1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 O-O 10.e3 Re8 11.Qd2 Ne4 12.Bxd8 Nxd2 13.Kxd2 Rxd8 14.Bd3 Nc6 15.Ne2 Na5 16.Rab1 Bd7 17.e4 Rac8 18.e5 Ba4

19.dxc5! A nice idea, White is prepared to sacrifice the exchange to get his knight to the ideal square d4, supported by a well placed rook after winning a pawn with Rxb7. Apparently Mark has been covering exchange sacs with Andrew Brockway, and considering them more often in his own games. So I think Andrew Brockway should definitely get partial credit for this win.  19...Nb3+ 20.Rxb3 Bxb3 21.Rb1 Bc4 22.Rxb7 a6? The trouble with this move is that White gets to keep the c5 pawn  23.Nd4 Bxd3 ( Now that the knight is on d4 it is too late for 23...Rxc5 (with or without exchanging bishops) because  24.e6! will be very painful ) 24.Kxd3 Re8 25.c6 Rxe5 26.f4 better to play Ra7  26...Ree8? better to get active with Re1  27.Rd7 Rcd8 28.Ra7 ( After a little thought Houdini 1.5 finds a way to force the c pawn through here with 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.c4! dxc4+ 30.Kxc4 Kf8 31.Kc5 Ke7 32.c7 Rf8 33.Nc6+ Kd7 34.Kb6 a5 35.Kb7 h5 36.Ne5+ ) 28...Kf8 29.Rxa6 Ra8 30.Rxa8 Rxa8 31.Nb5

31...Ke7 ( Black can achieve an unusual drawing setup with 31...Ra6! 32.c7 Rc6 33.Kd4 Ke7 34.Kxd5 Kd7 And black can shuttle the rook on the third rank, keeping the White king out, and the Knight is tied to defending the c pawn ) 32.Kd4 Kd8 33.Kxd5 Ra4 34.c4 f6 35.Kc5 g5 36.c7+? ( White should improve his king first 36.fxg5! hxg5 37.Kb6! Rxc4 38.Kb7 and wins by advancing the a pawn ) 36...Kd7 37.fxg5 hxg5 38.g4 ( But now with the pawn already on c7 38.Kb6 Rxc4 39.Kb7 f5 40.a4 Rc5 stymies further progress. I am sure I would definitely have seen all these subtleties without Houdini's help and with 30 seconds a move after four hours of tough chess! (the reality is that actually in those circumstances I can barely keep track of which way pawns are moving) ) 38...Ra6 39.Kd5 Ra8 40.c5 Ra6 41.c8=Q+? ( There is only one winning move here 41.h3!! puts Black into Zugzwang! ) 41...Kxc8 42.c6 Ra4 43.h3

It seems Black can draw here because he has a fortress if he is careful. White's winning plan is to put his king on b6 then his knight on d6, followed by queening the c pawn. But that is his only way to make progress and Black can prevent it by keeping his rook on the a file, ready to play Ra6 at the right time.  43...Rf4? 44.Kc5 Rf3 45.Kb6 Rb3 46.a4 Unfortunately for Black, this defensive plan fails because it doesn't restrain White's 'other' passed pawn  46...Kb8 47.a5 Rb1 48.a6 Ka8 49.c7 Rc1 50.c8=Q+! A nice way to do it, it's always best to choose the most forcing continuation if it ends in a clear win (because each forced move is a move where your opponent doesn't get the opportunity to do something clever or tricky)  50...Rxc8 51.Nc7+ White will enjoy eating both Black's pawns 1-0

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nh3 Nd7 8.Bc4 e6 9.Nf4 Ne7 10.O-O Qb6 11.Be3 O-O-O 12.Qe2

A tricky position for Black. The threat of d5 means Black must move the queen anyway (Nd5 is possible but positionally undesirable because Black doesn't want to recapture on g6 with a pawn)...  12...Qxb2?! ...So why not grab a free pawn?  13.Rfb1 Qxc2?! ...or two?  14.Nxg6! Qxg6 (14...Qxe2 isn't possible because White has the Zwichenzug  15.Nxe7+ and therefore ends up with an extra piece. *BUT* give Houdini a little time and it gradually starts recommending this impossible option. Which says a lot about the position after Qxg6. ) 15.h5 Qh7 16.a4 (16.Ba6! is the accurate move ) 16...Nd5 17.Qb2 b6? (17...Nb4! is a nice blocking move ) 18.a5 Bd6 19.axb6 axb6 20.Ra7 b5?? Black is lost anyway, but this move still makes a poor impression. Friends don't let friends play moves like b5 in this position!  21.Bxb5 cxb5 22.Qxb5 Qxb1+ Strictly speaking, White should have avoided this by playing Rc1+ first  23.Qxb1 N7b6 24.Qb5 Bc7 25.Ne4 Rd7 26.Qa6+ Kd8 27.Ra8+ Nxa8 28.Qxa8+ Ke7 29.Qxh8 1-0

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 Bg4 3.c3 Bxf3 4.gxf3 c6 5.Nd2 Nf6 6.Qb3 Qc7 7.Ne4 Nbd7 8.Ng5 d5 9.e4 h6 10.Nh3 dxe4 11.Bc4 e6 12.fxe4

Is that a free pawn?  12...Nxe4! kind of  13.Bxe6! clever  13...Ndc5! very clever  14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Bxf7+ Qxf7 16.Qxf7+ Kxf7 Black's small victory in the combinative battle is a better pawn structure.  17.O-O Be7 18.Be3 Rhd8 19.Rfd1 Na4 20.Rxd8 Rxd8

What about that, is that a free pawn?  21.Bxa7 b6 maybe not  22.b3 Ra8 23.bxa4 Rxa7 24.Nf4 Rxa4 After more combinative play Black's reward is more pawn weaknesses for White  25.Ne2 Bf6 26.Kf1 b5 27.Rd1 Rxa2 28.Rd6 c5 29.Rb6 Rb2 30.Rb7+ Ke6 31.Nf4+ Kd6 32.Rb6+ Kd7 33.Nd5 Be7 34.f4 Bd6 35.c4 b4 36.Rb7+ Ke6 37.Rxg7 Rc2 38.f5+ Ke5 39.Ne3

39...b3?! Looks good, but gives White a chance  40.Ke1?? (40.Rb7! is obvious and a little awkward for Black ) 40...Rc1+ 0-1

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.Nf3 Nbd7 ( I've played 6...Bg4 a few times, with mixed results, but I actually did 10 minutes prep and found that Nbd7 although it's played less, scores better  ) 7.O-O Be7 8.Kh1 Kudos to Arthur for finding this non-obvious move, which is by far the most played here  8...O-O 9.Bd2 Qc7 10.a4! Another good move, clamping down on Black's potential queenside play  10...Re8? Routine and a mistake. Black wants to free f8 for reorganisation, but Black can't afford this in this particular position. I actually looked at this position but forgot the right approach. Good players here take the chance to play exd4 and Nc5, reducing White's attacking potential.  11.dxe5 dxe5 12.Bc4 Highlighting one of the shortcomings of 10...Re8, f7 is definitely tender  12...Bd6 I thought maybe Re7 instead of Rf8 would be less grovelling.  13.f5! This is a pawn formation Black should avoid I think  13...h6 Changing plans, I now try to avoid the attack on f7. In general it is a bad idea to move a pawn on the wing where you're being attacked, I am not sure whether this is an exception.  14.Qe2 Nf8 15.Be1 An interesting idea, White can attack Nf6 with his bishop despite h6  15...Bd7 16.Rd1 Rad8 17.Bh4 N8h7 One benefit of playing h6 is this useful manoevre  18.g4 Oh boy, this doesn't look good. You better believe I was regretting h6 now. Am I going to get squashed like a bug?  18...Be7 Reinforcing f6 one more time  19.Rg1

The crushed like a bug possibility looms large. I was about to play Bc8 completing my development. [One of my pet theories is that c8 is a perfectly good square for the piece that starts its life there, and that it can profitably stay put if you can develop the Ra8 with something like Ra8-a7-d7, or you can put it back there after centralising the Ra8 in the conventional way]. However, that would do very little about the impending storm on the kingside (it would give me the option of exchanging one major piece - that's all). But just in time I realised the bishop was doing something on d7 that it couldn't do on c8.  19...b5!? The exclam reflects the practical rather than the theoretical value of the move. Amusingly Houdini is sanguine at this point and prefers Bc8, with b5 as second choice. The main idea of b5 is simply to disrupt White's uninterrupted build up by introducing an element of chaos. A secondary idea is that maybe, just maybe I can get the Bd7 to the really active square c6 where it will hopefully make the Kh1 nervous about the decision to advance with g4.  20.axb5 cxb5 21.Bb3 Arthur refuses to be distracted but (21.Nxb5 Bxb5 22.Bxb5 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Rc8 24.c3 Is a safe extra pawn  ) 21...b4 22.Nb1? Of course after spending all our time on quiet manoevering, we now have no time to spend with the board on fire. Ironic. ( Even Houdini takes a little time to find a win in all the subvariations of 22.g5!! bxc3 23.gxf6 Bxf6 24.Qg2 Qb6 25.Bxf6 Qxf6 26.Rd6 ) 22...Bc6! The promised land   23.Rxd8 Herman van Riemsdijk taught me an important, much neglected lesson. Don't take - let your opponent take. It's called Morphy's law of development and it applies here. White gains nothing by promoting the Re8, which was doing little into the only rook on the d file. In fact later on a Re8 would have been a much appreciated target for g6xf7+   23...Rxd8 24.g5 ( I expected 24.Nbd2 after which I intended to sac the exchange (even without the benefit of lessons to Andrew Brockway!) with  24...Rxd2 25.Nxd2 Nxe4 26.Nxe4 Bxh4 after which I preferred Black. Pleasingly, Houdini approves. ) 24...Nxe4 25.f6 Bc5 26.g6 Nhg5

