Diamonds in the rough

When I promised a post dedicated to some rapidplay games, I'd conceptualised a longer offering than the one I am now typing. This hasn't been for a lack of material, and I still take the trouble to reconstruct all of my rapid games afterwards, but the truth is that my successes at this time limit are increasingly few and far between. In the last 18 months I've lost 130 points from my rapid rating, and it has been over a year since I beat someone rated over 2000 in this format. In brief, I'm prone to gross oversights and I'm pathologically incapable of playing in the quiet, dull style that might mask it.

The Kingston Invitational last month was a competitive disappointment but produced a lot of exciting games (I suspect those observations are not unrelated) which I'd like to get onto, so I will settle for showing two of the nicer wins. The failures will come soon enough!

To get even that many games I have to go all the way back to February 2024, and a rapidplay tournament in Cheam. I was playing Henry Adams (1991), who I drew a topsy-turvy game against in the last round of the 2022 Major Open. Since then his standardplay rating has cleared 2200 and he has drawn a game with his Grandmaster namesake, so I was pleased with this win even if he was clearly off colour. White concedes the initiative early on and tarries with his king in the centre for too long, which meets with drastic punishment:

[Event "Cheam Rapid Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2024.02.23"] [Round "4.5"] [White "Adams, Henry"] [Black "Young, Daniel J"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A31"] [WhiteElo "1991"] [BlackElo "2016"] [Annotator "Young,Daniel J"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2024.??.??"] [EventType "rapid"] [SourceVersionDate "2024.03.24"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 {I'm quite amenable to the Benko Gambit at a rapid time control and have had mostly good results with it. On this occasion, White ducks the challenge.} 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb3 $6 {White has already moved this knight three times, and limply retreating gives Black an easy time thanks to his resulting lead in development.} (5. Nb5 {is crucial, taking aim at d6. I would have played the gambit line} d5 6. cxd5 Bc5 {(not 6... Nxd5?? 7. Qxd5!), in which Black gets a useful grip with a later ...e4. The book continuation is} 7. N5c3 O-O 8. e3 (8. g3 {is preferred by modern engines; then} Qb6 9. e3 e4 10. Bg2 Bf5 11. O-O Nbd7 $44 {has scored acceptably for Black.}) 8... e4 9. Be2 Qe7 $44 {The d-pawn is cut off from the rest of the pawn chain and Black has comfortable squares for his pieces - this, as well as the slumbering white queenside, offer sufficient play for the gambit pawn. Black can continue calmly with ...Rd8, ...Bf5, ...Nbd7(-e5) etc.}) 5... d5 6. cxd5 Qxd5 {The only chance of fighting for an advantage - after 6... Nxd5?! 7. e4 White can trade queens on his terms and Black has nothing. Now the exchange would further activate the f6 knight, and the initiative is powerful in such positions even without queens - see for example Ther-Young, Online 4NCL 2020, and Lalic-Young, Wallington Club Ch. 2022. So White plays for more than a grovel... or less!} 7. Qc2 (7. Qxd5 Nxd5 {is still tricky for White owing to his underdeveloped queenside, for example} 8. e4 (8. a3 {takes control of b4, but then} Nc6 9. e3 Be6 $15 {threatens ...Nxe3, and Black's advantage in time becomes seriously alarming.}) 8... Nb4 9. Na3 N8c6 10. Be3 Be6 $15 {White has avoided an immediate calamity on c2, but his knights make an odd impression at a3 and b3.}) 7... Nc6 8. Nc3 Qe6 9. Bg5 Be7 {The simplest move, which however should give White just enough time to avoid the worst. 9... Nb4 was more energetic; it looks like a shot in the dark but the idea is to follow up with 10... Qf5 (even after 10. Qb1) attacking g5 as well as c2.} 10. e3 O-O 11. a3 {Personally, I would have played 11. Be2 without hesitation. The computer agrees with this optimistic move, preventing ...Nb4, but White needs to respect the risk that comes with delaying his development even further...} Rd8 12. h3 $4 {... and this is suicide! I'm not really sure what Adams sought to achieve with this move, but in any case he had no time for it and now runs into a tactical punishment for leaving his king in the centre too long.} (12. Rd1 $142 {would have drawn the sting of my next move, and after} Bd7 13. Bd3 g6 14. O-O Rac8 15. Nd2 $11 {, White has brought all of his pieces to sensible squares and the battle would have continued. In the game, however...}) 12... Nd4 $1 {The position already felt a bit Morra-esque to me, and this shot completes the picture. Owing to the loose knight on b3 (a direct consequence of his 11th move!) White is forced to open the e-file against his will.} 13. Nxd4 (13. exd4 {wins a piece only momentarily owing to} exd4+ 14. Be2 {(or 14. Ne2 d3)} dxc3 $19 {and Black will emerge with a material advantage, for example} 15. bxc3 {(15. Qxc3? Ne4 decides at once)} Qd5 16. h4 Bf5 17. Qb2 Qxg2 {with an extra pawn and the enemy forces in total disarray.}) 13... exd4 14. Nb5 dxe3 15. Bxe3 Nd5 {A good multi-purpose move, forcing further line-opening whilst attending to White's nuisance threat of Nc7.} 16. O-O-O {White can't defend e3 again without tangling himself up even further, so sensibly gives up a pawn to try and bail out. However, this plan is also destined to fail since his king is only marginally safer on the airy queenside than it was in the centre.} (16. Qe2 {would have still left short castling a far-off dream.} Qg6 17. Rd1 Nxe3 18. Rxd8+ Bxd8 {Now 19. Qxe3 Qb1+ wins the b-pawn, but} 19. fxe3 Bh4+ 20. Kd2 Bf5 $19 {and White will soon be filleted by the (developed!) enemy pieces.}) 16... Nxe3 17. Rxd8+ Bxd8 18. fxe3 Qxe3+ 19. Kb1 {Black now wins quickly, but even after the more resilient 19. Qd2 White's prospects would have been hopeless.} Qe1+ 20. Ka2 {(or 20. Qc1 Bf5+ wins)} Be6+ 21. b3 Bf6 {In an era when rook's pawns are thrown up the board with abandon in all sorts of positions, it's easy to forget that we were all taught not to waste time on a3 and h3 in the opening for good reason!} 0-1

