Game 43 - club match. Rainham v Swale

Rainham v Swale - En Passant Cup - Board Three
Thursday 30 November 2016
White: K. Nevols (134) - Black: S. Pike (142)

My first visit to Medway Chess Club, a neat little building tucked away just behind Rainham train station.

1. e4 c5
2. Nc3

A Closed Sicilian. I think this is more in my style. The labyrinth of complications of the Open Sicilian are not for me and using this system I can build up and develop at my own pace.

2. ....  d6
3. f4 Nf6
4. Nf3 Nc6
5. Bb5

In this opening I have been varying the placement of my kings' bishop as I have not quite yet decided whether it is better to go to b5 and get exchanged or to sit on e2 and get in the way.

5. ....   Bd7
6. O-O a6
7. Bxc6

The move 7. Be2 is equal but I decided to remove the knight this time.

7. ....   Bxc6

This is the main problem - the bishop arrives on c6 - and White's king often ends up on h1.

8. d3

The possibility of an initiative based around d5 gives Black a tiny edge. On the other hand, he has development problems with his own king's bishop.

8. ....  e6

I sometimes find that a drawback of this opening is that it is difficult to form a plan until we know what Black will do with his King. Maybe an idea for White here is to exploit the small advantage in development with a quick 9. e5. Black might not want to open the f-file with 9. ... dxe5 10. fxe5 Nd7 and might just retreat with an immediate 9. .. Nd7.

Instead I prefer to just keep moving about and wait.

9. Qe1 Qb6



Now an interesting move would be 10. f5!? One line is 10... c4+ 11. Kh1 cxd3 12. cxd3 exf5 13. e5! or 12. ... e5 13. Qe2 with Be3 to follow.

If instead 10. f5 e5 then simply 11. Rb1 preparing either Be3 or Bg5. And if 10. f5 exf5 then not 11. exf5+ Be7 but 11. e5 with a better position.

I did think about the flashy 10. Nd5?! but then 10. .. Nxd5 11. exd5 Bxd5 just loses a pawn.

Instead no need for heroics - just tuck the king away.

10. Kh1 O-O-O

A surprise. I had expected 10. ... Be7 with kingside castling. Now that Black has chosen where to place the king, I can start thinking about a plan. A good point about this opening system is that it leaves open the option of attacking on either wing. Expanding on the queenside now seemed a good idea.

11. a4 Qc7
12. a5 h6

Presumably to guard against Ng5 although I wasn't thinking about that.

13. Be3

Black's best move now would be to counter in the centre with 13. .. d5! - the initiative I mentioned earlier. 14. exd5 exd5 would free up Black's position and give him ideas of a future Bd6 and Rhe8. Whereas if White wanted to keep the position closed with 14. e5 then Black could play 14. .. d4 15. exf6 gxf6! 16. Bc1 dxc3 17. Qxc3 Be7. The Bishop on c6 and the possibility of an attack down the g-file gives Black a clear advantage.

With all this in mind, the more modest 13. Bd2 might have been better.

13. ....  Be7

Opening lines with 14. b4!? might be interesting. However I wanted to get rid of that bishop on c6.

14. Na4 Bxa4

This capture is not forced - 14. ... Kb8 is quite adequate - but White is playing a piece of bluff. a white knight on b6 looks more scary than it actually is.

15. Rxa4 Ng4
16. Bg1

I didn't want to lose this bishop just yet. I am still thinking about how I can get a b4 move in.

16. ....    Rdg8?!

A surprise. Black clearly decides against any central play and decides on an offensive on the kingside. However he does not have the time for this. 16. .. d5 or just 16. .. Nf6 is better - and the game remains equal.



17. Qe2!

A multipurpose move - it protects the c4 square so I can play d4 - it defends the second rank - and it gives room to move the other rook out to join in a queenside offensive.

17. ....   Qd7
18. b3

The rook is in a good position so I did not want to move it back.

18. ....   f5

And now Black begins his attack. I had some thought and decided my pieces were well placed if the centre should come open.

19. d4

A much better move is 19. e5!

If 19. ... d5 then 20. h3 h5 21. Ng5 with advantage - Black's knight cannot retreat as the h-pawn will then fall.
If .. 19. .. dxe5 20. h3! e4 21. dxe4 Nf6 22. exf5 exf5 23. Rd1! and after the queen moves then 24. Qe6+ picks up the f-pawn.
And if something else, such as, 19. .. Kb8 then 20. h3 h5 21. exd6 Bxd6 22. Rc4! and Re1 keeps up the pressure.

I did not see any of this idea of trapping the knight with e5 and then h3 - my plan was always focused around d4 and clearing the centre.

19. ....   g5?

Black goes for it but the simple 19. .. Qb5 aiming to swap off the queens would have been better.

We now begin quite an odd sequence where 13 of the next 15 moves are captures.



20. dxc5 gxf4

If 20. .. dxc5 I had planned 21. exf5 exf5 22. Rd1. But I open the e-file anyway.

21. exf5 exf5
22. cxd6

Now if 22. .. Bxd6 then 23. Rd1. I was also thinking of how I could get the queen or rook to attack form the c-file. One problem I had to be aware of is the possibility of Black sticking his knight onto e3 blocking the bishop.

