Fundamentals (part 40)

Spanton (178) - H Trevor Jones (161)
Kent League

White to play and draw

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30.Ke2?
White draws with 30.b4, eg 30...Ke5 31.b5 Ke4 32.a4 Kf3 33.Ke1 Kxe3 34.a5 g3 35.Kf1 d4 36.b6 axb6 37.axb6 d3 38.b7 d2 39.b8=Q d1=Q+ 40.Kg2, reaching a drawn queen-and-pawn ending.
The game finished:
30...Ke5 31.Kf2
It is too late to push on the queenside, eg after 31.b4 Ke4 32.b5 d4 33exd4 Kxd4 the white king cannot capture the g pawn and get back to the queenside in time to stop the black a pawn.
31...Ke4 32.b4 g3+ 33.Kxg3 Kxe3 34.a4 d4 35.a5 d3 36.b5 d2 37.b6 d1=Q 38.b7 0-1

Instructive Ending

PLAYED on board two (of six) for Hastings & St Leonards away to Rainham in the 140-average section of the Kent League last night.

White has just captured a rook on c1 and offered a draw in Andrew Waters (154) - Spanton (170)

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Black has a very small edge thanks to having the better bishop, but the difference is well within chess's drawing margin.
19...f5 20.Kf1 Nf6 21.Ne5 Ne4 22.f3 Nd6 23.Ke2 Bxe5?
Unbalancing the position, but in White's favour. I should have settled for a draw, or at least kept manoeuvring, rather than give White a passed pawn and create unbalanced pawn-majorities with White having the only bishop.
24.dxe5 Nc4 25.f4
Stockfish10 and Komodo10 give 25.e6!? Kf8 26.Bg5!?, when 26...Nxb2 27.Ke3 h6 28.Bf6 Nc4+ 29.Kd4 seems promising for White, but is not clear.
25...Kf7
The engines slightly prefer 25...Na5!?, eg 26.Kd3 Nc6, when Black may well be holding.
26.Kd3 Ke6 27.Kd4 Nb6 28.b3 Nc8?!
Probably better is 28...Nd7 and if, as in the game, 29.Ba3, then 29...Nb8 is equal, according to the engines. However, they reckon 29.b4 gives White an edge, eg 29...Nb6 30.Kd3 a6 (or 30...Nd7 31.Be3 a6 32.a4) 31.Kd4. In all lines Black is in danger of ending up in zugzwang as the black king is tied to defending d5 and the black knight has limited manoeuvrability.
29.Ba3 Nb6 30.Bb4 Nd7 31.Bd6 Nb6 32.a4 Nc8 33.Ba3 b6 34.Bb4 a5 35.Ba3?
The engines reckon White has a large advantage after 35.Bd2, one sample line running 35...Ne7 36.Be3 Nc8 (with the bishop on e3, rather than a3 as in the game, the move 36...Nc6+ drops the b6 pawn) 37.Kc3 Kd7 38.Bf2 Ke6 39.b4 axb4+ 40.Kxb4 Kd7 41.Kb5 Kc7 42.Ka6 Kc6 43.e6 Kc7 44.Bd4 Kc6 45.Be5 Ne7 46.Bf6 Nc8 47.e7 Kd7 48.Kb7 Nxe7 49.Kxb6, when the white outside passed pawn should settle it. After the text, the game is equal.
35...Na7 36.Bd6
36.Bc1 Nc6+ 37.Kc3 gives Black time to protect b6 with the king, eg 37...Kd7 38.Be3 Kc7. White could try 39.e6, but 39...Kd6 40.Bxb6 Kxe6 41.Bc5 Kd7 42.b4 axb4+ 43.Bxb4 Kc7 seems fine for Black.
36...Nc6+ 37.Kc3 Kd7 38.g4?
This turns a drawn position into a losing one.
38...fxg4 39.hxg4 h5 40.gxh5 gxh5 41.f5 h4 42.Bf8 h3?
Simply winning is 42...Nxe5, eg 43.Bh6 h3 44.Bf4 Nf3 etc.
43.e6+ Kc7 44.Bh6 h2?
Now Black turns a draw into a loss.
44...Kd6 45.Bf4+ Ke7 46.Bg5+ Kd6 47.Bf4+ etc draws.
45.Bf4+ Kd8 46.Bxh2
The game finished:
46...Ke7 47.Bg3 Kf6 48.Bh4+ Kxf5 49.e7 Nxe7 50.Bxe7 Ke5 1-0
Rainham won the match 4-2.

Whoops!

THERE has been a dramatic, and unfortunate, development in the Kent League Stevenson Cup semi-final played on Sunday in which Hastings & St Leonards beat Petts Wood & Orpington 4-2 (https://beauchess.blogspot.com/2019/05/cup-match.html).
It turns out our top-board was ineligible because he had not played for the team previously this season (although he had been picked for a match that got postponed and eventually took place with a different line-up).
His win on Sunday has therefore been reversed to a win for the opposition. That makes the match score 3-3, but Petts Wood & Orpington win 10-11 on board-count, and so go through to the final.
As Esther Rantzen was fond of saying: "That's life!"

Cup Match

MY game today for Hastings & St Leonards against Petts Wood & Orpington in the semi-finals of the Kent League's Stevenson Cup (155 average) had an anti-climatic finish when my opponent lost material in what was already a very difficult position.