The last five moves have seen five black pieces advance strongly into the game. White is now swept away.  27.Bxg5 Nxg5 28.Rxg5 hxg5 29.Kg2 g4 30.gxf7+ Kf8 31.fxg7+ Kxg7 32.Nd2 Rxd2 A notoriously nervous finisher, I was reluctant to take this way as I am much more confident of converting when I am a whole rook up, rather than a mere piece! Never-the-less I felt honour bound to capture the way I felt a real chess player would - retaining the initiative, the bishop pair and the advancing attacking f pawn.  33.Qxd2 gxf3+ 34.Kh3 Objectively best, other moves lose to direct attack. ( I quite fancied 34.Kf1 Bb5+ 35.c4 bxc3+ winning the queen ) 34...Qd7+ ( The final moves are clear 34...Qd7+ 35.Qxd7 Bxd7+ 36.Kg3 f2 37.Bc4 Be6 and White's advanced pawn falls with a trivial endgame win even for me ) 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 Nc6 5.Bc4 e6 6.Nf3 a6 7.O-O b5 8.Bb3 Na5 9.Be3 Bb7 10.Rc1 Nxb3 11.Qxb3 Nf6 12.Rfd1 Rc8 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bf4 Nxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Ne5 Rxc1 17.Rxc1 Bd5 18.Qg3

An interesting position, Black is two healthy pawns up and should win, but there are some practical difficulties.  18...g5 The fact that this is Houdini's first choice hints at Black's problems  19.Bd2 Bd6 20.Qc3 O-O? Black should avoid this, the king is a real target amongst all those weakened squares, in fact White makes inroads immediately  21.Ng4! f5 22.Nxh6+ Kh7 23.Qh3 Kg6 24.g4 f4 ( although ugly,  24...fxg4 avoiding Qh5+ is mandatory ) 25.Qh5+ Kg7 26.h4?! Letting Black back into the game (26.Nf5+ exf5 27.Bc3+ Rf6 28.Rd1 is an attractive computer win ) (26.Bc3+ also wins ) 26...Be7 27.Bc3+ Bf6 28.Qxg5+ Kh7 29.Qh5 Kg7 30.g5 Bxc3 31.Rxc3 Qe8 32.Qxe8 Rxe8 Amazingly, we end up in an evenish ending. From now on White outplays his opponent  33.h5 Bxa2 greedy  34.Rc7 Rd8 35.Ng4 Kf8 36.Ne5

White is winning  36...Ke7 submitting to a forced win  37.Nc6+ Kd6 38.Nxd8 Kxc7 39.Nf7 d6 40.g6 Bb1 41.Ng5 Kd7 42.g7 1-0

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Qe2 dxe4 4.dxe4 b6 5.Nf3 a5 6.c4 Nf6 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Be7 9.Nc3 O-O 10.e5 Nfd7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.Qe4 Ra7 13.Bd3 f5 14.exf6 Nxf6 15.Qe2 Bb7 16.O-O Nbd7 17.Nb5 Bxf3 18.Qxf3 Ne5 19.Qe2 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 Rb7 21.Rfe1 Rd8 22.Qf3 Rbb8 23.Qc6 Rd2 24.b3 Rbd8 25.Qxc7 Qb4 26.Qxb6 Qe7 27.Qxa5 Qc5 28.Qa7 Qf5 29.Qe3 R8d3 30.Qxe6+ Qxe6 31.Rxe6 Ng4

White has four extra pawns. However one or two are bound to drop off, so neutralising Black is not trivial  32.h3 Nxf2 33.Rd6! Clever  33...Nxh3+ 34.Kh2? ( Simply 34.gxh3! Rxd6 35.Nxd6 Rxd6 with an easy win ) 34...Nf4 35.Rxd3 Nxd3 36.Kg3? ( White can simply charge forward now 36.a4 Nf4 37.a5 Rxg2+ 38.Kh1 ) 36...g5 37.Nc3? (37.a4 is still best ) 37...Nf4 Now this creates two threats  38.a4 Finally played at the point when it is too late!  38...Rd3+ 39.Kg4 Rxc3 40.a5 Kf7 41.a6? The final mistake (41.Kf5 escaping the net with drawing chances still ) 41...Kg6! With inevitable mate  42.Rh1 Rxb3 43.g3 h5+ 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.e4 Qc7 9.O-O h6 10.d5 Ne7 11.h3 O-O 12.Nh2 e5 13.f4 Nd7 14.f5 f6 15.Qh5 Qd8 16.Ng4 Qe8

17.Nxh6+!? Played with youthful optimism!  17...gxh6 18.Qxh6 Qf7 19.Rf3 Qh7 20.Rg3+ Kh8 21.Qe3 Rg8 22.Bd2 Qh4 23.Rxg8+ Kxg8 24.Rf1 Kf7 25.Rf3 Nf8 26.Rg3 Qh7 27.Rg4 Bd7 28.Qg3 Rb8 29.Rh4 Qg7 30.Rg4 Qh8 31.Rh4 Nh7 32.Qg4

White now has a winning bind  32...Qg7 This accelerates Black's demise, but there is no defense to the attack  (32...-- 33.Qh5+ Kg8 34.Rg4+ Kf8 35.Bh6+ ) 33.Qh5+ Kg8 34.Rg4 Ng5 35.Bxg5 Be8 36.Qh4 Kf7 37.Be3 Qxg4 38.Qxg4 Ng8 39.Qh4 Ke7 40.Qh7+ Bf7 41.Be2 Ke8 42.Bh5 Nice work Bruce! 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 e5 What's this the List defence?  3.dxe5 dxe5 4.Qxd8+ Kxd8 5.Bc4 f6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.O-O-O+ Bd6

9.Bc5! Initiating an energetic sequence!  9...b5? This loses  10.Bxd6 cxd6 11.Rxd6+ Bd7 (11...Kc7 12.Rxc6+ Kxc6 13.Bd5+ ) 12.Be6 Ra7 13.Bxd7 Rxd7 14.Rxc6 Ne7 15.Rxa6 b4 16.Ra8+ Nc8 17.Nd5 Re8 18.Rxc8+ 1-0

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 h6 6.Bf4 c6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 O-O 9.Nge2 Re8 10.Qc2 a5 11.O-O Na6 12.a3 Bd6 13.Rfb1 Bg4 14.h3 Bxe2 15.Nxe2 Nc7 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.Ng3 Ne6 18.Nf5 Qf8 19.b4 axb4 20.axb4 Rxa1 21.Rxa1 g6 22.Ng3 Kg7 23.Qa4 Qd6 24.Rc1 Nc7 25.Qa7 Qxb4 26.Rb1 Qc3 27.Bf1 Ra8 28.Qxb7 Nfe8 29.Ne2 Qd2 30.Qxc6 Ra2 31.Qc1 Qa5 32.Nc3 Ra3 33.Nb5 Nxb5 34.Rxb5 Qa8 35.Qc5 Nf6 36.Qd6 Ra6 37.Rb6 Rxb6 38.Qxb6 Qa1 39.Qa6 Qe1 40.Qe2 Qa1 41.g3 Ne4 42.Kg2 Nc3 43.Qc2 Qe1 44.Bd3 Nd1 45.Qe2 Qxe2 46.Bxe2 Nc3 47.Bd3 f5 48.f3 Kf6 49.Kf2 Na4 50.Ke2 Nb6 51.Kd2 Nc8 52.Kc3 Ke6 53.Kb4 Kd6 54.h4 Ne7 55.Bb5 g5 56.hxg5 hxg5 57.Be8 Ng8 58.Bg6 Ke6 59.Kc5 Nf6 60.Kc6 Ng8 61.Kc7 Ne7 62.Be8 f4 63.gxf4 gxf4 64.exf4 Kf5 65.Kd6 Ng8

Alok has outplayed his opponent and just needs to mop up  66.Kxd5?? Goodness me (66.Bc6 is the obvious way to go ) 66...Nf6+ 67.Kc6 Nxe8 68.d5 Nf6 1/2-1/2

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.c4 Bg7 6.Nb5 d6 7.Nd2 Nf6 8.Be2 a6 9.Nc3 Bd7 10.O-O O-O 11.Rb1 Rc8 12.b3 Nd4 13.Bd3 Ng4 14.Ne2 Nc6 15.Nf3 Nge5 16.Ng3 Bg4 17.Be2 Nxf3+ 18.Bxf3 Be6 19.a3 Qd7 20.Be3 Ne5 21.Be2 Rc7 22.f4 Ng4 23.Bd4 Bxd4+ 24.Qxd4 f5 25.Bxg4 fxg4 26.f5 Bf7 27.Rbd1 Qc6 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.e5 Qc5 30.exd6 exd6 31.Ne4 Qxd4+ 32.Rxd4 b5 33.cxb5 axb5 34.Nxd6 Rd7 35.Nxb5 Rxd4 36.Nxd4 Rd8 37.Rf4 Ra8 38.Rxg4 Rxa3 39.b4 Ra1+ 40.Kf2 Rb1 41.Nc6 Rb2+ 42.Ke3 Kg7 43.Kd4 Rc2 44.Ne5 Rb2 45.Kc3 Rb1 46.Nxf7 Kxf7 47.Re4 Rd1 48.Re2 Rc1+ 49.Rc2 Rf1 50.Rb2 Ke6 51.Kc4 Kd6 52.Kb5 Kc7 53.Ka6 Kb8 54.Kb6 Rf6+ 55.Kc5 Kb7 56.b5 Rf5+

