The recent St Andrew’s weekender – run by two St Benildus players – started with St Benildus as top seed in each of the three sections and ended with three St Benildus players taking section titles. For good measure, it also saw two grading prizes, a 4th/5th/6th combination and a large number of interesting derbies over the weekend.
We had two players in the Masters, which became one when – with the awkward number of seven players registered – John opted for the organisers’ offer of as much free tea as he could drink to drop down a section to the Majors instead. So it was only Stephen left in the Masters, looking to atone for his 2017 tournament where he picked up three 1850 draws and hung his queen against Fiachra Scallan. And atone he did, with a perfect sweep of 5/5 to take the crystal plaque and €250.
Dropping down meant John was top seed in the Majors, and though he was rusty, having not played since February, he started off in good form with three straight wins, including an effective blitz game against Slavko – a game of standard length which he won in 25 minutes – and also against me. But things went wrong then, as he turned down a draw offer in round 4 when a pawn up but under pressure and ultimately lost, while round 5 saw a defeat against the second seed. Though he recovered with a final-round win, 4/6 was only enough for sixth place.
Myself and Leon were half a point ahead on 4½; I beat Kavin and Lara over the weekend as well as losing to John, while Leon somehow avoided any derbies at all, and ended with a slightly fortuitous final-round win when an a7-pawn down in a heavy pieces ending only to find a mating attack. Leon pipped me to fourth on tie-break, having drawn against second seed Alice O’Gorman in round 3 while I was losing to John.
There was some money made from the section though, with Ben‘s 4/6 – a 1586 performance – seeing him win one of the €50 grading prizes, as well as gaining 150 points to close on 1400. Slavko and Lara both ended on 3½, with Lara winning in the family derby, while both faced Thomas – Lara lost in round 1 while Slavko won in round 6, with Thomas’ final score of 2½ enough for a 76-point gain. That was half a point less than Zhengjun and Kavin, with the former unlucky not to win a grading prize but still gaining 100 points, even if Kavin won their individual encounter. Felix was the tenth and final Benildus player in the 42-strong field, but he unfortunately withdrew unwell after round 4, having scored 2/4.
There was a huge eight club derbies in the section over the weekend, but one of the more entertaining games was my round 5 game against Alex Goss –
Kevin Burke (1655) v Alex Goss (1630); St Andrew’s Charity Classic round 5; 22/09/18
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4
Heading for a Poisoned Pawn Winawer, like in our last meeting (which I lost). The next few moves were played fairly quickly.
4. e5 c5 5. a3 BxN+ 6. PxB Ne7 7. Qg4 Qe7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. QxP cd 10. Ne2 Nc6 11. f4 dc 12. Qd3 Be7 (D)
8. Bd3 is probably a sharper way to meet the 7. … Qe7 lines, developing the bishop before the knight blocks it in; black often plays 7. … dc first to avoid this. 11. … dc is earlier than normal, but this makes no real difference. This is a well-known position; it’s been reached almost 700 times in the chesstempo 2200+ v 2200+ database for example. The most common now is to take on c3, but as my opponent doubled up on the c-file and sacced on c2 the last time we played, I decided to hold off on the capture for now.
13. Rb1 Rc8 14. Rg1
Preparing the g4 push, but 14. h4 immediately was better.
14. … Na5 15. g4 a6
A key point in the game. Black has omitted to play Nf5, a common move in this opening, and I wanted to try take advantage by pushing my kingside pawns. But I figured 15. … a6 was to support Bb5, which could be annoying. So I decided at this stage to push my pawns anyway and go in for the exchange sac.
16. h4 Bb5 17. RxB
Give Fritz enough time and it’ll agree this is (marginally) the best move. The sac was also played in a very similar position in Stflitsch FM v Roth FM (2003), with a draw the eventual result. I get a pawn for it – two if c3 falls – as well as the two bishops. Black’s light-squared bishop can often be used to help break open the centre with an f6 break, but that’s not a threat any more either. 17. Qe3 or Qd1 were playable too and about as good, but this is more dynamic, which suits me fine.
17. … PxR 18. QxP+ Nac6 19. Be3 Rx3 20. Bb6 Qd7 (D)
20. Bd6 aims to disrupt black’s piece activity – in particular, to gain control of a5. But now black is threatening Nxe5, winning a key central pawn. So, how to continue?
21. NxP?!
Black has a number of dark square weaknesses, and a number of important pieces on white squares – a sure hint that a knight could do damage! In this case, 21. Ng3! is the best – the knight wants to come to h5 and f6, which is quite a dangerous threat. 21. Ng3 Rg6 22. Nh5 Nc8 23. g5 followed by Nf6 and h5, and black could quickly find himself in trouble, while black can’t got for 21. Ng3 RxP 22. Nh5 RxR 23. Nf6+ Kf8 24. NxQ+ and 25. BxR. The move played is less effective but playable, and requires accurate follow-up.
21. … Ng6 22. h5?!
This now starts getting me in trouble. Black is forking the f4 and h4 pawns, and I wasn’t really sure which was more important – the f4 pawn protects e5, which is shoring up the centre, while the h4 pawn is a passed outside pawn which often causes black headaches, particularly if the game reaches an ending. But my best plan here is one of counter-attack – 22. Qb3 NxP (either) 23. Nb5, and white has improved the knight to a very dangerous position, with a further leap to c7 or d6 to come.
