[Event "MSCL Div 2"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.22"] [Round "?"] [White "Selby, Paul"] [Black "Redman, Michael"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C02"] [Annotator "Redman, Michael"] [PlyCount "104"] [WhiteTeam "Brighton 2"] [BlackTeam "Crowborough 2"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {Some grandmasters apparently won't play this at all, as they feel it hands the initiative to black. Nc3 is also possible.} c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3 {Until here it was fairly unexceptional French Defence, which might have continued with Be2. Stronger players sometimes play Bd3, hoping black will capture and lose material due to Bb5 discovered check. Selby had something else in mind.} Bd7 {Stockfish doesn't like the move order here. Some players think it better to swap pawns first.} (6... cxd4 7. Nxd4 (7. cxd4 Bd7) 7... Nxd4 8. cxd4 Qxd4 $4 9. Bb5+) 7. O-O $6 {(0.41 -> -0.39) Better try is dxc5 0.41. Castling is a bit of a red rag to a bull - basically it's offering two pawns for what should be a very strong attack, although this position isn't quite standard as the pawns haven't swapped yet.} (7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O Qc7 9. b4) 7... cxd4 8. cxd4 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 {This is possible now as Bb5 isn't check.} 10. Nc3 {He's right about this move - it's standard book. I wondered later where exactly he went wrong.} Qxe5 {I did this deliberately, knowing full well that it was supposed to be awful for black. I wasn't convinced that a club player would play accurately enough to refute it. Later I found out he was graded 159. The alternative was a6 followed by Ne7-c6.} 11. Re1 {Still standard book.} Qd6 {If Qb8 the d pawn goes due to the pin, but apparently it's standard book despite that.} (11... Qb8 12. Nxd5 Bd6 13. Qg4) 12. Nb5 {Looks fair enough. Stockfish is happy with it.} Bxb5 $6 {After Qb6 Stockfish can't find anything better for white than repeating moves - Be3 Qa5 Bd2 etc.} 13. Bxb5+ Kd8 14. Qe2 $2 {(0.66 -> -0.34) Bd2 0.66. Here white seems to have dropped the ball. Having given up two pawns he couldn't afford to play quietly, he had to go for broke.} (14. Bd2 a6 15. Qa4 Nf6 16. Rac1 Qb8 17. Ba5+ b6 18. Bc6) 14... a6 15. Ba4 Nf6 16. Bd2 b5 17. Ba5+ {(0.07 -> -0.69) Stockfish thinks Bc2 0.07 was required. I thought he might sac the bishop but Stockfish hates that.} (17. Bxb5 $4 axb5 18. Qxb5 Qa6) 17... Kd7 18. Bb3 Be7 19. a3 {(-0.23 -> -1.1) Better try is Bc3 -0.23. This is a slightly odd move in a line where he had to be accurate.} Rhc8 20. Rad1 {I was expecting Bb4. Stockfish thinks about this but goes for Bc3.} Ke8 21. h3 $6 {This is another peculiar move that seems to be defensive. Rd3-g3 trying to generate activity on the kingside may be better.} Kf8 22. Bb4 $6 {This gets a Stockfish raspberry. Given that he wasn't going to swap bishops arguably it achieves little.} Qc6 23. Bc3 {Bd2 was probably better. By now Stockfish has him around two points down.} Kg8 {I could have played Ne4 here.} 24. Rd3 Rab8 $6 { Stockfish hates this, apparently because it thinks white can now get play on the kingside starting Rg3. It still likes Ne4.} 25. Be5 Rb7 26. Rc3 Qd7 27. Rec1 $6 {(-1.25 -> -2.1) Better try is Bxf6 -1.25. He did get a few chances like this, but he needed to take them.} (27. Bxf6 Bxf6 28. Rxc8+ Qxc8 29. Bxd5 $1) 27... Rxc3 28. Rxc3 Ne4 29. Rc1 Bf6 {Or Bd6.} (29... Bd6 30. Bd4 Rc7) 30. Bh2 {I can see why he kept the bishop on, though it doesn't do much out here.} Nd6 $2 {Heading for c4 which he evidently didn't like the look of. Bd4 is better, and we'll see why in a moment.} 31. Bxd6 $2 {Missing a much better move which is surprising for a player of his strength.} (31. Bxd5 $1 exd5 32. Bxd6) 31... Qxd6 32. Qc2 $6 {(-1.39 -> -1.99) Better is Rc8 -1.39. Again he had something better, which seems to have been his last chance at a really good move, but he missed it. I was fortunate really.} (32. Rc8+ Bd8 33. Qe5 $1) 32... Bd8 {I had a feeling he was looking at Qc8, and I wanted him to play it.