22.   ...  Bf6

Now 23. Ba7! wins!! It threatens Rc4+ Kd8; Bb6+. I saw it and rejected it because of 23.  .. b5 24. axb6 e.p. Ne3 - defending the c4 square and attacking g2. I completely overlooked that White then has 25. Qxa6 winning simply (24. .. Kd8 25. b7!). This is because my mind I still thought there was a black pawn on b5 whereas the en passant move had, of course, removed it.

23. Rxf4

Still, a pawn is a pawn. I am now two pawns up and have open lines to attack his king. Clearly winning.

23. ...  Bg5

I quickly check to see that the h2 point is safely protected and grab another pawn.

24. Nxg5 hxg5
25. Rxf5



Now Rf7, or Qc4+ then Qd4, are just two nice plans. Black goes for a swindle.

25. ...   Nxh2
26. Bxh2

If .. 26. .. Qxd6 then 27. Qc4+ Kb8 28. Qxg8+! If 26. ... Qh7 then just 27. Qe5.

26. ....  Rxh2+
27. Kxh2 Qh7+

This is the point of Black's swindle attempt - he hopes for 28. Kg3 Qh4+ forcing the White king into the middle of the board. A nice try but not forced.

28. Kg1 Rh8
29. Rf8+

Finishing off simply and Black resigned. My fourth consecutive victory and second against a higher graded player!

Rainham v Swale

David Barnes (167) 1/2-1/2 Keith Hyde (167)
Tom Stonehouse (160) 1/2-1/2 Trefor Owens (172)
Stephen Pike (142) 0-1 Keith Nevols (134)
Omar Ahmed (128) 0-1 Peter Blundell (120)
Robert Springett (120) 0-1 Tyrone Jefferies (116)
William Stock (106) 1-0 Andrew Gillard (113)

Rainham 4-2 Swale

Game 42 - club match. Swale v Tunbridge Wells

Swale vs Tunbridge Wells - En Passant Cup - Board Three
Thursday 24 November 2016
White: K. Nevols (134) - Black: H. Tassell (147)

1. e4 c6

The Caro-Kann Defence. In a previous game (Game 20) I had faced this defence and was well beaten. So I tried to find something to play against it and, being a lazy person, preferably something I could easily remember.

On a Chessbase DVD (which I had bought in a sale!) there was a video by the Dutch International Master, Robert Ris, which suggested playing 2. Ne2 - an interesting idea - and one particular line which led to a fascinating pawn sacrifice. So I thought I would give it a go.

2. Ne2

The principle is that Caro Kann players like to put a bishop on f5. From the g3 square, this can be attacked.

2. ....    d5
3. e5 Bf5

Other moves Black could consider are 3. ... c5 (to be answered with 4. d4) and 3.. d4 (where White could have some fun with 4. b4 or the more conservative 4. c3.

4. Ng3 Bg6
5. h4

The play against the bishop continues.

5. .....  h6

If 5. ... h5 then 6. Be2 and the h-pawn is looking uncomfortable.

6. h5 Bh7

To my surprise, I have got to the position of the pawn sacrifice. At our level, we tend to concentrate more on opening principles and ideas rather than specific lines. However, here I had the chance to carry out some preparation.



Inwardly I hummed and ha-ed as I pondered whether I should play the safer 7. d4 but then I thought I might not get the chance to play this again - and I never like 'what if?'s - so I thought let's give it a go.

7. e6!?

Here it is. Not many club players get the chance to play a positional pawn sacrifice at move seven. I hoped he had not seen it before and, judging by the way he now went into some thought, I think that was correct.

7. ....    fxe6

You can now see the point behind the move. Take a look at the bishop on f8. How it is going to get out? On one side, there are doubled pawns that have to be shifted before it can think of freedom, while on the other, if the g-pawn moves, it will be exchanged for White's h-pawn and his pawn on h6 is poor.

And of course while the bishop on f8 is blocked, the rook on h8 will also struggle to get out.

The other point to note is the opening of the h5-g6-f7-e8 diagonal. White must move fast to exploit this while Black must aim to castle queenside quickly to get the king out of the way.

8. d4

The natural follow up to 7. e6 which restricts the e5 pawn and prepares to bring the king's bishop to d3.

8. ....   Qd6

I took a look at 8. .. Nd7 preparing e5. One line could be 9. Bd3 Qa5+ 10. Nc3 e5 and castling very soon or White could play 9. f4 trying to keep the trap closed.

I also wondered about 8. .. e5!? - immediately returning the pawn with 9. dxe5 e6 to follow.

The idea of Qd6, and the next knight move, is to get castling, but Black does not have enough time.

9. Bd3 Bxd3

If 9. .. Na6 I intended 10. Bxh7 Rxh7 11. Qd3 Nf6 12. Qg6+.

10. Qxd3 Na6
11. Qg6+ Kd7



Now the plan was to get a White rook onto the e-file. The longer those pawns stay on e6 and e7, the more development problems Black will have.

12. O-O Nf6

If 12. ... e5 White can retrieve the pawn with 13. Qf5+.

13. Re1 c5
14. dxc5 Nxc5

Black has succeeded in removing the White pawn from d4 and might now be thinking of e5 at some stage, even if it gives the pawn back, but with the intention of e6 and developing the kingside. This would not be possible while White has the option of Nf5 and then taking on g7 instead. White's queen is superbly placed.

