1. e4 e5

This was my first competition game against Thelma, which certainly put me in my place if I ever had thoughts of being the "roving chess player, snapping up good results here and there".

2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. d4 d5?!

something like ...Bb4 would have been much more useful.

5. exd5 cxd5 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. dxe5 Qe7 8. Nf3 Bd7

This only confirms white's lead.

9. O-O O-O-O?? 10. exf6 Qxf6 11. Qxd5?

Missing Bg5 and after taking the Rook THEN Qxd5

11... Bh3 12. Qh5 Bf5 13. Bxc6 Qxc6?? 14. Qxf5+ Kb8 15. Ne5 Qc7 16. Nxf7 Bb4 17. Nxh8 Bxc3??

And yet another fumble, looking back I'm wondering how the heck I played on - all I can think of is that I just could not see anything at all of the position - not enough to realize how many pieces I was behind.

18. Bf4

black resigns - and about time too.

1-0

1. e4

Thelma was a long-time Treasurer of the club, eventually made a life-member. Thelma did not seem to garner strong overall tournament results, but was always a player you had to work hard to beat - and would almost regularly come up with a good result against leading players - for example a win against Eddie Mari, long-time champion of Gosford.

1... e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Qe7?! 4. c3 h6 5. O-O Be6 6. Bxe6 Qxe6 7. d4 Nf6 8. d5 Qd7 9. c4? Nxe4 10. Re1 Nc5 11. Bf4?! Be7 12. Bg3 O-O 13. Nc3 a6 14. b4 e4 15. Nxe4 Nxe4 16. Rxe4 Bf6 17. Rc1 c5 18. bxc5 dxc5 19. Ne5 Bxe5 20. Bxe5 Qf5 21. Qg4 Qxg4 22. Rxg4 f6 23. Bc3 Nd7 24. Re1 Rae8 25. Rxe8?!

White has frittered away his small plus over the last dozen moves to an even game, to a small plus for black.

25... Rxe8 26. h3 Kf7 27. Rf4 Re2 28. a3

Here is Thelma consolidating her lead.

28... Ne5?!

but it doesn't take much to hand the advantage over - better was ...Rc2 or ...Ra2

29. Kf1 Nd3? 30. Rxf6+ gxf6 31. Kxe2 Nc1+ 32. Kd2 Nb3+??

...Na2 was the only way to 'save' the Knight.

33. Kc2 Nd4+ 34. Bxd4 cxd4 35. Kd3 Ke7 36. Kxd4 b6 37. f4 f5 38. Ke5 a5 39. Kxf5 Kd6 40. g4

black resigns

1-0

1. e4 e6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. e5 Qd8 6. Nf3 Be7 7. Be2 d5 8. O-O Nc6 9. c4 Na5 10. c5 b6 11. b4 Nc4 12. Bxc4 dxc4 13. Qc2

Qa4+ may have been more active though I would've wanted to 'provoke' ...b5 in my then-view of 'fixing' a better pawn structure in place for white.

13... b5 14. Nc3 Bb7 15. Nd2?! a6 16. a4 O-O 17. axb5 Qxd4 18. Rfe1 Qg4?

handing the initiative back to white

19. f3? Qd4+ 20. Kh1 c6?! 21. Ne2

b6 would have been more secure

21... Qd3 22. Qxd3 cxd3 23. bxc6 Bxc6 24. Nc3?! Rfd8 25. Ra3 Bg5 26. Nb3 Bd2?? 27. Nxd2 g5 28. Kg1 Kg7 29. Kf2 Kg6 30. b5?!

In an effort to 'win' the d-pawn I allow black too much counterplay. There was better to be had than forcing the exchange, the pawns would have been more useful together - rather than isolating another while throwing a pawn away. A better alternative being Ke3 ...Kf5 Nc4 heading for d6

30... axb5 31. Rxa8 Rxa8 32. Ke3 Kf5 33. Kxd3 Rd8+ 34. Kc2 f6 35. g4+ Kg6 36. Na2 f5 37. Nb4 Rc8 38. Nxc6 Rxc6 39. Nb3 b4 40. Rd1 Rc8 41. Rd6 Re8 42. c6 f4 43. c7 Rc8 44. Rd7 h5 45. h3 hxg4 46. hxg4 Kh6 47. Kd3 Kg6 48. Kc4 Kh6 49. Kb5 Kg6

black resigns

1-0

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. O-O O-O 6. Nd5 Re8 7. d3 Bc5 8. Ng5 h6? 9. Nxc7?