John nearly lost on time here and obviously lost confidence. But White has an ideal setup and can win routinely by penetrating with the king - Kd6 and a trip to the kingside decides quickly.  1/2-1/2

1.d4 c5 2.d5 e5 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 f5 5.e4 a6 6.a4 b6 7.exf5 Bxf5 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 Be7 10.O-O Bf6 11.Ne4 h6 12.Nfd2 Ra7 13.Nc4 Be7

Ross has completely refuted my opening play - I think I should learn something about this opening before trying it again  14.Nexd6+!? I didn't see this shot, instead I was worrying about what I could possibly do after the more positional (14.f4! simply opening the position, and in fact this approach is even stronger ) 14...Bxd6 15.Qg6+ Kf8 16.Nxd6 Nf6 17.Ne4 Qe8 18.Qxe8+ Kxe8 19.Nxf6+ gxf6 Escaping into an ending just a pawn down was definitely a relief for me  20.c4 Rg7 21.Ra3 Rg4 22.Rc3 Rhg8 23.g3 h5 24.Re1 Nd7 25.f3 R4g6 26.f4 Rg4 27.Kf2 Kf7 28.h3 R4g6 29.fxe5 fxe5 30.Rf3+ Ke7 31.Ree3 Kd6 32.b3 b5 33.axb5 axb5 34.Rf5 h4 35.g4 bxc4 36.bxc4 Ra8 37.Bb2 Ra2 38.Re2 Ra4 39.Rc2 Rg8 40.Ke3 Rb8 41.Ke4 Rb3 42.Bxe5+ Nxe5 43.Rxe5 Rxh3 44.Re6+ Kd7 45.Rh6 Raa3 46.Rh7+

With little time and unable to see a clear path to victory Ross offered me a draw. Thanks Ross!  1/2-1/2

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Bg4 3.c4 Nf6 4.Qb3 Qc8 5.h3 Bh5 6.g4 Bg6 7.Bg2 c6 8.Nc3 e6 9.Nh4 Be7 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bf4 Nbd7 12.e3 O-O 13.Bg3 Nb6 14.a4 d5 15.c5 Nbd7 16.a5 e5 17.O-O Bd8 18.a6 b5 19.cxb6 axb6

Now that White no longer has a vulnerable pawn on c5, he can capture advantageously on e5 and Black's loosened position starts falling apart  20.dxe5 Nc5 21.Qd1 Nfd7 22.b4 Nxa6 23.b5 Nb4 24.Qb3 Rxa1 25.Rxa1 Be7 26.bxc6 Qxc6 27.Nxd5 Nxd5 28.Bxd5

with a healthy extra pawn, two bishops and a more active rook, White is winning. Black struggles to the end but the result never seems in doubt.  28...Nc5 29.Bxc6 Nxb3 30.Ra7 Bb4 31.Bd5 Nc5 32.f4 Ne6 33.f5 gxf5 34.gxf5 Ng5 35.h4 Nh7 36.Kg2 Bc5 37.Kf3 b5 38.Rc7 Ba3 39.Rb7 b4 40.Bf4 Bc1 41.Ke4 Ba3 42.h5 Bc1 43.Rxb4 Ba3 44.Rb7 Bc5 45.Kf3 Ba3 46.e4 Bc5 47.Kg4 Bd4 48.h6 Bc3 49.Kh5 gxh6 50.Bxh6 Bxe5 51.Bxf8 Nf6+ 52.Kg5 Nxd5 53.exd5 Kxf8 54.f6 Bh2 55.Kf5 Ke8 56.Re7+ Kf8 57.Re2 Bd6 58.Re4 Bg3 59.Re2 Bd6 60.Re3 Bb4 61.Rb3 Bd6 62.Rb6 Bg3 63.Rb3 Bd6 64.Re3 Bb4 65.Ke5 Ke8 66.Rb3 Bc5 67.Rb8+ Kd7 68.Rb7+ Ke8 69.d6 Ba3 70.Kd5 Bc1 71.Kc6 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 c5 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.Qd2 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nd7 10.Be2 a6 11.Rd1 Re8 12.Nd5 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Bxd4 14.Qxd4 Nc5 15.O-O e5 16.Qd2 Ne6 17.Qc3 Bd7 18.f4!?

18...Nxf4? falling into a brutal trap  19.Rxf4! exf4 20.Nf6+ Kf8 21.Nxh7+ White has the luxury of picking up a free pawn without loss of tempo  21...Kg8 22.Nf6+ Kf8 The Re8 beseechingly begs to be taken  23.Rxd6! No such luck, the mighty horse is worth much more than the rook!  23...Re6 24.Nxd7+ Ke7 25.Rxe6+ Kxe6 26.Nc5+ Ke7 27.Qe5+ The smoke has cleared, White has a decisive material advantage and a continuing attack. Al wraps up smoothly to complete a powerful and impressive win.  27...Kf8 28.Nxb7 Qb8 29.Nd6 Qb4 30.Qxf4 Qe1+ 31.Qf1 Qxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Ke7 33.c5 a5 34.Bc4 f6 35.Ke2 a4 36.Kd3 Ra5 37.Kd4 Ra8 38.b3 axb3 39.Bxb3 Rh8 40.h3 Rh4 41.a4 f5 42.a5 fxe4 43.Nxe4 Rh8 44.a6 Ra8 45.Bc4 Kd7 46.Nf6+ Kc7 47.Nd5+ Kb8 48.Ne7 g5 49.c6 Ra7 50.Nd5 Kc8 51.Kc5 g4 52.Kb6 gxh3 53.gxh3 Kb8 54.c7+ 1-0

1.Nf3 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 e5 6.O-O Nh6 7.d3 O-O 8.Rb1 f5 9.Bd2 f4 10.b4 Nf5 11.b5 Ncd4 12.e3 fxe3 13.fxe3 Ne6 14.Qe2 c6 15.bxc6 bxc6 16.Ne1 Bd7 17.Nc2 a5 18.Be1 h5 19.Bf2 Qc7 20.h3 Rab8 21.g4 hxg4 22.hxg4 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nh6 24.Ne4 d5 25.cxd5 cxd5 26.g5 dxe4 27.gxh6 Bxh6 28.Bxe4 Ng5 29.Bd5+ Be6 30.Bxe6+ Nxe6 31.Ne1 Ng5 32.Bh4 Qf7 33.Bxg5 Bxg5 34.Ng2 Qf5 35.Rf1 Qxf1+ 36.Qxf1 Rxf1+ 37.Kxf1 Kf7 38.Kf2 Ke6 39.Kf3 Kd5 40.Ne1 Bh6 41.Nc2 Bg5 42.Na3 Be7 43.Nb5 Bb4 44.Nc7+ Kd6 45.Na6 Bd2 46.Ke4 g5 47.d4 exd4 48.exd4 Bb4 49.Kf5 Kd5 50.Kxg5 Kxd4

With two slow moving and offside pieces, White's position is precarious. He holds, but only just!  51.Kf5 Kc3 52.Ke4 Ba3 53.Nb8 Kb2 54.Kd3 Kxa2 55.Kc2 Bc5 56.Nc6 a4 57.Ne5 Ka3 58.Nc4+ Kb4 59.Nb2 1/2-1/2

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Na3 It turns out that this move scores well in this position, making it a very respectable sideline. I knew the idea from an Anand-Topalov world championship game - basically White gives up a pawn and accepts doubled isolated rooks pawns for central superiority and attacking chances. Look this position up in your database and you'll find some nice attacking games.  7...Bxa3 8.bxa3 Nd5 9.e4 Nb6 10.Bb2 Bd7 11.Rc1 Na6 12.Qe2 Qe7 13.Ne5 Bb5 14.Rfd1 f6 15.Ng4 c6 16.Qd2 Na4 17.h4 c3 18.Bxc3 Qxa3 19.h5 Nxc3 20.Rxc3 Qe7 21.h6 gxh6 22.Nxh6+ Kh8 23.g4 Rad8 24.Rg3 Ba4 25.Rc1 Qb4 26.Qxb4 Nxb4 27.Rc4 I thought I was winning a piece!  27...a5! Bugger, now I saw my intended a3 doesn't do anything, and I am in danger of losing routinely on material. Oh well the rest of the game is all about me trying to desperately complicate. Surprisingly, it works (just)  28.g5 Bb5 29.Rcc3 f5 30.g6 Kg7 31.Nf7 hxg6 32.Nxd8 Rxd8 33.a3 Na6 34.exf5 exf5 35.Rge3 Kf6 36.Rc1 Rxd4 37.Rce1 Nc5 38.Re8 a4 39.Rb8 Rg4 40.Kh2 Nd3 41.Ree8 Ba6 42.Bf1 Rh4+ 43.Kg3 Rh7 44.Bxd3 Bxd3 45.f4 Be4 46.Rbd8 Re7 47.Rf8+ Ke6 48.Rg8 Rd7 49.Rxg6+ Ke7 50.Rxd7+ Kxd7 51.Rg7+

51...Kd6!? Bravely seeking the full point - Scott has seen me play endings before so he presumably knew the risk was not too great!  52.Rxb7 Kd5 53.Kf2 c5 54.Ke3 Kc4 55.Rb8 Kc3 56.Rb6 Bc2 57.Rb8 Bb3 58.Rf8 Bc2 59.Rb8 Bb3 60.Rf8 Bc2 61.Rb8 Be4 62.Rb6 Bc2 63.Rb8 Bb3 64.Rf8 Kb2 65.Rxf5 c4 66.Rc5 Kxa3

