Member Games - Bill Metcalfe

Bill Metcalfe v 120


Bill started player chess as an adult which is not easier.  After losing many games at the club he started improving quickly and is now a dangerous player to face.  Bill is one of the pillars of the club organising congresses and captaining multiple teams.  In this game he was playing a higher graded opponent at the Middlesbrough congress.

Play through the game below with notes, or scroll to the bottom to play through the game using GameKnot's ichess viewer.


1.e4 c5, 2.N3 g6 "If Black is to ensure he reaches a 'pure' Dragon set-up, he must meet 2.Nf3 with d6."  Writes Edward Dearing in Play the Sicilian Dragon.
We have already seen a Dragon game in the Jonathan Sams game.  Black usually continues with Nc6, 0-0 and Bd7, but if allowed Black will play d5! which is his main break or freeing move.  Dearing's issue with move order tricks is that White can choose from different systems and perhaps catch Black out.  Perhaps the strongest non-pure set-up system is the Maroczy bind where White moves his c-pawn to c4 with an iron grip on d5, which really makes that d5 break by Black difficult to play.
Move order tricks are common at Grandmaster level (trying to gain an advantage through theory) and weekend tournament players (trying to avoid theory or problem lines).

The pure Dragon set-up

After all that though John Shaw notes 2....g6 "This is a perfectly acceptable move order to reach either variety of Dragon", in his section of Experts vs the Sicilian.  When John refers to 'either' he is talking about either the pure system or accelerated Dragons (where Bg7 is played earlier than the pure lines).  The accelerated line has many die hard fans, the theory is piling up and is a main system in its own right.  The accelerated line has one big advantage if Black gets to play that d5 break in one move, as he will have saved a crucial tempo over the pure line.

Back to the game

3.d4 cxd4

John Shaw recommends this move as best, probably transposing.

4.Nxd4 Bill thinks Qxd4 is the most testing move, he has probably faced that over the board and found it difficulty.  John Shaw thinks "Black is OK" after 4...Nf6, I personally wouldn't want my queen so exposed early in the game.

4... Bg7, 5.Nc3 This is probably the main line, but I would prefer 5.c4 Nc6, 6.Nc2!? This is recommended by Peter Heine Nielsen in the Accelerated Dragon Section of Experts vs the Sicilian.  Peter is an experienced Accelerated Dragon player, the idea of the Experts vs book is that players discuss the lines they find the most difficult to play against.

5...Nc6, 6.Be3 a6 - This is a risky move as it weakens b6 where a White piece may land and cause major disruption to Black's position.  Instead 6...Nf6, 7.f3 takes us back to the pure dragon.

7.Bc4 e6 another weakening move, this time its d6 and f6 which are weaker, note how all Black's weak squares are dark squares.  Can White exploit these weaknesses?  I would play d6, Nf6 and 0-0 as soon as possible if I were playing this position.   8.Qd2 Nf6, 9.f3 A common move in the pure dragon lines, as it stops Ng4 hitting the important dark squared bishop, but f3 also acts as a springboard for a king side pawn storm with h4, h5 and a possible g4.

9...Qc7, 10.Bb3 Its wise to remove the unprotected bishop from the c-file, as there are well known tricks with Nxd5 discovering an attack on the bishop, they wouldn't necessarily work in this position, but safety first.  10...b5 Black gains space on the queen side.  In many lines White castles long while Black goes short and pawns are launched at the opposing king.  Proper toe to toe John Wayne style!

In this game a game of who will castle fist chicken has developed.

11.0-0-0 Its White. Chicken! Ne5

White has castled in to Black's advancing pawns which could be dangerous.  But Black is lagging behind in development and could get caught with his king in the centre.  This is a dangerous time for Black.  If he can complete his development quickly he will be ok, otherwise White might be able to build a strong attack.

David LeMoir in his book Essential Chess Sacrifices discusses various standard chess sacrifices.  His first chapter is "A Knight Clears the Queenside: Nxb5 in the Sicilian", in that he writes "In the Sicilian Defence, Black often plays ...a6 and ...b5.  White often gives up a piece to clear the mini pawn-chain, the piece that recaptures on b5 (after axb5) wins a tempo in some way.  When its a knight its often a queen on c7"  All the ingredients are there, does it work?
12.Ndxb5 axb5, 13.Nxb5 Qc6, 14.Nd6 Kf8 - With an unclear position, but I would imagine Black can survive the pressure and enjoy his extra material.

Analysis

Back to the game...
12.g4 White's pawns will now charge up the board, this is a standard plan in such positions.  White wants to break open Black's king's position.  The only problem with that plan is that Black's king is still in the centre!  Black could try h5 here, hoping to block the advancing pawns.
12...Nc4 Hitting both queen and bishop.  Bill notes that this move is a mistake as White has a trick with
(13.Nexb5 axb5, 14Nxb5 Qc6 (..Nxd2 15.Nxc2+ winning the exchange) 15.Bxc4 See below

Analysis

note that Qxc4 fails to 16.Nd6+ winning the queen.  White would then be two full pawns up.  I think that is quite a tough combo to see over the board, I didn't see it (I used some silicon muscle).  But in these positions we should always be on the lookout for "Essential" thematic sacrifices.