I now considered 15. b3 with the idea of bringing the bishop to a3. But after 15. ... Nce4 16. Ba3 the Black queen can simply move to a6 or f4. So I decided to bring the knight into the action while also covering the e4 square which both the Black knights were looking at.

15. Nc3 Rc8
16. Be3

Planning to come to d4 and then e5 - while also peering in the direction of the undefended pawn on a7. Black now can't play 16. .. d4 because of 17. Bxd4 (17. .. Qxd4 18. Red1 wins the queen).



16. ....  b6?

A mistake providing White with two free moves to continue the attack. The computer recommends 16. ... Qa6 tucking the queen away. If Black plays 16. .. e5 then White has a good choice of 17. Rad1 which is strong. (17. ... e6 18. Bxc5 Rxc5 19. Nge4) or 17. Nf5 (17. ... Qe6 18. Bxc5 Rxc5 19. Nd4).

Remember Black's bishop on f8 and rook on h8 which I mentioned earlier. Look what a miserable time they are having.

17. Nb5 Qb8
18. Nd4 Qd6

Now if White wanted a draw (for example, to win the match) then he could simply play 19. Nb5 and Black would obligingly repeat moves. But the gain in tempo meant that I had moved my knight from c3 to d4 where it is very happy, looking at b5, e6 and f5.

I gave some thought here to 19. c4 dxc4 20. Rad1 but then Black has the annoying 20. .. Nd3 turning the tables. So instead it is time for the last piece to join the fight.

19. Rad1

The computer now recommends 19. .. e5! and gives the position as equal if, after 20. Ndf5, he can find 20. .... Qb8!

This stops 21. Nxg7 because of Bxg7 22. Qxg7 Rcg8 23. Qf7 Rh7 trapping the queen. White could try the more aggressive 21. c4 with 21. .. Na5 22. cxd5 Nxb2 23. Rb1 Nc4. White could also consider 24. Qf7 but it is hard to see a breakthrough.

19. .....   Nce4

While Black is effectively playing two pieces down, then maybe it is a mistake to exchange.

20. Nxe4 Nxe4



Now a big think. Firstly, I looked at the piece sacrifice 21. Bf4? - 21. ... Qxf4 22. Qxe6+. I could not see anything against 22. .. Kd8 (23. Nc6+ Rxc6 24. Qxc6 Qxf2+) and overlooked the simple 23. Qxd5+ which will win the knight and have a winning attack.

A far better move for Black would be 22. .. Kc7 then 23. Nb5+ Kb8 24. Qd7 Rc5! (defending the d5 pawn). 25. Qxa7+ Kc8 26. Qa6+ (if 26. Qa8+ then Qb8) Kd7 27. Rxd5 Ke8! 28. Qa8+ Kf7.

However, I did not see the need to sacrifice a piece in a winning position where there were other moves available.

I considered 21. f3! which I think is probably the best - clearing the e-file and redeploying the bishop back to f2 and then on to g3.

Instead I went for my third option, to get that bishop to f4 by a more direct route.

21. g3 Nf6
22. Bf4 Qb4

Now having forced the queen off the centre files, how can I finish off the attack against the king? I saw two options - 23. Qf7! was the sensible option - but, rather foolhardily, I decided to gamble.

23. Rxe6

The reason I say this is a gamble is because I thought he might play 23. ... Qxe4!? Then 24. Rxe7+ Bxe7 25. Rxd4, and it is queen and pawn against rook and knight - the type of lop-sided positions I do not like.

23.  ....     Qxb2?



With this move I breathed a sigh of relief. This was my day after all. I saw how I could finish it off from here.

24. Qf5 Kd8
25. Nc6+ Rxc6
26. Rxc6 e6
27. Qxe6 Bc5

The bishop is free at last - just in time for the final whistle.

28. Rc8 mate

I was very pleased with this win, in 28 moves, against a higher graded player by the use of a positional pawn sacrifice. My third win in a row, and nine unbeaten.


Swale v Tunbridge Wells

Keith Hyde (167) 0-1 Robert Jacobs (172)
Trefor Owens (172) 1-0 Russell Goodfellow (160)
Keith Nevols (134) 1-0 Hugh Tassell (147)
Ian Lappin (125) 1/2-1/2 Stephen Bond (119)
Tyrone Jefferies (116) 1/2-1/2 Richard Woodfield (117)
Andrew Gillard (113) 1-0 Peter Orchard (90)

Swale 4-2 Tunbridge Wells

Game 41 - club match. Tunbridge Wells v Swale

Tunbridge Wells v Swale - Intro League - Board One
Sunday 20 November 2016
White: K. Nevols (134) - Black: L. Cartwright (91)

A Sunday trip to lovely Tunbridge Wells. This game was played at the Bridge Club which had a very impressive room of card tables and facilities. We were tucked in upstairs.

1. e4 g6
2. d4 Bg7
3. Nf3 d6

By delaying Nf6, Black allows me to change this into a King's Indian.

4. c4 e5?!

Now 5. d5 would move towards the Petrosian King's Indian but, by playing e5 before castling, White allows me to exchange into an early advantage.