} 33. Qc8 $6 {I really do have to query this, as it invites exchanges that favour black.} Rc7 {I could also have played Rb8, but I wanted to swap pieces off.} 34. Rxc7 Qxc7 35. Qxa6 $6 {(-1.18 -> -1.91) Qxc7 -1.18. It was getting difficult for white by this time. He thought he could grab a pawn back. I hadn't analysed it all the way out, so let's just say the gods were with me.} Qc1+ 36. Kh2 Qxb2 37. Qd6 Qf6 38. Qd7 {(-1.61 -> -2.65) He was trying to grab a pawn again. Stockfish liked Qb8 (-1.61), but probably it would have transposed.} (38. Qb8 Qe7 39. Qxb5 Qxa3 40. Qe8+ Qf8) 38... Qe7 39. Qxb5 Qxa3 40. Qe8+ Qf8 41. Qb5 Bc7+ 42. g3 Qb8 {Or g6, though I wasn't in a hurry to play that.} 43. Qd3 Be5 44. f4 $6 {This is too committal and too weakening, though by now he was out of good moves.} Bf6 45. h4 {Maybe worth a go as he had little to lose was f5!?} Qb6 46. Qc2 g6 {The moment for this move had finally arrived. I was hoping to make the most of the space around his king that pushing his pawns forward had created.} 47. Kh3 Qg1 48. Kg4 {He could have played Qc1 but obviously didn't want to swap queens into a lost ending.} h5+ 49. Kf3 {Still trying to keep the queens on. Stockfish is getting gloomier and gloomier about White's position.} Bd4 50. Qe2 Qh1+ 51. Qg2 {Forced. However when he played it I had a long think. I had an idea that there could be a problem with the position of his bishop.} Qe1 52. Qe2 {Also seems to be forced.} (52. Qc2 Qf1+) (52. Bc2 Qe3#) 52... Qc3+ {It would have been Kg2, but he resigned.} 0-1 [Event "MSCL Div 1"] [Site "?"] [Date "2016.10.28"] [Round "?"] [White "Norinkeviciute, Rasa"] [Black "Fryer, Dvid"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A13"] [Annotator "Fryer,David"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventType "team"] [EventCountry "ENG"] [WhiteTeam "Eastbourne 1"] [BlackTeam "Crowborough 1"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 e6 3. Bg2 d5 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. Na3 {Marin,M: This ambitious move threatens to retrieve the pawn without exposing the queen too early (as happens after Qa4+ followed by Qxc4) and practically forces Black to give up the dark-squared bishop, when play becomes very sharp. About half a century ago, Smyslov tried this line in a few games against strong opponents.} (5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. O-O {0-1 Villiers,T-Fryer,D British Championship 2015}) 5... Bxa3 6. bxa3 {Marin,M: 'White has at least sufficient compensation for the pawn, but his queenside structure has been hopelessly spoiled. This latter detail complicates matters.'} b5 {Marin,M: 'According to some old books, this is one of Black's most reliable answers.'} 7. Bb2 (7. Ne5 {Marin,M: This is the only way to question the viability of Black's (to my mind) over-optimistic move.} Nd5 {Marin,M: The most conservative move, but moving again with the only developed piece is in slight contradiction with the rules of development. Black has two ways of sacrificing material in order to take over the initiative.} (7... c6 8. Nxc6 Nxc6 9. Bxc6+ Bd7 10. Bxa8 Qxa8 { Piper,M-Fryer,D ICCF 2016}) (7... Qd4 $5 8. Rb1 Qxe5 9. Bxa8 c6 {is the line Rasa said she did not like}) 8. d3 {Marin,M: 'Opening lines and diagonals for the pieces and aiming to question Black's advantage of space on the queenside.' }) 7... Bb7 8. a4 a6 {Marin,M: leaves White struggling as the development of the black bishop on b7, completely neutralises the g2-bishop.} 9. O-O c5 10. Qc2 Nbd7 (10... O-O $4 11. Ng5 {is a well known pitfall}) 11. d3 cxd3 12. exd3 Qb6 (12... O-O $142) 13. Rfe1 (13. axb5 $142 axb5 14. a4) 13... b4 14. d4 Rc8 15. dxc5 Rxc5 $5 16. Qe2 (16. Qd2 O-O 17. Bd4 Rfc8 18. Bxc5 Nxc5 $11) 16... Qc7 17. Rac1 O-O $15 18. Qd2 a5 19. a3 b3 $1 20. Re3 $2 (20. Bd4 Rc2 21. Rxc2 bxc2 22. Rc1 Be4 $17) 20... Rxc1+ 21. Bxc1 Rc8 22. Bb2 Qc2 23. Rc3 Rxc3 24. Qxc3 Qxc3 25. Bxc3 Nc5 26. Bxf6 Bxf3 27. Bxf3 gxf6 28. Bd1 b2 29. Bc2 Nxa4 30. Kf1 Nc3 31. Ke1 b1=Q+ 32. Bxb1 Nxb1 33. a4 Nc3 0-1