13.Qe2?

As noted above White has a really good move with knight takes b5, but missing that does not incur the question mark.  White needs his dark square bishop to attack the weak dark squares and dislodge the dragon bishop.  In analogous positions in the pure dragon Bxc4 is played and a Black rook recaptures with pressure on the c-file.
13...Nxe3!  Winning a prize asset.  With just one poor choice White has gone from a very promising game to a difficult one.  Chess is a cruel game.
14.Qxe3 b4!  Black rolls forward.  Where does White move his knight to?  Na4 (knights on the rim are dim), Nb1(back where it started or 15.Ne2?? 

Even though Black is not fully developed it is he who drives the play pushing White around.  White's last was a serious mistake, as his other knight on d4 now has no flight squares.  It is strange to note that although White got all his pieces developed quickly somehow they landed on the wrong squares for the position.
15...e5 Of course Black plays to win a piece.
16.Bd5 White has to decide whether to play on or not a piece down.  Most tournament players have an iron will and will fight until the last chance of holding a draw has been erased, for me I think that is right.  Black hasn't developed fully yet and his pawns are a bit scruffy, perhaps White can build an attack when the piece might not matter.  One thing is for certain Black can not switch off, even though Bill will be starting to chalk the point mentally onto his score sheet.
16...exd4! 17.Nxd4 Rb8 (I think Nxd5 is much better)
18.Bb3 0-0, 19.e5 Re8

Black is playing well.  He has just pinned the e-pawn, so White can't take his knight.  With Bb7 begging to be played Black looks to be winning easily here.
20.f4? White desperately tries to drum up counter play, but another pawn lost makes a save all but impossible.
20... Nxg4, 21.Qf3 My tactical skewer alarm just went off.  "Whah!  Whah!  Whah!"  The a8-h1 diagonal is now so dangerous for White
21...Nh6 22.Rhg1 saving the exchange.
22...Bd7, 23.Qf2 Be4 Black finds a neat way to slow the pawns down and provide extra support for his king.

24.h4  a5, 25.h5 Rec8, 26.hxg6 hxg6 27.f5 White knows he is losing so is throwing everything he has at Black's king.  But Black stays calm with  27...Nxf5, 28.Rg6 Qe5

Black has cleverly positioned his pieces so that they both attack and defend, next he will interrupt White's lines of attack and then exchange down to an easily won ending.
29.Rdg1 d5! cuts out the bishop on b3.
30.R6g5? Qxd4, 31.Rxg7 Qxg7, 32.Rxg7 Nxg7 Black has exchanged off quite a few pieces and is now winning by miles.
33.Qd4 Ne6, 34, Qe5 Nc5, 35. Bxd5

And finally the coup-de-grace Nd3 winning the queen with a fork made possible by the pin on the f-pawn, nice!!

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Colin Walton V Darlington Chess club

On 18/07/11 Colin Walton grade 200 played a simultaneous match against any Darlington player brave enough to face him.  Colin graciously allowed his opponents to choose colour, most decided on White!  Games were played with clocks, but more as a marker to let Colin know if his opponent was to move or not.

Colin is relaxed before his games:-

In action Colin makes his way around the club.  Spending only a few seconds at each board before moving on, Colin used his lightening mind to calculate winning plans and as you can see the club's members were concentrating hard.

AJ was the youngest player there, but gave Colin a good workout.

James Garner seems pleased with himself, perhaps he has a winning move in mind.

Colin won all his games except one he lost against the mighty Niall Garner.

Below is a position from my game against Colin.  The game opened as a king's Indian Defence

White has just moved his knight to b5 hoping to win a pawn.
1..fxe4, 2.fxe4 f3!

The pawn can not be captured because the g-pawn is pinned.  White therefore has to defend the pawn on g2.
3.Bf1 Be5 here come the backup!
4.Rd2 White is trying to cling on by beefing up his second rank.

4...Bf4! Remember Colin was taking less than a minute for these moves.  I was expecting a powerful sacrifice on h2, but like all good players Colin is not in a rush.  He takes the time to harass the rook before he finds the decisive breakthrough.
5.Rd3 Bxh2!

White resigns as the position is hopeless. After 6.Kxh2 Qh4+, 7.Kg1 f2+ White has to give up his queen.

Darlington chess club would like to thank Colin for agreeing to play the simultaneous.  Darlington chess club tries to organise different summer events while the leagues are not running.

Junior Club - End of year party

Monday 18th July was the last Junior chess night of the 10/11 season.  The kids and coaches are looking forward to their summer break and the club will return 12/09/11.