5. dxe5 dxe5
6. Qxd8+ Kxd8
7. Bg5+

Now I expected 7. .. f6 8. Be3  and then Nc3 or 7. ... Ne7 8. Nc3 and then Rd1, Be2 and castles with a development advantage while Black sorts out where to put his King.

7. ....   Nf6!?



But this surprised me. Does it not just give away a pawn? I looked at 8. Nxe5 h6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd3 and the position is equal.

Better might be  9. Nxf7+ Ke8 then 10. Nxh8 hxg5 11. Nxg6 (where White is the exchange and three pawns up - although it is difficult to rescue the knight on g5 - 11.  .. Ng8! 12. Nc3 Kf7) or 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 (not Kxf7 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 and White is two pawns up) 11. Nxh8 Bxb2 12. Nxg6 Bxa1 and White has two pawns for a piece.

Or 8. Nxe5 Ke8 9. Nc3 Nxe4 10. Nxe4 Bf5 11. Nf6+ Bxf6 12. Bxf6 Rg8. Material is equal but White is ahead with development and Black's king in the centre.

In the end I chose a simple development over tactics.

8. Nc3

Now 8. ... h6 is mandatory. 9. Bh4 g5 10. Bg3 Nfd7 11. Rd1 and White has an edge. But I might have played 9. Rd1+ and then Be3.

8. ....  Nc6??

This just gives away a piece. I scrutinised the board to see if there were any opening taps or tactics I was missing. I could not see any and so went to pick up the pinned piece.

9. Nd5

Hard to give Black advice here. The computer recommends 9. ... Bg4 in an attempt to muddy the waters.

9. ...  Re8

Now which piece? 10. Nxf6 Bxf6 11. Bxf6+ Kd7 12. O-O-O looked fine but I decided to be greedy noticing the knight on f6 now forked the rook and the h7 pawn.

10. Bxf6+ Bxf6
11. Nxf6 Rh8
12. O-O-O+ Ke7
13. Nd5+ Kd6



The game is now a simple win as I pick up a rook and a pawn.

14. Nb6+ Ke7
15. Nxa8 Bg4
16. Nxc7 Bxf3
17. Nd5+ Ke6
18. gxf3 Nd4

So I am a rook, a bishop and a pawn up. There is nothing further to say in this game - except that I find a nice way to checkmate.

19. Bh3+ Kd6
20. Rd3 Kc5
21. b3 Rd8
22. Kb2 b6
23. b4+ Kxc4
24. Rc3+ Kb5
25. Bf1+ Resigns



After 25. ... Ka4 then 26. Ra3 is checkmate.

Tunbridge Wells v Swale

Keith Nevols (134) 1-0 Lewis Cartwright (91)
Andrew Gillard (113) 1-0 Efe Shimwell (80)
Ted Vidyartmi (55) 0-1 Sam Cartwright (51)
Owen Underdown (55) 0-1 Madhav Suraj (51)

Tunbridge Wells 2-2 Swale

Game 40 - Swale Club Championship 2016-17 - Round Seven

Swale Club Championship - Round Seven
Thursday 17 November 2016
White: T. Jefferies (116) - Black: K. Nevols (134)

A tough opponent - we had two games last year, the first of which I was fortunate to win (Game 13)and in the second I was well beaten (Game 26). I prepared myself for a gruelling battle - as it turned out to be. My strategy was not to enter a tactical conflict but to try to play slowly and positionally, see if I could get small advantages, and play on those in the ending.

1. e4 d5

Last year I had played the more aggressive 1. .. e5. This time, I am not taking chances and setting up my shell.

2. exd5 Qxd5
3. Nc3 Qa5
4. d4 Nf6
5. Be2

White chooses a quieter plan to the usual Bc4. His aim is to place the bishop on the long diagonal to exploit the forthcoming bishop move.

5. ....   Bf5
6. Bf3



6. .....  c6

Here the computer prefers 6. .. Nc6!? The pawn to c6 is a main feature of this defence system - it solidifies the diagonal, gives the queen a route to drop back and defends the d5 square - so 6. ... Nc6 was never considered. The idea behind Nc6 is to prevent Bd2 and come to the b4 square to hit the c2 point.

After 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. Nf3 Nd5 9. Bd2 then Black has 9. .. Nb4 10. Rc1 Nxa2 11. Ra1 Nxc3 12. Bxc3 Qd5! so 8. Bd2 Qb6 9. Bc1 Rd8!

Maybe I will give the Nc6 manoeuvre a go some time.

7. Nge2 e6

Another possibility, and idea to remember in future, is 7. .. Na6!? here, with the same idea of coming to b4. 8. Ng3 Nb4! 9. Nxf5 Qxf5 and the c2 pawn cannot be defended. (10. O-O Nxc2 11. Be4 Nxe4 12. Qxc2 Ng3!!).

8. O-O Bd6

As White has castled before I have moved the queens bishop, then playing Bb4 would have limited use - so instead I decide to prevent Bf4.

9. Ng3 Bg6
10. Re1 O-O

The king is nicely tucked away and the position is equal.

11. Nce4 Be7
12. c3

A sensible move defending the d4 point and moving off the bishop diagonal - but it surprised me. Sometimes the pawn comes to c4 - a more aggressive post but slightly weakening the pawn on d4 to which Black could consider pressure down the d-file with Rd8 etc.