Nxc6+ would have been _much_ more accurate

9... Qxc7 10. Bxf7+ Kf8 11. Bxe8 Kxe8 12. Nf3 d5 13. Nh4? Qf7 14. Be3 d4 15. Bd2 Be7 16. Nf5 Qg6 17. h3 Be6 18. Qf3 Kd7 19. c3 Rf8 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21. Qg3 Qh7 22. a3 g6 23. c4 Nh5 24. Qh4+ Rf6 25. f3 Qg7 26. b4 Nf4 27. Bxf4 exf4 28. b5 Ne5 29. Rae1?

of course Rad1 was necessary

29... g5 30. Qh5?? Bf7 31. Qxf7+ Rxf7 32. Rd1 h5 33. Kf2 g4

black clearly wants to exchange off quickly now that he is a majior piece to the good

34. h4 g3+ 35. Ke2 Qf8 36. Ra1 Kd7 37. Rfb1 Qe7 38. a4 Qxh4 39. Rh1 Qg5 40. Rab1 Rh7 41. c5 Qe7 42. Rbc1 Kc7 43. Rc4 Nxc4 44. dxc4 Qxc5 45. Kd3 Kb6 46. Rh4 Qd6 47. Rh1 Ka5 48. Rd1 h4 49. Ke2 h3 50. gxh3 Rxh3 51. Kd3 g2 52. Rg1 Rxf3+ 53. Ke2

white resigns I got QxP as black's last move, not check but obviously wrong

0-1

1. e4

In our encounters over 15 years till 1999 we only played 2 games of less than 40 moves where tactics resulted from an early slip - this is one of them.time limit 30 moves in 60 then 15 mins each

1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bc5 5. d3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. a3 Bg4?!

pushing my King's Bishop around is time-consuming and not all that productive.

8. b4 Bb6 9. Qd2?!

the open g-file doesn't look like enough compensation to me, black looks as if it can attack quicker than white can defend, and handing black the initiative would certainly be uncomfortable in the short term - and perhaps in the long.

9... Bxf3 10. gxf3 Nd4!

time : White - 7 mins; Black - 4

11. Qd1 Qd7

gearing up for the "big attack"

12. Kh1??

now things get very difficult, playing Kg2 at first and nullifying the black knight on d4 was necessary before putting activity down the g-file.

12... Qh3 13. Rg1 Nxf3 14. Rg2 Ng4 15. Qe2

Here I had put in a ? in a past comment - though this is only because of the coming storm, while according to the Fritz playing engine since 12 Kh1 white had been playing the best (the only practical) available choices, as too had black..

15... Ngxh2 16. Rxg7+

A last throw of the dice - though this allows a mate-in-4 (if black can see it).

16... Kxg7

time: white 28 black 11

17. Bh6+ Qxh6 18. Rg1+ Nxg1 19. Kxg1 Qh3 20. Nd5

white resigns time : White - 37 mins; Black 11.5

0-1

1. e4 e5

time limit 30 moves in 60 then 15 mins each

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6

The first time we played this position (or any Ruy in fact), we played this position in another game later in the 1986 - in the remaining 3 games (in '87; '91 & '99, so far we have played 10 times(till 2001)) Thelma has had white. The position after 3. Nf6 has been a 'happy hunting ground' for me with 12 wins; 3 draws and 2 losses, although this probably has more to do with the worth of black's third move, as well as only 2 players over 1550 have opted for it (a win & a loss), than my own "supremacy". Further on with that thought about my success or otherwise with the Ruy, as white - and the following stats are based on all standard-length games till Sept 2001. My results as White with the Ruy - all rated games 43 wins 5 draws and 33 losses, against players less than 1550 : 40 wins 3 draws and 17 losses. Although the 'big plus' mainly comes against players less than 1250, against those around my level about 50-50 and against those above 1550 then 3 wins 19 losses and a couple of draws - performance in all these groups is around 1400.

4. d3

In later Ruys I would play the more active and more logical 0-0.

4... a6 5. Ba4 Bc5 6. c3 Ng4 7. d4 exd4 8. cxd4 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 Qe7 10. O-O O-O

time : White - 5 mins; Black - 12

11. Re1 Bxd2 12. Nbxd2 d6 13. Rc1 Bd7 14. h3?! Nf6 15. e5 dxe5 16. Bxc6 Bxc6 17. Nxe5 Qd6 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. Nc4 Qd8

time : White - 21 mins; Black - 27

20. Na5

Ne5 would have been much sounder, I'm not sure what this knight is doing on the edge of the board - one suspects very little.

20... Re8 21. Nxc6 Rxe1+ 22. Qxe1 Qe8 23. Ne7+!? Kf8 24. Rxc7? Nd5! 25. Rb7 Nxe7 26. Qb4

! - is my original note - although it is simply the least self-harmful white could make, hoping to generatecounterplay

26... Rc8

?! Rd8 may well have been preferable, blocking white's counterplay

27. d5 Rc1+?!

It may look aggressive, but removing a defender favours white more than it does black.

28. Kh2 Rc8 29. d6 Nd5 30. Qa3?

Chicken - the alternative being 30. d7+ Nxb4 31 dxe8Q+ Rxe8 32 Rxb4 Re2 33 Kg3 time : White - 25 mins; Black - 45

30... Qe5+

time : White - 25 mins; Black - 45

31. g3 Rd8 32. d7+ Kg8?

Qe7 was needed instead

33. Qxa6? Nf6 34. Qc6 Qe7 35. a4 Nxd7

I would have felt more comfortable with taking with the Rook first.