Instead, I decided to keep the outside pawn on the basis of what I thought was a way out of trouble, but ultimately my calculations were just out…
22. … NxP 23. Bd3 d4
Forking knight and bishop, but that’s ok.
24. Ne4
Heading for the family fork on f6, so black’s reply is forced.
24. … Nd5 25. Nd6+ Ke7
And now my calculations had allowed for 26. Bc5 here…except the d-pawn is now in the way. So instead, I’m in big trouble; Fritz gives -2.
26. NxP PxB?
Best was the not obvious 26. … Qc7!, giving the king some luft and challenging white’s creaky centre. After 27. Bd2 Rgb8 28. Qc5+ Kd7 29. Nd6 NxP 30. QxQ+ KxQ 31. Nb5 RxN! 32. BxR Nf3+, black has simplified to an ending a piece for pawn up. That said, we were both starting to get low on time at this stage, so it’s not surprising mistakes were creeping in.
27. Qc5+ Ke8 28. Nd6+ Kd8 29. Bb5 Kc7 (D)
Now what? This is quite a sharp position in which Fritz changes its mind a number of times. The simple 29. a4 is an option – but white has to take care after 29. … f5 30. g5 that black’s passed pawns don’t become the more dangerous set. Fritz initially recommends my continuation, but then finds a problem with it a few moves deep.
30. Rf1 f6 31. c4 e2?
After 31. … Nc3!, black is starting to weave a mating net. 32. RxP RxP 33. Rf7 Rg1+ 34. Rf1 (the only move) RxR+ 35. KxR Rf8+ 36. Ke1 e2, black will promote. If instead 32. QxP Rxa3 33. RxP RxP and black’s rooks are now monsters. Black’s move instead brings me back into the game for really the first time since my 21st move.
32. KxP
It’s safer to ignore the pawn and play 32. Rf3, cutting off c3 for the attacked knight
32. … Nc3+ 33. Ke3??
Giving the knight no rest – 32. Kd3 – was best. Now black is back winning again.
33. … RxP 34. RxP= ½-½ (D)
Here I offered a draw, as we were both into our last two minutes and I didn’t think either of us really knew who was winning. Black agreed, not really able to find a way forward; 34. … Na4 35. BxN RxB 36. Nb5+ Kb7 37. Nd6+ Kc7 would be a more legitimate way to end the game. To continue that with 38. Rf7 RxP+ 39. Kf2 (QxR?? QxR 40. NxQ Rg3+) RxR+ 40. NxQ Rf4+ 41. Kg2 Ra3+ 42. Kg3 RxN 43. Qd6+ Kb7 44. QxP would be a head-wrecking ending – Q+3 v 2R+N – to play on increments.
But actually white has a very nice one-move win in the final position – see if you can find it before scrolling on.
In fact, if black were to reply 34. … Ne4!!, it’s actually all over. 35. NxN RxP+! 36. QxR Qd4+ and suddenly black, who has sacced a knight and a rook, has a mating attack. Fritz gives as the “best” 35. BxN NxQ 36. BxQ RxP+ 37. Kf2 KxB, and black has a rook for two pawns and a trivial win.
After all that diversion, onto the Challengers, where we had another ten players out of the 38 in the competition. Top seed here was Yubo, but he was quickly (if you’ll excuse the pun!) out of the running after starting with 0/2, and ended up playing his little brother in the final round, ultimately losing over 100 points. It was left instead to Eric to make a charge for the title, starting on 2½/3 before beating Robbie to reach board 1, and once there beating the only player on 4/4 to reach the outright lead. That left him with an unexpected final game to decide the title – against Fearghal, who had taken a round 1 bye but had then beaten everyone in his path, including Lorcan in round 4, to also stand on 4½/5. With dad Stephen watching, Fearghal calmly sacced a piece on a6 and, when Eric declined, sacced it again on b7. The former was probably sound, the latter less so, but both players soon remembered where they were – half a point clear in the final round – and a draw was agreed to share the title, though they were joined by Eric’s fifth-round opponent, won his last match. For Eric, first place comes hot on the heels of second place in the City of Dublin two weeks ago; for Fearghal, his first tournament saw him come away with a 1150 rating – and both take €183 home as well.
Robbie took the last of the club’s winnings for the weekend, beating Venkat and losing only to Eric as he scored 4½ to take one of the €50 grading prizes. Carl actually outscored him with an almost perfect Swiss submarine – after starting with a loss and a draw, he won his last four, including beating brother Ryan, to end up in a share of fourth place. Lorcan unfortunately went the other way; after starting with 3½/4, he lost his last two, but is still up 22 points. Joe and Venkat both matched Lorcan’s 3½; Joe started with a defeat to Ryan, who scored 3/6 for a 100-point gain. Felipe was our other competitor, and though his only point was a bye, he did at least gain 30 points over the weekend.
The six club derbies in this section brought the total across the weekend to 14 – more than 2 per round. An ideal way to head into the new league season, which starts off with A v B encounters in the BEA and the Bodley!