4NCL Final Weekend – Games

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The 4NCL always produces interesting, complex and accurate chess with the odd blunder thrown in for good measure! The Yorkshire players produced some excellent games, here is a selection of the best of them.

Palliser v Stefanova

Richard Palliser entered the weekend in the knowledge that he had a chance of securing a GM norm, but had a tough opponent in former Women’s World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 The Chebanenko Slav.

5. c5 Nbd7 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bd2 This line has been seen many times at GM-level.

8…Nhf6 9. Bf4 Nh5 10. Be5 Nhf6N 10… Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Nf6 This is the normal way to continue, but White has historically scored very well, so Stefanova decides to try something different and claim that the
bishop on e5 impedes White’s natural development.

11. e3 g6 12. Bd3 Bg7 13.b4 O-O 14. O-O Nh5 15. Bxg7 Kxg7 One has to wonder whether Stefanova’s concept was an improvement as she felt the need to eliminate this bishop anyway, but at the cost of her own bishop instead of the knight.

16. a4 Re8 17. Be2 Nhf6 18. b5 Qa5 18… e5 The old maxim of countering an attack on the wing with an attack in the centre seems logical here. Stefanova indeed plays this next move but firstly puts her queen away from the centre in a slightly awkward position on the queenside.

19. Qc1 e5 20. b6 Shutting the queen off from the rest of it’s army. I think this move makes a lot of intuitive sense, even though it is not the computer’s preferred option.

20…exd4 21. exd4 Nf8 22.Qb2 Bg4 23. Ne5 Bxe2 24. Nxe2 Ne4 25. Ra2 This rather mysterious move protects the square d2 so that Ne3-c1-b3, trapping the queen might soon be a threat.

25…Rxe5!? Houdini agrees that this exchange sacrifice is the best way for Black to proceed in this position. It seems difficult for Black to make any moves with this knight sat in such a strong place. White’s pawn chain is also weakened by this sacrifice. 25… f6 This also eliminates White’s strong knight but at too high a price, her knight on e4 and queen on a5 are quickly running out of squares. 26. Nd3 Ne6 27. f3 N4g5? (27… N4xc5) 28. h4 Nf7 29. Nec1 $1

26. dxe5 Ne6 27. Nd4 N4xc5 Black has now got two pawns for the sacrificed exchange. In addition, she has broken White’s strong queenside and central bind. However, her king is a little exposed and White’s pieces probably have better future than Black’s.

28. f4 Nd3 29. Nxe6+ fxe6 30. Qb3 Nb4 31. Raf2 Qxb6 32. Kh1 32. a5!? Qxa5 33. Qh3 Re8 34. f5! gxf5 (34…exf5 35. g4) 35. g4 This seems like a suicide pact by White’s pawns, but it allows White to use his trump – his extra exchange to full use as his long range forces can take advantage of the lack of shelter round Black’s king. Rg8 36. gxf5 Kh7+ 37. Rg2 Rxg2+ 38. Kxg2 Qa2+ 39. Kg1 and the f-file will open with decisive effect.

32… a5 33. Qg3 Kh7 34. f5! This sacrifice ensures that files open around Antoaneta’s king and Richard will be able to use his extra rook to good effect.

34…exf5 35. e6 Opens the way for White’s queen.

35…Qd4 36. h4 Richard continues to use his pawns to batter the shield around Black’s king.

36…Re8 37. h5 Rxe6 38. Qh3 Qg4?? Approaching time control, Richard’s attacking approach has brought about a fatal mistake. 38… Kg7 39. hxg6 Qg4 The computer has considered that the game has been about level throughout, but of course all three results are still possible and a lot of play would still be required to decide the outcome!

39. Qxg4 fxg4 40. Rf7+ Kg8 41. Rf8+ Kg7 42. R1f7# This was an extremely interesting game with creative play from both sides. In the end, Richard’s well timed attack in the run up to the time control forced the mistake from his opponent and in the process he earned a 9-round GM norm! This would later become an 11-round GM norm by the end of the weekend. Many congratulations to him! 1-0

Wells v Slavin

This game is a lesson that all of us can learn from – don’t go pawn grabbing at the expense of development! Peter Wells expertly demonstrates how to exploit a development advantage.

1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 c5 This is an unusal response to the 2.Nc3 dutch. It seems like this game might be a good reason why we won’t see this too often in the future. More common responses are 2…Nf6 and Simon Williams’ recommendation, 2…d5.

3. dxc5 Nf6 4. Bg5 e6 Perhaps this move is already a mistake. It introduces a pin which allows White break open the position to his advantage.

5. e4 White is ahead in development and has a more solid structure, so it must be correct to break open the centre like this.

5…h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. exf5 Qxf5 8. Bd3 Qe5+ 9. Ne4 Bxc5 10. Nf3 White is using the exposed nature of Black’s pieces to gain a lead in development.