36. a5 Ne5

time : White - 34 mins; ?Black - 64

37. Qb5?? Nf3+! 38. Kg2 Ne1+?!

black still has a good edge

39. Kf1 Nc2?? 40. Rxe7 Kf8 41. Qc5 Rd1+

not that it matters ... well it might seeing as how the great advantage in this game has swung about so wildly, but this allows white a mate-in-3

42. Kg2 Ne1+ 43. Rxe1+

black resigns, and I can't remember whether I saw the mate-in-3. Thelma certainly should have won this game, certainly retaining the edge even without white's weak 37th move.

1-0

1. e4 e5

time limit 40/90; 20/20 & 10 mins. tournament aka "Kanwal top-of-hill. This tournament I played Patrick Keuning who came from Newcastle and who in 2001 became a player at Gosford Club.

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O

a sensible improvement over our last meeting

4... Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Bxc6 bxc6?! 7. Nxe5 Be7 8. d4 Bb7?! 9. Nc3?! O-O 10. Qg4

!?

10... Bc8

time : White - 4 mins; Black - 19

11. Bh6

!?

11... Bf6 12. Bf4 Rb8 13. b3 Rb4 14. Rad1 a5

black's position is slowly slipping bit by little bit, but it looks very hard for white to break through

15. a3 Rb6

time : White - 8 mins; Black - 26

16. Qg3 Nf5 17. Qd3 d6 18. Nf3 Qd7 19. Ne4 Qd8 20. Neg5 h6

time : white - 17; black - 45

21. Ne4 Rb8 22. h3 Be6 23. c4 d5? 24. Nxf6+ Qxf6 25. c5?!

I probably did not rate snatching the c-pawn that highly - being doubled and all, preferring to block the position, although I could have achieved both with 25. Bxc7 Ra8 26. Be5 Qg6 27. c5

25... Nh4! 26. Nxh4

draw offer by white before move

26... Qxh4

? the bishop was more dangerous

27. Bxc7 Ra8 28. Re3 Qe7? 29. Bd6 Qd8 30. Bxf8 Qxf8

time : White - 32 mins; Black - 68

31. Rg3 f6 32. Qg6! Bf7

not seeing the pin of the NP after 44.P-B3

33. Qxh6 g6 34. Qf4 Re8?! 35. Qxf6 Qg7? 36. Qxg7+

Taken the simple way out, I must have been confident I wasn't going to blunder OR I thought I would get the Queens off to reduce the effect of any blunder on my part. An alternative was to take the c-pawn and then push the b-pawn.

36... Kxg7 37. Re3 Re4 38. Kh2 g5 39. Kg3 Be6 40. Rdd3 g4

time : White - 40 mins; Black - 77

41. Rxe4 dxe4 42. Re3 Bf5 43. hxg4 Bg6 44. f3

black resigns

1-0

Australian Championship (Reserves)

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bf4 Nbd7 5. e3 e6 6. Nc3 b6 7. a3 c5 8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O Be7 10. Nb5 O-O 11. Qc2 a6 12. Nc3 dxc4 13. Rad1 Re8 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Ne5 Qe7 16. Nxd7 Nxd7 17. Ne4 b5 18. Nxc5 Nxc5 19. f3 e5 20. Bg3 Nd7 21. Qc3 Nf6 22. e4 Nh5 23. Ra1

?! wasted tempo?

23... Nxg3 24. hxg3 Rad8 25. Rad1

confirms that the previous R move WAS a wasted tempo OR that Thelma wasn't afraid to switch plans midstream

25... Rxd1 26. Rxd1 Qc5+ 27. Kf1 Bc6 28. g4 Re6 29. Qd2 Be8 30. Qd5 Qa7 31. g5 h6 32. Qd2 hxg5 33. g4 f6 34. Kg2 Re7 35. Rh1 Rd7 36. Qc3 Qc5 37. b4 Qd4

draw offer by white (half joke) this whole tournament I had been using up more time, now I had used 117 mins ( 3 mins) to time control, Thelma had used 110 mins

38. Qc1 Qd2 39. Qxd2 Rxd2 40. Kf2 Ra2 41. Ra1

This is clearly a typo, I must look at the orignal scoresheet to confirm

41... Rxa3 42. Rb1 Rb3 43. Ra1 Rxb4

white was not pressing her clock - clearly had given up

44. Rxa6 c3 45. Ke1?? Rb1+! 46. Kf2 c2 47. Bd3 c1=Q 48. Bxb1 Qxb1

white resigns

0-1

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Be2 Be7 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. b3 O-O 8. O-O Qc7 9. g3 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Qxe5 12. Qd4 Qc7 13. Bb2 Rd8 14. Rad1 Bh3 15. Rfe1 c5 16. Qh4 Bf5 17. Qf4 Qxf4 18. exf4 d4 19. Nb5 a6 20. Na3 Rd7 21. Bd3 Bg4 22. Rd2 Re8 23. Kg2 Kf8?! 24. Nc2?! Rdd8 25. a3 Bd6 26. Rxe8+ Nxe8 27. f3 Bd7 28. Bxh7 g6 29. b4 b6 30. h4 Kg7 31. Bxg6 fxg6 32. Kg1?

missing the Nxd4 line

32... Be6 33. Rg2 Bxc4 34. h5 Kh6 35. Bc1 gxh5 36. Rh2 Kg6 37. f5+ Kxf5 38. Rxh5+ Kg6 39. g4 Nf6 40. Rg5+ Kf7 41. Ne1 Bg3 42. Ng2 d3 43. Bd2 Rd5 44. bxc5 bxc5 45. Rxd5 Bxd5 46. g5 Nh5 47. f4 Bxg2 48. Kxg2 Bxf4

white resigns

0-1

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 e6 4. e3 Bd6

?!

