English Chess Forum

Played in my first county match for a long time, for Hertfordshire in the Minor Counties. I really enjoyed the event and my game, despite the result! Thanks to all involved.

Here's my game, with Black attacking on the Queen's side and White on the King's and some interesting tactical shots. Hope you like it, and well played Mr Morley!

[Event "County Championships 2012"] [Site "Leicestershire"] [Date "2012.07.07"] [Round "Final"] [White "Morley, A."] [Black "Fletcher, M."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C02"] [Annotator "Doe,John"] [PlyCount "83"] [SourceDate "2012.07.07"] {Played on Board 6 of the Minor Counties match between Leicestershire and Hertfordshire} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. a3 c4 7. Nbd2 Na5 8. Be2 Bd7 9. O-O Ne7 10. Re1 Qc6 {Not a common move, but seems to make sense - aiming for a4 and making space for the knight to come to b6. 10 ... h6 is played most often} 11. Rb1 Nc8 $146 {This is apparently a new move but I doubt it makes a great deal of difference to theory here! I'm just aiming to put it on b6.} ({Predecessor:} 11... Qa4 12. Nf1 Nc8 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bf4 Qxd1 15. Bxd1 Nb6 16. N3d2 {Dacalor,A (2131)-Buckley,M (2075)/Patras 1999/CBM 072 ext/1-0 (69)}) 12. Nf1 ({I thought he might play} 12. b4 cxb3 13. Nxb3 Nxb3 14. Qxb3 Nb6 {to free up the queenside. But this way is fine.}) 12... Nb6 13. Bf4 {Can't be a bad move, but it's not clear what the bishop's doing here - I thought it may get in the way of any White attack.} Na4 $6 14. Qc2 b5 $6 {Both the last two moves may be a bit optimistic, neglecting the king's side development.} 15. Bd1 Nb3 16. N1d2 Nxd2 {I decided that my knights were getting in the way of the pawns and each other - so swapped a pair off.} 17. Qxd2 h6 18. h4 a5 19. g4 {Here we go - White on the King's side, Black on the Queen's...} (19. Bxa4 bxa4 {is playable but I liked the look of my clamp on the b3 square over the long term.}) 19... Kd8 $6 ({I decided to run my King away from the attack, but maybe should have had the courage of my convictions! For example} 19... b4 20. axb4 axb4 21. g5 (21. cxb4 Qb5 22. Qc1 Bxb4 {looks pretty good for Black}) 21... hxg5 22. hxg5 b3 23. g6 fxg6 {looks slightly loose but is probably OK.}) 20. g5 hxg5 ({After the game we discussed} 20... h5 21. g6 fxg6 22. Ng5 Be8 {but I didn't like the look of the e6 pawn much!}) 21. Nxg5 Be8 22. Bg3 Ra7 23. Qf4 b4 24. axb4 axb4 25. Re3 $6 b3 (25... Qb7 { threatening 26 ... bxc3 was the other move on my mind, and may be slightly better eg} 26. cxb4 Qxb4 27. b3 Nc3 28. Rxc3 Qxc3 29. bxc4 Qxc4 30. Rb8+ Kd7 31. Nxf7 Ra1 32. Qg5 Rxd1+ 33. Kh2 Qc7 34. Rd8+ Kc6 35. Nxh8 Be7 36. Qg4 Qxd8 37. Qxd1 Bxh4 $14 {is an amazing line from the computer!}) 26. Bg4 $6 {Now I thought for a long time, but couldn't make sense of my position without the interesting sacrifice:} Nxb2 $1 27. Rxb2 Ra1+ 28. Kg2 Ba3 {An amazing position, all Black's pieces pointed to the Queenside, all White's to the Kingside. Unfortunately my King is still in the thick of things, whilst White's is tucked away. And this makes all the difference.} 29. Nxf7+ $5 {Bravely ignoring the threat on the Rook - we both had about 5 minutes until move 40 here...} (29. Ree2 Bxb2 30. Rxb2 {and now the super-cool} Ke7 {may be best, although there are more crazy lines, eg} 31. h5 Rh6 32. Bh4 Kf8 33. Bxe6 Rxe6 34. Nh7+ Kg8 35. Nf6+ Kh8 36. h6 g6 37. h7 {which is unclear at best!}) 29... Bxf7 30. Qxf7 Bxb2 $5 (30... Qd7 31. Rf3 $5 Qxf7 (31... Rf8 $5 32. Qxf8+ Bxf8 33. Rxf8+ Kc7 {with a very interesting material balance}) 32. Rxf7 Re8 33. Rd2 b2 34. Rxb2 Bxb2 35. h5 Bxc3 36. Rxg7 Bd2 37. Bh4+ Kc8 38. Rg6 Kd7 39. Rg7+ $11 ) 31. Bxe6 $1 {By far the best move, although there are a number of tempting alternatives} Qc7 $2 (31... Ba3 $1 {could have led to an interesting ending after} 32. Bxd5 Qd7 33. Bxc4 Qxf7 34. Bxf7 b2 35. Bg6 Rh6 36. Be4 b1=Q 37. Bxb1 Rxb1) 32. Qf3 $1 {I missed this, and it wins straight away} Bc1 (32... Qa5 33. Bg4 $1 Ba3 34. Qf5 {is murderous}) 33. Qxd5+ Ke7 34. Rf3 Rf8 35. Rxf8 Kxf8 36. Qf3+ Ke8 37. Qh5+ Kf8 38. Qh8+ Ke7 39. Qxg7+ Kxe6 40. Qxc7 b2 41. Qd6+ Kf5 42. Qf6+ {And Black resigns before Qf3 checkmate} 1-0