12. ....  Nbd7
13. Bf4

White has a keen eye on the d6 square.

13. ....   Nd5



14. Bd6 Bxd6
15. Nxd6 Qc7

I was content with the exchange of the black squared bishops. Now I just need to expel the knight, and I can think of plans to bring the rooks in and move some pawns forward.

16. Bxd5?!

This surprised me. Retreating the knight to c4 or e4 may have been better. White exchanges his bishop and this gives my own white squared bishop added strength. Admittedly, with my pawns on white squares, this is only a small edge but I thought White might keep his bishop, which is well placed, and consider ideas based around c4 and d5.

I now briefly considered 16. .. Qxd6 - solely because it looked clever - but decided the bishop had to go and that I could try for some queenside initiative against the different pawn structure.

16. ....   cxd5
17. Nb5 Qb6

Now against 18. Qb3 I intended 18. .. a6 19. Na3 and then perhaps 19. .. Rac8. Instead White wants to keep the queens on.

18. Qe2 a6
19. Na3 Rac8



The plan! First, double up the rooks on the c-file. Second, move the queen somewhere useful. Third, advance with b5, a5, b4, and see what happens. There is not much White can do. The queen has to defend the b2 pawn, Black's centre is quite solid, and the knights have little scope.

20. Rac1 Rc6
21. Qd2 Rfc8
22. h4 h6
23. h5 Bh7

I did not mind his pawn coming to h5 - as it is just something else for White to defend.

24. Qe2 Nf6

At this point I was feeling very comfortable and thought, as long as I did not blunder, I had at least  a draw in hand.

25. Nb1 Bxb1

White was pleased to see this move. The point of it is that although the bishop was controlling a number of squares, it was doing little else and is limited by my pawns in the centre. Meanwhile that knight could redeploy to d2, then f3 and finally e5 where it could prove to be a nuisance. Hence I decided to exchange it while I could.

26. Rxb1 Qc7

Preparing b5 and also thinking about attacking the h-pawn.



27. Qf3 Qa5
28. Ra1 Qa4
29. Qd1 Qxd1

After some thought, I decided to get the queens off. Like the bishop, I decided it had served its purpose and the absence of queens reduces any White chances of counter attacks or defences.

30. Raxd1

At this point, White offered a draw. The position is roughly equal but I thought Black had a very small edge. He has an initiative on the queenside and White has a weak pawn on h5. On the other hand, it is not easy for Black to break through - but deciding that, so long as I concentrated, then I could not lose, so I declined the offer.

30. ....  Kf8

The point if this move was to defend the e-file in case it opened with f4-f5. Also, long term, to get the king to the f6 square - not possible at the moment due to the rook's pin down the e-file.

31. f3

Another surprise. I had expected 31. f4. This limits the knight and prepares a king advance.

31. ....   b5

So it is now time to get on with it.

32. a3 Rc4
33. Kf2 a5
34. Re2



34. ..... Nd7?!

On the way to the a4 square. However, 34. ... b4 is better. 35. cxb4 axb4 36. axb4 Rxb4 37. Red2 Rcb8 38. Rb1 and then Black can choose between 38. .. Ke7 or 38. .. Rb3. Black's inaccuracy frees the white knight.

35. Nf1

Now, no longer necessary to defend the h-pawn, White has got time to bring the knight across to the defence of the queenside.

35. ....   R4c6
36. Nd2 Ke7
37. g4 Kf6

The delay in playing b4 has allowed White to improve his defences. Now White could play Nb3 and disrupt the Black initiative.

38. Kg3 b4



At last, but maybe too late. The white knight is better placed on d2 than it was on g3, and Black's knight is just looking on. However Black is helped by the fact that White's king has moved further away.

39. axb4 axb4
40. Nb1

I was thinking about 40. cxb4 Rc2 but then realised that this does not threaten Rxb2 because of the tactic Ne4+. So probably 40. cxb4 Rb6. The text presumably intends to reply to 40. ... bxc3 with 41. Nxc3.

40. ....  Rb8

Now 41. cxb4 Rxb4 42. Nc3 is possible. Black could then try 42. ... Rcb6 43. Rdd2 and perhaps 43. ... Nb8 to relocate the knight to an aggressive position.

41. Rd3 Rcb6
42. cxb4 Rxb4
43. R3d2 Nb6



A good punch. After all the moving about, I could now see that the b-pawn was heading my way.

44. Na3 Na4
45. f4

I had to keep an eye out for any plans with Kh4, g5 and h6. Hence my rejection of 45. .. Rb3+ here.

45. ....   Rxb2

Booty gathered. Now a pawn up - the next task was to win the game.

I studied to see if exchanging all the rooks and leaving a knight ending would help. Black is better placed and the target would be the white pawn on d4 as well as the advanced pawns on the kingside. I was not sure if it was clearly won.

46. g5+? Ke7?

46. ... Kf5???? of course walks into 47. Re5 mate but I really cannot explain how I missed 46. .. hxg5. You spend so much effort winning a pawn on one side of the board that you miss one which is gifted to you on the other side.

Now best for White would be 47. gxh6 - splitting Black's pawns would give some counterplay chances in the ending.