10…Qxb2 11. O-O Be7 A sad but necessary retreat.

12. Rb1 Qxa2 Black’s queenside has not yet moved and his kingside is very exposed. White has more than enough compensation for the sacrificed material.

13. Ne5 O-O 14. Qh5 14. Ng6 Rf7 15.Nxe7+ Rxe7 just trades off pieces without any real purpose.

14… Nc6 15.Ng4! This sets up unpleasant threats of including sacrificing on h6 and using the bishop, queen and other knight to deliver checkmate. 15. Ng4 If it was White’s turn to move, he would win by – 16. Nxh6+ Kh8 17. Ng5 Bxg5 18.Nf7+ Kg8 19. Bh7#

15… Rf5? 15… Rf7 gives the King a flight square and prevent the checkmate given above. However, the computer still thinks White is well on top after 16. Qg6 renewing the threat of Nxh6. 16…Kf8 (16… Kh8? this loses to a pretty mate: 17. Ng5 Kg8 18. Nxh6+ Kh8 19. Ngxf7#) 17. Qh7 Ke8 18. Qg8+ It’s very unusual to see the queen chasing the king like this, each moving one square at a time.} 18…Rf8 19. Qxg7 White will regain his material with no signs of the end of the attack. Black still has significant development problems.

16. Qe8+ Bf8 17. Nd6 17. Qg6! Threatening Nxh6, Nf6, Nd6 amongst other things. Houdini gives a forced mate in 10 in this position. 17…Be7 18. Nef6+ Bxf6 19. Nxh6+ Kh8 20. Nxf5 Ne5 21. Qe8+ Kh7 22. Ne7+ g6 23. Bxg6+ Kh6 24. Qf8+ Kg5 25. f4+ Kg4 26. Qh6 Nxg6 27. Qh3# The text is still more than good enough to win.

17… Rf4 18. Bg6 Qa4 19. c4! Cutting the queen off and keeping Black’s pieces uncoordinated. This is a good demonstration of how Grandmasters conduct their attack – limiting the
opponent’s defensive resources is just as important as bringing your own pieces into the attack.

19…Kh8 20. Bf7 Rxf7 21. Nxf7+ Kg8 22. Nfxh6+ Kh7 23. Qxf8
Qb4 Slavin now goes into an Ivanchuk-style sacrifice mode. Peter Wells plays very accurately and declines the offer instead playing a forced mate.

24. Qg8+ Kg6 25. Qf7+ Kg5 26. f4+ Kh4 27. g3+ Kh3 28. Nf2# A combination of weak squares and lack of development is likely to lead to your downfall, especially when your opponent is as strong as Peter Wells! 1-0

Weller v Plaskett

White Rose’s Jean-Luc Weller has come on leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and has already beaten IM Andrew Ledger and GM Nigel Davies this season, so White Rose were confident about putting him in the first team against a very strong Guildford 1 team. Here, the Yorkshire junior shows remarkable calmness in realising the advantage he had in his position despite his experienced opponent throwing the kitchen sink at him.

1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 This is not the mainline French Tarrasch but is quite commonly played nevertheless.

4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. c3 f6 In this line, Black chooses to attack White’s centre with f7-f6 instead of the normal c7-c5 break.

7. Bb5 fxe5 8. dxe5 Be7 9. O-O 9. Nd4 is also quite trendy nowadays.

9… O-O 10. Re1 Qe8 11. Nf1 Nc5 12. Ng3 This knight maneouvre is one commonly seen in the Ruy Lopez.

12…Bd7N A novelty, and probably not a good one based on the outcome of this game. 12… a6 13. Bf1 a5 preventing b2-b4 has been played by strong players previously.

13. b4 This puts an awkward question to the knight.

13…Na6?! 13… Ne4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Rxe4 a5 16. bxa5 Nxe5 17. Bxd7 Qxd7 18. Qxd7 Nxd7 19. Rxe6 Bd6 Houdini assesses that Black has enough compensation for the pawns and that the position is roughly level. 13… Nd8 14. Bf1 Ba4 Houdini recommends this tactical way to untangle it’s pieces.

14. Bd3 Naxb4 Objectively not the best decision, but Jean-Luc had forced his Grandmaster opponent into such passivity that he felt the need to sacrifice a piece to gain some activity.

15. cxb4 Nxb4 16. Bb1 c5 17. a3 Ba4 18. Qd2 Nc6 19. Qd3 g6 20. Bh6 Rf7 21. Ng5 This knight is menacing, attacking f7 and e6. Jean-Luc is creating threats with every move and forcing his opponent to react in uncomfortable ways.

21…c4 21… Bxg5 22. Bxg5 c4 23. Qc3 was also possible, but Black will now find it difficult to advance his pawns much further as he has lost his dark-squared bishop whilst White maintains his.

