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. Bg5 Qg6 12. Bxd8 Kxd8 13. 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 [Keith]

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?! 11. b4 or 11. Be3 11... 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 [Keith]

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 18... axb5 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. Nxb5 Qd7 21. Nc3 19. f3? 19. c6 Bc8 20. Re4 Qg6 21. Ra4 Rd8 22. Nxc4 Bg5 23. b6 cxb6 24. Nxb6 19... Qd4+ 20. Kh1 c6?! 21. Ne2 b6 would have been more secure 21... Qd3 22. Qxd3 cxd3 23. bxc6 Bxc6 24. Nc3?! 24. Nd4 Bb7 25. Nc4 Rfd8 26. Nd6 24... 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. Ke3 Kf5 31. Nc4 Kg6 32. Nd6 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 42. Nd4 fxg4 43. fxg4 h5 44. Nxe6 Rc8 45. Nc7+ Kf7 46. Rd7+ 42... 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 [Keith]

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. Nxf6+ Qxf6 10. Bxf7+ Kh8 11. Bxe8 hxg5 12. Qh5+ 9... Qxc7 10. Bxf7+ Kf8 11. Bxe8 Kxe8 12. Nf3 d5 13. Nh4? Qf7 13... Bg4 14. Nf3 (since if 14. Qd2 then 14... dxe4 15. h3 Be6 16. a3 Rd8) 14... dxe4 15. dxe4 Rd8 16. Qe1 Bxf3 14. Be3 d4 15. Bd2 Be7 16. Nf5 Qg6 17. h3 more interesting would have been 17. Nxe7 Nxe7 18. f4 Bg4 19. Qe1 17... Be6 18. Qf3 Kd7 19. c3 Rf8 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21. Qg3 Qh7 22. a3 g6 23. c4 23. cxd4 exd4 24. Qc7+ Ke8 25. Qxh7 Nxh7 23... 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 48... Qa3+ 49. Kxd4 Qd6+ 50. Kc3 Qxd1 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 [Keith]

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. Kg2 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 17... Kh8 18. Bg7+ Kxg7 19. Qxf3 Nxf3# would be more accurate 18. Rg1+ Nxg1 18... Ng4+ 19. Kg2 Qh2+ 20. Kxf3 Qxg1 19. Kxg1 Qh3 19... Rg8 would lead to mate in one move less 20. Nd5 white resigns time : White - 37 mins; Black 11.5 0-1 [Keith]

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. Ne5 Re8 21. Rxc6 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 26... Rd8 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 30. d7+ Nxb4 31. dxe8=Q+ Rxe8 32. Rxb4 Re2 33. Kg3 30... Qe5+ time : White - 25 mins; Black - 45 31. g3 Rd8 32. d7+ Kg8? Qe7 was needed instead 33. Qxa6? 33. Qa5 Qf6 34. Kg1 33... 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 38... Qe4 39. Qf1 (39. Qb4?? Nh4+ 40. Kf1 Rd1+ 41. Qe1 Qxe1#) 39... Nd2+ 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 42. Re1+ Rd6 43. Qxd6+ Kg8 44. Re8# 42... 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 [Keith]

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?! 9. Bg5 Nf5 10. Qg4 g6 11. Bxe7 Nxe7 9... O-O 10. Qg4 !? 10... Bc8 time : White - 4 mins; Black - 19 11. Bh6 !? 11... Bf6 or 11... Ne8 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 16. Na4 Rb8 17. Nc5 16... Nf5 17. Qd3 d6 18. Nf3 Qd7 19. Ne4 Qd8 20. Neg5 20. Nxf6+ Qxf6 21. c4 20... 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. Bxc7 Ra8 26. Be5 Qg6 27. c5 25... Nh4! 26. Nxh4 draw offer by white before move 26... Qxh4 ? the bishop was more dangerous 26... Qxf4 was preferable 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 [Keith]

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 [Keith]

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 31. Nxd4 cxd4 32. Bxd4+ Kxh7 33. Bxb6 Bc7 34. Bxc7 Nxc7 With the trick of ..Bh3+ in mind. 35. Kf2 31... 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 [Keith]

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 28... Nf3+ this 'did' occur to me, now it looks OK, at the time though ... 29. gxf3 (29. Qxf3 Qxf3 30. gxf3 Kxh6 31. Re2) 29... Qxh6 29. Nxg4 Nb5 29... Nb3 30. Re2 d4 31. Ne5 Nxe5 32. Rxe5 Rfd8 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 37... Nf5 is simpler 38. h6+ Kh8 38... Kg8 39. Nf6+ 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. Rd1 Rb1 42... Rb2 43. Nf1 stopping ..Ne3 followed by ..Nc2 43... Na3 43... Na5 44. Kh3 Nb3 44. Ne3 Nac4 I considered the pawn push but I guess I was just being conservative 45. Nxc4 Nxc4 46. Kg3 Na3 47. Ng4 47. Rc1 would at least have forced me to be wary of the back rank mate 47... Nc2 48. Rd1 a1=Q white resigned 48... Rb1 49. Rd2 Rc1 50. Ne3 a1=Q 0-1 [Keith]