But by now the game was into its fourth hour, everyone else had gone home, the room was empty, and we were both tired. With this in mind, it was perhaps inevitable that one of us would blunder and, fortunately for me, it was White who did so first.

47. Nc2?? Nc3
48. Re3 Ne4+



With the loss of the exchange, White decided to resign.

I was very pleased with this victory which at the time I thought was my best game so far this season. It was also my seventh unbeaten game in a row and, with five wins, one draw and one loss, put me at the top of the chess club tournament board.

Game 39 - club match. Maidstone v Swale

Maidstone vs Swale - Fuller Cup - Board One
Thursday 9 November 2016
White: K. Nevols (134) - Black: B. Beavis (148)

A rematch - our last encounter had resulted in a massive defeat (Game 18) and so I resolved to play calmly and solid. This time I had the white pieces.

1. e4 e6
2. Qe2

This is an off-beat response to the French. It is completely harmless for Black but avoids all the multitude of French variations. The idea is that if Black now plays 2. ... d5, as French Defence players usually do, then after 3. exd5 Black has to retake with the queen instead of the usual e-pawn.

Some games with this line move into a closed Sicilian and this is what happens here.

2. ...   c5
3. Nc3 d6
4. Nf3 Nc6
5. d3 Nf6
6. g3

Black could now consider lines involving 6. .. e5 7. Bg2 Bg4 8. h3 Nd4 9. Qd1 or 7. ... Nd4 but I think White is safe.

6. ..... Be7
7. Bg2 O-O
8. O-O Qc7

So far so good. Development continuing easily. I now had to consider where to put the queen's bishop. I figured that Black might be aiming to play d5 to open some lines for the bishops. I thought of 9. Be3 but after 9. ... Ng4 could not decide between 10. Bd2 or 10. Bf4.



Instead I decided to provoke Black to play e5 so I would not have to worry about a d5 break and then see if I could play on the kingside as well as considering the option of Bxf6 Bxf6; Nd5.

9. Bf4 e5
10. Bg5 Be6

OK, that's the end of any Nd5 ideas. Now I wanted to get the pawn to the f4 square to add pressure on the centre and start a kingside advance - so where should I put my knight? The d2 square gets in the way of the queen and bishop while on h4 there is the possibility of hopping into f5 - so over it went.

Playing the white knight to h4 is often dubious - and I think it is here.

The computer prefers 11. Qd2 to pre-empt Black's Nd4 move. It also considers 11. a4 and 11. Bxf6 as worthy of consideration.

11. Nh4?!

The time control was 35 moves in 75 minutes each and then 15 more minutes for the rest of the game. At this stage I had 52 minutes left for 24 moves while my opponent had 59.

11. ...   Nd4
12. Qd2 h6



Now here I had an almighty think - and began getting into time trouble. I could not decide between Bxf6 or Be3.

If 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nf3 then Black has 14. .. Qa5 with some pressure after 15. Nxd4 cxd4 16. Nb1 Qxd2 17. Nxd2 Rfc8 or 14. ... Nxf3 15. Bxf3 Bg5. And if 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Ne2 then 14. .. Bg5 is good for Black.

But the variation I considered was 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. Nd5 with either 14. ... Qd8 15. Nxf6 Qxf6 16. c3 or 14. ... Bxd5 15. exd5 which after 15. .. Bg5 16. Qd1 Bxh4 and Qe7 looks ugly.

Then I had a look at 13. Be3 and how could I play against 13. .. Ng4.

On principle I decided to keep the bishops on - which rather made the whole exercise a waste of time and effort.

13. Be3

Now Black could consider 13. ... g5 14. Nf3 Bg4 with pressure. (15. Bxd4 cxd4 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Rac8).

13. ....    Ng4
14. Nf3

I now had 25 minutes left for 21 moves. The time limit was the usual 35 moves in 75 minutes and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game.

14. ....    Nxe3
15. fxe3 Nc6

I think 15. ... Nxf3 16. Bxf3 would have been fine for White, easing some of the pressure - although I would keep an eye on any Bg5 ideas. Some plans based around d4 would have been considered.

With the knight's retreat, I breathed a sigh of relief and now saw I could get some initiative in the centre.

16. Nd5 Qd7

If 16. ... Bxd5 17. exd5 Nb4 then 18. e4 secures the centre and gives me time for ideas around c3 and d4 with perhaps Rac1 in there somewhere.

17. Nxe7+ Nxe7



Now 18. b4!? is interesting - exploiting the decision to retake on e7 with the knight. If 18. .. cxb4 19. Qxb4 Rfc8 20. c4, or 19. .... Nc6 20. Qb5 and White is having fun again.

Black is better at the moment due to his better placed pieces. White's bishop on g2 is miserable and Black could think about ideas of a pawn break with either d5 or f5.

I gave thought here to 18. Nh4 hoping to provoke 18. .. Ng6 when I could play 19. Nf5. However, 18. .. g5 is simple enough.

Instead I decided to try to open the centre to give some space to my pieces.

18. d4! Bc4

I was not displeased to see this, as it forces me to free the f1 square where I might be able to move the bishop and either swap or gain some activity.

An interesting exchange sacrifice would be 19. dxc5!? Bxf1 20. Rxf1. White would get two pawns for the exchange. There are some good variations here - but nothing conclusive - and, being very short of time, I would not have gone for it even if I had seen it.

