance, as it could and should have been even better. I really ought to have claimed two further wins against Large and Fellowes, and lost control of very pleasant positions against Liu and Banerjee. I took too long getting up to speed, and failed to maintain the high level I displayed mid-tournament until the end. My preparation worked better than expected considering the double-round timetable, and my best play was of a high standard, but silly mistakes cost me at too many moments.

For the time being, this remains the most recent serious game I've played, although I did enter two of the UK Blitz Championship qualifiers and had broadly on-par results. There will hopefully be more games to come though, as I'm continuing to represent Surrey in county chess and I've also shouldered the burden of running an Epsom 4NCL team. Before all that though, it is high time to review 2023-24 in numbers.