67.Kd4? (67.f5 I needed to get my trump running right away - that way I can win the bishop on f7 and get the rook back to save the day - just eg  67...Kb2 68.f6 c3 69.Rc7 a3 70.f7 Bxf7 71.Rxf7 a2 72.Rb7+ Kc1 73.Ra7 c2 74.Rxa2 Kb1 75.Rxc2 Kxc2 ) 67...Kb2 68.f5 too late  68...a3 69.f6 a2? Whoops, Scott lets me off with a warning (69...c3! wins ) 70.f7 a1=Q 71.f8=Q Qg1+ 72.Ke5 Qe3+ 73.Kd6 c3 74.Qf6 Qg3+ 75.Qe5 Qg6+ 76.Ke7 Qf7+ 77.Kd6 Bc4 78.Qh2+ c2 79.Qh8+ Kb1 80.Qb8+ Kc1 81.Qb4 Qf4+ 82.Ke7 Qe3+ 83.Kd6 Be2 84.Rxc2+ Kxc2 85.Qc5+ Qxc5+ 86.Kxc5 1/2-1/2

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.dxe5 Nc5 6.Be2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Nc3 Be6 10.Bb5 a6 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nd4 Bd7 13.Nb3 Nb7 14.Na4 f6 15.Nac5 Nxc5 16.exf6 Rxf6 17.Nxc5 Bf5

At a glance this position looks slightly better for White to me. But I note that Houdini has a small but definite plus for Black. White's trumps are a healthier pawn structure and an impressive looking outpost square on the hole at c5. Black's trumps are two bishops, an extra centre pawn and better prospects for his rooks. Possibly my initial impression (White is better) is flawed because the knight on c5 looks impressive, but actually isn't doing a lot.  18.Re1 Rg6 19.Kh1 Bd6 Already the two bishops are looking dangerous, and Black will soon have two major pieces also menacing White's king.  20.Nb7! Houdini considers this move essential, White cashes one of his trumps to ease the pressure and eliminate the two bishops, at the cost of greatly improving Black's pawn structure.  20...Qh4 21.Nxd6 cxd6 22.f3! Another good defensive move, it is very dangerous to cede an attacking initiative in these positions with opposite coloured bishops. The reason is that the attacking side effectively has an extra piece on squares of one colour. So the white squares around White's king are vulnerable - but f3 controls g4 and allows 2nd rank defence of g2.  22...Qc4 23.b3 Qb4 24.Re2 Re8 25.Bc5 Qb8 26.Ba7 Qc8 27.Rxe8+ Qxe8 28.Bf2 Re6

To the human eye Black has been pushing White around and has made a lot of progress since the last diagram. Surprisingly Houdini rates the position as dead even, but probably this is just a reflection of its renowned ability to hold (or even escape - Houdini like) passive positions.  29.c3 Houdini disapproves, I think because it wants the option of playing Rc1 and Kg1-f1 to secure e2 and repel an invasion.  29...Re2 30.Bg3 Qe3 31.Qd4 Qxd4 32.cxd4 c5 33.Bxd6 cxd4

Another transformation of advantages. Even in our first diagram a key feature was the extra Black centre pawn, and throughout the middle game that has been a key factor, basically creating the extra elbow room Black's pieces have been enjoying. Now Black has two extra centre pawns, controlling a bunch of vital squares around the centre of the board. Control of the centre is a fundamental concept underlying chess strategy. Of course the two centre pawns are doubled and isolated, so that they cannot defend each other. This would make them weak and a liability if White could bring forces to bear on them. Not the case here. Botvinnik I believe was the first author to describe how an apparently weak pair of centre pawns like this could in fact be a great source of strength. Although Houdini only gives Black a modest plus here, I think only super-human defence could possibly save White in this position   34.Bb4 d3 35.Kg1 h5 36.Kf1 Kf7 37.Ba5 g5 38.h3 g4 39.hxg4 hxg4 40.Kg1? gxf3 ( Already  40...d2! wins for tactical reasons  41.Rd1 g3 42.Bxd2 Bc2 ) 41.gxf3 Kg6 Instead Black wraps up by tightening the squeeze and penetrating with his King, classic endgame strategy  42.Bb4 Kg5 43.Rf1 Kf4 44.Bf8 d2 45.Bb4 Bc2 46.Bxd2+ Rxd2 0-1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qd2 dxc6 7.Bd3 Qe7 Now if 8.Nc3 then Nf6 brings the game back to a theoretical line that we have already played each other in 3 games his year. Instead Anthony tries something original.   8.Qe2 Nf6 9.Be3!? An interesting pawn sacrifice.  9...Bxe3 10.Qxe3 Qb4+ 11.Nd2 Qxb2 12.O-O Ng4 13.Qg3 Qe5 14.f4 Qc5+ 15.Kh1 h5

It was this position that appealed to me when I accepted the pawn. I thought that White was practically forced to play h3 now, otherwise my pawn marches to h3 itself. Anthony had a different opinion - he didn't want to waste time with h3 and if my pawn got to h3 it would become a weak pawn that could later be rounded up.   16.Rab1 h4 17.Qe1 h3 18.g3 b6 I thought I had a clear advantage here. After playing through the rest of the game with a chess engine, I am pretty happy with each of my moves from here.  19.Nb3 Qe3 20.Be2 O-O (20...Bd7 would be a blunder   21.Bxg4 Qxe1 22.Bxd7+ and white wins  ) (20...Qxe4+ is also a blunder  21.Bf3 ) 21.Bf3 Bd7 22.Nc1 Qxe1 23.Rxe1 Rad8 24.Nd3 Rfe8 25.Kg1 In general White never wants to exchange his bishop for the knight on g4, as Black would control all the lines. For example:  (25.Bxg4 Bxg4 26.Ne5 And here I was planning to sacrifice the exchange with   26...Rxe5 27.fxe5 Bf3+ 28.Kg1 Rd2 with a winning position for Black.  ) 25...c5 26.Rbd1 g6 27.a3 Bc8 28.Nf2 Nxf2 29.Kxf2 Rd4 30.Re3 Red8 31.Red3 Ba6 32.Rxd4 Rxd4 33.Rxd4 cxd4 34.Bg4 Bb7 35.Bf3 (35.Kf3 f5! ) 35...c5 36.g4 Bc6 37.Ke2 f6 38.g5 fxg5 39.fxg5 Kf7 40.c3 dxc3 41.Kd3 Ke6 42.Bg4+ Ke5 43.Bxh3 Bxe4+ 44.Kxc3 Kf4 45.Kc4 Bc6 46.Be6 Kxg5 47.Kc3 Kf6 48.Bc4 g5 49.Kd3 Ke5 50.Ke3 b5 51.Be2 b4 52.axb4 cxb4 53.Bc4 a5 54.Kd3 Be4+ 55.Kd2 a4 56.Kc1 Kd4 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O d5 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qe7 11.Bd3 e5 12.Qc2 Re8 13.e4 h6 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Ng4 16.Bc4 Qxe5 17.f4 Qxe4 18.Bd3 Qd5 19.Rd1 Qh5 ( Arthur Pomeroy points out that 19...c4 immediately is even stronger, eg  20.Bh7+ Kh8 and the queen cannot be taken because of mate, so Black cannot prevent Qc5+ which is terminal, eg  21.Rf1 Qc5+ 22.Kh1 Nf2+ 23.Kg1 Nd3+ 24.Kh1 Kxh7 ) 20.h3 c4! Offering a sacrifice  21.Bh7+ Kh8

22.hxg4? Accepting it is fatal, Russell wraps up in classy style  22...Bxg4 23.Rf1 Re2 24.Bd2 Rd8 25.Rad1 Qd5 26.Rf2 Rxf2 27.Kxf2 Bxd1 28.Qxd1 Qxd2+ 29.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 30.Ke3 Rxg2 White lost on time 0-1

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 f5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.e3 f4 7.Nge2 fxe3 8.fxe3 d6 9.O-O O-O 10.d4 Bb6 11.Nd5 Bg4 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.Qe1 Qe8 14.Bd2 Qh5 15.Rf2 Bh3 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Bb4 Nxb4 18.Qxb4 Bxg2 19.Rxg2 Qf3 20.Rf1

20...Qxf1+! (20...Qxf1+! 21.Kxf1 Nd5+ 22.Qxf8+ Rxf8+ 23.Ke1 Nxe3 24.Rg1 Nxc4 And Black is a couple of pawns up ) (20...Qxe3+!! is even more convincing  21.Kh1 Ng4 22.Qe1 Rxf1+ 23.Qxf1 Rf8 24.Qd1 Qf3 25.Qd5+ Qxd5 26.cxd5 Nf2+ 27.Kg1 Nh3+ 28.Kh1 Rf1+ 29.Ng1

is a comical line - White is only a pawn down but is suffering from advanced tetraplegia - he literally can't move any piece, Black just promotes a pawn and gives mate ) 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bh4 c5 4.f3 g5 5.Bg3 Nxg3 6.hxg3 Bg7 7.c3 Qc7 8.Kf2 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qb6

10.Qc2 (10.e3! is forced with an interesting game in prospect ) 10...Bxd4+! game over  11.e3 Qxb2 0-1