5. Be2

?

5... Bxf4 6. exf4 Qd6 7. O-O

!?

7... Qxf4 8. c4 c6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Qc2 Nc6 12. Rad1 Bd7 13. a3 Rac8 14. Qb3 b6 15. Bb5 Na5 16. Qa4 Bxb5 17. Qxb5 Nc4 18. Rfe1 Ng4 19. Ne2 Qd6 20. Ng3 g6 21. h3 Nf6 22. Ne5 Ne8 23. Ng4 Nc7 24. Qb3 Qf4 25. Qc2 Nb5 26. Qe2

?

26... Nxd4 27. Nh6+ Kg7 28. Qg4 Qxg4 29. Nxg4 Nb5 30. Rc1 Nbd6 31. Ne3 Nxb2 32. Rxc8 Rxc8 33. h4

I took this as 'fiddling while Rome burns, I grew to regret letting the pawn slip through as far as it would do.

33... Rc3 34. Ne2

?

34... Rxa3 35. Ng3 Nbc4 36. Ng4 a5 37. h5 a4 38. h6+ Kh8 39. Kh2 Rb3

ready to puxsh the pawn

40. f3 a3 41. Nf6

white need s too many moves to mate with the other knight (on f2) - apart from every entry square being controlled.

41... a2 42. Ra1

forced since

42... Rb2 43. Nf1

stopping ..Ne3 followed by ..Nc2

43... Na3 44. Ne3 Nac4

I considered the pawn push but I guess I was just being conservative

45. Nxc4 Nxc4 46. Kg3 Na3 47. Ng4 Nc2 48. Rd1 a1=Q

white resigned

0-1

1. e4

Duncan later withdrew from the tournament

1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Nd5 Nxd5 6. Bxd5 O-O 7. a3 Ba5 8. b4 Bb6 9. d3 d6 10. Ng5 h6 11. h4 Qf6 12. Nf3 Nd4 13. Be3 Nxf3+ 14. gxf3 c6 15. Bb3 Bd7 16. Qe2 Rac8 17. c3 c5 18. Bd5 cxb4 19. Bxb6 axb6 20. cxb4 Bc6 21. Bb3 Rfd8 22. Qe3 d5 23. O-O-O Ba4+ 24. Kb2 d4 25. Qe2 Bxb3 26. Kxb3 Rc3+ 27. Kb2 Qe6 28. Ka1 Rxa3+ 29. Kb1 Qb3+ 30. Qb2 Rc8 31. Qxb3 Rxb3+ 32. Ka2 Rcc3 33. Rd2 Rxb4 34. Rb1 Ra4+ 35. Kb2 Rb4+ 36. Ka1 Ra3+ 37. Ra2 Rxb1+ 38. Kxb1 Rxa2 39. Kxa2 Kf8 40. Kb3 Ke7 41. Kb4 Kd6 42. Kb5 Kc7 43. f4 f6 44. Kc4 Kc6 45. fxe5 fxe5 46. h5 b5+ 47. Kb4 Kb6 48. f3 Kc6 49. Kb3 Kc5 50. Kc2 Kb4 51. Kb2 b6 52. Kc2 Ka3 53. Kd2 Kb3 54. f4 exf4 55. e5 f3 56. e6 Kb2 57. e7 f2 58. Ke2 b4 59. e8=Q b3 60. Kxf2 Kc3 61. Qe1+ Kb2 62. Qd2+ Ka3 63. Qc1+ Ka2 64. Qc4 b5 65. Qxd4 b2 66. Qd5+ Kb1 67. Qxb5 Kc1 68. d4

black resigns

1-0

1. e4 e5

Duncan convened the first meeting of the Central Coast Leagues Chess Club

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. Ng5 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. Qh5 Ne5 9. h3 Qe7? 10. O-O Nxc4 11. Nf3 Nf6 12. Qh4 O-O 13. cxd4 Bb6 14. Re1 Qb4 15. b3 Nd6 16. Bg5 Nf5 17. Qf4 Nxd4 18. Nbd2 Nxf3+ 19. Qxf3 Qd4 20. Ne4 Nxe4 21. Qxe4 Qxf2+ 22. Kh2 Be6 23. Rf1

and here we adjourned the position - get ready folks for an absolutley TERRIBLE move - especially considering I had a whole week to consider it !!

