Spectrum Dudley Chess Congress 2011

29/01/2011

Round 1:

Got off to a disappointing start in my first trip to Dudley. All games are 36 moves in 90mins, then clocks back 15mins to finish. I was white against Stuart Calderbank (Grade 99). He played the Pirc defence. The first major mistake was 15.Rb1, allowing the Queen to fork the pawns on a2 and d3.


The next move I played was even worse because for some reason I hadn't even spotted the d3 pawn being attacked. I think my break from chess has left a lot of rustiness. It was a very frustrating game where I felt always on the defensive. The final mistake was 35.Bc4, overlooking Rxc4, bxc4, Rxb1.

Round 2:

Accepted a draw as black against Paul Broderick (102). Tried to get an attack going but nothing came of it. Draw probably fair result.

Round 3:

Another draw, this time against Maria Gonzalez (93) who plays for Hackney. She started off with 1...e6 which looked like a french, but it changed into something else (something like a hedgehog?). I offered a draw after my 37th move, which she declined. We finally agreed a draw after my 62nd move. I possibly missed a difficult win towards the end, but I was very low on time so happy with the draw.

30/01/2011

Round 4:

Lost with black against Peter Kearns (100). Scandinavian defence with 2.e5. 13...g5 was a mistake that I didn't visualise properly, should have played Nh4. When the g-file opened, I didn't notice the Queen looking down the b1-h7 diagonal until it was too late.

Round 5:

Last round was another draw as white against blind player Voldi Gailans (88). It was a two knights defence. Enjoyable game even though I was on the defensive for most of it. I couldn't see a way of winning the Queen and 3 pawns versus Queen and 1 pawn endgame, so accepted the draw.

Nice venue and run well as always by Spectrum chess. Bit disappointed with end result of 3 draws and 2 losses, but I think I was playing some strong players. Will hopefully return next year.

Nottingham Rapidplay 2011

I played my first competitive matches for over seven months today at the Nottingham Rapidplay. Ended up with four wins and two losses, pretty good seeing how rusty I was.

Entered Minor section as Rapidplay grade of 104 is under the 110 limit (my standard grade this year is 115). Games are 30mins each.

Round 1:
Won with black against junior Andrew Fergusson (grade 68). 1.d4 opening, played Kings Indian defence. After exchanges had bishop pair against knight and bishop. Became a pawn up after exchanging one of the bishops. Went to opposite coloured bishops with rook and about 6 pawns to 4 after forking bishop and pawn. Then pinned his bishop to king with rook. Promoted pawn to Queen and he resigned shortly after.

Round 2:
Lost with white against Matthew Wilson (ungraded - looked too good to be in minor section). He played french defense. He was up a pawn after I pushed e pawn too far. Then got up another pawn after attacking with knight and setting up a bishop-queen diagonal attack. Then I miscalculated to throw away rook when trying to get something out of nothing.

Round 3:
Lost with black against Joshua Field (58). He opened with the English 1.c4 but it transposed into a 1.d4 kings indian. Again I was vulnerable to attacking knight which won a pawn after threatening forks. Lost another pawn after more pressure, then resigned after sacrificing bishop to stop promotion, but couldn't stop another pawn.

Round 4:
Won with white against junior Russell O'Brien (92 rapid, 107 standard). Sicilian opening. Won a bishop for pawn in middle game after pushing f pawn and leaving bishop trapped nowhere to go. Swapped off pieces, got a bit scary with my king protected by just one pawn and open f and g files, but managed to get queen and rook in line forcing checkmate at the opposing end.

Round 5:
Won with black against junior Jonah Willow (UG). Scandinavian defence. He blundered a knight in middle game. I got a few pawns but then blundered knight back. Was bishop endgame with me having more pawns. He had to sacrifice his bishop to stop me promoting. Then it was a race to promote other pawns, but I could just stop his with my remaining bishop. Practiced my Queen v King ending.

Round 6:
Won with white against Ronald Watson (107). He played a Qd6 Scandinavian which I didn't have much of a clue how to play against. Got a good middle game though and broke through when attacked Queen with knight, meaning he had to move it leaving a nice rook and king fork. Struggled a bit when got towards end game with time running short. Eventually sacrificed two rooks for rook and bishop, leaving up a few pawns in pawn endgame. He couldn't stop me promoting one of the two flanks of pawns so won with 1min 30secs to spare.