Here is the first game I played there.
J Holland* (173) - Spanton (151)
Hastings Main A 1989-90, Round 1
Spanish Cozio
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7
I was going to credit Andrew Soltis' Chess Digest book Beating The Ruy Lopez With The Fianchetto Variation for inspiring me to play Cozio's variation of the Spanish, but I see it was published in 1994.
4.0-0 g6 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 Bg7 7.Be3 d5??
A novelty, and not a good one. The move still does not appear in ChessBase's Mega database. Normal is 7...0-0, as played by Steinitz, when Black has a good game.
8.exd5 Qxd5
 |
| White to play and win |
*****
*****
*****
*****
9.Nxc3?
White is winning after 9.Nxc6, eg 9...Qxd1 10.Nxe7+ Qd7 11.Bxd7+, or 9...bxc6 10.Qxd5 Nxd5 11.Bxc6+.
9...Qd6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bc4 0-0
Despite missing a win at move nine, White has an edge thanks to his better pawn-structure.
12.Qf3 Qf6 13.Qxf6 Bxf6 14.Bxf4 Bxc3!?
Equalising the pawn-structure, but conceding the two bishops - White still has a small advantage.
15.bxc3 Nd5 16.Be5 Re8 17.Rfe1 Be6 18.Bb3 Re7 19.Bd4 a5 20.g3!?
Ensuring White cannot be back-rank mated, and taking the f4 square away from the knight, but it is slow. Stockfish10 and Komodo10 want White to gain space with 20.c4!? Nb6 21.c5.
20...Ree8
It seems I could not come up with a plan. However, the engines' suggested 20...a4 21.Bc4 Ree8 is nothing special either.
21.f3 Bd7 22.Bc4 Rab8 23.Rxe8+ Bxe8 24.Kf2 Bd7
Not 24...Rb2?? 25.Bb3.
25.Bd3 Kf8
I offered a draw. I guess I thought my control of the b file counted for something; otherwise it is hard to see why the higher-graded player would be tempted to cease hostilities in such a position as White.
26.a3 Be6 27.h4 Rb2?? 28.c4 1-0
*I have no idea who this is. The only J Holland with an ECF grade today was not born when this game was played.
The 1988 Grading List has a JR Holland of Hertford at 169.
ReplyDeleteMy personal game collection records that I played someone of that name in both 1978 and 1990.
I've played in a number of Hastings tournaments from 1986 onwards, but not continuously.
Thanks Roger. That looks a likely candidate. The ECF database has a currently-ungraded John R Holland of Hertford and Dereham, who was 174 in 1994 and 165 in 1999, and had a rapid as recently as 2004, albeit of 135.
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