23... Qg3+ 24. Kxg3

well, yeah - of course

24... Rfe8 25. Qxb7

black resigns

1-0

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 c6 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 d5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. Nf3 Nbd7 8. Bxf6 Bxf6

so - black attained equality, that's the first step they say, but his light-sqaured Bishop is a little constricted

9. Qe2 O-O 10. Nbd2 d4

Converting the pawn centre to something less dynamic as well as handing white's Bishop more freedom is perhaps not such a wise policy, but in the eighties I had too much a liking for the seemingly cramoing of my opponent and too much reverence for a central pawn mass - hey, those are still myweaknesses in the 21st century.

11. O-O-O Nc5 12. a3 Re8 13. h3 Be6?! 14. Bxe6 Rxe6 15. g4 Be7 16. h4 f6?! 17. Nf1 Qb6 18. Qd2? Na4 19. b4 c5 20. c3 Nxc3 21. Re1 cxb4 22. Qc2?? Rc6?? 23. Qb3+ Kh8 24. axb4 Nxe4+ 25. Kb2 Nxf2 26. Rh2 Nxg4 27. Rc2 Rxc2+ 28. Qxc2 Qxb4+ 29. Qb3 Rc8 30. N1d2 Nf2 31. Ka2 Qxb3+

thinking, justifiably, that my lead was large enough to swap down and cruise through

32. Kxb3 Nxd3 33. Ra1 Rc3+ 34. Ka4 Nc5+ 35. Kb5 Nb3?!

a check is a check - this gets nowhere

36. Rxa7 Nxd2 37. Nxd2 f5

perhaps I need another Queen

38. Rxb7 Bxh4 39. Kb4 Be1 40. Nc4 Rb3+??

just how many question marks can I give this move ?

41. Kxb3 f4?

probably still in shock

42. Nxe5 Bd2 43. Kc4 g5? 44. Kxd4 h5 45. Nf3 g4??

going to pieces now

46. Nxd2 h4?? 47. Ke4 h3 48. Kxf4 h2 49. Rb1

and that is the end of that

49... Kg7 50. Kxg4 Kf6 51. Kg3 Ke5 52. Kxh2 Kd5 53. Kg3 Ke5 54. Rb4 Kd5 55. Kf4 Kc5 56. Rc4+ Kd5 57. Kf5 Kd6 58. Ke4 Ke6 59. Rc6+ Kd7 60. Rh6 Ke7 61. Ke5 Kf7 62. Ra6 Ke7 63. Ra7+ Kd8 64. Kd6 Ke8 65. Ne4 Kf8 66. Ke6 Kg8 67. Kf6 Kh8 68. Kg6 Kg8 69. Ra8+

My goodness, I forced Duncan to show he knew the basic mate, I'm so embarrassed, I can't remember my actual thoughts at the time, I'm just pretty embarrassed.

1-0

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. a3 Ba5 6. b4 Bb6 7. d3 Ng4 8. O-O O-O 9. Bg5 Qe8 10. h3 Nxf2 11. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 12. Kxf2 h6 13. Bh4 d6 14. Ke3 Be6 15. Nd5 a6 16. Nxc7 Qc8 17. Nxa8 Qxa8 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Be7 Nxe7 20. d4 Qa7 21. Kd3 exd4 22. Nxd4 Rf6 23. c3 Ng6 24. Qg4 e5 25. Qc8+ Kh7 26. Nf5 Nf4+ 27. Kc2 Qf2+ 28. Kb3 Kg6 29. Ra2 Qe1 30. Qxb7 Qd1+ 31. Rc2 Rf7 32. Qxa6 Qb1+ 33. Rb2 Qd1+ 34. Ka2 Rf6

draw offer by black

35. Qa7 Ne6 36. Qf2 Qd3 37. Qg3+ Qxg3 38. Nxg3 Rf4 39. a4 Ng5 40. Re2 Rf7 41. a5 Rc7 42. Kb3 Ne6 43. Rd2 Rc6 44. Nf5

black resigns

1-0

1. e4

Ettalong-Gosford-White Knight interclub event, board 6

1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. a3 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Nf6 6. Nxe5 Nxe5 7. d4 d6 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Qxe5+ Qe7 10. Bf4 c6 11. O-O Qxe5 12. Bxe5 Be7 13. Re1 O-O 14. Nd2 Bf5 15. c3 Ng4 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Rxe7 b5 18. Ba2 a5 19. Nf3 Rae8 20. Rae1 Rxe7 21. Rxe7 Kf6 22. Rc7 Be4 23. Nd2 Rd8 24. Rxf7+ Kg6 25. f3 Rxd2 26. fxe4 Rxb2 27. Be6 Rb1+ 28. Rf1 Rxf1+ 29. Kxf1 Nxh2+? 30. Kg1 Kf6 31. Bf5 c5 32. Kxh2 h6 33. Kg3 b4 34. cxb4 cxb4 35. axb4 axb4!? 36. Kf4 b3 37. e5+ Ke7 38. Bd3 b2 39. Kf5

black resigns

1-0

ref 478 opp rating unr

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 a6 4. c3 Bc5 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Ba7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Bg5 d6 9. e5 dxe5 10. dxe5 Qxd1 11. Rxd1 Ne4 12. Bh4 O-O 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bg4 15. Rd3 Rae8 16. Bg3 Na5 17. Bd5 c6 18. Be4 f6 19. Re1 f5 20. Bd5+ cxd5 21. Rxd5 Bxf3 22. gxf3 Nc6 23. Rd7 Rf7 24. e6 Rfe7 25. Rd6 g5 26. h4 f4 27. Bh2 h6 28. Kg2 Nd8 29. Rg1 Rxe6 30. Rxe6

about here ad hopes that if I got every pawn off the board then I'd scrape out with a draw