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.d4 Bb4 6.e3 O-O 7.Qd3 Re8 8.Bg2 Na5 9.Nd2 dxc4 10.Nxc4 c5 11.a3 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 cxd4 13.cxd4 e5 14.Nxa5 Qxa5+ 15.Bd2 Qa4 16.dxe5 Rxe5 17.O-O Bf5 18.Qd4 Qxd4 19.exd4 Re2 20.Bf4 Be4 21.f3 Bd5 22.Rfe1 Rae8 23.Rxe2 Rxe2 24.Rd1 h6 25.Rd2 Rxd2 26.Bxd2 Kf8 27.Kf2 Nd7 28.Ke3 Nb6 29.Bb4+ Ke8 30.h4 Nc4+ 31.Kf4 a5 32.Bc3 b6 33.a4 Ke7 34.Bf1 Nd6 35.Bd3 f6 36.g4 g5+ 37.hxg5 hxg5+ 38.Ke3 Bb3 39.d5 Bxa4 40.Bd4 b5 41.Bb6 Nb7 42.Kd4 Kd6 43.Bf5 Ke7 44.Bc8 Nd6 45.Be6 Bd1 46.Bxa5 Bxf3 47.Bb4 Be2 48.Kc3 Bf3 49.Bc5

White threatens Kb4-a5-b6-c7 winning the knight and Black has one necessary but (just) sufficient defence - Be4-g6-e8-d7xe6   49...Bg2? ( So 49...Be4! 50.Kb4 Bg6 51.Ka5 Be8 52.Kb6 Bd7 53.Kc7 Bxe6 54.Bxd6+ Kf7 55.dxe6+ Kxe6 and Black can collect White's only pawn because it is fixed on a White square and White's king is offside. In these sort of situations it is hard to attach blame to a human being like Mark - it's really necessary to be a computer! ) 50.Kb4 Bf1 51.Ka5 Be2 52.Kb6 Bd3 53.Kc6 Kf8 54.Bxd6+ Kg7 55.Bc5 Kg6 56.d6 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bc5 5.O-O O-O 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.d4 Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Nc6 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Bg5 d6 11.Rad1 c5 12.Qd3 h6 13.Bh4 g5 14.Bg3 Nh5 15.e5 Rb8 16.b3 Rb4 17.exd6 Rd4 18.Qf3 Bg4 19.Qc6 Bxd1 20.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 21.Nxd1 Nxg3 22.hxg3 cxd6 23.Ne3 Re8 24.Qf3 Qa5 25.Qd1 Re6 26.a4 Kf8 27.Kh2 Qd8 28.Qa1 Ke7 29.Qg7 Kd7 30.Qxf7+ Qe7 31.Qf3 Ke8 32.Qa8+ Kf7 33.Qh8 Qf6 34.Qh7+ Ke8 35.Qg8+ Kd7 36.Qh7+ Ke8 37.Qg8+ Kd7 38.Qh7+ Kd8 39.Kg1 Re7 40.Qg8+ Re8 41.Qd5 Rf8 42.Qa8+ Kd7 43.Qxa7+ Ke8 44.Qa8+ Kf7 45.Qd5+ Ke8 46.Qc6+ Kd8 47.Qb6+ Kd7 48.Qb5+ Ke6 49.Qc4+ Kd7 50.Qe2 Ke8 51.Nd5+ Qe5 52.Qxe5+ dxe5 53.Kf1 e4 54.Ne3 Kd7 55.Ke2 Ke6 56.f3 Ke5 57.Ng4+ Kd4 58.Kd2 h5 59.c3+ Kd5 60.Ne3+ Ke5 61.Nc4+ Kd5 62.Ke3 Re8 63.f4 gxf4+ 64.gxf4 h4 65.Ne5 Rg8 66.c4+ Ke6 67.Kf2 Kf5 68.Nd7 Kxf4 69.Nxc5 e3+ 70.Kf1

70...Re8 (70...e2+!! forcing through one of the pawns is a beautiful finish ) 71.Nd3+ Kg3 72.Ne1 e2+ 73.Kg1 Kg4 74.Kf2 h3 75.gxh3+ Kxh3 76.b4 Kg4 77.c5 Re4 78.Nc2 Kf4 79.a5 Re6 80.c6 Rxc6 81.Nd4 Rc4 82.Nxe2+ Ke4 83.b5 Rc5 84.a6 Rxb5 85.Nc3+ 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.d4 Nc6 3.d5 Nce7 4.Nf3 d6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg4 7.Be2 g6 8.Bg5 Bg7 9.Qa4+ Bd7 10.Qc2 O-O 11.O-O h6 12.Be3

It's not often you get a Kings Indian after 1.e4 e5!  12...Ng4 13.Bd2 Qe8 14.h3 Nf6 15.Rad1 Qc8 16.Nh2 Bxh3!? Young players should sacrifice for attack  17.gxh3 Qxh3 18.Qd3 Qh4 19.Qg3 Qxg3+ 20.fxg3 Rad8 21.Nb5 Nxe4 22.Be1 a6 Encouraging Andreas to grab another pawn...  23.Nxc7? ..which is a mistake as there's no path back, from this point Pramodh takes over  23...Rc8 24.Nxa6 bxa6 25.Rc1 Rb8 26.b3 Nf5 27.Kg2 Ne3+ 28.Kf3 Nxf1 29.Nxf1 Ng5+ 30.Ke3 h5 31.Nh2 Nh3 What's the threat Andreas ?  32.g4? Bh6+! 33.Kd3 Bxc1 34.gxh5 Nf4+! Brutal tactics -forking and checking with the vitality of youth - At this stage the tiny figure of six year old Pramodh was illuminated by a huge smile - the pure innocent joy of chess, most of us have sadly forgotten this. Andreas played his part, as always a gentlemen and the most gracious of losers.  35.Kc2 Nxe2 36.Bd2 Bxd2 37.Kxd2 Nd4 38.h6 f5 The thematic Kings Indian move comes a little later than normal  39.Ke3 f4+ 40.Ke4 f3 41.Nxf3 Nxf3 At this stage Black has a slight material and positional advantage! 0-1

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nxc6 Qxc6 8.Bd3 b5 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be7 11.a3 Rc8 12.O-O Nf6 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nxd5 Qxd5 15.Kh1 O-O 16.Rad1 Qc6 17.Rf3 g6 18.Ba5 f6 19.Rg3

19...fxe5? Allows a winning combo (19...f5 to lock things up ) ( or 19...Rf7 to keep the tension ) 20.Bxg6!! Not missing his chance  20...hxg6 21.Rxg6+ Kf7 22.Qh5 Bf6 23.fxe5 Bg7 24.Qh7

Terminal exposure. Houdini is recommending Qxg2+ to limit the damage to mate in 14!  24...Ke8 25.Rxg7 Qc5 26.Qg6+ 1-0

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.d5 dxe5 10.h3 e4 11.Nxe4 Nf6 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.O-O O-O 14.Be3 Na6 15.Ne5 Qf5 16.Ng4 Bg7 17.c4 Rad8 18.Qb3 Rd7 19.Rad1 Rfd8 20.Nf2 e6 21.g4 Qf6 22.Ne4 Qxb2 23.Qxb2 Bxb2 24.Nxc5 Nxc5 25.Bxc5 exd5 26.Rb1 Bg7 27.cxd5 b6 28.Bf2 Rxd5

Black emerges from the complications with a sound extra pawn and full mobilisation. This sort of thing is no fun for White.  29.Rbc1 Rd2 30.a4 Re8 31.Rfe1 Rxe1+ 32.Bxe1 Bd4+ 33.Kf1 Ra2 34.g5 I am doubting the scoresheet here, this just gifts another pawn to Black that is spurned for some reason..  34...a5 ...for this completely anti-positional move instead. No doubt Prof Pomeroy will provide a corrected version of events!  35.Rc8+ Kg7 36.Rd8 Ba1 37.Bf2 Rxa4 38.Bxb6 Rxf4+ 39.Kg2 Rf5 40.h4 h6 41.gxh6+ Kxh6 42.Rh8+ Bxh8 0-1

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.b3 Nf6 4.Bb2 Bf5 5.g3 e6 6.Bg2 h6 7.O-O Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.Re1 Bh7 11.Qc2 Bd6 12.e4 dxe4 13.dxe4 I am so used to being overrun by Russell when he gets the White pieces, it was very surprising to get a dead equal position. The White e pawn is pinned and I can play e5 when I like  13...Qc7 14.Qc3 White forces the issue  14...e5 15.b4 c5 16.b5 Rfe8 17.Nh4 Nf8 18.Nf5 Ne6 19.Nf1 ( I was a little lucky here - I was relying on N-f8-e6-d4 to make sense of my position but after 18.Nf5 I suddenly saw to my horror that White has 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.Qxe5 but fortunately the loose knight on d2 makes this impossible ) 19...Nd4 20.N1e3 I thought I had the slightest of advantages here because my knight on d4 is the best minor piece on the board and for White swapping it off is tactically awkward and has positional downsides as well. In contrast, if White puts a knight on d5, I can swap it off without thinking twice. Houdini evidently agrees with this assessment, giving me about a quarter of a pawn hereabouts.  20...Rad8 21.a4 a5 22.bxa6 bxa6 23.Ba3 Rb8 Thanks to my uber-knight White cannot challenge on the b file (because one rook is needed to stop the deadly knight fork on e2)  24.Nxd6 A concession in the sense that normally a White knight on f5 is a much better piece than a bad bishop that was looking a little like a tall pawn.  24...Qxd6 25.f3!? Nominally this is a mistake, Houdini upgrades my advantage to serious proportions here. However there are long term positional benefits to this move that I was quite blind to until they were explained to me in the post-mortem. Although it looks as if this move makes Bg2 look bad, the reality is that it makes Bh7 much worse. The reason is that whereas Bg2 is redeployed easily enough, it takes about 4 moves to activate Bh7. This consideration will come powerfully into play if White survives the initiative that I now get.  25...Rb3 26.Qa5 Rc8 27.Kf2?