Thirteen months later we are back in Cheam once again, this time for the Thorp Trophy, the Surrey CCA's rapidplay team competition. I wasn't much younger than the other three players in the Epsom first team put together! We came within a whisker of winning the tournament but were just pipped by a very strong Kingston side. For me the highlight was certainly this game against 1838-rated Paul Dupré. My pawn sacrifice wasn't quite correct but gave good practical compensation, which I exploited to the full with a textbook attacking display:

[Event "Thorp Trophy"] [Site "?"] [Date "2025.03.22"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Young, Daniel J"] [Black "Dupre, Paul D"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E17"] [WhiteElo "1935"] [BlackElo "1838"] [Annotator "Young,Daniel J"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2025.??.??"] [WhiteTeam "Epsom"] [BlackTeam "Chessington"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 b6 {Angling for a Queen's Indian or a Hedgehog. I happily transposed to the latter, albeit having played d2-d4 only after castling so as to circumvent any ...Bb4+ lines.} 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. d4 O-O {Now the traditional line is 7. Nc3 Ne4 leading to simplification - this has the reputation of being one of Black's steadiest defences to 1. d4. However, there is another path which is much more up my street:} 7. d5 $5 {, a gambit continuation brought to prominence by Polugaevsky in his 1980 Candidates match with Korchnoi, and introduced to a new generation by AlphaZero. White sacrifices a pawn but gums up the black queenside.} exd5 8. Nh4 {Now the knight can head for f5, and Black needs to resolve the pin on the long diagonal.} Ne4 $6 {This move hopes to bail out by returning the pawn, but it's second-rate since White should end up with a space advantage and little to oppose it. Apparently that wasn't enough for me though, and I decided to play for more...} (8... c6 $142 {is the usual move. Black keeps his share of the centre, but on the other hand his queenside pieces are frozen out of the game for some time. Another win of mine in this system continued} 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nf5 Na6 {(10... Nc7 is more common)} 11. e4 Nf6 12. Nc3 Nc7 13. e5 Nfe8 14. Qg4 Ne6 15. Ne4 $16 {White already has a big advantage with his pieces converging on the enemy king, but things got much worse for Black after the impulsive} d5 $2 16. exd6 Nxd6 17. Nexd6 Bxd6 18. Rd1 $18 {, winning a piece and soon the game in Young-Harris, Surrey League 2023.}) 9. Nf5 $2 {A knight on f5 is a fine piece, true, but not really worth rejecting a stable positional advantage for. Still, the game would have lost its instructional value if I'd played correctly here!} (9. cxd5 $142 {I was unenthused by} Bxh4 10. Bxe4 {, as I felt I'd only have to lose time dropping the bishop back sooner or later, but the d5 pawn is a big asset, cramping Black's whole queenside and particularly his light-squared bishop. And besides, Black too must lose time rescuing a wayward bishop.} Bf6 11. Qc2 h6 12. Nc3 $14) 9... dxc4 10. Nxg7 {The point of White's play, smoking out the black king and regaining one of the sacrificed pawns thanks to the Qd4+ fork.} Kxg7 11. Bxe4 d5 {It would have been safer to interpolate 11... Bxe4 12. Qd4+: the exchange of a pair of pieces would have eased Black's defence.} 12. Bg2 f5 $1 $15 {Bold, but not at all bad. It's important for Black to clamp down on the e2-e4 break, which would break up his centre and give White's queenside pieces easy access to the other flank. Up to this point then, my play hasn't been very successful. However, further weakening the black king's pawn shield gives him serious practical difficulties, and in showcasing this game I wanted to show how White approaches his gambit play in model fashion - even at a rapid time control. I do not lash out in a panic, but methodically develop all of my pieces and make my play only once it has been thoroughly prepared.