19. Rf2 Qc7?

A mistake from Black - 19. ... exd4 would have been better. Now White should have played 20. dxe5 dxe5 21. Qc3 winning a pawn.

20. b3?

..... But I did not see it and just wanted the bishop out of there.

20. ....   Be6
21. Qc3 exd4
22. exd4 Rac8
23. Rd1

Planning to meet 23. cxd4 with 24. Qxd4 and Black has a weak pawn on d6. Now I had 12 minutes left for 12 moves.

23.  ...  c4
24. Qe3

An idea is 24. d5 but I do not want to open the black squared diagonal towards my king.

24. ...   Qb6



25. Nd2

Seven minutes left for ten moves.

25. ......  cxb3
26. cxb3

I was worried about 26. .. Rc2 but then 27. Nc4 wins the exchange.

26. ...  Bg4
27. Bf3 Bxf3

My white bishop, which had done nothing all game, is exchanged for his very busy and active bishop. That was a very good bargain.

28. Nxf3 Qb4

I began to feel more comfortable and my only worry was the clock. If I could make the time control without blundering, I thought I could keep a drawn position.

29. Rc1 Rc6
30. Rxc6

Forced. I could not wait for the other rook to come to c8. Three minutes left for five moves.

30.  ....  bxc6

Probably better than 30. ... Nxc6 31. d5.

31. Rc2 Qb6
32. Qc3 Rc8

With just under two minutes to go, my priority was to get to move 35.

33. Qd3 Ng6
34. Kg2

So as not to worry about plans about Ne5 exploiting the diagonal pin to the king.

34. ....   Qa5
35. Qd2 Qb6



Made it! As Black moved the queen back to b6, he offered the draw to which I accepted.

On the face of it, not a very exciting game where both sides played very carefully and solidly - but Black had the edge throughout in activity although nothing conclusive.

In the final position, White might have a slight advantage and could play 36. Rc4 next but after a tiring game, I was happy to accept a draw with a higher graded player who had comprehensively beaten me last time.

Maidstone v Swale

Barrington Beavis (148) 1/2-1/2 Keith Nevols (134)
Peter Dirmauskas (99) 1-0 Tyrone Jefferies (116)
Nigel Osina (98) 1/2-1/2 Andrew Gillard (113)
Rebecca Rutter 0-1 Anthony Fletcher (74)

Maidstone 2-2 Swale

Game 38 - Swale Club Championship 2016-17 - Round Six

Swale Club Championship - Round Six
Thursday 3 November 2016
White: K. Nevols (134) - Black: I. Lappin (125)

My opponent was someone you could not prepare for - he has a wide range of opening set-ups and tactics. I had a very difficult game last year and prepared myself for another tough battle.

1. e4 d5

Now here's a funny thing. I face the opening I have made into my own defence!

2. exd5 Qxd5
3. Nc3 Qe6+

Unusual. I play Qa5, while Qd6, Qe5+ and Qd8 are all sometimes seen. Now 4. Be2 could be met by the annoying 4. .. Qg6. Perhaps 4. Nge2 is best. All the same, I decide to let the queens go early.

4. Qe2 Qxe2+
5. Bxe2 Bf5

Already time for the thinking cap. White should now play 6. Nd5 and after 6. .. Kd8 7. Ne3 Bg6 8. Nf3 is developing nicely.

6. d3

But this is not so good for the simple reason that it holds up the kingside development.

6. ...  c6
7. Nf3 h6
8. Nd4 Bh7

Now I have in mind whether I can play any tactics on the queenside with moves around Bf3 and Nb5.

9. Bf3 Nd7



White should now either castle or play Be3 keeping an edge. Instead here comes the first blunder of the game. I still had in mind plans around Nb5 and decided to develop my bishop towards the c7 square - and completely overlooking a fork.

10. Bf4?? e5

Simple when you see it - highly annoying when you don't. Grumbling silently, I tried to see how I could get something for the piece. I considered 11. Ncb5? cxb5 12. Nxb5 but 12. .. Kd8 or better 12. .. Rc8 keeps Black well ahead.

I looked at castling and, after pawn takes something, then Re1+ but there's nothing there - simply Be7.

Finally I thought I might tempt him into a mistake and get two pawns for the piece.

11. Nxc6

If now 11. .. bxc6 12. bxc6 Rc8 13. Bxd7+ Kxd7 14. Be3 (14. Bxe5?? Re8 with f6 to follow) and I would have two pawns for the piece with a beady eye on the a7 pawn and a Black king in the centre with an undeveloped kingside. I would have to throw the kitchen sink to get a swindle out of that.

Black chooses the other capture.

11. ...  exf4
12. Na5

My original plan was 12. .. Rb8 and something takes on b7. However if 13. Nxb7 then 13. .. Ne5 is good (14. Bd5 Nf6) and if 13. Bxb7 then 13. .. Bb4! So after 12. .. Rb8 White has to castle queenside and Black can then continue developing with 13. .. Be7 and Ngf6 - the pawn on b7 is still poisonous.

12. ...  Bb4

My first piece of luck - he does not find 12. .. Rb8 and the second pawn goes.

13. Nxb7 Rb8
14. O-O-O

OK, now the b2 point is defended and I can get a rook onto the e-file.