A mistake that offers me a rare chance to knock over a top player  27...Rxe3? And I blow it, big time. To be honest, getting such a promising position had cost me almost all my time, and my spotting a brilliancy without a decent time buffer is unlikely. (27...Bxe4!! 28.fxe4? ( White cannot recapture but then Black's has a monster position with an extra pawn and more to come if he doesn't. Houdini's main line is -3.24 (depth 17) 28.Bc1 Bb7 29.Ra2 e4 30.f4 Nf3 31.Bh3 Nxe1 32.Qxe1 Rd8 33.Kg1 Qd4 34.Bf1 Qc3 35.Re2 Qxe1 36.Rxe1 Bc6 37.a5 Bd7 ) 28...Rxe3 29.Rxe3 Ng4+ 30.Kg1 Nxe3 -+ ) 28.Rxe3 Nc2 29.Rae1 Nxe1 30.Qxe1 Rb8 31.Ke2 Qd4 32.Qc1 Rd8 ( Surprisingly I get a second chance, although it's less compelling this time. 32...Bxe4!! 33.fxe4? Ng4 34.Bh3 Qxe3+ 35.Qxe3 Nxe3 36.Bxc5 Nxc4 -+ ) 33.Bb2 Now White is consolidating and the Bh7 positional factor discussed before looms large  33...Qd6 34.Qc2 Ne8? I crack immediately  35.Rd3 If I exchange off all the major pieces, I can't defend c5, and otherwise e5 falls off immediately. After playing well for so long I declined the opportunity to grovel helplessly as Russell exploited two bishops and an extra pawn! I've played enough hopeless endings against him to last a lifetime! 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 d5 4.f3 Nd6 5.e3 Bf5 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.Ng3 Bg6 9.a3 a6 10.e4 dxe4 11.fxe4 Qh4 12.Qd2 Be7 13.O-O-O O-O 14.e5 Nf5 15.Nxf5 Bxf5 16.g3 Qh5 17.h3 Rad8

18.g4!? A brave positional sacrifice. The computer unsurprisingly hates giving up material like this, but White gets good play  18...Bxg4 19.hxg4 Qxh1 20.Bd3 Qh3 21.Ne2 h6 22.c3 Bg5 23.Bxg5 hxg5 24.Qxg5 Qh6 25.Qxh6 gxh6 26.Nf4 Kg7 27.Nh5+ Kg8 28.Nf6+ White's knight is now clearly worth a rook, so White is at least equal  28...Kg7 29.Nh5+ Kg8 30.Be4 White decides to press for more than a draw, good man.  30...a5 31.Rf1 Ne7 32.Rf6 Ng6 33.Bxg6 fxg6 34.Rxg6+ Kh7 35.Rxe6 Rf1+ 36.Kc2 Rdf8 37.Nf6+ R8xf6 38.exf6 Kg6 39.f7+ Kg7

40.Re2? (40.Re7! Wins. Play the pawn ending a pawn up! ) 40...Rxf7 41.a4 Kg6 42.Kd2 b6 43.Rg2 Kg5 44.Ke3 Rf4 45.b4 Rxg4 46.Rxg4+?? Don't play the pawn ending a pawn down!  46...Kxg4 47.Kf2 Kf4 48.Ke2 Ke4 49.bxa5 bxa5 50.Kd2 h5 0-1

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b4 Bg7 4.Bb2 c6 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 d5 7.O-O a5 8.b5 dxc4 9.bxc6 Nxc6 10.Na3 Nb4 11.Nxc4 Be6 12.a3 Bxc4 13.axb4 axb4 14.d3 Bd5 15.e4 Bc6 16.Nd4 Qb6 17.Qb3 Nd7 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Rab1 Rfb8 21.Rfd1 e5 22.Qb2 b3 23.Bh3

23...Ra2! 24.Qxa2 bxa2 25.Rxb6 Rxb6 White can grab a piece but Black promotes as ...Rb1 is unstoppable 0-1

1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Bd3 Qxd4 6.Nf3 Qd8 7.Nfg5 Nbd7 8.O-O e6 9.f4 h6 10.Nxe6 Qb6+ 11.Kh1 Nxe4 12.Bxe4 fxe6 13.Qh5+ Kd8 14.Qf7 Be7 15.Qxg7 Bf6 16.Qf7 Qd4 17.Re1 Rf8 18.Qh7 Bg7 19.Be3 Qf6 20.Bd3 Re8 21.c3 Nf8 22.Qe4 Bd7 23.Qa4 Kc8 24.Rad1 h5 25.Bc5 Ng6

26.Bd6 (26.Ba6!! Is winning for White  26...bxa6 is impossible because of  27.Qxa6+ Kd8 28.Rxd7+ Kxd7 29.Qb7+ Kd8 30.Rd1+ Qd4 31.Bxd4 and mate follows. If Black doesn't take the bishop, White's threats are too strong ) 26...Bf8 27.Bxg6 Qxg6 28.Be5 Bc5 29.Qc4 Bb6 30.b4 Rg8 31.Re2 h4 32.Red2 a6 33.Qd3 Qxd3 34.Rxd3 Be8 35.Bf6 Bg6 36.Rd7 Be4 37.Rg7 Rxg7 38.Bxg7 h3 39.Bd4 Bxg2+ 40.Kg1 Bxd4+ 41.Rxd4 Kc7 42.Kf2 Rf8 43.Kg3 b6 44.c4 c5 45.bxc5 bxc5 46.Rd2 Kc6 47.Re2 Rf6 48.a4 Bf1 49.Re1 Bxc4 50.Kg4 Bd3 51.Re3 Bf5+ 52.Kg5 Rg6+ 53.Kh4 Rg2 0-1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nd4 4.Nxe5 d6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.gxf3 c6 8.d3 b5 9.a3 a5 10.Be3 Qf6 11.Bxd4 Qxd4 12.Be2 Be7 13.Rf1 a4 14.Rb1 d5 15.exd5 b4 16.axb4 Bxb4 17.Qd2 Ne7 18.Rg1 cxd5 19.Rg4 Bxc3 20.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 21.bxc3 O-O 22.h4 h5 23.Rg5 g6 24.f4 a3 25.Ra1 a2 26.d4 Rfc8 27.Kd2 Rcb8 28.Kc1 Ra3 29.c4 Nf5 30.cxd5 Nxd4 31.Bc4 Rc8 32.Rxa2 Rxa2 33.Bxa2 Rxc2+ 34.Kb1 Rxf2 35.d6 Rf1+ 36.Kb2 Rf2+ 37.Ka1 Nc2+ 38.Kb1 Na3+ 39.Ka1 Nc2+ 40.Kb1 Na3+ 41.Kc1 Rxa2 42.Rd5 Rc2+ 43.Kd1 Rc8 44.d7 Rd8 45.Ke2 Kf8 46.Kf3 Ke7 47.Rd3 Nc4 48.Rd4 Nb6 49.Re4+ Kxd7 50.Re5 Rc8 51.f5 Kd6 52.Kf4 Nd5+ 53.Rxd5+ Kxd5 54.fxg6 Rc4+ 55.Kg5 Rg4+ 56.Kxh5

56...Rxg6?? A rather unusual situation, Black's blunder is so extreme that White isn't required to follow up. In baseball they have this concept - a walk off fielding error. 1/2-1/2

1.Nf3 d6 2.Nc3 e5 3.e4 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bg4 5.d3 Be7 6.d4 Nbd7 7.Qd3 O-O 8.Ng5 Bh5 9.O-O h6 10.Nf3 c5 11.d5 a6 12.Nh4 b5 13.Qg3 Ng4 14.Bxb5 Bxh4 15.Qd3 axb5 16.Nxb5 Qb6 17.c4 Bg6 18.Qf3 f5 19.b3 Bxf2+ 20.Kh1 Bd4 21.Rb1 Ndf6 22.exf5 Bh5 23.g3 Nf2+ 24.Kg2 Bxf3+ 25.Kxf3 e4+ 26.Ke2 N6g4 27.a4 Rxf5 28.Bf4 Qa5 29.Bd2 Qd8 30.Rg1 Qe7 31.Rg2 e3 32.Be1 Qe4 33.Rd1 Qxg2 34.Rc1 Ne4+ 35.Kd3 Ne5#

Andreas has played the role of whipping boy enough times - it's nice to see him doing some damage this time. 0-1

E84: King's Indian: Sdmisch Panno: 7 Nge2 a6 8 Qd2 Rb8 ( Not my best game, but one which was very entertaining in a Mark van der Hoorn adrenalin junkie style. )   1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 O-O 5.f3 d6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8 9.Rc1 e6 A temporising move, played by the like of Gawain Jones. It also has a little point   10.Bh6? Nxe4! 11.Qf4 (11.Nxe4 Qh4+ ) 11...e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 (12...Nb4!? gets the job done more quickly   13.Ng3 Bxe5 14.Qxe4 Re8 ) 13.Rd1 Nc5 14.Ng3 Re8 15.Kf2 Ne6 16.Qd2 c6 looking forward to the tactics but not the simplest (16...Bxh6 17.Qxh6 f5 -+ ) 17.Bxg7 Qb6+ (17...Kxg7 18.Nge4 Qb6+ 19.Qe3 Nc5 -/+ ) 18.Ke1 (18.Qe3 keeps Black's advantage at a minimum   18...Qxe3+ 19.Kxe3 Nxg7 20.Nce4 ) 18...Kxg7 (18...Nxf3+ is the trick   19.gxf3 Ng5+ 20.Nce4 Nxf3+ 21.Ke2 Nxd2 -+ ) 19.Qxd6 Qe3+ (19...Nf4 is more accurate   20.Nge2 Qe3 21.Qd4 (21.Qxb8 leads to mate in 4  21...Ned3+ 22.Rxd3 Qc1+ 23.Kf2 Nxd3+ 24.Kg3 Qe1# ) 21...Nd3+ 22.Rxd3 Qxd3 23.Qxd3 Nxd3+ 24.Kd2 Nxb2 25.Ng3 -+ ) 20.Be2