} 13. Nc3 c6 14. Bf4 Nd7 15. Qd2 {Three moves ago White's army was largely asleep, but he is already starting to take over the initiative: now Black has to answer the threat of 16. Bh6+.} Rf6 $6 {An inventive way to include the rook in Black's defence, however White is able to take advantage of the self-pin. 15... Kg8, simply retreating the king to a safer position, was a sterner defence and probably leaves White without full compensation.} 16. Rad1 {Now, however, things are trickier for Black. His knight turns out to be a tactical liability: it's the only piece stopping Be5 so it can't move, but that means the d-pawn is pinned. By not neglecting the last piece sat in the corner, White is therefore able to achieve the impossible and play his central pawn break.} Qe8 $2 {I suspect that Black hadn't seen what was coming, otherwise he would have been very circumspect about placing his queen on the file that is about to become the main highway into his position.} (16... Bc8 $143 $4 {Trying to reinforce the knight proves to be even worse after} 17. Nxd5 $1 cxd5 18. Qxd5 {trapping the a8 rook - after} Ba6 19. Qxa8 Qxa8 20. Bxa8 $18 {Black is down an exchange and a pawn with a rabble of an army.}) (16... Rf7 {was sounder though, protecting the e7 bishop instead and so allowing Black to meet} 17. e4 fxe4 18. Nxe4 {with the simplifying} dxe4 19. Qxd7 Qxd7 20. Rxd7 {(in the game continuation both black bishops would now be en prise)} Bf6 21. Rfd1 Re8 22. h4 $44 {White's control of the open file, combined with Black's ungainly pawn structure, offer reasonable compensation, but at least Black isn't being mated any time soon.}) 17. e4 $1 {Both psychologically and objectively best. White is now able to get to grips with the short-staffed black kingside whilst the a8 rook and b7 bishop are out of the game.} fxe4 18. Nxe4 Rg6 19. Ng5 {Stockfish feels that 19. h4, including another unit in the attack, is stronger, but after} Bxg5 $2 {my decision is fully justified: now Black will be shredded on his exposed dark squares. 19... Qf8 was a better try, preventing White's desired 20. Rfe1 because of ...Bb4.} 20. Bxg5 Qe5 21. Bf4 Qf5 22. Rfe1 {Again methodically developing one more piece.} Rf8 23. Re7+ Rf7 $2 24. Rde1 $2 {Both sides missed that White could have forced the opening of the d-file here.} (24. Be4 $142 $1 {This leads to a total cave-in for Black on the seventh rank:} dxe4 25. Rxf7+ Qxf7 26. Qxd7 Ba6 27. Qd4+ Kg8 {Black's problem, fittingly, is the dark squares he gave away with his 19th move; after} 28. Qd8+ {, fleeing with 28... Kg7 leads to mate after 29. Be5+, and} Qf8 29. Qh4 $18 {carries the decisive threat of 30. Rd8.}) 24... Nc5 $6 {This is essentially the losing move, allowing White to take control of the e5 square. 24... Kg8 would have left White with a clear positional advantage thanks to his control of the e-file, his two bishops and his safer king, but there is no immediate forced win.} 25. Qd4+ {Centralising the queen is obvious and strong. It's not the only way to win though - Stockfish comes up with a spectacular alternative...} (25. Bh3 $144 $3 {What's this?! The idea is to deflect the queen away from the defence of f4, so that after} Qxh3 26. Be5+ Kf8 {, White has the glorious} (26... Rgf6 {loses trivially to} 27. Qg5+ Kf8 28. Rxf7+ Rxf7 29. Qd8#) 27. Bg7+ $3 {. This is hard to explain in words, but essentially Black is forced to seal off his own escape route. Let's look at the variations.