Kent v Surrey - Board Ten
Saturday 24 March 2018
White: A. Collard (152) - Black: K. Nevols (161)
My debut for the Kent Under-180s was the last match of the season and the team needed to win to qualify for the national quarter finals.
1. d4 f5
2. g3 Nf6
3. Bg2 e6
4. c4 d6
5. Nc3 Be7
6. Nh3!?
An interesting development of the knight with the option of coming to f4 as well as keeping the diagonal of the bishop open.
6. .... O-O
7. O-O
Remembering an earlier game where I got in trouble with a g2 bishop and a White attack on the queenside, I considered c6. Instead I decided to keep to Dutch principles and attack in the centre.
7. ..... e5
8. dxe5 dxe5
9. Qxd8 Rxd8
10. Nd5
An earlier c6 would have avoided this - White's knight is on a good square and I gave a lot of thought. 10. .. Bd6? falls to 11. c5 winning material. 10. .. Rd7 just looks ugly. So I went for the only other option.
10. ..... Nxd5
11. Bxd5+
At this stage I was aware of a rumpus in the hall, and the opposing team's captain, who was on an adjacent board was called away. Someone had walked off after an argument and he was asked to get them back.
This does not excuse the mistake.
11. .... Kf8?!
Of course I should have played 11. .. Kh8 but I was concerned about 12. Ng5 and getting smothered. Also, without queens, moving the king towards the centre seemed harmless.
After 11. .. Kh8 12. Ng5 Black could play 12. .. c6 and then 13. Nf7+ Kg8 14. Nxd8 cxd5 15. Nxb7 Bxb7 16. cxd5 Bxd5 .... or 15. cxd5 Bxd8 ... and Black should be OK.
11... Kh8 12. Bg5 might be better for White.
12. Ng5
White plays this anyway. I did not like the idea of the knight coming to either h7 or e6.
12. ..... Bxg5
13. Bxg5 Re8
Now we are getting uncomfortable. White has two very good bishops whereas Black's queenside is still asleep.
14. Rad1 c6
At last! The first step towards sorting out a defence.
15. Bg2 Be6
Somewhere around here I went for a walk and could not resist drifting over to the board where the dispute took place. Eight moves had gone, the clocks were stopped, and the game abandoned. I could not see what the problem was. By now, the opposing team captain had returned to his seat, and his own game, so the players must have gone home.
16. b3 a5
16. .. Nd7 and then Nf6 is a better defence but I was getting fed up of grovelling and wanted some activity.
17. e4!
A good move. I could see the plan was to follow up with f4 and try to open the f-file while the Black king was on f8.
17. .... fxe4
18. Bxe4
18. f4 is an interesting pawn sacrifice .. 18. .. exf3 e.p. 19. Bxf3 Kg8 20. Bh5 g6 21. Bf3. White has weakened the Black centre, and could play down the e-file. Black might be able to hold with a few concerning moments.
18. .... Kg8
I was still concerned about 19. f4 and whether 19. .. exf4 20. Bxf4 Nd7 holds.
19. Rd6
White agrees with my view and decides to power up on the d-file.
19. ....... Nd7
20. Rfd1 Nc5
Thinking of that queenside offensive. 20. .. Nf6 is another, perhaps safer, option.
21. Bc2 a4
22. Be3
22. b4 Na6 23. b5 cxb5 24. cxb5 Nc7 and Black should pick up one of the pawns.
My strategy is to exchange the queenside pawns to improve my chances of holding a draw.
22. .... axb3
23. axb3 Na6
24. Bb6 Nb4
25. Be4 g6
Planning the bishop to come to f5 to aid the defence.
26. Rd8 Kf7
27. Kg2
The computer recommends 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. Bc7 Kf6 or 28. .. Re8! The two bishops can dance around but it is not clear if White can get the necessary firepower to finish off the game.
However White has been better throughout and so I was relieved when he offered a draw which I quickly accepted to end what was, to an on looker, quite a dull game.
AGREED DRAW
As for the 'incident', it was put to one side to see if it would affect the match result. Unfortunately the 16 board match finished 7.5-7.5 with the one abandoned game and so, as both sides needed to win, it went to whoever decides this sort of thing.
Usually we are told to switch our mobile phones off during a match - if it rings, you are given a warning, unlike professional chess where you get an instant forfeit. The Kent player was given permission to keep his phone on to give directions to a team mate who was running late - but the phone was on silent. After the game had started, the Kent player did indeed receive a call - at which point the Surrey player objected, said he was distracted, and walked off. Subsequent discussions could not persuade him to return to the board.
Kent claimed the game on the grounds that the Surrey player had walked off and gone home. Surrey claimed the game on the distraction of the Kent player having his phone left on and then ringing (albeit silently). The judgement was ... in favour of Surrey ... who thus won the match 8.5-7.5.
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