20...Nf4!! the computer, that has been telling me I'm a patzer, suddenly decides I must be Gary Kasparov (Ed: Arthur you need to upgrade to a less deluded computer:)   21.Kf1 (21.-- Nxg2+ Wins material ) (21.Qxb8 Ned3+ 22.Rxd3 Nxd3+ 23.Kf1 Qf2# ) 21...Bh3! Mate threat  22.gxh3 Nxf3 23.Rd3 (23.Qd7 Rbd8 24.Qxd8 Rxd8 25.Rxd8 Nxh2+ 26.Rxh2 Qxg3 27.Rf2 Nxh3 28.Rg2 Qf4+ ) 23...Nxd3 24.Qxd3 Qxd3 25.Bxd3 Rbd8 26.Be2 Nd4 27.Kf2 Nxe2 28.Ngxe2 Rd2 29.Rd1? both players are now short of time (29.Rb1 f5 ) 29...Rxb2 (29...Rexe2+ is the end  ) 30.Rd7 b5 31.cxb5 axb5 32.Kf3 b4 33.Ne4 Rxa2 either rook capture is the end of the game as I saw as I picked off the pawn   34.Nd4 Ra3+ 35.Kf4 Rxe4+ (35...b3 36.Rb7 Ra4 but I didn't have time to calculate everything  ) 36.Kxe4 Rxh3 37.Nxc6 Rxh2 38.Nxb4 and resigns without waiting for 38... Rh4; the position before was theoretically equal, but defending with a knight vs three connected pawns would not be pleasant  0-1

I thought it might be a cleansing experience to write a few notes on this game. So here we go. (Bill feel free to add your thoughts if you feel inclined. )  1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 Bill is playing the Pribyl defence. I understand Kasparov played this against Deep Blue to try and get the machine out of book.  4.f4 Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.O-O Be7 8.Kh1 O-O 9.Qe1 I was in book until this point. In particular I had been following a game Bologan vs Bachin from 2003. The same position had been reached in a game between Bill and Andrew Stone. Perhaps Andrew has the same book as me? Ed: Goodness me I am impressed by Andrew's book knowledge of this obscure opening. I must admit I play it mainly with the hope White won't play 4.f4, at which point a quiet manoevring Philidorish position usually arises. I am comfortable with those positions, but if White knows or finds 4.f4 and 5.Bd3 I find myself thinking, bugger, I wish I had memorised the sharp variations I'm now faced with, but instead I am going to have to wing it  9...Re8 Bill deviates from the Andrew Stone game where Bill played Nh5 which didn't work out too well.  10.Nd5 I decided to exchange and gain the Bishop pair which is consistent with the game referred to earlier.  10...Qxe1 11.Nxe7+ Rxe7 12.Rxe1 exd4 13.Nxd4

13...Nf8? Ed: immediately after completing this lemon I realised the strength of 13...Nc5! instead and I proceeded to waste lots of time dreaming about what might have been. Good players never do this, stay in the moment as the sports psychologists advise! (13...Nc5 As Bill noted after the game he could have played something like the line that follows and obtained a nice advantage.  14.e5 Nxd3 15.cxd3 dxe5 16.fxe5 Ng4 ) 14.f5 I wasn't sure about f5 at the time. I thought I would gain space and restrict the Knight on f8. The downside is that I allow the other Knight to go to g4 and lose control of e5 Ed: I think it's good, it reminds me of the famous game Lasker-Capablanca St Petersburg 1909, Black gets e5 but otherwise just suffers.  14...Ng4 15.Bg5 Re8 16.Re2 Ne5 17.Rae1 Bd7 18.Nf3 c5 19.Nxe5 I thought this was ok for me as I get my Bishop to c4 and as my other Bishop is covering d8 I will be first to get a rook to the d file.  19...dxe5 20.Bc4 Bc6 21.Rd2 h6 22.Bh4 g5? Ed: I hated the idea of White doubling rooks behind a bishop on d5 and decided I needed to contest the d file at any cost - but I missed 24.Bf6! retaining control of d8 and leaving me hopelessly placed  23.fxg6 Nxg6 Ed: by now I realised my mistake and was wondering how to keep the game going after Bf6!  24.Bg3 phew As noted by Bill and confirmed by Rybka Bf6 looks much better.  24...Rad8 25.Rf2 Re7 26.Ref1

26...Bxe4 Bill suffers from an optical illusion or was it delusion? I will leave him to explain but it ended with thinking his King had undergone a sex change.  27.Bxf7+ Rxf7 ( Ed: if 27...Kg7 28.Bxg6 Bxg6 29.Bh4 I was aware of this unfortunate rook configuration when I played 25...Re7 instead of 25...Rd7 but I wanted to keep my d rook on the d file to force mate in the hallucinatory sex change line below! ) 28.Rxf7 Ed: When I played the blunder 26...Bxe4 I had somehow convinced myself that 27.Bxf7+ was a mistake because of a back rank tactic. But as Andrew notes this would require my king to change into a queen so that I could now play 28...Qxf7 with mate to follow if White recaptures the King, er um Queen  28...Nf4 Bill tries some trickiness. Fortunately I managed to see through it despite my clock not being in great shape.  29.Bxf4 Kxf7 30.Bg5+ Ke8 31.Bxd8 Kxd8 32.c3 Ke7 33.Re1 Bd5 34.Rxe5+ Kd6 35.Rxd5+ An awful move by me. I thought I was exchanging into a won King and pawn ending. I probably was but the following variation was convincing. I end up a pawn and exchange ahead with 2 outside passed pawns.  (35.Rh5 Bxa2 36.Rxh6+ ) 35...Kxd5 36.g4 Ke5 37.Kg2 Kf4 38.h3 b5 39.b3 a5

I am unsure if these moves are correct (Ed: yes they are). If they are 40.c4 and I am still winning.  40.a4?? A real howler this time you know the kind that featured at Hogwarts. ( Ed: after the game Mark van der Hoorn demonstrated that 40.a3 also wins, after my intended  40...b4 (every Russian schoolboy knows this trick)  41.cxb4 a4 42.bxa4 c4 43.Kf2! catches the c pawn ) 40...c4! 41.bxc4 bxa4 42.c5 a3?? I think this is the correct position because I remember thinking at the time Bill just needs to bring his King over and I am doomed. Are we back to a draw? Ed: Yes Andrew you have the moves recorded correctly. I was so pleased to think I was heading for an advantageous Queen and pawn ending so soon after being totally lost that I didn't notice my king was in the square, so I could have had a whole extra queen!  43.c6 a2 44.c7 a1=Q 45.c8=Q Qb2+ 46.Kh1 There is no coming back from this 3rd Howler. Mr Stone wanted to know what my King was doing here? I guess he was hoping for a visit from the black queen.  46...Kg3 47.Qc7+ Kxh3 0-1

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 dxc4 6.a4 Nc6 7.Nc3 O-O 8.O-O Rb8 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bf4 Nd5 11.Bd2 Ndb4 12.Rc1 a6 13.Bf4 Bf6 14.Ne4 b5 15.Nxf6+ Qxf6 16.Bxc7 Rb7 17.Be5 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Rc7 19.Qd2 Qe7 20.Be4 Bb7 21.Bxb7 Rxb7 22.axb5 axb5 23.e4 Rd8 24.Ra1 Qd6 25.Rfd1 Nd3 26.Nf3 Qb4 27.Qxb4 Nxb4 28.Ne5 Nc2 29.Nc6 Nxa1 30.Nxd8 Rd7 31.Nc6 Nb3 32.d5 exd5 33.exd5 Nc5 34.Ra1 Nd3

35.Ra7? (35.Ra5 is a fighting defence ) 35...Rxa7 36.Nxa7 b4! 37.d6 Kf8 38.Nc6 Ke8 39.f4 Kd7 40.Ne5+ Nxe5 41.fxe5 c3 0-1

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6

5...bxc6 (5...Qf6! Is a standard trick that avoids pawn weaknesses ) 6.Bc4 Ne7 7.Bxf7+! Was I talking about tricks?  7...Kxf7 8.Qh5+ Ng6 9.Qxc5 Re8 10.O-O Qf6 11.Nc3 Ba6 12.Rd1 Re5 13.Qa3 Bc8 14.Qb3+ Kf8 15.Rd3 Nh4 16.f4 Re7 17.e5 Qf5 18.Rh3 Qg4 19.Rg3 Qh5 20.Be3 h6 21.Rd1 Rf7 22.e6 Re7 23.exd7 Bxd7

Anthony finishes off with a succession of computer-like precision moves.  24.Qa3 Ke8 25.Bc5 Rf7 26.Re1+ Kd8 27.Be7+ Kc8 28.Qa6+ Kb8 29.Na4 Rf5 30.Rb3+ Rb5 31.Nc5 Qd5 32.Rxb5+ cxb5 33.Nxd7+ Qxd7 34.Bxh4 1-0

