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I hope that the previous chapters have given 'weaker
club players' and also, perhaps,
some of the loners who cannot or prefer not to pop along to their local club
a few pointers towards improving their game.
Along with this guidance I trust the reader has also been entertained.
The games I have chosen have been selected with this latter goal
strongly in mind. There is
nothing worse than picking up a book which, however instructive, is boring!
I have certainly enjoyed my little bit of time travel,
digging out long forgotten encounters and reliving those moments of triumph
or despair. The great
advantage of chess notation is that we can replay past games just as players
of other sports watch again films or videos.
Many of my games needed translating from the old notation format to
the modern system. The physical
leap in achieving this was only recently accomplished by the author when he
dragged his body out of retirement from over-the-board chess, turned up at
the Grantham Chess Club for 'an occasional friendly' and was chivvied into
playing for their Nottingham League teams.
Has chess moved on during this retirement period, you
may wonder. I don't think it has.
Much of the theory had been sorted out by, perhaps, the
nineteen-fifties or even earlier and most of it absorbed by the serious
improver. One of the main themes
of this book, however, is to try to persuade the reader to be versatile and
flexible. Try different battle
plans and, especially if you have had a strong inclination to 'play it safe'
and be cautious, try – though not carelessly – to fling a few pieces at
your opponent's king. Make the
blighter squirm! In most sports,
a bit of pressure on your adversary can sometimes achieve wonders.
In at least one of the previous games I achieved a quite dynamic
position by accident after going
material behind! This
led to a nice win. Try to deliberately
achieve this dynamism.
Despite all the care, though: all the study or
determination, games sometimes are lost when we should have won.
But this works both ways and is part of the beauty of chess.
Sometimes a series of 'good-looking' moves are played but, because our
minds can only see so far ahead, their ultimate conclusion is not what it
seemed at the time they were initiated. The
final game below illustrates that (to my advantage).
But, please enjoy your chess. Be
prepared for its vagaries. Marvel
how a game can be fought out, win or lose.
This final game brought together again the adversaries
of an earlier game in which I was given a lesson in how to finish off one's
opponent. This looked to be
heading for a similar result. A
tough Leicestershire County player, Basil Wallis (not to be confused with his
namesake, Philip N Wallis, who achieved higher honours) shows how aggressive
chess should be played but this was an exciting contest with the author on
his best defensive form. See if
you agree …….
top
Leicestershire County
Championship, 1974.
Author v
B G Wallis. Opening:
English/ ?
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1
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c4
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e5
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(I
did say "aggressive" and that's from move 1!)
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2
|
Nc3
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Nf6
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3
|
e3
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d5
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4
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d4
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exd4
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5
|
exd4
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Bb4
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6
|
a3
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Bxc3+
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7
|
bxc3
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Already
Black has created weaknesses among the array of White's Q-side pawns.
Also, he has a grip on the centre and is ready to castle
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…..
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0-0
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8
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Bd3
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Re8+
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9
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Ne2
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Ne4
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10
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Bxe4
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dxe4
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11
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0-0
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c5!
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It
would have been easy for Black simply to develop his knight and bishop
here. The text move holds back
the two doubled c-pawns. 12.
dxc5 would make their development even worse.
The other way to relieve the pressure for White would be to accept
his passed pawn by 12. d5 but that leaves Black commanding the vital d4
square as well as blockading
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12
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Rb1
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Nc6
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13
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Be3
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Qe7
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14
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d5
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Not
a particularly good idea by White as previously explained.
It doesn't gain a tempo either because the knight wants to step
forward anyway
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…..
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Ne5
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15
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Qb3
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A
risky development – abandoning the d3 square to the black knight
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…..
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b6
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16
|
Qa4
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Countering
the threat of ..Ba6
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…..
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Bd7
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17
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Qb3
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Qh4
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18
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Bf4
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A
much better square for the bishop
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…..
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Nd3
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19
|
Bg3
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Qh5
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20
|
Qc2
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f5
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21
|
f3
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Black
has done the right thing by supporting his attacking pieces with a pawn
advance: now White correctly contests the battle scene
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|
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…..
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exf3
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22
|
Rxf3
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Ne5
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23
|
Bxe5
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White
has no choice but to eliminate this dangerous attacker
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|
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…..
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Rxe5
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24
|
Rbf1
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Qe8
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Black
would have preferred ..Rae8 but if he waits for the queen to be attacked
by Ng3, he may lose the f-pawn
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25
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Nf4
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A
risky move again by White (inviting g5 perhaps) but Black now tempers his
aggression with some safer play
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…..
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g6
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26
|
Rg3
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Qf7
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27
|
h4!?
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White
decides the position merits a counterattack (always seek active counter
play)
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…..
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Qf6
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But,
has he created a weakness for Black to exploit?
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28
|
h5
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g5
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29
|
Qd2
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The
game seems to swinging from one player to the other.
Who will prevail with his attack?
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|
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…..
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h6
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30
|
Nd3
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Re4
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31
|
Rf4
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Using
the fact that the g-pawn is pinned to defend the c4-pawn without having to
retreat the knight to b2 where it would be out of play
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…..
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Rae8
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32
|
Nf2
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Re1+
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33
|
Kh2
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The
game has been a bit double-edged with Black holding a strong initiative
with his attack down the open e-file.
Now, with the h2-b8 diagonal beckoning, he blunders by putting his
queen on totally the wrong square (greedily, perhaps, he wanted also to
strengthen his hold on the e-file)
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…..
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Qe5???
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34
|
Nd3
|
Qe2
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This
looks, at first sight, to be a clever way out for Black
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35
|
Qxe1
|
Qxh5+
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36
|
Rh3
|
Qg6
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37
|
Qg3
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White
has wriggled out of the threats to equalise
|
|
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…..
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Kh7
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38
|
Rf1
|
f4
|
Again,
looks deadly for Black …..
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39
|
Nxf4!
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A
bold way to end the attack … White
gives back some material. Black
must play ..gxf4 (if, ..Qf7, this strong-looking move fails to 40. Ne6,
Qxf141. Qxg5 with a winning
attack).After ..gxf4 40.
Qxg6+, Kxg6 41. Rhf3 winning the pawn on f4 and leaving White with a
passed pawn and clear material supremacy.
Black resigned.
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This win in the final round gave me a final score of 6/11 and my highest ever position in the County Championship
of 6th. The title of champion was shared by three players, two of whom are featured in games above
(Alan Edwards and John Robinson). I didn't ask Wallis if he saw the knight fork after his move 33 and intended
the very threatening continuation which was the consequence. If he did, then it typifies what I said in the opening paragraphs of
this chapter (about not always being able to see that one vital move into the future). However, I believe this
game is a fine example of the best sort of ding-dong encounter that chess can produce between two fairly evenly matched opponents.
End |