} Kxg7 {is the most testing, and where the Bh3 deflection shows its worth: White can attack the pinned piece again with} (27... Rgxg7 28. Re8# {and}) (27... Rfxg7 28. Qf4+ $18 {are simple enough, but}) (27... Kg8 {is more complex.} 28. Rxf7 Kxf7 29. Qf4+ {As in the main line, this innocent-looking queen check is the key move, again leading to mate after} Kxg7 30. Re7+ Kg8 31. Re8+ Kg7 32. Qf8#) 28. Qf4 $1 Rgf6 29. Qg5+ {, and now White has renewed his control of e7 so can play} Rg6 30. Rxf7+ Kxf7 31. Qe7+ Kg8 32. Qd8+ {, and even though it might seem that Black can escape from the far-off queen, actually he is soon mated by} Kg7 33. Re7+ Kh6 34. Qf8+ Kg5 35. Qf4+ Kh5 36. Rxh7+ $18 {If I'd found all of this, the game might have taken its place in the pantheon of great finishes. However, a more likely outcome is that I would have been reported to the arbiter for using computer assistance.}) 25... Rgf6 {Black is willing to return the exchange to diminish the attacking force. Retreating from the check is not any better.} (25... Kg8 $144 26. Re8+ Rf8 {White's haymaker is} 27. R1e5 Qb1+ 28. Bf1 Nd7 {and now} (28... a5 {Black needs to reinforce f8 - if he plays a random move then} 29. Bh6 Rxh6 30. Qf4 $18 {is by now a familiar mating pattern}) 29. Bh6 $1 {, continuing to show a wilful disregard for his clergy.} Rxh6 30. Qg4+ Rg6 31. Qxd7 $18 {With Black's queen and bishop out of the game, and his king stripped of pawn cover, it's not really a surprise that White's attack crashes through. The immediate threat is 32. Rxf8+ and 33. Re8#, so} Rgf6 {is the only try, but then} 32. Rxf8+ Rxf8 33. Rg5+ {wins everything.}) 26. Be5 Nd3 (26... Rxe7 {doesn't work because of the pin on the long diagonal -} 27. Bxf6+ Qxf6 28. Rxe7+ $18) 27. Bxf6+ Qxf6 28. Qg4+ {With all three of White's heavy pieces in play, the attack still rages and things now rapidly come to a head. The counterattack on f2 is only a minor annoyance.} Kh8 29. Re8+ Rf8 30. Rxf8+ $6 (30. R1e7 $142 {White can ignore the attack on f2 altogether and straightforwardly invade the seventh rank. This comes with the nasty threat of 31. Qd4, and if} Qxf2+ 31. Kh1 {Black doesn't have a next move, and apparently has no more than} Qe1+ 32. Rxe1 Nf2+ 33. Kg1 Nxg4 34. Rxf8+ $18) 30... Qxf8 31. Qd4+ Kg8 32. Re6 {This solution is perfectly good for a rapid game: the rook escapes the knight's attack, and prepares to lead a final, decisive, invasion along the e-file.} c5 33. Qe3 d4 34. Qe2 Bxg2 35. Re8 Bd5 {Hoping to still make a fight of it with two pieces and a pawn roller against the queen, but} 36. Qg4+ Kf7 37. Qd7+ {makes sure that won't happen: Black resigned. This was the most satisfying win I've had at a rapid time control in a very long time.} 1-0

Evidently if the stars align and I get a position I like, I can still be dangerous even at this speed. In fact, given how strong the initiative is at quick time limits, it's a surprise I don't do better! Alas, the challenge is to get these positions: not everyone leaves their king in the middle or without pawn cover. In the second game Black's strategy is actually rather good, but excessively risky given the time limit. Practicality really is the order of things, and it is easier to attack than to defend.

So, onto the Kingston Invitational. This year the norm seekers were hived off to a round robin, but my opponents were hardly weaker than last year. Having been distracted from chess by the new flat as well as other interests, I came into the tournament out of practice but with plenty of recent study behind me, and I was looking forward to playing my first serious games since May. Unfortunately it didn't go as well this year, and in the coming posts I will try to unpack why.