30... Rxe6 31. hxg5 hxg5 32. Kf1 Nf7 33. Bxf4 Rg6 34. Be3 Bb8 35. f4 g4 36. c4 b5 37. cxb5 axb5 38. f5 Rg7 39. Ke2 Nd6 40. Bf4 Kf7 41. Rb1 Kf6 42. Bxd6 Bxd6 43. Rxb5 Be5 44. Ra5 Kxf5 45. a4 Ke4 46. Ra8 Rb7 47. Rd8 Bd4 48. Re8+ Kf5 49. Rf8+ Bf6 50. Kf1 Rb1+ 51. Kg2 Ra1 52. f3?? Ra2+ 53. Kg3 Ra3 54. a5 Rxf3+ 55. Kg2 Ra3 56. Ra8 g3 57. a6 Kg4 58. a7

with faint hopes for R-N8ch.. K anywhere P-R8=Q

58... Ra2+

white resigns

0-1

opp rating 1287

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Ng5 d6 7. h4 Ng4 8. f4 Nf2 9. Qh5 h6 10. Qg6?? hxg5 11. Rf1 gxf4

black time 10 mins

12. g3

white time 22 mins

12... Na5 13. Rxf2 Bxf2+ 14. Kxf2 Nxc4 15. Qh5 fxg3+ 16. Kxg3 Nb6 17. Bg5 Qd7 18. Rh1 Qe6

black time 15 mins

19. Nd1

white time 32 mins

19... Qg6 20. Qxg6 fxg6 21. h5 gxh5 22. Rxh5 Be6 23. Ne3 Rf7 24. Rh4

white time 41 mins

24... Raf8

black time 17 mins

25. Nf5 Bxf5 26. exf5 Rxf5 27. Rg4 Rf3+ 28. Kh4 Nd5 29. Bh6 R8f7

white resigns

0-1

1. e4

All moves in 90 minutes

1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Bc5 5. d3 h6 6. a3 O-O 7. h4 d6 8. Nh2 Nh7 9. Qh5 Nd4 10. Kd1 Nf6 11. Qg6 Ne8

??

12. Ng4 Bxg4+ 13. Qxg4 Qf6 14. f3 c6 15. Rf1

?

15... Nc7 16. Ne2 b5 17. Ba2 Rad8 18. Ng3 d5 19. c3 Nde6 20. b4 Bb6 21. Nf5 Kh7

I couldn't decide between h8 or h7, I thought h7 was more active, though I soon disliked the possibility of Queen or Bishop launching itself onto the white-squared diagonal.

22. Rh1 Rd7

?

23. Kc2

? better was Bg5

23... Rfd8

?

24. Rd1 dxe4

my idea was of course to clear a file and get the Rooks into the action, I thought I was dominating the centre

25. fxe4 Ne8

?

26. c4

?

26... Nd4+

!?

27. Nxd4 Bxd4 28. Rb1 Qf2+ 29. Bd2

? Rd2 better

29... Bb6

!?

30. c5 Rxd3 31. Qf5+ Qxf5 32. exf5 Bc7 33. Bxf7 Rxa3

?

34. Ra1 Rxa1

?

35. Rxa1 Bb8

and White lost on time ! after Black had just made it more difficult for himself ! Black had twentyminsleft

0-1

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. h3!?

just one of those habitual moves, keeping a Bishop from g4

5... Nf6 6. Re1 h5 7. c3 Ng4?! 8. d4 exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Ng5?! Bxd4 11. Bxf7+ Kf8

I really wanted to plonk my Queen on the f-file; yet I didn't want to allow Nf6

12. hxg4 hxg4 13. Be6?! Qf6! 14. Qc2? Bxe6 15. Nc3 Bc4

black still with a strong plus

16. Nd5 Qe5? 17. Bf4 Qe8??

black could *still* have kept a slight plus with ...g3

18. Qxc4 Qh5 19. Ne6+ Kf7 20. Ng5+ Kg6? 21. Ne7+!! Nxe7 22. Qf7+ Kh6 23. Ne6+

black resigns

1-0

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 h6 5. a3 Be7 6. b4 d6 7. Bb2 O-O 8. g3 Bg4 9. h3 Bd7 10. Nh4 Kh7 11. c3 Nxe4!? 12. dxe4 Bxh4 13. gxh4 Qxh4 14. Qf3 f5 15. Bd3 Ne7 16. Nd2 Bc6 17. Qg3 Qxg3 18. fxg3 f4 19. g4 Ng6

with the idea of hopping to h4 then g2+ then e3

20. Nf3 Rae8

with the i dea of freeing up the e-pawn (and perhaps a fork on e4? if I'm allowed)