Black to make his 49th move in Spanton (171) - Jean-Baptiste Jugand (184)

Black has the bishop-pair but that does not compensate sufficiently for his poor pawn-structure (weak kingside pawns, a pawn-majority that cannot make a passer).
49...Ne6?
Komodo9 and Stockfish10 give best play as 49...Nb7 50.g4 Be6, when White has a pleasant choice between, among others, 51.Nfe5, 51.g5 and 51.Ng5.
50.Nh4 Bf8
There is nothing better.
51.Nxf5+
White is two pawns up on the kingside and merely has to watch out for tricks on the queenside based on Black capturing on c4 with the idea of creating a far-advanced passed pawn by ...b3 etc. I succeeded in converting my advantage, helping Hastings & St Leonards to a 4-2 win. Unfortunately I am unavailable for the final as I have already committed to a tournament in Germany.

Played Wells

TURNED out for Hastings & St Leonards away to Tunbridge Wells in the open division of the Kent League last night.

Black offered a draw as I was thinking about my 25th move in Spanton (171) - Charlie Metcalfe (157)

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25.Rd1
Black's threat of entering at d2 is also easily parried by 25.Rd3. In either case it will be White rather than Black who should gain control of the open file.
25...Nf6 26.Rgd3 Qc7?
Refusing to give up the open file, but losing a pawn. Much the lesser evil was 26...Rxd3, when White has at best a little nagging pressure after 27.Qxd3 or 27.Rxd3, but really the position is equal (but still with plenty of play).
27.Nb5 Qe7 28.Rxd8+ Rxd8 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Nxa7 (1-0, 56 moves)

Hastings Streak Conquered

MY unbeaten streak for Hastings & St Leonards, which went back to 2011, ended last night away to Rainham in the Kent League (155 average).
OK, the streak only covered eight games, but it was disappointing to lose it the way I did.
Spanton (171) - Andrew Waters (168)
English v Dutch
1.c4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3
This may look unambitious, and is not liked by my main analysis engines Stockfish10 and Komodo9, but it is the most popular move in the position and has been played by Kasparov, Grischuk and Adams.
5...0-0 6.e4 d6 7.Nge2 c6 8.0-0 Na6 9.d4?!
A novelty, it seems, and probably not a good one. It would have been better to have gone with my original thought of 9.h3.
9...e5
The engines reckon Black should exchange knights on e4, getting a (temporarily) backward e pawn but with pressure down the f file.
10.exf5 gxf5
10...Bxf5 was also possible as the isolani Black gets after 11.dxe5 dxe5 is not easy for White to attack and gives Black active play for his pieces.
11.dxe5?!
It was better to maintain the tension, eg by 11.Bg5, as the hanging pawns Black now gets are not weak and have a Nimzowitschean lust to expand.
11...dxe5 12.Bg5 Nc5 13.Qc2

AW came up with a somewhat counter-intuitive choice here

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13...Qd3!?
Normally the player with hanging pawns wants to keep queens on the board as they help his attacking chances, but here exchanging them gets Black's knight to the sixth rank. The question then becomes whether the knight can maintain its position or will be forced to retreat or be exchanged (or, worse, trapped).
Note that 13...Nd3?? would be a blunder due to the pinning reply 14.Rad1.
14.Qxd3 Nxd3 15.b3 Be6 16.Rad1 Rad8 17.Rd2 h6?!
This natural-looking move drives the bishop to a good square. The engines reckon Black should play 17...Nc5, with equal chances.
18.Be3 Ng4?!
A pawn sac that should not work. The engines suggest 18...Nb4 or 18...f4, with an edge for White in either case.
19.Bxa7 f4?
This is definitely a mistake. Best, according to the engines, was 19...e4, with White better after 20.Bb6, 20.f3 (the move I had been planning if Black supported his d3 knight with the e pawn) or 20.Rdd1.

White to play and win

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20.Be4??
White is winning easily after 20.Bb6, eg 20...f3 21.Bxf3! or 20...Rd7 21.Rfd1 f3 22.Rxd3 Rxd3 23.Rxd3.
20...Ndxf2 21.Rxd8 Nh3+ 22.Kg2?
White is still very much in the game after 22.Kh1.
22...Rxd8 23.Rd1 Rxd1?!
The engines reckon Black gets a bigger advantage by keeping rooks on, eg by 23...Ra8 or 23...Rf8.
24.Nxd1 Ng5 25.Ndc3??
The final blunder, losing a piece. Correct was 25.Nec3, avoiding a fork at f3. Black then has maybe a tiny edge.
25...Nf6 (0-1, 50 moves)

White To Play And Win

PLAYED my first game of the season for Hastings & St Leonards last night, in the Kent League (140 Average) at Rainham.

Black has just played the normal-looking 24...Rf8-e8?? in Spanton (167) - David Barnes (161), but now it is White to play and win

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The game saw 25.Rxe8+? Qxe8 26.Qe5+! Qxe5 (forced) 27.Nxf7+ Kg7 28.Nxe5 (1-0, 54 moves).
But analysis engines point out an immediate win with 25.Qh3!, snagging Black's rook.
My win means I now have a seven-year unbeaten streak for Hastings. That's the good news; the not-so-good news is that the streak consists of seven games.