22. Qd2 Bc5 From move 14 it is clear that Plaskett has been looking for active opportunities for counter-attack rather than passively waiting for his position to be squashed. Material is now not really a consideration for him.

23. Nxf7 Qxf7 Jean-Luc now has an extra rook, but Black has created some counterplay so will have to do some defending before he can bring home the full point.

24. Be3 Calmly retreating to block the influence of the bishop.

24…d4 25. Bg5 d3 26. Be3 Black’s central passed pawns look dangerous and control a lot of squares but are unlikely to advance any further. Black is a rook down so White could even sacrifice a piece to eliminate them if it becomes necessary.

26…Nd4? 27. Qc3 Forking the pawn on c4 and the knight on d4.

27…Nb5 27… Nb3 28. Bxc5 Nxa1 29. Bxd3 cxd3 30. Rxa1 and White is a piece up.

28.Qxc4 Jean-Luc has calculated clearly and accurately and realises he is not in any real danger.

28…d2 29. Bxd2 Bxf2+ 30. Kh1 Bxe1 31. Bxe1 Rf8 32. Bd3 The two bishops neatly deprive Black’s heavy artillery of any entry squares.

32…Qd7 33.Ne4 Nc7 34. Nf6+ Rxf6 35. exf6 Bb5 36. f7+ Qxf7 37. Qd4 Plaskett had seen enough and Jean-Luc Weller scored a big scalp in securing a big upset for White Rose 1 by defeating Guildford 1 4.5-3.5. 1-0

Hackner v Spice

This game illustrates Oskar’s strong attacking instincts and why you have to be very careful when playing the young Sheffield-based player!

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 3.Nf3 followed by e3 or 3.e3 are the more popular responses to the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, but the way Oskar played is of course perfectly sound and also popular.

3…Nf6 3… e5 is the main way of meeting 3.e4

4. e5 Nd5 5.Bxc4 c6 According to my database, this move is extremely rare. 5…Nb6 This variation featured three times in the 1992 Candidates Match between Karpov and Short with Karpov playing White. All three games were drawn.

6.Nc3 e6 7. Nf3 Be7 8. O-O Nd7 9. Re1 O-O 10. Qd3 b6 11. Qe4 Re8 12. Bd3 Oskar’s plan is not very subtle, but takes advantage of the pawn chain d4-e5 splitting Black’s forces in half.

12…Nf8 13. Qg4 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bb7 15. h4 Using the h-pawn to create weaknesses in the pawns around the opponent’s king is often a strong idea as it creates relatively few weaknesses in White’s camp. Daniel King explains this idea very well in his Powerplay DVD series.

15…c5 16.Bh6 This move looks strong but actually allows Black to defend without weakening his pawn structure. 16. h5 Playing the same idea as the game the other way round is stronger is more consistent as Black cannot defend with …Ng6.

16… g6 16… Ng6! 17. Be3 (17. h5 gxh6 18. hxg6 hxg6 Here, white will have to carry on the attack a pawn down or take the draw with 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Qxh6+ Kg8 22. Qg6+) 17… Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Nxh4 19. Qe4 Ng6 {Black is now a pawn up but still has plenty of defending to do but this must be preferable to the game.

17. h5 Qc7 17… cxd4 18. cxd4 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Eliminating the knight makes Black’s defensive task slightly easier. This also weakens White’s centre and pawn structure and might make his attack less simple to carry out. However White is still to be preferred here.
17… Bxf3?! this is a slightly innacurate way of playing because of 18. Qxf3 cxd4 19.Bb5! and White’s pawn structure will remain in tact or he will be an exchange up.

18. Ng5 Oskar is playing simple chess, bringing all the pieces to the party!

18… Rad8? Black’s defensive task is very difficult but this loses by force. 18… Rec8 creates a flight square for the king but White wins anyway. 19. Nxh7 Kxh7 20. Bxf8 Bxf8 21. hxg6+ Kg8 22. gxf7+ Kxf7 23. Qg6+ Ke7 24. Qf6+ Kd7 25. Bb5+ Bc6 26. d5!
18… Bxg5 is probably the best way to defend. 19. Qxg5 Qd8 prolongs the game, but White still has a pleasant position and his attack is not finished with yet.

19. Nxh7! 19. hxg6 Nxg6 (19… hxg6 20. Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 21. Bxf8 Kxf8 22. Bxg6 and White’s threats are too numerous.) 20. Nxe6 Qd7 (20… fxe6 21. Bxg6) 21. Bf5 was another way to
win.

19… Kxh7 20. Bxf8 Bxf8 21. hxg6+ Kg8 22. gxf7+ Kxf7 23. Qg6+ Ke7 24.Qh7+ with mate next move. A very impressive win made to look simple by Oskar. 1-0

You can download and view all the games that have been played in the 4NCL here

Analysis by Andy Bak. You can download the PGN including the analysis by clicking the link below.

Download PGN

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