21. c4 Bd7 22. O-O-O

uh oh - now I was getting *really* worried, white's Bishops looked formidable, and my King terribly placed

22... c6

forging ahead regardless, even though I could see my knight being pinned once white's e-pawn moved

23. Rdg1 d5 24. h4 Nh8 25. Nxe5 Bc8 26. exd5+ Kg8 27. dxc6 bxc6 28. c5 f3 29. Rg3 f2 30. g5 Nf7

not the best, but complex enough - Duncan thought for over 20 mins (in a 60 min game - before the move he had about 25 mins to my 15 mins left, after he had about 2 mins left

31. Nf3 Nxg5 32. Nd2?? Re1+

*still* not fatal - however white's flag has fallen

0-1

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 h6 5. a3 Bc5 6. d3 O-O 7. h3 Re8 8. g4 b6 9. g5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Be7 11. Bxf6 Bxf6 12. h4 d6 13. Qd2 Bg4 14. Ng5 Bh5 15. f3 Nd4 16. Qg2 Bxg5 17. hxg5 Bxf3 18. Qd2? Bxh1 19. O-O-O Bf3 20. Rf1 Qd7 21. g6 Qg4? 22. gxf7+ Kf8 23. fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 24. Qf2 Ke7 25. Nd5+ Kd8 26. Ne3 Qf4 27. Kb1 Rf8 28. c3 Nc6 29. Nf5 g6? 30. Ng7 Bg4? 31. Qxf4?? Rxf4 32. Rg1 Ke7 33. Ka2 Nd8

trying to trap the white knight, or at least gain from its lack of mobility

34. Rh1 Rf3?! 35. Rh7 Nf7? 36. Bb5? Kf8! 37. Ne8 c5?! 38. Nc7 Rh3 39. Rxh3 Bxh3 40. Nd5 g5 41. Ne3 Ke7 42. b4 Be6+ 43. Kb2 g4 44. d4 cxd4 45. cxd4 exd4 46. Ng2 g3 47. Bf1 Ng5 48. Bd3 Bh3 49. Nf4 g2 50. Ne2 Nf3

white resigns

0-1

1. e4 c5

This is my first game against Eddie. Eddie and I ended up aith an eaven score ofer the few years we competed, he was well-and-truly champion of Gosford and I was struggling against others but somehow Eddie brought out the best in me - or I brought out the worst in him, one or the other.

2. Nf3 e6 3. c3 d5 4. e5 Ne7 5. d4 Ng6 6. Bg5 Qb6 7. Be2? Qxb2 8. Nbd2 Qxc3 9. O-O?! cxd4

Looks good at first - but allows white too much counterplay.

10. Rc1! Qa5 11. Rxc8+ Kd7 12. Qc2 h6?? 13. Rd8+?

Black's King is extremely vulnerable, and the Queen is out of play. White may well have missed it by seeing the exchange of R & B for Queen and then looking no further.

13... Qxd8 14. Bxd8 Kxd8 15. Rc1 Nc6 16. Bb5

Yes - that is what evidently happened, white saw the chance to 'get rid of black's Queen, and the commanding position and possibilities that resulted and looked no deeper into the position.

16... Rc8 17. Nxd4?! Ngxe5 18. N2f3 Ba3?? 19. Nxe5! Ke7 20. Nexc6+ bxc6 21. Nxc6+ Kd6 22. Rb1 Rc7?! 23. Qa4 Bc5

Trying to keep as many pieces on board as possible.

24. h3?

so I get paranoid sometimes about losing a won game to a simple mate

24... f6 25. Nxa7 Ra8 26. Qa6+ Ke7 27. Nc6+ Kf8 28. Qxa8+

black resigns

1-0

1. e4 e5

My second game against Eddie, I started off our encounters well - for me that is.

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Qe2 Bd6 8. d4 O-O?! 9. O-O?!

just releases the tension

9... exd4 10. Bd3 Re8 11. Qd2 b6 12. c4 Qe7 13. Nf3 Nh5 14. Qc2 g6 15. Nxd4 c5 16. Nf3 Bg4 17. Nbd2 Nf4 18. h3 Bxh3 19. gxh3 Nxh3+ 20. Kg2 Nf4+ 21. Kh1 Qd7 22. Ng1??

allows a mate-in-4

22... Qg4! 23. Be4 Qh4+ 24. Nh3 Qxh3+ 25. Kg1 Ne2+

game lasted 50 minutes

0-1

1. e4

board 1

1... d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 Nf6 6. O-O e6 7. d4 Bd6 8. Bd2 c6 9. Re1 Qc7 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bd3 Bf4 12. Bxf4 Qxf4 13. Qd2 Qxd2 14. Nxd2 O-O 15. Nde4 Nbd7 16. Nxf6+ Nxf6 17. Ne4 Nd5 18. Ng5?!

trying to generate -something- to happen, or "wandering rather aimlessly"; take your pick