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 6... dxe4 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. dxe4 Qg6 9. Qf3 and black still has an edge according to Fritz, but it's messy and I preferred castling and developing 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?? 22... b3 is totally overwhelming 23. Qb2 Na4 24. Re2 (24. Qb1 Qc5+ 25. Kd1 Nc3+) 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 31... Qa5+ 31... Nxd3 32. Qxb4 (and not 32. Qxd3 Rc3) 32. Kxb3 Nxd3 33. Ra1 Rc3+ 34. Ka4 Nc5+ 34... a6 Fritz sees a mate-in-6 35. Nxd4 exd4 36. Nc4 Nc5+ 37. Kb4 Rb3+ 38. Ka5 Rb5# 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 47. Ne4 Kg8 48. Nf6+ Kf8 49. Ke5 g3 50. Ke6 h3 51. Rf7# 47... 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!? 35... a4 36. Kf4 a3 37. e5+ Ke7 38. Bb1 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?? 10. Nxf7 Rxf7 11. Qxf7+ Kh7 12. Rf1 10... 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 10. Qd1 this was what I was expecting 10... Qxh4 11. b4 Bb6 12. Qd2 10... Nf6 11. Qg6 Ne8 ?? 11... d5 12. Bxd5 Nxd5 I looked at this, but got lost - obviously not evaluating correctly 13. Qg3 Nxc3+ 14. bxc3 Nb5 15. Bxh6 Qf6 16. Be3 Nxc3+ 17. Kd2 11... b5 12. Bxh6 Ne8 13. Ba2 I looked at this line - and quite rightly rejected it, though it is worrying how long it took me to come to that conclusion, seeing the Bishop only retreating to b3 for the longest time before I woke up that a2 was available. 12. Ng4 12. Bxh6 This is what I was afraid of in the game, I couldn't see any way to stop it - thought it is a consequence of the poor .. Ne8 12... Qxh4 13. Be3 Ne6 12... Bxg4+ 13. Qxg4 Qf6 14. f3 14. Rf1 c6 keeping the knight out of d5 - this line looked pretty strong to me, so I was relieved when Duncan pushed the f-pawn, although I grew to dislike *that* as well. 14... c6 15. Rf1 ? 15. Bg5 Qg6 (15... hxg5 16. hxg5 Qe7 and mate in two) 16. Be7 Qxg4 17. fxg4 b5 18. Ba2 Nf6 19. Bxf8 Rxf8 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. Bg5 Qg6 24. Ne7 Rxe7 25. Bxe7 Qxg4 26. fxg4 Re8 23... Rfd8 ? 24. Rd1 24. exd5 cxd5 25. Bg5 Qg6 26. Bxd8 Qxg4 27. fxg4 Nxd8 24... dxe4 my idea was of course to clear a file and get the Rooks into the action, I thought I was dominating the centre 24... a5 leaving White's King very open to attack 25. fxe4 Ne8 ? 25... c5 stronger 26. c4 ? 26... Nd4+ !? 27. Nxd4 Bxd4 28. Rb1 Qf2+ 29. Bd2 ? Rd2 better 29... Bb6 !? 29... Be3 30. Qf3 Rxd3 31. Qxf2 Bxf2 32. cxb5 Rxa3 30. c5 Rxd3 31. Qf5+ Qxf5 32. exf5 Bc7 33. Bxf7 Rxa3 ? 33... Nf6 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 [Keith Farrell]