14. ...   g5!?

I did not expect this. The point is to threaten 15. .. g4 and remove a square from the bishop - but I think 14. .. Ngf6 is better.

15. Nb5

I have my eye on the c7 square for a check and also thinking of c3 and Re1 check.

15. ...   Ngf6

Black shows no fear!! But I win the exchange.

16. Nc7+ Kf8
17. Na6 Rxb7
18. Bxb7 Bd6



OK, I say to myself, I am back in the game. I have a rook and two pawns versus a knight and bishop. But his pieces are very active and he can bring the rook into the game with Kg7. My first task must be to get those pieces stuck on the left hand side back into the centre - starting with the knight which is dominated by the bishop.

19. a3 Bf5
20. Nb4 Nc5
21. Bc6 Be6
22. Bb5 Kg7
23. Bc4 Ng4



Black has played the last few moves very well - his four minor pieces are becoming very active while I am keen to ease the pressure by swapping off a bishop.

Now I gave some thought to 24. Bxe6 Nxf2 25. Bc4 Nxh1 26. Rxh1 which results in an ending in which I am a pawn up. But better for Black would be the simple 24. ... Nxe6.

I also considered 24. f3? Nf2 25. Bxe6 but then again simply 25. .. Nxe6 and my rooks remain forked.

I instead decided I had to grovel and defend the f-pawn. However 24. Bxe6 is a better move.

24. Rdf1 Rc8

A good square for the rook but allowing me to exchange a bishop. The computer likes 24. .. f3 forcing 25. g3.

25. Bxe6 fxe6
26. h3

Another sigh of relief at being able to get the knight away. I now expected 26. .. Ne5 (which threatens Bxb4 and Nxd3) after which I would play 27. Kd2.

An interesting move for Black would be 26. .. f3!? with 27. gxf3 Ne5 which gives a wonderful square on f4 for a Black knight or bishop.

26.   ...  a5

But this keeps up the pressure. Moving the knight allows Nxd3 (or even Nxf2 and then Nd3) whereas 27. hxg4 axb4 28. axb4 Nd3+ 29. Kd2 Nxb4 and Black has won a pawn.

27. Kd2 Na4?

At last Black makes a mistake. 27. .. Nxf2 28. Rxf2 axb4 29. axb4 Na4 keeps Black's advantage and ties White down to a difficult defence. But now I could see a way I might get put a defence together.

28. hxg4 axb4
29. b3 Nc3
30. a4

Now I must remember the possibility of running with that a-pawn.

30. ....   Bc5

Tying down the rook on f1. So I have a big think and cobble together some kind of counterplay. I need to release the rooks and decide the f2 pawn is better defended from f3 so I could think about a plan involving g3 - but self-trapping the rook on f3 is quite brave.



31. Rh3 Bb6
32. Rf3 e5
33. Re1

However, now 33. ... h5! rolls up the kingside. The forced line goes 34. Rxe5 Kf6 35. Rf5+ Kg6 36. Re5 hxg4 37. Re6+ Kf7 38. Rxb6 and then Black might spot 38. ...   Nc1+!! 39. Kc1 Na3 40. c4 bxc3 41. Rxf4+ gxf4. Still, a tough one to play.

33. .....   Kf6

But nothing wrong with playing simple defence.

34. g3 h5

Playing 34. ... Bd4 is also simple and strong.

Throughout these moves I had to keep my rook on the back rank as I was concerned about the manoeuvre Nb1+ and Nc3.

35. gxf4



Now Black should play 35. .. exf4 and then 36. gxh5 Kf5! with the threat of g4, forcing 37. Rh3 Bxf2. With the two passed pawns and the bishop coming to e3, White could consider resigning.

35.  ....   hxg4?

Glory be!! A mistake.

36. fxe5+

Black had overlooked that this was double check - and that he would have no time to take the rook.

36. ....    Kg7
37. Rf5 Bd8

Now 38. Rg1 is best to pick up the pawns but I was still worried about the knight so instead I thought I get play by advancing the pawn.

38. e6 Bf6

Now Black threatens Nxa4 and Bc3+.

39. Ra5

With the idea of defending against this threat and infiltrating to the seventh rank.

39. ...   Rd8
40. Ra7+ Kg6
41. Rd7 Re8
42. d4



I was full of confidence now and thought if I could get a pawn to d5 then the win is there. But Black could now play 42. ... Kf5! 43. d5 Ne4+ and suddenly it is still in balance. 42. a5 might have been better.

42. ....   Bg7
43. Kd3

Another reason why I wanted to play d4 was to get some room for the King. Black should now return the bishop to f6 - 43. .. Bf6 - to cover the e7 square. Then he could consider playing Kf5. After 43. .. Bf6 44. d5 Kf5 White has a choice of 45. a5 or 45. e7 - I would probably have preferred the former.

Fortunately (for me) Black makes the last mistake - and forgot he had moved the bishop.

43. ....   Kf5??
44. Rxg7

Black now resigned.

A dramatic and exhausting game where I was forever just trying to survive after my blunder on move 10. Until Black's 35th move, I was behind and even then nothing was clear. Yet again a game I probably did not deserve to win - but then I would argue that, with the fight I put up, I perhaps did not deserve to lose either.