The kids took a break from serious chess study and played chess variants instead.

They played cross chess a game with two boards played in teams where captured pieces are passed to your partner.  Good fun with wild positions like the one below

Even James and Sarah got involved.

I would like to thank both James and Sarah for their help and support throughout the season without them the junior club would have been very difficult to manage.

Time for a group photo.

During the year the kids played several games of serious chess. The clear winner was AJ.  Below he collects his shield which he keeps for a year and has his name inscribed on it forever.

All the kids received a small goody bag filled with sweets.  Not surprisingly this went down well.

Last but not least

Back to chess variants.  Things were a little louder after the sweets!

I hope to see all the kids back September.

Middlesbrough Congress - Darlington on tour

Between the 08 - 10 July 2011 Middlesbrough held its annual chess congress at the magnificent riverside stadium.

The congress was held in the spacious and light legends lounge.

The congress was well attended and even included an international Master Jonathan Hawkins.

If you want to be an IM you better hit the books.  Plenty of opportunity to buy them courtesy of Chess Direct Ltd.

 Severn Darlington members attended the congress.  Below are some interesting posotions and game snippets from a few of the games.

First up is a game from Bill Metcalfe, can you find a good move?  We will be seeing more of this game in the coming weeks, as it will be a featured member game.  Answer at the end of the blog...

One of the features of the above game is the unbalanced nature of the material.  These unbalances can lead to the most interesting positions in chess.  Which leads us nicely to the next position.

White (Niall Garner) has just played 21.Rf5!  Black is short on time, so tries to swap off his queen for two rooks and ease the pressure he is under, starting with 21...Qxg3, 22.Nxg3 gxf5, 23.Nxf5+

Black may be regretting his idea as a knight and queen near an open king can often lead to a decisive attack. Play continued 23...Kh8, 24.d4.  White wants to open the long diagonal where the king stands which is probably a winning attack, but while I was watching the game I couldn't help thinking the simple and obvious Qh6 may be best e.g.
(24.Qh6 with a mate threat Rg8, 25.Qxc6 picking up a pawn and hitting the uncoordinated rook. Rb8, Next White would want to involve the second knight, at home I noticed that 26.Nb5!  is decisive, as it threatens another pawn, but also with the threat of  Nd6-Nxf7#)

Analysis

Back to the game

24...cxd4, 25.Qxd4+ f6 and now 26.Qd6 will win a pawn and is similar to the analysis above.  Playing a weekend congress is a long and tiring affair and mistakes are common in the later stages of games.  Here White plays 26.g4?! with the intention of weakening the blocking pawn on f6, but Black plays a good move 26...Ne5

White has to respond to the fork threat allowing Black Bxf5 when his rooks connect and make a tougher fight.  Play continued for another 10 moves before White offered a draw saving his energy for the final round.

The next position is from one of my games and can not match the previous positions, but its the only game I won, so humour me.

White has just played 31.Rac1 attacking the backward c-pawn.  But Black ignores that threat and invades White's position with 31...Qf4, the advanced pawns allow the queen access into White's position which should win something.  Clearly White hadn't seen this move and the shock value was enough to induce a howler 32.Rhf1??

Which leads to mate in two, although I took 3, 32...Qh4+, 33.Kg1 Qg3, Kh1 Kg2#

Finally we see Richard Harris in action.

Richard decided to exchanges Queens earlier as he was a pawn up with an outside passed pawn.  An easy win perhaps?  Black responded by playing 1...g5, there followed 2.hxg5 hxg5 and the point went to Richard. Remember the square rule (Passed Pawns and the square rule) White's king can step  inside the square and can easily stop the pawn and did.

However what happens if Black pushes past the pawn and refuses to capture? 2...h5!

The Black pawn is now immune from the White king, as the king is too far away.  Ok White has his own outside passed pawns, the d-pawn and g-pawn are both in reach of Black's king.
3.a4 h4, 4.a5 h3, 5.a6 h2, 6.a7 h1Q, Black queens first with a very important detail.

Black's new queen covers White's queening square.
Has White just had the luckiest escape of his life?  Should Black have won?
No.  There is a line that draws.  Looking at the last diagram we realise that the long h1-a8 diagonal is key, so White can try 3.d4

Black can try pushing his h-pawn queening first, but then White will have a queen on d8 the next go, and White may be able to use his extra pawns to win.  As previously discussed Black's king is in both pawns square so Black should probably try 3..Kg6, 4.d5 Kxg5 and now this detail is important, as White can now push his a-pawn.  Black still queens first, but this time the diagonal is closed!!
5.a4  h4, 6.a5 h3, 7.a6 h2, 8.a7 h1Q, 9.a8Q

Black now has the first check and should be able to draw easily with multiple checks.  What an interesting position!!!

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Back to Bill's game

Did you spot Ne6+ winning the queen, note the f-pawn is pinned.