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 Ne4 3.Bf4 d5 4.Nd2 Bf5 5.e3 e6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.Bxd6 Nxd6 8.Bxf5 Nxf5 9.Qg4 Nd7 10.Ngf3 c5 11.c3 Qb6 12.Rb1

12...Qa6! Suddenly White is in trouble because he can't castle  13.e4 Nf6 14.Qf4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nd5 16.Qe5 cxd4 17.Nxd4 O-O 18.Nc5 Qc4 19.Ncb3 Nh4 20.Kd2 Ng6 21.Qe2 Qc7 22.g3 e5 23.Nf3 Rad8 24.Ke1 Qd7 25.h4 Qf5

White has fought well - with one more tempo he could get in Kf1-g2 with rough equality - but alas in chess one tempo is so often the difference between laughter and tears  26.Rd1? ( more grovelling with 26.Nbd2 was compulsory ) 26...Ndf4!! brilliant  27.gxf4 Nxf4 28.Qf1 ( or 28.Qc4 Rc8 29.Qa4 Qg4 and Black has too many threats ) 28...Qe4+ 0-1

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Bf4 Bg4 6.f3 Bh5 7.Ne2 e6 8.O-O Bd6 9.Qe1 Bxf4 10.Nxf4 Qb6 11.c3 Qxb2

12.Nxe6?! The comp condemns this as excessively optimistic, but for carbon based players precise defence is often problematic so this sort of thing can be very practical, especially in the hands of a skilful tactical player like Mark.  12...fxe6 13.Qxe6+ Kd8 14.Qd6+ Nbd7 15.Na3 Qxc3 16.Nb5 Qxd3 17.Rfe1 Ne4 ( The comp is still loving Black, but only if he has the courage to be greedy - after 17...Qxb5! 18.Rac1 Ne4! There's no mate and White is too much material down ) 18.Qxd5 a6 19.Qxb7 Rc8 20.Qxa6 Nc3? An unfortunate collapse in a crazy, double edged but balanced (according to the comp) position  21.Qa5+ Nb6 22.Qxb6+ 1-0

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 Bg6 6.Nge2 Be7 7.Be3 Nd7 8.Qd2 Nb6 9.Ng3 h5 10.Nxh5 Bxh5 11.gxh5 Rxh5 12.O-O-O Nh6 13.Bxh6 Rxh6 14.Rg1 Bf8 15.f4 Qh4 16.Rg2 O-O-O 17.Bd3 g6 18.Ne2 Be7 19.Ng1 Rh7 20.Nf3 Qh6 21.Rdg1 Rdh8 22.Ng5 Rg7 23.Rf1

Black's cramp gives White compensation for the pawn, but Black's position blossoms over the next few moves   23...Qh4 24.Rf3? Missing the threat to the d pawn  24...Bxg5 25.fxg5 Qxd4 26.Qe2 Nd7 27.Re3 Rh4 28.c3 Qf4 29.Kc2 Rgh7 The transformation is complete, all of Black's pieces are better than their opposites and more weakened White pawns drop off.  30.b4 Rxh2 31.Rf3 Rxg2 32.Rxf4 Rxe2+ 33.Bxe2 Nxe5 34.c4 Rh2 35.Kd1 Rg2 36.cxd5 exd5 0-1

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Nf3 c5 9.Rc1 Qa5 10.Qd2 Nc6 11.d5 Nb8 12.Be2 Bg4 13.O-O Nd7 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 b5 16.Be2 Rfd8 17.f4 Nf6 18.Bf3 Qa4 19.e5 Nxd5 20.Bxd5 e6 21.Bxa8 Rxd2 22.Bxd2 Qxa2 23.Be3 Qc4 24.Rfd1 Bf8 25.Rd8 Kg7 26.f5 gxf5 27.Bg5 Qe2 28.Bf6+ Kg6 29.Kh1 Qe3 30.Rf1 Qh6 31.Rf3

A picturesque final position, Black has run out of constructive moves and face further material losses 1-0

1.e4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.Be3 Nd7 5.Bc4 e6 6.c3 Ngf6 7.Bd3 h6 8.h3 e5 9.Nbd2 O-O 10.Bc4 c6 11.Nh4 Nxe4 12.Nxg6 d5 13.Nxf8 Nxd2 14.Qxd2 dxc4 15.Nxd7 Bxd7 16.Bxh6 Qf6 17.Bxg7 Qxg7

White has been doing the business so far, but now comes a remarkable comeback  18.g4?! (18.O-O-O! with a dominating position and a big material advantage was pleading to be played (Andreas, Andreas, play me, play me!) ) 18...exd4 19.cxd4 Re8+ 20.Kd1 Re4 21.Kc2 Rxd4 22.Qc3 Qg6+ 23.Kc1 Qe4 Remember that advice in the beginners' books about the importance of the centre?  24.Re1 Qf4+ 25.Qe3 Qf6 26.Re2 Rd3 27.Qe7 Qf4+ 28.Re3 Be6 29.Qc5 Rd5 30.Qxa7 (30.Qb4! was the only move ) 30...Qxf2!

So often Jonathon's play is characterised by good strategy but poor tactics, but not this time. White is now lost  31.Qa8+ Kg7 32.Qa3 Qd2+ 0-1

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Nc3 Qxd4 (5...Qxg2?? 6.Be4 traps the Queen. A nice trap to know! ) 6.Nb5 Qe5+ (6...Qd8 7.Bf4 Na6 8.Qe2 followed by 0-0-0 and white has a strong attack. ) 7.Ne2 Na6 if (7...g5 8.f4 wins ) 8.Bf4 Qf6

(8...Qxb2? 9.Rb1 Qf6 wins another pawn but furthers white's development ) 9.Nd6+?! Based on a miscalculation  9...Ke7?? This is what I calculated:  (9...Bxd6 10.Bb5+ Bd7 (10...Kf8?? 11.Bxd6+ Ne7 12.Be5 threatening mate and the queen. ) 11.Bxd7+ Kxd7 12.Qxd6+ Ke8 13.Be5 and I considered the Queen moving to g6, h6 or g5, assuming he had to keep the g7 pawn protected. White wins against all these moves with Rd1, but what I missed was   13...Qe7! which equalises as an exchange of queens allows back to free his rook from the corner. ) 10.Bb5 The threat is Nc8+ followed by mate. It even works if black moves his bishop to d7  10...e5 11.Nxc8+ ( Bill: 11.Nxc8+ Ke6 12.Bd7# is very pretty, but Black elects to deprive the gallery of this. Lawrence, like JR Capablanca, has never been mated although perhaps there aren't many other similarities. ) 1-0

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.d4 Bf5 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nf3 Qb6 8.O-O Nc6 9.a3 Rc8 10.Qa4 Be7 11.Rd1 O-O 12.Nh4 Bg4 13.Nf3 Na5 14.Qb5 Nb3 15.Qxb6 axb6 16.Ra2 Ne4 17.Bf4

17...Rxc3 Looks good, although the computer disapproves and wants Black to play the more prosaic (17...Nxc3 ) 18.bxc3 Nxc3 19.Rd3 Nxa2 20.Rxb3 Rc8 21.Rxb6 Nc3 22.Bf1 Bxa3 23.Rxb7 f6 24.Kg2 g5 25.Rb8 e5 26.Rxc8+ Bxc8

27.dxe5?? I can understand the decision to resign in disgust after confusing the move order like this, but it might have been worthwhile testing Andrew's technique as Black doesn't have many pawns left. 0-1

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 b6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.O-O O-O 8.d4 d5 9.Ne5 Bxc3 10.Nxc6 Bxc6 11.bxc3 Rc8 12.Qc2 Qd7 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.e4 Ne7 15.a4 Ba8 16.Ba3 Rfd8 17.Rfe1 c5 18.dxc5 bxc5 19.Rad1 Qc7 20.Rd2 Rxd2 21.Qxd2 Rd8 22.Qe3 c4 23.Qc5 Qxc5 24.Bxc5 Nc6 25.f4 Rd3 26.Re3 Rd7 27.Bf1 Na5 28.Bb4 Nc6 29.Ba3 Na5 30.Re1 Bc6 31.Bb4 Nb3 32.a5 Nd2 33.Bg2 Ba4 34.Kf2 f5 35.exf5 exf5 36.Re5

36...Bc2?? (36...g6 and Black is fighting hard ) 37.Bd5+ Rxd5 38.Rxd5 Ne4+ 39.Ke3 Kf7 40.Rxf5+ Kg6 41.g4 Nf2 42.Rg5+ Kf6 43.Kxf2 h6 44.Rc5 1-0

1.d4 e6 2.c4 b6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e4 Bb7 5.Bd3 d6 6.Nge2 e5 7.O-O Be7 8.f3 O-O 9.Be3 Na6 10.a3 c6 11.b4 Nc7 12.Qd2 Ne6 13.d5 cxd5 14.cxd5 Nc7 15.Rac1 Ba6 16.Rc2 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Qd7 18.Rfc1 Nfe8 19.Ng3 g6 20.Bh6 Ng7 21.Nd1 Bd8 22.Rc6 Rc8 23.Ne3 Bh4

Black has been battling bravely but White has built a dominating position and now smashes through with a succession of knight forks  24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Ngf5+ gxf5 26.Nxf5+ Kh8 27.Nxh4 Qe7 28.Nf5 Qg5 29.Nxd6 Rg8 30.Nxf7+ 1-0