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 9... Nxd4 10. Nxd4 Qf6 11. Be3 (11. Nf3? Bxf2+) 11... Nxe3 12. fxe3 10. Ng5?! Bxd4 10... Nxf2 11. Kxf2 Bxd4+ 12. Ke2 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?! 13. g3 Qf6 14. Re2 13... Qf6! 14. Qc2? Bxe6 14... Bxf2+ 15. Qxf2 Rh1+ 16. Kxh1 Qxf2 14... g3 which Duncan 'had' looked -with the line 15. Be3 Bxe3 16. fxe3 Qxg5 (16... Qh6 although I had thought if the Queen moved here 17. Nh3 would be adequate) (16... 16... Bxe6 17. Nxe6+ Ke7 18. Nf4 Qh4 19. Kf1 Qh1+ 20. Ke2 Rh2 and althou gh this was NOT the exact line looked at by Duncan, it *does* show the kind of attack he had in mind) 14... Nb4 15. Qe2 Nd3 16. Be3 15. Nc3 Bc4 black still with a strong plus 16. Nd5 Qe5? 16... Bxf2+ 17. Qxf2 Rh1+ 16... Bxd5 17. exd5 Bxf2+ 18. Qxf2 Rh1+ 17. Bf4 Qe8?? black could *still* have kept a slight plus with ...g3 18. Qxc4 Qh5 18... g3 still *marginally* better - though white still would have a large plus 19. Ne6+ 19. Kf1 would have been more solid 19... Kf7 20. Ng5+ Kg6? 21. Ne7+!! Nxe7 22. Qf7+ 22. Qe6+ drawing the black-squared Bishop in turns out to be *very* handy 22... Bf6 23. Qf7+ Kh6 24. Ne6+ g5 25. Qxf6+ Qg6 26. Bxg5+ Kh7 27. Qxe7+ 22... 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 10... Qc8 11. Ng6 is what I was concerned about 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 30. Rf1 Rf4 31. Nxc6 30... 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 30... hxg5 31. hxg5 Bf5 32. Rf1 31. Nf3 31. gxh6 Nxe5 (31... Nxh6 32. Kd2) 32. Rxg7+ Kh8 33. Rh7+ Kg8 34. Rg7+ this is how we looked at it [briefly mind you] after the game however white can 34... Kh8 35. Rg5 and the hopes I had for the knight moving to allow my Rook to get to e1+ are dashed 31... Nxg5 32. Nd2?? 32. hxg5 Rxf3 33. Bc4+ Be6 34. Rxf3 Bxc4 35. Rxf2 32. Bc4+ Be6 33. Bxe6+ Nxe6 34. Rf1 32. hxg5 Rxf3 33. Rxf3 Re1+ 34. Kd2 Rxh1 35. Bc4+ Kh7 36. Rxf2 32... Re1+ *still* not fatal - however white's flag has fallen 0-1 [Keith Farrell]

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? 18. g6 Bxg2 19. gxf7+ Kf8 20. Rh8+ Ke7 21. Rxe8+ Qxe8 22. fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 18... Bxh1 19. O-O-O Bf3 20. Rf1 20. g6 Re6 21. gxf7+ Kf8 22. Rg1 20... Qd7 20... Bh5 21. Rh1 Bg6 21. g6 Qg4? 21... Re6 21... Re7 22. Qh2 Nb3+ white mates in 7 22. gxf7+ Kf8 23. fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 24. Qf2 Ke7 25. Nd5+ Kd8 26. Ne3 Qf4 27. Kb1 Rf8 28. c3 Nc6 28... Be2 29. Nf5 g6? 29... Bh5 30. Qe1 Qg5 31. Nd4 Rxf1 32. Nxc6+ Kd7 33. Nb8+ Kc8 34. Qxf1 Kxb8= 30. Ng7 Bg4? 31. Qxf4?? 31. Qh4+ Kd7 32. Rxf4 Rxf4 leaving white hugely in front 31... 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?! 34... Ne6 35. Rh7 Rf7 36. Rh4 Rxg7 37. Rxg4 Nf4 35. Rh7 Nf7? 36. Bb5? 36. Nf5+ gxf5 37. Rxf7+ Kd8 38. Be6 Rxd3 36... Kf8! 37. Ne8 c5?! 37... a6 38. Bc6 Nd8 39. Rh8+ Ke7 40. Bd5 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 50... Bg4 51. Ng1 Nh3 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. 9... Nc6 10. Nb3 cxd4 11. Bd2 Qb2 12. Bc1 Qc3= 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. allows this forced mate in 6 moves 13. Bb5+ Nc6 14. Rxc6 Bc5 15. Rxc5+ Qxb5 16. Rc7+ Ke8 17. Rc8+ Rxc8 18. Qxc8# 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 17... Ba3 18. Bxc6 Bxc1 19. Qxc1 Nxe5 20. Qa3 18. N2f3 Ba3?? 18... Nxf3+ is necessary 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. Qf4+ was of course, the correct move 24... Kd7 25. Qxf7+ Kd6 26. Qf4+ Kd7 27. Nd4+ Kc8 28. Ba6+ Kd8 29. Rb8+ Ke7 30. Rxh8 Bxd4 31. Qf8+ Kd7 32. Bb5+ Rc6 33. Qd8# 24... f6 25. Nxa7 Ra8 26. Qa6+ Ke7 27. Nc6+ Kf8 28. Qxa8+ black resigns 1-0