18... h6 19. Ne4 Nb4 20. Re3 Bg6 21. Rg3 Nxd3 22. cxd3 Rfd8 23. Nc5 Rxd4 24. Nxb7

taking on the flank and losing in the centre - not generally a recipe for success

24... Rxd3 25. Rxd3 Bxd3 26. Rd1 Be4 27. Nc5 Bd5 28. b3 Rb8 29. Na6 Rb5 30. Rd4? Ra5 31. Ra4 Rxa4 32. bxa4 Bxa2 33. Nb4?! Bd5 34. Kf1 Kf8? 35. Ke2 c5 36. Nd3 c4 37. Nf4 g5 38. Nh5 Bxg2 39. Kd2 Ke7 40. Kc3 Bd5 41. Ng3 f5 42. Ne2 h5 43. Nd4 h4 44. Kb4 g4 45. Kc5 gxh3 46. Nb5 h2 47. Nxa7 h1=Q 48. Nc8+ Kd7 49. Nb6+ Kc7 50. a5 Bb7

white resigns

0-1

1. e4

haste in the endgame - not advisable

1... d5

Well I suppose Eddie was successdul using the Centre Counter against me in the District Championship, though it wasn't convincing -then-, I wonder if he has done a bit of study and found improvements.

2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. Be2 c6

and this is what Eddie chooses rather than ...Nf6 ?, basically a spot for the Queen to activateit

6. O-O

but black castles anyway - as in their previous game

6... Nf6 7. d3 e6 8. Bd2 Qc7 9. h3 Bh5 10. Re1 Bd6 11. Ng5 Bg6 12. Bf3 O-O 13. Nge4 Nbd7 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. dxe4 Ne5 17. Bc3 Qc5 18. Bxe5?!

I suppose I preferred to swap off the dark-squared Bishop rather than the light

18... Qxe5 19. c3 Rad8 20. Qb3 Rd7 21. Rad1 Rfd8? 22. Rxd7 Rxd7 23. Rd1 Rxd1+ 24. Qxd1 Qc7 25. Qe2 Qa5 26. b4 Qe5 27. Qd3 h6 28. Qd4 Qxd4 29. cxd4

well, at least it isn't -opposite- coloured Bishops

29... f5 30. e5 Be8 31. Kf1 Kf7 32. Ke2 Ke7 33. g4 f4 34. Kd3 g5 35. b5?! Kd7 36. a4 cxb5 37. axb5?! Kc7 38. Kc4 Kb6 39. d5 Bxb5+ 40. Kd4 Bd7 41. Be4 a5 42. Bg6 a4 43. Bd3 a3 44. Bc4 exd5 45. Bxd5 Kc7 46. e6 Be8 47. Ke5 b5 48. Kf6 Kd6 49. Bb3 b4 50. Kg7 Ke7 51. Kxh6 Ba4 52. Bxa4 a2 53. Kxg5 a1=Q 54. Bd7 Qf6+ 55. Kh5 b3 56. g5 Qf5 57. h4 b2 58. Kh6 b1=Q

white resigns

0-1

1. e4 e6

Eddie would joke later (in 1992) that he was afraid of me - perhaps he was in a way, since he seemed to be looking for a defense that made him comfortable. Or perhaps I'm reading too much into it.

2. d4 b6 3. Nc3 Bb7 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Be2 Qe7 6. Bg5 f6 7. Bf4 O-O-O 8. a3 d6 9. Qd2 g6 10. d5 Ne5 11. O-O-O Bg7 12. Rhe1 Ng4 13. Bg3? Bh6 14. Bf4 Bxf4 15. Qxf4 Nxf2 16. Rd2 h5 17. h3 f5 18. exf5 gxf5

the f-pawn may have been too costly to get

19. Bb5 Ne4 20. Nxe4 fxe4 21. Rxe4 e5 22. Qf5+ Kb8 23. Ra4 Nf6 24. Bc6 Rc8 25. Bxb7 Kxb7 26. Qd3 Ra8 27. Qa6+ Kb8 28. Kb1 Nd7 29. Qe2 Nc5 30. Nd4! Qg5 31. Nc6+ Kb7 32. Rb4 a5 33. Rc4 Rhf8 34. Rd1 Rf5 35. Rc3 Qf4 36. Qb5 Ne4??

Allows mate-in-7. OK- so it may not be all that much of an achievement but to me "actually -seepng-" the mate in all its glory gave me a satisfaction that lasted quite a long time (weeks & months).

37. Nxa5+ Rxa5 38. Qc6+ Ka6 39. Qa8+ Kb5 40. Rb3+ Kc4 41. Qc6+ Nc5 42. Rb4+

1-0

1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 Nd7 3. e3 Ngf6 4. Bd3 e6 5. f4 Be7 6. Nd2 c5 7. c3 O-O 8. Ngf3 c4 9. Bc2 h6 10. Bh4 Ng4 11. Bf2 b6 12. O-O Nxf2 13. Rxf2 Bh4 14. g3 Be7 15. Ne5 Bb7 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. Nf3 f6 18. Nh4 Qc6 19. Qh5 e5? 20. Qg6 a6?? 21. Nf5 Rf7 22. Nxh6+

black resigns

1-0